The Salvation Army is gearing up for its largest fundraiser. From Nov. 18-Dec. 24 the Red Kettles will be out at 17 locations in Flagstaff.

In addition to bringing Christmas to 300 local families in crisis, each year The Salvation Army assists approximately 1,400 families in our community with items such as food boxes, rent, utilities, clothing and furniture as well as an after-school program.

Volunteer bell ringers are needed Monday through Saturday for two hours at time, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. If an individual, business, or organization adopts a kettle site by having people man the kettle all day, a sign of acknowledgment will be placed on the kettle chain.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Captain Ryan Miller at 774-1403 or ryan.miller@usw.salvationarmy.org.
With more than 80 years of combined experience as beauty experts, Napa hair stylists Keli Campbell, Margaret LaPorte and Kelli Dussault work as a team at Salon Eleven, where they aim to create a soothing environment for customers and each other.

Ive worked in big salons and small, but this one feels homey  like sitting in someones living room, where everyone who comes in gets a nice welcome, said Dussault, who owned a Beverly Hills salon before coming to Napa 18 years ago to raise her daughter.

LaPorte, a Napa native, said each stylist offers unique specialties that are available to all of their clients.

We have many clients who interchange between us, because we each offer different elements. We work as a team, said LaPorte.

Campbell, who started Salon Eleven three years ago, said she has accomplished her original goal of creating a respectful, comfortable environment for stylists and customers alike at 700 Central Ave.

Thats why we work so well together: mutual respect and a team mentality, said Campbell, who plans to cultivate that work ethic throughout the profession.

This year, for example, Campbell started a networking group on Facebook.

I put Napa Valley Beauty Professionals together in hopes of creating a supportive community where colleagues in Napa Valley feel comfortable sharing ideas and asking questions of their peers, she said.

I think the biggest challenge is perhaps not everyone views their peers as peers. I learned early on that we all have something to learn and we all have something to teach, said Campbell.

Her latest goal is to lessen the impact her salon has on the environment. Recently accepted into the Green Circle Salon community, Salon Eleven is reducing pounds of waste.

Green Circle Salons recycle hair clippings that are turned into hair booms used for environmental clean ups. Hair coloring is recycled so that 95 percent is reused as grey water, while the rest is properly disposed of.

This was naturally the next step for our salon, said Campbell. We have been working with the Davines line from Parma, Italy, for over two years. Davines, offers a wide range of gorgeous products, but its their dedication to balancing sustainability and beauty that won me over. She said the team at Salon Eleven promotes the eco-conscious line, which supports biodiversity through their collaboration with the Slow Food movement.

Campbell and LaPorte recently joined the Davines Education team, which will help train fellow stylists in California. The two dream of expanding their reach.

I am a student for life, said Campbell, even as an educator.

Campbell started in the Napa salon business more than 10 years ago and has expanded Salon Eleven to include many forms of beauty services, hair products, and her line of cosmetics under the registered trademark YOU. SIMPLY. BEAUTIFUL.

Napa resident Brenda Davies lives near the salon and drops in on occasion to buy shampoo and conditioner.

I like the quality of their products, she said during a recent visit.

The stylists mainly serve local residents, but also work on location at local establishments such as Meadowood Resort and Auberge du Soleil, providing hair and makeup services for VIPs and brides alike.

The team is most proud, however, of the local clients.

Our loyal clientele has made us who we are. They are the real VIPs, said Campbell.

Robbie Meyer has been a client of Campbells for more than a decade.

They are good to their customers, said Meyer, whose wife and two kids also make the trek from Angwin to get their hair done.

Our hard work is paying off, agreed Campbell.

Feedback like that makes us proud to provide excellent service, while offering the best products and protecting our planet. Everyone wins.
The Cuban government has asked a Napa doctor and his California colleagues to teach advanced reconstructive surgery techniques to the countrys own physicians.

Dr. William McClure is part of a team of 10 surgeons  mainly from Stanford, UC Davis and UC Irvine  who will fly to Cuba for a five-day stay in early November.

The program will begin with a symposium attended by every Cuban reconstructive surgeon and resident  a total of about 280 people.

McClure said Cuba has exceptional physicians but most are trained to provide primary medical care, and havent had the opportunity to learn advanced techniques.

Cuban doctors are government employees who earn much less than people in the tourist business, like a bus driver, he said.

Which shows me how dedicated they are, said McClure. Cuban doctors arent in the profession for the money. Its really love of their patients and wanting to really help. Thats what drives them.

McClure said that this isnt a case of the Americans coming down to help the poor Cubans.

According to the doctor, overall, public health is better in Cuba than it is in the U.S. They emphasize primary care much more than we do, and such care is completely covered by the government.

These doctors have great potential, he said. All they need is this advanced training, or a bit of an educational push.

Were coming down as partners, he said. Its not a hand-out, its hand up, he said.

Helping patients and training doctors is rewarding, said McClure.

A child with a cleft lip, for example, is often ostracized, along with the family. For an operation that only takes about an hour, you have changed this childs life completely and not only the child but the family too, said the doctor.

The plan is to start a five-year advanced reconstructive surgery training program for the Cuban doctors.

American doctors will teach their Cuban counterparts how to treat their patients with problems such as cleft lips or palettes, facial and hand deformities and burn scars, and reconstruction from breast, head or neck cancer procedures. Once the five-year training is finished, those Cuban doctors will be able to train their own colleagues in the future.

Besides helping patients, There is almost as much joy when you have taught a colleague to do something new, said McClure. We teachers get more out of it than the students.

Its also a chance for the Cuban people to see another side of Americans.

Most of them have never met an American before, he said. With this program, their first encounter is people who are coming down to be friends, and help them.

Its like person-to-person diplomacy on a small scale. That is also very gratifying on both sides.

This will be McClures fifth teaching visit to the communist country.

The five-year program is organized by surgeons like McClure, who is affiliated with Stanford University, and sponsored by the nonprofit ReSurge International.

Nine years ago McClure, local developer Michael Holcomb and other supporters tried to start a similar program in Cuba. Given the political climate at the time, the program couldnt be sustained.

With the help of Holcomb and others, including program coordinator Mario Gutierrez, also of Napa, McClure said the group hopes to send 12 to 24 visiting medical educators to Cuba each year. To accommodate the doctors busy schedules, they only stay about four to five days.

Eventually hed like some of the Cuban doctors to travel to Napa for an exchange program.

During the November visit, Ill be teaching cleft lip surgery and treatment of burn patients, he said.

To help fund this five-year program, the group is looking to raise about $80,000 per year for five years. Holcomb is a big supporter.

You have to give back, said Holcomb, who has personally contributed money.

Noting the number of medical missions McClure has gone on, Holcomb said You have to admire someone like that.

If we can help, then we need to do it, he said.

This isnt the first time McClure has visited another country to help patients and train doctors. Hes made more than 75 such trips over 36 years to countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe.

When asked how Cuba has changed from his first visits in 2005 and 2008, McClure said, Its kind of sad in some ways, because so much is the same, (only) more run down.

However, now that travel restrictions have been lifted, Cuba is about to explode, he said. Its going to be a very desirable tourist location.

Havana and other cities are great destinations but the hotel industry has not been developed. Therefore, many people stay in private homes when they visit.

While McClure will spend most of his time in hospitals, he enjoys breakfast with his hosts, along with lunch and dinner at Cuban restaurants.

Its a cliche but cigars and rum are exceptional in Cuba, he said. Prices in the main cities are comparable to U.S. costs, but once you leave the tourist areas, costs are much cheaper.

The nicest part is meeting our doctor counterparts and becoming friends, he said.
The "Morning Joe" panel had a discussion this week about the reckoning that some on our show believed should take place about Donald Trump's sins against American democracy. One guest suggested that Thanksgiving dinners across America should be used as a forum for Hillary Clinton supporters to lecture Trump-supporting family members on how their vote promoted racism and xenophobia.

"Please pass the cranberry sauce, you white-privileged bigot."

No thanks.

Since our family makes it a habit to not talk politics at holiday gatherings, I will leave it to others to pollute their Thanksgivings with such unpleasant talk. The better place for such nasty political forums might be at Republican meetings across the country. After all, it is past time that my party confront the ugly undercurrents that led us to this point and have been allowed to fester in the Party of Lincoln for too long.

This November will mark the 50th anniversary of the GOP's cracking of the Democrats' "Solid South." In 1966, voters across Dixie rebelled against Lyndon Johnson's landmark civil rights laws and began electing Republicans to posts they had not held since the 1870s during Reconstruction. Next month will also mark the 50th year since the Reagan revolution was launched in California by the former actor's stunning victory over Democratic legend Pat Brown.

While Reagan voters were far removed from the Deep South's segregationist strife in 1966, that year's Golden State gubernatorial election broke for Ronald Reagan, in part, because of fears stirred by the televised violence of the Watts riots. Other factors such as the Berkeley student protests, as well as Reagan's own remarkable skills, certainly contributed to Reagan's victory. But few would deny that racial fears roiling Southern California in the mid-60s also contributed to that historic landslide.

For the half century that followed, Republicans across the United States got elected with the backing of working-class whites, usually at the expense of giving Democrats 90 percent of the black vote. GOP presidential nominees paid lip service to the needs of people of color, but candidates from Richard Nixon to Mitt Romney also benefited from the racial resentments of white working-class voters.

This year, that undercurrent exploded to the surface of the 2016 campaign with the nomination of a candidate who dismissed many Mexicans as rapists and murderers, called for the banning of a billion Muslims from the United States, feigned ignorance on the topic of David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, and spit out other racially charged comments that diminished his chances in the general election while seemingly feeding into his support in the Republican primary.

As Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and I have said for a year now, there are not enough white guys in America to elect Trump president without the support of others. His narrow strategy worked in a 17-person primary fight, and it may have even gotten him elected president had their been a few other legitimate third-party candidates. But Trump's rhetoric seems to have limited his vote percentage to about 40 percent from the start of his campaign, and in 2016, that will not be enough to win.

Will the Trump candidacy serve as a wake-up call to Republicans? Did Romney's loss and the party postmortem do any good four years later? Of course not. But it is past time that someone in the Republican Party leadership uses his or her position of influence to hammer into the heads of recalcitrant members that a half-century later, Reagan's party is about to lose a presidential race's popular vote for the sixth time in seven elections.

The Republican Party must reform or die. Because if it stays on its current course, George W. Bush's fear may be proven right. He may be the last Republican ever elected to the White House.

Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, hosts the MSNBC show Morning Joe." He wrote this for The Washington Post.
When this miserable but revelatory election is finally over, the countrys most serious need will not be national or economic security. It will be political: Repairing the near total erosion of public trust and confidence in American government and leadership.

The political sector of society has ignored or bungled this job since Watergate. But now, after Donald Trump, returning a modicum of dignity to government has become urgent. Sensible and forward-looking decisions on economic policy, national security, social welfare and public safety will be nearly impossible unless our political system can get itself out of the gutter.

This is a job so enormous it is invisible. It is a task so daunting that it is ignored.

The institutions assigned to this sort of project, the two political parties, are neither up to the task nor interested in it. They are bad guys in the story.

However, and this will seem starry-eyed, there may be a brief moment of epiphany and opportunity after the election if  and only if  members of the political class have been so traumatized by Trump that they are fearful for their careers and, maybe, their country.

After a steady decline since the Vietnam War and Watergate, the legitimacy of our government institutions crashed and burned this year in the publics view. Trust and confidence in other broad sectors also have eroded  big business, the news media, political parties, the clergy and law enforcement, to name just a few. This is a reality throughout American culture.

This year we have mistakenly pigeonholed profound political alienation into the angry white voter slot. Deep mistrust of government, however, is universal in America for all practical purposes.

If the dire and unlikely happens, if Trump wins, simmering alienation easily could boil over into full fracture and intensified civic war.

If virtue and justice triumph and Trump loses, well probably muddle through as we have. We will have a president in Hillary Clinton who doesnt have the credibility or temperament to tackle the amorphous and quixotic mission to improve political culture and systems.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that Trump did the country a favor by finally directing the full, justified fury of citizens on to the system. Trumps mindless raves that the system is rigged are puerile excuses and revenge fantasies. They do, however, obscure real problems such as voter suppression, gerrymandering and the crazy length of campaigns. His false charges are acid poured on an old wound.

Also, do not make the mistake of thinking that this political and civic problem  this crisis of legitimacy  will be solved by a boom economy. Broadly speaking, Americans since the 1970s have enjoyed peace, prosperity, health, safety, expanding liberty and political stability almost unheard of in human history. Yes, many communities were left out and economic inequality grew to unprecedented and inexcusable levels. This is one of many causes of our political and cultural disenchantment.

A growing and fairer economy might be a necessary condition for improving our political situation, but it is not sufficient. We face a political problem that needs a political solution.

Jimmy Carter was probably the last sitting president to try to address this kind of political-existential question full frontal. But his 1979 crisis of confidence is now lampooned as the classic example of what happens to a president who gets too angsty and egg-headed. Presidents Clinton and Obama did both try to restore the reputation of government and government service after years of Republican attacks and aggressive small government ideology. Now its time to tackle the bigger job. Weve gotten a sharper taste of what can happen if public trust bottoms out: Trumpism.

Liberals and conservatives will have very different answers. Republicans of the old Burkean school, of which there a only a few roaming the land, are suspicious that political engineering  reforms, new laws, fresh party rules  can change attitudes and behavior in predictable, constructive ways: tradition, culture and leadership are what matter. I am inclined to agree, but this is a helpless, defeatist position.

Mainstream Republicans, if they still exist, have opposed political reform because they think it is code for anti-business and anti-GOP. On a deeper level, as free market worshippers, Republicans generally argue that a strong economy and constricted government are the best cures for any political illness.

Democrats, liberals and Sandersites still look at campaign finance as the holy grail of reform; tame big money and special interests, our elected representatives will do the right things and trust in government will return. Hillary Clinton, ironically, gives this lip service.

Continuing to ignore the vilification of government would be self-destructive, but individuals and organization do self-destructive things all the time. This is a slow-growing condition that became fully malignant in 2016. Trump got closer to the White House than any know-nothing demagogue or nut job in our history partly because so many Americans have believed for a long time the whole corrupt system needs to be blown up. Who knows what could come next?

One very practical consequence: too many smart, ambitious young people and successful professionals in their primes have avoided politics and government service. This will get worse and exacerbate a vicious cycle  the worse an institutions reputation, the worse the talent it can attract.

I have come to believe that campaign finance is the wrong target, more symptom than cause. I believe the starting point must be breaking the cycle of the permanent campaign. This entails two Herculean challenges: radically shortening primary and general campaigns to come in line with every other democracy; amending the Constitution to lengthen terms in the House to four years.

As a more realistic starting point, however, Ill settle for defeating Donald Trump on Nov. 8. After that, political reformation could be a perfect mission for former president Barack Obama.
YEREVAN. - The Laboratory of Archaeological Studies of the Institute for Armenian Studies (IAS) at Yerevan State University (YSU) resembles more a warehouse than a scientific lab in the usual sense. The racks here are covered with cardboard boxes from where crocks are sticking out.

And it is hard to imagine that the content of these boxes is about 3,000 years old and that some time later all this will appear under a glass in a certain museum.

Now they are lying in enumerated boxes waiting in the wings.

The technological capacities of the university lab are not great: several manual tools and calcining furnace, which allows to check several properties of ceramics.

But to precisely determine the age of the artifacts one has to turn to foreign colleagues, says Hayk Avetisyan, Head of Chair at YSU Archaeology and Ethnography Department.

Certain studies, specifically of vegetable and animal origin findings, are currently carried out in the bioarchaeological laboratory of the YSU Biology Department. But the specialists hope that it will soon be possible to carry out radiocarbon studies here as well, since Armenia is a country with untapped sources of such work.

Hayk Avetisyan takes out the recently found artifacts from a box: ceramics, Scythian arrowhead and embellishments of Urartian Aramus fortress. The artifacts date from 8-6th centuries BC.

Then he arranges before me an entire ceramic set - a finding from Oshakan cemetery. This is an early Iron Age sample dating from 11-9th centuries B.C., he says.

To my question whether the arrowhead is imported if it is a Scythian sample, Avtisyan says this is not the case at all. Being made here on the ground, they were included in the arsenal of the warriors of the given region starting from time immemorial. But the archaeologists also find imported artifacts, specifically ceramics and embellishments, luxury items imported from Syria, Mesopotamia and Northern Caucasus. At the same time, items from local obsidian are found in Syria and Palestine. That is, the trade was very active then, he says.

In the adjacent room two archaeologists argue, trying to determine by eye and by feel the age of a red ceramic sherd. In their words, the appearance is deceptive: this ceramic item can be very ancient but it can also belong to the antic period.

In the back room Masters students are studying. They apply here from different universities  from architectural to economic ones. The Head of Chair is happy to note that Bachelors degree for Archaeology specialization has opened this year, whereas only Masters degree was available before.

According to the scientist, currently the Armenian archaeology greatly lacks human resources. However, this is indeed a very promising direction, he adds. The analysis of the volume of the work carried out in Armenia now shows that this work will last for 20 years if the volumes remain unchanged. Thus, the scientist thinks the salary of the young specialists will be at least stable if not large.

And if they take part in joint international expeditions (currently 10-15 such expeditions work in Armenia annually), their salary wont be bad at all, he notes. Thus, dealing with archaeology is profitable, Avetisyan confirms. It is also profitable for the state, since there is a commercialization opportunity here too: artifacts are taken to museums and the museums begin to earn more due to tourism. The most vivid example is the most ancient shoe from Armenias Areni village, which is now displayed in the Museum of History of Armenia.

That is, the archaeological and ethnographic work still has a wide scope of work to be carried out in the coming 20 years. And after the effective implementation of all this we can become more competitive in terms of revealing our identity in this fight of civilizations, he says.
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YEREVAN.  External conjuncture prevents high economic growth in Armenia.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Thursday stated the above-said in the National Assembly, as he introduced the new government program.

In his words, the understanding of economic growth needs to be reviewed, and economic competition needs to be followed.

A demand is put before the government: to make a clear diagnosis of the economic situation; to propose both short- and long-term strategic plans, said Karapetyan.

He added that, to seek solutions to these problems, the government will set up a strategic research center, which will include professionals also from the Armenian diaspora.
A Flagstaff anesthesiologist convicted earlier this year on federal tax evasion charges has asked a U.S. District Court judge not to send him to prison.

Dr. Gary Christensen was indicted in 2014 for concealing more than $2 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service and failing to pay more than $500,000 in federal income taxes. In May, a U.S. District Court jury in Phoenix convicted him on seven counts of willful evasion of tax assessment for 2004 through 2010, as well as two counts of willful failure to file a tax return for 2009 and 2010.

In Oct. 14 court filings, defense attorney Marc J. Victor objected to a presentence report that estimated the government lost more than $1.5 million in tax revenue from Christensens scheme. The same report recommended a heavier sentence because Christensen used shell corporations  considered a sophisticated means of tax evasion under the law  to hide his income.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, that means Christensen could serve between 4.25 and 5.25 years in prison for each tax evasion conviction.

Victor urged U.S. District Court Judge David G. Campbell to give Christensen a sentence below the advisory guidelines set by the federal government by waiving the recommended jail time and giving him probation instead so Christensen might be able to continue working, provided the Arizona Medical Board lets him keep his license.

A substantial term of community service, in lieu of incarceration, would allow Dr. Christensen to continue to provide needed medical services to area residents, as well as pay off the fines to be imposed, Victor wrote.

Victor argued the use of shell corporations was not sophisticated because it was not difficult for Christensen to set them up. He also said Christensen should be able to deduct his legal fees from the amount he owes the government for the purposes of calculating his sentence. Generally speaking, the more money a person owes in a tax evasion case, the heavier the sentence.

He added that Christensen will likely pay far more in fines and penalties as a result of the impending civil tax case than he ever owed in unpaid taxes.

Defendants objections to the presentence investigation report are largely based on his continued insistence that he did not earn income from Forest Country Anesthesia and was not required to pay federal income taxes, wrote U.S. Attorney for Arizona John S. Leonardo in his response Oct. 17. Defendants objections defy both the facts and the law.

Christensen helped found Forest Country Anesthesia in Flagstaff in 1988. According to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court, Christensen used his positions as director and treasurer at Forest Country Anesthesia to make sure his income from the practice was not reported to the IRS. He is accused of arranging to have his paychecks either given to him in cash or directed to a phony entity called GSC 00 Club  an account that listed Christensen as the only authorized signor.

(It) is hard to imagine a more fictitious entity than the GSC 00 Club, the fake health club that Defendant created solely for the purpose of tax evasion, which he admits existed solely on paper, U.S. Attorney for Arizona John S. Leonardo wrote in his response Oct. 17.

Christensen did continue to file individual and corporate tax returns, reporting income from investments and other business ventures, but falsely reporting that he had made no income from his job at Forest Country Anesthesia.

In all, Christensen stands accused of using GSC 00 Club to conceal approximately $2,100,163 in income, and to evade the assessment and payment of approximately $562,083 in federal income taxes.

Victor highlighted Christensens long career as a doctor in Flagstaff and his involvement with charitable organizations in the community. He also claimed Christensens conviction stemmed from his desire to take care of his children after his wife died in 1998.

In the aftermath of his wifes tragic passing, it became Dr. Christensens mission to maximize his income while minimizing the amount of hours he had to work, Victor wrote. Because income tax was his biggest expense, he aggressively attempted to pay the minimum amount of taxes he was legally obligated to pay as was detailed at trial.

Forest Country Anesthesia cut all ties with Christensen soon after his indictment. In an October 2014 letter to the Daily Sun, Dr. Mark Chapman of Forest Country said the medical practice was cooperating with investigators.

Although FCA became aware approximately three years ago that the IRS had initiated an investigation of Dr. Christensen, we were unaware of its scope and magnitude until the indictment was released, Chapman said. We have fully cooperated with the IRS in their investigation, and have been assured by the IRS that FCA is not a target of the investigation.

Christensen also served on the board of directors for Northern Arizona Healthcare and Flagstaff Medical Center prior to his indictment. Both boards approved his requests for a leave of absence in 2014.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 25.
YEREVAN.  Thirty to forty more small companies and farmers in Armenia will receive assistance, with the support of the European Commission and the Austrian Development Agency, to transition to organic production, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Armen Harutyunyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

A 3 million-grant will be allocated for this project. It will assist small and medium-sized producers of organic products.

The other two components of this project are raising public awareness of organic products, and assisting Armenian producers in international markets.

We have received [respective] applications from a variety of branches and various regions [in Armenia], which is very important to us, added Harutyunyan.
YEREVAN.  Since September 2016, information technology (IT), microelectronics, and telecommunications have begun to be taught in six more schools in Armenia.

Armen Baldryan, Chairman of Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies (UEICT) of Armenia, told the abovementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In 2015, these three engineering disciplines were included in the mandatory curriculum of five schools in the country, for the first time.

And starting from next year, in-depth study of the computer programming language is also planned to be put on the school curricula.

Everything changes very quickly in the world of technology, noted Baldryan. And, of course, we help equip laboratories for practical training.

And within the framework of a declaration that was signed earlier, the UEICT and the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia have agreed to include the teaching of these subjects in all schools in Armenia, by the year 2025.
A Belarusian Belavia Airlines passenger plane, which was conducting a flight from the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev to the Belarusian capital city of Minsk, on Friday was forced to return to the Kiev airport, reported Tutby news portal of Belarus.

Fifty kilometers from entering the airspace of Belarus, the captain of the plane received an instruction, from the dispatcher of the Kiev Air Traffic Department, to immediately return to the flight airport, without any explanation. They also informed that in case of failure to comply with the instruction, fighter planes would be taken to the air. The captain of the plane carried out the instruction he received, informed the press service of Belavia Airlines.

The plane landed in Kiev. Ukrainian law enforcers brought down a passenger from on the plane, who was an Armenian citizen.

The Belarusian air carrier states that, afterwards, the Ukrainian law enforcement officers released this passenger. Later, he flew to Minsk on board another Belavia Airlines flight.

Sevodnya.ru newspaper, citing a passenger of the flight, informed that the surname of this man, who was taken out of the said plane, was Martirosyan.

They announced to us that he is a staff member of the security service of Ukraine, and that he is suspected of [committing] crimes, added the passenger.
State environmental officials have issued final dust control permits for three uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed that, although more stringent than in the past, are still not stringent enough, say conservation groups.

The air quality permits issued to the owners of the Canyon mine near Tusayan and two mines north of the Grand Canyon allow for up to 26 million pounds of mined ore to be stockpiled out in the open to a height of 20 feet without a covering. The radioactive ore is to be watered to control dust, and the water must be discharged into a basin with an impervious bottom so that it does not reach the aquifer.

The permits also include requirements for annual soil and quarterly gamma radiation sampling, the installation of anemometers to measure the wind speed at the mines and a halt to truck loading activities if wind speed gets above 25 mph.

If dust or radiation levels reach a certain trigger, the ore stockpile must be reduced by half, covered with a tarp and protected by wind barriers. If problems persist, the stockpile must be reduced to 25 percent, according to the permits.

Conservationists had sought a denial of the air quality permits, stating there was no safe level of uranium mining in the watershed that would protect the Colorado River and nearby seeps and springs, and that full remediation in the event of contamination was unlikely and costly.

In comments on the draft rules, they had sought a tarp covering for the stockpiles at all times and a shutdown of the mines when dust triggers were reached until any soil contamination was remediated.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality halted the re-permitting process for the mines late last year following reports that uranium concentrations in soil near one of the mines measured more than four times background levels twice in a row.

The concentrations were recorded near Pinenut Mine located about 10 miles north of the Grand Canyon and ranged from 5.33 to 8.52 parts per million, which is two to three times the levels of uranium naturally found in the regions soils. Those levels, however, are minuscule compared to uranium concentrations found in uranium ore, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Conservationists also had sought more frequent inspections and monitoring, all done by outside parties, not mine employees, as the new permits allow.

Requiring more frequent samples when the dust pollutes the land outside the fence is not enough, said Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Clubs Grand Canyon Chapter. How will they prevent it? How will they make sure these companies clean up any mess?

The groups also requested that ADEQ initiate monitoring of fine particulate matter and transportation-related uranium dust, noting the 24 trucks per day estimated to be coming and going from Canyon Mine when it begins operations.

In its written response, ADEQ denied the request, contending the dust, unlike smoke, did not contain fine particulates, which can lodge in the lungs. But it did require that tarps on trucks overlap the sides by six inches and be tied down.

We have seen far too much contamination and far too many costs to the public from past uranium mining, said Bahr. This argument that these are new and improved uranium mines does not hold water.
There will be no agreement without the return of occupied territories of Azerbaijan, or without talks on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ambassador James Warlick, US Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, stated the aforementioned at a press conference in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, reported Trend news agency of Azerbaijan.

He noted that many elements for conflict resolution are on the negotiating table. Warlick added that these elements include the return of refugees and IDPs to their native lands and deployment of peacekeepers in the territory, and stated that all these elements will be the subject of discussions.

The question of Nagorno-Karabakhs status has been put forward by [Azerbaijani President] President Ilham Aliyev, and we welcome it, said Warlick.

The OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair also stated that the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan can discuss various elements during their meetings, and that such meetings should continue.

The elements mentioned should be discussed as a package in order to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully, he said.

The Minsk Group co-chairs have repeatedly stated that the status quo in the conflict is not sustainable, added Warlick, according to Azeri Press news agency.

In his words, however, there is no information yet on the next meeting between the two presidents.

But the co-chairs expressed their hope that the FMs of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Hamburg, Germany, at the regular session of the OSCE Ministerial Council.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed willingness to meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, within the framework of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

Ambassador James Warlick, US Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, noted the above-said at a press conference in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, according to RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

Warlick stated that he personally spoke with Aliyev, who informed that he is keen on this peace process. As per the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair, the Azerbaijani president expressed readiness to meet and discuss the proposals.

The US diplomat added that they also will confer on setting up the next meeting between the two presidents.

Warlick informed that the co-chairs will meet with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, to follow up on the commitments made in Vienna and Saint Petersburg. He added that there are still issues and elements that need to be discussed.

James Warlick expressed the hope that the presidents will meet at the earliest opportunity.
Taking into account the humanitarian situation in Mosul and the predicted flow of civilians, Germany plans to allocate 34 million emergency assistance to residents of the region, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Muller told Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung.

The money will be also transferred to the logistics centers in northern Iraq, which are engaged in distribution of humanitarian aid. In addition, Germany will help to place refugees in temporary accommodations and to provide them with medical care, DW reported.

Gerd Muller does not expect a quick victory over ISIS fighters near Mosul. The minister noted that they should be ready for months-long position fights and, first of all, Turkey should be ready for inflow of refugees.

As a result of these fights up to million civilians will have to leave their homes in Mosul, he added.
YEREVAN.  Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan on Saturday visited the ArmProdExpo specialized annual exhibition, which opened Friday in capital city Yerevan.

As earlier reported, the main objective of this event is to present the agricultural production and the agricultural raw material processing industry of Armenia, and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh).

Karapetyan toured the exhibition stands, got familiarized with the presented products and development projects of the participating companies, and asked the latters representatives about their challenges.

The PM also urged the representatives of these companies to prepare a package of precise recommendations, and to submit it to the government.

Furthermore, the Premier underscored the use of modern technology in production, and added that the Armenian government stands ready to render the respective assistance to businesses.

We are negotiating [with the minister of agriculture] toward creating a company, together with the private [sector], which will engage in seeking markets for Armenian agricultural products, processed products, added Karen Karapetyan.
Open Door is declared Saturday in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army.

Within the framework of this event that has become traditional, parents visit with their sons who are serving in the NKR Defense Army.

Parents were welcomed with the traditional bread and salt at a central control military unit. Subsequently, they placed flowers to the monument to Armenian military commander and politician, the late Vazgen Sargsyan, and attended a ceremonial meeting.

Afterward, the parents toured the military unit, got familiarized with the social and living conditions of their soldier sons, and spoke with the latters commanders.

Similar get-togethers with parents are held in all military divisions and units of the Artsakh defense army.
The diversionary attempt by the Azerbaijani side was aimed at the breakdown of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs efforts to create a system of ceasefire regime observers in the Karabakh conflict zone.

Russian political analyst Alexander Skakov told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

In his words, Baku aims to thwart the establishment of this system, since it is not in the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities. According to the political analyst, the mentioned system is aimed at clarifying who was the first to start the military actions, shootings, etc. If the Azerbaijani side hinders the establishment of this system, then of, course, it is the one who violates the ceasefire regime, Skakov stressed.

The adversary launched diversionary penetration attempts on Thursday between 11pm and 11:30pm, in easterly and southerly directions of the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces.

The NKR Defense Army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that the Defense Army vanguard units, however, detected the Azerbaijani special forces advance in timely fashion, and drew them back to their original positions, and also caused them to suffer casualties.

The Defense Army, on the other hand, suffered no losses while confronting the diversionary teams.
There are no naive people in Moscow, who can set on stake the prestige and interests of Russia in the region because of Azerbaijans pretensions.

Russian political analyst Alexander Skakov told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

Referring to the Azerbaijani Presidents statement on the countrys possible accession to the EAEU, the analyst noted that this was another quite traditional and non-binding statement. As to the motivation, the issue certainly concerns politics, and this motivation is aimed at making Moscow support Azerbaijans pretensions in Karabakh conflict, Skakov noted.

However, this is impossible, since there are no naive people in Moscow who can set on stake the prestige and interests of Russia in the region, he added.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani President told RIA Novosti that Azerbaijans accession to EAEU cannot be ruled out in the future, but the country still feels confident in its current status.
Pareidolia.

Its a phenomenon most of us experience at some point but is fortunately not as nefarious as its name sounds. It is the human tendency to recognize familiar patterns or meanings where they dont actually exist. Its why some people see Mickey Mouse in the clouds or President Lincoln on a piece of toast.

In astronomy, it triggered a certain Flagstaff astronomer to perceive waterways on Mars, or the rest of us to see a man on the moon, the constellations, and a variety of familiar outlines in the nebulae and star clusters spread across the universe. Iconic celebrations like Halloween lend themselves to their share of examples, including ghost heads, black cats, and pumpkins.

One of the more captivating of these is the Witch Head Nebula, an eerie cloud of cosmic dust that strongly resembles a witch in profile.

The Witch Head is not visible to the unaided eye, and in fact wouldnt be visible even through a telescope if not for reflected starlight, similar to how the moon is visible from Earth because of reflected sunlight. Astronomers classify the Witch Head as a reflection nebula  a cloud of interstellar dust that reflects light from one or more nearby stars. In this case, the starlight comes from Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the seventh brightest in the entire night sky (in the accompanying image, Rigel is to the right, out of the field of view).

The distance from Earth to both Rigel and the Witch Head is about 900 light years. The distance separating the latter two is about the same as that between the Sun and Pluto. Despite this remoteness, Rigel is still able to illuminate the clouds of the Witch Head because of its extreme brightness, which is about 120,000 times that of the Sun.

Color images of the Witch Head show it to be blue. This is partly because Rigel is blue and also because the nebulas dust grains reflect blue light better than other colors, such as red. This is the same reason why Earths sky appears blue.

The Witch Head is near the border of the constellations Orion and Eridanus. Many astronomers think it is likely the remnant of a supernova, which is gas left over from the explosion of a massive star in its final stages of life. Evidence also suggests that it may contain a stellar nursery, where young stars are forming.

German astronomer Max Wolf first noted the presence of the Witch Head, writing in 1909 that he detected traces of it in 1891. He wrote, The nebula is composed of several streams of nebulosity, and has the appearance of foggy clouds driven by a fresh breeze. By 1909, the object remained enigmatic to the astronomy community, and Wolf acknowledged that he didnt know if other astronomers had seen it or not.

Edwin Hubble, of expanding universe fame, first identified Rigel as the illuminating star. Not until 1927 did the nebula pick up the nickname Witch Head Nebula, when American astronomer Frank Ross suggested it.

Today, the Witch Head would probably be unknown outside of astronomy circles if not for modern photography techniques that allow for spectacular imaging.
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Venezuela, Ilham Aliyev and Nicolas Maduro ,on Saturday discussed the directions of their further cooperation. Maduro stated that his visit to Azerbaijan will open a path for the development of bilateral ties, Trend reports.

The sides discussed possibilities of cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and energy. They also exchanged views on the cooperation between the OPEC member and non-member states in terms of the stabilization of oil prices in the global market.

Three agreements were signed as a result of the talks. Aliyev and Maduro signed a joint statement. Apart from this, Azerbaijani and Venezuelan FMs Elmar Mammadyarov and Delcy Rodriguez signed a Memorandum on the Mechanism of Political Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. The third document is an intergovernmental agreement on liberalizing the owners of diplomatic, service and official passports from visa requirements, contact.az reports.
YEREVAN.  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan on Saturday gave a lecture for the students of the political science and international affairs program of the American University of Armenia entitled The Foreign Policy of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic: Challenges and Opportunities.

In his speech, Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the priorities of the NKR foreign policy agenda and touched upon the peculiarities of the activity of the Artsakh MFA.

Speaking, in particular, about the process of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, the Foreign Minister noted that it should be aimed at establishing necessary mechanisms and conditions for the peaceful coexistence of Azerbaijan and the NKR, which had been formed as a result of the collapse of the USSR and the war imposed by Azerbaijan.

Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan also touched upon the process of international recognition of the NKR, the establishment and development of cooperation in various spheres. In this context, the NKR Foreign Minister stressed the importance of increasing the level of the involvement of the NKR in international processes as a pledge of stability in the region.

Then, Karen Mirzoyan answered the numerous questions of the participants.
Updated: 2016-10-22 07:27

By Alywin Chew (China Daily)

The beauty of this so-called luxury resort lies not in the fact that it is an astonishingly picturesque getaway location. [Alywin Chew/China Daily]

The best thing about camping in style, or glamping, at the Tibetan grasslands of Gansu province isn't just the scenery - it's the infectious passion and inspirational tales of those who reside there

Tucked away in the remote recesses of the Tibetan Plateau in Gansu province, Norden Camp exists in its own vacuum of serenity.

Apart from the occasional cooing of birds and the fluttering of their wings, the only constant sound that permeates this place is that of water sloshing in the small stream that runs through the compound.

From rolling hills to lush grasslands to the surreal canvas of resplendent stars above your head come nightfall, the scenes of what Mother Nature affords at this destination are, without question, spellbinding.

But the beauty of this so-called luxury resort lies not in the fact that it is an astonishingly picturesque getaway location.

Rather, the most poignant aspect of this sanctuary lies in something less visible and more visceral - the stories of the people within, which inherently help spawn new perspectives to life.

Opened in May 2014, Norden is the brainchild of Yidam Kyap, a former Tibetan nomad, and his wife Dechen Yeshi, a Tibetan-American, both of whom were eager to preserve the fast-fading nomadic culture and generate employment opportunities for local nomads via a travel destination that provides an authentic yet relatively luxurious travel experience.

The couple have certainly managed to achieve this, having conjured an immaculate blend where tradition meets modernity. Just like Tibetan nomads, guests can stay in yak hair tents, with the difference being that those in Norden are far more lavish - they come with coal heaters, wooden flooring, soft beds and yak wool blankets by Norlha, a textile brand helmed by Yeshi that has made its way to the shelves of luxury boutiques such as Hermes, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent.

Alternatively, travelers can stay in cozy cabins that come with their own en suite dry toilets. Shower areas, on the other hand, are located in two locations within the camp. Other amenities include a sauna, a beautifully constructed area for yoga and meditation, as well as a small boutique selling Norlha products.
Jen Gilman thought her 1996 Southern High School class ring was gone forever when she lost it in a Beatrice church parking lot 18 years ago.

But earlier this month the ring was returned to Gilman by a man who worked as a custodian at the church at the time, found the ring, searched to no avail for the owner and kept it in a box for nearly two decades.

My great-grandmother Katie bought me that class ring a year or two before she passed away, Gilman said. My parents I was living with couldnt afford to get me one, so she bought it for meIve been through hell and back. Ive had a lot of stuff broken. And those are just material things. But I never thought Id see that ring again in my life.

At age 20, Gilman and her then-boyfriend got into an argument and he threw it across the Centenary United Methodist Church parking lot, she explained.

I chalked it up to a loss, said Gilman, who is a Wymore native now living in Beatrice. To be honest, I thought it got ran over. But its still wearable. It still looks like the ring I had 18 years ago. I was wearing it when I first got it back, but now its in a jewelry box and Ill hand it down to my daughter when she gets older.

Earl Lyons found the ring. Using the school name, class year and initials J.W. on the ring, he went to the Wymore high school and took to the yearbook with the principal. But they couldnt figure out what J.W. graduated in 1996.

I had quit school for a while and then graduated in 1997, Gilman said. So I dont think they thought to put two and two together to look in the class of 97.

When Lyons moved from Beatrice to Iowa in 2006, he took the ring in the little box with him.

In a recent visit from his daughter, Lisa Milke, Lyons got out his class ring to give to her. He showed the other class ring, too.

Milke suspected her fathers recent diagnosis of leukemia prompted the gift of his ring to her, as well as a second shot at finding the mystery class rings rightful home.

I said, Maybe you could find the owner. Youre far better than I am as far as on Facebook, and youre right there in Beatrice, Lyons said.

Ill find the owner, Milke told her father.

She didnt know it would be so easy.

He was really skeptical, and so was I, honestly, Milke said. I didnt think it would happen within a few hours.

Milke and Gilman credit the recent reunion to Facebook, where a public post about the ring made its way to Gilman through classmates.

Milke wrote in the Facebook group, Beatrice Neighborhood Watch, that she recently acquired the ring, with a brief description, and asked anyone who might be missing it to message her with a more detailed description. That was at 6:30 p.m. Milke said that within an hour somebody posted that they might know the owner.

After a total of three hours from the original post, they were sure they found the owner, she said.

I had come home from work and had a text from Jodi Wagner, who was a year ahead of me in school, Gilman said. She sent me a screenshot from the website and asked me if that was my ring.

Other high school classmates also tagged Gilman in the post, recognizing her initials.

In Wymore, there were only 13 people in my class, Gilman said. So it was a small class. Ive known these girls my whole life.

Milke gave Gilman the ring the next day. Gilman said she could hardly believe it.

She was in complete shock as was just so happy, Milke recalled. She kept saying, God Bless your dad for keeping these ring for all these years.

Gilman shared the news on her Facebook page, thanked Lyons and asked her friends, family and the public to pray for Lyons in his fight with leukemia.

Who keeps stuff like that for so long? Gilman said. Its just amazing that he kept it for that long. That is a damn good man.

Lyons said the news made him feel good.

Of course, Im kind of sentimental myself, Lyons said. I was at a wedding dinner when (Milke) called. I kind of got tears.

When asked why he kept the ring all those years, he said, Im just that way. I know it belongs to somebody. Thats the way I used to be as a police officer.  I credit it mostly to my mom.

Another twist to the story is Gilman has known Earls son and Lisas brother, Dennis Lyons, for years. Dennis didnt know about the missing ring on his fathers end, nor on his longtime friends.
heard the soundbite but not read the speech. Their understanding of history, even recent history, is superficial. They grew up in the internet age and have filled their brainspace with information that came in the form of pictures and sounds. They learned through sensation, not through books, which demand something deeper from your brain. Reading forces you to imagine, question, ponder, reflect. It provides a deeper understanding of political figures and events.

All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus. Now they don't. They call us to explain to them what's happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That's a sea change. They literally know nothing.

Scattered across the country are many programs that introduce students to great Western works of literature, philosophy, art, and music and treat those works as positive cultural contributions. The programs are usually small, either because their schools are small or because they are mere fragmentary educational niches within schools, such as seminars, "concentrations" or "minors." One force holding back more such programs is the hostility of many faculty members to any favorable treatment of Western culture-any treatment that is not mostly negative. Those faculty are often the majority in humanities and liberal arts departments.

The larger narrative that we favor is of the development of free society from late Roman times to the present. The concept of free citizens and the rights and responsibilities that come with freedom and the notion of self-government is part of the larger story we would want to tell. That story can be told in a way that makes sense of art, literature, and music. Curricular choices guided by these themes can still vary, but it should be clear that they are being guided by certain themes.

Famed literary critic George Steiner once said that cultural knowledge allows one to "resist" and thatToday, Steiner's argument for cultural education is being severely tested. Just how little today's students know about their own cultures was brought home to me last summer when a group of Japanese high school girls visited my campus for two weeks.I was interviewed in my office by about 30 of the girls in groups of four or five. Over and over, they asked about my knowledge of Japanese culture, yet when I told them I collect Japanese woodblock prints by Kawase Hasui and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi they scratched their heads. Woodblocks?I gestured toward my Brazilian Rain Tree, sayingBlank looks.They enthusiastically asked,One girl had heard of Kurosawa; none had seen or heard of Ozu or the anime classic Akira.Later, I learned from one of the hostesses that on a field trip to the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, the girls spent all their time playing Pokemon Go.This disconcerting experience seemed emblematic of one of the most serious roadblocks on the path of higher education: many students simply don't know anything. Professors cannot assume any reference points (not just academic knowledge, but even common knowledge historically supplied by family and daily cultural life).For example, last week my colleague Henry asked his class of thirty Freshman Composition students when World War II occurred. Only two of his students could say. Richard, a history professor, told me one of his best students condemned the United States for starting World War II by attacking Pearl Harbor. And Todd, an analytic philosopher teaching about mathematical validity, found that his class couldn't determine the number of United States senators because they knew neither the number of senators per state nor the number of states.And as the Japanese visitors show, it's not just the United States. Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, book critic Michael Dirda observed thatEvery day, professors are faced with improvising and reverse engineering lessons when they realize that students have no idea what they are talking about. The hardest part is to quickly determine where to even begin.Students just have little interest in knowledge; their interest is in sensation. Peggy Noonan wrote recently in a Wall Street Journal article titled "The Politics of 'The Shallows'" (subscriber content) that young college graduates have:Students' focus is not on understanding or knowing (in the sense of possessing) but on finding the answer (Googling, asking Siri). Hence, they don't become more knowledgeable because the actual knowledge, even if it's correct, remains stored outside of themselves. Their inner shelves of memory remain empty. Just ask Josipa Roksa and Richard Arum, authors of Academically Adrift, who found that 36 percent of college students exhibitedafter four years of college.Utopian socialist dictatorships have always tried to erase the past and empty the minds of the masses, clearing the decks to build the long-awaited and never-arriving workers' paradise. One thinks of the Red Guards and the Cultural Revolution in Mao's China or Pol Pot's desired return to Year Zero. The result was violence and mass murder on a sociological scale.But it doesn't require violence to erase the past; today we do it to ourselves willingly and passively, whether in California or Osaka, even though the loss of historical and cultural knowledge has dire consequences.For example, Wikileaks has just revealed that Bill Ivey, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under Bill Clinton, wrote to Hillary Clinton's campaign director John Podesta, saying thatAnd in the New York Times, Ben Rhodes, President Obama's national security advisor, bragged about how easy it was to manipulate the news media into supporting the Iran nuclear deal. Rhodes was quoted as saying:An electorate that knows nothing, not just current events, but its own history, art, music, literature, has surrendered its substance. At the Philadelphia Society's annual meeting this October, Professor Gleaves Whitney of Grand Valley State University reminded the audience that historian Stephen Tonsor had warned,and felt that the most important quality a historian should possess is "imagination."Whitney added Paul Weyrich's 1999 observation thatWeyrich believed it necessaryPolitics emerges from who we remember ourselves to be as a people.So just how do we rebuild a society with cultural knowledge? I asked a few friends if they knew of any concerted effort to take back the colleges and universities from the philistines and the polemicists. Not so much, I found-there's more a "thousand points of light" approach, stars, but no constellation.Former Pope Center president Jane S. Shaw observed that:National Association of Scholars Executive Director Ashley Thorne told me thatHowever, she went on the say thatThorne also allowed that:But today there is no overarching program for the return of western culture to academe. Political correctness blocks any such possibility.The West's (and East's) cultural crisis cries out for a galvanizing figure. Perhaps, in some happier future, an American president can be elected who will reignite the idea of a cultured electorate. Until that day, it will be necessary to protect, defend, and support those small monastic redoubts where the fire of western culture still flickers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a gathering to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the Long March as an "epic, human miracle," and called for efforts to realize the "two centenary goals" and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation in "a new Long March."

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a gathering on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.

Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the event.

During his speech, Xi led a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the Long March and the revolutionary wars.

Around 3,000 people, including Red Army veterans, servicemen, senior Party and government officials, representatives of non-communist parties and those with no party affiliation and the public, were present at the gathering.

LONG MARCH

From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army soldiers left their bases and marched through raging rivers, frigid mountains and arid grassland to break the siege of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) forces and continue to fight the Japanese aggressors. Some of them marched as far as 12,500 kilometers.

With their strong will, Red Army officers and soldiers were pushed to the extremes of their physical limits, this dramatic episode in world military history is no less than a "glorious human miracle", Xi said.

"I will never forget the Long March, the route was littered with the bodies of our fallen comrades. But we soldiered on and finished the march as we all believed in, and were motivated by, the revolutionary ideal and the CPC's leadership," said Li Kaiyou, 102, a Red Army veteran.

Xi also called the Long March a "stately monument" in the history of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The Long March was a remarkable turning point for the CPC and China's revolutionary cause, it sowed the seeds of confidence that the struggle for national independence and the liberation of the people were achievable, Xi said.

Describing the Long March as a "great expedition to seek ideal and faith, test truth, and break new ground," Xi said its victory signifies the strength of the Chinese Communists' ideals, faith, orientation and path.

Following the Long March, the CPC realized that the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism must be combined with the real conditions of China's revolution, enabling the Party to solve major problems in the revolution independently, and lead the revolutionary cause to victory, Xi said.

He summarized "the Long March spirit" as seeking truth from the facts, strict self-discipline, acknowledgement of the overall interests of the people, solidarity, and involving people from all walks of life.

NEW LONG MARCH

The president called for carrying forth the spirit of the Long March to move forward on "a new long march."

The Long March is an ongoing process, Xi said.

"No matter which stage our undertaking has developed to and how great the achievements we've made, we should carry forth the Long March spirit and advance in 'a new long march,'" he added.

Each generation has its own "long march," and they should proceed in their own way, according to Xi.

"Today, our 'long march' is to realize the 'two centenary goals' and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation," Xi added.

The country has set two goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC celebrates its centenary in 2021 and turning the nation into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious in time for the People's Republic of China to mark its centennial in 2049.

While addressing the gathering, Premier Li Keqiang said that the spirit of the Long March should be interwoven into all work. "By doing so, the Party, the state and the military will be more successful in their work," Li said.

Yu Xiaochuan, a researcher who has participated in China's manned space missions, said the spirit of the Long March was undeniably present in the country's manned space program.

"The program requires dedication. Our work is underpinned by placing the nation's interests in the center stage, and we must explore unceasingly, regardless of difficulties," said Yu.

In his speech, Xi also highlighted the significance of development, reform and innovation.

Stressing the decisive role of development in socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said the country would focus on economic construction, guiding the nation through the "new normal" with bespoke measures, while tackling any difficulties and cultivating advantages.

"Reform will decide the fate of modern China," Xi said.

CONFIDENCE IN PATH

To carry forth the Long March spirit and advance in "a new long march," people must solidify their confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

"While we stress confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should by no means rest on our laurels and stop making progress," Xi said. "We must constantly discover, invent, create and march forward, so as to keep socialism with Chinese characteristics permanently invigorated."

Xi emphasized that all improvements and progress should head toward a designated direction, rather than a change in direction, or even "abandoning the very foundation where our Party, the country and the people are rooted."

During the Long March, the Red Army not only transcended the barriers of "thousands of mountains and waters," but also climbed over the barriers of the mind, Xi said, referring to overcoming the dogmatic belief that Marxism is immutable.

The most important message from the Long March is that China must combine the fundamental principles of Marxism with the real conditions of China, and march along the path of revolution, construction and reform as suitable to China's conditions.

STRONG ARMY

The president urged building a solid national defense and strong armed forces that are commensurate with the country's international status, national security and development interests.

"To build a strong country requires efforts to build a strong army, and only with a strong army can the country's security be guaranteed," Xi said.

He called for efforts to foster a new generation of Chinese servicemen who are "soldiers with soul, high caliber, gut and virtue," and to build rock-solid troops with "iron-like belief, conviction, discipline and commitment."

"The Long March is the glory of the people's army, and the honorable people's army must always carry forward the great spirit and fine tradition of the Red Army in the Long March," Xi said.

He called on the armed forces to adhere to the CPC's absolute leadership, maintain their nature and uphold their principles as the people's army, and be the heir to the Red Army.

Moreover, he urged the military to uphold political integrity, promote reform and rule of law, and strengthen combat readiness.

The entire military should remain vigilant and be aware of its responsibilities, Xi said, noting that the modernization of national defense and armed forces must advance in a bid to safeguard the country's national sovereignty, security and development interests.

CPC LEADERSHIP

In his speech, Xi also stressed strengthening the leadership of the Party and strictly governing the Party in order to make today's "long march" a success.

All Party members must uphold and safeguard the leadership of the Party and consciously endorse the stand of the Party and the people. "They should be loyal to the Party, share the Party's concerns and shoulder responsibilities with the Party," Xi said.

He called on Party members to do their utmost to fulfil the responsibilities and tasks arranged by the Party.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to strengthen and regulate political life within the Party, according to Xi.

He pledged unswerving efforts to promote clean governance, fight corruption, and strengthen the Party's ability to purify, improve and innovate itself.

In addition, Xi said the Party must adhere to the principle of doing everything for, and relying on, the people to strive for a better life.

"Only by believing in the people, relying firmly on the people and listening to the people's initiative and creativity can we unite the nation's will like a fortress," he said.

Going through thick and thin with the people was the fundamental guarantee for the CPC and the Red Army to achieve victory in the Long March, Xi said, adding it is also the guarantee for the Party to overcome difficulties and risks.

The Party should unite and lead the people and make constant efforts to improve their livelihood, Xi said, adding that the fruits of reform and development should benefit all.

Zhu Xiangqun, a village official in Hunan Province, pledged to "continue to follow the Party's instructions, rely on and lead villagers to achieve victory in the "new long march of poverty alleviation."

Related:

Xi calls Long March "human miracle," "epic"

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Long March was "a great feat in human history," "epic" and a "human miracle".

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a gathering on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March. Full story

Long March a "stately monument": Xi

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed the Long March as a "stately monument" in the history of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
GUANGZHOU, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese aviation company will partner with a French firm to develop giant airships for heavy-weight air cargo, company sources said Friday.

China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. (AVIC) will invest in French start-up Flying Whales, for its competence in design, manufacturing, sales and servicing, on the development of a new airship code-named LCA60T, the sources said, citing an agreement signed by the two sides Thursday. The amount of investment was not disclosed.

LCA60T, touted as the world's largest airship, could radically change global aerial cargo transportation. Gu Biao, deputy director of AVIC Research Institute, predicted that LCA60T would "revolutionize" the transportation sector and would be in high demand.

Earlier foreign media reports disclosed that the 140 to 150 meter-long LCA60T, which will be capable of carrying 60 tons of cargo, will probably be unveiled in 2019.

Flying Whales executive CEO Sebastien Bougon said he hoped the Chinese engineers would join the project as soon as possible as their experience would be invaluable to the remaining obstacles, especially safety issues.
LONDON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday under the Terrorism Act after a suspicious device was found on a London tube train, London Metropolitan police (Met) said Friday.

According to the police, the man was arrested by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, assisted by armed colleagues. Officers discharged a taser but no firearms during the arrest.

Police said the man was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism acts, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He has been taken to a London police station where he remains in custody.

On Thursday morning, the British Transport Police (BTP) was called to North Greenwich Underground Station after train staff reported finding a suspicious item on a train traveling eastbound on the Jubilee Line.

The station was evacuated while specialist officers from the Met and BTP dealt with the item. It is currently being forensically examined.

The London transport system was operating normally Friday. High visibility patrols by BTP officers on the underground and at stations will remain in place to reassure the public. Enditem
MOMBASA, Kenya, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Interpol on Friday issued an international arrest warrant for two Tanzanians, who are linked to an ivory syndicate operating in Kenya.

The brothers -- Samuel Jefwa and Nicholas Jefwa -- have "involvement in possession and dealing in ivory" and are believed to be hiding in South Sudan, according to the international police agency.

They have links to an ivory haul worth 5.7 million U.S. dollars seized in Singapore in April 2015.

Interpol released photographs of the duo, who had rented a house in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

It said the two are key suspects in the smuggling of ivory from Tanzania through the porous Lunga Lunga border to Kenya where the tusks were shipped from Mombasa port.

Three of their accomplices had been charged in court in Mombasa with exporting 511 pieces of ivory to Thailand.

Interpol Nairobi Central Bureau senior officer Vitalis Okumu said they are working with the Kenyan police to track down the suspects.

Interpol has already dispatched a team to Nairobi, capital of Kenya, to help fight illegal ivory trafficking with efforts to apprehend key individuals behind ivory trade.

Interpol was behind the arrest of ivory kingpin Feisal Mohammed, who was sentenced in July to 20 years for ivory trafficking.

Kenyan authorities have intensified war on ivory trade through increased operations at Mombasa port, a usual transit route for ivory. Enditem
NEW DELHI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Indian border guards belonging to Border Security Force (BSF) Friday claimed it killed seven Pakistan Rangers personnel in skirmishes in Kashmir.

Indian officials said they "effectively retaliated" to firing from Pakistan side inflicting "casualties" on Pakistani troops.

However, Pakistan while acknowledging the exchange of fire, rejected the Indian claims about killing of Pakistan Rangers.

The BSF also claims it foiled an infiltration bid and killed a militant in the sector on Thursday.

The exchange of fire took place in village Bobiyan of Hiranagar sector of Kathua district, about 345 km south of Srinagar city.

Officials said an Indian border guard was critically wounded in the exchange.
HAVANA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 7,000 privately-owned businesses in Cuban cities battered by Hurricane Matthew are getting tax breaks, the government said on Friday.

Businesses in five southern Cuban tows, including Baracoa, Maisi, Imias, San Antonio del Sur and Yateras, are exempt from paying a bevy of taxes for the months of September, October and November, according to the daily Juventud Rebelde, or Rebel Youth.

Businesses, which have to be rebuilt, will be spared from sales tax, personal income tax and taxes on services, as well as labor and social security taxes, the report said.

Hurricane Matthew plowed through southern Cuba earlier October, destroying much in its path with Category 4 winds, rain, flooding and storm surge.

The hurricane caused severe losses to the region's coffee and cocoa harvests, as well as other crops, destroyed 10,000 homes and damaged energy and communications infrastructure.

Matthew also hit Haiti, killing about 1,000 people there before moving on to pummel the southeast coast of Florida in the United States.
LIVERPOOL, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The mayor from one of Britain's biggest cities will Saturday head a two-week trade mission to China, visiting six major cities and covering 25,000 km.

Joe Anderson, mayor of Liverpool, is co-leading the mission with the leader of the neighboring borough of Wirral, Councillor Phil Davies.

The delegation includes companies from the marketing, property and technology sectors, as well as representatives from universities and Chambers of Commerce, aimed at building stronger international business links and investment opportunities.

The trip will see the 20-strong group beginning their tour with three days in Kunming, Yunnan province. Relations with Kunming were strengthened when businesses and government officials from the city sent a delegation to Liverpool during the recent International Festival for Business 2016, staging an exhibition of Yunnan culture.

The itinerary will also take in Chongqing, also in Southwest China, the port city of Tianjin, China's capital Beijing, Qingdao and Liverpool's sister city Shanghai.

Anderson, who heads the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: "Our relationships with Chinese businesses are flourishing and it makes absolute sense that we market the entire city region to achieve maximum impact and the best results."

Wirral Council Leader Councillor Phil Davies added: "The city region is a great proposition for international investors. I am delighted Wirral businesses are joining the delegation and we especially look forward to reconnecting with business and government contacts in Tianjin, where we have established good investment connections."

Ellen Cutler, director of mission organisers Invest Liverpool, said: "There are clear opportunities for Liverpool city region businesses to build new markets, win investment and acquire new clients by engaging with China."

"The Liverpool brand continues to have real cut-through in China because of its exceptional cultural assets and also because of the very strong cultural and business links we have fostered over the last decade," said Cutler.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least four prisoners have died and another 19 have been injured during a riot at a prison in the western Brazilian state of Acre, official sources said Friday.

The event took place on Thursday night when rival gangs began a fight inside the Francisco D'Oliveira Conde penitentiary in the state capital of Rio Branco, according to the military police.

Police commander Colonel Ulysses Araujo told the press that three prisoners died inside the prison, a fourth died in hospital and the injured were being treated. The riot apparently continued until a battalion of riot police entered to restore order.

It was "an internal war between them, which unfortunately affected the population. Two handguns and a 12 mm caliber rifle were found in possession of the prisoners," said Araujo.

"Other prisoners who were attacked allege the weapons were brought in by prison officers, but this is still being investigated," he said.

The regional government of Acre also confirmed that two prison staff had been arrested on suspicion of providing weapons to prisoners.

Over the last week, Acre has seen a wave of attacks attributed to a gang war. At another state prison on Tuesday, at least 25 members of one gang ambushed others, leaving four injured.

This was also the third prison riot in Brazil within a week, with 22 dead in total.

On Sunday, a gang fight left 10 dead in a prison of the northern state of Roraima, while a fight at a prison in Rondonia left eight dead on Monday. These two events are thought to be linked.
This Week at BCCC

Putting in the Extra Effort Online

SkillsUSA

Customized Training Program

Halloween Decorating Contest

Lamont Cannon

Registration Day and Applications

Halloween Costume Contest

Win a Jersey

Blood Drive

Join the High Five Campaign

Wesley Adams

Rick Anderson

Dr. Crystal Ange

Anonymous (2)

Morgan Bland

Debra Clemmons

Julie Crippen

Theresa Edwards

Edie Findley

James Gaynor, Board of Trustees

Stacey Gerard

Tommy Hodges

Sandra Hunter

Dorothy Jordan

Christine LeCompte

Bobbie Lewis

Michele Mayo

Howell Miller

Mark Nelson

Marcia Norwood

Karen Pruden

Cecelia Scott

Penny Sermons

Kathleen Simpson, Board of Trustees

Jennie Singleton

Dr. Laura Staton, Board of Trustees

Lentz Stowe

Dr. Jay Sullivan

Serena Sullivan

Dr. Barbara Tansey

Bill Wall, Board of Trustees

Emily Woolard

Lisa Woolard

Personnel Notes

Tansey Topics

Upcoming Events

October 25- Registration Day: no school for students

October 25-December 13- Students register during this time with their advisors

October 28, 12:00 p.m.- Culinary Lab Open House/Ribbon Cutting, Building 8

November 3- College Night

November 10- Deadline for foundation scholarship applications

November 15- BCCC Foundation Board meeting

December 13- Last day of class (fall 2016)

December 14-15- Exams

February 7, 5:00 p.m.- Board of Trustees meeting, Board Room, Building 10

March 3-5- Public Safety Weekend

April 4, 5:00 p.m. - Board of Trustees meeting, Board Room, Building 10

April 20, 6:00 p.m.- Fall BLET Academy Graduation, Multi-Purpose Room, Building 10

May 18, 6:00 p.m.- Spring BLET Graduation, Multi-Purpose Room, Building 10

June 6, 5:00 p.m. - Board of Trustees meeting, Board Room, Building 10

Thank you to all the faculty who came up with online assignments and helped us get through the closure due to Hurricane Matthew. We appreciate the effort you put in to adapt your semester plan.The numerous equipment upgrades at Beaufort County Community College have paid off. The college was among 18 North Carolina universities and colleges that achieved over 30 percent energy reductions over the past eight years. Only nine of the 54 community colleges received the Utility Savings Initiative Award.The new BCCC SkillsUSA - NC chapter held its second meeting October 5. SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit student organization that serves students enrolled in career and technical education training programs. SkillsUSA's mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA complements technical skills training with employment skills that make a well-rounded worker and citizen. Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA has developed nearly 9.5 million workers through active partnerships between employers and educators. The local chapter advisors are Lisa Hill and Ben Morris.Our customized training program will be featured in the NC Business Magazine. NC Community College System is providing an article featuring our partnership between the customized training program and PAS, Inc. Sara Watson and Lauren Dudley are both being interviewed for the article.Awards will be given for Best Halloween Door Decoration, Best Halloween Office and Best Halloween Hallway. Judging will occur between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on October 25.One of our religion instructors, Lamont Cannon, has had his fourth major Bible reference project come out this semester. On September 27, Thomas Nelson released the NKJV Word Study Bible. It features over 1700 word studies. During the summer of 2015, Lamont wrote 109 word studies based on some of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words that were used in the original composition of the Bible. Thomas Nelson is reusing 51 Hebrew word studies that he wrote for them in 1996 in his first publication, the Nelson Study Bible. In 1999, Lamont wrote 34 Hebrew word studies for The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament, and in 2006, he wrote book introductions to Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra, and Song of Solomon for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students. In the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, BCCC is mentioned four times along with his name. We are fortunate to have Mr. Cannon serve as our faculty."I'm going to put a sign on my back: 'Don't make me do rhetorical analysis,'" said Bernadine Hedrick. Hedrick wrote Melissa Hisle, her instructor for ENG 114, after she satisfactorily passed the online class, confessing to her that she still did not know what a rhetorical analysis was. She laughs it off, having made it through most of her career without knowing what it is.The BCCC Foundation is now taking applications for spring 2017. They are due November 10. Registration for spring 2017 will begin on October 25, Registration Day. They can do it through Self Service with the approval of their faculty advisor.Come dressed in your scariest, funniest, most original and/or most unique Halloween costume. Registration is from 12:00-12:20 p.m. and judging is at 12:30 p.m. in Building 9. Lunch will be served from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Free for students. $3 for faculty/staff.Our vending company has placed stickers on the drinks in the machine. If you receive a sticker, bring it to the finance office. There will be a final drawing on Nov. 1 for an autographed Luke Kuechly Carolina Panthers jersey.Thank you to everyone who participated in the blood drive on Thursday, Oct. 20. Despite the college being closed, the Red Cross had about 100 people come to donate blood.The following people are participants in the High Five Campaign, donating at least $5 a month to the BCCC Foundation's emergency grants for students. Emergency grants are used to keep students enrolled through assistance with tuition, books, fees and catastrophic events. I want to thank the following people for contributing to the campaign and hope to see this list grow.BCCC is currently seeking applications for the positions listed below. Please share these postings with anyone you know that may qualify and be interested. Visit the BCCC Employment Opportunities page ( https://jobs.beaufortccc.edu/ ) for additional position announcements and information about how to apply.Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. Individuals interested in applying may do so through this link: https://jobs.beaufortccc.edu/postings/698 Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. Individuals interested in applying may do so through this link: http://jobs.beaufortccc.edu/postings/697 Applications will be accepted until October 31, 2016. Individuals interested in applying may do so through this link: http://jobs.beaufortccc.edu/postings/696 Send any important dates to you would like publicized in Tansey Topics/BCCC Briefs/social media to Attila.Nemecz@BeaufortCCC.edu . This includes but is not limited to student and campus events, fundraisers, student organization meetings and board meetings.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday confirmed that it has received a letter from the government of South African on its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), making South Africa the second African country to quit the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the international tribunal.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here that the instrument of withdrawal document has been assessed by the United Nations as bona fide and is being processed.

"The letter is being processed by the (UN) Office of Legal Affairs," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

South Africa has begun the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha confirmed on Friday.

A written notice has been submitted to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the withdrawal will take effect one year after the secretary general receives notification, Masutha told a press briefing in Pretoria.

If successful, South Africa will be the second African country, following Burundi, to quit the ICC, which is often perceived as being biased against African states.

"The secretary-general deeply regrets the decision of the government of South Africa," Dujarric said. "The secretary-general recalls the significant role played by South Africa in the negotiations to create the ICC and the fact that it was one of the first signatories to the Rome Statute."

South Africa is hindered by the Rome Statute under which the ICC was established, Masutha said, adding that the Rome Statute compels his country to arrest people who may enjoy diplomatic immunity but who are wanted by the ICC.

He was referring to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who is wanted by the ICC for alleged anti-humanity crimes. South Africa rejected a request by the ICC to arrest al-Bashir when he was attending the 25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg in June 2015.

On Tuesday, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza signed legislation to make his country the first to withdraw from the ICC, which wants to investigate recent political violence in the country.

The South African government argued that in addition to complying with its obligations to the ICC, the country has obligations to the African Union, which rules that no organization can arrest any sitting head of state in African countries.

The ICC was established to prosecute cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran said it would call its technicians and engineers back home from the Iraqi northern city of Kirkuk following the deadly attack by Islamic State (IS) militants, reports said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced that four Iranian technicians were killed in the attack by the IS militants on a power plant in Kirkuk, official IRNA news agency reported.

Later, Iran's Consul General in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, Sa'adollah Massoudian, said that only three Iranian technicians were killed in the attack, according to Press TV.

Massoudian also put the number of injured Iranian technicians at four, saying that two of them, who had been critically wounded, had undergone surgery in a hospital in Sulaymaniyah and are now in good general health.

Iran's consul said that 80 Iranian workers and technicians had been operating at Kirkuk power station and Iran's consulate general in the city of Sulaymaniyah is taking necessary measures to return them to Iran as soon as possible.

At least 24 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in multiple attacks by IS militants on police compound and other government buildings in Kirkuk on Friday morning.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi expressed deep repugnance and regret over the brutal incident, and offered condolences to the families of the victims, including those of the Iranians.

These blind attacks on defenseless civilians are the signs of the last breaths of terrorists in Iraq and they will be revenged in the battlefields, said the spokesman.

Qasemi said that the consul of the Islamic republic in Sulaymaniyah city of Iraq is probing into the incident and updates will be released about Iranian casualties.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon on Friday confirmed a U.S. Navy officer has been killed in an improvised explosive device blast in northern Iraq, where Iraqi forces, with U.S. backing, were in fierce fighting aimed to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

Chief Petty Officer Jason C. Finan, 34, was serving in an advisory capacity to the Iraqi coalition force supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the Pentagon said in a statement. It's unclear whether he had joined the Mosul offensive.

It was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since June 2014, when U.S. troops were first redeployed to the country in the war against the extremist group.

More than 100 U.S. troops are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces pressing toward Mosul. Hundreds more are supporting the offensive with airstrikes and artillery fire, intelligence, logistics and other support, said a TheHill news daily report.
Chinese calligrapher practices calligraphy in the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, Oct. 19, 2016. (Xinhua/Diao Ze)

BRUSSELS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese calligraphy exhibition was held here on Wednesday, kicking start a series of events that will be part of the second China Arts Festival in the European Union(EU).

Themed "The Charm of Chinese Characters-Meditation of Ancient Philosophers and Performance of Contemporary Calligraphers", the exhibition has a collection of 30 works from contemporary calligraphers as well as 30 seal-cutting works and 30 rubbings from Chinese artists.

The collection, which is based on works from the most influential ancient Chinese philosophers, aims to help audience explore the core concept of China's universal values, according to a representative from the China Calligraphers Association, one of the event sponsors.

"The key to sound relations between states lies in peoples' affinity, which can be boosted by mutual understanding," said Minister Zhang Lirong of the Chinese Mission to the EU at the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition.

The official believes such an event "helps to establish a strong platform for China-EU cultural exchanges, deepen mutual understanding between the two cultures, promote people-to-people dialogue between China and EU, build up friendship and enhance interactions between Chinese and European civilizations."

Ellis Mathews, Head of China Division from European External Action Service(EEAS), highlighted the increasing collaborative opportunities lay in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage between EU and China. Mathews said cultural heritage was also an important part of the EU culture diplomacy.

The Chinese calligraphy is a unique art form of writing developed more than 5,000 years ago, and has long been recognized as a representative symbol for Chinese culture.

In September 2009, Chinese calligraphy and the art of the seal ingredients were all enlisted as the intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The calligraphy exhibition will open to the public at the EEAS headquarters until November 7.
South African Justice Minister Michael Masutha gives a press briefing in Pretoria on October 21, 2016 regarding South Africa's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). (AFP PHOTO/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday confirmed that it has received a letter from the government of South African on its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), making South Africa the second African country to quit the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the international tribunal.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here that the instrument of withdrawal document has been assessed by the United Nations as bona fide and is being processed.

"The letter is being processed by the (UN) Office of Legal Affairs," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

South Africa has begun the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha confirmed on Friday.

A written notice has been submitted to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the withdrawal will take effect one year after the secretary general receives notification, Masutha told a press briefing in Pretoria.

If successful, South Africa will be the second African country, following Burundi, to quit the ICC, which is often perceived as being biased against African states.

"The secretary-general deeply regrets the decision of the government of South Africa," Dujarric said. "The secretary-general recalls the significant role played by South Africa in the negotiations to create the ICC and the fact that it was one of the first signatories to the Rome Statute."

South Africa is hindered by the Rome Statute under which the ICC was established, Masutha said, adding that the Rome Statute compels his country to arrest people who may enjoy diplomatic immunity but who are wanted by the ICC.

He was referring to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who is wanted by the ICC for alleged anti-humanity crimes. South Africa rejected a request by the ICC to arrest al-Bashir when he was attending the 25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg in June 2015.

On Tuesday, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza signed legislation to make his country the first to withdraw from the ICC, which wants to investigate recent political violence in the country.

The South African government argued that in addition to complying with its obligations to the ICC, the country has obligations to the African Union, which rules that no organization can arrest any sitting head of state in African countries.

The ICC was established to prosecute cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
YAOUNDE, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A passenger train from Cameroon's capital Yaounde to economic capital Douala derailed on Friday at around 12:00 local time (5 a.m. GMT), leaving 53 killed and about 300 injured, state radio CRTV reported.

The train derailed in Eseka station in Central Region, around 120 kilometers from Yaounde.

A witness who lives close to the station told Xinhua the train derailed when it approached the station, and said the number of casualties is high.

The train accident took place hours after one part of the Yaounde-Douala road caved in following heavy rain in the night. Many passengers to Yaounde or Douala who would use the road have to choose train, leading the derailed train which left Yaounde Friday morning to Douala took more passengers than usual.

According to reports, the victims' bodies were deposited at the morgue of Eseka hospital, while the injured were admitted to health center of the city and neighboring localities of Puma, Lolodorf and Douala. It was said some injured people are in critical situation, so the death toll may go up.

While talking to state radio after the accident, Cameroonian Minister for Transport Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o said that "What seems indisputable is that the derailment resulted to large, human and material loss."

The minister led a delegation to the site after the disaster by helicopter. Cameroonian Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said on state television CRTV the government is taking mesures to take the injured passengers to better-conditioned hospitals.

The train derailment accident is not rare in Cameroon. In August 29, 2009, a train from northern city Ngaoundere to Yaounde derailed in the suburb of Yaounde, leaving 5 killed and 275 injured.
BEIRUT, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) marked on Friday the 10th anniversary of deployment of the UN mission's Maritime Task Force (MTF) in Lebanon, according to a statement by the UNIFIL.

At a ceremony at the Beirut Port, the commander of the UNIFIL Major General Michael Beary praised the work done by the UN peacekeeping's first and only naval force in assisting the Lebanese authorities under the mandate of UN Security Council resolution 1701.

The MTF was deployed in October 2006 at the request of the Lebanese government.

It supports the Lebanese navy preventing unauthorized entry of arms or related material by sea into Lebanon and enhancing its capabilities by carrying out a range of training courses and joint exercises.

The MTF currently has more than 850 uniformed naval personnel and seven ships, two from Bangladesh and one each from Brazil, Germany, Greece, Indonesia and Turkey.
GENEVA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Friday that fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, are using civilians as human shields.

According to the information released Friday by the UN Human Rights Office, ISIL forced some 200 families out of Samalia village to walk to Mosul on October 17 and on the same day, 350 families fled Najafia village in Nimroud sub-district, towards Mosul, highlighting ISIL's apparent policy of preventing civilians from escaping to areas controlled by the Iraqi security forces.

The office said it is also examining reports that at least 40 civilians were shot dead by ISIL in one of the villages outside Mosul.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a written statement that his office had verified information regarding several incidents since October 17 where ISIL has forced people to leave their homes in outlying villages to head to Mosul.

He added that they also had reports that ISIL fighters have shot dead civilians who have tried to rise up against them or who they suspect are disloyal.

Calling for the protection of civilians to be at the forefront of military planning as the Iraqi government and associated forces attempt to re-take Mosul, the UN official highlighted that he was gravely worried by reports that ISIL is using civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance.

He voiced particular concern regarding the women, children and men held captive by ISIL, especially those from ethnic or religious communities who are at extreme risk.

"There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated," he said.
HELSINKI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Transport Agency said on Friday that it is creating new digital interfaces that would enhance both the reliability and the profitability of seafaring.

Tests are to begin in early 2017 for the "intelligent" digital shipping lane services. In the new system, both real time and forecast information about the shipping environment will be provided, for example, with accurate information about the sea floor and water level.

This will enable ships to accept freight up to the extend feasible for the actual conditions without risk. The system would also explain how a specific ship would behave in the currently prevailing weather and sea environment.

The new services have been considered attractive to shipping as the cargo load could be maximized on the basis of knowing the actual depth of water at the time.

During the two years, applications will be tested for gathering the information and distributing it to the vessels. This will be done both in the systems of participating ships and in the operational maritime centers of the Finnish Transport Agency.

Following a two-year test period, the digital interface would be available for use, senior inspector Jorma Timonen at the Finnish Transport Agency told Xinhua on Friday.

Timonen said, however, actual service providers could be private operators and the authorities would not necessarily offer "the intelligent shipping lane services." Final decisions have not been made, he said.

The Finnish Transport Agency operates a network of Vessel Traffic Service centers that monitor ships and intervene if an apparent collision looks possible. Unlike air traffic controllers, the centers do not assign certain routes to ships, and the captains are the ones to decide.

The new interface will not affect the existing public navigation services. Timonen said that the role of the Vessel Traffic Service centers is likely to remain unchanged despite the introduction of the new intelligent services.

The concept of "intelligent waterways" concept has been seen as part of the visions of the present government to privatize public waterways and roads.

Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner has described the testing of intelligent fairways as a "major leap towards autonomous vessel traffic."

Berner said that Finland wants to stay at the forefront of digital vessel services through public spending on communication links, information security and open data access. The idea is to to create interactive ecosystems for robotics and automation in Finland.

Earlier this year, Berner published a vision to promote private sector involvement and even ownership of waterways and roads.
Marie Lestin (L), 34, poses for a photo next to her children in front of their new house after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, October 20, 2016. (REUTERS/File Photo)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- More than half a million Haitian children were in need of humanitarian assistance after the small island country was devastated by Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 4, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Friday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 590,000 children were reported to be in need of various types of assistance in four departments in Grand'Anse, South, Nippes, and the northwest, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

OCHA said earlier Friday that a convoy of over a dozen trucks with shelter and non-food items was being sent to Les Cayes and Jeremie, the hardest-hit by the hurricane, while distributions were ongoing in multiple locations around four affected departments, he said.

"Many people including children have lost their birth certificates, preventing access to basic services including education," the spokesman said. "Addressing this is a priority for protection partners."

The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) continues to support the response to the hurricane, he said. "They are facilitating access and security by clearing roads, providing escorts and security for convoys and aid distribution."

On Thursday, a mobile UN military hospital was deployed to Beaumont, south of Jeremie, to provide medical assistance in the area, he noted.

Hurricane Matthew killed more than 1,000 people in Haiti when it struck more than two weeks ago, leaving more than 175,000 without homes, and over a million more struggling to survive in what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called "absolute devastation."

The UN estimates at least 1.4 million Haitians are now in need of urgent assistance as clean water, food, and medicine are in short supply, and an ongoing cholera epidemic threatens to worsen and spread after dozens of cholera treatment centers were destroyed.
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."
ROME, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said here Friday that greater coordination is essential for the global community to effectively respond to the threat of so-called "returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs)" usually from Syria.

With increased concerns of the potential displacement of FTFs due to increased military pressure on ISIL, the Interpol chief said that five years after the start of the Syrian conflict, dangerous gaps still remain in global screening efforts.

Attending the meeting in Rome of interior ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, Stock said up to 15,000 fighters are still within the conflict zones, a more complex picture was emerging.

"The concern is what these foreign terrorist fighters will do with the skills acquired in battle and the networks which facilitated their recruitment when they leave the conflict zones," he said.

"We are moving away from the original ISIL foreign terrorist fighter landscape, with flows now potentially heading towards multiple conflict zones as well as individuals returning to their countries of origin," Stock said.

"We are facing a much less predictable model in terms of terrorist travel, and we need to apply the lessons learned from attacks by individuals such as Mehdi Nemmouche in implementing a global response," he added.

After fighting in Syria for a year, Nemmouche travelled via southeast Asia before returning to Europe to carry out his deadly attack at a Jewish museum in Brussels, killing four people, according to a Interpol statement.

"For Interpol, here lies perhaps the greatest gap in international efforts against this threat," said Stock. "By sharing information globally via Interpol, countries extend their national security perimeter, potentially enabling the identification of a threat far away from their own border, or even closer to home," he added.
MINSK, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) has chosen Belarus as the host country for the second European Games, to be held in 2019, local media reported on Friday.

This decision was adopted following a vote in Minsk on Friday.

Belarus received a majority of vote. Now, Belarus needs to set up an organizing committee and compile a plan for the sport forum in close cooperation with the corresponding EOC commissions.

Belarusian President today assured the Acting President of the EOC Janez Kochianchich that his country is ready to hold the European Games.

"Belarus will do everything to ensure that competition was good, mental, and that you will never regret about the decision to hold Games in Belarus", the president stressed.

The first European Games were held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku.
MOSCOW, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one people died and three others were rescued after an MI-8 helicopter crash-landed in Russian Siberia's Yamal Peninsula due to poor weather conditions.

The two black boxes of the ill-fated helicopter have been found by rescue teams in Russia's northwestern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region in Siberia.

The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

"Both black boxes have been found - a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. After investigative procedures, they will be sent for decryption," Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted a source from Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsia) as saying.

The source also said there were 22 passengers and three crew members aboard when the helicopter made the crash landing. One of the three injured survivors called the emergency department with a mobile phone.

Local emergency department has dispatched the first search and rescue team of 140 people to the site of the accident.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A solid majority, or 60 percent, of Americans now support the legal use of marijuana as more states are to vote on the issue in the November elections, a new Gallup poll released Wednesday has found.

This is the highest record in Gallup's 47-year surveys since it first conducted the poll in 1969, when only 12 percent of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana use.

Marijuana use is currently legal in four states -- Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia. Five more states -- California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada -- will vote in November on whether to legalize marijuana use.

Americans' support for legal marijuana use has been rising since late 1970s when the support was 28 percent. After a retreat in the 1980s, the support stayed in the 25-percent range through 1995, before increasing to 31 percent in 2000, Gallup said.

Support for legalizing marijuana use in the United States reached a majority for the first time in 2013 after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use, according to Gallup.

Support for legalizing marijuana use has increased among most subgroups in the past decade, climbing 33 percentage points to 77 percent among adults aged 18 to 34, and increasing 16 points to 45 percent among adults aged 55 and older, Gallup said.

If recreational marijuana use becomes legal in California this year, many other states will likely follow because the "Golden State" often sets political trends for the rest of the country, Gallup said.
HAVANA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell on Friday said that Washington aims to build up its collaboration with Cuba in the health sector by finding "common ground and topics" to work on.

At a press conference in Havana, Burwell said progress could be made in bilateral healthcare cooperation as this sector uniquely aligns the interests of both nations.

"The objective is to build the relationship and the muscle for progress on issues where we share common ground and we are focused on topics where there is clear bilateral alignment," she said.

Burwell referred to a new executive order signed last week by U.S. President Barack Obama that will allow Cuban pharmaceutical products to be commercialized in the United States, once they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

"The guidance we put out regarding Cuban pharmaceutical products will allow us to move forward for their future use in the U.S. and we are optimistic in the steps that we have taken because they will facilitate other joint research that can bring benefits to both sides," she added.

The U.S. government official said the most important change is the possibility to expand bilateral health cooperation whether on cancer or any other issues.

"I think this is a very big difference that opens the door for more progress," she said.

Burwell said she discussed the U.S. embargo on the island with Cuban health officials, but that the Obama administration is focused on working within the current rules to move forward and expand collaboration.

On Thursday, Havana and Washington signed an agreement to work together on cancer research, monitoring, detection and control.
BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to China shows the two countries have resumed friendly relations for win-win, which are also conducive to regional peace and stability, global observers and analysts told Xinhua.

The visit is significant in that it is not only Duterte's first visit outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but also came ahead of his visit to the the Philippines' traditional allies, the United States and Japan, said Earl Parreno, a political analyst at the Institute of Political and Electoral Reforms in the Philippines.

"This visit could mean more investments coming into the country, more opportunities for businessmen and more employment for Filipinos. It could also mean markets for Philippine products like bananas and pineapples," said Parreno.

Ngeow Chow Bing, deputy director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya, also spoke highly of Duterte's visit to China, saying that the China-Philippine relationship going back on track is conducive to regional peace and stability.

The relationship between China and the Southeast Asian countries is comprehensive and complex, which involves not just military or security issues, but also trade, cultural and tourism opportunities, the Malaysian expert said.

Soukthavy Keola, a former counselor at the Lao Embassy in China, said the result of Duterte's visit is of strategic importance to the region.

The development of cooperation between the two countries will have a positive influence on cooperation between China and ASEAN countries, said Keola.

Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, said Duterte's visit is an obvious adjustment of Philippine foreign policy, especially about its relations with major world countries.

Different from his predecessor Benigno Aquino III, who largely depended on the United States in his foreign policy, Duterte has adopted a policy of diversifying friendly relations with major world countries and his visit to China reflects this policy, said Li.

"It is expected that in the next few years, China-Philippine relations will return to the normal track, and cooperation in many areas will be strengthened," he said.

Pierre Picquart, an expert in Geopolitics and China at the University of Paris VIII, told Xinhua that Duterte has chosen the path of reason "rather than promoting geopolitical, economic and territorial tensions about the South China Sea, and unlike his predecessor Benigno Aquino."

"This is a peaceful way, with bilateral negotiations and path of economic growth in partnership with Beijing for win-win partnerships in the region," Picquart said, hailing that the "former American colony now seems to break his ancestral chains."

Bambang Purwanto, director of international department at Indonesia's Antara News Agency, said Duterte has made a good start on relations with China and the two countries should strike for positive results from the current visit to create a good atmosphere.

"I am sure that the visit will ease the tension in the South China Sea, and start the process to make the two peoples know each other, to know that cooperation is the right way to develop bilateral ties," said Purwanto.

Duterte arrived in Beijing Tuesday night for a four-day state visit to China, the first country he has visited outside ASEAN since taking office in June.

The visit came against a backdrop of deteriorating China-Philippines ties due to the South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally initiated against China by his predecessor Benigno Aquino III.
by Yang Dingdu, Zhang Wei

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- As China celebrates the 80th anniversary of the end of the Red Army's Long March, a number of visiting foreign soldiers learned about the history and found determination, sacrifice and faith are the merits of the Chinese Army.

Colonel Olufemi Samson of Nigerian Air Force, who is visiting China on a military exchange program, is deeply touched by late American journalist Edgar Snow's writings about the Long March.

Snow, who trekked with the Red Army through some of the harshest parts of China, wrote in the book "Red Star Over China" that Hannibal's march over the Alps looked like a holiday excursion compared with the Long March.

From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army soldiers left their bases and marched through raging rivers, frigid mountains and arid grasslands to break the siege of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) forces and continue to fight the Japanese aggressors. Some of them marched as far as 12,500 km.

"I think China is what it is today because of the Long March. It is an impressive and encouraging story of patriotism and determination," Samson said.

DETERMINATION

Of all the battles and difficulties the Red Army went through in the journey, Samson is most impressed by the crossing of Dadu River in southwest China.

The bridge's wooden planks had been removed, therefore soldiers of the Red Army had to crawl over the chains swinging precariously on the torrential river amid enemy fire.

The mission seemed impossible to Samson. Many soldiers were shot and fell into the river, but more pushed on until the bridge and river bank were taken by the Red Army.

"There is a similarity between my experience and the Long March: determination," Samson said. "In that same spirit, the Nigerian military and government are fighting terrorism, fighting Boko Haram (extremist group)."

"I know with this determination, the government will surely defeat terrorism in the country. It is just a matter of time," he added.

SACRIFICE

Colonel Arvind Kumar Pandey from India is so touched by the story of a fishing hook that he can recount it in detail.

A squad leader volunteered to stay behind to take care of three injured soldiers who could not catch up with the main forces on the march. Stranded in wilderness, they had no food and the squad leader made a fishing hook out of a needle to catch fish from little ponds.

The squad leader who gave all the fish to the injured and ate only grassroots, fell ill and died on his way to look for food. The soldiers kept the hook in his memory and lived to tell his story.

"The Long March spirit is all about sacrifice, the ability to sacrifice, the ability to show the highest degree of determination," Pandey said.

Sacrifice is the essence of the Long March spirit. "That spirit can be seen whenever I see the Chinese soldiers in the campus here (PLA National Defense University). I can see the spirit is still alive," he added.

FAITH

Foreign soldiers agreed that the Red Army's determination and readiness to sacrifice themselves were rooted in their faith.

Navy Lieutenant Colonel Jorn-Arne Werner Friedrich Niemann from Germany said that in the Long March, people worked together, supported each other and followed their leaders. It was a system of people working together for one goal, believing in what they do.

"Only if you believe, then you can support and work with others together," he added.

Brazilian Air Force Colonel Giancarlo Franca Apuzzo said that it is faith or conviction that pushed the soldiers through hardship, sometimes even deadly obstacles, to accomplish their mission.

"Sometimes in your life, to have a better thing, you have to sacrifice yourself to reach it. So the spirit of Long March is present in our daily lives," he said.

On Oct. 22, 1936, the main forces of the Red Army regrouped in Huining, China's northwest Gansu Province, marking the end of the two-year retreat from China's southeast Jiangxi Province. Some of them marched as far as 12,500 km, breaking through the siege of the Kuomintang forces.
by Qian Yongwen and Edna Alcantara

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America is unlikely to have major changes no matter who wins the presidential election on Nov. 8, according to Mexican political experts.

Eduardo Rosales, an expert on international relations from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told Xinhua that he believes Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will beat her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

According to Rosales, it is difficult to see a path to victory for Trump, though he has said he would take into account American interests first and foremost when engaging in foreign policy.

Rosales said that there will be nothing new if Clinton wins, "as it will be the continuity of a policy."

"Due to internal economic problems in the U.S., the relationship with Latin America has not been pushed as it should have. We will have to see if there is a new agenda," Rosales added.

"What is said during the campaign is one thing and what the new policy will be is another," Rosales pointed out.

Silvia Nunez, director of UNAM's North America Research Center (CISAN), also told Xinhua that the next U.S. administration "would continue its vision of maintaining a bilateral relation with each Latin American country, not as a whole."

"There are major divisions within Latin American countries and this scenario contributes to the U.S. (policy) instability in Latin America," said the researcher.

Nunez also believes that Clinton will reach the White House, where she will continue the current policy of closeness with Pacific Alliance countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), "because it suits them."

However, she added that time would tell how the United States would treat other countries which have been wary of signing such initiatives as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

For Elizabeth Gutierrez, also from CISAN, the U.S. policy toward the fight against drug trafficking with Mexico and Central America will remain largely the same.

All three experts interviewed by Xinhua agreed that other topics, such as migration, would be more difficult to resolve.

For Nunez, a priority for the new president will be defining a migration strategy with Mexico to deal with thousands of Central American migrants who cross the country to reach the U.S. border.

She warned that "violence centered in the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) is a concern, not only for Mexico, but for the U.S. and all the Americas."

The experts met with the press on Thursday to discuss the third and final debate between Clinton and Trump, which took place on Wednesday.

Exit polls showed that the Democratic candidate took the advantage, with CNN saying 52 percent of its respondents thought Clinton had won, as opposed to 39 percent for Trump.

Mexico is upset about the scenario of Trump becoming president since he has maintained anti-immigrant rhetoric and plans to build a wall along the Mexican border for which he asked Mexico to pay. He has also said he would slap duty tariffs on any automotive imports from Mexico.

Besides pledging to deport around 11 million undocumented immigrants from the United States, Trump has also offended many Mexicans by calling them "criminals and rapists."

Whoever becomes the next U.S. president, Mexico will have to maintain a deeply strategic relationship with the United States, its main importer and exporter, the experts concluded.

In its United States Trade Developments 2014-2015 report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said that the United States accounted for a third of foreign direct investment in Latin America over the last decade.
by Abdul Haleem, Jawed Omid

KABUL, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- "The quality and quantity of my crops this year has been better than in the past, but unfortunately a lack of buyers here and across the borders means that some of my fruit and vegetables are left to spoil," Hajji Amanullah, a farmer from the northern Takhar province, complained.

At a stall showcasing a variety of apples and grapes at a government-sponsored three-day Agricultural Exhibition here to find new buyers and markets for his products, the farmer lamented that he had harvested more fruit but had earned less money than last year due to lack of buyers.

Afghan farmers at the agricultural fair, including women, have been displaying their products including handicrafts at more than 230 stalls to attract customers.

When asked why he has been unable to shift the requisite amount of produce to meet his quota, Amanullah explained to Xinhua that a poor communication system, pitiable connectivity between villages and cities and, above all, increasing tariffs and custom duty imposed by the Pakistani government on Afghan truckers, have negatively impacted the volume of fruit and vegetable exports to Pakistan.

"The main market for our fruits in the past was Pakistan but this year the Pakistani government has restricted measures for Afghan truckers to cross the border in the wake of brief exchanges of fire in June at Torkham, the border crossing point linking two countries," Amanullah said dejectedly.

Amanullah is just one of Afghanistan's population of 30 million people, 80 percent of whom rely on the agriculture and livestock industries to make a living.

To boost the sector in the foreign-aid dependent country, the government has, however, been encouraging Afghan and foreign companies to invest in both agricultural and livestock industries.

"The Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock constructed new fruit plantations on 24,800 acres of land in spring and will continue to build more plantations on a further 8,000 acres of land in autumn," Afghan Minister for Agriculture Assadullah Zamir said in his opening remarks at the Agriculture Exhibition.

Along with highlighting the importance of modernizing the agriculture system in the country, officials including Zamir, also noted that the government is encouraging national and international companies to invest in the agriculture sector here, including fish farms.

War-ravaged Afghanistan, according to Lutfullah Rashid, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, has made tremendous achievements and is close to achieving self-sufficiency, saying, "the country usually needed 5.575 million tons of wheat in the past years but fortunately this year we only need to import 1.3 million tons of wheat as the rest has been produced domestically."

According to the official, Afghanistan will become self-reliant in the next couple of years in producing fruit, wheat, rice and cereals.

Rashid told Xinhua that Afghanistan had exported fruit worth 230 million U.S. dollars last year and is hopeful of earning more capital this year through such exports.

"The majority of fruit grown here becomes spoiled each year due to a lack of buyers and a lack of cold storage facilities in the country," Mohammad Nabi, another farmer, reiterated.

According to the farmers, Afghan saffron, honey, fresh and dried fruits and vegetable have customers in India, Pakistan, central Asian states, Iran and the Gulf countries, if the government is able to open up markets there.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said that the government, by managing its water resources, modernizing the agricultural practices and overcoming gender stereotypes and encouraging the participation of both men and women in the field, would enable the country to become self-reliant and see the export of agricultural products boosted significantly.
NEW DELHI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Indian authorities on Saturday claimed to have arrested a Pakistani spy from Indian-controled Kashmir Friday.

"The Pakistani spy, identified as Bodhraj, was arrested from the northern state's Samba sector. Two Pakistani mobile SIM cards and a map showing the deployment of Indian security forces have been recovered from his possession," a senior police official said.

Indian security forces are currently interrogating him to determine if he is part of a larger espionage ring, the official said.

The arrest came hours after Indian border guards claimed to have gunned down seven Pakistani Rangers along the international border in the northern state in retaliatory firing, in which one Indian security forces personnel also sustained injuries.

The pakistani side has not made any comment on it.
What should be the priority of the Federal Government after the "Pulse" massacre: Should we turn our attention toward destroying, earadicating ISIS as Candidate Trump suggests, or, as Democrats' President Obama suggests, broaden our efforts to effect stricter Gun Control laws to limit "Gun Violence?" 88.24% After many years of trying to degrade and contain the murderous ISIS, we should make it the nation's policy to destroy ISIS immediately. 3.68% Gun Violence in America can be eliminated by limiting access to guns for all American citizens. 8.09% I don't care either way; I just live here. 136 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!

There is a huge gulf between the attitudes of local Republican legislative candidates and their Democrat counterparts on 2nd amendment issue of gun rights or the Right to Bear Arms, as in shown in their responses to key 2nd amendment groups' questionnaires, and those groups endorsements. Republican State Senator Bill Cook, State Representative Mike Speciale, and State House candidate Beverly Boswell all ranked high on support of the 2nd amendment gun rights, while their Democrat counterparts, Brownie Futrell, Warren Judge, and Marva Baldwin exposed themselves as anti-gun.The National Rifle Association is the largest of the national 2nd amendment organizations, and its Political Victory Fund has given Cook an A rating and Speciale and Boswell an A-. It has endorsed all three as the best pro-gun candidates in their respective races. The NRA looks at voting records of incumbents and at questionnaires responses of all candidates.In North Carolina, the largest gun rights group is Grassroots North Carolina. They also examine incumbent voting records and the questionnaires responses of all candidates. GRNC rates candidates who support gun rights with one to four stars and give those not supporting gun rights a zero. On GRNC's scorecard, Senator Cook received four stars, Rep. Speciale and House candidate Boswell three stars, and their Democrat challengers all got zeroes.In the Governor races, NRA gave McCrory an A- and an endorsement while Roy Cooper received an F, Lt. Governor Dan Forest received an A and an endorsement while his Democrat opponent received an F. For Attorney General, Buck Newton received an A and an endorsement and his opponent Josh Stein received an F. The NRA also endorsed Donald Trump for president and Walter Jones for Congress.GRNC made the same assessments of the best candidates on gun rights issues - Trump for president, McCrory for governor, Jones for Congress, Forest for Lt. Governor, and Buck Newton for Attorney General. Their Democrat opponents were all rated as zero.Gun rights voters should recognize the clear differences among the candidates on this key issue when they go to the polls.
CARACAS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday called on citizens to preserve peace and called for dialogue, after the National Electoral Council (CNE) suspended the process to hold a recall referendum against him.

"I want to make a call for calm, dialogue, peace, justice and respect for the laws," said Maduro, who is currently on a state visit to Azerbaijan, in a telephone interview with the state-owned Venezolana de Television.

Maduro also sent a message to the opposition, which was outraged by the CNE decision. He told them to maintain their "sanity," alluding to violent acts perpetrated by his government's opponents in the past.

"Let them not return to the time of madness...I call for sanity, balance and dialogue, for dialogue in the country," he added.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) was set to launch a three-day operation on Oct. 26-28 to gather signatures from 20 percent of the electorate, a step that would trigger a recall referendum against Maduro.

However, on Thursday, the courts in five separate states -- Aragua, Carabobo, Monagas, Apure and Bolivar -- said that irregularities had been found at a previous stage of the referendum process.

In May, the MUD collected signatures from over 1 percent of the electorate, one of the early steps needed for a referendum.

The five states said that a number of cases of identity theft had been found among the signatures submitted, leading the CNE to suspend the process.

In a press conference on Friday, MUD leader Jesus Torrealba responded by saying the government was trying to incite violence.

"We cannot fall into a violent response because that's what they want. But we cannot docilely accept what is happening, either," he vowed.
MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Saturday freed the town of Hamdaniyah from Islamic State (IS) militants near the city of Mosul, as major offensive continued to seize more ground around the city, a security source told Xinhua.

In the early morning, the Iraqi army stormed Hamdaniyah, some 40 km southeast of Mosul, from several directions and took control of the town after heavy clashes with the IS militants, the source from the Operations Command of Nineveh Liberation told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops raised the Iraqi flag on the local government building in central Hamdaniyah, which is also known as Bakhdida, the source said without giving further details about casualties.

The troops also took control of the nearby Christian village of Karamlis after the extremis IS militants fled their positions, the source said.

Heavy battles are underway in what is known as Nineveh Plain, which lies to the east and northeast of Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh.

Various religious and ethnic minority groups, mostly Assyrian Christians, inhabit the villages and towns of the vast plain.

Many members of the minorities in the plain have fled during the chaos and ensuing insecurity that followed the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Another wave of exodus, of mostly non-Sunni Muslim minorities, came after June 2014, when the extremist IS group took control of Nineveh province and seized large parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
HANGZHOU, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The owner of a factory in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to five years in prison over the collapse of a workshop building, which killed 14 workers and injured dozens last year.

The Wenling City People's Court on Friday convicted Xu Fulin, owner of a local shoe factory, of building the factory without official approval from 2011 to 2012 and causing a major work safety accident.

The four-story workshop building collapsed on July 4, 2015, leaving 14 people dead and 33 others injured due to overloading of the structure.

Xu turned himself in after the accident and compensated the victims, which prompted the court to issue a lenient sentence.

The owner confessed to the crime. He raised nearly 12 million yuan (1.8 million U.S. dollars) to handle the aftermath of the accident.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Aston Carter arrived here on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi leaders as the Iraqi forces are fighting to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq, al-Arabiyah television reported on Saturday.
A helicopter flies over the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, Iraq, on Oct. 18, 2016. Iraqi security forces on Tuesday recaptured more villages from the Islamic State (IS) militants, as part of a major offensive aimed at liberating the city of Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq, a security source said. (Xinhua/Jaser Jawad)

BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived here on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi leaders as the Iraqi forces are fighting to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq, al-Arabiyah television reported on Saturday.

Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials and military commanders to discuss the Iraqi offensive against the extremist IS group in Mosul, the channel said.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are already in Iraq, serving as trainers and advisers, in an attempt to help the country win the battle against IS militants in the country's northern city of Mosul.

The U.S.-led international coalition has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.

Carter's visit came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul in northern Iraq.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. insurance giant MetLife is saying goodbye to Snoopy and other members of the Peanuts gang, ending a three-decade-long branding relationship.

The New York-based company called the decision the "most significant change" to the brand in decades, saying it was part of an effort to update its corporate emblem for international competition.

As one of the most recognizable figures of American cartoon, Snoopy has been adopted as the face of MetLife since 1985.

"We brought in Snoopy over 30 years ago to make our company more friendly and approachable during a time when insurance companies were seen as cold and distant. Snoopy helped drive our business and served an important role at the time." said Esther Lee, MetLife's global chief marketing officer, in a statement.

"We have great respects for these iconic characters. However, as we focus on our future, it's important that we associate our brand directly with the work we do and the partnership we have with our customers," the New York Times quoted Lee as saying.

The new image of the company will be rolled out globally through 2017.
DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior Tanzanian government official has proposed for the enactment of laws to govern migration of people to Europe and within the southern African region and check cross-border crimes.

Augustine Mahiga, the east African nation's Minister for Foreign Affairs, said on Friday the scourge of illegal migration and cross-border crimes has increased rapidly in recent years both towards Europe and within southern Africa.

He was speaking in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam at the opening session of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)-European Union (EU) Policy Dialogue on peace and security.

He said: "Terrorism and cross-border organized crime continues to impact countries around the world."

Mahiga added: "A number of African teenagers have been killed when attempting to migrate to European countries and within southern African countries."

On democratization, the minister said SADC member states have made significant progress in conducting democratic elections.

"We have made deliberate efforts to ensure that the member states adhere to the SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections," said Mahiga.

Stergomena Lawrence, the SADC Executive Secretary, said SADC and EU regions are faced with various challenges related to peace, security and stability in different forms and intensity.

Lawrence said: "It is important to note that SADC and EU share many aspirations with regard to our ambitions to foster peace, stability and democratic governance and enhanced public security as fundamental elements in strengthening regional integration and social economic development."

She said SADC has adopted an anti-terrorism strategy and regional strategy to combat illegal migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.

"We hope that the EU has also developed responses to the migration crisis and several policy instruments related to EU cooperation with respect to counter-terrorism," she added.

Roeland Van De Geer, the EU head of delegation to Tanzania, said the EU will continue nurturing the long standing partnership with SADC countries.
DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities has advised plastic bags producers in the east African nation to adopt new technologies of making biodegradable bags saying the plastic bags will be banned from January 1, 2017.

"Plastic bags will not be used in the country from January 1," Luhaga Mpina, the Deputy Minister in the Vice-President's Office responsible for Environment, told a Parliamentary Committee on Industries, Trade and Environment on Friday.

The minister presented a draft ban regulations which indicated that there will be an exemption on plastic bags used in medical services, industrial packaging, construction industry, agricultural sector and in sanitary use and waste management.

Mpina added that there will also be a special phasing out exemption time of up to two years for plastic bags manufacturers either to shut down their facilities, laying off workers or changing technology.

"For industries which will still have raw materials to process the bags which were ordered before the official announcement of the ban will be allowed to manufacture the bags provided if the bags will be for export only," said Mpina.

He said the plastic bags have been causing devastating pollution and the government has tried since 2006 to set regulation to combat the problem by banning the use of plastic bags below the width 30 microns.

In 2015 the ban was extended to plastic bags below the width of 50 microns, but now they have decided to do away with the matter altogether, he added.

The minister said in Dar es Salaam alone authorities spend up to 5 million U.S. dollars annually to repair water supply infrastructures due to blockages caused by the plastic bags.

For their part, the Members of Parliament expressed concern over the government's aptitude to stop illegal importation of plastic bags.

Mushtak Walij, the chairman of Plastic Manufacturers Association of Tanzania (PMAT), said the manufacturers had no problems with embracing the biodegradable technology.

However, Walij said importing chemical additives to make biodegradable bags will increase the production costs by between 20 to 25 percent.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Government forces raided Taliban hideouts in the northern Kunduz province overnight, killing eight militants and injured three others, an army spokesman in the province, Abdul Khalil said Saturday.

According to the official, unit of Special Forces stormed Taliban hideout in Kaltatai area outside provincial capital the Kunduz city early Saturday killing eight armed insurgents on the spot and three more militants sustained injuries.

There were no casualties on civilians and security personnel, the official said.

Taliban militants who are active around Kunduz city haven't commented.




CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- With Egypt looking for international investments and stronger economic ties and China continuing its investment overseas, both countries have the potential for stronger economic ties, said Ahmed Al-Nagar, CEO of Egypt's state-run Ahram organization late Friday.

"The two countries plan for economic progress built on peaceful, just and equitable cooperation. This raises the possibility that Egyptian-Chinese economic cooperation in a just manner will serve the people of both countries," Al-Nagar, also an economist, said in an analysis published on the official Ahram Online website.

Al-Nagar noted that China has become the world's largest export economy with over 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars of exports of commodities in 2014.

"China's strong presence in foreign markets is made through high competitive investments in developing countries to leverage low cost of workforce and material to access other markets around the globe," he explained, noting this makes the Egyptian market of great significance for direct Chinese investments.

Additionally, Egypt boasts enormous mineral and stone resources that can offer a solid foundation for growing transformative industries, a potential that could be unlocked by China's investments, and scientific and technical expertise.

China could generate great benefits from investment in such sectors in Egypt with the low cost of workforce and raw materials. The products of such projects can be exported to Arab, African and European markets close to Egypt at a low cost, or sent custom-free to free trade zones linked to Egypt.

Egypt is battling to revive its ailing economy due to the country's five years of turbulence after suffering two uprisings, by luring direct investments and launching economic reform to improve the climate for business.

Egypt and China celebrate in this year the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and the leaders of the two countries and high-profile delegations at all levels have been meeting frequently since 2015.
VIENTIANE, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Results of the recent visit by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to China will not only benefit peoples of the two countries, but also have positive effects on regional peace and stability, a Lao senior diplomat told Xinhua during an interview in capital Vientiane.

Soukthavy Keola, a former counselor at the Lao Embassy in China, said that the visit showed that the two countries are improving their bilateral relations.

"This is an opportunity, a turning point, and also an significant achievement in China's diplomacy."

This is the first visit of Duterte outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On Friday, China and the Philippines released a joint statement in Beijing with consensus on further enriching China-Philippines bilateral relations founded on mutual respect, sincerity, equality and mutual benefit, which is conducive to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

"China and the Philippines had witnessed some problems in bilateral relations which had impacts on the region. We were very worried about that," he said.

"Though problems could not be solved at once, the overall development of normal relations between the two countries should not be affected. Shelving disputes and seeking common development in cases of controversies are crucial to relevant countries and the region," Soukthavy told Xinhua on Friday.

"Now, we all focus on cooperation and seeking solutions, which has contributed to creating a friendly cooperation atmosphere in the region," he said, adding that the bilateral relations between China and the Philippines are "back on track", contributing to regional peace and stability.

There are huge potentials for the friendly cooperation between China and the Philippines. The two sides have many common interests in trade, economy and investment. "China and the Philippines are both developing countries and neighbors. Strengthening bilateral cooperation is mutually beneficial and will have positive influence on cooperation between China and ASEAN countries."

Soukthavy also expressed his hope that the trend of friendly relations between China and the Philippines will be continuously maintained.
BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Li Zhisong knew there were poverty-struck communities in Nigeria and Ethiopia, where he worked for years, but was shocked to discover there are places just as poor in China.

Li, 44, former manager of state-owned cement engineering system provider Sinoma (Nanjing) International Engineering Co. Ltd., is now in charge of poverty reduction as deputy head of the Yongshan County government in southwest China's Yunnan Province, a position he has held since March.

"There are no industries and no quality roads here at all," said Li, adding that 116,200 people, or 28 percent of the county's population, live below the national poverty line of 2,800 yuan (418 U.S. dollars) per year.

With 7 million yuan in poverty reduction funds from Sinoma, Li has helped build two roads and two bridges this year and expects to develop the Traditional Chinese Medicine industry in the county to pull villagers out of poverty.

"As a state-owned enterprise, it is our responsibility to help the less developed western regions fight poverty," said Li, former deputy head of the logistics department of Sinoma (Nanjing) and a native of the wealthy eastern province of Jiangsu.

China started pairing off its developed eastern regions and underdeveloped western regions two decades ago to cooperate in poverty alleviation and bridge the widening gap between rich and poor. State-owned enterprises are major contributors to provide both capital and talent.

In 1996, half of China's 65 million people living in poverty had an annual income of less than 300 yuan -- barely enough to feed themselves.

To provide the poor with adequate food and clothing, the Chinese government issued a regulation on Oct. 23, 1996, ordering 13 developed coastal provinces and municipalities to help 10 underdeveloped western regions.

Cooperation includes regional government assistance, support from individuals, and business cooperation between the eastern and western regions.

While basic food and clothing problems in China were solved more than a decade ago, the pairing mechanism remains in place.

"East-west cooperation has shown itself to be an effective platform for advancing both economic growth and common prosperity, and thus needs to be maintained for the long term," said Kong Xiangzhi, a professor at Renmin University of China.

China aims to eliminate poverty by 2020, and east-west cooperation is a government program to meet that target, said Kong.

China has entered a crucial stage in its poverty reduction efforts and the fight against poverty remains tough despite remarkable past achievements, according to a white paper titled "China's Progress in Poverty Reduction and Human Rights" published by the State Council Information Office Monday.

By the end of 2015, China had 55.75 million people living in poverty, equivalent to the entire population of a medium-sized country.

China has pledged to lift 10 million people out of poverty every year starting in 2016 by developing specialty industries, transferring employment, relocation and extended social security coverage.

The pairing-off mechanism enables capital, talent and projects from well-off eastern regions to flow to the poor western regions, adding impetus to economic growth in the west, said Kong.

During the past 20 years, the eastern regions have provided 13.27 billion yuan in financial support, mobilized donations worth 2.76 billion yuan and introduced 1.5 trillion yuan in corporate investment to the western regions, according to official data.

In Kashgar, China's westernmost city with 1.05 million people living in poverty, booming Guangdong Province invested 3.08 billion yuan to build nine industrial parks over the past three years, with the aim of creating jobs -- the most important thing for poverty reduction.

Mariaguri Mohammad, a 28-year-old woman from rural Jiashi County, began working at an electronics assembly line two years ago at Guangdong Sycco Development Enterprise located in Jiashi Industrial Park, one of the nine parks built in Kashgar.

"I was the first to work here in my village, and now I have more than 20 peers," said Mohammad, who earns more than 2,000 yuan a month, enough to lift her family out of poverty.

Sycco currently has four plants in Kashgar, offering more than 8,000 jobs to nearby villagers, most of whom are ethnic Uygurs.

Industrial development, rather than mere financial aid, will help eradicate poverty by improving the ability of impoverished areas to develop independently, said Cai Yifei, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The resource-rich western regions have great investment potential and huge markets. Enterprises from the east should take the chance to transfer their production capabilities to the west, said Cai.

To achieve its goal of eliminating poverty by 2020, China on Monday unveiled measures to emphasize the poverty alleviation responsibilities of officials, stating that heads of impoverished counties will not be promoted or transferred to other posts unless the counties eliminate poverty.

The more developed eastern regions should gradually increase input to assist poverty-stricken areas in central and western regions, said the statement jointly published by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

"We will find a way that most suits Yongshan County," said Li Zhisong, who is working to transform himself from a professional manager into his new role as a poverty relief official.
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Three senior Afghan Taliban representatives from the Qatar political office are "involved in talks" with Pakistani officials about the "refugees problems," the Taliban spokesman Zabihuallah Mujahid said on Saturday.

Taliban confirmed last week the arrest of four leaders, including Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai, who heads the Taliban courts, from Pakistan southwestern Balochistan province. Nanai also served as intelligence chief under Mullah Akhtar Mansour and is currently heading the Taliban judiciary.

Mujahid told the media that the visit has no link with the reported talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar.

Reports suggest that the delegation from the Qatar office arrived in Pakistan two days ago.

The Taliban delegation is comprised of Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, Maulvi Salam Hanafi and Jan Muhammad.

Pakistan has arrested Suleman Agha, the Taliban governor for Daykund province, Mullah Sani, also known as Samad Sani, chief of a religious school and a well-known trader, and Hamas, a leader of the Haqqani network, according to Taliban officials.

The local media quoted unnamed Taliban officials as saying peace process could also be on the agenda and that the Taliban representatives will apprise the Pakistani officials of their recent interaction with the Afghan and American officials in Qatar.

Although the Taliban and the Afghan government have not officially confirmed the Qatar meeting, both sides have unofficially confirmed the "informal meeting."

Mullah Abdul Manan, brother of Mullah Omar, had led the Taliban side in the meeting with the Afghan and American representatives this month.

It is the second visit of the Taliban leaders to Pakistan in seven months. The Taliban political representatives visited Pakistan in April for looking into the prospects for the peace talks. However, the Taliban deadliest attack in Kabul in April derailed the process.
YAOUNDE, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Death toll in a passenger train derailment on Friday in Cameroon at around 12:00 local time (5 a.m. GMT) has risen to 55, while around 575 people were injured, state radio CRTV reported on Friday night.

The train, from Cameroon's capital Yaounde to economic capital Douala, derailed in Eseka station in Central Region, around 120 kilometers from Yaounde.

CRTV citing Transport Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o said the accident left 55 killed and 575 injured, some are in critical conditions.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya who is out of the country has asked the government to give assistance to the victims and investigate the reason behind the accident.

Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said on CRTV Friday evening the government had dispatched urgently another train to take the stranded passengers to their destination.

A witness who lives close to the station told Xinhua the train derailed when it approached the station, and said the casualties is high.

Carine who works as a civil servant told Xinhua some of her friends were in the train when it derailed, but they are well.

The train accident took place hours after one part of the Yaounde-Douala road caved in following the heavy rain in the night. Many passengers to Yaounde or Douala who would use the road have to choose train, leading the derailed train which left Yaounde Friday morning to Douala took more passengers than usual.

According to reports, the victims' bodies were deposited at the morgue of Eseka hospital, while the injured were admitted to health center of the city and neighboring localities of Puma, Lolodorf including Douala.

The transport minister led a delegation to the site after the disaster by helicopter.

After the disconnection of road and railway between Yaounde-Douala, Cameroon Airline Coporation on Friday increased the no. of flights to both places to 3 for the convenience of the passengers.

The train derailment accident is not rare in Cameroon. In August 29, 2009, a train from northern city Ngaoundere to Yaounde derailed in the suburb of Yaounde, leaving 5 killed and 275 injured.
VALLETTA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The role of intercultural dialogue in facing crucial current global issues is the main theme to be discussed at the 2016 Mediterranean Forum to be held here from Oct. 23 to 25.

Around 1,000 civil society leaders, policy-makers, parliamentarians and high officials from the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the 42 members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will be participating in the Forum.

Co-organised by the Anna Lindh Foundation and Malta's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MED FORUM 2016 will conclude an eight-month process of meetings held in UfM countries discussing different aspects of intercultural dialogue.

Established in 2005 and co-financed by the 42 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Commission, the Anna Lindh Foundation is dedicated to the promotion of mutual respect between cultures and to support civil society, through its network of more than 4,500 member associations, in working for a common future for the Mediterranean region.

Throughout the ages, the Mediterranean has been a sea that divides and a sea that unites.

MED FORUM 2016 acquires greater significance in view of the joint effort required to counter those forces in the region that are fuelling polarisation and extremism.

Other common challenges faced by Mediterranean states include the current refugee crisis, youth unemployment and climate change. These and other issues have been discussed in the preparatory meetings with the aim of identifying a cultural roadmap that leads towards the creation of a common space of peace, stability and economic prosperity in the Mediterranean that is beneficial towards all the peoples in the region.

The 2016 Forum is being held in Valletta both in view of the fact that the Maltese Islands are seen by many as a symbolic bridge between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean region and because Malta will be assuming the EU Presidency, during the first semester of 2017. During its presidency, Malta intends to put Mediterranean dialogue as one of the main items of the European Union's political agenda.

MED FORUM 2016 will focus on revitalising intercultural dialogue as a key factor in the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy, considering such dialogue as essential also in tackling terrorism and preventing radicalisation.

Research conducted by the Anna Lindh Foundation in the region brings to the fore a number of common values shared by the silent majority of citizens to the north and south of the Mediterranean and the desire to challenge radicalisation since the majority of youth who are not attracted to violence.

The forum participants will also discuss unprecedented human movements in the region as well as the impact of the current refugee crisis has on the region's societies. This necessarily involves the identification of the root causes of such crises and their resolution through the peaceful resolution of conflicts and investment to promote social and economic development.
PARIS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Space Agency (ESA) has said Schiaparelli lander aimed to search for life on Mars, was destroyed on contact with the Red planet, adding works are underway to determine the clues of the space-probe carsh-landing.

In a statement issued on Friday, the ESA added images taken by NASA Mars orbiter showed that Schiaparelli dropped from a height of between 2 and 4 km, therefore impacting at a considerable speed, greater than 300 km/h.

"It is also possible that the lander exploded on impact, as its thruster propellant tanks were likely still full. These preliminary interpretations will be refined following further analysis," it said.

"The exact mode of anomaly on board Schiaparelli is still under investigation," it added.

ESA scientists have been decoding the data that the Schiaparelli lander transmitted before its signal was lost, "in order to establish correlations with the measurements made with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)" and "to be able to reconstruct the chain of events with great accuracy."

Schiaparelli, a disc-shaped 577-kg lander, is part of the European-Russian ExoMars program, which aims to search for signs of past and present life on Mars and evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes.

A second ExoMars mission, planned in 2020, will include a Russian lander and a European rover, which will drill down to 2 m underground to look for pristine organic material.

Meanwhile, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), the spacecraft on which the Schiaparelli lander travelled to Mars is working very well and will take science calibration data during two orbits in November 2016, according to the agency.
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior military official, who served in the northern Sinai, was shot dead on Saturday in front of his home on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt's state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

Gunmen opened fire on Brigadier General Adel Rajaaie, a commander of armored division in the restive Sinai, early in the morning outside his building gate in the Obour City suburb, the report quoted the general's wife as saying.

Rajaaie's driver was also killed and one of his body guards was wounded, the report added.

His wife added that three terrorists were waiting in a vehicle near the house, and they showered her husband with bullets from automatic weapons.

No group immediately claimed the shooting.

Egypt is facing a growing wave of anti-security attacks centered mainly in North Sinai province since the army-led ouster of Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Hundreds of security personnel were killed in anti-government attacks in the past three years with a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State regional group claiming responsibility for most of them.
HARBIN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An intermediate court in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has sentenced a former state-owned coal mining firm manager to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes worth 306.8 million yuan (45 million U.S. dollars) over the course of six years.

According to the verdict issued on Friday, Yu Tieyi was found guilty of taking bribes in exchange for handing out bloated procurement contracts between 2005 and 2011, when he was in charge of supplies to Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group Co., Ltd., sources with the court said.

The verdict says the amount of Yu's bribes was "extremely huge" and the state suffered "a great loss," both of which warrant the most severe penalty: death sentence without reprieve. However, the court showed leniency because Yu behaved well during investigation, reported the crimes of his accomplice, and returned most of the bribes.

The court ruled to confiscate Yu's illegal gains and all his personal assets. Yu was also deprived of the chance to reduce prison terms. In China, death with a two-year reprieve often results in life in prison as long as the convict does not commit new offenses in the two years. The court then has a say on whether to grant prison term reductions.

Yu has decided not to appeal the ruling, the sources said.

China has launched a harsh crackdown on corruption since 2013 to rein in wanton official misconduct. The campaign has netted some of the highest ranking officials, many of whom are serving time in prison.
NAIROBI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Saturday more than 33,000 Somali refugees living at Kenya's Dadaab camp have returned to their motherland since December 2014.

"In total, as of Oct. 15, 33,178 Somali refugees had returned home since December 8, 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees in Kenya, out of which 27,077 were supported in 2016 alone," a UNHCR report said.

The report said some 517 refugees had been repatriated in the past two weeks by flight, adding that flight movements have now resumed and are currently operating three days per week.

"Owing to the suspension of reception of road convoys by the (Somalia's) Jubaland administration, the operation began facilitating return to Baidoa by flights," it added.

According to the UNHCR, road convoys were suspended from Aug. 30, after the Jubaland administration told the UNHCR Somalia it would not receive any more returnees until "integration process" inside Somalia was addressed.

The UNHCR said two flights would continue to transport returnees to Jubaland every two days a week until further notice.

Jubaland, which borders Kenya, is an autonomous region in southern Somalia.

UN agencies in Somalia held a meeting with the Jubaland administration last month, after which they said Jubaland agreed to cooperate in the reintegration of the returnees.

Kenya says it is working with the UNHCR to repatriate the over 300,000 Somalis living at Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp. It said earlier this year it would close Dadaab, citing security concerns.

Last week, the UNHCR said a total of 26,819 Somali refugees had in principle confirmed their intention to return home and were waiting to be facilitated to start their journeys.
When organizer Denise Hammer thinks about Sundays Fair Trade Market, she pictures more than the purses and scarves, jewelry and clothing from around the world that will be on sale.

Hammer sees the faces of some of the women whose lives have been transformed by working for the companies that create the items.

These women want a new life, and they want to be trained, and they want to be restored with the dignity that comes with the work they do, Hammer said Thursday.

Her words could likely apply to most or all the people whose wares will be on display during the one-day market downtown at the Billings Depot. But Hammer is especially familiar with women in Sonagachi, the largest red-light district in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India.

She traveled to India in March with the two other members of the executive team of Mercy Market, Sherry Sauskojus and Katie Loveland, both of Helena. This is Mercy Markets second year putting on the show that features several fair-trade vendors.

The trip's purpose was to meet some of the women whose products Mercy Market sells, as well as the companies that employ them. She called the experience wonderful, but intense.

Every step you took you were looking out for feces, for garbage, people lying in the street, piles of concrete, she said.

In the midst of the crowds and the noise is the red-light district, where young women and girls often are trafficked as sex workers. Many girls, as young as 9 or 10, are sold by their poverty-ridden families into a life of prostitution they are too poor to escape.

Even if they manage to get free, they cant go back to their families because of the shame of their former profession.

Or when they grow up and become too old to be desirable for the trade, they have nowhere to go, Hammer said. They are in a city of millions with no job skills, with no support system, with no dignity, with no confidence, with nothing.

Fortunately, businesses like Love Calcutta Arts, Freeset Fabrics and Sari Bari have been created to help women in the red-light district. Their goal is to hire them and give them new lives.

Love Calcutta Arts, for instance, employs 50 women ages 17-25 to make their paper products. Sari Bari transforms used saris into purses and journals and many other products.

Mercy Market discovered Freeset Fabrics first, when it was looking to make T-shirts for the nonprofit business.

Because of our mission, we wanted even our T-shirts to support freedom and empowerment of impoverished people, Hammer said. Katie did research and found Freeset.

They decided to visit the Freeset and the other businesses in person. In Sonagachi, they walked down an alley filled with dogs and clogged with people, the rickety buildings looking like a set of dominoes on the verge of collapsing.

Then they stepped inside Freeset.

Here was this thriving business with high-quality products, ethically sourced, bringing fair trade and life and hope," Hammer said. "But you never would have guessed it from the outside.

The women working at the sewing machines didn't speak English. But the ones whose words were translated chose to speak of their hopes and their new lives, not the past they'd left behind.

"You'd come into the rooms and they would be laughing and singing and smiling and working," she said. "It was beautiful to see freedom at work."

Some of the women who come to Freeset and the businesses are so traumatized at first, they have trouble retaining new skills, Hammer said. But the businesses all make a lifetime commitment to their employees.

Its not just a quick fix, she said. They walk with them through every facet of healing and recovery.

Hammer founded Mercy Market in 2008 to live out her Christian faith. Hammer wanted live out words in the Bible that challenge believers to care for the poor and needy.

Its such a strong message in the Scriptures, and I really was being negligent in that area, she said.

The groups mission is extending hope to a hurting world through international artistry. It seeks to complement the work of other, similar area organizations, by selling products from different companies.

Even though we know there are other people doing great work, there arent enough people to meet this vast need, Hammer said.

Sundays Fair Trade Market will feature several organizations, including Hope2One Life, Noonday Collections, Azada Imports, Basket Collection, Purnaa and My Fight. Their products come from Africa, Asia and other parts of the world.

Mercy Market sells its products mostly through craft fairs and venues like the Sunday market. In the past few years, it has seen an increase in box parties, where items are boxed up and sent to a host who sells them at a party. Boxes have shipped as far as Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, New York and Texas.

Every scarf, journal or piece of jewelry sold gives an emotionally and financially impoverished woman a chance at a new life, Hammer said.

They have been overpowered all their lives by the greed, lust and choices of others, she said. By purchasing their products, we are empowering them to have a new life for them and their children.
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court confirmed on Saturday a 20-year prison sentence against ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on charges of violence and murder that took place outside the presidential palace in 2012, official news agency MENA reported.
Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao signs a condolences book to pay tribute to late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 22, 2016. Li paid his last respects to the late king on Saturday as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Xinhua/Li Mangmang)

BANGKOK, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao paid his last respects to late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Saturday as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Li laid a white wreath and signed a condolences book to pay tribute to the late king on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people at the Grand Palace where the late king's body lies in state.

When meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Narong Pipatanasai, Li said the two countries could not have enjoyed the sustained and healthy development of bilateral ties without the long-term support of the late king and the Thai royal family, and further pushing forward the development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries with concerted efforts is the best way to mourn the late king.

"China attaches great importance to developing relations with Thailand and values the friendship with the Thai royal family. China believes that Sino-Thai friendship will be passed down from generation to generation."

Li said China is willing to work with Thailand to pass on the friendship, enhance mutual trust and promote cooperation so as to further benefit the two countries and the two peoples.

For his part, Narong thanked Li for coming to Bangkok to pay his respects to the late king as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi, which shows the profound friendship between the two countries.

"The Thai royal family pays frequent visits to China, has deep feelings for China and will inherit the behest of the late king to push forward the further development of the friendly ties between the two countries."

He added that Thailand is also willing to work with China to further develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two sides so as to score new achievements.

King Bhumibol passed away on Oct. 13 at the age of 88.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a gathering to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Xiaoping would have named his second child Changzheng (Long March) if she had been a boy.

While some 3,000 people gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Long March victory in Beijing on Friday, Zhang was celebrating the first birthday of his second daughter in Yudu County in east China's Jiangxi Province.

Yudu is where around 86,000 Red Army officers and soldiers left for the Long March in Oct 1934. Forty-seven-year old Zhang has spent almost three decades collecting and preserving Yudu's memories of the Long March.

"Initially it was a request from my father, who believed I would not be jobless because any society at any time would need curators," said Zhang, vice curator of the county's Central Red Army Long March departure museum.

"As my knowledge about the epic Long March has grown, I've become addicted." A docent earlier in his career, Zhang and his colleague searched for Long March veterans and witnesses almost every weekend.

They once visited a veteran named Yi Shijia who was almost in his 90s.

"He asked us what we think the happiest thing was for Long Marchers," Zhang recalled. "We said winning a battle, being honored, or even jumping into a pit of Moutai liquor to cure their wounds."

To their surprise, Yi's answer was this: crushing fleas they found on their clothes during a break on a sunny day.

"We never ever imagined that," he said. "The Red Army's optimism has impressed me so deeply that it changed my attitude toward life and work."

As Saturday marks the 80th anniversary of the Long March victory, China is hoping to pass on the epic expedition's legacy from generation to generation.

Zhang has asked young visitors for feedback.

"Today's younger generation is fragile under pressure and gives up more easily. However, their worries sound like nothing compared to what the Red Army soldiers suffered and overcame," he said.

Yi Tongjun, vice curator of Liping Meeting Museum, asked applicants to talk about their understanding of the spirit of the Long March during a job interview earlier this year.

"Some were stuck," said the 53-year-old. "Even some applicants with college education did not know what to say."

"Many young people take today's prosperity for granted. They don't understand how hard-won it is," he said.

The Liping Meeting occurred in Liping County of southwest China's Guizhou Province on Dec. 18, 1934. It was the first meeting by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee during the Long March, following a heavy loss in battle along Xiangjiang River in today's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The number of Red Army soldiers had fallen sharply from 86,000 to around 30,000.

"After heated debate, the Political Bureau adopted Mao Zedong's correct proposal of marching for Zunyi in northern Guizhou," read an introduction in the Liping Meeting Museum, which described the meeting as the starting point of the Long March's triumph.

"If there had been no Liping Meeting, there would have been no Zunyi Meeting, to say nothing of the leadership of Chairman Mao," said Yi.

To Yi, the spirit of the Long March was a fortune and a source of strength.

"It has helped enhance our economy and opening up to the outside world," he said.

The spirit of the Long March, as summarized during Friday's commemoration, includes seeking truth from the facts, strict self-discipline, acknowledgement of the overall interests of the people, solidarity, and involving people from all walks of life.

Chen Yunkun, a volunteer researcher of the Long March history, interpreted "strict self-discipline" and "acknowledgement of the overall interests of the people" based on his findings over the years.

"Red Army soldiers were strictly forbidden from entering local people's bedrooms and kitchen, because the bedroom was also where all valuable things were kept, and the kitchen stored food," said Chen, also a publicity office employee at Xishui County of Zunyi City.

"The Red Army won the war by winning people's hearts," he said. "They always put people's interest first."

He said this is one of the reasons for commemorating the Long March today.

"If all the officials would bear this in mind, many so-called problems or headaches would no longer exist," said the 47-year-old researcher.

On Monday, an 8-episode TV documentary on China's latest anti-corruption campaign began airing nationwide. Some former high-ranking officials gave their confessions and reflections for the first time in public.

The documentary, masterminded by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), sent a strong signal of the CPC's determination to strictly govern itself and fight corruption.

The theme of the documentary echoed with what Chinese President Xi Jinping said about the Long March on Friday.

"No matter which stage our undertaking has developed to and how great the achievements we've made, we should carry forth the Long March spirit and advance in 'a new long march,'" Xi said.

Each generation has its own "long march," and they should proceed in their own way, according to Xi.

"We can never forget the Long March no matter how many achievements we've made," said Chen Yunkun about his impressions of Xi's speech.
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan government forces expelled Taliban militants from 2nd police district of Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar and the armed outfit fled the area, security official Mir Hamza said Saturday.

"In a well-coordinated overnight attack, the security forces, after killing 22 Taliban rebels and injuring 20 others, have recaptured 2nd police district in Lashkar Gah city forcing the rebels to flee," Hamza told Xinhua.

Several more militants have sustained injuries, the official said.

Taliban militants, who controlled some districts of the poppy growing Helmand province, have tightened the noose around provincial capital Lashkar Gah and attempting to overrun the key southern city.

Government forces have been fighting tooth and nail to dislodge militants from around Lashkar Gah and expand its control across the restive province.
LISBON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese environmentalists have called for the government to contemplate incentives for energy efficiency in its state budget for 2017, local media reported Saturday.

Environmentalists are asking for a higher rate of hydric resources in some sectors, the promotion of an increased life cycle for products, and a greater tax on sweet products and agricultural chemicals, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported.

President of the country's Sustainable System Association Francisco Ferreira said he was surprised that there had been a reduction of 400,000 euros (about 436,000 U.S. dollars) in revenue in a rise of tax for hydric resources in some sectors.

Promoting an increased life cycle for products would be possible through a reduction in VAT for the repair of electric or electronic equipment and vehicles, as well as fiscal benefits for investments in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency, he told Lusa.

Joao Branco, from environment organisation Quercus, said the government should have "gone further" with a tax on sweet products, by covering other processed products and agricultural chemicals and pesticides.

Branco praised the government for two aspects in the budget for 2017, which include deducting expenses with public transport and introducing a new tax on sugary drinks.

However he said he was not happy with the government's plan to make a 10.5 percent cuts worth in the ministry of environment.

The ministry of environment has a total spending budget of 1,518.8 million euros next year, less than 10.5 percent than this year.

Portugal's Socialist Party took office in November and vowed to roll back austerity, reversing salary cuts and raising pensions, while increasing indirect taxes in order to cut the deficit target.

Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno revealed last Friday the country's state budget for 2017 which forecasts a deficit of 1.6 percent of GDP next year and growth of 1.5 percent. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars)
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence against deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday, reported the official news agency MENA.

The 20-year sentence is over charges of violence and murder which occurred outside the presidential palace in 2012, according to MENA.

Egypt's highest court, the Court of Cassation, rejected Morsi's appeal, rendering the sentence final.

The case dates back to Dec. 2012, when clashes erupted outside the presidential palace between Morsi's supporters and opponents, during which 10 people died.

Morsi was deposed by the army in 2013 in response to mass protests against his rule.

Furthermore, on May 17, 2015, Morsi and 106 of his Muslim Brotherhood supporters received death sentences over a mass jail break following the 2011 uprising which removed the country's long time ruler, Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi, along with seven other Muslim Brotherhood members, received life sentences in June after the court found them guilty of conspiring with militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups against Egypt's national security.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A cameraman working for an Iraqi television was killed on Saturday while covering an offensive to flush out the extremist Islamic State (IS) militant group from its last major stronghold in Mosul in northern Iraq, his channel said.

Ali Raysan, 32, the cameraman of al-Sumaia TV, received an IS sniper shot in his chest during a battle between Iraqi forces and IS militants at the village of Khuwin near the IS-held area of al-Shoura, some 30 km south of Mosul, the channel said in a statement.

Raysan's death came a day after the killing of another Iraqi journalist, who works for the Turkmeneli TV channel, while covering the clashes between the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and IS militants in Iraq's northern city of Kikruk.

The latest deaths came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul.

Earlier, the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate said that more than 440 Iraqi journalists have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,003 Iraqis and wounded 1,159 others in September across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said earlier.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the United States that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.
DUBAI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Rashed Al-Blooshi, the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), said on Saturday that he urged Chinese investors to seize the investment opportunities available on the exchange in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirati state news agency WAM reported.

Al-Blooshi participated at the Fujian Investment Forum and Chongqing Investment Forum earlier in the week.

Together with the Abu Dhabi financial free zone Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the ADX said they concluded a "week-long of visit and business discussions with key officials in Fujian and Chongqing Provinces in China."

On the ADX, Al-Blooshi said 62 out of 66 listed companies are open to foreign investors, which reflects the high level of foreign investments flowing to the exchange particularly after MSCI upgraded ADX emerging market status back in mid-2013.

As for Chinese investment in the ADX, Al-Blooshi stated that by end of the third quarter 2016, ADX have 258 registered Chinese investors among whom 16 are institutions.

The total trading value of Chinese investors represented around 10 percent of the total trading value of Asian investors in 2015, while in 2014 around 7.2 percent, Al-Blooshi said.

With regard to net investment, Chinese investors represented around nine percent of the net investment of Asian investors. The market value of shares owned by Chinese investors at the ADX reached 28.61 million dollars at end of the third quarter 2016, an increase of 9.3 percent compared to the end of 2015.

Al-Blooshi also highlighted the solid economic relations with China, which the UAE considers its second largest trading partner.

"Abu Dhabi, with its well-regulated legal environment and advanced infrastructure links, is supported by a significant economic performance for the Emirate as well as the UAE," WAM quoted Al-Blooshi as saying.

According to the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi has strengthened the economic partnership with China as the trade co-operation in the non-oil sector between China and Abu Dhabi reached 1.79 billion dollars in the first half of 2016, compared to 1.14 billion dollars in the first half of the year 2015, at a growth rate of 57 percent," he added.

"Trade volume between the two countries reached 54.8 billion dollars in 2015, while the non-oil foreign trade, including free trade zones, has reached 47.5 billion dollars. The number of Chinese companies operating in the country stood at 4,000 while there were 278 trade agencies," said the ADX CEO.

Business ties between China and the UAE are expected to get a boost as the latter decided to grant Chinese nationals visa on arrival, he added.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran and France's Total petrochemical company will finalize a 2 billion U.S. dollar deal by the end of the current Iranian year, March 20, 2017, reported Tehran's Times daily on Saturday.

Adel Nejad-Salim, Managing Director of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, was quoted as saying that the French company will invest in one of Iran's downstream olefin projects.

"In recent months, Total has assessed petrochemical projects in Iran and reviewed the status of feedstock. Now, their final plan is ready and the contract will be finalized in near future," Nejad-Salim said.

Following the implementation of Iran's nuclear deal in January, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran and France's Total signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) paving the way for Total's investment in Iran's petrochemical industry.

The report stated that in 2015 Iran had around 63 million tons of installed capacity of petrochemicals, which it plans to increase to 130 million tons by 2020, then up to 180 million tons in 2025.
Billings police have had at least 10 calls about missing absentee ballots from residents' mailboxes.

The calls to the Billings Police Crime Prevention Center came from multiple Billings neighborhoods, most before noon on Wednesday and Thursday, said Crime Prevention Officer Tom Keightley.

Callers reported at least one person had rifled through their personal mailbox and taken a ballot. Some reported other outgoing mail was not taken, though it was put out at the same time as their ballot, Keightley said.

The Billings Police Department is investigating the incidents, according to a press release. Police are trying to determine if there are any other mail thefts that have occurred and the exact locations of the mail thefts throughout the city, the release stated.

An officer who responded to a call about one of the thefts saw multiple mailboxes opened on one street, with mail strewn about the area, Keightley said.

Police do not see a pattern as to why certain neighborhoods had their ballots stolen and others did not, Keightley said. The crimes might not be motivated by politics  it could just be vandalism, Keightley said.

This is the first time the BPD can recall having to deal with this type of theft, Billings Police Capt. Kevin Iffland said.

Police recommend voters either drop off ballots at the county election office or put them in the secure blue post office boxes in town, Keightley said.

If someone sees a person searching through mail, they should not confront the person, Keightley said. Calling 911 and getting an officer out to the location right away is the best course of action, Keightley said.

As of Friday morning, about 61,000 absentee ballots had been sent to voters in Yellowstone County. About 15,500 have been returned to the Yellowstone County Elections Office.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect or suspects is asked to contact the Billings Police Department at 406-657-8460 or Crime Stoppers at 406-245-6660. People wishing to notify the United States Postal Service are asked to call 877-876-2455.

For people who want to check the status of their ballot, they can visit the Voter Page on the Montana Secretary of State's website. They also can call their local election office.
TRIPOLI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Libya's pro-government forces battling Islamic State (IS) military group in Sirte on Saturday freed 13 hostages held by IS.

The hostages, 11 Eritrean women, a Turk and an Egyptian, were freed while the government forces attempted to take over the 600 Block, said the media office of the government forces on its Facebook account.

The government fighters have taken over the block after three days of fierce fighting against IS affiliates, the media office said.

Libya's UN-backed government of national accord formed a coalition of militias in May to fight against the increased dominance of IS in Sirte, some 450 km east the capital Tripoli.

The IS had taken Sirte, the hometown of former leader Muammar Gaddafi who was toppled in the 2011 uprising, for over a year before the pro-government fighters took control of most of the city, assisted by U.S. air strikes.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Twenty Turkish tanks entered northern Syria on Saturday to support rebels in their fight to capture a town from Kurdish-led fighters, amid condemnation and threats from the Syrian government.

The Turkish tanks crossed the border into the northern countryside of the northern city of Aleppo, in a bid to help the Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) capture the town of Tal Rifaat, close to the Turkish border, from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which they have recently taken from the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The Turkey-backed FSA has been engaged in a battle dubbed the Euphrates Shield, which is primarily aiming at stripping the IS from key ground in northern Syria and fill the void, in order to put an end to the expansion of the SDF, something Ankara has been keen to achieve, due to its fear of a Kurdish influence near its borders.

At some point, a confrontation between the Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led ones seemed inevitable, due to Ankara's main aim to thwart the momentum of the Kurds.

A day earlier, the FSA announced its move against Tal Rifaat, and Ankara backed it up with 20 tanks, which raised the ire of the Syrian government, which has seemingly got fed up with Turkey's "flagrant violation."

Following the entry of the Turkish tanks, the Genera Command of the Syrian army released a statement, condemning the Turkish infiltration.

It said the Turkish government continues to provide direct support to the terrorists by backing them with artillery fire and tanks "to continue their crimes against civilians" in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

"This new aggressive stance is another dangerous escalation and a clear violation of the sovereignty of Syria," it said.

The statement further warned that "any presence of the Turkish army inside the Syrian border will be dealt with as an occupation power and we will respond to it by all possible means."

This comes as the Syrian army in cooperation with Russia declared a three-day truce in Aleppo city, to give a chance for the civilians and the rebels to evacuate the rebel-held part in eastern Aleppo.

However, the truce, which started on Thursday, saw almost no evacuation.

The Syrian government accused the rebels in eastern Aleppo of preventing the civilians and the rebels who want to surrender or leave.

The battles map in Aleppo is so complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players.

UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura recently proposed an evacuation of the ultra-radical groups of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known by al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in order for the Russian and the Syrian forces to ease their attacks on eastern Aleppo.

However, as the truce is in its third day, the process has largely failed, leaving the city with one option, another broad offensive by the Syrian army and Russia to forcefully remove the rebels from Aleppo city.

The northern countryside, however, remains another battle ground between the Kurdish-led SDF and the Turkey-backed FSA.

It's worth mentioning that the United States backs both the FSA and the SDF, an example of the chaos resulted from the U.S. double standards in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Observers believe that Aleppo is going to be the decisive battle ground among the fighting groups, and the winner will be the one dictating its conditions to resolve the crisis, as the province contain all the groups that are supported by regional and international powers, with the civilians paying the price for this proxy war.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- French Eutelsat satellite provider plans to gain the contract in order to build a satellite for Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted the French ambassador to Tehran on Saturday.

"The Eutelsat company seeks cooperation with the Iranian Space Agency and is preparing a draft of its proposals to participate in the tender to build a satellite" for Iran, Francois Senemaud said during a meeting with Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi.

Eutelsat and the French Orange telecommunications operator are also discussing with Iranian firms methods of increasing mutual cooperation, Senemaud said.

Senemaud urged the Iran-France joint economic commission to meet before the end of this year to discuss trade ties between businesses from both sides.

Reportedly, Iran is planning an international tender for the construction of a national satellite, however the tender date has yet to be announced.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) delivers a speech during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Boris Vergara)

CARACAS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday called on citizens to preserve peace and called for dialogue, after the National Electoral Council (CNE) suspended the process to hold a recall referendum against him.

"I want to make a call for calm, dialogue, peace, justice and respect for the laws," said Maduro, who is currently on a state visit to Azerbaijan, in a telephone interview with the state-owned Venezolana de Television.

Maduro also sent a message to the opposition, which was outraged by the CNE decision. He told them to maintain their "sanity," alluding to violent acts perpetrated by his government's opponents in the past.

"Let them not return to the time of madness...I call for sanity, balance and dialogue, for dialogue in the country," he added.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) was set to launch a three-day operation on Oct. 26-28 to gather signatures from 20 percent of the electorate, a step that would trigger a recall referendum against Maduro.

However, on Thursday, the courts in five separate states -- Aragua, Carabobo, Monagas, Apure and Bolivar -- said that irregularities had been found at a previous stage of the referendum process.

In May, the MUD collected signatures from over 1 percent of the electorate, one of the early steps needed for a referendum.

The five states said that a number of cases of identity theft had been found among the signatures submitted, leading the CNE to suspend the process.

In a press conference on Friday, MUD leader Jesus Torrealba responded by saying the government was trying to incite violence.

"We cannot fall into a violent response because that's what they want. But we cannot docilely accept what is happening, either," he vowed.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (L) speaks during the second presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Washington University in St. Louis, the United States, on Oct. 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

by Qian Yongwen and Edna Alcantara

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America is unlikely to have major changes no matter who wins the presidential election on Nov. 8, according to Mexican political experts.

Eduardo Rosales, an expert on international relations from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told Xinhua that he believes Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will beat her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

According to Rosales, it is difficult to see a path to victory for Trump, though he has said he would take into account American interests first and foremost when engaging in foreign policy.

Rosales said that there will be nothing new if Clinton wins, "as it will be the continuity of a policy."

"Due to internal economic problems in the U.S., the relationship with Latin America has not been pushed as it should have. We will have to see if there is a new agenda," Rosales added.

"What is said during the campaign is one thing and what the new policy will be is another," Rosales pointed out.

Silvia Nunez, director of UNAM's North America Research Center (CISAN), also told Xinhua that the next U.S. administration "would continue its vision of maintaining a bilateral relation with each Latin American country, not as a whole."

"There are major divisions within Latin American countries and this scenario contributes to the U.S. (policy) instability in Latin America," said the researcher.

Nunez also believes that Clinton will reach the White House, where she will continue the current policy of closeness with Pacific Alliance countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), "because it suits them."

However, she added that time would tell how the United States would treat other countries which have been wary of signing such initiatives as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

For Elizabeth Gutierrez, also from CISAN, the U.S. policy toward the fight against drug trafficking with Mexico and Central America will remain largely the same.

All three experts interviewed by Xinhua agreed that other topics, such as migration, would be more difficult to resolve.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) addresses a joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (L) after their meeting in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, on Aug. 31, 2016. (Xinhua/Str)

For Nunez, a priority for the new president will be defining a migration strategy with Mexico to deal with thousands of Central American migrants who cross the country to reach the U.S. border.

She warned that "violence centered in the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) is a concern, not only for Mexico, but for the U.S. and all the Americas."

The experts met with the press on Thursday to discuss the third and final debate between Clinton and Trump, which took place on Wednesday.

Exit polls showed that the Democratic candidate took the advantage, with CNN saying 52 percent of its respondents thought Clinton had won, as opposed to 39 percent for Trump.

Mexico is upset about the scenario of Trump becoming president since he has maintained anti-immigrant rhetoric and plans to build a wall along the Mexican border for which he asked Mexico to pay. He has also said he would slap duty tariffs on any automotive imports from Mexico.

Besides pledging to deport around 11 million undocumented immigrants from the United States, Trump has also offended many Mexicans by calling them "criminals and rapists."

Whoever becomes the next U.S. president, Mexico will have to maintain a deeply strategic relationship with the United States, its main importer and exporter, the experts concluded.

In its United States Trade Developments 2014-2015 report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said that the United States accounted for a third of foreign direct investment in Latin America over the last decade.
AMMAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Jordan signed an agreement Saturday with a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company to build a 200-megawatt photovoltaic plant, the largest solar plant in Jordan, said a statement from Jordan's Ministry of Energy.

The announcement followed the agreement between the ministry and Masdar, UAE's renewable energy company, marking the "forward progress of a significant investment in Jordan's energy security," said Ibrahim Saif, Jordan's Energy Minister, in the statement.

The solar power plant will raise the international profile of Jordan as a key destination for utility-scale renewable energy projects, Saif said.

He also mentioned that the project would stimulate local job creation and knowledge transfer, and further incentivize the adoption of commercial clean energy in the Middle East and North Africa.

The agreement further strengthens the deep-rooted cooperation between Jordan and the UAE, said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, adding that the agreement "builds on the success of the region's first utility-scale wind farm that Masdar and its partners inaugurated in Jordan last year."

The solar power plant will be linked to Al Muwaqqar substation located approximately 10 km outside Amman.

Once connected to the national grid, it will provide the annual power needs to around 110,000 homes and displace an estimated 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Jordan, which imports 97 percent of its annual energy needs, is working in several renewable energy projects to meet its electricity demand that rises by six percent annually.

Current renewable energy contribution stands at 3-4 percent in Jordan and the Kingdom has plans to boost it to 20 percent by 2020.
Cuban Public Health Minister Roberto Morales (2nd-R) and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell (2nd-L) sign a memorandum of understanding, in Havana, Cuba, on Oct. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Pool)

HAVANA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell on Friday said that Washington aims to build up its collaboration with Cuba in the health sector by finding "common ground and topics" to work on.

At a press conference in Havana, Burwell said progress could be made in bilateral healthcare cooperation as this sector uniquely aligns the interests of both nations.

"The objective is to build the relationship and the muscle for progress on issues where we share common ground and we are focused on topics where there is clear bilateral alignment," she said.

Burwell referred to a new executive order signed last week by U.S. President Barack Obama that will allow Cuban pharmaceutical products to be commercialized in the United States, once they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Cuban Public Health Minister Roberto Morales (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell (L), after signing a memorandum of understanding, in Havana, Cuba, on Oct. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Pool)

"The guidance we put out regarding Cuban pharmaceutical products will allow us to move forward for their future use in the U.S. and we are optimistic in the steps that we have taken because they will facilitate other joint research that can bring benefits to both sides," she added.

The U.S. government official said the most important change is the possibility to expand bilateral health cooperation whether on cancer or any other issues.

"I think this is a very big difference that opens the door for more progress," she said.

Burwell said she discussed the U.S. embargo on the island with Cuban health officials, but that the Obama administration is focused on working within the current rules to move forward and expand collaboration.

On Thursday, Havana and Washington signed an agreement to work together on cancer research, monitoring, detection and control.
SHANGHAI, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A comfort women museum in Shanghai opened to the public on Saturday, displaying various items donated by researchers and survivors to expose the notorious crimes of Japanese troops during World War II (WWII).

The museum, located at Shanghai Normal University, has displayed items such as the condoms belonging to Japanese soldiers during WWII, which researchers obtained when surveying the sites of comfort women stations of Japanese troops.

The items also include photos, testimonies of victims, passports of victims who went to Japan to file lawsuits, and the indictments from the first group of victims from the Chinese mainland to ask for compensation from Japan.

Chen Liancun, a 90-year-old victim from south China's Hainan province, and an 88-year-old survivor from the Republic of Korea (ROK) attended the opening of the museum.

Chen was raped by three Japanese soldiers when she, then 13 years old, was tending cattle on a hill. Three years later, she was captured along with other girls in nearby villages by Japanese troops to serve as comfort women in Baoting County, Hainan.

"I will not forget the atrocity committed by Japanese soldiers. I hope justice shall be served and demand an apology and compensation from Japan," she said.

"The oral testimonies and abundant historical materials and evidence all prove that the comfort women system was a national crime committed by Japan during wartime and was anti-humanitarian," said Su Zhiliang, director of the comfort women research center at the university.

Some 400,000 women in Asia were forced to serve as comfort women for the Japanese army during WWII, nearly half of whom were Chinese, according to Su.

Su said there are only 19 surviving comfort women on the Chinese mainland.

NGOs from countries including China, the ROK and Indonesia are working together to nominate documentation about comfort women for inclusion on the Memory of the World Register, established by UNESCO in the 1990s to preserve the world's most important documents.
LONDON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Britain's newest attraction, the Museum of Jurassic Marine Life has opened its doors, taking visitors to a Dorset village on a journey back in time.

The attraction has been built in Kimmeridge, in the heart of the Jurassic Coast, England's only natural World Heritage Site.

Spanning 153 km the Jurassic Coast is internationally renowned for the abundance of fossils on its shores. The rocks towering above the English Channel record 185 million years of the earth's history.

The new museum houses the largest collection of clay fossils from the Jurassic Coast outside London's Natural History Museum.

Its collection of more than 2,000 exhibits is the result of the passion of one man, fossil collector and amateur palaeontologist Steve Etches. He has devoted more than 35 years of his life combing the famous coastline in search of fossils and items from a time when the earth was different to the planet we know today.

Etches stored many of the items in the garage of his home, but people of Kimmeridge decided to form a trust charity to create a purpose-built museum to give a permanent home to his growing collection.

Costing more than 6 million U.S. dollars, the museum, home to the Etches Collection, is expected to attract thousands of visitors a year to people wanting to walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs and creatures that roamed the earth and took to the skies millions of years ago.

UNESCO awarded World Heritage status to the coastline around Kimmeridge due to the quality of its varied geology and resulting palaeontology spanning the entire Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

A spokesman for the new museum explained: "Amazing stories can be found in the cliffs and rocks and out beneath the seas in the Kimmeridgian shale of sediments and clays that were formed 150 million years ago."

"A prehistoric time when pterosaurs, big and small flying reptiles ruled the skies and the first feathered birds began to appear. On land, giant plant eating sauropods populated the terrain, grazing on the many species of tropical ferns and early conifers," said the spokesman.

For many years it was thought the Kimmeridge Clays had little to yield, a belief changed by the discoveries of Etches. Many of the species he discovered are new to science and are of great palaeontological importance.

The Etches collection has won recognition from leading palaeontologists, geologists and scientists, leading to numerous awards for the passionate collector.

The museum features displays of fossil specimens, video presentations and a workshop where visitors can see the process of exposing and cleaning items for display, with Etches commenting he hoped it will "stimulate the imagination".

As a museum spokesman added: "The space transforms into an aquarium of the past in the blink of an eye, changing from a scene of tranquillity and beauty to raw, primal violence and a fight for survival. Objects that once seemed static will be brought to life and represented as if they were modern day animals."

"You're not here forever, so it's handy to pass on information which I've accumulated over the last 35 years," he said at the opening Friday of the museum.

Simon Allen, CEO of the trust running the new museum said the fossil collection was globally-acclaimed.

Allen added: "It is only right that the Etches collection is stored in Kimmeridge where it was found."

Professor Simon Conway Morris from the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge described the Etches collection as a gem for the country and a national treasure.
PARIS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Head of ruling Socialist Party leader Jean-Christophe Cambadelis on Saturday cast doubts over the Socialists' chances to win the 2017 presidential election on divided Socialist camp and long fall in French leader Francois Hollande approval ratings.

"At this stage, no putative candidate, whoever he is, seems able to beat the right. And even pass the first round," Cambadelis said.

"I think it is necessary that we should be united despite disagreements. We have the primaries to overcome all this," he told the regional newspaper La Nouvelle Republique.

With the aim, PS secretary general pleaded for the unity "socialists, radicals, environmentalists and trade unions," to help a Left candidate to cruise to the second round of the upcoming elections.

A recent TNS Sofres-OnePoint poll showed that Hollande would lost his bid for re-election in the first round of voting, adding he would garner between 11 and 15 percent of the vote regardless according to nine possible combinations of the various candidates.

French pollsters also predicted that the current occupant of the Elysee Palace would definitely lose to his former economy minister Emmanuel Macron who has yet to declare his candidacy.

Traditionally, the incumbent head of state represents his party in an election, without a contest. But given Hollande's weak approval ratings, he could face a challenger from the left camp.

The two-round of left-wing parties primary are scheduled for Jan. 22 and 29.
A logo for Facebook's "Workplace" is seen in this posed photograph following the social media company's launch event for the product "Workplace", in central London on Oct 10. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Looking to break out of a "messy" email situation, the nonprofit group dosomething.org recently switched over to a new way of communicating among its far-flung teams.

Moving most internal communications to the messaging application Slack with its "channels" for various teams made it easier to coordinate the group's social change projects across 131 countries, said software engineer Joe Kent.

"All the teams have their channels and anyone can jump in and see what the others are doing," Kent told AFP. "You can follow the conversation a lot more quickly."

Slack, created in 2013, has become a leader in a crowded field of new applications aimed at helping workplaces move away from email.

Facebook this month jumped headlong into this segment with its Workplace application, aiming to leverage the popularity of the leading social network used by some 1.7 billion people.

Facebook is among an array of competitors vying for a slice of this market, including several startups and Microsoft.

San Francisco-based Slack has raised some $500 million at a reported valuation of some $4 billion, making it one of the most prominent venture-funded tech "unicorns" worth over $1 billion.

With some three million active users, including nearly one million paying for "premium" service, Slack has become one of the fastest-growing business applications.

Craig Le Clair of Forrester Research said these services are growing because younger "millennials" have different ways of working.

"They want to work when they want to, they want chat sessions that better integrate with their social media lives," Le Clair said.

Le Clair said many workplaces are facing "information overload" due to the volume of emails that need to be sorted and prioritized.

"The goal is to get out of email hell," he said.

'Just sign up'

Small- and medium-sized businesses find Slack especially appealing because of its ease of use on both mobile and desktop devices, says Mark Beccue, an analyst who researched the market for Compass Intelligence.

"There's no friction. Companies don't have to go through a major software license process, you just sign up," Beccue said. "It's the consumerization of an enterprise product."

The global enterprise chat and messaging market is set to reach $1.9 billion by 2019, according to Beccue's report.

Slack came at the right time for companies seeking new ways to improve workplace efficiency, Beccue said.

"I think they are major driver of innovation for business productivity," he said.

Slack and rivals like Atlassian's HipChat and Microsoft's Yammer offer social media-style interfaces for messages, and some integrate with business applications to enable voice calls, video and other services.

Slack recently teamed with cloud computing group Salesforce to broaden its offerings in services such as customer relations management.

Slack also allows organizations to create channels for communicating outside the enterprise, powered by artificial intelligence "bots."

"Slack is moving away from just being a messaging tool, they want to be the home base for enterprise applications, and that's a different ballgame," said Raul Castanon-Martinez, an analyst at 451 Research.

Castanon-Martinez said that "Slack's success took a lot of people by surprise" but that it may be difficult to sustain momentum in the face of deep-pocketed rivals like Facebook and Microsoft.

Microsoft earlier this year announced that its Yammer messaging platform would integrate with its Office 365 groups, while also offering easy connections to Outlook email and Skype, aiming for a broad set of business tools under its umbrella.

"Microsoft hasn't made a lot of noise, but they have been aggressive in remaining the dominant place in productivity applications," Castanon-Martinez said.

Aggressive pricing is also being used as a way to woo businesses away from Slack. Microsoft offers its suite of services for $2 to $4 per user, and Facebook $1 to $3 per user compared with Slack's standard $6.67 per user.

The Facebook model

Facebook meanwhile is seeking to use its advantage as "the social media world that millennials grew up with," Le Clair said.

But the analyst said it is not clear if companies and network managers will move to the Facebook platform.

"Most of the employers and managers didn't grow up in that world," he said.

"They associate Facebook with something their kids are doing, it's not associated with productivity and getting work done. Some companies even restrict the use of Facebook in the workplace."

Analysts point out that Slack and similar platforms may increase the burden on employees, becoming an additional "feed" to manage, and that email is still necessary for external contacts and other functions.

Le Clair said artificial intelligence may be the tool that helps sift through messages to stay on track.

"You're going to need emerging analytics to go through those streams," he said.

"Facebook has done a lot of investment in AI so they could be well-placed to do that."

Agence France-Presse
A Billings candidate for state Legislature is being accused of racism by his former classmates at a conservative Christian university.

Republican Robert Saunders is being accused of telling a black college peer at Patrick Henry College that at an earlier point in Americas history, he would have owned her. Another peer said Saunders once said President Barack Obama and his family should be sent back to the fields to pick cotton.

The comments, including a video of Saunders female accuser, were posted on the Democratic gossip blog Montana Cowgirl.

Through interviews and email inspections, The Gazette confirmed Saunders classmates were the source of the allegations.

Saunders said there was no truth to the allegations, calling his former classmates not credible.

At the end of the day, Im not a racist. I have never been a racist, I will never be a racist, Saunders said. My relationships with a number of people will demonstrate that Im not a racist.

Patrick Henry College is a Washington, D.C.-area school founded in 2000 with a vision to restore America by educating the best and brightest Christian students to take their place as future leaders of the nation and its culture, according to its website. Its alumni are encouraged to run for public office.

But when former classmates Stewart Lundy and Erin Eskew learned of Saunders' campaign to represent north-central Billings in the Montana Legislature, they objected.

Lundy got word to Saunders opponent, Democratic Rep. Jessica Karjala, that comments allegedly made by Saunders at Patrick Henry deserved looking into. Karjala turned the emails over to attorney Gene Jarussi, who contacted Lundy, who recalled Saunders making the comments about President Obama.

This years HD 48 race has been a battle. Last month, Saunders attorney wrote Karjala a warning letter accusing her of attempting to damage his reputation by suggesting he believes only rich people should vote. The allegation was based on an online survey response Saunders filled out.

Saunders earlier told The Gazette that Karjala is misinterpreting what he wrote. Likewise, Karjala is accusing Saunders of misrepresenting her record by telling constituents she voted to give herself a pay raise, which she didnt.

Speaking to Jarussi, Lundy, a Virginia farmer, also suggested the attorney contact Erin Eskew, one of only a couple of black students in Patrick Henrys student body of 300 during Saunders' time at the school.

Eskew recalled being in dining hall discussion with Saunders during their freshman year in college that ended with a racist remark toward her.

I can remember being in the old dining hall during lunch and the particulars of the conversation surrounding, I dont remember all that led up to the comment, but he made the statement that about 100 years ago, I would have owned you, Eskew told Jarussi, who video recorded the conversation.

Jarussi, his wife, Karen, and Eskew met in San Antonio, where the Jarussis were visiting Karens brother at a managed care facility last month. They had been trying to contact Eskew via Facebook to verify what Lundy had told them.

When they reached Eskew and learned she had a Texas phone number, they called. Eskews husband is in the military. The couple recently relocated to Texas.

Eskew, like many of Patrick Henrys Christian alumni, is a Republican. She told The Gazette the choice to come forward wasnt easy, but she reasoned that this years presidential candidates would be different had the people who knew Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spoken up years earlier. She said she didnt hate Saunders.

I dont personally hold any ongoing malice toward him because honestly I feel like racism stems from either a place of ignorance or malice, and that with either one of those things its a reflection that theres something going on in his life or his heart that I dont envy, Eskew said.

Eskew said Saunders never apologized for the remark and that she avoided him for her next three years of school. With only 300 students, Patrick Henry attendees knew each other, knew each others majors. It was hard not to, Eskew said.

Saunders said he maybe spoke with Eskew once, during freshman orientation, but never again. The conversation Eskew references, never happened, he said.

The fact is, I really dont know either of these two people. I dont know if I spoke to this Stewart Lundy guy. He was like three years ahead of me, Saunders said. I met Erin maybe once.

I dont remember saying that. Thats not something I would have said. One hundred years ago? That would have been 1910. So, I wouldnt have said that. Maybe she misunderstood me. Maybe thats why she happens to hate my guts now, but I wouldnt have said that.
This file photo shows Turkish troops driving their tanks on September 4, 2016 on a road near the Syrian village of al-Waqf and some 3km south of al-Rai, the small border town with Turkey. (AFP/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Twenty Turkish tanks entered northern Syria on Saturday to support rebels in their fight to capture a town from Kurdish-led fighters, amid condemnation and threats from the Syrian government.

The Turkish tanks crossed the border into the northern countryside of the northern city of Aleppo, in a bid to help the Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) capture the town of Tal Rifaat, close to the Turkish border, from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which they have recently taken from the Islamic State (IS) group, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The Turkey-backed FSA has been engaged in a battle dubbed the Euphrates Shield, which is primarily aiming at stripping the IS from key ground in northern Syria and fill the void, in order to put an end to the expansion of the SDF, something Ankara has been keen to achieve, due to its fear of a Kurdish influence near its borders.

At some point, a confrontation between the Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led ones seemed inevitable, due to Ankara's main aim to thwart the momentum of the Kurds.

A day earlier, the FSA announced its move against Tal Rifaat, and Ankara backed it up with 20 tanks, which raised the ire of the Syrian government, which has seemingly got fed up with Turkey's "flagrant violation."

Following the entry of the Turkish tanks, the Genera Command of the Syrian army released a statement, condemning the Turkish infiltration.

It said the Turkish government continues to provide direct support to the terrorists by backing them with artillery fire and tanks "to continue their crimes against civilians" in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

"This new aggressive stance is another dangerous escalation and a clear violation of the sovereignty of Syria," it said.

The statement further warned that "any presence of the Turkish army inside the Syrian border will be dealt with as an occupation power and we will respond to it by all possible means."

This comes as the Syrian army in cooperation with Russia declared a three-day truce in Aleppo city, to give a chance for the civilians and the rebels to evacuate the rebel-held part in eastern Aleppo.

However, the truce, which started on Thursday, saw almost no evacuation.

The Syrian government accused the rebels in eastern Aleppo of preventing the civilians and the rebels who want to surrender or leave.

The battles map in Aleppo is so complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players.

UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura recently proposed an evacuation of the ultra-radical groups of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known by al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in order for the Russian and the Syrian forces to ease their attacks on eastern Aleppo.

However, as the truce is in its third day, the process has largely failed, leaving the city with one option, another broad offensive by the Syrian army and Russia to forcefully remove the rebels from Aleppo city.

The northern countryside, however, remains another battle ground between the Kurdish-led SDF and the Turkey-backed FSA.

It's worth mentioning that the United States backs both the FSA and the SDF, an example of the chaos resulted from the U.S. double standards in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Observers believe that Aleppo is going to be the decisive battle ground among the fighting groups, and the winner will be the one dictating its conditions to resolve the crisis, as the province contain all the groups that are supported by regional and international powers, with the civilians paying the price for this proxy war.
Rasa forouzan (L), a 12-year-old Iranian girl, plays computer game with her friend, in Teheran, capital of Iran, Nov. 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- If you are uncertain how much time your kids can spend in front of a screen, you may refer to new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the nation's largest group of pediatricians.

In new screen time guidelines released this week, the AAP said children younger than 18 months old should avoid use of any screen media with the exception of video-chatting to maintain family ties.

For children 18 and 24 months old, parents should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.

For children two to five years old, it urged limiting screen use to one hour per day of high-quality programs and said parents should watch with their children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.

The guidelines also recommended banning digital media use an hour before bed, turning off devices when not in use and keeping bedrooms, mealtimes and parent-child playtime screen free.

"Digital media has become an inevitable part of childhood for many infants, toddlers and preschoolers, but research is limited on how this affects their development," said Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan, one of the authors of the AAP statement for children younger than five years old.

Radesky said that in children over three, the research is solid that high-quality programs like Sesame Street can teach kids new ideas.

"However, under three, toddlers' immature brains have a hard time transferring what they see on a screen to real-life knowledge," she said in a statement. "We don't yet know if interactivity helps or hinders that process."

"What we do know is that early childhood is a time of rapid brain development, when children need time to play, sleep, learn to handle emotions, and build relationships. Research still suggests that excessive media use can get in the way of these important activities."

Although there are specific instances when using digital media as a soothing tool is helpful, such as on airplanes or during medical procedures, parents should also avoid using media as the only way to calm down children, authors noted.

According to Radesky, using devices as a common soothing strategy may limit children's ability to regulate their own emotions.

In addition, for children aged six and older, the AAP said the idea is to balance media use with other healthy behaviors.

For example, parents should "place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health."

The group also said parents should designate media-free times, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms, for school-aged children and adolescents.

"Parents play an important role in helping children and teens navigate media, which can have both positive and negative effects," said Megan Moreno, lead author of the policy statement on media use in school-aged children and teens.

"Parents can set expectations and boundaries to make sure their children's media experience is a positive one. The key is mindful use of media within a family," Moreno said.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday said there is no agreement with Turkey about its troops' participation in the battle to free the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

A statement issued by Abadi's office said that the prime minister received in his office the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter who arrived earlier in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders to discuss the Iraqi offensive against the IS militants in Mosul.

"The reports which said there was an agreement between Iraq and Turkey are not true," the statement quoted Abadi as saying.

"A Turkish delegation had arrived in Baghdad on Sunday and held meetings, but its suggestions were not enough for Iraq," Abadi said.

"We tell everyone that the battle of Mosul will be carried out only by Iraqis and we will not allow any force to intervene," Abadi said.

Carter asserted that all the countries assisting Iraq should respect its sovereignty and not offer any help without Iraq's permission, according to the statement.

On Friday, Carter had signaled conditional support for a possible Turkish role in the battles to free Mosul and said there was an agreement in principle that could allow Turkish participation, but he acknowledged that Iraq would need to agree.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are already in Iraq, serving as trainers and advisers, in an attempt to help the country win the battle against IS militants in the country's northern city of Mosul.

The U.S.-led coalition has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in Iraq and Syria.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
"We tell everyone that the battle of Mosul will be carried out only by Iraqis and we will not allow any force to intervene," Iraqi PM Abadi said. (AFP photo)

BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday said there is no agreement with Turkey about its troops' participation in the battle to free the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

A statement issued by Abadi's office said that the prime minister received in his office the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter who arrived earlier in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders to discuss the Iraqi offensive against the IS militants in Mosul.

"The reports which said there was an agreement between Iraq and Turkey are not true," the statement quoted Abadi as saying.

"A Turkish delegation had arrived in Baghdad on Sunday and held meetings, but its suggestions were not enough for Iraq," Abadi said.

"We tell everyone that the battle of Mosul will be carried out only by Iraqis and we will not allow any force to intervene," Abadi said.

Carter asserted that all the countries assisting Iraq should respect its sovereignty and not offer any help without Iraq's permission, according to the statement.

On Friday, Carter had signaled conditional support for a possible Turkish role in the battles to free Mosul and said there was an agreement in principle that could allow Turkish participation, but he acknowledged that Iraq would need to agree.

Hundreds of U.S. troops are already in Iraq, serving as trainers and advisers, in an attempt to help the country win the battle against IS militants in the country's northern city of Mosul.

The U.S.-led coalition has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in Iraq and Syria.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
MANILA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine foreign secretary said on Saturday that the "little brown brother image" has thwarted the Philippines' growth and development, adding that separation from the United States is demanded in pursuing an independent foreign policy.

"It implies breaking away from the debilitating mindset of dependency and subservience - economically and militarily - that have perpetuated our 'little brown brother' image to America, which has stunted our growth and advancement," Perfecto Yasay wrote on his Facebook page.

He parroted the explanation made earlier by President Rodrigo Duterte that Philippines' separation from the U.S. economically and military does not mean severance of relationship or terminating the special bond between the two nations.

Indeed, he said that breaking away from "our closest friend, only military ally and strategic partner would not be in our best national interest" as declared unmistakably by Duterte on his arrival in Davao City from his successful trip to China early Saturday.

"Dismantling this old paradigm to give way to new stronger structures and methods in promoting better understanding and mutually beneficial relationships does not signify destroying alliances, making enemies or creating new barriers towards working together," Yasay explained.

The top Philippine diplomat added, "It simply means letting go of the disguised chains that continue to hold us captive to foreign interests in order to enable our people and duly elected leaders to address our urgent problems and needs in the light of our priorities, experiences and values without undue outside interference."

The separation means enabling the Philippines as a sovereign equal with all nations "in securing world peace not war, forging stronger friendships and not enmity and making our planet a better and safer place for everyone," Yasay said.

Related:

Philippines committed to restoring defense relations with China: defense secretary

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is committed to restoring defense relations with China, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo speaks to the media during a press conference in Oslo, Norway on Oct. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang)

OSLO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said Friday protectionism is a wrong remedy for economic uncertainty as anti-trade sentiments are rising in the world, especially in the United States and Europe.

"We have to be mindful of the fact that there is a lot of uncertainty in the world today, and populations in the advanced economies are uncomfortable with that," Azevedo told a joint press conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.

Azevedo, who is in Olso to participate in a two-day informal meeting of over 20 trade ministers from around the world to discuss the WTO's future work, noted that the problem is the "wrong diagnosis" amid rising anti-trade sentiments.

"The problem is not trade. The problem is that you have a lot of displacement in the labor market, uncertainties in the labor market, which is due mostly to new technologies, innovation and automation," he said.

The WTO chief said trade is responsible for less than 20 percent of the job losses anywhere in advanced economies and over 80 percent of them are due to new technology, innovation and high productivity.

"If you don't understand the forces behind the discontent with the uncertainty that you see today in societies, you will get the wrong diagnosis," Azevedo said.

"If the diagnosis is trade, if the remedy, the medicine, is protectionism, you will be hurting the patient," said Azevedo.

"If you introduce protectionism, if you raise barriers, if you stop trade, the biggest losers are going to be the ones who are complaining," Azevedo said, adding that whose with lower income will be more affected.

In a speech to the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise on Friday, Azevedo said a number of steps can be taken domestically and globally in response to the challenges.

"First, we need to act domestically. While trade has fuelled growth and development around the world, it is the task of domestic policy to ensure that countries are ready to compete and disseminate the benefits in an equitable way," he said.

"Second, we must act globally. We have to act to kick-start trade growth. We have to ensure that the system is open, that it is truly available to all, and that it continues to deliver those benefits that we want more people to enjoy," Azevedo said.
BAKU, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- "We are trying to reach an accord between OPEC and countries that are not members of this organization," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was quoted as saying here on Saturday.

He made remarks while making a statement at a joint press conference with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku as part of his first state visit to this country.

"We are very close to reaching an accord (on oil production curbs) and signing a relevant deal," Maduro stated.

"I believe that the relevant agreement will be reached within a very short time and we will announce it," Maduro said, adding that this will pave the way for a new period of stability and investments, as well as stable output and new oil price formula.

"The question is that whether 20-30 U.S. dollars per barrel is acceptable for the stability of the world economy. Investments in the oil sector are not enough. Several years ago, the price of oil was 150 U.S. dollars per barrel. This is not correct," Venezuela's President said.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro have made statements for the press following the ceremony of signing Azerbaijani-Venezuelan documents.

Aliyev said that President Maduro's visit to Azerbaijan creates good opportunities for expanding the bilateral cooperation and developing the relations between the two countries in various spheres.

President Maduro, for his part, said that his visit to Azerbaijan will pave way for the development of bilateral relations. He noted that this is important for the regions of both countries.

During the meeting, the two parties exchanged views on studying the cooperation in such spheres as, trade, energy and investment making. The parties also exchanged views on cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries for stabilizing the oil prices on the world market.

They discussed cooperation within international organizations, including the Non-Aligned Movement.

OPEC nations reached a preliminary agreement on Sept. 28 to curb oil production for the first time since the global financial crisis eight years ago, in an effort to reduce a global glut of crude that has depressed oil prices for more than two years and weakened the economies of oil-producing nations. The preliminary deal has limited output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day.

The deal was reached after several hours of talks in the Algerian capital, though output levels must still be finalized at an OPEC meeting in Vienna in November.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (R) meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the 28 member states of the European Union (EU) on Friday wrapped up a two-day summit in Brussels, seeking to stem flows of irregular migrants, settle a stalled trade deal with Canada, and mount pressure on Russia.

CURBING FLOW OF MIGRANTS

At the first session of the summit, the leaders' discussion focused in particular on external border controls and deals with African countries to reduce the number of illegal migrants.

Hailing the entry into force of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation on Oct. 6, the EU countries committed themselves to continuing to deploy staff and equipment to the new institution.

In a concluding document of the discussion, the leaders called for "a swift adoption" of a revised Schengen Borders Code to enforce systematic controls on all travelers crossing EU external borders.

Meanwhile, the leaders asked the EU executive body to come up with a proposal for setting up a European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) to allow for advance security checks on visa-exempt travelers and deny them entry where necessary.

Furthermore, the EU leaders pressed for quicker progress from deals with African countries to reduce the number of irregular migrants, increase returns and try to solve the "root causes" of migration.

The central Mediterranean has once again become the main crossing point for illegal migrants from Africa. More than 115,000 people arrived in Italy by boat in the first eight months of 2016, remaining at the same level as in 2014 and 2015, European Council President Donald Tusk told the press after the first day of the summit.

After accessing the so-called "migration compacts" set up between the EU and five African countries, namely Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia, the EU leaders agreed to wait until the next summit in December to decide whether to extend it to other countries.

Thanks to the migration deal between the EU and Turkey, the influx of irregular migrants crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece has dropped 98 percent in September compared with last year. Meanwhile, twice as many irregular migrants had already been returned compared to all of 2015, Tusk said.

As to the controversial relocation and resettlement schemes, divergence among the EU countries persists and member states are urged to quickly implement the existing schemes.

SETTLING TRADE DEAL WITH CANADA

Leaders from the 28 member states of the bloc were expected to reach an agreement on approving the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the second day of the EU summit. However, due to continued opposition from a region of Belgium, the deal has been thrown into disarray.

"I hope that we will be able to see an agreed settlement in a few days, with the Wallonians, our friends," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a press conference after the second day of the EU summit.

The Belgian region of Wallonia is blocking the ratification of the deal over social and environmental concerns.

According to local media, Wallonia was still resisting pressure to back the EU-Canada trade deal on Friday morning. The region's leader Paul Magnette said "difficulties remain" for the region to sign the deal.

The French-speaking area in southern Belgium fears local workers will be laid off if the agreement leads to cheaper farming and industrial imports.

Juncker said Wallonia's problem with CETA is "not technical or substantial but political." He expressed hope to find a solution in the coming few days as he called CETA "the best trade agreement" the EU has ever negotiated.

The trade deal with Canada could be the bloc's last free trade agreement if it fails, warned European Council President Donald Tusk.

Encouragingly, Romania dropped its opposition to the deal during the summit after securing visa-free access to Canada for its citizens, which starts from Dec. 1, 2017.

"We are in a position to withdraw our reservations against CETA," Romanian President Klaus Johannis said Friday in Brussels.

The EU-Canada free trade deal was reached in August 2014 after five years of negotiations, aiming to eliminate 98 percent of tariffs between the two sides.

MOUNTING PRESSURE ON RUSSIA

The EU leaders on Friday "held a strategic policy debate on relations with Russia," according to a summary document released after the first day's meeting.

Accusing Russia's strategy of attempting to weaken the EU, Tusk told a news conference that the EU and its member states will continue in their efforts to put pressure on Russia.

As to the situation in the war-torn Aleppo, the EU leaders called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a resumption of a credible political process under UN auspices.

"Everything should be done to extend the ceasefire, bring in humanitarian aid to the civilian population and create the conditions for opening negotiations on a political transition in Syria," the document said.

However, the EU warned of the need to consider "all available options" should the situation not improved.

Russia and Syria on Monday announced a humanitarian truce from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time (0600 GMT to 1400 GMT) on Thursday in rebel-held areas of Aleppo, but decided on Wednesday to extend it for another three hours.

The ceasefire is aimed at ensuring the safe exit of civilians via humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of the wounded and sick.
The sculptures of Amun, King Ramses II and Re-Harakhty are illuminated by sunlight during the Sun Festival at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel in Aswan, Egypt, Oct. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

by Mahmoud Fouly, Wang Xue

ABU SIMBEL, Egypt, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Many Chinese tourists this year joined the long queues of thousands of people who gathered on Saturday early morning outside Abu Simbel temple in Upper Egypt's Aswan province to watch the sun illuminating the temple's inner sanctuary and shining the face of ancient Egyptian King Ramses II.

They all looked so attentive and excited while waiting for the extraordinary solar event that takes place twice a year, on Oct. 22 and Feb. 22, as an evidence of the advancement of Egypt's Pharaohs in the field of astronomy thousands of years ago.

Ren Wei, a 20-year-old Chinese visitor, was curiously talking with her friend about the magnificence of Pharaonic drawings on one of the walls of the huge temple, stressing the whole atmosphere was "magical and attractive" to her.

"I have always been curious about those Egyptian legends, magical stories and ancient sites since I was little. I read many books and watched many movies about Egypt. So, like many Chinese people, I always hoped to come here to see the ancient history of the country," the young woman told Xinhua.

Egypt has been suffering tourism recession over the past few years due to political turmoil and relevant security issues, yet the Chinese visitors expressed their feeling of safety in the country amid adequate security presence and deployment all around.

"We really feel safe here, although as a girl I am still a little reluctant to walk alone in the street," Ren remarked, expressing her impression about Egypt as "a country with huge potentials and fruitful tourism resources that just needs more development."

The number of Chinese visitors to Egypt increased from 65,000 to 135,000 in 2015, and the tourism ministry has been targeting to multiply the number in 2016.

Egypt's Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed, who attended the Pharaonic solar phenomenon with a number of other officials, noticed more Chinese tourists this year compared to previous ones, stressing Chinese tourism is on top of Egypt's marketing agenda.

"Among thousands of tourists, I see more Chinese faces today, and I believe the tourism from China is growing and we need to grow it more and more," the minister told Xinhua outside the temple after watching the sunrays on the face of King Ramses II along with fellow officials.

"We like the Chinese people very much and we're going to focus more on the Chinese market to improve the flow of Chinese tourists to Egypt," the minister continued, noting that the ministry has recently initiated tourism promotion activities targeting Chinese visitors.

During the unique solar event, tourists have been allowed to get inside the sanctuary in groups to take a look at the king's illuminated face and return from the other side of the same passage but mostly sticking to the wall and sometimes bending so as not to block the sunrays.

"It is the first time for me and my family to come to Egypt, and the only word to describe the temple is that it is breathtaking!" said Pan Hongyan, a lady in her 40s from the Chinese capital city of Beijing, who was taking pictures for her husband and son at the gate of the temple.

The lady added that she and her family visited many European and Asian countries for vacation and they preferred to come to Egypt this year to see its different culture and lifestyle, noting both China and Egypt are ancient civilizations.

"Egypt is no longer a remote, unreachable country for Chinese visitors. Egypt is unique, and we're lucky to meet a nice Egyptian tour guide who speaks very good Chinese. So we have really enjoyed the trip," Pan told Xinhua.

As for Li Jianfang, 50s, she said she came from northern Hebei Province in China along with some friends to see the solar festivity and the ancient Egyptian antiquities, saying the Egyptian government is doing a good job in the protection of such "priceless" sites.

She referred to China's further economic cooperation as one of the reasons for the growing numbers of Chinese visitors to Egyptian tourist attractions.

"The cultural and touristic sites here in Egypt deserve to be visited by more people around the world," Li told Xinhua.

Egyptian Culture Minister Helmi al-Nimnim said the festivity is very important to Egypt as it attracts thousands of tourists every year, praising the efforts done by the officials of Aswan province and various ministries for the success of such an "international event."

"This is our culture and our historical heritage. We will and we must continue promoting them and we welcome people from all over the world to come and visit, especially the Chinese tourists," the minister told Xinhua.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in the third and final presidential debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States, Oct. 19, 2016.(Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday put forward proposals for his first 100 days in office if elected president, calling his plan "a contract" between him and U.S. voters.

Speaking at a rally in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the New York billionaire developer pledged to clean house in Washington, D.C. with a "new government of, by and for the people," and accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of running against "change" and against "all of the American people."

"Our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime," said the candidate famous for his bellicose style.

However, Trump did not put forward any new proposals in his 40-minute speech. Rather, he packaged his past plans into a number of legislative measures.

According to his 100-day plan, a Trump administration would curb illegal immigration, and impose Congressional term limits.

On the economy, Trump vowed to create over 25 million jobs in one decade, renegotiate U.S. international trade deals and cancel billions in payments to the United Nations' climate change programs to use the money to invest domestically.

"On Nov. 8, Americans will be voting on this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our country, secure our communities and honesty to our government," said Trump.

Related:

Trump's refusal to accept loss in election incurs criticisms from Clinton's camp

LAS VEGAS, the United States, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday's refusal to concede defeat should he lose the presidential election has become a vulnerable point in his campaign.
Calling him a leader who preyed on methamphetamine addicts to help spread the drug throughout the Glendive community, U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Friday sentenced Michael Vincent Villalobos to more than 10 years in prison.

Watters followed a sentencing recommendation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich in ordering Villalobos to spend 10 years and 10 months in prison, which was about the middle of the guideline range.

Villalobos, 22, pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to possess meth for distribution and to conspiracy to launder money. The judge dismissed a third count as part of a plea agreement.

Watters said that Villalobos needed a significant sentence because of his leadership role for bringing meth into the community from California and using local addicts to store and distribute the drug. The addicts dont have money to buy meth but helped traffickers to get the drug for personal use, she said.

You come into town and prey on those individuals, Watters said.

The judge also noted that Villalobos supported himself with drug trafficking proceeds and that the investigation showed there were an amazing number of transactions from Glendive to California.

Villalobos apologized to his family, the community and to friends and said that while hes been in custody he had earned his high school equivalency diploma and wanted to improve his life.

Defense attorney David Freedman recommended a low-end sentence of about 10 years.

Prosecutors said an investigation by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration found that Villalobos was part of a conspiracy to have meth sent to him from California connections and regularly sent back drug proceeds.

In February 2015, Sidney Police Department officers pulled over Villalobos and co-defendant, Roper Ray Blankenship, 22, of Patterson, Calif. During the execution of a search warrant, officers found 72.3 grams of meth and a .38-caliber revolver.

And in September 2015, Miles City Police Department officers attempted a traffic stop of Villalobos vehicle. But when the vehicle stopped, Villalobos, Blankenship and others fled the scene.

Officers got a search warrant and in a search of the vehicle, found 35.74 grams of meth and a .22-caliber gun in a backpack belonging to Blankenship.

Blankenship pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing. Other co-defendants, Teal Cherie Harris and Devin Allen Mitchell, were sentenced to time served. Watters said Harris and Mitchell has minor roles in the conspiracy.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in the third and final presidential debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States, Oct. 19, 2016.(Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday put forward proposals for his first 100 days in office if elected president, calling his plan "a contract" between him and U.S. voters.

Speaking at a rally in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the New York billionaire developer pledged to clean house in Washington, D.C. with a "new government of, by and for the people," and accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of running against "change" and against "all of the American people."

"Our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime," said the candidate famous for his bellicose style.

However, Trump did not put forward any new proposals in his 40-minute speech. Rather, he packaged his past plans into a number of legislative measures.

According to his 100-day plan, a Trump administration would curb illegal immigration, and impose Congressional term limits.

On the economy, Trump vowed to create over 25 million jobs in one decade, renegotiate U.S. international trade deals and cancel billions in payments to the United Nations' climate change programs to use the money to invest domestically.

"On Nov. 8, Americans will be voting on this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our country, secure our communities and honesty to our government," said Trump.
CHICAGO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Oscar submission Sieranevada took top prizes at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) on Friday night.

The awards were presented at a reception and ceremony at the Festival's host venue, AMC River East.

Sieranevada, a Romanian drama, won the Gold Hugo for Best Film in the Festival's International Feature Competition. Director of the film, Cristi Puiu, received the Silver Hugo Best Director award.

"This film is an incredible cinematic achievement and fully immerses the audience in a family gathering and makes us aware of them not only on a personal level but also embodies the spirit of the times we live in," the juries announced.

Jury President Geraldine Chaplin presented the Festival's Jury Prize to Asghar Farhadi's "the Salesman," an Iranian film that focus on "the problems that arise from a case of sexual assault and the way an Arabic society deals with it."

Juho Kuosmanen from Finland won the Gold Hugo in the New Directors Competition for his film "the Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki," the film "mimics a vintage black-and-white," telling the story about a Finnish boxer, Olli Maki, fighting an undefeated American champion in the ring.

"Samuel in the Clouds", a joint production between Belgium and Netherlands, won the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary, which had its world premiere at the Festival.

Adrian Titien won Silver Hugo Best Actor for his performance in "Graduation", and Rebecca Hall won Silver Hugo Best Actress for her performance in "Christine".

Silver Plaque Best Screenplay went to Cristian Mungiu for "Graduation". Silver Plaque Best Cinematography went to Kacper Fertacz for "the Last Family", and Silver Plaque Best Art Direction went to Jagna Janicka for "the Last Family".

Michael Kutza, founder and artistic director of the Festival, presented the Founder's Award to director Andrei Konchalovsky for his "Paradise" (Germany/Russia).

Kutza said the film captures the spirit of the CIFF for its unique and innovative approach to the art of the moving image.

Other categories of awards included Roger Ebert Award, recognizing emerging talents, Q Hugo Awards and Short Film Awards.

The Festival will last until October 27.
The battles in Aleppo are complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players. (Reuters photo)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles raged in Syria's northern city of Aleppo after a three-day truce expired Saturday without achieving its intended goals, according to pan-Arab Mayadeen TV.

The battles are concentrated at the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo, said the report, adding that airstrikes were targeting the rebel positions in eastern Aleppo.

It said that the Syrian military forces are making a progress in the Salahuddien neighborhood, southwest of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo part.

The unilateral truce, declared by Russia and Syria, aims at helping evacuate the civilians and wounded from eastern Aleppo, as well as the rebels to either go to other rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib, or surrender to the Syrian army in exchange for a presidential pardon.

The Syrian and Russian side outlined six passages out of eastern Aleppo for the civilians and two for the rebels.

However, only seven rebels managed to leave during the three days, as the government accused the ultra-radical group of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham of forcefully preventing the civilians from leaving.

The battles in Aleppo are complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura recently proposed an evacuation of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in order for the Russian and the Syrian forces to ease their attacks on eastern Aleppo.

However, as the truce expired, the process has largely failed, leaving the city with one option, another major offensive by the Syrian army and Russia to forcefully remove the rebels from Aleppo city.

The northern countryside, however, remains another battle ground between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

It's worth mentioning that the United States backs both the FSA and the SDF, an example of the chaos resulted from the U.S. double standards in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Observers believe that Aleppo is going to be the decisive battle ground among the fighting groups, and the winner will be the one dictating its conditions to resolve the crisis, as the province contains all the groups that are supported by regional and international powers, with the civilians paying the price for this proxy war.

Related:

Syria accuses Turkish airstrikes of killing 150 in Aleppo countryside

DAMASCUS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Thursday accused Turkish airstrikes of killing 150 people in the countryside of the northern province of Aleppo a day earlier, state news agency SANA reported. Full story

20 Turkish tanks enter northern Syria amid gov't condemnation
The battles in Aleppo are complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players. (Reuters photo)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles raged in Syria's northern city of Aleppo after a three-day truce expired Saturday without achieving its intended goals, according to pan-Arab Mayadeen TV.

The battles are concentrated at the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo, said the report, adding that airstrikes were targeting the rebel positions in eastern Aleppo.

It said that the Syrian military forces are making a progress in the Salahuddien neighborhood, southwest of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo part.

The unilateral truce, declared by Russia and Syria, aims at helping evacuate the civilians and wounded from eastern Aleppo, as well as the rebels to either go to other rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib, or surrender to the Syrian army in exchange for a presidential pardon.

The Syrian and Russian side outlined six passages out of eastern Aleppo for the civilians and two for the rebels.

However, only seven rebels managed to leave during the three days, as the government accused the ultra-radical group of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham of forcefully preventing the civilians from leaving.

The battles in Aleppo are complicated, as the province is an example of the Syrian war, where there are so many rebel groups backed by different regional and international players.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura recently proposed an evacuation of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in order for the Russian and the Syrian forces to ease their attacks on eastern Aleppo.

However, as the truce expired, the process has largely failed, leaving the city with one option, another major offensive by the Syrian army and Russia to forcefully remove the rebels from Aleppo city.

The northern countryside, however, remains another battle ground between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

It's worth mentioning that the United States backs both the FSA and the SDF, an example of the chaos resulted from the U.S. double standards in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Observers believe that Aleppo is going to be the decisive battle ground among the fighting groups, and the winner will be the one dictating its conditions to resolve the crisis, as the province contains all the groups that are supported by regional and international powers, with the civilians paying the price for this proxy war.
YAOUNDE, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Saturday decreed Oct. 24 will be a national mourning day for the victims of Friday's train derailment accident, which left more than 70 people killed.

The national flag will fly at half mast throughout the country as well as in Cameroon's diplomatic offices.

The president, who is abroad, also ordered the government to take all necessary measures to assist the victims and take investigations to determine the reason of the accident.

A passenger train traveling from Yaounde to economic city of Douala derailed around 12:30 Friday in Eseka station in Central Region, about 120 kms southwest of Yaounde.

The injured passengers are now taking free treatment in different hospitals, and the rescuers are still working on the site in a hope to find more victims from the derailed train cars.

The derailed train took double the passengers than usual, as the road from Yaounde-Douala was disconnected early Friday morning. Many passenger who planned to take bus had to choose train, which forced the railway authorities, Camrail, to add more cars to the train.

According to some reports, the train consisted of 20 cars, out of which, 11 overturned in Eseka.
BOGOTA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's national airline, Avianca, has cancelled all flights to Venezuela and others that would cross Venezuelan airspace on Saturday, after an incident on Friday.

According to the Colombian Ministry of Defense on Twitter, a Venezuelan fighter jet flew dangerously close to an Avianca jet flying from Madrid to Bogota on Friday night.

The Avianca pilot alerted the Colombian aviation authorities and was instructed to sharply change the flight path. The jet allegedly stayed close to the Avianca plane for four minutes before flying away.

After the plane landed in Bogota, Colombia contacted Venezuela's air defense authorities and were told the jet had been on a "navigation mission".

Following conversations between the two countries' defense and foreign ministers, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino promised a full investigation on the order of President Nicolas Maduro.

Despite this, Avianca has decided to ground a number of flights leaving from Bogota to Caracas until the situation is resolved.

Online information from flight trackers showed other Avianca flights on Friday had avoided crossing over Venezuela. Avianca flights to Peru and Barbados are among those affected.

Venezuela and Colombia have had a tense relationship for years, with Caracas accusing Bogota of leading an economic war to undermine Venezuela.

Their border, which had remained closed for a year, was re-opened in August after President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Maduro met to resolve the issue.
TEHRAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday dismissed the recent report by the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in the country as "politically-motivated," Press TV reported.

The report has been compiled by the outgoing UN special rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed based on a political approach and in line with the goals of certain powers, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Saturday.

Such reports "will not only fail to improve the human rights in the world but will also have no result save undermining human rights promotion at an international level," Qasemi said.

In his latest report, Shaheed reiterated allegations of violation of human rights situation in Iran.

The Iranian spokesman added that basically the appointment of special rapporteur on human rights situation in Iran was "unjustifiable, meaningless and destructive" as the Islamic republic is committed to legal and religious principles as well as international obligations.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the promotion of human rights is an important issue for all members of the international community, which will be materialized only through cooperation and dialogue as well as an equal and non-selective behavior," Qasemi was quoted as saying.

In his reports on Iran since his appointment in 2011, Shaheed pointed to a number of issues, including death sentences, discrimination against minorities and women, mistreatment of political prisoners, and restrictions on freedom of speech, as the examples of rights violation by the Islamic republic.

Iran rejected Shaheed's multiple reports on Iran as accusations which bore "certain professional flaws."

During his mission, Shaheed demanded to visit Iran to discover the realities of the human rights situation in the country, a request refused by Iran.

Last month, Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jahangir was appointed as the UN special rights rapporteur on Iran to replace Maldivian Ahmed Shaheed.
CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court confirmed on Saturday a 20-year prison sentence against deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, official MENA news agency reported.

Egypt's highest court, the Court of Cassation, rejected Morsi's appeal, rendering the prison sentence final, convicting the former president of inciting clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in late 2012 that left 10 people dead.

The same court on Saturday also cancelled the 25-year jail term against the Brotherhood's top chief Mohamed Badie and six others including former supplies minister Bassem Ouda, ordering their retrial before different courts over similar charges.

The defendants have been accused of urging confrontations between Morsi's loyalists and opponents that left at least 10 people killed and 20 others injured outside a mosque in Giza following Morsi's removal.

Morsi was removed by the military in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

Later security crackdown against his loyalists, mostly from the Brotherhood, left about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested while the group was eventually blacklisted as a terrorist organization.

In May 2015, Morsi and 106 of his Brotherhood supporters received initial death sentences over a mass jail break following the 2011 uprising that ousted the country's long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Later in June 2016, a criminal court handed Morsi 25-year jail and announced confirmation of death sentences against six other Brotherhood loyalists over conspiring with militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups and leaking classified documents to Qatar against Egypt's national security.

Since Morsi's ouster, Egypt has been facing growing anti-government terrorist attacks that left hundreds of police and military men killed, with a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional group claiming responsibility for most of them.

On Saturday, a senior military general, who served in restive North Sinai province, was shot dead by three unknown assailants outside his home on the outskirts of the capital Cairo.

A week earlier, at least 20 soldiers were killed in blasts and armed attacks in North Sinai, and the security forces retaliated by killing around 100 militants and wounding 40 others.

Overall, the security forces killed over 1,000 militants and arrested a similar number of suspects in the chaotic peninsula as part of the country's "war against terrorism" declared by then military-chief and now-President Sisi.
CARACAS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The government of Venezuela sent on Saturday two shipments of equipment and supply to help rebuild houses and infrastructure in Cuba and Haiti, after Hurricane Matthew caused damages there.

The two ships left the port of La Guaira, 28 km from Caracas, bounded for Havana and Port-au-Prince.

The Minister of Interior Relations, Justice and Peace, Nestor Reverol, told Venezolana de Television, that the government had established an "international, humanitarian corridor to help our brothers" in both Caribbean nations.

Both countries will get a small wet mortar production facility, each able to produce 120 tons of cement and 200 square meters of material a day. Furthermore, Cuba will get 37,500 square meters of sheeting, while Haiti will get 27,500 square meters of the same to help restore homes.

On Oct. 10, the Venezuelan government sent 20 tons of emergency aid to Haiti, mostly medicine, such as antibiotics and painkillers, to deal with the immediate health crisis caused by Matthew. A team of 40 doctors also arrived in the country, where the hurricane killed at least 1,000 people according to media reports.

Venezuela also sent to Haiti 450 tons of machinery to help remove rubble, restore roadways and rebuild bridges.

On Oct. 11, Venezuela sent 327 tons of aid to Cuba, joining 335 tons of machinery previously sent, in order to help the eastern regions of the island battered by Matthew.
Image taken on June 21, 2015 shows a member of the "Club Cannabico Cultivando la Libertad Uruguay Crece" (CLUC), taking part in the post-harverst activities of preparation, packaging and weighing marijuana for distribution in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. On June 26 the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is celebrated. (Xinhua/Nicolas Celaya)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A solid majority, or 60 percent, of Americans now support the legal use of marijuana as more states are soon to vote on the issue in the November elections, found a new Gallup poll.

This is the highest record in Gallup's 47-year trend since it first conducted the poll in 1969, when only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization of marijuana use.

Marijuana use is currently legal in four states, including Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia. And five more states, including California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada, will vote in November on whether to legalize marijuana use.

Americans' support to legal use of marijuana has been rising since late 1970s, when the support was 28 percent. After a retreat in the 1980s, the support stayed in the 25 percent range through 1995, before increasing to 31 percent in 2000, Gallup said.

The support for legalization of marijuana use in the U.S. reached a majority for the first time in 2013 after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, according to Gallup.

Support for legalizing marijuana use has increased among most subgroups in the past decade. The support has climbed 33 percentage points to 77 percent among adults aged 18 to 34, while it is up 16 points to 45 percent among adults aged 55 and older, Gallup said.

If recreational marijuana use becomes legal in California this year, many other states will likely follow, because the "Golden State" often sets political trends for the rest of the U.S., Gallup said.
The Treasure States current  and possibly future  treasure lies with ordinary rock mining, a state official said Thursday at a mining symposium in Butte.

Ordinary rocks are the predominant mining commodity for the state.

Rock quarries and rock picking take up nearly half of the land Montana Department of Environmental Quality permits for mining, said DEQ geochemist Garrett Smith in a presentation to about 40 people at the Minerals and Mining Symposium at Montana Tech.

Rock mining can provide everything from construction gravel to decorative stone. Smith said most rock quarries and rock picking, which is a shallow operation, are in Central Montana. But Smith said potential exists for rock mining to be a growth industry for Southwest Montana.

With a number of small-scale sand and gravel pits between Butte and Dillon and between Butte and Bozeman, some of the industry already is in this part of the state. One of the larger rock quarries in Southwest Montana is Dennis Washington-owned Pipestone Quarry, about 20 miles east of Butte. Montana Resources' vice president of human resources Mike McGivern said Pipestone Quarry's biggest buyer of rock is MR. MR is using the crushed rock to enlarge its tailings dam. Pipestone Quarry primarily provides crushed rock for railroad tracks.

The only base metal mine operating in the state is MR, Smith said. MR weathered the commodity pricing slump of 2016 and put millions back into the company.

Whitehall's Golden Sunlight is the only precious metal mine operative in Montana. Located 25 miles east of Butte, Golden Sunlight laid off most of its work force last year. But the Barrick-owned, Toronto-based operation maintains a small underground gold mine snaking around the former open pit mine. Golden Sunlight is also exploring opening another mine north of its current operation, Smith said.

All other base metal and precious metal mines in the state are in limbo, Smith said. That includes Butte Highlands Joint Venture, a gold mine trying to get off the ground 15 miles south of Butte.

Tech graduate student Kyle Eastman, 28, who is studying economic geology, a field concerned with mineral resources, attended Smiths talk.

Hearing Smith's talk on the economic possibilities of rock mining would not impact his career choice despite the effects depressed commodity prices have had on metals mines. Eastman predicted nonrenewable resources' pricing will rise again because that's the nature of a cyclical business.

"As there's a greater need for these things, prices rise," Eastman said.
by Song Jingli and Zhu Lingqing

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China-Russia Internet Media Forum will be held in Tianhe district, Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province between Oct 28 and Oct 29, 2016.

The forum, whose theme is "development and cooperation between Chinese and Russian internet new media organizations", aims to enhance people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, create an information platform for the Belt and Road countries, enable relevant enterprises to hold dialogues and further promote development in the cultural, creative and information industries of the two nations.

With the assistance of Sputnik News Agency and Radio, the forum will be hosted by China Daily website under the guidance of the organizing committee of Sino-Russian Media Exchange Year and the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation.

Due to achievements made by Guangzhou's Tianhe district in recent years in technological innovation and international exchanges, it was chosen as the venue of the forum, a major event of the 2016-2017 Sino-Russian Media Exchange Year, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2015, according to the organizer of the event.

The China-Russia Youth Leadership Summit for New Media will be held over the same time in Guangzhou's Tianhe district.

(Source: Chinadaily)
People take part in a parade marking the Jewish holiday of Sukkot or the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem, Oct. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/JINI)
A state cybersecurity task force is preparing for one last discussion early next month before they sign off on their recommendations in a final report to the governor.

Dan Sipes, deputy chief information officer for the North Dakota Information Technology Department, said the meeting will be held Nov. 2 in the Rough Rider Room at the state Capitol.

Our goal will be to go over the details, he said.

The report will contain recommendations for Gov. Jack Dalrymples 2017-19 executive budget.

Sipes said some of the items may come with funding requests, but others involve policy adjustments and changes that could be made to improve operations.

Dalrymple created the task force last year, asking its members to review the states cybersecurity policies and develop recommendations to provide better security to state IT networks, as well as the data they store and utilize.

Sipes said the ball would be in the governors court as to what, if anything, he places in his budget. Dalrymple also could choose to pass the recommendations along to the next governor for consideration after next months election.

Some areas of discussion brought up in the task force are ongoing concerns over cybersecurity that the agency will also incorporate into ITDs regular committee discussions, he said.

Mineral acres to be auctioned online

For the second time this year, the leasing of state mineral acres will be conducted online.

The North Dakota Department of Trust Lands will begin a weeklong mineral acre lease auction beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday via www.energynet.com. The auction will end shortly before noon Nov. 1.

A total of 5,796 acres are available in six counties: Billings, Burke, Divide, Golden Valley, McKenzie and Mercer.

Department officials have previously said holding the quarterly auctions online brings advantages such as access to more complete information while providing the time and ability to thoroughly research acreage in which parties may be interested.

The land department held an online auction in May. The department has been considering moving them entirely online at some point in the future.

Information on mineral acre lease auctions and auction results can be found at www.land.nd.gov.

Capitol Grounds project nearly done

The crane thats become a familiar sight on the North Dakota Capitol Grounds will be gone shortly after Election Day as the construction project nears completion.

John Boyle, director of North Dakota Facility Management, said the $1.3 million Capitol steps project is on track to be completed by Nov. 15.

Fort Scott, Kan.-based Mid-Continental Restoration Co. is doing the work, which involved removing hundreds of granite blocks on the staircase to replace the waterproof membrane beneath. Water had begun to leak into the storage area underneath the steps.

The granite blocks, each weighing hundreds of pounds, were removed one by one using the crane beginning in July and numbered so they could be placed back in their proper order. Boyle said more than three dozen of the blocks were replaced as part of the project.
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An 18-year-old woman from Lincoln was arrested and charged in a crash that resulted in the death of a Bismarck woman.

Bismarck police took Alexus Hankinson into custody on Thursday, and she was taken to the Burleigh County Detention Center.

Hankinson was charged Friday with criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular injury, reckless endangerment, driving with a suspended license, and consumption of alcohol by a person under 21.

She made her initial appearance Friday at the Burleigh County Courthouse, where Judge James Hill set her bail at $100,000 cash.

According to North Dakota Highway Patrol, at 7:24 a.m. Oct. 10, Hankinson was driving a 2010 Dodge Challenger that was speeding on University Drive. Bismarck police attempted to stop the vehicle, but she fled from an officer traveling 90 mph in a 45 mph zone, according to the affidavit.

Shortly after fleeing, she rear-ended a 2008 Chevrolet Colorado traveling south on University Drive driven by Ralph Von Ruden, 67, with his wife, Janet Von Ruden, as a passenger. Their vehicle rolled over in the crash.

Janet Von Ruden was taken to CHI St. Alexius Health, where she died Thursday from injuries sustained in the crash. Ralph Von Ruden was treated for minor injuries.

According to the affidavit, Hankinson had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18.
McDonalds celebrates McHappy Day

Proceeds from the sale of the companys most popular hamburger, the Big Mac, on that day will be dedicated to the home which works with young people by providing opportunities for mentorship, as well as programmes that empower them to make a positive difference not only in their lives, but within their communities.

Speaking at the official launch of the Happy Hands, Market Supervisor for Arcos Dorados TT Kalifa Duncan said McDonalds remains committed to supporting initiatives that empower communities.

McHappy Day is Mc- Donalds largest campaign and fundraiser, allowing us to give back to the communities we serve. Th campaign fills us with excitement each and every year as McHappy Day makes us proud not only because our customers commit themselves to support an important need, but also our entire company helps us raise awareness and displays solidarity, Duncan said.

She said the McHappy Day is McDonalds signature fund-raising event that calls attention to the needs of young people around the world, and this year the campaign has introduced the topic of youth employment and supporting programmes that develop and enhance their skills as they prepare for the work force.

Duncan further added that Arcos Dorados and McDonalds TT is proud to announce their partnership with the Heroes Foundation, in celebrating their annual fundraiser to engage in youth training and mentorship programs.

Also speaking at the launch, Chairman of the Heroes Foundation, Phillip Julien said they felt very privileged to have been selected as the beneficiary of this years initiative, and extended thanks to Arcos Dorados for choosing the Heroes Foundation.

McDonald intends on raising money in three ways. Aside from purchasing a Big Mac or a Big Mac combo on McHappy Day, customers can purchase a paper McHappy Day hand for $7 from November 11.

McDonalds Trinidad and Tobago have also created the McHappy Day Corporate Programme which would allow local companies to purchase $25 presell vouchers for their employees to use on McHappy Day toward the purchase of a Big Mac.

McDonalds intends on spreading its message Turn a Big Mac into a Smile using flyers, press and radio advertisements.
Woman charged for assaulting police

There was a bandage on her forehead.

Richards, a mother of two, was charged with assaulting Police Constable Donald Snaggs.

She appeared yesterday before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay to answer the charge. Richards attorney Frank Gittens asked Magistrate Dubay if his client could seat herself instead of remain standing, when the charge is being read.

The magistrate obliged and then read the charge to Richards that on Thursday at Lawrence Street, she assaulted PC Snaggs in the execution of his lawful duties.

The woman pleaded not guilty and attorney Gittens proceeded to tell the court that shortly after midday on Thursday, Richards husband - Adil Gilbert was killed. Richards, Gittens added, is a mother of two children, aged two and six, and is an employee at the San Fernando City Corporation.

The court prosecutor did not object to bail being granted.

Magistrate Dubay granted Richards bail in the sum of $15,000, with the accused mother being allowed to sign as a surety. She will return to court on November 18. Several of Richards relatives waited outside the court for her and took over from police officers in lifting the woman into a vehicle.
$180,000 for 2 men beaten by soldiers

A similar claim filed by a woman, Stancy Maria Samuel, was dismissed.

Henry and Clarke were among a group of people at a house on the island when a raid was conducted.

A court martial was also conducted against the five soldiers by the Defence Force. In his ruling, Justice Rampersad ordered that the officer in charge of the operation on that day - Captain Booker - and the AG pay the award of damages to the two men, who were represented by attorney Garvin Narine Ramespaul.

He also granted the declaration that the omission of the members of the Regiment to inform the two men of their right to retain a legal advisor and consult with them during their detention was unconstitutional and illegal. In their lawsuit, the two claimed they were humiliated, tortured, assaulted, threatened, severely beaten and wounded by the soldiers. Henry, Clarke and Samuel all testified, as well as the five soldiers who were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In his ruling, Justice Rampersad said it was clear that Henry and Clarke were intimidated and terrorised by the Army personnel under the supervision and order of Captain Booker.

Under the state of emergency which existed on that day, the defendants had the authority and jurisdiction to search, detain and interrogate for the purposes set out but not to assault or terrorise persons. Further, despite the detention, there is no evidence that the claimants were advised of their constitutional right to an attorney, Justice Rampersad said.

The judge also noted that notwithstanding the very wide range of search, arrest and detention powers are given to the Army by the Emergency Powers Regulation, it was still incumbent on them to ensure that the detention was made on reasonable ground. Neither of the two men nor any of the other persons present at the house that day was charged with any offence.
Pastor: Grieving moms death a homicide

Pastor Edison Williams made the comment yesterday when he officiated at her funeral service held at the Point Fortin Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Today represents what our world is coming to, Williams said.

It is becoming a very sad place.

What is happening with us? What is wrong with us? The persons who committed that crime on that young man, they are responsible for this death. They are responsible for a double homicide. In an immediate response, a woman in the packed congregation blurted out, And they should be punished as such!.

Liverpool, a mother of five of Fortune Street, Egypt Village in Point Fortin, died on Monday last, two weeks after her sons battered body was found in a drain at North Trace, Cap-de-Ville, Point Fortin.

A post-mortem revealed her death was due to a saddle pulmonary embolism - separation of the main artery of the lung. But relatives and friends are of the view Liverpool died of a broken heart as her sons killing was just too much for her. The mother and son lived in the same house.

Before hundreds of mourners who flocked to the church to pay their final respects yesterday, Williams noted it was possible that the killers were among them.

The persons who committed that crime (against Jeffery) could be right here today. Somebody must know something. Somebody must have seen something, they must have heard something. Why are we living like this? Williams said.

As relatives wept during the service, the pastor noted that the Devil is not under the earth. Instead he charged that the Devil was right here in Point Fortin bringing sickness, disease and causing people to be depressed. Despite the double tragedy faced by the family, Williams called on the bereaved family to continue to believe in God and not to lose hope.

For the Christians, our hope is not of this world. Do not give up hope. Hope gives you the strength to go through difficulties. Family members, what should give you hope this afternoon is your Redeemer.

Believe in Him, Williams suggested.

Delivering remarks, Liverpools youngest son, Theon Liverpool, 12, recalled the last conversation he had with her on Monday morning when he was on his way to attend classes at the Cedros Secondary School.

With tears he said, She gave me a kiss on my cheeks. She tell me that if I come back home with any girl number on my phone she will cut meh tail (sic). Thanks for making me smile everyone. Following the service, Liverpools body was taken to the Guapo Public Cemetery where she was buried next to her murdered son.

Police investigators believe that on October 3, while Jeffery was plying his Nissan B14 car for hire, the killers hijacked and ordered him to drive to Cap-de-Ville where they committed the crime. His money and a gold chain were also missing.

An arrest is yet to be made and investigations are continuing.
Senator: Clean up the Public Sector

Chote also told the Government and the Opposition to stop fooling the population into believing that one of them was doing something different from the other.

She observed while there has been a plethora of talk by several past administrations about rooting out corruption, the country is no closer now to catching any of the major persons alleged to be involved in corruption than it was a decade ago. Arguing that the focus on corruption in the country over the years has been misguided, Chote said there is a deep level of corruption in the public sector and this happens daily.

She claimed there was a high level official who was involved in putting ghost gangs on the payroll of a government ministry but provided no specifics on this.

Chote identified the Licensing Office as a place where corruption is said to take place. Turning to the criminal justice system, Chote said she was baffled as to why the country could not employ more than one forensic pathologist at any one time.

She agreed with an earlier concern raised by Independent Senator Hugh Russell Ian Roach that the Budget did not make sufficient provisions for handicapped persons and this was evident in many court buildings in TT.

Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen asked Finance Minister Colm Imbert to indicate whether officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were in TT to hold talks with the Customs and Excise Division and the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) about the establishment of a Revenue Authority. Ameen said the UNC would oppose the establishment of the Authority if it meant the loss of jobs at both Customs and the BIR. She recalled that the UNC took the same position when the Authority was proposed under the former Patrick Manning administration.

Imbert has said legislation to establish the Authority will be coming to Parliament next year.
TTUTA elects new officers

He is former third vice-president Lynsley Doodai. This was revealed by outgoing president Devanand Sinanan at a news conference held at the Associations office in Curepe yesterday.

Other persons filling posts of the General Council following the election of officers at the Associations Annual General Meeting held on Thursday are Marlon Fields, First Vice-president, Kyrla Robertson - Second Vice-president and Darren Lee- Him - Third Vice-president. Jewan Durga was returned as Treasurer, so too was Fitzroy Daniell to the post of General Secretary unopposed.
Guyana MP: Strive for unity

While it is said that the waters of the Ganges is the purest, what I find interesting is the purity that Ganga Ma represents. To attain this kind of purity, one must be pure in thought, w o r d s a n d deeds, she said, adding that life is like a river with many ups and downs.

Life gives us joy, happiness and hope.

The challenge, she said, is to attain that balance where we as a people can face the ups and downs of life understanding that we are here today but we are not sure for tomorrow. She urged the leaders and all citizens to not only understand women and their venerability but also their inherent capabilities.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly, also addressed the gathering saying the theme of the sacred river reminds all of new life, rejuvenation and victory.

It is said that it is here in Trinidad and Tobago the Ganges met the Nile and so, as we celebrate the sacred river and the festival of lights, we celebrate our diversity as a people, she said, adding that the religious festival of Divali reminds all of victory over evil and light over darkness. President of the National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC) Dr Deokienanan Sharma said Divali Nagar made its first appearance at the carpark of the Mid Centre Mall in Chaguanas on October 26, 1 986. Despite our understandable fears and trepidations, Divali Nagar at its opening became an immediate and huge success, Sharma said. On its very first day, it graduated into a national institution, into a festival of national import that brought back lost pride and awareness in the Indo-Trinidadians of their great and ancient culture. Sharma noted that March 2017 will mark 100 years since the last of the indentured labourers came came from India and a centennial commemoration of the abolition of Indian Indentureship is being planned to mark the occasion.

The NCIC, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the Indian Diaspora Council of New York and the local Indian Diaspora Council in collaboration with other organisations will be joining hands to mark the occasion with an Indian Diaspora World Convention to be held in TT.
Petrotrin workers resume duties

To alleviate the concerns which led to the protest action by Petrotrin employees we seek to clarify the following: Petrotrin has accelerated its review of the Companys vulnerability assessments and security plans, the company stated. The company also noted it had agreed, following meetings with the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) on October 17, to launch a separate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the passing of Curtis Pierre who, reportedly committed suicide after trespassing onto our Pointe Ligoure Tank Farm, Point Fortin on 2016 October 8. To ensure transparency, Petrotrins Chief Security Officer, is not involved in this particular investigation.

Additionally, the Company has requested nominees from the OWTU, the Estate Police Association and the Ministry of National Security to participate in the investigation, Petrotrin stated, adding the Security Administrator Special Services had assumed the responsibilities and authorities of the Chief Security Officer during the period of the investigation.

Petrotrin also noted that the protest action was in no way related to the strike action taken by employees of Inland Offshore Contractors Limited (IOCL) who are also represented by the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU). IOCL is one of the three main contractors who provide marine transport to Petrotrins Trinmar Operations
Minister takes blame for schools condition

Minister Garcia told parents and staff that the Ministry had appointed a contractor to address the issues. Works commenced on Thursday evening, Minister Garcia noted, and tentatively will be completed by Wednesday. Therefore, classes are expected to resume next week.

Certain works must be done and must be done expeditiously starting from today (Thursday).

We are given a deadline. We have long convoluted process where repairs to schools have to take place. We have to cut short that long convoluted process. We will not tolerate any delays, Garcia added. Commenting on the protest action of the parents, Minister Garcia acknowledged that it is their right to do so. However, Garcia charged that neither he nor his Ministry will condone the action of putting padlocks on the schools gates.

Also visiting the school were: Minister in the Education Ministry, Dr Lovell Francis; Member of Parliament for Mayaro, Rushton Paray; and officials from the Ministry including those from the Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL). Francis explained that if the contractor works round the clock, work will finish provisionally tomorrow and classes recommence on Monday. But remedial works would still have to be completed.

MP Paray vowed to ensure that there is a solution to the educational needs in the community.

As MP, I give the commitment that I will continue to work with the constituents and be the bridge between the community, the minister and the ministry to ensure that you have a say in how this school and system develop.
Cuffie: TT ditches conference

A statement from his ministry yesterday outlined his remarks in the recent Lower House Standing Finance Committee where he replied to a query from Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe.

Taxpayers do not have to foot the bill for the 11th Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Biennial Conference which was originally expected to be held in Trinidad, said the statement.

Cuffie said the Government had decided that this countrys economic circumstances merit hosting the event.

We could not afford it, he said. You know, the last Commonwealth conference we hosted, you all did not support. So I am surprised that you are asking us to hold another one. He said the Government was heavily chided over the cost of its hosting of the recent 12th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas.

The Minister said Malaysia instead hosted CAPAM, from August 18 to 20, a forum for ministers, public servants and academics to shares ideas on policies and practices in the Commonwealth and elsewhere. Cuffie added that the Ministry also saved money by cancelling a project, the Open Government Partnership.

I was not sure of the value of it, and it required the expenditure of foreign exchange. It was based on a World Bank loan that the Ministry had to pay, and at the time I do not think we could meet the commitment.

We stopped this project some time ago and nobody has asked us about it.
Ministry secures US$48.8M funding for NCDs

This was announced yesterday by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh at the inaugural Caribbean Cancer Survivorship Conference, UTT Campus, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of- Spain.

Deyalsingh said this plan is in alignment with national policy agenda of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GORTT), which acknowledges that multiple factors and social determinants combine together to affect the health of individuals and communities, including, inter alia, where people live, where people work, where people play, the environment, genetics, income, education, and relationship with friends and family.

It also utilises key approaches to population health and development including: primary health care, universal health coverage, standards of care, integrated management, health in all policies and multisectoral approaches involving the whole of government and whole of society, Deyalsingh explained.

He said the plan outlines the strategic direction for the response to NCDs in Trinidad and Tobago and the strategic outcomes that partners from Government,the private sector and civil society, will be engaged in to collaborate toward achievement over the period 2015-2020.
Muslims at Parliament for Caracas Five

He led a group of relatives and friends of the jailed quintet in a peaceful protest outside Parliament at Tower D, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, during which time he was able to meet Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General, Stuart Young, who assured him the mens plight is a priority for the Government. Due to these assurances, Abdullah adjourned a vigil that he said had been intended to last until the men are repatriated.

Abdullahs group was very upset that despite a Venezuelan judge last week ordering the men to be freed, this had not been done.

He related that despite the court order being addressed to the SEBIN police, they are declining to free the men until they are so instructed by Venezuelas Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Regarding the charges, Abdullah said the men were originally charged with planning to assassinate Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, but these charges were dropped in favour of other, lesser trumped up charges of spying.

He said the men had stoutly resisted pressures placed on them to plead guilty to the latter charges, as he reasoned that the penalty worldwide for such an offence can be as severe as the death penalty, in contrast to the three years proffered to them by the Venezuela authorities.

Sadiqa Mohammed, wife of Dominic Pitilal, one of the detainees, told Newsday the men are frustrated and tired and are now prepared to meet their deaths in Caracas, even as she lamented his two-year and seven-month incarceration.

Their life is being put at danger right now, as they are being bullied by the security forces in SEBIN. Mohammed was hopeful that the men would return to TT this weekend, although Abdullah was more cautious, as he noted that government offices close on the weekend, so hed not set a timeline.

Mohammed urged the TT Government to send a delegation to Caracas. She did not see it all as a judicial process but more as a political process involving some victimisation.

Why is it that if our men are freed, they are still locked up a week later? .
Philippines' Duterte says not really severing ties with US

United States,Politics,Diplomacy, Fri, 21 Oct 2016 IANS

Davao City, Oct 22 (IANS) Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has clarified his comments that seemed to call for a split from the United States, saying he was advocating a "separation of foreign policy" rather than "a severance of ties".

During a press conference in Davao City after his return from a state visit to China, CNN quoted Duterte as saying that "It is not severance of ties. You say severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that."

"Why? It is in the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship. Why? Because there are many Filipinos in the United States. Well, Americans of Filipino ancestry."

"Why? Because the people of my country [are] not ready to accept. I said separation -- what I was really saying was separation of a foreign policy."

There was widespread shock after Duterte announced his "separation" from the United States, suggesting he would cut both economic and military ties in favour of moving closer to China.

"America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow," Duterte told business leaders on Thursday in Beijing.

"And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way."

In a statement on Friday, Duterte's office said the Philippines had no intention to renege on treaties or agreements with allies.

The President's comments were "an assertion that we are an independent and sovereign nation, now finding common ground with friendly neighbours with shared aspirations in the spirit of mutual respect, support and cooperation," the statement said.

Trade Minister Ramon Lopez told CNN that the Philippines "would not stop trade and investment with the US".

"(Duterte) has decided to strengthen further and rekindle the ties with China and the ASEAN region," Lopez said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

--IANS

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Cuba urges US to lift economic, trade blockade

Cuba,Politics,Diplomacy, Fri, 21 Oct 2016 IANS

Havana, Oct 22 (IANS) Cuba has renewed its call on the US Congress to end the economic and trade embargo held against the island for over 55 years, as a sign of a new era in ties between the two nations.

At a press conference on Friday in Havana, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister, Abelardo Moreno said the U. legislative body should pay attention to public opinion, which supports the end of economic sanctions against Cuba, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The American people are responsible for demanding their leaders in Congress lift the economic blockade, because they must represent the opinion of a great majority of the US population and institutions," he said.

A poll by Florida International University conducted in September found that 63 per cent of Cuban-Americans living in Miami opposed the embargo. This group has traditionally opposed closer ties to the Castro regime.

A Pew Research Centre poll in July also showed 72 per cent of Americans in favour of lifting the embargo.

Moreno stated a set of changes approved by US President Barack Obama to further ease the embargo but said they were "very limited".

"There are a series of legal elements and laws included in US legislation like the Torricelli Act or the Helms Burton Act which the president cannot overturn as only the US Congress can do so," he said.

The Torricelli Act, passed in 1992, prevents travel by American citizens to Cuba and foreign subsidiaries of American companies from trading with the island. The Helms-Burton Act, passed in 1996, strengthened the original embargo by penalizing foreign companies that trade with Cuba.

--IANS

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"The only thing that hasn't changed is the bison. We had a bunch of local cowboys, including me, who would saddle up horses and we would ride from one end to the other at full speed chasing bison. It was a lot of fun."

 Backcountry Ranger John Heiser, on how the bison roundup at Theodore Roosevelt National Park has changed since 1962.

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"They're trying to come to a legal worksite and prevent any work from occurring. And we, as the law, have to make sure that safety, public safety remains."

 Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, on law enforcement efforts during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

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"To start with that heavy-handed approach is a terrible mistake. Democracy is messy. It just is."

 David Couper, a former police chief of Madison, Wis., who oversaw hundreds of protests from the 1970s to the 1990s and now is a criminal justice professor, criticizing the law enforcement approach to the pipeline protests.

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"He wins on every important issue. I'd tell him you can still win.' The country does not want her to be president."

 Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., arguing that Donald Trump still has a chance to beat Hillary Clinton if he sticks to the issues.

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"Every school district has had this conversation already. There's not a lot of fat in these budgets. There just won't be enough funding. There's just no other way around it."

 North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta, explaining why he thinks voters should approve Measure 2.

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"We could become the place that doesn't just identify new technology. We could be the place (companies) come to demonstrate and prove technology."

 Lignite Energy Council President Jason Bohrer, discussing how North Dakota could become a leader in carbon-free technology.

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"We're running out of daylight; I don't like to say time, but we fully know there's a short time to build appropriate facilities."

 Tom Goldtooth, an organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, on the need to move a protest camp.

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"We understand there are pressures (on state Superintendent Kirsten Baesler), but the amount of knowledge in this camp is so much more than any public school could expect. They are learning the Lakota language, we have artists who teach them how to work with river clay, we have had an ethnobotanist here, we've had people talk to them about art and history. This school is really special."

 Teresa Dzieglewicz, who is assisting at the Defenders of the Water School.

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"We'll have the best of the best in solar, wind and water designing all of this. As people come together, we can do more and more and more. We're ready to roll. More housing means more people to stop the pipeline. I'll do everything I can."

 Jim Northrup, a Minnesota Ojibwa, on structures hes helping build at the Sacred Stones Camp.

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"But it just strengthened my resolve that we have to fight to ensure that the First Amendment is protected. It's not just for journalists. It's for everyone, because freedom of the press means that there is a way for people to get information so they can make informed decisions."

 Amy Goodman, on why she was determined to fight charges in Morton County. A judge this week dismissed criminal charges filed against her for a protest incident last month.
'Jungle' camp closure to start Monday: France

France,Immigration/Law/Rights, Fri, 21 Oct 2016 IANS

Paris, Oct 22 (IANS) French authorities will begin dismantling the 'Jungle' migrant camp, home to about 7,000 people, in the port of Calais from Monday (October 24) morning, government officials have announced.

According to the Interior Ministry on Friday, minors will be taken to the camp's converted shipping containers during the dismantling of the rest of the Jungle, the BBC reported.

The migrants who currently live in the containers - which were being used as temporary accommodation instead of makeshift tents - will be evacuated to make room for the minors.

There are 7,500 beds available in centres across France for the migrants. Some 60 buses will be used to remove them from the camp, the ministry noted.

However, officials have expressed concern over crowds rushing to leave the camp during the first stage of the operation.

From Tuesday, heavy machinery will be sent to clear the tents and shelters that have been left behind.

The ministry added that police forces "might be forced to intervene" if faced with resistance.

Several children from the camp are expected to be relocated to the UK.

The Jungle has played host migrants, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, who have attempted to board lorries bound for the UK, clashing with drivers and police in the process.

A UK-funded 1 km wall is being built along the main road to the port in an attempt to deter would-be stowaways.

Work on the wall, which began last week, is due to be finished by the end of the year.

--IANS

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'My Father Iqbal': Does not rise to expectations (IANS Review, Rating: *1/2)

Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Film: "My Father Iqbal"; Director: Suzad Iqbal Khan; Cast: Narendra Jha, Komal Thackar, Paresh Mehta, Raj Sharma, Amit Lekhwani, Sagar Nath Jha, Sudam Aftab Khan, Kumar Vaibhav; Rating: *1/2

Set in Bani, a small town on the border of Himanchal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, "My Father Iqbal" is based on a true incident. It is the story of a conscientious engineer, Iqbal Khan, who sacrifices his life for his family, country and his own integrity.

Directed by Suzad I. Khan, and with a personalised title, one expects the tale to be narrated from Iqbal's son, Sajid's point of view. But unfortunately, this is not so...

The prologue defines, the tone of the narrative and predicts the turn of events. What follows is, how a happy family is tormented by some anti-social and selfishly motived people.

Catering to philanthropic activities and his family needs, Iqbal leads a comfortable life within his means. When his son, Sajid passes his eighth standard with flying colours, advised by his principal, he sends his son to a boarding school in Pathankot.

He puts up a brave front, when he misses his son, and continues harping on having a good life when his son is settled. But unfortunately his life is interrupted by his close associates.

The plot credited to Jha, Khan and Chib, lacks the maturity and punch of a well-designed film. The tale along with the poorly etched characters seems contrived and exaggerated.

Jha as Iqbal gives a heart-warming performance. He is natural and displays the undercurrents of tension and his frustrations with ease and aplomb. Unfortunately you do not empathise with him as the script lacks the intensity of a powerful drama.

Thackar as Iqbal's wife has her moments to shine. She exhibits sparks of brilliance especially in the romantic scenes. As the mother of a grown up lad, she is unconvincing.

Of the remaining cast, every actor is perfunctory and deliver an over-the-top performance.

Mounted on a tight budget the initial hand painted water-colour frames raise the expectations. But the mediocre production values give the feel of a manufactured setting. Also, though the location is well-captured, Cinematographer Anant Gille's frames are unimpressive.

Music by Biswajeet Bhattacharjee (Bibo) and Varun Agarwal integrate seamlessly in the narrative and the song, ace Rang gul, rang gul,a stands out, in an otherwise staid account.

Overall, "My Father Iqbal" does not rise up to your expectations.

--IANS

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TN Governor calls on Jayalalithaa, says she's getting better

Tamil Nadu,National,Politics,Health/Medicine, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Chennai, Oct 22 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Acting Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao on Saturday called on ailing Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospital here, where she is admitted since September 22 for treatment.

After visiting the Chief Minister in her hospital room and asking after her health, Rao told the media that the AIADMK leader was getting better.

"She is progressing well and responding well to the treatment," he said.

Apollo Chairman C. Prathap Reddy briefed the Governor on the treatment regimen of the Chief Minister.

Reddy said the AIADMK leader was under constant observation for all vital parameters.

The Governor was earlier received at the hospital around 11.30 a.m. by Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambi Durai, state Chief Secretary P. Rama Mohan Rao, CM's adviser Sheela Balakrishnan and others. Health Principal Secretary J. Radhakrishnan was among the senior officials present on the occasion.

On Friday evening, the hospital issued a health bulletin on Jayalalithaa's condition after nine days, saying she was getting better. However, she continues to be under treatment and observation, the hospital release had said.

"The Governor is happy to note that the Chief Minister is progressing well. The Chief Minister is interacting and responding remarkably to the treatment," a Raj Bhavan statement later said.

--IANS

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'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release smoothly: Mukesh Bhatt

Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood,Politics, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) Film and Television Producers Guild of India's President Mukesh Bhatt said on Saturday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the smooth release to filmmaker Karan Johars "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".

Fadnavis presided over a meeting with MNS President Raj Thackeray, Bhatt and Johar, among others, to ensure that the film, featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, has a safe and smooth release across single screens and multiplexes on October 28.

"We had a constructive meeting with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the good news is that 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release across all single screens and multiplexes as per schedule," Bhatt said in a statement.

"I have confirmed to the Chief Minister that the Producer's Guild has decided that going forward, we will not work with Pakistani artistes in the future. Karan said that he will put a special slate saluting our soldiers before the start of the movie. It's a tribute from us to our soldiers," he added.

Bhatt further added: "In addition, some of the producers volunteered to contribute to the Army Welfare Fund. We owe this to the Army. The meeting was called by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and all the parties agreed that all films which are already in production with Pakistani artistes will be allowed to release smoothly.

Produced by Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios, "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles.

--IANS

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Punjab's retired staff settled abroad to get DA in pension

Punjab,National,Diaspora,Business/Economy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Chandigarh, Oct 22 (IANS) The Punjab government has allowed release of dearness allowance (DA) in the pension of its retired employees who have settled abroad and have acquired foreign citizenship.

Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has given his approval to the foreign settled retired employees to get DA with their pensions, a state government spokesman said on Saturday.

"The Punjab government has decided to take back a letter stopping DA of pensioners of state government who acquired foreign citizenship," the spokesperson said.

A large number of retired government employees from Punjab have over the last few decades migrated to other countries, especially the UK, the US and Canada.

Punjab has a big Non-Resident Indians (NRI) population with strong links to their roots in the state.

--IANS

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Singapore, Andhra agree to promote innovation in financial services

Andhra Pradesh,National,Business/Economy,Diplomacy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Vijayawada, Oct 22 (IANS) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday signed an agreement to promote innovation in financial services.

The FinTech Cooperation Agreement was signed here in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Under the agreement, MAS and the state government will explore joint innovation projects on technologies such as digital payments and blockchain and collaborate on the development of education programmes on FinTech.

They also agreed to discuss emerging FinTech trends and exchange views on regulatory issues related to innovations in financial services.

"This agreement will pave the way for greater FinTech collaboration between Singapore and Andhra Pradesh. From MAS' perspective, we are looking to create a market place in India for FinTech solutions developed in Singapore. This can potentially help Singapore FinTech startups that are looking to venture into India," said Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS.

"This agreement will spearhead the creation of a niche, first of its kind ecosystem in the FinTech Valley of India - Visakhapatnam. The knowledge exchange between the startups in Singapore and Visakhapatnam will not only create high quality job opportunities in FinTech but also help provide market access for implementation in both countries," said J.A. Chowdary, Special Chief Secretary and IT Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.

"We see this association as the first step towards creation of the FinTech story of the country," he added.

--IANS

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Modi arrives in Gujarat on daylong visit

Gujarat,National,Politics, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Vadodara, Oct 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday on a daylong visit.

He will inaugurate the newly-built and refurbished international terminal at the Vadodara airport.

The Prime Minister will later drive down to the Navlakhi Grounds to distribute aid kits to around 10,000 differently abled persons. The function has been organised by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.

Police rounded up a few Dalit volunteers demonstrating outside the airport.

Some Dalit leaders have demanded that the airport should be called the Babasaheb Ambedkar airport.

Others contend that since Vadodara city was developed by the late king Sayajirao Gaekwad, the airport should carry his name. A section of Congress leaders claimed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will try to name the airport after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

--IANS

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Wanted to catch her alive, says man who led ops to kill man-eating tigress

Delhi,National,Environment/Wildlife, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Parag Madhukar Dhakate, the forest officer who led one of India's largest and most modern operations to kill a man-eating tigress on the periphery of Jim Corbett National Park, is not a happy man. On Thursday, the jungle was stripped of another big cat which Dhakate had wanted to capture alive.

It took over 45 days, 200 men, 120 camera traps, eight cages, five shooters, four sniffer dogs, three elephants, two night and thermal vision drones and a helicopter -- in a confined area of just 20 km sq to track down the six-year-old tigress, which was already sick and injured.

The feline, which became the 101st tiger to die on record this year, was blamed for killing two people and injuring two others in villages around Ramnagar town of Nainital district in September.

She drew her last breath in the same fields where she grew up -- towards the park's southern region. Ten bullets were shot at her, of which three hit her in the head, and the rest in the stomach and left hind leg.

"Killing her was not the only solution. Our preference was to capture her by tranquilising or trapping. Four attempts of tranquilising were made from helicopter, some from elephants and even from the ground, but she was very swift even after being sick," Dhakate, Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand, told IANS.

He said that the public outcry was increasing each day as the terror of a man-eater was barring villagers from harvesting their crops.

"We tried our best to get her alive. Had our sole aim been killing, the operation wouldn't have lasted a week," he added.

A day before she was killed, the tigress attacked a member of the search team after a non-fatal shot hit her. As per the protocol, her carcass was burned after post mortem.

The tigress weighed merely 91 kg, while an adult tigress normally weighs 140-160 kg. On inspection, several claws and canines were found missing while her other teeth were grinded down. Officials couldn't explain this, but said that under such conditions tigers often go after humans -- the "softest of the soft" targets.

"She was born and brought up in the agricultural landscape. She preferred staying in those areas making it difficult for us to track her down. Sugarcane and long grasses gave her perfect cover," Dhakate said. He added that there were no records that the tigress ever produced a litter or got pregnant.

The fields where she used to live, now revenue land, are used by farmers to grow sugarcane and paddy. Like many other national parks in India, such areas have become the perfect abode for tigers as they have abundance of water, prey and a supportive habitat.

Night camera images showed that the same habitat she lived in was also shared by a leopard.

"Day by day such revenue lands around forest are being used up for sugarcane and paddy cultivation," Dhakate told IANS. Such legal inroads often lead to man-animal conflicts.

When the tigress was killed, many villagers celebrated. However, for Dhakate there was nothing to rejoice.

"It was not a matter of celebration for us, but for restoring confidence among the local people. By eliminating one man-eater a generalised negative approach towards the species was avoided," he said.

He said that wildlife conservation was dependent on the traditional ethos of the local communities which co-exist in wildlife landscape and not in the "fiefdom of scientists, bureaucrats or armchair conservationists on social media," he said.

India's oldest national park, Corbett, named after legendary colonial hunter Jim Corbett, last time dealt with man-eaters in 2014 and 2011. Shrinking forests and encroachments by humans make conservationists fear that such phenomena may continue.

(Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)

--IANS

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MP heading towards becoming an industrial state: Jaitley

Madhya Pradesh,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Indore, Oct 22 (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Madhya Pradesh has moved from being a BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh) state 13 years ago to an economic industrial centre.

Talking about the landscape after the 2003 Vidhan Sabha election, Jaitley said: "The roads were in bad condition, power was erratic and travelling from Bhopal to Indore was difficult. The scenario has changed in 13 years."

The Finance Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the Global Investors Summit here at Brilliant Convention Centre (BCC).

Talking about the linking of Narmada and Kshipra rivers, he said: "The project has increased the generation of electricity. Infrastructure has improved and educational institutions have been established."

Announcing an investment of approximately Rs 20,000 crore in the state, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: "We are planning to invest aproximately 20,000 crore in MP, including two new units of Ultratech cement."

The two-day summit was inaugurated in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar. More than 3,000 representatives from industrial regions are participating in this event.

On Friday, Chouhan had announced that businesses will continue to enjoy tax exemptions even after the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime comes into effect.

He added that the state's economy is speedily developing and there are vast opportunities for investing in the industrial space.

Baba Ramdev, also one of the representatives from the private businesses, expressed his displeasure at the government not allotting him preferred proportion of land for setting up ayurvedic products manufacturing unit and said the allotted land is like a "wrestling ground" for him.

The annual Global Investors Summit is expected to hold discussions on development of industries like textile, automobile engineering, food processing, energy, tourism, 'Make in India' and opportunities for export in MP.

--IANS

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An "Echo" device, center, stands on display in a set of shelves during the UK launch event for the Amazon.com Inc. [LUKE MACGREGOR/GETTY IMAGES]

Tech giants are battling over who will develop the smartest software to deploy in cutting edge products

Major technology firms are racing to infuse smartphones and other internet-linked devices with software smarts that help them think like people.

The effort is seen as an evolution in computing that allows users to interact with machines in natural conversation style, telling devices to tend to tasks such as ordering goods, checking traffic, making restaurant reservations or searching for information.

The artificial intelligence (AI) component in these programs aims to make create a world in which everyone can have a virtual aide that gets to know them better with each interaction.

Here are some of the offerings available:

Google

Google is making a high-profile push into AI, with the internet titan's chief referring to it as a force for change as powerful as powerful as smartphones.

Google Assistant software is being built into new Pixel handsets - aiming to outdo Apple's Siri - enabling users to organize and use information on the devices and in the cloud - to check emails, stay up to date on calendar appointments, news or ask for traffic and weather data.

Google also offers AI through its Allo messaging application which can be installed on smartphones, and its Google Home hub, a stand-alone device similar to Amazon's Echo which responds to voice commands to manage tasks and fetch information where people live.

Samsung

The South Korean electronics giant moved to jump-start its AI efforts by purchasing the US startup Viv Labs, launched by the creators of Apple's Siri.

Samsung says the acquisition announced this month is part of its effort o provide AI-based voice assistance services its customers can use across all Samsung devices and products, from smartphones to televisions to washing machines.

Samsung is world's leading maker of smartphones powered by Google's free Android software, but also has its own Tizen mobile operating system, so how it may field its own virtual assistant technology remains to be seen.

Amazon

Amazon in 2014 unveiled its Echo home assistant, a voice-activated speaker, powered by its "Alexa" artificial intelligence program.

Users can ask for news or information updates, as well as ordering goods from the online retail giant.

Echo also serves as a connected-home hub which can control compatible appliances, light bulbs and other devices.

Since introducing Echo, Amazon has launched a smaller version called "Dot" and integrated Alexa into its Fire TV devices.

Microsoft

Microsoft's personal assistant uses the name Cortana and is available on Windows devices and its Xbox console and as an application on Apple iOS and Android devices.

Unveiled in 2014, Cortana - a name based on a character in its blockbuster game "Halo" - responds to conversationally spoken requests or commands, using insights gleaned from calendars, contact lists, online searches and other smartphone sources to respond in a manner akin to a real-life aide.

Facebook

Facebook, heavily investing in artificial intelligence, is widely believed to be working on a personal assistant with the code name "M."

The social network's founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he wants to create a real-life version of "Jarvis," the assistant in the assistant in the Marvel Comics series "Iron Man."

For now, Facebook is enabling AI-powered "bots" on its Messenger mobile application that allows users to get answers to questions and engage in text exchanges as though chatting with the social network itself.

Apple

Apple was the first to offer its personal assistant, introducing Siri for the iPhone in 2011, and has been working to improve it over the years. Recently, Siri was upgraded to interact with non-Apple applications, so users can book a ride with Lyft or make payments using Square Cash.

Apple has also introduced a Home application that can connect with smart appliances and other devices, and is reportedly working on a stand-alone speaker similar to Amazon Echo and Google Home.

IBM

Technology stalwart IBM made headlines nearly 20 years ago with "Deep Blue" software that beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov at his own game, and more recently with "Watson" artificial intelligence that triumphed over top human players in a Jeopardy television game show.

IBM has put Watson to work making business systems and services smarter with data and customers. Thousands of people are expected to attend a World of Watson conference later this month in Las Vegas.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 10/22/2016 page16)
When I first saw the ad in support of Measure 3 (known as Marsys Law) regarding a man who was killed while attending a wedding in New Rockford, I was deeply concerned. Each time I saw the ad it bothered me more and I wondered just why this measure would be necessary in our state.

The Fair Treatment Standards for Victims, and Child Victim and Witness Fair Treatment Standards, became law in our North Dakota Century Code in 1987. (NDCC 12.1-34 and NDCC 12.1-35). I wondered if our law had been compromised or changed so I looked it up. Our current law provides everything Measure 3 states we need. We simply do not need this measure in North Dakota.

I had the privilege of developing the Cass County Victim/Witness Assistance Program in 1986 in our states attorneys office under the guidance and support of our states attorney. Our program was one of seven pilot programs across the state. The ads you see on TV in support of Measure 3 are misleading. They insinuate nothing is being done in our state to serve victims of crime. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Measure 3 is a lengthy but vague, poorly worded proposal that could actually be harmful to victims of violent crimes. It mandates services to all victims of crime, and could possibly delay immediate response to a victim of violent crime due to officers having to comply with a mandate in a significantly less critical situation.

My heart goes out to all victims of crime, especially to those who are injured or have lost a loved one due to violent crime. Victim services are in our Century Code to assist and support victims throughout the criminal justice process.

Out of respect for victims of crime and all citizens of our state, please vote no on Measure 3.
Mrida, Mahindra partner to bring holistic development in UP villages

Delhi,National,Business/Economy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Mrida, a social business venture, in partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra, distributed e-rickshaws, shared soil health cards with villagers and organised a health camp in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district.

The move is part of holistic development initiatives under the Mahindra MPoweredVillage Program across 11 villages in Kaptainganj Tehsil of Kushinagar District.

In the first phase of the initiative, villages had been electrified with solar grids, while in the second phase, using energy access as the base, other initiatives were launched.

On Friday, during the event held at village Khabharabhar, the e-rickshaws and soil health cards were handed over to beneficiaries in the presence of senior officials of the Kushinagar District Administration, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mrida, and the local Mahindra dealer.

Under the first phase of Mahindra MPowered Village Initiative taken up last year in the district, 11 off-grid villages were lit up using solar micro grids. The developmental initiative focuses on providing avenues for livelihood generation, skill training and economic enhancement leading to social change.

With the battery operated e-rickshaws, villagers would be able to commute in a convenient and eco-friendly way. The Soil Health Cards would enlighten the villagers about the condition of the soil - and help in significantly improving agricultural output and productivity. A health camp was conducted to make the villagers aware of the health issues and establish a baseline from which a concerted initiative at improving the villagers' health can be taken up, said a Mrida statement.

Mrida conducted a survey of the villages and came up with the core issues and concerns. The Survey showed that besides electricity, what was required by the people was transport connectivity, agri inputs, education and healthcare - which is what the MPowered Village Program is concentrating upon.

--IANS

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AASU warns of agitation over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Assam,National,Politics,Immigration/Law/Rights, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Guwahati, Oct 22 (IANS) The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Saturday threatened to launch a sustained movement to foil the central government's attempt to make make minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan eligible for Indian citizenship.

The minority communities include Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

The powerful students' body took a resolution in this regard during a public consultation with prominent citizens and intellectuals on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and said that they would oppose the move tooth and nail.

It may be mentioned here that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, after being introduced in the Lok Sabha, was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of both the Houses, under the chairmanship of Satyapal Singh for examination and presenting a report to the Parliament.

"An AASU delegation delegation will meet Joint Parliamentary Committee on October 25 and put forward our objections and views. The Assam Accord has legal recognition and any attempt to nullify the same will be opposed tooth and nail," said AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya.

Reiterating the stand of the students' body, Bhattacharyya said a small state like Assam had taken the burden of foreigners till 1971.

"According to the Assam Accord, the cut-off date for detection and deportation of foreigners is March 25, 1971. It must be respected and Hindus or Muslims -- whoever came after the cut-off date must be detected and deported," he said.

"We will not accept any foreigner post 1971 be it be Hindu or Muslim," he said.

The students' body announced that it soon announce agitation in the lines of the Assam Agitation (1979-85) opposing the bill.

It may be mentioned here that the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to examine the entire ramifications of the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act and submit a report to AICC for formulating the party's policy on the issue.

The committee will submit its report by October 31 this year.

APCC stated that the accord was accepted nationally and internationally and alleged that the proposed amendment in the citizenship act is likely to harm the age old communal harmony and social fabric of Assam.

--IANS

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Telangana CM seeks Saudi Consulate in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh,National,Politics,Diplomacy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Hyderabad, Oct 22 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday called upon Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India to set up a Saudi consulate in state capital Hyderabad.

The Chief Minister made the demand when Ambassador Saud Mohammed Al-Sati met him here.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, Al-Sati told Rao that they are pursuing efforts in this regard.

The Chief Minister said the consulate would be of great help as nearly 300,000 people from Telangana are living in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, people belonging to various parts of erstwhile Hyderabad state and working in Saudi Arabia also use Hyderabad as a transit route.

Rao brought to the Ambassador's notice the problem faced in bringing back bodies of migrant workers who die in Saudi Arabia and urged him to take necessary steps to redress the problem.

The Ambassador told Rao that Saudi Arabia was ready to invest in various sectors in Telangana and partner with the newly formed state in its development.

Recalling the historic and cultural relations between Saudi Arabia and Hyderabad, the Chief Minister noted that the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Pasha, had built 'Rubat' near the grand mosque in Makkah for the convenience of Haj pilgrims

Observing that Telangana is keen to strengthen its friendship with Saudi Arabia, Rao said trade and investment would go a long way in this regard.

The Ambassador informed Rao that his government had asked the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to initiate efforts towards investment in Telangana, said the statement.

Al-Sati said he learnt about the rapid development in Telangana during a meeting with experts at Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Chief Minister explained to the foreign dignitary the new industrial policy of Telangana and claimed it is the best policy in the world.

He also highlighted the measures taken by his government for the welfare of minorities.

The Saudi Ambassador on Friday offered prayers in historic Makkah Masjid here and also visited Osmania University.

--IANS

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Planet Nine behind curious tilt of the Sun: Scientists

United States,Science/Tech, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New York, Oct 22 (IANS) Planet Nine -- the undiscovered one at the edge of our solar system -- appears to be responsible for the unusual tilt of the Sun, say researchers.

Planet Nine was predicted by Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown from California Institute of Technology's (Caltech) in January this year.

The large and distant planet may be adding a wobble to the solar system, giving the appearance that the sun is tilted slightly.

"Because Planet Nine is so massive and has an orbit tilted compared to the other planets, the solar system has no choice but to slowly twist out of alignment," said Elizabeth Bailey, graduate student at Caltech and lead author of a study announcing the discovery.

All of the planets orbit in a flat plane with respect to the sun, roughly within a couple degrees of each other.

That plane, however, rotates at a six-degree tilt with respect to the sun--giving the appearance that the sun itself is cocked off at an angle.

Brown and Batygin's discovery of evidence that the sun is orbited by an as-yet-unseen planet - that is about 10 times the size of Earth with an orbit that is about 20 times farther from the sun on average than Neptune's - changes the physics.

Planet Nine, based on their calculations, appears to orbit at about 30 degrees off from the other planets' orbital plane, influencing the orbit of a large population of objects in the Kuiper Belt.

"Every time we look carefully, we continue to find that Planet Nine explains something about the solar system that had long been a mystery," added Batygin, assistant professor of planetary science.

How did Planet Nine achieve its unusual orbit?

Though that remains to be determined, Batygin suggests that the planet may have been ejected from the neighbourhood of the gas giants by Jupiter, or perhaps may have been influenced by the gravitational pull of other stellar bodies in the solar system's extreme past.

The findings have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

--IANS

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BJP gives Rs 1 lakh to deceased AAP worker's husband

Delhi,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) The BJP on Saturday handed over Rs 1 lakh for the education of the daughter of AAP worker Soni Mishra, who committed suicide after her molester -- also a party worker -- was released on bail.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Satish Upadhyay handed over Rs 1 lakh Bank Deposit Receipt to Ashok Mishra, husband of the late Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker.

Soni committed suicide on July 20. She was allegedly unhappy over her party for not initiating any action against the alleged molester -- Ramesh Wadhwa.

She had made a police complaint on June 2 about Wadhwa harassing her. In her complaint, she has alleged Wadhwa of harassing her continuously and asking for sexual favours.

Wadhwa was arrested on June 3 and was granted police bail on June 4.

She resided here in outer Delhi's Narela area with her two daughters and other family members.

--IANS

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Esha named Goodwill Ambassador for children's free heart surgeries

Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) Bollywood actress Esha Gupta is glad to be named the Goodwill Ambassador for the free heart surgeries for children under 16.

Esha took to Instagram on Friday to share a photograph of herself with Suresh G. Roa, who is behind the initiative.

"Glad to be named the Goodwill Ambassador for Touching Little Heart project, providing free 500 heart surgeries for children under 16 years. With Dr. Suresh G. Roa, the genius behind this initiative," Esha captioned the image.

On the silver screen, Esha was last seen in "Rustom" alongside Akshay Kumar and Ileana D'Cruz. The crime thriller film was directed by Tinu Suresh Desai.

She will next be seen in filmmaker Milan Luthria's "Baadshaho".

The film, set against the backdrop of the Emergency period in the country, stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Ileana D'Cruz and Vidyut Jammwal.

--IANS

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Important to fear failure: Athiya Shetty

Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) She made her Bollywood acting debut in 2015 with superstar Salman Khans production "Hero" and will next be seen sharing screen space with actor-producer Anil Kapoor. Actress Athiya Shetty says its very important to fear failure.

"It would be naive if I said that I don't fear failure. But it is very important. My father (actor Suniel Shetty) has always told me... even before entering the industry. He said that 'I know you will be able to handle success, but will you be able to handle failure? And you have to do it with dignity. You have to be humble at that time as well'," Athiya told IANS here.

The 23-year-old actress, whose debut film got a mixed response from critics, said everybody has ups and downs. "So, it's important to understand and be realistic about that. I am realistic about both (success and failure)," she added.

Asked if there is any struggle for star children, Athiya said: "I think the struggle is different. We get a platform. Star children have that reach, where you get the opportunity to meet people, but that doesn't mean that we get it easy because once you get a launch, it's up to you on what you do about it."

"Once you enter (the industry), you have to kind of prove your worth and talent," she added.

The ambassador of make-up brand Maybelline New York was recently linked up to Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor. Do link-up rumours affect the hard work and dedication of

an actor?

"No. It's part and parcel of the industry. With good comes bad. I think it's just a part of the industry, so I am aware of the things that come about. So, yes, it's okay. At the end of the day, it's your performance that will speak and your hard work will always win," she said.

The actress will next be seen in "Mubarakan", helmed by Anees Bazmee.

Talking about the film, Athiya said: "I think that is the entire charm of the film. It's confusion, fun and crazy. It is just a mad wedding and because the entire country is invited, it's going to be more special."

"Mubarakan" also stars Anil, Arjun and Ileana D'Cruz. Does Athiya fear getting overshadowed by her co-stars? "Not at all. I don't feel there is a big or small role in the film.

It's just about how you perform and what you bring to the table. Everyone is secure in their own skin and space, and I am fortunate to share screen space with Anil Kapoor,

Ileana and Arjun."

(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

--IANS

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Nigeria to buy 10 trainer aircraft from Pakistan

Pakistan,Indo-Pak/Pakistan,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Islamabad, Oct 22 (IANS) Pakistan has signed an agreement for the sale of 10 Super Mushshak aircraft to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), defence officials said.

"The contract signing ceremony was held at Abuja (Nigeria) where Air Vice Marshal Iya Ahmed Abdullahi and Air Marshal Arshad Malik, Chairman of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), signed the contract," Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman Syed Mohammad Ali said on Friday.

The contract includes operational training and technical support and assistance to the NAF.

The PAF would completely establish this facility in the shortest possible time, he said.

The contract will not only open new avenues for export of aviation equipment to foreign countries but also help generate revenue for the country.

The aircraft is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and South Africa.

The deal strengthens PAC's status as a world class aviation industry producing the supersonic JF-17 Thunder and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft.

--IANS

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Jennifer Lawrence to play Zelda Fitzgerald in biopic

United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Los Angeles, Oct 22 (IANS) Actress Jennifer Lawrence has been roped in to portray the late Jazz Age icon Zelda Fitzgerald in her upcoming biopic to be directed by Ron Howard.

The drama, which is currently titled "Zelda", is being developed by Howard, who is eyeing it as a potential directing vehicle, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Lawrence will also serve as one of the producers for the upcoming film.

Zelda was married to author F. Scott Fitzgerald who saw her as his indispensable muse and fiercest competitor.

Lawrence was last seen in the superhero film "X-Men: Apocalypse" earlier this year. She will next share screen with Chris Pratt in the romantic sci-fi thriller "Passengers" and star in an untitled Darren Aronofsky project.

--IANS

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'Jurassic World' sequel to be bigger, grander

Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Glen McIntosh, who worked on hit film "Jurassic World" as an animation supervisor, says the sequel of the 2015 movie will be "bigger and grander in traditional epic storytelling" format.

"Well, we are always pushing the envelope of technology. All I can say is that it will be even bigger and grander in traditional epic storytelling way that Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow are known for," McIntosh told IANS on the phone from San Francisco.

Trevorrow's film stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as employees of a dinosaur park who discover its newest creation -- a hybrid dinosaur an Indominus Rex, has escaped from captivity. The film, which also features Indian actor Irrfan Khan, will have its Indian television premiere on Sony Pix on Saturday.

It is the fourth film in the Spielberg's action adventure saga following 1993's "Jurassic Park", 1997's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and 2001's "Jurassic Park III".

McIntosh also said that he feels great to be a part of the franchise.

"I think it (the sequel) will be something that hopefully people have not seen before. Because we are constantly trying to improve what we have already seen before," he added.

The sequel is slated to release in 2018, and will see the return of Pratt and Dallas Howard.

Talking about the 2015 film, McIntosh said: "It had a lot to do with motion capture and that was something we were asking for.

"We had the added advantage of having technology behind us where you can take my movement and it can become the foundation of the dinosaur's movement."

McIntosh headed the team of 50 animators, and overlooked drawing design, and story boarding.

--IANS

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Law enforcement officers used pepper spray Saturday as 200 to 300 protesters gathered during the early morning hours at a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site in Morton County.

"We want to use the most nonlethal method possible," said Rob Keller, a spokesman for the Morton County Sheriffs Department.

The confrontation off N.D. Highway 1806 south of Mandan lasted more than five hours and resulted in 83 arrests. Among those detained were two legal observers, according to Bruce Ellison, a attorney with the protest camp. As of 6 p.m., none had bonded out.

Kellie Berns, a protester who hung back behind a fence at the scene, said she received reports of people being pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground and described law enforcement as being more aggressive than in past incidents. She said protesters were encircled by police as they walked onto the site.

"People came back very distressed," she said of those who returned to the fence following the demonstration. "The pipeline is getting a lot closer, so the stakes are getting higher."

On Friday, law enforcement opened a new staging area along Highway 1806 just south of Fort Rice in an effort to reduce response time to less than five minutes, Keller said.

"This is not about the pipeline," said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier. "This is not about the protesters. This is about the rule of law."

Police received a call at about 5:20 a.m., according to Donnell Preskey, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department.

She said four protesters were found attached to a personal vehicle that had been driven onto the construction site. She said they had parked the vehicle, slashed its tires and anchored themselves to it.

Two of them were attached to the outside of the vehicle, and one to the steering wheel. The fourth person had fed one arm out through a hole in the door and had his hand encased in a bucket of hardened cement. Once those four individuals were released, they were arrested.

Theres a very large group of protesters (who) walked from Highway 1806 to the site, said Preskey, adding that all available officers were called in to respond.

Kirchmeier indicated in a press release that pepper spray was used by officers to protect themselves and other officers, and to control protesters. The statement also said one protester had charged a police line and tried to grab an officer's canister of pepper spray, causing the officer to be sprayed in the face. Other officers secured the man and arrested him.

Two officers received minor injuries, according to a press release.

"This is being termed a riot today because the individuals know they are criminally trespassing," said Capt. Bryan Niewind, of the North Dakota Highway Patrol. "They are creating chaos for law enforcement. They are creating a dangerous environment for us when you have people attaching themselves to equipment."

Charges against those arrested include criminal trespass and engaging in a riot. The latter charge has been leveled more often in recent pipeline demonstrations as a more proactive law enforcement response has been undertaken. Other charges included assault on an officer, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and fleeing an officer on foot.

The number of people arrested far exceeded the capacity of the Morton County Correctional Center.

"The Morton County Sheriff's Office is working with other jails in the area to house all these suspects that have been arrested today," said Niewind, who described the protesters as verbally abusive.

Highway 1806 was closed south of Mandan this morning because of the protest.

Saturdays incident brings the number of arrests made since August to more than 160.

Work on the 1,172-mile, 30-inch-diameter pipeline has been going on since state regulatory approval was granted earlier this year. The project is to run from North Dakota to Illinois at a cost of nearly $3.8 billion. It will have a capacity of 470,000 barrels per day with the ability to increase to 570,000 once completed.

Through September, construction work on the North Dakota portion of the project was close to 90 percent complete.

Protesters who have been camping in Morton County are concerned about potential impacts to the Missouri River, where a crossing under the riverbed less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation boundary is planned.

Bismarck Tribune reporters Caroline Grueskin and LeAnn Eckroth contributed to this report.
New model of tracking TB patients holds promise for India (Special to IANS)

Delhi,National,Opinion/Commentary,Health/Medicine, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Mehsana (Gujarat): "Is Khema Bhai there?" B D Sagar shouted out in Gujarati to a small group of people sitting under a tree on a dusty knoll, in the outskirts of Mehsana city, in north-western Gujarat. Sturdily built Sagar, a senior treatment supervisor in Indias national tuberculosis (TB) programme, was searching for a TB patient, a tribal, called Khema Bhai Vanjara. A woman told Sagar that Khema Bhai had moved to another make-shift hut, five minutes away.

"If this had happened in the past, we would have had no idea where the patient is," explained Sagar confidently, in Hindi, with a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. "Now I have two ways of finding the patient -- I can call on the mobile number registered in the system or, I can go to the registered doctor, and ask him to inform me when the patient comes back," he said, as he sat on his black motorcycle, plastered with the words "Govt. of Gujarat".

Sagar and Khema Bhai Vanjara are part of a pilot programme in the district of Mehsana, about 80 km north of Ahmedabad, to provide TB patients treated in the private sector --which handles about half of all TB cases nationwide-free medicines and counselling. In doing so, the programme hopes to address a major failing in India's battle against a disease that takes more than two lives every three minutes, or 480,000 lives, every year.

India has an estimated 2.8 million new cases of TB -- more than a quarter of the global burden -- every year. No more than 8.4 per cent of patients estimated to be treated in the private sector are registered with the government, leaving millions of India's TB patients unmonitored, drug regimens incomplete and the disease as persistent as ever.

In the second quarter of 2016, the private sector in Mehsana notified about 974 TB cases, more than 25 times the total number of cases registered in the first quarter of 2013 -- a mere 37 -- before the programme began.

The programme, initiated by the Central TB division, part of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, attempts to engage private doctors to increase the number of TB patients registered with the public sector, and track the treatment completion of private sector patients. These patients are still treated within the private sector.

"Earlier the attitude used to be: Why take care of those patients who don't come to government system? Leave them," said K.K. Patel, Mehsana's district TB officer. "Now we try to reach them too."

Replicating the programme across India could help better assess the actual burden of TB in India, but the national TB control programme is short of funds to scale the programme nationwide. India's national TB control programme received only about 50 per cent of the funds it requested from the government in 2015-16, a trend that has continued at least for the past four years, according to data from annual reports of the programme. Funding patients from the private sector would increase the total cost to the government. The pilot programme in Mehsana is funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the funding is unlikely to continue after 2020.

By relying on public health system, India under-reports TB cases

India underestimates the burden of TB by relying only on cases registered in the public sector, expert opinion and two sub-national studies in its calculations, according to a 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report. In its 2016 report, the WHO revised its estimate of India's TB burden upward, as IndiaSpend reported on October 14.

Of the 2.8 million TB cases estimated in India, in 2015, the public sector registered 56 per cent cases for treatment, or about 1.5 million cases, according to data from India's revised national tuberculosis control programme (RNTCP).

If the government cannot track private-sector patients, they might not complete treatment, adversely affecting their health and productivity, and making it more likely that the TB bacteria turn resistant to some anti-TB drugs.

Drug-resistant TB is a more potent form of the disease that takes longer to cure, and is more expensive to treat than regular TB. India has about 80,000 estimated cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, with about 16 per cent of previously treated cases estimated to be drug-resistant, according to WHO data.

Recent efforts to measure TB cases estimate that the private sector treats 2.2 million TB cases -- at least as many TB cases as the public sector. The private sector in India could treat anything between 1.19 and 5.24 million patients in 2014, according to this 2016 study published in the Lancet, a medical journal, which based its data on the sale of drugs containing Rifampicin, the main anti-TB drug.

It was only in 2012 that the government made it mandatory for private doctors to report cases to the government. Overall, notification rates in Gujarat and India have gone up by about three times. Gujarat registered 42.2 private-sector cases per 100,000 in 2015, up from 10.3 cases in 2013. India registered 14.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2015, up from 3.1 in 2013.

A key link to tracking runaway patients: Field officers who earn Rs 15,000 a month

Counselling by field workers and the incentive of free medicines, convinces several patients to return to their doctor. For instance, "patients who would have run away after the diagnosis, now come back," said Sonal Choudhary, a doctor who has been a part of the programme since May 2016. This improves "patient adherence" to the treatment and medication, she said.

But the success of the programme in Mehsana is greatly dependent on the work done by field officers, who act as the liaison between the programme, chemists and private practitioners, in addition to counselling patients.

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform, with whom Shreya Shah is an analyst. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org)

--IANS/IndiaSpend

shreya/vm
Southern East Africa getting wetter, not dryer

United States,Environment/Wildlife, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New York, Oct 22 (IANS) Contradicting the prevailing notion that the African continent has been getting progressively drier over time, a new study has found that drought in the continent has actually decreased over the past 1.3 million years.

The study, published in the journal Nature, also found that the continent is on a 100,000-year cycle of wet and dry conditions.

Josef Werne, Associate Professor at University of Pittsburgh, along with colleagues from other universities in the US, Australia, Chile, and the Netherlands, made the discovery by examining core samples extracted from the bottom of Lake Malawi, one of the world's largest lakes, located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania in southeastern Africa.

These new findings challenge the savannah hypothesis - one of the keys to human evolutionary theory -- which states that the progressively drier conditions in Africa led to prehuman ancestors migrating from forests and moving into grasslands.

Previous studies of the climate of Africa focused on the northern part of the continent, and were responsible for the origin of the savannah hypothesis that the continent was getting drier, Werne explained.

The 100,000-year cycles the researchers found correspond with the beginnings and endings of the great ice ages.

Lake Malawi had not been explored previously because the depth of the waters - 700 feet - exceeded researchers' ability to get core samples from the bottom.

The researchers were able to overcome that limitation by using a barge and modifying oil-rig equipment to obtain a 380-meter-long sediment core sample.

The core was dated using a combination of radiocarbon, volcanic ash, and magnetic polarity reversals and examined for "molecular fossils" indicating changing temperature and rainfall.

By noting the changes in temperature records and especially rainfall, the team determined that the continent was getting wetter over time in southern East Africa.

"Climate in this sector of eastern Africa (unlike northern Africa) evolved from a predominantly arid environment with high-frequency variability to generally wetter conditions with more prolonged wet and dry intervals," the study said.

--IANS

gb/
UP first family's bruising feud suicidal (Column: Political Circus)

Delhi,National,Politics,Opinion/Commentary, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

Till a few weeks ago, Akhilesh Yadav appeared uncertain about how far he should go in challenging his domineering father and canny uncle.

He had started off by claiming that he takes his own decisions and depriving his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, of his portfolios and dismissing a minister considered "close" to him, as is said about servile followers in India.

But, then, the Chief Minister backtracked on being ticked off by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, returned Shivpal's ministries to him and reinstated the dismissed minister.

Shivpal, on his part, demonstrated his clout by sacking some of Akhilesh's youthful followers from the party.

After sulking for some time, Akhilesh has now decided to start the next round of his battle with the elders in the family by announcing that he will skip the Samajwadi Party's silver jubilee celebrations and go on a Rath Yatra to boost the party's electoral chances.

It is now obvious that the conflict of the generations will continue in the foreseeable future with probably neither side emerging as the winner. The loser will undoubtedly be the party in next year's assembly elections.

And the reason will be the father-uncle duo's strange propensity to shoot the party in the foot by marginalising and even humiliating its only winning prospect -- the young and personable Chief Minister.

It wasn't only the generation gap which apparently made Mulayam Singh and Shivpal turn against Akhilesh. They were also uneasy about the latter's growing popularity because of a clean image, modern outlook and a willingness to cleanse the party of thuggish elements.

None of this was acceptable to Mulayam Singh and Shivpal, who have built up their power bases by exploiting caste sentiments and recruiting musclemen.

For the time being, they may no longer trash the teaching of English and the use of computers. But such an antediluvian attitude was part and parcel not long ago of their feudal, patriarchal, bucolic world-view where Uttar Pradesh will be a land of dimly-lit villages, muddy roads and women in purdah.

In a letter to Mulayam Singh, informing him -- and not seeking permission -- of the decision to go on a Rath Yatra, Akhilesh has stressed "vikas" as an objective which he will place before the people.

In recent ads on television, which have now stopped, he had vowed to take Uttar Pradesh well and truly into the 21st century.

In this respect, he represents the new breed of politicians who want to play the development card to win votes unlike their elders who depend on the politics of caste and communalism to woo and divide voters.

As a part of this tactic, Mulayam Singh and Shivpal brought about the merger of the don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party, which Akhilesh opposed.

They also selected a murder accused as a poll candidate, much against the Chief Minister's wishes.

As if to rub salt in the latter's wounds, Mulayam Singh even said that the next Chief Minister will be chosen by party legislators, ruling out Akhilesh's automatic nomination.

However, it doesn't take much political acumen to see that the bruising family feud is politically suicidal for the Samajwadi Party and can only boost the prospects of its two main adversaries - the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP probably feels that its chances have improved in the wake of the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Along with this patriotic card, it has also decided to play the temple card by announcing the setting up of a Ram Museum, thereby seemingly plugging all the loopholes.

The question remains, however, as to why Mulayam Singh has taken this patently destructive path for his party. Perhaps only a psychologist can decipher the meaning because it is his son who was seen to have a winning chance and not someone inside or outside the party.

As such, the veteran, self-proclaimed Lohiate should have been pleased that his passing of the baton to his foreign-educated son was paying dividends even if Netaji himself, as Mulayam Singh is called by his acolytes, will have to take a back seat.

It is perhaps this prospect of losing his earlier influence, along with the possibility that the Samajwadi Party will morph into something dramatically different from its present backward-looking, bullying self, which led to Mulayam Singh's offensive against Akhilesh.

But it is a battle which he is unlikely to win. Time is against him, along with the composition of the electorate where the younger generation is no longer interested in sectarian trends.

For them, Akhilesh represents the future while his father and uncle hark back to the past along with dubious companions like Amar Singh and Azam Khan.

Akhilesh himself is probably looking more to the 2022 election than the next one in 2017, in which few will now expect the Samajwadi Party to fare well.

Five years later, however, it will be a different ball game. Akhilesh will then still be relatively young at 49 while his father and uncle are most likely to be seen as spent forces. He may still have the last laugh.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)

--IANS

amulya/vm/sac
Share



Next Generation Communications this week took us on a trip around the world with stops in Australia, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and even heaven.

So buckle up, because were going to take another quick flight to review what weve all learned.

Australia

Contributing writer Steve Anderson earlier this week reported about how Nokia has concluded a lab test of XG-FAST with nbn of Australia. In the test, XG-FAST (News - Alert) demonstrated its ability to operate at speeds of up to 8 gigabits per second.





XG-FAST gives us the ability to deliver multi-gigabit speeds over copper lines - virtually on a par with what is currently available on Fiber-to-the-Premises - but at a lower cost and time to deploy, nbn CTO Dennis Steigner said in a press release issued by Nokia (News - Alert) this week. We are really thrilled to be the third operator in the global market to run lab trials of XG-FAST, following in the footsteps of BT (News - Alert) last year and Deutsche Telekom in February.

India

Meanwhile, Anderson also wrote about how Bharti Airtel is working with Nokia to strengthen 4G coverage in India. That effort will leverage the implementation of Nokias 4G FDD-LTE and TD-LTE systems. At the same time, Bharti Airtel (News - Alert) is expanding its 3G access network through the use of Nokias Single RAN technology solutions.

Malaysia

Earlier today, contributing writer Michael Guta posted a story about how Nokia is helping Malaysian operator edotco transition to a centralized RAN. The customer provides tower services including built-to-suit, co-locations, energy, maintenance, and transmission and operators to more than 16,000 towers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. It will be employing Nokia Mobile Fronthaul Solution, which extends CWDM or DWDM to non-WDM-capable elements, to meet its increasing mobile broadband demands.

Saudi Arabia

The other day I contributed a piece about how STC has tapped Nokia to erect the regions first indoor small cell environment. In fact, the companies have already built the first phase of the deployment, in Mecca and Medina.

Heaven

Speaking of holy places, Anderson this week explained Nokias recently unveiled Three Steps to Heaven plan. That includes preparation, deployment, and system management and optimization. For more details, click here.
With so much going on in the world, it feels nearly impossible to keep up with the top stories and breaking headlines. But is it really worth the trouble? Some argue that it causes unnecessary stress, while others simply dont see it as a priority. However, such an attitude prevents people f
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if only that were gina torres instead of gal </3 or rosario, given that she's voiced wondy too



Edited at 2016-10-22 02:26 am (UTC)

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Amazonna Espinosa yassss

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Gina Torres would make an awesome Wonder Woman!

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Rosariooooooooo!! I wish they'd cast her instead of Gal.

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jeez lynda carter's body in that gif @>@

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isn't gal godot a zionist though

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if i'm not mistaken, she's not personally becoming an honorary UN ambassador. the fictional character wonder woman is.

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hmm

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No mention of all the protesters outside the ceremony? There were over 100 people outside the UN protesting the use of a sexualized cartoon character instead of a real woman to serve as ambassador for women's rights.



Lynda Carter responded to them pretty dismissively on CBS This Morning.



Edited at 2016-10-22 02:31 am (UTC)

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honorary ambassadors are always fictional characters. her not being a real woman isn't the issue here

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I don't think that's the protesters' point - they were objecting to a comic character representing women's rights, especially one that is highly sexualized. They weren't debating the definition of an honorary ambassador, they were protesting the use of one.



Regardless, my point was that the protest was a big story related to this ceremony, and I wondered why it isn't even mentioned.

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ia, it was even talked about on the local morning news on my drive in to work today!

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why is that lady cosplaying as candy corn?

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capitalism and feminism what a great mix

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Season 1 was so good. I wish they would have kept the World War II setting in season 2.

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Idgi

What is the point of this

I can even understand some celebs but ??

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They've done it before with Winnie the Pooh, Tinkerbell and the red bird from angry birds

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I'm sorry. THE RED BIRD?!?!

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angry birds lmao

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Okay that doesn't answer my questions though

Just have more

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lynda carter is 65 and i'm 23 and look like a potato

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I have an irrational hatred for Gal Gadot. After I saw her on the Women Who Kick Ass Panel at Comicon a few years ago totally hogging the stage from all of these fierce women like Kathy Bates, Gwendolyn Christie and Haley Atwell I was done. No one wants to hear about how hard it is to be an Israeli model bitch.

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I wouldn't call dislike of her irrational at all tbh. She has a platform, and a public voice, and has used it to support the IDF. Any hatred towards that is completely rational.

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I agree.

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That gif LOL

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ugh... she's beautiful... still an ex idf soldier.



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isn't almost every adult in Israel an ex-idf soldier since they have mandatory conscription?



like, she's said some messy things about the Israeli army but I can't blame her for not wanting to go to jail

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Yeah.... Bar Refaeli didnt tho

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gif just makes me think, yeah I'm going to need a reboot taking it back to the original :) sorry

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lmao a goddamn known zionist at the UN

charming



character or not, messss



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Mte, bye lol

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do you know what the UN is?...

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Yes

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Fracking is to gas what Trump is to politics and Marmite is to toast. You either love it or hate it. This week the Government overturned a council decision to approve fracking plans in Little Plumpton in Lancashire. Neighbours, who for years had lived happily side by side in this heretofore little known village, revealed some no longer spoke to each other.

So what exactly is it and why is it so controversial? The last time fracking was carried out in the UK was five years ago. Two small earthquakes were recorded near the Preese Hall drilling site close to Blackpool, where Cuadrilla Resources was using hydraulic fracturing to extract gas from a shale bed. Cuadrilla commissioned an independent study which reported: Most likely, the repeated seismicity was induced by direct injection of fluid into the fault zone. The British Geological Survey said it was down to the water being pushed into the earth  the rocks became lubricated and pushed apart- Its a bit like oiling the fault.

Naturally youd then expect widespread reports of earthquakes in the U.S. where fracking has been happening for decades. NewScientist.com says however, evidencehas so far been elusive. The BGS says, This (the 2011 earthquakes) is one of the first times that earthquakes have been associated with fracking. What the U.S. has had that hasnt been replicated in the UK is a YouTube video of a woman risking setting fire to her house by demonstrating how methane gas leaking from her taps can go alight when she holds a lit match to it.

When burnt, shale gas produces slightly less CO2 than natural gas, which itself emits half as much as coal, writes The Guardian. But the picture is less clear when it includes methane emissions, which are 56 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period, and could trigger feedback loops of global warming. In fact a review of methane measurements  which identified a spike since 2007  has been linked to the US shale boom.

Reserves of shale gas have been identified across England, particularly in northern England. It is unique in the UK as the only country that allows fracking. Governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have all said theyll oppose it until further research is done on its environmental impact. Labour said last month if it came to power itll ban it. France and Germany have banned it. Related: Oil Titans Differ On Whether Prices Will Spike Or Remain Low

There are many supporters of fracking of course  primarily found in the U.S. where its believed it provides gas security for the next 100 years. It already accounts for more than half of all U.S. oil output. Given that in 2000 it made up less than 2%, thats an incredible fact. Of course, it also added to the global glut which has had significant consequences for the oil price climate.

So far, more than 100 licences have been awarded by the government. The Communities Secretary Sajid Javid believes shale gas has the potential to power economic growth, support 64,000 jobs and provide a new domestic energy source, making us less reliant on imports. A report by British Gas warned that as the amount of gas produced from the North Sea declines, more will need to be imported. With the current relationship with Russia thats not something many want to rely on.

Its not likely England or its neighbouring countries will experience a U.S.-style fracking revolution. Alessandro Torello from the International Association of Oi and Gas Producers admitted, While it is true that at the moment it is difficult to make an economic case for shale in Europe, this is a long-term industry.

Thats not surprising given a report last week which said public support in Britain is at an all-time low. Itll take time for the industrys PR teams to try to transform attitudes. Success in this venture is not guaranteed. One YouTube video of a flaming tap in Little Plumpton could be all it takes.



By Precise Consultants

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."

This East Side staple is packed with college students and bar hounds and is the perfect post-pub place for chow. Since 2007, OnMilwaukee readers have also given the title of Milwaukee's finest Greek food to Oakland Gyros  and it seems a lot of them also eat there late at night. It could be their plentiful portions of tasty gyros, spinach pies and much more that have captured Milwaukee's heart  especially when the night is winding down and you're craving a snack before hitting the sack.

Runners up:

2. Ian's Pizza

3. George Webb's

4. Conejito's

5. Ma Fischer's

Lori Fredrich's pick: The Vanguard

If Im out, and its late, theres something about The Vanguard that I crave. On the upside, there are far worse things to crave during the midnight hour than house-made sausages with creative toppings.

This year we also asked a variety of prominent Milwaukeeans to weigh in on their pick for specific categories. For this category, we consulted Evan Barnes, local bartender and former bar owner.

Barnes' pick: The Vanguard

I applaud restaurants for serving food late-night. Milwaukee has a lot of folks who enjoy the nightlife and want a good meal towards the end of the evening. Aside from 24-hour joints, I feel we have really stepped up to the demand. I have to give props to Goodkind, Gypsy Taco and Red Light Ramen, but my late night spot for food and drink is The Vanguard in Bay View.

They have a great staff, stiff drinks, a really nice whiskey selection and music ranging from punk rock to old soul. But on the late night menu, I personally like the burnt ginger tofu (in a sweet, garlic-ginger sauce) served with limes, the dry fried green beans and if you're looking for something more, the burger is solid as are the sausages. Kind of has everything I need for late night plus it's close to home.


Voting sign

(Image by justgrimes) Details DMCA



by Walter Brasch

Donald Trump, losing to Hillary Clinton in every major national poll, long ago brilliantly figured out how to continue to rally his base. Instead of dealing with issues, he attacks Clinton, the mass media, and calls the election rigged.

The campaign rhetoric has been one not of issues but of personalities. Hillary Clinton calls Trump unfit to be president, so Trump retaliates by accusing her of being unfit. Most of their television ads are attack ads. In personal appearances, their speeches focus upon what's wrong with the other candidate not what their own presidency will be about. The last time a presidential race was this vicious may have been in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson was challenging President John Adams.

The Trump strategy is to make outrageous statements, talk over his opponent or anyone who questions his pseudo-facts, and then quickly change the topic to avoid having to present any evidence. That strategy was apparent during the three televised debates when he bobbed and weaved around questions. His entire campaign the past year has been loaded with lies, innuendoes, and attacks not only upon Clinton but also upon his fellow Republicans. Analysis by the independent Politifacts shows that that during the campaign, only 15 percent of Trump's statements were true or mostly true. Politifacts determined that 51 percent of Clinton's statements while campaigning were true or mostly true.

Several top Republican leaders, including Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, refused to go to the Republican National Convention after it was obvious Trump had enough votes to be the party's nominee.

Between the convention and the last of three debates with Clinton, evidence began piling up that Trump, while married, groped and fondled women; evidence also exists that he committed adultery during his first two marriages. A videotape has him using foul and obscene language about women, and then claiming it was "locker room talk." But when he tried to defend himself, the best he could do was to state that one of his accusers was too ugly for him to fondle. And yet he believes that no one respects women more than he does.

One of the reasons he is behind in the polls, says Trump, is because of a corrupt media. As with everything in his campaign, he presents no evidence to back up his claim. But it is the media that helped propel him to the Republican nomination by giving him significant more air time and newspaper ink than any other candidate, and by not questioning or digging deep into the truth of his public statements.

In the third debate, Trump said there is widespread voter fraud, which benefits the Democrats. A data analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law reveals not widespread election fraud but that such allegations are highly exaggerated. The numbers are in the hundreds not the millions that Trump alleges.

Trump claims he knows--absolutely knows--that the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign have conspired to deprive him of the presidency. He bloviates, gestures, and hopes to blow down the brick house of elections, but has provided no evidence. To expand his conspiracy claims, he says he will not concede the election--or, maybe, he will concede the election--if he loses. But, then again, he is keeping that decision a secret.

He claims rigged elections were used during the primaries to throw his Republican rivals off their strategy. He claims Ted Cruz stole the election in Iowa. He claims the election in Wisconsin was rigged. The further the separation from likely voters casting the ballots for Clinton instead of Trump--or even Gary Johnson of the Libertarian party or Jill Stein of the Green party--the more animated Trump becomes.

His hyperbole and paranoia extend beyond his political life. Trump previously declared that balloting for the Emmys is rigged, and that his show, "The Apprentice," should have won an Emmy several times. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and its 20,000 members, disagreed with Trump's opinion.

Trump's tactic is resonating with his hard-core base that see conspiracy and deception in every corner--in workplaces, in government, and under their beds. They are willing to be led by a demagogue who identified the many seeds of alienation and dissatisfaction, and watered and nurtured those seeds of discontent to amplify the people's problems. In following Trump they have placed blinders upon themselves and see a reality and an explanation that Trump throws right back at them.

[Dr. Brasch, an award-winning journalist, has covered government and politics for four decades. His latest book is Fracking America: Sacrificing Health and the Environment for Short-Term Economic Benefit.]
A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractors business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.
From The Hill

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is the second most powerful figure in American government. Having worked for the House Democratic leadership under Speakers beginning with Tip O'Neill, I know better than many the balancing act Ryan must achieve between the interests of our country, the Republican Party, and his House Republican Conference.

Ryan has had a Trump problem for many months, but when Donald Trump said in Wednesday's presidential debate that he was not ready to state whether he would accept the results of the election, he was precipitating a major crises for Ryan and other Republicans in the House and Senate.

Ryan is a highly principled conservative faced with a nominee who repeatedly violates core principles of true conservatism. He is a genuinely serious man trapped by his party's standard-bearer, who regularly says things that are neither true nor serious. He is a man of deep faith confronted by a presidential candidate who appears on tape bragging that he committed sexual aggression that is anathema to all religions, whose defense is that he was lying when he bragged about abusing women.

Considering the competing interests he must juggle as Speaker, in my view Ryan has acted intelligently and honorably up to this point. He has made his doubts about Donald Trump clear, refused to defend Trump on matters he finds disagreeable or reprehensible, and said that he will vote for the nominee of his party to be president.

It is easy for columnists and editorial boards to demand that Ryan completely renounce Trump and announce he cannot in conscience vote for him. But it is excruciatingly hard for a Speaker to go against a presidential nominee of his own party as the presidency, control of both houses of Congress and a Supreme Court majority hang in the balance.

John F. Kennedy wrote a book that should be required reading for all students. In "Profiles in Courage," JFK offered sketches of legislators who risked their careers on matters of high principle. Many politicians quote "Profiles in Courage" but in our age few live up to it. Would I offer such advice to the Speaker, to say he cannot vote for Trump, if I were working for House Republican leaders today? Honestly, until this third presidential debate, when Trump stated twice that he might not accept the results of the presidential election, probably not.

There are two fundamental issues about Trump's campaign and American democracy that all congressional leaders, including Ryan, should address forcefully, unequivocally and decisively.

First, they should all denounce the attempts by Russia to employ espionage to influence and discredit the American elections. It is the overwhelming view throughout the American intelligence and counterintelligence communities that Russian intelligence, almost certainly at the direction of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, is engaged in a systematic and aggressive campaign to influence and undermine confidence in our elections and our democracy.

Second, when Trump says he might not respect and accept result of the presidential election, he is acting in a way that is alien to core notions of Americanism. He is violating cardinal rules and traditions that have been accepted by every president and major party nominee since the founding of our Republic. When Trump attacks the very legitimacy of our elections by claiming they are rigged by an international conspiracy, and when he threatens the peaceful transfer of power that is a necessity of our democracy, he crosses a bright red, white and blue line that patriots of all parties should fiercely defend.

If Trump was honorable, smart, and interested in advancing the interests of his party, he would never have put Republican leaders and members in the House and Senate in the position of having to choose between his candidacy and the fundamental values of our country. Yet Trump has done this, time and time again, as recently as the third presidential debate on Wednesday night.

There comes a time and place when a profile in courage is called for.

For Speaker Ryan, the moment has arrived to publicly and clearly state that it is unacceptable for any nominee to refuse to denounce espionage directed against our democracy by a hostile foreign power, to promote fantasies of global conspiracy against his election, and to refuse to fully accept the results of national elections and the peaceful transfer of power that is the first principle of our democracy.
Beyond withstanding the damage we are currently doing to our families, communities, economy and ecology, are you interested in creating an abundant thriving future in the face of today's critical challenges? Yes? You have just defined "Resilience" as a personal, communal, and global goal. You are not alone. There are hubs or networks of people committed proactively to co-creating resilience for themselves, their families, their communities, and our planet. These are folks who are living out Gandhi and Bucky Fuller's advice to create what you do want rather than destroy what you don't.

http://resiliencehub.org/ The Resilience Circle Network (also called the Common Security Circle Network) is a pilot project of the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and the Common Good ( http://inequality.org ). "On the Commons" has also provided resources to develop the curriculum for Resilience. ( http://onthecommons.org )

The network identifies their view and role as primarily helping organizers and facilitators who wish to start and sustain what they refer to as Resilience Hubs. The Network states they are not trying to build a new organization or sell anything. In my personal experience, theirs is an empowerment for self-sufficient communities. info|AT|localcirclesthe

Consider the following questions put forth on the Resilience website:

Are you interested in building resilience at the personal, household and community levels?

Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and work with others to make this happen, knowing that we are all in this together?

Do you believe that we can engage the power of our creativity and resourcefulness to create an abundant thriving future?

Would you agree that re-localizing our economy (without being insular), re-skilling our people (without "going backwards") and utilizing the power of permaculture design in open and accessible ways can help us get there?

You may well ask, "What are Resilient Circles?"

Consider the question, do we want to be resilient in the face of this dominator culture of politicians, corporations and banks? Or, is it simply that we wish to be self-reliant and not be dependent on an economic and business culture that is psychopathic?

Resilience Circles can be seen as hubs of freedom. They are ways of supporting "bottom-up" decision-making. Are our current day politics and life styles fostering psychiatrist Eric Fromm's thesis that we Escape from Freedom? Can Bottom Up movements like Resilient Circles lead us towards true freedom? Or do we remain under the control of corporations and their underling governments.

Could it be that being Communist, Democrat, Republican, Fascist etc. are all means to escape from our power and freedom?

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From Paul Craig Roberts Website

Do Americans have a memory? I sometimes wonder.

It is an obvious fact that the oligarchic One Percent have anointed Hillary, despite her myriad problems, to be President of the US. There are reports that her staff are already moving into their White House offices. This much confidence before the vote does suggest that the skids have been greased.

The current cause celebre against Trump is his conditional statement that he might not accept the election results if they appear to have been rigged. The presstitutes immediately jumped on him for "discrediting American democracy" and for "breaking American tradition of accepting the people's will."

What nonsense! Stolen elections are the American tradition. Elections are stolen at every level -- state, local, and federal. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley's theft of the Chicago and, thereby, Illinois vote for John F. Kennedy is legendary. The Republican US Supreme Court's theft of the 2000 presidential election from Al Gore by preventing the Florida vote recount is another legendary example. The discrepancies between exit polls and the vote count of the secretly programmed electronic voting machines that have no paper trails are also legendary.

So what's the big deal about Trump's suspicion of election rigging?

The black civil rights movement has fought vote rigging for decades. The rigging takes place in a number of ways. Blacks simply can't get registered to vote. If they do get registered, there are few polling places in their districts. And so on. After decades of struggle it is impossible that there are any blacks who are not aware of how hard it can be for them to vote. Yet, I heard on the presstitute radio network, NPR, Hillary's Uncle Toms saying how awful it was that Trump had cast aspersion on the credibility of American election results.

I also heard an NPR announcer suggest that Russia had not only hacked Hillary's emails, but also had altered them in order to make incriminating documents out of harmless emails.

The presstitutes have gone all out to demonize both Trump and any mention of election rigging, because they know for a fact that the election will be stolen and that they will have the job of covering up the theft.

Don't believe the polls that say Hillary won the Q&A sessions or the polls that say Hillary is ahead in the election. Pollsters work for political organizations. If pollsters produce unwelcome results, they don't have any customers. The desired results are that Hillary wins. The purpose of the rigged polls showing her to be ahead is to discourage Trump supporters from voting.

Don't vote early. The purpose of early voting is to show the One Percent how the vote is shaping up. From this information, the oligarchs learn how to program the electronic machines in order to elect the candidate that they want.
By Robert Weiner and Thekla Truebenbach

The United States has trade relations with more than 75 countries throughout the world. To America and all countries, export and import markets count. "Frankly, if you don't trade, you hurt consumers. If you don't trade, you hurt innovation. If you don't trade, you withdraw from the world." said Governor John Kasich of Ohio at the White House press briefing on September 16, 2016 on America's potential support of the most recent trade deal, the Transpacific Partnership (TPP). Because many policy makers think that way, there have been a variety of other trade deals the U.S. helped engineer, the most significant one being The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Trade deals are a major issue in the presidential campaign. Trump, Clinton, and Sanders reached a rare agreement by now opposing TPP. Clinton and

What actually makes a good or bad trade deal for the United States? Few talk about the specific criteria. What effect do the deals have on wages and jobs? Will there be impacts to the environment -- will these deals strain it even more? What per cent of product has to be from the USA for the branding of something sold overseas to be legitimately "made in the USA?" While the deals are kept secret until the end by the usual "Fast Track" process in Congress, these are all questions which cannot be a secret when citizens are supposed to be able to tell their representatives and the President how to proceed in the country's best interest.

TPP is a rare instance of Trump, Clinton, and Sanders all opposing something--they all are against the deal -- and an even more rare instance of Obama flying solo. Even his strong first Congressional supporter, Dean of the House and Congressional Black Caucus co-founder John Conyers (D-Detroit), told us on his way to a White House meeting, "I'm going to tell the President to lighten up on TPP."

TPP aims at strengthening the economic relationship between the U.S. and 11 other countries. It will lead to slashed tariffs and a very strong union of world trade. The 12 countries involved have double the population of the European Union, which shows just how powerful this alliance is. The contract was signed in February 2016 by negotiators but is yet to be ratified by legislatures before it can come into force.

NAFTA came into force in 1994 and is a deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It regulates trade and investment for these three nations. Trump, a strong opponent of trade deals in general, called NAFTA "one of the worst deals ever made of any kind of signed by anybody" in the third presidential debate on October 20. Also Hillary Clinton stated her opinion clearly on TTP in this debate: "It didn't meet my test. I've had the same test -- does it create jobs, raise incomes and further our national security? I'm against it now, I'll be against it after the election, I'll be against it when I'm president." But do they have a point?

Why are the candidates opposed to President Obama on this usually bipartisan issue that Bill Clinton triangulated and got passed? Is it factual results we have learned over time? There definitely are legitimate aspects that do not make these trade deals good deals. Especially TTP has been criticized for not being very transparent. Most negotiations on the deal happened behind closed doors. Because of that, voters do not only not know what to cast their votes for and why, but this secretiveness makes it hard for people not involved in governmental practices to fully understand the details of these deals.

Critics state that Americans are losing their jobs as companies decide to relocate their production to countries with lower wages and employ foreign workers for less money. We cannot compete against countries with a $2 hourly rate when ours is at $7.50, maybe going up to $15.

Also, many environmentalists claim that the trade deals are a big strain while producing more and more goods. There are agreements in the TTP contract on how to protect the environment, but it is uncertain whether they will be implemented. Conyers remembers leading a congressional delegation to Mexico before NAFTA was approved and "seeing raw sewage flowing." It was not corrected.

For a product to be considered made in the U.S., all or virtually all the product has to be made in America according to the Federal Trade Commission's standard. The Commission's website says: "All or virtually all means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no -- or negligible -- foreign content." The number of American made products could further decrease with foreign products flooding the U.S. market due to trade deals. " Today, we import nearly $800 billion more in goods than we export," said Donald Trump June 28.

Trading off these legitimate negative arguments against positive ones makes voters understand that the real deal on trade deals lies somewhere in between.

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From Our Future

One of the biggest fights coming up in the newly elected Congress next year will be "corporate tax reform."

If you follow policy news you've been hearing that Congress wants to "reform" corporate taxes (again). When you hear talk of "reform" from our corporate-captured Congress it means you need to run as fast as you can -- and organize. The way they use the word, it always means give them more and We, the People get less.

Senator Schumer Talking About Massive Break On Taxes Corporations Already Owe

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-Wall Street) might be Senate Majority Leader after the election. In a Tuesday CNBC interview he said he is hoping to work with Republican House Speaker Paul "Gut the Government" Ryan on "some kind of international tax reform tied to a large infrastructure program." In the interview Schumer said:

"If you can get overseas money to come back here, even if it's at a lower rate than the 35 it now comes back at, and you can use that money for a major constructive purpose such as infrastructure, if you did an infrastructure bank, for instance, you could get $100 billion in equity in the bank and get a trillion dollars of infrastructure."

When Schumer says "at a lower rate" he is talking about a "tax holiday" allowing corporations to pay less than the 35% tax rate they owe (minus deductions for taxes already paid overseas) on some $2.5 trillion of profits they have stashed in "overseas" tax havens. These corporations owe around $720 billion or so on those profits. So rewarding them for tax dodging with a lower tax rate means handing them up to hundreds of billions of dollars that the country needs for schools, health care and yes, infrastructure repair.

These tax-dodging, multinational corporations used schemes and tax havens to dodge paying taxes they owe. Meanwhile other corporations -- usually smaller, domestic companies -- paid their taxes. This gave the multinational corporations that used schemes and tax havens to dodge paying their taxes an advantage over the honest, domestic companies that did pay their taxes.

So why should Congress reward tax-dodging, multinational corporations by letting them keep some of the taxes they dodged, thereby punishing the domestic corporations that did the right thing for the country? See if you can guess why. (Hint: the tax-dodging corporations have "captured" Congress using a portion of that money.)

Revenue Neutral?

The corporations are also trying to sell "tax reform." This "reform" is really just another huge corporate tax cut that is explained as a "revenue neutral" deal to "cut corporate tax loopholes" and use the resulting revenue to cut the corporate tax rate. The term "revenue neutral" means the tax revenue coming to the government stays the same. "Revenue neutral" sounds like a good deal but in reality it's just a trick. It means taxes go up for some companies but way, way down for others. Guess which companies lose out. (Hint: it won't be the giant multinational corporations that have captured Congress.)

The top corporate tax rate used to be 52 percent. Under Reagan it was 46 percent. Then Congress "reformed" taxes and dropped the rate to just 35 percent. Corporations used to shoulder 32 percent of the total tax burden. It has fallen to only 10 percent of the burden. That is a drop of two-thirds. See if you can guess who pays that two-thirds difference. (Hint: it isn't corporations or their wealthy owners. It is cuts to schools, infrastructure, health care and all the things that used to make our lives better. This is one part of the economic squeeze everyone feels.)

On top of that they are also trying to sell a scheme that lets them off the hook for profits made outside of the country. See if you can guess how fast every corporation moves its profit centers and production out of the country if that passes. (Hint: every single corporation will move every job, factory, profit center, etc., out of the country if that passes.)

What Budget Deficit And Debt?

Our country has a budget deficit and a large debt caused by tax cuts and wars. The current hysteria over deficits is driven by corporate-and-billionaire-funded PR "think tanks" that pump out propaganda and hysteria 24/7/4/12. Can you guess what 24/7/4/12 means? (Hint: 24 hours, 7 days, 4 weeks, 12 months of the year.)

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From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,




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PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR



OTAN = Asesinos



OTAN = NATO = Muerte



Mas temprano que tarde los derrotaremos



Hipocresia 3.0



El principe Carlos habla sobre el alto costo de la vida Es un chiste?



Las verdades son simples



Opinar es un peligro



Ejemplo de dignidad



El Nuevo Orden Mundial



Historica foto para el record Guinness







Se pegaron un tiro en el pie



Si palabras



Ya no enganan a nadie



No hacen falta palabras







Lo volvio a hacer



Capitalismo=embuste



Historico Bitcoin



La bateria mas grande de Holanda



El futuro es solar



Nec plus ultra, nec variatur



Fisica y culturalmente



Jamas nos callaran



Sin ellas, no seremos



Deja vu



Nada que celebrar



Hasta cuando?



Colombia Hoy



Para nunca olvidar



'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England



Sin palabras



La UE le apunta a la paz



Cada vez mas solo



LULA y su Pueblo



Bye Bye



Homenaje al genial Quino



Fueron ellos



Una imagen que resume



Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero?



Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante)



Ladrones al poder



Asi mira el perrito a su amo



Crazy



Clamor popular



La nueva inquisicion



Bolivia



Chile Hoy



Eso es todo amigos!



Piensalo!



Pinerachet



No More Trump



Adios Macri, hasta nunca



La Marioneta se desinfla



Asi o mas cinico



Almugre



Mexico en 1794



Mas arrastrado imposible



Hasta cuando!



La pura verdad



Solidaridad con Palestina



Serie Capitalismo



Espejismos de la clase trabajadora



Asi es!



Comerciantes o delincuentes



No pasaran!



Asi es la vida



USA HOY



01/01/1959



La avaricia no tiene limites



AYUDA HUMANITARIA?



Chile Hoy



Asi son las cosas



Mapa Electoral de Venezuela



Patagonia argentina?



Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad



Retrato del franquismo en Espana



Visca Catalunya!



El Chulo de Madrid



Cuando la policia se roba la democracia



Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras



La purita verdad



Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia



Mi pobre clase media



Como Chavez nadie



Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear

Programa de la MUD



Asi o mas clarito



Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte?



Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio?



Una verguenza nacional



La luz que nos guia



La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz?



Feudalismo ayer y hoy



Obama, el mentiroso



Curiosa coincidencia



Un mundo de cerdos



No es extrano?



La Marioneta



Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran



MARICORI Y OBAMA



Cuantas muertes este ano?



USA TODAY



USA HOY 6



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USA HOY (1)



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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


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.
Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association

Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America.
Democratic congressional candidate Mike Derrick received more than twice as much in contributions from labor unions in the third quarter as U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, according to reports their respective campaigns filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Stefanik still holds a slight lead in labor contributions for the election cycle to date.

Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, is running in the 21st Congressional District against Stefanik and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.

Derrick received $22,500 in labor contributions in the third quarter, bringing his total labor contributions for the election cycle to $44,700.

Contributions in the third quarter are as follows:

United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters -- $5,000, bringing total contributions in the election cycle to $10,000;

Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers -- $2,500, bringing total contributions in the election cycle to $5,000;

International Brotherhood of Teamsters -- $5,000;

1199 SEIU -- $5,000;

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- $5,000.

Stefanik received $9,000 in labor contributions in the third quarter, bringing total contributions in the elections cycles to $45,000

Contributions in the third quarter are as follows:

Carpenters & Joiners -- $2,500, bringing total contributions in the election cycle to $7,500;

National Air Traffic Controllers -- $3,000, bringing total contributions in the election cycle to $7,000;

North American Building Trades -- $2,000;

International Association of Fire Fighters -- $1,500, bringing total contributions in the election cycle to $2,500.
As journalists, we often talk about how vital free speech is to democracy and a free society.

So, I was delighted to read recently that some men from the upstate New York and Vermont area played a vital role in preserving that value when it was under attack in the 1780s and 1790s.

The book I'm currently reading, "Liberty's First Crisis: Adams, Jefferson and the Misfits that Saved Free Speech," may not sound like it has anything to do with this area. But it does.

One of the protagonists (depending on your perspective) is Matthew Lyon, an outspoken congressman from just over the border in Fair Haven, Vermont. Lyon, a Democrat-Republican, is considered by the author Charles Slack, to be one of the "misfits" who saved free speech during America's early days.

Prior to getting into politics, Lyon was heavily involved in the Revolutionary War  especially in this area. He fought in vital battles in Ticonderoga, Crown Point and Saratoga.

After the war, Lyon started his own newspaper in Fair Haven, The Farmers' Library (later called The Fair Haven Gazette). That's most likely when his passion for the free speech protected by the first amendment began.

Slack points out that Lyon's motives for starting his own paper were almost entirely political  as they tended to be back then. Lyon felt that most major publications had a Federalist bent to them, so he started his own publication with a Democrat-Republican slant.

He intensified his anti-establishment stance when he started another newspaper of his own, after the Rutland Herald refused to publish his "radical" writing. This paper was called The Scourge Of Aristocracy and Repository of Important Political Truth. It was more of a magazine or a journal than it was a newspaper, and it didn't even last a year.

Eventually, Lyon would be jailed under the Alien and Sedition Acts for his criticism of Federalist President John Adams  particularly what Lyon perceived as Adams' anti-French rhetoric.

Lyon was thrown in a jail cell in Vergennes, Vermont for his criticism of Adams. From that jail cell Lyon was re-elected to Congress.

Another fun fact about Lyon: He was the deciding vote to make Thomas Jefferson president, after the race went to Congress.

There's so much rich history in this area  Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, the battle of Saratoga, Roger's Island, and apparently, a radical free speech "misift" named Matthew Lyon.
Editor:

Trapping is one of the most cruel activities imaginable. Over 70 countries have banned the leg hold trap as too inhumane to use. Over the years, I have found two skunks, each of whom had chewed his or her foot off to get free of it. Each one had subsequently died of infection or blood loss. This unfortunately is not so uncommon, as trappers have a term for it, ring off. The skunk is a very gentle animal and does not deserve this fate.

Trash animal is another term that was used for an unwanted animal caught in a trap. This was the case of the blue jay I found caught in a leg hold trap. It was eerie because it looked like it was still alive. Its wings were spread, its mouth wide open, and its eyes wide open as well. It was an illegally set trap, so I took bird and trap up to the police. The trapper said that his trap wouldnt catch a bird, but the police had the proof. Millions of innocent animals die as the unwanted by-product of the traps. The photo of the little blue jay in the trap was sent to PETA and they subsequently used it in a brochure.

When we found a skinned raccoon at the dump with only its little paws unused, I used it as a subject for an anti-trap and anti-fur painting. The World Society for the Protection of Animals took it to Belgium, and when it was sent back, it went to The Fund for Animals.

I hope someday that the trap can be banned in this country as it is in so many others.

Martha Winsten, Gansevoort
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In an interview with Jessicca Opare-Saforo, on Beta Malt On the Go (taxi edition), he said, People doubt whether it is me when they dont see my chains , but truth is am scared of armedrobbers who may end up breaking my neck for my expensive chains, he said amidst laughter.

Master Richards joins a list of celebrities on the go with Beta Malt as Jessica Saforo, offers him aride on her way to work in this weekends episode.

He then opens up more to himself and hisplans of returning to the screens.

From rapid fire interactive questions on daily routine to fascinating questions on music and dance,On the Go with Beta Malt offers the opportunity for people to share the story of their hustle in the most fun-loving way with the reward of nourishment to keep the zeal.

The show airs on Saturdays at 9am on TV3, 4syte TV and 8:30pm on GH1 TV and on VIASAT 1 TVon Mondays at 9:00am.
It is difficult to tell five things this government has done that directly affects us. If you ask Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale or anyone on the streets what they (NDC) have done that has affected their career, they cant tell," Appietus told Accra-based Hitz FM.He added: "If you ask me Appiah, I cant tell what they did that really affected me. I cant say they built an international standard studio in Ghana that can be compared to what Jay Z and others use in America that can help unearth talents. What have they done?"
28th MS Coastal cleanup 4.JPG

Father Barry Jackson spends quality time with sons Ellis and Mitchell on Saturday by helping to beautify Pascagoula Beach as part of the 28th annual Mississippi Coastal Cleanup.

(Tyler Carter)

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Volunteers around the Mississippi Gulf Coast showed up on Saturday to beautify South Mississippi as the 28th annual Mississippi Coastal Cleanup kicked off Saturday morning.

The cleanup consisted of Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties, extending to more than 40 sites along the 90 miles of beach. Some volunteers also took to the water to clean up coastal waterways and the barrier islands.

Cleaning up and respecting the environment you inhabit is an important aspect to residents of the community such as Barry Jackson. Jackson and his sons walked the Pascagoula Beach on Saturday and said he felt it was his duty to help in the cleanup efforts.

"I felt it was important to be out here today because wildlife deserves to live in a clean environment just as we do, and its our responsibility to do our part in participating with initiatives such as the Coastal Cleanup," Jackson said.

"I brought my sons out here today because I wanted to teach them about being accountable and responsible," Jackson said. "When they get older, the values such as the ones learned cleaning up the beach today are values they will continue to learn and pass down to their children and grandchildren."

Walter and Heather Gulley drove along the Pascagoula Beach collecting trash from volunteers as well as helping to dispose of it. According to the Gulleys', they collected a total of 50 bags of trash, a bumper, and numerous tires.

Walter Gully is a native of Pascagoula, but recently moved back after residing in Michigan for 38 years. Gully said he would like to see a cleanup initiative twice a year.

"I was talking to my cousin the other day and I just told him it was trashy down here by the beach," Gulley said. "I want to bring it to someone to have a cleanup twice a year. I mean, it's so easy to cleanup behind yourself, there are two garbage cans here, so I guess my first thought would be to add two more garbage cans and after that, there's no excuse. There needs to be penalties for those who decide to litter."

After the cleanup ended, volunteers received a voucher for a free lunch provided by The Shed.

Volunteers collected more than 16 tons of debris during last year's Mississippi Coastal Cleanup in Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock counties and the barrier islands.

Over the 27 years of this annual event, more than 65,000 volunteers have removed more than 1.6 million pounds of trash from Mississippi's coast.
The message read: the victim wrote.

Constable Marapira, reportedly stationed at the Masvingo Rural Police Station, allegedly sponsored the lady at the Morgenster Teachers College but after graduating, she told him she was in love with another man and that he wouldnt be able to afford her upkeep.

The police officer responded by killing himself a few metres off the Mvuma-Gweru Road on Wednesday night.

An officer close to Marpira told Zimbabwe's The Chronicle that: The misunderstanding followed Clarices decision to dump him (Marapira) on claims that she couldnt be with a police officer anymore as he wouldnt afford her upkeep.

Miss Sagiya reportedly took her phone with the messages to a police station, and they headed to the location where the victim had hung himself.

In the meantime, Constable Marapiras family suspects that the victim was killed.

However, the police say they had not yet confirmed the matter.
JUSSAG said the move is to give government another six working days to resolve the some anomalies it has detected on the document.

It says the document submitted by the Chief of Staff fails to explain when members will receive their consolidated salaries.

In addition, it says the document has errors with regards to calculating how much members will receive.

"Government has unilaterally reviewed the figures. [The] government has failed to correct the anomalies that existed in our pay structure and that is not acceptable, JUSSAG president Alex Nartey said a press briefing.

"The document [has been] given to the Judicial Council to look at it, for the anomalies to be corrected so that we can continue from there. So we look forward that this will be done now and between the end of the month," he added.

JUSSAG had threatened to "withdraw services if nothing is heard on or before Friday 21 October 2016
According to him, turning down the debate challenge from Mahama would be a huge mistake.

President John Mahama on numerous occasion has dared Nana Addo for a debate ahead of the 2016 general elections following what the president describes as 'contentious statements' made by his main contender.

He said, an earlier challenge has been thrown to Nana Addo to debate him and stop making empty accusations but Nana Addo has refused to grant his request.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Kennedy said the two men must debate to show their understanding of enhancing Ghanas democracy.

While the President and the NDC were wrong to pull out of IEA events, including debates, it would be equally wrong for Nana Akufo-Addo to refuse to debate the President. Nana Akufo-Addo NEEDS that debate. Ghana needs it and Ghanaian democracy needs it.

Hopefully, it can produce an iconic moment, similar to Tamale, when the candidates held hands and committed to peace. Let's have a debate, please!! Dr. Kennedy wrote.

He said, "Early indications are that the NPP has turned down the President's offer to debate. That would be a huge mistake.

"The 2008 Presidential Debates were useful in helping the nation judge our Presidential Candidates. And so was the 2012 edition, except for the incessant coughing of Mr. Ayariga.

"Debates have become a very important marker for judging the maturity of a democracy. Since it made its appearance in the 1960 US Presidential debate, it has become an increasingly important factor, not just in US elections but around the world".

Meanwhile, the NPP said Nana Addo will not kow-tow to Mahama whims.
According to EC, one of his subscribers endorsed the form with different signatures in both portions of the nomination form, raising questions as to the legitimacy of one or both signatures.

READ MORE: Ayariga puts campaign on hold

The investigation follows a complaint filed by the Electoral Commission against subscribers of eights aspirants to the CID.

The complaint was against the subscribers for the NDP, IPP, UFP, PPP, GCPP, APC, PNC and RPD.

It followed a mass disqualification of 12 presidential aspirants from contesting the December 7 polls for various reasons, including forgery, impersonation, and perjury.

But speaking in an interview Accra-based Class FM Friday, one of the lawyers for the PPP said the party "is a law-abiding entity adding that the party cooperated with the police.

"We received an invitation and we have honoured the invitation. We cooperated with the police, Felix Ograh said, declining to reveal the details of what transpired at the CID headquarters.

The Public Relations Officer for the CID, ASP Joseph Benefo Darkwa, has told Pulse.com.gh that those wanted by the police are Salifu Abdulai, Adu Thomas, Alfred Yevuglo, Richard Aseda, Amadu Babia Latifa, Amadu Ayuba, Owusu Stephen, Abdulai Mariama, also known as Fusheini Mariama and Abaako Issifu.

He said Salifu of the National Democratic Party (NDP); Mariama and Owusu, both of the Reform Democratic Party (RDP) engaged in the offence of multiple registration.

Ayuba subscribed for both the Peoples National Convention (PNC) and the All Peoples Congress (APC), while Adu and Yevuglo subscribed for both the Independent Peoples Party (IPP) and the United Front Party (UFP).

Latifa, on the other hand, subscribed for both the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the UFP, while Aseda subscribed twice for the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP).

According to ASP Darkwa, the suspects action had breached Article 63 of the 1992 Constitution, the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29, the Public Elections Regulations, 2016, C.I. 94 and PNDCL 284.

He said others have already appeared and have been granted bail.

We have started investigations to the electoral breaches. Quite a number of them have reported, however, a few of them have not yet reported and we are appealing to them to report. Otherwise we will go after them, we will arrest them, he said.
READ MORE:EC to begin balloting positions for qualified aspirants

For 24 years since 1992, have you seen any change here? and you are in a fishing community," he told a rally at Anomabo.

"How much does a cold store cost? It is not expensive. And every 4 years they come to you back-door with the money, outboard motors, T-shirts, fishing nets, the promises and lies, he added.

--Accept goodies---

Addressing a separate gathering Friday, he urged Ghanaians to accept any form of financial incentive given them by politicians but desist from voting for them.

"They will come in both the night and day and they will tell you lies. They will try and deceive you and give you money. Take the money because the money belongs to you; it is Ghanas money. But know in your heart where the truth is, where the justice is, where the hope is and where the opportunity is for all the citizens of this nation,he said.

In August this year, the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) in a survey revealed that National Democratic Congress (NDC) topped the list of vote-buying by 51 percent. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) was second with 32 percent. The CPP and PPP both recorded 4 percent each.

The gifts range from money, cars, clothes, outboard motors, farming equipment among others. These are given to the electorates by the political parties to influence their voting pattern.

Greenstreet, asked electorates to vote for the CPP since the NDC and NPP who have governed the country for the past 24 years have done nothing to develop the living conditions of Ghanaians.
READ MORE: Bawumia throws a challenge to Mahama to debate ordinary Ghanaians on the economy

President Mahama, speaking at the launch of the special edition of the magazine expressed appreciation for the works done by Momodu.

The magazine features him and the works his government has been doing to transform Ghana.

"I follow Dele on his Twitter handle and I note the criticisms he comes under for speaking positively about myself or my government, president Mahama said. "That is one of the developments in our politics that is most unpleasant, we cant take criticism, we cant take news that is positive about somebody we dont like, and so we have a lot of insults on social media and actually distracts from the issues and instead of dealing mainly with the issues, people rather take the route of trading insults.

He added: But one of the things Dele has and I wish I develop more is that he has a very thick skin and he has a very calm manner of responding to criticism that is thrown at him. I have been following him and learning how to respond not the champion way, but I wont wake up at 3am and tweet responding to any criticism, I can assure you, but yes I admire his calmness and the way he responds to criticisms.

President Mahama's opponents have begun to mock saying his "Green Book" which also highlights his achievements has failed to resonant with the electorate.

Not move by the criticisms, president Mahama said Ovation magazine will best tell the NDC's story of transformation since the publisher is not a Ghanaian.

I was touched by some of the things he [Dele] said because these were coming from the eyes of somebody who would not typically be considered as part of our partisan politics or even lets say not a Ghanaian, and so it puts things in more context for me," he explained.

Later, I was contacted by Ovation Magazine and they said they wanted to do a special coverage of some of the work I have been doing because 'you are not telling your story enough and it is true. One of the things we have not been good is telling our own story, probably because of the nature of who we are  not boastful and also believing that Ghanaians naturally know the work we are doing without you trumpeting it  and so I readily agreed, he added.

On Friday, Momodu suggested Ghanaians are not praising the president enough despite the widespread criticism of his economic policies.

He told Accra-based Citi FM that the president has done a "great job" for Ghana.

"People read politics into everything but frankly speaking, there is so much to celebrate about President Mahama, he said. He has done a great job. I have travelled extensively across Africa and Ghana is working, Ghana is rising and it is our duty to celebrate Ghana.
According to him, after killing Ghanaian businesses in the last 8 years because of poor policies, the Mahama government is now actively campaigning to collapse Ghanaian businesses, which employ thousands of people across the country.

I have heard one of Mahamas appointees (Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah) saying that Ghanaians should no longer consume Kalyppo because it contains sugar. So after killing Ghanaian businesses, they are now campaigning to make sure that no one patronises made-in-Ghana products, and thereby collapse Ghanaian businesses? Ghanaians should not pay heed to such loose-talk from officials of the Mahama government, he said.

Nana Akufo-Addo continued, If, indeed, sugar was bad, why have they set up the Komenda sugar factory, a factory they have made so much noise about? To them, sugar is bad and, yet, they spent so much money on the Komenda sugar factory, which is not even working? This propaganda will not work.

He stressed that this year, whatever it is they say, whatever propaganda they churn out, will not work. Ghanaians are going to vote and bring into office an Akufo-Addo government, which is going to improve the wellbeing of Ghanaians. The wind of change is blowing all across Ghana, and nothing, nothing, is going to stop it from succeeding.

Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing a mammoth night rally at Kwadaso, on Thursday, October 20, 2016, in the Ashanti Region, when he made this known.

In view of the economic crises, widespread despondency, rising cost of living, and record levels of unemployment, amongst others, the Mahama government has plunged the nation into, the NPP flagbearer maintained that Ghanaians have one simple task ahead of them in this years elections.

The task is to use our thumbs to unseat Mahama and bring in a government led by Akufo-Addo. I am here to appeal to residents of Kwadaso, Kumasi and Asanteman to throw their support behind me, like never before. I want you to vote massively for me, so we can go into Jubilee House and do a job for all Ghanaians which will create jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Ghanaians, he added.

Nana Akufo-Addo assured the thousands and thousands gathered that he, together with the NPP, is seeking the mandate of the Ghanaian people, so as to be able to use it to implement the policies and programmes which will return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity.
The only notable thing here, which is still within our control, is the Tafo cemetery. Nana, when you win, I want you to help elevate Tafo. This town can no longer be classified, even as a municipality. Tafo is now a sub-metropolis. When Tafo is elevated, Ghana will also be elevated, he said.To this end, Nana Frimpong II urged the NPP flag bearer to site ventures which will create economic activity within the town, and also create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed youth in Old Tafo if he wins the December election.Our prayer is for God to elect a president who is coming to work for all Ghanaians, so we can get peace. We will pray for you, so God and our ancestors grant you victory in this years elections, the Tafo chief concluded.
The Award-winning Hip Hop superstar, visionary mixtape supremo, nominee (Best International Act) and mesmerising live performer Future is set to perform at MAMA 2016 at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa on 22 October.

Following his performance at the award show, as a bonus for fans will stage an extra live performance, reprising fan favourites from throughout his recording career from Turn on the Lights, to Same Damn Time and Stick Talk.

Born Navyvadius Cash, in Atlanta, Georgia, Future is known for his signature melodic flow and authentic street sound. The rapper first gained fame thanks to a series of classic mixtapes that gave light to his first single Tony Montana, before notching up three number one album debuts on the Billboard 200 chart in just 7 months thanks to DS2 (2015), What a Time to be Alive (his 2015 collaboration with Drake), and "EVOL" (2016).

An amazing 2016 has seen Futures star rise higher than ever before thanks to the release of his critically acclaimed mixtape Purple Reign, swiftly followed by the launch of his fourth solo album EVOL.

In March 2016, he completed his first, 22-date nationwide tour, then went on to win Best Group with Drake at the BET Awards 2016 for their collaboration Jumpman, before scoring 10 nominations at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2016, and performing a riveting live rendition of Commas at the MTV VMAs in New York.
Stephen Helps President Obama Polish His Resume

The free world was a term used by early American settlers. Free meaning they can start fresh and have inalienable rights. And even when people settled in america they advertised it as "the new world." It doesn't literally mean the whole world. Read between the lines

Published on Oct 18, 2016
The actor decided to surprise her with a visit, complete with a kiss and flowers, so he could be the first to wish her a happy birthday.

Osas has been in the U.S for a while with their daughter, and with her birthday coming up on October 26, was thrilled by Gbenro's romantic move.

Sharing a video clip of himself and his wife via his Instagram page, Gbenro captioned it, writing:

When she means the world to you travelling xxx amount of rivers,mountains and then the Atlantic Ocean just to be the first to say happy birthday would be a spontaneous and effortless decision. In other news forget all that mushiness I collected small beating for the taking her by suprise. ps ermmm excuse her French.

He also shared a super adorable photo of himself and his beautiful family.
The actor who travelled to see his wife who has been in the US for a while now as a surprise, was beyond delighted to see his little girl too.

This he shared via his Instagram page on Saturday, October 22, with an adorable photo of the trio.

He also noted that their bundle of joy turned four months old today and he got to be there, just as he had travelled ahead of Osas' birthday which is on October 26, to be the first to wish her a happy birthday.

Captioning the photo, he wrote: "And then Princess @azariahajibade is 4 months today#King#Queen#princess @Stancuzio."
For superstars like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Rick Ross, Eminem, Snoop Dog and countless others, Jonathan Mannions vision, consistency, and ability to innovate has made him the go-to image-maker for the most important projects of their careers.

In the history of hip-hop, no photographer has created more memorable images of the culture than Jonathan Mannion.

Since he stepped onto the New York rap scene in 1993, the Cleveland native has produced iconic visuals that indelibly defined a generation of rap, R&B, and reggae artists.

Mannions first established himself as a cultural force through his work with the recording industry, documenting over twenty years of hip-hop music. Early in his career, when many in mainstream media were dismissing rap music as a passing fad, Mannion was hustling to create the cover art for Jay-Zs debut LP, Reasonable Doubt.

It was the first of many iconic album covers with prominent MCs that quickly crowned Mannion as hip-hops premiere visual biographer.

Hennessy is excited to introduce Jonathan Mannion to Nigeria; projecting him as a perfect representation of a genre that has played an important role in the growth of the brand  Hip Hop.

This October, as part of the celebrations of Hennessy Artistry, the legendary photographer will be in Lagos to showcase some of his most iconic works!

We are excited about bringing Jonathan Mannion to Nigeria. Both Hennessy and Jonathan have played a key role in the development and formation of the DNA of the Hip Hop Music & Culture. Art and Hip Hop Enthusiasts will be presented with an invaluable opportunity to explore some of Jonathan Mannions legendary body of work. For us, this is an initiative which remains true to Hennessy Artistry - celebrating Music, and in this case, rather creatively and hopefully, memorably" Lere Awokoya - Brand Manager for Hennessy Nigeria.

The project being the first of its kind in Nigeria, is another initiative of Hennessy Artistry as a continuous means of expressing its love for Music.

Launched in 2006, Hennessy Artistry focuses on celebrating music and discovering unrecognized new talent.

In 2009 Hennessy Artistry was introduced to Nigeria and has engaged its Nigerian audience with series of activities that has propelled talented artistes to some of Nigerias stars today like M.I Abaga, D'Banj, Ice Prince, Tu Face, Banky W, Wiz Kid, Nneka, Tiwa Savage, Praiz, Burna Boy. It has been celebrated by the most diverse musical influences, ranging from classical to jazz, funk, soul, Hip-Hop, R&B, pop amongst others in the world.

For more information follow Hennessy Nigeria:Facebook: @HennessyNigeria

Twitter: @hennessynigeria

Instagram: @hennessy_ng
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!
ALSO READ: Undergraduate gives reasons she arranged her kidnap with boyfriend

Officers attached to the Lion Building Police Divison reportedly apprehended the suspect identified as, Abiodun Joshua.

Daily Post reports that Joshua was apprehended after he demanded N37 million from a businesswoman, Mrs Oseni Omolewa, in order that she would not be kidnapped.

The victim who resides at Igbosere area of Lagos Island, reported the issue to the police, claiming that the suspect had threatened to kidnap her and her children if the requested sum was not sent.

Confirming the arrest, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, said, The victim said someone has been calling her to deposit N37 million into an account number to prevent her from being kidnapped and her children."

ALSO READ: Soldiers arrested for kidnapping businessman in Rivers
ALSO READ: Nigerian woman who stabbed hubby to death for cheating pleads guilty

The suspect identified as Abosede Omolare reportedly stabbed the victim during an argument. The information was revealed during a news conference in Abeokuta, on Friday, October 21.

The Public relations officer of the command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, said that the suspect committed the crime at Onirugba St. in Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday and was also arrested on the same day.

He explained that the unfortunate incident occurred during a minor misunderstanding in relation to funds from the gas business the deceased entrusted her with.

Oyeyemi also said that the suspect who was engaged to be married to Dauda in December claimed that he assaulted her before sending her away and she only returned to the house by the invitation of the mother of deceased who promised to intervene in the issue.

She stated that immediately she got home, her fiance descended on her, beat her mercilessly and broke a bottle with which he threatened to stab her.

She admitted that it was then she took a kitchen knife and stabbed him on the rib, he said.

Dauda who was rapidly losing blood was taken to Igbeba Divisional Police Post in Ijebu-Ode, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The policemen then rushed Dauda to Ijebu-Ode General Hospital where he later died on Wednesday, October 19.

ALSO READ: Woman kills fiance over sex
The suspects, according to NDLEA, who were arrested during the screening of passengers on board a Turkish flight, were allegedly laundering the drug money from Greece and Austria.

It was gathered that Nicholas was found in possession of 279,190, while Lovely had on him $30,000 and 46,450, inside envelopes and shoes.

During interrogation, Nicholas who claimed to work in a bakery in Austria said that several people had given him the money for onward delivery to their relatives in Nigeria.

The money does not belong to me. It was given to me by different people in Europe to give to their relatives. I have been living in Vienna, Austria, for over 15 years.

On his part, Lovely who lives in Athens, Greece, said the money belonged to his friends.

I live in Athens and I work in an African shop. I have lived there for 12 years. The money belongs to many people and some of them are my friends.

However, the NDLEA commander at the MMIA, Ahmadu Garba, insisted the money were proceeds from a drug deal.

We discovered 325,640 and $30,000 during the inward screening of passengers on a Turkish flight.

Edos Nicholas was found in possession of 279,190 and Hallowell Lovely was found in possession of 46,450 and $30,000  about N175m (parallel market) in all.

This is a suspected case of money laundering. Criminal groups seek to conceal the origin of illegally obtained money.

It is pertinent therefore for us to trace the origin of the money and prevent the introduction of criminal funds into the economy. Consequently, I have directed that the case be meticulously investigated."
ALSO READ: N175M seized from suspected alleged drug traffickers by NDLEA

The woman was nabbed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, Daily Post reports.

The suspect whose name has been withheld was caught at the inward screening of passengers on a South African Airways flight.

Daily Post reports that the suspect disclosed to investigators that her sponsor promised her N1m to smuggle the cocaine into the country. The suspect said she had gotten involved in the deal because she needed money.

Ahmadu Garba, NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport confirmed the arrest, saying that investigation is currently underway, after which the suspect will be charged to court.

The Spokesperson for the NDLEA, Ofoyeju Mitchell, quoted the Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (retd) in his vow that the agency would intercept more hidden drugs and make sure offenders are prosecuted.
Ayo spoke at the 7th Inaugural Lecture of the institution titled, De-constructing the National Development Agenda : The Role of Information and Communications Technologies.

He said the nation lost N1.5 trillion annually to health tourism due to poor infrastructure in the sector.

The health sector has been grossly underfunded by the Federal Government with virtually inadequate medical facilities both in quality and quantity, Ayo said.

The don said that there was an average of 1,700 persons per hospital bed and the ratio of physician to the populace too wide.

Ayo held that Nigerians depended largely on foreign solution to local problems  an indication that education sector had failed.

He said the Nigerian health system had been moribund due to lack of massive investment in education for decades.

Ayo said the federal government needed to capitalise on education and technology to transform the nations raw materials to desired products that would boost the two sectors.

He urged the Federal Government to invest massively in the two sectors to halt capital flight to improve the economy.

Dr David Oyedepo, the Chancellor of the institution, said federal government should look at education as a core requirement in achieving changes as well as solving nations challenges.

Oyedepo said it was through investment in education that Nigeria could restore its lost glory and attain meaningful national development.
Daniel Renouf and his wife visit the exhibition of historical facts about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the Memorial de Caen museum in France on Saturday. It will run until Dec 15. [Photo by Fu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The retired French engineer Daniel Renouf was born in August 1937, days after Japanese troops attacked China and several months before the Nanjing Massacre, which claimed 300,000 lives. Together with his wife, he joined French people in the hundreds on Saturday at an exhibition about the World War II-era war crimes.

With his wife holding a stick, they carefully examined the 270 historical photos, diaries, letters and other documents from Western diplomats, professors, doctors and reporters from the 1930s. The exhibit in the Memorial de Caen museum in France runs until Dec 15.

"The year 1937 is very special for us, and we had such very sad historic memories in our mind as we had grown," said Renouf, who was one of the last to leave the exhibition, which opened on Saturday afternoon.

"We knew something about the Nanjing Massacre."

However, Renouf, a resident of Caen, a city about 200 kilometers from Paris, said the exhibition helped him know more about the "horrifying pages" of Japanese aggression against China.

"These equal the Nazi crimes in Europe, and I believe, we must stop," said Renouf.

Japanese troops killed an estimated 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers s they rampaged through Nanjing in 1937. Thousands of women had been raped.

China has made Dec 13, the date when the Nanjing Massacre started, a National Memorial Day since 2014. And more than 30 similar exhibitions have been organized across the world, but the French exhibit is the first in Europe to display historical facts about Nanjing.

The Memorial de Caen museum, which opened in 1988, is dedicated to the history of conflict in the 20th century. It is considered the only European museum to recount and explain World War II from a global perspective.

Stephane Grimaldi, the museum director, said for many Europeans and Americans, the Second World War is only about Europe.

"But from the historic facts, you can see that this war started from China, due to Japanese aggression. It was not only in Europe but also in Asia, mainly in China," said Grimaldi. "We want to expose these historic truths to the public."

Grimaldi said it is "a pity" that China's sacrifice and suffering has not been shown sufficiently in French history books. He held up a history book for French pupils at the press conference, saying more than 20 pages cover World War II, but only one page is dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre, without much about China's fight against Japan's aggression.

"We must cooperate with China to help our next generations to remember that human beings are easy to make severe mistakes," said Grimaldi, who was invited to attend the National Memorial Day events this year in China.

Grimaldi's suggestion was echoed by Zhang Jianjun, curator of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing. The memorial hall has organized the French exhibition.

"It is very important for our young generations to remember the history, and we can deepen cooperation in organizing exhibitions, history education and joint research," said Zhang, who signed an agreement with Grimaldi prior to Saturday's opening of the exhibition.

One of the largest items on display in the exhibition is a 3.25 meters by 7.46 meters painting titled Deliverance by French painter Christian Poirot. The art depicts violent scenes of the Nanjing Massacre and was donated to Nanjing Memorial Hall in 2015.

Poirot recalled that during his stay in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province three years ago, life was peaceful and calm until one day, a TV news program reported that Japanese leaders showed respect to suspected war criminals.

"I felt extremely indignant about that since Chinese people always welcomed and treated me friendly,"he said.

"I decided to create a painting to call for memory of that significant history when Chinese victims suffered terribly in the massacre, and condemn the Japanese leaders honoring wars," he said.

The painting took Poirot six months to complete, as he read historical documents an hour a day. Now he is working on a second one, focusing of the abuse of "comfort women", which he expect will be displayed in Nanjing next year.

"Just as I added in the painting Deliverance with some white peace doves, I hope there will not be war anymore," he said.

"We aim to stop relaying hatred by remembering history," said Zhai Jun, Chinese ambassador to France, who attended the exhibition.
Hillary Clinton is and has been a robust supporter of charter schools, while Donald Trump might not pick someone with a background in education for his secretary of education, according to surrogates for the two respective candidates who spoke at a policy forum hosted by the Council of the Great City Schools in Miami on Friday.

Mildred Otero, a former aide to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton whos also worked for Democratic ex-Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, attempted to clarify Clintons sometimes-hard-to-classify position on charter schools by saying, Shes a big supporter of public charter schools. Otero also stressed that Clintons position on that issue hasnt really changed, although she added that Clinton is skeptical of the for-profit charter sector.

Clinton, a big supporter of early-childhood education programs, could also look at early-education work done by the District of Columbia public schools as a potential model to take to the federal level, Otero said at the event in Miami, which was moderated by Dan Rather, the former CBS News anchor who now runs a cable TV news program.

And Carl Paladino, a supporter of GOP nominee Donald Trump who is on the school board for the Buffalo, N.Y. district, said the candidate wouldnt necessarily pick an education secretary from the education world. He also said he believed that Trump would seek to make adjustments to the U.S. Department of Education, but stopped short of saying Trump would definitely seek to shut down the department entirely. And Paladino attacked the Education Departments office for civil rights, saying the work it does should be turned over to the states.

Paladino also attacked President Barack Obama for not letting Education Secretary Arne Duncan push bigger changes to public schools, saying, He wouldnt allow Duncan to do anything that would make the teachers unions upset. (If you ask the unions, however, theyll be happy to say that Duncan promoted harmful policies like the tying of teacher evaluations to test scores.)

Clearing Up Unclear Positions?

During her 2016 campaign, Clintons position on charters became a bit less clear. During her time as a U.S. senator from New York, for example, Clinton was a supporter of charters. Shes even taken some grief from the teachers unions for that stance. But during this White House run, she also criticized charters for not necessarily accepting all the same students that traditional public schools do. And shes said charters should supplement what public schools do and not replace them.

Similarly, Trumps position about ending the federal education department hasnt been easy to describe. Hes said he would be interested in shutting it down entirely or dramatically shrinking it. But Trump has also called education a top priority for the federal government, although that doesnt automatically mean he wants a cabinet-level agency overseeing education.

The Common Core State Standards also came up. Otero said said when she traveled the country talking to teachers before the common core, Every teacher that I talked to said, Can we do something about raising standards?

Shes going to continue to support states as they raise their standards, Otero said of Clinton, adding that the federal government did not come up with the common core. Its worth noting that according to 2014 Clinton speech released by WikiLeaks, Clinton called the common core a political failure, although she did not appear to contradict her public support of the common core in that speech. (The Clinton campaign has not confirmed the accuracy of documents released by WikiLeaks.)

Asked about Clintons potential education secretary, Otero said she hadnt discussed the issue with the nominee, but noted that Clinton would do her homework in picking a person for the position.

Paladino, a former GOP candidate for governor of New York, also said he didnt think Trump would tolerate the Common Core State Standards if hes elected presidentin fact, he said it appeared the standards were created by college professors who used to be pot-smoking hippies when they were younger. (Governors and state school chiefs oversaw the common cores creation.) He said to judge teachers dealing with disparate and often difficult circumstances by one standard is a bad approach.

It doesnt appear that the system is prepared to adjust for that, Paladino said.

Otero also pushed back on Paladinos criticism of the Education Departments office for civil rights, saying that office provides a lot of important data and reminds people in education of what we are working towards. She also stressed the importance of equity in education, but emphasized that states and local districts must take the lead in ensuring that more opportunities are more widely available, since federal education spending accounts for only about 11 percent of overall K-12 funding. (Recent federal data puts the federal share of funding at about 9 percent .)

Want more detail about where the candidates stand? Check out our side-by-side comparison of Clinton and Trump on education policy .

Image capture of Carl Paladino, left, and Mildred Otero, from a forum in Miami hosted by the Council of the Great City schools on Oct. 21, 2016.

Photo: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens during the third presidential debate at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Oct. 19 (Mark Ralston/AP)

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Two judges, Justice Okoro Inyang and Justice Sylvester Ngwuta alleged that Amaechi spoke to them, on different occasions, to influence judgements of two different elections.

The judges were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly fraudulently enriching themselves.

The party also said there is a moral burden on President Buhari to prosecute those whose names were mentioned by the judges.

According to Daily Post, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Rivers state, Samuel Wanosike said We of the PDP in Rivers state have been vindicated. We are not surprised because we knew Amaechi was stingingly corrupt. Under his watch over three points, something close to trillion was misused.

President Mohammadu Buhari now the moral burden to let Nigerians know if he is truly fighting corruption.

If the President knows hes not shielding corrupt officials especially those who have embezzled fund meant for Rivers state.

We as a party are asking Amaechi to resign so that he can be properly investigated. We are asking President Mohammadu Buhari to please do the needful for Nigerians.

It will interest you to know that five people have so far accused Rotimi Amaechi of corruption.
He also launched an agency that will ensure that herdsmen do not violate the anti-grazing law which he signed on Monday, May 23, 2016.

The umbrella body of cattle rearers, also called on Fayose to tender an unreserved apology and compensate its members whose cows were killed.

According to Daily Post, MACBAN said We have been reliably alerted an impeccable source in Ado- Ekiti that the Anti-maul vigilante group shot five cows and carted away with the meat but the herdsman was able to flee with the rest of his cattle.

We are hereby constrained to implore the federal government through its security agencies to wade into this unprovoked and primitive aggression against our members, before this macabre incident develops into unquenchable inferno involving our members and Ekiti State government.

No Cattle strayed into anybodys farmland around that area in question. As such, the actions of the Anti-malu vigilante are not ant only provoking, but capable of creating uncontrollable scenarios whose ramification may go well beyond Ekiti State.

As far as we know , Ekiti State is not an island of its own , but a State within the federal Republic of Nigeria and while the Governor is permitted to carry out actions geared towards protecting the interest of Ekiti State, such actions should follow the rule of law.

We deplore this act of brigandage and call on Governor Ayodele Fayose to offer an unreserved apology to MACBAN, and equally set machinery in motion with a view to compensate our members who lost five cows in this primitive adventure.

That the brutality of the Ekiti Grazing enforcement marshals (popularly known as Anti- malu) on herdsmen is even outside the time stipulated by that law (if the law exists at all).

The federal overnment should therefore look into the actions and activities of this committee because we cannot fold our hands while the only means of survival of our members is taken away and destroyed.

MACBAN has instructed victims of this aggression and its members nationwide to exercise maximum restrain while we work towards resolving this unfortunate incident through mature and civilized manners.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Aliyu Usman, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna that the suspects were arrested at Unguwar Sarki and Narayi all in Kaduna metropolis.

Usman said victims reported to the police on Oct. 8, while the seven suspects were arrested on the Oct. 13 and Oct. 14, by the commands State Intelligence Bureau.

According to him, one of the suspects is still at large and efforts are on to arrest him and other accomplices.

Four plasma television sets and three mobile phones were recovered from the suspects.

The suspects confessed to have committed the crime. Investigation is still ongoing and they will be charged to court for prosecution, Usman said.

He assured residents of their safety adding that the police were committed to protect the lives and property of everyone.
Dan-Ali gave this assurance at the passing out parade of 90 new Direct Short Service Course 23 and 13 Special Duty Course 2016 cadets at the Nigerian Navy College Onne, Rivers.

He said the assistance would enable the military to succeed in its ongoing operations such as Operations Delta Safe and Tsare Teku in the Niger Delta and Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East.

Dan-Ali said the operations were aimed at ensuring law and order as well as preserving the territorial integrity of the country.

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is ever committed and determined to honour its obligations to support capacity-building for the Armed Forces.

Government is pleased that the Nigerian Navy has added a large number of platforms (war ships) to its fleet, which includes NNS Prosperity and Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV).

As we speak, the latest OPV to the fleet of the Nigerian Navy is underway from China to Nigeria to improve the defence of the nations maritime interests.

The government is committed to performing its constitutional roles despite the present economic downturn, occasioned by dwindling oil prices and the spike in militancy and sabotage in the Niger Delta, he said.

Dan-Ali said the 103 cadets started their training in March to become Commissioned Officers with a focus on contributing to the ongoing internal security operations across the country.

He urged the new officers to give unflinching loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari as well as obey both civil and military laws.

He also said The cadets should note that their service would demand patriotism, professionalism, integrity, loyalty, tact, commitment to duty and respect and protection of human rights.

The minister lauded the Commandant of the Nigerian Navy College, Commodore Emmanuel Isreal and the Naval Training Command for the qualitative training at the college.
According to Daily Post, the Minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu said the meeting, which was earlierslated for October 29, 2016, was moved because it is a Saturday.

Kachikwu said It was actually a suggestion that the meeting could hold about that date, but having found out that 29 is a Saturday, you know it is not possible to drag the President for such a meeting on that day, the better day is Monday, October 31, so that is date.

Buharis plan to meet the elders from the Niger Delta, who formed a group known as the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PNDF), is in line with moves to end hostilities in the region.
Oyewole, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was reportedly killed by armed robbers on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.

According to reports, the incident that cost the policeman his life, took place around Sango community, along Akure/Ado Ekiti road, Akure.

Governor Mimiko, in a condolence message to Oyewoles family, prayed that God will wipe their tears.

He also said that the family will miss the presence of their bread winner, adding that he was dedicated to his work.

The Governor called on security agencies to ensure that the criminals who murdered his CSO are brought to book.
Utomi also urged young Nigerians not to emulate some Nigerians, who are mentally lazy and unwilling to build Nigeria.

He said this at the Emerging Leaders Conference, which was put together by Guardian of The Nation International, tagged: Self-Reinvention; The Trigger for Economic Boom.

Utomi also said Nigeria inflicted recession on itself through the bad behaviour of previous governments. It was the result of an elite that is too lazy to restructure the economy. Our leaders are lazy and they always want the oil price to rise.

You must not be like them. If we continue to act the way they acted, in my view that is irresponsibility.

We are in dire need of leaders with a sense of service towards others and contribution to the Society. Nigeria is a paradox of progressive degeneration. Every government is worse that the one before it because we have not refused to learn.

He added that Everyone is feeling marginalised. It is the tragedy of 1966, they took Nigeria in 1966 and are still running Nigeria now.

We are in dire need of leaders with a sense of service towards others and contribution to the Society. Nigeria is a paradox of progressive degeneration. Every government is worse that the one before it because we have not refused to learn.
The vast majority of states are spending less on education than they did before the Great Recession, according to a study released this week by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think-tank that pushes for more vibrant social programs.

Public investment in K-12 schools--crucial for communities to thrive and the U.S. economy to offer broad opportunity--has declined dramatically in a number of states over the last decade, the study said. Worse, most of the deepest-cutting states have also cut income tax rates, weakening their main revenue source for supporting schools.

According to the report, 35 states provided less overall state funding for education in 2014 than in 2008, before the recession hit housing prices, sending down waves of state and local budget cuts to school districts. In 27 states, according to the think tank, per pupil funding fell over the same period.

Most states have been run by Republicans in recent years. In places, those politicians have steadily cut away at income taxes to spur the economy, forcing urban and rural districts to depend more on property taxes. Property values remain flat in many cities.

In especially conservative states such as Kansas and Oklahoma, budget cuts have been so deep that parents and teachers have rebelled. Four Kansas districts sued the state over budget cuts there, resulting in a months-long showdown between that states supreme court and the states legislature and governor.

In Oklahoma where student enrollment has shot up while funding has not kept pace, more than 40 teachers filed to run for a legislative seat this season, an effort that could nudge the deeply conservative state to the left on several issues.

Other states have suffered from the fall in oil prices.

In the New Yorker, U.S. Supreme Court reporter Jeffrey Toobin predicted earlier this month that if Hillary Clinton is elected president and appoints several more liberal justices in the coming years, school finance lawyers will attempt to propose to bring legal challenges arguing for a constitutional right to an education. A ruling recognizing such a right would force states to provide more funding for poor districts.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
Presiding over the event, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ignatius Onimawo, said that the graduates are from the 2013/2014 and the 2014/2015 academic sessions, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Onimawo said that the varsity conferred degrees on 492 postgraduates from the two sessions.

He disclosed that universitys governing council in 2013, 14 of its programmes had gotten full accreditation for eight interim while six were denied.

However, the areas with the shortcomings have since been fixed and the university, ready for a re-assessment in these areas.

NAN reports that Onimawo also revealed that 136 academic staff, 276 senior non-teaching staff and 443 junior staff have been promoted.

During his opening remarks, the chancellor of the university and Etsu Nupe, Alhaji (Dr) Yahaya Abubakar, explained that education was a system which began from birth.

Likening it to a relay race, he said it must be faced with a humble heart and open arms. Abubakar went on to assure the graduates that their graduation was the climax of a strong spirit and sacrifice.

The traditional ruler added that the graduation ceremony should be the springboard for greater achievements for their future.

He urged the graduates to look around for problems they can solve and would avoid poverty in so doing,

ALSO READ: Ambrose Alli University students fees increased by over 100 percent

The governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, stressed the need for Nigeria to rearrange its priorities, and prevent the education system from failing.

He added that his administration has accomplished so much in the educational sector such as increasing the annual subvention to the institution from N1.2 billion to N3.6 billion.
ALSO READ: Ambode promises to assist youths to become wealth creators

The body embarked on its strike on Friday, October 21, over non-payment of their allowances.

SSANIP'S strike action came as a result of the expiration of an ultimatum the group issued to the institute's management over payment of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnic (SSANIP), the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports.

NASU, on Thursday, October 20, began its strike after a peaceful protest meant to enforce their demands.

The Chairman of SSANIP-LASPOTECH, Mr Awoyemi Abiodun, while addressing the protesters, said that the strike would be total, comprehensive and indefinite.

Meanwhile, NAN reports that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), LASPOTECH chapter, has issued its own seven-day which will expire next week.

The academic and administrative activities of the Polytechnic have reportedly been paralysed with the different bodies embarking on strikes of their own.

ALSO READ: 30 students expelled for examination malpractice
There were 29 members on the Taiwan-owned Naham 3 fishing vessel when pirates occupied it in March 2012 and took them to the north-central Mudug region.

Three of them reportedly died of illness and mistreatment in the intervening time.

The remaining 26 members are now free, who include natives of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and other Asian nations.

The ship was flagged in Oman.

The pirates reportedly demanded a ransom of three million dollars, but the source said less than that had been paid.

The money was believed to have come from the Asian countries governments and the hostages families.
CNN reported that those killed on Thursday and Friday had been rounded up near and in the city for use as human shields against attacks that are forcing ISIS out of the southern sections of Mosul, the source explained.

It was further gathered that ISIS used a bulldozer to dump the corpses in a mass grave at the scene of the executions that took place at the Mosul's defunct College of Agriculture in the north of the city.

The United Nations earlier said it is "gravely worried" that ISIS has taken 550 families from villages around Mosul and is using them as human shields as Iraqi and Kurdish forces battle the terror group for control of Iraq's second-largest city.

200 families from Samalia village and 350 families from Najafia were forced out on Monday and taken to Mosul in what appears to be a policy in which ISIS used in prevent civilians from escaping.

Meanwhile, ISIS militants attacked security buildings in Kirkuk, 175 kilometers (109 miles) southeast of Mosul.

Expressing concern, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said his office had evidence of several instances since Monday where ISIS forced civilians to leave their homes in outlying villages and head to Mosul. It also had received reports that civilians suspected of disloyalty had been shot dead.

"We are gravely worried by reports that (ISIS) is using civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance, keeping civilians close to their offices or places where fighters are located, which may result in civilian casualties," Zeid said.

"There is a grave danger that (ISIS) fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated," he said.
If you happened to be in downtown Davenport or Moline last Wednesday you might have had your day brightened by The Green Thumbers.

As part of a nationwide Petal it Forward program, the Davenport florist gave away 1,000 free bouquets of pomps and mums. Each recipient was handed two bouquets  one to keep and one to "petal forward" and share with someone else.

"It's like 'pay if forward,' but because we're florists it's 'Petal it Forward," said Andy Kay, owner of Green Thumbers. "People were just thrilled."

Kay said the event was a nationwide effort launched by the Society of American Florists, of which Green Thumbers is a member. The program was in response to new data by the society that shows the positive emotional benefits of flowers.

''It was a neat way to spread happiness and cheer and show them the importance of giving flowers,'' he said. In the days after the giveaway, Kay and his business received a wealth of emails and thank yous.

The Green Thumbers has been located at 3030 Brady St., Davenport, for more than 50 years.

Rudy's launches brew with Bent River

An old Quad-City favorite has a new brew.

Rudy's Tacos, which has been serving up Mexican fare since 1973, has teamed up with Bent River Brewing Co. to launch Brudy's MPL Beer.

"It only makes sense to work together and support local business collaborations like this," said Kevin Quijas, owner of Rudy's Tacos.

Bent River president Joel Krogman said the new flavor is best described as "a light-amber Mexican lager with a kick."

"It was brewed with Quad-City beer drinkers in mind and it is sure to become a local favorite," he said.

Look for Brudy's MPL at Rudy's locations in Davenport, Bettendorf, Eldridge, Coal Valley, East Moline and Milan.

Founded by Rudy and Marilyn Quijas, Rudy's first Village of East Davenport restaurant could seat between 15-20 people. Today, Rudy's has a larger, remodeled restaurant in the Village and has expanded to 11 other locations in Iowa and Illinois.

Bent River began as an idea of Tim Koster of Koski Home Brew Fiexens in April 1993. In 1996, the bar opened its doors to the public. Krogman, a longtime patron and local restaurateur, joined the team in 2009 and propelled the business to a full brew pub. With locations in Moline and Rock Island, its beers can be found in stores, bars and restaurants across Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Airport's Carter earns alumni honor

Bruce Carter, aviation director of the Quad-City International Airport, Moline, has received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater, Waldorf University.

The Forest City, Iowa, university presented the award at its annual homecoming celebration last month. The award recognizes Waldorf alumni who have performed distinctive and meritorious service in the areas of public affairs, education, church, business and government.

Carter, a 1973 graduate of Waldorf and Iowa native, was honored for his service and leadership to the aviation industry and commitment to serving both profession and church with integrity and faith. Over his 40-year aviation career, Carter has held airport management positions in Clarion and Waterloo, Iowa, as well as Springfield and Peoria, Illinois. He has led the Quad-City airport since 1999.

Carter and his wife, Faith, met while attending Waldorf.

Argonaut Movers join U-Haul network

Argonaut Movers & Packers, Bettendorf, has become the latest U-Haul neighborhood dealer.

Located at 17960 Great River Road, Argonaut will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, support rental items, boxes and in-store pickup for boxes. The company is owned by Jason and Myra Fah.

They join the U-Haul network of 18,000 dealers in North America.

To contact Argonaut, call 563-359-3392 or visit www.uhaul.com/locations.
Weighed down by anxious anglers and spectators, the floating dock in Lake of the Hills at West Lake Park sinks deeper into the water with every flip of the fish-filled net.

Holy smokes, someone shouts from the crowd. Thats a big one.

Its a recent Friday morning, and more than 115 people  including dozens with their poles at the ready  watch as 2,000 rainbow trout fly into the 54-acre body of water just west of Interstate 280.

This fall, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to stock 17 urban sites across the state with the cold-water fish, a longstanding effort to introduce trout fishing to more people, especially beginner anglers. West Lake Park, which is loaded twice each year, hosts one of the largest events. It started there in 2006.

Quad-City Times photographer Andy Abeyta strapped on waders to capture the action from the water.

We select fish that will bite, even on the day of the event, said Chad Dolan, fisheries biologist with the Iowa DNR, said.

While most of the fish released at Lake of the Hills weigh less than a pound, the DNR also let go of a couple 3.5-pounders, which officials referred to as lunkers.

The agency transported the trout here in a truck from Manchester Fish Hatchery, located about 100 miles north of the Quad-Cities, in Manchester, Iowa.

Iowa has three trout hatcheries, including the hub in Manchester, where more than 600,000 rainbow, brook and brown trout are spawned, incubated and hatched every year.

"Even after last Friday's big number of trout caught, there are still plenty of trout left to be caught" at Lake of the Hills, according to the DNR's Oct. 20 fishing report.

Ron Sipes of Davenport, a self-proclaimed catch-and-release guy, watched last week's stocking from the shore with his two grandchildren. He didnt bother bringing any fishing gear.

I dont believe in fishing on the first day, said Sipes, who noted trout put up a good fight and taste great. I like to let them get acclimated for a day. Its not too sporty to go after them as soon as theyre released.

The Iowa DNR suggests beginner anglers use small hooks with nightcrawlers, simple spinners or small bobbers and corn.

Others, including Dan Stauffer of Muscatine, cast their lines as soon as the first group of fish hit the water.

"I don't care if I catch any as long as I catch the big one," said Stauffer, who enjoys breading and frying trout at home. "They taste pretty good."

He also plans on attending next Saturday's stocking at Discovery Park in Muscatine, where 1,000 rainbow trout will be released into the one-acre pond.

When he has time, Stauffer ventures about three hours with his sons to Yellow River State Forest in northeast Iowa, home to hundreds of miles of trout streams.

While people often associate quality trout fishing with western states, like Colorado and Idaho, Iowa has several excellent fisheries in the northeast part of the state, Dolan said.

Within an hour of the Quad-Cities in Jackson County  the southern-most county with wild self-sustaining populations of brown and brook trout  the DNR stocks and monitors four streams.

Mark Winn, who works at the hatchery in Manchester, labeled Big Mill Creek, located about 20 miles northeast of Maquoketa in the Big Mill Wildlife Management Area, a "phenomenal system."

In 2015, the DNR stocked the 0.9-mile waterway, which also contains wild brown trout, with 1,545 brook trout and 5,505 rainbow trout.

Throughout October, the DNR will stock trout in 50 northeast Iowa streams, which rarely freeze and remain open for fishing year-round.

As of Oct. 1, almost 45,000 resident and non-resident anglers purchased trout permits in Iowa.

Anglers need a valid fishing license and must pay a trout fee to fish for, and possess, trout. Iowa children 15 and younger can fish with a licensed adult, but they cannot catch more than one fish per day unless they purchase their own trout fee.

Anglers can catch a maximum of five trout per day and possess a maximum of 10.

The farther north you travel, Dolan pointed out, the quality of fish also increases.

A lot of people arent aware of that, but when they go up there, theyre going to find that its a little bit more challenging to catch some of those trout species," Dolan added. "If you can see the fish, you can bet they've already seen you  they're not stupid."
(This is the first post in a two-part series)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What do the Common Core Standards look like in Social Studies classrooms?



The Common Core Standards are having a major impact on how our students our being taught - and tested - in schools. Much has been written about its impact in English and Math classrooms, but their adoption also affects other subjects.

This two-part series will examine what the Common Core Standards look like in Social Studies classes.

Today, Sarah Cooper, Michael Fisher, Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath, Jody Passanisi and Eugenia Mora-Flores share their thoughts.

You can listen to a ten-minute conversation I had with Sarah, Michael and Ruchi on my BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here .

Readers might also be interested in these collections of previous Classroom Q & A posts:

Implementing The Common Core

Teaching Social Studies

Response From Sarah Cooper

Sarah Cooper teaches eighth-grade U.S. history and is dean of studies at Flintridge Preparatory School, a 7-12 independent school near Los Angeles. She has written a book about teaching middle school history, Making History Mine: Meaningful Connections for Grades 5-9 and also writes regularly for MiddleWebs Future of History blog:

In my 8th grade classroom, the best days come when we pull apart a difficult text. Primary or secondary, it doesnt matter.

We throw specific quotations on the board to probe an authors argument. We tease out political implications. We analyze for tone - is it plainspoken or hifalutin, and why?

All of these questions, and many more, are reflected directly in the Common Core English Language Arts Standards for History/Social Studies . Its a fantastic, short list that Ive consulted repeatedly to make sure that, as a history teacher, I am supporting literacy in my discipline and beyond. If the list didnt exist, I would need to create it!

Leapfrogging the textbook often leads to the richest activities, as when the standards ask students to analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

One of my favorite examples of this analysis came in a unit on womens history. We had already watched part of Ken Burns video Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony . I wanted students to feel in their gut how hard it was for the early womens suffrage reformers to keep going, decades beyond the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention.

As historian Christine Stansell wrote in The Feminist Promise about Stanton in 1873, she was so weary of conventions, she wrote Martha Wright, the old friend who had been with her since Seneca Falls, that I feel as if I would rather go to Heaven this spring than attend another.... Two days full of speaking & resolving & dreading lest some one should make a fool of us all, rehearsing the same old arguments in the same old way, must this be endured to the end of our slavery?

After reading this passage about Stantons fatigue, they contrasted it with parts of a speech Stanton gave on her eightieth birthday a dozen years later. She brought new energy to the cause in 1885 by saying: It is unworthy any woman to say my work is done so long as she has energy and talent to fill the vacant places in this struggling, suffering sphere of action.

To connect Stantons primary source and Stansells secondary source, students filled out a chart that asked what Stanton had learned and what she still wanted to achieve.

What would we believe in so deeply that we would travel on awful roads, dreadful roads, as Stanton complained, to communicate our message? Not only does this activity hone in on Common Core skills, but it also asks us to envision the grit needed to crisscross the country well into old age - to put ourselves in the shoes of a reformer 150 years ago.

Response From Michael Fisher

Michael Fisher is an author and education consultant around Common Core, curriculum design, and contemporary learning. His books include Ditch the Daily Lesson Plan: How do I plan for meaningful student learning? (ASCD) and Digital Learning Strategies: How do I assign and assess 21st century work? (ASCD). His website is www.digigogy.com and he can be found on Twitter at @fisher1000:

First and foremost, the standards that a Social Studies/History teacher are bound to are first rooted in content standards for a teachers home state. The Common Core standards are a secondary lens through which the content standards can be viewed and serve as an enhancement to the content standards.

The Common Core, in its entirety, can be distilled down to a singular priority: thinking matters. Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are not news to most Social Studies/History teachers who, for years, have likely been doing Common Core work through DBQs, ongoing research, and constructed response assessments. Their instructional practice is rooted in content and students providing evidence to support their inferences and claims.

The version of the Common Core standards for Social Studies/History begins on page 75 of the Common Core State Standards for Literacy document. The difference between the Social Studies version and the regular ELA version has to do with what the students are going to be doing with the skills that they are expected to demonstrate. In short, the skill doesnt change, but the object of the skill does.

For instance, in the ELA standards in 6th grade, students are expected to cite several pieces of textual evidence to support what the text says explicitly and any inferences they may have made. In the Social Studies version, students are developing the same skill (cite textual evidence) but the object is the analysis of (content related) primary and secondary sources. By and large, this is how most of the standards are versioned for Social Studies. The skill is the same but the object is more Social Studies specific. Comparison of the two versions will be an exercise in recognition and familiarity. One other thing to note is that the additional literacy standards for Social Studies teachers includes just standards for reading informational text and writing. The rest of the standards (literacy, language, listening and speaking, etc.) are only in the ELA only version. That doesnt mean that a Social Studies teacher would ignore those standards, just that there arent Social Studies versions of them.

Social Studies teachers should review their version of the standards and think about how they will impact their instructional practice. They will continue to build strong content knowledge while having evidence based discussions and writing informational or explanatory texts. Students will continue to analyze, evaluate, compare, contrast, distinguish, and cite the way they always have but teachers will want to look to the additional information beyond the skills (verbs) in the Common Core standards to inform specific alignment and the documentation of that alignment in their curricula.

Response From Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath

Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath is vice-president of CA-NAME and recently authored the book Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Common Core Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and co-authored the book Preparing to Teach Social Studies for Social Justice: Becoming a Renegade with Alison Dover and Nick Henning. A former elementary school teacher, her teaching and research interests focus on justice-oriented teaching, social studies education, and critical literacy. She works as a teacher educator and consultant throughout schools in the Bay Area:

For the past 10 years, I have focused my research on understanding how teachers are enacting justice-oriented social studies curriculum with and despite challenges surrounding standards and accountability. In this response, I detail how elementary teachers are approaching the new standards.

To begin, the art of teaching social studies for social justice is highly complex. Teachers must work intentionally to challenge normative thought by integrating multiple perspectives into the curriculum, especially the voices of those dominated, marginalized, or traditionally excluded in texts. They connect the stories of struggle and resistance to contemporary social justice issues and make connections between historical events and present-day circumstances. In addition, teachers and students work collaboratively to make change in their school and community. Given this immense challenge justice-oriented teachers take on, how does the Common Core fit in?

As the K-5 standards for history/social studies are integrated into the K-5 reading standards, teachers must think carefully to find ways to teach social studies content and language arts/literacy as complementary subjects. Social studies is a subject area that continues to be marginalized, especially with the Common Cores focus on math and literacy. By teaching language arts and social studies as complementary subjects, a teacher is integrating critical thinking skills and eliciting higher-order thinking into subject matter.

For example, in an interactive read-aloud, a teacher may read her 5th grade students Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Coerr, 1977). This is the story of Sadako, a girl who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States. During guided reading, a teacher may continue to integrate social studies and language arts by finding short stories about World War II and the atomic bombing for students to read with their small groups. In guided reading groups, a teacher could work on building students reading comprehension and analytical reading skills, while also getting students to think critically about the perspectives portrayed in their texts. She could ask her students questions such as: Whose voice is heard in the text? Whose is not? How is the message in this text different or the same as Sadakos story? By integrating social studies content into language arts, a teacher is able to cover standards, find space for social studies, and teach students social studies and language arts from a critical perspective.

The standards advocate for classroom instructional strategies that move away from traditional, lecture-based, direct instruction towards emphasizing skills such as analyzing primary and secondary sources. Teachers have the opportunity to create classrooms where students learn to be historians. Students learn to ask critical questions, interrogate multiple texts, question what they read, draw on their background knowledge, and draw conclusions based on the evidence they have gathered.

With greater latitude surrounding the Common Core standards, teachers may also have the opportunity to integrate critical readings and design research projects that encourage students to examine multiple perspectives and engage in more complex and critical readings. Finding ways to teach social studies at the elementary level can be especially challenging, given the marginalization of the subject area at many schools. With the standards calling for the integration of social studies content into language arts/literacy, I believe there is hope that essential social studies skills and content can be taught through the careful designing of language arts curriculum. In my book, Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Common Core Classroom: A Guide for Teachers, I provide a framework with myriad strategies to help teachers in designing justice-oriented social studies and language arts curriculum and meeting Common Core standards. In the book, you will also find examples of lesson plans and tools to help you teach social studies for social justice.

Response From Jody Passanisi

Jody Passanisi is an 8th grade history teacher at an independent school in Los Angeles, a social studies curriculum consultant, and adjunct instructor in social studies methods at Mt. St. Marys University. Her book, History Revisited: Tools and Projects to Engage Middle SChool Students in Social Studies is co-published by Routledge and Middleweb. Follow Jody on Twitter @21centuryteachr:

Common Core standards rely on writing and the close reading of complex text to help develop students critical thinking skills. In a social studies classroom, students can activate and master these skills as they engage in historiography, independent and discerning research, evaluative writing, and a process of examining the present through the lens of the past.

Reading expository texts--both primary and secondary sources--is essential in a social studies classroom. But having students read and comprehend a text is just the beginning. We can engage students more actively in reading, and get them to delve deeply as if they are themselves historians, by having them compare different sources on the same historical event and then analyze why these perspectives might be different. Students of history need to develop an enduring understanding that history is a narrative of a series of events, pieced together by evidence and the opinions of interpreters-- and not simply facts meant to be memorized.

That is what the Common Core standards at their heart are meant to do: move the history classroom out of the realm of memorization--reading the book and looking up the answers-- and into a more complex and meaningful place.

Through the comparison of sources, students will see that history isnt just one dominant narrative, but rather an experience that has been recorded and saved in a particular way for a particular purpose. Students can analyze different primary sources on an event in order to get a more holistic understanding: for example, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Students could look at the event through the eyes of the President of the United States, a Japanese civilian, a pilot of the Enola Gay, and a civilian in the United States. Then they could turn to different historians writings on those same events and compare and contrast based on the perspective of the secondary source historians. Perhaps students could even compare a textbook in Japan vs. a textbook in the United States and discuss the differences. The discussion-- the why things might be written differently-- is the cornerstone of the source comparison conversation and the critical thinking aspect highlighted in the Common Core. It is this conversation that will allow students to understand that their own perspective, culture, and place in history shapes the way that they see the world as well.

Any event can be compared and contrasted in this way; this is why the Common Core standards focus on skills rather than content, What students are really focusing on is a way of thinking and understanding history that they can take with them and apply to whatever historical event or time period they are studying. It is then that students will have something unique to say about history. They will begin to be able to formulate evaluative statements that they can back up with their research. Teaching this kind of writing along with the reading of expository text, is key. It works in harmony with English instruction and mirrors what students will need to do going forward in high school and beyond: read analytically and carefully and then write evaluatively about historical events with a clear perspective.

With a teachers guidance, and with tools such as an Inquiry Chart (or I-Chart-- a visual organizer that compares the same event through different sources), students will be engaged the difficult work of thinking and writing about history like historians--and will be meeting the Common Core standards at the same time.





Eugenia Mora-Flores

Eugenia Mora-Flores is an Associate Professor in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC). She teaches courses on first and second language acquisition, Latino culture, and in literacy development for elementary and secondary students. She has written 9 books in the area of literacy and academic language development (ALD) for English learners. Eugenia further works as a consultant for a variety of elementary, middle and high schools across the country in the areas of English Language Development (ELD), ALD and writing instruction:

INTEGRATION was the key word that accompanied the Common Core Standards. And since their release, a wave of integration followed, with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the English language development (ELD) standards. These three standards sets are clearly aligned and the integration is present within the standards themselves. For example, when looking at the NGSS standards the CCS English Language Arts and Math standards are noted at the bottom of each standard set. The new ELD standards list the CCS ELA standards alongside each ELD standard. What we dont find is a clear alignment with Social Studies standard. But I think there is more there than meets the eye.

Though the clarity of integration is not specifically noted in the CCS with Social Studies, the connection between ELA and Social Studies has historically been united through humanities. English language arts is how we learn social studies content (by reading it), process the information (by interpreting it) and express our understanding of our history (by presenting our learning). Language arts is how we access content and in turn express what we have learned. Social studies is such a text rich content area that students apply all of their literacy skills and strategies to access the content and express their learning.

One of the most obvious ways to connect the Common Core with Social studies is through the focus on information text with the CCS. The reading standards for informational text make the connection simple as students are asked to develop a range of skills and strategies to read and when reading informational text. I share with teachers all the time, make your social studies text some of the texts you use to teach your CCS reading informational text standards. For example, the CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1 standard reads: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. Use a social studies text on standard H.S.S 1.3 Students know and understand the symbols, icons, and traditions of the United States that provide continuity and a sense of community across time. The teacher can have students ask questions about different state and national symbols and in turn have students answer questions about their learning as well.

In addition, students are asked to write informational and opinion/argumentative text through the CCS writing standards, which lends itself well to writing about history and social studies. Students can write reports on what they have learned and give their opinions about the importance and impact of historical events on our lives today. Social studies is filled with not only informational text but opinion/argumentative writings. Students have for years, read famous speeches, such as the Lincolns Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech that show them how words can inspire and form history. This is the work of language arts; students interpret history and write about it.

Think about integration by starting with a comprehensive objective. A learning objective should include the following, content, thinking skill, resources, and products. For example, take the following objective: Students will be able to describe national symbols and their purpose by reading the book, Celebrate America: A Guide to Americas greatest symbols and draw and write about one symbol in their notebook. Lets deconstruct the objective:

Content: National Symbols

Thinking Skill: Describe

Resource: Book- Celebrate America: A Guide to Americans greatest symbols.

Product: Notebook entry-drawing with written text

So what does this all mean for integration? I like to teach my students to think about integration by constructing learning experiences that capture the /C/TS/R/P by pulling these elements from the standards. This is where the Common Core and Social Studies standards come together. When thinking about the content, pull from your social studies standards, for the thinking skills pull from your CCS ELA reading informational text standards, resources can be a range of social studies texts and materials, including videos, pictures, books, paintings, audio clips, etc. and your products can come from the speaking and writing CCS ELA standards to show what they learned. You can create a list of your content, thinking skills, resources and products and mix and match them to form a variety of integrated CCS ELA and Social Studies learning objectives.

Thanks to Sarah, Michael, Ruchi, Jody and Eugenia for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org .When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if its selected or if youd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

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As days and nights get colder, Terri Gleize worries Quad-City area homeless who rely on King's Harvest Ministries will have no warm place to stay if she cannot get her shelter's roof repaired in time for winter.

King's Harvest maintains year-round shelters for men and women at 824 W. 3rd St., Davenport. An overflow shelter is supposed to open Dec. 1, as it does every year, but Gleize is not so sure that will happen after a storm Oct. 6 caused extensive damage to the roof and water damage throughout the three-story building.

"I'm praying it will all be done. Otherwise, I dont know what will happen," Gleize said. "We're the only shelter that takes sex offenders, alcoholics, the mentally ill  ones nobody else wants. I'm really hoping this will all fall together quickly."

The storm displaced 28 residents, most of whom are homeless and some who rent apartments on the third floor. Many of the displaced homeless individuals are spending their nights on cots in the gymnasium at Lincoln Elementary School on East 7th Street, but Gleize said the arrangement is not ideal because the gym is not heated and the former school is used for activities during the day.

She said she was able to get bus tickets for a few who could stay with family out of town and at least one is staying at a local hotel.

In from the cold

Ron Manning, who rented one of the third-floor apartments, is staying with a King's Harvest volunteer because lifelong back problems make sleeping on a cot excruciating.

"I'm really grateful," Manning, 60, said Friday while helping volunteers clean inside the shelter and meal site. "I've developed friendships I didn't think I had. Terri saved my life."

Manning served 8 years in prison on a second-degree robbery conviction out of Scott County. He said when he got out of prison, he found out about King's Harvest.

"Terri spiritually guided me to a better path in my life," he said, adding he appreciates that Gleize allows him to keep his cat, Kiki.

Another volunteer is keeping Manning's cat while he is displaced.

Manning has lived at King's Harvest for nine years  first in the homeless shelter and then in his own apartment, which he rents for $275 a month.

Pitching in

Gleize believes the first-floor meal site could be reopened soon, but the second-floor shelters and third-floor apartments may take a while longer because they took on more damage.

While more than a dozen volunteers cleaned the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms and pantry downstairs on Friday, a crew from Werner Restoration Services Inc. of Colona was busy with moisture mitigation on the second and third floors.

Crew members wore masks to protect against lead dust in the air after ripping out plaster walls and ceiling tiles from the structure that was built in 1902. The crew also cleared away bricks that had fallen from the roof.

Dan Lorentzen, pastor of The Rock Church of the Quad-Cities, Davenport, has known Gleize since the seventh grade, and, after the storm hit, he offered his expertise as a general contractor.

"I believe strongly in her ministry," he said. "Were trying to get it going for her again. Its starting to move along."

Lorentzen is pulling together the subcontractors, including Warner Restoration and others for the roof and other masonry work. He was expecting to receive bids on the roof work Friday. He could not put an amount on the total damage, but said the work will likely cost "thousands."

The King's Harvest building is insured, Gleize said.

'We got slammed'

The meal site could reopen in two weeks, Lorentzen said. The issue is not damage on the first floor, which included fallen ceiling tiles, but the safety of patrons entering and exiting the building with the possibility of falling debris from the upper floors and roof, he said.

Gleize said the storm could have at least done her a favor and blown off the older section of the roof and not the newer section. Debris that fell the night of the storm also took out two new air conditioning units.

The storm was not the only hit to her ministry in recent weeks. In September, a spreading fungus caused all of the cats at the no-kill pet shelter she runs at 2504 West Central Park Ave., Davenport, to get sick, and she had to close it to the public until the animals get better.

"Everything has shut down all at once," Gleize said, adding donations to both the homeless shelter and pet shelter have slowed down. "We got slammed."

Shortly before the animals got sick, the pet food she kept at a pantry at 824 W. 3rd St. got contaminated with Indian meal moth larvae, and she had to throw out four pallets of food, she said.

There is a bright spot  volunteers.

"We'll do whatever they want us to do," said Jennifer Paustian of Davenport, who came out to help Friday.

Paustian works at the escalator and elevator manufacturer Kone, which has Moline and Coal Valley operations. The company wanted its employees to do a service project this month, and she wanted to help King's Harvest after the storm hit.

When Dan Schlader, of DeWitt, Iowa, heard about the storm, he said he wondered about the residents staying in the shelter and wanted to help out.

"We need to get things cleaned up," Schlader said. "The damage has been done. This is a good opportunity for us to do some deep cleaning. This is a good group of people here."

Gleize said she did not expect the outpouring of support she received after posting the need for volunteers on Facebook.

"People are good," she said. "One thing I can say about the Quad-Cities is we have a really good community, as far as people stepping up to help."

Despite his back problems, Manning grabbed a broom and got to work.

"Most who come here are down and out like I was," he said. "I make better choices now than I used to."
Muscatine authorities are investigating a body found at the Musser Skate Park on Saturday.

A city employee found the body about 8:15 a.m. at the park, which is located in the 800 block of Oregon Street, according to a news release from the city's police department.

The name of the deceased has not been released pending notification of family.

Detectives in the department's criminal investigation division are following up on the incident, but there is no threat to the public, police said.
Gildas Club Quad-Cities will hold its 18th annual Noogiefest event from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Gildas Club, 1234 E. River Drive, Davenport.

Families are invited to a hauntingly good time with themed rooms, games, door prizes, pizza, goodies and more. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Costumes are encouraged at the free, rain or shine event. For more information, contact Anita at 563-326-7504 or at anita@gildasclubq.org.

Gildas Club Quad-Cities provides support, education, and hope to all people affected by any type of cancer. As a cancer support community affiliate, Gildas is part of the largest employer of psycho-social oncology mental health professionals in the United States.
A future location for the main Rock Island Public Library has been proposed, and it is the Tri-City Jewish Center, 2715 30th St.

The center is one of three options now being considered by the library board in a financial feasibility study.

In what Jewish Center board chairman Steve Geifman calls a "eureka" moment, members concluded that the congregation is dealing with a building that is beautiful but too big, and no longer in the best location for the families it serves.

Similarly, the library's board of trustees has sought to solve building issues the past few years, director Angela Campbell said. When a contingent from the Jewish Center came to the library board earlier this year with the suggestion for the sale, it was embraced.

While no papers have been signed, the option was added to a feasibility study.

According to Campbell, the library board has been working on future plans for several years.

The Hodge Group of Dublin, Ohio, was hired in October by the library board. The goal, Campbell said, is to decide what project can be funded at the highest level, in the quickest amount of time.

The proposals being studied by the Hodge Group include:

 Expanding and renovating the downtown library location.

 Moving all operations to the Jewish Center property, which would require construction of an addition.

 Moving many operations to the Jewish Center location but keeping the original library, which opened in 1903. If that option is chosen, the downtown location would be operated as a branch with services such as historical archives and cataloging.

The final Hodge Group report is due in March 2017.

The current 30/31 library branch at 3059 30th St. would be closed, Campbell said.

When the 30/31 branch was opened in a former fire station, Rock Island had more than 50,000 residents, said Kevin Koski, president of the library's board of trustees. It now has 39,010 residents and the census is trending down.

The new option has been studied by the library trustees. "The board is excited about moving forward and is intrigued with this possibility," Koski said.

The Tri-City Jewish Center board, and the board of the Hebrew Cemetery, located on the property, both approve of the potential new use, Geifman said.

Koski said the Jewish Center, which opened in 1981, is an appealing option. "It's in fabulous condition, the design is cool, and it's a lovely building in wonderful shape," he said.

The Jewish population is strong, but like many faiths, numbers have been reduced over the years. Currently, most of the new Jewish families in the Quad-Cities live in Iowa, Geifman said.

As for the historic downtown library building, many uses could be found, Campbell said, including leasing space to organizations. The Midwest Writing Center already rents space in the library, and Campbell would like to see more of that type of business activity.

Geifman remains excited about the possibility of a new community role for the Jewish Center. "If this would work for both of us, that would be amazing," he said.
Once again, we are reminded that Republicans love to rule, but have no idea how to govern. In spite of the presidents concise and compelling veto message on the disastrous 9/11 lawsuit bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was so hell-bent to override it, that he didnt bother to read the presidents objections.

The result? McConnell now regrets the override for the very reasons President Obama outlined in his message. If that werent enough, he blames the president for not doing more to stop the Senate from committing the mistake of following McConnells own leadership.

Fortunately, we can do something right here in the Quad-Cities about this ridiculous situation. If you live in Iowa, vote for former Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge for Senate. In Illinois, vote for Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth. In either case, youll be doing our nation a great service by removing Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Mark Kirk from Mitch McConnells stable of dysfunctional yes-men.

Nita Eagle Frink

Rock Island
A Rapid City man convicted of horse abuse  and who hid from authorities to avoid arrest in 2013  could be set free next month after serving just more than half of his 5-year jail term on the animal abuse charges.

A judge ruled on Friday to cut short the jail time of Donald Harwood, 54, in response to his lawyers request. The ruling would take effect when Judge Bernie Schuchmann, who made the surprise sentence reduction on Friday, affirms his order in writing. This could happen at Harwoods next hearing on Nov. 10.

Im going to suspend the rest of his sentence, Schuchmann, of the Seventh Judicial Court, said in a Pennington County courtroom late Friday.

Authorities seized 69 horses from the Rapid Valley property of Harwood and his wife Terri Harwood in January 2013 after investigating complaints the horses did not have adequate food and water. Both were convicted on nine counts of inhumane treatment of animals.

Harwood, at one point, became a fugitive. He failed to report to jail after his first sentencing in October 2013. He was found in February 2014, hiding on a horse farm near Canistota, in eastern South Dakota.

In court on Friday, the States Attorneys Office objected to the defense request for Harwood's early release. Deputy states attorney Kinsley Groote argued primarily that under South Dakota law, a court can only reduce a sentence within two years after it was imposed. She and Harwoods lawyer, Paul Eisenbraun, went back and forth about which date should serve as a basis for following the law.

Groote said it was April 14, 2014, when Harwood was resentenced to nine years in jail with four years suspended on the animal abuse charges.

Harwoods sentence had since been modified twice. Eisenbraun said those dates move the sentence reduction deadline back since they were when erroneous sentencing decisions were corrected.

Last year, following Harwoods appeal, one of his charges was dropped, though the court affirmed his 5-year jail sentence. This March, Schuchmann authorized Harwood be placed under house arrest, with electronic monitoring, but the judge denied his request for a sentence reduction.

Harwood, however, has remained at the Pennington County Jail all this time. He couldnt satisfy the conditions of house arrest since he didnt have a home, employment, non jail-issued clothing to wear when job hunting, or money to pay the electronic monitoring fees, Eisenbraun said.

Harwoods only known family was his wife and case co-defendant Terri, who has since divorced him.

In an Oct. 5 filing, Eisenbraun asked the court to give Harwood credit for time served and set him free.

Mr. Harwood intends to seek shelter at the [Cornerstone] Rescue Mission or some other available shelter for the destitute, should the court provide relief resulting in his release from incarceration, the lawyer wrote.

After making his ruling Friday, Schuchmann told Eisenbraun that if his client violates any of the existing terms of his sentence, he can be called back up and un-suspended.

Which date the judge used as a basis for his ruling was not immediately clear without seeing the courts order, Eisenbraun told the Journal after the hearing.

I knew the legal issues were gonna be present, but I didnt know what he was going to do, Eisenbraun said, adding that he was surprised by the judges decision.

Groote said the States Attorneys Office is going to appeal the ruling.

Harwood, who sat alone in the courtroom jury section, was quiet throughout the proceedings Friday. The only time his voice was heard was when the judge asked the lawyers how long Harwood had been incarcerated.

Two years and nine months, Harwood said.
While poverty rates in the Sioux Falls area have witnessed a steady increase over the past three years, the Rapid City metropolitan area comprised of Pennington, Meade and Custer counties has experienced a 4 percent decline, according to an analysis by South Dakota Dashboard.

In a reversal, the statistics show that a lower percentage of people in the Black Hills area are living in poverty when compared to the percentage in the Sioux Falls metro area.

A Rapid City official attributed the local decline to an increase in the state minimum wage, but cautioned that thousands of local residents still remain at or slightly above federal poverty thresholds.

According to the analysis, U.S. Census data showed that the poverty rate in the Sioux Falls metro area increased from 9 percent in 2013, to 11.5 percent in 2015, leaving an estimated 28,285 people living below poverty levels.

Conversely, the Rapid City metro area witnessed a decline in the poverty rate from 14.5 percent in 2013, to 11.9 percent in 2014, and 10.5 percent in 2015, South Dakota Dashboard reported.

Overall, post-recession poverty rates have hit a three-year low of 13.7 percent in the Rushmore State, according to a prepared release. While the national average decreased from 15.5 percent in 2014, to 14.7 percent in 2015, South Dakota's poverty rate has remained below the national average except in 2009, when both rates were 14.3 percent.

Barbara Garcia, manager of community development for Rapid City, said Friday that the timing of the minimum wage hike from $7.25 to $8.50 per hour likely lifted a number of wage-earners above poverty levels.

I would say that the drop is directly tied to the minimum-wage increase, Garcia said It was just enough to increase wages to have them rise above the poverty level, but not by a lot.

Garcia said far too many local residents still dont earn a living wage in the Rapid City area.

We always feel good when anybody does better, she said. But this is one step on a 20-step ladder. Unfortunately, thats true.

Any household of two earning less than $15,930 annually was considered living in poverty, she said. At $7.25 per hour, the previous minimum wage, that household was earning $15,080 per year.

With the increase to $8.50 per hour, that same household would be earning $15,930 per year, just above the poverty threshold, she explained.

In our city, the number of families with two members is 37,484, so if even half of them were living on just one minimum-wage job, they would have risen above the poverty line, but its still not a living wage, Garcia noted. A $100 more a month helps buy groceries and put gas in the car, but when it comes to a living wage, meeting the basic minimums of buying food and gas, childcare, healthcare coverage, its not enough.

According to the dashboard report, South Dakota ranked 24th nationally for poverty rates and has ranked 6th in the region for the past two years. Regionally, Minnesota posted the lowest rate at 10.2 percent, while Montana had the highest at 14.6 percent.

Only two states (Nebraska and Mississippi) did not show a decrease in poverty rates from 2014. Nationally, New Hampshire posted the lowest rate at 8.2 percent, compared to No. 50 Mississippi with 22 percent.
WASHINGTON | The case against Hillary Clinton could have been written before the recent WikiLeaks and FBI disclosures. But these documents do provide hard textual backup.

The most sensational disclosure was the proposed deal between the State Department and the FBI in which the FBI would declassify a Hillary Clinton email and State would give the FBI more slots in overseas stations. What made it sensational was the rare appearance in an official account of the phrase "quid pro quo," which is the currently agreed-upon dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable corruption.

This is nonetheless an odd choice for most egregious offense. First, it occurred several layers removed from the campaign and from Clinton. It involved a career State Department official (he occupied the same position under Condoleezza Rice) covering not just for Clinton but for his own department.

Second, it's not clear which side originally offered the bargain. Third, nothing tangible was supposed to exchange hands. There was no proposed personal enrichment  a Rolex in return for your soul  which tends to be our standard for punishable misconduct.

And finally, it never actually happened. The FBI turned down the declassification request.

In sum, a warm gun but nonsmoking. Indeed, if the phrase "quid pro quo" hadn't appeared, it would have received little attention. Moreover, it obscures the real scandal  the bottomless cynicism of the campaign and of the candidate.

Among dozens of examples, the Qatari gambit. Qatar, one of the worst actors in the Middle East (having financially supported the Islamic State, for example), offered $1 million as a "birthday" gift to Bill Clinton in return for five minutes of his time. Who offers  who takes  $200,000 a minute? We don't know the "quid" here, but it's got to be big.

In the final debate, Clinton ran and hid when asked about pay-for-play at the Clinton Foundation. And for good reason. The emails reveal how foundation donors were first in line for favors and contracts.

A governance review by an outside law firm reported that some donors "may have an expectation of quid pro quo benefits in return for gifts." You need an outside law firm to tell you that? If your Sultanic heart bleeds for Haiti, why not give to Haiti directly? Because if you give through the Clintons, you have a claim on future favors.

The soullessness of this campaign  all ambition and entitlement  emerges almost poignantly in the emails, especially when aides keep asking what the campaign is about. In one largely overlooked passage, Clinton complains that her speechwriters have not given her any overall theme or rationale. Isn't that the candidate's job? Asked one of her aides, Joel Benenson: "Do we have any sense from her what she believes or wants her core message to be?"

It's that emptiness at the core that makes every policy and position negotiable and politically calculable. Hence the embarrassing about-face on the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the popular winds swung decisively against free trade.

So too with financial regulation, as in Dodd-Frank. As she told a Goldman Sachs gathering, after the financial collapse there was "a need to do something because, for political reasons ... you can't sit idly by and do nothing."

Giving the appearance that something had to be done. That's not why Elizabeth Warren supported Dodd-Frank, which is the difference between a conviction politician like Warren and a calculating machine like Clinton.

Of course, we knew all this. But we hadn't seen it so clearly laid out. Illicit and illegal as is WikiLeaks, it is the camera in the sausage factory. And what it reveals is surpassingly unpretty.

I didn't need the Wiki files to oppose Hillary Clinton. As a conservative, I have long disagreed with her worldview and the policies that flow from it. As for character, I have watched her long enough to find her deeply flawed, to the point of unfitness. But for those heretofore unpersuaded, the recent disclosures should close the case.

A case so strong that, against any of a dozen possible GOP candidates, voting for her opponent would be a no-brainer. Against Donald Trump, however, it's a dilemma. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. But, as I've explained in these columns, I could never vote for Donald Trump.

The only question is whose name I'm going to write in. With Albert Schweitzer doubly unavailable (noncitizen, dead), I'm down to Paul Ryan or Ben Sasse. Two weeks to decide.
The coal industry doesnt want to be left behind as the nation explores its energy options. Companies have been funding research for some time and North Dakota plants have adopted the latest technologies.

In a Sunday story by reporter Jessica Holdman, Lignite Energy Council President Jason Bohrer noted the nation has started to move toward a carbon-free future. The industry plans to embrace, not fight, the change. It wants to increase research and down the road would like funding from the state.

The industry approach makes sense. If coal is to remain part of the nations energy policy then some changes will be necessary. How quickly North Dakota will be in a position to provide funding is unknown. The states in transition as oil development slows and revenues decline. The upcoming legislative session will focus on balancing the budget and that might require more cuts.

So the coal industry knows research funding will have to come later. That doesnt mean the industry cant outline its goals to legislators in hopes of setting the stage for future funding.

Project Tundra, an effort to retrofit Minnkota's Milton R. Young Station near Center with scrubbers to capture carbon emitted by the plant, is being conducted by ALLETE Inc. and Minnkota Power Cooperative. Carbon-capture technologies have been deployed commercially on smaller scales, but this is a bigger challenge.

The state could get involved in the project. The coal industry's proposed new energy investment program would have $250 million to $300 million funded for 10 years. The industry would like to make the fund permanent through taxes on coal extraction.

Thats a large investment by the state. There also are other major projects awaiting state funding, so its good legislators will have at least one session to digest industrys proposals. It will be beneficial to the state as the industry takes carbon-free steps. Whether the state can provide as much assistance as the industry would like remains to be seen.

Theres no doubt the opportunity exists for technological advancements. Its also possible that new technology thats developed could be sold, bringing a return on the investment. It will be interesting to see how the state and coal industry can work together.
A man with addresses in the state of Georgia, Missoula and Hamilton was arrested on what would be his fifth DUI Thursday.

David Carrol Sheppard, 46, appeared before Ravalli County Justice Jim Bailey on a felony county of driving under the influence Thursday afternoon.

Sheppard was arrested shortly after 2:30 a.m. on the same day at the Bass Creek Campground, according to a charging affidavit.

A sheriffs deputy had responded to a scene of a crash at the intersection of Hobblit Lane and Bass Creek. He found a man there who reported that he had been drinking and driving, and had crashed his vehicle into a fence.

That man told the deputy that he had been following his friend, Dave, who was driving a silver SUV up to the campground.

A deputy drove to the campground to tell Sheppard that his friend wouldnt be coming.

The deputy found Sheppard smelling of alcohol, eyes bloodshot and speech slurred, the affidavit said.

Sheppard told the deputy that he had been in the campground for about 10 minutes and had just left the Rustic Hut Bar. There was an open container of Miller Lite in the vehicles cup holder.

Sheppard said he had two beers while waiting for his friend in the campground, but there were no empty cans around the vehicle to substantiate that claim.

When Sheppard got out of his vehicle to perform a field sobriety test, the affidavit said he was swaying side to side in a circular motion and couldnt maintain his balance.

Sheppard refused to provide a preliminary breath sample or perform any further field sobriety tests. At that point, the affidavit said he became argumentative and uncooperative.

He was transported to Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, where his blood was drawn.

Sheppard has four previous DUI convictions in Montana between 1995 and 2005.

Bailey set bail at $2,000.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - If walls could talk, the big old Queen Anne at 426 Lafayette Avenue SE would need a box of Kleenex as she shares her tale of woe.

She also also might propose a champagne toast to celebrate her return to high society on Heritage Hill.

The 121-year-old house has endured several attempts at renovation which included an appearance on "This Old House," a fatal fire in 1994 and a second fire last February.

But now, the house is ready for new tenants after the owner, James Eerdmans, president of American Realty Property Management, poured more than $250,000 into its transformation.

Located just half a block away from the campus of Mary Free Hospital and the Mercy Health Center campus, Eerdmans is hoping to rent the house for $4,500 a month. He is hosting an open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.

Once cut up into five apartments, the house now is a single-family home with a third floor master suite, three bedrooms on the second floor, a nanny/mother-in-law suite on the first floor, a gourmet kitchen, a second floor office and a mancave in the basement.

Although the double front door is original to the house, all of the interior walls, the fireplaces, plumbing fixtures, heating and cooling systems and light fixtures are new.

The banister on the main stairway was reproduced using a handful of pieces they found in the house. Some of the oak tongue-and-groove flooring was salvaged while new flooring was installed to match the original.

The star of the new layout is the master suite, which starts with a sitting room on the second floor and takes up the entire third floor. The upper level includes a kitchenette, an ensuite bathroom and a round "witches hat" reading nook inside of a turret.

A half-moon window on the third floor master suite was restored after having been covered up in previous renditions during the home's mid-life crisis as a shabby tenement house.

The home's original windows, most of them with counter-weighted sashes, have been restored and given new storm windows.

Downstairs, the old Michigan basement was deepened and given a new concrete floor to create enough headroom for a "man cave" with a wet bar and billiards table.

Outside, the house once again has a broad front porch and a wrap-around back porch. Workers are finishing a two-stall garage that was added to the property.

It's a big transformation for the house, which had been vacant since 1994, after three children, aged 6, 4 and 2, died in the blaze that broke out while their mother was shopping at a nearby grocery store.

Built in 1895 by Charles W. Jennings, an entrepreneurial perfume manufacturer, the big house had been cut up into five apartments by the 1970s. In 1978, the tenement sold for a mere $17,500, according to city property records.

After the fire in April 1994, the house went through several failed attempts at renovation. The Heritage Hill Foundation acquired title after the house when into tax foreclosure, offering to sell it for $1,000.

In 1995, "This Old House" magazine featured it in an article headlined: "Save This House." The exposure resulted in a series of owners who attempted to fix the home's exterior, repairing the burnt-out rear portion of the house and installing new porches and roofs.

But the project was too overwhelming. The house's interior was still totally gutted when Eerdmans bought it for $60,000 in 2014.

Though Eerdmans began renovating the interior in early 2015, misfortune struck again one year later as workers were finishing the interior renovation.

A stain bucket left overnight beneath the coffered ceiling of the staircase caught fire in the early morning hours, creating fire and smoke damage to much of the new interior.

Jared Behrens, a property manager for the project, said the fire was put out quickly but still caused about $100,000 worth of damage and set the project back another six months.

The rental price is at the top of the market, Behrens said they are confident a tenant will step forward to make the house their home.

This is one in a series of articles we have published about High-End Homes in West Michigan. Here are similar articles we have published recently:



 101-year-old farmhouse is restored, avoids date with wrecking ball

 Parade of Homes builder spent months creating dry basement for this lakefront luxury home

 East Grand Rapids couple retains mid-century modern style in major updating

 Log home on Grand River has bald eagle nesting next door

 For $2M, 102-year-old Leonard House has 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms

 $1.2M cube-shaped house in secluded setting inspired by Mies van der Rohe
Daniel John Sobieski

Robert Creamer, founder and partner of Democracy Partners, the group behind the organized violence at Trump rallies, as shown in the video by James O'Keefe and Project Veritas, is no ordinary agitator. Creamer, a convicted felon, is arguably the spiritual godfather of ObamaCare and much of the current progressive left agenda.

Creamer, along with his wife, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky is no stranger to agitation, violence, and expanding the progressive agenda. As Investor's Business Daily pointed out in March 5, 2010 editorial regarding protests against House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski over the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988, which expanded Medicare benefits and funded the change with a supplemental tax:

An interesting historical footnote is that leading the protest against Rostenkowski was Jan Schakowsky -- then Director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens - and currently Democratic representative from the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, and chief deputy whip to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was Schakowshy's husband, Robert Creamer, a Huffington Post blogger, who wrote what is arguably the bible of current health care reform efforts, Stand-Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win, while serving a prison term for check kiting.

As Breitbart has reported, Creamer, in addition to being the inspiration for ObamaCare, was also involved in heavily promoting the Iran nuclear deal, which effectively removed all impediments to Iran becoming a nuclear power and in providing $150 billion for this state sponsor of terror to foment revolution targeted against Israel and American interests:

Creamer, a political consultant who is intimately connected with Obama's inner political circle, pleaded guilty in 2005 to tax violations and bank fraud. He served time in a federal prison and was under house arrest. After finishing his sentence, Creamer worked for Obama's presidential campaign, training organizers.

As Breitbart News first exposed in 2009, Creamer used his prison time to work on a political manual: Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win. In it, he devised a strategy to guide a future "progressive" president. His plan included implementing "universal health care" as a first step to other radical reforms, including amnesty for illegal aliens. Obama strategist David Axelrod called the book "a blueprint for future victories."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Creamer advocated for the Iran deal with the help of the Ploughshares Fund, a pro-Iran organization.

According to a transcript of the [Ploughshares] call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, participants stressed that the Iran agreement was the most important of the Obama administration's second term, and they needed to prepare for battle with Republicans.

"The other side will go crazy. We have to be really clear that it's a good deal," said Robert Creamer of Americans United for Change, a liberal action group. His wife is Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), a close ally of the White House in selling the agreement.

Creamer, who has visited the White House some 342 times since 2009, as noted, has been up to his eyeballs with left-wing agitation and the progressive agenda, as well as being involved in the corruption that has plagued Illinois under Democratic governors. As Joel B. Pollak wrote in Breitbart in December, 2009:

Rep. Schakowsky's husband, Robert Creamer, used to be the leader of Citizen Action/Illinois. He also founded its predecessor, Illinois Public Action, in which Ms. Schakowsky served as Program Director. He runs a political consulting firm, the Strategic Consulting Group, which lists ACORN and the SEIU among its clients and which made $541,000 working for disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

Creamer resigned from Citizen Action/Illinois after the FBI began investigating him for bank fraud and tax evasion at Illinois Public Action. He was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to five months in federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, plus eleven months of house arrest.

While in prisonor "forced sabbatical," he called it -- Creamer wrote a lengthy political manual, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win (Seven Locks Press, 2007).

The book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern -- the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House -- and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that Creamer's tome "provides a blueprint for future victories."

In the book, Creamer draws lessons from decades of experience on the radical left, including the teachings of arch-radical Saul Alinsky, and several episodes from Rep. Schakowsky's political career. He also lays out a "Progressive Agenda for Structural Change," which includes a ten-point plan for foisting universal health care on the American people in 2009.

"We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right."

"We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis."

"Our messaging program over the next two years should focus heavily on reducing

the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.""We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community."

"We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of [sic] universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009."

"We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus."

"Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program."

"We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community."

"We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types."

"To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined."

Creamer adds : "To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion -- fear, revulsion, anger, disgust."

Democrats have followed Creamer's plan to the letter. They have claimed our health care system is in crisis despite polls showing the overwhelming majority of Americans are happy with the care they receive.

It is not surprising that one of the effects, if not the purpose, of ObamaCare is to put the private health insurance industry in America out of business, to be replaced by a single-payer system like Canada's, admired by Hillary Clinton in an email released by Wikileaks.

To keep his and Hillary Clinton's agenda progressing to full implementation, Robert Creamer seeks to derail the "Trump train" through agitation and inciting violence, a criminal act. He and his allies seek to "generate emotion -- fear, revulsion, anger, disgust" toward Trump. With the help of the media, he is doing just that.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor's Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
One man's odyssey through the world of books
Facebook  which accounts for as much as 75% of the traffic to popular websites  tweaked its algorithm to downrank those same publishers, who had been engaged in an arms-race to dominate Facebook users' feeds through techniques intended to gain high rank in Facebook's secret scoring system.

Starved for the traffic that keeps their businesses viable, publishers have turned to brokers who pay celebrities to post their stories in their personal feeds, working their way back into Facebook users' fields of attention.





The practice of paying celebs to post stories and ads was already established as a kind of arbitrage services, since celebs charged less for reposting services than Facebook charged to advertise to the same users. With the Facebook crackdown on "professional content," these payola services are now the only game in town, and they're growing like crazy.



Of course, like many "growth hacking" tactics, this one skirts rules. Facebook requires verified page owners to disclose any commercial nature of the content posted to those pages, something that these celebs do not do. And also like many hacks, it's one that's attracted competition. In the past year, a cottage industry of companies like Providr and FanBread has sprung up that creates content for those same influencers, giving said celebs a chance to earn much higher returns on their social reach. These companies, which build scale for the advertisers across the sites, take a cut of the advertising revenue. It's the latest example of publishers finding a distribution channel for their content, then having to compete with upstarts who make content specifically for that channel.



Facebook-thirsty publishers turn to celebrities to worm into the news feed

[Max Willens/Digiday]





(via Super Punch)
Guwahati : Security forces on Friday had recovered a powerful crude bomb from Assam's Kokrajhar district and apprehended a person.

BTAD police said that, following a tip-off, police had launched operation at Kumguri area under Gosaigaon police station in the BTAD district and recovered the crude bomb weighing 3.5 kgs from a house.

Police also apprehended the house owner identified as Abdus Samad.

Later bomb squad team had defused the bomb.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, October 21 : Assam Police Vigilance and Anti Corruption branch on Friday had arrested red handed an ASI under Guwahati police commissionerate when the police official taken bribe from a person.

According to the reports, Pritish Gupta, ASI of Noonmati police station was arrested by Vigilance and Anti Corruption from his office when he took bribe of Rs 5000 from a youth.

A case 152016 under Anti Corruption act was registered against the police official.

'We have launched operation following the FIR filed by the youth against the police official,aA V&A corruption SP Mukul Saikia said.

24 government officials including two police officials were arrested by the V&A corruption branch from different parts of the state in this year so far.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Kathmandu, Nepal: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba held a meeting on Saturday to discuss about the recent political development of the country.

During the meeting held at Prime Ministers official residence the duo discussed on ranges of issue including the issue impeachment motion registered in the parliament against the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Chief, Lok Man Singh Karki.

The leaders duo of the major government allies have discussed to move ahead with the univocal stand over the issue impeachment though they have not reached on any concrete conclusion.

Though the CPN Maoist Centre, the party of the Prime Minister Dahal, has authorized him to take decision regarding the impeachment against Karki, Nepali Congress has not taken any official decision.

The Nepali Congress seems suspicious with the CPN Maoist Center as it had not consulted before registering the impeachment motion against Karki.
KATHMANDU, Oct 22: Junko Tabei, first woman to scale Mount Everest, has died at the age of 77.

Tabei was suffering from cancer for the past four years and died in the course of treatment at a cancer centre in a Japanese town of Saita, according Japanese Mountaineering Association.

Born in Japan on September 22, 1939, Tabei reached atop the Everest in 1975, becoming the first woman to ascent the highest peak in the world.

Breaking the sad news about Tabei's death, President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa said the Japanese Mountaineering Association and Alpine Club confirmed the death of Tabei, saying she died three days ago.

He compared the death of Tabei as a huge loss to the mountaineering tourism sector of Nepal for Sherpa argued that Tabei adored the land housing Mount Everest.

"Tabei has done many good works in the sector of mountaineering tourism. She has also contributed to advancing the cause of environmental conservation and played important role in the promotion of mountaineering tourism sector," admitted President Sherpa. "With her demise, Nepal lost a good friend', he added.

Tabei's last visit to Nepal marked on April 30 this year when she led a Japanese mountaineering team to observe the golden jubilee of the first ascend of Mount Manaslu and Mount Lhotse. RSS
President Bidya Devi Bhandari

SAPTARI Oct 22: President Bidya Devi Bhandari today visited the famous Chhinnamasta goddess temple at the Chhinnamasta village in Saptari district and offered special worship.

The President also paid homage at the Shiva, Narayan and Hanuman temples in the Chhinnamasta Temple complex.

On the occasion, she also received 'tika' and 'prasad' of the special worship from the temple peethadhish Mahakanta Thakur.

After the special worship, the President laid the foundation stone of the pavilion for the Shree Shree 1008 Lakshya Chandi Rudra Mahayagya, a grand religious fire offering ritual, being held for the first time in the country. The Mahayagya religious ceremony, organised to pray for world peace and human welfare, will start from March 29, 2017.

Addressing a special function on the occasion, President Bhandari said each and every citizen of Nepal, a country with religious, cultural and caste diversity, should be committed to peace and wellbeing of humankind without any prejudice.

She urged one and all to adopt the path of development, relinquishing the instability, discrimination and conflict that prevailed in the country in over the last two decades as it has done nobody good.

The President said that she prayed for peace in the country and welfare of all in the special worship at the temple.

Stating that the Chhinnamasta temple has its unique and historical importance, she said locals and the government should take initiatives for its development.

Peethadhish Mahakanta Thakur and former VDC chairman of Chhinnamasta VDC, Satya Narayan Yadav, welcomed the President and presented a letter of felicitation to her.

The Chhinnamasta Temple is among the major goddess temples in the world. The temple dedicated to the goddess Chhinnamasta was originally built by King Shakra Singh about one thousand years back, upon coming across the idol of the goddess inside a cave called Pokharey Gufa while hunting in the forest.

The temple is spread over 14 bigha land while the temple complex has a pond and the temples of various gods and goddesses.

Thousands of Hindu devotees from within the country and carious places of India visit the temple every year. RSS
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When 57-year-old Shelly Titchener was reported missing in February her husband, Paul Titchener, invited KRON4 to interview him at their home. The two had gone through their share of marital troubles, filing once for divorce but never finalizing it. Paul moved away, then back into the family's garage to save funds for their two boys' education. Asked what he might do if Shelly never came home, he said, "I lost both my parents, and that's a very difficult thing, and so I've gone through with them and shared with them how that feels and what to do to deal with it."

In hindsight, his words are telling. After a dismembered torso was discovered near the Dumbarton Pier and Paul was named a person of interest in the case, he jumped off the Bay Bridge to his death.

In March the torso was identified as having belonged to Shelly according to CBS 5, and Paul was named a suspect in her murder. Finally this week Brisbane police have put speculation to rest, reporting that they believe Paul acted alone in killing his wife and unspooling their theory of a murder-suicide to ABC7.

The police suspect the murder was not premeditated  a telephone conversation indicates Paul was going to bring Shelly a cell phone charger. What happened next may never be known, but it appears that Paul's death was suicide "either out of remorse or the belief that he would be identified as the killer." Police further explained to the news channel that, "This opinion is based on Paul drafting a will in the early morning hours of the 13th, the money transferred to the son's accounts." In fact, it's a bit more complicated: Paul appears to have first deposited money with his sons, then changed his mind, planning to dispose of Shelly's body and report her missing. Paul then took the funds back that he had transferred to his sons. But then he was named a person of interest, the torso was found, and he reverted to his original plan, or so police believe.

The Titchener's were married for 24 years. Police tell the Mercury News that "we are sensitive to the effect this case has had on remaining family members. As such, we will not be commenting any further about this case.
The American Beverage Association is pulling out all the stops in its fight against the proposed penny-per-ounce soda tax on the ballot this November in both San Francisco and Oakland. One such effort involves using the likeness and words of Bernie Sanders  a fact which Forbes reports has not made the one-time presidential candidate happy.

Advertising from the American Beverage Association that implies that I oppose ballot items in San Francisco and Oakland that would place a tax on drinks with sugar are false, Sanders explained to Forbes. I have not taken any position on those ballot items, and I have asked the American Beverage Association to stop using my name in connection with this misleading advertising.

Sanders sent the group a cease and desist demanding that they stop using his name in ads like the one above. However, he did oppose a 3-cent-per-ounce tax that was proposed earlier this year in Philadelphia, and it is his April op-ed expressing that opposition that is now being used in the lobbying group's fight against San Francisco's Proposition V and Oakland's Measure HH.

The legislation that I opposed in Philadelphia," Sanders shot back, "which is cited by the ABA, had a tax three times higher than the proposals on the ballot in San Francisco and Oakland.

Excessive sugar consumption is a serious health problem for children and all of us, Politico reports Sanders as adding. It can lead to obesity, diabetes and other serious illnesses. Every community in our country will determine how best to address this major health crisis.

The soda lobby, for its part, says it will abide by his request. "The ad accurately portrays his position," Joe Arellano of the Bay Area No Grocery Tax Campaigns told Forbes. "However, if Mr. Sanders wants to stay out of these local issues, we will respect that as well."

Berkeley successfully passed such a tax last year, and a study of its effect determined that soda consumption among low-income residents dropped 21 percent following its implementation.

Related: San Francisco Soda Tax Likely Headed Back To Ballot
Another documentary has been made about tech wealth, gentrification, and San Francisco called Company Town, and it will be premiering at the Roxie next week, starting Friday, October 28. It's directed and produced by the Berkeley-based team of Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, and it appears to focus on the District 3 supervisor election of 2015 which pitted former supervisor Aaron Peskin against the more moderate (and tech-friendly) Julie Christensen, who had been appointed to the vacant seat the previous year by Mayor Ed Lee.

Says Season of the Witch author and Salon co-founder David Talbot, "Company Town is a shot of political energy, just when we need it most  a valentine to the weird and wild hurly-burly of the electoral process at the grassroots level, from where true democracy springs."

The topics in the trailer are all too familiar to everyone who reads this site  tensions over the "sharing economy," evictions, and the implications of the latest gold rush represented by the tech boom. But Snitnow and Kaufman have been known for tackling a wide range of topics, and they're likely to frame their story about the Peskin-Christensen battle with some healthy, journalistic skepticism.

Check it out if you're so inclined.


An accused Russian hacker who is thought to be behind several high-profile data breaches at LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring was arrested by US authorities and Interpol earlier this month while vacationing in Prague. He's been indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland, and that indictment was unsealed on Friday, as the New York Times reports, revealing charges of computer intrusion, trafficking, and aggravated identity theft, among others. He could face up to 30 years in prison, and Russian authorities have already called for him to returned to their country.

News of the arrest of 29-year-old Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, accused in the 2012 hacks of those three US companies and conspiring to traffic in their users' private information, comes just a day after a major distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack all but crippled websites and services across the US including Twitter, Spotify, Netflix and others. That was a sophisticated, malware-based attack that hijacked hundreds of thousands of internet-enabled devices like routers, baby monitors, and cameras. One security expert told the New York Times Friday, regarding that attack, "We dont know who is doing this, but it feels like a large nation-state. China and Russia would be my first guesses.

Sophisticated hackers have tended flourish with impunity in Russia so long as they don't attack targets within Russia, and in the case of Nikulin, Czech authorities are now holding him and weighing whether to have him extradited for trial in the U.S.

According to PC World, LinkedIn blames Nikulin for stealing the data of 167 million users in 2012. Details of the Dropbox hack, which occurred shortly after and was connected  the Dropbox employee whose account was used to enter the internal system had used the same password on his LinkedIn account  were just revealed publicly in August.

Nikulin's hotel in Prague, where he was staying with his girlfriend, was raided on October 5 just 12 hours after the FBI received word through Interpol that Nikulin had left Russia. He reportedly did not resist arrest. He allegedly went by the online aliases Chinabig01, Dex.007, Valeriy.krutov3 and itBlackHat, and worked with some unnamed co-conspirators to commit the hacks and allegedly to try to sell the user data on the black market. Per the Times, he faces three counts of computer intrusion, two counts of causing damage to a protected computer (both apparently computers at Dropbox), two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of trafficking, and one count of conspiracy.

Previously: If You Used Dropbox In 2012, Your Password May Have Been Compromised
Since we are nearing the end of the presidential election season and have been discussing all types of American dreams, maybe it's appropriate to talk about the quintessential dream of homeownership. We are a people devoted to the notion of owning our own home. It's in our DNA -- a desire that began as soon as the settlers set foot on our eastern shore. As of 2015, approximately 64 percent of Americans own the home they live in today.

The feasibility of owning a home depends greatly on where you live. Affordable housing still exists in many states. Generally, major urban hubs have become nearly unaffordable, particularly for those wishing to enter the housing market, many of whom are millenials. Cities like Seattle and San Francisco, which offer so many job opportunities for young professionals, are becoming prohibitively expensive -- just like Manhattan and desirable sections of downtown Chicago have been for decades. When considering one's earnings compared to the cost of a mortgage payment -- and lack of help from family for a hefty down payment -- the math often just doesn't pencil out. Beginners in the housing market often find that they can only afford a smaller property, if any.

This is one reason we have seen enormous interest in the tiny-house movement -- the movement of small homes that are actually on wheels. There are two prominent TV programs devoted to the genre, so exposure is vast. Besides millenials, retirees also express interest in the financial relief that owning a tiny home delivers. While there is freedom in the concept of a mobile home, when it comes to actually buying one there are a few details to consider. For example, know that if you don't pay cash for the home, you will need to arrange an unsecured fixed-rate mortgage. There is generally a 2- to 7-year payoff plan. And you will need a FICO score of at least 670.

Besides individual tiny houses, other increasingly popular prototypes include microunits that are built to replace demolished structures like markets or shopping centers. We know them as "infill projects." They allow multiple-family occupancy. Sure, such projects bring increased population density to urban areas. But they also aid in concentrating transportation and other services in ways that can benefit most people. Density can guarantee ridership on public transportation, and that might encourage the expansion of areas in need.

As a way to ease the housing crisis, California is slowly looking, community by community, at relaxing regulations on constructing backyard auxiliary-dwelling units, which are sometimes called "granny flats." Stumbling blocks often are off-street parking requirements and enormous fees levied by local agencies, which are often as onerous as if one were building a 5,000-square-foot house instead of a 400-square-foot granny flat. The White House recently released its Housing Development Toolkit, in which it suggested granny flats as an opportunity for additional affordable housing.

This is an example of a housing project in Belmont, North Carolina. The American Dream is pictured in this iconic image of traditional Victorian-style homes in the Eagle Park development. Eagle Park reflects a new style of neighborhood where homes are built on smaller lots with certain amenities, such as parks and pools, and located near both small towns and large cities. Many young architects are designing prototypes that reflect how people are really living in 21st century America. For example, multigenerational families are residing together out of financial necessity and need homes that offer sensitive amenities.

Architect Marianne Cusato has been a leader in design for this market. Her New Economy Home 1.0 is designed with the flexibility to accommodate the owner's needs in good times or bad. An adaptable suite with private entrance and porch is located on the first floor. It can function as part of the whole house or break off into a private suite or income-producing apartment. It can be used as a family room or guest bedroom in good times. And during those more stressful economic times, it could be rented out or used by an elderly parent, adult child or even one member of a divorcing or separated couple.

Photo Credit: bauhaus1000

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by email at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net.
SEATTLE  Dr. Eileen Bulger wants you to know that CPR is not enough.

With the way the world is going, the chief of trauma at Seattles Harborview Medical Center believes that bystanders  ordinary citizens  also need to be able to stop severe bleeding, including the kind caused by acts of terrorism and other public violence.

Its a commentary on our times, Bulger said. If you watch the news every day, you know that we have a lot of events in this country where a lot of people are injured.

Last year in the U.S. there were 372 incidents in which four or more people were killed or wounded, with a toll of 475 deaths and 1,870 injuries according to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive.

Thats why Bulger spent a Saturday in a hospital training room, where more than 100 people in two classes learned to use tourniquets and pack wounds as part of Stop the Bleed Washington, a local and national effort to prepare more people to respond to the shootings, bombings and other threats that have become a part of American life.

Somebody can bleed to death in three to four minutes, Bulger said, adding that medical crews often cant respond that quickly. There are circumstances where the person next to you is the best person to save your life.

In emergency situations, severe bleeding is a common cause of death for trauma patients, accounting for about 35 percent of mortality before victims get to a hospital, according to the National Trauma Institute.

A movement to train bystanders began after the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, resulting in the Hartford Consensus, a series of expert recommendations led by the American College of Surgeons. A White House summit in 2015 accelerated the momentum.

Just last month, an editorial in the journal JAMA Surgery urged development of more programs for bystanders to control severe bleeding.

Now, Bulger and others in communities across the country are taking the message to the public. After a pilot project with nontrauma employees at UW Medicine, more than 250 people have already signed up for the two- to three-hour classes.

I just wanted to be prepared, said Nancy Sola-Llonch, 51, a geography instructor at South Seattle College, who attended the Saturday session. Im just concerned in general.

The classes are simple. Participants hear a short lecture about the benefits of bystander-bleeding training and watch a disturbing video produced by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department that demonstrates how to survive a public shooting.

Then they learn the two most effective ways to stop severe bleeding: packing wounds and applying tourniquets.

Honestly, I dont think theres a lot of training, Bulger said. People have basic first-aid classes, but they dont learn this.

In small groups, the students practiced shoving rolls of gauze deep into simulated wounds and then applying the forceful, direct pressure necessary to halt the bleeding. Then they took turns applying tourniquets  and learning why the improvised types seen on TV wont stop blood flowing through both veins and arteries.

The problem with a homemade tourniquet is you cant get it tight enough, Bulger said. If you dont get it tight enough, what happens is you make the bleeding worse.

Its best to create a kit, similar to a first-aid kit, that contains a commercial tourniquet, available for about $30, she added.

In addition to the training, Bulger is also working to install bleeding control kits that contain gloves, gauze, tourniquets and other supplies in public places. Harborview has added them, right next to the AEDs, or automated external defibrillators. Bulger said shes talking with officials at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the federal courthouse in Seattle about adding them, too.

The training and the kits are a good idea, said Heather Wilson, 42, of Seattle, a UW Medicine communications worker who was among the first to enroll in early August.

I just thought it would be a good, interesting experience, she said. Theres so much happening in the world today, you just never know when youll need this.

After taking the class, Wilson said she feels more confident that shed know what to do if someone near her was bleeding severely.

I hope I never have to use those skills, but if I am in such a situation, since Ive had this training, I would feel obligated to help.
SIOUX CITY | The history of Halloween is all about kids, kooky costumes and the quest for candy, right?

Well, not exactly. According to Bruce David Forbes, author of "American's Favorite Holidays" (2015, University of California Press), the story behind All Hallow's Eve is much more complex.

"Just like the other culturally dominant holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Valentine's Day and Easter, Halloween has a fascinating background," said Forbes, a Morningside College religious studies professor.

And just like those other holidays, Forbes relates it as being similar to a three-layer cake.

The first layer could be considered a seasonal celebration. That was the true origin of Halloween.

"Late October was considered the end of the harvest for people in the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales," Forbes explained. "They also believed that this was the one time of the year when earthly reality and the spirit world was especially thin."

That meant Halloween was a time for celebrating a successful harvest while apparently watching out for spooks.

This was until a second layer of Christianity was added to the Halloween three-layer cake.

While early Halloween celebrations revolved around drinking, there also needed to be atonement.

"Several religions took to celebrating All Saints Day on Nov. 1," Forbes said. "While revelers could celebrate during Mardi Gras, they needed to atone for Lent. That was similar to Halloween. You can celebrate all you want on Oct. 31 but you needed to settle down the next day."

That was before pop culture dominated the holiday. Forbes pinpointed that on the arrival of Irish immigrants to America in the late 19th century.

"Young adults spent considerable time and effort to pull pranks on people on Halloween," Forbes said, adding that this tomfoolery wasn't always appreciated.

As a way to "domesticate" Halloween, Forbes said parents slowly turned Oct. 31 into a kid-centric holiday.

"This focus on kids began during World War II but really took off immediately after that," he said.

The emphasis on children made Halloween a $2 billion industry for candy manufacturers as Americans purchased 600 million pieces of the sweet stuff every year.

But Forbes has recently seen some shifts in the Halloween tradition. Let's just say that the holiday isn't just for kids anymore.

"I think Halloween has come full circle," he said. "It was a holiday for adults until it became a time for kids. Now adults are actually spending more money on their own costumes than on the kids' costumes."

Which is OK with Forbes, who likes the circular history of holidays.

"There's more to these days than you may think," he said. "They are created, evolve and change over time. In the case of Halloween, it may be going backwards."
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. | A "horrible and toxic" odor tied to a sewage backup in South Sioux City has forced some residents to leave their homes.

Lance Hedquist, South Sioux City administrator, said the sewage odor is coming from 15 houses in a five-block vicinity of Red Bird Lane to Lemasa Drive to 39th and 32nd streets. He estimates 40 people live in that neighborhood.

Hedquist said there's also a "horrific" odor coming from the Big Ox Energy plant, which recently started up operations at 1617 Dakota Ave. in the city's Roth Industrial Park. The plant is about 2 miles from the affected houses.

Big Ox, a Denmark, Wisconsin-based renewable energy firm, converts organic industrial waste into methane gas.

"How they are tied together, I can't totally tell you," Hedquist said Friday of the new plant and the homes, which share the same sewer line.

Rob Baker, a resident in one of the houses affected in the 3800 block of G Street, said the smell started three weeks ago. He initially thought it was just an isolated incident.

"I contacted my plumber. I thought it had to do with my house, but (the plumber) said, 'Oh no, this is a larger problem,'" Baker said. "What it is called is a backflow pressure problem. There is something that is blowing pressure through the city's sewer system, and it is blowing through our house and out of the vent stacks."

Baker described it as a "horrible and toxic" sewer smell that caused him and his family to evacuate for the weekend.

"This morning at 5 o'clock it woke us up. We were coughing and choking -- it's toxic," Baker said, adding the smell is also noticeable outdoors. "We just are not going to live there until this gets fixed."

Hedquist said, to his knowledge, one other person has left their home because of the smell. He also said another person claimed the odor made them physically ill.

Hedquist said building inspectors have looked at 10 of the affected houses. He said work will continue Saturday to find a resolution. He believes the problem is from faulty traps in plumbing drains that are designed to stop sewage odors from coming out of them.

"They have found places where they found dry traps that have allowed that gas to come in," Hedquist said. "It is extremely unusual to have 15 houses in the same area having the same problem. That just doesn't make any sense at all from that standpoint."

However, Baker said the odor is coming through traps that are properly working.

South Sioux City leaders have hailed the arrival of Big Ox Energy, which built a more than $30 million plant that is expected to create 25 to 30 jobs. The company's anaerobic digestion process extracts organic nutrients from animal, grain and other waste to create methane. The clean-burning fuel is then sold into the natural gas pipeline.

Big Ox officials could not immediately be reached for comment late Friday.

The Journal's Nick Hytrek contributed to this story.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa | In the June primary, Skyler Wheeler won by a double-digit margin in a three-way race for the Republican nomination in Iowa House District 4 election.

With no Democrat on the ballot in the heavily GOP district, Wheeler, 23, appeared to be on his way to a uncontested election as the youngest member in the Iowa Legislature.

But Jeff VanDerWerff, who finished third in the Republican primary, gathered enough signatures to be nominated by petition to run as an independent candidate in the Nov. 8 general election.

Wheeler and VanDerWerff are competing to succeed Rep. John Kooiker, R-Boyden, who has represented the district since January 2015 and decided not to seek re-election.

The district, which covers most of Sioux County, has 13,883 active Republican voters compared to 1,531 Democratic voters. Another 3,263 are registered as no party.

Here is a look at the two candidates.

Jeff VanDerWerff

Party: Independent

Age: 55

Residence: Orange City

Occupation: Educator/professor of American Government and Public Policy

Electoral experience: Lost to Rep. John Kooiker in a special election in December 2014, and finished third in the May primary for the House seat.

Two main issues for 2016:

1. Education.

"As a policy arena, education accounts for nearly 6-out-of-every-10 dollars the state of Iowa spends, so Id want to make sure were getting the return on (the) invest we deserve as citizens and taxpayers."

2. Water quality.

He said he would like to solve the issue of nitrate mitigation in drainage water.

"The desire to put land into production is understandable and the state government will need to incentivize behavior by assisting farmers to some extent financially if we truly wish to address the issue effectively."

Why vote for me: VanDerWerff said after he announced his independent candidacy after falling short in the Republican primary, he spoke with "thousands" of Sioux County voters.

"One thing thats left a big impression on me as the result of all these conversations is that while many citizens are frustrated by the folly that characterizes the presidential election nominating process and occasionally vent their concern about this or that issue at the state level, they primarily want to elect someone who goes to Des Moines and represents them in a way that makes them proud. In other words, they want to send someone to the Iowa House who will be distinguished by quietly and effectively serving on their behalf, much like Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) does in the Senate. They want someone who will exert an influence that is only possible, it seems to me, if this individual has the social skills and personality along with the background and experience to effectively work with others. This is how Ill lead, if Im honored with the responsibility."

Skyler Wheeler

Party: Republican

Age: 23

Residence: Orange City

Occupation: Account representative, Staples Promotional Products in Orange City

Electoral experience: First run for public office

Two main issues for 2016:

1. Protecting unborn, innocent life from conception to natural death and protecting our religious freedoms (especially with the oncoming attacks from the left to force us to allow men to use the women's bathroom, etc.).

2. Defending our Second Amendment rights and instituting Stand Your Ground legislation in Iowa.
DES MOINES | Gov. Terry Branstad signed a letter Friday asking President Obama to issue a presidential disaster declaration for public assistance as a result of damage sustained in 19 Iowa counties from last months severe storms and flooding.

The governors request did not include activation of the federal Individual assistance program as the damage incurred to private homes during flooding did not meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) criteria.

Iowa counties included in Branstads request included Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Des Moines, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Howard, Linn, Mitchell, Winneshiek and Wright.

The governor requested funding under FEMAS public assistance program, which is used to rebuild damaged infrastructure that may include roads, bridges, culverts and other public facilities, or to cover costs of emergency work during, and debris removal after, the storms.

A joint federal, state, and local preliminary damage assessment of the 19 counties found the severe weather caused an estimated $22 million worth of damage that could be eligible under the public assistance program. The governor also requested funding to conduct hazard mitigation activities for the entire state.

John Benson, communications bureau chief in the Iowa Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, said the damage estimates compiled by FEMA, state and local officials of $22,045,302 ranked this years Cedar River flooding as the seventh worst weather disaster dating back to 1990, Benson noted. Two other counties  Black Hawk and Butler  had public infrastructure damages exceeding $1 million.

In Linn County, the damage estimated at $12,742,469 includes about $11.3 million for the city of Cedar Rapids, about $630,000 for the county, $314,000 for the city of Palo and $373,000 for the Mercy Medical complex, Benson said. Damage to infrastructure in upstream Black Hawk County totaled at least $3,423,005 and Butler Countys damage assessment totaled $1,633,164, he added.

Benson said about 500 homes and businesses in Iowa also were damaged by the flooding event  including 103 that were assessed as destroyed or having sustained major damage. The number with damage not covered by insurance was 79, which Benson said is below threshold needed to trigger individual FEMA eligibility.

Branstads request for a presidential disaster declaration does not include a request for the federal individual assistance program, which provides assistance to homeowners, renters and businesses to pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other disaster-related expenses.

Officials from the state and FEMA completed a joint preliminary damage assessment for federal individual assistance earlier this month which determined the 79 uninsured homes that sustained major damage or were destroyed during this event fell far below the FEMA threshold to request federal funding.

The U.S. Small Business Administration did grant an SBA disaster declaration to make low-interest loans available to impacted residents and businesses in Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, and Hardin counties. Also, SBA officials have opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Butler County to assist residents in applying for loans.

Iowas entire congressional delegation also wrote the president urging him to declare 19 Iowa counties a federal disaster area, making them eligible to receive federal aid for the damage inflicted by high winds, severe thunderstorms, heavy rains, hail and flash flooding and resulted in riverine flooding from Sept. 21 through Oct. 3.

The governor determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments to handle effectively and federal assistance is needed, the delegation wrote. In many locations, the flooding was at a near record level, second only to the flood of 2008.

Signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and U.S. Reps. Rod Blum, Steve King, Dave Loebsack and David Young.

Also Friday, Branstad announced the creation of a flood recovery task force -- comprised of state and local agencies -- to address the unmet needs of impacted residents as part of an effort to assist Iowans in their recovery from flooding and severe weather. The task force will focus on working with communities to develop long-term housing recovery options, he added.

This task force has been established to help meet the unmet needs of those who have sustained damage from the recent flooding, Branstad said in a statement. Members of the task force will bring with them a number of resources and creative solutions to help communities and people rebuild their homes, businesses, and most importantly, their lives.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
WASHINGTON

(Oct. 22, 2016)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is being awarded afixed-price-incentive, firm target and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to the previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 9 F-35 Lightening II Joint Strike Fighter advance acquisition contract (N00019-14-C-0002). This modification provides additional funding and will establish not-to-exceed (NTE) prices for diminishing manufacturing and material shortages redesign and development, estimated post production concurrency changes and country unique requirements. In addition, this modification will establish NTE prices for one F-35A aircraft and one F-35B aircraft for a non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participant in the F-35 program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent); El Segundo, California (25 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (20 percent); Orlando, Florida (10 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (5 percent); Nagoya, Japan (5 percent); and Baltimore, Maryland (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2015 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy); and non-U.S. DoD participant and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $506,092,785 are being obligated on this award; $270,676,332 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force $207,389,821 (27.9 percent), Navy $85,533,666 (11.5 percent), and Marine Corps $91,923,008 (12.4 percent), non-U.S. DoD participants $332,940,791 (44.8 percent); and Foreign Military Sales $25,382,091 (3.4 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is being awardedfor modification P000015 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-14-D-0025) to exercise an option for the procurement of up to 6,000 AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys; 95,000 AN/SSQ-53 sonobuoys; 15,500 AN/SSQ-62 sonobuoys; 10,000 AN/SSQ-101 sonobuoys; and 15,000 AN/SSQ0125 sonobuoys. Work will be performed in DeLeon Springs, Florida (51.7 percent); and Columbia City, Indiana (48.3 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2019. No funding will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded aindefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, resulting from solicitation N00189-16-R-Z025, that will include terms and conditions for the placement of both cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders to provide technical, analytical, administrative, and material support services to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One in support of the test mission of Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and the ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2021. Subject to availability of funds, fiscal 2017 research, development, test, and evaluation; and operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $635,299 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-17-D-Z001)., is being awardedfor firm-fixed-price modification P00032 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm target contract (N00019-13-C-9999) for spares and support equipment for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft configured for the Government of Japan. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana (26.2 percent); Melbourne, Florida (24.1 percent); Liverpool, New York (21.2 percent); Bethpage, New York (16.3 percent); Rockford, Illinois (1.6 percent); Chatsworth, California (1 percent) and various locations within the continental U. S. (9.6 percent); and is expected to be completed in April 2019. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $14,375,411 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is being awardedfor modification P00004 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-15-C-0035) to exercise an option for the production of 16 E-6B Aircrew Mission Seats, production shipsets. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed in April 2018. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount $8,639,556 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity.
Septic tanks are common in many rural and coastal communities with no access to a public sewer system. Septic tanks can leach as much as 14 kg (32 lbs) of nitrogen per year into groundwater or nearby surface waters. In some coastal communities, septic tanks are the primary source of nutrient pollution. (Photo: Environmental Protection Agency)

Critics claiming Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's rollback of modern septic tank requirements will modestly increase Bay pollution are misguided.It'll be a lot worse than they think.Hogan's administration is opening the gate not only for more-polluting septic systems, but for a lot more of themfor a return to the sprawl development that Maryland has spent most of the last 20 years trying to channel into smarter, cleaner growth.A little background: Most of the 465,000 septic tanks that serve Maryland homes not hooked to sewage treatment plants are one step up from outhouses and cesspools. They remove bacteria, but not the nitrogen, from wastes flowing to groundwater, streams and rivers, and ultimately to the Bay, where it degrades aquatic life.The newest septics remove twice as much nitrogen, but not nearly as much as do Maryland's rapidly upgrading sewage treatment plants. Last month, Hogan's Department of the Environment said the state will no longer require nitrogen-removing septics, except on lots close to the water. This will make it cheaper for developers to build in rural landscapes.The ties between septic tanks and the countryside are widely underappreciated. State health laws have long served as a crude substitute for more protective rural zoning, which bar development on significant acreages where soils were too soggy, too sloped, too rocky to pass "percolation" tests required to site septic tanks."Without septic, you don't have sprawl," says Richard Hall, who was Maryland's secretary of state planning for eight years under Gov. Martin O'Malley, Hogan's predecessor.Historically, in the absence of protective rural zoning, septic perc tests steered development toward prime farm soils and bigger lotstoward the suburban sprawl that's well-documented to increase air pollution through more driving; raise taxes as counties extend services; and gobble up an average eight times as much land per household than do homes connected to sewers.So with Maryland looking at a projected increase of 1 million people and 500,000 households by 2040, one of the biggest questions for the environment and for quality of life is this: How many will be on sewers, how many on septic?Minimizing septic tanks seemed the logical answer to Hall and his boss, O'Malley. In 2012, they crafted a widely accepted law that dramatically limited development on septic tanks wherever the landscape was "predominantly agriculture and forest." About the same time, O'Malley required all new septics to remove nitrogen, making sprawl development more expensive, but also less polluting.Some rural counties chafed, most notably Cecil in northern Maryland. They submitted for state planning's review a zoning map that essentially said "in your face" to restrictions on septic-based development on farms and forestland. A county planning official compared then-Secretary Hall to Adolf Hitler.The septic "tier mapping law" as it is known, left ultimate land use power with the counties; but it gave Hall's Department of State Planning, and the MDE broad latitude to pressure counties into compliance, even to hold up development if it was contrary to the law's anti-sprawl intent.Hogan has quietly reversed all of this. Letters sent to Cecil County from both his environment and planning departments say, in effect, the county can go its own way.The signals from the state are clear, not just to Cecil, but to Calvert, Queen Anne's and other rural counties under growth pressure. They need no longer fear state intervention against sprawl. Smart growth is out; dumb growth is back.The majority of Maryland counties have largely complied with the new law's requirement that "Tier Four" lands, those where farms and forests predominate, allow only minor development on septic, which is to say only limited development.But there's little now to keep them from backsliding, and you can bet that's not going to be lost on the development community, a powerful political force at the county level everywhere.State planners these days "pay more attention to the casual Fridays dress code" than they do to Smart Growth laws, says longtime land use advocate Dru Schmidt-Perkins, head of 1000 Friends of Maryland."The message to the counties is, 'Do what you want'," Hall says of his old department.Fifty thousand new septic systems would be prevented from being installed in rural landscapes, the O'Malley administration calculated when its 2012 law went into effect. No one should expect that now. We can't know yet how many will be built, but we know most won't have to control nitrogen.Hogan might have helped developers without harming the environment if he had looked at why less polluting septic tanks cost so much$10,000 to $15,000 apiece.I've seen them done well for half that, by Rich Piluk, a sanitarian in Anne Arundel county. I had one installed myself. But apparently only a few big companies met the state's requirements for certification and accountability. It's been suggested counties could set up their own septic management districts to lower costs.But it's easier to tout Maryland as "open for business," with talk of "getting the state off your backs." With policies that reach well beyond gutting septic restrictionssuch as shifting transportation money from mass transit to more roadsHogan seems determined to defeat the "war on rural Maryland" that his supporters claim O'Malley waged. "Victory" for them means a return to sprawl development.
DAHLGREN, Va. - A Longbow Hellfire Missile rocket motor burns while being restrained within the container during a recent test of the missile exhaust containment structure at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division's (NSWCDD) Explosive Experimental Area. NSWCDD engineers successfully completed the restrained firing test of the Longbow Hellfire missile for the Littoral Combat Ship Surface-to-Surface Missile Module, the Navy announced, Oct. 6. "This critical test concludes another vital step in a series of efforts that will lead to the fielding of this tremendous capability to LCS and to the Fleet," said Capt. Ted Zobel, program manager for the LCS Mission Module Program. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

DAHLGREN, Va.

(Oct. 22, 2016)Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) engineers completed a restrained firing test of the Longbow Hellfire missile for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM), the Navy announced Oct. 6.The Longbow Hellfire missile - undergoing developmental testing for incorporation into the SSMM - is part of the Littoral Combat Ship surface warfare mission package.Navy officials consider the test a major milestone proving the SSMM missile launch module's ability to withstand heat and fire in the event of an unplanned rocket motor ignition. Prior to integrating and testing the Longbow Hellfire missile aboard a Littoral Combat Ship, a series of tests must be accomplished to prove the safety of the system."This critical test concludes another vital step in a series of efforts that will lead to the fielding of this tremendous capability to LCS and to the Fleet," said Capt. Ted Zobel, program manager for the LCS Mission Module Program, after the test event held at the NSWCDD Explosive Experimental Area.The missile exhaust containment structure (MECS) test is designed to duct missile exhaust and fire through plenum exhaust chambers in the top of the LCS Surface-to-Surface Missile Module. One live Longbow Hellfire missile - with an inert warhead and a non-functional guidance section - was fired but restrained in the launcher.As the missile's rocket motor burned, exhaust and flames ducted properly through the MECS plenums. The test verified the MECS could prevent ignition exhaust fire from escaping into other missile modules.In all, three mass-simulated Longbow Hellfire missiles and eight mass-simulated missiles with inert rocket motors were situated with the live missile to help evaluate the missile exhaust containment structure's effectiveness.The Navy is planning to deploy the Longbow Hellfire missile capability aboard a Littoral Combat Ship by December 2017. Structural test firing from an LCS is scheduled to occur by March 2017.
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.




320-kilometer-diameter Schrodinger basin NASA/ESA

A team of scientists led by Universities Space Research Associations David Kring at the Lunar and Planetary Institute is using observations of the Moon to further understand the impact on Earth that is linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The team concludes that the mountain-sized rings that form in the Moons largest impact craters were produced by the collapse of central uplifts that rose tens of kilometers above the surface as a result of impact. Those findings, based on observations of the Moons Schrodinger basin, with implications for Earths Chicxulub crater, are published in the current edition of Nature Communications.

The Chicxulub crater is the best-preserved example of a peak-ring basin on Earth, but it is buried beneath approximately 1 kilometer of sediments. By comparison, the Schrodinger impact basin is the best-preserved basin of its size on the Moon; however, unlike the Chicxulub crater, it is exquisitely exposed on the lunar surface and accessible to study using remote sensing techniques.

The lead author, David Kring, says, The features seen in the Schrodinger basin also paint an amazing picture of Earths Chicxulub crater. Observations of the lunar basin suggest the rock in the Chicxulub basins peak ring flowed, in part, because it was dissected into a large number of rocky blocks with reduced cohesion and possibly offset by kilometer-scale fault motions. The Chicxulub peak ring, now buried, would have been composed of rocks from deep in the Earths crust and, when emplaced, would have produced a jagged mountain range that rose from the crater floor. If one wants to imagine how the Chicxulub crater looked soon after impact, one only needs to peer at the Schrodinger basin on the Moon. 

Kring further states, This is an excellent example of how studies of the Moon can help us better understand our own planet Earth. He adds that future missions to the Schrodinger basin will be laced with discoveries that catalyze our understanding of planet-building processes and the impact bombardment that reshapes planetary surfaces. Studies identify the Schrodinger basin as one of the highest priority destinations for future explorers.

Scientists addressed a key question related to both basins regarding the formation of their mountain-sized peak rings. New geologic mapping of the 2.5-kilometer-high peak ring in Schrodinger suggests the rock was uplifted from the Moons middle to lower crust. That geologic mapping, plus complex computer simulations of the impact event, indicates that rock from depths down to 30 kilometers below the lunar surface rose in a central uplift, towered briefly at least 20 kilometers above the lunar surface, before collapsing outward to form the circular range of mountains seen today. Within an hour of impact, a new 320-kilometer-wide basin and its enormous peak ring had been created on the Moon. Similar processes occurred when the Chicxulub crater formed on Earth 66 million years ago, although those processes occurred faster due to Earths greater gravity. The Chicxulub impact event is famous because of its link to the extinction of dinosaurs.

Because the Schrodinger basins peak ring came from the middle to lower crust of the Moon, it can be used to test the lunar magma ocean hypothesis and, thus, how the Moon was transformed from a molten mass into a rocky planetary body. That hypothesis suggests the Moon was once molten and, as it cooled, differentiated into layers with unique crystal compositions. The authors identified specific rocky exposures in the peak ring that robotic rovers and astronauts can sample in the future to further test that hypothesis.

Kring worked closely with LPIs Georgiana Kramer and Mitali Chandnani (formerly of the LPI and now at the University of Alaska), who used spacecraft data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter to map the geology of the Schrodinger peak ring. Co-authors Gareth Collins (Imperial College London) and Ross Potter (formerly of the LPI and now at Brown University) took the lead on computer simulations of the Schrodinger impact event.

The work by Kring, Kramer, Potter, and Chandnani was supported at the LPI by cooperative agreements to the USRA from NASAs Planetary Science Division and Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. The work by Collins was supported by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council.

For more information, visit:

http://www.nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/NCOMMS13161

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/exploration/training/resources/impact_cratering/
Canadas recently crowned National Driving Champion, Brandon Campbell, has been on a bit of a whirlwind since he arrived home in Calgary, Alta.

After departing London, Ontario early Saturday morning, Campbell was back in the bike at Century Downs -- where he won the Western Regional event earlier this year -- driving in 10 races on the Saturday (Oct. 15) card.

Century Downs honoured Campbell with a trackside presentation and made a $2,000 donation on his behalf, to the charity of his choice. Campbell selected Perky N Pink, a fundraising division of the Alberta Breast Cancer Foundation.

The accolades continued last night at Fraser Downs, in Surrey, B.C. This is where the road to the NDC started for Campbell as he was invited to take part in the Western Regional as one of B.C.s representatives.

Representatives of Fraser Downs and Harness Racing B.C. made a presentation to Campbell, who has been overwhelmed with the response and feedback hes received since his NDC win.

"I've had so many text messages from everyone congratulating me...I haven't even had time to answer them so I just want to thank everyone for their support," Campbell told Trot Insider. "I don't think I've ever shook so many hands in my life. To be honest after it was all said and done it doesn't feel any different...I don't think it's really sunk in yet. I'm sure next summer when I'm wearing the red and white it will feel like nothing I've ever experienced."
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie...
Two 19th District legislative races are a study in contrast this year.

Theres no incumbent running in the No. 1 spot, and Longview Democrat Teresa Purcell and Grays Harbor Republican Jim Walsh are in a spirited and sometimes nasty battle.

But theres little fireworks in the race for the No. 2 spot, in which incumbent State Rep. Brian Blake, a Aberdeen Democrat, faces Grayland cranberry farmer James Jimi OHagan.

Blake, 56, is one of the most senior members of the House, which he joined in 2002. Only seven of the 94 members have been there longer. Hes amassed a campaign fund of $128,000 for his 2016 campaign, receiving contributions from major corporations including Allstate Insurance, Anheuser-Busch, Chevron, Microsoft and his former employer, Weyerhaeuser Co. He has spent slightly over $87,000.

Blake presents an eclectic blend of rural conservatism that sometimes puts him at odds with Puget Sound liberals of his own party, particularly in his opposition to further gun control measures. Yet he has strong labor support. He has never had a serious challenge in the historically Democratic 19th District.

In the Democratically-controlled House, Blake is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over a host of matters important to Southwest Washington, among them fisheries and wildlife; forest and logging practices; forest fire protection; clean water; and mining.

OHagan, on the other hand, has no political experience and little money, with his only reported contributions being $1,000, half of which is his own money. Hes running as a Republican, but hes more of a Libertarian or constitutionalist.

OHagans focus is on what he calls the separation of powers, and he wants to make it illegal for attorneys to hold offices in legislative and executive branches of government.

Members of the judiciary have infiltrated the legislative and executive branches, OHagan told The Daily News. My belief is that theyre creating laws that benefit attorneys this is a predatory activity thats prying on economically vulnerable individuals.

Blake took 55.42 percent of the vote in the top 2 primary Aug. 2. OHagan followed up with 38.6 percent, eliminating Democrat challenger Keith Butch Stavrum from the race.

Blake has said that he opposes the possible state income tax and that he will vote no on I-1491, which would enable law enforcement, family and household members to ask the courts to suspend a persons access to firearms if there is evidence that individual is a danger to themselves or others.

Focusing on restricting the 99 percent of folks that arent a problem is not a recipe for success, Blake told The Daily News in July.

OHagan also opposes I-1491 and and he is in accord with Blake in supporting the Millennium Bulk Terminal coal terminal project in Longview and the Northwest Innovations methanol plant Kalama, saying the area needs the jobs. OHagan said he has reservations about large projects like these, claiming that CEOs should be held liable for potential disasters.

We owe the same amount of care and caution To the people and the community, OHagan said. We need to know first off whos accountable.

The candidates do agree on a few more issues: both would vote yes on Initiative 1433 to raise the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour by 2020.

One of the biggest questions facing the Legislature next session will be that of how to fund basic education in compliance with the 2012 State Supreme Court McCleary decision.

Blake said that while he believed that the Legislature made progress on school funding and says one possible way to raise more money for basic education is reducing tax breaks.

OHagan, on the other hand, said the Supreme Court has no business telling the Legislature what to do, although he said he is not against fully funding public schools. But he would not clarify just how the Legislature could defy a court order.

When it comes to balancing the budget, Blake also said he would like to see more money repaid to small cities after it was used to balance the states budget during the recession.

The state made some unfortunate choices and did what we had to do, Blake said. I think its important to restore that partnership with our local governments.
Longview firefighters will burn down an old church building on 30th Avenue as a training exercise between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday.

The structure at 2851 30th will be destroyed at the request of the owner, Longview United Methodist Church.

Live-fire training is a rare opportunity for firefighters to study fire behavior and practice proper fire suppression techniques, according to a Longview Fire Department press release.

Firefighters from Longview Fire Department, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, Cowlitz County Fire District 5 and Clark County Fire Rescue will participate in the drill.

During the burn, nearby residents will see smoke, fire and fire equipment in the area of 30th Avenue and Pacific Way. Several road closures will be needed, including 30th Avenue from about Pershing Way to Pacific Way and Pershing Way from the 3100 block to 30th Avenue. Local public transit will be affected as well.
Ancient Assyrians Were More 'Homely' Than We Thought

Archaeologist Victor Klinkenberg examined an old Assyrian settlement in Syria, near to the IS stronghold Raqqa. 'Social life was more important than military life.' The Assyrian Empire (ca. 2000 to 609 BC) was highly successful. At its height, it stretched from Turkey to Egypt and the Persian Gulf. Historians have wondered for a long time how the Assyrians were able to maintain power over such a huge region.

Tell Sabi Abyad

Research by PhD candidate Victor Klinkenberg has now provided an answer to part of this question. He has shown that Assyrian dominance was by no means always secured by using violence and brute force. Klinkenberg drew this conclusion after studying the settlement at Tell Sabi Abyad in present-day northern Syria. 'This village was inhabited around 1200 BC,' Klinkenberg explained. 'The Assyrians founded the settlement when they conquered the region, so you'd expect it to be mainly a military outpost, ruled from above. But that doesn't seem to be the case.'

Positive stimuli

Kinkenberg found that the rooms and houses of Tell Sabi Abyad had many different functions, and that they changed frequently. At one time it was a cafe where visitors drank beer, and at another time it was a rubbish tip. Klinkenberg: 'All this shows that social life played a much greater role than military life. Apparently, positive stimuli and local stability were important factors in the Assyrians' imperial activities.'

Islamic State

Klinkenberg's research is part of a larger project headed by lecturer Bleda During, financed with a subsidy from the European Research Council (ERC). In recent years, the work of the Leiden researchers has been severely hindered by the rise of the Islamic State terror movement. Tell Sabi Abyad is around 80 km from Raqqa, the capital of the IS caliphate.

Destroyed

It was impossible for Klinkenberg to travel to the settlement. 'In the past five years, nobody from our team has visited the excavations,' he explained. 'We did hear recently that a lot of archaeological finds have been destroyed or stolen. That's such a waste, particularly as most of the remnants have no financial value. They're worth absolutely nothing on the black market, but their value to science is enormous.'

Documented

Fortunately, all the earlier excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have been carefully documented. 'The project has been running for 35 years. The ground area is photographed every season; the location of the finds is mapped and buildings and rooms are measured. These measures meant that I could do my research at a distance.' Like every other archaeologist, Klinkenberg would have preferred to visit the site in person. 'But that's a minor inconvenience compared to the suffering of the Syrian people.'
Bowalley Road Rules



The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place.

So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules.

These are based on two very simple principles:

Courtesy and Respect.

Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned.

Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym.

Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse.

However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen.


When Devery S. Anderson was laid off from Reynolds Metals Longview aluminum plant in 1993, he was forced to decide on something different.

That something wasnt entirely clear, but Anderson, in his 30s at the time, knew he had a passion for American history. More than 20 years later that passion would blossom into an acclaimed book and a deal with HBO.

After the layoff, the Longview native withdrew from Lower Columbia College, sold his house, moved to Salt Lake City with his wife and enrolled in the history program at the University of Utah.

I knew I wanted to write even back before I left Longview, Anderson, 56, said in a recent phone interview. He would often sit at home and map out book projects for himself in his free time. I felt like I wanted to write something worthwhile and make a contribution.

Shortly after moving to Utah, Anderson discovered the story of Emmett Louis Till.

In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, was kidnapped from his uncles house and mercilessly beaten and lynched for an alleged flirtation at a country store in Money, Miss. Tills body was discovered weighted down in the Tallahatchie River three days after his kidnapping with barbed wire wrapped around his neck.

The story immediately gripped Anderson and wouldnt let go. In 2015, 21 years after his discovery of the Till story, Andersons book, Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement, was published by the University Press of Mississippi to widespread acclaim.

Emmett Till also garnered the interest of film producers and Hollywood celebrities and will be produced as a mini-series for HBO. The yet-untitled project will be produced by Jay-Z, Will Smith, Casey Affleck, and Aaron Kaplan, Anderson said.

The project has most recently hired a writer, Steven Caple, Jr. who stood out at this years Sundance Film Festival after the premiere of his movie, The Land. Neither the studio or Caple, Jr. were available for comment on the deal.

Anderson became aware of Tills murder when he saw a PBS documentary called Eyes on the Prize on the American civil rights movement. The first episode had a 15-minute segment on the Emmett Till case.

It had such an impact on me the moment I saw that. It consumed me after that, Anderson said. I was troubled because I had never heard about the case.

Anderson was equally troubled by the fact that Tills killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Millam, were acquitted  and then bragged about murdering Till, knowing they were protected from further prosecution under the double jeopardy clause in the U.S. Constitution.

I was troubled that these men had gotten away with murder Anderson said. I just had to learn everything I could learn.

Other questions pressed on him: What happened to Tills mother, Mamie Till-Mobley? What happened to the killers? In 1996 Anderson decided to track down Tills mother and interview her for a University of Utah class on racism.

She was so willing to talk, and she was not bitter, Anderson said. And you could tell... she had turned that event into something positive. She didnt want Emmett to die in vain.

Though Anderson and Till-Mobley never met in person, they talked on the phone dozens of times until her death in January 2003.

In the meantime, Anderson made a living working as an editor and publishing several other books and articles on Mormon history. He currently works as an associate editor at Signature Books in Salt Lake City.

Anderson resumed hsi research for the book in earnest in 2004. Over the course of a decade, Anderson visited Mississippi a dozen times to see landmarks of the case, track down primary source documents and conduct interviews with member of Tills family and others.

Sometimes I look back and think, How did I do it?  Anderson said. He often used his only vacation days from work to visit Mississippi. There were a few motivators there, like when I first started researching the case there hadnt been a lot that had been written on it. No one had attempted a full comprehensive study of the case.

Anderson noticed that many primary sources regarding the Emmett Till case  newspapers, films, speeches, other books  contradicted each other.

There were a lot of inaccuracies perpetuated through the years, Anderson said. I was determined to just look into everything I could find.

Andersons next project is already in the works: the author has already begun research on the Mississippi Freedom Summer, a 1964 voter registration effort to expand black voting in the South led by civil rights groups. Volunteers were routinely harassed and often arrested, attacked or beaten. Three young African American Mississippians involved in the project were murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

(The project will be) a little more challenging this time around because there have been several books done on it, Anderson said. But again, Anderson believes that theres a lot more that needs to be said and inaccuracies to clear up.

There were so many students involved in that project whose stories have never been told, Anderson said. Theres a lot more to be said about it.
The Iodine deficiency is one of the major public health issues and mostly found among students. In India, 50% of total population are prone to the risks of Iodine dearth, while 70% of these statistics are students and children. As reported by a wellness survey, each year, almost two million children are conceived with mental impedance.

As the world celebrated Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders on 21st October, yesterday, the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Program Cell, Health Department of Chandigarh, a week-long introduced a skirmish in the city to mark awareness about iodine inadequacy issues and facilitate the general public with clusters of essential data and information about this health problem.

Amid the week, the Heath Department of Chandigarh invited the students of five government schools, and they were informed of this issue with details. Various students were also educated about the right use of iodized salt and the different effect of iodine insufficiency.

Iodine deficiency as presented by goiter has a prevalence rate of 7.3 per cent in Chandigarh. The Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders week concluded with a quiz competition which was held at Conference Hall, New OPD Block, Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh. In the event, banners having several awareness quotes were provided the students and schools in order to make awareness to the vantage points. Along with posters, books, Handbills, and on-the-spot iodine testing units too were given to every school for creating better awareness among students.

On the event, the civil surgeon, Jalandhar addressed to the media with his statement, which reads the workshops of creating awareness about the inadequacy of iodine were being held over the city which is ultimately intended to urge individuals to use only iodised salt. He said the iodised salt was vital for the physical and mental advancement of a person. He also said that a man required just 150 micrograms of iodised salt to be healthy, in terms of both mental and physical health conditions.

During the event, a demonstration on goiter and IDD was also arranged where on-the-spot testing of iodised salt was carried out in order to confirm the iodine substance of salt used by the individuals and students. On this matter, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Kashyap, The Director Health Services said that, with the continuance effort, the Health Department of Chandigarh would soon pull off nonendemic rank and the occurrence rate of IDD will surely go down below 7.3 per cent.
Alien hunters have found a proof that suggests aliens visited earth in the past nearly 2,50,000 years ago. People have unearthed a mysterious object which suggests that aliens existed in the past at least.

Alien searchers have discovered a piece of aluminum that looks as if it was handmade. The mysterious piece of metal was discovered in Romania back in 1973 but it was kept hidden till date.

After conducting in-depth research of the metal piece, it is clear that it is made up of 12 metals with 90 percent being aluminum and contains Romanian initials and researchers estimated it to be nearly 250,000 years old. A lab in Lausanne, Switzerland has confirmed the find.

The metal piece was discovered when builders found three objects while working near the Mures River, Romania. These objects appeared very old and they brought it to archaeologists for further examination. The first two objects were bones of an extinct animal that lived 80,000 years ago.

The third thing was the most interesting one. On the first sight, builders thought it to be the end of an axe. However, archaeologists conducted some examination and found it to be very old piece of metal made of aluminum. The metal object is 20 centimeters long, 12.5 centimeters wide and 7 centimeters thick.

Now, the point is that humans discovered aluminum 200 years back and before that we didnt know what aluminum is. So, if humans didnt know about the metal then how could they have made such an object.

Conspiracy theorists claim that some external force like aliens could only have made such an object 250,000 years back and it is a proof that aliens used to live and visit earth on constantly. In addition, the hole on the metal artifact suggests it to be a part of mechanical machinery like a UFO. This theory raised the eyebrows of alien hunters and they started believing it to be a part UFO that visited Earth 250,000 years back and accidently left it near Romania.

Although, origin of the artifact is a mystery, but it is still not a proof that aliens existed constructed it and they exist. Alien hunters need to catch an alien to proof that they exist and it will be the biggest discovery by humans ever.

The artifact is on display in the History Museum of Cluj-Napoca with a red tag that states origin still unknown.

Recently, alien hunter haves found insects near Curiosity rover, UFO near ISS, carved face monument on Mars, alien missile on Mars, Greek God Pan, Machine used by aliens, two strange artifacts, gold ring and alien gloves, and much more including alien city, drone, goblin face, etc. However, the most important find was the Gautam Buddha statue on Mars which forced the American space agency NASA to comment on the find and they said it to be pareidolia  a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists.

What the video of mysterious metal:
Decades-old Voyager 2 spacecrafts data is mysteriously revealing shocking things. According to NASA scientists, Uranus might have two hidden moons that were undiscovered yet and they found it while rescanning the image captured by the spacecraft 30 years ago.

While examining the area near the Uranuss rings, researchers found a pattern where the amount of ring material on the edge of the alpha ring  one of the brightest of Uranus multiple rings  varied periodically. The find was made while observing the images clicked back in 1986 and those periodic movements suggest presence of an object that constantly orbits Uranus  moon.

When you look at this pattern in different places around the ring, the wavelength is different  that points to something changing as you go around the ring. Theres something breaking the symmetry, said Matt Hedman, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Idaho, who worked with Chancia to investigate the finding. Their results will be published in The Astronomical Journal and have been posted to the pre-press site arXiv.

Rob Chancia and Hedman are well-versed in the physics of planetary rings: both study Saturns rings using data from NASAs Cassini spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Saturn. Data from Cassini have yielded new ideas about how rings behave, and a grant from NASA allowed Chancia and Hedman to examine Uranus data gathered by Voyager 2 in a new light. Specifically, they analyzed radio occultations  made when Voyager 2 sent radio waves through the rings to be detected back on Earth  and stellar occultations, made when the spacecraft measured the light of background stars shining through the rings, which helps reveal how much material they contain.

They found the pattern in Uranus rings was similar to moon-related structures in Saturns rings called moonlet wakes.

The researchers estimate the hypothesized moonlets in Uranus rings would be 2 to 9 miles (4 to 14 kilometers) in diameter  as small as some identified moons of Saturn, but smaller than any of Uranus known moons. Uranian moons are especially hard to spot because their surfaces are covered in dark material.

We havent seen the moons yet, but the idea is the size of the moons needed to make these features is quite small, and they could have easily been missed, Hedman said. The Voyager images werent sensitive enough to easily see these moons.

Hedman said their findings could help explain some characteristics of Uranus rings, which are strangely narrow compared to Saturns. The moonlets, if they exist, may be acting as shepherd moons, helping to keep the rings from spreading out. Two of Uranus 27 known moons, Ophelia and Cordelia, act as shepherds to Uranus epsilon ring.

The problem of keeping rings narrow has been around since the discovery of the Uranian ring system in 1977 and has been worked on by many dynamicists over the years, Chancia said. I would be very pleased if these proposed moonlets turn out to be real and we can use them to approach a solution.

Confirming whether or not the moonlets actually exist using telescope or spacecraft images will be left to other researchers, Chancia and Hedman said. They will continue examining patterns and structures in Uranus rings, helping uncover more of the planets many secrets.

Its exciting to see Voyager 2s historic Uranus exploration still contributing new knowledge about the planets, said Ed Stone, project scientist for Voyager, based at Caltech, Pasadena, California.

Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn, and Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2 is the longest continuously operated spacecraft. It is expected to enter interstellar space in a few years, joining Voyager 1, which crossed over in 2012. Though far past the planets, the mission continues to send back unprecedented observations of the space environment in the solar system, providing crucial information on the environment our spacecraft travel through as we explore farther and farther from home.

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, built the twin Voyager spacecraft and operates them for the Heliophysics Division within NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
NASAs Cassini spacecraft that is orbiting Saturn has beamed back images that show changing color on Saturns north pole. The images were taken at a gap of four years  2012 and 2016; these images reveal that earlier the north pole had different color and now it has changed a bit.

Saturn has north polar hexagon and scientists believe that changes in color are due to changing weather patterns. Earlier, the hexagonal north pole had blueish tinge which has now become brighter and changed to golden color. These changes have stunned the scientists and they are still not sure what has led to such changes. Seasonal change is a guess and further investigation is required to confirm it.

According to scientists, the hexagon is a six-sided jetstream and acts as a barrier that prevents haze particles produced outside it from entering. Saturn has seven-year long winter and the last winter eliminated aerosols from the atmosphere which was produced during photochemical reaction. Since the planet experienced equinox in August 2009, the polar atmosphere has been basking in continuous sunshine, and aerosols are being produced inside of the hexagon, around the north pole, making the polar atmosphere appear hazy today.

Other effects, including changes in atmospheric circulation, could also be playing a role. Scientists think seasonally shifting patterns of solar heating probably influence the winds in the polar regions. Both images were taken by the Cassini wide-angle camera.

Previously, NASA released an image in which Saturn rings appeared bending. Scientists of NASA explained that this is caused because the atmosphere of Saturn acts like a very big lens, some of the sunlight falling on it is absorbed but also as it reaches towards Cassinis camera, the path of the light is refracted or bent after passing from space to atmosphere and back into space. Read More

The US space agencys Cassini spacecraft has spotted strange activity on the Saturn rings. Earlier, the shadow of the planet was stretched across all the rings but the height of the shadow is strangely falling short and now covers fewer rings. Read More

In addition, the Cassini spacecraft that is orbiting Saturn had beamed back another beautiful image revealing bright spot on the B ring. It might seem strange to some, but NASA explained that glowing effect on the ring is due to the opposition surge which is making that particular area on the ring glow brightly. Read More

Cassini spacecraft reached Saturn 12 years ago and now it has entered in the last year of epic journey. According to the schedule of the US space agency, the spacecraft will end its mission on September 2017. Read More

The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
Wave power advocates cheered in September 2016 when Hawaii-based Naval researchers started feeding power from two experimental offshore wave energy devices into the grid on nearby Oahu, representing the first time the American public could access electricity derived from ocean waves. The trickle of energy from these experimental devices doesnt amount to anything substantial yet, but wave energys potential is huge.

Analysts think we could derive at least a quarter of U.S. electricity needs by harnessing wave power around our coasts. Most other countries around the world have coastlines they could exploit for wave energy, as well, if engineers could create affordable technology to capture and transport the energy back to shore where it would be used to power local communities or get fed into existing larger power grids.

But just because we can tap ocean energy big time doesnt mean we necessarily will, given the high costs of getting started, technical issues with maintaining offshore equipment, and the challenges of scaling up for mass consumption. The worlds first experimental wave farm, the Agucadoura Wave Park off the coast of Portugal, went online in September 2008 with three wave energy converter machines, but ceased operations only two months later when bearings on the equipment gave way, underscoring the technical challenges of running complicated heavy machinery in unstable marine environments.

While such technical problems may be frustrating, financial concerns loom larger over wave energys future. Two of the biggest wave energy endeavors in the world, Pelamis and Aquamarine, both based out of wave-battered Scotland, went belly up recently despite funding from the Scottish government and plans to build out the biggest wave energy farms in the world based on the success of earlier prototypes.

Aquamarines CEO John Malcolm chalked up his companys demise to "the considerable financial, regulatory and technical challenges faced by the ocean energy sector as a whole." Meanwhile, cheap natural gas and the surge in solar and wind power options have kept ocean energy on the back burner.

But wave power is far from dead in the water. Besides the experimental wave farm off Oahu, two larger projects are being built off the coast of the United Kingdom, while three additional projects are underway around Australia. Funding for these projects has come from not only the host governments but also the private sector. American defense contractor Lockheed Martin, for one, is a big player in deployment of wave power technologies and is a driving force behind the 19 megawatt, grid-connected wave power station currently in the works near Victoria, Australia.

Here in the U.S., wave energy advocates say the federal government has done too little to encourage research and development in this promising niche of the energy sector. Subsidies and tax incentives helped solar and wind power grow from pipe dreams in the 1980s to significant players in the global energy mix of today. Wave power advocates would like to see similar incentives employed to boost the development of ocean-based renewable energy sources, but for that to happen the American public will need to speak up to get Congress to act.
BNP to join AL's Council

Staff Reporter :

A BNP delegation will attend the ruling Awami League's national council today (Saturday) at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city.

"A BNP delegation will attend the Awam League's national council on Saturday. But the names of the delegate are yet to be finalized," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told The New Nation on Friday.

Sources said, BNP will send a three-member delegation to the AL's council. One of the BNP Vice Chairmen will lead the team.

Earlier on Thursday, AL invited BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to its 20th council to be held

on October 22-23 in city's Suhrawardy Udyan.

An AL delegation led by party's Assistant Office Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das handed over the letters to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the BNP central office at Nayapaltan.

BNP Assistant Organizing Secretary Abdus Salam Azad and Assistant Office Secretary Munir Hossain welcomed the AL delegates at the party office. The AL leaders said BNP Secretary General has accepted the letters. We hope that they would attend the council.
Xi calls for strong army under CP command

PTI, Beijing :

Chinese President Xi Jinping today called for building strong armed forces - under the command of the Communist Party leadership - that commensurate with the country's international status and national security.

Speaking at a function to commemorate 80th anniversary of victory of Long March led by Chairman Mao Zedong to capture power, Xi, who is regarded as the most powerful leader after Mao, said the party's absolute leadership over armed forces is the fundamental guarantee for the army's victory.

"To build a strong country requires efforts to build a strong army, and only with a strong army can the country's security be guaranteed," said Xi, the general secretary of Communist Party of China and chairman of Central Military Commission - the high command of the Chinese military.

His comments came amid reports of murmurs of dissent over his military reforms which included retrenchment of three lakh troops to downsize 2.3-million strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) - the world's largest military.

Xi has already reconstituted military's administrative and command structure after carrying out an anti-corruption drive in which several retired and servicing top officials were indicted.

He called for efforts to foster a new generation of Chinese servicemen who are "soldiers with soul, high caliber, gut and virtue," and to build rock-solid troops with "iron-like belief, conviction, discipline and commitment."

"The Long March is the glory of the people's army, and the honourable people's army must always carry forward the great spirit and fine tradition of the Red Army in the Long March," Xi said.

He called on the armed forces to adhere to the party's absolute leadership, maintain their nature and uphold their principles as the people's army, and be the heir to the Red Army.

Moreover, he urged the military to uphold political integrity, promote reform and rule of law, and strengthen combat readiness, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The entire military should remain vigilant and be aware of its responsibilities, Xi said, noting that the modernisation of national defence and armed forces must advance in a bid to safeguard the country's national sovereignty, security and development interest.




Wounded await evacuation on day three of Aleppo truce

In Aleppo, three months of siege by the army and nearly four weeks of relentless air strikes by Syrian and Russian warplanes has eroded civilian trust in government assurances of safe passage out of the city

AFP, Aleppo :

Hundreds of wounded civilians were stranded in rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo Saturday after the UN said security concerns had prevented evacuation convoys even as Russia extended a ceasefire into a third day.

The unilateral "humanitarian pause" in the Syrian army's devastating Russian-backed assault on the opposition-controlled east of the city has largely held since it began on Thursday morning.

The army has said it is an opportunity for civilians and rebel fighters who lay down their arms to leave.

But so far there have been no organised evacuation convoys and only a handful of the 250,000 civilians still living in the rebel sector have left under their own steam.

An AFP photographer in the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood at one of the crossings over the front line the army has set up for evacuations said it was deserted on Saturday morning.

After three months of siege by the army and nearly four weeks of relentless air strikes by Syrian and Russian warplanes, trust in government assurances of safe passage is minimal.

On Friday, the UN human rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Damascus.

The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid.

More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed.

But on Friday, a UN spokesman said evacuations had been delayed because of security concerns.

"Medical evacuations of sick and injured could unfortunately not begin this morning as planned because the necessary conditions were not in place," said Jens Laerke of the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA).




Residents say civilians among dead in Myanmar army lockdown

Reuters, Yangon :

Muslim residents and rights activists say a military operation in northwestern Myanmar has killed more people than official reports have acknowledged, as a fresh bout of ethnic unrest threatens to undermine the country's fledgling peace process.

The government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the army and police in Rakhine State are fighting a group of at least 400 insurgents, drawn from the Rohingya Muslim minority, with links to Islamist militants overseas.

While officials say the army has been conducting carefully targeted sweeps against the group behind attacks on police border posts on Oct. 9, residents who spoke to Reuters accused security forces of killing non-combatants and burning homes.

With the area around Maungdaw Township, near the border with Bangladesh, under military lockdown it was not possible to independently verify either side's version of events.

The violence has destabilized Myanmar's most volatile state, where the relations between the Rohingya and majority Buddhists are at their lowest point since hundreds of people were killed and thousands displaced in ethnic violence in 2012.

Delicate efforts to rebuild fragile intercommunal ties since then have been shattered, marking a massive setback for the No.1 goal of Suu Kyi's government - securing a lasting peace and unifying the country.

In videos posted online, armed men speaking the Rohingya language have claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on Oct. 9 that ignited the region, where Rohingya face severe restrictions on their movement and access to basic services.

State-run media have reported that 30 "attackers" have been killed by security forces since Oct. 9, including two women reported to have been armed with swords. But Reuters interviews with six residents and community leaders in Maungdaw Township - as well as diplomats in Yangon and rights groups - paint a different picture.

"Clearly there are more than 30 killed," said Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, a monitoring group that says it has drawn information from a network of sources throughout Maungdaw Township. "And many of them are civilians, not attackers."

Lewa said the army was using "typical counter-insurgency measures against civilians", including "shooting civilians on sight, burning homes, looting property and arbitrary arrests".

Ye Naing, a director at the Ministry of Information, said the official reports coming out of Maungdaw could be trusted.

"The current operation is not blind searching. The military has the information from interrogations, so the target is very clear and the scope of the operation is narrow," he said.

The military did not respond to requests for comment.




The vaccine debate

Rose Garrett :

(From previous issue)

Safety

Fear among the general public over the safety of immunization has formed the backbone of the anti-vaccine movement, which offers some anecdotal evidence to support claims of damage due to vaccination. In the 1970's and 80's, several cases of brain injury and seizures were linked to the pertussis (whooping cough) portion of the DPT vaccine, prompting a legal backlash that threatened to put vaccine manufacturers out of business.

As a result, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) was passed in 1986, establishing a federal "no-fault" system to compensate victims of injury caused by vaccines, which include allergic reactions (anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock), brain injury (encephalopathy), and seizures and convulsions. The pertussis vaccine has since been modified to make it safer, but the older strain is still administered in developing countries, as it is cheaper to produce.

In 1998, a study suggesting a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism was published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, launching a frenzy of media attention and public uproar. Many parents, both in Europe and the United States, began to refuse the vaccine for fear of an autism link, and many still believe that the MMR vaccine bears some of the blame for their child's autism. These parents say that they have observed the same pattern: their child was a normally developing one-year-old, but after the shot, symptoms of autism, such as disinterest in social interaction, began to manifest.

However, it has not been determined that the onset of autism at around the same time as the administration of the MMR vaccine is a causal relationship. The Lancet has since retracted the 1998 study after an investigation by the British General Medical Council established the results of the study as deliberately falsified. As a result of the same investigation, the study's lead author, Andrew Wakefield, was found guilty of three dozen charges, including four counts of dishonesty and twelve counts of abusing the developmentally disabled children used in his research. Since 2010, he has been barred from practicing medicine in the UK.

A host of valid studies have been released to debunk the connection between autism and vaccines, but anti-vaccination organizations have continued to ask for further government testing of vaccines and the possible dangers they pose.

Effectiveness

Some anti-vaccination activists object to the unnatural quality of the vaccination practice, preferring, instead, the more traditional process of contracting a disease naturally, such as measles and chickenpox, which, after recovery, gives the person life-long immunity. "Once you get measles and recover, you're immune for life," claims Neil Miller, a medical research journalist and author of Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective?. "The vaccine itself does not confer permanent immunity. This is why they've developed this idea of booster shots. What is the medical industry's answer to an ineffective vaccine? It's to give more of it."

But Wayne Yankus, MD, a community pediatrician in New Jersey, suggests that the notion of lifelong immunity for those naturally exposed to a disease in childhood may be unraveling. He points out that adults are living longer than ever before, and that waning immunity may be possible in old age even when someone had, say, chickenpox as a child. However, Yankus acknowledges that there is a small percentage for whom immunization just doesn't work (in the case of measles, around 2-5% of people are still vulnerable to the disease after their first dose of the vaccine, and 1% are vulnerable after receiving one booster shot). The fix? These individuals are protected by the vast majority of people for whom vaccination does work. "We count on herd immunity, which is why we require immunizations for school."

A Parent's Rights

The vaccine debate has also lead to a controversy over the role of government versus the right of a parent to make choices regarding their child's health. At present, choosing to refuse vaccination for your child is not illegal, but it is mandated as a requirement for your child to attend public school (exemptions for religious or medical reasons, and sometimes for philosophical ones as well, are available but sometimes difficult to obtain).

Public health authorities view large-scale vaccination as an essential key to preventing epidemic diseases. Individuals, however, often weigh the "big picture" of public health against perceived dangers to one's individual child. Because of the "herd immunity" of the general population, the decision not to vaccinate a single child might seem safe on an individual basis. But, says Yankus, parents today lack perspective on the dangers posed to others by refusing immunization. "The issue with immunizations in general is that because so many parents today have never seen these diseases or known what they can do, many parents choose not to immunize, which is a huge mistake," he says. "I grew up with many of these diseases. I had a college roommate who died of measles encephalitis. I had a neighbor who contracted polio."

Now, says Yankus, people have the luxury to worry because they have not been exposed to the risks. "Now there is a strong, forceful, poorly informed, non-scientific community of people who feel that they don't have to immunize. As a consequence, their behavior puts everyone at risk."

Does that mean that a parent doesn't have a right to choose? Legally, they do. But that doesn't mean the government hasn't instituted hoops that parents need to jump through. Sending your child to private school is one option. Another is to apply for a religious, medical, or philosophical exemption to the rules governing public school enrollment. But, says Miller, that doesn't stop doctors from trying to vaccinate at all costs. "Kids are not legally required to get vaccinated. But doctors may try to intimidate them and frighten them with scare tactics," he says. Yankus says that his pediatric practice does not take patients who refuse vaccination. "I do not have any reason in this day and age to take care of diseases that are preventable," he says, but notes that parents are welcome to make their own choice in the matter.

The consensus of the medical community is that vaccines are a safe and integral part of public and individual health. But for parents who still find themselves undecided on the issue, here are some steps to take before making your final decision:

Talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. Bring specific examples of why you are worried about the vaccine, and listen to what he or she has to say.

Know your rights. It is not illegal to refuse vaccination. However, public schools require that children be vaccinated as a prerequisite for enrollment. Exemptions for medical and religious reasons are usually available, and exemptions for philosophical ones less so.

Be informed, and know the research. Anecdotal evidence and stories from other parents can be persuasive, but pay attention to scientific studies that show reproducible results.
Expansion of IT connects in rural areas: Speakers

Satkhira Correspondent :

Speakers at a function on Saturday said the government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took initiative to start journey towards Digital Bangladesh to ensure equal use of IT and IT based services among the people of urban and rural areas.

With the successful implementation of the initiative and expansion of IT in rural areas the people of villages will be connected with the global village, they told the concluding session of a workshop jointly organized by Trinomuler Tathyajanala Programme of ICT Division and Tathyaseba Barta Sangstha at the district Circuit House auditorium.

Additional Secretary of ICT Division Sushanta Kumar Saha said the government has set up 4,550 Union Digital Centers across the country. The entrepreneurs of these centers have been providing services to the people and cooperating to implement the government's plan to reduce digital divide, he said.

The entrepreneurs are being provided with training to enhance their skills in writing reports and features to develop them as info leaders and conducting e-commerce and outsourcing to turn the UDC as mini business process outsourcing centers (BPO), he said.

Journalist Ajit Kumar Sarkar said the use of IT and the online delivery of services have been contributing to bring a change in the socio-economic condition of the people.

The rural economy is being revamped due to use of IT in business, cultivation and even buy and sale of products, he said adding the people of rural areas are connected with the global village as the government has made available internet connectivity at UDC, smart phones and other digital devices.

Chaired by Deputy Commissioner of Satkhira Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin the function was also addressed, among others, by TSB Assistant Editor Protik Mahmud.
8 rivers marked rise, 67 fall



Water levels in 8 river stations monitored by Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) have marked rise and 67 stations recorded fall.

Among the 90 monitored water level stations, one station has been registered steady, a bulletin issued by the FFWC said here on Saturday.

The Jamuna, the Padma, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and Surma-Kushiyara rivers are in falling state.
Corporate houses should be responsive to social expectations

Mohammad Mosaddek Hussain :

Nowadays the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely used in terms of some social responsibility for the well-being of the societies as well as communities those are the beneficiaries of its programmes as a whole.

Actually, CSR is recognized as a response to institutional pressures. Yet, to date few studies have linked the role of political freedom and information technology in determining firm CSR activities in the organizations for their own interest. In our country, many organizations have been introduced CSR for the well-being of the employees and other people through various welfare programmes.

Due to globalization it helps increase the capacity of the public to generate and change institutional norms, thereby leading to greater levels of firm social activity. Followed by a study, it examined across the 47 nations and ultimately, the results support the notion that public discretion, defined as participatory government, leads to an increase in firm-level CSR. Additionally, information technology is shown to positively moderate this effect. But more research is necessary to examine the real situation of CSR in different countries how it affects the society

Over the last three decades, the impact and process of globalization has led to a greater focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) throughout the world, which has become a phenomenon with important consequences for the global economy as Campbell, 2007; Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006; Matten & Moon, 2008 revealed in their studies. Further the CSR encompasses a range of growing relationship between business and society, and it is believed that CSR incorporates a organizations voluntary commitment for social improvement through activities that are ethical and socially desirable in the eyes of stakeholders-such corporate policies and practices go above and beyond legal requirements. This is consistent with the conceptualization by Carroll (1991) and Matten and Moon (2008) who manifest that CSR fundamentally involves social imperatives and consequences of voluntary policies and practices that reflect business responsibility in the society as well.

In the event of current business environment CSR is gaining more importance in the global economy more than ever before and organization and enterprises are now expected to account for both financial and social performance that reflects their overall behavior in the eyes of global stakeholders throughout the globe. As CSR is intertwined with social, cultural, political and institutional norms (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006), it becomes particularly difficult to initiate CSR activities that are consistent with both local and international expectations of conduct. A key reason for such difficulty is that countries vary in terms of their culture, system, environment, norms and institutional practices.. Institutions that set and maintain such norms play an important role in developing and shaping CSR opportunities because they are much more than background conditions that can formulate as it struggles to formulate and implement strategy. Various research recognize that there is a huge variance among countries with regard to factors such as public discretion in terms of political freedom, presence of social media, social norms, among others. On the other hand, literature is yet to focus its attention on how these factors influence CSR performance. Prior research has mostly focused on examining the relationship between CSR and firm financial performance in the context of U.S. or the U.S. based firms. Further, in the light of mixed results, the debate has mostly centered on whether this relationship yields positive, negative or equivocal results.

In reality, research has made important gains, we build upon and extend the preceding literature through two primary contributions. 1) It was revealed that numerous calls made by the scholars such as Matten and Moon (2008, p. 419) who state that future research should seek better "understanding of what CSR consists of, its specific institutional underpinnings, and the national contexts in which corporations operate and whose perceptions of appropriate social responsibilities they seek to live up to". We not only identify antecedents of CSR from diverse sources but also highlight conditions that motivate CSR in diverse national domains as Chapple & Moon, 2005 among others; Royle, 2005; Visser, et al., 2005 highlighted this. 2) the use of more general measures of information technology reveals when exploring the effects of exposure and communication on firm social activities.

Besides, the previous studies have made significant progress in developing our understanding of how organization policy relates to the institutionalization of CSR activities. Scholars need to acknowledge the fundamental changes in how a population receives, consumes and shares information for meeting their needs. The derivatives of information technology are fast becoming a prominent source of information diffusal; both complementing (Althaus & Tewksbury, 2000) and in some cases, replacing traditional media outlets (Kaye & Johnson, 2003). Therefore, it may be argued that variables in CSR research is a useful but incomplete predictor of firm behavior. Because the world is becoming increasingly global and countries vary in the levels of public discretion (e.g., freedom of expression and voice) and digital enablement, it is somewhat surprising that research is yet to focus on the role of these factors in motivating CSR across world .

In continuous research, it's findings show a strong relationship between public discretion and firm CSR with information technology use moderating the effect. Actually, experts and researchers contribute to the literature both theoretically and empirically because multi-level modeling have rarely been applied to the CSR contexts.

Responsibility to be used to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance practices into their business model, beyond mandatory legal requirements. This is consistent with most of the scholarly definitions of CSR that consider CSR as a composite, multidimensional construct capturing a business organization's configuration of principles of social, environmental and governance-related responsibility, processes of responsiveness in these areas, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm's relationships with diverse stakeholders according to opinions of many researches. In keeping with the precedent established by authors such as Waddock and Graves (1997) and Cheng et al. (2011), we assign equal weights to each of the social, environmental and governance-related responsibility areas of performance.

Nowadays, the global corporations are engaged in multiple reciprocal relationships with various entities, such as communities, governments, suppliers, consumers etc. as defined by Donaldson & Dunfee, in 2002. Experts and scholars have reached to a conclusion that an organization is accountable not only to its owners, but also to a variety of stakeholder groups like the consumers and beneficiaries as well. In reality, it is difficult to include all the groups that could have different notions in business management and strategy; broader definitions of stakeholders recognize that loosely-connected groups can also be affected by an organization's operations and include those as secondary stakeholders-as such, communities, the government, and other external actors are recognized as secondary stakeholders. Scholars have presented a range of definitions with narrower definitions including just those who "have a vested interest in the corporation in the form of capital" (Clarkson, 1995) whereas extremely broad definitions encompassing a fairness-based approach includes even non-human entities such as the natural environment (Phillips & Reichart, 2000).

We see in this current business situation stakeholders can put pressure on the organization to initiate socially responsible behavior based on their power, legitimacy and the urgency of the issue. They interact with organizations mostly for instrumentality, identity and ideology as they pursue specific interests, act upon their ideological positions and strengthen their identity. In the case of conflict between business and society or unexpected events, their power cannot be underestimated.

Actually different stakeholders are legitimate holders of particular stakes in a nation's business and political environment. As Vogel once manifested that when there is 'governance without government' or 'private politics', secondary stakeholders play an important role in civil societies.

On the other hand, sometimes social movements can hurt the interest of an organization. Often, they have motivation to pursue a systematic approach to public affairs and publish regular annual reports including health, safety, and environment issues of the organization for grasping the social activities. Also, this practice may followed in many countries and the number of voluntary organizations, community organizations and NGOs are increased at a rapid pace.

Some think that CSR as part of political management and a process of social benefit but in somes it faces challenge in political situation . Besides, corporate political strategies are designed to align the external environment with the internal capabilities of the organization. In this connection ,Oliver and Holzinger (2008, p. 497) posit them as "dynamic processes by which a firm influences or complies with their political environment for purposes of generating future value for the firm or protecting the current value of the firm from future loss or erosion." Firms plan and enact such strategic actions by forming relationships with stake seekers in order to maximize economic returns within the governmental and political environments as described by Bonardi, (2005); Getz, (1997); Hillman & Keim, (1995) and ; Shaffer, (1995).

Corporate social responsibility can be the source of filling some expectations of the people and community through launching various welfare programmes also. By this way, the organizations and firms are actively involved to manage this program under the purview of corporate administration. So trained and experienced employees are a dire need to implement the programme by the organizations as a whole. Due importance should be given to this aspect of corporate management responsibility (CMR)
New UNDP BD Country Director due today

UNB, Dhaka :

Newly appointed UNDP Bangladesh Country Director Sudipto Mukerjee arrives here on Sunday.

The appointment of Mukerjee will boost the

ongoing effort of the UNDP' s works with the government and people of Bangladesh, together with development partners, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), said the UNDP.

Mukerjee is an architect and urban planner with over two decades of experience in international development.

He previously worked for the Government of India and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) before joining the United Nations.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A political commentator Vince Musewe has said the evidence of the current goings on in the political divide proffers that the Zimbabwe Republic Police is serving the ruling Zanu PF in relation to the political skirmishes unfolding at Norton ahead of the October 22 by- elections.Musewe said Zimbabwe has had 12 elections since 1980 and these elections have failed to change the status quo and asked as to what then will be different in 2018?"The recent violence assisted by the police in Norton clearly shows that our police is there to protect Zanu (PF) interests. We need a new formula for 2018," he said."The momentum towards coalitions has been somewhat disturbed by the poaching of members from coalition partners. How can parties talk coalition while they are effectively sabotaging each other in the pretext of negotiations? Of course Zimbabweans are free to join any political party they wish to join, there is no doubt over that."He said however, where parties are in negotiations one expects a modicum of respect and ethical behaviour but it is clear that this does not exist in the political arena."It's a dog eat dog approach. Can such people lead Zimbabwe and create the Zimbabwe we want? I sincerely doubt that," he said.
Make list of poor to ensure their welfare

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also President of Bangladesh Awami League addressing the function marking the Awami League\'s National Council at the Surawardy Udyan on Saturday.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged its leaders, activists and public representatives to make a list of poor and homeless people in their respective areas to ensure their welfare to make Bangladesh a poverty-free country.



"We want to free Bangladesh from poverty. I request you all to make a list of poor and homeless people in your respective areas. We'll build houses for them for free. They're our citizens," she said.



Sheikh Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League, said this while addressing the inaugural session of its 20th council at Suhrawardy Udyan.



Hasina said, "AL is an organisation of people. It's our duty to ensure the welfare of people. There'll be no poverty if we can ensure the welfare of people. It's our commitment that there'll be no poverty in the country."



"We've brought the poverty rate down to 22.4 percent from 97 percent. Now ultra-poor people account for 12 percent the per capita income will keep rising and Bangladesh will be free from poverty," she added.



On the dedication of AL leaders and activists in its long journey, the party chief said, "Awami League faced adverse situations time and again. But, its grassroots leaders kept the organisation vibrant with their sacrifices and ignoring odds."



Reaffirming her zero tolerance policy against terrorism, she said, "We've taken all measures against it. No one would be able to use the country's land for terrorist acts. We wouldn't let allow anyone to use our land to wage attack on any neighbouring countries."



The Prime Minister went on saying "Our decision is that there'll be no place for terrorism and militancy in Bangladesh. We'll establish Bangladesh as a peaceful country in South Asia." In her 40-minute speech, the Prime Minister highlighted the country's development activities in various sectors, including health, education, ICT, health, agriculture, taken for the welfare of people.



"Our target is to strengthen the economy. We've taken massive activities to promote and help flourish the private sector. We've taken steps to build 100 economic zones for local and foreign investors for creating huge jobs," she added.



About foreign policy, she said, "We want to maintain good relations with all enmity to no one. We believe in this policy. In the light of the policy we want to maintain friendly relations at bilateral, regional and international levels."



Hasina said, the government will ensure development communication system in every mode saying, "We'll develop our air routes in such a way Bangladesh will be the first hubthe people of the East will go to the West, while western people go to the East."



Earlier, the 20th council of the ruling Awami League started with the singing of national anthem around 10.07 am.



Sheikh Hasina arrived at the centre stage at 10:05 am and announced the inauguration at 10:13am after the presentation of the national anthem.



The announcement was followed by a cultural programme began with the presentation of this council's theme song by a youthful ensemble.



Office secretary Abdul Mannan Khan read out a condolence motion which was followed by one-minute silence.

AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam presented the Report of General Secretary.



In his speech, Syed Ashraf said their party is now much stronger than any other time as conspiracies to annihilate it have gone in vain.



"Conspiracies had been hatched to annihilate Awami League. Thousands of its leaders were killed. But the efforts to destroy Awami League have failed. It had not been possible in the past to annihilate it and neither it would be possible in the future," he said.



Awami League presidium member and convener of Reception Sub-committee Mohammad Nasim, former Chief Minister of Assam Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, former Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo Member Biman Basu, Education Minister of West Bengal and All India Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chaterjee, Italy's Democratic Party leader Ugo Papi, Bhutanese Minister of Information and Communications Dina Nath Dungyel, Canadian Conservative Party leader Deepak Obhrai, Labour Party of Australia leader Hugh McDermott, Nepal Communist Party leader Dr Ram Sharma Mahat, Russian leader Sergey Zheleleznyak, Indian National Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice-President Vinay Prabhakar Sahasrabuddhe, among others, spoke at the council.



A total of 6,570 councilors and 6,570 delegates took part in the council. Leaders of other political parties and representatives of various professions also joined the inaugural session of the council.



Jatiya Party leaders Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Bablu, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) President Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim, Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haque Inu, 32-party alliance leader Barrister Nazmul Huda, Jasad (Rab) president ASM Abdur Rab, among others, were present as the representatives of different political parties at the AL council.
Wife strangled to death by husband for dowry in city

Staff Reporter :

A house wife was reportedly strangled to death by her husband as her family could not pay the dowry money in the city's Uttarkhan area on Friday night.

The deceased has been identified as Munni Akter, wife of Rubel Mia, police said.

Quoting victim's relatives, Uttarkhan Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tapan Sarkar said, "Munni was allegedly tortured by her husband Rubel Mia for dowry for the two years and he killed Munni centering an altercation as her family could not pay the dowry money."

At least five injury marks were found at the neck, forehead, hands and stomachs of the body, the police official said.

"Munni got married with Rubel about two years ago and they had a baby girl. Rubel sent Munni forcibly to her father's house in Gazipur to take dowry money on October 17 and brought her to his rented house in the city after holding arbitration in this connection at his father-in-law's house," he said.

He killed Munni on Friday night after taking her back at his house in Uttarkhan on Friday evening, the police official said.

Munni's father Abdul Motaleb filed a case with the police station in this connection, he said.

Rubel had gone into hiding after the incident and police are trying to arrest him, the OC said.

Her body has been sent at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) morgue, he said.


BNP refrains from joining AL Council

Though most party senior leaders were positive about joining it, BNP on Saturday did not attend the 20th council of its political rival Awami League at historic Suhrawardy Udyan.

Party insiders said, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Friday night decided not to send any delegation of her party as Awami League had not join BNP's March-19 council.

Earlier on Friday, BNP joint secretary general Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club said their party will join the council demonstrating its liberal attitude.

However, Alal himself and other party leaders on Saturday said it was his personal opinion and expectation, but it was not their party decision.

On Thursday, Awami League invited BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to join their party's council.

Thanking Awami League for the invitation, Fakhrul the same day told reporters that they would take a decision later whether they will join the council.

Contacted, Fakhrul said he has no idea as to why their party did not send any delegation to the ruling party's council. "I don't have any contact with the party high-ups since yesterday (Friday) as I'm unwell. So, I don't know anything about it," he said. Fakhrul also declined to make any comment over Alal's remark about joining the council.

BNP standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman said their party should have joined the council. "It's a lame excuse we shouldn't join Awami League's council as they didn't attend our council. We should come out of such a negative political culture. BNP could have set a positive example by taking part in the ruling party's council."

BNP spokesman and party vice chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu said Alal should not have made such a comment without consulting party high-ups. "It was his personal opinion."

He, however, said many party leaders were positive about participating in the council for the sake of democracy.

Alal said, he expected the party would send a delegation to the Awami League's council as BNP is a liberal democratic party. "I'd said our party would join the programme as it was my firm belief such a decision would be taken." Pro-BNP intellectual and ex-VC of Dhaka University Prof Emajuddin Ahmed said BNP made a blunder by not joining the council. "As Awami League showed its meanness by not coming to BNP's council, BNP also did the same by not sending its delegation to its opponent's council."

He said, as BNP has been urging the ruling party for reaching an understanding for resolving the country's political crisis, it should have joined the council, demonstrating its compromising attitude.

Mentioning that BNP is on a movement for a long time to 'restore' democracy, he said, "It could have a huge impact had BNP senior leaders delivered a few words in favour of democracy by joining the council."

Two BNP senior leaders, wishing anonymity, said their party made such a wrong decision for lack of political wisdom of party high-ups.

They also observed this decision will only harm the party's reputation.

However, a BNP senior leader close to Khaleda said the party did not send any delegation to the AL's council fearing party grassroots would not take it easily as many party leaders and activists were killed, made disappeared, oppressed and harassed by the ruling party over the last few years.

He also said the party grassroots have also grievances as the ruling party tried to obstruct BNP's council and did not join it.

Unlike BNP, Jatiya Party leaders Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Bablu, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) President Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim, Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president Hasanul Haque Inu, 32-party alliance leader Barrister Nazmul Huda, Jasad (Rab) president ASM Abdur Rab, joined the council.
RAB officials in Kolkata to quiz held JMB men

Staff Reporter :

Two senior officials of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) reached Kolkata on Saturday morning to interrogate three Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) militants who were arrested from Saltlake area in September.

The arrested Bangladesh nationals are: Anwar Hosen alias Enam, Jabirul Islam alias Jahid, and Muhammad Rubel alias Rafiq.

An official of National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the media in Kolkata that the RAB officials were at NIA office to interrogate the six arrestees.

NIA officials arrested six JMB members, including three Bangladeshis from Saltlake area in Kolkata of India on September 26.

The NIA official also said that among the arrestees, Anwer Hosen alias Enam, Jabirul Islam alias Jahid, and Muhammad Rubel alias Rafiq are Bangladesh nationals.

More detectives from Bangladesh may come here if necessary, the NIA official said.
Egyptian court confirms 20-year-prison sentence on Mursi

Reuters :

An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence against former president Mohamed Mursi on Saturday, judicial sources told Reuters.

It is the first final verdict against Mursi on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012.

Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, faces charges in other cases including leaking secrets to Qatar, conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas to destabilize Egypt, and organizing a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak.
Xi`s momentous trip to South Asia

Abu Hena :

President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Dhaka and the Indian State of Goa was a game-changer for some and fate changer for many. It was significant because it was fraught with immense strategic, economic, and political consequences, which may, ultimately reshape South, Southeast and Central Asia --- bringing in radical changes in state-to-state relations, diplomacy and balance of power. In South Asia one thing is certain : diplomatically and strategically, China has the nations in this region, Including India and Pakistan, where it wants them to be - although they don't yet appear to realize it. Pakistan is increasingly dependent on China.



India is struggling to effectively compete with China when its biggest challenge remains to be Pakistan, about which its leaders have a decisive blind spot and a lack of imagination. It is riddled with mistrust, militarism and missed opportunities devoid of normal socio-economic relations. Both countries would benefit significantly by normalizing their relations. Given the right set of circumstances, the India-Pakistan and even China- India relations could normalize very quickly.



This would require politically powerful leaders on all sides, who have charisma and who enjoy strong political and popular support. At present such circumstances do not exist either in Pakistan or India. Narendra Modi's attitude is, at best opportunistic and, at worst, reticent about Pakistan, as is his party and government. In Pakistan, Nawaz Shariff is politically weak.



Other South Asian nations are seeking better economic and diplomatic relations with China, invariably on China's terms. China's massive $ 38.05 billion investment plans in Bangladesh is set to open a new horizon to the country's socio-economic development. It may turn out to be a strategic game changer in the region and a fate changer for the millions by eliminating poverty. China has invested $51 billion in Pakistan, $22 billion in India and billions more in other countries of the region.



China's President Xi Jinping has already gained a great height, importance and reputation by his ability and achievements as an architect of international stature. Under his able leadership and with his vision, plus China's obvious strategic and military drive and financial largesse, it is China's star overall that is rising in Asia and Africa and more particularly in South and Central Asia.



One obvious trend in South Asia is the increasing entrenchment of China and its interests throughout the region. While India and China compete strategically, both nations can engage in many ways. Despite their border and territorial disputes being unresolved, their two-way trade relationship is worth $ 7 billion. China needs stability while matters are resolved in the South China Sea-as much as possible on China's terms. India also needs stability to develop economically. It would prefer cooperation with China to competition, which is possible given the ability of both nations to deal with strategic complexities. Once China and India resolve their differences and normalize relations, their biggest challenge thereafter would be removing other nations' anxieties and meeting their expectations, particularly to an insecure Pakistan. India would benefit immensely by normalizing relations with Pakistan, if only because, strategically, this might take its arch enemy, armed with nuclear arsenal, away from the embrace of the emerging superpower, China.



The need for China is to ensure that the growth and developments which occur due to China's initiatives in the region benefit all nations and the people concerned and not just China and the Chinese. Challenge for all South Asian nations is to prevent China from encircling and excessively exploiting them. To achieve this, South Asia needs to be developed into a politically cohesive and economically unified region. The obvious precondition is to move beyond mistrust and old paradigms and engage with each other in meaningful and mutually beneficial ways. A strong SAARC can blunt China's excessive influence if India is open minded and helpful both economically and diplomatically with its neighbors.



India needs high and sustained economic growth to overcome some of its serious developmental issues, such as pervasive poverty that afflicts 40 percent of its population, major deficiencies in health and hygiene, including 70 percent of its population not having access to a proper latrine, and widespread malnutrition among about half the population. India and Pakistan can create a separate independent and neutral state in J&K, making it the 9th SAARC member state.



This will cut the defense budgets of both countries to a half, dispensing with the nuclear missiles, nuclear submarines and the Russian choppers. Reduction in defense expenditure will boost India's economic growth making India attractive to foreign trade and investment. Additionally, such growth will offer India strategic options to enhance its position in South Asia. This will depend on how effectively India and Pakistan resolve their long outstanding vitriolic relationship over "Disputed Kashmir". At the latest BRICS summit in the Indian tourist hub of Goa, host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of China, Russia Brazil and South Africa issued a joint declaration on a range of measures including the setting up of a new credit rating agency and fighting tax evasion. They also agreed to work together to combat " cross- border" terrorism, but Modi's guests held off from signing up to his fierce condemnation of India's arch-rival Pakistan as the "mother-ship of terrorism".



Under Xi Jinping's leadership China has established its own organizations and launched initiatives . These include South Asian nations, bringing in a big change in the region being the desire of India and Pakistan to be involved in the Chinese -led organizations and strategic imperatives. First is the BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Significantly this brings China, India and Russia together in a way that may have caused the U.S. and its allies strategic concerns. It was formed in 2011 with the aim to challenge Western hegemony.



The nations, with a joint estimated GDP of $16 trillion, and 53 percent of world's population, set up their own bank in parallel to the Washington based IMF and WB , holding summits rivaling the G7 forum. In the Goa summit President Xi said BRICS countries had much to be proud of and had contributed to more than 50 percent of global growth in the last decade. Second, is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that has seen China gain significant influence in Central Asia. In a rare confluence of effort, India and Pakistan are seeking full membership of SCO.



The third body is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB). These international initiatives are President Xi's brainchild and are intended to open up China's vast land- locked central and western regions to the outside world and financially integrate Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe in mutual benefit.



[Writer was an MP in Bangladesh's 7th and 8th parliaments. He is author, columnist and political analyst]


Trump represents businessman`s politics of gain, not politician`s politics of values

Many voters saw it as a historic breach of tradition when Donald J. Trump refused to say this week that he would accept the result of the election if he lost. His view is challenging the very foundation of what America is - its democratic values and decency. He is rightly seen as a person whose politics is based not on ideology, but of winning for gain. This is the thinking of a successful businessman. Mr Trump knows how to gain from business deals without bothering what is right and what is wrong. So, to him, respecting the democratic process of election is no consideration worth having any respect for it.



Former President Jimmy Carter, whose organization the Carter Center is known worldwide for election monitoring, has gone so far as to assure people that Mr Trump's complaints about the American voting process should not cause worry. "The Carter Center has observed more than 100 elections around the world, some of them quite problematic," he said in a statement released by the organization. "However, allegations of potential rigging of US elections, as well as of widespread voter fraud, are baseless, serving only to undermine confidence in our democratic processes and inflame tensions."



But who exactly is Mr Trump, and how he has so rapidly catapulted up to be the Republican nominee for the President of the US is demeaning for the Republican Party. Although many of them are leaving him. He claims to be a big businessman, and as such a business magnate. He was never known as a politician and values and decency of democratic politics are foreign to him. So it was money power and political desperation among some sections in America that helped Mr Trump to win the nomination.



He can be accepted as a successful businessman, because he is undoubtedly one of the few richest men in America. Evading taxes for eighteen years was for him the right thing to do because he could manipulate the application of tax laws. This is not politics of serving the people and protecting public interest honestly.



He is using his money power and exploiting the darker side of America in the hope of becoming President of the United States - the most powerful man in the world. He has revealed himself as a man with no sense of dignity and not having any concern for long term interest of America. He is prepared to do and say anything if that helps him to gain the position of American President. Mr Trump had no hesitation in calling his running mate Mrs Hillary Clinton a nasty woman to her face.



With no respect for honesty and high values of politics a person can easily turn himself to be barbaric.



We have faith in the American people and the strength of their democratic institutions to know that a person like Mr Trump, irresponsible and foul demagogue, will be rejected by the people in a determined way. But our fear is that he will remain a menace to the American democracy and American values even after a decisive defeat in the coming election.



In Bangladesh, we are also in the grip of businessmen like politicians having no respect for politics of politicians. Competition in business cannot be compared with political competition for serving the people. Democracy has no chance to succeed when politics is a business for personal gains. That is our tragedy. The same tragedy the American people have to deal with and defeat that with all the certainty. American experience will help America and the West to know how to save politics from becoming business of businessmen.


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News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

Ten people died when a lorry they were travelling in collided with a haulage truck along Guruve-Mvurwi highway on Friday night.Eight died on the spot and two died upon admission at Guruve hospital.The lorry was carrying members of the Zimbabwe apostolic church sect who were coming from a church meeting at the Karoi shrine in Guruve.An eyewitness told Bulawayo24.com that the accident happened around 8pm and three ambulances attended the scene.It is alleged that the accident was due to speeding.Mash-Central police could not confirm the accident saying "we are basing on hear say since it is weekend, contact us on Monday."More to follow.....
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.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Founder of His Presence Ministries International Apostle Charles Chiriseri who died in a car crush last month in Mbembesi was buried today (Saturday) at Lady Stanely Cemetery in Bulawayo.Scores of people gathered at Lady Stanely Cemetery in Bulawayo to bid farewell to a renowned man of cloth Apostle Chiriseri after over a month since he perished in a car accident.Apostle Chiriseri died in Mbembesi on the 16th of September when he lost control of a car he was travelling in together with his wife resulting in the vehicle overturning and rolling several times.He died on the spot while his wife was seriously injured.His burial was delayed for over a month as people were waiting for the recovery of his wife Pastor Pertunia Chiriseri who was admitted in hospital after the tragic incident.His wife who is a member of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission gave an emotional account of what transpired on the fateful day resulting in the loss of her husband.Speaker after speaker including renowned Bishop Tudor Bismark and former Zambian vice president Dr Nevers Mumba described the late man of cloth as a God fearing man who transformed a number of people's lives for the better.Pastor Chiriseri is survived by his wife, Pastor Pertunia, four biological children and five others who were adopted.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Vice President Emmeson Mnanganwa says government will soon craft a single marriage laws regime that will redress discrimination against women.Mnangagwa made the remarks during the presentation of parliamentarians' girls pledge to civil society.Cognisant of the need to protect and advance the cause of the girl child, parliamentarians have made a declaration to protect girls from abuse.A ceremony was held to present the parliamentarians' pledge to the civil society.Officiating at the event Mnangagwa who is also responsible for the administration of the justice, legal and parliamentary affairs ministry said government will soon craft a single marriage laws regime with consultations expected to commence soon.Mnangagwa who stressed government's desire to end child marriages and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women said his ministry has identified areas requiring amendment in the criminal law adding that principles with regards to mandatory sentencing on rape will be presented to cabinet in due course.Parliamentarians and other cooperating partners who graced the occasion said they are ready to play their part in ensuring that there are laws to reclaim the dignity of girls.They pledged to intensify the campaign to end child marriages.Child President Tinaye Mbavari highlighted that more needs to be done towards the realization of a child marriages free Zimbabwe.A passionate plea was made during the occasion for all religious and traditional leaders to publicly condemn all forms of abuse of the girl child.On January 20, 2016 the Constitutional Court made a landmark ruling banning child marriages in Zimbabwe.The ruling raised the minimum age at which both men and women can marry to 18.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The President Robert Mugabe says Cephas George Msipa belongs to a rare breed of nationalists who gave up their entire lives to serve the nation.Speaking at the National Heroes Acre in Harare at the burial of the late veteran nationalist, Mugabe said Msipa was an honest and a frank unifier who spoke his mind.Mugabe said Msipa was a hard worker who played a pivotal role in the Unity Accord.He urged Zimbabweans to emulate the virtues of the late nationalist and live lives that are exemplary both in society and the nation as whole.Msipa died on the 17th of the this month at Westend Hospital where he was admitted.He was 85.The veteran nationalist was suffering from chest infection and hypertension.The former Midlands Governor and ex- politburo member Msipa becomes the 118th hero to be buried at the National Shrine.
News / National

by Staff reporter

VICE-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been accused of trying to spring suspended prosecutor general Johannes Tomana free from criminal charges, according to shock government correspondence seen by The Standard.Mnangagwa allegedly told the director of public prosecutions Florence Ziyambi to withdraw criminal abuse of office charges against Tomana "after plea" - meaning that he could not be recharged on the same allegations.Ziyambi, in a document prepared for Mugabe, said Mnangagwa - who is linked to the Lacoste faction in Zanu-PF which has entangled civil servants - allegedly issued the directive twice and on both occasions the Zanu-PF leader was out of the country.Ziyambi, in a letter dated April 25 2016, told Mugabe: "On Wednesday, April 20 2016, I attended a meeting chaired by Hon Vice-President E D. Mnangagwa conducted at the Ministry of Justice boardroom."After I had presented the NPA [National Prosecution Authority] report on operations of the department of prosecution, the Hon VP informed me that the directive by His Excellency the President of the Republic to have charges withdrawn against the prosecutor-general still stood and that I was to immediately proceed to withdraw after plea. Thereafter he then left."This directive is being made to me for the second time and it's now almost three months since the first directive was made."Ziyambi said coincidentally, the directive  which appears to have no legal basis  was always made when Mugabe was away, adding: "Once the president is back, the matter is not pursued."Tomana  a Mnangagwa loyalist  was arrested in February and charged with abuse of office after he withdrew treason charges against two suspects in the alleged attempted bombing of a dairy plant owned by Mugabe and his wife, Grace.Ziyambi, who works in Tomana's office, said she had decided not to follow Mnangagwa's directives because she is a witness in his prosecution, adding: "I, therefore, cannot handle the matter because I cannot be a witness and prosecutor in the same case."The shock revelations come in the wake of last week's attempts to arrest Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission. Moyo is accused of siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund for personal use.Moyo denies the charges, insisting the money was used to fund Zanu-PF programmes, including the Zanu-PF Youth League-organised million-man-march in July to show solidarity with Mugabe.In her letter, Ziyambi also appeared to be asking Mugabe to cause Tomana's suspension so that he does not interfere with their work.Tomana, she said, chaired an NPA board meeting on May 4 2016.After that meeting, the board which was chaired by Tomana, resolved among other issues, to transfer prosecutors to various towns."The board has resolved the transfer of the following officers to stations indicated below: C Hungwe transferred from Chinhoyi to Kwekwe, R T Chavora is transferred from Kadoma district offices to Kariba station," read part of a board resolution signed off by Colonel Solomon Siziba and seen by this newspaper.Mugabe subsequently suspended Tomana and appointed a tribunal to look into his conduct.Further criminal charges were filed against him and are still pending.Ziyambi was unavailable for comment yesterday, as she was reportedly in Tanzania. She did not respond to a message sent on her WhatsApp, although there was confirmation she had seen the questions.Clifford Sibanda, the Minister of State in Mnangagwa's office said he did not think the VP would issue such directives."I doubt the VP would do such a thing, I wouldn't know really. More so, I am on leave. I would have helped you," he said."Why can't you talk to the VP himself? He is quite a nice man, or try the PS [permanent secretary] Virginia Mabhiza, she would help you."Mabhiza on Friday was not available for comment as she was said to be in a meeting.NPA spokesperson Allen Chifokoyo confirmed that Tomana chaired the board meeting."Yes, it is true, the board meeting chaired by Hon Johannes Tomana was held on May 4 and indeed the said transfers were approved but they were made for various reasons,"he said."Hungwe was transferred for personal reasons; Mugumba was also transferred to head Kwekwe since Mr Muzemba who used to head the station is now based in Gweru."But Chifokoyo could not comment on Ziyambi's claims."I am sorry I can't comment on that. I do not speak for the VP or the deputy prosecutor-general," he said.Mnangagwa on Wednesday said no-one, besides the president, was above the law and all were liable to prosecution.Meanwhile, the NPA said its director of public prosecutions Nelson Mutsonziwa was not part of a meeting Mnangagwa allegedly held with Zacc commissioners to discuss Moyo's case a fortnight ago."I wish to put on record that at no time, or on October 3 2016 to be specific, did our national director of public prosecutions, Nelson Mutsonziwa, attend a meeting between the vice-president and members of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to discuss the arrest of Minister Jonathan Moyo," Chifokoyo said, referring to our story last week headlined Mnangagwa angers Mugabe.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The investigations into the alleged abuse of over $400 000 from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) by Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo (pictured) has divided the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) amid allegations one of the commissioners is jeopardising the case by personalising it.President Robert Mugabe blocked Moyo's arrest on October 6 after the minister alleged a faction linked to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was using Zacc to push its own agenda.Mugabe set up a committee to investigate the independent constitutional body.Moyo has singled out Zacc's commissioner responsible for investigations, Goodson Nguni, as the Mnangagwa faction's alleged point man.According to sources, Nguni's behaviour has also unsettled other Zacc commissioners and senior managers who feel that he is interfering with investigations, especially after he held a controversial press conference last week, where he attacked Moyo.Nguni addressed the press conference "in his personal capacity" at the Zacc offices in Harare where he took aim at Moyo after other commissioners snubbed him.Sources said some commissioners remained holed up in their offices as Nguni addressed journalists as they did not support the stance he has taken in the probe.Nguni only appeared with Zacc's public relations officer Phyllis Chikundura as other commissioners, including chairman Job Wabhira and commissioner in charge of the media Nanette Silukhuni stayed away.A well-placed source said under normal circumstances, all Zacc commissioners had to endorse an investigation."Nguni informed some of the Zacc commissioners. They refused to be part of his press conference and he eventually claimed he held the meeting in his personal capacity," a well-placed source said."Some of the commissioners remained in their offices while Nguni addressed the media, only to look for his statement after the press briefing to know what he said."Nguni and Wabhira were not picking calls, while Silukhuni said she was attending a church service. Yesterday Chikundura refused to comment on the matter.But the sources insisted that Nguni should have used a private venue, not Zacc offices if the press briefing was personal.They said he should also not have dragged Chikundura to the briefing.Nguni, the source claimed, personally listed the journalists that were invited for the press briefing, although close to 20 later turned up."Most commissioners became uncomfortable to join in after the case had taken a factional angle," the source said."Some of them are G40, while Nguni and others are Team Lacoste."It is true that Zanu-PF factionalism has divided the commission and this is affecting its operations."Moyo last week said he was being persecuted on tribal and factional lines, threatening to expose others who he said had been protected because they were aligned to Mnangagwa."The problem at Zacc is that Nguni has reduced himself to an investigating officer. He is the one now calling the shots," the source said."Nguni tells the investigators who to probe and goes to see some of the suspects personally."He has demoted the chief investigator Servious Kufandada to be the legal advisor and he is acting like the head of investigations, chief investigator and the investigator himself."Nguni has been ac accused of targeting perceived members of the G40 faction.Before he became Zacc commissioner, Nguni once took the commission to court challenging its arresting powers.He filed the case in the High Court when the commission was battling to get court orders to raid ministers Saviour Kasukuwere, Obert Mpofu and Nicholas Goche. Nguni later withdrew his court application.Some Zanu-PF officials particularly those who benefited from the Zimdef fund have expressed concern over alleged bias by Zacc.Leading the campaign to disband Zacc is the Zanu-PF youth and women's leagues whose members feel the investigation is meant to discredit them ahead of an explosive Zanu-PF national people's conference in December.In June, Zacc was accused by Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba of behaving like rattle snakes to disrupt government work when they wanted to probe fraud at the Information ministry and several other government departments.The commission has since gone quite about the investigations.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Thousands of voters today went to polls to choose the Norton National Assembly member in an election that was described as peaceful.Three candidates namely Ronald Chindedza of Zanu PF, Mr Temba Mliswa an independent candidate and Mr David Choga of National Constitutional Assembly were contesting the parliamentary by election.The election started as scheduled at seven in the morning and ended at seven this Saturday evening.Zimbabwe Electoral Commission provincial elections officer for Mashonaland West Mr Austin Ndlovu said the election process went on smoothly as scheduled adding that about 18 000 people were registered in the main voters roll for the election.A total of 56 polling stations were established for the by-election.Officer Commanding Police Mashonaland West Senior Assistant Commissioner Rangarirayi Mushaurwa commended the electorate for voting in peace.She urged the voters and candidates to accept the result of the election expected late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning.The Norton seat fell vacant following the expulsion of Mr Christopher Mutsvangwa from parliament.
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.
C.J. Baricevic is young, energetic, and says he's ready to make a change in Congress.

The 31-year-old Democratic candidate for Illinois 12th Congressional District Seat says he's up for the challenge of facing incumbent Republican candidate Mike Bost of Murphysboro, and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw of Carbondale.

Baricevic grew up in Fairview Heights, spending most of his life there, attending St. Albert the Great Grade School  the same as his father, Judge John Baricevic. After his childhood in the Metro East, Baricevic attended Southern Illinois University School of Law. He said of all the law schools he could attend, SIU was the most affordable option.

In order to finance his law school education, Baricevic worked as a pipe-fitter for Local No. 449. He also helped build Illinois 3 and Illinois 159 in the Metro East. The choice to head to law school seemed like the most viable option for him, coupled by the fact that he had been surrounded by public service his entire life.

His father was serving as the St. Clair County States Attorney when he was born. In 1990, John Baricevic was elected as St. Clair County Board Chairman. While C.J. was in college, his father went on to be elected as Chief Judge, he said.

As long as I can remember, public service has surrounded our family, he said. I think public service kind of gets in our blood.

Not only was Baricevics father in service, but he said his grandfather was one of the first aldermen in Fairview Heights, and now his uncle is currently an alderman. As for Baricevic, after law school he was involved in running a couple of state representative campaigns in the Metro East. After 2014, when Bill Enyart lost his Congressional seat to Bost, he was approached by many of his peers to consider challenging Bost during this election cycle.

They were excited about somebody that was young and an alternative candidate, and somebody with a nontraditional background running for office, Baricevic said. So, we decided to give it a shot.

Being the underdog

At 31, Baricevic sees his age as an advantage. He said he's pretty sure he would be the only member of Congress with student loan debt.

There are real issues out there that folks in elected office have no experience with, Baricevic said. My candidacy represents an alternative to that.

He said the goal of his campaign was to meet as many voters as possible to discuss the issues facing the country. He said once the conversations started to happen, he said staying power isnt relevant any more.

Democrats have traditionally done well in the 12th District, Baricevic said. He said doesnt believe voters in the region will be turned off from a candidate based solely on a party affiliation.

He said as a Democrat, he stands for the working party, and he isnt going to side with bigger businesses.

I think once we get that message across, the party persuasions will go away and we can have real conversations at that point,

Baricevic says he wants everybody to have the same starting line and a fair shot. Also, he said affordable healthcare and education should be protected. He has seen struggles with workers' compensation cases or racial discrimination cases and the problems they can cause. Those are the things he said he would like to fight against.

At a fundamental level, I am running as a Democrat because we can influence an individuals ability to provide for their family, he said.

As for social issues, Baricevic said he can have a conversation about equality and be comfortable regardless of the setting. He said it is an easy conversation to have and he is more than happy to talk with anybody about it.

The economy

Baricevic said he is focused on improving the economy in Southern Illinois. He said this is a region where people want to go to work and there are several conversations about how their wants can be met.

It is going out to small businesses and saying this is why Southern Illinois is right for you, he said. It is also going out to bigger businesses and talking about why Southern Illinois is a great place to do business.

He said it's not just about the votes or putting together policy to bring businesses to Southern Illinois, it is being active.

Healthcare

Baricevic said the federal government is having the conversation about affordable access to healthcare, but it is a struggle. He said the government appreciates the fact that healthcare is a huge financial burden on people.

Probably, it should be a right, not a privilege, he said.

He said the conversations are addressing some big issues like insurance companies taking advantage of things, such as pre-existing conditions that were hurting a lot of people.

Things that seem to negatively target women or men for example, he said.

Baricevic also said some of the plans that have been purposed through the Affordable Care Act have been ridiculously unaffordable."

I think some Democrats are afraid to say Obamacare isnt working because it means they are abandoning their party, he said. I dont think it is a bad thing. Obamacare did exactly what it needed to do. It addressed the issue and it helped people get covered who otherwise would not get coverage regardless of their ability to pay.

However, Baricevic said the government is running into some serious issues, like those in rural areas having troubles getting covered.

Instead of using catchphrases like repeal and replace or repair, we just need to focus on doing a better job on providing healthcare to the country, he said. We can do it. We just have to sit at the table and start the conversation.

Student loan debt

Baricevic said one out of every 10 participants in student loan programs have defaulted.

We are telling kids that we want them to be educated, but we are going to put you in a position that makes it impossible to get out of debt, he said.

He said whether it is partnering with banks to provide student loans that arent as inflated, or if the federal government stops taking profit on such loans, something has to be done.

He said conversations have to be had about the rising costs of tuition, regardless of how the loans are financed. He said the cost of tuition has skyrocketed against wage growth since his father was in college.

We have to have that conversation about what is causing college to increase so rapidly and address that as well, Baricevic said. I am not advocating for free tuition, I am advocating for fair tuition.

Baricevic will face off against Bost and Bradshaw in a debate at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27 at Lindenwood University in Belleville.
Mike Bost says he is dedicated to continuing his fight for Southern Illinois and the people of the 12th Congressional District.

The current Republican incumbent of the districts seat since 2014, and a 20-year veteran of the 115th District Illinois House of Representatives, Bost is facing Democratic challenger and Belleville attorney C.J. Baricevic, and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw of Carbondale.

The voters in Southern Illinois are familiar with Bost, given his experience in politics in Southern Illinois. Plus, he was born and raised in Murphysboro. In fact, Bost said the only time he spent outside of Murphysboro was when he was in the Marine Corps. He graduated from Murphysboro High School in 1979, and was determined to run Bost Trucking Service, but was injured in a motorcycle accident in Carbondale, he said.

The decision to join the Marines came when he was healing from his accident, watching the 1979 Iran hostage crisis coverage on television. He said once he was healed, he enlisted in the military.

After boot camp, he married his wife, Tracy, and spent time in California as a radar repairman, and the couple had their first child. Then, he said they moved to Yuma, Arizona, and had their second child. Soon afterward, the couple came back to Murphysboro to run the family business.

Bost said it wasnt long after being home that he started to pay attention to local politics and wasn't excited about the way things were going. After much complaining from Bost, Tracy told him to shut up, or get involved.

At the time, I didnt know if I was a Republican or Democrat, he said.

He spoke with a few people about what it meant to be affiliated with each party and was told if he wants to be elected in this region, he would have to identify as a Democrat. Not accepting that notion, he went to his father-in-law, who told him to actually research the platforms of each party. He read the platforms of Walter Mondale  Democratic vice president to President Jimmy Carter  and Republican President Ronald Reagan. After his research, he discovered he was Republican.

After being motivated to get involved, he attended a Lincoln Day Dinner at the Southern Illinois University ballroom and was asked to consider running for county board. Although he said he thought he was too young, he decided to give it shot, running against a long-time veteran of the board. He won in the primary through a write-in campaign because he registered too late to be on the ballot. He then went on to win the seat.

Bost was a member of the Jackson County Board from 1984 to 1988. He says he was asked to run for the Illinois House in 88, but didnt feel like he could win, so he declined. However, he was elected as Murphysboros City Treasurer and served from 89 to 92. He declined another run for the House in 90, but finally did run in 92. He won the primary, but lost in the general election.

In 1993, he was elected as a trustee for Murphysboro Township, while being a full-time firefighter in Murphysboro. In 94, he was asked again to run for the House and won. It was a seat he would not relinquish for 20 years.

Bost did leave the state House in 2014 is because he decided to run for U.S. Congress. He won that 12th Congressional District seat, beating incumbent Bill Enyart.

Bost said Tuesday that he loves serving people. There are the victories of adding legislation, and the ability to award World War II medals to a veteran who never received the ones he earned, until Bost presented them to him last week. However, he noted there are still serious issues facing the district, and voters are frustrated.

Whether it is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, people are frustrated, he said. Trump is the nominee because people are frustrated.

Employment for the district

Bost said there is an over-burdensome attack on coal that President Barack Obama has carried out, which Clinton wants to continue. Bost said he has to continue to fight to reduce regulations on the industry.

Not to hurt the environment, but to allow us to compete in a worldwide market, he said. And, to make sure that electricity prices are kept at a level where new companies can work here.

He said people need to understand that Southern Illinois is one of the places where coal can be burned the cleanest.

I want our employees to be safe, and I want our environment to be protected, but I want our people to be working, Bost said. There has to be a balance, not a constant strangling of our own industries and omissions because other nations are eating our lunch.

Controlling the borders

Bost said there has to be a logical way to deal with the nations borders. He said it is not to build a wall  as Trump has suggested  but borders should be secure.

It is not that we want to discourage other people from coming in, but we want to have control of who is coming in so they can be vetted, he said.

Bost said this is especially important while other parts of the world are facing serious problems. He said there has been language in Congress saying that if refugees are coming into the country, they must be vetted if they come.

If they are not, then it is not safe for our children, he said. I dont want to see children suffer the way they as refugees, but I am not going to sacrifice my children and allow someone involved with ISIS to come into our borders and blow up my children.

Healthcare

We have to figure out something and figure it quick, Bost said when talking about the Affordable Care Act. I dont care who gets the credit.

He said if insurance rates start to double as projected, that is not what the original intent of the law was supposed to do. He said that he didnt like the law when it was first proposed, but it doesnt do anybody any good to say I told you so.

He said the question is whether or not it is a correction of the current healthcare system, or getting rid of what we have and slowly shifting to another system.

Other issues

Bost said it is also his mission to continue working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure it provides the services necessary to veterans that have been promised. He said that could mean making it possible for the VA to deal with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and other issues that are unique to veterans.

But if a veteran wants to go to a local doctor, we should let them, he said.

Bost is also concerned with local transportation and infrastructure. He said he will continue to work on levees throughout the district.

He also said looking up and down the district, there are areas  such as Alton  where 12 barges can move through with product at a time, but just north of it, there is an area where only six can move through at a time.

That bottlenecks them, Bost said. It is affecting world commerce and that is where the federal government needs to get involved.

He said the country has to be able to move product from one place to another, but also needs to look into sensible trade options  not the Trans Pacific Partnership, commonly referred to as TPP.

I dont disagree with Trump when he says we have been losing in the deals, so lets work to get the deals we can actually win, Bost said. Lets come up with something that allows our markets to expand.

Bost will face off against Bradshaw and Baricevic in a debate at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at Lindenwood University in Belleville.
Paula Bradshaw wants to continue the fight for human rights and the environment.

The Green Party candidate is in her third bid for the 12th Congressional District seat, this time against familiar opponent and incumbent Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and political newcomer C.J. Baricevic, an attorney from Belleville. She was unsuccessful in her previous three bids, last losing in 2014 to Bost.

Bradshaw was born and raised in Los Angeles, which she now says is an absolute hell hole. She made the move to Southern Illinois in 1993, and she was immediately blown away by the natural beauty of the region. The lack of traffic and waiting in lines at everyday establishments was also a bonus.

The move to Southern Illinois happened when her husband, Rich Whitney, attended Southern Illinois University School of Law. Whitney had unsuccessful governor bids in 2006 and 2010 as a member of the Green Party.

Although she said she was in love with the beauty of the region, she wasnt as enamored with Southern Illinois as a whole. However, once the realization of less traveled highways and quicker trips to the post office and grocery stores were a reality, coupled by the lack of smog in the air, the love affair began.

I dont want to see this place become another L.A., Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw has three children. She has a daughter living in San Jose, California, and a son that she says lives in Texas. Her other daughter, Jessica Bradshaw, is a member of the Carbondale City Council. Until this past year, Bradshaw worked as a nurse at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale in the emergency room.

Why politics?

Bradshaw said she got into politics because she is opinionated.

I feel like I am part of the struggle, she said. "All of American history has been a struggle of the people against the corporate overlords.

She talked about how she liked the New Deal, set in motion by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. She said for the first time, being old or disabled didnt make somebody dirt poor, and the people started to gain a few victories around that time.

Now the people are losing again, she said.

Anybody born after 1980 hasnt lived in a decent country, Bradshaw said. The backlash started when (President Ronald) Reagan was elected.

She said she wants to fight back against the corporate takeover of the country, and she called the latest assault the Trans Pacific Partnership.

That is total corporate takeover of our national sovereignty, she said.

Proud of the Green Party

Bradshaw says somebody has to run and speak up for the rights of the American citizens. Actually, its part of her major platforms. She said somebody has to oppose government measures like the Patriot Act and homeland security issues.

The two other arent doing it, so is it just not going to be mentioned, she asked. The Patriot Act basically destroyed the Bill of Rights in 2001. Its not why am I running, is it why isnt everybody else running?

Also, she said the Green Party is the only non-corporate political party. She said it started in Germany in the 1980s when they though the government had too much control.

We are so corrupt, she said of the American government. There are billions of dollars that are spent buying politicians.

Other platforms

Bradshaw said the Green Party believes that humans actually live on the planet, and since humans are the only living people in the universe that is known at the moment, she doesnt understand why the same humans continue to destroy the basis of life  our water, air and topsoil.

If we dont have that, we dont live, she said.

Additionally, she said mass unemployment and poverty have to be addressed.

Bradshaw said the Green New Deal would put 20 million people to work at living wages  not minimum wage, but about $20 an hour. She said that would restore part of the living conditions in the country and help create a more sustainable form of infrastructure.

The Green Party candidate also wants to promote peace over war, along with continuing to promote national sovereignty and restoring civil rights.

She said people never ask how the country is financing bombs being dropped on countries in the Middle East.

It is never asked on a public level, Bradshaw said. When Jill Stein (Presidential Green Party candidate) talks about free college, the first thing people ask is how to pay for it, but when Hillary Clinton talks about bombing Syria, nobody asks how she would pay for that.

Bradshaw will face off against Bost and Baricevic in a debate at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, at Lindenwood University in Belleville.
A referral center has been set up for the Department of Human Services in Murphysboro.

The facility remains closed after a Wednesday morning fire. The center, which is not yet fully operational, is in the parking lot of the DHS facility. The Illinois Department of Human Services recommends that customers do as much business as possible by phone, online or at another nearby DHS office.

Calls to the Murphysboro Family and Community Resource Center and the Division of Rehabilitation Services have been forwarded to other DHS offices and a special hotline, 1-800-385-0872, has been set up for Murphysboro customers.

Those applying for SNAP can apply online at abe.illinois.gov or by calling 1-800-843-6154.

DHS spokeswoman Marianne Manko said Wednesday the fire is considered suspicious. No one was injured in the fire. The incident is under investigation.

 The Southern
'This is Our Land': Assyrians Return to Iraqi Town Recaptured From ISIS

Hussam Matti knelt to the ground, grabbed two fistfuls of brown-gray sand and poured it over his head. The grains mixed with the sweat on his brow as he stood up, smiled and threw up his arms. "This is the earth of Bartella," he shouted. "This is our land." Government forces earlier this week recaptured this Assyrian Christian-dominated town, just eight miles east of Mosul and a crucial gateway to Islamic State's most important stronghold in Iraq. But on Saturday, the soundtrack of the war -- the clatter of gunfire, the powerful booms of artillery and airstrikes -- could still be heard nearby. Skirmishes also continued Saturday in Kirkuk,100 miles southeast of Mosul, where Islamic State militants a day earlier had launched a major counter-assault. Local officials said at least 80 people were killed in the operation, mainly Kurdish security forces, and about 170 were wounded. The bodies of 56 militants were removed from the city, local officials said. "Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said after a meeting in Baghdad with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. The recapture of Bartella is considered a crucial hurdle in the week-old drive toward Mosul, and, for residents returning for the first time since Islamic State militants were ejected this week, the return home Saturday was a day of celebration. Many had never expected their small town of 20,000 to fall under the grip of the violent militant group. Two years ago, many here watched in amazement as security personnel stationed in Mosul fled in fear when Islamic State militants entered the city and announced their caliphate. Most Bartella residents, many said, presumed they would be safe while the extremist group continued its scythe-like offensive south of Mosul, aiming toward Baghdad. Even several weeks after Mosul's fall, Bartella residents were still congregating in tiny cafes off the main strip to sip coffee and play dominoes. Though facing shortages of water and electricity, people still gathered for services in the town's three active churches. But the jihadists had other plans. Seeking to secure the areas around their new de-facto capital, they soon turned their sights on the sprawling flatlands known as the Nineveh Plains. In August of 2014, they swept away Kurdish troops and the Hirasaat local protection forces guarding Bartella, considered the eastern gateway to Mosul. Residents, hearing rumors of the jihadists' rampage, fled mere hours before the coming onslaught to Irbil, 37 miles to the east. They found themselves refugees, settling in the musty confines of unfinished buildings or makeshift camps in church courtyards. In the weeks that followed, those who could, left. Two years later, many remain. This week, as part of the Mosul campaign, members of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service routed the militants from Bartella. By all accounts it was a brutal battle, where every street was the site of a bare-knuckled fight against militants who dispatched waves of car bombs and posted snipers at every turn. On Saturday, troops were advancing in Humvees along the Mosul-Irbil highway that bisects the town. Wary soldiers kept their eyes peeled for mines and snipers as they walked gingerly through alleyways and debris-filled fields. One soldier displayed a picture he had taken recently with one of his colleagues. The friend had been killed overnight after a suicide bomber emerged from a tunnel in the building he had entered. "A militant comes in from one building, takes a tunnel and emerges from another several doors down. How can we clean this place up?" he asked, the frustration in his voice evident. But for Matti, despite the dangers, it was nothing short of a homecoming. "In these two years I died. The 32 years I've lived so far -- you can forget about them. Today I'm born," he said, as he and his comrades, all members of a Christian militia known as the Nineveh Plains Force, lashed two pieces of timber to make a cross. They carried it to the top of Mar Shmony, a church on the town's eastern flank. There, ringed by counterterrorism service members who urged them to watch for sniper fire, they hoisted the cross over the church's dome and adorned it with an Iraqi flag. One man, with a touch of ceremony, placed a nativity scene set he had fished out from the wreckage of the church at the cross' base. "I don't know what to do. Cry? Laugh? I just can't believe I'm here," said Khaled Shamoun, a 52-year-old militiaman, looking up at the cross as a soldier rang the nearby church bell. Shamoun had come back from Baghdad four days earlier along with his son to join in the fight for Christian areas here. He was eager to go into his hometown of Qaraqosh, an Assyrian Christian city located 20 miles southeast of Mosul, still in the hands of Islamic State. "Government forces here saved us from this non-Islamic State. They saved us from those rats, those dogs," he said. The militiamen then trundled to the church's interior, picking their way through the detritus of scorched prayer books and an overturned engraved wooden pulpit to sit on pews before Mar Shmony's ancient altar. In unison, they recited the Lord's Prayer. The disarray in the church served as a reminder of what had been lost; Mar Shmony had once been an elegant place of worship, with octagonal marble columns and delicate stone filigree. Its courtyard was presided over by a statue of Patriarch Yacoub the Third, an important figure in the Syriac Orthodox Church who hailed from Bartella. Now, the face had been smashed by the militants, who count any depiction of faces to be pagan. The walls bore the group's notorious black and white logo, but also had graffiti saying "[Islam] is above the cross" and "Islamic State is remaining and expanding." Elsewhere in the town, the jihadists had left their mark. They had used a stencil to spray paint "Property of Islamic State" on houses and businesses they had confiscated from Christian owners, underlining the stamp with the Arabic letter for "n" for "Nasrani," a Koranic term for Christians that some consider a pejorative. (Some residents, hoping to avoid a ransacking, had hastily scrawled, "Owned by a Sunni Muslim" with their phone number on shop doors.) The damage was not as widespread as that seen in other cities taken back from Islamic State earlier this year. But for some, such as Saher Shamoun, an avuncular old man who had come to check on his house, the victory was bittersweet. He gazed at a jumble of masonry and steel, all that remained of the house he had spent years building on the salary of a government employee, his former job. Although he had heard from friends checking satellite images on Google Earth that it had been destroyed, he had insisted on coming to see for himself. "When I saw it my heart clenched," he said. "My sons lived and got married here, and their children lived here." He said he did not have the money to rebuild it. His phone rang, and he spoke to another Bartella resident hungry for news of his own house. When he hung up, Shamoun lifted the phone and snapped a picture of the rubble. "People will come back to their homes ... . What will I do, put up a tent?" he said. "Where is the justice in that?"
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By Trend









The OSCE Minsk Group (OSCE MG) will continue to work on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the US co-chair of the OSCE MG James Warlick said at a press conference in Baku on October 22.

Warlick said the topic of discussions will focus on further work and holding more meetings.

The US co-chair said that the US, Russia and France see eye to eye on the conflict.

"We are looking forward to work together to find a peaceful solution," Warlick said, adding that the co-chairs are committed to work together with the sides of the conflict.

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.
By Azertac





President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has today visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku.





A guard of honor was lined up for the Venezuelan President here.





President Nicolas Maduro paid tribute to Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country`s independence and territorial integrity.





He laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.





A military orchestra played the national anthems of Venezuela and Azerbaijan
By Trend





An official welcoming ceremony was held in Baku Oct.22 for Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.

A guard of honor was lined up for Venezuelas president at the square decorated with national flags of the two countries.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev.

President Aliyev welcomed President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to Venezuelas president.

The national anthems of Venezuela and Azerbaijan were played.

President Aliyev and President Maduro reviewed the guard of honor.

Venezuelan president saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers.

State and government officials of Azerbaijan were introduced to President Madura, and members of the Venezuelan delegation were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev.

The guard of honor marched in front of President Ilham Aliyev and President Maduro to the accompaniment of a military march.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro posed for official photos.
By Azertac





"Brazil attaches special importance to relations with Azerbaijan," said chairman of the Brazil-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group at the Chamber of Deputies Claudio Cajado as he met with Azerbaijani ambassador Elnur Sultanov. The Brazilian MP congratulated the ambassador on the 25th anniversary of restoration of Azerbaijan`s state independence, and hailed the country`s big achievements over the years of independence.





Ambassador Sultanov highlighted Azerbaijan`s development since regaining independence. He stressed the potential for expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including between parliaments.





Ambassador Sultanov also met with chairman of the Brazil-Azerbaijan friendship group at the Brazilian Senate Cristovam Buarque, who lauded Azerbaijan's special role in developing inter-cultural and inter-confessional dialogue and rich experience in multiculturalism. They exchanged views over the prospects of Azerbaijan-Brazil inter-parliamentary relations.
By Azertac





Military personnel of Damavand frigate and missile boat Joshan of Irans Navy has visited Azerbaijan High Military School named after Heydar Aliyev.





The delegation, led by captain Abdulhuseyn Zafari, met with the school command and familiarized themselves with the education process at the naval faculty.
By Trend





Restoration of relations between Ankara and Moscow will have a positive impact on the Turkish economy only by mid-2017, Ilhan Ege, an expert in economic issues, told Trend on October 21.

Time is needed for economic relations of the two countries to reach the pre-crisis level, he said.

Russia is an important market for the export of Turkish fruit, added the expert. Tourist flow from Russia to Turkey is expected in the summer of 2017.

In mid-term prospects, the Turkish Stream and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant are important projects that will strengthen economic relations between the two countries, said Ege.

The relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated sharply in late 2015 when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. In June 2016, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the death of a Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident. After that, the two countries relations began to improve.

Regarding the restoration of relations between Turkey and Israel, Ege noted that this will strengthen Turkey's foreign trade.

He also said that Israel, which is an important country for Turkish construction companies, can help the country in the development of such areas as defense industry, agriculture, innovative technologies and software.

Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010, when a convoy of six ships, including one flying Turkey's flag, tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board.

The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, with eight Turkish citizens being killed as a result.

Turkey signed an agreement with Israel on repairing the relations June 28. The Israeli government paid a compensation of $20 million to Turkey for the Freedom Flotilla incident on September 30.
By Trend





Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation on Friday and expressed commitment to further development of the Russia-Israeli relations, the Kremlin press service said, Sputnik reported.

Russia and Israel maintain an active political dialogue, holding regular political consultations. There are also regular delegation exchanges at various levels.

"Vladimir Putin warmly congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu with his birthday and the Jewish holiday of Sukkot celebrated these days. The leaders also exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary [October 18] of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Israel and expressed commitment to further development of the multifaceted bilateral cooperation," the press service said.

The USSR and Israel established diplomatic relations in May 1948, then broke them off in June 1967. In 1987, consular relations were resumed, followed by the full resumption of diplomatic relations in October 1991. In December 1991, an Israeli Embassy in Moscow and a Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv were opened.

Russia and Israel have signed 19 intergovernmental agreements and work to improve the legal infrastructure of Russian-Israeli cooperation. Israel is an important trade and economic partner for Russia, with bilateral ties in industry, agriculture, high technology and more.
Top UAE renewable energy company Masdar said it has signed a power purchasing agreement with the Jordanian government for a 200-megawatt (MW) solar power plant near capital Amman.



The photovoltaic (PV) project will be the country's largest solar power plant, said Mohamed Al Ramahi, the chief executive of Masdar, after signing the deal with Abdul Fattah Daradkeh, the chief executive of National Electric Power Company, Jordans state electricity provider, in the presence of Dr Hani Al Mulqi, Prime Minister of Jordan.



The agreement to develop a PV plant follows the inauguration of the 117 MW Tafila wind farm in Jordan in December, the first utility-scale wind project in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.



Tafila was developed by Jordan Wind Project Company, a partnership between InfraMed (50 per cent), Masdar (31 per cent) and EP Global Energy (19 per cent).



With this agreement, a major step has been taken towards the development of the largest solar power plant in Jordan, stated Al Ramahi.



The signing ceremony held at Amman was also attended by Dr Omar Malhas, Finance Minister; Dr Mohammad Al Momani, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Jordans Government spokesman; Fawaz Najib Irshaidat, Jordans Minister of State for Prime Ministerial Affairs; Ahmed Saeed Al Calily, the chief executive of Mubadala Development Companys energy platform; and Moeen Sayegh, the director general of Jordans Department of Land and Survey.



The announcement follows an agreement between Jordans energy ministry and Masdar on the development, ownership, operation and maintenance of the countrys largest solar power facility signed at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2016 in January.



The wholly-owned Masdar subsidiary Baynouna Solar Energy Company (BSEC) has been set up to expedite the project.



Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ibrahim Saif, Jordans Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, said: "Todays signing marks the forward progress of a significant investment in Jordans energy security in line with His Majesty King Abdullah IIs vision to diversify the countrys energy mix and to meet future domestic power demand growth through sustainable sources."



Jordans largest solar power plant will be linked to Al Muwaqqar substation located 10 km outside Amman. Once connected to the national grid, it will cater to the annual power needs of around 110,000 homes and displace an estimated 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.



The solar power plant will raise the international profile of Jordan as a key destination for utility-scale renewable energy projects, stimulate local job creation and knowledge transfer, and further incentivise the adoption of commercial clean energy in the Mena region, he added.



Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and chairman of Masdar, said this deal further strengthens the deep-rooted co-operation between Jordan and the UAE and builds on the success of the regions first utility-scale wind farm that Masdar and its partners inaugurated in the kingdom last year.



Meeting the regions growing demand for power will require a diverse range of energy sources, and this solar project reinforces the role of renewable energy as an efficient and cost-effective contributor to the global energy mix, stated the minister.



Since Masdars establishment a decade ago, its vision has been to advance the clean energy industry and to provide sustainable, innovative solutions to the worlds growing energy needs, noted Dr Al Jaber.



Today, that vision is being translated into concrete action through tangible projects in the Middle East and others around the world, he added.



Al Ramahi said the signing underscores the commercial viability of renewable energy and is another key milestone in the expansion of Masdars PV portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and international markets.



"This flagship project will harness Masdars proven expertise and experience in utility-scale clean energy and pave the way towards future projects in the kingdom and elsewhere," he noted.



The solar power plant and Tafila will help Jordan reach its 2020 goal of producing 15 per cent of its domestic electricity needs from renewable sources.



Today, the kingdom imports around 96 per cent of its energy at a cost equivalent to 20 per cent of its national GDP (gross domestic product). Combined, the two projects will account for nearly 18 per cent of the 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy Jordan plans to instal by 2020.



Now in its 10th year of operations, Masdar has invested $2.7 billion in the development of renewable energy and clean technologies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and international markets, and today has 2.7 GW of gross power generating capacity either deployed or under construction.-TradeArabia News Service
Danat Al Emarat, a specialty women and childrens hospital in Abu Dhabi being managed by Singaporean ParkwayHealth, is hosting several programmes including educating women on the importance of regular screenings for early breast cancer detection across the emirate this month as part of its awareness campaign.



The initiative comes in line with the Health Authority Abu Dhabi's initiatives and will run at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children in Abu Dhabi throughout the month.



As part of the campaign, the hospital hosted the leading media personality and motivational speaker Fadia Al Taweel, who spoke about her battle against breast cancer, which she began in 2003 soon after diagnosis and how she defeated it.



During her inspirational talk, Al Taweel also spoke of what she went through during treatment and how she decided to face her disease, live with it and fight it with positivity, determination and willpower.



"I was determined to beat it by being always positive and learning to cope with it, in addition to joining community support programs which play a key role in encouraging patients to be positive in every aspect of their lives," she remarked.



Highlighting the importance of early detection of breast cancer, Al Taweel said: "The best way to fight the menace is through regular checkups."



"Studies show that more than 90 per cent of cancer patients fully recover when the disease is diagnosed at an early stage," she stated.



Al Taweel also noted how early detection is now attainable, as healthcare authorities and healthcare providers, including Danat Al Emarat Hospital in Abu Dhabi, execute annual and regular awareness programs, educating women on the importance of regular screenings for early detection.



During her tour at the hospital, Al Taweel appraised the services provided at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, including the Womens Diagnostic and Breast Imaging Center which has been accredited by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi for breast screening.



Dr Mohammed Abdullatif, Breast Imaging and Radiology Specialist at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, spoke to her about the equipment and services provided at the department, and the importance of regular screening.



Dr Aseel Al Youzbaki, Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialist, said: "Through such talks in the community, we aim to urge women to adopt healthy lifestyles, perform monthly self-examinations and undergo necessary tests during different stages in their life."



"Women aged 40 years old and more must place breast screening in their list of priorities at least every two years, and if a woman had a first-degree relative with history of breast cancer, she must undergo annual screening at a younger age after consulting a doctor," stated Dr Al Youzbaki.



According to her, breast cancer was the worlds second most common cancer among women.



"However, it can be treated and fully cured if discovered at an early stage. International studies confirm that early diagnosis of breast cancer lead to higher survival rates of above 90 per cent, whereas the survival rates of late diagnosis - stages 2 and 3 - ranges between 60 and 70 per cent," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Boecker Public Health, one of the Middle Easts largest pest management group, unveiled its latest public health services and innovations at the Hospitality Qatar 2016 expo held recently in Doha.



It is the only global exhibition in Qatar featuring all aspects of the Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes (Horeca) sector.



The company showcased its expertise and two decades of experience in pest management, food safety and biosecurity at the three-day event.



Boecker Public Safety was the official hygiene sponsor and the hygiene jury of the exhibitions Salon Culinaire for the second year in a row.



This year, Boecker attracted a lots of visitors to its booth with a variety of exclusive offers, contests and prizes, said a statement from the company.



The huge turnout gave visitors the opportunity to learn more about Boeckers leading role in raising public health awareness and safety standards in the hospitality sector, it added.



Boecker introduced its brand-new services including SafeChildCare Programme for nurseries and children centers, and its latest InfectionControlPlan programme, which is designed to protect the families, homes, factories, companies and the environment, etc. from all kinds of germs and bacteria.



During the event, the companys professional food safety consultants also held a free induction to HACCP Training session to food business operators; a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in food processing areas.



Carla Ghaleb, the country manager, said: "Through our participation in Hospitality Qatar 2016, Boecker has successfully shed a spotlight on the importance of following best food safety practices in the context of maintaining public health standards in the hospitality and tourism industries, through a range of fruitful workshops and introductory training sessions."



"The exhibition was also an effective platform to interact and share insights with the multitude of visitors and interested stakeholders, who flocked our booth to learn about Boeckers newest services and innovations, such as the SafeChildCare and the InfectionControlPlan programmes, which help organizations, institutions as well as families and parents establish a safe environment throughout their venues, facilities and homes," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Wholesale City, one of the largest wholesale hubs in the world, is organising a visit to China to discuss potential partnerships and also highlight the business opportunities available within the facility.



A high-level delegation headed by its chief executive Abdulla Belhoul, will hold meetings with government and private organizations in a number of major cities, including Yinchuan, Yiwu, Shanghai, and Beijing and introduce them to the facility and also seek ways to enhance cooperation and future relations.



It also plans to sign a number of partnerships and MoUs with local and regional authorities in a number of Chinese provinces.



China is an important trade partner for Dubai, with trading volumes reaching Dh79 billion ($21.5 billion) in the first half of 2016.



Dubai Wholesale City will participate in several trade fairs and events to highlight the key components of the city and the added value that it offers businesses in the wholesale trade sector.



Belhoul said: "China is the cornerstone of our strategy at Dubai Wholesale City, as it has the potential to drive our continuous expansion and development. Our goal is to explore opportunities for collaboration and to develop relations with Chinese government entities and businesses, with a focus on the mutually beneficial investment opportunities."



The UAE is a gateway for 60 per cent of Chinese trade with the region. Dubai Wholesale City is the perfect choice for Chinese businesses wanting to access the Middle East and Africa, due to its strategic location, which provides easy and quick access to the region's markets and the availability of world class infrastructure and logistical support, he added.



Spanning over 550 million sq ft area, Dubai Wholesale City is a fully-integrated trading hub that has been set up to meet the needs of the local and international wholesale trade sector.



The destination intends to become the worlds leading wholesale trading hub and strengthen the UAEs position as a pivotal market in global trade. In its first phase, it will serve the food, construction materials, electronics, furniture, machines and equipment, wood, cars, spare parts, and textile and clothes sectors.



The new project is just 10 minutes away from Al Maktoum Airport and Jebel Ali Port.-TradeArabia News Service
An international inquiry conducted by United Nations and the global chemical weapons watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, has declared that the Syrian government carried out a third chemical attack in the conflict-wracked nation last year.



The group's fourth confidential report during a 13-month investigation sent to the UN Security Council late Friday shows there is sufficient evidence to confirm the governments role in the March 16, 2015 strike on Qmenas in Idlib governorate.



The leaked report also says that helicopters dropped barrel bombs holding chlorine gas, a prohibited weapon, on the north-west province of Idlib in March 2015, reported BBC.



Syrian government has not yet commented on the report.



In August, the UN team blamed President Bashar Assad's government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.



The team said at that time that three other attacks indicated possible government involvement.



It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, "hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population." Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.



The panel said "it is crucial to hold those who use or intend to use chemicals as weapons accountable for their acts, as it is fundamental to deter all those who continue to believe that there is something to be gained in the use of toxic chemicals as weapons."



The US, Britain and France have already called for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, including against the regime in Damascus.



But the Syrian government has been shielded by its ally Russia, which has questioned the JIM findings and said the evidence is not conclusive enough to warrant sanctions.



Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin indicated that Moscow will oppose any sanctions.



The Security Council, which is expected to discuss the report on Thursday, backed up the agreement with a resolution that if Syria did not comply, it could face sanctions or military action under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.



Syria had in 2013 agreed to destroy its chemical weapons under the terms of an agreement negotiated between Moscow and Washington.



Also the use of chlorine as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013.



On the barrel bombs, the report said that the helicopter flights could have originated from two bases where the 253rd and 255th squadrons, part of the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based. Navy helicopters from the 618th squadron were also located at one of the bases.



But the inquiry said it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time".



It recommended that those "with effective control in the military units... must be held accountable".



The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, has described the use of chemical weapons as "barbaric" and called for "all states to support strong and swift action".
The worlds fastest street legal production bike - MTT 420 RR (Race Ready) - will be showcased at the Big Boys Toys, the regions premier luxury, innovations and technology expo, which opens in the UAE capital next month.



The seventh edition of the event will bring together one of the world's largest array of first time global launches and one of a kind innovations.

With more than 402 KPH money back guarantee, Marine Turbine Technologies offer a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser on the Rolls-Royce 250 C-20B 420 HP Turbine Engine.



The 420 RR technical features include new Ohlin adjustable shocks, ISR brakes and levers, and new generation carbon fiber body panels and fuel tank.



The impressive upgrades include transmission, carbon fiber wheels as well as a steering stabilizer installed to accommodate higher speeds.



Other product launches at BBT2016 will include the worlds first robot that transforms into a car, the worlds fastest hybrid supercar and a boat built with supercar features and dynamics.

The Big Boys Toys is unique in featuring products from 10 different categories that include drive, ride, off-road, marine, aviation, adventure, wellness, fashion, lifestyle and digital -- a complete experience that caters to every facet of refined living.



The show, which runs from November 23 to 26 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, will play host to VIPs, HNWIs as well as trade visitors offering one of the most exclusive clientele in the Middle East.-TradeArabia News Service
Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
Its been two years, and Danielle Cooper still doesnt know what happened when her husband was hurt.

She knows that when Jason woke up from the coma, he had to be shown pictures of their two daughters every day as a reminder that he was a father.

She knows that he might spend years in a facility because of extensive brain damage.

She knows that hoping for everything to go back to the way it was is a pipe dream.

She doesnt know why the company her husband worked for was fined or what the extensive state investigation into his accident revealed. She doesnt know if the company was at fault or if he was.

The case is still open, and as long as an investigation is open, its contents are sealed.

What the Coopers are waiting on is a report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

In health and safety cases, it is OSHA that arrives on the scene. Its investigators interview witnesses, inspect the location and compile a report. In cases where a company failed to follow the laws to keep workers safe, OSHA issues a violation and eventually is responsible for collecting penalties.

The organization also releases a public report on the incident once the case is closed.

What the Coopers dont understand is why an investigation is allowed to go on for years, keeping families from the closure they need when workers are hurt or killed.

Prolonged cases

Officials are aware that cases have gone on too long, and they intend to change that, said John Ysebaert, Wyomings workforce standards and compliance administrator.

This is absolutely in motion in our current efforts, he said.

OSHA is not required to close a case within a certain time frame. However, the division is developing deadlines to keep cases on track. It is also working with federal OSHA to streamline processes, and the agency has contracted with a collections agency to ensure companies pay penalties in a timely manner, he said.

Thought the issue is of concern, there are sometimes legitimate reason for a prolonged case, Ysebaert said.

Companies have the right to defend themselves when issued a violation or penalty.

The company can protest fees in an informal meeting with OSHA. It can supply additional information for the case or request more time to provide additional facts.

If the company and OSHA remain at odds over a penalty after that meeting, the company can take its case to the OSHA commission and then to the courts.

Other reasons a case remains open are pragmatic: The penalty hasnt been paid or the abatement hasnt been completed, Ysebaert said.

Not all cases are falling through the cracks in the OSHA division. When a 28-year-old rig worker fell to his death on July 14, the incident report was available by late September.

But things have changed in the state division in the last few years.

In a 2015 review, the OSHA department in Denver pinpointed a number of concerns within Wyomings division.

One problem was proper record-keeping. The report noted that the department had seen significant turnover, likely leading to some of the disorganization investigators found in their review.

Ysebaert agreed that turnover challenged the department at that time, as did a transition from a hard-copy system to the divisions current digital one.

I dont mean to offer up excuses, but it certainly was an issue, Ysebaert said.

Some files appear to have been affected by the changes.

A fire at the Williams Opal natural gas plant in Lincoln County garnered fines close to $50,000 in April 2014. That open case was discovered only after a worker died at the plant last month.

Investigators had failed to send the final penalty bill to the company.

The case on the Opal fire was opened within days of Jason Coopers.

A different life

Jasons injury turned the family upside-down, his wife said.

He worked for Bosselman Boss Truck Shops in Rawlins. The day he was injured, a tire blew up, causing severe brain damage.

The company was charged with three serious violations and $17,010 in penalties. The fees were reduced to $14,457, according to OSHAs online records. The last action on the case was an informal settlement.

Thats all the family knew.

According to a spokeswoman for Wyoming OSHA, the case is in the final stages of penalty negotiations.

Danielle works full time at a gas station in Rawlins. Shes adjusted to being a single parent, and the girls, 11-year-old Desiree and 9-year-old Hailey, have become used to living without their father.

Danielle describes herself as pragmatic, positive.

The hope does fade away the longer time goes by, she admitted. I wish he would come back like the man he was, but sometimes thats just not possible.

Seeking answers

OSHA contacted the Coopers soon after Jason was hurt.

It is common practice to notify families and keep them abreast of the investigation if they desire, Ysebaert said.

However, that wasnt Danielles experience.

They told me it was going to be an ongoing investigation and could take up to six months, she said. Six months went by, a year, a year and a half, and still nothing. Eventually it just seemed like they were not listening to me.

She contacted a personal injury lawyer to look into the case.

Jack Edwards didnt get much further than the family. Hes been handling workers compensation cases for 10 years, but the wait for Coopers investigation is absurd, he said.

He wrote three letters to OSHA, the first in October of 2015, the most recent in August. He received similar replies to each: The case was still open and couldnt be discussed.

The question isnt just why there isnt a time limit on these investigations, he said. Its why families have no recourse when denied information.

For the Coopers, the results of the investigation may not change anything.

Jason is covered by workers compensation and Social Security payments. The familys income is slightly less than it was when Jason was working.

Danielle and her daughters have moved on with their new life and the new Jason. But the mystery gnaws at her.

I just want to know what happened, she said. If it was the companys fault, we can take it from there. If it was Jasons fault, then there is closure.
James and Deborah Fallows have traveled the United States in a Cirrus SR-22 propeller airplane, stopping in Americas cities, learning what makes some more successful than others.

Erie, Pennsylvania. Dodge City, Kansas. Chester, Montana. Fresno, California. And dozens more, large and small. Each has a unique story that the couple, who are distinguished journalists, are discovering. They are chronicling their experiences in a project called City Makers: American Futures in the Atlantic.

The Fallowses are coming to Cheyenne next month to share with business leaders their knowledge about what makes civic life tick and the keys to economic revitalization.

The main theme weve been presenting is even though there is a lot of trouble at the national level, there is tremendous progress city by city, James Fallows said.

Organizers of the annual Governors Business Forum hope the pair will inspire Wyomingites at a time when the economy is soft. Wyoming is a state composed of small towns and cities, and some are doing better than others in the current economy, said Bill Schilling, president of the Wyoming Business Alliance, which is hosting the Governors Business Forum with Gov. Matt Mead.

Well talk about what weve seen elsewhere, and well learn about whats going on in Wyoming, Fallows said.

The Governors Business Forum is Nov. 10-11 at the Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne. This year is the 34th forum. People can attend by registering at www.wyomingbusinessalliance.com.

The event will focus on ways to diversify the states economy at a time when the bread and butter of the states economy are down: oil, natural gas and coal.

I look forward to the annual business forum, Mead said in a statement. Growing and diversifying our economy has been a priority of mine since taking office. This forum brings experts from across the nation together to discuss innovations and options for Wyoming businesses.

Up to 600 people are expected to attend this year, said Schilling, of the Business Alliance.

New this year is global futurist Jack Uldrich, who will talk about how to future-proof a business, Schilling said.

A futurist is someone who predicts the future. Uldrich wrote a bestseller: Foresight 2020: A Futurist Explores the Trends Transforming Tomorrow.

Mike Allen, chief White House correspondent for Politico, will speak.

Mike Allen is the guy who started Politico in Washington, D.C., Schilling said. Hes the one who started Politico and he did the daily Playbook. He did this for like 10 years. It drove Washington insiders nuts. Hes speaking three days after the national election.

Schilling said now is the time for the state to leverage the strengths Wyoming possesses. That will be the overarching theme of the forum.

We might be down, but you know its not over, he said. And weve got a lot going  weve got a great workforce, weve got great infrastructure in this state. Your choices are you get at it or you get in a funk. Were saying get at it.
The airplane skids onto tarmac. My bike, packed in a padded case, is in the underbelly, soon to be sent with luggage to the baggage area at JFK. I have three days in New York and am determined to see the city on two wheels.

In a place dominated by cars, transportation by bicycle is experiencing a renaissance. Hundreds of miles of bike lanes were added in recent years. Car-free greenways, bicycle-specific traffic lights and a massive bike-share program have encouraged locals and visitors alike to hop on for a ride.

My experience started at the airport. Traveling with a friend, I nabbed my bike from JFKs dank baggage claim and got ready to roll. As my friend jumped on a subway with the bike case, I gripped handlebars to ride west through Queens.

It can be an hour by car or on mass transit to Manhattan. I banked more than that for the bike ride, planning a meandering route to see a few sights on the way.

My first observation: The bike renaissance has not hit the farther reaches of the boroughs.

Atlantic Avenue, an artery coursing west from the airport, is a pseudo-highway and dominated by speeding cars. Potholes and tire-swallowing cracks are common.

Trash blew in little vortexes as I pedaled hard to get west and into Brooklyn, where bike utopia is purported amid the brownstones and espresso joints.

Indeed, I found a bona fide bike lane over the Brooklyn border. The city got nicer, and I ducked into Prospect Park for my first car-free stretch, with roads blanked from traffic and cyclists alone on wide pavement that climbs through an urban woods.

Over the Gowanus canal, skirting Red Hook, and to the waters edge, a no-cars Greenway appeared heading to the north. The spiked wall of skyscrapers glinted across the river. The Brooklyn Bridge, packed with dog-walkers and selfie-takers, offered elevated access via a segmented bike lane into Manhattan.

Day two on the bike was dominated by Central Park and Manhattans Midtown grid. Our Airbnb, an apartment near Times Square, connected to the massive north-south Avenues, including Eighth, which offer a segmented bike lane for miles under tall buildings and through crowds.

In Midtown, the ubiquitous honk of taxis, the rumbling buses, delivery vans, semis, and the occasional personal vehicle choke every lane. Exhaust and sewer smoke choke your lungs.

Pedestrians dart as lights change, huge impenetrable masses. Paint, curbs and plastic barriers shield bikers and show you where to go.

This all exists under the lights, signs and outdoor video screens. Biking in New York, to me, was defined by the sensory stimulation and the sheer attention to detail required to negotiate obstacles and distractions block by block.

Despite the craziness, it works. Bikers are out in big numbers, and even though the traffic is dense I found it manageable. The bike lanes are generous on multiple avenues heading up and down the island, though getting east and west across town can be slow.

Central Park is an oasis in many ways, not the least for bikers. The park has miles of (mostly) car-free roads. Cyclists get a middle lane, and runners use the road, too, creating a pedestrian paradise in a place where cars dominate all around.

I rode the big loop in Central Park, a counterclockwise route that twists and bobs, offering climbs and descents and a true road biking experience in the city. Hit it hard and rail to 25 mph. Just watch out for the horse-drawn carriages and the pedi-carts.

An hour in Central Park and I coasted south onto Fifth Avenue. It was 5 p.m., and the traffic was curb-to-curb. I rode in a bus lane and kept hitting red lights, walls of people, vehicles squeezing in from all sides. It was slow going that time of day, so I shouldered my bike and walked a couple of blocks to breathe.

My third day started with a text message. Kevin Bolger, aka Squid, is a veteran of the bike-messenger scene and the founder of one of the top courier companies in the city, Cyclehawk.

Before the trip I was connected to Squid by a friend. He sent instructions to meet up in Midtown, and for the next three hours, for a completely different view, I shadowed as Squid delivered goods around the city.

Streetwise from years in the saddle, Squid pedaled in and through traffic; he, in fact, was traffic, a cog in the Manhattan machine. His daily puzzle is to nab packages, pick and drop deliveries, make deadlines and stay upright (and move fast) among an endless swarm of automobiles.

We rode south on a clear stretch, cutting across four lanes to head down a hill. Squid is friendly and upbeat, despite a punk look. He waves and signals with his hands, and he shouts to alert verbally when coming through.

My final objective on the island was a street race. The Lock Foot Posi alleycat, organized by its namesake group as a memorial event for friends who have died (many in bike accidents), offered a choose-your-route race around the city.

Squid and I joined a mass of riders gathering in Tompkins Square. It was $5 for a manifest, the races cluesheet, and you had 90 minutes to navigate checkpoint to checkpoint in an elaborate game.

We gathered under the parks famous Krishna Tree, an elm with historical and religious significance, and the organizers shouted instructions before a quiet moment. This is for our friends who have fallen, one rider said.

On cue, and in an only-in-New-York moment, a troupe of Scottish bagpipers came into view. The ad hoc parade, not associated with the bike race, linked to the mood of somber celebration.

We unlocked bikes and got ready to go. With the wail of the pipes tracking away the organizers shouted for the racers to start.

I jumped onto my bike, following Squid. He swooped right and out of the park, onto the streets, back into New York, into the stream of craziness he loves.
RIVERTON  Pickups and the odd tanker-truck pound along Federal Boulevard on the way out of Riverton. The road carries them south over the Big Wind River toward Lander, 30 minutes away.

Despite living literally a stones throw from the Wind River Indian Reservation, for many non-Indians in Riverton, the drive to Lander is the only time they enter the reservation.

According to Wind River Hotel and Casino CEO Jim Conrad, the reluctance to cross south of the river and onto the reservation stems from discomfort. The casino is along the road from Riverton to Lander.

Theyre afraid, Conrad said.

Afraid of crime. Afraid they wont be welcome. Afraid of cultural barriers.

White residents of the town and nearby farms have long taken comfort in the geographic barrier offered by the Wind River delineating tribal land from the state of Wyoming.

The city of Riverton is not on the reservation, is how Mayor Lars Baker puts it.

But he knows that statement is as imprecise as the meandering route of the river, which runs from north of Dubois in an arcing U through the reservation to Shoshoni. Baker acknowledges the city is surrounded by the reservation  or at least that its difficult to get out of town without crossing the reservation.

But technically, see, technically, Baker says, Riverton isnt part of Indian Country.

The mayor has good reason to believe Riverton, despite its placement within the original boundaries of the Wind River reservation, is not on the reservation: For over a century, Wyoming has treated much of the land north of the Wind River as belonging to the state.

When an enrolled Northern Arapaho or Eastern Shoshone member applies for a drivers license in Fremont County, the form asks them whether they live north or south of the river. Those living north are subject to state taxes from which reservation residents are exempt.

But all that may be about to change.

***

In the spring of 1904 an Indian Inspector named James McLaughlin traveled to the Wind River Indian Reservation. When the federal government wanted to make a change to the reservation, they sent McLaughlin, and he had been there before: in 1891 and 1893.

This time he went at the behest of U.S. House Rep. Frank Mondell of Wyoming, who wanted to open a wide swath of the reservation  that area north of the Wind River  to homesteading and mining.

Mondell introduced a bill in Congress, and McLaughlin was sent to see if the tribes would amend their treaty and open part of their land to private settlement.

There was precedent for selling reservation land to the federal government. In 1874 and again in 1897 the tribes had agreed to sell reservation land outright. The federal government paid the Shoshone and Arapaho a negotiated price, and the two tribes relinquished sovereignty over the areas.

But the deal McLaughlin presented in 1904, to which the tribes agreed, was different. Instead of a single lump-sum payment, the federal government would facilitate the sale of plots north of the Wind River to homesteaders: If the allotments were purchased, the money would be passed along to the tribes.

Plots that werent purchased would return to tribal control.

Sale of the allotments was cut short in 1913 after less than 9 percent of the land had been turned over to private hands.

Whether the 1904 deal with McLaughlin, approved by Congress the following year, meant the Wind River tribes relinquished sovereignty over reservation land north of the river is still an open question.

***

Any day now the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is expected to determine the boundary of the reservation after 112 years of uncertainty.

The case pits the state of Wyoming against the Shoshone, Arapaho and federal government.

It started in 2008 when the Shoshone and Arapaho jointly requested Treatment as a State from the Environmental Protection Agency. Approval would qualify the tribes for federal funding, like that offered to states, to monitor air quality on the reservation.

It is a relatively standard request from Indian nations around the United States. Even Baker, the Riverton mayor, said it made sense that the tribes wanted funding for a single reservation entity to monitor environmental quality in the area.

Baker used to work for Fremont County Weed and Pest and described the complexity of monitoring irrigation ditches.

My crew goes from private land to Indian-owned land to trust land to jointly owned land, Baker recalled. You do that every 50 feet. If you have to write a separate work order for each of those parcels  the administrative headache would be overwhelming.

But the application posed a question: If the tribes were to be approved for Treatment as a State, what would the border of that state be?

The EPA asked the Department of the Interior what the borders of the reservation were, and after reviewing legal precedent Interior attorney Hilary Tompkins said that the 1905 transaction didnt change the original reservation borders.

Jason Baldes of the Wind River Native Advocacy Center said that decision is what set people off.

The state of Wyoming, city of Riverton and adjacent areas kind of blew the whole situation out of proportion because of its implications as to what could be deemed Indian Country, Baldes said.

What he means is that the state of Wyoming and Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation sued the EPA.

[T]he EPAs determination that the Disputed Area is within the reservation significantly burdens the administration of state and local governments over an area that has retained a predominantly non-Indian character for over 100 years, Gina Cannan and Steven Lechner, lawyers for the farm federation, argued in documents filed with the 10th Circuit.

There is no disputing that Riverton is strikingly different from towns on the reservation. With about 11,000 people  around 12 percent are Indian  Riverton is the largest town within the reservations footprint. There are strip malls, a Wal-Mart and an older downtown as is common in small cities across the West.

By contrast, Ethete and Fort Washakie, where the tribal headquarters are based, are composed of small clusters of civic buildings and one gas station each.

But Baldes said that no matter where the reservation boundary lies, the tribes have no interest in changing the lives of non-Indians in Riverton or elsewhere.

Its not in the best interest of the tribes to remove anybody or change their day-to-day lives, Baldes said.

He said any changes would center on environmental regulations  a notable if limited impact in a region where agriculture and energy dominate the economy. Disputed land holdings might also be affected, but the city and county governments would continue to operate largely as they have been.

Tribal members living in Riverton would become subject to the reservation legal code, but Riverton mayor Baker said that wouldnt make a big difference.

Baker said he worked as a police officer in Polson, Montana, on the Flat River Indian Reservation. Tribal members could refuse to recognize Bakers authority under Montana law, but the town found an easy loophole: Baker and his colleagues were given jurisdiction on the reservation as federal agents.

All you had to do is say, Im a special officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs ... so give me your drivers license, Baker said with a laugh.

While Riverton joined the lawsuit against the EPA, Baker said even if the city loses the case, things wont change much. Baker said the city already navigates county, state and federal regulations.

Were already involved in all these layers, Baker said. Its just another layer.

But no matter what Baker thinks, the question of where tribes have sovereignty will resonate far beyond Fremont County. Ten states from Idaho to Alabama filed briefs supporting Wyoming.

Mountain States Legal Foundation, a prominent conservative public-interest law firm, is representing the farm bureau.

In other words, the case is a big deal. If land that Indian nations agreed to let the federal government sell to non-Indians is still subject to tribal sovereignty, that could have far-reaching implications around the country.

States fail, or dont like, to recognize tribal authority and sovereignty when it comes to disputes on land and resources, Baldes said.

In a similar case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last spring that a non-Indian town in Nebraska remained within the boundaries of the Omaha Indian Reservation. Baldes hopes  and many other legal watchers expect  that the 10th Circuit will follow the Supreme Courts lead and find that Riverton, too, has not escaped the bounds of the reservation.

Arguments in the case concluded in March, and a ruling out of Denver is expected at any time. Whatever the outcome, Baldes said the boundary question is one that desperately needs to be resolved.

The county and the state have been taking and taking from the reservation and chipping away at the sovereign status of the tribes ever since the reservation was established, Baldes said. This is an issue that needs to be resolved.
Mitros was arrested Aug. 3 after a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation probe indicated she may be a drug supplier. At the time of her arrest, Mitros had several prescription bottles with other people's names on them, drug paraphernalia and more than 38 grams of methamphetamine. Officers also found machete, a pair of brass knuckles and a pellet gun replica of a firearm in the Jeep.
TORRINGTON  The mayor of Torrington has fired the city's police chief after a Goshen County Sheriff's Office investigation found he caused a hit-and-run accident that broke a utility pole.

Mayor Mike Varney said Thursday that Police Chief Eric Sharp was terminated in connection with the Oct. 13 crash.

Sharp pleaded guilty to the charges and paid a fine in Goshen County Court on Wednesday.

The sheriff's office found that she damage done to the pole was consistent with damage to Sharp's pickup truck. Police officers asked the sheriff's office to investigate because they suspected the culprit was an officer.
JARDINE  Its an odd twist of fate.

Gold mining founded this town in the 1870s, a mountain community less than 3 miles from the northern border of Yellowstone National Park and only two miles from the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Now a companys proposal to explore an old gold mine near here has residents  some who live on mining claims and are surrounded by the ruins and rubble piles of past extractions  concerned about the future and the environment.

The situation highlights the growing pains of the New West  an old economy of resource extraction versus a cleaner, but often lower-paying, service industry; recreation versus industry; wildlife and the remaining areas of undisturbed habitat versus development.

Obviously it will hurt my business because people come here for a getaway, said Cheryl Standish, owner of Crevice Mountain Lodge, which borders the proposed mine site.

Shes also worried that drilling at the mine could pollute or dry up her well water, as well as create acidic mine runoff into the Yellowstone River that roars past 3,000 feet below the high mountain retreat shes valued for 50 years.

Down the road

Standishs closest neighbor, hunting outfitter Warren Johnson, agrees. For a guy whos spent his lifetime wrestling broncs and the occasional grizzly bear, its the possibility of mine exploration and the traffic, noise and pollution it might create  along with the effect that might have on his business  that has him worried.

He says trucks hauling mine rock down the road would disrupt the solitude of the business hes built from the ground up  all by grit  over the past 34 years with his wife, Susan.

Although Johnson noted the area has a rich history of mining, he said it also has a rich history of biodiversity.

His question now is: If the mining proceeds, how might it affect the regions wildlife and scenic values? Are the two even compatible?

The proposal

Under its plan of operations submitted to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality last October, Crevice Mining Group has proposed a low-impact program that would conduct 36,000 feet of continuous exploratory drilling for 18 months.

The work would create 14 acres of new surface disturbance near the old Snowshoe Mine. Nine acres of the site would be set aside for waste rock. Ditches and runoff control berms upslope from the disturbed area will be constructed to divert surface runoff, and downslope ditches will collect any runoff water from the disturbed area and route it to a sediment collection pond, the application stated.

This exploration program is intended to determine the continuity of potential ore bodies and attempt to delineate economic ore reserves, Crevice Mining wrote in its application. If a mineral reserve is identified, and Crevice can justify applying for an operating permit as the project progresses, Crevice may apply for the operating permit.

Under its proposal, Crevice Mining said it would commit $1.1 million to the exploratory drilling. An email sent to Michael Werner, managing partner of Crevice Mining Group LLC, for further comment had not been returned by press time.

Concerned

Marty Malone, who has been a Park County commissioner for eight years, said he hasnt been impressed in his interactions with Werner, which have been all about what the county can do for Crevice Mining.

Its not the Montana way to go to your neighbor and say were going to dig a big hole next to you, he said.

Not much is known about the Spokane, Wash., based mining company. The limited liability corporation was formed in January 2015. Werner touts 40 years of international mining experience on the companys website, which lists John Jack Andreazza of Perth, Australia, as the companys other principal.

According to a press release, Bell Copper Corp. hired Andreazza as vice president of metallurgy in 2010. At the time, Werner was listed in the release as CEO and director of Bell Copper.

In a 21-page reply, the DEQ rejected the mining companys original application. Crevice Mining submitted a revised proposal in July. On Sept. 1 the DEQ issued Crevice Mining a deficiency letter asking for more information on hydrology and geochemical data.

They have not responded, according to the agencys Kristi Ponozzo. There is no statutory time frame for them to get back to DEQ.

Meanwhile, the DEQ is working on the environmental assessment for Lucky Minerals proposal to drill 46 holes from 23 pads in Emigrant Gulch  another Paradise Valley mining project. Ponozzo said that document could be out for public comment next month.

Critics

The Crevice Mine proposal has drawn criticism from Yellowstone National Park officials, who expressed the parks reservations in a letter during the public comment period.

Were always concerned about what goes on along our border, said Doug Madsen, of the National Park Service.

At least one mining industry representative, exploration geologist Steve Koehler, has stepped forward, calling Crevices application to the state lacking in detailed information and said the companys funding is minimal. His wife works for Yellowstone park.

Theres a more stable resource that people from around the planet want to come and see  Yellowstone National Park, Koehler said.

Dave Chambers, a geologist and founder of the Center for Science in Public Participation, also questions the placement of the mine, the amount of gold Werner has said the mine might produce as well as possible problems with groundwater. He noted that previous bankruptcies by other Montana gold mining companies have left the public paying millions of dollars for cleanup costs.

Mining legacy

You dont have to go far from Jardine to see what Chambers is talking about.

Roughly 35 miles east from Crevice Mountain the DEQ has restored an area outside of Cooke City. There, a mine mill site retired in the 1950s left a legacy of heavy metals runoff, polluting Soda Butte Creek, a tributary to the upper Yellowstone River before it flows through Yellowstone Park.

The mining industry is being held to a higher standard these days, and with good reason, Koehler said. With Yellowstone an adjacent neighbor, you have to do better.

After spending $22 million to remove 250,000 cubic yards of mining waste rock, and pumping and treating 100 million gallons of tainted water from beneath the site, the DEQ was recently recognized with a national abandoned mine cleanup award.

Soda Butte Creek  once listed as an impaired waterway because of heavy concentrations of copper, lead and iron  is now meeting federal water quality standards.

Im very excited about how the water quality looks, said Tom Henderson, from DEQs Abandoned Mines section.

Dodging a bullet

The Cooke City work originated with a unique agreement. In 1996, the Clinton Administration purchased the New World Mining District to avoid mining near Yellowstone National Park.

After the federal government bought the New World Mining District, the Custer Gallatin National Forest spent millions cleaning up the high mountain region at the headwaters of the Stillwater and Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone rivers. Mines in the district had once supplied the McLaren Mill with ore.

Proponents of the restoration work say it helped avoid a disaster like that experienced in Colorado in 2015. Thats when an estimated 3 million gallons of toxic mine water escaped from an old adit and tailings pond and polluted the Animas River. The long-term impacts of the spill are still unknown.

The Paradise Valley got a taste of that type of catastrophe this summer when more than 180 miles of the Yellowstone River were closed after a large mountain whitefish die-off. The fish kill was blamed on a new parasite. To keep the parasite from spreading to other waters the state fish and game agency banned all use of the river for weeks, putting businesses that cater to rafters and anglers on their heels  along with all of the subsidiary businesses that benefit from those visitors. The closure that lasted for six weeks on one section of the river was estimated to have cost Park County $360,000.

Rocks

The river shutdown drove home the point that the Yellowstone River and its surrounding environs are the carotid artery of the region, pumping lifeblood not just for grizzly bears, wolves and elk, but also for humans. Intertwined with that need for water there has long been a human penchant for the rocks of the region.

Just 20 miles south of Jardine, in what is now Yellowstone National Park, early Americans were picking up obsidian to create tools and weapons at least 11,000 years ago. Those rocks, coveted for their ability to be worked to a keen sharpness, have been found in archaeological sites as far away as the Mississippi Valley.

Just outside what is now the town of Gardiner those same itinerant hunters would stack rocks and branches in the steep cliffs along the Yellowstone River to herd bighorn sheep to kill sites. Those hunters abilities would eventually earn them the nickname Sheepeaters, a moniker bestowed upon nearby cliffs.

It wasnt until the 1870s, when gold was discovered in the narrow canyon carved by Bear Creek  where Jardine now lies  that the area would see a completely different and long-lasting fascination with the regions rocks. That attraction lingered until TVX Gold Inc. closed its Mineral Hill Mine in 1996. Werner, of Crevice Mining Group, was chief operating officer for TVX from 1993 to 1995.

Kinross Gold Corp. bought out TVX in 2003, inheriting the Mineral Hill reclamation and closure project.

Based on TVXs exploration, Crevice Mining Group estimates that as much as 1 million ounces of recoverable gold may still be locked in the mountains rocks.

Chimney rocks

Johnson, too, is a bit infatuated with rocks. His outfitting business and home are on a mountainside with vast views across the Gardiner Basin to the snow-blanketed Gallatin Range.

Enter his residence and the first thing to catch a visitors eye is a large rock hollowed out to create a kitchen sink. Inside a high-ceilinged trophy room is a dominating rock fireplace that commands attention, with a stuffed mountain lion frozen in midstride near its crest and mountain goats posed on each side of the chimney.

Every stone thats here, every rock on that fireplace means something, Johnson said, turning to point to the structure for emphasis. Thats where I saw a grizzly bear, or I saw two elk fighting. I gathered them up and threw them in a pile because I knew what I was going to build.

Mining loyalty

Not everyone sees the mine as a bad neighbor. Montana has embraced its mining history. Emblazoned on the state seal are the words oro y plata, gold and silver, along with a shovel and pick-axe to memorialize the states history.

Although few gold mines remain operating in the state, platinum/palladium and coal mining are still sources of employment that provide high wages for employees, even though a graph tracing mining employment has as many peaks and valleys as the states steepest mountain ranges. Mining employment was at almost 10,000 jobs in 2013. Figures for this year put employment closer to 7,000.

The county does need jobs, said Malone, the Park County commissioner.

And property taxes, since the state has no sales tax, are failing to generate enough income for places like Park County to continue to fund social services like it has in the past, he noted.

This year it was really tough to balance the budget, he said. We had to cut social service budgets by half.

Challenger

Bill Berg, a Gardiner businessman who is challenging Malone for his commission seat, said his community near the Crevice Mine is divided over the issue.

Its dangerous to try and speak for Gardiner, he said. But land, water and air is our economic base, so this seems ill advised.

The two mines proposed in the valley at least have prompted people to discuss what they want, even if they dont all agree, Berg added.

Tourism certainly has its impacts, its not a free ride, he said.

Almost 1 million people pass through Gardiner each year on their way to Yellowstone, Berg said, where last year 4 million people visited. In 2014 the National Park Service estimated that visitors to Yellowstone contributed more than $543 million to communities around the park and accounted for more than 6,600 jobs.

Finding affordable rooms to rent for people who staff the hotels, stores and restaurants that the tourists use is difficult, though, Berg said. So not all is rosy in the tourism economy. Yet he compares Yellowstone and Glacier national parks to the anchor stores of large shopping malls.

You dont want to do anything to hurt those.

Signs

Bright yellow signs along Gardiners main thoroughfare read: Yellowstone is more valuable than gold. More than 100 regional businesses have signed a petition against the Crevice Mine exploration and one proposed in Emigrant Gulch near Chico Hot Springs Resort. To rally support, the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition has created a website, dontmineyellowstone.com.

Of the states three U.S. congressional representatives, Sen. Jon Tester and Rep. Ryan Zinke have taken a stance against the Paradise Valley mines. A spokesperson from Sen. Steve Daines office said he is still gathering information. Neither gubernatorial candidate has spoken for or against the mines.

Until the next move, residents of the Paradise Valley are in limbo. For some, like Johnson, the unknown is a bit disconcerting.

I grew up down in Jardine, I was born and raised there, and when I was a little kid I drove above this place and looked down and always wanted to move here, he said. So I was one of the fortunate people to realize my dream.

I feel like my greatest accomplishment in life is this place and my kids.
Upon hearing that a major newspaper printed his obituary in 1897, Mark Twain uttered his famous line that the news of his death had been greatly exaggerated. Take just a cursory look at coal industry headlines these days, and one cant help but be reminded of Twains legendary quote.

A recent article in Bloomberg News Bust Hits Americas Cowboy Coal Basin After 40 Years of Boom provides a good example of this sentiment as it relates to Wyoming and Montana. The story describes the unquestionably difficult times that have fallen on the Powder River Basin, as bankruptcies, lost jobs and declining tax revenues fill the headlines, and a steep drop in early 2016 production levels paints a bleak picture for the region going forward.

But as with the rumors of Twain on his deathbed, its important to understand that while coal is certainly down, it is far from out, particularly if pending EPA regulations on power plants get struck down in the courts.

As the Star-Tribune has reported, the good news in the short term is that leading producers are emerging from bankruptcy healthier. Market demand is also returning. After a slow start to the year (due in large part to a mild winter combined with final implementation of a 2012 EPA regulation that forced closure of approximately 20 percent of the nations coal-fired electricity generation), PRB coal production has actually picked up significantly since earlier this spring. Recent data show that weekly production levels are now nearly 50 percent above their April lows, and only modestly below 2015 levels.

There are also facts not to miss over the longer term. In August, the Energy Information Administration released its Annual Energy Outlook, which includes detailed forecasts of coal production for the next 25 years. EIA projects that, without EPAs Clean Power Plan regulations, recent declines in western U.S. coal production stabilize over the next decade and even mount a modest comeback in the latter part of the 2020s. However, if EPAs sweeping attempt to remake the U.S. electricity system is successful, the downward trend will extend as far as the eye can see. Fortunately, the Supreme Court blocked EPAs efforts until the judicial branch completes review of the unprecedented legal challenge against the rule brought by a coalition of more than 160 entities, including 27 states and a host of business, labor and consumer groups. The U.S. Chamber is helping to lead this fight, and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on our challenge on Sept. 27.

But regardless of what happens in the U.S., countries around the globe continue to build new coal plants at a rapid pace. In fact, for every gigawatt of coal-fired capacity projected to be shut down as a result of the CPP, more than 40 new gigawatts are planned elsewhere in the world. Asia in particular has an insatiable appetite for coal, and if government doesnt interfere, PRB producers are well situated to feed that appetite through increased coal exports.

Why does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce care about coal and the health of Powder River Basin? We represent not only energy producers but businesses all across the country that depend on affordable and reliable energy for a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

It is no coincidence that coal states pay less for electricity (for example, rates in coal-free California are about double those in Wyoming, which are the third-lowest in the country), and PRB coal is a major source of power throughout the country, fueling power plants in major industrial states. In fact, despite the tough times, the PRB will still produce nearly 40 percent of the nations coal in 2016, and power one of every seven homes and businesses in the country. Think for a moment where we would be without the PRB and its resources. It isnt pretty.

It is also important to recognize that the coal plants of today are dramatically cleaner than those of yesteryear, having achieved emissions reductions of more than 90 percent thanks to technological advances and responsible regulations. Unfortunately, the keep it in the ground approach of todays environmental activists aims to eliminate fossil fuels entirely, making every American pay more for their energy.

That would be bad for Wyoming and for the entire country, and it would indeed make the bleak future of coal predicted by some a reality.

Unless and until that happens, however, we should heed Twains lesson and be wary of premature obituaries.
Wonder Bar

To the relief of many residents, a Casper landmark will retain its name. After a few weeks of uncertainty, the community learned that the beloved Wonder Bar will reopen under new ownership with the same moniker. We hope the new owners will be able to retain as much of the buildings historic feel as possible.

Four decades

Congratulations to the University of Wyoming at Casper, which is celebrating 40 years of collaborative educational options. The campus has grown in many ways over that time, thanks in part to support from the Casper community. Heres hoping that relationship and the institution continue to strengthen.

Perking up

Recently released economic information confirms that Wyomings downturn was a severe one but also brought some positive news: Generally speaking, the economy is stabilizing. Thats great news, and were optimistic that trend will continue.

Fire and snow

The West is nearing the end of a below-average season for wildfires. Some blazes are still burning in Southern California and in Colorado, but most of the danger has subsided with cooler, wetter weather. In fact, a foot of snow has fallen in western Wyoming at elevations as low as 7,000 feet. Its the rare time of year where we cant forget about fire danger but also have to think about winter driving safety  so make sure to consider both.

Cast your ballot

The general election is Nov. 8, and early/absentee voting is going on now. Whichever option you choose, make sure to research all the choices and then go make your voice heard.
Editor:

I am amazed that the Wyoming Republican Party (WRP) is so angst-ridden and concerned about Rep. Gerald Gay's comments regarding women being absent from the workplace more than men. I was a single parent working woman for most of my adult life. I did NOT take his comments as a judgment call on women or their work ethic. His comments merely reflected employer feedback that women were absent more from the workplace. This is due to the fact that in single-parent (and many two-parent) households the woman is taking children to medical providers, to school functions, visiting with school personnel for various reasons, or taking care of sick family members.

Where was the WRP's righteous indignation when Mead and his minions blithely chose to disenfranchise the whole state of Wyoming, all while having a yes man waiting in the wings (SF 104 -- taking an elected position -- the Superintendent of Public Instruction -- and making it an administrative position with the person chosen by the governor).

Where was the WRP's righteous indignation when Mead and his minions chose to commit hundreds of millions for renovations to the Herschler Building and leases for temporary location of various state offices, at a time when mineral severance taxes are down, other state budgets are being cut and essential services around the state are being asked to tighten their budgets, all while possibly avoiding constitutional bidding processes? Even if it is determined the lack of any bidding process was appropriate, even if certain funds were earmarked from a prior budget, is this really the time and place for such an expenditure?

Rep. Gay opposed the disenfranchisement of all Wyoming voters under SF 104; he has challenged the expenditures involved in the Herschler Building renovations and leases. I believe he is doing his job in protecting my taxpayer dollars in Cheyenne. Rep. Gay is getting my vote; I consider him a true and principled conservative who is watching our dollars and trying to keep our elected officials following the constraints of our State Constitution.
Editor:

Well, once again the news media is reporting something negative about a conservative Republican who is wanting to win an election. We know there are those who are influenced by what they read.

Just look at the ads they show on TV or run in newspapers or magazines. I see ads that give 50 percent off the same item for months. Others have many, many seasons. Some say they are lower-priced than others, and to prove it they will meet their competitors' prices.

Back to politics -- some of us must not be a true conservative. Is it OK not to pay taxes as the law of Wyoming requires? Is it OK to accept federal subsidies? What about the need of a minimal wage law? Do we not give to help the needy, so why pay a minimum wage?

Oh, and by the way, where did Dick Cheney live and vote when he ran for vice president? The old U.S. Constitution does not allow the president and vice president to come from the same state.

I asked all my friends if I should send in this letter, and they both said I'd just make more people hate me. Oh well, at 88 what's three more!

Please God, bless America.
Editor:

Although a study commissioned by the Wyoming State Legislature regarding management of certain specific federally administrated public lands in Wyoming was completed in September 2016, it will not be released until sometime in November (after the election). This seems extremely curious considering how the transfer of federal lands back to the states is a major topic this election cycle.

Recently at a forum held at the Sheridan High School, Democratic candidates were the only ones to support keeping our federal lands federal. Candidates Hollis Hackman (House District 51), Val Burgess (District 30), and Greg Haas (District 40) each acknowledged their support as did Ryan Greene, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives. Even Hackmans campaign signs reaffirm his stance to "keep public land in public hands."

It should be noted, however, that Greenes opponent, Liz Cheney, is on record favoring the return of federal lands to the states which is exactly the stance of our retiring congressional representative, Cynthia Lummis. To emphasize her partiality even more, Lummis is one of the seven Western legislators on the American Land Council as well as a member of FLAG (Federal Lands Action Group). These coalitions' aim is the return of federal lands to state control which in Wyoming amounts to 48.1 percent of our land mass. It, also, seems a not so well kept secret that Lummis has the governorship of Wyoming in her crosshairs when that election rolls around.

While it is undisputed that Wyoming is a traditionally red state. Perhaps, though, its time to take a second and closer look at just who and what our representatives are actually representing! Whatever the results of this election, it will have ramifications on our way of life in Wyoming not just for this generation but for many yet to come. So if you hunt, fish, or just want continued open access to nature and outdoor activities, I strongly urge you to carefully study the issues before you cast your ballot. To say a lot is riding on it is an understatement!
Bill Berger walked up to Terry McDonald on the Sun Links platform outside Mercado San Agustin on the last Friday in September and extended his hand.

He wasnt sure the two had ever met, although they were waiting for the streetcar for the same purpose: the 50th reunion of Palo Verde High School.

My first class was at 6 a.m. and my last class was at 11:30, McDonald explained of Palo Verdes split schedule in the 1960s that had half the students attending in the morning, half in the afternoon. By the time we graduated, they had us line up alphabetically and I didnt know anyone.

Berger and McDonald were among 65 Palo Verde High class of 1966 alumni expected to take the Sun Links tour, the kickoff of the weekend reunion Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. About 205 people of the class of 715ish  it might be a few more or less  had said they would come to the reunion dinner that Saturday at Westward Look Resort and dance the night away on the resort rooftop.

The Palo Verde class was getting a head start on Tucsons reunion season, beating other high schools to the annual October crush of classmate get-togethers that celebrate post-high school milestones once every decade.

This is the class of 66s fifth reunion, but it was a first for Bill Kalt, a retired Tucson school teacher and avid history buff.

I figured at 50, it was time, he said.

This is kind of amazing that so many of us are still alive, Berger quipped, taking a step back as Kalt breezed past him and embraced Kit Estes.

The dancing man! Kalt exclaimed, then announced to no one in particular, This man can dance!

Estes blushed beneath his trim grey beard and pushed back a strand of his matching long grey hair.

They call me the Dancing Man of Tucson, Estes said, and he has a YouTube channel of him dancing at everywhere from Tucson dance clubs like the now shuttered Boondocks Lounge to Tucson Meet Yourself.

You know I started dancing while I was at Palo Verde, he told Kalt, whose small claim to class of 66 fame is writing the local history book Tucson Was A Railroad Town.

Kalt didnt remember that about Estes, who has spent the five decades after high school doing a little bit of everything: landscaping, remodeling, T-shirt making. But reunion organizer Linda Sheets remembered.

When we were kids, if you went to the dance and you didnt have a date or anyone to dance with, you would find Kit, she recalled as dark clouds moved in from the south and threatened to unleash as the group was about to board the streetcar. We always knew wed have a dance with Kit.

As Estes extolled the virtues of dancing, Judy Aitken had pretty much made up her mind that she was going to sneak a dance with him at the reunion dinner and dance the next night.

Aitken and her husband, Lee, a Palo Verde 66 grad, go out dancing all the time, she said. They had a rock n roll wedding six years ago  originally from California, the 30-year Tucson resident was a widower when she met Lee in a Tucson bar  and the Retro Rockets played at their reception. The 1960s rock cover band was set to play the reunion dinner as well.

The 50th reunion was also Lee Aitkens first. Though the Tucson Electric Power Co. retiree had never left Tucson after graduation, he said he had never really had much interest in the once-every-10-years shindigs.

But Aitken figured that at 68 it was about time.

This is my first and probably my last, he said, joking that their numbers would probably go down over the next 10 years as he and his classmates entered their 70s.

Some might argue that reunions in general are less necessary these days thanks to social media. With Facebook, Twitter and Snap Chat, the class of 2017 is less likely to lose track of one another than the class of 1966.

Youd be surprised how many people our age (late 60s) do not use social media, Sheets said, adding that the group has a website to get out news. But most of the people attending the reunion weekend learned about it through word of mouth.

It was a lot of work, she said. To get over 200 was a success in my book.

Sheets and her friend and former classmate Linda Smith Simmons arent waiting for the 60th reunion to get together. She said the two friends and several girls from that Palo Verde class get together for lunch once a month.

This class of 1966 lost its innocence soon after graduation as the war in Vietnam escalated and colored the lives of those who went on to college. Some did go into military service.

Notable members of the class include Greg Psaltis, a pediatric dentist (the class of 66 president) who builds dental clinics for poor kids in Mexico; Randy Tufts, who co-discovered Kartchner Caverns and became an astrophysicist; and Phil Baechler, a track letterman who invented the Baby Jogger and then designed mobility devices for the active handicapped.
A composite sketch of a man wanted in connection to an abduction attempt Thursday at PCC's West Campus was released Friday night.

A student reported that a man approached her near the main entrance on the south side of the "A" Building, shortly after 3 p.m. and tried to drag her to his car, authorities said.

The assailant was described as an African-American man in his 20s who was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts. He was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 170 pounds. He had brown eyes. The woman used the wrong terminology to describe his hairstyle. It was not in cornrows, said Libby Howell, a PCC spokeswoman.

The woman told police that the man said he had been watching her, and then tried to abduct her. She said the man's car was parked about 20 feet away, Howell said.

The woman, who said she did not know the assailant, said she fought him off and the man drove away in a small gray vehicle. It had tinted windows and possibly four doors.

She went into a campus building where she reported the incident, said Howell. The woman did not require medical attention.

Police searched the campus at 2202 W. Anklam Road, but did not find the man or the vehicle, Howell said. Classes were cancelled Thursday evening and resumed Friday morning.

The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call the PCC Police Department at 206-2700.
If the politicians and community leaders showed up expecting softball questions, they were wrong.

At the 22nd annual Teen Town Hall put on by the Metropolitan Education Commission, teens from more than a dozen schools in the Tucson area grilled them about student debt, education funding, cuts to joint technical education funding, sex education and other topics.

The objective is to hear from the students, said June Webb-Vignery, executive director of the commission, noting students always have a different perspective on policy than adults do.

Panelists that students addressed included Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, Pima College Chancellor Lee Lambert, State Sens. Steve Farley and David Bradley, and State Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon.

Business leaders, representative of city council members and the University of Arizona were also available to answer questions.

You words are powerful, Elias told the crowd, gathered at Catalina High Magnet School. Your words are important. So lay them on us, please.

And they did. Students demanded to know what the county or the state were going to do to boost graduation rates in Arizona and to address the worsening teacher shortage.

Did the panelists support sex education? It has to age-appropriate, Gabaldon said.

Participants pointed out that more money is spent per prison inmate than per student and that Arizona consistently ranks at the bottom of education rankings.

Tammy Tran, 17, of Amphitheater High School wanted to know how students were expected to pursue further education, which is key in escaping poverty, when the cost of higher education leads to mountains of debt.

Robert Medler, vice president of government affairs at the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce, advised that students should make sure they understand the terms of the loans they are getting.

An adviser from the Regional College Access Center, a program of the MEC, told her that students must be competitive if they dont want to borrow money.

But their answers werent quite good enough for Tran, who followed up with a question about those students who try their hardest but still dont find themselves eligible for scholarships.

Our grades dont reflect our actual intelligence, she said.
Who are these strange women?  You dont look Greek  more Libyan  Egyptian  Cypriot  Indian nomads  Ethiopian  What are you?

reinvigorates a 2,500 year old piece of theatre from the pen of Aeschylus which still has a pointed message to society today. David Grieg adapted a literal translation of the 463BC Greek play The Suppliants (the first of an otherwise nearly totally lost trilogy) which tells the story of The Danaids, the fifty daughters of Danaus.The plot is simple. (Youll receive, nearly unnecessary, crib notes when you arrive at the theatre.) The daughters flee Egypt to Greece by boat and claim asylum. The King of the city of Argos feels that its a risky decision to make on his own  to bar them would bring terror, to welcome them could bring about war  so he puts it to a vote of the people. While the vote goes the womens way, ships on the horizon bring the Egyptian threat sailing towards the shore of Argos.The protagonists are the daughters, played by 15 young women recruited into the community chorus. They chant, sing, dance, sculpt and speak with a confidence that disguises the limited period of rehearsal. Its only in moments when a Belfast voice can be heard speaking, no longer disguised by the singing, that you realise that nearly everyone on stage is local. (Kudos to the local vocal and movement coaches, Mairead Duffy and Sarah Johnston.) The local cast playing arriving refugees chimes some bells with the unrecognised Greek roots of the daughters of Danaids when they arrive at Argos. Another sixteen members of the community churos play the wise women of Argos and the Kings soldiers.The costumes are colourful yet simple. The staging is minimal which redirects focus back onto the cast. Youll be tapping your foot along with some of the rhythms as the passion and verve carries you along on a wave of emotion when the daughters realise that the people of Argos are behind them and will offer them sanctuary and protection.The libation given by a civic leader at the beginning, the long choral odes, the rhythmic back and forth, the authentic aulos instrument expertly played by Callum Armstrong along with percussion (Ben Burton) at one side of the stage, the simple set of a bricked courtyard and the musing on a mythological act all connect to the ancient Greek traditions. Essentially, its an extended prayer to Zeus. But dont let that put you off!The modern resonances with the global refugee crisis are obvious and familiar as the city leader oscillates between the worry that letting in migrants [might] cause Argos to fall and the desire to find some way we can all live safely. The public understanding that if we turn our back on women in danger well pollute and sully our city is less universally expressed in 2016.Do these war-battered refugees holding up their suppliant branches in their left hands deserve asylum? Do they need to threaten suicide?The clash of culture between the Egyptian men and the King as well as between the daughters and the women of Argos echo modern concerns. The daughters are given advice on integration and rumours that could be straight out of a resettlement programme manual.is a mesmerising piece of musical theatre, with beautiful imagery and a powerful story. Its both ancient and contemporary. And the second and last performance tonight in the Grand Opera House as part of Belfast International Arts Festival should not be missed. Actors Touring Company will be takingto Newcastle upon Tyne (3-5 November) where a new community chorus is already in rehearsal and will soon meet the three touring actors Danaus (Omar Ebrahim), lead daughter (Gemma May) and the King (Oscar Batterham).
Joan Reinke Robles, who was among the first women cops hired by the Tucson Police Department, died Oct. 13. She was 90.

Robles died at her home surrounded by family and friends, said her former husband, George Robles, on Friday.

She had suffered a minor heart attack Oct. 4  her birthday  and her health slowly failed from there, said her stepdaughter Maryann Simpson.

Both lovingly talked about Robles life, Simpson describing her as a pretty spectacular woman.

She was the most curious woman I ever knew. She read voraciously and was very interested about different cultures, and what people had to say, she said of Robles, who began traveling the world in the early 1950s on through 2006. Her travels included Europe, Japan, South America and Malaysia.

Her work as a police officer for TPD began in 1952. She was trained by Alice Birdman Maguire who became her partner.

Maguire had just returned from Los Angeles where she underwent three weeks of training, and learned how to use a gun and defend herself. She took Robles under her wing and Robles learned on the job.

In a 2013 Star article, Maguire explained why the department hired them. The League of Women Voters didnt like the idea of policemen frisking women and children. The league impressed upon the city manager the need for women on the force.

I didnt know what to expect, said Robles in the article. There was a segment of the population down there who were suspicious of us, said Robles of the other officers. Maguire added: They thought we were stool pigeons for the chief, but we werent.

Robles and her partner worked rotating eight-hour shifts and earned less than $300 a month, which was considered good pay then. The women worked with the detective squad. They wore high heels, skirts and jackets.

Each had a specially designed purse with a holster for their gun. The purse also carried handcuffs, a billy club and lipstick. Robles and Maguire were known as the suede slipper cops. Among their duties, were checking bars in search of children who were out past the 10 p.m. curfew.

On slow shifts, Robles would pull out her ukulele and play while Maguire drove the patrol car. It was pretty boring in Tucson in those days. Tucson was buttoned up by 10 oclock, said Robles in the article.

Robles, a native of Minneapolis and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, left the police department after a year, and moved to San Francisco and took a job as a social worker, said George Robles.

She eventually returned to Tucson after marrying George in 1968 in San Francisco. The two met when she was a TPD cop and George also was on the force. He retired as a lieutenant from TPD in 1970 after 20 years, and then became chief of police in South Tucson.

Robles went to work for the Juvenile Probation Office, and later at The Haunted Bookshop where she had a corner and bought and sold out-of-print books. She became a collector and specialized in Southwestern Americana, recalled George Robles.

Services are pending.
A neighbor pounded on a door and alerted a woman that her house was on fire Friday afternoon in a midtown neighborhood.

The woman and two others in the house were able to escape, but a dog and cat were killed, said Capt. Barrett Baker of the Tucson Fire Department.

Another cat survived the blaze and one cat remains missing and presumed dead, Baker said.

Firefighters were dispatched at 12:38 p.m. to the 5800 block of East 18th Street after multiple 911 calls. The neighborhood is north of East 22nd Street and east of South Craycroft Road.

When firefighters arrived, the carport was fully involved in flames and the fire had spread to the attic. Twenty-three firefighters controlled the blaze in 19 minutes, Baker said.

The Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the two women and man who lived at the house, which was condemned by city inspectors, said Baker.

He said the cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation. A damage estimate has not been determined.
A lieutenant with the Sheriffs Department has been informally disciplined after a citizen complained that he entered the mans home without cause and with his gun drawn, documents show.

On May 15, Lt. Terry Parish was on his way to a neighborhood meeting when he heard a call on the radio about a theft in progress at a nearby Walgreens, according to his narrative of events in the Pima County Sheriffs Department investigative report for the shoplifting incident.

Parish learned that officers at the scene had gotten a license plate number from the car the thief fled in, so he drove to the home that was associated with the plate, he wrote in the report.

The suspect, who was described as a man wearing a shirt with a marijuana leaf on it, was believed to have stolen cough syrups from the store.

Parish waited for backup, after which he and the deputy knocked on the front door several minutes with no response.

Parish said they could hear dogs barking inside the home.

A third deputy arrived, and Parish went to check the back of the house, encountering a small unlocked gate, which he opened and walked through, according to the report.

Parish told the Star on Thursday that when he went around back, he was thinking that he would find the homeowner in the yard.

No one was in the yard, but Parish saw that the security screen on the back of the house was open, as was the inside door, and the doorknob appeared to be broken.

At this point I began to be concerned that the vehicle had been forcibly removed from the residence and a crime had been committed in it, Parish wrote in the report.

A second deputy came around back, and the two entered the house, announcing their presence.

Both Parish and the deputy had their guns drawn as they entered the home, which is standard whenever clearing a residence, he said Thursday, adding that his gun was never pointed at the man.

After making it a foot or two inside, Parish heard a man yelling and saw him standing inside next to the deputy who had been posted at the front door, the report said.

The middle-aged man was irate that we were at his house, Parish wrote in the report. He advised me at that point that ... I had no right to be here.

The homeowner told them that the car they were looking for was his and his son had already called and told him about an incident at Walgreens but claimed to have paid for the cough syrup he was accused of stealing, the report said.

Parish told the Star that based on the high-class neighborhood and the pristine condition of the home, the description of the suspect didnt seem like a typical person who would be in the area.

Because of the stolen cough syrup and marijuana leaf shirt, Parish thought that the suspect might have some involvement with drugs, which he said wasnt consistent with the neighborhood.

After seeing the doorknob, which he said had obviously been forced open, Parish said that he then viewed the call as a welfare check.

I was not looking for a shoplifter at that point, Parish said. I didnt think I had a choice. My concern was for the (residents) welfare.

When performing welfare checks, law enforcement officers do not need warrants to enter a private residence.

The department issued Parish a letter of counseling, which is considered informal discipline. He says he did not violate any department policies or rules.

The Sheriffs Department did not respond to a September records request for the actual complaint and the review boards investigation into Parish.
Nicholson promoted to president, COO of Tucson-based Brakemax

Michael P. Nicholson was named president and chief operating officer of Brakemax Car Care Centers and Max Auto Glass, a Tucson-based retail auto service chain. He replaces Raymond L. Pisciotta, who will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive officer.

Nicholson was previously the general manager of the company, which consists of 14 locations across Pima County as well as an auto glass division.

He joined Pisciotta to form Brakemax Car Care Centers in 1997 as location manager on First Avenue before becoming general manager in 1999.
Help India!

By IANS

Mumbai : Thousands of people from across India and abroad visited Aurangzebs memorial in Khultabad Saturday, 400 km from here, to mark the former Mughal emperors 300th death anniversary.

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Aurangzebs death anniversary falls on the 27th of Zilquad, the 11th month in the Islamic Hijri calendar.

As per the will of emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, he has been buried in the premises of the dargah (tomb) of his spiritual guru, Hazrat Syed Zainuddin Baiiskhwaja, said Abdul Hai, president of Mutawllis and Poojaris association.

The tomb of his wife  known as Bibi Ka Maqbara  is about 25 km from here.

Prince Yakub Mohammed Habibuddin Tusi and his family members have also arrived in Khultabad to pay homage to their illustrious forefather. About 100,000 people visited the city Saturday to pay homage. The local authorities had declared the day as a holiday.

On the occasion, over 1,400-palanquins arrived from Delhi and other parts of northern India to pay homage. Over 2,000 beggars and poor people were served lunch, said Hai.

The Khultabad dargah also houses a rare copy of the Holy Quran, handwritten by Aurangzeb, which is opened for public display only on special occasions.

Aurangzeb, who jailed his own father Shahjahan in one of the minarets of Taj Mahal, spent a few years of his life re-writing holy Islamic scriptures, weaving caps and praying.

The city of Aurangabad also has two world heritage sites, Ajanta and Ellora.
Help India!

By IANS



New Delhi : The grey skies overhead seemed to mirror the fear and trepidation of students Tuesday as they went from college to college checking to see if they had qualified for admission following Delhi University's first "cut off" list that is a few percent higher than last year's.

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With colleges, especially top ones like Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Hindu and Ramjas in the main campus, raising their cut off marks for commerce and economics courses, the student lot seemed prepared to face rejection. But most students had back-up plans to fall back on.

In SRCC, the minimum marks for admission into B.Com (honours) course was a whopping 94.75 percent for commerce students and a still higher 96 percent for non-commerce students.

Many students were disappointed that they couldn't qualify for B.Com (honours) in SRCC in spite of scoring 90 percent, but had taken the precaution of applying in other colleges for the same course.

"I really wanted to study commerce in SRCC. My father is an alumni of this college and he wanted me to study there as well. But I missed it by a whisker," said Neha Sethi, who had scored 94 percent.

"The cut off is 94.75. But I am glad I have got through Kirori Mal College (KMC) where the cut off is 94. So I am happy," she said.

Giving the skyrocketing commerce cut offs good competition is the equally sought-after economics course. In SRCC, it has gone up by 0.5 percent from last year.

In Hindu, a student needs an aggregate of 92 to 96 percent (for non economics students) to qualify for an honours course in the subject. Hansraj is demanding 93 to 94 percent, Lady Shri Ram (LSR) 93.75 percent and Miranda House 91 to 94 percent depending on which stream the student has passed his Class 12 exam in.

If commerce and economics are giving students worry lines, so is psychology honours. Indraprastha College has increased its cut off by one percent to 89.5-90.5 percent while Daulat Ram College has hiked it by 5 percent to 88.5.

Shruti Seth, who scored 86 percent in her Class 12, is disappointed because she hasn't qualified for psychology honours at LSR. "LSR has kept the cut off for psychology at 92.75 percent. So I don't qualify for it," she said.

She, however, like many others has had applied for more than one course in more than one college.

"I had applied for sociology and political science in different colleges as well. And I have qualified for sociology in Sri Venkateswara College. So I think I will go for it."

Although a slight dip in the cut offs is expected in the second list, which the colleges will put up June 30, most students are in no mood to take any chances and are going ahead with the admissions that start Wednesday.

"Last year a girl I know qualified for economics honours in Indraprastha college in the first go but waited for SRCC and Hindu's second cut off list. But both the colleges closed admission after the first list.

"To add to her woes, Indraprastha also closed admissions to economics after the first cut off. At the end she had to settle for something she didn't want to. Hence, I am going ahead and taking admission in Kirorimal for B.Com (honours) instead of waiting for the second cut off," said Sethi.

Echoed Jyotsna and Anupama sitting at the help desk of SRCC.

"SRCC did have a second cut off list in 2005, but generally it doesn't because the seats get filled up after the first list itself.

"This year, for the 325 seats in B.Com (honours) in SRCC, 330 students have qualified amongst the applicants. Of them, some will probably opt for another college So there, all the seats are filled," said Anupama.

For those opting for English honours, things a tad bit better. "I appeared for the entrance test for English in Miranda House and have made it through. This is what I wanted to do, so I am happy," smiled Annie Banerji.

Delhi University, one of India's best, has 84 affiliated colleges with over 300,000 students. While the elite colleges are difficult to get in, some other colleges attract students on the strength of their faculties. And in these institutions the cut off marks are relatively lower.
Help India!

By TCN News,

New Delhi: The Seemanchal International Literary Festival (SILF), an international literary event organised by Kitaab International, Singapore, in collaboration with Insan School, Kishanganj is going to be held in Kishanganj.

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Literary festivals of various hues have been creating a revolution of ideas across India in the last few years. However, most literary festivals take place only in metro cities only. This initiative is set to be a distinctive event with a new literary festival being launched in India by the people of the Seemanchal region of Bihar.

The first edition of SILF is scheduled to be held on 17-18 November, 2016 at Insan School campus in the border town Kishanganj of northern Bihar state to coincide with the golden jubilee celebration of Insan School, one of the well-known educational institutions of the region. SILF is the brainchild of Singapore-based journalist, writer, publisher and filmmaker, Zafar Anjum, who hails from Kishanganj.

Most literary festivals take place in metro cities, said the festivals founder-director Anjum adding, Through this festival, we are attempting to bring literature to the grassroots. A large part of India still lives in the villages and small towns and with an effort like SILF, we are hoping to shape the hearts and minds of people in small town India.

This annual literary festival celebrates the spirit of humanity through literature and is dedicated to the people of Seemanchal and the Northeastern part of India, Anjum further said.

The birthplace of Maila Anchal and Maare Gaye Gulfam famed Hindi writer Phaneshwar Nath Renu, Seemanchal has remained a much-neglected region of northeastern Bihar. Representing the multicultural ethos of the country, the 10 million people who live in this part of India profess many faiths and speak many languages and dialects.

The region which connects the seven sisters of northeast to the rest of the country is strategically located at the intersection of Bihar and Bengal, and is surrounded by the borders of Bangladesh and Nepal.

Besides Kitaab Singapore, the management and alumni of Insan School, Kishanganj, and the book lovers of the region are putting the festival together. The British Council (Eastern India), Urdu Academy Bihar, and AP Foundation are also supporting the festival.

SILF is also an effort to further the vision of Padma Shri late Dr. Syed Hasan, an educationist and founder of INSAN mission, said Shefa Syed Hasan, director of Insan School.

More than 20 writers from India and abroad have confirmed their participation in the two-day festival. Some eminent writers and speakers headlining the festival come from India, Singapore, UK and USA including Ziya Us Salam, Senior Deputy Editor of The Hindu-Frontline, Milee Ashwarya, Editor in Chief of Commercial and Business books at Penguin Random House India, Rheea Mukherjee, co- founder of Bangalore Writers Workshop and Write Leela Write, Singapore-based journalist P N Balji and Malay novelist and poet, Isa Kamari, UK-based Urdu poet Dr. Nadeem Zafar Jilani and Mumbai-based Urdu novelist Rahman Abbas, and USA based acdemic, writer and columnist Dr. Debotri Dhar.

Details of the event:

ENTRY: Free

VENUE: Insan School, Kishanganj, Bihar 855107

NEAREST RAILWAY STATION: Kishanganj Junction (KNE)

NEAREST AIRPORT: Bagdogra Airport (IXB)

TEAM: Zafar Anjum (Founder-Director), Tanzil Asif (Media Coordinator, Delhi), Riyaz Nazish (In-charge of Media Relations), Mudassir Alam (Media Coordinator, Patna)
Help India!

By TCN News,

Washington: In order to honor Sir Syed Ahmad and to remember his contributions in education, Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA) of Washington D.C. celebrated his legacy at Argyle Country Club in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

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Being one of the oldest AMU Alumni Associations established outside of India, the Aligarh Alumni Association of Washington D.C. held the 42nd Sir Syed Day Memorial Lecture and Dinner on October 16, 2016

The Sir Syed Day Memorial Lecture was delivered by Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, Scholar-in-Residence at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He is a distinguished scholar and a political activist, having served as a former Premier of Western Cape Province of South Africa from 2004 to 2008 under the first South African president, Nelson Mandela. He also served as Ambassador of South Africa to the United States from 2010 to 2015.

The event was attended by members of the AAA, their families, friends and admirers of Sir Syed from across the globe, including members of Pakistan Association, Alumni of Karachi University, office bearers of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), American Muslim Institute, National Council of Association of Indian Associations, Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, Ambassador Dr. HarSwarup Singh, Frank Islam and many other prominent figures of the Washington metro area.

The function started with a social hour, followed by dinner and the Memorial Lecture. Consistent with the long tradition of Aligarh Muslim University, the lecture was preceded by a recitation of the Holy Quran by Afzal Usmani, which was followed by the welcome address from Masood Farshori, President of AAA.

Dr. Syed Amir introduced the keynote speaker. After the introduction of the speaker, following the tradition of AAA, a plaque was presented to Ambassador Rasool,the citation on the plaque was read by Frank Islam, while Masood Farshori and Chairman, Board of Trustee AAA, Dr. A. Abdullah presented it to Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool.

The topic of the keynote address was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: A Reformer then, A reformer Now! Lessons from South Africa to the USA.

Ambassador Rasool gave an inspiring talk, eloquently delivered, which mesmerized the audience. He described his personal journey from a middle working class family to the Premiership of Western Cape Province, his struggle for integration of the Muslimminority into the mainstream of his country, andreminisced about his association with Nelson Mandela.He articulated how Sir Syeds ideology helped him to navigate through the tough times for South Africa when it was in transition from a country ruled by the apartheid system to a free nation. He elaborated on the interpretation of the Quranic word Allamal-Insaan-Maalam-Yaalam which is on the emblem/monogram of Aligarh Muslim University. He further explained the significance of choosing Surah Al-Alaq to begin the revelation of the Quran because this chapter talks about education, reading, writing and research. Ambassador Rasool stressed that as long as we continue to read, write and do research, this book will provide guidance for mankind till the end of time.

He stressed the importance of education as the key to success and progress. Sir Syed understood this relationshipwell and began to disseminate his message via his journal TahzibulAkhlaq, and the  AligarhInstitute Gazette. He founded the Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College which became a University in 1920.Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool highlighted the current political situation in America and suggested thatthe country was going through a transitional phase. He believed that the teachings of Sir Syed could also find application here and wouldbe likely to advance a better integration and reconciliation among the diverse population of United States. His speech is available at http://www.aligarhdc.org/ssml2016/

The lecture was followed by a question-answers session. Dr. Fazal Khan, Dr. HarSwarup Singh and Suman Verdhan expressed their gratitude to the speaker for his enlightening lecture and asked questions which the speaker answered appropriately. The evening concluded ona vote of thanks from Secretary Mrs. Humera Qadri. Dr. Razi Raziuddin served as the M.C. of the evening.

The Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC, founded in 1975, is a non-political, non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable, educational, social, and cultural organization for non-alumni and alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, India. The Association takes interest in affairs of the University, runs a scholarship program to help meritorious students from low income families, and organizes social, literary, and cultural programs.
As right-wing British newspapers plaster their front pages with the headline Tell us the Tooth and These migrants dont look like children, its time we ask ourselves; what makes one nation feel so superior to another? Since when did borders define an individuals right to safety and happiness?

refugees, fleeing war zones such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq, are not only leaving behind violence, brutality and mass murder, but also their livelihoods, families and businesses. Nevertheless, these educated, innocent individuals are repeatedly treated like animals, with no entitlement to basic human rights.

Maybe, its time, certain members of the British public and government, took the time to truly understand the situation at the Jungle refugee camp, the sickening conditions and reality for refugees, before they jump to conclusions and interrogate every refugee or migrant that crosses the Calais-UK border.

Depression has no age limit

Recent news of the destruction of the Jungle camp, on part of the French authorities, means the hopes and dreams of refugees being reunited with their families in the UK seem further away than ever.

After experiencing a near five years of modern historys most brutal wars, travelling Europe near enough by foot, raped, beaten and detained along the way, to then reach a wasteland filled with human detritus in conditions that hit below freezing, and told you should carry on living with strangers in a field because you don't quite meet the rights to be reunited with your family in the UK, it comes as no surprise that refugees are experiencing extreme Depression, anxiety, and some even committing suicide.

Volunteers and organisations working on ground at the camp, in cooperation with the UK government, were the ones to decide who should be in the first group of minors to reach the UK. Of course, a 20 year-old with extreme depression and openly self-harming, will need to be reunited with family urgently.

However, it seems readers of The Sun and The Daily Mail were shocked and horrified when a cute four-year-old didn't arrive in the UK earlier this week, with missing limbs and broken toys.

Maybe, its time to accept that sometimes, we dont know the full story, or the extent someone is suffering - regardless of their age.

Volunteers to the rescue

As someone who has volunteered in Calais, I have witnessed the outstanding support that volunteers provide for refugees living at the camp. Working endless hours, distributing food and clothes, teaching English, and introducing refugees to their legal rights - volunteers across Europe have moved their lives and families to Calais to fight for the rights of refugees.

While there is no doubt that the remaining minors, some as young as eight-years-old, urgently need to reach the UK, many are adopted or under the legal care of volunteers and organisations working on ground - unlike the slightly older minors, 16 years-old and above, who are still child orphans, but are more likely to have to fend for themselves.

Humanrights are universal

My question is this: since when did becoming an adult, or even as young as 15, mean you were stripped of your rights to health, happiness, and safety?

Conclusively, I don't believe shunning refugees, turning them away, or integrating them makes you racist - but I believe it makes you ignorant. It makes you ignorant to the fact that it is by sheer fortune and luck are you not born into a country experiencing conflict.

It makes you ignorant to the fact that age, gender, and nationality doesnt define an individuals entitlement to human rights. And finally, it makes you ignorant to the fact that if yourself and your family was in the same position, you would do the exact same thing.
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Marijuana-based cuisine and wine mature - slowly Updated: 2016-10-22 07:27 By Kristen Wyatt in Lyons, Colo.(China Daily)

Pot may soon be on restaurant menu as legalization trend continues to spread in US

How to set a tone of woodsy chic at a four-course candlelight dinner served under the stars in the Colorado foothills:

Live musicians and flowers, check.

Award-winning cuisine, check.

Beer and wine pairings with each course, check.

Marijuana pairings? Oh, yes.

The 100 diners at this $200-a-plate dinner smoked a citrus-smelling marijuana strain to go with a fall salad with apples, dates and bacon, followed by a darker, sweeter strain of pot to accompany a main course of slow-roasted pork shoulder in a mole sauce with charred root vegetables and rice.

And with dessert? Marijuana-infused chocolate, of course, grated over salted caramel ice cream and paired with coffee infused with nonintoxicating hemp oil.

The diners received small glass pieces and lighters to smoke the pairings, or they could have their marijuana rolled into joints by professional rollers set up next to a bartender pouring wine.

Welcome to fine dining in Weed Country.

More flavor profile

The marijuana industry is trying to move away from its pizza-and-Doritos roots as folks explore how to safely serve marijuana and food. Chefs are working with marijuana growers to chart the still-very-unscientific world of pairing food and weed. And a proliferation of mass-market cheap pot is driving professional growers to develop distinctive flavors and aromas to distinguish themselves in a crowded market.

"We talk with the (marijuana) grower to understand what traits they saw in the marijuana ... whether it's earthy notes, citrus notes, herbal notes, things that we could play off," said Corey Buck, head of catering for Blackbelly Restaurant, a top-rated farm-to-table restaurant that provided the meal.

The grower of one of the pot strains served at the dinner, Alex Perry, said it won't be long until marijuana's flavors and effects are parsed as intently as wine profiles. But that's in the future, he conceded.

"It's still looked down upon as a not-very-sophisticated thing," said Perry, who grew a strain called Black Cherry Soda for his company, Headquarters Cannabis.

Holding his nose to a small jar of marijuana, Perry said, "If I asked my mom or my dad what they smell, they're going to say, 'skunk,' or, 'It smells like marijuana.' But it's like wine or anything else. There's more flavor profile there."

Marijuana dining

But chefs and pot growers trying to explore fine dining with weed face a legal gauntlet to make pot dinners a reality, even where the drug is as legal as beer.

Colorado's marijuana retailers can't also sell food, so guests at this dinner had to buy a separate $25 "goody bag" from a dispensary for the pot pairings.

The bags came with tiny graters for diners to shave the pot chocolate onto their ice cream themselves; the wait staff could not legally serve a dish containing pot, even though the event was private and limited to people over 21. Diners were shuttled to and from the event by private bus, to avoid potentially stoned drivers leaving the dinner.

Marijuana dining may become more accessible in coming months, though.

Denver voters this fall will consider a proposal to allow marijuana use at some bars and restaurants as long as the drug isn't smoked, with the potential for new outdoor marijuana smoking areas.

And two of the five states considering recreational marijuana in November - California and Maine - would allow some "social use" of the drug, leaving the potential for pot clubs or cafes.

Currently, Alaska is the only legal weed state that allows on-site marijuana use, with "tasting rooms" possible in commercial dispensaries. But that state is still working on rules for how those consumption areas would work.

For now, marijuana dining is limited to folks who hire private chefs to craft infused foods for meals served in their homes, or to special events like this one, limited to adults and set outside to avoid violating smoke-free air laws.

Proper pairing

Guests at the Colorado dinner were admittedly experimenting with pairing weed and food, many giggling as they toked between bites. It became apparent late in the evening that a rich meal doesn't counteract marijuana's effects.

"What was I just saying?" one diner wondered aloud before dessert. "Oh, yeah. About my dog. No, your dog. Somebody's dog."

The man trailed off, not finishing his thought. His neighbor patted him on the back and handed him a fresh spoon for the ice cream.

Diners seemed genuinely curious about how to properly pair marijuana and food without getting too intoxicated.

"I am not a savant with this," said Tamara Haddad of Lyons, who was waiting to have one of her pot samples professionally rolled into a joint. "I enjoy (marijuana) occasionally. I enjoy it with friends. I'm learning more about it."

She laughed when asked whether marijuana can really move beyond its association with junk-food cravings.

"I have also munched out after being at the bar and drinking martinis and thinking, 'Taco Bell sounds great,'" she said.

Associated Press

(China Daily 10/22/2016 page17)
US defense chief in Baghdad on unannounced visit: TV Updated: 2016-10-22 16:58 (Xinhua)

BAGHDAD -- US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived here on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi leaders as the Iraqi forces are fighting to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq, al-Arabiyah television reported on Saturday.

Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials and military commanders to discuss the Iraqi offensive against the extremist IS group in Mosul, the channel said.

Hundreds of US troops are already in Iraq, serving as trainers and advisers, in an attempt to help the country win the battle against IS militants in the country's northern city of Mosul.

The US-led international coalition has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.

Carter's visit came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul in northern Iraq.

On Oct 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
French people call Nanjing Massacre 'painful and horrifying' Updated: 2016-10-23 02:57 By Fu Jing in Caen, France(chinadaily.com.cn)

Daniel Renouf and his wife visit the exhibition of historical facts about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the Memorial de Caen museum in France on Saturday. It will run until Dec 15. [Photo by Fu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The retired French engineer Daniel Renouf was born in August 1937, days after Japanese troops attacked China and several months before the Nanjing Massacre, which claimed 300,000 lives. Together with his wife, he joined French people in the hundreds on Saturday at an exhibition about the World War II-era war crimes.

With his wife holding a stick, they carefully examined the 270 historical photos, diaries, letters and other documents from Western diplomats, professors, doctors and reporters from the 1930s. The exhibit in the Memorial de Caen museum in France runs until Dec 15.

"The year 1937 is very special for us, and we had such very sad historic memories in our mind as we had grown," said Renouf, who was one of the last to leave the exhibition, which opened on Saturday afternoon.

"We knew something about the Nanjing Massacre."

However, Renouf, a resident of Caen, a city about 200 kilometers from Paris, said the exhibition helped him know more about the "horrifying pages" of Japanese aggression against China.

"These equal the Nazi crimes in Europe, and I believe, we must stop," said Renouf.

Japanese troops killed an estimated 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers s they rampaged through Nanjing in 1937. Thousands of women had been raped.

China has made Dec 13, the date when the Nanjing Massacre started, a National Memorial Day since 2014. And more than 30 similar exhibitions have been organized across the world, but the French exhibit is the first in Europe to display historical facts about Nanjing.

The Memorial de Caen museum, which opened in 1988, is dedicated to the history of conflict in the 20th century. It is considered the only European museum to recount and explain World War II from a global perspective.

Stephane Grimaldi, the museum director, said for many Europeans and Americans, the Second World War is only about Europe.

"But from the historic facts, you can see that this war started from China, due to Japanese aggression. It was not only in Europe but also in Asia, mainly in China," said Grimaldi. "We want to expose these historic truths to the public."

Grimaldi said it is "a pity" that China's sacrifice and suffering has not been shown sufficiently in French history books. He held up a history book for French pupils at the press conference, saying more than 20 pages cover World War II, but only one page is dedicated to the Nanjing Massacre, without much about China's fight against Japan's aggression.

"We must cooperate with China to help our next generations to remember that human beings are easy to make severe mistakes," said Grimaldi, who was invited to attend the National Memorial Day events this year in China.

Grimaldi's suggestion was echoed by Zhang Jianjun, curator of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing. The memorial hall has organized the French exhibition.

"It is very important for our young generations to remember the history, and we can deepen cooperation in organizing exhibitions, history education and joint research," said Zhang, who signed an agreement with Grimaldi prior to Saturday's opening of the exhibition.

One of the largest items on display in the exhibition is a 3.25 meters by 7.46 meters painting titled Deliverance by French painter Christian Poirot. The art depicts violent scenes of the Nanjing Massacre and was donated to Nanjing Memorial Hall in 2015.

Poirot recalled that during his stay in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province three years ago, life was peaceful and calm until one day, a TV news program reported that Japanese leaders showed respect to suspected war criminals.

"I felt extremely indignant about that since Chinese people always welcomed and treated me friendly,"he said.

"I decided to create a painting to call for memory of that significant history when Chinese victims suffered terribly in the massacre, and condemn the Japanese leaders honoring wars," he said.

The painting took Poirot six months to complete, as he read historical documents an hour a day. Now he is working on a second one, focusing of the abuse of "comfort women", which he expect will be displayed in Nanjing next year.

"Just as I added in the painting Deliverance with some white peace doves, I hope there will not be war anymore," he said.

"We aim to stop relaying hatred by remembering history," said Zhai Jun, Chinese ambassador to France, who attended the exhibition.
Offhand, going to a book reading by a public servant doesn't sound like it would be crazy interesting, but waitit is ! Dr. Lenton Malry is reading from his book Let's Roll This Train: My Life in New Mexico Education, Business, and Politics and it sounds more like a roller coaster ride than a train. Malry was a teacher in the Navajo Nation, the first Black person to earn a Ph.D in education from UNM, Albuquerque's first Black principle, the first Black elected state representative and Bernalillo County's first Black commissioner. See this living legend discuss his life on Thursday, Oct. 27 at Page One starting at 6:30pm . (Megan Reneau)

Lenton Malry, educator and public servant talks about and signs his memoir.

NM EDUCATOR & PUBLIC SERVANT VISITS PAGE ONE 6:30 PM THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27

Lenton Malry, educator and public servant, will be at Page One Books 6:30 pm Thursday, October 27, to talk about and sign his memoir, "Let's Roll This Train: My Life in New Mexico Education, Business, and Politics."

The book is described as such: "This inspiring memoir chronicles Lenton Malrys journey from segregated Louisiana to a distinguished career in public service in New Mexico. Malry worked as a teacher on the Navajo Reservation, as a public school administrator in Albuquerque, and as a commissioner in Bernalillo County. He was also the first African American elected to the New Mexico state legislature and the first African American to earn a PhD in education from the University of New Mexico."

Malry lives in Albuquerque, and continues to serve the public on boards and commissions. He was the first African American to serve in the state legislature. Malry was a representative in the state legislature 1968-1978, and member of the Bernalillo County Commission 1980-1988.

Page One Books is located at 5850 Eubank Blvd NE, Suite B-41, in Albuquerque's Mountain Run Shopping Center (southeast corner of Eubank and Juan Tabo). The Malry event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 294-2026 or visit www.page1book.com.

-------------------------

UNM Press web page on book: http://unmpress.com/books.php?ID=20000000006743&Page=book
New Haven, CT is home to beautiful parks, excellent museums, unique attractions, and a diverse choice of restaurants. Visit the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the New Haven Museum. Best things to do in New Haven, Connecticut with kids include the Connecticut Children's Museum and the Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT  Yale University Art Gallery

Located on Chapel Street, the Yale University Art Gallery is an art museum housed in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven. The museums collection spans all periods and cultures, but is especially strong in its works of African sculptures, American decorative and fine arts, Italian paintings, and modern art. Founded in 1832, it is the oldest university art museum in the western hemisphere and one of the top New Haven attractions. The museum displays works by well-known artists such as Degas, Duchamp, Lichtenstein, Miro, Mondrian, Picasso, Rothko, and many more. Special programs are available for university students, schools in the area, and the general public. Yale University, 1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-432-0600

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2. New Haven Green  Courtesy of jon bilous - Fotolia.com

Located on Church Street, the New Haven Green is a historic park in downtown New Haven. Consisting of 16 acres, it is a privately owned park that originally served as the central square of a nine-square settlement plan designed by John Brockett, one of the original Puritan colonists. Today, the park is bordered by Chapel, Church, College, and Elm Streets, and divided by Temple Street into the northwest half and the southeast half. If you are wondering what to do in New Haven CT with kids, this is a great place to explore. The park, along with three architecturally important 19th century churches, was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. There are many events that take place in the park such as the Festival of Arts and Ideas and the New Haven Jazz Festival.

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3. Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, CT  Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is housed in Yale Universitys Hewitt Quadrangle on Wall Street, and it is the literary archive and rare book library of the Yale University Library. Built in 1963, the library was a gift to the university from the Beinecke family. Interestingly, the library is one of the worlds largest buildings dedicated exclusively to rare books and manuscripts. The library has some of its most prized possessions on display, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. Some of the librarys other collections include works by James M. Barrie, Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Goethe, and many more. The library also presents temporary exhibits of books from its collection. Yale University, 121 Wall Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-432-2977



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4. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, CT  Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History



The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is a science museum located on Whitney Avenue at Yale University. Founded in 1866 by philanthropist George Peabody, it is one of the worlds oldest and largest natural history museums. The museums Great Hall of Dinosaurs is well known and includes The Age of Reptiles, a 110-foot (34 meter) long mural, as well as a mounted Brontosaurus. The permanent exhibits contain birds, minerals, and artifacts of the Native Americans of Connecticut, Egyptian artifacts, wildlife dioramas, and much more. The museums collection of fossils is one of the largest and most important in the U.S. 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-432-5050

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5. Taste of New Haven, Connecticut  Courtesy of Top Photo Group - Fotolia.com



Taste of New Haven is a walking food tour based in New Haven. Knowledgeable tour guides lead the tours and teach visitors about the culture and history of the city during the walks. The company offers several kinds of tours such as the On 9 Tour, which focuses on eateries around the Ninth Square in downtown New Haven. The tour begins at the Elm City Market and continues to Tikkaway Grill, Skappo Italian Restaurant, Skappo Merkato, and finally Fornarellis Ristorante. Other tours include Apizza Feast and Ride, Taste and Stay Package as well as several Chefs Cooking Classes like Bun Lai of Miyas Sushi. Phone: 888-975-8664

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6. East Rock Park, New Haven, Connecticut  Courtesy of Ritu Jethani - Fotolia.com



Located on Cold Spring Street in Hamden, East Rock Park is a city park operated by the city of New Haven. Consisting of 427 acres, the park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The park is named for East Rock, a mountain ridge located within the boundaries of the park. From higher elevations in the park, visitors can take advantage of excellent views of New Haven, Long Island, and Long Island Sound. Developed as a natural landscape, the park is a popular place for bicycling, bird watching, dog walking, hiking, and picnicking in the warm summer months and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing during the winter.

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7. Goodfellas Restaurant, New Haven, CT  Goodfellas Restaurant

Whether you want to meet some celebrities or you want to be treated like one, having dinner at Goodfellas is an excellent choice. This upscale, elegant Italian restaurant greets every guest like a long lost relative, and the spacious, comfortable furniture and simple old-fashioned decor only add to the feeling that you are in the scene of the Sopranos or even the Godfather. Which, by the way, typically play silently on one of many flat screens around the room. Chef/owner Gennaro "Gerry" Iannaccone prepares cuisine that is Italian at its very best, with a nod to our modern tastes  everything is sourced locally, and ingredients are often organic and seasonal. The flavors are exquisite, and the dishes are traditional, generous in portion, and made to perfection. Goodfellas also has an incredible wine list. 702 State Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-785-8722



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8. Things to Do in New Haven: Yale Collection of Musical Instruments  Yale Collection of Musical Instruments

Located on Hillhouse Avenue, the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments displays a large collection of musical instruments. A part of the Yale School of Music, the museum was founded in 1900 with a gift of historic instruments owned by Morris Steinert. Later collections from Belle Skinner and Emil Herrmann enlarged the museums holdings in 1960 and 1962, respectively. The museums collection is housed in a historic Romanesque building constructed in 1895. The permanent collection features important keyboard instruments such as clavichords, harpsichords, pianos, and organs, as well as historic wind instruments. The museum hosts a concert series where performers often use instruments from the collection. Admission is free. 15 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-432-0822



9. Olea, New Haven, Connecticut  Olea

Olea is a downtown Spanish/Mediterranean restaurant, superbly decorated in earthy colors with very modern details; everything is elegant and in good taste. The cuisine is Chef Manuel Romeros modern version of Spanish favorites made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. He lets the basic components of his dishes speak for themselves without relying too heavily on spices. If you are looking for romantic date ideas in New Haven, Connecticut, this is a great place to try. The presentation is superb, and the portions are adequate but not miniscule. You might want to try the Vieiras - grilled sea scallops served with Israeli coconut couscous, mango and passion fruit puree, edamame, parsley and grape tomatoes infused with balsamic vinegar. Desserts at Olea are an absolute must, while the wine list has some excellent Spanish as well as New World choices. 39 High Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-780-8925

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10. New Haven Museum, New Haven, CT  New Haven Museum

The New Haven Museum and Historical Society has a mission is to preserve and present the history of the local area. Founded in 1862, it was originally known as the New Haven Colony Historical Society. The museums collection includes art, artifacts, furniture, photography, and other historic objects that cover New Haven history from the first settlement up to the present. Its exhibits focus on local features like East Rock, Winchester, and Yale and on historic people such as Benedict Arnold, Noah Webster, Eli Whitney, and many more. The museum is housed in a 1929 Colonial revival style building. 114 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-562-4183



11. Union League Cafe, New Haven, CT  Union League Cafe

Located in the beautiful Beaux-Arts Sherman Building in downtown New Haven, Union League Cafe is a piece of Paris brought to Connecticut. Arched windows, luxurious dark wood, stained glass, and the marble fireplace along one wall are features reminiscent of an upscale Parisian brasserie. Owner/Executive Chef Jean Pierre Vuillermet continues to transport us to France with his cuisine gastronomique with modern touches  it is French traditional cuisine with local ingredients that are fresh, seasonal, and often organic. The various components complement one another superbly, and the flavors, textures, and colors make for a memorable gastronomic experience. You might want to indulge in the Duck Leg Confit with potato galette, served with salad of Granny Smith apple, walnuts, and watercress salad. The wine list is extensive and includes some well-chosen and affordable French and New World wines. 1032 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-562-4299

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12. Tikkaway Grill, New Haven, CT  Tikkaway Grill

Tikkaway Grill has a goal of demystifying Indian food for those who are reluctant to try new things. You get a basic starter  a roti wrap, salad bowl, or rice bowl  and add one or two fillings, such as chicken, lamb, chickpeas, potatoes, or cheese, along with many veggies. Finally, choose a warm sauce for your dish. The counter service is efficient and also very helpful in explaining what everything is. You certainly will not end up with something you might not like or something too spicy. The ingredients are a healthy version of traditional Indian ingredients and include vegan, gluten-free, and halal options. Tikkaway Grill is particularly popular with the student crowd, and it is quite busy most of the time. If you want something to drink, dont miss their mango lasi, which will complete your Indian introduction. The restaurant now has another branch on 2 Howe St. 135 Orange Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-562-1299



13. Things to Do in New Haven: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolitana  Courtesy of jaroszpilewski - Fotolia.com

Frank Pepe Pizzerias pizza has been voted the best pizza in the country many times. It is thin, charred, all puffy from the extreme heat in the bread oven it came from, chewy and melting in your mouth. The toppings range from freshly chopped tomatoes and mozzarella to white clams, with or without bacon, and everything in between. What started in 1925 in a small spot in New Heaven, Connecticut, where Italian immigrant Frank Pepe made his first brick oven and baked his first tomato pie, is now part of the history of pizza in the States. Once an obscure ethnic dish, pizza is now, very much thanks to Papa Frank, considered as American as apple pie. There are seven Pepes locations operated by Pepes 10 great-grandchildren, who still use original recipes to make their coal-fired pizza. 157 Wooster St, New Haven, CT 06511, Phone: 203-865-5762



14. Things to Do in New Haven: Kehler Liddell Gallery  Kehler Liddell Gallery



Kehler Liddell Gallery is one of New Haven's longest-operating retail art galleries, originally founded in 2003 by a collective of local artists. The member-operated gallery is located within the heart of beautiful Westville village, within the charming shops and restaurants of the Whalley Avenue district. Works by local contemporary artists are showcased throughout the year, presenting cultural perspectives that are meant to critically engage visitors and enrich the region's aesthetics. Solo and group exhibitions by artists such as Liz Antle-O'Donnell, Edith Borax-Morrison, Amy Browning, and Robert Bienstock are presented throughout the year. Monthly programming includes exhibition openings, art discussions, workshops, and family art story hour events. 873 Whalley Ave, New Haven, CT 06515, Phone: 203-389-9555

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15. Things to Do in New Haven: Ely Center of Contemporary Art  Ely Center of Contemporary Art



The John Slade Ely House is an historic house located near the Yale University campus, originally constructed in the English Elizabethan style in 1901 as a residence for Yale School of Medicine chair John Slade Ely and his wife Grace Taylor Ely. Following Grace's death in 1959, the house was donated to the community as an arts center, overseen by the Friends of John Slade Ely House of Contemporary Art. Throughout its tenure, the Ely Center of Contemporary Art has served as an important launching pad and nurturing ground for area artists. Solo and group exhibitions are presented throughout the year, featuring works by artists such as Laura Barr, Marion Belanger, Lys Guillorn, and Allie Hornak. 51 Trumbull St, New Haven, CT 06510, Phone: 203-624-8055



16. 116 Crown, New Haven, CT  116 Crown



116 Crown is a hip, sophisticated urban bar and restaurant in Ninth Square that perhaps resembles an art gallery more than an eatery, from the magnificent back-lit onyx bar to the little nooks in the brick wall and leather tiles on another. Even the patrons look as though they have come for a gallery opening. They are urban, well-dressed students and professionals out for a fancy cocktail or for a bite to eat before going to the theatre. The food corresponds perfectly to their celebrated and imaginative cocktails, and Chef Will Talamelli plays with fresh seasonal ingredients to produce modern flavorful bites, both little and not so little. Try the Bacon Wrapped Pumpkin  the bacon is apple wood-smoked and glazed with chipotle and honey. 116 Crown St, New Haven, CT, Phone: 203-777-3116

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17. Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven, Connecticut  Courtesy of Stuart Monk - Fotolia.com



The Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park, located on Lighthouse Road in the East Shore area of New Haven, is a carousel ride that dates from the 1920s. The carousel building was constructed in 1916: it replaced an even earlier carousel structure. While there were once over 10,000 carousels from the 1920s, there are only about 100 still operating today. The carousel features two chariots and 70 figures all directed by a figure of George Washington holding a baton. The building and the carousel are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The park is open from April through November, and the carousel is open Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day.



18. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut  Yale Center for British Art



Located on Chapel Street on the campus of Yale University, the Yale Center for British Art contains the largest collection of works of British art outside of the United Kingdom. The center was established in 1966 when Paul Mellon, a 1929 Yale University graduate, gifted his British art collection to the university. The building opened to the public in 1977 and contains thousands of drawings, manuscripts, paintings, prints, rare books, and sculptures from the Elizabethan period to the 19th century. The collection includes paintings by Constable, Gainsborough, and many more. Non-English artists include Canaletto, Holbein, and Rubens. The center offers many educational programs, exhibitions, and special events to the public. 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-432-2800

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19. Soul de Cuba Cafe, New Haven, CT  Soul de Cuba Cafe



If you are not familiar with Cuban cuisine, Soul de Cuba Cafe is a good place to start. The restaurant is small but the atmosphere is rich, from the earth-colored walls, Afro-Cuban art, and religious artifacts to the music that fills the space in the background, mostly soft salsa, bolero, or Yoruba. The menu is a veritable history of Cuban traditional dishes with recipes inherited from owner Jesus Puertos grandma and mother. Start your night off with one of their mojitos  nobody can make real, traditional mojito like Cubans. Get an authentic taste of traditional Cuban food with some delicious empanadas, and then go for the ever popular Ropa Vieja, made with shredded beef with onions in tomato sauce and served with rice, black beans, and ripe plantains. 283 Crown St, New Haven, CT, Phone: 203-498-2822



20. Things to Do in New Haven: Connecticut Children's Museum  Connecticut Children's Museum



Located on Trout Brook Drive, the Connecticut Children's Museum is the largest and oldest childrens museum in Connecticut. Founded in 1927 as the Childrens Museum of Hartford, it was later known as the Science Center of Connecticut before becoming the Childrens Museum. The museum features interactive exhibits, the second largest planetarium in New England, more than a hundred live animals, and much more. The museum contains a life-sized model of a sperm whale, which is the state animal of Connecticut, and visitors can even walk inside of the huge whale. The museum offers education programs for children such as nature and science classes as well as the Childrens Museum Preschool, one of the oldest preschools in the U.S. 950 Trout Brook Drive, West Hartford, 860-231-2824



21. It Adventure Ropes Course  It Adventure Ropes Course



Welcome to It  the largest indoor ropes course and adventure center in the world. The center provides hours of fun and exercise for visitors of all ages. At Little It and Zip It, younger visitors who are less than 48 can get their first taste of a ropes adventure and build their confidence just 3 feet off the ground. Older children and adults can take on the 4-story It and Zip It course for a taste of pure adrenaline. There are more than 100 aerial challenges to complete including zigzag swinging beams, bridges, cargo nets and much more. Complete your course with an exciting zip line ride over liquid fireworks. It Adventure Ropes Course, Jordans Furniture Store, 40 Sargent Drive, New Haven, CT 06511, 203 812 9981

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22. Consiglio's, New Haven, CT  Consiglio's For 75 years, Consiglios has been the restaurant families from New Haven would visit when they wanted to celebrate a special event. The old-world charm of the large, elegant dining room makes the restaurant cozy and inviting in typical Italian fashion. The restaurant has been in the hands of the Consiglio family for four generations, and the family members have all preserved the tradition of serving authentic and exquisitely prepared Italian food. The menu is southern Italian and features dishes made using the familys old recipes. Try their superb Veal Saltimbocca, which is veal stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella, covered in a mushroom and sage sauce, and served with freshly made fettuccine. Check their program for the occasional murder mystery dinner theatre, which features a three-course meal. When weather is nice, look for a seat on their lovely outdoor patio. 165 Wooster St, New Haven, CT, Phone: 203-865-4489



23. Knights of Columbus Museum, New Haven, CT  Knights of Columbus Museum The Knights of Columbus Museum is devoted to preserving and displaying artifacts, documents, and objects related to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. The museums exhibits feature displays of history and works of art that pertain to the heritage of Catholicism. Its permanent collection contains a gallery devoted to Father Michael J. McGivney, the founder of the organization who lived from 1852 to 1890. Also on regular display are objects related to Christopher Columbus and the papacy in Rome. The museum is well known for its amazing Christmas displays. 1 State Street, New Haven, CT, Phone: 203-865-0400



24. New Haven Symphony Orchestra, New Haven, CT  Courtesy of alipko - Fotolia.com The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra founded in the late 19th century by Morris Steinert, a German immigrant. Its first performance took place in 1895, and the orchestra has a long association with the Yale School of Music. Yale commissioned Woolsey Hall in 1901, and it became the venue for performances by the orchestra. A series of Childrens Concerts began in 1933 in Yales Sprague Hall and later in Woolsey Hall. Only classical music was performed until the Pops Concerts series was established in 1945. Today, the New Haven Symphony Orchestras Young Peoples Concerts are an important part of the symphonys education program. 4 Hamilton Street New Haven, CT 06511, Phone: 203-865-0831 More weekend & day trips: 25 Best Things to Do in Hartford, Connecticut.



25 Best Things to Do in New Haven, Connecticut

More ideas:

Louis Lunch

Once you enter the charming little house where most of the furniture and equipment dates back to the 1900s, you will feel in the presence of history. There is only one item on their menu: The Original Burger (they combine chuck and sirloin beef for their hand-made patties, a venerated tradition at this establishment).

They put the patty between two slices of toasted bread, add a slice of onion, tomato, and cheese, and you are ready to go. You can also get potato salad and a piece of pie if you are really hungry. Take a look around while you are waiting for your burger. You will see the original bread toaster and cast iron charcoal grill are still going strong, and the chairs and tables are engraved with signatures of long-dead patrons. Louiss Lunch has been operating since 1895.

261-263 Crown Street, New Haven, Connecticut, Phone: 203-562-5507

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Domestic software developers are expecting that North America will become the second market for Vietnamese outsourcing companies, after Japan. Photo ictnews.vn

HA NOI  Domestic software developers are expecting that North America will become the second market for Vietnamese outsourcing companies, after Japan.

To seek a firm foothold in this market, it requires close co-operation and mutual support between local software businesses.

In recent years, the Vietnamese software outsourcing industry has developed certain advantages to become one of the leading software outsourcing nations. In a speech at a workshop on Smart Society, which took place in Ha Noi recently, Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, a high official of the Ministry of Information and Communication said Viet Nam remained among the top 10 outsourcing spots in the Asia-Pacific region, as ranked by Gartners, a reputed US market researcher.

This year, Tholons Inc Consultancy continues to place HCM City and Ha Noi among the top 100 most attractive destinations in the world. HCM City ranked 18th and Ha Noi stood at 19th, in terms of software outsourcing.

Tuyen said the software export market remained concentrated in Japan, North America and Europe. Some software developers, such as FPT software, have expanded into new markets, including Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Over the last five years, the Vietnamese software export market has achieved high growth rates of between 30-40 per cent per year, thanks to the stability of the political situation and rapid economic development, thus turning Viet Nam into one of the most attractive locations for software outsourcing.

Viet Nam has become a favorite partner of Japanese companies, with a rapid increase in outsourcing orders and, since 2013, the countrys software developers have overtaken India in second place. The US and EU markets still obtained a fair growth, from 20-30 per cent per year, according to a Vietnam Software Association (Vinasa)s representative.

Industry insiders said North America was a large-scale multi-billion dollar market, but it required very high demand and was a highly competitive market. Local software developers cannot wait for clients from this region, thanks to advantages of cheap outsourcing prices, in comparison with China, the Philippines and India.

Challenges ahead

Despite the fact that Viet Nam has favourable conditions to develop IT products and services, Tuyen noted that the countrys IT firms were facing shortages of financing and poor market strategies. Also, IT engineers fail to meet the demands of international labour markets.

In the near future, the Ministry of Information and Communication will seek solutions to assist developing the countrys IT sector by promoting competition and building mechanisms to support IT and IT start-up companies, offering investment promotional programmes, and workshops on business matching between Vietnamese and foreign IT firms.

Chairman of Vinasa, Truong Gia Binh, said that from now until 2020 Vinasa would continue to actively seek business partners abroad, because Viet Nam remained a small market.

Nguyen Quang Minh, director general of HanelSoft, said criteria in terms of service quality, highly qualified manpower and diversified and intensive technology and cost savings were key to keeping traditional partners and clients from high demand markets, such as Japan and the US.

Minh said Viet Nam had seen that most software developers in Ha Noi were involved in software outsourcing for Japan and partners from the US often found software developers in HCM City.

Recently, Global CyberSoft - one of the leading software outsourcing companies in HCM City, set up its new office in Ha Noi. Also, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade recently conducted an overseas tour for software companies in Ha Noi to seek partners in North America.

Truong Gia Binh said Vietnamese software developers wanted to reach global markets, but they could not be alone and should have strong co-ordination with each other, which remained a problem for Vietnamese IT firms.  VNS
Deposit Insurance of Viet Nam (DIV) has officially operated a new information and communication system for its business process related to deposit insurance. Photo baodauthau.vn

HA NOI  Deposit Insurance of Viet Nam (DIV) has officially operated a new information and communication system for its business process related to deposit insurance.

The system is a key component of the World Banks Financial Sector Modernisation and Information Management System project in Viet Nam. The system was being developed by the FPT IS since November 2014.

The project aims to provide the DIV with a centralized database for information management and collection, which can connect to the SBV database; improve DIVs business performance with advanced software solutions and equip it with a disaster recovery system, ensuring the continuity of DIV operations.

The system will help improve DIVs efficiency in performing its important role in the protection of depositors, while contributing to enhance the sharing and use of information and increase effectiveness in ensuring the safety and stability of the organisations 1252 insured deposits, comprising 92 commercial banks, cooperative banks and credit funds; 1,156 people, and three microfinance institutions.  VNS
Nexttech group of technopreneurs  Peacesoft Vietnam  and Malaysias Haspro Holding have started pouring millions of US dollars into an online shopping website known as weshop.co.id, hoping to increase opportunities for cross-border shopping. Photo ictnews.vn

HA NOI  Nexttech group of technopreneurs  Peacesoft Vietnam  and Malaysias Haspro Holding have started pouring millions of US dollars into an online shopping website known as weshop.co.id, hoping to increase opportunities for cross-border shopping.

This website will help customers buy products that are 70 per cent cheaper than if one buys them directly. Customers are also allowed to order products not sold on the website by providing any website address that is selling the products.

On behalf of these websites, WeShop will sell and transport the products to buyers. This is due to its logistics network across six countries in Southeast Asia and the US.

WeShop was established in Singapore and is currently doing business in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines, as well as Thailand, the United States and Viet Nam.  VNS
The University of Economics and Business (UEB) of Viet Nam National University in co-ordination with the Japan society for Information and Management (JSIM) yesterday held the 2016 Asia Pacific Conference on Information Management in Ha Noi, aiming to develop and sustain an affluent society, both materially and spiritually, using IT-based solutions in Viet Nam. Photo doisongphapluat.com

HA NOI  The University of Economics and Business (UEB) of Viet Nam National University in co-ordination with the Japan society for Information and Management (JSIM) yesterday held the 2016 Asia Pacific Conference on Information Management in Ha Noi, aiming to develop and sustain an affluent society, both materially and spiritually, using IT-based solutions in Viet Nam.

The conference, themed Common Platform to a Sustainable Society in the Dynamic Asia Pacific, aims to overcome superficial understanding of technologies, and to create a new knowledge system based on an understanding of fundamental business principles.

Nguyen Hong Son, Rector of UEB, said Viet Nam considered innovation, integration and sustainable development important factors in development.

"In fact, Viet Nam has actively participated in these trends and obtained essential achievements in economy and society over the years, said Son.

Experts and scientists from Vietnamese economics and technology schools and informative technology businesses, along with scholars, researchers and experts from the JSIM and its South Korean counterpart attended the conference, as well as representatives from universities, research centres and tech companies from Japan and the United States.

Hoang Nam Tien, Chairman of FPT Software, also a speaker at the conference, stated, In the context of growth, the IT industry has dramatically contributed to socio-economic development. Viet Nam has about 900,000 professionals working in the IT fields with 300 colleges offering IT training, under the national strategy to transform Viet Nam into an advanced IT country.

The conference featured symposiums by Vietnamese and global experts, focusing on solutions to construct and develop a stable society, towards the technological industry in terms of achievements, application and systemification of technology.

Dr Kyoshi Murata from Meiji University said, Given that Viet Nam is one of the most important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the holding of this academic conference is highly significant. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to all the people both in Japan and Viet Nam who have engaged in the preparation.

The latest research findings related to technological and industrial development by foreign experts were also presented during the conference through discussions.  VNS
HA NOI  Molecular gastronomy is a new conception for most of Vietnamese people. French chef Raphael Szurek of Ha Nois fine-dining establishment French Grill, has organised a workshop on the theme for a group of local food bloggers and reporters.

During the workshop, chef Szurek, who used to work at two famous three-starred Michelin restaurant in Paris--Le Cinq in the Four Seasons Hotel George V and Le Grand Vefour--gave not only an explaination but also a vivid demonstration.

Molecular gastronomy is an approach to cooking that applies scientific methods to create unexpected looks and flavors. However, in chef Szureks words, the definition seem much more simple.

He said the cuisine is the art and science of selecting, preparing, serving and enjoying food.

It requires special skills, special equipment, special ingredients, and a lot of practicing  all together bring necessary components for creativeness. In addition, every single step of the whole cooking process also requires extreme accuracy, from quantity to timing, said the chef.

Thats why, together with guest mixologist Richard McDonough from the UK, Szurek created a special menu for the on-going Molecular Night 2.0, which is taking place at the JW Marriot Hotel Hanoi all this week. This is the second time the French chef introducing the art and science to the local foodies, following the successful debut event last year.

Attending the special gastronomy event, connoisseurs will be welcome by a canape called Tofu. Made with main ingredient mozzarella, the bite-sized cheese balls were cooked in a special broth which creates a jelly coat outside the balls. The appertiser goes along with Hanois Finest cocktail  a mixture of Hennesy VSOP, tonic and peppermint.

The connoisseurs taste buds then will be treated with Wind, which features caviar, creme fraiche and sea urchin, Specially, the portions have been presented as clouds moving on the table [by using a magnet equipment].

The following dish in the menu is Earth  made from foie gras aero and placed on a pillow filled up with porcini scent. The foodies will wallow in a space of porcini aroma when the dish is on the table and waiter use a sharp tool to pierce the pillow to release the scent.

Other molecular creations of chef Szurek include Water  a dish of abalone, cucumber and herbs; and Fire  charcoaled Japanese Wagyu BBQ.

While Water offers the sea visual with a small stable of Himalayan salt put on the plate, the Fire recalls dinners about the volcano and fire by the black colour of sidedish ingredients and the orange-colour sauce.

The dinner will be completed with the chocolate dessert called Space.

The Molecular Night 2.0 is taking place at the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi until Sunday.  VNS
HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang expressed his joy at the outcomes of talks between the Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam and Chairman of Belaruss State Security Committee Valery Pavlovich Vakulchik in Ha Noi yesterday.

Meeting with the Belarusian guest the same day, the President welcomed the agreement reached by the two sides on measures to deepen their co-operation concerning law enforcement and national security.

He suggested the two sides work towards negotiating and signing agreements on mutual legal assistance, criminal extradition, and transfer of convicted prisoners, which will facilitate future legal co-operation.

The Vietnamese State leader also called for stronger bilateral links in other fields including security-defence, science-technology, education, health, culture, tourism and labour, and boosting bonds between their localities.

He urged both sides to work together to create a breakthrough in their economic and trade ties, aiming to lift two-way trade to over US$500 million.

He took the occasion to invite Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to visit Viet Nam next year.

For his part, Pavlovich Vakulchik informed President Quang that co-operation between Belarus State Security Committee and Viet Nams Ministry of Public Security reaped positive outcomes, contributing to strengthening bilateral relations.

He also noted that the State Security Committee of Belarus had established co-operation with a number of ministries and sectors of Viet Nam.

Belarus is seeking to form joint ventures specialising in assembling trucks and manufacturing automobile tires in Viet Nam, and importing pharmaceutical products from the Asian country. Belarus hopes to foster win-win co-operation with Viet Nam, according to the Belarusian official. VNS
Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and his wife will pay a State visit to Viet Nam from October 26-28 at the invitation of President Tran ai Quang.  Photo baogiaothong.vn

HA NOI  Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and his wife will pay a State visit to Viet Nam from October 26-28 at the invitation of President Tran ai Quang.

Friendship between Viet Nam and Myanmar has developed in recent years.

The two sides have defined 12 priority areas of co-operation, including agriculture, industrial crops, aquaculture, finance, aviation, telecommunications, oil and gas, mining, automobile assembling and manufacturing, construction, and investment-trade.

As of June 2016 Viet Nam was the 10th largest foreign investor in Myanmar with 11 projects.

Two-way trade hit US$299 million in the first seven months of this year, up 15.9 per cent year-on-year. The two countries hold annual trade fairs to bolster trade and investment ties.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made an official visit to Myanmar late last month at the invitation of her Myanmar counterpart Mahn Win Khaing Than.  VNS
HCM City  The Urban Railway Management Board has submitted a construction investment project for the fifth metro line to the HCM City Peoples Committee.

This first construction phase of the fifth line project will run from Tan Binh Districts Bay Hien crossroads to Binh Thanh Districts Sai Gon Bridge at a cost of VN 41 trillion (US$1.84 billion), the board said on Thursday.

It would be 8.9 km long, with 7.5 km underground, and 1.4 km of flyovers, it added.

The fifth metro line will connect with the first metro line at Sai Gon Bridge and the second line at Bay Hien crossroads.

In the next construction phase, the metro line would connect with the 3B metro line at Binh Thanh Districts Hang Xanh crossroads and the fourth metro line at Phu Nhuan Districts Phu Nhuan intersection.

It is expected that the fifth metro line will operate by 2025 with six trains at a normal speed of around 37 km/hour and maximum speed of 90km/hour.

The train will be automatically operated without drivers. Passengers will use smart cards to buy tickets at automatic counters.

Sponsors have pledged to provide enough capital for construction. The Spanish Government will donate over VN7 trillion ($315 million), Asian Development Bank over VN12 trillion ($540 million), European Investment Bank VN4 trillion ($180 million), and the German Reconstruction Bank (KfW) VN5 trillion ($224 million). The rest will come from the Vietnamese Government. - VNS
Karin Hulshof*

Violence against children occurs everywhere in the world, including in Viet Nam, but people turn a blind eye to it. It happens every day at home, in school and in the community. UNICEFs research in recent years has shown the extent to which physical, sexual and emotional abuse impacts on childrens lives and on society as a whole in the long term. Child abuse and violence is costing countries in East Asia and the Pacific around US$209 billion a year, equivalent to two per cent of their combined GDP.

Viet Nam has been a child rights pioneer for over 25 years, having been the second country in the world to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990. The recent enactment of the Child Law by Viet Nams National Assembly is in many ways another step forward. It attempts to make a breakthrough in the protection of children from violence by introducing for the first time an approach that covers both the prevention of violence before it happens, and responding to violence when it does occur.

However, the Child Law still considers a child to be someone under 16, rather than the age specified in the CRC of under 18. This leaves 16-18 year olds unprotected. UNICEF is therefore calling for the age of the Child Law to be raised to 18.

One of the most common forms of violence affecting three in four children in Viet Nam is corporal punishment inflicted on children by those supposed to protect them, including their parents, teachers and caregivers. It can have serious and lifelong consequences on children. People sometimes think that physical discipline is for the childs own good. This is simply not true  research has shown that positive parenting can be more effective than physical discipline. This focuses on setting clear, consistent boundaries for children in a kind and loving way.

This problem is not limited to Viet Nam alone. Governments and societies need to come together to eliminate violence against children. On November 7-8, 2016, the Government of Malaysia will host A Billion Brains, the third High Level Meeting for Co-operation on Child Rights, with support from UNICEF. The event will bring together ministers and senior politicians from countries across Asia and the Pacific to promote child rights.

A high level representation from Viet Nam will reaffirm the countrys commitment to childrens rights. At the meeting, Viet Nams leaders will have the opportunity to share their experiences and achievements in strengthening childrens rights, and to discuss new opportunities for regional co-operation.

Violence against children is everywhere but hidden behind closed doors. All children have the right to live free from violence that harms their physical and mental growth, and holds back society. Violence against children is entirely preventable when people come together and say that it is not acceptable.  VNS

*Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific
Family reveals more tragic news about children injured in crash that killed mother-of-six The heartbroken father of six children who survived a crash that killed their mother has provided an update on two of the more seriously injured kids.

Looming red tsunami on November 8 spells the beginning of the end for Joe Biden If the Republicans claim a resounding victory in a week's time, all of the Democrats' grand plans for the January 6 committee, Biden's Federal Court picks and future bills will be in jeopardy - and that may force a change in leadership.

Labor stands by industrial relations bill amid mining sector threats The Albanese Government has fought off criticism to its industrial relations bill, including mining and energy sector employers who are threatening to spend millions on a campaign against the legislation.

Three men charged over alleged kidnapping in Sydneys west A former Hells Angels bikie member is among three men to have been arrested in relation to an alleged kidnapping and beating in Sydney's western suburbs overnight.
TAMA  The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Tama man who hosted a whipped cream naked party involving a 15-year-old girl and her friends.

Robert John Thede, 67, had challenged his conviction for third-degree sexual abuse, indecent exposure and other charges, arguing that an electric razor that the girl had used to shave his nether regions before the party didnt qualify as an artificial sex organ or substitute under the states sex abuse laws. He also argued the shaving incident wasnt sexual in nature.

In a decision handed down Oct. 12, the Court of Appeals sided with prosecutors.

The incident happened after Thede had allegedly bought lingerie, gel and a sex toy for the girl and discussed sexual matters with her. The shaving happened in August 2013 after the girl had used the razor to shave his head. Court records said the girl felt creeped out and uncomfortable during the incident.

That night, Thede allegedly provided alcohol for the girl and three of her teenage friends, and he also provided whipped cream and urged the youths to have a whipped cream naked party, which then took place on the kitchen floor.

Thede was arrested in November 2013. He waived his right to a jury trial, and a judge found him guilty in a January 2015 ruling. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison to run consecutive with a 30-year sentence in another case.
WATERLOO  A police officer charged with assault in a road rage incident may use a self defense argument at trial.

Corbin Allen Payne, a lieutenant with the Waterloo Police Department, is charged with misdemeanor assault in the June 21 incident. He was placed on administrative leave.

On Oct. 3, defense attorneys Carter Stevens and Heather Prendergast filed a notice with the court that Payne plans to argue he acted in self defense or defense of others. Payne pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.

Trial is tentatively set for November in Black Hawk County District Court.

Payne, who was off duty, allegedly pounded on a car and grabbed the other driver after accusing him of cutting off a vehicle he was a passenger in.

During the investigation, Payne allegedly told authorities the other motorist was driving fast and nearly caused a crash, court records state.
CEDAR RAPIDS  1st District congressional candidates Republican incumbent Rod Blum and Monica Vernon have finally agreed to a single debate this week.

The debate will be Wednesday at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, hosted by KCRG and the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Blum, a Dubuque businessman, initially proposed 10 debates; Vernon, a former Cedar Rapids City Council member, countered with two.

Both candidates expressed disappointment there wont be more debates.

While we are disappointed that Mrs. Vernon has prevented eastern Iowans from seeing multiple debates in any area other than her hometown, we are looking forward to a substantive discussion of the issues facing our nation, Blum campaign spokesman Daniel Sunne said in a statement Friday afternoon.

Blum had still hoped for four debates, while Vernons campaign had hoped for a second.

We wish Congressman Blum would have also accepted the Iowa Public Television TV debate on Nov. 3, said Vernon campaign spokeswoman Michelle Gajewski.

That said, Monica Vernon looks forward to the districtwide debate on Oct. 26. We look forward to a substantive debate about how we can grow an economy that works  for all of us.

Blum initially accepted the Wednesday debate contingent upon Vernon accepting two others. Friday, he agreed to the Wednesday debate without any contingencies.

Vernon has consistently agreed to two debates, based on the precedent set in the past two election cycles.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Hillary Clinton will make her first general election visit to Cedar Rapids Friday to encourage early voting.

The Democratic presidential nominee, who last campaigned in Iowa Sept. 29  the first day of early voting in the state, will have a campaign rally Oct. 28 to lay out whats at stake in the election.

With polls showing Clinton gaining support in swing states and even some traditionally red or Republican states, Clinton has expanded her travel plans hoping to score a victory that will be seen as a mandate for her presidency.

Shes also looking to support Democratic candidates in down-ballot races. Cedar Rapids Iowa 1st District challenger Monica Vernon, whose race against Republican Rep. Rod Blum is within the margin of error, would fits that bill.

To RSVP or the rally, go to https://www.hillaryclinton.com/events.
DAVENPORT -- Anastasia Somoza, a disabilities rights advocate who's endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, was in Davenport on Friday, praising the former secretary of state and saying more needs to be done to fully integrate all people into society.

Somoza, who mesmerized delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia with a speech there in July, said even though laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act have helped to make it easier for people with disabilities to gain physical access to buildings, more work needs to be done to fully include them.

"The ADA has been really successful in terms of increasing physical access, meaning the physical world. Buildings like this are physically accessible so people with disabilities are more visible, Somoza told about a dozen people at Clinton's Davenport campaign office. But she added, Its more than just this inclusion revolution were in the middle of. We need to continue to include, but we also need to find ways to engage people with disabilities. And thats the piece that still needs to be worked on.

Advocates for people with disabilities have pushed for greater advancements in employment, housing and education. Even with her education, Somoza, a graduate of Georgetown University and the London School of Economics, said she's still had difficulty getting hired.

Somoza and her sister Alba were born prematurely and diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia. Anastasia currently works for an organization in New York that helps people with disabilities and their families. She also is working with the Clinton Global Initiative to stop babies and children with disabilities from being abandoned in China.

Somoza first came to public attention in 1993 at the age of 9 when she took part in a White House event in which she tried to get help from President Bill Clinton to help her non-verbal sister get into a mainstream class in their New York school district.

Since then, Somoza said, she and the Clintons have stayed in touch. In September, she introduced Clinton at an event in Orlando, Fla., where Clinton gave an economic speech focusing on people with disabilities.

Clinton someone who is genuine and who "truly wants to make the world a better place."

In addition to being in Davenport, Somoza campaigned in Iowa City, Ames and Des Moines Friday.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Iowans should be confident their votes will count when they cast ballots for president, Congress and state and local offices not only because of laws intended to guarantee the integrity of the election, but because its being conducted by their fellow citizens.

We have over 10,000 of our neighbors on the front line, Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday, admitting hes a little defensive about suggestions by his partys presidential nominee that the election may be rigged.

In addition to the poll workers recruited by county auditors to staff polling places, Pate said both the Republican and Democratic parties supply precinct watchers to observe the voting process to guarantee its integrity and fairness.

We have a full array of Iowans who are there to make sure these elections are operating on the up and up. So if someone wants to imply otherwise I'm a little sensitive to it, Pate said on Iowa Public Televisions Iowa Press.

His sensitivity was shared by Linn County Auditor Joel Miller who called GOP nominee Donald Trumps warning that the election will be rigged a bogus accusation, has no foundation and is "hurtful to say the least to election workers, Miller said.

Undermining public confidence in the election process is kind of horrifying, added David Andersen, assistant professor of political science at Iowa State University.

Once you make an allegation of rigging or that an election is rigged its really, really difficult to disprove it, Andersen said.

Although Pate and Miller conceded voter fraud has been proven on rare occasions, Andersen said its very rare.

To rig an election. Andersen said, Youre talking about not just some fraud, but systematic fraud.

That is exceedingly difficult to do (because) you have to basically dupe thousands of people who are working in the election system, he said. Its an allegation that its not just one person is out there casting 10 or 20 votes illegally, its that thousands of people are collaborating to throw away our democratic system.
Id sum up todays gorgeous wedding in three words  pretty in pastels. Julia and Enrique tied the knot on the 25th of June 2016 in Ferrol, which is on the Atlantic Coast of Spain. The location on its own was magnificent and this loving couple used plenty of soft florals, cultural traditions and fun components to really make their day memorable.

I love love love learning about different rituals from around the world. Julia shares with us a local custom in Galicia, where they soak wildflowers (like rosemary, clover, fennel) and other fresh flowers outside overnight on June 23rd. Then the next morning, on St Johns Day, you wash your face with them to heal your body and soul. The photos of Julia with the soaked blooms are beautiful, as you will see.

Nothing beats the look of pure joy and excitement on a bride or grooms face and you can clearly see Enrique and Julias elation at making their union official.

Thank you so much, Sara Lobla Photography, for letting us share your wonderful images today.

THE PROPOSAL | Last year on San Fermins Day, we were trying to take photographs of the stars in a beautiful country house in Arcais, the so-called French Venetia. He then asked me to marry him. There were no ring because I rarely wear jewellery.

THE VISION | Its a Galician wedding in a colonial country house, prepared with special attention to details and much enthusiasm. Its my favourite time of the year and its my birthday two days later. The palette was composed of pastels.

THE PLANNING PROCESS | Lucia @tusdesign, Quiques sister, has helped very much with the planning. She is very elegant. Her patience, ideas and willingness were amazing. She has designed the favours, the invitations, the seating

CHURCH | San Julian Concathedral in Ferrol

THE VENUE | Pazo Libunca (Naron, A Coruna, Spain).

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | Dress: Marcela Mansergas

Jewellery: Joyeria Jar

Headpiece: India Tiaras y Tocados

Shoes: LODI

Makeup and Hair: Peluqueria Chus Ferrol

FINDING THE DRESS | What I like most about the dress is its lightness, its really fluid and comfortable. Made in crepe and tulle embroidered with lace, it has many details: the ballerina neckline, the U back with lace and buttons

GROOMS ATTIRE | Jacket: Sastreria Madariaga

Shirt: Hackett

Tie: Loewe

Cufflinks: Montblanc

Shoes: Conti Ferrari

THE READINGS & MUSIC | The soprano from Ferrol, Maria Jose Ladra, sang during the ceremony. The ceremony was in Spanish and Galician.

The music during the ceremony was by Mas Music. They also played during the cocktail hour.

LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS | My nephews and nieces were the children that accompanied us during the ceremony (ninos de arras). A couturier from Ferrol made the girls dresses, as well as the sashes of the boys. The shirts and trousers of the boys were by Neck & Neck.

THE FLOWERS | On 23rd June, in Galicia the flowers are left outdoors and the following morning (Saint Johns Day) you wash your face with them to heal body and soul. The typical flowers are wild or from markets: clover, rosemary, verbena, fennel and other flowers in pastel shades. La tienda de Emma prepared the bouquet and the floral arrangement.

CATERING | During the starters there was a beer corner with homemade beer from Ferrol, La Ferrolana (Pale Ale type). Apart from tasty, the bottle has an artistic label. The lunch was a banquet. In Ferrol, the monkfish is very appreciated, especially from the Cedeira area. Moreover, we had lobster. It is a must in any Galician wedding.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Sara Lobla for her style. The colour and light of the photos, so original and fresh. She can take wonderful photos in any background, which requires much talent.

VIDEOGRAPHER | Catu Martinez, one of my best friends at school, has a natural and simple style. I have always admired how she makes everything beautiful. Her style is really amazing.

THE DETAILS & DECOR | My sister-in-law, Lucia helped very much with the decor and the designs.

Imprenta Parames from Ferrol has been till the day before packing the illustrations and presents, printing menus, missals They enjoy their job and that is evident. They are very good professionals.

@_yolandia made the tipi for the children with cushions and baskets to put away the toys. A big success!

To finish with, @tiajulita inspired us very much.

FAVOURS | An illustration painted by Lucia from Las Meninas. It represents Ferrol because there is an important cultural movement in Canido neighbourhood. We also gave an Albarino wine bottle from a family wine cellar from Cambados. I recommend this wine of high quality called O Casal.

THE HONEYMOON | Bali and Gili islands. We love to surf, sightseeing, go to the beach, walk through the rice fields Above all, we wanted to take a rest.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | The dance was very special. I was a dancer for years and Quique has learned ballroom dancing. We decided to be quite traditional, so we danced the Wine, Women and Song Waltz by Johan Strauss.

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | I think its very important to rely on good professionals, especially if you are not at the spot to prepare everything. The priest, Xaquin, told us that the important thing was to get married. When we were stressed, we remembered his words.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Photographer | Sara Lobla

Dress | Marcela Mansergas

Makeup and hair | Peluqueria Chus Ferrol

Headpiece | India Tiaras y Tocados

Jewellery | Joyeria Jar

Shoes | LODI

Flowers | La tienda de Emma

Jacket | Sastreria Madariaga

Shirt | Hackett

Tie | Loewe

Cufflinks | Montblanc

Wedding rings | Joyeria Suarez

Venue and catering | Pazo Libunca

Decor/illustrations | Lucia at @tusdesign

Stationery (printing/packing) | Imprenta Parames

Video | Catu Martinez

Tipi | Yolandia

Wine (favour) | O Casal

Music | Mas Music

Beer corner | La Ferrolana

Little boys (shirt and trousers) | Neck & Neck

Enrique and Julia, thank you for sharing your delightful celebration with us. I will definitely be adding your part of Spain to my ever-growing bucket list. Abby xx
NASA wrote a nice ignorant post!

Do you see what is wrong?

Here is some help to read the wrong spot

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and two Russians launched to the International Space Station Read that quote

Still see nothing wrong?

Okay! I give up!

We literally ignore the fact that two Russians are on board with just one American. We name the American and yet we somehow lost the names for the two Russians. Just two Russians, not Russian Astronauts, not a name for them and we simply state, two Russians ..

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLwcT3Zl2yg/

Respect please for the two Russians who are nameless in NASA eyes

Thanks to Spaceflight Now

And yes the Russian is in charge! Jeepers weepers

WtR

PS: If it has to do with Russia? I am most likely reading about it, doing it and or living it! NASA bad!
Matthew Browne in Harvard Magazine:

Last week, a brimming crowd of grayed, bespectacled, and Tyvek-ed Cantabrigians, dotted throughout with important figures from the Harvard administration and faculty, packed into Sanders Theatre to hear actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith.

All of the scenes spoke to Smiths notion of Radical Hospitality, which was only loosely defined, to the point of being difficult to pin down. At different times, she presented it as the virtue of patience, laboring to empathize with others, and giving the exiled a home, just to name a few. Radical Hospitality, in its elasticity, ran the risk of not seeming radical at all, and just becoming a stand-in for the warm nicety du jour. But there seemed to be a stable core that held it together: people around the world ought to do a better job of treating each other as welcomed guests. Like the maxim Love thy neighbor, the principle is apparent, simple, and unsurprisingbut to insist on its importance, and to hold oneself and others to its standards, is radical. A lot of what seemed novel about Smiths concept was in language: the focus on the very word hospitality, and the attempt to trace its political import. We are familiar to the point of callousing with the idea that we should love strangers or that we should empathize with others, but we rarely hear that we should be more hospitable. The word feels new in our mouths. Focusing on hospitality reinvigorates the vitality of a word thats retreated to the hotel and dining room. And these common associations strengthen Smiths political usage, rendering otherwise abstract debates in terms of warm, ground-level personal relations. Offering amnesty to refugees, for example, can be thought of as a matter of hospitality; should we not feel the same careful responsibility to those around the world that we do to those in our homes? The idea suggests that there is an ethics to our etiquette and an etiquette to our ethics.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
Dwight Garner at The New York Times:

It is always open season on the truth, the great cultural critic Albert Murray wrote in his first and probably best book, The Omni-Americans (1970), and there never was a time when one had to be white to take a shot at it.

Murray (1916-2013) took his share of shots in The Omni-Americans. He skewered social scientists for pathologizing black life in what he called this great hit-and-miss republic. He poured scorn upon black protest writers and certain novelists, including Richard Wright, for insisting on narratives of victimhood and marginalization. Not for him were novels that read like interim research reports.

Part of Murrays genius was for sounding so cheerful in the midst of battle. Hed pause during an extended and elegant argument to toss off a riff like this one (the dated word meriny refers to a light skin and hair tone): If U.S. Negroes dont already have self-pride and didnt know black, brown, beige and freckles, and sometimes even mriny is beautiful, why do they always sound so good, so warm, and even cuss better than everyone else? Murray, it should be said, was an imaginative swearer himself. Henry Louis Gates Jr. said of his conversation, Imagine Redd Foxx with a graduate degree in literature.

more here.
Summit Carbon files lawsuits against Brown, Edmunds counties

Two South Dakota counties are facing federal lawsuits from one of the companies planning a carbon capture and sequestration pipeline.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan - Washington DC rejects the baseless allegations and the false accusations recently distributed by Amnesty International and other sources that repeated the same propaganda against peace and stability in Darfur and Sudan.

The Embassy appreciates the clear and strong stand of UNAMID on the fabricated and unfounded report of Amnesty International on Sudan's using chemical weapons in Jebel Marra area. The UN/AU Joint Envoy for Darfur Mr. Martin Uhomoibhi affirms on October 9th 2016 in Khartoum that the deployed UNAMID troops amounting to 20 thousands all over the region of Darfur have not received any information about using chemical weapons in Jebel Marra or any place else.

During the latest period, the area of Jebel Marra has witnessed two visits from US, the first one was in August by the US special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, and the second one was this month by the US Charge de Affairs and the Director of USAID in Khartoum.

The ultimate goal of such propaganda is to send wrong signals to the international community about the situation in Sudan. It is totally rejected to launch this campaign of misinformation and disinformation while the nation is celebrating the conclusion of the National Dialogue and witnessing positive progress in all fields of Sudan's regional and international relations. The People of Sudan and Darfur peace partners have also celebrated last month the conclusion of the implementation of Doha Peace Agreement that signed in Doha in 2011.

Embassy of Sudan Press and Information Office, phone: +1-202-338-8565, or fax: +1-202-667-2406

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/embassy-of-sudan-statement-on-the-baseless-allegations-of-amnesty-international-on-use-of-chemical-weapons-in-darfur-300349466.html

SOURCE Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until December 5, 2016 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP), if they purchased the Company's securities between June 1, 2015 and September 28, 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 Ferrellgas 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 December 5, 2016.

About the Lawsuit

Ferrellgas and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On September 28, 2016, Ferrellgas disclosed a net loss of $665.4 million for fiscal year 2016, compared to a net profit of $29.6 million for fiscal year 2015. Ferrellgas further announced the resignation of the Company's President and CEO, Stephen L. Wambold.

On this news, the price of Ferrellgas' shares plummeted.

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.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner

lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com

1-877-515-1850

206 Covington St.

Madisonville, LA 70447

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160819/399590LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ferrellgas-shareholder-alert-by-former-louisiana-attorney-general-kahn-swick--foti-llc-reminds-investors-with-losses-in-excess-of-100000-of-lead-plaintiff-deadline-in-class-action-lawsuit-against-ferrellgas-partners-lp--f-300347999.html

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
BRIGHTON, England, Oct. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- StorageMart announced today the company's inaugural entry into the European self storage industry with the acquisition of 15 self storage facilities in Southeast England. StorageMart acquired the Big Box Storage Centre company and looks forward to serving the counties of Kent, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey.

"Big Box is an important entrance into the United Kingdom for StorageMart. We plan to use the substantial Big Box platform to grow within the UK. These are great locations in solid markets, and we look forward to applying our technology platform and revenue management strategies at these stores." said Cris Burnam, President of StorageMart.

The acquisition spans 15 locations with a total 9,655 storage units and 674,756 total square feet of storage space making this a very important launching pad for future growth within the United Kingdom. The StorageMart brand is the world's largest privately-owned self storage provider, with over 110,500 storage units and 12,482,670 total square feet of storage across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Always pioneering ways in which StorageMart can better serve clients, Burnam went on to say "Our goal is to bring to UK storage customers an easy, stress-free customer experience, in the cleanest stores, with world class customer service."

About StorageMart

StorageMart is led by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for three generations. The company's core values are dedicated to providing easy, clean and friendly service to each and every customer. StorageMart is also committed to giving back to the many communities it calls home. In 2015, the company donated over 512,000.00 in cash and free rent to local charities throughout the US and Canada. This bedrock belief in service to local communities will be extended to the local markets in the UK served by StorageMart.

For further information about StorageMart, please visit our web site at www.Storage-Mart.com, or contact Mrs. Sarah Little at (01) 573-449-0091; sarah.little@storage-mart.com.
AFRL system revolutionizes research process

The Autonomous Research System (ARES) may not look like Johnny Five, the famous robot from the 1986 movie Short Circuit, but this robots ability to integrate robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and data science is altering materials research in a big way at Air Force Research Laboratory.



The AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorates ARES can design, conduct and evaluate experimental data without human intervention, revolutionizing the materials research process as it is today.



To our knowledge, ARES is the first of its kind to link autonomous robotics, artificial intelligence, data science and in situ experimental techniques for materials development, said Dr. Benji Maruyama, a senior materials research engineer at AFRLs Functional Materials Division. Not only does it allow us to be faster and smarter in how we do experiments, we can get to a scientific understanding in a shorter amount of time.



Traditional materials science research is a time-consuming, human-centered process that takes a certain kind of individual with the knowledge, patience and understanding to design, conduct, analyze and interpret experimental data, and then decide what to do next, Maruyama said. A typical research team may only conduct one or two experiments per day using traditional research routines.



ARES, on the other hand, can complete upward of 100 experiments per day, expediting the materials discovery process.



We are in the dark ages in the way we do experiments, yet we are inventing such high-tech materials. There is a disconnect between the research process and the high-end technology output, Maruyama said. ARES combines the best of hardware experimentation, and modeling and simulation with an AI planner that proposes what to do next. We can get feedback faster.



ARES robotic expertise was tested by Maruyamas team in the field of carbon nanotube growth, an area of materials research that is traditionally poorly controlled and not very well understood. Carbon nanotubes are extremely valuable in materials science, as they are strong, light weight and have an ability to conduct heat and electricity. Nanotubes can be used in a number of different applications, from airplane wings to lightweight, flexible conductor wires, ballistic materials, computer chips and even for drug delivery.



ARES conducted more than 600 experiments in autonomous mode, with the computer brain determining experimental conditions to achieve an objective maximum growth rate for the nanotubes. Human scientists set the objective growth rate, which ARES used to execute the research. Each new experiment performed by the robot resulted in new knowledge, which ARES incorporated into the design of future experiments. As the number of experiments increased, the results became more constant, converging on predicted growth rates for the carbon nanotubes, indicating the AI system learned to grow carbon nanotubes and applied the intelligence with scientific success.



Though ARES is capable of conducting scientific research autonomously and can generate rapid results, the role of the researcher remains extremely important, said Maruyama.



ARES will not replace humans, but rather the success of ARES depends strongly on the partnership between the human researcher and the robotic system -- a human-machine trust, he said.



ARES frees the researcher from tedious bench-level experiment activities, such as instrument preparation, monitoring and cleaning, and allows them to undertake the creative, insightful, higher-level thinking that can lead to new discoveries, Maruyama said.



The beauty is that it makes us more efficient. We are able to be faster and smarter in how we do experiments and can get to a new state of understanding, he continued.



While ARES proved itself in carbon nanotube growth, autonomous research robots have the potential for use in a number of scientific research areas. Kevin Decker, a software engineer from UES, Inc., is working with the ARES team to program the AI software to allow ARES to be a generic research tool, enabling it to work on other materials research problems.



In the future, the direction of ARES will be to explore chemical and physical phenomena autonomously.



There are multiple types of machine intelligence that work for different areas and specific problems, Decker said. We are working to develop software that incorporates multiple different types of AI that will allow us to determine the most suitable strategy for an experimental problem.



According to Maruyama, ARES is a disruptive tool that is changing the research ecosystem.



Research is core to what we do in the Air Force. We are trying to cause a disruptive improvement to the process of research wherein not only can we do research 100 times faster, but 100 times smarter and more economically, he said. We ask ourselves, How can we reengineer the research process to make research better and more cost effective?



As ARES shows, robots and machine intelligence may be the answer.
Agriculture and Food Security in the heart of Morocco-Rwanda new partnership

King Mohammed VI and president of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, chaired, on Thursday in Kigali, the ceremony to launch an agriculture partnership program between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Rwanda.

Signed bilateral pacts concern chiefly Moroccan assistance and investment in Rwandas agriculture sector in terms of productivity and cutting cost of operation.

Geraldine Mukeshimana, the minister for agriculture and animal resources, and her Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch signed the agreements setting out a general framework for cooperation between the two countries.

Dr Mukeshimana also signed an agreement with Hicham Belram, the chief executive of Moroccan Agricultural Insurance, for the establishment of multi-peril crop insurance products in Rwanda, which will be implemented in partnership with local insurance companies.

Speaking to The press, Mukeshimana said the partnership with Morocco would greatly benefit smallholder farmers who incur heavy losses in the event of drought.

We are well aware that this will be a huge relief to our farmers across the country as it will give them confidence to invest in the sector, she said.

Fertiliser firm

The Minister for Agriculture also signed a pact with Mostafa Terrab, the chief executive of Phosphate Mining Company, for the establishment of a fertiliser blending facility in the country.

The plant will enable the country to produce tailor made fertiliser products for local use with possibilities of export.

Mukeshimana said establishing a fertiliser blending plant in the country will give farmers access to better products that are tailor made for the local market.

She added that the new facility will also make fertilisers affordable to farmers.

We also hope to become a regional hub for fertiliser production and export it to regional countries, which will also reduce Rwandas trade deficit, she said.

Terrab said they were looking to create an ecosystem that would also involve members of the local private sector.

He said Rwanda has, in previous years, exhibited a lot of potential in developing agriculture sector, which makes the country an ideal destination for them to invest, adding that with Rwanda as a hub, the firm is targeting the regional market, which also holds enormous potential.

Moroccan agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch said the two countries will seek to learn from each other on agriculture sector development.

Akhannouch said Rwanda will learn a lot from Moroccos model which has played a key role in reducing poverty levels and speeded up the Maghrib nations economic development in recent years.

Giving insights into the role of agriculture in Moroccos economic development, he said, since 2008, they had put agriculture at the centre of their economy, they had seen growth in their gross domestic product as well as other micro and macro-economic impacts.

Going forward, Akhannouch said, the partnership of the two countries to learn from one another could set the tone for the rest of the continent.

Rwanda and the Kingdom of Morocco, on Wednesday, signed 19 pacts to strengthen bilateral ties and create a myriad of opportunities for their citizens.

King Mohammed VI has been in Rwanda since Tuesday for a state visit, part of his tour of the region. Other countries he is expected to visit are Tanzania and Ethiopia.
The Moroccos national phosphate company and the Indian firm Kribhco announced the construction of a new $230 million fertilizer plant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The 50/50 venture will be located in the city of Krishnapatnam and have the capacity to process up to 1.2 million tons of NPK  or Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium  fertilizer.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the Made in India movement, pushing for new employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector, since he came to power in 2014. The fertilizer sector is one of 25 identified by the Modi administration as exhibiting high potential for profitable growth in India.

OCP has always been, and remains fully committed to contribute to Indias agricultural development, OCP Chairman Mostafa Terrab said in a statement announcing the venture. As one of the major cooperatives in India, Kribhco is an excellent partner to develop a farmer-oriented agricultural input joint-venture. This partnership is designed to be truly a win-win project for all the stakeholders involved but foremost for Indias agriculture and particularly for Indian farmers.

Morocco holds the worlds largest reserves of phosphates, making the kingdom a key player in the international fertilizer and detergent industries, as well as several other phosphate-related niches.

OCP plans to open a fertilizer factory in Nigeria as well. In July, the Minister Delegate of Foreign Affairs met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the construction of such a plant. The status of the plans remains unclear
The religious aura and spiritual influence of King Mohammed VI is bulwark against the threat of extremism  the Mufti of Rwanda Sheikh Salim Hitimana has declared to the Maghreb news agency

We are grateful to HM the King for his noble efforts to defend the causes of Muslims and his role in strengthening the values of coexistence and dialogue between peoples and religions, he said.

He also expressed, on behalf of the Muslim community in this country of East Africa, his pride and joy at the Sovereigns visit to Rwanda.

This visit will give a strong impetus to cooperation between the two countries in all fields, said the leader of Rwandas Muslim community, estimated at nearly 20 percent of this countrys population.

Morocco is a country that enjoys peace and stability under the leadership of HM the King, who managed to lead his country and people towards greater economic and democratic progress in a regional environment in turmoil and plagued by uncertainty, he said.

The Rwandan people, who endured for about 20 years the throes of violence and instability, praise Moroccos key role, under the leadership of HM the King, in promoting peace and dialogue not only in Africa but also around the world, he said.

He also hailed the numerous commendable initiatives of the Sovereign to promote the values of moderation and tolerance.
The Alaouite Foundation for Sustainable Development ( from Morocco) and Imbuto Foundation ( Rwanda), have yesterday, established a partnership to facilitate cooperation on common interests.

The two foundations will be working together for sustainable development in areas such as health, education, youth and women economic empowerment of citizens in respective countries.

The agreement was inked in the presence of visiting King Mohammed VI, President Paul Kagame, and First Lady Jeannette Kagame.

The agreement was signed by the Kings foundation delegate Mostafa Terrab and Rita Zirimwabagabo, the Vice Chairperson of Imbuto Foundation.

The new partnership is accompanied by a grant of Euro 1 million to Imbuto Foundation toward health and socio-economic empowerment.

Speaking after the partnership agreement, Sandrine Umutoni, the Acting Director General of Imbuto Foundation explained that the partnership was testimony to the South South cooperation which holds a promise of development to the citizens of the two countries.

These two foundations will be working together for sustainable development and have signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect, she said.

In the health sector, part of the grant will be used in the creation of an industrial kitchen in partnership with Solid Africa Foundation to provide food to vulnerable patients in public hospitals.

Solid Africa Foundation is a non- governmental organisation that supports vulnerable patients. Founded by Isabelle Kamariza in 2011, the foundation runs programmes to cater for the welfare of vulnerable patients in public hospitals.

We will be partnering with Solid Africa which speaks to the objectives of developing healthy communities. They deal with over 300 patients every day, Umutoni said.

In the empowerment of the community, Umutoni said that the grant will be used to develop a model village around a centre of Early Childhood Development in the community.

Presenting highlights to King Mohammed VI, Umutoni said that the 15 year old organisation work is always aligned to the government priorities and works to complement national strategies.

Imbuto Foundation, which was started in 2001 by First Lady Jeannette Kagame, is involved in health and social economic causes which it fulfills through advocacy, community outreach, mentorship, fostering partnerships and unleashing young talent.

Like Imbuto Foundation, the Alaouite foundation has a long track record of working to improve the livelihoods of citizens in a number of African countries.

The Foundations delegate Mostafa Terrab said that, since its establishment in 2006, they have been able to roll out about 20 initiatives in seven African countries.

The Foundation works in three major areas, including healthcare, human development and animal health and fisheries.

Among their key initiatives is an eye clinic in Senegal which has so far carried out over 800 eye surgeries, a prenatal clinic in Mali and a Mother Child clinic in Conakry Guinea.

In human development, the Foundation works in vocational training and technical education whereby they have so far established five schools in Madagascar with 4000 trainees so far.

Terrab said that they take pride in the newly forged partnership as they share the values of Imbuto Foundation.

We are proud of our new partnership with Imbuto Foundation as we share similar human values and are committed to South-South partnership with a sense of solidarity, he said.








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In the recent past, the last Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singhs son Yuvraj Karan Singh reminded India of the fact that the government is weakening its claim on Kashmir by refusing to look at the international dimensions to the issue. Karan Singh urged the government to abstain from stating that the political instability in Kashmir was an internal matter of India. While insisting on restoration of the dialogue process with Pakistan, Mr. Singh stressed that on October 27, 1947, when his father Maharaja Hari Singh signed an Instrument of Accession with India, the development happened on three principles  that only Defence, Communications and Foreign Affairs would be handled by India, and the rest will be under the Kashmir state.

The other historical statement contrarily talks about purported instrument of accession signed in presence of Mehr Chand Mahajan and VP Menon in Jammu Palace after Maharaja fled Kashmir with all his paraphernalia. The said document never produced on international level having no authenticity leaves a question mark.

In a fresh bid to draw world attention to barbarous occupation; the youth of Kashmir for the last 114 days brave continuous military curfews, mortalities through use of sophisticated weapons especially the pellet guns snatching the eye sight of hundreds of young and old. The stone-pelters making their point displaying unyielding resistance forced India to go on the back foot. Indian desperation smearing the popular uprising is an attempt to opportunely divert the attention of world to terrorism.

Pakistan says its defence capabilities are impregnable as deliberate border skirmishes, falsely claimed surgical strikes and huge financial investments made within Pakistan to derail the political process hoping to have it declared as a failed state have caused Pakistans enemies a lot of frustration and desperation. Pakistans track-record tells us that the present political situation, in comparison, is precarious and sensitive for army to take over as for now its inability to stage a comeback is the question political pundits in Pakistan dread and are even hesitant to discuss.

The statement issued by northern command in Indian occupied Kashmir saying "Hundreds of missing Kashmiri youth have joined militant ranks fighting Indian army to seek independence", is quite disturbing and alarming as the political resistance leadership fear for the lives of thousands of such stone-pelting young men picked up by Indian army to dispense them in torture chambers of various Indian prisons. Over 10,000 young men recently arrested and lodged in different jails of India does not deter more to join in to fight using bricks and stones. The uprising continues with fervour and enthusiasm with no letup, whatsoever. The number of young and old picked up during night raids is yet unknown as military curfew restrictions in place makes it difficult to determine the actual number of victims disappeared.

As reported by The Hindu.com; more loyal than the king Indian minister MJ Akbar in a meeting with Syrian Ambassador to India managed to extract a statement from Riad Abbas like "India and Syria are on the same page on international issues". Stressing on the historical relationship the two countries have, minister Akbar missed to mention the ever growing bonded relationship taking precedence on all other relationships on international level between India and Israel. India has been following Israeli expertise and know-how strictly to deal with minorities especially Muslims in India. In spite of all this diplomatic costly exercise Syria avoided the Indian rhetoric to support Indian long cherished dream line "Kashmir is an integral part of India".

Chairman Military Committee NATO, General Peter Pavel, on a recent visit to Pakistan, said world cannot remain indifferent to Kashmir issue. While lauding Pakistan armys efforts to launch counter-terrorism operations with impressive results; General Pavel said the world and the UN have to be consistent on principles and rules. "India was creating problems resorting to double standards on the issue of Kashmir", General Pavel was briefed. "The Kashmir issue has to be addressed as two nuclear powers are party to it and the world cannot remain indifferent and must be concerned," Chairman Military Committee NATO said.

Indias one million strong army spread to length and breadth of Kashmir has miserably failed to contain or control the uprising showing no signs of giving in to the brute force used to quell the spontaneous will to fight to the finish. The political pressure on India is mounting and India, it seems, is using ludicrous forms of subterfuge to ward off the international pressure.

The world powers political interest in South-East Asia has its own dimensions and India seems to have misunderstood the support it receives in the fields of science and technology, economic benefits or military hardware. Pakistan in the neighbourhood coming up in a big way thwarts Indian attempt to emerge as super power in the region. India realises that China already a super power has managed to keep India busy with a force to reckon with Pakistan and understands that China is too huge for it to worry about. Under the circumstances, any small or big Indian military misadventure can without fail result in uncontrollable catastrophe.

It is in Indias vital interest to listen to the voices coming out from within the country that dialogue is the only way to settle the long standing issues especially Kashmir that will guarantee peace throughout the region. The political decisions based on emotions guided by nostalgia will only worsen the situation leading to perilous outcome. India needs to understand that Israel is a constitutional commitment and integral to US political interests whereas India is in a temporary alliance that can change without any ceremony and fanfare.








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Date: 29 July, 2014.

Place: not mentioned.

On 29 July 2014, famous astronaut Edgar Mitchell (sixth man to walk on the Moon) wrote a private letter to former Bill Clintons Chief of Staff John Podesta about a very intriguing issue.

According to the content of the letter recently revealed on the internet site Wikileaks.org, the astronaut manifested to Mr Podesta his willingness to have a meeting with him and President Obama regarding the next steps in extraterrestrial disclosure for the benefit of our country and our planet.

Fifty years ago Battelle, Brookings and RAND studies on UFOs convinced the government to remove knowledge of the extraterrestrial presence from the citizens of our country, wrote Mr Mitchell. However, today much, if not most, of the extraterrestrial reality they examined is known by our citizens. These organizations' resultant strategies and policies of 50 years ago no longer hold credibility or benefit, he continued.

Mr Mitchell also expressed his deep concern about the way UFO information is being processed and presented to the public by the government. Five decades of UFO information have dramatically shifted the public awareness of an extraterrestrial presence, he declared. And yet, our government is still operating from outdated beliefs and policies. These are detrimental to trust in government transparency, science, religion, and responsible citizenry embracing the next step in our countrys space travel and research, he asserted.

About this case, UFO researcher and writer Scott C Waring, of UFO Sightings Daily analysed: In it [the letter] he [Mr Mitchell] states the real reason we have all wanted to know, about why the United States decided to hide all alien info from the public.

He also provided information about the aforementioned Batelle, Brookings and RAND.

The RAND Corporation traces its origins to a research and development project created inside the Douglas Aircraft Company to study UFOs secretly retrieved by the U.S. military after the February 1942 Battle of Los Angeles UFO incident, Mr Waring wrote. Battelle, Brookings was a 1960 report commissioned by NASA and created by the Brookings Institution in collaboration with NASA's Committee on Long-Range Studies. It was submitted to the US government on April 18, 1961, he continued.

According to him, these institutions convinced the US government to hide all UFO and alien intelligence from the public.

Draw your own conclusions

For further information: http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2016/10/wikileaks-email-to-john-pedestal.html

Wikileaks Email To John Pedesta; Astronaut Edgar Mitchell States Reason America Hides UFOs From Public, Oct 2016, UFO Sightings Daily.

Date of email: 7-29-2014

Writer of email: Astronaut Edgar Mitchell

Email sent to: John Podesta

Wikileaks URL: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/15052

I found something interesting in the Podesta emails at Wikileaks today. Edgar Mitchell sent an email to John Podesta (below) so that he could meet with Obama about the future of space exploration. In it he states the real reason we have all wanted to know, about why the United States decided to hide all alien info from the public (highlighted in yellow below).

The RAND Corporation traces its origins to a research and development project created inside the Douglas Aircraft Company to study UFOs secretly retrieved by the U.S. military after the February 1942 Battle of Los Angeles UFO incident.

Battelle, Brookings was a 1960 report commissioned by NASA and created by the Brookings Institution in collaboration with NASA's Committee on Long-Range Studies. It was submitted to the US gov on April 18, 1961.

These were the things that convinced the US gov to hide all UFO and alien intel from the public, but that was 60 years ago, and those rules need to be changed, the public must know the truth.

Scott C. Waring

Email states:

Dear John Pedestal:

As we move into the last half of 2014, the need for extraterrestrial

disclosure intensifies. Thank you for your kind consideration and response

to my email.

This 4 July weekend I will meet with President Obamas friend, Ambassador Hamamoto, at the US Mission in Geneva during their Independence Day Celebration. While in Geneva I will also speak at the UN and the European Space Agency regarding why we must move forward with disclosure and specific programs such as manned moon missions, since some scientists and others are calling for moon colonization due to what they perceive is happening on Earth.

John, with this email I am requesting a conversation with you and President Obama regarding the next steps in extraterrestrial disclosure for the benefit of our country and our planet.

Fifty years ago Battelle, Brookings and RAND studies on UFOs convinced the government to remove knowledge of the extraterrestrial presence from the citizens of our country. These organizations advised with their best information. However, today much, if not most, of the extraterrestrial reality they examined is known by our citizens. These organizations' resultant strategies and policies of 50 years ago no longer hold credibility or benefit.

Five decades of UFO information have dramatically shifted the public awareness of an extraterrestrial presence. And yet, our government is still operating from outdated beliefs and policies. These are detrimental to trust in government transparency, science, religion, and responsible citizenry embracing the next step in our countrys space travel and research.

Three disclosure issues are prominent: 1) planet sustainability via next generation energies such as zero point energy, 2) galactic travel and research undertaken as an advanced species aware of the extraterrestrial presence, not as uninformed explorers who revert to colonialism and destruction and 3) the example of a confident, engaged government who respectfully regards the wisdom and intellect of its citizens as we move into space.

I respectfully receive your response to my request for conversation on disclosure.

[image: Image removed by sender.]

Warmest Regards,

Edgar D. Mitchell, ScD

Chief Science Officer & Founder, Quantrek

Apollo 14 astronaut

6th man to walk on the Moon








Web Toolbar by Wibiya

Date: 07 July, 2014.

Place: Asteroid Lutetias surface.

On 07 July 2014, the European Space Agency (ESA) released a report about the historical close encounter that spacecraft Rosetta had with Asteroid Lutetia. During this encounter, hundreds of images were taken, but there is one that has really caught UFO enthusiasts attention.

The European Space Agency affirmed that the photo featured a stunning sliver of large main-belt asteroid Lutetia from the viewpoint of ESAs Rosetta spacecraft, taken as Rosetta passed by on its 10-year voyage towards comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko.

However, those who believe in extraterrestrial life are of the opinion that ESA has intentionally omitted information about what actually appears on this image.

Scott C Waring, UFO researcher and writer, stated on 16 October 2016 on his blog UFO Sightings Daily: this photo I found was of asteroid Lutetia as the Rosetta mission lander flew past it on its way to the singing comet, 67P. As you can see, I added a lot of light to the photo in order to see the rest of the asteroid covered in shadows.

But, while doing this, he claims to have discovered something surprising. Instead I found a rectangle UFO bigger than the asteroid itself fly behind the asteroid, just at the moment that Rosetta took its photo, he affirmed.

According to Mr Waring, the alleged UFO would be incredibly enormous. ESA states that asteroid Lutetia is 100km across (62 miles), and if the UFO is the same size, then its also 100 km across, he affirmed. Makes you want to rethink what we think an alien star ship would be like, huh? he expressed.

The UFO investigator also affirmed that space agencies are modifying the images sent by rovers and spacecraft in order to avoid that any object of unknown origin appear on them. The ESA prides itself on its original and untouched photos, but I can literally take any photo of there and show how it has been photoshopped, or retouched. The ESA does this even more than NASA, he commented.

I am 100% confident that the ESA saw this [the asteroids image] and covered it up with black in order to reveal a new photo this week. They didn't realize that some of us would uncover it so fast, Mr Waring asserted.

Draw your own conclusions

For further information: http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2016/10/date-of-discovery-oct-14-2016-location.html

62 Mile UFO Passes Behind Asteroid Lutetia As ESA Takes Photo, Oct 2016, UFO Sighting News.

Date of discovery: Oct 14, 2016

Location of discovery: Asteroid Lutetia

Source ESA Photo: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/07/Farewell_Lutetia

The ESA prides itself on its original and untouched photos, but I can literally take any photo of theres and show how it has been photoshopped, or retouched. The ESA does this even more than NASA.

This photo I found was of asteroid Lutetia as the Rosetta mission lander flew past it on its way to the singing comet, 67P. As you can see, I added a lot of light to the photo in order to see the rest of the asteroid covered in shadows, but instead I found a rectangle UFO bigger than the asteroid itself fly behind the asteroid, just at the moment that Rosetta took its photo. I am 100% confident that the ESA saw this an covered it up with black in order to reveal a new photo this week. They didn't realize that some of us would uncover it so fast.

ESA states that asteroid Lutetia is 100km across (62 miles), and if the UFO is the same size, then its also 100km across. Makes you want to rethink what we think an alien star ship would be like, huh?

Scott C. Waring

ESA states about photo:

Title Farewell Lutetia

Released 07/07/2014 10:20 am

Description

This ethereal image shows a stunning sliver of large main-belt asteroid Lutetia from the viewpoint of ESAs Rosetta spacecraft, taken as Rosetta passed by on its 10-year voyage towards comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko.

This week marks four years since Rosetta flew by this ancient rocky body, on 10 July 2010. As the spacecraft swung past Lutetia it snapped hundreds of high-resolution photographs with its Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) as well as obtaining valuable spectra, and maps of the surface temperature using other instruments.

This image was taken as Rosetta had passed its closest approach, at just under 3170 km from Lutetias surface, and was beginning its journey away from the asteroid.

As a result of this flyby, astronomers have been able to characterise Lutetia, viewing the wide range of craters and geological features scarring the asteroids surface and gauging its mass and volumeand thus density and composition. These measurements showed that Lutetia is primordial, likely having formed just under 4 billion years ago during the very early phases of the Solar System.

This asteroid is one of just two that Rosetta has closely flown past, the other being asteroid Steins in 2008.

Rosetta was launched in 2004 and, after 10 years in space, will finally rendezvous with its target comet in August. It will study the comets surface, dust and gases in unprecedented detail, deploy a lander onto its surface, and follow the comet for over a year as it orbits around the Sun.
Iraqi Army, Assyrian Forces Enter Strategic Town Near Mosul

The Iraqi Army, backed by the Nineveh Plains Protection Units (Assyrian paramilitary), entered the strategic town of Al-Hamdaniyah [Baghdede in Assyrian, Qaraqosh in Turkish] this morning after an intense firefight with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). Located southeast of Mosul, Al-Hamdaniyah is considered the gateway to the provincial capital, as it is situated approximately 30km away. In addition to their advance at Al-Hamdaniyah, the Iraqi Army and their allies liberated the key town of Bartella, which is located just east of Mosul. Once Al-Hamdaniyah is secured, the Iraqi Army and the NPU will have Mosul surrounded from two different flanks, leaving little to no room to retreat.

Editor's note: Baghdede (Qaraqosh), the largest Assyrian town in Iraq with 50,000 residents, was occupied by ISIS two years ago, forcing all of its Assyrians residents to flee.
Justin Ross Harris

Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, wipes his eye as he sits during his bond hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court, Thursday, July 3, 2014, in Marietta, Ga. Harris who police say intentionally killed his toddler son by leaving the boy inside a hot SUV was exchanging nude photos with women the day his son died and had looked at websites that advocated against having children, a detective testified Thursday. At that same hearing, a judge refused to grant bond for Harris, meaning he will remain in jail. (AP Photo/Marietta Daily Journal, Kelly J. Huff, Pool)

(Kelly J. Huff)

A Georgia man swapped sexual text messages with a teenage girl while his toddler son sat dying in the back seat of the father's sweltering SUV, his young texting partner testified in court Friday.

Jurors at the trial of Justin Ross Harris also watched police video Friday of Harris just a few hours after his 22-month-old son, Cooper, died. In a police interrogation room, Harris and his wife discuss having more children. Before that, Harris tells detectives: "I'm a great father."

Harris, 35, is charged with murder in the little boy's death. He's also charged with sending graphic, sexual text messages and photos of his penis to a girl for a period of several months when she was 16 and 17.

That young woman, now 19, testified Friday she met Harris online in the fall of 2013 when he responded to a comment she posted on the app Whisper stating she wanted a sexual relationship like the one in the erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey."

"When it started, it was strictly sexual," the witness said of her relationship with Harris. "Then at times it would be like a normal conversation."

They never met in person, but Harris knew her age and that she was in high school, the young woman testified. She sent him one of her prom photos, she said, and would tell him about her efforts to choose a college.

In a transcript of their text messages that the young woman read in court, Harris once asked for a photo of her breasts and she replied: "I'm at school."

They also discussed sex acts they wanted to perform together, and Harris would send her photos of his penis. A prosecutor showed four photos to the jury. She said he asked her to send him photos of her genitals "countless" times, but she never did.

"There wasn't any pressure applied to you to participate in this, is that fair to say?" defense attorney Maddox Kilgore asked the young woman.

"Yes," she replied.

Prosecutor Chuck Boring noted that Georgia law makes the girl's consent irrelevant because she was a minor.

The Associated Press doesn't identify victims of sex crimes and isn't identifying the young woman, who was underage when the explicit messages were sent. The judge also has barred news organizations from broadcasting her voice and likeness to protect her identity.

Prosecutors say Harris, who had moved to metro Atlanta from Alabama in 2012, killed his young son intentionally because he wanted to escape the responsibilities of being a husband and father. Several women have testified to having sexual relationships with Harris, online and in person, while he was married.

Authorities say Harris' son died June 18, 2014, after being left in his car seat for about seven hours while Harris was at his job as a web developer for Home Depot. Harris had taken his son to eat breakfast that morning. His defense attorneys called the death a tragic accident, saying Harris forgot to drop Cooper off at daycare and drove straight to work.

That day, Harris was texting the teenage girl from his workplace, according to transcripts read in court Friday. At about 2 p.m., he asked for a photo of her breasts.

"I'm super sunburned," the witness read from the transcript, saying she sent a photo regardless.

Harris replied: "Yummy."

Hours later, after Harris pulled his dead son from his SUV, he was taken to Cobb County police headquarters. Jurors saw video Friday of Harris sobbing as he waited to speak with detectives.

"I'm so sorry, Cooper!" he bawled.

Harris appears more composed as he talks with detectives. He calmly debates with them after being told he will be charged with child cruelty, a felony.

"It was completely unintentional," Harris says. "I've no history of child abuse. I've no history of domestic violence. ... I'm a great father."

That evening, police recorded Harris in the same interview room with his wife, Leanna. It's their first meeting since their son died. She tries to comfort Harris as he weeps.

Near the end of the 40-minute video, she asks Harris if he will be willing to have more children.

"I want to have a family," Harris says, before adding, "I'm just going to miss him."

Harris' wife was granted a divorce earlier this year.

Harris' trial was moved from Cobb County in the Atlanta suburbs, to the coastal port city of Brunswick because of pretrial publicity. The judge told jurors Friday she expects the trial, which began Oct. 3, to last three to four more weeks.
The state's Judicial Inquiry Commission has dismissed an ethics complaint filed against Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker for public comments he made about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage on a radio talk show last year.

Parker's attorney, Mat Staver with the legal group Liberty Counsel, issued a statement Friday saying the complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center in October 2015 had been dismissed. The SPLC complaint had stated Parker violated a judicial canon that prohibits judges from making comments about any pending or impending proceeding in any court.

"We are pleased that the complaint against Justice Tom Parker has been dismissed," Staver stated. "The speech restrictive Judicial Canon clearly violates the First Amendment. The Canon is so broad that it prevents judges from commenting on any case pending anywhere in the country, even if they are teaching students in law school."

A JIC official declined comment Friday, citing the Alabama Constitution's mandate of confidentiality regarding JIC proceedings.

The SPLC, however, confirmed their complaint had been dismissed. "Tom Parker is a lucky guy, he dodged a bullet this time," said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In October 2015 the SPLC filed the complaint, claiming Parker inappropriately made comments and suggested defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage just months before that show.

The comments were made on a conservative radio talk show hosted by Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. The SPLC described the show as "extremist."

Staver called the SPLC complaint against Parker "politically motivated." He said that Alabama needs to change that particular canon of ethics, calling it an "unconstitutional speech restriction."

The state also needs to change the state law that requires the automatic suspension with pay of a judge who has been charged by JIC, Staver stated. Even though he had not been charged by JIC, Parker had filed a federal lawsuit in June challenging that law.

A federal judge in September dismissed the lawsuit.

Another federal judge had also dismissed a similar lawsuit filed by suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore was suspended with pay in May pending his trial on judicial ethics charges brought by the JIC.

Since then Moore was found guilty by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on Sept. 30 of violating canons of judicial ethics for urging probate judges in January of this year to defy the U.S. Supreme Court's order and halt the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Moore, who was suspended for the remainder of his term, is appealing the decision.
A man was taken to UAB Hospital for treatment of burns he sustained in a flash fire that caused a minor explosion at a business in Decatur today.

Decatur Fire Chief Tony Grande said the flash fire at Chemtrade Logistics Inc. was caused by a flash of vapor that didn't involve any dangerous chemicals. Chemtrade is at 1008 Cedar Lake Road S.E.

"It was just a flash that went out immediately," he said. "There was not a leak or hazmat problem."

Decatur police spokesman Sgt. Mike Cowart said officers also responded to the scene but left within about an hour because the situation was under control.

The incident initially was reported around 11 a.m. as a "loud boom," Morgan County 911 Director Ryan Welty said.

"The caller said they heard it coming from the company; then they heard someone come over a radio and say there was a 'man down,' " Welty said.

A woman who answered the phone at Chemtrade but didn't provide her name said, "I have no comment."

The victim's condition wasn't immediately available.

Grande said he's unsure of the man's age and residency.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Two former students at an Alabama university have been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman during a spring break attack in Panama City Beach.



The News Herald reports that 23-year-old Ryan Austin Calhoun and 23-year-old Delonte Martistee were sentenced Friday. They were convicted last month of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators. Besides prison time, both men have been designated as sex offenders.

The assault, which investigators referred to as a "gang rape," happened in March 2015.

During the trial, jurors watched several versions of a video that showed the victim lying on a beach chair while the two former Troy University students fondled her.



The 2015 attack, along with several other incidents that year, led to a slew of new spring break-related laws.
A man and a woman were killed in a Friday evening collision near Magnolia Springs in Baldwin County.

Patricia Kay Dolihite, 60, and Cameron Alexander Davis, 19, were killed when the 1989 Ford Bronco Dolihite was driving collided with the 1999 Honda Accord driven by Davis, according to Alabama state troopers. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 98 at the 58.5 mile marker, a half-mile west of Magnolia Springs.

Troopers continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

Davis played on the defensive line for the Daphne High School football team last year.
It's time to turn up the heat on Gov. Robert Bentley.

'Cause he's nutty and undone as a half-baked pecan pie. He just ain't fit to serve.

A special grand jury last week found that evidence cooked up against former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier didn't have enough starch to hold together. The claims of misspending, found in an investigation ordered by Collier's replacement Stan Stabler and dished out as truth by the governor himself, was thin as gruel.

Or as the attorney general's office put it after Collier was cleared, "no witness established a credible basis for the initiation of a criminal inquiry in the first place."

In the first place.

As Emeril himself might say... Bam!

And what did Bentley - who repeatedly used that "evidence" to explain why he fired Collier - say to that news? What did he say after a grand jury shredded his whole story like so much old cheese, after multiple people cited in ALEA's internal "investigation" of Collier said they were misquoted or taken out of context?

He said this. This:

"Based on concerns presented to me by a member of the Alabama Senate and information that was given to the then Acting Secretary of Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Stan Stabler, when he assumed his position, I felt a new direction in our state law enforcement agency was needed. The information obtained by the ALEA integrity unit was gathered and presented to the Attorney General's office and a determination has been made. I am very satisfied with the new direction of ALEA and its leader Secretary Stan Stabler."

Assume the position, Alabama. Assume the position.

Gov. Robert Bentley's thinks ALEA is headed in the right direction. Which is scary.

If the governor of this state is "very satisfied with the new direction of ALEA and its leader" after this debacle, it's time to turn that sucker up to broil.

We're talking about an ALEA "investigation" that looks more like a facts-be-darned hatchet job than real detective work, ordered by Stabler - who just got the interim job of top cop - targeting the man who became the governor's biggest political landmine.

And the governor used it over and over again to describe how dirty Collier was. Which, as it turned out, he wasn't.

We're talking about indication that the top law enforcement agency in the state - run by a man appointed by the governor and serving at the pleasure of the governor -- used people and resources to carry out a vendetta against an enemy of that very governor.

That's what needs to come before a grand jury.

It needs to come back before the Legislature, too, to clear up the dirty dish that consolidated power in ALEA and put it under the control of the governor in the first place. Alabama's law enforcement agency has no business being an arm of the governor any more than your police department should be an arm of your mayor.

And Bentley is the perfect example of why.

And now all the crock pot governor can say is he "felt a new direction in our state law enforcement agency was needed?"

No. He wanted to punish Collier, who told the world about Bentley's dirty phone talk, and Stabler wanted to keep his new job - which came with a hefty 23 percent raise.

A new direction? Tell it to Spencer Collier, who is pleased to be cleared but convinced the governor and Rebekah Mason, with the aid of Stabler, sought to destroy his name.

"If the governor had told me he lost confidence in me I would have resigned," Collier said. "But I would not resign being called a thief."

Yeah, prosecutors are gonna kick this thing up a notch.

And somebody's goose is cooked.
Al Jazeera speaks to Afghan asylum seekers fearing imminent deportation under a new deal between the EU and Afghanistan.

Innsbruck, Austria  Mirwais, an Afghan asylum seeker has been in the country for four years. He is now one of many there, living in fear of being deported.

If the authorities deport me, my life is over  The centre of my life is here, said the 32-year-old Kabul native, who speaks German well and has been working as an interpreter in Austria.

He is worried about a recent European Union deal with Afghanistan, which could see an un unlimited number of Afghan refugees being deported soon. In exchange, Kabuls government is to receive $15bn from the EU over the next four years.

Although the agreement does not mention exact numbers, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees could be deported in the near future.

Following a deal between the EU and Turkey, the movement of refugees to Europe has slowed considerably.

According to government statistics, Austria received nearly 25,000 asylum applications from Afghans in 2015. As of September this year, less than half that number  10,000  have applied for asylum.

In March, a leaked document revealed that the EU is planning to deport at least 80.000 Afghans whose asylum requests have been rejected.

In the same month, the countrys Interior Ministry of Migration launched a campaign in Afghanistan, urging Afghans to be better informed before deciding to go there and warning that human smugglers lie and that without an income, you cant relocate your family.

Fearing the next bomb

With his asylum application being rejected three times, Mirwais might be among the new wave of deportees  his lawyer has told him that his future in Austria is precarious and that he he might be forced to leave.

The authorities told me that Kabul, my home town, is safe enough for living, Mirwais told Al Jazeera.

Living in Afghanistan is dangerous. I dont want to be killed by the next bomb. Many friends and family members of mine have already been killed, just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, he said.

Ahmad, 23 is in a similar situation.

I arrived in Austria six years ago. Since then, my asylum requests have always been rejected, said Ahmad, who has so far applied twice for asylum. The chances of subsequent applications succeeding are slim.

Should he get deported, Ahmad would be forced to return to his home province Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan, where heavy fighting between Taliban fighters and security forces is currently taking place.

Tarinkot, the provincial capital, was captured by the Taliban in September.

My whole family is still in Uruzgan. I have no other opportunity than going back. But how do European authorities justify deportations in such war zones? asked Ahmad.

Ahmad and Mirwais are among the second largest refugee group after people from Syria. Before the war in Syria began, people from Afghanistan were the worlds leading refugee group.

According to the UNs refugee agency , at least 40,791 Afghans arrived in Europe by sea, landing in Italy, Greece and Spain, between January and August of 2016.

Many Afghans are still fleeing a war with escalating civilian casualties. UN figures indicate that civilian deaths have reached a new peak since the beginning of the census in 2009. Between January 1 and September 30 of this year, the UN recorded 2,562 conflict-related civilian deaths and 5,835 injured.

A third of the victims were children.

Fighting is not limited to the countryside  the Taliban carries out regular attacks in Kabul, which also saw an ISIL attack at a Shia shrine on the day of Ashura.

Double refugee crises

As the country is facing the challenge of accepting its deportees, Afghanistan is also facing the crisis of a growing number of interally displaced people (IDPs) fleeing violence within its borders  some 3. 7 million are living in IDP camps around the country.

An additional 2.5 million unregistered Afghan refugees are also facing deportation from Pakistan, where the authorities see them as a security threat. Iran has also been deporting Afghans over the land border.

Its always easy for these politicians to talk about a country where they never have been, said Fardeen, 24, an Afghan refugee who has lived in Innsbruck for five years.

READ MORE: Afghans expelled by Pakistan in dire need of aid

There is no doubt that Syrians are granted asylum very quickly although their country is facing war just since a few years. Afghanistan is in war since more than 35 years but we have to fear deportations. I dont understand this logic, said Fardeen.

Fardeens asylum application has been rejected twice by Austrian authorities. And after the signed agreement between the EU and Afghan government, he fears deportation more than ever.

I cannot sleep well. I have heard stories how the police came for refugees without any warning and sent them back to their countries forcefully, he said.

Like many Afghans, Fardeen is angry at Kabuls political elite. Families of leading Afghan politicians live abroad. The children of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, for example, live in the United States  but were also born there  while the family of Abdullah Abdullah, the countrys chief executive, lives in India.

How do these people dare to decide about our destinies? And how can they be taken seriously? Fardeen asks.

According to Transparency International, Afghanistan is among the most corrupt countries. In the NGOs 2015 index, the country was on rank 166, just outranked only by Somalia and North Korea.

Fardeen believes that inequality is Afghanistans main problem.

The rich will always find a way out. But its us, Afghanistans poor majority, who are doomed. Nobody would care about us if we were deported and killed by the next bomb, he said.
Excitement at early voting centres after activists fought law that targeted black vote with almost surgical precision.

Charlotte, United States  Lines were long and excitement high as people queued in unusually hot fall weather on the first day of early voting in North Carolina.

Some 162,000 people cast their ballots on Thursday, according to numbers given by the states Board of Elections.

The voting season follows months of legal wrangling over polling schedules and other voting regulations that rights advocates and a federal court said disproportionately affected African Americans  a demographic that generally support the Democrats.

Were going blue, said Bill Jones, a 69-year-old African American, referring to the colour of the Democratic Party. He waited for two hours outside the University City Regional Library to vote.

In 2008, Barack Obama reversed decades of Republican election wins in North Carolina. But in 2012, the state flipped Republican again.

In an average of state polls, Democrat Hillary Clinton is now ahead of Republican Donald Trump at 45.8 to 43.3 percent.

For many African Americans in North Carolina, voting is an emotional affair as the southern state was at the epicentre of a decades-long struggle against segregation and for equal voting rights.

You cant go backwards. This is a new day and a different era and this is the result, Jones said, nodding to a line of voters that stretched around the library parking lot.

The 2016 elections are the first polls since the US Supreme Court in 2013 ruled that two provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in American history, were outdated.

The decision meant that North Carolina and eight other states with a history of racial discrimination no longer needed federal approval before changing voting laws and practices.

Two months later, Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law that cut early voting from 17 to 10 days, eliminated out-of-precinct voting and same-day registration, and required photo IDs at the polls.

These issues tend to impact the poor and working class the most because of complex job and family schedules, and limited access to transportation and identification such as drivers licenses.

A lot of African Americans work long hours. Sometimes were working two and three jobs, especially here in North Carolina where the living wage is not a living wage, said Corine Mack, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) in Charlotte.

According to data by the US Census Bureau, the nations poverty rate is highest among African Americans at 24.1 percent, compared to 9.1 percent among whites.

North Carolinas minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and according to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a living wage would start at $10.53 an hour.

In July this year, the United States Fourth Court of Appeals overturned the early voting restrictions, stating that they targeted the states African Americans with almost surgical precision. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

READ MORE: Rallying the black vote in Freddie Grays Baltimore

But then came another twist. In August, North Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse sent an email to Republican board of elections appointees, urging them to make party line changes to early voting by limiting hours, Sunday voting, and available polling stations in precincts known to vote Democrat.

Woodhouses office did not return repeated calls for comment, but Daniel Ashley, chairman for the Orange County Republican Party, told Al Jazeera that the generous early voting hours initially planned were a waste of resources.

If you cant find some time between the 30 days of absentee ballot voting and ten days [of early voting] then its not your priority, he said.

The governors party controls the states election board, and North Carolinas governor is a Republican. Ashley acknowledged that any party in power would shape the rules in its favour.

Thats part of being the party in control, he said, noting that Democrats have previously made voting rules that upset Republicans.

Woodhouses memos leaked to the press, prompting hundreds of state residents to petition county election boards to make early voting more accessible, especially to minorities and students.

The State Board of Elections agreed that more hours should be added, and most counties did extend their evening and weekend voting hours, including to Sundays which are popular with churchgoers.

Regardless, civil rights and voting advocacy groups like Democracy North Carolina and the NAACP worked to educate voters about their rights and responsibilities, train poll monitors in the event of fraud or intimidation, and help churches, schools and civic groups organise rides and marches to the polls.

Democracy North Carolina Communications Director Jen Jones was blown away by the results, saying this kind of civic engagement and the large turnout on the first day of voting was very unusual.

This was a huge victory for community activists who were aware of potential cuts to county early voting plans that could have disproportionately impacted student voters and voters of colour, she said.

While early voting got under way smoothly, there were, however, a few incidents of violence and vandalism in the past week.

On Sunday, vandals firebombed the Republican Partys headquarters, burning everything inside and scrawling graffiti on nearby walls, accusing the party of racism.

A few kilometres away in Carrboro, the Democratic Partys headquarters was also sprayed with graffiti with accusations of the party selling out to capitalism.

WATCH: Whats happening to American democracy?

Neither party blamed the other, nor did they think the acts were committed by locals.

Weve had bouts in the county with people making slurs, calling us racists when were doing events but nothing of this magnitude, said Ashley, who arrived at his offices shortly after they were firebombed.

I certainly hope the elections will be peaceful and that people will keep their passions in check, added his counterpart, Orange County Democratic Chairman Matt Hughes.

He said his constituents were feeling cautiously optimistic about visiting the polling stations and noted that many had already sent in absentee ballots.

Absentee voting is more common among educated voters and less popular among the busy working class, noted Vanessa Jackson, who was standing in line at the University City Regional Library voting centre.

A lot of people dont understand how it works, she said. She does, but said she wanted to come in person to show support for early voting and cast her ballot before starting a new job on Monday.

Jackson had come with snacks and a portable chair, but remained standing as she engaged in discussions with voters of all ethnicities who agreed the polls were one way to influence society, whether making choices about the president, justices or local leaders.

Were fellowshipping, she said, as she and other voters discussed how to heal a community and a nation embroiled in political polarisation and racial tension.

In September, Charlotte became one of the cities at the centre of a national outcry over police shootings of African-American men after the killing of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott. Protests became violent to the point that the government sent in the US National Guard.

Sylvester Pitt, a 69-year-old African American and Vietnam veteran, said he is even scared of going out because he fears being stopped by police.

I go to the gym at 10:00, home by 11:45 and stay in all dayThats the fear I have in me, he said.

Everybodys concerned about the violence, Brenda Blackwell, a white, retired Navy commander, chimed in.

Working at a local hospital, she decided to show support for early voting by taking time off work to cast her ballot on the first day.

No matter what the lines, what the wait, I felt it was important for me to be here, she said.

Elaine Crawford, an African American, welcomed the impromptu discussion with Jackson, Pitt, and Blackwell and expressed a wish that communities would come together more to get to know each other.

My hope is that after this election  and I hope Hillary wins  that things have calmed down and people continue to talk. As uncomfortable, painful and tense as it is, she said, you gotta actually talk.
On a dirt trail leading to Moroccos Bolingo camp, shepherds tend their flocks, fruit vendors sell their wares and children play in the streets.

Beyond the treeline, between a mountain and an olive grove, lies a permanent settlement of hundreds of refugees from sub-Saharan Africa  all aiming to reach Europe.

Ill go anywhere in Europe, says Abiba, who left her home in the Ivory Coast several years ago, after her father attempted to force her into marriage with a man 20 years older than her. He was very old, had white hair and I didnt want to marry him, so I had to run away.

Bolingo is among dozens of illegal refugee encampments in Moroccos Nador province, near the Spanish enclave of Melilla, from where many hope to be smuggled to mainland Spain.

Abiba, who is six months pregnant, said she aimed to board a boat headed for Europe soon, in order to give her child the life that she never had: Anywhere is good, as long as it is not here.
Heavy clashes erupt in several areas of Syrian city after humanitarian pause announced by Russia ends.

Heavy clashes erupted between regime and rebel forces in Syrias divided city of Aleppo after a unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia expired, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The first Syrian or Russian air strikes on Aleppo, Syrias most populous city before the civil war, since Russia began the pause in hostilities on Thursday hit a key frontline in the citys southwest.

Ground clashes and shelling, which had continued throughout the day on frontlines, intensified.

The pause began on Thursday, and came after Russia announced a temporary halt to the Syrian armys campaign to recapture the divided city.





Moscow had extended the unilateral humanitarian pause into a third day until 1600 GMT Saturday, but announced no further renewal of the truce despite a UN request for longer to evacuate wounded civilians.

Members of popular civil committees from regime districts entered the eastern neighbourhoods to try to evacuate the injured but failed, SOHR head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The SOHR reported fierce fighting in several areas of Aleppo, with three people wounded by shelling of the rebel-held Salaheddin and Al-Mashhad districts.

No civilians were evacuated during the truce, Ingy Sedky, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria, said, adding that evacuations were impossible due to the poor security situation in the city.

Syrian state media and Russian authorities have accused rebels in the east of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as human shields.

More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed.

In Pictures: Syrian refugees  Displaced by war

About 250,000 to 300,000 civilians are thought to be trapped in eastern Aleppo, with dwindling food supplies and extremely limited medical care in underground hospitals that have themselves been hit repeatedly by air strikes.

The UN had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid. But a UN official said the requisite security guarantees had not been received.

You have various parties to the conflict and those with influence. They all have to be on the same page on this and they are not, said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian office.

No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of the month, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Thursday.





The UN had asked Russia to consider extending the pause until Monday evening, but there was no word of any extension as the 1600 GMT deadline passed.

Moscow accuses rebels of preventing civilians from leaving, with senior Russian military official Sergei Rudskoi accusing them of using the ceasefire in their interests.

Russia is a key ally of Syrias government and began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad last September.

Elsewhere in Aleppo province, Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels were shelling the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces coalition in several villages.

On Friday, a UN human rights council resolution called for a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo.

It also demanded that warring parties provide unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city.

Also Friday, UN experts said the Syrian army was responsiblefor a March 2015 chemical weapons attack on the village of Qmenas.
UN investigators say Syrian forces were behind a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Idlib province in March 2015.

An international inquiry has blamed Syrian government forces for a third chemical weapons attack, according to a confidential report to the United Nations Security Council.

The report, prepared by a joint committee set up by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and seen by Reuters news agency, was presented to the security council on Friday.

The UN experts behind the report said Syrian forces were responsible for a toxic gas attack in the village of Qmenas in Idlib province on March 16, 2015. The committee was unable to determine who was behind two other gas attacks  against Binnish in Idlib province in March 2015 and Kafr Zita in Hama province in April 2014.

READ MORE: Aleppo  Syrian forces blamed for chlorine gas attack

A joint investigative mechanism was set up by the international chemical weapons watchdog and the UN to investigate reports of chemical attacks in Syria, Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said.

Now in its fourth and final report, it says it found a third chemical attack carried out by the Syrian army.





The UN-led joint investigative mechanism (JIM) reported in late August that Syrian government forces had carried out at least two chemical attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters had used mustard gas on the battlefield.

Of the nine total alleged chemical attacks it is considering in its ongoing probe, the JIM has now attributed three to the Syrian government and one to ISIL.

In its fourth report, investigators concluded that there is now sufficient information that attack on Qmenas, near Idlib city, was caused by a Syrian Arab Armed Forces helicopter dropping a device from a high altitude, which hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population.

Investigators say the substance may have been chlorine gas, based on the symptoms the victims displayed.

READ MORE: US to destroy 2,600 tonnes of mustard gas stockpile

In Kafr Zita, however, the JIM could not confirm that the Syrian army had used barrel bombs to dump toxic substances because the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed, the report said.

Investigators also said that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish, though the container could not be linked to any of several incident locations identified.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons adviser to NGOs working in Syria and Iraq, welcomed the findings but said the report should had been made released earlier.

The fact that it took 18 months for these results to be published is the real issue, and I think the UN need to look at that because having that amount of time before taking action is just not realistic in the current day, he told Al Jazeera.

Calls for sanctions

Chlorines use as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013. If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids.

The inquirys mandate was extended until October 31 to finish the probe.

Now this report will go to the security council which will discuss it in a closed session in the coming week, and certainly there is going to be a very heated discussion, Hanna said.

READ MORE: ISIL chemical attacks expected as Mosul battle nears

After JIMs previous report the US and Russia agreed that they would agree between themselves what action to take next.

But other members of the council, in particular Britain and France, are likely now to push for far more drastic measures to be taken by the security council and certainly there will be intense debate about what the security council is going to do next, our correspondent said.





Governments in Paris, London and Washington have already called for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, including against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

But the Syrian government has been shielded by its ally Russia, which has questioned the JIM findings and said the evidence is not conclusive enough to warrant sanctions.

To drop these weapons on civilians is absolutely deplorable and reprehensible, de Bretton-Gordon, the chemical weapons adviser, told Al Jazeera.

I think the UN should seriously consider a no-fly zone for Syrian helicopters to prevent this from happening in the future.

Syria agreed to get rid of its chemical stockpile and refrain from making any use of toxic substances in warfare when it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, under pressure from Russia.

The Syrian government has also been accused of using chemical weapons in rebel-held areas in Syria in 2016 and investigations into one these occasions are still ongoing.

READ MORE: UN rights chief denounces Aleppo raids as war crimes

Meanwhile, security concerns forced the UN to delay planned evacuations from Aleppo, the world body said, as Russia extended a truce that was largely holding into a third day on Saturday.

Moscow said it was extending the unilateral humanitarian pause in the Syrian governments Russian-backed assault on opposition-held east Aleppo until 16:00 GMT.

But there was no sign that civilians or rebels were heeding calls to leave, with Damascus and Moscow accusing opposition fighters of preventing evacuations.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded an end to air strikes on Aleppos residential areas.

Speaking at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, she described the situation in Aleppo as barbaric.

On the same day in Geneva, the UN rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Syrias government.

OPINION: We must not let chemical weapons become the norm

East Aleppo, which the rebels captured in 2012, has been under siege by the army since mid-July and has faced devastating bombardment by the government and Russia since the September 22 launch of an offensive to retake the whole city.

Nearly 500 people have been killed, more than a quarter of them children, since the assault began. More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded.

The scale of the casualties has prompted international outrage, with Washington saying the bombardment amounted to a possible war crime.

Russia announced a halt to its air strikes from Tuesday and the unilateral ceasefire from Thursday.

The Syrian army says it has opened eight corridors across the frontline for the more than 250,000 civilians in rebel-held areas to leave, but so far almost none have taken up the offer.

There has been no movement in the corridors in the eastern district. For the moment, we havent seen any movement of residents or fighters, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
Refugee Code Week aims to train more than 10,000 people across the Middle East in much-needed IT skills.

Amman  Sitting in a large, airy room filled with colourful beanbags and tangles of computer wires, Moamer Swaida listens intently as an instructor explains the basics of web design.

Swaida, 40, has not had a proper job since he left his position as a maths teacher in Deraa, Syria, and fled to northern Jordan four years ago. He hopes that this weeks classes at Ammans King Hussein Business Park will finally change that.

This will give me a better chance of finding work, Swaida tells Al Jazeera in a soft voice. Syrians cannot work in most jobs in Jordan, so this will allow me to freelance for foreign companies abroad.

Swaida is one of roughly one million Syrian refugees living in Jordan, all of whom are prohibited from working in white-collar jobs as local unemployment exceeds 14 percent. Even getting a work permit for manual labour can be difficult, although restrictions were eased somewhat this year.

Some 80km away, amid a similar tangle of wires in the Zaatari refugee camp, 12-year-old Amnah drags red and blue blocks around her laptop screen in a visual representation of coding as she uses Scratch, a free programming platform. Despite never having tried coding before, she has taken to it instantly.

I find Scratch easy, she says with a shrug. Now I want to be a coding trainer when Im older.

This is the legacy being built by Refugee Code Week, an ambitious initiative aimed at training more than 10,000 refugees and locals across the Middle East in much-needed IT skills. The programme, which began on October 15, wraps up on Sunday.

Spearheaded by German software company SAP, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and Irelands Galway Education Centre, the programme aims to tackle the unemployment that has accompanied the refugee crisis in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt by equipping participants with the type of technical know-how that is in increasingly high demand by employers.

Information and communications technology (ICT) spending in the Middle East and Africa will reach $260bn this year, according to the American market research firm IDC, while a recent survey of MENA educators by Microsoft found that just 32 percent include digital literacy as part of their curricula.

The region has an acute lack of skills in the ICT area, yet there is growth in the market, Batoul Husseini, the corporate social responsibility manager for SAP MENA, tells Al Jazeera. Bridging this skills gap is a great opportunity for those countries most affected by the refugee crisis.

The week-long event is aimed largely at those aged eight to 24, and is open to both the Syrian refugee population  who number more than 4.5 million in the four participating countries  and local communities. The concept was built on the achievements of Africa Code Week, which last year gave nearly 90,000 young Africans across 17 countries the chance to learn to write code, or to touch a computer for the first time.

In a sun-drenched classroom on the bustling campus of Ammans Petra University, 20 or so students are engaged in a discussion. What is the basis for the sprites movement? asks instructor Kareem Bataineh, a Jordanian graduate now working with SAP. How does it work?

The term sprite refers to a two-dimensional graphical element of a programme, such as a game. The sprite referenced by Bataineh is an orange cat, the mascot for Scratch, the simplified coding platform developed by MIT for young learners. Much of the class revolves around figuring out the best way to explain the sprites inner workings to children.

One of those attending is Rana Masalameh, a 21-year-old information technology major.

Personally, Im doing this so that I can help refugees learn to code in a way thats fun, she says with a grin, adjusting the aviator sunglasses resting atop her hijab. I want to help society know more about IT. Not many people know about it yet, and its so interesting.

Bataineh agrees: These skills are so important for moving forward, he tells Al Jazeera once the session is finished. Kids these days will interact with machines on a whole new level, so they need these skills. Its not just about computer sciences.

The cool thing about this week is that it gives any kid the ability to leapfrog their situation because in the IT world, the requirements are minimal, he adds. You dont even need the internet all the time  just a laptop and a programme.

This leapfrog effect is already taking place, thanks to a 16-week pilot coding camp held in Jordan earlier this year as a forerunner to Refugee Code Week. Run by ReBootKamp, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit specialising in education, it provided around 15 refugees and 15 Jordanians with intensive training. Nearly all got a job or an internship placement at the end. The top 90 participants, aged 18 to 24, at the end of this week will get the same opportunity.

It was the greatest experience I ever had, says Fatima Hammam, a 26-year-old from Aleppo who attended ReBootKamp. She spent four years studying computer engineering and was one year away from graduating when she fled with her family to Amman. I was sitting at home doing nothing when I read about it on Facebook. I instantly applied.

Hammam has since secured a job as a curriculum facilitator for the camp and will be overseeing the next cohort of camp coders.

This week is important, because it demonstrates clearly that the presence of refugees is not a disadvantage, but rather presents an opportunity. by Gavin White, external relations officer with UNHCR

This project is connecting people of different nationalities, she explains. We have all become more open with each other. I used to be afraid of Jordanians, to be honest, and I didnt have any Jordanian friends. Now I have some, plus a few from Iraq and Yemen, too.

This combination of vocational training and social integration provides a win-win, says Gavin White, an external relations officer with UNHCR.

I met them [the first boot camp participants] after they graduated, and you could see that not only had the Jordanians become close friends with the Syrians in their group, but they also clearly had a good understanding of the background for their life stories and experiences, he tells Al Jazeera.

Theyre not just learning coding but also team-building skills  This week is important, because it demonstrates clearly that the presence of refugees is not a disadvantage, but rather presents an opportunity.
General Adel Ragaei dies in hail of bullets in front of his home in Obour City suburb of the capital, relatives say.

A senior Egyptian army officer has been shot dead outside his home in a Cairo suburb, security sources and relatives said.

Brigadier General Adel Ragaei, who commanded an armoured division deployed in the Sinai, died in a hail of bullets on Saturday, as he left his home in the Obour City suburb, according to his sister-in-law Huda Zein Elabedine and his wife Samia Zain Elabedine.

Fighters in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula, but such attacks on senior officers are rare.

Ragaeis wife told the Reuters news agency how she witnessed his death.

Minutes after he left the house I heard gunfire, I went out to find him covered in blood  he received a lot of bullets .. He died instantly, she said, adding that neighbors told her the assailants had automatic weapons and fled in a car.

At 6am (04:00 GMT) they killed him. I cant tell you if it was six or 12 bullets. It was before he could get into his car, the AFP news agency quoted Ragaeis sister-in-law as saying.

A military official told AFP that the officer had indeed been martyred, but he did not provide further details.

According to media sources close to Al Jazeera, Ragaei oversaw the destruction and flooding of tunnels that ran into the Gaza Strip under the Rafah border, which provided a lifeline for residents of the besieged territory.

Armed groups in Egypt

An armed group called Liwa al-Thawra claimed the attack, in a message posted on Twitter, AFP reported, but the message has yet to be independently verified.

The largest Arab country is currently battling several armed groups mainly concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and which gained pace after the military coup that ousted Mohamed Morsi, the countrys first democratically elected president.

The campaign, which has included the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police.

One group, which calls itself the Hasam Movement, has claimed several attacks in or near Cairo, including the assassination of a police officer and the attempted killing of a senior prosecutor.

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.
Ruling on charges arising from the killing of protesters in 2012 is first final verdict against deposed president.

An Egyptian appeals court has upheld a 20-year sentence for the deposed president Mohamed Morsi.

Saturdays ruling is the first final verdict against Morsi on charges arising from the killing of protesters during anti-government demonstrations in 2012.

London-based Amnesty International has denounced the initial trial as a travesty of justice.

The Court of Cassation also upheld sentences against eight of his co-defendants, including seven who received the same prison term, and one sentenced to 10 years in prison, a judicial official said.



Morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison

Morsi was convicted in April 2015 of involvement in deadly clashes outside the presidential palace during his one year in power.

His supporters and protesters had clashed after he issued a decree that placed his decisions beyond judicial review, sparking anger that culminated in mass protests against him in June and July 2013.

The military deposed him on July 3 that year, and he has faced several trials since.

Morsi was overthrown by then-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following the street demonstrations.

Morsi  Egypts first democratically elected president  faces charges in other cases, including allegedly leaking secrets to Qatar, conspiring with Hamas  the Palestinian rulers of Gaza  to destabilise Egypt, and organising a jailbreak during the 2011 uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak.

READ MORE: Profile: Egypts deposed president Mohamed Morsi

Morsis lawyers are appealing a death sentence in one of his trials on charges of participating in prison breaks and violence against policemen during the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

His Muslim Brotherhood group has been blacklisted and targeted in a crackdown that has killed hundreds of his supporters and jailed thousands.
WikiLeaks implied its supporters may be behind the attack and asked them to stop taking down the US internet.

Several of the worlds best-known websites were inaccessible across parts of the United States on Friday after hackers unleashed a series of attacks on a company that acts as a switchboard for the internet.

The attacks affected access to Twitter, Paypal, Spotify and other customers of the infrastructure company in New Hampshire called Dyn, which processes large volumes of internet traffic.

The attacks came in waves, Al Jazeeras Rob Reynolds, reporting from Los Angeles, said. First targeting the East Coast of the United States, spreading then to the other parts of the country and even to Western Europe.

The websites that were disrupted were some of the top names in the internet: CNN and the New York Times, AirBnB, Reddit, HBO  a whole variety of sites were attacked.

READ MORE: US formally accuses Russia of political cyber attacks

Dyn is kind of a middle man that directs users to different websites and routes traffic from server to server in a complex way, said Reynolds.

The attackers used hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices that had previously been infected with a malicious code that allowed them to cause outages.

This type of attack is known as a distributed denial of service attack [DDoS], explained our correspondent. They used affected computers to fire requests at the servers of Dyn simultaneously and essentially overwhelm it.





The complexity of the attacks is whats making it very challenging for us, Dyns chief strategy officer, Kyle York, told Reuters news agency.

York said that at least some of the malicious traffic was coming from connected devices, including webcams and digital video recorders, that had been infected with control software named Mirai.

Security researchers have previously raised concerns that such connected devices, sometimes referred to as the Internet of Things, lack proper security.

The Mirai code was dumped on the internet about a month ago, and criminal groups are now charging to employ it in cyber attacks, said Allison Nixon, director of security research at Flashpoint, which was helping Dyn analyse the attack.

COUNTING THE COST: Cyber crime  The rise of the digital mafia

The Department of Homeland Security last week issued a warning about attacks from the Internet of Things, following the release of the code for Mirai.

Attacks continue

On Friday, Dyn said in a statement that it had resolved one morning attack, which disrupted operations for about two hours, but disclosed a second a few hours later that was causing further disruptions. By Friday evening, it was fighting a third.

The company fought back and was able to get things under control again, our correspondent said. But there were additional waves of attack. So this seems to be an ongoing situation.

https://twitter.com/Dyn/status/789544012017467392

Attacking a large domain name service provider like Dyn can create massive disruptions because such firms are responsible for forwarding large volumes of internet traffic.

The disruptions come at a time of unprecedented fears about cyber threats in the US, where hackers have breached political organisations and election agencies.

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

The US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI said they were investigating the attack on Dyn.

We still dont know who is responsible for this attack, Reynolds said. But it certainly seems to be an attack that took coordination and possibly a lot of resources. So this is not some teenaged kid in a basement somewhere hacking for fun.

The purpose behind their attack is also very vague since nothing was stolen. It was just disruptive, so some people are theorising that someone is trying to figure out how to shut down the internet.

OPINION: Internet or splinternet?

WikiLeaks, a whistle blowing organisation that has been publishing hacked emails that allegedly belong to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons campaign chairman John Podesta, implied in a tweet that its supporters may be behind the attack and asked them to stop taking down the US internet.

Mr. Assange is still alive and WikiLeaks is still publishing. We ask supporters to stop taking down the US internet. You proved your point. pic.twitter.com/XVch196xyL  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 21, 2016

WikiLeaks has recently said that founder Julian Assanges internet access has been cut by an unidentified state actor.

Ecuadors government later admitted that it had partly restricted internet access for Assange, who has lived in the South American countrys UK embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden since mid-2012.

WikiLeaks decision to publish documents affecting the US election was entirely its own responsibility, and the country did not want to meddle in election processes or favour any candidate, Ecuador said.
Attack on oil-rich city comes as allied forces push forward in major military operation to recapture Mosul from ISIL.

Security forces in Iraq are battling for a second day with ISIL gunmen who attacked the northern city of Kirkuk, after an assault that appeared aimed at diverting attention away from a major military push to retake Mosul, the armed groups last remaining stronghold in the country.

Fighters armed with assault rifles and suicide vests struck government buildings, police stations and a power plant on Friday, killing dozens of security forces and civilians.

There is still ongoing fighting in certain areas of Kirkuk; this has been going on for more than 24 hours, Al Jazeeras Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from outside the city, said on Saturday morning.

We were told yesterday night that the situation was nearly brought under control, as per one of the Peshmerga commanders; it appears that this morning more ISIL fighters have popped up and theres still intensive exchange of gunfire going on.

Inside Mosul: We fear for our lives





Military commanders believe the assault on Kirkuk was an effort to create a diversion from the offensive on Mosul, 175km further north, which has been held by ISIL  also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIS  since 2014.

In some ways, it [the diversion] did succeed because some of the forces that were sent to Kirkuk yesterday and overnight  whether they were Peshmerga or Iraqi forces  had actually to pull out from the different frontlines and come over here as reinforcements, our correspondent said.

Very difficult fight

Further north, allied forces pressed forward in their six-day ground and air operation to recapture Mosul, recovering outlying territory before the big push into the city itself.

An estimated 30,000 fighters, including the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal fighters and the Popular Mobilisation Forces  Shia militias that now have official status from Baghdad  are taking part in the campaign, which is backed by US-led coalition air strikes.

READ MORE: Can Iraq defeat ISIL without destroying Mosul?

More than 5,000 US soldiers are also deployed in support missions, as are troops from France, Britain, Canada and other Western nations.

In contrast, Iraqi commanders have told Al Jazeera than an estimated 6,000 ISIL fighters are inside Mosul.

Hours after the capture of the key town of Bartella, some 15km east of Mosuls outskirts, the Iraqi army launched on Saturday a new offensive to retake the southeast district of Hamdaniya, according to Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr, who is reporting from Gweir, near the frontline.

Weve been seeing a very difficult fight, but we have to remember that ISIL is outnumbered by the thousands of troops which are taking part in this offensive, Khodr said.

But ISIL puts up a fight; they lay the ground with booby traps, improvised explosive devices and they also use suicide car bombers. So it makes it difficult for these advancing troops to move forward, they have to fight their way through  and as they enter Mosul, of course, its going to be a very difficult battle.

Iraq-Turkey tensions

The advance on Hamdaniya came as Ash Carter, the US secretary of defence, arrived on unannounced visit to Iraqs capital Baghdad on Saturday to get an assessment of the Mosul operation.

Carter is due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and is also expected to discuss Baghdads objections to Turkish involvement in the unfolding offensive.

Analysis: What is Turkey trying to achieve in Iraq?

His visit comes a day after signalling US support for a potential role for Turkish forces in the Mosul push  a major source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara.





Following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Carter said on Friday the two neighbouring countries had reached a provisional agreement over Turkish involvement in the offensive, but the details still needed to be worked out.

Iraq understands that Turkey as a member of the counter-ISIL coalition will play a role in counter-ISIL operations in Iraq and secondly that Turkey since it neighbours the region of Mosul has an interest (in) the ultimate outcome in Mosul, Carter told reporters.

That will have to obviously be something that the Iraqi government will need to agree to and I think theres agreement there in principle.

Erdogan has previously voiced frustration that NATO member Turkey has not been more involved in the assault on the Iraqi city, once part of the Ottoman empire and still seen by Ankara as firmly within its sphere of influence.

The Turkish president has also warned of sectarian bloodshed if the Iraqi army relies on Shia militias to retake Mosul, a predominantly Sunni city.

READ MORE: We have a historical responsibility in Iraq, says Erdogan

Iraq, meanwhile, views Turkish military moves on its territory with apprehension, and any agreement on Mosul would defuse a major source of tension between the neighbours.

The two countries have also been locked in a row over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, where Turkey has trained thousands of forces.

The offensive that started on Monday to capture Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

According to the UN, Mosul could require the biggest humanitarian relief operation in the world, with worst-case scenario forecasts of up to a million people being uprooted.

About 1.5 million residents are still believed to be inside Mosul.

READ MORE: Amid Mosul push, civilians face impossible choice

On Friday, the United Nations also warned that ISIL fighters in Mosul may also be preparing to use civilians as human shields  or simply kill them.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN human rights chief, said his office had reports that civilians were being held close to ISIL positions in Mosul, possibly as a buffer against advancing Iraqi forces.

There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields, but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated, Zeid said in a statement.
Prime Minister Abadi says Iraqis can handle situation following a meeting with US defence secretary in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declined an offer from Turkey to take part in the battle to dislodge Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from Mosul following a meeting with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in Baghdad.

During a visit to Turkey on Friday, Carter had signalled conditional support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign, and said there was an agreement in principle that could allow for eventual Turkish participation.

Details of that Turkish role, however, were still subject to negotiation, Carter and other officials acknowledged at the time and Iraq would need to agree.





By the tone of Abadis comments on Saturday, that appeared unlikely anytime soon.

I know the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle, Abadi told reporters travelling with Carter.

If help is needed, we will ask for it from Turkey or from other regional countries.

Turkey has been locked in a row with Iraqs central government over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp, near Mosul, where it has trained thousands of Iraqi soldiers for the battle.

Baghdad has called for the withdrawal of hundreds of Turkish soldiers from Bashiqa

Earlier, Carter had said he was confident Turkey would take part in the operation.

I think there is agreement in principle, he said after a visit to Turkey. Iraq understands that Turkey, as a member of the counter-ISIL coalition, will play a role in counter-ISIL operations in Iraq.

Secondly, Turkey, since it neighbours the region of Mosul, has an interest [in] the ultimate outcome in Mosul. Im confident that we can work things out.

READ MORE: Two-pronged offensive launched in battle for Mosul

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim criticised Iraqs leadership, saying it was being provocative with recent comments and said Ankara will continue to have a presence in Iraq.

In recent days, there have been warnings from Iraq. We will not listen to this, nobody can tell us to not be concerned about the region, Yildirim told a conference of his ruling AK Party, which is being held this weekend in western Afyon province.

The Iraqi leadership is being provocative. Turkey does not bow to anyones threats. Turkey will continue to be present there.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned of sectarian bloodshed if the Iraqi army relies on Shia fighters to retake the largely Sunni city of Mosul.

Mosul is about five times the size of any other city ISIL has held, and the push to capture it is expected to become the biggest battle in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Mosul was once part of the Ottoman Empire and is still seen by Turkey as firmly within its sphere of influence.

A senior US defence official indicated that Turkey could provide medical or humanitarian support, or train Iraqi forces.

Ankara fears the operation to retake Mosul could be spearheaded by Shia and Kurdish militia that are vehemently opposed by Turkey.
11 Eritrean female captives as well as a Turk and Egyptian are freed as the battle for the city of Sirte continues.

Libyan pro-government forces have freed 13 foreigners held by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its former coastal bastion of Sirte.

A government spokesman said on Saturday 11 Eritrean female captives, a Turk, and an Egyptian were released after a battle to recapture a part of the city held by ISIL.

Sirte fell to the armed group more than a year ago after its fighters took advantage of infighting that emerged among Libyas rival factions following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

Forces allied with Libyas UN-backed Government of National Unity began an offensive on May 12.

After a six-month campaign of street-by-street fighting backed by US air strikes, Libyan forces have taken back most of Sirte, where ISIL fighters are holding out with snipers, boobytraps and car bombs.

The forces have completely recaptured the 600 block area in Sirte from gangs of Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIL], and now the Ghiza Bahriya area is the last pocket of resistance, said Rida Issa, a spokesperson for the pro-government forces.

Libya forces make final push to clear ISIL from Sirte

Forces fighting ISIL in Sirte are mostly from nearby Misrata, whose brigades are among the most powerful in Libya. They are allied with the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli that is trying to unite competing factions.

Western nations back the unity government hoping it will bring stability and help counter ISIL, as well as refugee-and-migrant smugglers. But Tripoli leaders have struggled to extend their influence.
President, 76, says he is in excellent health, dismissing speculation of illness in first remarks after long US trip.

Malawis President Peter Mutharika, 76, has dismissed rumours of ill health after being away from the country for a month, saying doctors told him his vital organs are like those of a 30-year-old.

Mutharika flew to New York in mid-September to give a speech at the UN General Assembly later that month, but there had been no sight of him until his return on Sunday, prompting widespread speculation that he was critically ill or even dead.

Speaking for the first time after his extended trip to the United States, Mutharika said on Friday he was in excellent health.

I am not sick. I am still alive and I have more than nine lives, he told reporters jokingly.





Nothing to worry

Mutharika entered the press conference in the administrative capital Lilongwe waving both hands to an audience of media, cabinet ministers, supporters and diplomats.

Last Sunday, when he disembarked from his plane from the US, his right arm appeared stiff and he instead used his left arm to wave and to shake hands with officials, raising more speculation among Malawians who are scrutinising every detail for clues about his health.

He told the press conference he was unable to use his right hand then because of slight rheumatism.

Its getting better now. I am really fine and there is nothing to worry. I hope that puts to rest the rumours about my health, he added to wild applause and dancing from supporters.

Mutharika said if he was sick, he would have been crazy to leave the US and fly home.

Absence without leave

When Mutharika extended his stay in the US for two weeks after the UN gathering, his office condemned rumours that he was critically ill as baseless, malicious and sickening.

It threatened legal action against anyone responsible for damaging rumour-mongering.

READ MORE: Yes, I was dead, jokes Mugabe on return to Zimbabwe

Politicians in Malawi have called on Mutharika to disclose all expenses incurred on his tour, including those of his entourage, as well as explain what critics called his absence without leave.

But the president refused to discuss the money spent on his trip, saying he does not have to explain every minute of what I am doing.

Mutharika, a former lawyer, was elected in 2014 for a five-year term.
Federal forces detain fugitive former police chief of Iguala, the southern city where 43 students disappeared in 2014.

After a two-year manhunt, authorities in Mexico have detained a fugitive police chief seen as a key figure in the 2014 disappearance of dozens of missing students.





Federal police and marines arrested Felipe Flores, the former police chief of Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero, the countrys public security ministry said on Friday.

The announcement is a major development in a probe into the disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa teachers college on the night of September 26, 2014  a case that prompted national protests and international condemnation.

According to investigators, police in Iguala attacked the students after they commandeered buses to transport them to a rally in Mexico City the next day  an annual tradition which had in the past been tolerated by authorities.

Six people, three of them students, were killed in the attack.

The remains of another student were identified among ashes and bone fragments found in a river nearby. The fate of the remaining 42 students is still unknown.

READ MORE: Mexico  Demanding the return of 43 missing students

Authorities initially concluded they had been killed and their bodies burned at a nearby rubbish dump. But independent international investigations have discredited this version of events and the case remains open.

An independent probe implicated Flores in the disappearance, and Attorney General Arely Gomez said the ex-police chiefs testimony will be key to discovering the students fate.

The disappearance of the students sparked nationwide outrage over what many call a culture of impunity and corruption, and has led to calls for the resignation of President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Hundreds of thousands of people go hungry as food shortages intensify in the worlds fourth largest island nation.

A severe drought in southern Madagascar has led to major food shortages across the island nation, raising the risk of widespread famine.

UN agencies warned of a potential catastrophe, as around half of the population in southern Madagascar  nearly 850,000 people  are experiencing alarming levels of hunger.

This is the third consecutive year in a row that crops have failed and water availability is extremely low.

The drought has left around 20 percent of households in southern Madagascar experiencing emergency levels of hunger.

The UN said they will declare a state of famine if the situation worsens.

These are people living on the very brink. Many have nothing but wild fruits to eat. We must act together now to save lives, said Chris Nikoi, regional director of the UNs World Food Programme.

Food supplies have been running low since August and the next harvest is not due until March. The dry season is coming to an end now, and as the sun continues its passage south onto the Tropic of Capricorn, hopes are for a good rainy season.

With La Nina developing in the Pacific Ocean, southern Africa could experience above average rainfall.

This may regenerate the land, but could also wash away seeds, damage crops, kill livestock and spread disease. Cyclones are also more likely to occur between Mozambique and Madagascar.

Additional reporting by Everton Fox.
Unexpected discovery that produces ethanol could be a building block towards creating a low-carbon energy system.

US scientists say they have stumbled upon an economically practical and highly efficient way of converting a greenhouse gas largely blamed for global warming into an environmentally friendly fuel  a development that could boost the renewable energy industry.

Researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US state of Tennessee last month announced they serendipitously developed a catalyst that transformed carbon dioxide (CO2), a main greenhouse gas, into high yields of ethanol  without the use of rare and expensive elements such as platinum.





Ethanol, produced from organic matter such as corn or sugar, is the most widely used biofuel in the world.

Many countries, including the United States and China, are increasingly attempting to make ethanol a mainstream fuel while cutting the use of fossil fuels, which are blamed for the vast majority of harmful gas emissions driving climate change.

According to the Oak Ridge scientists, tiny particles of carbon and copper, as well as nitrogen and electrical currents, helped trigger a chemical reaction that unexpectedly converted CO2 into ethanol.

The researchers had been attempting to discover a series of chemical reactions that would revert carbon dioxide  a byproduct of fuel consumption  back to a fuel. They found the first step in the process not only worked, but even cheaply and efficiently produced ethanol.

Were taking carbon dioxide, a waste product of combustion, and were pushing that combustion reaction backwards with very high selectivity to a useful fuel, Adam Rondinone, a lead author of the teams study published in the online journal ChemistrySelect, said in a press release.

Ethanol was a surprise  its extremely difficult to go straight from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst.

READ MORE: NASA: Global warming now changing how Earth wobbles

The researchers plan to conduct further tests to determine how their conversion technique could be used to produce ethanol on an industrial scale.

The breakthrough announcement, released on October 12, also suggested the process could be combined with other renewables, such as solar or wind power, to more efficiently harness those energy sources.

Excess electricity produced by wind and solar is often lost when it is stored in batteries.

However, by applying the new discovery, this excess electricity could be used to produce ethanol to power solar factories and turbines when theres insufficient sun and wind, the scientists say.

This could help to balance a grid supplied by intermittent renewable sources, Rondinone said.

WATCH: To avoid climate change, we need system change

Dr Jeremy Martin  a senior scientist and fuels expert from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-based advocacy organisation  told Al Jazeera the Oak Ridge teams discovery could be a building block towards creating a low-carbon energy system.

This work is building the foundation for a chemical industry that runs on electricity and CO2, which can help us build a zero-carbon economy. Improving yield and efficiency and developing catalysts that do not require rare elements is critical to scaling these processes up cost effectively, said Martin.

The contribution of such a process to reducing pollution depends on having abundant clean electricity. We are making progress in this area, but we still have a lot of work to do.
Only three people survive helicopter crash near northwestern city of Novy Urengoy, Russian investigators say.

At least 19 people were killed when a helicopter crashed in northwestern Siberia, a Russian investigative committee has said.

Investigators said in a statement that an MI-8 helicopter carrying 22 people had crashed on Friday night outside the city of Novy Urengoy, and that 19 people have died from multiple injuries at the scene, according to preliminary data.

The helicopter was flying from the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk to the town of Urengoy in the Yamalo-Nenetsky region when it crashed between 14:00 and 15:00 GMT, investigators said.

The regional branch of the emergencies ministry said it had been informed that a helicopter made a hard landing some 80km outside Novy Urengoy, but did not initially report any casualties.

Emergency workers were dispatched to the scene and managed to save three people from the wreckage, the ministry said.

The survivors were transported to a hospital in Novy Urengoy.

The investigative committee said that the crash could have been caused by a violation of flight safety regulations, a mechanical problem or difficult weather conditions.

A criminal probe has been launched to investigate possible violations.

The emergencies ministry said that fog and difficult visibility conditions had hindered the search for the crash site, as well as the rescue operation.

A similar helicopter crash outside the western Siberian town of Igarka last year claimed 15 lives.
Twenty-six Asian sailors, held captive in a small fishing village since 2012, were released on Saturday.

Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian sailors held captive in a small fishing village for more than four years, an official and a maritime expert said on Saturday.

The sailors  from China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan  were seized when the Omani-flagged FV Naham 3 was hijacked close to the Seychelles in March 2012.

Their period of captivity is one of the longest among hostages seized by pirates in the Horn of Africa nation.

We are very pleased to announce the release of the Naham 3 crew early this morning, said John Steed, East Africa region manager for the Oceans Beyond Piracy group.

The crew is staying overnight in Galkayo. They will arrive in Nairobi at 18.30 local time tomorrow.

He said they were in the hands of authorities in Galmudug, in central Somalia, and would be repatriated on a UN humanitarian flight before being sent back to their home countries.





Mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre told Reuters news agency the crew did not say if ransom was paid.

Steed said one member of the crew had died during the hijacking while two succumbed to illness. Among those released, one was being treated for a gunshot wound to the foot and three were diabetic.

The sailors were held in Dabagala near the town of Harardheere, about 400km northeast of the capital Mogadishu.

Harardheere became known as Somalias main pirate base at the height of the crisis.

The Oceans Beyond Piracy group said the crew were brought ashore by pirates when their ship sank more than a year after its hijacking.

Piracy off Somalias coast has subsided in the past three years, mainly due to shipping firms hiring private security details and the presence of international warships.

The wave of attacks had cost the worlds shipping industry billions of dollars as pirates paralysed shipping lanes, kidnapped hundreds of seafarers and seized vessels more than 2,000km from Somalias coastline.
Fighting rages as nearly 1,000 treated for breathing problems following sulphur plant fire south of key Iraqi city.

At least two Iraqi civilians have died and nearly a 1,000 are being treated for breathing problems from toxic fumes released from a burning sulphur plant near Mosul, as fighting around the key city continued for a sixth day.

ISIL fighters are accused of setting the sulphur plant ablaze on Thursday during fighting around al-Mishraq, which is south of Mosul, accoring to US officials and local residents.

Hundreds of people were admitted to the nearby Qayyara central hospital with respiratory problems since Friday, hospital director Abdul Salam Jabbouri told Reuters news agency. No deaths had been reported at the hospital.

Can Iraq defeat ISIL without destroying Mosul?

The blaze released toxic fumes seen and felt by residents in the area and, early on Saturday, by military forces and reporters around Qayyara.

We have had every type of person come in with breathing problems and burning eyes  children, adults, policemen, soldiers, said Jabbouri. Daesh [ISIL] set the sulphur on fire so nobody can come near them.

An estimated 30,000 fighters, including the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal fighters and the Popular Mobilisation Forces  Shia militias that now have official status from Baghdad  are taking part in the Mosul campaign, which is backed by US-led coalition air strikes.

Iraqi commanders have told Al Jazeera an estimated 6,000 ISIL fighters are inside Iraqs second-largest city.

A cloud of white smoke blanketed the region to the north, where the sulphur factory is located, mingling with black fumes from oil wells that were torched as well.





US officials said coalition forces at the nearby Qayyara airfield  the main hub to support Iraqi-led operations to retake Mosul  are wearing protective masks.

The winds have actually shifted south, so as a precautionary measure the troops at Qayyara West have donned their personal protective equipment  continuing their operations at this point in time, an official said on Saturday.

Iraqi state TV said the fire was put out Saturday.

Al Jazeeras Imran Khan, reporting from Erbil, said there was confusion over who was responsible for the blaze at the plant.

Nobody really knows what is going on, whether it was a coalition air strike, Iraqi armour, or ISIL suicide bombing, he said.

Because of the constant change in wind directron, the entire area is becoming very dangerous. A lot of soldiers are wearing gas masks and the government is warning residents. While the fire is under control, there is smoke in the air and that is likely to cause health problems.

Operation Inherent Resolve  the official name of the US-led anti-ISIL coalition  said it had provided more than 24,000 protective chemical masks to Iraqi security forces and the allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters during training for the Mosul offensive.

READ MORE: Mosul battle could cause a human catastrophe

Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIL] blew up the sulphur plant two days ago and that has led to the deaths of two people among the civilians in nearby villages, Iraqi General Qusay Hamid Kadhem told AFP news agency.

Kadhem admitted the toxic fumes were having an impact on operations: Of course, this is affecting our planned progress.

In an examination room at Qayyara hospital, a baby, suffering from inhalation of sulphur fumes, screamed and coughed on Saturday as his father held an oxygen mask over his face, according to Reuters.

Most patients have been given oxygen and told to stay away from areas with high sulphur concentration, according to medical aide Saddam Ahmad, who was wearing a surgical mask to protect him from the fumes.





Weve had so many patients since yesterday that were almost out of oxygen, Ahmad said.

Ali Ahmad Khalaf, 38, who lives in a nearby village, said he had moved his family to Qayyara to escape the fumes.

The sulphur is very dangerous, said Khalaf, wearing a surgical mask and a traditional dishdasha robe. Daesh just wants to kill us.

Standing nearby, Bassam Qazi overheard Khalaf and said: I saw an old man who had choked and died from the smoke.

Hours after the capture of the key town of Bartella, some 15km east of Mosuls outskirts, the Iraqi army launched on Saturday a new offensive to retake the southeast district of Hamdaniya, according to Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr, who is reporting from Gweir, near the frontline.

Fighting was ongoing late in the day.
Escalating clashes highlight conflicting agendas of Turkey and US in increasingly complex battlefield in northern Syria.

Syrian rebels backed by Turkish tanks are advancing under intense bombardment towards a major northern town in Syria held by Kurdish-led forces.

Fighting between the Turkey-backed fighters and the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) was concentrated on Saturday near the town of Tel Rifaat, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Ahmad Aaraj  member of the Syrian National Democratic Coalition, which is allied with the Kurds  said Turkish tanks crossed the border near the town of Marea and were heading toward Tel Rifaat.

The Syrian Observatory said 13 Turkey-backed rebels and three SDF fighters were killed.





The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August to clear the border area of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters  and US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkeys own outlawed Kurdish insurgency.

Turkish-backed forces will press on to the ISIL-held town of al-Bab in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, emphasising Ankaras drive to sweep ISIL and Syrian Kurdish fighters from territory near its border.

The Syrian military, however, said the presence of Turkish troops on Syrian soil was unacceptable, and a dangerous escalation and flagrant breach of Syrias sovereignty.

Backed by Turkish tanks, special forces, and air strikes, the rebels fighting under the loose banner of the Free Syrian Army crossed into northern Syria in August and took the border town of Jarablus from ISIL largely unopposed.

The rebels have since extended those gains and now control an area of roughly 1,270 square kilometres in northern Syria.

Turkey shells Kurdish fighters in Aleppo province

While Turkeys initial focus was on driving ISIL from Jarablus, much of its efforts have been spent on stopping the advance of US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

They say, Dont go to al-Bab. We are obliged to, we will go there, Erdogan said in a speech in the northwest province of Bursa. We have to prepare a region cleansed from terror.

Erdogan also said Turkey would do what was necessary with its coalition partners in Syrias Raqqa  ISILs main stronghold in the country  but would not work with the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Differences over Syria have caused strains between NATO allies Turkey and the United States. Washington is backing the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, seeing it as an effective partner in the fight against ISIL.

Turkey fears the militias advance will embolden Kurdish separatists at home.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has carried out a three-decade insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, in Turkeys largely Kurdish southeast.

Turkey: Army kills up to 200 YPG fighters in Aleppo

Both sides are supposed to be fighting ISIL in Syria, but escalating clashes between them have highlighted the conflicting agendas of Turkey and the United States in the increasingly complex battlefield of northern Syria.

Statements from the Kurdish fighters on Saturday said an intense attack was being waged by Turkey-backed forces with tanks and heavy shelling.

The Syrian military said earlier this week it would bring down any Turkish warplanes entering Syrian air space and reiterated its warning against Ankara on Saturday.

The presence of Turkish military units inside the Syrian border is totally unacceptable in any form. We will deal with them as an occupying force and will confront them by all possible means, the Syrian Army General Command said.
Arab alliance accuses Houthis of breaching truce, while rebels say their strikes were in response to coalition fire.

Warring factions in Yemen have exchanged accusations of violating a 72-hour ceasefire that began just before midnight on Wednesday.

The Arab alliance has accused Houthi forces of breaching the truce by attacking several cities in both countries on Friday, while the rebel movement said their strikes were in response to a coalition attack in the border district of Shad.

No casualties were reported by either side.

The Arab alliance said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA that Houthi forces used rockets, shells and snipers to attack border cities inside Saudi Arabia in the Jizan and Nijran provinces.

The Saudi-led coalition also accused the Houthis of launching attacks on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and other provinces such as Taiz, Hajja, Shabwa, Mareb and Aden.

The alliance said it had responded to the Houthi attacks according to the engagement rules and continuing to exercise the highest self-restraints towards the violations of the ceasefire.

Fragile truce

The United Nations announced the ceasefire between the parties earlier in the week. It has the possibility for extension if it holds.

The UNs special envoy for Yemen urged both parties to show restraint, avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the truce on Friday.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement that the ceasefire was fragile but largely holding.





The UN official is liaising with the parties in an attempt to extend the ceasefire in order to create a conducive environment for a long-lasting peace in Yemen.

Previous attempts to enforce a ceasefire in the country have so far failed, with the war intensifying after a round of peace talks in Kuwait ended in August without achieving a breakthrough.

The Arab coalition stepped up its air raids following the breakdown of talks, and cross-border attacks from Yemen also intensified.

Mondays ceasefire announcement came just over a week after the coalition bombed a funeral hall in Sanaa, killing about 140 people, including prominent Houthi political figures.

The air strike, which the coalition blamed on mistaken information from loyalists of Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, drew international condemnation and led to pressure for a ceasefire from the US and Britain, key backers of the coalition air campaign.

The three-day truce was also called into effect to allow sorely needed aid deliveries, as millions remain homeless and without food.

Hundreds of air strikes

The Arab coalition has thus far carried out hundreds of air strikes and provided ground troops to support Hadis forces. But it has failed to dislodge the Houthis and their allies from key areas including Sanaa.

The Houthis and their allies hold most of Yemens northern half, while forces loyal to Hadi share control of the rest of the country with local tribes.

Government forces have recaptured the south and east but failed to make any significant advances.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people, wounded more than 35,000 and displaced at least three million since March last year, according to the UN.
Civic engagement campaigns in North Carolina brings race and police brutality to the forefront of discourse.
Hundreds of people in the Bolingo camp are waiting for their chance to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
As Thailand mourns, how will foreign investors deal with the ensuing political instability? Plus, Saudi diversification.

The king is dead and Thailand is officially in mourning for an entire year. So what sort of impact will this have on the country and its economy, especially after a decade filled with political turmoil?

It is publicly known that the crown prince and the military are not on good terms. They do not like each other. by Reuben Mondejar, visiting associate professor, City University of Hong Kong

In 2004, tourism was accountable for up to 19.3 percent of Thailands GDP, but with the military coup of 2014, the traditionally resilient Thai economy struggled.

Now with the country in a subdued mood  especially for the first 30 days after the kings death  there are concerns there could be an economic downturn. The growth forecast has already been set for only 3.1 percent this year.

But beyond that, theres the issue of a decade of political instability in Thailand  the type which can easily put foreign investors off.

How likely is a long-term downturn as a result of said unpredictability?

That is the big question, says Reuben Mondejar from City University of Hong Kong. We will have to see what the effect will be of the handover, of the change. The king died, and the crown prince has asked for the coronation to be postponed, and there seems to be a power struggle going on  investors will take a look how that plays [out]  stability is the key for investment.

Whether were talking military, civilian or monarchy, the leadership in Thailand will have to work to safeguard its economy.

The changing face of Saudi Arabias economy

With the oil price still stagnant, Saudi Arabia has made its most tangible move yet to create money from other sources. This past week, it went to the debt markets and made its first international bond offering  which brought in over $17bn  and such was the interest it could easily have sold more.

Its something of a watershed moment for the Gulf economies  a record-breaking capital raising which didnt have anything to do with the oil industry. This is only part of Saudi Arabias plans to diversify its economy away from oil production.

We speak with Marc Ostwald, strategist at ADM Investor Services International in London, about what this means for the Gulf nation and the work that still needs to be done to help prop up an economy that has been black gold reliant for so long.

Irelands hard Brexit

The British Pound is already falling in anticipation of Brexit, and thats having an effect on neighbouring Ireland. It is even forecast that the currency will potentially drop to fresh lows, exceeding the three-decade low it currently nestles in.

Ireland exports 50 percent of its food products to the UK, and the falling value of the pound means their profits and revenues are falling, too. And with Ireland only two years into its recovery from a financial crisis and bailout, it can ill afford another hit to the local economy.

John McGrane, director general of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, speaks to the Counting the Cost about what the Brexit scenario will mean for employment in the emerald isle, indigenous Irish firms, and potential government intervention.

Latin Americas urban sprawl race

The United Nations has already estimated that by the middle of this century, 70 percent of the worlds population will live in cities full of pollution and overcrowding. In Santiago and Buenos Aires, the movement of the population into the larger cities is evident.

Cities cover only 2 percent of the worlds land mass, consume 60 percent of our energy and generate 70 percent of total global waste  more than 800 million people live in slum conditions.

Al Jazeeras Daniel Schweimler reports from Buenos Aires on the UN Habitat III conference taking place in Quito, Ecuador.
South Africa plans to quit the International Criminal Court which is accused of bias against African countries.

First it was Burundi, now South Africa wants out.

It says it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC)  which was set up to prosecute those accused of serious crimes against humanity.

Several African states have accused the ICC of unfairly targeting the continent. Ugandas president went so far as to call it useless.

South Africas decision comes a year after it was criticised for ignoring an order to arrest Sudans President Omar al-Bashir while he was visiting the country.

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, who is accused of committing war crimes in Sudans Darfur region.

So is the ICC biased against African nations?

Presenter: Martine Dennis

Guests:

Dewa Mavhinga  Senior researcher and head of South Africa Office, Human Rights Watch

Courtenay Griffiths  Former lead defence counsel for Charles Taylor.

Tom Maliti  Journalist specialising in the International Criminal Court.
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Robert Creamer, founder and partner of Democracy Partners, the group behind the organized violence at Trump rallies, as shown in the video by James OKeefe and Project Veritas, is no ordinary agitator. Creamer, a convicted felon, is arguably the spiritual godfather of ObamaCare and much of the current progressive left agenda.

Creamer, along with his wife, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky is no stranger to agitation, violence, and expanding the progressive agenda. As Investors Business Daily pointed out in March 5, 2010 editorial regarding protests against House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski over the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988, which expanded Medicare benefits and funded the change with a supplemental tax:

An interesting historical footnote is that leading the protest against Rostenkowski was Jan Schakowsky -- then Director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens - and currently Democratic representative from the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, and chief deputy whip to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was Schakowshys husband, Robert Creamer, a Huffington Post blogger, who wrote what is arguably the bible of current health care reform efforts, Stand-Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win, while serving a prison term for check kiting.

As Breitbart has reported, Creamer, in addition to being the inspiration for ObamaCare, was also involved in heavily promoting the Iran nuclear deal, which effectively removed all impediments to Iran becoming a nuclear power and in providing $150 billion for this state sponsor of terror to foment revolution targeted against Israel and American interests:

Creamer, a political consultant who is intimately connected with Obamas inner political circle, pleaded guilty in 2005 to tax violations and bank fraud. He served time in a federal prison and was under house arrest. After finishing his sentence, Creamer worked for Obamas presidential campaign, training organizers. As Breitbart News first exposed in 2009, Creamer used his prison time to work on a political manual: Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win. In it, he devised a strategy to guide a future progressive president. His plan included implementing universal health care as a first step to other radical reforms, including amnesty for illegal aliens. Obama strategist David Axelrod called the book a blueprint for future victories. The Wall Street Journal reports that Creamer advocated for the Iran deal with the help of the Ploughshares Fund, a pro-Iran organization. According to a transcript of the [Ploughshares] call reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, participants stressed that the Iran agreement was the most important of the Obama administrations second term, and they needed to prepare for battle with Republicans. The other side will go crazy. We have to be really clear that its a good deal, said Robert Creamer of Americans United for Change, a liberal action group. His wife is Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), a close ally of the White House in selling the agreement.

Creamer, who has visited the White House some 342 times since 2009, as noted, has been up to his eyeballs with left-wing agitation and the progressive agenda, as well as being involved in the corruption that has plagued Illinois under Democratic governors. As Joel B. Pollak wrote in Breitbart in December, 2009:

Rep. Schakowskys husband, Robert Creamer, used to be the leader of Citizen Action/Illinois. He also founded its predecessor, Illinois Public Action, in which Ms. Schakowsky served as Program Director. He runs a political consulting firm, the Strategic Consulting Group, which lists ACORN and the SEIU among its clients and which made $541,000 working for disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Creamer resigned from Citizen Action/Illinois after the FBI began investigating him for bank fraud and tax evasion at Illinois Public Action. He was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to five months in federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, plus eleven months of house arrest. While in prisonor forced sabbatical, he called it -- Creamer wrote a lengthy political manual, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win (Seven Locks Press, 2007). The book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern -- the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House -- and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that Creamers tome provides a blueprint for future victories. In the book, Creamer draws lessons from decades of experience on the radical left, including the teachings of arch-radical Saul Alinsky, and several episodes from Rep. Schakowskys political career. He also lays out a Progressive Agenda for Structural Change, which includes a ten-point plan for foisting universal health care on the American people in 2009. We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right. We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis. Our messaging program over the next two years should focus heavily on reducing the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community. We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of [sic] universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009. We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus. Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program. We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community. We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types. To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined. Creamer adds : To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion -- fear, revulsion, anger, disgust. Democrats have followed Creamers plan to the letter. They have claimed our health care system is in crisis despite polls showing the overwhelming majority of Americans are happy with the care they receive.

It is not surprising that one of the effects, if not the purpose, of ObamaCare is to put the private health insurance industry in America out of business, to be replaced by a single-payer system like Canadas, admired by Hillary Clinton in an email released by Wikileaks.

To keep his and Hillary Clintons agenda progressing to full implementation, Robert Creamer seeks to derail the Trump train through agitation and inciting violence, a criminal act. He and his allies seek to generate emotion -- fear, revulsion, anger, disgust toward Trump. With the help of the media, he is doing just that.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Think about two dramatic events in American history: (1) the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941; and (2) the terrorists attacks on September 11 2001. Now consider how different were the nations leaders and ordinary peoples responses to those attacks.

The differences in how Americas leaders  particularly Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush  and ordinary people reacted to attacks on their nation speak volumes about how America and Americans have changed since 1941.

FDR appeared before a joint session of Congress the day after Pearl Harbor, denounced the attack on our military bases in Hawaii, and asked Congress to declare war. Congress responded positively, with but a single dissenting vote. American men and women flocked to Army and Navy recruitment centers; a few insisted that they be enlisted although they could not meet the armed services physical criteria regarding height and weight. A nation that had been bitterly divided on December 6 1941 over whether or not to enter World War II rose up in almost unanimous wrath. Between 1941 and 1945, Americans, whether in uniform or not, were over-whelmingly united in pursuit of victory. Those years saw Americans united as one nation, perhaps for the last time.

Fast-forward to September 12 2001. In one sense, Americans should have been even more aroused than in 1941. It took hours for news about Pearl Harbor to reach most people. Anyone with a TV could see the towers fall in New York City and the Pentagon burning in Washington, DC.

Even so, George W. Bush didnt call for a declaration of war. He asked Americans to hug their kids and go shopping.

Granted, most Americans were initially united in seeking revenge against international terrorism generally, al Qaeda more specifically, and Osama bin Laden especially. American flags were prominently displayed on cars and elsewhere.

National unity, however, rather quickly broke down, and in less than 24 months, a portion of the nations leaders  especially liberal Democrats  and parts of the public, were carping about the Bush administrations policies. The mainstream media (MSM) stopped replaying scenes of 9/11, and  to many  seemed in left-wing Democrats corner.

By 2004, John Kerry was reassuring people that he had voted against Bushs effort to oust Saddam Hussein, after he had voted affirmatively.

There are fundamental differences between Pearl Harbor and 9/11. I still contend that the paragraphs above point to some very important lessons we need to learn about our nation and ourselves.

One big difference between the World War II era and post-9/11 is that Americans seem to have become much more casualty-averse than they were 70+ years ago.

A total of 405,399 Americans were killed in World War II. Nearly 20,000 Americans were killed during the Battle of the Bulge alone. Another 20,000 were captured, and 40,000 were wounded.

Think back to how the MSM covered U.S. battle-deaths in the War on Terror so long as George Bush was president. When the total reached 4,000, Wolf Blitzer of CNN couldnt contain himself.

Once Barack Obama was president, MSM reportage of U.S. battle deaths in the War on Terror virtually ceased.

As of 2015, the number of Americans killed in wars on terror was 6,852. Thats still only a little over 1% of the number killed in World War II.

One reason why American deaths in World War II may have been much higher than since 9/11  never mind differences of strategies, tactics, technological advances in killing-power, etc.  was that 12% of the U.S. population served in the military between 1941 and 1945. As of 2015, less than 1% of the nations population was serving on active duty or in the reserves.

Those two figures alone probably go some way toward explaining why so many more Americans lost their lives between 1941 and 1945 than in wars against terror since 9/11.

Another reason why todays Americans are casualty-averse is that the typical U.S. family of 1941-45 was larger than now. Census Bureau statistics indicate that the size of the average family was 3.76 in 1940, but 3.14 in 2001. The average family of 1940 consisted of 2.52 individuals 18 and over in 1940, but 2.18 in 2001. (These seemingly small declines indicate important, ongoing, changes in the American family.) Unless it was the Sullivans  who lost five sons in 1942  a family might send more than one young man to war between 1941 and 1945; even if one were killed, others would come home.

If family units are smaller now, as they were in 2001, parents (and relatives) might feel very differently about losing an offspring in combat.

One also needs to consider changes in Americas family structure since 1941. Families were mostly intact 75+ years ago. Today, more than half of kids live in non-traditional homes. That may also shape how some Americans feel about losing an off-spring in combat.

Hostility to the military probably begets outrage when people in combat are killed.

Naturally, conservatives also feel badly when American lives are lost, but they are much less likely to attack the military. Today leftists feel no compunction about decrying wartime casualties. Given the sympathies of most of the MSMs denizens, those cries are rapidly amplified. The final ingredient of todays toxic mix vis-a-vis combat deaths are those among the public who reflect the Lefts dispositions, particularly if the leftists are prominent Democrats like Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi, who give legitimacy to cries about wartime casualties.

Unless there are changes in our country and our politics, Americans are unlikely to give full-throated backing to a wartime government as they did in World War II.
The American academy, which has revealed itself to be markedly susceptible to the intrigues of the Saudi-based radical Wahhabi sect and the Muslim Brotherhood, now faces the challenge of an Iranian radical presence.

Since 2014, admission of Iranian students to U.S. colleges has been permitted by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Iran has yet to flood the U.S. with its own professors. Nevertheless, there are indications that an Iranian wave may soon hit the American academic community. A network of apologists for the Iranian clerical regime already exists within the Middle East studies departments of American educational institutions. How much will this attitude grow in light of the Obama administration's turn toward Tehran?

Three recent examples of Iranian ideological functionaries penetrating U.S. universities stand out: Ebrahim Mohseni, Seyed Mohammad Marandi (by long-distance control from Iran), and Ali Akbar Alikhani.

Ebrahim Mohseni is a research scholar at the University of Maryland (UM)'s Center for International and Security Studies, while simultaneously serving as a senior analyst at the University of Tehran's Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) and a lecturer in the University's Faculty of World Studies (FWS). He has a masters of public policy and a graduate certificate in intelligence analysis from UM.

That an obvious  as will be seen  Iranian regime advocate should have been awarded a graduate certificate in intelligence analysis by a major U.S. educational institution is startling, and so are Mohseni's affiliations with the CPOR and the FWS.

In coordination with a CPOR colleague, Iranian official Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Mohseni produced two opinion polls in 2007-08 that presented Iranians as extremely supportive of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the noted extremist and anti-Semite. This view of Iranian politics was consequently disproven when the Green Movement of 2009-10 mobilized millions of the country's subjects against Ahmadinejad and the ruling theocracy.

Undaunted, CPOR continued to produce propaganda. In 2014, it issued a suspect poll claiming that 78 percent of Iranians favored a law mandating separation of men and women in workplaces and that 64 percent believed that women should work only in jobs assigned to their gender.

If that did not demonstrate that Mohseni was an inappropriate hire for a Western university, his jargon-filled doctoral dissertation at UM, "When Coercion Backfires: The Limits of Coercive Diplomacy in Iran," should. It was presented in 2015 to his dissertation advisory committee, including a well-known pro-Iranian professor, Flynt Leverett of Pennsylvania State University, where he teaches international relations, and Nancy Gallagher, a professor emerita at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she taught Middle East and feminist studies and supported the divestment campaign against Israel.

The website for the UM Department of Government and Politics may carry the subhead, "Be Civil," but the tone of Mohseni's dissertation is anything but civil in its treatment of U.S. policy toward Iran. Mohseni admits that international sanctions on Iran, in reaction to its nuclear development program, have failed and that Tehran continues expanding its atomic capacity. But rather than assess this problem as a product of Iranian recalcitrance, Mohseni spins a complicated and contradictory theory in which U.S. policy, based on what he condemns as "coercive diplomacy," has "strengthened Iran's determination to advance, enhance, and expand its nuclear fuel cycle program."

In the introduction to his dissertation, Mohseni asserts that "[t]o achieve a stable peace with Iran and to effectively deal with the proliferation risks of Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. needs to regain the confidence and the trust of the Islamic Republic." Yet when in the history of the Tehran theocracy beginning in 1979 did the U.S. ever possess the "confidence and trust" of that regime? In place of "coercive diplomacy," Mohseni calls for "strategic empathy [emphasis original]." He complains that "President Obama has also used his executive authority to put in place Executive Orders that target Iran. These executive orders stipulate neither the reason behind nor the objective of the orders," although the authoritarian and adventurist nature of the Tehran regime is obvious to the world. But Obama's "pivot to Iran," supported by the "5+1 group" comprising the United Nations Security Council and Germany, has been more accommodating than coercive and has failed.

The professional alliances of Ebrahim Mohseni are more interesting when one enters, figuratively, Iranian sovereign territory. At Tehran University's FWS, his partner in political propaganda polling, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, is a former dean known for his venomous attacks on Israel.

In a 2013 diatribe broadcast by the Russian Sputnik News Agency, Marandi defended Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to wipe Israel off the map by declaring that "Israel must cease to exist" and adding that "the political entity in this case meant military extinction."

Another luminary of the University of Tehran FWS, Ali Akbar Alikhani, recently completed a 2015-16 visiting scholarship at the Harvard University Center for Middle East Studies. Alikhani, whose stated views are as radically anti-Israel as those of Marandi, remained below the radar until the end of his Harvard post early this year. His project as a Harvard visiting scholar was theological, meaning, in the Iranian context, ideological: "[A] Model for Peaceful Coexistence in [the] Contemporary World[,] ... Based on the Quran and Sunnah." One might interpret this topic as "world peace imposed by radical Islam."

Alikhani's university work follows the hardline posture of the Iranian ruling elite and its supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, in its attacks on Israel and Zionism. In a Farsi-language review, Alikhani lauded an Arabic-language book titled The Jewish Threat-Danger to Christianity and Islam as "strong and good," as it would "show the quality and the method of the Jewish threat."

In the era of Obama's positive gestures toward Iran, Mohseni and Alikhani may be no more than scouts examining the terrain for a campaign to more thoroughly penetrate American academia. Financial resources for such an effort already exist. The Alavi Foundation, an Iranian-controlled charity that claims independence from Tehran, was freed on July 20, 2016, by a U.S. appeals court in New York from confiscation of its assets, mainly the Piaget building, a skyscraper at 650 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

In the past, Alavi financed Persian studies courses at dozens of American colleges and universities. Alavi particularly favored Harvard, where Alikhani was employed, by donating $419,000 between 2004 and 2012. On September 30, 2016, Alavi launched a petition calling for support to maintain 36 Muslim congregations, 23 schools, and 30 currently existing programs at American universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Hunter College, and Hartford Seminary, along with student loans, free gifts of books on Islam and Persian culture, and free medical clinics.

Along with the mental gymnastics of Ebrahim Mohseni, and the Jew-baiting of his peers, Seyed Mohammad Marandi and Ali Akbar Alikhani, increased infiltration of American academia by Iranian state agents  building on the successful campaigns of other radical Islamist enthusiasts  is highly likely. Given the American Middle East studies establishment's long, sordid record of welcoming Islamist funding and operatives, and the proliferation of American professors who share Iran's official anti-American and anti-Israel views, stopping this infiltration before it further metastasizes is imperative.

Stephen Schwartz, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington, D.C. This essay was sponsored by Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.
Turkish air and ground forces are attacking northern Syria. The target is not ISIS  the presumed threat to Turkish interests  but rather Kurdish forces that have borne the brunt of anti-ISIS ground fighting and are key to the battle for Mosul in Iraq.

Since the July aborted coup in Ankara, the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been making internal war against what it calls the "Gulenist threat," followers of Turkish cleric Fetullah Gulen, who Erdogan believes engineered the coup. Tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested, dismissed from their jobs, and otherwise harassed. Turkey has also been conducting an external war  either overtly or by proxy  to control sensitive areas of Iraq and Syria and short-circuit any possibility of Kurdish independence or large-scale autonomy emerging from the wreckage of wars in both those countries.

After shelling Kurdish positions just north of Aleppo, the Turkish Air Force bombed headquarters, ammunition dumps, and shelters. Turkish sources claimed 200 dead; Kurdish sources said 10 people were killed. They were PKK, said the Turks  members of the Peoples Workers Party, which has carried out operations inside Turkey for decades. The People's Protection Units (YPG), however, said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted fighters from the YPG-affiliated Jaish al-Thuwar (Revolutionary Front), which was advancing against ISIS in the city of Ifrin.

Turkey makes little distinction among Kurdish groups. The U.S. takes a different tack, agreeing that the PKK is a terrorist organization but arming and training the YPG and finding it the most effective force on the ground fighting ISIS. A U.S. official says the particular Kurds targeted this time were not among those we have trained, so there were no Americans in the area of Turkish fire. This time. But the possibility of direct U.S.-Turkish confrontation is rising daily.

There has been little mention of Turkey's wars in the American press, aided by the fact that militias, rebel armies, terrorist groups, and sub-state actors sound like alphabet soup: FSA, PKK, PYD, YPG, JAN, ISIS, AQI, and more fight in Syria and Iraq. Even when they have names, Americans are likely to find themselves confused. How does Jaish al-Thuwar relate to the Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade, or the Free Syrian Army or the Authenticity and Development Group, the Sun Battalion, the Al-Qousi Brigade, or the Truthful Promise Brigade?

Confusion is serving Turkey well.

There are an estimated 60 million Kurds in the Middle East and adjacent regions, divided among Turkey (25.8 million), Iran (11 million), Iraq (10.2 million), Syria (4 million), and Afghanistan (9 million). Another 2 million are estimated to be in Europe, primarily in Germany.

Turkey adamantly opposes independence for the Kurds, and the U.S. had trouble gaining even reluctant Turkish acceptance of Northern Iraq's regional autonomy after the 2003 ouster of Saddam from Baghdad. The dissolution of Assad's control of Northern Syria and the possibility that Iraqi and Syrian Kurds might construct a contiguous Kurdish area appears to pose a greater problem for Turkey than the rise and spread of ISIS. It is against the Syrian Kurds, therefore, not ISIS that Turkey has been operating for months.

In late August, Turkey directly intervened with tanks and planes to assist the Syrian Nour el-din el-Zinki rebel group in attacking Kurdish forces. The Kurds, members of the YPG militia, had captured the ISIS-held town of Manbij, but the Turks wanted them to hand the town over to its proxy. The U.S. caved to Turkish demands and ordered the YPG  its ally  out of town.

Following U.S. pressure on the Kurds, the Turks have increased the pace and lethality of their attacks. Unsurprisingly, Kurdish groups have begun to challenge reliability of the West  and the U.S. in particular. This round of fighting began just before a scheduled visit to Turkey by U.S. secretary of defense Ashton Carter. Carter, no doubt planning to ensure continued use of Turkey's Incirlik air base to launch strikes against ISIS and to support Iraq, struck a conciliatory tone toward Ankara when asked about the airstrikes  something sure to rankle the Kurdish militias. "With respect to Turkey, our partnership is very strong in the counter-ISIL campaign," he said. "We're working with the Turks now very successfully to help them secure their border area."

To many in the Middle East, the United States not only appears unreliable, which is bad enough, but seems to have frequently abandoned its friends and allies, which is worse. In the Obama administration, not only the president, but also the vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense bear responsibility for these impressions. While Turkey is, by treaty, an American ally and a NATO member, the U.S. has to either rein in the Turks or face the consequence of a powerful and reckless Turkish government shooting up Turkey and its neighborhood  and our allies.

If the Kurds are really the West's best hope for a ground force against ISIS, there are several steps the U.S. can and should take to impress upon the Turkish government the seriousness with which we take their aggression in Syria and Iraq.

As matters of policy, the U.S. should:

Insist that Turkey stop attacks on Kurds outside Turkish territory.

Demand that Turkey remove its forces from Iraq and Syria.

Demand that Erdogan restore rule of law to Turkey and end the persecution of Gulenists and Kurds.

Moving from demands to action, the U.S. should:

Stop delivery of military hardware to Turkey, including spare parts, and demand that all NATO allies do the same.

Stop cooperation and any coordination with Turkey's military and intelligence organs until Turkey complies.

Increase the arms flow as well as intelligence and other cooperation with the Kurds to ensure they are defended as well as possible.

Without these steps, Turkey, a powerful country, will become a genuine threat to the region as it tries to reestablish a modern form of Ottoman suzerainty.
The headline on the October 20 edition of the Washington Post blared, "Trump won't vow to honor results," referring to the election that the Post devoutly hopes will go to his opponent, the corrupt and criminal Hillary Clinton. The Post's exaggerated headline is only symptomatic of the hyperventilating on both sides of the aisle over Trump's refusal to commit to personally accepting a negative election result. The fact is, Trump's position is both quite logical and constitutionally inconsequential.

Most obviously, Trump believes, with some good reason, that the election process as a whole is "rigged" against him (and by extension any Republican candidate). In light of Trump's having stated that position, and supported it at least in part, it actually is rather absurd to expect him to have answered Chris Wallace's question during the debate other than how he did. Would it have been better for Trump to have said something like "Well, sure, Chris  even though I believe that Hillary belongs in jail, the Democrats are engaged in voting fraud, and the mainstream media has abandoned any hint of objectivity in order to see an utterly corrupt candidate elected, I'll accept the results of the election, no matter how egregious, unethical, immoral, unfair and criminal they may be"? That would have been an illogical statement.

Politically, perhaps, it would have been advisable  a debatable point, given Trump's appeal as someone who tells it like it is  for Trump to have simply said, "Yes, I'll accept the result." That he did not was not only rational, but ethical.

Trump is not delusional, though the Democrats and the mainstream media do all they can to make it seem that way. Trump says the election is "rigged," and that is a not unreasonable position. It cannot by any objective standard be conclusively refuted.

What does "rigged" mean? Does it mean active voter fraud operations? Yes. Those are relatively rare, but they do occur, and there is proof that voter fraud is occurring right now. The scale is unknown, but to say as the left is wont to do that Trump's allegations are myth is absolutely mendacious.

But rigged in common terms also means much more. If the reporters and editors of the mass media, who tout themselves as objective journalists, in fact are in the tank for Hillary Clinton and use their power overwhelmingly to help the Democrat and hurt the Republican, isn't this also fairly described as rigging an election? When they call voter fraud a myth, when it is not (its scope and frequency reasonably disputable but not its existence), is that not attempting to rig an election?

If the government-controlled media of an autocratic state promotes only the favored candidate in a sham election, these very same "journalists" would have no trouble identifying it as election-rigging. When they do the same thing, not only out of ideological conviction in support of the government, but also for the perks and opportunities that the revolving door of government offers, they are not in any meaningful way different. So why is that not rigging an election?

Similarly, in a corrupt autocratic nation where the leaders milk the country dry for their own benefit but keep themselves out of jail though fraudulent influence-peddling, again, these same journalists would have no problem labeling that as election-rigging. How are Hillary's machinations and the FBI's and Justice Department's refusal to prosecute clear criminal activity (that anyone else would have been long ago indicted for, if not already jailed) at all different?

Arguably the greatest moment in American political history occurred on March 4, 1797, when George Washington stepped down as president of the United States and, pursuant to the Constitution, handed power over to his elected successor, John Adams. Plenty of skeptics here and abroad could not conceive that such a thing would actually happen, that a man with immense prestige and power would voluntarily give it up on the basis of following some novel laws based on newly fashioned republican principles. But he did, and so, really, in that moment was the American republic if not figuratively born, then slapped and given its first real breath. We will not face a similar situation on November 8.

Nonetheless, the idea now bruited across the chattering classes, from the Democrat side and not a few Republicans, is that Trump's debate statement was an affront to our constitutional system. Hillary Clinton shrilly called it "horrifying" and "talking down our democracy." This would be laughable if its basic silliness were not automatically accepted by a large portion of a know-nothing electorate that actually listens to such drivel.

Who cares whether Trump accepts the results or not? What's he going to do? Call out the 82nd Airborne to seize Washington and arrest Obama and Hillary? Unlike George Washington or any sitting president, he has no position in government, no real or apparent legal authority, or any of the coercive power of the state. He is a private citizen and will still be one on November 8 if he loses. He can say what he likes.

Will he call out his minions to riot in the streets like the Democrats of Ferguson or Baltimore? Will President Obama and President-Elect Hillary give Trump's angry supporters some room to riot like the Democrat mayor of Baltimore? They won't have to, because riots are not going to happen.

But Trump's die-hard supporters, and many other Americans who like the man much less, will be justifiably incensed by the fact that regardless of whether the Democrats engage in active meaningful vote fraud, a sitting president, in contravention of everything George Washington stood for, ignored the law and the Constitution to secure his own designated successor despite her blatant corruption and criminality. He did this by abusing his executive power to absolve Hillary of criminal wrongdoing through the misuse and dishonest exploitation of the Justice Department and the FBI. The truly horrifying talking down of democracy was James Comey's July 5 statement that established a double standard of justice in this country  one for Hillary Clinton, President Obama's chosen successor, and another for everyone else.

If that is not rigging an election, I don't know what is. And there is no reason for Trump or any other citizen to "accept" a result in November that puts Obama's corrupt and criminal successor in power.
While polls show that more Hispanics prefer Hillary over Trump to occupy the White House those Hispanics need to take a close look at what Hillarys party has done for -- and more importantly, to -- Hispanics in the U.S.

The Hispanic population has grown so rapidly that it is difficult to believe that the 1970 Census questionnaire did not include a racial or ethnic category called Hispanic. But this was not because Hispanics did not live in the U.S. in significant numbers. The musical West Side Story from the 1950s featured several Puerto Rican main characters, and cities like New York and Chicago had relatively large Puerto Rican populations, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

After 1950, with the passage of the Federal Highway Act Americans began to move out of big cities and into suburbs. They were looking for green lawns, cleaner air, and bigger homes. As they moved away from cities, however, city populations began to decline and are still declining. To counteract this decline President Lyndon B. Johnson started the Great Society package of Federal programs. While on paper and in speeches these programs were allegedly designed to lift people out of poverty, the result was to isolate black and later Hispanic persons into highly segregated neighborhoods. While these programs proclaimed to help the disadvantaged and poor, the result was more disadvantaged and more poor.

Chicago, for example, doubled the proportion of its residents who lived in segregated low-income housing from ten to twenty percent from 1960 to 1970. These Federal programs rewarded single mothers with children, leading to a great increase in the number of fatherless children. The school systems of these big cities were all controlled by the huge public sector teacher unions of the Democrat Party. They did a terrible job of educating children to obtain good paying jobs, effectively guaranteeing that these children would never leave poverty.

But as city populations continued to decline, the city fathers of the north needed still more residents. And the way to finance this population increase was to utilize federal program dollars earmarked for poverty. In 1965 Senator Kennedy modified the immigration laws to allow relatives of people in the U.S. to move to the cities. But this still wasnt enough; the numbers who entered the declining cities of the Midwest and Northeast still failed to keep the populations of these cities stable.

The strategy that was then adopted was illegal immigration: to allow people to illegally bypass the rules of legal immigration. Two general types of illegal immigrants were created: those who overstayed visas obtained legally, and those who entered via the southern border. The model used to provide for these new residents became a duplicate of the model used to create black ghettoes: highly segregated neighborhoods with residents supplied by Federal, local county, and state welfare programs. To justify this scheme Democrats said the nation needed illegal immigrants to do low paid jobs no one else will do such as picking lettuce and tomatoes. Never mind the fact that New York City and Chicago dont have any farm fields.

So the illegal immigrants were supported by government benefits to do whatever work they could do. And in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago sanctuary policies were enacted which paved the way for them to work.

This all happened so quickly that no one thought about the immigrants themselves: how they could learn to read, write, and speak a new language. And whether their new lifestyle in the north would provide good lives for them and their families.

It is not only accurate but entirely fair to portray illegal immigration as created by the government and promoted by the Democrat Party. After all, it is Democrats who control all the sanctuary cities of the north and the public-sector union jobs.

But Hispanics are beginning to see that theres a price to pay to be wards of the Democrat Party, that their socioeconomic situation has become more like that of blacks and less like what they had hoped.

Hispanics should look at blacks under Democrat Party control and wonder if their fate will be the same or worse. Blacks today, under the first black president, are living in greater poverty than before the Obama presidency. Their food stamp use has increased and employment rate declined. Looking to Obama for inspiration and an improvement in their lives, blacks realize all he has inspired them to do is blame white society for the poverty and racism he has, to some extent, increased. Their families are in greater poverty and their prospects are grimmer.

Blacks tell the story: fifty years of big city social programs has hardly improved the lot of any of them. Those who have lifted themselves up out of poverty and out of the ghetto have only done so through herculean individual effort. They have received little help from Democrats.

And now Hispanics, having been placed in big sanctuary cities under the same Democrat model of community development, are facing the same situation. The Pew Hispanic Center Study Between Two Worlds reported in 2009: Young Hispanic females have the highest rates of teen parenthood of any major racial or ethnic group in the country. And that about one in four Hispanic females (26%) becomes a mother by age 19. This compares with a rate of 22% among young black females, 11% among young white females.

There is a high correlation between single motherhood, poverty and poor education. The high school dropout rate among Latino youths (17%) is nearly three times as high as it is among white youths (6%) and nearly double the rate among blacks (9%). These figures are for the entire nation, not just sanctuary cities. And more than half Mexican-heritage young Latinos had experience with gangs (56%) than Latinos of other Hispanic national origins.

These discouraging facts go on and on. The movement of people of color, first from Africa and then Mexico, have some very interesting similarities. Both were initially brought into the U.S. to work in agriculture. Both ended up being encouraged to migrate north, with their living expenses subsidized by taxpayers. Both ended up with similarly tragic socioeconomic issues.

At some point Hispanics may start thinking about whats best for their families, not just whats best for Democrats running for election. And whether its a good idea to trust Democrats to make a better life for them in big city barrios. Blacks have trusted them for over eighty years, and are now starting to evaluate how its worked out for them. Black leaders are still complaining about how bad things are in their communities.

At some point Hispanics may wonder, if they continue to vote for Democrats, if their neighborhoods will get any better, when they never got any better for blacks. Hispanics may wish to think about whether fifty years from now they will still be complaining about bad schools, gangs, poverty, and low-paying jobs. Hispanics should already know what Democrats have planned for them.
If you didnt hear about this last month, its for good reason. The media do not like publicizing defeats for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

A 27-year battle with the ACLU over the Mt. Soledad mountaintop cross at a Korean War veterans memorial in San Diego ended in a victory for American heritage. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-page ruling calling the case moot on Sept. 8 and directing U.S. district judge Lawrence Byrne to dismiss it, which he did on Sept. 13.

The rulings cite the Mount Soledad Memorial Associations purchase of the 29-foot cross and the land beneath it from the Department of Defense for $1.4 million in July 2015. The transfer was facilitated by legislation sponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a former Marine who represents Californias 50th District, which includes San Diego.

The ruling leaves intact the familiar sight of the imposing cross above the Interstate 5 freeway in La Jolla, and in effect sends the ACLU packing. Cant you just see the poor, dejected ACLU lawyers stomping down the mountain and throwing their axes into the backseats of their hybrids?

The final outcome was not that surprising, given the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in 2010 in Salazar v. Buono, which approved the sale of federal property to private ownership at a California veterans cemetery. That case involved the Mojave Memorial Cross, which the ACLU tried to tear down on behalf of a retired federal park official who had moved to Oregon but said he was still offended by the 7-foot-high pipe metal cross.

Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund founder Charles LiMandri, who had opposed the ACLU in court since 2004 to keep the Mt. Soledad Cross, said, We are delighted that the longest-running religious liberty case is coming to a successful conclusion. This 27-year case is proof positive that when people of good will work together for the common good, and persevere in their efforts against great odds, momentous victories can still be achieved.

The ultimate victory goes to the veterans that built and maintained the Memorial, and all of us who honor their sacrifices and cherish the religious liberty they fought to preserve.

Beginning in 1989, the case ping-ponged among state and federal courts, Congress, the voters of San Diego County, the Defense Department, and many other parties. In defense of the cross, the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) filed a brief in 2006 at the California state appeals court and another three briefs later in federal courts.

In 2006, the city of San Diego transferred the property to the U.S. government, a move that the ACLU opposed. In response, the ACRU brief stated: Surely, virtually no one in San Diego really thinks that by this transfer [of the memorial to the federal government] the city government means to adopt an official endorsement of Christianity and an official disapproval of other religions and city residents who adhere to them. Crosses are ubiquitous at every federal national veterans memorial in the country.

The local chapter of the ACLU, which had led the fight to tear down the cross, appeared to concede that it was finally over. I think this now resolves the case, David Loy, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. The government doesnt own the cross or the land underneath it anymore.

Veterans played a significant role in fighting the ACLU to preserve the traditional Crosses at Mt. Soledad and Mojave Desert Veterans Memorials, wrote Rees Lloyd, a former ACLU staff attorney and co-founder and director of the Defense of Veterans Memorial Project of the American Legion Department of California, at NewswithViews.com.

That history needs to be known to inspire the same kind of commitment in other important grass roots battles for the preservation of freedom and traditional American values against rich and powerful special interests, like the ACLU, who would destroy those values.

Thats something to think about when the ACLU comes to your town looking to lay waste to any lingering reminders of Americas Christian heritage.

Robert Knight is a senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union.
Make no mistake: we are sliding toward something like a third-world urban reality, with street violence frequent and law enforcement unwilling or unable to do much about it. In certain Latin American, Asian, and African cities, stores containing valuables have bars, locked entrances, and armed guards. Those with enough money hire armed guards and lie behind walls with barbed wire at the top.

There are powerful forces attacking the legitimacy of the civil order of the United States. Black Lives Matter is merely the newest visible component of the effort, but efforts are underway to release into the population violent criminals (because mass incarceration), to dispute the legitimacy of criminal convictions based on the group rights theory of disparate impact, to shackle police tactics, to incite mob violence against police, and to devastate morale and hamper recruitment.

Apple Stores are bright, shiny, and full of valuable stuff. CBS Boston reports:

A group of thieves stole over $13,000 in iPhones from the Apple store in the Natick Mall in a flash mob robbery. Natick Police Lt. Cara Rossi said a group of seven teens were only in the store for less than one minute, but were able to steal 19 phones. (snip) Lt. Rossi said both male and female thieves were involved, and that they all wore hoodies and hats to help conceal their identities. Police said they were working with mall security to try to find footage of the group entering or exiting the mall. Natick Police said they believed the thieves may be connected to a similar theft that took place in Hingham in September. In that case, a group of 10 to 12 thieves in hoodies stole 22 iPhones from an Apple store, then fled in a Ford Taurus that had its plates covered.

The Harvard hoodie on the lead looter is a nice touch, don't you think?

It does not take many people to overwhelm and loot a location. And it is happening. Relentless propaganda that blacks are victimized, helpless, and deserving of recompense for their travails provides all the moral justification a frustrated and angry young man needs.
As President Barack Hussein Obama (D) continues to insist that one of his foreign policy crown jewels, the Iran deal, has made the world so much safer for democracy and that soon Iran and the U.S. will be best of friends, Iran has announced this not so friendly demand.

Iran is seeking "many billions of dollars" in payments from the United States in exchange for the release of several U.S. hostages still being detained in Iran, according to reports by Iran's state-controlled press that are reigniting debate over the Obama administration's decision earlier this year to pay Iran $1.7 billion in cash. Senior Iranian officials, including the country's president, have been floating the possibility of further payments from the United States for months. Since the White House agreed to pay Tehran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year as part of a deal bound up in the release of American hostages, Iran has captured several more U.S. citizens. Future payments to Iran could reach as much as $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter, who said that Iran is detaining U.S. citizens in Iran's notorious Evin prison where inmates are routinely tortured and abused. (snip) "We should wait and see, the U.S. will offer  many billions of dollars to release" American businessman Siamak Namazi and his father Baquer, who was abducted by Iran after the United States paid Iran the $1.7 billion, according to the country's Mashregh News outlet, which has close ties to the IRGC's intelligence apparatus.

Extortion and ransom are, needless to say, not indications of mutual friendship, but rather one party taking advantage of a lowly individual who so desperately wants or needs the other's friendship to prove himself.

And Obama needs to prove himself. American withdrawal from Iraq was another Obama early foreign policy jewel that soon turned to broken glass as chaos, an Iranian takeover of the western part of the country, and terrorist ISIS replaced the Americans forcing an American return.

The Iran deal jewel has joined Obama's other worthless broken shiny objects. Much more to come.
At her website, Hillary Clinton devotes a page to "Immigration Reform." She begins:

We need comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to full and equal citizenship.

As legal immigrants already have a full and equal pathway to citizenship, Clinton is not talking about them. She is talking about illegal immigrants.

Following this statement, there is a nearly full-screen photo  a picture of Clinton and a young girl, apparently Hispanic, in a deep, heartfelt embrace.

In the background are several signs on a wall, all saying the same thing: "Estoy contigo" (Spanish for "I am with you"). All this serves to suggest that the girl is in the U.S. illegally.

Following this photo, a video appears. In it, Clinton speaks of taking steps so Americans know "what the human costs of these [current immigration] policies is." No doubt, she is speaking of the kind of human costs suggested by the young girl she embraces in the photo.

Those costs are indeed real. But there are other costs as well. There are costs to taxpayers. Taxpayers are humans, too. But there are no pictures of the costs to them.

And there is another cost  a cost to those waiting to immigrate legally. Almost certainly, massive numbers of illegal immigrants make their wait longer. Or even futile. But there is no picture of them.

And there is another cost  a cost to the rule of law. This is the most important cost. For without the rule of law, there would be no foundation for a free economy and the other freedoms and the democracy that we enjoy. Without the rule of law, we would be not at all different from many of the nations immigrants to America leave  nations that are poverty-stricken and repressive. Lawlessness is an injury not simply to a principle, but to people. But there is no picture of it.

This is the most important picture that Clinton does not see. For on her web page, she also says her comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to full and equal citizenship  [will] uphold the rule of law. Harsh as it may be, you cant uphold the rule of law by rewarding and embracing those who break it. And particularly when it is to the detriment of those who comply.
LDS Church founder Joseph Smith foresaw a time when the U.S. Constitution would be on the brink of ruin, and if it was to be saved, members of the LDS Church would be a staff on which the nation would lean to bear the Constitution away from the verge of destruction.

The choice in 2016 is clear. Donald Trump has promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who uphold the U.S. Constitution. Clinton will destroy it. A vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin is a de facto vote for Clinton and against the U.S. Constitution.

Why is this important? In 2016, Utah could be the swing state that decides which of the major candidates wins the U.S. presidency and determines the fate of the U.S. Constitution. With Utah balancing on the edge of a vain and meaningless protest vote for McMullin, Donald Trump is factually the only major candidate positioned to save the U.S. Constitution, end the destruction of the unborn, and preserve America.

Whether that happens may now depend on the common sense and good will of LDS Church members in Utah. Will they rally to the cause, support the nation, and help bear the Constitution away from the verge of destruction?

Utah GOP establishment politicians have lost the trust of many Utahns. Their grenade-rolling at Trump, a comrade-in-arms, benefits only Hillary Clinton while threatening the U.S. Constitution and the lives of the unborn. In light of Trumps credible denial of Democrat allegations, the rush of Utah GOP establishment politicians to judge and undercut the top of their ticket appears both uninspired and uninspiring.

It is up to the good citizens of Utah to reject the sham and vanity of a third-party candidacy and help bear the Constitution away from the verge of destruction while it yet can be saved. The nation, the lives of the unborn, and the Constitution may depend on them. Well did Ezra Taft Benson, former LDS Church president and member of President Eisenhowers cabinet, proclaim in a conference address, Beware of pride.
While we were all watching Hillary put on that phony-baloney grin as her way of dismissing Trump's assertion that every act of Obama-Clinton foreign policy has resulted in disaster, yet another Obama-Clinton foreign policy disaster was unfolding (and this one is at least a bit easier to follow than, say, the situation in Syria).

On a visit to Beijing (where he was greeted with great fanfare), Philippines president Duterte (who was in the news here recently when he referred to Obama as a "son of a whore") told his Chinese hosts:

America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way[.]

Since then, members of Dutertes own administration have tried to walk back and soften his remarks, and at least one of Dutertes political opponents has stated that the Philippine president is "delusional." But we still won't see a lot of coverage of this in the Lamestream Media because it would distract from the ongoing hatchet job on Trump, and because, any way you slice it, it still reflects poorly on the Obama-Kerry-Clinton foreign policy, and neither the regime nor its press lackeys have yet figured out how to spin it otherwise.

The tension between Duterte and Obama might have to do with their different attitudes toward drug use. Duterte has been brutally beyond draconian in dealing with his country's drug dealers and users. And one can understand how that might frost Obama's pumpkin, given Obama's own drug history, as revealed in the book he allegedly wrote, Dreams from My Father, where he tells of oh so coolly indulging in "a little blow."

In the third debate, Donald Trump told us that China and Russia were "playing" Obama and had played and would continue to play Hillary. He said she "has been outsmarted and outplayed worse than anybody I've ever seen in any government whatsoever." And he asked, "How stupid are our leaders?"

Well, one answer is "stupid enough to drive a longtime U.S. strategic ally (not to mention a country that thousands of Americans gave their lives to defend!) into the arms of Red China, thus severely weakening America's position in Asia, especially at a time when China is flexing its muscles and kicking sand in Americas face."

Then again, some of us don't think our current "leaders" are stupid at all. If the aim of these Alinsky-ites is to "fundamentally transform," diminish, weaken, or even destroy America (see my 2010 AT piece, still quoted all over the web, "Don't Be Fooled by Obama's 'Incompetence'"), they are pulling it off quite brilliantly.

Stu Tarlowe has contributed well over 100 pieces to American Thinker. His personal pantheon of heroes and role models includes Barry Farber, Jean Shepherd, Long John Nebel, Aristide Bruant, Col. Jeff Cooper, Rabbi Meir Kahane, and G. Gordon Liddy.
HTCs long-awaited Vive VR headset was launched back in April but until now the company has stayed quiet on sales numbers. Now, though, it appears HTC has decided to open up about how its VR headset is doing and the figures a far from disappointing when considering how niche the product is at the moment.

As virtual reality is still a relatively new market, nobody expects a huge number of headsets to be sold, but according to HTCs chairman Cher Wang, the Taiwan-based company has sold over 140,000 Vive units, which is far from a poor figure. As well as this, the number also represents a further 40,000 units sold since August, when HTCs China president of VR claimed that 100,000 units had been sold worldwide. HTC faces tough competition from the likes of the Oculus Rift and Sonys recently released PlayStation VR system, but its clear that for a first generation headset the HTC Vive is still selling pretty well. In comparison to Sonys PlayStation, though, its true that HTC is lagging significantly behind, with the PlayStation VR selling 50,000 units in Japan in just three days, while worldwide sales for this year alone are expected to be over 2 million units, though this is largely due to the fact that there are over 40 million PlayStation 4 consoles in homes, something that HTC cant take advantage of, as well as the fact that Sonys offering is nearly half the price of the Vive.

PlayStation VR isnt really HTCs closest competitor, though, with that title going to the Oculus Rift. Its been rumored for some time now that parent company Facebook wanted to sell 400,000 units of the Rift by the end of 2016, but so far no sales figures have been released and neither company has confirmed these targets so there is currently no way of knowing how well its selling. With the HTC Vive representing the high-end of the VR market, theres very little chance that it will suddenly start shipping millions of units like the PlayStation VR, but the company may choose to adopt a similar strategy to Oculus and develop a standalone headset which would be sold at a more accessible price and would remove the need for a powerful PC. Either way, with the company facing such tough competition, as well as the likes of Google and Samsung heavily investing into VR, HTC may need to change its strategy in order to become an industry leader in the long run.
Google has finally outclassed other companies when it comes to cameras. This is a statement that some individuals might have thought they never would have heard. When it comes to the camera, Googles line of hardware which up until now resided in the Nexus camp for smartphones, was never thought of as the best phone on the market for photos. Each passing year presented consumers with a new Nexus phone that ultimately had better pictures than the phone that was released the year before, but they have never actually had the best smartphone camera. That changed this year with the Pixel and the Pixel XL, which has helped push Google past other OEMs in the photo department. This isnt just due to the sensor that Google has used inside of the phone, although that does factor in quite a bit, but rather a large part of it has to do with the camera software. This is the real magic behind the curtain.

Googles Pixel and Pixel XL have a handful of special little tweaks and perks that are part of the software side of things which are aimed at enhancing the smartphone experience for users, and while Google did pack special features in throughout the software in numerous areas, such as with the unlimited photo and video storage backups at full resolution, the special software used in the camera is a huge focus this year it seems, and thats a good thing because it will help Googles two new phones succeed more than they likely would have if their camera wasnt rated the highest smartphone camera to date. On the specifics, a large portion of the camera software on the Pixel and Pixel XL are automatic and intelligent. When you pick up the Pixel and snap a photo, things happen quickly and rather effortlessly, the camera opens extremely fast and is ready to take a shot in pretty much no time at all. Now, speed of the camera is one very good aspect of what Google has done here with the camera software, but more of what makes this camera great should be attributed to the HDR+ mode that Google has switched on by default.

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Its HDR+ that is the real star of the show for the way the Pixel and Pixel XL handle images, and there are more than a few elements to this, but one important factor that boosts the camera up is the way HDR+ takes multiple image shots before the shutter button is pressed. This makes it so that capturing pictures is more of an instant affair and aside from giving a person more time to take more shots, it also better ensures that people are going to get the right shot, and thats the key detail. Getting the right shot. While HDR+ is on by default and Google trusts it to give you the perfect photo every time (and it expects you to trust it as well), the reality is that it likely isnt going to give you the perfect picture every single time you press the shutter button. That said, the likelihood of getting a great image that you can feel proud to show off to friends and family is much higher than on past Nexus devices, and probably much higher than on other top-end flagships from this year. You might be asking, if the pictures are already saved to the sensor (which is a state of the art Sony IMX378 sensor) before the shutter button is pressed, then what does the shutter button actually do? Well, you still have to press the shutter button to get the image and have it saved, it just isnt taking the image at that time any more. It does however use the time you pressed the shutter button as a timestamp for the photo.

The other thing that HDR+ does differently than HDR modes on other devices is combining multiple images that are taken only in low exposure instead of mixing multiple images in high, medium, and low exposure levels. Googles argument here is that using multiple low exposure shots helps them get a better set of low-light image results. In shorter terms, underexposing the images is key to what makes the camera on the pixel produce the shots that it can. Googles software is great at denoising images (getting rid of most of the noise in images taken in low-light) which is a point we made in our full review of the Pixel and Pixel XL, and this leads to Google being able to keep colors saturated in those low exposure shots which makes for a vibrant and colorful picture with more depth and clarity than you would expect with less light. The Pixels software also keeps a little bit of the noise in images, as this allows the pictures to keep some of the texture that add to the overall quality of the shot. Of course, its important to note that you can switch HDR+ off if you want to, but as mentioned above its set to HDR+ Auto as the default setting, and even though HDR+ auto takes multiple images at low-exposure, you can easily adjust the exposure manually by simply dragging your finger up and down the screen to fine tune things to just the way you want them, with a range of +2.0 all the way down to -2.0.

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While the Pixel and Pixel XL lack optical image stabilization, they do carry electronic image stabilization so there is still some stabilizing of photos going on, and OIS, according to Google, is actually not needed as much with HDR+, making for yet another way that the Pixels default camera mode helps to push the pictures on the device past those of its competitors. Because HDR+ is capable of taking multiple shots at low exposure and then blending those together for the end result, the image doesnt really need to be stabilized in the way that OIS would provide, as OIS is typically meant for a photo at longer exposure times. This doesnt mean that the Pixel camera will win out every single time against competing devices with similar hardware that do have OIS included, but its quickly becoming apparent that HDR+ was Googles ace in the hole as far as the camera is concerned, as it seems to have allowed them to achieve a really great image quality in a number of ways. Having said that, HDR+ is not the only thing that makes this a great camera, as there are still options for other camera modes and there are a handful of other elements that you can adjust to make your pictures your own. As with past Google devices, those of which belonged to the Nexus line, panorama is a mode that has returned to allow you to grab wide frame shots by stitching together multiple images. Other modes like Photo Sphere, and Lens Blur have returned as well, and theres even a Slow Motion mode which can grab imagery at either 120fps in 1080p resolution, or 240fps in 720p resolution. While the 720p resolution is lower quality, the 240fps is something that not many other high-end flagships have included in their smartphone cameras, giving the Pixel an edge here too. If this is a feature that you plan to use.

While relatively small compared to something like HDR+, other features in the software like a quick double tap on the power button to the open the camera (which works both while the screen is sleeping and while its awake) give the camera an extra boost. It is also worth noting that the Pixel is not the only phone which allows for such quick access to the camera, but when paired with everything else in the software it simply adds to appeal. So, while Googles Pixel camera software may not have as many modes or scene effects that can be applied when taking pictures, HDR+, and the capability to snap photos extremely fast still helps it to achieve greatness beyond what other OEMs have done with their phone cameras so far. Of course, each person is different and other users will appreciate the unique features that their own device provides, but its still hard to argue against Google coming closer to perfecting the camera software on an Android device when they were able to grab the best rating for a smartphone so far. That said, its highly likely and very probable that Google as well as other OEMs will continue to improve their cameras and camera software as new devices are developed, so this is really a win for everyone.
Not too long ago, a leaked render came out for the upcoming Huawei Mate 9, and it appeared that there would be two versions of the device available when it is announced on November 3rd. We didnt have a name for that curved display version that appeared, but now we do. Thanks to VentureBeat, it appears to be the Mate 9 Pro. This device is codenamed Long Island, with the regular Mate 9 being codenamed Manhattan. The specs of the two devices are largely the same. Were looking at a 5.9-inch display, with the HiSilicon Kirin 960 processor inside, with 4GB of RAM and storage capacities include 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Where the Mate 9 Pro differs is with the 25601440 resolution, compared to the 1080p resolution found on the Mate 9.

You may recall that Huawei has said in the past that a 2K display is overkill for a smartphone. Which some would agree with, but the reason why they went with a 2K or QHD display on the Mate 9 Pro is because it works with Googles Daydream VR. This is all according to someone familiar with company plans. Its not confirmed that this is going to be a Daydream VR compatible smartphone, but if it is, itll be the first smartphone from a manufacturer other than Google to support the new platform.

Both smartphones are going to be sporting a dual-camera setup, like recent flagships out of the Chinese manufacturer have had. However, instead of going with dual 12-megapixel shooters, Huawei is said to be going with a 20-megapixel shooter and a 12-megapixel shooter. Which should provide an even better experience for users. Additionally, they both will be running on Android 7.0 Nougat, and not Android 7.1. This would be the second smartphone to launch with Android 7.0 Nougat, behind the LG V20 which is currently up for pre-order after having been announced in early September.

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The company is still expected to announce both variants of the Huawei Mate 9 at their November 3rd event in Germany. Its not clear when these smartphones will be available for purchase, but they should be available before the end of the year.
If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both


The airline has appointed Bilal Eksi as the new general manager to succeed Kotil.

Eksi had previously been responsible for the airlines ground operations and had enjoyed a series of successes improving the airlines on-time performances. He had previously been with the companys engineering sector, heading the overhaul workshops.

Kotil had been heading the airline for a decade after moving from the Turkish Technik, following a career as a university professor in the United States before being called back to Turkey to effect a turnaround of the business.

Under his stewardship the Turkish airline has become a major global player and a regular award winner.

Speaking the Arabian Aerospace earlier this month, Kotil said that despite many difficulties at the moment for Turkey, the airline was still performing well, although profits were down.


YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Islamic State militants have allegedly executed at least 284 men and boys in the Iraqi city of Mosul and nearby villages. Jihadists, who had used them as human shields, dumped the victims bodies in a mass grave, RT reported.

The victims, children among them, were all shot dead on Thursday and Friday, an Iraqi intelligence source, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNN.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) seized Mosul in June of 2014, when it was Iraqs second-largest city. The terrorist groups leader then turned it into a major military stronghold, and it is believed that between 4,000 and 8,000 IS militants are currently entrenched there, according to Reuters. An estimated 1.5 million people remain in the city.

On Friday, Islamic State militants took some 550 families from the villages around Mosul, holding them as human shields close to jihadist positions, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office said. Citing corroborated information, she said the office was also investigating reports that they had killed 40 civilians in one village, Reuters reported.

The battle for Mosul, the jihadists last major stronghold in Iraq, began on Sunday, and has since gained momentum. The Iraqi military and US-led coalition said that the operation to retake the strategically important city may take weeks or even months.

Earlier this week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) sounded the alarm amid the carnage surrounding the new offensive, warning that IS militants may unleash chemical attacks and use tens of thousands as human shields.

Tens of thousands of people may be forcibly expelled, they will be getting trapped between fighting lines under siege, they may even be held as human shields, IOMs chief of mission for Iraq, Thomas Weiss, told Reuters.

The UN says the aftermath of the Mosul campaign could require the largest and most complex humanitarian relief operation in the world, as up to one million people may be forced from their homes.

With Iraqi and Kurdish forces pushing to seize territory around Mosul, the jihadists launched an attack on government buildings in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. On Friday, Islamic State militants reportedly entered houses and mosques in the city, which is located some 174 kilometers (108 miles) from Mosul, and took civilians as hostages. They also broke into a kindergarten building, according to a Rudaw news agency report citing the citys police chief.

A curfew was reportedly imposed amid ongoing clashes on Friday. Jihadist terrorists entered Kirkuks Asfra Mafqudin quarter in two cars at dawn and knocked on doors, telling people they were fighters from Islamic State, according to one eyewitness, who said that the locals were forced to take up arms to defend themselves.

At least 12 IS militants were killed by security and police forces in Kirkuk on Friday, Rudaw reported.

The city, which had been home to about half a million people before the outbreak of hostilities, has taken in some 700,000 displaced people from the countrys central and southern provinces since Islamic State took control of one-third of Iraq in mid-2014, according to Rudaw.

The oil-rich city is claimed by both the Iraqi government and the Kurds in the region. Kurdish forces assumed full control of the city in the summer of 2014, as the Iraqi army crumbled before an IS advance.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The archbishop of Mumbai opened a national symposium titled A call to freedom and justice in the family and society: ethical concerns and pastoral approaches on the liturgical feast day of the Polish saint, the "pope of the family, the basis for the Church and its work.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Saint John Paul II was "the pope of the family, the basis for the Church and its work. According to the pope, the future of humanity passes through the family, said Card Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, at the opening of a National Symposium for the 20th anniversary of the Diocesan Human Life Committee (DHLC).

The opening of the meeting, attended by 500 delegates from all over India, was set for 22 October the liturgical feast day of Saint John Paul II and the 39th anniversary of Karol Wojtyas election as pope.

"Today we celebrate the inauguration of the symposium entitled A call to freedom and justice in the family and society: ethical concerns and pastoral approaches, Card Gracias said during the homily at the Mass that opened the symposium.

Focus on the family directly links the pontificate of John Paul II to that of Pope Francis. "Amoris Laetitiae was built progressively on the many encyclicals of Pope John Paul II, who gave many insights on the family."

For the prelate, the challenges of today's world, such as "relativism, individualism, indifference, inability to make permanent commitments, selfishness . . . can only be addressed through the values that permeate the family and that grow in it. The family is an important agent in the work of evangelisation."

The archbishop met the Polish pope numerous times. "He was defined by his 'personalist philosophy', the tireless defence and promotion of the family, and a powerful emphasis on the dignity of the human person".

Once, I was very impressed during a visit by John Paul II to Verapolly (India), when the pontiff woke up at three am to pray. He entrusted himself entirely to his friendship with Christ."

The family must be nurtured continuously and supported by the source of the liturgy and the sacraments, Card Gracias said. The pastoral care of families should be a priority for the Church."

Finally, "lets us join Saint John Paul II in the defence of the culture of life and the promotion of a more human civilisation. We call on the Holy Family of Nazareth to protect our families and entrust the symposium to Our Lady and Saint Joseph. Saint John Paul II, pray for us!"
A week of heavy rains in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh pounded residents already crushed by a pollution emergency. At least 29 people are missing, and thousands of homes have been destroyed. We appeal to all men and women of good will [. . .] to help our compatriots in difficulty, the bishops said in a statement.

Hanoi (AsiaNews/EDA)  Vietnams Catholic bishops issued a plea following heavy rains that began on 14 October, hitting particularly hard the countrys central provinces.

We appeal to all men and women of good will, to all priests, men and women religious, to all the members of God's people in our country and abroad, to help our compatriots in difficulty, said the bishops statement.

The area, which was struck by a major environmental disaster caused by a steel plant owned by Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwanese conglomerate, has now had to put up with a week of heavy rains that has have brought it to the verge of collapse, especially the provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

For residents, this is one of the worst flooding in years, and local fishermen are in an extremely precarious situation.

What is more, operators of the Ho Ho Hydroelectric Plant made an error in managing its water level. The government has made emergency funds available but locals doubt they will be enough.

Given the intensity of the rains, residents fled to the hills to save themselves from the flooding. Meanwhile, power has been cut and government relief remains in short supply.

So far, "29 people are missing, and 121,000 homes are under water or have been swept away, the bishops noted. Many clinics, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, bridges and dams have been destroyed. In an instance, life has become a painful nightmare: crops are lost, food is scarce, as well as clothes and medicine. Children cannot go to school."

The statement ends saying that this provides "a precious opportunity for us to discover the face of the Lord Jesus in our neighbours (Mt 25:21-48), following the wishes of Pope Francis for the Holy Year of mercy. More than ever, the cry of Jesus dwells in our poor brothers and sisters, waiting every day for our help in this emergency. "
Islamic State fighters have attacked the city, hitting government buildings and a power plant under construction. Worshippers have been taken hostage in a mosque. The Islamic States response to the Mosul offensive is to open a new battlefront.

Kirkuk (AsiaNews/Agencies)  At least 46 people have died in fighting between Islamic State (IS) commandos and regular forces in Kirkuk when IS fighters attacked yesterday the Dibis power station, north of the city, and several neighbourhoods.

Local sources report that three attackers struck the power plant under construction, killing 12 people, including Iraqi engineers and technicians, as well as four Iranians. When security forces intervened, they killed one of the attackers whilst the two others blew themselves up.

In addition to the electrical system, IS fighters attacked government buildings in the predominantly Kurdish city in northern Iraq, killing at least six police officers.

The governor of Kirkuk announced that the situation WAS now under control; however, according to some witnesses, violence and fighting continue in the streets.

Turkmen leader Arshad Salihi said that the situation remains volatile and further reinforcements are needed.

One IS group is holed up in a school. Black smoke can be seen around Majdi Palace, where an IS sniper has been shooting at Kurdish security forces.

Jihadis have also taken several hostages in a city mosque, taking advantage of the Friday prayer.

The citys Sunni religious leaders ordered the closure of mosques and places of worship, cancelling Friday prayers.

Although security forces have killed several IS members, fighting has not yet ended. Kurdish Rudaw TV has shown Daesh* fighters walking down some streets in certain neighbourhoods.

The attack in Kirkuk comes as Iraqi and Kurdish troops move towards the city of Mosul, an IS stronghold, in what seems to be an attempt to divert the military offensive by opening a new battlefront.

* Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
What Going To The Porn Awards Is Really Like

What Going To The UK Porn Awards Is Really Like

This article was originally published by AskMen UK.

My date is nervous. She hasnt touched the champagne and although shes dressed confidently in a plastic opaque raincoat with a black corset underneath, shes fidgeting. The venue for our date is a non-descript club on Londons Leicester Square. More specifically, its the UK Adult Producers Awards and the reason for my companys nerves is that shes up for a gong  the Best Niche/Fetish Website.

Ah, where are my manners? Readers, let me introduce my date for the evening, Miss Harriet Sugarcookie.

Online porns current it girl, the 22-year-old started out blogging and camming three years ago. Since her start, she's developed her website into one of the UK's most popular and her YouTube channel PornstarsPlayGames gets over 100k views a month. Her site bio reads: Porn for geeks. The only place where you get amateur porn, movie reviews, games reviews, porn stars, sex & dating advice and recipes in one place.

While a quick (NSFW) Google would reveal shes a fan of girl-on-girl, her site is not of your RedTube bread and butter variety. Shes got well-written articles on everything from How To Tell Your Friend Her Boyfriend Is A Dick and The Wifi Kettle And 5 Other Kitchen Gadgets You Probably Dont Need, plus numerous video game reviews. Youll be reading about No Mans Sky and suddenly, on the right hand rail Zoe Doll Sleepover: Two Girl Handjob will pop up. Dont say we didnt warn you.

Two girl handjobs aside, Harriet is not your average porn star, so when she invited me to be her date for the awards, I was intrigued. Like everybody else, Ive seen internet porn, but I don't often feel good about watching these people, mostly young women, do things they probably wouldnt tell their families about. I have a hard time with the idea of women choosing to do this. On the other hand, Harriet seems to be doing it on her own terms. Maybe my assumptions are unjustified.

That's why I'm here: are the porn awards are a seedy, old-Soho festival of misogyny, or are the rumours true? Can enterprising, sex-positive women like Harriet make money and earn respect in an industry that  from the outside at least  looks built to exploit people like her? I don't know if I'll find out, but I'm willing to try.

RELATED: The Gentleman's Guide To Watching Porn Ethically

Now, Ive not been to a porn awards before. For some reason Id imagined walking down a red carpet to my seat, in front of a large stage, like the theatre. Or, yknow, the Oscars. I was expecting Jenna Jameson and Jessica Drake posing on the red carpet in bust-boosting, figure hugging ball gowns, porno-queens in glittering dresses draped in gaudy fake diamond jewellery.

In reality, the Leicester Square club looks like any other Soho bar, with a doorman who checks our names against a guest list before letting us enter. I want to leave my preconceptions at the door, too, but it's not easy.

Inside, the club is set up with a handful of red faux velvet-covered banquets scattered around a central, circular raised stage  we hastily make our way over to a simple low cocktail table surrounded by some chairs. Normally thered be a pole there with exotic dancers.

Harriet sees herself standing slightly apart from the crowd thats starting to slowly build in the room; she doesnt get work from producers like Nerd Pervert and Ben Dover (the UKs most famous porn actor, director and producer, who is also hosting the awards show tonight). Instead, she makes her own videos (behind the camera is her business partner Tommie) and hires her own actors.

I probably wont win because they dont really like me, she whispers to me. The they shes referring to are the UKAP board members, most of them producers themselves, who are also tonights judges. In some ways, shes an outsider, too  and just as curious about the people were sharing a room with. She takes my arm and asks me to point out anyone Im interested in meeting. Anyone! she tells me Just pick anyone and well go up to them!

She introduces me to a large, older man called The Dirty Doctor whose hand I don't want to shake, and Sneaky Pete, whose specialty, Im told, is videos where girls are tricked into having sex with him on a tour bus (very popular, apparently). They both ask Harriet to come work for them and she, giggling, says shell think about it. She later tells me she wont.

We meet Pixie Little, nominated for Best Female Newcomer, a tiny, young brunette whos only been working since January and has 40 scenes under her belt. Is that a lot? she asks us. She gets a blank stare from me. Im just here to wear a posh dress and get work! Before adding, earnestly, that she didnt vote for herself because she only wants to win if people genuinely think shes the best. Later on, I find out that her first scene was a gang bang with 27 men.

I take some pictures with starlet Carmel Anderson, one of the hosts. She wasnt wearing any underwear  something we only found out after she flashed another photographer. Besides a handful of stereotypical, very made-up blondes with fake boobs, the guests in attendance also include a large number of women in their 50s and 60s nominated for both Best GILF and Best MILF awards. The men are a mixed bunch, with varying degrees of flamboyant attire. One notable man surrounded by an entourage of 20 something guys introduces himself to me as a stylist for male porn stars, and is dressed in a top hat and tails.

Harriet strikes me as utterly down to earth compared to the people weve met in the room. Shes aware her work is different, shes clear about her goals and proud of the fact that she owns her own business and doesnt answer to anyone.

I ask Harriet how she got into porn and she says she used to be overweight and unattractive (her words, though its hard to image this petite Asian beauty as anything other than naturally pretty). Someone once posted a photo of her on Reddit and she started getting compliments, which made her feel good. She then tried camming and went from there. And she's definitely maintained a level of independence others in the industry haven't while developing quite a following: her site is most popular UK-owned adult site in the world with 220,000 million monthly viewers.

Not everyone appreciates her success. A friend of Harriets comes over to say hi and Harriet tells me they dont really get along anymore. Her friend does mostly cam work and has made comments to Harriet suggesting she shouldnt have to stoop to porn (a microcosm of the porn world that makes me wonder what other backstabbing and competition is going on just below the surface).

I'm also getting a sense that UK porn is much more rough around the edges than the porn scene in the US, and a lot of that has to do with regulation, Tommie tells me. With the recent UK bans on spanking and squirting (why should seeing a woman experience pleasure be banned?! Harriet says incredulously), things have to stay a bit more behind-closed-doors. Ben Dover, tonight's host, has even gone to prison in the UK for producing porn, and Harriets website is run out of Budapest where UK censorship laws dont apply.

Harriet still hasnt had a drink. Shes too nervous, she says, shaking. As Harriets category is called she grabs my hand. Her name is called and she shrieks, quietly, and makes her way to the stage. She profusely thanks everyone there and all her fans and poses for some photos with the hosts while receiving her glass engraved statue.

From where I'm standing, Harriets victory definitely feels like a step in the right direction  two fingers to the traditional porn establishment. But, looking around the room, I wonder how many of the young women here enjoy the same independence and perspective that Harriet has built. Lots of them seem like excited teenagers, kissing each other for the cameras and seeking attention from the older (male) producers in the room.

I hug Harriet as she makes her way back to our table and ask if she thinks its time for a drink.

Not tonight, she says. Im having so much fun I dont need one!
By David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia

Downdetector.com

A prolonged Internet outage prevented access to major sites like Twitter, Netflix, Spotify and The New York Times on Friday. The attack has commentators concerned that this is was a practice run for future, promising more frequent and widespread disruption of the internet. The distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) targeted the dynamic domain name service provider Dyn and came in three waves during the day.

Dyn provides internet address translation through DNS servers to take a name like www.nytimes.com and translate it into an address like 170.149.159.130. Denial of service attacks use a variety of techniques to keep the DNS servers busy. The attacks work by flooding DNS servers with millions of requests that seem legitimate but are for fake addresses, causing the DNS server to get overloaded. Real DNS requests from real users cant get through and so it appears that the site they are trying to get to, like www.netflix.com is down.

DNS attacks operate in a number of different ways but those that affected the Dyn servers were using a range of techniques that included sending requests for sites that had random characters attached to the start of a valid domain e.g. abcd123.nytimes.com. Because these addresses are essentially valid, the DNS server tries to look up the address but gets tied up because of the sheer volume of requests. The attacks are difficult to guard against because the requests are essentially valid.

The sheer volume of requests were being sent in part by the Mirai botnet of Internet of Things devices, mostly internet-connected cameras and digital video recorders. This botnet has been in a previous attack this month on the website of a security reporter Brian Krebs.

These types of attacks have been occurring more frequently and because they involve pieces of internet infrastructure, have a more widespread impact. Last month, security analyst Bruce Schneier wrote that he believed that state actors were increasingly probing for weaknesses in the basic infrastructure of the internet in order to be able to mount large-scale devastating attacks. Because of the increase in number and intensity of DDoS type attacks in recent years, security analysts have theorised that some of the attacks are masking the probing of vulnerabilities.

A particular fear is that a DDoS attack could prevent people from voting online during the US election on November 8th. Overseas military and citizens are allowed to vote online in several US states and everyone in Alaska can vote online. Russia has already been implicated in the hack of Democratic National Committee emails and organising their release through WikiLeaks. There is concern that the Russians will try and discredit the election process in whatever way they can and disrupting it through a DDoS attack on the day would be one way of achieving this.

The risk of this actually effecting the vote on the day has been dismissed however as the window for voting online in some of these situations is weeks before the election rather than on the day. When Alabama trialled online electronic voting during the primaries, their site was in fact attacked, but although it slowed down the site, it didnt prevent anyone from voting.

There is also the possibility that this attack was actually just hackers going after a particular site that happened to be using the Dyn service. The source code for the Mirai botnet was released on October 1st and since that time, other hackers have been using the code to expand the number of bots involved and create their own botnets. DDoS attacks may actually just be hackers testing out the power of their creations.

The internet remains incredibly vulnerable to attacks on its infrastructure and right now, there are few ways of avoiding them. Because Internet of Things devices like cameras, digital video recorders, and a whole range of other equipment are being used as vehicles to launch DDoS attacks, making sure that the devices are secure would be a priority. However, manufacturers are creating these devices in a way that doesnt allow for automated, un-monitored updates which is what is really required for security patches to be applied when they are discovered. Governments could potentially legislate that they should take all efforts to ensure their devices are secure before allowing the public to connect them to the internet, but this would need all countries of the world to do this.

It does bring into question the ability of governments to put even more of its interface with the public online since as soon as it does, it becomes a potential target for malicious actors. Governments in particular need to become more adept at dealing with this possibility, especially after the Australian Bureau of Statistics demonstrated that it was unable to run an online census collection successfully in the face of relatively minor DDoS attacks.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Hi everyone, I'm writing with the hope that I could please get some insights on what are the chances of approval regarding my application for Visitor 600. I applied a week ago for 3 weeks of holiday in Aussie (From 1st Feb 2017 to 26th Feb 2017). But haven't heard any news. I applied from France, so the Madrid Office will be the one that handles my application.Some background infor about me and the documents I submitted:- Female Vietnamese, 24 y/o- Currently residing in France on a Business Visa which lasts till July 2017 and is eligible for renewal of the visa.- Have lived in Singapore for 6 years, UK for 5 months and it's been about 2 years now in France. I included all these info on my e600 applicationDocuments I submitted:- My passport, which shows previous French student visa, UK internship visa, UK visitor visas. All of which I complied with the immigration rules. I have travelled a lot but it's mainly in the Schengen area so I have no stamps to prove my extensive travel history.- My birth certificate- Bank statements in 2 months which shows 5400 euros of savings (1700 euros of the sum was deposited just a day prior to the submission).- A copy of my French business visa.- A letter from my brother confirming that I am the third owner of our restaurant in France, my basic pay is 1200 euro but with bonuses dependent on the monthly revenue. He also confirms that he has no objection w me going to Aus for the above-mentioned 3 weeks and I am expected to return to France to resume work on 27th Feb.- A copy of my brother's French ID (He's a French citizen)- As I own a car in France, I also included a copy of my car registration.- A hand-written letter from my friend (Australian citizen), stating that we met 7 years ago and have kept in touch ever since, and I will be staying with him at his address.- A copy of my friend's tenency contract as proof of residence and his passport as proof of identity.I am getting really worried about the chance of my visa getting approved. This is because one of the required documents is payslips. As I am working in a family business, we don't issue payslips but rather handling more cash among us. I have stated the reason for being unable to provide payslips is "As I am the owner of the restaurant, I do not have payslips. My pay is part of the monthly revenue".Would be great if anyone could please advise me on what other documents I could support to strengthen my application? Thanks in advance
This time around, the Japanese halo car dukes it out with the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo (no, this is not the Turbo S) and the 2016 Audi R8 V10 Plus.The three-way battle comes from Auto Express, with Steve Sutcliffe manhandling the trio from one vibrator to another.Since we're talking about the kind of British track that fast machines lap well under one minute, it's no surprise that the three supercars we have here delivered times that were extremely close to each other.Even so, as we mentioned in the title, both German beasts manage to leave the NSX behind and you'll get to check out the exact times in the video at the bottom of the page.More importantly, the three come with entirelly different way of taking one around the track and this is why each second of this clip is worthy of your undivided attention.While the NSX embodies let's-play-it-safe perfection, the Audi is a more neutral animal, albeit with slight tail-out tendencies. As for the Neunelfer, well, its rear-dancing moves need no introduction.Then there's the aural part of the comparison and you don't need to be a full-time car afficionado to figure out the Audi , with its 5.2-liter naturally-aspirated V10, easily wins this one.Now, before we end this piece, there's one thing we need to mention - don't let the new NSX's modest comparison results scare you away. If you're the kind who appreciates clinical velocity and have an early tech adopter fetish, this Japanese hybrid is a magnificent supercar for you. Sometimes, you may need to buy your dream car and lay off the internet for a while ...
As you already know, the current generation of the Phantom will have its production halted at the end of this year . The factory in Goodwood would then go through a small break in Phantom manufacturing for customers, until the 2018 Phantom is ready for launch The tricky part for Rolls-Royce at the moment is that the company has already announced it will stop the production line of the ongoing Phantom on 31 December 2016, but customers reportedly still demand this model . As with any business, some clients might be more persistent than others, which makes saying "no" even more challenging.While mainstream automakers only say that the production of a particular model has ended, luxury automakers tend to be more flexible on this matter.Ferrari, for example, limits the manufacturing quota of specific models to one less than they are sure they could sell. The Italian automaker also restricts sales to a maximum number each year, to maintain its exclusivity. Rolls-Royce is an exotic automaker without any doubt, but it tends to be less willing to go out of its way to restrict clients to acquire certain models.Excepting one-off cars and other limited series, the British brand may be interested in selling a few more Phantom units. While nothing has been changed on an official level, the interest for the Phantom seems to have grown as it is slowly becoming unavailable.The same phenomenon happened with the Land Rover Defender, another British icon. At the time, Land Rover launched a farewell edition of the car, but it turned out to be a massive sales success. The Solihull factory was packed with orders, which came as a surprise after years of dwindling sales.The situation might be repeated with the Phantom, but on an entirely different price level. Nothing is official regarding this rumor, so do not get your hopes up of getting a Phantom at the last minute.UPDATE October 24, 2016: Rolls-Royce representatives have contacted us regarding this story. The brand's head of Global Product Communications, Andrew Boyle, explained that Rolls-Royce will stick to the production schedule that was previously announced. Therefore, no supplementary units of the ongoing Phantom will be made after the last day of this year.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com.

We asked subject-matter experts at FMCs what still needs to be done to improve OTD for future model-years. Heres what they told us:

1. More Supply Chain Collaboration is Needed Among All Parties

Manufacturers collaboratively working together and with transportation companies, particularly rail, to secure additional railcars and equipment to meet the increasing industry volume, said Mark Donahue, manager, fleet analytics for EMKAY.

2. Better Communication Between Logistics Providers and FMCs

Communication still needs to be improved between the logistics and the FMC contacts to ensure better visibility of all units. We are looking forward to manufacturers providing more proactive data through telematics, scanning, or other sources, said Nick Erculiani, VP of acquisition for Element Fleet Management

3. OEMs Must Do a Better Job on Supply and Demand Issues

With the main driving issue being the growing difference between supply and demand, any actions or strategies that OEMs can take to mitigate that difference will result in better OTD. Continuing the focus on improving quality control, developing contingencies for various scenarios, and improving execution are all various solutions or strategies either in play or ones to consider. Strengthening collaboration, coordination, and communication with the various supply-chain partners (e.g., parts suppliers, logistics service providers, upfitters, dealers, etc.) will, over the long term, result in better OTD. In the short-term, recognizing the realities of the current and near-term landscape and having the most viable contingencies to deploy when needed is the key to effectively dealing with unpredictability, said Partha Ghosh, director, supply chain management for ARI.

At A Glance More supply chain collaboration is needed among all parties.

Better communication between logistics

providers and FMCs. Better forecasting and evaluation of alternative transportation.

Fleets need to place new-vehicle orders earlier.

FMCs need to be consultative with clients about OTD.

4. Better Forecasting & Evaluation of Alternative Transportation

Better forecasting by OEMs, rail, and upfit suppliers should help ease the delays and long lead times. All players, including the end customers, should evaluate alternative transportation to help get vehicles in the hands of drivers faster, said Elizabeth Kelly, director, vehicle acquisition for LeasePlan USA.

5. OEMs Need to Stay Focused on the Original Order Date

The OEMs need to stay focused on the original order date. When a vehicle is held up for quality repairs, the focus tends to shift to that specific piece of the process, and the overall impact on the customer is no longer factored in as it should be, said Jessica Krams, manager - vehicle order management for Wheels.

6. Better OEM Inventory Management System

OEMs need a better inventory management system. Due to all of the obstacles that can occur throughout the order-to-delivery process, OEMs need to have visibility to where vehicles are located and provide ETAs as to when issues will be resolved. OEMs need to understand that our customer(s) are looking to their FMC to provide them with an expected resolution time and they do not understand that some of these circumstances are out of our control, said Cindy Gomez, VP vehicle acquisitions for Donlen.

OEMs need to provide alternative solutions when delivery delays occur and assist customer(s) of any monetary expenses that they may incur due to these delays, such as rental expenses, difference between factory and out of stock pricing, etc.

It is in the best interest of our customers to work closely with their FMC and provide expected delivery date(s). This will allow FMCs to proactively work with OEMs, upfitters, and dealers to understand their production/capacity, and provide our customer with the appropriate acquisition and shipping method to ensure delivery expectations are being met.

7. Increase Plant Capacity and Parts Volume

From an OEM perspective, increased attention to forecasting, increased plant capacity, and working with vendors to determine parts volume would help significantly, said James Crocker, director of fleet operations for Merchants Fleet Management.

8. OEMs Need to Improve Forecast of Supplier Constraints

OEMs need to improve the forecasting of supplier constraints, as well as implement a more robust reporting system that will catch exceptions and minimize delays, said Donahue of EMKAY. Manufacturers need to continuously improve all areas of forecasting, scheduling, production, upfitter communication, logistics, and provide better status and exception reporting tools.

9. Improvement in Rail Infrastructure in Mexico

The biggest OTD concern as we head into the 2017-MY is the shipping time for vehicles produced in Mexico. The current rail infrastructure in Mexico simply cannot support the volume of vehicles shipping to the U.S. Some manufacturers use alternatives, such as truck haulers and sea vessels to alleviate congestion, but the impact of these alternative methods so far has been minimal, said Krams of Wheels.

10. FMCs Need to be Consultative With Clients About OTD

For fleet management companies, we need to continue to have a consultative approach with our clients to provide insight on the needs for coming years, said Crocker of Merchants Fleet Management.

11. Ongoing Investments to Improve Transportation Infrastructure

From a transportation perspective, investments in the transportation infrastructure to increase volume would be the most beneficial improvement, said Crocker of Merchants Fleet Management.

12. Placing Orders Earlier

We can all do a better job of communicating to our clients to get their orders in much earlier, plan to allow more time to ensure the product can be scheduled, built, shipped, upfitted, and delivered in the timeline required by the customers business needs, said Donahue of EMKAY.

13. Improve the Driver Delivery Experience

The driver delivery experience is a critical piece of the entire process. The manufacturers need to work more closely with the dealers to help ensure timely and quality driver deliveries. Some OEMs recognize this and have been working to educate the dealers and encourage them to participate in fleet deliveries; wed like to see this happen more often, said Krams of Wheels.

We need the OEMs support for instances where delays are occurring due to dealer cooperation. OEMs need to hold their dealer network accountable when the dealer is responsible for delays, said Gomez of Donlen.

Editor's note: This article first appeared in the October 2016 issue of Automotive Fleet.
22 October 2016 11:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 20 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops using large-calibre weapons, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on October 22.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in Farakhli village of the Gazakh district were shot at from the Armenian army positions located in Sharashvaran village of the Noyemberyan district.

Azerbaijans army positions located on nameless height in the Gadabay district also went under fire from nameless heights of Armenias Krasnoselsk district.

Azerbaijani positions located on nameless heights of the Tovuz district were shot at from nameless heights of Armenian Berd district.

Azerbaijani positions were also shelled from nameless heights near Chilaburt village of Tartar, Bash Garvand, Nemerli, Shuraabad villages of Agdam districts, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goygol, Goranboy, Fizuli and Tartar 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.

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22 October 2016 10:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The volume of cargo transportation between Russia and Azerbaijan increased by 20 percent for the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period last year, the Federal Road Agency of the Ministry of Transport of Russia said in a message on October 21.

At the same time, the road transportation market of the two countries is divided almost in parity ratio between the carriers: currently, the share of Russian carriers is 53 percent, and the share of the Azerbaijani ones is 46 percent.

The growth of foreign trade and road transportation volumes between Russia and Azerbaijan is the impetus for large-scale development of the International North-South Transport Corridor, the message reads.

The economic corridor project with a total length of 7,200 kilometers is aimed at the creation of the optimal opportunities for the movement of transit cargo from India, Iran, countries of the Gulf to the territory of Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation, and further in Northern and Western Europe, the message said.

This fact was noted by representatives of the two delegations during the meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Joint Commission on cooperation in the field of international road transportation, according to the message. The event took place October 20-21 in Baku.

The Russian delegation was headed by Director of the Department of State Policy in Automobile and Municipal Passenger Transport at the Russian Ministry of Transport Alexey Bakirey.

The delegation also included Deputy Director General of Russian Agency of AutomobileTransport Ruslan Luzhetsky.

The Azerbaijani delegation was represented by the head of the State Road Transport Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport.

"During the meeting the sides agreed on a preliminary number of permits for 2017-2019, the message said. Some 18,000 permits are envisaged for bilateral and transit cargo transportation, 1,800 permits for the transportation of goods to / from third countries and 1,000 permits for the irregular passenger transport.

The Russian delegation put forward a proposal for the Azerbaijani colleagues to consider an issue of increasing the term of the authorization for a regular bus service up to five years as in the Russian regulations. Currently, the authorization remains valid for one year in Azerbaijan.

The delegations agreed that the changes can be made to the protocol to the existing agreement on visa-free trips of citizens of Russia and Azerbaijan," the message said.

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22 October 2016 11:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on application of the Law on Amending Tax Code of Azerbaijan adopted by the countrys parliament September 30.

The amendments stipulate removing the value added tax (VAT) for the goods transshipment services directly related to transit cargo transportation.

The VAT rate in Azerbaijan is 18 percent.

Currently, cargo transit through Azerbaijan is carried out via the East-West (the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) and the International North-South Transport Corridor.

Some 33.24 million tons of cargos were transported through the territory of Azerbaijan in January-August 2016. Out of this figure, 14.6 percent (4.86 million tons) accounted for the transit transportation.

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22 October 2016 12:38 (UTC+04:00)

Russia's gypsum manufacturer Volma Corporation has expressed interest in cooperating with Azerbaijani counterparts, the company`s manager Sergei Kovalchuk told AZERTAC.

Volma produces gypsum dry mix and gypsum wallboards. It has five plants. We export our production to CIS countries. Our products meet European standards, and are relatively cheaper, he said.

We have dealers in Azerbaijan, however we are looking for partners in the country, Kovalchuk added.

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22 October 2016 11:12 (UTC+04:00)

Mobile Eye Clinic, the social project initiated by Azercell Telecom, has served thousands of children deprived of parental care, as well as the elderly and low-income families since its establishment 4 years ago. The doctors of Mobile Eye Clinic took care of the people with various eye disease in August and September this year, as well.During the examination of patients in the settlement of Mardakan, the doctors found out gray star in both eyes of Murzina Valentina, a lonely woman living at her neighbors. The woman had a successful operation as a result of support provided by Azercell, Caspian Compassion Center and the students of TISA International School.

The eye doctors of Caspian Compassion Project public union examined 206 people in August and September with the support of Azercells Mobile Eye Clinic. It started with the examination of children deprived of parental care, as well as the elderly and low-income families in Mingachevir, providing services for 35 people including 29 adults and 6 children. The doctors found gray stars in the eyes of 3 patients who are expected to benefit from the free operation in October.

Following the Mingachevir, Azercells Mobile Eye Clinic visited Aghstafa district and examined 30 people, out of which 19 were assigned eyeglass prescription while 14patients were prescribed a course of treatment by the doctors.

After the visits to the regions, Mobile Eye Clinic continued the provision of free services in a number of settlements in Baku. Nearly 150 people including children deprived of parental care and low-income family members were examined and provided treatment in the settlements of Pirallahi, Garachukhur, Bulbula and Mardakan.

All examination and treatment are conducted by Caspian Compassion Project public union with Azercell's support. During 4 years of its operation, the clinic visited several boarding schools and orphanages in Baku. The doctors of the clinics visited both Baku and regions. They visited almost all regions in the country and supported people in need for treatment.

For more information, please contact [email protected]



The leader of the mobile communication industry of Azerbaijan and the biggest investor in the non-oil sector Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 48% share of Azerbaijans mobile market Azercells network covers 80% of the territory and 99,8% of population of the country. Currently, 4,5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, 24/7 Customer Care, online customer services, GPRS/EDGE, M2M, MobilBank, one-stop- shop service offices Azercell Express, mobile e-service ASAN signature, etc. Azercell deployed first 4G  LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality surveys of Global Wireless Solutions company and international systems specialized in wireless coverage mapping such as Opensignal and Testmy.net, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan.

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22 October 2016 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has signed an act on implementing an existing agreement between Iran and Azerbaijan for constructing hydroelectric plants.

The hydroelectric power plants will be built near the Araz River borderline in the Iranian town Marazad and Azerbaijans Ordubad, IRNA news agency reported. Earlier, the Iranian parliament passed the bill on the joint construction of two power plants with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Iran and Azerbaijan inked a MoU last December which covers cooperation in 12 various sectors including energy.

Based on the signed document the two parties will cooperate in construction of power plants at Khoda Afarin and Qiz Qalasi dams on Araz river and following the issue of agreement on the construction of "Ordubad" power plant on the Azerbaijani side and "Marazad" power plant on the Iranian side as well as implementation of joint guideline on border rivers' water management.

Iran and Azerbaijan also signed a MoU on energy swap. In accordance with the document, the final prices of purchase and sale of electricity between the two countries were determined.

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22 October 2016 12:27 (UTC+04:00)

YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents debut performance of experimental duo ALBINA & ISLAM with Electronic Project URYIV SAL (Let the hearth) on 28 October 2016. Young musicians have set a definite goal before themselves  Rethinking of Azerbaijani Musical Heritage, being at the junction of 20th and 21st centuries. This Project has a main objective to reclaim popularity of Azerbaijani tunes, through playing new remakes of pretty familiar songs in contemporary electronic genres to enable them to capture the hearts of listeners.

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22 October 2016 11:59 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan`s Prime Minister Artur Rasizade has met President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, Azertac reported.

Mr. Rasizade said Azerbaijani-Venezuelan relations were on a good level, adding both countries supported each other within the international organizations. The Premier said there was good potential for boosting economic ties between the two countries and stressed the importance of increasing efforts for strengthening bonds in other fields as well.

On Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the sides stressed the significance of solving the problem within the norms of international law and principles of borders` inviolability and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro said his country was interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in overall directions, as well as in economic field. The President also said there were good opportunities for making investment in various fields.

The sides discussed prospects of cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, agriculture, finance.

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22 October 2016 16:53 (UTC+04:00)

"Brazil attaches special importance to relations with Azerbaijan," said chairman of the Brazil-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group at the Chamber of Deputies Claudio Cajado as he met with Azerbaijani ambassador Elnur Sultanov, Azertac reported.

The Brazilian MP congratulated the ambassador on the 25th anniversary of restoration of Azerbaijan`s state independence, and hailed the country`s big achievements over the years of independence.

Ambassador Sultanov highlighted Azerbaijan`s development since regaining independence. He stressed the potential for expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including between parliaments.

Ambassador Sultanov also met with chairman of the Brazil-Azerbaijan friendship group at the Brazilian Senate Cristovam Buarque, who lauded Azerbaijan's special role in developing inter-cultural and inter-confessional dialogue and rich experience in multiculturalism. They exchanged views over the prospects of Azerbaijan-Brazil inter-parliamentary relations.

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22 October 2016 20:51 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made statements for the media following a ceremony of signing of Azerbaijani-Venezuelan documents in Baku on October 22.

Three documents have been signed today. I would like to especially mention the joint declaration among them. This is a very significant and valuable document. The joint declaration reflects our intention. We expressed our intention about our plans, President Aliyev said making statements for the media.

Ilham Aliyev noted that the joint declaration defines the main directions of future cooperation, namely the development of political relations, cooperation in economic sphere, making investments, cooperation in energy, transportation, science, education and environmental protection.

Thats to say, this document reflects almost all the main directions, added the president.

I would like to especially note the joint declarations paragraphs on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This declaration says that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within Azerbaijans territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders, said President Aliyev and expressed gratitude to his Venezuelan counterpart for this fair position.

I would like to add that unfortunately, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been continuing for more than 20 years. A part of our territories, recognized by the international community, has been occupied. Twenty percent of our lands are under Armenian occupation. More than a million Azerbaijanis have become refugees and IDPs on their native lands as a result of this occupation and policy of ethnic cleansing, said President Aliyev.

He pointed out that all the main international organizations unequivocally support Azerbaijans position, and especially mentioned the UN among them.

Both the General Assembly and the Security Council of the UN have repeatedly adopted resolutions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions. These resolutions clearly say that Armenian armed forces should be unconditionally and immediately withdrawn from the occupied lands, he said. Regretfully, these resolutions havent been fulfilled so far.

Ilham Aliyev added that other international organizations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Parliament, Council of Europe, the OSCE and the Non-Aligned Movement have adopted similar decisions and resolutions.

I would like to especially mention the resolution adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement, because, we have recently become a member of this organization, said President Aliyev.

Reminding that the Non-Aligned Movement accepted Azerbaijan as its member several years ago, President Aliyev thanked President Maduro for this.

The Non-Aligned Movement always shows an unequivocal position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and demands the settlement of the conflict within Azerbaijans territorial integrity, he added.

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22 October 2016 18:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Construction of the Turkmen section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is conducted at an accelerated pace, the Turkmen government said in a message on October 22.

A report on the progress of the construction was presented at the enlarged meeting of the countrys Cabinet of Ministers on the results of the nine months of 2016.

We are taking effective steps for laying Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas main line, as well as other main pipelines, the Turkmen government quoted the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The main document for the TAPI, called the Ashgabat Interstate Agreement, was signed in 2010.

The groundbreaking ceremony for TAPI's Turkmen section was held in mid-December of 2015.

The annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 33 billion cubic meters. It is planned that the total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. Some 214 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan, 826 kilometers - Pakistan.

The project is expected to be completed in late 2019.

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22 October 2016 10:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Moscow is concerned over Turkeys air strikes on the territory of Syria, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, RIA Novosti reports.

We are very concerned about what is happening. As far as I understand, we are talking about the strikes on areas populated by the Kurds, Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow, answering a question on how Turkey's air strikes on Syrian territory can affect the situation around Aleppo.

Turkey is a member of the coalition which was formed by the US, and it has clearly stated that the coalition is built with the sole purpose of fighting the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) and Jabhat al-Nusra, he said.

Lavrov expressed hope that the US, as a commander of the coalition, will do its best for the coalition to stick to the announced purpose.

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22 October 2016 11:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The US supports Turkey's participation in operations against the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said.

He made the remarks on October 21 during the meeting with Turkish Minister of National Defense Fikri Isik, Anadolu Agency reported.

Carter said Turkey's interest in the developments in Syria and Iraq is justified.

The United States will support Turkeys measures to secure its borders, he said.

On August 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircraft launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.

The operation was carried out under the Shield of the Euphrates name.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The Islamic State (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh), the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

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22 October 2016 11:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Restoration of relations between Ankara and Moscow will have a positive impact on the Turkish economy only by mid-2017, Ilhan Ege, an expert in economic issues, told Trend on October 21.

Time is needed for economic relations of the two countries to reach the pre-crisis level, he said.

Russia is an important market for the export of Turkish fruit, added the expert. Tourist flow from Russia to Turkey is expected in the summer of 2017.

In mid-term prospects, the Turkish Stream and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant are important projects that will strengthen economic relations between the two countries, said Ege.

The relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated sharply in late 2015 when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. In June 2016, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the death of a Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident. After that, the two countries relations began to improve.

Regarding the restoration of relations between Turkey and Israel, Ege noted that this will strengthen Turkey's foreign trade.

He also said that Israel, which is an important country for Turkish construction companies, can help the country in the development of such areas as defense industry, agriculture, innovative technologies and software.

Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010, when a convoy of six ships, including one flying Turkey's flag, tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board.

The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, with eight Turkish citizens being killed as a result.

Turkey signed an agreement with Israel on repairing the relations June 28. The Israeli government paid a compensation of $20 million to Turkey for the Freedom Flotilla incident on September 30.

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22 October 2016 12:17 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation on Friday and expressed commitment to further development of the Russia-Israeli relations, the Kremlin press service said, Sputnik reported.

Russia and Israel maintain an active political dialogue, holding regular political consultations. There are also regular delegation exchanges at various levels.

"Vladimir Putin warmly congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu with his birthday and the Jewish holiday of Sukkot celebrated these days. The leaders also exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary [October 18] of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Russia and Israel and expressed commitment to further development of the multifaceted bilateral cooperation," the press service said.

The USSR and Israel established diplomatic relations in May 1948, then broke them off in June 1967. In 1987, consular relations were resumed, followed by the full resumption of diplomatic relations in October 1991. In December 1991, an Israeli Embassy in Moscow and a Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv were opened.

Russia and Israel have signed 19 intergovernmental agreements and work to improve the legal infrastructure of Russian-Israeli cooperation. Israel is an important trade and economic partner for Russia, with bilateral ties in industry, agriculture, high technology and more.

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22 October 2016 17:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkeys Armed Forces have destroyed 53 positions of the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group and 70 positions of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria as part of the Shield of the Euphrates operation, Sabah newspaper reported on October 22.

Seven militants of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) were killed during the operations on Oct. 21, according to the message.

FSA has established control over 156 settlements from the start of the Shield of the Euphrates operation.

On Aug. 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force, with the support of the coalition aircraft, launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo.

The operation was dubbed the Shield of the Euphrates.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
22 October 2016 17:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP) has submitted a package of necessary documents for registration of the presidential candidate for the Uzbek Presidency, the Uzbek Republican press center on covering the elections told Trend on October 22.

Four political parties of Uzbekistan are allowed to participate in presidential election.

Representatives of the three remaining parties - Milly Tiklanish Party, Adolat Party, Uzbekistans People's Democratic Party (PDPUI submitted the similar documents on October 21.

Uzbekistan is to hold an early election due to the death of Islam Karimov, who passed away after suffering a stroke at the age of 79 on September 2. Among the presidential candidates are Shavkat Mirziyoyev from UzLiDeP, Sarvar Otamuratov from Milly Tiklanish Party, Nariman Umarov from Adolat Party, and Hotamzhon Ketmonov from PDPU. Uzbekistan presidential election is scheduled for December 4, 2016.

Documents presented to the CEC include a request for registration from the parties leaders, decision and record of the partys supreme body on nomination of the candidate, the candidates statement with a consent to run for president, as well as subscription lists in his support with signatures of not less than 1 percent of the total number of all voters in Uzbekistan (214,350 people).

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The National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality Utah have filed a lawsuit against the state of Utah challenging a law that forbids discussion of homosexuality in schools that might be construed as advocacyon behalf of students in public schools identified in court documents only as John Doe, James Doe and Jessie Doe.

The legal challenge is the first of its kind in the nation and claims First Amendment rights of students and teachers are violated, as well as federal education laws.

The law, nicknamed No Promo Homo by LGBT rights activists, bans schools from any kind of discussion about homosexuality in classes like sex ed, history or student clubs that could be construed as a positive portrayal.

These are some of the last remaining anti-LGBT laws that are currently being enforced in the country, and theyre especially odious, because they explicitly apply to school classes on every subject, Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams said. These laws send a message that our lives are shameful and must be hidden and censored. They create a deadly culture of silence and non-acceptance, causing harms that can never fully be undone. The time has come to end the stigma and strike down this shameful law.

The lawsuit claims that children are harmed by the law because it prevents discussion of sexual orientation and LGBT people. Equality Utah said one of its plaintiffs is a gay teen who has been harassed in high school and claimed he could not give a school report on his family history because he wanted to mention his uncle, who is in a same-sex marriage.

claims she was targeted in middle school for holding another girls hand, while heterosexual teenagers faced no punishment for public displays of affection.

It is long past time for these dangerous laws to be struck from the books. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that sexual orientation is a normal expression of human sexuality and that LGBT people must be treated equally under the law. These laws openly discriminate against LGBT students and teachers, said Kate Kendell, the executive director of NCLR in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

They stigmatize vulnerable young people who should be celebrated and supported, and they censor constitutionally protected free speech, including students right to receive accurate information about sexual orientation and LGBT people.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction stopping the so-called No Promo Homo law from being enforced in Utah schools.

Read the full complaint here.

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Last week, we reported about a recently engaged gay couple that were interviewed by Wall Street Journals Jason Bellini during a Trump rally in Cincinnati.

Asked why exactly they want Donald Trump to be the next president, one looked at the other and laughed, Hmmmm, I dont know baby Why? His boyfriend quickly replied: Tireda the bullshit government! I work in the steel in-dus-try I see it hardcore at the trades and stuff. Time for a change. Trumps the man for it.

Bellinis video went viral  receiving over 196k views, 707 shares, and 900 comments on facebook but the one thing that was missing is that the couple, and the WSJ never identified them.

Back2Stonewall had numerous tips from followers about the couples identities and believing in full disclosure we identified them as 31-year-old Dewey Lainhart and his 22 *cough  cough* -year-old fiance Cody Moore of Middleton, OH stressing a civil conversation about the problems of Donald Trump being elected and the major ramifications it would cause the LGBT community.

Since then the couple now report that they have been threatened since the video came out and their names released. Even though no negative comments or threats appear on their Facebook page and they never reached out to us asking that their names be removed.

Most of the comments that ridiculed Lainhart and Moore were posted on reporter Jason Belinis Facebook page for supporting Mr. Trump  calling them rednecks and suggesting that someone should take away their gay card. but Moore insists that because of this website making their names public that they have received hundreds of hateful messages, including some threatening physical violence. But of course presenting no evidence.

WSJs Jason Bellini reached out to Back2Stonewall for a comment on this and we obliged.

Will Kohler, the gay activist behind Back2Stonewall, says the men should have foreseen the possibility they would be recognized. Its disheartening that people made hateful comments, Mr. Kohler said. But a lot of people might find it hateful itself to support a man who if selected will take away all the rights and equality that the LGBT community has made over the past 45 years.

In a followup interview Lainhart says he excuses Mr. Trump believing gay marriage should have been left to the states because his candidate now considers the issue settled by the Supreme Courts decision. He says he doesnt like the record on gay issues of Trumps running mate, Mike Pence, the Indiana governor who signed a law allowing businesses to refuse to serve gays and lesbians.

Im not voting for the vice president. Im voting for Trump, he says.

In the wake of the backlash, Mr. Lainhart says he has been vigilant and says he carries a gun because I love the Second Amendment.

Lainhart added bothered him most was when he and his fiance were called privileged white guys.

He says he works 40 to 80 hours a week in a blue-collar job to afford his home and his car.

Were both two country folks, he says. (Middleton, Ohio has a population of about 48,694 people. The racial makeup of the city is 83.3%White, 11.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population.

Mr. Moore calls the gay communitys reaction extreme.

The gay community is not a very supportive group, he says. adding they dont regret doing the interview, but claim its put a damper on their excitement over their recent engagement.

Thoughts?

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10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Todays guide to the obscure, the possibly relevant and things in between
A sober-living facility being built by the Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services was the focus of a Tennessees Best award Chattanooga-based nonprofit received last week during the 2016 Governors Housing Conference in Nashville.



CADAS earned the Tennessees Best award from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency

in the Housing Plus category. The Tennessees Best awards honor outstanding individuals and

organizations whose contributions on behalf of affordable housing, whether producing,

designing, developing, financing or promoting housing policy, inspires others to serve

Tennesseans housing needs.



CADAS Executive Director Paul Fuchcar said award shows the importance a stable and structured housing environment can for those working through recovery.



We are extremely pleased to be recognized by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency,

Mr. Fuchcar said. The sober living facility will help those living there redefine how they view their

personal recovery and assist them in regaining their lives.



THDA Director Ralph M. Perrey praised the deal for improving the quality of life for hundreds of families and individuals across Tennessee.



We realize the important role housing plays in helping those struggling with addiction and

commend CADAS for making it a central part of its efforts to help those who need it, Mr. Perrey

said.



"CADAS embarked on its most ambitious project to date in 2015 when it received funding and

broke ground on a new sober-living facility in Chattanoogas Northshore community. The 24-

unit Sober Living Residence was built with the help of a THDA Housing Trust Fund grant and

allowed CADAS to expand its residential treatment offerings for patients," officials said.



According to CADAS, the Sober Living Residence enables those struggling with addiction to

heal in a more controlled and long-term environment. While they offer highly-successful short-term recovery programs, CADAS officials say some cases require more stability, structure and

long-term work in order for the person to stay clean amidst the challenges of daily life.



The development is the largest construction project CADAS has taken on since it was founded in

1964 with the mission of helping those in the community afflicted with the disease of addiction, officials said.



CADAS was one of six 2016 Tennessees Best awards winners from throughout the state

announced at the 2016 Governors Housing Conference.



The 2016 Conference was held Oct. 12-13 at the Music City Center in Nashville with a goal to

"encourage sharing of best practices."



Tennessees Best awards are considered among several categories: Best in Innovation, Program; Best in Innovation, Finance; Remarkable Achievement, Rural; Remarkable Achievement, Urban; and Excellence in Partnership and Housing Plus. Awards are not made in every category every year.



A full list of winners, as well as award summaries, can be found at THDA.org.
Here is the weekly road construction report for Hamilton County:

U.S. 27 (I-124) widening from I-24/U.S. 27 interchange to north of the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River, including widening the Olgiati Bridge: Work on this project continues. The speed limit on U.S. 27 in the construction zone has been lowered to 45 MPH. The contractor may have temporary lane or shoulder closures on U.S. 27 between 7 p.m.-6 a.m. On the evening of Thursday between 7 p.m.-6 a.m., the temporary ramp from U.S.

27 North to Main Street will be closed to allow the contractor to pave the temporary ramp. Traffic will remain on the existing ramp at this time. On the evening of Tuesday, between 7 p.m.-6 a.m., the temporary ramp from U.S. 27 North to Main Street will be closed to allow the contractor to stripe the temporary ramp and to shift traffic onto it. On the evenings of Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, between the hours of 7 p.m.-6 a.m., the contractor will temporarily close the right lane of U.S. 27 North from I-24 to the 4th Street bridge, the on-ramp from MLK Blvd., and the exit ramp to 4th Street for setting the Phase 1 bridge beams over 6th Street. Impacted U.S. 27 traffic will be detoured via local city streets. TDOT contract crews have closed the on ramp from eastbound MLK Boulevard to U.S. 27 North until December. A temporary left turn lane on eastbound MLK Boulevard has been constructed to allow traffic to access the alternate on-ramp to U.S. 27 North. As the project progresses, there may be short term temporary lane closures for the safety of the traveling public on city streets within the project area. Flaggers will assist with these closures and they will be properly signed in accordance with the Federal Highway Administrations Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. During Phase 1 of the U.S. 27 project, the contractor will be working on the northbound side of U.S. 27 on the bridges. Work will consist of demolishing and reconstructing the outside sections of the bridges along U.S. 27 North. Also on U.S. 27 South, they will be constructing a large retaining wall between the Olgiati Bridge and 6th Street. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on U.S. 27. THP will assist with traffic control on the project as necessary. Estimated project completion date is July 2019. For more info, visit the project website http://www.tn.gov/tdot/topic/US27-reconstruction-chattanooga . [Dement Construction Co., LLC/JM/CNP230]

SR 317 (Apison Pike) the grading, drainage and paving on from Old Lee Highway (LM 5.58) to SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) (LM 7.84): Work on this project continues. During this report period the contractor may have intermittent lane closures throughout the project from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is May. [Wright Brothers Const. Co. /Pruett/CNN279]

SR-320 (East Brainerd Road) grading, drainage, installation of signals, construction of seven retaining walls and paving from east of Graysville Road to east of Bel-Air Road: Work on this project continues. The contractor will be detouring traffic from Givens Road to Grays Drive through Thursday for the installation of a storm drain. During this report period, the contractor will have intermittent lane closures between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. This work may affect either direction of East Brainerd Road or side streets from Graysville Road to Hamlett Drive as the contractor installs road crossings and borings. The contractor may have short-term lane closures to perform various operations on an as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion is June. [Mountain State Contractors, LLC /Pruett/CNN383]

Shepherd Road over SR-153 construction of a rolled steel girder bridge from West Shepherd Rd. to Shaw Avenue in Chattanooga, including grading, drainage and paving: Work on this project continues. On Tuesday the contractor will have a short duration daytime closure of the far right lane and shoulder on SR-153 South to install a section of guardrail. This will begin no earlier than 9 a.m. and the work should last two or three hours. Under no circumstances will the closure linger into the evening rush hour. During the project, there may be intermittent nighttime lane closures as necessary in both directions on SR-153 between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. On the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. the contractor will have nighttime lane closures on SR 153 in both directions to install permanent pavement markings. The contractor will begin on SR-153 South on Wednesday night. Once the southbound work is done, he will work on SR-153 North. At least one lane will remain open on SR 153 and the Shepherd Road ramps will remain open during this time. The contractor will continue work on the Airport Connector and Shepherd Road during this report period. During these times traffic will be maintained through the project, although there will be occasional lane shifts and flagging operations to assist with traffic movement through the work zone. Please anticipate short delays and use extra caution though the work zone. Estimated project completion is October. [Jones Brothers Contractors, Inc./Micka/CNP105]

SR-153 resurfacing from the SR-319 underpass (LM 8.89) to north of Grubb Road (LM 10.85): Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor will conduct milling and paving operations between 9 p.m.-6 a.m. the following morning. At least one travel lane will remain open to traffic at all times. THP will assist with traffic control as needed. Motorists should use caution and be alert to construction equipment and vehicles within the work zone. Estimated project completion date is November. [Wright Brothers Construction Co., Inc./Micka/CNQ193]

The tunnel cleaning of the McCallie Tunnel on U.S. 11 (US 64, SR-2), the Stringers Ridge Tunnel on U.S. 127 (SR-8), and the Bachman Tubes on U.S. 41 (U.S. 76, SR-8): The nighttime cleaning operation of McCallie Tunnels, Stringers Ridge Tunnel, and Bachman Tubes occurs normally on Wednesday and Thursday nights during the week with the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Work hours are between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Tunnels will be closed during cleaning, and detours will be marked accordingly as each tunnel is cleaned. Contract completion date is June. [Diamond Specialized, Inc./Micka/CNQ174]

SR-60, resurfacing along various portions of SR-60. In Hamilton County from the Meigs County line (L.M. 0.00) to the Meigs County line. In Meigs County from the Bradley County line (L.M. 0.00) to the Hamilton County line (L.M. 1.02) and from the Hamilton County line (L.M. 0.00) to north of Horner Hollow Road (L.M. 2.10): Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor may have lane closures between 7 a.m.-7 p.m. At least one travel lane will remain open to traffic at all times. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is November. [Talley Construction/Pruett/CNQ192]






Nepal earthquakes response: BMS to fund new schools

Thanks to your generous giving, BMS World Mission is enabling the construction of new schools in rural Nepali communities badly affected by the 2015 earthquakes



The destruction of school buildings has been one of the major challenges facing rural communities in Nepal following the massive earthquakes that hit the country in April and May 2015. This has led to children either attending classes in temporary shelters which are vulnerable to bad weather or having no school to go to at all.



To respond to this dire situation, BMS is giving 200,000 towards the building of new schools in the Dhading District that will not only enable children to study in a safe environment but will also be resilient to future earthquakes. The money will also go towards safeguarding, livelihoods and resilience training to help communities become safer and better prepared for any further disasters.



Our partner in Nepal has already erected temporary learning centres in remote villages like Banskharka, where a marginalised tribe live three hours away from a main road.



Before the centre, students were meeting in open spaces or at a shelter made up of timber and dried leaves which was far from ideal. The local community actively participated in the building of the school, carrying water and stone for nearly 500m and sand for almost a mile to complete the construction work. They also provided labour to build the centres, so excited and dedicated were they to seeing their children study in a good school building again.



The plan is for BMS funding, as well as grants from other Baptist agencies that are part of the Baptist Relief and Development (BReaD) Network, to enable temporary centres like these to become more permanent and to build new schools in areas currently in desperate need of them.



Rachel Conway, BReaD Network Faciliator at BMS, says that the new schools will give Nepalis badly affected by the earthquake hope for the future.



Keeping children in education following a major disaster is essential, says Rachel. Not only does it help the effective rebuilding of a community, it also supports the psychosocial recovery of children. Through our partners, BMS has been supporting children to continue their studies right from the moment of the earthquakes. It is great that we are now able to make the temporary learning centres permanent at the request of the government.



We would not be able to support this project without your generous giving to our Nepal earthquake appeal. Thank you.





Give before it happens. Donate to the BMS disaster recovery fund today.



This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission.





BMS World Mission, 22/10/2016
Chattanooga National Cemetery will host Wreaths Across America, a holiday wreath-laying ceremony to honor and remember our nations Veterans on Saturday, Dec. 17 at noon at the cemetery 1200 Bailey Ave.

The Civil Air Patrol, Chattanooga Composite Squadron, Veterans service organizations and citizens are coordinating the event to honor Veterans of each branch of the military, The Merchant Marine as well as the Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action (POW/MIA).



This years Ceremony will feature several guest speakers including, but not limited to, Representative Kevin Brook s, Colonel Barry Melton CAP South Eastern Region

Commander, and more to be announced.

For more information on this event, visit the Wreaths Across America website at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
In efforts to prevent drugged-impaired driving statewide, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office encourages Tennesseans to participate in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations National Prescription Drug Take Back initiative on Saturday. THSO asks residents to dispose of unused and/or outdated prescription drugs to help prevent the illegal use and abuse of prescription drugs by drivers.From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, law enforcement agencies, community advocates, and participating pharmacies across the nation will host community drug take-back events to spread awareness and educate the public on the many local resources available for the safe, convenient, and eco-friendly disposal of prescription drugs.Often times, people dont realize that any unused medications can be properly disposed at local police departments, sheriffs offices, and many pharmacies, said Richard Holt, State Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) coordinator and Law Enforcement administrator for THSO.Drugged-impaired driving is an issue because some people tend to drink alcohol when they have prescription medication(s) in their system. We advise people to read the labels on prescription medication bottles. If it says you cannot operate machinery while medicated, you certainly cannot drive.A drug recognition expert (DRE) is a law enforcement officer trained to detect impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol. Drug impairment includes seven categories of influence: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, dissociative anesthetics, narcotics, analgesics, inhalants, and cannabis. Currently, there are approximately 145 DRE expert law enforcement officers in Tennessee. There were 115 in 2015.Friday, THSO will host a sobriety checkpoint in the Rockwood community to focus on detecting drugged-impaired driving. This will be the first sobriety checkpoint conducted in Tennessee that will focus mainly on drugged-impaired driving, in addition to alcohol-impaired driving. To learn more about THSOs drug recognition expert program, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org/dre-program
A man has called police and confessed in the killing of a 19-year-old 30 years ago, Houston police said on Friday.

Lawrence Fox, 56, was charged with murder for his role in the death of Randy Erekson, 19.
Safety-net hospitals and health systems face unique revenue cycle challenges, as they provide care for millions of vulnerable, uninsured patients burdened by economic hardship.

One such organization is Chicago-based Cook County Health and Hospitals System, a safety-net healthcare provider for residents of Cook County. More than 41 percent of the health system's patients have Medicaid coverage, and more than 37 percent are uninsured.

Even with expanded health coverage under the ACA, serving this patient population comes with a number of challenges, according to Doug Elwell, deputy CEO of finance and strategy at CCHHS.

"With the implementation of the ACA, many more patients now have health coverage and more options for care," he says. "This is extremely positive for our patients and the precise intent of healthcare reform. However, it comes at a price for safety-net providers as we must create a more robust revenue cycle process to receive payment from a multitude of managed care organizations for the care we provide."

Mr. Elwell recently spoke to Becker's Hospital Review in detail about these challenges and how they impact revenue cycle management.

Note: Interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Question: What challenges does CCHHS face in caring for its patient population?



Doug Elwell: Our patients have unique issues over and above their healthcare issues. Many of them have extremely complicated situations. For instance, the patient may have a literacy issue. So giving them their medication without fully explaining it to them doesn't work. Some of our patients are homeless. Giving them a medication that requires refrigeration doesn't work very well. So you really have to understand their circumstances. Some have behavioral health issues on top of their underlying medical condition. Additionally, many of our patients are not literate in the language they speak. Many of our patients also live in areas that are underserved by public transportation, and getting a ride from a friend or family member is not always an option. Maybe everything is set up, they're really sick, they need to get to the hospital, but their transportation gets cancelled. Just making it to an appointment with a physician can be a challenge.

Safety-net hospitals generally see more complex patients with complicated, often undertreated, medical conditions that are compounded by poor socioeconomic determinants of health, like access to food and housing. We have developed over the last 180 years an ability to care for these patients. Safety-net hospitals primarily treat the indigent and new immigrants, and we've been doing it for generations. Where the immigrants come from changes, but the fact that they're struggling to figure out how to survive, how to prosper in this community, stays the same.

Q: How are your billing and collection practices tailored to your patient population?

DE: Because of the population we serve, billing is a little more challenging for us. For a long time, almost two-thirds of our patients didn't pay us at all or were Medicaid members where we just sent the bill to the state's Medicaid office. Under fee-for-service Medicaid, we were reimbursed on per diems that were all inclusive. Coding didn't matter. Hospitals around us developed a lot of coding expertise, which was important for their reimbursement from commercial insurers. We didn't develop a lot of that. We had a very limited need for coding, and wouldn't have seen a return on investment in developing those capabilities in a fee-for-service environment. Our physicians spent all their time treating the patient not worrying about coding. But as many states move from fee-for-service Medicaid to Medicaid managed care, safety-net hospitals now have to work closely with managed care organizations to receive reimbursement for services they provide to Medicaid members.

For us, this means that instead of sending all of our Medicaid bills to the Illinois Medicaid office, we now have to submit them to eight different managed care organizations. These managed care organizations all have their own pre-authorization, approval and payment processes. This has required us to build out more robust coding and billing capabilities internally so we can receive appropriate reimbursement while still providing the same level of care we've always provided.

Q: CCHHS will soon kick off a new coordinated health program for the uninsured. How does that work and what impact does it have on the revenue cycle?

DE: There are two big changes with this program: First, most people enter our charity care program only after they are very ill. We want to engage those patients before they become sick and when they may not otherwise have a source for primary care. Second, in our current program, a patient can receive free or discounted care through our health system based on their income level, but they don't receive much guidance on how, where or when to seek care. In the new program our goal is to be proactive in educating each patient about how to access the health system and the benefits of primary care. We will align them with a medical home that will know them as an individual and their medical conditions. They will get a membership card, a guidebook and a care manager. We anticipate having 40,000 members in the program in the first year. Patients who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level and are not otherwise eligible for public insurance will be eligible. Members will be able to receive care at any CCHHS facility, largely free of charge and with only nominal co-pays for dental and pharmacy.

CCHHS spends between $400 million and $500 million annually on uncompensated care. Our goal with this program is to provide more less-expensive primary care and reduce the need for expensive, preventable hospital care. As the program matures, we hope our costs will go down because we will be able to keep our patients healthier. While the billing and coding implications are minimal, overall we hope to see our uncompensated care costs decrease, but it will take some time.

This represents a change in how we're looking at the world and how we can get out in front with that group of uninsured patients to help keep them healthier and do the same types of things we do for our Medicaid patients and our Medicare patients.

Q: How has the ongoing opioid epidemic impacted CCHHS and its patients?

DE: Our emergency departments saw about 1,000 opioid-related visits per year a decade ago. Last year, we had about 5,000 opioid-related visits to our EDs and are on pace to see that volume this year as well. That obviously has a big impact, not only on our clinical operations but also for our patients who are increasingly having negative health outcomes related to prescription and illicit opioid use.

CCHHS also provides healthcare services in the county jail. Each year we treat more than 10,000 patients in our opioid detox program at the jail. Because we know people who have recently gone through detox are at a much higher risk for overdose, we are working with the county sheriff to identify individuals who may be at-risk for an opioid overdose. We provide those patients with training on naloxone use and give them a naloxone kit upon discharge.

We are also developing medication-assisted treatment programs at all of our health centers in the next year so our providers can best treat people with alcohol and drug dependence in the community. Additionally, we're training partner federally qualified health centers to do the same thing. We're providing clinical oversight for their medication-assisted treatment programs so we can expand access to these important services. Over the past few years, we have shifted a number of our resources to the behavioral health area so we can battle this epidemic.

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Chicago-based Opternative has sued South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and Board of Medical Examiners, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Opternative, an online eye exam startup that operates in 39 states, filed the suit with the civil liberties law firm Institute for Justice. The suit contests the state's Eye Care Consumer Protection Law, which requires in-person examinations to be conducted prior to dispensing glasses prescriptions.

The suit alleges that the law draws an arbitrary distinction between ophthalmologists who use telemedicine and other physicians who use telemedicine. Robert McNamara, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, told the Chicago Tribune that the law is "entirely about protecting established businesses from economic competition," not about protecting public health and safety.

However, ophthalmology groups have also alleged that online tests do not provide accurate prescriptions. The American Optometric Association has asked the FDA to take legal action against Opternative, according to the report.
The Tennessee Supreme Court celebrates on Friday the success of the Business Court Docket Pilot Project operated as a part of the Davidson County Chancery Court. Since its inception last year, the Pilot Project has surpassed a total of 100 requests for transfer to the Business Court Docket, with 87 of those requests being granted.

The Supreme Court is now studying how to build on the success of the pilot. The Court also is considering expanding the pilot in order to meet the demand from the business community.

The Supreme Court established the pilot in May 2015 patterned in part after successful projects in other states in an effort to move complex business litigation through the court system in a more expeditious manner. The pilot has far surpassed initial expectations.

It is now time for us to build on this initial success by considering refinements to the process that ultimately will allow us to move toward statewide implementation of this project, said Chief Justice Jeff Bivins.

Since its inception in May 2015, the Supreme Court has granted 87 requests for transfer to the business court docket. More than 50 matters remain on the docket, which is already larger than dockets of many of the 25 states with separate, full-time business courts.

By all measures, this pilot project has been a tremendous success, Chief Justice Bivins said. Litigants and attorneys participating in the project have shared overwhelmingly positive feedback about their experiences.

The goals of the pilot project included lower costs for litigants, removal of complex and time-consuming business litigation from regular dockets, development of a published body of case law in this area, and development of innovative court practices. The pilot has demonstrated that each of these goals can be met to the benefit of all users of the court system, and the knowledge gleaned from the pilot will now be used to build on the programs success.

The initial demand experienced by the pilot project has led the Supreme Court to extend the pilot with its existing caseload, but defer designating any additional cases after Oct. 31 until results from the initial pilot are studied. This time will be used by the Business Court Docket Advisory Commission and the Supreme Court to study potential changes to eligibility criteria for the docket, as well as other procedural revisions to make the process as efficient as possible for the litigants and the judiciary.

The Court emphasized its gratitude for the outstanding service of Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, her staff, and the Davidson County Chancery Court Clerk and Masters office in the implementation and execution of this important tool for economic development for our state.

Chief Justice Bivins also credited Justice Sharon Lee, who as chief justice of the Supreme Court, brought to fruition a tool to bring efficient resolution of complex business cases to the State of Tennessee.

Without Justice Lees leadership and vision, we would not have experienced such a successful start to this project, Chief Justice Bivins said.

The Supreme Court also thanked the Executive and Legislative branches for their support in this project while looking forward to continued collaboration in advancing to the next phase. In addition, the work of the statewide Business Court Docket Advisory Commission has been an integral and continuing part of the success of the pilot, according to Chief Justice Bivins.

The Court, in conjunction with the advisory commission, will spend the next several months reviewing the data, recommendations, criteria, and other matters related to business litigation for use in charting the path forward for this project.

Decisions, motions and other legal documents from the pilots current caseload will continue to be posted on the judiciarys website. The broader legal community, as well as the public, is invited to provide comments via email to Business.Court@tncourts.gov, as well as watch TNCourts.gov for updates.






Waves of cyberattacks brought down several popular websites Friday, leaving millions of users without access and the Department of Homeland Security investigating the precise cause.

Here are seven things to know about the cyberattacks.

1. The attack, which is believed to be a coordinated effort, targeted a single Domain Name Server provider called Dyn. Dyn's servers monitor and reroute internet traffic. The attack affected a range of sites, including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Reddit, The New York Times, Constant Contact, Etsy, SoundCloud and Airbnb. Users on the East Coast were first affected by the outages, although the hackers moved westward by clogging servers with phony traffic until they completely crashed.

2. This type of attack is known as a distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS. Although no information is obtained with DDoS attacks, they create major frustration. The DDoS attack affected Dyn's infrastructure that supports internet connections, meaning the attack did not affect websites themselves. Instead, it blocked or slowed users from gaining access to sites.

3. Manchester, N.H.-based Dyn first reported site outages at roughly 7:10 a.m. EST. Dyn restored service two hours later, but a second attack hit around noon EST, this time affecting the West Coast as well.

4. DDoS attacks often involve a network of "zombie" machines called botnets. This is a network of personal computers in homes or offices infected with malicious code which, upon the request of a hacker, start flooding a web server with data, according to Bloomberg. If tens or hundreds of thousands fire phony data at the same time, it's enough to impair even the most sophisticated of servers.

5. Dyn's chief strategist, Kyle York, told The New York Times, "[T]his was not your everyday DDoS attack." In general, DDoS attacks are on the rise. A trends report from Verisign showed a 75 percent increase in DDoS strikes from April through June 2016 compared with the same period last year. "Its a total wild, wild west out there," Mr. York said.

6. Mr. York says the uptick in DDoS is driving many companies to push at least a portion of their infrastructure to cloud computing networks, which decentralizes their systems and decreases the likelihood of attack.

7. A deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency was investigating "all potential causes" of the attack on Friday, according to The New York Times.
Richmond-based Hospital Corporation of America Virginia named Brian Baumgardner CEO of LewisGale Regional Health System in Salem, Va., effective Nov. 14, according to The Roanoke Times.

Mr. Baumgardner currently serves as president and CEO of HCA's West Florida Hospital in Pensacola. He replaces Jon Bartlett, who announced he was planning to go back to his home in Colorado.

LewisGale Regional Health System includes four hospitals, two regional cancer centers and six outpatient centers.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to join LewisGale Regional Health System," Mr. Baumgardner said in the release, according to the report. "LewisGale has a long-standing reputation of being the health care provider of choice for thousands of patients in Southwest Virginia and is known throughout HCA for its commitment to compassionate, high-quality care."
No members of the hospital authority that governs South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta stepped down, despite the Valdosta City Council voting last month in favor of the resignations of the four city-appointed members of the hospital authority, according to The Valdosta Daily Times.

The city council voted in favor of a request from councilman Robert Yost, who asked for the resignations after the Georgia Office of the Attorney General found the Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County violated the state's Open Meetings Act. The attorney general's office ordered the hospital authority to pay a $500 civil penalty to the state of Georgia and to participate in an open government training session with the attorney general's office.

Although the city council requested the four members step down from their positions, it doesn't have authority to enforce the call for resignations, according to the report.

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Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has told voters who it supports to sit on the healthcare district board that oversees Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., according to The Desert Sun.

In a flier mailed to local voters, Tenet recommended Les Zendle, MD, a retired physician, and hospital executive Donald Lorack for two open seats on the Desert Healthcare District Board. Tenet also recommended incumbent Mark Matthews.

Tenet has leased and operated Desert Regional Medical Center since 1996, and its lease runs through 2027. The future members of the healthcare district board will play a key role in determining who will run the hospital beyond 2027, according to the report.

Tenet is currently the only hospital operator that has shown interest in running Desert Regional Medical Center. However, there is still time for competing offers to be submitted.

Regarding the fliers sent to voters, Desert Regional spokesman Rich Ramhoff, who serves as a local representative of Tenet, told The Desert Sun, "We are supporting candidates who we believe would best support our employees, our physicians and our patients in the communities we serve."

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From the former CEO of two Alabama health clinics sentenced to prison for his role in a fraud scheme to a charity suing a New Jersey hospital over a nixed hotel project, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.

1. Charity sues NJ hospital for $400M over canceled hotel project

St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., signed a land lease in 2012, giving nonprofit developer Medical Missions for Children land to build a hotel. Medical Missions is now suing St. Joseph's for breach of contract for nixing the project.

2. Home health company owner, medical director sentenced for roles in $34M fraud scheme

New Orleans-based Christian Home Health's owner and medical director were sentenced to prison for their roles in a $34 million Medicare fraud scheme.

3. Former health clinic CEO sentenced to 18 years in fraud case

The former CEO of two Alabama health clinics was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in a fraud scheme.

4. Methodist Health denies it improperly deducts pay from nurses for meal breaks

A nurse filed a collective action lawsuit in July claiming Dallas-based Methodist Health routinely fails to compensate nurses for time worked during meal breaks. Methodist Health denied that claim in its answer to the complaint filed last week.

5. Physician group sues California over balance billing law

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons filed suit to block the implementation of legislation designed to prohibit balance billing practices in California.

6. Feds: Drug company falsely claimed patients had cancer to boost reimbursement

A former executive of Phoenix-based Insys Therapeutics was charged with wire fraud conspiracy for her role in a fraud scheme that involved falsely claiming patients had cancer and other conditions.

7. California hospital sues Regence BCBS over unpaid bills

Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego filed suit against Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, alleging the insurer violated terms of their contract by failing to reimburse SMH for medical services.

8. Cigna faces allegations of prescription overcharging tactics

Cigna policyholders filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the payer charged more than 10 times the actual price of some prescription medications.

9. Physician imposter indicted for performing physicals on truck drivers

A woman from Carlisle, Pa., was formally accused of pretending to be a physician and performing physical exams on truck drivers who sought to renew their commercial driver's licenses.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Medical Examiner's office in south DeKalb County broke ground on a $4.5 million project to expand its morgue and office space. The need for more space is partially attributable to increasing opioid overdose rates, according to WABE.

The project includes a new 10,000-square-foot, three-story building, which will house office space for investigators, conference rooms and the GBI's child death investigative unit. The GBI is also working to renovate and expand its morgue by approximately 3,000 feet.

Jonathan Eisenstat, MD, Georgia's chief medical examiner, told WABE his office is handling nearly twice the amount of cases associated with overdose deaths compared to just a few years ago.

"There are new drugs that are being produced in clandestine labs that are less expensive than buying prescription medications," said Dr. Eisenstat. "Those drugs are more potent and we're seeing more deaths as a result of that."

Fentanyl, one of the drugs Dr. Eisenstat is referencing, is 50 times more potent than morphine. The Drug Enforcement Agency believes hundreds of thousands of counterfeit pills laced with the substance have infiltrated the U.S. drug market. Heroin cut with fentanyl has also been linked to a string of overdose deaths in the U.S.

During a drug bust in the Atlanta metropolitan area this summer, the GBI confiscated a synthetic opioid called carfentanil, which is 100 times stronger than fentanyl and designed to tranquilize large animals like elephants. Drug dealers are cutting carfentanil into heroin to stretch supply and produce a more intense high. Investigators in the GBI crime lab now wear protective face masks when inspecting heroin because, if the product is cut with carfentanil, they could accidently inhale enough of the deadly substance to overdose.

According to the GBI, in 2014, 61 people died of heroin-related overdoses in Georgia. In 2015, that number jumped to 134.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed a few units of blood  donated and screened in Florida  tested positive for Zika, according to CBS Miami.

Officials have not revealed where or when the blood was donated. The CMO of OneBlood  a nonprofit that supplies blood products to 200 hospitals in Florida, parts of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina  confirmed the positive samples were screened at the organization's lab in St. Petersburg where all donated blood collected by the nonprofit is tested for Zika, according to WPTV.

"The donation did not enter the blood supply. We don't release blood until all tests come back negative," said CMO Rita Reik, MD, according to WPTV.

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On Feb. 16, the FDA issued guidance urging areas with active Zika transmissions to screen donated blood for the virus. On Aug. 25, the FDA issued a revised guidance advising every state and U.S. territory to test donated blood for Zika using an investigational diagnostic blood test authorized by the agency.

The positive screenings mark the first instance of multiple Zika-positive donated blood tests among U.S. states.

"A few additional potential positive donations are also currently under investigation," Tara Goodin, an FDA spokeswoman, told The Seattle Times in an email.

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A portable compressor for artificial hearts may have contributed to the death of a 57-year-old California man. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently investigating multiple reports regarding problems with the medical device, according to Kaiser Health News.

The Freedom portable driver, manufactured by Tucson, Ariz.-headquartered SynCardia Systems, powers artificial hearts and allows hospitalized patients to return home even if they are ill or waiting for a heart transplant.

The man who died was a patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Hospital officials believe the compressor may have failed and lead to the man's death and discontinued use of the device for the time being. Two other patients at the hospital were readmitted after being sent home with the Freedom portable driver.

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Deborah Kotz, a spokeswoman for the FDA, told Kaiser Health News hospitals other than Cedars-Sinai have reported problems with the device, although she did not disclose which hospitals encountered issues.

According to Kaiser Health News, in August 2015, SynCardia discovered an issue with a certain component of their drivers and voluntarily recalled 56 worldwide, including 29 in the U.S. The following month, the FDA issued a recall of the same 29 devices, warning that certain drivers could suddenly fail.

SynCardia CEO Michael Garippa told Kaiser Health News the issue with the 2015 drivers was caused by a supplier who inserted a screw in the wrong part of the gear box.

Regarding the death of the Cedars-Sinai patient, Mr. Garippa said, "It is unfortunate, but that particular patient was on our device for over 500 days, and we extended the life of that patient, who was extremely ill and near death at the time of his artificial heart implant."

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While generic drugs typically cost 80 percent less than brand name medications, biosimilar versions of costly biologic drugs fail to produce similar savings, according to NPR.

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy in Durham, N.C., said early indications show biosimilars will only reduce costs by 15 or 20 percent  offering much lower savings than typical generic drugs, according to the report.

As of Oct. 5, the FDA started work to process 66 projects involving biosimilar drugs, which could potentially lead to the approval of 20 new substitutes for existing medications, according to Leah Christl, PhD, associate director for therapeutic biologics at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Inflectra will be the second FDA-approved biosimilar drug to hit the market.

Pfizer recently announced plans to launch Inflectra  a biosimilar version of Johnson & Johnson's best-selling arthritis drug Remicade  in November. While the New York City-based drugmaker said it would provide Inflectra at a cost 15 percent lower than Remicade's, the price is by no means cheap.

Inflectra's wholesale acquisition cost is $946 per vial, while a similar size vial of Remicade goes for $1,113, according to data from Truven Health Analytics.





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Chattanooga-based Thinking Medias Learning Blade announced the new Hack Attack Computer Science Mission to over 400 attending the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) Annual Conference in Hot Springs this week. Arkansas has led the nation by the passage of Computer Science Education and Jobs Act of 2015, which provides computer coding classes to all Arkansas high schools. The Governor supported offering Learning Blade to all middle schools to build a foundation of STEM career awareness and interest in computer science careers for every middle school student. The new mission focuses on computer science careers and technologies and is now available through a partnership with the APSRC to the over 450 schools who have activated their licenses. Lt. Governor Tim Griffin delivered an inspiring message encouraging more STEM exposure in schools.

The Learning Blade system includes "Missions" that focus on societal issues, enabling students to participate in engaging lessons such as building an environmentally-sound orphanage after a major earthquake or solving energy and transportation needs in a city. In the Hack Attack students are on a mission to help develop improved cyber security to protect their school from future information hacks. Learning Blade also provides teachers with valuable feedback on student skills while demonstrating the relevance of academics in real life.

Arkansas Commissioner of Education Johnny Key, an engineer himself, commented that We appreciate Learning Blades interdisciplinary approach to introducing students to STEM careers including in computer science. The fact that all the Missions in Learning Blade highlight the positive role STEM professionals play in society is a recipe for success.

Learning Blades "Hack Attack" was designed in collaboration with and sponsored by TATA Consultancy Services with offices in Arkansas. Balaji Ganapathy, head of HR Workforce Effectiveness for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reiterates the need and importance of career awareness in middle schools. We witness at TCS every day a growing need for computer science professionals in varied industries across the country. That is why we supported the development of the Hack Attack mission. Research confirms that students will not strive for careers they do not know exist. We believe Learning Blade helps kids see themselves as computer science professionals, better understanding the important roles they play in solving societal issues. Where else can they learn about the careers of data scientists, UI/UX designers or information security analysts in a single platform. This program will benefit all middle school students in Arkansas and beyond.

Learning Blade president and CEO, Sheila Boyington highlights Learning Blades incredible results saying, "Our recent research shows that after using Learning Blade produces a statistically significant increase in interest in STEM careers. Over 70% of participating students indicate that they learn about new careers with a 97% increase in students who say I would like to be an engineer or scientist in the future.

On Sept. 14, Arkansas statewide adoption of Learning Blade was included in the White Houses Computer Science Summit fact sheet. Thinking Media is committing to exposing up to 30,000 middle school students in 320 schools in Arkansas to CS careers through the Governor of Arkansass initiative to deliver Learning Blade, a tool for increasing STEM career awareness, by December 2017. In addition, at a national level, TATA Consultancy Services will collaborate with Thinking Media and Learning Blade to introduce 10 CS careers and technologies in way that emphasizes social interaction and impact.
Andrew Smyth is through to the finals of Bake Off

Northern Ireland's very own star baker, Andrew Smyth, will make a public appearance in Belfast next weekend.

The photo opportunity will be just days after the final of the BBC's Great British Bake Off, when his ardent fans will discover if he won the show.

Andrew will be appearing at Waterstones in Belfast on Saturday, October 29, at 1pm, to sign copies of The Great British Bake Off recipe book.

The publication includes some of the best of the recipes from contestants, as well as recipes for the technical challenges set by judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

The final of the Great British Bake Off will be shown on BBC1 next Wednesday at 8pm. Andrew is the first person from Northern Ireland to reach it.
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch said he wanted to shine a spotlight on the "true superheroes" in the world, as he received a humanitarian award.

The Doctor Strange star was honoured in Los Angeles by Africa charity Geanco - a day after he and wife Sophie Hunter announced they were expecting a second child.

Cumberbatch, 40, said he felt "privileged" to receive the Global Promise Award for his humanitarian work, which has included being a vocal campaigner for tackling the refugee crisis.

Asked whether the UK was doing enough to help refugees, Cumberbatch told the Press Association: "I think charities like Save The Children are doing a fantastic amount. That's what we're here to celebrate tonight, to talk about and support.

"These are initiatives, like this foundation, which are started from the heart by the charitable sector and are doing great things and are making a fantastic impact."

He added: "It's always a good thing to be able to use what we get attention for as actors to shine a spotlight on the true superheroes; t he real men and women who work in foundations like Geanco, who sometimes give their time and world class expertise to help others in vulnerable situations."

Cumberbatch launched into a passionate attack at politicians' response to the refugee crisis on stage in London last year.

Following a performance of Hamlet, the Sherlock actor criticised the Government's "slow response" to Syrians fleeing war and was reported to have said "f*** the politicians".

Cumberbatch joins fellow British actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and David Oyelowo who were previously honoured by Geanco, a charity which works to improve health and education in Nigeria.

A spokesman for Cumberbatch confirmed on Friday that he and his Hunter were expecting a second child. The couple had appeared together at the premiere of his latest film Doctor Strange in Los Angeles a day earlier.

Cumberbatch did not comment directly on his wife's pregnancy news at the Geanco event. When asked on the red carpet what he had learnt from being a father, he replied: "Not to talk about my family in public."

Cumberbatch and Hunter, who married on Valentine's Day last year, welcomed their son Christopher Carlton in June 2015.
Tough decisions: Prime Minister Theresa May needs to ensure all are happy with how the UK leaves the EU

How do you like your borders. Hard? Or soft? The question arises because while the EU referendum confirmed the nation wanted Brexit, voters didn't specify (nor were they asked) what sort of Brexit they had in mind.

Hard or soft. Full fat Brexit. Or Brexit Lite.

It's a bit like customers in a cafe signalling that yes, they'd like breakfast. But the waiters deciding what they're going to eat.

With the UK's decision to quit the EU all sorts of questions arise - especially here in Northern Ireland.

Should we be aiming for an entirely borderless border? Or a Trump-style great, big wall between ourselves and Dundalk?

Ultimately all this will be decided, not by ourselves but by Theresa May and the likes of biBrexual Boris who, it was revealed at the weekend, had written a newspaper article just a few days before he declared for Leaving, arguing for Remain.

There's rock solid conviction for you.

Mrs May as we know, was a Remainer but now like a reformed smoker has gone completely the other way and demands the fullest of full Brexits.

In fairness she believes this is doing the democratic thing in respecting the Out vote.

What she isn't doing though, is considering whether, when these people said they wanted Brexit, they actually meant the Nigel Farage Full English.

Or a lighter Continental option.

And she also needs to bear in mind that what suits the appetite of voters in the north of England won't necessarily go down so well in other parts of the country.

Nicola Sturgeon is so incensed at the idea of Scotland being force-fed Mrs May's full Brexit that she's already threatening to send Scots Nat "ambassadors" to Brussels to make the point that, north of the border, they still want to be part of Europe and are still open for business with the EU.

Bearing in mind that the majority of voters in Northern Ireland are also Remainers, should we, could we, have a go at that too?

Some hope.

By the time Stormont would have finished bickering over who to send as our "ambassadors" it wouldn't be worth their while.

But we are in a unique position here - and where the implications of Brexit are concerned, some would say, a quite precarious position. And no, I don't mean in terms of the peace process.

That's a ludicrous argument. Brexit doesn't threaten peace. But Brexit does threaten the local economy.

So just leave it to the politicians to sort out, then?

From the point of view of an ordinary voter, you do think that in this age of polls, phone-ins, online voting and general testing of the waters re public opinion it should be possible to offer people the chance for a more nuanced say in this the most seismic national debate of the day.

Okay, there's not going to be a re-run of the referendum.

But would it really be too tricky to canvas the nation for a bit more detail on the sort of Brexit they want?

Boris changed his mind. Others may have too. One way or the other.

Simply assuming the majority of Leavers - never mind the entire electorate - want the full Farage is a bit simplistic. Not to mention dodgy.

The national currency is currently taking an awful pounding. The Cabinet is said to be split on whether to go full throttle for full Brexit. The country is bitterly divided. And to make matters worse not even neatly divided throughout the land but pro-Leave mainly in England and Wales, pro-Remain here and in Scotland.

It's a mess. Mrs May's Brexit is a dog's dinner offering everything to some parts of the country, nothing to others.

We have to accept we're Brexiting. Fair enough. But why can't we be given a fuller say in what sort of Brexit we actually want?

UTV just not the same without our Julian

Save Our Julian! As Stephen Nolan has argued in this paper, UTV without Mr Simmons on-screen is unthinkable. Worse than Tesco without Marmite.

And it's not just Nolan who's annoyed. Eamonn Holmes, Kate Hoey MP...but most importantly so many of UTV's loyal viewers are dismayed at this odd decision.

Julian himself, ever the professional, bowed out in his inimitable bow-tied style at the weekend. We'll still hear him but it won't be the same with Jules reduced to just The Voice.

It's not too late, ITV. Give us back our Julian.

This clown really is no laughing matter

You know things are really bad on the killer clown front when it's announced that Ronald MacDonald will be keeping a low profile for the foreseeable. He's being tainted by association with these new nasty clowns.

Maybe if he was to tone it down a bit? Take the face make-up down a shade or two from bright red to say, terracotta. Flatten the hair and lighten it to yellow. Then again, what you have there is a look scarily reminiscent of another clown. Trump. And if there's one thing worse than Ronald, it would be Donald MacDonald.
The PSNI has urged parents to keep their children away from Woodvale Park in north Belfast following reports of an arranged fight.

The PSNI has urged parents to keep their children away from a north Belfast park tonight following reports of an arranged fight.

The PSNI issued the warning on Twitter on Friday night, urging parents to make sure they know where their children are tonight.

There have been reports of an arranged fight having been planned on social media to take place at Woodvale Park in north Belfast.

The PSNI is believed to monitor social media with the intention of disrupting any fights that may be attempted to be planned online.

Last year one of the largest pre-planned fights witnessed by police to date took place when around 100 youths gathered in Belfast city centre.

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The PSNI has warned tonight on Twitter that officers take a zero tolerance approach to arranged fights.
A Belfast family is raising money to get better treatment for a man who is battling for his life in Guatemala.

Peter McGarry (38), was in his Guatemala home last Friday when he suffered immense pain in his head and had a nosebleed.

He couldn't remember if he had collapsed or not, but he was dazed.

He told his girlfriend of two years, Elvira Mendez who then phoned for an ambulance and Peter was taken to hospital in Antigua.

After a CT scan, doctors diagnosed that Peter had a rare type of stroke called a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Elvira called Peter's sisters Louise May (35), Joanne McGoran (42) and their parents Sean and Helen McGarry the next day to tell them the news.

Louise said that even after getting to hospital, Peter continued to have immense pain in his head and doctors couldn't work out what was causing it.

They decided on Monday he needed to go to Guatemala City to get an MRI scan, but they had to wait until Wednesday when he was in better condition to travel.

The MRI showed that he had an aneurysm which would require surgery soon.

"We were under the impression that he was being transferred to Guatemala City to a hospital there where he would get the test and if surgery was needed he would be in the right place," Louise said.

"But he is now back in Antigua in hospital there."

Louise set up a JustGiving page on Thursday to raise 50,000 to move Peter to a hospital in Guatemala City so he can get the help he needs in one place.

Until he can be moved, Elvira has been doing everything she can to help, like going to the pharmacy every day to buy medications for doctors to administer.

"She's definitely been a huge, huge support for him. I think if he didn't have her he probably wouldn't be alive really, if she hadn't been there in the first place. We're very grateful that she's there," Louise said.

Elvira has also been keeping Peter's family updated, but they were able to speak with him personally before he got his MRI.

"We were glad to get speaking to him and we all got speaking to him individually," Louise said. "He probably didn't sound as bad as we all expected, but (he had) very slurred speech and (was) very slow. From what his girlfriend's been telling us, there are times that he's not too bad and then there are times that he's very vague and confused.

"His short term memory seems to be affected. So when she isn't there, which is obviously some of the time because she's not able to stay in that hospital, he gets very distressed because he doesn't know that she knows.

"He can't remember that she's been there the day before."

Louise said that if Peter continues to be transferred between different hospitals, there is a risk of the aneurysm rupturing, which could be fatal.

"The hospital he's in now is very basic because they don't have the resources to do a lot of the tests that are required. Then he gets moved more.

"We're just so worried. We're obviously worried about him having surgery, but really we're worried that he isn't even going to make it to surgery."

The JustGiving page raised more than 11,000 yesterday. Louise said she and her family appreciate how much has already been given in such a short time.

Louise said: "We've been overwhelmed by the support we've got so far. We just can't believe how generous people have been.

"It's such a tribute to Peter and it has given us a real lift when we have felt so helpless."

"It will make a massive difference to his care. It means we are able to start talking to specialist neurologists over there to find out what options we do have."
Police officers recover a piece of burnt evidence a short distance away from a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers recover a piece of burnt evidence a short distance away from a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers recover a piece of burnt evidence a short distance away from a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers recover a piece of burnt evidence a short distance away from a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting in the Glenwood area of West Belfast on October 20th 2016, Northern Ireland (Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye)

Police have labelled the murder of Joe Reilly a "cold-blooded summary execution" - and believe that three children may have witnessed the killers fleeing the scene.

Mr Reilly (43) was killed in his home at Glenwood Court, West Belfast, on Thursday evening.

Detectives believe that two men, one armed with a handgun, entered the property and forced two people in the house to lie on the floor in the kitchen.

They kept Mr Reilly in the living room, before shooting him a number of times in the chest.

The attackers then escaped down the street.

They are described as approximately six feet tall, wearing dark coats and dark trousers.

One was said to be wearing rimmed glasses and had a Celtic scarf on.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Montgomery, who is leading the investigation, said: "It really is difficult to know how to describe what happened last night, the adjectives brutal, senseless and barbaric are inadequate."

DCI Montgomery said he understood three children were seen in the area around 8pm on Thursday night, and he needed to find out what they had seen.

He also appealed for anyone who was in Glenwood Court, Glenwood Crescent or the Laurelbank area at around 8pm on Thursday to contact police.

Officers have not yet established a motive, although dissident republicans are suspected.

The murder comes less then a week after 56-year-old Peter Lagan was shot six times in the legs in neighbouring Glenwood Drive. Republican paramilitary group Oglaigh na hEireann claimed responsibility for the attack on Mr Lagan.

DCI Montgomery said he was aware of the incident and that it would form part of the enquiry.

Chief Inspector Norman Haslett said: "There is no place for such an act in our society and certainly not in the community of west Belfast, which has been moving forward so positively in recent months and years.

"Those people in west Belfast who did what they did are just determined to drag us back into the past."

He appealed for witnesses, adding: "There may be people out there who have never contacted police before in their lives.

"I'd appeal for those folk to think about Joe Reilly, think about his family and think about what his family are now going through."

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness led the condemnation.

"This savage killing is senseless and has achieved nothing. The perpetrators care only for themselves," they said.

UUP MLA Doug Beattie expressed outrage and called for "the removal of the cloak of 'paramilitary grouping'."
CARTA expects to receive its first three BYD electric transit buses in mid-April, Executive Director Lisa Maragnano.

She said, "They have been getting wonderful reviews in Macon, where they are operating for 8-9 hours off an overnight charge."

CARTA has funding available for a second order of three electric buses, she said.

Ms. Maragnano said CARTA applied for an additional three BYD buses (making a total of nine), but the funding was not approved.


Gridlocked traffic on the Belfast-bound lane of the M2 motorway, near Sandyknowes roundabout, yesterday

Tailbacks after a serious accident on the Belfast bound carriageway of the M2 at Junction 4. Pic: Colm O'Reilly.

One person died in a serious incident near a bridge that shut part of the M2 motorway yesterday, police have confirmed.

The motorway and Sandyknowes roundabout were closed to Belfast-bound traffic for much of the day while emergency services attended the scene.

Police said the southbound on-slip at Templepatrick had also been closed, along with the northbound off-slip at Sandyknowes.

Motorists were advised to seek alternative routes.

However, the PSNI also told drivers avoid the Glengormley area because there was a significant build-up of traffic.

Motorists and their passengers caught up in the congestion following yesterday mornings tragedy were asked to remain with their vehicles and to keep the hard shoulder clear to facilitate the emergency services.

Commenting on the accident, Inspector Rosemary Leech, from PSNIs road policing team, said: At the moment we have all the necessary agents on the ground, so we are hopeful that resolution to this incident wont be too far away.

In the meantime, if we could appeal to motorists to please avoid the Sandyknowes interchange.

Any traffic leaving Belfast heading northbound on the M2 will not be able to leave at Sandyknowes.

Its being pushed on to Templepatrick and motorists will be expected to find their way back from there.

Any traffic heading south towards the city should, if they can, avoid coming as far as Sandyknowes. That would be advisable.

Inspector Leech added her thanks to motorists for their patience.
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. General view of the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Jim Nicholson MEP pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. General view of the UUP party conference. Lynda Bryans pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Sandra Overend and Mike Nesbitt pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Jim Rodgers, High Sheriff of Belfast CityE at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Syed Kamall MEP, Chair of the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) Group in the European Parliament pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. General view of the UUP party conference. Lynda Bryans pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. General view of the UUP party conference. Reg Empey, Joanne Dobson and Jim Nicholson pictured at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Robbie Butler MLA, Alan Chambers MLA, Harold McKee MLA & Rosemary Barton MLA being interviewed by Lynda Bryans at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Robbie Butler MLA and Alan Chambers MLA being interviewed by Lynda Bryans at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Party Leader, Mike Nesbitt MLA pictured during his speech rehearsal at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Syed Kamall MEP, Chair of the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) Group in the European Parliament pictured at the UUP party conference.

Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. UUP leader Mike Nesbitt along with his wife Lynda.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd October 2016 Ulster Unionist Party Conference 2016 at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Act of Remembrance to mark the Centenary of the Somme at the UUP party conference. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

SDLP Party Leader Colm Eastwood speaks at the Ulster Unionist Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt giving his key note speech at his party's Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt and wife Lynda at his party's Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt and wife Lynda at his party's Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press

Northern Ireland's official opposition parties can work together to break down the "all guff and no government" of Stormont's powersharing Executive, the SDLP leader has told the Ulster Unionist Party conference.

In the first speech to a UUP conference by a serving leader of the nationalist party, Colum Eastwood responded to critics who have questioned whether the two parties can cooperate to form a viable alternative to the Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein administration.

"Of course we can," Mr Eastwood told the event in Belfast.

He insisted obvious differences should not stand in the way of the parties uniting on issues where they shared common ground.

In a speech that drew a standing ovation from conference delegates, the Foyle MLA claimed the "cosy establishment" running the Executive had failed the people and eroded trust in the effectiveness of the devolved institutions.

"The biggest challenge of the official opposition is to begin the process of proving that our devolved institutions contain a power and importance beyond the maintenance of peace," he said.

"True reconciliation here will not be achieved through warm words but through practical politics, a politics which fundamentally changes the economic and social patterns of this society."

Highlighting the UUP and SDLP's key role in forging the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, Mr Eastwood claimed the DUP and Sinn Fein were, by contrast, devoid of "ambition and aspiration".

"They believe the symbolism of their coalition suffices, and offer nothing more," he said.

"They're all guff and no government."

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Whatsapp SDLP Party Leader Colm Eastwood speaks at the Ulster Unionist Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast

He added: "Together we must break up and break down that cosy establishment.

"We do that by building trust and credibility across this society. We do it by embracing the politics of partnership and cooperation. Let's be honest - we are not there yet. We have work to do and that work goes on. Our success can permanently transform the politics of this place - old battles of identity will be replaced by a new battle of ideas.

"For me, for the SDLP, that's work that's well worthwhile."

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Whatsapp Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt giving his key note speech at his party's Autumn conference at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast

While Mr Eastwood highlighted the common ground shared by the parties, he also touched on their differences.

Both parties campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum, but they have adopted different stances in the wake of the result, with the UUP essentially accepting that Brexit is happening while the SDLP insist Northern Ireland should be able to maintain its link with the European Union.

"Looking ahead the future offers many choices - but the only future worth knowing is the one which chooses co-operation," Mr Eastwood told the conference.

"It is that very sentiment and its substance which has always been at the heart of the European Union.

"Building common ground and common cause is the only effective weapon in the face of the divisiveness which threatens the consensus of decency that is the centre ground. That is why the SDLP is so determined to retain the benefits of the EU and its membership across this island."

On the constitutional question, Mr Eastwood acknowledged both parties would not see eye to eye, but he challenged the respective memberships to engage with each other on their competing visions of Northern Ireland's future.

"My appeal is this - try to convince us of your vision for the future and we'll try to convince you of ours," he said.

"Let it be a discussion based on hard facts and hard truths. Most of all let it be creative - and then in time let the people decide. That's the way politics is supposed to work.

"It's how it works at its best - without threat or theatrics."
A woman was sexually assaulted as she slept on a sofa after drinking in a house on Valentine's Day, a court has heard.

The victim, who was 20 at the time, was abused at a property in Cullybackey, Co Antrim, by Robert John Glass (62), who previously pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault by penetration.

After an investigation was launched, the victim's DNA was found under his fingernail.

A defence lawyer said that after news of the incident became public knowledge, Glass was burned out of his home.

Prosecutor Tessa Kitson said that the defendant, a tiler who has since moved to the nearby Portglenone area, was punched in the face when the woman woke to find her clothing and underwear removed to her knees at 3pm on the afternoon of February 15 last year.

When the woman woke, she saw Glass kneeling beside her carrying out the sex attack.

The woman told him, "Get out the door before I put you out", and then contacted the police.

Ms Kitson said a victim impact report described how the woman had been left distressed and found it difficult to leave the house alone or answer the door.

Defence QC Neil Connor said Glass's wife of more than 30 years passed away in 2010 from cancer, and his daughter was seriously ill in hospital.

He branded the attack "opportunistic" and said his client was at a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Desmond Marrinan adjourned sentencing for the "pretty revolting" assault until Monday. Glass was released on continuing bail.
Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald pleaded with Ronald Reagan to pile pressure on Margaret Thatcher over the hunger strikes

Kieran Doherty died in the Maze prison in 1981 after being on a hunger strike

Michael Fassbender stars in Hunger, the film about the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands

Jonathan Porter/Presseye.com - Press Eye Ltd -Northern Ireland - 1st March 2011. Launch of the Hunger Strike 30th Anniversary Exhibition in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Ten republican prisoners died during the 1981 protest inside the Maze Prison. A letter written by Bobby Sands on cigarette paper which was smuggled out of the prison pictured at the exhibition.

Several unionist politicians have called for Maze cells which housed hunger strikers to be flattened

Hunger striker Bobby Sands funeral procession making its way down Stewartstown Road on Route to Milltown cemetery

Hunger strike marchers blocked by gardai as they approach the British Embassy in Dublin

Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright

Leading politicians and a victims campaigner last night hit out at plans to stage a production of a play by an IRA hunger striker at the PSNIs Newforge Country Club.

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson called the proposal insensitive, given the fact that the performance venue had been a terrorist target during the Troubles.

A former RUC officer contacted the Belfast Telegraph yesterday claiming that a performance of Green and Blue, a new play by IRA hunger striker Laurence McKeown exploring border policing during the troubles, was to be staged at Newforge in south Belfast on Monday.

Terrorist-turned-playwright McKeown was convicted in 1976 of the attempted murder of a police officer.

Newforge Country Club was unable to confirm whether or not the performance was taking place as scheduled.

When contacted, a member of staff said they would have someone call back, but no one did.

However, a spokesman for the Kabosh Theatre Company confirmed they would be performing Green and Blue at Newforge on Monday night.

Asked how the booking came about, the Kabosh spokesman declined to say anything further about the forthcoming show,

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he understood the anger felt by former RUC personnel at the decision to host the play at Newforge.

Whilst of course former prisoners have the right to pursue their interests, having served their time, I think it is somewhat insensitive that this event should be hosted in a location which has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past, when the IRA tried to murder police officers at the venue, he added. I can understand the anger among some retired police officers about the use of the venue for this purpose.

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Whatsapp Actors Vincent Higgins (left) and James Doran with playwright Laurence McKeown (centre) in a publicity picture

I think that they are owed an explanation as to how this has occurred. While of course we all want to explore in various ways what happened in the past, that can only be done with due sensitivity toward those who have suffered.

UUP MLA and Policing Board member Ross Hussey  who had also been contacted about the performance by a former RUC officer  said he found it hard to accept that a play by an IRA Hunger striker was being staged at premises occupied by the RUC George Cross Foundation.

Victims campaigner Kenny Donaldson, who is a spokesman for Innocent Victims United, added: Of course it is preferable that Laurence McKeown is now writing plays about the policing experience instead of being active in a terrorist organisation which murdered police green and blue from both sides of our border.

Expand Close Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright / Facebook

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Whatsapp Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright

But the Fermanagh-based campaigner added: There will be those who have been bereaved of loved ones who served in the RUC, former officers and others from within and outside the policing fraternity, who will question the wisdom of the police authorities permitting this play to be staged at Newforge, due to the authors past activities in seeking to murder RUC officers.

Green and Blue received its world premiere last night at Girdwood Community Hub in north Belfast.

This paper attempted to contact Mr McKeown for comment, but he could not be reached.

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Whatsapp Tomboy Loudon, Gerry Roche, Denis Donaldson and Bobby Sands pictured in the Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland.
The largest teachers' union in Northern Ireland has announced its members will go on strike next month.

The NASUWT revealed that its National Action Committee has approved a rolling programme of strike action across Northern Ireland, commencing at the end of November 2016.

If you are a teacher who has been affected by these issues and would like to speak to us, contact newseditor@belfastteegraph.co.uk

It comes after negotiations with the Education Authority (EA) over pay rates collapsed without agreement.

The union has not yet announced details of the strike action.

However, the second biggest union, INTO, said it is continuing to consider its options.

Last week the unions walked out of teacher pay negotiations with the EA following discussions which lasted almost 13 months.

The unions were offered a 0% increase for 2015-16 and 1% for 2016-17. This has been rejected by the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC), which comprises the five recognised teacher unions.

Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary, said employers and the Department of Education have "failed to recognise and address the serious concerns of teachers over pay, workload and job loss".

"The final straw, adding insult to injury, is that after months of so-called negotiations, the employers have belatedly put zero per cent on the table for teachers for 2015-16," she said.

"Teachers' pay in Northern Ireland is now not only failing to keep pace with trends in the graduate labour market, it is also failing to keep up with teachers across the UK, who have at least had the one per cent funded by the Treasury.

"The NASUWT is putting employers on notice that unless they come forward with a pay award for 2015-16, and unless the Department of Education agrees to genuine engagement to seek to resolve the NASUWT's trade dispute, they will be responsible for forcing the dedicated and committed teachers of Northern Ireland to demonstrate their anger through strike action."

INTO Northern Secretary, Gerry Murphy, said: "The INTO union continues to consider its options following the pitiful pay offer. The Northern committee has met once already and is considering what positive steps it can take to resolve the crisis unfolding over teachers' pay."

A spokeswoman for Education Minister, Peter Weir, stated: "Teachers' terms and conditions, including pay, is negotiated through the forum of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC), at which I am represented. It would therefore not be appropriate for the Department to provide comment."

The EA did not respond.
Carnage after an air strike in Eastern Ghouta, Syria (Save the Children/PA)

The entire territory of Syria must be "liberated" and demands for president Bashar Assad's departure are "thoughtless", Russian officials have said.

The statement came as intense clashes were reported in northern Syria between Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters with Kurdish-led forces.

The Syrian army command condemned the fresh offensive by Turkish troops inside Syria, describing it as "an occupation that will be dealt with by all available means".

The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August under orders from Ankara to clear the border area of Islamic State (IS) fighters and US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkey's own outlawed Kurdish insurgency.

In the northern city of Aleppo, government forces shelled eastern rebel-held areas on Saturday night marking an apparent end to a lull announced by Russia.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, said Mr Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis.

Mr Peskov's statement came as the break in the fighting Russia has declared in the besieged city of Aleppo entered its third day before seemingly collapsing on Saturday night.

He said Russia's decision to extend the break, which was initially declared for just one day on Thursday, was not a concession to western pressure.

The UN greeted the lull intended to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from the rebel-held eastern areas of Aleppo that had been devastated by airstrikes.

However, the rebels rejected the offer to evacuate and no evacuations were seen along the corridors created by the Syrian government.

A UN official told The Associated Press that Syrian opposition fighters were blocking the evacuations because the Syrian government and Russia were not holding up their end of the deal and were impeding deliveries of medical and humanitarian supplies into Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the truce collapsed while the Aleppo Media Centre, an activist collective, reported artillery shelling on different areas and an attempt by government forces to advance south of the city. They had no word on casualties.

Russia launched an air campaign in support of Mr Assad a year ago, helping his forces win back some ground.

Mr Peskov said the goal of the Russian campaign is to fight "terrorists," saying the fall of the Syrian government would cause new flows of refugees and more terror attacks in Europe.

"Some countries are trying to play with the devil and use terrorists to get rid of Assad, and some just say thoughtlessly that Assad must leave," Mr Peskov said.

"If Damascus falls and terrorists take hold there, there will be no political settlement then."

He said there is little hope that the Syrian conflict could end soon, adding that it will require a "long and hard work by the international community".

"It must be liberated and everything must be done to prevent the country's break-up, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region," Mr Peskov said.

In northern Syria, Syrian rebels backed by Turkish tanks advanced under intense bombardment toward a major northern town held by Kurdish-led rebel forces.

The Observatory said the fighting between the Turkey-backed fighters and the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces was concentrated near the town of Tel Rifaat.

AP
The very public removal of the former Alliance leader David Ford from his position of elder in his home Presbyterian Church has big implications for churches and society.

It highlights not only the complex issue of same-sex marriage, but also the right of individual conscience in a democratic society.

In 2013, Mr Ford stepped aside as an elder in Second Donegore Presbyterian Church after some members of the congregation expressed concern about his views. It came after the Alliance Party backed legislation in support of same-sex marriage.

The Templepatrick Presbytery subsequently voted to remove David Ford as an elder and this decision was upheld by the Judicial Commission, the Presbyterians' highest court.

However, the commission underlined that he remains an elder "in good standing", despite not being allowed to take an active role in his church.

The commission's verdict was well-meaning, but it was a fudge. If a person is allowed to remain an elder, but not to play an active role, this a practical nonsense.

The case has attracted much attention, partly because David Ford has a high profile, and its implications will linger on for a long time.

The trouble arose in Second Donegore when some members expressed their disagreement with his views. Instead of reaching an amicable solution in-house, the controversy spiralled into the local Presbytery and then to the commission.

By that stage the outcome was inevitable. The Presbyterian Church adheres strictly to Biblical teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, and technically it can discipline an elder who disagrees with that ruling.

Yet why should the valuable services of an elder to his own church and congregation be stopped because of that alone? There is much more to Mr Ford than his views on same-sex relationships.

As a former long-term elder in my own congregation, there were issues on which I disagreed with the Presbyterian Church at large, but if these differences had come to a head, I am sure they would have been handled sensitively within our Kirk Session without headlines.

If people in a church cannot agree to disagree in a spirit of mutual respect and concern, then what is Christianity all about? The Anglican Church has failed to reach a compromise over many years, but has tried to show Christian charity in trying to agree to disagree in the short term.

Sadly, however, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has handled this issue in a different way. Last year they disciplined, again very publicly, the Rev Christina Bradley for welcoming the result of the Irish referendum on same sex-marriage.

In the last two years the General Assembly voted not to send a representative to the Edinburgh General Assembly because of the Scots' more liberal views on same sex-relationships. And now David Ford has been stripped of an elder's role.

Two things are clear from this sorry mess. One is that the Presbyterian Church will crush any dissent from the party line on the same-sex issue. The thought control is such that the minority of liberals left are now afraid to be quoted in public, as I have found out at first hand. This is a crying shame for a Church which used to be so proud of its dissenter tradition.

Secondly, there is an unattractive harshness in the public face of Presbyterianism when dealing with the same-sex issue. This was noted by Naomi Long, the successor-apparent to Mr Ford as Alliance leader.

She claimed that the Church had failed to show grace or humility to a fellow Presbyterian. To that I would add the quality of Christian love and support within the one big family.

If the Church cannot show love and tolerance to those with whom it disagrees, then it is losing its way, and its membership will continue to dwindle.

The saddest fact of all is that the Presbyterian Church is not listening to those people who disagree with its views, rather than tolerating any difference of opinion. Is it any wonder that its numbers are dwindling?
In your article headlined "McGuinness rejects 'nonsense' that Charter NI funds benefit paramilitaries" (News, October 17), the deputy First Minister is quoted saying: "If we were to be employing a rule of thumb that everybody who was involved in conflict in the past has no role to play in the future, then I am afraid there would be no future for any of us."

We have also heard the same sentiment from the First Minister and DUP MLA Emma Little Pengelly in recent days.

The problem is that UDA activity is not in the past, as they would have us believe. It is happening every day, with tragic consequences, as your report on the death of Nathan Ritchie clearly shows (Online, October 17).

The detailed BBC Spotlight reports on UDA activity in recent months and articles in your paper and Sunday Life are unequivocal about ongoing UDA drug dealing and intimidation and the UDA leaders overseeing this criminality in the east Belfast and Bangor areas.

These detailed investigations are either true, or they are not.

When the PSNI is asked to clarify the position, they say it's a matter for politicians.

Perhaps Claire Sugden, our Justice Minister, can enlighten us? As a member of the Executive, she is also complicit in this funding decision.

However, for confirmation, look no further than the people of Clandyboye and east Belfast. They know they are living under the boot of the UDA, while now watching the Executive provide a veneer of legitimacy to criminal UDA leaders in the oversight and distribution of money for community projects, further increasing their control of these areas.

To paraphrase Martin McGuinness, if, in 2016, the Executive's rule of thumb is championing and supporting active paramilitary criminals at the expense of the communities they terrorise, then, truly, there is no future for any of us.

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A total of 838 individuals have been punished for corruption related to environmental issues from 2015 to September 2016, according to a Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announcement Friday.

Another 1,124 officials have been punished for dereliction of duty concerning environmental protection, Wang Songmiao, SPP spokesperson, said during a press conference Friday.

The procuratorate improved its handling of environment-related cases, Wang said, after the SPP began a pilot project allowing public interest litigation in some areas.

As of September 2016, procuratorates have found a total of 2,221 pieces of evidence concerning public interest litigation cases in environmental protection.
Chinese civil affairs authorities have pledged to provide seniors with better nursing services by mobilizing idle social resources, according to an official circular.

The circular, issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and another 10 ministries, asked authorities to transform abandoned factories, hospitals, public buildings and training centers of state-owned enterprises into nursing institutions for the elderly.

The move aims to provide more nursing facilities and ensure seniors are able to access nursing services as close to their homes as possible, it said.

It also called for enhanced reform to further streamline administrative approval and delegate more power to lower governments, and applications to run such institutions should be approved in a timely manner.

China's population is aging. In 2015, about 222 million of the country's 1.3 billion citizens were 60 or older. That number is expected to grow at an alarming rate over the next few decades.
Suwarni, the first wife of slain MIT leader Santoso, sits in her house in Bakti Agung Village, in Indonesias Central Sulawesi province, Oct. 18, 2016.

Four years a single parent and three months a widow, the first wife of slain Indonesian militant Santoso is struggling to raise their three daughters in the town where he once lived.

To scratch out a living, Suwarni, 35, runs a small shop in front of her house in Poso regency, just off the main road that runs along the east coast of Central Sulawesi province and not far from where Santoso  the leader of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) and the countrys most wanted militant  was killed in July after an 18-month manhunt.

She last saw him in 2012 and learned of his militant activities when police billboards with pictures of wanted fugitives started going up in Poso two years ago, according to Yusmanto, the head of Bakti Agung Village.

For sure Suwarni was shocked, as were other people of the village, Yusmanto told BenarNews.

That same year, security forces began stopping at Suwarnis house, he said.

Many of them came, asking where Santoso was hiding and what he was doing. Suwarni could only answer I dont know, because indeed she did not know, he said.

Hundreds of police officers and soldiers began scouring the mountains and jungles of Poso regency in January 2015 in an effort to find the MIT. It numbered about 30 individuals at the time, including six ethnic Uyghur men from China, three women, and several former members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), al-Qaedas Southeast Asian affiliate.

One of the women, the widow of a former militant, traveled hundreds of miles from her home in West Nusa Tenggara province to join the MIT in 2014 and became Santosos second wife.

Jumiatun Muslimayatun, 22, was arrested on July 23, five days after Santoso was killed, and named a terrorism suspect. Only 10 of Santosos followers remain at-large in the rugged terrain of Central Sulawesi.

Sick again

During a recent visit to Bakti Agung Village, a BenarNews reporter was accompanied by village officials or police at all times. Yusmanto said he had relayed an interview request to Suwarni, but she had declined.

Suwarni is sick again, so she doesnt want to see anyone. Whats for certain is that shes waiting for help from the government or charitable individuals, Yusmanto said.

Suwarni suffers from diabetes and has often been sick in recent months, according to Yusmanto, who said she had given him permission to speak on her behalf.

Seeing other villagers is not a problem. But she doesnt want to meet new people, especially journalists, Yusmanto said.

Suwarni married Santoso in 1998, when she was 16 or 17 years old. He was four years her senior. She gave birth to three daughters between 2002 and 2009.

After leaving four years ago, Santoso never came home, Yusmanto said.

Suwarni became increasingly dejected and withdrawn after learning of his death, he said.

She was tasked with identifying his body at a hospital in the provincial capital, Palu, according to the Jakarta Post.

"Suwarni was hear to burst into tears minutes after she entered the hospital mortuary. She was accompanied by two of her relatives and under a tight security guard. The woman, wearing a black chador, gave no statements but directly entered a vehicle after examining her husband's corpse," the newspaper reported.

Coping

Villagers have not ostracized Suwarni but have tried to help her cope with her fate, local officials said.

If there is support from the village, Suwarni is prioritized, said Kahar, the head of the village-level police force.

Suwarni and her children were recently issued government cards that confer health and education benefits to low-income Indonesians, he said.

Bakti Agung Village has 1,650 residents, including Christians, Muslims and Hindus, he said.

Here, people respect each other. Including Santosos wife. Though they know she is the wife of the leader of a radical group, they still accept her and do what they can to help her live well, Kahar said. He claimed the same was true for her children.

Santoso in his youth

Santoso, the son of Javanese trans migrants, lived in Bakti Agung from his teenage years. People knew him as someone who drank and gambled, but worked hard and was kind, according to Daeng Ala, a Bakti Agung resident.

Santoso did various types of work, including selling books, making utensils and plates, carpentry and stonework. He helped build a temple that is used by Hindus in the village today, as well as several houses, Daeng recalled.

He was a creative person, and lived here for about 20 years. He married Suwarni in this village, he said.

Villagers were stunned to learn that he had abandoned his family to join a radical Islamist group, he said. Growing up, Santoso didnt care much about religion.

Never mind the five daily prayers. Santoso never even did Friday prayers, Daeng said.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcome ceremony for visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) before their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

China and Philippines are signing over 13 billion U.S. dollar worth of trade deals, as reported by Reuters. Philippine Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez was quoted to say that the visit by Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte was a milestone and will help in improving ties after the territorial dispute surrounding the South China Sea. President Duterte also said that he was announcing his "separation" from erstwhile ally United States. Duterte made the comments at a business forum in the presence of Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli at Beijing's Great Hall of the People during his visit, as reported by Reuters.

Hailing a new era, Duterte told Chinese President Xi, as quoted by the FT, "Even as we arrive in Beijing close to winter, this is the springtime of our relationship." While addressing Filipinos in China, Duterte said "I will not go to America anymore. We will just be insulted there; so time to say goodbye my friend."

This is a fascinating development, and quite possibly the most stunningly fast geopolitical reversal ever observed in International Relations.

The Chinese side made sure that their Filipino guests understand that the relationship between the two countries is brotherly, and would immediately return to a track of dialogue and consultation with regards to a proper settlement of the South China Sea issue, as the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said.

Duterte announced before his trip that he would ask Beijing to allow Filipino fishermen to again operate in the area, highlighting that the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China) incident still plays a deterministic part in Filipino policy. However, this meeting has far greater ramifications than just the South China Sea issue. As, Vice Foreign Minister Liu said, "The two sides briefly mentioned the South China Sea. Both sides agreed that this issue is not the sum total of bilateral relations." He also said that China will lift restrictions on imports of tropical fruit from the Philippines and a travel alert for Chinese tourists to Philippines will be cancelled.

Duterte also said that the South China Sea issue will now take a backseat. In fact, no one expected this even a few months back, when the Philippines arbitration case verdict came out. Duterte now seems eager for a total pivot to Beijing. And surprisingly he is also interested in joint military exercises with Moscow, although it is hard at this stage to understand whether it is genuinely to fill a gap in Filipino military operational training, or just to alienate Washington further.

This forms the peak of a remarkable month for Philippines -- encompassing a total 180 degree turn from the arbitration verdict, to domestic drug wars, and to burning bridges with U.S. in a matter of days. As analysts try to understand what influenced this intense and fast pivot there might be explanations in International Relations which shed some light.

In International Relations literature, much has been highlighted and discussed when it comes to alliance formations. Stephen Walt, in his seminal work during the 1980s, highlighted conditions of state behavior including when states balance, bandwagon and buck-pass, etc. What we are seeing now, is perhaps an acute, tremendous and most classic textbook case of bandwagoning ever observed in any natural social environment.

So what is bandwagoning? Bandwagoning in International Relations is a phenomenon, which in theory suggests, occurs when a relatively weaker state changes course and aligns with a stronger, adversarial power. There are obviously several reasons which instigate such behavior, but without going into theoretical details, here's my hypothesis. When Duterte came to power in the Philippines he was partial regarding relations with both China and U.S., as I wrote at that time on these pages. What he was absolutely certain about though, was his almost religious zeal of clearing Filipino streets of crime and drug lords. He obviously didn't like being criticized on human rights grounds by an "ally." United States, and he made it quite clear several times. The U.S.' intelligence also deeply misjudged Duterte's volatility.

Added to that is classic structural causes. The rise of China as a giant next door complicated the threat assessment perceptions of smaller countries around it. As International Relations suggests, states either try to gravitate towards a rising giant, or go in a polar opposite direction, inviting other states to balance the rising power. Now, since Philippines' economy is related to China, and China is in much closer proximity than the U.S., Duterte has unsurprisingly chosen to be more accommodating to Chinese interests, and slowly start moving towards China. It is hard to predict over the longer term but almost certainly, in the short term, this is one of the fastest diplomatic turn-arounds I have seen in my life. There is still the possibility that the Filipino domestic situation will change, or that external pressures will influence the Philippines, but as of now, it is score-one for China.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn




First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday that he hoped the issues blocking a free-trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Canada would be settled in the next few days despite a Belgian region opposing the deal.

Leaders from the 28 member states of the bloc were expected to reach an agreement on approving the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the second day of the EU summit, which kicked off on Thursday.

However, due to continued opposition from Belgium, the deal has been thrown into disarray.

"I hope that we will be able to see an agreed settlement in a few days, with the Wallonians, our friends," Juncker told a press conference after the second day of EU summit.

The Belgian region of Wallonia is blocking the ratification of the deal over social and environmental concerns.

To ratify the EU-Canada deal, EU member states need to approve three draft decisions: provisional application, signature, and conclusion of CETA. Although all three documents are formally subject to a qualified majority vote, consensus will be required.

According to local media reports, Wallonia was still resisting pressure to back the EU-Canada trade deal on Friday morning. The region's leader Paul Magnette said "difficulties remain" for the region to sign the deal.

The French-speaking area in southern Belgium fears local workers will be laid off if the agreement leads to cheaper farming and industrial imports.

Juncker said Wallonia's problem with CETA is "not technical or substantial but political." He expressed hope to find a solution in the coming few days as he called CETA "the best trade agreement" the EU has ever negotiated.

Encouragingly, Romania dropped its opposition to the deal during the summit after securing visa-free access to Canada for its citizens.

"We are in a position to withdraw our reservations against CETA," Romanian President Klaus Johannis said Friday in Brussels.

Starting from Dec. 1, 2017, Romanians will be able to enter Canada without visas.

The trade deal with Canada could be the bloc's last free trade agreement if it fails, warned European Council President Donald Tusk.

EU's trade policy chief Cecilia Malmstrom tweeted on Friday saying the European Commission is undergoing intensive talks with Wallonia on CETA.

Noting the EU and Canada are trying to find a way forward, Malmstrom said she hopes solutions will be found as soon as possible.

Despite the uncertainty, the EU and Canada are still determined to hold a summit in Brussels on Oct. 27, when they hope to formally sign CETA.

The EU-Canada free trade deal was reached in August 2014 after five years of negotiations, aiming to eliminate 98 percent of tariffs between the two sides. It has been opposed by various groups, including environmental activists, trade unionists and socialists.
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Turkey and Iraq have reached an agreement in principle that could eventually allow a Turkish role in the military operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) militants, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in Ankara on Friday, private broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

The details of Ankara's possible role in the operation have not been shaped yet as they also await confirmation from Baghdad, Carter said after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"That will have to obviously be something that the Iraqi government needs to agree on and I think there's an agreement there in principle," he added.

"But now we're down to the practicalities of that... and that's what we're working through," Carter said.

Tensions recently increased between Turkey and Iraq due to a statement by the Iraqi government which said that Turkish military units stationed in Bashiqa camp near Mosul should withdraw, while Turkey denied the allegations and said its troops were there on invitation.

Carter also stressed that the United States will continue to be a strong ally of Turkey.

He said the U.S. supports the initiatives taken by Turkey to protect its borders with Iraq and Syria, and it wants Turkey to participate in anti-terror operations against the IS.

Even though there may be differences of opinion between the U.S. and Turkey, both countries can overcome them through discussion, Carter noted.

The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Ankara on Friday for meetings with Turkish officials on a range of security challenges in the region, including the latest developments in Iraq and Syria.

He held meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Defense Minister Fikri Isik.

Following his visit to Turkey, Carter is scheduled to go to the United Arab Emirates for meetings with Emirati leaders.
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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk attend a press conference after the second-day's meeting of EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

Leaders from the 28 member states of the European Union (EU) on Friday wrapped up a two-day summit in Brussels, seeking to stem flows of irregular migrants, settle a stalled trade deal with Canada, and mount pressure on Russia.

Curbing flow of migrants

At the first session of the summit, the leaders' discussion focused in particular on external border controls and deals with African countries to reduce the number of illegal migrants.

Hailing the entry into force of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation on Oct. 6, the EU countries committed themselves to continuing to deploy staff and equipment to the new institution.

In a concluding document of the discussion, the leaders called for "a swift adoption" of a revised Schengen Borders Code to enforce systematic controls on all travelers crossing EU external borders.

Meanwhile, the leaders asked the EU executive body to come up with a proposal for setting up a European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) to allow for advance security checks on visa-exempt travelers and deny them entry where necessary.

Furthermore, the EU leaders pressed for quicker progress from deals with African countries to reduce the number of irregular migrants, increase returns and try to solve the "root causes" of migration.

The central Mediterranean has once again become the main crossing point for illegal migrants from Africa. More than 115,000 people arrived in Italy by boat in the first eight months of 2016, remaining at the same level as in 2014 and 2015, European Council President Donald Tusk told the press after the first day of the summit.

After accessing the so-called "migration compacts" set up between the EU and five African countries, namely Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia, the EU leaders agreed to wait until the next summit in December to decide whether to extend it to other countries.

Thanks to the migration deal between the EU and Turkey, the influx of irregular migrants crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece has dropped 98 percent in September compared with last year. Meanwhile, twice as many irregular migrants had already been returned compared to all of 2015, Tusk said.

As to the controversial relocation and resettlement schemes, divergence among the EU countries persists and member states are urged to quickly implement the existing schemes.

Setting trade deal with Canada

Leaders from the 28 member states of the bloc were expected to reach an agreement on approving the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the second day of the EU summit. However, due to continued opposition from a region of Belgium, the deal has been thrown into disarray.

"I hope that we will be able to see an agreed settlement in a few days, with the Wallonians, our friends," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a press conference after the second day of the EU summit.

The Belgian region of Wallonia is blocking the ratification of the deal over social and environmental concerns.

According to local media, Wallonia was still resisting pressure to back the EU-Canada trade deal on Friday morning. The region's leader Paul Magnette said "difficulties remain" for the region to sign the deal.

The French-speaking area in southern Belgium fears local workers will be laid off if the agreement leads to cheaper farming and industrial imports.

Juncker said Wallonia's problem with CETA is "not technical or substantial but political." He expressed hope to find a solution in the coming few days as he called CETA "the best trade agreement" the EU has ever negotiated.

The trade deal with Canada could be the bloc's last free trade agreement if it fails, warned European Council President Donald Tusk.

Encouragingly, Romania dropped its opposition to the deal during the summit after securing visa-free access to Canada for its citizens, which starts from Dec. 1, 2017.

"We are in a position to withdraw our reservations against CETA," Romanian President Klaus Johannis said Friday in Brussels.

The EU-Canada free trade deal was reached in August 2014 after five years of negotiations, aiming to eliminate 98 percent of tariffs between the two sides.

Mounting pressure on Russia

The EU leaders on Friday "held a strategic policy debate on relations with Russia," according to a summary document released after the first day's meeting.

Accusing Russia's strategy of attempting to weaken the EU, Tusk told a news conference that the EU and its member states will continue in their efforts to put pressure on Russia.

As to the situation in the war-torn Aleppo, the EU leaders called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a resumption of a credible political process under UN auspices.

"Everything should be done to extend the ceasefire, bring in humanitarian aid to the civilian population and create the conditions for opening negotiations on a political transition in Syria," the document said.

However, the EU warned of the need to consider "all available options" should the situation not improved.

Russia and Syria on Monday announced a humanitarian truce from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time (0600 GMT to 1400 GMT) on Thursday in rebel-held areas of Aleppo, but decided on Wednesday to extend it for another three hours.

The ceasefire is aimed at ensuring the safe exit of civilians via humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of the wounded and sick.
Octobers already half gone and with it goes your chance to win a scary-good trip from BootsnAll and WorldNomads. Read on to find out how to enter and win free travel to Egypt, Cambodia or Central Europe and get our best advice on making the most of a trip to New Zealand (no organized tours required), what to do in Australia, and how to beat the solo traveler blues on your next big trip. Choose the finest Orlando Limousine services for your special events, business transportation or for leisure. Book the most reliable Limousine Service in Orlando, FL for Port Canaveral transportation, MCO airport transfer, Walt Disney world transport or any other destination; Limo Service of Orlando offers a professional, punctual and reliable limousine and car services 24/7, with a complete fleet of late-model luxury sedans, stretch limousines, super stretch party limos, executive SUVs, passenger vans, Mercedes Sprinters, shuttle and coach buses, all in pristine condition and available for any event, destination or group size. Our limo rental services as well as our car services will take you anywhere in central Florida.



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What exactly does the Grand Prize include, anyway? The stuff travel dreams are made of. Seriously, though, the winner of Trip or Treat will receive pretty much everything we think a traveler needs for a big trip: two reserved spots on Intrepid Travels Cambodia Real Food Adventure, Egypt Adventure, or Best of Central Europe Tour; round-trip economy airfare for two provided by BootsnAll and Trang ca o bong a uy tin nhat Viet Nam; a standard travel insurance policy for two by World Nomads; Luggage and gear by eBags; Apparel from ExOfficio; footwear by Palladium; and a 1-year subscription to AFAR Magazine.



New Zealand: Indie Travel Paradise? Whitney Cox shares why New Zealands an ideal destination for long-term indie travelreason #1its nearly impossible to get lost. You can Make this Halloween the best ever with free travel treats and a chance to win a free trip to Cambodia or Central Europe. Australia is a great fishing destination. Just bring a fly rod and the best fly reel under 100. A massive coastline surrounded by lightly-fished seas makes Australia a fly fishing paradise. You can even take luxury tours in Switzerland which are great for travelers.

In general, New Zealand has more comprehensive signage than a shopping mall. Signs along the highway will point you towards towns, popular attractions, scenic lookouts, campsites, picnic spots sport fishing charter crews, and interesting-looking rocks. Yellow signs in towns will direct you to holiday parks, hostels, shops, and hospitals. And in the middle of absolutely nowhere, an information sign will explain a geological or historical point of interest about the rock youre looking at.



Australia is really far away, and more expensive than lots of cool destinations. So why go? Brooke Schoenman has 10 reasons Australia is worth a trip, despite the extra expense and time on the plane.

If you love those golden rays, then Australia wont disappoint. The sunshine and weather, in general, are beautiful pretty much year round. Theres even the possibility of an endless summer experience if you travel north when the southern areas get a bit chilly. Just follow the backpacker rush that occurs from Sydney and Melbourne in May and June up the coast to Cairns to migrate with the warm weather. Australias dependably sunny weather means 365 days a year of beaches, surfing, camping and hiking no matter what season you arrive in.



Solo traveling is incredibly rewarding, but even the most independent travelers get broad-sided with loneliness at times. Denise Esser shares 12 tips on combating loneliness to help ensure that your solo journey will be an unforgettable experience.

The upside to solo travel is you dont need to consult anyone to do or see what you want to, you get to make your own agenda, and you dont have to answer to anyone.The downsides that it can be incredibly lonely at times, bringing on unexpected and sometimes severe homesickness thats enough to make you want to jump off the nearest tourist attraction. While bouts of loneliness are inevitable for solo travelers  whether theyre traveling for business or pleasure  here are 12 things you can do to minimize the solo travel blues and enjoy your trip to its full potential. And just remember that years later when you reminisce, the highs always outshine the lows.
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Dozens of Islamic State (IS) militants on Friday carried out multiple attacks in the Iraqi northern city of Kirkuk targeting security and local government buildings, as the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces are pushing to recapture territories around the city of Mosul in preparation for the final offensive on the IS last major stronghold in Iraq.

The attacks in Kirkuk began before dawn when dozens of IS militants, many wearing explosive vests, attacked the police compound, a building of Kurdish security, known as Asaysh, and some government buildings and mosques inside the city of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

After fierce clashes with the security forces, the attackers and suicide bombers seized several buildings in southern and central parts of the city, including a police headquarters, Kurdish Asaysh, a mosque and houses, the source said.

The Kurdish security forces, backed by Kurdish reinforcement troops from the neighboring provinces of Sulaimaniyah and Arbil, surrounded the IS-held buildings inside the city, while clashes continued during the day, the source said.

By the end of the daylight, the troops managed to retake control of several buildings in the city neighborhoods, including Tis'in, Wasiti, Wahid Huzairan and al-Askari, but the clashes continued in the night in the neighborhoods of Domiz in southern Kirkuk and Raas al-Jeser in central part of the city.

Late in the afternoon, the security forces killed three IS militants who were fighting at a building in Wahid Huzairan neighborhood and freed some 20 civilians held hostages by the militants, the source said.

Several local Iraqi channels broadcast the fire exchange live for a few hours during the day, showing dozens of policemen, Peshmerga members and armed Kurdish civilians carrying their weapons and surrounding the occupied buildings.

The source could not give exact number of casualties by the clashes as the battles are underway, but said that at least 13 security members were killed and 37 others wounded, while more than 14 IS militants were killed, including six detonated their explosive vest.

In addition, an Iraqi journalist, who works for the local Turkmeneli channel, was killed by crossfire between IS militants and the security forces in central Kirkuk, the source added.

Authorities in the city imposed curfew and blocked the entrances of the city, as dozens of police and Kurdish security forces were deployed outside the government buildings and main streets, the source said.

Another attack targeted al-Debis power plant, some 35 km northeast of Kirkuk, when at least two suicide bombers entered the station sparking heavy clash with the guards, but the attacker took control of part of the facility and executed 16 workers, including four Iranians, the source said.

The Iranian victims were technicians of the Iranian Sunir company, which has been implementing a contract of expanding the power plant with the German Siemens company.

Later in the day, the security forces killed the suicide bombers and the situation in the plant is under control, the source added.

In Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, two suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the morning at the house of Sheikh Adnan al-Bazi, the leader of government-backed paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters, in the town of Mutasim, some 100 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

The guards of the group's leader clashed with the attackers who managed to enter the house and detonated themselves, leaving three people killed and 15 others wounded, including Bazi himself and some of his family members, the source said.

The attack in Kirkuk came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

During the day, Iraqi security forces and allied Shiite paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units continued their advance in south of Mosul and recaptured three villages while moving north to the IS-held town of Shoura, some 30km south of Mosul, a security source from the Operations Command of Nineveh Liberation told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, heavy battles are underway in what is known as Nineveh Plain, which lies to the east and northeast of Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh.

On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city.

Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) holds talks with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that his four-day visit to China "signaled a turning point" in diplomatic relations between the two Asian countries.

"My state visit to China signaled a turning point in our shared history and showed that both countries are fully capable of working together for mutual beneficial cooperation even as we remain committed to settle disputes peacefully, in full adherence of international law," Duterte said in a speech in Davao City upon arrival from Beijing.

In his meetings, Duterte said they had "productive and extensive discussions on the full range of Chinese-Philippine relations, from trade and investments, to infrastructure and tourism, and to science and technology and health."

"To realize the vision of a deeper and more meaningful engagement, we have opened formal lines of communications between our government and agreed on the full resumption of the regular bilateral consultations mechanisms which were put on hold for several years," Duterte said.

With security and stability recognized as necessary conditions for growth, Duterte said the Philippines and China affirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

"We acknowledged the need to address disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law," he said.

"We also agreed to continue discussions on confidence-building measures, including a bilateral consultation mechanism to discuss immediate issues of concern in South China Sea," Duterte said.

To maintain stability, Duterte said China and the Philippines concluded an agreement for general cooperation to minimize incidents at sea.

To combat the menace of illegal drugs, he said both countries agreed to continue across a broad range of areas, including in capacity-building, equipment upgrading and support for rehabilitation purposes.

"With the shared objective of achieving greater growth and prosperity for our peoples, the Philippines and China jointly worked closely on building a robust economic agenda," Duterte said.

Duterte reported that the Philippines signed a number of agreements. "Mostly economic in nature, these agreements provide the framework with which to carry out intensified cooperation between the Philippines and China," he said.

He added that in his numerous meetings with officials and businessmen "there was a renewed and heightened sense of optimism in trade relations."

"The friendship rekindled opened up deeper commitments to significantly enhance trade and investments," he said.

He also announced that his talks with Chinese leaders and business leaders resulted in public financing agreements and private business deals valued at billions of U.S. dollars in soft loans.

"These agreements, covering various fields of economic activities, are expected to generate 2 million jobs for the Filipinos in the next five years," he said.

He vowed to continue "to work very hard to ensure that these agreements bear concrete results that will better the lives of our people."
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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Killarneys refugee sponsorship group has joined a growing list of Canadian communities that have waited on families who didnt arrive by the specified date.

Chairperson Danny Groening said their committee has paid rent since July on a house for an eight-person family from Congo.

The expected arrival for the refugees was mid-July to mid-September. Its now October, and they have no explanation for the delay.

SUBMITTED Members of the Killarney Refugee Sponsorship Project welcome their first family's arrival (Dickson, Joh and Mensah) at James Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg in July. From left, Rev. Maria Szabo Berces, her daughter Anita, Zoe Dickson, Laura Rowley, Felicia Joh, Killarney Mayor Rick Pauls, William Mensah, Emma and Mason DeRuyck, Tim DeRuyck, Isaiah Rowley, Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire and Danny Groening. (Submitted)

Groening, a pastor at Killarney Mennonite Church, said the setback doesnt frustrate him but its concerning.

Its a family of eight, theres a lot of moving parts. You wonder, maybe, if somebodys become ill or isnt fit to travel? he said. For us, if anything, its just an inconvenience; for them, this is their lives.

A new study, released this week by Brandon Universitys Rural Development Institute (RDI), examined the challenges of settling refugees in rural Manitoba. One respondent said the federal government  which expedited the arrival of Syrian refugees following the last election and, in the process, put a strain on government resources  needs to provide specific timelines or money to sponsorship groups assuming unnecessary expenses like rent.

In the Boissevain-Killarney case study, one of the four respondents said their sponsorship group wasted four to six months of rental funds waiting for their tenants, a Syrian family of five.

The study didnt state which community the Syrian family settled in.

Speaking from a conference about migration and refugees in Winnipeg on Friday, RDI director Bill Ashton said the timeline of refugee arrival was a discussion point among attendees across the country.

While it wasnt common, it was certainly a part of the conversation, he said.

Although Groening is not aware of the delay in the Syrian family, hes hopeful his sponsorship groups family from Congo  a father, mother, one niece and five children ranging in age from four to 16  is doing fine. He added that hes lucky the organization has only been asked to pay half the rent while they wait.

In the meantime, the communitys first refugee family, who came earlier this year, is fitting in nicely.

Two women and a seven-year-old child have settled in Killarney. The pair found mutual support following years of struggle in Liberia and recently as refugees in Ivory Coast.

The women already knew English before arriving in Canada, which removed the language barrier many refugees tend to face.

Its a big step in our favour versus a lot of the other settlements in the area where there isnt that immediate ability to communicate, Groening said.

The Boissevain-Killarney case study painted a picture similar to many rural communities sponsoring refugees, many for the first time.

There are common successes, including the herculean effort of volunteers, as well as challenges, particularly in language supports and obtaining transportation.

The report found an assumption that refugee settlement would be difficult, considering the limited language programs, employment opportunities and lack of public transportation in rural areas.

Settlement services are also not readily available in the region, so newcomers would need to visit Cartwright or Brandon.

Participants believe finding accessible housing, forming social connections and addressing health care would be the pressing short-term needs for newcomers.

Schooling, health services and the welcoming spirit of neighbours were cited as favourable factors.

Groening raved about Killarneys settlement experience so far, which was spearheaded after numerous churches and the community came together to gauge interest last fall. As a result, two families were selected to be sponsored.

Yes, theres been challenges, but Ive been telling people its been one of the best things Ive been a part of in my life, he said.

Tom Guenther, a member of the Boissevain Resettlement Committee, said they laid out the welcome mat to a family of three from Eritrea, who arrived on time in June.

The couple, which has some proficiency in English, takes language classes and is completing their Grade 12 equivalency to attend a post-secondary school.

Their neighbours have welcomed them warmly, holding a potluck for them this summer.

That was a new word they had to understand, what this new potluck was all about, Guenther recalled. It was fun learning about it with them.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman with a history of shoplifting has been fined for her mis-steak after getting caught stuffing meat down her pants.

The womans lawyer said there was no loss to the store, but Crown attorney Ron Toews said he would hope the items werent put back for sale.

The total value of the items that she took  which I hope in any event are not back on the shelves  was a loss of $65.38, Toews said.

Jolene Tara Branth pleaded guilty on Friday in Brandon provincial court to the shoplifting.

Toews said a Superstore security officer watched as Branth concealed a variety of items that she took out of her shopping basket.

She placed two deli sandwiches in her purse. She put grapes, air fresheners and a bag of mixed bulk food into a bag.

She removed two small trays of steak from the basket, put them in the front of her pants, Toews said.

Branth then tried to leave the store without paying, but was stopped.

Toews suggested a fine for the shoplifting, and Judge John Combs made it a $500 one. Branth was also fined $200 for previously failing to attend court.

Branth has a history of theft. In 2013, for example, she was sent to jail after getting caught shoplifting nine times in about 20 months  including four times at the same Brandon store.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @IanHitchen
Opinion

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This article was published 21/10/2016 (2201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Although marked up at times over the past year, most of the way has been sunny for the Justin Trudeau-led Liberal government.

With the Grits now officially one-quarter into their term, members of the media and political pundits alike took to composing a scorecard of sorts for the government, while the government took to celebrating their paper anniversary.

They have reason to celebrate as their first year consisted of many positive moments. Gender parity in the cabinet, a revamped child tax benefit, restoring old age security eligibility to 65, work on rebuilding the Canadian image internationally, and finally real government action on an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

The Trudeau government has taken some risks and upset the established principals many felt were the calling card of the previous administration. A recent Form Research poll asked Canadians about their faith in the Trudeau government, and the result was resoundingly positive. If an election were held today, the Grits would eclipse 220 seats in Parliament, proof that the Liberal brand of governance is working.

One promise though sticks out and will need continued work long after the Trudeau government rides into the sunset. It is the most significant promise made by a government in decades and must now come with tangible action. The prime minister promised genuine dialogue and a shared vision with Canadas First Nations community.

For too long, we neglected to recognize one of the darkest chapters in our history. The residential school system represents the ultimate betrayal by the government toward First Nations people, and even though an apology for the residential school system is now eight years in the past, little tangible action has taken place on what is such a sad part of the Canadian story.

Trudeau promised during the campaign that he and his government would begin actual, meaningful dialogue, a dialogue that would include First Nations representation in many aspects of our governments decision-making process.

Take for example the Pacific Northwest LNG Pipeline project in British Columbia. The natural gas pipeline is designed to export liquefied natural gas to foreign countries at a rate of close to 20 million tonnes yearly. The project will cost Canadians $36 million and is still subject to plenty of regulatory red tape before becoming a reality. First Nations groups in the region have soundly denounced the pipeline, but find themselves in stark contrast once again to the provincial and federal governments seen as driving the project.

If we are going to indeed embark on nation to nation building, then we must not only talk with the First Nations community on how best to make shared decisions, we need to act on it. The pipeline stands as an example of what could have become that type of action led dialogue.

Talk of Trudeaus promise has crept into popular culture as well. The Secret Pathproject undertaken by Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip is one of those opportunities to open dialogue and over time create meaningful change. The Hips terminally ill frontman gave the prime minister significant praise at his final summer concert for Trudeaus promise to mend relationships with the First Nations community, and as he put it find out what went on up there when referring to the northern communities of Canada. Downies project looks at the tragic story of a residential school youth known as Chanie (Charlie) Wenjack, who died trying to find his way home from a Kingston-area facility in 1966. As Canadians prepared to celebrate our centennial, Charlie died alone by a railroad track in Ontario.

There is a frustration building among First Nations communities that the political promises made by Trudeau thus far have been largely ignored. Although only a year into his term, the prime minister has left many feeling they are dealing with same old demons governments in the past have left them to face. The prime minister was once greeted with open arms on reserves, and now in a couple of cases, he is clearly not welcome.

It is too soon to write this off as a failed promise, though. This government is only a year into its mandate and still has plenty of fish to fry in the coming years.

If Trudeau is hoping to continue to ride high in the polls, he must rely on more than goodwill and promises though or he may ultimately shorten the Grits shelf life. And for the First Nations community, it is clear that the longer it takes for the government to come the table, the more likely many of those overarching promises will pass their best-before date.
Opinion

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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Release tension, get rid of sore muscles, relax into oblivion. Ahhh, the benefits of a good massage.

Oct. 23-29 is National Massage Therapy Week, a week dedicated to raising the awareness of the massage therapy profession. Were fortunate to have many qualified and amazing therapists in Brandon and the surrounding area.

Jamie Falloon of Prairie Bliss Massage Therapy is new to the local scene, but has 11 years of experience in the industry.

Falloon grew up in Brandon and continued her studies, graduating with a two-year diploma, at the Massage Therapy College of Manitoba in Winnipeg. She then spent some time travelling and working in different areas of Canada, as well as in Grand Cayman.

She recently moved back to Brandon and started her business in February; moving to her current location at 648 10th St. (in the same building as Contour Massage) this past summer.

As a licensed massage therapist, she offers Swedish, therapeutic/deep tissue, sport and aromatherapy massage, plus she has taken a special interest in pre and postnatal massage and specializes in those areas.

Theres different focuses with prenatal massage, but every massage is tailored to each persons individual needs. I have some prenatal clients that were coming for a massage once a week in their last trimester. They are sore and uncomfortable and things ache, so I try to get in there and relax their muscles and make them a little more comfortable, Falloon said.

Falloon is pleased to announce that she just started offering hot stone massage, which is relaxation massage using hot stones and they now have gift certificates available. As well, they offer easy online booking so finding time for a massage just got that much easier!

For more information, visit prairiebliss.com or call/text 778-977-6466.

Shopping Magic

Theres just a couple of weeks left to pick up your tickets for this years Holiday Magic at Shoppers Mall. The event will be held on Nov. 5 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and features one-night-only specials, store discounts and great prizes.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased from one of 40 different participating charities or at Guest Services. Visit shoppersmallbrandon.com/

events for a complete list of organizations that are selling the advanced tickets.<t-5>

Over the past four years, the event has raised $80,000 for local non-profit organizations.

In other news from Shoppers Mall, congratulations to the centre for picking up a silver award in advertising for the I Will branding camping from the International Council of Shopping Centres award program. Way to go!

Downtown Celebration

Head down to Ten Thousand Villages at 829 Rosser Ave. this afternoon to help them celebrate 70 years of Fair Trade, as the organization achieves this major milestone.

The celebration takes place today from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and includes cake and coffee, special sales, surprises and a grand prize draw.

Stores across Canada will be celebrating the work of Edna Ruth Byler who started the organization in 1946 to help improve the lives of women in poverty by empowering artisans.

Ten Thousand Villages Canada sells artisan-crafted personal accessories, home decor and gift items from around the globe providing sustainable income through Fair Trade for food, education, health care and housing.

Were taking this as our opportunity to thank our community for supporting us over the last 70 years. Weve had a presence in downtown Brandon for the last 26 of those years and we are grateful for all the support, said Lynn Nightingale, manager of Ten Thousand Villages.

For details, call 204-726-8755 or email Brandon@villages.ca.
Opinion

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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you ever wonder why people are mad at government, consider the following National Post headline from earlier this week: Ontario Liberals Spent Almost All of $12M Budget for Hydro Rebate on Consultants, Ads, Energy Minister Admits.

The budget for this program was $12 million. The Liberals lavished $11.7 million of this budget  $9.3 million on consultants and $2.4 million on advertising and media buys  and spent little on the intended recipients.

The logic behind the program seems quite simple provide rebates to low-income Ontarians in an effort to reduce their hydro costs. Admirable, but when almost 98 per cent of the budget is expended on soft costs that benefit no one other than (most likely) friends of the government, and not the folks they purported to help, should we expect anything less than anger and frustration?

This episode, one might reasonably believe, helps explain the growing schism between so-called common folks and the elites.

Everyday voters are angry because they perceive a very small number of arrogant, well-connected insiders as profiting from these programs while the rest of us are being played like slack-jawed rubes.

This underlying sentiment explains the Brexit vote, the Ford Nation and the rise of the Tea Party including luminaries like Sarah Palin and, most notably, Donald Trump. Voters dont view these visibly flawed candidates as perfect  I think they view them as us in a cultural/economic war between us and them.

Their appeal is simple  it feeds off the anger of the dispossessed who, through an unholy combination of lack of education, connections, global trade deals, technological innovation, outsourcing, wealth and poor luck, have found themselves on the outside looking in.

To deeply frustrated people, candidates like Donald Trump speak to the aggrieved in what is clearly a grievance election. This is exactly what propelled Rob Ford to the mayoralty of Toronto. Few saw him as the answer, but they saw him as the vehicle for their anger against the establishment, embodied by political insider George Smitherman.

Few, of course, can boast of being as inside as Hillary Clinton. First Lady. Corporate lawyer. Corporate board member. Head of health care reform commission. Senator. Secretary of State. Two-time presidential candidate nominee.

Hillary and Bill have hung over the U.S. political scene for almost 30 years and, with respect, they are tiresome. Whether its Bills finger-wagging or his lip-biting, I think retirement beckons for Bill.

Donald Trump is arguably the least-qualified presidential candidate on a major ticket ever. Whether we are talking about his racist comments or sexist behaviour, it is clear he is unsuitable for the highest office, before we spend one minute discussing his policy ideas, of which there are few.

Hillary, by comparison, has a policy position on everything. Shes the smartest kid in the class and always wants to tell us that. Her reflex position is to lie to us and tell the truth as a final resort.

Let us not believe this anger is restricted to those on the right. Many who supported Bernie Sanders would be hard pressed to share with me any solution to the worlds problems beyond breaking up the banks and blaming Wall Street. This is a leftist bromide that has been around just as long as blaming Washington and media elites. Huey Long became a Louisiana legend in the 1920s on this rhetoric. The more things change 

Whether its building a wall or tearing down Wall Street, simple solutions are neither simple, nor solutions. They just dont work as the proponents never consider all of the ramifications. Life isnt simple and we should not be deluded into thinking that a slick salesman has all the answers and it wont hurt a bit.

Dismissing the working class as less than will not work. It never has, and it never will. These are the people who fight our wars and work the jobs the elites take for granted. They are angry, and they should be. Charlatans like Trump recognize and exploit their anger, but we should never discount their anger as anything short of righteous.

 Kerry Auriat is a lifelong Brandon resident.
Opinion

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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You have to wonder if Sanford Riley and Kelvin Shepherd have not been paying attention.

Mr. Riley  the board chairman of Manitoba Hydro  and Mr. Shepherd  its CEO  told a public meeting Tuesday that a major equity injection from the province is one of the things that may need to be considered as the Crown corporation grapples with its debt. Translation: a bailout from the province.

The response on Wednesday from the premier was swift: find some efficiencies first.

And so it should be.

Premier Brian Pallister has been clear his government is looking at all government departments and Crown corporations to be more efficient and transparent. It was also clear when Mr. Pallister fired the Manitoba Hydro board just days after the April election, putting in place Mr. Riley along with seven other Tory appointees, that things were going to have to change. In fact, the new board members expertise was heavily weighted to senior financial management.

It was also made clear when the minister responsible for Crown corporations put in place plans to sack the civilian oversight board for crowns and replacing them with bureaucrats. Ron Schuler says the board was not doing its job and overhauling how Crown corporations operate makes them more accountable and less prone to political interference. Manitoba Hydro was one of the organizations Mr. Schuler voiced concerns about.

Another concern is Hydros tendering practices. Part of the Progressive Conservatives election promises was an improvement of the tendering process for all government contracts, which potentially could include crowns. Manitoba Hydro had to know this was coming, given it has come under fire for not releasing details on contracts awarded without tender. In particular, a 2014 contract given to Tetra Tech, an engineering management consultancy firm worth up to $85 million over the life of the project was untendered. Hydro refused to provide information on why that firm was given the bid, which was to provide project management for the Keeyask generating station. Keeyask, of course, was one of the projects reviewed by a U.S.-based consulting company indicating that costs are ballooning to as high as $7.8 billion from $6.5 billion.

Mr. Pallister said there were efficiencies to be found in Manitoba Hydro. He may have been looking at the employee compensation report the corporation released earlier this year that showed it paid out more than $13 million last year for banked vacation time, severance payments, unused sick leave and other benefits to employees leaving the company. Another report on executive salaries indicated that outgoing president and CEO Scott Thomson received a gross income of $494,908 in 2015, $121,874 of which was classified as termination/retirement pay.

The writing is on the wall. Mr. Pallister has talked openly about trimming middle-management in government and launched a value-for-money audit. Theres little doubt Manitoba Hydro has a huge target on its back because of the Bipole III debacle and the overruns on Keeyask. Mr. Riley and Mr. Shepherd should have known that any attempt to get help from the province to strengthen its balance sheet was not going to happen. So the question that Mr. Riley and Mr. Shepherd really need to answer for both Hydros ratepayers and provincial taxpayers is what were you thinking?

 Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion

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This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trumped-up, trickle-down destruction

Im not sure if Donald Trumps goal was to destroy the Republican party but he sure is doing a hell of a job doing it. While a lot of people believe its Trump that is the cancer that needs to be cut out of the party, this didnt happen overnight. As someone who has dual citizenship, I can say that the Republican leadership, who for a long time winked at the Tea Party for years because they were helping mobilize a vote, are now being consumed by those same people.

We need more engagement

I think more Canadians are interested in the American debates than our politics here at home. Shame on us for being blood thirsty for the mess that is happening to the south, while political engagement continues to decline in the country.

Green with envy

Its nice to see a leader stand up for the agricultural community. Saskatchewans Brad Wall seems like he is the only one who is opposed to the federal carbon tax. For some reason, farmers have been singled out in the crusade against carbon despite using methods like no-till farming that helps trap carbon in the ground. I wonder where Manitobas premier stands on the situation?

Say it like it is

We agree with a recent note in Sound Off. Use the words that indicate the actions. They arent car hopping, they are breaking into someones vehicle and stealing their possessions. They arent tagging, they are defacing someones home or business. Dont make light of breaking the law.

Keeping us in the dark

Regarding the recent comments regarding Brandon street lights. I have made three phone calls to Manitoba Hydro regarding the burnt out street light at the corner of Victoria Avenue and East Fotheringham Drive on the west end of Brandon. There is a pedestrian crosswalk at this intersection and it is completely dark. I have been both a pedestrian and a driver in this area and I feel it is an accident waiting to happen, with traffic coming into Brandon from Highway 1A. There is no record of my first call to Manitoba Hydro to report the outage, my second phone call the operator was obviously not familiar with Brandon and I spent a great deal of time on the phone with her while she searched a map of Brandon. My third phone call was the most frustrating as the operator stated you must realize when one street light is replaced there is another one somewhere else that also needs to be done. And when I expressed my concern over the darkness at the pedestrian crosswalk she said, Well, the lights of an oncoming vehicle would see anyone. Both operators told me it generally takes 10 working days to replace a reported outage. It has been a month and certainly not the next day service someone else was lucky to have had.
The Dunn County Board of Supervisors has approved a six-month moratorium on the licensing or expansion of large-scale livestock facilities by more than 20 percent to allow time to study the many facets of the issue.

Although the resolution was supposed the receive a first reading, the board voted 20-9 to waive the rules so that they could take action during Wednesday night's meeting instead of having to wait until they meet again on Nov. 15.

Before making their decision, the board heard nearly an hour of public comments on the subject of the proposed moratorium from close to 30 people of the more than 80 area residents and farmers in attendance, many of whom live or own property near Cranberry Creek Dairy.

Located in the Town of Rock Creek, the dairy has been at the center of controversy the past month after the Jeremy Radle family applied for a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources pollutant discharge permit to allow them to expand their current herd from 2,107 to 7,250 animal units. The increased herd is projected to produce 56.3 million gallons of liquid manure and 600 tons of solid waste.

While some who spoke opposed the moratorium, others raised concerns about the effect of large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on both surface and ground water, wells and the environment. According to the ordinance, "It is critical that all necessary and appropriate safeguards be in place before additional large livestock facilities commence or expand."

About the moratorium

The moratorium -- approved for six months only -- was proposed by the county's Planning, Resources and Development Committee. Introducing the resolution, Supervisor Tom Quinn addressed a number of concerns raised by local farmers by explaining exactly what is -- and is not -- covered under the moratorium.

Since Rock Creek is not a zoned township, Quinn explained that there is not much the county can do, prompting the PRD committee to look into whether there is a role the county can play in what seems to be an emerging conflict: "We're asking the county board to pass a short-term ordinance designed to do one thing: Give us a chance to talk openly, as a community, and look at these issues, and if it makes sense, to come back to the board in six months with ideas that the board might consider."

The committee's primary concern, Quinn said, is that the moratorium respects the "vested rights" of the farmers who are currently operating in Dunn County. According

The moratorium applies only to farms with more than 1,000 animals that are undertaking a significant expansion, Quinn explained, unless permits and/or licenses are currently in place. Smaller operations are not affected.

"If you've already received your permits ... [and] your plans are in place to have more in terms of animal units, you can go ahead and do that," Quinn said. "It will not affect ... farms that are starting or continuing the process of applying for a license or a permit. They can go ahead and do so."

Diane Morehouse, supervisor and PRD committee member, pointed out that after six hours of testimony, one thing is clear, "There is a lot of community interest on both sides of this issue."

Both supervisors Gary Seipel, PRD vice-chair, and Jim Anderson pointed out that at the center of the issue is the matter of manure -- what it is and how it is used. Seipel noted that it is a nutrient, rather than toxic waste as it is viewed by many.

"There's a lot more to the business of farming than people think," he said.

Anderson agreed: "Barnyard manure, when applied at the right time ... at the right amount and when applied properly ... is a great thing because it does something that commercial fertilizer doesn't do. It adds humus -- organic matter which holds water ... [and] the minerals of copper, sulfur and many other trace minerals.

"Every one of us want clean water ... healthy soil -- and a healthy agriculture economy in the county," Anderson added. "The problem here is that we're looking at one farm that abuses it and so we are overreacting."

Public comments

Jim Holte, an Elk Mound area farmer and president of Wisconsin Farm Bureau, was the first citizen to address the board. Pointing out that the Chippewa Bottoms area where he grew up once had 13 cattle operations; now there are three.

"Farming changes as does every business around the county and state," he said. "I'm going to suggest that you have an opportunity to look for a compromise between the different views you're going to hear tonight. We're all concerned about water and water quality for our families. .. We also are concerned about having the ability to change our operations as things dictate."

Cheryl Ullom of Squires Farms, a large-scale dairy operation in southern Dunn County, was the first of several other members of the family in expressing opposition to the moratorium.

Brad Ullom later said that the reason the issue was being raised targets a single source -- "one dairy that might or might not have done things they shouldn't have done. ... That's in the state's hands now."

He also feels that the $12,700 budget for the study is a waste of taxpayer money.

Lee Jensen of Five Star Dairy in rural Elk Mound joined Ullom in speaking out against the moratorium which he feels targets Cranberry Creek. "It throws everybody into uncertainty," he said. "It's setting a bad precedent for expanding dairy farms in the future."

Speaking in support, Lorene Vedder noted that the moratorium will allow the county to learn more about best management practices when it comes to the handling of manure. Reporting that CAFO's produce 300 million tons a year, she said, "That's two times more than the entire U.S. population. And unlike raw human sewage, this animal manure is largely unregulated and untreated."

Rock Falls dairy farmer, Randy Koller, observed that there are currently five CAFOs in Dunn County, including Cranberry Creek. "The expansion would quadruple the number of cows and more than triple the total number of animal units on the farm while making it approximately two to six times larger than the other four."

Koller reported that after a recent DNR inspection at Cranberry Creek, the operation was cited with numerous violations. "Due to the lack of monitoring and the scope of this major proposed project, it is the right time for the county to step back, take a look ... and be sure it's protecting its resources, its residents and its future."

Radle of Cranberry Creek told the board they've followed the process for the 590 nutrient management permit, and he wishes his neighbors and other people would talk directly with him about their concerns.

"The day we get this permit -- if it goes through and when it goes through -- it's good for three to five years," he said, stating that they "just want to have it in hand."

Quinn thanked those who turned out and spoke, especially members of the farming community.

"Even though we may disagree on some aspects of it, I agreed with a lot of the testimony that was made tonight," he said. "And in a lot of ways we have a lot to learn from each other."
A man has died after two motorcyclists collided in Dublin tonight.

The accident happened at around 6.50pm on Hartstown Road in Blanchardstown this evening.

Two motorcyclists collided and one man in his early 20s was taken to Connolly Hospital where he died a short time later.

The second motorcyclist, also in his early 20s, escaped injury in the accident.

The Hartstown Road, at the Community College, is currently closed in both directions for a forensic examination.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses to contact them at Blanchardstown Garda Station on 01 - 6667000, The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111 or any Garda Station.
People Before Profit has said that the Government is not listening to women who want to have their say on abortion in Ireland.

The party is holding a rally at the Spire in Dublin this afternoon, ahead of Tuesday's debate on their Bill calling for a referendum on repealing the 8th Amendment.
Royle Family actor Ricky Tomlinson has sent a letter in support of the Jobstown protestors in Dublin.

The letter, read out by Eirigi's Scott Masterson at today's rally in Dublin, comes after a teenager was

Read More:

The message of solidarity with the Jobstown protesters from Tomlinson recalls when he was sent to jail with his friend Dessie Warren in the 70s for a builders' dispute against the British government.

If you can't see the Facebook post above, click here, or read the full letter below:

Brothers and Sisters,

40 years ago myself and Dessie Warren were sentenced to 2 years and 3 years in jail.

We were guilty for organising building workers; we were guilty for organising for better pay and for better health and safety; but most of all we were guilty of saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Working conditions on building sites were second only to coal mines for fatalities and serious injuries. Facilities were non existent, no toilets or wash basins. Pay was terrible 20 per week for a skilled worker and 17 for labourers, this for a 40 hour week.

Me and Dessie organised workers to strike, we organised workers for better pay and conditions and we won! But the bosses and the Tories came after us and used the law to punish us and to punish other building workers - but we stood strong.

It is an absolute insult to find that a politician trapped in the comfort of (a) car is deemed to be in prison. As Jim Royle would say - "Imprisonment my arse!"

Dublin is a great city - Liverpool is a great city - but solidarity and unity of the working class is the most important.

I want to send greetings to the people of Jobstown for standing up against water charges - it is better to break the law than to break the poor.

[PAUSE]

You'll Never Walk Alone,

Ricky Tomlinson.
Iraqi forces have pushed into a town near Mosul after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes, with ongoing skirmishes in some areas.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi commanders to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the US is supporting with air strikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town.

Similar past announcements have often proved premature.

Two officers from the 9th Division confirmed troops had captured the government compound and raised the flag over it.

The town is around 12 miles from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to the so-called 'Islamic State' group in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. 'IS' has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around nine miles east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

'Islamic State' militants launched a rocket and opened fire on an Iraqi convoy near the town on Saturday, and the Iraqi special forces in the convoy returned fire.

No one was wounded in the exchange, but it highlighted the dangers Iraqi forces face in areas that have recently been retaken from the militants.

Inside Bartella, a road extending more than 100 metres was completely demolished, with all the homes on either side reduced to rubble.

'IS' graffiti was scrawled across the walls, and the militants appeared to have renamed streets and neighbourhoods after famous fighters during the more than two years they controlled the area.

In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after 'IS' launched a massive attack in and around the city, some 100 miles south-east of Mosul. The assault appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest on Friday, was quiet. But witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin neighbourhood, where at least two IS fighters were killed Saturday.

Colonel Redah Sheikh Latif, of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, confirmed there were ongoing skirmishes between 'IS' snipers and security forces in the neighbourhood, but said the situation was contained.

He said there was also some ongoing fighting in the suburb of Wara Tappa.

On Friday the militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk, and a local TV reporter was killed by a sniper in the city.

It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians or the Kurdish security forces who control Kirkuk.

Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at retaking Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to 'IS' in 2014.

It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 US-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Mr Carter's visit comes two days after a US service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.

The US service member killed earlier this week was the fourth US combat death in Iraq since the US began military operations against 'IS' in August 2014, and the first since the Mosul operation began.

The service member was working with Iraqi special forces north-east of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

More than 4,800 US troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 US special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

US military officials say that a fire at a sulfur plant in northern Iraq set by Islamic State militants on Thursday is creating a potential breathing hazard for American forces and other troops at a logistical base south of Mosul.

Two officials said that while the fire was set two days ago in Mishraq, the winds shifted earlier on Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field, a staging area for the Mosul offensive.

They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks because of the breathing concerns, and estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.
BRISBANE: New Zealand can become the first team into the T20 World Cup semi-finals this week but first will need to...
Historians assessing the 2016 presidential election will cite Donald Trumps repeated self-inflicted wounds: attacking a Mexican-American federal judge, the Muslim-American Gold Star parents of a fallen war hero and a former Miss Universe.

But theyll likely conclude he administered the coup de grace to himself by refusing in Wednesday nights third televised debate with Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas to pledge he would accept the results of the election.

I will look at it at the time, Trump said, reiterating his charges the election is rigged and the media have poisoned the mind of the voters. Amid an audible gasp in the audience, stunned moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News asked the question again. I will tell you at the time, Trump reiterated. Ill keep you in suspense, OK?

Ironically, until then, despite some flailing and his usual array of misstatements, a more composed Trump gave a stronger argument for his case that the countrys problems require dramatic changes only he can provide.

But that one answer almost certainly overrode everything else in the 90-minute debate, leaving Trump with dire political prospects just 19 days before Election Day. More seriously, it raised the prospect the defeated candidate and millions of his supporters would refuse to accept the legitimacy of the result, complicating the winners efforts to unite the country and form a functioning government.

His comments appeared to stun some of his own supporters. He should have said he would accept the results of this election, conservative commentator and sometime Trump adviser Laura Ingraham quickly tweeted.

Afterwards, Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, sought to bail out her candidate, saying, Donald Trump will accept the results of the election because Donald Trump will win the election. On Thursday morning, she modified that, saying Trump wanted to ensure there was no widespread voter fraud or malfeasance and noting former Vice President Al Gore withdrew his initial concession before the 36-day Florida recount in 2000.

But Gore never said he wouldnt respect the result and, when the Supreme Court ruled for rival George W. Bush, he immediately conceded and pledged unity.

Robert Costa of The Washington Post told MSNBC that Conway told him campaign officials are already working with the Republican National Committee to monitor the balloting and lay the basis for possible challenges.

Still, with national poll and state surveys showing Clintons lead expanding since their first debate, the main remaining question (barring something totally unexpected) may be the extent of Trumps defeat and whether it costs Republicans their control of the Senate and very possibly the House.

CNNs post-debate survey again showed Clinton the winner though more narrowly than before. Wallace, who kept a tight rein, succeeded in drawing the candidates out on some issues that were barely discussed in earlier debates. One was the Supreme Court, which produced a predictable philosophical split. Another was entitlement reform, where Clinton urged bolstering the Social Security fund and Trump said record economic growth would solve the problem.

Many Trump answers again seemed aimed at energizing his conservative base, rather than expanding it. He conceded appointing abortion rights foes to the Supreme Court meant overturning the 1973 decision legalizing abortions will happen, leaving the issue to the states.

That would hardly seem helpful in appealing to undecided women voters, and Trump may have exacerbated his problem late in the debate. After trying all night to get under his skin with cutting remarks, Clinton finally scored in discussing Social Security.

My Social Security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donalds, assuming he cant figure out how to get out of it, she said.

Such a nasty woman, Trump exclaimed.

Trump again refused to concede Russias role in hacking her campaign chairmans email and again praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. If we get along well, that would be good, Trump said, prompting her to say, Thats because hed rather have a puppet as president of the United States.

No puppet. No puppet, he responded. Youre the puppet.

But Trumps refusal to pledge hell respect the result, a response she called horrifying, overshadowed all this.

Though he left open the prospect of contesting this election, current trends may mitigate that by leaving little doubt of the outcome.
ATHENS: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday rejected Turkish claims on the sovereignty of Greek islands, at...
Claire Topham's dog Gabbie not only hands her pegs while she's hanging washing, but she is also learning to take socks off the drying rack and put them in the basket. She can already take Ms Topham's socks off and hand them to her owner.

Not surprisingly, Gabbie has been crowned the RSPCA's Next Top Dog at a pageant in Canberra.

Claire Topham of Queanbeyan with her dog Gabbie who has taken out this years RSPCA Next Top Pet competition. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

The event raised more than $12,000 for RSPCA ACT, with more than $1500 of that raised by Ms Topham.

Gabbie is about four years old. She was one when she was discovered by Ms Topham at Domestic Animals Services after being left with another dog and a note surrendering them at the RSPCA.
Way back when Winston Churchill gave his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, the British Parliament was not wired for recording, and so the BBC asked him to come in to record it so it could be broadcast around the world. Churchill declined, as he was too busy trying to win the war, and simply said, "Get some actor chap to record it". And they did. He was a radio actor by the name of Norman Shelley, and it wasn't until the year 2000 that it was confirmed, after years of rumours, that the famous recording was actually Shelley's voice, just as he did many other Churchill speeches. "I don't like to boast," Shelley said before he died, "but I actually think I did Churchill better than Churchill." I agree. And don't you think Alec Baldwin does Donald Trump better than Donald Trump? Yes, I mean this as a serious point. Baldwin's version for Saturday Night Live had intelligence, humour, a sparkle! But Trump himself in that debate seemed merely an anodyne version of that  all belligerent bullying bluster, with nary an ounce of humanity.

For me, the true mystery is how, after everything that has been revealed, there is still 41 per cent of Americans who think that Trump is safe to put in the White House. If what has emerged so far is not enough to sway them, what, pray tell, would it take? An extremist walks into a bar ... TFF raved last year about how very enjoyable the 16th Chaser Inaugural Lecture at Sydney Town Hall was, a black-tie dinner where they featured the "Egyptian Letterman", Bassem Youssef, speaking on the travails of being a liberal voice of reason in a nation labouring under a culture of militant religious nutters. Something different! Something brand new! Something we hadn't heard before! This year's version is the Sesquicentennial Inaugural Chaser Lecture and Dinner, and it is on November 17, also in the Town Hall. The guest is Sakdiyah Ma'ruf, "the first Indonesian Muslim female stand-up comic", whose material includes talking about life as an Islamic woman, dealing with extremism, and human rights. Among other things, she received the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent at the Oslo Freedom Forum last year. Something different! Something brand new! Something we haven't heard before.

See you there. All profits from the night go to the global freedom of expression charity Article 19. Joke of the week The Top Seven Rules of Life in Australia 1. The bigger the hat, the smaller the farm. 2. The shorter the nickname, the more they like you.

3. There is no food that cannot be improved by the application of tomato sauce. 4. If the guy next to you is drinking and swearing like a wharfie, he's probably a media billionaire. Or, on the other hand, he may be a wharfie. 5. On the beach, all Australians hide their keys and wallets by placing them inside their sandshoes. No thief has ever worked this out. 6. All our best heroes are losers. 7. The alpha male in any group is he who takes the barbecue tongs from the hands of the host and blithely begins turning the snags.

Twitter: Peter_Fitz They said it "America is deeply fractured. Nearly half of Clinton supporters don't know anyone backing Trump; nearly three-quarters of Trump backers know no or only a few Clinton backers." The Washington Post. "When we're talking about this issue, this is sexual assault. So we're accusing a man of sexual assault here. And I'm not going to debate who's telling the truth. But it is a 'she said, he said' situation."

Renee Ellmers, North Carolina Republican. "Just to correct you, I'm sorry  it's a 'he said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said' situation." Jake Tapper, chief Washington correspondent for CNN, in reply. "I'd advise Mr Trump to stop whining and go try make his case to get some votes." President Barack Obama's advice.

"Would you just like to be pompous for the whole day, or only for this question?" Senator Penny Wong to Senator George Brandis after he tried to correct her on a minor point. "The government of Australia's 'processing' of refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru is a deliberate and systematic regime of neglect and cruelty, and amounts to torture under international law." From the Amnesty International report Island of Despair. "It's a 50-50 argument. I could go either way."

Senator David Leyonhjelm saying he'd vote for the government's industrial relations bill if the government offered him a deal over gun control. "You don't get to horse trade on matters of principle in the Parliament of Australia." Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O'Connor about Malcolm Turnbull doing deals with Senator Leyonhjelm. "Our tech critic says it's relatively mediocre, but at least it won't burst into flames." The New York Times reviews Google's first smartphone, the Pixel. Ouch.
A key ally of Tony Abbott has criticised Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's timid approach to workplace reform and failure to flesh out his "jobs and growth" election mantra with actual substance.

With tensions between Mr Abbott and Mr Turnbull already running high after their public spat over gun control and their showdown over Liberal Party reform, former workplace relations minister and Abbott lieutenant Eric Abetz has thrown more fuel on the fire.

In a speech to the conservative H.R. Nicholls Society in Melbourne on Friday night Senator Abetz was deeply critical of Mr Turnbull's election campaign, which left the Coalition with a one-seat majority.

With Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's union links in the frame after the Royal Commission into union corruption, Senator Abetz said he had expected the Coalition to campaign on the "vital importance" of resurrecting the Australian Building and Construction Commission - the very issue Mr Turnbull used to trigger the July 2 double dissolution.
LAS VEGAS  In the middle of the Strip, a few blocks from the hulking Trump International Hotel, the famous Mirage Volcano has been delighting tourists for 27 years with its faux eruptions, spewing fire, smoke and water 100 feet into the air.

A small sign at the volcanos base announces, Volcano show eruptions Sunday through Thursday, 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

But there were a series of additional eruptions in Las Vegas on Wednesday night at the third and final presidential debate here. Donald Trump erupted at 6:30 p.m. local time. And 6:34. And 6:48. And 6:52. And 6:54. And then, at 7:06, the crater blew off, leaving a gaping caldera where Trumps presidential campaign once stood.

Fox Newss Chris Wallace, the moderator, asked Trump whether he would absolutely accept the result of this election.

I will look at it at the time, Trump said, suggesting that what Ive seen is so bad in terms of corruption.

But sir, Wallace persisted, admirably reminding Trump that one of the prides of this country is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign the loser concedes to the winner. Wallace asked again: Are you saying youre not prepared now to commit to that principle?

I will tell you at the time, Trump replied. Ill keep you in suspense, OK?

Suspense? The refusal to accept this bedrock principle of democracy was shocking, even for a candidate who had told audiences about a rigged and stolen election. And it should pour hot lava on any notion that Trump is going to revive his candidacy in the final 20 days.

Ironically, Trump had tried to keep his magma cool  and he succeeded for the first half-hour of the debate. Wallace kept the focus firmly on policy, and Trump and Hillary Clinton gave the voters a lot of what theyve asked for during the campaign: talk about the Second Amendment, abortion policy, immigration, nuclear weapons.

But gradually, with Clintons baiting, Trump began to rumble.

On Clintons accusation that hes Vladimir Putins puppet: No puppet. No puppet. Youre the puppet!

On Clinton generally: Shes been proven to be a liar in so many different ways, this is just another lie.

Gradually, the interruptions increased. Wrong! he said when Clinton justifiably said he had been cavalier about nuclear weapons. Wrong! he said when Clinton correctly noted that he mocked a disabled reporter. When Clinton tried to translate something Trump had said, he blurted out: You cant! When Wallace asked a tough question, Trump interrupted to pronounce the moderator correct.

But it was when the topic turned to his treatment of women that Trump truly began to spew molten rock.

Give me a break! Trump interjected when Clinton mentioned, correctly, that he had called former Miss Universe Alicia Machado an eating machine.

He said the nine women who accused him of sexual misconduct were spouting lies and fiction and trying to get their 10 minutes of fame.

He said, without evidence, that the accusers were probably brought out by Clinton and her sleazy campaign. Declared Trump, I didnt even apologize to my wife, whos sitting right here, because I didnt do anything.

Trump needed to change the race in a big way Wednesday night. Clinton leads Trump nationally by an average of seven points in polls, and The Washington Posts surveys of 15 battleground states show Clinton with a significant lead in states that together add up to 304 electoral votes, to Trumps 138. Ed Rollins, the head of the pro-Trump Great America super PAC, told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham that it would take a miracle at this point for Trump to win the election.

If he is to have any hope of winning, Trump needs to expand his appeal to a broader swath of the electorate. But Trump, rather than taking the race in a new direction, decided to do what hes done before when his back is to the wall: lash out with fury.

He set the tone for the last debate by inviting President Obamas half brother, a Trump backer, to the debate, along with the mother who accuses Clinton of murdering her son in Benghazi and a woman who just accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.

At first  and probably because Wallace chose to begin the debate with substantive issues of policy  Trump was uncharacteristically mild, even as Hillary Clinton tried to needle him. Clinton noted that when I was in the Situation Room, monitoring the raid that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, he was hosting the Celebrity Apprentice. When Trump mentioned that he was staying at his beautiful hotel in Las Vegas, the Trump International, Clinton shot back: Made with Chinese steel.

Clinton mocked Trumps charitable foundation for buying a six-foot portrait of Donald. I mean, who does that?

Clinton gradually got under Trumps skin, and he returned to his bombastic form: Shes lied hundreds of times ... Her crooked campaign ... She caused the violence.

Such a nasty woman! Trump blurted out in the waning moments of the debate.

But Trump did nothing to reduce the likelihood that this nasty woman will beat him on Nov. 8  whether or not he accepts the results.
The federal government's primary arts funding body has defended its support to Australian books and authors, after figures showing Australia Council literature grants reached a five-year low last financial year.

Funding provided to symphony orchestras, operas, visual arts, theatre and dance dwarfed literature grants in 2015-16, with the sector receiving $4.6 million of a total $173.8 million.

The Australia Council has defended its funding to books and authors. Credit:Tanya Lake

Orchestras received $56.1 million, or 32.3 per cent, with opera funding at $23.7 million, or 13.7 per cent, in the same period.

Analysis of council figures showed literary funding in three areas managed and delivered for the federal government peaked in 2013-14 at $9 million, when overall grants totalled $199.2 million.
The Duchess of Cambridge a cider guzzling gypsy selling fakes online? Pippa Middleton a car park dog-fighter by day and a wanton minx using her "fantastic arse" to make a living by night? Prince Harry an illiterate, gullible playboy? Camilla chain-smoking and pregnant at 68! And a new king of England who is ... black.

Yep, there is plenty of politically incorrect comedy gold buried in late night television hit The Windsors, airing on 7Two.

Royal targets: The Windsors cop a huge lambasting on 7Two.

The series depicts the British monarchy in a less than appealing light, with storylines inspired by the time-honoured tabloid tradition of ludicrous royal family headlines and a rather large dose of outrageous imagination.

Some of the genius moments include portraying Camilla as a sort of Lady Macbeth, scheming the demise of any other suitors to the throne, including her great rival Kate, who she dupes into wearing fancy dress at Harry's ball for amputee soldiers, causing that day's royal scandal when Kate arrives dressed as Long John Silver.
Many of the suggestions she makes absolutely miss the mark: that "either Mum or Dad's sister is in the spirit world" (neither has had a sister), that "your Mum [is] in the spirit world" (my mother is alive, and when I indicate this, Morgan then says she meant my dad's mother), that my children "haven't been to Canada as yet" (they've all been to where I'm from, and when I say so, she says she means "for a length of time"). I scrunch up my mouth. She circles back to my father's death. "I feel very distinctly with him, that " she speaks now as though he is speaking through her  " 'I would've liked to have travelled more  Because I would've liked to have seen more,' " she says. "Yes," I say, my voice gentler now. (My father died at 58, of a brain tumour, and he wished that he'd seen the Rocky Mountains before he died.) My shoulders slacken. I look down at my shoes. That Morgan keeps circling back to topics that elicit an emotional response from me is a classic "cold-reading" technique that psychics use in order to make a client believe they have contacted their dead loved ones, or know something about their future, says Tim Mendham, executive officer of the Australian Skeptics.

"It's the customer who's supplying all of the emotional response, and basically it's the fortune-teller, or whoever, picking and choosing what works, what hits with the client," and then focusing on that, he explains. Reflecting back, I see that the technique works. Again and again, Morgan launches into misses that make me um and ah, before abruptly asking me about something that has previously hit an emotional snag. "Now, all children love to colour in, and things like that, but one of your children loves books," she says, out of the blue, after some misses. My face lights up. "Because he sits," she says, referring to my dad  "and I can see him watching [your son reading]  and he's absorbing what's going on with this grandchild  he's just making me aware of this quite strongly, so he's saying, 'You're never alone.' " "Can I have a tissue, please?" I ask tearily, after some more Dad talk.

Do I think Morgan is actually communing with my late father? No. There is far too much misinformation. (She does explain that mediums are not "infallible", but then she also senses, among other wild misses, a "memory from the spirit world [of someone] who made candies at Christmas"  and we're Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas.) Not to mention those instances when she makes it seem as though my father has said something quite specific to her, but only after I've provided her with the information.For instance, after she asks  knowing I'm a journalist  who "writes" ("Is it you that writes? Who is it that writes? Or did he do writing?") and that I tell her that my father wrote a book, she asks me if I have it. When I say, "Yes," she shoots back: "Yes, that's right, because he's just said, 'She has it.' " She does get some details correct. But many are fairly easy to guess: that my father was "in a hospital, and unwell" before he died, that my husband and I have been talking about property (we're Sydneysiders), that, regarding my father, "There's a significant link with education." (My father was a teacher assistant late in life, but I think it is safe to bet that most parents value education.) So why did I cry? There is a huge comfort in someone recognising the sad fact of my father's early death. Because he died in Canada, few people knew him, and those who did bravely uttered his name in the 12 years since he died. The topic, I assume, is too uncomfortable for them.

So hearing Morgan speak about my father feeds a yearning to have him enter my life again. Is this why so many people still go to see psychics? Is it simply because they speak to us about matters that other people don't want to hear about? And what, I wondered, would a fortune-teller tell me, if I divulged my own personal struggles? Would he or she be anything like Priscilla Kelly Delmaro, the New York-based fortuneteller who made global headlines last year for bilking an online entrepreneur, Niall Rice, out of more than $730,000 by promising him, among other things, a bridge into another dimension to reunite him with a former girlfriend? Delmaro even continued the ruse after Rice discovered, through Facebook, that his former girlfriend died, by promising to reincarnate her spirit into the body of another woman. (Delmaro later served eight months in prison.) I visit fortune-teller Paris Debono, in inner-city Sydney. Sitting at his table in a dark corner by a window, I ask him: will a book that I'm writing be published?

And what should I do about my 18-yearlong struggle with periodic loneliness here in Australia? Should I stay? Or return to Canada, where I was born? Debono, a thin man with prominent cheekbones and delicate tapered fingers, asks me to randomly select 13 of 20 Greek mythology cards that he has made himself. The black-and-white figures of Greek gods are oddly saucy, with bulging groins and heaving breasts. Nevertheless, as he places the cards in rows, I can't stop tensing up. Holding my hands flat on my thighs, I feel like a schoolgirl waiting to be called into the principal's office. "You have Mars in your house of publishing," he says, pointing to a red card in the bottom row that features a pouting man with the six-pack of a Chippendales dancer. (The placement of each card corresponds to a particular "house", or area, of your life.) "Mars is a soldier, which means you have to work like a soldier to get this published. So I would say yes, you can get it published and you will, but it isn't going to get done by itself."

So far, so flattering. (And, regarding the hard work, bleeding obvious.) Debono is sensitive, though. When he points out that I've chosen Vesta, "The God of Investment" (bone corset, Dolly Parton cleavage), he says, after waffling a bit about property: "It could also mean that your time in Australia has been an investment. It's something you've learnt from, gained from, something you'll use in the future " I can't stop my brain from buzzing with the realisation that it would calm my frayed central nervous system to view my life this way more often. Still, other pronouncements go laughably wrong. Among them: "Are you single?" he asks me, after scanning the cards and noting that I have not chosen Venus, the Goddess of Love. "No! Very much not," I say, through laughter. Not only am I wearing wedding rings, but it's two weeks from my 15th wedding anniversary.

Will my palm reading be more convincing? "You have a very strong gap of independence," says Debono, staring down at my right hand. He is referring to the supposedly large gap between two of the horizontal lines (my "head line" and my "life line") that run across the middle of my palm. "It basically means that when you were younger, quite young, you were an independent thinker." He adds that my "heart line", which runs across my palm, near where my fingers meet it, has a "fork" in it, meaning, "You like to have your partner, but you like to do your own thing." It's difficult to believe someone has any particular intuition about your life or future, when what he has said would, I believe, appeal to most sentient beings. But a "Gypsy" deck of divination cards, says Debono, can help him predict the future. Which in my case means resolving a specific 18-year-long conundrum: in which country will I finally settle for good? He counts out the 20 cards I've selected, face-down, from the deck  they feature simple symbols, like a love heart, anchor and ring  and he lays them face-side up in four neat rows. The card in the top left-hand corner is a heart. "It's telling you to focus, to feel your way through, and go with your feeling, to go with what you love," Debono says.

The heart card has the number six printed on it, so he counts six cards over, to a card with a picture of a moon on it. The moon, he says, represents "revisiting the past". "So this is a bit of a clue about you going back home." The other clues, based on the cards he counts to next? "It's going to maybe depend on your relationship as well." (Thanks, "ring" card). "It's gonna take time, and the anchor can mean family roots, so that again has a Canadian feel about it." (Thanks, "anchor" card.) "You have to talk to your partner." (Thanks, "bird holding a letter in its beak" card.) Being told that the site of your future home will be determined by utterly commonsensical factors that would likely determine the outcome of virtually any conundrum makes you wonder: why are psychics so popular? "Often, people are moving away from traditional religion, and more into this idea of, 'I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious,' " says Leela Williams, publications officer with the Australian Psychics Association. "A psychic is a tool to discover your own spirituality." And fortune-tellers will always appeal to people experiencing a period of uncertainty, says the Australian Skeptics' Tim Mendham. "Life is random, and that's probably one of the biggest things that affects people all the time: like, shit happens," he says. "[So] they want to go to someone who can give them certainty about the future."
A childhood rock collection, lovingly stored in a vintage suitcase, is just one of the more unusual items up for sale in Brisbane as part of the Garage Sale Trail.

More than 400,000 Australians were expected to hit the streets in search of a bargain during the annual Garage Sale Trail on Saturday.

Harry Asche and Janette Asche, with their rock collection, are taking part in the Garage Sale Trail on October 22 in Brisbane. Credit:Tammy Law

Janette Asche, from Indooroopilly, is hosting her first garage sale this year as part of the event, hoping to de-clutter.

The mother-of-three is selling antiques, camera equipment, bags, a shell collection, matches, rock climbing and surfing gear, skateboards, a washing machine, telescope, Christmas decorations, Australian Geographic magazines, toys and "about 50 rocks".
Federal Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has paid tribute to Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej at a memorial service in Brisbane.

King Adulyadej died in a Bangkok hospital on October 13 aged 88, having reigned for 70 years.

Mr Dutton praised the monarch, saying he had done much to bring the two countries together

"While Australia's relationship with Thailand dates to before Federation, it was in 1952, under King Bhumibol, that formal diplomatic relations commenced between our two nations," Mr Dutton said on Saturday.
Saturday is shaping up to be one of the coldest Cox Plate Days on record, with a strong cold front sweeping through Melbourne.

Rain hammered the CBD shortly after 9am, with winds of up to 43 km/h lashing the city.

Francis Kavanagh helps his girlfriend, Tiarne Coxhill, across a muddy area. Credit:Chris Hopkins

By 1pm the mercury had climbed to 11.2 degrees, marginally above the coldest Cox Plate Day on record.

"The weekend is looking really cold," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron said.
Jakarta: The High Court has upheld a decision to throw out a $US125 million lawsuit against a prestigious Jakarta international school by a mother who claims her son was sexually abused.

Five Indonesian cleaners, Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teaching assistant Ferdinant Tjiong have been jailed for up to eleven years for the alleged sexual abuse of three kindergarten children at Jakarta Intercultural School, as it is now known, in 2013 and 2014.

The mother of one of the children sued the school for $US125 million after claiming that both the cleaners and educators sexually assaulted her son, who was six at the time.

The South Jakarta District Court threw out the lawsuit last year but the mother appealed to the High Court. However, the Jakarta High Court ruled on September 7 that it upheld the dismissal, according to a verdict published on the Supreme Court website.
Cairo: An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence against former president Mohamed Morsi on Saturday.

The sentence was for a conviction arising from the killings of protesters during demonstrations in 2012. It is the first of Morsi's four convictions to reach the end of the judicial process, and he cannot appeal further against it.

Jailed: Egypt's ousted president Mohammed Mursi sentenced to 20 years. Credit:AP

Twenty-year jail sentences were also confirmed against other senior figures from the then-ruling Muslim Brotherhood, including Mohamed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian.

The men were convicted in April 2015 on charges including kidnapping, torture and the killings of protesters during unrest in 2012. The Muslim Brotherhood denies responsibility and says that most of those killed were from its own ranks.
Justices appointed by Trump will follow Constitution

I have grappled over all the Republican presidential candidates, having to change my choice numerous times. I still want to back a candidate that will give me peace of mind about the security that should be guaranteed for all Americans.

Our rights and freedom our forefathers fought for and our Constitution should be upheld and protected. This is the country that so many want to immigrate to, described as that shining city on a hill.

Our citizens are losing ground on our inalienable rights. Our professional long-termed politicians are doing us an injustice by only being concerned about their own re-elections and not concentrating on the good of the people. The appointing of Supreme Court judges can have serious consequences and generational effects for this land.

I feel this is the determining factor in my selection of Donald Trump for president. He has named some good choices with conservative leanings. They will follow the Constitution and not call it outdated and interpret it to their radical thinking.

Another quote from one of our greatest presidents, Ronald Reagan: There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. Please vote your faith.

Charlene Kervina,

Bloomer
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

Breast cancer support services in our backyard are a phone call or cyber click away:

American Cancer Society  Look Good Feel Better

Look Good Feel Better is a free, two-hour workshop for women undergoing cancer treatment.

Volunteer cosmetologists teach free beauty techniques to cancer patients in order to improve their self-image, appearance, and quality of life.

The program is available in Brooklyn at:

 Coney Island Hospital

 SUNY Downstate Medical Center

 Kings County Hospital Center

 Maimonides Medical Center  Maimonides Cancer Center

 New York Methodist Hospital

 Woodhull Medical Center  New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

 Hematology Oncology Associates of Brooklyn

 Lutheran HealthCare  Lutheran Medical Center

For more information, schedules, and to register, call the American Cancer Society at (800) 395LOOK (5665).

Online support

Cancer Survivors Network (https://csn.cancer.org) is an online community by and for people with cancer and their families. Find and connect with others through member search, discussion boards, chat rooms, and private network e-mail. Create your own personal space to tell others about yourself, share photos and audio, start an online journal (blog), contribute resources, and more.

I Can Cope Online (www.cance r.org ) is a quick, easy way to learn important facts and practical tips about cancer and related issues. There is never any charge to participate, and you set the pace, whenever and wherever is most convenient for you.

MyLif eLine.org (www.mylifeline.org) allows cancer patients and caregivers to connect with family and friends, allowing them to share their cancer journey, get support, and focus on healing. When you set up a free webpage, you can share updates and photos with selected family and friends in one secure place; get the help you need by organizing meals, rides to treatment, and more through the Helping Calendar; feel empowered by messages of love and support from friends and family; and review and share cancer resources vetted by experts. These free personalized webpages will help empower your family and friends to be a stronger support community for you.

American Cancer Society Wig Program

Provides free wigs for women (age 18-plus), who are in financial need and suffering hair loss due to cancer treatment. Synthetic and human hair wigs are available, but items may vary depending on availability. Appointments are held on weekdays during business hours. Walk-ins are not permitted.

The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Cancer Communications Department [121 DeKalb Ave. near Ashland Place in Fort Greene, (718) 2508126].

Monthly support groups

 BrooklynSHARE meets at Kings Bay YM-YWHA [3495 Nostrand Ave. between Avenues V and U in Sheepshead Bay, (844) 275-7427] Mondays, 7:309 pm.

 BrooklynSHARE meets at Restoration Plaza [1368 Fulton St. between New York and Brooklyn avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant, (844) 2757427] in the first-floor multipurpose room, Tuesdays, 3:305 pm.

 Shavana Abruzzo
Democrats saw a surge in new voters in Pennsylvania as midterms near
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October 31, 2022

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On this episode of The Exorcist, Chapter Five: Through My Most Grievous Fault, the demon gets into Father Tomas head, Kat intervenes with disastrous results and Angela makes a shocking confession.

When we last saw Tomas and Marcus, they were just about to start the exorcism. Now, theyve been hard at work for two days. With the two priests taking a breather, Henry sits with Casey, blotting her face with a damp cloth and reciting the Lords Prayer. Casey is quiet aside from some raspy death-like rattle. He kisses her head, but as he leaves, Casey becomes alert and tells her daddy shes got a secret. We all know Henrys got brain damage which is the only reason its believable that he would return to Caseys side when shes so obviously got something wicked planned for him.

The Exorcist Recap: Casey Fights the Demon and Marcus Seeks Counsel>>>

The Demon Speaks to Henry

Casey takes the chain being used to subdue her and wraps it around Henrys neck. She whispers something unintelligible in his ear in that nasty demon speak, and then uses her tongue to lick his earlobe.

The other members of the Rance household are dealing or not dealing with the stress in their own ways. Kat has taken refuge in her bedroom, looking over keepsakes from her relationship with Jessica. Angela is cleaning while the sounds of the two priests trying to renounce Satan from within her daughter come from the floor above.

As for Henry, the demon put some kind of wicked thoughts into his head because he emerged from that bedroom dazed and somewhat confused. He spots Angela standing on a chair trying to reach a ominous looking stain from the ceiling, and Henry looks like he might be getting ready to capitalize on his wifes precarious position.

A huge storm rolls in, and Marcus and Tomas continue to try and banish the demon which seems quite at home inside little Casey. Casey begins to speak to Tomas in Spanish impersonating his beloved, dead grandmother. She says she never wanted this for him and urges Tomas to go live his life. Tomas has to fight the urge to let the demon in his head. Marcus orders him to look away.

If Henry was flirting with the idea of pushing his wife off that chair in an attempt to break her neck, he didnt go through with it. Because hes not playing with a full deck anyway, its hard to tell just how much of his behavior is normal Henry weirdness or the result of Caseys little secret. Tomas flings some holy water on Casey, but it is the sound of his grandmother crying out in pain that drives him from the room.

Its time for a pep talk from Marcus. Tomas feels the demon sniffing out his weaknesses and twisting everything good into something horrible. Marcus tells him that is exactly what that thing is doing to Casey.

They hear a scream come from inside Caseys bedroom and find her being thrown around the room and knocked into walls. Both priests have to duck and cover, and Casey finds her way over to Tomas, promising it will not stop until Casey surrenders her soul.

Angela sorts through tons of family pictures, and Henry lingers in the doorway not speaking and looking kind of ominous, but it appears that Henry not talking is a common enough occurrence to not alarm Angela. Or, she could be assuming that its his way of dealing with the craziness going on around him.

Henry plants himself on the couch next to his wife and asks her if she believes in God. He wants to know if she believes that their actions are answerable to consequences from a higher power. Angela quickly changes to subject, concerned that they havent eaten and that Henry isnt taking care of himself.

Henry asks Angela if shes ever lied to him, and she doesnt answer. He asks again, and Angela questions where this is coming from. For some reason, she takes Henrys line of questioning as an accusation that shes to blame for the demon hell spawn upstairs. He doesnt come right out and say it, but Henry doesnt deny it either.

Who Does the Demon Really Want?

As Marcus sits with Casey, stroking her face and offering support and comfort, we see things from Caseys perspective. Shes still fighting the salesman and questions what he wants from her. He tells her to stop pretending; she knows exactly what she has to do. He orders Casey to bring her to me.

Kat emerges from her bedroom to voice her concerns over what is happening with Casey. Kat wonders why they wont let her see her sister. She doesnt understand why Angela even let Casey be discharged from the hospital. Kat doesnt know whats wrong with Casey, but she is adamant that she needs professional care.

Angela continues her walk down memory lane, finding solace is looking at pictures from the past. But like Henry, Kat wont leave her mom in peace. Shes not interested in the past, stating that people who obsess about the past are scared of the future. Kat insists that they cant be afraid, they have to do the right thing.

They are interrupted by Marcus who wants to know how to determine whats right. He tells Kat that he wishes hed had an older sister like her when he was growing up. If he had, it would have saved him a world of trouble. A suspicious Kat questions if Marcus really thinks hes helping. He promises that he would never hurt Casey.

Quiz: Which TV Bad Boy Would You Date?>>>

The Demon Defeats Tomas

Tomas is in the bathroom when theres a knock at the door. He hears Jessica calling to him. Her voice leads him into Caseys room where he sees the image of his unrequited love. Tomas begins to pray, but Jessica asks what it is about her that scares him so much. She believes he fears losing himself, letting himself love and be loved for once. Tomas responds that shes a married woman, but Jessica says only in the eyes of God. She promises that with her eyes, he could see so much more.

The demon continues to seduce Tomas, urging him to give in to his desire. Tomas gets down on his knees and buries his face in her stomach. Then the vision of Jessica is replaced with Casey who swears she can make Tomas forget God.

Marcus bursts in before things progress too much further, but Im left with the distinct impression from Tomas moans that he may have been close to rounding third base. Especially since the demon quips Just as I was getting ahead.

Marcus knocks Casey to the ground and drags Tomas into the hall. Marcus cant believe Tomas let the demon compromise him, rendering Tomas useless to him now. (I guess going down on the possessed is a big no-no.)

Kat decides to sneak a peek at her little sis. The demon goes full-on Casey, crying out that shes being tortured. Marcus pushes Kat away from the door, and a dejected Tomas leaves and goes to see the real Jessica. Her husband is out of town on business. Tomas wastes no time in acting on his impulses.

He is Coming

Marcus is left to deal with Casey on his own, and he wants some answers. He wants to know the demons name and its endgame. It swears that an excommunicated priest would be a jewel in their crown. Marcus questions if it is Caseys innocence that excites the demon and accuses the demon of choosing a young girl because it believes her to be weak. The demon promises to release Casey when it gets what it wants, and it tells Marcus to bring her to him.

The demon finally finds a way into Marcus head by conjuring up the image of his mother. She tells him life was good until he came along, a mistake. But this isnt Marcus first time, and hes not going to be manipulated that easily. Marcus pulls out all the stops, as does the demon.

It appears that Marcus may have had a breakthrough, and then the police arrive. Kat took it upon herself to call them. As they make their way upstairs, Marcus reaches for Caseys hand, believing the demon had been cast out, but Casey whispers Ipse venit just as the police burst in and drag Marcus away. The Latin phrase means he is coming. Thats the same phrase on all of the promotional materials advertising the Popes impending visit.

Angela begs and pleads with the police to leave them alone, trying to explain that Marcus is a priest. Casey is taken out of the house on a gurney by paramedics as Kat looks on. Casey removes the oxygen mask and gives her sister a sly smile just as the doors close. By the look on Kats face, its obvious she realizes she may have screwed up.

The Patron Saint of Lost Things

Two nights pass, and Casey is missing. She killed the paramedics and decimated the ambulance. Marcus is in jail, and the Rances are on the medias radar. None of the gory details have emerged. To them, Casey is a sick girl who disappeared after the ambulance crashed. The authorities assure the public they will find Casey.

Things are not going well for the good guys. Father Bennett bails out Marcus who tells him he needs to warn the Pope. Tomas broke his vow of celibacy and is on his knees begging for forgiveness when he notices Angela.

Angela is beginning to lose faith, but Tomas assures her that theyll find Casey because people just dont disappear. Angela says thats the problem, Casey was disappearing long before she was lost.

Lots of secrets starting to bubble to the surface this episode. The whole story about Tomas grandmother wanting him to be a priest looks to be a work of fiction written by Tomas himself. And Angela confesses to Tomas that when was young, she had an imaginary friend who could make her do just about anything. She cant recall a lot of what that was, and the doctors blamed it on post-traumatic amnesia. Angela wanted to forget, but her mother saw what her daughter went through as a way to make a buck.

Angela left and reinvented herself. She cut off contact with her mother. She chose the name Angela, believing it could protect her. Angela dreamed she could have a chance at a normal life, but she was wrong. It wasnt done with her. Angela reveals her real name is Regan MacNeil. Yes, that Regan MacNeil.

The Exorcist was really doing a great job of establishing itself as a solid show that wasnt relying on the movie for its success. This twist feels like the series is already jumping the shark. There was no need to visit the original characters. I will say this, I never saw it coming.

Are you shocked Tomas slept with Jessica? What do you think of the Angela/Regan twist?

The Exorcist season 1 airs Fridays at 9/8c on FOX. Want more news? Like our Exorcist page on Facebook.





(Image courtesy of FOX)
UB to explore issues that have sparked protests across the U.S.

By bringing the university together in an open and constructive way, we hope the UB community will gain a better understanding of the issues and viewpoints, and will feel better-equipped to discuss them with colleagues, students and friends during the academic year.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Orlando. Flint. Dallas. Cleveland and Philadelphia. American cities have been focal points for tragedy, protest and heated debate of issues affecting the nation over the past several months.

To encourage discussion of these emotional topics and understanding of different points of view, the University at Buffalo will bring together faculty, staff and students for a weeklong series of midday panel discussions Oct. 24-28.

DifCon: Our Cities. Our Issues will explore gun violence, racial inequality, political polarization and other issues that have sparked civil unrest and protest across the U.S. Faculty panelists will set the stage for audience participation by sharing their expertise and insights, and by leading constructive conversations about provocative issues that affect us all.

Our cities have weathered volatile clashes between citizens, agencies and ideologies, says Teresa Miller, UB vice provost for equity and inclusion. The goal of Our Cities. Our Issues. is to bring together the university community to discuss whats happening across the country and to understand the effect these events have on each of us.

The weeklong discussions continue last years difficult conversations series, which examined 12 topics impacting individuals and society. The success of DifCon 12, followed by several turbulent events resonating across the nation, prompted a continuation of the conversations at UB, Miller says.

By bringing the university together in an open and constructive way, we hope the UB community will gain a better understanding of the issues and viewpoints, and will feel better-equipped to discuss them with colleagues, students and friends during the academic year, she says.

Faculty and staff from across the university and across disciplines will serve as panelists, including faculty from the departments of Transnational Studies, History, Political Science and Economics, as well as faculty from the schools of Law, Nursing, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Architecture and Planning, Public Health and Health Professions and the Graduate School of Education. Staff will participate from the offices of International Education, Sustainability and Campus Living.

The event is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and the Intercultural & Diversity Center.

The schedule:

Shootings in Minneapolis, Baton Rouge and Dallas

Oct. 24, noon to 1:30 p.m., Intercultural and Diversity Center (240 Student Union)

Killings in these three cities sparked outrage on both sides of the Blue Line, and in Charlotte and Tulsa since then. This panel will explore police violence, violence against police and the question of how far weve come.

Tragedy in Orlando

Oct. 25, noon to 1:30 p.m., Intercultural and Diversity Center

Orlandos Pulse Nightclub was the site of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Was it violence against the LGBTQ community, an attack on the Latino community, a domestic terrorist attack or all of the above?

New Haven and Hyde Park Protests

Oct. 26, noon to 1:30 p.m., 330 Student Union

Student protests at Yale University and a bold letter to the freshman class at the University of Chicago challenged campus communities to consider the relationship between academic freedom, free expression and inclusion.

The Cleveland and Philadelphia Conventions

Oct. 27, noon to 1:30 p.m., Intercultural and Diversity Center

Both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions raised issues of safety, community and the future of our national identity in an increasingly polarized society. Yet, the platforms couldnt be any more different.

Lead Threat in Flint  and Buffalo?

Oct. 28, noon to 1:30 p.m., Intercultural and Diversity Center

Lead discovered in the public water supply prompted calls for accountability and reform in Flint. Is Buffalo next?
World Series Game 3 postponed due to rain in Philly

Rain is moving into Philadelphia and it could impact Game 3 of the World Series
Thousands of people filled the streets of Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday for the towns ninth Food & Drink Festival which has been hailed a big success by traders and organisers.

Over 120 traders showcased the best of Somerset food and drink at the festival alongside displays that included cookery demonstrations, tractors and farm animals.

Co-organiser Bev Milner Simonds told Burnham-On-Sea.com the total footfall had been 25,134 during the day, as recorded by several footfall counters.

I was really pleased to see Burnham-On-Sea out into some quite chilly sunshine and enjoy some great local food and drink in the heart of the town centre, she said.

I saw so many happy smiling faces today  people having a family day out being in the town, popping into shops, buying things, exploring, meeting up with friends and having a great time.

We had a slow start  it was a cold morning  but the numbers of visitors really picked up in the middle of the day.

Sedgemoor District Councils Chairman, Cllr Ian Dyer, added: It was another superb event  the quality of the stalls was exceptional. It was so good to see such a wide range of different food sellers as well.

And James Heappey, Burnhams MP, said he was delighted to see the town so busy with many visitors, praising the organisers for all their work.

Traders at the festival also reported a busy day. Jack Pike at Beat Ales said: Its been a really busy day and good fun  we had lots of passing trade and sold out by 3pm. We sold over 200 bottles and dozens of pints of beer  well certainly be back next time.

Mike Smith from Burnhams Mikes Pork added: Its been a really great day  we were very busy with trade all day. I had not seen so many people at this event and but still good trade  Roll the next festival in May.

Harry Calvert, who won best in show for his Ginger Beards Preserves stall, added: We are delighted to win this award on our second visit  it was a very good day  we had steady business and plenty of interest.

Riverfords Patrick Blandford added: It was very busy in the middle of the day. We picked up several new customers and are happy with how it went  the festival is very well organised.

Businesses in Burnhams town centre reported a day of mixed trade, with several saying theyd been busier than normal while others felt the festival had taken away customers on what would normally be a busy half-term holiday weekend.

Visitors to the festival were able to sample and buy a wide selection of products from cheese, bread, chutneys and meats to cakes, chocolates, wines and pies.

The outdoor markets were also full of the best street-food traders  from jerk chicken and low and slow BBQ to Japanese noodles, Russian kebabs and vegan treats.

At the Fresh Ideas Demo Stage, sponsored by Burnhams KDS Interiors, the organisers brought together six popular cooking talents to demonstrate their skills. They included Manvenna Walia, founder of Somerset Curry Club, with spicy Indian flavours; Justin Reeves & Liam Finnegans cookery aimed at sharing the tips from award-winning kitchens; Apprentice contestant Alana Spencer (pictured below with Ben Fotre and Dan Shahin of UnitedQ).

A new attraction to this festival was the new Young Makers Market which offered creative entrepreneurs aged 16-24 the chance to trade for free at the festival and get free business, finance and design advice. Several youngsters from King Alfred in Highbridge were among those taking part.

Among the other entertainment were buskers, a magician, childrens rides, a traditional Punch & Judy show, a face painter, entertainers and a childrens play area co-ordinated by St Andrews Church, plus giant tractors, lambs from Plotgate, ducks and turkeys.

The Bridgwater Harley Davidson Owners Club also parked up along the High Street  by the hog roast  to display their bikes.
Within eight months from the launch of its Indian business, Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) has committed four deals in various sectors in the country. In an interaction with, the managing director of CDPQ, South Asia,, explains the thought processes behind investments and mandates, besides speaking of the way forward for the company. Edited excerpts:

You have so far announced four deals in the last two to three months. Could you elaborate on the status of these investments?
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At a time when the social media is abuzz with calls for boycotting Chinese products, consumers in the smartphone market are not paying any attention. Preliminary data from analyst firm Counterpoint Research show the share of Chinese firms has continued to grow steadily during the year, despite increasing competition in the domestic market.
India is planning to expand its medical devices business into high-end screening machines with an eye on both the domestic market and exports, said a senior executive from the company.
Bridge Music to Release Award-Winning 'Trust in You' in Spanish Renowned Mexican worship artist Majo Solis brings the voice behind the new version of Lauren Daigle's hit single



Contact: Morgan Canclini, 817-944-1071,



NASHVILLE, Oct. 21, 2016 /



"Confiare en ti" is a powerful confession of trust in the wisdom and care of the Lord, especially for those in Solis' audience who face doubts, problems and struggles. Solis lends a vocal strength and softness to Daigle's song, and this Spanish rendition opens up the song to an even wider audience.



"The launch of this song is part of Bridge Music's mission to reach the nations with music that has a huge impact on the Millennial generation, thereby creating a personal encounter with Jesus," said Jake Salomon, CEO and Founder of Bridge Music based in Franklin, Tennessee.



In order to adapt "Trust in You" into Spanish, Bridge Music brought together several notable artists including Lucia Parker, Abraham Osorio and Sean Moffitt. Moffitt was well versed in the mixing of the Spanish version having also had a hand in the original recording of "Trust in You" with Daigle herself. The team came together to remix and bring a fresh sound to the song while keeping true to both Daigle and the flavor of Spanish vocals.



"Listening to the sincere, real, shocking message of 'Confiare en ti,' I thought, How much would I have wanted to listen to this throughout my difficult moments. All of this alongside the possibility of working with my friends in the production of the song was what made me say 'Sure, let's do it!'" said Solis.



"Confiare en ti" can be purchased anywhere online for downloading and streaming on Friday, October 21st. To date, the song has already been picked up by 85 radio stations in Latin America and more than 25 in the US and Puerto Rico.



Majo Solis was born in Monterrey, Mexico City. A worship artist with a global vision, she is an active vlogger with a YouTube channel of over 66k subscribers. You can follow Solis on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or visit her website at



Bridge Music LLC is an all-encompassing Christian music company that is bringing a fresh outlook to the Christian music realm with its innovative approaches to music publishing. Bridge Music is able to provide its artists with flexibility and an exceptional, focused attention with services in publishing, licensing, music production, management, marketing, event booking, radio promotion and public relations. For more information, visit



Media Contact: Morgan Canclini

morgan@twopr.com

817-944-1071

Share Tweet Contact: Morgan Canclini, 817-944-1071, morgan@twopr.com NASHVILLE, Oct. 21, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Bridge Music announces the launch of its "Confiare en ti" (Trust in You) campaign with Mexican native Majo Solis. The single, adapted from Dove-award winning recording artist Lauren Daigle's hit song "Trust in You," is set to release the Spanish version of the song, "Confiare en ti," and accompanying music video on October 21st, 2016."Confiare en ti" is a powerful confession of trust in the wisdom and care of the Lord, especially for those in Solis' audience who face doubts, problems and struggles. Solis lends a vocal strength and softness to Daigle's song, and this Spanish rendition opens up the song to an even wider audience."The launch of this song is part of Bridge Music's mission to reach the nations with music that has a huge impact on the Millennial generation, thereby creating a personal encounter with Jesus," said Jake Salomon, CEO and Founder of Bridge Music based in Franklin, Tennessee.In order to adapt "Trust in You" into Spanish, Bridge Music brought together several notable artists including Lucia Parker, Abraham Osorio and Sean Moffitt. Moffitt was well versed in the mixing of the Spanish version having also had a hand in the original recording of "Trust in You" with Daigle herself. The team came together to remix and bring a fresh sound to the song while keeping true to both Daigle and the flavor of Spanish vocals."Listening to the sincere, real, shocking message of 'Confiare en ti,' I thought, How much would I have wanted to listen to this throughout my difficult moments. All of this alongside the possibility of working with my friends in the production of the song was what made me say 'Sure, let's do it!'" said Solis."Confiare en ti" can be purchased anywhere online for downloading and streaming on Friday, October 21st. To date, the song has already been picked up by 85 radio stations in Latin America and more than 25 in the US and Puerto Rico.Majo Solis was born in Monterrey, Mexico City. A worship artist with a global vision, she is an active vlogger with a YouTube channel of over 66k subscribers. You can follow Solis on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or visit her website at majosolis.com Bridge Music LLC is an all-encompassing Christian music company that is bringing a fresh outlook to the Christian music realm with its innovative approaches to music publishing. Bridge Music is able to provide its artists with flexibility and an exceptional, focused attention with services in publishing, licensing, music production, management, marketing, event booking, radio promotion and public relations. For more information, visit bridgemusic.co Media Contact: Morgan Canclini817-944-1071
start-ups are beginning to shift to a pay-per-use model for their diagnostic devices as they look to gain acceptance in a crowded Indian market.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Saturday said with 90 per cent of defence equipment being imported, there is a huge opportunity for domestic manufacturing and his group has identified two locations in Madhya Pradesh for setting up production facilities.
Representatives of over 120 organisations from 20 states will congregate at Jantar Mantar next week to demand a ban on the commercial release of .

Leaders from various political parties, major farmer unions, trade unions, honey industry, scientists and other civil society are expected to join the protest.

Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) alleged the regulatory body for gene technology in India, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), is moving ahead with the approval processes without publishing the full bio-safety data or giving adequate time for independent scrutiny of an expert committee report on .

They said the Supreme Court is also hearing two petitions that seek to stop approval.

Said Kavitha Kuruganti of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), "Citizens from 20 states representing more than 25 large organisations and more than 120 state-level bodies will congregate in Jantar Mantar on October 25 to press home their demand for an immediate ban on GM mustard and other such GMOs."

Some of the organisations which will take part in the protest include All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Azadi Bachao Andolan, Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch, Coalition for a GM-Free India, Confederation of Beekeeping Industry of India and Greenpeace India among others.

Kuruganti said more than 10 organisations from Gujarat are also expected to take part in the protest.

Some activists, including those from ASHA, have been opposing the approval for GM Mustard and have upped the ante against the "unscientific" appraisal process.

GEAC had constituted a sub-committee to review the technical details and dossier related to the environmental release of Genetically Engineered Mustard.

The report was uploaded on the Ministry's website inviting comments from various stakeholders till October 5.

After receiving hundreds of comments from various stakeholders, the Ministry had forwarded it to the sub- committee which after studying it will submit its final report to the biotech regulator, GEAC.
Nearly 50 students of a government girls school at a village here fell ill purportedly after consuming snacks served at the school, following which Rural Development Minister on Saturday directed that a criminal case be filed against the contractor concerned.

The incident took place on Wednesday after students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Merakamuddidam village were taken ill after eating snacks. They started vomiting and showed symptoms of giddiness, district Collector Vivek Yadav said.

All girls were rushed to the local government hospital for immediate treatment.

Out of the 50, two girls were referred to King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, four to district government hospital and eight to a another local hospital, he said, adding they are still undergoing treatment, while the remaining students were discharged.

State Rural Development minister Kimidi Mrunalini on Saturday visited the school and inquired about the condition of the girls.

The minister told reporters here that she has asked officials concerned to take immediate action against the contractor who supplied snacks (food items) to the school by filing a criminal case against him.

Yadav, who also visited the school, ordered to issue a memo to the warden of the school and directed officials to place the contractor under blacklist.

Meanwhile, deputy district medical and officer Dr B Raghava Rao has said all the affected students were out of danger and those undergoing treatment will be discharged soon.
The curtains have finally come down on an almost month-long drama surrounding the release of the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, written and directed by film-maker Karan Johar.
In a good news for filmmaker Karan Johar, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Saturday said that they will not oppose the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The development comes after MNS Chief Raj Thackeray met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Bollwyood producers.
The sky will put on a heck of a show tonight, says CNN describing the Orionid meteor shower, adding, it peaks Friday night  during which one can see 20 meteors per hour  into Saturday morning. But, citing a Nasa expert, space.com says the might have peaked last night, but the fast, bright meteors would continue streaming across the sky in force for another night or two.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite the heightened tensions along the Line of Control and believes the two countries are a "lot more careful" about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.

"I don't believe we are," Abdullah said when asked whether India and Pakistan are at the brink of war.

"I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the sub-continent. I'd like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be," he said at a conference titled 'India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair' organised by the students of New York University on Friday.

Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing "security concerns".

There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Abdullah's nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, the surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tensions with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.

Abdullah said while there is tension along the LoC and the ceasefire is "under a bit more pressure" than it was at the same time in 2015, India and Pakistan are not at the brink of war.

Abdullah noted that the government of India has been very careful "in moderating how it has sold" to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the LoC.

"The government of India has been very careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC," he said adding that the government has not gone into giving details of how far they went inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

"What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan," he said adding that there would have been "enormous pressure" on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they went across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

Abdullah said heightened tensions between India and Pakistan adds to the "mood of gloom" in the Valley because "no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan".

The Kashmir Valley has been facing unrest and agitations for over 100 days now, in the wake of Wani's killing and "unfortunately there is no end in sight to the current problem".

Abdullah underscored that the situation in Kashmir is a "political problem" that needs a political solution.

"I firmly believe that internally within Jammu and Kashmir, we need a dialogue to resolve the problem. It's a political problem, let nobody tell you that it's an economic, job-related, education related problem because it isn't," he said, adding that while there are elements of joblessness, of radical Islam but those are the minority elements.

"Largely it is the product of the politics of Jammu and Kashmir...It is a political problem that requires a political solution which needs dialogue.

"Similarly, at some point in time one hopes that relations between India and Pakistan will to an extent normalise that will allow for a sustained dialogue and then we can start talking about the various problems that shadow our relationship. Jammu and Kashmir will of course be one of them," he said.

When asked what is the short-term solution to the Kashmir problem, he said it is to recognise the problem and "admitting that we have a problem. Right now just the acceptance that a dialogue is necessary and a dialogue with all those stake holders who are willing to talk to you".

"Unfortunately in various quarters we have decided that we want to deny that a problem exists. Even if we do accept the problem, we don't want to accept that it is a political problem requiring political handling. We will talk about it in terms of a social or a law order problem," he said.

Abdullah stressed that unless there is a long-term sustained dialogue, such uprising and agitations will keep taking place.

Abdullah said there was some optimism following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach after assuming power to invite Sharif to his swearing-in as well as through his surprise visit to Lahore in December 2015.

"That developed a lot of hope that we will be able to address this problem (Kashmir). It is a problem that needs addressing, resolution," he said.

When questioned about the UN Security Resolutions on Kashmir, Abdullah emphatically said that the onus to create conditions for a plebiscite under UN auspices does not lie with India but with Pakistan.

"To this day I fail to understand why we in India feel so apologetic that this UN referendum never took place. The onus wasn't on India to create the conditions for that referendum," he said.

He explained that according to the UNSC resolution, for such a plebiscite to take place Pakistan has to, as a first step, vacate from all territories that it has come to occupy after August 1947 and remove regular and irregular forces from the territorial boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said subsequent to that, India has to scale down, not withdraw, to a manageable level its presence in Jammu and Kashmir and only then can the plebiscite take place.

"If Pakistan is unwilling to fulfill step one, how is it India's responsibility to fulfill step two. But for some reason for all these years we have allowed the world to believe that somehow the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied the right to choose because India chose to deny them that right, which is not true.

"So historically we have a stronger case for what happened in Jammu and Kashmir than Pakistan does," he said.

Abdullah said he is not sure if a solution through a plebiscite can take place in the current circumstances "because the territory of Jammu and Kashmir no longer resembles what it did on the night of August 1947.

"In that respect the Government of India has been absolutely blameless. Our territorial boundaries have not changed. No government in New Delhi has tinkered with state boundaries. Pakistan cannot say the same, they have tinkered with the territorial boundaries.

"When the state of Jammu and Kashmir does not look like what it did in 1947, how are the UN Security Council resolutions applicable today. They are not," he said.

He added that no government elected in India will ever have the mandate to redraw territorial lines.

"That is not going to happen so we understand that the solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir must lie within the constitution of India and the constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and India," he said.

On whether the LoC should become the defacto border, Abdullah said "logically" that would make the most sense but "do we have governments in India and Pakistan who can take that decision?

"If you step away from the jingoism, logic would dictate that that is the only solution," he said.

Abdullah said there is a "disaffected population" in Jammu and Kashmir that has to be brought into the mainstream.

"I am not suggesting that we have to open dialogue with all militant groups. That is not possible. But there are political elements within the valley that dont advocate the cause of violence, that are looking for a solution beyond the current status quo. Why not talk to them," he said.

When asked about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir is "incomplete" without them and "obviously a solution to Jammu and Kashmir will have to include the return of all those people who left".

"Kashmiri Pandits did not leave of their own accord, they left because their sense of security was snatched away from them. They will not come back unless that sense of security is restored to them. No solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir will be complete unless we can bring these populations back," he said, adding that it is the duty of the governments in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the Centre to work towards restoring that sense of securityfor them.

There was an animated exchange between Abdullah and a young woman, who said she hailed from Azad Kashmir where people are "happy".

"Then that means the export of terror has been in one direction. The terror camps are not operating in my side of Kashmir sending them to your side. They are operating in your side of Kashmir coming across to my side," Abdullah said.

"So please don't tell me how happy you are. You are happy because we are not interfering in your day to day life," he said adding that militants from 16 different nationalities, including Bosnians, Chechens and Sudanese, have come from across the Kashmir border.
Relatives of Mohammed Nisham, the multi-millionaire 'beedi king' of Kerala who is serving a life sentence, have filed a complaint alleging that he is running his business from inside the prison where he is currently in and that he has been sending them death threats.

In the complaint filed to the Thrissur Police chief, the kin of Nisham, who has been convicted of killing a security guard by driving his Hummer into him, have alleged that he has access to a mobile phone inside the jail through which he was also running his business.

According to reports, Nisham's family handed over an audio clip of telephonic conversation to police where he is threatening them.

He also allegedly threatened his relatives over phone while he was being taken to Bangalore for investigation.

Earlier, a controversy had erupted over Nisham's stay in jail as on one journey back from court, he was filmed treating his police escorts to a lavish meal, following which five policemen were suspended.

Meanwhile, a quick probe has been ordered as it is believed that a nexus between Nisham and police officers exist, giving him access to run his business.

About a year ago Nisham had rammed his SUV into 51-year-old security guard Chandrabose, pinned him to a wall, dragged him for 700 metres, stomped on him and then allegedly shouted that this dog will not die.

In January this year, Nisham was awarded life sentence by a Kerala court and was ordered to give Rs 71 lakh fine for the murder of Chandrabose.
It isnt every day a United States Senator and former Presidential candidate visits a cigar factory, but thats exactly what Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) did this past Wednesday. On the campaign trail Senator Rubio, joined by Florida House Representative Dana Young paid a visit to the J.C. Newman Cigar Company Factory, the last cigar factory operating in the city of Tampa. During his visit Rubio called out the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its regulations aimed at the premium cigar industry as well as the Obama Administrations recent actions further easing trade restrictions with Cuba. The majority of Rubios visit was broadcast live on J.C. Newman Cigar Companys Facebook page.

Rubios visit began with a tour of the factory. Rubio even took to one of the machines to make a cigar. He also took time to talk to the workers at the factory. Following the Tour, a question and answer session was held at the factory with members of the media to discuss the impacts regulation could have on the premium cigar industry.

J.C. Newman Cigar Company President Eric Newman gave some opening remarks to the media where he gave a history to media members of how the FDA regulations on cigars have reached the state it is at. Newman talked about the importance of the cigar industry to the city of Tampa, much like the wine industry is to Napa Valley. He also discussed the impacts regulation could have on the future of his company, factory, and the jobs that could be lost as the FDA regulations take effect. He pointed out the efforts from Florida Senators Rubio and Bill Nelson as well as Congresswoman Kathy Castor as they sponsored legislation to exempt the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation.

Back in 2012, Rubio gave a speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention where he talked about his grandfathers love of Padron Cigars and how he used to sit with his grandfather as he smoked cigars. In his opening remarks at the factory, Rubio referenced those memories sitting with his grandfather smoking cigars and the two would talk about history and his grandfathers life in Cuba. Rubios grandfather had polio and as a result could not work on the farm like other members of his family. Instead Rubios grandfather went to school and eventually landed his first job as a lector in the cigar factory where he would read newspapers and novels to Cuban factory workers. His grandfather would also sometimes roll cigars at the tables. While Rubio acknowledged he doesnt smoke three cigars a day like his grandfather, he certainly enjoys in partaking in a cigar from time to time.

It was very clear, Rubio understands the importance of the cigar industry to both Tampa and the State of Florida. He pointed out the high costs cigar companies like J.C. Newman will incur under FDA regulations and the business impacts of what these regulation will have on the premium cigar industry. Its outrageous. These people are going to lose jobs over the next couple of years. An industry that is culturally and historically tied to the Tampa Bay region, to Florida is going to be wiped out or significantly curtailed, commented Rubio.

Rubio also understands this is not an industry targeting youth  something that has been the basis of the FDAs argument in favor of regulation. Anyone who knows about the premium cigar industry knows it is not an industry that either targets or quite frankly is consumed by young Americans. Number one it is too expensive. Number two, a premium cigar is not the kind of thing that is smoked in ten minutes; its the kind of thing you need to smoke over a 35 or 50 minute period of time in a different setting from you would smoke cigarettes or vaping, commented Rubio. Anyone who has common sense understands is simply not consumed the way a cigarette is or a vape is.

Rubio held up a Brick House cigar and gave the example that if a size of blend is changed, it would have to go through an expensive regulation process. He pointed out how this could impede a company like J.C. Newman to introduce new products and mentioned the danger it poses for the cigar industry. When you tell any company you cannot offer new products without going through a very expensive process , any industry I dont care what you sell, you tell someone you cant make a new product; all you can do is sell what you used to sell ten years ago, you are going to struggle to survive  especially facing unfair foreign competition, commented Rubio.

Recent actions taken by the Obama Administration now allow Cuban cigars to be brought into the U.S. by travelers abroad. While Rubio said it he is open to changing policies in Cuba, he feels reciprocal changes are needed. Weve done everything, theyve done nothing said Rubio. What is America getting in return for this deal. Rubio pointed out the changes made in the United States diplomatic relations with Myanmar (Burma) and how relations were restored in exchange for changes toward Democracy. Right now Rubio has felt Cuba has not reciprocated and pointed out a recent example on how Cuba is giving Russia the opportunity to open a military base on the island nation.

Rubio gave a status of the Senate legislation that he is sponsoring with Senator Nelson to exempt the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation. He pointed out that this has been a very difficult piece of legislation to move forward as a standalone bill. He discussed how both he and Nelson tried to execute a Hotline process for their bill. A Hotline process is a piece of legislation that can be called up to pass without a vote as long as it has unanimous consent. However, if a single Senator objects, the hotline process is stopped. Rubio said there were two objections, thus putting a stop to the Hotline process. As a result, Rubio now feels the best chance the premium cigar industry has is to get the Appropriations Bill passed that contains language for an exemption that would prevent the funding needed for the FDA to execute its regulations.

Currently Rubio is engaged in a close race for re-election to the Senate and Florida Congressman Patrick Murphy. Rubio pointed out that Florida races between Democrats and Republicans are typically very close in a presidential year. I feel very positive about the progress we made, commented Rubio on his chances come election day.

Photo Credit: Official portrait of US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida., usage via public domain license.
Union Minister on Friday sustained injuries after he fell on the ground while getting off a helicopter in Jind district of Haryana and was rushed to a Delhi hospital where he was admitted.

The Union Minister of Steel, along with Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, arrived for the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Kendriya Vidyalay at Uchana-Budayan village.

At around 10.30 AM, while getting off the chopper, Singh slipped and fell on the ground and received injuries on his right ankle and back, officials said.

A Health Department team attended to the 70-year-old Rajya Sabha member on the spot. After waiting at the helipad for about an hour or so, along with Javadekar and Uchana MLA Prem Lata, Singh was taken to the venue of the function in a car. He delivered his speech while sitting on a chair.

After the function, Singh was taken by road to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in Delhi where he was admitted in the evening. Hospital sources said x-ray and other tests were performed on the Union minister, the results of which were awaited.

Sources, however, said the Union Minister had suffered a muscle rupture.
Aiming to provide a fresh boost to the Centre's Jan Aushadhi (Public Medicine) Scheme, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is making efforts to rope in Members of Parliament (MPs) for opening new stores in their constituencies.
The government is considering a separate package for the made-up sector which was left out of the Rs 6,000 crore package announced for the textile sectors upliftment in June this year.
Indias journey to becoming a cashless economy seems to have got stuck in a morass, amid reports of a involving 3.2 million debit cards. While some like State Bank of India (SBI) have re-called around 600,000 debit cards, others like Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Central Bank and Andhra Bank have already replaced their affected debit cards, as a pre-emptive measure. Business Standard brings you top ten developments on arguably the biggest security breach faced by the Indian banking industry.
AMCDRR Curtain Raiser: Experts, architecture students discuss how to Build Back Better

Building Back Better by putting people at the centre of disaster recovery and reconstruction remained the central idea of talks, workshops, exhibitions and passionate discussions that marked the Building Back Better event at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) here today. The event was organised as a curtain raiser to the upcoming Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.

AMCDRR 2016, scheduled to be held from November 3-5, 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, will set the direction for implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) in the Asia-Pacific region. Sendai Framework is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority action areas towards reducing disaster risks.

Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction is priority 4 of the Sendai Framework. Quirkily turning it to Back to Building Better and Better Build Back, interactive discussions at the event laid threadbare the concepts of building safety.

Shri Kamal Kishore, Member, NDMA, set the tone for discussions which emphasised that housing must be treated as a process, not a product. Sandeep Virmani of Hunnarshala emphasised the need for identifying disaster resistant methods in vernacular systems of building and learning from them. While Peeyush Sheksaria of the World Bank took the students through 15 steps of reconstruction, Manas Murthy spoke about the interface of heritage and disasters.

UNDPs Abha Mishra spoke on building long-lasting disaster resilience. Prof. Mandeep Sharma, SPA, talked on the legacy of post-disaster architecture.

Rajendra Desai of the World Bank said that today retrofitting is the greenest option to reduce vulnerability and cost-effective, yet people are still reluctant to retrofit and more awareness is required. Elaborating on the concept of community-led initiatives, Manu Gupta of SEEDS talked about how local people are the masons, engineers, labourers and architects.

Saumya Kumar, faculty of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), put the social context of disasters in perspective. TISS students added an element of culture with poetry and skits that showed the invisible human face of disasters.

The hands-on workshop saw students putting together an emergency shelter, an emergency school and an emergency health centre.

Approximately 150 students, teachers, researchers and practitioners from fields such as architecture, planning, environmental studies, social studies, and communications participated in the event. It was organised in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, ODR Collaborative, Unnati and SEEDS.

Two more such curtain raiser events centred on the Sendai Framework priorities will be held at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) on October 26, 2016 and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP, Delhi) on October 27, 2016.
The Government of Indias renewed focus on promoting India as the global hub for international commercial arbitration came to the fore on day 2 of the first-of-its-kind Global Conference on the National Initiative to Strengthen Arbitration and Enforcement in India. The deliberations saw thorough engagement of all stakeholders on the second day of the global conference covering the entire gamut of the arbitral process. Judges of the Supreme Court of India, top government officials, luminaries, legal experts and corporate heads took part in the panel discussions. The interactive sessions focused on all processes involved in creating a robust and cost effective arbitration ecosystem. .

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While arbitral institutions are the backbone of a strong out-of-court dispute resolution process, the global conference witnessed the heads of leading institutions deliberating on all that goes into setting up a world-class autonomous arbitration institution. .

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In order to achieve the goal of making India a regional hub and global player in domestic and international arbitration, the conference highlighted the need to develop world class arbitral infrastructure in India. Senior advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, The Mantra of making arbitration more effective and popular can be achieved by getting the A, B, C, D of Arbitration right i.e., (Universal) Access, (Reducing) Backlog, (Lowering) Cost and (Removing) Delay,". He also stated that one of the reasons of arbitration not attaining the full strength is the excessive judicial supervision and intervention in the arbitral proceedings. .

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The need for trained arbitrators working at the grassroots was highlighted by Justice R C Lahoti who advocated for the best human resource and physical infrastructure to provide the ideal atmosphere for qualitative arbitration in India. He also highlighted the lack of transparency in appointment of arbitrators especially by the Courts. .

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Judges of the Supreme Court of India, including Justice A.K Sikri, Justice D.Y Chandrachud, former judge, Justice R.V Raveendran together highlighted the role of court support in thwarting prevalent attempts to stall arbitration at various stages. They also debated on the need for a right balance that courts must achieve with respect to their involvement in the arbitral process. .

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While the practice of arbitration is far from alien to India, the conference played a crucial role in gathering know-how of the best practices in arbitration and the way forward from the world-class arbitration institutions such as ICC, SIAC, LCIA, KLRCA, HKIAC and PCA. .

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In an attempt to gather an all-around perspective in formulating an effective arbitration policy, the conference brought together members of the user community also who have been in the throes of high level disputes such as Airtel, J.K Tyres, IndiGo Airlines, NHAI, BHEL and FICCI. Prime stakeholders in the arbitration process, their experiences were considered crucial in creating simplified, fair and cost-effective arbitration policy. .

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The conference, organized by NITI Aayog, the Government of India's premier policy tank, aims also at seeking informed inputs to facilitate formulation of an arbitration policy that is sophisticated, fair and robust. .

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will deliver the .valedictory address at the global conference tomorrow on 23rd October, the last day of the conference. A major attraction will be the participation of Chief Justices from six countries across the world including the Chief Justice of India Justice T.S. Thakur and the Union Minister for Law and Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Attorney General of India, Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, Chairman of the organizing committee of the conference, Justice Manmohan. and the past and the present Judges of the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court will be attending the session. .

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It has been described as one of the most contentious, tawdry and angry presidential elections in history. And its taking a toll on our mental health.
A Welsh village marked the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster which killed 116 children and 28 adults when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, engulfing a school.

The 1966 tragedy shook Britain and provoked a huge outpouring of sympathy as a generation of children mostly aged seven to 10 were all but wiped out  and the few survivors have battled with their memories ever since.

Some 150,000 tonnes of coal waste slid down the hillside before engulfing Pantglas Junior School at 9:15 am on October 21, 1966.

Had the landslide happened 20 minutes earlier, the classrooms would have been empty. Had it struck a few hours later, the children would have already left to start their half-term holiday. No survivors were found after 11:00 am on the day of the disaster.

Residents in Aberfan, north of Cardiff, took part in a day of commemorative events, attended by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.

The heir to the throne read a message from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who had visited the grief-stricken village with her husband Prince Philip to pay their respects in the days after the disaster.

"You are in my own and my family's thoughts, as well as the thoughts of the nation," the message read.

She remembered the dead and also the "hundreds more who have lived with the shock and grief".

"I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster, and the posy I was given by a young girl, which bore the heart-breaking inscription, 'From the remaining children of Aberfan'.

"Since then, we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village."

Marilyn Morris, 64, spoke of the stoicism with which the village internalised its grief.

"There were six children from my street that died. We just blanked it from our minds, nobody spoke about it," she said.

"It was such a shock that we couldn't bring ourselves to talk about it but now we are and we are feeling much better for it."

An emotional memorial service was held in the local cemetery. A minute's silence was observed across Wales.

Survivor Irene Hollett, 58, said: "I really feel for the parents of those who died, because seeing us grow up and even be here today it must be hard for them because we are a reminder of what their son or daughter could have been like."

Diane Fudge, 58, lost her twin sister Daphne in the tragedy.

"This has been the first time I've ever come to an event in connection with the disaster," she said.

"I'm finally facing my demons.
Images taken by a NASA Mars orbiter indicate that a missing European space probe was destroyed on impact after plummeting to the surface of the Red Planet from a height of 2-4 km (1.2 to 2.5 miles), the European Space Agency said on Friday.
Major websites were inaccessible to people across wide swaths of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internets infrastructure said it was under attack.
City Airport has been closed after a report of a chemical incident, local reports said on Friday.

Fire Brigade (LFB) said about 500 people were forced to leave the east airport after some passengers felt unwell, Xinhua news agency reported.

LFB added that firefighters are investigating the incident at the airport. "We have three fire engines and 15 firefighters at the scene," it said from its twitter account.

London Ambulance service said it was dealing with patients on the site and the LFB said it had appliances it uses when dealing with chemical incidents, the BBC said earlier.

A spokesman for the airport told the BBC the evacuation took place at about 16:00 BST after a fire alarm was set off.
Nintendos big idea for the next gaming trend is one machine that works equally well as a mobile gadget as it does on a big TV screen. So far, few are impressed. A highly anticipated trailer released on Thursday for the device, called Switch, failed to excite investors or gamers after months of speculation that the Kyoto-based company would come up a fresh twist on video games, like it did with the motion-based Wii in 2006. I love the concept of Switch, but thats what it feels like: a concept, said Elliot King, 33, who works in foreign affairs and lives in Tokyo. ...
The supporters of US Republican nominee Donald shoved and pushed journalists, including an NDTV reporter, outside an event venue in Pennsylvania, calling them "liars" and threatening to "knock the mic down", a media report said on Saturday.

"I don't want to talk to media, you are liars," a supporter shouted at the NDTV reporter, "I will knock your mic down. Who the hell are you, whoever knows you," he yelled.

Subsequently the police intervened, NDTV reported.

The incident occurred shortly after the business magnate had addressed around 5,000 people in Pennsylvanian administrative division of Newton.

has taken anti-media attacks to a new level, accusing journalists of being in cahoots with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign in a conspiracy to rig the election.

In Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the US elections, is trying to be the first Republican since 1988 to win the state which carries 20 electoral votes; 270 are needed to win.

In August at a rally in Fairfield, Connecticut, Trump had said, "I am not running against Crooked Hillary Clinton, I'm running against the crooked media".

Trump has complained for months about media coverage which he said is biased against him.

He had stripped a long list of news organisations - including the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Politico and the Washington Post - of their credentials, and vowed that as the President he would make it easier to sue news outlets.

However, he later allowed them to cover his events.

The business mogul's campaign for the November 8 election has been scrambling to recover from the release of 2005 video in which he bragged about groping women and making unwanted sexual advances. Since then, many women have come forward with similar allegations.

Clinton is leading Trump by 12 percentage points, according to a new national poll, up 8 points from a similar survey conducted last month.

The Monmouth University poll released earlier this week put Clinton ahead of Trump, 50 per cent to 38 per cent, Politico news magazine reported.

The former Secretary of State's lead was up significantly from the 4-point advantage she held in September's Monmouth poll.

This latest poll is the first to be conducted entirely since the accusations of sexual assault against Trump began to emerge.
Donald Trump plans to set out a positive vision for his first 100 days as president, in what his campaign called a closing argument for voters that will come a day after he vowed to finish the race with no regrets. Trump plans to describe his early goals during remarks Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, according to an aide, a dramatic turn from the Republicans standard campaign speech that paints a bleak picture of the US. Trump will outline the 10 most important principles for the first 100 days, another aide said. With less than three weeks until an ...
Yet another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was attacked by three unidentified persons in Idiyanchira near Thrissur district in Kerala yesterday.

The worker is seriously injured and is undergoing treatment. The party has alleged Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers behind the attack.

Earlier this week, the Congress moved an adjournment motion in the Kerala Assembly to discuss the rising political violence in Kannur.

The Opposition party has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the CPI (M) rivalry behind the rising crime in the city and making Kerala as a murder center.

Declining the allegation of the Congress, CPI (M) leader and Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the RSS makes deliberate attempt to create law and order problems in Kannur and alleged that till now six peace talk has failed as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept away from it.

He further said that the police take strong actions with special control rooms and bomb squad adding that there is no emergency to discuss the matter in the assembly.

Early this month, a CPI (M) and a BJP worker were murdered in Kannur.

The CPI (M) worker was killed and the BJP activist was hacked to death at a petrol pump near Pinarayi in Kannur district in Kerala.

Meanwhile, both CPI (M) and BJP are now blaming each other for the death of their respective party workers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) MP and actor Manoj Tiwari expressed satisfaction over the release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' on the scheduled date after the producer assured that he won't work with Pakistani actors.

"I am delighted over the decision, and I have always advocated the fact that the movies which have been made earlier should be released; but in future, films casting Pakistani actors should be banned. As the makers of 'Ae Dil hai Mushkil' assured that they will not make movies with actors from Pakistan," he said.

"We should at least ban people who did not condemn attack on India. Their work should be stopped," he added.

"Filmmakers, who have signed Pakistani actors will have to pay Rs. 5 crore as 'penance' for army welfare," Raj Thackeray said today, suggesting he will not block the release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', after producers promised not to cast Pakistani actors in the future.

Ae Dil... director Karan Johar, producers' guild president Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Thackeray, whose Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or MNS is among outfits that had threatened to vandalise cinemas and block the film as it stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) gave green signal to the release of Karan Johar upcoming movie 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association president Nitin Datar has refused to support the movie.

"We are not going to co-operate with release of Karan Johar's movie," Datar told ANI.

The Cinema Owners had earlier announced that its members would no longer screen films starring Pakistani artistes, including actors and music directors.

COEA is the second industry association after Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) to impose a ban on films starring Pakistani artistes after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and Shiv Sena campaigned for an end of cultural relations with Pakistan.

However, after a meeting today Devendra Fadnavis, Karan Johar and other film fraternity, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray reached a truce and said the producers casting Pakistani actors in their movie will have to pay Rs. 5 crore for the Army Welfare Association, giving a green signal to the flick.

"All the producers who have Pakistani artistes in their film will as penance have to pay some money, I suggested five crore per film. They will work out the figure now and give the money to the Army Welfare Association," Thackeray said after meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and director of the movie Karan Johar.

After the meeting, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt, said that the body will pass a resolution stating that they will not work with Pakistani actors in future.

"I assured the Chief Minister that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future, it is a resolution and we will pass this resolution," said Mukesh Bhatt after the meeting.

Bhatt also said that keeping the sentiments of the nation first, director Karan Johar has also said that he will run a slate before the movie starts to honours the martyrs.

Karan Johar and Dharma productions upcoming movie 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' has been surrounded with controversies which has received threat from the MNS over featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

On October 20, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India member met Rajnath Singh, concerning the release of the movie after which filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt said that the government has assured them to provide security to the exhibitor featuring the movie and will try to maintain law and order.

The movie is scheduled to be released on October 28.

After situation between India and Pakistan worsened, many political parties and that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have been demanding a ban on KJo's film that also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After he was expelled from the Samajwadi Party (SP) for six years on "disciplinary" ground, Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC) Udayveer Singh on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are divulging wrong information to SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav with an aim to manipulate the upcoming poll result that would see Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav coming to power again.

"I kept my viewpoint on the existing political situation before the party leadership. The way BJP people are, as part of a conspiracy, trying to give wrong information to Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) with an aim to manipulate the upcoming poll result, which will be coming in the favour of Akhileshji; I kept my viewpoint on that, but wrong information was divulged in juxtapose to what information I had, and that is why the decision (to expel him) was taken," Udayveer, a confidante of Akhilesh, told ANI here.

The expulsion came after senior Samajwadi Party leaders' meeting with Mulayam Singh, who was upset with his son Akhilesh for his patronage to Udayveer, who shot off a letter alleging that "the Chief Minister was being targeted by his stepmother and black magic was used against him".

However, when asked that the letter written by him was responsible for his expulsion, Udayveer said, "If there is a talk about a letter, then, it would be the same letter (which he has sent)."

Asked about his next move, Singh said, "I am a politician, who is associated with the Samajwadi Party and the Samajwadi ideology. My faith and trust in Netaji and Akhileshji is as it is as it was earlier, and hence, I will keep on doing political work as was doing earlier."

Answering a question that whether he would appeal before Netaji, Udayveer said, "It is my right to make an appeal to Netaji against the decision, which I will pursue."

Singh reportedly also attacked state Samajwadi Party chief and Mulayam Singh's brother Shivpal Yadav for "being the political front of the Chief Minister's stepmother".

Supporting his expulsion, Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Bhatia said the party is known for discipline, so nobody would be allowed to continue being indiscipline.

"The letter written by MLC who has been expelled from the party was completely inappropriate and he had crossed the 'laxman rekha'. Writing that president Mulayam Singh Yadav should make way for someone else was not appropriate because that hurt the sentiments of every party leader and worker," Bhatia told ANI.

Bhatia sought to know as to when there is cohesiveness, understanding and mutual respect between party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav, why should any leader of the party make such a comment.

The crisis in the party escalated yesterday when Akhilesh skipped a crucial party meeting convened by his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Akhilesh, however, met the members separately at his residence after their meeting ended with Shivpal.

Meanwhile, party senior leaders are likely to meet Akhilesh later in the day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation president Sardar Talhah on Saturday came out against the atrocities by Pakistani Army on the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistani Army, on October 22, 1947, disguised as tribal invaders attacked Jammu and Kashmir, killing thousands of people.

Kashmiris across PoK are observing the day by demanding immediate withdrawal of the Pakistani forces from their territory.

"In 1947, just months after partition, Pakistani forces assisted tribals attacked the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and indulged in plunder and the killing of innocents on an unprecedented level," he said.

The tribals, known as Kabailies, were employed by Pakistan with a conspiracy to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir by executing genocide on the people. It was an attack by Pakistani Pathans on the Kashmiri people.

"Thousands of people were killed, women were raped, young women were abducted and their whereabouts are still not known. To mark the day, a series of demonstrations and seminars are being held across PoK and other parts of the world," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A white powdery substance has tested negative for harmful substances in a preliminary investigation that was sent to Hillary Clinton's campaign office in New York, police said.

Police claimed that an envelope containing the white substance was opened by Clinton campaign workers on Friday.

Lt. Thomas Antonetti of the New York Police Department said that the envelope was first delivered to Clinton's midtown Manhattan office. It was then transferred to her Brooklyn headquarters, where it resulted in the evacuation of the building's 11th floor during the evening, reports the CNN.

Clinton's campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement," The four individuals involved have reported no health issues and, following a full examination by medical personnel, were each released to go home."

"Our office remained open throughout this period and will remain open without interruption (Saturday) morning," he added.

According to the statement, the substance was found to be "to be non-hazardous" by the Federal and local officials.

Initials reports pointed out that the envelope was opened in the campaign's Manhattan office and then was passed on to its headquarters in Brooklyn. It wasn't clear why the opened envelope was transferred.

The incident is being investigated by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The U.S. Secret Service and the Office of Emergency Management are also involved in the investigation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Pakistan Government is likely to make the appointment of its new army chief in a week, who would succeed General Raheel Sharif.

State Minister for Capital Administration Tariq Fazl Chaudhry on Friday revealed, "The government has not yet decided [as to who will be the new army chief] but is likely to announce his name in week or ten days' time."

Serving army chief General Sharif is set to retire in November this year and has announced not to seek an extension in his tenure, reports the Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court dismissed this week a petition seeking to elevate the current General Raheel to the rank of field marshal while observing that the matter falls within the domain of the legislature and no direction can be issued to the legislator to this effect.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Putting an end to the turbulence surrounding the release of Karan Johar's next movie 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray reached a truce on October 22 by suggesting that producers casting Pakistani actors in their movies will have to pay Rs. 5 crore for the Army Welfare Association.

"All the producers who have Pakistani artistes in their film will, as penance, have to pay some money, I suggested five crore per film. They will work out the figure now and give the money to the Army Welfare Association," Thackeray said after meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the movie's director, .

"In the meeting today, I asked (Mukesh) Bhatt and others- why roll out the red carpet for them, when they (in Pakistan) ban films and artists when they want to?" he said.

Earlier in the morning, Raj Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis, and others from the film fraternity met at the Chief Minister's residence to discuss the release of the upcoming movie- 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' (ADHM).

After the meeting, Mukesh Bhatt, President at the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, said that the body will pass a resolution stating that they will not work with Pakistani actors in future.

"I assured the Chief Minister that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future; it is a resolution and we will pass this resolution," said Mukesh Bhatt after the meeting.

Bhatt also said that keeping the sentiments of the nation first, director has also said that he will run a slate at the begnning of the movie to honour the martyrs.

Karan Johar and Dharma productions' joint project- ADHM- has been surrounded with controversies for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan amid worsening ties between India and its neighbouring country.

On October 20, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India member met Rajnath Singh, concerning the release of the movie after. After the meeting, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt had said that the government has assured to provide security to exhibitors featuring the movie and will try to maintain law and order during screenings.

The movie is scheduled to be released on October 28.

Many political parties, inlcuding the MNS, have been demanding a ban on Johar's film that also stars industry stalwarts like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

In an emotional video statement, Johar had on Tuesday expressed a "deep sense of hurt and pain" for being labelled as an anti- .

"I condemn terror in the strongest terms, I respect our Army, for me, the country comes first," the 44-year-old director said.

"The reason why I remained silent is because of a deep sense of pain," he added.

Johar, who made his directorial debut with the blockbuster romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, further said: "The best way to express your patriotism is to spread love and thats all I have ever tried to do through my work and cinema."
The Samajwadi Party on Saturday supported the move of expelling party MLC Udayveer Singh for six years and said that the party has been known for discipline so nobody would be allowed to continue being undisciplined.

"The letter written by the MLC who has been expelled from the party was completely inappropriate and he had crossed the 'laxman rekha'. Writing that president Mulayam Singh Yadav should make way for someone else was not appropriate because that hurt the sentiments of every party leader and worker," Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Bhatia told ANI.

Bhatia asked when there is cohesiveness, understanding and mutual respect between party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav, why should any leader of the party make such a comment?

Also, the kind of allegations that were hurled in the letter was unsubstantiated and not at all appropriate for a party leader or a worker.Akhilesh Yadav himself yesterday issued a statement that all party leaders and supporters also should not make any statement which damages the party. Same is the stand for Mulayam Singh Yadav," he added.

Bhatia further said when senior leaders are working together to ensure that the Samajwadi Party comes back to power with the majority, why should other party leaders not understand this message?

"The Samajwadi Party has been known for discipline. So, nobody would be allowed to continue in the party being indiscipline," he added.

Udayveer Singh's expulsion from the party came after he accused Mulayam Singh's second wife of being part of a conspiracy against Akhilesh Yadav.

Singh, who is a member of the legislative council, also attacked state Samajwadi Party chief and Mulayam Singh's brother Shivpal Yadav for being the 'political front' of the Chief Minister's stepmother.

The decision came after Mulayam met senior leaders earlier today to find ways to end the raging infighting which is threatening to take the party to the verge of a split.

The crisis in the party escalated yesterday when Akhilesh skipped the crucial party meeting convened by state unit chief and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Akhilesh, however, met the members separately at his residence after their meeting ended with Shivpal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To hold discussions on possible peace talks, some senior members of the Taliban's political commission based in Qatar have travelled to Pakistan.

The development follows the revelation this week that Taliban officials held two rounds of secret talks with Afghanistan's spy chief and a senior US diplomat in previous months, reports the Guardian.

In the two meetings, Pakistan was excluded despite its long association with the Islamist movement.

According to sources, a trio of Taliban diplomats - Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Jan Muhammad Madani, a former foreign minister under the Taliban regime in the 1990s and Mullah Abdul Salam, a former deputy education minister- left Doha on Wednesday with a mission to hold talks with Pakistani officials.

"The visiting Afghan Taliban delegation will discuss various topics, including peace talks, and share the latest information with Pakistan," said a senior official.

The Taliban official said the discussions being held in Pakistan follow successful contacts made with both Afghan and US officials in recent months.

Last year, Islamabad managed to bring Taliban, United States and Chinese diplomats around the same table at a breakthrough meeting to initiate peace talks but a second meeting never took place after the Afghan Government confirmed that the former Taliban leader Mullah Omar had died years previously and that the movement had been run in his name by Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who showed little interest in re-engaging in the Pakistan-brokered process.

Mansoor was killed by a US drone strike in May, creating further uncertainty about the chances of peace talks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has claimed that President Barack Obama and the United States are despised around the world, which is driving countries such as the Philippines into the arms of its adversaries.

"The hates our president. The hates us. You saw what happened with the Philippines after years and years and years; they're now looking to Russia and China, because they don't feel good about the weak America" the Guardian quoted Trump, as saying at a Friday rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

On Thursday Duterte, who was on a state visit to China, declared "America has lost" and said it was China, the Philippines and Russia against the . However, after returning back from the visit, Duterte said in Manila on Friday that he would not sever ties as it was in his country's best interests to remain with the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With effect from 02 September 2016

Mipco Seamless Rings (Gujarat) announced that Ereena Vikram, Company Secretary & Compliance officer of the Company has resigned from office w.e.f. 02 September 2016.

Due to her resignation, the Board of Directors of the Company has designated Sanjiv Kumar Tandon, Director as Compliance Officer of the Company.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

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Film and Television Producers Guild of India's President Mukesh Bhatt said on Saturday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the smooth release to filmmaker Karan Johars "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".

Fadnavis presided over a meeting with MNS President Raj Thackeray, Bhatt and Johar, among others, to ensure that the film, featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, has a safe and smooth release across single screens and multiplexes on October 28.

"We had a constructive meeting with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the good news is that 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release across all single screens and multiplexes as per schedule," Bhatt said in a statement.

"I have confirmed to the Chief Minister that the Producer's Guild has decided that going forward, we will not work with Pakistani artistes in the future. Karan said that he will put a special slate saluting our soldiers before the start of the movie. It's a tribute from us to our soldiers," he added.

Bhatt further added: "In addition, some of the producers volunteered to contribute to the Army Welfare Fund. We owe this to the Army. The meeting was called by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and all the parties agreed that all films which are already in production with Pakistani artistes will be allowed to release smoothly.

Produced by Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios, "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles.

--IANS

sas/dc/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Political temperatures soared here on Saturday with with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav calling in a meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators on Sunday.

The meeting has been called at the chief minister's official 5, Kalidas Marg residence, a day before SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav meets the party legislators at the state headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg.

Sources said the meeting is to be watched for as the meeting could witness Akhilesh spelling out his future course of action in the turf war which has erupted between him and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Akhilesh Yadav skipped a meeting of district SP chiefs convened in the state capital on Friday and Saturday and chose to meet them at the chief minister's residence separately.

Party veterans met Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday to find some solution in what is now becoming an unending feud in the party's top leadership.

But insiders said they failed to pacify Mulayam Singh Yadav who is "extremely hurt" at the rebellion of his son Akhilesh and "crude protests" by his supporters.

Leaders who met Mulayam on Saturday -- Beni Prasad Verma, Reoti Raman Singh and Naresh Agarwal, later told mediapersons that any disrespect shown towards Mulayam will not be tolerated at any cost.

Hours later, Udayveer Singh, an MLC considered very close to Akhilesh Yadav was shown the door and expelled from the party for six years.

Singh had written a terse letter to the SP chief asking him to step down as SP's national president and make way for his son.

This further aggravated the situation as most leaders close to Akhilesh have been thrown out of the party now.

In the evening, Shivpal also filled up the vacancies of presidents in party's frontal wings and filled it with men known to be his followers.

Sources say chances of any peace were become remote with every passing moment.

For now, all eyes are on 5, Kalidas Marg on the proposed meeting of legislators convened by the chief minister, who seems to be in no mood to backtrack from his stated position.

--IANS

md/pgh

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP leader Prem Kumar on Saturday said Hindus were in danger in Bihar as the state government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is pursuing a policy of appeasement of Muslims for vote-bank .

"Hindus are in danger in Bihar under Nitish Kumar's rule," the Leader of Opposition told media persons in Purnea district.

He said Hindus are feeling insecure since they have been made soft target by the state administration. "The Nitish government has targeted people from the majority community to appease another community."

Prem Kumar accused the authorities of harassing and torturing members of the Hindu community following communal tension in several districts during Durga Puja.

Communal tension was reported in several districts of Bihar following violent clashes during the immersion of Durga idols and Tazia processions last week.

In view of the tension, Internet services were suspended and authorities invoked Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, banning gathering of five or more people, in some districts. More than 200 people were arrested.

--IANS

ik/tsb/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The four-year-old Syrian boy with a burnt face found his way to the final debate at Las Vegas in the US between the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump, and the Democratic Party's Hillary Clinton.

Clinton simulated a lump in her throat describing the child with burns as evidence of indiscriminate Russian bombing of civilians.

The pro- and anti-Russian strand has consistently run through the debates. Clinton has dwelt on Russian perfidy in the West Asian mess while Trump distanced himself from

the Cold War rhetoric. According to him, Russian cooperation should be welcome to fight terrorism.

Earlier, Christiane Amanpour of the CNN thrust the very same photograph of the Syrian boy under Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's nose during her high profile

interview in Moscow. This, she said menacingly, is a "crime against humanity".

Lavrov contemplated the photograph with some emotion. "This is a tragedy," he said without a change of expression.

Lavrov is too suave a diplomat to get into an argument with reporters. I am sure he knew that the painful picture has gone viral on the social media. A multi-million dollar propaganda machine has been placed at the disposal of the so-called Syrian opposition by an alliance led by the US and which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Propaganda these days will always invite counter-propaganda. It turns out that a video of how the "Syrian boy" photograph was manufactured has gone viral too. I have acquired a clip of this video.

A "fixer" lifts the boy on his shoulder and brings him into a trailer which has been set up as a field studio. The boy looking more weary than in pain is made to sit on a chair.

Media is then ushered in for an extended photo session. A hapless toddler is thus brought into focus as an iconic symbol of Russian brutality.

As the photo session progresses, the "fixers" and the "minders", all wearing white helmets, are laughing -- they are thrilled at the success of their enterprise.

This sleight of hands is the latest I have noticed in my line of duty for decades as a foreign correspondent.

The uses of the media to advance strategic foreign policy ends can be traced, in recent decades to, say, Radio Free Europe to soften up Communist states. This was during

the Cold War.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the use of the media in foreign interventions reached new heights because of lightning advances in technology. But let us abide by the

Syria story for our purposes.

When I visited the country in August 2011, an imitation of the colour revolutions (Orange "revolution" in Ukraine) was on evidence. In other words, images of slogan-shouting crowds were amplified by the media, creating an illusion of a popular, nationwide insurrection.

It is true there was restiveness in Hama, halfway between Damascus and Aleppo. This was not new. The district has always been a centre for the Muslim Brotherhood. A major uprising in 1982 was so brutally crushed by Hafez al Assad, Bashar al Assad's father, that nearly 10,000 Brotherhood members and sympathisers were killed.

But on this occasion when the restiveness in Hama erupted into a demonstration, US Ambassador Robert Stephen Ford and French Ambassador Eric Chevallier played a role

novel in global diplomacy: they joined the demonstration against the government they were accredited to.

Indeed, the duet made appearances in Homs, on the Lebanese border and Dera, near Jordan. When I asked why Western ambassadors were being allowed to stoke a

revolution, one of Bashar al Assad's senior advisers threw up her hands: "This shows how far we have been penetrated."

The ambassadors did not just provide moral support to the opposition by making a personal appearance in the trouble spots; they also provided the insurrection with state of the art communications technology.

According to James Glanz and John Markoff of the New York Times, "The Obama administration is (in 2011) leading global effort to deploy 'shadow' internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down communications networks."

The NYT reporters described "one operation out of a spy novel in a fifth floor shop in L street, Washington, where a group of young entrepreneurs, looking like a garage band, are fitting deceptively innocent-looking hardware into a prototype 'internet in a suitcase'". It was all in preparation of an elaborate "Liberation Technology Movement".

None of this technology has enabled the US and its cohorts to cover themselves with glory in Syria. The so-called "moderate opposition" has been an illusion, a sort of cover for terrorist groups like Al Nusra.

Pushed on to the back foot on this issue, Amanpour screwed up her nose and asked with marked aggression: "You are not suggesting the US is helping terror groups."

Lavrov's non-reply was pithy: "When it comes to the Al Nusra, I am not sure."

(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/ky/sac

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Madhya Pradesh has moved from being a BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh) state 13 years ago to an economic industrial centre.

Talking about the landscape after the 2003 Vidhan Sabha election, Jaitley said: "The roads were in bad condition, power was erratic and travelling from Bhopal to Indore was difficult. The scenario has changed in 13 years."

The Finance Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the Global Investors Summit here at Brilliant Convention Centre (BCC).

Talking about the linking of Narmada and Kshipra rivers, he said: "The project has increased the generation of electricity. Infrastructure has improved and educational institutions have been established."

Announcing an investment of approximately Rs 20,000 crore in the state, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: "We are planning to invest aproximately 20,000 crore in MP, including two new units of Ultratech cement."

The two-day summit was inaugurated in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar. More than 3,000 representatives from industrial regions are participating in this event.

On Friday, Chouhan had announced that businesses will continue to enjoy tax exemptions even after the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime comes into effect.

He added that the state's economy is speedily developing and there are vast opportunities for investing in the industrial space.

Baba Ramdev, also one of the representatives from the private businesses, expressed his displeasure at the government not allotting him preferred proportion of land for setting up ayurvedic products manufacturing unit and said the allotted land is like a "wrestling ground" for him.

The annual Global Investors Summit is expected to hold discussions on development of industries like textile, automobile engineering, food processing, energy, tourism, 'Make in India' and opportunities for export in MP.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has signed an agreement for the sale of 10 Super Mushshak aircraft to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), defence officials said.

"The contract signing ceremony was held at Abuja (Nigeria) where Air Vice Marshal Iya Ahmed Abdullahi and Air Marshal Arshad Malik, Chairman of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), signed the contract," Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman Syed Mohammad Ali said on Friday.

The contract includes operational training and technical support and assistance to the NAF.

The PAF would completely establish this facility in the shortest possible time, he said.

The contract will not only open new avenues for export of aviation equipment to foreign countries but also help generate revenue for the country.

The aircraft is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and South Africa.

The deal strengthens PAC's status as a world class aviation industry producing the supersonic JF-17 Thunder and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Politicians from different parties as well as Uttar Pradesh Bar Council Vice-President Janki Sharan Pandey and hundreds of lawyers on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2017 assembly polls.

Welcoming the new entrants, state BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya said the entry of legal fraternity representatives in large numbers had further strengthened the party that aims for 265-plus seats in the 404-member state assembly.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ramesh Patel, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Naresh Paswan, Peace Party's state General Secretary Dhruv Pratap Singh also joined the BJP on Saturday.

Maurya said the exodus of political leaders from other parties was a sign of growing realisation that the BJP was not only a front-ranking party in the assembly polls but also a clear winner.

--IANS

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The producers backing Karan Johars "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" have thanked single-screen as well as multiplex theatre owners for supporting the film over its release.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which was earlier against the release of the film for featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, on Saturday allowed the October 28 release of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" -- but said all producers who employed Pakistani artists must pay Rs 5 crore each into the Indian Army's welfare fund as atonement.

Since then, a lot of theatre owners have come out in support of the film.

"There is huge demand for 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'. It is a romantic entertainer that goes well with the festive mood and the spirit of Diwali. The songs are also huge hits. The audience is definitely looking forward to watch the movie in cinemas," Alok Tandon, CEO, INOX Leisure Ltd, said in a statement.

Anil Thadani, owner of distribution house AA Films, said: "All single screens and multiplexes are screening 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'. This is a big film, with big names releasing in a festive period to bring joy to our audiences."

The film features Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in the lead.

Arvind Chapalka, owner of City Pride multiplexes in Pune, said that the film will be screened in all the theatres in the city.

The MNS decision followed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' direct intervention in the matter -- a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Mumbai and two days after he met representatives of Bollywood.

Fadnavis convened a meeting on Saturday which was attended by MNS President Raj Thackeray, Karan Johar and Film and Television Producers Guild of India's President Mukesh Bhatt, among others at his official residence, Varsha, to resolve the imbroglio.

Officials at Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios -- the banners backing the film -- are thankful over support from cinema owners.

"We thank the Film and Television Producers Guild of India who have come out in support of our film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and also wholeheartedly thank the single screen owners and associations and multiplex owners for supporting our film and standing by us," Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions, said.

Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios, said: "We are extremely thankful to the Producers Guild and the cinema owners who have stood by 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and have come out and supported us. The film talks about celebrating love".

--IANS

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a three-day visit to Bahrain from Sunday, a statement said on Saturday.

The Indian delegation led by Rajnath Singh will include senior officers from the ministries of home and external affairs.

"During the visit, the Home Minister will have a bilateral meeting with the Interior Minister of Bahrain and interact with prominent members of Indian community," said the statement.

Rajnath Singh will discuss with top leadership of Bahrain the issue of cross-border terrorism faced by India and anti-terror cooperation.

--IANS

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A United Nations (UN) report issued late on October 21 revealed that government forces in carried out its third toxic gas attack in the north-western Idlib region in March last year.

According to the BBC, the fourth report of the 13-month-long inquiry by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that investigations reveal helicopters flying from military bases dropping barrel bombs containing a prohibited weapon, chlorine gas.

It said that the helicopter flights could have originated from two bases where the 253 and 255 squadrons, part of the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based.

But the inquiry said that it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time."

It added that those "with effective control in the military units... must be held accountable".

The report also accused the government forces of carrying out the toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015.

The use of chlorine as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which joined in 2013.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday called upon Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India to set up a Saudi consulate in state capital Hyderabad.

The Chief Minister made the demand when Ambassador Saud Mohammed Al-Sati met him here.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, Al-Sati told Rao that they are pursuing efforts in this regard.

The Chief Minister said the consulate would be of great help as nearly 300,000 people from Telangana are living in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, people belonging to various parts of erstwhile Hyderabad state and working in Saudi Arabia also use Hyderabad as a transit route.

Rao brought to the Ambassador's notice the problem faced in bringing back bodies of migrant workers who die in Saudi Arabia and urged him to take necessary steps to redress the problem.

The Ambassador told Rao that Saudi Arabia was ready to invest in various sectors in Telangana and partner with the newly formed state in its development.

Recalling the historic and cultural relations between Saudi Arabia and Hyderabad, the Chief Minister noted that the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Pasha, had built 'Rubat' near the grand mosque in Makkah for the convenience of Haj pilgrims

Observing that Telangana is keen to strengthen its friendship with Saudi Arabia, Rao said trade and investment would go a long way in this regard.

The Ambassador informed Rao that his government had asked the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to initiate efforts towards investment in Telangana, said the statement.

Al-Sati said he learnt about the rapid development in Telangana during a meeting with experts at Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Chief Minister explained to the foreign dignitary the new industrial policy of Telangana and claimed it is the best policy in the world.

He also highlighted the measures taken by his government for the welfare of minorities.

The Saudi Ambassador on Friday offered prayers in historic Makkah Masjid here and also visited Osmania University.

--IANS

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Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday advised chartered accountants to help curb the growth of black money.

Inaugurating two-day international conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here, the Minister said 'black money' is one of the major concerns of economic management.

Referring to the recent Income Disclosure Scheme, under which unaccounted income of over Rs 65,000 crore was voluntarily declared, he said it was necessary to understand the reasons for the same and its implications for the country.

"As professionals, you would know better how such huge incomes go unreported. You need to ponder if chartered accountants could play a role in addressing such practices and curbing the growth of black economy," Naidu said.

He appealed to the chartered accountants to ponder if they can go beyond what their clients ask them to account for and instead motivate them towards more ethical business and trade practices.

He also urged the chartered accountants to get ready for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He said: "GST introduction is a huge challenge and opportunity for the chartered accountants and they need to get ready for enabling this change in a smooth and seamless manner."

Naidu exuded confidence that the pace of economic growth will further pick up with various initiatives being taken to enhance the 'ease of doing business' as part of the efforts to improve the investment climate.

"The ongoing efforts of the central and state governments for rapid economic development through increased investments would be helped to a great deal with the availability of credible financial information products for both domestic and foreign investors. This is where your role is important," he said.

Naidu said it was a matter of pride that in none of the scandals or scams any Indian CA firm is reported to have been involved.

"It is the international accounting firms which were reportedly involved in different frauds and scams in India," he noted.

Pointing out that a transparent and accountable business environment is the key to rapid economic growth, he said the corporate irregularities were of concern and hoped that CAs can play a role in curbing them.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samajwadi Party leader said if Narendra Modi could become prime minister, so could he. "I have all the qualities of becoming prime minister," he said at a function in Saharanpur. "I can make tea, play the drum, cook food and I wear proper clothes. Besides, I am not all that bad looking, nor am I corrupt." Khan went on to say that if he became PM, "I assure you, I will deposit Rs 20 lakh in the accounts of 130 crore people within six months. I am not like those who don't keep their promises". "At a time when tension rages at the border and our poor are going hungry, he (Modi) sends shawls to Pakistan and gets in return boxes of mangoes," Khan said. "The king is happy, so is Pakistan. He will take advantage of this in the 2017 polls (in UP)."
In a major move, the Delhi government on Saturday decided to extend a scheme, providing residents with 20,000 litres of water every month for free, in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area with retrospective effect.

"So far, people of entire Delhi, except those living in NDMC area, benefited from this scheme. Now we have decided to retrospectively implement the same in NDMC area," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said after a cabinet meeting in New Delhi.



Delhi is divided into three urban regions -- the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD), the NDMC, and the Delhi Cantonment Board.

The NDMC area includes VVIP zones, including Lutyens area, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Block, South Block and the Supreme Court.

"The old water bills of people living there will be refunded and Delhi government will pay subsidy amount to NDMC," Kejriwal said.



Immediately after coming to power, the had decided to give free water up to 20,000 litres per month to every household in Delhi as promised in its poll manifesto.



The cabinet has also approved a proposal to increase the capacity of an under-construction hospital in Ambedkar Nagar from 200 beds to 600 beds.

This will bring down the per bed cost from Rs 62 lakh to Rs 13.75 lakh, he added.

The government also announced its decision to make permanent banks along the Yamuna river by 2017. Kejriwal said the process of making 'pucca' (concrete) ghats was already started in light of the upcoming Chhath Pooja.

"All ghats (banks) will be made concrete by next year's (2017) Chhath Pooja," he said.
Eleven people, including six women and a minor boy of a family, were injured in separate incidents of road accidents here today, police said.

In the first incident, six women and a boy were injured after a private passenger bus overturned this morning on the Kota-Jaipur national highway here, police said.

The incident occurred in the area under Sadar police station when about 40 members and relatives of the family were going for an engagement ceremony in Kota.

Around 6.30 AM the front two tyres of the bus unlocked, overturning the vehicle, police said.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital here and a case against the bus driver has been lodged, sub-inspector Vijay Bahadur said.

In the other incident under the same police station area, four persons sustained injuries after their tractor-trolley, loaded with soybean which they were carrying for sale in Bundi mandi, turned upside down on Nainwa road near Ratabadda village in the morning, police said.

The injured have been hospitalised for treatment, Bahadur said, adding that a case of negligent driving would be lodged against the tractor-trolley driver.

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Fourteen Congress workers were today detained by the police from two locations for protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit here.

"Congress members were detained after they shouted slogans against Modi and demanded that the newly-inaugurated integrated terminal of Vadodara International Airport be named after Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the ruler of the erstwhile Baroda state who is credited with taking several initiatives to develop the city," the police said.

While seven Congress workers were detained from outside the airport at the Harni locality, just ahead of Modi's visit to inaugurate the new integrated terminal building of the airport, an equal number of them were detained from the Sardarnagar area, the police said.

"We detained seven persons from outside the airport gate as they were protesting and shouting slogans. They were released a few hours later," an official of Harni police station said.

Fatehgunj police said they too detained seven persons and released them after the prime minister's programmes -- one of inaugurating the airport terminal and another of distributing assistive devices to Divyangs (differently-abled persons) -- were over and he left for Delhi.

Among those detained was Congress leader Narendra Ravat who had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha by-election and was defeated by BJP's Ranjanben Bhatt.

Ravat and other Congress members were demanding naming of the airport after Sayajirao Gaekwad III.

"If the BJP names the airport after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, we will protest against it through 'kar seva'. Not to name the airport after Sayajirao Gaekwad is an insult to him and his contributions to the city," Ravat said.

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Police today recovered 20 automatic pistols kept in two packets from Gaya-Howrah express train at Jamalpur railway station of Bihar's Munger district.

Acting on a tip-off, the railway police searched the bogies of Gaya-bound Gaya-Howrah express train at Jamalpur railway station and recovered 20 automatic pistols kept in two packets below the seat of a general bogie of the train, Superintendent of Rail Police (SRP) Sapna Meshram said.

No one has been arrested in this connection so far, the SRP said adding that police are investigating the matter.

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At least 21 terrorists have been killed in retaliatory strikes carried out by the Egyptian army to avenge a recent militant attack in the restive North Sinai province, military said today.

The military operation was part of a retaliation launched by the army to avenge the last week's militant attack that killed 12 soldiers in North Sinai, military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said.

Twenty-one takfiri terrorists were killed and 24 hideouts as well as 40 motorcycles used by militants destroyed in the operation yesterday, he said.

Earlier, on Friday, a statement by the Ministry of Interior said that two policemen were killed and conscript was injured in a roadside blast in Al-Arish city of North Sinai.

Egypt's North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January, 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.

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Nearly 50 students of a government girls school at a village here fell ill purportedly after consuming snacks served at the shcool, following which Andhra Pradesh Rural Development Minister today directed that a criminal case be filed against the contractor concerned.

The incident took place on Wednesday after students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Merakamuddidam village were taken ill after eating snacks. They started vomiting and showed symptoms of giddiness, district Collector Vivek Yadav said.

All girls were rushed to the local government hospital for immediate treatment.

Out of the 50, two girls were referredto King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, four to district government hospital and eight to a another local hospital, he said, adding they are still undergoing treatment, while the remaining students were discharged.

State Rural Development minister Kimidi Mrunalini today visited the school and inquired about the condition of the girls.

The minister told reporters here that she has asked officials concerned to take immediate action against the contractor who supplied snacks (food items) to the school by filing a criminal case against him.

Yadav, who also visited the school, ordered to issue a memo to the warden of the school and directed officials to place the contractor under blacklist.

Meanwhile, deputy district medical and health officer Dr B Raghava Rao has said all the affected students were out of danger and those undergoingtreatmentwill be discharged soon.

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With decks cleared for the nationwide release of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", its producers today thanked single-screens and multiplexes owners for supporting the Karan Johar-directed movie.

Johar accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis at his home 'Varsha' here this morning where Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, whose party has been opposing the release, was also present.

MNS had threatened to stall the release of the movie as it had Pakistani actor Fawad Khan but has now withdrawn its protest.

"We thank the Producers Guild who have come out in support of our film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and also wholeheartedly thank the single screen owners and associations and multiplex owners for supporting our film and standing by us. Let's celebrate Diwali with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil," Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions, said.

Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios, said it is "heartwarming" to see the film release as per schedule.

"We are extremely thankful to the Guild and the cinema owners who have stood by 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and have come out and supported us. The film talks about celebrating love this Diwali and we are seeing so much solidarity within our industry," he said.

Mukesh Bhatt, the President of the Producers Guild took a dig at Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India, which has decided to stick to its stand to not release the movie in their theatres.

"Some irrelevant body calling themselves as exhibitor association were trying to be in the by capitalising on the sensitive political scenario.

"We strongly condemn such acts. It is cheap and cannot be tolerated. 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' is a film about celebrating love this Diwali. It is a perfect film to play in the theatres and it is releasing nationwide on October 28," Bhatt said.

After the resolution, a number of theatre owners came out in support of the movie.

Aditya Chowksey Executive body member of Central Circuit Cine Association (CCA), which represents cinemas in CP-CI-Rajasthan, said they had planned to release the movie in their nearly 50 single screen cinemas and are expecting a good response in advance bookings.

"All single screens and multiplexes are screening ADHM. This is a big film, with big names releasing in a festive period to bring joy to our audiences," said Anil Thadani, owner AA Films.

"There is huge demand for ADHM. It is a romantic entertainer that goes well with the festive mood and the spirit of Diwali. The songs are also huge hits. The audience is definitely looking forward to watch the movie in cinemas," said Alok Tandon, CEO, INOX Leisure Ltd.

Arvind Chapalka, Owner of City Pride Chain also confirmed that the movie will be screened in all their theatres in Pune.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla today pledged an investment of Rs 20,000 crore for the state in sectors like retail, telecom and cement.

Addressing the Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit here, Birla said the state is among the top markets for Idea Cellular, which has already invested nearly Rs 7,000 crore over two decades.

"So far, our investment in Madhya Pradesh is in the range of Rs 30,000 crore. We have more than 12,000 employees and our ancillary business has generated 25,000 jobs. Going forward, we are looking at investment of Rs 20,000 crore in our various businesses," he said.

Birla said the group has five world-class facilities, including Grasim and chemical plants, in Madhya Pradesh.

The group's Idea Cellular covers over 58 per cent of the population, he said, adding that the group remains committed to further expanding this vast network and bringing more people under the coverage of its mobility services in the state.

"Idea Cellular was first to introduce wireless broadband services here with the launch of its 3G network in 2011. This is now available with more than 2.8 crore and our intent is to double this coverage over the next 3 years," Birla said.

Idea provides entrepreneurial opportunities to some 2,300 distributors and 1.45 lakh retailers in the state. The group is also looking at increasing Idea's 3G and 4G sites and optical fibre cable expansion.

"In all our key businesses like viscose fibre, cement, metals, telecom, retail and financial services, we have a significant presence in the state," he added.

Birla said UltraTech Cement is in the process of acquiring two cement plants at Bela and Sidhi with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

The group is exploring a greenfield cement plant, an investment of Rs 3,000 crore in expansion of Hindalco's smelter and opening of more retail stores for Pantaloons and Madura Garments, besides foraying into the solar sector, Birla said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Decks were today cleared for the smooth release of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" after director Karan Johar accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and assured him that filmmakers would not work with Pakistani artistes given the people's sentiments in India post Uri attacks.

Fadnavis met Johar and Bhatt at his residence 'Varsha' here this morning along with MNS chief Raj Thackeray, whose party had been opposing the release of the upcoming movie as Pakistani actor Fawad Khan features in the film.

Producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bhatt said that it was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule."



"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said.

Bhatt also said that they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.

Also, the (Producers') Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artists. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the Chief Minister, he said.

Besides, Johar has decided to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing out in the screens. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

The makers of the film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the army welfare fund, he said, adding "We owe this to the Army."



Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" had been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks after the MNS opposed the screening of movies featuring Pakistani actors after the Uri terror attack, putting a question mark on the fate of movie, slated for Diwali release on October 28.

Workers from MNS' film unit Maharashtra Navnirman



Chitrapat Karmachari Sena had been protesting and raised slogans outside Metro Cinema in South Mumbai this week, threatening to vandalise cinema houses and stalling the film's screening.

"After these protests, the law and order situation seemed to be not in control and hence we approached the Home Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister," Bhatt said.

"We requested him to give us assurance along with the CM of the state that law and order will be intact and our movie 'ADHM' which is releasing on October 28 would not face any difficulty," he said.

Earlier this week, seeking to calm tempers over opposition to the release of his directorial venture, Johar had made a fervent appeal against stalling the release, saying he will not engage with talent from Pakistan in future.

However, MNS chose to dismiss it and said that reality had dawned late on Johar and continued with their agitation leading to the arrest of 12 party activists, who have been sent in judicial custody till November 4.

Before today's meeting Johar had called on Fadnavis on Thursday afer which the CM had said, "the state government would like to reaffirm that the government will not allow anyone to disturb law and order and stern action will be taken. Democratic protest is fine but unlawful activity will not be tolerated.
A three-member delegation of the Afghan Taliban arrived in Pakistan to discuss peace talks with the Afghan government and recent arrests of high-profile Taliban leaders by Pakistani authorities.

The trio consists former ministers in Taliban government Mullah Salam Hanifi and Mullah Jan Mohammed and ex-Taliban ambassador to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar.

Sources in Taliban and Pakistan officials confirmed that the delegation arrived this week and held meetings with "relevant quarters".

This is the first high level contact by the militants with Pakistan since Taliban held at least two round of talks with officials of Afghan government in Qatar. Pakistan was not part of the talks.

"Pakistan has been pushing Taliban to shun violence and enter in peace negotiation with Kabul. It welcomes any move to bring peace in Afghanistan so that all refugees should go back," a senior official of foreign office said on anonymity.

Sources said that Pakistan was keeping the distance with the talks to let rebels and Kabul directly sort out their problems.

But Islamabad is keeping pressure on rebels through different ways including arresting some of their leaders.

Those recently arrested include Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai. He served as intelligence chief of slain Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. Nanai was arrested from south western province of Balochistan.

Other arrested Taliban leaders are Suleman Agha, who was Taliban governor for Daykund province, and Mullah Sani, alias Samad Sani, who runs a madrassah and also is a known businessman. Taliban are visibly angry on the arrests.

Their anger was reflected in a letter penned down by former head of Qatar office of Taliban, Tayyab Agha.

He addressed the letter this month to Afghan Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhunzada.

Among other things, Agha advised the Taliban chief to shift Afghan Taliban to Afghanistan to avoid any alleged interference by Pakistani authorities.

He said Pakistan would also get benefits of it as would save itself from the allegation of supporting Taliban.

The first known direct talks between Taliban and Afghan government were organised by Pakistan near Islamabad in July, 2015 but they failed to make any progress due to announcement of the death of ex-Taliban chief Mullah Omar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A special CBI court here today adjourned till November 15 commencement of arguments on framing of charges against former media baron Peter Mukerjea, his wife Indrani and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna for murder of Sheena Bora, after Peter's lawyer sought time to prepare, a day after CBI filed its second supplementary charge sheet.

As the stage was set for the arguments to begin, Peter's lawyer Abad Ponda said the defence had received copies of the second supplementary charge-sheet only yesterday, and it had not been given statement of one of the witnesses and some other documents the prosecution was relying on.

"We need time to prepare. But looking at the evidence submitted by the prosecution, I can say that there is no case made out to even frame charges against the accused," he said.

CBI judge H S Mahajan consented to adjourning the matter but said statement of the witness cannot be given at this stage when charges are yet to be framed.

"This court assures that the statement would be provided to the accused once charges are framed," the court said.

Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was strangled in a car here in April 2012 allegedly by Indrani, Khanna and Indrani's former driver Shyamvar Rai. Sheena's body was then dumped in a forest in neighbouring Raigad district.

The crime came to light only last year when Rai was arrested in another case. Rai later turned approver in the Sheena murder case.

CBI yesterday filed its second supplementary charge- sheet before the special CBI court here.

The agency in its charge sheet countered Peter's



arguments that he was falsely implicated in the case and was not aware about the alleged murder. CBI claimed that the ex-media baron was very much in the know of the conspiracy hatched by Indrani to kill Sheena.

CBI claimed Peter was also informed by Indrani on selection of spot for disposal of the body.

According to the charge sheet, Indrani and Peter were against the "intimate relationship" between Sheena and Rahul, Peter's son from his first wife. He often used to quarrel with Rahul on the issue as he didn't approve of the relationship between Sheena and his son.

As per the charge sheet, Peter always dissuaded Khanna's daughter from Indrani, Vidhie, from having any contact with Rahul and Sheena.

Peter was initially fine with the relationship between Sheena and Rahul believing it would eventually wane over financial pressures, CBI said.
Three persons, including an assistant film director in Tollywood, have been arrested for drug-peddling and 2.5 kg of amphetamine has been seized from their possession, police said today.

Acting on a tip-off, a team from Jeedimetla police station caught two persons riding on a two-wheeler -- K Venkata Suresh Babu and V Kishore -- during a vehicle check near the Dundigal area here last night, police said, adding that the duo was in possession of a white powder in five sachets which were seized.

Tests confirmed the white powder to be amphetamine, a banned psychotropic substance, police said.

Suresh Babu hails from Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. He had an ambition of working in the film industry. He had come to Hyderabad four years back and started filming a Telugu movie, a release from Cyberabad police said.

Suresh Babu had spent Rs 60 lakh on the film but due to lack of budget, it could not be completed, the release added.

Similarly, Kishore, who hails from Nizamabad district in Telangana, had worked as an assistant director to noted filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. He had debts and was suffering with financial problems, the release said.

M Srihari Reddy, owner of a hotel in Nellore, had recently brought one kg of the narcotic substance. He had given it to Suresh Babu for sale and offered him a share in the profit. Suresh Babu, in turn, offered a share of his profit to Kishore for selling the drug, police said.

"Last night, while both Suresh Babu and Kishore were proceeding on a bike with the white powder (narcotic substance) in order to sell it to students at Dundigal area, a police team caught them and seized the powder, which was found to be amphetamine," the release said.

Subsequently, police nabbed Srihari from Nellore and seized another 1.5 kg of amphetamine from his possession.

All three were arrested, police said.

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Lauding Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's role in fighting terrorism, Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today said the steps she has taken after the terror attack at a popular cafe in Dhaka will strengthen the global fight against the menace.

Addressing the 20th National Council of the ruling Awami League (AL) here, Azad said India and Bangladesh are close strategic partners in counter terrorism and India appreciates the steps taken by the Bangladesh government to counter terror activities on its soil in the aftermath of the July attack.

The steps, he said, "will further help in strengthening global community's fight against terrorism".

At least 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in the July 1 attack on the upmarket cafe in Dhaka.

Recalling Bangladesh's founder 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Azad said it was he who mobilised the mass civil-disobedience and non co-operation which finally led to the liberation of the country in 1971.

"India's links with Bangladesh are civilizational, cultural, social and economic. There is much that unites the two countries - a shared history and common heritage, linguistic and cultural ties, passion for music, literature and the arts," Azad said.

He also mentioned the "strong" ties the Indian National Congress and the Awami League share.

"Congress has lent its support to the Awami League in some of its most defining moments in history..."



"(Former prime minister) Indira Gandhi stood by the side of the people of Bangladesh from the beginning of the Liberation War despite various adversities. She provided shelter to about one crore Bangladeshi refugees," he said.

Azad said Gandhi played a "great role in freeing Bangabandhu from Pakistani jail. Her contribution to Bangladesh's Liberation War will be remembered forever."



Speaking about the warmth in bilateral relationship, he said successive governments in India and Bangladesh have on various issues helped in cementing the ties between the two countries.

Opening the party council, Hasina urged party leaders and activists to take oath to stamp out poverty from Bangladesh.

The council is expected to elect new leaders of the party for the next three years, but political analysts and party sources said Hasina was likely to retain her position as the party president.

She has been serving as the party president for more than 35 years since 1981 when she was living an exiled life in India. She took refuge in India after the August 15, 1975, assassination of her father Mujibur Rahman.

The party emerged as a platform of Bengali people in then Pakistan in 1949, two years after the end of the British rule.

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Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) has directed the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to the wife of a Haemophilia patient who died in 2013 due to non-administration of a life saving drug in a state-run hospital despite being in stock.

The compensation would have to be paid within two months to Sanovar Ansari's wife. Ansari had died at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

"It is clear that Ansari died due to non-administration of life saving drug FACTOR VIII despite its availability in the hospital stock," BHRC member Neelmani said in his order passed yesterday.

The panel also directed the Director-in-Chief (Disease control), Health Services, Bihar to inform it about administrative action taken against the doctor/para medical staff responsible for inaction.

Ansari's brother complained to the BHRC that he was suffering from internal hemorrhage in head due to Haemophilia, and was admitted in emergency ward of PMCH in the intervening night of June 8-9, 2013.

"His (Ansari's) CT Scan was done on June 9, 2013 but no medicine/treatment was given to him. Next day (i.E. June 10), the doctor prescribed him "Factor VIII"-- 10 vials, a life saving drug for Haemophilia, but the same was not given to him nor any doctor visited him and he died in the night of June 10-11, 2013," the Commission said.

Ansari, a resident of village Dahrath under Ramgarh police station of Kaimur district, left behind his wife Ashyia Begum and four children.

In response to Commission's queries, Dr K P Sinha, Director-in-Chief (disease control), Health Services, Bihar, in his report said "Factor VIII" had been available in the surgical store on June 10 and 11, 2013.

But, he said, the drug was not administered to Ansari who died in the night of June 10, 2013 due to the negligence.

The Commission has posted the matter for further hearing on December 27, 2016.

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Aam Aadmi Party today accused the BJP of reneging on its promise to fix MSP that will ensure 50 per cent profit to farmers and vowed to take up the issue in Punjab, in an apparent bid to woo the farming community.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan hit out at Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh over his reported remarks that the Centre will not be able to ensure 50 per cent profit over input cost to farmers.

"Radha Mohan Singh has said that the government will not be able to ensure 50 per cent profit over input cost to farmers. It is the first such official admission that PM's promise in this regard was a lie," Khetan told reporters here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reached out to the farmers before the 2014 general election promising to fix the MSP (Minimum Support Price) of crops incorporating 50 per cent profit in farmers' cost of production.

Khetan said no farmer would have voted for the BJP had the "admission of inability" had come then. He also quoted from the BJP's election manifesto saying it was one of the major poll promises of the ruling party.

Khetan said the AAP will corner the BJP over this issue in Punjab and rest of the country where "farmers are caught in a debt trap and committing suicide".

Punjab goes to polls in 2017 where AAP, Congress and BJP-SAD alliance are locked in a triangular contest.

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The foremost place accorded to Sri Lanka's majority religion of Buddhism will be preserved in its new Constitution, President Maithripala Sirisena has said.

"Buddhism's position, coming since 1972, will not be changed," Sirisena told a religious gathering in the eastern port district of Trincomalee yesterday.

Dismissing the Opposition claims that Buddhism's position in the country is to be diluted in the new Constitution, the President said: "We have not finalised anything yet."



Tamil and some other minority groups in the country want the new Constitution to be a secular one with no religion being given the foremost status.

A recent statement by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that no group has any objection to Buddhism's foremost position in Sri Lanka was contested by the Tamil National Alliance.

The draft of the new Constitution is expected to be ready by the early part of next year.

The new Constitution is also expected to address the Tamil minority demand for political autonomy.

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Canada turned up the heat on the European Union today, saying it was the bloc's "job" to save a trade pact put in doubt by a Belgian region's refusal to sign on.

Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian trade minister, was firm after leaving last-ditch talks with European parliament head Martin Schulz to salvage the proposed accord that was seven years in the making.

"Now the ball is in Europe's court and it's time for Europe to finish doing its job," Freeland said, adding that she was returning to Toronto today but hoped to be able to come back on October 27 and sign the agreement.

Brussels meanwhile scrambled to resolve the impasse as Schulz also had an 11th-hour huddle with Paul Magnette, head of the Wallonia region's socialist government which is blocking the agreement between Ottawa and the 28-nation bloc.

Afterwards both sides admitted the sticking points are related to "problems within the European Union," said Schulz.

"We still have some difficulties between Europeans," Magnette said while adding that "the discussions we have had together have been very useful."



According to aides of the Walloon leader, Magnette was now waiting for a statement from the European Commission which precisely addresses the Belgian francophone region's concerns about the trade deal.

The pact with Canada known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) would link the EU market of 500 million people with the world's 10th biggest economy.

The accord was initially scheduled to be signed next Thursday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Brussels -- and Schulz said that date remained in the diary.

Canada blasted the EU yesterday as "incapable of having an international agreement", as talks to persuade Wallonia broke down.

Freeland's comments fed into warnings that the EU, beset by rising anti-globalisation sentiment, may never be able to land any other deals including one with the United States.

The Walloon parliament earlier this week had refused to let the federal Belgian government approve the deal between Canada and the European Union, which needs to be backed by all 28 EU member states.

The CETA is opposed by anti-globalisation groups who say it is a test model to push through an even more controversial EU-US trade deal called TTIP, talks on which have also stalled.

And Wallonia has some supporters around Europe.

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The Anti-Corruption Branch of CBI today conducted raids at 18 places, including residences of FACT Chairman and Managing Director Jaiveer Shrivastava and other top company officials in connection with the gypsum contract corruption case.

CBI officials said the raids were carried out after registering a case against the officials.

Besides Shrivastava, the others were Joint General Manager (Marketing) I S Ambika, Deputy General Manager (Corporate Finance) Sreenath Kamath, Chief Sales Manager (Caprolactum) Daniel Madhukar and Deputy Chief Sales Manager (Marketing Operations) Panchanan Poddar.

CBI also registered cases against businessmen, including Santosh Shetty, proprietor, NSS Trade India Pvt Ltd., Mumbai and Mukund Maheswari, Managing Director, Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals Pvt, Ltd, Hyderabad.

An FIR in the case was filed two weeks ago before the Court of the Special Judge - II, CBI, Ernakulam, the officials said.

The FIR said the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy in 2015 and awarded a contract for sale of 3.5 lakh tons of gypsum to NSS Trade for three years at Rs 130 per ton.

The rate was much lesser than the price fixed for the requirement category of 1.2 lakh tons per year under the prevailing slab system of pricing of FACT and caused a loss of Rs 1,31,10,825 to FACT and corresponding gain for themselves, CBI said.

The agency said searches are being carried out at various places, including Kochi,Mumbai, New Delhi, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Coimbatore in connection with the case.

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The Centre today formed a three-member committee to keep a close watch on the bird flu situation which has so far killed 24 birds in the national capital.

The Union Environment Ministry said a constant vigil is kept around the National Zoological Parks to monitor and contain the H5 avian influenza along with the state agencies.

"Constant vigil being observed by Government agencies in & around National Zoological Park to monitor & contain H5 Avian Influenza in.. Co ordination with State level Agencies. @moefcc has constituted a three-member committee to keep a close watch over the developments," Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said in a series of tweets.

The Delhi government had yesterday shut the Hauz Khas Deer Park amid bird flu scare. It has also cancelled leaves of all officials of Delhi Animal Husbandry Department.

However, it has ruled out any threat to human beings due to the bird flu because the strain of the virus is "less infective".

Twenty-four birds have died at different places, including 11 ducks at the Deer Park since October 14.

The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries at the Centre had yesterday said a new bird flu virus subtype, H5N8, has been confirmed in samples from Gandhi Zoological Park, Gwalior.

It had also asked the Environment Ministry to issue advisories to all wildlife/bird sanctuaries in the country.

In view of transportation of poultry and related products between Rajasthan and Delhi, the Rajasthan government has also issued necessary directions to the field officers and asked them to take "precautionary measures" to check its likely outbreak in the state.

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Actor Chris Pine has signed on to join the cast of Disney's "A Wrinkle in Time".

The 36-year-old actor has been tapped to play Dr Alexander Murry, a physicist and the father of Storm Reid's Meg, in the film adaptation of 1962's classic children's book by Madeleine L'Engle, reported Deadline.

Meanwhile, "Belle" actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is on board to portray Meg's mother Dr Kate Murry.

She is a microbiologist who, along with her husband, comes up with the idea of the wrinkle in time.

Chris and Gugu will join the cast that currently has several A-list actresses on the line-up.

Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling have been tapped to play three immortal celestial creatures known as Mrs Which, Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Who respectively.

Ava DuVernay will sill sit behind the lens for the upcoming movie from a script written by "Frozen (2013)" co-writer Jennifer Lee. Filming on the fantasy film is slated to kick off next month in Los Angeles for a 2018 release.

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Colombia's flagship airline has grounded all flights to Caracas after a mid-air intercept of one of its planes by Venezuela's air force.

Avianca said that it's also rerouting several flights to Europe to avoid Venezuelan air space until further notice.

"We're waiting for them to guarantee the security conditions required to operate," Avianca spokeswoman Gilma Usuga told The Associated Press.

The incident took place on a Bogota-bound flight that departed from Madrid. The Boeing 787 was flying at a high altitude near Venezuela's western border with Colombia when at 7:10 PM local time (00:10 GMT) yesterday another aircraft was spotted on radar flying at a short distance.

The pilot notified Colombian aviation authorities and sharply diverted from the scheduled flight path. Four minutes later, the military aircraft took off and the plane resumed its course, the Colombian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

More than 90 minutes after the flight landed safely in Bogota, Venezuela's air defense authorities responded to repeated calls from their Colombian counterparts to say that the military aircraft was on a routine patrol.

Venezuelan officials have yet to comment on the incident, which comes amid a tension-filled standoff between President Nicolas Maduro and his opponents over the decision to suspend a recall referendum against the embattled socialist leader.

Maduro frequently accuses neighboring Colombia of plotting with his critics to undermine his rule. Relations between the two nations have been hit by a number of crises over the past decade as Venezuela's role as Latin America's leftist stalwart has clashed with Colombia's traditionally staunch support for the United States.

Colombia' Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said he spoke to his Venezuelan counterpart, Gen. Vladimir Padrino, who promised a full investigation. The two countries' foreign ministers also talked to each other.

The two countries have agreed to strengthen their early warning communications systems, the Colombian Defense Ministry added.

Avianca's decision affects multiple daily flights between Caracas and Bogota and Lima, Peru as well as flights to the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados, which is near Venezuela.

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Ramon Magsaysay award winner T M Krishna today said cultural authoritarianism was far more powerful than economic power and what was happening in Bollywood now was another example of that power.

He was replying to a query on the development in Bollywood in the wake of a threat by MNS to Hindi film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", during an interaction at the Kovalam Literary Festival here.

"I think what is happening today in so called Bollywood is another example of that power. You will have all the money in the world. But if certain cultural oppression is practised, that has greater pressure and impact than all the money you have," Krishna said.

Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", slated for Diwali release on October 28, had been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks after MNS opposed the screening of movies featuring Pakistani actors after the Uri terror attack.

Today, the decks were cleared for its release after Karan Johar and Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and assured him that filmmakers would not work with Pakistani artistes, given the people's sentiments in India post the Uri attack.

Asked about the controversy surrounding triple talaq and Uniform Civil Code, Krishna sought to know whether they had been mooted with the right intention.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had taken a stand to oppose the Centre's affidavit, which said the practise of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims needed a relook on grounds like gender equality and secularism.

AIMPLB and other Muslim bodies had said they would boycott the Law Commission's proceedings in the matter and had accused the Modi government of waging a "war" against their personal laws. They also said a Uniform Civil Code would "kill" India's pluralism.

Krishna said the the biggest tragedy of the country was that "we have surrendered, gifted politics to politicians".

Another important thing was loss of the Left, resulting in weakening of progressive movement in the country, he noted.

"When I say Left...Not as a political party. But the idea of Left. I think that is one of the biggest reasons why the progressive movement that allowed diverse conversion, disagreement and everything has died down," he said.

"I think if Left wakes up....Then we will have an interesting discourse. Artists will say different things and if that does not happen, we will have a problem.

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Scientists have found that drought has decreased in the African continent over the past 1.3 million years, contradicting the prevailing notion that the continent has been getting progressively drier over time.

A new study found that the African continent is on a 100,000-year cycle of wet and dry conditions.

These new findings add a wrinkle to one of the keys to human evolutionary theory, the savannah hypothesis, which states that the progressively drier conditions in Africa led to prehuman ancestors migrating from forests and moving into grasslands.

Josef Werne, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the US and colleagues made the discovery by examining core samples extracted from the bottom of Lake Malawi, one of the world's largest lakes, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in southeastern Africa.

Previous studies of the climate of Africa focused on the northern part of the continent, Werne explained, and were responsible for the origin of the savannah hypothesis that the continent was getting drier.

The 100,000-year cycles the researchers found correspond with the beginnings and endings of the great ice ages.

Lake Malawi had not been explored previously because the depth of the waters - 700 feet - exceeded researchers' ability to get core samples from the bottom.

The researchers were able to overcome that limitation by using a barge and modifying oil-rig equipment to obtain a 380-meter-long sediment core sample.

The core was dated using a combination of radiocarbon, volcanic ash, and magnetic polarity reversals and examined for "molecular fossils" indicating changing temperature and rainfall.

Temperature was derived by studying the distribution of the membrane lipids of a single-celled microbe, which was analysed by mass spectroscopy, and the aridity and rainfall were measured by calcium content and the distribution and carbon isotope composition of fossil leaf waxes, which differ between those originating in trees and shrubs, which thrive in wetter conditions, and those originating in grasses, which can outcompete trees in dry conditions.

By noting the changes in temperature records and especially rainfall, the team determined that the continent was getting wetter over time in southern East Africa, as well as identifying the 100,000-year climate cycles.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

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An Egyptian criminal court today confirmed a 20-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, in the first final verdict in a case against the former president.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were refused too.

In April 2015, a Cairo court had sentenced Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012, when Morsi was still in power.

The then opposition protesters had rallied in front of the palace to peacefully protest Morsi's decree in which he had ordered that the president shall remain immune from judicial oversight. Clashes erupted outside the palace and 10 people were killed, including journalist el-Husseini Abu Deif, 33.

Morsi and other defendants, were charged for killing protesters, possessing weapons, and inciting violence during the sit-in near the palace.

Defendants include Asad Al-Shikha, Morsi's former deputy chief of staff, Ahmed Abdel Atty, former head of president's office, Mohamed El-Beltagy, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, outspoken Islamic preacher Wagdy Ghoneim and Essam El-Erian, deputy head of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Freedom Party.

Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including on espionage charges, escaping from prison during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, insulting the judiciary and spying and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel.

The former president has said he does not recongnise the trials he faces.

Morsi, who became Egypt's president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was ousted in a military coup after a year in power following mass protests against his rule.

In another case, an Egyptian court today accepted the appeal of the supreme guide of Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and other defendants against a life in prison sentence for taking part in violent acts near Istekama mosque in Giza in which 9 people died last year.

The defendants were accused of murder, attempt to murder, resisting authorities and belonging to an outlaw group that aims at disturbing national peace, among other charges.

The court has ordered a retrial for the defendants.

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A nine-member Election Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi will arrive here tomorrow on three-day visit to undertake group level review of preparations ahead of Punjab assembly polls which are due early next year.

"A nine-member team will come tomorrow here to see the preparations for Punjab assembly elections," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh said today.

Team will comprise Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and two Commissioners Achal Kumar Joti and Om Prakash Rawat, besides Deputy Election Commissioners and other officers, Singh said.

After arriving in Chandigarh tomorrow, the team of Election Commission will hold meeting with representatives of national and state political parties, officials said.

On October 24, the election commission team will have a meeting with Deputy Commissioners, SSPs, nodal officers of narcotic control bureau, state narcotic control bureau, income tax and excise and taxation department, they said.

On the last day of the visit, the team will meet Chief Secretary, Director General of Police Punjab and other senior officials.

The Election Commission is expected to hold media interaction on October 25 here.

AAP is making its electoral debut in Punjab making the polls a triangular contest with Congress and BJP-SAD alliance already locked in a tight battle for political supremacy.

The Punjab State Election Commission had recently asked political parties in the poll-bound state to comply with the directions of the Election Commission on not using public funds and machinery to carry out any activity that amounts to advertisement for the party.

Punjab Congress Legislature Party chief Charanjit Singh Channi had said that it would approach election commission to stop the alleged misuse of public fund by SAD-BJP regime on publicity to "mislead voters".

Punjab assembly polls are due early next year.

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With the death of three more children, the toll in Japanese Encephalitis outbreak today mounted to 61 in six weeks in Odisha's Malkangiri district, while a central team visited the affected area to assess the situation.

Three children died while undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital here, taking the toll to 61, Chief District Medical Officer Dr U S Mishra said.

Unconfirmed reports, however, put the toll due to the vector-borne disease at 65, which has affected around 100 villages spread over six of the seven blocks in the district.

At present, five affected children are being treated at the district headquarter hospital and two of them are in the ICU, a senior district official said.

Meanwhile, a six-member central team of doctors visited the affected areas of the district to review the situation. The team is examining the circumstances that led to spread of the disease and to suggest measures to check it, officials said.

The team members visited the district headquarters hospital here and held discussion with doctors and staff to assess the situation.

The disease, which originates from pigs and spreads to humans, mostly children, through mosquitoes, had surfaced in the district around 44 days ago.

A large number of pigs have been isolated and shifted to over 140 specially prepared enclosures set up away from human habitations, while fogging and spraying of mosquito repellents have been intensified in more than 100 villages, the official said.

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Big corporates, including Essar Group, SRF Ltd and Trident, today announced investments worth thousands of crores of rupees in the state.

Essar Group Chairman Shashi Ruia said the company has executed several projects in the state. He felt that Madhya Pradesh is a place where investment can be planned and implemented successfully.

"We have committed investments in excess of Rs 13,000 crore in the state in power generation, transmission, steel processing, steel, oil retailing and the BPO segment and employ over 6,000 people," he said here.

"We have so far invested over Rs 8,500 crore and plan to invest an additional Rs 4,500 crore in the state in power transmission and coal bed methane exploration and production."



According to him, GST will make business in India easier.

Speaking at the function, SRF Ltd Chairman Arun Bharat Ram said the company has plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the state.

This investment will happen within the timeframe "that we look forward to do".

As for the Trident Group, Chairman Rajinder Gupta said it is lining up Rs 2,500 crore in the next two years.

ITC Ltd CEO Sanjiv Puri took the line that the state has investor-friendly policies.

The company's two investments in the state are "well under way", he said, adding that a food processing plant is coming up in Sehore.

"We are also putting up a large precision farm in Sehore to promote medicinal and aromatic plant farming. This facility will house a research centre," he added.

P&G India CEO Al Rajwani is of the view that GST will benefit the industry. "It is great time to be in India. P&G is here for a long term. We have lots of investments in the past. We will make more in future," Rajwani promised.

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The Maharashtra unit of Congress today expressed "shock" over Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis mediating over release of a film featuring a Pakistani actor, saying he bowed before highhanded tactics of the MNS.

"Chief Minister's responsibility was maintaining law and order and it was unconstitutional for him to mediate between the film producers and MNS, which had threatened to block release of the movie," Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

He said MNS had threatened to block the release of filmmaker Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and damage theatres screening the movie.

"Causing financial loss to the film producers who have made a movie spending crores of rupees is illegal. Banning artists from across the border is a decision to be taken by the Narendra Modi government. Representation to demand ban on Pakistani artistes can be made to the Centre," he said in a statement.

Sawant also said protecting interests of the country was part of the foreign policy which is the jurisdiction of the Centre.

"The state government's responsibility is to protect law and order, till a decision to ban Pakistani artists is taken by the Centre.

"Fadnavis not only bowed before the highhanded tactics of the MNS but also made the state bow before the party," he alleged.

"When Ashok Chavan was the Chief Minister, Shiv Sena had created similar problems for release of Shah Rukh Khan's 'My Name is Khan'. The then Congress government had provided police protection to the movie and ensured there was no law and order problem. Congress showed it does not bow down to any pressure. Fadnavis showed that he was incapable of handling the pressure," Sawant alleged.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which staged high-voltage protests against the release of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, today withdrew its agitation after Fadnavis mediated talks between the MNS chief and the filmmakers here.

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As he sits near the carcasses of his cattle, an inconsolable 60-year-old Krishan Lal says he doesn't know how he will survive after losing his "earning sons" in the heavy firing by Pakistani troops in R S Pura sector last night.

"For you these are only animals, but for me they were like earning sons. I used to sell their milk for my livelihood. This is the biggest loss of my life," said Lal in his Kortana Khurd border village



Lal, a farmer by profession, lost three buffaloes and a cow after a mortar shell fired by the Pakistan Rangers late last night exploded near his cowshed.

The Pakistan Rangers resorted to heavy ceasefire violation in the RS Pura sector following BSF's claim that it had killed seven Pakistan Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory firing in Ksathua sector after a BSF jawan was seriously injured in a sniper attack from across the border.

Several of the shells fired by the Pakistani troops landed in Korotana Khurd and Budhipur Jattan village in the RS Pura sector last night.

"Though there was no loss of human life, but four cattle were killed and two injured in the firing," Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said.

Singh said that Pakistan rangers resorted to small arms firing at the Border out Post (BoP) in Abdullian in Suchetgarh sector late last night.

He said that during late night attack, Pakistan Rangers used 60 and 81 mm shells from 11 PM till this morning in the two villages in the RS Pura sector.

People have been advised to stay indoors during the daytime also as there is every likelihood of shelling from the Pakistan side during the day.

He said that the local administration has been asked to close the schools in vulnerable villages as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, villagers like Lal have to face the brunt of ceasefire violations with Pakistan. They say that in the past too they have lost several heads of cattle to the cross border firing.

"Farm yield comes once or twice a year, but the milk from these cattle sustains our livelihood by providing a regular monthly income to us. We are poor people and rely on these animals," a sobbing Lal said.

"A large number of cattle in our village get killed or injured whenever there is a ceasefire violation. During the firing from across the border, the villagers take shelter in bunkers, but the cattle are vulnerable to such attacks," Kulbir Singh, another border resident, said.

Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kotwal said government provides compensation to border residents if their cattle are killed in cross border firing.

"The concerned deputy commissioner reviews the case and provides compensation to the people who lose their livestock in the cross border firing," Kotwal told PTI.

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A 41-year-old Fresno man has been sentenced to 1,503 years in prison for raping his teenage daughter over a four-year period.

The Fresno Bee reports the man was sentenced yesterday to the longest-known prison sentence in Fresno Superior Court history.

A jury in September found him guilty of 186 felony counts of sexual assault, including dozens of counts of rape of a minor.

Prosecutors say the victim was raped two to three times a week from May 2009 to May 2013, when the girl got the courage to leave.

Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. Noted that Lopez had never shown remorse and has blamed his daughter for his predicament.

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Fierce gun battles erupted overnight between Yemeni rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia despite a three-day ceasefire due to end late today, military officials said.

Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Huthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late yesterday, a military official said.

The air raids came after Patriot missiles shot down two rebel missiles on Thursday over Marib, east of the rebel-held capital.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said yesterday the ceasefire was "fragile but largely holding", urging all parties "to show restraint, avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the 72-hour ceasefire".

The truce took effect just before midnight on Wednesday to allow aid deliveries in Yemen, where the war has killed thousands of people and left millions homeless and hungry.

The UN envoy is liaising with the parties in an attempt to extend the ceasefire in order "to create a conducive environment for a long-lasting peace" in Yemen, he said in a statement.

He met with Yemen's Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Riyadh late yesterday, Yemeni state media reported.

Ahmar said government forces were "exercising restraint" and stressed that there were orders to "abide by the truce and respect UN efforts".

But he accused the rebels of 449 violations within 24 hours after the ceasefire took effect.

Rebel-controlled media, meanwhile, accused the coalition of conducting air strikes across the country, including in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada and Jawf in the north, and Shabwa in the south.

A senior rebel, Hassan al-Sharafi, was killed in border clashes yesterday night in Saada province, the fiefdom of the Iran-backed Huthis, military officials said.

The rebels seized two hills in the Alb border area from government forces who had previously advanced from Saudi Arabia, a military official said.

Nine other rebels and four government soldiers were killed in clashes today on the western outskirts of Midi, a northwestern town close to the Saudi border and the Red Sea coast, military officials said.

The fighting erupted when troops advanced towards Midi in an attempt to recapture it.

It is the sixth ceasefire attempt since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March last year to support Hadi's government after Huthis overran much of the impoverished country.

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Opposition Congress and NCP today attacked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for "brokering" a truce between MNS and the producers of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", saying it is for the Centre to decide if Pakistani artistes should be banned whereas the state government's responsibility is to ensure rule of law.

Expressing "shock" over the development, Congress said Fadnavis had not only bowed down to the "highhanded tactics" of the MNS, but made the state to bow before that party.

The responsibility of the Chief Minister was to maintain law and order and not to mediate between the producers and MNS, which had threatened to block the film.

"The Chief Minister's responsibility is maintaining law and order. It was unconstitutional for him to mediate between the film producers and MNS, which had threatened to block release of the film," state Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said in a statement.

"Banning artistes from across the border is a decision to be taken by the Centre. The demand for ban on Pakistani artistes should be made to the Centre," he said.

He said protecting the country's interest was part of the foreign policy, which falls under the ambit of the Centre. The state government's responsibility is to ensure law and order, till a decision to ban Pakistani artistes is taken by the Centre.

"When Ashok Chavan was the CM, Shiv Sena had created similar problems against the release of Shah Rukh Khan's 'My Name is Khan'.

"The Congress government at the time provided police protection to the movie and ensured there was no law and order problem. Congress showed it does not bow down to any pressure. Fadnavis showed that he was incapable of handling the pressure," Sawant added.

The NCP alleged that the "settlement" brokered by Fadnavis between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and film producers was a proof that BJP was "providing fuel to the MNS engine".

NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said the Chief Minister's job is not to broker settlement, but to ensure law and order.

"By making producers agree to contribute Rs 5 cr to the army welfare fund, Thackeray and Fadnavis have insulted the memory of martyred jawans," he said.

Hitting out at Thackeray, he said the MNS chief was known for never taking issues raised by him to their logical conclusion.

"It is now clear that BJP is providing fuel to MNS engine (the party's election symbol)," Malik said, adding in the Lok Sabha polls, MNS' strategy was to ensure BJP's victory and defeat Shiv Sena, he added.

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A major fire broke out in a dying unit in Bhiwandi of the district this evening, official said.

The blaze erupted in a dying unit situated in Shelar village on the outskirts of Bhiwandi at around 6.00 PM, officials from the Disaster Management cell of Thane District Collectorate said.

Fire Engines from Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation as well as fire tenders from Thane and Kalyan civic bodies were rushed to the spot to douse the fire, they said.

Additional details are awaited.

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Following are the highlights at



1800 hours today:



GENERAL:



Mumbai: Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers announces that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" as MNS withdraws its threat to stall the screening. (DEL32)



Vadodara: Accusing previous governments of having "no vision" for aviation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his government has come out with the first integrated policy for the sector and is working in a "mission mode" for its expansion which will spur growth and employment. (DEL37)



Jammu: Pakistani spy arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan. (DEL10)



Jammu: Escalating cross border firing, Pakistani Rangers overnight pounds border hamlets and outposts with mortar shells and opened fire from automatic weapons in R S Pura sector of Jammu district. (DEL16)



Indore: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who heads the Rs 4,500-crore Patanjali Group, was once denied a visa to the United States citing his bachelor status and not having a bank account, he reveals. (DEL38)



New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who is in the eye of a storm for allegedly leaking defence secrets to controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma, rejects the charges against him as false and frivolous, and says he will take legal action against those who deliberately sought to tarnish his reputation. (DEL21)



New Delhi: In a move aimed at checking any possibility of leakage of information through hacking of communication devices, Union Ministers asked not to carry mobile phones in Cabinet meetings. (DEL15)



New Delhi: CBI arrests Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) president Ramji Singh and suspected middleman Harishankar Jha in an alleged bribery case of Rs 20 lakh for granting clearance to a homoeopathy college in Gujarat. (DEL33)



Hyderabad: Describing 'triple talaq' as anti-constitutional and anti-civilisation, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu says it's time the country should abolish this "gender discrimination", in the light of principles of justice, dignity and equality. (BOM8)



Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao visits Apollo Hospitals, where Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment, and is happy to note that she is "progressing well". (MDS4)



LEGAL:



New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put on trial by a city court for alleged offence of defamation in a criminal complaint filed against him by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri. (LGD4)



FOREIGN:



London: India hopes to reach a deal with Britain for facilitating short-term visas for Indian students, academicians and businessmen during Prime Minister Theresa May's visit, Acting High Commissioner to the UK Dinesh Patnaik says. (FGN3)



Kirkuk: Iraqi security forces kills 48 of the gunmen who stormed parts of Kirkuk in a shock attack claimed by the Islamic State group, the city's police chief says. (FGN5)



Moscow: At least 19 dies in a helicopter crash in northwestern Siberia, Russia's Investigative Committee says.

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Adanis $21.7-billion coal mine project in Australia was being targeted by a foreign funded, highly orchestrated group that influenced the traditional land owners and legal environmental challenges to stop it, a set of emails released by WikiLeaks have revealed.

In a series of emails, it has been disclosed that the US-based Sandler Foundation funded Australia-based environmentalist group, the Sunrise Project, which offered Wangan and Jagalingou people financial support and scholarships if they opposed Adanis mine project and also boasted of its attempts to hide its funding sources from Australian parliament, according to a report published in The Australian newspaper.

The previously secret briefings, as part of Hillary Clintons campaign chairman John Podestas emails, said Sunrise tailored its advice to indigenous communities in northern Queensland, and that the whole Galilee Basin fossil fuel industrial complex is in its death throes.

It was also disclosed that an associated group, Human Rights Watch, offered to help Sunrise Project by keep its tax-exempt charity status because the mining seem to own the Liberals (in Australia) and they play very dirty.

Human Rights Watch chief executive Ken Roth further disclosed that his group received charitable status by special parliamentary bill in the waning days of the Labor government.

In an email to Sandler Foundation last August, after a decision against the mine, Sunrise Project director John Hepburn, who is said to be the author of the strategy to block the mine, thanked the Foundation for its support and wrote without your support none of this would have happened.

He wrote that he was going to buy a few bottles of bubbly for a celebration with our colleagues at GetUp!!!!, Greenpeace, 350.org, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Mackay Conservation Group, Market Forces and the brilliant and tireless Sunrise team.

Hepburns email to the Foundation also mocked the coal industry for the claim there is some kind of foreign-funded and tightly orchestrated conspiracy to systemically destroy the Australian coal industry. Reacting to the latest disclosure, Australia chief executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the leaked emails were evidence that these are broader well-funded activist campaigns as part of a wider anti-coal campaign that is being financially backed and influenced a long way from workers in Australia and those suffering energy poverty in India.

The leaks show, however, that the anti-coal campaign is not about the merits of the approval process at all; its about activists motivated to stop jobs and investment, he added. The latest disclosure came days after the Queensland development minister Anthony Lynham announced that the state government had invoked special powers to ensure the controversial Carmichael coal and rail project starts next year. The project is now in its seventh year of the environmental approval process.
Pundits and pollsters say the bottom may be falling out of Donald Trump's White House run, but diehard supporters in the western Pennsylvania city of Johnstown strongly disagree.

A few hours' drive north and west from liberal Washington, Johnstown -- the beating heart of Trump Country -- is a world away from the US capital.

Industry in the region has been on the decline for decades. Smoke stacks from the steel plants have been quiet for years and large parts of its downtown are deserted.

There are few jobs remaining from the steel, coal and garment industries that once kept the local economy humming.

Many here say long-awaited deliverance has come in the person of Trump, the billionaire businessman who has promised to make Johnstown great again.

Trump's campaign has stalled after lackluster performances at all three presidential debates with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

It also has been hurt because of the scandal over his alleged groping of women, and the furor over his unprecedented suggestion that he might not accept the outcome of the election.

But inhabitants of this part of Pennsylvania -- including several thousand supporters who thronged the local convention center for a rally yesterday -- pay little heed to predictions of the Republican candidate's demise, lapping up his message of economic resurgence after decades of decline.

"He's going to bring back businesses to Johnstown," said a 66-year-old retired secretary who only gave her name as Chris.

"He's going to get the steel mills running again," she said.

A candidate known for his dystopian descriptions of America's inner cities or the plight of the economy and military, Trump offers a seductively upbeat vision of how life will be after he moves into the White House.

"Your jobs will come back under a Trump administration. That I can tell you -- including your steel, which has been decimated in this area," he promised his ardent supporters at the rally.

"Your incomes will go up under a Trump administration, your taxes will go way, way down," he said to applause and cheers.

"We will bring prosperity back to Johnstown. We will be putting your miners back to work... All across this city and country."



That message resonates with Chris, who remembers what life was like when Johnstown was still an industrial mecca, before being forsaken by its business leaders and politicians.

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French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault today asked the UN Security Council to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged that those behind the attacks be placed under sanctions.

"I want... A clear condemnation of these crimes in a resolution from the UN Security Council... That places the perpetrators under sanctions," Ayrault said.

The minister's comments came a day after UN experts said in a report that the Syrian army had attacked a village with chemical weapons in 2015. The Islamic State group has also been accused of using mustard gas as a weapon.

"The Syrian army and Daesh have used chemical weapons against civilians on at least three occasions," Ayrault said, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS.

"These acts are inhuman and unacceptable," he said in a statement.

"France will not accept that the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which has now been proven beyond doubt... Should remain unpunished," he said.

"We call on all our partners in the Security Council to assume their responsibility."



The United States, Britain and France have repeatedly called for sanctions, particularly against the Syrian regime, over the use of chemical weapons in the five-year conflict.

However President Bashar al-Assad's main backer Russia, a permanent Security Council member, has cast doubt on the UN experts' findings, claiming that they are not sufficiently conclusive to warrant sanctions.

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To celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Embassy of India in Egypt will organise three events next week, India's Ambassador here has said.

The events, to be held in cooperation with Port Said Governorate, Suez Canal Authority, will gather eminent intellectuals and friends of India during three days from October 25 to 27 in the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) in Cairo and Port Said.

"This is a major event to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. The relevance of Gandhi is eternal and his example is inspirational at a time when we face challenges and violence, the principles of Gandhi ask us to pause and ponder on the need for humanity to strive for peace," said Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya.

To showcase what inspired the Mahatma to fight for the cause of people and led him to evolve his methods of "Non-Violence" and "Civil Disobedience", the Embassy of India's MACIC film club will be screening the movie "The Making of the Mahatma" by renowned director Shyam Benegal on October 25.

The movie shows the life of a young Gandhi which he has spent in south Africa and how he helped the natives to fight for their rights.

On October 26, a photography exhibition and a seminar titled of "Reliving the history: when Ghandi and Egypt met on a boat" will be held in el-Nadi el-Bahari, Port Said.

The seminar, which will be moderated by Bhattacharyya, will focus on Gandhi's visit to Egypt, his interactions with Egyptian intellectuals, the developments that have taken since then and influence of Gandhian philosophy on India and Egypt.

The seminar comes soon after the recent state visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to India.

The last event of the celebration of Gandhi's birth anniversary will be a roundtable entitled "Gandhi @ Tahrir", which will be held on October 27.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said honorarium for Manki, Munda, Gram Pradhan (as per social practices) will be increased and honorarium will be fixed to Manjhi, Parganet and Padha Raja.

Addressing a Gram Vikas Samelan (village development convention) at the HEC stadium here, Das also said those Gram Pradhans who would do excellent work would be honoured on the state's foundation day on November 15.

Boundary of all Sarna areas would be done within one year, Das said adding, the state government was working with all the sections of the society.

Since the creation of the state, it used to be only one way dialogue with the people being only the listeners, but now the government was preparing schemes along with the people, who want malnutrition-free, literate and healthy Jharkhand, Das said.

Stating that land acquisition has been simplified for development, Das said nobody could violate the basic structure of Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act.

Four times of the land worth would be paid within four months in the event of acquisition and, as per rules, land would be returned, if a scheme failed to take off within five years, he said.

The land owners would retain the ownership and compensation amount would not be taken back, he said.

The Chief Minister said land was required for the development of villages and people also desired development and electricity as their wards could read and cited examples of Pesrar village in Lohardaga and Gujri village in Chaibasa where electricity sub-station could be constructed due to land acquisition.

Stating that only 38 lakh of 68 lakh households in Jharkhand have electricity and it took 70 years, Das said asking whether it should take another 50 years to electrify the 30 lakh houses.

The government desired to speed up development and wanted to electrify every household by 2018, he said and asked whether acquisition of land to construct sub-stations was not necessary.

People also want health facilities, education and irrigation, Das said.

Stating that earlier coal from Jharkhand was used outside the state for electricity purpose, Das said his government wanted to set up power plants with its own coal, which would enable electricity and employment.

Community radio would be set up to help people in the remotest places know about the government's schemes and benefit from it, Das said adding, skill training, specially for the tribals, would also be enabled.

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Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackarey today said the party did a mistake by letting and helping the BJP grow in Goa, else it would have had its leader as chief minister in the state long back.

"When BJP did not have a single flag here in Goa, (Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackarey helped them to grow here. We thought BJP and MGP are parties with ideology, and hence, Sena would not interfere in Goa," Thackarey told a workers' convention at Porvorim near here.

"Shiv Sena always thought that it will be restricting itself to Maharashtra, letting BJP spread its wings across the country, even in Delhi. We thought not to interfere in other states," he said.

Sena did a mistake by not concentrating on Goa's political scene and letting the BJP-MGP rule it, he said.

"IfShiv Sena had to prepare for Goa polls then without letting BJP and MGP to grow, by now we would have had our chief minister in the state," he said.

Meanwhile, launching a scathing attack on BJP, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut today termed Laxmikant Parsekar-led ruling government in Goa as "worst than the Portuguese government".

"The current BJP-led government in Goa is worst than Portuguese government. We (Sena) are here to throw this government out in the 2017 state Legislative Assembly election," Raut said.

"We want to promise to the people of Goa that after 2017 election, there will be a Sena government in the state," he said.

Shiv Sena has announced that they will be contesting the upcoming Goa polls, mostly on 20 seats in alliance with the party led by rebel RSS leader Subhash Velingkar.

"We are not here as tourists who will come and go back. We are here to give good governance to the people," he said.

"(Maratha Warror King) Shivaji Maharaj had arrived in Goa then to conquer the territory from the Portuguese rule. He was ruling in few of the tehsils. Similarly, we are here to rule the state and provide good governance," the Sena leader said.

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: The Madras High Court has issued notice to top police officials on a Habeas Corpus Petition, seeking to produce in court a detenu who has allegedly been kept in solitary confinment in the central prison at Salem.

The division bench, before which the petition filed by the Centre for Protection of Civil Rights(Tamil Nadu) came up, issued notice to the Deputy Superintendent of Police Q Branch CID and Superintendent of Central Prisons, Salem and directed them to file the counter within two weeks.

Petitioner G Haribabu, state committee member of the forum, submitted that he is the friend of Palanivel 32) who he said has been kept under solitary confinement in the prison.

He said Palanivel was arrested and remanded to five days judicial custody on October 2 2016 and confined in the prison. He was covered with four blankets, his eyes were tied and he was forcibly beaten by Q branch police and around 82 to 100 signatures were obtained from him.

Haribabu alleged that after the custody period, the Prison Superintendent had forcibly and inhumanly searched him after he was stripped and that prison officials attacked him.

Palanivel was also not provided proper food and basic needs and his brother, who was also confined in the same prison, was also not allowed to meet him.

Haribabu said he went to the prison on Oct 14 to meet Palanivel and apprehended danger to his life and that the freedom of life with dignity is affected.

Hence he prayed for a direction from the Court to the authorities concerned to produce Palanivel before it.

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The Allahabad High Court reserved its order on a petition moved by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, challenging the summons issued by a lower court in connection with a criminal case.

Justice Aditya Nath Mittal of the Lucknow bench of the court reserved its order after hearing the petition yesterday.

Petitioner's counsel, Onkar Pandey who challenged the summons issued against them by the lower court, said during Lok Sabha election an FIR was lodged by the assistant election officer on April 20, 2014, against Kejriwal and Vishwas for allegedly making provocative speech in Gauriganj area of Amethi.

The charge sheet was filed on April 13, 2016 and on October 7 this year the court of additional chief judicial magistrate, Sultanpur, issued summons against them.

On behalf of the state government, additional government advocate Shivanath Tilahari opposed the petition.

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The death toll in the Sum Hospital fire tragedy today rose to 24 with another man succumbing even as the post-mortem reports of 19 of the victims said they died of suffocation and not due to burns.

The toll in the fire mishap, which occurred on Monday evening, mounted to 24 with the death of Kartikeswar Das, a resident of GGP Colony here, at a private hospital, Additional District Magistrate, Bhubaneswar, Manoj Kumar Mohanty said.

Das was shifted from Sum to another private facility on the night of the incident, but as his condition worsened yesterday, he was referred to a third hospital where he died today.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem reports of 19 bodies which were taken to Capital Hospital said they had died of suffocation.

The post-mortem reports which reached the Commissionerate of Police revealed that "there was no burn case. All the 19 people died due to suffocation due to smoke caused by the fire," said Commissioner of Police YB Khurania.

The post-mortem reports of the other bodies were yet to come.

Khurania said the police also received "vital" information on violation of fire safety norms while interrogating the owner of Sum Hospital, Monoj Ranjan Nayak, whose two-day police remand ends tonight.

"We will interrogate all those concerned regarding the safety measures of the hospital," Khurania said, adding that Nayak's wife Saswati Das, also a trustee member of the hospital, was still at large.

The look-out circular issued against her was still in force, he said.

Meanwhile, new Odisha Health Minister Pradip Kumar Amat said action would be taken against the culprits behind the tragedy as per law.

"I will try to do justice to the responsibility bestowed on me by the Chief Minister," he said after taking charge.

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Former Himachal Pradesh Congress Seva Dal chief and a Virbhadra Singh loyalist to Baldev Singh Thakur today accused HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu of promoting factionalism in the party.

Thakur, who had floated "Virbhadra Brigade" and was expelled from the party said Sukkhu as Youth Congress president had encouraged factionalism in the party andas HPCC chief also he had created divisions.

Thakur said he was expelled from the party without being served a notice and given an opportunity to reply.

He had also filed a defamation case against the HPCC chief.

"Congress is like my home and he would be happy to return to the party but would not withdraw the defamation case against Sukkhu," he said.

After revocation of expulsion of former minister Satya Prakash Thakur yesterday, other expelled leaders were also hopeful of rejoining the party in the run up for Assembly polls.

However, rift between HPCC president and Virbhadra Singh was widening.

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The International Criminal Court today asked South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their decisions to withdraw from the troubled institution that was set up to try the world's worst crimes.

"Although withdrawing from a treaty is a sovereign act, I regret these decisions and invite South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their positions," said Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC founding treaty.

"I urge them to work together with other States in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Kaba said in a statement.

The statement came a day after South Africa dealt a major blow to the court by announcing it would withdraw from the ICC.

The announcement followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

Earlier this month, Burundi said it would leave the court, while Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.

The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

Kaba said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would "pave the way" to other African states leaving the court that is tasked with "prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression".

The ICC today confirmed South Africa had officially notified the court of its decision to leave the court, adding that the move had come in the wake of Burundi's withdrawal process.

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India and Bangladesh have resolved several issues and are working to settle others, BJP vice president Vinay Prabhakar today said as he praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a "true leader" of her country.

Addressing the 20th National Council of the ruling Awami League (AL) here, Prabhakar said Hasina is a "jononetri".

"I am more than convinced that you are a true jononetri (people's leader) not only of the country but also of the entire sub-continent," Prabhakar said, referring to Hasina.

He is visiting Bangladesh to attend the council on an invitation by AL, which steered Bangladesh's independence struggle and the Liberation War with Pakistan in 1971.

He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi several unresolved issues with Bangladesh, including the historic Land Boundary Agreement, saw the light of the day and New Delhi was now working with Dhaka on other unresolved issues.

Indian National Congress, said to be a traditional AL ally, sent Ghulam Nabi Azad as its representative to the council.

He praised Hasina for fighting terrorism in the country.

Under Hasina's leadership AL was elected to power thrice.

Opening the party council, Hasina urged party leaders and activists to take oath to stamp out poverty from Bangladesh.

Hasina asked them to prepare a list of poor people in their areas for their rehabilitation so that they could live with "dignity".

"Make lists of the poor, oldage, disable people of your areas who are living without any shelter and livelihood... We will give them home without cost and take measures so they can live with the dignity of human beings," she told the opening session of the two-day council at the Suhrawardy Udyan.

The council is expected to elect new leaders of the party for the next three years, but political analysts and party sources said Hasina was likely to retain her position as the party president.

She has been serving as the party president for more than 35 years since 1981 when she was living an exiled life in India. She took refuge in India after the August 15, 1975, assassination of her father and Bangladesh's founder 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members in a military coup which also toppled his post independence Awami League government.

The party emerged as a platform of Bengali people in then Pakistan in 1949, two years after the end of the British rule.

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Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with pulling the country out of its "sense of despair" under UPA, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said India has become more aspirational under his leadership and takes pride in its identity.

Referring indirectly to the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the LoC, Jaitley said Modi has displayed a more head-on approach towards terrorism and Pakistan and gone beyond merely isolating the neighbouring country internationally through diplomatic measures.

"Going beyond the traditional methods of diplomacy, the PM has been able to give a stern message to the neighbouring country to stop fostering terrorism or else face the consequences. He has been able to convey in no uncertain terms that countries promoting terrorism will have to pay a heavy price if they go on doing that," he said addressing a conference of intellectuals here organised by Kushabhau Thakre Nyas Samiti.

The country now feels it has a leader capable of acting tough and taking hard decisions, he remarked.

"A hunger to shine out and forge ahead has infected not only the middle class but also sections down the social ladder," he said.

Noting that the country was gripped in a "deep sense of despair" during UPA rule due to the absence of a strong leadership, he said no decisions were being taken by the government of the day on the economic front.

"We had hit an all-time low on the growth trajectory under UPA in 2013. So much so that we were on the verge of being written off. The scene has been reversed with Narendra Modi's arrival on the scene. I am happy to say that India today is the fastest growing country for the third consecutive year among the BRICS nations,"he said.

Remembering his stint as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha during UPA, Jaitley said it was easy as the government of the day provided the opposition with a new weapon to attack it with on a daily basis.

Citing the example of the feverish interest generated by the Prime Minister's foreign visits, he said an average Indian anywhere today takes pride in his Indian identity as the whole world is now in a mood to sit up and take notice.

Targeting the Congress, he said every leader associated with the party is getting disillusioned with it.

Advising the Congress and Samajwadi Party to give up their "old mindset" of family centered politics, he said surnames don't matter any longer.

"Parties that hope to thrive on the dominance of a particular family are on a suicidal path. The sooner they realise this the better," he said.

Citing the names of Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, he said the two are shining examples of the fact that illustrious surnames are of no consequence in the country's politics today.

"Political parties on whom this realisation has dawned already are bound to reap the benefits of this in coming years," the Union Minister said.

(REOPENS DEL50)



Hitting out at the Uttarakhand government, Jaitley said when the state was created out of Uttar Pradesh during the prime ministership of Atal Behari Vajpayee, he could not have imagined that it would become a "hub of corruption" like this one day.

"Uttarakhand was created by Vajpayee ji with the vision to create a model of growth and development by pooling in its huge wealth of natural resources. He must not have imagined at that time that it would degenerate into a hub of corruption,"he said.

Making a reference to the political crisis witnessed by the state in March this year, Jaitley said if he writes a book in future it will definitely speak of the mechanism by which a government reduced to a minority in the state Assembly was converted into a majority and was made to pass off as something constitutionally correct.

He said he was confident that people of the state will look at the coming assembly elections in the state as an opportunity to get rid of a "corrupt regime".
Government will offer full support to Chinese companies who want to set up mobile manufacturing plants here to tap the country's growing handset market, an official said today.

The official said there would be clearly differentiated field for those who look "India only as a market" and those who choose to partner with Indian firms.

"There is unprecedented opportunity in this space between Chinese manufacturers and Indian companies. For those who are willing to come in and partner us in India, we will offer every kind of support whether it be at central government or at state government level," Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) Secretary, Aruna Sundararajan, today said.

She was speaking at second 'India China Mobile Phone and Accessories Manufacturing Summit'.

"We would welcome partners who will come and manufacture in India. There will be clearly differentiated field for those who look India only as a market and those who choose to partner with us in India," Sundararajan said.

She further said, India is at present a 280-million smartphone market and the government has a goal that every Indian should have an access to smartphone.

"You will find extremely supportive and welcoming environment. You will find enough industry partners who will guide you through and make sure that you find India a profitable and rewarding state to do business," Sundararajan said.

India is now one of the fastest growing economies and there are stable policies which are making the country a vibrant destination for investments, she said.

The comments come at a time when Indians on social media platform are calling for boycott of Chinese products because of support rendered by China to Pakistan.

When asked about calls for boycott of Chinese products on social media, Sundararajan said, "Quality, safety and security are paramount. Beyond that I don't think it is fair to take stand."



Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Joint Director Meenakshi Rai Bhatia said that around 7,000 acres of land are available across 18 states for companies to set up their factories in India.

Indian mobile industry body Indian Cellular Association (ICA) said that government is making sincere effort to develop mobile manufacturing eco-system in the country and learning same from China.

When Chinese investors asked for pace of setting up business in India, ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said that it varies from state to state with Uttar Pradesh being a slow in terms of clearances and state like Haryana working at fast pace with 'deer' kind speed.

Chinese companies Holitech and Wind Communications expressed interest in expanding their business in India.

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Iraqi security forces have killed 48 of the gunmen who stormed parts of Kirkuk in a shock attack claimed by the Islamic State group, the city's police chief said.

"Forty-eight Daesh (IS) terrorists have been killed in the clashes," Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told AFP, adding that some of them blew themselves up when the security forces cornered them.

Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of yesterday.

Clashes have been taking place almost uninterrupted since and the city, which lies some 240 kilometres north of Baghdad, remains under curfew.

A senior interior ministry official said that at least 46 other people had been killed in the IS raid and ensuing clashes, mostly members of the security forces.

"The security forces control the situation now but there are still pockets of jihadists in some southern and eastern neighbourhoods," Aref said.

"We have foiled this large Daesh plot, which was to take control of government buildings, including security headquarters," he said.

"They were denied just like they are being defeated on the outskirts of Mosul," the police chief said, in reference to the ongoing offensive by tens of thousands of Iraqi forces to wrest back the city of Mosul, IS's last major stronghold in Iraq.

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The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul today, a day after dozens of IS militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile met with Iraqi commanders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the US is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town.

Similar past announcements have often proved premature. The town is around 20 kilometres from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

IS said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist group's Aamaq agency, could not be confirmed.

An Iraqi television station says one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.

Alsumaria TV says cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper today during a battle in the al-Shura area. Journalist Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV was shot dead by a militant sniper yesterday, while covering the IS assault on Kirkuk.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometres east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

Inside Bartella, a road extending more than 100 metres was completely demolished, with all the homes on either side reduced to rubble. IS graffiti was scrawled across the walls, and the militants appeared to have renamed streets and neighborhoods after famous fighters during the more than two years they controlled the area.

In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after the IS assault on the city, some 170 kilometres southeast of Mosul. The wave of attacks in and around Kirkuk appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest yesterday, was quiet. But witnesses and police reported fighting in other parts of the city.

Brig Gen Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.

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Actor Jaden Smith, Kylie Jenner and Zara Larsson are three of the stars to make TIME magazine's 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 list.

The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star was once again featured on TIME magazine's annual list for her "willingness to experiment with outsize looks, plumping her lips, dying her hair and using bright makeup in bold combinations".

Hollywood star Will Smith's son Jaden has been honoured for "rebelling against mainstream culture", reported Female First.

"Lush Life" hitmaker Zara has made the list for the first time and has been dubbed "one of the most promising talents in pop music" whilst Shawn Mendes also gets a nod for "conquering singles charts" across the world.

Elsewhere on the list, Fifth Harmony's Camila Cabello has been featured for her hit music and her activism, notably when she recently penned an essay about her experience when she arrived to the United States in the 2000s as an immigrant.

Actress Chloe Grace Moretz has secured herself a slot on the list after she slammed Kim Kardashian West for her nude selfie.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Unity Foundation (JKUF) delegates today hailed the Narendta Modi government for raising the issue of PoK and Gilgit, Baltistan into the national and international focus and announced to extend its support to the cause.

The delegates also resolved to mobilise world opinion about the human rights violation taking place in these areas by Pakistan.

Addressing the gathering, Rajya Sabha MP, Shamsher Singh said it was after 65 years that the government of India, which is now led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has resolved to bring the issue of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), Gilgit and Baltistan into the focus of national and international audience.

"All these years, because of skewed policies of previous governments, we were only discussing that part of Jammu and Kashmir which had legally acceded to India. We had almost forgotten PoK and Gilgit, Baltistan," he said.

He asked the people to support the government in New Delhi so that the plight of people living in the occupied territories was heard across the globe.

JKUF Convenor Ajaat Jamwal termed October 22 as a black day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have assembled here to observe October 22 as black day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir as on this day in 1947, Pakistan invaded the state and captured one-third of its territory," he said.

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Supreme Court Judge Rohinton Nariman today hailed the Constitution framers for their vision in creating two sets of laws applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India.

Delivering a lecture on "Federalism: Legislative Relations between Centre and States", Justice Nariman also dealt in detail the separation of legislative power between the Centre and the state and the primacy of the law in case of conflict.

"There are two sets of laws. One for the rest of the country and the another for the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he said adding that "ours is unique and quasi unitary federation".

Discussing the prevalent constitutional models of countries like USA, Australia and England, he said the Indian model was one of the best.

During his hour-long speech, he said that the Jammu Kashmir model cannot be either sought or applied in other states of the country. "Not even a lunatic would want the Jammu and Kashmir model for the rest of the country. Thank god the founding fathers chose what they chose," he said.

He also referred to constitutional provisions which deal with three kind of entries, namely Centre, States and Concurrent List where Centre, States and both can make laws respectively.

The apex court judge, who was speaking at the Second Memorial Lecture of Justice J S Verma organised by O P Jindal Global University, said the constitution for Jammu and Kashmir came into effect on January 26, 1957 and the provisions of Indian Constitution can be applicable with the express consent of the President.

Professor C Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University said Justice Verma remains one of India's most highly regarded Chief Justices.

Senior advocate Fali S Nariman, advocate Kamini Jaiswal and other lawyers were also present on the occasion.

Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma served as the 27th Chief Justice of India, holding the position from March 25, 1997, until his retirement on January 18, 1998.

Thereafter he was the Chairman of National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003, and Chairman of the Justice Verma Committee Report on Amendments to Criminal Law after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was today put on trial by a city court for alleged offence of defamation in a criminal complaint filed against him by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh passed the order after which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, who was present before the court, pleaded not guilty and stated that he will contest the case.

The court framed the notice under section 499 and 500 of Indian Penal Code, which deal with the offence of defamation.

In his complaint, Bidhuri had alleged that Kejriwal had defamed him in an interview to a channel.

During the proceedings, the court also granted Kejriwal permanent exemption from personal appearance in the case. The court, however, said the AAP politician may be asked to appear personally in the case, if the need arose.

The court has now fixed December 23 as the next date of hearing in the case.

During the hearing, the Chief Minister said he had no intention to defame the BJP lawmaker, a claim contested by Bidhuri.

Kejriwal, who was summoned as an accused in the complaint filed by Bidhuri, was granted bail by the court on July 8 after he appeared before it and furnished a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

He was summoned as accused by the court in February this year on a criminal defamation complaint filed by Bidhuri, an MP from South Delhi parliamentary constituency, under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.

Bidhuri had claimed that during the interview, Kejriwal had falsely said that criminal cases were pending against Bidhuri and a Congress leader but Delhi Police was not taking action against them.

Bidhuri has claimed that no case was pending against him and Kejriwal had defamed him by giving such a statement.

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Kerala unit president of Congress V M Sudheeran today demanded withdrawal of "fake" cases registeredagainst journalists, especially women, in connection with alleged manhandling by advocates at a Vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram on October 14.

The police action of filing a case against journalists cannot be justified at all, he said.

"They did not take an impartial stanceand their move challenges the entire legal system. The authorities should withdraw the case immediately," he told reporters here.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief said he was not against the entire lawyer fraternity but only against those defaming the profession by their action.

"I am not blaming the lawyers as a whole but a section of them committed mistakes by their act of attack on journalists which will defame the entire community," he said.

Sudheeran said putting up "abusive" posters against women journalists was objectionable and unprecedented in the history of the state which should be nipped in the bud.

"The public which favours an independent press will never support such actions," he added.

On October 14,a section lawyers had allegedly dragged four mediapersons out of the court room where they had assembled to cover proceedings with regard to a petition against then Kerala Industries Minister E P Jayarajan on the appointment row. The lawyers also threatened them.

While five lawyers were arrested on a complaint from two women journalists, an FIR has been registered against four mediapersons on a counter-complaint by an advocate.

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The highest French civil distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) was conferred today on Biocon Chairperson and MD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

The award was conferred by French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler on behalf of the President of the French Republic.

The honour comes in recognition of her outstanding contribution and dedication to the Biosciences and innovative research in this field.

It also for her achievements in biotechnology and commitment to providing affordable, quality healthcare globally.

Speaking on the occasion, Ziegler said: "It is immense pleasure and honour for me to host the investure ceremony to confer the Legion d'Honneur on Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a pioneering entrepreneur in biotechnology and research."



By providing innovative and affordable treatment for widespread diseases like diabetes, cancer, and auto-immune diseases, she has made a laudable difference to the lives of many, he added.

"It is a proud privilege for me to be bestowed the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the Government of France. To be recogonised by one's own country is a matter to honour, but to receive recognition by another country is indeed a very special honour. I am deeply grateful and humbled by the French," Mazumdar-Shaw said while accepting the award.

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Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today ordered an investigation into the death of two Jaffna University students who were gunned down by police in the country's Tamil-dominated Northern Province.

Two students of the university were shot dead by police yesterdday prompting authorities to arrest five police officials.

The policemen were produced in court today and will remain under remand custody until November 4.

The president instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to immediately investigate the incident. He also pledged compensation for the students.

The students riding a motor cycle were shot dead at a police road checkpoint at Kokuvil, Kulappidy junction in Jaffna yesterday.

Though, police initially denied shooting and said the motorcycle had hit a wall causing fatal injuries.

However, the postmortem had found bullet cartridges in one of the bodies.

Yesterday, Tamil National Alliance had sought an independent investigation into the incident.

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The head of the European parliament and Canada's trade minister held last-ditch talks today aimed at salvaging a trade deal threatened by a Belgian region's refusal to sign on.

EU assembly chief Martin Schulz also planned an 11th-hour huddle with Paul Magnette, head of Wallonia's socialist government which is blocking the agreement between Ottawa and the 28-nation European Union.

The Brussels meetings are aimed at "reviving CETA talks. We can't stop at the last mile," Schulz wrote on Twitter, referring to the agreement's name.

CETA would link the EU market of 500 million people with the world's 10th biggest economy.

"We have done our job, it's now up to the European Union to finish theirs," countered Canada's Chrystia Freeland after the talks with Schulz, adding that she was returning to Toronto today.

"I really hope that the Europeans can bring it to a conclusion and that I can come back in a few days with my prime minister to sign the agreement," she said, cited by Belgium's Belga agency.

The accord was initially scheduled to be signed next Thursday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Brussels -- and Schulz said that that date remained in the diary.

"The problems are on the Europeans' table and we have to try to resolve them," he said. "This meeting was very constructive and will perhaps be decisive.

"I remain optimistic."



Canada blasted the European Union yesterday as incapable of signing international agreements, as talks to persuade Wallonia to sign up to the huge trade deal broke down.

Freeland's comments fed into warnings that the EU, beset by rising anti-globalisation sentiment, may never be able to land any other deals including one with the United States.

"It seems obvious to me, to Canada, that the European Union is incapable now of having an international agreement, even with a country with such European values as Canada, and even with a country as kind and patient as Canada," Freeland said yesterday.

Wallonia's government chief Magnette told AFP yesterday that his Belgian region needed more time but that there was still scope for an agreement.

"Democracy takes a little time, Magnette said. "I wasn't asking for months, but you can't carry out a parliamentary process in two days."



The Walloon parliament earlier this week refused to let the federal Belgian government approve the deal between Canada and the European Union, which needs to be backed by all 28 EU member states.

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An advocate of Mathura Bar Association has been suspended while a show cause notice has been served to six other lawyers for quarrelling in the court premises here on October 18.

"While advocate Gaurav Chaturvedi has been suspended from Mathura Bar Association, six other advocates involved in the quarrel have been served with a show cause notice," association chief Indra Kumar Vashistha said.

Efforts were earlier to resolved the differences between two warring groups of advocates but they did not heed to the advice and ended up fighting, following which this decision was taken, he said.

"The step has been taken since owing to their conduct, the dignity and decorum of Mathura Bar Association has suffered," Vashistha said while appealing to members of the bar to desist from quarrelling at public places.

He said the advocates have also been advised to bring their issues to the association, so that they can be resolved in an amicable manner.

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SCHUYLER  K.C. Bangs excitement to move back to Schuyler and start his new position as the city's police chief is palpable.

I honestly feel honored and blessed to be picked for this position, he said.

Bang served with Schuylers police force for three years, from 2011-14. When a close family member became ill, he took his current position as a sergeant with the Keith County Sheriffs Office in Ogallala to be closer to him.

Now hes ready to return to Schuyler.

Schuylers a wonderful community, said Bang. I think its got some of the finest people in the state.

Bang was selected among seven candidates for the police chief job. He replaces former Schuyler Police Chief Lennie Hiltner, who resigned in July after 17 years with the department to pursue a career outside law enforcement.

To be honest, when Chief Hiltner resigned I was afraid we weren't going to get any good applicants, but we got four really good ones. It was kind of a tough decision, said Schuyler Mayor Dave Reinecke, who interviewed the four finalists for the police position. We couldn't have done wrong with any of them. We were fortunate."

Reinecke said Bang stood out because he has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, including time as a police chief, and he has served in Schuyler before.

He's looking forward to being back in Schuyler, being engaged in the community, and I think he's going to be a really good fit for us, said Reinecke.

The mayor said Bang comes across as very personable.

When you talk with him he makes you feel good. He's a good people-person, he said.

Bangs father was a firefighter, so he got the bug to work in public service when he was young.

I can honestly tell you I wanted to be a policeman since I was 6 years old, Bang said.

From ages 17 to 19 he was a cadet intern in Saunders County, and when he was 19 he attended the police academy when he learned the county wanted to offer him a full-time job.

At one time I was the youngest deputy in Nebraska, he said.

Bang remained interested in firefighting, as well, serving as a volunteer firefighter and specializing in arson investigation.

Schuyler City Council approved Bangs appointment at Tuesday's meeting and he will be sworn in Nov. 1.

Im anxious to come back and lead this department into the future, he said. Schuylers a unique city  its got a lot of variety to it. Youve got all types of cultures and people and its a city that is on the rise and Im excited to be a part of it all.

Bang said hes looking forward to being closer to family  his father resides in Fremont and his sons live in Bellevue  and reacquainting himself with the community.

I want everyone to know my door is always open, if anyone has any concerns, he said. I plan on being there for a long time.
A doctor working at a government rural hospital in the neighbouring Palghar district was today arrested by the Thane ACB for taking a bribe.

He was identified as Dr Manoj Baburao Bansode (49), medical officer of rural hospital at Virar.

He had allegedly demanded Rs 14,000 from a junior officer to release his salary and to exempt him from certain duty.

After the junior officer approached ACB, a trap was laid and Bansode was caught red-handed and arrested under Prevention of Corruption Act.

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In the backdrop of rising cases of asthma and allergy-related ailments in developing nations, including India, health experts from the country and abroad have gathered here for a conference to deliberate over the issue and share the latest developments in the field.

The Indian College of Allergy, Asthma & Applied Immunology (ICAAI) is hosting a four-day golden jubilee conference, starting today, which has been organised by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI).

"The main conference will begin from tomorrow and Union Minister Harsh Vardhan is slated to formally open it in the evening. Today, a workshop is being held to cover theoretical and practical aspects of skin prick test and immunotherapy," a senior official of VPCI told PTI.

According to experts, it is estimated that over 20 per cent of the world's population suffers from allergic diseases such as allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis, atopic eczema and anaphylaxis.

Asthma is a worldwide problem, with estimated 300 million affected individuals and global prevalence which ranges from 1-18 per cent in different geographical regions.

"Studies suggest that the prevalence of asthma has been on the rise in developing countries in the past one decade. Also, studies from several centres have reported that the prevalence of asthma in children in India ranged from 2.3-11.9 per cent, while in adults it ranged from 0.96-11.03 per cent," according to VPCI.

The national conference would also discus the clinical and laboratory aspects of allergy, asthma and immunology, specially aimed towards the number of offending agents like air pollution, allergens and change in lifestyle in India and South Asia.

According to a recent WHO report, a few Indian cities, including Delhi, Patna and Gwalior were identified as among the severely polluted cities in the world.

The conference would have guest lectures by 12 international faculty from the US, the Netherlands, Germany and Sri Lanka. About 50 guest lectures will be delivered by distinguished faculty from India, the senior official said.

The conference will also have plenary lectures, symposia, guest lectures, panel discussions and original research paper presentation.

ICAAI was established in 1967 with its head quarter at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute.

VPCI or 'Patel Chest' as it is famously known as, is a maintained institute of the University of Delhi and funded by the Ministry of Health.

Starting as Institute of Tuberculosis, its foundation stone was laid by the then Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel April 6, 1949 and it was formally opened on January 12, 1953 by the then Union Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.

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A Naxal was today killed in an encounter with police in a forest near Munga Mankeli village in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.

The encounter took place after the Naxals fired on a police patrolling party, a police officer told PTI.

The body of the Naxal, killed in the encounter, was found at the site. A country-made revolver and a muzzle-loading gun was also seized, the officer said.

More information will be available after the police team returns from the area, he said.

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Days after Jammu and Kashmir government terminated services of one dozen employees for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities, Opposition National Conference today termed the step as "vindictive, retributive and punitive" and asked the government to reinstate them.

"Government should immediately reinstate the suspended employees as targeting the employees for the current unrest was a regressive and counter productive approach," NC Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani said in a statement here.

He lashed out at the government and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for harbouring a "vindictive, retributive and punitive" agenda against its employees.

"The State Government was being vindictive when the fragile situation called for a reconciliatory and positive approach to restore normalcy in the State," Wani, a former minister, said.

"Why single out government employees and punish them for an agitation which encompassed virtually all sections of the society? It is impractical for the government to think a certain section of the society can be tormented into compliance.

"This Government has gone from blackmailing employees, to coercing them, to threatening them of stopping their salaries to now finally placing them under suspension and termination," the NC Provincial President said.

He said NC stands in solidarity with the government employees and would continue to seek their restoration and dignified reinstatement.

"Our government employees have rendered innumerable sacrifices and served the people in extremely trying circumstances.

This current unrest and its ramifications are primarily because of the incumbent Government s wrong policies and Peoples Democratic Party's opportunistic alliance with the BJP, not because of government employees.

"Rather than introspecting and changing their ways, the Government is hell-bent on torturing government employees.

We stand with the employees and will do whatever is necessary to ensure they get justice and are not tormented," he said.

On October 20, Jammu and Kashmir government announced termination of services of one dozen employees for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities after dossiers were prepared against them.

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Climate action plans pledged by India can be achieved only if efforts related to it cover over six lakh villages in the country, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said today.

Ahead of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UNFCCC to be held in Marakech in Morocco next month, Dave said the issue of financing should be "clear, simple and straight" without manipulations by auditors.

He said that post-2020, India has to think whatever agreement was finalised in Paris and discussions that took place in Marakech, how it can be implemented on the ground in 6.5 lakh villages of the country.

"If INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contribution) goals are to be achieved, we will have to connect this effort with 6.5 lakh villages of the country," he said.

"Two things are very important -- high-end technology that too without patent and minimum profit and second is finance. Finance means a transparent financial structure. Finance should be crystal clear.

"Finance should be simple and straight. But accountants and auditors, they keep on manipulating things. It should not be there. We will put that on the world platform properly," he said at an event here.

He said India had already started bringing up this issue at various bilateral and multilateral discussions.

"If not today, tomorrow there will be a clarity and modalities will be worked out so that in the future, we will be able to do it within a time-frame.

"At the same time, we will also generate accountability of audits of the finance. Proper modalities should be framed and all countries should agree to that. It will take a few more months," he said.

Addressing the gathering, the European Union's Ambassador to India Tomasz Kozlowski said that as far as EU is concerned, it has made certain commitments concerning finance and is delivering on that and will continue to do so.

"Concerning modalities, our objective is to make it as simple as possible. The system should be simple and result-oriented. All commitments that we have made, we are ready to deliver on them. We have so far delivered what we have committed," he said.

On the finance aspect, he said that in 2014, EU mobilised more than 14 billion euros for financing projects related to climate change. "It means that I disagree that EU and member states are not ready or not delivering," he said.

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There is a need to have a "second look" into the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to give it some flexibility and having provisions to monitor the performance of the arbitrator, former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti said today.

"Some flexibility has to be there. We need to have a second look at the provisions of the Act and we must have some Indian version of this world class act," Lahoti said at a conference here on strengthening arbitration and enforcement in India.

He said the performance of an arbitrator also needed to be monitored and if it is found that the performance or conduct is not upto the mark, the person should not be appointed as an arbitrator in future.

"There is a need for training at the stage of empanelment and look into the performance of an arbitrator," Lahoti said making a series of suggestions on the issue.

Speaking at the event, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy said it was "regrettable that some times arbitrators are not quipped with necessary expertise" in field experience to deal with matters.

"It is important and I think the Act should have provided that at least one member of the arbitral panel should have expertise in field experience," he said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said to reform the arbitration process in India, "all elements of arbitration, be it good, bad or ugly, have to be in a harmony to make it a successful law".

He pointed out two problems -- lack of uniform approach and non-development of dedicated arbitration bar -- in the arbitration process here.

"In India, we have been obsessed with judge-centric arbitration process. In almost all matters, judges are appointed as arbitrators. In one way it is good also that we have faith in judges," Singhvi said.

He agreed with the view of Justice Lahoti that arbitration centres should be developed here.

"We need to develop arbitration centres. Infrastructure is there for the past 20 years but it is a ghost infrastructure. Operational reality is necessary," he said at the conference 'National initiative towards strengthening arbitration and enforcement in India'.

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Nigeria will buy 10 indigenously built Super Mushshak aircraft from Pakistan to boost its air power.

Nigerian Air Vice Marshal Iya Ahmed Abdullahi and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Chairman Air Marshal Arshad Malik signed the contract in this regard in Nigerian capital Abuja yesterday, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) statement said here.

The contract also includes operational training and technical support and assistance to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

"This contract would not only open new avenues for export of aviation equipment to foreign countries but also help in generating revenue for the country," a PAF statement said.

"The deal further strengthens Pakistan Aeronautical Complex's (PAC) status as a world class aviation industry producing the supersonic JF-17 Thunder and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft," it added.

The Super Mushshak, which is based off a Swedish design but built under license in Pakistan, is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and South Africa.

Talks are also at an advanced stage with Qatar and Turkey for the delivery of Super Mushshak, a senior PAF official told 'The Express Tribune' on condition of anonymity.

Super Mushshak is an advanced variant of the Mushshak basic trainer, which was also produced by PAC.

The PAF put up Super Mushshak for static as well as aerial display in last year's Dubai Air Show, where some nations expressed interest in the aircraft.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least nine migrants drowned and 10 others, including four children, were missing after a tense series of rescues today in the Mediterranean that saved over 1,000 people, rescuers said.

Survivors saved by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from a sinking rubber boat before dawn said six adults and four children were missing.

As the rescuers took 120 people to safety, there were fears that more may be missing at sea, an MSF spokeswoman said.

Nine bodies were found later in the day on another vessel, though their cause of death was unclear.

Along with the bodies of five migrants who died yesterday, they were transferred to the Norwegian Siem Pilot rescue ship, part of the Frontex European border security agency's mission in the Mediterranean.

The Italian coast guard, which coordinates rescues in the area, said at least 1,000 migrants had been saved today, adding that the number may rise.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Barack Obama has compared his healthcare initiative with Samsung Galaxy Note 7, saying when a smartphone has a few bugs, one fixes it and not just throw it away unless it catches fire, media reports said.

During a speech at Miami Dade College in Florida on Thursday, he said when a smartphone (or a law) has a few bugs, you fix it or upgrade it. You do not just throw it away unless it catches fire, The Verge news site reported.

"Then you pull it off the market. But you do not go back to using a rotary phone. You do not say well, we are repealing smartphones," Obama said.

"We are just gonna do the dial-up thing. That is not what you do. The same basic principle applies here. We are not gonna go back to discriminating against Americans with pre- existing conditions," he was quoted as saying by website.

Obama acknowledged the "growing pains" facing his signature Affordable Care Act and compared the 2010 legislation to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones which have caught fire, prompting the company to recall the smartphones, The Blaze news site reported.

He used several analogies to describe 'Obamacare' which has faced widespread scrutiny in recent months as several leading insurance companies have pulled out of the exchanges, the report said.

Obama used much of the speech to defend his legacy on health care reform, pushing back against the Republican Party, which has called for a full repeal of 'Obamacare', it added.
Scientists have discovered the oldest known planet-forming disk - a 45 million-year-old ring of gas and dust that orbits around a young star, from which planets can form as the material collides and aggregates.

Led by Steven Silverberg of University of Oklahoma, the team described a newly identified red dwarf star with a warm circumstellar disk, of the kind associated with young planetary systems.

Circumstellar disks around red dwarfs like this one are rare to begin with, but this star, called AWI0005x3s, appears to have sustained its disk for an exceptionally long time.

"Most disks of this kind fade away in less than 30 million years," said Silverberg.

"This particular red dwarf is a candidate member of the Carina stellar association, which would make it around 45 million years old. It's the oldest red dwarf system with a disk we've seen in one of these associations," he said.

The discovery relied on citizen scientists from Disk Detective, a project designed to find new circumstellar disks.

At the project's website, users make classifications by viewing ten-second videos of data from NASA surveys, including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission (WISE) and Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) projects.

Since the launch of the website in January 2014, roughly 30,000 citizen scientists have participated in this process, performing roughly 2 million classifications of celestial objects.

"Without the help of the citizen scientists examining these objects and finding the good ones, we might never have spotted this object," said Marc Kuchner, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

"The WISE mission alone found 747 million (warm infrared) objects, of which we expect a few thousand to be circumstellar disks," Kuchner said.

Determining the age of a star can be tricky or impossible. But the Carina association, where this red dwarf was found, is a group of stars whose motions through the Galaxy indicate that they were all born at roughly the same time in the same stellar nursery.

Researchers devised a test that showed this newly found red dwarf and its disk are likely part of the Carina association, which was key to revealing its surprising age.

"It is surprising to see a circumstellar disk around a star that may be 45 million years old, because we normally expect these disks to dissipate within a few million years," said Jonathan Gagne, from Carnegie Institution for Science in the US.

The star and its disk may the possibly host extrasolar planets, researchers said. Most of the extrasolar planets that have been found by telescopes have been located in disks similar to the one around this unusual red dwarf.

Moreover, this particular star is the same spectral type as Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest neighbour, which was shown to host at least one exoplanet - Proxima b.

The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the weather turns colder, we tend to stay indoors more often. But thanks to the Columbus Public Librarys online resources, you can experience the world from the comfort of your own home.

View pictures and try recipes from other countries while learning about their culture, climate, history, music and more. With "A to Z the World" and "A to Z the USA," you can access a plethora of information about the United States and countries around the world. These websites are also mobile friendly so you can access all the same information via your smartphone, no matter where you are.

World Trade Press, the publisher of A to Z the World and A to Z the USA, works with an international team of writers and topic experts to create the quality content found on these sites.

Using A to Z the USA, you can click on a state to learn basic state facts like the time zone, capital city, state motto and view the state flag. But you can learn so much more. Biographies of famous residents, historical timelines, popular food (complete with recipes), national parks details and information on the state government are just a few of the things you can find on each states page.

Maps and photo collections are also available and can easily be downloaded or printed. Each state section also has crossword puzzles that can be printed to test your knowledge of the state.

You can find similar information about the United States as a whole in the second section of A to Z the USA. Land, People, and History Snapshots start out the Overview section of the United States profile. Climate & Weather, Life Cycles, and National Symbols are a few of the other information sections available. News Feeds for a variety of topics, including business, finance, and the environment, pull relevant articles from a variety of resources.

In the third section of A to Z the USA, you can learn the names of the U.S. states, capitals, major cities, rivers and lakes with the use of spoken video guides. A map is displayed, showing where the selected state, city, lake, or river is located. The names and location names are also displayed. You can also listen to the terms to help you learn pronunciation. This geography section is a great tool to use to memorize states and capital cities.

A to Z the World is organized in the same style as A to Z the USA. Once on the website, select a country to browse, or search for a specific topic. Country information included ranges from business and government, to holidays and recipes. Lesson plans for teachers are available for grades 7-12 and comply with a variety of learning standards.

All information from both resources can be easily printed and cited in Chicago style, MLA and APA citation formats, making them great resources for research.

To access these resources visit the Digital Library page of our website, www.cplconnect.us. If accessing outside the Columbus Public Library, you will be prompted for your library card number. Simply enter the number and enjoy.

Stop by or call the Columbus Public Library at 402-564-7116 if you have any questions about A to Z the World, A to Z the USA, or any of our online resources. Visit our website www.cplconnect.us to access these or other online resources from home.
French actor Omar Sy was accidentally knocked into a canal in Venice, Italy on his first day shooting Tom Hanks movie "Inferno."



The "Jurassic World" star joined director Ron Howard and leading man Hanks for the second sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" thriller, based on the books by Dan Brown, but his initial scenes didn't quite go to plan, reported Contactmusic.

Howard recalled the incident during a cast interview on location in Florence, Italy for US breakfast show "Good Morning America", quipping, "On the very first shot of the movie, he accidentally fell into the canals of Venice!"



As Omar burst into laughter, Hanks clarified the story, hinting Howard was the actual culprit: "He was knocked into the canals of Venice by the guy with the camera, wasn't he?"



Hanks reprises his role as Dr Robert Langdon for "Inferno", his seventh movie collaboration with Howard, and the filmmaker enjoyed taking their shoot to Venice and Florence, after previously working in Rome and Paris, France on the franchise movies.

Ron explained, "This is the kind of movie where you get to go to places like this and go on location, and you pull everyone together, whether it's two weeks or two months, you tend to go out to dinner, you tend to go see the places (sights)...

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One person was killed and five others, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police and his bodyguard, were injured as police opened fire to disperse an unruly crowd at Soyko under Murhu police station of Khunti district today, a senior government official said.

The injured persons including the Deputy SP (HQ), Khunti, Vikas Anand Laguri and his bodyguard Narendra Sharma were being referred to Ranchi for treatment, Deputy Commissioner of Khunti, Chandrasekhar said.

The incident occurred when Additional Superintendent of Police, Anurag, rushed to Soyko on being informed about the assembly of large number of tribals, who were to take part in a rally in Ranchi.

As they did not get the vehicle to reach the venue, the mob gheraoed Anurag and the police personnel including the Officer In-charge of Murhu police station and took them into captivity, he said.

Laguri, rushed to the spot but his bodyguard was attacked with a sharp weapon by the crowd and was badly injured, he said adding, the Deputy SP also sustained injuries.

After mild force failed to control the mob, the police resorted to firing in self-defence, which claimed the life of one Abraham Munda, a resident of Kolme village under Murhu Police Station, and injuring three others, he said.

All injured were rushed to the nearby hospital, where doctors referred them to RIMS, Ranchi.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das has announced Rs two lakh for the bereaved family and Rs one lakh to an injured woman.

Das said violence has no place in democracy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One lakh blocks in the country will be digitalised in the coming days, Telecom Minister has said.

"Some one lakh blocks in the country will be digitalised in the coming days to ensure that people do not have to run to tehsils for getting their work done," the minister said here on Friday.

Sinha also said that his ministry was working in a big way to fulfill the promise of 'Digital India' made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The minister said after the mobile revolution, work is on for digital revolution in the country.

The result is that last year government saved Rs 34 thousand crores. The manner in which people are using the Internet will have far-reaching results, the minister said.

He also lauded the efforts of one of his official developing website for sale and purchase of cattle which he said will go a long way in helping rural population.
in the national capital, on Saturday, climbed to over 40 with 17 ducks being found dead at Hauz Khas deer park even as the Centre formed a three-member committee to keep a close watch on the bird flu situation.

Authorities also sent seven bird carcasses collected from across the city for test after the control room received calls in this regard. The National Zoological Park, which did not report any fresh death, took reporters on a tour in its premises.

In wake of the fresh deaths, Development Minister Gopal Rai will visit the deer park tomorrow.

The Union Environment Ministry said a constant vigil is kept around the National Zoological Parks to monitor and contain the H5 avian influenza along with the state agencies and a three-member panel has been set up to keep a watch over the developments.

"There is no mortality reported in the National Zoological Park in Delhi. Seventeen ducks were found dead in the Central Park, Hauz Khas," a Delhi government report said.

The city government widened its scan ambit by collecting samples from the Ghazipur chicken market which has not yet been hit.

While one one dead bird collected from the Hauz Khas park was sent to lab, eight samples were drawn from the Ghazipur poultry market from live birds. Seven carcasses of birds collected from across Delhi were sent separately.

"The DDA authorities have been advised to bury deep the carcasses as per the guidelines and take necessary disinfection process in Central Park Hauz Khas as mortality still continues. Disinfection process as per the guidelines of action plan has been undertaken in zoo and Ghazipur mandi," the report added.

Gwalior District Collector Sanjay Goyal said analysis of samples collected from two of the around 15 painted storks that died in the zoological park in the district, revealed the avians were infected with a new bird flu virus subtype, H5N8.

Yesterday, the Delhi government had ruled out any threat to human beings due to the bird flu saying the H5N8 strain found in three samples was "less infective". Six deaths were reported at the deer park in the national capital and the toll of suspected flu stood at 24.

Meanwhile, as a confidence-building measure, Delhi zoo opened its gates to the media and took reporters around the bird enclosures.

"The chances of the resident birds contracting the influenza are meek. So we are assuming that the migratory birds may have carried the pathogenic strains. However, we can be clear only when we get a word from Jalandhar and Bhopal where we have sent the samples," zoo curator Riyaz Khan said.

On being asked about the Centre-appointed committee to monitor the situation, Khan said the panel is at present looking at the guidelines and measures to be adopted in case of such deaths.

Khan said no fresh deaths were reported at the zoo since the past two days. Twelve water birds, including 6 pelicans, painted storks and ducks have died at the zoo in the past week. in the national capital, on Saturday, climbed to over 40 with 17 ducks being found dead at Hauz Khas deer park even as the Centre formed a three-member committee to keep a close watch on the bird flu situation.

Authorities also sent seven bird carcasses collected from across the city for test after the control room received calls in this regard. The National Zoological Park, which did not report any fresh death, took reporters on a tour in its premises.

In wake of the fresh deaths, Development Minister Gopal Rai will visit the deer park tomorrow.

The Union Environment Ministry said a constant vigil is kept around the National Zoological Parks to monitor and contain the H5 avian influenza along with the state agencies and a three-member panel has been set up to keep a watch over the developments.

"There is no mortality reported in the National Zoological Park in Delhi. Seventeen ducks were found dead in the Central Park, Hauz Khas," a Delhi government report said.

The city government widened its scan ambit by collecting samples from the Ghazipur chicken market which has not yet been hit.

While one dead bird collected from the Hauz Khas park was sent to lab, eight samples were drawn from the Ghazipur poultry market from live birds. Seven carcasses of birds collected from across Delhi were sent separately.

"The DDA authorities have been advised to bury deep the carcasses as per the guidelines and take necessary disinfection process in Central Park Hauz Khas as mortality still continues. Disinfection process as per the guidelines of action plan has been undertaken in zoo and Ghazipur mandi," the report added.

Gwalior District Collector Sanjay Goyal said analysis of samples collected from two of the around 15 painted storks that died in the zoological park in the district, revealed the avians were infected with a new bird flu virus subtype, H5N8.

Yesterday, the Delhi government had ruled out any threat to human beings due to the bird flu saying the H5N8 strain found in three samples was "less infective". Six deaths were reported at the deer park in the national capital and the toll of suspected flu stood at 24.

Meanwhile, as a confidence-building measure, Delhi zoo opened its gates to the media and took reporters around the bird enclosures.

"The chances of the resident birds contracting the influenza are meek. So we are assuming that the migratory birds may have carried the pathogenic strains. However, we can be clear only when we get a word from Jalandhar and Bhopal where we have sent the samples," zoo curator Riyaz Khan said.

On being asked about the Centre-appointed committee to monitor the situation, Khan said the panel is at present looking at the guidelines and measures to be adopted in case of such deaths.

Khan said no fresh deaths were reported at the zoo since the past two days. Twelve water birds, including 6 pelicans, painted storks and ducks have died at the zoo in the past week.
A Pakistani court has dismissed a petition seeking registration of high treason case against former president and opposition Pakistan People's Party's co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari for his "anti-army" remarks.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah termed the petition 'non-prosecution' and dismissed it yesterday.

Advocate Aftab Virk had filed the petition contending that Zardari used derogatory language against the Pakistan army in his June 2015speech.

He said the army was busy with operation Zarb-i-Azb and such a statement against it at this time was not good.

"Zardari had committed treason by attacking and maligning the institution of army," the petitionersaid andrequested the court to try him under Article 6 of the Constitution.

The chief justice had been hearing arguments from the petitioner side on the maintainability of the petition on previous hearings.

Zardari last year had lashed out at the military establishment for 'overstepping its domain'.

"The army chiefs come and go every three years but the political leadership is here to stay. We know the country better and we know how to run its affairs," Zardari had said.

He had also warned the military establishment to refrain from character assassination of political parties.

"If you do not stop, I will come out with a list of accused generals since Pakistan's creation."



He asked the establishment to separate itself from politics and not interfere in matters out of its domain.

Soon after his 'anti-military' speech Zardari left the country and has not returned since July 2015.

At present he is staying in Dubai.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Escalating cross border firing, Pakistani Rangers overnight pounded border hamlets and outposts with mortar shells and opened fire from automatic weapons in R S Pura sector of Jammu district.

"There has been heavy firing and mortar shelling along the IB in R S Pura belt during the night", Inspector General of BSF, D K Uphadayaya said today.

The fresh firing and shelling comes after Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire six times yesterday.Seven Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist were killed and three others seriously injured in retaliatory firing by BSF troops along the International border.

The IG said the areas which came under fire along the IB include Karotana Khurd and Abdullian.

"We have asked the authorities to ensure safety of the people as firing and shelling exchanges have increased. We do not want civilians to suffer", the IG said.

He said Pakistani Rangers tried to snipe at a jawan on a Observation tower but he jumped from it. The jawan injured his feet in the process.

Due to firing and shelling in the border areas, over 1000 people living close to the IB in Hiranagar and other places have migrated to safety.

"Apart from firing, Pakistani Rangers fired 60 and 81 mm mortar bomb shells intermittently from 11 PM and it continued till early morning in Bidipur and Karotana in Suchetgarh sub-sector", Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh said.

He said that due to firing and shelling four cattle were killed.

The DC said people have been advised to stay indoors during the day time also as there is likelihood of shelling even during the day.

"Officers have been told to close all the schools in villages which are vulnerable as a precautionary measure", DC said.

As many as 50 to 80 schools in these border areas have been directed to be shut by the district administration as a precautionary measure, DC said.

Pakistan troops had yesterday violated the ceasefire six times.

Pakistani troops targeted five sectors of R S Pura (Jammu), Hiranagar (Kathua), Samba, Pargwal (Jammu) along IB and Rajouri and Mendhar (Poonch) along LoC by resorting to small arms firing and mortar shelling resulting in serious injuries to a BSF jawan.

There have been over 37 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Army troops in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In yet another attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan's ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani has called on the global community to help resolve the long-pending dispute with India, calling it a "nuclear flashpoint" in South Asia.

Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank, on Thursday night, the envoy said Kashmir was a "nuclear flashpoint" and it must not be underestimated.

Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the envoy regretted that India was undermining all diplomatic efforts for a dialogue, including its refusal to engage at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) forum.

"The peace and stability in South Asia will not be possible without resolving underlying disputes, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir being the core dispute," Jilani said.

"The international community and the US in particular need to play a role in seeking a peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two senior leaders of Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement were arrested today for "unknown reasons" minutes before they were scheduled to address media persons at the Karachi Press Club here.

A heavy contingent of the paramilitary Rangers surrounded the Karachi Press Club (KPC) and arrested the two leaders of the new coordination committee formed by the Altaf Hussain-led London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The Rangers had blocked roads leading to the KPC as the MQM committee members were due to address a press conference headed by Professor Dr Zafar Hasan Arif.

Arif was taken into custody soon after he arrived to address the media.

Kunwar Khalid Younis, another senior member of the committee, was also arrested as he reached the club.

The two MQM leaders were taken to an undisclosed location.

In a tweet, MQM leader Wasay Jalil said the two leaders were detained by members of the paramilitary force.

"MQM RC membrs Prof Hasan ZafarArif & K. Khalid Younus has been arrested by Rangers 4unknown reasons but its clear now who wants disturbance?," Jalil said in a tweet.

The press conference was cancelled after the arrests.

The incident marks another crackdown against the MQM by the Rangers as two days back, they appeared to have given some leniency to the party whose committee members and workers had marched to the party headquarters and raised slogans in favour of self-exiled London-based leader Hussain.

Arif is one of the nine Pakistan-based members of new interim coordination committee and a professor at Karachi University's philosophy department.

The 12-member committee was formed by MQM's London-based leadership in an attempt to regain organisational control of the party which it almost lost following the August 22 incendiary speech of Hussain which led to a crackdown on the party's sector and unit offices.

Arif and other members had also addressed a press conference on October 15 at the KPC where they called for an end to the prosecution of the MQM and false cases against their leader Hussain.

MQM is a political party claiming to represent the Mohajir (Urdu speaking people) in Sindh. It remains the single largest party in Karachi for decades now and have dominated the political landscape of Pakistan's largest city for years, sweeping provincial and national elections but since the clean-up operation began on the orders of the federal government, the party has come under intense pressure.

Last month, Pakistan charged Hussain with treason for an inflammatory speech slamming Islamabad.

The MQM Chief is reported to have criticised Pakistan by calling it a cancer for the entire world.

According to Pakistan media reports, Hussain called Pakistan under the Nawaz Sharif administration a "cancer of the world" and an "epicentre of global terrorism".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Press Council of India (PCI) Chairman Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad today said the council is fully committed to ensure safety and security of journalists and the freedom of the press.

"PCI is fully committed to ensure safety and security of journalists and the freedom of the press for survival of democracy in the country with an integrated approach involving each and every person and institution working for the welfare of the journalists," Justice Prasad said while addressing a national seminar on 'Challenges before Media and Safety of Journalists' here today.

The seminar was organized by Punjab and Chandigarh Journalists Union (PCJU).

Justice Prasad stressed on the need to ensure safety, security and protection - physical, social and financial of the journalists specially in rural areas these being more vulnerable to physical attacks on the journalists.

Prasad said PCI is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest for the occasion to kick start the year long celebrations on November 16,- the National Press Day function at New Delhi," he said.

A series of functions, seminars, symposia and conferences will be conducted throughout the year all over the country on the issues of safety and security of Journalists and the Freedom of the Press.

Two members of PCI, S N Sinha, President Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and Kosuri Amarnath, Balwinder Singh Jammu, President PCJU, Veteran Journalists Gobind Thukral also addressed the seminar.

The PCI was first set up in the year 1966 by Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India.

The present Council functions under the Press Council Act, 1978. It is a statutory, quasi judicial authority functioning as a watchdog of the press, for the press and by the press.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Baghdad today to review the six-day-old offensive to retake Mosul, the Islamic State group's last major stronghold in Iraq.

He will meet commanders from the 60-nation coalition which is led by the United States and assists Iraqi forces in their drive against the jihadists.

Carter is also due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi and is expected to discuss Baghdad's objections to Turkish involvement in the Mosul operations.

The Pentagon chief was also expected to discuss the post- IS future of Mosul, Iraq's second city and the place where jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the caliphate in June 2014.

The ethnic and religious mosaic of the Mosul area as well as the involvement of many foreign countries in the operations make any post-conflict political settlement a complex affair.

"There will be a big job of reconstruction and stabilisation after," Carter told reporters travelling with him yesterday.

He said it was crucial that efforts to stabilise and rebuild Mosul after ousting IS not "lag behind our military efforts, that's critically important."



The US has around 4,800 forces deployed in Iraq as part of the anti-IS coalition advising and training local forces.

One US service member was killed by an improvised explosive device on Thursday northeast of Mosul, where Kurdish forces are leading a push on an IS-held town.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COLUMBUS  Three incumbents and one newcomer are contending for three seats on the Columbus Public Schools board in the Nov. 8 general election.

Board incumbents Candace Becher, Mike Goos and Tim Pospisil and first-time candidate Doug Willoughby are vying for the spots on the six-member school board.

Pospisil, appointed in February to finish the final year of resigning board member Alan Dostals term, Goos, Becher and Willoughby are seeking four-year terms.

Meanwhile, Doug Molczyk is running unopposed to serve the final two years of Francis Kuehler's term. Kuehler resigned in August 2015 before moving to Humphrey.

Here's a look at the four candidates seeking three seats on the CPS board:

Candace "Candy" Becher: Age 65, retired CHS English teacher, currently adjunct faculty at Central Community College.

Tim Pospisil: Age 50, employed by Nebraska Public Power District as director of corporate security and chief security officer.

Mike Goos: Age 59, school psychologist.

Doug Willoughby: Age 62, retired (taught at Columbus Middle School from 1977-2011.

Question: What should CPS do with the downtown middle school once the old high school is revamped for fifth- through eighth-graders in the fall of 2017?

Becher: CPS should locate administration, technology department and preschool in the newest sections of the middle school building. The 1925 part of the building is the problem due to the prohibitive cost to retrofit the structure for another use. Demolishing the oldest part while saving prominent architectural elements (such as the limestone entryway) of the original Kramer High School to use in or near the new high school would be one solution. If citizens have ideas for the use of the building, they should bring them forward.

Pospisil: Look for a potential suitor for the 1924 section of the building, that can co-exist with the districts planned usage. The building including the eastern three-story cafeteria and career and tech area will serve as district offices and potential early childhood and daycare center. Whatever the use, it should not just become an empty eyesore.

Goos: The ideal use for the current middle school building would be to develop central administration offices, a consolidated preschool learning center and conference rooms. The space could also be utilized for community events and offices.

Willoughby: My understanding is that the administration and early learning will move into the newer part of the building while the 1924 area will be mothballed. The north gym and its locker areas are in good shape so it would be worth exploring its utilization. Unless there is interest by someone in buying the building and grounds, either the east or west (perhaps both) practice fields could be sold.

Question: CPS share of state aid to education has been on a roller coaster in recent years, will that continue in the years ahead?

Becher: The roller coaster will continue until the Legislature finds a better way to determine how school aid should be allocated.

Pospisil: I believe that as long as the economy continues on its roller coaster, so will the state aid to schools. The two are closely related. The CPS board will continue to prepare for that reality in the coming years, which we have. Its going to continue to be a challenge for all districts.

Goos: State aid to education will continue to be a questionable proposition until Nebraska can create alternative and sustainable sources of revenue to fund state services. Fortunately, CPS continues to have a healthy cash reserve and is able to maintain a quality education when the district experiences a reduction in state aid. The best solution for stability in the financing of public education in Nebraska is to allow the state aid formula (TEEOSA) function for the purpose it was created.

Willoughby: State aid is beyond our control. The Nebraska state aid formula takes a budgeted amount of money and disperses it to schools as it perceives their need.

Question: How will aid fluctuations impact the districts property tax levy?

Becher: That depends on state aid. The school district is still not recovered from the huge dollar hit taken when state aid went down for the 2012-13 school year. The district had to increase the levy ask just to make up the difference. In Nebraska, unlike in many states, the funding for schools comes mainly from local sources. Nearly 60 percent of school funding comes from local sources (property taxes), while the state is only responsible for about 20 percent. This puts a great burden on communities. The school district is currently asking a little over $1 per (hundred) of property value for the general fund; in fact, this year it went down .002 cents. As a steward of your tax dollars, I will do everything in my power to keep your property taxes as low as possible. In Nebraska, that is not an easy task.

Pospisil: CPS has done an excellent job managing its available dollars to make sure we have flexibility for just this reason. The board is very sensitive to keeping the levy manageable for patrons while still providing quality staff, facilities and education for our students. I would only consider levy increases that are necessary to keep this quality at a high level. We are always looking at opportunities to cut costs to keep changes at a minimum.

Goos: Columbus Public Schools, like all public schools in Nebraska, is mandated to abide by a statutory limitation of $1.05 per $100 of assessed evaluation for the general fund and special building fund. The districts 2016-17 combined levy for these funds is $1.048389 and generates the revenue to provide a high-quality education at a cost-effective rate. Dave Melick, director of business, reported that over the last eight years, per student expenditures by CPS have averaged 12.95 percent below the state average and 6.5 percent below that of comparable school districts.

Willoughby: School districts are allowed to keep a certain amount of money in savings. Typically, districts try to have 10 to 20 percent of their annual needs in that account. That helps ride out a lean state aid year so the property tax levy can avoid large fluctuations.

Question: Are CPS facilities adequate to handle future enrollment growth projections?

Becher: Yes, CPS facilities can handle future growth. Moving the fifth grade to the middle school alleviates crowding at the elementary level and leaves room for growth in the buildings at both levels. The new high school can accommodate 300 more students than are currently enrolled, so that facility should be able to easily handle future growth of the community.

Pospisil: I believe they are. Growth is a good problem to have. It means the community is also growing. The patrons of CPS have put us in a great position with approving the high school construction and middle school shift. That doesnt, however, mean we dont have to continue to monitor and prepare in the event it spikes even further.

Goos: The completion of the new Columbus High project, repurposing of the current high school to Columbus Middle School (serving grades 5-8) and alleviating student enrollment pressures in the elementary schools will provide the youth of Columbus quality educational opportunities for the next 50 years.

Willoughby: Our new high school has been designed in such a way that there are several areas where additions can be added should growth in the student population someday warrant it. Our elementary buildings should benefit from the switch from K-5 to K-4.

Question: Is CPS curriculum doing a good job of preparing graduates for careers in the workplace or to go on to a two- or four-year college?

Becher: Yes, the CPS curriculum is fully articulated K-12, so you can be assured that no matter where your child attends school that he or she is getting the same quality education. The introduction of STEM into all grades is making students more aware of the fields that are available for their future and more prepared to make decisions about their area of study. At the high school level, students and their parents/guardians can choose whether they want college preparatory courses in order to be ready for a four-year college, or more general courses in the core classes with specialized technical courses to prepare for two-year degrees and the workforce.

Pospisil: CPS has an outstanding staff who does a great job preparing our students for careers or college. The new STEM academy will further that development. We have also taken feedback from local employers on what they are seeing from new workers and used it to enhance our programs, along with improving the curriculum.

Goos: The STEM academies at CHS and CMS working in conjunction with area businesses and Central Community College will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills necessary for the 21st century. CPS is a progressive school district preparing the youth of our community for a future in which 70 percent of the careers that our current class of kindergartners will be employed in have yet to be created.

Willoughby: College preparatory curricula has always been strong at CHS in the four core areas: English, math, social studies and science. Our students have options to take dual-credit classes and/or AP courses to get a jump on college. The development of the STEM program will enable our students to learn the most innovative principles in science, technology, engineering and math. They can then determine whether they would like to pursue a two- or four-year program in college.
Using the analogy of surgical strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wondered what would have happened if the government had adopted similar strategy in the recent campaign against blackmoney, which unearthed Rs 65,000 crores.

"We gave some time to those who had generated black money (to declare it). You will be happy to know that Rs 65,000 crore in black money came into mainstream with payment of tax and penalty.

"Now think, Rs 36,000 crore that was leaking has been stopped (by direct benefit transfer), and Rs 65,000 crore of black money is unearthed, together it is Rs one lakh crore.

"And this Rs one lakh crore has been brought back without launching surgical strikes," Modi said, invoking the term used for recent operation by Army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

"If we do surgical strikes (in this area), you can imagine what all will come out," the Prime Minister said.

Modi said he has put up a sustained fight against corruption since he took charge.

"Against corruption, without much publicity I have put up a sustained fight. Government's assistance (now) goes directly in the bank accounts of beneficiaries, cutting out middlemen.

"Just by ensuring that right person gets the benefit and wrong person cannot take it, we have saved Rs 36,000 crore, which used to leak in the form of (subsidies for) gas cylinders, scholarship, pension," Modi said.

Modi, speaking at a camp to distribute 'assistive devices' to over 8,000 'Divyangs' (disabled persons) here, also criticised past governments for not doing enough for the disabled.

After distributing aid devices to the disabled, the Prime



Minister said, "Knowingly or unknowingly, this country has remained insensitive towards the Divyangs.

"The government buildings only had facility for healthy persons. We launched Sugamya Bharat mission, so that government buildings, hospitals, platforms are built in such a way that they have access facility for the Divyangs."



Previous governments did not do enough in this field, he said.

"Governments in the past had also worked in this direction. But you will be shocked to know that since 1992, when work started in this direction, till 2014, only 56 such camps (for distributing assistive devices) for Divyangs were organised. After this government came, 4,500 such programmes were held," Modi said.

"So far, 5.50 lakh Divyangs from across the country have been provided direct benefit.

"In the central government, I came to know that 16,500 posts for Divyangs were vacant. I told my Ministers to fill up these vacant posts. I can say with satisfaction that 14,500 such posts have been filled up," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also said his government had started work for having 'common sign language', as at present different sign languages are used in different parts of the country.

Referring to the country's economic growth, he said India was a bright spot in the world.

"Today in the entire world, one thing about this country is being praised. The world says that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Be it World Bank, IMF or credit-rating agencies, the entire world says in one voice that India is developing very fast.

"Solution to all problems lies in development. Only through development can illiteracy, disease, poverty be removed," Modi said.

"Remember the days of 2014, or 2013, what were the headlines? They did this much (corruption) in coal, so much in spectrum. Since the time you gave me the responsibility, in two and a half years the is (about) doing good for Divyangs, India's progress in world economy and development," Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the new integrated airport terminal here, which is now the country's second green airport after Kochi, and said such projects will encourage people to take up environment-friendly constructions.

Modi, who visited the city for the first time after becoming Prime Minister, said the airport will add another bright spot to the city.

"I am happy that after the formation of the new NDA government, two airports in the country have become a part of the green movement.

"The first was in Kochi and the second such airport is being dedicated to the nation at Vadodara. This airport will be zero discharge, waste to wealth, energy saving and environment friendly," he said.

"It will be considered as one of the top-class airports of the country," Modi said.

He said the airport is constructed on the principle of green infrastructure using bricks of fly ash.

"Construction of such iconic buildings on green concept will encourage citizens to take up construction on these lines," said the Prime Minister.

Spread in an area of 17,500 sq mt, the new integrated terminal has been built at a cost of Rs 160 crore. It has been designed to handle 700 passengers, including international fliers, per hour with 18 check-in counters, which would help in a seamless boarding process.

It took about seven years to complete the project as the then Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had laid the foundation stone in 2009.

The 8,100-meter-long runway of the Vadodra airport can handle small and narrow body aircraft such as Airbus 320 and Boeing 737s. Besides national carrier Air India, private airlines likes IndiGo and Jet airways are operating from here.

Stressing on the need to focus on connectivity for development, Modi said the first Railway University to be set up here is an important decision in this direction and will impact the next century.

"The government has taken a very important decision whose impact will be felt for nearly 100 years. And the decision is that country's first railway university will be constructed in Vadodara," Modi said addressing public after inaugurating the terminal.

Modi had won 2014 Lok Sabha elections with record landslide margin from Vadodara constituency. He also won from Varanasi and later vacated Vadodra.

The PM also said the varsity will help in carrying out innovation and modernisation for the Indian Railways.

"Connectivity is becoming very important in this century," he said.

He also brought up the work to increase the height of Sardar Sarovar dam in neighbouring Narmada district.

Modi said his government did two things soon after assuming office in 2014.

"The first was the permission to increase height of Sardar Sarovar dam, a work that was waiting since five decades, struggling, and facing difficulties," he said. The second he said was the airport project.

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Counterterrorism police investigating a suspicious package discovered on a London subway train say they have found another suspicious item in a property 200 miles (320 kilometers) away.

London's Metropolitan Police says officers were searching an address today in the southwest England town of Newton Abbot connected to a 19-year-old man arrested yesterday over the subway incident.

It says the house has been evacuated and officers from the local force and the anti-terrorism squad are "dealing with the item."



Part of London Underground was shut for several hours Thursday after a passenger discovered what police called a "suspicious item" on a train.

It was destroyed in a controlled explosion and is undergoing a forensic examination.

The suspect is being held on suspicion of "the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism acts.

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Delhi Police has refused to share the documents regarding the stabbing of a 21-year-old woman by a stalker in public, with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), the panel chief Swati Maliwal has claimed.

The woman, who was a teacher, was stabbed to death last month by her 34-year-old stalker, who attacked her nearly 22 times as passersby looked on in north Delhi's Burari area.

The deceased's family had alleged that the woman had lodged a complaint with Police in May against the stalker but no action was taken.

DCW had then issued notice to police to provide it the copy of woman's complaint and FIR registered in the said incident of murder.

"The response received from DCP, North District says that the sought documents cannot be shared with the commission as the same may hamper investigation. This is, needless to say, a baseless assumption.

"The copy of complaints and copy of FIR are routinely filed and used in court cases. It is unfathomable that it can be denied to a statutory body pursuing the case in discharge of its statutory mandate," Maliwal said.

The commission today issued summon to Virender Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police, Central Range, to appear before the panel on October 27 and submit the required documents besides explaining the cause of delay.

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President Pranab Mukherjee, who is scheduled to inaugurate a hospital and attend a series of lectures organised by an educational institute tomorrow, landed here tonight.

From the airport, the President left for Gandhinagar, where he will stay at the Raj Bhavan tonight.

Tomorrow, Mukherjee will head to Ankleshwar in Bharuch district to inaugurate a hospital.

He is visiting Ankleshwar on the invitation of Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a Rajya Sabha member.

Later, in the afternoon, Mukherjee will visit Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village near Gandhinagar. There, he will attend the lectures and an award function as the chief guest.

Knowledge Village is an educational institute run by the Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Shankersinh Vaghela, who briefed the mediapersons about the President's programme schedule.

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Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism will be highlighted before the top leadership of Bahrain by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his three-day visit to the Gulf kingdom beginning tomorrow during which both sides will discuss on how to enhance anti-terror cooperation.

Singh will meet Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and will discuss with them various bilateral issues.

Pakistan's continuous support to cross border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be raised by the Home Minister in his meetings with the top leadership of Bahrain, official sources said.

There will be extensive discussions on how to enhance bilateral cooperation with regard to tackling terror and each other's fugitives at the meeting between Singh and his Bahrain counterpart Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, sources said.

Bahrain is a key member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in which Pakistan is also a member.

Singh will also address the Indian community in Bahrain during his trip.

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Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani today said with 90 per cent of defence equipment being imported, there is huge opportunity for domestic manufacturing and his group has identified two locations in Madhya Pradesh for setting up production facilities.

Ambani said India has relaxed FDI norms in the defence sector and hoped that Madhya Pradesh gets the benefits of the same.

"I am confident that Madhya Pradesh will move ahead, and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi we have seen opening on defence sector. Reliance Group is participating in that, we hope that for Make in India programme, Skill India programme, we will invest in the defence sector in Madhya Pradesh," he said.

Speaking at the Global Investors Summit, Ambani said his Group has identified two locations - one in Pithampur and another in Bhopal -- for defence manufacturing.

"Defence is a key priority (of government). 90 per cent of our equipment is imported and there is a huge huge opportunity for us to do things in India," he said.

Talking about the Group's investment in the state, Ambani said, "We have one of our largest investments in MP...We have investment of nearly USD 6 billion".

The Group has set up a 4,000 MW power plant in MP and it makes the state competitive in terms of its overall energy cost to attract future investments specially in capital intensive industries.

"Fiscally it helped Madhya Pradesh saving about Rs 5,000 crores a year and over Rs 1.25 lakh crore will be the saving for MP because of the Sasan 4,000 MW plant," he said, adding the Group is committed to looking at future investments in the energy sector.

"Madhya Pradesh like other states is on the treadmill and everytime the speed is changing. I think the industry is spoiled for choice today which at one level is a good thing. I don't think that we are spoilt for choice in terms of leadership, we still believe that Madhya Pradesh is one of the leading states," he said.

Industry, Ambani said, is interested in clarity, stability and a timeline. "If states decide not to do certain things, it is better you tell us upfront so that we can look at other options... Instability in the minds of investors is always a troubling point".

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Actor Vicky Kaushal feels lucky that there were reports of him being considered to play Raja Rawal Ratan Singh in "Padmavati", a role which will now be played by Shahid Kapoor.

Much before Shahid came on board for the role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama, there was a buzz that the 28-year-old "Masaan" star had auditioned for the role.

"To be very honest, I am so new in the industry so if Bhansali ji's name is associated with such a young guy for a film, even the that he was considering me, is a huge deal for me," Vicky told reporters here last night.

"It (the feeling) is like I've done a film, and it has become a hit. I am really grateful for whatever is happening in my life right now," he added.

He was speaking at the premiere of "A Death in a Gunj" at 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai film festival with Star.

Meanwhile, the actor is gearing up for his next, producer Ronnie Screwvala's upcoming venture.

The romantic-comedy marks Ronnie's return to film production after a gap of two years.

"I am going to start shooting for a film which is going to be produced by Rony Screwala and directed by Anand Tiwari. We will shoot it in the next two months, and it should be out by I think mid or sometime next year," Vicky said.

"It is something which I haven't done till now. It is a very light-hearted popcorn film."



According to reports, Ronnie will produce the film under his own banner, RSVP (Ronnie Screw(V)ala Productions).

Earlier, he headed the UTV Group.

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A three-day meeting of the All India Executive Council of the RSS is scheduled to commence here from tomorrow and BJP chief Amit Shah is likely to attend it on the opening day, sources in the organisation said today.

The inaugural session of the meeting of the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarini Mandal will be inaugurated by Sangh supremo Mohan Bhagwat, senior leader of the organisation Manmohan Vaidya said here.

RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi will preside over the meetings and Shah was likely to attend tomorrow's event, he added.

"Nearly 400 senior RSS volunteers, representing every state, will participate. There will be discussions on RSS shakhas, social and service activities and national and social issues," Vaidya said, adding, "We will discuss the national scenario and some resolutions on key national issues may also be passed."



To a question on the Uniform Civil Code and the 'triple talaq' row, he said, "It is not a part of the agenda here...If the Law Commission has sought the opinions of the people, they should voice them."



Vaidya claimed that the younger generation was getting attracted towards the RSS as it had received nearly 65,000 online requests to join the organisation in the last six months, which he said was 35 per cent more, compared to the same period last year.

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Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India, Saud Mohammed Alsati, today met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and expressed interest to make investments in the state.

Observing that the cultural heritage of Hyderabad is linked to Saudi Arabia, Rao recalled that the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad Mahabub Ali Pasha built a 'rubaat' (a home for stay) in Saudi for the benefit of Haj pilgrims from Telangana, a release from Chief Minister's office said.

Rao requested that a Consulate of Saudi be set up in Hyderabad and the envoy said the matter is already being considered by them, it said.

Noting that Telangana government is ready to revive the old friendship with Saudi, he said industrial investments would help strengthen the ties.

The Ambassador responded positively on the matter, the release said.

Rao explained the state government's industrial policy and also the welfare and development schemes being implemented for minorities, it said.

The Saudi envoy said his country is giving 460 scholarships to Indian youth, irrespective of their religious identity, the release added.

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COLUMBUS  A cloud of dust formed in the air around James Gaunt as he used a sandblaster to remove white paint from a giant anchor.

The maintenance technician at Behlen Mfg. Co. had been working on cleaning the 15-feet-tall anchor for a couple of days, prepping the piece to be shipped to Duo Lift Manufacturing, where it will get a fresh coat of maroon paint and be fitted for a stand.

The anchor's final resting spot will be the new Columbus High School under construction near 33rd Avenue and Lost Creek Parkway.

The Columbus Public Schools Foundation took on the project to market and promote CHS.

Not everyone can say they have a 30,000-pound anchor in Nebraska. For Columbus to have that is a great opportunity not only for the school but the whole town, said Kim Kwapnioski, the foundation's executive director.

The anchor, which cost $18,000, will be a showpiece at the high school that's scheduled to open in March. Foundation members brainstormed ways to include alumni in the building process and came up with the idea of using an anchor as a focal point. The display will also include a wall with donors' names etched into bricks.

A nautical theme seemed fitting for the Discoverers. The anchor was located in a California shipwreck farm by scouring the internet and enlisting the help of Florida-based company Blue Ocean Tackle.

Kwapnioski said Behlen was instrumental in getting the anchor to Columbus. It arrived at the local manufacturing plant Monday for cleaning and sandblasting.

Tom Wrigley, vice president of manufacturing at Behlen, said the anchor is in good shape with no noticeable cracks.

While cleaning the anchor, a date of 1949 was found embedded on one of the sides.

We are hoping to find more identifying marks to learn more about its history, Wrigley said.

Jim Hellbusch, owner of Duo Lift, said the first step for his business in the project is creating a stand for the anchor, then painting it maroon, one of the school colors.

Duo Lift focuses on designing and manufacturing trailers for agricultural, commercial and industrial markets, but Hellbusch didnt hesitate when the business was asked to be part of the CHS project.

The second the school called, I said, Yes, Ill do it. Its for the school and the community, he said.

Wrigley echoed those comments.

This is a good project that the whole community supports and gets involved in. Everybody puts a little bit in and we do a good thing, he said.

When the project is finished, Kwapnioski said the anchor will be placed near the entrance on the south side of the school next to the donor wall and benches. She envisions it becoming a great art piece for the community.

Donations can be made to sponsor a brick or one of the 20 links on the anchors chain. To make a donation, call Kwapnioski at 402-563-7000, ext. 13085 or email her at kwapnioskik@discoverers.org.
Scotland Yard is probing a chemical incident at London City Airport today, a day after several people were treated for breathing difficulties, leading to mass evacuation and delays in flights.

Metropolitan Police officers have discovered what is "believed to be a CS gas spray" or tear gas spray, a Met Police spokesperson said.

"At this early stage, officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in," the spokesperson said.

About 500 people were evacuated from the east London airport after some passengers felt unwell. Two people were taken to hospital and 26 others treated at the spot.

The cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, but Met officers are investigating if it was the result of an "accidental discharge".

The Met have said they are not treating the case as terrorist-related.

A London City spokesperson said, "We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused today when an alarm was activated, triggering a full evacuation of the airport terminal".

"Passengers were evacuated safely and we thank them for their patience. Following the evacuation, some individuals reported feeling unwell and were treated at the scene by London ambulance service," the spokesperson said.

Emergency services responded to the evacuation, citing a possible chemical incident, with firefighters and police officers jointly conducting sweeps of the airport building.

"The search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas spray. While the cause of the incident has yet to be confirmed, officers are investigating whether it was the result of an accidental discharge of the spray.

"The airport was declared safe and reopened later. Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest information regarding their flights," officials said.

The closure of the airport led to travel chaos as all flights were suspended. Several incoming planes from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Belfast City and Paris were diverted to other airports.

The airport was reopened after about three hours yesterday and is running as normal today.

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A senior Egyptian army officer who played a major role in destroying terrorists' hideouts was shot dead today near his house, officials said.

Brigadier General Abdel Ragaei was targeted by some unknown militants when he was leaving his house for work at Obour city, about 35 kilometers north-east of Cairo.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

A military funeral is expected to be held here today which will be attended by officials, leaders and military personnel, media reports said.

Ragaei had worked in North Sinai for a long period and had a major role in the army operations there to destroy tunnels that leads to Gaza strip.

Egypt has witnessed a series of terrorist attacks which targeted policemen, judges and military personnel in different parts of the country.

Since the 2011 revolution that topped ex-president Hosni Mubarak, the country's restive North Sinai, which is the base of a number of extremist outlaw groups, became the main stage of many violent attacks by gunmen.

The attacks even increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following massive protests against his rule.

Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses belonging to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza strip.

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Maharashtra's Namdeo Shirgaonkar, general secretary of the Modern Pentathlon Federation of India, has become the general secretary of the Asian federation too.

Shirgaonkar defeated South Korean rival Sankeong Yeo by a comfortable margin in the elections to AMPC held in Kyrgyztan on October 19 to end Korea's domination of this post for the last quarter century, a media release said today.

Shirgaonkar is a member of the Indian Olympic Association's executive committee and with his election as general secretary the AMPC head quarters will shift to India, the release said.

He has been congratulated by Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and also by Dr H C Schormann, President Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), the release added.

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Apprehending possible closure of the Sum Hospital where 23 people died in a fire incident on October 17, the authorities of the Sikshya O Anusandhan University today said they would follow instructions and suggestions of the government and other agencies.

The Sikshya O Anusandhan University that runs the Institute of Medical Science and Sum Hospital (IMMSH) said the future of students should not be pushed to uncertainty.

It is essential for restoration of normal patient care and treatment in the Sum Hospital as it is a must for medical education, the SOA University said in a statement.

"We look forward to the guidance of the state government and different regulatory agencies in this regard. We will follow the instructions and suggestions of the authorities for achieving this goal," it said.

The SOA University has been making effort to restore normalcy in the Sum Hospital in areas of patient care and treatment as it is a must for medical education, it said, adding the present and future of the students of IMSSH are of "paramount importance".

There are 650 MBBS and 150 post-graduate students studying in IMSSH. Besides, 400 students study in the Institute of Dental Sciences, 1,000 students in the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and SUM Nursing College and 60 students of Masters in Hospital Administration, it said.

The closure of the Sardar Rajas Medical College at Bolangir has been an example as to how the future of medical students could plunge into uncertainty, it said.

Following withdrawal of Medical Council of India's recognition and affiliation to the Sardar Rajas Medical College due to poor infrastructure, 41 of its students are now studying in IMMSH.

The statement claimed that 669 patients were being treated in the hospital and 820 others visited the Out Patient Department during the day.

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Bollywood actor John Abraham said he was initially apprehensive to ask his co-star Sonakshi Sinha to do action sequences in their upcoming film "Force 2".

In the second installment of "Force", an action drama, John and Sonakshi will be seen doing some heavy duty daredevil scenes.

"There was a scene where I and Sonakshi had to jump... And it was just second day of shoot. I was thinking should I tell her we have to jump... I was actually worried thinking what if she calls her dad (Shatrughan Sinha)," John told reporters here at the song launch event of "Force 2".

But the actor was happy to see that Sonakshi was very comfortable in the action scenes.

"She was like OK. Then I felt she was comfortable doing action sequences. It felt great to see her do action," he said.

The 43-year-old actor said he gets impressed when he sees actresses doing action.

"There is not enough action for heroines in films. We usually like to see them dancing most of the time," he said.

The song "Lal Rang" was launched in presence of lead actors John, Sonakshi, Tahir Raj Bhasin, director Abhinay Deo, producer Vipul Shah and Ajit Andhare of Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.

John said it was Abhinay's idea to give the actor's voice-over for the anthem song of "Force 2".

"Lal Rang" salutes India's unsung martyrs and for the first time ever John has lent his voice to a track.

"I had tears in my eyes while singing it. I also had anger while doing the song. It was a voice over but the experience was fantastic," John said.

The film, a sequel to the 2011 hit "Force", is due to release on November 18.

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Rockers Suzi Quatro and Wilko Johnson were awarded honorary doctorates from Anglia Ruskin University scholars in Cambridge, England.

The glam rocker and former Dr. Feelgood star donned their cap and gowns and joined students at a graduation ceremony at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, where she was made Honorary Doctor of Music and Johnson received the award of Honorary Doctor of Arts from Professor Iain Martin, Vice Chancellor of the university, reported Contactmusic.

Martin reportedly praised Quatro and called her an adopted East Anglian. She was born in the US but lives in Essex, England, where Johnson was born.

"Our university has enjoyed links with Suzi for some time, and she has expressed an interest in collaborating with us on a number of projects, specifically our popular music undergraduate degree course, and our ongoing work in music therapy," Martin said.

"As an adopted East Anglian, and a globally-recognised, pioneering talent in a previously male-dominated arena, Suzi will be an inspirational role model to our students."



Martin also called Johnson an "iconic East Anglian" and another role model for students as he shows the "creativity, talent, drive and dedication" needed to be successful.

Johnson was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2013 but he was declared cancer-free in 2014 after undergoing a radical operation.

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Tamils in Sri Lanka are feeling pessimistic due to lack of progress in reconciliation efforts by President Maithripala Sirisena who had promised to reach out to the minority community more vigorously than his predecessor, a UK-based diaspora group said today.

"Lack of urgency towards demilitarisation, normalisation in the North and East, insufficient effort to include all communities into the reconciliation processes and mixed messages emanating from the top political leadership on accountability and good governance are all contributing towards re-emergence of cynicism and pessimism among the Tamil people, a trend that ought to be addressed without delay," the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) said in a statement.

The London-based group commended the comments made by UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Rita Izsak-Ndiaye that to achieve peaceful co-existence "a comprehensive, well-planned and well-coordinated truth, reconciliation, healing and accountability process must take place".

"Izsak-Ndiaye's recommendation that the most pressing and emotive issues for minority communities - disappeared persons, return of occupied land, release of security-related detainees as well as demilitarisation - must be addressed urgently and her call that the views and aspirations of the minority communities must be taken into proper consideration in the Constitutional reform process, resonate fully with the Tamil community," the group said.

The Special Rapporteur's warning regarding stalled progress and the urgent need for concrete action to sustain the momentum for change reflect the prevalent view among several key observers on Sri Lanka, it said.

The group appealed to the Lankan government to embark on focussed and targeted initiatives towards accountability, political resolution and reconciliation so that the unique opportunity exists today to convert Sri Lanka into a modern, democratic, plural and prosperous country will not be squandered.

It said that on its part, it will do all it can to pro- actively contribute to consolidate and accelerate the progressive transition presently underway.

Sirisena, who came to power last year after ending former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's nearly a decade-long rule, had promised to reach out to the Tamils to pursue reconciliation more vigorously than Rajapaksa, who was known for his hardline Sinhalese nationalism.

On Thursday, a UN rights expert asked exhorted the Lankan government to return military-occupied land and reduce the role of the army in northern areas, a long-pending demand of the ethnic Tamils since the end of the nearly three-decade- long separatist war led by the LTTE in 2009 in which thousands of civilians were killed.

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who made an unsuccessful bid for the post of UN Secretary General a decade ago, has said contrary to perceptions China did not oppose his candidature and in fact voted for him in the first "straw poll" of the UN Security Council.

"As the candidate who came second last time, 10 years ago, when Ban Ki-moon was elected in similar circumstances, I followed the votes with interest. At the same time I read a number of references to the 2006 race that were, frankly, inaccurate," former diplomat Tharoor said in an article today in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

"While some things have been published, particularly in India, that I have preferred not to respond to out of respect for the conventions of confidentiality, one point is worth clarifying, particularly for readers in East Asia. It is simply untrue that my run for the secretary generalship, as India's official candidate, was scuttled by China," he said.

His article coincided with the election of former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres as the new UN Secretary General to succeed Ban, the former South Korean Foreign Minister who defeated Tharoor in 2006.

Referring to the importance of China's stand towards him before the election, Tharoor said "this was an obvious concern when the Indian government first mulled my candidacy. I mentioned it myself in my first conversation on the subject with then prime minister Manmohan Singh," he said.

"Beijing and New Delhi had not seen eye to eye for years over many issues, and there was an increasing perception that Washington, as well as some ASEAN capitals, were seeing newly resurgent India as a plausible counterweight to the overweening (and growing) international prominence of China," he said.

"Though India firmly disavowed any intention of playing such a role, there was always a possibility that China would see an Indian secretary general nominee as a tool in a broader strategy to cut China down to size on the world stage," Tharoor said giving a lengthy account of how he established contact with then Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

Narrating his meeting with Li in Beijing, Tharoor said "as the meeting drew to a close, his tone turned grave. He spoke slowly and clearly in English - 'Please convey to your government that China will not stand in your way. China will not stand in your way'. There was only one possible interpretation of these words: China would not use its veto to block me," he said.

"If China had already made its mind up in favour of another candidate, there was no sign of it. It was obvious to me that my nationality would not render me their preferred choice in the post, but this was a clear message that they would not explicitly oppose me either. It was now up to me to fare better than the other contenders," he said.

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"The foreign minister was as good as his word. When the first 'straw poll' took place at the Security Council in July, Ban led with 12 votes and I was second with 10. One of my 10 votes was China's," he said.

But at the same "as we subsequently learned, China had voted positively for all the Asian candidates, including me," he said.

Pointing his finger at the US, Tharoor said US did not want a strong candidate as UN Secretary General following its tiff with outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"We know the rest of the story from American sources, notably from 'Surrender Is Not An Option', the no-holds-barred memoir published by the then US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, who disloyally revealed that his instructions from then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice were 'We don't want a strong secretary general'," Tharoor said.

"Bolton's book confirmed that Wang had voted for all the Asian candidates on the first ballot; China then abstained on my candidacy on subsequent ballots but, as it promised, it never used its veto against me. That was done by the United States, which, Bolton reveals, backed Ban to the hilt and lobbied on his behalf with other Security Council members," he said.

"The bilateral relationship with (South) Korea, a perception of a lack of conviction on India's part, and the Bush administration's desire not to repeat the Annan experiment of a 'strong' secretary general - combined to ensure the US veto that scuttled my candidacy," he said.

"It had nothing to do with India's size, India's Security Council aspirations or indeed any political skulduggery at home," he said.

"Least of all did it have anything to do with China. Even if Beijing, as Bolton's memoir indicates, was quite happy with the outcome, China never did oppose me," he said.

Touching briefly on the present state of India-China ties, Tharoor said "current relations between India and China are complicated".

"On the positive side are a burgeoning USD 70 billion in bilateral trade (skewed heavily in China's favour), and promises of increased Chinese investment in India's growing economy, amid a relaxation by the Modi government of restrictions on Chinese involvement in such sectors as ports, power and telecom," he said.

"On the negative side are the continuing lack of progress in resolving their six-decade border dispute and Chinese diplomatic actions in support of Pakistan. Global geopolitics continues to pit India and China against each other on some issues even as they cooperate on others," he said.

"It is in the interest of all Asians that the two regional giants should manage their complicated relationship constructively. But there is no reason at all to add to these complications a problem that never existed. Ten years ago, China did not stand in my way," he said.
Three convicts have fled from Tripura Central Jail at Bishalgarh, about 15 km from here, a jail official said today.

Three convicts, who were given life imprisonment by a court in 2014, have fled from the jail, which was noticed during counting of heads last evening, Superintendent of Jail, Santosh Bahadur told reporters.

He said an FIR was lodged at the Bishalgarh police station last night and all police stations in the state have been alerted. However, the convicts were still absconding.

Bahadur said the convicts might have fled from the jail by scaling water pipes.

They were identified as Milan Debbarma, Swarna Kumar Tripura and Rabindra Tripura.

The Jail Superintendent said police was investigating the case.

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Martin Lawrence, Tichina Arnold and Tisha Martin reunited on to bid farewell to their late TV co-star Tommy Ford.

The "Martin" sitcom star passed away at an Atlanta, Georgia medical centre on October 12, three days after he was hospitalised with a ruptured aneurysm in his abdomen. He was 52.

A week after his death, his family and friends gathered for his funeral, and "Martin" castmate Carl Payne took to Instagram to share a photo of himself with Tichina and Tisha at the memorial service, reported Contactmusic.

In the caption, he wrote, "Today wasn't easy. We laid our brother to rest."



"However through God's grace and the love, support, and prayers of friends, family and loved ones all is well, all remember and celebrate the man who brought so much joy and laughter to our lives.. Tommy Ford."



He added, "P.S. Martin was here... Just not in the picture".

Posting the same snap on her social media page, Tichina wrote, "Today was not easy... But by the grace of God we all got through it. Words cannot express our gratitude for all of your Prayers, Positive thoughts and Support for us throughout the years. Tommy will be missed but most certainly never forgotten...

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A ceasefire in the Syrian army's Russian-backed assault on rebel-held Aleppo appeared to expire today with the UN saying it had been unable to evacuate anyone from the ravaged city.

Moscow had extended the unilateral "humanitarian pause" into a third day until 1600 GMT today, but announced no further renewal of the truce despite a UN request for longer to evacuate wounded civilians.

Neither residents nor rebels in the opposition-held part of the city heeded calls from Syria's army and Moscow to leave, after weeks of devastating bombardment and a three-month government siege.

The pause began on Thursday, and came after Moscow announced a temporary halt to the Syrian army's campaign to recapture the divided city.

The army opened eight corridors for evacuations, but just a handful of people crossed through a single passage, with the others remaining deserted.

"Members of popular civil committees from regime districts entered the eastern neighbourhoods to try to evacuate the injured but failed," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said today.

Syrian state media and Russian authorities have accused rebels in the east of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as "human shields".

More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed.

The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid.

But a UN official said today that the requisite security guarantees had not been received.

"You have various parties to the conflict and those with influence and they all have to be on the same page on this and they are not," said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian office.

The UN had drawn up a four-day plan that would start with two days of medical evacuations to west Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib province, and Turkey, and continue with more evacuations as well as aid deliveries.

No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of the month, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Thursday.

The UN had asked Moscow to consider extending the pause until Monday evening, but there was no word of any extension as the 1600 GMT deadline passed.

Moscow accuses rebels of preventing civilians from leaving.

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Republican presidential nominee on Saturday announced plans for his first 100 days in office if elected president which included steps like declaring China a currency manipulator, cancelling payments to the United Nations for combating climate change and renegotiating the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

"I'm not a politician, and have never wanted to be one. But when I saw the trouble our country was in, I knew I couldn't stand by and watch any longer. Our country has been so good to me, I love our country, I felt I had to act," Trump said in his address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

"Change has to come from outside this broken system. The fact that the Washington establishment has tried so hard to stop our campaign is only more proof that our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime," he said while releasing details of his plans which he described as a 'Contract with the American voter'.

He urged the American people to "rise above the noise and the clutter of broken politics" and to embrace faith and optimism that has always been the central ingredient in the American character.

"I am asking you to dream big," the 70-year-old business tycoon asserted.

"What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between Donald J Trump and the American voter and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington," Trump said.

Among his other first 100 days measures included a lifetime ban on White House officials to lobby on behalf of foreign governments, a requirement that for every new federal regulation two existing regulations must be eliminated, a five year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service and a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.

This, he said, would clean up the corrupt system.

Trump said on his first day, he would announce his intention to renegotiate the Nafta or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205.

"I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator. I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and US Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately," he said.

"I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars' worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal. I will lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward and I will cancel billions in payments to UN climate change programs and use the money to fix America's water and environmental infrastructure," Trump said.
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton described her rival Donald Trump as a "threat to American democracy" for refusing to honour results of the general elections.

"On wednesday night, Donald Trump did something no other presidential nominee has ever done. He refused to say that he would respect the results of this election. By doing that, he is threatening our democracy," Clinton said at an election rally in Ohio.

Clinton's remarks were followed by two round of booing by the audience against Trump, who during the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday said that he can't commit at this point if he will accept the results of the presidential elections.

"He (Trump) is basically saying hey, we have been around 240 years and we have always had peaceful transitions no matter who won or who lost. Look, if you lose an election -- I have lost elections, you don't feel very good the next day, do you? But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right?" Clinton said.

"The peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart. It is how we hold our country together no matter who is in charge. I went to 112 countries as your secretary of state and I saw the difference between what we do and what others do, I was in countries where people jail their political opponents or execute them or exile them or invalidate elections that they didn't win," she said.

"That can never be allowed to happen here. I believe that's true no matter who you support in this election, whether or not you support me. Or you support my opponent, together, we must support American democracy and the country that has given every one of us so many opportunities," she said while urging her supporters to come out and vote.

Clinton also slammed the economic policies of Trump alleging that he plans to give tax cuts to the wealthy.

"He really believes if you give trillions, that's with a T, trillions in tax cuts to the wealthy, to millionaires and billionaires and corporations, everything will work out.

"It's really trickle down on steroids. I believe differently that we must invest in working families in the middle class, in small businesses, that will boost the economy," the Democratic presidential nominee said.

She said we are going to get the economy to work for



everyone, not just for those at the top who have done well over the last years.

"Donald likes to say that he is on the side of American workers but his actions tell a different story. He has been buying cheap Chinese steel and aluminum for his construction projects when he should be buying good American made steel that supports good American jobs," Clinton said.

She said for all of Trump's talk about putting America first, he has made his products in at least 12 other countries.

"Trump's suits were made in Mexico. They could have been made in Brooklyn, Ohio. Trump's furniture is made in Turkey and it could have been made in Cleveland. Trump barware is made in Slovenia instead of Toledo. So if he wants to make America great again, why doesn't he start by making things in America again? And we also know that he hasn't paid a dime in federal income tax for years," Clinton said.

She believes that the country is at a turning point, that this is a crossroads election.

"So yes my name may be on the ballot, but the question really is, who are we as a country? What are our values? What kind of future do we want to create together? It is so easy to get cynical about politics, believe me, I know that. But this matters so deeply to our families and our communities and our country, and indeed our world," she said.

"So I want to say something to people who may be reconsidering their support for my opponent. I know you may still have questions for me. I respect that, I want to answer them, I want to earn your vote.

"I am reaching out to all Americans, Democrats, Republicans and independents. I think America needs every single one of us to bring our energy and our talents, our ambition to build that better country," said the former Secretary of State.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter will celebrate the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in the crucial swing state of Virginia with the members of the Indian-American community, who have traditionally supported the Democratic party in the US polls.

Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali with Indian-Americans during her visit to the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, campaign officials and community leaders said.

This is the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple.

Last week, Trump attended a charity event organised by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian- American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people.

The visit of Ivanka, 34, a successful businesswoman and a key figure of the Trump campaign, to the Rajdhani Temple would "go a long way in breaking the stereotype," that the campaign "represents only angry white voters," said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia.

"This is a big positive for the community," he told PTI.

Inaugurated in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade.

In addition to recognising the significant role the Indian-American community plays in the US and embracing its cultural and religious diversity, the Trump Campaign's move to send Ivanka to a Hindu temple is seen as an effort to woo this ethnic community in the November 8 presidential election.

The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.

There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members.

Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feel its latest movewould help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.

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Trump Campaign officials in Virginia believe that in a closely-contested election, Indian-Americans can play a crucial role in determining the fate of the state results.

In the past week, Trump Campaign has announced to spend as much as USD 3 million in campaign advertisement in the state.

The Republican Party delegation to the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer was led by an Indian-American.

Virginia is also home to Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine, who has a wide support base among the community.

But the campaign of Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has a strong support base in the Indian-American community, has been focused on fund-raising activities.

Kaine held a major fund-raiser at the house of prominent Indian-American Shekar Narasimhan. Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook held afund-raiser at the residence of another Indian-American in Potomac, Maryland today.

Clinton herself attended a fund-raiser at the residence of another Indian-American in McLean Virginia.

None of these events were open to the public.

Either Clinton or any of her family members were yet to appear at a major Indian-American event this election.
Turkey hit Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria for the second time in less than 72 hours, the military said today, as Ankara vowed further action.

Rockets struck 70 People's Protection Units (YPG) targets yesterday, the Turkish armed forces said in a statement that did not reveal whether any militia fighters had been killed.

The strikes came after two Ankara-backed Syrian opposition fighters were injured when YPG forces opened fire south of the flashpoint town of Jarabulus, the military said, quoted in the official Anadolu agency.

Turkey views Syria's YPG and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as terror groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), staging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened further action against the YPG and PYD, saying that if they "continued to attack (Syrian opposition fighters) fighting against Daesh", the Islamic State group, Turkey would "do what is necessary".

Quoted by Anadolu, the minister again accused the YPG of seeking to create its own larger "canton" rather than focusing on the fight against IS, pointing to "attacks on moderate opposition" as evidence of this.

The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

Late Wednesday, Turkish jets struck YPG positions and the armed forces claimed they killed up to 200 fighters from the group, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll lower.

The monitor said at least 11 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- a US-backed alliance of about 30,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters -- were killed and 24 wounded.

Turkey has clashed with the United States over the YPG, with the Americans' support to the Syrian Kurdish militia causing friction between the two NATO allies.

Despite Ankara's protests, Washington believes the YPG is the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday the US was making a mistake supporting the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

"Unfortunately their use by the United States against Daesh (IS) and being supplied with arms is a big mistake. We have made it clear to them," he said.

On August 24 Ankara launched an operation in northern Syria to remove IS from its border and stop the YPG's westward advance.

Turkey has sent dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops into Syria to support rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad's ouster, and the army says 1,265 square kilometres (488 square miles) have been secured since August.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has pardoned more than 1,500 prisoners as the gas-rich country celebrates 25 years of independence from the USSR, state television reported today.

"On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence, 1,523 citizens are being released from prison," television reported.

Such amnesties are held several times a year to coincide with major public holidays in Turkmenistan, one of the world's most tightly controlled countries.

The latest pardons were linked to upcoming celebrations on October 27 and 28 of 25 years since the Central Asian country left the Soviet Union.

State television reported that the president had asked local government officials to help those pardoned find jobs.

This is the fourth mass pardoning by the president of the isolated Central Asian country this year, according to official information. Previous amnesties this year released 2,950 people, including 26 foreigners.

Turkmenistan's prison system is one of the most secretive in the world and international organisations are not able to gain access inside jails.

Prisoners convicted of drug offences, murder or treason are not eligible for pardons in the country, where the death penalty was outlawed in 1999.

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Justice VK Bist of Uttarakhand High Court here was today rushed to Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, by a helicopter after he complained of uneasiness during court hours.

Justice Bist was flown to the hospital by the helicopter Congress leader and senior Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibbal used for commuting to Nainital from New Delhi to appear for Harish Rawat in a sting operation case.

This is second time within a month when Justice Bist had to be rushed to Medanta Hospital by helicopter after he felt uneasy.

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BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who is in the eye of a storm for allegedly leaking defence secrets to controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma, today rejected the charges against him as false and frivolous and said he will take legal action against those who deliberately sought to tarnish his reputation.

The Sultanpur MP issued a detailed statement addressed to "my fellow countrymen," in which he made point by point rebuttal to the allegations levelled against him as he insisted that there is "no one grain of truth or one shred of evidence" in them.

While he was a member of both the Defence Standing Committee and the Defence Consultative Committee from 2009, he said he never attended a meeting of the Consultative Committee and very few of the Standing Committee.

"Clearly, I was neither actively seeking out nor passing on any information. Had there been any hidden agenda or motivation as alleged in the letter it would have been reflected in my attendance...

"I would like to point out the false and frivolous nature of its (letter) charges, and the impossibility of these allegations." Gandhi said.

Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav had on Thursday released a letter written by Edmonds Allen, a New York-based lawyer, to the PMO last month that Varun was honey trapped and compromised by Verma.

He alleged that Verma "blackmailed" Varun, a member of the Defence Consultative Committee, into sharing sensitive information on crucial arms matters.

Allen, who was a partner of Verma, fell out with him in 2012. Verma is facing trial in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case.

"I have never met Edmonds Allen, who has written this letter containing these allegation. Nor do I have any details of who he is, not what he does except as has been reported in the press of him being a former associate of Abhishek Verma," Gandhi said in the statement.

"I first made acquaintance with Verma whan I was a college student in England. He was introduced as the son of late Veena and Shrikant Verma, both Members of Parliament from a reputed family. We met socially over a short period of time. It has been many years since we last met. At no point did we ever discussed work, neither his nor mine," he said.

Bhushan alleged that despite having all the details, BJP government did not blacklist Thales, the company that sold scam-tainted Scorpene submarines, as Dassault acquired it.

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Gandhi also questioned the timing of the allegations.

"While I am confident that no right thinking person places any credence in these allegations, what I find worrying is that such baseless accusations are made at a time when the entire nation is united behind our brave defence forces," he said.

Terming the statement released by the Swaraj Abhiyan leaders as "deeply disturbing", he said it is allegedly based on a letter containing "wild and unsubstantiated" charges against him.

The allegations against Verma by Allen have long been the subject of detailed investigations by both the CBI and the ED, he said, adding that charge sheets have been filed.

"It is ludicrous to suggest that I was ever blackmailed as I had done nothing wrong. It is even more bizarre to claim that I leaked top secret defence information from the Defence Parliamentary Committee when every MP is well aware that no sensitive defence information is shared with such a parliamentary panel.

"As a first time MP of the opposition party, I could not have had any access to any confidential information, far from leaking it," Gandhi said.

The BJP MP said it is "unethical" that such allegations should have been publicly aired without being scrutinised, verified or even clarified.

He said Allen might have targeted a public figure like him to seek "maximum publicity" and quoted media reports to suggest that he was doing so after his business dealings with Verma went sour.

"I have needlessly been sought to be embroiled into a controversy in which I have no part," he said.

"My family and I have been deeply traumatised by these lies. I am taking legal recourse against those who have deliberately sought to tarnish my reputation and public standing.

"Here, I simply wanted to share the truth without delay so that such mischief is nipped in the bud. I owe everything to this great nation and shall always endeavour to live up to the faith and trust reposed in me," he said.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday called for increased cooperation between oil-rich nations to stabilise prices as he met with the supreme leader and president of Iran.

"To stabilise the price of oil, new mechanisms should be taken and consultation among oil-producing countries, be they members or non-members of the Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), should increase," Maduro said, according to the website of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Venezuela's economic and political crisis has been compounded by the collapsing oil price, and Maduro hopes that other oil-rich countries will agree to cap production in order to boost global prices.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei implied that the falling price of oil was "an instrument" imposed by the US to "put pressure on independent countries", his official site said.

"We can adopt a rational policy and reinforce our cooperation to prevent these plots and this hostile policy," Khamenei said.

Maduro also received support from Rouhani, who said: "Iran backs any effort bringing stability, fair price and members' fair share to the oil market."

The Venezuelan leader arrived in Tehran following a meeting earlier on Saturday with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, during which Maduro reportedly said that a deal was close between the Opec and the non-Opec nations, according Iran's IRNA news agency.

He is also due to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Opec members agreed to limit production for the first time since 2008 at an informal meeting in Algiers in September.

They are due to formalise the deal when they meet on November 30, amid doubts from market analysts over whether it can be effectively implemented.

Maduro's tour of the Middle East comes as a furious opposition back home vowed mass street protests over the government's move to block a recall referendum against the unpopular president.

Maduro has accused Washington of plotting to overthrow him, and brands the crisis a capitalist conspiracy.
Veteran stand-up comedian-actor Kevin Meaney has passed away. He was 60.

The comedian was found unresponsive in his home Friday. Meaney's agent confirmed that he was found in his home in Forestburgh, New York, and that an autopsy is pending, said The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedy world, including Patton Oswalt, Judd Apatow, Roseanne Barr and Michael McKean, paid tribute to Meaney on social media following the .

"Kevin Meaney was as funny as they get and the nicest man," Apatow tweeted. "He could make you lose your mind laughing."



McKean wrote, "Kevin Meaney was a great standup, a terrifically funny actor and a very nice man. RIP."



Meaney was a stand-up comedian for more than 25 years, with his first HBO special airing in 1986, according to his website.

Since then, he has appeared on "The Tonight Show" Starring Johnny Carson, "Late Show With David Letterman", "Oprah" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien".

He appeared on the 1990 sitcom "Uncle Buck" as well as the Tom Hanks film "Big".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India today said MNS' call to end the protest against "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" will not affect its decision to ban the film's screening in four states-- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka but it is open to discussion with director Karan Johar.

COEAI announced last week that it won't screen films with Pakistani actors putting "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" in trouble as it stars Fawad Khan. The film is set to hit theatres on October 28 just before Diwali.

"The stand we took earlier continues even now. The final stand will be taken by the executive committee on Monday. We can't talk about the future but right now we stick to our stand."



"Our stand was not according to MNS. Ours is different. MNS sat with them and discusses the issue and sorted it out... Karan Johar should come to us and talk to us... There is always a solution," Nitin Datar, who is the President of COEAI, told PTI.

MNS' decision to officially call off the protests came after Johar, Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt and Raj Thackeray met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his residence 'Varsha' here this morning.

When asked if COEAI is ready to meet Johar, Datar said, "Why should any association or person refuse to talk? If MNS can solve the problem why others can't do that? It does not mean the problem will get solved but unless you come together how can we say anything? They solved the problem by discussing 'patriotic terms' and paying money and Karan Johar agreed to that.

"Regarding our problem and dealing, he has to call us. Someone has to approach. This is the statement I gave earlier also that there is always a scope for settlement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman today tweeted to Hyderabad police and the Telangana DGP alleging that she was harassed by a cab driver.

"Cab guy car-harassed me, followed me to my house trying to intercept me, run me off the road. Equal parts infuriating & scary! (sic)," she said in the tweet.

Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma asked the city police on Twitter to "track the cab and the driver and update".

To which, Hyderabad police responded: "her commuted limits are under the jurisdiction @cyberabadpolice was informed to the #cyberabadpolice (sic)."



Cyberabad police said they were waiting for her to lodge a complaint.

The woman, in another tweet, thanked the Telangana DGP and Hyderabad police, saying, "Your team has been great so far. Hopefully he is caught.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds of wounded civilians were stranded in rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo today after the UN said security concerns had prevented evacuation convoys even as Russia extended a ceasefire into a third day.

The unilateral "humanitarian pause" in the Syrian army's devastating Russian-backed assault on the opposition-controlled east of the city has largely held since it began on Thursday morning.

The army has said it is an opportunity for civilians and rebel fighters who lay down their arms to leave.

But so far there have been no organised evacuation convoys and only a handful of the 250,000 civilians still living in the rebel sector have left under their own steam.

An AFP photographer in the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood at one of the crossings over the front line the army has set up for evacuations said it was deserted today morning.

After three months of siege by the army and nearly four weeks of relentless air strikes by Syrian and Russian warplanes, trust in government assurances of safe passage is minimal.

Yesterday, the UN human rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Damascus.

The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid.

More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed.

But, yeserday, a UN spokesman said evacuations had been delayed because of security concerns.

"Medical evacuations of sick and injured could unfortunately not begin this morning as planned because the necessary conditions were not in place," said Jens Laerke of the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA).

In the face of a mounting international outcry over Aleppo's plight, Moscow announced that the ceasefire, which was originally scheduled to last just eight hours, would be extended until 1600 GMT today.

But Laerke said that was not long enough and the United Nations has asked Russia to consider a further extension until Monday evening.

David Swanson, an OCHA spokesman in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, said a four-day plan had been drawn up to begin with two days of evacuations to government-held areas of Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib province to the west or over the border to Turkey.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India hopes to reach a deal with Britain for facilitating short-term visas for Indian students, academicians and businessmen during Prime Minister Theresa May's visit, Acting High Commissioner to the UK Dinesh Patnaik has said.

"I am hopeful, certain things will happen," he said.

"I hope we will have a deal on Britain facilitating short-term visas for students, academicians and businessmen from India and these categories should not be in the migration list," Patnaik told reporters.



ALSO READ: 10 business opportunities for travellers in India Noting that May's visit is important for India, he said "This is her first bilateral visit and India is her first trip outside the continent. UK-India, we have a very very long umbilical relationship." "It is an official visit and she will be heading a high-level 160-strong delegation. The trade delegation also assumes importance because of the Brexit scenario," he added. "Post-Brexit, they will need it and they want to increase trade outside EU. The discussion will focus on framework of post-Brexit trade deal." On the Indian side, he said "what we want is ease of doing business - access to the UK, both for students, academicians and businessmen."

ALSO READ: Mukesh Ambani wealthier than 14 Indian states, UTs



He noted that a large number of tourists visit Europe but return home because of visa restrictions.

India wants Britain to extend visa concessions given to Chinese to be extended to Indians - 6 months to 2 years visa for 87 pound.

He said many companies here are shifting their jobs to India. In the next 3 to 4 months, about 2,000 jobs are expected to go to India.
Fliers on major domestic routes will soon have to shell out more for flights to fund the government's regional connectivity scheme announced on Friday which will ca p airfares at Rs 2,500 for half of the seats in onehour flights to small airports. The civil aviation ministry will create a Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF), which will be funded by a levy or fee per departure on domestic flights.

The cap on airfares would be reviewed periodically based on Consumer Price Index and would also vary in accordance with duration of a flight under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which has been named 'UDAN' (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik).

ALSO READ: Ambani says Jio isn't a "punt" but a well-engineered business



However, many of the existing airlines are of the view that such a move could push the airfares higher and the government should find other ways for funding the scheme. SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said, ``When you build a railway station it is not that you start penalising passengers for that railway station. So when you launch a scheme of this sort, perhaps the government needs to fund it from its budget instead of imposing more of a tax on consumers.'' The exact quantum of levy to be imposed would be decided in the coming days. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said,``We are cautiously optimistic about UDAN. The first flight under the scheme is expected to take off in January 2017.'' ALSO READ: Reliance Jio effect: Airtel launches another mega-data plan, now get 10GB for Rs 259



Under the scheme, mainly aimed at connecting unserved and under-served airports, airfares would be capped at Rs Govt to impose levy on air tickets to subsidize flights to small airports 2,500 for half of the seats in flights travelling a distance of 476 -500 kilometre. This works out to around a one-hour journey. As per the government, a participating carrier, which would be extended Viability Gap Funding (VGF), has to bid for at least 9 seats and a maximum of 40 seats. In the case of a helicopter, the operator has to bid for a minimum of 5 seats and a maximum of 13 seats. The limit of RCS airfare would vary from Rs 1,420 to Rs 3,500 for fixed-wing aircraft. For helicopters, half-an-hour ride under the scheme would cost Rs 2,500 and for over one- hour duration, the cap would be Rs 5,000. On each RCS route, the minimum frequency of flights would be 3 and a maximum of 7 in a week. Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the rules related to the levy will be printed in the gazette in two days while the executive order in this regard will be ready by month-end. The levy would be very small, he added. The airfare cap for every RCS route in a network proposal shall be based on the respective length/ flight duration of such RCS route and airfare caps specified under this scheme, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. ALSO READ: Jio free service offer available for subscription till Dec 3

Further, VGF per RCS seat for each RCS route in a network proposal shall be based on the respective length /flight duration of such RCS route and corresponding VGF caps specified under this scheme and the VGF per RCS seat bid/ quoted by the selected airline operator, it added.Airports Authority of India (AAI) would be the implementing agency for the scheme which would be in place for 10 years and the provisions would be reviewed at least once in three years. Choubey said that interested entities can submit their proposals to be part of the scheme from today. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the scheme would be shared by the Centre and the states concerned, for a limited period.Apart from VGF, the select airlines participating in the scheme will be extended various concessions, including 2 per cent excise duty on jet fuel drawn at RCS airports as well as lower VAT on the fuel.
The aviation minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju formally launched the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme that promotes regional connectivity and makes flying affordable for common man. The key highlight of the scheme is that airfares will be capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights on regional routes. The intent of the government is to fly 300 million domestic passengers by 2022 from 85 million in 2015/16. The target looks ambitious; and hence, the capping of fares is necessary.



ALSO READ: Govt has sought report on debit card data compromise: Arun Jaitley The opinions are divided on the purpose of UDAN. A lack of clarity on finer details creates ambiguity on the actual implementation. Going by the policy statement, any cost that airlines bear above Rs 2,500 will be borne by the government. But it's not as easy as it seems. For instance, scheduled airlines are free to fix tariffs taking into account cost of operation, characteristic of service, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing tariff. But who will decide the reasonable profits - government or airlines? Since there are no clear definitions of reasonable profits, it is open to various interpretations. Similarly, if an airline flies to a new destination with no flights, then there are no prevailing tariffs to refer to. Then, there are issues regarding the revival of airports in smaller towns. As per the national civil aviation policy, India has only about 75 operational airports/airstrips out of a total of 450. The revival of unutilized airports will be done if an airline shows interest in flying to a particular destination. Upon such request, the central government will work on building no-frill airport after taking inputs from concerned state government. But each such airport is expected to cost between Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore. The maintenance cost will be additional. What if the passenger demand may not be enough to support that kind of spending on infrastructure and subsidizing air fares? In the past, there are ample examples of airlines suspending operations to cities, especially smaller ones, due to poor passenger demand. That would burn a hole in the government's pocket, and unfair to keep spending taxpayers' money just to make flying affordable for a few.

ALSO READ: Baba Ramdev open to setting up Patanjali unit in Pakistan



According to global consultancy AT Kearney, there are about 33 airports in India where narrow-body Airbus and Boeing could land because; the remaining airports have short runways and a lack of high-speed runway exits. "For instance, Mysore, Kohlapur and Jamshedpur have potentially high-traffic airports that are hampered by inadequate flight accommodations. Although airstrips are undergoing some modernization, many would only be capable of handling regional aircraft in the medium term because of runway length restrictions. Even after modernization, demand out of such airports would be ideally served with a mix of both regional and narrow-body aircraft," says AT Kearney report. At the moment, a large chunk of aircraft flown in India (about 468) is narrow body. For instance, the largest carrier IndiGo flies just Airbus A320 (a narrow-body). Airlines would strongly resist introducing regional (or smaller) aircrafts such as turboprops in their fleet because of complexities associated with operating more than one type of aircraft.

A few airlines that BT spoke with says that they are not comfortable with government's involvement in fixing fares, even if it will lead to more passengers flying with them. The constant dealing (and negotiations) with government will be an added burden. However, some think otherwise. "The entire thing will be funded by the government. Of course, the devil is in detail but a policy statement is not supposed to go into detailing. It's for the first time the government has come up with an aviation policy. We should not draw conclusions so early," says Milan Zatakia, chairman and CEO of Millennium Aero Dynamics, an aircraft service provider and manufacturer.

Starting January next year, the first flight - where the tickets will be priced at Rs 2,500 per passenger - is likely to take off. To begin with, the scheme will be funded by a small levy on flight landings at key airports in the country. Flying has an aspirational value attached to it, and the idea of making flying affordable does have a mass appeal. Right now, it's largely driven by sops - given that costs are being borne by existing passengers and the government - rather than free market principles.
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While much of the nation is obsessed with creepy clowns this Halloween season, some Bronx residents are still living with a more pressing fear: zombie homes.

Many parts of the city have at least one so-called zombie home  homes that sit vacant after the owner defaults on a mortgage or files for bankruptcy.

They are often acquired by banks after a homeowner defaults on the mortgage.

But once abandoned by the owner, the homes can become serious eyesores for neighbors as the buildings fall into serious disrepair and lawns grow unfettered.

Banks know that if they foreclose on the mortgage theyre responsible for maintenance, said Senator Jeff Klein, who has railed against the problem in recent years.. No one really own them, and thats a real problem.

The zombie home epidemic does seem to be receding. Klein was able to get legislation signed by Gov. Cuomo in June that requires banks to maintain properties they own or face a $500 fine every day they are in violation.

Thats a major victory, Klein said. I dont know of any other state that does that

Klein cited a Logan Avenue property that had become a constant source of complaints from neighbors, until the legislation was passed.

The bank that owned it promptly cleaned it up and agreed to return periodically, he said.

Zombie homes can be reported at the NYS Department of Financial Services website, www.dfs.ny.gov.

There may be some more help on the horizon.

New York City will receive $350,000 from the state attorney generals office as part of the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, funded from $3.32 billion settlement with Morgan Stanley reached earlier this year.

The program, announced last week, is aimed at helping the city and 75 other municipalities track the number of abandoned properties and better maintain them by providing better code enforcement.

On Wallace Avenue in Morris Park, two abandoned homes sit on the 1900 block, just a few houses apart from one another.

Resident Holly Graham said the home at 1910 Wallace Avenue has been an eyesore for years, and only got worse after a new owner took it over.

It looks horrible, Graham said. Someone started fixing it up, but now it just looks like its been abandoned. Now its boarded up and has a tree growing out of it.

The city building department issued a stop work order on the property on June 2 2015.

However, a new work permit was issued Monday, October 17 for interior renovations, said building department spokesman Andrew Rudansky.

A new mortgage taken on by Bayport Funding LLC and Webster Business Credit Corporation on December 28, 2015 is listed on the Department of Finance website.

A resident of the home next door who declined to give her name said she and her husband had given up that the building would ever be resuscitated and said feral cats had overtaken the home. Feral stray cats could be seen entering and leaving the property.

Just down the block is 1932 Wallace, a three-story multi-family home that has also been boarded up and closed off. The home is covered in graffitti and weed.

Next door neighbor Reynaldo Valentin said that a bank took the home when the owner couldnt afford to make payments.
MyBudapest Photo Project - The city from a new point of view

Published on October 20, 2016

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How does Budapest look like through the lenses of homeless people? How can art be used as a tool to empower people affected by homelessness? And how can a calendar be the key of a successful social initiative? The MyBudapest Photo Project gives an answer to all of these questions.

Budapest from a new point of view

On a gloomy Sunday afternoon we headed to Budapest Pont, an open cultural and community space to catch the last day of the MyBudapest Photo exhibition. However Budapest is a fascinating city, rather were the photographers themselves than the topic, what aroused our interest. The exhibition presented the result of the MyBudapest Photo Project, which aimed to give the possibility for those citizens of the capital who are affected by homelessness to show the city from their point of view. The project was organized by the Budapest Bike Maffia, a group of young bikers who aim to help people in need in cooperation with the London based Cafe Art. They bought 100 pieces of disposable cameras with the help of FUJIFILM and they asked people who experienced homelessness to capture the city as they see it. During the week of the shooting almost 2000 photos were sent back to the organizers who invited professionals to be the jury and to select around 50 from these images for the exhibition. From these photos 12+1 were chosen based on the public vote to be printed in the MyBudapest 2017 calendar.

The MyBudapest Photo Project joined to an international initiative, which was launched by Cafe Art in 2012 in London. Cafe Art was founded by Michael Wong with the aim of connecting people by creating opportunities for them to learn, value and accept each others strengths and weaknesses. They chose art as a tool to empower people affected by homelessness and they try to connect them with the wider community through their artworks. Bernadett Fekete, the member of Budapest Bike Maffia and the coordinator of the project tumbled on Cafe Art and their initiative by accident, and she decided to bring the project to Budapest.

From the idea to the MyBudapest 2017 calendar

Based on the method of Cafe Art the members of Budapest Bike Maffia and their volunteers visited the homeless shelters of Budapest to talk about the project and the calls were also distributed through the networks of professional organizations supporting people in need. We found it really important to involve people experienced homelessness as much as we can, because we wanted them to feel this initiative as their own  explains Bernadett. When we visited them, we highlighted that they can capture anything from the city that they want and they think it is part of their city, let it be a sculpture, a bridge, a friend or a puppy. The result was a unique selection of diverse pictures showing many different and sometimes unseen faces of Budapest. At the end 87 cameras were sent back to the organizers and 62 photos were selected by the jury for the exhibition.

The involvement of the authors did not stop with the opening of the exhibition. The organizers invited them for the press conference of the project and they had the possibility to share their personal stories in frame of Meeting with the authors events. The fact that they had the possibility to speak meant a great value for them  thinks Adam Harangozo, the program manager of Budapest Point. - They had a forum where they could share their thoughts and people listened to them. And of course they have things to say. The financial support that comes with the project means also a lot for the participants. The winners received prize money for their work and two of the participants were invited to take part in a photo course. In addition to this a bicycle was also donated by the Strike Bike.

The calendar will be distributed at the exhibition venues and online. The project participants have also a possibility to take part in the distribution and they will be supported from the income. The Budapest Bike Maffia also plans to share all the received photos on their website and open a web shop where they can be bought for a symbolic price, which would go back to its author.

Future plans

The participants liked the project even more than we expected - tells us Bernadett. They appreciated that for this time they could give something and they belonged to a small group of people. Encouraged by the positive feedbacks the team wants to continue the project and organize it next year as well. Learning from the experiences of the first edition they would like to involve more volunteers in the work. Those personal relations that we established during this period meant a lot for us and gave a very good feeling and we would like to share it with more people next year - adds Bernadett. They hope that their project will inspire other cities in Hungary as the issue of homelessness effects not only the citizens of the capital, but also the whole country.

We also talked with two of the participants and we asked them about their impressions and feelings of the exhibition:

Andras Janos L. (61 years old)

How did you like the photo project?

Ever since my childhood Ive loved taking pictures. Its smart that this project has come from London. I think it was an interesting experience for all the participants. From 100 disposable cameras we gave back 87 I think its a really good result.

During the week of photography what kind of topics were you interested in? Which topics caught your attention?

We could take pictures about anything that was in Budapest. I really love animals I thought that my animal-themed picture would win. When two dogs are fighting for a piece of wood.

In the end which photography they chose for the exhibition?

They chose The Liget Project picture.

Where do you live now?

I live in Budapest in a homeless shelter and Im always forced to change places. I live in a small five square meter room where there is a bed and a table.

How can you make a living?

I go to Vienna for plasma donation because in Budapest once I got sick and they banned me. Im forced to give plasma (I get 35 Euros). I worked all my life but the Hungarian State took away my 22.000 Forints pension.

What did you do before?

For a long time I was a ship captain, I was sailing all over the world. I also built a sailboat on the Danube. I learnt a lot of things, I tried several professions: I worked as a car mechanic, ship engineer and geotechnical laboratory technician.

When did you stop working? And what would you do if you could work again?

I was working as a skipper and they laid off the ship workers. I came home but I didnt find a job because Im too old. I dont know what to do in this country. I just want to get my pension. If I could work again I would get a job on any kind of German ship and I would earn five times more than my Hungarian salary. Young people are going abroad and they do it well.

Tibor S. (63 years old)

What were your favorite subjects? What was important for you in Budapest?

At first I didnt know what kind of photo did I want to take. I didnt want to make a sociological photo about Budapest. I tried to take pictures about the popular sights in the city. So in the end I took pictures of three famous sights and I put myself in the pictures. In one of the photos Im in Saint Stephens Park lying next to flowers.

What is the story of the picture?

I love nature. I spent half of my life in the nature. I was travelling in Europe for ten years. I didnt take a tent or any camping equipment with me. I slept where the night found me. I love the flowers, plants, trees and animals. With the picture I would like to show something natural, something connected with life and nature.

What is your personal life story?

I worked all my life and I learnt several professions: motorcycle mechanic, storekeeper jobs. Im interested in psychology and medicine and so many other things I cant even count them. More than once I had property. The last time I lived in a fishing site. I had a car, a small house and a 7 thousand volume private library. One day I decided to sell everything; I bought a tour bike in Csepel, I installed it and I started my trip in 2000. I was travelling for ten years. I started with Spain and then I moved to Italy. First it was quite hard but then I got used to homelessness and I didnt want a home again.

Do you want to travel somewhere now?

Now Im waiting for my pension. After I got it I would like to go on a shorter or longer trip to Bulgaria and Poland. I would also like to visit Portugal.

Where do you live now?

I live in a workers shelter in a four-bed dorm. Im satisfied, I have no problems.

The Budapest Point was the first venue of the travelling exhibition. Starting this week the exhibition will travel to the countryside of Hungary. On the 10th of October, the World Homeless day was the debut of the MyBudapest 2017 calendar at the FUGA Budapest Center for Architecture. If you want to have a look at it, you can find the calendar at FUGA, in the shops of Strike Bike or you can contact the organizers (mybudapestphotoproject@gmail.com).
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has disciplined six prison staff members related to an escape of two inmates from the Lincoln Correctional Center in June.

The department did not identify the staff members, but said discipline included firing, demotion, suspension and disciplinary probation. Those disciplined included senior management, spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said Friday in an email.

No staff members were found to have committed a crime, she said.

Following the escape and capture of Armon Dixon and Timothy Clausen, corrections conducted a critical incident review to determine what additional security and procedural measures needed to be taken to prevent future escapes, Smith said.

The review identified the need for internal investigations of staff that contributed to the escape.

The review also led to enhanced security policies, procedures, protocols and practices, including increased control of inmate movement to and from work locations and a change to the procedures for vehicles entering and exiting the facilities.

Shortly after the escape, prison warden Mario Peart was reassigned and soon after the 39-year veteran of the department retired. Diagnostic and Evaluation Center Warden Fred Britten moved into the position.

Criminal charges were filed against inmates Dixon and Clausen, who are now housed at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.

Dixon and Clausen left LCC in a prison laundry truck at 9:12 a.m. June 10 and were able to cut a hole in the top of the truck, climbing out when it stopped eight minutes later at U.S. 77 and Warlick Boulevard.

Dixon was arrested in northeast Lincoln a day after the escape and Claussen was caught five days after the escape in Omaha.
| BY Lynchy |

New Serviceplan Group Global ECD talks to LBB Londons Addison Capper at Golden Drum 2016

Jason Romeyko left Saatchi & Saatchi after 23 years because the spirit was no longer the same as when I started, he told LBB this week.

Speaking at Golden Drum 2016 in Ljubljana, the former Worldwide Executive Creative Director added: But thats ok. We all have a right to change and evolve. And besides, I wanted to go and write books anyway.
Friday, October 21, 2016 at 6:55PM

LG G5 Modular smartphone - Photo from Tropicalpost.com

Things are not looking good for LGs Friends, if this new report is to be believed. Korean-based ETNews cites unnamed sources that claim the LG G6 or whatever the next flagship phone the brand releases wont support add-on modules (a.k.a. the Friends). The story claims LG executives want to create a new flagship device that reflects what the customers demand instead of trying to bring innovative features that wont be used by its users.

While the jury is still out on how useful and successful these modular accessory market (especially with Moto having its own ecosystem with modular accessories), dropping out of this segment too early might also not work in LGs favor. This is still an unconfirmed rumour at the moment so we cant say with certainty that LG will be ditching its Friends, especially since an LG spokesman has said the upcoming device will support the accessories. Whether its true or not, do you think LG should return to doing more traditional phones or stick with this new path?

Source: Android Authority
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The 77-year-old said potential Liberal leadership candidate Alistair Coe, a conservative, was a "very pleasant young man" but did not fit the "value system" of most Canberrans. He said he felt Ms Lee, the newly elected Korean-born law lecturer, would be the next person to lead the party out of opposition.
"It gives the opportunity for an independent or somebody new to win a seat ... Of course I'm disappointed that my party lost but at the end of the day we will still be serving and we will still be a voice to people in the community, whether we are the party that leads or not," she said.
"I was crossing the street and was in the middle when I was caught in crossfire and I stayed there ... when I finally walked across clutching my precious loaf of bread, there were people who picked me up and took me into a tailor shop, gave me a glass of water and settled me down."
"Canberra to the uninitiated can be very cold and sterile," he said. "Unless you are in a clique such as the public service for instance, it's hard to get your footing to meet similar people to yourself."
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.
Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal...
AIR Worldwide issued two new weather event updates, covering Typhoon Haima in the Philippines and China and an earthquake in Japan.

After wreaking havoc with heavy rains in northern Luzon and elsewhere in the Philippines as a Category 4-equivalent storm, Typhoon Haima made a second landfall as a Category 1-storm in eastern Guandong Province in China. Landfall was about 110 km east of Hong Kong, with gusts of up to 109 km/h, according to Air Worldwide senior scientist Anna Trevino. As it tracked toward Shanghai, Haima was expected to dump about 75-150 mm of rain on the region.

More than 740 flights to and from Hong Kong were canceled or delayed as of local afternoon time, AIR Worldwide said. Officials suspended ferry and bus services and adjusted train schedules, among other storm-related changes.

Haima had not yet caused major damage or fatilities in China as of midday Friday.

Meanwhile, in Japan, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan early on Oct. 21, about 8 km south of Kurayoshi Japan. Officials did not issue a tsunami warning, but there are reports of road and building damages as well as power outages.

AIR Worldwide noted that the quake was close to a number of population centers. The catastrophe modeling firm said that buildings in Japan are of varying ages, so damage will be uneven. Older buildings are susceptible to shake damage, but newer structures built to updated design codes, so theyll be more resilient.

Soource: AIR Worldwide
Among all the victorious racecars Porsche has produced over the years, itd be easy to forget the 904  like the one pictured here thats soon to cross the auction block.



The first Porsche to feature a ladder chassis and fiberglass bodywork, the 904 proved a force to be reckoned with right out the box. In its first year alone, it claimed victory in the Targa Florio and at Reims, took class wins at Spa and Sebring, and scored half of the top ten GT class finishes at Le Mans.

This particular 1964 example is the 98th of 106 examples made over the course of two years. It was delivered new to the famous Brumos Porsche dealership in Florida before being sold to a European collector. In highly original condition with its factory engine, body, and interior, its set to headline Bonhams auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 19.

There it will be joined by, among others, a silver over black 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB with the desirable long nose and torque tube. This example won its class at the Cavallino Classic, comes certified by Ferrari Classiche, and is being offered without reserve.

Photo Gallery
From fuel cell cars to EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, Kia is looking to add a bunch of new models eco-friendly models to its global lineup by the end of the decade.



The brands European chief, Michael Cole, confirmed no less than 14 such cars, while speaking to Autocar: By 2020, Kia will offer 14 alternative-fuel vehicles globally. They will include EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, as well as a fuel cell model.

Besides its alternative-fuel vehicle offensive, the automaker is also looking into a new subcompact crossover, which will rival the likes of the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008 and Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, among others. The CUV is expected to drive Kias sales ambitions and account for an important number of the targeted 500,000 units annually in Europe, by 2018.

We have a history of hitting targets, because the plan isnt just a number; its built around new product, Cole said, while showing his enthusiasm for such a vehicle: Its very exciting and a natural fit, because of the Sportage and Sorento SUVs. Its an area where weve actually got some heritage.

Another important car set to enter Kias lineup is the production version of the 2011 GT Concept. Prototypes have been already scooped, showing the as-of-yet-unnamed models four-door coupe body style, which places it against the BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe and Audi A5 Sportback. It will come with rear-wheel drive and rumor has it that the 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 engine from the Genesis G80 Sport will be powering it.

Note: Kia Soul EV pictured

PHOTO GALLERY
The best road for a true petrol head is obviously the one where they can unleash their entire stable of horses and, at the same time, thoroughly enjoy their vehicles driving dynamics, but what if you went on a hunt for the most spectacular of them all?



Enter the Volkswagen Groups Seat division that has attempted to answer that question with their own Top 10 of the most driver-awarding and eye-pleasing roads in the world.

So, lets begin our journey with a countdown, and oh, do tell us what you think about the Spanish firms choices and why not, give us your very own list of the most impressive roads in the globe in the comments below.

10) Route 66, USA



Number 10 is reserved for the famous Route 66, in the USA, also known as Mother Road. It even became a hit song Get Your Kicks on) Route 66. It extends for over 4,000 km (2,485 miles), crossing seven states to join Chicago, in Illinois, and Santa Monica in California.

9) Great Ocean Road, Australia



Australias Great Ocean Road, a 243 km (151 miles) long motorway that stretches along Victorias coast, holds the ninth position. It drives through well-known landmarks such as London Arch and The Twelve Apostles, natural limestone and sandstone rock formations on the high cliffs facing the Atlantic Ocean, towns rainforests and national parks.

8) Ruta 40, Argentina



For the Ruta 40, well have to travel to Argentina to one of the worlds highest roads, which reaches more than 5,000 meters (~16,400 feet) in altitude and stretches for a whopping 5,200 km (3,231 miles), from south to north, running parallel to the Andes mountains, crossing 21 national parks and 18 major rivers.

7) Atlanterhavsveien, Norway



The seventh place is reserved for Norways Atlanterhavsveien, and if you cant remember its name, then you can always ask for directions towards the Atlantic Road. It is only 8.72 km (5.4 miles) long and joins several islands together, sitting just a few meters above the Atlantic Ocean.

6) Desfiladero de la Hermida, Spain



This 21 km (13 miles) extension in Desfiladero de la Hermida, in Spain, promises to impress with fantastic views of cliffs, some of which rise to 600 meters (1,969 feet).

5) Romantic Road, Germany



Per the Spanish firm, the worlds fifth best road is located slightly up north, in Germany, and it sees the Romantic Road being brought forward. It crosses more than 60 towns and cities over 400 km (249 miles) before ending at the Bavarian Alps.

4) Route Napoleon, France



For the fourth position, Seat wants to take us to Route Napoleon, in France, on a 325 km (202 miles) long road that crosses the regions of Provenence-Alps-Cote dAzur and Rhone-Alpes, traveling through a number of picturesque towns.

3) Furka Pass, Switzerland



The bronze medal, in Seats mind, goes to the neighboring Switzerland, and its Furka Pass, which became well known after featuring in the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger. This route is one of the highest mountain passes in Europe and its located in the middle of the Swiss Alps, guaranteeing spectacular views.

2) Stelvio Pass, Italy



Located at an altitude of 2,757 meters (9,045 feet), the Stelvio Pass in Italy has 48 neck-twisting turns and an impressive scenery, as it maintains its reputation for being the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps. Spanning on 24 kilometers (15 miles) and with an average slope of 7.6 percent, it is also considered to be one of the most difficult stages of the Giro dItalia for cyclists. Its believed that it will lend its name to Alfa Romeos upcoming SUV.

1) Transfagarasan, Romania



Well, if this sounds familiar, it is because the old Top Gear already did it, back when Jezza, Captain Slow and the Hamster were still with BBC, and during their search, they found the famous Transfagarasan in Romania, which also happens to top Seats list. The impressive road runs through the Carpathian mountains and its mostly opened to motorists from June to October, each year.

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Audi are said to delay certain technology projects in order to cut costs due to parent companys financial issues as well as their own need to focus on electric and autonomous systems.



The Ingolstadt-based automaker will scale back its conventional car program in order to finalize a strategic shift towards green vehicle and digital services through 2025 as they cant afford to fall behind their two main competitors, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Sources say that cutbacks are expected to affect next-generation tech projects which would have helped Audi clean up their image in the wake of VWs emissions scandal. Among the projects that Audi will postpone is a test-track for self-driving vehicles as well as facilities to make batteries and concept cars.

An Audi spokesman stated that one postponement will involve a planned technology park at the companys home in Ingolstadt, Germany  which is now on hold for the foreseeable future.

Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst told Autonews that there was still room for improvement at Audi in terms of cutting the costs of physical assets. We welcome the fact that all parts of VW are looking to lower their excessively high costs.

Despite these efforts, some analysts still feel that Audi invests more cash overall in property, plant and equipment than BMW and Mercedes.
Photo: Contributed

The Accountant

In this ground-breaking film, a man with autism not only leads a successful life as an accountant, but is also an expert martial arts fighter and has an arsenal of weapons James Bond would envy.

The fact that he looks like Ben Affleck is just gravy.

The Accountant is a fast-paced film with enough plot twists and flash backs to keep discerning movie goers engaged and enough head shots to keep even the most avid Call of Duty player in awe.

The film opens with an FBI stakeout of a Gambino crime family hideout where one man has gone on a killing spree leaving behind half a dozen dead thugs.

We dont see who is involved, but the scene will be repeated a few times throughout the film, each time with added detail and is pivotal to the plot.

The next scene shows young Chris (Seth Lee  Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia TV) speedily assembling a jigsaw puzzle in a private home for disabled children.

His parents talk with the director of the facility who believes they might be able to help their son who struggles with uncontrollable rage and outbursts.

Young Chris assembles the 500-piece puzzle in minutes, but experiences an out-of-control panic attack when he cant find the one missing piece that has fallen on the floor.

At the end of the scene, we find out the puzzle was upside down the entire time he was putting it together. He is clearly gifted.

Chriss father, a covert army operative, declines any help the facility can give, believing that all Chris needs is discipline.

Unable to take the chaos at home any longer and frustrated that they will not get the help they need, Chriss mother abandons the family.

Chris and his brother are carted off to multiple countries as they grow up and their father provides them with extensive martial arts and weaponry training.

Grown up, Chris makes his living as an accountant. By day, he is a mild-mannered accountant working in a dingy strip mall accounting firm ZZZ Accounting.

He lives alone in a very ordinary and Spartan home, but he has another hidden and much more exotic side.

His alter ego travels the world uncooking the books for some of the largest criminals on the worlds Most Wanted lists. Think Batman, but with a tricked-out Airstream trailer instead of a Batcave.

Enter Ray King (J. K. Simmons - Whiplash), the ruthless, but soon-to-retire director of the Treasury Departments Criminal Investigations Division.

He is uncovering Chriss connection to the criminals he works for and wants him found.

Aware that the Treasury Department is getting wise to him, Chris decides to take on a legitimate client: Living Robotics, which specializes in constructing prosthetic limbs.

John Lithgow has a relatively small cameo, but is a pivotal character and plays it well.

It is at Living Robotics that Chris meets the young and unassuming Dana Cummings, (Anna Kendrick  Pitch Perfect), the junior accountant who first uncovered the discrepancy that has led to the internal audit.

Sparks fly between them in a shy and awkward way and it almost looks like the grim-faced Chris might actually crack a smile or get a kiss.

In what feels like a scene from A Beautiful Mind, he solves the accounting mystery by pulling an all nighter and sorting through 15 years of accounting books.

The end result is an entire conference room with numbers written on every available hard surface in either a black or red dry erase marker.

Whod a thought numbers could be so sexy?

Soon after disclosing his success to the companys management, senior executives start dropping like flies and he soon finds out that not only is his life in danger, but Danas is as well.

Things have now gotten personal and the film turns into a break neck chase and revenge film with a few twists at the end that will make you rethink everything you saw at the beginning of the film.

Ben Affleck is entirely believable as Chris. Because his character does not convey emotion in a traditional way, it is harder, as an audience, to become emotionally involved in his story, yet he still manages to draw us in.

Yes, we become fond of the cold-blooded killer.

Kendrick is lovely as Cummings. Her wide-eyed innocence is in sharp contrast to Chriss world-weary character. The role isnt exactly a stretch for her, but she gets the job done and even proves herself to be no pushover for the bad guys.

Jon Bernthal (Wolf of Wall Street) stands out as the hitman Brax and gives the movie one of its most intriguing characters. Brax is unpredictable and enigmatic when hes threatening his targets. We cant take our eyes off of him.

There isnt a great deal for Simmons to do in his role of King, but this competent actor is committed and authentic and brings the role just the right edge of menace.

Director Gavin OConnor (Warrior) has done a fine job keeping the action moving yet providing us with breaks in said action so we can catch our collective breath. Its a well shot and well paced movie.

At the beginning of the film, the parents ask if their son could ever have a normal life and the clinician responds, define normal.

It is clear that Chris has found a way to build a life through his gifts. It might not be a traditional life, but it is his to live nonetheless.

I give this film 4 out of 5 hearts.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Don McTighe

Peachland council will vote one last time on whether Charrie Fichter will be able to lay flowers at the lakefront memorial bench in honour of her slain daughter.

Fichter has been laying flowers at the bench for more than five years in honour of Ashlee Hyatt, who was stabbed to death at a house party in 2010.

She was asked to stop earlier this year when someone complained about flowers at a different bench, saying they made that person sad.

Council has dealt with the matter three times, the latest earlier this month, when a motion to allow the practice was defeated following a 3-3 vote.

Mayor Cindy Fortin, a supporter of Fichter's, was at council for the afternoon debate, but missed the evening vote due to a family medical emergency.

Coun. Keith Thom made it known earlier this week he would bring forward a notice of motion to re-introduce the item for a re-vote, stating the democratic process didn't play out as it should.

Thom has voted against the motion.

Fortin said that process could take a month, so instead, she will use her discretionary power as mayor to bring the item back immediately at the next council meeting Tuesday.

"For the sake of council, the family and everyone, I figured let's just deal with it right away and hopefully come up with a solution that everybody can live with," said Fortin.
Photo: City of Armstrong.

Residents of Armstrong are being invited to come out and meet the candidates vying for a lone seat on city council, left vacant by the death of longtime councillor Ron 'Sully' O'Sullivan.

The Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce will host a municipal all-candidates forum to be held at Armstrong Bible Chapel on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Four people are vying for the seat including: Helen Jackson, Adrien Lemaire, and Gill Melin, who are all Armstrong residents, and Gary Froats of Spallumcheen.

A further candidate, Wayne Snider, pulled out of the race before the official declaration is made next Monday, confirmed Susan Wood, chief election officer.

The evening will begin with an introduction of the candidates, followed by questions from the floor and end with a brief closing statement from each candidate.

Chamber president Andrew Laird will act as moderator.

Everyone is encouraged to attend these events and hear what the candidates have to say on the issues of concern to business owners and residents, states a chamber news release.

For residents who can't attend, they are invited to submit a question by to [email protected] and it will be posted on the chamber's Facebook page with the opportunity for candidates to answer it.

For more information, contact the Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce at 250-546-8155.
Get in the Halloween spirit with this week's Castanet Kid Report with Ariella Amato.
Photo: Google Maps

A Lumby man has been charged in connection with a vehicle crash in Saskatchewan on Oct. 15. that left two people dead.

The single vehicle rollover took place on Highway 2, north of Young, Sask. at 11:30 a.m.

Two people pronounced dead at the scene included a 28-year-old woman from Watrous, Sask. and a 27-year-old man from High River, Alberta, an RCMP spokesperson said. Two men were transported to hospital with undisclosed injuries at the time of the crash.

RCMP confirmed that Kiel Stewart, 29, of Lumby has been charged with two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

Stewart has been released from custody and will next appear in a Saskatoon courtroom on Nov. 3, police said.
To keep the conversation around suicide awareness and mental health going, Castanet has joined forces with The LifeLine Canada Foundation for the month of October.

Local restaurants will bring the message of positive mental health to the dinner table during Food For Thought.

Today, we are featuring Wild Scallion in Penticton. Owner Al Box cooks up a raw pizza made with fresh ingredients.

The pizza crust is made with nuts, flax and pumpkin seeds instead of wheat. Topped with avocado, carrots, cabbage, cucumber and lettuce the completely raw pizza is rich with Vitamin E and Omegas.

Check back now through Oct. 30 to find out which restaurants are featuring delicious meals with unique mental-health benefits.
Photo: The Canadian Press A copy of a silver gelatin print titled "Roadside Sign near Birmingham, Alabama, 1936" is shown in this handout photo.

The Vancouver Art Gallery is set to open what it says is the most comprehensive exhibition of work by the influential American photographer Walker Evans ever shown in Canada.

"Walker Evans: Depth of Field" features more than 200 photos from the 1920s to the '70s. Many of them have become iconic, made in the U.S. South during the Great Depression.

The show runs from Oct. 29 to Jan. 22.

It originated last year at the Josef Albers Museum Quaddrat in Bottrop, Germany, before moving to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta this past summer. The two institutions organized the exhibition in collaboration with the Vancouver gallery.

Gallery director Kathleen Bartels said Evans's work holds "a special significance" in Vancouver.

"Evans's emphasis on the everyday and his historically inflected vision have been a model for generations of photographers and an important point of reference for Vancouver-based artists to this day," she said in a release.

Exhibition curator John Hill and Josef Albers Museum director Heinz Liesbrock will discuss Evans's work during public tours on Oct. 29.
Photo: Contributed

A scam artist in Kamloops caught polices attention after trying to scam a senior out of money.

According to Sgt. Edward Preto a would-be-thief contacted a Kamloops senior by phone to ask questions regarding her banking.

The scam artist allegedly told the senior she was a representative from the Royal Bank.

She requested the senior woman to withdraw $4800, stating her bank accounts compromised, explained Preto. Further instructions were given to the senior included to put the money in an envelope and then describe her route from her home to the bank.

While the woman did withdraw funds from her account she took a different way home from the bank.

The male scam artist spoke with another elderly female and began asking questions about the money. When he learned it wasnt their target, he left, said Preto in a release.

The incident took place on 8th street near Westminster Ave about 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Police are very concerned with the escalation of this the scam artists behaviour and are seeking tips from the public.

The suspect is described as:
Photo: CTV

This fish tale has a sad ending.

A five-foot long white sturgeon living in a 15,000-gallon tank at a new megamall has died.

The huge fish was the subject of a petition to give it a "better life" by removing it from Tsawwassen Mills, a huge new mall near the ferry terminal.

Animal rights activists expressed concerns about the endangered fish's behaviour and petitioned to have it relocated.

The fish had come from a fish farm and couldn't be released into the wild.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: The Canadian Press

Multitudes of feral cats roam New York City's concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: They're helping curb the city's rat population.

A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats.

Feline rat patrols keep watch over city delis and bodegas, car dealerships and the grounds of a Greenwich Village church. Four cats roam the loading dock at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, where food deliveries and garbage have drawn rodents for years.

"We used to hire exterminators, but nature has a better solution," said Rebecca Marshall, the sustainability manager at the 1.8-million-square-foot centre. "And cats don't cost anything."

About 6,000 volunteers have completed workshops where they've learned proper ways to trap cats.

The program is run through the privately funded Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters. It estimates as many as half a million feral and stray cats roam New York's five boroughs.

The Javits Center's quartet of cats  Sylvester, Alfreda, Mama Cat and Ginger  were lured to its 56 loading docks about two years ago with pet food brought by animal-loving employees. On a recent fall morning, Sylvester stationed himself next to a commercial truck, ready to pounce if needed.

The cats are predators but don't necessarily kill rats. Instead, experts say the feline scent and droppings repel the rodents.

"A mother rat will never give birth near a predator because the cats would eat the babies," said Jane Hoffman, president of the mayor's alliance.

The cat population is controlled through spaying and neutering, provided free of charge by the Humane Society of New York and the ASPCA. In most cases, adoption is out of the question for feral cats because they are just too wild to be domesticated.

Thanks to the volunteers, says Marshall, "we're protecting wildlife in the city, and the cats get a second chance at life."
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After wrapping up its Pablo Escobar storyline in Season 2, Narcos is getting ready to take on other key players of the drug trade. As previously speculated, Netflixs acclaimed drama will shift its focus to a new cartel in the next season. So who will it be and can we expect any previous characters to return? Here are four spoilers weve just learned about Narcos Season 3.

1. It will focus on the rise of the Cali Cartel

Season 2 clearly set up the next phase of the shows drug war, with the final episode shifting focus to Medellins rising rival, the Cali Cartel. As the finale suggested, Cali eagerly took over Medellins place as the new leader of the drug trade, eventually becoming responsible for up to 90% of the cocaine in the U.S.

As the official Netflix synopsis reads:

Now that the bloody hunt for Pablo Escobar has ended, the DEA turns its attention to the richest drug trafficking organization in the world: the Cali Cartel. Led by four powerful godfathers, this cartel operates much differently than Escobars, preferring to bribe government officials and keep its violent actions out of the headlines.

2. There will be four criminal masterminds this season



As the show shifts its focus to a new cartel, fans shouldnt expect anyone to take over Pablo Escobars kingpin role. Unlike Escobar, who had positioned himself as an outlaw, Cali was very much a part of the system, showrunner Eric Newman told The Hollywood Reporter about the new villains. While Escobar was a single-cell organism, they were a complex, multi-celled organism.

With that in mind, Season 3 will reportedly feature four main criminal masterminds, instead of just one: the Rodriguez brothers, Gilberto (Damian Alcazar) and Miguel (Francisco Denis), Pacho Herrera (Alberto Ammann), and a man named Chepe, who has not yet been introduced to the Narcos universe.



3. Javier Pena will be back

Season 2 made it clear that Pena (Pedro Pascal) is poised to return in Season 3, with the finale following the DEA agent as he becomes aware of Calis growing power. His return was confirmed by the first official production photo from the upcoming season, which Netflix released in October and can be seen below:

The blow must go on. Pablo might be dead but the war is not over. Season 3 of #Narcos has begun filming. pic.twitter.com/O7EaSOqSJ0  Narcos (@NarcosNetflix) October 12, 2016

The photo shows Pascals Pena preparing to make a speech, presumably either about Escobars death or about the DEAs new problem, the Cali Cartel.

Cali had a very different style than Medellin, as the real-life Javier Pena recently described. The Medellin Cartel was the Wild Wild West and Cali was businesslike, he said, per The Hollywood Reporter. They were accountants, professional money-launderers. They were more sophisticated and very different cartels. Cali moved a lot of dope and sent more to the U.S.

4. Steve Murphy will not return

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boyd Holbrook, who played the other real-life DEA Agent responsible for catching Escobar, will not be returning to Season 3 as Steve Murphy. The news comes after months of speculation over his future status on the show, which Holbrook previously suggested was still being worked out.

5. Well see more behind-the-scene workings of the CIA

Season 2 gave audiences a glimpse into some of the murky dealings of the CIA, introducing the shady station chief, Bill Stechner (Eric Lange) as a foe to Pena and the DEA. Its likely that Stechner will be back again, as Newman suggests that well see more of how far the CIA will go to protect national interests.

When you can actually get inside of the tent or on the other side of the door when theyre discussing: Okay, great. Were going to get Pablo Escobar, but what happens when hes gone? And theres a vacuum for his cocaine, whos going to get it?' Newman said, per The Hollywood Reporter. With the CIA, its about, whats really at stake? Its never just about cocaine. Its about money way before its about cocaine.

6. It will likely lead Narcos to Mexico

Following Escobars death, Cali held its power for two years before eventually getting shut down. Its unclear whether Season 3 will cover most of that 24-month period or if it will spread out their reign over two seasons. If it chooses to do the former (which is possible, as Season 2 covered an 18-month span), Newman already has an idea of where the show could go in the already green-lit Season 4: outside of Colombia, to the Mexican cartels.

Cali was the cartel that really utilized the smuggling routes through Mexico, he hinted. They very much got the Mexicans into the cocaine business, so there is sort of a natural evolution there. As to whether or not I would move directly into Mexico, its certainly a possibility.

Narcos Season 3 has already started filming and is set to premiere on Netflix on September 1.

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"Forget the press, read the internet," Donald Trump told supporters at a Tuesday afternoon rally. On the very same internet the day before, a joke tweet from Weird Twitter about ripping up Trump ballots was a major conservative media story, presented as actual evidence of voter fraud.

It  wasn't.

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Sure, the internet has always been full of fake news, hoaxes and outrage trolling. But as we creep even closer to Election Day, internet misinformation is clearly growing more powerful. And that's why we're temporarily bringing back "What was fake on the internet," a debunking roundup of the hoaxes, memes and other fakery circulating online, just for the election.

We asked Snopes managing editor Brooke Binkowski to characterize the effect of the 2016 election on Internet misinformation. Her answer began, "Oh, my God."

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"It is ridiculous," Binkowski said, "in all the possible connotations of that word. It's interesting and engaging in a way, but it's also really depressing."

Elections have a tendency to bring out the worst of the internet misinformation cycle, but there are a couple things, Binkowski said, that make 2016 special.

First, she said, people just want to be mad about something. And that's having an effect on how they scrutinize information. "They're willing to believe without any proof that some random statement from a random person is true," she said, as long as it confirms their pre-existing worldview.

Second, there are more people at this point getting their news from, say, Facebook, particularly older users who might not be as experienced at examining information online. Or, as Binkowski characterized it, "there were fewer racist uncles on the internet in 2012."

Last, everyone's hungry for more news, and the journalists responsible for meeting that appetite do not always have the support they need to sort through it. That's when they might stumble into a hoax, or disinformation hole, and unwittingly end up amplifying it." Hire more fact-checkers!" Binkowski argued.

Here's a roundup of the misinformation and fakery on the internet over the past several days:

1. This random person is not a Postal Service worker "ripping up absentee ballots that vote for Trump."

i love working at the post office in Columbus, Ohio and ripping up absentee ballots that vote for trump  raandy (@randygdub) October 16, 2016

@Randygdub is a person on Weird Twitter, an often-misunderstood place where jokes exist only for themselves. When they made a joke about "ripping up absentee ballots that vote for Trump" a bunch of people thought the tweet was for real and became furious about it.

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I hope you get fired! Cheating is the only way she'll win. @realDonaldTrump Hey @JohnKasich is this okay with you? https://t.co/9mgk11KZHk  Scott Baio (@ScottBaio) October 17, 2016

People fail to "get" Weird Twitter all the time, but the thing that makes this particular case remarkable is how far up the chain it was misunderstood. After Jim Hoft, who blogs at Gateway Pundit, wrote a very serious blog post about it  again, with no evidence that @randygdub, whose bio says the user lives in California, was even a postal worker based in Columbus, Ohio  the story ended up on the Drudge Report.

And then, Rush Limbaugh talked about it on his show on Monday, at length.

For what it's worth, the USPS ended up investigating this Twitter joke and said in a tweeted statement that it "does not believe these tweets were made by a postal employee." And although @randygdub did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Post, a response was given to the Daily Beast, which asked whether @randygdub was really an employee of a post office in Ohio. The reply: "lol no."

2. #Repealthe19th did not trend because a ton of Trump supporters want to ban women from voting.

#Repealthe19th was a real Twitter trend last week. And it's a real hashtag with the stated purpose of calling for the repeal of the right of women to vote in the United States.

But the fact that it trended on Twitter was not  as many assumed and a few news articles implied  because of a massive wave of Trump supporters calling for an election that's just for men. Instead, according to our own analysis of a scraped sample of #Repealthe19th tweets near the peak of the hashtag's popularity, it was because a ton of people on Twitter were furious about the hashtag existing at all.

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#Repealthe19th snuck into the news cycle after FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver tweeted maps showing the predicted election results if just men or just women voted. If just men voted, the maps suggested, Trump would win. If just women voted, Hillary Clinton would win, in a landslide. The tweets attracted a small cluster of #Repealthe19th replies  an apparent mix of genuine and troll  from Trump supporters, over the next 24 hours. Then, a day after Silver's original tweets, the Los Angeles Times wrote about the hashtag in a short article, attributing it to angry Trump supporters. Less than an hour later, the hashtag began to trend.

3. Obama did not "demand" a monument to himself.

President Barack Obama did not say: "Being the first black president and all, don't you think I deserve a monument. I mean, there's plenty of monuments dedicated to racist white people," as a recent Observatorial article shared around Conservative Facebook claims. As Snopes noted, the article actually refers back to two credible articles examining how Obama's presidency might be honored someday, although it didn't really get the facts right in translation.

Also, it's worth noting that the article is basically a new variation on a very old and fake rumor claiming that Obama's face will end up on Mount Rushmore in the near future.

4. The Dalai Lama did not say that Trump is "worse than Hitler."

The website ReligiousMind.com claimed recently that the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Switzerland included some scathing remarks about Donald Trump."

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"Dalai Lama become the first religious figure to compare Trump to Hitler," the blog post claimed, quoting the religious leader as saying, "I see another Hitler in the making," and that if the United States elects Trump, "it will be the end of great Amarican (sic) civilization." No other record of the Dalai Lama saying anything even close to this exists from his recent trip, but the fake article made the rounds on Facebook recently.

The Dalai Lama has been asked multiple times for his opinion on Trump, and his responses are usually pretty reserved. He recently made fun of Trump's hair, though.

5. The Clinton Foundation didn't give thousands of dollars to the "Sharia Law Center"

NEW LEAK SHOWS CLINTON FOUNDATION PAID BLM, BLACK PANTHERS, GLENN BECK AND @ppppolls TO SUPPRESS ELECTION!! #RIGGED pic.twitter.com/q0V611VE5g  MassRafTer (@mongo_ebooks) October 12, 2016

The "leak" that claimed to financially link a Clinton Foundation "voter suppression" initiative to Glenn Beck, the Black Panthers and a group called the "Sharia Law Center" was obviously not a real invoice. But it still fooled a bunch of people, as the Daily Beast recently reported.

The person behind it, identified as Chris from Massachusetts, has created a whole bunch of hoaxes this election season with the intention of baiting Trump supporters. One of those was a very fake memo in which the Clinton campaign complained to Public Policy Polling that their election polling was "unacceptable," because "we aren't paying you $760,000 per month to show a FIVE POINT LEAD." Donald Trump Jr. even tweeted out the fake "leak" as real before eventually deleting the tweet.
Ready for a sugar rush of champions? This stroll will net you a satisfying sampling of River North's sweet treats, from froyo to doughnuts to champagne.

Start your stroll on a somewhat virtuous note with a cup of frozen yogurt at Pinkberry (635 N. State St., 312-475-0641, www.pinkberry.com). Then head to M Burger (5 W. Ontario St., 312-428-3548, www.mburgerchicago.com), where you can bypass the namesake sandwich in favor of a root-beer float, a chocolate-dipped soft-serve cone or a milkshake. Savor your treat of choice on the walk over to the Doughnut Vault (401 1/2 N. Franklin St., www.doughnutvault.com), a closet-sized shop that bakes small batches of gourmet doughnuts daily and closes up shop when they sell out.

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To make it a doughnut doubleheader, hit up Firecakes (68 W. Hubbard St., 312-329-6500, www.firecakesdonuts.com) for an apple fritter or chocolate-hazelnut long john. Just a short stroll north, the bakery counter at Beatrix (519 N. Clark St., 312-284-1377, www.beatrixchicago.com) tempts with angel food cake muffins, shareable cookies and fruit-filled bars.

At West Town Bakery (15 E. Ohio St., 312-894-0935, www.westtownbakery.com), take your choice of fluffy pastries, desserty coffee drinks and cake balls to grab and go. Finally, toast your sugary adventure with a flute of sparkling wine at bubbly bar Pops for Champagne (601 N. State St., 312-266-7677, www.popsforchampagne.com).
If the late Oliver Sacks had ever appeared on an episode of "Drunk History" scripted by a cyborg melded from equal parts Eugene Ionesco and P.G. Wodehouse, the result might be something like the world of Luigi Pirandello's "Henry IV" (or "Enrico IV," if you prefer).

It certainly sounds Stoppardian  and in fact, Pirandello's rarely performed 1921 play got a makeover and new translation by Tom Stoppard in 2004. That's the version now in a Midwest premiere with Remy Bumppo Theatre Company  purveyors of fine Stoppard productions in the past  under Nick Sandys' sturdy direction. And though it takes a while to get all the wheels spinning in sync in the first act, patience ultimately pays off for those with a taste for Olympic-level mind games.

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First things first: The "Henry" in question is not the Shakespearean monarch. Nor is he the French one. Instead, he's the 11th-century Holy Roman emperor whose feud with Pope Gregory VII culminated in the excommunicated Henry kneeling for three days in the snow outside the pope's castle in Canossa, Italy, begging for forgiveness. If you're like me, that's all you remember about this Henry.

Of course, because this is Pirandello's world, where the mutability of identity reigns supreme, the "Henry" whose castle forms the setting for the play isn't the real emperor, but a 20th-century Italian nobleman. After suffering a head injury in a fall from a horse while playing Henry in an historical pageant, he's spent 20 years believing himself to be the monarch. His family and friends have gone along with this  so much so that they even hire a retinue of hapless actors as his knights and servants and keep a closet of medieval costumes on hand so that visitors can play along with the charade.

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But the nobleman's late sister wrested a promise from her son, Di Nolli (Chris Amos), to try to cure her brother. He's arrived at his uncle's estate with his fiancee, Frida (Claire Allegra Taylor, filling in for Clare Cooney at the performance I saw  and having two actresses with similar names in the same part feels pretty apt for this play). Frida's mother, Matilda (Patrice Egleston), Matilda's sardonic lover, Belcredi (James Houton), and an unnamed psychiatrist (Noah Simon) round out the roster of visitors.

Adding to the angst is the fact that "Henry" apparently harbors unrequited love for Matilda, who was riding beside him during the fateful pageant as Henry's wife, Bertha. Her belief that Henry recognizes her as her "real" self drives the doctor to concoct an elaborate ruse designed to break through the fog of his delusion.

Sorting all of this out requires attentiveness. But when Mark L. Montgomery's Henry enters the proceedings, the embers of historical detail and philosophical wordplay catch emotional fire. Montgomery is splendid and hypnotic as a man whose seeming mental imbalance calls everyone else's choices into question.

"We all hug our ideas of ourselves to ourselves," he notes. But if your idea of yourself is as an enabler of a madman, does that make you even madder than he is? Are you hugging yourself, or are you caught in a mental straitjacket? It's no wonder that the man who created "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," in which the friends of presumed-to-be-mad Hamlet take center stage, would be drawn to Pirandello's wheels-within-wheels portrait of a "monarch" who may have sorted out his own hawks and handsaws better than he lets on.

The back story for Pirandello's play comes from personal tragedy. Like Tennessee Williams, whose lobotomized sister Rose provided the model for Laura in "The Glass Menagerie," he had firsthand experience with a loved one's mental illness. In Pirandello's case, his wife spent most of her life in an institution. That thread of tragedy and regret runs throughout the play, culminating in a shocking climax.

Though Montgomery dominates the show in moments both histrionic and quiet (a meditation on physical love, in which he describes lovers' discarded clothes by the bed "watching over us like ghosts," hits home with mournful sincerity), there are fine supporting turns from Egleston's brittle but still-vulnerable Matilda, Simon's in-over-his-head psychiatrist, and from Houton's cynical Belcredi. Sandys' direction brings the twists  both subtle and sudden  into focus with admirable clarity. "Pirandello's Henry IV" may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Remy Bumppo's production delivers a mostly rewarding heady brew.

Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

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When: Through Nov. 13

Where: Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.

Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Tickets: $42.50-$52.50 at 773-404-7336 or remybumppo.org
Ethan Smith, right, was on a panel on dating at the International OCD Foundations annual conference in Chicago. (Teak Media)

The thoughts repeat in your head  your date is bored. You picked a terrible restaurant. And what if she has an STI?

That's a sliver of what it can be like to date with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.

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"I talk to my patients all the time about their dating lives," said Dr. Jon Grant, a professor at the University of Chicago's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience.

Dating with OCD can create obstacles, not just because many associate the term with a quirky affinity for keeping things extremely clean or organized  for example, the person with color-coded socks. But, OCD can be a dangerously debilitating disease.

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The National Institutes of Health defines it as a common, chronic disorder marked by uncontrollable, recurring thoughts and behaviors a person feels compelled to repeat.

"What if one of your fears is contamination  what if they want to hold your hand, God forbid, what if they want to kiss you?" Grant said.

Unwanted imagery can range from germ fears to violent thoughts about family members.

"You can be exhausted even prior to going on the date, because you're so worried about, 'How will I manage x, y or z if it comes up?'" Grant said.

At the International OCD Foundation's annual conference in Chicago this year, a panel tackled dating.

A young woman in the audience recounted that, ahead of a trip to Italy, she learned to ask in Italian if a boy she met had diseases.

Because of fears like this, paying attention is a big obstacle.

"To probably have any dates work out, you have to be somewhat present," Grant said.

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Ethan Smith, a 38-year-old writer and director based in Los Angeles, said he, at one point, checked his temperature 60 to 70 times a day. During a date, he would hold up a menu to hide the thermometer.

"The next day, I would be a total basket case, wondering what if she was sick, what if she's got a stomach virus," he said. "So I would call her for the next three days."

A big topic at the conference was when and whether to tell a date about your OCD.

"Is there a too soon, and is there a too late?" asked another young woman. "I don't want to put up with my own OCD, so I don't expect anyone else to."

Smith thinks sharing his history with OCD is part of developing a relationship.

"For me, it isn't this big dark secret to come up," Smith said. "It's something that was in my life that happened, and I'll tell you about it."

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A 26-year-old Chicago man at the conference suggested sharing pieces of information or "breadcrumbs," as he called them. For example, maybe mention you have OCD but leave the larger conversation for later.

He said that is what he did with his girlfriend. About six months in, he said, "I went through the whole rap sheet."

Alison Dotson, 37, still doesn't tell her husband about every single obsession.

After they met, she was sure her OCD would be a deal breaker.

"I hit rock bottom with this," she said. She remembers thinking, "He would never want to marry me or even be with me or even look at me if he knew the obsessions I'm having."

Instead, after seeking psychological help to find out why she was tormented by sexual thoughts, her now-husband was supportive and encouraging.

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Dotson has since written "Being Me With OCD: How I Learned to Obsess Less and Live My Life."

Involve your partner, experts at the conference advised.

For the Chicago man, learning about his OCD helped his girlfriend understand previous issues. When she wanted to go on a weekend walk, he wouldn't want to leave the house. "I could never figure out why," she said.

They both agree that his disorder requires a lot of understanding.

Smith said that, after years of feeling OCD was something to hide, he's enjoyed being more open.

"The people in your life start to surprise you," he said. "They start to support you, and they want to know more. Those are the people you want in your life anyway."

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abowen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @byalisonbowen

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From crime to voter fraud to his canceled rally, here are some of Donald Trump's remarks about Chicago. Oct. 20, 2016. (Brandon Howard / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Donald Trump thinks Chicago is out of control. And during this political season, he has tried to turn our city into America's dumping ground.

Trump uses every possible opportunity to pick on Chicago, holding it up as an example of where violence, crime, racial strife and lawlessness intersect. In his view, our city is a cesspool of problems. And if the rest of America isn't careful, they're going to end up just like us.

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Well, Chicagoans are tired of being his punching bag. It's time we fought back.

It's not that we are a bunch of wimps who can't take criticism. Chicagoans are the first to admit that our city has issues, serious ones. Shootings are occurring at a record pace. Our Police Department is the focus of a U.S. Justice Department probe. And our mayor spent much of the year under political siege.

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We also understand that Chicago is a tempting poster child for Republicans wanting to point out what they consider to be failed policies of President Barack Obama. What better way could Trump drive home his calls for law and order than to point out the almost 4,000 murders that have occurred in Obama's hometown since he's been in the White House?

We get how tempting is to prey on our murder rate. What we don't like, though, is when politicians come in and try to use our unfortunate circumstances to promote their own political agenda. Trump has repeatedly used Chicago as a thinly veiled commentary on race and the issues facing urban cities with a large number of blacks and Hispanics.

In Trump's view, "the African-Americans" and "the Latinos," as he refers to them, are synonymous with crime. And in each of the three presidential debates, he has painted a picture of black and Hispanic neighborhoods as anarchic, desperate and hopeless.

"We have a situation where we have our inner cities, African-Americans, Hispanics are living in hell because it's so dangerous," he said during the first debate.

Donald Trump shares his opinions with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on June 29, 2015. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

It doesn't fit his narrative to point out that the majority of people living in Chicago's minority neighborhoods are decent, hardworking people who contribute to their communities and to the city as a whole. And many of them, believe it or not, love their neighborhood in spite of its imperfections.

It is quite possible, though, that Trump has no idea what black and Hispanic communities are really like because he's never spent any significant amount of time in them. So he uses tired, old stereotypes to tell a story he does not understand.

He doesn't consider the many factors  some of them historical and systemic  that have led to the decline of our urban neighborhoods. The lack of jobs obviously contributes to joblessness among African-American men. No job equals poverty and poverty, in many cases, equals crime.

We have yet to hear Trump talk about how he would rebuild infrastructure in crumbling neighborhoods or how he would see to it that some of those jobs he promises to bring back from Mexico will land in neighborhoods on Chicago's South and West sides that have long suffered from economic disinvestment.

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He has no answers for the complicated questions. So he offers a simple solution: "We need law and order. If we don't have it, we're not going to have a country."

Trump's repeated calls for strict law and order hark back to the days of slavery, when blacks were believed to be innately sinister and irrational and had to be whipped into confomity.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has used Chicago to illustrate how crime can permeate neighborhoods that are not reined in. The only way to bring back order, in his opinion, is to appoint police officers as overseers in communities that can't manage themselves.

On Southern plantations, armed overseers had the power to do whatever was necessary to bring wayward slaves into line. Under Trump's plan, police officers likewise would have unconstitutional powers like stop and frisk, meaning they could pull people over at a whim, throw them against the hood of a car and search them without cause.

As this long presidential campaign season winds to an end, Trump likely will have much more to say about Chicago in his speeches to crowds of mostly rural and suburban whites across America who consider themselves lucky to be far away from this maddening city.

He will press them to be on the lookout for voter fraud in places like Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis. The underlying message is that these cities have large numbers of African-Americans who are so dishonest they might try to steal the election or allow themselves to be used by the Democratic Party.

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But that is one thing I suspect we will not see on Election Day. Trump supporters won't be patrolling polling stations in predominantly black, Chicago neighborhoods like Englewood, Roseland or North Lawndale.

Trump has spent too much time convincing them to stay far way from those kinds of places, lest they be shot just walking down the street.

dglanton@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @dahleeng
George Leighton, the namesake of Cook County's main criminal courthouse, takes a conference phone call with congratulations from fellow judges and well-wishers in the company of his daughter, Barbara Whitfield, and son-in-law, Roger Whitfield, at the VA center where he lives in Brockton, Mass., on Oct. 21, 2016, the day before his 104th birthday. (Josh Reynolds / Chicago Tribune)

Stunned by an ACLU article that described Chicago police brutality as declining under a new top cop, attorney George Leighton responded with a lengthy letter detailing allegations of beatings, torture and even a death at the hands of officers.

Leighton, then an NAACP leader, blasted the civil liberties group for its "complacency and naivete," saying that unless "something was done about the plague in this community," a "heartbreaking tragedy" would force the U.S. Justice Department to investigate wrongdoing by Chicago police.

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More than five decades later, Leighton's 1963 letter  in which he also noted that Chicago police had failed to respond to a single complaint of misconduct  seems prescient amid the Justice Department probe of the Chicago Police Department in the fallout over the fatal officer-involved shooting of Laquan McDonald.

But as Leighton, a giant in Chicago's legal community, turns 104 on Saturday, he can note with pride that some things have changed  partly because of the path he broke during a career that spanned seven decades and included groundbreaking early civil rights work as well as lengthy stints on the bench at local, appellate and federal courts.

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After making his name as a criminal defense attorney in the 1940s and '50s, Leighton became one of the few African-American judges in Cook County in the 1960s. He went on to become the first black appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, spent more than 10 years as a U.S. District Court judge and served as a mentor and inspiration to generations of Chicago attorneys  President Barack Obama included.

Cook County's main criminal courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue  where he began his judicial career  has named in his honor in 2012.

"He's a man who transcended everything  race, class, religion," said his longtime friend, Judge William Bauer, 90, a senior judge on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

It wasn't easy.

Leighton arrived in Chicago as newly minted lawyer in 1946 at a time when African-Americans weren't allowed to join bar associations or rent office space downtown. Five years later, he was indicted for conspiracy to incite a riot after violence broke out in Cicero when Leighton's client, an African-American bus driver, attempted to move into an apartment.

The building was heavily damaged, and the National Guard was called in to quell unrest that lasted days. Thurgood Marshall, a good friend who later became the first African-American on the U.S. Supreme Court, traveled to Chicago to represent Leighton, who spent several days in jail before the charges were dismissed.

During the 1950s, Leighton also handled crucial cases on voting rights, school desegregation and the rights of African-Americans to serve on juries. He also represented Donald and Betsy Howard after riots broke out on the South Side when their family was allowed by the Chicago Housing Authority to move into the all-white Trumbull Park building.

Their lawsuit was eventually settled, and the CHA said it would stop discriminating against African-Americans.

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Born to parents who immigrated to New Bedford, Mass., from the Cape Verde Islands and spoke little English, Leighton spent long stretches of his impoverished childhood laboring in cranberry bogs, crawling on his hands and knees to pull weeds from the mud.

His improbable dream of becoming a lawyer came to him as a teen working in those bogs, he later said.

The agricultural work kept him from school for months on end, and at age 17  while still in seventh grade  he left to work on an oil tanker sailing to the Dutch West Indies. A voracious reader who picked up chess at age 12, Leighton never graduated from high school, but won a scholarship competition and was admitted in 1936, at age 24, to Howard University.

He excelled there, graduating with a history degree, and was accepted to Harvard Law School on a scholarship. In 1942, he was called into service in World War II, serving as an ROTC second lieutenant in the segregated 93rd Infantry Division. That same year he married his wife, Virginia, who died in 1992 shortly before their 50th anniversary. The couple had two daughters and five grandchildren.

Leighton was discharged in 1945 with the rank of captain, finished law school and passed the bar at age 34. He decided to move to Chicago, a city he had never visited and where knew no one, because it had elected an African-American attorney, William Dawson, to the U.S. House that same year, a former law partner said.

Dawson helped him join the city's premier African-American law firm, where Leighton quickly built a reputation with his sharp legal mind, meticulous attention to detail  which extended to his perfectly pressed clothes and grooming  and work ethic.

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"He was a tiger," said U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen, who has known Leighton for more than 50 years. "He's bright, but there's a lot of bright people around  he's tenacious."

Leighton retired from the federal bench in 1987 when he was 74 and joined the politically connected municipal law firm run by Langdon Neal, whose family roots in the city's African-American legal community go back three generations.

Neal said one morning he arrived early to work but noticed the lights already on in his partner's office. When Neal walked over to say good morning, he saw the judge, then in his late 70s or early 80s, face down on his office floor.

"I froze for a second," said Neal, who then rushed to see if Leighton was still breathing.

"Before I could get over to him, he ripped off another 10 pushups," said Neal, laughing. "He'd only been resting."

That boundless energy continued well into his 90s when the then-retired judge would walk from his Loop condo at Washington and Wells streets to his law office, state and federal court and the Union League Club for lunch with friends. He always ordered a dry sherry at meals.

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Still vibrant at 104, Leighton enjoys speaking to friends by phone and only recently gave up chess. He has difficulty hearing and uses a wheelchair to get around the Boston-area VA center where he lives, his family said.

A consummate storyteller himself, Leighton surrounded himself with mementos from his life  a well-worn Bible he read every day, cover-to-cover over and over; a chessboard that Leighton sometimes used to play himself; and a thin gold watch that was a gift from powerful Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana.

"That was immediate street cred," Neal said of the watch.

The gift came after Leighton won a contempt citation in 1963 against the head of the FBI's Chicago office. The special agent in charge had refused to testify in Giancana's lawsuit, which alleged the FBI was intruding on his constitutional rights by having agents trail him around the clock. He was fined $500 after refusing to answer Leighton's questions.

"I remember talking to the special agent in charge years later and he told me, 'You know what? George was right,'" Judge Bauer said.

On his desk, Leighton kept a rock encased in plexiglass. He would tell visitors who asked about it the story of how, while working as a cook before being accepted into college, he had been peeling potatoes, when he reached for the next one but found it too hard to peel.

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It took a moment to realize it was a rock and Leighton kept it as a reminder of how hard he had worked on his way up.

Young attorneys have long found Leighton a source of inspiration. Sharon Johnson Coleman, now a federal judge in Chicago, sought him out for advice when she was just a young lawyer thinking about running for a Cook County judicial slot.

"He was very encouraging," she said.

Though she didn't have Democratic Party support, Coleman still won the race and eventually followed in his footsteps to the state appellate court and federal court.

Coleman makes it a point to correct those who refer to Cook County's criminal courthouse  as most people still do  as "26th and Cal."

"He adds some class to a building that needs some," she said

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He touched off public uproar and sparked an effort to remove him from the bench in 1965 when, a year after being elected a 26th Street judge, he acquitted two Latino men of beating and slashing a Chicago cop. He refused to back down from his finding that white police officers had lied about what happened.

As a federal court judge, Leighton presided over the 1985 terrorism trial of four members of a Puerto Rican independence group who plotted to bomb two military training centers in Chicago.

He expelled five teens from court for making throat-cutting gestures toward a government witness and wearing T-shirts that together spelled out the Spanish word "chota"  meaning stool pigeon, the Tribune reported.

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During that same trial, the judge, a longtime Chicago Chess Club member, was warned by federal agents that the terrorist group might try to assassinate him as he played at the North Avenue Beach chess pavilion, one of his favorite haunts.

"Chess was such an important part of his life that he disregarded that advice and continued to play there," said attorney Jeffrey Colman, a longtime friend.

Leighton was an accomplished chess player who ranked as high as an "expert" and once defeated a Russian master at a Chicago tournament in 1982, according to a Chess Life profile.

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One of Leighton's chessboards now sits in an enclosed glass space near the entrance to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, a spot thousands of people walk past every day. Few know or appreciate its history.

"It's so important in what's happening in Chicago now  especially in the African-American community," Neal said. "It's so important to feature this history because you can't solve today's problems without understanding history and the historical context we all live today."

sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SteveSchmadeke
Chicago police and paramedics work at the scene where a man was shot Oct. 23, 2016, in the 2400 block of West Lexington Street. (Grace Wong / Chicago Tribune)

Updated Monday, Oct. 24  Five people were killed and at least 11 other people were wounded Saturday and early Sunday in separate city shootings, Chicago police said.

About 3:05 a.m. Sunday, a 23-year-old man was shot in the Lawndale neighborhood. Police responded to a call of a person shot on the 2400 block of West Lexington Street and found the man on the ground with gunshot wounds to his back.

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The man, Rashad Xavier Collins-Baker, 23, of the 100 block of West Elm Street, was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

At the scene, a man whimpered, saying that he was just with the victim. He shook his head and looked at the ground. A woman ran up to the crime scene tape, demanding to know if the victim was still alive, saying that they were all just at a nightclub together. Details regarding the shooting were not immediately available.

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About 2:10 a.m. Sunday, a man identified as Isaiah Hurley, 22, was found dead in the Lawndale neighborhood, according to police and the medical examiner's office.

Hurley, of the 1300 block of South Lawndale Avenue, was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m. on the scene. Police earlier said his age was 20.

Police arrived to the 1500 block of South Christiana Avenue, and officers witnessed shots being fired and several individuals fleeing the area.

Hurley was shot in the chest and the officers chased the gunmen on foot and arrested two people.

Four weapons also were recovered.

No shots were fired at officers during the incident, despite initial reports.

About 1:50 a.m. Sunday, a 27-year-old man named Jonathan Sanchez was shot in the back in the 7300 block of North Sheridan Road in the Rogers Park neighborhood, according to police and the medical examiner's office.

Sanchez exited his apartment through the back door and when he returned, he told his friends he had been shot.

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Sanchez, who lived in the 7300 block of North Sheridan Road, was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m., according to the medical examiner's office.

In the fourth fatal shooting, at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, a man was standing in the 3100 block of West 24th Street when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired several shots, said Officer Bari Lemmon, a Chicago police spokeswoman and the medical examiner's office. The, later identified as Giovani Galvan, man was struck in the chest, abdomen, back and arm. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Lemmon said.

Galvan, 20, of the 2200 block of South Trumbull Avenue, was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. Saturday, the medical examiner's office said.

Police believe the shooting was gang-related.

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The fifth fatal shooting happened about 11:40 p.m. Saturday, when an 18-year-old man identified by the medical examiner's office as Taiwan Fox was shot in the 1100 block of West 81st Street in the Gresham neighborhood.Police earlier said the victim was 20.

Fox was found on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to the back, neck and groin. Fox, of the 500 block of Rhode Island Street in Gary, Ind. was pronounced dead Sunday at 3:44 p.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was taken, initially in critical condition.

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An autopsy Monday determined Fox died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the office.

About 12:40 p.m. Saturday in the Ashburn neighborhood, a 16-year-old boy was found shot in an alley, Lemmon said. Officers responding to a call of shots fired found the youth lying in an alley in the 7900 block of South Francisco Avenue. He had been shot twice in the chest, Lemmon said.

He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, she said.

Police were investigating.

In other shootings:
A person wearing a pig costume stands near the scene of a shooting in the 1000 block of West Belmont Avenue early on Oct. 22, 2016. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Beat 1924, 3 a.m. Oct. 22

JerFay, dressed as a slaughtered pig, was walking in bright red high heels Saturday morning after a night at the Berlin Nightclub in the Lakeview neighborhood on the North Side when she was stopped by crime scene tape.

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"Why? What's happening here," she said.

JerFay, which is the drag name she goes by, lives about a block away from where two men were critically wounded in a shooting.

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She put her hand on her chest and said she was scared. She tried to figure out what happened and what could have led to the shooting. Was the shooting gang-related? Or could it have stemmed from a hate crime?

The men were shot about 3 a.m. in the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue. The pair had been standing outside a vehicle when an unknown person approached and began shooting at them.

A 23-year-old man was shot multiple times, and a 36-year-old man was shot in the neck. Both were in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

No one was in custody as of Saturday morning. The shooting appears to be gang-related.

Near Belmont and Kenmore Avenue, officers guarded a crime scene that included about eight spent shell casings and a Giordano's pizza box. A silver sedan was damaged in the shooting. Down the street, officers guarded a black sweatshirt that was left on the ground near Sheffield Avenue and Belmont.

As officers searched for evidence, people stumbled out of nearby bars. Others tried to get in a liquor store.

"Hey, was there a shooting there?" one woman asked an officer as she walked in the area with three friends. "There was?"

A worker inside a Subway that was taped off as part of the crime scene continued to clean the restaurant. A couple later crossed the crime scene to get into one of the buildings.

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(John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

A man yanks another man away from a crime scene in the 1000 block of West Belmont Avenue early on Oct. 22, 2016, near a liquor store (above) at the corner of Sheffield Avenue and Belmont. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Across the street from the crime scene near Sheffield and Belmont, Omari Ferrell, 19, shared a cigarette with Rico Santana, 27, as they talked about the shooting. Santana said he had been sitting on the corner when the shooting happened.

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"Yeah, bro, they popped him," Santana said. "They shot that man. I was right here."

Ferrell, who had been in the neighborhood for a performance, was walking to the Belmont CTA train station when he heard six to seven gunshots. He went the other way before making his way to the crime scene.

Before the shooting, Ferrell's friend had been robbed. He had been helping his friend look for his stolen duffel bag, which contained a manuscript.

"It happened in a blink of an eye," he said.

Santana and Ferrell shook hands and exchanged names before Ferrell walked away.

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"Sorry you had to witness that," Ferrell said.

"It's part of life," Santana said.
The boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan in Dixon, Ill., on April 18, 2012. The director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Preservation Foundation recently sent out a plea for money to fix the structure. (William DeShazer / Chicago Tribune)

Ronald Reagan's house is falling apart.

We don't mean his beloved Republican Party. We're talking about an actual house, the one Reagan called home during his childhood in Dixon, Ill.

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Last month, the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Preservation Foundation sent out an urgent appeal for funds to fix rotting siding, moldy bathrooms, aging roofs and other signs of deferred maintenance.

"After 32 years of being open to visitors from all parts of the world, the home in which Ronald Reagan spent part of his formative years has fallen into disrepair," wrote Patrick Gorman. "I am reaching out to you and other like-minded individuals to help save this hallowed structure and restore the dignity to the home of one of the greatest United States Presidents of modern times."

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Given that the 40th president is revered as the model of all that was good and wise in the Grand Old Party, and that there's an ongoing effort to plaster his name on a landmark in each of America's 3,144 counties  well, it's a little surprising that the folks in Dixon are in desperate need of $58,495.

"We're hand-to-mouth," says foundation President John Thompson. "We're trying to figure out how to sustain that facility."

And therein lies a tale of hometown pride, good intentions and the cost of nostalgia.

Fun fact: Presidents Lincoln, Grant and Obama all rose to political power in Illinois, but Reagan is the only president who was actually born in the state. (Hillary Clinton, born in Chicago, would be the second if she wins this year's election.)

Reagan arrived on Feb. 6, 1911, in Tampico, a tiny town in the northwest corner, in a second-floor apartment above a bakery. It was the first of several homes the Reagan family rented over the next two decades, in a peripatetic lifestyle fueled by the father's alcoholism and checkered job history. By the time he was 9 years old, "Dutch" Reagan had lived in six places.

In 1920, the Reagans moved about 30 miles to Dixon (population 8,000) and rented a two-story house on Hennepin Avenue for $23 a month. Built in 1891, the house had two parlors, a dining room, a kitchen, an indoor toilet and three bedrooms: one for Reagan and his older brother, Neil; one for their parents; and one that Nelle Reagan used as a sewing room. There was a small barn out back where the boys raised rabbits.

It was a happy chapter: Jack Reagan had steady work as a salesman, Nelle was active in the church and the community, and the boys were busy with school and sports. They had all the trappings of a middle-class life, but the relative prosperity didn't last: The family moved from Hennepin Avenue to a smaller, less expensive house at 338 W. Everett St. in 1923.

Former President Ronald Reagan in 1982. (Los Angeles Times)

As Reagan got older, his childhood took on a rosy patina. "All of us have a place to go back to; Dixon is that place for me," he wrote in his 1965 autobiography, "Where's the Rest of Me?'' "There was the life that has shaped my body and mind for all the years to come after.''

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Flash-forward to 1980, when postman Lynn Knights noticed that the house on Hennepin Avenue was for sale. A group of local business leaders formed a private foundation and purchased the property for $29,000, predicting that it would become a tourist attraction if Reagan was elected president.

Soon after his election, Reagan asked a number of big donors to help with the restoration costs. Norm Wymbs, a wealthy supporter from Florida whose wife had grown up in Illinois, led the effort. He moved to Dixon and served as chairman of the foundation for 20 years.

Wymbs worshipped Reagan and wanted to preserve the house exactly. He hired an architect to restore the interior to its original blueprint and tracked down the wallpaper manufacturer to reprint the original designs. He asked Neil Reagan to comb through the Sears catalogs of the time and point out pieces similar to what had been in the house. Wymbs also bought adjacent houses and created a park, a parking lot and a visitors center. It's unclear how much of his own money Wymbs poured into the project, but he said the final tally was about $5 million.

On Feb. 6, 1984, President Reagan celebrated his 73rd birthday by officially opening the fully restored property.

"Times were tough," he told the audience. "But what I remember most clearly is that Dixon held together. Our faith was our strength. Our teachers pointed to the future. People held on to their hopes and dreams. Neighbors helped neighbors. We knew  my brother, Moon, and I, our mother and father, Nelle and Jack, saw to that  saw that we knew we would overcome adversity and that after the storm, the stars would come."

Patrick Gorman has a special affection for Reagan: He grew up in the house on Everett Street, slept on the same porch where Dutch had slept for four years. His parents were a little disappointed when the house on Hennepin was designated the childhood home, but that was the one mentioned in Reagan's autobiography. When the foundation was looking for a new director this summer, the former nuclear plant worker was all in.

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"I jumped at it because of where I grew up and my connection to Reagan," says Gorman. "I'm not a political person of any kind."

He was shocked to find that the place needed a lot of work. The inside was OK, but the exterior had been neglected and was in sore need of repair. He decided to send a fundraising letter to about 40 "conservative gentlemen" who he thought might donate, and included a detailed list of repairs and estimated costs.

Money, or lack thereof, is the problem. After Norm Wymbs finished the house, he turned his attention to Reagan's former middle school and spent an estimated $25 million transforming it into the Dixon Historic Center (now the Northwest Territory Historic Center).

There was a brief window when it looked as if the house on Hennepin would join other presidential sites as part of the National Park Service. In 2001, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert pushed a bill making the home  located in his congressional district  a National Historic Site to be owned and operated by the federal government. The bill passed by voice vote; George W. Bush happily signed it.

Reagan would have joined an illustrious, if random, list of other presidents honored with their own historical site administered by the Park Service, including George Washington, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, John. F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. (These parks are separate from the 13 presidential libraries, which are operated by the National Archives and Records Administration at an estimated cost of $60 million a year.)

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But Hastert's bill was contingent on the sale of the property to the federal government. When the Interior Department offered only $420,000, based on an appraisal of the structures and the land, the foundation was offended. The offer, it felt, didn't take into account the Reagan legacy and the effort and money that had gone into the restoration. "It's insulting," Wymbs told reporters in 2003. "I say the heck with them."

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Although the deal would have ensured the financial future of the house, the people of Dixon still aren't sure that they'd accept an offer and give up all control. "I think the sentiment is that this is our hometown president and the story of that is ours to tell," says Thompson.

A statue of Ronald Reagan at his boyhood home in Dixon, Ill., in 2012. (William DeShazer / Chicago Tribune)

The house on Hennepin has enjoyed modest success: Open April through October, it welcomes 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a year who browse through the rooms, watch a short film about Reagan, maybe buy a T-shirt or one of his old movies in the gift shop. Admission is $5.

The foundation has resisted efforts to use the property as a prop for news conferences or commercials. "We've had a lot of folks who want to ride the Reagan coattails, but we have policies that prevent that," says Thompson.

So no big bucks from political events, and fundraising has been slow, primarily because the Reagan loyalists who initially financed the restoration are dying off. (Wymbs passed away earlier this month at 92.) There was a burst of donations in 2011  the centennial of Reagan's birth  that brought $251,884. That figure dropped to just $22,992 in 2014, according to IRS documents, and last year was even worse.

Two years ago, the foundation used what little savings it had, about $175,000, to quietly buy the other houses on the block in hopes of expanding the site to include an exhibition and meeting space. If it can raise enough money, which is increasingly a big if.

And assuming, of course, that it can keep the place from falling down.
A man shot by police after he swam the Des Plaines River to evade capture and brandished a knife at a Forest Park officer has been charged with felony retail theft, police said Friday.

The man, who police identified as Micah Delrosario, 34, of Addison, suffered a gunshot wound to the hip described as non-life threatening and remains hospitalized, Forest Park police said.

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The confrontation happened Thursday afternoon after Forest Park police responded to a retail theft report at the Wal-Mart, 1300 Des Plaines Ave. Police say they spotted the suspect running through the nearby Waldheim Jewish cemetery.

When the suspect reached the Des Plaines River, which runs through the west part of the graveyard, he swam across to the other side, according to Lt. Steve Zanoni.

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Police set up a perimeter and at several points saw the man jumping in, then getting out of the river in an apparent attempt to elude police, Zanoni said. About an hour after the incident started and with no recent sighting, officers were preparing to depart when one of them saw the suspect holding a knife in his hand, police said. The officer fired once, hitting Delrosario in the hip.

Additional charges against Delrosario are pending, Zanoni said. As per police protocol, the officer who shot the suspect was placed on paid administrative leave while Illinois State Police investigate, Zanoni said.
With little more than two weeks until Election Day, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's personal investment in eroding the ranks of legislative Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan has grown to nearly $46 million, state campaign finance records show.



The massive influx of cash represents the election-year battle lines playing out in Illinois after more than a year of fighting between Rauner, the first-term governor, and Madigan, the nation's longest-serving speaker, over the future of the state.



Democrats hold supermajorities in the House and Senate and have been able to stymie Rauner's economic agenda, which calls for changes in laws that would weaken traditional Democratic allies in organized labor and among workers' compensation attorneys. The Democrats' refusal to move on those issues led to a lengthy budget stalemate, which culminated in a temporary spending plan that expires Jan. 1.



State filings show the governor and wife Diana Rauner donated an additional $9 million Thursday to the campaign fund of House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs. Durkin almost immediately transferred $5 million to the House Republican Organization, the campaign arm of the House GOP, and $3 million to the Illinois Republican Party.

The latest influx comes after Rauner's campaign fund about a week earlier sent $3 million to Durkin, to be funneled to individual Republican House campaigns.



Durkin's campaign fund also benefited from a $3 million donation Friday from billionaire hedge-fund founder Ken Griffin, a Rauner ally.



All told, Rauner, his family and his campaign fund have doled out $45.8 million in political contributions this year. Of the $29 million the Illinois Republican Party has raised this year, nearly $21 million has come from Rauner and $4 million this month through Durkin's campaign fund.



It's the latest spate of spending for Rauner, who became wealthy as an equity investor. In his 2014 win over then-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, Rauner spent more than $65 million, including $27.6 million in personal funds.



With Madigan now Rauner's target, Durkin's campaign fund has collected nearly $18 million this year, $12 million from Rauner and $5 million from Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel.



Griffin on Friday also wrote an additional $2 million check to Republican Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, who is seeking election to the office against Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza.



Like the battle for legislative seats, the statewide contest between Munger and Mendoza for the comptroller's office is similarly viewed as a proxy war for Rauner and Madigan. Munger was appointed to serve as comptroller by Rauner following the death of Judy Baar Topinka.



Munger has raised $8.6 million for the special election, mainly from five sources: $5 million from Griffin; $2 million from conservative GOP donor Richard Uihlein; $1 million from Rauner's campaign; $260,000 from a loan from Munger's husband, John; and $120,500 from the state Republican Party.

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All other sources to her campaign added up to $267,997, records showed.



Mendoza, a former state lawmaker, has raised just more than $2 million for her campaign. The state Democratic Party, which Madigan chairs, provided $150,000; a number of labor unions have contributed as well.



All told, Griffin has made more than $11.1 million in donations this year  $5 million apiece to Durkin and Munger, and $1 million to the Liberty Principles political action committee that is allied with Rauner in several GOP legislative campaigns.
CLEVELAND  Hillary Clinton ramped up her pressure on Donald Trump in the election's most competitive states Friday with an emotional TV ad targeting his criticism of a Muslim-American family. Trump vowed to go all-out in the final three weeks so he'll have no regrets  even if he loses.



The nominees retrenched behind familiar arguments a day after appearing together at a charity event that veered into cutting personal attacks, an unexpected metaphor for this year's take-no-prisoners presidential campaign. Clinton's new ad features Khizr Khan, whom Trump assailed after Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention.



In the minute-long ad, which Clinton's campaign said was airing in seven battleground states, Khan retells how his son, Captain Humayun Khan, died in Iraq seeking to protect his U.S. military unit from a suicide bomber.



"Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?" the father asks, tearing up as the ad fades to black.





Trump focused some of his criticism on Michelle Obama, who has emerged as one of the most effective voices for Clinton. One of the country's most popular Democrats, the first lady for years has been loath to devote significant time to campaigning, but has done so in recent days with searing indictments of Trump's treatment of women.



"All she wants to do is campaign," Trump said as he rallied supporters in North Carolina. He cited comments Mrs. Obama made during her husband's 2008 campaign in which she said someone who can't run their own house can't run the White House. "She's the one that started that," Trump said.



The typically self-assured Trump was unusually candid about the possibility of losing the election, a prospect that's grown in likelihood as Clinton solidifies her lead in battleground states that will decide the election. Trump said he is packing his schedule with campaign events through Election Day so he will know he spared no effort even if ultimately unsuccessful.



"I will be happy with myself," he said.



Trump and Clinton were still sharply at odds over his unprecedented assertion in the final debate on Wednesday that he may not concede if he loses.





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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton points to the crowd while speaking at a rally at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

She said Friday at a Cleveland campaign stop, "Make no mistake, by doing that, he is threatening our democracy." She said that America knows "the difference between leadership and dictatorship."



Trump, meanwhile, has said he's merely reserving the right to contest the results if the outcome is unclear or questionable. Underpinning his threat is his contention  presented with no evidence  that the election is "rigged" against him and may be soiled by widespread voter fraud. He's urged supporters to "monitor" polling places for potential shenanigans.



Fanning those flames, Russia's government has asked Oklahoma and two other states to allow Russian officials to be present at polling stations on Election Day, to study the "US experience in organization of voting process." Allegations by the U.S. government that Russia is trying to influence the election by hacking Democratic groups has fed a Clinton camp claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is siding with Trump.



The Oklahoma secretary of state's office said Friday it had denied the Russian request, in line with state law. At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest said it was unclear what Moscow was trying to do.



"It's appropriate that people might be suspicious of their motives," Earnest said.



Early voting is underway in more than 30 states. Clinton, reaching for voters who may be reconsidering their support for Trump, said in Ohio that she knows they still have questions about her. "I want to answer them," she said. "I want to earn your vote."



With the final debate behind them, the two candidates appeared together Thursday night for likely the last time in the campaign, at a Catholic fundraiser that turned unusually hostile.





At the dinner, a tradition intended as a display of national unity, Trump drew boos when he referred to Clinton being "so corrupt" and said without apparent humor that she was appearing at the event "pretending not to hate Catholics."



But Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the New York archbishop seated between them at the dinner, described a less antagonistic moment backstage after he invited them to pray.



"After the little prayer, Mr. Trump tuned to Secretary Clinton and said, 'You know, you are one tough and talented woman,' and he said this has been a good experience," Dolan told NBC's "Today" on Friday. "And she said, 'Donald, whatever happens, we need to work together afterwards.'"

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Ted Harvey was the drummer in Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, the group that launched Chicago's Alligator Records. (Jeff Nield / Alligator Records)

Blues drummer Ted Harvey, a master of the shuffle, played with Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, the group that gave Chicago's Alligator Records its start.

"If it wasn't for Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, I'd have a day job," said Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer. "And Ted was a third of that band.

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"His whole job was to propel the band forward and to make it wonderfully easy for people to dance," said Iglauer. "His style was very much traditional Chicago style. He was probably the last great Chicago shuffle drummer."

Harvey, 84, died of heart failure Oct. 6 at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to his daughter, Cheryl Sims.

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Theodore Harvey was born and grew up in Chicago. After graduating from Wendell Phillips High School, he went on to study music and get a degree from Northwestern University, according to Sims.

His family wasn't really musical, Sims said. "He started in grade school playing trumpet," she said. It was at Northwestern that he learned to play the drums.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 75 Mike Haley, a lifelong Cubs fan who helped start the Left Field Bleacher Bums, a group that inspired a play and a made-for-TV movie, died of natural causes on Dec. 31, 2016, in Chicago. He was 67. Read more. (Family photo)

After college, he played in what family members called "boy bands" while working full time, first for Campbell Soup Co. and later for the Postal Service.

From there he moved to music, playing with bands on Maxwell Street before connecting with another Theodore, Theodore Roosevelt Taylor, better known as "Hound Dog."

The band was Taylor and Brewer Phillips, both of whom played electric guitar and Harvey on drums. No bass, said Iglauer, who said the guitar players took turns playing lead and bass.

Iglauer was then working as a shipping clerk for Bob Koester at Delmark Records and had no plans to start a label of his own. He tried to persuade Koester, whom Iglauer called one of his heroes as well as his mentor, to record the HouseRockers.

"I tried to convince him to record the band, and failed to do so," said Iglauer.

"In a combination of 'I'll show him' and 'this band's got to get recorded,' I started a label," he said of Alligator's beginning.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 133 William Christopher, who was known as Father Mulcahy on "MASH" from 1972 to 1983, died Dec. 31, 2016. He was 84. Read more. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)

Alligator did two studio albums and a live album with the HouseRockers before Taylor died in 1975. Of the 12 cuts on that first album, "Give Me Back My Wig" became an unexpected hit and the band's theme song.

In addition to appearing on all of Taylor's albums and touring the world with him, Harvey played drums with blues legends Jimmy Dawkins, Big Walter Horton, Barrelhouse Chuck, J. B. Hutto, Jimmy Rogers, Snooky Pryor and many others.

He was with Rogers for a long time, Iglauer said. He continued playing with other musicians until the late 1990s, when Sims said he took his last out-of-town trip.

"The blues was his passion," Sims said. "Any time he was playing, it was like he was transformed to someplace else. Sit him in front of a set of drums and give him a wad of gum and he just enjoyed."

Iglauer called Harvey a jovial man who always had a smile for everyone and liked places where people were not just talking but talking loud. Thanks to his music, he was often in those places.

His wife, Loretta, died in 2005.

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Survivors also include two other daughters, Regina Harvey Harding and Leanise; sons Anthony, Milton and Theodore Jr.; 12 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

Services were held.

Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.
It's hard to imagine a presidential election with higher stakes than the current one: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump offer radically different ideas about the country's direction, and many people believe that one or the other would be catastrophic. Yet new evidence raises the possibility that we will see an unusually low voter turnout.

To explain that puzzle, here's a quiz. Since 1972, when do you think the U.S. had the biggest turnout in a presidential election, measured by the percentage of the voting-age population that actually voted?

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The answer is 2008, when 58.2 percent of potential voters cast ballots. A big reason was Barack Obama, an electrifying candidate who turned "hope and change" into a national mantra. And of course John McCain had his own strong core of enthusiastic supporters, ensuring a fierce intergenerational battle that appealed to people's competing ideals and aspirations.

By contrast, the lowest turnout in recent years was in 1996, when President Bill Clinton, chastened and tarnished by struggles with the Republican Congress, defeated Bob Dole, who proved a hopelessly ineffectual candidate. Only 49 percent of potential voters cast ballots.

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Turn now to the present, when just 72 percent of registered voters say they are highly interested in the presidential elections  a 15 percent reduction from 2008 (and 4 percentage points lower than in 2012). The number of highly interested voters matters, because it is closely correlated with the ultimate turnout. Those numbers suggest a drop this year, despite the high stakes.

The biggest decline is among younger voters and blacks. In 2008, a whopping 83 percent of voters under 35 said they were highly interested, compared with 54 percent today. That same share of blacks, 83 percent, said in 2008 that they were highly interested, compared with 65 percent this time.

What's going on? One lesson is that if you want to predict voter turnout, you should ask whether at least one candidate is attracting high levels of enthusiasm  not whether the stakes are high, or even perceived to be high.

That fits the historical pattern. The charismatic John Kennedy was a forerunner to Obama, helping to produce an unusually high turnout in 1960 (62.8 percent). By contrast, the 1988 election, in which the unexciting George H.W. Bush opposed the even less exciting Michael Dukakis, produced one of history's lowest participation rates  just 50.2 percent.

Many Republicans lack enthusiasm for Trump, and they are not going to turn out for him. A much higher percentage of Republicans reported being keenly interested in the 2012 campaign than in the current one. Among Democrats, the level of high interest is about the same as what it was in 2012 (an excellent sign for Hillary Clinton)  but that's still far lower than in 2008. Though many Democrats think that Trump would be a terrible president, hope was apparently a much stronger spur in 2008 than fear is today.

If the 2016 election produces an unusually low turnout, should we be alarmed? To the extent that prospective voters are intimidated (for example, by the prospect of "monitoring" by Trump supporters), self-government is compromised. And if people don't vote because they lack enthusiasm for the candidates, the process isn't working as it should. From the standpoint of democratic legitimacy, it's a problem if half the electorate, or close to it, declines to vote, not least because those people may not feel much of a stake in the whole process.

It's true that the current data must be viewed with care. The election is still about two weeks away, and voter interest could jump in that time, producing unexpectedly high turnout levels. Moreover, the correlation between interest and turnout may be weaker this time around. People who remain unexcited about the election or their own candidate might ultimately appreciate the stakes, and so end up voting.

But don't bet on it. At least at the moment, the most reliable guess is that we will see a solid, even emphatic victory for Clinton  from a little more than half the voting-age population.

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Cass Sunstein, a Bloomberg View columnist, is director of the Harvard Law School's program on behavioral economics and public policy.
Drive about 30 minutes east of Carbondale and you'll end up in Marion, a charming southern Illinois town where you can park downtown for free and a rib-eye dinner costs $15.

Politics in this part of the state gets complicated. Many households depend on unionized government jobs  colleges, schools and prisons  and tend to support Democrats. But socially conservative principles also galvanize them to support Republicans.

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The contrast puts lawmakers like Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, in a vise. He describes himself as a "southern Illinois boy," born and raised in a part of the state where lifestyle and philosophy don't always mesh with Chicago's. Yet he serves on House Speaker Michael Madigan's leadership team as an assistant majority leader. So he's expected to support Madigan's Chicago-centric agenda.

Bradley, a lawyer appointed to the seat in 2003, has praised Madigan as a model of character and strength.

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"For his many years as speaker, Mike Madigan has been tested time and time again. And his character has always prevailed. I don't think any of us can appreciate the pressures, the challenges, the amount of work our speaker faces on a daily basis," Bradley said during a House ceremony coronating Madigan as speaker a few years ago. "The difficult decisions, the heart-wrenching choices.

"But I believe that it is his love of this state, his respect for this institution, and his devotion to principle that keeps him going," Bradley continued. "As he once again is nominated to assume this great responsibility, he becomes one of the longest serving public figures in the history of this state and the history of this great country. Lincoln also said, 'Whatever you are, be a good one.' Speaker Madigan has done just that."

Bradley's accolades are not going over well with voters in his district, nor should they. His opponent, Republican Dave Severin of Benton, has used the Madigan bromance quotations in campaign ads against Bradley.

Madigan has become a liability for many Democrats on the Nov. 8 ballot, and not only in southern Illinois. The dysfunction of state government, the enormous spending, the pension crisis, the chronically unbalanced budgets  the onus falls largely on the leader who's been in Springfield for 46 years. Since 1971.

We don't know how much of a liability Madigan will be on Election Day.

For years, voters have shown their divided hearts. They don't like or trust Madigan. In some circles he is outright despised. But many voters do like their local Democratic lawmakers. Exhibit A: Voters like Bradley. They cross paths with him at the grocery store. They shake hands at parades. They sing together at church. He's a nice guy.

Yet, nice guys (and gals) are the reason Madigan remains speaker of the House. They keep voting for him to be their Democratic caucus leader, their House speaker. And we've endorsed some of them for re-election.

But isn't it time to break up with some of Madigan's enablers in order to break up with Madigan? A vote for a Democratic House member is a vote for keeping Madigan's dominion over Illinois.

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Know that when you step into your polling place and hover over your ballot, if there's a choice at all. Only 48 of 118 House races are contested, which means 70 candidates will be elected with no challenge.

There are costs and benefits of re-electing incumbents vs. sending newcomers. If re-electing an incumbent in your district means continuing to empower Madigan, think twice. If it means giving Madigan a supermajority that can ram through budgets that spend beyond Illinois' means, think thrice. If it means letting Madigan override gubernatorial vetoes to curry favor with special interest groups, think some more. If it means helping Madigan block reforms that even his own Democratic members support, think about sending a new representative to the Illinois House.

Voters have indicated they want term limits, in part to oust politicians such as Madigan. We don't have term limits in Illinois because he won't allow the issue to come to a vote.

So if you're among those who want to oust him as speaker, there is only one way to do it. You have to end the relationship with lawmakers such as Deb Conroy of Villa Park and Michelle Mussman of Schaumburg and Sam Yingling of Grayslake who have strong and capable Republicans running against them.

Breaking up is hard to do. But prolonging and enduring the dismal status quo of Illinois government is harder.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
It appears Project Bubba is on the way.

The undefined project, and the separate-but-related Project Bubba Jr., are in the midst of locating to Aurora  bringing with them a total of 1.3 million square feet of building space, up to 1,400 jobs and about $40 million in payroll.

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The projects are all but official. The actual names of the companies involved are unknown at this time, because they are receiving EDGE tax breaks from the state, which means the state gets to announce the names of the companies. That announcement could come in time for the Aurora City Council vote on a $400,000 tax rebate for the companies, scheduled for the regular 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday in the council chambers, City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.

Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, program awards, administered through the Illinois Department of Commerce, are a tax incentive for companies looking to expand or locate in Illinois. EDGE awards are only given to companies that are also looking at locations in other states, which means Projects Bubba and Bubba Jr. are choosing Aurora over a location in another state. The EDGE program can award tax credits equal to the amount of state income taxes withheld from the salaries of employees in the newly created jobs.

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Project Bubba would be about a 950,000-square-foot building, with 1,200 employees and an estimated payroll of $34.4 million. Project Bubba Jr. would be a 402,000-square-foot building with 120 jobs at first - expanding to about 200 jobs eventually - and about a $5.4 million payroll.

The two buildings would be along Duke Parkway, north of Ferry Road and west of Route 59 on Aurora's far northeast side. They are part of Duke Realty's corporate park development that includes the recently opened Shorr Packaging Corp. headquarters.

Aurora is voting on an additional incentive aside from the EDGE awards for the new company. It would be a $400,000 tax abatement in its first three years of existence, that would go toward what it is supposed to pay for a traffic signal at Route 59 and Duke Parkway when the parkway is extended that far.

The company coming in would be responsible for installation of the traffic signal and road improvements at the intersection, which would be adjacent to the project's property. Those improvements are estimated at $3.6 million, and officials are looking for a $2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation to cover more than half of it. Aurora's $400,000 abatement would cover part of the $1.6 million left to fund.

It's estimated right now that abatement would be 90 percent of the city's portion of real estate taxes the first year - which as it stands would be the 2019 tax year - 80 percent the second year and about 15 percent the third year. That's based on the building being completed by the end of 2017. Officials estimated the building would generate about $1 million in property taxes for all the taxing bodies involved, so the city's portion would be about $200,000.

As for who the company is, a representative from Duke told aldermen at a recent Committee of the Whole meeting that the state should make the announcement before the end of October. David Hulseberg, chief executive officer of Invest Aurora, the city's not-for-profit redevelopment corporation, said they have vetted the companies, and they will be a good fit for the city.

"When they (the state) do make the announcement, you be very happy with the results," he said.
Jason Contreras was 3 years old when his 6-year-old brother, Nico, was shot and killed in their grandparents' Aurora home. Inspired by the police who worked on the case, Contreras has become a police officer himself. (Hannah Leone / Aurora Beacon News) (Chicago Tribune)

Jason Contreras remembers sitting on a bench in the Kane County Courthouse with his family and silently praying for justice.

Throughout his teenage years, Contreras watched and listened as prosecutors went after Mark Downs and Elias Diaz, his brother Nico's killers.

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He observed the way police investigators diligently worked the case, never letting it go cold.

And he realized he wanted to be one of them.

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By the time the men faced trial, it was the mid-2000s and Contreras, a student at Plano High School, could understand his brother's murder in a way he couldn't grasp more than a decade earlier. He was just 3 years old when two bullets shot through a window in their grandparents' Aurora home and struck the sleeping boy, a kindergartner at Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Meant for the boys' uncle, motivated by a gang feud, the shooting left Nico Contreras dead two days after his 6th birthday in November 1996.

"I don't have any recollection of that night," said Jason Contreras, now 23. "Nothing at all. I just remember him not being there."

Though he can't recall those events, they have shaped Contreras, who is beginning his career as an officer on the Plano police force. With a law enforcement degree from Western Illinois University, Contreras took the oath to protect and serve and is now a few weeks into police academy.

"As I got older, I started to really think about gang violence and how it affects other families every year," Contreras said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 5 Jason Contreras, left, with older brother, Nico Contreras. Jason was three and his brother was six years old in 1996 when Nico was fatally shot as he slept in his grandparents' house in Aurora. (Jason Contreras / Handout)

With his parents, Javier Contreras and Sandi Saltijeral, standing to his right, Jason Contreras raised his right hand and Plano City attorney Tom Grant swore him in before the Sept. 26 City Council meeting. To his left were acting Plano police Chief John Whowell, Sgt. Norm Allison and Mayor Robert Hausler.

On his mind, though, was the brother he barely knew.

"Playing with toys, just hanging out with him at the house," Contreras said, recounting what he remembers about Nico, the oldest of the family's five children. "Really vague memories because I was so little at the time."

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Contreras doesn't remember Nico's burial at Aurora's St. Joseph Cemetery. But he has visited the gravesite often, releasing white balloons on Nico's Nov. 8 birthday each year, a family tradition.

He has stronger memories of what he saw as he paid attention to the police investigators and prosecutors who worked to solve the crime that shocked the city and sparked an anti-gang backlash in Aurora.

Diaz's trial started during Contreras' freshman year at Plano High School. Downs' trial marked his senior year. With his family, he sat through both.

"I was there to observe," said Contreras, of Aurora. "We all wanted to see justice done."

What he saw also stirred Contreras to become a police officer. Motivating him is a desire to help families achieve closure by seeking justice, particularly in cases involving the killing of a loved one.

"Around when the trial started, that's when I realized I wanted to help people, just like the officers and state's attorneys helped my family," Contreras said.

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On his path to the police force, Contreras met some of the authorities who had worked to solve his brother's murder. When he interned at the Aurora Police Department in 2015, he encountered Aurora Police Lt. Brian Olsen, formerly an investigator on the case.

"I don't know that I would have sought him out to talk to him about (the case), not knowing what his feelings were," said Olsen, who is now retired. "But after sitting and talking to him, he obviously is a good young man."

Olsen didn't become involved in the Nico Contreras case until 2001, but he remembers when it happened.

"That pretty much traumatized most of the police department, having a 6-year-old murdered sleeping in bed," Olsen said.

In 1996, Olsen had a son about Nico's age. Many of the officers had young children. Nico could have been their kid. That weighed heavily on their minds, Olsen said.

Furthering the frustration, police identified suspects quickly but had trouble finding reliable witnesses, he said.

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"From day one, we knew Mark Downs," Olsen said.

Yet almost a decade passed before police got close to charging him.

In early 2006, patrol officers arrested Alejandro Solis, a former gang leader who claimed to have information on the Contreras homicide, Olsen said.

Over the years, police got a lot of calls like that, he said. This one was different. For hours, a detective and sergeant working that night interviewed Solis, whose testimony was later instrumental in convicting Downs and Diaz.

"He gave up pretty much everything," Olsen said.

By that time, Olsen had been promoted to lieutenant and was no longer working the Contreras case. The investigation also involved the FBI and the Kane County state's attorney's office.

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In December 2006, Diaz, a 38-year-old Aurora man, was charged with first-degree murder in connection to Nico's death.

The next October, prosecutors announced charges against Downs, who was 31. Downs had been living in West Chicago when Nico was shot but was in prison serving a 17-year sentence for a gang-related 2004 attempted murder when he was charged in Nico's death.

Both Diaz and Downs were later convicted, in 2008 and 2009, of first-degree murder charges connected to Nico's killing. Diaz drove Downs and Ruben Davila, who testified in the case, to Nico's grandparents' house, where they thought his uncle was. Downs pulled the trigger, firing at least seven shots, prosecutors said.

Downs was sentenced to 70 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections; Diaz got 60.

"Both guys went away, so I was happy," Contreras said. "I feel like my family found closure."

While excited to learn as much as he can as a patrol officer, Contreras is considering several career paths down the line. He'd like to work in investigations, to help families like his. He could also see himself as a high school resource officer, "trying to help kids, influence them to further their education and better their future." Eventually, he said, it would be nice to work as a sergeant.

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"But those are all down the road," Contreras said. For now, he said one of his goals is to truly get to know a community, to talk to people on the street.

At his swearing-in last month, Plano police chief Jon Whowell welcomed Contreras to the force and wished him a successful career.

"It is an honor and privilege to have this dedicated young man on the force," Whowell said.

In the meantime, his brother's murder case continues in the appellate court, where Downs is challenging his conviction.

But Contreras said he isn't worried about the killer getting out. He still has faith in the system that brought his family closure.

"I feel confident that the circumstances of the case haven't changed," Contreras said. "So I don't expect a different outcome. He can appeal all he wants. The facts are still the facts."

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Freelance reporter Susan Thanepohn contributed to this story.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
The is what the suspect who robbed the BMO Harris Bank in Midlothian Friday looked like when he held up a different bank earlier this year. (http://bandittrackerchicago.com / HANDOUT)

A serial bank robber who often wears sunglasses and a hat or hoodie held up a Midlothian bank Friday for the second time in less than two months, officials said.

The robbery happened at about 10:20 a.m. at the BMO Harris Bank, 4050 W. 147th St., according to the FBI. The suspect wore black plastic sunglasses and a black sweater.

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The man is believed to have robbed the same bank on Aug. 25, and is also a suspect in the robberies of a U.S. Bank branch at 8739 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview on Aug. 9; a U.S. Bank branch at 10270 Central Ave. in Oak Lawn on Sept. 17; and a TCF Bank at 9801 Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn on Oct. 13.

The robber is described as a black man, about 6-foot, 3-inches and 250 pounds.

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Anyone with information is asked to called the Chicago FBI office at 312-421-6700.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
A Frankfort man has been charged with snatching the purse of a 66-year-old woman in the parking lot of Jewel Foods in Orland Park on Thursday, Orland Park Police said in a news release.

Vincent Frighetto, 24, of the 22200 block of Clary Sage Drive, faces charges of robbery, leaving the scene of an accident and not having a valid driver's license after he was arrested at a motel in Cicero, police said. The woman's purse was not recovered, according to police.

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Orland Park Police responded at 11:30 a.m. Thursday to a call of a purse snatching that had taken place at the store, 9350 159th St., and the victim told police she was putting away groceries in her car when a green Dodge Intrepid pulled alongside her and the driver yanked her purse off her shoulder. The car smacked into a car parked next to the woman and fled, police said.

As police were arriving at the scene, they were informed of a purse-snatching attempt that had taken place nearby, at the Wal-Mart at 159th Street and 94th Avenue in Orland Hills. In that instance, a green Dodge Intrepid was involved, and a Wal-Mart employee, who was able to recover that victim's purse, also provided the license plate information to police, according to the release.

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With the assistance of Frankfort police, Frighetto was identified as a possible suspect, and Cicero police located him at a motel in that suburb.

He was charged Friday and is next scheduled for court Nov. 18, police said.
A 40-year-old Elgin man wanted in an August sexual assault case has been arrested by the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Fernando Godinez-Monjaras, whose address was not released, was charged with criminal sexual assault, according to a sheriff's office news release. He was released from jail pending his next court appearance on Nov. 3 after posting 10 percent of his $20,000 bond, the release said.

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The arrest stems from an Aug. 12 incident in which a woman, 33, told sheriff's detectives she accepted a ride home from two men she met at a bar in Hoffman Estates, the release said. She fell asleep in the cab of the men's truck and awoke to find one of them sexually assaulting her, the release said.

When she attempted free herself and tried to call 911, the suspect threw her cellphone out the window, the release said. She was eventually forced out of the truck, and sought help from residents who lived in the 3100 block of West Rohrssen Road in Hanover Park Township, the release said.

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The woman was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, where she was treated for minor injuries and a criminal sexual assault kit was completed, the release stated.

Godinez-Monjaras was identified as the suspect, but sheriff's detectives had to obtain a warrant when he could not be found. He turned himself into authorities on Oct. 12 and was formally processed on Oct. 17.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
A number of desserts were on display Thursday as part of the Clumsy Chefs' fall day feast at Elgin High School. (Megann Horstead / Pioneer Press)

Elgin High School senior Christian Acosta said he has seen other students participate in the fall day feast in past years, but never imagined he would get the chance to help organize one.

"I would see the seniors before me in this fall feast, but I never thought I'd actually be in it," he said. "I just thought it would be something completely different besides the culinary arts program itself. When I found out that we would be doing it as seniors, it was just an incredible thought. I'd be the one helping and serving all the customers that arrive."

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Students enrolled in Elgin High School's Clumsy Chef Culinary program turned up the heat Thursday, when they hosted the annual fall day feast.

The event is to raise funds to help support students who participate in the program's practical labs.

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Ann Leider, culinary arts instructor, said the experience is an opportunity for students to learn restaurant skills, how to run and operate buffets and dining rooms, and how to cook food for large groups.

"It's very real world," she said.

On the menu were holiday favorites including turkey, ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, casseroles, a full salad bar and desserts.

Acosta said being involved in the Clumsy Chefs program has been an eye-opening experience.

"At first in eighth grade, it was just 'oh, food.' You know this is what everyone thinks about it. Oh, it's just food. We get to eat free food. But, then once I actually got here my freshman year, there's so much more to it than just making food."

Acosta said he's learned about the culinary and hospitality industries at Elgin High School and is excited to put those skills to use once he graduates.

"My plan is to go to Elgin Community College and train in their culinary program along with (another major)," Acosta said.

Leider said this year's fall day feast was slated to seat as many as 150 people throughout the day.

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Noting that many of her past students find themselves pursuing careers in the culinary arts, Leider said having recent graduates return to campus adds to student engagement.

"A lot of our students then continue on into different culinary schools," she said. "I try to bring them back to help out and show these students what some of their futures could look like in the industry."

Elgin resident and EHS graduate Tyra Kemper, a senior in the hospitality management program at Kendall College, said she felt compelled to take part in the event.

"This program is what inspired me and showed me the world of hospitality and that's why I'm going to Kendall now," she said.

Megann Horstead is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
An Elgin man in prison on a weapons charge now faces predatory criminal sexual assault charges, according to court records.

Cesar M. Calderon, 35, was charged this week with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual abuse, according to Kane County Circuit Court records.

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He is accused of sexually assaulting a victim younger than 13 years old in January 2014, records show. The Kane County Child Advocacy Center in Geneva and Elgin police investigated the case.

Calderon is serving a four year prison term at Vandalia Correctional Center in Vandalia for felony possession/use of a firearm by a parolee, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He is scheduled to be paroled in March 2017, records show.

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Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Naperville resident Joe Turco stands outside Turco's Italian Deli, which is expected to open next month at North Aurora Road and Raymond Drive on Naperville's northwest side. (Bill Bird / Naperville Sun)

Joe Turco proudly announced the grand opening date of his new business venture this week and almost immediately backtracked, fretting over the possibility of somebody, somewhere, hurling an unanticipated monkey wrench into the works.

But if his own family history is any indicator at all, he probably shouldn't worry. The Turco family has been through this before, having launched successful Italian eateries in Chicago's famous Taylor Street area and suburban Oak Park.

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Turco's Italian Deli is "opening in early November," Turco said with a confident smile. The mostly carryout food store will be in the Riverbrook Shopping Center, northwest of North Aurora Road and Raymond Drive on Naperville's northwest side. It's location most recently was occupied by Quiznos.

The Turco family has roots in the Naples and Sicily areas of Italy. Joe Turco said he and his family have lived in Naperville for 22 years.

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"I grew up in my grandmother's store," a grocery-delicatessen between Polk and Taylor streets on Chicago's West Side, Turco said. One of his brothers later brought a similar venture to Oak Park, he said.

The Naperville location will be overseen by Turco; his wife, Sherry; and his sister, Angelina Pontenzo, who has worked as a schoolteacher and principal in Des Plaines. Another five or six family members will likely round out the staff, he said.

Turco said the takeout menu will consist largely of lunch and dinner items "made from a lot of old family recipes." There will be several "hot pasta dishes, homemade meatballs and sandwiches," as well as fresh salads and imported olives, cheeses and meats, he said.

The deli also hopes to offer frittatas and other breakfast-to-lunch type foods. Sherry Turco "does the baking," and patrons can expect lots of Italian cookies, cheesecakes and other pastries, he said.

"We'll have a ledge and stools" available near the front door where customers can snack, but Turco said he anticipates business will be "mostly to-go."

The deli is tentatively set to be open between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

"You just have to see how that goes," Turco said, expressing his hope hours will have to be extended due to customer demand.

wbird@tribpub.com
What if a plane crashed at DuPage Airport and everybody showed up for it?

That's what the scene looked like Saturday morning on Runway 2R, where a steady stream of emergency vehicles from local, state and federal agencies arrived, lights flashing, to participate in a disaster drill. Just off the runway, a broken plane and several debris piles waited to be set on fire, while eight volunteer "victims" in gory injury-simulation makeup stood ready to take their places around the wreckage.

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The West Chicago Fire Protection District fire department was already on the scene. It operates a fire station at the airport.

"This one isn't like our other stations," district Trustee Chuck Bratcher said. "It has robotic-arm trucks especially designed to fight airplane fires, and it's manned by the same group of people working in shifts because they all have to be trained to use those trucks."

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Sara Gelsoming, emergency management coordinator for the West Chicago Police Department, watched last-minute drill preparations along with her assistant coordinator, Det. Robbi Peterson, and Police Chief Michael Uplegger.

"In a real emergency, we'd work with the on-scene supervisor to make sure the scene was secure," Gelsoming said. "Mostly we would maintain a secure scene for the firefighters to work in, but if they needed something else, we'd try to supply it."

Once the plane caught fire and the rescue workers flooded in, air safety investigator Pam Sullivan of the National Transportation Safety Board watched the proceedings carefully, trying to spot procedures that could compromise evidence and make it harder to determine the cause of the crash.

"What fire and rescue personnel does can impact our job," Sullivan said. "Obviously, they have to do whatever it takes to get victims out, but if they have to cut switches or take apart the plane, they need to let us know so we can take that into account during our investigation."

As the drill progressed, observers listened to emergency radio transmissions describing the state of the crash scene and telling emergency response teams what to do. Karen Bosnyak, trauma coordinator for Central DuPage Hospital, focused on the transmissions from the triage team director listing the number and conditions of the victims.

"If this were real, I'd be at the hospital getting this information by radio from the scene so that we could clear out the ER and prepare to receive patients from the crash," she said. "We'd need to know what their injuries were before arrival so we could call in trauma surgeons and other specialists, depending on what kind of care they'd need. There are people at the hospital now going through the process of making those preparations. The more we practice this, the easier it is to do smoothly and efficiently when a real emergency happens."

Fire departments participating in the drill included Carol Stream, Geneva, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Wheaton, Winfield, Batavia, St. Charles, Lockport and Janesville, Wis. "We're not likely to get called to help with something out here unless it's a really horrific disaster," noted a Lockport Fire Department observer. "But we serve a regional airport, so we're always looking for a chance to practice disaster response."

While the staff inside the Department of Homeland Security's mobile unit mostly stayed put, everyone else eventually made their way to the Salvation Army disaster relief mobile kitchen for hot coffee, snacks and conversation.

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"For this event, we got an invitation from the airport to participate," canteen coordinator Larry Pilotte said. "When real emergencies happen, the responding agencies have an 800-number hotline to call us in if they want us. Here, we're just enjoying the chance to meet and greet people and show what we can do."

Salvation Army relief teams keep rescue workers fed and hydrated so they can keep working to save victims, Pilotte said. They also serve victims, both with meals at the scene and with social service officers, who find temporary accommodations and other necessities for those who need them.

"Last year, when a Category F5 tornado hit Fairdale, near Rockford, we were out there continuously for three weeks," Pilotte said. "It's a tiny town with very few emergency resources. We fed people from the kitchen 24-7, and we packed up hot meals and drove around to all the homes that had been blown down so we could give them to the people working out there to clear debris and look for survivors.

"It gives you a good feeling when you can do something to support people in situations like that, and it's good to be able to do something to help people practice for the times when it's real."

Denise Linke is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Anita Smolik holds a framed coy of her father Herbert Smyle's war photo at her home in Naperville on Thursday. She recently found out a relationship her father had as a soldier during World War II produced a half brother, who now lives in Canada. (Mike Mantucca / Naperville Sun)

Anita Smolik flips through old black-and-white photos of her father in search of clues to her family tree, a tree that recently sprouted an unexpected new branch.

"That's at my father's bar mitzvah," she says, pointing to a photograph of 13-year-old Herbert Smyle holding a scroll.

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"And this is him in Germany. The back says he's in Berchtesgaden," she says.

The Naperville woman's genealogy was turned upside down recently when she learned she has a half-brother living six hours away in Ontario, Canada.

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A familial match to her DNA was the key that unlocked a mystery that has preoccupied the Canadian family for years.

"It's like a dream," Smolik said of the circumstances that confirmed the two share the same father.

The flurry of conversations and emails between Smolik, 69, and half-brother, James Sloma, 70, started shortly after Smolik's daughter sent a DNA sample off to Ancestry to be analyzed.

Smolik's daughter, who lives abroad and asked that her name not be used, said she had been fascinated by the results a friend received and decided to have her DNA tested, too.

Besides providing people with information on their ethnic background  as the television commercials tout  Ancestry also searches its network of members to identify blood relatives.

And that was how she came into contact with Amy Sloma, of British Columbia, Canada.

Quest for dad's father

For years, Amy Sloma knew little about her father's side of the family.

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Unlike her mother, Christine, who was one of 13 children, her father was an only child.

It was after the death of her grandmother, Janina Sloma, in 2009 that Amy Sloma decided to search for more information on the missing half of her family tree.

James Sloma said he doubted his daughter would ever find anything.

"We had no name. It's hard to find someone without a name," he said.

The only information he knew was his biological father was an American soldier.

James Sloma said his mother, born Janina Baran, grew up in Poland and became a slave laborer at age 17 on a farm in Germany after her father was killed in a concentration camp during World War II.

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He said his devout Roman Catholic mother spoke little about his father, other than to say he was an American soldier she met at a dance.

The war ended in May 1945, and U.S. service members were still returning from Europe in 1946.

The young woman gave birth to a son in August 1946 and later married Kazimierz Sloma, a Polish prisoner of war.

James Sloma spent the first five years of his life in a camp for displaced persons in Heilbronn, Germany, before the three immigrated to Canada in 1951.

With such vague searchable information, the Sloma family turned to genealogical testing through 23andMe and Family Tree DNA. It was through that that they learned the man who was raised Catholic was half Jewish.

Over the next four years, Amy Sloma researched relatives in Romania and reached out to a distant uncle in Israel, who provided a family history.

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A breakthrough occurred in August 2016. Amy Sloma contacted a first cousin she found through DNA testing information. That cousin confirmed that her father and an uncle served during World War II, but her father was not in Germany.

The cousin said her uncle, Herbert Smyle, might be the one she was looking for, though she'd lost touch with his family.

Amy Sloma finally had a name; now she just needed proof.

A few weeks later, she received a notice from Ancestry that came as a complete shock. Because she'd been researching and studying genetic markers for the past five years, Amy Sloma knew she'd hit the jackpot.

"All I remember saying to my father is, 'I think I've found his half-niece,' " she said.

The Smolik family link

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It was September when Anita Smolik's daughter decided to have her DNA tested.

After receiving the test results, she received an informal and open-ended email from Amy Sloma, who mentioned they were related.

After agreeing to communicate, a second message arrived that went into more detail about Amy Sloma's quest and asked if a grandfather or great-uncle fought in World War II.

Smolik said her daughter contacted her immediately. Both knew Smolik's father, Herbert Smyle, had served in Germany. He enlisted in March 1943.

"He always spoke about having a Polish girlfriend during the war," Smolik said. "We didn't know she got pregnant."

Smolik said Smyle returned from the war in May 1946 and got engaged to her mother on May 31. They married sixth months later, and Smolik was born 11 months after that.

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Smolik agreed to talk with Amy Sloma and have her DNA tested through Family Tree DNA.

Results validating that Smolik and James Sloma are half-siblings arrived in the mail earlier this month.

"The match date was on my birthday," Smolik said.

Although she was certain she'd be a match, Smolik waited until after she received official confirmation to make the announcement on social media.

Meeting for the first time

The reason for the Smolik's sudden look back through scrapbooks and old photos is because the half-siblings are planning to meet for the first time in Naperville at the end of the month.

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In addition to sharing information about her father, Smolik said she wants to show James and Christine Sloma around Naperville, her home since her husband had a job transfer from New Jersey in the 1980s.

Smolik's only other sibling, a brother, lives in California and won't be able to attend the get-together.

Amy Sloma is thrilled her five-year quest is over and her father can learn more about his family.

"I told Anita, 'You sound like someone I should have known all my life,' " she said.

The opportunity to unite with his half-sister continues to amaze James Sloma.

"It's beyond belief. I'm an only child; I guess not anymore," he said.

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subaker@tribpub.com

Twitter @SBakerSun1
A new school for children with autism would open on the city's far north side under plans presented to the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission.

The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, also known as CARD, is proposing a 918-square-foot learning center that would use space inside the group's existing 4,000-square-foot building at 603 E. Diehl Road, according to a staff report.

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The project went before the planning and zoning commission last week to secure approval for a conditional-use permit that would allow the center to open a school on land zoned for offices, research and light industry. The project also needs a variance to reduce the number of required off-street parking spaces by one.

The commission recommended the Naperville City Council approve both requests.

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"They had an existing office space and they are looking to add a learning center," said Allison Laff, planning services team leader for the city's Transportation, Engineering and Development Department. She expects council to consider the request this fall.

If approved, the learning center proposes working with kids from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to staff reports. Caregivers would be required to escort students into the building so cars would not congregate in a pick-up or drop-off area.

The building sits on 3.25 acres on the northwest corner Diehl Road at Center Pointe Circle.

According to the agency's website, there are Center for Autism and Related Disorders offices all over the country, including locations in Oak Park and Edwardsville in Illinois. The company is based in Woodland Hills, Calif., and the largest number of offices  more than three dozen  are located in California.

It describes itself online as one of the "world's largest organizations using applied behavior analysis in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder."

"The CARD I and CARD II programs include comprehensive and cutting-edge curricula that can be tailored to the specific needs of individuals from birth to 21 years of age," the site said. "These programs help children learn to communicate, develop friendships and lead happy, healthy lives."

gbookwalter@tribpub.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
Ask any Chicagoan for their top shopping recommendations, and you'll likely get a slew of answers that span the entire city  from unique boutiques to shopping megacenters and everything in between. We honed in on specific personalities to trim down that list and make it as personalized as possible. From the home chef to the animal lover, here are the very best shopping destinations based on what you're looking for.

The dapper gent

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Style is all about expressing your personality. Let the threads do the talking.

Mildblend Supply Co. (1342 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-772-9711, www.mildblend.com): You don't know denim if you haven't shopped this Wicker Park store. It offers an entirely American-made selection of clothing, shoes and grooming products with an emphasis on high-quality construction and design. Oh, and denim. Lots of denim. Look out for free hemming sales.

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Penelope's (1913 W. Division St., 773-395-2351, www.shoppenelopes.com): Smart designs, perfect colors and beautiful prints fill the racks at this Euro-American-style store in Wicker Park. Most of the boutique's stock focuses on prints and colors  perfect for pieces that stand out against more classic threads. Pick up socks, hats or scarves that add a perfect pop of style to any outfit.

The home chef

Cooking at home is a great way to save money, stay healthy and spend time with friends.

The Spice House (1512 N. Wells St., 312-274-0378, www.thespicehouse.com): With its wall-to-wall shelves of glass jars and colored powders, this Old Town shop is like a library for spices, herbs and extracts. While its selection is extensive enough for virtually any cooking project, our favorite items are the spice blends named after Chicago neighborhoods, such as the Bronzeville Rib Rub and the Back of the Yards Garlic Pepper Butcher's Rub.

Old Town Oil (1520 N. Wells St., 312-787-9595, www.oldtownoil.com): When you can afford to splurge on a bottle of something, go for olive oils and vinegars like those carried here. The specialty shop has oils infused with every salad dressing flavor we can think of (garlic, basil, lemon) and others we would never have paired together, like blood orange and porcini.

The Chopping Block (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 312-644-6360; 4747 N Lincoln Ave., 773-472-6700, www.thechoppingblock.com): This informal cooking school with locations in Lincoln Square and the Near North Side is perfect for friend dates, special occasions or if you really need someone skilled to teach you how to grill a fish and roll out pizza dough. Class gift certificates make great presents, too.

The bookworm

Fair warning: You won't be able to leave any of these places without an armful of new reads.

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Uncharted Books (2620 N. Milwaukee Ave., www.unchartedbooks.com): This Logan Square literary gem offers a curated collection of used books and hosts a variety of weekly readings and events. Plus, shop dog and PAWS rescue Ramona is usually around if you need a side of snuggles with your afternoon read.

Bookman's Corner (2959 N. Clark St., 773-929-8298): How many used books can you pack into one tiny storefront? More than you'd think, if you stack them to the ceiling, pile them onto chairs and cram them into the aisles. Bookman's Corner is absolutely bonkers in the best way, like the home library of a prickly but brilliant professor.

The grill master

Butcher Scott Berg at Paulina Meat Market (3501 N. Lincoln Ave.) on Thursday, September 8, 2016. (Hilary Higgins / Chicago Tribune)

Get adventurous and expand your horizons at these meat markets.

Paulina Meat Market (3501 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-248-6272): The deer sausage, beef shank and rib-eye we've purchased from this Lincoln Park shop are the best we've ever had. Add in the extremely knowledgeable and polite staff, and the trek is always worth it. And you can't cook a true gumbo without andouille sausage  and the quality of the stuff they sell here is better than anything else we've seen outside Louisiana.

Gepperth's Meat Market (1964 N. Halsted St., 773-549-3883, www.gepperths.com): This place is often packed. Grill up a few links of its specialty sausages, and you'll know why: They're so juicy and flavorful. The lamb sausage  don't knock it until you try it  may have been one of the best sausage types we've ever cooked.

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Gene's Sausage Shop (4750 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-728-7243, www.genessausage.com): A meat market with a rooftop bar? We walked in, shopped around and headed upstairs to check out the rooftop that we had been hearing so much about. News flash: It's amazing.

The animal lover

These are purr-fect places for pet parents to spoil their fur babies.

Dog-a-holics (3657 N. Southport Ave., 773-857-7600, www.dog-a-holics.com): With its distinctively urban vibe and sense of humor, this Lakeview shop is a pet lover's fully stocked treasure trove. In addition to a selection of quality foods and treats, the store scores points for quirkier items, such as a wide variety of Cubs and Sox gear, an ice cream fridge, floral collars for weddings and pet-themed home decor. With the doggy day care and walking service it also runs across the street, it's nearly a one-stop shop.

Doggy Style Pet Shop (2023 W. Division St., 773-235-9663, www.doggystylepetshop.com): Cat people won't be left out here. The Wicker Park shop features a solid feline section, plus a down-to-earth community vibe. Flyers up front give pet parents info on local businesses, vets and shelters, while a self-service spa in the back lets them lather up and hose down Fido without polluting their apartments with the smell of wet dog.

The gifter

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Pick something up for a friend  and a little extra something for yourself, too.

RR#1 Chicago (814 N. Ashland Ave., 312-421-9079, www.rr1chicago.com): This former pharmacy (it still features original cabinets and display cases) is so overflowing with treasures that it's hard to find the right words to describe its grandeur. A random mishmash of things that have been on sale here: an illustrated book on Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, a tea light with a Tiki face, a huge bicorn hat, an air plant and a tea set.

Inkling (2917 1/2 N. Broadway, 773-248-8004, www.theinklingshop.com): The selection at Inkling is slightly less overwhelming, which can be a great thing if you're dashing to a party and need a last-minute card or gift. And by "last-minute card or gift," we clearly mean "jewelry for yourself."

The paper snob

Judge a book by it's cover ... and typography, color palette and paper quality.

Elizabeth Grace (2438 N. Clark St., 773-477-9830, www.elizabethgrace.com): Make sure you have a free afternoon before you head into this elegant Lincoln Park boutique, where the walls are lined with gorgeous cards.

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Greer Chicago (1657 N. Wells St., 312-337-8000, www.greerchicago.com): You will immediately get sucked into Greer by the eye-catching displays. The quirky card collection, featuring many local designers, makes finding cards for family and hard-to-buy-for friends the swiftest shopping we had ever done.

Pulp & Ink (1344 N. Wells St., 312-475-1344, www.pulpandink.com): Fun colors and fabulous typography featured on the wall of greeting cards made shopping at this Old Town store an inspiring experience. The friendly staff was welcoming but not overbearing as we perused around the tables of stationary and flipped through gorgeously designed invitation booklets.

The accessory addict

The interior of Una Mae's in Wicker Park. (HANDOUT )

Here's where to pick up trendy, fun pieces without breaking the bank.

Una Mae's (1528 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-276-7002, www.unamaeschicago.com): This Wicker Park boutique is the go-to for quality vintage accessories and contemporary jewelry with an edge.

Art Effect (934 W. Armitage Ave., 773-929-3600, www.shoparteffect.com): The jewelry cases in this Lincoln Park boutique's rear room are great for splurges and special-occasion pieces, but be sure to check out the peg boards near the staircase for more affordable earrings and necklaces.

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Vintage Underground (1834 W. North Ave., 773-252-4559, www.chicagovintageunderground.com): This basement shop of vintage jewelry and accessories is a gold mine: a huge selection, a super-knowledgeable owner and prices from steal to splurge.
I'd given up on having any great new Chicago adventures for a while  two preschool sons will do that to you. And then along came the little darlings' requests to ride on a boat, the vague memory that water taxis troll the Chicago River and a little online research suggesting that a river trip from 400 N. Michigan Ave. to Chinatown was within the financial and logistical possibilities of a family of four. Who knew?

Morning

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We boarded one of Chicago Water Taxi's little yellow and black boats at the Wendella Boats dock, just south of 400 N. Rush St. (where Rush dead-ends into the north side of the Chicago River). We told the deckhand we wanted round-trip tickets to Chinatown ($12 a person). We were pleased when he pointed out an all-day pass was cheaper at $8 a person.

With the emerald-green Chicago River below us and blue skies and white clouds above, we got to see the same soaring architecture (the Merchandise Mart, the Civic Opera Building) as the folks taking the ritzy architecture tours and the same stunning cityscapes. We passed a forested area and some factories, and then Chinatown came into view in the form of a beautiful red pavilion, surrounded by trees, lawns and practitioners of tai chi.

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"Is this really China?" the boys asked.

Lunch

We stopped at Ping Tom Memorial Park's riverside playground (300 W. 19th St.), where signs are in English and Chinese, and wandered up South Wells Street to Chinatown Square (2133 S. China Place), a bustling outdoor mall.

We had amazing chile eggplant and an interesting chicken and vegetable dish at Lao Sze Chuan restaurant (2172 S. Archer Ave., 312-326-5040). We explored shops, ran up and down the stairs of the outdoor mall, sampled candy and snatched up a musical instrument, a recorder, for $3.50.

Afternoon

When our little dragons started to droop, we declared the day a smashing success and beat a hasty retreat. The water taxi whisked us back up the river, and we made it to Michigan Avenue in about a half-hour.

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
Cedar Lake

Cedar Lake United Methodist Church: 7124 W. 137th Place --- A Trunk or Treat for children will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 30 in the church parking lot. Costumes are encouraged. There will be refreshments available in the fellowship hall. The Harvest Dinner will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5. Carryouts are available. The dinner will be a traditional turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, dressing, green beans, salad, cranberry sauce, a roll, butter, dessert and coffee, tea or punch. Tickets are $12 per adult; $6 for children ages six to 10, and free for ages five and younger. Information: 219-374-7312.

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Gary

Christ Baptist Church: 4700 E. 7th Ave. --- The Women for Christ and Men for Christ ministries and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Chi Chapter will host a Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention Program from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 30. Information: 219-938-5504.

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Crossroads Baptist Church: 529 Jefferson St. ---The Annual Women's Day will be at 4 p.m. Oct. 23. The guest speaker will be Martha J. Bowlds, of South Bend. For Information, call 219-882-7700.

Marquette Park United Methodist Church: 215 N. Grand Blvd. --- Senior Yoga will be held at noon Tuesday and Friday for $3 and at noon Thursday for $4 which includes lunch. The 1st Saturday Outreach Lunch will be held at noon on the first Saturday of each month. Information: 219-938-4106.

Miracle Temple C.O.G.I.C.: 4709 E. 13th Ave. --- A free concert sponsored by Gary native and 22-year breast cancer survivor Nikia Hammonds-Blakely, 38, and the Champion Promise Foundation will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at the church. "Heal Our Land: A Promise to Spread Love," is a worship event to spread messages of healing, forgiveness and social equality. In addition to the concert, gifts and support will be presented to law enforcement and social activist groups. Free mobile mammography services will be available. Information: call 972-649- 9904; email info@championpromise.org or visit www.championpromise.org.

New Revelation Missionary Baptist Church: 3140 W. 21st Ave.  The 62nd Church Anniversary celebration will be at 10:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. Oct. 23. The colors are black and red. Galilee Baptist Church will provide the manna for evening service. Information: 219-949-2225 or newrevelationmbchurch@aol.com.

St. Mary of the Lake: 6060 Miller Ave.  A Mass to honor veterans and an All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast will be held Nov. 6. The Mass will be at 10 a.m. The pancake breakfast will be from 8 a.m. to noon in Lessard Hall. The cost is $10 for eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, Danish, orange juice and unlimited pancakes. A portion of the proceeds will benefit local veterans. A Community Tree Lighting will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 with Christmas carols, hot chocolate and the Christmas tree lighting. The event is free. A Christmas Bazaar will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3 and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 4. Lunch will be available. There will be a variety of gift items for purchase, bakery items, music and pictures with Santa.

Trinity United Church of Christ: 1276 W. 20th Ave. --- The Chakula Ministry will hold sign up for the annual Thanksgiving basket giveaway from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 24 to Nov. 5. Baskets are for Gary residents only. Valid driver's license or valid Indiana state identification and a utility bill or lease information which matches identification are required. One basket per household. Information: 219-944-0500.

Portage

St. Peter Lutheran Church: 6540 Central Ave. --- Trunk or Treat will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 in the church parking lot. Free candy, free mini hayride and free haunted house. Concession stand available. A Christmas Vendor/Bake Sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 12. Fitz & Floyd Christmas glassware will be featured. Information: 219-762-2673.

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Valparaiso

Faith Evangelical Bible Church: 305 E. 400 N. --- The sixth annual "Punkin Launchin" to benefit the New Creation Men's Center of Valparaiso ministry will begin at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 22. Competing machines in the event will include the 2015 winner "FahrFlugFlinger." A food concession will be available from 10:30 a.m. A Hand Toss competition of a pie pumpkin for a $1 donation will be at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to winners in eight divisions according to age and gender. The public is invited. Seating is limited. Bring chairs. Information: Facebook at "Punkin Launchin FEBC."

First Christian Church: 1507 Glendale Blvd. --- The Annual Fall Bazaar will from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5. Handmade crafts, plants, cookies by the pound and a raffle drawing for a handmade quilt will be available. Lunch will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information: 219-462-5615.
There are so many opportunities for parents, families, educators and all of us to learn much needed information about widespread drug addiction, what to look for, how to help, and more, yet few of the meetings and workshops that have been offered have been very well attended. But now, there is a way for all of us to stay right at home and watch a video made especially to stop the destruction of minds.

Dr. Mann and Phyllis Spitler have turned their grief of losing their daughter, Manda, to a drug overdose into a commitment to save others from the unbearable hurt. Although Spitler has spoken at many schools and groups for the past 14 years, he still believes that too many parents still have the mindset of "not my kid", and thus do not have the tools needed to prevent their children from the tragedy of the drug scene.

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His comment  "If there's going to be a war on drugs, it has to start at home"  is a fact. The Community Action Drug Coalition, of which he is president, pooled their fundraising dollars, along with a grant to sponsor the video, "A Parent Plan for Drug Use Prevention".

The 21-minute video includes the stories of five families who have been sadly affected by drug abuse by their children, with the hope that sharing their stories will remove the stigma and shame associated with addiction, and give them help and hope. The mission of the CADC is, above all, prevention plus education and treatment. Their hope is that even parents of very young children will be viewing this video to discover early what tools are needed for prevention and to be prepared.

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There is no excuse for anyone not to watch this film. All you have to do is sit down by a computer, go to YouTube, and type in "A Parent Plan for Drug Use Prevention", and listen and learn. It may be a video to watch more than once as days go by  especially since you don't have to go anywhere, but you can view it right from the comfort of home. Don't put it off for the sake of your children.

If you love walking or running, you are invited to help CADC continue to spread their drug-free message and keep Manda's memory alive by registering for the 9th annual Manda's Race, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Westchester Intermediate School, 1050 S. 5th St. in Chesterton. The 5K run will have awards for age groups from children to those over 80. The 5K walk is noncompetitive, and walkers will enjoy the fall fashions from nature. Please register online at thtiming.com, or on race day from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. The race takes off at 9 a.m. If you have any questions, you can email Dr. Spitler at besafe@mandasstory.com or call him at 464-9221. Now go watch that video!

Have you looked through your jumbled jewelry box lately, or put your sterling silver flatware away deep in the closet because it's too hard to keep shiny? If you have any gold, silver or gems that are just taking up space and have no sentimental value, it would be nice if you brought them to the Family Youth Service Bureau on Nov. 4 for an appraisal, and receive a receipt for its retail value from jeweler and certified appraiser by Gem Institute of America, Stephanie Swanson. Your donation will be considered a charitable donation for tax purposes, so keep that receipt. Karats for Kids is a unique fundraiser with the items donated to be sold to raise dollars to benefit the children in their programs. Please call 464-9585 to make an appointment with appraiser Stephanie who will be at FYSB, 253 Lincolnway in Valpo, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4. It is a win-win benefit with the donor receiving tax exemption for unwanted items, and the children receiving the much needed programs. Thanks ahead of time.

A very special dog made her way to dog heaven Thursday, and all of Hebron Middle School students and staff will have an empty spot without her. Razzle has been a therapy dog in teacher Carol Noland's class for 11 years, and she was loved by everyone in the school for her kind and caring ways. She was always willing to listen to any students hurts or problems, and even allowed her owner to dress her up for every holiday. She often attended extracurricular activities just to be with the kids.This past week, she became very ill, and spent her last days in the classroom. Although she will no longer be walking the halls at Hebron, her memory will be of the love she gave for many of the students and staff. So long, Razzle.

Suddenly, these last few days, fall is upon us. with the cooler weather, Mother Nature has painted the trees with vibrant red, yellow. orange and purple hues. Take a ride around our county this weekend and enjoy the beauty of autumn. Then, I hope you have a great day because you deserve it. Thanks for reading. Fly your flag.

Lorrie Woycik is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.
The caskets and remains of three unidentified homicide victims, identified by their composite pictures, were laid to rest by Newton County officials and volunteers in Morocco, Ind., on Oct. 22, 2016. (Mark Davis / Post-Tribune)

Newton County Coroner Scott McCord gets emotional when he talks about the unidentified remains of three young people that have languished in the coroner's office for decades.

Two of them, given the names Adam Newton Doe and Brad Newton Doe by officials, were among the 22 victims of serial murderer Larry Eyler, dubbed "The Highway Killer" for leaving a wake of victims along U.S. 41 in Indiana and Interstate 57 in Illinois. Their remains were found Oct. 18, 1983.

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The third, Charlene Newton Doe, was found in 1988 along the banks of Beaver Creek in Willow Slough. Both she and her killer remain unidentified.

While their names are still unknown, despite renewed efforts to find their families by McCord after he took office, on Saturday they all found a place to rest in peace until their loved ones are located.

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"We never knew these kids in life. All we know for sure is they need family. We, as a community, have adopted them as if they are our own," McCord said Saturday during a Celebration of Life for Newton County's Unidentified in Morocco, which he organized. The event brought together members of law enforcement and the community to give them a respectful goodbye.

Three white, infant-sized caskets sat on a table next to the podium where McCord addressed the room. Blue fabric was draped below the remains of the males and pink fabric below the remains of the female. Atop each tiny casket sat a small bouquet of flowers. In front, a white frame held a black-and-white, computer-generated photo of what each may have looked like in life.

When bankers boxes containing the young men's remains were brought to McCord's office when he was elected coroner eight years ago, McCord said he made it his mission to reunite the pair, believed to be between the ages of 15 and 23, with their families.

Those efforts included cataloging and entering their DNA into national databases and creating the computer renderings of their possible appearances.

"I know up here I have done everything," McCord said, pointing to his head, but "in here," pointing to his heart, "I feel like I failed."

"It's bittersweet," McCord said of laying the three to rest. He said he remains hopeful that someday the DNA will hit a match in the system and that family will be found.

He is not alone in hoping. Newton County Sheriff Thomas VanVleet said a lot of hard work has gone into McCord's efforts.

"His hard work ends today, and he lies his kids to rest respectfully to ... wait to be reunited with their loved ones," VanVleet said.

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Tom and Marlowe Allis, of Brook, were among about 50 people who attended the service at the Newton County Government Center and then traveled from Morocco to Brook, where the three will be interred in the Brook Abbey mausoleum at Riverside Cemetery.

The couple said they are longtime friends of McCord's and know how hard he worked to solve the mystery of the young people's identities and find their families.

"We just want to pay respect to these three people," Marlowe Allis said.

The service draws attention to missing persons and the unidentified in general, Tom Allis said.

"I'm just glad they all can rest now," Marlowe Allis said.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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The owner of a factory in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to five years in prison over the collapse of a workshop building, which killed 14 workers and injured dozens last year.

The Wenling City People's Court on Friday convicted Xu Fulin, owner of a local shoe factory, of building the factory without official approval from 2011 to 2012 and causing a major work safety accident.

The four-story workshop building collapsed on July 4, 2015, leaving 14 people dead and 33 others injured due to overloading of the structure.

Xu turned himself in after the accident and compensated the victims, which prompted the court to issue a lenient sentence.

The owner confessed to the crime. He raised nearly 12 million yuan (1.8 million U.S. dollars) to handle the aftermath of the accident.
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The number of cases of violence against women heard in Spanish courts in the second quarter of 2016 rose by 13 percent when compared with the same period in 2015, it was confirmed on Friday.

The data published by the Observatory against Domestic Violence, run by the General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ), showed that the period between April and June saw 36,319 complaints of gender violence (of which 33,593 were made by women) in the courts, compared with 32,023 the previous year.

Some 64.4 percent of the cases presented to court (2 percent more than in 2015) were resolved with a punishment for the person accused of carrying out the mistreatment.

Meanwhile, 10,845 protection orders were also requested during the same period of which 59 percent were accepted by authorities.

The regions with the highest proportion of cases were in the Canary Islands with a ratio of 22.5 cases per 10,000 women, Murcia, southeast Spain, with a ratio of 21.3 and the Balearic islands where the ratio was 21.2.

In contrast La Rioja and the region of Castilla-Leon had ratios of slightly over eight cases per 10,000 women.

The study showed seven out of every ten complaints were made by the victim, while 16.48 percent were made by the police after intervening in the case and with just 3.8 percent of complaints made by the victims' families.

Some 52 percent of all complaints were made against the victim's current partner.
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Twenty-one people died and three others were rescued after an MI-8 helicopter crash-landed in Russian Siberia's Yamal Peninsula due to poor weather conditions.

The two black boxes of the ill-fated helicopter have been found by rescuers on the peninsula in northwestern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region.

One of the injured has been sent to a hospital in nearby Urengoy village for treatment.

"Both black boxes have been found - a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. After investigative procedures, they will be sent for decryption," Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted a source from Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport as saying.

There were 22 passengers and three crew members aboard when the helicopter made the crash landing at 06:57 p.m. (1557 GMT) on Friday 80 km northwest of Urengoy. One of the three seriously injured survivors called the emergency department with a mobile phone.

"Arrived rescuers have found three people in serious condition when entered the ruined helicopter," the Russian news agency TASS reported.

Local emergency department has dispatched the first search and rescue team of 140 people, who took 20 pieces of equipment with them to the site of the accident.

The helicopter was flying from Suzunskoe oilfield in Krasnoyarsk region to the Urengoy village when the accident happened.
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The UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, welcomed the start of the cessation of hostilities that began at midnight on Oct. 19, and "he urges all parties to work to ensure that the terms are fully respected," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.

"The special envoy notes that the Cessation of Hostilities is fragile but largely holding and underscores the improvement of the general security situation in Sana'a and several areas in Yemen, despite the reported cases of violations in other areas like Taiz and the borders with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"He urges the sides to show restraint, avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the 72-hour ceasefire," the spokesman said.

"The special envoy is liaising with the parties to agree on an extension for the duration of the Cessation of Hostilities to create a conducive environment for a long lasting peace in the country," Dujarric said. "He reminds all parties that the terms and conditions for the cessation of hostilities include commitments for the unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and personnel to all parts of Yemen."

Yemen's dominant Shiite Houthi group traded accusations with Saudi Arabia on Friday over breaching a ceasefire mediated by the United Nations, deepening the uncertainty of the peace process in the country.

The UN-brokered 72-hour ceasefire, meant to last for three days, came into effect on Wednesday midnight.

The ceasefire is aimed at facilitating humanitarian aid supplies to the war-stricken cities.

UN officials hoped the truce would be extended to pave the way for resuming stalled peace talks and to end the war.

The conflict in Yemen began after Arab-spring style 2011 mass protests that eventually forced former President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power.

The Houthis, supported by Saleh, seized the Yemeni capital Sana'a and some other Yemeni cities in September 2014, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile.

The Houthis and their ally forces loyal to Saleh have controlled most of Yemen's northern regions since September 2014, while the Saudi-backed Hadi's government has worked with its tribal allies in the southern provinces they recaptured from Houthi rebels.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's conflict in March 2015 with an air force campaign to restore Hadi to the power and roll back Houthi gains.

The 19-month civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians in the Middle East country.
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The special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Loj, has informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that she will step down from the role at the end of November after over two years of service to the UN mission, a UN spokesman told reporters on Friday.

Loj was appointed by the secretary-general in July 2014 and assumed her duties in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, in September 2014.

"She had planned to retire at the end of her current contract, which expired at the end of August this year, but chose to remain at the helm of the Mission in the wake of the July crisis until the situation could stabilize," Dujarric said.

"She will continue to lead the Mission until the end of November," the spokesman said.

"The secretary-general is deeply appreciative of her lifetime of service to further the cause of peace and development, especially during her distinguished career with UN peacekeeping having headed both UNMISS and the UN Mission in Liberia from 2008 to 2012," he said.

Ban is particularly thankful to Loj for her dedication, commitment and important contributions at the helm of UNMISS during extremely challenging times, the spokesman added.
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Cuba on Friday renewed its call on U.S. Congress to end the economic and trade embargo held against the island for over 55 years, as a sign of a new era in ties between the former Cold War enemies.

At a press conference in Havana, Cuban deputy foreign minister, Abelardo Moreno, said the U.S. legislative body should pay attention to public opinion, which supports the end of economic sanctions against Cuba.

"The American people are responsible for demanding their leaders in Congress lift the economic blockade, because they must represent the opinion of a great majority of the U.S. population and institutions," he said.

A poll by Florida International University conducted in September found that 63 percent of Cuban-Americans living in Miami opposed the embargo. This group has traditionally opposed closer ties to the Castro regime.

A Pew Research Center poll in July also showed 72 percent of Americans in favor of lifting the embargo.

However, the top Republican in the U.S. Congress said on Tuesday he intended to keep the trade restrictions in place, dimming hopes for an end to the embargo in the near future.

"As the past two years of normalizing relations have only emboldened the regime at the expense of the Cuban people, I fully intend to maintain our embargo on Cuba," U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement.

In response, Moreno said, "Mr. Ryan can express his opinions but we totally disagree with him."

"His statements show he is clearly getting left behind in history and, most importantly, he is not listening to the vast majority of American voters that want the blockade to end and a full normalization of ties with Cuba," he said.

The deputy foreign minister recognized a recent set of changes approved by President Barack Obama to further loosen the embargo but said they were "very limited."

"There are a series of legal elements and laws included in U.S. legislation like the Torricelli Act or the Helms Burton Act which the president cannot overturn as only the U.S. Congress can do so," he said.

The Torricelli Act, passed in 1992, prevents travel by American citizens to Cuba and foreign subsidiaries of American companies from trading with the island. The Helms-Burton Act, passed in 1996, strengthened the original embargo by penalizing foreign companies that trade with Cuba.

Moreno also pointed to the upcoming vote at the UN General Assembly on Oct. 26 regarding the embargo, stressing that Cuba will continue to present this resolution every year as long as the blockade is in place.

"This year, we have received greater support from international organizations. UN bodies and over 160 countries have turned in documents demanding an end to this policy. That will be shown in next Wednesday's vote," he added.

Last year, 191 countries voted in favor of lifting the policy while only the United States and Israel voted against it.
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The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Friday that fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, are using civilians as human shields.

According to the information released Friday by the UN Human Rights Office, ISIL forced some 200 families out of Samalia village to walk to Mosul on October 17 and on the same day, 350 families fled Najafia village in Nimroud sub-district, towards Mosul, highlighting ISIL's apparent policy of preventing civilians from escaping to areas controlled by the Iraqi security forces.

The office said it is also examining reports that at least 40 civilians were shot dead by ISIL in one of the villages outside Mosul.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a written statement that his office had verified information regarding several incidents since October 17 where ISIL has forced people to leave their homes in outlying villages to head to Mosul.

He added that they also had reports that ISIL fighters have shot dead civilians who have tried to rise up against them or who they suspect are disloyal.

Calling for the protection of civilians to be at the forefront of military planning as the Iraqi government and associated forces attempt to re-take Mosul, the UN official highlighted that he was gravely worried by reports that ISIL is using civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance.

He voiced particular concern regarding the women, children and men held captive by ISIL, especially those from ethnic or religious communities who are at extreme risk.

"There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated," he said.
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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said on Friday he will avail South Sudan until the end of 2016 to implement the agreements signed between the two countries.

"We signed agreements with South Sudan in 2012, but its government has not implemented these agreements until now," said al-Bashir when addressing the Shura Council of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum.

He stressed Sudan is keen on good ties with South Sudan, "but until the end of December, they have either to implement the agreements or we will turn the page," without explicitly stating what Sudan would do if the South failed to implement the agreements.

In September 2012, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa under the patronage of the African Union.

The agreement included a package of understandings related to security, citizens' status, border and economic issues, as well as oil and trade.

The border issue remains the biggest obstacle to the settlement of differences between Sudan and South Sudan.

Meanwhile, Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting and sheltering the rebels of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector, which are fighting the government at South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas, besides the armed groups which are fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.
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Burkina Faso government said on Friday it thwarted a military coup on October 8 by former presidential guard regiment to overthrow the current president.

The minister of internal security Simon Compaore disclosed this during a press conference in the capital Ouagadougou.

The thwarted coup involves about thirty soldiers of the former special presidential guard unit (RSP) of the ex-president Blaise Compaore currently in exile in Cote d'Ivoire, Compaore said.

Coup plotters were planning to overthrow the regime of current president Christian Kabore and had in their agenda attacks against the presidency and the gendarmerie camp of Paspanga in Ouagadougou.

They also considered attacking the military prison where generals Gilbert Diendere and Djibril Bassole, involved in previous coup attemp last year, are detained.

According to the internal security minister, plotters also contemplated to create mutinies in barracks on October 9 in the innercountry and to raise armed rebellion in case the primary coup plan failed in Burkina Faso.

On October 8, the gendarmerie arrested four suspicious persons in the central-south of the country while they were making to the capital.

"To date, 19 soldiers involved in coup plotting are under custody while one is still on the run," Simon Compaore said.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established an internal and independent United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into the incident that involved a UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) relief operation to Urum al-Kubra (Big Orem), Syria, on Sept. 19, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

"The Board will be led by Lieutenant General Mr. Abhijit Guha and begin its work the week of 24 October 2016," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "It is to ascertain the facts of the incident and report to the secretary-general upon the completion of its work."

The secretary-general will review the report and decide what further steps to take, the spokesman said. "He urges all parties concerned to extend their full cooperation to the Board."

At least 18 people, including the head of the SARC in Urum al-Kubra, were killed, the United Nations said late last month, adding that the warehouse where supplies were being unloaded, as well as a nearby medical clinic, were also severely damaged.

Also on Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) informed that medical evacuations of sick and injured people could not begin Friday morning in eastern Aleppo as planned, because the necessary conditions were not in place.

"The UN and humanitarian partners are present in Aleppo and ready to carry out medical evacuations as soon as conditions allow. We reiterate that the UN is not involved in any way in any proposed evacuation of other civilians from eastern Aleppo," Dujarric said.

Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) condemned the killing of four Palestine refugees on Tuesday night as they attempted to leave the Khan Eshieh Palestine refugee camp, south of the Syrian capital of Damascus, he added.
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The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on Friday, calling for a UN commission of Inquiry to investigate actions in Aleppo and identify those responsible for alleged violations of international human rights law.

Instigated by Britain and supported by a number of countries including the United States, the resolution takes into account the worsening human rights situation in war-torn Syria as well as recent events in Aleppo, the scene of intense fighting pitching forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebel groups seeking to oust him.

Speaking via videoconference Friday morning, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein warned that the northern city of Aleppo has become a "slaughterhouse ... a gruesome locus of pain and fear, where the lifeless bodies of small children are trapped under streets of rubble and pregnant women deliberately bombed."

He also said the violations perpetrated by all belligerents in the city which has been divided in two since 2012 could amount to war-crimes.

"Armed opposition groups continue to fire mortars and other projectiles into civilian neighbourhoods of western Aleppo, but indiscriminate airstrikes across the eastern part of the city by government forces and their allies are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties," he explained.

While recalling that hundreds of thousands of people are facing extreme hardship in 17 other besieged locations across the country, Zeid reiterated the UN's call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Aleppo to allow much needed humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

Though a Moscow-backed unilateral ceasefire is currently in place, the UN warned earlier Friday that it had yet to receive the necessary safety guarantees allowing medical evacuations to be carried out in east Aleppo, where some 275,000 civilians are living.

Syrian Ambassador Hussam Edin Aala said that those supporting Friday's resolution were guilty of anti-Syrian propaganda and fabricating "baseless accusations about committing violations."

"Again, Britain is leading handful of countries seeking to revive dead colonial glories, and others involved in supporting, funding and arming the Wahabi, Takfiri terrorism in my country, Syria," he said.

Syria has been locked in five-year civil war since March 2011. Over 300,000 people have been killed as a result of protracted fighting, while millions more have been displaced.
 Flash

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday called on citizens to preserve peace and called for dialogue, after the National Electoral Council (CNE) suspended the process to hold a recall referendum against him.

"I want to make a call for calm, dialogue, peace, justice and respect for the laws," said Maduro, who is currently on a state visit to Azerbaijan, in a telephone interview with the state-owned Venezolana de Television.

Maduro also sent a message to the opposition, which was outraged by the CNE decision. He told them to maintain their "sanity," alluding to violent acts perpetrated by his government's opponents in the past.

"Let them not return to the time of madness...I call for sanity, balance and dialogue, for dialogue in the country," he added.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) was set to launch a three-day operation on Oct. 26-28 to gather signatures from 20 percent of the electorate, a step that would trigger a recall referendum against Maduro.

However, on Thursday, the courts in five separate states -- Aragua, Carabobo, Monagas, Apure and Bolivar -- said that irregularities had been found at a previous stage of the referendum process.

In May, the MUD collected signatures from over 1 percent of the electorate, one of the early steps needed for a referendum.

The five states said that a number of cases of identity theft had been found among the signatures submitted, leading the CNE to suspend the process.

In a press conference on Friday, MUD leader Jesus Torrealba responded by saying the government was trying to incite violence.

"We cannot fall into a violent response because that's what they want. But we cannot docilely accept what is happening, either," he vowed.
China's top securities regulator launched investigations into six companies alleged to have committed fraud in their initial public offerings, the regulator said on Friday.

It was the first batch of cases involving IPO fraud since the regulator tightened its scrutiny on new share sales in June.

Major wrongdoings found by the regulator during the investigation included false and insufficient statements in their IPO prospectuses, such as cooking up revenues and profits, failure to disclose major debt, tax payments and guarantees, and inflating overseas subsidiaries' assets to write off huge losses of the parent company.

Other irregularities included failure to disclose information about internal management and corporate governance, changing corporate names and making false statements about business transformation to mislead investors and encourage speculative trading.

Shanghai-listed P2P Financial Information Service Co Ltd is among the six companies being investigated for IPO fraud by the regulator.

"The false statements and the failure to disclose key information by the companies often lead to clues of serious illegal market activities and crimes, such as illegal connected transactions, cash embezzlement and tunneling of benefits," said Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission at a news conference in Beijing.

Zhang said that the regulator will continue the crackdown on IPO and financial fraud as well as violations of disclosure rules to ensure a fair, transparent and effective market.

Industrial Securities Co Ltd, the underwriter of Dandong Xintai's IPO, was ordered to pay 550 million yuan ($82.2 million) to compensate investors' losses, in addition to a 57.3 million yuan fine.

On Friday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.21 percent to close at 3,090.04 points. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.33 percent to close at 10,748.9.
A photo illustration shows a $100 banknote placed above Chinese 100 yuan banknotes in Beijing in this May 10, 2013 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Premier Li Keqiang called for pragmatic efforts to promote negotiations for a high-standard China-US bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible at a meeting on Thursday with former United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Paulson, currently chairman of the Paulson Institute, a think tank aimed at strengthening US-China relations, has been a frequent visitor to China.

He also met with Li last month in New York, along with US experts in finance, media and research, during intervals in meetings at the United Nations.

Li said China introduced the negative list and pre-access national treatment systems into the BIT negotiations. In a sluggish world economy and with rising trade protectionism, strengthening cooperation between the two countries sends a positive signal that promotes investment and trade liberalization, he said.

Li said he hoped both sides would continue to make pragmatic efforts to promote positive outcomes in the negotiations and that they will quickly reach agreement on a high-level investment treaty.

Paulson said his institute will continue to promote bilateral relations.

"The meeting sends a clear message via Paulson to the US that China welcomes foreign investment, including American enterprises, and that the US should uphold trade liberalization and investment facilitation no matter who is elected the new president," said Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
BEIJING - Financial cooperation will bring new growth momentum to Asian countries, given that although there have been visible outcomes in this field, the scale is limited, according to specialists.

"The low-hanging fruit has already been picked in Asian regional cooperation after years of development," said China's Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin at a seminar held in Beijing Friday.

Speaking at the same event, Waikei Raphael Lam, IMF Resident Representative for China, said that there was great potential for regional financial cooperation for Asia, and suggested enhanced Asian capital market integration and risk control cooperation.

In recent years, the monetary policies of major economies have taken diverging paths, the capital markets have become more volatile, and instability in the financial system has increased, attendees at the seminar agreed.

In responding to potential risks and challenges at the regional level, the accessibility and effectiveness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) should be further enhanced, and the functions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three (ASEAN+3) Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) in regional macroeconomic monitoring, crisis management, policy dialogue and technical assistance should be strengthened.

At the national level, financial regulation reform should be effectively pushed forward to monitor and manage short-term capital flows, which will help guard against financial risks.

Experts hope that international organizations and national regulatory authorities within the region could improve the way in which they monitor the regional macro economy, bringing international organizations such as AMRO and IMF into full play, and building up a regional financial safety net in accordance with Asian practice, thereby, better safeguarding financial stability in Asia.

"The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will launch more projects in December this year to promote regional interconnectivity, as pushing forward regional cooperation and solving problems in regional development is one of the bank's priority tasks," said AIIB Vice President and Chief Administration Officer Luky Eko Wuryanto at the seminar.

While Asia is the world's most vigorous region, its infrastructure remains relatively poor and there is huge demand for investment in this regard.

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have contributed tremendously to regional infrastructure development, henceforth, the AIIB and the New Development Bank will play a supplementary role, according to the experts.

To better meet the investment demands of regional infrastructure and connectivity, what regional connectivity in Asia lacks -- rather than capital -- is a more diversified and inclusive investment and financing mechanism that brings together existing and potential resources, they said.

Experts advised the new and existing MDBs, as well as the public and private sectors to boost collaboration in order to build diversified financing mechanisms, boost regional connectivity, and lay a solid foundation for mid-to-long term economic development in Asia.

The seminar, which carried the theme "Deepening Asian Economic and Financial Cooperation, Promoting Regional Integrated Development," was hosted by the International Economics and Finance Institute under the Ministry of Finance, China.

Government officials, NGO delegates, bank governors and economists from China, Japan, Australia, Korea, Indonesia and Singapore, among others, attended the seminar Friday.

The Asian financial crisis in 1997 was a wake-up call for many countries -- as they realized there was a real need for regional financial cooperation. These endeavors have achieved considerable results. The accomplishments have been largely the work of various regional financial forums, including ASEAN+3.
A visitor uses a smartphone to photograph model aircraft on display at the Aviation Industry Corp of China stand at the 51st International Paris Air Show in France in 2015. [Photo/CFP]

GUANGZHOU - A leading Chinese aviation company will partner with a French firm to develop giant airships for heavy-weight air cargo, company sources said Friday.

China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co Ltd (AVIC) will invest in French start-up Flying Whales, for its competence in design, manufacturing, sales and servicing, on the development of a new airship code-named LCA60T, the sources said, citing an agreement signed by the two sides Thursday. The amount of investment was not disclosed.

LCA60T, touted as the world's largest airship, could radically change global aerial cargo transportation. Gu Biao, deputy director of AVIC Research Institute, predicted that LCA60T would "revolutionize" the transportation sector and would be in high demand.

Earlier foreign media reports disclosed that the 140 to 150 meter-long LCA60T, which will be capable of carrying 60 tons of cargo, will probably be unveiled in 2019.

Flying Whales executive CEO Sebastien Bougon said he hoped the Chinese engineers would join the project as soon as possible as their experience would be invaluable to the remaining obstacles, especially safety issues.
A robot draws a portrait at an industry expo held in Beijing on Friday. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY

Long-term input in domestic production of components and AI necessary, experts say

Long-term commitments to core technologies and closer ties with artificial intelligence firms are needed to make robots more intelligent and flexible, as China ramps up resources to upgrade its labor-intensive manufacturing with technological innovation, experts said on Friday.

Zhao Jie, a mechanic professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, a top engineering university in China, said China's robot industry is growing rapidly, but it is still bottlenecked by domestic robot maker's lack of competence to mass-produce reliable key robot parts.such as speed reducers.

"Most of components are still imported from foreign countries, which increases the cost of robots," Zhao said at a robot conference in Beijing.

Also, lack of well-known brands is limiting the development of the domestic robot sector, he added.

China became the world's biggest market for industrial robots in 2013, surpassing Japan, according to the International Federation of Robotics. But for every 10,000 employees, there are still only 36 robots in China, compared with 478 in South Korea, 292 in Germany and 164 in the United States in 2014.

Amid surging labor costs, the robotics federation estimates that China will likely to usher in more than one-third of the industrial robots installed worldwide in 2018, more than doubling over the next two years from 262, 900 currently to 614,200.

Michael Wang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that with advances in technology, robots would become increasingly affordable and what really mattered was how to expand various application scenarios.

"Currently, most robotic arms are deployed in the automotive industry, whose products are highly standardized," Wang said.

"But when it comes to the consumer electronics sector, robots are still not smart enough to assemble smartphones, which require the flexibility of human hands. That is the direction robot makers should move forward."

China earlier this year unveiled plans to triple its annual output of industrial robots to 100,000 in five years, which prompted investors to pour money into the booming industry.

Heavyweights such as Siasun Robot & Automation Co  China's largest robot maker by market value  and startups are all joining in.

Li Boji, deputy chief engineer at GSK CNC Equipment Co Ltd, a major robot maker in China, said the robot industry was more complicated than the smartphone sector, with far more components and technologies involved. "Any breakthrough demands long-term efforts. Shortsighted strategies will lead to failure," Li said.

Zhao, from Harbin Institute of Technology, agreed. "The robot industry is investment-intensive, highly risky and of slow-return," he said.

"Investors need to remain calm and have a clear mind. More efforts are needed to focus on scientific research."

Zhu Fangjie contributed to this story

Contact the writers through masi@chinadaily.com.cn
China marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March on Oct 21, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Eighty years after the end of the epic Long March by the Chinese Red Army, President Xi Jinping has called for carrying forth the spirit and moving forward in "a new long march" to realize national rejuvenation.

The Long March is an ongoing process, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at a gathering to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.

"A nation that forgets its past will find itself in a blind alley," he said.

In October 1934, hundreds of thousands of Red Army officers and soldiers set out on a 12,500-kilometer journey to break through encirclement by Kuomintang forces.

In about two years, the Red Army fought more than 600 battles, crossed about 100 rivers, climbed over 40 steep mountains and trekked across vast grasslands before arriving at Yan'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, where it built its own revolutionary base.

Xi said the Long March was a remarkable turning pointfrom setbacks to victoryfor the Party and China's revolutionary cause. It was so hard and bitter that, "on average, a soldier died every 300 meters in the leading Red Army troop".

The Long March was a great expedition to seek ideals and faith, test truth and break new ground, Xi said, calling for the Party to carry on the spirit in the new era.

Each generation has its own "long march", and they should proceed in their own way, he said, adding that the "long march" today is to realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

Zhen Xiaoying, a professor of Party studies and former vice-president of the Central Institute of Socialism in Beijing, said the core spirit of the Long March is to uphold idealism and overcome difficulties.

Such a spirit should be applied in all walks of life and be promoted among people of the younger generation who haven't experienced hard times, she said.

"China is faced with a lot of challenges today," Zhen added. "The spirit of the Long March is of great value in the new era. It is not out of date, but should be inherited."

People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, said in an editorial on Friday that the Party is now faced with multiple tasks, such as building a well-off society, deepening reform, carrying forward the rule of law and governing the Party strictly.

"The tests for the Party members are far from ending. The Long March is always underway."
Hard landing in property market unlikely following cooling measures, say analysts

Home price increases in key cities may ease after a series of cooling measures take effect, though a hard landing of the market is unlikely, said analysts.

New home prices in 63 out of 70 cities that the National Bureau of Statistics monitors gained in September. But the real estate market "apparently cooled" this month after cities took measures to curb rapidly rising housing prices, according to a statement by the NBS on Friday.

Liu Jianwei, spokesman for the NBS, said growth in residential property prices that was too rapid in first-tier cities and some second-tier cities has apparently been curbed, and home prices are stabilizing.

Compared with September, new home price growth has slowed this month.

Year-on-year growth in floor area under construction also has slowed, from 4.6 percent in August to 3.2 percent in September.

Shenzhen, one of the cities with the fastest housing price growth, saw average new home prices decline by 0.3 percent in the first half of October compared with September.

Prices in some other cities dropped between 1 percent and 3.8 percent, the NBS statement said.

More than 20 cities launched cooling measures, including stricter regulations on buyers' qualifications to buy second or third homes and tightened credit for homebuyers in a bid to curb speculation.

However, analysts said they believe a hard landing in the key cities' property market is unlikely.

"Policy changes will remain gradual and focused on upper-tier markets, meaning that a property market crash is highly doubtful," said Sam Xie, head of CBRE China Research.

Wang Tao, chief China economist of UBS Group AG, said in a research note that the chances of a home-price plunge are low. "These curbs only aim to rein in the homebuying panic and to stem the bubble, instead of being an all-around shackling of the property market," said Wang.

James McDonald, a Savills China researcher, said lower-tier cities may see decreasing prices due to inventory pressure.

Price increases in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai will slow down but are unlikely to stop if the land supply does not pick up quickly, he said.

Average home prices in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, dropped by 3.62 percent, from 18,093 yuan ($2,670) per square meter in September to 17,438 yuan in the first half of October.

In Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, home prices dropped by 1.23 percent, from 7,837 yuan per square meter in September to 7,740 yuan in October, according to data from housing authorities.

In Shanghai, the average home price went up by 3.41 percent month-on-month in the first half of October to 49,644 yuan per square meter.
Clouds over South China Sea begin to dissipate as Beijing welcomes new Philippine president

China and the Philippines agreed to address disputes in the South China Sea peacefully and with the sovereign states that are directly involved, according to a joint statement released on Friday during a state visit to Beijing by the island nation's President Rodrigo Duterte.

The statement highlighted "the importance of handling the disputes in the South China Sea in an appropriate manner".

"Both sides also reaffirm the importance of ... addressing their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned," the statement said.

It also said that the two countries "agree to continue discussions on confidence-building measures to increase mutual trust and confidence".

"In addition to and without prejudice to other mechanisms, a bilateral consultation mechanism can be useful", with regular meetings on matters of concern to either side on the South China Sea, the statement said.

Duterte's China trip, from Tuesday to Friday, was his first official visit to a foreign country outside ASEAN.

The visit took place against a backdrop of deteriorating China-Philippines relations resulting from the pursuit of an arbitration case against China on the South China Sea initiated by Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

Jia Duqiang, an expert on Southeast Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he is "optimistic with prudence" about the reversal in relations that took place during Duterte's visit.

"Beijing should continue tackling the South China Sea disputes with great caution in diplomacy, embark on more effective communication and keep the consensus on seeking consensus," Jia said.

Duterte "temporarily put aside the arbitration and lowered its profile, which does not mean putting an end to the issue", Jia added.

Despite the rains clouding Beijing throughout the final day of his visit, Duterte's enthusiasm didn't cool. He used the day to seek more investment opportunities for his country.

Before leaving on Friday evening, he led his key cabinet members to a gathering of owners of small and medium-size enterprises from both countries, and visited the global headquarters of Bank of China.

At the bank, Duterte witnessed the signing of bilateral agreements on trade and investment.

Bernadette Romulo Puyat, undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines, said she is happy about potential rise of banana and pineapple exports to China.

"We wish that we could learn from your good experiences, so we can become as developed as China as right now," she said.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
A man walks through gale-force winds as Typhoon Haima makes landfall on the South China coast, in Hong Kong, October 21, 2016. [Photo/IC]

"The strong gale almost blew me away," said Huang Rongjun, a resident in the city of Shanwei, after Typhoon Haima made landfall in Guangdong province.

"I was all wet when I returned home at noon, and I saw many umbrellas blown away, as well as some billboards and tree branches taken down by the storm," said the young woman worker. "Many people will have to stay at home on Friday night due to the bad weather."

According to an engineer surnamed Zhang in charge of equipment operation and maintenance at a local wind power station in Shanwei, the power grid has been shut down since Thursday night.

"The power of Haima is as strong as that of Typhoon Usagi in 2013, when more than 10 power-generating equipment of our plant were blown down by the strong wind, resulting in economic losses valued at millions of yuan," Zhang told China Daily on Friday.

Haima, meaning sea horse in Chinese, made landfall in Houmen township in Shanwei at 12:40 pm on Friday. It has caused widespread economic losses and wreaked havoc in Guangdong's eastern coastal cities.

Haima, the 22nd typhoon to hit the Chinese coast this year, is the strongest one to strike Guangdong province in late October.

Government departments are still busy calculating the direct economic losses caused by Haima. In Hong Kong, the government received at least 197 reports of fallen trees in the city, and 12 people were injured as of 4 pm.

According to Guangzhou Railway Group, all passenger train services in Guangdong's eastern coastal areas ceased on Friday.

More than 570 flights in Shenzhen had been canceled as of 9 am on Friday because of Haima. Shenzhen Baoan International Airport did not resume departure service until 6 pm.

China Southern Airlines also canceled flights in Jieyang airport on Friday.

In Hong Kong, at least 742 flights were canceled as of 2 pm, according to the Airport Authority of Hong Kong.

Liang Jian, chief forecaster with the Guangdong provincial meteorological observatory, said Haima is expected to weaken in Jiangxi province on Saturday morning after more than 12 hours of lashing Guangdong.

But the eastern and northern parts of Guangdong will witness downpours in the next one or two days, Liang said.

He Guoguang, an official in charge of flood relief with the Guangdong provincial department of water resources, urged relevant departments to introduce effective and concrete measures to prevent possible flooding in major rivers and landslides in the mountainous cities in the coming two days.

The Hong Kong Observatory raised a No 8 storm signal early on Friday morning, as Haima approached. Gales and heavy rains caused disturbances across the city.

In a Wellcome supermarket store in Hung Hom, Kowloon, a cashier surnamed Chan, who had worked the day shift since 6 am, said she had been so busy that she hardly had time to go to the bathroom.

Shelves for vegetables and meats were almost empty while there was no evident price hike. She said the checkout line never seemed to end and she felt exhausted.

However, prices of vegetables in wet markets went up around 10 percent on Friday.
SHANGHAI -- A comfort women museum in Shanghai opened to the public on Saturday, displaying various items donated by researchers and survivors to expose the notorious crimes of Japanese troops during World War II (WWII).

The museum, located at Shanghai Normal University, has displayed items such as the condoms belonging to Japanese soldiers during WWII, which researchers obtained when surveying the sites of comfort women stations of Japanese troops.

The items also include photos, testimonies of victims, passports of victims who went to Japan to file lawsuits, and the indictments from the first group of victims from the Chinese mainland to ask for compensation from Japan.

Chen Liancun, a 90-year-old victim from south China's Hainan province, and an 88-year-old survivor from the Republic of Korea (ROK) attended the opening of the museum.

Chen was raped by three Japanese soldiers when she, then 13 years old, was tending cattle on a hill. Three years later, she was captured along with other girls in nearby villages by Japanese troops to serve as comfort women in Baoting County, Hainan.

"I will not forget the atrocity committed by Japanese soldiers. I hope justice shall be served and demand an apology and compensation from Japan," she said.

"The oral testimonies and abundant historical materials and evidence all prove that the comfort women system was a national crime committed by Japan during wartime and was anti-humanitarian," said Su Zhiliang, director of the comfort women research center at the university.

Some 400,000 women in Asia were forced to serve as comfort women for the Japanese army during WWII, nearly half of whom were Chinese, according to Su.

Su said there are only 19 surviving comfort women on the Chinese mainland.

NGOs from countries including China, the ROK and Indonesia are working together to nominate documentation about comfort women for inclusion on the Memory of the World Register, established by UNESCO in the 1990s to preserve the world's most important documents.
The Forbidden City, the culmination of the two-thousand-year development of classical Chinese and East Asian architecture, has been influential in the subsequent development of Chinese architecture, as well as providing inspiration for many artistic works. [Photo/IC]

When Stefano De Caro first saw the Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, in the movie "The Last Emperor" in the 1980s, he thought, "this is China."

After visiting the palace complex, however, it dawned on him that there was much more about China.

"The Palace Museum has over the years impressed me on many more perspectives," De Caro, director-general of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), told Xinhua at the 2016 Ancient Civilization Forum, which was held at the Palace Museum from Wednesday to Thursday.

For example, the restoration work is fantastic, De Caro said.

Today, the Palace Museum has a conservation team of more than 100 professionals, who are tasked with restoring and maintaining the museum's rich collection, which includes ancient calligraphic works, paintings, time pieces and bronze items.

The Palace Museum is home to the world's largest ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting collection. While many are hundreds of years old, some were born over a millennia ago.

The museum's noteworthy efforts in conserving cultural treasures can be seen from "Five Oxen," a painting scroll by 8th century artist and prime minister Han Huang.

Oxen represent agriculture as foundation of ancient China. Han, who was active during the Tang Dynasty, so elaborately depicted five oxen that their muscles, bones and hairs are as vivid as the living animals from which he drew inspiration.

The painting, which is the world's oldest surviving Chinese paper painting, was lost during the warring period in 1900.

The central government, at great financial cost, recovered the painting after it reappeared in Hong Kong in the 1950s. When the painting was returned to the Palace Museum, it had more than 200 holes and was stained with dirt and mould.
Michael Ellis from Michelin poses with the Michelin guide book for Washington, DC at a restaurant in Washington, DC on Oct 12. The Michelin Guide unveiled its first edition for the US capital Washington last Thursday. [Photo/China Daily]

12 restaurants receive stars in US capital, where mid-Atlantic cuisine is the highlight

The Michelin Guide unveiled its first edition for the US capital Washington last Thursday, awarding coveted stars to a dozen restaurants it said were part of a hot foodie scene.

Alas, no restaurant got the full blessing of three stars, although three received two stars and nine got one.

The best known of the three top-honored chefs is probably Spanish-born Jose Andres. He studied under Ferran Adria - a pioneer of innovative, so-called molecular cuisine - before settling in Washington and becoming a prominent figure in the restaurant world.

Andres has nearly a dozen establishments in Washington that blend Spanish cuisines with flavors from Latin America and Asia.

The one recognized last Thursday is called Mini Bar and has room for just 12 customers. The tasting menu costs $275 a head, excluding wine, taxes and tip.

"Bravo, bravo, bravo!" Adria wrote in Spanish on Twitter, congratulating the restaurant on its new status.

The other two restaurants that received two stars are called Pineapple & Pearls and The Inn at Little Washington, which is actually a 90-minute drive outside the city in rural Virginia.

Aaron Silverman, the chef at Pineapple & Pearls, "has perfectly flavored dishes reflecting a wide range of influences," the Michelin statement said.

The tasting menu there costs $250 a head. It features such treats as a yogurt-filled bonbon on a spoon above a coupe of fennel juice, green apple, celery and absinthe.

Silverman's highly acclaimed first restaurant, Rose's Luxury, received one star, and emphatically posted a giant "Thank you DC!!!!!!!!" on Twitter on behalf of both establishments.

The Inn at Little Washington was honored even though the guide focuses only on places in the city, with Michelin saying it was an iconic place that had trained many young chefs and most of its customers traveled there from Washington, anyway.

It serves "classic and eclectic French cuisine in a stunning setting," Michelin said.

Altogether, 107 restaurants are reviewed in the Michelin Guide for Washington, including 19 in the "Bib Gourmand" category for good food at an affordable price. Thirty-three kinds of cuisine are represented in the book.

"With its own culinary identity centered around 'mid-Atlantic cuisine,' over the last few years the culinary scene in Washington has undergone some profound changes that have made its local cuisine among the most dynamic in the world," Michelin said in a statement.

Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema added that "something like 90 restaurants have opened just over summer, which is kind of crazy."

While welcoming Michelin's recommendations, he said he was surprised at some of the restaurants that did not make the list, such as Rasika, "the best modern Indian restaurant in the country."

Mini Bar, he furthered, deserves three stars for providing its patrons a "little magic carpet ride."

"It doesn't become a restaurant, it becomes an experience," he said.

Of the 21,000 restaurants featured in Michelin guides around the world, only just over 100 have three stars, Michelin says.

Until now the US cities that had Michelin Guides focusing on their food scene were New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

The Michelin staff that toured Washington's restaurants to compile the guide found cuisine styles from all over the world and local chefs who had worked elsewhere, then returned and used local ingredients to make "truly amazing food," said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides.

He said Washington is distinguished by its brand of mid-Atlantic cuisine, with blue crabs and rockfish from the Chesapeake Bay and very good local meat and produce.

Agence France-Presse
Qiqi often spend quality time with his father Wu Jinhai in the countryside learning about nature. [Photo/China Daily]

Chinese kids today are becoming increasingly interested in the natural world, thanks to the efforts of parents and educators who believe such exposure is necessary for a holistic learning experience during their growing up years

Climbing up the tree, lying on the grass to observe a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis and jumping along the ridges of farmlands are the most exciting childhood memories Wu Jinhai are trying to pass on to his son.

To get closer to nature, Wu even moved from an apartment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province to run a guesthouse in Liangzhu New Town, a scenic spot in the countryside 16 kilometers from the city.

"I have always wanted to give my son a childhood full of freedom and excitement, which can be obtained by pursuing outdoor activities up in the hills, forests and along the streams," said Wu, who is also an insect enthusiast and a freelance photographer.

Every weekend since Wu's son Qiqi turned three years old, the father and son duo would head into the wilderness to chase the butterflies hovering above wildflowers.

Wu has since collected hundreds of butterfly specimens which are all displayed at his home. As a result of his upbringing, Qiqi has now left behind his shy disposition to become an outgoing and lively nine-year-old.

"Those trips have helped my son become more observant about nature, learn about the different lifeforms around us and express his unique understanding of them," said Wu, who now also works as a part-time teacher of natural science at a primary school.

Education experts say that children who grow up close to nature tend to be more creative and are more proactive in self-learning.

Wang Qingshi, an 11-year-old student of Beijing Shijingshan Yinhe Primary School, flew from the Chinese capital to Shanghai to attend the finals of the Global Natural History Day Competition 2016. Here, he showcased his unique methods of categorizing insects, winning the first prize for his efforts at the event.

As a child whose hobby is catching insects, Wang started carrying out research on the different shapes of insect feet after a cicada's foot was caught between the threads of his T-shirt about one year ago.

Together with a friend, Wang spent most of his leisure time catching hundreds of insects in Beijing, taking photos and documenting the differences between the feet of insects. He has now classified insect feet into four categories based on their shapes - double-hook, single-hook, stick-shaped and sucker hook.

Wang has even painted the feet of insects to create images, written journals and created interactive activities to show people how they can match insects with their different feet.

"I've learnt this aspect of insects that cannot be found in the textbooks and started thinking and conducting research independently to explore the natural world with creativity and curiosity," said Wang, who has a dream to become an entomologist.

Chen Hongcheng, Wang's tutor and a teacher at Beijing Yucai School, said that it is important and meaningful that kids today pay more attention to the world around them.

"Chinese parents are now making more efforts to expose their children to nature where they can exercise their curiosity and imagination, instead of being only concerned with examination results."

Another two participants in the competition, Zhang Yi and Yan Jiyao, shared their research results on birds at the competition in Shanghai. The pair of fourth-grade students attend the primary school attached to Southwest University in Chongqing.

"Birds are friends of us human beings. I want to explore how we can help them live and proliferate in nature with the least disturbance possible," said Yan, whose interest in birds developed after a trip to a bird park one year ago.
A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]

The downfall of a village head in North China's Hebei province has shed light on the dark side of grassroots officials in the country's vast rural areas.

Meng Lingfen, former chief of Quanqiuer village in suburban Dingzhou, Hebei province, was recently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for embezzlement, causing disturbance and intentional damage of property.

Meng was dubbed the "most fierce village head" by netizens after she summoned some thugs to beat a reporter who was trying to find out the happenings after receiving a tipoff from a villager in August last year.

An investigation promptly ensued after the beating was exposed by the media. And a slew of illegal acts by Meng were soon revealed.

During her stint as village head since 2012, Meng frequently abused her power to infringe upon collective property such as the village's land and forest.

It is reported that she also collected money under the guise of fees, threatened those villagers who refused to pay with violence, or "taught a lesson" to disobedient villagers by destroying their crops or property.

Meng's case has prompted a question of why some village officials become village overlords who can act without restraint. Meng is just one of the many such village overlords exposed in recent years.

The fall from grace of high-ranking officials, the so-called big tigers, always makes headlines when they are netted in the country's ongoing anti-graft campaign.

However, it is the "small flies", or the low-level corrupt officials that plague the vast rural areas, which make people feel the most pain.

A survey by the public security department of Hebei revealed that village officials accounted for 70 percent of all the corruption cases involving grassroots officials in the province, which highlights the problems that exist in the selection process of these grassroots officials.
The beauty of this so-called luxury resort lies not in the fact that it is an astonishingly picturesque getaway location. [Alywin Chew/China Daily]

The best thing about camping in style, or glamping, at the Tibetan grasslands of Gansu province isn't just the scenery - it's the infectious passion and inspirational tales of those who reside there

Tucked away in the remote recesses of the Tibetan Plateau in Gansu province, Norden Camp exists in its own vacuum of serenity.

Apart from the occasional cooing of birds and the fluttering of their wings, the only constant sound that permeates this place is that of water sloshing in the small stream that runs through the compound.

From rolling hills to lush grasslands to the surreal canvas of resplendent stars above your head come nightfall, the scenes of what Mother Nature affords at this destination are, without question, spellbinding.

But the beauty of this so-called luxury resort lies not in the fact that it is an astonishingly picturesque getaway location.

Rather, the most poignant aspect of this sanctuary lies in something less visible and more visceral - the stories of the people within, which inherently help spawn new perspectives to life.

Opened in May 2014, Norden is the brainchild of Yidam Kyap, a former Tibetan nomad, and his wife Dechen Yeshi, a Tibetan-American, both of whom were eager to preserve the fast-fading nomadic culture and generate employment opportunities for local nomads via a travel destination that provides an authentic yet relatively luxurious travel experience.

The couple have certainly managed to achieve this, having conjured an immaculate blend where tradition meets modernity. Just like Tibetan nomads, guests can stay in yak hair tents, with the difference being that those in Norden are far more lavish - they come with coal heaters, wooden flooring, soft beds and yak wool blankets by Norlha, a textile brand helmed by Yeshi that has made its way to the shelves of luxury boutiques such as Hermes, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent.

Alternatively, travelers can stay in cozy cabins that come with their own en suite dry toilets. Shower areas, on the other hand, are located in two locations within the camp. Other amenities include a sauna, a beautifully constructed area for yoga and meditation, as well as a small boutique selling Norlha products.
Baucus sits with students of Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on October 20, 2016. [Photo/PAS China]

US Ambassador to China Max Baucus traveled to Jiangxi province on October 20-21, fulfilling the personal promise he made to President Xi Jinping to visit each of China's provinces, according to a press release from the US Embassy.

"One of my greatest joys as the US Ambassador to China is getting out and meeting as many people as I can," Baucus told students at Jiangxi Normal University. "But being here today in Nanchang is very special to me. Because coming here marks the completion of my goal to visit each of China's provinces!"

Baucus has been a vocal advocate for expanding understanding between Chinese and Americans, encouraging citizens from both countries to learn more about one another through travel and firsthand experience. The 10-year visa agreement, signed in November 2014, and the ongoing year of US-China tourism are just two examples of how the US Mission to China is working to promote increased US-China engagement.

Baucus has also led by example, traveling across China to personally meet with students, businesspeople, government officials and many others to learn more about China and talk with them about the United States, visiting many provinces multiple times since his arrival in March 2014.
Daniel Renouf and his wife visit the exhibition of historical facts about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the Memorial de Caen museum in France on Saturday. It will run until Dec 15. [Photo by Fu Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

The retired French engineer Daniel Renouf was born in August 1937, days after Japanese troops attacked China and several months before the Nanjing Massacre, which claimed 300,000 lives. Together with his wife, he joined French people in the hundreds on Saturday at an exhibition about the World War II-era war crimes.

With his wife holding a stick, they carefully examined the 270 historical photos, diaries, letters and other documents from Western diplomats, professors, doctors and reporters from the 1930s. The exhibit in the Memorial de Caen museum in France runs until Dec 15.

"The year 1937 is very special for us, and we had such very sad historic memories in our mind as we had grown," said Renouf, who was one of the last to leave the exhibition, which opened on Saturday afternoon.

"We knew something about the Nanjing Massacre."

However, Renouf, a resident of Caen, a city about 200 kilometers from Paris, said the exhibition helped him know more about the "horrifying pages" of Japanese aggression against China.

"These equal the Nazi crimes in Europe, and I believe, we must stop," said Renouf.

Japanese troops killed an estimated 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers s they rampaged through Nanjing in 1937. Thousands of women had been raped.

China has made Dec 13, the date when the Nanjing Massacre started, a National Memorial Day since 2014. And more than 30 similar exhibitions have been organized across the world, but the French exhibit is the first in Europe to display historical facts about Nanjing.

The Memorial de Caen museum, which opened in 1988, is dedicated to the history of conflict in the 20th century. It is considered the only European museum to recount and explain World War II from a global perspective.

Stephane Grimaldi, the museum director, said for many Europeans and Americans, the Second World War is only about Europe.

"But from the historic facts, you can see that this war started from China, due to Japanese aggression. It was not only in Europe but also in Asia, mainly in China," said Grimaldi. "We want to expose these historic truths to the public."
MANILA -- The Philippine foreign secretary said on Saturday that the "little brown brother image" has thwarted the Philippines' growth and development, adding that separation from the United States is demanded in pursuing an independent foreign policy.

"It implies breaking away from the debilitating mindset of dependency and subservience - economically and militarily - that have perpetuated our 'little brown brother' image to America, which has stunted our growth and advancement," Perfecto Yasay wrote on his Facebook page.

He parroted the explanation made earlier by President Rodrigo Duterte that Philippines' separation from the U.S. economically and military does not mean severance of relationship or terminating the special bond between the two nations.

Indeed, he said that breaking away from "our closest friend, only military ally and strategic partner would not be in our best national interest" as declared unmistakably by Duterte on his arrival in Davao City from his successful trip to China early Saturday.

"Dismantling this old paradigm to give way to new stronger structures and methods in promoting better understanding and mutually beneficial relationships does not signify destroying alliances, making enemies or creating new barriers towards working together," Yasay explained.

The top Philippine diplomat added, "It simply means letting go of the disguised chains that continue to hold us captive to foreign interests in order to enable our people and duly elected leaders to address our urgent problems and needs in the light of our priorities, experiences and values without undue outside interference."

The separation means enabling the Philippines as a sovereign equal with all nations "in securing world peace not war, forging stronger friendships and not enmity and making our planet a better and safer place for everyone," Yasay said.
(Photo : getty images.) Sources suggest that officials from Vatican and China are expected to meet in Rome by month end in order to finalize a deal on ordination of bishops in Mainland China.

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Officials from Vatican and China are likely to meet in Rome by month-end to finalize a deal on the ordination of bishops in the mainland.



The issue is reportedly a contagious one and its resolution is expected to bring a thaw in strained relationship between Beijing and the Holy See.



Sources close to Vatican told Reuters that China has agreed to ordain at least two new bishops before the year ends. A person close to the Chinese leadership also confirmed the reports about the ordination.



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China traditionally has opposed Rome's right to ordain Chinese bishops, mainly because of the difficult relationship it shared with Vatican.



Experts suggest that the breakthrough in the deal will help Vatican in improving the plight of the Christian community in China and also in preventing possible spilt within the community.



The Chinese Christian community is currently divided between the followers of state-sanctioned Catholic hierarchy and an "underground" community that solemnly swears to the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.



A deal "would definitely remove the risk of a schism (within the Church in China), which for 60 years has been a potential threat," said Elisa Giunipero, a researcher at the Catholic University of Milan. She has already conducted a study on the history of the Catholic Church in China for 20 years.



Vatican recently has been making continuous efforts to improve its ties with China. In August, Pope Francis and his secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that they are upbeat about restoring diplomatic relationship with China.



However, any effort to mend ties with China would mean that Holy See would have to rethink about its close relationship with Taiwan. Vatican is among the 22 countries, and the only country in entire Europe, that officially recognizes Taiwan.



Recently, Taiwan Vice President paid a visit to Vatican to ensure that Holy See keeps its support intact amid improving ties with China.



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TagsChina and Vatican, china, Vatican, Ordination Bishop Deal
(Photo : https://pixabay.com/en/taxi-vehicle-road-city-urban-cars-1209542/) Speaking at Vanity Fairs New Establishment Summit, the company president Jean Liu said that the company intends to go to the global markets and collaborate with local players.

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Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing has plans to go global and it is now drawing some strategies to achieve this goal.



Speaking at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit, company president Jean Liu said that the company intends to go to the global markets and collaborate with local players. However, if the company cannot find local businesses, then it will choose to venture on its own.



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Didi Chuxing is steadily growing, both organically and through collaborations.



In May this year, the company received $1 billion worth of investment from Apple. Three months later, Didi Chuxing bought its arch rival Uber China to form a joint entity. Around the same time, Didi Chuxing attracted another round of funding, this time from Foxconn, which invested $119.9 million in the ride-sharing company.



However, Didi Chuxing did not elaborate upon its collaboration with Apple. It alluded to the use of Siri in the cars in network.



The company referred to the importance of growing China market to the US tech giant. As a major player in the market, Didi Chuxing is in position to have mutually beneficial relationship with Apple.



Didi Chuxing is believed to handle more than 20 million rides a day in China.



Company president Liu said the ride-sharing industry is still in its nascent stage. The company holds investments in Ola, the largest car-hailing company in India. Similarly, it also poured investment in Grab, which offers similar services in southeast Asia. The company had collaborated with Softbank to infuse $600 million in Grab.



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(Photo : Indian Army) Indian and Chinese troops at Sino India Cooperation 2016.

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China is taking pains to reassure Pakistan that its recent military exercise with India in Indian-administered Kashmir doesn't mean their close military ties are in jeopardy.



In an unusual move, China publicly said the drill in Eastern Ladakh last Oct. 19 codenamed "Sino India Cooperation 2016" wasn't directed against any "third country," an oblique reference to Pakistan.



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The exercise was the second under Sino India Cooperation 2016. The first was held last February 7 in the Chushul-Moldo area, also in Ladakh.



China described the Oct. 19 exercise as a "normal exchange." The exercise, however, was the first-ever Sino-Indian joint military exercise in eastern Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.



"I would like to point out that this activity is simply a normal exchange between the frontier troops of China and India to properly deal with border affairs," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying about the Oct. 19 drill.



"It does not target any third country nor have anything to do with China's position on the Kashmir issue."



"On October 19, border troops of the two countries jointly held a small routine tactical exercise in the Chushul region of the western section of the China-India border close to the Line of Actual Control," she said.



Hua said China and India also held a similar exercise in this region in February. She noted the recent exercise focused on "humanitarian assistance and disaster relief under a scenario of earthquakes in the border area, with a purpose to enhance exchanges and cooperation between the two troops and better safeguard peace and tranquility of the border area."



The Indian Army also said the same thing.



"During the day long exercise on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) a fictitious situation of earthquake striking an Indian Border village was painted. Thereafter joint teams carried out rescue operations, evacuation and rendering of medical assistance," said a statement from the Army.



The Army said the exercise was held in the area of the Border Personnel Meeting Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh with the Chinese troops of the Moldo Garrison.



The Oct. 19 exercise was part of the ongoing initiative to enhance interaction and cooperation between the two nations under the provision of Border Defense Cooperation Agreement of 2013.



The Indian Army personnel at the exercise were led by Brigadier RS Raman while those from the People's Liberation Army were under Senior Colonel Fan Jun.



The Indian Army said the exercise "was a great success and has not only refined the drills to provide succor to the border population in case of natural calamity but has also increased the level of trust and cooperation between the two border guarding forces along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh."



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Tagschina, India, Pakistan, Sino India Cooperation 2016, Hua Chunying, China-India border, Line of Actual Control
(Photo : PLAN) Type 055.

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China's first Type 055 guided missile destroyer -- the heaviest and most heavily armed in the world -- will be launched in 2018 and will enter service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) before 2020.



Displacing 14,000 tons, the Type 055 will become the heaviest destroyer afloat. It's about 2,000 tons heavier than the new USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) stealth destroyer of the United States Navy that became operational only this month.



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And with 128 vertical launch system (VLS) cells loaded with a mix of missiles, the Type 055 will have missile firepower greater than the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, but will be at par with the Sejong the Great-class guided missile destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. The Zumwalt is armed with 80 VLS cells.



Media reports said the first Type 055 is being assembled at the Jiangnan Changxing shipyards in Shanghai. The lead ship of the Type 055-class began construction in 2015.



When launched, the Type 055 will be the largest non-capital surface warship built in Asia since World War II. The only warships heavier than the Type 055 were the heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy that weighed over 10,000 tons.



The Type 055 will have four large AESA radars for defense against aerial and maritime threats. The radars will be linked to the ship's 128 VLS that carry air-to-air and anti-ship missiles.



The warship will be able to deploy future sensors and weapons like towed array sonar, variable depth sonar, towed torpedo decoys and active torpedo defenses. This means the Type 055 will have an organic anti-submarine capability, helping remedy the PLAN's greatest weakness.



Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo described the Type 055 as a "game changer in naval warfare." Adm. Yin is a member of the PLAN's advisory board on cybersecurity and once served as a national political adviser to the communist central government.



The Type 055 will see service as escorts to the Shandong, China's second aircraft carrier currently being built. But it's the second generation of the Type 055 -- the Type 055A -- China claims will be armed with railguns. PLAN expects to begin building the Type 055A starting 2020.



It plans to initially use its railguns, however, to replace its current close in weapons systems (CIWS) providing the last ditch defense of its surface warships. China's CIWS, the Type 730 seven-barreled 30 mm Gatling gun, is effective against slow aircraft and aerial drones. It is ineffective against supersonic cruise missiles and modern anti-ship missiles.



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TagsType 055 guided missile destroyer, People's Liberation Army Navy, USS Zumwalt, U.S. Navy, Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, Sejong the Great-class guided missile destroyer, Republic of Korea Navy
(Photo : getty images.) China on Friday described the first ever Sino-Indian joint military exercise as a normal exchange, adding that the military drill was not targeted against any third nation.

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China described this week's Sino-Indian joint military exercise as a "normal exchange," assuring that the military drill was not targeted against any nation.



The drill was hailed as an 'important event,' given that it was the first ever joint military exercise between the two countries.



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The joint military exercise was held on Oct. 19 in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, which is located barely few kilometers away from the disputed region of Kashmir.



"I would like to point out that this activity is simply a normal exchange between the frontier troops of China and India to properly deal with border affairs," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told Press Trust of India (PTI) on Friday. "It does not target any third country nor have anything to do with China's position on the Kashmir issue."



The military exercise comes at a time when India is visibly miffed with China due to its continued diplomatic support to Pakistan.



New Delhi reportedly sees Beijing's unconditional support as a stumbling block in its bid to isolate Pakistan after the recent Uri attack.



However, China has maintained all throughout that disputed region of Kashmir is a completely a 'bilateral issue' between India and Pakistan. Beijing's stance apparently signifies that it won't meditate in Kashmir issue on behalf of Islamabad.



India and China's bilateral ties spanning across six decades have been largely marked by a love-hate relationship.



After India's independence in 1947, there was apparent bonhomie between the two countries. Nevertheless, conflict over the Tibetan region and the ensuing war in 1962 left a deep bruise on their bilateral relationship, which has continued to cast shadow even today.



China's decision to become a close ally of Pakistan and festering border issues in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh region has further complicated its relationship with India.



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Tagschina, China and India, Sino-Indian Joint Military Exercise, China and India Military Excercise, China and Pakistan
(Photo : Getty Images ) Rodrigo Duterte will soon make his first state visit to Japan.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is planning to discuss the South China Sea dispute with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.



Duterte said on Saturday that he would raise the issue of Philippines' long-standing territorial dispute with China during his upcoming bilateral meeting with Japanese premier.



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"My talks with the Japanese government, particular with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, would really be mostly on economic cooperation and shared interests," the Philippine President told reporters in Davao City, the southern part of the country. "The most important thing there is the shared interests. The shared interest is really about the South China Sea."



The Filipino leader will soon make his first state visit to Japan since becoming the highest leader of the Philippines in June.



Apart from the Japanese PM, Duterte is also scheduled to meet Emperor Akihito during his three-day trip starting on Oct. 25.



Japanese government sources also confirmed that the issue of territorial dispute between the Philippines and China would be a central focus for bilateral talks between Duterte and Abe.



"Japan wants to explain its regional stance, including its thinking regarding the South China Sea," sources said. "Abe wants to make a connection with Duterte."



In July, an international tribunal had rejected China's ownership claims over the contested waters.



Beijing, which had rejected the ruling and even called it "null and void," accused Japan of inciting regional conflict.



Japan recently announced that it will provide the Philippines two patrol boats to help it secure its maritime boundaries in South China Sea amid China's growing military presence in the region.



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TagsSouth China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, Philippines, Japan, china, Duterte
(Photo : Getty Images) President Duterte did not raise the South China dispute during his talks with President Xi as he said it was not the proper time.

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Fresh from a successful four-day state visit to China, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said that Beijing and Manila have agreed to hold future talks to settle their dispute over territories in the South China Sea.



Duterte said he did not raise the South China Sea issue during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping saying it was not the "proper time" to do so.



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The Philippine leader said that his visit to China was meant to improve ties between Manila and Beijing, and seek investments to boost the country's economy.



Lines of communication



Xinhua reported that beside the economic cooperation agreements signed by both sides, the two nations have agreed to open lines of communication and revive their regular consultations which had been suspended for several years due to their dispute over the South China Sea.



Duterte, in a speech he delivered in Davao City upon returning home from Beijing, said his first official state visit to China "signaled a turning point" in the Sino-Philippine relations and showed that both sides are capable of working together despite their longtime dispute over the strategic waterway.



"My state visit to China signaled a turning point in our shared history and showed that both countries are fully capable of working together for mutual beneficial cooperation even as we remain committed to settle disputes peacefully, in full adherence to international law," Duterte said.



Very productive



Duterte said his meetings with his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, had been 'very productive' and that their discussions centered on the many aspects of "China-Philippine relations such as trade and investments, infrastructure and tourism as well as agriculture and health."



Citing the importance of peace and security as a precondition to economic growth, Duterte said Beijing and Manila have jointly reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining and promote peace through freedom of navigation and overflights in the South China Sea region.



"We acknowledged the need to address disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law," he said.



Confidence-building measures



The Philippine leader also said that both countries have agreed to establish confidence-building measures and revive the regular bilateral consultation mechanisms for the two sides to be able to discuss thorny issues and immediate concerns in the South China Sea.



Duterte said Beijing and Manila have signed a general cooperation agreement in a bid to lessen accidental incidents in the South China Sea and to maintain regional stability.



"With the shared objective of achieving greater growth and prosperity for our peoples, the Philippines and China jointly worked closely on building a robust economic agenda," Duterte said



He revealed that he had signed deals with the Chinese government and the private business sector worth US$24 billion to fund its infrastructure projects and invest in Manila's various industries,



"Mostly economic in nature, these agreements provide the framework with which to carry out intensified cooperation between the Philippines and China," Duterte emphasized.



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TagsSouth China Sea Dispute, President Rodrigo Duterte, President Xi Jinping, economic cooperation, China visit, Philippines, china
(Photo : Getty Images ) China called the US a real troublemaker in South China Sea.

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China hit the United States on Friday for sailing a US Navy warship near disputed Paracel islands in South China Sea.



The Chinese defense ministry, in a statement, described the incident as "illegal" and "provocative."



It also issued a stern warning against the US Navy and asked it to stop actions which go against China's sovereignty and maritime interests."



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A US Navy destroyer, the USS Decatur, sailed through the territorial waters near the disputed Paracel islands (also known as Xisha Islands in China) in South China Sea on Friday.



"The act is clear evidence that the US is the real trouble-maker in the South China Sea, at a time when the overall situation in the region is embracing positive development," the ministry said. "Chinese military will strengthen its surveillance and defense power in the region if needed, in a move to firmly protect China's national interests."



Washington, on the other hand, downplayed the incident, calling it a mere "routine" exercise.



"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said.



China and United States' old Asian ally Philippines have been engaged in a bitter territorial dispute over ownership of Paracel Islands in South China Sea, or the West Philippines Sea.



In July, an international tribunal had rejected China's ownership claims over the area. Despite this, China still continues to establish its military infrastructure in South China Sea.



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TagsSouth China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, US Nay, warship, parcel islands
(Photo : getty images.) China on Friday defended President Rodrigo Dutertes shocking decision to separate from the United States

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An apparently jubilant China announced on Friday that it is fully supporting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's shocking decision to "separate" from the United States.



It pointed out that Philippines is a sovereign state and its leader has every right to make "independence choices."



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"Duterte is elected by the people," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a news briefing. "We believe he will make choices independently which benefits the Philippines and its people in mind."



"The sovereign state Philippines can make decisions and policies based on its own interests and we respect that," Hua continued.



The Philippine leader announced his country's complete spilt from the US at a business conference attended by the Chinese and Filipino business community.



"I announce my separation from the United States," he said. "Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost."



Duterte made the announcement shortly after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.



Reacting to Duterte's shocking statement, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the US was "baffled by this rhetoric" and that Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel would be travelling to Manila this weekend to seek explanation on recent developments.



Philippines sudden decision to mend ties with China has surprised many, considering the recent tension in their bilateral ties following the arbitration tribunal's verdict about the ongoing South China Sea dispute.



However, most experts are taking a cautious view of Manila's abrupt shift in its foreign policy visa via China and the US.



They claimed that the Philippines has too much to lose if it completely breaks ties with the US. It is worth noting, though, that it can certainly afford to maintain some distance from its once close ally, experts added.



The US and Philippines' bilateral ties have been greatly underscored by their mutual aim to counter China's aggression in South China Sea. For fulfilling this aim, the US, for many decades, has been offering military and financial assistance to Manila.



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TagsPhilippines, Philippines And China, Rodrigo Duterte, Rodrigo duterte's Visit to China
(Photo : Getty Images) China has slammed the US for conducting freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea.

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China has lambasted the United States after a U.S. Navy warship sailed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Friday. The islands are under China's control.



The US' move was seen by analysts as the latest in its attempts to challenge China's "excessive maritime claims" in the disputed sea and counter Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation patrols in the area.



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"The latest US move in entering Chinese territorial waters is a seriously illegal act, and provocative," China's defense ministry said on its website on Friday, October 21. Beijing added that it would file a diplomatic protest over the US Embassy regarding the incident.



USS Decatur



According to China's defense ministry, two Chinese vessels attempted to warn off the US missile destroyer, USS Decatur, after it entered Chinese waters near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands, a group of islets, reefs, and shoals also known as Xisha in Chinese.



The Paracel Islands are being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan.



China's foreign ministry has slammed the US warship's illegal entry into the country's territory saying the action "seriously violated" China's sovereignty over the islands and compromised the security interests of Beijing in the area.



It also said that the US action was provocative and had broken Chinese laws as well as international law.



Pentagon



Officials from the Pentagon defended the US' latest action saying the USS Decatur sailed close to but not within the 12-nautical mile territorial limits of the islands.



"The USS Decatur conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident," US officials said.



China is laying claim to almost the entire South China Sea through which $5trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes through each year.



The latest US action in the region is the fourth attempt that the US had made to counter China's maritime claims in the disputed strategic waterway through freedom of navigation patrols since last year.



The US had repeatedly said that it would continue to sail and fly over the South China Sea region and other places that international law allows.



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TagsUSS Decatur, Paracel Islands, South China Sea, Freedom of navigation patrols, strategic waterway, diplomatic protest, Washington, Beijing, Pentagon, china
Today, a sex doll. Tomorrow, a sexbot.

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An international conference on sex with robots and sexbots (robots that make love) will be hosted by Goldsmiths University in London from Dec. 19 to 20.



The "International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots" will explore the future when human and machines have sex as casually as humans do with fellow humans today. It will focus on a variety of topics such as humanoid robots; "teledildonics" (a more technical name for cybersex toys) and intelligent electronic sex hardware.



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Organizers said the past few years have witnessed a strong upsurge of interest in the more personal aspects of human relationships with these artificial partners within the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction.



Goldsmiths said the event is an excellent opportunity for academics and industry professionals to present and discuss their innovative work and ideas in an academic symposium.



Some futurists predict robot sex might overtake human sex by 2050. Others warn robot sex might become addictive and will even replace human-human sex almost entirely. That's because a sex robot or a "sexbot"can be programmed to become its human partner's perfect lover.



One expert said the advantage of sexbots is these machines never say "No" to sex. This always-on sex will become addictive and some people might build their lives around robot sex.



The robot sex conference in December will be the second such conference in the UK since September.



The topic of sexbots possessed of artificial intelligence; "robot love" and the future of these eerie concepts were discussed at the 12th International Human Choice and Computers Conference in Manchester that explored topics related to technology and human intimacy.



Experts in psychology, human behavior and technology discussed the impact of new technologies on society. Some experts at the conference believe robot love might become so addictive that it might eventually replace human-to-human intimacy.



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Tagssex with robots, robot sex, sexbots, International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots, teledildonics, Goldsmiths University
Line of Control in Kashmir

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India and Pakistan are again engaging in another "War of the Words" with India this time claiming to have killed seven Pakistani soldiers in a furious exchange of fire across the Line of Control and Pakistan again saying no such incident occurred.



The first time this bewildering "word war" took place was last Sept. 28 when India said it launched "surgical strikes" of artillery fire against Muslim Kashmiri militants inside Pakistan while Pakistan said nothing of the sort happened.



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In round two, which took place Oct. 21, the Indian Army said its retaliatory fire killed seven men of the Pakistan Army along the disputed Kashmir border.



India's Border Security Force (BSF) said Pakistan Rangers fired at their positions with sniper fire early on the morning of Oct. 21 after a unsuccessful overnight attempt by Muslim Kashmiri fighters to cross the border near the city of Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir.



"During intermittent firing of small arms and area weapons, one militant and seven Rangers were shot dead," said the BSF said in a statement.



BSF spokesman Shubhendu Bhardwaj said the border troops launched an "aggressive offensive" after one of their soldiers was severely wounded by sniper fire from across the border.



"There was an infiltration attempt and sniper fire. We retaliated. The bodies are on the other side of the border," said Bhardwaj.



Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa, Pakistani army spokesman, vehemently denied the claim, accusing India of unprovoked shooting across the heavily militarized Line of Control demarcating Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistani-administered Kashmir.



"Indian claim of hitting or killing any Pakistani soldier/Ranger with firing at anytime of today at LOC/ working bdry absolutely false," tweeted Gen. Bajwa.



All this confusing "he said, he said" sprang from an attack on Sept. 18 by Muslim Kashmiri militants on an Indian Army base at Uri that killed 19 jawans.



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TagsIndia, Pakistan, kashmir, Pakistan Army, Indian Army, Line of Actual Control, Border Security Force, Pakistan Rangers
(Photo : https://pixabay.com/en/pope-francis-rome-religion-catholic-707395/) It is likely that the Pope will announce some key steps in the coming 30 days to ease the tension between China and the Church.

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The relationship between China and Vatican are likely to become smoother as Pope Francis seeks to bridge the gap.



It is expected that the Pope will announce in the coming 30 days some key steps to ease the tension between China and the Catholic Church.



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Pope Francis designated the current year as Holy Year of Mercy, in which he asked to celebrate the acts of forgiveness.



It is also anticipated that the pontiff will make the announcement prior to the Nov. 20 culmination of the Holy Year of Mery.



The biggest issue between the two parties pertains to the Vatican's right to appoint its bishops in China.



China is officially an atheist country. However, at the same time, the country has seen major growth in evangelical Christianity. Catholicism, on the other hand, has not been able to make major progress in the country.



Earlier this year, in an interview with Asia Times, the Pope said that China is "more than a country, a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom."



Pope Francis has taken many gestures to show his agreement with China. He even refused to meet Dalai Lama on his visit to Rome in 2014. He also sent a telegram to President Xi Jinping in 2014, on his way to Taiwan.



Reportedly, the Chinese President sent a silk print to the Pope earlier this month. This has to be taken with a grain of salt, though, since the news is not yet confirmed.



With the planned reconciliation, both parties are likely to face some tough issues, such as the status of eight bishops appointed by the Chinese government. Some of these bishops have been ex-communicated by the Vatican.



The head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church has earlier stated that both China and Vatican had reached a preliminary agreement regarding the appointment of Catholic bishops in the country.



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(Photo : https://pixabay.com/en/bike-sunset-sky-abendstimmung-1658214/) On the lines of Didi Chuxing offering car ride sharing, MoBike, a Shanghai based venture, now offers a ride sharing option for bicycles.

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China is taking an innovative step to fight environmental pollution, as ride-sharing for bikes is now being introduced.



The country seeks to promote a healthier and environment-friendly way of commuting through the use of bicycles.



With the current technological advancement, certain bicycles now feature codes that are ready for scnning, smartphone apps and GPS. These features are reportedly attracting attention of enlightened users and investors alike.



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The MoBike, a Shanghai-based venture, has the patronage from Chinese internet behemoth Tencent Holdings. The company closed $100 million worth of funding this month.



MoBike was established in 2015 and offers hi-tech looking bicycles with orange hued inner wheels. These feature airless tyres and fewer spokes to offer easy maintenance.



The bikes are operated through a smartphone app used for unlocking them.



Apart from it, payment is also made through the app, while it allows GPS tracking for the purpose of finding vacant bikes nearby.



However, MoBike is not alone. Shanghai-based Ofo is another company offering similar services. The startup recently got $130 million worth of infusion from investors.



Meanwhile, Ofo was also launched in 2015 and now claims to have more than 300 employees on its roll. The startup is also believed to offer 500,000 rides daily.



China has long been a country of bicycles. It is worth noting, hough, that lately, the trend has been reversed. As in 2013, only 14 percent of the Beijing residents used bicycles. Throughout the country, the bike-use dipped by two to five percent annually from 1990 to 2010.



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(Photo : https://pixabay.com/en/cat-sad-inkscape-vector-1625949/) The book series features the story of four clans of warring feral cats.

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Alibaba Pictures has inked a deal to acquire film rights to popular children's book series "Warriors," which talks about the story of four clans of warring feral cats.



The agreement, signed with Coolabi Group and its subsidiary Working Partners, adds yet another feather in Alibaba Picture's cap, which is making huge inroad in the global movie industry.



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The series, which was first published in the US in 2003, has sold over 30 million copies globally. It revolves around Rusty, who befriends wild cats in a mysterious forest. It also follows the journey of Rusty before becoming the leader of ThunderClan.



Alibaba Pictures president Zhang Wei said the company will develop the book series into a film franchise.



He shared that they intend to use world-class visual effects in bringing the storyline to life.



To strengthen its film division, Alibaba entered recently into a deal with Steven Spielberg, where it acquired minority stake in his company, Amblin Partners.



Under this deal, Alibaba will co-produce and finance films aimed at Chinese and global audiences. The company did not disclose, though, the financial details of the deal.



Alibaba has alredy invested in various prominent projects, such as "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" and "Star Trek Beyond."



Warriors is written by Erin Hunger, a pen name for a team of writers comprising of Cherith Baldry, Kate Cary and Victoria Holmes.



The book series is licensed in 35 languages and HarperCollins plans to publish eight new titles over the course of coming two years.



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TagsAlibaba, HarperCollins, Steven Spielberg
(Photo : US Navy) USS San Antonio

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The USS San Antonio (LPD-17), one of the U.S. Navy warships attacked by missiles fired by Yemini Houthis in early October, is now conducting airstrikes against ISIL terrorists in Libya.



She transited into the Mediterranean from the Red Sea off Yemen and replaced the USS Wasp (LHD-1), a multipurpose amphibious assault ship that's been attacking ISIL targets since Aug. 1. Prior to this combat deployment, her first in 11 years, the Wasp tested the Marines' F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter.



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The Wasp supported Operation Odyssey Lightning. This air campaign over Libya is being conducted at the request of the country's government of national accord as part of the fight to retake the key city of Sirte from ISIL.



She initially used AV-8B Harriers as strike aircraft and added AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters to provide close air support on these strike missions.



So far, the U.S. has conducted 330 strikes since the mission began, an average of more than four strikes per day.



The San Antonio will contribute AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1Y Huey Venom utility helicopters from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit's aviation combat unit, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264 (reinforced) to the air campaign against ISIL, said United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM).



"USS San Antonio is more than capable of sustaining the current mission," said Charles Prichard, U.S. AFRICOM spokesman.



"The sailors and Marines of the Wasp (Amphibious Ready Group)/22nd MEU team will receive follow-on tasking and continue their deployment to the 5th and 6th Fleet area of operation."



The San Antonio will continue providing precision airstrikes in support of Libyan forces and government of national accord-aligned forces fighting to re-take compounds and structures used by ISIL to launch attacks on friendly forces.



U.S. AFRICOM noted the airstrikes have significantly reduced Daesh's ability to utilize heavy weapons and enemy fighting positions. The bombings have also reduced the number of vehicle-borne improvised explosive (VBIED) devices intended for attacks on government and government-aligned forces.



Both the San Antonio and the Wasp are part of the 22nd MEU, which deployed from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in June.



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TagsUSS San Antonio, USS Wasp, Libya, Operation Odyssey Lightning, United States Africa Command, U.S. AFRICOM
I finished.

I actually finished my academic requirements for the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree at Talbot School of Theology.

I started the program back in Fall of 2013, and after three years of coursework, I started writing my dissertation (referred to as a doctoral project), and finished writing within a year. I finished the entire program in less than 4 years.

Technically, I am not a doctor yet, as the degree is conferred during graduation coming December 16th. But my colleagues at work have already started calling me Dr. or Rev. Dr. and I have to say it feels quite good.

So, why am I writing about my accomplishment? If one would do a simple online search of doctoral student graduation rates, the average graduation rate is to be about 50-60%. From Talbots own website, average D.Min. students graduate in about five years, and/or are able to extend the study time.

From my experience within the Korean American community, most D.Min. students seem to take longer or never finish writing the dissertation. When I used to be an EM pastor, one of my previous senior pastors was in his dissertation phase and never finished due to time running out. It is not uncommon to see Korean pastors noting doctoral coursework from so-and-so school in ones bio, to point out that s/he has had some doctoral level education (but which also implies that s/he never graduated with the degree).

In my doctoral cohort of about a dozen students, I am definitely not the smartest (there are several current university and college professors). I am not the wisest, nor the most experienced (I am the youngest in the cohort). But I am the first to finish.

Im writing this column because I actually finished. And I finished really early.

When I think back, I am not sure how I finished it so fast. To give you some background, I work full time as a hospital chaplain, part time as US Army Reserve chaplain, and until earlier this year, I was an EM pastor preaching every Sunday. I am also a father of a two year old.

During the program, there was a phase when I was working on my doctoral studies, preparing for my hospital chaplain board certification (which Ive earned the BCC credential), and attending the Chaplain Captain Career Course for the US Army Chaplain Corp. (graduating as top 5 of my class).

The point in sharing my background and experience is that the Doctor of Ministry degree is designed for the full time working minister in mind. Even if you have 2-3 jobs with family to support, the degree is doable. I see myself as living proof of fellow pastors being able to successfully finish the program, even with hectic, busy schedules.

People often ask how I did it and I try not to go into too much detail, but heres what I did/how I did it.

My goal everyday was to write somethinga sentence or a paragraphsomething! If I wrote a sentence, I stopped for the day, and gave myself a pat on the back. On the weekends I made it a priority to write at least a full page. During the weekdays, I did my research by reading journals and bookssearching for dissertation material. It really comes down to time management and the willingness to find an answer for oneself.

I had a burning desire to know how I can be an evangelical healthcare chaplain in a pluralistic environment. I had questions I truly wanted to answer, and through this degree, I found satisfying answers to some of the critical questions I had about chaplain ministry. This was the biggest motivation that enabled me to continue on and finish my degree.

Another contributing factor for me to actually finish was Gods divine hand in having me leave the church I was pastoring earlier this year. Although it was sad to say farewell to the church members, I believe it was all part of Gods providence, as I was able to simply utilize the time and effort I was spending on sermon writing and switch it over to dissertation writing. It was a blessing in disguise.

And now Im done. The title of my work is Pluralism, Relativism, and Postmodernism in the Healthcare Chaplaincy and the Evangelical Chaplain. Perhaps those who are interested in healthcare chaplaincy will find the paper useful, meaningful, and helpful for ministry.

Thanks be to God.

Rev. Joseph Choi is ordained by the ECA (Evangelical Church Alliance). He is also a U.S. Army Reserve chaplain, and a healthcare chaplain Board Certified by APC (Association of Professional Chaplains).
4 Ways To Encourage Young People To Lead In Church

Young people are leaving the church in droves  or so the headlines tell us. Statistics released by the Pew Research Centre earlier this year found that Millennials are more likely to have a negative view of religious organisations than older generations.

Just 55 per cent of Americans born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s said they believed churches have a positive impact on the country  a drop of 18 per cent since 2010.

Pew concluded that "American adolescents in the 2010s are significantly less religiously oriented, on average, than their Boomer and Generation X predecessors were at the same age".

And yet, churches across the US and UK are packed with young people. There's so much potential in our pews, but until we treat them as full members, with gifts to offer to the rest of the body, yes  it's far more likely they'll leave, or drift away.

It's vital that we encourage younger generations to step up and lead. Here are things you could consider trying:

1. Give them a chance

First of all, give young people a chance at taking on leadership roles. Don't assume they don't want to, or because they're inexperienced they'll be no good. Train them properly, and then give them a go  we all have to start somewhere, and a great way of figuring out our gifts is by trying them out.

2. Don't limit them to 'junior' roles

Of course there's something to be said for not expecting someone to give the sermon at church without any practice, but don't limit the young people in your church to roles that you consider 'junior'. Why not train them up in how to lead the service, in worship leading, or pastoring? It's brilliant to serve in all kinds of ways, and of course 'up front' roles aren't any more important, but by proving you trust young people, you'll encourage them to take responsibility themselves.

3. Start a mentoring programme

A brilliant way to encourage young people to step up and lead is by having someone alongside them, encouraging them to give things a go. Why not ask some of the older people in church if they would consider joining a mentoring programme? By being challenged and encouraged, young people are far more likely to embrace new opportunities and both young and old will learn from one another.

4. Give them freedoom

When you let people take on new roles, you have to expect things to change. Don't expect your young people to lead things exactly as they've always been done  they'll do things differently, probably both for better and worse. Allow them freedom to shake things up a bit, and you might be surprised at what they come up with.
5 Out of 6 Christians In Iraq Have Been Forced To Flee Since 2003

The ongoing conflict in Iraq has forced five in every six Christians living in the Middle Eastern nation to leave their home country since 2003, a charity fighting persecution reported.

According to a report from The Christian Post, the group Open Doors estimated that about 1.5 million Christians used to live in Iraq in 2003 before the United States went into the country on suspicion that there were weapons of mass destruction, which ultimately led to the ouster and capture of dictator Saddam Hussein, resulting in a power vacuum in the nation.

Last year, fewer than 300,000 Christians remained in Iraq, according to Open Doors. This was after sectarian violence erupted in the Middle Eastern country. The Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group then seized some areas in the country, including Mosul, its second largest city, in 2014, as part of its scheme to establish its so-called caliphate.

Lisa Pearce, Open Doors chief executive officer, lamented the dwindling number of Christians in Iraq, and called for aid for those who chose to remain.

"In Iraq since 2003, five out of six Christians have left because they have completely given up hope of a future there," Pearce said in a recent interview with the British news outlet Premier.

Additionally, Pearce also said that only about 17 percent of Christians living in Syria chose to stay, amid a raging civil war in the country worsened by ISIS atrocities in the area. Before the conflict in Syria, 10 percent of the country's population was composed of Christians.

"Since the war began in Syria, about half of the Christians have fled the country," the anti-persecution activist told Premier.

Also speaking to Premier, a Syrian Christian named Rami said residents like him would "rather stay in the Middle East" if they were given a choice.

He also appealed to people "not to call us a minority," stressing that Christians in Syria are "indigenous to the land."
Archbishop Urges Christian Leaders to Be Ready for Martyrdom amid Worldwide Persecution and Terrorism

Be "ready to sacrifice [your] lives for the sake of Christ."

A senior Anglican archbishop from the Global South made this call to leaders of the Church in the face of persecution, restrictions, terrorism, and violence carried out in the name of religion, World Watch Monitor reported.

Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Cairo spoke before archbishops and bishops from some of the countries where Christians are being subjected to persecution. These are Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Southern Africa, West Africa, Indian Ocean, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.

More than 100 delegates from various countries attended the Oct. 3-8 conference held in Cairo, Egypt. They discussed critical challenges facing them, including poverty, the refugee crisis and religious violence.

In his address, Archbishop Anis said the Church in the Global South faces many challenges and weaknesses even as it grapples with the prevalence of disease and "polygamy, tribalism, corruption, and harsh treatment of women."

He likewise cited the "false teaching" of the prosperity gospel, and the teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons as matters that the Church needs to address.

Archbishop Anis also warned of an "ideological slavery" resulting from "some Western churches and organisations us[ing] their wealth and influence to push their own agendas in the Global South."

He called on Church leaders to "resist all kinds of slavery, whether financial or ideological," or else face "cultural defeat and captivity."

However, Archbishop Anis said, "We cannot continue to focus on the faults of others while neglecting the needs of our own people."

The delegates also discussed the importance of ecumenical and inter-faith dialogue.

On the second day of the conference, the bishops met with Egyptian President Fatah Al-Sisi, who told them that Egypt was keen to guarantee freedom of belief and worship for all its citizens. This was in response to complaints raised by Egypt's Coptic Christians that they are being subjected to more attacks this year.

The Anglican Communion's Global South is the world's third largest Christian denomination, after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is home to 72 percent of the worldwide Anglican population, or about 62 million people, according to World Watch Monitor.
Iraqi Army Liberates Christian Town As US Defence Secretary Flies In For Talks

The Iraqi army has storrmed Qaraqosh, a Christian town under control of Islamic State since 2014, as part of operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.

The advance took place as US Defence Secretary Ash Carter arrived on a visit to Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and assess the campaign that started on Monday with air and ground support from the USled coalition.

A military statement said Iraqi army units entered the centre of Qaraqosh, about 20 kms (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town which was emptied of its population in 2014, when Islamic State swept through the region.

Iraqi special units earlier this week captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh.

The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.

The army is also trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north.

A Reuters photographer on the southern front saw plumes of smoke rising on Friday from a sulphur factory near that was under the control of Islamic State near the town of Qayyara, filling the air with toxic gasses.

It was not clear if the militants set it on fire to cover their retreat or if it was damaged during the fighting.

The army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into the city of Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 are dug in, according to Iraqi military estimates.

"It's the beginning of the campaign. We do feel positively about how things have started off, particularly with the complicated nature of this operation," said a US official who briefed reporters ahead of Carter's trip to Baghdad.

Carter signalled during a visit to Ankara on Friday his support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign and said there was an agreement in principle between Baghdad and Ankara -- potentially ending a source of tension.

Officials said the details on any Turkish participation still needed to be worked out.

Roughly 5,000 US personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets.

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed on Thursday by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq as he was accompanying Iraqi forces, in the first US casualty of the Mosul campaign.

The militants retaliated to the advance of the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish fighters in Mosul by attacking Kirkuk yesterday, an oil city that lies east Hawija, a pocket they continue to control between Baghdad and Mosul.

Authorities in Kirkuk extended for a second day a curfew declared after the militants stormed police stations and other buildings in the city under control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday night ordered an army brigade to head to Kirkuk to assist the Peshmerga clear the remaining buildings still held by the militants.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, after the Iraqi army withdrew from the region, fleeing an Islamic State advance through northern and western Iraq.

A total of 35 people have been killed since Friday in clashes of Kirkuk, including four Iranian technicians who were carrying maintenance work in a power station north of the city, according to a hospital source.

The toll does not include the jihadists who were killed or who blew themselves up during the fighting.

Kurdish leaders say they will never give up the ethnically mixed city, to which they, as well as Turkmen and Arabs, lay claim. Arabs complain that Kurds have since flooded to Kirkuk to tilt the demographic balance the other way.

Saddam Hussein ripped at the ethnic fabric of Kirkuk to ensure its dominance by Arabs, and not Kurds, Turkmen or Assyrian Christians who all see the city as part of their ancestral birthright.

Kurds say they are simply redressing historic wrongs perpetrated by Saddam. His policy of "Arabisation" in the north razed Kurdish villages and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Is Your Giving Doing More Harm Than Good?

Every time I go to my local supermarket there seems to be somebody collecting money for another children's cancer charity I have never heard of.

Although I have no qualms about supporting families whose children are suffering from that terrible disease, I am always suspicious as to whose pockets my loose change is going to end up in. The sad truth is that perhaps we need to be a bit more discerning across the board when it comes to our charitable giving.

In his book Doing Good Better, Oxford academic William MacAskill raises important questions about the kinds of charitable work we support. He asks how many of us would think about investing in a business through a chance meeting with someone on the street, or with a door-to-door salesperson.

Although thanks to funding platform Kickstarter more of us are investing in start-up businesses than ever before, we are normally very picky about the kinds of companies we consider putting money into. We normally want to be confident about a return on our investment, or have confidence that the company is producing good products. But when it comes to charitable giving we are usually less inclined to ask the equivalent questions. Discernment when it comes to donations is seen to be somehow linked to miserliness and mean-spiritedness.

MacAskill opens his book with a powerful story about the meteoric rise of a charity with a very simple idea. Trevor Field had the brilliant idea of turning children's play into a way of helping the poorest people in Africa to access fresh clean water. His invention turned the energy expended from children playing on a roundabout into energy that could power a water pump. It caught the imagination of millions of people around the world. Through sponsorship, sales of charity water, investment from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and even a multi-million dollar grant from the Bush administration, Field raised enough money to to build thousands of these PlayPumps. It was a life's work from a big-hearted man who wanted to make a difference in the world for some of the world's poorest people.

However, there were four main problems with the pumps. Firstly they did not work as roundabouts as they needed continual force, in comparison with the fun free-wheeling roundabouts we are familiar with. Eventually the children realised there was little enjoyment from these roundabouts so they reverted to being driven by the women, many of whom found the roundabouts more difficult than earlier methods as well as more demeaning. Secondly they cost substantially more than traditional pumps. Thirdly they were less efficient. And fourthly they were less robust. Trevor Field did not set out to profit from other people's misfortune, but his successful entrepreneurial spirit basically created something that helped nobody.

MacAskill's tragic example of the charity play pumps, as well as his numerous models of good philanthropy in his book, challenge us to be more discerning when it comes to supporting charities. However, perhaps he doesn't go far enough. He rarely talks about working together with local people or local governments. Sadly he seems to perpetuate the 'white saviour complex', fundamentally holding on to the assumption that charity remains a western prerogative: parachuting expertise into other nations from outside.

This paternalistic imperialism is not restricted to global development charities. Even our local charities can adopt an attitude of being technically or morally superior to those they are seeking to help. With this in mind, how do we avoid well-intentioned bad philanthropy? How do we understand what actually goes on with the money we send to support poverty alleviation, social justice, or evangelistic outreach?

Full disclosure: I am the founder and director of a young charity. Of course I want you to support what I am doing  if I didn't believe that my charity is doing is worth supporting I wouldn't have started it. But I am also a Christian who wants to be responsible about the way that I engage in and encourage charitable giving.

Here are four questions we all need to ask ourselves before we drop our pennies in the pot, or sign that standing order.

1. Does the charity actually know what it's doing?

I believe in the power of the amateur. Many times we shirk personal responsibility by deferring to professionals, especially when it comes to evangelism and social action. But as I write this article my son is in surgery and I am very pleased that professionals are in charge of the operation. When it comes to aid and development there are so many important skills that need to be in play: cross-cultural understanding, social and psychological impact assessment, protection of vulnerable people, understanding of the local political culture.

The amateur who decides to build an orphanage to rescue abandoned children may well have a big heart and amazing stories to tell but there are good reasons to stop and ask questions before supporting their work. Is an orphanage really the best option for these children? What work is being done to find and support wider and extended family? How are the nation's local children's services being worked with? What child protection measures are in place? If your children had to be looked after by someone else would you want them housed in an orphanage or would you prefer to have them taken in by friends and family?

There has been a lot of professional research in this field that is worth referring to before backing a charity simply because it claims to help orphaned children. This would be just as true in other charity sectors. Whether involved in community development, health awareness or human rights, charities should be aware of the leading research and best practice in their field, and their donors should hold them to account on that.

2. Does the charity really respect and care about local people?

I spoke with a Ugandan doctoral student who explained how frustrating he found it when agencies came into his country and started building wells. They had done no liaison with the the government's water strategy as they had assumed the government was corrupt or ignorant. He found this particularly galling as his sister had a doctorate and was part of the national water team. He concluded that do-gooders were more interested in their social media impact and on building their charities reputation than on making a long term difference to his nation. (see here for the full interview).

I can understand both sides of this challenge. Fundraising is a difficult task with so many charities needing to resource their work; getting heard over the background noise is difficult so innovative engagement tactics are needed. But when our concern for profile outstrips the relevance of the activity, or overlooks the hard work of local, contextual engagement then something has gone seriously wrong. We should be wary of global programmes where all the decision-making happens outside the country and the local people are simply the worker bees that put the directives into practice.

For example, it would have been good to know whether those people collecting water enjoyed using the PlayPumps as much as the westerners loved funding them. Similarly, we should be cautious about local programmes where there is not enough contextual engagement. Supporting a drop-in centre may sound like a worthy cause. But if there are two existing drop-in centres in the same area, perhaps the money would be better spent elsewhere.

3. Is the charity actually doing any good or just make donors feel good?

I know the power of a beautiful video. I know the influence of a moving story. I have seen the transformation on a short-term mission team can experience through a visit. I know the media uplift if you can engage a celebrity to turn up at your event or to hug a child on camera. But we need more rigour in our impact assessment. The quality of a video does not necessarily directly correspond to the quality of the programme. What happens when the programme actually perpetuates a problem, or causes more harm than good in unintended consequences? Is some of our charitable work helping short term, or supporting individuals actually creating unhealthy long term dependencies?

I have met pastors from North Kenya who were very scathing in their assessment of some child sponsorship programmes, for example. In their view extended family members would normally assist a bereaved or orphaned child. But if they hear that foreign sponsorship money is available, it is not unusual for the family to hold back their help so that the child appeared more vulnerable so that they could meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship.

Speaking to charity leaders, it is clear that some things are easier to fund than others. There are things that give the donor more of a sense of accomplishment. So raising money to build things is often relatively easy while raising money for education programmes is more difficult. At the end of a building project everyone can see what has been made although education programmes are often less expensive and more effective. Ask yourself as you prepare to give  am I really giving so I feel better or am I giving to do the most good I can?

4. Where does the money go?

I have heard some charities claim that 100 per cent of the money raised goes directly to the people they are working with. This claim seems to me to be unrealistic and unsustainable as we expect overheads, administration costs, marketing costs, salaries and so on. The issue is not that these costs exist, but that charities should be clear and transparent in their financial reporting. Registered charities have to declare their financial records and you can check them using the Charity Commission website. This financial accountability is vital.

I have been inspired by charities that are making a positive difference in the world. I have met leaders of small charities in remote places run and staffed by local indigenous people making a massive impact. I have seen the great work of huge global charities as they bring their economies of scale, professional excellence and global network to help those in need. I know it seems like a lot of hard work  but supporting charitable work is more than a conscience easer, it is an investment into the kingdom of God. We need to give wisely and we need to give generously.

Books worth reading to explore further:

When Helping Hurts, Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, Zondervan. This is an excellent book written by two Christian economists.

Doing Good Better, William MacKaskill, Fontana. This is a provocative and controversial book written by an atheist.
Samsung Gear S3 release date, news: new smartwatch scheduled for release mid-November

Although Samsung has taken the wraps off its new flagship smartwatch, the new Gear S3 is yet to be released globally. It is said that the new wearable will be on the global market starting next month.

According to The Korea Times, Samsung has announced that the new flagship wearable, the Gear S3, will be launched in different markets starting November. The industry follower quoted a Samsung official as saying, "We decided to market the Gear S3 midway through November at the latest in Korea and some other countries." However, the mid-November release date is only exclusive to some regions, as the South Korea-based tech giant plans a staggered release. The official added, "In China, the timepiece will be launched later."

The Samsung Gear S3 debuted at the 2016 IFA trade show earlier this year and was showcased as the new wearable flagship from the South Korean tech giant. In launching the Gear S3, Samsung is reportedly hopeful that they will recover losses from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. It can be recalled that the smartphone flagship has been in production at least twice, as issues of exploding Galaxy Note 7s hit the news. The issue blew up to the point that Samsung was forced to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7 lineup.

As for the Gear S3, Samsung is convinced that fans will be appreciative of the new wearable. "We are confident that the Gear S3 will be one of the most loved smartwatches for users, as we focused on bringing cutting-edge technologies and emotional designs to it," another official said.

The Gear S3 boasts of impressive features, including water resistance, the signature round bezel interface, and built-in GPS. It is also said that with improved specs, the Gear S3 can last for up to four days on a single charge.

Samsung has yet to come out with a price range for the new wearable, although it is expected that the Gear S3 will have a price tag starting at $350.
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The former site of one of the quirkier museums in Houston is currently for lease in Midtown.

Up until a few years ago, 1110 Winbern was known as the Gulf Coast Electronics Museum.

In 1945 a man named Harry Keep set up Gulf Coast Electronics at that address, selling electronic equipment and vinyl records to Houstonians.

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The shop is listed in a March 1955 issue of Radio Electronics magazine as an electronics dealer in Houston.

Keep also had a gig recording performances around town by the likes of the Houston Symphony with his mobile recording rig. He also reportedly helped design the sound at the Sam Houston Coliseum and at Rice University.

Recently the 4,000-square-foot site popped up on HAR.com for lease, complete with a handful of vintage pictures.

A 2010 Houston View blog post by Cathy Stucker dives a bit into the history of the museum, curated by Jane Wiley Keep.

RELATED: Houston artist paints some of the city's favorite landmarks

In 2010 the Houston Chronicle came by and wrote about some of the more interesting items at the sporadically-open museum, like a World War II-era survival radio, vintage cameras, guide books, and a few art pieces made from the stock that hadnt been rummaged through by neighborhood vandals.

Its currently listed by the Fat Property group, leasing for $5,000 a month. According to the listing, it has four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half baths. Its being pitched as being perfect for an office space, coffee shop or as an art space.

Originally built as a Victorian-style home in 1940, sometime after WWII a commercial space was added on to the front where the shop existed for decades.

According to Fat Propertys Cody Lutsch, a second floor added in the 1950s housed what was known as South West Records, a record store and recording studio with new stereophonic sound capabilities. Its thought that George Jones and Two Ton Baker used the space to record.

RELATED: When it comes to pinning down its oldest bar, Houston's memory gets hazy

Its likely that young ex-Marine and future country music legend Jones recorded his early stuff on Pappy Dailys label there, if the timelines match up and what Lutsch has heard is true.

The studio and record store were still there well into the 1970s, Lutsch notes.

In the 1980s and 1990s it was converted into luxury apartments and an art gallery space. According to Lutsch it was inhabited by a series of foreign exchange students attending the nearby Houston Community College central campus.

A fire in an attic in 2011 has left the property dormant, Lutsch says.

Its heavily-gated and appears to have a small yard attached to it. Its just a hop and a skip from METRORail line, not mention some of the areas busier bars and nightclubs.

RELATED: Houston's biggest malls through the years

Sadly, I might end up having to demo this cool historic building now since I can't seem to find anyone that wants to rent it," Lutsch says. Granted, it's in bad shape but I've offered to provide a budget to repair for anyone looking to rent.

There also may be an issue of parking for anyone looking to rent, he adds. The city of Houston has its own ideas on how many spots are needed for a business.

This is a property near downtown, a light rail stop, with tons of new residential buildings nearby. Its in a fairly walkable neighborhood, so I'm sure from a business standpoint they'd be fine, Lutsch says.

Lutsch previously worked on the property at 3704 Fannin, which now houses the Life nightclub.

It's an old historic building built in 1930 that we really wanted to save. Like 1110 Winbern, it was abandoned and needed a ton of work, but we found someone with a vision that wanted to lease the space. They're now doing quite well, Lutsch says.
Runners from Team Red, White, and Blue arrived in Fort Bend County Friday during the Old Glory Relay.

The relay, which began in Washington state on Sept. 11, includes teams of runners and cyclists to carry a flag 4,216 miles across the country, ending on Veterans Day in Tampa, Florida.
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Houston may be best known for its massive Christian megachurches, but the city's first non-Christian settlers arrived soon after the Allen brothers landed on Buffalo Bayou's swampy banks back in 1836.

In 1844, a small band of Jewish settlers bought land for a cemetery, and 10 years later they opened Congregation Beth Israel - the first synagogue in Texas - in a converted house.

For more than a century afterward, Houston remained primarily Christian, with most immigrants coming from Europe. The signing of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, however, which abolished the existing quota system that had previously defined America, changed all that and helped create the Houston of today.

"What we've been watching  is a transformation in the representation of the world's religions in Houston," said Rice University sociology professor Stephen L. Klineberg. "America is now increasingly made up of all the world's ethnicities and all the world's religions. Nowhere is that clearer than in Houston."

More Information BY THE NUMBERS Houston's religious community Protestant 46 percent Catholic 31 percent None 18 percent Other religions 5 percent Source: Kinder Institute for Urban Research See More Collapse

Believers of religions from every corner of the globe now call Houston home.

"You can find any flavor of any major religion here," said Matt Kahn, associate director of interfaith relations at Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

Indeed, Bahai'i, Buddhists, Christians, Christian Scientists, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Pagans, Sikhs and Zoroastrians call Houston home. Most recently, a small group of Yazidi immigrants from Iraq has brought their faith here as well.

The city contains at least 37 megachurches, with a combined attendance of more than 600,000, according to a report from the Hartford Institute for Religious Research. But during the last 35 years, the area's population of believers in non-Christian religions has tripled, Klineberg said.

Many immigrants settled here to work in the tech or medicine industries, said Elaine Howard Ecklund, a Rice University sociology professor and director of the school's Religion and Public Life Program.

"When people come to work, they bring their religions with them," she said.

Jews

Congregation Beth Israel left its original home on Franklin Street in 1908 for a Romanesque temple at the corner of Lamar and Crawford, and stayed there until a new temple was built in 1925 at Austin and Holman.

In 1967, it moved to the current temple on North Braeswood.

Local Jews now worship at more than 40 synagogues, from Humble to Galveston and Victoria.

By 2001, an estimated 47,000 Jews were living in the Houston area, and those numbers are expected to have grown when an up-to-date count is published in November, said Lee Wunsch, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints

Houston's Mormons were among the city's oldest religious devotees, arriving in the city by 1918.

The first branch here was organized in 1921, and the area's first meetinghouse was dedicated in 1933. Today, more than 50,000 Mormons call Houston home, according to the church's official estimates.

The LDS church constructed a temple  the most sacred of Mormon structures  in 2000.

Buddhists

The city boasts a thriving Buddhist community, which had established itself here by the late 1970s. Among the first local temples was the Buddha Light Temple, in 1984. The area is also home to the Texas Bodhi Center in Waller County; the 512-acre site is one of the largest Buddhist developments in the nation.

Muslims

The city's Muslim community began to flourish nearly a century after Houston was established, when local Muslims began gathering at a local barbershop in the 1950s. They eventually formed Houston Masjid Al-Islam, later renamed Masjid Warithuddeen Mohammed.

The demographics of the Muslim community changed with the influx of immigrants from Indonesia, Turkey, the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and India. Today, the region is home to about 250,000 Muslims, according to Rodwaan Saleh, executive director of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.

The society - the largest Islamic society in North America - operates 22 centers in the Houston area.

Hindus

A Hare Krishna temple - ISKCON Houston  was built in 1969, and by the 1970s, the city's Hindu community had begun expanding dramatically.

At first, devotees met in each other's homes; now, mandirs are sprinkled throughout suburban Houston, most notably in Pearland, Stafford and Sugar Land.

The community has now swelled to more than 120,000 people, according to Vijay Pallod, a spokesman for Hindus of Greater Houston, who immigrated here in 1980.

Sikhs

When Kanwalkjeet Singh arrived in Houston in 1972, there were just a handful of Sikhs in Houston. They met every 10 days in each others apartments to worship. Singh and his friends built their first gurudwara, (the Punjabi word for temple or church) in 1972 - The Sikh Center of the Gulf Coast Area. Now, seven gurudwaras dot the region for the estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people.

Zoroastrians

Adherents of Zoroastrianism first arrived in the Houston area in the 1970s, as Indian and Parsi immigrants practiced their monotheistic religion in local homes. The number of Zoroastrians in Houston has grown from just over a dozen in 1975 to about 650 now, most of whom have come from India or Pakistan, according to Nazneen Khumbatta, who came to the Houston area 30 years ago.

In the 1990s, the group constructed its community center, the Zarathushti Heritage and Cultural Center, in southwest Houston. Construction of a fire temple - Zoroastrians' traditional place of worship - should be completed within two years.

Jains

The Jains - one of the oldest religions in India - became active in Houston in the 1970s.

Today, about 1,000 Jain families call the city home, according to Swatantra Jain, chairman of one of the area's two Jain temples. The Jain Society of Houston's temple is on Arc Street in west Houston; the Jain Vishwa Bharati is in far west Houston.
The City of Cleveland approved processing rainwater for Georgia Pacific during its council meeting on Oct. 18, but the decision was not met without slight opposition.

Public Works Director Rod Hainey made a presentation regarding a contract between Georgia Pacific and the City of Cleveland to process their rainwater out of properties the company is trying to sell. He noted that the water should not cause any problems through the city's treatment plant.

"There's some minor things but nothing that would hinder our process in the treatment," he said.

The contract's agreement was initially to pay the city two cents for every gallon processed.

"That's $120,000," said Hainey.

The processing is expected to take 60 days with 100,000 gallons of water processed per day.

Hainey said the pricing could go up to three cents but keeping it at two cents per gallon is simply an act of good will.

"It's really not hurting us to help them at the middle of the road," he said.

Councilwoman Jennifer Bergman argued, however, that processing the rainwater could have a potential side-effect on the city and therefore the pricing should be moved to three cents per gallon processed and therefore increase the overall price from $120,000 to $180,000.

"I think that this is going to put an extra burden on our infrastructure," she said. "It's only $60,000 but it's $60,000 that the city can use."

Bergman made a motion to approve the contract at three cents per gallon of water processed.

Councilman Mike Penry spoke on the matter, stating that he did not see an option for the city to deny the contract. He further commented that the city does not know what is in the water and therefore the city does not know if there are any toxic materials inside of the ponds to be processed.

City Attorney David Olson suggested reflecting Bergman's amendment to make it clearer, to which Penry seconded the motion. The motion passed with three votes for it and two against it from Councilwoman Carolyn McWaters and Councilman Otis Cohn.

City council also approved a construction contract between IPR South Central, LLC and Cleveland for the 2015 TXCDBG Sewer System Improvements project as well as a 380 Agreement between McKinley Development and the city for a 122 acre industrial park site.
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Did Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman get out of jail again?

While the United States is working to extradite El Chapo, people near the U.S.-Mexican border around El Paso and Juarez claim to have seen the infamous drug lord walking the streets and eating at a restaurant.

READ MORE: Violence is rising near the U.S.-Mexico border - 'El Chapo' Guzman's capture could be helping drive it

According to Blog Del Narco, about a dozen people reported seeing Guzman eating at a small restaurant known as "La Cocina de Silvia" in Cuidad Juarez. He was allegedly seen with "a small handful of custodians and military in the service of the Mexican drug lord."

Blog Del Narco says that authorities have not denied the reports, but note that similar false stories circulated online months ago. Guzman is lodged at a prison in Cuidad Juarez.

While it's unconfirmed that Guzman has been getting in and out of prison, authorities did have a recent setback with the drug lord. On Monday, the judge who presided over Guzman's case was shot in the head while jogging outside of his home near Mexico City.

READ MORE: Report: A 'big order of tacos' led to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's recapture

Guzman has escaped from Mexican prisons twice. The first time was in 2001 when he escaped from Mexico's Puente Grande prison. Officials said he escaped by hiding in a laundry cart. The second time, Guzman escaped on July 11, 2015 through a tunnel underneath the prison.

Guzman was recaptured by Mexican marines in a raid at a home in the coastal city of Los Mochis, in Guzman's home state of Sinaloa. Since his recapture, there have been false reports that Guzman has escaped from prison for a third time.
Submitted

The Texas Retailers Association on Friday presented Congressman Kevin Brady with the "Hero of Main Street" award from the National Retail Federation for his support of legislation critical to the retail industry. Brady is part of a bipartisan group honored for their support on a wide range of issues including trade, infrastructure investment, tax reform and labor issues.

"I thank the Texas Retailers for this honor," said Brady who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. "It's exciting to put what I hear from our local businesses into action in Washington, because these Main Street issues are the very ones that matter the most."
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Galveston has a rich and dramatic history that has produced countless ghost stories.

The island went from being Texas' central place of trade and commerce to being ravaged by the Hurricane of 1900  also known as the 1900 Storm and the Great Galveston Hurricane, among other monikers. The tragedy resulted in thousands  some reports indicate tens of thousands  of fatalities and vast infrastructure damage. A large percentage of buildings in Galveston were completely wiped out by the powerful storm surge.

HoustonChronicle.com: Historic lighthouse on Bolivar Peninsula needs $2.5M repairs

Some tales involving Galveston's still-thriving medical industry, have amplified the island's flair for haunted sites. Wars, pirates, widespread illnesses and more are at the center of some of Galveston's legends.

Now, scary-story fanatics are monetizing the tales with tours of "haunted Galveston" in various forms. These are some of the most popular annual events:

The "Ghost Bride" of the Hotel Galvez

One of the island's most popular Halloween destinations is the Seawall's Hotel Galvez. The 108-year-old hotel, which has survived hurricanes and fires alike, now capitalizes on its spooky fame.

Those who want to experience the "haunted" site in person without an overnight stay can book a dinner tour at hotelgalvez.com. The year-round attraction provides hour-long tours every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It includes a walk-through complete with the hotel's folklore, as well as a multi-course meal at the Galvez's dining room.

To give you some backstory on one of the hotel's main stories, here's the tale of Audra, a 1950s Hotel Galvez guest. She's said to have been engaged to a mariner who sailed out of The Port of Galveston.

ON THE ROAD: Best places to eat on a Texas road trip

Audra would reportedly frequent the west turret where she could get a better view of the Gulf of Mexico. That's where it's said that she would look out for her fiance.

When a storm hit the Gulf Coast, the mariner was lost at sea. Audra continued to visit the turret with the hopes that he'd return. Grief-stricken, she eventually hung herself from the turret.

Since then, guests have reported seeing the ghost of Audra, the "Ghost Bride," on the fifth floor and in room 501, where she stayed.

Other ghosts, including children of historical figures and Victorian-era society, have also been reported by Hotel Galvez guests.

Galveston Historical Foundation's Victorian house tours

Galveston's historic Victorian-style properties are often tourist destinations, no matter what time of year.

Around Halloween, however, these places play up their histories with special events tailored to the holiday. Instead of merely walking around the 1892 Bishop's palace, venture inside at night on the "Lanternlight Tour," for $30 per person. Or, also priced at $30 per person, say hi to Miss Bettie Brown's 1859 house, Ahston Villa, with a "Ghost Tours of Ashton Villa" adventure.

"Many, many people have lived and died by these waters, and perhaps some of the dead still reside here," Dwayne Jones, executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation, told the Galveston Island CVB. "We invite our guests to listen to the stories and decide for themselves. But you don't have to believe in ghosts to know that the dead are a presence on this island."

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
Police have identified and charged a suspect wounded in an in officer-involved shooting when he refused to drop a machete during a narcotics investigation at a home earlier this month in Pasadena.

Juan Araguz, 38, was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver following the incident about 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of London, according to the Pasadena Police Department.
A student at Dekaney High School was arrested after officers got a tip that the teen had a firearm.

Spring ISD spokeswoman Karen Garrison said the student was stopped by police on Friday morning before entering the campus. Officers were told about the gun on Thursday.
Cat killings have been reported in southeast Houston, and authorities are looking for the culprit.

The Houston Police Department received calls about two kittens that were killed in July in the 7900 block of Morley, according to KTRK. But after three months, HPD has not found any leads in the case.
Police late Friday were investigating a fatal shooting in northwest Houston.

The shooting happened about 8 p.m. in the 300 block of East 39th.

The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to an area hospital and later died, Houston police said. HPD has not identified any possible suspects in the case or the motive.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
MADISONVILLE  A school bus crashed into a car and overturned twice at an East Texas intersection, sending 16 of 18 of the children aboard to area hospitals.

Sgt. Jimmy Morgan of the Texas Department of Public Safety says the bus driver and both occupants of the car also were transported to hospitals. He said none of the injuries appeared at the scene to be life-threatening.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally Oct. 13 in Cincinnati. Thomas Suddes writes that when the Trump-tanic goes down -- even if Trump wins Ohio -- both Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Rob Portman may benefit, looking ahead to 2020.

(John Minchillo, Associated Press)

The Donald Trump-tanic has a date with an iceberg. The question is, where will the sinking of his presidential aspirations leave Ohio Republicans? Answer: on dry land - if they refused to sail with Cap'n Donald and his scurvy crew.

Foremost among the Buckeye stay-at-homes is Gov. John Kasich, an all-but-announced candidate for 2020's Republican presidential nomination.

Trump's diehard Ohio fans attack Kasich for not supporting this year's GOP nominee, even though Trump's the one Republican contender who likely could never beat Hillary Clinton. And while hard-right Republicans have Ohio's longest memories - if, within earshot, you say the words "Kasich" and "Medicaid expansion," you'd better stand back - Trump likely will lose.

Lose: That's the key word.

Many grass-roots Republicans are (understandably) frustrated with their party. But Trump's not going to be the answer to their prayers.

In any case, no matter what voters (of both parties) say, they want to go with a winner. Ask merchants who had Indians gear to sell this week. But Trump, at this writing, isn't winning nationally.

True, as of midday Friday, Real Clear Politics' polling average suggested that, in Ohio, Trump was leading Clinton by six-tenths of 1 percent. That, essentially, is a tie.

So John Kasich, without saying the words, "I told you so," will come real close, packaging his talks and speeches with such words as "practical," "inclusive," "pragmatic" and "common sense."

Give Kasich this: While countless other Republicans were afraid, when the going was good, to not endorse Donald Trump, Kasich never gave a tinker's damn for Trump, and said so.

Bottom line: John Kasich will come out ahead on Nov. 8, no matter what Trump's Ohio vote is.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rob Portman, a suburban Cincinnati Republican seeking a second term, will also likely come out ahead.

Portman's Democratic opponent is former Gov. Ted Strickland.

Whatever Strickland's pluses and minuses, he's been treated shamefully by Washington's Democratic insiders. Strickland was their Senate candidate, till the going got rough. Then those same insiders seemed to misplace their checkbooks.

True, not till Oct. 8, a month before Election Day, did Portman, who'd previously endorsed Trump for president, say he "could no longer support" Trump because of the "offensive and wrong" comments Trump had made about women in a 2005 video that surfaced Oct. 7.

Portman said Trump's vice presidential running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, will get Portman's vote for president. Meanwhile, Portman said he continued "to respect those who still support Donald Trump."

Translation: "Please, Butler County, vote for me anyway."

Portman has waged an extremely strong campaign, stronger than perhaps even his biggest fans would've predicted, say, a year ago. That campaigning, and an ocean of big money, is what'll land Portman a second Senate term. It's also the case, though, that since 1914, when Ohioans first directly elected their U.S. senators, voters have generally given Ohio's senators two full terms. Exceptions: Democrat Robert J. Bulkley in 1938; Republican Robert Taft Jr. in 1976.

Portman's distancing of himself from Trump - better late than never - won't hurt Portman's resume. And his resume matters. Portman will be 64 in mid-2020. (Kasich will be 68.)

Yes, Kasich has campaigned for Portman. And Portman told The Columbus Dispatch in August that, "No one is more important than John Kasich in this [Senate] campaign."

But assuming Portman runs up a big re-election margin next month, even as Trump founders, Portman might become as noticeable to 2020's GOP presidential prospectors as John Kasich already is. And if anything could stoke arguments and splits among Ohio Republicans, that might do it.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689

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WILLOUGHBY, Ohio -- Detectives believe two armed robbery suspects arrested in Mentor could be connected to other hold-ups in Cuyahoga County.

Marcus Scott, 18, and a 16-year-old boy are facing robbery charges in the Tuesday incident outside the Willoughby Professional Building on Euclid Avenue.

Scott and the teen match the descriptions of armed robbery suspects from other communities. Detectives are still working to determine if they are connected to those incidents, police said Friday.

Willoughby police did not release any information on the other robbery cases.

The other incidents are similar to the armed robbery in Willoughby, police said. In that robbery, the 16-year-old pointed a gun at a man sitting in a parked car. The teen took cash from the man before leaving in Scott's Toyota Solara, police said.

Two Mentor officers stopped the Toyota a short time later on Hopkins Road near Creekwood Drive. Scott and the teen got out and ran.

Scott and the teen tried to break into several houses before the officers and a police dog caught them, police said.

Officers recovered a .38 caliber handgun inside a nearby shed. Investigators believe the gun is connected to the robbery.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
Rockefeller University, Collaborative Research Center Getty Images

The $1.9 billion endowment fund of Rockefeller University has quietly been using exchange-traded funds to execute some of its investing ideas. And it's not the only big investor to pursue low-cost index funds as part of its search for better returns. That may seeming surprising. While global assets invested in ETFs topped $3 trillion earlier this year and money continues to pour in from retail investors seeking investment diversity with low fees, elite institutional investors are another story.

Hero Images | Getty Images

Pension funds, endowments and foundations  which maintain portfolios hundreds of times greater than the average individual investor  have been slow to embrace ETFs. A 2015 report from the research firm Market Strategies International found U.S. institutional investor portfolios were 54 percent actively managed and only 27 percent passively invested. But 27 percent is not insubstantial, and the report noted passive investments are gaining momentum with institutional investors. Take the Toronto-based Nature Conservancy of Canada, which manages about $100 million. Its chief financial officer, Kamal Rajani, said it is using ETFs that cover Canadian, U.S. and international equities, as well as Canadian bonds. What sorts of ETFs do other big fish favor and why? Here are six investing lessons from big investors on using ETFs to boost a portfolio at a low cost.

1. If you have a broad market trade you think will be a winner, use ETFs until you are able to refine your idea.

The $1.9 billion Rockefeller endowment shows that true investing giants are embracing ETFs, though not in the way an average investor might have come to expect.

Rockefeller chief investment officer Amy Falls explains: "We have used an ETF to initiate or expand exposure to an area, such as emerging markets, while we were completing a search for an active manager," she said. "In general, ETFs do not form a long-term or core part of our investment strategy, but they are a useful tool for moving more quickly toward an investment target." Falls said that university endowments tend to use ETFs in broad equity markets. As an example, Rockefeller recently used Vanguard's Emerging Market Index ETF (VWO ) as it expanded its exposure to emerging markets. "While we often have managers that we are researching prior to a target investment time, there are many times when a market opportunity may arise due to volatility, and we want the beta exposure but have not yet found the manager." Falls added, "We are cautious on narrow-segment ETFs, as the costs get higher and the tracking error can be larger."

2. Accepting the limitations of your size and resources is a compelling argument in favor of ETFs.

Rockefeller CIO Falls said more consistent, long-term use of ETFs make sense for endowments that are either too large or too small to have adequate exposure to the highest-caliber active managers. On the large side, pension giants like CalPERs can fail to find the scale they need in active investments  that was one of the reasons CalPERS cited in abandoning hedge funds in 2014.

But for any investor, the more important thing to understand is how long it takes to identify the best managers  be prepared to spend a long time on that search. How long? "It takes us 18 months on average to do complete due diligence on managers in a prospective area," Falls said.

3. Using ETFs will give you more time to focus on the better areas for active management and alpha generation.

Ed Boyer, an investment committee member at the $95 million Goldseker Foundation in Baltimore and principal and senior consultant at Asset Strategy Consultants, said the nonprofit's investment committee discusses adding ETFs at nearly every meeting.

"Adding ETFs is a regular subject at board meetings," Boyer said. He explained that large-cap equity, bond and international equity ETFs are the most appealing, as those are the areas where active managers struggle to outperform. "Using ETFs where passive investing does well lets you focus on areas where active management makes sense, such as real estate, venture capital, private equity and other alternative areas. It's really a time-allocation issue," Boyer said. Goldseker has a high allocation to actively managed alternatives, Boyer said, and has yet to add any ETFs.

watch now

4. ETFs are a good way to gain exposure to overseas developed markets.

As Falls noted, Rockefeller only used an emerging markets ETF until it identified the emerging markets trade it really wanted. And that matches another point, made by Jason Hilton, vice president of finance at the Northwest Health Foundation in Portland, Oregon, about where to use ETFs to create long-term exposure to broad markets.

"We use ETFs to capture broad passive equity exposures in developed markets," said Hilton. Specifically, the nonprofit uses Vanguard's Developed Market Index ETF (VEA ) to invest in international equity. "I think (ETFs) have other uses helpful for institutional investors as well," Hilton said. "We don't, however, think they make as much sense in (areas such as) emerging markets, bonds and high-yield fixed income as we feel selective active management can still yield better results ... for now."

5. Using ETFs means you won't have to explain to anyone why you wasted money on high-priced managers.

Boyer summed this one up best when discussing the benefits of ETFs  and also provided an interesting glimpse into one of the real reasons why more institutions are moving assets away from active managers and to passive investments: "Using an index in these areas minimizes the headaches of having to explain underperformance to an investment committee," Boyer said.



6. A transfer of wealth is a good time to look at ETFs.
De Beers' clerk grades diamonds Monirul Bhuiyan | AFP | Getty Images

In 2011, Jason Payne and Lindsay Reinsmith went shopping for an engagement ring, but ran into what some might call a First World problem. Given the problem of conflict diamonds  also known as blood diamonds, jewels mined from war zones or brutal insurgencies that ultimately fund those conflicts  "we were not comfortable using mined diamonds. We wanted something that was sustainable, ethical, vegan," Reinsmith told CNBC in a recent interview. Then, a burst of inspiration hit the couple: Why not grow a stone in a laboratory, free from bloody wars and ethical conflicts that taint the $79 billion diamond industry? From those early questions, Ada Diamonds  a start-up that provides lab-grown diamonds made through a special process using high pressure and temperature to make stones identical to those extracted from nature  was born. The husband and wife team raised a seed round from 8VC as well as Winklevoss Capital and Autonomous. Ada Diamonds is part of a growing trend of diamond producers using environmentally sustainable, and ethical, means to produce jewels that don't have ties to insurgencies or politically unstable countries. Using a proprietary process, the company makes bespoke fine jewelry, with a focus on high fashion and bridal jewelry. Customers can custom order diamonds that contain mementos or mark special occasions, yet the entire process is ethically sourced. "Ada is focused on educating consumers on the ethics of our diamonds. Ada is also vegan, which people may not realize," Reinsmith said. "We don't demonize mined stones for what they are. The vast majority of our customers own natural diamonds, [but] this is an amazing alternative to mined diamonds," she added. "They are meaningful and can be grown through your own donor carbon. It's an opportunity to expand jewelry market in a unique and special way."



'Pure ethical sources'

Companies involved in the global diamond trade  have a responsibility to [address] human rights and other harms. Alice Harle Global Witness

The majority of the world's diamonds are mined in areas like Canada and Botswana, where there are no human rights concerns, Ian Smillie, the Chair of the Diamond Development Initiative, told CNBC in an email. However, the remaining 20 percent are obtained through artisanal mining, a practice that occurs in 18 countries across Africa and South America and poses a number of environmental, health and human rights issues. More than a decade ago, stemming the flow of conflict diamonds from parts of Africa was a cause celebre and a source of global concern. Recent United Nations data show that the share of blood diamonds in the global supply has been cut dramatically, to less than 1 percent. Still, retailers have taken pains to accommodate the wishes of discerning consumers who demand jewels untainted by armed conflict. In that vein, smaller jewelers like Ada and Brilliant Earth are using a unique business proposition to meet the market's demand for conflict-free diamonds. Founded in 2005 by Beth Gerstein, an electrical engineer with a Stanford MBA, Brilliant Earth creates and sells environmentally friendly and ethically sourced jewelry free from human rights abuses or civil wars. The company uses both lab-grown and natural diamonds, but ensures that the latter are mined from "pure ethical sources." In an interview, Gerstein said there was a bright future for lab-grown diamonds. "The reason that there's a lot of popularity about lab-grown diamonds is that they are responsible, affordable and really speak to the millennial audience," she told CNBC, adding that her entrepreneurial start also began as a pre-wedding dilemma about an engagement ring. "When I was getting engaged, it was really important that I buy a diamond that was consistent with my values, and it was very difficult to trace the origin of a diamond," she said. "If you think about a diamond, it's such an emotionally resonant item. So it was really inconsistent that there wasn't anything that was available [with a] history that was as pure and as beautiful as the emotions."



A pedestrian walks past a De Beers jewelry store. Isaac Lawrence | AFP | Getty Images

Tracking jewels through the supply chain is an arduous and complicated task, but one that retailers are increasingly accommodating as more consumers insist on conflict-free diamonds. Alice Harle, an expert at Global Witness  a nonprofit organization that advocates for ending the exploitation of natural resources  told CNBC that transparency was key to altering the dynamic surrounding conflict diamonds. "Concerned consumers will struggle to find out where their diamonds came from and what they may have been associated with," she said in an email, adding that "Companies involved in the global diamond trade  have a responsibility to [address] human rights and other harms," and mitigate associated risks, she said. One of those is De Beers, the global diamond behemoth that recently undertook new efforts to bolster its use of diamonds that are "beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced," Lynette Gould, a De Beers spokesperson told CNBC. She said the company is already one of the world's biggest producers of synthetic diamonds.


The Trump campaign has announced that the GOP presidential candidate will deliver a major speech in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, October 22. Donald Trump will present his "closing arguments for American voters," outlining the steps he will take in his first 100 days to make America great again.

I hope it's his best speech yet. For all his gaffes and misstatements, the fact is this: The race is not over until it's over. (Even when he means it's over.) So, as Trump heads into his Gettysburg address, I want to emphasize what he should replay from last week's debate, and what he needs to emphasize more.

I'll begin with where Trump shined in Las Vegas: His support of a ban on late-term partial-birth abortion was a heaven-sent gift from God.

Trump's opposition to abortion, in general, is a wonderful thing. So is his pledge to nominate pro-life judges, and his related idea that if pro-life judges overturn Roe v. Wade, that's fine. Send abortion back to the states where it started.

So I sincerely hope that in Gettysburg, just as President Lincoln defended the ending of slavery, Trump continues to defend the life of the unborn.

And I hope he contrasts his position with that of Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton, who would permit abortions even in the ninth month  an un-American, unethical stance that is meant to curry favor with left-wing women's groups.
Donald Trump on Friday held three rallies in North Carolina and Pennsylvania in which he compared the inaccurate early predictions of Britain's "Brexit" to his own campaign, and continued his attack on the media.

The Republican nominee, down in the polls, predicted the U.S. presidential election would be "beyond Brexit," "Brexit plus" and finally "Brexit times five." Voters in the U.K. in June voted to leave the European Union in a result that defied predictions.

Trump over the summer and in early fall has been fond of telling crowds that he correctly predicted the outcome of that referendum, and reminds his audiences that just as no one saw the decision to leave the EU coming, so too could polls in the U.S. be proven wrong.

More from NBC News:

Obama: GOP 'swamp of crazy' led to Donald Trump

Donald Trump's defense against accusers is 'not a good look'

Clinton: Trump's election talk 'threatens' democracy

Trump also railed against a "rigged system" designed to keep him from the White House, igniting his supporters into boo-filled roars against the media.

"They're the most dishonest people," Trump said of the media. Boos turned to chants of "CNN sucks."

Later, as he was closing, Trump boomeranged back for one last jab at the press. "Too bad they won't write and speak honestly about it," he said, referencing what he called a political movement. "It would actually make for much better television."

As he did at a rally earlier, Trump discussed his plan to rebuild the Navy  a plan with personalized Philly-area flair.

"I will instruct my Secretary of the Navy to study locations like Philadelphia with a long history of service to our military and proximity to vibrant industry, and find ways to involve them in the national effort," Trump said. Other places he mentioned were the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Among wealthy donors, gifting large sums to charitable organizations is widely considered a virtue that helps institutions thrive, and fulfills the adage of not being able to take it with you. So why do an increasing number of those gifts come with stringsor rather namesattached to them?

As it happens, according to some donors and institutions, naming rights are actually a great way for big donations to beget even bigger donations. Similar to the dynamic that prompts major brands to pay celebrities and athletes millions for endorsements, philanthropic naming rights can be lucrative for the institutions on the receiving end of that cash.

Charitable giving from individuals, foundations and businesses totals more than $350 billion a year, according to the latest data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, and that public charities hold more than $3 trillion in assets. It underscores how donations to colleges, charities and cultural institutions are attracting vast sums from wealthy investors who expect the money to be used wiselyand sometimes expect top billing for the privilege.

All of which is just fine with the recipients, at least in most cases.

"You'll find those in the charitable world argue that naming rights help them raise money. This is why (big brands) are willing to get a celebrity for an endorsement deal," said Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Services, with $16 billion in assets, told CNBC in an interview. "At the end of the day, philanthropy is a big business."

Earlier this week, Edelman and his wife Jean announced a $25 million donation to a fossil park at Rowan University, the couple's alma mater. The gift was the second-largest donation in the school's history, and a record for an alumni donation. Edelman explained that in his view, giving a specific pledge for research and education was far more effective than funding an endowment.

"We've never understood why so many billionaires donate hundreds of millions of dollars to university endowments that already have tens of billions in them," he said. "I really don't know if Harvard, with $35 billion in its endowment, needs another $500 million in its kitty."

Still, countless numbers of charities "are trying to convince wealthy donors to contribute to them," Edelman said. "All philanthropies are going after a relatively small pool of donors. That's their form of currency."

Given that there may be some limitations based on the type of charity, or the funds they can accept, "they do the next best thing which is naming rights," he added.
Report details family's care for Santulli

Danny Santulli's family has created a hospital room for him in the living room of their Eden Prairie, Minnesota, home, his dad wrote in a report.
Things to See and Do in and Around Columbus in November
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Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells. The company operates through five segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers REVit, an automated real time stick-slip mitigation system; ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. As of December 31, 2021, the company marketed approximately 301 rigs for land-based drilling operations in the United States, Canada, and in 20 other countries worldwide; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations in the United States and internationally. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
This has been a dangerous week for those who want the United Kingdom to be a generous nation in terms of the number of refugees we admit. Pictures of those arriving in this country claiming to be children, but who are clearly adults, has rightly caused considerable anger. Public sympathy could quickly switch to indignation at a sense that the world is laughing at us.

For those on the Left the response was to suppress or deny the reality. BBC presenter Gary Lineker claimed that one of the older looking new arrivals was an interpreter and complained about age checks being hideously racist. Home Office officials corrected Lineker and made clear that the person in question was not an interpreter but was indeed a refugee claiming to be under 18. Naturally Lineker shows no sign of apologising to The Sun for his inaccurate attack on their coverage. Nor do the BBC show much interest in taking any action against him for his disregard of their rules on impartiality.

Earlier this week David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouthshire, suggested that dental age checks for those claiming to be children but who look much older. Cue shrieks of indignation. But what alternative has the Government offered to provide public reassurance? The British Dental Association says such tests will not be exact . But they dont need to be. Just close enough to establish if someone is closer to 30 than 18. They are widely used in other countries.

Then we had Andrew Selous, the Home Office Minister, reject the idea of dental checks as inappropriate. Does he think the current farce is appropriate? Nothing could be more damaging to the case for offering sanctuary to more refugees than such a dismissive response.

In other respects the Home Office rules are damagingly restrictive. Refugees arriving here are banned from supporting themselves by working. There are also inflexible Home Office guidelines regarding the Syrian Vulnerable Peoples Relocation scheme prohibiting the use of spare rooms. Only self contained accommodation may be considered. Those both increases the cost and delays finding the space needed.

There also needs to be a clear message from the Government about the dangers of encouraging more people smuggling by taking refugees from Europe. It is far better to take them from the camps in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. According to the UNHCR 6,300 refugees have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean during the last 18 months. Those in Europe with a legal right to enter the UK  due to their family already being here  she be swiftly admitted. But otherwise granting settlement to those in Europe in preference to those nearer Syria sends out a dangerous signal.

Often those who assume the tabloid press are anti refugees regardless of the circumstances are those who tend to read other papers. As the Daily Mail editorial this morning reminds us the paper was a prominent voice in urging ministers to offer sanctuary to unaccompanied children fleeing war zones. It adds:

If luvvies and the Left were serious about supporting those most desperately in need, wouldnt they echo sensible demands to stamp out the abuse through proper age checks? Or do they prefer to live in their own make-believe world, in which the truth is whatever they want it to be?

One of the arguments for Brexit was to have control of our borders, lower overall immigration and thus capacity to take more refugees. But the Home Office Ministers need to stop deferring to their bureaucrats and show some leadership. Otherwise public goodwill on this issue will be lost.
Close

The much anticipated 'Fifty Shades Darker' will be releasing on Feb. 10, 2017. Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as lovers in this sequel to E L James' worldwide bestseller 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'

Reports suggest that the release of the film by Universal is strategically placed in the month of February to coincide with the romantic Valentine's Day holiday. The first film 'Fifty Shades of Grey' in the franchise of the 'Fifty Shades' book series stole audience's hearts, grossing more than $560 million with its February release. Owing to this successful pattern, the next sequel 'Fifty Shades Freed' is also slated to release on Feb 9, 2018.

Confirming the rumors, director James Foley recently revealed that virtual reality is being utilized to bring 'Fifty Shades Darker' to life. During a VR on the Lot conversation in California, Foley said, " Yeah, there's marketing materials for behind-the-scenes [of Fifty Shades Darker], where after we finished shooting for the day, the actors would stay over and VR people would recreate a facsimile of the scene," according to Deadline.

Meanwhile, Morning News USA had reported a rumor saying Dornan and Johnson were having an affair secretly behind the scenes during the filming of 'Fifty shades Darker.' Reacting to the frenzy surrounding the rumor, Dornan clarified the issue in an interview with Marie Claire. He said that the rumor linking him to co-star Johnson is not true. In fact he very much blames the social media for unnecessarily sensationalizing the alleged affair.

Dornan further added in the interview that he is happy with his two children, and with his wife Amelie Warner. However, he admitted that his wife is not comfortable watching his intimate scenes with Johnson in the film.

Johnson, on the other hand, is reported to be very much single, after her split with her former boyfriend, Matthew Hit.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
11.00-12.00 (registration from 10.40)

EPC Auditorium (3rd floor), Rue du Trone 14-16, 1000 Brussels

The European Policy Centre is delighted to invite you to this Policy Briefing with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Josip Brkic.

In the past year and half, Bosnia and Herzegovinas long-stalled integration prospects have seen a remarkable upturn. The meaningful progress that the country has achieved in the implementation of the Reform Agenda, as well as its ability to agree on two key EU requests : (1) the modification of the Stability and Association Agreement in order to account for Bosnia and Herzegovinas trade links with Croatia and (2) the creation of a functional coordination mechanism on EU matters, have persuaded the European Unions 28 member states this September to accept the membership application submitted back in February. The avis which the European Commission has now been asked by the Council to prepare will reflect the extent to which Bosnia and Herzegovina succeeds in maintaining the reform momentum, especially in the area of rule of law and public administration, and whether it manages to demonstrate concrete efforts in the implemention of the agreements reached so far, including the Sejdic-Finci ruling. For all the good news and great expectations, the results of this Octobers local elections and of the referendum in Republika Srpska on this entitys statehood day, serve as powerful reminders of the potential traps still looming on Bosnia and Herzegovinas EU track. What are the countrys main priorities for the foreseeable future ? How does Bosnia and Herzegovina plan to address on-going institutional and political dilemmas ? What role should the EU and other international actors play in assisting the country advance towards accession ?

Minister Brkic will address these and other issues. The event will be moderated by Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre.

Please confirm your participation by replying to : n.news@epc.eu

European Policy Centre

Tel : 02 231 03 40

www.epc.eu
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Carol Lentini, the irrepressible chef and caterer who has worked in Fairfield County for decades, is conducting an experiment in communal meals at her latest location in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport.

She calls them her Friday Night Dinners. Most of the four or five courses arrive at the table family style, but Lentinis idea of family style goes beyond passing platters to making her guests forget they are even in a restaurant.

Its like being at home, but being waited on and served. Its warm and intimate. It brings on conversation, she says of the dinners she and her business partner and husband Mark Mojcher introduced in April.

And when Lentini says home, she really means it. Almost everything about the dinners  from the recipes to the decor  is intentionally personal.

Guests can watch her work in the kitchen and she comes out to introduce each course. Candelabra and bowls of flowers parade down the center of a long table that can seat up to 26 people. The dishware and chairs are mismatched, as if assembled from a lifetime of browsing in antique stores and flea markets.

Some of the paintings, hung salon style, are her own acquisitions; others come from Michele Hubler, a Black Rock artist. The artificial tree branches with butterfly leaves that act as a canopy above the table was fashioned and hung with the help of two longtime designer-decorator friends, Matthew Tyrrell and Bobby Murray. The lamp on a sideboard, with a shade sculpted to look like a snail shell, Lentini brought back from one of her many trips to Italy, often to visit two of her sisters.

Her menus reflect what she calls a mix-and-match style reflective of her own tastes and travels. A recent French bistro-themed dinner, for instance, included a tomato, onion and gruyere tartlet that was served as a warm appetizer. A frisee salad aux lardons came topped with a poached egg.

I made that tartlet up, she says, explaining she wanted to take advantage of tomatoes that were then in peak season.

The salad, on the other hand, is a recipe she learned in her own salad days, when she was footloose in France and got a job cooking for a wealthy businessman whom she met through his au pair.

I had never had a soft-poached egg salad. Now I have one every time I go back, she says. The night she served the salad, she introduced it as her favorite and hoped she got the eggs runniness right. The judgment at the table was she did.

Altogether, Lentini spent about 18 months abroad, working in various restaurants. I was a menial pot washer and carrot peeler, but I was like a sponge, she says.

When she returned, her full-time cooking career began, first in Westport and later Fairfield. She had grown up in the Southport section of Fairfield, where her mother was known for hosting elegant dinner parties, and originally studied art.

I was interested in textile design. I love color and design. Thats what drew me to food, she says. The plate was like a palate.

When Lentini and Mojcher (they met in high school, but did not marry until later) moved to the Black Rock location almost three years ago, they had the idea their catering clientele might start coming to them. The business operates under the name Along Came Carol, but the actual space is split between what they call The Kitchen, for catering and take-out, and The Nook, for dining.

The first year we did just private dinners. Then we said, Why dont we just try to be open on Friday nights? So we did and it takes off, Lentini says.

Mojcher adds, By the end of the night everybody is best friends. It just happens.

Guests can view the menu online. French, Italian and Thai (another of Lentinis sisters lives in Thailand) are recurrent themes. The fixed price of $60 or $65 is inclusive of tax, tips and corkage fee. The dinners are BYOB, and a longtime associate, Jessica Moore, monitors the table, clearing plates and filling glasses.

Lentini says one of the lessons shes learned is that the intimacy she seeks can backfire when guests cant resist cleaning their plates each course.

They eat too much of one thing and then they cant get to the end, she says. I dont want to be known as stuffing people. Its not abbondanza. Its about showing a variety of what I can do.

Lentini says the dinners usually sell out and have been successful enough that she will be starting a Wednesday Ladies Lunch. She thinks the first installments will feature cooking with nontraditional oils, like basil oil, which are attracting a lot of interest.

I love the idea of a private dining room, she says, seated at one end of her long table. A wicker couch, positioned nearby in a bay window, is there to encourage guests to relax between courses. Im not new in this business, she says. This is my reinvention.

Joel Lang is an award-winning Connecticut journalist.
DANBURY  The sexual assault victim of former Bethel restaurant owner Antonio Fernandes said she felt justice wasnt served Friday when he was sentenced to three years of probation in the case.

I do feel as though the justice system failed me, the woman said. He deserves to sit in prison and think about all the damage he has caused.

Fernandes was found guilty last month after pleading no contest to two counts of unlawful restraint and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced on Friday to a 10-year suspended prison sentence and three years of probation.

The former owner of Tonellis Restaurant  now defunct, but once a landmark in downtown Bethel  had originally been charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, which carry a lengthy prison term. A mistrial was declared two years ago when the jury became deadlocked after five days of deliberations.

Fernandes was arrested three years ago after two female employees claimed he had sexually assaulted them inside the restaurant a year earlier.

Deputy Assistant States Attorney Sharmese Hodge said while several jurors in the six-member panel were ready to convict in the first case, others said the fact the victims said no simply wasnt enough.

This case has been very eye-opening for me, Hodge said. Unfortunately, as I stand here today, I dont know that the word no is enough to indicate a lack of consent.

Hodge said she believed it was a fair resolution to the case, considering the potential for another deadlocked jury and Fernandes lack of a criminal history.

She said while Fernandes wont spend time in prison and wont have to register as a sex offender, he will carry his felony convictions with him for the rest of his life.

Several of the probation requirements are very restrictive, she said, noting Fernandes will not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, including relatives, during his probation.

Attorney Gene Zingaro, who represents Fernandes, said he felt the resolution to the case was appropriate. He took issue, however, with the victims statements that Fernandes wealth and his status in the community might have swayed the courts and the jury.

To say that money impacted the fairness of the process is insulting, especially considering all the blood, sweat and tears that attorney Hodge put into this case, he said.

The victim said in court she continues to feel guilt for not coming forward sooner and possibly preventing Fernandes from sexually assaulting a friend of hers. It wasnt until the two women became roommates and shared stories of their ordeals, a year after the attacks, that they approached authorities.

I still feel a lot of guilt and shame for not coming forward sooner, she said. A friend of mine was assaulted months later. Im ashamed that I felt like I couldnt make a difference. He is, without a doubt, a sexual predator and he still puts everyone at risk.

The woman said she will continue to advocate for victims of sexual assault.

I will never turn my back on anyone in this situation again, she said. From this day forward, I consider myself an advocate.

Fernandes declined to speak on his own behalf during the sentencing hearing.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
Lets admit that Connecticut Republicans cant hold a candle  or pitchfork  to your average Grand Old Party member from, say, Texas, Alabama or some other crimson-hued state.

Northeast Republicans are generally social moderates. Sure, many might be against abortion rights, but theyre not going to get in your face shouting about ripping babies from the womb in the ninth month, as their standard bearer spewed in last weeks debate.

Neither will most Connecticut Republicans jabber on against gay marriage. That boat sailed eight years ago, when state Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer busted the General Assemblys half measure, called civil unions, and declared it unconstitutional.

Transgender rights? There was some weak support in the General Assembly from a certain faction of Tea Party types who loudly expressed figments of their imaginations about boys walking into girls locker rooms and lavatories, but it never got any traction. Since then, Donald J. Trump has soiled the very image of locker rooms.

Mandatory background checks before all gun sales? We have it, along with a ban on military-style rifles such as the one that killed 20 first graders and six adults almost four years ago in Newtown.

So aside from obeying the speed limit and keeping their hand-held phones stashed while driving, what major issues are left for Republicans in an election season thats been overshadowed by an ugly presidential race thats on track to result in a lopsided Clinton showing in Connecticut, if not nationwide on Nov. 8?

What can they emphasize to attract voters as their attention spans wane, filling in the bubbles farther down the paper ballots?

General Electrics corporate move to Boston? That was planned years ago and well before the 2015 vote in the General Assembly to nominally raise their taxes. And hundreds of GE jobs will remain in Connecticut, too.

The specter of highway tolls is a good Bogeyman to pull out, allowing Republicans to shake fingers and proclaim how evil Democrat Dan Malloys Department of Transportation is planning to sell us all down the river of revenue.

Problem is, some of the most-powerful, seasoned Democrats such as Rep. Bob Godfrey of Danbury, live in the border towns where opposition to tolls is strongest. Besides, its really not an issue for this election year.

A weak economy? Well, we lost 5,200 jobs last month, which isnt good. But Sikorsky has a fat new contract; Pratt & Whitney literally cant hire enough skilled workers; and Electric Boat might snatch up every qualified welder for the foreseeable future.

Really, the only thing left for Republicans to make an election issue is the profligate, $20-billion state budget. But for the average taxpayer  for whom its impossible to name their state representative or senator  the budget is an arcane subject thats literally a rabbits hole of wonkdom.

Still, you cant blame the Republican leaders of the House and Senate for trying.

So last week House Minority Leader Themis Klarides of Derby and Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano of North Haven, asked Democrats who control the House 87-64 and the Senate 21-15, for a public hearing on why a projected $200,000 surplus in August turned into a $133-million deficit a month later, during a period of sharply reduced revenue.

This is not six months apart, this isnt something drastic that happened, Klarides said in a news conference. We heard all summer that corporate and sales-tax revenue was coming in lower. So we already knew we were moving in that direction.

Every time we talk about the economy not doing well, we get blamed for doom-and-gloom, which is just absurd, when were pointing out facts; when everybody else, economists and the bonding folks, are all talking about how were not doing well, Fasano said during the Monday event.

By Friday, the Republicans had still not gotten word back from Democratic leaders, who probably have other things to do than get lambasted in public. I hope no one is holding their breath waiting for an answer, in this election season.

Ken Dixons Capitol View appears Sundays in the Hearst Connecticut Newspapers. You may reach him in the Capitol at 860-549-4670 or at kdixon@ctpost.com. Find him at twitter.com/KenDixonCT. His Facebook address is kendixonct.hearst. Dixons Connecticut Blog-o-rama can be seen at blog.ctnews.com/dixon/
An extraordinary phenomenon of modern Britain is the propensity of those on the liberal Left  who in the past always championed freedom of expression  to censor news that doesnt fit in with their world-view. Even more insidiously, they demonise those who tell the truth.

Take the Lefts outburst of posturing, deceit and self-delusion over the adult migrants allowed into this country masquerading as child refugees.

For the record, this paper was a prominent voice in urging ministers to offer sanctuary to unaccompanied children fleeing war zones, including those who were frightened and vulnerable to exploitation in the squalor of the Calais Jungle.

After the horrors they had been through, their plight recalled that of the thousands of young Jewish children rescued from the Nazis under the Kindertransport programme of 1938 to 1940.

To anyone with eyes to see, they tell a story of wholesale abuse of our hospitality

But then came this weeks photographs of the first arrivals from Calais. To anyone with eyes to see, they tell a story of wholesale abuse of our hospitality.

Yes, there are youngsters among those granted sanctuary. But clearly many are fully grown, able-bodied men in their 20s or even 30s. The contrast to the helpless children saved by the Kindertransport could hardly be more glaring.

But the Mail has not asked anyone to take our word for it. Instead, we have published the photographs, allowing readers to judge for themselves.

Cue an eruption of manufactured outrage from the mouthpieces of political correctness, who insist even blatant imposters should be taken on trust.

Take the virtue-signalling luvvies of stage and screen, who profess undying compassion for those claiming to be children (while showing marked reluctance to house them in their palatial homes).

Or consider the holier-than-thou Guardian. Showing utter contempt for its readers, it has refused to publish the childrens photographs on the spurious pretext of protecting their privacy.

Meanwhile, the paper has devoted acres of print to attacks on those, including former home secretary Jack Straw, who have called for dental or other checks to establish how old the migrants are.

Sulphurous racism, cried one of its columnists  while glossing over the fact that every other country in the European Union, bar three, uses dental and carpal X-rays to ascertain migrants ages.

Equally anxious to silence debate, the BBC has pixelated film of the migrants, while only belatedly acknowledging the dispute about their ages.

Former home secretary Jack Straw has called for dental or other checks to establish how old the migrants are

The Corporation even rallied to Gary Linekers defence after he branded as hideously racist anyone who questioned the migrants claims. Nor has he been disciplined for peddling the falsehood that one of the children  who by any yardstick looks to be in his 30s  was an interpreter working for the Home Office.

How can we have a proper debate, or reach informed judgments, when our state broadcaster conspires with the Left to suppress and distort the facts?

Today, the Mail reveals the true extent of the abuse of our welfare system by migrants who have entered the UK under the false pretence of being children.

Of 11,000 whose ages have been disputed by local authorities since 2006, 45 per cent have been judged by the courts to be over 18. Thats almost 5,000 fraudulent claimants, whose education and upkeep is paid for by cash-strapped councils  doubtless at the expense of indigenous children in need of care and genuine child refugees who have failed to gain entry.
Yesterday, Mrs May completed her 100th day in office

Often, as Big Ben chimes 1.30am, a light can be seen burning in the Downing Street flat where Theresa May lives with her husband Philip. Mrs May likes to work on government papers late into the night.

For the 60-year-old Prime Minister is a woman who never reaches a decision until she has mastered the details and evaluated the consequences.

This is a matter of frustration to civil servants and Cabinet Ministers  but at least no one is in doubt as to who is in charge.

She was, of course, catapulted into Downing Street following the historic decision by the British people to leave the European Union.

This means that Mrs Mays mission is to manage the greatest political and economic upheaval in postwar British history. It is a colossal challenge because, although supported by the majority of voters, Brexit is viscerally opposed by Britains financial, social and economic elite. They wield enormous power, and many are determined to thwart the referendum result.

The question now is whether the PM can steer the ship of state through this most revolutionary  and dangerous  political period.

Yesterday, Mrs May completed her 100th day in office. So what have we learned about her so far?

The 60-year-old Prime Minister is a woman who never reaches a decision until she has mastered the details and evaluated the consequences

First and foremost: she is unflappable. Mrs May is at home in her job. It is as if she has planned for it all her life. Her election as Conservative Party leader within weeks of Brexit sent out a deeply reassuring message that the nation is in capable hands.

Had any of her rivals captured the premiership, there would have been chaos inside the Tory Party and in the wider country. Not with Mrs May as leader. She has established herself as a force for calm and good sense in the frenzied, unreal world of Westminster.

Mrs May is normal. This paradoxically makes her all the more unusual in her job. She is not a woman who enjoys the trappings of high office. She has put a stop to the celebrity Downing Street parties beloved of both Tony Blair and David Cameron.

The lavish and deeply distasteful Conservative Party fund-raising balls, patronised by City slickers, dodgy businessmen and media crawlers, have become a thing of the past.

These changes have led to criticism. One metropolitan commentator from a fashionable newspaper recently sneered that she has failed to deliver memorable soundbites.

This shows how completely such opinion-formers fail to understand the new PM. She does not surround herself with clever spin doctors who see the primary task of government as being to manage the media.

There is no equivalent in her inner circle to Tony Blairs cynical and mendacious propaganda chief Alastair Campbell, or David Camerons self-serving strategy director Sir Craig Oliver.

Her election as Conservative Party leader within weeks of Brexit sent out a deeply reassuring message that the nation is in capable hands

We no longer design policy with an eye on the Six OClock News, says one senior Downing Street official.

Traditional Cabinet government has been restored after a long period of abeyance under Tony Blair and David Cameron, both of whom preferred to make decisions in secret with the help of a small, self-appointed inner group of cronies.

In sharp contrast, Mrs May has restored the importance of Cabinet sub-committees, where policy is discussed in great detail, and decisions reached on their merits.

This change of style has been reflected in rearrangement of the Downing Street furniture. Tony Blairs notorious sofas have been jettisoned  and replaced with desks.

Sir Jeremy Heywood, the long-serving Cabinet secretary dubbed Sir Cover-Up  whose political neutrality has often been questioned  still plays a vital role at the heart of government. But it is diminished.

Mrs May, say insiders, no longer exploits him as an emotional crutch and political henchman, which was his role under Blair, Brown and Cameron.

The lavish and deeply distasteful Conservative Party fund-raising balls, patronised by City slickers, dodgy businessmen and media crawlers, have become a thing of the past

Sir Jeremy is kept out of political meetings, and is no longer an obtrusive figure  a strong sign that integrity is being brought back to British government.

It is also refreshing to learn that Mrs May has only rarely used Chequers, the grand country house which is official weekend residence of Prime Ministers. Instead, she prefers to return to her constituency in Maidenhead in the British home counties. On Saturday mornings (to the consternation of her security officers), she is often to be found knocking on doors at the homes of her local constituents.

Friends say she listens very carefully indeed to what they say. Voters in the council houses of Maidenhead, they add, have more influence on the direction of policy than business lobbyists and the ubiquitous party donors who exerted such power over Blair and Cameron.

In sharp exception to her predecessors, she does not enjoy expensive holidays courtesy of rich patrons from the world of City PR or high finance.

Mrs May and her husband, Philip, preferred a modest walking holiday in the Swiss Alps last summer to anything more glamorous.

But what really matters, of course, is how she conducts affairs at Westminster. Civil servants say that the sudden change of government from Cameron to May is far more revolutionary and profound than that which would normally be caused by a General Election.

One observer compares the change of tone inside Downing Street to the 2005 switch in Germany from the slick, media- friendly and corrupt Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, to the down-to-earth mother of the nation Angela Merkel.

What there has been is a huge change in the tone and texture of the nations administration.

Id also argue that theres been a profound shift in the substance of government.

Within moments of taking office, after kissing the Queens hand on July 13, the new PM set out her guiding objectives.

Traditional Cabinet government has been restored after a long period of abeyance under Tony Blair and David Cameron

Her words were as pregnant with significance as Maggie Thatchers invocation of St Francis Assisi  in explaining her aim to bring harmony amid discord  as she entered Downing Street in 1979.

Mrs Mays remarks are so important that they are worth quoting in full.

The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives. When we take the big calls well think not of the powerful but you. When we pass new laws well listen not to the mighty, but you. When it comes to taxes, well prioritise not the wealthy, but you.

When it comes to opportunity we wont entrench the advantages of the fortunate few. Well do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you.

This statement was, in effect, a total repudiation of the Blair/Cameron era, when policy was formed to a disgraceful extent by wealthy lobbyists and amoral businessmen. Mrs May is therefore the first PM since Labours Jim Callaghan 40 years ago to signal a readiness to challenge the dominant City of London  a message she fleshed out with an eloquent attack on tax avoidance in her flagship Tory conference speech in Birmingham.

The new PM has entered into an alliance with the mass of British voters against the powerful vested interests that dictated the terms of British public life for 30 years.

This means that Mrs Mays political philosophy challenges the very existence of the system which has shaped the world since the Eighties. This system has placed international corporations and the too-often venal values of the marketplace ahead of local communities, institutions and especially the nation state.

This existing system  called globalisation by economists  insists on free movement not merely of money and goods, but also of peoples. There is no question that the advent of globalisation has created huge wealth for some. However it has come with huge cost.

Mayism is a doctrine which can appeal not just to Labour voters who feel disenfranchised by Jeremy Corbyn

In this globalised world of free markets with no natural borders, countless British jobs have gone abroad. Meanwhile, millions of immigrants have taken work here, forcing down wages, and numerous national institutions such as energy companies and airports have been bought by foreign firms.

The result has been that wealth is concentrated in the hands of very few, while the majority have been left far behind. Living standards have been falling sharply, not just in Britain but right across the West.

Many communities, for example in the North of England, have been deprived of hope and opportunity. Traditional identities  both local and national  have been erased.

A new, international cabal  represented by rapacious businessmen such as Sir Philip Green and politicians such as Tony Blair (who, no coincidence, gave Green a knighthood)  has emerged to champion this new world order.

Thats why I believe the Brexit vote in June was about much more than the European Union. It was fundamentally an expression of distaste for a deeply divisive international order which has put the interests of the rich and powerful above ordinary people.

Mrs May showed that she understood this point when she told Conservative activists, in a remark which infuriated international financial high-flyers, that if youre a citizen of the world you are a citizen of nowhere. For those who commute between penthouses in Mayfair, villas in Monaco and flats in Manhattan, this was a deadly warning.

During her early months in office, Mrs May has shown through force of words that she understands the nature of our contemporary national predicament better than almost any other modern politician.

The question now, however, is can she turn these words into actions? Nobody knows.

The task is massive. For Mrs May is reasserting the importance of national government as a force which can help ordinary people to defend their livelihoods against predatory international markets.

This is the reason why she favours ideas which you might ordinarily think were Left-wing, such as putting workers on company boards and a targeting of tax avoidance so that the very wealthy pay tax in the same the way that everyone else does.

All this means that it is already possible to speak of a political philosophy called Mayism. It contains socially conservative ideas  such as an end to the ban on new grammar schools  which are more daring than any a politician has advocated for 50 years.

But it is also informed by the recognition that the state has a positive role to play in standing up for ordinary people against global capitalism.

Mayism therefore occupies what the late Sir Keith Joseph, mentor to Margaret Thatcher, labelled the common ground  not the centre ground  of British politics.

Above all, she seeks to speak for hard-working people whose voices are very rarely heard at Westminster.

A new, international cabal  represented by rapacious businessmen such as Sir Philip Green and politicians such as Tony Blair (who, no coincidence, gave Green a knighthood)  has emerged to champion this new world order

Mayism is a doctrine which can appeal not just to Labour voters who feel disenfranchised by Jeremy Corbyn, but also the Ukip voters who abandoned the Conservative Party in their millions under David Cameron.

In essence, it is a kind of one-nation Toryism which aims to attract aspirational voters, particularly in the lower-middle and working classes, as Mrs Thatcher once did.

Above all, Theresa May is reaffirming the significance of patriotism  hated by many on the Left, and long sneered at by the global elites who have shaped British politics.

In setting out such a potent political philosophy, she has already made formidable enemies, and the real battle has not even been joined.

Some of the most powerful of these enemies are within Mrs Mays own Conservative Party.

Former Chancellor George Osborne is the unofficial leader of the opposition to Brexit, and he enjoys useful support not just in the City, but also in the BBC and many other branches of the mainstream media.

City grandees, of course, lobbied furiously against Brexit, and are on the whole all for the free movement of people into this country  either to come and work in their banks, or to clean their houses.

The Left-leaning BBC, as well as the highly-paid liberal quangocracy, are still appalled by the prospect of Britain leaving the EU, as well the idea of determined reductions in net migration.

In the face of such formidable opposition, Mrs Mays strongest card is the support of the British people. That is why I believe that at some stage she would be wise to call a General Election to establish once and for all her legitimacy to govern.

Such an election would put to voters the simple question: who runs Britain?

Former Chancellor George Osborne is the unofficial leader of the opposition to Brexit, and he enjoys useful support not just in the City, but also in the BBC and many other branches of the mainstream media

Will Mrs May succeed in her mission? It is far too early to tell. One major worry concerns the calibre of her team. When Mrs Thatcher set about reinventing Britain in the Eighties she was surrounded by political giants  Michael Heseltine, Norman Tebbit, Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Ken Clarke and others.

Mrs May lacks a ministerial squad of anything like this stature, and this is a cause for alarm. Partly for this reason, the PMs decision-making has at times been shaky.

Her reputation for decisiveness was damaged by the pusillanimous announcement that the decision on whether to build a new runway at Heathrow airport had been kicked into long grass yet again.I believe that she was mistaken not to cancel George Osbornes massively expensive plan for the HS2 high-speed train from London to the North.

So the truth is that it is far too early to state that Mrs May will make a success as Prime Minister. All that can be said at this stage is that she has got off to a strong start.

She has called time on the Blair/Cameron era, and set about bringing back rectitude to public administration. She has talked in language which is connecting with ordinary people.

She has become Prime Minister with the wisdom that comes from long experience of political office.

Her emergence at a relatively late age marks the end, too, of the cult of political youth which has done such damage to this country for the past 30 years. (Blair and Cameron were both 43 when they took office.) She will need all these advantages, and a great deal of luck.

Mrs May has become Prime Minister in what is, frankly, a time of crisis. The very ordinary woman has set out on a truly extraordinary journey.
When Tobias Hollis-Tobin was born he weighed just 866 grams and was smaller than a 600ml bottle of Coke.

For the first nine days of his life he was kept in isolation, a ventilator working to get air in to his tiny lungs.

Tobias was born prematurely at just 25 weeks, four months before his due date of October 10.

But already he has shown he is a fighter, defying the odds to make it home with his mother, Jodie.

When little Tobias Hollis-Tobin was born he weighed just 866 grams and was smaller than a 600ml bottle of Coke

His mother, Jodie Hollis-Tobin, 20, said Tobias was their 'little miracle' and spent nine days in isolation after his birth

Hes healthy, hes here and he fought so hard, Miss Hollis-Tobin, 20, told Daily Mail Australia.

We love him no matter what. Hes our little miracle, he really is.

Tobias was born on June 28 after a complicated pregnancy.

Tobias was born at just 25 weeks, and spent the first 81 days of his life in hospital

We love him no matter what. Hes our little miracle, he really is,' Miss Hollis-Tobin said of Tobias

Miss Hollis-Tobin was initially told she could not have children.

The Mango Hill resident, in Queenslands Moreton Bay region, has only one working ovary, a bicornuate or heart-shaped uterus, polycystic ovaries and endometriosis.

Her first child, Arielle Jayne, was born prematurely at 33 weeks.

When she fell pregnant with Tobias, doctors did weekly scans to monitor his growth.

He was born with bleeds on the brain, a hole in his heart and had two blood transfusions after his birth

But at 24 weeks Miss Hollis-Tobins back and stomach started to hurt.

That night she began to bleed, and while doctors originally thinking she had Braxton Hicks, she started to have contractions.

Doctors were able to hold off the delivery for three days, and while that might not sound like much, it allowed time for Tobias lungs to further develop.

I'd never seen a baby so small as Tobias, so fragile and delicate. Jodie Hollis-Tobin, 20

The delivery was terrifying.

Doctors couldnt find his heartbeat, Miss Hollis-Tobin said.

When they did it was 45 beats per minute, they said were losing him, we need to get him out.

Miss Hollis-Tobin started to push, but Tobias arm was twisted behind his back and doctors were worried it would break.

They deliberated a caesarean, but Tobias was instead born with emergency forceps.

He had bleeds on the brain, hes got a hole in his heart, he had two blood transfusions and infection after infection, Miss Hollis-Tobin said.

Miss Hollis-Tobin said one of the hardest parts was watching other mothers walking in pregnant and leaving with their baby while they stayed in hospital with Tobias

'I'd never seen a baby so small as Tobias, so fragile and delicate.

'That was a huge shock just seeing this little body laying there, wondering how something so tiny would be able to fight to survive.

'One of the hardest parts was watching other mothers walking in pregnant and leaving hours or days later holding their baby.

'I waited nine days until I could finally hold Tobias which felt like a lifetime.'

The adorable four-month-old is now 2.8 kilograms, which is still smaller than most babies at full term

Tobias would spend the next 81 days in hospital before he was able to go home.

Its been a scary journey, but an amazing journey, his mum said.

Youve watched your little boy grow from a 25-weeker to a full-term baby.

While Tobias is home, he still has a long way to go.

He weighs 2.8 kilograms, which is smaller than most babies at full term, and is deaf in one ear.

Doctors are unsure how the bleed on his brain will affect him in the future.

Its hard not knowing if things are going to be okay, but hes here, Miss Hollis-Tobin said.

'I waited nine days until I could finally hold Tobias which felt like a lifetime,' Miss Hollis-Tobin said

Doctors still dont know why Tobias and his sister Ariella were born prematurely.

To help give back to the hospital who cared for her children, Miss Hollis-Tobin and her parents will take part in the Walk for Prems event in Brisbane.

Already they have raised $1,000 for the cause, with the funds to go towards buying more machinery for the hospital like the ones that helped keep her son alive.
A former surf lifesaving champion battled nausea, fatigue and the stroke-like paralysis of half her face after contracting a rare disease in the jungles of Thailand.

Amy Kennedy, 26, believed she contracted Lyme disease when a tick bit her as she explored the area during a holiday three years ago.

The most worrying sign something was wrong came following her return home, when Amy woke up one day and could not feel the left side of her face.

Worrying: The first sign something was wrong came when Amy (right) woke up to find the left hand side of her face paralysed (left)

Intrepid: Before she got sick, Amy was a gold medal surf lifesaving champion in Queensland

The primary school teacher spent three years diagnosing the mystery condition and even endured a stroke scare before doctors suggested testing for Lyme disease.

'[In 2014] while working at her school, she had a scare and was rushed to hospital by ambulance as they thought that she had a stroke,' her mother Michele wrote on the crowdfunding site Gofundme.

'[In 2015] her symptoms worsened and she had a facial setback, the neurological issues became more complicated as she was unable to speak.

'Upon rehabilitation, her speech was slurred. [She] saw new doctors and specialists who suggested Lyme Disease testing.'

Distressing: Mother Michele said it was heart breaking to watch the disease draining her daughter

Amazing: Amy was a primary school teacher before she was struck down by the illness

Lyme Disease is an infectious condition caused by Borrelia bacteria and commonly transmitted through tick bites.

Symptoms can include migraines, nausea and facial paralysis.

WHAT IS LYME DISEASE? Lyme disease is a bacterial infection mainly transmitted by insects, most commonly ticks. It can affect the digestive, musculoskeletal, respiratory and neurological systems. Sufferers often experience symptoms which mimic other diseases, making it very difficult to diagnose. Lyme disease is not officially recognised in Australia, however it is in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Advertisement

The disease is not officially recognised as present in Australia and there is no specialist treatment in the country.

After the stroke scare Amy sent a blood sample to experts in Germany to see if Lyme disease might be the cause.

'[She] received a positive reading on many strands for Borrelia (Lyme disease),' mother Michele wrote.

At her worst, Amy could not walk, struggled to talk and had to be showered by her mother.

Michele said it was devastating to watch her drained by the disease.

'She had so much energy and so much love to share with the world. Seeing her so drained of life is heart breaking.

'Amy is a primary school teacher who is amazing at what she does.

'She has always lived to teach and teaching is her world.'

Back on her feet: Amy (right) had received treatment overseas and was slowly getting better, her mother said

Following $180,000 of treatment overseas, mother Michele said Amy was slowly getting back on her feet.

'Amys had two trips overseas now for treatment. She is so much better.

'Now it is just a matter of maintaining and keeping her immune system up.

'With her treatment now she is able to walk. She can return to work one day a week.

'She has mild facial paralysis. But nothing like it was, and it might only last for a week at a time.'

Having come through the three-year ordeal, Amy wanted to now give others hope there was a way to beat the disease.

'It's been such an incredible journey,' Michele said.
Booze battle: Phil Collins says he had too much time on his hands after retiring

The man sitting opposite my surgery desk is a pillar of the community. He has had a very successful career working in the City. He has a loving wife and three well-adjusted children. He can afford nice holidays and fine food.

Having worked so hard all his life, you would think that now he has retired, he is looking forward to enjoying the fruits of his long career.

Certainly, that is what youd think if you met him socially.

But, in truth, he is an alcoholic. He drinks two bottles of wine a day. While he used to wait until evening before pouring himself a drink, his wife noticed that wine-o-clock started earlier and earlier.

Tragically, its now got to the stage where hes drunk by lunchtime.

Not, of course, that any of this is obvious to those who dont know him. He doesnt fall out of bars, collapsing in the street. Theres never any embarrassing behaviour.

When we think about the problems society has with drinking, we tend to think of youngsters binge-drinking  young men brawling in the street, ladettes comatose on the pavement in city centres on Friday and Saturday nights.

Or we think of homeless men, a bottle in a brown paper bag, dossing on park benches. But there is a silent group of alcoholics such as my patient. Their problem is more profound  and will shorten their life.

Like many other men and women I treat, he hasnt quite got to the stage where hes physically dependent yet  when the body becomes reliant on alcohol and people get the shakes if they dont drink and can even have seizures. But hes not far off.

On his wifes insistence, he came to see me, but the sad thing is, hes still struggling to admit he has a problem. The fact is his story is common. Ive seen many people like him and, indeed, this week musician Phil Collins admitted that he became an alcoholic after giving up work.

Far from the well-worn rocknroll tales of vodka and pills for breakfast and all-day benders, Phil had retired, moved to Switzerland for a quiet life and planned to spend more time with his family. It was then his drink problem set in.

MUMS' MENTAL HEALTH IN PERIL The crisis in maternity services has got so bad that, according to figures from the Royal College of Midwives published this week, more than a third of hospitals have had to turn away women in labour. I have profound concerns about this  not only for physical complications that may arise during labour for these women, but for the mental health of new mums, too. The appalling truth is that the main cause of death in new mothers is suicide, usually as a result of post-natal depression. In recent years, there have been tremendous attempts to address this by engaging at- risk and vulnerable women with specialist maternity and perinatal psychiatry teams. Key to this is the relationship between the woman and her midwife, who is often the first to notice problems. How can this happen if women are being shunted all over the place because maternity units are closed or unable to find them a bed? And with reports that midwives are leaving the profession because they feel services are no longer safe, something has got to be done  and fast. Advertisement

As he put it: I was retired, content  then I fell. Because suddenly, I had too much time on my hands.

Why is it so many people seem to hit the self-destruct button when they retire? What is it that this dramatic life-change does to the mind? Of course, people can develop a problem with drink at any time in life and for a wide variety of reasons. But retirement does seem to be a particularly critical point for this.

The fact is that for some people, retirement isnt quite what they were planning. The sudden change of pace, the loss of structure and routine can leave people feeling lost, directionless and afraid.

The ready-made group of friends and daily contact based on the workplace is suddenly gone.

Crucially, for many, retirement also represents a sudden loss of identity. They have spent their adult lives defining themselves by their career and then, at once, all that is gone.

They also face the future stretching out in front of them without detailed plans on how to fill it. Hobbies have been put on the back burner for years and can be hard to resume.

A nd retirement coincides with other big changes in peoples lives  children flying the nest and becoming more independent, physical health starting to falter and fail, meaning they might not be as active as theyd hoped.

All of this can lead to people reaching for the bottle in an attempt to fill the emptiness and avoid recalibrating their lives.

It usually starts slowly  what used to be a single glass of wine in the evening after a long day at the office becomes a glass of wine at 4pm. Because why not?

A glass of wine at dinner is brought forward to a glass with lunch. After all, theres not much else on in the afternoon, is there? Then  oh go on, then  you might as well have another with dinner. Then you might as well finish the bottle.

The cocktail of being well-off, retired and bored is a lethal combination when it comes to drink.

A study published last year found drinking among the over-50s is a hidden middle-class problem, with the higher somebodys income, the more at risk they are. The number of over-65s admitted to hospital for alcohol-specific disorders is on the rise.

So, how do you know if you are slipping? There is a questionnaire doctors use. It asks questions such as Have you ever felt you needed to cut down your drinking? Have people annoyed you by criticising your drinking? Have you ever felt guilty about drinking? Do you need to drink first thing in the morning?

Answering yes to two or more means there could be a problem.

My experience tells me many people are surprised how their answers to these four simple questions expose a hidden battle with drink.

Quack cures that work!

When scientists test a new medicine, they usually compare it with a placebo  something they know doesnt have any medical effects, such as a sugar pill  to prove that it is really working.

This is because people often feel better when they take a pill  any pill, even a sham one. This is known as the placebo effect and doctors often discourage their use.

But rather than dismissing something as just a placebo, the effect always fills me with wonder. To me, it is testament to the astonishing power of the mind.

A study this week showed the placebo effect is even more powerful than we thought. Researchers found placebos work even when people know the medication they are taking isnt real.

When scientists test a new medicine, they usually compare it with a placebo  something they know doesnt have any medical effects, such as a sugar pill  to prove that it is really working

During tests, when fake medications were given to patients suffering with back pain, their symptoms improved by 30 per cent  whether they knew it was a sham or not. Amazing!

I, myself, use placebos. Of course, countless in-depth studies have found homeopathy to be bunkum and that the only benefit comes from the placebo effect. But I am still a fan.

For a long time, whenever I did live television, I would take a homeopathic remedy that was supposed to be calming. I knew it didnt really do anything, but I still felt that it did  and surely thats all that matters?

Just before the lights in the studio went up, Id take one and it would help me to relax and enjoy the experience. It doesnt have any side-effects and theres no risk of addiction. Wheres the harm?

One day, I realised half way through filming that Id forgotten to take it, and yet I was totally calm. I didnt need them again.

Its not just mental aspects such as pain or nervousness that the placebo effect can help with. In extraordinary studies in the Fifties (theyd never be allowed these days), fake operations  in which surgeons cut open patients, but didnt actually do anything  were performed on people with angina.

Meanwhile, other patients suffering the same problem underwent genuine operations.

The former did just as well as those who had proper treatment.

For ethical reasons, placebos are not allowed to be prescribed, but I think the medical profession is missing a trick, especially if it doesnt matter whether the person is aware the treatment they are being given is a placebo.
Super-strength skunk may be twice as addictive as normal kinds of cannabis, a study has found.

Skunk, which now makes up most of the cannabis sold on Britains streets, leads to dependency for 43 per cent of those who smoke it, University College London researchers found.

The rate is just 22 per cent for those who prefer a less potent type.

Super-strength skunk may be twice as addictive as normal kinds of cannabis, a study has found (file photo)

The 16 to 23-year-olds surveyed are now exposed to skunk far stronger than the types of cannabis available a decade ago.

Its greater addictiveness is believed to come from higher levels of a compound called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is key to giving smokers a high.

Previous research has shown THC ramps up the properties of cannabis which make people dependent.

Skunk has little cannabidiol, or CBD, which dampens down its effects.

Dr Tom Freeman, who presented the data at the annual International Early Psychosis Association meeting in Milan, said: The illicit cannabis market is dominated by high-potency cannabis.

'Our findings suggest that people who prefer this type cannabis are around twice as likely to show problematic use.
Obesity could be causing an increase in the rate of multiple births in mothers in their mid-twenties.

Women aged 25 to 29 are now the ones helping to nudge up the rate of multiple births , figures from the Office of National Statistics suggest.

In the past, women aged 45 and over drove the rise in multiple births, due to higher levels of IVF among this age group.

The Twins and Multiple Births Association said research suggests that obesity leads to more multiple births - which could be affecting the 25 to 29-year-old age group (stock photo)

The rate of multiple births - mostly of twins - rose to 16.1 per 1,000 women giving birth in 2015, compared with 16.0 in 2014.

In 2015, 10,901 women gave birth to twins, 169 to triplets and three to quads and above.

The Twins and Multiple Births Association said research suggests that obesity leads to more multiple births - which could be affecting the 25 to 29-year-old age group.

But the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said more studies were needed into why those aged 25 to 29 are fuelling a rise in twins or triplets.

Tamba chief executive Keith Reed said: 'We can speculate that the increase in multiple pregnancies is likely due to emerging trends in fertility practice, but also an increasing number of mums with higher BMIs.

Around one in five pregnant women are obese, which can cause a range of problems in pregnancy (stock image)

Both are known to increase the risk of having a multiple pregnancy. We will await more data around this.

'The news today that the number of multiple births in the UK has risen, only acts to reinforce the growing consensus that the NHS needs to provide better care and training for maternity staff about the care of multiples.

'With multiples making up 1.6% of pregnancies but accounting for 7 per cent of stillbirths and 14 per cent of neonatal deaths, it is clear that more needs to be done.'

Most twins and triplets are conceived naturally, but fertility treatment also increases the chance of a multiple birth. On average, one in 10 IVF pregnancies results in a multiple birth.

Elizabeth McLaren, head of birth statistics at the ONS, said: 'Since 1993, women aged 45 and over have consistently had the highest proportion of multiple births - partly due to higher levels of assisted fertility treatments at these ages.

HOME BIRTHS MOST POPULAR WITH WOMEN IN THEIR 30S The new ONS data also showed that women aged 35 and 39 are most likely to have a home birth. In 2015, 2.3 per cent of all women giving birth in England and Wales did so at home, unchanged from 2012. But this figure was 3% for those aged 35 to 39. Women aged under 20 were the least likely to give birth at home (0.9 per cent). Advertisement

'Our figures for 2015 show that the proportion of women having multiple births increased slightly compared with 2014. This increase was driven by women aged 25 to 29, since at all other ages the proportion of women having multiple births either decreased or remained unchanged.'

Professor Lesley Regan, president of the RCOG, added: 'The increase in multiple births among women aged between 25 to 29 is interesting. There could be many reasons for this increase, including access to fertility treatments.

'The suggestion that the increase might be linked to obesity warrants further investigation through research.
A new drug to treat a debilitating muscle-wasting disease that affects mainly young boys has been approved in the US, offering hope to thousands of British children.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a severe illness that causes muscles to slowly waste away because the body does not produce a protein called dystrophin, which is crucial for strengthening muscle fibres.

For the estimated 2,500 British children with Duchenne, the prognosis is bleak. Most sufferers start a terrifying physical decline around the age of nine. They often become confined to a wheelchair by 12 and eventually are locked in by paralysis.

Most young sufferers of muscular dystrophy become confined to a wheelchair by 12 and eventually are locked in by paralysis (file photo)

Sufferers typically die in their late teens or early 20s.

The new drug could delay the muscle-wasting process for 13 per cent of boys with a specific genetic mutation.

The drug is known as ExonDys51, and was trialled on a dozen boys with Duchenne who now retain the ability to walk several years after they were predicted to be in a wheelchair.

British Duchenne charity Harrisons Fund hails the approval as incredible and now hopes that ExonDys51 can be made available to patients in the UK and Europe.

Getting this safe and effective drug approved will have such a positive impact on so many lives, said the charitys founder Alex Smith, 41, whose son Harrison, 11, suffers from the illness and gives his name to the charity.

Well be working to ensure we get it approved in the UK and Europe as soon as possible.

Getting this safe and effective drug approved will have such a positive impact on so many lives, Alex Smith

The boys on that original trial are now walking, four years after they were likely to lose the use of their legs. The important thing here is slowing down the progression of the disease and giving those with Duchenne more time and scientists more time to save them, he said.

He feels very optimistic about a Europe-wide approval but cautioned that the estimated 300,000 yearly price tag to treat each patient could be an obstacle to approval.

Professor Francesco Muntoni, clinical paediatric neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital who worked on the first development stages for the drug, described the news as stunning.

He said: Nobody thinks this will cure Duchenne  it just slows down its progression.

But considering how long weve known so much about the condition and how weve made so little progress in finding any treatments, its hard to overstate its significance. Before, if you were told your son had Duchenne there was nothing you could do. Now there is some hope. Im sure its the beginning of a path for better outcomes.

Pictured: Muscular dystrophy under the microscope. The illness effects around 2,500 British children and can have debilitating consequences

Earlier this year, the Duchenne-slowing drug Translarna was approved by NHS medicines watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in England.

Costing about 220,000 per patient per year, Translarna also helps to delay the muscle-wasting process, but this works in only around five per cent of Duchenne sufferers who have a different genetic mutation to those helped by the new drug ExonDys51.

Professor Muntoni says there are 15 similar Duchenne drugs on trial. The faulty gene responsible for Duchenne was identified more than 30 years ago, prompting optimism of finding a cure. It is an extremely complicated disease but were hoping to see more and more of these drugs approved in coming years.

We still have a long way to go, but for all those families with boys given what was a guaranteed death sentence, any glimmer of hope is very exciting.
The Red Barn

Lyttleton Theatre, London Until January 17 2hrs

Rating:

The eyes have it in David Hares play, an adaptation of detective writer Georges Simenons psychological thriller La Main.

The initial image in Robert Ickes stylish, achingly cool production is a gigantic iris. Almost the last word is eyes. Its a play about what people see  or fail to see  on purpose or by accident; what they look for, fail to look for, or choose to overlook. All very different from what they perceive or observe.

It begins with two couples struggling back from a party to a remote farmhouse through horizontal wind and snow in backwoods Connecticut in the Sixties.

David Hares new play, The Red Barn, is an adaptation of detective writer Georges Simenons psychological thriller La Main and set in Sixties Connecticut during a snowstorm

Mark Strongs decent, dullish Donald, tellingly bespectacled, makes it back to the house but Ray, his oldest, best friend since Yale, also a lawyer, doesnt.

Donalds wife, Ingrid (played straight, staid and stoical by Hope Davis), urges Donald to get out and find Ray. When he returns two hours later, his parka looks dry.

Left alone for one second, the exquisite, willowy young Mona (glacial, glamorous Elizabeth Debicki from The Night Manager), Rays wife, sniffs the parka and looks through the pockets. Whats she after?

Its a play about what people see  or fail to see  on purpose or by accident; what they look for, fail to look for, or choose to overlook. Which are all very different from what they perceive

A metronome ticks, dungeon-heavy doors clang, things go bump in Tom Gibbonss spooky soundscape. Apertures expand and contract; screens slide in and out, teasingly concealing as much as they reveal. The cinematic becomes thrillingly dramatic.

There are moments when the play pretends to be a whodunit. I know what youve done, Mona says to Donald.

The local lieutenant throws in the word suicide and declares the press is going to take an interest. Ingrid remarks that Mona is sleeping too much and not suffering as she should.

Mark Strong, Hope Davis and Elizabeth Debicki (above) all impress and the pace is self-indulgently leisurely, the tension coming from within the characters

But these are red herrings. The real focus is Donalds midlife crisis, triggered by seeing rich, successful, randy Ray, still having it all and a bit-on-the-side at the party, and the devastating realisation that he, by contrast, failed because he never dared.

He took the wrong path early on, as surely as Ray did on that fateful walk home. Its as if Ive spent my whole life with the handbrake on, he says. Until now.

The pace is self-indulgently leisurely, the tension coming from within the characters, all of them tightly coiled and self-absorbed. Flashy yet forceful theatre.

Oil

Almeida Theatre, London Until November 26 2hrs 40mins

Rating:

Only a theatre as bold as Rupert Goolds Almeida, a director as imaginative as Carrie Cracknell and a star actor as accomplished as Anne-Marie Duff would dare to take on a new piece as epic and challenging as Ella Hicksons Oil and pull it off so triumphantly.

The play explores the ownership of land and its resources, and drills deep into the hidden layers and complexities of mother-daughter relationships.

It leaps across centuries and continents to tell the story of oil, with kerosene coming to remote wood-burning candle-lit Cornwall in 1889, the British exploitation of Persia for oil in 1908, and the Libyans coming to London in the Seventies to get their own back.

Only the Almeida and a star actor as accomplished as Anne-Marie Duff (above with Yolanda Kettle) would take on an epic new piece like Ella Hicksons Oil and pull it off so triumphantly

It finishes up in the future, in 2051, with the Chinese selling cold fusion made from helium harvested from the Moon to Brits in darkest Cornwall, who have to choose between a hot bath and driving their car, and wrap themselves up against the cold in duvets just as as their 19th-century ancestors pulled shawls around them.

Each act is linked by a mother, named May, an always compelling Anne-Marie Duff, charting five stages of womanhood.

First newly-wed and pregnant, then bringing up a small daughter, then policing a teenager, before arguing with a politically passionate adult and finally, being very old and frail, cared for by her elderly offspring.

The daughter, Amy (the shuffled letters of their names suggest that they are alternative versions of one another), played by the excellent Yolanda Kettle, invariably questions her mothers decisions.

Their dialogue is always springy, funny and provocative  in particular, Mays feminist determination to choose freedom from a lover and the sacrifice and loneliness which come with that.

The tone is serious but never po-faced. Verbal echoes resound through the writing, with the same conflicts, issues and conversations such as Why is it that you think you should be warm when the sun aint shining re-emerging in completely different contexts decades later.

And visual motifs recur, such as a foreigner selling the latest energy source appearing out of the blue in the wilds of Cornwall.

A hugely ambitious piece and tremendously demanding, but richly rewarding.

The Dresser

Duke Of York's, London Until January 13 2hrs 35mins

Rating:

Theres tragedy as well as comedy in Ronald Harwoods The Dresser, rather more than emerges in Sean Foleys entertaining but unremarkable revival.

Its not just the bombs dropping that threaten the evenings performance in a provincial town. The actor-manager (always Sir) has gone AWOL.

Age, exhaustion and a company of second-rate actors has taken its toll on Ken Stotts blubbing, bewildered Sir.

Plus hes playing Lear, and the character of the egomaniac king, full of rages and with a tenuous grasp of reality, is getting the better of him.

He eventually appears, filthy, florid and fearful. Dresser Norman, a wonderfully camp, scurrying Reese Shearsmith, who has given 16 years to Sir, must wheedle, fuss and flatter as never before to get him in costume and on to the stage.

While tremendously authentic and often gloriously funny, this production lacks pathos.

Stott is on top of the vanity, narcissism and the leer, but fails to nail the panic of the (would-be) piteously crumbling thesp/king.

Half Life

Ustinov Theatre, Bath Until November 5 1hr 30mins

Rating:

Does dementia devalue ones desires? And do ones children or carers in a so-called care home have the right to lay down the law on whether an elderly person should have a fag or sleep with a consenting adult?

In John Mightons 2005 play, Clara (Helen Ryan) cant remember yesterday but recalls in detail a brief wartime affair with Patrick, who may be the same Patrick (Patrick Godfrey) just arrived at the home.

The play asks what makes us human. Our unreliable memories? Our capacity to feel here and now?

Mighton makes it clear old age is not for sissies, but suggests middle age, balancing work, romance, demanding children and failing parents, can be even more testing.

A Man Of Good Hope

Young Vic, London Until November 12 2hrs 30mins

Rating:

This fiercely topical show is a real treat from Cape Town's Isango Ensemble

What a terrific slice of musical theatre this is. The Isango Ensemble from Cape Town arrive with this heartbreaking story of a refugee, an eight year-old boy called Asad, whose mother is shot dead in the Somali civil war.

It tells of how the boy sets off to South Africa, nursing a dream of one day getting to America where, he believes, there are no guns.

The story is one of resourcefulness, violence, heartbreak and comedy as Asad struggles across the continent.

The show is enriched with a cappella singing and classical opera voices, plus several mighty marimba xylophones injecting a hand-made African vibe.

On the night I went, Asad was played by a schoolboy actor, Phielo Makitle. This fiercely topical show is a real treat.
Google Pixel

599, madebygoogle.com

Rating:

The last big smartphone I recommended was Samsungs Galaxy Note 7, which turned out to be a bomb that runs Android. After the device was discovered to be so dangerous many airlines have banned it, Im faintly grateful that mine didnt blow up during the week I kept it in my trouser pocket. Regardless, Im still withdrawing my five-star rating.

So what should the thinking man who doesnt fancy becoming a human fireball buy instead?

Googles Android own brand Pixel phones are a new option in smartphones

Big, powerful and with a few extra techno-tricks, the Google Pixel is pitched as the latest object of desire for those of us who would rather have root-canal surgery than be seen with an Apple iPhone

Googles Android own brand Pixel phones are a new option. Big, powerful and with a few extra techno-tricks, theyre pitched as the latest object of desire for those of us who would rather have root-canal surgery than be seen with an Apple iPhone.

The big sell is built-in artificial intelligence  the good kind, rather than the sort that takes over your spaceship and kills you in science-fiction films.

Hold down the home button and it summons an AI assistant  like Apples Siri but armed with all of Googles services from search to texts.

Swipe left and theres a screen of predictive stuff that Google thinks you will like, from news stories to reminders. Its so good its a chilling reminder of how predictable you really are.

So is it a worthy Google phone? For want of a better word, Pixel certainly feels Googly, in that it bombards you with information all day long.

Its also extremely powerful  and probably the best Android mobile out there at present.

Swipe left and theres a screen of predictive stuff that Google thinks you will like, from news stories to reminders. Its so good its a chilling reminder of how predictable you really are

It has a superb camera and a screen so sharp the type can go to tiny font sizes, where its more like browsing the internet on a PC. God only knows what this new phone is doing to my eyes.

There are neat touches to the design, too. The fingerprint sensor to unlock it is on the back, so you can lift and unlock it seamlessly.
Rob Lowes arm is covered in thick, sticky, vivid blood. He cuts a macabre figure in the Disney restaurant where were meeting for lunch where everything is primary coloured and even the salt and pepper pots are covered in mice.

Hes in army fatigues, with a militarily short haircut, the same blue eyes that stared out of so many film posters on girls bedroom walls in his Brat Pack era tip me a wink to let me know all is not as its seems.

Just a little medical heroics before lunch, he deadpans, signalling to the fake blood hes drenched in. Actors often play heroes but rather than being a guy who can fly and wear a cape, this show is about real heroes  people who save lives every day.

Rob Lowe attended the hip and unruly Santa Monica high school from age 12, where his classmates were Robert Downey Jr, Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen

This show is Code Black, about a series of LA trauma doctors, and were meeting to discuss it, as well as Lowes herculean effort to rescue his own career from a point in the late Eighties where his addictions  to alcohol and drugs  and a self-videotaped encounter with a sixteen year old girl had derailed his career completely.

His big break came when he was cast alongside Charlie Sheens older brother Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise in Francis Ford Coppolas The Outsiders in 1983.

Next came a string of successful films chief of which  St Elmos Fire  is still considered a modern coming of age classic.

Lowe and his fellow Brat Packers, Robert Downey Jr, Keifer Sutherland and Emilio Estevez (who, he says he hasnt seen for years), were overnight sensations.

Good looking, in their early twenties and just starting out in Hollywood, the world  and all its vices  opened up to them.

Lowe has written  with graphic and hilarious detail  about this colourful period in his memoirs Stories I Only Tell My Friends and Love Life.

The books are surprisingly detailed for someone who was out of it all the time.

I wasnt out of it all the time. But what about a trip to Sydney where on a radio show he said the only thing he remembered was going to the local zoo, I counter. Well, heres what I remember. I remember meeting Michael Hutchence and the guys from INXS on the first night. That sort of writes its own narrative, doesnt it? Then there was the zoo and the tattoo parlour

He lifts up the sleeve of his khaki tee-shirt to show a vibrant bicep tattoo.

'It was a little koi fish. Really tiny. I would say to people "Here is my tattoo" and there was this dainty little thing. When I got sober I needed my own wildness so I got a bigger tattoo because I wanted to show them Im still a badass.

If you peer closely you can see a tiny fish in what appears to be green swirling waves.

Is he sure that around this teeny fish he didnt have some other girls name in it and had to have the waves scrolled over it so Sheryl  his wife of 26 years - wouldnt see?

No, she was with me. That was at the beginning of our courtship. I absolutely remember whats worth remembering.

Sheryl is his wife of 26 years, whom he met when she was a make-up artist working with him on the set of the film Bad Influence (the irony of the film title isnt lost on him).

They have two sons Matthew, 23, and John Owen, 21. Their long marriage is rare in Hollywood, (though not without its bumps; in 2008 a former nanny alleged an affair which the Lowes sued successfully over), so what does he put the longevity down to?

Well I can only speak from my experience and it comes down to  if you had one seat on a rocket going into space  would you want them to be on it with you? Most people dont pick the right one. Its really that simple. Of course you need to be attracted to them too. Its a lot of boxes to tick.'

Lowe with wife Sheryl after the 2016 Golden Globes

What else? 'As the years go on you also find out if you are simpatico on your beliefs or on child raising and so many other things. I didnt know how wed feel about raising kids together  how could you until you have them? - but we were always on the same page.

'Little things can be huge. I didnt want my kids to go to a school where you could skateboard in the hallways, wear shorts and call the teachers by their first names. I wanted uniforms.

Did he have to wear a uniform growing up?

I did not and they did skateboard in the hallways. I wanted old fashioned academics for my kids and they turned out well from it. They did well by the discipline. My kids get enough exposure to the arts at home. At school Im not interested in that for them.

Lowe himself attended the famously hip and unruly Santa Monica high school from the age of 12, where his classmates were Robert Downey Jr, Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen.

Charlies father Martin would feature prominently in Lowes remarkable comeback performance. Before then, from eighties until the end of the millennium, Lowe must have felt like he couldnt get arrested in the town that he once stood astride.

(The Christmas Shoes or Beach Girls anyone?) and then came The West Wing.

The landmark television series set in the White House starred Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlett and Lowe as his idealistic press secretary Sam Seaborn.

While Sheen was being offered his role, Lowe would have to audition.

'He was the only role I ever wanted to play, he says today. When I was told I would have to audition for it, I thought Great. I will kill the room.'

According to West Wing creator and Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, kill it he did; 'I was determined not to cast him. And then he read the first of three scenes hed prepared. I dont remember the second or the third because hed already gotten the part a page into the first, and I was thinking of stories for a character who has no idea he looks like Rob Lowe. 'Pay him whatever he wants,' I said.'

Lowe as Sam Seaborn in The West Wing

It was a career high for Lowe but something of a risk at a time when television was very much considered a secondary art form to film.

Way before The Sopranos, and Game Of Thrones made it the coveted role it is today.

It ran for seven hugely successful series between 1999-2006 and still tops the must-watch lists.

He reveals, one of the present Presidential hopefuls was a fan  no guesses for which - Ive always had a soft spot for the Clintons. They were so supportive of The West Wing. So will there be a revival?

Ive heard that people want it, but Ive not heard that its a viable thing. Until Aaron Sorkin decides to do it, we dont know. The West Wing was all about him.

The West Wing lead to other memorable roles including the multi award winning Liberace biopic where he starred opposite Michael Douglas as the bejewelled crooner, playing the superbly creepy and hilarious plastic surgeon Dr Jack Startz.

Lowe is almost unrecognisable, and stole the show wearing prosethetics that pulled his face so tight it looked like it might burst at any moment.

I take the opportunity to study his face upclose and its almost entirely unlined. No bags, no puffiness, no signs of botox. How is that possible I ask?

'Its a lot of taking care of myself and discipline.'

Discipline is his mantra. He is semi-evangelical about his sobriety. The days where he would turn up to screen tests with a six pack of Corona are long gone. Today he gets his thrills from surfing and motorbikes.

Rob Lowe and Marcia Gay Harden in TV medical drama Code Black

Im into adrenaline sports. I do a lot of surfing. Bigger and bigger waves each year. If I had it my way I would really train and do some legitimate big wave surfing. Sheryl doesnt like me doing it very much.'

Couldnt he just have a glass of wine?

Thats the one thing I cant do. The only thing I cant do.

I wonder if he thinks about re-stitching his own life, editing his past - what would he change?

Nothing and thats the best you could hope for.

Lunch is coming to a close and I order espresso. Lowe declines.

The heart-throb hell-raiser conquered his demons a long time ago, but there are limits to his piety.

I have about 12 a day. Coffee is the last man standing for me. Ive gotta have something right?
Poldark

Sunday, BBC1

Rating:

(loss of star due to child neglect issues)

Tutankhamun

Sunday, ITV

Rating:

Married At First Sight

Tuesday, Channel 4

Rating:

Some people, I know, are beginning to tire of Poldark with its perpetual narrative loop: mines, mines, debt, cliff, mines, love triangle, mines, love triangle, mines, cliff, debt, debt, cliffs but this has to be harsh.

Have we also not had: mines, debt, cliffs, mines, mines, cliffs, debt, TIN BATH, debt, cliffs, love triangle, mines?

And also: cliffs, cliffs, debt, mines, STOCKINGGATE, love triangle, love triangle, debt, mines, cliffs, SAVE ROSINA FROM DR CHOKE, mines, cliffs, cliffs?

Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark

Here are five further reasons to keep the faith:

There is the matter of Little Jeremy, who we must keep our eyes on, as no one else is. Little Jeremy was born. Then Little Jeremy wasnt seen, wasnt seen, wasnt seen and wasnt seen until he suddenly turned up as a massive toddler at the Christmas dining table. Then he wasnt seen, wasnt seen, wasnt seen and wasnt seen until this week  hello, Little Jeremy!  when he was instantly put down for a nap that lasted at least three days, and persisted despite all those soldiers raging though the house in search of his poor, sexy father, who had hidden behind a floorboard. He is a good napper, Little Jeremy. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Charles has a tricorn hat and a hobbyhorse and will be going to Oxford. Should Little Jeremy one day speak  weve yet to hear him speak, so he may be a giant mute  he will want to say to his father: Poor yet sexy didnt bring me a hobby-horse, did it? Im with George.

Every episode affords an opportunity to play Poldark Geography. To play Poldark Geography you need to estimate the distance between Nampara and Trenwith, or Truro and Bodmin, and every permutation thereof (ie Nampara to Bodmin etc). However, as the answer is the same in each instance  as near or as far as the plot demands  I accept that I may have oversold this as an entertainment. Alternatively, you may wish to play Poldark Time, with a prize for whomever can explain how the rarely glimpsed Little Jeremy seems to have advanced two years in the seven months it took Caroline to come of age. Perhaps he does truly suffer from some kind of gigantism, hence the fact he is mostly kept from view. Is it genetic? Would Baby Julia be 10ft 2ins by now?

Aunt Agatha has turned proper gangsta. Yay! l

In the space of a single day Dr Enys nearly eloped, prescribed for Hubert, saved Rosina from Dr Choke, confronted The Informant, survived a knife fight and warned his friends of an ambush. Todays junior doctors do they even know theyre born?

Therell be copper in that there mine. Daniel seed it, and I believe he seed it. Soon, itll be: mines, mines, debt, cliffs, love triangle, cliffs, COPPER, COPPER, COPPER, COPPER. Bad news for debt, but Im excited.

ITVs latest Sunday-evening costume drama, designed to fill the void left by Downton and then Victoria, is Tutankhamun, about the British archaeologist Howard Carter who discovered the boy kings tomb.

While the actual story has many exciting ingredients, you would not know it from this.

Carter (Max Irons), who has not been awarded a back story here, is presented as one of those archetypal Brit heroes whose obsessive doggedness will win out, and who shows kindness and loyalty to the lower classes.

He is quite Poldarkian in this respect but while the abundance of plot in Poldark doesnt give you time to stop and think, this plods so undramatically its as if time itself has stopped. Carter digs. Then stops digging. Finds a patron in Lord Carnarvon (Sam Neill). Draws maps in the sand. Is about to start digging again when the First World War breaks out.

Actually, that sounds more exciting than it was. As for the hot, fictionalised, lady American Egyptologist who wanted to eat Carters moustache off, I can only imagine the script meeting went like this. First person in script meeting: Its Sunday evening, we need a romance. Second person in script meeting: OK, shall I write in a hot, lady American Egyptologist who wants to eat Carters moustache off?. First person in script meeting: Yeah. Second person in script meeting: OK then.

I believe in the science, said Bryony, at the outset of Married At First Sight, which seemed somewhat foolish.

Didnt she see the first series, where the science of matching couples resulted in zero success? (Even Emma and James have divorced now; sad.)

This is a high-stakes game show, in effect, where bride and groom dont meet until their actual wedding day, and while it tent right, and it tent proper, as a dear old friend of ours would almost certainly say, it is riveting and also touching.
Im not as frisky as I used to be. At 83, Joan Bakewell claims to be slowing down, but youd be hard pushed to tell. She has already visited the gym this morning  I go twice a week at eight oclock  and is clearly relishing her latest job, hosting Landscape Artist of the Year alongside Frank Skinner.

Were the Ant and Dec of Sky Arts! she hoots. We get on enormously well, Frank teases me terrifically. Hes a real renaissance man on the quiet. Hes been to exhibitions in remote places Ive hardly ever heard of. Hes very, very funny, but he knows his stuff.

So, of course, does Bakewell, a towering figure in British cultural life for half a century.

At 83, Joan Bakewell claims to be slowing down, but youd be hard pushed to tell

The quintessential working class girl made good  her grandparents were factory workers from Manchester  she went from head girl at Stockport Grammar to Cambridge University and then to our television screens, presiding over Late Night Line Up, Heart of the Matter, Newsnight and numerous other programmes on TV and radio.

There has been controversy, too, not least over her affair with Harold Pinter, and its immediately apparent that age hasnt withered Bakewells ability to cause a stir.

Shes certainly on scorching form today. First in the firing line: the arbiters of politically correct speech.

Its very strange these days, she says in a conspiratorial whisper. Youve got be very, very careful about what you say, havent you? Everyone is fluent in how to insult people, but coming in the other direction are the children of hate crime legislation.

'The laws are there so people cant stir up racial hatred, but it has bred a whole series of attitudes that you mustnt offend by what you say. You mustnt offend the lesbian, gay and trans department; you mustnt offend the Jews  of course.

'You mustnt offend the fat, the thin, whatever. Hate crime has given way to offence crime and, frankly, you do have to offend people from time to time, and you should have the freedom to do it. She sighs. Its got a bit out of hand.

Such candour resulted in Twitterstorm recently, when she was quoted as saying that anorexia could be about narcissism.

That was a huge misunderstanding, she says. It was rather unpleasant. It doesnt take much to go wrong to find yourself being misunderstood substantially, and then it accelerates. Its Chinese Whispers.

Friend Frank Muir described Joan Bakewell as the 'thinking man's crumpet', a term Bakewell has always dismissed as 'silly'

A feminist of long standing, she is equally dismissive of mounting concerns that society has become hyper-sexualized.

Oh, I dont mind! All these girls who strip off and behave badly, I dont care! Feminism means doing what you want with your life, using your choices, and supporting other women.

Jenni Murray recently advocated showing pornography in schools, while Pamela Anderson called online porn corrosive. Bakewell isnt quite so alarmist.

I know pornography is available everywhere, giving rise to this whole industry of Brazilian waxes and I dont know what else. The boys watch pornography and they want the girls to be like that. She laughs. Its not part of my experience! Its different to when I was a young woman, but were on a very long journey.

She has taken her fair share of feminist flak through the years, notably over her affair with the late playwright Harold Pinter, conducted between 1962 and 1969.

At the time he was married to Vivien Merchant, who later died of alcoholism, and she was married to her first husband, Michael Bakewell. She addressed the affair in her autobiography, Centre of the Bed.

Well, all my private life, the juicy bits, were set out when Harold Pinters biography was published, she says. That was long gone and done and dusted before my book was published. It wasnt new stuff, and Id come to terms with it.

Did she wish it had been kept private? No, it was all in the past, I have no problems with it. There was a lot of hypocrisy. In terms of who you can frolic with and to what extent, some people are strict with themselves. Puritanical, if you like. Others are much more free and easy. Its become a matter of individual choice and judgement now, and I think thats good.

As for that thinking mans crumpet moniker, she remains unimpressed. Im a bit old for it now, for heavens sake! It was a silly remark by Frank Muir, who was a friend, and of course everybody passes it on. Dont you think people would be offended if it was tweeted now? Im sure there would be trouble.

Bakewell was given the dubious accolade following her success fronting arts and culture coverage on the BBC in the sixties.

She looks at the corporation today and sees it changing out of all recognition. Its about to go into a situation where it ceases to have its own programme-making department. Its completely strange.

'Look at Bake Off. They couldnt stop Love Productions taking it to C4. It leaves them helpless and very exposed.

She sighs. The old BBC is over, in the way that I knew it. Its a shrinking operation. I dont think it has lost its Reithian attitude to serious programming, but in terms of popular arts Sky is really roaring away.

Bakewell has described women over 55 as invisible on TV, and although Bakewells enduring popularity somewhat undermines her point, she stands by it.

Joan is clearly relishing her latest job, hosting Landscape Artist of the Year alongside Frank Skinner

After being made a Labour peer in 2010, becoming Baroness Bakewell of Stockport, she initiated a House of Lords debate on older women working in current affairs television.

We garnered lots of academic and statistical evidence that women have a much lower role in that area than they should. We did a report for the government, copies went to those who matter. [BBC controller] Tony Hall certainly got his! Weve made enormous strides, with Emily [Matlis] and Kirsty [Wark] and people like that, but in terms of female editors and foreign correspondents theres a backlog to make up.

Age is a central preoccupation these days. Her recent memoir, Stop the Clocks, has an elegiac tone.

Im in my 80s and life does look different. Mortality is probably in my mind all the time, subconsciously. Ive made plans. Power of attorney, all that, its taken care of, so now I can just get on with things. My life is my hobby, really. Im pretty active. I like living in central London. Retiring to a thatched cottage in the country sounds idyllic, but could be very isolating.

She tries to attend the House of Lords two or three times a week. We have our little triumphs. We stopped the governments welfare bill, which I was very pleased about. Im very interested that the Labour project has moved to the left. I go along with that. I think the centre got a bit stodgy, a bit constipated and inert.

'Everybody seemed to be agreeing. Corbyn made a much better conference speech this year than he did the previous year. Much transformed, I thought.

She met Tony Blair a few times, and knew his wife, Cherie.

I marched against the Iraq war and I didnt vote Labour because of it, she says. I thought it was a mistake all along. I asked Tony Blair, with his religious outlook, why he didnt heed the pleas of the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury that he wouldnt go into the Iraq war? I found his answer unsatisfactory: that you have to judge it for yourself as Prime Minister and are answerable to your own conscience.

'Not a Catholic point of view at all! A highly Protestant point of view, actually. But thats for him to sort out. On the other hand, the Northern Ireland settlement was an amazing achievement, so Im less judgemental than others.

Surveying her career, Bakewell says there was never a master plan.

Ive discovered I share this with David Attenborough, she says. We just wanted to be allowed to make programmes. I turn down stuff I dont fancy, perhaps rather silly stuff. You just have to follow your own star.

Ask which star shell follow next and she laughs. Am I allowed a bit of a rest? I say to myself, Come on, you could actually read a book instead of writing one, but somewhere lurking at the back of my mind is still that seed of grammar school girl anxiety: Have I done my homework? I do like to get my homework done.
"Modi makes summitry look easy, writes former Foreign Secretary MK Rasgotra in his recent book, A Life in Diplomacy.

Those who have followed the eighth BRICS summit and first BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit in Goa recently, will agree with him.

Outreach

Prime Minister Narendra Modi slipped in the role of the chairman of BRICS effortlessly, oozing with confidence, clarity and robustness.

Heads of State of the BRICS nations: Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and South African President Jacob ZumaZuma

Though there has been criticism from some quarters, saying Modi didnt have his way at the summit and that China, with Russias support, stole the thunder, the fact is that the PM displayed tremendous stamina and mental alertness to conduct bilateral meetings with leaders of all the BRICS and BIMSTEC members.

In a smart move, he first got Russian President Vladimir Putin on board, ironing out the wrinkles generated by the much-hyped Moscow-Islamabad joint military exercise in Pakistan.

The key takeaway of the Goa meet was new momentum for India-Russia ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin (left)

With defence deals worth $10.5 billion and four big contracts in the field of oil and gas in his kitty, the Russian President not just strongly condemned the Uri attack, but also supported Indias right to take action against terrorists.

While Putins unsparing flogging of Islamabad has many takers, Pakistans all-weather friend, China, wasnt prepared to give up on it.

Modis strong allusions to Pakistan met the unshaken Chinese wall. The joint statement is conspicuously silent on the Uri attack and Pakistans role in cross-border terrorism, which Modi stressed also affected economic development of the region.

The joint statement talks of unprecedented global threat to international peace and security posed by ISIS and underlines the need of comprehensive approach in fighting terrorism and increasing the effectiveness of the UN counter-terrorism framework and expediting adoption of CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism).

The message is clear: terrorism faced by India is primarily a bilateral issue, while the threat posed by ISIS is a global phenomenon.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin for a bilateral meeting before the start of the BRICS summit

This clearly reflects the Chinese narrative to shield Pakistan. While Chinese President Xi Jinping saw prospects in the railway sector, industrial parks and further investment to reduce Sino-Indian trade imbalance, he didnt concede anything on Indias bid for the NSG membership, listing of Masood Azhar on the UN terrorists list, or even Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Modi will have to come up with an out-of-the-box approach to scale the great Chinese wall.

Statement

Given Indias growing closeness to the US and Japan, the India-China relationship might not witness any spring in foreseeable future.

The joint statement - Successfully combating terrorism requires a holistic approach. All counter-terrorism measures should uphold international law and respect human rights - appears a veiled criticism of the American and Indian approach in fighting terrorism.

The joint statement covers almost everything under the sun - from money laundering, cyber crime and climate change to HIV, gender equality and comprehensive UN reforms.

It favours an Afghanistan government-led endeavour at fighting terrorism and seeking national reconciliation.

In Syria it talks of comprehensive and peaceful resolution of the conflict taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, through inclusive national dialogue and a Syrian-led political process based on Geneva Communique of 30 June 2012.

Its closer to the Russian and Chinese stand than the US and the EU one, which has been striving for an early Assad exit for long.

It supports the WTO as the promoter and arbitrator of free global trade with its decisions based on consensus and reaffirm BRICSs commitment for a strong, quota-based and adequately-resourced IMF.

However, in the prevailing economic realities, with all the members - China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa - facing economic downturns in their countries, any major restructuring of the World Bank or the IMF looks unlikely.

Potential

However, the New Development Bank, which hopes to disburse over $1 billion next year in loans, can play a useful role in supporting projects of infrastructure and connectivity in BIMSTEC and sustainable development in Africa.

The idea of setting up a BRICS Credit Rating Agency should be lauded. Holding the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit was a brilliant idea.

It has potential to broaden Indias economic and political clout, blunt Chinas domination, further isolate Pakistan, strengthen Indias Look East policy, speed up connectivity and growth in Indias Northeast, and give the 11-member group a greater say in establishing an equitable, rule-based multi-polar global order.

The jury may still be out on how much India has got from the summit, but theres no denying that Modi has taken Indias diplomacy to an altogether different level.

He doesnt shy away from articulating the countrys concerns at summits despite opposition from major players.

At Goa, Modi has emerged as a global leader with vision and ideas that are capable of shaping global discourse.
India could face an epidemic not just from bird flu, but from various other avian diseases like the Newcastle Virus, Rickettsial-pox and Japanese encephalitis, in the years to come.

Despite alerts by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Central government has not undertaken any broad survey/monitoring of wild migratory birds arriving in India every year, especially during winters.

This is despite the availability of technology and methods like metal ringing, colour banding and satellite tracking-to track the birds.

Scientists fear that in view of climate change and pathogens crossing over continents, many diseases that dont infect humans may mutate into a form that spreads from human to human

The Indian subcontinent plays host to millions of migratory birds in various seasons.

Siberian Cranes, Greater Flamingoes, Bar-headed geese, Eurasion Wigeons, etc., fly down from colder climes in Europe, Russia and China.

They make the many wetlands and sanctuaries of India such as UPs Sur Sarovar, Himachals Pong Dam and Gujarats Kutch their home.

These beautiful creatures, may harbour many diseases. Scientists say that in view of climate change and pathogens crossing over continents, movement of wild birds must be tracked.

While viruses like H5N1 or bird flu rarely infect humans, globally, public health officials are worried that they could mutate into a form that spreads from human to human.

Besides avian flu, wild birds also carry other diseases. Therefore, we need constant monitoring of their diseases, movements and populations, Dr Asad Rahmani, emeritus scientist, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), told Mail Today.

I have suggested to the government of India through the Ministry of Environment and Forests many times that we need long-term bird migration studies through ringing, colour banding and satellite tracking while taking blood samples for testing. Unfortunately, it has not been taken seriously, Dr Rahmani said.

Rahmani illustrated his point by citing the example of Britain.

In the United Kingdom, they have ringed nearly one crore birds in the last 100 years. That is why they have such wonderful data on movement of each species.

In our country, ringing/banding (and any wildlife study) is not considered important. We always have panic reactions when avian flu breaks out, with the government becoming active for a few weeks/months and then going back to its usual slumber, he said.

What we need is a concrete programmer lasting for a decade or two, to monitoring wild birds' movement in India, just like Project Tiger, he advised.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) should also assist, he said.

Dr S Balachandran, Deputy Director, BNHS, who has conducted such studies in Odishas Chilika Lake, West Bengal, Kerala, and Manipur, said: Initially, a study was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

One was commissioned by the World Health Organisation after the massive Maharashtra (Navapur) H5N1 breakout in the year 2006. However, the MoEF has not proactively initiated any such research.

"Satellite tracking, which involves planting a small device on the birds body, is expensive, but it is very useful, said Dr Balachandran.

Dr Himmat Singh, senior scientist at the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), Dwarka, said: In todays day and age, surveillance is very important. We are battling new vector-borne diseases like Zika virus and migratory birds fly for over 5,000 km.

A strain of bird flu has been reported, but government has assured of taking adequate steps

They are great carriers of such pathogens without showing any symptoms. But poultry birds die within hours of contracting such viruses, and that is when we come to know.

However, if their blood samples are checked from time to time, antibodies can be found and recorded for further research and action, he said.

The Newcastle Disease, which was termed a mystery virus, led to the culling of over 15,000 poultry birds in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh in 2015.

In 1997, the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain (HPAI) H5N1 was first discovered in humans in Hong Kong.

At least 336 of those infected worldwide have died so far.

Bird death toll now 24, but no risk to humans

By Shashank Shekhar

The Delhi government has ruled out any threat to human beings from avian flu, saying that the virus strain is less infective this time, even as six ducks have reportedly died in the Capital on Friday, taking the total death count to 24.

The H5N8 virus were found in the samples of three of eight birds that had died recently in the Delhi zoo, and not the H5N1 virus, which is more infective and dangerous and may affect humans, said rural development Minister Gopal Rai, who along with a team of officials, visited the Ghazipur poultry market to take stock of the situation.

However, he said that if the deaths of birds continue for next few days, then a mass culling drive may be required.

AAP minister Gopal Rai visited the Ghazipur poultry market along with a team of officials to take stock of the situation

Culling is a part of guidelines, but that will be only decided after further reports which have been sent to Bhopal. If the problem increases that the extreme step will be taken, Rai said.

The central laboratory in Bhopal has confirmed that the virus strain found in the initial sample of birds was H5N8, which does not pose as much of a risk to humans.

A sample of eight birds was first sent to the regional laboratory at Jalandhar and later to Bhopal.

On Thursday, the government had taken 50 samples from birds in the zoo, sanctuaries and poultry markets in the city and sent them for analysis.

The Delhi zoo and the Deer Park will remain shut until normalcy returns, officials said.

The minister also said that all the zoo staffs will be kept under observation.

Mail Today had earlier reported that the zoo officials were negligent in handling dead birds, making them vulnerable to the virus.

We have set-up a medical center at the Delhi zoo, and all the staff are being medicated. Along with the birds, our teams are also observing them regularly at the medical center, Rai said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has also set up a helpline number 011-23890318 for citizens to inform the government about suspicious bird deaths.

The helpline has already received over a hundred calls, but most of them were made in panic.

According to the helpline operators, callers reported death of stray animals or informed about skeletons of birds that may have died several days ago.

Rai also confirmed that no indication of avian virus infection had been found in the 2.2 lakh chickens that arrived in the market since morning.

However, as a precautionary measure, trucks entering the markets in the city will have to carry medical certificates assuring the fitness of their poultry from October 22 onwards.

A 15-member monitoring panel has been formed which will ensure that the guidelines are followed.

Bullying MLAs are told to clean up their areas

Pulling up the Delhi government over the outbreak of bird flu, the Supreme Court today asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to work more towards cleaning up the national capital instead of demanding salary hikes.

Do your MLAs have no responsibility? Every part of Delhi is covered by your MLAs, what are they doing? Your MLAs, instead of increasing their salaries, should start segregating garbage. The issue of segregation of solid waste is alarming, the apex court said.

An alarming situation prevails in Delhi as the garbage mounds near three landfill sites here are like Qutub Minar, the Supreme Court said, as it rapped the Delhi government for not doing enough to dispose of the huge quantity of waste.

The apex court said garbage mounds are becoming as tall as Qutub Minar and rapped the AAP govt for not doing enough

It also asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators to create awareness about garbage disposal among the residents in various colonies.

A bench consisting of Justices M B Lokur and Adarsh Kumar Goel said:Garbage mounds near landfill sites are above 45 m. These are almost look like Qutub Minar. Height of Qutub Minar is 73 metres and these mounds are more than half the size.

Its an alarming situation. Who is going to deal with it? You (government) have to deal with the problem.

The bench asked Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra that the AAP had MLAs across Delhi who could create awareness among the people about garbage disposal.

Mehra said the MLAs have to look after several other responsibilities including construction of drains, sewers and roads in their constituencies.

He also contended that garbage collection and disposal was the work of local bodies instead of lawmakers and asking them to spread awareness was too much.
The much-criticised flexi fare scheme introduced in premium trains to boost Railways revenue has done just the opposite.

Despite surge pricing in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express trains during the festive season, Railways revenue collection in the first half of October has declined by Rs 232 crores as compared to the previous year.

The trend is likely to continue during the winter vacations - Christmas and New Year festive season - as a majority of seat booking in Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains are vacant for the months of December and January.

Despite surge pricing in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express trains during the festive season, the revenue downtrend is likely to continue during the winter vacations as a majority of seats are vacant in December and January

These include trains to destinations like Goa, Kerala, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Lucknow and Chennai, among others.

A senior railway ministry official said occupancy in these trains has been hit by 15 to 20 per cent after flexi fare scheme was introduced.

The ministry was expecting a significant rise in revenue collection but the result has been quite disappointing.

The flexi fare scheme has backfired. Occupancy in trains has gone down substantially as passengers are getting flight tickets at cheaper rates. The railway ministry will review the scheme only after three months, said the official.

A number of trains like Mumbai Rajdhani, August Kranti Rajdhani, Sealdah Rajdhani and Trivandrum Rajdhani have a large number of vacant seats during mid-December.

Normally these trains would have a long wait list, but a slump is seen, as major domestic airline companies have introduced cheaper deals on their tickets to popular holiday destinations like Goa, Kochi and Mumbai, at prices as low as Rs 3,000.

Airline companies have made a significant dent into railways passenger share

Similarly, Shatabdi trains to Amritsar, Lucknow and Kanpur have shown low occupancy during this period.

According to data, railways collected Rs 4,072 crore from October 1 to 10 this year which declined by Rs 232 crore in 2015-16.

Last year, railways revenue during this period was Rs 4,304 crore.

Sources said the ministry was expecting to generate Rs 1,000 crore from surge pricing in one year of which Rs 200 crore was expected in the month of October alone.

However, the airline companies have made a significant dent into railways passenger share.

A comprehensive data also shows that railways income from all sources has reduced by Rs 3,854 crore so far this financial year

The Indian Railways runs around 12,000 trains with 22 million passengers and operates 8,000 trains to ferry around 3 million tonnes of freight per day.

A comprehensive data also shows that railways income from all sources has reduced by Rs 3,854 crore so far this financial year.

This includes income from freight which is a major source of railways revenue.

During the first six months of 2015-16, the railways had collected Rs 84,747 crore, but this year the income has reduced to Rs 80,893 crore during the same period.

Officials said the decline in revenue collection is a cause of worry for the railway ministry as it comes despite introducing alternative measures to augment revenue collection.

While the Railways has planned large scale commercial exploitation of its unused properties, it has also created a directorate of non-fare revenue.

The mandate of the directorate is to explore new ways of generating money, mainly by harnessing its advertisement potential, without interfering with the passenger fares.

However, a major loss in freight revenue forced the railways to introduce surge pricing in premium trains from September 9 this year.

Under the surge pricing scheme, fares will increase with every 10 per cent of the tickets sold in Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains.

It will translate into a fare hike of up to 50 per cent in such premium trains and may fetch Indian Railways Rs 1,000 crore every year.

The flexi-fare system is applicable in AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, and AC chair car in the three trains, besides sleeper class in Duronto express trains.

First AC and Executive Class have been kept out of the new system because of its prevailing high tariffs.

Close on the heels of surge pricing, luxury trains like Humsafar and Tejas Express trains, likely to be launched in a couple of months, will have fares that nearly 20 per cent higher than the normal Mail and Express trains.
Impostors allegedly involved in Madhya Pradeshs Vyapam test-rigging scam had earlier tried their luck in Uttar Pradesh state entrance exams, reveals the probe documents accessed by Mail Today.

The scandal, which came to light when the Indore Polices crime branch registered an FIR against 20 impersonators appearing in the state pre-medical exam in 2013, is still in progress at the all-India level through members of the same gang following a similar modus operandi.

Mail Today has accessed documents which shows impersonators or scorers who were identified and booked by the Madhya Pradesh special task force in 2013, went ahead and appeared in the 2014s All India Pre-Medical Test.

Mail Today has accessed documents which shows impersonators who were identified and booked by the Madhya Pradesh special task force in 2013, appeared in 2014's All India Pre-Medical Test (Picture for representation only)

The same people had already appeared and cleared the Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre Medical Test in 2010.

The CBI took over the examination scam probe after more than 40 accused, beneficiaries, whistle blowers and witnesses died mysteriously, with many accused of a systematic attempt to scuttle the inquiry that has singed top bureaucrats and politicians.

At least 2,800 people have been arrested and hundreds are wanted in the scandal with multiple rackets helping candidates manoeuvre the examinations for money, including employing imposters to write test papers, manipulating seating arrangements as well as supplying forged answer sheets.

The Madhya Pradesh Professional Education Board, widely known by its Hindi acronym, Vyapam, had issued an order on October 9, 2013 barring 345 such medical aspirants who had manipulated the admission process with the help of scorers and impersonators.

The decision was taken after a five-member committee verified the claims made by the MP Special Task Force.

The task force too had identified these scorers and registered a case against them.

From this list of 345 candidates whose admissions were cancelled, Mail Today has identified three who appeared in the All India Pre Medical Test 2014.

One of them has been identified as Krishna Kumar Yadav, who appeared in the AIPMT under the roll number 84531225 and had cleared the exam by obtaining 345 marks.

The cut-off for the OBC category in the AIPMT 2014 was 323. Surprisingly, Yadav had appeared in the MPPMT exam under the unreserved category, while in the AIPMT he chose the OBC category.

Another scorer identified as Sarvesh, whose name figures in the list of candidates whose admission through the MPPMT 2013 was cancelled, also appeared and cleared the AIPMT 2014 exam under the unreserved category.

Vijay Kumar Singh is the third such candidate whose admission was cancelled in MP and despite being declared a scorer he went on to appear and clear the AIPMT 2014 under the OBC category.

The three appeared in the AIPMT 2014 after the MP STF had identified them as impersonators and at a time when the Vyapam scam was still being investigated.

We had identified them through the pictures that they had put on their admit cards but we had no idea about where they had come from, a senior STF officer involved with the investigation told Mail Today on condition of anonymity.
Members of a tottering Congress are seeking a Priyanka push for the party to regain some poise ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections after its former state chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi joined the BJP on Thursday.

However, that relief may not come as the top brass appears are keen to wait and watch, even as party vice-president Rahul Gandhis efforts to woo voters in the backwoods have not yielded the desired results.

Within hours of Joshis move, top party leaders from the state were in a huddle at Congress UP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azads office in Parliament.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi joined the BJP in presence of party chief Amit Shah in New Delhi

This was part of a string of meetings that have been held without much outcome.

In the past few weeks, the Congresss UP campaign seems to have hit a roadblock.

With the entry of strategist Prashant Kishor, the stage was set to reclaim some of its lost glory after a slew of electoral defeats since the humiliating loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The buzz was that Priyanka Gandhi would be brought in as party general secretary and play a much awaited role in Uttar Pradesh, campaigning the length and breadth of the state.

But the party seems to be shifting gears and has slowed down on the Priyanka factor.

If we rewind the tape a bit, it was on September 6 that Rahul Gandhi launched his Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, embarking on the longest campaign road trip by a Congress leader in recent times.

The Deoria se Dilli journey was tailored to pep up the partys pro-farmer image.

Congress leaders in UP are desperately looking at Priyanka Gandhi to led the election campaigns

Just when the Congress thought the going was good and the Grand Old Party had made a head start that the big announcement came - the armys surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in PoK that completely shook up the political landscape.

Behind closed doors, Congress leaders confess that the BJP has been able to do what it has always done best: its own publicity and propaganda.

Despite the Congress launching a barrage of sharp attacks against the chest thumping and browbeating by enthusiastic ministers and BJP leaders, the ruling party has managed to drive home its point.

Rahul Gandhi didnt help matters. Humare jawan hain jinho ne khoon diya hai, jinho ne surgical strike kiya, unke khoon ke peeche aap (PM) chhupe huye ho. Unki (jawans) aap (PM) dalali kar rahe ho (Our jawans sacrificed their lives and did surgical strikes. You are hiding behind them, cashing in on their blood), said Rahul Gandhi.

The shifting political landscape has upset the Congresss UP plans. Earlier there were indications that Priyanka Gandhi would be brought into the battleground as early as October this year.

After Rahuls completion of the Kisan Yatra, when a meeting was held in the war room at his 12 Tughlak Lane residence to discuss the future course of action in UP, there was no word on Priyanka.

Sources say with the BJP creating hype over the surgical strikes and Rahuls remarks, now the situation is not conducive for her entry.
Ruffling collars: The self-style 'Lady Judge'

The Institute of Director's Regency-style HQ is a starchy, solemn sort of place.

All sweeping staircases and gilt-edged portraits, it is sandwiched neatly among the private clubs of Pall Mall, where elderly gents sip tepid pink gins and grumble about the bygone days of empire.

So imagine the panicked snorts and frantic paper shuffling when kitten-heeled Barbara Judge, 69, came click-clacking across the stuffy institute's marble hallway for the first time last year.

The alabaster skin, the immaculate platinum blonde bun, those piercing peepers  her presence alone looks as though it could send the mercury plummeting several notches.

And that quirky style. All those ruffle-necked tunic shirts and brass-buttoned blazers  she's part sexy fraulein, part sniffy dressage mistress. All that's absent is a riding crop clasped in her mitt.

A pity. Plenty of naughty executives out there who could use a good thrashing.

Barbara  or Lady Judge as she styles herself  is the 112-year-old business body's first female chairman, and an American one to boot.

She caused uproar earlier this month by suggesting new mothers risked their careers by taking long periods of maternity leave.

'I know it's counter-cultural but I think long maternity breaks are bad for women,' she said in a speech to the Wealth Management Association's Women In Wealth Forum.

Ballbreaker? Assertive, certainly. Ice maiden? Hmmm, perhaps. Though many who meet her say she's actually warmer than her frosty, wraithlike exterior suggests.

But the extraordinary thing about New York-born Lady Judge is not her outspoken remarks or even her eccentric appearance, but rather how she came to now be widely known as 'London's best connected woman'.

Flick over to her Who's Who entry and it's more impressive than that of a retired field marshal, listing numerous high-flying jobs, charity posts and more non-exec appointments than a spivvy ex-Cabinet minister on the make.

So who is this networker par excellence, and how has a former litigator from a modest village on Long Island found herself at the very pinnacle of the City establishment?

Her mentor was not her entrepreneur father but her mother Marcia, a university dean, who worked right up until she was 87. To this day, spry Babs maintains a burning wish to die working at a desk.

It was her mother who put paid to Judge's early ambitions to be on the stage, redirecting her towards law. 'If you want to act,' she advised, 'go act in front of a jury.'

After working in corporate law in New York for a number of years, she was summoned to President Carter's White House to become the youngest ever commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission  an event she says 'changed my life'.

Following her marriage to American lawyer Allen Thomas, she moved to Hong Kong in the early 1980s, landing a senior post at the British merchant bank Samuel Montagu as its first female director (lots of firsts on Judge's CV). She headed for London in 1994 in order to send her son Lloyd to Eton, and worked for numerous private equity firms.

Barbara Judge is the IoD's first female chairman, and an American one to boot

Having split with Thomas, she married again in 2002 to City grandee and multi-millionaire Conservative Party donor Sir Paul Judge.

Since then, Lady Judge has been spreading her patronage like an upwardly mobile Renaissance-era cardinal.

She's been chairman of the Pension Protection Fund, deputy chairman of Friends Provident and of the corporate governance watchdog the Financial Reporting Council, governor of the School of Oriental and African Studies and a trustee of the Royal Academy and the Wallace Collection. The list of plum appointments is truly exhausting.

Eyebrows were raised in 2004 when she landed a 60,000 job working two days a week as head of UK Atomic Energy Authority, despite no previous experience in the sector.

There were catty accusations she'd secured the post thank to a pal on the selection panel. The lecherous soaks at Private Eye dubbed her 'The Atomic Kitten'.

Away from the treadmill of work, she and her husband live in a splendid Thames-side flat big enough to entertain 300 guests at a time.

They also own a home in the South of France. Peculiarly for someone so trim, Judge is a dedicated gourmand, writing restaurant reviews for wealth bible Forbes, though she admits she fastidiously weighs herself day and night to maintain her wafer-thin physique.

Last month, the IoD's high-profile director-general, Simon Walker, departed, replaced by construction boss Stephen Martin. Thus far, we're yet to hear a peep out of the wonkish young shaver. Significant? Perhaps.
The 38billion takeover of Reynolds by British American Tobacco would generate a fees bonanza in the City and create a tobacco giant that makes three-quarters of a trillion cigarettes a year.

London-based BAT already owns 42.2 per cent of its US rival and is now planning to buy the remaining 57.8 per cent  creating one of the world's biggest tobacco companies.

Reynolds is understood to have told BAT it is open to a deal but may seek a higher price.

London-based BAT already owns 42.2 per cent of US rival Reynolds and is now planning to buy up the remaining 57.8 per cent

It raises the prospect of BAT being forced to come back with billions of pounds more if it wants to seal a deal that would see its brands including Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Rothmans come under the same roof as Camel and Newport.

Both companies manufacture Pall Mall cigarettes, with Reynolds selling them in the US and BAT in the rest of the world.

Glamorous ex-army captain battling Brazilian for top job The proposed takeover of US cigarette maker Reynolds by British American Tobacco will kick-start a power struggle at the top of the enlarged company. Nicandro Durante, who has been chief executive of BAT since 2011 and earned 4.5million last year, is well-regarded in the City and is likely to keep the top job having orchestrated the deal. But the 60-year-old Brazilian will face competition from 45-year-old American Debra Crew (pictured), who is president and chief operating officer at Reynolds but will replace Susan Cameron at the company's helm next year. Crew  who was named in the Fortune list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2014 and 2015  served in the US Army from 1993 to 1997 in military intelligence and rose to the rank of captain. She started her business career at Kraft and held senior management positions at Pepsi and Mars before joining Reynolds in 2014.

BAT has a 5 per cent share of the US market but accounts for more than half of all cigarettes sold in Latin America.

Sources said that the takeover would 'put the American back in British American Tobacco' and help it challenge Marlboro maker Philip Morris.

BAT sold 663billion cigarettes last year while Reynolds sold 83billion  meaning the combined group would sell 746billion a year or 2billion a day and 23,655 a second.

If a deal is struck it would be the biggest overseas buyout by a British company since Royal Bank of Scotland's disastrous takeover of ABN Amro and would trigger a windfall in fees, likely to be more than 100million, for advisers including Deutsche Bank and UBS.

It would also be the latest big deal in the 'sin' sector following the 79billion merger between brewers SAB Miller and AB InBev and a wave of consolidation in the gambling industry.

BAT shares fell 2.9 per cent, or 137p, to 4666p in London, while Reynolds shares jumped 15 per cent in New York. BAT's Brazilian chief executive Nicandro Durante said that a tie-up would boost both companies' presence in the fast-growing vaping market.

The industry has been grappling with widespread anti-smoking campaigns, which have forced companies such as BAT and Reynolds to diversify into nicotine replacements and e-cigarettes to meet consumer health concerns.

Durante said: 'We have been a shareholder in Reynolds since its creation in 2004 and have benefited from its growth in the US market.

The proposed merger of our two great companies is the logical progression in our relationship and offers all shareholders a stake in a stronger, truly global company.

'BAT is proud of its track record of consistent delivery for shareholders, and this transaction would further strengthen that delivery in the future.'

BAT's 38.3billion offer includes 22billion of BAT shares and 16.3billion of cash.

The deal has yet to be approved by the Reynolds board. If it gets the green light it will then be put to both BAT and Reynolds shareholders.

The proposed takeover would help BAT gain a further foothold in the US and give the new company a significant presence in high-growth markets including South America, the Middle East and Africa.

Owen Bennett, an equity analyst at Jefferies International, said the US is 'one of the most attractive profit pools in the world' and currently accounts for 45 per cent of global vapour cigarette sales.
SHELL OUT Shell is selling another 843.5million of assets in the latest attempt to trim its global portfolio by 25billion.

The oil and gas giant said it would sell 206,000 acres of land in western Canada to Calgary-based rival Tourmaline Oil Corp.

It is part of a global bid to reduce its debt pile after buying BG Group earlier this year in a 35billion deal. Shares fell 0.3 per cent, or 6p, to 2168.5p.

BID BLOCK Activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors is to block a bid for one of its investments.

Engineering group GE Germany Holdings is understood to have made a tender for outstanding shares in SLM Solutions Group.

But Elliott, which has a 20 per cent stake in SLM, said it intends to reject the offer for the 3D metal-printing company, adding that it would not be in the best interests of SLM shareholders.

PETROFAC CHIEF Petrofac has appointed a new finance chief after the exit of Tim Weller.

Alistair Cochran has joined the oil and gas giant as chief financial officer and executive director after leaving his post at BG Group, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions. BG Group was bought by rival Shell in February last year for 35billion.

PRICE RULING Plans to set a minimum price for alcohol in Scotland have been backed in court.

The Edinburgh Court of Session ruled against a challenge by the Scotch whisky industry, which claimed a minimum price rule breached EU law.

A price of 50p per unit of alcohol will be set under the plans, taking a bottle of spirits to at least 14.

MICROSOFT RECORD Shares in Microsoft reached a record high yesterday, climbing above the peak set during the dotcom boom 17 years ago.

The stock traded at $60.45 just after the market opened in the wake of a positive earnings report, surging 5.6 per cent and eclipsing its previous high of $59.97.

JOB CUTS Train and plane maker Bombardier is axing 7,500 jobs worldwide. Two-thirds will be in its rail division and the rest in aerospace.

About 2,000 of the cuts will be in the firm's home country of Canada.
Stephen Potter is being pursued in Brazil over his involvement in the Samarco tragedy

A British mining boss is among those facing homicide charges over the deaths of 19 people in a Brazilian dam disaster.

Stephen Potter is being pursued by the nation's prosecutors over his involvement in the Samarco tragedy last year.

Potter, who works at Brazilian mining giant Vale, is among 21 bosses who have been charged with homicide for persistently ignoring warnings about the Fundao dam at an iron mine.

It subsequently collapsed in November in what is considered to be the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history.

Bystanders described the wall of concrete appearing to ripple like waves before it crumbled away.

A tidal surge of mud and mining waste crashed down, wiping out nearby communities and leading to the death of 14 miners and five villagers.

Investigators have since claimed bosses were told of safety failings at the dam. They also said there was no alarm system to warn villagers.

Officials from BHP Billiton, Vale and their joint venture Samarco have rejected the charges and said they will defend their employees.

Tragedy: The Fundao dam at an iron mine collapsed in November in what is considered to be the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history

Potter, who attended the private Bedford Modern School before graduating from Imperial College in 1993, is director of global strategy at Vale.

He started his career at miner Rio Tinto before joining his current employer in 2009 and later serving as vice-chairman on the board of Samarco.
A mother-of-two pretended she had cancer to host charity coffee mornings and kept 700 in donations from other parents.

Aimee Critchley, 35, from Painswick in Gloucestershire, appealed to parents at her daughter's pre-school to donate to Macmillan events run by her.

She told the mothers and fathers that she had cancer in an effort to cash-in on their sympathy, but hardly any of the kind donations were handed over, Gloucester crown court heard.

Critchley, who held two coffee mornings and an evening fundraiser, admitted three charges of fraud - but avoided jail.

Aimee Critchley admitted organising fraudulent coffee mornings and an evening event, which she claimed were in aid of Macmillan Cancer

She was given an 18-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement of 20 hours.

Prosecutor Janine Wood told the judge, Recorder Jason Taylor, that one of Mrs Critchley's children had attended a pre-school in Randwick, near Stroud.

She said: 'She got to know other parents there and it became known that she had cancer.

'In September 2014, she approached other parents and asked if she could hold a coffee morning for the Macmillan cancer charity when the pre-school premises were not in use.

'They agreed and the event was publicised so that people who could not attend could make donations. Altogether, 176 was raised but it was never forwarded to the charity.

'Then in June 2015, she organized a fundraising evening at her own home, purportedly for the same charity, when her children collected money in a bucket. This raised a total of about 400.

'She then set up another coffee morning in September 2015, but failed to turn up herself. Others did go and 120 was raised for Macmillan. This money was handed to her in the belief that it would be paid to the charity but it was not.'

Miss Wood said 706 was raised at the events in total and this was in effect stolen from the people who made donations.

In victim statements, parents said they felt misled and betrayed, upset and angry.

One said her whole four-year friendship with Critchley had been based on a lie and she was 'completely stressed by the whole mess.'

When Macmillan was contacted, police were told that only two payments had ever been made, and these amounted to 42.50.

Defending, Clare Buckley told the court that at first glance the fraud offences seemed to be very mean.

She explained: 'But at the time, she was suffering from significant mental health and alcohol abuse difficulties, which are outlined in the probation report.

'Before that time, she had been leading a normal family life, but the marriage broke down and was left to bring up a toddler and a baby on her own.

'She was in extremely lonely and difficult circumstances and telling people she had cancer was a cry for help.

'She very, very much regrets her behaviour and has now lost all her friends. Her life has changed considerably. All the money was paid back before she was charged.'

Passing sentence, Recorder Taylor said Critchley's theft of more than 700 was mean. 'You took advantage of people's kindness and generosity,' he went on.

'But there is considerable mitigation on your behalf. You have a long history of mental health difficulties and you are remorseful.
The pastor of a small church where two brothers were beaten for hours during a counseling session that she called pleaded guilty on Friday to manslaughter and assault.

Three other church members admitted to less serious charges for their roles in the all-night beatings that killed Lucas Leonard, 19, and injured Christopher Leonard, 17, last October.

Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her brother Joseph Irwin and mother and son church members Linda Morey and David Morey were the last of nine people charged to be convicted in the attack.

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Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin is escorted into the courtroom on Friday at Oneida County Courthouse in Utica, N.Y. Irwin pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault

Word of Life Christian Church members Linda Morey, right, her son David Morey, center, and Joseph Irwin are escorted into the courtroom. They admitted to less serious charges for their roles in the all-night beatings that killed Lucas and Christopher Leonard last October

Investigators said the attack took place after the brothers discussed leaving the congregation.

Joseph Irwin and the Moreys each pleaded guilty to assault.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara called the case 'a terrible tragedy.'

'I can only hope that Luke can rest in peace, Chris can get on with his life,' McNamara said.

The victims' parents and half-sister and the pastor's mother and a second brother were among those charged after members of the secretive church took the bloodied body of Lucas Leonard to a hospital, where doctors initially thought he had been shot.

Lucas Leonard, 19, (left) was killed and Christopher Leonard, 17, was injured in the attack

A file photo shows a sign hanging on a utility pole outside the Word of Life Christian Church on in 2015

Authorities later found his badly injured brother still inside the converted New Hartford school building that housed the church and living space for its leaders.

Christopher Leonard testified at an earlier hearing that Tiffanie Irwin asked his family and some others to stay behind for a meeting after an eight-hour Sunday service last October.

Over the next 14 hours, he said, he and his brother were pummeled in their torsos and genitals with an electrical cord.

McNamara has said the brothers were ordered during the beating to repent for a variety of sins, including using a voodoo doll.

While Tiffanie Irwin (left) pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault, Joseph Irwin and the Moreys each pleaded guilty to assault

David Morey, right, and Joseph Irwin are pictured in court on Friday

Police have said there was no evidence to support a claim by their half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, that they had molested her children.

Ferguson was convicted of manslaughter and assault after a non-jury trial in July.

The only defendant to decline a plea deal, she was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison.

The victims' parents, Deborah and Bruce Leonard, pleaded guilty to assault.

The church's matriarch, Traci Irwin, and her son Daniel Irwin, a deacon, admitted to counts of unlawful imprisonment.

Sentencings are scheduled for December and January.
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President Barack Obama said he is sad that one of his and the first lady's favorite traditions, musical night at the White House, ended on Friday.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, have reserved certain evenings over the past eight years to celebrate music that has helped shape America.

They held big blowout concerts spotlighting classic, country, blues, Broadway, gospel, Motown, Latin and jazz either inside the White House or out on the lawn.

The tradition ended on Friday as Obama kicked off his final musical night, BET's Love and Happiness event in a tent on the South Lawn.

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U.S. President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama greet guests as they arrive for BET's Love and Happiness: A Musical Experience show on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday

Speaking on Friday, Obama said he is sad that one of his and the first lady's favorite traditions had ended

Obama pictured left entering the event and first lady Michelle Obama pictured right as she greets guests at the star-studded event

He joked that he wouldn't be singing any Al Green  despite the concert title and also noted he would not be twerking.

'There will be no twerking tonight. At least not by me. I don't know about Usher,' he said.

When Obama sang the opening lines of Green's Let's Stay Together at a fundraiser at Harlem's Apollo Theater in January 2012, the video went viral.

'We've had Bob Dylan and we've had Jennifer Hudson. Gloria Estefan and Los Lobos. Aretha, Patti, Smokey,' Obama said to open the show.

'I've had Paul McCartney singing 'Michelle' to Michelle and Stevie singing Happy Birthday.'

The Obamas are pictured appearing to belt a move during Friday night's event. The show was set to feature performances by Usher, Jill Scott, Common, The Roots, Bell Biv DeVoe, Janelle Monae, De La Soul, Yolanda Adams, Michelle Williams and Kiki Sheard

Stunning model Naomi Campbell turned heads as she arrived at the BET event on Friday night

Campbell is pictured posing for the camera while mingling with guests at the star-studded event in a dazzling sequin dress

The 46-year-old model was among several other stars in the audience. The show was set to feature appearances by actors Samuel L Jackson, Jesse Williams and Angela Bassett

Usher was spotted donning sunglasses with his wife Grace Miguel at the Love and Happiness musical night

'We've had Buddy Guy and Mick Jagger getting me to sing Sweet Home Chicago,' he continued.

'So this has been one of our favorite traditions, and it's with a little bit of bittersweetness that this is our final musical evening as president and first lady.'

Jill Scott opened with a booming version of her hit Run Run Run.

The show was also featuring performances by Usher, The Roots, Bell Biv DeVoe, Janelle Monae, De La Soul, Yolanda Adams, Michelle Williams and Kiki Sheard.

Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Williams of Grey's Anatomy and Angela Bassett were also appearing.

Terrence J, the former host of BET's 106 & Park, and actress-comedian Regina Hall were the presenters.

Singer Jill Scott (pictured) opened Friday nigth's show with a booming version of her hit Run Run Run

The singer-songwriter, model, poet and actress Scott is pictured belting out a tune at the start of the show

The Obamas are pictured watching the Grammy award-winning singer Scott during her performance

Obama described the ability to summon celebrities as 'one of the perks of the job that I will most, along with Air Force One, and Marine One,' the presidential helicopter.

'You know, if you can just call up Usher and say, "Hey, come on over..."'

Before taking a seat in the front row alongside Mrs Obama, the president reviewed White House musical history and said live performances have always been a part of life there, dating to 1801 when the U.S. Marine Band played at the first reception hosted by President John and Abigail Adams.

President Chester Arthur invited an all-black singing group to perform, and Teddy Roosevelt welcomed ragtime composer Scott Joplin because Roosevelt's daughter wanted to hear that 'new jazz,' Obama said.

Guests of President John F. Kennedy even did the 'twist' in the East Room, 'which may not sound like a big deal to you, but that was sort of the twerking of their time,' Obama told the star-studded audience of several hundred people, seated in an elaborate tent that was used earlier in the week for the Obamas' final state dinner.

Speaking to the star-studded audience, Obama joked that he wouldn't be singing any Al Green  despite the concert title and also noted he would not be twerking

Before taking a seat in the front row alongside Mrs Obama, the president reviewed White House musical history and said live performances have always been a part of life there, dating to 1801 when the U.S. Marine Band played at the first reception hosted by President John and Abigail Adams

Mrs Obama is spotted flashing a big smile as she and the president greet their guests on Friday night

Obama said the White House is the 'People's House,' so it makes sense that it reflect the diversity, imagination and ingenuity of the American people.

He said that, although much of the music being performed at Friday's taping 'is rooted in the African-American experience, it's not just black music. It's an essential part of the American experience.'

'It's a mirror to who we are, and a reminder of who we can be,' Obama added.

'That's what American music's all about.'

BET said it will broadcast the show on November 15.

Earlier on Friday, Mrs Obama hosted a Grammy Museum musical workshop where she was joined by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli (left), Michelle Williams and Yolanda Adams

Mr Obama said that, although much of the music being performed at Friday's taping 'is rooted in the African-American experience, it's not just black music. It's an essential part of the American experience'
Salma Hayek has accused Donald Trump of lusting after her, claiming on Friday the businessman asked her out repeatedly when she had a boyfriend.

Hollywood star Hayek, 50, said the Republican presidential candidate was so scorned by her rejection of him that he planted a magazine story which claimed he would never date her because she was too short.

The 50-year-old actress made the accusations on Spanish radio program El Show del Mandril in Los Angeles on Friday.

Trump, who has denied the allegations other women who say they spurned his advances, did not immediately respond to them when approached.

Salma Hayek claimed Donald Trump asked her out repeatedly when she had a boyfriend then planted an embarrassing story about her height in a magazine when she rejected him

On Saturday afternoon, Jessica Drake, a 42-year-old adult film actress and director, accused Trump of offering her $10,000 to spend the night with him in his penthouse suite after a 2006 golf tournament.

Drake said she met the billionaire at the event in Lake Tahoe in 2006, a year after he married his wife Melania.

Drake, speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles on Saturday, said he repeatedly asked her to spend the night with him and offered her $10,000 to do so despite her rejections.

She had earlier gone to his penthouse suite with two female friends, all of whom he kissed 'without permission' and hugged 'tightly' while dressed in pajamas, she alleged.

Recalling her alleged interaction with the billionaire, Hayek said she was happily involved with a boyfriend when Trump came across her.

She said he befriended him with the intention of acquiring her phone number, then called her repeatedly asking for dates.

'When I met that man, I had a boyfriend, and he tried to become his friend to get my home telephone number.

'When I told him I wouldnt go out with him even if I didnt have a boyfriend, [which he took as disrespectful], he called  well, he wouldnt say he called, but someone told the National Enquirer...It said that he wouldnt go out with me because I was too short.'

She claims he contacted her after the story was printed to dismiss it, an attempt, in Hayek's view, to lure her into a date to prove the magazine wrong.

Trump's advisers did not respond to her comments on Friday. It's not clear when the pair are alleged to have met.

The actress is an outspoken Trump critic. She posed with a pinata dressed as the Republican candidate earlier this year

The actress shared this photograph on Instagram this week, writing alongside it: 'Mexico says hi'

Hayek (above with husband Francois-Henri Pinault) did not say exactly when Trump made his advances

The National Enquirer was not available for comment when approached. No record of the story has been found.

Hayek moved from her native Mexico to the U.S. in 1991 to pursue a Hollywood career.

Trump has not responded to her allegations

She is now married to French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault.

Among her most passionate complaints about Trump is his plan to build a wall to keep illegal Mexican immigrants out of the U.S. and his vow to block any money being sent to the country from U.S. citizens if Mexico does not pay for the barrier.

'Thats gravely serious,' she said. 'People dont know about this.

'Even if youre here legally, a US citizen, you wouldnt be able to send money,' she added during her radio appearance.

It is not the first time the Mexican actress has taken aim at The Donald.

Last year, she shared a photograph of herself with a pinata modeled on the candidate on Instagram.

'An American Friend gave me this Donald pinata as a Christmas gift. What should I do with it?' she said alongside the image in which she was proudly armed with a stick.

During an appearance on James Corden's Late Show in August, she implored him to read 'U.S. History for Dummies', urging him to fresh his knowledge of America's immigrant population.

' I don't understand why this bully has to insult all immigrants. Everybody in this country is in an immigrant.

'Mr Trump, I recommend to you to read this book. I will gladly lend you my copy.'

Jessica Drake, an adult film star, accused Donald Trump of offering her $10,000 to spend the night with him in 2006 at a press conference on Saturday (above)

Trump has been accused of sexual impropriety by different women since stating categorically at the second presidential debate he had never kissed or touched a woman without her consent.

All say he lurched on them, either groping or kissing them without their permission as he boasted of doing in a 2005 hot-mic recording where he told of grabbing women 'by the p****'.

On Friday, a survey found an astonishing 63 per cent of Americans thought he had likely committed some kind of sexual assault.

The poll by Reuters/Ipsos put Hillary Clinton ahead of him by four points - half the lead she enjoyed last week.

Trump has vociferously denied the accusations of ten women accusing him of sexually assaulting them.

Their accusations of groping and unwanted kissing on the mouth range from the late 1970s to as recently as 2005.
A judge has ordered a woman have her pelvic region photographed to determine if she had sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Katrina Arredondo, 49, allegedly had sex with the boy detained at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, and after his release, in 1994-95 when she was a youth officer there.

The boy, now in his 30s, claimed in 1996 that Arredondo, who was 27 when they were first allegedly intimate, had a scar on her lower abdomen.

A judge has ordered a woman have her pelvic region photographed to determine if she had sex with a 15-year-old boy (stock image)

Magistrate Johanna Metcalf on Friday ruled she must allow forensic officers to photograph her in the next two weeks, and 'reasonable force' could be used if she refused, according to The Age.

The boy said he thought the scar was from an appendix operation but said 'I'm not sure, I'm probably wrong'.

The case, which was not pursued at the time, has resurfaced two decades later after the alleged victim claimed to have 'just remembered' Arredondo also had a mark or birthmark on one of her breasts, but was not sure which one.

Katrina Arredondo, 49, allegedly had sex with the boy detained at the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, and after his release, in 1994-95 when she was a youth officer there

She has now been charged with the sexual penetration of a minor and engaging in oral sex with a minor.

Arredondo refused police requests to photograph her body to check the claims, but showed detective senior constable Sarah Kendall her scar.

Her lawyer Jacqueline Kennedy told the Melbourne Magistrate's Court Arredondo had never had an appendix operation.

The boy, now in his 30s, claimed in 1996 that Arredondo, who was 27 when they were first allegedly intimate, had a scar on her lower abdomen

Instead, the small scar was from a laparoscopy procedure she had as part of IVF treatment five years after the alleged relationship - and medical records could back it up.

'Obviously this procedure which has been requested is invasive,' she said.

Magistrate Metcalf granted the request to photograph her pelvic region but not her breasts, as the description of the mark was too vague.

'Any woman could have some sort of mark in that area, and it's a very imprecise description,' she said.
Canada angrily walked out of trade talks with the EU yesterday saying the bloc was impossible to do deals with.

In a sign of how difficult Brexit negotiations will be, the Canadian trade minister said a massive deal was on the brink of collapse because of a region in Belgium.

Wallonia is blocking a Canada-EU deal that was due to be signed next week after seven years of talks. Belgium needed agreement from its regions before approving the pact.

Chrystia Freeland was close to tears as she warned the deal was impossible. Pictured here at a press conference in Vienna

Close to tears, Canadian Chrystia Freeland warned: It is impossible. It seems that the EU is not capable now to have an international deal, even with a nation with such European values like Canada.

Officials in Brussels had trumpeted the trade deal as the best ever agreed, but as it fell apart, European Council president Donald Tusk admitted it could be the last ever attempted.

The failure will raise questions on how easy it will be for Britain to agree a trade deal with Europe, but it will also demonstrate to the rest of the world how the country could be a more agile partner after Brexit than the unwieldly bloc of 27 EU countries.

The Canadian deal was a stunning setback, although an official at the European Commission, which has been steering the pact through negotiations, said it doesnt consider that this is the end of the process.

It is unclear how the EU will keep negotiating with Wallonia  Belgiums French-speaking region  in coming days to solve the impasse.

Paul Magnette, the president of Wallonia, who are said to be blocking the Canada-EU deal

European Council president Donald Tusk, above, admitted the trade deal could be the last ever attempted, when it was once touted as the best ever to be made

The Walloons want more guarantees to protect their farmers and Europes high labour, environmental and consumer standards. It also fears the agreement will allow huge multinationals  first from Canada, and later from the US, if a similar deal with Washington follows  to overwhelm small Walloon enterprises.

Paul Magnette, the president of Wallonia, spent hours talking with EU officials and Miss Freeland to find a compromise by the end of a two-day summit in Brussels. He had already pleaded that, in an amicable way, we jointly postpone the EU-Canada summit and that we give ourselves time.

Proponents say the deal would yield billions in added trade through tariff cuts and other measures to lower barriers to commerce. Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP Christian Democrats, the biggest group in the European Parliament, was dismayed by the delay. Europe cannot be held hostage because of internal political games in the Walloon region, he said.
The photograph is damning. Taken in 10 Downing Street during the last days of Tony Blair's government, it reveals the now-disgraced Prime Minister at his most underhand and secretive.

It captures, quite literally, his notorious style of 'sofa government'. He sits back, one ankle hooked over his knee, at the far end of a luxurious three-seater. There is no pen or notepad in his hand  Blair famously didn't do detail.

The details were left to his chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, who is at the near end of the sofa, frowning darkly. But it is the other half of the picture, taken in 2007, that exposes the real scandal.

There is a second sofa, facing them. And on it, relaxed and laughing, are Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein.

Sofa government: Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein look relaxed with Tony Blair and his chief of staff Jonathan Powell at No 10 in 2007. There were 228 IRA suspects on the run from British justice at that time

Almost no one outside that room knew the enormity of what was being plotted around that time. I believe it was completely unlawful. It had been rejected by Parliament more than a year before. But it was going to happen because it was what Blair wanted to do.

There were 228 IRA suspects on the run from British justice at that time. Blair had resolved to give them immunity from prosecution. No matter how horrendous their crimes, he had decided to bestow his personal pardon upon them.

That is what he was discussing with the leaders of the republican movement. No wonder Adams and McGuinness were both grinning so broadly.

Blair left government later that year. He intended that the Northern Ireland peace agreement should be his great legacy. The amnesty for the 'On The Runs', as the IRA called its fugitives, was intended to shore up the peace, plugging a hole that had been overlooked when the Belfast Agreement  also known as the Good Friday Agreement  was being drawn up in 1998.

Under that Agreement, 229 IRA members were released from jail in the summer of 2000. The 228 fugitives, many living in the Republic of Ireland, were overlooked, but as the arguments dragged on about laying down weapons, the 'On The Runs' [OTRs] became part of the bargaining process.

They were accused of shootings, car-jackings, bombings, assassinations and every kind of bloody mayhem, including 295 murders.

On July 20, 1982, a car bomb exploded in London's Hyde Park, instantly killing two soldiers of a Household Cavalry troop on their way to change the guard at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall

One of the OTRs was a woman named Rita O'Hare, whose story has considerable significance. She was a Belfast republican in the early Seventies, who attempted to shoot a British soldier in 1971. Instead, she herself was shot, injured and arrested.

After being given bail, O'Hare fled Northern Ireland and defied British efforts to extradite her from the Republic of Ireland. She rose through the ranks of Sinn Fein and ultimately became the party's representative in the United States, a position she still holds.

Following the Labour election victory in 1997, Mo Mowlam became Tony Blair's first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and began discussing the release of IRA prisoners. She had several meetings with O'Hare and asked the Attorney General, who was then Baron Williams of Mostyn, whether the IRA woman could be pardoned.

Obviously, said Lord Williams, she could not, because she wasn't a prisoner. Pressure began to mount on the Attorney General: not only Blair but also Peter Mandelson, by then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, began to urge that she should be given immunity.

O'Hare was not just Sinn Fein's top figure in America, after all. She was also a close associate of party leader Gerry Adams.

Williams stood firm. There was good evidence that O'Hare had tried to kill a British soldier, he said, and it was not in the public interest to forget about that.

Later on that fateful day in July 1982, seven military bandsmen were killed during a lunchtime public concert in Regent's Park. Police believed the same paramilitary unit was responsible

In 1998, something extraordinary had happened. At peace talks in Dublin, Mo Mowlam walked up to O'Hare, this leading apologist for international terrorism, and hugged her. The representative of Her Majesty the Queen flung her arms around a woman who had skipped bail on a charge of attempting to murder one of Her Majesty's soldiers.

Civil servants were horrified: there was real and immediate concern that Mowlam's behaviour implied that O'Hare had been given a promise, explicit or otherwise, that she need no longer fear prosecution. Following an internal investigation, a relieved Whitehall came to the conclusion that no such undertaking had been implied.

That was the beginning of a scandal to rival the Iraq war debacle, in which Blair took us into a bloody conflict on the basis of lies. It is a scandal that has appalled me, as a historian and barrister who has worked in London and Belfast, and led me to write a book about it.

Unable to dispense immunity on his own whim, Blair had been denied what he wanted. For him, that was hard to accept.

Ever since he came to power, Whitehall had found him impossible to manage. He believed he had a special charismatic aura and used it to dazzle and browbeat civil servants who stood in his path.

He also believed he had an ordained right to get his own way, and in 1997 he had the landslide majority to back him up. There was a catchphrase in the backrooms that summed up his attitude: 'Tony wants...'

Blair made promises to the IRA that he had no right to make. And then, when Parliament blocked him, he went ahead anyway, taking it upon himself to hand out what amounted to presidential pardons to 187 suspected terrorists

The Irish republicans had a skewed view of how power works, too. In Mandelson's words, they thought the British Prime Minister could 'wave a magic wand' and bring about anything they demanded. They couldn't understand the need for due legal process and democratic oversight by Parliament, for laws and procedures.

They had a gangster perspective on government  one that turned out to dovetail very well with Blair's methods.

The Prime Minister tried to persuade Lord Williams that obstructing his wishes was unreasonable. If half the IRA had been let out of jail, why shouldn't the other half get a free pass, too? Williams stood firm: this was beyond the Prime Minister's powers.

Blair hated to hear those words, but they sank in. He might not have been a man for details, but he appears to have understood well enough that it would be improper for him to sanction mass pardons without the consent of Parliament. So he set about getting it.

The wheels turned slowly, and it was not until after his third general election victory in 2005 that a Bill went before MPs. The Tories opposed it and so did the Lib Dems, as well as the Northern Irish parties.

Following the Labour election victory in 1997, Mo Mowlam (above) became Blair's first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and began discussing the release of IRA prisoners

And then, bizarrely, Sinn Fein blocked it, too. They were concerned that an amnesty for the IRA could also mean the end of prosecutions against British soldiers for their actions during the Troubles. The troops involved in Bloody Sunday, for instance, could benefit, and Sinn Fein weren't having that.

At the beginning of 2006, the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill was withdrawn. It was a major defeat for the Government. And that, as far as almost everyone knew, was the end of the matter... until seven years later, when a man was arrested as he set off on a family holiday to Greece.

His name was John Downey and he had been wanted by the Metropolitan Police for more than 30 years for a truly horrendous crime.

On July 20, 1982, a car bomb exploded in London's Hyde Park, instantly killing two soldiers of a Household Cavalry troop on their way to change the guard at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

Seven horses died, and, famously, another, Sefton, survived and became a national hero.

The men's names were Lieutenant Anthony Daly, aged 23, and Trooper Simon Tipper, 19. Two more men, Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, 19, and Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, 36, died shortly afterwards of their injuries.

Thirty-one other people were wounded, some seriously. Seven horses had to be put down.

Later that day, seven military bandsmen were killed during a lunchtime public concert in Regent's Park. Police believed the same paramilitary unit was responsible. Downey was suspected of involvement, but arresting him while he was taking refuge in the Republic of Ireland was impossible.

The police could only hope that he would be reckless enough to set foot in Northern Ireland or on the British mainland. And on May 19, 2013, he did just that.

The UK Border Agency computers flagged up that he was travelling from Gatwick, on his own passport. It seemed utterly foolhardy behaviour, and he paid the price with his arrest.

Downey, 62, was also suspected in Northern Ireland of five other offences, including four killings.

But his defence stunned the police. In addition to denying the allegations, he had a letter, he said, that gave him free passage.

It bore the imprimatur of Peter Hain, the outgoing Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Sir Hugh Orde, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and it said: 'There are no warrants in existence, nor are you wanted in Northern Ireland for arrest, questioning or charge by the police.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland are not aware of any interest in you from any other police force in the United Kingdom.'

The amnesty for the 'On The Runs', as the IRA called its fugitives, was intended to shore up the peace, plugging a hole that had been overlooked when the Belfast Agreement  also known as the Good Friday Agreement  was being drawn up in 1998

John Downey had his effective immunity, the free pass that Tony Blair had wanted to give the fugitives more than a decade earlier. But Parliament had stymied that plan. How could he be in possession of such a letter?

In fact, he didn't have the letter on him. It is likely that he had never even seen it, because it was sent from a civil servant called Mark Sweeney  head of the Rights and International Relations Division of the Northern Ireland Office, on London's Millbank  to Gerry Adams's fixer-in-chief, Gerry Kelly.

Kelly might not have felt it necessary to give Downey a copy of the letter. It was enough that he had it, and that Downey had his verbal assurance that it was now safe for him to travel to the UK. That was how the IRA worked, on whispers and spoken promises. The parallels with Mafia traditions are marked.

What does seem clear is that Downey took full advantage of this letter. He repeatedly visited Northern Ireland and was able to travel on from there to the British mainland, thanks to the existence of the 'common travel area', which meant the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic did not count as an international border.

Because of this, even when he travelled to England, Downey's passport was not flagged up by the UK Border Agency. And he did visit, regularly. His daughter went to university there. In 2014, he even took a holiday on the Norfolk Broads.

It seemed that John Downey had fallen in love with England. And why wouldn't he? This was the country that gave him his freedom. When his case came to trial, the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, seemed unable to believe his eyes. He thought he was there to adjudicate on one of the most serious crimes ever brought before his court.

A life sentence with a minimum term of 20 or even 40 years was a possible outcome if there was a conviction  even though, in reality, prisoner release legislation under the Belfast Agreement meant Downey, if convicted, would serve only two years.

Instead of this, the judge was faced with more than 1,500 pages of documents which uncovered a scheme of whose existence no one had been aware.

Of the 228 IRA fugitives, it appeared that 187 had 'comfort letters' like Downey's, granting them what amounted to complete immunity from prosecution for past crimes  signed off by a small group of civil servants, senior police and politicians, at whose head was Tony Blair.

Given the scale and complexity of this operation, the judge had little choice. He ruled that it would be an abuse of process to prosecute Downey. The case collapsed.

In the aftermath, all pending applications for immunity were suspended. Existing letters were revoked, though it is probably far too late for this reversal to have real meaning.

Any fugitive arrested henceforth will have two powerful defences: first, that they lived under immunity for so long that it would be a breach of their human rights to have it whisked away; and secondly, that Mr Justice Sweeney's decision to throw out the Downey case creates an arguable legal precedent.

That is a knotty problem for lawyers to unravel in the future. But there is a different legal issue which, to many people, appears even more pressing: what about the role of Tony Blair?

For his handling of the IRA and Sinn Fein beggars belief.

It reminds me of those trendy parents who imagine they can control delinquent children by spoiling them and giving in to their demands, desperate to be their friends.

The reality is that it was soft-headed North London Lefties versus Northern Irish hard men. And the hard men won.

Blair made promises to the IRA that he had no right to make. And then, when Parliament blocked him, he went ahead anyway, taking it upon himself to hand out what amounted to presidential pardons to 187 suspected terrorists.

He did this even though the most senior lawyer in the country, the Attorney General, had specifically expressed reservations that a secret amnesty would be unlawful.

When I say I believe Tony Blair flouted the law, I am not passing my own judgment based on nothing. I am basing it directly on the interventions of Lord Williams of Mostyn, the man who tried to restrict him  one of the handful of people who emerge from this dismal affair with a shred of dignity intact.

It is far too late to demand a judicial review of Blair's actions. That could have worked at the time, if anyone had known what he was doing, but it wouldn't be applicable now.

There is still a remote chance that he could be charged with 'misfeasance in a public office', but I am not holding my breath. Once again, Blair has probably escaped scot-free.

But he cannot escape the judgment of history. He wanted Northern Ireland to be his legacy. Instead, it will be his badge of shame.
He said Australia is the 'campest nation on earth' and should embrace that

A British politician has called Australia out on marriage equality calling it the 'campest nation on earth'.

Chris Bryant, a former labour minister said he is 'mystified' by the Australian government's lack of action towards marriage equality.

'If Argentina can have gay marriage, if Spain - so dominated, historically, by Catholicism - can have gay marriage, why on earth cannot Australia, the country of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert?' Mr Bryant said.

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Chris Bryant, a former labour minister in the UK says Australia is the 'campest nation on the earth' and he is shocked politicians are still arguing about marriage equality

The former politician said Australia should join other countries who have allowed gay marriage

'For heaven's sake, just get your act together.'

The politician's outburst comes as a firce debate into a plebisicite into gay marriage continues in parliament.

'I am still mystified why Australia, which seems to be the campest nation on Earth - it is obsessed with Abba - still does not have any form of legalised gay relationships,' he said.

'They should join the company of nations that have changed.'
But bacteria in our supermarket meat has become resistant to the drugs

Three dead pigs lie piled on top of one another, dumped in a corner of a hangar-like building at a farm in the north-east of England. From the snout of one, a stream of blood snakes across the concrete floor and into an adjoining pen.

There, young, live animals are held in groups of five as they are fattened for slaughter, never once setting foot outdoors. Their tails have been trimmed to prevent them biting each others off, as can happen in such cramped conditions.

Some pigs bear scars from previous attacks, while several others have ugly, open wounds on their flanks. Opened bottles of antibiotics and hypodermic syringes lay strewn around.

Pumping livestock, kept in close-quarters, with antibiotics has resulted in resistant strains of superbugs in our everyday meat (file photo)

Elsewhere, one piglet lies prostrate on the floor, straining to breathe and close to death. Even the piglets that do survive will be separated from their mothers at four weeks and sent off to be fattened up, after which they will be slaughtered, packaged and sent to supermarkets across the country.

These shocking images were handed to the animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals by activists who gained entry to the farm on two separate occasions over the past year. The farmer, who the Mail has chosen not to identify, denied any ill-treatment and said the leading farm standards scheme to which he belongs had found no fault, but whatever the truth of the matter, its clear that there is little room for sentimentality in modern agriculture.

After all, farmers are competing in an international market  one that is largely driven by price. Perhaps most worryingly, that price is being paid not only by the animals described here, but by you, the consumer.

Here, in the first of a three-part series investigating the disturbing truth about British meat, we look at the secrets behind the industry. How, unnoticed by consumers, the meat we eat has been manipulated and re-manufactured to maximise profit  leaving a legacy of problems that we are only now starting to understand.

We start with the scourge of antibiotics. Intensive farming practices mean diseases can spread rapidly among livestock, with the result that it became the norm to administer antibiotics as a preventative measure.

Across the world, more than half of all antibiotics used are administered to animals.

The flip side is that this over-use has bred resistance in the very bugs they were intended to counter  among them a strain of superbug MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) called Livestock Associated MRSA CC398, which can be fatal in the weak, sick or elderly.

Farmyard superbugs can be passed from animals to humans. Strains of antibiotic-resistant E.coli have also been found in one in four chicken samples (file photo)

Originating in pigs, it can be passed on to humans who eat contaminated meat, and to workers on farms or abattoirs. It can then  most terrifyingly  be passed from person to person.

It has already killed at least six people in Denmark, where it is now endemic in the national pig herd. The strain has also been identified in a third of all packs of pork there and it has spread to the UK. Not only has it been found in a handful of British pig farms, but this month it was revealed that tests conducted on British-produced pork had identified it in packs of supermarket mince.

Three British people, none with links to the farming industry, have needed treatment for the bug.

The CC398 strain is just one of a number of farmyard superbugs that can be passed from animals to humans. Strains of antibiotic-resistant E.coli have also been found in one in four chicken samples. Once humans are infected, it means people suffering from conditions such as bladder or blood infections can be impossible to treat.

Earlier this summer, government minister Jim ONeill published a review into the issue which concluded that if action is not taken now, then by 2050 more people would die from superbugs than cancer.

Many will ask how on earth have we got to a point where the food supposed to sustain us could actually be killing us? In a cruel twist of irony, Britains efforts to improve welfare standards in our pig farms at the turn of the century have had unforseen consequences.

Government minister Jim ONeill published a review into the issue which concluded that if action is not taken now, then by 2050 more people would die from superbugs than cancer

In 1999 sow stalls  restrictive crates in which sows were confined during their four-month pregnancies  were banned in Britain, as were tethers, a type of collar or chain, used to stop pigs escaping from an open-ended stall.

Animal welfare groups welcomed the changes and boasted that Britains move would force the rest of Europe to follow its lead.

It did  but not until 2013. As a result, the British pork industry found itself operating at a commercial disadvantage for more than a decade.

Over the past 20 years the national pig herd has declined by more than 40 per cent. During that time, consumption of pork in the UK has actually gone up, an increase that has largely been met by lower-welfare foreign imports.

As a result, today some 54 per cent of pork eaten in the UK comes from abroad, the majority from the EU.

Inevitably, faced with this competition and in a bid to cut costs, the remaining British farmers have either had to target premium markets with outdoor reared or organic pork  or try to find savings by ramping up production further still, with some pushing to open units housing as many as 25,000 pigs each.

Producers face competition to cut costs, and reducing space and reduce overheads for farmers (file photo)

Research suggests overcrowding can lead to animals biting each other, causing infections to spread through their wounds (file photo)

Today, about half the antibiotics used in Britain are given to animals. Of them, about 60 per cent will be administered to pigs. The more intensively reared they are, the more drugs are needed.

Research suggests overcrowding can lead to animals biting each other, causing infections to spread through their wounds. Many animals also have immature immune systems as they are taken from their mother while still suckling, meaning they do not receive adequate nutrition in their early lives to develop strength and disease resistance.

Preventative mass medication of stock is routine  it is claimed that 88 per cent of antibiotics on UK farms are used in this way. On organic farms, where drugs are administered only to sick animals, antibiotic use is put at 40 times lower per kilo of meat produced than in conventional farming. The dangers of using antibiotics so freely is something that Denmark, where pigs outnumber humans two to one, has learned to its cost. In 2007, the first Danish case of humans carrying MRSA CC398 from pigs was identified.

Initially, the bug was found in people working on farms or in abattoirs, handling contaminated meat. But it has spread far beyond that.

Indeed, in the past decade up to 12,000 people have been colonised by it and in many agricultural areas CC398 is now the most frequently detected type of MRSA. While the majority of those carrying the bacterium will do so without falling ill, some will suffer serious skin complaints. But as the fatalities prove, CC398 can be much more serious in the old and the sick.

Despite this, live pigs for breeding continue to be imported from Denmark. Research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found that over the past six years more than 3,000 Danish pigs have been brought to the UK.

In the past two years cases of CC398 in pig farms have been identified in Northern Ireland and eastern England. Their origin is unclear. And, as no systematic tests are carried out on UK farms for CC398, it is impossible to know how many more may harbour the bug. But we know it is here.

Earlier this month it was identified in British pork meat for the first time.

Livestock associated MRSA can pass between animals and humans, as can other harmful bacteria (file photo)

Tests on 97 UK-produced pork products commissioned by pressure group the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics found that two samples of minced pork from Asda and one from Sainsburys were contaminated with the superbug strain.

Like other food-borne germs, CC398 is killed by thorough cooking  the Food Standards Agency says there are no known cases of people contracting CC398 from eating meat in the UK  but it can be passed on through lapses in hygiene.

It has also emerged that the bug has been identified in three British individuals. A spokesperson for Public Health England (PHE) would not disclose details, only confirming that all presented with skin infections. None had any connection with farming.

MRSA in animals could lead to a pandemic

Livestock associated MRSA can pass between animals and humans, most often without causing any problems, said the PHEs Professor Angela Kearns. Occasionally, it can cause infections, most commonly in people who work with livestock, but the overall risk to human health in the UK is low.

When necessary, livestock associated MRSA can be treated with appropriate antibiotics. It is important to remember that thoroughly cooking meat destroys all bacteria, whether they are resistant or not.

The issue is also downplayed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). A spokesman told the Mail: The National Pig Association (NPA) recommends that pigs imported to Britain are screened for livestock associated MRSA and Defra supports this recommendation. The Government is currently reviewing options for surveillance, which will be proportionate to the low health risk posed by livestock associated MRSA.

Intensive farming is creating the ideal conditions in which disease can spread from animal to animal (file photo)

And he added: Tackling resistance to antibiotics is one of the Governments top priorities.

We are already making good progress in the UK and have set out a clear commitment to significantly reduce the level of antibiotic use in livestock.

A spokeswoman for the NPA added that the pig industry is committed and taking action to minimise its use of antibiotics wherever possible.

She added that CC398 is considered to be of low risk to public and animal health and it is not a food safety concern. But others warn that by downplaying risks, Britain is walking into an uncertain future.

Scientists are now warning that the extensive MRSA reservoir in animals could ultimately lead to a pandemic spread in the human population, says Emma Rose, from the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics.

It is able to cause serious and potentially fatal infections in humans and, as the bacteria is resistant to antibiotics, it is extremely difficult to treat. Whats more, even more dangerous variations are emerging as the superbug evolves.

Superbug strains of E.coli ihave been discovered in supermarket chicken samples by researchers (file photo)

It is a point echoed by Professor Hans Jorn Kolmos, a leading microbiologist and MRSA expert from Denmark, who warns we should be doing everything we can to stop it spreading in British pigs.

If you get it into your own pig production lines and get it to the point where, like us, you have 70 per cent of pig farms colonised, then you really have a problem, he told the Daily Mail. It is not only the patients who die, but those who survive  you spend a lot of resources curing them.

The antibiotics we have for these type of strains are limited and those we do have dont work as well as the traditional ones. So we are forced to use other types of antibiotics that are more toxic, less efficient and much more expensive. Dont think that this is a problem that will solve itself just by closing your eyes.

These concerns do not just apply to MRSA. The same series of tests by the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics also found superbug strains of E.coli in supermarket chicken samples.

E.coli kills more than 5,500 people a year in England, is associated with sepsis and urinary tract infections, and has been foudn in shop chicken (file photo)

The antibiotic-resistant bug was detected on 22 of 92 chicken pieces bought from seven major supermarkets. They tested positive for ESBL E.coli, a type of E.coli resistant to the critically important modern cephalosporin antibiotics popular in hospitals. The samples included whole roasting chickens, packs of legs, thighs, drumsticks and diced breast meat.

E.coli, which kills more than 5,500 people a year in England, is associated with sepsis and urinary tract infections. And, as we shall see in part two of our investigation, that is not the only bug associated with chicken.

Mark Holmes, reader in microbial genomics and veterinary science at the University of Cambridge, carried out the tests.

He said: Every time someone falls ill, instead of just getting a food poisoning bug they might also be getting a bug that is antibiotic resistant. If they end up developing sepsis or a urinary tract infection, they may well find they have a bug that is resistant to the first choice antibiotic. By the time they get on to the right antibiotic the bug could be out of control. It can even lead to death.

Battery farming and other intensive methods of rearign animals has resulted in antibiotic resistance in in strains of superbugs, now found in livestock meant for the dinner table

Again, the authorities insist that consumers have little to worry about if they cook their meat properly.

But consumers are increasingly worried about the over-use of antibiotics. In recent months it has emerged that plans are afoot to introduce ranges of meat certified as antibiotic-free.

British pork processor Karro Food Group registered a trademark showing a pigs head with antibiotic free written above it earlier this year.

Don't think this is a problem that will solve itself

It said there was significant demand for such a range and that it was in discussions with a number of its leading UK customers.

One farm in Yorkshire is already supplying Karro with 500 antibiotic-free pigs a week for export to the U.S. The pigs receive antibiotics only if they are sick and are then tagged and excluded from shipment. The farm is paid roughly ten per cent more per antibiotic-free pig, with only five per cent of pigs requiring antibiotic treatment.

It also emerged last month that supermarket Morrisons had registered the phrase Morrisons Raised Without Antibiotics with the Intellectual Property Office. No further details about its plans for this line have been revealed.
Highly paid 'superheads' who are feted by politicians are most likely to leave behind a 'trail of destruction', a study warns.

It says they adopt a quick-fix approach that takes some schools up to four years to recover from.

These leaders can also cost schools as much as 2million in consultancy fees to 'help clear up the mess' they have caused.

They often focus their resources on older pupils to boost exam results, which damages the prospects of younger children.

Other highly-rewarded leaders  who are paid 50 per cent more than the average head  make impressive claims or improve their school's finances, but not its results.

Highly paid 'superheads' who are feted by politicians are most likely to leave behind a 'trail of destruction', a study warns. It says they adopt a quick-fix approach that takes some schools up to four years to recover from. File image

The research from the Centre for High Performance  made up of academics from Oxford and Kingston universities  raises questions about the cult of relying on 'big personalities' to turn around struggling schools.

Over the years senior politicians including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Education Secretary Michael Gove have lined up to praise 'superheads'.

Academics analysed the impact of 411 secondary school headteachers using data that included interviews, grades and budgets over a seven-year period to 2015.

They found that the highest paid  including those who had been honoured for services to education  were often the most likely to leave behind problems after departing a school. These school leaders are paid an average of 150,000 a year.

LEADER RAN BUSINESSES FROM SCHOOL Superhead Sir Greg Martin (above) 'ran side businesses', MPs heard Superhead Sir Greg Martin reportedly earned almost 400,000 in one year while running side businesses from his former school. He was criticised by the Commons public accounts committee last year for appearing to run an 'inappropriate' dating website and a private health club from the site of Durand Academy in South London. MPs heard that Sir Greg pocketed 161,000 as sole director of the leisure centre that operates on the premises of the school. He also received more than 229,000 in basic salary and pension contributions as executive head in 2012/13. The total is believed to have made him the UK's highest paid school leader. Sir Greg retired as executive head last year and is now Durand Academy Trust's chairman of governors. He is currently battling the Education Funding Agency over its plan to withdraw funding from the academy over concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Advertisement

One author of the report told The Times: 'As they take their haloes with them, they can sometimes leave behind a trail of destruction as the miraculous improvements go into bone-crunching reverse.

'These heads create the illusion of improvement by cutting poor-performing students, focusing resources on final-year students and using 'tough measures' to make students and teachers work harder.

'They woefully neglect children further down the school, exhaust the teachers and do little for the community.'

The study identified five types of leaders  but only one category was truly effective. These heads were dubbed 'architects', who on average had the least experience in the classroom. 'They are visionary, unsung heroes,' the report says.

'Stewards, rather than leaders who are more concerned with the legacy they leave than how things look whilst they're there.'

The report added: 'We found leaders who talk a good game, but have no impact; leaders who make everything look great while they're there, but everything falls apart after they leave; and leaders who improve schools' long-term financial performance, but exam results stay the same.'

Heads categorised as 'surgeons' adopted a 'short-termist' approach that nevertheless saw them disproportionately awarded damehoods and knighthoods.

After they left, 'exam scores fall back to where they started, mainly because younger students have been ignored and under-resourced for the previous two years'.

Leaders labelled 'soldiers' believed failing schools were lazy and wasting public money.

'Accountants' attempted to help their schools by identifying additional sources of income such as earning money out of hours from the site's gym.

Heads dubbed 'philosophers' focused on alternative teaching methods, but students 'carry on misbehaving and parents are still not engaged'.

James Toop, chief executive of the education charity Teaching Leaders and the Future Leaders Trust, said: 'There's a broader question about how we use rewards recognition within education. It shouldn't be the ones who shout loudest that get noticed.'

Prominent superheads who have fallen from grace in recent years include Jean Else, who was stripped of her damehood in February 2011.

She had been honoured in 2001 at Mr Blair's request for transforming Whalley Range girls' high school in Manchester and improving GCSE results. She was fired in 2006 after the Audit Commission found cash had been spent on private parties and secret payoffs to get rid of staff.
Former California state Senator Ron Calderon was sentenced to more than three years in prison Friday in a public corruption case in which the Democratic politician admitted to accepting about $100,000 in bribes, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

The sentence concluded the criminal case against a longtime lawmaker who once was one of the most influential figures in the California legislature.

Calderon, who represented the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, left office in 2014 after serving a dozen years in the state Senate and four in the Assembly.

Former state Senator Ron Calderon and his wife Ana arrive for his sentencing on bribery charges at federal court in Los Angeles on Friday

Zachary Calderon, right, son of former state Sen. Ron Calderon, center rear, approached a photographer and pushed his camera as he tried to block photograph of his corrupt father

Ana Calderon, left, wife of former state Sen. Ron Calderon and their son Zachary approach a photographer and push his camera on a sidewalk outside federal court

Calderon, 59, pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud in June and admitted to soliciting more than $155,000 in payments in exchange for supporting or blocking legislation

A federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Calderon on Friday to three-and-a-half years in prison, Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said in an email.

Calderon also will serve one year under supervision after he is released from prison, Mrozek said.

Outside court, his son Zachary Calderon and wife Ana Calderon approached a photographer and pushed his camera away.

Calderon pleaded guilty in June to a single count of mail fraud, reaching a deal with prosecutors weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial on charges in a 24-count indictment.

He faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for mail fraud but prosecutors said they agreed under the terms of his plea agreement to seek a sentence of less than six years for the former lawmaker.

Calderon was found guilty in a corruption scandal that has now sent him to prison for three years

Calderon dropped his entrapment defense, pleaded guilty and admitted taking bribes in exchange for his influence in Sacramento

Former state Sen. Ron Calderon, second from left, his wife Ana, left, and their son Zachary, right, leave federal court in Los Angeles

He was ultimately caught in an FBI sting in which an agent posing as a movie executive offered Calderon gifts and cash

Calderon, 59, was one of three Democrats in the state Senate suspended over ethics charges in 2014, costing their party a two-thirds majority.

Prosecutors have said Calderon accepted $100,000 in bribes from the owner of a Long Beach hospital to preserve a legal loophole that allowed companies controlled by the owner to charge more for hardware used in spinal surgeries.

Calderon also was accused of taking bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as Hollywood executives in exchange for steering legislation in their favor.

Calderon said that he took kickbacks from the former owner of Pacific Hospital in Long Beach in exchange for the lawmaker to push legislation through

The legislation would have allowed the facility to continue to perform pricey needless surgeries on on worker's compensation patients

His older brother, Tom Calderon, a former member of the state Assembly who became a political consultant, also was named in the indictment and pleaded guilty to a money-laundering charge for allowing bribes earmarked for his brother to be funneled through his firm.

Tom Calderon was sentenced last month to six months in prison and six months in home confinement.

The Calderon brothers were members of a political dynasty going back decades in California before they were ensnared in the federal investigation.
pace as Tim Farron's Lib Dems came in second

Labour was pushed into third place in the by-election to succeed David Cameron as MP for Witney but the Tories saw their majority slashed.

Robert Courts, the Conservative candidate, secured the Oxfordshire seat with a majority of 5,702 over the Liberal Democrats.

The gap was 25,000 at last year's general election.

Labour's position in the Witney by-election fell into third place as the Tories won race to replace David Cameron in the Oxfordshire seat

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron hailed a 19.3 per cent swing to his party that propelled it from fourth place to second, pushing Labour into third.

In a concerted push, Mr Farron made five visits to the constituency backed by former leaders Nick Clegg, Paddy Ashdown and Menzies Campbell.

He said: 'The result not only signals that the Liberal Democrats are back in the political big time and the return to three-party politics, it is a clear rejection of the Conservative Brexit Government's plan to take Britain out of the single market.

'This was the tenth safest Tory seat in the country with a massive 25,000 majority, yet the Conservatives were seriously rattled.'

The result for Labour will raise fears again that the party fails to appeal to swing voters under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pressed the flesh in the safe Tory seat, but was unable to dislodge the Conservatives

Tom Watson, Labour's deputy leader, played down his party's defeat, dismissing suggestions that it was a disaster.

'We did OK. Our share of the vote was all right,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'It's about as much as you could expect.'

The Conservatives took 17,313 votes, just over 45 per cent of the total, down from Mr Cameron's 60 per cent in 2015. The Lib Dems rose to 30 per cent from 6.8 per cent last year. Labour polled 15 per cent, down from 17 per cent at the general election.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Courts paid tribute to Mr Cameron  despite the former prime minister backing another candidate over him for the Tory nomination.

The barrister said Mr Cameron had been 'a great prime minister and a brilliant MP'.

New MP Robert Courts claimed Witney for the Conservative Party

Referring to Theresa May's Government, he said: 'Now we are going to move forward to build a country that works for everyone, our society should work for everyone, our economy should work for everyone and our democracy should work for everyone.'

Mr Cameron responded with a message on Twitter: 'Many congratulations Robert Courts  you'll be a great MP and representative for Witney and West Oxfordshire.'

There was better news for Labour in Batley and Spen, where former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin took 86 per cent of the vote in a by-election to find a replacement for Jo Cox, who was killed in June.

Other mainstream parties did not stand in the West Yorkshire contest out of respect for Mrs Cox. A string of far Right and fringe party candidates all lost their deposits.

Miss Brabin said: 'This has been a difficult experience for all of us and tonight is a bittersweet occasion for me. That this by-election has had to take place at all is a tragedy. I hope Jo will be proud tonight of our community. We have shown that we stand together with one voice choosing unity and hope.'
Bernard Cornwell is sitting outside his London hotel in autumn sunshine smoking a cigar. These days, most smokers indulge their habit furtively in huddled groups around back doorways. Not Bernard. He puffs away with such voluptuous and evident enjoyment youd be forgiven for thinking he was being paid to advertise tobacco.

He enjoys a drink, is a vehement atheist, swears affably and often, and is both a passionate and erudite chronicler of military history. He has written 50 novels and sold 20 million books worldwide, making him the most prolific and successful historical novelist working today.

His most famous creation is Richard Sharpe, swashbuckling rifleman from the Napoleonic Wars and hero of 24 books. Created by Bernard in 1980 and given fresh impetus in the Nineties TV series featuring Sean Bean, Sharpe is still going strong.

His most famous creation is Richard Sharpe, swashbuckling rifleman from the Napoleonic Wars and hero of 24 books. Bernard Cornwell (second left) with adoptive parents Joe and Marjorie Wiggins and siblings

Battle scenes  both invented and real  are Bernards stock in trade: his novels bristle with them, and his non-fiction account of the Battle of Waterloo has been praised for its vivid and scholarly insights.

So here we have a synopsis of the man: a joyous and unashamed hedonist with a ready laugh who  although he didnt serve in the military himself because of his myopia  is a walking encyclopaedia of all things martial.

Whats especially fascinating, however, is how all his characteristics make so much sense when you discover the extraordinary story of Bernards upbringing, which he tells in full for the first time today.

The product of a wartime liaison between a pretty East End sergeant in the Womens Auxiliary Air Force and an upper-middle class Canadian airman  both of whom were 21 when he was conceived in a boarding house in Poole, Dorset  he was adopted when he was two weeks old by Joe and Marjorie Wiggins and raised in a grimly religious household in Essex.

The Wigginses belonged to an aptly named extreme Christian fundamentalist sect called the Peculiar People, which outlawed everything Bernard has come to embrace and admire today.

The list of prohibitions was endless, he exclaims. Alcohol, tobacco, cosmetics, TV and cinema, for a start. Military service was also prohibited  they were pacifists  although Joe was very harsh. He was a man drunk on God, and the Bible said: Beat your children, which he did, very brutally, with a 4ft cane.

Created by Bernard in 1980 and given fresh impetus in the Nineties TV series featuring Sean Bean, Sharpe is still going strong. Pictured, Cornwell with his birth father William Oughtred

Hed lose his temper: poor darling should never have adopted me. Once I was beaten for reading a novel  Treasure Island  although Im sure Id done something really irritating as well, he shrugs off the violence with flippancy.

The last time he beat me, I was 14. There was blood everywhere.

I dont look back on him with dislike, but with pity. He was a good man trapped in a life-denying religion. My adoptive mother hated me. She was a very bitter woman and her biggest regret, I think, was not being able to have children of her own.

When I was seven she said, I wish wed never adopted you, and I rather wished it as well. But that household was all Id ever known and it was difficult to know what the alternatives were because Id no experience of them.

The revelation came when he was in his early 20s, however, and had just graduated in theology from London University.

I remember waking up one morning and thinking: Theres no God. Its all a fraud and feeling intensely happy. It probably took me far too long to realise it but it was a moment of epiphany: everything that troubles your conscience is rubbish.

The Peculiars prohibitions became my wish-list: wine, women and song. I didnt take wholesale to a life of sin, but there was a lot of catching up to do  and on the whole I have. Im 72 now and Ive never been tempted to think: There is a God.

Instead, the joyously atheistic Bernard, who is fond of saying he has had the same wife, agent and publisher for the past 36 years, lives happily with wife Judy, 74, an Episcopalian, vegetarian, non-smoking, pacifist yoga teacher at their homes in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Charleston, Carolina.

They met in their 30s when Bernard was working in Northern Ireland as head of current affairs for the BBC. Both were recently divorced  Bernard had married for a first time in 1968, but the union only lasted five years.

At the height of the Troubles, in 1979, Judy was one of a group of American travel agents who had gone to Ulster, bizarrely, to discover the tourism potential of Belfast, and Bernard had decided to make a documentary about the visit.

She stepped out of a lift and it was lust at first sight. I thought: Im going to marry her. It was insane. It has to be chemistry, doesnt it?

We had a week together but we didnt sleep together. When she went back to the States, I wrote to her and she always says she fell in love with me because of the letters, which she still has. Every one of them.

Judy already had three children and Bernard moved to the U.S. to marry her. His failure to get a Green Card work permit was the spur he needed to take up writing.

As an older child, he remembers the elders of the church gathering round his bed and praying. Pictured, Cornwell with birth mother Dorothy Carroll

I said airily to Judy: Dont worry. Im going to write a book, which I did.

Sharpes Eagle was the first of a prodigiously successful series and the start of an extraordinary literary career.

He is both hugely informed and admiring of the military, about which he writes with such passion and authority, and deplores recent attempts by law firms to bring prosecutions against British soldiers who have killed insurgents in the course of duty.

Soldiers have more than enough problems without having to face them from lawyers on their own side. You cant fight with prosecutors looking over your shoulder. We need to get the lawyers off the battlefield. Until they have been on the front-line under enemy fire, they shouldnt make judgments, he says.

He is a man of firm and uncompromising views. On the subject of his loveless childhood, he is equally robust: there is little introspection and no tortured self-analysis, perhaps because his life since has been so happy, successful and richly fulfilled.

He was one of five children  three boys and two girls  adopted by the Wigginses and he harbours no resentment towards his birth-mother, Dorothy Cornwell, for giving him away. (He did discover as a boy that he was adopted).

She was a very bright, working-class girl in the WAAF and shed been told she was officer material. Shed got herself a career, then shed become pregnant accidentally. It was 1943. My father William was back in Canada when I was born in February the following year.

Dorothys local vicar sent him a letter saying she was having a baby; that he was the father, but he didnt respond.

Shed wanted to keep me, but her father wouldnt hear of it. I cannot rid myself of the image of Dorothy, on the bed in a maternity home for single girls, me in a crib, and the Wigginses standing looking at us.

Joe Wiggins probably wanted to preach the gospel to her. His wife, Marjorie, filled with bitterness because she couldnt have her own children, must have stared at my pretty young mother and despised her. The adoption, he says with laconic understatement, was not successful.

One tenet of the Peculiars sect was that it only used medicine as a last resort, preferring to give God a chance to cure first, as Bernard recalls.

As an older child, he remembers the elders of the church gathering round his bed and praying  without success  when he was ill, before the family doctor was called.

The same doctor was, he suspects, the reason that beatings by his adoptive father ended abruptly with a last brutal lashing in Bernards early teens. He cannot remember why he was thrashed: a poor school report, perhaps. I was a lazy little bu**er, he says.

However, he recalls: After the last beating, there was so much blood, Joe called the doctor. I suspect the doctor had a word with my father. There were no more beatings.

Was Joe a sadist? No, he was a good man, says Bernard mildly. He was just trying to beat God into me.

He reserves the full force of his antipathy for the emotionally cruel adoptive mother Marjorie. While he kept in touch with Joe Wiggins until his death, he cut off links in adulthood with her.

When he was seven, he was sent to prep school and then to boarding school. (The Wiggins were affluent and owned a prospering construction company.)

At Monkton Combe, Somerset, the relatively relaxed religious ethos offered a reprieve from the grim godliness of home. The school was a haven of common sense, he says now.

He knew from early childhood that he was adopted, but when riffling through papers in a safe at the Wigginses home, he found details of his birth parents. Scrupulously he copied down their names and the scant information about his origins, and stored it away for future reference.

I wasnt that interested in finding my parents but I kept the information because ... well, you never knew, he says.

Actually, it was not until he was in his late 50s  15 years ago  that he decided, on a whim, to trace his birth father, William Oughtred.

During a book tour of Canada, he mentioned in a radio interview that his real father  he broadcast his name  lived in British Columbia and that hed like to meet him.

Two days later, in Toronto, a relative of his father produced Williams address.

I wrote him a letter, sent him a book (Sharpes Trafalgar), and said: I dont want anything from you. A week later, there was a phone-call from Oughtreds eldest legitimate son. A slightly prickly conversation followed.

Cornwell's greatest creation: Richard Sharpe, as played by Sean Bean, here with co-star Liz Hurley

Bernard recalls: I said: Id love to meet you all, and we did.

Judy and I flew to Vancouver with Antonia, my daughter from my first marriage.

Despite all the years that has passed, their meeting was a real success.

William, my father, was in his 80s then. I even looked like him. I was vastly amused.

He took me aside and tried to begin an explanation of the events that led to my birth. I dont think he was proud of what happened.

He said it was a one-night stand. I said: What was my mother like? Was she pretty? And he said: You wouldnt be here if she hadnt been.

I found I had two half-brothers and a half-sister, and I liked them. There was the unexpected shock of recognition. Id found my real home.

They welcomed us generously and instantly. We were family, and I remember Judy saying: If you dont want this family, I do. Of the whole experience, he says: It was more moving than I expected. A pleasure. I liked these people who snorted when they laughed, as I did; who had the same gait.

Bernards father had built up a successful family business selling vending machines. His first wife Ruth had died and hed remarried. Hed told no one about his illegitimate son  the skeleton in his cupboard. But, now, there were no recriminations.

Bernard and his father continued to meet until the latters death in 2011.

Then, a year later, Bernard was also reunited with his birth-mother, Dorothy; fortuitously as this was only a few years before she, too, died.

He discovered she lived in a flat in Basingstoke, Hampshire. And what struck me was that it was absolutely crammed with historical novels. She had a passion for them, says Bernard.

She told me: I knew who you were from your first book. Although Id been re-named Wiggins, Id changed my name back to Dorothys maiden name, Cornwell  not out of lingering affection for the mother Id never known, just because its far nicer than Wiggins.

When she saw the first book in 1980, she seized it, looked on the back of the dust jacket and saw my photo, and thought, as she told me: There was your father.

Dorothy, it emerged, had kept the secret of her illegitimate son, but had resolved to leave him a letter with her will.

Three years after Bernard was adopted, she went on to marry a London Underground engineer and moved from the East End to Canvey Island, Essex, just five miles from where her first-born was living as Bernard Wiggins.

She had three more sons and was widowed in 1974. She was funny, smart and tough. She became clerk to a barristers chambers, says Bernard. She never remarried. I asked her: Did you think of me? and she said: Of course. All the time.

And when I said William [his father] had told me Id been conceived on a one-night-stand she said: The b*****d! We were together seven months.

She said hed looked like a young Orson Welles. Shed remembered his wandering hands, and how shed stopped them by stubbing her cigarette out on them. But one night she didnt and the result was me. She recalled the room where I was conceived, with pink elephants on the wallpaper.

I think she was quite badly treated by my father, who lost touch when he went back to Canada. But poor dears, they didnt stand a chance  so young, the war  and on balance Im very grateful for that encounter between them. He smiles.

But Im sure poor Dorothy would have been better off if she hadnt become pregnant with me.

She remembered the Wigginses standing at her bedside in the maternity home. I knew they werent cuddly, she said, and how right she was.

There is a neat coda to Bernards story of reunion with his birth parents.

His paternal ancestors pro-vided the inspiration for his latest novel.

The Canadian Oughtreds, his fathers family tree revealed, could trace their descendants back to the Ughtreds, Saxon noblemen who lived at Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, for centuries before the Norman Conquest.

The Flame Bearer  Bernards tenth novel in his The Last Kingdom series, which is to be televised for BBC2 in spring next year  tells the story of Uhtred of Bamburgh and his quest to recapture the castle stolen from him by a traitorous uncle.

Stranger perhaps than his link with this Saxon past, is the affinity he had felt with Northumberland and Bamburgh Castle long before he had an inkling of its family associations.

Id been on holiday several times there and even bought a painting of Bamburgh Castle. Can there be a genetic attraction to a place? he ponders.

Its a strange idea, yet Id fallen in love with the area over which, it later emerged, many generations of my ancestors had ruled as kings and earls.
Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart has shocked the nation with her dramatic weight loss.

She turned heads as she revealed her new slimmed down figure at a charity lunch on Friday, according to Perth Now.

The mining billionaire was accompanied by her daughter Ginia, the youngest of her four children when she arrived at the 12th annual Parkerville Charity lunch.

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Gina Rinehart (pictured) turned heads as she revealed her new slimmed down figure at a charity lunch on Friday

Ms Rinehart is believed to have lost about 40 per cent of her body weight in just two years.

The billionaire lost the weight ahead of her daughter Ginia's wedding to Simon Robinson at Hamilton Island in June.

She revealed the massive weight loss at the wedding, but friends claim it was the result of two years hard work.

The 62-year-old's weight loss venture was reportedly kicked off when she learnt an actor playing her in the House of Hancock mini-series needed to wear a fat suit.

She reportedly became upset at the realisation and ramped up her efforts due to the humiliation.

Ms Rinehart didn't take too kindly to the Nine Network's depiction of her because she sued the television network and production company Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder for damages after it aired last February.

Ms Rinehart (pictured) has reportedly lost about 40 per cent of her body weight in just two years

The Perth based charity lunch, where Ms Rinehart revealed her incredible weight loss, was held in support of creating awareness about child abuse.

The theme of the event was Child Abuse is No Laughing Matter.





Money raised from the lunch will support the services Parkerville delivers to children and their families in Western Australia.

Rinehart (left) is pictured with her daughter Ginia (right) in October, 2011, before she began losing weight

Ms Rinehart was just one of 960 guests including Australia's second richest woman Rhonda Wyllie.

Socialite Eileen Bond, 'potato king' Tony Galati and property developer Greg Poland also showed at the event.

Big sporting names Blair Evans, Tamsin Cook and Brianna Throssell were also in attendance.
Admitted sending nude selfies to one girl and photographing her undress

Went on to film herself having sex with another female student, said police

Randi Zurenko from Millerstown, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Thursday for sexually abusing schoolgirls

A female Catholic school teacher has been charged with more than 200 child sex offences after allegedly having sex with schoolgirls and filming their trysts.

Randi Zurenko from Millerstown, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Thursday.

Police believe the 33-year-old sexually abused two girls at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg hundreds of times between 2013 and 2016.

She is facing 13 counts of institutional sexual assault, 153 of sexual abuse of children, 33 of unlawful contact with minors, 20 of dissemination of obscene material to a minor and 13 counts of corruption of minors.

The woman first abused one of the girls at a park in 2013, Dauphin County's District Attorney's Office said.

She massaged her, undid her bra and plied her with alcohol on a number of occasions, police believe.

The girl, who has since graduated from the school, was underage at all times.

Zurenko allegedly went on to abuse the second girl from October 2015 until now, taking photographs of her half-nude and of them together while they had sex.

Video courtesy: WHTM

She sent her nude 'selfies' and was also admitted to taking photographs of the student on her phone.

They are alleged to have sex in a number of different locations including Zurenko's home. Their last encounter was on Friday.

Police interviewed the woman on Tuesday, just four days later.

The teacher was working at Bishop McDevitt High School (above) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when she allegedly attacked the girls

The 33-year-old was arrested on Tuesday and admitted to police she had a sexual relationship with one of the girls

'During the course of the interview Zurenko admitted to providing both victim 1 and victim 2 alcohol while they were students at Bishop McDevitt.

'She also admitted that, while employed as a teacher at Bishop McDevitt High School, she had a sexual relationship with victim 2, a current student at the school.

'Zurenko also admitted to taking nude photographs of victim 2,' a statement released by the District Attorney's Office said.

'Many of the charges relate to what we call sexual abuse of children or child pornography,' District Attorney Sean McCormack later told WGAL.

The school placed her on administrative leave in response to the investigation.

'It is with great sadness that we have learned that criminal charges have been filed against staff member Mrs Randi Zurenko,' officials said in a statement.




selling home because they want to travel and visit

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A limestone castle just outside of Denver that has been under construction for eight years is hitting the market for $17.5million.

The mansion, named 'Chateau V', is located in the community of Evergreen. If sold for its asking price, the home will be the priciest ever sold in the neighborhood.

The last home to sell for anywhere near Chateau V's asking price went for $9million, Whitney Cain of LIV Sothebys International Realty, one of the listing agents, told the Wall Street Journal.

Most homes in the area go for an average price of $535,000.

This limestone castle just outside of Denver, Colorado, is still under construction but has hit the market for a cool $17.5million

The mansion, named 'Chateau V', is located in the community of Evergreen. If sold for its asking price, the home will be the priciest ever sold in the neighborhood

The last home to sell for anywhere near Chateau V's asking price went for $9million, Whitney Cain of LIV Sothebys International Realty, one of the listing agents said

Most homes in the area go for an average price of $535,000. But this home is modeled after castles and is worth millions more than most homes in the area

Randall and Cynthia Veselka, who own the castle and designed it, said they were inspired by the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and castles in Europe

The castle is being built by Randall and Cynthia Veselka, who run financial-services company DTI Credit.

The couple said they built the home with the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina in mind.

They also used European castles they had visited on trips as inspiration for the design.

The Veselkas decided to put the home on the market before the castle was completed so the new owners can make modifications if they so choose.

Originally, the couple was going to keep the home for themselves but decided they'd rather spend their time traveling and visiting their grandchildren.

The Veselkas decided to put the home on the market before the castle was completed so the new owners can make modifications if they so choose

Originally, the couple was going to keep the home for themselves but decided they'd rather spend their time traveling and visiting their grandchildren

Inside the breath-taking castle, 126 custom chandeliers adorn the ceiling of the five-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot home

The castle sits on 35 acres and mountains are visible from all 12 dormer window. Breath-taking Colorado landscape makes the already enormous house feel even more spacious and secluded

Statues modeled after sculptures in Monaco sit by the windows and on the roof, a fleur-de-lis iron railing, has a deck for those looking to get a stunning 360-view

Like the rest of the home, the kitchen is a pristine white, accented with black marbling and cabinets. Appliances are in steel

The unique design of the kitchen swirls through the downstairs and a family crest is visible on each island in the room. The light up, too

From the kitchen, the spiral staircases are accessible and the light brightens the room as it pours through several stained-glass windows

Inside the breath-taking castle, 126 custom chandeliers adorn the ceiling of the five-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot home. It sits on 35 acres and mountains are visible from all 12 dormer window.

Statues modeled after sculptures in Monaco sit by the windows and on the roof, a fleur-de-lis iron railing, has a deck for those looking to get a stunning 360-view.

There are two spiral staircases and a light-up Cheteau V crest on every island in the kitchen, the Wall Street Journal writes.

There are two spiral staircases and a light-up Cheteau V crest on every island in the kitchen, the Wall Street Journal writes

The Veselkas also designed family crests with the names of their five children on the staircases in the home, but it will be up to the new homeowner to keep or remove them

Each bedroom has its own bathroom, washer and dryer. There is also a children's play room behind a secret door in the library

Black and white tile line the hallways adjacent to the spiral staircases leading to bedrooms and windows with stunning views

At the top of the home, there is access to the platform on the roof or a person can look over the banister at the size of the home

Once outside on one of the balconies, the Denver air is crisp and the mountain ranges are all in plain view for those who love nature

The castle feels like a secluded piece of paradise as it sits in the affluent neighborhood, just outside the major Colorado city

The Veselkas also designed family crests with the names of their five children on the staircases in the home, but it will be up to the new homeowner to keep or remove them.

Each bedroom has its own bathroom, washer and dryer. There is also a children's play room behind a secret door in the library.

And for those with pets, a dog shower is attached to an outdoor dog area.

The basement is about 5,000-square-feet.

Inside the bathroom, a large black tub surrounded by black marble is perfect for unwinding at the end of a long day

A television embedded in the mirror is the ultimate piece of swag. It sits just above a makeup vanity. On the other side of the room is a luxurious shower

At night the home glows as it is bathed in golden light from fixtures installed all around the castle's exterior
mother Anatoria Headland was not in the house at the time

Jason Headland, 35, is charged with killing his two young children

The father who allegedly killed his two young children in a suspected murder-suicide attempt is believed to be battling depression.

But police revealed on Saturday that three-year-old Andreas and five-year-old Lily were not stabbed to death as was believed, but were holding the children's father Jason Headland responsible.

Headland, 35, was on Saturday charged with two counts of murder and remains in critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital after he allegedly tried to commit suicide by slashing his own throat.

Police found the bodies of two young children believed to Lily, five, and Andreas, three, (pictured with their father Jason Headland), after forcing entry to a home in Yanchep

A suspected murder suicide attempt in which two young children were killed in Perth is believed to have been carried out by their father, Jason Headland (pictured)

Police forced their way into the brand new estate home in Yanchep, a coastal suburb in Perth's north, at about 10.30pm to discover the grisly scene.

Detective Inspector Peter Clements said the investigation was in its infancy so he could not say what happened or how the children died.

'We are still investigating the circumstances around why we were there and how we ended up there,' he said.

Jason Headland, 35, pictured with his son Andreas, three

Mr Headland (left) had only recently moved to the area and it is not yet known if the children's mother Anatoria Headland (right), was living at the same house

He said police still believed Headland killed his children and his injuries were self-inflicted.

'We are not looking for an unknown offender, if you know what I mean,' he said.

'His injuries were fairly significant requiring some fairly intense medical attention.

The children's grandmother, known only as Georgina was struggling to deal with the news.

'I thought I had a dream or something but when you face it and it is real... it just hits you, especially with two little ones, grandchildren... where do we go from here?' she told ABC radio.

Pictured: Headland's son Andreas, three, who is believed to have been killed in a suspected murder-suicide attempt

She said police had visited her at 4am on Friday with the devastating news, and urged people suffering depression to get help.

'If you are having problems, if you are feeling depressed, please God, talk to someone about it,' she said.

Georgina paid tribute to her grandchildren, saying they 'were gold, they were more than gold to me'.

Anatoria Headland pictured with her two young children Andreas and Lily

Neighbours said the children were playing on the front lawn on Thursday afternoon, just hours before their father allegedly killed them.

A neighbour claimed he heard a scream while having dinner at 6.15pm but thought it was from the TV, which he later told detectives.

'I heard a girl's voice or a woman's voice, high pitched and a scream,' he said.

'I feel a bit guilty I didnt do anything.'

Forensic police carrying evidence bags leave a house where two young children were found dead in Yanchep

Police outside a house where the body of a boy, aged 3 and girl aged 5 were found dead in Yanchep, Perth

Headland had only recently moved to the area and it is not yet known if the children's mother Anatoria Headland, was living at the same house.

Inspector Clements said the children's mother had been notified and was extremely upset.

'We're in direct contact with the mother... she's obviously very, very distressed,' he said during a press conference on Friday.

'And also we're assisting the police officers that attended, it's quite distressing circumstances around what has happened.'

Neighbours said the family had moved in 12 weeks ago and the mother was a fly-in fly-out worker. They describing the children as 'sweet kids'.

Police found the bodies of a three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl after forcing entry to their home (pictured) nestled in a brand new estate in Perth's north

The bodies of two people were found inside a house in Perth on Thursday

'I did not see the dad... I just saw the kids running around on the lawn together for a few minutes,' neighbour Bill Nyssen Jr told the West Australian.

'They were just having fun. Everything seemed normal to me.'

He said the family generally kept to themselves and that he had hardly seen them in the ten weeks he had been living on Flight Vista.

Forensic police enter a house where the body of a boy, aged 3 and girl aged 5 were found dead

Forensic investigators have started collecting evidence from the house

Another neighbour, Coline Cooper, said the children's mother flies in and out of town for work and appeared to be away when the deadly attack occurred.

'The last I heard is that there were a couple of children and they had both died and that his wife or partner works away FIFO,' she told the ABC.

'It's awful. I mean it was bad enough when you think just one person was involved, but now there's children involved it's horrible,' she added.

Police have not yet made any arrests as the investigation continues.

The children's bodies were removed from the home at around 8am on Friday morning
The Clinton Foundation worried that staffers in protected classes would slap them with lawsuits if they found out they were making less than colleagues in comparable positions.

An end-of-the-year email from Terry Sheridan, head of Human Resources, to John Podesta and Bruce Lindsey, Chairman of the Board, laying out proposed salary increases for the charitys staffers included an attachment that listed seven exceptions to the agreed upon raises.

A column explaining why those staffers should receive a higher rate of compensation than the agreed upon rate cited protective class concern twice, once for a foundation employee who was a minority (race) and again next to a female web designer (gender).

The Clinton Foundation worried that staffers in protected classes would slap them with lawsuits if they found out they were making less than colleagues in comparable positions

Bill Clintons brainchild was juggling the issue as a civil war was breaking out within the organization.

The ex-presidents daughter. Chelsea, and one of his most trusted aides, Doug Band were locked in a battle over the future of the foundation.

Leaked emails showed them bickering behind each others backs and Band calling her a spoiled brat who kept running to daddy to ger her way.

He also called her a backstabber and suggested that her father was one, too.

As they say, the apple doesnt fall far. A kiss on the cheek while she is sticking a knife in the back, and front.

Band constantly complained about the boss daughter, who had taken on a larger role in the foundation, in emails at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 before he took a step back from the charity to expand his global consulting business, Teneo Holdings.

The emails were taken from Podestas account, most likely by the Russians, the government says, and delivered to Wikileaks. Its posting new bathes online on a daily basis.

The lastest bunch contained an email with two attachments outlining recommended salary increases.

The emails were taken from Podestas account, most likely by the Russians, the government says, and delivered to Wikileaks. Its posting new bathes online on a daily basis

Angel Urena, the foundations deputy communications director, was recommended for a 24.1 percent salary increase to $90,000 a year.

Urena, whos Dominican, was said to be of high value to Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, a hard worker and a good performer.

The list also made note protective class concern (race) to comparable positions in other departments.

Web designer Leslie Tu was described as a consistently good performer who had marketable skill sets even in down market + potential to lose. Another reason to give her a raise: Tu was in a protective class concern (gender) to comparable positions within IT.
A man has faced court accused of eating cannabis he hid in his rectum before police were able to conduct a strip search.

The 37-year-old man from Bomaderry, faced the Nowra local court, south of Sydney, accused of supplying drugs on Wednesday.

The court heard that on May 16 police officers were speaking to passengers of a car, one of whom was the accused who was seen hiding two small containers of between car seats, The Standard reported.

A 37-year-old man from Bomaderry, faced the Nowra local court accused of supplying drugs

Police told the court, the man was subjected to a strip search behind the van in which he needed to squat.

It is alleged that he refused to, which prompted police to suspect he was hiding the illicit drug in his rectum.

The accused denied he was concealing anything, however court documents say police saw something plastic from his bottom.

Later, he allegedly confessed to police he ate a small amount of cannabis he was hiding in his anus.

The man was subjected to a strip search behind the van in which he needed to squat. He refused to which prompted police to suspect he was concealing something in his rectum

Officers said they also found methadone during their search.

During the short hearing, the man did not plead to the allegations, but he did plea guilty to separate charges of possessing a knife in a public place.
Donald Trump planted a flag on hallowed ground Saturday morning by laying out near the Gettysburg National Battlefield what he would do in his first 100 days as President of the United States.

Touting 'the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime,' Trump told an audience of about 300 invited guests that he will 'drain the swamp' in Washington, replacing the current government 'with a new government of, by and for the people.'

The symbolism factor was high, with a campaign aide telling reporters Friday night that the Civil War battle in Gettysburg memorialized by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 'was the moment when the war turned.'

The Republican nominee left the podium and made a beeline in his motorcade for the National Military Park  the battlefield memorial  spending about as much time there as it took Lincoln to speak his 272 words.

Trump's own war  a two-front clash against both Hillary Clinton and the mass media  will come to a climax on November 8 when most Americans will choose a leader for the next four years.

He summed up the substance of his campaign in a 'Contract With The American Voter'  a point-by-point set of initiatives that track with the themes he has focused on for 16 months.

Donald Trump laid out an agenda for his first 100 days as President of the United States  provided he can win  with a Saturday morning speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Trump stopped at the Gettysburg National Military Park after his speech, speaking with Park ranger Caitlin Kostic (center) and campaign CEO Steve Bannon (right) near 'Cemetery Ridge' where Confederate general Robert E. Lee ordered the attack known as Pickett's Charge

'Gettysburg was the moment when the war turned,' a senior campaign aide said Friday night in a hopeful comparison with this year's presidential election

'It is a contract between myself and the American voter, and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington,' Trump said.

Included are six anti-corruption pledges, seven actions related to jobs and trade and five on immigration and the 'rule of law.' He ended his contract with a list of 10 bills he said he would try to quickly shepherd through Congress.

Aides promised the Republican nominee would put more meat on the bare bones of some of his mainstay pledges, but little in the speech broke new ground.

Instead, Trump formalized his signature pledges by announcing a legislative package that he said he would help shepherd through Congress.

TRUMP'S ANTI-CORRUPTION TO-DO LIST 1. Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress 2. Hiring freeze on federal employees to reduce the workforce through attrition 3. Requirement to eliminate two federal regulations for every new one 4. Five-year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists 5. Lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying for foreign governments 6. Complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections Advertisement

He also reiterated a laundry list of executive actions that he has sketched out in speeches stretching back more than a year.

The small crowd gathered in a hotel ballroom was a far cry from the 10,000 rowdy fans he typically draws, but they brought moments of enthusiasm.

The audience rose to their feet and chanted 'Trump! Trump! Trump!' as he entered. One man shouted: 'We love you!'

And in a sign of how deeply the GOP's most negative campaign slogan has taken root, half the crowd chanted 'Lock her up!' at the first mention of Hillary Clinton's name.

Trump reinforced his improbable but now undeniable populist bona fides, casting Clinton as the embodiment of a corrupt political establishment that's willing to throw the middle class under bus the day after Americans vote.

'Hillary Clinton is running against all of the American people, and all of the American voters,' he said.

The billionaire real estate tycoon minced no words about his fears that rampant voter fraud could cost him and other Republicans a fair shot at winning 17 days from now.

Citing Pew Research Center numbers, he said that '1.8 million dead people are registered to vote.'

'And some of them are voting. I wonder how that happens!'

He also referred to 2.8 million people who are 'registered in more than one state' and said that '14 per cent of non-citizens are registered to vote.'

'I can't think of a more historic place,' retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said before praising Trump as the best candidate for president

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke to Trump's Gettysburg crowd: 'I don't know if I could call government, right now, "of the people, by the people and for the people"'

Saturday's two loudest applause lines were Trump's pledge to repeal and replace the Obamacare medical insurance law and to end federal funding for 'sanctuary cities'  Democrat-run municipalities that offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants.

Saturday marked the second time Trump has engaged in the customary 'first 100 days' routine: In June he tacked a laundry list on to a speech castigating the Clintons for profiting from a 'special interest monopoly' in Washington.

TRUMP'S PLEDGES ON IMMIGRATION AND 'RULE OF LAW' 1. Cancel Obama's 'unconstitutional' executive actions, memoranda and orders 2. Pick a conservative replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia 3. Cancel all federal funding to 'sanctuary cities' that harbor illegal immigrants 4. Begin removing the 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the U.S., and cancel visas to countries that wont repatriate them 5. Suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where incoming people can't be properly vetted. Advertisement

That set of promises was predictably vague, including pledges to 'appoint judges who will uphold the Constitution,' 'stand up to countries that cheat on trade' and 'pass massive tax reform to create millions of new jobs.'

But on Saturday, for instance, those vagaries were supplemented by some concrete initiatives.

His famed wall on the U.S. border got a budget line-item with a proposed piece of legislation that will fund its construction  'with the full understanding that the country of Mexico will be reimbursing the United States.'

Trump's light overtures on tax reform were ornamented with a few new numbers: a 35 per cent tax cut for middle-class families with two children, and a reduced 10 per cent rate for American companies that bring overseas money back home.

Before rattling off his policy to-do list, Trump aired more grievances against the journalism profession and the parade of women who have accused him of unwanted kissing and groping years  and in some cases decades  ago.

He said after the election, he plans to sue them.

'Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never,' Trump declared.

'All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.'

He also said he would litigate against the Democratic Party for allegedly paying saboteurs to start fistfights at his campaign rallies.

Republicans hope this is the face of America's 45th president, and Donald Trump laid out his governing philosophy on Saturday to make his case

The Gettysburg speech marked the second time Trump has previewed his first 100 days in office, but it provided a bit more detail and formalized some proposals with legislation

TRUMP'S PLAN FOR JOBS AND TRADE 1. Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or withdraw from it 2. Withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership 3. Order the secretary of the treasury to label China a 'currency manipulator' 4. Use U.S. and international laws to end foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers 5. Lift restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars worth of U.S. energy reserves including shale, oil, natural gas and coal 6. Approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and other 'vital energy infrastructure projects' 7. Cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to improve U.S. water and environmental infrastructure Advertisement

On Saturday he enlisted two advisers to tee him up.

Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg delivered the first pre-speech warmup, a somber seven-minute note of reverence on what Trump hopes will be remembered as the day his battle with America's establishment had a rebirth.

'I can't think of a more historic place,' Kellogg said.

'It's really a historic time in our life,' he added as he drew parallels that stretch backward 153 years to a similar 'time when the future of our nation was in doubt.'

'We are waging another battle  a political one,' he said.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani framed the day in more practical terms, quoting Lincoln's famous three-minute speech.

'I don't know if I could call government, right now, "of the people, by the people and for the people",' Giuliani said.

'I think it's government of the lobbyists, permanent politicians ... the big gigantic multinational corporations, and the unions that can donate massive amounts of money.'

'People are somewhere down there  somewhere,' he lamented.

A Trump aide said Friday night Hillary Clinton's campaign is 'sitting on their lead' and 'waiting out the clock' instead of offering policy specifics

The aide said Trump and Clinton are 'running two different campaigns in the home stretch'

TRUMP'S LAWS: BILLS HE WOULD PUSH IN HIS FIRST 100 DAYS 1. 'Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act': Economic plan designed to grow the economy 4 per cent per year and create 25 million new jobs. Involves tax cuts, trade reform, regulatory relief, lifting restrictions on energy production, and encouraging companies with offshore funds to bring them back to America. 2. 'End The Offshoring Act': New tariffs on goods brought into the U.S. by American companies that relocate jobs outside the U.S. 3. 'American Energy & Infrastructure Act': Uses public-private partnerships and tax incentives to generate $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years 4. 'School Choice And Education Opportunity Act': Redirects education dollars to allow parents to choose any public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school; ends the 'Common Core' federal standards; and expands vocational and technical education 5. 'Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act': Replaces the Affordable Care Act with health savings accounts, removes barriers to purchasing health insurance across state lines, allows states to manage Medicaid funds and speeds up drug approval inside the Food and Drug Administration 6. 'Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act': Provides tax deductions for childcare and elder care and incentivizes employers to provide on-site childcare services 7. 'End Illegal Immigration Act': Funds a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, 'with the full understanding that the country of Mexico will be reimbursing the United States'; establishes 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after deportation, 5-year mandatory minimum for felons who illegally re-enter, and 5 years for coming back after multiple deportations; increases penalties for overstaying visas 8. 'Restoring Community Safety Act': Creates a Task Force On Violent Crime, increases federal funding of police forces and boosts federal support for anti-gang prosecutions 9. 'Restoring National Security Act': Eliminates the federal defense 'sequester' to restore military funding, guarantees veterans the option of private health care if VA facility wait times are long, institutes new defenses against cyber-attacks, and establishes new immigration screening based on 'values' 10. 'Clean up Corruption in Washington Act': Enacts new ethics reforms affecting politicians and their staffers Advertisement

The policy agenda Trump described, a senior campaign aide said Friday night, was far beyond what Democrat Hillary Clinton could put on the table.

She can't articulate her policy goals, the aide said, because her donors haven't yet told her what to think.

'Secretary Clinton has no core,' the aide charged during a conference call, quoting a Democratic aide in a hacked email recently released by WikiLeaks.

'Her policies are determined by the checks that are given to her, and nothing else. And of course no one actually disagrees with that. Everyone understands that she's a special-interest-driven candidate.'

The aide described Saturday's event as 'our chance to lay out a positive vision for the country, from Mr. Trump, about what he's going to do in his first 100 days in office, and how he's going to go about doing it.'

Clinton won't follow suit  'she can't even go there'  the aide predicted, 'because she doesn't even know what checks she's going to get between now and when she would hypothetically be elected.'

The aide promised 'new material' on Saturday but quickly played it coy, saying: 'I don't want to say what it will be.'

'What you're seeing tomorrow, is Mr. Trump identifying the 10 most important principles for the first 100 days, and then offering policy solutions to go with those.'

Trump's Gettysburg address comes with just 17 days to go before the Nov. 8 election. He and Clinton have debated three times. And, most worrisome for Republicans, an estimated 4 million Americans have already cast ballots through early voting programs.

As the call was going on, Trump himself appeared on the Fox News Channel with host Sean Hannity to preview Saturday's speech in an equally vague fashion.

Trump's Gettysburg address  and the battlefield visit that followed  came on a day so windy that his signature coiffure flapped in the breeze

Trump's staffers were vague in a conference call with reporters, and the candidate matched them stride for stride with a host of non-specifics on the Fox News Channel's 'Hannity' show, but he put some more meat on the bare bones Saturday in Gettysburg

'We're going to be lowering taxes. We're going to be strengthening our borders,' he said, remixing buzzword bromides that have been speech staples for months.

'We're going to be getting rid of regulations,' Trump continued. 'The regulations are going to be gone ... we need them for security or we need them for certain things like the environment, but our regulations are just taking over our companies. We can't compete anymore.'

'We're going to be terminating, repealing and replacing Obamacare. We're going to be saving our Second Amendment, There are a lot of things, Sean. It's gonna be - I think it's gonna be very special.'

Trump is engaging in a full-court press of Clinton with a dizzying schedule of 3 to 4 rallies per day, often in as many different states

The Republican drew close to 7,000 people in Pennsylvania's rust-belt town of Johnstown on Friday afternoon, drawn to his message about recovering jobs lost to a global economy

A second senior campaign aide on Friday night's conference call compared Trump's promised policy brain-dump to a famous 1994 Republican congressional gambit responsible in part for the GOP taking over the lower chamber of Congress after 40 years in the minority.

'I worked on the original "Contract with America" back in the mid-'90s,' that second aide said.

'And I think the most important aspect from that contract, in addition to the 10 principles, was the accountability provision  that basically the Republican candidates in 1994 said, "If we fail to bring these to a vote in the first 100 days, you can kick us out".'

One senior Trump aide compared Saturday's policy rollout to the Republicans' 1994 'Contract with America,' which then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich  now a Trump adviser  introduced as a way to put lawmakers' feet to the fire

Acknowledging that 'it's a little bit different when you're the president,' the second aide said that 'the sentiment will be the same, which is that changes need to come very rapidly. And progress needs to come very rapidly.'

The policy proposals Trump will unveil Saturday, the aide said, 'are not going to wait until deep into his term, or in his second term.'

The comparison with the Contract with America could be fraught with trouble, even though its architect Newt Gingrich is advising Trump's campaign.

When Gingrich became Speaker of the House, his rank-and-file pledged to enact eight budget reforms and bring 10 specific bills to a vote.

The bills met with varying levels of success: Some became law while others died in the U.S. Senate or met the business end of President Bill Clinton's veto pen. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled one was unconstitutional.

By 2000 the president of the libertarian Cato Institute determined that the 'Contract' never accomplished what its authors set out to.

'The combined budgets of the 95 major programs that the Contract with America promised to eliminate,' Ed Crane wrote, 'have increased by 13%.'

Like the GOP prior to 1994's electoral takeover, much of Trump's October has been spent playing defense. But the aide suggested he's jumping back on offense while the Clinton campaign is trying to coast to victory.

'We're just running two different campaigns in the home stretch,' the aide said.

'They're going to sit on their lead. They're going to wait out the clock. You have a lot of folks commenting that she doesn't have to do anything except show up or not show up.

'We just have a different take on it. We just think that taking the case directly to the voters ... is really the way to go.'

'If you listen to them out on the stump  Vice President Biden today, Senator Kaine, President Obama  they're talking most predominantly about Donald Trump,' the aide said.
Sir George Martin, known as the fifth Beatle, has been accused by his eldest daughter of hiding his vast wealth so he can pass it on to his favoured children.

Alexis Stratfold, whose music producer father died in March, claimed that the 1million left in his will was a joke and only a small portion of the fortune he had hidden in offshore accounts, estimated at up to 400million.

She became involved in a dispute with her half-siblings from Sir Georges second marriage when she was reportedly left just 68,000. She also accused her father of having a long-standing affair with a Hollywood screenwriter which he hid from his widow Judy until he died.

Sir George Martin, known as the fifth Beatle, has been accused by his eldest daughter Alexis Stratfold (pictured) of hiding his vast wealth so he can pass it on to his favoured children

Mrs Stratfold, 61, spoke out about the the feud with Lady Martin and her children Giles and Lucie in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

She said she had done so because: I dont think they should be able to get away without the truth coming out... Why should the public not know my story; how I have been treated?

Throughout his life Sir George claimed he was not wealthy, although his daughter told the Telegraph that Dad was an incredibly wealthy man, he earned vast amounts in royalties over his lifetime.

I believe he was hiding his wealth abroad. Its a real conundrum. I believe my father has deliberately put the house in Judys name and gifted the rest of his money to Lucie and Giles. I mean, 1 million, its a joke.

The row was not about money though, claimed Mrs Stratfold, but about how she had been made to feel like a second-class family member from the point Sir George married his second wife Judy, 50 years ago.

Sir George Martin (pictured with his wife, Judy, has been accused by his eldest daughter of hiding his vast wealth so he can pass it on to his favoured children

Mrs Stratford became involved in a dispute with her half-siblings from Sir Georges second marriage when she was reportedly left just 68,000

It was only after a memorial service for her father that she received a copy of her fathers will, in which she was left a small part of Sir Georges estate to be shared with his chauffeur, secretary and three grandchildren.

Speaking from her home in Narbonne, in southern France, she told the newspaper: The memorial service felt like the final insult, like another example of the way I have been pushed out by the other side of the family my entire life.

Lucie kept telling me it was all about Dads public life, that it would be taken care of. I made it clear that I wanted to be involved. They left my name off, and when I rang, they just kept offering excuses.

Mrs Stratfold said she had attempted to solve the will row with her half-sister Lucie, but they failed to agree and are no longer in contact.

'The Fifth Beatle' died aged 90 in March (pictured here in 1960)

The Beatles stars Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon receive a silver disk from Mr Martin

She added that she would welcome an HMRC investigation into Sir Georges assets as her father had lived as a tax exile in California and the Channel Island during some of his most profitable years.

With royalties from over a billion record sales, including 30 Beatles hits, Mrs Stratfold was confused her father had left so little.

The Martin family were unavailable to comment last night.

However, Lucie Martin, Sir Georges youngest daughter, has previously stated that Mrs Stratfolds claims were unfounded.

Sir George was one of the greatest producers in the history of popular music and is said to have shaped the sound of The Beatles.
South Africa is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, claiming the war crimes tribunal unfairly targets Africans.

It became the second nation to tell the United Nations it will pull out, following Burundi, whose president Pierre Nkurunziza is accused of murdering scores of opponents.

South Africa said that while it remained determined to tackle the continent's dictators and warlords, the ICC's interpretation of its duties was sometimes incompatible with the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

South Africa is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (pictured), claiming the war crimes tribunal unfairly targets Africans

It accused the ICC of focusing on Africa despite 'clear evidence of violations by others'. The move has outraged opposition parties and campaign groups. There are fears other African nations, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, may follow.

The ICC was set up in July 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It has 124 members.

All four of those to have been convicted by the court in The Hague are Africans, as are all 32 who have been indicted.

Attempts to refer other nations, including Syria, to the court have been blocked by UN Security Council members Russia, China and the US.

A separate UN tribunal is dealing with war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.

The debate over withdrawal from the ICC is expected to be a 'hot issue' at an African Union summit in January 2017 in Ethiopia, said Oryem Okello, deputy foreign minister of a top African critic of the court, Uganda.

It became the second nation to tell the United Nations it will pull out, following Burundi, whose president Pierre Nkurunziza (far right) is accused of murdering scores of opponents

'As a country, we are still undecided,' Okello said. 'We think the matter is best decided as a bloc.'

South Africa's announcement is 'devastating' for the ICC and its efforts to hold those responsible for alleged crimes against humanity to account, said Mark Kersten, a Britain-based researcher.

'It is unclear if other states will follow South Africa's lead, but it is clear that states are more likely to follow South Africa's lead than Burundi, with whom many African states have tensions,' Kersten said.
It's a mathematical problem that could give you a headache in more ways than one.

Scientists have worked out the shortest route for a UK pub crawl  with almost 25,000 stops.

However it may take a little time - the route is 28,270 miles, longer than circumnavigating the globe, said the professor who worked out the mind boggling stat.

And it has broken the record for being the longest single road route ever worked out, said the international team of researchers behind the analysis.

Scientists have worked out the shortest route needed to go to all the 24,727 pubs in Britain but it would still take three years to have a pint in each. File photo

To calculate the shortest route needed to go to the 24,727 pubs on the Pubs Galore website, the team led by maths professor William Cook fed into computers the distance between 305,000 pairs of pubs.

These were worked out using Google maps in a process that took over two years from start to finish, said Professor Cook of the University of Waterloo in Canada.

The problem he was trying to solve is known as The Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), the logistics of working out the shortest possible routes for salesmen covering a large patch in the US.

But the pub poser had at least 100 times more stops than any previous TSP that had been worked out, said Professor Cook, an expert in TSPs.

He said: 'We, of course, did not have in mind to bring everything mathematics has to bear in order to improve the lot of a wandering pub aficionado.

'Rather, we use the U.K. pubs problem as a means for developing and testing general-purpose optimisation methods, which have wide applications in science, industry and commerce.

It took the team two years to solve the problem of getting to them all, and does involve some dry patches, where there's 50 miles without a stop. File photo

'The TSP itself is used to route the trucks that bring packages to your door, to compute DNA sequences in genetics, to aim telescopes, to schedule production runs in factories, to design circuits on computer chips, and on and on.'

The route is circular, so travellers can start at any point, but on the list used by the team, calculations began at the The Green Shutters in Portland and ended at its neighbour, The Rodwell in Weymouth, a four-mile walk away.
The two year saga that gripped Australia ended on Thursday when Gable Tostee was acquitted of the murder of Warriena Wright, but now experts have predicted the bidding war for his story could have started.

On Thursday, Mr Tostee was acquitted by a jury of the murder and manslaughter of the 26-year-old New Zealand woman who plunged from the 14th floor balcony of Mr Tostee's apartment after they had a row.

Mr Tostee, 30, remained tight-lipped during the trial and News.com.au have spoken to experts who estimate that he could be offered anywhere between $100-$200,000 to speak to a news program.

With legal proceedings over, Australians are pondering questions about why the argument with Ms Wright, 26, was recorded or what Mr Tostee is really like?

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Gable Tostee, 30, was acquitted of murder and manslaughter of New Zealand woman Warriena Wright on Thursday

Mr Tostee remained tight-lipped during the course of the trial which ended on Thursday

Experts suggest 60 Minutes or its rival Sunday Night would be crazy not to pass up a must watch interview, according to News.com.au

Experts suggest programs such as 60 Minutes or its rival Sunday Night would be crazy to pass up a must watch interview, according to News.com.au.

'It's a case that is ripe for current affairs; audio, romance, Tinder, but viewers are mindful that there is a victim at the centre of it all and may take a dim view of anybody seen to be cashing in,' David Knox, editor of TV website, told News.com.au.

Mr Knox said there are numerous angles that could be explored in a story.

The 30-year-old from Australia's Gold Coast was acquitted by a jury of murder and manslaughter of Ms Wright

Ms Wright plunged from Mr Tostee's 14th floor balcony in the early hours of August 8, 2014

'A news story as big as this would already be on a news producer's white board and there are now various angles you could build a story around: Gable Tostee, the family of Warriena Wright, or even the impact of social media on the trial.'

An unnamed source told the publication that the going rate for an exclusive would fetch anywhere between $100-$200,000.

Another source claims the story would be a 'huge get' and 60 Minutes - after recent scandals such as the Beirut child abduction - would have a difficult decision on whether to look at the story.

'He's been cleared of any charges, so there's nothing legally wrong with paying him,' she told the publication.

Mr Tostee left the court after the jury took 14 hours to clear him of murder

'But given the need for 60 Minutes to try and rebuild, they might think twice about paying big money for something like this.

'That said, it's a huge story so ... they might choose ratings over reputation.'

Despite the large sums of money and the interest from the public the decision is down to Mr Tostee who might want to stay silent - like he did during the trial.
Brittany was a symbol for death with dignity laws after diagnosis in 2014

Said Brittany gave him 'sole ownership' of her life story in her Will

Dan Diaz said Brittany worried her mom would write a book about her

On the day she chose to end her life, Brittany Maynard told her parents she would meet them at Machu Picchu.

'I will find some way to be watching down on you,' she wrote in her last letter to her mother, Deborah Ziegler. 'I will smile as your plane touches down in Peru.'

It is just one of the beautiful final moments Ziegler has shared of her daughter, who became a prominent advocate for right-to-die laws after she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, in her new book Wild and Precious Life.

But it's a memory that Brittany's husband Dan Diaz claims Ziegler was never supposed to share at all.

The mother of Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old who became an advocate of right-to-die laws after she was diagnosed with terminally ill brain cancer, has written a story about her life

Deborah Ziegler sat down with Katie Couric to tell the story of Brittany's last day, the day she chose to die, on November 1, 2014 - and brought the news anchor to tears

Diaz took to Facebook last week to reveal that, before she died, Brittany had explicitly told him she did not want her mother to tell her story to the public.

'No one else can tell my story Dan, except for you,' Diaz claims Brittany told him.

'You are the only one that has been here for me the entire time and you are the only one that can share the meaningful private moments that I would want shared.'

'I love my mother very much, but I don't want her to be a storyteller about me,' Diaz recalled his wife saying.

'She's been a great mom and I wouldn't be here without her, but I don't want her to write about me. It is not her place to do so.'

Diaz said Brittany had warned him that Ziegler may be the 'biggest problem' when it came to protecting her story, and had thus given him sole ownership of her 'name, likeness, image, description, voice and life story' in her Will.

'The book that...Ziegler decided to write against Brittany's instructions...does not appropriately tell the story of Brittany Maynard,' Diaz added.

But it's a story that Brittany's husband Dan Diaz claims Ziegler was never supposed to share at all. Diaz said his wife explicitly told him she never wanted her mother to tell her story

'In particular, the scenes from the last 10 months of Brittany's life obviously reflect Deborah's own opinions, concerns and thoughts.'

Diaz also claimed that there are 'numerous passages' in the book that are 'inaccurate'.

'The purpose of this post is simply to convey Brittany's instructions,' he concluded. 'It is not to create angst or division. Kindness and love are what we need more of in this world.'

'The purpose of this post is to relay the information that Brittany required of me; that she did not support her mother writing a book and feared the contents would be inaccurate.'

Diaz's statements haven't stopped Ziegler from speaking out about her daughter, most recently giving an extensive interview to Katie Couric for Yahoo.

Ziegler spoke at length about her daughter's last day - November 1, 2014 - which she said began with a walk together through the woods in Portland.

Diaz said Brittany had warned him that Ziegler may be the 'biggest problem' when it came to protecting her story. Pictured here are Brittany and Ziegler together

Diaz has claimed that the last 10 months of Maynard's life 'obviously reflect Deborah's own opinions' and he said 'numerous passages' in the book are 'inaccurate'

Maynard and her family had moved to Oregon that year from their native California, where at the time it was illegal for terminally ill patients to end their life through voluntary self-administered lethal injections.

'It was just a beautiful day,' Ziegler recalled. 'I couldn't help myself. I asked, "Are you sure today is the day?" A mom always has to do that.'

Ziegler wrote about Maynard's life and death after she was diagnosed in her new book Wild and Precious Life (pictured)

'And she said, "Yeah, Mom, today is the day."'

It had been just over a year that Brittany was rushed to the hospital with a headache and a CT scan found she had a tumor rapidly growing in her brain.

Ziegler said that although she was physically able to go for a walk on that last morning, Brittany's symptoms had been getting worse and worse.

'The seizures were terrifying,' Ziegler said. 'They were coming closer together. They were more severe. Sometimes she would just talk gibberish when she came out of the seizure, and we would wonder, "Is she going to be able to speak again?"'

But on that day, Ziegler said she could tell her daughter was finally at peace.

'There was no more anger, there was no more anxiety, fear,' Ziegler said.

Brittany turned to her mother and said: 'I'm already only living for others, this is a fact mom. I'm living for other people now. So, let me go.'

Ziegler said they then returned to their home, where Brittany crawled up in her 'big beautiful bed' and wrote final letters to her loved ones.

Then, with Diaz by her side on the bed and her family and friends surrounding her in a 'circle of love', Brittany took her medicine as Ziegler read 'The Summer Day' by Mary Oliver.

'As she breathed her last breath, she was listening to her favorite poem and my voice,' Ziegler said.

Ziegler made the last line from the poem the title of her book.

Diaz has said Brittany (pictured together) gave him sole ownership of her 'name, likeness, image, description, voice and life story' in her Will

He has said that Brittany 'did not support her mother writing a book' and had told Diaz only he could tell her true story because he could share the 'private meaningful moments'

After Brittany died, Ziegler honored two of her requests.

She first became a champion for death with dignity laws and the terminally ill.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act in the state nearly a year before the one-year-anniversary of Brittany's death.

'Many people were jubilant and happy, including me,' Ziegler said. 'But that didn't bring my daughter back, and so there was that feeling of loss magnified in a way.'

But Ziegler did get to feel Brittany's presence when she completed her daughter's other request - to meet her in Peru.

'It felt like cleansing,' Ziegler said of the moment she made it to Machu Picchu.

'Like washing away everything that was inside of me that was angry and anxious and sad - it was washed away.'

'And I felt like, I'm going to honor my child in the biggest way possible. I'm going to live a bigger life because of her. I'm going to live a larger life.'

'I'm going to be a better person. I'm going to honor her with the rest of my life.'
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The going was certainly heavy for horseracing fans at the prestigious Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

Revellers were caught out after a huge rain storm rolled through north Melbourne following a sunny morning, leaving many struggling to stay dry and warm in their best outfits.

While punters tried to ensure the wet weather did not dampen their fun, it certainly felt anything like Spring Racing season with temperatures dropping to just 10 degrees and strong winds also battering the course. Wonder-horse Winx was also untroubled by the miserable conditions as she won the Cox Plate by a jaw-dropping 10 lengths for her 13th consecutive victory.

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A racegoer struggles to keep dry at Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday as a huge rain storm rolls through north Melbourne

Punters get an eyeful when one racegoers' dress rides high as she gets a hug at a wet Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday

Many women appeared dressed for the wrong weather at Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday as a bright and sunny morning gave way to rain and strong winds

The going was soft underfoot for racegoers at Moonee Valley in Melbourne on Saturday ahead of the Cox Plate following a huge rain storm

Some racegoers seemed happy to grin and bear it as they were hit by a huge rain storm at Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday ahead of the $3m Cox Plate

The Cox Plate, due off at 5pm on Saturday, promised to be one of the best in recent memory with star horses Winx and Hartnell expected to battle it out for the $1.8m first prize.

Winx, the 2016 Australian Horse of the Year, was hot favourite after winning 12 consecutive races and was attempting to make it back-to-back victories in the Cox Plate.

Many punters at Moonee Valley backed the five-year-old mare, even at low odds, and they were celebrating as jockey Hugh Bowman powered Winx to glory in stunning style with arch-rival Hartnell trailing way behind in second place.

The rain could not dampen the spirits of this racegoer who was determined to have fun with a glass of something chilled at Moonee Valley on Saturday ahead of the Cox Plate

Strong winds sent umbrellas flying at Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday, but these racegoers were determined to hold onto their drinks

Revellers at a wet Moonee Valley on Saturday were forced to wear unfashionable plastic raincoats to protect their best outfits

These females were keen to keep their Cox Plate outfits dry after grabbing a prime position trackside ahead of the big race at Moonee Valley on Saturday

The beer may have been Dry, but the weather certainly wasn't for racegoers who were forced to take cover after a huge rain storm at Moonee Valley on Saturday

Away from the action on the track - and despite the miserable weather - racegoers seemed determined to enjoy themselves on one of the biggest days of the equine calendar.

The drinks continued to flow as quickly as the rain came down, with excitement also building ahead of the traditional rendition of Horses by legend Daryl Braithwaite.

But punters were warned that temperatures could feel as cold as seven degrees at the Melbourne venue by the time Braithwaite performed his classic hit.

The thigh was not quite the limit for one racegoer at Moonee Valley racecourse ahead of the Cox Plate on Saturday

Racegoers are all smiles despite the miserable weather at Moonee Valley racecourse in Melbourne on Saturday

Legendary horseracing trainer Gai Waterhouse appeared to have studied the weather forecast before heading out to Moonee Valley on Saturday on Cox Plate day as she sported a distinctive leopard-print umbrella and warm coat

The drinks continued to flow as fast as the rain came down as racegoers refused to let the wet weather dampen their spirits at Moonee Valley racecourse in north Melbourne on Cox Plate day
Video of a dressed down Tony Abbott 'working for the dole' has resurfaced online.

Shot in 2000 long before he was voted in to Australia's top job, the video captures the day Mr Abbott experienced what it was like to work for the dole.

Still in his suit pants, the former Prime Minister of Australia takes a dig at political sledging by comparing shovelling mud to 'mud slinging' in Parliament.

Tony Abbott (pictured) compares shovelling mud to 'mud slinging' in Parliament

'I'd say this is a bit different to what you're used to doing,' his supervisor Tom said.

To which Mr Abbott said 'oh na na, we do this all the time in Parliament House, sling mud'.

Enthusiastically trying to fit into their shoes, Mr Abbott shares lunch with a dole worker and tells him what he thinks of the job.

'Well, you guys all work pretty hard, and everyone seems to be in quite good spirits,' he said.

'Yeah, which is good.'

Enthusiastically trying to fit into dole workers' shoes, Mr Abbott shares lunch with one of the workers

In his efforts to understand the system at Sydney's Penrith Lakes Development, Mr Abbott is taken through a foray of physically demanding tasks.

While some were laborious, others simply required him to sort weeds from plants.

Mr Abbott, the minister for employment, workplace relations and small business at the time, was also tasked to shovel mud and load plants into a wheelbarrow.

He was even taught how to correctly place a shovel on the ground, but he wasn't quick to learn the skill.

Tony Abbott with his site supervisor Tom at Sydney's Penrith Lakes Development in 2000

'Pretty basic knowledge this, but you'd be surprised how many people still leave them up the right way,' Tom said.

To which Mr Abbott replied 'yes, I plead guilty'.

Seconds later Mr Abbott is told to put the shovel down, but instead of placing it face down as instructed, he throws it down face up.

'See what you did, caught you already,' Tom said.

Tony Abbott (pictured) was not quick to learn how to place a shovel on the ground correctly

After a hard day's work, Tony reflects on his experience in the job and describes a new found appreciation for the dole workers.

'There was team work, there was comradery, there was I think a genuine enthusiasm to try to make a difference and do a good job,' he said.

'I'm pretty encouraged by today.'

His supervisor was also pleasantly surprised with the former Prime Minister's efforts.

'He worked solid all day today I've got to give him that,' he said.

'I thought he'd slack off on me.

'He's a good worker, he won't be on the dole.'
Ashlee Dobson rocked back and forth, clutching her son's Paddington Bear doll to her chest, as she heard about his torture

The grandmother of the four-year-old child brutally murdered by his transgender babysitter was rushed from court on an ambulance gurney as his killer was sentenced to life in jail.

Kryzie King, 29, was told she will spend at least 22 years behind bars after previously pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of Myls Dobson at Manhattan Supreme Court.

The boy's mother Ashlee Dobson rocked gently in court, clutching her son's Paddington Bear toy wrapped in Myls' clothes to her chest, as the family heard how King had tortured Myls for 29 days - tying and gagging him, then burning, beating and starving the young child until he died on January 8, 2014.

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Faye Dobson, the grandmother of the four-year-old child brutally murdered by his transgender babysitter, was rushed from court on an ambulance gurney as his killer was sentenced to life in jail

The victim's mother Ashlee Dobson rocked back and forth, clutching her son's Paddington Bear doll to her chest, as the family heard how King had tortured Myls

Myls (left and right) was tied up, gagged, burnt, beaten and starved until the young child eventually died on January 8, 2014

Faye's daughter, and Myls' mother, Ashlee, was also in extreme distress, according to the New York Daily News.

'I can hear his voice saying, 'I love you, Mommy.'I can also hear him saying, 'Don't cry, Mommy, I'm fine,' Dobson said in a statement after sentencing ended.

'This pain is like no pain anyone should have to suffer. We love you Myls and we look forward to seeing you again ... we rejoice knowing we will,' the mother's statement said.

Myls' maternal grandmother, Faye Dobson, described her grandson as a kind boy who would wish everyone to 'have a great day' on the subway as well as a budding musician.

After hearing how her grandson had been tortured and starved to death, Faye suffered a severe dizzy spell and had to be rushed from the courthouse on an ambulance gurney.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said previously that Myls' father Okee Wade left his son with King at a luxury apartment in Hell's Kitchen, New York, in the middle of December 2013.

Wade, who has also denied knowing King, never returned and ended up behind bars for fraud.

Myls had been removed from the custody of his mother, Ashlee Dobson, in 2012.

Myls' maternal grandmother, Faye Dobson (left, in court on Friday( described her grandson as a kind boy who would wish everyone to 'have a great day' on the subway as well as a budding musician

After hearing how her grandson had been tortured and starved to death, Faye Dobson (left in court in Friday) suffered a severe dizzy spell and had to be taken out of court on an ambulance gurney

King, apparently annoyed that she had been left in charge of the boy over Christmas, took out her anger on the innocent youngster, whose body was found on January 8, 2014.

When an autopsy was carried out on Myls, he was covered in burns and bruises and had not eaten for weeks.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said: 'In order to punish him she bound Myls Dobson and gagged him.'

At the time New York was suffering from record low temperatures due to the Polar Vortex, a pocket of cold air which moves down from the North Pole.

Ms Blumberg said King put him 'out on the balcony in her apartment in the freezing cold during the Polar Vortex wearing just a short sleeved T-shirt and his underwear.'

He was also hit with electrical cords and belt buckles and burned with a hot toaster oven rack.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said: 'With this plea, Myls Dobson's murderer has now been brought to justice and will be held accountable for the inexplicable cruelty and suffering caused to an innocent and helpless four-year-old boy.'

Kryzie King, 29, (picturd) was told she will spend at least 22 years behind bars after previously pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of Myls Dobson at Manhattan Supreme Court

Okee Wade (pictured) left the child with Kryzie King at her 11th floor apartment in this high rise in Hell's Kitchen (right) a few weeks before Christmas 2013. He was later jailed for fraud. He has denied ever dating King or any other transgender people

Ms Blumberg said: 'The medical examiners determined that although the defendant called the police on the morning of January 8, at approximately 10.50 in the morning, it's likely Myls Dobson died either on the very, very late evening of January 6, 2014 or the early morning hours of January 7, 2014.'

Myls' great-aunt, Linda Dobson, told the New York Daily News: 'No person would do something like that to a child' and she called King a 'monster'.

After her arrest King tried to claim she had planned a wonderful Christmas for Myls.

She said: 'I went out and got a tree for Christmas so me and Myls could have fun putting it together. I have cancelled my plans to go Jamaica just so I could make Myls feel like he was at home.'

King, who worked as a hairstylist and model, claimed to have spent $900 on a video games console as a Christmas present for him.

Myls (pictured) was removed from the custody of his mother, Ashlee Dobson (left) in 2012. His babysitter was found guilty of his 2013 murder on Thursday

Ashlee Dobson, who brought her son's stuffed toy to court said the pain of losing him 'is like no pain anyone should have to suffer'

But a court prosecutor insisted that King 'knew the severe amount of pain she caused her victim and the fear he had for her.'

She watched Myls dying but did nothing because she knew she'd be in trouble, she added, calling his death a 'senseless tragedy'.

King has pleaded guilty on September 29 to second-degree murder, several counts of assault and related charges.

'I just want to say I'm sorry to the family of Myls Dobson,' King said in court today before she was sentenced.
A man was shot twice on a Sydney street in broad daylight in what police believe was a targeted hit.

The man aged in his 20s was rushed to Westmead Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The shooting occurred on Steel Street in South Granville at about 1.20pm on Saturday and police were appealing for information.

A man was shot twice on a Sydney street in broad daylight in what police believe was a targeted hit

The man aged in his 20s was rushed to Westmead Hospital with non-life threatening injuries
Russia has reportedly tried to send its officials to monitor the U.S. presidential election in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas.

The U.S. State Department immediately shot the idea down, telling the Russian diplomats 'thanks, but no thanks'.

Representatives from the Central Elections Commission allegedly spoke to the State Department about sending a group of monitors to oversee polling places on November 8, according to Russian media.

The move has been deemed a 'PR stunt' by the State Department.

Russia has reportedly tried to send its officials to monitor the U.S. presidential election in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas (stock image of voters in Miami on Friday)

The U.S. government told Russia that if they send agents to polling places on the day of the election they will be thrown in jail (stock image of Colorado polling place in 2015)

The U.S. government told Russia that if they send agents to polling places on the day of the election they will be thrown in jail.

The Oklahoma secretary of state's office said it received a letter in August from Russia's consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the 'US experience in organization of voting process'.

But the office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.

'While it would be our honor to offer the opportunity to observe our voting process, it is prohibited under state law to allow anyone except election officials and voters in or around the area where voting takes place,' Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge wrote in a response to Alexander Zakharov, Russia's consul general in Houston.

While there is a formal process for foreign governments to observe U.S. elections, individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny those requests (Russian consulate in Texas, pictured)

Texas has similar prohibitions on entering polling places, and Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler denied the request, citing that state's catastrophic flooding in the Baton Rouge area in August.

Election officials in Louisiana and Texas said they denied similar requests from Russian officials.

While there is a formal process for foreign governments to observe U.S. elections, individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny those requests, said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

'Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false,' Toner said in a statement. 'Individual parties - foreign governments, NGOs, etc. - are welcome to apply to state governments to observe our elections.'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be 'rigged', and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the DNC

Thousands of hacked emails from accounts of individuals within Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign have been posted on the website of the WikiLeaks but Russia denies involvement

Russia hasn't participated in an international mission to observe elections, so its effort to do so on the state level represents 'nothing more than a PR stunt,' Toner said.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the purpose of the requests was uncertain.

He added it was 'appropriate' that people might be suspicious of Russia's motives.

U.S. officials suggested to Russia that it could watch the election via the Organization for Security and Cooperation's monitoring of the vote in Europe, AOL reported.

However, that apparently wasn't what Russia was looking for.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be 'rigged', and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election.
said it was Scheuermann who had stabbed Hudson first

A 23-year-old man has been found not guilty in the fatal stabbing of a fellow University of Colorado, Boulder student during a bar brawl last December.

Ian Scheuermann pleaded self-defense in the death of 26-year-old Sean Hudson, who he stabbed six times - including in the heart and neck.

It only took the Boulder County jurors three hours of deliberation to acquit Scheuermann of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and one count of felony menacing on Friday.

The jury also did not find Scheuermann guilty of reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, lesser charges that they were also permitted to consider.

The courtroom was an emotional scene as family members from both sides broke down in tears following the verdict.

Ian Scheuermann broke down in tears as he hugged his attorney Lisa Wayne after he was found not guilty in the death of fellow University of Colorado, Boulder student Sean Hudson

Scheuermann, pictured here hugging his parents, pleaded self-defense in the death of 26-year-old PhD student

Scheuermann could be seen hugging his parents and defense attorney Lisa Wayne as relatives and friends of Hudson left the room.

'We are disappointed with the verdict and know how difficult this verdict is to bear for the family of Sean Hudson,' said Boulder County District Attorney Sean Garnett.

One juror revealed that the 'crux of conversation' among the jury was the amount of force Scheuermann used when he stabbed Hudson.

'We decided that, given the circumstances, even though in retrospect it was possibly excessive, there was no way we could definitely prove it was excessive at the time,' they told the Boulder Daily Camera.

'We felt that if, at any point, the victim stopped, so would have Ian.'

The brawl was set into motion a week before it began, when Scheuermann first met Hudson's friend Jeremy Zellers while playing pool at the Sundown Saloon.

When the pair realized they shared an ex-girlfriend, Scheuermann allegedly made an offensive sexual comment about her to Zellers, according to prosecutors.

Zellers later said he thought the pair had 'hugged it out' and that there were no bad feelings between them, he told the Loveland Reporter-Herald.

But those feelings soon changed when he went back to the same bar a week later with Hudson and their friend Chris Loersch and saw Scheuermann once again.

Sscheuermann stabbed Hudson (pictured) six times - including in the heart and neck

Prosecutors argued that Hudson (pictured here with his mother) only shoved him to the ground after the 23-year-old stabbed him in the chest with a pocket knife

Zellers said at one point that night he went outside and asked Scheuermann for a cigarette.

But Scheuermann refused and asked: 'Do you wanna get cut?', he claimed.

Zellers said he ended up telling Hudson about both the cigarette incident and what Scheuermann had said about his ex-girlfriend a week earlier.

When the group left the bar, Loersch said Hudson looked around for Scheuermann so that he could confront him about the profane comment.

They ran into Scheuermann and his friend Simon Vollmer as they walked home and Loersch said it became obvious a fight was about to start.

Loersch added that Scheuermann had tried to flag down a passing police car, but the cop did not stop.

He said Hudson then shoved Vollmer to the ground before doing the same to Scheuermann after he stepped forward.

Hudson then punched Scheuermann twice while Loersch kept Vollmer down to make sure he didn't jump in to help his friend.

It was at that point that Scheuermann, a junior at the university, began to stab Hudson, a Greenfield, Indiana native who was working on his PhD.

Wayne argued that Hudson and friends Jeremy Zellers and Chris Loersch were looking for a fight after Scheuermann made a sexual comment about an ex-girlfriend he and Zellers shared

Wayne described the fight as an 'alcohol-fueled' Hudson and his friends 'looking to do a beatdown'

'I grabbed the knife and I cut him, cause I'm trying not to get beat to death,' Scheuermann later told investigators in a taped interview.

'I kept doing that until he stopped.'

Loersch didn't see the knife until it was coming out of his friend's chest. He said he then grabbed it out of Scheuermann's hand.

He testified that Vollmer then shouted at his friend: 'What the f**k did you do?'

Loersch said Hudson tried to talk to him but 'there was a lot of blood'.

'He could only gurgle,' he said. 'I see a wave of confusion in his eyes and then he falls to the ground.'

Loersch managed to wave down nearby police officers. Hudson was loaded into an ambulance and died on the way to a nearby hospital.

'Next time I saw him, he was a corpse in Indiana,' said Loersch.

Defense attorney Wayne described the fight as an 'alcohol-fueled' Hudson and his friends 'looking to do a beatdown'.

'This is about two big guys and a skinny guy,' she told the jury.

'It was a planned attack that started from the steps of the Sundown Saloon, when they were scanning the crowd looking for Ian.'

Wayne said the fact that Scheuermann had tried to wave down a police car was evidence that he didn't want to fight.

'But we know who was,' she added. 'Sean Hudson was amped up to go. For whatever reason, he was fueled by a lot of anger.'

Wayne said Scheuermann stabbed Hudson in the 'heat of the moment'.

Prosecutor Sean Finn argued that there was evidence, including Scheuermann's own admission, that he may have in fact stabbed Hudson while the two were still standing.

The brawl happened after the group of friends ran into each other at this popular Boulder bar called the Sundown Saloon

'Sean Hudson is trying to land punches on the person who is stabbing him to death,' Finn told the jury.

'Did he deserve to die because he pushed somebody outside of a bar?' he then asked.

'In response to a push outside a bar, the defendant comes up with a knife and stabs someone in the chest.'

'Please, don't tell us that if somebody gets pushed outside a bar, they are legally justified to commit murder.'

At the end of her closing argument, Wayne told the jury that Hudson's death was a tragedy - but that didn't necessarily make it a crime.

'When you take somebody's life, you have to live with that for the rest of your own life,' she then added.
A series of investigations found flaws in her labs and hiring practices

Holmes was barred from owning or running a laboratory in July this year

Claimed Holmes did not like it when they spoke in groups at the office

She told how lawyers listened to employees' phone calls before his death

His widow claims his concerns over Holmes' practices were ignored

Her head scientist, Ian Gibbons, overdosed on painkillers in May 2013

She claimed one-prick blood tests could 'change the world' of healthcare

Elizabeth Holmes is the founder of troubled bio-tech start-up Theranos Inc

The widow of a scientist who killed himself in fear he was about to lose his job at troubled bio-tech start-up Theranos has told of the company's paranoid culture.

Ian Gibbons, the head scientist at the blood test company, died after taking an overdose of painkillers in May 2013 within hours of being summoned for a meeting.

According to his widow, Rochelle, he had found faults in machines the company claimed would 'change the world' by being able to diagnose diseases from a single pinprick of a patient's blood.

Having recently been diagnosed with cancer, he stopped going to work and feared he was going to be fired when bosses called him in.

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Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes (above) did not allow employees to speak in groups and had lawyers listen to their phone calls, the widow of her top scientist has claimed

On Friday, Mrs Gibbons told the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph how her English husband was troubled by the constant presence of lawyers at the start-up's Silicon Valley headquarters.

'There were lawyers all over the place who would listen to phone calls the whole time,' she said.

Theranos was founded in 2003 by Stanford drop out Elizabeth Holmes, citing its Edison blood test lab as one that would 'change the world'.

Ian Gibbons took his own life in May 2013 in fear he was about to lose his job

Holmes amassed a $4billion fortune through her boasts that the test would revolutionize healthcare by making blood tests more comfortable, convenient and less expensive.

Theranos Wellness Centers popped up across Walgreens stores in Arizona and she was hailed as one of the most prolific young entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.

Tests for a range of ailments including cancer were offered for a price at the centers.

She lost her riches overnight after a 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation poked holes in the company.

Its probe claimed, based on the testimony of anonymous former employees, that Theranos only used the Edison machine to process a small fraction of the tests it sold.

According to the Journal, staff raised concerns about the validity of any results it did return but their worries were never reported to governing agencies.

The majority of patients' blood samples were processed by machines bought from traditional suppliers like Siemens and AG, it claimed.

Holmes was ordered to stop production while Theranos was investigated by agencies including the FBI.

The company is now being sued by patients and hedge-funds who both say they were misled into buying tests and investing in its growth.

Mrs Gibbons, who aired damning accusations against Theranos in an expose by Vanity Fair earlier this year, told on Friday how the CEO kept a watchful eye on employees' interactions while they worked in its Palo Alto office before any concerns were made public.

The Theranos headquarters in Palo Alto, California, were riddled with lawyers, Gibbons' widow said

Holmes amassed a $4billion fortune through her boast that Theranos could revolutionize the blood testing industry. A key staple of her claim was the Edison machine (above) which she said would process patients' blood samples

'She would walk around and if she saw clusters of people talking together there would be a problem.

'He was mystified by the fact a 19-year-old would be given all this power,' she said.

Mrs Gibbons also claimed her husband was fired but reinstated to keep him from sharing his concerns about the company.

Holmes, who was once the world's richest self-made woman, has been barred from owning or running laboratories

He died a week after taking an overdose of painkillers at home in May 2016.

Holmes told The Telegraph the company made 'significant' efforts to accommodate him during his health battle.

She described him as a 'friend' and 'brilliant scientist'.

Holmes became the richest self-made woman in America. In 2004, her company was valued at $9billion and she owned a more than 50 per cent share.

Modeling herself on Steve Jobs, she turned up for work in a daily uniform of a black turtle neck sweater and vest.

Her lawyer conceded before The Wall Street Journal investigation that Theranos did not process all its tests using the Edison machine.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a scathing report earlier this year ruling she had not hired or trained licensed or qualified staff.

She stopped testing at her Newark, California lab afterwards and vowed to meet its requirements.

They decided her efforts were inadequate and barred her from owning or running a laboratory for two years in July.

'We accept full responsibility for the issues at our laboratory in Newark and have already worked to undertake comprehensive remedial actions,' she said in a statement at the time.




The Australian man spent a day on a Texas ranch for a Red Bull promotion

Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, 27, has given an entire interview in a hilarious yet somewhat cringe worthy American accent.

In the interview given to US Grand Prix, Ricciardo covers a broad range of topics branching from politics and even shovelling dung.

After working as a ranch hand in Texas on Wednesday as part of a Red Bull promotional event, the lingo clearly left its mark on the Perth boy.

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Daniel Ricciardo (pictured) looked the part in a photo posted to Instagram from a ranch in rural Texas on Wednesday

The Texan-speaking Aussie was all too happy to discuss shovelling dung, but was left momentarily speechless when questioned about the current US presidential race.

Please sir dont throw that catastrophe upon me, he said to the reporter.

When questioned about his new-found accent, Ricciardo said it simply helped him grow more accustomed to Texas.

Well I feel that the more I start to speak like this, the more accustomed Im getting to everything Texas, he said.

Ricciardo (pictured) was all too happy to discuss shovelling dung, but was left momentarily speechless when questioned about the current US presidential race

The entertaining interview comes as the Red Bull driver prepares for the United States Grand Prix in Austin on Sunday.

With Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton out in front at the top of the standings, Ricciardo is currently in third place with four races remaining.

He is 47 points ahead of his team-mate Max Verstappen.
An ambitious python has caused trouble in a small town after it caused a blackout when it was electrocuted trying to catch a bird.

The small town of Katherine, located 320km southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory, experienced a massive blackout on Friday when an olive python got tangled in a power line with a magpie goose in its mouth.

It is believed the python was descending from the pole when it became tangled in the power line, cutting power to traffic lights, businesses and households, according to the Katherine Times.

It is believed the python was descending from the pole when it became tangled in the power line and caused a blackout

An olive python got caught tangled in a power line in the Northern Territory (Stock Image)

Pine Creek and other outback communities also had power outages.

The Power and Water Corporation went to investigate the cause of the blackout when they found the dead snake hanging from the wire near Hayes Creek.

The Corporation spokesman told the Katherine Times this can happen with snakes.

'Animals such as snakes, bats and birds can come into contact with power lines,' spokesman said.

'Strong winds can also cause outages when branches become loose and trees fall.

'The python was located on the line south of Hayes Creek on the plateau.'

It was reported the power was restored shortly after the incident.

Katherine is located on the Katherine River in the Northern Territory and is the territory's fourth largest town.
Police say that her boyfriend is a person of interest in the

The boyfriend of a missing college student who disappeared after going on a date with him has been named as a person of interest.

Zuzu Renee Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, was last heard from during the early morning hours of October 12,and police say she could be in danger.

Authorities said Friday said her on-again, off-again boyfriend - whom they did not name - is 'not cooperating' in the search.

'Unfortunately we have one individual who has refused to come in and talk to us, he has retained an attorney,' said a police spokesman at a press conference on Friday.

Missing: An all-out search Zuzu Renee Verk (above) has been launched by authorities in Texas after her family said she disappeared more than a week ago before going on a date

'This individual happens to know her better than anyone else. Investigators are waiting to talk to him.'

Verk's father, Glenn Verk, said his 22-year-old daughter was absent from school, where she is studying conservation biology, and also missed work later that day.

'We're all special but there's something exceptional about this young woman. She's vibrant and she's full of excitement and life,' her father told CBS11.

'I'm just very proud of her and I want to see her again,' he said while choking back tears.

Verk left her parents' home in Keller to go on a date to the movies back in Alpine with her on-again, off-again boyfriend on the night of October 11, Fox News reported.

In addition, she had planned to go on a camping trip with friends on Friday.

Authorities do not have a suspect or a person of interest as of Wednesday and they did not release the name or the whereabouts of her ex-boyfriend.

Verk left her parents' home on October 11 to go on a date to the movies later that evening. Her parents reported her missing after she missed classes and work the next day

The Texas Rangers and the FBI are assisting in the search for Verk, which was expanded outside of Alpine, which is around 100 miles from the Mexican border.

As the search intensifies, her family is hoping for her safe return and is asking any who may have information to call police.

'The community has reached out to an amazing degree putting together huge search parties,' her father said.

'If they have any connection to anything that might've happened her in Alpine, the smallest inclining of a suspicion. Nothing is being overlooked.'

The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty and a 2004 Mazda Miata convertible with a beige colored top.

Both of those vehicles were spotted in the area between 12am and 10am on October 12, police say.

Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University (file above) in Alpine, was last heard from during the early morning hours of October 12, Alpine Police say

The Alpine Police Department is looking for two vehicles possibly related to her disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty (left) and a 2004 Mazda Miata (right) convertible with a beige colored top.

Authorities are asking ranchers in Brewster County to inspect their property for 'any suspicious signs of disturbed earth, personal items on the ground, anything that might raise your suspicions that it may need to be investigated further,' the Dallas Morning News reported.

Verk is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 110 pounds with blonde hair and hazel eyes.

A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts or the safe return of the young woman.
Martin Blake, 40, will only serve 60 days in jail despite repeatedly raping a 12-year-old female relative

More than 85,000 people have signed a petition calling to impeach a Montana judge who sentenced an admitted child rapist to just 60 days in prison.

Martin Blake, 40, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old female relative multiple times earlier this year.

Blake, from Glasgow, originally faced multiple charges of incest rape but agreed to admit to just one as part of a plea deal.

The deal recommended Blake be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison. But District Judge John McKeon gave him a 30-year probationary sentence instead.

McKeon also gave Blake credit for 17 days he served while awaiting trial, which means he will only serve a total of 43 days in jail following the sentence.

'This is not what the prosecution wanted,' the Change.org petition, created by a group called Justice4Montana, reads.

'Judge McKeon ignored what the prosecution recommended, and did what he thought was best for the rapist instead of the victim.'

'Sixty days in prison with a suspended 30-year sentence does not match the crime and fails to acknowledge the horrors the victim had to endure,' it continues.

'Judge McKeon did not uphold the responsibility of ensuring justice as he is required to in his elected position.'

More than 85,000 people have signed a petition calling to impeach Montana District Judge John McKeon, who ignored the plea deal's recommendation of 25 years in prison

At Blake's sentencing hearing on Friday, the victim's family asked the judge that he be spared jail time.

'I do not feel 25 years in prison is necessarily the best way for the defendant to pay for what he has done,' the victim's mother said in a statement.

'He made a horrible choice. He needs help  not to spend 25 years locked up.'

The girl's grandmother also argued that Blake should be spared jail in order not to impact his children's lives.

'What he did to my granddaughter was horrible, and he should face consequences,' she said. 'And I certainly never want it to happen again to anyone'

'But his children, especially his sons, will be devastated if their dad is no longer part of their lives.'

The petition argued that McKeon only listened to those who supported Blake, like the victim's mother and grandmother.

More than 85,000 people have signed this petition to impeach McKeon before he retires next month, hoping it will stop him from receiving his government-sponsored pension

'The victim only had the justice system on her side, and it failed her,' the petition read.

'Judge McKeon failed her. She deserves justice and together we can help be her voice.'

McKeon retaliated with a lengthy statement, insisting that Blake's community sentence was appropriate and safe.

'The plea agreement and the pre-sentence investigation report contain detailed recommendations for assuring this safety, all of which were incorporated into the Court sentencing,' he said.

As part of his conditions, Blake must hold a job and will not be allowed to come into contact with anyone under the age of 18 without the prior approval of his probation officers and treatment providers.

Blake has been banned from owning a firearm or accessing pornography and cannot use the internet without permission from his parole officer and sexual offender therapist.

McKeon wrote that 'any violation' of these terms would likely lead to 'significant time in state prison'.

Blake walked free from Valley County District Court in Montana (above) on Thursday

The judge also argued that the sentencing was appropriate because the prosecution did not challenge a psychosexual evaluation that said Blake could be safely treated and supervised as a sex offender in the community.

McKeon also cited the lack of direct input from the victim or an advocate on behalf of her in court, as well as the letters written by her mother and grandmother.

Deputy Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen said on Friday he was 'disappointed' in the sentence, but respected the judges decision.

He declined to say whether an appeal was planned.

McKeon is scheduled to retire next month and Justice4Montana hopes an impeachment would stop him from receiving his government-sponsored pension.

'We can ensure Judge McKeon doesn't get to retire and collect a paycheck from taxpayers after failing to fulfill his duty as a judge,' the petition reads.
Murder squad detectives are probing the mysterious death of a British man at Malaga Airport.

Steven Allford, 51, was discovered bound to a bench in an outdoor area by an airport train stop with his trousers and pants pulled down.

Police are waiting on the results of a post-mortem but suspect he may have been choked to death and possibly sexually assaulted.

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Police are waiting on the results of a post-mortem but suspect he may have been choked to death as Spanish police carry his body away

Steven Allford, 51, was discovered bound to a bench in a landscaped area by an airport train stop with his trousers and pants pulled down

Murder squad detectives are probing the mysterious death of a British man at Malaga Airport

A security guard made the grim discovery just before 9am yesterday.

Shocked tourists filmed the moment Mr Allford's body was put onto a stretcher and taken away after police searched the area for clues to the suspected killing.

Officers are examining CCTV and a source said: 'There were no obvious signs of violence on his body but the position he was found in suggested foul play.'

Another source said investigators believed he may have been the victim of a sex assault.

He had a hand bound to one end of the bench and his leg to another with cable ties and his trousers had been pulled down.

They were today seeking to establish what he was doing at the airport and whether he had missed a flight home or was sleeping rough

He was identified by documents found among belongings in a trolley next to his body.

It is not known where in the UK the dead man was originally from and police are today seeking to establish what he was doing at the airport and whether he had missed a flight home or was sleeping rough.
A desperate survivor of an horrific Russian helicopter crash made a mobile call to plead for emergency assistance as he was surrounded by 19 dead passengers and crew.

'Where is the help? Will there be any help?' begged seriously injured Alexey Veremev, 42, after the MI-8 came down close to the Arctic Circle in northern Siberia.

Only three of the people on board survived the horror in 'thick fog' with temperatures of minus 7C.

'Where is the help? Will there be any help?' begged seriously injured Alexey Veremev, 42, after the MI-8 came down close to the Arctic Circle in northern Siberia

'Three are moaning, I am the fourth,' the oil worker told the emergency services in his frantic call as he was trapped inside the helicopter which came down on its side.

'And the rest do not even moan.

'One guy was able to climb out. He wanders around the helicopter, but he is kind of insane.

'I do not know where we are.

'Where is the help? Will there be any help?

'I cannot get out of the helicopter, my leg got caught.'

Emergency workers finally reached the remote crash site five hours after the aircraft hit the ground, reported The Siberian Times.

Alexey Veremev made the mobile call to plead for emergency assistance as he was surrounded by 19 dead passengers and crew

Only three of the people on board the MI-8 survived the horror in 'thick fog' with temperatures of minus 7C

Footage showed the crashed helicopter lying on its side surrounded by debris.

'Rescuers that arrived at the site have entered the damaged helicopter, where they found three people in serious condition,' said a law enforcement source as the operation to save the living passengers was underway.

'The other 19 passengers were killed,' the source said.

The injured passengers suffered from head injuries, hip and rib fractures, and hypothermia.

Veremev was flown to hospital in the closest settlement Urengoy by helicopter, while other two survivors received medical assistance on the spot 'as their condition was assessed as critical'.

The passengers on the stricken helicopter were oil workers for a subsidiary of oil giant Rosneft.

The helicopter was en route to Urengoy from the Suzumskoye oil field in Krasnoyarsk region

The Russian Investigative Committee - equivalent of the FBI - has opened a criminal case into the crash

The Emergencies Ministry said reports came at 6:57 pm Moscow time (4.57pm UK time) on Friday that a Mi-8 helicopter crash landed in 80 kilometres north-west of the Urengoy settlement in the Purovsky district of the Yamal-Nenets.

The helicopter was en route to Urengoy from the Suzumskoye oil field in Krasnoyarsk region.

The Russian Investigative Committee - equivalent of the FBI - has opened a criminal case into the crash.
Five people were taken to hospital and 21 others were injured after a bus crashed into a railway bridge.

The collision saw the roof of the double decker bus torn off at around 4am this morning in Tottenham, north London.

Emergency workers freed three passengers who were trapped on the top deck of the bus.

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Five people were taken to hospital after a double decker bus crashed into a bridge

The collision which saw the roof of the bus torn off took place at around 4am this morning in Tottenham, north London

21 people were treated at the scene. The site of the crash pictured earlier today

Police said one person remains in hospital, but his injuries are not believed to be serious.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said in a statement: 'Crews helped release three people who were trapped on the upper deck of a double-decker bus.

'Five passengers were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service and 21 people were treated at the scene.

'Crews from Tottenham and Edmonton fire stations attended the incident along with London Ambulance Service, Metropolitan Police and Network Rail.'

Emergency workers freed three people who were trapped on the top deck of the bus

The incident was attended by ambulance crews and the London Fire Brigade

The red double decker involved in the crash is believed to be a private hire bus

Pictured is the damage to the back of the double decker bus following the collision

The double decker is believed to be a private-hire bus.

A London Ambulance spokesman said: 'We treated a total of 26 patients following a road traffic collision in N17 this morning.

'Five of the patients were taken to hospital.'

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are on-going.

Emergency workers freed three passengers who were trapped on the top deck of the bus

Police said one person remains in hospital, but his injuries are not believed to be serious
In court on Friday the judge told Bomford: 'You are not Donald Trump'

on a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Perth

A former Army Reservist slapped and groped a female flight attendant's bottom in a drunken mid-air assault.

Daniel Bomford, 40, was told by Magistrate Barry Cosgrove that his sleazy behaviour on the Qantas flight from Perth to Brisbane on July 18 was 'simply unacceptable'.

'You are not Donald Trump,' Magistrate Cosgrove told Bomford in Brisbane Magistrates court on Friday.

A former Army Reservist slapped and groped a female flight attendants bottom in drunken mid-air assault (stock image)

'You haven't got a public television show and millions of dollars to get you out of it and supporters all around the world.'

Bomford, who spent seven years in the Army Reserve, was drunk when he slapped the flight attendant and 'grabbed her right buttock tightly and curled his fingers around her bottom', the prosecutor told the court.

When the attendant turned around Bomford smiled at her and said: 'You like it.'

He also slapped fellow passengers in the face, punched a plane window and tried to throw a book down the aisle, the court heard.

When the plane landed police arrested Bomford but he refused to get off the plane.

He was then handcuffed and forced off before returning a blood alcohol reading of 0.221.

Bomford's lawyer said his client could not remember the incident and was an alcoholic at the time.

The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to assaulting plane crew and behaving in a disorderly manner.

He was given a six-month suspended jail term, a three-year good behaviour bond and fined $1200.
The son and daughter of the Greek digger driver suspected of accidentally killing Ben Needham are suing the British toddler's mother.

Chrysovalandis Barkas and Maria Tsechou accused Kerry Needham of undermining their family's reputation after the 43-year-old said she hoped their father was 'burning in hell'.

They said their 'patience had run out' with Mrs Needham after her outburst following a police investigation that incriminated their father, Konstantinos 'Dinos' Barkas.

Heartbreak: Tiny Ben Needham was just 21 months old when he vanished in Kos in 1991 whilst in the care of his grandmother

Fury: Digger driver Dinos Barkas, left, who is accused of taking the secret of Ben Needham's death to his grave, was a 'beautiful' father according to son Valantis Barkas, right, who is furious that his father's name is 'being dragged through the mud'

'We have a family reputation to uphold and my personal patience, even as a mother, was exhausted when Ben's mother last week uttered what she did.

'How dare she?' Mrs Tsechou told The Times.

She also challenged the findings of the three-month investigation by South Yorkshire Police, which concluded Ben was killed in a construction accident.

A toy car thought to belong to the missing toddler was found on the site where he disappeared on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago

It was discovered in the spot where Barkas was dumping materials during renovations at the Needham familys farmhouse.

Barkas died of cancer last year. A witness came forward in May and told British detectives he had killed Ben in a terrible accident.

Kerry Needham, mother of missing Ben holding up a newspaper showing a photo of her missing son, 1991. She said digger driver Konstantinos 'Dinos' Barkas should 'burn in hell' for allegedly killing her son

Smeared: Valantis Barkis, right with his wife Ioanna , told MailOnline: My father has been accused of being a child killer and his picture has been published everywhere without a trace of evidence'

A map above shows the area British detectives, along with volunteers, have been searching for three weeks in Kos. The farmhouse is where Dinos was digging next door to where Ben's grandparents Eddie and Christine were staying

The friend claimed Ben had wandered onto the site and in the midday heat, Barkas had not seen the boy amongst the swirling dust and crushed him under his digger.

Ridden with guilt, the witness said Barkas buried Ben in the rubble. His body was never found.

Barkas was interviewed by police in the hours after Ben was reported missing in July 1991 and released.

But he was later seen in a distressed state sweating and shaking when he returned from the police station, the witness claimed.

The witness's 'credible' evidence led detectives from South Yorkshire police to begin digging at the site last month.

Ben's heartbroken mother Kerry, accused Barkas of taking the truth about her son to his grave.

Pictured: A toy car similar to the one belonging to Ben when he vanished that was discovered at the dig site in Greece. His grandmother, Christine, confirmed she recognised it as Ben's

Dinos Barkas is accused of accidentally killing Ben Needham when he went under wheels of his JCB digger while playing outside the remote farmhouse in Kos, above, which his grandfather Eddie was renovating

But the driver's son, cafe owner Valantis, 31, warned the 43-year-old to 'choose her words carefully' during an interview with MailOnline on Tuesday.

Kerry should be ashamed of herself. We are very upset by the things she has said about my father Dinos  such as that he should burn in hell.

Its been 25 years and they have found nothing at all  not a shred of evidence to support these wild allegations against my father.

My father has been accused of being a child killer and his picture has been published everywhere without a trace of evidence.'

After South Yorkshire Police concluded their search, Mrs Needham told The Mirror: 'They know he's dead but just can't find him.

'They are right but I can't say goodbye knowing he's still on that island somewhere. I feel physically sick. I can't feel any worse than I do.

'I want to tear up the whole island to find him.'
More than 15,000 people have applied for 78 jobs driving new trains being launched by Virgin.

The company said there were almost 200 applications for every vacancy following the biggest recruitment campaign on the East Coast route since the 1980s.

It is highly likely that the huge demand for roles is related to the salaries on offer, as qualified drivers can expect to earn up to 60,000 - more than double the average annual UK wage.

On track for success: More than 15,000 people have applied for 78 jobs driving new trains being launched by Virgin

The new drivers will work on new Azuma trains, built in the UK by Hitachi, which are being launched in 2018.

The successful candidates, who will work from depots from London to Edinburgh, are due to start a year-long training programme in January.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: 'We have received a huge amount of interest in this fantastic opportunity at Virgin Trains on its east coast route.

Were really excited that so many people want to come and join our fabulous company.

The talent team are working hard to process and update all of the applications we received.

Railing ahead: Train driving has become an increasingly popular career choice, with high pay and benefits including cut-price travel

Those who have been successful in getting through the first stages of the process will be invited to attend a selection day which will include a variety of assessments and exercises.

Over the course of a year, the selected trainees selected trainees will take part in a mix of classroom-based and on-the-job learning.

They will have to prove proficiency in track safety, understanding operational route risks and dealing with emergency situations.

The learner drivers will also have to familiarise themselves with the trains they will be driving.

When they launch in 2018, the 65 Azuma trains will be among the most advanced trains in the countrys rail network.

High-paying job: The average train driver salary is 47,705 - on the London Underground this rises to 49,169 per year

Named after the Japanese word for 'east', the Azuma will initially reach speeds of up to 125mph.

Applicants had to be over 21 and living, or willing to relocate to, within an hour's travel from the five depots  Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Doncaster or London King's Cross.

This isn't the first time a train company has seen huge demand for train driver vacancies.

ScotRail recently received 22,000 applications for 100 train driver jobs while in London, 6,800 people applied to fill 200 part-time roles on the weekend night tube service.

According to Glassdoor.co.uk, the average train driver salary is 47,705.

AVERAGE SALARIES IN THE UK 2016 Specialism Average salary 1 Strategy & Consultancy 59,917 2 Banking 52,376 3 Accountancy (Qualified) 51,746 4 IT & Telecoms 47,858 5 Train driving 47,705 6 Recruitment Consultancy 45,303 7 Financial Services 45,090 8 Construction & Property 43,422 9 Purchasing 40,468 10 Health & Medicine 39,923
The government is considering introducing a new law to punish sex pest police officers, amid concerns that many predators are going unpunished.

Across the country, forces are looking into more than 150 cases of alleged sexual misconduct by police, while 400 members of the public have made complaints over the past five years, research by the Times revealed.

Many of the officers have been accused of harassing, sexually assaulting or raping women after they came forward to reported a crime, with some targeting victims within police station walls.

In May, then Home Secretary Theresa May acknowledged that officers with 'shameful attitudes' were striking up sexual relationships with vulnerable victims, and ordered an inquiry into the issue.

The government is considering introducing a new law to punish sex pest police officers

The Law Commission, an independent body that recommends legal reforms to the government, will consider instigating tougher punishments for officers who abuse their position to prey on victims.

The Times investigation, which relied on Freedom of Information data, revealed that at least 156 sexual misconduct inquiries were ongoing in England, Scotland and Wales - although with only a quarter of forces acknowledging live cases, the scale of the problem is likely to be much larger.

The Freedom of Information requests also revealed that some forces had doled out only minor punishments to officers accused of serious sexual misconduct, including those who had had relationships with victims.

Policing watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission has in two and half years received almost 200 referrals of cases in which officers have been accused of exploiting their position for sexual gain - eight of which are currently ongoing.

(L-R) West Midlands Police officer Steve Walters sexually assaulted two women while on duty; Hertfordshire PC Simon Salway targeted women after they had contacted the police for help; Prolific paedophile Allan Richards worked for West Midlands police force for years

Recent cases include that of West Midlands Police officer Steve Walters, who sexually assaulted two women while on duty was jailed for four years, and Hertfordshire PC Simon Salway, who was trained to work with victims of domestic violence and targeted women after they had contacted the police for help.

Married Salway was found guilty of six charges of misconduct in a public office in relation to five different women, including one who had a relationship with him and went on to have his baby, and jailed for three years.

The Times also revealed that West Midlands police force harboured prolific paedophile Allan Richards within its ranks for years.

Richards was kept on by the force despite being expelled from the Scout movement after concerns were raised that he was sexually abusing young boys.

When she was Home Secretary, Theresa May told a conference of police officers that 'it goes on far more than we might care to admit'

He was convicted yesterday of 40 offences against 17 boys during a campaign of abuse spanning four decades.

Earlier this year Mrs May revealed she had asked Sir Tom Windsor, the chief inspector of constabulary to head up investigations into the issue.
A fellow prison inmate who helped notorious double agent George Blake (pictured) escape jail 50 years ago says he has 'no regrets'

A fellow prison inmate who helped notorious double agent George Blake escape jail 50 years ago says he has 'no regrets' about aiding the traitor.

Blake had been sentenced to 42 years in prison and was serving time in Wormwood Scrubs.

Anti-nuclear campaigner Michael Randle helped him escape in October 1966, together with former inmates Pat Pottle and Sean Bourke.

Randle told The Guardian: 'I have no regrets. None of us involved in the planning and execution of the escape agreed with his passing official secrets to the Russians.

'However, we all felt that the 42-year prison sentence he received in 1961 was inhuman.'

Prior to the escape, Blake had been able to communicate with the outside world using a walkie-talkie that had been smuggled into the prison.

It was arranged that he would escape by scaling the wall of the high-security prison with the help of a ladder made from rope and knitting needles, which was thrown over by Bourke.

Blake, who injured his wrist while jumping from the perimeter war, was then dragged to a getaway van.

Randle helped smuggle Blake in a camper van into East Germany two months after the dramatic escape.

He took his wife and two children along with him, to give the appearance they were a family going on holiday.

Anti-nuclear campaigner Michael Randle helped him escape from Wormwood Scrubs in October 1966, together with former inmates Pat Pottle and Sean Bourke

In 1991, Randle and Pottle stood trial for their part in the escape but were acquitted by the jury.

Blake worked for the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from the 1940s.

He became a committed communist while a North Korean prisoner during the Korean war, and worked for Moscow after being posted by MI6 to Berlin in 1955.

Over nine years working for the KGB, he is believed to have betrayed the names of more than 40 British agents to the Soviets.

Randle helped smuggle Blake in a camper van into East Germany two months after the dramatic escape, using the cover of a family holiday. Pat Pottle, also an anti-nuclear campaigner, was also involved in the escape

Many disappeared, and were thought to have been executed, but he insists none died as a result of his betrayal.

His actions devastated British secret service operations in the Middle East.

He is believed to have passed on the names of almost every British agent working in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut.

Five decades on, Blake, who is now 93, lives in the suburbs of Moscow with his wife Ida.

Blake, pictured in 1992, worked for the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, from the 1940s. He became a committed communist while a North Korean prisoner during the Korean war, and worked for Moscow after being posted by MI6 to Berlin in 1955
Police have released CCTV footage of the last confirmed sighting of an RAF serviceman who has been missing for almost a month.

Corrie McKeague, 23, vanished almost a month ago after going out for the evening with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

His mother Nicola Urquhart, of Dunfermline, Scotland, fears a third party may have been involved but police said there was no evidence of criminality.

Suffolk Police has now released CCTV footage taken at 3.25am on Saturday, September 24 in a bid to find Mr McKeague.

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Corrie McKeague, 23, vanished almost a month ago after going out for the evening with friends in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. His insists a third party must have been involved

The footage shows him in Brentgovel Street in Bury St Edmunds at the end of a night out when he was walking alone, eating fast food.

Police have searched along a section of railway line and A-roads, hours of CCTV have been reviewed and police officers, RAF personnel and the National Police Air Service helicopter have been trawling the area.

Mr McKeague was last seen on CCTV at about 3.25am on Saturday September 24

Police officers, with the support of specialist RAF search officers, have been trawling woodland areas in the vicinity, including around Great Livermere.

Officers had earlier searched a bin lorry, believing Mr McKeagues mobile phone had been lost or discarded and ended up with the rubbish, but it could not be found.

Police also confirmed that a body found dumped in a Derbyshire layby was not that of Mr McKeague.

Police officers, with the support of specialist RAF search officers, have been trawling woodland areas in the vicinity

His mother wrote in a Facebook post: 'Police are confident Corrie is not still in Bury and has not left on foot.

'This can only mean there is third party involvement, there is just no evidence so far to prove criminality.

'As such I would ask people to help me find this evidence as someone does know something.'

Mr McKeague, based at RAF Honington, Suffolk, is believed to have been wearing a pink Ralph Lauren polo shirt and brown suede Timberland boots at the time of his disappearance.
A Belgian shopping centre was evacuated amid reports that three masked men had fired Kalashnikovs in a jeweller.

Panicked shoppers were evacuated from the Cora shopping centre in Chatelineau, which is about 35 miles south of Brussels.

Police Commissioner Eric De Brabander told news agency Belga: 'Two explosions were heard by witnesses, but the information could not be confirmed.'

Three men carrying Klashnikovs stormed a jeweler in Chatelineau this morning

Four people have been treated for shock, but no one was seriously injured.

Chatelineau's mayor, Daniel Vanderlick, told RTL: 'Shots were fired with a Kalashnikov.'

Initial reports from Belgium suggest it was a robbery, and was not linked to terrorism.

The armed trio are believed to have escaped in a car with stolen plates.
A killer is on the run as Scotland Yard has launched murder investigation after a 33-year-old man was stabbed to death in a London street.

Vincent Harvey was killed in the early hours of the morning in Wood Green, north London.

Met Police were called to Station Road in Wood Green by paramedics at 3.20am today to reports of a stabbing.

Medical staff were unable to revive Mr Harvey and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Vincent Harvey, above, aged 33, was stabbed to death outside a pub in Wood Green on Saturday

Vincent Harvey was found dead in Station Road, Wood Green in north London this morning. Pictured: an officer speaks on his phone at the scene

Medical staff were unable to revive him when he was found and he was pronounced dead. Pictured: forensics begin their investigations

Mr Harvey worked as a barman in another part of North London, and had a girlfriend.

A spokesman for the force told MailOnline no arrests had been made in relation to the death.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh is leading the investigation into Mr Harvey's death.

He said: 'This murder has left Vincent's family devastated and has been a big shock to the local community. There were a large number of people in and around the Jolly Anglers pub at the time Vincent was stabbed.

'Many of these are yet to come forward and speak with police.

'While work continues to piece together Vincent's movements prior to his murder, I would directly appeal witnesses to come forward and speak to officers - you may hold invaluable information to assist us in this investigation.'

No arrests have been made in connection with the stabbing, according to Met Police. Pictured: Forensics investigating the scene

Police confirmed next of kin of the man had been informed about his death. Pictured: police on the scene with a passer-by

The stabbing comes with just a day left of the Met's Operation Sceptre Phase Six, which targets knife crime in the capital. Pictured: the scene just yards from Wood Green tube station

'Next of kin are aware,' the spokesman said.

'Enquiries are ongoing and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.'

A forensic tent was set up outside the Jolly Anglers pub just yards from the Wood Green Underground station.

The stabbing comes with just a day to go of the Met's Operation Sceptre Phase Six, in which 249 people have been arrested in connection with knife-related crime.

Phase Six of the operation, focusing on reducing the carrying of knives, knife injuries and fatalities and the illegal sale of knives, was launched on Monday.

At less than five days into the operation, 112 knives were seized along with an additional 64 offensive weapons.

Detective Inspector Gary Anderson, of the Met's Trident Gang Crime Command, who is coordinating Operation Sceptre, said: 'This operation has removed a total of 176 weapons from the streets of London in less than a week.

'While challenging knife crime is business as usual for the Met, the Operation Sceptre activities enhance our focus on knives and knife carriers at key points in the calendar when knife crime has historically shown an increase in victims.

'Knife carrying and gang culture are not something that can be combated by police alone.

'Youngsters need to be made aware that carrying a knife is not 'normal behaviour' and is against the law.

'A knife being present in any confrontation hugely increases the chance of fatal injury and often, people are injured by the knife that they, themselves were carrying.

'In addition, new legislation now dictates that if someone is found to be carrying a knife more than once they will be going to prison.

'These two reasons alone should be deterrent enough but additionally 15 people under the age of 25 have lost their lives this year as a result of knife injuries - there simply is no good outcome for knife carrying.'

Police are continuing to make inquiries and say there will be a post-mortem examination soon. Above, a tent can be seen in the distance as an officers walks onto the scene

Met Police officers were called to the scene at 3.20am on Saturday morning. Above, forensics officers investigate in full protective suit, shoes and gloves

Phase Six of Operation Sceptre, which targets knife crime in the capital, is just about to finish, and 249 people have been arrested during the operation. Pictured, the forensics tent is just outside a pub called the Jolly Anglers

Less than five days into the operation, 112 knives were seized along with an additional 64 offensive weapons. Above, a forensics officer behind the taped off investigation scene

Above, police closed the road near Wood Green station to allow them to investigate the death

Specialist officers from the Trident and Area Crime Command, along with Safer Neighbourhoods teams, conducted more than 1,100 knife crime prevention and enforcement activities during the week of enhanced action.

Weapon sweeps were conducted on estates and in public places across London where those who carry knives are believed to hide them and retrieve them for use later on.

In addition to crime prevention activities such as test purchase operations to reduce the illegal sale of knives to those under the age of 18 and weapon sweeps, there was also an enforcement element where those wanted in connection with knife-related offences were either arrested, or enquiries undertaken to locate their current whereabouts.

The prevention strand of Operation Sceptre is designed to make it more difficult for people to carry knives or to have them readily available to use in crime.

Working on information received, officers conducted stop and search in areas with high levels of gang violence or knife crime.

In addition, working with partners, officers have worked on diversion and school visits delivering presentations aimed at deterring young people from becoming involved in gang culture and knife crime.

Although formal identification awaits, the Met said the dead man was Vincent Harvey, 33. Above, forensics at the scene

Above, a police officer explains what is happening to two young women in Station Road, Wood Green

Police and paramedics from the London Ambulance Service attended at 3.20am but they could not revive Mr Harvey

Police urged any witnesses to come forward with information as they begin their murder probe

The five earlier phases of Operation Sceptre, run since July 2015, saw police carry out a total of 4,729 weapon sweeps, 155 searches of known knife carriers and 533 test purchase operations that resulted in 132 failures (illegal sales).

A combined total of 3,738 stop and searches were conducted in knife crime hotspots resulting in 597 arrests. Overall there were 1,939 arrests, 341 of which were for possession of a knife or weapon and 475 knives, 53 firearms and 263 weapons were recovered over the combined five-week period.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Stokley, Head of Trident and Area Crime Command, said: 'Operation Sceptre is run to prevent more families from living with the devastation of losing a child or loved one to knife crime.

'We will not stop in our efforts to rid the streets of London of knives in dangerous hands by proactively targeting known violent offenders and stopping and searching people to detect and deter the carrying of weapons.'
John will pay $20K of his own funds, another accused officer will pay $15K

Cardenas said John called her his 'work p***y' and grabbed her buttocks

Accused him of harassing her in 'frat house' 83rd Precinct in Brooklyn

An NYPD officer who claimed her sergeant groped her, kissed her forcibly and told her he masturbated to a photo of her in a Catwoman costume has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for $535,000.

Ann Cardenas, who is in her thirties, sued Sergeant David John in 2014 after working with him at Brooklyn's 83rd Precinct, which according to her claims was run like a frat house.

John will pay $20,000 of his own funds. Officer Angel Colon, whom Cardenas accused of continuing the harassment after John's retirement, will pay $15,000.

NYPD officer Ann Cardenas sued her sergeant David John in 2014, saying he had sexually harassed her and told her he masturbated to a photo of her in a Catwoman costume (pictured)

The city, which refused to give John and Colon legal defense, will cover the rest, the New York Daily News reported.

Cardenas said John called her his 'work p***y', simulated ejaculation, kissed her without her consent in the office, grabbed her buttocks and asked her in front of another cop to 'sit on his face'.

John also told one of Cardenas' female friends at a Christmas party: 'You're ugly but I'll still f**k you' in front of Cardenas, according to the suit.

One accusation concerned a photo of Cardenas in a Catwoman costume.

Cardenas (right) settled the lawsuit this week for $535,000 and now works at a new precinct. John (left), who has since retired, will pay $20,000 of his own funds

'John told Ms Cardenas that he had pictures of all the female officers, including her, and that he liked her Halloween costume that she posted on Facebook and that he masturbated to the picture,' the suit stated.

As for Colon, Cardenas said he harassed her after John's retirement in 2014. She claimed he grabbed her buttocks and said he would 'rape her in a good way'.

John filed a lawsuit against Cardenas last year in response to her filing. He claimed she had texted him intimate photos of her, willingly engaged in oral sex with him, and 'used her obvious attractiveness to manipulate him'.

He withdrew the counter-suit voluntarily in 2015.

Cardenas now works at a new precinct where, according to her attorney Fred Lichtmacher, she is being treated appropriately and professionally.
The thieves made off with cash and a handbag - police are investigating

Grandma Fay Bailey, 78, hit one of the intruders with an umbrella

An elderly couple have been robbed at knife point by two masked men in their own home.

Police were called to a Merewether Heights address in Newcastle, north of Sydney at 9.45pm on Friday after reports of a home invasion.

Fay Bailey, 78, and her husband Ken, 79, were sitting in their lounge room watching television when two masked men came in through the back door.

The intruders fled with money and a handbag, but not before Ms Bailey (pictured) hit one of the men with her umbrella

Fay Bailey, 78, (right) and her husband Ken, 79, (left) were robbed at knife point by two masked men in their own home

One of the men was waving a large knife and said to the couple: 'I'll kill you, do as you're told,' Seven News reported.

The grandparents were ordered to hit the ground as the intruders demanded cash.

They fled with money and a handbag, but not before Ms Bailey hit one of the men with her umbrella.

'As they were leaving I picked up the umbrella and hit him over the back as hard as I could and broke the umbrella,' she told Nine News.

Officers from Newcastle City Local Area Command attended and commenced investigations.

A crime scene was established at the home. Anyone with information is urged to come forward.

A crime scene was established at the home (pictured)
This is the heart-stopping moment a motorcyclist is sent sprawling onto the road after knocking into a car.

The dashcam footage, from Melbournes CBD, shows a black Toyota cutting into the biker's lane before another car pulls in from the opposite side.

The food delivery motorcyclist crashes into the rear of the Toyota and topples onto the sidewalk.

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Dashcam footage shows a black Toyota cutting into a biker's lane in Melbourne

An insurance company found the car to be at fault and ordered them to pay $7,000

Pedestrians can be seen rushing to the biker's aid as he finds his feet.

The biker then has a heated conversation with the driver, who accuses him of speeding.

You just didnt look, I was coming up you know, the biker says.

I did see you were coming. I think you were driving a bit fast? the driver responds.

An insurance company found the car to be at fault and ordered them to pay $7,000 in damages to the motorcycle.

The driver revealed he was delivering pizzas to a customer at the time of the crash.

The food delivery motorcyclist crashes into the rear of the Toyota and topples onto the sidewalk

The biker then has a heated conversation with the driver, who accuses him of speeding
A group of around 50 frustrated young men threw missiles at the officers who responded with tear gas

And angry migrants were tonight throwing stones at French police after the

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Angry migrants fired the first salvo in the battle of the Calais Jungle tonight, pelting French police with stones.

A 50-strong mob of frustrated young men threw missiles at the officers who responded with tear gas and baton charges.

The unrest comes 36 hours before the sprawling shanty town close to the Calais ferry port is cleared.

French authorities have announced they will clear all migrants out of Calais and destroy the 'Jungle' camp, starting Monday.

The trouble at the camp comes as more than 50 girls arrived at the Lunar House immigration centre in Croydon, south London, on Saturday night.

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Migrants clash with French riot police as they attack the fence next to the makeshift camp 'the Jungle' in Calais, France

Migrants throw tear gas canisters at French riot police officers during clashes in a makeshift migrant camp known as 'The Jungle'

A 50-strong mob of frustrated young men threw missiles at the officers who responded with tear gas and baton charges

French riot police officers fire tear gas canisters during clashes with migrants in a makeshift migrant camp near Calais, France

Police fire tear gas into the Calais 'Jungle' camp as migrants attempt to breach the road fencing to the port

French authorities say the closure of the slum-like camp in Calais will start on Monday and will last approximately a week

A demonstrator throws stones at French riot police officers during clashes in a makeshift migrant camp near Calais, France

Police fire tear gas into the Calais 'Jungle' camp as migrants attempt to breach the road fencing to the port

The unrest comes 36 hours before the sprawling shanty town close to the Calais ferry port is clear

It comes after it was revealed that migrants were set to spill out into Northern France in the wake of the planned demolition of the camp

Riot police attended the scene near the 'Jungle' and fired tear gas towards the migrants who were throwing stones

French riot police officers took positions inside the camp during clashes with migrants on Saturday night after it was announced authorities will clear the area

Young men who had gathered near the camp were forced to run away from the tear gas which had been fired by riot police

The group of 54 girls are the first child refugees to enter the UK from Calais under the Dubs amendment - a government pledge to help minors, reports The Observer.

The newspaper reports that the girls, most of whom are from Eritrea in Africa, were brought to the UK under the amendment - which could spark an increase in the number of young migrants coming to Britain.

Meanwhile, migrants have been encouraged to claim asylum in France. They will be processed in a nearby warehouse and sent to reception centre across the countries.

Those who refuse to claim asylum and stay in northern France risk arrest and deportation.

The police operation involving some 1,250 CRS riot police is expected to last five days.

The trouble comes after it was revealed that migrants were set to spill out into Northern France in the wake of the planned demolition of the camp.

Unofficial migrant camps without running water and toilets are expected to swell around the area after the Jungle camp is ripped to the ground next week, according to British aid volunteers.

Bulldozers will move in on the slum, with the French authorities saying the estimated 6,500 migrants camped there will be relocated, but some have already started moving on.

A rainbow forms as a migrant jumps over a puddle in the Jungle migrant camp on October 22, 2016 in Calais, France

A refugee carries a box with wood through the Jungle which will be dismantled on Monday

Refugees receive wood for heating and cooking from some volunteers as they carry bin bags

Refugees queue outside the Kitchen in Calais for some food in a daily struggle in the Jungle

Migrants play a board game by their tent in the Jungle migrant camp in Calais

Migrants are set to spill out into Northern France in the wake of the planned demolition of the Calais Jungle

Migrants stand at a top of hill close to the makeshift 'Jungle' camp in Calais, France

Migrants were photographed carrying bags as they walked in the makeshift camp before it gets dismantled

Unofficial migrant camps are likely to grow in northern France in the wake of next week's planned demolition of the 'Jungle' shanty-town in Calais, British aid volunteers fear

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley said that following the part-dismantlement of the Jungle in February, serious failings were reported at some of the centres migrants were sent to.

She said there was a lack of basic essentials, including access to interpreters and legal advice. And she added: 'We are also concerned that unofficial camps in the north of France will now grow.

'These suffer from a severe lack of infrastructure, no running water, toilets or medical facilities, and so where possible we will also direct aid to these areas.'

Meanwhile, Lily Caprani, UNICEF UK's Deputy Executive Director, has urged the authorities to learn lessons from the last attempted demolition.

'Once the demolition starts there are no second chances,' she said.

'If it results in a single child going missing, or forces them into the hands of smugglers and traffickers, then we will have failed them.

'The authorities must prove they have learnt the lessons from last time and keep every child safe throughout this process.

'During the last demolition, which saw people scattered by tear gas and rubber bullets, more than 100 children went missing because it began before their safety was guaranteed.

'We've seen the Home Secretary achieve real progress by bringing some of the vulnerable children to the UK, but there are hundreds more in Calais still waiting to reach safety.

'The UK has made a commitment to bring these children here, and the demolition doesn't change that.

'This is not the end of the story and it's essential that the UK and French authorities continue to work together to ensure the long-term welfare of every child.'

As France gears up for next year's presidential election, French president Francois Hollande has appeared keen to adopt a firmer stance and finally close the camp

The slum has become a symbol of his government's failure to tackle Europe's migrant crisis and a target of criticism from conservative and far-right rivals seeking to unseat him

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley said that following the part-dismantlement of the Jungle in February, serious failings were reported at some of the centres migrants were sent to

Amid reports that migrants may attempt last-ditch bids to cross the English Channel, Kent Police has said it is braced for any fall-out from the demolition

The force has said it is 'monitoring events' in northern France as notices started to go up in the camp alerting migrants to the imminent clearance

Meanwhile in Kent, a 'White Lives Matter' march is planned on Saturday in Margate. A counter-protest by anti-racist locals has also been organised

The camp (pictured) will be dismantled and the process will take a week according tho the French authorities

Migrants sit on top of a small hill to make a phone call in the 'Jungle' camp in Calais, France

Migrants play cricket with volunteers in the Jungle as they contemplate their next move after the planned demolition of the migrant camp

As France gears up for next year's presidential election, French president Francois Hollande has appeared keen to adopt a firmer stance and finally close the camp.

It has become a symbol of his government's failure to tackle Europe's migrant crisis and a target of criticism from conservative and far-right rivals seeking to unseat him.

Amid reports that migrants may attempt last-ditch bids to cross the English Channel, Kent Police has said it is braced for any fall-out from the demolition.

The force has said it is 'monitoring events' in northern France as notices started to go up in the camp alerting migrants to the imminent clearance.
A residential area of northwest London has been cordoned off and several houses have been evacuated after police received a call to say a man had 'hazardous items' inside a house.

Scotland Yard said officers do not know what is inside the house, but are 'treating seriously reports that the items could be dangerous'.

In a stand-off that has so far lasted more than 36 hours, armed officers and negotiators are on scene in Wood End Lane, in Northolt.

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Armed police from the Metropolitan force inspect Northolt in a 36 hour stand-off with a man with 'dangerous' items

Police evacuated 80 people from houses nearby in the residential area. The leader of Ealing Council said they had been working with police

A huge police operation is in place in a residential area of north London

Police received a call to say a man had 'hazardous items' inside a house in Northolt

Officers were called shortly before 1am on Friday, by a caller expressing concern for the occupants of a house, who they said had 'hazardous items' inside the property.

Police have put a 200 metre cordon in place, and approximately 80 people from neighbouring properties have been temporarily re-housed.

Police said there is no suggestion that the incident is terrorist related, adding that it was not linked to any other ongoing investigation or operation.

The stand-off began in the early hours of Friday morning, and police negotiators remain on the scene in Wood End Lane

Police have put a 200 metre cordon in place, and approximately 80 people from neighbouring properties have been evacuated

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Due to concerns for safety of the man at the address and the responding officers, police did not attempt to access the property.

'At this stage police believe there is one man inside the address. Whilst it is not known what the man has inside the property, police are treating seriously reports that the items could be dangerous and that attempts have been made by the man to prevent access to the address.'

'Police would like to thank those local residents directly affected for their cooperation and patience.

'Local officers are on duty around the area of Wood End Lane to talk to the local community and address any concerns that they may have.

Police patrol the scene. Officers are in a stand-off with a man in a house in Northolt believed to have dangerous items

Police believe there is one man inside the address, and due to safety concerns have not tried to enter the property

Firearms officers and negotiators have been on stand-by since the incident began

Alex Irons, a radio presenter who lives close to the scene, said he noticed a police van blocking the road, but didn't think much of it at the time.

'I got home from work at 6am, as I was walking home I saw police had closed off Whitton Avenue West at Petts Hill Roundabout,' he told MailOnline.

'I thought maybe someone had crashed their car or had an accident but didn't think any more of it.'

Mr Irons, 25, said that finding out more details about the incident did not give him cause for concern, but he said it was unusual for the area.

He said: 'It's all rather exciting. Apart from reports of knife crime nothing happens in Northolt, ever.'

Dr Rekha Elaswarapu told the Evening Standard that she had never seen such a large police presence in Northolt.

She said: 'I was driving to the leisure centre at around 7.45am and I just saw police vans everywhere.

'When I eventually got there, five vans were parked at the leisure centre. We don't know what is happening.

'I have never seen anything like this on such a mass scale in Northolt.'

Police said there is no suggestion that the incident is terrorist related, adding that it was not linked to any other ongoing investigation or operation

About 80 people have been forced to leave homes in the immediate vicinity of the property

Steve Carroll, 42, told Get West London that armed police had blocked off the leisure centre car park, telling visitors that there was an ongoing 'emergency.'

He said: 'We got there around 8.20am for kids swimming lessons.

'When we arrived there was one car outside with lights on. By the time we parked in the leisure centre car park and walked round to the entrance there was 3 cars and 3 vans.

'When we were coming out about 9:45am the car park was blocked off by police and there was police cars and vans everywhere. Armed police there too.'

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said: 'We are working closely with our colleagues in the police as they continue to deal with the ongoing incident in Northolt.

'I've been kept appraised by the police throughout the incident and we have offered help to those residents who have had to leave their homes.
A Mexican model who traveled to New York to star in a number of fashion shows has been missing for almost a week.

Geraldine Mendez, 20, was last seen on Saturday evening when she left her Brooklyn apartment to go for a stroll through Prospect Park.

The 20-year-old's distraught mother shared an emotional plea on social media for anyone who had seen her daughter to come forward.

Geraldine Mendez, a Mexican model who traveled to New York to star in a number of fashion shows, has been missing for almost a week

'Any extra information that you know, whatever it is please let me know,' Julieta Martinez wrote.

'I ask you to join us in prayer at this moment... Please pray a lot!'

She also said that Mendez's father, Hugo Mendez, has flown to New York from Mexico in the hopes of finding his daughter.

'I don't think there could be greater pain than knowing your daughter is in a city alone, in a fragile situation,' he told NBC4.

Mendez was last seen leaving her apartment in Brooklyn last Saturday. She was heading out for a walk through Prospect Park

The 20-year-old's (pictured) distraught mother shared an emotional plea on social media for anyone who had seen her daughter to come forward

A friend told the network the 20-year-old loved life, and described her as a 'happy hippie'.

'She's creative like most of the people here, so she was just kind of hanging out with different people here,' Kris Kemp said.

Mendez's social media accounts are filled with pictures of her enjoying life in New York City, while also jet-setting around the world to other famous locations.

She also posed for pictures in Madrid, in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and outside the Colosseum in Rome.

Any extra information that you know, whatever it is please let me know,' Julieta Martinez (left) wrote
Two men and a woman have been hospitalised after a triple stabbing in a Nottingham city centre in the early hours of the morning.

No arrests have been made after the two men, aged 20 and 21, and a woman were hurt.

Eyewitness Sandra Timothy, 50, said: 'I hope the police resolve this soon because it looks quite serious.'

A cordon was put up around the scene after two men and a woman were stabbed in Nottingham in the early hours of this morning

A cordon was put up around the scene in the Lenton area.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: 'Three people attended hospital with knife injuries which were not believed to be serious. Police believe this is an isolated incident.'

Last month, Nottinghamshire was named as one of the worst places in England for people being caught with knives.

No arrests have been made following the attack in the Lenton area of the town

According to figures from the Home Office, people in Nottinghamshire were either convicted or cautioned for carrying knives 443 times between July 2015 and June 2016.
Hollywood actress Carey Mulligan has called on Britain to lead the way in supporting children caught up in the Syrian conflict during a protest outside Downing Street.

The star spoke as hundreds gathered at a rally calling for the British government to take decisive action and end the bloodshed in the war-ravaged country.

The crowd included children wearing 'Save Aleppo' t-shirts, and soft toys were piled up to show support for youngsters affected by the war.

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The Great Gatsby star has led calls for Britain to take a stronger line to bring an end to the bloodshed in Syria

Hundreds of campaigners called on Theresa May to act in the rally outside Downing Street

Carey Mulligan brought along a teddy bear belonging to her one-year-old daughter Evelyn, and said being a parent had motivated her further to speak out

A small light brown-coloured teddy belonging to The Great Gatsby star's one-year-old daughter Evelyn was among the pile, and the actress said that becoming a parent has motivated her further to raise awareness and try to help.

She said: 'I brought one of my daughter's teddy bears here today and ever since having my child - I've worked with War Child for a couple of years now - but since having my daughter it just drives home even more how unimaginable it would be for my daughter to be in any of these situations and to have to deal with any of this.

'It just really drives me to speak out and do more if I can.'

The rally called on stronger action from the British government to bring peace to Syria

Teddy bears were piled up by campaigners to show the human cost of the conflict

She added: 'I think we really can lead the way here and we can lead people and work with our international allies to come up with a really robust plan to finally put this to an end.'

She recalled the night-time ritual of putting her daughter to bed and told the crowd: 'I'm safe in the knowledge that when I put Evie down to bed she is safe.

'The parents in Aleppo aren't. They don't know what the night will bring.'

In the last month, 191 children have died in Aleppo, and there are 100,000 children still in the conflict-plagued city.

The collection of soft toys was piled up outside Downing Street to highlight the plight of thousands of children in the war-torn Aleppo

Children laid 200 bears at the gates of Downing Street to symbolise the dead children on Aleppo in today's protest

Speaking ahead of the rally, she told BBC Breakfast: 'It's unimaginable to think of my daughter going through any of these experiences, let alone what the children are going through in Aleppo.

'It's heartbreaking and I think every parent can relate to that.'

Hundreds of protesters joined in the rally outside Downing Street today calling on the government to act to stop the killing in Aleppo

A large number of children took part in today's rally outside Downing Street calling for the government to take a stronger line on Syria

Mulligan, who has visited refugee camps, said the most shocking thing is 'the sense of a lost future'.

The call comes after the Prime Minister insisted on Friday the EU must keep 'all options' open if Russia continues to commit atrocities in the conflict zone.

Campaigners said the day of action is a rebuttal to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's call for protests outside the Russian embassy - as they feel the British government needs to play a stronger role itself.

War crime: Protesters have called for the killing in Aleppo to end in a strong protest to the British government

Around 10,000 children are currently in Aleppo, with the rally calling for an end to the bombing and fighting
A French prisoner is suing the jail where he is being held after he was forced to sleep, eat, and shower surrounded by rats.

The unnamed inmate managed to film a video of his conditions inside the rat-infested prison, which shows dozens of the vermin gnawing at rubbish on the floor.

The footage was reportedly shot at Sequedin prison in Nord department in northern France, close to the city of Lille.

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inmate managed to film a video of his conditions inside a rat-infested French prison

The situation has even prompted complaints from the prisoner's lawyer, who has said he has to jump over rats when he goes to visit clients in the jail.

Olivier Cardon slammed the 'deplorable conditions' his client was living in, as he also raised concerns about his own working conditions.

'My client eats with rats in his cell,' Mr Cardon said.

France's prisons have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks, with inmates complaining of bedbugs, rats, and cockroaches inside

'He takes his shower with rats. The water in his shower stinks because there are rats in the pipes. Rats also scurry around the courtyard where my client walks.'

France's prisons have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks, with campaigners filing a complaint against the French government over living conditions on the inside.

The French-based International Prisons Observatory (OIP) backed its complaint with statements from inmates at Fresnes prison, who described overcrowding and filthy conditions in the jail near Paris.

The footage was reportedly shot at Sequedin prison in Nord department in northern France close to the city of Lille

'We are infested with bedbugs, bitten every night on the face, on the neck, the shoulders, the back, the legs and the arms,' one inmate said, while another described the stench of dead rats, and a third said he had to share his cell with up to 300 cockroaches.

The OIP has previously warned about overcrowding in French prisons, where the number of inmates soared this summer to 68,819 people for 58,507 places.

At the end of May, the authorities confirmed to the OIP two cases of leptospirosis in prisoners, an infection mainly transmitted by rats.
when he discovered the animal and was furious

A man has vomited after pulling a drowned dog from a river that had a sledge hammer tied to it's choke chain.

Chad Woods made the shocking discovery on a recent fishing trip to Wonnerup Floodgates in the South West region of Western Australia.

Mr Woods tried to find the dog's owner by posting the picture of the deceased animal to a community group and described what he found.

A Western Australian man has made a gruesome discovery on a recent fishing trip when he pulled a dog from the water that had a sledge hammer tied to it's collar.

'Does anyone recognise this dog?' Woods wrote on Facebook accompanied by a picture of the deceased dog..

'I pulled it out of the river at Woonerup flood gates with a sledge hammer and a choke chain around its neck.'

'Some sick ******** has thrown it off the flood gates and left the poor dog to drown.'

This is so sick i vomited, the person who did this should be hung.'

Mr Woods than said he reported the awful find to the RSPCA and the police but was informed by them that it was not their department.

Chad Woods said he vomited when he found the dog and called for action to be taken on the person responsible for the dogs death.

The RSPCA were able to identify the dog and told WA Today that the dog had gone missing and that it's owners were away on holiday when his body was found.

They were also unsure on the dog's method of death.

'Post-mortem results were unable to reveal whether the dog was drowned, or if it was killed before being thrown into the water,' an RSPCA spokesman said.
Mysterious footage has surfaced showing a 'dragon' flying across a mountain range in China.

The vision, uploaded to YouTube, appears to show the mythical creature soaring over rugged a landscape on the border of China and Laos.

The mobile phone video has sparked a fiery social media debate, with some viewers stunned but others less convinced.

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Mysterious footage has surfaced showing a 'dragon' flying across a mountain range in China

Dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese folklore, leading many to believe the footage is authentic.

The clip, uploaded by ApexTV, has been viewed over a million times and met with a range of comments.

'Creatures that were as myth and legend are about to become real again,' wrote one commenter.

But others cast doubt on the credibility of the footage, claiming the focus on the camera gives it away.

The vision appears to show the mythical creature soaring over rugged mountains on the border of China and Laos

The mobile phone video has sparked a fierce social media debate, with some viewers stunned but others were less convinced

'It's a cell phone device camera, so it's pan focused and can't focus on particular object,' wrote one commenter.

Others speculated whether the footage was in fact part of a scientific conspiracy theory involving drones.
He received a medal and proclamation for his service in fall last year

Served six years at Pattenburg's volunteer fire company in New Jersey

A beloved K9 officer got a true hero's sendoff before his heartbroken New Jersey owners had to put him down.

Bandy, a 10-year-old German shepherd, died on Tuesday. He served six years as a search-and-rescue dog at Pattenburg's volunteer fire company.

Hip dysplasia forced Bandy to retire last year. He received a medal and a proclamation in appreciation of his service in the fall of 2015. Bandy once found a missing suicidal man in 2014.

The fire company shared multiple posts on social media before and after his death, calling 'a family member, friend, colleague and hero'.

Bandy, a 10-year-old German shepherd had to be put down on Tuesday. Pattenburg's volunteer fire company said goodbye to him during a special ceremony (pictured)

Hip dysplasia forced Bandy to retire last year. Ailing hips meant Bandy had to use a special wheelchair during walks (pictured)

In 2015, Bandy (pictured on Christmas morning that year) had to retire due to hip dysplasia. He once found a missing suicidal man in 2014

A plaque (left) commemorated Bandy after his death on Tuesday. Bandy received a medal (right) and a proclamation last year for his service

Members of the Battenburg squads and other fire companies in the area gathered on Tuesday for a goodbye ceremony.

'I loved him. He was my best friend,' Chief Dan VanFossen, who conducted searches with Bandy, told Inside Edition. 'I'm devastated right now. The hardest part was making the decision to do what was best for him.'

Bandy had been on pain medication for days. He enjoyed a last supper of steak and potatoes Monday night, followed by a special dessert - another steak, this time topped with vanilla ice cream.

The K9's carers made sure he was well fed over his last days. Last week, Pattenburg's United Methodist Church brought him a roast beef supper and dessert.

Members of the Battenburg squads and other fire companies in the area gathered on Tuesday for a goodbye ceremony honoring Bandy (pictured in a previous shot)

Bandy's carers made sure he was well fed over his last days. He had steak, potatoes and vanilla ice cream for his last supper and he is pictured last week eating a cheeseburger and fries

Bandy happily greeted the crowd during Tuesday's ceremony, moments before he was put down.

'He was happy. He sat there with his tongue hanging out, happy that all the people were there,' VanFossen said. 'We're all crying, and he's sitting there with his tongue hanging out. That was the hardest part.'

Ailing hips meant Bandy had to use a special wheelchair during walks, or have VanFossen support his rear.

A veterinarian ultimately told VanFossen it was time to put Bandy down.
They believe she may have jumped from car to escape his abuse

Her friends have said that Muller had abused her for several years

Police believe King opened the door and flung herself from the vehicle

A woman died after she jumped from a moving car in Oklahoma, reportedly to escape her 'abusive' husband, according to her friends.

Police said Brianne King was the passenger in the vehicle as her husband, Michael Muller, drove down I-44 near May Avenue Tuesday morning, according to KFOR.

Authorities believe the mother-of-five opened her door and flung herself out of the moving vehicle.

Police said Brianne King was the passenger in the vehicle as her husband, Michael Muller, drove down I-44 near May Avenue Tuesday morning. Authorities believe she opened her door and flung herself out of the moving vehicle

King's friends, who are seeking justice in her tragic death, have said that her husband Michael Muller (left) abused her for several years

King died after sustaining an injury to the head, according to a GoFundMe account that was set up by friends.

King's friends, who are seeking justice in her tragic death, have said that Muller abused her for several years.

The 33-year-old's best friend, Samantha Searle, told the station that King 'had a big heart', adding that her friends 'were her family'.

Searle had a message to Muller, who has been arrested in the past for abuse.

She said: 'Whether she jumped from the car or you pushed her, she's dead, because of you.'

Searle told KFOR that Muller 'tore her down from the strong-willed person I knew' and 'made her believe that she was a horrible person'.

Muller (pictured) has had several charges against him on domestic violence and child abuse. He's currently in jail on an outstanding felony warrant

King was abused for many years and sometimes even in front of their children, according to Searle.

'These babies talk about how their daddy hurt their mommy, like it's a normal part of life that's supposed to happen,' Searle told the station.

Searle witnessed one situation when she watched him 'smash her face against the wall, causing three of her teeth to loosen and one to fall out'.

King's friends tried many times, to no avail, to get King out of her 'abusive' relationship.

Another friend Jennifer Morgan told KFOR that she wished there would have 'some way to ... break her (away) from him'.

Morgan said King often times would say that she was 'afraid' and believed she was 'going to die'.

Muller has had several charges against him on domestic violence and child abuse.

He's currently in jail on an outstanding felony warrant.

Oklahoma City police are calling King's death suspicious, but it's unclear if Muller will face charges.
Two children have been shot dead during a home invasion that took place while their parents were out for the night.

A 15-year-old boy, Daveon Coates, and his 11-year-old sister, Tatiana Coates, were killed in their home in Jonesboro, Georgia, on Saturday morning.

The two were home alone with other children - aged between six and 15 - when the incident took place, WSB-TV reports.

Two children have been shot dead during a home invasion that took place while their parents were out for the night

The station says police were called by someone inside the home about 5am. Neighbors reportedly heard gunfire about the same time.

'It's very tragic. It's senseless,' Clayton County Police Chief Michael Register told WSB.

'Not only in the Atlanta area, in the country we have to do something about violence.'

Officials said two families live in the house.

A 15-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl were killed in their home (pictured) in Jonesboro, Georgia, on Saturday morning
Afghani migrant Abdul Barati watched his wife Adelah burn to death after locking her inside their home, police will allege.

Barati, 43, allegedly locked his wife inside their Guilford house in southwest Sydney, before setting it alight and leaving, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Neighbours looked on in horror as Ms Barati, 30, screamed in vain and banged on the bedroom window.

Afghani migrant Abdul Barati watched his wife Adelah burn to death after locking her inside their home (pictured), police will allege

Emergency services found Barati on the front lawn outside the property, which was well alight when they responded to numerous triple zero calls about 3.35am

According to reports, Barati attempted to put out the blaze using water from a tap and told neighbours to call fire crews.

Emergency services found Barati and the couple's two sons, aged six and nine, on the front lawn outside the property, which was well alight when they responded to numerous triple zero calls about 3.35am.

Ms Barati's body was found inside the house after the blaze was extinguished.

Barati appeared in in Fairfield Local Court on Wednesday and was charged with murder. He did not apply for bail.

A close friend, who asked not to be named said: 'She (Ms Barati) loved her boys so much. She was amazing.'

It is understood her grandparents will travel to Australia to take custody of the two young boys.
Richard Pleming took over as head of the 12,000-a-term Charterhouse School in 2013, but has announced his resignation

The headmaster at one of Britain's top private schools has announced his resignation, describing the leadership role as a 'complex and challenging business'.

Richard Pleming took over as head of the 12,000-a-term Charterhouse School in 2013, but has said he plans to step down at the end of the academic year.

Mr Pleming, 54, who last year drew criticism from former pupils and parents over his 'draconian' regime at the school, said he plans to begin winding down his duties from Christmas, handing them over to the Second Master.

He told parents he had decided to give up the job in order to return to his 'first love' of teaching, and made no mention of the criticism in his resignation letter.

The discontent in Mr Pleming's leadership became public last year when an online petition created by a former student called for Mr Pleming to be sacked.

Former pupils and parents criticised the school's poor exam results, low morale and 'mass resignations from teaching staff'.

It was claimed that 'Pleming Out' graffiti had also been daubed on the walls of the building, which has been a home to the school since 1872.

The petition, which reportedly garnered more than 200 signatures, was later removed due to what the school called 'numerous fictitious comments'.

Charterhouse, based in Godalming, Surrey, was founded in 1611 and famous former pupils include broadcasters David and Jonathan Dimbleby, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell.

Mr Pleming joined Charterhouse school from Wrekin College in Shropshire, and has previously taught at other prestigious public schools Eton and St Paul's.

In a newsletter to parents Mr Pleming said he and his wife Rachel, 51, had made the decision that he should leave Charterhouse while they were on a school trip to the Far East.

'Rachel and I have recently returned from a visit to the Far East, culminating in a splendid gala dinner in Hong Kong at which twenty or so of our musicians played beautifully for over 250 guests,' he wrote.

'It was a proud occasion for everyone associated with the School, and a very successful fund-raiser for our new Science and Mathematics Centre. The trip also gave us an opportunity to reflect on our time at Charterhouse so far and consider our plans for the future.

Charterhouse, based in Godalming, Surrey, was founded in 1611 and famous former pupils include broadcasters David and Jonathan Dimbleby, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell

'The last three years have been very rewarding, but school leadership is an increasingly complex and challenging business, and having been a Headmaster for five years now and given the job my all at two different schools, I have come to the conclusion that I want to spend the remainder of my career back where I started.

'Teaching has always been my first love, and I want to enjoy a few more years in the classroom, engaged in the core business of the profession.'

Adding that it had not been an easy decision, he wrote: 'This is a decision I have been weighing for some time, and it has certainly not been taken lightly, but it is the right one for me and the right time to make it.

'I am most grateful to the Governing Body for giving me the opportunity to lead Charterhouse at this exciting time in its history, and also for their understanding and support of my decision to step down.

'The period of transition will be a gradual one: I will remain in my current role until Christmas, after which Andrew Turner, the Second Master, will take on the day-to-day running of the School as Acting Headmaster, while I will be working on a number of strategic projects for the Governors until I depart at the end of the academic year. It goes without saying that it will be very much business as usual for the School.'
Mahankali Anil was killed outside the temple he was marrying his bride at in Thimmapur, central India

A teenage bride watched in horror as her parents and relatives dragged the man she was marrying out of their wedding ceremony, slit his throat and crushed his head with a boulder.

Victim Mahankali Anil, 22, was killed in front of 18-year-old Hastapuram Mounika.

The couple had run away together, but her family rushed after them to confront Anil at the Hindu temple in Thimmapur, central India.

Water worker Anil had been dating Hastapuram for a year, but her parents had tried to keep the couple apart.

An earlier elopement had failed when her parents told police and priests their daughter was under 18 and a minor.

Hastapuram, who has since turned 18, had been sent away to study so she would not see Anil.

But when she returned, they restarted their romance and decided to run away again, reports local media.

When her parents realised she was about to wed Anil at the local Hindu temple, they rushed there to confront him.

The Sakshi Post reports that Anil had previously been reported for kidnapping Hastapuram, and the couple had sought police protection ahead of their nuptials.

Local Police Commissioner VB Kamalasan Reddy said: 'A number of suspects have been arrested.'
into thinking they were entering a relationship

Child exploitation gangs may be using car washes to hide children that are being abused, a children's charity has warned.

Barnardo's said immigrants from Kurdistan were singling out girls, some of whom had previously been in care, and moving them from one unit to another.

The charity said victims were deceived into thinking they were in love, when they were really used as sex slaves.

Child exploitation gangs may be using car washes to hide children that are being abused, a children's charity has warned. File photo

The report, called Child Sexual Exploitation on Teesside, said white British girls in Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough were being targeted.

Police searched five car washes and found a secret room with beds where people had apparently been living.

Immigrants with no right to work in the UK were also found, and two car washes paid civil penalties of around 40,000.

In many abuse cases men in their 40s and older enter into exploitative relationships with much younger males and females.

In one reported example, a 74-year-old man was known to give out alcohol and cigarettes in exchange for sex. Handing out drugs is also common.

Barnardo's said immigrants from Kurdistan were singling out girls, some of whom had previously been in care, and moving them from one unit to another

Between September 2014 and August 2015, 41 crimes related to child sexual exploitation were reported on Teeside.

Seven of those resulted in a legal charge or caution.
A killer is on the run after a man was been found stabbed to death in a house in west London.

The 28-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after police were called to the house in Shepherds Bush in the early hours of this morning.

The man had suffered multiple stab wounds and died before he could be taken to hospital.

A man was found unconscious with multiple stab wounds in a house in Askew Road, in Shepherds Bush

Police are hunting the murderer, but have yet to make any arrests.

Detectives sealed off the scene after they were alerted by paramedics who found the man unconscious in the house in Askew Road.

Scotland Yard said the man's next of kin had not yet been informed, adding that a post-mortem examination was due to be arranged.

Lucy Smith, who lives nearby, said: 'My husband and I were walking down Askew Road around 1pm and saw a number of police officers around St Elmo Road and Becklow Road which were both cordoned off with police tape.

'There was a forensics team behind a van near Northcroft Court. There were a number of police officers further down the road too.

'I was very shocked by what happened - I was having dinner at Sufi [the restaurant opposite the scene] on Wednesday night. Hard to believe this kind of thing happens so close to home.'

A spokesman said a murder investigation had been launched and detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command were investigating the man's death.

He added: 'Any witnesses or anyone with any information that can assist police are urged to contact the incident room on 020 8721 4805, or police via 101.

'To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.'

The man was killed within hours of another fatal stabbing in the capital, which took place in a north London street.
Prisoners are being trained up to make frothy lattes and cappuccinos

Jihadi prisoners are being trained up as baristas at a maximum security prison.

Lags at the 900-capacity HMP Belmarsh, in south London, home to some of the most volatile lags in the UK and around 100 Islamic militants, are being trained up to make frothy lattes and cappuccinos.

A number of prisons around the UK, in the hope that inmates will find it easier to land a job when released, have started barista courses after the explosion of coffee shops around the UK in the last decade.

And Belmarsh has now jumped on the bandwagon, with a barista training course starting up earlier this year.

Prison chiefs have been inundated with requests from prisoners to sign up for the six-week course, which has already seen a number of lags trained up as baristas.

The course teaches them how to serve up gourmet coffees, including lattes, flat whites and expressos - as well as smoothie and hot chocolate.

A report out into the prison this week by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) this week confirmed that the classes had started.

It stated: 'The Board is pleased that the training in Barista skills has recently started.'

Belmarsh - once home to hate preachers Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada and Lee Rigby's murderer Michael Adebolajo - was likened to a 'jihadi training camp' earlier this year by a former inmate.

HMP Belmarsh, in south London, (pictured) home to some of the most volatile lags in the UK and around 100 Islamic militants, are being trained up to make frothy lattes and cappuccinos

The inmate, a Muslim graduate who was in the jail for bank fraud, said in an interview this year that prisoners were 'brainwashed' to 'spread the terror message' and that the jail was 'run' by a group of jihadists who call themselves 'the brothers' or 'the Akhi (Arabic for brother).

The classes are part of the prison's Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) programme, which aims to help prisoners gain 'work opportunities' when they are released.

The course, called VTCT Level 2 Award in Barista Skills (QCF), teaches students to learn to taste the difference between coffees and make other drinks, like smoothies and hot chocolate.

It states: 'The main role of a Barista is to make wonderful coffee, but you will also learn how use equipment to make tea, hot chocolate, smoothies and juices.

'You will develop the skills to make various types of coffee and tea that are regularly prepared for customers in coffee shops, cafes, hotels and restaurants.

'You will learn about coffee, where it is grown, how it is processed and how it arrives ready for you to grind and brew.'

It also states that students need to learn about 'the importance of good customer service' and how to 'solve the problems that arise on a daily basis when working as a barista'.

Belmarsh - once home to hate preacher Abu Hamza (pictured) was likened to a 'jihadi training camp' earlier this year by a former inmate

Students also need to be able to 'describe the original and flavour' of the coffees and other drinks on offer.

A prison worker, who has worked in jails around the UK for the past 10 years, said barista courses were the 'next big thing' in prisons and would take over from 'traditional' trades.

He said: 'Most of the courses (in jail) cover the basic trades, like painting and decorating and bricklaying - or in women's jail hairdressing and sewing.

'Being trained up as a barista is the next new thing - it's no surprise I guess with the number of coffee shops around nowadays.'

Lee Rigby's murderer Michael Adebolajo (left) and Abu Qatada (right) have also served time there

Another prison already offering a barista course to prisoners is HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire - and plans are in progress to expand the scheme to many prisons across the UK.

Prisoners at HMP Holloway, a 590-capacity women's jail in north London, were due to be trained up as baristas by Pret a Manger staff, but the scheme was scrapped when it was announced that the jail was to be closed later this year.

Despite the scheme being scrapped at HMP Holloway, prison chiefs are keen to roll out barista training at other jails in the UK to help lags get jobs upon their release.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Prison should also help offenders get the skills and qualifications to make a success of life on the outside. We should see them as potential assets, people who can contribute to society and put something back.

A spokeswoman for Pret A Manger confirmed that it was committed to working with prisons to help offenders get jobs through its Pret Foundation Trust

'We have secured 1.3 billion to modernise the prison estate and we will put governors in charge. These reforms will ensure prisons are places of decency and improve public safety by reducing reoffending.'

There are an estimated 19,000 coffee shops in the UK - and it is estimated that within the next 15 years the number of coffee houses could overtake the number of pubs in Britain.

There are around 48,000 pubs in Britain now - compared to 69,000 in 1980 - but they are closing at a rate of 31-a-week, that's more than 1,600 closing their doors every year.
Iraqi forces are closing in on Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq and are now just three miles from Mosul amid reports of a revolt within the jihadi group.

The interior minister of the Kurdish regional government Karim Sinjari, who is acting defence minister in the area, said although the battle would not end soon, allied forces have reclaimed 30 villages from ISIS.

He believes there is between 4,000 and 8,000 ISIS fighters in the city ready for war, but that the numbers have dwindled because those refusing to fight have been executed.

In preparation for the onslaught, Sinjari says ISIS have dug enormous tunnels under the city and a trench around it, which they have filled with oil ready to torch when forces come nearer.

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Iraqi forces are closing in on Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq. Pictured, Iraqi Kurdish security forces detain a suspected member of Islamic State as they patrol the eastern suburbs of Kirkuk

Iraqi forces wear protective masks after winds brought fumes from a nearby sulfur plant set alight by Islamic State militants, at south of Mosul in Qayyara, Iraq

Iraqi forces are now just three miles from Mosul amid reports of a revolt within the jihadi group

A Sunni fighter from the Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard in an area east of Mosul

Fighters from the Sunni group patrolled the scene - some without protective gas masks

A member of the Iraqi forces wearing a gas mask for protection gestures near Mishraq sulphur factory

Iraqi forces wear protective masks from smoke and fumes after Islamic State jihadists torched the factory

The Qayyarah base is approximately 30 kilometres south of the Iraqi city of Mosul

Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire near the city of Mosul

No deaths were reported in connection with the incident, said the sources at the hospital in Qayyara, a town south of Mosul

The spokesman added: 'Daesh set the sulphur on fire so nobody can come near them'

Iraqi women and children queue for food in the Debaga refugee camp near Mosul

Dozens of women were seen waiting patiently in line for supplies in the refugee camp

Women and children pictured desperately seeking food in a refugee camp near Mosul

Sunni fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces ride a motorcycle down a road east of Mosul

Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire near the city of Mosul, hospital sources said on Saturday.

No deaths were reported in connection with the incident, said the sources at the hospital in Qayyara, a town south of Mosul.

The first cases began arriving on Friday morning, they said.

'We have had every type of person come in with breathing problems and burning eyes - children, adults, policemen, soldiers,' said a hospital spokesman.

'Daesh set the sulphur on fire so nobody can come near them.'

Pictured, an Iraqi boy stands next to a post on a broken fence in Debaga refugee camp

Iraqis walk through Debaga refugee camp where people displaced by fighting in and around Mosul have sought shelter

Progress to liberate the city of Mosul has been steady, but the battle is set to be a big one, according to the interior minister

The Iraqi forces were seen wearing their protective gear while patrolling from their military vehicles

Pictured, displaced Iraqis arriving at the refugee camp in the town of Qayyarah

The US military said the militants had deliberately set it on fire. Pictured, a woman returns to her village after it was liberated from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul

An Iraqi army vehicle is seen during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul

Pictured, two Iraqi army officials guard a checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Qayyara

A sulphur plant caught fire earlier this week as the Iraqi army dislodged Islamic State fighters from the area of Mishraq, north of Qayyara

'We have had every type of person come in with breathing problems and burning eyes - children, adults, policemen, soldiers,' said a hospital spokesman

An Iraqi army official guards a checkpoint near the source of the blaze in Qayyara

The fumes in the background are from oil wells that were set ablaze by Islamic State militants

Pictured, Iraqi pro-government forces are seen travelling in the Iraqi town of Qayyara

A sulphur plant caught fire earlier this week as the Iraqi army dislodged Islamic State fighters from the area of Mishraq, north of Qayyara.

The US military said the militants had deliberately set it on fire.

Progress to liberate the city of Mosul has been steady, but the battle is set to be a big one, according to the interior minister.

'If they resist in the city, especially in old Mosul, it will be a big fight,' he said.

An Iraqi military official wearing a gas mark as smoke billows behind an flag of the beleaguered nation

Iraqi displaced boys walk at the Debaka refugee camp, on the outskirts of Erbil

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrives in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with his commanders today

Iraqi displaced people, who fled from IS held town of Hawija near Kirkuk, wait in line to receive food

Displaced Iraqis, who fled from Hawija town two days ago, sit at a school building in the Debaka refugee camp

Nine-years-old Iraqi displaced child Hassan (centre), who fled with his family from IS held town of Hawija near Kirkuk

Pictured, Iraqi displaced women walk in the Debaka refugee camp, on the outskirts of Erbil

'The roads are very thin, very narrow. You can't have vehicles, you can't have tanks.

'So it will be a fight, person by person.'

Mosul was declared a caliphate for ISIS back in 2014 by their commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is reportedly in the city with his militants.

The Iraqi city and the Syrian stronghold of Raqqa continues to be their main bases.

'If Mosul is finished the caliphate they announced is finished,' Sinjari said.

'If they lose in Mosul, they will have no place, just Raqqa.

'They will have to go to Syria. They will be surrounded in one area.'

The interior minister of the Kurdish regional government Karim Sinjari, who is acting defence minister in the area, said although the battle would not end soon, allied forces have reclaimed 30 villages from ISIS

ISIS have dug enormous tunnels like this one under the city and a trench around it, which they have filled with oil ready to torch when forces come neareer

In preparation for the onslaught, Sinjari says ISIS have dug enormous tunnels under the city and a trench around it, which they have filled with oil ready to torch when forces (pictured) come closer

Members of Iraqi pro-government forces hold a position on the frontline on October 21, 2016 near the village of Tall al-Tibah, some 30 kilometres south of Mosul, during an operation to retake the main hub city from ISIS

Mosul was declared a caliphate for ISIS back in 2014 by their commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is reportedly in the city with his militants

Allied Peshmerga soldiers at the frontline having rest near Bashika. Battle for Mosul, Iraq

The Iraqi city of Mosul and the Syrian stronghold of Raqqa continue to be their main bases

Civilians are escaping from Khorsabad which is controlled by ISIS and under Peshmerga fire

The much-heralded battle to capture Mosul began last week and is expected to be the most important battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003

Iraq has come a long way since June 2014 when five Iraqi army divisions crumbled as Islamic State swept into Mosul

Islamic State has been dislodged from other major cities such as Falluja

The much-heralded battle to capture Mosul began last week and is expected to be the most important battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Iraq has come a long way since June 2014 when five Iraqi army divisions crumbled as Islamic State swept into Mosul.

Islamic State has been dislodged from other major cities such as Falluja.

That campaign lasted just over one month.

With air and ground support from the US-led coalition, an Iraqi force of about 30,000, joined by US special forces and under US, French and British air cover, is ready to push into Mosul after recapturing Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and seizing the Sunni stronghold of Tikrit in central Iraq.

'I think it the fight for Mosul will be longer than Falluja and Tikrit, Mosul is a big city,' Sinjari said.

So far, Kurdish forces have seized 20 villages and the Iraqi army have taken 10, he said.

With air and ground support from the US-led coalition, an Iraqi force of about 30,000, joined by US special forces and under US, French and British air cover, is ready to push into Mosul after recapturing Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and seizing the Sunni stronghold of Tikrit in central Iraq

It is not clear whether ISIS commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi who spent time in a US military jail in Iraq, will risk death or capture and join his fighters in the battle for Mosul, home to more than 1.5 million people

Iraqi forces would not be able to defeat Islamic State without help from the inside, such as informers or spies and cooperation from Sunni tribal groups

Using the Arabic acronym for ISIS - Daesh - the defence minister claimed there was a revolt within the group, with some jihadis turning their back on the terror group

It is not clear whether Baghdadi, an Iraqi who spent time in a US military jail in Iraq, will risk death or capture and join his fighters in the battle for Mosul, home to more than 1.5 million people.

'According to unconfirmed reports Abu Bakr was in Mosul three days ago,' the Kurdish minister said.

'People saw him visiting fighters and encouraging them. We are not sure he was present, this is information.'

Iraqi forces would not be able to defeat Islamic State without help from the inside, such as informers or spies and cooperation from Sunni tribal groups, said Sinjari.

He said the jihadi group, which comprises former Sunni officers from Saddam Hussein's army, have built underground tunnels and dug a trench around Mosul which they filled with oil to set on fire when the offensive gets closer to the city.

Using the Arabic acronym for ISIS - Daesh - the defence minister claimed there was a revolt within the group, with some jihadis turning their back on the terror group.

'There are many reports that there are elements that have agreed to kill members of Daesh,' said Sinjari.

'Some members of Daesh were killed in the street.

'They don't want Daesh. Some were killed and some left. These are people who have weapons, who carry out attacks in specific areas at night and slip away.'

'There are a lot of people who withdrew from the fight. They executed them.'

The pressure of being surrounded may prompt Islamic State to become more ruthless, as previous military campaigns against the group suggest

A man returns to his village after it was liberated from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul in Qayyara, Iraq

The plan from coalition forces, Sinjari said, is to surround Mosul from all sides.

The pressure may prompt Islamic State to become more ruthless, as previous military campaigns against the group suggest.

People who escaped from the jihadists in the town of Hawija paid a heavy price when they were caught on a road, said Sinjari.
Counter-terrorism officers investigating a London Tube bomb plot have found a 'suspicious device' in Devon.

Police cordoned off Tudor Road in Newton Abbot just before 2.45pm this afternoon.

A 200-metre police cordon was put in place, with residents only allowed to return to their homes at around 6pm.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police's terrorism unit have since confirmed that the device was not viable.

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Counter-terrorism officers investigating a London Tube bomb plot have found a 'suspicious device' in Devon

Police cordoned off the street in Newton Abbot just before 2.45pm this afternoon

A 200-metre police cordon is still in place, with some residents saying they had been told that officers would remain on the scene for at least the next six hours

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'On Saturday, 22 October Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) officers attended an address in Newton Abbott, Devon as part of enquires into the suspicious item at North Greenwich Underground Station.

'Whilst there, officers found an item they deemed suspicious.

'Work has been carried out and it has now been confirmed the device is not viable.

'Work continues with Devon and Cornwall Police at the scene.'

Football games at nearby Baker's Park were abandoned to allow police helicopters to land on the pitch.

Phil Smith, 62, who was refereeing one of the games, said: 'We were eight minutes into the match when suddenly a policeman appeared on the touchline and said "'Sorry, you are going to have to stop playing and get out of the park - we want to land some helicopters on the football pitch".

'He said there was an incident but couldn't say anything about it.

'He proceeded to hustle us all off and then he went to the children's play park and hustled all them out and was trying to get the car park clear as well.'

One resident who lives nearby said she was prevented from returning to her home by an officer who said a 'bomb' had been found.

Student Sioned Freed, 22, said: 'I was on the way home from Sainsbury's and a PCSO told me that I wasn't allowed to go that way.

'I explained that I lived there and asked what was happening.

A 19-year-old man was arrested after a suspicious device was blown up in a controlled explosion in London

'She explained that it was a bomb and seemed surprised that I hadn't been evacuated yet.

'She let me back in to get the kids and I took them to my dad's office. Now we're just waiting for news on when we can go home.

'I've heard that the bomb is on Tudor Road but not from the police. I'm not sure how many homes were evacuated.

'I saw a few people leaving but a lot of people are still in their homes.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: 'We can confirm that following initial investigations, the device found at Tudor Road, Newton Abbot, is not viable.

'Therefore, the cordon will be lifted and residents from the evacuated properties will be allowed to return to their homes. We thank them for their patience and co-operation in this matter.

'Devon and Cornwall Police will continue to support the Metropolitan Police with their investigation.

'Further forensic searches will continue at the property in question. A police scene guard will remain in place whilst this work continues.'

Connor Bain, 22, who lives in one of the evacuated homes, said: 'We came out at half one went to walk the dog and that's when the police started taping up the road.

'Hearing of a bomb nearby is a bit of a shock. We haven't been told how long we will be evacuated for.

'I don't know who lives in the house.'

Residents only allowed to return to their homes at around 6pm when the device had been confirmed as not viable

One resident who lives nearby said she was prevented from returning to her home by an officer who said a 'bomb' had been found

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the raid was linked to a 'viable device' that was found on a London Underground train

The Met confirmed that the raid was linked to a 'viable device' that was found on a London Underground train.

The package is believed to have been planted on Thursday by a suspected terrorist acting alone - and was placed on a carriage heading for landmarks including Westminster and The Shard.

The package - described as a bag with wires sticking out - was found on a Jubilee Line train.

A 19-year-old man arrested in Holloway Road on Friday in connection to the suspicious package remains in custody.

North Greenwich station was evacuated for more than seven hours, and bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion.

Football games at nearby Baker's Park were abandoned to allow police helicopters to land on the pitch

A 19-year-old man arrested in north London yesterday afternoon remains in police custody today. The teenager was Tasered in the street as armed police swooped on the suspect, described as a white, bearded man.

The teenager was detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 after his arrest at 12.20pm in Holloway, and can be detained for up to 14 days without charge.

Officers were today granted a licence by Westminster Magistrates' Court to continue holding him until Friday.

Police have confirmed they are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the device.

And the Ministry Of Defence warned its staff in a memo that the culprit could have planted more devices, according to The Telegraph.

It said: 'This increase is in response to the discovery of a suspected viable improvised explosive device (IED) on a London Underground train.

'It is unknown who placed the device and what their motivation was. Therefore it remains possible that the perpetrator may attempt to place further devices. The threat level will continue to be reviewed as further information is received.'

It is not known where the person who planted the device got onto the tube and disembarked, but the device could have travelled several stops before it was found.

The train was bound for stops including London Bridge, Westminster, Green Park and Bond Street, which is close to Oxford Circus.

Witnesses described seeing police arresting a man in a hoodie, jeans and trainers in Holloway

The device was discovered on a Jubilee Line which was headed for stops including Westminster, London Bridge and Green Park

The package was discovered at North Greenwich on a Jubilee Line train which was headed west in the direction of London Bridge, Waterloo, Westminster and Green Park

A Metropolitan Police spokesman was asked today if officers had any indication where the bomb was placed, but responded: 'We won't be releasing any further information as we have a suspect in custody.'

Police declined to comment on the possible motive, but a security source told The Times that there is a possibility the planned attack could have been a 'copycat' methodology and the motivation was not Islamist.

The suspect package has been described as a bag 'full of wires'.

A statement from British Transport Police said: 'Together with the Met we have been working tirelessly since the item was found to follow up all potential leads.

'Officers are keeping an open mind regarding any possible motive. They are not looking for anyone else in relation to this investigation at this stage.'

Witnesses described how officers shouted 'armed police, don't struggle as they arrested the white, bearded man, who was wearing a hoodie, jacket, jeans and trainers in Holloway Road, close to the Emirates Stadium in North London.

Security has been ramped up on London's public transport network since with more officers, including armed police, on patrol at travel hubs and high-visibility patrols

Officers from the Metropolitan Police shouted 'armed police, don't struggle' as they arrested the white man with a beard in north London

Security has been ramped up on London's public transport network since with more officers, including armed police, on patrol at travel hubs and high-visibility patrols.

On Thursday, passengers were evacuated from the station near The O2 Arena in East London as alarm bells rang and a huge section of the Jubilee line was suspended.

Shortly after 11am, travellers were told to leave the station which was closed for more than seven hours while the item was made safe underground.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police's counter terrorism command launched a probe after the package was found by train staff on an eastbound service.

No trains were running between Stratford and Canary Wharf until about 3.15pm, while buses were also unable to call at the station for hours yesterday.

Officers used a Taser during the arrest on Holloway Road, but said no firearms were used.

Community support worker Margaret Mathurin was sat having a coffee when, at just past midday, the incident began to unfold.

The 54-year-old did not see the arrest, but added: 'The police all lined up in their cars and vans, they gave their orders to each other.

Scene: Officers used a Taser during the arrest on Holloway Road, but said no firearms were used. The man was taken to a police station where he remained in custody

Dramatic: Witnesses described how officers shouted 'armed police, don't struggle as they arrested the white bearded man wearing a hoodie, jacket, jeans and trainers

'They were plain-clothed police with masks, they had guns, everything. It was very unnerving.

'It was quick and it just looked like they were giving orders to each other and they knew exactly where to be, where to stand. Everything looked pretty organised.'

The arrested man was white, bearded and wearing a hoodie, a witness said. Ali said the man had been walking along the street 'normally' when police descended.

'The armed police, I think five of them, ran behind him and put him on the floor.'

Ali, 30, who did not want to give his full name, said he did not see the man Tasered, but that he did see the Taser on the floor.

'He was struggling not to get arrested, for like a good five minutes. They were shouting 'armed police, don't struggle'. Everything happened so quick.'

He described the arrested man as in his early twenties, white, bearded, and that he was wearing a hoodie, a long jacket, jeans and trainers.

'He did not look like he had had a shave for a long time,' he added.

Security alert: Passengers were evacuated from North Greenwich station in East London as alarm bells rang at about 11am on Thursday and a huge section of the Jubilee line was suspended

Cordon: North Greenwich station was closed for more than seven hours and no trains were running between Stratford and Canary Wharf in East London from 11am until about 3.15pm

Ms Mathurin added: 'They lined up with their guns and blocked the road. Nobody was allowed to go through but I was watching from Costa's window.

'I haven't moved from this spot since. The whole thing was unfolding before me.

'Although it was unnerving to see armed police on the streets of London I have to say it looked like they had control of the situation and knew what they were doing.

'The arrest must have taken place under the bridge. I don't normally come to this area so it's a bit scary that on the day I decide to this happens.'

Emi Koizumi, 42, described the terrifying moment armed police swarmed the road as he walked to get lunch at a nearby Dirty Burger restaurant.

She said: 'We saw loads of police, including armed and also plain clothed police with their faces covered.

'The plain clothed police ran off down the street towards Highbury Corner right as we walked up. No one would tell us what was going on under the railway bridge.'

Police investigation: An aerial view of the scene at North Greenwich Tube station yesterday

Police said the suspicious item found at North Greenwich was 'being forensically examined and we await the results of that examination'.

The Met added that officers from the force and British Transport Police 'have been working tirelessly since the item was found to follow up all potential leads'.

Officers are keeping an open mind regarding any possible motive. They are not looking for anyone else in relation to this investigation at this stage.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'Thanks to the outstanding professionalism of the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London staff and the British Transport Police, this situation was dealt with swiftly and safely, and no injuries resulted.

'I have been in constant contact with the Metropolitan Police commissioner and the TfL commissioner throughout the past two days.

'Keeping Londoners safe is my highest priority. I am urging all Londoners to check with TfL before they travel and to remain calm and vigilant at all times.'

A Met spokesman said: 'Officers continue to encourage the public to remain vigilant and alert at all times and report anything suspicious to police.

'The public will see more officers, including armed police, in and around transport hubs to provide reassurance around public safety.

'High visibility patrols by BTP officers on the underground and at stations will remain in place today to reassure the travelling public as they start their weekend.

Arrest: The teenager was detained at 12.20pm in Holloway, North London, one day after the item was detonated in a controlled explosion at North Greenwich station

Evacuated: Officers from the Metropolitan Police's counter terrorism command launched a probe after the package was found by train staff on an eastbound service (file image)

Tube: Police were called to the station after train staff found a 'suspicious item' (file image)

'Anyone with any concerns should speak with officers who will be happy to help.'

Police urged anyone who saw anything suspicious on the train, or anywhere else, to call the anti-terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

The current threat level for international terrorism in the UK is severe - meaning an attack is 'highly likely'.

Will Geddes, founder of private security firm International Corporate Protection, said the Tube network was 'pretty safe' and that the Jubilee line was the most modern.

He added: 'There's very extensive CCTV and security measures which will have expedited the process of identifying the suspect.

'If they used an Oyster card it's another identifier that links the suspect to the package.

'In terms of the response by the authorities it couldn't have been more efficient and effective, which provides reassurance to the general public in how capable and rehearsed our authorities and emergency services are in responding to these kind of events.'

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association general secretary Manuel Cortes said: 'Once again we are reminded of the real threats now posed to public transport passengers and, in this case, our Tube and station staff.

'I have called for an urgent security summit with TfL London Underground, unions, British Transport Police, Scotland Yard and the City Hall.

'In the light of yesterday's all too real attack, the Chancellor Philip Hammond must immediately restore the cuts made last year by George Osborne to Transport for London's operating subsidy which means TfL are trying to make 700 million of cuts by 2020.

'Without reversing Osborne's devastating cuts, it will simply not be possible for TfL managers or British Transport Police or my members to exercise the levels of vigilance now necessary to keep London open for business and our people and our passengers safe.'

North Greenwich station reopened on Thursday night and a performance at the O2 by the band Nickelback went ahead as planned.
to sell 1.2million of cocaine to police

After six-years in jail he

and sent him to the UK

Sean Devalda, 30, was snatched in a dramatic raid on his Amsterdam hideout

A gangster tried to sell 1.2m of cocaine to undercover police after being extradited from Holland.

In 2011 Sean Devalda was arrested in a dramatic raid in the Netherlands and brought back to Britain to face justice for a cash van robbery bid.

Dutch police shelled the gangster's hideout with smoke bombs and blew the door off before storming the Amsterdam property.

They dragged the Salford criminal out at gunpoint in a dramatic arrest.

He has now been caught trying to sell cocaine worth 1.2million to undercover officers after being released from a six-year sentence for robbery.

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Officers stormed the bolthole in the Dutch capital, using explosive and smoke bombs before dragging the wanted man, then 24, out at gunpoint

Armed police shelled the gangster's hideout with smoke bombs, and blew the door off before entering

Following his return,Devalda was jailed for six years for the Salford robbery plot.

But, shortly after release, he became embroiled in a plot to set up a wholesale drugs supply line from Manchester to Buckinghamshire.

Sean Devalda, 30, his brother Stephen, 33, and ringleader Brandon Temple, 40, carefully planned the deals in meetings at Amigos Cafe in Middleton.

The conspirators used a gym-themed code to avoid detection - referring to drugs as 'training sessions'.

But their efforts to avoid detection were in vain - the men they were supplying were undercover police officers.

Officers in the Netherlands planned to apprehend Devalda, originally from Salford, and bring him to justice for an attempted raid on a money van in the UK

Police guided the suspect at gunpoint, and arranged his extradition back to UK to be tried for his crimes. After serving six year for van raid, he attempted to sell drugs to undercover officers

In September last year couriers supplied the officers with half-a-kilo of cocaine. Officers began making arrests after another 5kg of high purity cocaine was supplied at another handover in leafy Beaconsfield, Bucks, in October last year.

Devalda was arrested the same day after being seen by police in Manchester city centre.

He ran into Flannels in Spinningfields in a bid to escape, but was caught.

He left behind his phone in the hood of a coat on a sales rack - and a 26,000 gold Rolex watch.

His brother Stephen was arrested two days before Christmas.

Steven Devalda was sentence to nine years along with his brother

Now Sean Devalda, of Vine Street, Salford, has been jailed for nine years.

Other members of the gang have also been sentenced

The court heard that when 'bulked up and bashed down to the street user', the 5kg consignment could have yielded on 1.2m.

Sending the gang down, Judge Martin Walsh described drugs as an 'evil trade'.

Accomplices of the Devalda brothers were handed lengthy prison sentences
A man's death has been described by his widow as 'something out of a horror movie'.

Mike Funk, 67, contracted a bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus.

He had an open leg wound when he went into the Assawoman Bay in Maryland on September 11 as he packed up a boat, CBS Baltimore reported.

Mike and his wife Marcia Funk were arranging to spend the winter in Arizona.

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Mike Funk, 67, contracted a bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus. He had an open leg wound when he went into the Assawoman Bay in Maryland on September 11 as he packed up a boat

His widow, Marcia Funk, has said: 'It's like something out of a horror movie'

Marcia recalled in an interview with the TV station that on September 13, 'I said, "What's the matter?" He said, "I don't feel good. I'm throwing up."'

Her husband was soon hospitalized and suffered from leg swelling and kidney failure, according to CBS Baltimore.

Marcia told the Daily Times: 'It's like something out of a horror movie.'

Her husband cleaned crab pots on September 11, the day he went in the water.

Mike was found to have a necrotizing facsciitis infection and was transported to a shock trauma center, according to Ocean City Today.

Vibrio vulnificus (pictured in a stock image) caused Mike's necrotizing fasciitis infection

Marcia revealed to the newspaper: 'They said that's what it is, it's the water on the crab pots.

'Come to find out, when he pulled the boat out he waded in the water over at the boat ramp. He didn't [usually] get in the water, that was the only time all summer.'

A leg amputation was performed but didn't halt the infection, and Mike died September 15 after being taken off life support, according to Ocean City Today.

Marcia told the news outlet: 'The surgeon said if you get this, you will be an amputee in 24 hours and if that doesn't work you're going to dead in 36 hours and that's exactly what happened, it was on the money.

A leg amputation was performed but didn't halt the infection, and Mike died September 15 after being taken off life support

'He loved his crabs, he loved his boat and he loved the waters here. It's what took his life and I still can't get my head wrapped around it, it's a nightmare.'

Vibrio vulnificus had caused Mike's necrotizing fasciitis infection, according to Ocean City Today.

There are 30 to 50 reports of Vibrio that Maryland health officials handle annually, according to CBS Baltimore.

Dr. Clifford Mitchell with the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told the news outlet: 'People should be concerned, especially if they have conditions, immune disorders, if they have liver disease.
A university student union has officially declared what costumes are deemed too offensive to wear this Halloween.

And the list is bad news for anyone planning to celebrate the holiday dressed as a Japanese Geisha or Caitlyn Jenner; or for those thinking about wearing a turban or Native American headdress.

The comprehensive list of unsociable outfits for a Halloween party was shared by the Brock University Students' Union.

A university student union has officially declared what costumes are deemed too offensive to wear this Halloween, which includes Day of the Dead inspired outfits (pictured)

In addition to the aforementioned costumes, people are told not to wear: Day of the Dead inspired outfits, blackface, traditional Indian bindis, or thobes.

Bill Cosby and Robin Williams outfits are a no-no, as is any attire that 'makes fun of rape or suicide'.

Students are also told not to use the Confederate flag in their costumes in any way, or turn up in anything that 'represents a cultures' traditional dress'.

'It is our priority to maintain a campus climate that prevents costumes reinforcing harmful stereotypes around race, gender, culture and mental health,' a statement from the Canadian university student group reads.

Native American outfits (left) are also on the offensive list, as well as anything with the Confederate flag (right)

The Brock University Students' Union also decided that geisha outfits (left) are out of bounds, along with anything that features the traditional Indian bindi on someone's forehead

'Vetting Halloween costumes isnt a matter of telling people what to wear. Its a matter of paying respect to the stories and experiences of marginalized groups who are depicted in these costumes: their culture, history and lives should never be desecrated, but understood and celebrated.'

The union also created a infographic detailing the steps of thought involved in whether a costume should or should not be worn.

Many of the costumes included on the list are widely sold and worn, with one online shop even running out of stock for its Caitlyn Jenner outfit.

Blackface, as worn by this person who appears to be distastefully dressed as Trayvon Martin, is on the banned list. So are Caitlyn Jenner costume

The university's student union says people cannot attend its official Halloween party dressed in a Bill Cosby costume
Kapitanleutnant Gunther Krech, UB-85 claimed his U-boat had been attacked by a sea monster

The North Channel that connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean has long been a haunt of those wishing to prey on Britains shipping.

At its narrowest point, the channel is just 12 miles across, creating an ideal bottleneck for the pirates and privateers who for centuries targeted ships passing between Ulster and south-western Scotland.

In the early hours of April 30, 1918, a particularly deadly pirate emerged stealthily from the depths of the channel. Painted on its side was the name UB-85. This hunter was a German submarine, a feared U-boat.

For the previous two weeks, ever since it left its secret pen on the German island of Heligoland, UB-85 had been patrolling the Irish Sea, looking to unleash its ten torpedoes on merchant ships bringing vital supplies to Britain from the US and Brazil.

Much to the frustration of her commander, Kapitanleutnant Gunther Krech, UB-85 had not had much luck.

Although U-boats had sunk nearly 280,000 tons of Allied shipping that month, not one had been dispatched by Krech.

Accompanied by a few of his officers, he stood in the conning tower, scanning the waters through his binoculars by the light of the full moon  perhaps this would be the day he would finally start his scorecard.

But before he could continue his hunt for a victim, UB-85 was rocked by an almighty surge on the starboard side, followed by a terrific thud as something landed on the deck. Krech looked down, and to his bewilderment and horror saw a huge sea monster emerging from the water and climbing on to the side of the submarine.

This beast had large eyes, set in a horny sort of skull, Krech is reported to have said. It had a small head, but with teeth that could be seen glistening in the moonlight. Every man on watch began firing a sidearm at the beast, but the animal had hold of the forward gun mount and refused to let go.

Krech claimed he was standing with his crew on-deck (similar to the sailors on this German U-boat) when the monster attacked

The weight of the monster was so great that it was forcing the 730-ton submarine down into the water and, with the hatch still open, there was a very real risk that the U-boat would sink. Krech therefore ordered his crew to keep firing.

Eventually, with its mighty body stung by one too many bullets, the monster let go of the now-mangled gun mount and slipped back into the depths. Although the crew were safe from immediate peril, it soon became apparent that the creature had severely damaged the forward deck, leaving the U-boat incapable of diving.

As dawn rose, UB-85 became a sitting duck for the many ships of the Royal Navy patrolling the channel. Among them was an armed drifter called the Coreopsis, which cautiously approached the damaged submarine as it bobbed up and down. To the astonishment of the British ships crew, the Germans were standing on the deck with their hands up, and were willing to surrender without a fight.

It had a small head, but with teeth that could be seen glistening in the moonlight.

It was only when the trembling seamen were on board, and Krech told his tale, that it became apparent quite why the Germans seemed so grateful to be taken prisoner.

Even if the crew members of the Coreopsis were not sure whether to believe their captives, the story of the sea monster and UB-85 has endured. As the Navy is said to have sunk the submarine shortly afterwards, there has never been any evidence to show if it had indeed been attacked by some inexplicable force.

But now, nearly a century later, it looks as if the secrets of UB-85 may finally be revealed. Last week it was announced by energy firm Scottish Power that engineers laying undersea cables had discovered the wreck of a U-boat lying close to the last position of UB-85 reported by the Coreopsis.

Although no photograph of the submarine has been taken, a remarkably clear sonar image certainly shows the unmistakable form of the 180ft craft lying 340ft below the surface.

Unfortunately, the image is not sufficiently defined to show whether the foredeck has been damaged by the monster in the way supposedly described by Krech.

The U-boat would have looked similar to this one when it was sunk by the British in 1918

Despite the apparent absurdity of the German commanders claims, plenty of locals have maintained that UB-85 could well have been set upon by a savage sea serpent.

Among them is Gary Campbell, the keeper of the Official Sightings Record for the Loch Ness Monster. The area of sea where the attack took place has a history of sea-monster sightings  they have ranged from the north coast of Wales to Liverpool Bay, he said. What the captain said could well be true. Its great to see how Nessies saltwater cousin clearly got involved in helping with the war effort  she even managed to do the damage without anyone being killed.

Unsurprisingly, such claims have been scoffed at by others. Peter Roper, of Scottish Power, said: I am probably on the side of the historians who believe that the capture of the vessel was more straightforward than a sea monster attack. A sea monster attacked my submarine may be one of the most fanciful excuses of all time.

So what is the truth behind the sinking of UB-85? I have some professional interest in the matter, as I am a contributor to a forthcoming series on television channel Yesterday, called World War Weird. The series covers a bizarre series of wartime phenomena, ranging from the appearance of seemingly pro-Nazi crop circles in the British countryside to bombs carried by bats, UFOs over Canada and Los Angeles, and Stalins mine-carrying dogs.

Marine engineers from Scottish Power found the wreck of UB-85 when they were laying underground cables

The tall tale that really stoked my interest was that of UB-85 because stories of sea monsters attacking human beings during modern times are fantastically rare.

Typically, when we think of creatures such as krakens and leviathans, we are taken back to ancient times, to the world of myths and legend, not to a time of modern warfare.

But war is often associated with the supernatural, as the fevered and hopeful minds of scared and impressionable young soldiers, sailors and airmen can witness apparitions such as ghosts and angels in the chaos of battle.

However, the notion of a sea monster appearing off the Irish and Scottish coasts in the latter days of the First World War seemed far too unusual and intriguing a story not to dig further into.

Yes, it seemed like a hoax, but where had it come from, and why was a more plausible story not readily available? What quickly became apparent as I began to investigate was that there was no obvious source of the tale.

Normally, when researching episodes from either of the world wars, the plethora of books, articles and documents soon yields enough clues as to a storys origins. In this instance, there is no clear foundation.

More troubling still was the lack of any original document or newspaper report that contained the words supposedly spoken by the U-boats captain. Krech himself left very little trace. He died of unknown causes at the age of 33 in March 1919, his career as a submarine captain relatively undistinguished. However, his early death naturally meant that words could be put in his mouth. So, if it was impossible to find the source of the sea monster story, where could the truth be found?

A chart shows the location of the sunken submarine off the south-west coast of Scotland

The answer lies deep in the vaults of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States. At the end of the Second World War, the Allies captured the entire records of the German Navy from 1850 to 1945, and copied them on to 4,317 rolls of microfilm, now stored at NARAs site in Maryland. Hopefully, somewhere among them would be accounts given by the U-boats crew members after the war.

Spooling through hundreds of miles of microfilm was clearly an investigative step too far. Fortunately an American naval historian and retired detective from the San Jose Police Department in California called Dwight R. Messimer had already done all the hard work, and had presented it in an obscure 2002 tome called Verschollen [Missing]: World War I U-boat Losses. The files contain at least four interviews with crew members, including Krech himself.

But did any of them mention a monster? And if they did not, did any of them report anything strange or outlandish?

In his account, Krech recalled how he decided to crash-dive the U-boat after he spotted Royal Navy patrol boats. The navigator reported the conning tower hatch closed, he said, but as we went under, heavy flooding occurred through the hatch.

Now unable to close the hatch, the submarine was clearly in trouble. Water poured from the conning tower into the U-boat, causing the pumps, batteries and electric motors to fail. To make matters even more dangerous, the air was starting to fill up with chlorine gas emitted by the flooded batteries, which meant the crew were either going to drown or be poisoned to death.

The only option was to surface, and quickly. Krech ordered the ballast tanks to be blown, and the U-boat rose slowly. However, that did not mean the crew was safe.

Official reports from the time tell how the U-boat was caught on the surface by HMS Coreopsis

Senior stoker Julius Gottschammer reported: We opened the watertight door into the control room and managed to make our way against the in-rushing water into the control room and exit the boat through the conning tower.

In fact, it is Gottschammer who held the key as to why water had managed to enter the boat from the conning tower  and he laid the blame squarely on Krech.

Gottschammer said Krech had insisted on the installation of a heater in the officers compartment. He said the cables to power it had to be run into the control room through the conning tower, compromising its ability to be completely sealed. The result was that the new cables allowed water to flow unhindered from the conning tower, said Gottschammer.

Had these new cables not been in place, only the conning tower would have flooded, which would have posed no danger to the submarine.

At the surface, the submarine came under heavy fire from the Coreopsis. We could not return fire because our ammunition was underwater and the water was rising in the boat, said Krech. The crew was taken off in rowboats.

The Navy soon picked up the crew. The last to leave were Krech and his navigator, who scuttled UB-85 rather than allow the satisfaction of a kill to the enemy. The UB-85 along with all the secret documents and codebooks sank in 260ft, Krech recalled.

So UB-85 lies at the bottom of the North Channel because its commander wanted to keep warm in his quarters, and not because of a mysterious sea monster.

Had that cable not been installed, it is likely that the submarine could have made its escape.

It is not known how Krechs superiors reacted.

Perhaps the source of the myth was Krech himself, who felt unable to admit that he had lost his boat for such a stupid and trifling reason.
Its antagonist has more than a vague

Children whose parents have been killed by Bashar al-Assad's troops in the Syrian conflict are performing a 'comedy' play seemingly mocking the President.

Orphans from the rebel-held city of Douma will perform a modern adaptation of a story about a Stone Age tribe who overthrow their tyrannical dictator.

The performance's antagonist has more than a vague resemblance to President Assad, and its plot reflects the current turmoil and conflict in the country.

The performance's antagonist has more than a vague resemblence to President Assad, and its plot reflects the current turmoil and conflict in the country

A girl stands among a heap of bodies, with a message written in Arabic behind them

A boy performances a headstand as some of his fellow cast members look on and smile in the background

Some of the girl cast members sit in a circle playing games as they wait backstage

Douma is less than 10 miles north east of the country's capital, Damascus, and in August last year was subjected to a a series of strikes from Assad's government which killed 96 people and injured a further 200.

Almost 200 people also died on both sides during the Battle of Douma, which was fought in the early stages of the war in 2012.

The play was organised by the local council, and symbolises the situation in Syria and children's interpretation of it.

Some of the orphans take part in what appears to be a wheelbarrow race

The two sides face off - one is armed with machine guns - but it is not clear if it is the dictator of the rebels who are armed

One boy appears to be broadcasting a message on a makeshift television

Audience members watch on as a boy gives a message to other youngsters cowering beneath him

Despite all the terror and heartbreak the youngsters have been subjected to, they appear to be revelling in their roles and enjoying themselves in photos taken from rehearsals.

Images show a boy in a suit - the dictator character - surrounded by heavily armed guards in military uniforms.

Cast members can be seen smiling in the background performing handstands and partaking in a wheelbarrow race as they get ready to put the performance to the public.

Cast members peek out from behind the curtain as they prepare to make an entrance

The ensemble performing - their parents have been killed in the Sryian conflict that has been ongoing since 2012

One orphans slinks around in the dark as part of the production
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Over 1,000 migrants - including a four-day-old baby - landed in two Italian ports today after being rescued off the coast of Libya by the Italian Red Cross.

Images released by the group show the migrants landing in the port of Vibo Marina, after a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Nine people drowned today and ten were still missing despite the rescue operation.

Up to 1,200 migrants - including a four-day-old baby - landed in two Italian ports today after being rescued off the coast of Libya by the Italian Red Cross

Images released by the group show the migrants landing in the port of Vibo Marina, after a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea

According to reports, approximately nine people drowned and ten were missing despite the rescue operation

The rescued migrants were also taken to Reggio Calabria in Siciliy in the mission run in partnership with the Malta-based NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station

The rescued migrants were also taken to Reggio Calabria, in Siciliy, in the mission run in partnership with the Malta-based NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station.

More than seven thousand migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea this week alone.

Some twenty pregnant women and a migrant wounded by gunfire were also picked up during the operation, according to Zoom24.

The baby was reportedly fine but was transferred with his mother to a hospital in Vibo for further investigation.

More than seven thousand migrants have been rescued from vessels on the Mediterranean Sea this week alone

Some twenty pregnant women and a migrant wounded by gunfire were also picked up during the operation

The baby was reportedly fine but was transferred with his mother to a hospital in Vibo for further investigation

The migrants are said to hail from Syria, Libya and other African nations including Nigeria and Ghana

The migrants are said to hail from Syria, Libya and other African nations including Nigeria and Ghana.

Yesterday almost 800 migrants were rescued from a wooden barge crossing the Mediterranean - including a tiny baby - as 20 boats were stopped by the Irish Navy.

The Irish vessel LE Samuel Beckett rescued 772 migrants during a 'complex search and rescue operation' off the coast of Tripoli, Libya.

The rescue started at 6.30am and all migrants were safely on board the ship by 2.30pm.

The Italian interior ministry said on Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.

The number of arrivals is similar to that of the previous two years but the pressure on the country's reception facilities is mounting as it has become harder for migrants to move on to other EU countries.

The Italian interior ministry said in a statement on Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year

The number of arrivals is similar to that of the previous two years but the pressure on the country's reception facilities is mounting as it has become harder for migrants to move on to other EU countries

Yesterday almost 800 migrants were rescued from a wooden barge crossing the Mediterranean - including a tiny baby - as 20 boats were stopped by the Irish Navy
Judge called him a 'serious danger to society' who had shown no remorse

This is the longest-known prison sentence in Fresno Superior Court history

He is unnamed to protect the identity of his daughter, who took the stand

A Fresno man was sentenced to 1,503 years in prison for raping his teenage daughter over a four-year period.

The 41-year-old, who is unnamed because it could identify his daughter, was sentenced Friday to the longest-known prison sentence in Fresno Superior Court history, the Fresno Bee reported.

Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr, who announced the punishment, told the man he is a 'serious danger to society' and noted that he had never shown remorse and has blamed his daughter for his predicament.

The man's daughter was first sexually abused by a family friend but instead of protecting her, he turned her into 'a piece of property,' prosecutor Nicole Galstan said.

A 41-year-old man was sentenced to 1,503 years in prison for raping his teenage daughter two to three times a week for four years on Friday at Fresno Superior Court (pictured)

The victim was raped two to three times a week from May 2009 to May 2013, when the girl got the courage to leave him, Galstan said.

A jury in September found him guilty of 186 felony counts of sexual assault, including dozens of counts of rape of a minor.

'When my father abused me, I was young. I had no power, no voice. I was defenseless,' said the daughter, who now is 23 years old. She also told the judge that her father never has shown remorse for her pain and suffering.

The man turned down two plea deals. Before his preliminary hearing, if he had admitted his guilt, prosecutors would have recommended 13 years in prison. He rejected the offer.

Then before his trial, he was offered 22 years in prison if he admitted his guilt. He declined that offer, saying he should be released from jail for the time he already had served, Sarkisian said before announcing the sentence.

'He ruined her teenage years and made her feel like it was her fault,' Galstan said in arguing for the maximum sentence.

The sentencing is in stark contrast to a recent case in Montana, where a man who raped his 12-year-old daughter was not sent to prison.

Instead the judge handed down a 30-year suspended sentence after the man pleaded guilty to incest and ordered him to spend 60 days in jail, giving him credit for 17 days already served.
Theresa May's Cabinet enforcer was embroiled in a major row last night after he allegedly smeared a senior Tory by claiming he had cheated on his wife with another man.

Chief Whip Gavin Williamson is said to have made his extraordinary allegation  which is understood to be completely untrue  in the heat of the bitter EU referendum campaign that split the party.

The former senior Minister he falsely accused of having a homosexual affair was a prominent Leave campaigner.

Cabinet enforcer Gavin Williamson (pictured) was embroiled in a major row last night after he allegedly smeared a senior Tory by claiming he had cheated on his wife with another man

The allegation is said to have been made inside No 10 when David Cameron was struggling to combat the Brexit revolt. Mr Williamson was one of Mr Camerons closest aides at the time.

When The Mail on Sunday first approached Mr Williamson nine days ago about his alleged comments, he said: I dont comment on malicious rumours.

Pressed again last week, the 40-year-old gave the same reply. And informed that this newspaper intended to publish his alleged comments today, he said: Thanks for the courtesy in letting me know.

Asked to explain why he had made the alleged comment, what evidence he had for making it, if he stood by it, and whether he wished to apologise for it, he declined to elaborate.

He also declined to respond to the suggestion it was an unwarranted and unjustified smear.

Downing Street also refused to comment. This newspaper has decided not to publish the name of the former Minister allegedly smeared by Mr Williamson, nor the man he falsely accused him of having an affair with.

Theresa May's Chief Whip is said to have made his extraordinary allegation  which is understood to be completely untrue  in the heat of the bitter EU referendum campaign that split the party

Both men have wives and children and are happily married.

As Chief Whip, Mr Williamson is responsible for enforcing discipline among Ministers and Tory MPs. By tradition, the job includes protecting MPs from potential scandals.

As Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mr Cameron, Mr Williamson was the former Prime Ministers eyes and ears in the Commons during the referendum crisis.

And when Mr Cameron resigned, he switched sides to back Mrs May who rewarded him by promoting him to her Cabinet as Chief Whip.

His huge influence in her inner circle is reflected in the fact he is the only Cabinet Minister to attend her daily morning meeting at No 10 with her inner circle of advisers.

The alleged smear is the latest evidence of vicious so-called blue on blue infighting among senior Tories sparked by the referendum.

Mr Williamsons slur was allegedly made in private inside Downing Street when Mr Cameron and his team realised their hopes of winning the referendum  and Mr Camerons hopes of surviving as PM  were slipping away, so vented their fury at Tories in the Leave campaign.

The allegation is said to have been made inside No 10 when David Cameron was struggling to combat the Brexit revolt. Mr Williamson was one of Mr Camerons closest aides at the time

Behind public calls to bury the hatchet, several Tories on both sides have refused to forgive each other for some of the wild claims, personal abuse and dirty tricks hurled about during the campaign.

Scarborough-born Mr Williamson did not enter Parliament until 2010 when he won the South Staffordshire seat. So many MPs were surprised when such a relatively inexperienced politician was promoted from Mr Camerons PPS, the lowest rung on the ministerial ladder, to Mrs Mays Chief Whip.

In part, it was seen as a payback for the way he used his detailed knowledge of Tory MPs built up during his time as Mr Camerons Commons spy to woo them to Mays cause.

The influential Conservative Home website called him Mrs Mays baby-faced assassin and quoted a senior Tory saying of him: He might be thought a callow youngster from the sticks. That would be a grave mistake. He makes Francis Urquhart look like Eddie the Eagle.

Scarborough-born Mr Williamson did not enter Parliament until 2010 when he won the South Staffordshire seat

Urquhart, played by actor Ian Richardson, was the fictitious villainous Chief Whip in the 1980s British TV series House Of Cards, recently revived for a US version starring Kevin Spacey.

Mr Williamson has earned a reputation as a formidable Parliamentary street fighter. Within weeks of being appointed as Mr Camerons PPS he was rebuked by Speaker John Bercow for barracking Labour leader Ed Miliband during Prime Ministers Questions.

Mr Williamson revelled in bellowing Weak! at Mr Miliband. Mr Bercow slapped him down, saying his job as PPS was to nod his head in the appropriate places, and to fetch and carry notes  no noise is required.

Mr Williamsons response was to go undercover, forming a secret squad of Tory MPs  dubbed the Q-Team  who would devise insults designed to throw Miliband off balance.

Mr Cameron returned Mr Williamsons fierce loyalty by appointing him a Privy Counsellor after last years Election victory. He also received a CBE in Mr Camerons controversial resignation honours list for his political and public service.

Mr Williamson was among those who consoled Mr Cameron in No 10 after the shock referendum defeat and was at his side when he decided to resign.
Theresa May was last night urged by former Tory Ministers to call off the attack dogs in the bitter Brexit battles with Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan joined forces to make the demand after a bruising week for the Prime Minister, which concluded with her being sidelined by other EU leaders at a Brussels summit.

It led Remain-supporting Conservatives to warn the country could be heading for a dirty Brexit, with no divorce deal being reached before the end of formal talks in 2019.

Theresa May (pictured with Europen Commision President Jean-Claude Juncker), was urged by former Tory Ministers to call off the attack dogs in the bitter Brexit battles with Chancellor Philip Hammond

Mr Hammond has come under sustained fire from Downing Street and pro-Brexit Ministers

Mr Hammond has come under sustained fire from Downing Street and pro-Brexit Ministers.

It follows the revelation in last weeks Mail on Sunday that the Chancellors friends fear he could quit the Cabinet following policy rows over issues such as immigration and his determination to protect the independence of the Bank of England.

He was also angered by his exclusion from key No 10 meetings.

In the wake of our article, sources accused Mr Hammond of undermining Brexit, and he was publicly slapped down by Downing Street after suggesting that foreign students could be excluded from migration targets.

Now Ms Soubry has warned Downing Street to respect the Chancellors authority, describing him as one powerful voice of reason in the Cabinet. Writing in todays Mail on Sunday, the former Business Minister says it seems that No 10 is out to isolate or intimidate Mr Hammond, adding: Instead of turning their attack dogs on our business-minded Chancellor, No 10 needs to put him at the heart of the Brexit negotiations.

Her call was echoed by former Education Secretary Mrs Morgan, who said: The Chancellor is doing the right thing in making sure that we have the best possible relationship with Europe as we go through Brexit.

The Government should be concentrating on helping him to achieve that, rather than briefing and spinning against him.

Downing Street sources were yesterday trying to play down claims that Mrs May had been sidelined during her first EU summit, which concluded on Friday evening, describing the talks as constructive. After fighting off calls for Brexit talks to be held in French, Mrs May was made to wait until 1am before delivering her Brexit speech, which lasted just five minutes. And when he was asked what he thought of her debut, Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker simply said: Pfff!

The sniping prompted Mrs Morgan to warn of stormy times ahead. She said: All the talk so far has been of a hard or soft Brexit. I fear a dirty Brexit will be more accurate.

Anna Soubry (left) and Nicky Morgan (right) joined forces to make the demand after a bruising week for the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Mrs May was sidelined by other EU leaders at a Brussels summit

But a No 10 source said that Mrs May had received a warm welcome in private talks with Mr Juncker and other EU leaders.

Juncker was courteous and constructive when they talked one to one, the source said.

In all our private discussions, other leaders said they were very sorry to see us go but now all they wanted was constructive talks. There was no hostility.

Pro-Brexit Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: European Council president Donald Tusk is right: there can be no hard or soft Brexit  we either stay or we go. And the people voted to go, which means leaving the single market.

He added: I do not accept that there is any sort of campaign against Mr Hammond.

In her article today, Ms Soubry writes: I was shocked to learn that he was not informed in advance of Mrs Mays Conservative Party conference speech in which she criticised the governor of the Bank of England. Hammond has a right to be treated better than that. His exclusion from crucial Downing Street meetings is similarly worrying.

Rupert Harrison, chief of staff to former Chancellor George Osborne, added to the controversy, saying close co-ordination between No 10 and No 11 is a requirement for effective government in the UK, not an optional extra.

The row comes as a rebel alliance of MPs opposed to a hard Brexit, led by Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, prepare to table a motion next week demanding the right to block Brexit with a vote in Parliament if it means leaving the single market. More than 20 Tories are predicted to join the alliance.

Bitter Boris denounces rival Michael Gove as 'deeply Machiavellian and flawed' and claims the former justice secretary's henchman stole his phone to scupper his PM bid

By Simon Walter, Political Editor for the Mail on Sunday

Bitter Boris Johnson has denounced Michael Gove as 'deeply Machiavellian and flawed' for the way he knifed him in the Tory leadership contest.

And he has accused Gove's henchman, Tory MP Nick Boles, of 'stealing' his phone to sabotage his attempt to team up with leadership rival Andrea Leadsom.

In the first major revelations since their leadership fallout, allies of Johnson say he will never forgive Gove and Boles for the brutal way they killed off his dream of becoming Prime Minister in July.

Johnson had to abandon his bid after Gove, who had promised to back his Brexit ally, mounted his own last-minute leadership bid  without telling Johnson.

Boris Johnson (left) has denounced Michael Gove (right) as 'deeply Machiavellian and flawed' for the way he knifed him in the Tory leadership contest

The former London Mayor has refused to comment publicly on Gove's betrayal, but the Mail On Sunday has established that he has told friends: 'The trouble with Michael is he is deeply Machiavellian and a flawed character.'

Johnson and his team have also vented their fury with 'double agent' Boles. Johnson's right-hand man, Tory MP Nigel Adams, called Boles a 'c*** in a Commons tea-room outburst and vowed: 'I'd like to nail the b****** against the wall and give him a good kicking.' Johnson is said to be livid at learning of the full extent of Boles's 'duplicity' when his vital plan to win Leadsom's backing collapsed hours before he was due to launch his campaign.

Johnson and Leadsom agreed to exchange texts at 8pm confirming the deal. Instead, she launched her own bid and Gove used it to justify following suit  forcing Johnson to pull out. Sources close to Johnson revealed he has since spoken to Leadsom to ask what went wrong.

'Andrea told him she texted him but he never replied, so she assumed the deal was off and she declared her own bid,' said one source. 'Boris said, 'But I never got it, Andrea.' Then it dawned on him. 'Of course! Boles had my phone! Boles!'

'His jaw hit the floor. He suddenly realised how Nick did the dirty on him. Andrea found her text message and read it out to him.' Johnson had spent the evening at a Tory ball at London's Hurlingham Club, chaperoned by Boles, whom he wrongly assumed was loyal.

Boles, who knew about the Leadsom deal, had volunteered to 'look after' Johnson's phone so he had 'no distractions'. Boles was also tasked with giving Leadsom a letter from Boris confirming the deal. She never got it.

The former London Mayor has refused to comment publicly on Gove's betrayal, but the Mail On Sunday has established that he has told friends: 'The trouble with Michael is he is deeply Machiavellian and a flawed character

Boles took unsuspecting Johnson home at around midnight  then went to Gove's house to finalise his secret leadership bid, knifing hapless Johnson. Friends of Johnson say Boles's treachery went further than 'stealing' his phone.

One said: 'Gove's lot said he had to run because Boris was disorganised and Boles was shocked to find he hadn't started his leadership speech by midnight the day before the launch. It was a con. We set six hours free earlier in the afternoon for him to do it but Boles and co kept distracting him.

'Now we know why: to give them a bogus excuse to betray him.'

Gove has since admitted he was wrong to betray Johnson. By contrast, tetchy Boles last week threatened to walk out of a BBC interview when quizzed about his conduct.

Before the BBC clash, he snapped at this newspaper: 'I have nothing to say. You are just trying to make me angry.'

Boles's role has also been questioned by some of Gove's supporters. They say Boles justified Gove's actions by saying he was 'only doing what William Hague did in 1997 when he saved the Tories from being led by Michael Howard'  referring to the way Hague initially backed Howard, then changed his mind and ran his own successful leadership campaign. Howard later became leader in 2003.

One Gove ally said: 'Michael's treachery to Boris was on a totally different scale and we all knew it.'

When Gove's campaign ended in disaster, Johnson's campaign chief and friend, Australian polling guru Lynton Crosby, consoled him: 'It serves Gove right. He shot you in the back through his own foot.'

This newspaper revealed last week how Gove was 'blackballed' by the exclusive Beefsteak gentlemen's club in London following a protest by Boris's father, Stanley, a Beefsteak committee member.

'Pfff!': ANNA SOUBRY asks if that was the EU's splutter of contempt... or the sound of UK's Brexit economy tanking?

Im sure it wasnt personal, but the television images from Theresa Mays first EU summit left little room for doubt about the size of the Brexit task that faces her. At the mere mention of her name, the reaction of EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was a totally contemptuous and discourteous: Pfff!

Even Angela Merkel  who unlike Mr Juncker is not subject to drinking-cognac-for-breakfast claims, or known for emotional displays at any time of the day  said the Brexit talks would be rough going for Britain.

Far from giving Mrs May a warm embrace on her first 100 days in office, the 27 other EU nations gave her the collective cold shoulder. She was given five minutes at 1am to set out her Brexit stall and was heard in silence.

Yes, five minutes at 1am. And lets be honest, we shouldnt be surprised.

Weve been slagging off the EU for decades and now weve gone and voted to leave. And if anyone thinks they are going to offer us some great trade deal as we walk away, they are living in la la land.

Look at what they have done to the poor Canadians. Few have a bad word to say about Canada, but their trade minister Chrystia Freeland left Brussels in tears after their trade deal with the EU was wrecked by Wallonia, a small region of Belgium, because the Walloons objected to the small print in the deal. A dejected Ms Freeland said: The EU is incapable of reaching an international agreement even with a country like Canada that has European values and patience. We have decided to return home. Its a very sad day.

As Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat observed: If there are all these problems to have a trade agreement with Canada, imagine an agreement with the UK. Precisely. Imagine it.

Its the stuff of madness to think the EU needs us more than we need them, and they could not have made it clearer to Mrs May at the summit.

Rolls-Royce is deeply worried by Brexit. Engine components move between the UK and other EU countries free of tariffs and red tape before coming back to Derby

My worst fears about the huge problems in Britain getting a good post-Brexit deal with the EU were borne out when I visited Rolls-Royce in Derby on Friday. I met brilliant young apprentices and highly skilled local workers making the finest jet engines in the world.

Rolls-Royce is deeply worried by Brexit. Engine components move between the UK and other EU countries free of tariffs and red tape before coming back to Derby. Our aerospace industry is a British success story which relies on Airbus  a collaboration with other EU countries. Rolls-Royce employs 23,000 workers in Britain, with thousands more in the supply chain, meaning it accounts for one in every 250 UK jobs.

It needs its British workers to move freely throughout the EU. Not surprisingly, it has raised concerns with the Chancellor, Philip Hammond. Thankfully, Hammond is one powerful voice of reason in the Cabinet.

Unlike some Ministers, full of Brexit zeal who seem to know little of the realities of business life, Hammond has a highly successful background in the private sector. He is calm, clear-headed and clever, and is making the case in Government that we must be realistic in our approach to Brexit and not rely on blind faith.

Judging from the hostile briefings against him in the media, it seems that No 10 is out to isolate or intimidate him.

I was shocked to learn that he was not informed in advance of Mrs Mays Conservative Party conference speech in which she criticised the governor of the Bank of England. Hammond has a right to be treated better than that. His exclusion from crucial Downing Street meetings is similarly worrying.

Instead of turning their attack dogs on our business-minded Chancellor, No 10 needs to put him at the heart of the Brexit negotiations, reject ideology, and put our countrys economy first.

Representatives of our manufacturing sector tell me that, in private discussions, Brexit Ministers are all too ready to wave away their concerns, insisting everything is going to be fine when we leave the EU. Well it isnt. As EU leaders made clear to Mrs May, when she triggers Article 50, guaranteeing we leave the EU two years afterwards, not only will we be out of the EU with no way back, it is increasingly clear it will be on their terms, not ours.

For all the brave talk of Brexiteers that the EU needs us more than we need them, the reality is that they hold all the cards and they are going to punish us for leaving.

My worry is that when we do leave, the effect on the British economy will be rather like Mr Junckers reaction on being asked about Mrs May: Pfff!

Shut it! Civil servants are told to use sign language to get loud-mouthed ministers to be quiet during meetings

Loud-mouthed Ministers are facing a fightback from civil servants, who are being encouraged to use sign language to tell them to shut up.

Under a new Whitehall scheme, if someone is talking too much in a meeting, a less dominant participant can raise their hand to silence them.

The signs have been created by officials at the Government Digital Service, who posted their findings on the Cabinet Office website

Under a new Whitehall scheme, if someone is talking too much in a meeting, a less dominant participant can raise their hand to silence them

Alarmingly, experts say the 'clarify' signal is similar to the sign language gesture for female genitalia

The shut it signal is one of six gestures.

Others include a C shape for clarify, downward-pointing hands to indicate disagreement, and a triangle sign to make a point of order.

Alarmingly, experts say that signal is similar to the sign language gesture for female genitalia.

The signs have been created by officials at the Government Digital Service, who posted their findings on the Cabinet Office website.
Bitter Boris Johnson has denounced Michael Gove as 'deeply Machiavellian and flawed' for the way he knifed him in the Tory leadership contest.

And he has accused Gove's henchman, Tory MP Nick Boles, of 'stealing' his phone to sabotage his attempt to team up with leadership rival Andrea Leadsom.

In the first major revelations since their leadership fallout, allies of Johnson say he will never forgive Gove and Boles for the brutal way they killed off his dream of becoming Prime Minister in July.

Johnson had to abandon his bid after Gove, who had promised to back his Brexit ally, mounted his own last-minute leadership bid  without telling Johnson.

Boris Johnson (left) has denounced Michael Gove (right) as 'deeply Machiavellian and flawed' for the way he knifed him in the Tory leadership contest

The former London Mayor has refused to comment publicly on Gove's betrayal, but the Mail On Sunday has established that he has told friends: 'The trouble with Michael is he is deeply Machiavellian and a flawed character.'

Johnson and his team have also vented their fury with 'double agent' Boles. Johnson's right-hand man, Tory MP Nigel Adams, called Boles a 'c*** in a Commons tea-room outburst and vowed: 'I'd like to nail the b****** against the wall and give him a good kicking.' Johnson is said to be livid at learning of the full extent of Boles's 'duplicity' when his vital plan to win Leadsom's backing collapsed hours before he was due to launch his campaign.

Johnson and Leadsom agreed to exchange texts at 8pm confirming the deal. Instead, she launched her own bid and Gove used it to justify following suit  forcing Johnson to pull out. Sources close to Johnson revealed he has since spoken to Leadsom to ask what went wrong.

'Andrea told him she texted him but he never replied, so she assumed the deal was off and she declared her own bid,' said one source. 'Boris said, 'But I never got it, Andrea.' Then it dawned on him. 'Of course! Boles had my phone! Boles!'

'His jaw hit the floor. He suddenly realised how Nick did the dirty on him. Andrea found her text message and read it out to him.' Johnson had spent the evening at a Tory ball at London's Hurlingham Club, chaperoned by Boles, whom he wrongly assumed was loyal.

Boles, who knew about the Leadsom deal, had volunteered to 'look after' Johnson's phone so he had 'no distractions'. Boles was also tasked with giving Leadsom a letter from Boris confirming the deal. She never got it.

Boles took unsuspecting Johnson home at around midnight  then went to Gove's house to finalise his secret leadership bid, knifing hapless Johnson. Friends of Johnson say Boles's treachery went further than 'stealing' his phone.

One said: 'Gove's lot said he had to run because Boris was disorganised and Boles was shocked to find he hadn't started his leadership speech by midnight the day before the launch. It was a con. We set six hours free earlier in the afternoon for him to do it but Boles and co kept distracting him.

'Now we know why: to give them a bogus excuse to betray him.'

Gove has since admitted he was wrong to betray Johnson. By contrast, tetchy Boles last week threatened to walk out of a BBC interview when quizzed about his conduct.

Before the BBC clash, he snapped at this newspaper: 'I have nothing to say. You are just trying to make me angry.'

The former London Mayor has refused to comment publicly on Gove's betrayal, but the Mail On Sunday has established that he has told friends: 'The trouble with Michael is he is deeply Machiavellian and a flawed character

THE GOVES QUIT NOTTING HILL... TO AVOID DAVE Michael Gove is house-hunting  to avoid bumping into David Cameron. Friends say he is keen to move because he lives near the Notting Hill house owned by the former PM. The pair have not spoken since Gove helped to destroy Camerons career by backing Brexit. Advertisement

Boles's role has also been questioned by some of Gove's supporters. They say Boles justified Gove's actions by saying he was 'only doing what William Hague did in 1997 when he saved the Tories from being led by Michael Howard'  referring to the way Hague initially backed Howard, then changed his mind and ran his own successful leadership campaign. Howard later became leader in 2003.

One Gove ally said: 'Michael's treachery to Boris was on a totally different scale and we all knew it.'

When Gove's campaign ended in disaster, Johnson's campaign chief and friend, Australian polling guru Lynton Crosby, consoled him: 'It serves Gove right. He shot you in the back through his own foot.'
A woman is living at a brothel and selling her virginity as a way to help her family in the wake of a devastating house fire.

Katherine Stone told CNN in an interview: 'People say you are suppose to do it for love. But if you think about it, I am doing it because I love my family.'

A 2014 blaze ruined the 20-year-old's family residence in Seattle - and there was no insurance, according to the news outlet.

Katherine Stone, pictured, is living at a brothel and selling her virginity as a way to help her family in the wake of a devastating house fire

Now, Stone is living at a legal brothel in Nevada.

She told CNN that she saw a Facebook advertisement and, 'I found out all about the brothels and the money.

'It made me think, "Wow, it's a chance at fixing all that I need to fix."'

She said in the interview: 'I have the right to choose what I do with my body. And in this troubling economy, do you blame me?'

Stone contacted brothel owner Dennis Hof - who owns the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, among others - and he said yes to the deal, which involves him getting half of the bid, according to CNN.

Stone told CNN in an interview: 'People say you are suppose to do it for love. But if you think about it, I am doing it because I love my family'

Stone contacted brothel owner Dennis Hof - who owns the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, among others - and he said yes to the deal, which involves him getting half of the bid

Hof told the news outlet: 'It is her choice. I don't think it is a good idea for a girl to drink six tequilas and lose her virginity on the bathroom floor in a frat house...

'If she wants to [sell] it, I think that's great.'

Stone hasn't taken an offer yet, with her virginity bid at more than $400,000, according to the report.

She explained: 'I'm waiting for a man who I feel a connection with so that the experience can be special for both of us. It's really not just about the money.'

Stone hasn't taken an offer yet, with her virginity bid at more than $400,000

Stone told CNN she's under contract to offer men non-intercourse services, explaining: 'I have done small simple parties. Massage parties, stuff that has been very PG-13.'

Stone revealed: 'I anticipate to continue working at the ranch for the next five years. I plan to go to law school in the future.'

But some have criticized her decision, and she recalled to CNN: 'I read an article about myself online that made me cry.
The BBC was at the centre of a furious row last night over a scene in hit drama Poldark which horrified campaigners say depicts rape.

In an episode to be broadcast tonight on BBC1, the central character, Ross Poldark, forces himself upon his former lover Elizabeth. He uses violence repeatedly and she says no to his advances three times.

Elizabeth repeatedly attempts to resist his advances and the scene ends with him pushing her on to a bed before having sex with her.

The BBC was at the centre of a furious row last night over a scene in hit drama Poldark which horrified campaigners say depicts rape. 1. Elizabeth tells Ross to leave and tries to push him away but he begins to kiss her roughly

2. Despite her struggling he continues to kiss her, forcefully holding her head in his hands

The BBC insists that the scene shows consensual sex  but it has angered rape campaigners, legal experts and MPs, who have all watched a preview.

Last night, prominent anti-rape campaigner Julie Bindel said there was no doubt in her mind that the scene depicted a rape. Ms Bindel, who has served as a Home Office expert, said: We are seeing rape. Its wholly irresponsible.

And leading criminal barrister Matthew Scott said: It is rape. If I saw that in evidence on CCTV from a hotel room I would convict him.

In the scene, which occurs towards the end of tonights episode, a furious Poldark, played by Aidan Turner, turns up unannounced at the home of Elizabeth, his former fiancee, to demand that she cancel her planned wedding to his nemesis, George Warleggan.

He confronts Elizabeth after she writes to him to inform him of her intention to marry.

Poldark enters the property by kicking open the door and then demands that Elizabeth, played by Heida Reed, abandon her plans.

But Elizabeth ignores his request and instead orders him to go, saying: Please leave now, Ross. I am my own mistress and I will not be instructed.

Poldark is inflamed by her refusal to accede to his demands, and forcefully holds Elizabeths face while he kisses her. She struggles and tries to push him away.

When Elizabeth declares her love for George, Poldark again uses force and kisses her. When she tells him she detests him for his action, he uses force yet again to grab her and tells her: No you dont. You never have and you never will.

3. She rebuffs Ross a second time, saying she detests him - and she tries to break away

4. After saying no a third time, she looks in horror at the bed before saying: 'You will not dare'

Elizabeth then sees Poldark glancing towards the bed and she says to him: You will not dare. You will not dare.

He replies: I would Elizabeth. I would and so will you. He pushes her on to the bed and she appears to yield to him. In a later scene she is shown lying naked in bed, looking radiant, as Ross gets dressed.

The scene is based on events in the 1953 novel Warleggan, part of the best-selling series of books by Winston Graham.

The scene in the novel has Elizabeth telling Ross: Stop! Stop, I tell you. The book continues: But he took no further notice.

He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed.

Most experts who have read the book have considered it a rape.

The scene was included in the BBCs original 1975 adaptation of Poldark, which starred Robin Ellis as the eponymous hero. He told The Mail on Sunday that the scene in the original show was true to the book and shocking.

In recent weeks, the stars of the new Poldark have been at pains to point out that the character would not rape Elizabeth in this series.

They said the drama would offer a more nuanced version of events more in keeping with Turners role as Britains favourite heart-throb. Turner said of the sex scene: It seems consensual and it seems right. He doesnt force himself upon her.

5. Elizabeth is then thrown on to the bed and can be seen looking terrified at Ross's actions

6. Ross then pins her on the bed but finally, trapped, she appears to respond willingly

Ms Bindel claimed that what was most alarming was that the scene ends with Elizabeth appearing to enjoy the love-making.

She said: What they are showing is a woman enjoying rape. Its a rape scene that turns into a fantasy. This is one of the most damaging myths about rape. I think its really pernicious.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: By rewriting the original story to protect the on-screen reputation of the lead male character, the BBC has sent out two very disturbing messages  that no does not really mean no, and that women can enjoy forced sex.

Anti-rape campaigners will rightly be up in arms about this. Sarah Green, of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: The scene would not be out of place in a porn film  a strong man who knows what must be done and a woman who apparently resists but wants it really.

In an episode to be broadcast tonight on BBC1, the central character, Ross Poldark, forces himself upon his former lover Elizabeth, played by Heida Reed (pictured)

'Ideas like this are underneath lots of excuses for not believing women when they report rape.

Novelist Joanna Trollope accused the BBC of trying to have their moral cake and eat it.

It looks as if the producers of Poldark were so desperate to protect Aidan Turners heart-throb status, that they overlooked how repellently Ross Poldark behaves in this episode. And it is rape.

Elizabeth says no to Ross three times. She tries to resist him physically and says, You would not dare. He has his way, and then she is shown surrendered and abandoned to him  inferring that its what she wanted all along.

Whatever the BBC protests, to my mind this scene reinforces the convenient and mistaken opinions that resistance only inflames male desire, and that being overpowered is the ultimate female sexual fantasy. You cant, BBC or anyone else, have your moral cake and eat it.

A spokesman for the BBC programme insisted that the scene did not show a rape, saying: These are two people who have been so crazily in love with each other, then they thought they had lost each other, then they thought they had found each other but actually they had lost each other still.

'They have to come to terms with being next-door neighbours but still wanting each other.

He added: Its for viewers to make up their own minds.

Karen Thrussell, the programmes producer, said the scene in the novel was more nuanced than people think and the new TV version was in keeping with that. She also said the new take on events had the backing of Winston Grahams son, Andrew.

Ms Thrussell said: Weve always been aware that the scene in question has been called controversial and that the controversy is all the more acute when an isolated instance is taken out of context. During the script process this was one of several scenes we discussed with Andrew Graham.

EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THE CONTROVERSIAL EPISODE Yes - It is rape No - It's not rape It is rape. Elizabeth says no to Ross three times. She tries to resist him physically. He has his way. Joanna Trollope, novelist They show a woman enjoying rape  one of the most damaging myths about rape. Its really pernicious. Julie Bindel, anti-rape campaigner It would not be out of place in a porn film a strong man, and a woman who resists but wants it really. Sarah Green, End Violence Against Women Coalition In the scene, Elizabeth and Ross have a fiery encounter which concludes with a consensual act. Karen Thrussell, Poldark producer It seems consensual and it seems right he doesnt force himself upon her. Heart-throb actor Aidan Turner, who plays Ross Poldark As soon as he pushes her on the bed, she arches her neck and returns his kisses and is all into it. Its not rape. Donna Dawson, relationship pyschologist Advertisement

In the scene as written and performed, Elizabeth and Ross have a fiery encounter which concludes with a consensual act  one which had been coming for a long time and was borne out of a relationship which in one form or another had existed since their youth.

Relationship psychologist Donna Dawson said: As soon as he pushes her down on the bed she arches her neck up, returns his kisses and is all into it. Its not rape.

The whole scene is based on repressed passion. Anger is quite a sexual motivator, and thats what is happening here.

Mary Clegg, a sex and relationship psychotherapist, also did not consider the scene a rape.

She said: Her actions arent fitting with a woman frozen with fear. She didnt offer much resistance, and returned his kisses. Many women do have quite violent fantasies. A lot of women might think, I wish my husband would take me like that.
Quyen Tu Au had a debit card that let him withdraw as much as he wanted, whenever he wanted, so he did - until he disappeared and the new card holders got their hands on $6 million.

Au, an Australian resident who was born in Vietnam, hasn't been seen since August 15, 2000 when CCTV recorded him making a withdrawal at 12.21pm at a Port Adelaide ATM.

His last contact with family or friends was half an hour later - a cell phone call at 12.54pm.

Police believe he was murdered - likely for the Bank of East Asia debit card - and his body disposed of before those responsible began using the card, The Advertiser reported.

Quyen Tu Au, 31, stole a debit card in 2000 which had a glitch meaning it could withdraw unlimited amounts of money

CCTV of the last time Quyen Tu Au was seen, withdrawing money from a Port Adelaide ATM

The stolen bank card had been issued by the Bank of East Asia to a Hong Kong student studying in Brisbane before Au took it (stock image)

Money was taken out in $50 notes each time, with the amount withdrawn always just below the limit (stock image)

Au had earlier stolen the card from a friend in Brisbane, a university student from Hong Kong, in May the year he's believed to have died.

The student's father reported the theft, but no action seemed to have been taken.

Using National Australia Bank ATMs, he made an average of one $4550 withdrawal a day for 87 days until mid-August, totalling $396,000.

Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins told The Advertiser: 'We suspect that people may have seen him with the card and the cash and worked out what was going on.

'It may be as simple as that. He was relieved of the card, perhaps after refusing to hand it over or co-operate with them.'

On August 16, the day after he was last seen, use of the card dramatically increased.

An Man Tran, one of those who used the card after Au was last seen. Here, he was captured of CCTV

In all, 6797 withdrawals were made with the card at nab ATMs, totalling $6,326,320 (stock image)

For two months, an average of $91,235 or 55 transactions per day were taken out and an associate of Au's, An Man Tran - and others - were recorded using it during much of that period.

He took the card to Vietnam with his wife on October 6 and left it there with his brother who used it until it was held by an ATM on October 19 after Nab identified a glitch that allowed the withdrawals to be made un-noticed.

By then, the card had been used 6797 times to withdraw a total of $6,326,320.

When police began investigating, they found more than $4 million stashed in an Adelaide house linked to Au's associates, as well as some of his belongings.

Another 16 houses were raided and more money found.

Police raids began after an investigation into the theft was launched and $4 million was found stashed beneath the floor of one Adelaide home

In all, 17 houses were raided and money was found hidden at several of the homes

Despite the money stolen, those involved didn't show any signs of the wealth they'd taken, it was reported.

Police thought Au was still alive and it wasn't until 2002 he was listed as a missing person, aged 31.

Five people were charged over the fraud but on Tran was jailed - four years in prison for 107 counts of larceny.

About $1.8 million of the stolen money hasn't been found - just like Au's body.

Detective Sergeant Shaun Osborn said the case was 'solvable', The Advertiser reported.

'Someone on the periphery may know where Au's body is. The recovery of his remains would certainly accelerate this investigation.'

There's a $200,000 reward for information leading to Au's remains.
It took just seconds for a trench on Dartmouth Street in Boston to fill with water after a pipe line burst on Friday.

Workers frantically called for help, saying two men were down in the trench and had become trapped as water filled the approximately 15-foot deep hole.

The agony of one man attempting to rescue his fellow construction workers was caught as the muddied water rushed down the road.

Firefighters arrived just moments after the line burst, but it was already too late to save the men.

Samantha Betti, who was in a nearby home when the pipe flooded the South End street, told the Boston Globe: 'It went from nothing to a flood.'

Two construction workers were killed after a water pipe line burst on Dartmouth Street (pictured) in Boston, flooding a trench in a matter of seconds

Workers frantically called for help, saying two men were down in the trench and had become trapped as water filled the approximately 15-foot deep hole

Video courtesy WBZ

In the moments it took for first responders to arrive, the entire street was under brown, murky water.

It wasn't until late into Friday night that emergency personnel, working on their hands and knees, were able to remove the bodies from the trench.

As they did so local and federal authorities launched an investigation to determine why the line didn't hold.

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans told the Globe the pipe bursting was an accident.

It wasn't until late into Friday night that emergency personnel, working on their hands and knees, were able to remove the bodies from the trench

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans told the Globe the pipe bursting was an accident

Atlantic Drain Service Co. was the company working on the private construction project at the time

'It looks like somehow a pipe must have broke, and unfortunately they weren't able to get themselves out of the hole,' Evans told the paper.

Atlantic Drain Service Co. was the company working on the private construction project at the time. A resident called the company to conduct underground work.

The company has a history of 'serious safety violations', the Globe reported.

One of the men who died had a large family and had recently adopted two of his grandchildren, a source said.

Local and federal authorities have launched an investigation to determine why the line didn't hold, but it is believed there was no foul play

Two additional men who had been working down in the trench at the time of the burst were able to escape

'There was not one dry eye here. I'm going to miss him badly,' the source told the paper.

The other man was from Rhode Island.
Thailand's government met with representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many Thais look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death earlier this month has thrown the country's 67 million people into mourning. It has also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who say they will punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for Thailand.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong said he met Google representatives in Bangkok on Friday.

Thailand's government met representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice

Mourners gather outside of the Grand Palace to sing for a recording of the royal anthem in honour of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in Bangkok

A huge crowd of mourners gathered on Saturday outside Bangkok's Grand Palace to sing the royal anthem in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died after seven decades on the throne

'If any website is inappropriate they said to get in touch with them and inform them of the URL and the time the content was found,' Prajin told reporters.

That conforms with Google's practice around the world, Alphabet Inc's Google says.

'We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world and we continue to operate in line with those policies,' a Google spokesperson in California told Reuters on Friday.

'When we are notified of content that is illegal through official processes, we will restrict it in the country where it's illegal after a thorough review.'

Thailand's military government said on Tuesday it was tracking people suspected of insulting the monarchy following the king's death and would ask other countries to extradite them.

Some critics of the monarchy living abroad have been named and shamed in Thai language web forums. Outside the world of the web, some Thais who have chosen not to wear black, the official colour of mourning, have been publicly jeered at.

Among the mourners was the new King in waiting - Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn

People dressed in black travelled by bus, boat and on foot to Sanam Luang, a tree-lined open space that has been used for royal cremations outside the river-side Grand Palace, bringing the area to gridlock well before the singing

Thailand's military government has tried to seek tighter censorship of social media from Facebook, Google and Japan-based instant messenger service LINE since it came to power in 2014 following a coup it said was necessary to restore peace to the country following months of unrest.

Thailand's royal insult law, known as Article 112 in the criminal code, makes it a crime to insult the king, queen, heir or regent. Those who are found guilty face up to 15 years in prison.

The law has curtailed public discussion about the monarchy's role and its future following the death of King Bhumibol who ruled for seven decades and was seen as a unifying figure.

Since taking power in 2014, the junta, known officially as the National Council for Peace and Order, has taken a tough stance on dissenters.

It has come under strong criticism from the international community for lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by military courts against civilians for violating the lese-majeste law since the junta took power.

The military government has repeatedly rejected accusations of rights violations.

The announcement comes on the day that a huge crowd of mourners gathered on Saturday outside Bangkok's Grand Palace to sing the royal anthem in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died after seven decades on the throne.

The government has declared a year of mourning for the 88-year old king, who was seen as a father figure for generations of people, and, though a constitutional monarch, a calming influence over the country's often turbulent politics.

People dressed in black travelled by bus, boat and on foot to Sanam Luang, a tree-lined open space that has been used for royal cremations outside the river-side Grand Palace, bringing the area to gridlock well before the singing.

Police said more than 150,000 were in Sanam Luang and side streets with more people expected through the day.

The royal anthem, known as Sansoen Phra Barami, is played before the screening of every cinema show in Thailand, when the audience stands to honour the king as pictures of his life and work are shown on the screen

The royal anthem, known as Sansoen Phra Barami, is played before the screening of every cinema show in Thailand, when the audience stands to honour the king as pictures of his life and work are shown on the screen.

Saturday's singing was recorded for use in cinemas, organisers said.

'Since he went to heaven we want all Thais to demonstrate their love and sing this song to show before film screenings,' Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, a movie director in charge of the filming of the singing, told reporters.

Since the king died, people from across Thailand have flocked to the gilded Grand Palace to pay homage to the only king most of them have ever known, who is lying in state there.

Since the king died, people from across Thailand have flocked to the gilded Grand Palace to pay homage to the only king most of them have ever known, who is lying in state there

Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn (left) chatting with his older sister Princess Ubolratana Rajankaya (right) during a royal religious merit making ceremony as part of the royal funeral ceremony for late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall, Grand Palace, Bangkok

Buddhist monks have been chanting prayers beside his coffin in an imposing throne hall, and they will chant for 100 days as part of the funeral rites.

'I wanted to be here to pay respects to His Majesty,' said Haysri Watanakulpipat, 47, who said she drove overnight from the eastern province of Prachinburi.

The military government has not set a date for the royal cremation but it is expected in about a year.

The government has said Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will ascend the thrown soon but he had requested that his succession be delayed for an unspecified period, so he can grieve with the people.

The government has moved to quash uncertainty surrounding the succession and to reassure the country that the king's death will not derail plans for a return to democratic rule, which include a general election in late 2017.

It has stressed business and government should carry on as normal and tourism should not be affected.

Buddhist monks have been chanting prayers beside his coffin in an imposing throne hall, and they will chant for 100 days as part of the funeral rites

The royal anthem was the national anthem of what was then Siam until 1932, when young army officers and bureaucrats staged a coup to end absolute monarchy

Police said they expected more people at Sanam Luang through the day.

'There are more than 150,000 people here already but it could easily rise to 250,000 by the evening,' Thai deputy police spokesman Major General Songpol Wattanachai said.

The Grand Palace is a former royal residence that is used only on ceremonial occasions.
Hillary Clinton says she's not worried that Donald Trump will make good on his threat to 'jail' her if he wins.

'I have no concerns about [that] whatsoever,' she told reporters traveling on her plane from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia after DailyMail.com asked her about his pledge.

The Republican said he'll appoint a special prosecutor to look into her emails and told Clinton she'd 'be in jail' if he were in the White House now.

'Every time Donald Trump says he wants to jail his opponent, meaning me, I think to myself, you know, we don't do that in America,' Clinton said earlier in the evening at her Pittsburgh rally. 'We actually have laws and courts and an independent judiciary.'

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Hillary Clinton says she's not worried that Donald Trump will make good on his threat to 'jail' her if he wins

'I have no concerns about [that] whatsoever,' she told reporters traveling on her plane from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia after DailyMail.com asked her about his pledge

Clinton sent out an SOS at the event to voters thinking of casting a ballot for her opponent, warning that he'll upend core democratic values.

Years from now Clinton says she hopes voters will be able say that 'when everything was on the line,' they 'voted for a better America.'

The debate that's happening in America is 'about more than winning an election' she said, it's about the 'lessons we want to teach our sons and daughters.'

'Most Americans really believe that we can do better,' she assessed. 'Most Americans believes that women should be respected.' Most believe that workers should be 'paid fairly' and the country should 'work with our allies to lead the world' to a safer and more prosperous future.'

Clinton said her campaign is 'gonna make it clear that confidence and optimism...is what's always worked. And it will work again.

'Help us,' she implored her audience. 'Help us create that kind of future.'

Clinton punched back at Donald Trump tonight for threatening to 'jail' her: 'We don't do that in America. We actually have laws and courts and an independent judiciary'

With the debates over and fewer than three weeks to go until the end of the election, Clinton began her 'closing argument' this weekend at rallies in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

She made an impassioned plea to voters Saturday in Pittsburgh to stand by the nation's founding document in the face of Trump's commitments to pursue what she believes are unconstitutional practices.

'I get criticized by the press, I know that's part of our democratic system,' she said. 'We believe in a free press, and boy, if you go to countries where there isn't one, you will understand why that is so important.'

Of Trump's proposed Muslim ban to fight terrorism - which he's now backed down from - Clinton said, 'You have to ask yourself, who's going to conduct the test? Will there be a quiz.

'And what if the border official doesn't believe you? Who gets to decide whether you come in and out based on your religion?'

Clinton brought up Khizr Khan, the father of a slain soldier who served in Iraq, Captian Humayun Khan.

Mr. Khan spoke out against Trump at the Democratic Convention and cut a video for Clinton's campaign that came out on Friday.

Khan 'reveres our constitution because he too came from a place where there was no rule of law,' she said Saturday of the Pakistan-born lawyer.

'This is an issue that will be decided by this election,' she said. 'And [when] your children and your grandchildren ask what you did in 2016, when everything was on the line, I hope you'll say you voted for a better America.'

She said later on her plane that she and running mate Tim Kaine, who made his maiden voyage on the aircraft that evening, would spend the remaining days of the campaign convincing Americans of all political persuasions to vote for their ticket.
The old saying goes 'if you see a penny, pick it up', but even Vice President Joe Biden knows that any loose change on the ground is fair game.

Biden got more than a little excited when he spotted the two shiny coins while leaving Penny Cluse Cafe in Burlington, Vermont on Friday.

The Vice President immediately bent down to pick them up, much to the amusement of Democratic Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter.

Biden then victoriously held up both coins in the air, in a picture perfect moment that instantly went viral.

VP Joe Biden couldn't hold back his excitement when he spotted loose change on the ground while leaving a restaurant with Sen Patrick Leahy and gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter

Biden victoriously held up both coins in the air, in this picture perfect moment that instantly went viral

The photo was retweeted more than 12,000 times as Twitter users began to lament that their time with Biden was almost over.

'Can Joe Biden just stay on as national adviser?' asked Ben Chase. 'A wise and loveable grandfather to the country?'

'I didn't think I could love this man more and then this,' Delisa Shannon added.

One user joked that Joe Biden must be protected at 'all costs', while another called him a 'national treasure'.

'This is so pure, he's so happy,' wrote a commenter named Amber. 'I'm gonna miss him.'

The photo was retweeted more than 12,000 times as Twitter users began to lament that their time with Biden was almost over

'Joe Biden as always: Just happy to be here,' added Ari Pilakoutas.

There were also the inevitable money jokes, with one user writing: 'And they say Democrats aren't good with money'.

'This is how we shall get the national debt under control,' quipped a commenter named Ash.

'Every cent counts when you're about to be unemployed,' added Jennifer Murchison.

One commenter had smaller plans for Biden, imagining that he would put the change 'into a jukebox in a dive bar out in the country somewhere'.

Another user joked that 'grandpa Joe's gonna find those behind a kid's ears later'.

Before he spotted the coins, Biden was happy to take selfies with diners as he greeted diners at the Penny Cluse Cafe in Burlington, Vermont

Biden stopped by the popular brunch spot to eat some pancakes and meet his fans

The Vice President was in Burlington to discuss cancer research at the University of Vermont

Gerald Lombardi perhaps best summed up the reason behind the adoration for Biden, who is also notorious for his enthusiasm for ice cream and trains.

'This is why I love Joe,' he wrote. 'He's like the average person who says "Look what I found, half a dollar, cool!"'

But Biden was in Burlington for more than just pancakes and coin hunting.

After greeting diners and taking selfies with fans at Penny Cluse, the Vice President discussed cancer research with doctors and survivors at the University of Vermont.

It's a subject that hits close to home for Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer last June.

Biden now leads the Cancer Moonshot Initiative, with aims to accelerate cancer research and make more therapies available to patients.

The Vice President told the crowd that he dreamed of a day when young people would be able to receive vaccines against cancer.

'We are on the cusp,' he said, 'Of breakthroughs that are breathtaking.'
Iceland relies on geothermal for 65 percent of its energy and one group is using 'Thor' to harvest more of this power source.

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project's rig is drilling three miles into old lava flows of Reykjanes, with the hopes of producing the hottest hole in the world - temperatures between 752F and 1832 F.

If successful, experts believe this achievement 'could lead to a revolution in the energy efficiency of high-temperature geothermal areas worldwide.'

Iceland is using 'Thor' (pictured) to harvest geothermal energy. The Iceland Deep Drilling Project's rig is drilling three miles into old lava flows in Reykjanes with the hopes of producing the hottest hole in the world with temperatures anywhere between 752 and 1832 F

GEOTHERMAL PLANTS Regular geothermal systems are a well-established technology in which holes are drilled into a hot region beneath the Earth's surface. Rocks underground heat water to produce steam. Steam comes up, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive electric generators. There may be natural 'groundwater' in the hot rocks, or the plant operators may need to drill more holes and pump water down into them. Advertisement

In 2009, the team accidentally discovered a magma reservoir after drilling 1.25 miles below the surface, which resulted in the most powerful geothermal well on record.

Now, IDDP is back at it, but this time they plan to produce results on a larger scale.

Regular geothermal systems are a well-established technology in which holes are drilled into a hot region beneath the Earth's surface.

Rocks underground heat water to produce steam. Steam comes up, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive electric generators.

There may be natural 'groundwater' in the hot rocks, or the plant operators may need to drill more holes and pump water down into them.

'People have drilled into hard rock at this depth, but never before into a fluid system like this,' Albert Albertsson, assistant director of HS Orka, an Icelandic geothermal-energy company involved in the project, told New Scientist.

To reach the magma, Thor is hammering down between two tectonic plates, a region known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

At this depth, intense pressure transforms extremely hot water into 'supercritical steam', which is neither liquid nor gas  it does hold much more heat than either.

To reach the magma, Thor is hammering down 3 miles between two tectonic plates, in a boundary region known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. At this depth, intense pressure transforms extremely hot water into 'supercritical steam', which is neither liquid nor gas

A well with the ability to properly drill into such steam could have an energy capacity of 50 megawatts (MW), explains Albertson  this is compared to the 5MW of a typical geothermal well.

This amount of power is capable of powering 50,000 homes versus the 5,000 that are powered with a single well.

The main purpose of the project is to find out if it's feasible to extract energy and chemicals out of the hydrothermal systems at supercritical conditions.

IDDP has been drilling since August 12 and this is the team's second well.

The drilling itself is expected to be completed by the end of 2016 and after that the project will enter a two and a half year test period.

A well with the ability to properly drill into such steam could have an energy capacity of 50 megawatts. This amount of power is capable of powering 50,000 homes versus the 5,000 that are powered with a single well

The Iceland Deep Drilling Project's rig is drilling three miles into old lava flows of Reykjanes. The first well was discovered in 2009 while the team was drilling in Krafla

In 2009, the team noticed something strange while drilling a borehole in Krafla, northeast Iceland.

Their sensors said suggested they had hit an area with temperatures of 1000 C that generated super-hot vents of steam.

COULD LASERS HARVEST GEOTHERMAL ENERGY? Drilling accounts for over half the costs, and exploration of resources deep in the Earth entails significant risks. But a US company offered its alternative solution, the New Scientist reports. Foro Energy, a start-up company in Littleton, Colorado, has developed what it claims is an inexpensive system of high-powered lasers that can cut through rock. Foro announced last month that a test system had sent a beam from a 20-kilowatt commercial laser through 1.5km of optical fibre. Development has been funded by the US Department of Energy's research arm, ARPA-E. Borehole drilling trials are planned for next year. Mechanical drills can easily grind through soft rocks like sandstone to tap petroleum reserves, but they wear out quickly in hard crystalline rocks such as granite and basalt, which are found near volcanoes. Thus it is these rocks that often hide the best sources of geothermal energy. Foro's intense laser beam heats hard rock surfaces so fast that thermal shock fractures the upper few millimetres, leaving a crumbled layer that a normal mechanical drill can scrape away. This approach could increase drilling rates, a major component in well cost, by up to a factor of 10, says ARPA-E. However, the success of the prototype will not be guaranteed to be replicated hundreds of metres underground. The bottom of a borehole, which is filled with rock chips and churning water that lubricates the drill bit. Advertisement

To their amazement, the team realised they had in fact broken into a magma-filled chamber 1.25 miles beneath the Earth's surface.

This was only the second time that anyone had drilled into the Earth's magma  the first being in Hawaii in 2007.

In Hawaii, they plugged the hole with concrete, but in Iceland, they left it open in an attempt to see if it could be of use for geothermal research.

Scientists believe producing electricity from magma could lead to a new method for producing geothermal by getting water to a supercritical state.

The drill site of the IDDP-1 well near the explosive volcanic crater Viti. Viti erupted in 1724 AD. This borehole reached temperatures of up to 1000 C creating steam which sustained temperatures as high as 850F

In this state, the molecules hold huge amounts of energy and scientists hope they can harness that.
In the capital city, there are both designer shops and old-

Deep in the forest in the Charlevoix region of Quebec is a clearing, and in it a bear whisperer. His name is Monsieur Denis Laliberte and we are watching his black bears eating corn and apples under a buttery sun.

Laliberte tells me that, if I ever meet a bear close up, I am to speak softly, yet directly, perhaps even recite a poem  but only in French. Crikey.

As we watch in silence, Laliberte points out each black, glossy bear. He has given them all names.

Call of the wild: In the eastern parts of Quebec, bear, moose and whale watching are all possible just a couple of hours drive from Montreal and Quebec City

Then he wanders among them, and some even take bananas from his hand. Nobody moves. We are in awe.

In this eastern part of Quebec, bear, moose and whale watching are all possible just a couple of hours drive from Montreal and Quebec City. So you can combine natural wonders with city thrills in a short trip.

The Foret Montmorency, near Quebec City, is moose country and we spot the enormous beasts almost immediately.

Out on the wide St Lawrence River, a zodiac boat takes us whale watching. We wonder at awesome humpbacks and beluga as they swim solemnly by.

Of course, its all a far cry from Montreal, where our journey begins. This is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and is where local girl Celine Dion was married in the grand Notre-Dame Basilica and maple syrup is served with everything.

Yes, there are designer shops and boutique hotels, but there are also old-fashioned cabaret supper clubs, where live bands and dancing accompany dinner. Bistro Cabaret Le Fripon reminds me of Paris in the Seventies.

And here on the Place Jacques-Cartier, its both French  big outdoor cafe terraces  and North American, in the form of the traditional Courthouse. In Quebec, public transport is easy and comfortable. From Montreal, the regions capital, Quebec City, is only a three-hour train ride through fabulous autumn foliage. You alight at the Gare du Palais, a 100-year-old listed building.

Pretty persuasion: In Quebec, public transport is easy and comfortable. From Montreal, the regions capital, Quebec City, is only a three-hour train ride through fabulous autumn foliage

I walk through the Old Port district, admire the Citadelle walls and do a spot of Christmas shopping on Rue Saint-Jean, where shops sell handmade bijoux bangles and silk dresses.

From Quebec City, the Train de Charlevoix takes me to the quaint town of Baie-Saint-Paul, where mountains roll down through farmland to the rivers beaches and salt estuaries. This is known as the Charlevoix region, and it is famous for food and the Cirque du Soleil.

The extraordinary circus show was founded here by the owner of the Hotel Le Germain, who bought an old train track and rundown farm, reinstated the train service to Quebec City on the former and turned the latter into a funky hotel. In the Charlevoix region, you can follow the Flavour Trail  where around 60 restaurants and producers display a symbol which indicates that they use local produce.

We visit an emu farm and a cheesemaker and take a horse-drawn carriage ride around Baie-Saint-Paul.

You are spoilt for choice when it comes to dining, but I especially like the Maison du Bootlegger, near La Malbaie. Here, an old wooden house conceals creaky doors and secret passages. It opened in 1940 during the temperance movement. Alcohol arrived in the night and locals would party in the attic.

Today, theres a rocking restaurant with a live band. Apparently, in 1970, Elvis dropped by.

Quebec is full of surprises  not least French-speaking bear whisperers.

Travel Facts: Plan your own break in Canada Air Canada return flights to Quebec City from 508 (aircanada.com). Information at: quebecoriginal.com, tourisme-montreal.org and tourisme-charlevoix.com. Rooms at Hotel William Gray in Montreal from 130 (hotelwilliamgray.com), Hilton Quebec City from 79 (hilton.com) and Auberge LEstampilles, in Baie-Saint-Paul, from 87 B&B (lestampilles.com). For more on Destination Canada, see explore-canada.co.uk. Advertisement




The value of the pound might be falling but it seems that this fact has not hindered the British appetite for international travel.

Despite the poorer exchange rates offered to travellers departing from the UK, Post Office Travel Money said that it has seen a 46 per cent rise in currencies sold online during this month so far, compared with the same period in October 2015.

And for the best value, holidaymakers should head to Sweden or Mexico.

The value of the pound might be falling but it seems that this fact has not hindered the British appetite for international travel

FASTEST GROWING CURRENCY BETWEEN JANUARY AND SEPTEMBER 2016 Ranking Currency Percentage growth 1 Indonesian rupiah (5) 50% 2 Costa Rican colon (7) 44% 3 Brazilian real (4) 31% 4 Danish kroner (1) 26% 5 Chilean peso (2) 22% 6 East Caribbean dollar (12) 21% 7 Japanese yen (3) 19% 8 Peruvian nuevo sol (9) 19% 9 Polish zloty (14) 19% 10 Kenyan shilling (-) 18% 11 Icelandic krona (15) 18% 12 Malaysian ringgit (20) 17% 13 Hungarian forint (-) 17% 14 US dollar (16) 16% 15 Jordanian dinar (-) 15% 16 Vietnamese dong (17) 15% 17 Korean won (-) 13% 18 Swedish kronor (11) 12% 19 Norwegian krone (-) 12% 20 Croatian kuna (-) 11% Percentage increases based on year-on-year sales growth. January-March 2016 position in brackets

Thanks to accelerated sales of the euro during September, the Post Office has seen a 14 per cent year-on-year increase compared with the same period in 2015.

And, despite the weakening pound, US dollar sales were up 16 per cent for 2016 as a whole, with 'no sign' of a drop-off in demand.

The figures, released as many families head off for a half term break or start booking their winter getaways, show the euro is the Post Office's best-selling currency, with the US dollar in second place.

Andrew Brown, the Post Office's head of travel money, said: 'Our latest currency sales make it clear that the weaker pound has not dented UK holidaymakers' appetite for travel so far.

'There is strong evidence that holidaymakers are planning travel abroad, even to those countries whose currencies have strengthened most against sterling.

'For example, we have seen very strong growth in demand for the Indonesian rupiah and yet sterling has fallen 24 per cent in value over the past year.

The Icelandic krona has also made particularly strong gains against the pound recently - although it is among the Post Office's fastest-growing currencies in terms of sales

CURRENCIES THAT HAVE STRENGTHENED THE LEAST AGAINST STERLING Currency 500+ rate Percentage change:

6 months Percentage change:

1 year Swedish kronor 10.2184 -6.80% -15.50% Mexican peso 21.7034 -8.00% -8.90% Malaysian ringgit 4.8014 -8.10% -20.50% Turkish lira 3.5639 -8.10% -17.10% Jamaican dollar 144.3382 -9.80% -15.70% Chinese yuan 7.5904 -10.70% -16.60% Peru Nuevo sol 3.7686 -10.70% -17.50% Costa Rican colon 593.6603 -11.00% -18.30% Polish zloty 4.5019 -11.40% -17.00% Euro 1.0837 -11.50% -18.50%

CURRENCIES THAT HAVE STRENGTHENED THE MOST AGAINST STERLING Currency 500+ rate Percentage change:

6 months Percentage change:

1 year Brazilian real 3.5349 -22.00% -34.30% Icelandic krona 125.3955 -20.80% -27.60% Russian ruble 70.9219 -20.50% -19.70% Japanese yen 120.2438 -17.10% -31.20% South African rand 16.6328 -16.50% -14.10% New Zealand dollar 1.653 -16.20% -24.30% Korean won 1,271.42 -15.10% -20.80% Norwegian krone 9.5536 -15.00% -20.10% Indonesian rupiah 14,461.21 -15.00% -24.10% Barbados dollar 2.2366 -14.10% -21.40%

'Similarly, sales of the Japanese yen have soared by 19 percent while sterling is down by 31 percent since last year.'

Mr Brown said the low cost of living in Tokyo and Bali makes these destinations good value for UK visitors, even though the exchange rate has fallen.

He continued: 'There is evidence too that some canny travellers are choosing resorts where sterling has fallen in value least.

'Sales of the Mexican peso are continuing to rise as they have done for the past decade, while Costa Rica looks to be one of the year's big successes as new flights bring the destination within easy reach.'

Sweden will be one of the best value destinations for Brits as its currency has strengthened the least compared to the pound

BEST SELLING CURRENCIES FROM JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 2016 Rank Currency 1 Euro (1) 2 US dollar (2) 3 Australian dollar (3) 4 Canada dollar (9) 5 Croatian kuna (11) 6 Turkish lira (10) 7 Swiss franc (8) 8 UAE dirham (6) 9 New Zealand dollar (4) 10 Thai baht (7) 11 South African rand (5) 12 Polish zloty (12) 13 Czech koruna (14) 14 Japanese yen (13) 15 Norwegian krone (15) 16 Danish kroner (16) 17 Hungarian forint (17) 18 Mexican peso (18) 19 Bulgarian lev (-) 20 Swedish kronor (20) January-March 2016 position in brackets

Looking at places where holidaymakers may get better value for their pound, Post Office Travel Money said that while all the currencies it analysed had strengthened to some extent in recent months, the two currencies that have strengthened least in the past six months are the Swedish kronor and the Mexican peso.

Other currencies that have strengthened the least against sterling include the Malaysian ringgit, the Jamaican dollar and the Costa Rican colon.

Looking at where the pound has lost the most ground against other currencies, the Post Office said the Brazilian real and the Russian ruble had made particularly strong gains in recent months.

The Icelandic krona has also made particularly strong gains against the pound recently - although it is among the Post Office's fastest-growing currencies in terms of sales.

Sales of the Icelandic krona were up by 18 per cent between January and September compared with a year earlier.

And despite the falls in the pound, UK tourists heading abroad may still find they are better off than a couple of years ago.
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Plans for a luxury 1 billion hotel and apartment complex on the spot where Winston Churchill helped mastermind the Allied victory over Hitler, have been revealed for the first time.

Facilities within the vast Edwardian Old War Office on Whitehall, London, will include ballroom for 600 guests, a rooftop bar, a 82-foot swimming pool, spa and wine cellars.

On the accommodation front, there will be 125 bedrooms - ranging from doubles to sumptuous royal suites - and 88 flats.

The Old War Office: Plans for a luxury 1 billion hotel and apartment complex on the spot where Winston Churchill helped mastermind the Allied victory over Hitler, have been revealed for the first time

Drawings submitted as part of the planning application show how rooms where secretaries of State for War once worked will be transformed into new spaces for tourists.

The venue has played host to numerous famous figures including Churchill, Lord Kitchener, David Lloyd-George and John Profumo.

Looking to the future: Facilities within the vast Edwardian Old War Office on Whitehall, London, will include ballroom for 600 guests, a rooftop bar, a 82-foot swimming pool, spa and wine cellars - above, a rendering of how the property will look

Up in the air: Currently, it's not known which hotel company will operate the Grade II* listed site, but the owners of Singapores famous Raffles resort have been mentioned

More recently it featured in four James Bond films - Octopussy, A View to a Kill, Licence to Kill and Skyfall - portrayed as the MI6 headquarters, where Ms office was located.

But in real life, the building was also frequented by members of the secret service and one discreet entrance way still retains the nickname, The Spies Entrance.

Currently, it's not known which hotel company will operate the Grade II* listed site, but the Evening Standard reports that the owners of Singapores famous Raffles resort have been suggested.

Indian billionaires, the Hinduja brothers, formally purchased the 580,000 sq ft site in March for in excess of 350 million.

Prime plot: The sprawling site is shown on this map - there is no word on when the luxury hotel will open

Flashback: Winston Churchill at his seat in the Cabinet Room at No 10 Downing Street, London, circa 1940

The Hindujas, who are ranked as Britains richest businessmen with a 12billion fortune in steel, teamed up with Spanish group Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos to buy a 250-year lease on the historic premises.

The hotel guests and residents will be accommodated very close to Downing Street, while the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace will all be just a short walk away.

The seven-story building, which was constructed in 1906 and bombed eight times in the Blitz, has 1,000 rooms and two-and-a-half miles of corridors.
Tom Hardy has been tipped to play polar explorer Ernest Shackleton for an upcoming Antarctic biopic.

The 39-year-old certainly seems suited to the role, with his role in the survival epic, the Revenant, serving as good training.

Playing the character of trapper John Fitzgerald, London-born Hardy was seen battling the elements, tackling frosty temperatures and traversing snowy landscapes.

Next role? Tom Hardy (left) has been tipped to play polar explorer Ernest Shackleton for an upcoming Antarctic biopic

Peter Straughan - known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Our Brand Is Crisis - is said to be writing the as-yet untitled polar-themed film.

According to Deadline, StudioCanal will be financing and producing the movie.

It's not known when filming for the Antarctic biopic will start and no release date has been set.

Shackleton took part in four expeditions to the Antarctic, including the 1914-16 Endurance voyage in which he mounted one of the most daring rescue missions and greatest survival stories of all time.

Stepping back in time: A photograph of the Sir Ernest Shackleton Antarctic expedition supplied by Scott Polar Research Institute

After the ship became trapped in ice and sank, the Anglo-Irishman made a treacherous, 800-mile crossing of the Southern Ocean, followed by a 36-hour trek across the mountains and crevasses of South Georgia, to raise the alarm.

Against all odds, every member of the expedition, Shackletons third, survived.

Shackleton, who was knighted after his second expedition, died of a heart attack on his fourth expedition, aged just 47.

Recently, following examination of expedition diaries and other historical records, two British doctors concluded that Shackleton did all of his adventuring while suffering from an undiagnosed cardiac condition.

Evidence of a hole in the heart includes breathlessness and extreme tiredness, to the point of collapse.

Battling the element: Ernest Shackleton's Endurance Exhibition (1914-1917) to the South Pole

In fact, Shackleton experienced physical breakdowns during three of Antarctic expeditions, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reports.

After one such attack, expedition medical officer Dr Eric Marshall wrote: Shacks collapsed after dinner tonight.

The doctors diary entry for the next day read: Sh very unwell, walked by the sledge all day. Pulse on march thin & thread, irregular.

However, despite concerns, Shackleton refused to allow expedition medics to examine him.

It is even claimed that he contrived to avoid a medical before his first expedition, in which he joined Captain Scott aboard the Discovery in 1901.
On Thursday evening she stunned on the Hugo Boss Prize red carpet.

But when she arrived back in LA on Friday, Kate Bosworth seemed to be trying to keep a low profile.

The 33-year-old Superman Returns actress opted for a very demure look for the flight.

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Undercover: When she arrived back in LA on Friday, Kate Bosworth seemed to be trying to keep a low profile

Kate was bundled up in a thick tawny-coloured trench-style coat over a simple black top.

A pair of light jeans with fraying hems that ended at her ankles and some patent leather wingtips rounded out her low-key ensemble.

Accessories included a black leather handbag with some very bold gold hardware and oversize cat eye shades with tortoise shell frames.

Covered up: On top she opted for a black top over which she wore a thick, tawny-coloured trench-style coat

The details: Accessories included a black leather handbag with some very bold gold hardware and oversize cat eye shades with tortoise shell frames

Some light blush, and a large slick of rose lipstick ensured the star was well made up after her day of travel.

Of course her famous long blonde locks were on display as well, and sported a part on the right side.

While she made a high profile visit to the Hugo Boss red carpet on Thursday, the Los Angeles-born actress has been quite busy with both a mini series and a film.

Distinctive: Of course her famous long blonde locks were on display as well, and sported a part on the right side

The alternate reality miniseries SS-GB follows the exploits of a British homicide detective who must investigate a murder in a German-occupied England during World War II.

Her movie, The Domestics, has been described as a thriller and a survival love story.

A young husband and wife must fight to return home in a post-apocalyptic mid-western landscape plagued by brutal gangs.
Catfish host Nev Schulman and his fiancee Laura Perlongo welcomed baby girl Cleo James to their family on Friday.

The New York City native, 32, took to his Instagram account Friday, telling his fans the wonderful news as he shared a shot of himself cradling his newborn.

He wrote: 'Best. Thing. Ever. Cleo James arrived at 6:01am weighing 6lbs 10oz. Shout out to my baby mama @el_peego for delivering this bundle of joy.'

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New parents: Nev Schulman, 32, and his fiancee Laura Perlongo, 30, welcomed daughter Cleo James on Friday

Proud papa: The MTV personality made the celebratory announcement on his Instagram page

On her account, new mom Perlongo, 30, posted an image of she and Schulman embracing the baby.

'I dont remember this photo being taken or anything about the last 24 hours but bb girl has finally arrived,' said Perlongo, who works as a copywriter. 'Completely enamored with 6lb 10oz Cleo James born this morning at 6:01. Shes everything.'

Perlongo looked amazing when she walked the red carpet at August's MTV Video Music Awards, showing off the majority of her baby bump under a green jacket as she went shirtless - and braless - using double-sided tape to prevent a wardrobe malfunction.

The confident beauty told People she surprised herself in putting on such a sexy and glam display in front of the cameras: 'If you told me I was going to feel this great at eight months pregnant, I wouldve been like, "No way."'

Kiss of life: Gorgeous Perlongo caused a stir at the MTV Video Music Awards in August as she exposed her entire bump as part of a daring fashion get-up

Schulman told the publication of his lady love: 'She was already beautiful and now shes, like, times-10 beautiful,' calling Perlongo 'the pregnant lady who is killing it, just looking incredible.'

In the outing, Schulman said that he was hoping to parlay the wisdom he's gained sussing out online dating hoaxes in his role as a dad.

'Ive spent the last five years learning how to help people and open up to them and have them open up to me,' he said, 'and hopefully feel better and move on with their lives in a good way.

Treasure island: In addition to her stunning MTV outing, Perlongo shared glam shots of her pregnancy via her social media and Nev's

'And Im just now excited to take all that and apply it to my family.'

Schulman said he hoped his child would inherit his ability to be 'understanding,' 'objective,' and 'open-minded.'

Schulman initially revealed the pregnancy in May, as the TV star said in an Instagram post that he felt 'excitement and joy' upon learning he was 'becoming a father,' adding a romantic message to Perlongo.

'I am so in love with you Laura and thank you for giving me this incredible gift,' said Schulman, who later that month became engaged to the beauty. 'You inspire and excite me every day.'
Her apprehended violence order against a young paparazzo was thrown out of court on Friday.

But it seems the bitter legal dispute between celebrity trainer Michelle Bridges and 21-year-old Liam Mendes is far from over.

The photographer's lawyer Chris Murphy told The Daily Telegraph his client is considering civil action over a statement made by The Biggest Loser star while he was filming her in a Woolworths supermarket.

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'You are breaking the law': Photographer Liam Mendes is reportedly considering civil action over a statement Michelle Bridges made while he was filming her in a Woolworths supermarket

'I have been asked by my client to consider his civil remedies in relation to that statement,' the lawyer revealed.

'You will recall that in the footage Michelle Bridges said "You are breaking the law". She was wrong, she must accept she was wrong.'

Footage of the incident taken in April shows the TV star demanding the camera is turned off before she appears to reach out and block the lens with her hand.

Lawyered up! Mendes (C) was hit with an AVO for filming Michelle's family at a Woolworths in Potts Point. His lawyer Chris Murphy (R) says his client is now considering a defamation case

'You're breaking the law by taking photographs of people in a shop,' she can be heard saying.

'You can cross your arms, you can get upset, but you're actually breaking the law. And you're breaking the law by filming me in a shop.'

At the time, Michelle had been shopping with her partner Steve 'Commando' Willis and their baby Axel.

Family ties: Michelle was shopping with her partner Steve 'Commando' Willis and their infant son Axel during the encounter at Woolworths

In court, Michelle said was used to being photographed against her will in public places but that her experience with Mendes was different.

'This is the first time I have ever felt so intimidated and threatened and fearful,' she explained.

The mother-of-one said she was particularly concerned about 'mistakes when there's children around'.

But Magistrate Joanne Keough told the court she did not believe the photographer's behaviour had made her genuinely scared.

'This is the first time I have ever felt so intimidated and threatened and fearful': Michelle said her experience with Mendes was unlike any other she had had before

Immediately following the decision, Michelle's management issued a statement saying Mendes had overstepped the mark.

'Michelle has always acknowledged there is a positive synergy between her profile, the media and her business and she fully accepts that paparazzi take pictures of her and her family in her private life,' a statement from Chic Talent Management read.

'In this instance however where her family, and in particular her child and partners children, were put into a precariously dangerous situation, the intrusion became totally unacceptable.'

'The intrusion became totally unacceptable': Immediatley following the decision, Michelle's management issued a statement saying Mendes had overstepped the mark
She became engaged to Channel Nine journalist Peter Stefanovic during the couple's romantic trip to Europe in June.

And earlier this week, the Today show co-host Sylvia Jeffreys looked to be getting in shape for her upcoming wedding.

The 30-year-old was spotted running at Sydney's Centennial Park in tight black activewear on Friday.

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Getting into shape for the wedding? Peter Stefanovic's fiancee Sylvia Jeffreys, 30, was spotted going for a run at Sydney's Centennial Park on Friday

Sylvia highlighted her slender legs in a pair of full-length black leggings that featured zipper detailing along the thigh.

She also wore a slim-fitting tank top, and the sleeveless design accentuated her slim, toned arms.

Looking the part with a pair of white trainers and dark sunglasses, Sylvia was seen picking up the pace while listening to her iPhone.

Sweeping her short blonde locks into a simply ponytail, the TV star showed off her natural beauty with a make-up free complexion.

Black to basics: The Channel Nine personality sported an all-black slim-fitting ensemble as she was seen picking up the pace during her run

Hitched: Peter Stefanovic (R) got down on one knee and proposed to Sylvia during the couple's romantic trip to Europe in June

Peter Stefanovic got down on one knee and proposed to Sylvia during the couple's romantic holiday to Europe in June.

At the time, Peter posted the happy news on Instagram, along with a photo of the pair in a French vineyard as Sylvia showed off her diamond engagement ring.

Asked my missus to be my wife and she said yes, he wrote in the caption.

Since announcing their engagement, the pair have often been photographed together on the red carpet.

The couple were most recently spotted at the premiere of Dream Lover, The Bobby Darin Musical, in Sydney.

Perfect match: The well-known couple are often inseparable, often stunning on the red carpet for various media events
BRIAN VINER: Philippa lives in Edinburgh, where she works in a dreary sales job and is passed over for promotion. 'You are at the right level for you,' says her condescending boss.
A mystery virus has reportedly struck down six of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals.

Anastacia's partner Brendan Cole will not appear on Saturday's show after doctors said he had to rest to avoid contracting pneumonia.

And now Katya Jones, Janette Manrara, Neil Jones, Aljaz Skorjanec and Anton du Beke are said to be suffering flu-like symptoms.

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Overdid it? Brendan Cole, who is dancing alongside singer Anastacia, has spent the entire week away from training, on rest after contracting a lung infection at the end of last week

A source told The Sun: 'Preparations for this weekend have been hampered by this horrendous virus sweeping through the pros.

'Brendan has spent the entire week away from training on doctor's orders, and won't be performing on Saturday night's show.

The insider added: 'Producers are now concerned some of the other pros could be following in his footsteps. They have to rehearse and dance very intimately. And at the moment they are dropping like flies.'

Ed Balls' 22-year-old partner Katya - who couldn't speak on It Takes Two after losing her voice - reportedly took several breaks while struggling during rehearsals.

Struck down: Katya Jones (pictured with partner Ed Balls) is said to be struck down with illness

Spreading: Katya Jones and Neil Jones (pictured together on Tuesday) are both said to be ill

And DJ Melvin Odoom's partner Janette, 32, was forced to miss the premiere of Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher as she rested on Thursday.

MailOnline has contacted a Strictly representative for comment.

Standing in for Brendan to dance with Anastacia will be fellow professional Gorka Marquez, who will perform the moves Brendan choreographed.

Struggling: Anton Du Beke, who dances with Lesley Joseph, is said to be ill

Under the weather: Aljaz Skorjanec, who dances with Daisy Lowe, is also named as being one of the ill pros

Bedbound: DJ Melvin Odoom's partner Janette, 32, was forced to miss the premiere of Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher as she rested on Thursday

Brendan's doctor explained that if the 40-year-old dancer pushes his body too far he could once again contract pneumonia as he did earlier in the year on his UK solo tour and fall more ill.

A spokesperson for Brendan confirmed: 'He's resting on Doctors orders but everybody hopes the rest will enable a return to form for Brendan in next week's competition.'

A source close to Brendan, who will once again hit the road for his solo All Night Long Tour in January through until April in the UK, tells MailOnline: 'Brendan's gutted not to be able to dance this weekend.

Getting better: Brendan Cole will not appear on week's Strictly Come Dancing live show after doctors said he had to rest or risk contracting pneumonia

'Anastacia and him have worked extremely hard and overcome a lot of hurdles to get where they're at in the competition.

'Brendan's a perfectionist and extremely hard working so for him to have to take a back seat has been very difficult indeed.

'He has to be careful and listen to his body and a lung infection like he has is no laughing matter. He's been resting as much as possible on doctor's orders.

Sad stuff: The professional dancer, who is dancing alongside singer Anastacia, has spent the entire week away from training, on rest after contracting a lung infection at the end of last week

'Obviously he's still be very much involved but he's had no choice but to take a back seat. He cannot wait to get back into the competition for the next week and hopes that Anastacia and Gorka manage to get through to perform again.

'With all the problems the couple have faced this year with Anastacia's injuries it really is a pain that Brendan's been taken ill now.

'But they're both troopers and they hope to make a triumphant return next week.'

Hoping to make it: Brendan said he still wanted to compete on Saturday if he feels better -

On last week's show Brendan proved he was ever the professional as he returned to the dance floor with partner Anastacia just hours after being taken to hospital as they performed the rumba on Strictly Come Dancing.

In his statement entitled 'I'm ill but not out', the 40-year-old professional dancer disputed reports that he'd seemed short of breath after the performance as he clutched his chest whilst listening to the judges' comments.

'All I was trying to do was cover my microphone so as not to cough down it to a few million people watching at home - I know, I'm so considerate,' he wrote.

Still very much alive: Brendan took to Twitter to prove he had not passed away

Acrobatic: Brendan and Anastacia in happier times on the dance floor

Time out: Brendan has now been temporarily replaced as Anastacia's partner

His chest infection also somewhat bizarrely prompted reports that he had passed away, leading Brendan to take to Twitter on Friday with several bemused tweets.

'OKvery disturbing,' Brendan commented. 'I have just been informed that I am dead!'  going on to add that he was 'horrified and bemused' by the news.

He went on to add: 'I'm still very much alive! Report yesterday of me having died...very much untrue! lol'

New partner: Anastacia is now rehearsing with Gorka Marquez, who previously danced with Tameka Empson

Meanwhile, Anastacia has a new 'spring in her step' with Gorka, according to It Takes Two pro Ian Waite.

'It must be nice to change your partner half way through!' Ian joked on the Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two.

'I do think they are very compatible,' Ian said after reviewing footage of the pair rehearsing together. 'They have very similar proportions and their leg lengths match. If they can get it together, they will be really good!'

Giving thanks: Brendan took to his Twitter account last Saturday to let fans know he was still well enough to compete on the show and praised the NHS staff who cared for him

Making moves: Anastasia, 48, was also on fine form last weekend despite recently tearing the stitches from a mastectomy
Australian actor Joel Edgerton is widely tipped for an Oscar nomination for his role in new drama Loving.

And the 42-year-old looked every inch the Hollywood star as he attended the film's premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Joel dressed in a classic maroon suit, completed with matching dress shoes and a light brown tie.

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Dapper: Joel Edgerton looked every inch the Hollywood star as he attended the premiere for his new film Loving in Los Angeles on Thursday

He was pictured alongside the film's director Jeff Nichols, acclaimed American fashion designer Tom Ford and his co-star Ruth Negga.

Based on the US Supreme Court landmark case in 1967, Loving tells the true story of an interracial couple whose marriage sees them exiled from Virginia.

'It's very much relevant today,' Joel told Variety on the red carpet.

Co-stars: The film's lead roles are played by and Ethiopian-Irish actress Joel Ruth Negga

'It's very timely in terms of racial tension and very much timely in terms of marriage equality, in particular from my parts.

'As an Australian, we're not quite there yet with marriage equality for same-sex couples.'

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Joel said: 'It did strike me how 50 years is really not that long ago.

True story: Directed by Jeff Nichols (centre), Loving tells the tale of an interracial couple whose marriage sees them exiled from Virginia

'Not for this s*** to be going down.'

Richard Loving, played by Joel, and his partner Mildred (Ruth Negga) were sentenced to prison in 1958 because their marriage violated the state's anti-miscegenation laws.

They later sued the state of Virginia which led to laws prohibiting interracial marriage being declared unconstitutional.

Pals: Joel was pictured on the red carpet with acclaimed American fashion designer Tom Ford

Meanwhile, Joel was left disappointed after missing an Oscar nomination in 2015 and admits he should not have listened to industry rumours.

But he recently told GQ he remains optimistic about being recognised for his critically-acclaimed lead role in Loving.

An Australian release date is yet to be announced, but the film will hit cinemas in the US on November 4.
She's the Austrian beauty who famously dated Harry Styles.

And on Friday, Nadine Leopold joined her model friend Gabby Westbrook for a Victoria's Secret casting in New York.

The leggy ladies were spotted perfecting the off-duty look in all-black ensembles as they posed for photographs.

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Model behaviour! Gabby Westbrook (L) and Nadine Leopold (R) perfected the off-duty look as they were spotted attending the Victoria's Secret castings in New York on Friday

Gabby and Nadine were spotted in head-to-toe black before it was their turn to audition for the US lingerie brand.

Brunette Gabby sported a simple black top with a plunging neckline, teamed with skinny jeans that highlighted her slender legs.

The Seafolly model accessorised with a pair of leather ankle boots and a Givenchy handbag.

Simply stunning: Gabby sported a simple black top with a plunging neckline, teamed with skinny jeans that highlighted her slender legs

Taking it in their stride! Despite the rainy conditions and stress of the castings, the close pals appeared to be in high spirits

Chic: Nadine carried her belongings in a quilted Chanel backpack, while Gabby opted for a sturdy Givenchy handbag

Famous faces: Blonde beauty Nadine once famously dated One Direction's Harry Styles, with the couple calling it quits in March last year

Enhancing her striking facial features, Gabby opted for a minimal make-up palette of a flawless base, defined brows and a soft pink lip.

Meanwhile Harry Styles' ex Nadine Leopold, 22, drew attention to her lean legs in a black shift dress.

Layering with a leather jacket and accessorising with black ankle boots, the blonde carried her belongings in a quilted Chanel backpack.

Busty: Numerous snaps on Gabby's Instagram page sees the stunning brunette drawing attention to her model looks

Making waves: A friend of Shanina Shaik, Gabby has earned herself a steady career as a swimsuit model

Not shy! The slender starlet is certainly not afraid to flaunt her model figure to social media

Allowing her semi-straight tresses to fall effortlessly around her face and shoulders, Nadine sported a minimal make-up look of a flawless complexion and defined brows.

Despite the rainy conditions and stress of castings, the close pals were seen smiling as they made their way into the studio.

A quick glance at the girls' Instagram accounts show the 'It' girls hanging out with famous friends and showing off their model bodies.

If you've got it! Nadine often takes to her Instagram account, sporting a number of skimpy bikinis that leave very little to the imagination

That's a bit cheeky! The former flame of Harry Styles is represented by IMG Models

Sticking together: Despite competing in the same industry, the close pals have nothing but support for one another

It was reported by Hollywood Life that Nadine dumped the One Direction hunk in March last year.

A source told the website at the time that Nadine 'wanted a more serious commitment from Harry' and 'doesnt have time for any games in her life.'

Harry has since moved on with a bevvy of other beauties including fellow model and Victoria's Secret Angel Kendall Jenner.
Former National Lottery presenter Anthea Turner has yet to hit the jackpot in her love life, as yet another relationship ends in tears

Former National Lottery presenter Anthea Turner has yet to hit the jackpot in her love life, as yet another relationship ends in tears.

The twice-divorced TV personality tried to move on after finalising her split from love rat Grant Bovey at the end of last year by embarking on a romance with rugged wildlife photographer David Yarrow.

Only a few months ago, Anthea, 56, spoke of her happiness at dating the multimillionaire former hedge fund boss, after going through the worst of relationships with divorce.

But, in fresh heartache for the bubbly Turner, Yarrow, 50, has parted from the Perfect Housewife presenter because shes too suburban.

A friend of Antheas tells me: David is a wild-man who gets bored easily and Anthea is a neat freak, more of a suburban type. So perhaps shes not in his league.

Playboy Yarrow had a fling with model Liz Hurley after divorcing his glamorous wife, Jane, and his snaps of lions and polar bears, which sell for up to 40,000, have been praised by Prince William.

By contrast, Antheas career has never recovered from Flakegate, when she and Bovey posed with Cadbury chocolate bars at their 2000 wedding for a society magazine.

Anthea left her first husband, DJ Peter Powell, for Bovey after eight years of marriage in 1998. But Bovey hardly proved an ideal second husband.

His buy-to-let property business collapsed with 50million worth of debt in 2009, and he cheated on Anthea with 27-yearold socialite Zoe de Mallett Morgan, whom Bovey recently ditched, too.

Earlier this year, Anthea announced that her marital woes had inspired her to write a divorce self-help guide. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I thought might be worth sharing, especially having gone through it twice.'

Will one send one a card?

The Queen is seeking an extra pair of hands to help send out congratulatory messages to mark her loyal subjects major milestones  such as turning 100  and the successful applicant will be paid 21,000 a year.

Its sending congratulations that are never forgotten, says the advert for the job. Unlike three of her four children, the Queen has enjoyed a long marriage, and will mark her 70th wedding anniversary to Prince Philip next year. But will she deliver a congratulatory card to herself, as Palace custom dictates?

How a nostalgic Norton made toast of Ken Loach

Dashing actor James Norton, now filming the new series of ITV period drama Grantchester, has hit back at BAFTA-winning director Ken Loach for claiming the genre indulges in fake nostalgia.

Dashing actor James Norton has hit back at BAFTA-winning director Ken Loach

Its not fake nostalgia, its just nostalgia. I dont even know what fake nostalgia would be, Norton, 31, tells me.

One reason people love period drama  like Grantchester, which is set in the Fifties  is that a lot of them can remember that time. They can look at the toaster and the washing machine and have a fondness for them because it reminds them of their past, and allows them to engage with the story emotionally.

Speaking at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane launch party to celebrate the hotels new facelift, Norton adds: In this country were so lucky to have an incredible cultural heritage and it would be mad not to celebrate that.

Weve a lot to be proud of and a lot to question, which is something period drama should do.

Makeover of the week

Martin Freemans partner, actress Amanda Abbington, unveiled a striking new look at a London party. The 42-year-old, who plays Freemans on-screen wife in the BBC series Sherlock, had chopped off her hair.

Its not for a role, I was just bored and I thought: Im going to cut it all off! she told me. I didnt do it myself, though, because I cut my daughters hair once and it looked terrible, so Im never doing that again.

Martin Freemans partner, actress Amanda Abbington, unveiled a striking new look at a London party (right). Pictured (left) before the chop

As for mine, I love it. Im going to keep it like this for a while. Ill just have to wear big scarves and hats for the winter.

So impulsive was her decision that she didnt even inform the father of her two children. Martin hasnt seen it yet because hes not around, hes in Australia filming. I havent told him!
She known for her endless sartorial displays on the red carpet.

And now Naomie Harris added her own unique touch of elegance while speaking at the AOL at Build Series in New York on Friday in a smart-casual look.

Talking about her new film, Moonlight, the 40-year-old looked effortless glamorous in a chic long lined powder blue blazer that complemented her complexion beautifully.

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Elegant: Naomie Harris added her unique touch of elegant style while speaking at the AOL at Build Series in New York on Friday

Displaying her toned pins, the Spectre star slipped into a pair of form fitting high-waisted black denims that highlighted her petite frame.

The fashion darling paired her ensemble with a chic v-necked white blouse that hinted at her pristine decolletage and displayed her delicate silver feather neckline.

Swapping her usual glam heels for comfort, Naomie slipped on a pointed white pump with quirky design emblazoned across the toe.

Naomie completed her look with some bling in the form of simple rings and pearl earrings.

Chic: Talking about her new film, Moonlight, the 40-year-old looked effortless glamorous in a slick long lined powder blue blazer that complemented her complexion beautifully

Appearing at the event alongside her cast mates - Andre Holland and Barry Jenkins -Naomie discussed her new flick , which is set in a rough Miami neighbourhood and chronicles one man's lifetime.

The British beauty stars as Paula, his mother, who is funding her growing drug habit with prostitution.

Moonlight has received universal acclaim and will be released in UK cinemas on October 21.

New flick: Naomie appeared at the event alongside her cast mates - Andre Holland and Barry Jenkins (pictured)

Filming for the movie shockingly only took three days, as Naomie was in the midst of her promotional tour for Spectre, but she revealed she 'loved every minute of it'.

Speaking to Vulture, she said: 'I loved it. I loved the opportunity to work morning, noon, and night. There was no time to languish in a trailer  it was like, "Get on, and deliver."'

She added that one of the benefits of a concentrated filming period was that she could easily transition back into real life.

Moonlight: Naomie discussed her new flick , which is set in a rough Miami neighbourhood and chronicles one man's lifetime

Drama: The British beauty stars as Paula, his mother, who is funding her growing drug habit with prostitution

Naomie revealed: 'I felt really cleansed, in a way. Often, when you're inhabiting a character for three to six months, it can feel afterwards as though they're under your skin and it takes a long time to get them out of you, to exorcise them.

'With Moonlight, I felt as though I truly managed to inhabit Paula, so at the end of it, I could just let her go. That was a really nice feeling, and so satisfying.

'She's all out there, all done and finished, and I could get back on a plane and go back to my promotional tour for Bond.'
His character met an unfortunate end in the blockbuster Titanic.

And it turns out that Leonardo DiCaprio once nearly drowned in real life during a scuba diving expedition.

According to an interview with GQ, the 41-year-old actor was out diving in the Galapagos with actor/director Fisher Stevens and marine biologist Sylvia Earle when he realised his tank was leaking oxygen.

Scary stuff: Leonardo DiCaprio, 41, was out diving in the Galapagos with actor/director Fisher Stevens (pictured together) and marine biologist Sylvia Earle when he realised his tank was leaking oxygen

Director Fisher recalled: 'The second time we properly hung out together was in 2010 when I was invited to film Sylvia Earle for a TED conference expedition to the Galapagos. Leo was on the expedition.'

'I was filming Sylvia and I had this little easy camera to shoot underwater, and he was Sylvia's diving buddy, so I said, "Would you film Sylvia?" And he said, "Yeah I love it man, I love it."'

Fisher continued: 'I was diving buddies with Edward Norton. So we go down and we see 300 Eagle Rays and Spotted Rays and it was an amazing dive.

'Leo bolts away with Sylvia, and Edward goes in front of me and the next thing I know after twenty minutes I'd lost them all. Then, I see Leo buddy breathing, because Leo's tank was leaking oxygen, and Edward had to save him!'

Participant: Marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle was Leo's dive buddy when the action went down

Buddy breathing is a rescue technique where a dive companion offers up their air supply for a stricken partner.

'It was pretty crazy,' continued the long-time character actor, 'but [Leo] actually did get some film for me and it was good for a second and then it got pretty shaky when he couldn't breathe. But we really bonded on that trip.'

Meanwhile, Leonardo has been helping promote his latest film, the environmental documentary Before the Flood.

In his new documentary the Hollywood megastar, who won this year's best actor Academy Award for his role in The Revenant, takes viewers around the world to meet experts and politicians in order to reveal the scale of climate change, the consequences of inaction and potential paths towards a solution.

That sinking feeling: His character met an unfortunate, watery end in the blockbuster Titanic

He's pumped! Leonardo won this year's best actor Academy Award for his role in The Revenant

Speaking in London on Saturday, Leo said that he wanted to focus on young people with the film.

'You can listen to pundits but ultimately we have to listen to the scientific community,' he told BBC Newsbeat.

'As we have stated many times in this movie, if you don't believe in man-made climate change then you don't believe in gravity.

'We also present solutions and this is going to take everyone from all walks of life, from everywhere around the world.'
She found fame as Carmella Cammeniti on TV soap Neighbours before leaving in 2008 to pursue her Hollywood dream.

But these days Natalie Blair is focusing on her favourite role, motherhood, after giving birth to her son Finn Odin Hoflin in July.

On Saturday, the 32-year-old shared a breastfeeding photo with her baby and said she hopes he will want his 'mumma's milk forever'.

'Cheeky smiles between each suckle': Home And Away's Natalie Blair, 32, paid tribute to her son Finn Odin Hoflin in a breastfeeding photo she posted on Instagram on Saturday

'Oxytocin overload! My gosh I adore this pic. The eye contact, the breast grabbing, the cheeky smiles between each suckle. I hope he wants his mummas milk forever.'

The Australian TV actress appeared all smiles as she cut a casual figure in a grey T-Shirt lifted over her breast to allow her son to 'suckle'.

This photo is one of three recently posted to Natalie's Instagram showing her breastfeeding her son.

Another intimate photo shared last month showed her breastfeeding in a park.

She captioned the image: 'Ooh I love this ... Some people refer to woman who breast-feed as Earth Mothers.

'Some people refer to woman who breast-feed as Earth Mothers': Natalie posed as she breastfed her son in September in the great outdoors

'A more appropriate name for these woman would be Galactic Goddesses - because the words galaxy (and galactic) come from the ancient Greek word gala, meaning 'milk'.

'Legend has it that all the stars in the sky came from milk sprayed out of the breasts of the goddess Juno. Hence, we call our galaxy the Milky Way.

The proud new mother also recently posted a picture of her son's umbilical cord which she kept after dehydrating into a love heart shape.

'Umbilical cord keepsake': The proud new mother also recently posted a picture of her son's umbilical cord which she kept after dehydrating into a love heart shape

The picture's caption read: 'Umbilical cord keepsake. Even after being clamped & dehydrated there is no denying the life force magic still pulsating through it.

'It's so wild that the female form can create an entire brand spanking new organ, all for the growing lil' gumnut ... then expels it, as if it were never even there!

'Ah, body miracles,' she added.

Meanwhile back in August, Natalie took to Instagram for the first time to share a photo of herself breastfeeding her son.

Breast is best! Natalie took to Instagram in August to share the first photo of herself breastfeeding Finn

'It's quite amazing that this little fella has survived two weeks earth side on nothing but love and breast milk,' wrote the former soap star.

She continued: 'The controversy/shame/pressure/sexualization of the breast in relation to feeding seems even more bizarre to me now.

'Breastfeeding is fricking beautiful!! Finn knew how to latch almost as soon as he was placed on my chest.'

'It's quite amazing that this little fella has survived two weeks earth side on nothing but love and breast milk,' wrote the former TV star

The brunette actress didn't stop there, adding: 'It's instinct. It's normal. It's as nature intended.

'Our bodies are phenomenal and know exactly what to do. How can people be offended by something so natural? A bubba has gotta eat. Nom nom.'

She welcomed little Finn into the world on July 29th in an 11-hour home birth.

'Loves boobies!' The brunette mentioned that her son Finn loves breasts while announcing his birth on Instagram

When announcing the birth on Instagram, the actress mentioned that he 'loves boobies'.

Natalie is best known for her role as Carmella on Neighbours, which earned her a Logie award for Most Popular New Female Talent in 2005.

She's been quiet since leaving the show, but briefly returned to the screen in the NBC pirate drama Crossbones in 2014.
He was dumped by Georgia Love on Wednesday's episode of The Bachelorette.

But firefighter Cameron Cranley's hunky physique has sent hearts racing across the country - prompting WA Police to issue a warning on Facebook.

'Single ladies of Perth do not set your lounge room alight in the hopes of meeting recently voted off (and just quietly still single) Cam from The Bachelorette,' read the humourous post.

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It's not worth it, ladies! WA Police have issued a stern warning to would-be arsonists hoping to meet hunky fireman and Bachelorette reject Cameron Cranley by setting fire to their homes

'The chances are you will meet Detective Sergeant Kevin, 58-year-old father-of-two from the Arson Squad instead.'

'Please click to Follow our page for more breaking WA Info,' the joke post concluded.

The tongue-in-cheek update sparked an online frenzy, with fans dreaming up other creative ways to meet the handsome 27-year-old.

'The chances are you will meet Detective Sergeant Kevin instead': The force warned arsonists would meet a 58-year-old father-of-two from the Arson Squad - and not handsome Cameron

'My cat is stuck up a tree? .....(contemplates strategically positioning next door neighbours cat up a tree as I don't have one),' one user wrote.

Meanwhile, other local single ladies seemed more interested in the silver fox Detective Sergeant.

'Post a picture of Kevin without a shirt on and let's see if it'd be worth it,' one wrote.

'Please click to Follow our page for more breaking WA Info': The joke post was simply intended to encourage Facebook users to follow WA Police for breaking news and updates

Meanwhile, Cameron was eliminated from the hit dating show during an emotional rose ceremony on Wednesday's episode.

Georgia invited the heartbroken hunk outside so that they could share a more intimate farewell.

'Thank you,' whimpered Georgia as Cameron consoled her.

Not meant to be: Cameron was eliminated from The Bachelorette during an emotional rose ceremony on Wednesday

As he was driven away from the mansion, Cameron confessed: 'You know, I am upset, 'cause I think she's great and I think we could've got on really well, and I think she would love my family.'

'All that aside - it doesn't really matter because it's her choice, it really is.'

Holding back tears, he added: 'Yeah, I think... just holding it together.'
She has been fighting her cancer head on with energy and positivity.

But even Shannen Doherty is struggling with the effects of chemotherapy.

The 45-year-old shared a heartbreaking photo of herself lying on a hospital bed shortly after taking her cancer-battling drugs.

'Hope is possible': Shannen Doherty shared heartbreaking post-chemo photo on Friday... but vowed to get back up and continue the fight

In the black and white image, the now-bald actress lies curled up on her side, a sick bag lying beside her, and she looks defeated.

But the caption proves otherwise.

'#fbf to a very short bit ago. Day after #chemoday isn't always so great,' she conceded.

Ups and downs: The former 90210 star has vowed to be completely open about her fight, sharing not just her triumphant moments but her struggles, too

Moving helps: She believes that moving after chemotherapy helps with the healing process, sharing this workout vid just one day after another chemo session

'Sometimes one isn't able to dance, or eat or even to think about the next day. Sometimes it just feels like you aren't going to make it.

But she continued: That passes. Sometimes the next day or 2 days later or 6 but it passes and movement is possible. Hope is possible. Possibility is possible.

'To my cancer family and everyone suffering.... stay courageous,' she added. 'Stay strong. Stay positive. #wegotthis. #fightlikeagirl'

Pillar: Among her biggest sources of strength is her husband Kurt Iswarienko

In love: The couple just celebrated her five year anniversary last week in Mexico

The former 90210 star has vowed to be completely open about her fight, sharing not just her triumphant moments but her struggles, too.

She has been sharing tonnes of uplifting updates since she broke the devastating news that the breast cancer she discovered in March 2015 had spread beyond her lymphatic system.

Among her biggest sources of strength is her mom Rosa, and her husband Kurt Iswarienko, with whom she celebrated her five year anniversary last week in Mexico.
She last released a new record over four years ago.

But it seems Kesha may be looking to finally get back to doing what she loves, at least according to a statement made by her record label Sony Music to Buzzfeed on Friday.

Sony said in their statement: 'Creating a new album takes time, and everyone's goal is to deliver a high quality album consistent with Kesha's past releases. We hope to share exciting new music with Kesha's fans soon.'

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Back to the studio? It seems Kesha may be looking to finally get back to doing what she loves, at least according to a statement made by her record label Sony Music on Friday (pictured in June)

The 29-year-old Tik Tok hitmaker has been locked in a vicious legal battle with Dr. Luke, with whom she has an exclusive multi-record deal.

According to the conglomerate, Kesha has submitted 28 songs to Dr. Luke's Kemosabe label in a bid to fulfill the terms of her contract, and Sony has been in touch with both parties 'to keep the process moving forward.'

She has also agreed to a list of producers she would be willing to work with.

Unfortunately it seemed as though Kesha's attorney was not convinced that any progress was being made.

Came to a stop: She last released a new record over four years ago (pictured performing live in September)

'Kesha has been trying for six months to record and release new music,' said attorney Daniel Petrocelli.

'Only in the last month, after our last court hearing, has any progress been made, but it is hardly enough. Kesha still has received no commitments on promotion, songs, or even a release date.'

'We hope things turn around fast. Meanwhile, Kesha intends to continue participating in the creative process in the hopes she can meaningfully return to work,' he added.

In her original lawsuit, Kesha claims that Dr. Luke, drugged and sexually assaulted her, which should nullify her exclusive recording deal with the music industry maven.

Meanwhile, the battle with Dr. Luke took another unforeseen turn last week, as Kesha went back to court to attempt to prevent over 900 pages of medical documents from being made public.

Struggle: The 29-year-old Tik Tok hitmaker has been locked in a vicious legal battle with Dr. Luke, with whom she has an exclusive multi-record deal (picture together at right in 2011)

Kesha is accusing Dr. Luke of refusing to keep medical records from her gynecologist and her stint in rehab confidential and believes that he will send the information to media outlets.

She headed to court to plead with a judge to order the prolific producer not to publicize the private documents, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.

Her reps explained that the court ordered her to hand over her most sensitive medical records to the music producer as part of their ongoing legal battle.

In new court documents, Kesha proposed a standard protective order for Sony and Dr. Luke to sign that would allow her to designate her medical records as confidential, which would ban them from being released to the media.

Another twist: Meanwhile, the battle with Dr. Luke took another unforeseen turn last week, as Kesha went back to court to attempt to prevent over 900 pages of medical documents from being made public (pictured in February)




She's just days away from revealing the man she's 'fallen madly in love' with.

But in the latest preview for The Bachelorette, Georgia Love has a difficult decision to make in next week's season finale.

The former TV journalist's sister Katie also gives her verdict - and hints that at least one of the final three does not get her approval.

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Challenge: Despite The Bachelorette's Georgia Love 'falling madly in love' on the dating series, her sister Katie (pictured) does not approve of one of the final three

At the beginning of the clip, Georgia - clad in a figure-hugging white frock - tearfully tells host Osher Gunsberg she has 'fallen madly in love'.

But first, the remaining three lads will have to earn the approval of Georgia's big sister Katie.

'I think I have been able to call out a bad egg in the past,' Katie admits.

'I've fallen madly in love': The beginning of the clip sees Georgia, clad in a figure-hugging white frock, makes a confession to host Osher Gunsberg

'I think I have been able to call out a bad egg in the past': But first, the remaining three lads will have to earn the approval of Georgia's big sister Katie

Emotional: Georgia is just days away from revealing the man she's 'fallen madly in love' with

The finale episode, drawn out over two days, will see Georgia choose between Lee Elliott, 35, Jake Ellis, 30, and Matty Johnson, 29.

Courtney Dober, 30, was the last to leave the Bachelorette mansion during Thursday night's cocktail party.

'If you're asking me do I think I can tell you that I love you at the end of this... I don't know,' Courtney admitted.

Will he be the one? One of the last three remaining lads is Lee Elliott, a 35-year-old mechanical plumber from Victoria

Has Jake captured her heart? Also vying for Georgia's affections is Jake Ellis, a 30-year-old sales professional from Queensland

Does he have the winning strategy? The last of the three Bachelors is Matty Johnson, a 29-year-old marketing manager from New South Wales

Tearfully, Georgia responded: 'I don't think it's enough... I can't keep doing it to myself.

'I need to be true to what I came in here for and what I wholeheartedly believe I can and will find at the end of this.'

'So I don't really see... any point in having a rose ceremony tonight,' she said, adding: 'I think you should go now.'

Without a word, Courtney stood up and walked out, leaving Georgia in tears.

The Bachelorette airs at 7.30pm on Wednesday and Thursday on Network Ten
Model Madeline Cowe was certainly dressed to impress when she arrived at the Cox Plate race day event at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Miss World Australia stepped out in a stunning blue dress for the Melbourne event, showing off the runway ready physique that landed her the pageant title.

The former Australia's Next Top Model contestant's fitted frock featured intricate lace detail and some sheer elements to reveal a little extra skin.

Stunning: Miss World Australia Madeline Cowe was certainly dressed to impress when she arrived at the Cox Plate race day event at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday

Finishing just below the knees, the dress revealed a generous glimpse of her trim pins, while her slender arms were also on show for all to see.

She slipped her feet into a pair of nude strappy heels to accentuate her height, and in true racing tradition, sported a statement headpiece.

The brunette beauty, whose glossy locks were pulled back, propped a delicate navy blue crown on her head.

Beautiful in blue: The 23-year-old stepped out in a stunning blue dress for the Melbourne event, showing off the runway ready physique that landed her the pageant title

Sleek in black: Rachael Finch stunned in a sleek black dress from Misha Collection

Strike a pose: Cox Plate ambassador Whitney Berry also wore black on this occasion

Meanwhile, she wasn't the only famous face at the event, with the likes of Rachael Finch and Brynne Edelsten also making trackside appearances.

Model Rachael stunned in a sleek black dress from Misha Collection.

The pregnant beauty showed off her baby bump in the designer number, and teamed it with a pair of sky-high strappy heels.

Race day appearance: Brynne Edelsten kept her look very fun and flirty for the race day

Pink power: The 33-year-old ex of businessman Geoffrey Edelsten arrived in a musk pink dress, embellished with a glittery pattern throughout

Accessoriser: In a pair of nude coloured heels, the socialite happily mingled with other guests on the day, while keeping a firm grip on her Louis Vuitton handbag

With her caramel tresses tied in a ponytail, the former Miss Universe Australia sported a gold Viktoria Novak crown.

Meanwhile, Brynne kept her look very fun and flirty for the race day.

The 33-year-old ex of businessman Geoffrey Edelsten arrived in a musk pink dress, embellished with a glittery pattern throughout.

Photo time: She happily posed for some snaps with a pal

Fun and flirty in florals: The frock featured floral embellishments on the right shoulder strap, and she added metallic flowers to her hair to keep with the theme

The frock featured floral embellishments on the right shoulder strap and she added metallic flowers to her hair in line with the event theme.

In a pair of nude coloured heels, the socialite happily mingled with other guests on the day, while keeping a firm grip on her Louis Vuitton handbag.

In terms of male eye candy, there were plenty of suited up gents at the racetrack as well.

Suited up: Former The Bachelor Australia star Sam Wood looked rather dapper

Single and ready to mingle? Newly single Kris Smith opted for a charcoal coloured suit

Pals: Sam Wood and Kris Smith were seen chatting away at the racetrack

Newly single Kris Smith looked rather dapper in a crisp grey coloured suit.

A white shirt was worn underneath his jacket, teamed with a sleek black tie.

He was seen chatting with former Bachelor Australia star Sam Wood.

Sam made a bold style statement, teaming a blue blazer with a pair of light trousers.

Good times: The gents were seen having some fun in front of the cameras
With her stunning looks and willowy figure, Alessandra Ambrosio can pull off anything.

And the 35-year-old looked gorgeous in Los Angeles on Friday as she stepped out in a Seventies inspired denim jumpsuit.

The halter-neck one-piece boasted flared bottoms and Alessandra teamed it with tan sandals and a tasselled handbag.

Retro rules: Alessandra Ambrosio went for a Seventies inspired look in Los Angeles on Friday

The model, who had her chestnut brown hair half pinned back, wore several pieces of jewellery and retro sunglasses over her minimally made-up face.

Alessandra was seen with some female friends as she sipped a smoothie after enjoying lunch at Fred Segal.

The Victoria's Secret Angel then headed to the Trashy Lingerie store, no doubt to pick out a Halloween costume.

Jean-ius: The model showcased her gorgeous figure in a denim jumpsuit with flared bottoms

All about the accessories: Alessandra had her chestnut brown hair half pinned back and wore several pieces of jewellery and tan sandals

Natural beauty: The 35-year-old sported sunglasses over her minimally made-up face

The previous evening, Alessandra had enjoyed dinner with fiance Jamie Mazur after debuting her new Ale By Alessandra collection at Revolve Social Club on Wednesday.

The Brazilian beauty has been been engaged to the businessman since 2008, and they share daughter Anja, eight, and son Noah, four.

And Alessandra recently explained why they are in no rush to walk down the aisle.

Fun with friends: The Victoria's Secret Angel enjoyed lunch at Fred Segal with some female pals

Healthy and happy: Alessandra was seen sipping on a green boba smoothie

The star told Extra that the pair want to make sure their wedding is perfect, so are taking their time.

'When I do the wedding it's going to be very special, so I want to take time for that,' she said.

Alessandra is currently enjoying some time off after the end of Fashion Week, but will soon be taking part in the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Getting your Halloween costume?: The Brazilian beauty then stopped by the Trashy Lingerie store
Australian hip hop artist 360 has posted a bizarre video rapping about Hillary Clinton while wearing a balaclava.

The acclaimed rapper, real name Matt Colwell, shared the video on Instagram on Saturday, before deleting it less than an hour later.

In the extraordinary clip, he labelled the US presidential candidate a 'pimp for blood' and 'the devil in the flesh'.

He rapped the lyrics: 'I just wanted to say Hilary Clinton is so friggin' lovely. No, that b**** is ugly. I'm not talking about how she looks either. What I'm saying is she's disgusting.'

The 30-year-old clarified he wasn't against women being in positions of power, before continuing his abusive tirade.

'Clinton's just a pimp for blood, a shifty f*** who isn't funny. The devil in the flesh. She'd do anything if given money.

'For 50 bucks she'd fill a village up with kids and mums - give every single one a kiss and hug - and tell them where they live is lovely.

Puzzling: Australian hip hop artist 360 has posted a bizarre video rapping about Hillary Clinton while wearing a balaclava

'The second that she sits above flying to a different country, she'll flick a button and kill everyone in that city, trust me.'

In the video's caption, Matt explained to his 151,000 followers why he chose to wear the face mask while performing the rap.

'From now on if I wear this balaclava it means I'm going to rap the really real s***. That s*** that that (sic) will have me debating whether to release it or not etc.'

The puzzling video comes just days after he revealed his past problems with drugs in a candid Facebook post.

In the post, he claimed he had been clean for two years.

But some of his fans expressed their concerns over his latest video, before it was deleted.

'What I'm saying is she's disgusting': In the extraordinary clip, he labelled the US presidential hopeful a 'pimp for blood' and 'the devil in the flesh'

Abuse: The 30-year-old songwriter went on to say he wasn't against women being in positions of power, before continuing his tirade

'I agree Hilary is evil scum but I gotta ask; you on drugs again 60?' one Instagram user wrote, while another simply asked: 'Are you high 60?!'

The rapper responded by asking: 'Why would you think I'm high,' before removing the video just minutes later.

In the Facebook update from last week, Matt opened up about his struggles with recreational drugs.

Concern: Some of his fans expressed their concerns over his latest video before it was deleted

'Why would you think I'm high': The rapper responded to his fans questions before deleting the video just minutes later

Opening up: In a Facebook post last week, Matt spoke about his struggles with drugs

He told his fans his biggest problem was with opiates - and that he had sometimes used heroin.

'I'd be down for anything and everything. Coke, MDMA, Benzos, acid, shrooms, DMT, speed and the monster itself meth,' he wrote.

He confessed he still gets cravings for 'the monster', which he said is the most dangerous drug of all.

'Out of all the drugs out there, there is one that is leagues ahead of every other drug in every way and that is ICE. It's the MOST addictive by far,' he wrote.

FULL TRANSCIRPT OF 360'S RAP ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON 'Yo, I'm sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to say Hilary Clinton is so frigging lovely. No, that b**** is ugly. 'I'm not talking about how she looks either. What I'm saying is she is disgusting. 'Don't get me wrong, as far as presidents, I'd love to see the women run it. But her? F*** that. I just wish another chick was running. 'Clinton's just a pimp for blood, a shifty f*** who isn't funny. The devil in the flesh. She'd do anything if given money. 'For 50 bucks she'd fill a village up with kids and mums - give every single one a kiss and hug - and tell them where they live is lovely. 'The second that she sits above flying to a different country, she'll flick a button and kill everyone in that city, trust me. 'And then the Muslims would get blamed. See the war on terror is an oxymoron. To this day it is still erupting, think about it. 'How can you kill the suffering if you actually kill the suffering?' Advertisement

'It scares the s*** out of me': Matt previously spoke about the affect methamphetamine is having on Australia

Matt labelled the drug 'the devil' and said the affect it is having on Australia 'scares the s*** out of' him.

'I've seen it single-handedly tear whole families apart where the people have lost literally everything and STILL can't stop.'

He added: 'Ice wasn't even my poison but it's the only drug that I still get cravings for.'

'It's the MOST addictive by far': He said that the drug 'ice' was by far the most dangerous

Earlier this year, Matt spoke about his addiction to codeine in an emotional rap titled I'm Sorry.

The four-minute track featured lyrics about his addiction to prescription and over-the-counter medication, which culminated in an overdose in January 2015.

He was scheduled to perform at Byron Bay, NSW when he took 'four packets' of Nurofen Plus backstage and was hospitalised.

In the song, he raps: 'If I had nine lives then I'm using them up / No-one knew my addiction it was stupid as f*** / Ninety pills daily of Nurofen Plus.'

After the incident, he was admitted to hospital where he spent time under suicide watch.
Veteran stand-up comedian Kevin Meaney has died.

He was 60.

Meaney was found unresponsive in his upstate New York home on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. An autopsy is pending.

RIP: Veteran stand-up comedian Kevin Meaney, pictured in November 2015, was found dead in his upstate New York home on Friday. He was 60

Comics and actors quickly took to social media to pay tribute to the comic who found fame with a HBO special in 1986 followed by a successful debut on The Tonight Show in 1987.

'Kevin Meaney was as funny as they get and the nicest man,' tweeted Judd Apatow. 'He could make you lose your mind laughing. A very special person.'

Roseanne Barr tweeted: 'HAIL HAIL A GENIUS HAS VACATED THIS REALM: #RIPKevinMeaney.'

And Kathy Griffin wrote on her Twitter feed: 'I adored Kevin Meaney. He took me 2 Dodger games. Aspen comfest. We dated (I know, I know) He was the funniest AND sweetest. We LAUGHED! RIP.'

Peer praise: Celebrities quickly took to Twitter to pay tribute to Meaney who first found fame thanks to a HBO special in 1986 followed by a successful appearance on The Tonight Show

In addition to his stand-up routines and TV specials, he also starred on Broadway for seven years in the musical Hairspray.

This Is Spinal Tap star Michael McKean described Meaney as 'a great standup, a terrifically funny actor and a very nice man.'

'Real life - real love - real loss,' tweeted Rosie O'Donnell.

Meaney was famous for his line, 'That's not right!' An autopsy is pending to determine the cause of death

Patton Oswalt shared: 'Always thought Kevin Meaney was a brilliant comedian. Then we hung out in Ireland and I found out he was also a terrific person.'

Comedian Bobcat Goldthwaite said the late funnyman was 'sweet, hilarious and courageous', while Rob Schneider declared, 'Everything Kevin said he made funny!'

Lance Bass shared a photo of Meany on his Instagram, writing: 'I'm devastated about the loss of one of my favorite human beings! Thanks for the laughs my friend.'
She may not work a nine-to-five but this actress still gets excited for Saturday like the rest of us.

Halle Berry is new to Instagram but she certainly knows the top spot to snap a likable post.

The 50-year-old got her picture taken at one of Los Angeles' most grammed artworks on Friday.

'Waiting on the weekend like...' Halle Berry was transformed into an angel thanks to some street art in Los Angeles, California, on Friday

Celebrating the fact the weekend is near, the actress turned herself into an angel by posing in front of a pair of giant wings in West Hollywood.

Thousands of Angelenos have snapped a picture at the same wings created by Colette Miller.

The artist's so-called Global Angel Wings Project was started to give the city slickers a respite from their busy days.

And it certainly made Halle feel a little better with the star captioning the picture: 'Waiting on the weekend like...'

Quick bite: Earlier in the day, the Monster's Ball star popped out to lunch in Beverly Hills

The star looked very peaceful as she leaned against the wall with her arms cross and one leg up.

Earlier the Monster's Ball star popped out to lunch in Beverly Hills.

For her lunch - and angel transformation - Halle donned a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans with a taupe bra-revealing top and, when the temperatures dropped, added a gold jacket.

Keeping it casual: Halle donned a pair of distressed boyfriend jeans with a taupe top

The Oscar winner wore the look with a pair of suede heeled boots and left her long locks out and flowing carrying her Ullu Grain Leather iPhone 6 Snap-On Case in Knight Rider.

While she may be hanging out for it, no doubt this weekend will not top the last as the previous Saturday she celebrated son Maceo's third birthday.

The srae and her little boy celebrated with a fun party at their home.
On Thursday he was the star at the glitzy Hollywood premiere for his new Marvel superhero movie Doctor Strange.

But on Friday Benedict Cumberbatch was much more low-key as he arrived solo at a charity fundraiser at LA's Pacific Design Center.

The British actor, 40, was without his gorgeous wife Sophie Hunter who had been on his arm 24 hours earlier as the couple confirmed they're expecting their second child together.

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Father figure: Benedict Cumberbatch walked the red carpet solo at a charity fundraiser in West Hollywood on Friday night 24 hours after confirming he's going to be a dad again

The Sherlock star was dapper in a bespoke three-piece suit from Thom Sweeney and an open-neck white shirt.

He showcased a hint of designer stubble at the gala benefiting the GEANCO Foundation that helps those in need in Africa.

Despite his hectic schedule, Benedict seemed relaxed although no doubt his mind was on his pregnant wife at home with their 16-month old son Christopher.

For a good cause: The English thespian, 40, was dapper in a bespoke three-piece suit with an open-neck white short at the benefit raising money for those in need in Africa

Plenty to celebrate: The delighted star, who has been busy promoiting his new movie Doctor Strange in Los Angeles this week, is already dad to 16-month-old son Christopher

Benedict and Sophie, 38, were married on Valentine's Day 2015, just four months before the birth of their first child.

Benedict has previously said he hoped to add to his brood, joking he might 'go for a (Cumber)batch of boys.'

And it looks like he's on his way to making his wish a reality as Sophie is expecting again.

Expecting: On Thursday, his gorgeous wife Sophie, 38, had been at his side for the glitzy Hollywood premiere of Doctor Strange, masking her baby bump in a strapless black ball gown

Doctor Strange is something of a departure for the thespian who's played Hamlet on stage in London and is often cast in more cerebral roles such as codebreaker Alan Turing in the Imitation Game.

Benedict stars in the comic books movie as brilliant surgeon Stephen Strange who is injured in an accident.

He is then trained by the Ancient One, played by Tilda Swinton, in the magical arts which he then uses to take on the evil Kaecilius, who is played by Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen.
His dad was a nineties heart-throb, having been transformed into a fashion icon by Victoria Beckham.

And Brooklyn Beckham showed he was every inch his dad David's son, as he was spotted sporting a new shorter hairdo as he arrived at LAX airport in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Looking every inch the 1998 version of his 41-year-old former footballer father, the 17-year-old showed off his new floppy haircut, having previously sported longer skater-style hair.

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His mini-me! Brooklyn Beckham showed he was every inch his dad David's son, as he was spotted sporting a new floppy haircut on as he arrived at LAX airport in the early hours of Saturday morning

Dressed in tapered khaki joggers, the son of David and Victoria Beckham put on stylish appearance.

Teaming it with a loose blue T-shirt and a black bomber, he added a splash of colour with a bright bandana.

And going accessory free- bar a delicate gold bracelet, the aspiring photographer made his way through the airport.

Brooklyn with the good hair! The 17-year-old showed off a new haircut, having previously sported longer skater-style hair

Fashion-conscious parents: Parents David and Victoria Beckham turned heads at the 1999 (the year eldest son Brooklyn was born) Elle Style Awards, where 'Goldenballs' sported his famous sarong

Dad David underwent a transformation in the nineties, upon meeting his now fashion designer wife of 17 years Victoria.

The style-conscious couple made headlines with their often coordinated ensembles and ever-changing hairstyles.

Taking fashion risks, David even sported a sarong at the Elle Style Awards in September 1999, half a year after first son Brooklyn was born.

Pre-cut: On Friday Brooklyn posted a snap as he hit the skate park, still wearing his hair in his old top knot style

Dapper: Dressed in tapered khaki joggers, the son of David and Victoria Beckham put on stylish appearance

Meanwhile Brooklyn posted a snap on Instagram as he hit the skate park on Friday, still wearing his hair in his old top knot style.

Posing on his skateboard as he took snaps on his phone, he captioned the picture: 'On set shooting with the #Honor8 dual lens camera #photography'.

Clad in a checked shirt and navy jeans, he looked the perfect ad for the brand.

Brooklyn has been enjoying his leisure time in London over the past few months.

Relaxed: Going accessory free- bar a delicate gold bracelet, the aspiring photographer made his way through the airport

He's been spotted hanging out with friend Rocco Ritchie and his rumoured girlfriend Kim Turnbull with the pair looking friendly at last Thursday's Dazed + Calvin Klein party.

However Brooklyn, who split from actress girlfriend Chloe Moretz earlier this summer, does keep himself busy.

He was recently made a brand ambassador for the Honor 8 - Honor's latest smartphone - joining the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Karlie Kloss.

Transatlantic: Brooklyn has been enjoying his leisure time in London over the past few months

Earlier this month, he also paid a visit to Kenya with his mother Victoria as they continued their UNAIDS charity mission in Africa.

It was the second trip to Africa for Victoria after she was appointed UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in 2014.

She and Brooklyn visited Kiambu country, north of Nairobi, and witnessed a clinic of the Beyond Zero campaign which works to reduce maternal and child mortality in Kenya.
She's a successful actress and model known for her head-turning looks.

But Diane Kruger dared to let her acting skills do all the talking, as she got into character on the set of her new film Aus dem Nichts in Hamburg on Friday.

Putting on a much less polished appearance, the German beauty, 40, looked engrossed in filming scenes for the first film in her mother tongue.

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Bare-faced: Diane Kruger dared to let her acting skills do all the talking, as she got into character on the set of her new film Aus dem Nichts in Hamburg on Friday

Wearing her bleached chopped locks in a casual half top knot, the actress showed off a paler complexion, appearing to go make-up free.

Sporting a more washed-out appearance, her model bone structure was still visible, despite the portrayal of a more dowdy character.

And in line with her casual appearance, the blonde beauty sported a khaki hoodie, jeans and a leather jacket and boots.

Getting into character: Putting on a much less polished appearance, the German beauty, 40, looked engrossed in filming scenes for the first film in her mother tongue (pictured looking glamorous with longer hair on the red carpet last month)

She recently spoke out about being judged for her looks at the height of her career.

In 2006 a critic in the New York Times branded Diane 'Too beautiful to play a role of any substance'.

'What an ignorant and stupid thing to say!' she recently told the Guardian.

'But it really affected me at the time because I thought, 'Why is she talking about the way I look? Why isn't she talking about what I do in the movie?' And so that really taught me to a) not read critics. And b) to just toughen up. So I was like, 'F*** that!' Or, 'F*** them!' It made me really want to just dig deeper and show them I could do other things.'

Natural: Wearing her bleached chopped locks in a casual half top knot, the actress showed off a paler complexion, appearing to go make-up free

Playing a mother: Sporting a more washed-out appearance, her model bone structure was still visible, despite the portrayal of a more dowdy character

Meanwhile Diane has been busy filming several acting projects recently.

The French film, Tout nous separe, she just completed is currently in post-production and will be out in 2017.

Currently there is no plot to this Thierry Klifa directed movie. Kruger stars opposite Nicolas Duvauchelle and Catherine Deneuve.
The Australian actress is almost ready to give birth.

But there's no slowing down for Teresa Palmer, with the pregnant actress stepping out for Australians In Film Presents: Hacksaw Ridge screening in Beverly Hills on Friday.

The 30-year-old beauty cut a chic figure in a little black dress featuring pearl detailing, at the premiere screening.

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She's glowing! The Hollywood actress and mummy blogger showed off her ever-growing belly at a premiere screening of Hacksaw Ridge in Beverly Hills on Friday

She wasn't shy about showing off her bump as she posed for pictures, with her arms folded below her soon-to-be second child.

Her long golden tresses were pinned back off her face but fell in loose waves over her shoulders.

The fitness enthusiast accessorised with silver earrings and a statement red lip.

Friends on and off the screen! The 30-year-old said she bonded with co-star Andrew Garfield even when the cameras were not rolling

Inside jokes? During a Q&A after the screening, the pair appeared in good spirits

Teresa plays the love interest of the film's lead character Desmond Doss, a renowned WWII conscientious objector, played by Andrew Garfield.

She has been more than complimentary about her co-star Andrew and director Mel Gibson during her press interviews for the upcoming film.

On Thursday, she told 2Day FM's Rove and Sam that Mel was fantastic to work with, and knew the names of all 200 people working on the set.

Tough crowd: Though the cast couldn't stop smiling, director Mel Gibson appeared to struggle to join them

Finally! The 60-year-old, who is expecting his ninth child early next year, finally broke in to laughter as he conversed with the audience and his actors

She described Andrew as 'such a sweet human being,' and told the radio presenters the pair had bonded even off set.

Andrew and Mel were also at the event - the director rocking a casual look for the screening event.

The 60-year-old wore an oversized grey tartan jacket over a pair of dark denim jeans paired with a blue dress shirt.

Good listeners: As a member of the audience posed a question, the Hacksaw Ridge cast appeared deeply interested

His bushy salt and pepper beard appeared to have been styled for the event and he finished his look off with a pair of black leather loafers.

Meanwhile, Andrew, 33, looked smart in a pair of tailored navy blue slacks teamed with a matching sweater worn over a pale blue dress shirt.

His brown hair was coiffed for the screening and he allowed some designer stubble to frame his jawline.

Tough cookie: Vince Vaughn was also in attendance, and plays the protagonist's drill sargeant in the war movie

Also in attendance was Vince Vaughn, who plays Desmond Doss' drill sargeant.

He appeared to receive the memo about the night's dress code, and donned a blue dress shirt for the occasion, worn with black jeans and a simple black jacket.

The 46-year-old posed for cameras next to former Home and Away star Luke Bracey.

The actor stood out from the rest of the cast, dressed in a pair of chinos and a dark denim shirt.

The star-studded blockbuster has garnered rave reviews from critics, and received a 10-minute standing ovation after its world premiere at the 73rd Venice Film Festival.
It was used as the theme song for iconic British comedy The Royle Family.

And Noel Gallagher performed the Oasis hit Half The World Away in tribute to his late friend and the creator of the hit show, Caroline Aherne, during last night's Stand Up To Cancer on Channel 4.

Viewers were quick to praise the musician on Twitter, with fans posting in their droves.

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Heartfelt: Noel Gallagher performed the Oasis hit Half The World Away in tribute to his late friend and the creator of The Royle Family, Caroline Aherne, during last night's Stand Up To Cancer on Channel 4

One wrote: 'Heartbreaking watching Noel Gallagher sing Half the World Away after the Caroline Aherne tribute should never take anything for granted'

While another posted: 'Noel Gallagher singing half a world away for Caroline aherne.. seriously tugging on my heart strings

A third said: 'Guh. Noel Gallagher singing "Half the World Away" for Caroline Aherne hit me right in the feels. #StandUpToCancer'

Tragic: Caroline died in July aged just 52 following a two-year lung cancer battle

Touching: Viewers were quick to praise the musician on Twitter, with fans posting in their droves

Did her proud: Comedian Steve Coogan also received praise for his tribute to the star

As an emotional viewer said: 'In tears at #StandUpToCancer's tribute to Caroline Aherne. @NoelGallagher's 'Half The World Away' live was perfect - you did her proud.'

Earlier this year, Noel paid tribute to the British comedienne during a gig in Nashville.

Pausing the set, Noel told the 2,400 crowd: 'I want to dedicate the next song to a friend of mine who died this afternoon.'

Perfect soundtrack: The song was used as the theme for iconic British comedy The Royle Family

A big loss: Earlier this year, Noel paid tribute to the British comedienne during a gig in Nashville

Full of praise: Noel previously said of Caroline: 'She was a very, very, very funny woman'

A fan video from the audience sees Noel continue his speech, explaining: 'Her name was Caroline and she was a very, very, very funny woman.

'She used this next song on a very, very, very, very brilliant sit-com in England called The Royle Family.'

The Gogglebox narrator announced she was battling lung cancer two years ago, and at a Macmillian Cancer charity event, she explained how she felt when she was first diagnosed.

A job well done: Fans were unanimous in their praise for the musician

Emotional: One viewer described the tribute as 'heartbreaking'

Moving: Another felt emotional watching the performance

'When you hear them [doctors] telling you you have cancer, it's true that you really don't take it in properly, you just don't think of the questions,' she revealed.

She went on to explain that humour had helped her deal with her illness, as she revealed how grateful she was to be able to share a joke with the hospital staff.

'So many funny things happen when you're in there and, looking back, you do have a right laugh with the nurses,' she said. 'Although I was on morphine, so maybe it was just me laughing.

Leading lady: Last night's Stand Up To Cancer - which aims to raise money for the life-saving cancer research - was hosted by Davina McCall

Fun-filled: Crooner John Legend got involved in the fun with the The Last Leg's Adam Hills

Striking: Boy George wore a trademark quirky hat for his tribute to Bowie

Stripping off: Ex rugby ace Thom Evans whipped his top off

'But that's a way you can cope with it. If you can separate yourself from it, a sense of humour really, really helps.'

Last night's Stand Up To Cancer - which aims to raise money for the life-saving cancer research - was hosted by Davina McCall.

An impressive 10,712,205 was raised during the star-studded event.

Star-studded: JLS' Aston Merrygold joined hunky Thom on the stage
She gave birth to her first child just last month.

And Maria Fowler glowed with happiness as she attended The Baby Show in London with partner Kelvin Batey.

The TOWIE star, 30, and her 35-year-old beau looked in good spirits as they took their daughter Evie for a spin.

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Mummy mode: Maria Fowler glowed with happiness as she attended The Baby Show in London with partner Kelvin Batey

Dressed in a silver metallic jumper and black skinny jeans, she cut a stylish figure.

Accentuating her stature with knee-high boots and wearing her ombre hair perfectly blow-dried, the preened reality star looked perfectly made up.

And her flame cut a dapper figure, coordinating in a grey jumper and black jeans.

Proud parents: The TOWIE star, 30, and her 35-year-old beau looked in good spirits as they took their daughter Evie for a spin

Milking it! Accentuating her stature with knee-high boots and wearing her ombre hair perfectly blow-dried, the preened reality star looked perfectly made up

The duo explored the show, admiring the latest baby bottle gadgets.

In September Maria welcomed her first child after a 'complicated birth'.

The former TOWIE star was pictured leaving the hospital after giving birth to a baby girl named Evie Paris Batey with boyfriend Kelvin.

Matching: Her flame cut a dapper figure, coordinating in a grey jumper and black jeans

Experts: The duo explored the show, admiring the latest baby bottle gadgets

The brunette's partner Kevlin confirmed the baby joy on social media, revealing that mother and baby were 'OK now.'

He tweeted: 'Finally got my girls home after a complicated birth. So proud of the both of them and thankful things are ok now. Evie Paris Batey 25/9/16.'

To the gushing announcement, the motocross racer added: 'To meet my soulmate & be lucky enough to start a family with her is the best thing that has ever happened to me. nothing can compare. so happy.'

Brave: In September Maria welcomed her first child after a 'complicated birth'

Doting dad: The brunette's partner Kevlin confirmed the baby joy on social media, revealing that mother and baby were 'OK now' last month

New pictures of reality TV star Maria leaving the maternity ward show her smiling as she cuddles a newborn swaddled in pink blankets and a matching hat.

Maria and her boyfriend announced their pregnancy news on Mother's Day, back in March.

She said: 'I would like to announce that we are welcoming a new addition to our little family later this year... Baby Batey. So happy! X'

Happy news! Maria and her boyfriend announced their pregnancy news on Mother's Day, back in March

Earlier this year: She said: 'I would like to announce that we are welcoming a new addition to our little family later this year... Baby Batey. So happy! X'

The cute post on Instagram was accompanied by a picture of the couple's feet in matching trainers, as well as an empty pair of baby size shoes sandwiched between.

Hinting that they had already started a family, their sweet sausage dog was pictured in the group shot, too.

Maria recently revealed that her pregnancy pains were so intense they had left her on crutches.

Baby joy: Maria documented her pregnancy throughout the year

Last month, she was losing her mobility due to SPD - symphysis pubis dysfunction - which causes pelvic pain but is not harmful to the baby.

She admitted: 'Can barely walk now due to SPD and severe pain, I know it will all be worth it but this is so hard.'

Kelvin revealed he hated watching her struggle as he tweeted: 'I'm not one for online personal stuff but after 39 weeks of pregnancy and into week 40, I want to say how proud I am of @MariaFowler. Amazing X.'
She is regarded as one of Australia's most successful Hollywood exports.

And Rose Byrne, 37, paid homage to her Aussie roots by bounding like a kangaroo in a photo shared by her partner Bobby Cannavale on Saturday.

Taking to Instagram, the 46-year-old uploaded a hilarious snap of Rose bounding through the air jubilantly with both arms outstretched, as she explored the outdoor artworks of Sydney's Sculptures By The Sea exhibition.

Welcome home! Rose Byrne, 37, paid homage to her Down Under roots by bounding like a kangaroo in a photo shared by her partner Bobby Cannavale on Saturday

Clad in a parker, leggings and running shoes, Byrne looked ready for action as she pulled an open-mouth grin in front of two Kangaroo signs.

In the caption, he simply wrote: 'Australia got the cutest girls' before tagging Rose.

Fans were titillated by the cute photo, with one commenting: 'Hahaha good one! Look at the people in the back watching.'

Cute couple! Rose and Bobby began dating in 2012, with Bobby confirming the relationship at the 2013 Emmy Awards during his acceptance speech

'Amen to that, brother,' wrote another.

Rose and Bobby began dating in 2012, with Bobby confirming the relationship at the 2013 Emmy Awards.

During his acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, he said: 'And I want to thank the love of my life, Rose.'

Loved up: Rose's Emmy-winning actor boyfriend Bobby Cannavale had treated her to a romantic birthday dinner two days earlier, uploading a sweet snap of the couple to Insatgram to mark the occasion

The actor recently treated his partner to a romantic birthday dinner to mark the Aussie beauty's 37th birthday.

While the pair are not married, they welcomed their first child together, Rocco, this past February.

Boardwalk Empire alum Bobby has one other son from a previous relationship.

The couple have also acted alongside each other in multiple films.
She's one of Australia's most esteemed journalists, with enormous success in both print and television.

But Lisa Wilkinson isn't a fan of all forms of media, with the Today host admitting that she has 'real concerns' when it comes to social media.

'Just taking selfies and waiting to see if the world likes you has real issues,' the 56-year-old told Stellar magazine when discussing the possible dangers of young people and children using Instagram.

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'Just taking selfies and waiting to see if the world likes you has real issues:' Lisa Wilkinson expressed her concerns regarding Instagram and social media to Stellar magazine

She continued: 'Social media is something parents really have to be across because it can destroy confidence if its not properly managed.'

The mother-of-three added that she didn't let her own kids use social media until they were 16.

The TV presenter shares two sons and a daughter with media personality Peter John FitzSimons.

Protective: The mother-of-three says she banned her kids from social media until they were 16

The couple have been married for over two decades.

Lisa is currently an ambassador for camera company Canon.

As part of the partnership, the brunette beauty has photographed a series of portraits of 'inspiring Australian women' for a new exhibition.

Say cheese! Lisa has photographed Deborra-Lee Furness and Asher Keddie for a new Canon campaign

Some of the subjects include actresses Asher Keddie and Deborra-Lee Furness, and athlete and burns survivor Turia Pitt.

'Can't tell you how thrilled I am that so many amazing women trusted me behind the lens...but also feeling very nervous about it all,' Lisa wrote on Instagram shortly after the shoot.

The exhibition is currently scheduled to open in Melbourne next week.
She's a dedicated mother-of-two.

And Stacey Solomon fulfilled her mummy duties as she attended UK premiere of Kate & Mim in Soho on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Loose Women panellist worked understated elegance in an all-black ensemble.

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Yummy mummy: Stacey Solomon fulfilled her mummy duties as she attended UK premiere of Kate & Mim in Soho on Saturday

Coordinating a black poloneck jumper with matching capri pants, she layered her ensemble with a pale grey full-length trench coat.

The former Apprentice star accentuated her statuesque figure with a pair of stylish cut-out court shoes with ankle straps.

And completing her well put-together look, she wore her blonde tresses perfectly blow-dried.

Mum duties: Imogen Thomas also put in an appearance, looking every inch the stylish mum in leather pants, trainers and a sparkly top

Imogen Thomas also put in an appearance, looking every inch the stylish mum in leather pants, trainers and a sparkly top.

The 33-year-old former Miss Wales brought her adorable daughters to the event, who looked cute in warm wintery ensembles.

Also at the event were former WAG Lizzie Cundy and Gogglebox star Sandi Channer who looked stylish in all-black ensembles.

Chic: The 27-year-old Loose Women panellist worked understated elegance in an all-black ensemble

Trio: The 33-year-old former Miss Wales brought her adorable daughters to the event, who looked cute in warm wintery ensembles

Meanwhile Imogen Thomas recently discussed her weight loss tips with Ok! magazine, revealing: 'Cold water and lemon. Its REALLY good for burning fat  and in fact, I used to drink that literally all the time.

'Ive always got a lemon in my fridge  its just really, really good. Recently Ive been overindulging big time  cake and wine, sometimes twice a week. Its the London life, and Im just enjoying myself for now!

'Ive still got big hips, Im not a fan of my hips at all. I think theyre really wide and I cant do anything about it. I still want to lose another six pounds.'

Imogen is mother to daughters Ariana, two, and 11-month-old Siera with her Australian partner Adam Horsley - who is adamant he is happy with two.

Leather lady: Former WAG Lizzie Cundy looked stylish in an all-black ensemble

She confessed: 'I think I would like another one, but my boyfriend is adamant that its a no. I do understand what hes saying, as we are just trying to get our lives back, so I think I will just have my two girls.'

Imogen previously revealed she has been subject to cruel comments on social media regarding her post-pregnancy frame.

She explained to Star Magazine earlier this year: 'Its a really sad world we live in. Nobody should be body-shaming because everyone is different.

'Ive just had a baby! I dont understand these people - they clearly havent had babies.

'(The things people say) can get me down if Im in a bad mood, but it doesnt affect how I see myself. I wouldnt lose weight because of what anyone says. Id only lose weight for myself. Unless youre perfect, dont bother criticising me.'
They both earned Oscar nominations after starring together in 2014 drama Wild, later reuniting for HBO's upcoming dark comedy Big Little Lies.

And Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern certainly seem to have bonded from those projects, as they were seen grabbing lunch together on Friday.

The 40-year-old Draper James founder and her co-star turned friend, 49, showed off smiles while out in Brentwood, California together.

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Close co-stars! Wild and Big Little Lies castmates Reese Witherspoon (L) and Laura Dern (R) grabbed lunch together in Brentwood, California on Friday

Reese wore a loose-fitting, short-sleeved navy blue T-shirt, coupled with the Love Field Knoxville Pant from her Draper James line ($165).

The mother-of-three teamed those with a pair of chunky, navy blue heels, and carried a monogrammed, straw purse.

She wore her long, blonde tresses in a side part, and styled straight, and kept her make-up natural for the girls' outing.

Reese accessorized with gold jewelry, and hid her eyes behind a stylish pair of black sunglasses.

Coordinating: The Oscar nominated duo both sported navy blue for the girls' outing

They make a good team! Laura and Reese earned acclaim for their roles in 2014's Wild, later reuniting for HBO's upcoming dark comedy Big Little Lies

Laura coordinated in a short-sleeved, navy blue top, which featured a bright purple chain pattern throughout.

She coupled those with a pair of skintight, dark wash jeans, which highlighted her toned pins, finishing off the look with red ballet flats.

The mother-of-two wore her blonde locks in a side part, and styled straight, also hiding her eyes behind black sunglasses.

Girls' day! Laura and Reese chatted while grabbing lunch in Brentwood, before doing a bit of shopping together

Lost in conversation: The in-demand actresses kept close as they chatted while out in Brentwood on Friday

She accessorized with dangling earrings, and carried a small, navy blue purse with red piping, and a gold chain.

The duo looked to be in good spirits as they grabbed lunch together before doing a bit of shopping.

After their critically acclaimed work in Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed's bestselling book, Reese and Laura reunited as co-workers for HBO's new dark comedy.

Can't hide her smile! The blonde beauty showed off a big grin as she stopped by the valet stand

Standing by her brand! Reese wore a pair of patterned trousers from her Draper James brand for lunch, the Love Field Knoxville Pant, which retail for $165

Big Little Lies is based off of Liane Moriarty's popular novel of the same name, and depicts the twists and turns surrounding a group of moms whose perfect lives begin to unravel.

Reese is an executive producer on the star-studded new series, which also features Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Scott, Sarah Baker, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, and Shailene Woodley.
It's a classic Kardashian pose, complete with the Kim-worthy caption 'angles'.

But with the attention-loving reality star shunning publicity in the wake of her traumatic Paris heist, it fell to model Irina Shayk to do the honours.

And the beauty didn't disappoint as she snapped a picture of her rear in the mirror, while wearing a black bathing suit.

'Angles': Irina Shayk does a Kim Kardashian as she shares a picture of her swimsuit-clad behind on Instagram on Saturday

The original: Kim Kardashian started the belfie craze with this now iconic image

Perhaps the image was intended for boyfriend Bradley Cooper. But Irina obviously decided it was too good to keep to herself, posting to Instagram on Saturday morning.

In the image the 30-year-old holds her phone in her hand, with the flash obscuring her face.

Instead her behind takes centre stage, with the image reminiscent of the Kueen of Instagram Kim's much-copied 'belfie'.

Stunner: This year alone, Irina has covered Vogue Turkey, Vogue Japan, and Vogue Germany, and in the past has taken the front of the brand's Mexico, Spain, and Brazil publications

Irina and her A-list older man just enjoyed a fun-filled trip to the Desert Trip festival in Palm Springs, California, along with a diverse group of friends including Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson.

The Russian model and 41-year-old actor love nothing more than a vacation, and spent their summer jetting around Europe and beyond, sunning themselves in a series of idyllic spots.

Still, their enviable lifestyle doesn't mean Irina isn't working hard.
Laura Whitmore has been forced to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing due to an ankle injury.

The 31-year-old TV presenter will not be performing her jive with partner Giovanni Pernice after being advised by the show's doctors to rest.

Taking to Twitter today, the Irish beauty said: 'Absolutely Devastated... It was a decision taken out of my hands. If it was my choice, I'd be on the dance floor doing my jive with Gio.

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Devastated: Laura Whitmore has been forced to pull out of Strictly come dancing due to an ankle injury

Bowing out: The 31-year-old TV presenter will not be performing her jive with partner Giovanni Pernice after being advised by the show's doctors to rest her injured joint

'This was by far my favourite dance. We all train really hard. All of us dancing have aches and pains and I didn't realise the severity of my injury until it was too late. I'm sorry to let you all down.

The TV presenter went on: 'My priority is to follow the doctors instructions to get myself on my feet again without permanent damage and do the thing I love the most. Dancing! Thanks to all my fellow contestants for the support they've given me in the last 24hrs.' (sic)

Strictly bosses confirmed the news this afternoon and said the dancing couple will get a pass into next week's show.

The statement said: 'Laura Whitmore will not perform on tonight's Strictly Come Dancing due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in the week.

Shock: Taking to Twitter today, the Irish beauty said she was 'absolutely devastated'

Overdid it? Brendan Cole, who is dancing alongside singer Anastacia, has spent the entire week away from training, on rest after contracting a lung infection at the end of last week

Confirmed: A Strictly spokesperson confirmed the news this afternoon and said the dancing couple will get a pass into next week's show

'She has been checked by a doctor and the medical team on site and they have advised that she rests her ankle and does not dance this weekend.

'As per the rules of Strictly Come Dancing - because Laura and Giovanni cannot dance on tonight's show - they will receive a bye through to next week and the show will continue with a public vote as per usual.

They added: 'We wish Laura a very speedy recovery.'

Laura has dropped out amid claims a mystery virus has struck down six of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals.

Anastacia's partner Brendan Cole will not appear on Saturday's show after doctors said he had to rest to avoid contracting pneumonia.

Struck down: Katya Jones (pictured with partner Ed Balls) is said to be struck down with illness

Bedbound: DJ Melvin Odoom's partner Janette, 32, was forced to miss the premiere of Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher as she rested on Thursday

And now Katya Jones, Janette Manrara, Neil Jones, Aljaz Skorjanec and Anton du Beke are said to be suffering flu-like symptoms.

A source told The Sun: 'Preparations for this weekend have been hampered by this horrendous virus sweeping through the pros.

'Brendan has spent the entire week away from training on doctor's orders, and won't be performing on Saturday night's show.

The insider added: 'Producers are now concerned some of the other pros could be following in his footsteps. They have to rehearse and dance very intimately. And at the moment they are dropping like flies.'

Under the weather: Aljaz Skorjanec, who dances with Daisy Lowe, is also named as being one of the ill pros

Happier times: Laura will have to rest instead of performing on tonight's Strictly

Ed Balls' 22-year-old partner Katya - who couldn't speak on It Takes Two after losing her voice - reportedly took several breaks while struggling during rehearsals.

And DJ Melvin Odoom's partner Janette, 32, was forced to miss the premiere of Tom Cruise thriller Jack Reacher as she rested on Thursday.

A show insider, however, said the claims of illness had been exaggerated, telling MailOnline: 'I can assure you that there is no "horrendous virus" sweeping through the pros!'
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It's one of the best loved films of all time and boasts a whopping nine Oscars.

So it's little wonder The English Patient stars were happy to celebrate the romantic war drama's 20th anniversary in style, enjoying a fun-filled red carpet reunion at the Rome Film Festival on Saturday night.

Kristin Scott Thomas, 56, was leading the glamour in a colour block shift dress in striking shades of pink and green as she arrived at Auditorium Parco Della Musica in Italy.

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Red carpet reunion: Kristin Scott Thomas (left) was leading the glamour in a colour block shift dress at the at the Rome Film Festival on Saturday night, where she reunited with her The English Patient co-stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (R)

The award-winning actress looked incredibly chic in the vibrant number, cut to mid calf and featuring long sleeves.

Ever understated and elegant, the striking star completed her attire with a black clutch bag and a pair of peep toe heels.

Juliette, 52, opted for an equally colourful ensemble, donning a powder blue suit with a quirky 80s vibe.

Snap happy: Ralph, Kristin and Juliette commemorated the moment in style, taking selfies as they walked the red carpet

Original gang: Producer Paul Zaentz and actor Julian Wadham joined the trio at the very special screening, marking the epic love story's 20th anniversary release date

Pretty in pink: The award-winning actress looked incredibly chic in the vibrant number, featuring long sleeves

The funky ensemble was set off by a pair of silver T-bar heels and a big smile.

Ralph, 53, joined his glamorous co-stars on the red carpet, looking dashing in a dark suit and sporting a full beard.

The English actor looked thrilled to be there, posing for selfies with Juliette and Kristen, much to the amusement of onlookers.

Making an entranc: The trio held hands as they strode down the red carpet, enjoying every minute as they relived the glory of the original 1996 film

Chic: Ever understated and elegant, Kristin completed her attire with a black clutch bag and a pair of peep toe heels

Close bond: It was plain to see the friendship was still there between the cast member after all these years

Glam: Kristen added a touch of sparkle to her look thanks to a glittering cocktail ring and gold bangles

The trio held hands as they strode down the red carpet, enjoying every minute as they relived the glory of the original 1996 film.

The English Patient was directed by Anthony Minghella, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ondaatje.

The critically-acclaimed film received 12 nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, eventually winning nine, including Best Picture, Best Director for Minghella and Best Supporting Actress for Juliette.

Classic film: The English Patient was directed by Anthony Minghella, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ondaatje

Award-winning: The critically-acclaimed film received 12 nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, eventually winning nine, including Best Picture, Best Director for Minghella and Best Supporting Actress for Juliette

Kristen recently opened up about the love story that remains her best known work to date.

She told The Guardian: 'The success of the film was thrilling. I watched it not long ago.

'It was definitely one of my favourite films to do. It was made from the heart, with integrity, and its beautiful.'
Laura Whitmore is reportedly unable to stand because she's in so much pain from the ankle injury that forced her to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing.

Doctors told the 31-year-old TV presenter to rest on Saturday, fearing that she could do 'permanent damage' to her ankle.

A show insider said the pain caused by her swollen ligament is now so bad that she can't get up.

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Pain: Laura Whitmore is reportedly unable to stand because she's in so much pain from the ankle injury that forced her to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing

Bedbound: Doctors told the 31-year-old TV presenter to rest on Saturday, fearing that she could do 'permanent damage' to her ankle

'She's seen two physios and two medics over the past 24 hours and at 4.15 today show bosses took the decision she could not perform,' an insider told the Sunday Mirror.

'It is really enflamed. She's had to keep it elevated and she's being given pain killers.

'She is absolutely gutted. She's been in floods of tears because she was so excited to be performing,' the source added.

MailOnline has contacted Laura's representatives for comment.

Laura was given a bye into he next round after doctors stopped her from performing.

Devastated: Speaking on the show with dance partner Giovanni Pernice, she revealed how 'gutted' she was to be missing out

Struggle: An insider said that the pain caused by her swollen ligament was so bad that she couldn't get up

Speaking on the show with dance partner Giovanni Pernice, she revealed how 'gutted' she was to be missing out.

And taking to Twitter today, the Irish beauty said: 'Absolutely Devastated... It was a decision taken out of my hands. If it was my choice, I'd be on the dance floor doing my jive with Gio.

'This was by far my favourite dance. We all train really hard. All of us dancing have aches and pains and I didn't realise the severity of my injury until it was too late. I'm sorry to let you all down.

Devastated: Viewers were surprised when it was announced at the last minute that she wouldn't be taking part in the competition

Bowing out: The 31-year-old TV presenter didn't get to perform her jive with partner Giovanni

The TV presenter went on: 'My priority is to follow the doctors instructions to get myself on my feet again without permanent damage and do the thing I love the most. Dancing! Thanks to all my fellow contestants for the support they've given me in the last 24hrs.' (sic)

Strictly bosses confirmed the news this afternoon and said the dancing couple will get a pass into next week's show.

The statement said: 'Laura Whitmore will not perform on tonight's Strictly Come Dancing due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in the week.

Shock: Taking to Twitter today, the Irish beauty said she was 'absolutely devastated'

Overdid it? Brendan Cole, who is dancing alongside singer Anastacia, has spent the entire week away from training, on rest after contracting a lung infection at the end of last week

Confirmed: A Strictly spokesperson confirmed the news this afternoon and said the dancing couple will get a pass into next week's show

'She has been checked by a doctor and the medical team on site and they have advised that she rests her ankle and does not dance this weekend.

'As per the rules of Strictly Come Dancing - because Laura and Giovanni cannot dance on tonight's show - they will receive a bye through to next week and the show will continue with a public vote as per usual.

They added: 'We wish Laura a very speedy recovery.'
UN says Syria army used chemical weapons in Qmenas in 2015

The Syrian army attacked the village of Qmenas with chemical weapons in March 2015, UN experts said in a report released Friday.

But they were unable to determine who was responsible for two other chemical weapons attacks -- against Binnish in Idlib province in March 2015 and Kafr Zita in Hama province in April 2014.

The report was presented Friday to the UN Security Council.

A Free Syrian Army rebel stands guard in the north Syrian city of Binnish Bulent Kilic (AFP/File)

The UN-led joint investigative mechanism (JIM) in late August reported that Syrian government forces had carried out at least two chemical attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State jihadists had used mustard gas as a weapon.

Of the nine total alleged chemical attacks it is considering in its ongoing probe, the JIM has now attributed three to the Syrian government and one to the Islamic State group.

In its fourth report, investigators concluded that there is now "sufficient information" that the attack on Qmenas "was caused by a Syrian Arab Armed Forces helicopter dropping a device from a high altitude which hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population."

Investigators say the substance may have been chlorine gas, based on the symptoms the victims displayed.

In Kafr Zita, however, the JIM could not confirm that the Syrian army had used barrel bombs to dump toxic substances because "the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed," the report said.

Investigators also said that a "canister with traces of chlorine" was found in Binnish, though the container could not be "linked to any of several incident locations identified."

The inquiry's mandates was extended until October 31 to finish the probe.

Governments in Paris, London and Washington have already called for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, including against the regime in Damascus.

But the Syrian government has been shielded by its ally Russia, which has questioned the JIM findings and said the evidence is not conclusive enough to warrant sanctions.
Massive crowds sing royal tribute to late Thai king

Tens of thousands of black-clad Thais converged on Bangkok's Grand Palace on Saturday to sing the royal anthem in a striking display of devotion to the recently deceased King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The monarch, who died on October 13 following years of poor health, was seen as a moral icon and rare figure of unity in a kingdom dogged by corruption and political turmoil.

His death has plunged the nation into grief, with the government declaring a one-year mourning period and urging the public to don black and dial down all festivities for at least 30 days.

Thousands of mourners clad in black gather in front of the Grand Palace to pay respects to the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok on October 22, 2016 Lillian Suwanrumpha (AFP)

Crowds have been massing outside his glittering Bangkok palace for the past week, with many journeying from far away provinces to pay respects to a man celebrated as the father of the nation.

Some have pitched tents on a large grassy field outside the royal compound, while others have slept on simple bamboo mats.

On Saturday, a sea of black filled the parade field and surrounding streets as tens of thousands of Thais stood to sing the royal anthem alongside a professional orchestra and choir.

Many held up portraits or bank notes bearing Bhumibol's face as they sang, some through tears.

"The atmosphere is amazing," said Sethabutra Biraseranee, who like most was dressed in all black despite Bangkok's sweltering midday sun.

"As you can see, all these people here came just to pay their respects to him, which shows how great he was."

- Uncertain future -

Public displays of mass devotion have been encouraged by Thailand's arch-royalist military rulers, who grabbed power in a 2014 coup many believe was staged to ensure a smooth succession.

Bhumibol served as an anchor of stability during his 70-year reign and his passing thrusts the kingdom into an uncertain future.

Little is known about what the heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, will do with a crown that is granted few legal powers but became a position of vast influence under Bhumibol's charismatic reign.

In a move that surprised many, the 64-year-old asked to delay his proclamation as king in order to grieve with the nation, according to junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who has presided over the transition.

The regime has not provided a clear timeline for when the prince will formally ascend the throne.

Bhumibol charmed Thais with his reputation as a hard-working monarch who eschewed a lavish lifestyle and dedicated himself to rural development projects, tromping up mountains and through jungles to meet his subjects and listen to their concerns.

The crown prince, who has been attending to Buddhist funeral rights along with his siblings, is known for a flashier lifestyle and has spent much of his life overseas.

While the outpouring of grief over Bhumibol's death has been overwhelmingly sober and dignified, it has also unleashed small pockets of ultra-monarchist forces that have shamed, mobbed and in some cases beaten Thais seen as criticising the monarchy.

The government has condemned this vigilantism but stepped up its own surveillance of royal defamation -- a crime that carries 15 years in jail per offence under the kingdom's lese majeste law.

The legislation has seen scores of Thais thrown behind bars -- sometimes for decades -- for perceived slights against the monarchy.

All media based inside the country must heavily self-censor to avoid violating the law, which has been wielded with renewed vigour by the junta.

A mourner clad in black carries a painting of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej to the Grand Palace in Bangkok on October 22, 2016 Lillian Suwanrumpha (AFP)

Thailand royal family Gal ROMA, Laurence CHU (AFP)
Sulphur cloud from IS-torched Iraq plant kills two civilians

Toxic fumes released when jihadists torched a sulphur plant near Mosul have killed two Iraqi civilians, made many ill and forced US troops at a nearby base to wear masks.

Qayyarah hospital has checked at least 500 people complaining of breathing problems over the past two days but officials announced Saturday that the fire had been extinguished.

"Daesh blew up the sulphur plant two days ago and that has led to the deaths of two people among the civilians in nearby villages," Iraqi General Qusay Hamid Kadhem told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group (IS).

Iraqi forces hold a position near the village of Tall al-Tibah, some 30 kilometres south of Mosul, during an operation to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on October 21, 2016 Ahmad Al-Rubaye (AFP)

The senior officer of the interior ministry's elite rapid response force said "many others were injured as a result of the toxic smoke."

According to security and health sources in the area, where tens of thousands of Iraqi forces are involved in a massive offensive to wrest Mosul back from IS, the group torched at least part of the Mishraq sulphur factory on Wednesday.

The blast released toxic fumes that were seen and felt by residents in the area and, early on Saturday, by forces and reporters around Qayyarah, one of the main staging bases of the anti-IS operation south of Mosul.

On Saturday morning, a haze of white smoke covered the Qayyarah base, making anything more than a few hundred metres away difficult to see.

It made people present in the area cough and their eyes water.

On the road north from Qayyarah, a huge column of white smoke marked the site of the sulphur factory fire, while black smoke rose from burning oil wells set alight by IS.

At the rudimentary health centre in Qayyarah, Doctor Khairi Awad said around 500 cases of people of all ages complaining of breathing problems had been recorded.

"They were treated with oxygen and eight cases were transferred to Makhmur hospital because we don't have the capabilities to handle more serious cases," he told AFP by phone.

General Kadhem admitted that the toxic fumes were also having an impact on military operations: "Of course, this is affecting our planned progress."

- US measures on nearby base -

A US official in Baghdad told reporters that American forces stationed at the main staging base of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, had taken out their gas masks as a precaution.

"There is a sulphur plant near Q-West," the military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

IS militants "found a storage pile of sulphur" and set it on fire, he said. "This caused a very large smoke plume."

The official explained that the wind had recently turned and started blowing the toxic cloud towards Qayyarah.

"There are people who have chosen to wear their protective gear," he said, playing down the risk and stressing that only basic protective equipment was being used.

"Nobody is hurt at this point," he added, referring to US personnel on the base.

"As a precaution, coalition personnel at sites affected by the smoke have been directed to limit their activity outdoors," a coalition statement said later Saturday.

"The enemy has used chemical weapons in the past, and we're going to make sure we are taking every measure to mitigate the risk to our forces," said Major General Gary J. Volesky, commander of the coalition's land component.

"Force protection is my number one priority here," he said in a separate statement, which also announced that 24,000 protective chemical masks had been distributed to Iraqi forces during training in preparation for the Mosul offensive.

US officials said samples were sent to a lab to determine "what, if any, concerns may result from this incident."

The sulphur release was believed to have been much smaller than that caused at the same plant in June 2003.

A member of Iraqi forces gestures as troops head to the frontline on October 18, 2016 near the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, during the operation to recapture the city from the Islamic State group Bulent Kilic (AFP/File)
Egypt appeals court upholds Morsi 20-year sentence

An Egyptian appeals court upheld on Saturday a 20-year sentence for ousted president Mohamed Morsi, the first final ruling in a string of trials for the deposed Islamist leader.

The Court of Cassation also upheld sentences against eight of his codefendants, including seven who received the same prison term and one who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a judicial official said.

Morsi had been convicted in April 2015 of involvement in deadly clashes outside the presidential palace during his year in power.

Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi, pictured in June at a court in Cairo Mohamed El-Shahed (AFP/File)

His supporters and protesters had clashed after he issued a decree that placed his decisions beyond judicial review, sparking anger that culminated in mass protests against him in June and July 2013.

The military deposed him on July 3 that year, and he has faced several trials since.

His lawyers are appealing a death sentence in one of his trials, on charges of participating in prison breaks and violence against policemen during the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's first freely elected civilian president, Morsi came to power after Mubarak's overthrow.

Morsi's lawyer, Abdelmoneim Abdel Maqsud, said none of the defendants attended Saturday's court session, with only the lawyers present.

Four other codefendants were initially sentenced in absentia and could not appeal the ruling.

Amnesty International denounced the initial trial as a "travesty of justice".

Morsi was toppled by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass street protests.
Libya forces free 13 foreigners from IS: statement

Forces loyal to Libya's unity government on Saturday freed 13 foreigners held by the Islamic State group in its former coastal bastion of Sirte, they said.

Loyalists freed a Turkish and an Egyptian detainee as well as 11 Eritrean women "thought to have been held hostage by Daesh", they said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Pro-government forces are fighting the last jihadists holed up in Sirte after launching an offensive to retake the city in May.

Forces loyal to Libya's unity government pictured in the city of Sirte, east of the capital Tripoli, during a military operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the city, on October 14, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)

Libya has been in chaos with rival administrations and militia vying for power of the oil-rich country since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

IS jihadists overran the former president's home town of Sirte in June 2015, flying their black flags above public buildings and imprisoning, crucifying or beheading dozens of people.

Forces allied with Libya's UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNA) began an offensive on May 12 aimed at ousting IS from the city and surrounding areas.

Backed by US air strikes since August 1, they have gradually tightened the noose on the few remaining IS fighters inside the city some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital.

Pro-government forces on Saturday said they had seized a group of buildings in a northeastern district of Sirte after three days of fighting against IS diehards.

Six pro-GNA fighters were killed in the city on Saturday, the hospital Misrata half way between Tripoli and Sirte said in a statement.

The fighting has left more than 550 GNA fighters dead and 3,000 wounded since the offensive began, but the IS death toll is not known.

The GNA -- intended to replace two rival administrations -- is the centrepiece of Western hopes to fight jihadism in Libya and halt people trafficking across the Mediterranean that has led to thousands of drownings.
A week on US campaign trail: Trump makes waves in last debate

Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the race for the White House by suggesting -- before next month's vote even takes place -- he may not accept the presidential election results if he loses.

Hillary Clinton, gaining momentum, came out ahead in the two rivals' last debate and Americans are now eager for one thing alone: to get one of the most bitter US electoral campaigns in history between two of its most unpopular candidates over with once and for all.

With just over two weeks to go before election day on November 8, here's a brief overview of this week on the campaign trail:

Speaking during the final presidential debate in Las Vegas, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested he may not recognize the outcome of the election and vowed "suspense" instead Saul Loeb (AFP/File)

- A third debate for the history books -

The third and last presidential debate on Wednesday had started out as Trump's best performance on stage when going toe-to-toe against hyper-prepared Clinton, with him even managing to dodge some of her bait.

But then, with millions watching on television, the Republican White House candidate sailed into another political tempest, defiantly threatening not to recognize the outcome of the election and vowing "suspense" instead.

Clinton declared herself "appalled" by what she said was an attack on 240 years of US democracy.

President Barack Obama later weighed in, saying the comment "undermines our democracy."

Trump backpedaled on Thursday, saying he would accept a "clear" result, but added: "I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result."

But the harm had already been done, adding to Republicans' worries that not only are their chances of winning back the White House from Obama's Democrats slipping away, there could also be significant impact on other races on the ballot, threatening the Republicans' majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

- Barack, Michelle, Bill... All of Hillary's surrogates out on the trail -

Clinton, who polls show has an increasingly solid lead nationally and an edge in several key battleground states, said she was "relieved and very grateful" after most analysts agreed she had won the third debate -- along with the previous two.

In this final stretch, Clinton isn't pulling any punches, with Democratic heavyweights stumping for her.

From Obama and his wife Michelle to Vice President Joe Biden, husband Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea, once-bitter primary rival Bernie Sanders and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine -- all campaigned on her behalf this week in key states and even in Arizona, historically a solidly Republican state but one that may now be within reach for Clinton.

- In Utah, third-party candidate upstaging Trump -

Three months ago, Evan McMullin was an unknown figure. But this independent 40-year-old candidate who entered the race only in August is shaking up traditionally Republican Utah, where he is surging against Trump.

An Emerson poll this week found the ex-CIA agent, who is Mormon, scored 31 percent support, against 27 percent for Trump and 24 percent for Clinton in the state.

"In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it's time for a generation of new leadership to step up," McMullin said on his website.

"It's never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us."

If he wins in Utah, it would be the first time since 1964 that a Republican loses this conservative state, where 62 percent of the population is affiliated with the Mormon Church.

- Election Day cannot come too soon -

Many Americans made their choice a long time ago in this brutal campaign, and have major election fatigue after months of insults and personal attacks.

And most voters like neither Trump nor Clinton.

The campaign has made its mark. Some 52 percent of adults said they were very or relatively stressed by this electoral season, according to the American Psychological Association.

Democrats and Republicans, for once, agreed: 55 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans said the campaign was a source of stress. They also largely said that social networks -- with their constant streams of updates -- add to the stress.

Key quotes from the third TV debate between Democratic nominee, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee, Donald Trump Laurence Chu, Gal Roma (AFP/File)
Rally urges Britain to find solution in Syria

Around 150 people rallied in central London on Saturday calling for Britain to take decisive action to end the five-year war in Syria.

They piled up teddy bears outside Downing Street to symbolise the number of young casualties in the battered city of Aleppo from a recent surge in violence.

They also delivered a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May's 10 Downing Street office demanding she take action to help cease the bloodshed.

Demonstrators during a protest calling on the British government to take action to protect the children of the Syrian city of Aleppo outside Downing Street in central London on October 22, 2016 Daniel Leal-Olivas (AFP)

"We're here today to send a very strong message to Theresa May that what's happening in Aleppo just cannot continue," said James Sadri, director of The Syria Campaign, which calls for humanitarian action in the war-ravaged country.

"There's 100,000 children living under siege in eastern Aleppo being bombed every day. We need that to stop," he told AFP.

Hundreds of wounded civilians were stranded in rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Saturday as the United Nations said security concerns were again preventing evacuations despite Russia extending a ceasefire into a third day.

Demonstrators in London waved placards reading "May: stop Putin", "Child murder is a war crime" and "Save Aleppo's children".

They chanted: "Down with Bashar al-Assad! Down with dictators!"

Bert Wander, campaign director with the activist group Avaaz, told AFP: "They could impose sanctions on relevant parts of the Russian economy -- for example, military equipment.

"They could also up diplomatic pressure. It's been limp, frankly, so far. There's so much more that could be done in terms of putting pressure on the Russians to back down."

Wael Aleji, a spokesman for the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said: "The UK can step up efforts and push for a UN General Assembly resolution to override the Russian and Chinese veto at the UN Security Council."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday asked the Security Council to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged that those behind the attacks be placed under sanctions.
2,400 migrants rescued, 14 die, off Libya

Horrific scenes unfolded in the Mediterranean off Libya Saturday as a full-to-capacity rescue ship was forced to sail away from desperate migrants trying to swim towards the rescuers.

During a dramatic 24 hours, the crew of the Norwegian Siem Pilot and another aid boat rescued panicked migrants in the dark, with only limited resources and in the face of aggressive people smugglers.

Around 2,400 migrants were rescued and 14 dead bodies pulled from the water on Saturday, according to the Italian coastguard.

Migrants arrive in Vibo Marina, after a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea during which nine people drowned, ten were missing and nearly 1000 were rescued Yara Nardi (Italian Red Cross/AFP/File)

"I've never had a SAR (search and rescue) like it. We were in the process of transferring 1,000 migrants from the Okyroe (tanker) to the Siem Pilot when suddenly, in the dark, rubber boats appeared. It looked hopeless," said Pal Erik Teigen, the police officer in charge of the rescue operation.

Migrants aboard one of the rubber boats that had yet to be rescued desperately sought to reach the rescue ship, which by that point was full to capacity and unable to take on more passengers, motoring towards it while crying out for help.

Around 25 people threw themselves into the water to attempt to swim towards the Siem Pilot, forcing the captain to pull back to deter others on the dinghy from doing the same.

Speed boats from the Siem Pilot later pulled the migrants from the sea and the dinghy and transferred them onto the tanker to wait rescue by another vessel, while the Medecins Sans Frontieres charity's Dignity vessel picked up the dead.

Teigen and his team are just one part of a massive effort under way in the Mediterranean to rescue desperate migrants seeking to reach Europe.

Jan Erik Valen, an intelligence officer and crew member who provided security for the operation, part of the EU's Frontex border force mission in the region, described the panic that greeted him as he boarded the overloaded tanker during the initial rescue.

"It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them," he said.

"Then they came up from behind us and we had to call for back-up. Other police officers from the Siem Pilot joined us with riot shields... we were banging our sticks on pipes to make a lot of noise, and we had to hit a few of them."

Several of those who were rescued fainted during the operation and had to be dragged aboard the Siem Pilot.

"It was the craziest SAR I've ever experienced. At night-time, with a wooden boat, dinghies, people in the water, and a transfer from a tanker," said Valen.

One of the migrants passed a baby from a stricken inflatable launch into the hands of a rescuer.

The Siem Pilot team faced not just the extreme danger of the sea rescues, but also had to contend with confrontational people traffickers.

- 'I wasn't aware of the risks' -

"There was also a facilitator boat which was very aggressive all night. We used the ship's search light to scare it off but it was determined to try and retrieve the dinghies we had rescued the migrants from," said Teigen.

Following the night-time operation, conditions on board the dinghies deteriorated as temperatures soared and the crew was forced to stop any more migrants boarding the ship, according to an AFP journalist aboard the vessel.

Sat in tight rows on the bridge of the ship, the migrants -- mostly from sub-Saharan Africa along with a handful who said they were from Syria -- had only a thin sheet of webbing to protect them from the baking sun.

Many of them used orange blankets to cover their bodies while their soaked clothes dried nearby.

Among the migrants were several young children, as well as entire families and some unaccompanied teenagers.

Scuffles broke out between some of the male migrants who had been rescued prompting the captain to tell the men on the deck: "If you don't stop fighting I will disembark you from the boat!"

The number of people seeking to make the perilous journey has increased in recent weeks as migrants attempt to complete their journeys before winter brings treacherous conditions to the Mediterranean, limiting the opportunities for Europe-bound launches.

The Italian interior ministry said Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.

Up to 25 people are still missing, feared drowned after men on a Libyan coastguard speedboat attacked a packed migrant dinghy during a rescue operation on Friday off the north African state.

And onboard another rescue ship, the Acquarius which is being operated by the SOS Mediterranee charity, recently rescued migrants spoke out Saturday about the horrors they had endured in an effort to reach Europe.

"I wasn't aware of what I would have to go through along this journey... But I promise I would never do this journey again," said a tearful 33-year-old migrant from Guinea.

Another individual, a 30-year-old from Ivory Coast who had just been rescued, added: "I would never advise to anybody to do the trip that I have done to arrive here. Even to my worst enemy, I would never tell him to do this. I wasn't aware of the risks when I decided to leave."

During the rescue operation, crew member and security officer, Jan Eriok Valen said, "It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them" Yara Nardi (Italian Red Cross/AFP)
Iraq parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol

Iraq's parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.

Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam.

But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities.

Proponents of the ban on alcohol argue that it is justified by the Iraqi constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam

According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.

The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad as all eyes were on the north of the country, where forces involved in Iraq's biggest military operation in years are battling the Islamic State group and moving to retake the city of Mosul.

"A law was passed today and article 14 of that law bans the import, production and sale of all kinds of alcohol," Yonadam Kanna, a veteran Christian MP, told AFP on Saturday.

"Every violation of this law incurs a fine of 10 million to 25 million dinars (roughly $8,000 to $20,000)," he said.

Kanna vowed to appeal the law in a federal court.

Alcohol is rarely offered in restaurants and hotels in Iraq, but consumption is relatively widespread, especially in Baghdad where scores of small shops selling alcoholic beverages can be found.

Iraq also has companies producing various types of alcohol, such as Farida beer or Asriya arak (a regional anise-flavoured spirit).

Kanna was furious after the vote, issued a statement and went on television to argue against the new law.

- More drugs -

"This article of the law goes against the constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of minorities," he said.

Article 2 of the constitution says it "guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice" such as Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans.

Ammar Toma, an MP who voted in support of the ban, argued that it was the constitution that made it illegal to sell, produce or import alcoholic drinks.

"The constitution says you cannot approve a law that goes against Islam," he told AFP, referring to an article stating that "no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established."

Kanna and Toma also differed on the impact of a ban.

"This law will put people out of jobs, drug consumption will rise, the economy will be affected," said Kanna.

Observers say drug abuse has been on the rise in Iraq recently, especially in the southern city of Basra, where trafficking with neighbouring Iran is soaring and where alcohol is only found on the black market.

Toma, a Shiite MP from the Fadhila party, rejected Kanna's assessment and said "the effects of alcohol on society are great, and include depravation, terrorism and social problems."
UN urges renewal of Yemen truce as fighting rages

The UN envoy for Yemen called Saturday for the renewal of a 72-hour ceasefire in the country, though fighting has raged on between Shiite rebels and government forces despite the truce.

The ceasefire took effect just before midnight (2100 GMT) on Wednesday to allow aid deliveries in Yemen, where the war has killed thousands of people and left millions homeless and hungry, and ended officially at midnight Saturday.

"With the 72-hour Cessation of Hostilities in Yemen coming to an end, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed urges all parties to agree to its extension for at least another renewable 72 hours," said a statement posted on the envoy's Facebook page.

Despite the ceasefire, fierce gun battles have raged in Yemen between the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and pro-government forces over the past two days, according to military officials Mohammed Huwais (AFP/File)

Ahmed said the ceasefire was "largely holding despite reported violations from both sides in several areas."

"We noted over the last days that food and humanitarian supplies were provided to several affected neighborhoods and that UN personnel were able to reach areas that were previously inaccessible. We would like to build on this and we aim for a wider outreach in the next few days," he added.

Despite the ceasefire, fierce gun battles have raged between the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia over the past two days, according to military officials.

Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Huthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late Friday, a military official said.

The air raids came after Patriot missiles shot down two rebel missiles on Thursday over Marib, east of the rebel-held capital.

The UN envoy said Friday he was liaising with the parties in an attempt to extend the ceasefire in order "to create a conducive environment for a long-lasting peace" in Yemen.

He met late Friday with Yemen's Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Riyadh, Yemeni state media reported.

Ahmar said government forces were "exercising restraint" and stressed that there were orders to "abide by the truce and respect UN efforts".

But he accused the rebels of 449 violations within 24 hours after the ceasefire took effect.

Rebel-controlled media, meanwhile, accused the coalition of conducting air strikes across the country, including in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada and Jawf in the north, and Shabwa in the south.

- Drone strike -

A senior rebel, Hassan al-Sharafi, was killed in border clashes on Friday night in Saada province, the fiefdom of the Huthis, military officials said.

The rebels seized two hills in the Alb border area from government forces who had previously advanced from Saudi Arabia, a military official said.

Nine other rebels and four government soldiers were killed in clashes Saturday on the western outskirts of Midi, a northwestern town close to the Saudi border and the Red Sea coast, military officials said.

The fighting erupted when troops advanced towards Midi in an attempt to recapture it.

It is the sixth ceasefire attempt since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March last year to support Hadi's government after Huthis overran much of the impoverished country.

Nearly 6,900 people have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them civilians, while an additional three million are displaced and millions more need food aid.

Meanwhile, five suspected Al-Qaeda militants including a local chief were killed overnight Friday in a suspected US drone strike in Marib province east of Sanaa, a security official said.

They were in a vehicle that was targeted in the Wadi Obeida area.

Washington is the only government to operate drones over Yemen, but the United States rarely releases statements on its long-running bombing campaign against the country's powerful Al-Qaeda branch.

The United States considers Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

On Tuesday, eight Al-Qaeda suspects were killed in a similar drone strike in south Yemen.

Yemeni children play at a market in the old city of the capital Sanaa on October 21, 2016, as a fragile ceasefire takes place in the war-torn country Mohammed Huwais (AFP/File)
Syrian government blamed for 3rd chemical attack

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  An international team has determined that the Syrian government carried out a third chemical attack in the conflict-wracked nation, according to a report released late Friday.

In August, the team from the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog blamed President Bashar Assad's government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.

The team said at that time that three other attacks indicated possible government involvement.

In a report sent to the U.N. Security Council late Friday and seen by The Associated Press, the team said there was "sufficient evidence" to conclude that Syrian forces were responsible for one of the attacks in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015.

It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, "hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population." Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.

The team concluded, however, that there wasn't enough evidence to determine responsibility for the two other attacks.

The experts said they couldn't confirm the use of barrel bombs in Kfar Zita in Hama governorate on April 18, 2014, because the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed and couldn't be linked with certainty to the location.

They said additional witnesses corroborated that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish in Idlib governorate on March 24, 2015. But they said the exact time and location couldn't be established and the canister couldn't be linked to any of the incident locations.

The United States, Britain and France want the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons. But Russia, Syria's closest ally, said the evidence presented in the August report was not conclusive, and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin indicated that Moscow will oppose any sanctions.

The Security Council is expected to discuss the report on Thursday.

A year ago, the council established the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, known as the JIM, to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.

The JIM investigated nine cases in seven towns where an OPCW fact-finding mission found that chemical weapons had likely been used.

According to the August report, the JIM found the Syrian government responsible for two chlorine attacks in Idlib governorate  one in Talmenes on April 21, 2014, and one in Sarmin on March 16, 2015.
WHY IT MATTERS: Guns

ATLANTA (AP)  THE ISSUE: The right to bear arms is fundamental to the U.S., carved into the Constitution and seemingly embedded in the national DNA. But after a seemingly endless stretch of violence, Americans are confronting how far those rights extend, propelling gun issues to the forefront of this year's elections.

Do Americans have the right to have AR-style firearms, the long guns with a military look used in the past year in several mass shootings? Should they be able to buy magazines that hold 10 or more bullets? Can those on a terrorist watchlist, but not charged with a crime, be allowed to buy a gun? Should every gun buyer have to pass a background check?

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FILE - In this July 20, 2012, file photo, a row of different AR-15 style rifles are displayed for sale at the Firing-Line indoor range and gun shop in Aurora, Colo. The right to bear arms is fundamental to the U.S., carved into the Constitution and seemingly embedded in the national DNA. But after a seemingly endless stretch of violence, Americans are confronting how far those rights extend, propelling gun issues to the forefront of this years elections. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WHERE THEY STAND

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are like bookends marking the divide that exists in the U.S. today on gun issues.

Trump casts himself as an ardent protector of the Second Amendment and proclaims that if more "good guys" were armed with firearms there would be fewer gun tragedies. He even went a step further than the National Rifle Association after the Orlando nightclub shooting, suggesting that if it weren't a gun-free zone, a patron would have been able to stop the bloodshed. (The NRA, while supporting Trump, said it's not a good idea to allow firearms where alcohol is being served.)

Trump also has vowed that on his first day as president he would end gun-free zones at schools and on military bases. He also supports reciprocity among all 50 states for concealed-carry permits.

Clinton, whose husband as president successfully pushed for a 10-year ban on assault-type weapons, has advocated renewing that ban. She's also called for measures to ensure background checks are completed before a gun sale goes forward, mandating such checks for gun-show sales and repealing a law that shields gun manufacturers from liability.

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WHY IT MATTERS

The next president will get to nominate at least one member of a Supreme Court that's closely divided on how to read the Second Amendment, and the next Congress will continue to confront gun-rights issues.

Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February and will be replaced by a nominee from the next president, was the decisive vote in a Washington, D.C., case in which the court on a 5-4 vote affirmed the right of individuals to own handguns for self-defense.

Whatever gun policies a Clinton or Trump administration were to pursue would probably be challenged, and Scalia's replacement could be the pivotal vote. This year alone, for example, the court sided with gun control advocates to rule that people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes can be barred from owning weapons, and also rejected challenges to assault weapon bans in Connecticut and New York.

A recent AP-GfK Poll found the highest levels of support for restrictions on guns since the question was first asked in 2013. That's a sharp departure from the past two presidential election years, when gun issues were largely absent from the campaigns.

Much has happened to bring guns to the forefront again: Charleston. Orlando. Oregon. San Bernardino. There's even been a protest staged by members of Congress on the floor of the House.

There are roughly 300 million firearms in the United States and tens of thousands of shootings each year.

In a world that feels increasingly violent, whether at home or across the globe, America's cowboy culture and the Second Amendment are under the microscope. Voters are asking what will make them safer, more guns or fewer?

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This story is part of AP's "Why It Matters" series, examining three dozen issues at stake in the presidential election. You can find the series at http://apne.ws/2bBG85a

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WHY IT MATTERS: Islamic State

WASHINGTON (AP)  THE ISSUE: The Islamic State group seized swaths of land in Iraq and expanded its territory in Syria in a dramatic blitz in 2014, taking advantage of unrest in both countries. The militant group slaughtered civilians in its march to try to establish a radical caliphate, and has spawned a string of deadly attacks across Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

In response, the U.S. and a coalition of allies launched a sustained campaign of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in 2014, and have been training, advising and supporting local forces in both countries. Recently, the U.S. added Libya to its airstrike targets to root out extremists at the request of the Libyan government. While still a potent force, IS militants have lost much of the territory they overran. Meantime. they've stepped up attempts to inspire followers abroad to strike on their own, with some devastating results.

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FILE - In this June 16, 2014. file photo, demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State group slogans as they carry the group's flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic State group seized swaths of land in Iraq and expanded its territory in Syria in a dramatic blitz in 2014, taking advantage of unrest in both countries. The militant group slaughtered civilians in its march to try to establish a radical caliphate, and has spawned a string of deadly attacks across Europe, the Middle East and the United States. (AP Photo, File)

WHERE THEY STAND

Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, has described a three-part strategy that involves crushing IS "on its home turf" in the Middle East, disrupting their infrastructure on the ground and online, and protecting America and its allies. All are current elements of the Obama administration's strategy, so it's not clear what would change or if she would accelerate any portions of it. She's vowed: "We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again. And we're not putting ground troops into Syria. We're going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops."

Donald Trump promises to "bomb the hell" out of IS, also known as ISIS, and level the oil facilities it controls.

He has provided no details, including whether he would increase U.S. airstrikes or commit ground troops. And U.S. airstrikes have already been doing precision bombing of oil facilities for some time.

Trump has also said he believes in enhanced interrogation techniques, which can include waterboarding and other types of torture that are against the law and that many experts argue are ineffective.

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WHY IT MATTERS

The Islamic State group has specifically targeted the U.S. and the West, using its networks, online communications and social media to attract foreign fighters to the front lines and followers in other countries to take up the fight overseas.

As the group comes under increasing pressure from the airstrikes and U.S.-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, it has turned greater focus on inspiring lone-wolf attacks that are far more difficult to predict and prevent.

In San Bernardino, for example, investigators found that Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militants before the December attack that left 14 dead.

The group has also been linked as a possible inspiration, or claimed responsibility, for the November attacks in Paris; the subway and airport bombings in Brussels; the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shootings, the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, France, the knife attack at a mall in Minnesota, and more. There are signs that accused New York bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami was radicalized abroad by Islamic extremists, though any ties to IS are tenuous.

President Barack Obama says IS militants have figured out that if they can persuade "a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway, or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile."

The administration, however, has been criticized by some for not moving more aggressively and quickly to drive the group from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Some members of Congress have called for a stronger U.S. military response. And officials have expressed frustration over the slow-moving effort to disrupt the militant group's online presence.

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Jessica Korda shoots 66, catches Minjee Lee in Blue Bay LPGA

HAINAN, China (AP)  Jessica Korda caught Minjee Lee on Saturday in the Blue Bay LPGA. Ariya Jutanugarn made up even more ground to move into contention for her sixth victory of the season.

Korda shot a 6-under 66 at Jian Lake to make up seven strokes on Lee for a share of the lead, and Jutanugarn had a 65 to cut her deficit from 10 to two shots and get in the final group Sunday.

In hot and mostly calm conditions four days after Typhoon Sarika hit the South China Sea beach resort, Korda had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and got up-and-down for another on the par-5 18th.

"I missed a lot of birdie opportunities at the beginning and I was just saying in my head, 'Stay patient.' and, 'Stay positive,'" the 23-year-old American said. "Yesterday, I was 4 over through seven and then battled back to shoot even par. I was really proud of myself to keep myself in it. I just knew that I can make birdies out here."

Lee had a 73 , also getting up-and-down for birdie on 18 to match Korda at 11-under 205. The 20-year-old Australian began the day six strokes ahead of Germany's Caroline Masson after shooting 65-67 the first two rounds.

"It wasn't that windy today, so I guess you could be a bit more aggressive at the pins," Lee said. "I wasn't striking it that well, so I think I just got by making up-and-down."

The second-ranked Jutanugarn had the best round of the day on the course with difficult to hit valleys and plateaus on the large greens.

"This course, you have to be really patient," Jutanugarn said. "I just be like waiting for birdies, not really rushing trying to make birdies. Just trying to have fun."

The 20-year-old Thai star leads the tour in victories and tops the player of the year points race.

Korda hit an 8-iron to 6 inches on the 141-yard seventh to start the birdie spree.

"I actually thought it was going to go in," said Korda, set to defend the last of her four LPGA Tour titles next week in Malaysia.

The 5-foot-11 Floridian made a 20-footer from the fringe on the par-5 eighth, hit to 3 feet on the par-4 ninth, 5 feet on the par-3 11th and made a 25-footer on the difficult par-4 12th after holding the green with a mid-iron.

"You have to land it perfectly at the top to have any shot at that pin staying on the back of the green," Korda said. "It's really wet back there so you don't want to have to chip up. It's not an easy chip. I was just really happy to be on the green to be honest with you and have some type of putt at it."

She has played 20 holes without a bogey. She made a key 6-foot par save on the par-4 sixth.

"Making par on six was important," Korda said. "It's a really tough pin today. It's almost impossible to get close to."

Lee got on the wrong side of the ridges on 11 and 12, three-putting for bogeys  after Korda birdied both in the group ahead  to drop into a tie.

"I think the girls did pretty well considering where the pins were today," said Lee, the winner last year at Kingsmill and in April in Hawaii.

Masson (71) was 7 under, and Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum (69) was 6 under.

Michelle Wie (71) was tied for seventh at 3 under. She has only one top-25 finish this year, a tie for 25th in February in the second event of the season, and needed a sponsor exemption to get in the event.

Brooke Henderson (70) was another stroke back. The 19-year-old Canadian birdied three of last five holes. She's playing for the fourth straight week in Asia and plans to make it six in a row.

Spain's Carlota Ciganda (75) also was 2 under. She won her first LPGA Tour title last week in South Korea.
Kremlin: demands for Assad's departure "thoughtless"

MOSCOW (AP)  The entire territory of Syria must be "liberated," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in remarks televised Saturday, dismissing demands for Syrian President Bashar Assad's departure as "thoughtless."

The Russian statement came as intense clashes were reported in northern Syria between Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters with Kurdish-led forces. The Syrian army command condemned the fresh offensive by Turkish troops inside Syria, describing it as "an occupation that will be dealt with by all available means."

The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August this year under orders from Ankara to clear the border area of Islamic State fighters and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkey's own outlawed Kurdish insurgency. The Turkish government considers both to be terrorist groups.

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov passes within a few miles of Dover, in the southeast of England as a fleet of Russian warships sail through the North Sea, and the English Channel Friday Oct. 21, 2016. Britain is sending warships to watch a Russian aircraft carrier group and other vessels as they sail through the North Sea and the English Channel. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Thursday, that the military will watch "every step of the way." (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

In the northern city of Aleppo, government forces shelled eastern rebel-held neighborhoods Saturday night marking an apparent end to a lull announced by Russia.

Russia's Dmitry Peskov said Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis.

"There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus," Peskov said in a reference to the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's branch in Syria that renamed itself Fatah al-Sham Front earlier this year. "And Assad must sit in Damascus to ensure a political settlement."

Peskov's statement comes as the break in the fighting Russia has declared in the besieged city of Aleppo entered its third day before seemingly collapsing Saturday night. He said Russia's decision to extend the break, which was initially declared for just one day Thursday, wasn't a concession to Western pressure.

The U.N. greeted the lull intended to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from the rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo that had been devastated by airstrikes. But the rebels rejected the offer to evacuate and no evacuations were seen along the corridors created by the Syrian government.

A U.N. official told The Associated Press that Syrian opposition fighters were blocking the evacuations because the Syrian government and Russia were not holding up their end of the deal and were impeding deliveries of medical and humanitarian supplies into Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the truce collapsed while the Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, reported artillery shelling on different neighborhoods and an attempt by government forces to advance south of the city. They had no word on casualties.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West was turning a blind eye to the al-Qaida militants blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to Aleppo and trying to shift the blame onto Moscow.

"It's mean and cynical to ... watch the Nusra block the delivery of food and medicines to civilians while blaming Russia for the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo," she said.

Russia launched an air campaign in support of Assad a year ago, helping his forces win back some key ground. The relentless bombing of Aleppo, the country's largest city and its commercial hub before the war, has caused international outrage.

Peskov said the goal of the Russian campaign is to fight "terrorists," saying that the fall of the Syrian government would cause new flows of refugees and more terror attacks in Europe.

"Some countries are trying to play with the devil and use terrorists to get rid of Assad, and some just say thoughtlessly that Assad must leave," Peskov said. "If Damascus falls and terrorists take hold there, there will be no political settlement then."

He said there is little hope that the Syrian conflict could end soon, adding that it will require a "long and hard work by the international community."

"The territory of Syria must be liberated," Peskov said. "It must be liberated and everything must be done to prevent the country's breakup, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region."

Asked if the deployment of a Russian aircraft carrier into the eastern Mediterranean was intended as a warning for the U.S. against striking Assad's forces, Peskov said Russia already has sufficient military assets in Syria.

The Admiral Kuznetsov carrier and escorting ships sailed through the English Channel Friday en route to Syria's shores. Russia has a navy repair supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, the only such outpost the country has outside the former Soviet Union.

"There are plenty of instruments already there to control the skies and the security of our infrastructure in Syria," Peskov said.

Earlier this month, 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.

In northern Syria, Syrian rebels backed by Turkish tanks advanced under intense bombardment toward a major northern town held by Kurdish-led rebel forces.

The Observatory said the fighting between the Turkey-backed fighters and the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces was concentrated near the town of Tel Rifaat.

Ahmad Araj, member of the Syrian National Democratic Coalition, which is allied with the Kurds, told the AP that Turkish tanks crossed the border near the town of Marea and were heading toward Tel Rifaat.

The Observatory said 13 Turkey-backed rebels and three SDF fighters were killed in the fighting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of the Syrian rebels' strongest backers.

On Thursday, Turkey said it conducted air raids on 18 targets in northern Syria, adding that between 160 and 200 militia fighters were killed. The Observatory said the airstrikes killed 15 SDF fighters and four civilians.

The Syrian army statement said "the new aggressive stance by Erdogan's regime is a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation" of Syria's sovereignty. It added that Erdogan's government has been playing a "dirty role in harboring, training, arming and funding terrorist groups and opening its borders to facilitate the crossing of thousands of terrorists and mercenaries into Syria's territories."

Erdogan said Ankara will be expanding its operations in north Syria, including entering areas such as al-Bab, and Raqqa that are held by the Islamic State group and the town of Manbij that is under the control of the SDF.

He added that if the U.S.-led coalition was ready to act jointly, Turkey would do "whatever is necessary" against IS in Raqqa, but Kurdish militants should not have a role.

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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Cinar Kiper in Istanbul contributed to this report.

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov passes within a few miles of Dover, in the southeast of England as a fleet of Russian warships sail through the North Sea, and the English Channel Friday Oct. 21, 2016. Britain is sending warships to watch a Russian aircraft carrier group and other vessels as they sail through the North Sea and the English Channel. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Thursday, that the military will watch "every step of the way." (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Belgian shopping mall evacuated as gunmen rob jewelry store

BRUSSELS (AP)  Police say a shopping center near Brussels has been evacuated after at least one gunman opened fire during a jewelry store robbery.

Saturday's security threat in the Cora center in Chatelineau, 67 kilometers (42 miles) south of Brussels, raised fears of a possible extremist attack, but authorities said it appeared purely criminal in nature. Emergency services said nobody was injured but four people were treated for shock.

The mayor, Daniel Vanderlick, told the RTL network that at least one of three robbers fired a Kalashnikov assault rifle, scattering panicked shoppers. Police said nobody was arrested.
Cincinnati braces for racially charged police shooting trial

CINCINNATI (AP)  Under tight courthouse security and close monitoring by local officials concerned about keeping the peace, jury selection begins Tuesday for the murder trial of a white university police officer charged with killing an unarmed black man during a traffic stop.

Ray Tensing, 26, fatally shot Sam DuBose, 43, last year after pulling him over for a missing front license plate near the University of Cincinnati. The Hamilton County prosecutor called Tensing's actions "asinine" and "senseless" in announcing the officer's indictment and releasing a police body camera video.

An outside review commissioned by the university said the now-fired UC officer showed poor police tactics in an "entirely preventable" fatal shooting.

CORRECTS POOL SOURCE TO THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER - Ray Tensing enters Judge Megan Shanahan's courtroom for his pre-trial hearing on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Cincinnati. The former University of Cincinnati police officer is charged with killing Sam DuBose, an unarmed black man during a traffic stop over a missing front license plate. (Amanda Rossmann /The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Stewart Mathews has said Tensing feared getting dragged under DuBose's car as he tried to drive away. And legal experts say jurors often want to give police the benefit of the doubt in deadly force cases.

"It's divided the community. But I think it's a tough case for the prosecutor because juries have a difficult time convicting police officers," said attorney Mike Allen, a former prosecutor and also a former police officer, including for UC. "They realize that police officers have to make split-second decisions sometimes."

"They just don't want to second-guess officers in those life-or-death decisions," said Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. "They think, 'What if that was me? What if that was my child who was the police officer?'"

To convict Tensing of murder, Allen said, jurors would have to find he purposely killed DuBose. He also is charged with voluntary manslaughter, which means killing during sudden passion or fit of rage.

But jurors won't ignore credible evidence that supports the charges, Allen said, and Stinson, who tracks on-duty police cases across the nation, said convictions do happen.

Stinson's study has found that since 2005, 77 state or local police officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter counts for on-duty fatal shootings. Of those, 27 have been convicted, 14 in jury trials. In some cases, officers pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Over that time, 15 officers were acquitted by juries, six were found not guilty by judges in bench trials, four had charges dismissed by the judge, and three cases were dropped by prosecutors.

Just last week, a mistrial was declared because of a hung jury in the murder trial of two former Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officers charged in the shooting of a homeless camper armed with two knives.

The other cases are pending or in court. There have been thousands of other shooting cases that didn't result in charges, usually after official reviews upheld officers' actions or grand jurors declined to indict. However, the number of police murder and manslaughter cases over the past two years has been higher than the averages in the prior years Stinson studied.

Expanded availability of video evidence is one contributor, and it will likely be pivotal in Tensing's case.

Both sides plan to call expert witnesses to deconstruct the sights and sounds of the traffic stop and shooting. Tensing's body camera recording shows DuBose contending he had done nothing wrong and apparently trying to keep the officer from opening his car door before the video becomes shaky and a gunshot is heard.

Mathews has indicated he will call Tensing to the stand, where the former officer would likely describe fear he felt when deciding he needed to fire.

Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters has said he will lead the prosecution. Last July, he blasted Tensing's actions as "asinine" and "senseless."

Tensing had about three years of suburban police experience before joining the UC police in 2014. He had no record of using deadly force.

An outside consultant's report found Tensing made more traffic stops and with a higher racial disparity than other UC officers.

Court records show DuBose had a long history with the law, mainly for traffic infractions and for selling and possessing marijuana. His family and friends called him a peaceful "jokester" into music and motorcycles.

The University of Cincinnati has restructured its public safety department and made reforms since the shooting. It also agreed to a $5.3 million settlement with DuBose's family that includes free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children.

Winnowing the jury pool is expected to take several days, with courtroom questioning of prospective jurors set for Oct. 31.

The Cincinnati shooting is among cases across the nation the last three years that have focused attention on how police respond to black people.

The city was rocked by riots after the 2001 police shooting of an unarmed black man, but has made policing changes including increased training, citizen feedback and transparency. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said during a visit last year that Cincinnati's reforms could be a model for other cities.

Cincinnati officials have been meeting with civil rights, clergy and other community leaders ahead of the trial, and security has been beefed up in the courthouse, with demonstrations by Black Lives Matter and other groups planned outside during the proceedings.

"We will be trying to establish a sense of calm in the city," City Manager Harry Black told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

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Follow Dan Sewell at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell . For some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-sewell

CORRECTS POOL SOURCE TO THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER - Judge Megan E. Shanahan addresses the court during Ray Tensing's pre-trial hearing on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Cincinnati. The former University of Cincinnati police officer is charged with killing Sam DuBose, an unarmed black man during a traffic stop over a missing front license plate. (Amanda Rossmann/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP, Pool)
Iniesta out 6-8 weeks with injured ligament in right knee

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)  Barcelona is facing up to two months without the midfield magic of captain Andres Iniesta after he suffered a serious leg injury on Saturday.

Barcelona said Iniesta injured a ligament in his right knee when he was tackled early in the 3-2 win at Valencia.

Barcelona issued a medical report saying he would be out "six to eight weeks" to recover from the damage to his knee.

FC Barcelona's Andes Iniesta is stretchered off after an injury during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Among other matches, Iniesta will miss Barcelona's Champions League match at Manchester City on Nov. 1, Spain's World Cup qualifier against Macedonia on Nov. 12, and probably Barcelona's first clasico of the season against Real Madrid on Dec. 3.

Iniesta grabbed his knee and called for medical assistance after he was tackled by Valencia's Enzo Perez in the 12th minute.

The Spain midfielder's knee appeared to buckle during the aggressive tackle. Iniesta was in obvious pain while he was put on the stretcher and carried off.

Luis Enrique was furious that Perez wasn't booked for the tackle.

"It was a clear action in which we saw a player injured and yet there was no yellow card," he said. "It's a serious injury."

Ivan Rakitic replaced Iniesta. Barcelona won the match after Lionel Messi scored his second of two goals with a stoppage-time penalty.

The 32-year-old Iniesta is Barcelona's best playmaker, blessed with superb vision, passing, and dribbling skills.

He has helped the club win 25 titles, including four Champions Leagues and eight Spanish leagues.

Iniesta is also a key player for Spain, which is seeking qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

FC Barcelona's Andes Iniesta lies on a stretcher on the pitch after an injury during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

FC Barcelona's Andes Iniesta is stretchered off the pitch after an injury during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and FC Barcelona at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Al Sharpton calls for community summit on policing

NEW YORK (AP)  The Rev. Al Sharpton is calling for a community summit on policing following the fatal police shooting of a mentally ill woman in New York City.

He said Saturday at his weekly action rally that a summit with the police commissioner and others must be held "within days" because "these things keep happening."

The 66-year-old victim, Deborah Danner, was shot at her Bronx apartment after she threatened a police sergeant with a bat.

The police commissioner and mayor have condemned the shooting. They say the sergeant had a stun gun but didn't use it.
Police: New suspicious item in UK subway probe 'not viable'

LONDON (AP)  Counterterrorism police investigating a suspicious package discovered on a London subway train said Saturday they found another suspicious item in a property 200 miles (320 kilometers) away.

They evacuated the house and set up a cordon before an investigation revealed the object was not dangerous.

London's Metropolitan Police said officers found the object while searching a house in the southwest England town of Newton Abbot connected to a 19-year-old man arrested Friday over the subway incident.

Officers cordoned off the property and also evacuated residents from the street the house stands on in the picturesque small town.

Police said later that "work has been carried out and it has now been confirmed the device is not viable."

They did not provide details of what kind of object or device they found.

Part of the London Underground was shut for several hours Thursday after a passenger discovered what police called a "suspicious item" on a train at North Greenwich station.

It was destroyed in a controlled explosion and is undergoing a forensic examination.

Police have not said whether they think the object on the train was a viable explosive device or a hoax.

Officers used a stun gun to detain the teenage suspect Friday on a busy London street. He is being held on suspicion of "the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism acts."

Police said they are not looking for anyone else as part of the investigation and are keeping an open mind about motive.

Britain's official threat level from international terrorism stands at "severe," the second-highest point on a five-point scale, meaning an attack is highly likely.
Honey G to channel her inner diva into Queen and Vanilla Ice medley

Controversial rapper Honey G will take on a Vanilla Ice and Queen mash-up on Saturday night's X Factor as contestants attempt to channel their inner diva.

Following Freddy Parker's exit last week, the 10 remaining acts will take on songs from some of music's biggest selling artists including Michael Jackson, Adele and Mariah Carey.

The contest returns after a dramatic week in which show bosses had to deny claims the competition was fixed after a Scottish nightclub announced they were hosting Honey G on the same night as the show's live final.

Honey G is one of the 10 acts taking part in diva week on the X Factor (ITV/Syco/ThamesTV)

The north London rapper will sing Ice Ice Baby during diva week, which is based on the bassline of Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.

Her fellow Overs contestant Relley C will sing Aretha Franklin's Natural Woman whilst Finnish act Saara Aalto, who has survived the sing-off in the first two weeks, is to perform Bjork's Oh So Quiet.

The two remaining boys in the competition - Matt Terry and Ryan Lawrie - will respectively take on Mariah Carey's I'll Be There and Adele's Rolling In The Deep.

Tracks from Sam Smith, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse will also be performed by contestants.
'CS gas spray' found at London City Airport

Police investigating the suspected chemical incident which led to the evacuation of London City Airport have discovered what is "believed to be a CS gas spray", a spokesman said.

The find came after police and firefighters scoured the airport following the alert, which saw dozens of passengers treated for breathing difficulties.

The airport spokesman said it was unclear what had caused the chemical incident, but officers were "investigating whether it was the result of an accidental discharge of the spray".

People queue outside London City Airport, which reopened after dozens of passengers were treated for breathing difficulties

The Metropolitan Police said it was investigating whether the CS gas had been "discarded by a passenger prior to check-in".

Two casualties were taken to hospital and 25 were treated at the scene, London Ambulance Service (LAS) said.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called to the airport at 4.11pm to "reports of a chemical incident".

A "full evacuation of the airport terminal" saw around 500 members of the public and airport staff forced to leave.

The airport, which reopened after being declared safe at around 7pm, was said to have closed after an alarm was activated.

Passengers described the situation as "quite scary", with airport staff jumping over check-in desks to escape.

An LFB spokesman said "two complete sweeps of the airport building" were carried out jointly by firefighters and police officers wearing protective equipment.

He added: "No elevated readings were found and the building was ventilated, searched and declared safe."

Medics trained to treat people in hazardous situations also attended the scene.

LAS assistant director of operations Paul Gibson said: "All patients were treated for minor breathing difficulties and two were taken to hospital."

David Morris, who was one of the passengers caught up in the incident, said he was at the check-in desk for his BA flight to Edinburgh when people started coughing.

"We were queuing up and we were just about to check our bags in, and I was talking and started to cough to the point I was not able to keep talking," the 28-year-old told the Press Association.

"It was getting quite bad and we saw other people starting to cough at the same time. The people behind the desk were coughing the most and quite aggressively.

"Within two minutes, they shouted for everyone to get out."

Mr Morris said BA staff behind the check-in desk jumped over to escape, calling the situation "quite scary".

He said that whatever was causing people to cough did not smell or have any colour to it.

Once outside, he said those who had been coughing were sectioned off and checked over by paramedics.

The closure of the airport led to travel chaos as all flights were suspended.

Several incoming planes from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Belfast City and Paris were diverted to other airports.

A London City spokesman said: "We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused today when an alarm was activated, triggering a full evacuation of the airport terminal.

"Passengers were evacuated safely and we thank them for their patience.

"Following the evacuation, some individuals reported feeling unwell and were treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service.

"Emergency services responded to the evacuation, citing a possible chemical incident, with firefighters and police officers jointly conducting sweeps of the airport building.

"The search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas spray.

"Whilst the cause of the incident has yet to be confirmed, officers are investigating whether it was the result of an accidental discharge of the spray.
Chemical attacks show 'cruel barbarity' of Assad's rule in Syria, says Johnson

The use of chemical weapons underlines the "cruel barbarity" of Bashar Assad's rule in Syria, Boris Johnson said as he urged the regime and its Russian backers to halt the bloodshed.

The Foreign Secretary said the chemical attacks were "horrific" and in breach of international law after an investigation found evidence of a third incident using chlorine gas.

The team from the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found there was "sufficient evidence" to conclude that Syrian forces were responsible for one of the attacks in Qmenas in the Idlib region on March 16, 2015.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has urged a halt to the bloodshed in Syria

It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, "hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population." Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.

An earlier report from the panel in August had previously blamed president Assad's government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State, also known as Daesh, had used mustard gas in one incident.

Mr Johnson said: "This independent investigation has concluded that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people on at least three occasions, and that Daesh has used such weapons at least once."

He said the attacks in Qmenas, along with the incidents in Talmenes and Sarmin," demonstrate the cruel barbarity of the Assad regime in this conflict".

The use of chemical weapons by IS in Marea "shows their complete disregard for human rights, and international norms and values".

Mr Johnson said: " This report makes clear that the Assad regime has consistently failed to co-operate with the investigation.

"The use of chemical weapons is horrific, and a breach of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. It is crucial to hold those responsible to account.

"The regime and its backers, notably Russia, are inflicting the worst bombardment seen yet on Aleppo, and other towns and areas in Syria, causing severe humanitarian suffering. We are seeing heartbreaking scenes.

"The UK will continue to work with the international community to pursue an end to the regime's indiscriminate bombing campaign, full and sustained humanitarian access, an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and a return to the negotiating table."

The United States, Britain and France want the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons.

But Russia is expected to veto sanctions against Syria, whose forces have been supported by Vladimir Putin.
Winston Reid strikes in stoppage time as West Ham pile misery on Sunderland

Winston Reid struck in stoppage-time to sink Sunderland as West Ham sneaked a 1-0 win over the basement boys.

The Black Cats, still without a win this season, withstood an early Hammers onslaught and looked set to emerge with a point and a first clean sheet.

But, three-and-a-half minutes into the four added on, New Zealand defender Reid fired through a crowded penalty area to snatch West Ham's second win at their new London Stadium .

Winston Reid, second right, was West Ham's match-winner

Sunderland began the match so deep that the Hammers merely set up camp in their half and created four clear-cut chances in the opening 10 minutes.

Simone Zaza was close with two headers and Dimitri Payet curled one shot narrowly wide before the Frenchman slalomed through Sunderland's defence and forced a fine save from Pickford.

Zaza, yet to score since his deadline-day switch from Juventus, was then sent through by Manuel Lanzini but Lamine Kone got back to make a crucial block and thwart the Italy striker.

Payet came even closer just before the half hour when he rifled a low shot through a crowded penalty area only to see it thump back off the base of Pickford's post.

But Sunderland weathered that initial storm and began venturing into West Ham's half, with Hammers old boy Jermain Defoe bringing the first save out of Adrian.

As the first half drew to a close Zaza met John O'Shea's half-clearance with an acrobatic overhead kick but his effort flew wide.

West Ham had a major let-off moments after the interval when a d efensive mix-up left Wahbi Khazri one-one-one with Adrian, but the Spanish keeper was out quickly to block his effort.

The hosts continued to dominate but their attacks became more desperate as the second half wore on, with Edimilson Fernandes snatching at his shot from the edge of the box and blazing over and Pedro Obiang hitting the side-netting.

Payet went on another mazy run but when he found Ashley Fletcher, and the substitute fluffed his return pass, many West Ham fans had seen enough and began heading for the exits.

Sunderland had, by then, decided to settle for a point and appeared to have done just that as the clocked ticked into injury time.
Burnley grab late winner to sink Everton

Scott Arfield's 90th-minute winner gave Burnley more home comforts as they defeated Everton 2-1 at Turf Moor.

The midfielder, only restored to the starting line-up because of an injury to Steven Defour, rifled in after Johann Berg Gudmundsson had struck the crossbar to move the Clarets to 10 points, all of which have been achieved in east Lancashire.

Sam Vokes had earlier punished a Maarten Stekelenburg error - a week after his two penalty saves against Manchester City - to give Burnley a first-half lead before Yannick Bolasie equalised with his first Everton goal.

Scott Arfield got the celebrations started at Turf Moor

Visiting boss Ronald Koeman had recalled Ross Barkley after dropping him against City last weekend and, in front of watching England assistant Sammy Lee, his first pass was misplaced.

He was not alone in wasting possession and after Dean Marney had given the ball away, a mix-up between Ben Mee and Michael Keane was almost capitalised on when Kevin Mirallas drilled at Tom Heaton.

The Clarets' stopper came into this game having made a league-high 39 saves and he added another three inside 16 minutes by denying Romelu Lukaku and Barkley.

This was otherwise a scrappy contest disrupted all too often by the whistle of referee Mike Jones, who had little choice but to book Arfield for his cynical foul on Seamus Coleman.

Another challenge from Arfield drew a final warning from Jones and he made the most of it by playing a key role in the 39th-minute opener.

The Canada international latched on to Gudmundsson's flick and went beyond Ashley Williams and, though the Welshman recovered to take the sting out of Arfield's shot, Stekelenburg misjudged the effort and could only weakly palm the ball into Vokes' path.

With the visitors having dominated possession, this had a somewhat similar feel to Burnley's 2-0 win over Liverpool here in August, though the other top-flight club in Merseyside would eventually make a breakthrough.

Barkley was denied a penalty claim and Lukaku nearly reached Mirallas' cross before Bolasie smashed in a 58th-minute leveller.

Burnley's attack broke down at Vokes' feet and when Mee was caught out trying to reach Lukaku, Everton had two men haring down the right. Bolasie took the onus upon himself to carry the ball forward and he rifled a right-footed finish low into the far corner.

The visitors were buoyed by that and Lukaku would have been presented with a tap-in had Keane not nudged Seamus Coleman's centre away from him.

Another delivery, this time from Bolasie on the left, was heading for the Belgian too but Heaton was able to claw the ball out before it reached him.

Bolasie was the best player on the pitch and an audacious attempt from 30 yards out needed Heaton's intervention to help it over the top.

It seemed as if Sean Dyche's side were happy to hang on for a point at that stage but, at the death, Arfield claimed a winner.
JPMorgan in talks to sell out of Chinese securities JV

By Sumeet Chatterjee and Julie Zhu

HONG KONG, Oct 20 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co is in talks to sell out of a Chinese securities joint venture with First Capital Securities Co Ltd in what would be the first departure by a top-tier global investment bank from China's securities segment.

Wall Street banks like JPMorgan hold only minority stakes in such ventures. The resulting lack of control and limited contribution to total revenue have brought banks frustration at a time when domestic competition has become acute.

Almost all leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, UBS Group AG, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG have securities ventures with local firms.

Shenzhen-listed broker First Capital, in an exchange filing on Thursday, said it is in talks to buy JPMorgan's 33 percent of JP Morgan First Capital Securities Co. It said no transaction has been finalised and that any purchase remains uncertain.

JPMorgan confirmed the content of the filing.

"China is a key market for the firm globally and for many of our clients outside China. J.P. Morgan believes in the long term prospects of China and remains fully committed to our China franchise," the U.S. bank said in an emailed statement.

Neither JPMorgan nor First Capital gave reasons for the move.

Some analysts said the U.S. bank could return to China's securities market with a new partner as the outlook for onshore deals remains attractive.

Rival Morgan Stanley launched a securities joint venture with Huaxin Securities in 2011, a year after it sold its 34.3 percent of China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) , the country's top investment bank at the time.

"It has been a difficult ride (for foreign banks), but we really feel that it's at tipping point in terms of opportunities and the banks have just a lot left on the table," said Benjamin Quinlan, CEO of financial services consultancy Quinlan & Associates.

"There is no alternative avenue for foreign players to go in and China is sending a clear signal that it is liberalising and I do think they (foreign banks) will be able to get to a stage where they have effective management control of the entity."

China's securities regulator approved the establishment of JPMorgan First Capital Securities Co at the end of 2010. The venture, headquartered in Beijing, offers services such as stock and bond underwriting and merger advisory.

It posted net profit of 52 million yuan ($7.72 million) for January-June, versus a loss of 23 million yuan in the same period a year earlier, showed information First Capital filed at the exchange.

A stake sale would come as rival HSBC Holdings PLC awaits regulatory approval to launch a majority-owned joint venture, taking advantage of rules favouring Hong Kong-established banks.

HSBC would own up to 51 percent of the venture, while the cap for other foreign banks in such ventures is 49 percent. China has been gradually opening up its financial sector, though some foreign banks have called for the pace to increase.

Despite the challenges, no other top-tier foreign bank has exited securities joint ventures in China, betting on long-term opportunities in the world's second-largest economy.

Foreign banks that have exited since 2007 include BNP Paribas SA, CLSA, Daiwa Securities Group Inc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, showed a Quinlan & Associates report.
UK engineer GKN to sell Stromag unit to Altra for 184 mln euros

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Engineering company GKN Plc said on Friday it had agreed to sell its Stromag unit to automobile parts maker Altra Industrial Motion Corp for 184 million euros ($200 million) in cash.

GKN said the sale of Stromag, which supplies brakes and clutches, will help it redirect capital to its core aerospace and automotive units.
Trump's voter fraud 'solution' is rooted in the Jim Crow South

By Kathryn Cramer Brownell

Oct 21 (Reuters) - All week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been warning his supporters to expect rampant voter fraud.

He doubled down on this during the third presidential debate on Wednesday, citing the "millions" of names added to the "bloated" voter rolls as one reason he might not be able to accept the election results. "I will tell you at the time," he said, essentially suggesting that voter fraud could delegitimize the November 8 outcome.

Trump has often tweeted about the impending election being "rigged" or "stolen," which led one supporter to believe Democrats will pay homeless people in Chicago to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Trump has also offered an answer for this fake voter problem: Supporters should monitor the polls and look for "suspicious" behavior, singling out cities like Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. All have large African-American communities.

Both the voting problems and the solution Trump has cited reach back to America's darker past. He is warning against a specific strain of voter fraud rooted in urban political machines across the Northeast and Midwest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His remedy is a different type of historic voter fraud - one rooted in the Jim Crow South.

Reforms of the past four decades have made the power of corrupt urban machines - one often-quoted adage was "Vote early and often" - legend rather than reality. Yet "dead voting Democrats" and fears of rigged elections are now key Trump talking points. He manipulates history to justify a return to a sorrowful period in the South defined by racial violence and systematic violation of voting rights.

The history of American elections is one of violence, fraud, corruption, bribery, and dirty tricks. Yet it is also a history of robust reform to fix these problems -- a narrative Trump ignores. Despite Republican-controlled state legislatures' recent attempts to pass voter-ID laws that explicitly aim to disenfranchise minority voters, U.S. voting history is one of ever-increasing democratization and transparency.

During the Gilded Age, manipulated elections abounded, though as they took on very different regional shapes.

In the Northeast and Midwest, voter corruption played out largely in cities. Precinct leaders of urban political machines like Tammany Hall in New York, or Frank Hague's in Jersey City, New Jersey, encouraged a range of new immigrants and workers to come to the polls. Then strong-armed how they pulled the lever.

The machines used patronage jobs to command favor. On Election Day, they would offer saloon patrons rounds of drinks for voting a particular ticket. Most important, they had a say in tallying the votes - and, yes, they notoriously stuffed ballot boxes or had voters cast their ballots multiple times.

Public service in this era was often about getting rich: Local precinct leaders, like George Washington Plunkitt in New York, celebrated their ability to make a profit off government service in what Plunkitt called an "honest graft."

But, using the newly harnessed power of public opinion, muckraking journalists like Lincoln Steffens aligned with the settlement house movement to shed light on cities overrun by corrupt politicians and police. The reform impulse gradually took hold.

The early 20th century ushered in systematic changes such as the 17th Amendment (1913), which allowed voters to elect their senators directly, secret ballots, primary campaigns and referendums.

But these changes, with the exception of the 17th amendment, could not be implemented nationally, because states control the voting rules and procedures. So reforms were slow to take effect.

Meanwhile, a different form of vote manipulation had flowered in the South. Rather than bulking up the number of people who turned out to vote, this tactic was about keeping people away from the polls. With Jim Crow politics, white supremacists formed White Government Leagues and used violence, intimidation and even public lynchings to prevent black voters from participating in American civic life.

In Wilmington, North Carolina, for example, as the local black middle class made economic and political gains, white supremacists mobilized in 1898. White men and women formed Red Shirt armies to regain control of local politics through force. They disseminated fear through newspapers stories about what black men would do to white women if they were not "monitored." Before Election Day, the Red Shirts launched a reign of terror on the black community, including house-to-house searches, public harassment, beatings and even murder.

The result: Days of racial violence that lead to 14 African-American deaths and the establishment of legal and extralegal traditions that kept African Americans disenfranchised in North Carolina for more than a half a century.

In states like Illinois, though, it was powerful urban machines that blocked reforms and retained control of municipal politics. By mid-century, Illinois still had an unsavory reputation for vote fraud, which Trump's two leading surrogates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now regularly cite.

Illinois' corruption was bipartisan. Republicans dominated suburban and rural areas, stuffing ballot boxes "downstate;" Democratic Mayor Richard J. Daley, who ran Chicago, had precinct captains resurrect the dead to vote for Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960.

The 1960 presidential election, however, was essentially the last gasp of power for political bosses like Daley. During the decade that followed, the Democratic Party dramatically transformed in content and structure.

The party re-aligned, with African Americans emerging as a vital constituency and civil rights as an explicit goal. The civil rights movement confronted Southern sheriffs and white supremacist groups and advocated voting laws that would bolster African American participation. President Lyndon B. Johnson played a major role, orchestrating the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Disaffected white Southerners moved to the Republican Party, which has advanced racially coded messages to support "states' rights" over the past 40 years.

Kennedy's win over Vice President Richard M. Nixon was also the beginning of the end of "dead Democrats voting." JFK had launched an innovative media-driven campaign that allowed him to circumvent the party establishment. He used the primary elections and a Hollywood-style publicity campaign to win the nomination over a powerful party insider, Senate Majority Leader Johnson. Winning the presidency proved the effectiveness of Kennedy's new approach.

Eight years later, the lingering conflict between the old machine bosses and the new reformers erupted violently during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Daley took on the younger liberals eager to move party politics from smoke-filled rooms to a transparent nomination process.

The riots in Lincoln Park, where young activists faced off against Daley's Chicago police officers just outside the convention hall, may have helped lead to Nixon's victory that year. But they also led to major reforms in the Democratic Party. It changed to an open primary system, which its architect George McGovern called the "end to the day of the boss."

These twinned histories of vote manipulation in the United States now shape Trump's narrative about rigged elections in potentially dangerous ways. The story of a "dead voting Democrats" is a chapter of history that is over. Scholars and judges have repeatedly found modern cases of voter fraud extraordinarily rare.
Trump gains on Clinton, poll shows 'rigged' message resonates

By Emily Stephenson and Chris Kahn

NEWTOWN, Pa./NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gained on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Friday.

The polling data showed Trump's argument that the Nov. 8 election is "rigged" against him has resonated with members of his party.

"Remember folks, it's a rigged system," Trump told a Pennsylvania rally on Friday. "That's why you've got to get out and vote, you've got to watch. Because this system is totally rigged."

Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 4-point lead. That compared with 44 percent for Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last week.

An average of national opinion polls by RealClearPolitics shows Clinton 6.2 percentage points ahead at 48.1 percent support to Trump's 41.9 percent.

Trump is slated to give a speech Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, best known as the site of a decisive Civil War battle and cemetery, and the place where Republican President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address.

Aides told reporters on Friday night that Trump would make his closing argument to voters in his speech, and preview what he would do in his first 100 days in the White House.

"I think this site is fitting in terms of understanding a positive vision for the Republican party," an aide said.

Trump's campaign was thrown into crisis after a 2005 video released this month showed him bragging about groping and kissing women. He has since faced accusations - which he has said are "absolutely false" - that he made improper sexual advances to women over decades.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey found 63 percent of Americans, including a third of Republicans, believe the New York real estate mogul has committed sexual assault in the past.

Reuters contacted a few of the poll respondents who said they felt that Trump had likely "committed sexual assault" but were still supporting his candidacy. Their answers were generally the same: Whatever Trump did with women in the past is less important to them than what he may do as president.

At a Trump rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, Harold Garren, 75, said he was skeptical of complaints from women about Trump's behavior. "I don't believe all of this 30 years later, no," Garren said.

Garren also shrugged off Trump's lewd bragging about women, caught on the 2005 tape. "I've used that barnyard language myself," Garren said, clarifying that it was when he was younger and before he knew better.

Both candidates spent Friday in battleground states, where the vote could swing either way. Clinton, 68, campaigned in Ohio, while Trump, 70, was in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Trump, his voice lacking some of its usual energy in his third rally in one day, told voters in Newtown, Pennsylvania they had to vote or else he would have wasted a lot of "time, energy and money."

'RIGGED' MESSAGE FINDS SUPPORT

Trump has been coy about whether he will accept the results of the election should Clinton beat him.

The Reuters/Ipsos data showed only half of Republicans would accept Clinton as their president, and nearly 70 percent of them said a Clinton victory would be because of illegal voting or vote rigging.

Trump's crowd chanted "Lock her up!" at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after he declared Clinton a "corrupt globalist," a reference to campaign documents released by WikiLeaks in which Clinton was quoted advocating free trade and open borders.

After the chant went around the room for several seconds, Trump responded, "Don't worry, that whole thing will be looked into."

The New York businessman's assertion that the election is being rigged and his refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election if he loses has challenged a cornerstone of American democracy and outraged Democrats and many Republicans.

Asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power during Wednesday's debate, Trump replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. OK?"

In Ohio on Friday, Clinton called his refusal unprecedented. "Now make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy," she told a rally in Cleveland.

"But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? And the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart," Clinton said.

Trump has offered no widely accepted evidence to back up his claims of vote-rigging. Numerous studies have shown that the U.S. election system, which is run by the states, is sound.

Trump told an earlier rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he wanted to have no regrets about whether he worked hard enough to win the election, and urged followers to get out to vote.

"Win, lose or draw - and I'm almost sure if the people come out, we're going to win - I will be happy with myself," he said. "We have to work, we have to get everybody out there."
Japan to lend to sanctioned Russian bank to push island talks - Nikkei

TOKYO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - State-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation will lend about 4 billion yen ($39 million) to Russia's Sberbank, which is subject to Western sanctions, in the hope of advancing talks on a territorial dispute, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.

Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank, will use the yen-denominated loan to help a company operating the port of Vostochny in the Russian Far East to buy coal-handling equipment.

JBIC will issue the loan by the end of the year in a bid to encourage progress on a dispute over a string of Russia-controlled Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuriles in Russia, at a December summit.

"JBIC's move to provide financing to Russia comes because the Japanese government aims to make progress in the negotiations," the Nikkei said.

JBIC was not available for comment.

Japanese foreign ministry and the prime minister's office were not available for comment.

The United States and the European Union have effectively banned lending to certain Russian companies and financial institutions, including Sberbank, under sanctions imposed after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

Japanese officials have previously said any economic cooperation with Russia would not run afoul of sanctions.

Japan also bars underwriting of bonds issued by Sberbank and other institutions. Though yen-denominated loans are not covered by the sanctions, Japanese banks are leery of lending in Russia amid concern over the U.S. reaction, the Nikkei said.

The loan is part of an eight-point economic cooperation plan presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in May as part of a "new approach" to the decade-long dispute.

JBIC has started offering ruble-denominated financing this month. To shore up the lender's capital, the Ministry of Finance earmarked 109 billion yen in investment in JBIC in the recently approved second supplementary budget for fiscal 2016, the Nikkei said.

Abe is betting that close ties to Putin, as well as Russia's economic woes and regional concerns about China's rise will help him make progress in a decades-old territorial row when they meet in December.

The dispute over the four islands north of Japan's Hokkaido has prevented Tokyo and Moscow signing a peace treaty formally ending the war they fought with each other in World War Two.
Huge crowd of mourning Thais sings royal anthem in honour of late king

By Thanarith Satrusayang and Amy Sawitta Lefevre

BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A huge crowd of Thais gathered on Saturday outside Bangkok's Grand Palace to sing the royal anthem in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Oct. 13 after seven decades on the throne.

The government has declared a year of mourning for the 88-year old king, who was seen as a father figure for generations of people, and, though a constitutional monarch, a calming influence over the country's often turbulent politics.

People dressed in black travelled by bus, boat and on foot to Sanam Luang, a tree-lined open space that has been used for royal cremations outside the river-side Grand Palace, bringing the area to gridlock well before the singing.

Police said more than 150,000 were in Sanam Luang and side streets with more people expected through the day.

The royal anthem, known as Sansoen Phra Barami, is played before the screening of every cinema show in Thailand, when the audience stands to honour the king as pictures of his life and work are shown on the screen.

Saturday's singing was recorded for use in cinemas, organisers said.

"Since he went to heaven we want all Thais to demonstrate their love and sing this song to show before film screenings," Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, a movie director in charge of the filming of the singing, told reporters.

Since the king died, people from across Thailand have flocked to the gilded Grand Palace to pay homage to the only king most of them have ever known, who is lying in state there.

Buddhist monks have been chanting prayers beside his coffin in an imposing throne hall, and they will chant for 100 days as part of the funeral rites.

"I wanted to be here to pay respects to His Majesty," said Haysri Watanakulpipat, 47, who said she drove overnight from the eastern province of Prachinburi.

The military government has not set a date for the royal cremation but it is expected in about a year.

The government has said Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will ascend the thrown soon but he had requested that his succession be delayed for an unspecified period, so he can grieve with the people.

The government has moved to quash uncertainty surrounding the succession and to reassure the country that the king's death will not derail plans for a return to democratic rule, which include a general election in late 2017.

It has stressed business and government should carry on as normal and tourism should not be affected.

Police said they expected more people at Sanam Luang through the day.

"There are more than 150,000 people here already but it could easily rise to 250,000 by the evening," Thai deputy police spokesman Major General Songpol Wattanachai told Reuters.

The Grand Palace is a former royal residence that is used only on ceremonial occasions.
Iraqi army drives Islamic State from Christian region near Mosul

By Babak Dehghanpisheh and Stephen Kalin

QAYYARA, Iraq, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Iraqi army troops on Saturday stormed into a Christian region that has been under Islamic State control since 2014 as part of U.S.-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.

The advance took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad to evaluate the campaign that began on Monday with air and ground support from the U.S-led coalition.

A military statement said Iraqi units entered the centre of Qaraqosh, a mainly Christian town about 20 km (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town.

Further action was under way to seize a neighboring Christian village, Karamless, also known as Karemlash in the Syriac language. The region's population fled in the summer of 2014, when Islamic State swept in.

Earlier this week, Iraqi special units also captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh.

A U.S. military official estimated there were fewer than a couple of hundred Islamic State fighters in Qaraqosh.

"I've seen berms in Qaraqosh. I anticipate there'll be trenches, there'll be passageways between different buildings," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BIGGEST BATTLE SINCE 2003

The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and it could require a massive humanitarian relief operation.

Some 1.5 million residents remain in the city and worst-case scenario forecasts see up to a million being uprooted, according to the United Nations. U.N. aid agencies said the fighting has so far forced about 6,000 to flee their homes.

The army is trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north.

Iraqi forces have advanced to five km (three miles) from Mosul and there are signs of revolt against the group, the interior minister of the Kurdish regional government, Karim Sinjar, said in an interview on Saturday in Erbil.

On the southern front, nearly 1,000 people were treated for breathing problems linked to toxic fumes from a sulfur plant that Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire on Thursday, said sources at the hospital of Qayyara, reporting no deaths at the medical facility itself.

The fumes prompted U.S. forces at Iraq's Qayyara West airfield to put on protective masks.

A cloud of white smoke blanketed the region to the north, where the factory is located, mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves.

The Iraqi army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 IS fighters are dug in, according to Iraqi estimates.

Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.

The warring parties are not announcing casualties, with each claiming to have killed hundreds of enemy fighters since Monday.

Islamic State is relying mainly on suicide car bombs, roadside bombs, mines, sniper and mortar fire to counter the charge of the Iraqi units trained by the United States to deal specifically with this kind of warfare.

"The campaign is proceeding according to plan and the schedule that we've had," Carter said after meeting Abadi. The Iraqi prime minister, however, rejected any Turkish participation in the campaign.

Carter signalled during a visit to Ankara on Friday his support for a possible Turkish role and said there was an agreement in principle between Baghdad and Ankara -- potentially ending a source of tension.

"I know that the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle," Abadi said after meeting with Carter. "If help is needed, we will ask for it from Turkey or from other regional countries."

OIL-RICH KIRKUK RETAKEN

Roughly 5,000 U.S. personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets.

The militants retaliated to the advance of the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish fighters in Mosul by attacking on Friday Kirkuk, an oil city that lies east Hawija, a pocket they continue to control between Baghdad and Mosul.

Authorities in Kirkuk regained control of the city on Saturday and partially lifted a curfew declared after the militants stormed police stations and other buildings. The region's oil producing facilities were not damaged.

At least 50 people have been killed and 80 others wounded in clashes between security forces and the militants in Kirkuk, according to a hospital sources. Four Iranians doing maintenance work at a power station were among the dead, they said.
Cleaner, but not leaner: China steel mills defy capacity cutbacks

By Ruby Lian and Manolo Serapio Jr

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chinese steel mills are becoming cleaner every month as Beijing pushes to curb its smoke-stack industries. But they're not getting any leaner.

Despite efforts to step up environmental checks and trim out excess capacity, steel output by the world's top producer has risen year-on-year for the past seven months.

As emissions cuts will mean steel mills are better able to meet stricter government standards, Beijing may find it more difficult to cut overcapacity in a sprawling industry.

For now, domestic demand from infrastructure and construction has been robust, absorbing most of the extra supply. But a steeper slowdown in the world's second-largest economy could force mills to ramp up sales abroad.

That could rekindle tensions with Europe and the United States, major trading partners which have for years accused China of dumping its excess steel overseas, hitting producers and hurting global prices.

The issue took centre stage at a recent G20 summit in China when world leaders pledged to work to address excess output.

China's top steel producing city of Tangshan in Hebei province illustrates Beijing's dilemma. Hosting a months-long international horticultural show, Tangshan had a major six-month clean-up to ensure blue skies for visiting dignitaries, including the country's president Xi Jinping.

Industry experts predicted this would see a big drop in output in a province that accounts for a fifth of national production, going some way to realising government goals on output and capacity cuts.

But production dipped by far less than expected as mills sustained output even as they cleaned themselves up.

They could do this largely because steel prices have risen 40 percent this year, and strong domestic demand is expected to continue, underpinning those increases, though exports have fallen to their lowest since February.

By end-September, China had completed more than 80 percent of this year's capacity reduction goals in coal and steel, said Huang Libin, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China has targeted a cut of 45 million tonnes from its surplus steel capacity this year.

But the battle to tackle excess capacity and curb pollution has failed to dent production. China's annual crude steel surplus is estimated at around 300 million tonnes, three times the annual output of the world's second-biggest producer, Japan.

"If steel mills are profitable, there's no reason for the government to order them to reduce production if they meet environmental criteria," said Xia Junyan, investment manager at Hangzhou CIEC Trading Co in Shanghai.

BATTLEGROUND IN TANGSHAN

While many of Tangshan's small mills have closed, bigger plants have installed or upgraded equipment since a nationwide environmental crackdown began in 2014, industry sources say.

Some were forced to cut sinter production - processing iron ore fines into lumps - for a few days in September and October to clear the skies during the recent horticultural show. But the city's about 150 blast furnaces only dropped output three times - in June, July and September - and for only a couple of days during the six-month clean-up, according to a survey by industry consultancy Custeel.com.

The biggest drop was in early June when operating rates fell below 65 percent as leaders from central and eastern Europe gathered in Tangshan for talks on economic ties, followed by another fall in July as the city prepared to commemorate a 1976 earthquake that killed at least 250,000 people.

Otherwise, mills have been operating at above 80 percent of capacity this year, the Custeel.com survey showed.

"Production can be flexible. Even if production at steel mills is hit temporarily by the environmental crackdown, they can increase production later to offset the losses," said Xia at Hangzhou CIEC Trading.

The government looks ready to keep targeting Tangshan's mills in its war on winter smog, with Hebei province last week imposing what it calls "special emission restrictions" on local steel mills, according to a policy document.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planner, said it punished hundreds of steel and coal companies nationwide for violating environmental and safety regulations. Some were forced to close or cut output.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi in pitch to foreign investors after Obama lifts sanctions

By Shwe Yee Saw Myint

NAYPYITAW, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday made a pitch to foreign investors, promising a clearer legal framework and opportunities in untapped economic sectors, two weeks after U.S. President Barack Obama lifted most sanctions on the country.

Since taking power in April, Suu Kyi has been criticised for delays in forming a commission to approve foreign investment projects, overzealous scrutiny of construction sites in the country's largest city, and an economic plan that lacked details.

That, combined with a big political shake-up after the first democratic elections in decades, meant foreigners invested only $380 million from April to July, down from $2.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.

The situation changed in September, when Suu Kyi visited Washington, where Obama announced his intention to remove economic sanctions. Suu Kyi quickly followed with a push to pass foreign investment law and other necessary regulations.

"Our government noticed particular criticism from the public that an economic growth of the country is slowing," said Suu Kyi at a meeting with foreign donors, diplomats and investors in the capital Naypyitaw.

"I would like to stress that noone but our government is more eager to achieve progress, because economic development would help us establish democratic institutions here," said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

As part of her economic offensive this summer, Suu Kyi has embarked on a series of high-profile foreign trips, promoting Myanmar as an investment destination in China, Thailand, the United States and India. A trip to Japan is due in early November.

Finance and development minister Kyaw Win, also speaking at the event, sought to reassure foreign investors by pledging they would be treated equally with local companies and will not face arbitrary expropriation of businesses or licenses.

Nearly 50 years of economic mismanagement by a military dictatorship has shattered the country's roads, airports and electricity supply. This means there is little homegrown industry and Myanmar's recent annual economic growth of 8 percent of GDP has been mostly fuelled by imports.

This has meant a widening trade and current account deficits that have pressured the local currency, the Myanmar kyat.

"We need to push trade by increasing exports and reducing imports, by creating import substitution industry," said Kyaw Win.

He said it was important to develop domestic production through small- and medium-enterprises in manufacturing, promising technical and financial assistance.

Kyaw Win also promised a crackdown on smuggling of goods that has seriously depleted tax revenues. Myanmar's central government has little or no control over large parts of the northeastern border with China and Thailand where ethnic armed groups control cross-border trade.
Libya forces free 11 Eritreans, a Turk and an Egyptian from militants in Sirte - official

TRIPOLI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Libyan pro-government forces fighting Islamic State in Sirte have freed 11 Eritrean female captives, a Turk and an Egyptian after a battle to recapture the city's 600 block, a spokesman for the forces said on Saturday.
Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire near the city of Mosul, hospital sources said on Saturday.

No deaths were reported in connection with the incident in Mishraq, said sources at a hospital in Qayyara, a nearby town south of Mosul.

The first cases began arriving on Friday morning, they said.

Scroll down for video

A member of the Iraqi forces wearing a gas mask for protection gestures near the Mishraq sulphur factory

Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to toxic gases from a sulphur plant which Islamic State militants are suspected to have set on fire

Iraqi troops wear masks as they guard a checkpoint near the village of Awsaja, Iraq, as smoke from fires lit by Islamic State militants at oil wells and a sulfur plant fills the air

No deaths were reported in connection with the incident in Mishraq, said sources at a hospital in Qayyara, a nearby town south of Mosul

A cloud of white smoke blanketed the area around the sulphur plant mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves

A cloud of white smoke blanketed the area around the sulphur plant mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves.

Local residents and the US military said Islamic State militants deliberately set the sulphur plant ablaze as they strive to repel an offensive by Iraqi government forces to drive them from Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country.

'We have had every type of person come in with breathing problems and burning eyes - children, adults, policemen, soldiers,' said a hospital spokesman. 'Daesh set the sulphur on fire so nobody can come near them.'

The Qayyara West airfield is the main US hub to support Iraqi-led operations to retake Mosul.

There are about 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq but the US military has not disclosed the number of personnel at the airfield.

'The winds have actually shifted south, so, as a precautionary measure, the troops at Qayyara West have donned their personal protective equipment - continuing their operations at this point in time,' an official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ali Ahmad Khalaf, 38, who lives in a nearby village, said he had moved his family to Qayyara to escape the fumes

'The sulphur is very dangerous,' Khalaf, wearing a surgical mask and a traditional dishdasha robe, said. 'Daesh just wants to kill us'

Local residents and the US military said Islamic State militants deliberately set the sulphur plant ablaze as they strive to repel an offensive by Iraqi government forces to drive them from Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country

'We have had every type of person come in with breathing problems and burning eyes - children, adults, policemen, soldiers,' said a hospital spokesman

In an examination room at Qayyara hospital, a baby, suffering from inhalation of sulphur fumes, screamed and coughed on Saturday as his father held an oxygen mask over his face.

Most patients have been given oxygen and told to stay away from areas with high sulphur concentration, according to medical aide Saddam Ahmad, who was wearing a surgical mask to protect him from the fumes.

'We've had so many patients since yesterday that we're almost out of oxygen,' Ahmad said.

Ali Ahmad Khalaf, 38, who lives in a nearby village, said he had moved his family to Qayyara to escape the fumes.

'The sulphur is very dangerous,' Khalaf, wearing a surgical mask and a traditional dishdasha robe, said. 'Daesh just wants to kill us.'

Standing nearby, Bassam Qazi overheard Khalaf and said: 'I saw an old man who had choked and died from the smoke.'

Air samples from Qayyara West were sent to the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency for analysis as to 'what, if any concerns, may result,' another US official said

There are about 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq but the US military has not disclosed the number of personnel at the airfield

In an examination room at Qayyara hospital, a baby, suffering from inhalation of sulphur fumes, screamed and coughed on Saturday as his father held an oxygen mask over his face

Air samples from Qayyara West were sent to the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency for analysis as to 'what, if any concerns, may result,' another US official said.

Iraqi state TV said the fire had been 'brought under control' on Saturday, but a Reuters reporter on the scene said smoke was still visible from a distance late in the day.

Operation Inherent Resolve, the official name of the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition, said in a statement on Saturday it had provided more than 24,000 protective chemical masks to the Iraqi security forces and the allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters during training for the Mosul offensive.

Separately, the coalition said Qayyara airfield started receiving cargo aircraft on Friday, after US Air Force engineers repaired it.

A sulphur plant caught fire earlier this week as the Iraqi army dislodged Islamic State fighters from the area of Mishraq, north of Qayyara.

The US military said the militants had deliberately set it on fire.

A displaced Iraqi woman carries a child as they arrive in a refugee camp in the town of Qayyarah

Iraqi forces wear protective masks after winds brought fumes from a nearby sulfur plant set alight by Islamic State militants, at south of Mosul in Qayyara, Iraq
Mosul battle will be big, won't end soon - Kurdish region minister

By Samia Nakhoul and Michael Georgy

ERBIL, Iraq, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have advanced to 5 km (3 miles) from Mosul in an offensive against Islamic State's last major Iraq stronghold and there are signs of revolt against the group, the interior minister of the Kurdish regional government said on Saturday.

But he added that the battle is not expected to end soon.

Karim Sinjari, who is also acting defence minister in the area, told Reuters in an interview that Islamic State fighters - believed to number between 4,000 and 8,000 - will put up a fierce fight because of Mosul's symbolic value for the hardline Sunni jihadis.

"If they resist in the city, especially in old Mosul, it will be a big fight ... The roads are very thin, very narrow. You can't have vehicles, you can't have tanks. So it will be a fight, person by person," he said.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate and himself the leader of the world's Muslims at a Mosul mosque after seizing Iraq's second largest city in 2014.

"If Mosul is finished the caliphate they announced is finished. If they lose in Mosul, they will have no place, just Raqqa," Sinjari told Reuters in an interview.

The Syrian city of Raqqa is Islamic State's other major stronghold.

"They will have to go to Syria. They will be surrounded in one area."

The much-heralded battle to capture Mosul began last week and is expected to be the most important battle fought in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraq has come a long way since June 2014 when five Iraqi army divisions crumbled as Islamic State swept into Mosul. Islamic State has been dislodged from other major cities such as Falluja. That campaign lasted just over one month.

With air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition, an Iraqi force of about 30,000, joined by U.S. special forces and under U.S., French and British air cover, is ready to push into Mosul after recapturing Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and seizing the Sunni stronghold of Tikrit in central Iraq.

"I think it (the fight for Mosul) will be longer than Falluja and Tikrit, Mosul is a big city," Sinjari said.

So far, Kurdish forces have seized 20 villages and the Iraqi army have taken 10, he said.

BAGHDADI

It is not clear whether Baghdadi, an Iraqi who spent time in a U.S. military jail in Iraq, will risk death or capture and join his fighters in the battle for predominantly-Sunni Muslim Mosul, home to more than 1.5 million people.

"According to unconfirmed reports Abu Bakr was in Mosul three days ago. People saw him visiting fighters and encouraging them. We are not sure he was present, this is information," said Sinjari.

Iraqi forces would not be able to defeat Islamic State without help from the inside, such as informers or spies and cooperation from Sunni tribal groups, said Sinjari.

He said the jihadi group, which comprises former Sunni officers from Saddam Hussein's army, have built underground tunnels and dug a trench around Mosul which they filled with oil to set on fire when the offensive gets closer to the city.

"There are many reports that there are elements that have agreed to kill members of Daesh. Some members of Daesh were killed in the street," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State, which rose from the ashes of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

"They don't want Daesh. Some were killed and some left. These are people who have weapons, who carry out attacks in specific areas at night and slip away."

Reuters could not independently verify these accounts.

"There are a lot of people who withdrew from the fight. They executed them," said Sinjari.

The plan, Sinjari said, is to surround Mosul from all sides.

The pressure may prompt Islamic State to become more ruthless, as previous military campaigns against the group suggest.

People who escaped from the jihadists in the town of Hawija paid a heavy price when they were caught on a road, said Sinjari.

"They killed 118 of them," he said. "We expect them to take (people for a) human shield, everything is expected from Daesh, he said.
Taliban release drone footage of suicide attack

By Zainullah Stanekzai

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban have released drone footage showing a suicide bomber driving a Humvee into a police base in Helmand province and blowing it up this month.

An Afghan government official said the video posted online appeared to be authentic.

The use of video taken by a drone is unusual for the Taliban but more common among the more media-savvy Islamist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria.

The video, 23 minutes long, begins with the purported suicide bomber speaking in front of the Humvee, a vehicle provided to Afghan forces by American advisers.

"This is the happiest moment of my life," the man says, dressed in a black turban and white tunic.

"I am telling the Afghan stooge forces to repent and join the Taliban or we will use this equipment the foreigners gave them, against them and they can't do anything about it."

Later, a drone-mounted camera silently films the Humvee speeding towards a compound.

Facing no apparent resistance, the Humvee barrels into the middle of the base, detonating in flames in front of a large building and producing a cloud of smoke and dust, obscuring the entire compound.

A government official in Helmand said the district police chief and several other officials were killed in the attack on October 3, when Taliban militants overran much of Nawa district.

The official, who declined to be named, said the video depicting the attack appeared to be authentic.

The video's producers used graphics of target-like overlays to give the footage a video game-like feel, an effect used by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

U.S.-led forces have often used military-grade drones against the Taliban in Afghanistan's long war since 2001. Commercial drones favoured by hobbyists and video producers are far simpler and cheaper.
Senior Egyptian general shot dead outside home

CAIRO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A senior Egyptian military official was shot dead on Saturday outside his home on the outskirts of Cairo, security sources and his wife said

Gunmen opened fire on Brigadier General Adel Rajaaie, an armoured division commander who had served in troubled northern Sinai, as he left his home in Obour city to go to work, his wife told Reuters.

"Minutes after he left the house I heard gunfire, I went out to find him covered in blood ... he received a lot of bullets .. He died instantly," said Samia Zain El Abedeen.

She said neighbours told her the assailants had automatic weapons and fled in a car.

A newly-emerged militant group calling itself Louwaa el Thawra, or the Revolution Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account that was suspended shortly after the claim.

Rajaaie, 52, is the most senior military official to be assassinated since the toppling of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

A military funeral will be held at Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi Mosque, in Cairo, the same mosque where Egypt's top public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was given a military funeral after being killed by a car bomb in June 2015.

He was the most senior state official to die at the hands of militants in recent years.

Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State's branch in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed. There have also been attacks in Cairo and other cities.

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.

Since the Brotherhood's candidate, Mursi, was deposed after mass protests against his rule, Sisi has overseen a crackdown in which hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed and thousands jailed or sentenced to death.

An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence on Mursi on Saturday on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012, judicial sources told Reuters.
Five police personnel who were arrested over the death of two Jaffna University students were remanded till November 4 by Jaffna Magistrates Court today, Police said.
The Mahanayaka Theras of Malwatta and Asgiri Chapters said the Right to Information Act introduced by the government is beneficial to both the media persons and the general public of the country alike.

The prelates expressed their views when the Minister of Mass Media and Information Gayantha Karunathilaka and the Director General of Government Information Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya met them at their temples in Kandy on Friday (21).

The Mahanayaka of Malwatta Chapter Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera said people seem to be still not knowledgeable of the Act.

The minister told the Mahanayaka Theras that awareness raising workshops are being held throughout country for the general public and media person on the importance and usefulness of the Act.

People of the country could enjoy the right to information without any difficulty under the present government what they could not get during the last government. The minister also said in India this right was gained by the people after staging struggles in streets.

Under this Act, people could get any necessary information from the government institutions and officials are bound to give relevant information, the minister explained to the prelates.

Director General of Government Information Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya said now any citizen has the access to the information they want from the government institutions except for those related to national security.

After meeting the prelates, the Minister spoke to the media and said that frauds and corruptions are preventable through the implementation of the Act. (J.A.L. Jayasinghe)
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday condemned the incident that took place in Jaffna yesterday, where two university students were killed.

TNA Chief and Opposition Leader R Sampanthan met President Maithripala Sirisena while attending an event in Trincomalee yesterday morning and raised concerns regarding the incident, according to a statement issued by the TNA.

It said a special police unit had been deployed in Jaffna since then to investigate the incident on the orders of the President and the police officers who had allegedly involved in the incident have been taken into custody.

Mr. Sampanthan who also spoke to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and expressed his dissatisfaction regarding the incident, has also requested the IGP to conduct an impartial investigation and take immediate action, the TNA said.

The TNA expressed its deep regret about this incident and conveyed its condolences to the families, friends and the loved ones of the deceased.
Two male students attached to the Jaffna University sustained fatal injuries after they were shot at by the police for disobeying orders to stop their motorcycle at a roadblock at the Kulappidi Junction in Kankesanthurai early today.

The two students who were returning after attending a party in one of the students house in Chunnakam around 3.00 am had been ordered to stop by a night police unit stationed at a roadblock at the Kulappidi Junction.

The students who were said to have been under the influence of liquor had defied police orders and sped without stopping, forcing the latter to open fire at them, the sources said.

The rider of the motorcycle who had been shot twice in the head had been reportedly killed on the spot losing control of the motorcycle that rammed into a roadside parapet wall causing serious injuries to the pillion rider too.

The two victims had been rushed to the Jaffna Hospital and one of them was pronounced dead whilst the pillion rider succumbed to his condition shortly after.

The two third-year students attached to the Arts Faculty of the Jaffna University had been identified as 24-year-old Sundiraja Sulakshan of Kandarodai in Chunnakam and Nadarasa Gajan of Kilinochchi.

Sulakshan who took his friend to his house the previous evening for a function was returning on his motorcycle to drop Gajan, who was staying at the university hostel.

Jaffna Magistrate S Satheeshkaran who arrived at the scene yesterday morning conducted the Magisterial Inquiry whilst the postmortem of the two bodies had been carried out at the Jaffna Hospital yesterday afternoon.

Although, unconfirmed reports indicated that the Judicial Medical Officer had found ammunition in the victims body, the report had not been publicized by the time this edition went to press last night.

The police in Jaffna who denied any shooting involving the incident maintained that the deaths were due to an accident.

Meanwhile, the Government Information Department issued a statement yesterday afternoon saying that five policemen had been arrested in connection with the student deaths and were interdicted with immediate effect.

A special team from the Criminal Investigation Department was dispatched from Colombo to commence an investigation into incident and the security in the area had been intensified.

TNA Parliamentarian Mawai Senathirajah had visited the hospital yesterday afternoon whilst Jaffna University students in numbers were seen gathered outside the hospital and the Jaffna Police Station throughout the day.

Numerous attempts made to get through to senior police officers either in Jaffna or Colombo for comments were futile. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana, Romesh Madusanka and Pradeep Kumara in Jaffna)
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the national capital has once again turned into a battleground. Outrage against anti-national sentiments and sexual assault charges has been national headlines, and now the case of a missing student has stirred this hot cauldron.

The mysterious disappearance of 27-year-old Najeeb Ahmed, an MSc student, has led to massive outrage at the varsity. "Justice for Najeeb" is what students address it as, but over all the commotion the cause is lost.

The matter has taken a political and communal turn and leaders and political factions are working hard to expand their votebanks.

Left-ruled student groups allege that the scuffle that took place between Najeeb and ABVP members was a planned one. Najeeb was in the hostel for 20 days, the ABVP group assaulted him and there was also a case of mob-lynching. On the other side, you have the BJP-backed ABVP claiming that Najeeb slapped their worker Vikrant Kumar because of a holy thread on his wrist.

Saurab Sharma of the ABVP went on to tell the media that "the Left ideologues" could even be the ones hiding him on campus. He compared the incident to when Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya (JNU students who were arrested on charges of sedition) were hiding inside the campus during the February 2016 incident.

A student is missing and his whereabouts are unknown. The police has announced Rs 50 000 for any information on Najeeb. A special investigative team has been set up on the instruction of home minister Rajnath Singh. The authorities are not sitting on the issue, that is for sure.

But are the students helping them in their efforts? Many students who took part in the protest did not know Najeeb. Students in his hostel did not know him. But many present at the protest venue described him as earnest, honest, naive and very bright but no, they did not personally interact with him. It is a vast campus yes, but did this boy not have even one friend?

One of the demands the Left-ruled groups put out in their press statement was that they wanted the campus to be safe and secure. But when asked about setting up CCTV cameras around campus, they were against the surveillance. Probably, if the gates and junctions on campus had cameras, today we would have at least figured out whether Najeeb was on campus or not.

The drama at JNU is endless. (Photo credit: India Today)

JNU students held the vice-chancellor, proctor and other top faculty members hostage in the administrative block for over 22 hours. This was illegal and arbitrary. Was this right? I do not agree with the method. The demand that the search for Najeeb be expedited is justified but the means to that end are not.

Giving the protesters who laid siege the benefit of doubt, they claim they sent food for the faculty which remained untouched. They also said the building had a pantry of its own. So the claims of the V-C of not having access to proper food and water can be questioned. But yes, they are elderly and they suffer from various ailments, this cannot be over looked.

Students who participated in the march on Friday were not even aware of what they wanted. Many were scared that the police might detain them. But I must say a few others were enjoying the attention. Make-up on faces and hogging the media limelight. This after the incident where students misbehaved with the media after they let the V-C walk out.

The drama at JNU is endless, but the media still feasts on it. The students pushed against barricades and the Delhi Police, and then yelled at the police for touching them. All the while claiming they were holding a peaceful protest.

When a fellow journalist from Prime News, a Hindi channel, was talking to Shatrupa, general secretary of JNUSU, he asked: The home ministry has commissioned a special team to look into the matter. Do you not trust the authorities in the government? The instant answer was down down, Sanghi channel. Does a journalist not have the right to question anymore? It was beautiful television tamasha.

But one thing is for sure - all this hue and cry has covered up the main issue. Where is Najeeb and how can we get him back? If people believe he is on campus, then set up a committee and search all hostels and buildings on the premises at the same time. It is a huge campus and he could be anywhere.

And most importantly, the blame-game should stop. Votebanks should be the last priority now. Students should be united on the issue, not bully each other. The JNUSU acts as one but the internal friction is very evident. The Left is breaking up within itself and the ABVP is basking in this.
A fire in a private hospital in Odisha has unfortunately claimed more than a score of lives and burnt too many fingers. The incident has also exposed the dark underbelly of violations of safety norms by nearly every hospital in the capital city of Bhubaneswar.

The fire has now engulfed the state health minister who has resigned on moral grounds. It has also brought to the fore an incompetent, unprofessional and base local media. The fire has asked too many uncomfortable questions.

Firstly, the ghastly fire. SUM Hospital, a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar, witnessed a horrific fire which has now killed 26 people and left dozens injured. The hospital had been running without adequate certification and had been served notice by the fire department. There are questions galore about the flouting of norms. When institutions crumble and regulators flounder, such incidents will have much greater likelihood of occurrence.

There are much larger policy issues regarding safety, and particularly fire safety. Bhubaneswar, like most of our country, lacks safety awareness, a testimony that can be observed in its chaotic traffic, office buildings, shopping complexes, etc. But for the numero uno of smart city competition, it can ill afford to take such norms for granted.

Secondly, the resignation drama. The high moral ground that health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak has taken by resigning is of little consequence or comfort. Healthcare in Odisha has been facing many crises of late.

State health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak has resigned.

Be it deaths due to malnutrition, spread of Japanese encephalitis killing nearly 70 children or the infamous Dana Manjhi episode (he had to carry his dead wife on his shoulders for 10km), or gaping deficiency of doctors in rural areas, they merely reflect the state of affairs as they stand. The resignation drama just points to the fact that BJD supremo and state CM Naveen Patnaik could not be seen not doing anything any longer.

Thirdly, the local Odia media. With mushrooming news channels (during my visit to Odisha last week, I was flabbergasted to see one showing CCTV bhoot (ghost) during prime time), the discourse during this fire incident has been taken to the nadir.

With political patronage looming large, the media have got involved in cooking conspiracy theories, with one of them attributing the hospital fire to the curse of a jailed godman. It is just plain detestable. Pro-hospital news channels and anti-hospital news channels have thrown dirt on each other and muddied a sensible debate over fire safety.

The potent mix of sub-nationalism and lack of awareness, absence of ecosystem for growth and promotion of talent, narrow worldview and lack of innovation, compounded with the general rise in anti-intellectualism and dire educational status are the reasons behind the proliferation of such base media.

What should have been a sombre matter leading to serious debate and discussion over strengthening institutions and regulators that are responsible for safety, what should have been a matter of ethical investigation to help book wrongdoers and ascertain facts, what should have been a rude wake-up call to fix a proposed "smart city" - has become a slugfest of lower order, a political drama, an obfuscation of information.
Via allAfrica.com, a report from The Monitor: Uganda: Travellers With Forged Yellow Fever Cards Intercepted. Excerpt:

Entebbe  Authorities at Entebbe International Airport have intercepted travellers with forged yellow fever cards.

Dr James Eyul, the manager Kazuri Medical Clinic that is responsible for authenticating travellers' yellow fever immunisations cards at Entebbe International Airport told Daily Monitor on Friday that numerous travellers have been found with forged cards yellow fever cards.

"Every day we get many cases of people travelling with forged yellow fever immunisation cards. We normally get between 20 to 35, at times the number goes up to 50," Dr Eyul said.

Dr Eyul didn't disclose the specifics of the suspects as police were still investigating the source of the forged cards.

After the recent outbreak of yellow fever in Angola that claimed over 200 lives and another outbreak in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the ministry of health under the international health regulations issued guidelines that required travellers to produce a valid immunisation certificate against the disease before being allowed to enter or exit Uganda. Uganda is listed among the high risk yellow fever countries.
The following companies are subsidiares of Johnson & Johnson: 3Dintegrated ApS, ALZA Corporation, AMO (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Beijing Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., AMO ASIA LIMITED, AMO Asia Limited (Korea Branch), AMO Asia Limited Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), AMO Australia Pty Limited, AMO Australia Pty Limited (New Zealand Branch), AMO Canada Company, AMO Denmark ApS, AMO Development LLC, AMO France, AMO Germany GmbH, AMO Groningen B.V., AMO International Holdings Unlimited Company, AMO Ireland, AMO Ireland Ireland Branch, AMO Italy SRL, AMO Japan K.K., AMO Manufacturing USA LLC, AMO Netherlands BV, AMO Nominee Holdings LLC, AMO Norway AS, AMO Puerto Rico Manufacturing Inc., AMO Sales and Service Inc., AMO Singapore Pte. Ltd., AMO Spain Holdings LLC, AMO Switzerland GmbH, AMO U.K. Holdings LLC, AMO United Kingdom Ltd., AMO Uppsala AB, AUB Holdings LLC, Abott Medical Optics, Acclarent Inc., Actelion Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc., Actelion Treasury Unlimited Company, Akros Medical Inc., Albany Street LLC, Alios BioPharma, Alza Land Management Inc., Anakuria Therapeutics Inc., Animas Diabetes Care LLC, Animas LLC, Animas Technologies LLC, AorTx Inc., Apsis, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, Atrionix Inc., Auris Health, Auris Health Inc., Backsvalan 2 Aktiebolag, Backsvalan 6 Handelsbolag, Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd., BeneVir BioPharm Inc., Berna Rhein B.V., BioMedical Enterprises Inc., Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd., Biosense Webster Inc., Branch of Johnson & Johnson LLC (RU) in Kazakhstan, C Consumer Products Denmark ApS, CSATS Inc., Calibra Medical LLC, Campus-Foyer Apotheke GmbH, Carlo Erba OTC S.r.l., Centocor Biologics LLC, Centocor Research & Development Inc., Cerenovus Inc., ChromaGenics B.V., Ci:Labo Customer Marketing Co. Ltd., Ci:Labo USA Inc., Ci:z Holdings, Ci:z. Labo Co. Ltd., Cilag AG, Cilag GmbH International, Cilag Holding AG, Cilag Holding Treasury Unlimited Company, Cilag-Biotech S.L., CoTherix Inc., Coherex Medical Inc., ColBar LifeScience Ltd., Company Store.com Inc., Conor MedSystems, Cordis International Corporation, Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Corimmun GmbH, DePuy Hellas SA, DePuy International Limited, DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company, DePuy Mexico S.A. de C.V., DePuy Mitek LLC, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Products Inc., DePuy Spine LLC, DePuy Synthes Gorgan Limited, DePuy Synthes Inc., DePuy Synthes Institute LLC, DePuy Synthes Leto SARL, DePuy Synthes Products Inc., DePuy Synthes Sales Inc., Debs-Vogue Corporation (Proprietary) Limited, Dutch Holding LLC, ECL7 LLC, EES Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EES S.A. de C.V., EIT Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Europe) GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC, Ethicon Inc., Ethicon LLC, Ethicon PR Holdings Unlimited Company, Ethicon Sarl, Ethicon US LLC, Ethicon Women's Health & Urology Sarl, Ethnor (Proprietary) Limited, Ethnor Farmaceutica S.A., Ethnor del Istmo S.A., FMS Future Medical System SA, Finsbury (Development) Limited, Finsbury (Instruments) Limited, Finsbury Medical Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics International Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited, GH Biotech Holdings Limited, GMED Healthcare BV, GMED Healthcare BV (Branch), Global Investment Participation B.V., Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech Co. Ltd., Hansen Medical Deutschland GmbH, Hansen Medical Inc., Hansen Medical International Inc., Hansen Medical UK Limited, Healthcare Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Hickory Merger Sub Inc., I.D. Acquisition Corp., Innomedic Gesellschaft fur innovative Medizintechnik und Informatik mbH, Innovative Surgical Solutions LLC, J & J Company West Africa Limited, J&J Pension Trustees Limited, J-C Health Care Ltd., J.C. General Services BV, JJ Surgical Vision Spain S.L., JJC Acquisition Company B.V., JJHC LLC, JJSV Belgium BV, JJSV Manufacturing Malaysia SDN. BHD., JJSV Norden AB, JJSV Produtos Oticos Ltda., JNJ Global Business Services s.r.o., JNJ Holding EMEA B.V., JNJ International Investment LLC, JOM Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy (Holding) Limited, Janssen BioPharma LLC, Janssen Biologics (Ireland) Limited, Janssen Biologics B.V., Janssen Biotech Inc., Janssen Cilag C.A., Janssen Cilag Farmaceutica S.A., Janssen Cilag S.p.A., Janssen Cilag SPA, Janssen Development Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Diagnostics LLC, Janssen Egypt LLC, Janssen Farmaceutica Portugal Lda, Janssen Global Services LLC, Janssen Holding GmbH, Janssen Inc., Janssen Irish Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Korea Ltd., Janssen Oncology Inc., Janssen Ortho LLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica (Proprietary) Limited, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Janssen Pharmaceutica S.A., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical Sciences Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceutical Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Japan Branch, Janssen Products LP, Janssen R&D Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC, Janssen Supply Group LLC, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., Janssen Vaccines Branch of Cilag GmbH International, Janssen Vaccines Corp., Janssen-Cilag, Janssen-Cilag (New Zealand) Limited, Janssen-Cilag A/S, Janssen-Cilag AG, Janssen-Cilag AS, Janssen-Cilag Aktiebolag, Janssen-Cilag B.V., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Lda., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Ltda., Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Janssen-Cilag International NV, Janssen-Cilag Kft., Janssen-Cilag Kft. Branch Office, Janssen-Cilag Limited, Janssen-Cilag Manufacturing LLC, Janssen-Cilag NV, Janssen-Cilag OY, Janssen-Cilag Pharma GmbH, Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical S.A.C.I., Janssen-Cilag Polska Sp. z o.o., Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd, Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd (Branch), Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag s.r.o., Janssen-Pharma S.L., Jevco Holding Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson (Angola) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson (Egypt) S.A.E., Johnson & Johnson (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Ireland) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Jamaica) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Kenya) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (DHCC Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (JAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. Service Center (DAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Mozambique) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (New Zealand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Thailand) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Trinidad) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co. Ltd, Johnson & Johnson - Societa' Per Azioni, Johnson & Johnson AB, Johnson & Johnson AB Eesti filiaal (Branch), Johnson & Johnson AG, Johnson & Johnson AG (Zuchwil Branch), Johnson & Johnson Belgium Finance Company BV, Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD, Johnson & Johnson China Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Thailand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer B.V., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care Switzerland Branch of Janssen-Cilag AG, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Holdings France, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Dominican Republic Branch), Johnson & Johnson Consumer NV, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Services EAME Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Del Paraguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson Dominicana S.A.S., Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation Inc., Johnson & Johnson European Treasury Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson Finance Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Finance Limited, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH (Branch Office), Johnson & Johnson Gateway LLC, Johnson & Johnson Gesellschaft m.b.H., Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Guatemala S.A., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Commercial and Industrial S.A., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Consumer Products Commercial Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson Hemisferica S.A., Johnson & Johnson Holding GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Inc., Johnson & Johnson Industrial Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Limited, Johnson & Johnson International, Johnson & Johnson International (Belgian Branch) (European Logistics Center), Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Branch), Johnson & Johnson International Financial Services Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Johnson & Johnson Kft., Johnson & Johnson Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Korea Selling & Distribution LLC, Johnson & Johnson LLC, Johnson & Johnson Lda, Johnson & Johnson Limited, Johnson & Johnson Limited (Sri Lanka Branch), Johnson & Johnson Luxembourg Finance Company Sarl, Johnson & Johnson Management Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Proprietary) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Suzhou) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical B.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group - Latin America L.L.C., Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical NV, Johnson & Johnson Medical Products GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical S.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.C.S., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.p.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical SAS, Johnson & Johnson Medical Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Ankara Branch), Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Izmir Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East - Scientific Office, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ - LLC (Lebanese Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Ghana Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Kenya Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC Branch (TSO) (Saudi Arabia Branch), Johnson & Johnson Morocco Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson NCB (Belgian Branch), Johnson & Johnson Nordic AB, Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pakistan (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Panama S.A., Johnson & Johnson Personal Care (Chile) S.A., Johnson & Johnson Poland Sp. z o.o., Johnson & Johnson Poland sp. z o.o. oddzial w Warszawie "Consumer", Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd. Korea Branch, Johnson & Johnson Pty. Limited, Johnson & Johnson Romania S.R.L., Johnson & Johnson S.A., Johnson & Johnson S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson S.E. Inc., Johnson & Johnson S.E. d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson SDN. BHD., Johnson & Johnson Sante Beaute France, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision India Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson UK Treasury Company Limited, Johnson & Johnson Ukraine LLC, Johnson & Johnson Urban Renewal Associates, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson de Argentina S.A.C. e. I., Johnson & Johnson de Chile Limitada, Johnson & Johnson de Chile S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Colombia S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson de Uruguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Venezuela S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Ecuador S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Peru S.A., Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Industria E Comercio de Produtos Para Saude Ltda., Johnson & Johnson for Export and Import LLC, Johnson & Johnson s.r.o., Johnson Y Johnson de Costa Rica S.A., Johnson and Johnson (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson and Johnson Sihhi Malzeme Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, LTL Management LLC, La Concha Land Investment Corporation, Latam International Investment Company Unlimited Company, Legal Entity Name, MDS Co. Ltd., McNEIL MMP LLC, McNeil AB, McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., McNeil Denmark ApS, McNeil Healthcare (Ireland) Limited, McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited, McNeil Healthcare LLC, McNeil Iberica S.L.U., McNeil LA LLC, McNeil Nutritionals LLC, McNeil Panama LLC, McNeil Products Limited, McNeil Sweden AB, Medical Device Business Services Inc., Medical Devices & Diagnostics Global Services LLC, Medical Devices International LLC, Medos International Sarl, Medos International Sarl succursale de Neuchatel (Branch), Medos Sarl, MegaDyne Medical Products Inc., Menlo Care De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mentor B.V., Mentor Deutschland GmbH, Mentor Medical Systems B.V., Mentor Partnership Holding Company I LLC, Mentor Texas GP LLC, Mentor Texas L.P., Mentor Worldwide LLC, Micrus Endovascular LLC, Middlesex Assurance Company Limited, Momenta Ireland Limited, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., NeoStrata Company Inc., NeoStrata UG (haftungsbeschrankt), Netherlands Holding Company, NeuWave Medical Inc., Neuravi Limited, Novira Therapeutics, Novira Therapeutics LLC, NuVera Medical Inc., OBTECH Medical Sarl, OGX Beauty Limited, OMJ Holding GmbH, OMJ Ireland Unlimited Company, OMJ Pharmaceuticals Inc., Obtech Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals NV, Ortho Biologics LLC, Ortho Biotech Holding LLC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, Orthospin Ltd., Orthotaxy, PT Integrated Healthcare Indonesia, PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Patriot Pharmaceuticals LLC, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pharmadirect Ltd., Pharmedica Laboratories (Proprietary) Limited, Princeton Laboratories Inc., Productos de Cuidado Personal y de La Salud de Bolivia S.R.L., Proleader S.A., Pulsar Vascular Inc., Regency Urban Renewal Associates, RespiVert Ltd., RoC International, Royalty A&M LLC, Rutan Realty LLC, SYNTHES Medical Immobilien GmbH, Scios LLC, Sedona Singapore International Pte. Ltd., Sedona Thai International Co. Ltd., Serhum S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Elsker For Mother & Baby Co. Ltd, Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby Co. Ltd Minghang Branch, Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sightbox LLC, Sodiac ESV, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Company, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Partnership, SterilMed, SterilMed Inc., Surgical Process Institute Deutschland GmbH, Synthes Costa Rica S.C.R. Limitada, Synthes GmbH, Synthes Holding AG, Synthes Holding Limited, Synthes Inc., Synthes Medical Surgical Equipment & Instruments Trading LLC, Synthes Produktions GmbH, Synthes Proprietary Limited, Synthes S.M.P. S. de R.L. de C.V., Synthes Tuttlingen GmbH, Synthes USA LLC, Synthes USA Products LLC, TARIS Biomedical, TARIS Biomedical LLC, TearScience Inc., The Anspach Effort LLC, The Vision Care Institute LLC, Tibotec LLC, Torax Medical Inc., UAB "Johnson & Johnson", UAB Johnson & Johnson Eesti Filiaal (Estonian Branch), Vania Expansion, Verb Surgical, Verb Surgical Inc., Vision Care Finance Unlimited Company, Vogue International, Vogue International LLC, Vogue International Trading Inc., WH4110 Development Company L.L.C., XO1, XO1 Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Beijing Branch Office, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shanghai Branch Office, Zarbee's Inc., and Zarbee's Naturals.

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Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 143 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
The following companies are subsidiares of PepsiCo: Alimentos Quaker Oats y Compania Limitada, Alimentos del Istmo S.A., Amavale Agricola Ltda., Anderson Hill Insurance Limited, Asia Bottlers Limited, BAESA Capital Corporation Ltd., BFY Brands, BFY Brands LLC, BFY Brands Limited, BUG de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Balmoral Industries LLC, Bare Foods Co., Barrhead LLC, Be & Cheery, Beaman Bottling Company, Bebidas Sudamerica S.A., Beech Limited, Bell Taco Funding Syndicate, Bendler Investments II Ltd, Bendler Investments S.a r.l, Beverage Services Limited, Beverages Foods & Service Industries Inc., Bishkeksut OJSC, Blaue NC S. de R.L. de C.V., Blue Cloud Distribution Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arizona Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arkansas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Colorado Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Florida Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Georgia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Illinois Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Indiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Iowa Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Kentucky Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Louisiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Minnesota Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Mississippi Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Missouri Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nebraska Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nevada Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of North Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Ohio Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Oklahoma Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Pennsylvania Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of South Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Texas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Virginia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Wisconsin Inc., Blue Ridge Sales LLC, Bluebird Foods Limited, Bluecan Holdings Unlimited Company, Bokomo Zambia Limited, Bolsherechensky Molkombinat JSC, Boquitas Fiestas LLC, Boquitas Fiestas S.R.L., Bottling Group Financing LLC, Bottling Group Holdings LLC, Bottling Group LLC, Bronte Industries Ltd, C & I Leasing Inc., CB Manufacturing Company Inc., CEME Holdings LLC, CMC Investment Company, Caroni Investments LLC, Centro-Mediterranea de Bebidas Carbonicas PepsiCo S.L., Ceres Fruit Juices Pty Ltd, ChampBev Inc., China Concentrate Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Chipsy International for Food Industries S.A.E., Chipsy for Food Industries S.A.E., Chitos Internacional y Cia Ltda, Cipa Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cipa Nordeste Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cocina Autentica Inc., Comercializadora CMC Investment y Compania Limitada, Comercializadora Nacional SAS Ltda., Comercializadora PepsiCo Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Compania de Bebidas PepsiCo S.L., Concentrate Holding Uruguay Pte. Ltd., Concentrate Manufacturing Singapore Pte. Ltd., Confiteria Alegro S. de R.L. de C.V., Copella Fruit Juices Limited, Copper Beech International LLC, Corina Snacks Limited, Corporativo Internacional Mexicano S. de R.L. de C.V., CytoSport Holdings Inc., CytoSport Inc., Davlyn Realty Corporation, Defosto Holdings Limited, Desarrollo Inmobiliario Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Dilexis S.A., Donon Holdings Limited, Drinkfinity USA Inc., Drinkstation Inc., Drinkstation Innovation Co. Ltd., Drinkstation Limited, Dutch Snacks Holding S.A. de C.V., Duyvis Production B.V., EPIC Enterprises Inc., Echo Bay Holdings Inc., Elaboradora Argentina de Cereales S.R.L., Enter Logistica LLC, Environ at Inverrary Partnership, Environ of Inverrary Inc., Eridanus Investments S.a r.l, Evercrisp Snack Productos de Chile S.A., FL Transportation Inc., FLI Andean LLC, FLI Colombia LLC, FLI Snacks Andean GP LLC, Fabrica PepsiCo Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Fabrica de Productos Alimenticios Rene y Cia S.C.A., Fairlight International SRL, Far East Bottlers Hong Kong Limited, Food Concepts Pioneer Ltd., Forest Akers Nederland B.V., Forty-Six Peaks Holding Inc., Fovarosi Asvanyviz es Uditoipari Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Freshwater International B.V., Frito Lay Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Frito Lay Poland Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay de Guatemala y Compania Limitada, Frito-Lay Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Frito-Lay Dip Company Inc., Frito-Lay Dominicana S.A., Frito-Lay Global Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Inc., Frito-Lay Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Manufacturing LLC, Frito-Lay Netherlands Holding B.V., Frito-Lay North America Inc., Frito-Lay Sales Inc., Frito-Lay Trading Company Europe GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company Poland GmbH, Frito-Lay Trinidad Unlimited, Fruko Mesrubat Sanayi Limited Sirketi, GB Czech LLC, GB International Inc., GB Russia LLC, GB Slovak LLC, GMP Manufacturing Inc., Gambrinus Investments Limited, Gamesa LLC, Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Gas Natural de Merida S. A. de C. V., Gatorade Puerto Rico Company, General Bottlers of Hungary Inc., Golden Grain Company, Goveh S.R.L., Grayhawk Leasing LLC, Green Hemlock International LLC, Grupo Frito Lay y Compania Limitada, Grupo Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo Mabel, Grupo Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Gulkevichskiy Maslozavod JSC, Hangzhou Baicaowei Corporate Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co, Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Tao Dao Technology Co. Ltd., Health Warrior, Health Warrior Inc., Heathland LP, Helioscope Limited, Hillbrook Inc., Hillgrove Inc., Hillwood Bottling LLC, Hogganfield Limited Partnership, Holding Company "Opolie" JSC, Homefinding Company of Texas, Hudson Valley Insurance Company, IC Equities Inc., IZZE Beverage Co., Inmobiliaria Interamericana S.A. De C.V., Integrated Beverage Services Bangladesh Limited, Integrated Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., International Bottlers Management Co. LLC, International KAS Aktiengesellschaft, Inversiones Borneo S.R.L., Inversiones PFI Chile Limitada, Inviting Foods Holdings Inc., Inviting Foods LLC, KAS Anorthosis S.a r.l, KAS S.L., KFC, Kevita Inc., Kinvara LLC, Kungursky Molkombinat JSC, Larragana S.L., Latin American Holdings Ltd., Latin American Snack Foods ApS, Latin Foods International LLC, Lebedyansky, Lebedyansky Holdings LLC, Lebedyansky LLC, Limited Liability Company "Sandora", Linkbay Limited, Lithuanian Snacks UAB, Mabel, Marbo Product d.o.o. Beograd, Marbo d.o.o. Laktasi, Matudis - Comercio de Produtos Alimentares Limitada, Matutano - Sociedade de Produtos Alimentares Lda., Mid-America Improvement Corporation, Mountainview Insurance Company Inc., Muscle Milk, NCJV LLC, New Bern Transport Corporation, New Century Beverage Company LLC, Noble Leasing LLC, Northeast Hot-Fill Co-op Inc., Office at Solyanka LLC, Onbiso Inversiones S.L., One World Enterprises LLC, One World Investors Inc., P-A Barbados Bottling Company LLC, P-A Bottlers Barbados SRL, P-Americas LLC, PAS Luxembourg S.a r.l, PAS Netherlands B.V., PBG Canada Holdings II LLC, PBG Canada Holdings Inc., PBG Cyprus Holdings Limited, PBG Investment Partnership, PBG Midwest Holdings S.a r.l, PBG Soda Can Holdings S.a r.l, PCBL LLC, PCNA Manufacturing Inc., PR Beverages Cyprus Holding Limited, PR Beverages Cyprus Russia Holding Limited, PRB Luxembourg S.a r.l, PRS Inc., PSAS Inversiones LLC, PSE Logistica S.R.L., PT Quaker Indonesia, Papas Chips S.A., Pei N.V., Pep Trade LLC, Pepsi B.V., Pepsi Beverages Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bottling Group Global Finance LLC, Pepsi Bottling Group GmbH, Pepsi Bottling Group Hoosiers B.V., Pepsi Bottling Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bugshan Investments S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Colombia Ltda, Pepsi Cola Egypt S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Panamericana S.R.L., Pepsi Cola Servis Ve Dagitim Limited Sirketi, Pepsi Cola Trading Ireland, Pepsi Logistics Company Inc., Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC, Pepsi Overseas Investments Partnership, Pepsi Promotions Inc., Pepsi-Cola Advertising and Marketing Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bermuda Limited, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Holding C.V., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Of St. Louis Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach LLC, Pepsi-Cola Company, Pepsi-Cola Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Pepsi-Cola Far East Trade Development Co. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Finance LLC, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Poland Sp. z o.o., Pepsi-Cola Industrial da Amazonia Ltda., Pepsi-Cola International Cork, Pepsi-Cola International LLC, Pepsi-Cola International Limited, Pepsi-Cola International Limited U.S.A., Pepsi-Cola International Private Limited, Pepsi-Cola Korea Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Management and Administrative Services Inc., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Company Of Uruguay S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing International Limited, Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Mediterranean Limited, Pepsi-Cola Marketing Corp. Of P.R. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mediterranean Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mexicana Holdings LLC, Pepsi-Cola Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Pepsi-Cola National Marketing LLC, Pepsi-Cola Operating Company Of Chesapeake And Indianapolis, Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution Inc., Pepsi-Cola Technical Operations Inc., Pepsi-Cola Thai Trading Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola de Honduras S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola of Corvallis Inc., PepsiAmericas Nemzetkozi Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, PepsiCo ANZ Holdings Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Alimentos Antioquia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Colombia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Ecuador Cia. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Z.F. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos de Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Amacoco Bebidas Do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCo Asia Research & Development Center Company Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Cyprus Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Limited Partnership, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 1 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 2 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Limited, PepsiCo Australia International, PepsiCo Austria Services GmbH, PepsiCo Azerbaijan Limited Liability Company, PepsiCo BeLux BV, PepsiCo Beverage Sales LLC, PepsiCo Beverage Singapore Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Beverages Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Beverages International Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Italia Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata, PepsiCo Canada Finance LLC, PepsiCo Canada Holdings ULC, PepsiCo Canada Investment ULC, PepsiCo Canada ULC, PepsiCo Captive Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Caribbean Inc., PepsiCo China Limited, PepsiCo Consulting Polska Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo De Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Del Paraguay S.R.L., PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH, PepsiCo Eesti AS, PepsiCo Euro Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Euro Finance Antilles B.V., PepsiCo Europe Support Center S.L., PepsiCo Finance Americas Company, PepsiCo Finance Antilles A N.V., PepsiCo Finance Antilles B N.V., PepsiCo Finance South Africa Proprietary Limited, PepsiCo Financial Shared Services Inc., PepsiCo Food & Beverage Holdings Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Foods A.I.E., PepsiCo Foods China Company Limited, PepsiCo Foods Group Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Foods Guangdong Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Nigeria Limited, PepsiCo Foods Private Limited, PepsiCo Foods Sichuan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Taiwan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Vietnam Company, PepsiCo France SAS, PepsiCo Global Business Services India LLP, PepsiCo Global Business Services Poland Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Global Holdings Limited, PepsiCo Global Investments B.V., PepsiCo Global Investments S.a r.l, PepsiCo Global Mobility LLC, PepsiCo Global Real Estate Inc., PepsiCo Global Trading Solutions Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Golden Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Group Finance International B.V., PepsiCo Group Holdings International B.V., PepsiCo Group Spotswood Holdings S.a r.l, PepsiCo Gulf International FZE, PepsiCo Hellas Single Member Industrial and Commercial Societe Anonyme, PepsiCo Holding de Espana S.L., PepsiCo Holdings, PepsiCo Holdings LLC, PepsiCo Holdings Toshkent LLC, PepsiCo Hong Kong LLC, PepsiCo Iberia Servicios Centrales S.L., PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited, PepsiCo India Sales Private Limited, PepsiCo Internacional Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., PepsiCo International Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo International Limited, PepsiCo International Pte Ltd., PepsiCo Investments Europe I B.V., PepsiCo Investments Ltd., PepsiCo Ireland Food & Beverages Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Japan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Light B.V., PepsiCo Logistyka Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., PepsiCo Management Services SAS, PepsiCo Manufacturing A.I.E., PepsiCo Max B.V., PepsiCo Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo Nederland B.V., PepsiCo Nordic Denmark ApS, PepsiCo Nordic Finland Oy, PepsiCo Nordic Norway AS, PepsiCo Nutrition Trading DMCC, PepsiCo One B.V., PepsiCo Overseas Corporation, PepsiCo Overseas Financing Partnership, PepsiCo Panimex Inc, PepsiCo Products B.V., PepsiCo Products FLLC, PepsiCo Puerto Rico Inc., PepsiCo Sales Inc., PepsiCo Sales LLC, PepsiCo Services Asia Ltd., PepsiCo Services CZ s.r.o., PepsiCo Services LLC, PepsiCo Twist B.V., PepsiCo UK Pension Plan Trustee Limited, PepsiCo Ventures B.V., PepsiCo Wave Holdings LLC, PepsiCo World Trading Company Inc., PepsiCo Y LLC, PepsiCo de Argentina S.R.L., PepsiCo de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos Ltda., PepsiCo do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCola Interamericana de Guatemala S.A., Pet Iberia S.L., Pete & Johnny Limited, Pine International LLC, Pine International Limited, Pinstripe Leasing LLC, Pioneer Food Group Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Groceries Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Group Ltd., Pioneer Foods Holdings Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods UK Ltd, Pioneer Foods Wellingtons Pty Ltd, Pipers Crisps Limited, PlayCo Inc., Pop corners, PopCorners Holdings Inc., Portfolio Concentrate Solutions Unlimited Company, Premier Nutrition Trading L.L.C., Prestwick LLC, Prev PepsiCo Sociedade Previdenciaria, Productos Alimenticios Rene LLC, Productos S.A.S. C.V., Productos SAS Management B.V., Punch N.V., Punica Getranke GmbH, Q O Puerto Rico Inc., QFL OHQ Sdn. Bhd., QTG Development Inc., QTG Services Inc., Quadrant - Amroq Beverages S.R.L., Quaker Development B.V., Quaker European Beverages LLC, Quaker European Investments B.V., Quaker Foods, Quaker Global Investments B.V., Quaker Holdings UK Limited, Quaker Manufacturing LLC, Quaker Oats Asia Inc., Quaker Oats Australia Pty Ltd, Quaker Oats B.V., Quaker Oats Capital Corporation, Quaker Oats Europe Inc., Quaker Oats Europe LLC, Quaker Oats Limited, Quaker Sales & Distribution Inc, Raptas Finance S.a r.l., Rare Fare Foods LLC, Rare Fare Holdings Inc., Reading Industries Ltd, Real Estate Holdings LLC, Rockstar Energy Drink, Rolling Frito-Lay Sales LP, S & T of Mississippi Inc., SIH International LLC, SVC Logistics Inc., SVC Manufacturing Inc., SVE Russia Holdings GmbH, Sabritas LLC, Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Sabritas Snacks America Latina de Nicaragua y Cia Ltda, Sabritas de Costa Rica S. de R.L., Sabritas y Cia. S en C de C.V., Sakata Rice Snacks Australia Pty Ltd, Sandora Holdings B.V., Saudi Snack Foods Company Limited, Sea Eagle International SRL, Seepoint Holdings Ltd., Senselet Food Processing PLC, Senselet Holding B.V., Servicios GBF Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Servicios GFLG y Compania Limitada, Servicios Gamesa Puerto Rico L.L.C., Servicios SYC S. de R.L. de C.V., Seven-Up Asia Inc., Seven-Up Light B.V., Seven-Up Nederland B.V., Shanghai PepsiCo Snack Company Limited, Shanghai YuHo Agricultural Development Co. Ltd, Shoebill LLC, Simba (Proprietary) Limited, Simba Proprietary Limited, Sitka Spruce, Smartfoods Inc., Smiles and Bites Holdings S.de R.L. de C.V., Smiths Crisps Limited, Snack Food Investments GmbH, Snack Food Investments II GmbH, Snack Food Investments Limited, Snack Food-Beverage Asia Products Limited, Snacks America Latina S.R.L., Snacks Guatemala Ltd., So Spark Ltd., Soda-Club CO2 Atlantic GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 Ltd., Soda-Club Switzerland GmbH, Soda-Club Worldwide B.V., SodaStream, SodaStream Australia Pty Ltd, SodaStream CO2 SA, SodaStream Canada Ltd., SodaStream Enterprises N.V., SodaStream France SAS, SodaStream GmbH, SodaStream Iberia S.L., SodaStream Industries Ltd., SodaStream International B.V., SodaStream International Ltd., SodaStream Israel Ltd., SodaStream K.K., SodaStream New Zealand Ltd., SodaStream Nordics AB, SodaStream Poland Sp. z o.o., SodaStream SA Pty Ltd., SodaStream Switzerland GmbH, SodaStream USA Inc., SodaStream Osterreich GmbH, South Beach Beverage Company Inc., South Properties Inc., Spitz International Inc., Sportmex Internacional S.A. de C.V., Springboig Industries Ltd, Spruce Limited, Stacy's Pita Chip Company Incorporated, Star Foods E.M. S.R.L., Stokely-Van Camp Inc., Stratosphere Communications Pty Ltd, Stratosphere Holdings 2018 Limited, Streamfoods Ltd, TFL Holdings LLC, Tasman Finance S.a r.l, The Gatorade Company, The Good Carb Food Company Ltd., The Pepsi Bottling Group Canada ULC, The Quaker Oats Company, The Smith's Snackfood Company Pty Limited, Thomond Group Holdings Limited, Tobago Snack Holdings LLC, Tropicana Alvalle S.L., Tropicana Beverages Limited, Tropicana Europe N.V., Tropicana United Kingdom Limited, Troya-Ultra LLC, United Foods Companies Restaurantes S.A., V-Water, VentureCo Israel Ltd, Veurne Snack Foods BV, Vitamin Brands Ltd., Walkers Crisps Limited, Walkers Group Limited, Walkers Snack Foods Limited, Walkers Snacks Distribution Limited, Walkers Snacks Limited, Whitman Corporation, Whitman Insurance Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Beverages JSC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Brands Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Central Asia-Almaty LLP, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods LLC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Georgia Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC, and Wimm-Bill-Dann Ukraine PJSC.

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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 Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.

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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.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
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.
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.
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs, manufactures, and markets engineered components and products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company offers steel rods, drawn wires, foam chemicals and additives, innersprings, specialty foams, private label finished mattresses, mattress foundations, wire forms for mattress foundations, adjustable beds, industrial sewing and quilting machines, and mattress packaging and glue drying equipment, as well as machines to produce innersprings for industrial users of steel rods and wires, manufacturers of finished bedding, big box and e-commerce retailers, bedding brands and mattress retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers. It also provides mechanical and pneumatic lumbar support and massage systems for automotive seating; seat suspension systems, motors and actuators, and cables; titanium, nickel, and stainless-steel tubing, formed tubes, tube assemblies, and flexible joint components for fluid conveyance systems; and engineered hydraulic cylinders to automobile OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, aerospace OEMs and suppliers, and mobile equipment OEMs. In addition, the company offers steel mechanisms and motion hardware for reclining chairs, sofas, sleeper sofas and lift chairs; springs and seat suspensions; components and private label finished goods for soft seating; and bases, columns, back rests, casters, and frames, as well as control devices for chairs. Further, it offers carpet cushion and hard surface flooring underlayment, structural fabrics, and geo components to manufacturers of upholstered and office furniture, flooring retailers and distributors, contractors, landscapers, road construction companies, retailers, government agencies, and mattress and furniture producers, as well as manufacturers of packaging, filtration, and draperies. The company was founded in 1883 and is based in Carthage, Missouri.
NCI Building Systems, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets metal products for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. It operates in four segments: Engineered Building Systems, Metal Components, Insulated Metal Panels, and Metal Coil Coating. The Engineered Building Systems segment offers engineered structural members and panels; and self-storage building systems under the Metallic, Mid-West Steel, A & S, All American, Mesco, Star, Ceco, Robertson, Garco, Heritage, and SteelBuilding.com brands to builders, general contractors, developers, and end users directly, as well as through private label companies. The Metal Components segment provides metal roof and wall systems, metal partitions, metal trims, doors, and other related accessories for use in new construction, and repair and retrofit applications; roll-up doors; and interior and exterior walk doors under the MBCI, American Building Components, Eco-ficient, Metal Depots, and Doors and Buildings Components brands to manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors, distributors, lumberyards, cooperative buying groups, and other customers. The Insulated Metal Panels segment offers insulated metal panels for architectural, commercial, industrial, and cold storage end-market applications under the Metl-Span and CENTRIA brands. The Metal Coil Coating segment engages in cleaning, treating, and painting flat-rolled metals in coil form, as well as in slitting and/or embossing the metal, before the metal is fabricated for use by industrial users. It also cleans, treats, and coats heavy and light gauge metal coils for use in construction products, heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, lighting fixtures, ceiling grids, office furniture, appliances, and other products; and provides toll coating and painted metal package services under the Metal Coaters and Metal Prep brands. NCI Building Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
AmerisourceBergen Corporation sources and distributes pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. Its Pharmaceutical Distribution segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to various healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers. It also provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; and packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers. In addition, this segment distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; provides other services primarily to physicians who specialize in various disease states, primarily oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics; and offers data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company's Other segment provides integrated manufacturer services, such as clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support; specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry; and sells pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and various other products to customers in the companion animal and production animal markets, as well as demand-creating sales force services to manufacturers. AmerisourceBergen Corporation was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
Devon Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company was incorporated in 1971 by John Nichols and his son J. Larry Nichols and later went public in August 2000. The company has since grown to be included in the S&P 500 and is one of the first energy companies to introduce resolutions requiring the company to monitor its impact on global warming. One time a major player in the global oil market, Devon has since sold off its offshore holdings in an effort to focus on US production and its transition to a lower-carbon future.

Devon Energy merged with WPX in early 2021 in an all-stock merger of equals. The new company is primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the US midwest. The company operates more than 5,100 wells in Oklahomas Delaware Basis, Eagle Ford Group, and the two locations in the Rocky Mountains. As of late 2022, the company laid claim to 1.625 million barrels of reserves including 44% petroleum, 27% natural gas liquids, and 29% natural gas. Daily production was running in the range of 300,000 BPD in petroleum liquids, 125,000 BPD in natural gas liquids, and 920 million cubic feet of natural gas.

Rick Muncrief, formally CEO of WPX, is now the head of Devon Energy. Mr. Muncrief comes to the table with more than 40 years of experience including 27 years with one of the US Big Three Oil Companies. WPX Energy (Williams Production and Exploration) brought properties in the Williston and Permian Basins to the combined company. Its proven reserves were roughly 527 million barrels of oil and equivalents. The company also owns and operates a midstream network of pipelines and storage facilities it uses to market and deliver its products.

Devon Energy Corporation has pledged to reduce its GHG impact to net zero by 2050. This will be done by a variety of methods that include improving efficiency and leakage, a reduction in flaring, and the electrification of its operations. Near-term goals include a 50% reduction in GHG by 2030 including a 65% reduction in methane release and a 100% reduction in flaring. The company is also focused on reducing its environmental impact by relying on recycled water wherever possible and plans to reduce freshwater usage by 90% in the most active areas. Total greenhouse gas emissions have been in decline since 2018 and fell 17% between 2018 and 2020 alone.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the 5th largest bank in the world and the largest in the U.S. The current company is the result of a series of mergers that began in the earliest days of American banking history and include more than 1,200 original banks. The oldest predecessor is The Bank Of The Manhattan Company which was founded in 1799 by Aaron Burr. At the time, The Bank Of The Manhattan Company was the 3rd oldest bank in the U.S. and the 31st oldest in the world. The Chase Manhattan Bank, a precursor to JPMorgan Chase, was later formed when The Bank Of Manhattan Company purchased Chase Bank which was established in 1877.

JPMorgan & Co came to life in 1895 in order to finance the United States Steel Corporation. Itself a result of merger, the company also financed other early American businesses as well as aided the federal government by backing a bond offering. It wasnt until the year 2000 and after several more mergers that JPMorgan Chase & Co was born. It will be four more years before the merger with Bank One which is notable because it brings CEO Jamie Dimon into the picture.

JPMorgan Chase & Co was instrumental in aiding the US government during the 2008 financial crisis. It backed the accounts of several major banks including Bear Stearns and eventually took over their operations. Today, JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide with operations on every continent and in more than 60 countries.

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates through four segments that are Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). Services are available in branches in 48 of the 50 US states and around the world. Services are available via ATM, online, mobile, and telephone.

The CCB segment offers traditional banking services to consumers that include but are not limited to deposits, loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. The CIB segment provides investment banking products and services to businesses, institutions, and governments that range from prime brokerage, insurance, corporate strategy, and access to capital markets, to lending, cross-border financing, and derivative instruments. The CB segment provides financial services for small, medium, and large businesses including commercial real estate banking of all types.

The AWM segment provides investment management solutions to institutional and retail investors. This segment also provides retirement products, brokerage, trusts and estates, and investment management products.
Pure Storage, Inc. provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object. Its products portfolio includes FlashArray for block-oriented storage, addressing databases, applications, virtual machines, and other traditional workloads; FlashArray//XL; and FlashArray//C, an all-QLC flash array. The company also provides FlashBlade, a solution for unstructured data workloads of various types; FlashStack that combines compute, network, and storage to provide an infrastructure platform; FlashRecover, an all-flash modern data-protection solution; and AIRI, a full-stack AI-ready infrastructure. In addition, it offers evergreen storage subscription, Pure as-a-Service, and Cloud Block Store, as well as Portworx a cloud-native Kubernetes data management solution It also offers technical and professional, training and education, and certification services. The company sells its products and subscription services through direct sales force and channel partners. The company was formerly known as OS76, Inc. and changed its name to Pure Storage, Inc. in January 2010. Pure Storage, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an S&P 500<sup></sup> urban office real estate investment trust ("REIT"), is the first, longest-tenured, and pioneering owner, operator, and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, technology, and agtech campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, with a total market capitalization of $31.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, and an asset base in North America of 49.7 million square feet ("SF"). The asset base in North America includes 31.9 million RSF of operating properties and 3.3 million RSF of Class A properties undergoing construction, 7.1 million RSF of near-term and intermediate-term development and redevelopment projects, and 7.4 million SF of future development projects. Founded in 1994, Alexandria pioneered this niche and has since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science, technology, and agtech campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, technology, and agtech companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.
A Carlisle High School student was allegedly berated by a substitute teacher and told to leave the country after remaining seated for the Pledge of Allegiance Friday morning.

CHS students flocked to social media Friday to complain about the teachers conduct and express support for their classmate.

She told me I had to stand for the pledge, and I just said no, thank you, the student recounted in a phone interview with The Sentinel. At the end, she wanted me to explain why I didnt stand.

While he has personal reasons for remaining seated, the student said he wasnt comfortable sharing them in such a venue.

Video of the incident, taken by another student and shared on social media, records the teacher as then saying well then maybe you would like to leave the country.

The students family confirmed that he was born in the United States. The family is of Bosnian extraction.

People have said I look foreign, the student said.

The teacher was filling in for an 11th-grade English class and was a regular substitute, the student said.

Following the incident, the student said he approached another teacher, who advised him to lodge a complaint with the principals office, which he did. Later that day, the substitute teacher was escorted out of the school and another substitute stepped in, according to photos and videos posted by students to social media.

Carlisle Area School District administrative staff has not returned requests for comment as of press time.

However, a recording of a public announcement at Carlisle High School, shared by students on social media, recorded a school administrator describing the unfortunate conversation.

Through the actions of the substitute teacher, our students protected rights were violated. This substitute teachers actions do not align with the beliefs and philosophy of the Carlisle Area School District and its employees, the announcement stated.

Therefore, the substitute teacher has been removed from the classroom and will not return to the Carlisle Area School District schools. The substitute teacher is not an employee of the district and a third-party vendor has been notified.

The student said that CASD has been generally tolerant of those who do not wish to stand or recite the pledge, as long as they are not disruptive.

Ive actually stayed seated for the pledge since sixth grade, the student said.

However, he acknowledged that the current political environment has heightened sensitivity to the issue  especially since it has entered the pop culture mainstream via the NFL.

People were jokingly calling me Colin Kaepernick afterward, the student said. But everyone has been really supportive.

Most students are well aware of the cultural divide on the issue, he said.

Shes an older lady that comes from a more conservative time, he said of the substitute.
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RICHMOND  Virginias unemployment rate rose slightly in September as the states labor force swelled and both the number of people working and seeking work increased.

The state jobless rate stood at 4 percent in September, up from 3.9 percent in August but down from 4.2 percent in September 2015, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday.

The numbers have been adjusted for seasonal factors that may temporarily affect employment.

Government statistics showed that 168,636 people were counted as unemployed in Virginia in September, up from 162,418 in August but down from 176,993 in September 2015.

Despite the increase in the unemployment rate, it was a pretty good report, said Ann Macheras, regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The job growth in Virginia was pretty strong in September.

Employers in Virginia added about 13,400 jobs from August to September, and the labor force expanded for the second consecutive month, increasing by 19,690, or 0.5 percent.

The labor force growth means that more people are looking for work, Macheras said. This is a positive, overall. It is reflective of the solid job gains that we have been seeing and that, I think, [is] encouraging people to come back into the labor force.

Virginias labor force participation rate was 64.3 percent in September, higher than the national rate of 62.9 percent. In the commonwealth, the labor force participation rate has declined from nearly 69 percent in 2006, while the U.S. rate has dropped from 66 percent.

Virginias seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained below the national rate, which was up 0.1 percent in September to 5 percent.

From September 2015 to September 2016, employment in Virginia increased by 81,100 jobs, a 2.1 percent job-growth rate that surpassed the national rate of 1.7 percent.

We saw a little pickup in the [job] growth, in September, after four months of less than 2 percent growth, said Ann Lang, senior economist for the Employment Commission.

From September 2015 to September 2016, eight of the 11 major industry sectors in the state showed employment gains, led by the professional and business services sector, which added 27,800 jobs for a 4 percent growth rate.

The largest decline was in manufacturing, which lost 3,900 jobs, or a 1.7 percent decline.

The Richmond region showed a slight decline in overall employment of about 700 from August to September. Compared with a year ago, however, the region gained 19,500 jobs, a 3 percent growth rate that exceeded the states.

In September, Virginia had the 11th lowest unemployment rate in the nation along with Arkansas and Minnesota, Lang said.

Virginia tied with Arkansas for the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among states in the Southeast, and it had the fourth lowest rate among the states east of the Mississippi, Gov. Terry McAuliffes office said.
RICHMOND  A federal judge has sanctioned the Virginia Attorney Generals Office for improper conduct and ordered it to pay the expenses  amounting to $7,674  incurred by a Richmond law firm over a wasted trip to a state prison.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson took the action last week after McGuireWoods complained it hired a court reporter and sent a lawyer from Charlottesville to Sussex II State Prison in Waverly to question a corrections officer who the Attorney Generals Office said was involved in an inmate assault case but who, in fact, was not.

Longtime court observers described the sanction as highly unusual and rare in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, particularly when it involves the Virginia Attorney Generals Office.

Anderson ordered that McGuireWoods be compensated for the billable time the lawyer spent traveling to and from the prison, mileage, the cost of the court reporter and the costs incurred by bringing the motion for sanctions. An affidavit filed Thursday indicates the two sides agreed to a payment of $7,674.36.

Bob Lewis, a spokesman for the law firm, said the firm is representing inmate James H. Raynor at no cost and the money would be donated to the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society.

Michael Kelly, a spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said Friday that John Michael Parsons, an assistant attorney general involved in the case, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the matter.

We certainly hold high standards around here, and in this case, the officer was misidentified and the wrong officer was presented for deposition . . . its certainly an unusual thing, Kelly said.

The corrections officer in question said that prior to her deposition last month, no one from the Attorney Generals Office or the Virginia Department of Corrections had asked her if she was the officer who escorted Raynor, the plaintiff, to a medical clinic in 2013 after he was assaulted by an fellow inmate.

Raynor, represented by McGuireWoods, alleges in his suit that another officer failed to protect him during the assault. McGuireWoods was appointed to represent Raynor by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The clerks office of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which stretches from Alexandria through Richmond to Hampton Roads, does not keep track of how often lawyers are sanctioned by judges.

In its motion for sanctions filed on behalf of Raynor last month, McGuireWoods reported that it attempted to resolve the dispute by asking the Attorney Generals Office to reimburse the firm for the wasted time and costs, but the Attorney Generals Office was unwilling to do so.

In a written response to McGuireWoods motion for sanctions, the Attorney Generals Office denied any wrongdoing and explained the mistake was made in part by wrongly interpreting the officers signature on a logbook as meaning that she was the officer who escorted Raynor to the infirmary.

The Attorney Generals Office reported that it spoke with the officer on the telephone prior to the deposition but only to discuss her availability. The office wrote that McGuireWoods own client was the best person to remember who escorted him to the medical unit and wrote that McGuireWoods had an independent obligation to do some minimal degree of legwork before scheduling a deposition.

According to a transcript of a hearing last Friday, Parsons told Anderson he believed the officer in question was the correct one based on the logbook entry and an email.

Anderson, in rejecting part of the offices argument, said, I dont think any lawyer in this court has to go back and ask another lawyer whos made a statement: Have you verified . . . the statement you just made?

I really dont understand that argument in any way whatsoever, and Im surprised that someone in your position would be making that kind of argument before the court. I view this as a failure on your behalf  or the defendants behalf  to make a reasonable inquiry as to the statement that you made.
Before an audience of local business owners and professionals, Mayor Mit Landrum delivered the State of City Address during the Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerces Business & Community luncheon on Thursday at the Centene Center in Farmington.

During his address, Landrum outlined the approved city budget  totaling $52 million in operating expenses and capital.

Farmington is just finishing a good year, and we are anticipating another good one this coming year, Landrum said. Our sales tax revenue is up, an increase of 6.4 percent over last year, and the citys debt is certainly manageable.

Landrum began his presentation speaking about an increase in the city population since the 2010 census.

We just keep adding people, Landrum said. The census board has us about 2,000 people higher than 16,200 we had in 2010. The estimate is now at 18,100, so if we add another 2,000 people we'll be at 20,000 people by the time we get to the next census.

With this increase in population, the city benefits in an increase in sales tax receipts  an increase of 6.4 percent so far this year. In addition, the mayor stated there was still an interest from commercial developers with new retail scheduled for 2017-2018.

The city is the foundation of almost everything that happens in the area, Landrum said. If things arent going right in the city, then you can better believe there wont be many developers who will come to Farmington, but the city of Farmington is in a pretty strong place right now.

As a result of the growth, Farmington will be doing some well needed improvement to the city infrastructure, specifically installing new sewer lines.

We have some sewer lines that are 100 years old. They were sized and engineered for a town that was sized at 3,500 people, Landrum said. We are going through and digging up the old ones and putting in new sewer lines that are sized to handle what we have now and for what is the foreseeable future.

Among the $10 million in budget capital items are $6 million in improvements scheduled for the west sewer treatment plant and an approximately $1.7 million in work on an interceptor main along Karsch Boulevard, up to Route D and Hillsboro Road.

In addition, the police department will add two additional officers and the fire department will add three additional firefighters.

The chamber members also heard from Dr. Karen Melton, audiologist and owner of Audiology and Hearing Center, who sponsored this months luncheon.

The native Farmington resident told the audience about the recent award her practice won and wanted to thank many of those in attendance for helping her achieve her success. The award, Outstanding Practice Achievement Award, is given to practices in the top 10 percent out 250 owners with 500 offices in the United States and Canada. Melton presently has offices in Farmington, Ste. Genevieve and Herculaneum.

The chambers next Business & Community luncheon will be held at noon on Nov. 17 at the Centene Center in Farmington.
Many people wonder if Donald Trump is the kind of man we want in the Oval Office.

Trump certainly has his faults, but that does not prevent him from being able to make America great again. A look in the Bible will show us that several of Gods ordained deliverers for ancient Israel were neither prophets nor saints.

 Jephthah was the son of a prostitute who knew the history of the founding of his nation and delivered the Hebrews from the Ammonites. But he committed to sacrifice his virgin daughter because of his foolish vow.

 Samson is hardly an example of a saintly man, but he delivered Israel from the Philistines. He committed all sorts of mischief, didnt know when to keep his mouth shut, and misjudged character. He committed suicide to take final vengeance on his oppressors.

 Gideon is famous for routing the Midianites with a small band of 300 devoted followers. But he fell into idolatry, married many wives, and fathered 70 sons  plus a son through his female servant who ended up murdering 69 of those sons.

 Even King David  who was adored by the Hebrews, considered a prototype for the Christ, and wrote many of the Psalms that we love  fell into sin with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered in an attempt to cover it up.

All of these men had grievous flaws, but they were used by God to deliver Israel from their enemies. Trumps flaws pale in comparison with some of these.

Christians may prefer a candidate who mirrors the Sunday school prototype. I voted for Jimmy Carter because he was a Christian (he also taught Sunday school). But his administration generally is considered a classic failure.

Bottom line: Its better to have someone who knows how to get the job done. Despite his flaws  or maybe because of them  Donald Trump is the no-nonsense, politically incorrect man who can get America back on track.

John Lindner

Albemarle County
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.
WASHINGTON -- A specter is haunting academia, the specter of specters -- ghosts, goblins and "cultural appropriation" through insensitive Halloween costumes. Institutions of higher education are engaged in the low comedy of avoiding the agonies of Yale.

Last October, the university was rocked to its 315-year-old foundations by the wife of a residential college master (a title subsequently expunged from Yale's vocabulary lest it trigger traumas by reminding people that slavery once existed). In response to a university memorandum urging students to wear culturally sensitive costumes -- e.g., no sombreros -- she wrote an email saying it should be permissible for young people to be inappropriate, provocative or even offensive because "the ability to tolerate offense" is a hallmark of "a free and open society."

After the dust settled from this, she and her husband left the residential college. And Yale had trampled in the dust the noble legacy of its 1975 Woodward Report.

Named for the chairman of the committee that produced it, historian C. Vann Woodward, the report was written after Yale's awkward handling of some controversial speakers. Reaffirming freedom of expression's "superior importance to other laudable principles and values," the report said:

"Without sacrificing its central purpose, [a university] cannot make its primary and dominant value the fostering of friendship, solidarity, harmony, civility or mutual respect. ... It will never let these values, important as they are, override its central purpose."

That purpose, as Hanna Holborn Gray, a former president of the University of Chicago, once said, is not to make young adults comfortable, it is to make them think. Since 1975, however, universities have embraced the doctrine that speech that offends people actually harms them, mentally and even physically. The decision to treat young adults as fragile and perpetually vulnerable to victimization coincided with academia's turn away from the world: Fifty years ago, student assertiveness concerned momentous issues of war and civil rights. Today, students have macro-tantrums about micro-aggressions (e.g., sombreros). Time was, students rebelled against universities acting in loco parentis. Today, they welcome having their sexual and other social interactions minutely subjected to government regulations administered by Pecksniffs with Ph.D.s.

Fortunately, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that some schools are having second thoughts about their "bias-response teams" that spring into action when someone says that someone has said something offensive. These schools have noticed the obvious: When such teams elevate campus harmony to the supreme value, they become civility enforcers with a chilling effect on speech.

America's great research universities are ornaments of Western civilization, so their descent into authoritarianism and infantilization matters. Because conservatives are largely absent from faculties, and conservative students are regarded as a rebarbative presence, many conservatives welcome academia's marginalization of itself by behavior that invites ridicule. But universities are squandering the cultural patrimony that conservatism exists to conserve.

And what happens on campuses does not stay on campuses. According to the Pew Research Center, American millennials (ages 18 to 34), fresh from academia, "are far more likely than older generations to say the government should be able to prevent people from saying offensive statements about minority groups." Forty percent of this cohort think government should be empowered to jettison much constitutional law concerning the First Amendment in order to censor speech offensive to minority groups.

Gerard Alexander, a University of Virginia political scientist, argues in National Affairs quarterly that a university's "permanent population," the faculty, is secure in the tenure system and maintains its monochrome intellectual culture by hiring from a Ph.D. pipeline that young conservatives are understandably reluctant to enter. He could have added that faculties' ideological tendencies are reinforced by peer review of publications.

"Schools," Alexander notes, "have applied millions of hours of work to the priority of improving racial, ethnic and gender diversity. Viewpoint diversity could be elevated to similar prominence and urgency." This would improve scholarship, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Their research concerns economic behavior, the meaning and importance of classic literature, which social problems matter most and the evidence about ways of addressing them, how to evaluate different ethical positions and legal systems, and which aspects of history most merit study. Viewpoint diversity in faculties would, Alexander argues, at least pit one scholar's susceptibility to "confirmation bias" -- the tendency to seek, and be receptive to, evidence that buttresses one's beliefs -- against another's different bias.

Academia just now needs a reminder akin to Florence Nightingale's terse axiom that whatever else hospitals might do, they should not spread disease. Universities, as the word suggests, have many missions, but becoming safe spaces for faculty and student juvenility is not among them.
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BERLIN - Germany - As the unfettered influx of migrants does not abate, millions of Germans are emigrating out of the country.

Germany has lost 1.5 million professional working Germans in the last decade mainly due to Angela Merkels policy of destructive migratory policies and insistence of reverse integration, where Germans are forced to adopt Islamic practices and Middle Eastern cultural norms.

Many Germans are moving to Hungary to get away from the unsafe conditions in their towns and cities, where the police have been ordered to hush up severe crimes like rape, sexual assaults, murder and violence committed by some sections of the migrants.

Where are the real Germans?

When you have real German people leaving their homeland, this is a sad day for Germany. These are hard working people who benefit their nations economy and culture, but are being replaced by sub standard non-professional manual workers with no skills from the Middle East and Asia. We are seeing doctors, engineers, teachers, financiers, all leaving. They have rightly so had enough. This is solid proof that mass migration at this level of speed only creates destruction and benefits no one, Hanz Fiegel, a former German councillor in Bavaria told news outlets on Friday.

According to Destatis, a German statistics agency, 138,000 professional Germans left Germany in 2015. More are expected to emigrate in 2016.

The deluge continues to come into Germany, and the exodus out also continues. This is a lose, lose situation for a once proud, economically strong country brought to its knees once again from poor leadership and economic suicide.
Ashok Leyland has already supplied 773 vehicles to Tanzanian Government, and is working on the next batch of 777 vehicles.

Ashok Leyland has won an INR 1140 crore contract from the Government of Tanzania. As per the developments submitted in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing, the contract requires the India based commercial vehicle manufacturer to facilitate Tanzania Government with vehicles, equipment, gensets and spares.

Vinod K Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland in a statement elaborated, "Export to key international markets is an essential part of Ashok Leyland's strategic intent to globalise its product portfolio and de-risk itself from supplying only into India. The new order from Tanzania, valued at USD 170 million (Rs 1,140 crore) fast on the back of USD 200 million by the Cote D'Ivore - also reiterates market acceptance of Ashok Leyland's products in the African region."

All the developments taking place between Ashok Leyland and Tanzanian Government were announced by the CV manufacturer in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Filing. This large order by the Government of Tanzania will be financed by the EXIM bank of India under the prestigious National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) scheme.

Ashok Leyland has already supplied 773 vehicles to Tanzanian Government, and is working on the next batch of 777 vehicles. All the vehicles have been supplied under Line of Credit provided by the Government of India. The vehicles were transported to the Ministry of Home Affairs for Tanzania.

The fact that Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers have the ability to design, develop and deliver quality products in lesser research expenditure is certainly catching eye balls around the world. And with major CV players designing and exporting trucks and buses developed in India to other countries in the world, the day is not far when India will be looked upon as the hub of commercial vehicle manufacturing.

Source: TrucksDekho.com
Indore: Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla today pledged an investment of Rs 20,000 crore for the state in sectors like retail, telecom and cement.

Addressing the Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit here, Birla said the state is among the top markets for Idea Cellular, which has already invested nearly Rs 7,000 crore over two decades.

"So far, our investment in Madhya Pradesh is in the range of Rs 30,000 crore. We have more than 12,000 employees and our ancillary business has generated 25,000 jobs. Going forward, we are looking at investment of Rs 20,000 crore in our various businesses," he said.

Birla said the group has five world-class facilities, including Grasim and chemical plants, in Madhya Pradesh.

The group's Idea Cellular covers over 58 per cent of the population, he said, adding that the group remains committed to further expanding this vast network and bringing more people under the coverage of its mobility services in the state.

"Idea Cellular was first to introduce wireless broadband services here with the launch of its 3G network in 2011. This is now available with more than 2.8 crore and our intent is to double this coverage over the next 3 years," Birla said.

Idea provides entrepreneurial opportunities to some 2,300 distributors and 1.45 lakh retailers in the state. The group is also looking at increasing Idea's 3G and 4G sites and optical fibre cable expansion.

"In all our key businesses like viscose fibre, cement, metals, telecom, retail and financial services, we have a significant presence in the state," he added.

Birla said UltraTech Cement is in the process of acquiring two cement plants at Bela and Sidhi with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

The group is exploring a greenfield cement plant, an investment of Rs 3,000 crore in expansion of Hindalco's smelter and opening of more retail stores for Pantaloons and Madura Garments, besides foraying into the solar sector, Birla

said.
Indore: Big corporates, including Essar Group, SRF Ltd and Trident, today announced investments worth thousands of crores of rupees in the state.

Essar Group Chairman Shashi Ruia said the company has executed several projects in the state.

He felt that Madhya Pradesh is a place where investment can be planned and implemented successfully.

"We have committed investments in excess of Rs 13,000 crore in the state in power generation, transmission, steel processing, steel, oil retailing and the BPO segment and employ over 6,000 people," he said here.

"We have so far invested over Rs 8,500 crore and plan to invest an additional Rs 4,500 crore in the state in power transmission and coal bed methane exploration and production."

According to him, GST will make business in India easier. Speaking at the function, SRF Ltd Chairman Arun Bharat Ram said the company has plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the state.

This investment will happen within the timeframe "that we look forward to do".

As for the Trident Group, Chairman Rajinder Gupta said it is lining up Rs 2,500 crore in the next two years.

ITC Ltd CEO Sanjiv Puri took the line that the state has investor-friendly policies. The company's two investments in the state are "well under way", he said, adding that a food processing plant is coming up in Sehore.

"We are also putting up a large precision farm in Sehore to promote medicinal and aromatic plant farming. This facility will house a research centre," he added.

P&G India CEO Al Rajwani is of the view that GST will benefit the industry. "It is great time to be in India. P&G is here for a long term. We have lots of investments in the past. We will make more in future," Rajwani promised.
Indore: Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani today said with 90 per cent of defence equipment being imported, there is huge opportunity for domestic manufacturing and his group has identified two locations in Madhya Pradesh

for setting up production facilities.

Ambani said India has relaxed FDI norms in the defence sector and hoped that Madhya Pradesh gets the benefits of the same.

"I am confident that Madhya Pradesh will move ahead, and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi we have seen opening on defence sector. Reliance Group is participating in that, we hope that for Make in India programme, Skill India programme, we will invest in the defence sector in Madhya Pradesh," he

said.

Speaking at the Global Investors Summit, Ambani said his Group has identified two locations  one in Pithampur and another in Bhopal  for defence manufacturing.

"Defence is a key priority (of government). 90 per cent of our equipment is imported and there is a huge huge opportunity for us to do things in India," he said.

Talking about the Group's investment in the state, Ambani said, "We have one of our largest investments in MP...we have investment of nearly USD 6 billion".

The Group has set up a 4,000 MW power plant in MP and it makes the state competitive in terms of its overall energy cost to attract future investments specially in capital intensive industries.

"Fiscally it helped Madhya Pradesh saving about Rs 5,000 crores a year and over Rs 1.25 lakh crore will be the saving for MP because of the Sasan 4,000 MW plant," he said, adding the Group is committed to looking at future investments in the energy sector.

"Madhya Pradesh like other states is on the treadmill and everytime the speed is changing. I think the industry is spoiled for choice today which at one level is a good thing. I don't think that we are spoilt for choice in terms of leadership, we still believe that Madhya Pradesh is one of the leading states," he said.

Industry, Ambani said, is interested in clarity, stability and a timeline. "If states decide not to do certain things, it is better you tell us upfront so that we can look

at other options... Instability in the minds of investors is always a troubling point".
Washington: India cannot achieve its ambitious goal of becoming a center for innovative growth by celebrating proposals related to intellectual property rights

that undermine and drive away innovators, the US Chambers of Commerce has said.

"Consistent with the National intellectual property rights (IPR) Policy, when it comes to IP, India clearly has a toe in the water, but appears ambivalent about jumping in," Patrick Kilbride, executive director of international intellectual property, US Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday.

"You cannot have it both ways. You cannot say you want to be a center of innovative growth and at the same time celebrate proposals that would undermine and drive away innovators," he said.

He said India and the US had seemingly found a common ground at the Trade Policy Forum on aspects of trade secrets protection, copyright enforcement and patent administration.

"This incremental yet important progress came hand in hand with statements associating India with an independent panel report from the UN that moves in the opposite direction. No country can have it both ways," Kilbride said.

After the India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman cited a UN report to "vindicate" India's stand on not going beyond the commitments made in the global TRIPS Agreement.

She said India was very clear that it is not ready to engage with anyone on 'TRIPS plus' issues which could lead to "ever-greening of patents or blocking of compulsory licenses".

Mark Elliot, executive vice president of the Global Intellectual Property Center at the US Chamber of Commerce said the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines had issued a report that was never intended to address the true barriers of access to medicines.

He said it was designed to drive a narrow and extreme agenda.

The Panel's predetermined conclusions ignored decades of data and the input of nations in asserting that intellectual property is the problem with access to medicines, he alleged.

"In doing so, the Panel ignored the real culprits that stand between patients and care: excessive tariffs and taxes on imported medicines, and weak healthcare infrastructures that hinder the effective distribution of medicines. The UN's

own data shows that intellectual property does not restrict access to medicines: 95 per cent of essential medicines are no longer under patent," Elliot said.

"The irony is that by singling-out patents, this report has attacked the innovative systems that have produced thousands of cures and saved millions of lives," he said.

Decades of research have shown that the private sector is responsible for as much as 97 per cent of drug development. If adopted, these recommendations could prohibit the creation of future breakthrough treatments," he said.

The UN Panel among other things called on governments to drastically restrict patentability of medical innovations, make liberal use of compulsory licenses to override patents, minimise the private sector role in the research and development of new cures and put the UN itself above national governments in oversight of intellectual property rights.
Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities have been voicing their opinions on the ongoing palpable tension between India and Pakistan but they have either been diplomatic or stuck to conformist opinions. However, Abhay Deol, the torchbearer of indie-cinema in Bollywood, has spoken up and how!

The actor, who was attending the on-going MAMI festival, minced no words when asked to opine on existing political crises between the two countries.

Why are you doing a half-hearted job? Ban the business dealings, the import, the export because when you do half a job no one will take you seriously. I don't take the government seriously because they are only banning us from collaborating with artistes. They are not banning businessmen from making business," he commented.

The 'DevD' actor elaborated, adding, "So, if you really mean what you say, then go the distance. Then I will take you seriously. Right now it is not looking like you mean it, it just looks like it gets you a lot of publicity and makes a lot of noise. But really what is the point of it? I will support it if you think banning anything to do with Pakistan is going to help our jawans, fine. But I don't see the whole distance. I see one little thing looked at and banned and another part being left. Sounds hypocritical to me.

The actor had no qualms calling things as they were.

Aamir Khan, who had kicked up a storm with his comments saying wife Kiran Rao was scared to live in the country owing to the growing intolerance, chose to keep mum when prodded on the issue, uncharacteristically enough. Nephew Imran Khan also chose to keep his perspectives to himself, fearing severe and violent backlash.

All said and done, Abhay sure does deserve some major props for putting his amazingly coherent perspectives across.
Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has a cameo in Karan Johar's upcoming film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', and the director says it did not feel that they were reuniting after a long gap as they share a "natural synergy". The duo last worked on Karan's 2010 drama 'My Name is Khan'.

"Shah Rukh Khan is working with me after seven years and I felt there was no seven years gap between us. We hadn't done a film. He and I have that natural synergy and a spark. He knew what I wanted and I know what he would give. It was a give and take that was so beautiful. It was so organic," Karan said on the sidelines of MAMI festival here.

The director believes there has to be tuning between actors and directors.

"The chemistry between actors and directors is important as actors play the part that directors give. And my chemistry with all my actors is good I don't care about the internal chemistry. If I am not connecting with my actors then they won't be able to create that magic on screen. Shah Rukh and I have chemistry," he added.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles, 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' releases on October 28.
Mumbai: After making a name for herself in the West with her Hollywood TV drama 'Quantico', Priyanka Chopra is living the dream. Not only in India, but Priyanka now has a huge fan following in the West as well.

Thanks to her power-packed performance, 'Quantico' is loved by many, and after a very successful first season run, the show is back with its second season. The actress is currently shooting for the ongoing show in New York and every day, with a new still from the set that finds its way on the internet, Priyanka is keeping her fans on the loop.

Recently, her co-star Johanna Braddy shared a picture of Priyanka on her official Instagram account where we see the latter gazing at the far way future with a bruised wrist.

We wonder what the actress is thinking about.

Apart from her co-star, ABC also shared a new picture of the actress.
Mumbai: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says her on-screen romance with Ranbir Kapoor in 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' is not frivolous sensuality but portrayed in a classy manner.

Aishwarya and Ranbir's sensuous on-screen chemistry has created quite a stir ever since the trailers have been out.

When asked if there was a worry factor while doing such scenes, she said, "It is about comfort level with my director. We know how the journey of the film would be. It wasn't (worrying). I know my character well. There was calm and ease after working for so long."

The 42-year-old star said, she might have asked plethora of questions had she was to do such a scene early in her career.

"Today I have worked, I know the overview. It is about how you approach a character and doing that is relevant to times from 20 years ago. It is done in a classy way. It is not frivolous sensuality on screen," she added.

Meanwhile, director Karan Johar on Aishwarya's part said, she understood the role of her character, Saba, well and its requirements.

"She is a poetess in the film. She is a woman of substance in every which way. She knows her mind and heart. We were honest to the film and the story. What you see on screen is glimpse of that character. Not for a second I was apologetic about it," Karan said.

According to the director, Aishwarya's is the strongest character in the film. "She is clear about her decisions. I knew the dignity that Aishwarya brings to every character. So, you don't look at it and question about supposed lack of decency as it's always elegant. To me this is the woman who knows herself and they (scenes) have to be done in certain way," he said.

Karan further said Aishwarya is a true artist, who knows the requirements of a film. "There is no kissing scene or skin show. It is about the attitude. There was a news piece that Censor Board has given some cuts on the Aishwarya track. There is no lip lock. It's just in the eyes and attitude and that's where an actor comes in," he added.
Mumbai: Decks were cleared on Saturday for the smooth release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' after director Karan Johar accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and assured him that filmmakers would not work with Pakistani artistes given the people's sentiments in India post Uri attacks.

Fadnavis met Johar and Bhatt at his residence 'Varsha' here this morning along with MNS chief Raj Thackeray, whose party had been opposing the release of the upcoming movie as Pakistani actor Fawad Khan features in the film.

Producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bhatt said that it was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule."

"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said.

Bhatt also said that they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.

Also, the (Producers') Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artistes. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the Chief Minister, he said.

Besides, Johar has decided to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing out in the screens. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

The makers of the film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the army welfare fund, he said, adding "We owe this to the Army."

Producers who sign Pak artistes will have to pay RS. 5 crore as penance for army welfare, said MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' had been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks after the MNS opposed the screening of movies featuring Pakistani actors after the Uri terror attack, putting a question mark on the fate of movie, slated for Diwali release on October 28.

Workers from MNS' film unit Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena had been protesting and raised slogans outside Metro Cinema in South Mumbai this week, threatening to vandalise cinema houses and stalling the film's screening.

"After these protests, the law and order situation seemed to be not in control and hence we approached the Home Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister," Bhatt said.

"We requested him to give us assurance along with the CM of the state that law and order will be intact and our movie 'ADHM' which is releasing on October 28 would not face any difficulty," he said.

Earlier this week, seeking to calm tempers over opposition to the release of his directorial venture, Johar had made a fervent appeal against stalling the release, saying he will not engage with talent from Pakistan in future.

However, MNS chose to dismiss it and said that reality had dawned late on Johar and continued with their agitation leading to the arrest of 12 party activists, who have been sent in judicial custody till November 4.

Speaking to reporters, Thackeray said, "I am told that all the three demands of MNS have been accepted by the producers. Before the beginning of the movie, a tribute should be offered at every screening to the jawans who were martyred in various terror strikes including recent Uri and Pathankot attacks," he said.

Further elaborating, Thackeray added, "The producers should also put a blanket ban on Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians henceforth. Every producer, who has so far cast Pakistani actors, should give Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund as an atonement. The producers should handover the cheque to the Defence Minister and make the photo public."

Earlier too, Johar had assured that a portion of the earning from ADHM would go for the welfare of the family members of the jawans killed in the Uri attack.

Thackeray also sought to know why our film industry is entertaining Pakistani artistes in an atmosphere of conflict.

"The Pakistan government flatly bans broadcasting of Indian news and entertainment channels without any valid reasons. In such a situation, I do not find (a reason) why we should entertain their artistes here," Thackeray said

Before today's meeting Johar had called on Fadnavis on Thursday after which the CM had said, "The state government would like to reaffirm that the government will not allow anyone to disturb law and order and stern action will be taken. Democratic protest is fine but unlawful activity will not be tolerated."
Amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, another project involving Fawad Khan seems to be in doldrums. It had earlier been reported that Fawad had been signed up for Salman Khans next production, a movie set to be directed by Filmi-staan director, Nitin Kakkar. However, Nitin has denied that Fawad had been signed for the film at all. He says, Many from the media called me for confirmation of Fawad having been signed for the film. Im not in the state to say anything at this crucial time.

Nitin did admit that talks were on with the Pakistani actor and that the movie is on hold. Fawad never signed my film, but were definitely in talks with him. I wont say that the film is on the backburner, but rather its on hold, and well get a clearer picture by December.

When quizzed on whether Fawad will still remain a part of the film after the recent controversy, the director quickly said, The producers Salman Khan and BR Films can only answer that. Fawads been in the eye of the storm in the wake of the Uri terror attacks last month. While the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India decided to not release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which stars the actor, the dark clouds over Karan Johars movie seem to be dissipating. The movie seems to be on track to release on October 28, after a meeting with MNS leader Raj Thackeray and Maharashtras Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, albeit with certain conditions applied.
The A-listers - given the celebrity moniker Brangelina - wed in France in August two years ago, but had been a couple since 2004.

Mumbai: Brad Pitt has missed the deadline to respond to Angelina Jolie's divorce petition, seeking to avoid sparking an acrimonious legal battle that could harm the children, media reported on Friday.

The 52-year-old actor will not file an official reply, despite being two days over Wednesday's cut-off date, until the estranged couple's lawyers have reached an agreement over custody, celebrity gossip websites Us Weekly and TMZ reported.

The Fight Club actor is looking for joint legal and physical custody, according to TMZ, but is hoping to avoid a court battle for the couple's six children.

Jolie, 41, filed court documents on September 19 citing irreconcilable differences and seeking sole permanent custody.

Earlier this week Pitt met his oldest child, 15 year-old Maddox, for the first time since an alleged incident involving the pair on a plane carrying the actor and his children back from vacation in France on September 14.

The FBI has said it is gathering information before deciding whether to launch a federal probe into the allegations.

It has not offered any details on what is said to have happened, but several US media outlets reported that Pitt had been involved in an angry outburst with at least one of his children.

Pitt, who won a best film Oscar for producing 12 Years a Slave (2013), reportedly visited his other five children on October 8, but Maddox refused to see his father.

"With the resources of these parties, it should be possible for Brad to continue to have meaningful access to the younger children, even if it means that such access will have to be supervised," Emily Pollock, a partner at New York law firm Kasowitz, told AFP.

Further time with Maddox would depend on the severity of the allegations and Maddox's interest in such visits, she added.

Pitt's reunions with his children were both supervised by a therapist as part of the couple's temporary custody agreement - mediated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services - which expired on Thursday.

Under the agreement Jolie had physical custody of the children - three of whom, including Maddox, are adopted - at a rented LA house.

The A-listers - given the celebrity moniker Brangelina - wed in France in August two years ago, but had been a couple since 2004.
The Mean Girls actress is given time to pay up until November 8.

Mumbai: Actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly facing bankruptcy after failing to pay rent on her USD 4.2 million flat in London.

Landlord of 30-year-old Lohan's property in the exclusive Knights bridge area demands payment of USD 95,000 and will petition at court for her bankruptcy if she fails to pay up.

Solicitors Child & Child hand-delivered a letter to Lohan, who was once one of the world's highest-paid actresses, seeking the unpaid rent for the six months to August. The Mean Girls actress is given time to pay up until November 8, reported Ace Showbiz.

Lohan's ex-fiance Egor Tarabasov reportedly has gone to police, demanding her arrest for theft.

Egor claimed the Freaky Friday actress stole his belongings, including a Rolex Oyster watch, designer clothing and a small gold crucifix, a friend of the Russian property tycoon reveals.

The bankruptcy news comes after Lohan opened a new club called Lohan in Greece with rumored boyfriend Dennis Papageorgi.
The Meenakshi Mission Hospital in Madurai, has initiated a state-wide campaign, Aram Seidhu Pazhagu. This campaign aims to highlight the importance of differentiating between the rich and poor, as well as urbanites and rural people, in terms of access to healthcare and the quality of treatment. As part of the initiative, the hospital has extended its programmes to Chennai, for free treatment to children with cancer or those born with cleft lips and palates.

The campaign inspires the medical fraternity to not just provide service in good faith, but to also do so to spread the message of selfless service to the public at large, remarked Dr Gurushankar at an event that took place in the city.

On the occasion, five videos showcasing real-life stories of patients who have been treated over the years through charity programmes of the Meenakshi Mission Hospital  including hospice care, free cancer treatment for children, telemedicine and free cleft lip and palate surgery  were launched by actor Vijay Sethupathi and actress Trisha.

Other film personalities including Kalaipuli Thaanu, Seenu Ramaswamy and Kathiresan were also present. Sudha Kongara of Irudhi Suttru fame has directed these shorts. Janani, a young girl, who could not speak till the age of four, enthralled the select gathering by singing a Vijay Sethupathi number. Dr Gurushankar, who could bring out her voice after a surgery for her cleft lip

and palate at his hospital, was applauded for the same.

The speakers present at the occasion praised the services rendered by Dr Gurushankar and his team, even as they admitted that they were moved to tears while watching the real-life stories of these patients.
Another skin-related consequence of climate change is skin cancer: as ozone is depleted, the risk of skin cancer goes up. (Photo: AP)

Climate change is bringing certain skin diseases and other illnesses to regions where they were rarely seen before, according to a recent research review.

Dermatologists should keep these changing patterns of skin diseases in mind when making diagnoses, say the authors, who analyzed specific disease shifts in North America. As the planet warms, many bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites can survive in areas where they havent been found before, the review team writes.

In the U.S., for example, the incidence of the tick-borne Lyme disease increased from an estimated 10,000 cases in 1995 to 30,000 in 2013, and the area where it occurs keeps expanding from New England north into Canada as the ticks find their preferred habitat expanding.

In places like Canada, now there are ticks that carry Lyme disease farther north than doctors would ever expect to see that, Dr. Misha Rosenbach of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia told Reuters Health said in a phone interview.

The range of Valley Fever in the southwest U.S. is spreading in a similar way, he said. Viruses like dengue, chikungunya and Zika are transmitted by mosquitoes originally from Africa and Asia, which have now spread widely throughout North America as the mosquitoes can survive further and further north.

We are seeing a much wider spread northward for some of these formerly tropical diseases that are now in Texas and Florida, Rosenbach said.

Seventeen of the warmest years on record occurred within the last 18 years, largely due to combustion of fossil fuels and destruction of rainforests, the authors write in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Water warming and flooding can also give rise to skin threats not previously typical of certain areas, the authors note. Ocean warming increases jellyfish populations, and Portuguese man-of-war now swim along the southeast U.S. coastline where they once did not, for example.

Parts of North America, particularly the Great Lakes, should expect substantially greater rainfall and therefore more outbreaks of waterborne disease as well. Increasing temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico contribute to the increased cases of illness from consuming raw oysters.

Another skin-related consequence of climate change is skin cancer: as ozone is depleted, the risk of skin cancer goes up. A two-degree temperature increase could raise skin cancer incidences by 10 percent each year, the authors write.

The dermatologic consequences of climate change may not all be negative  you could argue that if temperatures keep rising, some mosquito habitat will be dried out due to drought and some disease ranges may shrink, Rosenbach said.

When doctors see patients with a fever and a rash, he added, "what you suspect" as the diagnosis "depends on where you are. Its important to remember that what people learned 20 years ago or 10 years ago in medical school can be subject to rapid change, he said. The bottom line is its important to keep an open mind about possible diagnoses.
Anyone whos ever worked in an office can tell you that liking your cubicle-mates can make going to work a significantly more enjoyable experience, but new research says identifying with and feeling a strong connection to the people you work with, has shown to improve your health.

According to an international meta-analysis of 58 studies involving 19,000 people published in the academic journal Personality and Social Psychology Review, feeling like you and your colleagues are on the same team, and, maybe more importantly, feeling like your colleagues feel the same way, isnt just good for workplace productivity, its good for workers mental and physiological states, too.

Lower levels of burnout:

Niklas Steffens, the analysis University of Queensland-based lead researcher, says his teams key findings suggest that when people are particularly invested in their social relationships at work, theres more evidence of health benefits and lower levels of burnout. When we identify with our workgroup and organisation, this provides us with a sense of we-ness  which is a basis for a sense of belonging, agency and social support, and a sense of meaning and purpose, Steffens told MentalFloss.

To make their conclusions, Steffens and his team, which included researchers from China, Germany, Norway and Australia, reviewed dozens of studies from the past two decades that examined the relationship between group social identification and health within organisations. Overall, the team found that workplaces that allow workers to feel at home and that facilitate lower-level workgroups that employees can identify with socially are the most likely to create a workforce that feels invigorated instead of burned out. The staff tends to be more successful and satisfied with work, and less likely to experience physical symptoms like back problems. Knowing that fellow colleagues feel the same sense of office unity, is particularly important.

Benefits men more:

Surprisingly, the analysis found that these benefits tend to be stronger when more of the participants in the studies were men, a counterintuitive piece of information considering women tend to have stronger social networks. Steffens hypothesised that this might be because many workplaces are still stereotypically masculine, leaving women to feel left out of the organisation.

Also, how much of an impact it can have when an employee distances him or herself from an offices social group. It is conceivable that increasing levels of disidentification  are more strongly related to the presence of unease, discomfort, and stress than to the absence of ease, comfort, and well-being.

Feeling of We-ness:

Josselyne Herman Saccio, a communication expert, says that feeling of we-ness among office social groups can also feed a poor mental state if those groups indulge in negative behaviours like gossip. When youre in complaint mode at work and other people agree with you, you end up getting stuck, Saccio said. The beefs you have seem more real, she said, when others you identify with reinforce them. This can lead to bad feelings, poor work performance, and burnout. Instead, Saccio recommends reframing complaints in the form of requests so things actually get done. Talking with work-friends about the aspects of your job that originally attracted you to it can shift those mentalities. You might end up reigniting other peoples passions, she says.

Based on his teams research, Steffens said that a shared social bond is a crucial factor in someones overall sense of satisfaction. Hiring managers may want to look out for individuals who are likely to actively undermine a sense of unity in an organisation and to jeopardise other members social identification with the workplace, Steffens said. Moreover, managers may want to seek individuals who are likely to be able and willing to contribute to a meaningful life at work. All in all, feeling a sense of belonging with the people you work with matters. So, maybe think about that the next time youre deciding whether to attend that office happy hour.
Having so many diversions available at our fingertips might have an unintended side effect: making us mess up at work.

Thanks to streaming services, the Internet, and an endless supply of gadgets, were on our way to totally eliminating boredom. But having so many diversions available at our fingertips might have an unintended side effect: making us mess up at work.

NPR recently spoke with University of California, San Francisco neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, co-author of a recent book titled The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World. According to Gazzaley, workers who habitually check email or text messages might be under the mistaken impression theyre multitasking with efficiency. Instead, they might be diluting their capability.

Gazzaley says that breaking focus to glance at personal correspondence forces the brain to distance itself from the primary task, splitting your attention. As a self-experiment, he suggests trying to compose an email while on a conference call. Youll have to ask people what information on the call youve missed.

When a focused stream of thought is interrupted, it needs to be reset, Gazzaley said. You cant just press a button and switch back to it. You have to re-engage those thought processes, and re-create all the elements of what you were engaged in. That takes time, and frequently one interruption leads to another. To try and stay on target, Gazzaley recommends having just one monitor with one tab open and to position yourself as offline until crucial work has been completed.  Source: www.mentalfloss.com
Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on television, speaks during a U.N. meeting to designate the character as an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. (Photo: AP)

Last week, the United Nations (U.N.) announced comic book figure Wonder Woman as their new honorary ambassador. While the Security Council selected Antonio Guterres as the Secretary General of the highest diplomatic body, rejecting seven female candidates vying to lead the organisation, they picked up the cartoon character to promote empowerment of women and girls. Considering that they selected a fictional character as an ambassador, critics are not quite pleased. We speak to feminists, sociologists, artists, and cartoonists on the pertinence and legitimacy of the gesture.

We get celebrities to give their take on a current issue each week and lend their perspective to a much-discussed topic. This week we talk about: Wonder Woman as UN ambassador

Parvathi Nayar, visual artist, Chennai: Pop icons have a far wider reach

I believe that the philosophy behind announcing Wonder Woman as the honorary ambassador has the same belief that has granted the Nobel Prize for Literature to Bob Dylan. Pop icons, and popular culture, have a far wider reach. If pop culture can be used for a positive cause, then why not? This act is an acknowledgment of the power culture has in reaching a wider reception base. Im not saying that every brand ambassador should be a pop-culture figure, but it is interesting to throw in something provocative.

Priya Kuriyan, illustrator: Isnt the UN more than just America?

The U.N. has chosen fictional ambassadors previously, for instance, Winnie the Pooh was chosen as the Day of Friendship Ambassador in 1998. But today it would have been better to have someone with an actual voice for something as important as women empowerment. Wonder Woman has an interesting story arc; and stories can indeed inspire women as well, but at the end of the day, she is still someone who lives in the realms of fiction. Also, there is something so American about her. Isnt the U.N. more than just America?

In the current scenario where they once again went with a man for the position of a secretary general, it does seem like a symbolic gesture in a place thats known to be a boys club. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been consistently speaking up for the rights of women. Theres universal relatability, especially among young women, in the way she writes.

Jatin Varma, founder and director at Comic Con India: A useful tool to reach out to children

Considering that the U.N. isnt exactly a democratic institution with permanent powers holding the veto, I dont really believe the selection is completely on merit, since there is a lot of politics at play here. With respect to the Goodwill Ambassadorship, using a comic book character isnt a bad idea altogether, since comics are a powerful visual medium. However, it all depends on how they utilise the character. The Wonder Woman movie, as well as its follow ups in the coming years, will make the character a bigger worldwide phenomenon than it already is. Its certainly useful to reach out to children and young adults, but in practicality, can it influence actual events on ground? There are hundreds of actual candidates who could certainly do a lot more. Female athletes, entrepreneurs and activists who actually could deliver results would have been great as a goodwill ambassador.

Kishore Mohan, artist: Mascots cannot replace a person

As an artist, Id definitely consider this a big win for every artist. Today, Wonder Woman has evolved into a feminist symbol in the DC superhero world. But it seems like a smart marketing move, especially with a major movie release in the offing. That said, it is totally acceptable to have a comic character as a mascot. Its always easier to relate to a fictional character than to a real person but thats where it ends. I think we live in an age where we associate faces, logos, and brand-names with the credibility of a cause or a product. But a mascot can never replace an actual person when it comes to standing up for a cause and actually doing something.

Raghu Karnad, author: U.N. Failing to appoint a woman makes their claims hollow

When Shashi Tharoor was in the running for U.N. Secretary General, we heard a lot about the sensitive politics of representation that underlie the choice. But, failing to appoint a single woman in seven decades makes their claims sound very hollow. I guess a woman has to literally possess divine super powers in order to lead the U.N.
The school, where 1,500 students study, is one of the oldest and largest in Cherthala. (Photo: Pixabay) (Representational image)

ALAPPUZHA: An office clerk of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Cherthala, forced a student to watch obscene pictures on the computer in the school, according to an anonymous complaint received in the DySP office, District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB).

Mr Madanappan, sub-inspector with the DCRB, said that a complaint was registered without revealing the name or address of the student. The clerk used to take her to the computer lab and make her watch porn films, according to the complaint. We have forwarded the complaint to the Arthungal police, which will record the detailed statement of the accused soon, he said.

The school, where 1,500 students study, is one of the oldest and largest in Cherthala. The clerk was involved in misbehaviour with the students in the past as well. A woman SI visited the school and recorded the teachers statement. The Arthungal police have launched a detailed investigation into the case.

The school had made headlines recently for making students sell illegal lucky coupons in the name of school development. This activity under the School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) was stopped after intervention from District Education Officer.
Siddhartha, aged around 40, is said to be an advocate at the city civil court and a resident of Judicial Layout. (Representational image)

BENGALURU: An advocate ferrying unaccounted cash of Rs 1.97 crore to Vidhana Soudha was caught by the security staff on Friday afternoon. While the advocate is reportedly making contradictory statements, it is alleged that the cash was supposed to be given to a minister. The drama unfolded at the Kengal Hanumanthaiah Gate at Vidhana Soudha around 2.30 pm when a Volkswagen Polo car (KA-04-MM-9018) was stopped for a security check. When the security personnel checked the boot, they found three boxes. When they opened it, they found wads of currency notes in all the boxes.

The security staff questioned the man in the car. He introduced himself as Siddhartha H.M., an advocate. When asked why he was carrying the cash, he said that it was just `70 lakh and he was on his way to register a property. When asked to produce the documents related to the cash, he said he would produce them but needed some time, an official said.

As he failed to produce documents, he was detained at the Vidhana Soudha police station and senior officers were informed about the incident. We counted the cash and found that it was Rs 1.97 crore and not Rs 70 lakh as mentioned by Siddhartha. As he was interrogated, he made contradictory statements and kept claiming that he had the documents and would produce them.

Two Deputy Commissioners of Police also interrogated him, but he continued to give contradictory statements. Finally, a case was registered against him at the Vidhana Soudha police station and the car and cash were seized, the official said.

Siddhartha, aged around 40, is said to be an advocate at the city civil court and a resident of Judicial Layout. His father is said to be a former judge, while his father-in-law is a serving judge. Home Minister seeks info: Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar has reportedly sought information on the case.

However, the mystery as to who the cash belonged to and to whom it was being delivered remains unanswered, as even the top police officials are tightlipped about the case.
Thiruvananthapuram: Beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham, convicted for killing a security guard by beating him and ramming his Hummer SUV into him, has allegedly threatened his brothers from jail using his mobile phone.

Two of his brothers have filed a complaint before the Thrissur Rural Superintendent of Police, R Nishantini, alleging that Nisham had threatened them from Central jail in Kannur, where he is lodged, by calling from his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, media reports claimed that Nisham frequently gets in touch with his business associates, wife and other relatives, using mobile phones.

Top police sources said the matter would be looked up by the Director General of Police, Prisons.

Reacting to the reports, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said it was a matter of concern that Nisham was getting VIP treatment in the prison.

He also demanded stern action against officials who provided him "silent support".

Earlier, police had ordered a probe into allegations that special treatment was being provided by prison authorities to Nisham, who is serving 24 year imprisonment.

Nisham had rammed his Hummer against security guard Chandrabose (51) after brutally beating him up as he was reportedly angry over the delay in opening the main gates of the posh residential complex 'Shobha city' in Thrissur in the early hours of January 29 last year.
Bankura: One person, attached with an educational institute run by a well-known socio-religious organisation here, was arrested for allegedly outraging the modesty of a 14-year old girl for several days in Bankura.

The person, described as a monk by the victim's family, was arrested yesterday following complaints lodged by the girl's father on Thursday about his daughter, a class nine student of the institution, molested by him on several occasions in the empty library room and her picture taken on mobile, a senior police officer said.

The accused, who hailed from Memari in Burdwan district and identified as Snehasis Chowdhury, was expelled from the institution on receipt of the complaint on Thursday.

He was remanded to 11 days' judicial custody following production at district sessions court, Bankura.

The accused had also allegedly threatened to circulate the girl's pictures on social network if she made public the alleged sexual torture, her father said in the complaint, the officer said.

The girl narrated the 'ordeal' to her parents early this week and they approached the police and the institution, the police officer said.

The organisation's spokesman said the concerned person was thrown out of the institution and they will cooperate with the police for any investigation into the allegations.
Hyderabad: A second-year BTech student committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of a college building in Ghatkesar. A. Dinesh Reddy, 18, was worried about his studies and had gone to college to submit his records although it was a holiday. Police said the boy was suffering from depression and was treated once. The pressure from teachers regarding studies triggered stress, police said.

The incident occurred at around 3.20 pm at the CVSR College of Engineering campus. Since it was a holiday, only a few people were on the campus. We suspect that he went to the fifth floor and jumped to end his life. He was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. He died after a few hours, said a police official from Ghatkesar. Police found that Dinesh had undergone treatment for depression and was short of attendance. He was absent because of the treatment and could not attend classes. We think that academic pressure drove him to suicide. He did not leave any suicide note, said inspector B. Prakash. Dinesh Reddy belonged to Nalgonda district. Police booked a case.
Hyderabad: South zone police detected an adulterated milk and honey manufacturing unit during a cordon and search in the wee hours of Saturday in the Old City. Police rounded up around 20 rowdy-sheeters and seized vehicles without documents. The cops said the operation was conducted with the help of a route map created using a Google maps application. South zone DCP V. Satyanarayana said that for the first time the police plotted the suspects location using geo tagging. Using this process we can round up suspects based on address and avoid inconvenience to the public. Cordon and search operations will be conducted frequently as it had brought crime down and has created a sense of security, he said.

The operation was conducted by around 250 cops in Barcas, Vattapally and Kamathi-pura located under Chandrayanagutta, Falaknuma and Kama-thipura police stations. A milk adulteration unit was seized in Kamathipura. Police said its owners had a dairy farm with nearly 10 buffaloes. They supplied buffalo milk and also sold adulterated milk prepared by mixing milk powder in milk. They also manufactured curds using the adulterated milk. In Vattapally, a bogus honey unit was seized. The unit used to mix jaggery in water and boil it to make it a concentrate and then sold it as honey. Police also sealed two slaughter houses. The cops nabbed 21 rowdy sheeters, 65 bikes and four lethal weapons and handed them over to local police stations.
Pune: Amid a raging debate over the issue of triple talaq, an 18-year-old Muslim woman, who was recently divorced as per the Islamic tradition, has refused to accept the talaq and decided to take up the cudgels against the "abhorrent practice".

Arshiya Bagwan alleged that soon after her marriage two years ago, her in-laws started torturing her. She was sent back to her parents' house in Baramati town near Pune, where she received a divorce notice from her husband a few days back, with the word 'talaq' written three times.

Narrating her ordeal in a press conference organised by Muslim Satya Shodhak Mandal here today, Arshiya said she was married to one Mohammad Kazim Bagwan, a vegetable trader in the city at a tender age of 16.

"After six months of marriage, my mother-in-law started torturing me for not conceiving. However, even after I became pregnant, the harassment continued," she said.

Arshiya, who is now a mother of an eight-month-old boy, said due to the constant quarrels and disputes at home, she was packed off to her parents' house by her in-laws recently.

"I tried to resolve the matter with my husband mutually. However, he also started avoiding me and even stopped taking my calls. A few days back, I got a shock of my life, when I received a notice from my husband in which he had declared thrice that he was giving me talaq," she said.

As the woman was not willing to accept the talaq given in an "unilateral" way, she approached the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal, a city-based reformist organisation.

"Though I received the notice from my husband, I do not accept it and will go to the family court against this arbitrary method of separation," she said.

Arshiya, who had to cut short her education after completing Class XI, said that she always wanted to study further, but could not do so after marriage.

"I will now pursue my education and will work with Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal (MSM). I will help women from Muslim community, who have been subjected to such abhorrent practices," she said.

Shamshuddin Tamboli, president of MSM said that the organisation will support Arshiya and all those women in similar situation.

"In the coming days, we plan to hold symposia and meetings across the state to create awareness about triple talaq, polygamy and various other practices," he said.

The organisation is planning to start a signature campaign against triple talaq.

Tamboli also demanded the abolishment of "atrocious" conditions in Muslim Personal law and sought "equal rights" to women under Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Arshiya's parents said they committed a "big mistake" by getting their daughter married at a very tender age.

"Even we do not accept this arbitrary divorce and will support our daughter, who has decided to raise her voice against this practice," said Nasrin Bagwan, mother of Arshiya.

Her father, Nisar Bagwan, a vegetable trader, rued that after receiving the notice, he had approached the senior members of the community, but they also expressed their inability to resolve the matter.

"When I approached them to mediate between the two families, they simply refused and expressed their inability to resolve the matter by saying that since talaq has already been given, they cannot do anything," he said.
The film has been allowed to be released after its producers met with three conditions put forward by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, including payment of Rs 5 crore to Army Welfare Fund. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Senior Army officials and veterans were "upset" over the force being dragged into "politics" over films after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 core to an army welfare fund.

The controversy erupted after Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' ran into a storm of protests led by MNS because Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has a role in it.

The film has been allowed to be released after its producers met with three conditions put forward by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, including payment of Rs 5 crore to Army Welfare Fund.

"All contributions (to welfare fund) are to be voluntary. Extortion is not allowed. We would want people to contribute on their own rather than under any coercion," a senior army official said earlier in the day.

He said the army is "upset" over being dragged into this politics.

"The army is completely apolitical. It is wrong to drag the force into politics," another army official said.

"(We) would never support it," Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), former military secretary, said when asked if he supports the move of the MNS.

"Why should the armed forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a 'receiver' of tainted money," tweeted Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (Retd).

Why should the Armed Forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a 'receiver' of tainted money @adgpi https://t.co/tB2wj4Kxqw  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Army sources said that they have a system in place to check all contributions and can even reject a contribution made under duress or by any person whom the force does not want to be associated with.
New Delhi: Attempts were made to kill JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who has been missing from campus since a week, a fellow student who was present when he had a brawl with few ABVP supporters, has claimed.

A student of School of Biotechnology, Najeeb Ahmed, allegedly went missing on last Saturday following a brawl on the campus allegedly with members of ABVP, the night before.

An FIR for kidnapping and wrongfully confining a person was lodged at Vasant Kunj North police station after the police received a complaint from the student's guardians.

"I heard some noises from the first floor. When I rushed down I saw Najeeb was bleeding from the mouth and nose. We called the warden and took Najeeb to help him wash himself in the bathroom.

"But few students came and thrashed Najeeb inside the bathroom. They were shouting that he should not be spared," said Shahid Raza Khan, an M Phil student at JNU's School of International Studies (SIS).

The ABVP, however, rubbished the allegations as baseless. "If he was beaten up that badly, why did not the warden get a medical test conducted. Where are the reports? There are none because he wasn't attacked," Alok Singh, President of JNU's ABVP unit said.

The incident has led the campus to be on boil yet again with the agitating students keeping Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar and other senior officials under siege for over 20 hours alleging inaction on the administration's part.

Following protests by students, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had directed Delhi Police to set up a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to trace the missing student.

Meanwhile, the left affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) which is running a campaign "Bring back Najeeb", staged a protest at Delhi University earlier in the day.

"From Muzaffarnagar to Dadri and now JNU we are witnessing a clear pattern in the intimidation, violence and the creation of a vicious atmosphere followed by displacement and disappearances of Muslims throughout the country. This has to be resisted tooth and nail," said AISA leader Kawalpreet Kaur.
The association which represents over 4800 IAS officers across the country, will deliberate on checking unnecessary harassment, witch hunting of officials besides safeguards required for protecting honest officials. (Representational image)

Thiruvananthapuram: Witch hunting of IAS officers of Kerala in the name of vigilance inquiries will figure prominently at the national meet of Central Indian Administrative Service Officers Association taking place in Delhi on Saturday.

The association which represents over 4800 IAS officers across the country, will deliberate on checking unnecessary harassment, witch hunting of officials besides safeguards required for protecting honest officials. While the association is in favour of strong action against corrupt officials, it is against vigilance and other probe agencies working with the assumption that all officials are corrupt. Such an attitude was affecting the morale of the officers.

The meeting will also emphasise on governments prior permission for initiating vigilance inquiries and probe against bureaucrats. The association favours a conducive atmosphere for officials to discharge their duties in a free and fair manner.

The representatives from Kerala will inform the meet about of the spate of vigilance inquiries and cases against senior officers. They would also oppose the system of leaving anonymous complaints, petitions to the discretion of vigilance officials alone.

The association believes that governments permission is necessary to avoid needless harassment of officials. It says as per an earlier government order, in the event of a petition or complaint against officer the vigilance should first send it to Secretary (Vigilance and Home) and refrain from taking suo motu action on it. The government will decide whether the officer against whom the complaint is given, should face inquiry.

The association will also take up the matter of officers not being given jobs commensurate with therir qualification. The appointments are made mainly according to the whims and fancies of political leadership. In this backdrop the big question is how best the human capital can be best utilised for the people.

What will be the role of IAS officers in the wake of technological advancement? How to blend the technical and social capabilities? Among the IAS officers 60 to 65 per cent are technically qualified and how best their technological expertise can be used for enhancing the quality of administrative services.
Mumbai: Justifying his intervention in defusing the stand-off over "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the issue could be resolved because the producers guild and MNS were on the same lines, expressing solidarity with the Indian Army.

"I do not think that what (MNS chief) Raj Thackeray was demanding and what the producers guild voluntarily offered was something different. The producers guild had already said that they had wholehearted support for our army men and wanted to do something for them," Fadnavis said at 'Manthan', a programme organised by TV channel 'Aaj Tak'.

Fadnavis had come under attack from Congress and NCP for 'brokering' a truce between the producers and MNS, with the opposition parties saying the state government's role is to ensure rule of law and it was for the Centre to decide whether Paktisatni artists should be banned or not.

Read: Unconstitutional for Fadnavis to mediate between producers and MNS: Congress

Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers have announced that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" as MNS withdrew its threat to stall the screening.

Johar, accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt, met the Maharashtra Chief Minister at his home 'Varsha' here this morning where Thackeray, whose party MNS has been opposing the release, was also present.

Asked why he gave so much importance to call and meet an outfit which forced producers to pay "hafta", Fadnavis said, "These two stakeholders needed a mediation and that's what I did and came out with an amicable solution."

Fadnavis said it was alright if a solution was found through a dialogue otherwise state machinery would have dealt it with iron hand against those who took law in their hands, like in previous cases, it has done.

"There is something called law and order, through which we have dealt it with accordingly," he said.

Earlier in the day, former Mumbai Police commissioner and BJP MP Satyapal Singh said the Chief Minister should not have called a political party to find the solution to such a problem.

"I think the CM could have dealt with this without inviting him (Raj Thackeray). He (Fadnavis) should have dealt this situation firmly," said Singh.

In a bid to downplay Singh's remark, Fadnavis said, "Satyapal ji has been police commissioner of Mumbai and as a police officer, this was his way to sort out the issues. While being a neta, it was my way to find an amicable solution."
Indian Army soldiers patrol near the Line of Control in Jammu. (Photo: AP)

Jammu: A Pakistani spy was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.

Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces was recovered from his possession.

"Based on information received from Military Intelligence on involvement of one Bodh Raj of village Changiia of Jammu district for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces and Army to Pakistan, a special search operation was launched in Ramgarh sector of Samba," SSP, Samba, Joginder Singh said.

During the search operation, Raj was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village close to the International Border (IB) and tried to escape on observing the movement of the police party, the SSP said.

"Police chased him and later he was arrested," he said.

Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing deployment of forces, two Indian made mobile phones and one memory card besides Rs 1711 were recovered from his possession, the SSP said.

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act, SSP said.

As per initial interrogation, he had made markings of various spots on the map and security agencies are jointly investigating the matter.
Srinagar: Security forces on Saturday arrested two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, who were allegedly involved in an attack that left two army personnel and a cop dead, from Baramulla district of Kashmir.

"Two persons who were part of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad module in Baramulla have been arrested," a senior police official said.

He said the arrested persons have been identified as Safeer Ahmad Bhat and Farhaan Fayaz.

"These individuals were part of JeM terror module -- operating in Baramulla and adjoining areas -- headed by a Pakistani terrorist Khalid. This module was involved in the attack on security forces on August 16 in which two Armymen and a cop were killed at Khwajabagh in Baramulla," the official said.

He said one AK rifle, one pistol and some ammunition were recovered from the arrested militants.

A massive house-to-house search operation was launched in Baramulla after security forces received intelligence of active terror hideouts.

One such operation was held earlier as well in which Chinese and Pakistan flags were recovered besides some arms and ammunition.

Earlier in the day, a Pakistani spy was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.

Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces was recovered from his possession.
New Delhi: Issuing a clarification after facing charges of leaking military secrets to an arms dealer and weapon manufacturers after being allegedly "honey-trapped", Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Varun Gandhi on Saturday asserted that all claims were false and frivolous.

In a letter titled "to my fellow countrymen", Gandhi stated that he never attended a meeting of the Defence Consultative Committee, nor did he actively seek or pass on any information.

"I could not and did not have any access to any sensitive defence information, so the question of being allegedly coerces into revealing anything does not even arise. While I am confident that neither of you nor any right thinking person places any credence in these allegations, what I find worrying is that such baseless accusations should be circulation at a time when the entire nation is united behind our brave defence forces," the letter said.

Listing out the fact to dismiss the 'malicious' rumours against, Gandhi said that he never met Edmond Allen who wrote the letter with the charges against him.

He further stated that it is "ludicrous" to suggest that he was ever blackmailed as he had done nothing wrong, adding that it was even more bizarre to claim that he leaked top secret defence information from the Defence Parliamentary Committee, when every Parliamentarian is well aware that no sensitive defence information is shared with such a panel.

Gandhi went on to emphasize that he and his family have been deeply traumatised by these lies and that he will take legal action against those who deliberately sought to tarnish his reputation and public standing.

"This letter has made very serious allegations against me without any facts, evidence or justification whatsoever. It is unethical that such damaging accusations should have been publicly aired without being scrutinised, verified or even clarified," he said.

The controversy erupted after Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav released a letter written by Edmonds Allen, a New York-based lawyer, to the Prime Minister's Offuce last month stating that Gandhi was honey-trapped and had leaked secret information to arms dealer Abhishek Verma.

Meanwhile, Yogendra Yadav has hit out at the BJP for not taking action against Gandhi, asserting that the saffron party is not taking any action in the matter to safe guard their own.

"In the year 2005 under the Congress regime Submarine were purchased and all know that this deal was made in an unfair manner. The whole country knows that the wrong doing in this deal was camouflaged by the CBI and the then Congress government. The question is why this case has not been opened under the BJP regime," Yadav said.

"Why no action was taken against Abhishek Verma who was accused then. I guess the BJP did not take action because their own MP is involved and second if the saffron party would have taken action against in this case, then it would have not been able to strike the Rafale aircraft deal with the same company," he added.

Edmonds Allen has alleged that his former business partner and controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma honey-trapped Varun Gandhi and some senior military officers with foreign sex workers to extract sensitive information about defence deals.

Allen has alleged that Gandhi, as member of the parliamentary defence committee, had access to information that was shared with Verma to "compromise national security'."

The seven-page letter goes on to say that the BJP MP stood "compromised" because of his pictures with foreign escorts and prostitutes.
With less than five weeks for Diwali, there are hardly any signs of celebrations in the city. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Diwali may just be quieter and cleaner with the government and traders complying with noise and smoke limits issued by the Centre. After the formation of the state, the Pollution Control Board insisted that firecracker traders take steps to curb sound and air pollution during Diwali.

The traders and dealers held a series of meetings with manufacturers in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, the hub of the firecracker industry, and succeeded in getting 90 per cent of the stock which complies with sound and air pollution standards.

The guidelines issued by the Centre in 2006, in the second amendment to the Environment Protection Rules, 1999, bans the sale or use of firecrackers generating noise levels exceeding 125 decibels. For joined firecrackers (the ladi or chain of crackers), it reduced the limit.

Association of Telan-gana Fireworks Dealers president Jonnada Ma-nik Rao said traders procure firecrackers from recognised manufacturers in Sivakasi and they are following the environmental rules.

This time about 90 per cent of firecrackers will meet the standards and the rest is from unauthorised or illegal manufacturers. Consu-mers are also demanding less smoke and less sound, he said.

PCB senior social scientist N. Ravinder said programmes organised by various agencies after the amendments to the environmental protection rules had created awareness among manufacturers in Sivakasi.

Dealers fight China crackers

Firecracker dealers have formed a task force to curb the sale of Chinese fire-crackers, which are banned in India. The Centre has banned firecrackers imported from China for violating the Explosives Rules, 2008 and the Environmental Protection Rules, 1999. Customs officials have warned tra-ders and dealers not to import firecrackers from China.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence recently seized Rs 9-crore worth of Chinese-made fireworks in Delhi. The Association of Telangana Fireworks Dealers has formed special teams to identify those trying to sell made-in-China firecrackers. It is also launching a public awareness campaign.
Hyderabad: Members of the Muslim community on Saturday got support from various political parties in their fight against the Centres move to impose a Uniform Civil Code in the country. The community has also decided to involve Dalits in the movement against the UCC, which has been given the slogan: Save Constitution, Save Nation.

At a public meeting organised by the Tahreek Muslim Shabban, a Hyderabad-based organisation, leaders from the TRS, Congress, Telugu Desam and YSR Congress, besides religious and social organisations pledge support in the fight against the attempts to impose UCC on the country.

MLC Mohd. Ali Shabbir said that the Congress was strongly opposing the UCC.

He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of imposing RSS agenda on the country and said that the BJP-led NDA government ignited a debate on UCC at a time when all communities were living happily with their own Personal Laws.

TRS MLC Fareeduddin said that the BJP would not be allowed to snatch away the Right to Freedom of Religion granted by the Constitution from the Muslims.

TD MLC Ahmed Shareef from AP said he would request AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to convey the feelings and apprehensions of Muslims of both states against the UCC to the Centre.

Siasat Urdu Daily Editor Zahed Ali Khan stressed on the need for unity among Muslims to withstand the Sangh Parivars tirade against the Muslim Personal Law. Tahreek Muslim Shabban president Mushtaq Malik appealed Muslims to support the AIMPLB in its fight against the Centre.

Polygamy lowest among Muslims

All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary Moulana Khaled Saifullah Rahmani on Saturday stressed the need to create awareness among Muslim women, particularly among rural masses about the rights provided to women by the Shariah. He was addressing a seminar organised by Muslim Intellectual Forum on Muslim Personal Law  Current Affairs.

Mufti Sadiq Mohiuddin said that Muslim women will have to play a key role in clearing misconceptions about the Shariah, which cannot be changed.

Professor Qudsia Sultana said that polygamy is prevalent among all communities, and is very low among Muslims when compared to other communities across the world.

Advocate Jaleesa Sultana Yaseen said the Constitution gives every Indian the right of religious freedom and the Muslim Personal Law is part of the Constitution. Dr Rafat Seema, Professor Syeda Latifunnisa and Mrs. Sameena Subhani also spoke.
The tribunal had restricted the scope of AP Reorganisation Act Section 89, which deals with sharing Krishna waters, to the two Telugu states.

Hyderabad: A TS Cabinet subcommittee has identified very grave areas in which the Justice Brijesh Kumar Tribunal has done injustice to the state over distributing Krishna river waters in its recent verdict. The committee vetted the verdict for two hours on Saturday and will continue the exercise on Saturday.

The tribunal had restricted the scope of AP Reorganisation Act Section 89, which deals with sharing Krishna waters, to the two Telugu states. The tribunal will now distribute 1001 tmc ft of water, that was awarded to undivided Andhra Pradesh, between the two states.

A senior irrigation official said that the committee felt that the new projects taken up by the TS government, like the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy and Dindi, besides the ongoing Nettempadu, Kalwakurthy and other lift irrigation schemes would be deprived of water as the tribunal verdict did not provide any relief to TS.

On the other side, a source in the AP irrigation department said that the government was not interested in taking up the matter in the apex court as it was felt that the interests of Krishna river projects are not breached by tribunal verdict. The source said the verdict was very supportive of AP.

A senior AP official said the government felt that the contentions of the TS government were more against AP projects rather than the projects taken up upstream by Karnataka and Maharashtra.

He said the tribunal had earlier protected water allocations made to undivided AP; most of those projects are now in residuary AP. The tribunal had allocated Krishna water to various projects based on 65 per cent dependability, most of which are in Rayalaseema.

He said that the tribunal had set aside the contention of the TS government that over 350 tmc ft of Krishna water was allowed to be utilised by AP (Nagarjunasagar right canal and other projects) outside of Krishna basin. This was most heartening for us, he said. The committee chaired by irrigation minister T. Harish Rao identified the following areas:
Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday promised to consider granting 500 acres between Bengaluru and Mysuru for expansion of the Karnataka Police Academy.

Addressing the passing out parade of the 40th batch of the academy at the KPA parade grounds here, he recalled that the government had introduced several welfare programmes for the police and promised to consider all their demands with an open mind.  We will definitely consider the proposal for granting land for KPAs expansion, he added.

Advising the police to be disciplined, he said they must be being true to their conscience and strive for satisfaction in their work. Avoid anger and anguish and work with deliberation and discretion. As the saying goes, there will be many gentlemen if there is one good policeman. Be people- friendly, prevent exploitation of women, give relief to poor, get justice for the weak and exploited and strive for peace in society, he told them.

The CM noted with satisfaction that women were performing as well as men in the academy. As many as 44 of the 225 Police Sub Inspectors are women. And two of them have won prizes in various catergories , he pointed out, adding that he was happy to see that as many as 184 probationers were from rural areas.

Finding the standard high, he observed that 23 of the probationers were engineers, two had MBAs, three, LLBs, 40 were postgraduates, 154, graduates and three, army graduates. PSI Rajendra P won the prize for all around best probationer.

Ibrahim is dissatisfied: Siddaramaiah

Brushing aside deputy chairman of planning board C M Ibrahims criticism, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said none could please dissatisfied people as they would always remain dissatisfied. Mr C M Ibrahim is dissatisfied, he told the media here while reacting to the former Union ministers comments on Friday.

Mr Ibrahim had said: Once upon a time, it was me who first said Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister, but I am pained that he did not rise up to my expectations. And, he did not rise up to peoples expectations. The system is spoilt. Sixty percent of the officers are not committed. Something is missing somewhere.

Mr Ibrahim also criticized both national parties, alleging that they failed to resolve disputes over sharing water of the Cauvery and the Mahadayi. He, however, was all praise for JD (S) leader H D Deve Gowda, saying Nobody can be compared to Mr Deve Gowda. Even his son H D Kumaraswamy cannot be compared to Mr Deve Gowda.
BELAGAVI: In a move which could trigger more trouble on the issue of sharing water of the river Mahadayi, Maharashtras minister of state for home, Deepak Kesarkar, linked this row with the boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra.

While objecting to release of water to Karnataka, he told a meeting of leaders of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) the government in the neighbouring state has taken a stand on both Mahadayi and the boundary dispute and therefore more water would not flow in the state. Both these contentious issues have been discussed by ministers of Maharashtra, the minister added.

His statement was made a couple of days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis postponed a meeting with his counterparts of Goa and Karnataka to discuss the Mahadayi dispute. The meeting, scheduled to be held in Mumbai earlier this week, was put off at the behest of Mr Laxmikant Parsekar.

While reiterating that Belagavi should merge with Maharashtra, Mr Kesarkar said more documents concerning the border row would be submitted to the Supreme Court shortly.

Meanwhile, leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, K S Eshwarappa, on Saturday appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to earmark adequate time for an elaborate discussion on Mahadayi drinking project in the winter session of legislature, scheduled to commence in this border city early next month.

He told the media at Vijayapura that Congress leaders were responsible for the dispute to move to the Supreme Court. He alleged that leaders of the ruling party were resorting to politics rather than evolve ways to resolve the dispute.

Mr Eshwarappa said instead of probing scam involving thousands of crores of rupees of Wakf property, the government was going all out to take over Hindu temples and maths.

Living in fear

On visiting Indrapada Hosalli, a village near Kalaburagi which endured tremors in the last two weeks, Mr Eshwarappa said that people in the village were in living in fear and were in dire need of the government's support. The government must rush to the rescue of these people, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits an exhibition after the inauguration of the integrated terminal building at Harni airport, in Vadodara, on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi will lead the campaign for the Gujarat Assembly polls slated for next year. Hit by strong anti-incumbency, Patidar and Dalit agitations, a worried BJP government in the state is also contemplating going in for an early elections along with Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Chief Minister, Mr Vijay Rupani has reportedly asked the party to be battle-ready.

With AAP supremo, Arvind Kejriwal rapidly making inroads into the saffron citadel, the BJP is once again leaning on Mr Modi. Since August, Mr Modi has been regularly visiting Gujarat. After Mr Modi shifted base to Delhi to take charge at the Centre, the BJP has been struggling in his home state.

The brewing resentment of the Patidars, which had been kept under check by Mr Modis deft handling, is out in the open. And after attack on the Dalits in Una, the ruling BJP finds itself cornered from all sides.

Sources said that though Mr Rupani has been handpicked by the BJP high command, he was not being able to control the situation and during the 2017 Assembly polls, the state could possibly slip out of the BJPs grip. The state unit and even the state government is now looking upto Mr Modi to change the scenario.

Besides Mr Kejriwal, the leader of the Patidar agitation, Hardik Patel has also invited Nitish Kumar to Gujarat to support the demand of reservation for Patidar community.

The Prime Minister started his Gujarat visit from August and till date he has visited Gujarat at least five times. To pacify the influential Patidar community, Mr Modi visited Sarangpur in North Gujarat. Then again he addressed a rally at the nerve centre of the Patel agitation at Dhrol of Jamnagar in North Gujarat.

Then he inaugurated the Saurashtra Narmada Avataran.

In September, he was in Ahmedabad to seek his mothers blessings for his 66th birthday. To win over the tribals, Mr Modi distributed kits to the physically challenged in the tribal district of Navsari in South Gujarat. On Saturday, he inaugurated the international airport at Vadodara.

His regular trips to Gujarat has made it evident that a concerned BJP is depending on the Prime Minister as he continues to remain the partys star campaigner and main vote catcher. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior BJP leader said, We not only need him in UP to lead the campaign, we need him in Gujarat too.
Lucknow: The crisis in the Samajwadi Party has now reached a crucial make-or-break stage with SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav convening a meeting of party ministers, MPs and legislators on Monday and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav holding a similar meeting on Sunday.

The party, on Saturday, also expelled MLC Udaiveer Singh who had written a letter to Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav asking him to step down and point Mr Akhilesh Yadav as national president. The party also appointed new chiefs of the frontal organisation.

The expelled MLC, said to be close to Akhilesh Yadav, had levelled wild allegations against Mr Yadavs family members in his four page letter, accusing them of conspiring against son Akhilesh.

The state executive, earlier in the day, passed a resolution ratifying action against those who had spoken or acted against Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav. It was after this that Udaiveer Singh was expelled.

The Chief Ministers decision to convene a meeting of party ministers and legislators a day ahead of the party presidents meeting is said to be a move to pre-empt any decision that Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav may take and get it ratified at the meeting.

The situation in the ruling party is worsening was evident on Saturday morning when senior party MPs including Mr Beni Prasad Varma, Reoti Raman Singh, Naresh Agarwal, Kironmoy Nanda, UP Assembly speaker Mata Prasad Pandey and state president Shivpal Yadav met Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav at the latters residence and discussed the current situation. Later, the senior leader met the CM too.

Akhilesh Yadav, around the same time, held a meeting at his official residence with expelled youth leaders and his supporters. The CM did not attend the state executive meeting of the party. In fact, he has not visited the party office since September 13, the day Mr Shivpal Yadav replaced him as state president.

The CMs security that was normally posted at the SP office since Mr Yadav often went there unannounced has also been moved to the Janeshwar Misra Trust office  the new meeting point of expelled and rebel youth leaders.
BENGALURU: The Vidhana Soudha police, who seized unaccounted cash over Rs 1.97 crore from an advocate on Friday, have requested the court for directions to keep the seized cash at state treasury, as the amount was huge. Meanwhile, the officials of the Income Tax Department have issued notices to the people, who purportedly gave money to the advocate.

Police said they produced the seized Rs 1,97,49,000 in cash before the 8th ACMM Court on Saturday and gave it to the court possession. As per the norm, the seized property should be kept in the police station. However, as the money is huge, we requested the court to permit us to keep the money at state treasury for security reasons, an official said.

The police grilled the advocate, Siddhartha H.M., who was caught ferrying the cash in his car, for around two hours on Saturday. He said that he was planning to buy a property near his office at Chalukya Circle. His friends Rajendra and Gaffar had given him the money as per his statement. Rajendra had given him Rs 20 lakh while Gaffar had given him around Rs 1.25 crore. He had kept the cash at his office. As it was being renovated, there were some workers and thus he was carrying the money in the car. He has claimed he had planned to keep it back in the office in the evening, after the workers left, the official added.

Meanwhile, the IT officials also questioned the advocate and based on his statement, notices have been served to Rajendra and Gaffar, who were named by the advocate.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government today informed the Bombay High Court that actress-turned-MP Hema Malini had refused to accept the land allotted to her by the state government in suburban Andheri for a dance academy.

Following the statement, a bench headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur disposed of a public interest litigation filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar which had challenged the allotment to the actress at a nominal rate.

Reports of allotment of a prime piece of land to the BJP MP had kicked up a row earlier this year.

Nothing survived in the PIL in view of the statement made by government pleader Priyabushan Kakade that the actress had declined to accept the offer, said the judges.

However, the court gave liberty to Mr Tirodkar to file a fresh petition if it came to his notice that the actress had, after all, got the land.

Petitioner's lawyer Sadhana Kumar said as per the information obtained under Right To Information Act, a piece of land in suburban Andheri was allotted to the actress at a very low rate. As this information was in the public domain, the petition should be heard, notwithstanding the government's today's statement.

However, the court said the "cause of action" no longer survived.

Mr Tirodkar had alleged that the allotment was arbitrary and several past judgements of the High Courts and the Supreme Court had said that public property cannot be allotted by the state without issuing an advertisement inviting applications.

The academy run by Hema Malini had first got a land in Versova, but it fell under coastal regulation zone (CRZ), so she asked for alternative land. In December 2015, BJP-headed Maharashtra government allotted 2,000 sq metres of land to her for just Rs. 70,000.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Finance Minister Pradip Kumar Amat has been given additional charge of the Health and Welfare department after Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak tendered his resignation on moral grounds in the wake of the hospital fire tragedy.

A release from the Chief Minister's Office said that the Information and Public Relations portfolio, which was held by Nayak, has been assigned to Forest and Environment minister Bikram Keshari Arukha.

Arukha, considered as the strong man from Ganjam, the home district of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, already holds the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio.

Both Amat and Arukha are senior ministers in the Naveen Patnaik Cabinet.

Amat, a seasoned politician, has earlier been in charge of many important ministries besides being Speaker of the Odisha Assembly.

Patnaik announced the change in portfolio hours after Nayak tendered his resignation as the Health minister last night.
There are a number of reputed missionary schools in the state capital and all of them do not link uniform with sweater (Representational image)

Hyderabad: Epistemo Global School in Nallagandla has asked parents of its students to purchase sweaters from the school, as part of the uniform. The sweaters are priced between between Rs 675 and Rs 875.

How can they make buying a sweater mandatory, a parent asked.

When asked for comment, HSPA executive member Aravinda Jata felt schools should have left the issue with the parents to decide instead of forcing orders on them. If the price quoted is on the higher side when compared to market rates, anguish of parents could be understood, she said.

Schools should decide on one common colour for uniformity and convey the same to parents so that they could buy anywhere according to their convenience, she felt.

There are a number of reputed missionary schools in the state capital and all of them do not link uniform with sweater, according to Missionary Schools Association president Bro.Show Reddy.

Parents should be taken on board when taking such decisions. Few years ago similar idea was floated when i was heading St.Pauls School. We took views of parents on procuring sweaters and on the price. Hence there was not an issue, he said.

Meanwhile, Epistemo school administration did not give their point of view on the issue when asked for an explanation regarding the topic.
Gaya: Rakesh Ranjan Yadav alias Rocky Yadav walked out of the jail on Friday after getting bail from the Patna High Court in a road rage case, even as the aggrieved parents of victim Aditya Sachdeva met district police chief seeking justice.

Rocky, walked out of Central Jail, Gaya, after his release order arrived in the prison. The release was delayed for some time on some technical ground.

Rocky, son of suspended JD(U) legislator Manorama Devi, is accused of shooting dead Mr Sachdeva, a Class XII student, for overtaking his car on May 7 this year.

Rocky was facing two cases - one of murder of Aditya Sachdeva and another under Excise Act for recovery of liquor bottles from the house of his mother and suspended JD(U) legislator Manorama Devi.

A top source in Gaya jail requesting anonymity said the release order in connection with the recovery of liquor bottles coming from court of ACJM, Gaya, had some technical shortcoming and it was sent back to the court.

After rectification Rocky was released from the jail in the evening, the source said.

Police had arrested Rocky from his father's mixer plant in Gaya on May 10.

His name was included along with his father Bindi Yadav's in the case of the recovery of liquor bottles from house of her mother when police had raided the house searching for Rocky.

Early in the day, the victim's parents met Senior Superintendent of Police Garima Malik.

The SSP claimed they had come to her and expressed satisfaction over police action in the murder case. "We assured all necessary follow up action against Rocky Yadav to them," she said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Magadh range, Saurabh Kumar, also said adequate security has been provided to the family and all follow up actions were being taken by the police.

Though senior district police officials remained tight lipped, a source in the police said that all necessary documents of Aditya Sachdeva killing case was being sent to Patna for filling of appeal against bail in the Supreme Court.

Sources close to the family said the two had planned to sit on dharna seeking prompt action from the state government for cancellation of bail of Rocky and also participate in a street march for the same organised by well wishers.

But, after meeting some district level JD(U) leaders and police they did not proceed on the agitation.

Town JD(U) chief Raju Barnwal confirmed meeting Shyam Sachdeva, father of Aditya, and said he told them about necessary action taken by the state government to file an appeal in the Supreme Court for cancellation of bail of Rocky.

Principal Additional Advocate General Lalit Kishore has said that the state government would file an appeal in the apex court challenging the bail granted to Rocky by the Patna High Court. Kishore has said "we are trying to file it by Monday."
New Delhi: In an effort to enhance the security along the Indian border with Pakistan, the Border Security Force has reportedly upgraded the laser walls around early October.

According to a report in the DNA, the revamp is aimed at making the security leak-proof. The border areas are now equipped with laser beams and infra red rays, which have been installed along a stretch of 8kms in the border. The latest technology not only ensures that the BSF are aware of the latest security breach, but also helps differentiate whether the breach was conducted by a man or an animal.

After a wait of two years, CRON laser system was finally installed along a few stretches of the western border earlier this year. And though the security system was being updates over a span of several months, sources in the defence revealed that the sudden revamp to the new KVI101-S system comes in the wake of surgical strikes.

Explaining the new system, defence forces said that it uses next generation IR optics to provide weather and harsh terrain early detection capabilities. A senior army official added that it requires very little human intervention, has smarter detection capabilities and the encryptions are hack-proof. The previous technology was not capable of managing in marshy lands, which is the condition in most frontier areas.

The government plans on covering the entire border with the laser walls by February- March of 2017.

In addition to making the border with Pakistan leak-proof, the government also plans on installing virtual borders 1kms within Pakistan, in addition to the constant monitoring by high definition and thermal imaging cameras mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and balloons.

But making the governments job triple fold tough is the difficult terrain in the western border, ranging from the riverine regions in Punjab and Kashmir, where numerous rivers and nullahs intersect the border, and the shifting sands of Rajasthan and the marshes of Rann of Kutch.

We need different technology and different barrier strategy for each terrain because of their dissimilar natures, admits an officer, but also imbues confidence regarding the latest technology explaining specifics strategies that have been formed to cater to each location.

Hovercrafts and high definition cameras mounted on UAVs will be used in marshes of Kutch, where movement is difficult.

And in the sands of Rajasthan, the border fences would be increased in height in addition to the deployment of motion sensors and ground penetrating radars.

In the Punjab and Kashmir, a variety of surveillance equipments would be deployed, Including high speedboats and choppers.

Experts are also working on a further upgraded laser wall system called miCRON, which will enable encrypted communication for five-layer fencing.
BENGALURU: Despite a drive by the Bengaluru traffic police against errant autorickshaw drivers, the menace continues to haunt commuters. Recently, a software professional was swindled of Rs 1,000 by a rogue autorickshaw driver, who pocketed the money saying the techie gave him only a Rs 100.

The victim, Kanhaiya Agarwal, a resident of BTM Layout, has now filed a complaint in the official Facebook page of the traffic police, demanding action against the errant auto driver.

Mr Agarwal took the autorickshaw from his office in Koramangala 7th Block to BTM Layout on Thursday night. Mr Agarwal told Deccan Chronicle, The auto driver was riding rashly and told him to go slow, but he didnt listen. I called the police control room, but there was no response. I reached my house in BTM Layout and asked for the fare. He said it was Rs 140 and I gave him a Rs 500 note. In a flash, he gave back a Rs 100 note, saying it was not good. I thought I had given him a Rs 100 note by mistake and gave him another Rs 500 note. But he again returned the note saying he would not be able to use it and it was bad. I sensed something amiss. When I questioned him, he started making excuses and I noticed his left hand inside his shirt. When I checked, I found that he had hidden the Rs 500 note inside his shirt and was trying to dupe me. I caught him immediately and requested the public to support, but no one came to help. He first tried to flee the spot. But when I caught hold of him, he started crying and begging for mercy.

Mr Agarwal reported the matter on the official page of the Bengaluru traffic police and demanded action against the auto driver. A police officer said, Based on the complaint, we have taken up the case and are hunting for the driver. The BTP had launched a mobile app to help city commuters report any incidents of auto drivers demanding excess fare and refusing to go on hire. But the situation does not seem to have changed, and commuters continue to get duped.
The fingers on the right arm of BJP worker Vishu Prasad, who is a taxi driver, got almost severed from the palm and he also suffered injuries on his head and legs.

Thrissur: BJP worker Vishnu Prasad was seriously injured when a gang of six persons attacked him with sharp weapons at Pavaratty near here on Friday morning.

He is the brother of Vijayasanker, the seventh accused in the murder of Shihabudeen, a CPM worker, at Pavaratty, last year.

The six car-borne assailants attacked Vishnu, a taxi driver, near the Idiyanchira bridge at 10.30 a.m. The fingers of his right arm got almost severed from the palm and he also suffered injuries on his head and legs. He was admitted to the neuro ICU of a private hospital in Thrissur town.

Vishnu said that he was travelling on a bike when the CPM men attacked him and he managed to save his life by running into a nearby house.

Pavaratty police registered a case for attempt to murder under IPC 307 against identifiable persons. A team lead by City Police Commissioner J. Himendranath is investigating the incident. The police intensified the patrolling at Pavaratty, a place notorious for CPM-BJP clashes.

The BJP had on Thursday taken out three protest rallies in Thiruvanathapuram, alleging that workers of rival parties were getting killed under LDF rule and had urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take steps to end the bloodshed.
Why else would Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, a minister in the BJP government, publicly spell out the difference between Ramzadas and haramzadas, and, inexcusably just receive a token rap for public consumption for her outrageous statement. (Photo: PTI)

According to the old saying, history repeats itself first as tragedy and second as farce. But some political parties are obviously not familiar with this verity. The visible stir in the BJP to once again milk the construction of the Ram Mandir, as an issue for the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, makes it very clear that strategists in the BJP neither remember history nor are they able to internalise the lessons it provides.

Past experience provides incontrovertible proof of the diminishing returns of fundamentalist politics. The BJP did profit from the Ram Mandir agitation in the early 1990s but not for too long. In the 1993 elections the BJP formed the government, but since then the issue of building the Ram temple in Ayodhya has steadily lost its appeal for voters. The BJP actually failed to get a simple majority in the elections in Uttar Pradesh in 1996, and has since ceased to be the single largest party in the state.

In a Mood of the Nation survey carried out by India Today magazine in August 2003, when the Ram Mandir agitation was still fresh in public memory, almost 50 per cent of Hindus said that Ayodhya would not determine their voting choice.

In Ayodhya itself, although the BJP candidate always did well, his margins and vote share have been by and large declining. The citys shopkeepers, traditionally strong supporters of the BJP, are more concerned about the declining volume of business than about the construction of the temple. Ved Prakash Gupta, a prominent local politician around this time who left the BJP in 2002, went on record to say that the repeated agitations in favour of the temple have hit people of his community, the banias.

Interestingly, if the aim is to use the construction of the Ram Mandir to polarise voters on communal lines, the truth is that even the Muslims are disinclined from being provoked. In a survey carried out by Outlook magazine in 2002, the bulk of the Muslim respondents (40 per cent) replied in the negative when asked: Do you consider those fighting the Babri Masjid case as true spokespersons for the Muslim community? In fact, the same survey revealed that 52 per cent of the Muslims wanted a negotiated settlement of the Ayodhya dispute. The remaining 48 per cent said that they would be happy to accept a judicial verdict. Not one advocated violence.

In other words, whether in the years nearer to the Babri Masjid demolition, or today, ordinary people, be they Hindus or Muslims, do not wish to fight against each other. But, the fundamental BJP-RSS electoral project is to subvert this intrinsic sentiment and deliberately create communal polarisation. Why else would it set in motion programmes like ghar wapsi, love jihad, and beef politics? Why else would Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, a minister in the BJP government, publicly spell out the difference between Ramzadas and haramzadas, and, inexcusably just receive a token rap for public consumption for her outrageous statement.

It has always been the long term RSS project to consolidate Hindu vote against the other. But what the RSS is still not able to understand is that Hindu vote is not a monolith. It is divided along caste lines, and caste itself represents long entrenched differentiations in economic opportunity, social equality, personal dignity and political outlook. If dalits are being attacked across the country, by self-styled cow vigilantes belonging largely to the upper castes, their priority will be to fight for their rights and not become passive accessories in a project of communal hatred initiated by their very tormentors.

The BJP is also attempting to overarch these differentiations through the jingoistic invocation of nationalism. The surgical strike against terrorist launching pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was supported across the political spectrum. Nitish Kumar was among the first to congratulate Centre and our brave armed forces. But the crass manner in which the Prime Minister, his senior ministers and BJP workers are trying to use this strike for electoral purposes is deplorable.

The BJP believes that a combination of communal politics and jingoism will provide it the winning electoral formula. But, the real issue before voters continues to be the deteriorating economic situation. Centres claim of over seven per cent GDP growth is nowhere visible on the ground. Exports are falling, industrial production is down, the manufacturing sector is declining, the banking sector is in a mess, prices are rising and unemployment is growing. The promise of creating two crore jobs annually has turned out to be just a jumla.

The agricultural sector is the worst hit. The nations agricultural growth was below one per cent last year. Every half hour a farmer commits suicide but budgetary allocations for agriculture are far from adequate. The promise to increase minimum support price to farmers on the basis of 50 per cent profit above costs of production has been conveniently forgotten.

Fertiliser subsidies have been reduced and irrigation budgets slashed. Half the farmers in the country are already under a per capita debt of Rs 47,000, but the BJPs only answer is to promise farmers more credit! Crony capitalism appears to be thriving, with one business house, rumoured to be close to the central ruling dispensation, alone having borrowed from PSU banks what all the indebted farmers put together owe to banks.

In such a situation, if the BJP believes that by replaying the Mandir card, or again creating a communal divide, or whipping up pseudo-nationalism, it can beguile voters to forget issues directly related to their lives, such as economic hardships and social inequities, they are condemned to repeat history both as tragedy and farce.
Now that the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are barely a few months away, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah has started doing the rounds of temples and attending religious functions across the country to pray for success in the upcoming poll. He was at Delhis Chhatarpur temple during the Dussehra celebrations and also inaugurated the Durga Puja on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the Matri Temple Durga Puja in the capital. Earlier, the BJP president had offered prayers at Tali Mahadeva temple and the Srikanteshwara temple in Kozhikode when he visited the city for the BJPs national council meeting. He was also present at a special Sharad Purnima Mahotsav at the Agroha Dhaam in Hisar. This is not the first time that Mr Shah has visited temples before an important election. He had done the same in the run-up to the Bihar Assembly polls last year but his efforts at seeking divine intervention failed to yield results as the BJP was decimated in that election. However, Mr Shah is confident the gods will be kinder this time and that the BJP will come out triumphant in Uttar Pradesh.

Ever since she was divested of the human resource development ministry and moved to the textiles ministry, Smriti Irani has been keeping a low profile. Having acquired a reputation for hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Ms Irani is virtually absent from the news columns these days. There are no more angry outbursts or slanging matches with mediapersons or her political opponents on Twitter, which had become her trademark. Realising that her penchant for getting into unnecessary controversies had not gone down well with BJP leadership which relegated her to the margins, Ms Irani is now focusing on her work in the hope that she will regain her old position as the partys star. As a result, Ms Irani has been busy holding lengthy meetings with ministry officials and experts from the handicraft and handloom sectors and demanding instant results from them. The impatient minister wants them to organise events in a few days notice and cannot understand why they are unable to work at a faster pace. Little wonder then that the minister is being described as a woman in a hurry.

Before vice-president Hamid Ansari left for an official visit to Hungary and Algeria last week, the ministry of external affairs had said that cross-border terrorism would figure prominently in his talks with leaders of the two countries. This was particularly so since Mr Ansaris tour came at a time when New Delhi and Islamabad are locked in confrontation after the Uri terror attack and the Indian Armys surgical strikes across the LoC.

However, when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addressed the media in the presence of Mr Ansari at Parliament building in Budapest, there was no reference to terrorism. He did, however, make laudatory references to Jawaharlal Nehru and his role in nurturing strong ties with his country in his brief comments. Mr Ansaris long stint in the foreign service served him well as he lost no time in focusing on the subject of terror when it was his turn to speak. While thanking Hungary for its support for Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, he underlined that there has been a meeting of minds between our two sides that the scourge of terrorism needs to be eliminated.

Officials later were also quick to point out that the question of terrorism did come up in the vice-presidents discussions with leaders of both countries who agreed that terrorism is a disease.

After making several announcements over the past several years that plans were afoot to revive the defunct National Herald, the Congress finally made some progress in that direction with the appointment of senior journalist Neelabh Mishra as the newspapers editor. However, it will be some time before the newspaper can hit the stands. It was initially decided that the new look newspaper would be launched on November 14, Jawaharlal Nehrus birth anniversary, with a special edition on the countrys first PM, who established the newspaper in 1938. But this appears unlikely now, as the office premises are still not ready. As a result, these plans have undergone a change. The National Herald will be launched on November 14, as planned earlier, but in the digital format. And it will be a special edition on Nehru, which the Congress feels has become necessary since the Modi government is going out of its way to undermine Nehrus contributions to India.
Following an agreement with the bully and the Maharashtra government, which flagrantly remained silent as the bully exhibited his goon power, Karan Johars film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, featuring Pakistani actors, will now release as scheduled. But Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray made Mr Johar grovel, and the latter swallowed his pride as crores were locked in the film.

But the nasty episode has made our much-vaunted democracy a laughing stock because a far right violent party was permitted by the government to have its way. Pakistani terrorists killed Indian soldiers at an Army camp in Uri because they could do so with ease. The camp was not adequately guarded and recommendations in this regard went unattended by the government. After 10 days of indecision, India sent an attack team to take out terrorist launchpads across the LoC. This was enough for the MNS to threaten Mr Johars film, which had Pakistani actors.

The sub-text was we are at war with Pakistan. But, are we? Has trade stopped? Have our diplomats been asked to return? When fully normal ties resume, should the MNS tender Mr Johar, the film community, and our public, an apology? Film people are soft targets and a show of bravado just helped the MNS. The BJP government should have unleashed the full force of the law against MNS and protected the artistes.
The Internet may not be a big deal to the West but here, it is a powerful tool. With Googles help, Indian Railways have put in place free WiFi at 400 stations.

The week gone by, saw the quarterly results season for Indian enterprises. This is usually a time of confusion, going by the headlines in business dailies. They rarely agree on whether the balance sheets of leading Information Technology firms have been good or bad, a classic case of a glass seen as half full or half empty, depending on your vantage point and sympathies.

But this time around, there was near unanimity  as the companies left little room for doubt: things were not too good for what the media in cliched fashion calls Indian infotechs bellwether companies  TCS, Infosys and Wipro. All three had reported dull quarters. Their profits were down to low single digits, in the 3s and 5s and key customers overwhelmingly in the banking and financial sectors were apparently not renewing contracts for next year. The naive might be tempted to ask: youre all still profitable right? Nobodys losing money?

In fact, Infosys which scaled back growth targets, was simultaneously handing out pay hikes to its top executives, eight of whom would now take home a combined total of over Rs 40 crore per annum. And Wipro, which was said to have disappointed markets with just 0-2 per cent growth in the last quarter, announced it was acquiring a cloud services provider for $500 million.

Read: Indias millions and the threats of automation

All this was enough to set off much wailing by industry pundits  at least one of whom thought it serious enough to start writing obituaries for the India infotech model. True, the days when Indias top tech made obscene amounts of money by converting themselves into the worlds back office are gone with the wind. And there are multiple reasons for this.

Over the last decade, nations with similar demographics, from Sri Lanka to Philippines, learned the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) game and competed aggressively dollar for dollar. A tech company owned by Sri Lankan Kris Kanakaratne  Virtusa  employs more people in India (Hyderabad and Chennai) than it employs in Colombo or the US. Filipinos, after years of contact with the Americans, are better at mimicking an American accent than Indians and soon, scooped up a big chunk of the voice -based call centre business.

But it is recent developments that are at the root of our IT woes. Brexit has raised doubts about Londons future as a financial capital with European enterprises waiting to see how it all pans out. American paranoia about Asians taking away jobs is a cyclical thing that happens every time the Land of the Free holds an election. Both leading parties milk the issue and rouse blue collar workers to righteous rage about foreigners snatching their pay cheques. This leads to a flurry of proposals to restrict visas or make them irrationally and selectively high priced.

Read: Trump, Clinton and Black Swan events worldwide

But this year, the somewhat bizarre world view of one of the two candidates has made banks and big biz press pause on fresh spending or renewal of outsourced contracts. This particular wait will be resolved, on November 9. But whipped together, these uncertainties are responsible in large measure for the temporary woes of our three bellwether beauties. By this time next year, its a safe bet theyll be back to business as usual, albeit not to the halcyon levels just before and after Y2K.

Writing off the Indian model of IT services at this point is slightly premature. Indeed, like Mark Twains oft-quoted quip after he read his own obituary in a newspaper, Indian IT might be tempted to say: Rumours of my death are an exaggeration.

But there is a grain of truth in what those readying graves are saying. The top Indian tech players (and one must widen the definition to include HCL, Cognizant and MindTree), have been content making cash the way it worked well for them  without investing sufficiently in product and process innovation. The old model harnesses Indias affordable manpower, but new tech is rapidly rendering this model irrelevant. Countries, not blessed with talent in large numbers, are motivated to find solutions within AI and Robotics. Theyll never make humans obsolete but they are already raising questions about the Indian BPO and services business and the Big Three or the Big Five Indian firms may have to deploy automated processes if their attractiveness is not to wear off  five years from now.

But this fixation with the biggies is questionable in an environment where innovation is alive and kicking in tens of thousands of small businesses. The late C.K. Prahlads prediction of the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid is proving prescient in unexpected ways, as thousands of small enterprises hit the product and process space. And never a day passes when the media does not report the launch of a service or a device which we embrace with our canny sense of what makes for paisa vasool.

Every big-budget start of a service is matched by a Lilliputian launch that testifies to the Indian embrace of jugaad or frugal innovation. Reliance Jios nationwide disruption of the mobile data services business made daily headlines. But Syed Khadar, a tea stall owner in Karnatakas Bellary district, who invested in a a wireless router at his chai shop made the headlines too. If you buy a cup for `5, he gives you a free coupon for 30 minutes of free Internet. India is the only major geography where pre-paid mobile phone users exceed post-paid connections. And these small users in their millions have discovered free communication, using that very Indian tool, the missed call. Some years ago, another chaiwala in Bengaluru, saw a way to grow his business. He had the mobile numbers of all the cloth merchants in the vicinity. All a shop owner had to do was send a missed call and hot tea would land up at their stores. Today, major banks advertise value-added services through the same missed call.

The Segway was a rage in the US five years ago  and can be had in India today for over Rs 1 lakh. Last week, at India Gadgetz Expo, I took a ride on a desi clone called Irrway. It sells for less than Rs 40,000 and it may be reverse engineering, rather than an invention. The question to ask is: Is it what India needs?

Also, large numbers of US credit card holders still use old-style swipe cards. When they do get chip cards, they find that many Point of Sale terminals are not equipped to scan newer cards. Contrast this with India, where within the space of one year, an RBI mandated change-over to 2-factor authentication for card payments was achieved by every single bank and card company  and chip cards are now the norm.

Last month, India leapfrogged into the next era of mobile payments when many banks rolled out cards using NFC  you could just wave and pay using a card or mobile phones. Only a handful of nations have moved to this new contactless payment era.

The Internet may not be a big deal to the West but here, it is a powerful tool. With Googles help, Indian Railways have put in place free WiFi at 400 stations. Innovation? Maybe not. But a crucial infra achievement that will touch millions? Yes.

And with over 1 billion holders, Aadhaar is now the worlds largest digital personal ID archive. The challenge in such techno-rollouts, with a massive user base like India, is formidable but it happens on a bedrock of what one might call appropriate innovation.

No, the tech star that is Indian IT, is not dead. It has just shifted a little bit  from airconditioned captive R&D units of MNCs to the garage and shack operations of a million earthy, motivated startups  fueled by things like Internet and mobile payments.
The company has now offered minor details about how it plans to allow more sensitive content to be posted.

Facebook will be starting to allow more explicit posts on their platforms if they are newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest, the company said today, following a series of controversies over deleted content. Our intent is to allow more images and stories without posing safety risks or showing graphic images to minors and others who do not want to see them, said Joel Kaplan, VP of global public policy, and Justin Osofsky, VP of global operations and media partnerships, in a blog post.

Facebook has been coming under increasing pressure to relax its community standards to allow for posts that include violence or nudity in some contexts. Recently, the company had apologized after it had removed a video from the Swedish Cancer Society that promoted breast cancer awareness with simple animations of the female body. Earlier Facebook had come under fire after it removed an iconic photo from the Vietnam War.

The company has now offered minor details about how it plans to allow more sensitive content to be posted. We will work with our community and partners to explore exactly how to do this, both through new tools and approaches to enforcement, Kaplan and Osofsky said.

They stated that standards vary from culture to culture, and that decisions around newsworthiness or public interest are often highly subjective. Respecting local norms and upholding global practices often come into conflict, they said. And people often disagree about what standards should be in place to ensure a community that is both safe and open to expression.

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"This is a big positive for the community," he said. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter will celebrate the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in the crucial swing state of Virginia with the members of the Indian-American community, who have traditionally supported the Democratic party in the US polls.

Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali with Indian-Americans during her visit to the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, campaign officials and community leaders said.

This is the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple.

Last week, Trump attended a charity event organised by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian-American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people.

The visit of Ivanka, 34, a successful businesswoman and a key figure of the Trump campaign, to the Rajdhani Temple would "go a long way in breaking the stereotype," that the campaign "represents only angry white voters," said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia.

"This is a big positive for the community," he said.

Inaugurated in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade.

In addition to recognising the significant role the Indian-American community plays in the US and embracing its cultural and religious diversity, the Trump Campaign's move to send Ivanka to a Hindu temple is seen as an effort to woo this ethnic community in the November 8 presidential election.

The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.

There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members.

Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feels its latest move would help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.

Trump Campaign officials in Virginia believe that in a closely-contested election, Indian-Americans can play a crucial role in determining the fate of the state results.

In the past week, Trump Campaign has announced to spend as much as USD 3 million in campaign advertisement in the state.

The Republican Party delegation to the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer was led by an Indian-American.

Virginia is also home to Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine, who has a wide support base among the community.

But the campaign of Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who has a strong support base in the Indian-American community, has been focused on fund-raising activities.

Kaine held a major fund-raiser at the house of prominent Indian-American Shekar Narasimhan. Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook held a fund-raiser at the residence of another Indian-American in Potomac, Maryland today.

Clinton herself attended a fund-raiser at the residence of another Indian-American in McLean Virginia.

None of these events were open to the public. Either Clinton or any of her family members were yet to appear at a major Indian-American event this election.
They later packed her dismembered body in plastic bag, dumped them in the bins and rejoined the party. (Representational image)

Siberia: Two cannibals have been jailed for 12 years in prison after they raped a 31-year-old before killing and eating her dismembered body parts at a party in Siberia.

According to a report in Mirror, Nadezhda Avakumova was drunk when the men, Kirill Nemykin and Sergey Metlyayev, invited her to a sauna where they took turns raping her.

The court heard that she was not aware of what was happening because of the intoxication.

But after sobering up when she threatened to report both men, they stabbed her in the throat and killed her, after which, they chopped her body and served the cooked remains to their friends at a macabre party.

Yana Prodchenko, assistant to the state prosecutor in the Ordzhonikidze district of Novokuznetsk, said, Metlyayve cut off her leg and walked around the house showing it to everyone and offering them to try it. He was smiling and having fun.

They later packed her dismembered body in plastic bag, dumped them in the bins and rejoined the party.

The horrific incident that took place in 2014 took two years to reach court.

The suspects were prosecuted when one of them confessed of the crime and revealed the details of the crime.

They pleaded guilty to killing Avakumova and were sentenced to 12 years in jail.
China has slammed the United States for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Beijing: China has slammed the United States for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move was a "serious illegal act" and "deliberately provocative".

In a statement on its website late on Friday night, the country's defence ministry said two Chinese naval vessels warned off a US ship after it entered "Chinese territorial waters" near the Paracel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese.

China controls all of the islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

The ship's "entrance into China's territorial waters is a serious illegal act and a deliberately provocative act," it said, adding that the ministry had made "solemn representations" to Washington.

In a separate online statement, the foreign ministry said the action had "seriously violated China's sovereignty and security interests, and had seriously broken relevant Chinese law and international law."

The Pentagon said Friday it had sent the destroyer USS Decatur close to the Paracel Islands, but that the ship had not passed within the 12 nautical mile zone that international law defines as territorial waters.

The ships transited the area in "a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident," a spokesman said.

The manoeuvre was the third South China Sea "freedom of navigation" operation conducted this year by the US, which has repeatedly stressed it will ignore China's "excessive" maritime claims.

Friday's operation was the first since a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in July ruled there was no legal basis to China's claims to nearly all of the sea - a verdict Beijing dismissed vehemently.

China that month held a week of military drills around the Paracels in the northern part of the South China Sea, during which other ships were prohibited from entering the waters.

Several other nations across the region including the Philippines and Vietnam have rival claims to various parts of the South China Sea.

The US action came as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wrapped up a four-day state visit to China, where he pledged to increase cooperation with Beijing, while at the same time slamming his country's long-time ally Washington.

In a joint statement at the end of his trip, the Chinese and Philippine leaders pledged to resume talks over their own territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
Islamic State group fighters may be preparing to use civilians as human shields in Mosul, Iraq. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Geneva: Islamic State group fighters may be preparing to use civilians as human shields, or simply kill them, rather than let them be liberated in an Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul, the United Nations said on Friday.

Elite Iraqi troops have been closing in on Mosul, the last jihadist bastion in Iraq, in a long-anticipated offensive.

United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said his office had reports that civilians were being held close to ISIS fighter positions in Mosul, possibly as a buffer against advancing Iraqi forces.

"There is a grave danger that ISIL fighters will not only use such vulnerable people as human shields but may opt to kill them rather than see them liberated," Zeid said in a statement, using another acronym for ISIS.

Separately, Zeid said his office had reports that the jihadists forced an estimated 200 families to walk from the nearby Samalia village to Mosul last week.

Another 350 families were forced to Mosul from Najafia, according to the rights office.

Those forced displacements were consistent with ISIS' "apparent policy of preventing civilians from escaping to areas controlled by the Iraqi security forces," Zeid added.

The UN has voiced fears that a million people still trapped inside Mosul could be forced to flee the fighting, sparking a humanitarian emergency.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva by phone, the UN's humanitarian chief in Baghdad, Lise Grande, said the "working scenario" foresees 200,000 people fleeing Mosul, but she cautioned that the numbers could be higher depending on how the military campaign develops.

So far, just 3,900 people have been displaced from the northern city, UN refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said.

He added that UNHCR was working to build up camps and emergency settlements in the area, as humanitarian agencies try to expand their capacity to help civilians as the fighting intensifies.

Aside from caring for those who manage to flee, Zeid stressed that Iraqi military planning for the US-backed offensive needs to prioritise civilian protection, especially with some of the combat expected to take place in confined urban settings.

"We know ISIL has no regard for human life, which is why it is incumbent upon the Iraqi government to do its utmost to protect civilians," he said.
Metropolitan Police officers have discovered what is "believed to be a CS gas spray" or tear gas spray, a Met Police spokesperson said. (Photo: AFP)

London: Scotland Yard is probing a chemical incident at London City Airport on Saturday, a day after several people were treated for breathing difficulties, leading to mass evacuation and delays in flights.

Metropolitan Police officers have discovered what is "believed to be a CS gas spray" or tear gas spray, a Met Police spokesperson said.

"At this early stage, officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in," the spokesperson said.

About 500 people were evacuated from the east London airport after some passengers felt unwell. Two people were taken to hospital and 26 others treated at the spot.

The cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, but Met officers are investigating if it was the result of an "accidental discharge".

The Met have said they are not treating the case as terrorist-related.

A London City spokesperson said, "We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused today when an alarm was activated, triggering a full evacuation of the airport terminal".

"Passengers were evacuated safely and we thank them for their patience. Following the evacuation, some individuals reported feeling unwell and were treated at the scene by London ambulance service," the spokesperson said.

Emergency services responded to the evacuation, citing a possible chemical incident, with firefighters and police officers jointly conducting sweeps of the airport building.

"The search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas spray. While the cause of the incident has yet to be confirmed, officers are investigating whether it was the result of an accidental discharge of the spray.

"The airport was declared safe and reopened later. Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest information regarding their flights," officials said.

The closure of the airport led to travel chaos as all flights were suspended. Several incoming planes from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Belfast City and Paris were diverted to other airports.

The airport was reopened after about three hours yesterday and is running as normal today.
An 18-year-old girl was locked up in a room and beaten up by her boyfriend for four hours. (Photo: Pixabay/Representational)

Glasgow: A young man was sent to jail for 21 months for locking up his 18-year-old girlfriend in a room and beating her up for four hours after she refused to get him a cigarette.

According to a report in Daily Record, the convict, James McCourt, pleaded guilty to assaulting her and detaining her against her will. McCourt admitted to assaulting her in the past as well.

The incident took place on June 5 at victim, Kelsie Skillen, and McCourts flat in Milton, Glasgow, Scotland.

They had returned home after a night out and McCourt found that they had left his jacket, in which he had kept his cigarettes, behind.

He blamed Skillen for forgetting to get the jacket and started hitting her. He then locked her up in a room, hid her phone and keys, and told her, "Youre going to have a bruised face tomorrow so I better do it right."

Skillen recalled the violence and said that McCourt told her, I dont care if I go to jail as long as youre dead. The beating continued for about four hours until McCourt left the room of their flat in Milton, Glasgow.

As soon as he went outside the room, Skillen called her mother who informed the police about the incident. Police found the girl with several bruises on her face.
Canterbury: A man in Kent, England, faces life imprisonment for stabbing his ex-girlfriend and her housemate to death following an argument over a tap.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the convict has been identified as 54-year-old Foster Christian, while the victims are Natasha Sadler-Ellis  mother of three  and her housemate Simon Gorecki.

A jury found Christian guilty on two murder charges and one charge of wounding with intent.

The incident took place on March 29 when Gorecki was taking bath at his house in Dickens Avenue, Canterbury, Kent. Christian got involved in an argument with Gorecki and Ellis when he turned on the kitchen tap, which changed the temperature of water in the bathroom.

The verbal fight turned violent when Christian stabbed the two with a knife. He stabbed Ellis in the heart and through her forehead to her jaw, while Gorecki sustained four stabbing wounds in the back and one in his lung.

Ellis son Connaugh Harris, 20, was at a 16-year-old boys home and was talking to his mother on phone when the fight broke out. He and the teen boy reached Ellis house after hearing the argument over the call, but they were attacked as well.

While Ellis and Gorecki died on the scene, Harris and the teenager sustained serious injuries. Christian had even called 911 after committing the crime, claiming that he was attacked.

Christian had, however, claimed that he attacked them in self-defence when Gorecki entered his room with a knife after calling him a black bastard. But investigators did not find any the knife allegedly used by Gorecki.

Christian took the help of a friend to hide the knife. However, investigators found it a day after the murders when the friend told them she threw the knife in River Stour in Canterbury.

Christian will be sentenced to death on Wednesday next week.
United Nations: An international inquiry found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the UN Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between Russia and western council members over how to respond.

The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015, according to a text of the report seen by Reuters.

The third report by the inquiry in August blamed the Syrian government for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015 - and said Islamic State militants had used sulfur mustard gas.

The results set the stage for a Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable.

Following the submission of the third report, Russia said the conclusions could not be used to impose UN sanctions.

The report submitted on Friday said that Syrian government forces had used helicopters to drop barrel bombs, which then released chlorine gas. It found those helicopter flights originated from two bases where the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based.

It added that the 618 squadron, with navy helicopters, was also located at one of the bases.

However, the inquiry said that it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time."

But it added that those "with effective control in the military units ... must be held accountable."

The report confirmed a Reuters report in September that the inquiry had identified the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade.

The inquiry focused on nine attacks in seven areas of Syria where a separate OPCW fact-finding investigation had already determined that chemical weapons had likely been used. Eight of the attacks investigated involved the use of chlorine. The inquiry was unable to reach a conclusion in five cases.
Two Tamil students were on Friday gunned down by police in Sri Lanka. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Colombo: Two Tamil students were on Friday gunned down by police in Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated former war-zone Northern Province's Jaffna city, prompting authorities to arrest and suspend five policemen.

The two students of the Jaffna University were shot dead early morning at a police checkpoint at Kokuvil, Kulappidy junction in Jaffna, nearly 400 kilometres north of Colombo.

Though police initially denied shooting the Tamil students saying they had died in an accident, a post-mortem report, however, found bullets lodged in one of the bodies.

The five arrested policemen were manning the check point. They have been arrested and suspended, police officials said.

Tamil National Alliance has sought an independent investigation into the incident.

The incident comes a day after a UN rights expert asked the Lankan government to return military-occupied land and reduce the role of the army in northern areas, a long-pending demand of the ethnic Tamils since the end of the nearly three-decade-long separatist war led by the LTTE in 2009 in which thousands of civilians were killed.
The Super Mushshak, which is based off a Swedish design but built under license in Pakistan, is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and South Africa. (Representational/AFP)

Islamabad: Pakistan has struck a major deal with Nigerian air force to sell 10 indigenously-made advanced trainer aircraft.

Nigerian Air Vice Marshal Iya Ahmed Abdullahi and Chairman of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Air Marshal Arshad Malik yesterday signed a contract in this regard in Abuja," PAF spokesman Air Commodore Syed Mohammad Ali said.

The contract includes operational training and technical support and assistance to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

"This contract would not only open new avenues for export of aviation equipment to foreign countries but also help in generating revenue for the country," a PAF statement said.

"The deal further strengthens Pakistan Aeronautical Complex's (PAC) status as a world class aviation industry producing the supersonic JF-17 Thunder and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft," it added.

The Super Mushshak, which is based off a Swedish design but built under license in Pakistan, is already in service with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and South Africa.

Talks are also at an advanced stage with Qatar and Turkey for the delivery of Super Mushshak, The Express Tribune quoted a senior PAF official as saying.

Super Mushshak is an advanced variant of the Mushshak basic trainer, which was also produced by PAC.

The PAF put up Super Mushshak for static as well as aerial display in last year's Dubai Air Show, where some nations expressed interest in the aircraft.
Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank, on Thursday night, the envoy said Kashmir was a "nuclear flashpoint" and it must not be underestimated. (Photo: Twitter)

Islamabad: In yet another attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan's ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani has called on the global community to help resolve the long-pending dispute with India, calling it a "nuclear flashpoint" in South Asia.

Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank, on Thursday night, the envoy said Kashmir was a "nuclear flashpoint" and it must not be underestimated.

Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the envoy regretted that India was undermining all diplomatic efforts for a dialogue, including its refusal to engage at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) forum.

"The peace and stability in South Asia will not be possible without resolving underlying disputes, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir being the core dispute," Jilani said.

"The international community and the US in particular need to play a role in seeking a peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he said.
The Special Rapporteur's warning regarding stalled progress and the urgent need for concrete action to sustain the momentum for change reflect the prevalent view among several key observers on Sri Lanka, it said. (Photo: Representational image/AFP)

Colombo: Tamils in Sri Lanka are feeling pessimistic due to lack of progress in reconciliation efforts by President Maithripala Sirisena who had promised to reach out to the minority community more vigorously than his predecessor, a UK-based diaspora group said on Saturday.

"Lack of urgency towards demilitarisation, normalisation in the North and East, insufficient effort to include all communities into the reconciliation processes and mixed messages emanating from the top political leadership on accountability and good governance are all contributing towards re-emergence of cynicism and pessimism among the Tamil people, a trend that ought to be addressed without delay," the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) said in a statement.

The London-based group commended the comments made by UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Rita Izsak-Ndiaye that to achieve peaceful co-existence "a comprehensive, well-planned and well-coordinated truth, reconciliation, healing and accountability process must take place".

"Izsak-Ndiaye's recommendation that the most pressing and emotive issues for minority communities disappeared persons, return of occupied land, release of security-related detainees as well as demilitarisation must be addressed urgently and her call that the views and aspirations of the minority communities must be taken into proper consideration in the Constitutional reform process, resonate fully with the Tamil community," the group said.

The Special Rapporteur's warning regarding stalled progress and the urgent need for concrete action to sustain the momentum for change reflect the prevalent view among several key observers on Sri Lanka, it said.

The group appealed to the Lankan government to embark on focussed and targeted initiatives towards accountability, political resolution and reconciliation so that the unique opportunity exists today to convert Sri Lanka into a modern, democratic, plural and prosperous country will not be squandered.

It said that on its part, it will do all it can to pro- actively contribute to consolidate and accelerate the progressive transition presently underway.

Sirisena, who came to power last year after ending former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's nearly a decade-long rule, had promised to reach out to the Tamils to pursue reconciliation more vigorously than Rajapaksa, who was known for his hardline Sinhalese nationalism.

On Thursday, a UN rights expert asked exhorted the Lankan government to return military-occupied land and reduce the role of the army in northern areas, a long-pending demand of the ethnic Tamils since the end of the nearly three-decade-long separatist war led by the LTTE in 2009 in which thousands of civilians were killed.
Amid strike and restrictions, protests erupted across Kashmir on Friday following the death of a youth during clashes with security forces in Budgam district.



The police said Junaid Mir from Nasrullahpora in Budgam collapsed amid clashes and teargas firing. Mir was rushed to hospital where he died of cardiac arrest, triggering more protests in the area.



In Srinagar, authorities imposed curfew in five police station areas of the old city to thwart protests.



For the 15th consecutive week, authorities disallowed Friday prayers at the historic Jama Masjid in Nowhatta area of the old city.



Reports of protests and clashes were received from other areas of Kashmir post the Friday prayers, leaving several people injured. Restrictions were also imposed in major towns of central, south and north Kashmir.
Coastal security, internal security, issuance of biometric identity cards to fishermen and issue of card readers, formulation of plans for countering terrorism and modernisation of the police force were among the issues discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai on Friday.



The 22nd meeting of the Western Zonal Council consisting of states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli was held in Mumbai which was also attended by Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir.



The meeting was attended by the chief ministers and ministers of these states and administrators of Union Territories as well as senior officers of the central and the state governments.



The council reviewed the progress of implementation of the recommendations made in the last meeting, official sources said. Other important issues discussed were Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban) Mission, surplus lands of Central government for Housing for All : 2022 and providing shelters to the urban homeless.


Curfew was today lifted from six police station areas of the city but normal life remained affected in Kashmir for the 106th straight day due to the separatist-sponsored strike.





Curfew was imposed yesterday in six police station areas of the city. A police official said the situation in the summer capital here and elsewhere in the Valley was under control, even as a youth died during clashes between protestors and security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir yesterday.



The official, however, said restrictions on assembly of four or more people were in place throughout the valley for maintaining law and order.



Security forces have been deployed in strength at vulnerable spots and along the main roads to as a precautionary measure, the official said.



Meanwhile, normal life remained affected in Kashmir due to the strike. Shops and business establishments remained shut in the Valley, but are expected to open today as separatists have given a 14-hour relaxation in the shutdown from 5 PM.



The ongoing unrest in Kashmir has affected the education as schools, colleges and other educational institutions continue to remain shut in the Valley.



The government has decided to hold board examinations as per the schedule next month, drawing criticism from students and parents who accused it of being insensitive to lack of academic activity due to shutdown.



As many as 85 people, including two cops, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the ongoing unrest in the valley.
The World Medical Association (WMA), the top medical-ethics body, on Friday installed an Indian doctor facing corruption charges as its president, despite controversy surrounding his appointment while legal cases are pending.





A statement released by the WMA said Dr. Ketan Desai delivered his inaugural speech as president on Friday at the association's annual assembly in Taiwan. He will serve in the position for 2016/17.



After he was first selected in 2009 as a future president of the WMA, Desai faced conspiracy and corruption allegations. Desai has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the pending cases. He did not respond to questions from Reuters sent via email.



When Reuters asked the WMA this week for an update on Desai's legal situation, spokesman Nigel Duncan said the association had nothing more to say.



"I don't think there's anything we want to add to what we have already said," Duncan said. He did not answer questions about Desai's legal cases or what the ethics body had been told about them in recent months.



In one case filed in New Delhi in 2010, Desai faces charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy for allegedly being involved in a conspiracy to obtain a bribe of 20 million rupees ($450,000 at the time) from a medical college. In return, investigators allege Desai helped the school get permission from the Medical Council to add more students. When contacted last year, the college, which is not a defendant in the case, declined to comment.



Desai was arrested in the Delhi case and jailed in 2010 pending a possible trial. He was later released on bail. That year his inauguration as the WMA president was suspended. In 2013, the WMA decided to lift the suspension after receiving assurances from the Indian Medical Association, which Desai once headed.



The Indian Medical Association did not respond to queries from Reuters this week.



A Reuters investigation published in July last year showed that the Indian Medical Association had incorrectly told the WMA that charges against Desai had been withdrawn. Representatives of major doctors organizations accepted the information as fact. The Indian Medical Association said last year that it never misled the WMA. (reut.rs/1LZx8BM)



The WMA had said it took questions raised in the Reuters article "very seriously" and would look into them. Later, in October 2015, the WMA upheld its decision to appoint Desai as president, without giving reasons.



A source at India's Central Bureau of Investigation said this week that the New Delhi case was still active though it was on hold due to a pending appeal in the Supreme Court. The source said Desai still needs to appear before the district court judge during hearings.



A court document dated Aug. 3 shows Desai, a urologist by training, submitted an application to seek an exemption from a personal appearance in court that day due to an illness. The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.





Proceedings in a separate case, alleging Desai was involved in a conspiracy to have the Medical Council of India allow a private medical school to add more students, were put on hold last year by a district court in northern Uttar Pradesh state until investigators obtain government permission to prosecute. Desai's counsel in the case, Purnendu Chakravarti, said this week there was no change in the status of the case.



An overburdened and under-resourced Indian judiciary system means court cases can drag on for years in the country.



Based in France, the WMA sets ethical standards for physicians worldwide and represents millions of doctors. Known for its pioneering work in ethics, its members include the American Medical Association and the British Medical Association.


An app which lets people report incidents of leaf and garbage burning and construction dust to government authorities has been launched by the Supreme Court appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for Delhi & NCR (EPCA).





Each complaint on the 'hawa badlo' app will be geo-referenced and will provide information about the time and location where the evidence of violation has been collected and submitted.



EPCA will forward the complaint to the official-in-charge, who is identified through the location and type of violation.



The app has been designed by EPCA, along with the municipal corporations and concerned departments of the state governments of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.



It also lets officials to resolve cases and then upload evidence about what has been done, including the copy of the challan. The concerned officer will have to provide proof in the form of photos tagged with GPS locations as conclusive proof of resolution of a case.



It will generate weekly reports on the status of the cases and action taken. This will be sent to the concerned officials of the Central and state pollution control boards and municipalities.

DH News Service
The AAP government has once again renewed its efforts to get a bigger share from the central tax poll and wants an unprecedented 15-fold in the amount from Rs 325 crore to Rs 5000 crore in 2017-18.





The Delhi governments share in central taxes is Rs 325 crore since 2001 but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been pitching for an urgent review of this limit due to increase in the citys population over the past decade and a half. We want a 15-fold increase in the Delhis share in the central taxes, said an aide of Kejriwal.



Besides writing a letter to the Home Ministry, the issue was raised by the AAP government through the Chief Secretary in a meeting with central government which discussing financial matters for Union Territories.



The government also wants the central assistance under plan fund to be raised from Rs 490 crore to Rs 1,000 crore.



The Delhi government is also seeking additional funds from the central government as it has spent an additional Rs 115 crore on migrants from J&K, said an official.



The AAP government also wants the central government to bear the additional burden of giving enhanced pension to widows of the 1984 riots.



Kejriwal has been complaining over the past two years that Delhiites pay thousands of crores as central taxes but the city only gets Rs 325 crore from the central tax pool.



The population of the city has increased manifold over the past 15 years but the share of Delhi in central tax pool has not increased during this period, said Deputy Finance Minister Manish Sisodia soon after presenting the Bugdet.



Meanwhile, to give an impetus to development work in all the constituencies the AAP government has been striving to allot addition Rs 10 crore  apart from the annual Rs 4 crore  to each legislator.



For, all the 70 legislators a one-time corpus of Rs 700 crore is being targeted to give a big push to constituency-level development works suggested by public.



The additional funds for the legislators, to be spent in the next five months, have been collected by reducing the plan outlay for several departments including the PWD, said an official.



Like last year, several departments appear unable to utilise the plan outlay and this unspent money is being placed at the disposal of the MLAs, he said.
An envelope containing a white powdery substance was sent to one of White House hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign offices in New York, though police initially ruled out any danger.





The envelope was first delivered to Clinton's offices in Manhattan, where campaign workers then transferred it to her Brooklyn headquarters, New York Police Department Lieutenant Thomas Antonetti told AThe envelope was first delivered to Clinton's offices in ManhattanFP.



"The preliminary investigation determined that it was negative in terms of containing a hazardous substance," he added, noting the Department of Health was conducting further evaluation to determine the nature of the substance.



Antonetti said the envelope also contained writing, but no death threats. "We're trying to determine what the substance was. For right now, we can at least rule out any poisonous or deadly nature of the substance," Antonetti said.
Beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham, convicted for killing a security guard by beating him and ramming his Hummer SUV into him, has allegedly threatened his brothers from jail using his mobile phone.





Two of his brothers have filed a complaint before the Thrissur Rural Superintendent of Police, R Nishantini, alleging that Nisham had threatened them from Central jail in Kannur, where he is lodged, by calling from his mobile phone.



Meanwhile, media reports claimed that Nisham frequently gets in touch with his business associates, wife and other relatives, using mobile phones.



Top police sources said the matter would be looked up by the Director General of Police, Prisons. Reacting to the reports, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said it was a matter of concern that Nisham was getting VIP treatment in the prison.



He also demanded stern action against officials who provided him "silent support".



Earlier, police had ordered a probe into allegations that special treatment was being provided by prison authorities to Nisham, who is serving 24 year imprisonment.



Nisham had rammed his Hummer against security guard Chandrabose (51) after brutally beating him up as he was reportedly angry over the delay in opening the main gates of the posh residential complex 'Shobha city' in Thrissur in the early hours of January 29 last year.
Opposition Congress and NCP today attacked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for "brokering" a truce between MNS and the producers of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", saying it is for the Centre to decide if Pakistani artistes should be banned whereas the state government's responsibility is to ensure rule of law.





Expressing "shock" over the development, Congress said Fadnavis had not only bowed down to the "highhanded tactics" of the MNS, but made the state to bow before that party.



The responsibility of the Chief Minister was to maintain law and order and not to mediate between the producers and MNS, which had threatened to block the film.



"The Chief Minister's responsibility is maintaining law and order. It was unconstitutional for him to mediate between the film producers and MNS, which had threatened to block release of the film," state Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said in a statement.



"Banning artistes from across the border is a decision to be taken by the Centre. The demand for ban on Pakistani artistes should be made to the Centre," he said.



He said protecting the country's interest was part of the foreign policy, which falls under the ambit of the Centre. The state government's responsibility is to ensure law and order, till a decision to ban Pakistani artistes is taken by the Centre.



"When Ashok Chavan was the CM, Shiv Sena had created similar problems against the release of Shah Rukh Khan's 'My Name is Khan'.



"The Congress government at the time provided police protection to the movie and ensured there was no law and order problem. Congress showed it does not bow down to any pressure. Fadnavis showed that he was incapable of handling the pressure," Sawant added.



The NCP alleged that the "settlement" brokered by Fadnavis between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and film producers was a proof that BJP was "providing fuel to the MNS engine".



NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said the Chief Minister's job is not to broker settlement, but to ensure law and order.



"By making producers agree to contribute Rs 5 cr to the army welfare fund, Thackeray and Fadnavis have insulted the memory of martyred jawans," he said.



Hitting out at Thackeray, he said the MNS chief was known for never taking issues raised by him to their logical conclusion.



"It is now clear that BJP is providing fuel to MNS engine (the party's election symbol)," Malik said, adding in the Lok Sabha polls, MNS' strategy was to ensure BJP's victory and defeat Shiv Sena, he added.
Using the analogy of surgical strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wondered what would have happened if the government had adopted similar strategy in the recent campaign against blackmoney, which unearthed Rs 65,000 crores.





"We gave some time to those who had generated black money (to declare it). You will be happy to know that Rs 65,000 crore in black money came into mainstream with payment of tax and penalty.



"Now think, Rs 36,000 crore that was leaking has been stopped (by direct benefit transfer), and Rs 65,000 crore of black money is unearthed, together it is Rs one lakh crore.



"And this Rs one lakh crore has been brought back without launching surgical strikes," Modi said, invoking the term used for recent operation by Army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.



"If we do surgical strikes (in this area), you can imagine what all will come out," the Prime Minister said.



Modi said he has put up a sustained fight against corruption since he took charge.



"Against corruption, without much publicity I have put up a sustained fight. Government's assistance (now) goes directly in the bank accounts of beneficiaries, cutting out middlemen.



"Just by ensuring that right person gets the benefit and wrong person cannot take it, we have saved Rs 36,000 crore, which used to leak in the form of (subsidies for) gas cylinders, scholarship, pension," Modi said.



Modi, speaking at a camp to distribute 'assistive devices' to over 8,000 `Divyangs' (disabled persons) here, also criticised past governments for not doing enough for the disabled.



After distributing aid devices to the disabled, the Prime Minister said, "Knowingly or unknowingly, this country has remained insensitive towards the Divyangs.



"The government buildings only had facility for healthy persons. We launched Sugamya Bharat mission, so that government buildings, hospitals, platforms are built in such a way that they have access facility for the Divyangs."



Previous governments did not do enough in this field, he said.



"Governments in the past had also worked in this direction. But you will be shocked to know that since 1992, when work started in this direction, till 2014, only 56 such camps (for distributing assistive devices) for Divyangs were organised. After this government came, 4,500 such programmes were held," Modi said.



"So far, 5.50 lakh Divyangs from across the country have been provided direct benefit.



"In the central government, I came to know that 16,500 posts for Divyangs were vacant. I told my Ministers to fill up these vacant posts. I can say with satisfaction that 14,500 such posts have been filled up," Modi said.



The Prime Minister also said his government had started work for having `common sign language', as at present different sign languages are used in different parts of the country.



Referring to the country's economic growth, he said India was a bright spot in the world.



"Today in the entire world, one thing about this country is being praised. The world says that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Be it World Bank, IMF or credit-rating agencies, the entire world says in one voice that India is developing very fast.



"Solution to all problems lies in development. Only through development can illiteracy, disease, poverty be removed," Modi said.



"Remember the days of 2014, or 2013, what were the headlines? They did this much (corruption) in coal, so much in spectrum. Since the time you gave me the responsibility, in two and a half years the news is (about) doing good for Divyangs, India's progress in world economy and development," Modi said.
Salamanca is far away from Jaisalmer, the golden city in the midst of the Rajasthan desert. Yet, as I stood on the vast Plaza Mayor, a square in this city in northwestern Spain, I felt a sense of deja vu.





The summer afternoons glow painted the facades of the surrounding baroque buildings a rich gold, and somehow it brought back memories of visiting the fort-city amidst the sand dunes of the Thar desert made famous by maestro Satyajit Ray in his Bengali film Sonar Kella.



Salamanca, nicknamed La Dorada (the golden city), is the capital of the Castile and the Leon region of Spain, and lies by River Tormes on a plateau. Ruled successively by the Celts, Romans, Muslims and Spaniards, its known for the beautiful architecture of sandstone mined from the nearby Villamayor quarry, and is considered to be one of the most outstanding cities from the Renaissance era in Europe.



UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage City and in 2002, it was chosen as the European City of Culture, together with Bruges in Belgium.



Its a city whose old quarter can be, in fact, should be, explored on foot. Because at every corner there is an interesting structure, an edifice, or a church steeped in history to discover. As I did.



On this summer afternoon, Salamanca seemed to slumber and at peace, enjoying the sun despite many tourists moving around. In the must-visit list, the twin cathedrals figure at the top. The cathedrals, Old and New, stand back-to-back as if they are conjoined twins. In fact, entry to the Old Cathedral has to be made through the New Cathedral. The latter had to be built in the 16th century as the population grew and there was not enough space in the existing one. The Old Cathedral was also a kind of fortification in those days.



Inside, it exuded an air of old times with its Romanesque architecture. Worth checking out is the cloister and the beautifully decorated tombs of the past bishops and important personalities of the day. Also worth the effort is the steep climb to the roof to enjoy a panoramic view of the medieval city.



Gothic get-up



The New Cathedral is more gothic, with touches of Renaissance and baroque at places. At the entrance, people crowd in to watch the astronaut carved on the door panel, done in 1992 during a renovation, at once catapulting the medieval building to 20th century.



In this golden city, there is also a touch of silver. Salamanca is renowned for an artistic movement in architecture called plateresque, characterised by ornate decorative facades that create beautiful silver-filigree effect; its a speciality of the region. In Spanish, plata means silver.



One of the best examples of plateresque is the facade of the university in Salamanca. Founded in 1218, Universidad de Salamanca is the third oldest university in Europe, and the oldest in Spain.



Indeed, Salamanca has been recognised as a centre of learning from medieval times, and even today, the student community is more than 40,000 strong. Its also in Salamanca where the purest Spanish  Castellano  is spoken, which makes the city a popular destination for students of the Spanish language.



The sound of crackers and music greeted me as I stepped into the university area. Lo and behold! A wedding party was waiting to greet a newly-wed couple to emerge from the university church even as another party was in queue to enter. Apparently, churches are booked for weddings on Saturdays in the summer season. It was nice to discover that the locals burst crackers and shower rice grains to greet the newly-weds as in many parts of India.



Today, classes are not held in the old premises of the university; they are meticulously preserved to showcase the way classrooms were those days. There are narrow desks just enough to keep the elbows, as students were expected to listen attentively to the teacher and then write from memory during homework hours. The extensive library and repositories of famous teachers are great places to get introduced to the intellectual hub that Salamanca was in the medieval period. Many people visit the city to experience the atmosphere of medieval university life.



Also, a great facade to admire is the House of Conchas, which currently locates a public library. Its facade displays more than 300 shellfish designs. It was built between 1493 and 1517 by Rodrigo Arias de Maldonado, a knight and professor of the order of Santiago de Compostela. Santiago or St James, Spains patron saint, is symbolised by the shellfish.



Museum & more



The Lis Art Nouveau Museum, as the name suggests, is much more modern in structure and content as it was built in 1905. Situated behind the cathedral, its Venetian glass edifice in green and multiple colours is striking. Inside, I was greeted by a courtyard surrounded by two floors done in intricate work. The collection, a paean to aesthetics, from wonderful Art Deco dancing figures by Demetre Chiparus, to toys, perfume bottles, to furniture of that era, harks back to a luxurious and a less-troubled time difficult to replicate today.



To get introduced to the historical buildings in case you have time constraints  the university and colleges the Jesuits built, or the Roman Bridge  hop on to the quaint green train for tourists, which leaves Plaza de Anaya at regular intervals accompanied by running commentary.



Walk around the Rua Mayor street near Plaza Mayor, lined with numerous shops displaying the usual touristy stuff to local, antique-style jewellery and artefacts, and restaurants. Enjoy some street art or just sit down near a fountain to observe the world go by. Oh yes, Salamanca is also famous for excellent food  sea fish, cheese, varieties of meat, and desserts.



In the afternoon and late evening in summers, the best thing to do would be to sit at Plaza Mayor. From locals to tourists, its the place to congregate and enjoy a choice of your beverage or meal.



As I sat on the terrace of Plaza Mayor on the last day of my visit, enjoying a meal with Sangria, the afternoon sun turned the facades of the buildings into golden edifices, and some strains of a Tuna band (which originated with the student community in the Middle Ages) wafted in. It seemed a perfect time to etch in memory this beautiful Castilian city.




Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who made an unsuccessful bid for the post of UN Secretary General a decade ago, has said contrary to perceptions China did not oppose his candidature and in fact voted for him in the first "straw poll" of the UN Security Council.





"As the candidate who came second last time, 10 years ago, when Ban Ki-moon was elected in similar circumstances, I followed the votes with interest. At the same time I read a number of references to the 2006 race that were, frankly, inaccurate," former diplomat Tharoor said in an article today in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.



"While some things have been published, particularly in India, that I have preferred not to respond to out of respect for the conventions of confidentiality, one point is worth clarifying, particularly for readers in East Asia. It is simply untrue that my run for the secretary generalship, as India's official candidate, was scuttled by China," he said.



His article coincided with the election of former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres as the new UN Secretary General to succeed Ban, the former South Korean Foreign Minister who defeated Tharoor in 2006.



Referring to the importance of China's stand towards him before the election, Tharoor said "this was an obvious concern when the Indian government first mulled my candidacy. I mentioned it myself in my first conversation on the subject with then prime minister Manmohan Singh," he said.



"Beijing and New Delhi had not seen eye to eye for years over many issues, and there was an increasing perception that Washington, as well as some ASEAN capitals, were seeing newly resurgent India as a plausible counterweight to the overweening (and growing) international prominence of China," he said.



"Though India firmly disavowed any intention of playing such a role, there was always a possibility that China would see an Indian secretary general nominee as a tool in a broader strategy to cut China down to size on the world stage," Tharoor said giving a lengthy account of how he established contact with then Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.



Narrating his meeting with Li in Beijing, Tharoor said "as the meeting drew to a close, his tone turned grave. He spoke slowly and clearly in English - 'Please convey to your government that China will not stand in your way. China will not stand in your way'. There was only one possible interpretation of these words: China would not use its veto to block me," he said.



"If China had already made its mind up in favour of another candidate, there was no sign of it. It was obvious to me that my nationality would not render me their preferred choice in the post, but this was a clear message that they would not explicitly oppose me either. It was now up to me to fare better than the other contenders," he said.



"The foreign minister was as good as his word. When the first 'straw poll' took place at the Security Council in July, Ban led with 12 votes and I was second with 10. One of my 10 votes was China's," he said.



But at the same "as we subsequently learned, China had voted positively for all the Asian candidates, including me," he said.



Pointing his finger at the US, Tharoor said US did not want a strong candidate as UN Secretary General following its tiff with outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan.



"We know the rest of the story from American sources, notably from 'Surrender Is Not An Option', the no-holds-barred memoir published by the then US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, who disloyally revealed that his instructions from then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice were 'We don't want a strong secretary general'," Tharoor said.



"Bolton's book confirmed that Wang had voted for all the Asian candidates on the first ballot; China then abstained on my candidacy on subsequent ballots but, as it promised, it never used its veto against me. That was done by the United States, which, Bolton reveals, backed Ban to the hilt and lobbied on his behalf with other Security Council members," he said.



"The bilateral relationship with (South) Korea, a perception of a lack of conviction on India's part, and the Bush administration's desire not to repeat the Annan experiment of a 'strong' secretary general  combined to ensure the US veto that scuttled my candidacy," he said.



"It had nothing to do with India's size, India's Security Council aspirations or indeed any political skulduggery at home," he said.



"Least of all did it have anything to do with China. Even if Beijing, as Bolton's memoir indicates, was quite happy with the outcome, China never did oppose me," he said.



Touching briefly on the present state of India-China ties, Tharoor said "current relations between India and China are complicated".



"On the positive side are a burgeoning USD 70 billion in bilateral trade (skewed heavily in China's favour), and promises of increased Chinese investment in India's growing economy, amid a relaxation by the Modi government of restrictions on Chinese involvement in such sectors as ports, power and telecom," he said.



"On the negative side are the continuing lack of progress in resolving their six-decade border dispute and Chinese diplomatic actions in support of Pakistan. Global geopolitics continues to pit India and China against each other on some issues even as they cooperate on others," he said.



"It is in the interest of all Asians that the two regional giants should manage their complicated relationship constructively. But there is no reason at all to add to these complications a problem that never existed. Ten years ago, China did not stand in my way," he said.
Government will offer full support to Chinese companies who want to set up mobile manufacturing plants here to tap the country's growing handset market, an official said today.





The official said there would be clearly differentiated field for those who look "India only as a market" and those who choose to partner with Indian firms.



"There is unprecedented opportunity in this space between Chinese manufacturers and Indian companies. For those who are willing to come in and partner us in India, we will offer every kind of support whether it be at central government or at state government level," Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) Secretary, Aruna Sundararajan, today said.



She was speaking at second 'India China Mobile Phone and Accessories Manufacturing Summit'.



"We would welcome partners who will come and manufacture in India. There will be clearly differentiated field for those who look India only as a market and those who choose to partner with us in India," Sundararajan said.



She further said, India is at present a 280-million smartphone market and the government has a goal that every Indian should have an access to smartphone.



"You will find extremely supportive and welcoming environment. You will find enough industry partners who will guide you through and make sure that you find India a profitable and rewarding state to do business," Sundararajan said.



India is now one of the fastest growing economies and there are stable policies which are making the country a vibrant destination for investments, she said.



The comments come at a time when Indians on social media platform are calling for boycott of Chinese products because of support rendered by China to Pakistan.



When asked about calls for boycott of Chinese products on social media, Sundararajan said, "Quality, safety and security are paramount. Beyond that I don't think it is fair to take stand."



Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Joint Director Meenakshi Rai Bhatia said that around 7,000 acres of land are available across 18 states for companies to set up their factories in India.



Indian mobile industry body Indian Cellular Association (ICA) said that government is making sincere effort to develop mobile manufacturing eco-system in the country and learning same from China.



When Chinese investors asked for pace of setting up business in India, ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said that it varies from state to state with Uttar Pradesh being a slow in terms of clearances and state like Haryana working at fast pace with 'deer' kind speed.



Chinese companies Holitech and Wind Communications expressed interest in expanding their business in India.
A woman lives 30 to 40 years as somebodys wife, spends her life, youth and energy working for his household, gives birth to their children and brings them up.



For whatever reasons, she is divorced by him. She is aged and cant work. Given her work at home has not been quantified and compensated for, shouldnt the husband pay her some money for her sustenance, rather than leave her to destitution? I cant think of anybody who will be inhuman enough to say that the woman can be deserted at this phase of her life.



Do you believe in the Indian Law or Muslim Personal Law is what was asked. The abstract theoretical question erases the fundamental issue in the experience: a womans life, work and rights unaccounted for. In this exercise, the personal law becomes a symbol of Muslim identity, right and even pride.



Once thus framed, those who support the personal law can claim to be the champions of Muslims. It suits the Hindutva brigade, as they get to play up the nation-religion dichotomy vis-a-vis Muslims of India. It serves the purposes of the male, upper caste, upper class and political Muslim leadership because once under attack from the corners that are known to demonise the community, the embattled atmosphere will make it impossible for the oppressed and the exploited in the community to speak up. Once framed as a community symbol, the issue becomes a Hindu-Muslim problem, which it never was, to begin with. The majority-minority fight is a great opportunity for the majoritarian politics to legitimise itself and grow. It is not just a hopeless, false opposition but also a dangerous tangle.



Some erstwhile supporters of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) have now backed out citing the present Central majoritarian government. When a clearly anti-Hindu, colonial government abolished Sati and brought in a number of reforms, they clearly didnt have the best of intentions. But it did assist in the ushering in of a certain kind of modernity. Acts are evaluated against impacts, not intentions. This is not a do-or-die of political opposition  making it so only takes us further into the traps of the above said false binary.



How to undo this conundrum? The first step could be that the discussion should not be between male Hindutvawadis and male Muslim leadership. It is not even between progressive men and regressive men as it converts women into speechless entities in an issue that is basically about them. It is between some Muslim men who want to use a British colonialist precipitant for their interest of being community leaders (I dont think anybody is desperate to marry again in the age of nuclear families or pronounce triple talaq!) and some Muslim women who are denied their citizenship rights and human rights using exactly the provisions of these laws.



Women of all religions can support this as a womens cause, Muslim men can support women as this injustice is done in the name of their communitys rights and other men could support it as Indians or humans. As always in questions of justice, the number of these complainant Muslim women dont matter, the voiced grief does.



Is this possible? Wont women be able to come out only when the regressive laws are abolished? Social movements change laws; not the other way around. Debates around legality seem to saturate our socio-political concerns so much that Muslim women now look like an exclusively legal and abstract entity. The second step is to delink religion by bringing in the thickness of history. Islam, like all religions, is a spiritual-ethical code. The transhistorical appeal of religions means that they provide an ethical guideline for human conduct. Ethical questions cannot be brushed aside using technical arguments that contradict the spirit of the religion.



Setting aside paradigms



If the Holy Quran instructs repeatedly about taking care of orphans, if Prophet Muhammad in the strongest of words has talked about being most caring and kind to orphans, how can leaving a woman to orphanhood in her senility be Islamic? The word in the scripture, the model of the Prophet, law, opinion of the learned and research are five areas to consider in figuring out whether something is Islamic or not: a clear way of acknowledging history in the social life of believers.



Islamic scholar C T Abdurahim makes an interesting point: slavery was prevalent in Arabia during the Prophet Muhammads time; it was not banned. But the Prophet instructed the people to treat them very well and freeing slaves is a recommended penance. The spirit of Islam is clearly anti-slavery.



Once the current paradigm is set aside, it needs to be said that even those who invoke UCC as a one-step ideal solution for Indian problems are mistaken. It is not even practical. Forget urban, middle-class or upper-class nuclear families across religions, think of tribals and adivasis. As per the 1961 census, polygamy is maximum among tribals (15.25%), followed by Buddhists (7.9%), Jains (6.7%), Hindus (5.8%) and Muslims (5.7%).



If we ban polygamy nationally, we are imposing our values on them without involving them in the process. The process will give us outlaws who the state can then conveniently target. As it always happens in history, standardisation has the tendency to impose the majoritarian and its modern on others and we should watch out about making UCC a symbolic ideal. When we are working with many communities which dont even have codified laws, the danger of uniform only reflecting the voices of the powerful is quite real.



Instead of a Uniform Civil Code, it might be good to think of a scheme which attempts a union of various cultures. As citizens of India, men and women of all religions and communities have certain responsibilities and rights. As lyricist Javed Akhtar once said, unless and until civil codes of communities are not in contradiction with the constitutional rights, let them move on with it. But when there is a contradiction, Constitution should prevail. Through these mutual conversations, we cross-fertilise religious, caste, linguistic and regional communities and perhaps, over time, evolve a Union Civil Code  the inclusive civil code of the Indian Republic necessitates those historical conversations.



(The writer is assistant professor of English at St Stephens College, Delhi)


On October 6, the Law Commission circulated a questionnaire inviting suggestions about ways to accomplish the constitutional objective of a uniform civil code (UCC).





Within the terrain of rights and duties the Constitution has charted, UCC features in Part 4, where the directive principles of state policy are defined. Partly because of the caution that constitutional founders exercised in judging the feasibility of various objectives, Part 4 was deliberately cast in a subordinate position to Part 3 or the charter of fundamental rights.



In a real-life situation -- of a woman seeking her fundamental rights -- Shayaro Bano from Uttarakhand approached the Supreme Court (SC) in February, to contest the summary divorce pronounced on her by the utterance of the term talaq thrice. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in an affidavit submitted before the SC did its cause no good, arguing that triple talaq procedure was a reasonable exit from a faltering marriage, when the lack of that option could well lead to the womans murder.



The AIMPLB attracted well deserved ridicule for this absurdity. But hidden in its verbiage was an acknowledgment of the precedent established in the 2002 SC judgement in the Shamim Ara case, which imposed a test of adequate cause and prior reconciliation before talaq was effected. The SC ruled in that specific case that there was insufficient proof of talaq being pronounced and more importantly, that there were no reasons substantiated in justification of talaq and no plea or proof that any effort at reconciliation preceded the talaq.



After initially opposing the Shamim Ara decision, the AIMPLB affidavit before the SC in the triple talaq case signalled that it will not contest the precedent or stand in the way of any aggrieved person seeking remedy for talaq pronouncements that violated its stipulations. This concession to good sense may have come too late for the AIMPLB. The Supreme Court is also hearing a petition from a woman of the Muslim faith from West Bengal, questioning the authority of the AIMPLB to decide matters of personal law.



Womens groups cutting across lines of faith have joined forces with political parties of various persuasions to demand an end to the triple talaq practice. The BJP has joined this demand for reasons connected to its identity as a party that denies minority rights within Indias republican order. Meanwhile, the Congress has, expectedly for a party that seeks to cultivate a communitys electoral support through the mediation of its most conservative clerical elements, tiptoed around the issue.



Except for sections of the Muslim clergy, there is broad support for declaring triple talaq a violation of fundamental rights. From there to the UCC though, is a big step, involving layers of complexity and potentially, the stiff opposition of Hindu orthodoxy. When he quit the Union Cabinet in 1951, Dr B R Ambedkar effectively signalled that the greater obstacle to the principle of equality came not from minority faiths, but hidebound traditions of the self-proclaimed majority.



Among the fundamental rights, Article 14 ensures the right to equality before the law, and Article 25 protects the right to religious freedom. Together with another article which safeguards the right of any distinct group to maintain its identity and culture, these constitutional assurances set up a conflict of objectives. Does uniformity serve the larger purpose of equality? And if equality remains elusive, could identity serve as a substitute?



Congresss stand



The Congress regimes at the Centre and the states have typically taken the second course, maintaining the electoral loyalty of the minority faith through a link with its traditional leadership and clergy. The BJP, which has built its fortunes on disdaining this brand of minorityism, has long been committed to submerging all identities in its own construct of nationalist uniformity. If the Congress offered identity as a substitute for equality, the BJP denies both.



Uttar Pradesh (UP) is where the BJP seeks immediate electoral rewards, using templates from 1991 when it won power for the first time in the state, and in 2014 when it swept 71 of UPs 80 Lok Sabha seats. In between, the BJP suffered a long period of eclipse as the states substantial Muslim electorate learnt to leverage its strength through strategic alliances with backward classes on one side and Dalits on the other. In electoral rewards, the strategy peaked in 2012 when candidates of the Muslim faith won 68 seats in the 403-member Assembly, for the first time achieving rough parity with the communitys share in the total population.



It all fell apart in 2014, when the BJP succeeded in fragmenting alliances formed over two decades, through a strategy on the ground that deployed rumours of love jihad and injuries to the gau mata with potent effect.



Media investigations into the build-up to the next Assembly election in UP indicate an ominous increase in the number of communal incidents registered in the states police stations. A large number of these remain unclassified since reports received in police stations are sketchy and difficult to bracket. A significant number of incidents, roughly about 20% have been registered as originating in injuries to the cows dignity. A similar number springs from relations between the sexes, from allegations ranging from harassment to forbidden love.



Full-blown riots have not broken out as last seen in Muzaffarnagar in 2013, since that would be contrary to the BJPs effort to burnish its global image as a responsible party of governance. There is little doubt though that the energy with which the UCC is currently being pressed is integrally connected to the partys larger electoral calculations for UP.



(The writer is a senior journalist based in Gurgaon)
Alabama, Delaware and Florida were in a very small club at the start of 2016, but Alabama now stands alone - last in the nation to embrace a set of rules, deemed unconstitutional elsewhere, that increases the likelihood of a death sentence.





All 3 states were the only ones in the nation to allow judges to override jury recommendations for life without parole and instead impose the death penalty. And they also were the only states that didn't require jury advisory votes for the death penalty be unanimous.





Since January, however, courts have ruled those practices unconstitutional in Delaware and Florida. The most recent ruling came last Friday when the Florida Supreme Court ruled that jury recommendations for the death penalty must be unanimous.





That leaves Alabama as the only state that allows judges to override jury recommendations and the only one to allow split juries to recommend death. In Alabama, at least 10 of 12 jurors must vote for a death recommendation.





But there have been signals that the U.S. Supreme Court may be taking aim at Alabama.





"Alabama is out on the limb and the U.S. Supreme Court has already suggested it might be pulling out the saw," said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.





One sign that Alabama's death penalty law is on the U.S. Supreme Court's radar is that the high court this spring sent back the cases of 3 death row inmates for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to review. The U.S. Supreme Court didn't say in its brief orders what it was about each of those cases that the Alabama appellate court should consider because in all 3 the judges followed jurors' recommendations for death. One recommendation was unanimous and the other 2 split decisions.





Now the Alabama court must see if the sentences should be overturned in light of the federal decision in January. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law in Florida that allowed judges to override jury recommendations.





"That suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court is looking at this issue," Dunham said.





While the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals hasn't ruled on those 3 cases, that same court has since declared Alabama's death sentence law constitutional in light of the Florida case anyway.





That happened in June when the state appeals differed with Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd. The state court ordered Todd to vacate her March 3 ruling that declared the state's capital punishment sentencing scheme unconstitutional in the cases of 4 men charged with capital murder in her court. She had considered the Florida case in her order.





Then on Sept. 30, the Alabama Supreme Court weighed in. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled in the case of Death Row inmate Jerry Bohannon that Alabama's death penalty law is constitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Hurst v. Florida in January.





Alabama Death Penalty Controversy Explained





District attorneys and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange have said Alabama's law is not the same as Florida's.





The AG's office and district attorneys have said the U.S. Supreme Court held in the Florida case that a jury, not the judge, must find the aggravating factor in order to make someone eligible for the death penalty. Alabama's system, however, already required the jury to do just that in either the guilt or sentencing phase, they said.





Once a jury has unanimously made the factual determination that a defendant meets the criteria to be eligible for the death penalty, the judge may make the legal determination of whether to impose it or not, the attorney general has stated.





"The Hurst ruling has no bearing whatsoever on the constitutionality of Alabama's death penalty, which has been upheld numerous times," the AG's office has stated.





The Alabama Attorney General's Office declined an interview this week regarding Friday's new ruling in Florida regarding unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences, but a spokesman for the office offered a response.





"Florida and Alabama have different laws regarding death penalty sentencing," Mike Lewis, communications director for the attorney general. "Alabama's Supreme Court has already found Alabama's death penalty law to be constitutional."





Alabama's sentencing scheme in death penalty cases is the same as Florida's, which was ruled unconstitutional last month by the U.S. Supreme Court, a number of Alabama defense lawyers are arguing to get death sentences barred in their cases.





But Emory Anthony, a Birmingham lawyer who has filed motions for about 5 defendants seeking to have their capital murder charges dismissed in light of the Hurst decision, believes judicial override and non-unanimous will be changed.





"We're still trying to hold on to something that will have to be changed legally," Anthony said, adding that the state has been "dragging our feet" because elected judges and justices and prosecutors want to show the electorate that they're tough on crime.





"I think we are finding out that one individual should not be the final voice on whether someone should live or die. That should be a decision for 12 people," he said. "I don't know why we are so hard headed. It is almost stupid when you think about it."





At least 2 U.S. Supreme Court justices - Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer - have indicated in recent years that it may be time to look again at Alabama's death penalty sentencing law when it comes to overrides by judges.





Alabama is the only state in the last decade where judges have imposed the death penalty despite of contrary jury verdicts, according to the dissent. Since adoption of this statue, Alabama has imposed death sentences on 95 defendants when a jury voted to sentence them to life.





Within days after the SCOTUS decision in the Hurst case in Florida attorneys for Alabama death row inmate Christopher Brooks argued that his execution should be halted because Alabama's death penalty sentencing law was similar to Florida's.





SCOTUS declined to stop Brooks' Jan. 21 execution.





But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with whom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed, noted in the court's denial of Brooks' motion that the court in Hurst v. Florida had overruled the 2 cases that underpinned Alabama's law, basically knocking out any legal foundation for Alabama's system. But procedural obstacles would have prevented the court from granting the stay of Brooks' execution, she wrote.





Justice Stephen Breyer also wrote that SCOTUS has recognized that Alabama's sentencing scheme is much like and based on the one used in Florida that has been declared unconstitutional. "The unfairness inherent in treating this case differently from others which used similarly unconstitutional procedures only underscores the need to reconsider the validity of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment," Breyer wrote in the Brooks' opinion.





Sotomayor in a 2013 dissenting opinion in the case of Mario Dion Woodward, who was convicted in the shooting death of Montgomery Police Officer Keith Houts, said it's time to look at Alabama's law again.





She noted that while Florida, Delaware and Alabama still had override laws at that time, Alabama judges were the only ones who were still using it. No one is on Delaware's death row as a result of an override and no death sentences have been imposed by override in Florida since 1999.





Since 1976, Alabama judges have overridden jury verdicts 112 times, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.





"18 years have passed since we last considered Alabama's capital sentencing scheme, and much has changed since then," Sotomayor wrote. "Today, Alabama stands alone: No other State condemns prisoners to death despite the considered judgment rendered by a cross-section of its citizens that the defendant ought to live."

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Source: al.com, October 21, 2016
Three special teams have been formed to nab the gang which looted gold loan firm Muthoot Mini Financiers at Mariyappanapalya near Kengeri on Outer Ring Road on Friday morning.





A senior police officer said, The CCTV footage from nearby buildings is being examined. Three teams have been formed. They have visited the spot near Nelamangala where Nagendrappa, the manager of the firm, was held captive. The employees are being questioned, besides the security guards.



All possible angles are being looked into and several people are being questioned. It is suspected that they had planned in advance to commit the crime, as they knew when the bank would close and where exactly the digital video recorder was placed, the officer said.



On Thursday evening, five persons, with one posing as a policeman, abducted Nagendrappa and managed to take away the keys, along with the locker password, from him. On Friday morning, the miscreants, along with Nagendrappa, went to the bank and made away with 4.3 kg of gold and Rs 1 lakh in cash.


A 16-year-old boy was attacked by a gang of 15 members near Sunkadkatte in Rajagopala Nagar on Friday evening.





The victim, identified as Harsha, is a school drop-out and a resident of Sunkadkatte. He sustained severe injuries and has been hospitalised. Police confirmed that he is in stable condition. Police have arrested rowdy sheeter Bharatha in this connection.



Police recounted the incident and stated that on Friday evening, Harsha was returning home when a gang comprising 15 members including Bharatha, attacked him with sharp instruments like machetes and knife. When Harsha collapsed and was bleeding profusely, the assailants fled the spot. Some passersby informed Rajagopalanagar police who shifted him to a nearby private hospital. It is learnt that Harsha was a member of the gang led by Bharatha but had recently quit and joined a rival gang which led to the animosity between them.



Bharatha feared that he would disclose his secrets to the rival gang and thus decided to watch Harshas movements and attacked him when he was alone. Police suspect that a few private college students were also part of Bharathas gang and are questioning him about their whereabouts to check if they were involved in the attack on Harsha.


The police arrested four persons in a dacoity case and recovered valuables and a two-wheeler worth Rs 3.25 lakh. The suspects are Gautham (20), a resident of Prakashnagar, Rithesh (22), a resident of Nandini Layout, Dilip (23) from Shivanagar and Shravan (21), a resident of T Dasarahalli.





The suspects barged into a house in Gelayara Balaga Layout in Soladevanahalli on October 13, threatened the family by brandishing lethal weapons and made away with the valuables. The police acted on a definite tip-off, raided a house in Peenya and arrested the suspects.



In another case, the police arrested one person and recovered stolen gold chains and a bike worth Rs 6 lakh. The suspect was Roshan Khan (23), a resident of Kothanur.



Khan and his friend Imran had robbed three women of their gold chains in CK Achchukattu and had burgled valuables from a house in Talaghattapura. The police had constituted a special task force after the number of chain- snatching incidents went up in South Bengaluru. The police detained Khan while he was moving suspiciously in CK Achchukattu. He confessed to the crime when questioned.


Given the growing concerns over age-related problems especially dementia, two premier institutions  Nimhans and IISc, have come together to launch a longitudinal study on brain ageing, in the state.





As dementia is quite significant in the elderly and the number of persons with dementia doubling every five years, the aim is to delay and if possible, prevent the disease.



To begin with, the institutions have zeroed in on Srinivaspur taluk in Kolar district, where a pilot study will be launched in the next three months.



Here, a population size of 10,000, comprising persons over 45 years of age, will be studied over a period of two to three decades to gain perspective on the longitudinal determinants of ageing process.



The study titled Srinivaspur ageing and cognition study will be taken up jointly by the Nimhans Geriatric Services and Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science.



According to Nimhans Director B N Gangadhar, after the pilot study is launched, the research would be extended to other taluks of the district in a phased manner.



Kolar district has been the public health observatory of Nimhans over the last two to three years and hence Srinivaspur taluk in the district has been chosen.



Another reason is that population in the taluk is said to be more stable thanks to a lower rate of migrants and a good mix of both the urban and rural populace.



A research centre will be opened in the taluk.



The institutions which are in the process of getting the required approvals from the Centre, are also looking for a grant of Rs 20 crore to sustain the research study.



While Nimhans will focus on the clinical and imaging aspects, the Centre for Brain Research will focus on the genetic and molecular aspects. Prof Gangadhar said that most often dementia sets in after 65 years, but the risk factors begin at least 20 years prior to that.



Health and cognition of the focus group will be studied once every year for the next 20 or 30 years to establish a detailed evaluation and understand the risks involved. This will be one of the few studies on dementia taken up in the country.



Though All India Institute of Medical Science has recently started a longitudinal study on ageing, India is yet to draw up national dementia strategies like the USA or the United Kingdom.



There are nearly 104 million senior citizens in India of whom 53 million are females and 51 million males. And as per the estimation by Dementia India Report 2010, the number of persons with dementia will increase from 4.41 million in 2015 to 5.29 million in 2020.


Kannada actor Darshan Thogudeepa and owners of seven other houses in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, west Bengaluru, have been given 15 days to vacate their homes or else the buildings will be demolished for encroaching on storm water drains.





As announced earlier, the district authorities arrived at Ideal Homes Township and took possession of eight houses, 20 vacant sites, a park, two civic amenity sites and 20 guntas of government land. There was no resistance when the authorities jotted notices on the houses and at vacant sites, proclaiming government ownership. The notices asked owners to vacate the houses within 15 days or else the belongings will be thrown out and the buildings occupied.



It is learnt that Darshan continues to stay in the house but no one came out of the building when the notices were being put up. Authorities did not explain why the structures were not demolished immediately, as was the case in other parts of Bengaluru. They said that the total value of the recovered property was Rs 500 crore.



As many as 75 properties, including houses and independent sites in Ideal Homes Township and the Shamanur Shivashankarappa Hospital, have been identified as sitting on B Kharab land (wasteland), which is prohibited under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act.



As the district authorities moved forward to take possession of the properties, the hospital management and owners of 47 houses moved the High Court of Karnataka and obtained a stay on the takeover.



Meanwhile, authorities recovered 13 acres of government land valued at Rs 43 crore elsewhere. In all, the reclaimed property value Rs 543 crore.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he would shortly contact his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis on organising a meeting to resolve the Mahadayi River dispute.





Speaking to reporters here, he stated that the October 21 meeting on Mahadayi could not take place as Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar could not attend it. He said he was ready to invite the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Goa for a meeting on the Mahadayi. Conversely, Siddaramaiah said, he is also willing to attend a meeting if they organise it.



Drought report



The chief minister said that a committee was preparing a report on drought in Karnataka which would be ready in three days. Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa will submit the report to the Central government.



When asked about increasing the salaries of police personnel, Siddaramaiah said that the committee headed by Additional Director General of Police (Recruitment and Training) Raghavendra Auradkar had submitted a report in that regard. The Home and Finance departments will review the report and submit a proposal, he said.


Nothing much has changed in overcrowded Indian jails where socially and economically downtrodden form the bulk, a latest report on prisons has revealed.





The Prison Statistics India 2015 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Saturday showed that 114 prisoners shared the space meant for 100 last year, though it betters the figure of 117 in 2014.



Among them, two-third of the prisoners are Dalits and Other Backward Castes (OBCs), while around 19% are Muslims. Around 28% are illiterates and around 42% of them have never seen a college.



By the end of 2015, there were over 4.19 lakh prisoners in jails, which had space for just 3.66 lakh people. The decrease in occupancy to 114.4% from 117.4% was managed as there was an increase of 1,087 prisoners, while the capacity rose by 10,220.



In 2014, the capacity increase was 8,702. Undertrials accounted for 67.2% of the prisoners though the numbers have slightly decreased last year by 803 to 2.82 lakh. Convicts numbered 1.34 lakh.



In recent years, it is one of the biggest problems faced by prison inmates. Overcrowding results in poor hygiene, lack of sleep etc. Keeping in view the human rights of the prisoners, it is essential that they are given reasonable space and facilities in jails, the report said.



While 15 states have an occupancy rate less than 100%, the major culprits in keeping the national rate above 100% are Chhattisgarh (233.9%), Delhi (226.9) and Uttar Pradesh (168.8).
Saudi Arabia: Darkness at Noon

3 Saudi juveniles remain on death row, 1 year after the UK began seeking 'assurances' that they would not be executed.





Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher, Ali al Nimr, and Dawood al-Marhoon were aged 15, 17 and 17 respectively when they were arrested for allegedly taking part in protests in the country's eastern province. All 3 face beheading after they were sentenced in the secretive Specialised Criminal Court, on the basis of 'confessions' they signed following torture. Last September, the death sentences of the 3 were upheld, and they could now be executed at any time.





The UK has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, and for the past year, the UK Foreign Office has sought regular 'assurances' from the Saudi government that the three would not be executed. Last month, Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood told Parliament: "our expectation remains that they will not be executed."





However, the 3 juveniles remain on death row, and their families say that they fear the executions could go ahead without warning. Speaking to Channel 4 last month, Ali al Nimr's father, Mohammed al Nimr, said that his son was "waiting to be called" to the "execution square."





Concerns for the 3 juveniles have been heightened by recent reports of other rights abuses in the country. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Saudi authorities had executed a member of the royal family for the 1st time in 40 years; while Saudi blogger, Raif Badawi, is said to be facing a new round of 'lashes' as part of a flogging sentence handed down for his criticisms of the government.





The British government has so far stopped short of calling for the 3 juveniles' death sentences to be scrapped - something that other governments, such as France, have done. Human rights organization Reprieve has written to the Prime Minister, Theresa May, asking her to request that Saudi Arabia commute the sentences.





In January this year, several juveniles were among 47 prisoners executed en masse in the Kingdom. They included Ali al-Ribh, a teenager from the Eastern Province who, like Ali, Abdullah and Dawood, was arrested in school in the wake of protests. Last week, a UK Foreign Office minister said that she was "horrified" by news of the mass execution.





Commenting, Maya Foa, a director of Reprieve, said:





"It's appalling that Ali al Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon could be beheaded at any moment for the so-called 'crime' of attending a protest. Saudi Arabia's 'assurances' that they won't execute these 3 boys count for nothing when the Kingdom has continued to behead juveniles and other prisoners, many of whom were tortured into bogus 'confessions.' Theresa May must call urgently for these death sentences to be scrapped."

 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Source: Reprieve, October 21, 2016
A dengue patient admitted to a south Kolkata nursing home on Thursday assaulted three nurses attending to him, severely injuring one of them, and fled the spot.





The 24-year-old nurse has been admitted to the intensive care unit with a fracture to her skull and is battling for her life, doctors said.



Subir Saha (27) from Mangalkot in Burdwan district was admitted to the All Asia Medical Institute on Wednesday night. Around 5.30 pm on Thursday, he suddenly turned violent and attacked three nurses attending to him with a metal stand used to hang saline tubes. Typical to the complications triggered by the vector-borne disease, his platelet count was low and nurses were trying to bring down his fever.



Saha picked up the stand and smashed the head of nurse Shipra Mondal, who was attending to him.



Saha kept attacking people who were standing in his way, including the resident medical officer and security guards.



The entire episode was captured on the CCTV camera installed inside the ward.



How were we to know that he would suddenly turn violent? We were not informed anything regarding the patient, said nurse Margaret, who was injured, but is now stable. The third nurse, Victoria, is on the ventilator.



Managing director of the nursing home Harsh Agarwal said Shipra is critical. She suffered a cranial fracture and doctors fear she may not survive, he said. Agarwal lodged a police complaint on Friday. Margaret told the police that there was no provocation on their part.



While Saha absconded after the incident, his family members told the nursing home officials that he never showed any signs of mental imbalance or had a history of violence. His relatives were present till Thursday night, but they also fled the scene later. We sent a team to the Mangalkot address given in the nursing home register, but no one was there. Until we arrest Saha, it we cant say what really transpired and why he attacked those people, a police officer said.


Those who speak ill of Sonia Gandhi and her family should be slippered, said Indian Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Brar on Saturday.





Addressing a gathering during the launch of a membership drive of the state Youth Congress, Singh launched a scathing attack on Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who quit the party, saying leaders like her were ungrateful to the party.



He said several leaders enjoyed power in the Congress, but had later exited the party and made vicious statements against the Congress high command. Such leaders should not be spared, he said and added, Inko jooton se maaro (beat them with slippers).



Joshi, after defecting to the BJP recently, had said that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was unresponsive and hence not acceptable to the people of the country.



Brar said that Joshi was being ungrateful, despite enjoying power in the party. Her brother Vijay Bahuguna too had enjoyed power as Uttarakhand chief minister, thanks to the party.



Attacking the BJP, former MP Ramya said that ever since the saffron party had come to power, there had been intolerance in the country. It is unfortunate that somebody else is dictating to people what they should wear or eat. If this has to be overcome, then the Youth Congress should be strengthened, she added.



KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said that this year, the Youth Congress had a target of enrolling 20 lakh members.



Later in the day, four districts - Haveri, Bagalkot, Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru -- were reserved for SC/ST Youth Congress candidates, through a lottery. The membership drive will end on November 18, following which there will be scrutiny and data entry. Elections are likely to be held in the last week of December.




India expects its last months surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control to impact Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharifs choice on his countrys new army chief.





Current army chief Gen Raheel Sharif is set to retire in November. Top security officials believe that, following the surgical strikes, the hands of the Pakistan prime minister vis-a-vis the army have been strengthened.



Pakistan has denied the September 28-29 surgical strikes by the Indian Army but reports gathered by the Indian intelligence say that the strikes have caused rumblings within the Pakistan government and its military, so much so that the Indian officials expect Sharif to have sufficient room to make his pick among the top candidates.



Their view is that, prior to the Indian Armys action, the beleaguered prime minister was troubled by the leak of the Panama Papers, in which three of his children were said to have offshore companies.



Life after surgical strike



But, after the surgical strikes, the Pakistani media has been abuzz that Sharif's government has asserted its position.



Pakistan has sought to convey to its military that it must stop patronage of terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba as their acts were leading to global isolation of the country, officials said.



Therefore, Sharif, who has been under pressure to grant an extension to Gen Raheel Sharif, may exercise other options.



Constitutionally, it is the prime minister who appoints the Pakistani army chief, though the civilian governments control over the army is often not clear cut.


Separatists and Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir have come to the rescue of government employees whose services were terminated for their reported anti-national activities.





The government action against the employees created a wave of sympathy for the victimised community.



Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the leader of the ongoing conflict and who usually objects to employees defying the separatists strike action, said it is most unfortunate and undemocratic to punish employees for raising their voice against atrocities on people.



Another hardliner from the Geelani camp, Sayeda Asiya Andrabi, head of Dukhtaran-e-Millat (daughters of faith), asked the employees to join hands and stand united.



The Dukhtaran asked the government employees association to press for the reinstatement of the 12 dismissed staffers.



The Opposition Congress termed the government move as political vendetta. The National Conference also criticised the sacking.



Kashmir Inc slams move



The Kashmiri industry has been vociferous in its support of the sacked employees. Kashmir Economic Alliance chairman Muhammad Yasin Khan said the business fraternity stands by these employees.



Former president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries Mubeen Shah said, I feel the state government is not ready to hear any dissent and has converted itself to a fascist ideology, contrary to what they spoke before assuming power.


A Pakistani spy was arrested from Jammu and Kashmirs Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.





Based on information received from military intelligence on the involvement of one Bodh Raj of Changiia village of Jammu district for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces and the army to Pakistan, a special search operation was launched in Ramgarh sector of Samba, said senior superintendent of police, Samba, Joginder Singh.



During the search operation, Raj was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village close to the international border and tried to escape on observing the movement of the police party, Singh said. Police chased him and later he was arrested, he added.



Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing the deployment of security forces, two Indian-made mobile phones and one memory card, besides Rs 1,711, were recovered from his possession, the officer said.



A case has been registered against the suspect under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Official Secrets Act, Singh said.



According to the initial interrogation, he had made markings of various spots on the map, and security agencies are investigating the matter.



Last week, a deputy superintendent of police was suspended for reportedly passing on details about the security deployment in Kashmir to a Pakistani spy, who had posed as an Indian Army officer.



Director General Police K Rajendra took action against the officer following an alert from the home ministry.




A senior BJP leader on Saturday sought a meeting of all city MLAs and MLCs to discuss the Congress governments steel flyover project.



Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda told Bengaluru Development Minister K J George to take peoples representatives into confidence. The project falls under Gowdas Lok Sabha constituency (Bengaluru North), and he had sought a meeting with George and BDA officials to understand its implications. The meeting took place here on Saturday.



BDA officials showed Gowda a model of the flyover and said it would ease traffic in the city.



Besides, BDA Commissioner Rajkumar Khatri, city legislators Narayanaswamy from Hebbal and S R Viswanath from Yelahanka were present at the meeting.



Gowda did not comment on the project immediately, but took to social media, where he posted a picture of himself, George and others inspecting the model.



He wrote on his Facebook page: Steel flyover in Bengaluru is subject to more discussion and deliberation.



He also indicated he favoured a solution to the traffic woes between Basaveshwara Circle (known as Chalukya Circle) and Hebbal.



This ... stretch mostly falls under the constituency represented by me, his post said.

George told DH, I have decided to take city MPs, MLAs, MLCs and journalists on Tuesday on a city tour to show them how useful the flyover is.



A video titled 'Let's Heal, Not Steal' has gone viral on social media. It exhorts people to come out of their comfort zone and oppose the steel flyover.



It talks about how the project will kill 800-odd trees and ruin the aesthetics of Bengaluru.



About 150 volunteers are collecting opinion about the project. On Saturday, they went to food joints, bus stands, parks and playgrounds. A prominent face in the campaign was Capt Gopinath, who signed a memorandum against the project. Areas under the campaign are Richmond Town, Sadashivanagar, Sanjaynagar, Vasanthnagar, Malleswaram, Rajarajeswari Nagar, Bannerghatta Road, and JP Nagar (Ranga Shankara). Some residents of Sahakarnagar and Yelahanka who favour the project demonstrated near Esteem Mall.



No work order yet



The BDA on Saturday put to rest rumours that it had issued a work order for the flyover and that work would start from November 1. We have not issued any work order, said BDA Engineering Member P N Nayak.

Combined Oppn can stall project



Bengaluru has three JD(S), 12 Congress and 13 BJP MLAs. All three Lok Sabha constituencies in the city are represented by the BJP. If its opinion is considered, a combined opposition of the BJP and JD(S) could stall the project.
A man in debt and his friend battered a moneylender to death in west Delhis Vikas Puri for seeking sexual favours from his wife to waive a Rs 4-lakh loan.



The accused, Sanjay Walia (35) and his associate Rakesh Sharma (52), have been arrested, the police said on Saturday. The accused are into real estate business. Walia lives in Najafgarh while Sharma is a resident of Dwarka Sector-1. Walia was the victims, Dayaram (70), tenant in Najafgarh and had taken Rs 4 lakh from him, police said.



A few days ago, when Dayaram asked Walia to return his money, the latter expressed his inability due to financial problems. Dayaram then proposed a deal to the latter where he would wave off his entire loan if he let him have sex with his wife, said the police.



Dayarams request, the police said, angered Walia and he planned to murder him. Being a tenant of Dayaram for several years, Walia knew about his weakness for women.



On Thursday night, Walia along with his partner Sharma, called Dayaram at his house to consume liquor. After a round of drinks, Walia asked Dayaram to accompany them to Vikaspuri where they had arranged for some sex workers for the latter.



An unsuspecting Dayaram went along with Walia and Sharma, said the police.



At Chander Vihar Nala Road, both Walia and Sharma battered the elderly man with stones and bricks until he died. They then threw his body in a secluded place and fled.



The next day, a passerby called police and told them about a body lying at the Nala Road.



The police arrived at the spot and recovered a blood-stained stone and a purse near the body.



After the identification of the body as that of a moneylender, investigators checked all the people who had taken money from him in the past few months.



The police then zeroed-in on those debtors who were last seen with Dayaram.



As the investigation gathered pace, Walia and Sharma were detained for questioning. During their interrogation, they accepted their involvement in the murder.



Blood stained clothes, slippers, and money-related documents have been recovered from their possession.



The stone with which the accused killed Dayaram and the car in which the three travelled on the day of murder have also been seized. Further investigation is underway.
Look losers, here is how this went down.



1) Despite our warnings, the Right wing media and Republican politicians spent the last 8 years demonizing President Obama and our governmental system. In doing so, they whipped up that Right wing base into a fury and conditioned them to respond to a Trump-like personality.



2) Trump, an opportunist, recognized this and thought being the politician's equivalent to Rush Limbaugh by going with a "pure red meat" strategy would bring success.



3) 14 million ignorant ******** went out and voted for the guy.



4) The success Trump had with his "red meat" strategy in the primaries became his Achilles heel in the general election. Be it his rallies or his tweets, Trump has offended more voting demographics than any candidate in history.



5) The polls show that Trump will even lose Red states, which is quite a feat.



6) Finally, the same Right wing ******** that cheered on the Right wing media the last 8 years and bragged about how Trump "tells it like it is" want to point the finger of blame everywhere but in the direction of their OWN IGNORANT ***** !!! AS USUAL, THRY ARE VICTIMS.......OF THEIR OWN IGNORANCE, THAT IS. #From the Party of personal responsibility and family values.



:help::help::help::help::help::help:
The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.

Oh, once again ex finds a contrarian source and, of course, it's right and very other source is wrong.And, your cherry-picking dishonesty is on full display. First freaking sentence of the DHS and DNI joint statement:And your contrarian source titles its "expose": Hillary Debunked: Intelligence Agencies Do Not Think Russia Hacked DNCThere are liars, and there are damned liars. You are in the latter category, unless, well, you're just plain dumb.You define "pitiful," but that's not news.
The more cyclical areas of the market, such as steel and mining were clearly in the lead during the final session of the week, buoyed perhaps by news that Chinese home price growth accelerated in September to a 11.2% year-on-year pace from 9.2% in the prior month.

Investors in auto parts maker GKN on the other hand were cheering results from their French rival Valeo published on the previous day.

Valeo posted third quarter sales growth of 4bn, which was between 3% and 4% ahead of consensus estimates, while like-for-like sales jumped by 12%.

British American Tobacco dragged on the market after tabling a $47bn bid for the 57.8% of Reynolds American which it did not already own.

However, early gains in the stock soon evaporated as analysts began to speculate that Reynolds might ask for more.

For its part, Reynolds said it would evaluate the offer and then respond.

To take note of perhaps, in July BATS finance chief, Ben Stevens, told Bloomberg the company was looking for bolt-on acquisitions, particularly in Asia and North Africa, but that major industry consolidation looked improbable.

Oil equipment services outfit Hunting was hit by weakness following cautious comments from analysts at UBS.

Oil companies are determined to keep a tight rein on capex and projects that reach sanctioning are likely to be competitively bid, impacting service sector margins and returns, they said.

"We are cautious on the European oil services sector after the oil-price-led rally has driven the sector up ~30% from January lows. Oil companies are determined to keep a tight rein on capex and projects that reach sanctioning are likely to be competitively bid, impacting service sector margins and returns. Earnings quality is poor  we forecast margins to average ~7% from now until 2020E, down from ~13% for the period of 2008-15," the Swiss broker added in a research note sent to clients.

Top performing sectors so far today

Industrial Metals & Mining 2,043.61 +3.44%

Automobiles & Parts 7,654.83 +1.36%

Mining 13,414.12 +1.25%

Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,354.29 +0.89%

Construction & Materials 6,518.10 +0.70%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Tobacco 54,969.55 -1.23%

General Retailers 2,515.80 -0.84%

Chemicals 12,872.54 -0.80%

Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 16,691.13 -0.78%

Aerospace and Defence 4,562.98 -0.73%
Why national Republicans are pinning hopes on Ohio Senate race

While the GOP deals with unpredictable races in states such as Pennsylvania, Republicans hope Ohio will show up for Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
Five people from Sonas Youth Club for young people with autism have reached a major milestone for their club.

Dylan Clarke, Conor Deeney, Sorcha McLaughlin, Sinead Barber and Olivia Farren all successfully completed the leadership for life modules 1-3. They all attended their graduation on Saturday October 15th in NUI Galway.

Sonas Youth Coordinator Liam Gill said he was very proud of the five, who have all deemed to have demonstrated a desire to lead from the front and set a great example to their peers through positive decision making and actions.

Dylan organised a charity legs waxing through the National Learning Network with all proceeds helping young people with autism, Olivia and Conor helped organise a charity shop in Buncrana Main Street, Sinead worked in a nursery and Sorcha helped organise a fun run for charity. The programme also included workshops on team building, critical thinking, communication skills and peer discussions on matters of global importance. In Ireland Albert Schweitzers Leadership for Life programme has been accredited by the National University of Ireland, Galway as a Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action. It is accredited as a foundation course as 15 credits as NFQ Level 6.

Sonas club leaders Liam Gill and Donal Kearney attended the facilitator training programme, in order to deliver the programme.

The programme aims to enable young people to develop the skills, inspiration, vision, confidence and action plan to be effective leaders. Liam noted that through their youth work practice, the youth leaders have noticed enhanced communication skills, from the 5 young people, increased self-esteem and self-confidence, the young people being more assertive and mentoring younger peers which is fantastic as we like to look past the autism label and focus on the young peoples individual strengths.

Liam stated that its very important that iCARE and Sonas strive to deliver programmes for young people to enhance their future development in employment, training or whatever they chose to do.

Young person Dylan Clarke who graduated on Saturday stated that he learned to take control of projects through the leadership program, that it gave him the confidence to take charge of a group of people and organise a charity leg waxing, and this has helped him enhance his leadership skills and helped his confidence immensely. Dylan said: "This means a huge amount to me and it is the result of a lot of work. I'd encourage as many young people as possible to enrol in the programme. The effort is really worth it."

Sonas Youth Club was established in 2012 and aims to offer a safe and relaxed environment where young people aged 11+ can develop and express themselves in a safe, non-judgemental setting. Sonas Youth club is run by volunteers, and all our weekly sessions are planned and structured. We aim to provide young people with learning opportunities using formal and informal education to enable them to gain knowledge and develop new skills. Our work is based on voluntary participation. Sonas is based in Inishowen Donegal, and covers a 100 mile radius, the club is going from strength to strength, it provides 2 weekly evenings in a youth club setting, school holiday excursions and various social activities for the young people who attend.
With a large number of patients still awaiting beds in Sligo University Hospital the hospital has confirmed that no visiting is allowed, except for End of Life situations and other exceptional circumstances,as agreed with the specific ward manager in advance of visiting.

The public are encouraged to contact their GP or GP Out-of-Hours service in the first instance and not to attend the Emergency Department unless absolutely necessary.

Maura Hickey of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation told the Democrat that while there were 27 patients waiting for a bed in Sligo University Hospital this morning the hospital was doing everything possible to alleviate the situation and hoped to have the backlog cleared up over the weekend. .

Visiting restrictions remain in place at the hospital following an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug  it is a serious situation and we do not want contamination spreading. We have to remember that we have nor even reached the Winter season yet which obviously has the potential to cause further problems.

I would ask people not to visit the hospital over the weekend until this has been alleviated.
LEBANON  The Lebanon Chamber of Commerce will host a community forum about recreational marijuana dispensaries at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the RiverCenter, 3000 Santiam Highway.

The forum will be moderated by Judge Tom McHill and is free and open to the public.

Presenters will include:

 Mandi L. Puckett, a Certified Prevention Specialist with the Addictions Counselor Certification Board of Oregon. She is the executive director of CLEAR Alliance, a statewide educational nonprofit organization focused on substance abuse prevention.

 Wyatt King, a local community leader and city promoter who wants Lebanon to balance embracing the cannabis industry with limiting its downsides. He has made the case for legalization to city council and other public forums, combining research on cannabis with his knowledge and love for our community.

 Lieutenant Michael S. Iwai, a 19-year law enforcement veteran assigned as a Patrol Lieutenant to the Albany Area Command Office with the Oregon State Police. Iwai served as Oregons fourth Drug Evaluation and Classification Program State Coordinator from 2008 to 2014.

 Brock Binder has been an active member in the cannabis industry since the beginning rollout of House Bill 3460, securing the state's 14th Medical Cannabis Dispensary license and the first in Benton County. Studying under Todd Dolotto, one of the founding chairs of HB 3460, Binder created an economic feasibility study on becoming a marijuana producer in Oregon for his senior internship project with Oregon State University.

 Judge Tom McHill, a longtime Lebanon resident and native Oregonian, practiced law in Lebanon for 29 years at the law firm now known as The Morley Thomas Law Firm. Since January 2011, McHill has served on the Linn County Circuit Court bench.
Library to mark

Dia de los Muertos

People of all ages and all cultures are invited to attend the Albany Public Librarys Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos program at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2.

The event will be at the librarys main branch, 2450 14th Ave. S.E.

Day of the Dead is an important holiday celebrated by the whole family in Mexico and throughout Latin America. Rather than a somber or scary occasion, it is a time to joyfully honor loved ones who have passed away. Presenter Samuel Becerra will demonstrate clay flutes from ancient Mexico and lead a workshop to make clay skull charms to hang from necklaces or key chains. Those who attend can also have their faces painted in the traditional calavera (skull) style.

Hot chocolate and a traditional bread called pan de muerto will be available for visitors to sample.

Lebanon holds

veterans event

LEBANON  The second Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event in Lebanon has been set from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at the River Center, 3000 South Santiam Highway.

The event is meant to help homeless veterans in the Linn and Benton County area connect with available services. Health screenings, Social Security benefits counseling and dental services will be provided.

Veterans can also receive referrals to health care providers, health insurance, housing solutions, employment, substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling.

Stand downs are collaborative events that provide basic necessities and services to veterans. The events are coordinated among local veteran support organizations, other government agencies and community-based homeless service providers, including the Community Services Consortium.

Womens Connection

group to meet

The Albany Womens Connection will hold its monthly brunch at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9 at the Phoenix Inn, 3410 Spicer Dr. Cost is $12. inclusive. The brunch will be catered by Jacopetti's. In addition to a speaker, Juanito from Universal Coffee in Albany will demonstrate how to make the perfect cup of coffee. Please RSVP by Nov. 4 to Suzanne @541-327-3798, or email dmgifts@outlook.com.

Library group holds

used book sale

The Friends of the Albany Public Library Annual Used Book Sale will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5, at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Rd. S.E.

The sale will run 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Over 15,000 gently used books in a variety of subjects  fiction and nonfiction  plus a huge selection of CDs, DVDs, and talking books will be available at prices ranging from 50 cents to $3.

Proceed from the sale will go toward Albany Public Library programs and materials.

For information call Nancy Powell, 541-928-4400.

AARP to offer

driver safety classes

Two AARP Driver Safety Program events will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday,

Nov. 7 and Monday, Dec. 5, at the Albany Senior Center, 489 Water Ave. N.W.

Cost is $15 for AARP members, $20 for all others.

A classroom program designed to reinforce safe driving skills and techniques. bring driver's license, AARP card (if a member) and lunch.

For information call 541-917-7760.

After 5 Connection

plans event

LEBANON  After 5 Connection will host a dinner and special program 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at The Lobby, 661 S. Main St.

Cost is $8.50 Per Person Inclusive.

The program is titled "4 Ever Quilts," and a special feature will be the attendance of Carol Wolfe McGlauflin of Lebanon, who is a talented quilter and seamstress. She will share her knowledge and expertise using the long arm machine for her quilting projects.

Guest speaker will be Wanda Lemkuhl of Payette, ID. A professional musician, teacher and author, Wanda will share about her journey through depression and the source of hope that brought new opportunities to her life.

For reservations call, Nancy at 541-259-1396, or Norma at 541-259-5672, or email NancyPinzino@comcast net, or NJF355@peak.org.

If unable to attend, please cancel your reservation.
Swedish buyers double as European demand for Spanish holiday homes soars

The number of Swedish buyers looking to Spain as a second home destination has now doubled according to the latest statistics from leading Spanish homebuilder Taylor Wimpey Espana.

Overall, the total year to date sales to Swedish nationals, as of September 2016, has increased by 100% in comparison to last years figures.

With the Swedish Finance Minister painting a bright future for the Scandinavian nation only last week stating that the Swedish economy is very strong, many Swedes have found themselves able to purchase that dream second home abroad with Spains sunny and easily accessible shores a top choice.

Another European nation with a growing interest in Spanish property is Belgium. Over 220,000 Belgians visited Spanish shores in July this year alone (INE) and according to Taylor Wimpey Espanas latest data, from January to September 2016, 22% of their sales were from either Swedish or Belgian nationals.

Over 1 in 10 of the total sales made by Taylor Wimpey Espana so far in 2016 have been to Belgian buyers with particular interest in homes on the Costa Blanca, with 50% of Belgians buying in the area.

Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Director of Taylor Wimpey Espana, which has operated successfully in Spain since 1958, has observed firsthand the rise in demand from both Swedish and Belgian buyers. He comments,

The past twelve months have seen a real boost in sales to North Europeans, especially Belgian and Swedish buyers. Easily accessible, with regular, direct, low cost flights from both nations, the Costa Blanca on Spains southeastern coast has become a hotspot for buyers in 2016.

European buyers in particular enjoy the friendly atmosphere on our Costa Blanca developments; a great example being Panorama Mar, where there is a strong sense of family and community with three shared swimming pools and a childrens playground. The stunning and enjoyable site encourages international buyers to socialise and appreciate the gorgeous weather in the favourable communal areas.

Taylor Wimpey Espanas complex, Panorama Mar, is situated on Punta Prima Beach in Torrevieja. This private residential complex offers an array of 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, all designed for both comfort and convenience, with 2 bathrooms and an underground parking space. Each apartment in the first phase is south facing and therefore blessed with spacious terraces and stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea.

With prices starting from just 234,000 +VAT, every resident is granted direct access to the beach promenade. Whilst being an area of natural beauty right on the waterfront, Punta Prima is also blessed with excellent transport links. The San Javier Airport in Murcia is only a 30-minute drive and Alicantes International Airport is just 45 minutes away.

For more information, visit taylorwimpeyspain.com.
The record-breaking flood of the Neuse River inundated three inactive coal ash ponds for five days last week from the Duke Energy H.F. Lee facility, 10 miles upstream of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The flooded ponds are unlined and uncovered, containing more than 1 million tons of coal ash spread over more than 170 acres in a layer 4 to 10 feet deep.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1323872614292339/ expand=1]

On Oct. 14 at 4:28 p.m., before the flood waters had completely receded from the flooded ash ponds, Duke Energy reported a spill of an undetermined amount of coal ash into the Neuse River to the U.S. Coast Guards National Response Center . On Oct. 15, Duke Energy and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality personnel inspected the inactive ash ponds by foot, claiming they determined that the amount of material that was displaced would not even fill the bed of an average pickup truck.

On Oct. 17, the flood waters had receded enough to allow the Waterkeeper Alliance rapid response team to launch a boat in the Neuse River to inspect for coal ash releases. Later that afternoon, the Upper Neuse Riverkeeper discovered a second coal ash spill coming from the inactive ash ponds at HF Lee. The coating of ash on tree branches high above the receding flood waters proved the spill had been ongoing for almost a week.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1323794567633477/ expand=1]

Duke Energy and DEQ claim their representatives identified the second spill on Oct. 17 as well, independent of Waterkeeper Alliances public disclosure of the spill on Oct. 18. The Waterkeeper Alliance rapid response team questions the claim that both DEQ inspectors and Duke Energy staff traveled to the location of the second spill by boat on Oct. 17 and identified the white substance floating on the water and coating the trees.

To the contrary, Duke Energy reportedly told WNCN on the evening of Oct. 18 that it had not yet conducted water sampling from a boat because state regulators had not deemed it safe to boat on the flooded river. This directly contradicts subsequent claims by Duke and DEQ that they had observed the spill by boat on Oct. 17.

The agency that should be a watchdog protecting the public is acting more like a PR firm trying to protect Duke Energys reputation, Waterkeeper Alliance attorney Pete Harrison said. This is the same agency that only a year ago stood up in court and tried to block an agreement between Waterkeeper and Duke that requires Duke to remove all the coal ash from the ash ponds that flooded.

Since we exposed the second spill on the afternoon of Oct. 18, Duke Energy has continued to insist that the spilled material is not coal ash, falsely claiming that cenospheres are distinct from fly ash, the primary constituent of coal ash.

However, scientists at Appalachian State University used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to visualize samples of the spilled coal ash cenospheres, and tested the particles for contaminants using Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

The EDX analysis detected dangerous heavy metals attached to the fly ash cenospheres, including antimony and cobalt.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of coal ash cenosphere found in Neuse River on Oct. 17. Dr. Guichuan Hou, PhD, Director of Dewel Microscopy Facility, Research Associate Professor of Biology, Appalachian State University

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) graph of chemicals in or on a coal ash cenosphere that was found in the Neuse River on Oct. 17. The analysis detected antimony, cobalt, and thallium, which can be toxic to people and aquatic life. Dr. Guichuan Hou, PhD, Director of Dewel Microscopy Facility, Research Associate Professor of Biology, Appalachian State University

Duke Energy has previously reported elevated levels of both these contaminants in groundwater monitoring wells located around the inactive ash ponds where the coal ash spill occurred. Throughout the week, Duke Energy attempted to characterize cenospheres as not coal ash and inert and not inherently toxic. These talking points carefully avoid acknowledging what the EDX analysis confirms: the spilled coal ash cenospheres, though composed largely out of silica and aluminum, have more dangerous contaminants attached to them.

Harrison called the mischaracterization a shameful attempt by Duke Energy to trick the public and cover up a large coal ash spill that the company failed to identify and/or failed to report.

Duke Energy even acknowledges on its website that cenospheres are a form of fly ash. Dukes failure to report the spill may have even been a violation of the companys probation sentence, which it received last year after pleading guilty to federal crimes involving its mismanagement of coal ash at the H.F. Lee facility, among others.

Because Duke Energy did report a spill of coal ash on Oct. 14 (the purported pickup truck load), and the company has emphatically denied that the material discovered by the Upper Neuse Riverkeeper is coal ash, it is clear that material discovered in the river on Oct. 17 was a separate and distinct spill from the one Duke Energy reported on Oct. 14. Based on currently available information, Duke Energy has still not reported the second spill to then National Response Center.

On Oct. 19, the day after our organizations exposed the second coal ash spill, the DEQ claimed its staff determined on Monday that material found at the H.F. Lee facility in Wayne County is not coal ash, and accused Waterkeeper Alliance of falsely reporting the coal ash release. Both Duke and DEQ claimed, without analyzing the spilled material, that it was harmless cenospheres comprised of just aluminum and silica.

After adopting Duke Energys indefensible position that the material was not coal ash and requiring no further action from Duke on Wednesday, DEQ has now done an about face, admitting last night that cenospheres are fly ash and ordering Duke to investigate the spills further , Matthew Starr, Sound Rivers Upper Neuse Riverkeeper, said.

The DEQ bureaucrats must have woken up yesterday with the embarrassing realization that the state Coal Ash Management Act theyre in charge of implementing defines cenospheres as coal ash, Donna Lisenby of Waterkeeper Alliance said.

Now DEQ seems to be changing its tune and agreeing with what weve been saying all along: Duke Energy is responsible for another coal ash spill into the Neuse River. Unfortunately this one looks like a lot more than a pickup-trucks worth of ash was spilled.
Renowned Inuk artist Billy Gauthier has not eaten since Oct. 13. He is on a hunger strike against the proposed flooding of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project reservoir.

https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/1323878000958467/

The Muskrat Falls project, part of the $8.6 billion Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador, Canada, will flood the Lake Melville river valley, which has cultural and spiritual significance for the Innu and Inuit peoples.

Indigenous people have come to this section of the Churchill River, located directly above Muskrat Falls, for thousands of years. Archeological evidence shows it was a common resting spot. When the dam goes online, this area will be flooded. Ossie Michelin

Construction of the Muskrat Falls Generation Facility began in 2013 and sources say flooding will begin in the next 36 hours.

https://twitter.com/BradCabana/statuses/789860815331622912

Opposition to this project has been long-standing. Ossie Michelin, a freelance journalist living in Labrador, has been documenting the fight against the dam. He shared how the hydroelectric project will cut through the unceded territory of the NunatuKavut Inuit, the only group of Inuit in Canada with an outstanding land claim, and destroy hundreds of kilometers of forest and contaminate fish and seal stocks with methylmercury.

Roberta Benefiel of Grand Riverkeeper in Labrador, shared that, There are many other issues with this project that Grand Riverkeeper Labrador has been vocal about over the years. Right now we are standing with the entire community on the methylmercury issue because that is the issue that has galvanized all of us, aboriginal and non-aboriginal alike. They absolutely must clear the Reservoir of soil, vegetation and trees before they begin to fill it. Nothing short of the full clearing will satisfy us.

According to Emerald Nash, an activist and acquaintance of Gauthier:

If they flood this reservoir without first clearing vegetation and topsoil, waters downstream will be poisoned with methylmercury. The people living there will not only face serious health risks but will also lose their source of food and a large part of their cultural identity. Contamination will undoubtedly threaten the traditions of the Innu and Inuit communities there. In Labrador hunting and fishing is a way of life, and for many it is a means of survival.

Despite pleas from the Nunatsiavut government and warnings from researchers at Harvard University, provincial energy company, Nalcor, has chosen to move forward with its plans to flood Lake Melville without any effort to remove the materials that will lead to contamination.

In a final push to try and stop the flooding of the river valley until the debris is removed, a blockade has been ongoing since Oct. 15. Land protectors have come out in force to block the gate to the Nalcor facility at Muskrat Falls.

Protests escalate at Muskrat Falls site in Labradorhttps://t.co/xvwkQ3Qt9b pic.twitter.com/MtPRxCmLIa  Garrett Barry (@GarrettBarry) October 20, 2016

At first, the demonstrators were not allowing anyone into or out of the main gate. Busloads of Laborers were being turned away. At one point, they would not even allow an emergency vehicle to pick up an injured worker. A compromise was made and the Nalcor employee was allowed to be taken to hospital.

Worker with broken leg leaves Muskrat Falls in ambulance from Happy Valley-Goose Bay https://t.co/TJkv19D11G  Jacob Barker (@JacobBarkerCBC) October 21, 2016

On Oct. 16, there were nine arrests. A Nurse-In was also held where nursing mothers and babies came out to demonstrate. They held signs that read: Dont poison our breast milk.

There are currently more than 200 standing guard at the blockade. Approximately 40 people have broken through the main gate and are occupying the work site.

Gates are open and protesters have entered the Muskrat a Falls site @CBCNL @cbclabrador @KatieBreenNL pic.twitter.com/9rIXiwYsnV  Jacob Barker (@JacobBarkerCBC) October 22, 2016

On Sunday, Gauthier, along with fellow hunger strikers Delilah Saunders and Jerry Kohlmeister, attended the Make Muskrat Right demonstration in Ottawa. They called on the government to prevent the leaching of methylmercury into the water source by fully clearing the reservoir before flooding begins. Labradorians are afraid that methylmercury will contaminate fish and game stocks, bringing an end to their traditional lifestyles.

Nalcor and our own provincial government are ignoring our needs and refusing to protect us, Gauthier said. I feel we have to go to the federal government and ask for their protection.

According to Gary Wockner, Waterkeeper Alliance board member and international river advocate, These kinds of fights are escalating across the planet as hydropower is being rammed down the throats of citizens, all under the guise of clean energy. Its not clean energy if it causes methane emissions that make climate change worse, floods and poisons the homelands of local people, and destroys fisheries. We are seeing the same conflicts across the globe in Central America, Latin America, Asia, Europe and here in Canada. Hydropower is dirty energy and dirty business.
(Photo: LWF)Antonio Guterres (L), U.N. secertary general designate, Lutheran World Federaton secretary general, Martin Junge, and LWF president, Munib Younan in conversation at the United Nations in Geneva in 2016.

Antonio Guterres who will become the United Nations secretary general in January is a former Portuguese prime minister who went into politics from a background of Catholic action.

He has just served a 10-year stint as the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees in a period which has witnessed one of the highest numbers of displaced people in history.

The leaders of the three Protestant-dominated global church organizations are welcoming his appointment as they see he is a leader who is prepared to work with faith communities in dealing with the world.

"This is good news for the UN and for all who need the UN to fulfill its important tasks in our time," wrote Geneva-based World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit in an Oct. 21 letter to Guterres.

"And I am certain that your strong commitment to engagement with the faith community, as demonstrated in the UNHCR High Commissioner's Dialogue on Faith and Protection, will continue to be a feature of your leadership of the United Nations," said Tveit.

Guterres's strong Catholic faith has provided him with sustenance and a sense of social responsibility since his a childhood in northern Portugal village where he read from the pulpit as a boy, The Irish Times reported.

While he was studying electronic engineering at university, he joined the Group of Light, a club for young Catholics.

VOTE AGAINST ABORTION

As prime minister, Guterres voted against liberalizing abortion in a referendum tabled by his own government in 1998. Abortion in Portugal was liberalized nine years later under a different Socialist administration.

"I admire your courage, your clarity, and your true compassion with the suffering peoples in our world," said Tveit, a Norewgian Lutheran, speaking for the WCC, which represents a grouping of some 550 million Christians from mainly Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant traditions.

He explained that the WCC has worked for justice and peace alongside and in frequent collaboration with the United Nations since the formation of the respective organizations.

Tveit noted. "Through its Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, the WCC was one of the original non-governmental organizations in consultative relations with the United Nations, and contributed actively to the drafting of the U.N Declaration of Human Rights and to other foundational processes."

Bishop Efraim Tendero, secretary general of the New York based World Evangelical Alliance, which represents hundreds of millions of evangelical Christians, also sent a message to Guterres.

"As people of faith, we appreciate how Mr. Guterres has acknowledged the critical role of faith-based organizations on issues such as the global refugee crisis, and we are committed to fulfilling our part in responding to the needs and challenges on a local, national, regional and global level," he said.

"We are delighted to hear that a person with Mr. Guterres' competency, integrity and a heart for the most vulnerable will be serving the global community of Nations," said Tendero while stating the WEA's commitment to working with refugees.

"It is a very challenging task that he has at hand, and we pray for God's blessing, wisdom and strength to be on him as he seeks to serve a hurting world."

The president of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop Munib Younan and its secretary general, Rev. Martin Junge, also wrote a congratulation letter to Guterres in which they referred to his faith.

"In the High Commissioner's Dialogue, you spoke about how meaningful for you has been the Bible verse: to whom much is given, much is expected.

"In your new role, as you well know, even more will be expected of you," the Lutheran leaders said.

Guterres has become known for strong negotiating since he was elected prime minister in 1995 and he was able to run the country for one for four term with a minority government during his seven years in office.
To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
Samaritans offer support to homesick Manx students

A Manx charity is offering support to students suffering from homesickness while away at University.

Samaritans Isle of Man believes some students from the Island will start suffering from homesickness now that they have settled into their new routines.

The organisation has previously offered support to parents afflicted by empty nest syndrome after their children leave for higher education.

Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day on 116123.
The fall has arrived and the leaves of the trees are turning into a kaleidoscope of pulsating colours, like an impressionist painting. Chelsea Clinton came to the beautiful forest campus of Wellesley College on the shore of an undulating lake on 13 October and spontaneously formed an emotional bond. Her mother is the famous alumni from this prestigious college. She said that her mother is campaigning in California, but is really jealous that I could make it to Wellesley and she could not.

Amidst an adulatory audience of Hillary Clinton supporters, college students and faculty, she started with a casual remark about the locker room controversy but stayed sharply away from any mention of Donald Trump. She seems to be following the famous quip of Michelle Obama, which is often cited by her mother in her rallies: When they go low, we go high.
The Patna High Court judgment in the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies v State of Bihar (2016) does something quite remarkable in holding the imposition of prohibition in Bihar unconstitutional. For the first time, a constitutional court has addressed the question of imposition of prohibition in terms of its impact on the right to life and liberty of a citizen. This is significant not just for those opposing the legality of prohibition laws in India, but also for the development of a coherent jurisprudence on the right to choose and the right to privacy in the context of the right to life and liberty protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Background to the Patna Case
Written by ACM



*Strasbourg/Congres + Exhibition Centre PMC/Angelo Marcopolo/- While uncertainties due to BREXIT would, hopefuly, become lesser, after Today's EU Summit in Brussels with new British Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly expected to Highlight her intentions on how to proceed and towards which Horizon for an After-BREXIT era, but through a Longer than initialy expected process (f.ex. 2017-2020, etc), on the Contrary, the Speedy EU core Integration Advances made Possible by the latest roArea Treaty (already since 2011-2012+) don't seem to let indifferent the embattled French super-Minister of Economy and Finance, Michel Sapin, as it results from his Replies to a relevant "Eurofora" Question this Afternoon :



- After Carefully asking to clarify the precise meaning of our Query, Sapin reacted spontaneously in a clearly Positive way, by explicitly Confirming his Wish, - "If it's that, Yes, Certainly" strive to "Develop Further the uro-Area Treaty's Potential" for a core European Integration, (naturaly Spearheaded mainly by its Franco-German core, as well as several other EU +uro Countries, willing and able to join such moves, sooner or later).



- In particular, when "Eurofora" explicitly mentioned, for that purpose, a Key Article in that uroArea Treaty, which, in substance, provides a Strategic Opportunity for the 18 uroArea Member Countries' Heads of State/Government to discuss also, at their specific Summits, (due to become More Frequent than those of the Wider EU 28 or 27 Member States), almost Any Issue which may Concern their Countries, the French Minister went as far as to immediately react by stressing that : - "Oh, I really Hope so !", with a Smile.



+ "Now, we must examine well the concrete Facts", the key Eco-Fin. Minister added, shortly Afterwards.



- Today, key French Eco-Fin. Minister Sapin was, indeed, in the Right general Mood of someone who Focuses, precisely, on several "Ideas for the Future", pointing at certain Possible Moves which "canNot be Excluded", and Calling for People to be "Inventive" and even "Ambitious", (See also Infra).



Initialy conveived and Drafted by the Franco-German couple of German Chancelor Angie Merkel, with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, as they had Anounced in an Exceptional Summit in Paris' "Elysee Palace" as Early as, already since August 16, 2011, (See relevant "Eurofora"s NewsReport from that "Elysee" event then, at : ....), Afterwards Collectively Endorsed, in its Final Legal Format, by all the concerned EU Member States' Heads of State/Government on December 2011 in Brussels, and Signed at the occasion of a subsequent EU/uroZone Summit in Brussels at the Beginning of 2012, (Comp. "Eurofora"s NewsReports from Both these EU BRX Summits, at : ... + ...), that 1st in History "uroArea Treaty" was, Later-on, Finaly Endorsed also by the Next French President, Francois Hollande, (who had initialy Stressed that the "Changes" that he Wished to make Focused mainly into "Bringing in some reference to Economic Growth", as Hollande had Replied to a relevant "Eurofora" Question, at a Press point in Strasbourg on 2012, shortly Before his subsequent Election : Comp., inter alia, f.ex. aussi another "Eurofora"s NewsReport from that encounter, Published then at : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/hollandeoneuturkey.html), Despite some Previous Hesitations particularly from the Director of his Electoral Campain, Pierre Moscovici, former EU affairs Minister and EU Parliament's vice-President, who had initialy Strongly Critcized that "uroArea Treaty", asking f.ex. in Strasbourg its Abolition, (Comp. relevant Moscovici Statements also to "Eurofora", f.e. at : ...), before, Finaly, Accepting its Existence, particularly since he was appointed as New EU Commissioner in chage of Economic and Financial Issues. Indeed, a June 2012 EU Summit in Brussels, gave an Opportunity for Hollande to Claim that he would have Agreed with Merkel a kind of Economic Growth stimulus, as he had wished and promissed, f.ex. in terms of EIB Loans, etc. (While, in fact, the Principle of that Idea about EIB Loans had been, already, Highlighted and even Scheduled for June 2012, at the Previous EU Summits, as Early as already from the Beginning of 2012, leaving just its actual and final Shape to be hammered out and Legaly Decided in view of June that year).



Thus, even if he had Rightfully underlined, Together with his German counterpart, the Experienced Federal Minister of Finances, Wolfgang Schauble, (Comp. various Schauble's Statements to "Eurofora", f.ex. at : ... + ... +..., etc), in a jointly written Booklet on Europe nowadays, (whose local presentation was scandalously Sabotaged by a few incompetent, ignorant, oppressive and irresponsible local intermediaries, more relevant to Medieval Tibuktu or Uagadugu, than Modern -or even less : Future - Europe...), last week-end in Strasbourg, the well-known currently Moto that EU should nowadays be Built more from a Grassroots, EU Citizen-Friendly level and relevant Issues of concern for the People, instead from the "Top" of EU Institutions, it's obvious that, in real Practice, Nothing Important could be Created or Move in Europe nowadays, withOut at least a Frank and Deep Debate, followed by Strategic Decisions, by the Directly and Democraticaly Elected Heads of State/Government of EU Countries, represented at the EU and uroArea Summits, who are now the only ones to have enough Power and Legitimity to do so.

Moreover, such a Move as that which was suggested by "Eurofora", after having been Made Legaly Possible by that "uroArea" Treaty, (Comp. Supra), would also offer the rare Advantage to Need Not any cumbersome New Institutional Reform at all, but just pure, resolute Political Will (Comp. Supra)...

-----------------------------------------



- But, as far as the also Necessary Interaction with various "Grassroots - level" Economic-Social Realities are concerned, Sapin, f.ex., speaking, Earlier this Afternoon, at the Conclusion of the 2016 Quadri-Annual Congress of Cooperative Societies' Movement, at Strasbourg's brand New Congress and Exhibition Centre, part of the Recently completely ReNovated "Palace for Music and Congresses", at the "Pierre Pflimlin" Mega-Building, (named after the Historic former EU Parliament and CoE Assembly's President, as well as Long-Time Mayor of Strasbourg, and former Prime Minister of France, notoriously succeeded by De Gaulle's new Presidential regime of the current "5th Republic" in France : 1969-2016+), he Urged, inter alia, to resolutely Advance much Further-on, in order to decisively Augment a recent "Progression" in the Total Number of Businesses adopting a "Coop" Legal Format, particularly able to hopefuly Boost Employment, (See Infra).



Indeed, withOut Limiting itself only to some Old Industries or just some Tiny SMEs, this has already Begun to include also Companies having between 2 to several Thousands of Workers, and, particularly, in a Growing portion of "High-Tech" and "Innovative" sector of activities, where it could even eye towards the "Creation of Start-Up" Businesses in a format of "Cooperative Companies", where "Economy and Humanistic Values" could meet each other, "Proud" of making possible some "Projects which couldn't even Exist withOut a Legal Format of a Cooperative Society", where "Independence and Wage Earners" play a Primordial role, as Sapin stressed, Widely Applauded particularly at that last, key point, by a lot of Convinced participants of the so-called larger "Social Economy" movement, kicking and alive also in several Other European Countries, including nearby Germany and/or Schwizerland, but even the ...UK, both in History and Nowadays.



(F.ex., British Pre-Tony Blair former Leader of the Socialist Group of MEPs in EU Parliament, then the Biggest one, afterwards succeeded by that of the ChristianDemocrats/EPP, until Today, Mrs Pauline Green, who personaly came from UK's Cooperative Movement, was, Later-on, elected President of the World-wide International Coop. Movement, Headquartered at Nearby Geneva).



Thus, inter alia, the New Elected President of the French movement for Coop. Businesses, (currently strong of 2.700 Companies, with 2 up to Many Thousands of Workers Each, employing a Total of More than 51.000 Workers, and Growing at an average of +250 more New Societies Created each Year), has just declared his Intention to largely Strengthen and "Develop" the Figures it represents in the Economy, before its Next Quadri-Annual Congress scheduled for 2019, ("perhaps at Nantes", i.e. the Historic City of World-Famous Inventor and popular Science Fiction Writer Jules Verne !), "not just in terms of the Number of Companies, but mainly in the Number of Employed People", as it was Clearly indicated Today to "Eurofora".



Having already "impressed" several participants "by the Number of Companies" that it represents Today, as they told us, Nevertheless, it's Obiously by Developing Now its Potential in terms of the Total Number of Employed People, that the Recently ReNovated, by several New Legal Reforms (including a New Possibility for Public Sector's Entities to enter in Cooperatives' Capital), "Coop" Movement could Play an Important Role, not only in History, but also in the forseable Future, given also the particular Importance that its Legal Formats give to Wage Earning Workers, (f.ex. among Associates, in the Status of its CEO, in the Distribution of Benefits, etc).



Among Various Other Concrete Examples in Nowadays real Practice, one Exhibited Now at the entrance of the Palace of Music and Congresses was that of "Citiz" : A 15 Years old SME which Innovated radicaly at the Management of Private Cars in Cities like Strasbourg and/or Brussels, etc., where all Users become "Associates" of an Entity which Monitors, thanks to an Original "Web-App" and a Series of other, relevant "High-Tech" Innovations, a Big Number of Modern Cars, equiped with a Geo-Localisation and Digital Security system, offered (in Various Formats and Types of Car Makers' products) Free to Use by several potential Customers, whenever and wherever they Like to Drive them for a Short or Long Period of Time, Easily Accessible thanks to a Map consultable and constantly UpDated at the Internet, at Various Locations throughout the City, (almost as Others have already done f.ex. with Bicycles, etc, particularly in some German Cities a.o.), as one of the Co-Founders of that Innovative "Coop" Company described to "Eurofora".

(../..)



***



("DraftNews")



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Want to attend university abroad? New research might help you decide on your decision.International students rate Norway as top in terms of satisfaction, followed by Ireland, Poland, Finland, and the UK to round out the top five - this according to a report from Study Portals.  Students were asked by Study Portals, which compares options across universities in Europe, to rate their overall experience out of 10. Norway was given 9.26 out of 10 in the survey, with Ireland getting 9.19, Poland 9.09, Finland 9.07 and the UK 9.05. The only other country to score over nine was Slovenia with 9.01.At the bottom of the rankings for the fourth year in a row was France with a score of 8.19. Also languishing at the bottom was Turkey with 8.23, Lithuania at 8.65, the Netherlands and Italy both at 8.66 and Greece at 8.67.The survey also looked at which nationality of students were most satisfied with studying abroad. While France came in last, French students studying in other countries were the most satisfied with a score of 9.03.Italian students were the next most satisfied studying in another country with a score of 8.98, followed by students from Greece with 8.95, Spanish students at 8.94 and those from the Czech Republic at 8.91.The International Student Satisfaction Awards 2016 were based on 15,965 student reviews on 53 different European universities. Spain had the biggest number of winning universities with 27, followed by Germany with 15.The organisation predicts that Poland could become more popular with international students, as this marks the first time it made the top five. Students generally had positive things to say about the country, commenting that they had a nice experience, cities are great, people are friendly and housing is cheap.Scandinavia is also very popular with Norway in top position, Finland fourth, Sweden seventh and Denmark eighth. The report says these nations offer solid and high quality education with many courses in English. Scandinavian schools that ranked as outstanding include the University of Oslo, Lund University in Sweden, the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Tampere in Finland.Students found their fellow classmates very helpful and their teachers highly skilled, and they were fond of the diverse landscape. But the cold in winter and short days were regarded as a downside when studying in Scandinavian countries.In Ireland, students were impressed with the diverse international student community, the well organised campuses that were ready for exchange students, and the great foundation that was laid for their future careers. The students also commented on the Irish population being very friendly and hospitable.Ireland had two universities rated as outstanding; University College in Cork and Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick. The UK had six excellent rated universities; the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, the University of Leeds, the University of Liverpool, the University of Portsmouth and the University of Sheffield.
santa002 said: Can anyone give me a pointer where to purchase semi professional sewing machine in UAE.. not the ones in LuLu etc. For home use.



Thanks Click to expand...

Have a chat with CraftLand at TownCentre Jumeirah (mall next to Mercato). Whilst they only rent out the ones in the store I expect they'll be able to point you in the right direction.
Hi, I am trying to apply for a singleness certificate from the Indian embassy. I tried calling the Indian embassy many times but they don't seem to respond. Finally I did get through and they told me to contact an agency called IVS global in oud mehta. So I tried calling up IVS but nobody seems to answer the call. I would like to know how I can apply for this certificate through them? Do I have to go there personally or can I do it online? If I have to go there personally what docs do I need to carry with me and what are their charges?



Thanks
My Partner is an American and planning to move to Dubai, His a Radio Engineer/Announcer at Wray Radio in Princeton.U.S.A... Can anyone help with a link to Dubai/Abu Dhabi Radio Station? Also is an accredited gemologist (40 yrs experience) with Gemological Institute of America, if you have any link with a big time Jewelry please kindly get in touch l will be glad... Cheers
San Antonio area leaders are trying to lure a U.S. Air Force project to train F-16 fighter pilots similar to Maverick and Gooses dog-fighting practice in the 1986 movie Top Gun.

If the Air Force says yes, then future F-16 pilots could be trained at Port San Antonio and Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for at least five years.

And that would bring jobs, up to an estimated 800 of them, all of them paying well, some of them in the $80,000-a-year range starting next summer.

F-16s are scheduled to serve in the Air Forces fighter arsenal beyond 2025. They can perform missile-launching and other weapon functions that armed drones cannot, meaning the aircraft retain a lasting role.

Earlier this year, the Air Force said it was short by about 750 fighter pilots, out of nearly 3,500 positions. The reasons vary, from commercial airlines offering better-paying opportunities to requirements keeping pilots deployed overseas far from their families. Because the shortage is expected to grow to 1,000, the Air Force actively is seeking to expand its fighter pilot training program, now based primarily at Hill AFB in Utah.

Specifically, the Air Force will move 40 to 45 F-16s from Hill AFB, enough for two training units that would require the 800 training and support staff positions. The Air Force could select two sites, one for each training unit, but would prefer one site for both proposed units.

The Air Force is considering four sites: Joint Base San Antonio-Lacklands Kelly Field Annex, Luke AFB in Arizona, Holloman AFB in New Mexico and Tucson Air National Guard Base in Arizona.

The jobs would include the trainers, the pilots being trained, mechanics, fuelers and National Guardsmen with support roles, said Rick Crider, Port San Antonio executive vice president for strategic initiatives/airport.

The pay would be good, similar to that of midlevel military officer pay and for other highly skilled workers, Crider said.

The Air Forces Air Education and Training Command wants a site that already trains fighter pilots. San Antonio does that. The Texas Air National Guard 149th Fighter Wing, across the joint-use runway from Port San Antonio, already trains F-16 pilots both for the Air Force and for the National Guard. The 149th is being sent six additional F-16s soon for its own expanding mission, which is separate from the Air Forces main fighter pilot training.

Air Force pilot training occurs at a more basic level at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, where T-6 and T-38 trainer jets are stationed.

The Air Force needs an 8,000-foot runway. The runway shared by Port San Antonio and Lackland is 11,500 feet long. And Port San Antonio officials say they have plenty of facilities to bed down the F-16s.

We hit the criteria pretty well, said Juan Antonio Flores, Port San Antonios executive vice president for government affairs.

David Petersen of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce said: we clearly should be the choice.

Petersen, the chief operating officer and director of military affairs at the chamber, said San Antonio has a better workforce, a bigger supply of housing and better equipment to handle the jet engines than the other sites.

The Air Force must go to a place like us that is up and ready to go. We can do it quickly, said Peterson, a former combat pilot with nearly 30 years of Air Force service. Arrangements can be made to save the Air Force money. Theres nothing that would hold us back.

The Air Force sent site survey teams to the competing bases this summer. The team visited San Antonio in late August to gather information on costs, weather, airspace, hangars, ramps, facility space, environmental factors and workforce availability.

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A recommendation to Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James will be made in mid-November. James recommendation is expected in early 2017, Crider said.

The Bexar County and Texas congressional delegations and Gov. Greg Abbott are doing their part to convince the Air Force to select San Antonio.

Joint Base San Antonio will not require any new military construction funding, as it will have the opportunity to utilize available facilities owned by Port San Antonio on a no-cost lease back to the Air Force, states a letter to James from U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar, Lloyd Doggett, Will Hurd and Lamar Smith.

The San Antonio region has superb year-round flying weather and provides easy access to joint operational partners, adds a letter to James from Abbott. The region is also host to numerous defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, and a diverse and skilled workforce, including an existing pool of workers who are qualified to work on the General Electric F-110 engine, Abbott wrote.

The base closings in 1995 dealt a blow to San Antonio by closing the maintenance, repair and overhaul depot that was Kelly AFB. The Air Force completed its exit in 2010, but ironically the Air Force by then already was planning to move other operations to Port San Antonio, first by relocating nearly a dozen Air Force agencies to the port.

The 24th Air Force, the branchs cybercommand, is at Port San Antonio, along with other agencies such as the Air Force Medical Operations Agency and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.

Beyond the beneficial economic ripple effect of the jobs, San Antonio would have something to show off. Nothing exhibits a citys capacity better than F-16s zooming over the horizon.

dhendricks@express-news.net
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NuStar Energy is banking on higher oil prices and increased oil output from the Eagle Ford as it spends $107 million to acquire a Corpus Christi terminal with 1.15 million barrels of storage capacity from Kilgore-based Martin Midstream Partners.

Its not just export capacity that were adding though, because a lot of the ships that load in the port of Corpus Christi will go up to Houston or theyll go up the eastern seaboard, CEO Brad Barron said in a phone interview. Corpus Christi has always been a strategic hub for us or has been for a long time.

The San Antonio-based pipeline and storage company announced the purchase Friday. Barron said NuStar received at least $14 million from Martin Midstream as part of the deal, money that Barron said the state gave Martin Midstream for a dock relocation project.

Martin Midstream CEO Ruben Martin said the deal was a prudent move since the company is trying to reduce its leverage, according to a statement. Martin Midstream also cut its quarterly investor payout by 38.5 percent earlier this year.

After the U.S. Congress lifted the ban on crude oil exports in December, NuStar loaded the first shipment to be exported from the U.S. in nearly 40 years on the Theo T tanker  a cargo ship destined for Italy. Barron says exports are delivering U.S. crude to ports in Europe, Singapore and beyond.

U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows that in July  the most recent data available  U.S. crude oil exports were 474,000 barrels a day. EIA data shows that exports hit historical levels in May at 662,000 barrels a day.

The lifting of the crude oil export ban came as oil prices sat below $40 a barrel. By February, they had fallen to $26 a barrel. Oil prices settled above $50 a barrel on Friday.

I would say (exports) have grown slightly but not anything dramatic, Barron said. Given the world market right now, I dont expect it to grow significantly in the next twelve months. Although at some point, global supplies will reach a balance; and sooner or later, I think the U.S. will begin exporting some of that crude in big quantities.

It may be a while, he added.

The terminal is located next to NuStars existing operations and will increase the companys total storage to 3.1 million barrels of crude oil and 577,000 barrels of refined product. The 25-acre property receives oil and condensate from South Texas Eagle Ford Shale play, and has access to two of the Port of Corpus Christis deep-water crude oil docks.

Barron said that despite low oil prices and falling investment in the Eagle Ford, NuStars analysis of the Martin Midstream property was that it could profit on its own.

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.

It will continue to be operated as a separate terminal. There are some synergies (with NuStars existing property), but  we evaluated it on the business that is there currently, and we believe that business will remain, Barron said. Even if that business were to fall off somewhat, he said the deal would still be immediately profitable.

Barron said Corpus Christi has advantages over other ports, saying it has better access and less competition for space compared to its bigger brother in Houston.

He added that we hope to be at the bottom  in terms of the economics in the oil industry.
Transcription

1 Introduction to Singapore s Trade and Logistics Information Systems UNESCAP Expert Group Meeting on Logistics Information Service Systems Desmond Tay 10 December vcargo Cloud Pte Ltd All rights reserved. All information contained in this presentation is disclosed to you on the basis of a prospective relationship and is proprietary to vcargo Cloud and may not be used, disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent of vcargo Cloud. 1

2 Agenda Landscape of Trade and Logistics Information Systems in Singapore TradeXchange Initiative Q&A

3 Landscape of Trade and Logistics Systems in Singapore TradeXchange Cargo Community Network TradeNet PORTNET

4 Landscape of Trade and Logistics Systems in Singapore Cargo Insurance TradeXchange Cargo Community Network Ground Handlers Airlines Importers Exporters Freight Forwarders 3PLs Trade Finance TradeNet Shipping Lines Port Operators OGAs Customs Hauliers PORTNET

5 Landscape of Trade and Logistics Systems in Singapore Cargo Insurance TradeXchange Cargo Community Network Ground Handlers Airlines Importers Exporters Freight Forwarders 3PLs Trade Finance TradeNet Shipping Lines Port Operators OGAs Customs Hauliers PORTNET

6 Beginnings with Singapore TradeNet Launched in 1989 Today handles > 9 million permits (100% declarations) Reduces approval time from 2 days to 10 minutes Reduces number of documents from 35 to 1 Cost only S$2.88 per transaction

7 Beginnings with Singapore TradeNet The objective is to enable government agencies to receive trade and Customs documentation electronically for processing and approval.

8 Enhancements of Singapore TradeNet 1990 Electronic CO 2003 Web base electronic CO (Nonpreferential CO with various chambers) Advance Clearance for Courier and Express Shipment System (ACCESS) was developed 2007 Launch of TradeXchange 2015 Tender for new TradeNet, TradeXchange and Customs solution 2012 Launch of e-

9 About TradeXchange Owned by Singapore Customs Economic Development Board of Singapore Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore Launched in 2007 Public Private Partnership

10 TradeXchange Schematic Overseas Links CCN & PORTNET Singapore Customs TradeXchange Trading Community VAS End User Systems TradeNet 35 CAs

11 TradeXchange Connectivity Other Networks Regulatory Systems in Other Countries Overseas Links CCN & PORTNET Commercial Systems Singapore Customs TradeXchange Trading Community VAS End User Systems TradeNet 35 CAs Government

12 TradeXchange Business Model Overseas Links CCN & PORTNET Singapore Customs TradeXchange Trading Community VAS End User Systems TradeNet 35 CAs Value Added Services Provider Neutral Platform

13 TradeXchange Value Added Services 1 Trade Permit Preparation Service 2 Permit Return Service 3 Integrated Multimodal Solution 4 Title Registry 5 Others

14 Trade Permit Preparation without TradeXchange SHIPPERS 1. ERP 2. Manual (MS Office) FREIGHT FORWARDERS 1. Commercial Invoice 2. Packing List 1 Manual Entry 2 Fax Hard Copy TRADENET FRONT END 3 CUSTOMS EXPORT 1. Export Goods Declaration 2. Customs Release

15 Trade Permit Preparation with TradeXchange SHIPPERS 1. ERP 2. Manual (MS Office) FREIGHT FORWARDERS 1. Commercial Invoice 2. Packing List 2 Verify and Submit 1 TRADENET FRONT END 3 CUSTOMS EXPORT 1. Export Goods Declaration 2. Customs Release

16 Problems in Air Cargo Industry Average air shipment generates more than 30 documents, handled by various stakeholders in the supply chain. Inefficient use of time to re-enter data during information transfer Errors during data translation from one document to another Lack of ability to track and trace data flow in real-time Lack of ability to trace data source for verification

17 IATA e-freight e-freight aims to take the paper out of air cargo and to replace it with the exchange of electronic data and messages.

18 IATA e-freight e-freight aims to take the paper out of air cargo and to replace it with the exchange of electronic data and messages. Launched in 2006 FEB 2015 Penetration rate of 26.9% globally for e-awb

19 initiative from MOU signed 2010 supported by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (ida) International Air Transport Association (IATA) Singapore Aircargo Agents Association (SAAA) Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) Singapore National Shipper s Council (SNSC)

20 The Logistics Institute Asia Pacific JUL 2010 Air Freight Process Productivity Study (AFPPS) to examine the potential costs and benefits gained from adopting e-freight. JUL 2011

21 The Logistics Institute Asia Pacific JUL 2010 Air Freight Process Productivity Study (AFPPS) to examine the potential costs and benefits gained from adopting e-freight. JUL 2011 ANNUAL SAVINGS BY FREIGHT FORWARDERS AND SHIPPERS S$18.4 million 1.7 million man-hours

22 CAAS and IDA issued a Call-for-Collaboration to invite companies to develop solutions to integrate key ICT systems, business processes and data for Awarded to 3 service providers vcargo Cloud Innosys Kewill Subsequently a fourth provider, CCN

23 Technical Committee chair Technical Committee was established to develop a common set of data standards over a few months secretariat committee members

24 Technical Committee Commercial Invoice Packing List Shipping Instruction Standards developed by the Committee leveraged IATA s Cargo-XML standards Certificate of Origin Master Waybill 10 documents defined by committee House Waybill House Manifest Customs Declarations Customs Release Dangerous Goods Declaration

25 Interoperability Standards

26 Interoperability Standards

27 Interoperability Standards Commercial Agreement cross platform charges business models Technical Agreement message specifications communication protocol Service Level Agreement processing time and bandwidth data ownership and privacy

28 Launch launch by Minister of State for Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Finance JUN early adopters at the point of launch with a total of 37 companies signed up

29 Air Cargo Export Process Before SHIPPERS FMS FREIGHT FORWARDERS 4 Manual Entry 1 1. Commercial Invoice 2. Packing List 3. DG Declaration 4. Shipping Instructions 5. Certificate of Origin Manual Entry 2 Manual Entry 3 CARGO COMMUNITY SYSTEM Fax Hard Copy Proprietary point-topoint EDI integration TRADENET FRONT END CUSTOMS EXPORT AIRLINES & GROUND HANDLERS 1. Master Air Waybill 2. House Manifest 3. DG Declaration Physical Cargo Flow Document Flow 1. Export Goods Declaration 2. Customs Release

30 Air Cargo Export Process With ERP SHIPPERS FREIGHT FORWARDERS 1 1. Commercial Invoice 2. Packing List 3. DG Declaration 4. Shipping Instructions 5. Certificate of Origin 2 FMS TRADENET FRONT END 3 CARGO COMMUNITY SYSTEM 4 CUSTOMS EXPORT AIRLINES & GROUND HANDLERS 1. Export Goods Declaration 2. Customs Release 1. Master Air Waybill 2. House Manifest 3. DG Declaration Physical Cargo Flow Electronic Document Flow

31 Platform

32 A Typical Case Study SHIPPER FORWARDER Shipper ERP ASN / Commercial Invoice Shipment Detail 3PL Shipper Permit Details E-freight Platform Flight / Shipping Details Freight Mgt System Declaration Manifest / Packing List Airlines / GHA vdeclarant Portal Freight Forwarder WMS MAWB / HAWB CCP CUSDEC (EXP) Airline 3PL Singapore TradeNet

33 Success Story: DGF-Avago Integration Published in the Case Study Report by CAAS

34 Success Story: DGF-Avago Integration

35 Success Story: DGF-Avago Integration used to require 1 hour to complete a declaration for Avago. now takes just a few minutes as 95% of the data is already populated when received. As a result, shipments are processed faster and compliance with AED is more assured.

36 THANK YOU Any Questions? For more information, please contact: Desmond Tay Managing Director 2013 vcargo Cloud Pte Ltd All rights reserved. All information contained in this presentation is disclosed to you on the basis of a prospective relationship and is proprietary to vcargo Cloud and may not be used, disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent of vcargo Cloud. 36
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In a remote part of western Minnesota, Emily Johnston and Annette Klapstein calmly approached a small enclosure, readied their bolt cutters and sliced through the fencing and chains protecting the emergency shutoff valves on two oil pipelines. Just as calmly, they turned the valves, helping to stop the flow of heavy Canadian crude, and waited to be arrested by local police.

The women were among 10 people arrested last week during coordinated actions to shut down five pipelines in four states, including two operated by Texas companies. The activists succeeded as the companies temporarily halted flows temporarily for safety reasons, underscoring the shifting battleground in the fight to slow climate change.

After years of focusing on the now fading coal industry, environmentalists are targeting pipelines as the new public enemy No. 1  a strategy that has implications for Texas as home to several major pipeline companies. With the keep it then ground movement gaining support, the focus of efforts to slow the extraction of oil and gas has increasingly become pipelines that move the fuels to processing plants and consumers.

Protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience aimed at pipelines have spread from New England to Texas to California. In the Midwest, protesters from across the country have joined the Standing Rock Sioux to block the Dakota Access pipeline that would carry crude from North Dakota shale fields to Illinois. From there, the oil can be piped to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Richard Kinder, the co-founder and chairman of the Houston pipeline company Kinder Morgan, acknowledged the growing protests, but said pipelines and the natural gas they carry will play a major role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions blamed for accelerating climate change. Natural gas has quickly replaced coal as the fuel of choice for generating electricity, he said, and that switch, according to the U.S. Energy Department, has cut greenhouse emissions in U.S. power sector in recent years.

While the protesters get the headlines, Kinder said, it is still possible to build new infrastructure.

Kinder Morgan, however, scrapped a pipeline earlier this year that would have carried natural gas from Pennsylvanias Marcellus Shale to the Boston area as the project faced strong local and environmental opposition. Last year, after a half-decade of protests, the Obama administration blocked the expansion of the Keystone pipeline, which would have transported crude more easily from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to U.S. refineries.

We want to make sure its not cheap or easy or even possible for them to come through, said Johnston, 50, of Seattle. We have to do something to shake up the system and inspire people to action. We all have to understand how dire the situation really is.

Pipeline opponents have proven effective in slowing some projects and, in perhaps their biggest victory, stopping TransCanadas Keystone XL. But the equivalent of 12 Keystone XL projects were built during the five-year debate over pipeline, according to the Association of Oil Pipe Lines industry group.

Environmentalists contend the continued growth of pipelines will make it impossible for the U.S.  and the world  to meet the goals of the Paris climate accords reached last year to prevent the worlds average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius. Burning fossil fuels produce large amounts of carbon dioxide, which traps heat in the earths atmosphere.

This year is projected to surpass 2015 as the hottest on record. Fourteen of the hottest 15 years have occurred since 2001.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to slow climate change, sees no room for compromise on pipelines because of the long-term ramifications

If we construct a major extension of pipelines, theyll be in use for 50 years, Gore said in a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle. If they are, there would be no possible way for the U.S. to achieve its goals of CO2 reduction  no possible way.

The activists, however, arent facing reality because the global economy will depend on fossil fuels far into the future, said Charles McConnell, a former assistant secretary of energy under President Barack Obama and now executive director of Rice Universitys Energy and Environment Initiative.

Pipelines are cheaper, faster and safer than shipping crude via railroad or trucks, which are more at risk of accidents and spills, he said. Policies and practice should focus on using fossil fuels as cleanly and efficiently as possible while developing new technologies that could eventually replace them.

I embrace environmentalism, McConnell said, but I also live in the real world.

Brandon Blossman, an analyst at Houston energy investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., said pipelines are the next phase for environmentalists after decades of fighting power plants that burn coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. Ironically, Blossman said, it is cleaner-burning natural gas carried by pipelines that has played the biggest role in the decline of coal and greenhouse gases in recent years.

Coal did just fine until competing gas got cheap and plentiful, Blossman said.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The latest wave of protests are particularly worrisome, raising concerns that tampering with valves and other controls  or something worse  could lead to an environmental disaster, said Andy Black, president and chief executive of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, an industry group.

If the Dakota Access pipeline, which received regulatory approval, is halted, it could create a dangerous precedent that would discourage investment in pipelines needed to provide the energy that heats homes, powers businesses, and fuels automobiles, he said. The owner of Dakota Access, Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas, already has invested billions in the project.

When a business is trying to expand, they need to know theyll be able to finish building the pipeline to serve the customers, Black said.

A federal court has ruled that construction can move forward, but the federal government is still holding up on granting a final easement for construction of the last small chunk of the pipeline near North Dakotas Lake Oahe, where the Standing Rock Sioux contend sacred and environmental sites are threatened.

Energy Transfer said in a statement that it expects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to soon issue the easement. We reiterate our commitment to protect cultural resources, the environment and public safety, the company said.

Some Texas activists hope opponents of the Dakota Access succeed in blocking the pipeline midconstruction so they can use that momentum and precedent to halt Energy Transfer projects in West Texas that have overcome community opposition at every turn.

Energy Transfer is building two gas pipelines from outside of Fort Stockton to Mexico at access points by El Paso  the Comanche Trail Pipeline  and farther south by Presidio  the Trans-Pecos Pipeline. Theyre slated for completion next year after Energy Transfer invested $1.3 billion for both.

The latter project runs right by Lori Glovers community in Alpine. Shes a volunteer working with the Sierra Club, a national environmental advocacy group, and she salutes the efforts of Johnston and her cohorts.

Glover said she and her neighbors opposed the projects throughout the regulatory process to no avail. Civil disobedience is all we have left, she said. Were just small communities and the corporations are putting us at risk. Theyre just doing what they want without even trying to work with the American people.
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City officials have discovered the site of a Spanish colonial-era lookout tower and gunpowder storage house on the East Side, adding a broader perspective to the story of the Alamo and early San Antonio.

The base of a wall and artifacts tie the site, in City Cemetery No. 2 at Commerce Street and Palmetto Avenue, to the historic powder house and watch tower, stone structures whose exact location has long been pondered by Alamo enthusiasts. Details of the find were released late Friday at a symposium at the Witte Museum.

Officials said the discovery is timely, as the city, Texas General Land Office and nonprofit Alamo Endowment near completion of a rough draft of a long-range plan for the Alamo area, including the state-owned historical complex and city plaza. Although the Alamo story has been tied to peripheral locales, such as Santa Annas headquarters in todays Main Plaza and earthworks in what now is La Villita, the East Side location, about a mile from the iconic Alamo church, has not been part of the popular narrative of the 1836 siege and battle.

Known through archival records, but never located, the Spanish colonial Powder House adds a new dimension to the understanding of the Battle of the Alamo, said Shanon Miller, director of the citys Office of Historic Preservation, which oversees archaeological issues.

It took about a year for Matthew Elverson, assistant city archaeologist, to pinpoint the site, using archival maps and past research, documents and suggestions. In March, he secured a Texas Historical Commission permit to study four areas in the cemetery with ground-penetrating radar.

And one of them came back with what appeared to be a wall foundation in a northeast-southwest alignment, in contrast to the east-west gridded cemetery and consistent with alignment of the historic tree-lined road known as the Alameda, where Commerce Street now runs, Elverson said.

He then obtained state permits to excavate in two areas away from burial plots and found the base of what may be a perimeter wall about 1 foot below the surface, along with gunflints, horseshoe nails and various types of 19th-century ceramics, confirming decades of military occupation. U.S. Army artist Seth Eastman had drawn a sketch of the powder house and three-story watchtower about 1848.

Archival documents suggest that the structures were built as early as 1807 and were still standing during the Civil War. During the 13-day siege of the Alamo, troops under Mexican Gen. Joaquin Ramirez y Sesma are believed to have camped at the powder house or in the area, according to historical accounts, City Archaeologist Kay Hindes said.

She believes that construction of the two structures could be tied to the 1803 arrival of La Segunda Compania Volante de San Carlos de Parras, a company of Spanish lancers that began fortifying the former Mission San Antonio de Valero, which had been secularized a decade earlier, converting it to military use. The company, from Alamo de Parras, is credited with giving the Alamo its name.

The lookout tower, on the edge of a large topographical terrace, also was likely used to protect the village of Bejar from hostile indigenous bands and other invaders long before the cemetery was established in 1884.

This would have commanded a really significant view of not only the Salado Creek Valley, but of the San Antonio River Valley, Elverson said.

Especially critical among the artifacts were the gunflints. Military historian Sam Nesmith said they are the size of those used by Mexican forces to fire their Brown Bess muskets.

It shows that they were making gunflints there, in addition to throwing away used and broken gunflints, Elverson said.

After the 1880s, the area became known as Powder House Hill, for its ties to the powder house.

Hindes said the discovery arose from an initiative to pinpoint more sites, including abandoned former missions, battlegrounds and presidios, in preparation for the citys yearlong tricentennial celebration in 2018. The city will commemorate the 1718 founding of the first Mission de Valero and village of San Antonio de Bejar.

We would love to find more sites, Hindes said. We hope that what were doing is really beneficial and adds to our knowledge of our history in celebration of the 300th. I think this is a part of our history that we have just scratched the surface on.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
AUSTIN  Labeling a continuing crisis involving thousands of children at risk of abuse and neglect unacceptable, the head of the states protective services wants to quickly hire more than 800 additional front-line workers and support staff at a cost of $53.3 million.

In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus, Henry Hank Whitman, commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, acknowledged that his beleaguered agency is struggling to meet the time frames for initial contact and timely case closure in Central Texas, North Texas and Harris County.

We have made substantive progress on Child Protective Services (CPS) transformation and toward achieving the benchmarks in a plan he proposed in July to address the continuing crisis, he wrote.

The Thursday letter was in response to a demand by Abbott, Patrick and Straus, R-San Antonio, for him to come up with quick solutions within a week.

The problems range from dropped or delayed investigations into abuse and neglect, scores of children sleeping in offices because of a shortage of placement sites, and skyrocketing turnover rates among employees that have derailed proper placements and supervision.

Texas children remain at risk. This is unacceptable, said Whitman, a former Texas Ranger whom Abbott named last spring to fix the problems. The additional staff resources will be targeted to the Austin, Houston and Dallas regions to help speed up the face-to-face initiation of investigations and the timely closing of cases, he wrote.

The new workers will include 550 front-line investigators, special investigators and caseworkers, the letter states. The agency will hire an additional 279 workers to provide supervision, support, hiring and training.

Whitman said those new employees will include 105 conservatorship caseworkers to find placements for foster care children and 145 more family-based safety services caseworkers to work with parents and relatives to prevent children from being removed from their homes.

High staff turnover rates last year ranged from 57 percent in Dallas to 31 percent in San Antonio. Many workers and former workers have complained about burnout and low pay. While Whitmans letter made no mention of a pay raise, the new budget he has proposed to the Legislature includes additional pay for high-performing staff.

The starting base salary for caseworkers currently is about $32,900, agency officials said.

State officials said Friday that they were reviewing Whitmans proposal and expect a decision in the coming days about additional funding needed for the new positions. Because funding for the additional staff is not included in the agencys current budget, state leaders will have to approve any spending to make those hires possible before the Legislature convenes in January.

Whitman also told state leaders that he has revised agency work schedules to have investigators work 10-hour days with overlapping schedules to ensure that children are seen sooner. He has implemented team assignments to allow two investigators to locate and interview children and families to expedite initial decisions, and he has consolidated supervision to hasten abuse and neglect investigations.

Whitman said he has created a new post of faith-based director to develop and implement programs to increase the involvement of churches and religious communities to find additional foster parents. Patrick has called a meeting of faith leaders in Austin on Nov. 2 to encourage that initiative.

Childrens advocacy groups questioned whether Whitmans plan will be enough to solve the crisis. They noted that new workers can take up to a year to hire and train, slowing any immediate relief from the current crisis.

The commissioners plan as reported is missing a key component: competitive salaries at a level that will actually fill the positions and keep them filled with qualified caseworkers, said Madeline McClure, CEO of TexProtects, a statewide advocacy association. We already have about 400 vacancies in high-need areas. We may hire 550 additional workers, but who will we retain who can handle the pressure and rigor of this job at a $34,000 entry-level salary? Turnover at CPS is almost double that of other state agencies, in part because the people who could do this work follow the free market toward better pay.

She and other advocates called Friday for lawmakers to expand prevention and early intervention services.

In his letter, Whitman cautioned that as additional children are brought into the foster care system, the costs of services for them will rise, as well.

The increase in investigations will allow more children to be seen on time, but will also ensure that children who have sadly never been seen will finally be contacted, he stated. These additional children, in many cases, will need to have services provided or will need to be removed from their homes.

In his proposed

$3.6 billion budget submitted to the Legislature, Whitman is seeking additional funds for foster care, including

$42.6 million for childrens services and staffing. In addition, he has submitted $498.1 million in so-called exceptional items, much of that for foster care improvements including pay raises for high-performing employees.

The new staffing in Whitmans letter is not included in that budget request.

As the price tag to fix the foster care crisis grows, so does the political pressure, because the Legislature already faces hundreds of millions of dollars in other critical funding needs for other state programs at a time when state revenues are down.

mike.ward@chron.com

twitter.com/ChronicleMike
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AUSTIN  Spurred by Donald Trumps insistence that the November election is rigged and will be plagued by widespread voter fraud, Republican officials in Texas largest counties are reporting a spike in the number of volunteers signing up to monitor polling places.

The boost in GOP poll watchers already has stoked concerns about voter intimidation among civil rights groups and Democrats, who are planning to counter with teams of lawyers, election hotlines and volunteers to keep an eye on Republican monitors.

Top-ranking Republican elected officials in Texas frequently raise the specter of voting improprieties, pointing recently to an ongoing ballot harvesting investigation in Tarrant County that Gov. Greg Abbott referred to on Twitter as the Largest Voter Fraud Investigation in Texas History.

The national and state stir over potential voter fraud, according to GOP chairmen in Bexar, Tarrant, Dallas and Travis counties, has led to more Republicans stepping forward to monitor the election. In most situations, local officials say, they have not even had to put out calls for volunteers  they have flooded in on their own.

Bexar County, for example, typically has 30 to 40 people sign up to monitor polling locations. This year, the number is expected to jump to around 200, said Robert Stovall, chairman of the county Republican Party.

Dallas County Republican Party officials said they have trained more poll watchers this year than in 2012, which a spokesman attributed to more polling locations and higher expected voter turnout. Travis Countys Republican Party also has seen an increase in poll-watching interest.

In Tarrant County, the reddest of the states five largest counties, Republican Party officials said they are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

I cant go to an event in the county where I dont have people say I want to be a poll watcher, said Tim OHare, chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, adding he expects that 150 to 200 people will be monitoring polls. The reality is, were having trouble keeping up with all the requests. Its a barrage. Well have more then well need.

Harris County has had its own controversy over Republican-led poll watching activity in the past. In 2010, the county attorney requested a monitor from the Justice Department observe the voting process after complaints surfaced of poll watchers hovering over voters, getting in their face and talking to election workers.

For their part, Democrats and civil rights groups say they are gearing up their own volunteers in equally large numbers.

Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Lane Lewis said his team trained a record number of poll watchers for the general election and has had to add more classes. The party has trained nearly 100 people to participate in some capacity at the polls, about half of whom expressed interest in being poll watchers, Lewis said. This weekends classes are expected to turn out an additional 90 to 100 people, he added.

Zenen Jaimes Perez, spokesman for the Texas Civil Rights Project, said a coalition of groups will have about 200 people manning phone lines at call centers and observing election activities at polls around Harris County.

Trumps call to his army of followers to serve as election monitors has raised new attention to the subject, but large-scale poll watching efforts in Texas are not new and are subject to stringent regulations.

On Friday, the issue took a new twist when it was reported that Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have denied requests by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the Nov. 8 election.

Texas is among about a dozen states that explicitly prohibit or restrict international election observers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A spokeswoman for the Texas secretary of states office did not respond to requests for comment Friday, but a U.S. State Department spokesman dismissed it as nothing more than a PR stunt.

Poll watchers are appointed on behalf of a candidate or a political party. Texas officials have summed up a poll watchers basic duty as observing the election and reporting any potential violations of state law.

Poll watchers must be registered voters in their county and are allowed to enter a polling place, but they are barred from talking to voters, accessing a voting station when a ballot is being prepared or recording sounds or images. They also are not allowed to speak to election officers other than to call attention to an irregularity in the process.

According to a newly issued handbook from the Texas secretary of states office, poll watchers are instructed to look for illegal activity that includes election workers who allow voters to cast a regular ballot without presenting an acceptable form of ID or presenting a supporting form of ID and signing a reasonable impediment affidavit.

A federal court recently diluted the states voter ID law to allow people who lack one of seven state-approved forms of photo identification to cast a regular ballot by presenting an alternate ID and signing an affidavit.

Chad Dunn, an elections lawyer representing several plaintiffs suing the state over its voter ID law, said poll watchers observing election activity can help keep things in order. However, he said, tea party groups in Texas previously have dispatched poll watchers to minority voting precincts in an effort to intimidate and keep people from voting.

Were already hearing chatter about people intending to go in and disrupt polling locations, he said.

Bexar Countys GOP said its first batch of poll watchers likely will target troublesome locations, which Stovall said generally tend to be Democratic precincts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
State Rep. Laura Thompson, an independent who won a special election earlier this year and is up for re-election in less than three weeks, turned herself into jail Thursday on a family violence charge stemming from a past incident, according to officials.

Thompson, who represents Texas House District 120, turned herself in Thursday morning on an outstanding warrant for a Class A misdemeanor charge of assault with bodily injury to a family member.

Shes innocent, said Lisa Jackson, a spokeswoman who described Thompson as a law-abiding citizen.

Thompson was in jail for less than an hour before bonding herself out, officials said.

In the state of Texas, anyone can make allegations. Nothing has been proven, Jackson said.

Thompson, 59, is the first independent to serve in the Texas Legislature in more than 50 years.

She faces Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 election. The seat was previously occupied by longtime state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, a Democrat.

A warrant was issued for Thompson's arrest in 2013, but was never executed, according to online court records. The incident occurred in Sept. 2012.

Jackson said a concerned citizen contacted Jackson and told her that she was going to be arrested Thursday.

This is a charge from 2012 that Rep. Thomspon was unaware of, once she was made aware because she is a law-abiding citizen  she went down immediately and turned herself in, Jackson said.

Her opponent Hawkins said Thompsons turning herself in may have just been a political strategy.

This is one of the biggest publicity stunts I could imagine, Hawkins said. Im prepared to get to the finish line and theyre coming out with all this stuff, getting her into the media at any cost.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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No one stirred at the sound of clacking pool balls at the Doris Griffin Senior One-Stop Center recently, but heads turned when the namesake of the center walked into the building to check on their well-being.

Wearing a purple outfit and high-heel shoes, Griffin held out her arms as members clustered around the longtime advocate for seniors as if she was a Hollywood celebrity. Maria Diaz, 62, sidled up for a photo with Griffin, who she thanked for always looking out for San Antonios older residents.

That lady, we love her! Diaz said to passersby.

Diaz is among the first wave of seniors who have flocked to the 22,000 square-foot-center since it opened January 2015. Located in District 7, at 6157 NW Loop 410, its one of nine comprehensive senior centers the city has built for adults 60 years and older.

The health and wellness center, close to Ingram Mall, is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The City of San Antonio and the WellMed Charitable Foundation collaborated to create the site that offers a range of free services.

Each day, 200 to 350 people visit the Northwest Side center to use workout equipment, do Tai Chi and yoga, use internet computers, eat healthy lunches and enjoy camaraderie with other members.

This gives them something to do, theyre not isolated, Griffin said. They come and make lifelong friends here.

City council members voted unanimously to name the center after Griffin for championing senior rights and quality of life issues for older residents.

Shes served multiple terms as a member of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature, a nonprofit group made up of seniors 60 years and older. For the past 25 years, shes been the executive director of Jefferson Outreach for Seniors, that provides transportation to homebound seniors, mobile meals, and grocery delivery services.

Senior Center supervisor, Peaches Hall, escorted Griffin through the center that was abuzz about her visit.

Hall brought her to the theater room, where theyve had standing room only sessions that were educational with a humorous tone. Members have shown up for classes on aging, diabetes and one titled, The Prostate and that Damn Blue Pill.

Everybody that comes in here, we try to wrap our arms around them, Hall said. When you dont have them, you lose a part of society, coming here helps them stay relevant.

Members Sylvia Hickman, 60, Juana Pang, 64, and Wanda Webb, 66, cheered when Griffin made a corner shot at their pool table. She looked into classrooms where members strummed guitars, painted works of art and worked their bodies to high-energy rhythms.

As they walked into the mirrored exercise room, the fitness instructor, Heather Stanley, led members through a regimen that has resulted in up to 60-pound weight loss for some. Not long ago, Julia Scott, 60, used a walker, but now, after months in Stanleys class, she moves without it.

JJ Villarreal, 75, also blossomed when he enrolled at the center.

At first he kept to himself, burying his head in a newspaper. But eventually the retired entrepreneur was drawn to their theater group, and even a flash mob. He said last year, after doctors removed a kidney, he was back a week later, playing ping pong.

Maricristina Alonzo didnt hold back her tears when she approached Griffin in Halls exercise class. Alonzo, 70, and her husband, Manuel, were among the first members at the center. She said the center helped her overcome her pain when her husband died in January.

I dont know you, but I wanted to thank you! she said. This place saved my life, Im so grateful to you.

Thank you honey, Griffin replied, grasping Alonzos hand, thank you.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Transcription

1 Sky Journal of Educational Research Sky Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3(6), pp , October, 2015 Available online ISSN Sky Journals Full Length Research Paper Incentive management and job involvement among teachers in technical schools in Cameroon Joseph Besong Besong Faculty of Education/Health Sciences (HOS/TR), University of Buea, Cameroon. Tel.: Accepted 2 September, 2015 The study sought to find out the relationship between incentive management and job involvement among teachers in technical schools in Cameroon. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The sample population consisted of 252 teachers randomly selected from a population of 580 teachers. Data for the study were collected using an instrument made by the researcher called Incentive Management and Job involvement Questionnaire (IMJIQ). Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Population t-test statistics and the hypotheses were tested at.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that economic and non-economic involvement significantly correlated with job involvement of teachers in technical schools. Job involvement of teachers was found to be significantly high. From the findings, it was recommended that adequate economic and non-economic incentive packages should be provided for teachers to stimulate them for higher job involvement and commitment. Key words: Incentive, job-involvement and management. INTRODUCTION Incentive: Many people have defined incentive in different ways. Hornby (2006 :753) defined incentive as the ability to do something that encourages one to do it more. It means to ginger or motivate someone to do more willingly. Herzberg (1959) described incentive in two dimensions, called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Relating to the study, teachers in technical schools need to be motivated so as ginger them for effective performance. Job-involvement: According to Hornby (2006:799) job means appointment offered to a person. It means a post which a person occupies either permanently or temporarily. It connotes a position one occupies in an organization. In other words, it means involvement. Involvement is the act of taking part in something. It means participation, attention to or care about a thing. Relating to this study, it means that teachers in technical schools should be job oriented.that is being job involved. Job-involvement means being an active or an effective teacher. In other words, it connotes job involvement. Management Management is the act of running and controlling a business or similar organization or part of one (Hornby 2006:896). Relating to this study, technical school is a social business of the Government established to train students in different skills in technology. LITERATURE REVIEW The relevance of technical education to the industrial and technological development of a nation cannot be overemphasized. Cameroon needs functional education for development of her economic sector especially for emerging a developed nation in 2035 (Government s white paper, 2012). The paper further articulates the objectives of technical/vocational education to include among others, the provision of technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, commercial and economic development. To achieve this objective,

2 62 Sky. J. Educ. Res. there is need for effective management of the teaching personnel for high productivity. Incentive management is one major issue in personnel management that would lead to job- commitment and job involvement among workers. Incentive management is designed to help employers reward and motivate their employees appropriately so that they (employees) could enthusiastically put in their best for the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. Technical educational institutions in Cameroon would be in jeopardy if the workforce are poorly remunerated, not rewarded for incidental contributions, promotion is unduly delayed, work environment is not stimulating and the teachers are not exposed to new knowledge in their chosen areas of specialization. This could affect their interest in the job and their morale would sag. This could lead to low job involvement and low productivity. Incentive is a reward for service to an organization and determines the extent to which an organization can attract, motivate and retain employees with the needed skills, Knowledge and technical know-how. It is the totality of financial and non-financial rewards that the employee (teacher) gets in return for services rendered (Oduwaiye, 2000; Onyene, 2001). Taylor (1911) in his scientific management theory sees the worker as an economic man that can be induced to work effectively and efficiently through economic incentives. He therefore conceives money as a very important factor for motivating employees to achieve higher productivity. Taylor advocates for incentive wage system to enhance job involvement, dedication and better performance. Maslow (1943) views a worker as having an array of needs arranged in an hierarchical order and ranging from the basic physiological needs to safety, social, esteem and self-actualization needs. The implication of this theory is that for teachers to put in their best for the achievement of the school goals, their needs must be satisfied. Thus, the school management must provide adequate and appropriate incentives that could satisfy the needs of the teachers. Closely related to Maslow s theory is Herzberg (1959) two-face theory of motivation and job satisfaction in which Herzberg identifies two types of incentives, called, extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic reward originates outside the job and related to the job environment. These may be in the form of direct pay, fringe benefits and allowances. These incentives often are more valuable to the workers because they have more psychological and social meaning. Intrinsic job rewards tend to be more motivating, they are related to the job content and when provided motivate the teachers to high performances and achievements. They include things such as recognition and promotion. Onyene (2005) posited that the motivation to achieve highly can only be induced by the workers need for achievement, search for recognition, work itself, responsibility and the degree of progress on the job. Adams (1972) propounded an equity theory in which he posits that the feeling of a worker that he is being adequately rewarded for his labor and services could motivate him. The basic thesis in the theory is the worker s evaluation of the equity and fairness of the rewards he/ she is receiving. According to Hodgetts and Altman (1979), the theory holds that in order to be motivated, the workers must believe that the rewards they are receiving are fair. This makes workers try to determine whether their salaries are commensurate with the work they are doing and is fair when compared to the salaries others are receiving for the work they are doing (Peretomode, 1999). Equity theory relates to the fairness of management s reward system. It concerns how near reward is to what teachers think they should receive. Another theory having similar thoughts is Vroom (1964) expectancy theory. The theory states that an individual s motivation to perform is dependent upon the attractiveness of the rewards attached to a successful performance and the degree to which the worker believes that increased effort will lead to the attainment of this reward. This implies that the incentive package given to teachers must reflect their contribution or their level of productivity to the school system and incentive should be attractive enough to motivate them to work. Job-involvement, on the other hand, has been variously conceptualized. It is the degree to which one is actively participating in one s job and the degree of importance of one s job to one s self-image. It refers to the extent to which a worker identifies psychologically with his job. It could be likened to the intrinsic motivation which is the degree to which a person is self-inclined to perform effectively on his assigned job (Ajayi, 1987). Thus, it could be argued that job-involvement is the degree to which a person s work performance affects his selfesteem. It is the internalization of values about the goodness of work or the importance of work worth of the person. In other words, job-involvement is one for whom there is an important part of his life and one who is greatly affected personally by the entire job situation, while the non-job-involved person does his job and work is not part of his psychological life. Job-involvement as reviewed by Mathieu and Kohler (1990) and Lambert (1991) could be determined by incentive pay system. Thus, the extent to which a person identifies with his other jobs depends greatly on the incentive package provided. Onyene (2005 in her study discovered that the provision of opportunities for training and retraining as incentives motivates teachers toward instructional efficiency. In a related study by Aryee (1994), it was found that intrinsic rewards (promotion, need for achievement) and job satisfaction significantly relates to job involvement of teachers. The researcher explained that job satisfaction enhances job involvement because job satisfaction stimulates greater involvement with the job in that satisfaction with the job enhances the importance of work identity (Aryee, 1994). In a similar

3 Besong 63 study, Knoop (1995) discovered that job involvement was not related to overall satisfaction but only to two specific facets-satisfactions with work and promotion opportunities. The relationship between job involvement and commitment was moderately high. This finding lends credence to the works of Buchanan (1974) and Blau (1986). In a related study carried out by Ajayi (1987), it was found that satisfaction with pay (economic incentive) had no significant direct bearing with a worker s level of job involvement. This finding shows that whether a teacher is provided with adequate economic incentive or not may not affect his level of job-involvement to any significant extent. It is against this background that this study is carried out to find out the extent to which economic and non-economic incentives relates to teachers job involvement in technical schools in Cameroon. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Interest in teacher s job involvement in Cameroon has grown in recent years beyond its values as an index of the quality of work life because of the concept s fundamental understanding of the behavior like attrition, absenteeism and tardiness. A critical look has shown that some teachers in technical/vocational schools exhibit these behaviors which are indicative of low jobinvolvement and lack of commitment.these negative tendencies among teachers may be attributed to poor and inadequate incentives to motivate them. Job content and job context should not be ignored by any personnel manager who wants to keep alive his organization and its members. It is in this regard that a pertinent question is posed, to what extent does incentive packages relate to job-involvement among teachers in technical schools in Cameroon?. This research work seeks to provide answers to this question. Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is specifically to find out the extent to which: i.) Economic incentive relates to teachers jobinvolvement. ii.) Non-economic incentive relates to teachers jobinvolvement and iii.) The level of job-involvement among teachers in technical schools. Hypotheses i.) Economic incentive does not significantly relate to teachers job-involvement in technical schools. ii.) Non-economic incentive does not significantly relate to teachers job-involvement in technical schools. iii.) Job involvement of teachers in technical schools is not significantly high. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research design adopted for this study was the survey design because the study involved the use of a representative sample from a population and the conclusions based on the analysis of available data. The population of the study comprised 580 teachers made of 416 males and 164 females from 18 technical schools in the state. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 14 technical/vocational schools from the study area and 18 teachers from each of the selected schools. Thus, giving a sample size of 252 teachers consisting of 190 males and 62 females. Characteristics used in selecting the schools were years of establishment, school size and location, those used for teachers were age, teaching experience, qualification and skills/ technological background. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire based on the instrument made by the researcher called Incentive Management Jobinvolvement Questionnaire (IMJIQ) for teachers. The questionnaire was made of two parts. Part one was made of demographic information or personal data such as age, gender, years of teaching experience, and qualification. A 4poit Likert scale was used in scoring the items in the questionnaire. Questions in descending order were scored from 4points to 1 point and those in ascending were scored from 1 point to 4 points. The instrument was pilot tested with 30 teachers from schools which were not part of the selected sample to ascertain its reliability. The reliability coefficient of 0.66 to 0.87 was obtained. It was high enough to be considered that the instrument was reliable. Prior to this, the instrument was given to expert in test and measurement to examine it for validity. That is, to find out the content and face validity of the instrument. Furthermore, the instrument was administered to respondents in their schools. A written permission was obtained from the various school authorities where the respondents were found. Out of 252 copies questionnaire administered, 250 copies were correctly filled and retrieved. The data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Population t-test statistics. RESULTS The following hypotheses were formulated in null form to guide the study: Ho 1 : Economic incentive does not significantly relate to teachers job involvement in technical schools. To test

4 64 Sky. J. Educ. Res. Table 1. Pearson product moment correlation analysis of the relationship between economic incentive and teachers job involvement in technical schools (n=250). Variable EX Ey Ex2 EY2 Economic incentive (x ) Job involvement (y) *P< 0.05; df = 248; critical r = Exy r 0.50* Table 2. Pearson product moment correlation analysis of the relationship between non-economic incentive and teachers job involvement in technical schools (n= 250). Variable Non-economic incentive (x) Job involvement(y) Ex Ey 3415 *P <0.5 ;df =248 - r = Ex2 Ey Exy r * Table 3. Population t-test analysis of the level of job involvement of teachers in technical schools (n=250). Variable No. of Item xe xo SD t Expected level of job involvement Observed level of job involvement * *P<.05; df 249; critical -t = this hypothesis, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistics was used for data analysis The result is presented in table 1. Table 1 indicates that the calculated or observed r- value of 0.50 is greater than the critical R-value of required for significance at 0.05 level of significance with 248 degrees of freedom. From this result, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is upheld. This means that there is a significant positive relationship between economic incentive and job involvement among teachers in technical schools. This finding suggests that the higher and better the economy, the more involved teachers are in their job and vice versa. Ho 2 : Non-economic incentive does not significantly relate to teachers job involvement in technical schools. The data for this hypothesis was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistics.the result is presented in Table 2. Table 2 shows that the calculated r value of 0.38 is greater than the critical r-value of required for significance at.05 level of significance with 248 degrees of freedom. The result of this finding shows that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is therefore upheld.this means that there is a significant positive correlation between non-economic incentive and teachers job involvement. Ho 3 : Job involvement of teachers in technical schools is not significantly high. The data for this hypothesis was analyzed using population t- test statistics. The result is presented in Table 3. The result in table 3 shows that the calculated t-value of 2.33 is greater than the critical t- value of at 0.05 level of significance with 249 degrees of freedom. From this result, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is upheld. This means that teachers job involvement in technical schools is significantly high. DISCUSSION The finding of the first hypothesis of this study reveals a significant positive correlation between economic

5 Besong 65 incentive and teachers job involvement in technical schools. This means that economic incentives are associated with job involvement among teachers. Economic incentives include salaries and allowances paid to teachers. The provision of a better economic incentive package for teachers acts as a morale boaster that stimulates them to be committed to their job. Cameroonian workers attach much premium to economic rewards because of the important role money plays in the satisfaction of the physiological needs. Teachers are particularly sensitive to the deprivation of these needs. The gratification of these needs through economic rewards encourages teachers to put in their best and develop positive attitudes towards work and be committed to it. This finding is in agreement with the research finding of Ejiogu (1983) who finds out that economic rewards (cash bonuses) served as the best incentive towards productivity, particularly if they are contingent upon performance. The present finding is also in consonance with the work of Akaolisa (1991) who discovered financial compensation as a motivator for improved job performance. Although, Herzberg s twoface theory views monitory reward as an hygiene factor but the finding of this study points to the contrary. The finding of the second study shows that non-economic incentive significantly relates to teachers job involvement in technical schools. This finding is supported by the research work of Aryee (1994) who discovered in his study that intrinsic rewards (promotion, need for achievement) and job satisfaction significantly relate to job involvement of teachers. This finding also corroborates the work of Herzberg (1959) who views intrinsic reward as the real motivator. The findings of this study could be explained that management of technical schools has seen the need for regular promotion of teachers, provision for staff training and retraining and recognition of achievement. These could raise teachers morale and hence, make them to be job involved. The finding of the third hypothesis of this study shows that job involvement of teachers in technical schools is significantly high. This finding could be attributed to the fact that both the job context and job content or economic and non-economic rewards seem to be adequately catered for by management of technical schools. This finding collaborate the idea of Ejiogu (1990) who points out in his study that Herzberg s factors, maintenancehygiene incentive packages should not be neglected by any personnel manager who wants to achieve organizational effectiveness. Conclusion/Findings The result of this study has shown that economic and non-economic incentive packages are necessary conditions for teachers job involvement in technical schools in the world and in Cameroon in particular in order to actualize vision The findings of the study also reiterated that job involvement is a function of effective management of personnel in the school system. The provision of adequate incentives motivates teachers toward high job involvement, commitment and productivity. The use of effective reward system and inservice training will boaster teachers morale and also accelerates their commitment to putting in their best. Recommendations Based on the findings and conclusion of this study, the following recommendations are made: i.) Economic rewards for teachers should be properly designed and implemented and also it should be commensurate with labor services and rendered by teachers. ii.) Salaries and allowances should be paid regularly. iii.) Opportunities for in-service training should be created and teachers should be encouraged to take advantage of such opportunities to update their knowledge and skills. iv.) Promotion of teachers should be regularly done to prevent resentful attitude towards work. v.) Teachers academic achievement should be recognized by appropriate authority. vi.) Adequate economic and non-economic incentive packages should be provided for teachers in order to stimulate them for job involvement and commitment. REFERENCES Adams JS (1972). Equity in Social Change.In L.Berbonritz (ed.). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. New York: Academic Press. Ajayi K. (1987). The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Job Involvement among Workers. A Case Study of Junior Workers in Two Nigerian Universities.Nigerian Journal of Professional.Studies in Education (NJPSE) 1 (1), Akaolisa M (1991). Financial Compensation as Job Motivation in Kaduna State Ministry of Education.UnpublishedM. Ed Thesis, University of Jos. Aryee S (1994). Job Involvement: An Analysis of its Determinants AmongMale and Female Teachers. Revue Canadiennedes Sciences dl Administration.http//.findceticles.com. August, Blau G (1986). Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment as Interactive Predictors oftardiness and Absenteeism. J. of Manage., 12: Buchanan B (1990). Building Organizational Commitment.The Socialization of Managers in Work Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19: Ejiogu AM (1983). Participative Management in Developing Economic; Poison or Placebo. The J. of Appl. Behavioral Sci., 19, Ejiogu AM (1990). Educational Management: A System Approach. Ikeja; Literamed Publications. Herzberg F (1959). Motivation to Work. New York: John Wiley. Hodgetts RM, Altman S (1979). Organizational Behaviour.Phladelphia ; W. B. Saunders. Knoop R (1995). Relationships among Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment for Nurses. J. of Psychol., 129(6), August, Lambert SJ (1991). The Combined effects of Job and Family

6 66 Sky. J. Educ. Res. Characteristics on the Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement and Intrinsic Motivation of Men and Women Workers. J. of Organizational Behaviors.12: Maslow A(1943).A theory of Human Motivation. Psychol. Rev., Mathieu J, Kohlor S (1990). A test of the Interactive effects of Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement on various Types of Absences. J. of Vocational Behaviors. 34: Oduwaiye RO (2000). Staff Personnel Management and Productivity in Education. In E.O. Fagbamiye& D. O. Durosaro (eds) Education and Productivity in Nigeria, Illorin, NAEAP, Haytee Press. Onyene V (2001). Issues in Incentive Administration for Effective Workforce Retention.A Study of some Primary School Teachers in Aquata. In N. A. Nwagwu, E. T. Ehiametalor, M. A. Ogunu& M. Nwadiani (eds). Current Issues in Educational Management in Nigeria.Benin, NAEAP. Onyene VE (2005). Assessment of Motivational Package as Predicative of Instructional Efficiency in Lagos State Secondary Schools. Nig. J. of Curriculum Studies.12(2): Peretomode VF (1999). Educational Administration: Applied Concepts and Theoretical Perspectives for Students and practioner. Lagos; Joja Educational Research and publishers. Taylor FW (1911). Principles of Scientific Management, New York; Harper& Row. Vroom VH (1964). Work and Motivation.New York, John Wiley.
New York brokerage firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has purchased the Hilton San Antonio Hill Country Hotel & Spa near SeaWorld San Antonio, property records show.

The five-story, 227-room hotel and meeting venue was purchased Tuesday for an undisclosed price by GSPYR San Antonio, a company controlled by Goldman subsidiary Special Situations Investing Group II, state corporate filings show. The company has two addresses listed: one for Goldmans New York headquarters and another for its office in Irving.

The hotels previous owner was PD San Antonio Associates, which had owned it since 2007 and is linked to the Dow Hotel Co. of Seattle and New Jersey-based PGIM Real Estate, a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, state corporate filings show.

Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally declined to comment Friday morning. Representatives of Dow Hotel and PGIM Real Estate werent immediately available for comment.

The hotel, at 9800 Westover Hills Blvd., opened in early 2002 as the Radisson Hill Country Resort. In 2009, it became a Hilton franchise and underwent $6 million of renovations. It has three outdoor pools, two restaurants, a spa and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space, according to its website.

The 6.7-acre property that includes the hotel was assessed at $23.3 million this year, according to the Bexar Appraisal District. The hotel was Bexar Countys 28th most lucrative hotel in 2015, taking in $7.7 million in room receipts, according to data from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Goldmans Special Situations Group tends to invest in real estate projects with a value greater than $20 million and for a term of three to six years, according to its website.

Earlier this week, Goldman announced that its earnings soared in the third quarter due in large part to trading and investment gains.

rwebner@express-news.net

@rwebner
Team Summary:

Q1: The opening eighteen minute period would commence with Wehrlein setting a 1m:39.319 on the supersoft tyre. Ericsson would set a 1m:39.017 to go quickest but Grosjean would move ahead with a 1m:38.520. Only Button and Ocon were on the soft tyre everyone else was on the supersoft tyre. Hamilton would go quickest with a 1m:36.296 wit Rosberg second, 1m:36.397. Verstappen was third followed by Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Vettel, Perez and Valtteri. Five minutes remaining and the track was empty as everyone prepared for second runs if needed. Button would be first back out on the supersoft tyre. He would be followed by more drivers but the top nine would remain in their pits. Button was now sixteenth with Sainz and Kvyat eleventh and twelfth. The top ten was Hamilton, Rosberg, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Vettel, Perez, Felipe and Valtteri. Those not making the cut were Grosjean, Magnussen, Button, Wehrlein, Nasr, and Ocon.



Q2: The second fifteen minute period would start with both Mercedes cars out on the soft tyre. Both are looking to start the race on the soft tyre. A 1m:36.351 from Rosberg to be quickest with Hamilton setting a 1m:36.450 to be second. Verstappen was also out on the soft tyre and Ricciardo the supersoft, Red Bull swapping their strategies. Perez was third with a 1m:37.578. At the front Ricciardo would go quickest with a 1m:36.255 but he was on the supersoft tyre. Vettel was now fourth followed by Raikkonen and Verstappen. Hulkenberg was seventh followed by Valtteri and Perez. Alonso was in tenth and would come back out for a second run. More drivers would come out with the top six still in their pits. Valtteri and Felipe were ninth and tenth with Perez eleventh with the end of the period. The top ten was Ricciardo, Rosberg, Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Verstappen, Sainz, Valtteri and Felipe. Both Williams cars were into the final period which was a nice improvement as it was the first time since Monza.



Q3: The final twelve minute period would commence with both Mercedes cars coming out on the supersoft tyre. Vettel and Verstappen would also come out joined by Ricciardo, and Raikkonen. Hulkenberg, Sainz and both Williams remained in their pits looking like they would only do one run. It was a poor lap from Rosberg ending with a 1m:35.442 but Hamilton would set a 1m:35.370 to go quickest. Verstappen was third followed by Vettel and Raikkonen. Ricciardo would go third seeing Verstappen fourth. Both Williams cars would come out along with Hulkenberg. Both Mercedes cars were back out with everyone on new sets of supersoft tyres. All ten cars were now out on the track with just under two minutes remaining. Hamilton would set a very quick first sector but Rosberg would go quicker in the second. Hamilton was still well up on Rosberg and Hamilton would set a 1m:34.999 to take pole with Rosberg second. Ricciardo was third followed by Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Valtteri, Felipe and Sainz tenth. For Williams both cars are in the top ten making the prospects for Sundays race that much more positive.
Transcription

1 E-commerce in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Latvia

2 Research method

3 Research method The aim of the research was to identify the attitudes and usage preferences of Latvian Internet users towards online shopping in e-shops and on online auctions. The research findings presented in the report cover the following topics: attitudes of Internet users towards online shopping; factors encouraging people to do online shopping; behavior of online shoppers; frequency of online shopping; assessment of services provided by online stores and auctions. The research was conducted with the use of online questionnaires that were opened in a new browser window after clicking on a banner encouraging to take part in the research. It was emitted on Latvian web portal tvnet.lv. Questionnaires were collected between October the 3 rd and 8 th After being cleaned according to Gemius standards, the sample counted 2133 cases. The sample was weighted using the structural data provided by SKDS (data for September 2007). The findings are representative in terms of age, gender and frequency of Internet usage for the whole Latvian Internet users population aged Information about sample size presented in the report refers to unweighted data. Sample size (N) may be different for each question, as there were some filters applied. Please note: in case of some results presented on the charts the percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding or because of possibility of selecting more than one answer.

4 The profile of respondents

5 N=2 133 N=2 133 N=2 133 N=2 133 N=2 133 N=2 133 The profile of respondents WORKING STATUS GENDER Student 14% Working 73% Pensioner 3% Unemployed 2% Female 56% Male 44% EDUCATION Elementary education 7% Housekeeper/ housweife 3% Other 5% MARKET SIZE Secondary education 14% Specialised secondary education 21% Riga 38% INCOME Riga region 13% Unfinished higher education 22% No income 5% Jelgava 4% Higher education 36% 0-60 LVL 3% Liepaja 3% LVl 8% LVL 27% LVL 33% Ventspils 3% Valmiera 3% Daugavpils 1% Other city (regional center) 19% AGE yrs. 41% 30+ yrs. 59% LVL 8% Small town 7% Above 800 LVL 7% Village 9% Refuse to answer 10%

6 N= N=2 133 N= The profile of respondents FREQUENCY OF INTERNET USAGE TYPE OF CONNECTION HISTORY OF USING THE INTERNET Daily or almost daily 63% Less often 37% Modem / dial-up connection 7% Broadband connection 82% Other 2% I do not know 8% Half a year or shorter 9% Half a year or shorter 3% Between half a year 11% 7% and a year More than 1 up up to to 2 15% 14% years More than 2 up to 5 More than up to 33% years 33% years Over 5 years 42% Over 5 years 32%

7

8 ATTITUDES TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING(I) 38% of Internet users love or like shopping. They are also highly aware of online shopping (94%). When shopping, in general, Latvians are concerned about saving money (33%) and time (23%), buying products of the best quality (16%) and spending time in a pleasant way (13%). Offers of different online stores (55%) and search engines (31%) are the most popular sources of information when looking for a product on the Internet. Internet is the most preferred media when looking for information about the following products and services: train, bus, plane tickets (56%); phones and GSM accessories (42%); travel services (39%); consumer electronics and home appliances (35%); computer hardware (31%); photo equipment (30%); computer software (27%); book, CDs, movies (22%).

9 ATTITUDES TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING(II) Unaided brand awareness e-stores Online stores brands with the highest unaided brand awareness are: 220.lv (30%); Xnet.lv (23%); Euroshop/shop24.lv (20%). The apparent presence of the long tail phenomenon in popularity of Latvian e- stores is worth noticing. Besides a few leaders (whose leading positions are strongly pronounced), there is a great number of less popular e-stores (listed by less than 6% of Latvian Internet users). Such e-stores were mentioned by 65% of this group.

10 ATTITUDES TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING(III) Unaided brand awareness online auctions Undisputed leader in this ranking is ebay (both ebay.com and its regional European sites) with 19%. Less indications were received by bimbaso (2%), satim.lv (2%) and amazon.com (1%). The results are less fragmented than the ones for online stores auctions with less than 1% of total indications were mentioned by only 3% of respondents. This might be caused by the very nature of auction sites. Such sites popularity depends heavily on the network effect and acquiring enough users for this effect to come into play (critical mass) is not an easy task.

11 ATTITUDES TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING(IV) Six out of ten (60%) of Internet users who have heard about the possibility of shopping online have heard about price comparison engines as well. The aided brand awareness indicates that the most popular are: pricelist.lv (66%); site.lv (42%); saldidzini.lv (17%). The main factor that would encourage Latvian e-shoppers to buy online more frequently is lower price (27%). Special offers and discounts as well as better presentation of assortment are ranked behind (13% and 11% respectively).

12 ONLINE STORES (I) 52% of Latvian Internet users have ever shopped in online stores. Shopping in online stores is far more popular than on auctions 97% of e- shoppers shop in online stores and every seventh(13%) e-shopper visits online auctions for that purpose. The reasons for choosing online stores are: prices lower than in traditional stores (69%), saving time (58%), possibility of ordering at any time (57%) and availability of home delivery (48%). The main dissatisfaction related with the usage of online stores results from the long product delivery time (25% of e-shoppers declared so), false information about the product (23%) and poor customer service (19%) while 32% of e- shoppers reported no problems at all. More than half of online stores customers have resigned from purchasing online (55%) at least once, mainly due to that to long delivery time (27%), better or cheaper products found elsewhere (27%) or changing their mind (27%). The most popular strategy of looking for the best price of a product to be purchased via Internet is to compare offers from different stores and choose the best one (67%). On the other hand, 18% of e-shoppers are loyal to one store and do not look for other shopping opportunities.

13 ONLINE STORES (II) When asked about sources of information and opinions on online stores, over one fourth (26%) of online stores users say that they do not look for this kind of information and prefer to rely on their own experience or use different web sites and portals for this purpose. Friends are the source of information for 24% of respondents using online stores. 39% of respondents who bought something in an online shop during one month preceding the study declared spending 149 LVL or less, 21% LVL, and 13% - above 350 LVL. 27% didn t know the amount of money spent in an online shop or refused to answer. 3 most popular categories of products bought in online stores are: consumer electronics and home appliances (49%); phones and GSM accessories (46%); train, bus, plane tickets (43%); followed by: computer hardware (37%); photo equipment (35%); movie and theatre tickets (33%).

14 AUCTIONS (I) 6% of Internet users have ever done shopping on online auctions (it is equal to 13% of all online shoppers). The most popular products bought on auctions are: photo equipment (35%); computer hardware (32%); consumer electronics and home appliances (27%); phones and GSM accessories (25%); clothes and jewelry (22%); books, CDs, movies (21%).

15 AUCTIONS (II) The main reasons for which Latvian Internet users decide to buy on online auctions are: prices lower than in a traditional store (57%); products that are more difficult to be found in some other place (56%). The most typical obstacles that e-shoppers come across while buying on auctions are: long time of waiting for the product s delivery (37%). poor customer service (25%); false information on the web site (22%); problems with warranty and returning damaged products (20%); dissatisfaction with received products (19%); Only 18% online auctions users reported no problems while buying on auctions. Most popular method of payment on online auctions are: payment service (52%), credit card (34%) and bank transfer (33%). This is almost the same as in online stores where 55% of respondents use payment service, but payment by credit card and bank transfer prefer 45% and 43% shoppers.

16 ONLINE STORES VS. AUCTIONS (selected results) ONLINE STORES AUCTION REASONS FOR PURCHASING USING PARTICULAR ONLINE CHANNEL prices lower than in traditional store (69%) it saves time (58%) possibility of ordering at any tmie (57%) prices lower than in traditional store (57%) products that are more difficult to be found elsewhere (56%) ADVANTAGE OF SHOPPING : ONLINE STORES VS. AUCTION easier purchase procedure (32%) objects ordered and received are the same (26%) lower prices (42%) bigger selection of product (37%) PROBLEMS no problems (32 %) long product delivery time (25%) false information on the website (23%) no problems (18 %) long product delivery time (37%) poor customer service (25%) MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS BOUGHT consumer electronic and home appliances (49%) phones and GSM accessories (46%) train, bus, plane tickets (43%) photo equipment (38%) computer hardware (32%) consumer electronics and home appliances (27%) MOST POPULAR WAY OF PAYI NG cash on delivery (55%) credit card (45%) bank transfer (43%) payment service (52%) credit card (34%) bank transfer (33%)

17 INTERNET USERS WHO DO NOT SHOP ONLINE 75% of respondents who have never shopped online considered doing that. Almost ever fifth (19%) of those who were thinking of such option actually tried to buy a product on the Internet. Respondents who have never shopped online justifies it with the following reasons: they like to see the product and evaluate its quality (60%), they are used to traditional stores (49%), and they are afraid of problems with warranty (44%). Not buying in online stores or on auctions among those who tried to do it is the consequence of the fact that they did not have the chance do see the product in advance (38%), as well as were afraid that online transactions are not safe (31%) or just changed their mind (26%). The intention of to shop online in the future among Internet users who have never done it before is quite high (42% of respondents marked rather yes or definitely yes while 29%: rather not or definitely not ). Undecided users represent almost one third (28%) of respondents who have never bought in online stores.

18 The top lines of the research results show the following: 48% of Internet users from Latvia declared that they have ever been shopping on the Internet. E-shopping is still in the phase of development. It is considered risky by 41% of those who heard about online shopping, and the payments in case of e-stores are made mostly in cash. In Latvia online stores are considerably more popular than auctions, therefore the domestic market edged up to 48% for online stores, whilst auctions maintain a lower level of 6% represented mostly by ebay.com and bimbaso.com. Unaided brand awareness for e-stores indicates that this market is very fragmented: except for a few more widely known players there is a great number of smaller e-stores, with brand awareness level lower than 6%. The following e- stores stand out: 220.lv (30%), xnet (23%); euroshop/shop24.lv (20%).

19 Paldies!
AHDBs Strategic Potato (SPot) Farm based in Perthshire in Scotland has revealed the three key areas it will focus on in 2017; nutrition, cultivation, and seed.

Like the other Spot Farms in Staffordshire and West Suffolk, Spot Farm Scotland is based on a three-year programme of field scale trials and demonstrations. Content will be tailored to specific areas that affect the Scottish industry and will provide growers with an insight into how the latest new systems and practice stemming from AHDB-funded research can be adopted on their farms.

The 2017 plan was developed following a launch event in July at the host farm, Bruce Farms in Perthshire, during which growers were asked which areas they would like to see covered. For farm manager, Kerr Howatson, the key to making the project a success is keeping it simple.

He says: Growers have highlighted nutrition, cultivation and seed, which gives us three really important topics to focus on, and we intend to look at these in depth.

What we want to do is demonstrate good crop husbandry and try to identify the optimum conditions for growing seed and ware potatoes.

It is not a one size fits all approach, but the project will highlight practical measures growers can use on their own farms.

Demonstrating techniques

Michael Inglis, technical manager at Albert Bartlett, welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate new techniques through the Spot Farm programme.

He says: Growers need to respond to the ever challenging retail requirements of quality, yield and efficiency.

There has never been a more trying environment for potato growers in the UK; this requires farm-based R&D to provide guidance on tackling these difficult issues.

Jim Aitken, senior agronomist at Branston Ltd, will be involved in the nutrition demonstrations and he sees merit in looking at two areas; matching nitrogen inputs of a crop to customer requirements, and adjusting N levels to allow for organic manure applications.

We need to look at nitrogen inputs, because getting those levels right will help us grow the type of products customers are looking for, says Jim.

Take for example Maris Piper for the chipping trade and Maris Piper for pre-packing. While the chipping market needs a high proportion of big tubers with a high dry matter, pre-pack crops need to be harvested earlier to get the best skin finish and too many growers are delaying bulking and skin-set by using too much nitrogen.

Jim also believes growers need to fully embrace the benefits of organic fertiliser applications.

There is a reluctance to accept, in many cases, that inorganic fertiliser applications can be substantially reduced when farmyard manure and other bulk organic fertilisers are applied, he explains.

It would be reassuring if we could demonstrate on the SPot farm how bold you can be when cutting back bagged fertiliser in the presence of applied organic material.

Cultivation is another area where fairly simple changes can make a significant difference to the crop yield.

'Reducing cultivations'

Spot Farm Scotland has already carried out some initial trials, the results of which will be released by December, and they will continue to investigate the role of reducing cultivations to help lower costs while increasing productivity.

Claire Hodge, AHDB Potatoes knowledge exchange manager, explains: We are examining areas such as removing secondary cultivation, reducing working depths and improving soil structure to see what we can change without compromising the friable, free-draining and non-compacted seed-beds that potatoes need.

Of course without high quality seed stock the entire potato industry would falter, which is why maintaining a reliable supply will be the third component of the 2017 programme.

Alistair Melrose, production manager at seed and ware merchants Wm Fraser, who chairs the AHDB Potatoes' Seed and Export Committee, says: Unfortunately there are several factors that can affect that reliability.

Spot Farm provides an opportunity for all sectors of the industry to work together and examine some of these factors, such as storage, handling, and transportation.

Kerr isnt daunted by the work ahead for Spot Farm Scotland. Im looking forward to it, and I think other growers are too.

We have had a lot of interest in the project, people are talking about it, and Im sure we will give them plenty more to talk about over the next three years.
The government has been urged to adopt policies that would make the UK more self-reliant as the future of Britain's post-Brexit farming system will come under the spotlight.

An event from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) saw some of the UK's most innovative farmers in Parliament discussing the issues they face yesterday.

The cross-party group of MPs and Peers is led by five co-Chairs: Daniel Zeichner MP, Jeremy Lefroy MP, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington and Countess of Mar, and Baroness Young of Old Scone.

The Group works to encourage the adoption of agroecological principles and policies within all relevant departments of government.

The APPG for Agroecology believes that Britains exit from the EU provides the opportunity to build a strategy for food and farming

Hosted by Jeremy Lefroy MP for Stafford and APPG for Agroecology co-chair, the event and exhibition Farmers in Parliament  Opportunity for Change took place on Wednesday.

"The UK now has the opportunity to take an agenda setting approach to its food and farming legislation and governance," said Mr Lefroy.

"It can adopt policies that would make us more self-reliant: enhance biodiversity, mitigate climate change, support small and family farmers, and encourage much-needed new entrants. We must make the most of this chance to craft a better framework and be wary of simply reinventing what we know."

'Food security one of the most pressing issues'

Some common themes emerged which reflect some of the greatest issues facing our world today: food security, environmental protection, sustainable production, individual and sector-wide economic resilience, and the call for a beefed-up government department  or a new independent agency  with the expertise and ability to lead as we navigate our new path.

Mr Lefroy said: "Food security is one of the most important, pressing issues facing the UK, particularly in a post-Brexit environment. Following agroecological principles is not inconsistent with this need, and should in fact enhance food security in the long term."

"The adoption of agroecological principles, policies and practices across all relevant departments of government will be key to building a 21st century food and farming policy that is economically rich and robust, while operating sustainably in the truest sense of the word.

"That is the discussion we hope to bring to the fore both with the APPG on Agroecologys post-Brexit food and farming briefing and our Farmers in Parliament event."

Farmers in Parliament 2016 features farmers, and food and farming NGOs from a diverse assortment of farms around the UK.

All sectors of the food industry are represented from dairy to traditional mixed farms, organic and community growing initiatives.

Those present have been selected because they illustrate the variety of ways in which agroecological, sustainable farming and food production may achieve financial viability.
Farmers are being warned to increase their security following the theft of seven quad bikes in Somerset in the space of five days.

The thieves stole five quad bikes from farms in the Cheddar and Axbridge area last weekend, while one was stolen near Taunton and the other from Bath on Monday.

Overnight on October 13 - 14 five vehicles were taken. A blue Yamaha was removed from a farmyard in Stretcholt, three quads were taken from an outbuilding near Axbridge and a red Honda quad was stolen from a farm outbuilding near Cheddar.

A policeman helps a farmer property mark and register a quad bike (Photo: Avon and Somerset Police)

The last one was fitted with a tracking device, which the victim was able to activate via their tracking company and officers managed to trace it to Weston-super-Mare and return it to its owner.

Avon and Somerset Police are warning farmers that thieves are targeting quad bikes and other similar machinery in the run-up to Christmas.

'Quad bikes are attractive to thieves'

Inspector Joanna Mines, from Avon and Somerset Police's Rural Crime Team, said: I know we repeat the message regularly regarding fitting tracking devices and I do realise that there is a cost element, which can be prohibitive to some people.

"However, out of all the quads stolen we have been able to locate and return the vehicle where a device was fitted, working and activated. This obviously also aids our investigation.

Quad bikes are attractive to thieves, so I would ask owners to make sure they employ some relatively simple crime prevention methods to minimise the risk of losing their vehicle and make life harder for thieves.

"Dont leave the keys in the vehicle, use a combination key box if multiple people need access to them, store them overnight in locked buildings, or box them in with other larger vehicles so they cant be moved If at all possible fit a tracker and/or an immobiliser.

The Rural Crime Team is now investigating the thefts and appealing for information from the public.

To pass on information call 101. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800-555111.
Police are continuing to urge horse owners to take immediate precautions to secure their tack, after a further theft in North Yorkshire.

Sometime overnight between 9pm on Sunday 16 October and 7am the following day, three properties were broken into on Main Street and Back Lane, Alne, near Easingwold, and horse tack and power tools stolen.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious or has any information that could assist police with the investigation should dial 101 and quote reference number 12160188664.

In the previous few weeks, a number of equestrian items have been stolen from premises in North Yorkshire - including saddles, girths, bridles, breastplates and numnahs - particularly in the southern area of the borough of Harrogate.

On Saturday 17 September, a large amount of tack was stolen from a tack room near Little Ribston.

Overnight on 21/22 September, outbuildings near Kirkby Overblow were targeted, and a number of items, including tack, were stolen.

Overnight on 27/28 September, stables near Tockwith were targeted, and small items stolen. The same night, stables near Askham Richard were broken into, with damage caused and a generator stolen.

On Monday 10 October, two saddles were taken in a burglary at North Deighton.

Serial numbers and registered properties

PC David Mackay, of North Yorkshire Polices Rural Taskforce, said: In light of these incidents, I am urging horse owners to take immediate steps to ensure tack is protected from thieves.

Make sure you have a record of any serial numbers, register your property, and be vigilant  report any suspicious activity to the police.

If someone offers you second-hand tack for sale, and it seems too good to be true, consider that you might be buying stolen property. Check serial numbers, and if in doubt, ask the person for proof of ownership.

PC Hannah McPeake, who co-ordinates the Horsewatch scheme, said: Preventing crime and deterring criminals is very important, and we are encouraging all equestrian businesses and horse owners to check their yard security and think carefully about how to protect their property.
Ireland's largest solar farm will now be able to fully power Ireland's biggest cheese plant.

The move will help Dale Farm, located in Northern Ireland, drive cost efficiencies for the Northern Ireland dairy producer.

Working with CES Energy, an international provider of renewable energy, Dale Farm will switch to solar power for much of the energy requirements at its cheese processing facility in Dunmanbridge.

Construction is due to start mid 2017 on the 37 acre site which will be made up of more than 18,000 solar modules.

Estimated to meet as much as a 20% of Dale Farms power needs, the 5MW solar farm will be connected directly to the private network of the business.

The scheme will also deliver considerable environmental gains. The vast energy reduction at the plant will save 2,460 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, the equivalent of taking 1,170 cars off the road.

'An important milestone'

"Solar electricity will aid the company in lowering our carbon footprint and in reducing our operating costs"

Tom Marren, Chief Executive at CES Energy, headquartered in Dublin, said the new solar farm is an important milestone for CES Energy which demonstrates the opportunities that solar energy presents for the island of Ireland.

This project continues CES Energys focus on financing on-site energy infrastructure projects which provide cost savings for our customers globally.

After nearly 20 years of delivering similar projects in Australia, Saudi Arabia and across the UK in the energy, water and waste sectors, we see it as a key solution for delivering cost efficiencies and reduced carbon for our customers.

The new scheme will guarantee over 20 years of low cost, green power at Dale Farms cheese processing site and enable significant savings for Northern Irelands leading dairy company.

Nick Whelan, Group Chief Executive at Dale Farm, said the company is breaking new ground with this venture:

Dale Farm is delighted to be leading the way in the global dairy industry by powering our site in County Tyrone with green energy.

This will not only be the largest of its kind on the island of Ireland  we understand it will be one of the most significant solar projects supplying renewable energy to dairy producers worldwide.

Dale Farm is committed to sustainability and the opportunity to procure solar electricity will aid the company in lowering our carbon footprint and in reducing our operating costs.

We recently invested 7 million to further expand our consumer cheddar products operation at Dunmanbridge, now one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in Europe.

The considerable savings delivered from solar power will be reinvested in the business to optimise efficiency across our processing plants, which ultimately adds to our ability to pay a higher milk price.

Our core objective is to ensure that we carry on building a strong and viable business for the future, which we can continue to be proud of, and this new development is most welcome.
What does a more efficient Caleb Love look like for the Tar Heels?
Transcription

1 CAMPAIGN NATIONAL LEADERSHIP SPRING 2014 An exclusive campaign publication for our leadership donors INSPIRING IMPACT HONORARY CHAIR Elie Wiesel NATIONAL CO-CHAIRS Tom A. Bernstein Lester Crown Chicago, IL Howard L. Ganek Palm Beach, FL William S. Levine Phoenix, AZ Jay Stein Jacksonville, FL Howard Unger REGIONAL CO-CHAIRS Elisa Spungen Bildner Montclair, NJ Howard Friend Chicago, IL Joseph Gutman Chicago, IL Howard Konar Rochester, NY Douglas R. Korn Susan E. Lowenberg San Francisco, CA Richard S. Price Chicago, IL Bradley D. Wine Washington, DC MUSEUM DIRECTOR Sara J. Bloomfield CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Jordan E. Tannenbaum A MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR LESTER CROWN Passing the Torch to New Generations Dear friends, Like many of you who have been involved from the beginning, I marvel at how the Museum assumed such an important role in American society and has growing influence globally. But our job is not done, hence this present campaign. Look around the world to understand the timeless relevance of this history and that everyone is susceptible to hate propaganda, especially through social media. This campaign is just as important as the one that built the Museum. The difference is it is more than a campaign of the eyewitness generation it must fully engage the next generation. We worry that new generations will not share our deep commitment. Yet, as I look to my younger cousin Jordan, I know the future of the Holocaust lessons is in good hands. He and so many of his generation are passionate about keeping the lessons of the Holocaust alive and preventing future atrocities in today s world. Now, the task is ensuring that Museum leaders of today and tomorrow have the resources so that the meaning of From left: Jordan Goodman, Chicago Next Gen co-chair, joins his cousin Lester Crown in launching the campaign at Chicago s flagship luncheon. the words Never Again is understood by every new generation. That is why, in addition to our increased annual support, our family made a major unrestricted gift to the endowment to enable the Museum to respond to whatever challenges may lie ahead. We trust that it will send a message to those who follow us. I hope each of you will consider joining us in this important endeavor. Lester Crown ushmm.org/campaign IN THIS ISSUE GIVING MATTERS Susan and William Levine: Teaching New Generations The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund: Investing in People SPOTLIGHT The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center AROUND THE NATION Coast-to-Coast Campaign Launch Events CAMPAIGN NEWS Museum Receives $10 Million Gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation for Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies Announcing the Friedkin Legacy Challenge

2 GIVING MATTERS TEACHING NEW GENERATIONS Susan and William Levine COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN GOAL By Museum s 25th Anniversary in 2018 $540 million $300M ANNUAL CAMPAIGN PROGRESS Gifts from October 1, 2009 April 18, 2014 $330 million $154M ANNUAL $200M ENDOWMENT $156M ENDOWMENT $40M CAPITAL $20M CAPITAL Bill Levine remembers the reason for his lifelong interest in understanding the Holocaust and why it happened. The Holocaust made an impact on my childhood when rabbis visited the yeshiva where I was a student and spoke tearfully of what was happening in Germany, explained Bill Levine. Only ten at the time, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt pleading for him to intervene and to save Jews. Although I took some action, I felt helpless. Little did I know that decades later, I would finally be able to truly make a difference through this Museum. Today, that letter is in the archives of the State Department and the Museum. It s not only that this Museum holds records ranging from a young American boy to those created by the Nazis, to the final heartbreaking words of the victims. It s what the Museum does with these treasures. Over a decade ago, Levine created the Ina Levine Scholar program in memory of his first wife. His goal was to ensure that researchers would take advantage of the Museum archives to produce new scholarship and teach new generations. The Levine scholars, noted academics coming from the United States and other countries, study wide-ranging topics on the Holocaust. My family and I are proud of the research and the many books and papers that have been published by the scholars. Levine and his wife, Susan, are supporting every campaign priority. In addition to their generous support of the annual fund and a $2 million legacy commitment to the endowment, they recently made a $2 million gift to help build the new Collections and Conservation Center. For the Levines, securing the evidence is a natural extension of their commitment to foster greater understanding of how the Holocaust was possible. Each piece of evidence in the hands of a scholar brings us one step closer to understanding why ordinary people actively participated in the horror of the Holocaust. Why is perhaps unanswerable, but we must never stop trying to understand. Above: The letter a 10-year-old Bill Levine wrote to President Roosevelt in 1942 asking him to try your very best to stop the manslaughter... Museum Director Sara Bloomfield shows Bill Levine and his daughter, Julie Levine Schoen, the rare Vilma Grunwald letter the only known artifact that gives us a sense of someone s state of mind before being sent to the gas chambers. 2 UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

3 CAMPAIGN UPDATE Recent Gifts The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is grateful to the following individuals who have made outright gifts of $1 million or more between April 29, 2013, and April 18, The David and Fela Shapell Family Foundation Beverly Hills, CA $15 million gift to name the Collections and Conservation Center The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation Cleveland, OH $10 million gift to name the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies From right: Alan Davis, president of the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund, and his wife, Mary Lou, meet with staff at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. INVESTING IN PEOPLE He established the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund to put those values into action. His parents were active supporters of the Museum from its inception. The recent gift of their namesake Fund in excess of $1 million sets in motion a series of challenge grants to incentivize an additional $4 million in matching endowment gifts with $1.5 million conditional Davis Fund contributions to follow. When fully realized, a total of $6.5 million will establish positions to direct the International Relations and Campus Outreach programs and two Genocide Prevention Fellowships in perpetuity. People, not organizations, are what make things happen, explained Davis, and the Museum assembles outstanding teams. The new positions will enable the Museum to expand its international presence and engagement on campuses, advancing new scholarship to deepen the understanding of why the Holocaust happened. The Center for the Prevention of Genocide fellowship program, the first of its kind, serves as an incubator for new genocide prevention initiatives. These fellowships are a two-fer, said Davis. First, you get highly qualified people to bring fresh perspectives to the Museum. Second, you create an opportunity for mostly early-career people to pursue their passion working in this field. The motivation in creating this innovative challenge was sparked by what Davis characterized as a Forest Hills, NY $5.3 million from charitable gift annuities to the endowment Anne and Isidore Falk Charitable Foundation The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund Alan Davis credits his parents for instilling in him a sense of justice and the understanding that privilege comes with responsibility. Rafael Feferman* $4 million gift to name the exhibition gallery for Remember the Children: Daniel s Story transformative visit that he and wife, Mary Lou, made through central and eastern Europe. What they witnessed led them to add tolerance as a major program area of the Davis Fund. We felt a new sense of urgency to act and turned to the one organization in this arena that has the wherewithal to do the greatest good. I believe the greatest enemy of good is the ignorance that leads to antisemitism, intolerance, and genocide. The Museum has programs in place and in development along with the clout to create relationships and break down barriers that can begin to whittle away at that ignorance. The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund San Francisco, CA $2.6 million challenge grant to establish positions to direct the International Relations and Campus Outreach programs and two Genocide Prevention Fellowships Recent Gifts continued on page 7 *Deceased With this gift the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund joins the Museum s prestigious Pillars of Memory Society, which recognizes cumulative gifts of $2 million or more. For more information on how you can participate in the Davis Fund Challenge, call Jordan Tannenbaum, Chief Development Officer, at or UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM 3

4 SPOTLIGHT Fela and David Shapell view rare collections with Scott Miller, director of Curatorial Affairs. The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center By preserving and displaying the physical evidence of the Holocaust, we enable the millions silenced by evil to bear witness forever to the truth of what happened to the Jewish people. David and Fela Shapell With their exceptional $15 million gift, Holocaust survivors David and Fela Shapell and their family are leading the effort to secure the collection of record on the Holocaust. For this family, actively preserving the evidence of the Holocaust goes straight to the heart of David Shapell s admonition to his children, grandchildren, and future generations to Zachor v lo tishkach to remember and not forget. The Shapells son Irv explained, Without evidence tangible, empirical, undeniable evidence memory withers. And without a facility to properly preserve the thousands of fragile artifacts, photographs, and documents in the Museum s vast collection, there will one day be no more evidence. With this generous lead gift, the Museum is underway with efforts to raise $40 million to build a Collections and Conservation Center. This center will permanently house and preserve the world s most comprehensive collection of Holocaust evidence in terms of the diversity of the artifacts and of the victims experiences. 4 UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

5 ss The Museum collection will double in size over the next decade. With at least 80,000 square feet, the Shapell Center incorporates planned expansion for the collection s growth. ss The Center is being designed with highly specialized laboratories, equipment, and climate-controlled environments required to preserve the wide variety of media and artifacts in the Museum s vast collection. ss The Center will serve as a vital hub of activity supporting global awareness and Holocaust education, including acquisition, preservation, and educational use of the collection. Survivors from Poland, David and Fela married in 1949 and immigrated to America so that their children would be born in a land of freedom and hope. Ultimately, they made their home in Los Angeles where David, along with his brother Nathan Shapell and brother-in-law Max Webb, built one of the most successful real estate development companies in California. In 1979, they made the first of many difficult trips back to Poland to visit the mass grave in David s hometown of Wolbrom where his family was murdered, and to Auschwitz where most of Fela s family was murdered. Almost every year since, a Shapell family member has gone to Wolbrom and to Auschwitz to say Kaddish and light memorial candles. The Shapells have been generous supporters of Holocaust education for decades, but as Irv explained, They recognize that new generations will increasingly learn about the Holocaust not from the survivors themselves, but from their stories and the artifacts that tell those stories. That is why we are so proud to help make possible this new Collections and Conservation Center that will make sure those stories can be told with power and authenticity forever. According to Michael Grunberger, director of Collections, building a state-of-the-art center like this is a major milestone. It will support and shape Holocaust education and scholarship in perpetuity. The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center is the most important building project the Museum will ever undertake, explained Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield. We are deeply grateful to the Shapell family for this outstanding leadership commitment. For more information on how you can join this historic effort, please call Allison Lurey, Campaign Director, at , or visit ushmm.org/shapellcenter. UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM 5

6 AROUND THE NATION Over the past 12 months, the coast-to-coast campaign launch events engaged thousands of Museum supporters in the call to keep Holocaust memory alive. TOP ROW: 20th Anniversary Tribute Dinner Honorary Campaign Chair Elie Wiesel addresses 3,500 supporters at the launch of the Museum s campaign to keep Holocaust memory alive for a constantly changing world. n Campaign National Co-chair Jay Stein SECOND ROW: Cleveland Luncheon Chair Ron Ratner n Father Patrick Desbois with Norma Lerner n Chicago National Leadership Award recipients Ann and Paul Krouse with their family n Luncheon chairs Joseph and Sheila Gutman Washington DC April 28, 2013 Cleveland May 20, 2013 BY THE NUMBERS 8,500 Number of Museum supporters who attended a campaign launch event $11.7 million New York October 30, 2013 Amount raised for launch events to support the Museum s annual fund, including 105 Leadership Circle gifts of $25,000 and more Los Angeles March 6, UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

7 CAMPAIGN UPDATE Recent Gifts The task is never over. With great imagination, with passion, and with fervor, we must begin again. Elie Wiesel Continued from page 3 The Klarman Family Foundation Boston, MA $2 million gift to name the paper conservation lab in the Shapell Collections and Conservation Center and a gift of $300,000 to the annual fund Susan and William S. Levine Phoenix, AZ $2 million gift to name a conservation lab in the Shapell Collections and Conservation Center and $100,000 to support the annual fund Chicago October 7, 2013 The William and Sheila Konar Fund Rochester, NY $1.5 million gift to the annual fund Deanie and Jay Stein Jacksonville, FL $1.5 million gift to endow the Director of International Relations position The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany $1.3 million gift to support archival acquisition and the Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos project Boca Raton January 27, 2014 Shelley and Allan Holt Washington, DC $1 million gift to the Center for the Prevention of Genocide to support digital engagement The Larch Foundation Portland, ME $1 million gift to help build the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center THIRD ROW: New York Museum Chairman Tom Bernstein presents National Leadership Award to Peter and Jill Kraus n Campaign National Co-chair Howard Unger n Boca Raton Next Gen Co-chairs (from left) Shelly Pechter Himmelrich and Julie Peyton Stein with her son Jesse n FOURTH ROW: Los Angeles Morgan Freeman narrates candlelighting ceremony honoring six survivor families, including (from left) Sara Lumer, Marilyn Ziering, and Mark Rubin. n National Leadership Award recipient Sir Ben Kingsley (middle) with event co-chairs (from left) Todd Morgan, Rosanna Arquette, and Janet and Lenny Rosenblatt COMING SOON: NEW ONLINE ANNUAL REPORT RECOGNIZING ALL 2013 CAMPAIGN GIFTS UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM 7

8 CAMPAIGN NEWS The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation Gives $10 Million to Ensure the Growth and Vitality of Holocaust Studies 2014 NANNETTEBEDWAY Learn more about ways to support The Campaign for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Visit ushmm.org/campaign Call All photos US Holocaust Memorial Museum unless otherwise indicated Cleveland s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, one of the country s leading philanthropies, has awarded the Museum $10 million to ensure the growth, vitality, and impact of Holocaust studies in the United States and abroad. The Mandel family generously helped establish the Museum in its early years, and now through this campaign gift they are helping us lay the foundation for the institution s future, ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, relevance, and understanding, said Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield. As the Holocaust recedes in time, keeping Holocaust memory alive will depend upon a dynamic field of study. The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies will be at the forefront of advancing new knowledge. We still have much to learn about the Holocaust, and the opportunities for scholars to enhance our understanding and enrich teaching about this critical subject are unparalleled. This gift will allow us to intensify our work with the next generation of scholars and pursue a number of strategic initiatives on understudied topics, said Paul Shapiro, director of the Mandel Center. The Museum and the field of Holocaust studies owe the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation an immense debt of gratitude for their support. We are pleased to place the Mandel name on the Museum s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, the world s principal venue for Holocaust scholarship. Foundation Chairman and CEO Morton Mandel (center) with brothers, from left, Joseph Mandel and the late Jack Mandel GENEVIEVE SHIFFRAR ANNOUNCING The Friedkin Legacy Challenge Mort and Amy Friedkin, San Francisco Through the establishment of their gift of up to $1 million, Amy and Mort Friedkin will match up to 10 percent of each new outright or planned gift to the Museum s endowment, with a maximum of $25,000 per gift. All qualifying gifts established or newly identified before April 30, 2015, are eligible. To learn more about how to make safeguarding truth for future generations your personal legacy, please contact George E. Hellman, JD, Director of Planned Giving and Endowments, at or Did you miss the last legacy challenge? DON T MISS THIS ONE. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are selling Chateau Miraval.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

The former couple are putting their vast estate and vineyard- where they tied the knot in 2014 - in the French village of Correns, up for sale.

A source told Us Weekly: "The home has been valued and is going on the market any day now."

The couple had been selling Jolie -Pitt wine produced at Chateau Miraval but they will be making changes to the product following their shock split.

The insider explained: "It currently says 'Jolie-Pitt' on the Chateau Miraval bottles, and the next season's batch will have a new reprinted label with no names written on it."

Another source said the pair are selling all of their joint property.

Meanwhile, it was revealed this week that Brad will not file a legal response to Angelina's divorce petition.

The 52-year-old actor was expected to file his own legal papers following the 42-year-old actress' filing in which she requested full physical custody of their six children - Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - but the deadline came and went without him or his legal representatives filing.

Brad reportedly refused to send off the paperwork because he believes a potentially nasty legal battle could cause psychological damage to their children.

A source close to the 'Fury' actor told website TMZ: "Brad wants joint legal and physical custody, but if he actually filed papers it would draw the battle lines. Angelina wants sole physical custody, setting up a possible custody war."

The 'Maleficent' star has the opportunity to start petitioning for a default judgment, but the publication has reported she won't let that happen, as she agrees that healing the family is the priority.
Gavin Rossdale hopes he is "half as good" as Gwen Stefani on 'The Voice'.

Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani

The pair split in 2015 after 13 years of marriage and Gavin recently landed a role on the UK version of the show, while Gwen featured on 'The Voice' in the US, and the rocker admitted he finds the whole situation "ironic".

He told The Sun: "She's really, really brilliant at that show. She's so natural at it. I hope that I'm just half as good as her.

"It's ironic and it's like nothing's surprising any more. She's so incredible at it. I've watched her."

Gavin, 50, plans to divide his time between London for 'The Voice' and Los Angeles, where his sons, Kingston, 10, Zuma, eight, and Apollo, two, are based.

He said: "I have basically done the schedule up until April, when this finishes, and put in when I have to be here for The Voice - then there's the kids. Other stuff goes in between."

However, being in London will allow Gavin to spend more time with his daughter Daisy Lowe, 27, is currently competing on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

He said: "Even more ironic is that I'm (on TV) on Saturday night and so is Daisy.

"Again, it's all crazy. I'm just in a state of shock most of my life!

"I'm just going to try to enjoy it. She's incredible, she has blown me away. I've been to see a few rehearsals."
Transcription

1 ENTSO-E AT A GLANCE RELIABLE. SUSTAINABLE. CONNECTED. European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity

2 2 ENTSO-E at a Glance

3 WHO IS ENTSO-E? ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators, represents 41 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) from 34 countries across Europe. ENTSO-E was established and given legal mandates by the EU s Third Legislative Package for the Internal Energy Market in 2009, which aims at further liberalising the gas and electricity markets in the EU. ENTSO-E promotes closer cooperation across Europe s TSOs to support the implementation of EU energy policy and achieve Europe s energy & climate policy objectives, which are changing the very nature of the power system. The main objectives of ENTSO-E centre on ensuring security of supply and system reliability, the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar power into the power system, and the completion of the in ternal energy market, which, in turn, is central to meeting the European Union s energy policy objectives of affordability, sustainability and security of supply. ENTSO-E contributes to the achievement of these objectives mainly through the drafting of network codes; the development of paneuropean network plans (TYNDPs); the technical cooperation between TSOs; the publication of summer and winter outlook reports for electricity generation, and the coordination of R&D plans. ENTSO-E aims to be the focal point for all technical, market and policy issues relating to TSOs and the European network, inter facing with power system users, EU institutions, regulators and national governments. ENTSO-E is entirely funded through membership fees paid to the association by its member TSOs. Its annual budget for 2014 was 17.7 million Euro. ENTSO-E is an association (AISBL), established according to Belgian law in Through these deliverables, ENTSO-E is helping to build the world s largest electricity market, the benefits of which will not only be felt by all those in the energy sector but also by Europe s overall economy, today and into the future. ENTSO-E at a Glance 3

4 WHY ENTSO-E? In the early 2000s, Europe s leaders realised that the liberalisation of Europe s energy markets had made only limited progress and that the objectives had not yet been achieved. This left energy markets with uncompetitive gas and electricity prices and persistent barriers to entry for newcomers, thus limiting the possibilities to exercise customer choice. Ensuring security of supply, the completion of the internal energy market and significant increase in power generation from renew able energy sources and their integration required much closer cooperation of those organisations that develop and operate the transmission grid the backbone of the power system. A commitment by EU leaders to the 2020 energy objectives in March 2007 was a turning point for the European power systems and all market participants. To facilitate this, policy makers therefore adopted the Third Energy Package in 2009, which in turn, created the ENTSOs for gas and electricity (i.e. ENTSO-E and ENTSOG) and the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). A 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels; R aising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renew able resources to 20%; A 20% improvement in the EU s energy efficiency. 4 ENTSO-E at a Glance

5 ENTSO-E S OFFICIAL MANDATES THE THIRD ENERGY PACKAGE The Third Energy Package is a set of two European directives and three regulations. The Regulation that stipulates ENTSO-E s tasks and responsibilities is Regulation (EC) No 714/2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity. The regulation sets out ENTSO-E s responsibilities in enhancing the cooperation between its 41 member TSOs across the EU to assist in the development of a pan-european electricity transmission network in line with European Union energy policy goals. These include: e nsuring the secure and reliable operation of the increasingly complex network; facilitating cross-border network development and the integration of RES; enhancing the creation of the Internal Electricity Market (IEM). To achieve these, the Regulation provides ENTSO-E with a tool box of tasks and responsibilities, including network codes, infrastructure planning and adequacy forecasts. Transparency Regulation (EU) No. 543/2013 on submission and publication of data in electricity markets (Transparency Regulation) came in force in June It requires ENTSO-E to redesign and significantly upgrade its existing transparency platform ( ENTSO-E s new central information platform will be operational in January 2015, providing fundamental market data on generation, load, transmission, out ages, balancing, etc. TEN-E GUIDELINES Regulation (EU) 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-european energy infrastructure came in force in April The Regulation defines European Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), which are electricity projects that have significant benefits for at least two Member States. It also stipulates that ENTSO-E s tenyear network development plan (TYNDP) be the sole basis for the selection of PCIs. ENTSO-E is also mandated to develop a corresponding cost-benefit methodology for the assessment of transmission infrastructure projects. INTER-TSO COMPENSATION MECHANISM Regulation (EU) 838/2010 on guidelines relating to the inter-tso compensation mechanism sets out the compensation methodology TSOs receive for the costs incurred as a result of hosting cross-border flows of electricity. In compensating TSOs for these costs, the mechanism aims to incentivise the hosting of cross-border flows and facilitate the creation of an effectively competitive pan-european electricity market. ENTSO-E at a Glance 5

6 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Stakeholder contributions play an essential part in the development of all main ENTSO-E deliverables, including network codes, network development plans, work programmes and R&D roadmaps. Consultation with stakeholders is far more than a mandatory requirement stakeholder expertise is indispensable to draft sound, well critiqued and acceptable proposals. Stakeholder engagement is ensured through numerous informal meetings with individual stakeholders or stakeholder groups, and formal web-based consultations and consultation workshops. ENTSO-E IN FIGURES 41 transmission system operators across 34 European The geographical area covered by ENTSO-E member TSOs is going beyond the EU countries This corresponds to the world s biggest economic area, roughly on par with the USA 6 ENTSO-E at a Glance 532 million customers served by the represented TSOs

7 307,503 km of transmission lines managed by TSOs required to keep the lights on in Europe which, if laid out would circle the earth s circumference more than 7 times 3,307.9 TWh electricity consumption in 2013 This accounts for almost 15% of the world s total electricity consumption in ) 387,251 GWh of electricity exchange between This is over 4 times the yearly production capacity of the largest power plant in the world the Three Gorges Dam in China 2) member TSOs in 2013 This is roughly as much as in the US or China and one fifth of the world s installed generation capacity 3) 1,004,062 MW net generation capacity 1) Based on figures from the World Energy Council, World Energy Sources Survey ) Based on figures from 3) Based on figures from ENTSO-E at a Glance 7

8 ENTSO-E S KEY DELIVERABLES PAN-EUROPEAN TRANSMISSION NETWORK PLANS ENTSO-E s Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) identifies the investment needs for the electricity transmission systems at a pan-european scale. The TYNDP package is supported by six detailed Regional Investment Plans as well as the Scenario Outlook and Adequacy Forecast (SO&AF). The TYNDP ensures greater transparency regarding the entire European electricity transmission network to support decision-making process at regional and European levels, and is also the sole basis for the selection of EU projects of common interest (PCIs). 8 ENTSO-E at a Glance ENTSO-E updates the non-binding TYNDP every two years, continuously improving its methodology. The 2014 TYNDP describes the strengthening of the European power grid planned until 2030 as the most cost-efficient and secure way to integrate up to 60% of renewable energy, depending on the scenario. The plan includes rigorous cost-benefit analyses to ensure each of the 120 transmission projects provides more benefits to consumers and citizens than they cost. ADEQUACY FORECASTS ENTSO-E publishes annual summer and winter generation outlooks, as well as a longterm system adequacy forecast that look 15 years into the future the Scenario Outlook & Adequacy Forecast (SO&AF).

9 The ENTSO-E outlook reports present the views of Europe s TSOs regarding national or regional security of supply for the summer and winter periods, and highlight possibilities for neighbouring countries to contribute to the generation/demand balance in critical situations. The SO&AF analyses the adequacy of the pan-european power system through an overview of generation adequacy from all ENTSO-E members, for regions and for individual countries at a mid- and long-term time horizon. ENTSO-E s SO&AF 2014, was released as part of the TYNDP 2014 package in July with a time horizon for its adequacy analyses to NETWORK CODES ENTSO-E s network codes are a set of rules drafted by ENTSO-E, with guidance from ACER, to facilitate the harmonisation, integration and efficiency of the European electricity market. ENTSO-E s network codes are grouped in three overarching areas: C ONNECTION CODES: connecting electricity generators, demand and DC lines to the transmission grids O PERATIONAL CODES: governing how the pan-european electricity systems are operated MARKET CODES: facilitating and harmonising electricity trading across European borders Under formal development since 2011, each code takes 12 months to draft, following an ACER framework guideline for the policy choices. Following ACER s opinion and recommendation for adoption, each code is submitted to the EC for approval through the Comitology process, i.e. to be voted on by Member State representatives and thus become EU law, directly binding and to be implemented across all Member States. More detailed information on the aims and current status of ENTSO-E s ten network codes can be found on our dedicated network codes website networkcodes.entsoe.eu. ENTSO-E at a Glance 9

10 ELECTRICITY MARKET TRANSPARENCY One of the key contributors to the achievement of the internal energy market (IEM) is ENTSO-E s Central Information Transparency Platform which will be significantly upgraded in January 2015, providing many more fundamental market data on generation, load, transmission, outages, balancing, etc. than now. These data will be published ex-post, but within short delays (some data within the hour). This platform will enable the provision of the required market information for the future and further facilitate the development of efficient and competitive energy markets across Europe. Such developments support the steady evolution of electricity markets across Europe in terms of integration, competition, liquidity and transparency. Transparency has improved markedly over the past few years, partly thanks to ENTSO-E s existing Transparency Platform, operational since 2006, which publishes already many data items of great interest to market participants on a daily basis. ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME ENTSO-E s Annual Work Programme shows how codes, network plans, innovation and TSO cooperation combine with market and policy contributions to chart a path through today s large energy system uncertainties. The 2015 work programme includes sections on strategy and resources, to put ENTSO-E s contributions into the perspective of Europe s energy goals. 10 ENTSO-E at a Glance Due to the importance of the network codes for the European electricity market and system, the work programme contains a separate network code chapter. Other chapters address R&D, system development, system operations, market and other activities. TSO COOPERATION TSO cooperation has been a reality for many decades and forms the basis of most ENTSO-E activities. ENTSO-E develops a range of tools to ensure the secure operation of Europe s interconnected transmission grids. Most importantly, this includes the ENTSO-E Awareness System (EAS) and Regional Security Coordination Initiatives (RSCIs). The EAS delivers a pan-european view of the network. When a disturbance occurs in a particular country, TSOs coordinate their responses to restore the system to a normal operating state. To support them in doing this rapidly and efficiently, the EAS provides a real-time view of the energy flows and state of the network across the whole of Europe and is an essential collaborative tool for TSOs in 32 countries to increase European consumers security of supply. The work of regional security coordination groups such as Coreso (Coordination of Electricity System Operators), SSC (Security Service Centre) and TSC (Transmission System Operator Security Cooperation), as well as initiatives through MIBEL (Mercado Iberico de Energia Electrica) and Nordic organisations continue to improve the security of the overall network and maximise the transmission capacity available to market participants.

11 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (R&D) R&D at the TSO-level plays a crucial role in Europe s ability to meet its low carbon objectives and the ENTSO-E R&D Roadmap provides the ENTSO-E vision on grid projects to be carried out by TSOs to meet these. The roadmap is supported by the annual R&D Implementation Plan which combines both top-down and bottom-up approaches in meeting the requirements of the roadmap and also reflects the upcoming needs and priorities of TSOs and other stakeholders. This plan also serves as the backdrop for developing calls for proposals under the European Energy Research and Innovation (EERI) Programme and also provides input for initiatives by the European Commission, the European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI), technology providers and other stakeholders. For large parts of this work, ENTSO-E cooperates very closely with the distribution system operators (EDSO for Smart Grids), for example on smart grids. In addition to these publications ENTSO-E also publishes, annually, an R&D Monitoring Report which assesses the progress of TSOrelated R&D work and allows ENTSO-E to monitor its progress against the targets set out in the R&D Roadmap R&D in the TSO domain focuses on the integration of new network technologies, pan-european standardisation of system modelling, operations and data exchange, and the exchange of knowledge. HISTORICAL DATA & STATISTICS ENTSO-E collects and collates a wide range of historical data sets and figures on power systems of member TSOs, including production, consumption, cross-border exchanges and network components. These are published periodically on ENTSO-E s website Data Portal, and in monthly and yearly publications such as the Statistical Factsheet and the Yearly Statistics & Adequacy Retrospect. ENTSO-E at a Glance 11

12 WHO ARE TSOs? Transmission System Operators (TSOs) are responsible for the bulk transmission of electric power on the main high voltage electric networks. TSOs provide grid access to the electricity market players (i. e. generating companies, traders, suppliers, distributors and directly connected customers) according to non-discriminatory and transparent rules. Country Austria To ensure security of supply, TSOs also guarantee the safe operation and maintenance, and the planning of the system. In many countries, TSOs are in charge of the development of the grid infrastructure too. TSOs in the European Union internal electricity market are entities operating independently from the other electricity market players (unbundling). Greece Company Austrian Power Grid AG Vorarlberger Ubertragungsnetz GmbH Nezavisni operator sustava u Bosni i Hercegovini Elia System Operator SA Electroenergien Sistemen Operator EAD Swissgrid ag Cyprus Transmission System Operator CEPS a.s. TransnetBW GmbH TenneT TSO GmbH Amprion GmbH 50Hertz Transmission GmbH Energinet.dk Elering AS Red Electrica de Espana S.A. Fingrid OyJ Reseau de Transport d'electricite National Grid Electricity Transmission plc System Operator for Northern Ireland Ltd Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Limited Scottish Power Transmission plc Independent Power Transmission Operator S.A. Abbr. APG VUN NOS BiH Elia ESO Swissgrid Cyprus TSO CEPS TransnetBW TenneT GER Amprion 50Hertz Energinet.dk Elering AS REE Fingrid RTE National Grid SONI SHETL SPTransmission IPTO Croatia Croatian Transmission System Operator Ltd. HOPS Bosnia and Herzegovina Belgium Bulgaria Switzerland Cyprus Czech Republic Germany Denmark Estonia Spain Finland France United Kingdom 12 ENTSO-E at a Glance

13 Country Company Abbr. Hungary MAVIR Magyar Villamosenergia-ipari Atviteli Rendszeriranyito Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag MAVIR ZRt. Ireland EirGrid plc EirGrid Iceland Landsnet hf Landsnet Italy Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA Terna Lithuania Litgrid AB Litgrid Luxembourg Creos Luxembourg S.A. Creos Luxembourg Latvia AS Augstsprieguma tikls Augstsprieguma tikls Montenegro Crnogorski elektroprenosni sistem AD CGES AD FYR of Macedonia Macedonian Transmission System Operator AD MEPSO Netherlands TenneT TSO B.V. TenneT NL Norway Statnett SF Statnett Poland PSE S.A. PSE Portugal Rede Electrica Nacional, S.A. REN Romania C.N. Transelectrica S.A. Transelectrica Serbia JP Elektromreza Srbije EMS Sweden Svenska Kraftnat Svenska Kraftnat Slovenia Elektro Slovenija, d.o.o. ELES Slovak Republic Slovenska elektrizacna prenosova sustava, a.s. SEPS ENTSO-E at a Glance 13

14 IE GB LV DK NL LT RU PL NL MA RO BG TN AL DZ GR PL DE LU CZ BY The geographical area covered byfr ENTSO-E s DERU member TSOs is divided into five synchrolu nous areas and two CZ isolated systems (Cyprus and Iceland). Synchronous groups SKareas areua-w BY of countries which ATare connected via their CH respective power HUThe system frept ES systems. quency (50 Hz,SI with usually very minor deviro HR ations) is synchronous within each area and a disturbance at one single RS in the area BA point UA will be registered across the entire zone. InA-W IT BG MEare interconnec dividual synchronous areas MD MK ted through direct current interconnectors. LV BE IS BY RU BE The benefits of synchronous areas include: CH HU GR TN GB TR  synchronous w Irish synchronous CY area Nordic synchronous area Isolated systems of Cyprus and Iceland Isolated systems CYof Cyprus and Iceland TR IE Baltic synchronous area Irish synchronous area MD SI HR g eneration pooling, resulting in lower RO UA generation costs; RS BA common provisioning of reserves, resultmd ing in IT cheaper reserve power inme costs (forbg stance in case of a disturbance or outage); MK mutual assistance in the event of AL disturbances. British synchronous area British synchronous area UA UA-W SK AT Continental European synchronous area TR RU LT RU EE SYNCHRONOUS AREAS EE LV DK  synchronous w  f r om S e p t e mb connection wit  synchronous with the continental European system  synchronous with the Baltic system  from September planned t r ial par allel interconnection with the continental European system FR  synchronous with the continental European system  synchronous with the Baltic system  from September planned tr ial par allel interconnection with the continental European system PT ES MA 14 ENTSO-E at a Glance DZ Continental European synchronous area

15 NO SE FI EE LV DK RU LT RU BY NL PL BE DE LU CZ AT CH UA UA-W SK MD HU SI HR RO RS BA IT BG ME MK AL GR TR CY TN British synchronous area  synchronous withentso-e the continental European system at a Glance 15  synchronous with the Baltic system

16 MAJOR ENTSO-E PUBLICATIONS Publication Annual Report 2013 Overview Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2014 The TYNDP provides information on pan-european investments in electricity transmission systems to support policy, generation and grid decision-making processes at regional and European levels. Biennial Q4, in even years Yearly Statistics & Adequacy Retrospect 2012 The YS&AR report provides a range of figures on members' power systems including production, consumption, crossborder exchanges & network components. Annually Q2 R&D Roadmap The R&D Roadmap lays the groundwork for the upcoming electricity highways, smart grids and for the change to a lowcarbon electricity system. Every four years Q1/Q2 Monthly Statistics Reports ENTSO-E s Monthly Statistics provide basic figures on power systems of member TSOs, including production, consumption and cross-border exchanges. Monthly R&D Implementation Plan The Implementation Plan defines short-term R&D activities and gives practical implementation details for the ensuing three years. Annually Q4 The ENTSO-E Annual Work Programme Outlook Reports The Work Programme represents ENTSO-E s priorities and major deliverables. Annually Q4 The ENTSO-E Outlook Reports present the views of Europe s electricity TSOs regarding national or regional security of supply for the summer and winter periods. Biannually Q2 & Q4 European Transmission Tariffs ENTSO-E's Overview of Transmission Tariffs in Europe analyses the design, structure and level of transmission tariffs in more than 30 countries. Annually Q3 Electricity in Europe Electricity in Europe provides a brief analysis in text and graphics of the major provisional electricity transmission statistics and trends from the previous year. Annually Q2 R&D Monitoring Report The Monitoring Report assesses the progress of TSO-related research and development (R&D) work within the R&D Roadmap Annually Q4 Statistical Factsheet The Statistical Factsheet provides updated essential information and data on ENTSO-E and its 41 member TSOs in a handy format. Annually Q2 Scenario Outlook & Adequacy Forecast The Scenario Outlook & Adequacy Forecast analyses the mid- and long-term generation adequacy of the pan-european ENTSO-E interconnected power system. Annually Q2 16 ENTSO-E at a Glance The 2013 Annual Report highlights TSO cooperation and updates on the status of network codes, infrastructure development through the TYNDP, market integration and R&D. Frequency Annually Q2

17 ENTSO-E GOVERNANCE President Nick Winser, National Grid, United Kingdom Chairperson, System Operations Committee Carlo Sabelli, Terna, Italy Vice President Damjan Medimorec, HOPS, Croatia Chairperson, Market Committee Pascale Fonck, Elia, Belgium Chairman of the Board Pierre Bornard, RTE, France Chairperson, Research & Development Committee Jean Verseille, RTE, France Vice Chairperson of the Board Bente Hagem, Statnett SF, Norway Chairperson, Legal & Regulatory Group Anne Elisabeth Wedum, Statnett SF, Norway Chairperson, System Development Committee Joao da Silva Ricardo, REN, Portugal ENTSO-E at a Glance 17

18 CONTACT ENTSO-E ENTSO-E European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity Avenue de Cortenbergh Brussels Belgium Phone: Fax: Website: IMPRINT For more detailed information: Major Projects: Major Publications: major-publications/ Data Portal: Central Transparency Platform: Publisher : ENTSO-E aisbl, Avenue de Cortenbergh Brussels Belgium Design & Layout : DreiDreizehn Werbeagentur, Berlin Photos : 50Hertz (p. 1), EirGrid (p. 1), ENTSO-E (p. 1, 2, 17, 19), Terna (p. 1), National Grid (p. 4), Fotolia (p. 8), Charlie Fawell (p. 11), TenneT B.V. (p. 13) Publishing date : September 2014 Network Codes: 18 ENTSO-E at a Glance May not be reproduced without prior permission from ENTSO-E.

19 ENTSO-E at a Glance 19

20 Contact ENTSO-E AISBL Avenue de Cortenbergh Brussels Belgium Tel Fax entsoe.eu European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity
UL, a global safety science organisation, has officially opened its new Consumer and Retail Services (CRS) testing laboratory in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art laboratory expands capacity in the region to test several products including textiles, footwear, and accessories for compliance with a variety of safety and performance-related requirements.

UL, a global safety science organisation, has officially opened its new Consumer and Retail Services (CRS) testing laboratory in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art laboratory expands capacity in the region to test several products including textiles, footwear, and accessories for compliance with a variety of safety and performance-related requirements.#

UL's first consumer product testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City spans over 1,300 square metres, and provides capacity to deliver on Vietnam's global supply chain aspirations. UL will serve as an effective partner to local Vietnamese and multinational manufacturers by working along with Quatest III, a leading Vietnamese laboratory under the ministry of science and technology.

UL, a global safety science organisation, has officially opened its new Consumer and Retail Services (CRS) testing laboratory in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art laboratory expands capacity in the region to test several products including textiles, footwear, and accessories for compliance with a variety of safety and performance-related requirements.#

The new laboratory marks a milestone in UL's regional business expansion for testing, inspection and audit services. We have seen an increased need in global consumer testing services and strategically, we want to be where our clients need us to be, said Sajeev Jesudas, president of UL Consumer Business. Vietnam is an essential country to be in as we expand our footprint for consumer testing services in the Asean region.

UL, a global safety science organisation, has officially opened its new Consumer and Retail Services (CRS) testing laboratory in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art laboratory expands capacity in the region to test several products including textiles, footwear, and accessories for compliance with a variety of safety and performance-related requirements.#

Vietnam's leadership has likewise committed to a path of reforms  administrative, regulatory, and trade  that provide a strong foundation for innovation and entrepreneurism to flourish, said UL CEO and US-Asean Business Council chairman Keith Williams. And UL is pleased that investments and partnerships such as this one will help accelerate the Vietnam manufacturing base's overall contributions to global trade and supply chains.

UL, a global safety science organisation, has officially opened its new Consumer and Retail Services (CRS) testing laboratory in Vietnam. The state-of-the-art laboratory expands capacity in the region to test several products including textiles, footwear, and accessories for compliance with a variety of safety and performance-related requirements.#

The new laboratory opening follows the recent acquisition of US based Consumer Testing Laboratories (CTL) to further expand UL capacity for consumer testing services. Together with Quatest III, the collaboration enables UL to provide technical training that deepens Vietnam's scientific excellence and that builds out capacity in such soft skills areas as communications and problem-solving. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Woolmark Company, a global authority on wool, is organising Wool Runway, a design competition for tertiary Indian students that will give them a chance to design a wool outfit for a premium fashion brand. The students participating in the competition will also get an opportunity to be mentored by Gautam Vazirani, fashion curator at IMG Reliance.

Indias fashion universities like National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Pearl Academy and National Institute of Design will be a part of Wool Runway. It will provide students with great exposure, financial support and an internship offer.

The design competition is a platform for students to challenge their ability and will provide three talented students with exposure to the world market and international recognition, said the organisation. It aims to educate the next generation of wool consumers and inspire emerging fashion designers to work with merino wool.

The Woolmark Company, a global authority on wool, is organising Wool Runway, a design competition for tertiary Indian students that will give them a chance to design a wool outfit for a premium fashion brand. The students participating in the competition will also get an opportunity to be mentored by Gautam Vazirani, fashion curator at IMG Reliance.#

Students need to create a wool look that best displays their ability as a fashion designer for the competition. With Australian wool as the muse, each garment is required to constitute at least 80 per cent wool. Each outfit will have to be accompanied by a design documentation including a mood board, creative statement, design illustration and a technical sketch.

Participating students will engage with wool whilst their teachers showcase the fibres properties, natural benefits and its place in contemporary fashion.

Through the Wool Runway we wish to encourage the new generation to consider the range of roles and career paths available within the global wool industry. In this endeavour we are trying to educate tertiary students on the wool industry and the endless possibilities of working with the fibre. We want to accommodate talented students with befitting industry experiences and offer them a nurturing platform to innovate with their designs, said Arti Gudal, The Woolmark Companys country manager for India.

It is a phenomenal competition for aspiring students who wish to gain international exposure and further their understanding in design. I am sure that Wool Runway will develop Gen Next talent, commented Karunesh Vohra, creative director, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle and jury member of the competition.

The Woolmark Company is a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation, a not-for-profit enterprise owned by more than 24,000 woolgrowers. It works towards highlighting Australian wools position as the ultimate natural fibre and premier ingredient in luxury apparel. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Renowned Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson along with her husband, Romain Dauriac, are all set to open a gourmet popcorn shop in the heart of Paris, this weekend.

The 31-year-old Avengers actress is excited to finally turn her dream into reality. She said she always wanted to open a food store in Europe and bring the American delicacies to the people here.

She said that she has chosen the Marais area of the city for now, to start the chain.

"It has been a dream of mine and my family for several years to bring our favorite American snack to our favorite European City!" Johansson said in a statement while talking to the press.

"I am so excited to introduce Yummy Pop, a labor of love and Epicurean enthusiasm. My hope is for Yummy Pop to become a Parisian snacking staple and a symbol of friendship between my two most beloved cities, Paris and New York." Johansson added further.

Johansson also added that she has chosen Paris for opening her popcorn shop mainly because of her journalist husband Romain Dauriac, is a citizen of Paris.

A source close to Johansson revealed that the Paris popcorn shop will however, be closed shortly after the opening so that "they can fine tune everything with what they learn from customers before the grand opening, which is likely to be before the end of the year."
Sony TV's show Beyhadh has already impressed the audiences. The show stars Kushal Tandon, Jennifer Winget and Aneri Vajani in the lead roles. It is different from saas-bahu drama.

Kushal Tandon plays the role of Arjun, while Jennifer Winget is seen as his boss with full of attitude, Maya. Jennifer plays the negative role for the first time. Aneri plays the role of Saanjh, who is Arjun best friend. The show has got 0.8 ratings and is 'Top 1 Fiction Show' on SonyTV. Kushal took to social media to thank his fans.



Kushal thanked his fans for their love for him as well as for the show, "Thanku u so much for giving so much love to #Beyhadh #arjun ..... shall keep U guys glued from start to finish that's a promise from team Beyhadh a show in making with a lot of hard work and prayers ...."

He further wrote, "Motive is To change the concept of kitchen politics and snakes  ... I hope it works like west .... It's high time we all need a change."

Earlier, Kushal had congratulated the team for the achievement. He shared a picture snapped with the producer and wrote, "@vj7861 @faryalsingh for #Beyhadh Is 0.8 Top 1 Fiction Show on @SonyTV Big Congratulation All team  @KushalT2803 @jenwinget @aneri_vajani ......."



The actor further wrote, "Celebrating it with my producer come frien come brother come confidant Vijay ..... Inbetween if I had a dollar 4 every time I've listened to closer , I could probably afford that rover .... Baby now tho v have to get older ."

We congratulate the team, and hope the show continues to entertain the audiences.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Jim Beam employees have ended a nearly week-long strike at two Jim Beam plants in Kentucky. The employees reached a settlement on the new contract after the primary demand to hire more full-time staff was agreed. The latest contract was agreed on a 204-19 vote. Whiskey production wil begin on Monday, said United Food and Commercial Workers union official Tommy Ballard. Jim Beam, which is the world's largest bourbon producer, had to stop production on last Saturday at two of its facilities in Clermont and Boston after 252 of its employees started a strike after contract negotiations failed. One of the primary demand was for to hire more workers so that current workers will not be required to work up to 80 hours a week and spend more time with their families. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SAN RAMON, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/22/16 -- Today is Make a Difference Day and TRI Pointe Homes Northern California is doing its part to make a difference at Alameda County Community Food Bank. The Food Bank serves 1 in 5 Alameda County residents by distributing food through a network of 240 food pantries, soup kitchens, day care centers and other organizations.

"Make a Difference Day is all about getting involved in your local community," said Susan Cleary, Marketing Manager, TRI Pointe Homes. "Alameda County Community Food Bank does an incredible job of supporting our community and our staff enjoyed the opportunity to come together and be a part of its outreach."

Make A Difference Day was established in 1992 to inspire people no matter their age or background to seek out imaginative ways to engage and support their communities. Since its inception, thousands of projects take place every October, some large, many small, but each effort makes an important difference to the local communities.

"We serve 116,000 children, adults and seniors every month -- an effort that's only made possible through the passion and hard work of our volunteers," said Michael Altfest, Associate Director of Communications and Marketing for Alameda County Community Food Bank. "We're extremely grateful to the large group of TRI Pointe Homes employees who dedicated time to making a difference. Their efforts helped us package and prepare the equivalent of nearly 14,200 meals for our community in a single volunteer shift! Partners like TRI Pointe Homes are critical in our pursuit of a hunger-free community."

Since 1985, Alameda County Community Food Bank has been at the forefront of hunger relief efforts in the Bay Area. This year it was named Food Bank of the Year by Feeding America, the nation's network for food banks. For more information about Alameda County Community Food bank, visit www.accfb.org.

With a growing number of new home communities throughout Northern California, TRI Pointe Homes, Inc. is a member of TRI Pointe Group (NYSE: TPH), headquartered in Irvine, California. The company is one of the top 10 largest public homebuilders by equity market capitalization in the United States, supported by the significant resources, economies of scale and thoughtful leadership of a national foundation. Additional information is available at http://www.tripointehomes.com/norcal.

Contact:

Fran Bangert

Kovach Marketing

714-335-9646

Email Contact




Obama was in Miami Thursday, lying to low-info Democratic voters in order to paint Patrick Murphy-- a Republican masquerading as a quasi-Democrat-- as some kind of a progressive. Murphy doesn't have a progressive bone in his body and when he got to Congress, he immediately joined the New Dems and ran up one of the worst voting records of any Democrat in the House, voting with the GOP countless times, even once to remove Obama from the Keystone XL Pipeline decision-making, once to condemn Obama for the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap and once to set up the witch hunt against Hillary Clinton via the so-called Benghazi Committee. But Murphy's slimy financial backers are promising big bucks to Obama's Presidential Library Committee if he can get the hapless and undeserving Murphy into the Senate. Pretty scummy, huh? That's establishment politics.

As you may recall, that last May we started looking into the family of Saudi billionaire Nasser Al-Rashid, one of the most powerful advisors to the Saudi royal family. Nasser gave between a million and 5 million dollars to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library Fund. His 4 sons have been very strategically funding the career of Patrick Murphy and the careers of sleazy congressmembers like Wasserman Schultz, Steve Israel, Ami Bera, Joe Garcia, Alcee Hastings and other members with notoriously corrupt reputations, willing to sign on to Team Murphy.

Yesterday Brent Scher, writing for right-wing mouthpiece, the, brought up Murphy's Saudi connections . "Florida Democrat Patrick Murphys political coordination," he wrote, "with a wealthy Saudi Arabian who has been accused of orchestrating an illegal straw donor scheme to support Murphy began prior to Murphys official entrance into politics." Abraham Al-Rashid went to a private prep school in New Jersey, the Lawrenceville School, and the Saudi family worked hard for years to get the simpleminded and drunken Murphy into Congress and onto the House Intelligence Committee. And the Saudis started before Murphy even ran for office.

Campaign finance records indicate that Murphy and al-Rashid made political donations in tandem as part of an effort to gain favor with prominent Florida Democrats whose support Murphy needed to launch his political career.





The large donations to Florida Democrats occurred early in 2011 after Murphy hired a political consultant to map out a congressional run.





On January 20 and January 21, 2011, Murphy and his father each contributed $2,400 to Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.). Budman, al-Rashids wife, made an identical $2,400 contribution to Nelson on January 20, with homemaker listed as her occupation on the report.





A week later, on January 27, Murphy and his father each contributed $4,800 to Florida Rep. Ted Deutch (D.). Al-Rashid and Budman made identical $4,800 contributions to Deutch that day.





The following week, on February 2, Murphy contributed $4,800 to Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D.). Al-Rashid and Budman also donated the maximum to Wasserman Schultz that day.





Wasserman Schultz benefited from additional $2,400 contributions from al-Rashids two brothers, Mohammed al-Rashid [who uses the fake name "Moose" when he makes many contributions] of Los Angeles, California, and Salman al-Rashid of Austin, Texas.





In a single week in February, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee received $30,000 from Ibraham al-Rashid, $3,500 from Mohammed al-Rashid [Moose], $2,500 from Salmon al-Rashid, and $2,000 from Murphy.





The Senate Leadership Fund, which filed the straw donor complaint that is now being reviewed by the Federal Election Committee, said in a statement to the Free Beacon that the coordinated donations are further evidence that Murphy was aware of al-Rashids straw donor operation.





Patrick Murphy may try and separate himself from the apparent straw donor scheme that helped launch his political career, but this new revelation seems to show he was 100 percent involved with that political money laundering scam, said Ian Prior, a spokesman for the group.





The complaint laid out evidence that a network of donors was contributing the maximum allowed amount of money to both Murphy and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (D.) on behalf of al-Rashid.





Al-Rashid is the son of a Saudi Arabian billionaire who has donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation.





The complaint identified a number of donors in Pennsylvania who were related to al-Rashid through Budman who made large contributions to Murphy and Crist on nearly identical dates as al-Rashid himself.





The complaint also pointed out large contributions to Murphy and Crist from a woman who was listed as a property manager but has since been identified as Ibrahim al-Rashids cleaning lady.





Murphys spending to law firms that specialize in congressional investigations spiked following the FEC complaint, though the exact reason for the increase remains unclear.





Budman left al-Rashid in February 2014 after she told police that he grabbed her by the wrist, struck her about the head and face with a closed fist then threw her to the ground during an altercation at their Miami home.





The Murphy campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the donations. Attempts to reach Budman and members of her family were unsuccessful.





Murphy has attempted to distance himself from al-Rashid since his assault on Budman.





There is no excuse for domestic violence, Murphy said earlier this year. Both Morgan and Ibrahim have been long time friends and supporters of mine. Morgan even worked on my first campaign.





This incident is personal for me, Murphy said. I was heartbroken when I found out, and I condemn Ibrahims inexcusable actions. Over the past year I have prayed for Morgan and her family to find healing.





Republicans have called on Murphy to donate $100,000 to charities that address domestic violence to offset the money that al-Rashid gave to liberal super PACs that support him.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/22/16 -- 1720548 Ontario Inc. and Allan Fredette (collectively, the "Concerned Shareholders"), being shareholders who collectively own approximately 7% of the outstanding common shares of Bison Gold Resources Inc. ("Bison") (TSX VENTURE: BGE), announced today that they have requisitioned (the "Requisition") the Bison board of directors to call a meeting of shareholders of Bison for the purpose of reconstituting Bison's board by removing 4 of the 5 incumbent directors and electing 4 new independent directors.

The Concerned Shareholders believe that Bison has an excellent asset, the potential of which can be unlocked with the right leadership and the right plan for change. The Concerned Shareholders have lost faith in Bison's existing management and board to effect this change and drive shareholder value. The Concerned Shareholders were particularly concerned about Bison's most recent decision to complete a very dilutive private placement financing without respecting a prior commitment to conduct a rights offering which would have better protected existing shareholder interests. In addition, the Concerned Shareholders also believe that there has been a failure to keep shareholders informed over the past year which has led to a weakened relationship between Bison and its shareholders during a trying market.

The Requisition proposes the removal of each of Amir Mousavi, Dale Dunlop, Chris Carmichael and Mark Robinson as directors of Bison and the election of Glen Collins, Wayne Guidolin, Hamid Mumin and Rob Rostecki to Bison's board. Once in place, the new board's immediate priorities will be to review the performance of the existing management team and establish an experienced board who can develop the full potential of Bison's assets while maximizing shareholder value.

The information contained in this press release does not and is not meant to constitute a solicitation of proxies within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although the Concerned Shareholders have requisitioned a meeting, there is currently no record or meeting date set for such meeting and shareholders are not being asked at this time to execute a proxy in favour of the nominees of the Concerned Shareholders or any other resolution set forth in the Requisition.

Contacts:

If you have any questions or concerns please email:

bisondissidents@gmail.com




Television actor Karanvir Bohra and his wife Teejay Sidhu became parents to twin baby girls on Friday, 21 October. Sidhu delivered the babies at her maternal home in Canada.

According to The Indian Express, the actor took a paternity break from his current show Naagin 2 just a few days back and flew to Vancouver, Canada to be with his wife.

Bohra shared this photo with a special message for his wife on Instagram:

The actress had even shared a special note for her unborn child on her Instagram account saying, "I want you remember this day, and how much fun we had, because after you arrive, I'll keep bringing you here."

Teejay and Karanvir had met through a common friend in Mumbai and after a brief courtship the couple got married in Bengaluru in 2006. The couple announced Teejay's pregnancy in June. She was a part of the show Jai Santoshi Maa and had to leave it suddenly due to her pregnancy.

The baby was expected to be born in November.

Bohra had said to The Times of India, "The baby is expected on 11-11, a sign that it's the right time. Tee and I believe in angel numbers, and this is one of the most auspicious ones. Some days, we still can't believe it."
Enough has been said, by "patriots" and "anti-nationals" alike, about whether or not the protests by Raj Thackerays Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) against the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil were valid or not.

And since missing the point is one of our national pastimes, Karan Johars choice to use a Pakistani star for a cameo in his film became some sort of an insult to our soldiers and martyrs, particularly after the Uri attacks. (The fact that Fawad Khan shot for ADHM at a time when relations between India and Pakistan were certainly better than they are right now, much like plain logic, isnt something the anti-Pakistan mob seems to understand.)

The latest update in the ADHMMNS saga is that MNS has finally agreed to let the film release. In return, apart from that apologetic (or borderline depressing) video Johar released, he has also agreed to put a slate honouring the soldiers of Uri at the start of his film, and he will contribute to the army welfare fund.

Now make no mistake  in isolation, neither of these steps are a problem at all. If anything, filmmakers should be encouraged to make social statements through their film, and most citizens would welcome it if, say, the government were to enforce a law that made producers pay an amount to the army welfare fund for every film they want to release.

However, the manner in which Karan Johar has been made to jump through hoops and prostrate before an unworthy politician just to release a film that has already been cleared for release by the law of the land, is what makes this most unfair. Johar has faced the harshest of burns from flames that have been fanned for political gain, in a completely unconstitutional and unlawful manner.

For, how can a political party threaten violence and vandalism for a film when they have no legal basis to do so? How can you outrage and say that the film will offend people, when you arent even letting people watch the film? How can the head of this political party still get an audience before the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, instead of being nailed in prison once and for all?

Anyone who defends Karan Johars right to release his film without any hassles is branded an anti-national, someone who doesnt respect our soldiers. However, the limited point one would like to make here is that the two issues are not related *even marginally*.

Fawad Khan gained popularity in India despite everyone knowing he was from Pakistan. At the time, between Khoobsurat and Kapoor & Sons, relations with Pakistan were not in the state they are in right now. Why would you fault a filmmaker if he signed on an actor in a completely legal manner, when the actors popularity was on the rise?

It was most disheartening to see Karan Johar say of course we wont work with artistes from the neighbouring country, in his video apology. Weve reduced one of Indias most popular mainstream filmmakers to a spineless wreck, too frightened to even mention the name of the country. All in the name of this faux-patriotism surrounding a film, for crying out loud!

There is merit in the thought that as a symbol of our unwavering support to our soldiers, we must cut ties off with Pakistan - not just art and culture, but *all* ties. (We have approximately $2.6 billion worth of trade with Pakistan, when our economy is worth upwards of $2 trillion. Yet, Pakistan has Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. Lets start with that?)

You could call them names if you want to, but no Indian filmmaker will willingly engage with Pakistani talent when the political situation is on the boil; if not out of loyalty to the country, then out of plain business sense.

But how can we let an outfit of hooligans masquerading as a political party hold a completed film to ransom, just for those imaginary political brownie points? Be rest assured, if Raj Thackeray or anyone at the MNS truly cared for our soldiers, they wouldnt be picking on as soft a target as a commercial Hindi film. That they, and those who support the MNS and other protests against ADHM, actually believe that violently protesting against a film is a symbol of support to our armed forces, is perhaps the most depressing thought.

Are we so naive to think that those who are willing to give their lives for the country are sitting around outraging about Hindi films? And as citizens, why should we outrage *on behalf* of our soldiers? Why cant we express our patriotism and solidarity with them in ways that are more constructive? This might sound like a value education lesson, but frankly, as citizens of a nation, we are appalling.

The political scenario in the country, particularly with the heavily charged atmosphere surrounding the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, now resembles a circus more than anything else. Anyone can throw their hat into the ring and pretend to be a patriot. No one, though, will think twice before abusing the rights and privileges our constitution gives us as citizens. And this is doubly true of the political class.

Lets, for instance, see what privileges Raj Thackeray gets because of his political clout, and lets talk about whether he deserves those privileges more than a soldier does. Frankly, there is no scope for an argument. But then, no scope for argument is the current mantra of the Hindu Right anyway. Think about it with simple reason and logic, though, and youll see why all of this is wrong.
Film and Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt and filmmaker Karan Johar met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday to discuss the release of the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Fadnavis met Johar and Bhatt at his residence 'Varsha' in Mumbai along with Raj Thackeray, whose party had been opposing the release of the upcoming movie as Pakistani actor Fawad Khan features in the film.

Producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting.

After the meeting, Bhatt announced that it was decided that Johar will put a special mention paying homage to the Indian soldiers who were killed in the Uri terror attack at the beginning of the film and also announced that the producers guild will not be working with Pakistani artistes in the future.

I assured Mr.Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future: Mukesh Bhatt pic.twitter.com/VUiVJQ89mq  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Addressing the media, he said, "We had a very constructive meeting on how to resolve the unfortunate events that have happened before the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

"On behalf of my fraternity, I have shared the emotions of the filmmakers that we are Indians first and our Indian sentiments are more important to us than our business. We have come to an understanding to prove what we mean. I assured the chief minister and Raj Thackeray that the guild has taken a decision with the larger interest of the country that we will not work with any more Pakistani artistes," he said.

He added that keeping in spirit with the national sentiments, Johar has offered to put a slate honouring the soldiers killed in the Uri attack.

"Bollywood producers as well as Johar will also contribute to the army welfare fund to the Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. We believe that we owe this to the army," Bhatt said.

After the meeting ended, a spokesperson for the MNS said, "We will not oppose Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's release."

On Thursday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had assured Bhatt that the film will get a safe and secure release in theatres on 28 October  two days before Diwali.

A delegation led by Bhatt had met Singh, who assured them a "great Diwali" with the release of the film.

Following the 18 September Uri attack and Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control, heightened tension between India and Pakistan had a spillover effect on Bollywood. It sparked off a debate whether Pakistani artistes should be allowed to work in India or not.

While MNS issued an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a resolution asking producers to avoid working with talents from Pakistan. And Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which stars popular Pakistani artiste Fawad Khan, became the first target.

Earlier this week, seeking to calm tempers over opposition to the release of his directorial venture, Johar had made a fervent appeal against stalling the release, saying he will not engage with talent from Pakistan in future.

However, MNS chose to dismiss it and said that reality had dawned late on Johar and continued with their agitation leading to the arrest of 12 party activists, who have been sent in judicial custody till 4 November.

Before Saturday's meeting Johar had called on Fadnavis on Thursday after which the CM had said, "the state government would like to reaffirm that the government will not allow anyone to disturb law and order and stern action will be taken. Democratic protest is fine but unlawful activity will not be tolerated."

However the trouble for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil makers is not over yet. Nitin Datarm, President of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors' Association, has said that they will not cooperate with the films release.

We are not going to co-operate with release of Karan Johar's #ADHM: Nitin Datar, Pres. of Cinema Owners & Exhibitors' Association to ANI  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

With inputs from agencies
While the storm around Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil seems to be calming down, it was arguably one of those rare controversies that managed to divide the Bollywood celebrities. Many of them said some really strong statements for and against the issue of allowing Pakistani artistes to work in Indian films.

Here we bring to you a line-up of who said what.

The man of the moment Karan Johar said in a video that he is hurt on being labelled "anti-national" and would not engage with talent from Pakistan "in the circumstance".

Actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt said the ongoing campaign against Pakistani artistes working in India cannot be described as nationalism, but "schoolyard bullying".

It is neither nationalism nor blackmail. It is schoolyard bullying at its best & worst... https://t.co/M8vTB289j0  Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) October 21, 2016

Speaking in the background of the Mumbai Film Festival international filmmaker Jia Zhangke said, "Political turmoil always affects us. The political situation of china is constantly changing and that reflects on the economical development of the nation. If you look closely, while the east china is economically quite developed, the west china is yet to reach that level. Such differences affect our society."

Actress Kalki Koechlin said, "I don't want to add fuel to the fire because this thing has been going on for a long time. I personally think that we live in an international world and we have Indians living all over the world. If we asked all those NRIs to come back to India, then we would have nowhere to put them. So, similarly, if there are guests from other countries living in our country, myself included, who is of French origin but born and bought up in India, where do I belong? If I don't belong in this country, then I don't know where I belong to. So, I think it's very important to understand that."

Dia Mirza said, "The day central government announces a financial isolation of Pakistan where they say all trades and communications will be seized, as a part of the film industry... I am pretty certain that we will maintain that 100 per cent. But to target a film, where 99 per cent Indian crew members are involved and their livelihood depends on the project, it's unfair."

Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan is known to have a stand in most issues. He also took to Twitter to share his views on the current situation.

Film industry divided ?? No way Film industry is THE one place where there is no place for discrimination on the basis of Language religion  Salim Khan (@luvsalimkhan) October 19, 2016

caste & creed. What works is talent & capability. This is true from the time of Dada Saheb Phalke till date. It is true that there are some  Salim Khan (@luvsalimkhan) October 19, 2016

amongst us who have aligned themselves to political parties for personal gain.And Yes we are a happy lot. If our films work we are happy and  Salim Khan (@luvsalimkhan) October 19, 2016

if a rivals film flops we are happy too. And we live happily ever after. THE END  Salim Khan (@luvsalimkhan) October 19, 2016

(With Inputs from agencies)
After Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) took down their demands for a ban on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, party chief Raj Thackeray spoke to the media saying that they bowed down after the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis approached him for a compromise.

At the press meet Thackeray said that all the compromises reached were actually demands made by him that the film industry had to agree.

Raj Thackeray claims that he has given a diktat to all Indian filmmakers, stating from this date onwards no Pakistani artiste can be cast in a Bollywood film.

He further added that those who have finished shooting can do 'prayashcit' (penance) by donating money to the Army Relief Fund.

While Mukesh Bhatt, President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd, said that they have agreed to contribute a portion of the films collections, Raj Thackeray claims that he has demanded Rs 5 crore as the atonement money for casting Pakistani artistes.

Thackeray has also demanded that Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will have to display a slate before the film giving tribute to the soldiers who were killed in the Uri attack and most controversially, they have decided that no Pakistani artistes will henceforth be allowed to work in Bollywood films.

Producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films: Raj Thackeray pic.twitter.com/0D8h4HH1eh  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Every producer who has cast Pak artists will give Rs5 crore to Army relief fund:Raj Thackeray after his meeting with CM Fadnavis & producers pic.twitter.com/Bz7ggflKCx  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

He also asked the Chief Minister why when Pakistani government bans Indian channels and Indian content in their country we provide Pakistani artistes a red carpet here.

Just in: #RajThackeray addresses media on #AeDilHaiMushkil  "While Pak bans indian content, why do we give them a red carpet here?  Firstpost (@firstpost) October 22, 2016

While the MNS chief might act like the victor in the controversy, it would not be wrong to say that he did not have much of a choice than to reach a compromise. With some of the party men being arrested last week, he knew that his chances to come out of this victorious were narrow. His only way to save his face from embarrassment was to reach a compromise with the chief minister.

During the press conference Thackeray first said that the Fadnavis called him to reach a compromise and then corrected himself and said when he was in conversation with the CM.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will be released, as per schedule, on 28 October.
In a setback to incumbent telecom operators, sector regulator Trai on Friday suggested imposing Rs 3,050 crores penalty on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea for allegedly denying interconnectivity to newcomer Reliance Jio.

Trai, in its recommendation to the Department of Telecom, said it has found the trio to be non-compliant with licence conditions and service quality norms given the high rate of call failures and congestion at interconnect points for Reliance Jio.

It also noted that denial of interconnection by these operators to Reliance Jio "appears to be with the ulterior motive to stifle competition and is anti-consumer".

As per Trai's recommendation, the penalty for Airtel and Vodafone works out to about Rs 1,050 crore each, while in case of Idea Cellular it comes to about Rs 950 crore. The regulator stopped short of recommending cancellation of their telecom licences saying it may lead to "significant consumer inconvenience".

The recommendation came on complaint by Reliance Jio that over 75 percent of calls on its network are failing as incumbents were not giving sufficient points of interconnect that would help complete calls.

Trai in a detailed letter to the DoT Secretary said the action of the three incumbent operators was "against public interest".

When contacted, an Airtel spokesperson said, "We are continuously augmenting the PoIs provided to Reliance Jio and pace of augmentation has been the fastest ever done by us. Further we are in full compliance of the requirements of grade of service set by Trai."

Vodafone and Idea did not immediately offer any comment on the Trai recommendation. Emails sent to Reliance Jio too remained unanswered.

Lashing out at the erring operators, TRAI went to the extent of saying that the non-compliance of licence terms and condition "warrants" recommendations for revocation of licence.

"However, the authority is mindful of the fact that revocation of the licence will entail significant consumer inconvenience and therefore in view of the larger public interest involved, the authority recommends a penal action of Rs. 50 crores per LSA (circle)...," it said.

The regulator has recommended penalty of Rs 50 crore each for 21 of the 22 circles of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone (except J&K).

In case of Idea, it has recommended penalty of Rs 50 crore each for 19 circles where the operator provides services.

Jio has accused incumbent operators of providing less than required points of interconnections (PoIs) needed for its users to complete calls to rivals' network, while operators charged the newcomer of unleashing a "tsunami" of free traffic on their networks.

Interconnection enables mobile users to make calls to customers of other telecom networks and is, therefore, crucial for smooth functioning of mobile services.

In a statement issued on 23 September, Jio had alleged that over 12 crore calls failed daily between Jio and the networks of Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea.

As per quality of service rules, not more than five calls in 1,000 should fail due to network congestion.

Late last month, as row between incumbents and newcomer Reliance Jio escalated, Trai intervened and issued show-cause notices to operators for call drops far exceeding the norm. It had given the incumbent operators ten days to explain why action should not be initiated against them for violation of service quality norms.

In its reply to Trai, Idea said that the show cause notice is "defective, invalid, and premeditated" and reason for poor service quality is solely because of Reliance Jio. Airtel said that the notice was premature and it is making effort to augment interconnection.

Vodafone cited inconsistent calculation made by Jio and delay on its part among reason for the row.

The regulator has given a deadline of 17 October, 2016, to mobile operators to resolve the matter so that customers do not experience poor quality of service.

Trai has observed high level of congestion in telecom networks leading to call failure on Reliance Jio's network.
By Philip Blenkinsop and Alissa de Carbonnel

| BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS Canada said on Saturday it was up to the European Union to save a free trade deal that could boost both economies but that cannot be signed as planned next week due to opposition from Belgium's French-speaking region.The Walloon government was awaiting new proposals from the European Commission, according to a source close to Walloon premier Paul Magnette. They would need to be presented to the regional parliament, although no date had been set for this. The EU is still hoping to find a solution before an EU-Canada summit set for Thursday, when the deal would be signed.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set a deadline of Monday to decide whether to fly to Brussels, according to a source familiar with the matter. Magnette has previously said the summit should be delayed to allow more time to deliberate.Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada was still ready to sign the pact and that negotiations on its fine points were over. "We have done our job. We have finished negotiating a very good agreement. Now the ball is in Europe's court," she said after meeting Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, and before a flight home."I hope that I can return in the next days with my prime minister to sign the treaty as planned." All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations. French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it.Schulz, who is not directly involved in CETA talks but has good working ties with Freeland and who is center-left like the Walloon government, also held an emergency meeting with Magnette in a bid to keep the deal alive.

"The door for every step forward is open but it's quite clear that the problems on the table are European problems," Schulz said."In my eyes, there are no problems that cannot be resolved."Freeland quit talks on Friday with chief Canadian and EU trade negotiators and Magnette, declaring reaching a deal with the EU was "impossible."Magnette said on Saturday, however, his discussions with Canada were concluded and the remaining issues to be worked out were for the EU executive to address.

"We have still some little difficulties among Europeans," he said, without giving details. "We won't hide that so we still have to work and discuss for a certain amount of time."The agreement would be the EU's first with a Group of Seven country. Supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada's by C$12 billion ($9 billion).Wallonia is home to about 3.5 million people, less than 1percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect, but the EU's flagship trade project rests on the will of its government.Walloons have concerns about the threat of surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics fear hands power to multinationals.Once the core of the Belgian economy, Wallonia has seen coal mines shut and steel jobs disappear and distrusts globalization. Just last month, Caterpillar announced plans to close a plant there, cutting some 2,000 jobs.

Many EU leaders suspect the local government in Namuris using its devolved powers to play domestic politics.The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, the EU's 12th-largest trading partner.If CETA fails, the EU's hopes of completing similar deals with the United States or Japan would be in tatters, undermining a bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave it and disputes over Europe's migration crisis. ($1 = 0.9189 euros)($1 = 1.3328 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Editing by Ed Osmond and Adrian Croft)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Rajendra Jadhav and Sethuraman N R

| MUMBAI/BENGALURU

MUMBAI/BENGALURU Physical gold demand in Asia firmed up this week on strong buying by leading consumer China while prices in India were at a premium for the first time in several months ahead of the festive season.Spot gold was set to end the week up 1 percent on steady physical buying from China and exchange-traded funds. Gold prices in India, the world's second-largest consumer, were at a premium for the first time in nine months as a drop in prices prompted jewellers and dealers to step up purchases for upcoming festivals. Dealers in India were charging a premium of up to $2 an ounce over official domestic prices this week - the first time since mid-January. Last week they were offering discounts of $2."Many retail buyers had postponed purchases in last few months. They are now making purchases for festivals since prices have come below 30,000 rupees," said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.

Gold prices in India have fallen over 8 percent since hitting a peak of 32,455 rupees per 10 grams in July, their highest level in nearly three years.Demand for gold usually strengthens in the final quarter as India gears up for the wedding season and due to festivals such as Diwali and Dussehra, when buying the precious metal is considered auspicious.India's overseas purchases of gold likely hit a nine-month high in October, as a flip in domestic prices to a premium prompted banks and refiners to resume imports ahead of the festival season.

"Gray channels have limitations. They can import 25 to 30 tonnes per month. They could not cater to entire demand during the festive season. Jewellers have to buy from banks," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank. Premiums in China were quoted around $4-$5 an ounce against the international benchmark, indicating strong demand."There was a lot of opportunistic buying (in China) at lower levels and the banks have been reducing their stocks and took the opportunity to replenish at lower price levels," said Cameron Alexander, an analyst with Thomson Reuters-owned metals consultancy GFMS.

"That's been the case with most of the countries across Southeast Asia."In Singapore, premiums were mostly unchanged at 50 to 60 cents an ounce. Japanese markets saw a slight fall in demand and prices were flat compared to a premium of 25 cents an ounce last week. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Ruby Lian and Manolo Serapio Jr

| SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE Chinese steel mills are becoming cleaner every month as Beijing pushes to curb its smoke-stack industries. But they're not getting any leaner.Despite efforts to step up environmental checks and trim out excess capacity, steel output by the world's top producer has risen year-on-year for the past seven months.As emissions cuts will mean steel mills are better able to meet stricter government standards, Beijing may find it more difficult to cut overcapacity in a sprawling industry.For now, domestic demand from infrastructure and construction has been robust, absorbing most of the extra supply. But a steeper slowdown in the world's second-largest economy could force mills to ramp up sales abroad.That could rekindle tensions with Europe and the United States, major trading partners which have for years accused China of dumping its excess steel overseas, hitting producers and hurting global prices.The issue took centre stage at a recent G20 summit in China when world leaders pledged to work to address excess output. China's top steel producing city of Tangshan in Hebei province illustrates Beijing's dilemma. Hosting a months-long international horticultural show, Tangshan had a major six-month clean-up to ensure blue skies for visiting dignitaries, including the country's president Xi Jinping.Industry experts predicted this would see a big drop in output in a province that accounts for a fifth of national production, going some way to realising government goals on output and capacity cuts.

But production dipped by far less than expected as mills sustained output even as they cleaned themselves up.They could do this largely because steel prices have risen 40 percent this year, and strong domestic demand is expected to continue, underpinning those increases, though exports have fallen to their lowest since February.By end-September, China had completed more than 80 percent of this year's capacity reduction goals in coal and steel, said Huang Libin, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.China has targeted a cut of 45 million tonnes from its surplus steel capacity this year.But the battle to tackle excess capacity and curb pollution has failed to dent production. China's annual crude steel surplus is estimated at around 300 million tonnes, three times the annual output of the world's second-biggest producer, Japan.

"If steel mills are profitable, there's no reason for the government to order them to reduce production if they meet environmental criteria," said Xia Junyan, investment manager at Hangzhou CIEC Trading Co in Shanghai.BATTLEGROUND IN TANGSHAN

While many of Tangshan's small mills have closed, bigger plants have installed or upgraded equipment since a nationwide environmental crackdown began in 2014, industry sources say.

Some were forced to cut sinter production - processing iron ore fines into lumps - for a few days in September and October to clear the skies during the recent horticultural show. But the city's about 150 blast furnaces only dropped output three times - in June, July and September - and for only a couple of days during the six-month clean-up, according to a survey by industry consultancy Custeel.com.The biggest drop was in early June when operating rates fell below 65 percent as leaders from central and eastern Europe gathered in Tangshan for talks on economic ties, followed by another fall in July as the city prepared to commemorate a 1976 earthquake that killed at least 250,000 people.Otherwise, mills have been operating at above 80 percent of capacity this year, the Custeel.com survey showed."Production can be flexible. Even if production at steel mills is hit temporarily by the environmental crackdown, they can increase production later to offset the losses," said Xia at Hangzhou CIEC Trading.The government looks ready to keep targeting Tangshan's mills in its war on winter smog, with Hebei province last week imposing what it calls "special emission restrictions" on local steel mills, according to a policy document.Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planner, said it punished hundreds of steel and coal companies nationwide for violating environmental and safety regulations. Some were forced to close or cut output. (Reporting by Ruby Lian in SHANGHAI and Manolo Serapio Jr. in SINGAPORE; Editing by Josephine Mason and Ian Geoghegan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Jammu: Pakistan rangers again violated ceasefire along the International Border (IB) in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district by resorting to small arms fire late tonight.

"Small arms bursts are beings fired by Pakistan Rangers in Abdullian village in the Suchetgarh sector in RS Pura," Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh said.

He said people have been advised to stay indoors and so far no relief camps have been set up and the situation will be monitored for the next 18 hours.

A BSF officer said the jawans were giving befitting reply to Pakistan Rangers.

The latest ceasefire violations came hours after the BSF claimed to have killed seven Pakistan Rangers and one terrorist in the "retaliatory fire" in the Kathua sector on the international border.

Pakistan Rangers, the border force of Pakistan, resorted to sniper attacks at Indian posts at HiraNagar in Kathua at around 9.35 am, BSF said.

The Indian border guarding force launched an aggressive offensive against the Pakistani firing, BSF said in a release, adding seven Rangers and a terrorist were shot dead in the retaliatory firing.

Seeking to suggest that the killings had been corroborated by Pakistani media, the BSF said "source input" claimed that a media organisation in that country was running a news item about death of five Rangers.

The strong response by BSF came after one of Constables Gurnam Singh was injured in a sniper fire attack by Pakistani Rangers this morning in the same area.

Singh, whose condition is considered to be critical, was evacuated with the cover fire to Government Medical College in Jammu.

The firing from Pakistan was effectively retaliated and that has claimed the casualties of Pakistani forces, the release said.
Even as Delhi hobbles back to normalcy after the chikungunya and dengue health scare that reached endemic proportions last month, the national capital faces yet another health exigency in the form of bird flu.

The government is monitoring bird sanctuaries and the Gazipur Murga Mandi, the sole meat market that caters to the entire city.

Samples from the mandi and other sources have been sent for testing to Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal and the results are expected on Saturday, a government source said.

It remains to be seen if the rickety health services system of the city (and the country)  that was found wanting just a few weeks back during the dengue and chikungunya outbreak had hit the population  will be prepared enough to deal with a crisis if any.

However, ever since the first outbreak of bird flu in India a decade ago  in Gujarat and Maharashtra in February 2005  India has never had a human case of H5N1 viral infection even though there has been an outbreak of the disease almost every other year.

Delhis development minister Gopal Rai has requested the citizens to not panic as the virus doesn't seem to have entered the food chain yet.

Despite the minister's reassurance, is there no cause for concern?

A stroll around any area of the city is enough proof that municipal services in the city are not at their international best, as should be the case considering that Delhi is the capital of a nation that is being heavily promoted as an investment destination globally. Is Delhi ready to take on the world as a global capital or is just another Third World city that has more negatives than positives?

The Supreme Court too has come down heavily on the AAP government on garbage piling up in the city and for poor sanitation. The apex court has expressed concern over bird flu scare in the national capital.

While the bird flu panic is slowly spreading, the experts strongly feel that its high time that the government should come up with an advisory with dos and donts on bird flu.

The central government should issue an advisory with dos and donts to combat bird flu across the country. Its not just limited to Delhi. District magistrates and district forest officials should be sensitised. Moreover, awareness regarding avian flu needs to be created especially among children, so as to avoid any panic, Anand Arya, an environment expert, specialising on birds told Firstpost.

Source of avian (bird) flu scare

The scare of avian flu (official name of bird flu) originated in Delhi after the Delhi zoo reported over a dozen of dead birds on its premises. It was followed by death of birds at Deer Park, Hauz Khas and near a water body at Sundar Nagar. Besides, local birds, migratory birds died in zoo premises. While, the RDDL Jalandhar detected symptoms of the virus in the samples of carcasses of birds tested, Bhopals HSADL confirmed H5N1 virus in three birds. H5N1 is the virus that causes bird flu.

- Delhi Zoo: 12 birds found dead. (Of these three are confirmed bird flu cases).

- Deer Park: 5 birds found dead.

- Sundar Nagar: 3 crows found dead.

- Gwalior Zoo: 15 birds found dead. (The aerial distance between Gwalior and Delhi is only 285 km).

Source of Bird flu virus (H5N1)

Bird flu virus already exists in dormant state in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and Russia border. It can become active. The other source is a migratory bird. The virus infects and kills wild birds and domestic poultry.

Nearly 225 migratory species visit India every year and it starts in September. We get migratory birds in almost all the 7.57 lakh wetlands in the country. It's serious if any of the flock gets infected, said Arya.

Past incidents

- First confirmed and notified case of H5N1 outbreak in India was reported in Gujarat and Maharashtra in February 2005.

- The second outbreak  a major one was in March-April 2006 in Madhya Pradesh  where more than 10 lakh poultry birds were culled.

- In 2007, it was in Manipur, followed by West Bengal in 2008. More than 40 lakh birds were killed in Bengal.

- In the consecutive years, outbreak occurred in Tripura, Odisha, Sikkim, Assam and Bihar.

- The last bird flu outbreak was reported in 2015 in Kerala.

- In 2005, 50-60 birds were found dead at Okhla Bird Park in Delhi, which created a panic. However, after post-mortem it was found that the birds died after consuming poisonous feed used to catch fish.

- In India, no case of bird flu infecting human has been reported yet.

- Large-scale culling of poultry birds took place in a decade causing huge financial loss to poultry business.

Can I consume egg and chicken?

According to experts, no case of bird flu has been reported in poultry so far. Its safe to consume properly cooked egg and chicken.

Most bacteria and virus cant survive high heat. Instead of consuming cold meat, its preferable to have properly cooked, roasted chicken and eggs in the form of boiled and omelet, advised Arya.

What government has done so far?

- Delhi government has started a helpline number (011-2389 0318) where citizens can report cases of bird flu and seek help.

- Large number of samples has been taken from zoos, bird sanctuaries and poultry markets and sent for testing.

- Municipal corporations have deployed teams to check flu.

- Delhi government is keeping a strict vigil on poultry market.

- Delhi minister Gopal Rai said that Delhi government is well-equipped with medicines to deal with the situation.

- Central Zoo Authority is conducting inspection of zoo enclosures.

- Delhi Zoo and Deer Park have been shut down.

Precautionary measures

According to medical experts, one shouldnt touch a dead bird or the carcass and keep a safe distance. It should immediately be reported to authorities concerned.

Physical contact with bird droppings should be avoided, because any bird can be an infected one. Extreme care should be taken while clearing droppings, because most human infection is from close contact with sick or dead infected poultry or droppings.

- Any one suffering from fever must take medical advice.

- Avoid spreading of rumours and panic.
Mumbai: On Saturday, the Maharashtra unit of Congress expressed "shock" over Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis mediating over release of a film featuring a Pakistani actor, saying he bowed before highhanded tactics of the MNS.

"Chief Minister's responsibility was maintaining law and order and it was unconstitutional for him to mediate between the film producers and MNS, which had threatened to block release of the movie," Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

He said MNS had threatened to block the release of filmmaker Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and damage theatres screening the movie.

"Causing financial loss to the film producers who have made a movie spending crores of rupees is illegal. Banning artists from across the border is a decision to be taken by the Narendra Modi government. Representation to demand ban on Pakistani artistes can be made to the Centre," he said in a statement.

Sawant also said protecting interests of the country was part of the foreign policy which is the jurisdiction of the Centre.

"The state government's responsibility is to protect law and order, till a decision to ban Pakistani artists is taken by the Centre.

"Fadnavis not only bowed before the highhanded tactics of the MNS but also made the state bow before the party," he alleged.

"When Ashok Chavan was the Chief Minister, Shiv Sena had created similar problems for release of Shah Rukh Khan's 'My Name is Khan'. The then Congress government had provided police protection to the movie and ensured there was no law and order problem. Congress showed it does not bow down to any pressure. Fadnavis showed that he was incapable of handling the pressure," Sawant alleged.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS, which staged high-voltage protests against the release of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, withdrew its agitation after Fadnavis mediated talks between the MNS chief and the filmmakers.
New York: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite the heightened tensions along the LoC and believes the two countries are a "lot more careful" about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.

"I don't believe we are," Abdullah said when asked whether India and Pakistan are at the brink of war.

"I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the sub-continent. I'd like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be," he said at a conference titled 'India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair' organized by the students of New York University on Friday.

Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing "security concerns".

There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Abdullah's nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, the surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tensions with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.

Abdullah said while there is tension along the Line of Control (LoC) and the ceasefire is "under a bit more pressure" than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan are not at the brink of war.

Abdullah noted that the government of India has been very careful "in moderating how it has sold" to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.

"The government of India has been very careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC," he said adding that the government has not gone into giving details of how far they went inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

"What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan," he said adding that there would have been "enormous pressure" on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they went across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

Abdullah said heightened tensions between India and Pakistan adds to the "mood of gloom" in the Valley because "no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan".

The Kashmir Valley has been facing unrest and agitations for over 100 days now, in the wake of Wanis killing and "unfortunately there is no end in sight to the current problem".

Abdullah underscored that the situation in Kashmir is a "political problem" that needs a political solution.

"I firmly believe that internally within Jammu and Kashmir, we need a dialogue to resolve the problem. It's a political problem, let nobody tell you that it's an economic, job-related, education related problem because it isn't," he said, adding that while there are elements of joblessness, of radical Islam but those are the minority elements.

"Largely it is the product of the politics of Jammu and Kashmir...It is a political problem that requires a political solution which needs dialogue.

"Similarly, at some point in time one hopes that relations between India and Pakistan will to an extent normalize that will allow for a sustained dialogue and then we can start talking about the various problems that shadow our relationship. Jammu and Kashmir will of course be one of them," he said.

When asked what is the short-term solution to the Kashmir problem, he said it is to recognise the problem and "admitting that we have a problem. Right now just the acceptance that a dialogue is necessary and a dialogue with all those stake holders who are willing to talk to you".

"Unfortunately in various quarters we have decided that we want to deny that a problem exists. Even if we do accept the problem, we don't want to accept that it is a political problem requiring political handling. We will talk about it in terms of a social or a law order problem," he said.

Abdullah stressed that unless there is a long-term sustained dialogue, such uprising and agitations will keep taking place.

Abdullah said there was some optimism following Prime Minister Narendra Modis outreach after assuming power to invite Sharif to his swearing in as well as through his surprise visit to Lahore last December.

"That developed a lot of hope that we will be able to address this problem (Kashmir). It is a problem that needs addressing, resolution," he said.

When questioned about the UN Security Resolutions on Kashmir, Abdullah emphatically said that the onus to create conditions for a plebiscite under UN auspices does not lie with India but with Pakistan.

"To this day I fail to understand why we in India feel so apologetic that this UN referendum never took place. The onus wasn't on India to create the conditions for that referendum, he said.

He explained that according to the UNSC resolution, for such a plebiscite to take place Pakistan has to, as a first step, vacate from all territories that it has come to occupy after August 1947 and remove regular and irregular forces from the territorial boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said subsequent to that, India has to scale down, not withdraw, to a manageable level its presence in Jammu and Kashmir and only then can the plebiscite take place.

"If Pakistan is unwilling to fulfill step one, how is it India's responsibility to fulfill step 2. But for some reason for all these years we have allowed the world to believe that somehow the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied the right to choose because India chose to deny them that right, which is not true.

"So historically we have a stronger case for what happened in Jammu and Kashmir than Pakistan does," he said.

Abdullah said he is not sure if a solution through a plebiscite can take place in the current circumstances because the territory of Jammu and Kashmir no longer resembles what it did on the night of August 1947.

"In that respect the Government of India has been absolutely blameless. Our territorial boundaries have not changed. No government in New Delhi has tinkered with state boundaries. Pakistan cannot say the same, they have tinkered with the territorial boundaries.

"When the state of Jammu and Kashmir does not look like what it did in 1947, how are the UN Security Council resolutions applicable today. They are not," he said.

He added that no government elected in India will ever have the mandate to redraw territorial lines.

"That is not going to happen so we understand that the solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir must lie within the constitution of India and the constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and India," he said.

On whether the Line of Control should become the defacto border, Abdullah said "logically" that would make the most sense but "do we have governments in India and Pakistan who can take that decision?

"If you step away from the jingoism, logic would dictate that that is the only solution," he said.

Abdullah said there is a "disaffected population" in Jammu and Kashmir that has to be brought into the mainstream.

"I am not suggesting that we have to open dialogue with all militant groups. That is not possible. But there are political elements within the valley that dont advocate the cause of violence, that are looking for a solution beyond the current status quo. Why not talk to them," he said.

When asked about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir is "incomplete" without them and "obviously a solution to Jammu and Kashmir will have to include the return of all those people who left".

"Kashmiri Pandits did not leave of their own accord, they left because their sense of security was snatched away from them. They will not come back unless that sense of security is restored to them. No solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir will be complete unless we can bring these populations back," he said, adding that it is the duty of the governments in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the Centre to work towards restoring that sense of security for them.

There was an animated exchange between Abdullah and a young woman, who said she hailed from Azad Kashmir where people are "happy".

"Then that means the export of terror has been in one direction. The terror camps are not operating in my side of Kashmir sending them to your side. They are operating in your side of Kashmir coming across to my side," Abdullah said.

"So please don't tell me how happy you are. You are happy because we are not interfering in your day to day life," he said adding that militants from 16 different nationalities, including Bosnians, Chechens and Sudanese, have come from across the Kashmir border.
It is more about the politics of it than actually looking for Najeeb Ahmed, an MSc first year student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, who went missing from the campus on 15 October following a fight the previous night.

Eight days have passed since Najeeb went missing mysteriously but various political outfits on the campus who are busy forwarding their own agendas seem hardly bothered.

Who cares for a common student?

Instead of showing an urgency to locate Najeeb, that's what we naturally hoped for, JNUSU (AISA-SFI led) directed their energies more in attacking the ABVP. They repeatedly tried to draw a comparison with the lynching of Akhlaq in Dadri citing that the Najeeb incident has a similarity in the pattern it was carried out.

On the night of 14 October, the attack that took place on Najeeb by some ABVP activists looks a well-planned one. Although the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students'Union (JNUSU) president Mohit Pandey personally saved him, the analogy with the Dadri lynching incident if true would put the JNUSU in a position no different to the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh.

Why Najeeb felt threatened after this attack? One should ask this fundamental question.

It was not for the first time that he was residing at a residential university as he went to the Aligarh Muslim University before. So he must be aware that students in these campuses at times indulge in violent altercations. It is only obvious that different students side with different parties in such situations.

But what differentiated his experience at JNU from any of his previous experiences was the role of AISA-SFI-led JNUSU and other elected student representatives.

On the night of 14 October, as ABVP activists were beating him up, the reason for this violence is still sub-judice, by his own account the JNUSU president arrived there. According to Pandey, he saw Najeeb being attacked by ABVP activists. However, he was not the lone AISA-SFI activist present at that time. How come students kept assaulting a fellow student in the presence of the elected representatives? What were they doing? Najeeb should have been horrified witnessing that the elected leaders are not saving him or are incapable of saving him. If it was not enough for him, when produced before the warden he saw everybody siding with his assaulters.

In a letter signed by the president and one AISA councillor from the School of Languages alleged him of violence while the assault on him was not mentioned. His own roommate, also an elected convenor from AISA, signed a letter which demanded strict action against him. Just imagine a situation when the main opposition political outfit is assaulting an individual and those in power also side with the assaulters.

In such a hostile situation, would not he feel threatened? Everybody was against him. The elected leaders failed to save him from the violence and later took a partial stand. The JNUSU president approved a very biased decision. JNUSU and other outfits who are calling it an attempt of mob-lynching are very right. But what is not coming out is who formed this 'mob'?

Had it been just 10-15 ABVP activists without any major leader involved, Najeeb would not have felt so threatened. If he had this confidence that some people will hear his side of the story, it would have given him some courage. What he witnessed was that the newly elected JNUSU president did not listen to him and the student body took a biased stand against him.

For Najeeb who had joined the campus only a month before the incident, it is intriguing to believe that he could have been a cause for such a high-scale violence. The JNUSU should have had taken an impartial stand and most importantly the responsibility for his welfare.

(The author is a research scholar of Modern History at JNU, New Delhi.)
Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the integrated terminal building of Vadodara's Harni Airport on Saturday.

Speaking at the event, Modi said that he was "happy" that the Kochi and Vadodara Airports have joined the green movement. He also spoke about the new aviation policy which he said looked at the growth of the aviation sector.

The new aviation policy, released under this Government, looks at growth of the aviation sector: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/TdYmtChMjk  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Modi mentioned that Vadodara will get India's first Railway University.

Many innovations have happened in the world; Rail is old, but we need to bring new technology to the Railways: PM Modi  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

He is also scheduled to attend a programme to distribute artificial limbs and other implements to more than 8000 'Divyangs' (disabled persons) in the city.

This is Modi's first visit to Vadodara after becoming PM in May 2014. In last Lok Sabha elections, Modi got elected from both Vadodara and Varanasi seats, but he retained latter.

"After arriving in Vadodara tomorrow afternoon, the PM will first inaugurate the newly-built international terminal at the city airport and then he will attend Divyang camp at Navlakhi ground," an official of Gujarat Information Department said earlier.

The state-of-the-art terminal, built at the cost of Rs 160 crore, is spread over 18,120 sq mt and can handle 700 passengers (domestic plus international) per hour. It will have 18 check-in counters. The airport is located in Harni area on the outskirts of Vadodara.

After the function, Modi will head to Navlakhi ground, where artificial limbs, tri-cycles and other assistive devices will be distributed to over 8000 'Divyangs'.

The event has been jointly organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Kanpur-based Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), and Vadodara district administration, stated a government release.

This will be Modi's fourth visit in last three months to his home state, where Assembly elections are due next year.

On his 66th birthday on 17 September, Modi had inaugurated various irrigation and drinking water projects in the tribal district of Dahod. He had attended a Divyang camp at Navsari in south Gujarat.

In August, he had visited Gujarat twice  once to condole death of Pramukh Swami Maharaj at Botad district and then to inaugurate the ambitious Sauni Irrigation Scheme in Jamnagar district. Harni is only the second "green building" airport in country.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told PTI in Vadodara on Saturday that new terminal will enhance the combined passenger handling capacity of airport by almost four-fold.

It took more than seven years for completing the new international terminal building project, foundation stone for which was laid in February 2009 by then Civil Aviation Minister.

"At present, flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bengaluru are operated at this airport by Air India, Jet Airways, Jet Connect, Indigo and Etihad Airways," Airport Director Sono Marandi said, adding that international flights can be launched after receiving requisite proposals from carriers.

"We cannot fly directly to far away countries like UK, US, Canada etc. owing to runway constraints. However, (operating) flights to closer foreign destinations like Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok etc. is possible," he said.

Marandi said that length of the existing runway is only 8100 feet and it has not been extended despite the construction of new international terminal, due to unavailability of land.

"It is not large enough to facilitate landing of big aircraft like Boeing 744 which are used for long-distance international flights. Currently, the airport can handle medium-range flier aircraft like Airbus-320 and Boeing-737 etc," he added.

Project in-charge Narendra Kumar Shukla said that handling of passengers will become much easier now and that boarding will become smoother for flyers.

"The new terminal is designed in such a flexible way that its use for domestic and international operations can be varied as per needs," he added.

With inputs from PTI
Pakistan has decided to enforce a complete ban on Indian TV and radio at a time when Bollywood is under increasing pressure from the distributors and exhibitors not to promote movies starring Pakistani actors. This is in addition to its earlier decision to ban the screening of Indian movies in Pakistani theaters.

Obviously, the Indian peaceniks, who are essentially for unilateral gestures by India without any reciprocity by Pakistan, are unhappy. For them, the villain is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is "promoting" a "nationalistic" and "jingoist" culture in the country. They are of the opinion that unrestricted flow of the people and their ideas through movies, music, art, literature will bring India and Pakistan together. Unfortunately, these unilateralist peaceniks are speaking the half-truth.

First, they should realise that unlike in India, restrictions on people-to-people contacts in Pakistan are always from the side of the government. In India, as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) explained on 20 October, "As far as the Government of India is concerned, there is no blanket ban on Pakistani artists. However, in view of the prevailing atmosphere and taking into account security considerations as well and the sentiments of local organisers, we will do so on a case-to-case basis, but there is certainly no blanket ban on Pakistani artists." He, in fact, added in Hindi, when asked about Pakistans decision to impose ban on Indian TV channels, "Dekhiye hum logon ne to is tarh ka koi ban nahi lagaya hai. Abhi bhi aap Pakistani serials dekh sakte hain, Zindagi Channel ya aur kai channelon par. Main isko durbhagyapoorn kahunga aur mere khayaal se ye Pakistan ki taraf se, ek tarah se aatmvishwas ki kami darshata hai."

It may be noted that this is not the first time that the Pakistan government is banning Indian films, TV, radio and artistes. In fact, these bans prevail most of the time; what the government agencies do in that country is to reassert or reiterate them periodically. Why is it that melody queen Lata Mangeshkar has never been allowed to have a concert in Pakistan? The legend once told an interviewer about how she was scheduled to tour Pakistan but it was cancelled just one day before departing to Pakistan. She was supposed to participate in a cultural festival in Karachi, but the then military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq called it off at the very last moment.

Secondly, it is worth finding out the composition of these unilateralist peaceniks. Almost all of them have remained largely confined to the quasi-official realm with a few retired government personnel and the so-called left-liberalist academicians, journalists and artists. There may have been some odd men here and there, but the overall composition has more or less remained the same. These people are essentially from Delhi and the adjoining states (Bollywood actors shedding tears for Pakistan are mostly from North India). And in many cases, they (at least their parents and grandparents) have been refugees from what is today Pakistan, following Indias partition in 1947.

This I really find bizarre. We are talking of people-to-people contacts, but essentially the tracks have remained an elitist preserve, and that too from a particular region of the country. Why should not we involve individuals and grass-root organisations from different parts of the country, while framing our policy towards Pakistan? Why are the views on Pakistan by people from the North East, Odisha and Tamil Nadu are ignored? Do they not constitute India? By not doing that, we are giving a wrong picture of India to a Pakistani that Delhi or North Indian-based people represent the whole of India and that they are the wisest.

My problem with the peaceniks becoming the representatives of people like me and you is not that they are the fifth columnists (they love India as much as you and I do); the problem is essentially the fact that while looking at Pakistan, they follow their hearts, not heads. And that is mostly due to their common ethnic background. Therefore, I have always argued that Indias Pakistan policy has a much better chance of success if handled by leaders and officials hailing from the south of the Vindhyas. Any day, I will prefer a Narasimha Rao and Narendra Modi to a Jawaharlal Nehru or IK Gujral or Atal Behari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh on matters pertaining to Pakistan.

Even otherwise, if one goes by the history books written for students in Pakistan, the intensity of the anti-India venom and the ferocity with which it is being injected into young minds are mind-blowing

For the unilateralist peaceniks, let me demystify some vital aspects of Indo-Pak relations.

First, it is totally meaningless for India to talk to any civilian leader of Pakistan. The ultimate decision-maker in Pakistan as far as India is concerned happens to be the Army Chief. Therefore, if any breakthrough in the India-Pakistan impasse is to be made, New Delhi should insist that the Pakistani Army Chief Raheel Sharif or his nominees should be in the Pakistan delegation for negotiations. The hard reality is that Nawaz Sharif and his ministers and advisers are simply helpless in pursuing any meaningful negotiations with India. Let us not forget that Pakistan is essentially an "Army with a country". It is the Pakistan Army that decides country's policy towards India. There are three Lakshman Rekhas (limiting lines) that the Army has drawn for the civilian Prime Ministers and Presidents. One, they would not interfere in any manner in the organisational and administrative work of the armed forces. Two, they would abide by the advice of the Army Chief on matters of foreign and defence policies. Three, they would not interfere with the army-controlled nuclear weaponisation and missile programmes.

Secondly, unlike China, which is and can be Indias rival and partner simultaneously, Pakistan will always behave as Indias enemy. Come what may, it will continue to promote jihad in Kashmir and other parts of India. Indeed, it is a huge myth that Pakistan will shed its hostility to India if Kashmir issue is resolved on Islamabads terms. Even if Kashmir joins Pakistan, Islamabad will find out another issue to trouble India. Because, Pakistans antipathy towards India is deep-rooted. Pakistans very existence as an entity depends on hostility towards India. Take India away and Pakistans justification as a separate country in the map of the world will hold no water.

And this explains why the Pakistan Army promotes fundamentalist mullahs in the country and uses them in tirades against India trough terrorist organisations like the LeT. Their fundamentalist Wahhabi Islam negates the Sufi tradition that promoted Hindu-Muslim amity and coexistence in the subcontinent for centuries. So much so that many Pakistanis now suffer from some identity crisis  they are not sure whether they should retain their age-old cultural roots (that are obviously influenced by Hinduism) or develop totally new "Arab identities".

Even otherwise, if one goes by the history books written for students in Pakistan, the intensity of the anti-India venom and the ferocity with which it is being injected into young minds are mind-blowing. This great historic discovery is taught: "Previously, India was part of Pakistan." In these books, Muhammad-bin-Qasim, the first Muslim conqueror of the Hindu-dominated Sindh province in the 8th century, is declared the first Pakistani citizen.

Thirdly, erosion of Indian power, dismemberment of its territories and consolidation of an anti-India geostrategic nexus are Pakistans predominant foreign policy goals. Pakistans war against India is no longer confined to Kashmir. Pakistan wants to Balkanise India by cutting off the countrys northern, eastern (North-East) and southern (Kerala) wings. In fact, Mushahid Hussain, once a former information minister under Sharif, has argued that Pakistan should work towards the division of India into three or four independent countries. Simultaneously, Pakistans ISI machinery will concentrate on widening the Hindu-Muslim divide, spreading hatred and destroying Indias inherent ethos of communal harmony.

Unless the typical mindset of the Pakistanis is changed, India will remain their eternal enemy, whatever the Indian peaceniks may say to the contrary.
Mumbai: Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India today said Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) call to end the protest against Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will not affect its decision to ban the film's screening in four states  Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka  but it is open to discussion with director Karan Johar.

COEAI announced last week that it won't screen films with Pakistani actors putting Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in trouble as it stars Fawad Khan. The film is set to hit theatres on October 28 just before Diwali.

"The stand we took earlier continues even now. The final stand will be taken by the executive committee on Monday. We can't talk about the future but right now we stick to our stand," Nitin Datar, who is the President of COEAI, told PTI.

"Our stand was not according to MNS. Ours is different. MNS sat with them and discusses the issue and sorted it out... Karan Johar should come to us and talk to us... There is always a solution," he added.

MNS' decision to officially call off the protests came after Johar, Producers' Guild president Mukesh Bhatt and Raj Thackeray met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his residence 'Varsha' on Saturday morning.

When asked if COEAI is ready to meet Johar, Datar said, "Why should any association or person refuse to talk? If MNS can solve the problem why others can't do that? It does not mean the problem will get solved but unless you come together how can we say anything? They solved the problem by discussing 'patriotic terms' and paying money and Karan Johar agreed to that. Regarding our problem and dealing, he has to call us. Someone has to approach. This is the statement I gave earlier also that there is always a scope for settlement."
Leela Samson  Padamshri, renowned Bharatnatyam exponent  is a name to reckon with.

A product of Kalakshetra, Leela is in Mumbai for the eighth edition of the National Centre of Performing Arts' Nakshatra Dance Festival (from 20-23 October), where she will perform with her troupe Spanda and then conduct a daylong workshop.

In an interview with Firstpost, Samson spoke about Spanda, why the arts must evolve with time and her experiences working on Mani Ratnam's film OK Kanmani.

Dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer  it would be unfair to ask which role has been most satisfying. Having achieved probably all that you aspired for in all these fields, is there something that you still feel needs to be fulfilled?

In all of these roles, there are things to be done still  especially as a dancer. And I feel that these are all interrelated. Being a teacher is an outcome of being a dancer. When you see young people dancing, you feel that good choreography is needed to keep their interest alive and audiences drawn. Besides, the full potential of a style is explored. Choreography is exciting. Dance is a challenge, always, especially now. When you are younger you have much more energy and potential, but not the maturity of understanding. When you are older you have all the maturity, but not the energy.

In one of your interviews you had shared that you wanted to become a surgeon. Do you feel at times that you could have? And that you could still be a dancer had you opted for medicine?

I would have surely used my hands in some field or the other  I could have been a surgeon, a farmer. It would be a nice feeling to use my hands to heal people. But I guess I didnt have the intelligence for it. But had I become a surgeon, I wouldnt have danced. They require, each of them, very complete energies and time. They are both extremely demanding and specialised.

How would you, as an artiste, gauge the audience response to traditional art forms in the West as compared to India?

People across the world are the same. Some are informed, some more sensitive than the others and some will only criticise. It depends on what the expectation of the audience is. Some may be looking for fun, some for glamour, some for drama or characterisation and others for merely the abstract in any performance. An artist cannot please everyone. In that sense, I would say that the positive or the negative response of the audience, anywhere in the world, lies in the eyes of the beholder.

What was working on OK Kanmani like?

Doing the film was a great experience. I loved the way Mani Ratnam simply made me sail through all of it. He did not ever make me feel that I was not an actor. We had a great cinematographer in PC Sreeram, a wonderful score by AR Rahman. To play a woman suffering from Alzheimer's, I guess one had to be sensitive to the character and convey the same with subtle nuances. A small but well-etched role and a challenge, because of the complexity of character. I loved the process though, the people and that world. The Hindi version of that film  OK Jaanu  is ready too and I am blessed to have a role in it too. It is directed by Shaad Ali and casts Naseeruddin Shah, Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur. It's being readied for release by Dharma Productions.

Youve choreographed several works  solo as well as group performances. Which of the many has been closest to your heart? Why?

All the works for solo or Spanda are close to my heart. People may have their preferences, but I like them all. Each is different. I like the older works as much as I like the new. Some research goes into each work and each is a sort of learning for the next.



Art forms need to evolve with time. With Spanda you have ensured a touch of the contemporary to the traditional dance form. How important is this fusion in the coming times?

I would not call what I do fusion although the word is fun to use. The classical form of Bharatnatyam is getting contemporarised constantly. My guru did it in the '40s and '50s. I am simply adding to what many dancers have done. Our language is changing. We are using a vocabulary that is more youthful. Dance has to evolve to connect with the youth. A lot of young people are into dance per se. And there is no form that does not demand discipline from you and commitment. This is very important because it brings rigour to the mind and the body. That brings about harmony or balance between the body, the mind and the feelings. This balance can be attained through dance.

At the NCPA's Nakshatra Dance Festival, you are showcasing 'Past Forward', along with Spanda. What is the work based on?

'Past Forward is a demonstration of the souls inward journey depicted through the body of the individual and the group collectively. It also includes the search from without to within, an exploration for light and truth which is every human beings endeavour.

Each performance by Spanda whether of the abstract and symbolic, of the traditional and the contemporary, chooses themes that are universal in spirit, without forsaking the vocabulary of Bharatnatyam.
Reason to cheer: The Danish company is now the number four player in a country with a vibrant beer culture.

Betting on Vietnams high beer consumption, Carlsberg Breweries has acquired almost 11 percent of the local market, which is still dominated by a state-owned brewer.

The companys performance in Vietnam, especially in the central region, has been strong, Carlsberg Vietnam CEO Tayfun Uner said at a press conference earlier this week.

He said it is currently holding more than half of the beer market in the central provinces, with the highest growth recorded in Da Nang, from merely 1 percent in 2012 to 19.8 percent.

Carlsberg is now ranked fourth in Vietnam with a 10.8 percent market share, after Ho Chi Minh City-based Sabeco with 46 percent, Heineken-owned Vietnam Brewery Limited with 25 percent, and Hanoi-based Habeco with nearly 20 percent. Nearly 90 percent of Sabeco, the maker of the iconic Saigon brand, is owned by the state.

The Danish beer makers significant growth in the central region is in line with its production expansion strategy in the country.

It acquired Hue Brewery, a dominant player in the central region known for its best-selling brand Huda Hue, for more than $90 million in 2011.

Carlsberg is also currently holding a 17.23 stake in the countrys third-biggest beer firm Habeco, which is scheduled to have its listing on the secondary stock market next Friday.

As the Vietnamese government is speeding up its plan to offload assets at Habeco, Carlsberg is expected to more than double its stake in the firm.

The company has been pouring money into the country as the Vietnamese are guzzling more beer than ever.

According to the Vietnam Beer Alcohol Beverage Association, Vietnamese drinkers are expected to consume more than 4 billion liters of beer this year, up from 3.88 billion liters in 2015.

Over the past five years, Vietnam has seen a 40-percent jump in beer consumption to more than 3.8 billion liters in 2015.

Each Vietnamese person drinks on average 27.4 liters, making them the heaviest beer drinkers in Southeast Asia, the third in Asia after Japan and China, and in the worlds top 25.

Related news:

>Beer, big bucks and babes: tapping into Vietnam's thirst

>Vietnam top brewer Habeco to list 230 million shares

>Vietnam plans massive sell-off in state-owned firms early next year
By Shreya Shah

Mehsana (Gujarat): Is Khema Bhai there? B D Sagar shouted out in Gujarati to a small group of people sitting under a tree on a dusty knoll, in the outskirts of Mehsana city, in north-western Gujarat. Sturdily built Sagar, a senior treatment supervisor in Indias national tuberculosis (TB) programme, was searching for a TB patient, a tribal, called Khema Bhai Vanjara. A woman told Sagar that Khema Bhai had moved to another make-shift hut, five minutes away.

If this had happened in the past, we would have had no idea where the patient is, explained Sagar confidently, in Hindi, with a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. Now I have two ways of finding the patientI can call on the mobile number registered in the system or, I can go to the registered doctor, and ask him to inform me when the patient comes back, he said, as he sat on his black motorcycle, plastered with the words Govt. of Gujarat.

Sagar and Khema Bhai Vanjara are part of a pilot programme in the district of Mehsana, about 80 km north of Ahmedabad, to provide TB patients treated in the private sectorwhich handles about half of all TB cases nationwidefree medicines and counselling. In doing so, the programme hopes to address a major failing in Indias battle against a disease that takes more than two lives every three minutes, or 480,000 lives, every year. India has an estimated 2.8 million new cases of TB  more than a quarter of the global burden  every year. No more than 8.4% of patients estimated to be treated in the private sector are registered with the government, leaving millions of Indias TB patients unmonitored, drug regimens incomplete and the disease as persistent as ever.

In the second quarter of 2016, the private sector in Mehsana notified  the official term for registering patients with the governmentabout 974 TB cases, more than 25 times the total number of cases registered in the first quarter of 2013a mere 37before the programme began.

The programme, initiated by the Central TB division, part of Indias Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, attempts to engage private doctors to increase the number of TB patients registered with the public sector, and track the treatment completion of private sector patients. These patients are still treated within the private sector.

Earlier the attitude used to be: Why take care of those patients who dont come to government system? Leave them, said K K Patel, Mehsanas district TB officer. Now we try to reach them too.

Replicating the programme across India could help better assess the actual burden of TB in India, but the national TB control programme is short of funds to scale the programme nationwide. Indias national TB control programme received only about 50% of the funds it requested from the government in 2015-16, a trend that has continued at least for the past four years, according to data from annual reports of the programme. Funding patients from the private sector would increase the total cost to the government. The pilot programme in Mehsana is funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the funding is unlikely to continue after 2020.

By relying on public health system, India under-reports TB cases

India underestimates the burden of TB by relying only on cases registered in the public sector, expert opinion and two sub national studies in its calculations, according to this 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report. In its 2016 report, the WHO revised its estimate of Indias TB burden upward, as IndiaSpend reported on October 14.

Of the 2.8 million TB cases estimated in India, in 2015, the public sector registered 56% cases for treatment, or about 1.5 million cases, according to data from Indias revised national tuberculosis control programme (RNTCP).

If the government cannot track private-sector patients, they might not complete treatment, adversely affecting their health and productivity, and making it more likely that the TB bacteria turn resistant to some anti-TB drugs.

Drug-resistant TB is a more potent form of the disease that takes longer to cure, and is more expensive to treat than regular TB. India has about 80,000 estimated cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, with about 16% of previously treated cases estimated to be drug-resistant, according to WHO data.

Recent efforts to measure TB cases estimate that the private sector treats 2.2 million TB casesat least as many TB cases as the public sector. The private sector in India could treat anything between 1.19 and 5.24 million patients in 2014, according to this 2016 study published in the Lancet, a medical journal, which based its data on the sale of drugs containing Rifampicin, the main anti-TB drug.

It was only in 2012 that the government made it mandatory for private doctors to report cases to the government. Overall, notification rates in Gujarat and India have gone up by about three times. Gujarat registered 42.2 private-sector cases per 100,000 in 2015, up from 10.3 cases in 2013. India registered 14.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2015, up from 3.1 in 2013.

Better reporting in India helps the world track TB better

The push to notify TB cases has not only substantially increased the cases registered in India but also in the world, which has battled the disease for about 40,000 years.

TB cases reported across the world increased from 5.7 million in 2013 to over 6 million in 2014, according to this 2015 WHO report. In 2014, India accounted for 27% of all TB notifications in the world, according to the WHO. Reporting in India increased by 29% compared to 2013.

Source: PATH, World Health Partners and Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program

In part, the increase in notifications can be credited to the new pilot programmes in Mehsana, Mumbai, and Patna, which were started in 2014.

The call centre, the chemist and free medicines: How the programme works

In all three sites, private practitioners can contact a call centre, register their patient, and get a voucher number. When the patient goes to a chemist with the prescription and voucher number, the chemist calls the same call centre, confirms the voucher and provides the medicines to the patient free of cost. The programme directly reimburses the cost of the medicines to chemists. In Mehsana and Patna, chemists receive an additional 3% of the cost of the medicines.

Field officers, such as Mehsanas Sagar, who are part of the districts TB control programme, receive details of the patient when they are registered with the call centre. These field officers call, message and sometimes visit the homes of these patients to ensure that they understand the disease, take the medicines, and answer any queries they might have about the TB drug regimen or their health in general.

In Patna and Mumbai, the pilot programme also offers free diagnostic tests for TB such as X-Rays and the GeneXpert, which tests for Rifampicin resistance. The pilot programmes do not treat drug-resistant patients, but transfer them to the public sector for treatment, where patients are treated under the RNTCP.

Tracking Khema Bhai: If nomads can be tracked, anyone can

The day after Sagar was informed that Khema Bhai had moved to another location, he revved up his motorcycle and set out to find him. Khema Bhai Vanjarahe estimates he is about 55 years oldis a member of a Gujarati nomadic community, and has moved from place to place within Mehsana district over the last seven to eight years. Sagar found Khema Bhai, a lanky man dressed in a knee-length, white dhoti and striped t-shirt, on a stretch of land on the outskirts of Mehsana city, where about 20 other families from the same community live.

Khema Bhai and his family of 10 survive on Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 a month, he said. A doctor at a private hospital diagnosed Khema Bhai with tuberculosis about a year ago. Costs kept piling up: The doctors consultation fee cost Rs 330, medicines cost around Rs 1,000 a month, including drugs for TB. But Khema Bhai didnt feel better.

He visited several doctors, and after two months, Khema Bhai contracted pneumonia. Hospitalisation costs were about Rs 22,000. When Khema Bhai became better, the doctor put him back on the TB meds, and told him that the government provides free drugs at private chemists. Now, although Khema Bhai still spends around Rs 700 on medicines other than TB drugs, it is much easier to afford the medicines, he said, standing near a charpai, a string bed, with his family congregating around. Further, he doesnt have to go every alternate day to a government-affiliated clinic for free medicines, which would have been near impossible for him, a daily-wage labourer.

Before the pilot programme, patients would have to visit a DOTS, or directly observed therapy short course centre every other day and take TB medicines in front of a health worker or doctor.

A key link to tracking runaway patients: Field officers who earn Rs 15,000 a month

Counselling by field workers, and the incentive of free medicines, convinces several patients to return to their doctor. For instance, patients who would have run away after the diagnosis, now come back, said Sonal Choudhary, a doctor who has been a part of the programme since May 2016. This improves patient adherence to the treatment and medication, she said.

Chemists who are part of clinics that have many TB patients have benefited from higher sales. For instance, Shailesh Patels sales have almost doubled. In 2015, he sold TB medicines worth around Rs 120,000, or Rs 10,000 a month. In 2016, in five months alone, he has sold nearly Rs 97,000 worth of TB drugson average, over Rs 19,000 a month. Patel ascribed the increase to more patients returning to the shop and to more patients taking TB medicines because they are free.

But the success of the programme in Mehsana is greatly dependent on the work done by field officers, who act as the liaison between the programme, chemists and private practitioners, in addition to counselling patients.

Sagar, who is the senior treatment supervisor for Mehsana city, manages all the case load for a population of 500,000. The inclusion of these private facilities has doubled his load. He meets about 7-8 patients a day to counsel patients and check on their treatment, working seven hours a day on the field. After he goes home, he completes the programme register filling in details of patients and their treatment status. Sagar is still paid Rs 15,000 a month, much less than what he could earn in the private sector. Further, he is a contract worker with no job security. No new staff have been hired by the district TB centre.

It is because our public health system is strong, and because we have dedicated staff, that we are able to implement the programme successfully, Patel, the district TB officer, explained.

Doctors and chemists too have to spend extra time to register patients with the call centre. It would take 20 minutes to register one patient, said Chirag P Patel, a pharmacist at Hart Medical, attached to the busy Hart Clinic in Mehsana, that gets up to 15 TB patients a month. Often, the call centre operative would ask questions we didnt understand, and we would have to ask the doctor, he added, explaining that they tried the programme for some time, but now prefer referring patients to the clinic opposite, that is part of the programme.

In states without strong health systems, existing government staff might be unable to take on extra work to include private sector patients. For instance, Bihar, the third most populous state in India, has no staff in key positions of a TB-HIV coordinator, a drug-resistant TB coordinator, and far fewer treatment supervisors than the state of Gujarat. Bihars TB control programme is supposed to cover 113,000 peopledouble the population compared to Gujarats TB control program.

In such cases, the government would have to partner with private organisations that help fill this gap.

In Mumbai, the programme is implemented by a non-governmental organisation, PATH, which hires field workers through third-party organisations, to assist doctors and chemists. The field workers register patients for doctors at high-burden clinics, maintain programme registers, which reduces the extra work that doctors, and staff in the public sector would have to do for the programme. The programme in Patna is also run by a private organisation.

The Mumbai programme hires a total of 238 people, and costs $140 (Rs 9,339) per patient, mostly because of the added cost of providing free diagnostics, according to PATH, as compared to the Mehsana programme, which hires no new personnel, and costs $80-$90 (Rs 5,336-Rs 6,003) per person diagnosed, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The perception of a weak public health sector also makes it difficult to implement the program, said Nita Jha, programme lead for urban TB at World Health Partners, the non-governmental organisation running the pilot programme in Patna. She said it was an uphill task to convince bothsenior practitioners to move to government-recommended diagnostic methods and treatment, and patients to take government-funded medicines. They preferred paying for medicines rather than taking free drugs from the government, she said.

Do patients value free medicines?

Not everyone believes that the free medication helps patients complete treatment. Umesh Patel, a general physician in Mehsana, treats about 60 patients a year, and only about 15 complete the treatment. He believes that free medicines are not worth it because patients do not value them. If a family pays for the medicines, they will ensure that the patient takes the medicines, he said. Only the poorest patients should get free medicines, not every TB patient who comes to a clinic, he said.

Up to 83% of all patients registered in the public sector completed treatment in 2015, according to the 2016 RNTCP annual report. The pilot programmes have been slightly less successful than the public sector TB control programme: 80% of private sector patients evaluated in Mehsana until June 2015 completed treatment. In Mumbai, 75% of patients registered till November 2015 completed treatment, while the treatment completion rate in Patna is 73%.

Whats next for the pilot programmes?

The pilot programmes in all three cities will continue for the next three years. In Mumbai and Patna, where private organisations aid the government, the pilots will be integrated with the government sector by moving all diagnostics from private labs to either government labs, or labs that agree to work with the government sector, according to officials from PATH in Mumbai, and World Health Partners in Patna.

The government might also provide private chemists drugs procured through government machinery instead of reimbursing the cost of medicines procured by chemists themselves. But the integration is still in early stages and its success depends greatly on government capability, willingness of private practitioners and chemists to work with the government, and support from private organisations, like NGOs, to the government, the officials added.

Shah is a reporter/editor with IndiaSpend.
The mellifluous tones of Ustad Amjad Ali Khans sarod have moved many. But the maestros recent series of concerts are special, in a different sense.

Khan saab will be strumming his sarod for the Music For Vision concerts, one among which will be held in Delhi on 23 October, Sunday (another was held in Mumbai on 20 October). The concert series  which marks a collaboration between HelpMeSee and Music For Life International (MFLI)  have been held to raise awareness about (and funds for) eliminating blindness caused due to cataracts. The series of worldwise concerts will wrap up with a grand finale in February 2017, at New York.

In an interview with Firstpost, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (the maestro is the global goodwill ambassador for the Music for Vision initiative) said he is always supportive of a noble cause.

The way the initiative has been able to help people who suffer from cataract blindness makes me very happy, because I know the world of the visually impaired. As a young musician I visited many schools for the visually impaired and performed for them. And the applause I received from those children, it made me realize that they see everything through sound. And with these concerts, were trying to help a lot of people, Khan saab said.

For the concert, the maestro will be performing his concerto Samagam. It implies a confluence of cultures, and is indicative of Khan saabs belief that good music is created through collaboration.

His performance will also draw on many of the ragas that Khan saab has composed. Indeed, his repertoire of ragas is vast, including Swar Sameer, Subhalaxmi (named for his beloved wife Subhalaxmi Khan, as well as the legendary vocalist MS Subbulakshmi, of whom the ustad has been a fan since childhood) , Ganaesh Kalyan, Bapu Kauns, Haafiz Kauns (named after his father), Rahat Kauns (named for his mother), Shivanjali, etc.

Shivanjali, to Khan saab is among the more unusual ragas; it uses both dhaivat(s) and nishad(s). Then there is the Ganesh Kalyan, of which he says: It was a dhun I used to sing without realising what I am singing a new tune, new melody. I later named it Ganesh Kalyan. There are radical musicians who tend to be critical (and say) that new ragas cant be created. I dont believe in that. I feel there is no full stop to creativity.

Khan saabs Music For Vision concert begins with Ganesh Kalyan, and draws on Subhalaxmi and Swar Sameer, apart from many other Indian ragas.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khans musical journey began very early; he gave his first sarod recital at the age of just six. A disciple of his father Haafiz Ali Khan, the maestro was born into the Bangash lineage entrenched in the Senia Bangash School of music. He represents the sixth generation of this artistic house. His sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan have followed in his illustrious footsteps and forged their own identity as well known musicians as well.

Ask Khan saab about his musical inspirations, and he gives credit to his many listeners. It is the audience, that motivates and inspires him, the sarod virtuoso says.

Unlike some purists, Khan saab also does not distinguish between popular and classical music. Music is music, he says, simply. I want to communicate with the listener who finds Indian classical music remote.

For details on the Music For Vision concert, click here.
By Maurice Tamman

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College and claim the U.S. presidency, according to the latest States of the Nation project results released on Saturday.In the last week, there has been little movement. Clinton leads Donald Trump in most of the states that Trump would need should he have a chance to win the minimum 270 votes needed to win. According to the project, she has a better than 95 percent chance of winning, if the election was held this week. The mostly likely outcome would be 326 votes for Clinton to 212 for Trump.Trump came off his best debate performance of the campaign Wednesday evening but the polling consensus still showed Clinton winning the third and final face-off on prime-time TV. Trump disputes those findings.And some national polls had the race tightening a wee bit this week though others had Clinton maintaining her solid lead. But the project illustrates that the broader picture remains bleak for Trump with 17 days to go until the Nov. 8 election.

Trump did gain ground in South Carolina where his slim lead last week expanded to seven points, moving it into his column from a toss-up. Unfortunately for him, he lost ground in Arizona, which is now too close to call.Additionally, he is facing a challenge for Utahs six Electoral College votes from former CIA operative and Utah native Evan McMullin. The independent candidate is siphoning votes away from Trump in a state that is Republican as any in the nation. In some polls, McMullin is even leading. (The States of the Nation is not polling on McMullin.)

Utah, like almost all of the states, is a winner-take-all contest.Clinton has also maintained a lead in Florida and Pennsylvania, which have a combined 49 Electoral College votes. Ohio remains too close to call.

According to the project, lower voter turnout generally benefits Trump but his best hope for success is if Republican turnout surges and Democratic turnout is low. To examine these results and other scenarios, go to the States of the Nation project here: here (Editing by Bernard Orr)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Mumbai: With the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) calling off its agitation against the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) on Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has more than one reason to celebrate. Apart from preventing any untoward violence due to the anti-Pakistan protests, Fadnavis, who has been the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) in the state, has also given his party a way to counter its bitter ally Shiv Sena, experts believe.

Though allies, the BJP and Shiv Sena have been at loggerheads for some time throwing allegations of corruption at each other.

According to party insiders, the BJP had been looking for ways to counter Shiv Sena's influence ahead of the municipal council election starting from 27 November, and the MNS' stand against Pakistani artistes gave it a chance to do just that. A rising MNS is bad news for Shiv Sena, something which the BJP high command seems to believe in too.

Party sources told Firstpost that Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was in Mumbai on Friday, had met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and discussed the MNS' agitation against the release of films with Pakistani actors. Singh had categorically told Fadnavis to gauge the issue, and instructed him to prevent any law and order situation that may arise due the release of the film. And by acting as the mediator between MNS and the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, Fadnavis did just that.

By managing to get the producers guild to agree to all its three demands  first, a written consent to not hire any Pakistani citizens in any future projects; second, add a slate in the film paying tribute to the soldiers who died in the Uri attack; and third, donate Rs 5 crore to the Army Welfare Fund  the MNS has achieved something that even the Shiv Sena couldn't in the past. Remember that Shiv Sena had carried out similar agitation during the release of the Shah Rukh Khan's film, My Name is Khan, but had downplayed its opposition. In contrary, the MNS had kept the momentum up since day one.

"The MNS has not gone on the back foot. All the three conditions have been accepted because of the party.Till today, the producers guild had not given a written letter to Army Welfare Fund," says MNS leader Avinash Abhayankar.

While one may argue whether the MNS won or caved in by allowing the release of ADHM, one cannot ignore the calculated moves that Raj Thackeray took to ensure its demands were not rejected. Before Saturday's meeting, Raj Thackeray was well aware of the fact that Karan Johar had plans of paying tribute to the soldiers killed in the Uri attack, as well as helping the families of those soldiers, sources told Firstpost. And that's why MNS had called an urgent party meeting on Friday. During the meeting, two issues were raised: First, if the release is opposed during Diwali, and the MNS workers are arrested, the party should back its members. Second, the MNS should continue its agitation against Pakistani artistes at any cost. However, Thackeray had refrained from giving a reply and had said that he would take a final decision in 48 hours.

So, next morning, when Thackeray reached the Fadnavis residence, Varsha bungalow, he knew what he wanted and what the producers guild would happily agree with. According to Abhayankar, "In the one-hour meeting, both Mukesh Bhatt and Karan Johar apologised to Fadnavis and Thackeray saying that they made a big mistake and they didn't want to upset the sentiments of Indians, however, considering the film was made when India-Pakistan relations were good, it should be allowed to release," thus ending the deadlock.

As for Fadnavis, he had already told Thackeray that he won't allow any violence associated with the film release.

All of which makes one wonder, why did the MNS and the BJP extend the agitation for so long.

"The extra footage given to the MNS and Raj Thackeray in the ADHM agitation is through BJP," says political analyst Abhay Deshpande. "It was clearly to make the MNS look strong. A strong MNS is BJP's gain and Sena's loss," he adds.
The political commentariat  at least many among them  believe that our age belongs to poll strategists. If you happen to subscribe to this theory, you might repose trust in the abilities of a successful electoral strategist like Prashant Kishor to salvage the Congress party from organisational disarray in Uttar Pradesh.

But scpetics can see the futility of such top-driven models, especially when, the party in question seems to be beyond redemption in terms of its public image. The Congress, immersed in a permanent state of crisis, may well elude Kishors efforts to makeover its image. Neither Nitish Kumar nor Narendra Modi (whose campaigns were to a large extent driven by Kishor,) were in as dire straits as the Congress leadership is in today.

The recent defection of Uttar Pradeshs senior Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of next years assembly polls, is a good example of the state of affairs within the party. On Thursday, Joshi, who had served as UP Congress president between 2007 and 2012, formally shared a podium with Amit Shah, the BJP president, to declare her political switchover. Media reports suggested that she was unhappy with the Congress leadership, particularly the partys vice-president, Rahul Gandhi.

Her grievances appear to be more than just a little justified. The daughter of veteran Congress leader and former UP Chief Minister, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, has rich political roots in the state. Yet, the central Congress leadership chose to sideline her and catapult Sheila Dikshit as the partys chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 elections. Joshi told the media that unlike Sonia Gandhi, who heeded their advice, her son does not. She also said that Prashant Kishor can be a "poll manager" but not a "poll director".

According to a report in The Indian Express, Joshi told the media that she was hurt by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis 'khoon ki dalali' remark, in reference to surgical strikes recently conducted by India on several terror launch pads across the LoC. The report also mentioned that she praised party president Amit Shah for his style of functioning. "I have served Congress for 24 years and have taken this decision for the benefit of the nation. How could Congress ask for proof of strikes?"

Recall in this context, the defection of Himanta Biswa Sarma, once a powerful Education and Health Minister in former Assam Congress Chief Minister Tarun Gogois cabinet, to the BJP. An asset to the BJP, Sarma played a prominent role in the partys victory in Assam earlier this year.

If Joshis defection is likely to damage the Congresss strategy to woo Brahmins, a much deeper and seemingly intractable problem lies at the core of the Congress' culture. The party continues to be hamstrung by its confounding servility to the Gandhi dynasty. Disgruntlement against the Congress high command has been running high. It is not just a question of tackling Rita Bahuguna Joshi or the Chhattisgarh Congress MLA RK Rai who was recently suspended for slighting Rahul Gandhi.

Clearly, most Congressmen and women, particularly those with organic links to people in states, have accumulated grievances against the central leadership. The Gandhis, particularly Rahul Gandhi, is known to cold shoulder state leaders, refusing to grant them a hearing, and most importantly, remaining impervious to the need to nurture a strong state leadership. Rahul seems to believe that his whirlwind tours across UP, his sudden appearances in Dalit villages or at sites of people's movement, along with his occasional barbs (often embarrassing his party) are a substitute for hard, consistent, political work. He seems to believe that impromptu shortcuts make for good political strategy to rattle the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Whether it was Rahuls branding of the Modi government as 'suit boot ki sarkar' or his recent shrill accusation that the government is resorting to 'khoon ki dalali', none of his cutting barbs has yielded any political dividends. If anything, Rahul's 'khoon ki dalali' comment has been criticised by his own party members, both overtly and in the shadows.

The main reason for Rahul's failure to follow these hit-and-run tactics with solid political and organisational strategy is that he is simply bereft of the political acumen the Congress needs at this hour of crisis. In the absence of proper, strong leadership, it seems unlikely that even the most capable of poll strategists can pull off a surprise for the party in UP.
In yet another indication of continuing infighting within the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday, skipped a crucial party meeting convened by state unit chief and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Akhilesh did not attend the meeting of district presidents of the Samajwadi Party, even though Shivpal drove down to his residence on Friday to invite him personally for the event. He also announced that his Rath Yatra will start from 3 November and that he would inform the district chiefs, whose region the yatra passes, about the detailed programme

The meeting was called to discuss the 2017 assembly elections and to prepare for a silver jubilee function of the ruling party scheduled for 5 November.

Informed sources said the Chief Minister was in no mood to compromise on his stated opposition to entry of criminals and re-entry of ministers accused of graft into the SP and demand for complete say in deciding tickets for the assembly elections.

Shivpal Singh Yadav is learnt to have told the SP's district presidents at the meeting that Akhilesh will be Chief Minister again if the party returns to power in the 2017 elections.

"I am ready to give it in writing on a stamp paper that if we win a majority, Akhilesh will be the next Chief Minister" he told party leaders.

On Friday, Akhilesh called a meeting of his close party workers at his residence in Lucknow. According to a report by Pradesh 18, he said that the graph of the party has been going up and down. He said, "Out of the four tires of the party, three are punctured."

He was giving clear signals that the internal rifts in the party are quite serious.

With inputs from agencies
Srinagar: Security forces today arrested two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, who were allegedly involved in an attack that left two army personnel and a cop dead, from Baramulla district of Kashmir.

"Two persons who were part of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad module in Baramulla have been arrested," a senior police official said.

He said the arrested persons have been identified as Safeer Ahmad Bhat and Farhaan Fayaz.

"These individuals were part of JeM terror module  operating in Baramulla and adjoining areas  headed by a Pakistani terrorist Khalid. This module was involved in the attack on security forces on August 16 in which two armymen and a cop were killed at Khwajabagh in Baramulla," the official said.

He said one AK rifle, one pistol and some ammunition were recovered from the arrested militants.
New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi who is in the eye of a storm for allegedly leaking defence secrets to controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma on Saturday rejected the charges against him as false and frivolous and said he will take legal action against those who deliberately sought to tarnish his reputation.



The Sultanpur MP issued a detailed statement addressed to "my fellow countrymen," in which he made point by point rebuttal to the allegations levelled against him as he insisted that there is "no one grain of truth or one shred of evidence" in them.

While he was a member of both the Defence Standing Committee and the Defence Consultative Committee from 2009, he said he never attended a meeting of the consultative committee and very few of the standing committee.

"Clearly, I was neither actively seeking out nor passing on any information. Had there been any hidden agenda or motivation as alleged in the letter it would have been reflected in my attendance...I would like to point out the false and frivolous nature of its (letter) charges, and the impossibility of these allegations." Gandhi said.

Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav had on Thursday released a letter written by Edmonds Allen, a New York-based lawyer, to the PMO last month that Varun was honey trapped and compromised by Verma.

He alleged that Verma "blackmailed" Varun, a member of the Defence Consultative Committee, into sharing sensitive information on crucial arms matters.

Allen, who was a partner of Verma, fell out with him in 2012. Verma is facing trial in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case. "I have never met Edmonds Allen, who has written this letter containing these allegation. Nor do I have any details of who he is, not what he does except as has been reported in the press of him being a former associate of Abhishek Verma," Gandhi said in the statement.

"I first made acquaintance with Verma when I was a college student in England. He was introduced as the son of late Veena and Shrikant Verma, both Members of Parliament from a reputed family. We met socially over a short period of time. It has been many years since we last met. At no point did we ever discuss work, neither his nor mine," he said.

Bhushan alleged that despite having all the details, the BJP government did not blacklist Thales, the company that sold scam-tainted Scorpene submarines, as Dassault acquired it.

Gandhi also questioned the timing of the allegations. "While I am confident that no right thinking person places any credence in these allegations, what I find worrying is that such baseless accusations are made at a time when the entire nation is united behind our brave defence forces," he said.

Terming the statement released by the Swaraj Abhiyan leaders as "deeply disturbing", he said it is allegedly based on a letter containing "wild and unsubstantiated" charges against him.

The allegations against Verma by Allen have long been the subject of detailed investigations by both the CBI and the ED, he said, adding that charge sheets have been filed.

"It is ludicrous to suggest that I was ever blackmailed as I had done nothing wrong. It is even more bizarre to claim that I leaked top secret defence information from the Defence Parliamentary Committee when every MP is well aware that no sensitive defence information is shared with such a parliamentary panel. As a first time MP of the Opposition party, I could not have had any access to any confidential information, far from leaking it," Gandhi said.

The BJP MP said it is "unethical" that such allegations should have been publicly aired without being scrutinised, verified or even clarified.

He said Allen might have targeted a public figure like him to seek "maximum publicity" and quoted media reports to suggest that he was doing so after his business dealings with Verma went sour.

"I have needlessly been sought to be embroiled into a controversy in which I have no part," he said.

"My family and I have been deeply traumatised by these lies. I am taking legal recourse against those who have deliberately sought to tarnish my reputation and public standing. Here, I simply wanted to share the truth without delay so that such mischief is nipped in the bud. I owe everything to this great nation and shall always endeavour to live up to the faith and trust reposed in me," he said.
BEIRUT Calm prevailed across the divided northern Syrian city of Aleppo on the third of four consecutive day-time unilateral ceasefires announced by Russia, but medical evacuations and aid deliveries have still not happened, a war monitor said. No Syrian or Russian air strikes on the eastern rebel-held side of Aleppo, Syria's most populous pre-war city, have been reported since Russia began the pause in hostilities on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.But rebels have said they cannot accept the ceasefire, which they say does nothing to alleviate the situation of those who choose to remain in rebel-held Aleppo, and believe it is part of a government policy to purge cities of political opponents.The Syrian army and Russia have called on residents and rebels in besieged eastern Aleppo to leave the city through designated corridors and depart for other insurgent-held districts under a promise of safe travel, but very few rebels or civilians appear to have left.

"Nobody has left through the corridors. The small number of people which who tried to leave were faced with shelling around the (corridor area) and could not leave," said Zakaria Malahifji, a rebel official with the Fastaqim group, which is present in the city.Malahifji said shelling and clashes continued at normal levels in parts of the city.

Sporadic clashes between insurgents and Syrian government and allied forces have been reported during the period of calm along frontlines, with some shells falling on both the government-held western side of the city and the rebel-held east, the Observatory said.

Aleppo has been a major battleground in the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by the Russian military, Iran's Revolutionary Guards and an array of Shi'ite Muslim militias, wants to take full control of the city. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Before it becomes a 'universal truth', driven by the echo-chamber effects of mass media, it is time to challenge a notion that is of late gaining huge traction in India  that post Uri, Pakistan now lies boxed in a sulky diplomatic corner.

Subscribers of this view point to recent Indian success in leading five Saarc nations into boycotting the host Islamabad. The Narendra Modi government's efforts to boost Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) ties  a regional realignment excluding Pakistan and comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal  and the decision to invite the leaders during the recent Goa Brics Summit have been lauded as a diplomatic masterstroke that further reinforced Pakistan's isolation.

Though Brics and Bimstec declarations refrained from taking Pakistan's name, Indian foreign policy experts have pointed to the meaty stress on terrorism, from what are essentially geo-economic alliances and have interpreted these as more proofs of Pakistan's growing ostracisation.

If anything, China has masterfully sought to fuel this impression. In its state-run mouthpiece Global Times, it accused India of using Brics-Bimstec Summit to "outmaneuver and force Pakistan into becoming a regional pariah", conveniently forgetting its own role in influencing Russia against checkmating India's almost every move of cornering Islamabad.

As usual, the truth is layered and infinitely more complex. Behind India's ceremonial triumphalism and China's smoke-and-mirror game lies the fact that Pakistan is no more isolated on international stage now than it already was before Uri. If anything, the shifting sands of global power and realigning of regional forces indicate that Islamabad now sits more smug than ever due to its close relationship with the world's newest superpower  China.

It was seen as little more than a frustrated bluff from Pakistan when one of Nawaz Sharif's 22 envoys recently visited Washington to 'apprise the world on India's brutalities in Kashmir' and ended up threatening the US over its growing coziness with India. He finished with a typical rhetorical flourish that Pakistan simply doesn't care if US chooses to side with its enemy, because China is on its side. And yet, Special Kashmir Envoy of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mushahid Hussain Syed, who talked aggressively of a new China-Russia-Pakistan axis, wasnt far from truth.

A barely reported fresh development on South China Sea that promises to have far-reaching consequences has gained little attention in India. As we remained fixated on Pakistan, Philippines  America's oldest strategic ally in Asia and among its staunchest  cut off (or at least threatened to) its umbilical cord with US and fell onto rival China's lap like an overripe fruit.

This was a move so little anticipated, dramatic and profound that it left China squeaking in delight like a kid in candy shop and triggered deep tremors in Washington. Consider the significance. It was Philippines, under former president Benigno Aquino III, who dragged China into the international tribunal for its territorial claims and military-strategic advances on South China Sea. And it was only in July this year that Beijing was handed a sound thrashing for breaking international maritime laws.

For Philippines, therefore, to effect what Foreign Policy calls an abrupt "vertigo-inducing change in Manila's orientation" is beyond staggering. It may totally reshape the regional alignments where plucky Philippines set the tone for Malaysia and Vietnam to take on China's increasingly assertive and aggressive dominance. With the biggest US ally moving towards Beijing, China's hegemony on the crucial passage of South China Sea, which facilitates the passage of $5 trillion worth of trade each year, is only going to become near total.

China's sleight of hand was evidently on display by the way it dangled the booties

Strategists in Washington are at a loss to explain Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte's move. Explanations have ranged from his congenital dislike of Barack Obama (he insulted the US president as 'son of a w**re') to China's dangling of a slew of economic carrots which proved irresistible for Manila. Be that as it may, the very fact that Duterte, during the just-concluded visit to Beijing, warmed up to China like a moonstruck lover and talked of Xi Jinping as 'elder brother', point to China's growing clout.

As PTI reported from Beijing last Thursday, after a meeting with Jinping, Duterte perhaps shocked even the room full of Chinese and Filipino business delegates themselves by declaring: "I announce my separation from the United States. Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost Ive realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [President Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world  China, Philippines, and Russia. Its the only way."

In Foreign Policy, Max Boot details the history of US-Filipino relationship: "The US ruled the Philippines as a colonial power from 1899 to 1942 and implanted its culture in the archipelago. In World War II, US and Filipino troops fought side by side against the Japanese occupiers. In 1951, Washington and Manila signed a mutual defence treaty. For decades afterward, the Philippines hosted two of the largest US military installations overseas at Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base In 2014, President Barack Obama signed an agreement with then-president Aquino III that would allow US forces more regular access to bases in the Philippines and increase the tempo of training exercises and military cooperation between the two countries."

So this wasn't just an indication of China's growing clout; it was also an unequivocal symbol of how smaller powers align themselves to whom they feel would better protect their interests. After the Modi government's NSG ambition was vetoed by Beijing, triggering deep resentment in India, China offered a piece of advice to outraged Indians. It said that if India wishes to become a global power, it must first figure out how the big boys operate. China's sleight of hand was evidently on display by the way it dangled the booties.

A report in Bloomberg points out: "China will provide $9 billion in soft loans, including a $3 billion credit line with the Bank of China, while economic deals including investments would yield $15 billion, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters in Beijing on Friday. Preliminary agreements in railways, ports, energy and mining worth $11.2 billion were signed between Philippine and Chinese firms.

And The Economist writes: "Duterte wants lots of infrastructure, particularly railways. China is offering cheap loans. He wants the country to export more. China is offering to reopen its markets to Philippine fruit. He wants help with the war on drugs. A Chinese businessman is building a big rehab centre. And he wants Filipino fishermen to be able to return to their traditional fishing grounds around the Scarborough Shoal. China has told Philippine officials that it is open to an accommodation."

Suddenly, the pieces seem to be falling in place. Given the way Russia  now increasingly indebted to Chinese capital, investments and even to tourists from world's most populous nation  has shown every sign of cozying up to Beijing and has even opened new military-strategic ties with Pakistan, that China-Russia-Pakistan axis now looks like an increasing possibility.

India shouldn't count its chickens. Yet.
Driver almost has arm cut off in machete attack on Saigon street

The suspects left behind their own vehicle trying to escape. Photo by VnExpress

The two attackers managed to escape and the police are hunting them down.

A man was attacked when driving his motorcycle in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday afternoon and had his right arm almost severed by a machete.

Police are looking for the two attackers who managed to fled the crime scene in front of a high school in Binh Thanh District.

Witnesses said Nguyen Do Thanh Binh, 41, was riding on Dinh Tien Hoang Street at around 4:30 p.m.

According to the police, two men on a motorcycle suddenly approached him from behind. One of them, wielding a machete, then tried to hack off the victim's right arm.

They escaped into an alley after leaving the victim unconscious on the street.

A police officer said the victim had been followed by his attackers from District 1.

Binh was rushed to hospital. Doctors have been trying to reattach his arm and treat his head injury.

Related news:

> Stone-throwing attack on Vietnam expressway sends bus driver to hospital

> Buddhist monk arrested for deadly knife attack at Vietnam temple

> Vietnam cop jailed for fatal attack on traffic violator
Fletcher: Donald Trump made First Lady Michelle Obama a public target of his anger for the first time today in the final weeks of the presidential race, attacking her for comments she once made about Hillary Clinton.

"His wife, all she wants to do is campaign. And I see how much his wife likes Hillary," Trump told a rally in North Carolina as he shifted his attack from President Barack Obama to the first lady.

"But wasn't she the one that originally started the statement: If you can't take care of your home ... You can't take care of the White House or the country," Trump said, paraphrasing a memorably harsh remark that Michelle Obama made of Clinton when she ran for the 2008 Democratic nomination against fellow senator Barack Obama.

Michelle Obama earned praise from Clinton last week for delivering a whithering critique of Trump and his "intolerable" attitude toward women.

Trump hit back on Friday.

"She's the one that started that," he said of Obama's comments. "I said 'We can't say that, it's too vicious,'" Trump went on.

"Now she said that, but we don't hear about that."

Obama had caused a stir during the 2008 primaries when she addressed a women-for-Obama event in Chicago and criticized Clinton, whose husband, former president Bill Clinton, was accused of sexually harassing and abusing women.

"One of the things, the important aspects of this race, is role-modelling what good families should look like," Michelle Obama said at the time.

"And my view is that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. Can't do it."

Last week the White House warned against Trump potentially firing back at the first lady after her anti-Trump speech.

"I can't think of a bolder way for Donald Trump to lose even more standing than he already has than by engaging the first lady of the United States," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.
Cairo: An Egyptian criminal court on Saturday confirmed a 20-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, in the first final verdict in a case against the former president.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were refused too.

In April 2015, a Cairo court had sentenced Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012, when Morsi was still in power.

The then opposition protesters had rallied in front of the palace to peacefully protest Morsi's decree in which he had ordered that the president shall remain immune from judicial oversight. Clashes erupted outside the palace and 10 people were killed, including journalist el-Husseini Abu Deif, 33.

Morsi and other defendants, were charged for killing protesters, possessing weapons, and inciting violence during the sit-in near the palace.

Defendants include Asad Al-Shikha, Morsi's former deputy chief of staff, Ahmed Abdel Atty, former head of president's office, Mohamed El-Beltagy, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, outspoken Islamic preacher Wagdy Ghoneim and Essam El-Erian, deputy head of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Freedom Party.

Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including on espionage charges, escaping from prison during the 25 January Revolution in 2011, insulting the judiciary and spying and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel.

The former president has said he does not recongnise the trials he faces.

Morsi, who became Egypt's president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was ousted in a military coup after a year in power following mass protests against his rule.

In another case, an Egyptian court on Saturday accepted the appeal of the supreme guide of Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and other defendants against a life in prison sentence for taking part in violent acts near Istekama mosque in Giza in which nine people died last year.

The defendants were accused of murder, attempt to murder, resisting authorities and belonging to an outlaw group that aims at disturbing national peace, among other charges.

The court has ordered a retrial for the defendants.
By Thaier al-Sudani and Phil Stewart

| QAYYARA, Iraq

QAYYARA, Iraq The Iraqi army on Saturday stormed a Christian town that had been under control of Islamic State since 2014 as part of U.S.-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.The advance took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived on a visit to Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and assess the campaign that started on Monday with air and ground support from the U.S-led coalition. A military statement said Iraqi army units entered the center of Qaraqosh, about 20 kms (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town which was emptied of its population in 2014, when Islamic State swept through the region.Iraqi special units earlier this week captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh.The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.The army is also trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north. A Reuters photographer on the southern front saw plumes of smoke rising on Friday from a sulfur factory near that was under the control of Islamic State near the town of Qayyara, filling the air with toxic gasses.It was not clear if the militants set it on fire to cover their retreat or if it was damaged during the fighting.The army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into the city of Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 are dug in, according to Iraqi military estimates.

"It's the beginning of the campaign. We do feel positively about how things have started off, particularly with the complicated nature of this operation," said a U.S. official who briefed reportes ahead of Carter's trip to Baghdad.Carter signalled during a visit to Ankara on Friday his support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign and said there was an agreement in principle between Baghdad and Ankara -- potentially ending a source of tension. Officials said the details on any Turkish participation still needed to be worked out.Roughly 5,000 U.S. personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets. U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed on

Thursday by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq as he wasaccompanying Iraqi forces, in the first U.S. casualty of theMosul campaign. The militants retaliated to the advance of the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish fighters in Mosul by attacking on Friday Kirkuk, an oil city that lies east Hawija, a pocket they continue to control between Baghdad and Mosul. Authorities in Kirkuk extended for a second day a curfew declared after the militants stormed police stations and other buildings in the city under control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday night ordered an army brigade to head to Kirkuk to assist the Peshmerga clear the remaining buildings still held by the militants.Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, after the Iraqi army withdrew from the region, fleeing an Islamic State advance through northern and western Iraq. A total of 35 people have been killed since Friday in clashes of Kirkuk, including four Iranian technicians who were carrying maintenance work in a power station north of the city, according to a hospital source. The toll does not include the jihadists who were killed or who blew themselves up during the fighting.Kurdish leaders say they will never give up the ethnically mixed city, to which they, as well as Turkmen and Arabs, lay claim. Arabs complain that Kurds have since flooded to Kirkuk to tilt the demographic balance the other way. Saddam Hussein ripped at the ethnic fabric of Kirkuk to ensure its dominance by Arabs, and not Kurds, Turkmen or Assyrian Christians who all see the city as part of their ancestral birthright. Kurds say they are simply redressing historic wrongs perpetrated by Saddam. His policy of Arabisation in the north razed Kurdish villages and displaced hundreds of thousands (Reporting by Phil Stewart, Maher Chmaytelli and Saif Hameed in Baghdad, Thaier al-Sudani in Qayyara and Mahmoud Mustafa in Kirkuk; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Phil Stewart and Babak Dehghanpisheh

| QAYYARA, Iraq

QAYYARA, Iraq Iraqi army troops on Saturday stormed into a Christian region that has been under Islamic State control since 2014 as part of U.S.-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.The advance took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived on a visit to Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and assess the campaign that started on Monday with air and ground support from the U.S-led coalition.A military statement said Iraqi units entered the center of Qaraqosh, a mainly Christian town about 20 kms (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town.Further action was under way to seize a neighboring Christian village, Karamless, also known as Karemlash in the Syriac language. The region's population fled in the summer of 2014, when Islamic State swept in.Earlier this week, Iraqi special units also captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh.A U.S. military official estimated there were fewer than a couple of hundred Islamic State fighters in Qaraqosh."I've seen berms in Qaraqosh. I anticipate there'll be trenches, there'll be passageways between different buildings," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.BIGGEST BATTLE SINCE 2003

The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The army is also trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north. U.S. forces at Iraq's Qayyara West airfield, south of Mosul, put on protective masks after winds brought fumes from a nearby sulphur plant set alight by Islamic State fighters, U.S. military officials said.A Reuters reporter in Qayyara saw Iraqi soldiers wearing gas masks on top of their heads, ready to pull them down. A cloud of white smoke blanketed the region to the north, where the factory is located, mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves.The Iraqi army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 IS fighters are dug in, according to Iraqi estimates.Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.

"It's the beginning of the campaign. We do feel positively about how things have started off, particularly with the complicated nature of this operation," said a U.S. official who briefed reporters ahead of Carter's trip to Baghdad.Carter signalled during a visit to Ankara on Friday his support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign and said there was an agreement in principle between Baghdad and Ankara -- potentially ending a source of tension. Officials said the details on any Turkish participation still needed to be worked out.OIL-RICH KIRKUK RETAKEN

Roughly 5,000 U.S. personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets. U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed on Thursday by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq as he was accompanying Iraqi forces, in the first U.S. casualty of the Mosul campaign. The militants retaliated to the advance of the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish fighters in Mosul by attacking on Friday Kirkuk, an oil city that lies east Hawija, a pocket they continue to control between Baghdad and Mosul. Authorities in Kirkuk regained control of the city on Saturday and partially lifted a curfew declared after the militants stormed police stations and other buildings. The region's oil producing facilities were not damaged.At least 50 people have been killed and 80 others wounded in clashes between security forces and the militants in Kirkuk, according to a hospital sources. Four Iranian technicians doing maintenance work at a power station north of the city are among the dead, they said. The toll does not include the jihadists who were killed or who blew themselves up during the fighting.Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, after the Iraqi army withdrew from the region, fleeing an Islamic State advance through northern and western Iraq. Kurdish leaders say they will never give up the ethnically mixed city, to which they, as well as Turkmen and Arabs, lay claim. Arabs complain that Kurds have since flooded to Kirkuk to tilt the demographic balance the other way. (With additional reporter by Saif Hameed in Baghdad, Mahmoud Mustafa in Kirkuk; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Helen Popper)

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TRIPOLI Libyan pro-government forces fighting Islamic State in Sirte have freed 11 Eritrean female captives, a Turk and an Egyptian after a battle to recapture a part of the city held by Islamic State, a spokesman for the forces said on Saturday.After a six-month campaign of street-by-street fighting backed by U.S. air strikes, Libyan forces have taken back most of Sirte, where Islamic State is holding out with snipers, boobytraps and car bombs."The forces have completely recaptured the 600 block area in Sirte from gangs of Daesh, and now the Ghiza Bahriya area is the last pocket of resistance," said Rida Issa, a spokesman for the pro-government forces, using an Arabic term for Islamic State.Sirte fell to Islamic State more than a year ago after militants expanded their territory and took advantage of infighting that emerged among Libya's rival factions following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

Forces fighting Islamic State in Sirte are mostly from nearby Misrata, whose brigades are among the most powerful in Libya. They are allied with the U.N.-backed unity government in Tripoli that is trying to unite competing factions.

Western governments back the unity government hoping it will bring stability and help counter Islamic State and the migrant smugglers. But Tripoli leaders have struggled to extend their influence against hardliners.Defeating Islamic State in Sirte will destroy the militant group's main stronghold outside its Iraq and Syria territory just as Iraqi forces move to retake Mosul. But some militant commanders and fighters escaped before Sirte was encircled.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; writing by Patrick Markey Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

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By Jon Herskovitz

Oklahoma voting officials have denied a request from the Russian consulate in Houston to monitor the Nov. 8 general elections in the state, saying foreign delegates are not allowed into polling stations, an official said on Friday.The move comes as the U.S. government this month formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations to interfere with the U.S. election process.The consul general made similar requests to officials in Texas and Louisiana, local news reports said, and was rebuffed in both states. The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston was not immediately available for comment. The consulate asked to have personnel in Oklahoma to study the Nov. 8 presidential election and was told that state law forbids anyone other than election officials and voters into areas where votes are being cast, said Bryan Dean, spokesman for the Oklahoma State Election Board.

In a letter provided by Oklahoma, Russian Consul General Alexander Zakharov asks to have a consulate officer "at one of the ballot stations of Oklahoma with the goal of studying the U.S. experience in organization of (the) voting process." Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge said he hopes the Russian officials can watch the U.S. election process on TV."It is truly an amazing system," he wrote back in a letter provided by the state.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing that individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny requests from parties to observe elections.When asked if it was a worry to have the Russian request coming on the heels of the U.S. accusations of the country trying to meddle in the vote, he replied: "We dont have anything to hide  and were confident in the electoral system.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded 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 has called the U.S. allegations "nonsense," the Interfax news agency reported. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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By Maurice Tamman

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College and claim the U.S. presidency, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project results released on Saturday.In the last week, there has been little movement. Clinton leads Donald Trump in most of the states that Trump would need should he have a chance to win the minimum 270 votes needed to win. According to the project, she has a better than 95 percent chance of winning, if the election was held this week. The mostly likely outcome would be 326 votes for Clinton to 212 for Trump.Trump came off his best debate performance of the campaign Wednesday evening but the polling consensus still showed Clinton winning the third and final face-off on prime-time TV. Trump disputes those findings.And some national polls had the race tightening a wee bit this week though others had Clinton maintaining her solid lead. But the project illustrates that the broader picture remains bleak for Trump with 17 days to go until the Nov. 8 election.

Trump did gain ground in South Carolina where his slim lead last week expanded to seven points, moving it into his column from a toss-up. Unfortunately for him, he lost ground in Arizona, which is now too close to call.Additionally, he is facing a challenge for Utahs six Electoral College votes from former CIA operative and Utah native Evan McMullin. The independent candidate is siphoning votes away from Trump in a state that is Republican as any in the nation. In some polls, McMullin is even leading. (The States of the Nation is not polling on McMullin.)

Utah, like almost all of the states, is a winner-take-all contest.Clinton has also maintained a lead in Florida and Pennsylvania, which have a combined 49 Electoral College votes. Ohio remains too close to call.

According to the project, lower voter turnout generally benefits Trump but his best hope for success is if Republican turnout surges and Democratic turnout is low. To examine these results and other scenarios, go to the States of the Nation project here: here (Editing by Bernard Orr)

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By Abdi Sheikh

| MOGADISHU

MOGADISHU Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian sailors held captive in a small fishing village for more than four years since their ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, a government official said on Saturday.The sailors -- from China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan -- were seized close to the Seychelles in February 2012, a time when pirate attacks were a regular occurrence in waters linking Europe with Africa and Asia."The crew is here (in Galkayo). They will be flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Saturday," local mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre, told Reuters."The crew did not say if ransom was paid," he added.

Barre said the ship's captain was killed in the hijacking, while two others died from illness during their time in captivity -- one of the longest among hostages seized by pirates in the Horn of Africa nation.A local security official said their vessel had sunk in unknown circumstances.

The sailors were held in Dabagala near the village of Harardheere some 400 km (250 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, a fishing hamlet that became known as Somalia's main pirate base at the height of the crisis.Although there are still occasional cases of sea attacks, piracy off Somalia's coast has subsided in the past three years, mainly due to shipping firms hiring private security details and the presence of international warships.

The last outbreak of piracy cost the world's shipping industry billions of dollars as pirates paralysed shipping lanes, kidnapped hundreds of seafarers and seized vessels more than 1,000 miles from Somalia's coastline. (Writing by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Helen Popper)

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Colombo: Tamils in Sri Lanka are feeling pessimistic due to lack of progress in reconciliation efforts by President Maithripala Sirisena who had promised to reach out to the minority community more vigorously than his predecessor, a UK-based diaspora group said on Saturday.

"Lack of urgency towards demilitarisation, normalisation in the North and East, insufficient effort to include all communities into the reconciliation processes and mixed messages emanating from the top political leadership on accountability and good governance are all contributing towards re-emergence of cynicism and pessimism among the Tamil people, a trend that ought to be addressed without delay," the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) said in a statement.

The London-based group commended the comments made by UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Rita Izsak-Ndiaye that to achieve peaceful co-existence "a comprehensive, well-planned and well-coordinated truth, reconciliation, healing and accountability process must take place".

"Izsak-Ndiaye's recommendation that the most pressing and emotive issues for minority communities  disappeared persons, return of occupied land, release of security-related detainees as well as demilitarisation  must be addressed urgently and her call that the views and aspirations of the minority communities must be taken into proper consideration in the Constitutional reform process, resonate fully with the Tamil community," the group said.

The Special Rapporteur's warning regarding stalled progress and the urgent need for concrete action to sustain the momentum for change reflect the prevalent view among several key observers on Sri Lanka, it said.

The group appealed to the Lankan government to embark on focussed and targeted initiatives towards accountability, political resolution and reconciliation so that the unique opportunity exists today to convert Sri Lanka into a modern, democratic, plural and prosperous country will not be squandered.

It said that on its part, it will do all it can to pro- actively contribute to consolidate and accelerate the progressive transition presently underway.

Sirisena, who came to power last year after ending former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's nearly a decade-long rule, had promised to reach out to the Tamils to pursue reconciliation more vigorously than Rajapaksa, who was known for his hardline Sinhalese nationalism.

On Thursday, a UN rights expert asked exhorted the Lankan government to return military-occupied land and reduce the role of the army in northern areas, a long-pending demand of the ethnic Tamils since the end of the nearly three-decade- long separatist war led by the LTTE in 2009 in which thousands of civilians were killed.
Islamabad: A three-member delegation of the Afghan Taliban arrived in Pakistan to discuss peace talks with the Afghan government and recent arrests of high-profile Taliban leaders by Pakistani authorities.

The trio consists former ministers in Taliban government Mullah Salam Hanifi and Mullah Jan Mohammed and ex-Taliban ambassador to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar.

Sources in Taliban and Pakistan officials confirmed that the delegation arrived this week and held meetings with "relevant quarters".

This is the first high level contact by the militants with Pakistan since Taliban held at least two round of talks with officials of Afghan government in Qatar. Pakistan was not part of the talks.

"Pakistan has been pushing Taliban to shun violence and enter in peace negotiation with Kabul. It welcomes any move to bring peace in Afghanistan so that all refugees should go back," a senior official of foreign office said on anonymity.

Sources said that Pakistan was keeping the distance with the talks to let rebels and Kabul directly sort out their problems.

But Islamabad is keeping pressure on rebels through different ways including arresting some of their leaders.

Those recently arrested include Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai. He served as intelligence chief of slain Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. Nanai was arrested from south western province of Balochistan.

Other arrested Taliban leaders are Suleman Agha, who was Taliban governor for Daykund province, and Mullah Sani, alias Samad Sani, who runs a madrassah and also is a known businessman. Taliban are visibly angry on the arrests.

Their anger was reflected in a letter penned down by former head of Qatar office of Taliban, Tayyab Agha.

He addressed the letter this month to Afghan Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhunzada.

Among other things, Agha advised the Taliban chief to shift Afghan Taliban to Afghanistan to avoid any alleged interference by Pakistani authorities.

He said Pakistan would also get benefits of it as would save itself from the allegation of supporting Taliban.

The first known direct talks between Taliban and Afghan government were organised by Pakistan near Islamabad in July, 2015 but they failed to make any progress due to announcement of the death of ex-Taliban chief Mullah Omar.
Away we go: who says you have to travel alone?

Avid traveler Le Trong Binh, a 30-year-old from Hanoi, brought a furry friend with him on a recent north-south trip of Vietnam.

He came up with the idea of travelling with this special friend after receiving a teddy bear from a cousin who thought he should have someone or something to accompany him on his solo adventures.

On his latest trip across the country, Binh pictured the stuffed animal enjoying several famous monuments and landscapes. He posted the pictures of the bear, sometimes by himself, on Facebook account to keep his friends and family posted on Binh and his furry friend's whereabouts.

From Vietnams northernmost province of Ha Giang to the southern commercial hub of Saigon, this is one well-travelled bear.

Check out Binh and his furry friends adventures below.

They embarked on the trip across Vietnam from Ha Giang Province in the northern reaches of the country. Here the bear is taking in Ha Giangs spectacular landscape from the top of the Ma Phi Leng mountain pass.

The tranquil scene at Van Long Pier in Ninh Binh.

In Phong Nha  Ke Bang National Park in north central Vietnam.

Exploring Phong Nha caves, going where no teddy bear has been before, he must have have felt like a badass adventurer.

In the central province of Quang Tri.

Visiting the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh on the outskirts of the imperial city of Hue.

Chasing the sun on Lang Co Beach in Hue.

With the iconic bridge in the ancient town of Hoi An in central Vietnam- Chua Cau. The wooden bridge painted in red lacquer was built based on the 'thuong gia ha kieu' concept, meaning a house above a bridge.

Binh said he loves travelling with his furry friend.

Apparently, its not common to come by adults in Vietnam who travel with stuffed animals. It might be odd to some people but no one can deny this is absolutely endearing. Binh and his friend, hand in hand, strolling along the beach in Khanh Hoa Province.

Looking out over Vinh Hy Bay in southern Ninh Thuan.

At the end of the journey, they enjoyed a cup of Vietnamese coffee in the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City.

Photos by Le Nguyen Trong Binh (BinhBB)

Related news:

> East meets West at Vietnamese Emperor's tomb

> Hoi An plans to dismantle iconic 400-year-old bridge
By Emily Stephenson and Amanda Becker

| NEWTOWN, Pa./CLEVELAND

NEWTOWN, Pa./CLEVELAND Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gained on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Friday.The polling data showed Trump's argument that the Nov. 8 election is "rigged" against him has resonated with members of his party."Remember folks, it's a rigged system," Trump told a Pennsylvania rally on Friday. "That's why you've got to get out and vote, you've got to watch. Because this system is totally rigged."Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 4-point lead. That compared with 44 percent for Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last week.An average of national opinion polls by RealClearPolitics shows Clinton currently 6.2 percentage points ahead at 48.1 percent support to Trump's 41.9 percent.Trump's campaign was thrown into crisis after a 2005 video released earlier this month showed him bragging about groping and kissing women. He has since faced accusations - which he has said are "absolutely false" - that he made improper sexual advances to women over decades.The Reuters/Ipsos survey found 63 percent of Americans, including a third of Republicans, believe the New York real estate mogul has committed sexual assault in the past.Reuters contacted a few of the poll respondents who said they felt that Trump had likely "committed sexual assault" but were still supporting his candidacy. Their answers were generally the same: Whatever Trump did with women in the past is less important to them than what he may do as president.At a Trump rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, Harold Garren, 75, said he was sceptical of complaints from women about Trump's behaviour. "I don't believe all of this 30 years later, no," Garren said.

Garren also shrugged off Trump's lewd bragging about women, caught on the 2005 tape. "I've used that barnyard language myself," Garren said, clarifying that it was when he was younger and before he knew better.Both candidates spent Friday in battleground states, where the vote could swing either way. Clinton, 68, campaigned in Ohio, while Trump, 70, was in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.Trump, his voice lacking some of its usual energy in his third rally in one day, told voters in Newtown, Pennsylvania they had to vote or else he would have wasted a lot of "time, energy and money."Trump is planning to give a speech Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in which he will kick off his closing argument for voters and preview his first 100 days in office, a Trump campaign aide said.

'RIGGED' MESSAGE FINDS SUPPORT

Trump has been coy about whether he will accept the results of the election should Clinton beat him.The Reuters/Ipsos data showed only half of Republicans would accept Clinton as their president, and nearly 70 percent of them said a Clinton victory would be because of illegal voting or vote rigging.Trump's crowd chanted "Lock her up!" at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after he declared Clinton a "corrupt globalist," a reference to campaign documents released by WikiLeaks in which Clinton was quoted advocating free trade and open borders.After the chant went around the room for several seconds, Trump responded, "Don't worry, that whole thing will be looked into."

The New York businessman's assertion that the election is being rigged and his refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election if he loses has challenged a cornerstone of American democracy and outraged Democrats and many Republicans.Asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power during Wednesday's debate, Trump replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. OK?"In Ohio on Friday, Clinton called his refusal unprecedented. "Now make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy," she told a rally in Cleveland."But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? And the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart," Clinton said.Trump has offered no widely accepted evidence to back up his claims of vote-rigging. Numerous studies have shown that the U.S. election system, which is run by the states, is sound.Trump told an earlier rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he wanted to have no regrets about whether he worked hard enough to win the election, and urged followers to get out to vote."Win, lose or draw - and Im almost sure if the people come out, were going to win - I will be happy with myself," he said. "We have to work, we have to get everybody out there. (Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson and Susan Heavey; Writing by Alistair Bell and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Baghdad: US Defence Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq on Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants.

His unannounced visit comes two days after a US service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. And it comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara on Friday when he announced there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle to retake Mosul, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.

This is Carter's third trip to Iraq this year, and he has overseen the steady increase in the number of US forces deployed to the fight and the growth of America's effort to train and advise Iraqi troops. In his past two stops in Iraq, Carter announced White House decisions to increase the US troop level there. There are no expectations that he will do that again this time.

Instead, he will meet with Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight is going and whether or not any changes, increased resources or other assistance is needed.

Carter's meetings in Turkey signal moves to tamp down escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. The divide has only grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape.

There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.

The US service member killed earlier this week was the fourth US combat death in Iraq since the US began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

US defence and military officials have said that while the offensive has started well, they expect the complex fight for the city to get more difficult. And they said they will be watching to see how aggressively the Islamic State militants fight for Mosul, or if more leaders flee the city.

Meanwhile, in what officials thought was an attempted diversion from the Mosul fight, IS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people.

Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials.

A US military officer said the Islamic State group has set up a multi-layered defence in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defence are what the US military calls disruption zones, where IS fighters are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs.

The official said the US does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings; the expected IS focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Islamic State fighters in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders have likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave.

The US is uncertain how hard IS will defend Mosul. But, once the fighting gets to the center of the city, IS will have certain advantages that are more favorable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement.

More than 4,800 US troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 US special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more US forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
The oldest son, Maddox, refused to see his father on October 8.

Brad Pitt has missed the deadline to respond to Angelina Jolie's divorce petition, seeking to avoid sparking an acrimonious legal battle that could harm the children, media reported on Friday.

The 52-year-old actor will not file an official reply, despite being two days over Wednesday's cut-off date, until the estranged couple's lawyers have reached an agreement over custody, celebrity gossip websites Us Weekly and TMZ reported.

The "Fight Club" actor is looking for joint legal and physical custody, according to TMZ, but is hoping to avoid a court battle for the couple's six children.

Jolie, 41, filed court documents on September 19 citing irreconcilable differences and seeking sole permanent custody.

Earlier this week Pitt met his oldest child, 15 year-old Maddox, for the first time since an alleged incident involving the pair on a plane carrying the actor and his children back from vacation in France on September 14.

The FBI has said it is gathering information before deciding whether to launch a federal probe into the allegations.

It has not offered any details on what is said to have happened, but several US media outlets reported that Pitt had been involved in an angry outburst with at least one of his children.

Pitt, who won a best film Oscar for producing "12 Years a Slave" (2013), reportedly visited his other five children on October 8, but Maddox refused to see his father.

"With the resources of these parties, it should be possible for Brad to continue to have meaningful access to the younger children, even if it means that such access will have to be supervised," Emily Pollock, a partner at New York law firm Kasowitz, told AFP.

Further time with Maddox would depend on the severity of the allegations and Maddox's interest in such visits, she added.

Pitt's reunions with his children were both supervised by a therapist as part of the couple's temporary custody agreement, mediated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, which expired on Thursday.

Under the agreement Jolie had physical custody of the children -- three of whom, including Maddox, are adopted -- at a rented LA house.

The A-listers -- given the celebrity moniker "Brangelina" -- wed in France in August two years ago, but had been a couple since 2004.

AFP reached out to Pitt's management but there was no immediate response

Related news:

> Brad Pitt to have drug tests in deal with Jolie to see kids

> Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt: attorney

> Kim Kardashian robbed at gunpoint in Paris, millions in jewels taken
Although we live in the world dominated with touch screen devices, when it comes to getting productive work done we do rely on a physical keyboard, and its even better if the keyboard is wireless. A Bluetooth keyboard lets you connect with mobile devices like smartphones, tablet, laptops and even desktops. We have got our hands on Logitechs K380 multi-device Bluetooth keyboard. Lets see how the keyboard fares in terms of design and offering productivity in this review.

Unboxing

Design and Hardware

The first thing you will notice about the K380 keyboard is its design, which is compact and stylish at the same time. What sets the keyboard apart from the usual lot, is the size and shape of the keys which are circular instead of the usual chiclet style that are square in shape with rounded edges. The keys are well spaced but one might need sometime to get used to the circular keys as it feels a bit different.

The keyboard is lightweight and measures 10.9 x 4.9 x 0.6 (W x H x D) inches. It is really portable and easy to carry around. The Logitech branding is present at the center.

The power button is present on the left side of the keyboard followed by LED indicator. You will have to toggle it in order to turn it on and off. Even though the keyboard is made of plastic, it is well-built and does not feel cheap.

The main feature of the keyboard is its multi device support. You can switch easily from one device to another by simply pressing the three Bluetooth buttons that are light blue in color. All other usual function keys are present on the top along with volume and music control. However the keyboard doesnt have the home and end keys.

The alt and control keys are also present next to the arrow keys which I feel are too small in size and are cramped up as well.

At the back the keyboard has slots for two AAA batteries, which Logitech claims to last for up to 2 years. Keyboard battery life is calculated based on an estimated two million keystrokes per year in an office environment, said the company. However that does depend upon the usage patterns.

The keyboard has four rubber stubs on each corner that offers a good grip when you place it on a desk. This helps is a good typing experience as the keyboard does not move while typing.

Performance and Features

The Logitech K370 offers multi device support meaning, it is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 or later, Mac OS 10.10 or later, Chrome OS, Android 3.2 or later, iOS 5 or later and Apple TV 2nd or 3rd generation. The three keys on the top lets you pair the keyboard with three devices via Bluetooth at the same time. In order to pair the keyboard, you will have to simply press and hold down one of the three light blue buttons on the keyboard until its light starts blinking. Following which you can just pair it to your device. You will have to do the same process for other two devices as well.

However, the highlight of the keyboard is that you can easily switch between these devices. The transition or switch from devices is really fast and seamless. I did not experience any lag at the time of reconnecting between different devices which is impressive. I connected the K380 with my Windows 10 laptop and Nexus 5x (Android 7.0) during my testing period.

Conclusion

The Logitech K380 is a decent wireless keyboard that has a great design and is portable. The circular keys on the keyboard gives it an extra edge. However, it would have been great if the K380 had backlit keys as you cannot use it in the dark. The keyboard is priced at Rs. 2,795, but it is available for Rs. 16,94 on Amazon.in.

The small and cramped up arrow keys which are used quite frequently could have been bigger and should have had a better placement on the keyboard. In addition, I felt a smartphone holder would have been a nice addition to the keyboard. However, the multi-device support, easy and instant switch between them are the key features of the K380 keyboard. The Logitech K380 is a value for money keyboard that justifies its price tag.

Pros

Great Design and Build

Decent typing experience

Switching between device is smooth

Price

Cons

Arrow keys feel cramped up

Missing home and end keys

No backlit keys

Images by Sandeep Sarma
Saudi Arabia's energy minister recently warned that there could be a global oil supply shortfall in the coming years, which could push crude prices much higher. Driving this view is the expectation that production from legacy wells will decline by a significant amount over the next few years and that there is not enough production in the pipeline from megaprojects to offset these declines. It is a view shared by others in OPEC, with its former secretary general also warning about a potential future crude shortage and price spike.

That said, ExxonMobil (XOM 0.10%) CEO Rex Tillerson thinks this view is incorrect. In his opinion, the Saudis are missing the fact that shale drilling has dramatically changed the landscape. Drillers have gotten very adept at getting more oil out of tight rocks at ever lower prices. Because of that, he believes that shale producers can quickly ramp up output to fill any gap between supply and demand. In effect, North America can become the new swing producer in the oil market, which is a role that the Saudis used to occupy.

Drilling down into the Saudis' concerns

The Saudi view is simple. Global oil production is heading lower because there is not enough new production coming online to offset declining and depleting production from legacy wells. According to oil reservoir specialist Core Lab (CLB 0.67%), the net worldwide annual crude oil production decline rate is 3.3%. In fact, in Core Lab's view, the natural production decline rate alone should take care of the oil market's current glut by the end of this year and create a much tighter oil market going forward. Meanwhile, global oil demand is expected to continue growing by 1.2 million barrels per year, or about 1% annually, according to the International Energy Agency.

If these two trends continue, it will not be long before there's an ever-widening gap between production and demand. That is because the industry has shelved 46 major projects representing $200 billion of investment and 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent supply since the onset of the downturn, according to energy analysts at Wood Mackenzie. For example, leading Canadian oil sands producer Suncor Energy (SU 2.02%) deferred two major projects in 2015 that would have added supply starting in 2018. Suncor Energy initially expected to start construction on its Mackay River 2 oil sands development and White Rose offshore expansion in 2015, but it deferred both projects to cut costs amid the oil market downturn. Suncor has yet to reinstate either project, meaning that the 28,000 to 33,000 barrels per day that they were expected to add to the oil market will not come online for several years after Suncor gives them the green light, as a result of their long lead times. With a growing number of megaprojects like these currently on ice, it is easy to see why the Saudis are concerned about global supplies later this decade.

A new king emerges in the oil patch

That said, what the Saudis aren't figuring into the equation is the resilience of shale producers. That oversight is nothing new, given that OPEC's policy to win back market share failed because shale producers have proven to be much more resilient than anticipated during the downturn. In Tillerson's view, the best is yet to come.

That is why he rebutted the Saudi view:

I don't quite share the same view that others have that we are somehow on the edge of a precipice. I think because we have confirmed viability of very large resource base in North America ... that serves as enormous spare capacity in the system. ... It doesn't take megaproject dollars and it can be brought on line much more quickly than a three to four year project.

Those sentiments are clearly playing out in the recent growth forecasts of leading shale drillers. For example, EOG Resources (EOG 2.12%) stated that it could grow its oil output by 10% annually through 2020 at a flat $50 oil price, with that growth rate accelerating to 20% annually at $60 oil. Driving that acceleration is the fact that EOG Resources' drilling returns rocket higher on just a meager increase in oil prices:

It is a similar story at Encana (OVV 1.02%) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD -0.35%). In Encana's case, it is now in the position to deliver 60% liquids production growth through 2021 at just a flat $55 oil price. Meanwhile, Pioneer Natural Resources is on a trajectory to achieve 15% compound annual production growth through 2020 at an average oil price of $55 per barrel. However, like EOG Resources, both companies could quickly accelerate their growth rates at higher oil prices. That is because these companies have an extensive supply of low-cost drilling locations. In Encana's case, its current five-year plan would only consume about a quarter of its premium well inventory, which only represents half of its total drilling locations. EOG Resources, likewise, has an extensive inventory of future drilling sites that it can develop, should the market need more oil in a hurry.

Investor takeaway

Saudi Arabia believes that the oil market could go from glut to shortfall in just a few short years. However, ExxonMobil's CEO thinks that it is making another fatal mistake by discounting the potential of shale producers to unleash a torrent of additional production if oil prices run higher. Because of that, the Saudis should not bank on a future super spike in the oil price to bail out their current fiscal troubles, given that any surge in the price of oil would likely meet a flood of new supply from American producers.
Image source: Getty Images.

Saudi Arabia's energy minister recently warned that there could be a global oil supply shortfall in the coming years, which could push crude prices much higher. Driving this view is the expectation that production from legacy wells will decline by a significant amount over the next few years and that there is not enough production in the pipeline from megaprojects to offset these declines. It is a view shared by others in OPEC, with its former secretary general also warning about apotential future crude shortage and price spike.

That said, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson thinks this view is incorrect. In his opinion, the Saudis are missing the fact that shale drilling has dramatically changed the landscape. Drillers have gotten very adept at getting more oil out of tight rocks at ever lower prices. Because of that, he believes that shale producers can quickly ramp up output to fill any gap between supply and demand. In effect, North America can become the new swing producer in the oil market, which is a role that the Saudis used to occupy.

Drilling down into the Saudis' concerns

The Saudi view is simple. Global oil production is heading lower because there is not enough new production coming online to offset declining and depleting production from legacy wells. According to oil reservoir specialist Core Lab(NYSE: CLB), the net worldwide annual crude oil production decline rate is 3.3%. In fact, in Core Lab's view, the natural production decline rate alone should take care of the oil market's current glut by the end of this year and create a much tighter oil market going forward. Meanwhile, global oil demand is expected to continue growing by 1.2 million barrels per year, or about 1% annually,according to the International Energy Agency.

If these two trends continue, it will not be long before there's an ever-widening gap between production and demand. That is because the industry has shelved 46 major projects representing $200 billion of investment and 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent supply since the onset of the downturn, according to energy analysts at Wood Mackenzie. For example, leading Canadian oil sands producer Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) deferred two major projects in 2015 that would have added supply starting in 2018. Suncor Energy initially expected to start construction on its Mackay River 2 oil sands development and White Rose offshore expansion in 2015, but it deferred both projects to cut costs amid the oil market downturn. Suncor has yet to reinstate either project, meaning that the 28,000 to 33,000 barrels per day that they were expected to add to the oil market will not come online for several years after Suncor gives them the green light, as a result of their long lead times. With a growing number of megaprojects like these currently on ice, it is easy to see why the Saudis are concerned about global supplies later this decade.

A new king emerges in the oil patch

That said, what the Saudis aren't figuring into the equation is the resilience of shale producers. That oversight is nothing new, given that OPEC's policy to win back market share failed because shale producers have proven to be much more resilient than anticipated during the downturn. In Tillerson's view, the best is yet to come.

That is why he rebutted the Saudi view:

Those sentiments are clearly playing out in the recent growth forecasts of leading shale drillers. For example, EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) stated that it could grow its oil output by 10% annually through 2020 at a flat $50 oil price, with that growth rate accelerating to 20% annually at $60 oil. Driving that acceleration is the fact that EOG Resources' drilling returns rocket higher on just a meager increase in oil prices:

Image source: EOG Resources investor presentation.

It is a similar story at Encana (NYSE: ECA) and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD). In Encana's case, it is now in the position to deliver 60% liquids production growth through 2021 at just a flat $55 oil price. Meanwhile, Pioneer Natural Resources is on a trajectory to achieve 15% compound annual production growth through 2020 at an average oil price of $55 per barrel. However, like EOG Resources, both companies could quickly accelerate their growth rates at higher oil prices. That is because these companies have an extensive supply of low-cost drilling locations. In Encana's case, its current five-year plan would only consume about a quarter of its premium well inventory, which only represents half of its total drilling locations. EOG Resources, likewise, has an extensive inventory of future drilling sites that it can develop, should the market need more oil in a hurry.

Investor takeaway

Saudi Arabia believes that the oil market could go from glut to shortfall in just a few short years. However, ExxonMobil's CEO thinks that it is making another fatal mistake by discounting the potential of shale producers to unleash a torrent of additional production if oil prices run higher. Because of that, the Saudis should not bank on a future super spike in the oil price to bail out their current fiscal troubles, given that any surge in the price of oil would likely meet a flood of new supply from American producers.

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.

Matt DiLallo owns shares of Core Laboratories. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Core Laboratories. The Motley Fool owns shares of EOG Resources and ExxonMobil. 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.
Roughly 1,000 emails between Hillary Clinton and Gen. David Petraeus were thought to be missing from the 30,000 emails provided by Clintons team to the State Department in December 2014, according to the newly released FBI investigative files.

Additional documents obtained through a federal lawsuit by Judicial Watch show Clinton had directed Petraeus to send her emails at her personal address, which was used for all government work during her tenure as secretary of state.

In a heavily redacted FBI interview summary from Aug. 17, 2015, a State Department employee from the Office of Information and Programs and Services (IPS), which handles Freedom of Information Act requests, discussed how Petraeus records apparently were not among the work-related emails provided by the former secretary's team.

"CENTCOM records shows approximately 1,000 work-related emails between Clinton's personal email and General David PETRAEUS, former Commander of CENTCOM and former Director of the CIA," said the employee, whose name is redacted, according to the summary. "Most of those 1,000 emails were not believed to be included in the 30,000 emails that IPS was reviewing. Out of the 30,000 emails, IPS only had a few emails from or related to PETRAEUS as well as a few related to Leon PANETTA, former Secretary of Defense."

The same employee reported on a January 2015 status briefing about the emails given by State Department senior official Patrick Kennedy who is now at the center of "quid pro quo" allegations  that he offered to help the FBI get more slots for agencies overseas in exchange for downgrading an email to unclassified. The FBI and State now emphasize the deal never happened.

"KENNEDY and [redacted] were each provided with two binders full of email examples of documents [redacted] believed were possibly classified. [Redacted] returned her binders to [redacted] but KENNEDY decided to keep his binders following the brief. [Redacted] was not aware of anyone in IPS or at STATE who received the rules or parameters the CLINTON team and/or WILLIAMS & Connolly used to segregate Clinton's personal and office work emails."

As previously reported by Fox News, there are still two missing bankers boxes of emails that cannot be accounted for by Hillary Clintons legal team Williams & Connolly.

Clinton later maintained during congressional testimony that her team read every email, but FBI Director James Comey later said that was not true and only broad search terms were used.

In addition, new emails obtained through an ongoing federal lawsuit by Judicial Watch show that on Jan. 10, 2009, Clinton told Petraeus -- who was then CENTCOM commander -- to use her personal address on a BlackBerry account. "If there is ever anything you need or want me to know, pls use this personal email address. All the best, Hillary," she wrote.

One of the most intriguing and highly redacted documents released by the FBI is a witness interview with a CIA agent on June 10, 2016. The names of the FBI agents and the CIA agent and attorney are all redacted, but it is clear they were reviewing Top Secret emails too damaging to national security to release under any circumstances.

According to page 66, After reviewing the email, [redacted] exclaimed [redacted] is an idiot. [redacted] further explained he believed the email was problematic. The CIA was apparently referring to the writer of the email, adding "[redacted] expressed his opinion that DoS was not very careful."

Fox News estimates at least 95 percent of the CIA agents three-page interview was blacked out. [redacted] did not have any direct knowledge of DoS officials using unclassified or barely classified channels [redacted] but he suspected it," the document says. The CIA statement concluded as follows: [redacted] expressed his opinion that DoS (Department of State) was not very careful [redacted].

The CIA used the B(1) FOIA redaction 20 times. According to Freedom of Information Act exemptions, these redactions can include information about national defense, foreign policy, U.S. national security, transnational terrorism and sources or methods, or cryptology.

B(3) was used 25 times. This FOIA category redaction category prevents disclosure by statute which includes information about arms export control, immigration and Iran.

B(7) was cited for redactions three times. This FOIA category includes protected information about investigation techniques and personal privacy.

It is of note that this CIA agent was interviewed on June 10, just three weeks before Comey held his controversial press conference declaring that Clinton was not criminal but extremely careless in her handling of classified materials which included SAP content known as Special Access Programs or above top secret.

State Department Spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News:

We cant speculate about records that DOD may have. Nor can we verify the veracity of rumors. We can only speak to the records in our possession. As we disclosed last September, the State Department received from the Department of Defense and the State Inspector General several copies of a single email chain between former Secretary Clinton and then-Commander of US Central Command David Petraeus which were not previously in the possession of the Department. These emails are now in our possession and will be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. Beyond that, our focus is on processing the material turned over by the FBI to comply with FOIA requests.
Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that he wished he could physically confront Republican nominee Donald Trump over lewd comments the real estate mogul made about women that were captured on tape in 2005.

"The press always asks me dont I wish I were debating him," Biden, 73, said of the 70-year-old Trump. "No, I wish we were in high schoolI could take him behind the gym. Thats what I wish."

Biden addressed Trump's comments while appearing at a campaign event for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

BIDEN: TRUMP REMARKS ARE 'SEXUAL ASSAULT,' BILL CLINTON'S PAST SHOULD'NT MATTER

"What he says he did and does is the textbook definition of sexual assault," Biden said. "It's more than that. He said because I'm famous, because I'm a star, because I'm a billionaire, I can do things other people can't. What a disgusting assertion for anyone to make."

SADIE ROBERTSON ON TRUMP TAPE: I'M STILL VOTING FOR HIM

Trump was recorded bragging about kissing and groping women in a conversation with "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush, at one point using a vulgar term for a part of a woman's anatomy. The tape was made public earlier this month, two days before the second of three debates between Trump and Clinton.

There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign to Biden's comments.

Earlier Friday, Trump took a shot at first lady Michelle Obama at a campaign event in North Carolina, saying that "all she wants to do is campaign."

Trump then said that Michelle Obama had attacked Clinton during the 2008 presidential race, when she said, "if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House." The Obamas have repeatedly denied that the remark was a reference to Hillary Clinton remaining with her husband through his extramarital affairs.

"I said, we can't say that, it's too vicious," Trump told his audience. "They said, 'Michelle Obama said it.' I said, 'She did?' but we don't hear about that."

Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most effective voices for Clinton in the late stages of the campaign and has repeatedly criticized Trump's treatment of women.

Typically self-assured, Trump appeared to be unusually candid about the possibility of losing. He said Friday he is packing his schedule with campaign events through Election Day so he will know he spared no effort and have no regrets.

"I will be happy with myself," Trump said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The campaigns for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Saturday hunkered down in the handful of states that will likely decide their presidential race -- with Trump again improvising in Pennsylvania ahead of Clintons swing through the states two big Democratic strongholds.

The Trump campaign billed the speech in historic Gettysburg as Trumps vision for his first 100 days in office, if elected.

Trump called for term limits in Congress and even vowed to stop the AT&T-Time Warner merger because, he argued, the deal and other similar ones result in "too much concentration of power. But first he vowed to sue the women who have accused him in the media of inappropriate behavior -- a situation he says has rigged the election against him.

Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign -- total fabrication, Trump told the crowd. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.

Trump made two stops in Pennsylvania before heading to Virginia and Ohio, while Clinton and running mate Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine held late Saturday rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

There are no more devoted, selfless people than our Christian brothers in the United States, Trump said at Regent University, a private Christian college in Virginia Beach, in an effort to keep Republicans dependable Evangelical vote.

The Hillary for America Campaign said about Trumps comments in Gettysburg: In what was billed as a major closing argument speech, Trumps major new policy was to promise political and legal retribution against the women who have accused him of groping them.

The race for the White House has, like in most modern-day presidential cycles, come down to which candidate will win the battleground states -- or those in which voters could swing either way.

With early voting already underway in several states, and with Election Day just 17 days away, Clinton leads Trump by 6 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics averaging of national polls.

As of Saturday, more than 5.3 million early votes have been cast, far ahead of the pace at this time in 2012.

Balloting is underway in 34 out of 37 early-voting states, both in person and by mail.

More than 46 million people are expected to vote before Election Day -- or as much as 40 percent of all votes cast.

Clinton has been the Democratic frontrunner for the entire race against Trump, the Republican Partys unpredictable nominee.

She has leads in battleground states including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia, while Trump leads in Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio.

"I have a special place in my heart for Pittsburg," Clinton said Saturday in Pennsylvania. "I know we have work to do in Washington, but I think I can do it."

In Ohio, Trump running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence attended a pumpkin show in Circleville where he climbed atop a flatbed trailer to examine prize-winning 1,500-pound pumpkins.

Circleville is reliable Republican territory. Mitt Romney won 58 percent in surrounding Pickaway County four years ago. Trump is trying to maximize his advantage outside Ohio's largest cities in hopes of flipping a state President Obama won twice.

Pence started his day on the campaign trail in his home state, at the Future Farmers of America convention, in Indianapolis, where he praised agriculture as an economic and cultural pillar of the United States. He later joined Trump at a rally in Cleveland.

While many Americans see Clinton as better prepared to be commander in chief than Trump, she's consistently viewed unfavorably by more than half of potential voters. Most also consider her dishonest.

In Gettysburg, where Republican President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous address in November 1863 in an attempt to unite Americans amid the Civil War, Trump also called for new congressional term limits. And he said that hed deport without delay immigrants who were imprisoned for violent crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures as he arrives at the Arcimboldi theater to receive honorary citizenship of the city of Milan, in Milan, Italy October 20, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

Czech President Milos Zeman has been strongly pushing for a closer economic relationship with China.

Czech President Milos Zeman has decided against awarding a state medal to a Holocaust survivor after the man's nephew, a Czech government minister, met exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama against the president's wishes, the minister said on Friday.

The Czech Republic has been engulfed in political furor over the Dalai Lama's meetings this week with Culture Minister Daniel Herman against the wishes of China's government - which sees the Dalai Lama as a separatist - and Zeman, who has strongly pushed for a closer economic relationship with China.

The drive to focus on Chinese investment has met opposition from many corners of the EU member country whose policy set by the late leader Vaclav Havel strongly promoted human rights. Havel was a friend of the Tibetan Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Herman confirmed in a text message to Reuters that the president's office had requested he cancel his meeting with the Dalai Lama or his uncle would not be granted an award.

Herman's uncle George Brady, 88, was supposed to receive the honour for his lifelong campaign for Holocaust remembrance at an annual celebration at Prague Castle, the seat of the president, next Friday on Czech state day.

Brady survived Nazi persecution, including the death camp at Auschwitz in Poland, where his sister and parents perished.

"My uncle informed me he had been contacted by the president's office with information that his award was being prepared. Now there is news that this has been postponed for this year," Herman told Reuters.

Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. September 21, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

Asked if he was given an ultimatum not to meet the Dalai Lama in connection with the award, he said: "Yes."

Herman later told Czech public television that it was the president, who tried to persuade him not to meet the Dalai Lama.

"The president directly told me that if I meet the Dalai Lama, my uncle will be taken out of the list (for awards), and that is what happened," Herman said, adding the conversation took place in front of witnesses at a banquet held by Slovak Embassy in Prague.

A spokesman for Zeman declined to comment directly on Herman's statement. He said the president had completed the list of nominees "some time ago," and had not subsequently dropped anyone.

The office never releases the names of the recipients of the state medals before the traditional ceremony.

George Brady moved to Canada after the war. In 2000, a suitcase with his sister Hana's name surfaced in a Tokyo Holocaust Museum, whose director discovered her relation to George. Hana's suitcase later inspired a book, theatre play and a film.

Related news:

>Obama to meet Dalai Lama at White House on Wednesday
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State (ISIS) militants.



His unannounced visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. And it comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara Friday when he announced there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle to retake Mosul, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.



This is Carter's third trip to Iraq this year, and he has overseen the steady increase in the number of U.S. forces deployed to the fight and the growth of America's effort to train and advise Iraqi troops. In his past two stops in Iraq, Carter announced White House decisions to increase the U.S. troop level there. There are no expectations that he will do that again this time.



Instead, he will meet with Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight is going and whether or not any changes, increased resources or other assistance is needed.



Carter's meetings in Turkey signal moves to tamp down escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. The divide has only grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape.



There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.



The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against ISIS in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.



U.S. defense and military officials have said that while the offensive has started well, they expect the complex fight for the city to get more difficult. And they said they will be watching to see how aggressively the ISIS militants fight for Mosul, or if more leaders flee the city.



Meanwhile, in what officials thought was an attempted diversion from the Mosul fight, ISIS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people.



Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials.



A U.S. military officer said the Islamic State group has set up a multi-layered defense in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defense are what the U.S. military calls disruption zones, where ISIS fighters are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs.



The official said the US does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings; the expected ISIS focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.



The U.S. estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 ISIS fighters in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders have likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave.



The U.S. is uncertain how hard ISIS will defend Mosul. But, once the fighting gets to the center of the city, ISIS will have certain advantages that are more favorable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement.



More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more U.S. forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.


A former National Security Agency contractor accused in a massive theft of classified information will remain in custody as prosecutors continue building a criminal case against him, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite agreed with prosecutors that Harold T. Martin III of Glen Burnie, Md., represented a flight risk if released and said there was no doubt that the top secret information he was accused of stealing over two decades is something "this country's enemies would love to explore."

Martin's lawyers foreshadowed their upcoming defense, describing him as a "compulsive hoarder" and saying there was no evidence he ever shared the information with a foreign country or even intended to do so.

"He's not Edward Snowden," said James Wyda, the federal defender representing Martin, referring to the former NSA contractor who three years ago disclosed to journalists secret information about government surveillance programs.

Wyda said Martin, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant, never intended to harm his country and was instead a "voracious" learner who got carried away over the years as he took home documents in a perhaps misguided effort to be as skilled at his job as he could be. He suggested Martin grappled with mental health issues.

"This was not spycraft behavior," Wyda said. "This is not how a Russian spy or something like that would ever conduct himself."

"This," he added, "was the behavior of a compulsive hoarder."

The Justice Department presented a vastly different portrait.

Prosecutors have said FBI agents who searched Martin's home and car in August found evidence of a "breathtaking" theft of top secret government information. Investigators found records dated from 1996 to 2016, seized dozens of computers and digital storage devices and, all told, recovered some 50 terabytes of information  or enough to fill roughly 200 laptops. A substantial amount of that information, prosecutors said, was highly classified.

"There is no reason to believe that the defendant would have ever stopped but for the intervention of law enforcement," Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers said.

Myers said Martin's knowledge of secret government programs could make him a "high-value recruitment target from foreign intelligence services." Prosecutors have said he has been communicating online in foreign languages, including Russian.

A complaint unsealed earlier this month charged Martin with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, which together carry a combined maximum of 11 years in prison. But Myers said in court Friday that the Justice Department has evidence to bring additional charges under the Espionage Act, which would expose Martin to far more severe penalties if convicted.

Though authorities are still reviewing the records to determine the appropriate classification level, they say they already have found many that are clearly marked as classified  including one top secret email chain that appeared to have been printed off Martin's government account.

The document contained handwritten notes on the back regarding the NSA's classified computer infrastructure and descriptions of classified technical operations. The notes include basic concepts of classified operations, as if written for an "audience outside of the Intelligence Community unfamiliar with the details of its operations," prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Another classified document marked as "Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information" concerned "specific operational plans against a known enemy of the United States and its allies," the Justice Department alleged.

Martin was arrested around the same time federal officials acknowledged an investigation into a cyberleak of purported hacking tools used by the NSA. Those documents were leaked by a group calling itself the "Shadow Brokers," but there is nothing in court filings  and nothing said in court Friday  that connects Martin to that group.

Wyda, his lawyer, said the government had presented no evidence that ties Martin to any foreign power. And he said it was unfair to keep Martin in custody on a speculative concern that he might somehow come in contact with another nation.

"This sounds like something I would have heard in a presidential debate," he said. "This is beneath us."

He said after court that he and Martin's family were disappointed in the judge's ruling and would appeal.

Martin, like Snowden, worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton. The company has said he's since been fired.
Politicians routinely decry hypotheticals. They indignantly proclaim they wont answer a reporters speculative question because its contingent upon a hypothetical turn of events.

And yet, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was in full prognostication mode when she met with reporters Wednesday, divining what will unfold in American electoral politics next month.

Donald Trump is not going to be president of the United States, Pelosi augured.

When asked later about Hillary Clinton, the Pelosi forecast that the Democratic nominee will be a great president. She also declared Clinton will be the leader of the free world.

Its unknown if a Magic 8 Ball assisted Pelosi in her soothsaying. It is decidedly so. Signs point to yes. But she also predicted something else as congressional Republicans abandoned the top of the ticket to focus efforts toward preserving GOP majorities in the House and Senate.

Pelosi invoked the Republican gambit in 1996 when it became apparent former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kansas, wouldnt defeat incumbent President Bill Clinton.

Republicans started talking about checks and balances. And you know what that translated into? Impeachment of the president of the United States, she said.

But when it came to foretelling which party might win the House, and, thereby, if Pelosi might again clutch the speakers gavel should Democrats prevail, the oracle of Pacific Heights was not as clairvoyant.

I think we are in a good place, Pelosi offered. I think we will be within single digits either way.

Ask again later. Cannot predict now. Concentrate and ask again.

Democrats need 30 seats to recapture control of the House for the first time since early 2011. Republicans are scrambling to diminish losses and hold seats all over the map. Theyre leery as the Republican nominee Donald Trumps campaign seemingly disintegrates and he crows about not accepting the election results.

So why cannot Pelosi -- or anyone for that matter -- project what might happen in House contests?

In 2012, Democrats commanded 1.4 million more votes than Republicans for House contests. Yet Democrats picked up only eight states in the House and still stared at a 25 seat deficit.

When the GOP won the House in 2010, Republicans also scored hundreds of victories in state and local races across the country. Those locales determined how to draw new lines for congressional districts following the 2010 Census and the reapportionment of seats. As a result, Republicans drew lines to favor their own.

This created a firewall. Democrats took their best shot and still came up short.

Its an obstacle but not insurmountable, Pelosi said of GOP gerrymandering.

She notes that when Democrats won the House in 2006, they did so despite redistricting that favored Republicans. In particular, she cited efforts in 2004 by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to redraw lines in the Lone Star State tilted toward the GOP.

This is why the best political handicappers -- Magic 8 Ball or not -- are only willing to commit to a Democratic gain of 20 or so seats on the best of nights. It could be higher. But it is really hard to determine. Turnout is hard to model with Trump at the top of the ticket.

Reply hazy. Try again.

That said, there is one clear item on the Magic 8 Ball. If Republicans do maintain the House, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., faces a challenging path.

Trump has repeatedly knocked Ryan in recent days after the speaker yanked the nominees invitation to appear at a Wisconsin political rally. Trump now appears poised to partly blame Ryan if he loses the election.

Moreover, Ryan faces internal party squabbles about how he handled Trump. Ryan took heat early last week during a conference call for saying he would focus only on congressional contests.

He grossly miscalculated the situation, said one GOP lawmaker to Fox. This was a big mistake for Paul the way he played it. You cant give a middle finger to primary voters.

Fox is told that rank-and-file Republicans perceive Ryan of having unnecessarily waded into this. He thought he was being nuanced and he got his head ripped off.

Some pro-Trump lawmakers will hold the Trump clash against Ryan. Theres an increasingly likely scenario that Trump devotees may not be chastened by a loss in November.

Ironically, Trump supporters could emerge emboldened, believing the system is rigged, the outcome is invalid and Ryan represents the core of the Washington establishment.

At the very least, House Republicans will hold a smaller majority. The House Freedom Caucus will comprise a larger percentage of the GOP. Thats why members of the Freedom Caucus held a call Friday to discuss the possibility of fielding a challenger to run against Ryan.

The House Republican Conference would first vote internally in mid-November. The actual vote for speaker wouldnt take place until January 3 before the full House.

But what does Ryan do if hes speaker in the next Congress and dealing with the possibility of a President Clinton? Does he pull a page out of the GOPs 2009 playbook and vow to oppose everything the incipient president proposes?

That could ingratiate the speaker to Republican skeptics -- in both the Trump camp and the Freedom Caucus camp. But Ryan will need to work with Democrats to keep the government open and also sidestep a potentially calamitous melee in March over the debt ceiling.

Of course, daring to work with Democrats could be a death knell for Ryan. Then again, it could be an opportunity for smart politics if Clinton runs up the electoral college scoreboard and trounces Trump.

The question centers on what sort of an agenda a potential President Clinton may propound.

Just as The Magic 8 Ball labors to predict the House, control of the Senate is also murky. A Clinton shellacking could have Democrats up several seats in the Senate. Or, the partys might be separated by just a seat or two.

And come January, everyone could have Georgia on their mind.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., is not expected to lose in November. But what if he loses in January?

Huh?

If things are tight, Senate control could come down to a race decided not this fall but early this coming winter. Washington could realize such a scenario if the Senate is potentially held by one party or another by a single seat.

The Peach State requires candidates secure 50.1 percent to avoid a runoff. GOP sources tell Fox they are sure Isakson will struggle to top 50 percent against Democratic challenger Jim Barksdale in November. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll out Friday shows Isakson scoring 47 percent and Barksdale clocking in at 32 percent. Libertarian Allen Buckley could be the spoiler, polling at 11 percent.

That helps propel the runoff scenario. Moreover, Hillary Clinton is making a push to flip Georgia this fall. Democrats are gaining traction, bolstered by changing demographics in the state.

Heres the rub: The runoff for Georgia is January 10. Thats a week after the start of the 115th Congress. Thus, theres a possibility that in such a closely contested presidential election year, the Georgia runoff could either settle control of the Senate or tie it up. Its plausible one party could start with a majority on January 3 and face relegation to the minority a week later.

Fox rates the seat as a solid Republican hold. But both sides could pour every possible nickel into a runoff if it determines which side controls the Senate.

Georgias been down this road before in presidential years. The late GOP Sen. Paul Coverdell unseated Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler in a 1992 runoff. And Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss managed to hold his seat in a 2008 runoff against Democrat Jim Martin.

Regardless, political analysts interpret a runoff as the first referendum on the new president.

A potential President Clinton wouldnt be able to propound much of a liberal agenda with such a narrow margin in the Senate -- or perhaps no majority at all. What happens in the first few months of 2017 will impact the midterm elections of 2018.

A Clinton administration would be mindful to protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents from battleground or conservative states facing reelection in two years: Sens. Sherrod Brown, Ohio; Claire McCaskill, Missouri; Jon Tester, Montana; Joe Donnelly, Indiana; and Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota.

Thats to say nothing of inoculating an appointed Democratic senator to succeed vice-presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who would face a special election in 2017. The Virginia seat would also be up in 2018 should Kaine matriculate to the vice presidency.

So what will happen?

Cannot predict now. Better not tell you now. Ask again later.

Perhaps on November 8?

Even then the answers may remain elusive.
Donald Trump delivered Saturday on his plan to use historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as the setting for a closing argument in his Republican presidential campaign -- but not before lashing out again at familiar targets including rival Hillary Clinton, a rigged America and female accusers whom he branded liars.

Trump vowed after the election to sue the nearly one dozen women who have recently gone to the media with allegations about his sexual misconduct, a situation that Trump says has rigged the election against him.

Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign -- total fabrication, Trump told the crowd. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.

In what Trump billed as a Contract with the American Voter, the first-time candidate vowed to within the first 100 days of office to take six majors steps -- including putting term limits on members of Congress.

It is a contract between myself and the American voter and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington, Trump said.

As part of the contract, Trump wants to impose the term limits through a Constitutional amendment and have a 5 year-ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service. And he wants to impose a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;

I am not a politician, Trump also said Saturday. But when I saw the trouble our country was in, I felt I had to act.

Trump also said that if elected his administration would try to undo an emerging deal in which AT&T will buy Time Warner, which would create a major media conglomerate.

With Election Day now just 17 days away and Trump trailing Clinton in essentially every poll, the GOP nominee is working to assure voters that he is as capable and knowledgeable about policy as he is about rough-and-tumble electoral politics.

"Trump will use the historic setting of Gettysburg where the country was saved, a senior campaign source told Fox News before the speech. He will lay out a concise program that he will commit to execute from the first day in office.

Gettysburg is where Republican President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address in November 1863 in an attempt to unify Americans amid the Civil War.

Clinton has had a clear policy advantage over Trump since Day One of the 2016 White House race, considering she is a former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state.

Throughout the campaign, and particularly in the candidates third-and-final debate Wednesday night, Trump has argued that Clinton, in her 30 years in politics, has failed to solve any major domestic or foreign issues for the United States.

On Saturday, Trump again suggested Clinton lied to the FBI and Justice Department in their investigations into her use of a private server system as secretary of state because she said during the probes 36 times that she couldnt recall what she had done.

Trump is making several stops this weekend in Pennsylvania, one of a handful of battleground states that he must win to become president.

He trails Clinton in Pennsylvania by 6 percent points, according to the RealClearPolitics polls average.

However, Trump appears in the past few days to be cutting into Clintons lead, in part with his repeated message that the liberal media has rigged the election.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday showed Trump having cut Clintons lead in half.

The media refuses to talk about the three new national polls that have me in first place, Trump tweeted overnight. Biggest crowds ever -- watch what happens!
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Saturday he opposes the $85 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner, arguing the major media deal would result in too much concentration of power and vowing if elected to undo the deal.

Well look at breaking this deal up, Trump said at a policy speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, amid a Wall Street Journal report that an agreement between the companies had been reached.

Trump, who has recently said during his campaign that the liberal media has rigged the election against him, argued Saturday that such a deal is another example of too few people disseminating information to Americans.

Too much power in the hands of too few, said Trump, who also pointed to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchase several years ago of The Washington Post. They are trying to tell voters what to think and do.

The telecom giant AT&T's purchase of Time Warner would likely include the ownership of CNN and HBO.

The winner of the 2016 White House race between Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton will be decided on Nov 8. But even if Trump loses, the merger is expected to face scrutiny from the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.

Trump also suggested that he wanted to break up the Comcast-NBC Universal merger.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lashed out Friday at coverage of his campaign, saying that the press was attempting to "poison the voters" by publishing allegations that he had sexually assaulted women in the past.

WATCH: TRUMP SAYS MEDIA 'POISON THE VOTERS'

"Just so you understand, all that stuff it was fabricated, made up, never happened," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity on 'Hannity'. "It never happened. Its not like a question of it may have, none of it ever happened."

WATCH: MEDIA SLAM TRUMP OVER CLINTON JOKES

Multiple women have come forward in recent weeks to accuse the real estate mogul of sexual misconduct. The allegations date as far back as 1979 and up through 2007.

Trump tied the accusations back to emails linked by Wikileaks that showed close professional ties between members of the media and high-ranking Clinton campaign officials.

"Look at what came out today about the New York Times where they have reporters that are soft or safe or something," Trump said. "I have those same reporters and they are brutal. Theyre not brutal, theyre dishonest."

"This is all stuff that doesnt exist," Trump added. "This is dirty, disgusting stuff. And itll be revealed at some point ... And you know what, its no way that it should be. Were supposed to be a great democracy."

The GOP nominee also weighed on secretly recorded footage showing Democratic operatives appearing to brag about inciting violence at Republican rallies.

"When you look at those tapes, its disgusting," Trump said, discussing a Chicago rally that was canceled due to a riot March 11 "Theyre real thugs, by the way. Real thugs and they injured policemen, they injured people and they should be put in jail ... And who got blamed for it? Our rally people. Us. Me. We all got blamed for it and it had nothing to do with us."
Archaeologists say they've found evidence of a battlefield from the Roman emperor Titus' siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Recent excavations revealed a section of the so-called "Third Wall" of Jerusalem that Titus' army breached on its way to conquering the city, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

TWO NEW CAVITIES DETECTED IN EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMID



Outside the wall, the archaeologists found that the ground was littered with large ballista stones (stones used as projectiles with a type of crossbow) and sling stones, suggesting that this area had been under heavy fire from Roman siege engines.

SKELETON FOUND IN CASTLE MAY BE DOOMED LOVER

These archaeological remains were unearthed last winter at the site where the campus of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is to be built, in an area of the city that is known today as the Russian Compound, IAA officials said.

"This is a fascinating testimony of the intensive bombardment by the Roman army, led by Titus, on their way to conquering the city and destroying the Second Temple," the excavation directors, Rina Avner and Kfir Arbib, said in a statement from the IAA. "The bombardment was intended to attack the sentries guarding the wall and provide cover for the Roman forces so they could approach the wall with battering rams and thereby breach the city's defenses."

An eyewitness to the war, historian Flavius Josephus, wrote the seminal account of the Roman siege of Jerusalem, which included key details about the Third Wall.

Josephus said the wall was built to protect a neighborhood called Beit Zeita, which was built outside the city's boundaries at the time. The construction was started by Agrippa I, King of Judea, and was finished two decades later to help fortify the city as Jewish rebels prepared to revolt against Rome in A.D. 66.

Ultimately, the uprising against Rome was unsuccessful, and in A.D. 70, the Romans took back Jerusalem and destroyed much of the city, including the Second Temple.

The newly uncovered section of the wall is 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) wide. Pottery discovered at the site suggests that this battlefield dates back to Roman times, the archaeologists said. They also discovered the remains of a watchtower along the wall.

The new findings could help settle some debate about the exact location of the Third Wall, which has been going on ever since archaeologist Edward Robinson claimed to have found a portion of the wall in 1838. The discoveries will be presented next week at the New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region conference.

Original article on LiveScience.
Authorities in Texas said Friday they have a "person of interest" in the disappearance of a 22-year-old college student last seen more than a week ago.

Investigators said the woman's boyfriend -- whom they did not name -- is "not cooperating" in the search for Zuzu Renee Verk, a student at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, about 100 miles from the Mexican border.

The Texas Rangers and FBI are assisting in the search for Verk -- which has expanded outside of the Alpine area -- and a $50,000 reward is being offered for her safe return.

"At this point, we are still believing that she is alive," Alpine Police Chief Russell Scown said, according to Fox affiliate KDFW-TV. "We're hoping for the best outcome. We want to return her safely to her family."

Verk was last heard from during the early morning hours of Oct. 12, according to the Alpine Police Department. Verk's father told local news outlets that she was absent from both school and work later that day.

Verk reportedly left her home for a date at the movies with her on-again, off-again boyfriend on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 11, though police have released few details.

During a news conference Friday, Verk's family pleaded for her boyfriend to help in the search and cooperate with investigators.

"If you love Zuzu as much as you say you do, and have told me over and over, you will come down here and you will help the police bring my sister home," said Verk's brother, Miles, as he fought back tears.

"I'm asking you please to help us," the young woman's father, Glenn, said of the boyfriend, who has reportedly retained an attorney.

"I haven't seen you yet. I've seen a lot of people here helping," Glenn Verk said. "If you would please come and cooperate with the police department and help us and help them I know that you love her -- I hope that you do. And this would be a way to show it."

A Go Fund Me campaign was started by friends of the Verk family to assist the family with cost that will... https://t.co/72tQ0dRruy  Alpine Police Dept. (@AlpineTxPolice) October 19, 2016

The Alpine Police Department said it is looking for two vehicles possibly related to Verk's disappearance: a grey 2006 Jeep Liberty and a 2004 Mazda Miata convertible with a beige top. Both vehicles, police said, were seen in the area between 12 a.m. and 10:00 am on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

The Brewster County Sheriff's Office has also asked area ranchers to inspect their property for "any suspicious signs of disturbed earth, personal items on the ground, anything that might raise your suspicions that it may need to be investigated further."

Verk is described as 5 feet tall, weighing 110 pounds with blonde hair and hazel eyes.

Alpine is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso. Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the Alpine Police Department at 432-837-3486.

FoxNews.com's Cristina Corbin contributed to this report.
A San Diego judge Friday deemed a man charged with carrying out a string of deadly attacks on sleeping homeless men last summer to be mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Judge Steven Stone ordered Jon David Guerrero to be sent to Patton State Hospital for up to three years or until he is determined to be competent.

The 39-year-old Guerrero has been charged with three counts of murder and two counts of premediated attempted murder in the attacks in July that terrorized the city's homeless population.

The men were set afire or had railroad spikes driven into their bodies.

Court records show Guerrero has been diagnosed in the past with schizophrenia. He has a history of arrests and mental competency hearings, including orders to be sent to a state hospital for treatment.

His defense attorney did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

In a report to the judge, a court-appointed doctor noted that Guerrero would not cooperate in being interviewed about his competency.

Another report by a doctor recommended he be administered anti-psychotic drugs involuntarily.

Guerrero could face life in prison if eventually convicted.
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Police have arrested 35 suspected members of a Long Island gang days after the skeletal remains of a young man were discovered.

Authorities say the remains found this week in Brentwood were those of 18-year-old Jose Pena-Hernandez.

Suffolk County police say the teenager was a member of the MS-13 gang, which has links to El Salvador and Los Angeles.

Four teenagers from Brentwood High School have been found dead this past month in a string of brutal killings police say may be tied to gang violence.

Five of the 35 arrested in the past three weeks face federal charges under the RICO organized crime act.
Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 21, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Poll shows Trump gains on his femal rival despite furor over women and election comments

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gained on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Friday.

The polling data showed Trump's argument that the Nov. 8 election is "rigged" against him has resonated with members of his party.

"Remember folks, it's a rigged system," Trump told a Pennsylvania rally on Friday. "That's why you've got to get out and vote, you've got to watch. Because this system is totally rigged."

Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 4-point lead. That compared with 44 percent for Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last week.

An average of national opinion polls by RealClearPolitics shows Clinton currently 6.2 percentage points ahead at 48.1 percent support to Trump's 41.9 percent.

Trump's campaign was thrown into crisis after a 2005 video released earlier this month showed him bragging about groping and kissing women. He has since faced accusations - which he has said are "absolutely false" - that he made improper sexual advances to women over decades.

A woman is moved to tears as Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump takes the stage at a campaign rally in Newtown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 21, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Jonathan Ernst.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey found 63 percent of Americans, including a third of Republicans, believe the New York real estate mogul has committed sexual assault in the past.

Reuters contacted a few of the poll respondents who said they felt that Trump had likely "committed sexual assault" but were still supporting his candidacy. Their answers were generally the same: Whatever Trump did with women in the past is less important to them than what he may do as president.

At a Trump rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, Harold Garren, 75, said he was skeptical of complaints from women about Trump's behavior. "I don't believe all of this 30 years later, no," Garren said.

Garren also shrugged off Trump's lewd bragging about women, caught on the 2005 tape. "I've used that barnyard language myself," Garren said, clarifying that it was when he was younger and before he knew better.

Both candidates spent Friday in battleground states, where the vote could swing either way. Clinton, 68, campaigned in Ohio, while Trump, 70, was in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Trump, his voice lacking some of its usual energy in his third rally in one day, told voters in Newtown, Pennsylvania they had to vote or else he would have wasted a lot of "time, energy and money."

Trump is planning to give a speech Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in which he will kick off his closing argument for voters and preview his first 100 days in office, a Trump campaign aide said.

U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shakes hands with supporters after a campaign event in Cleveland, Ohio U.S., October 21, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Carlos Barria.

'Rigged' message finds support

Trump has been coy about whether he will accept the results of the election should Clinton beat him.

The Reuters/Ipsos data showed only half of Republicans would accept Clinton as their president, and nearly 70 percent of them said a Clinton victory would be because of illegal voting or vote rigging.

Trump's crowd chanted "Lock her up!" at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after he declared Clinton a "corrupt globalist," a reference to campaign documents released by WikiLeaks in which Clinton was quoted advocating free trade and open borders.

After the chant went around the room for several seconds, Trump responded, "Don't worry, that whole thing will be looked into."

The New York businessman's assertion that the election is being rigged and his refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election if he loses has challenged a cornerstone of American democracy and outraged Democrats and many Republicans.

Asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power during Wednesday's debate, Trump replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. OK?"

In Ohio on Friday, Clinton called his refusal unprecedented. "Now make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy," she told a rally in Cleveland.

"But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? And the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart," Clinton said.

Trump has offered no widely accepted evidence to back up his claims of vote-rigging. Numerous studies have shown that the U.S. election system, which is run by the states, is sound.

Trump gains on Clinton, poll shows 'rigged' message resonates Trump claims polling places are rigged

Trump told an earlier rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he wanted to have no regrets about whether he worked hard enough to win the election, and urged followers to get out to vote.

"Win, lose or draw - and I'm almost sure if the people come out, we're going to win - I will be happy with myself," he said. "We have to work, we have to get everybody out there."

Related news:

> Obama tells Trump to 'stop whining' over rigged election claims

> Trump assails Bill Clinton, vows to jail Hillary Clinton if he wins White House
Fraternities and sororities at the University of California, Berkeley have taken a bold stance against sexual violence, voluntarily banning all parties following reports of two sexual assaults last week at off-campus frat functions.

Interfraternity Council President Daniel Saedi called it "relatively unprecedented" for the Greek system to suspend its own parties but said Friday that fraternities and sororities agreed to pause social events to figure out how to keep them safe.

"We needed to take some time off and really assess our situation," said Saedi, a 21-year-old senior at Berkeley. "These are grave acts of violence that are occurring. They have no place anywhere in this country let alone on college campuses."

Saedi and Panhellenic Council president Divya Thomas, who oversees the school's 12 sororities, announced the suspension this week in a Facebook post, saying they would "suspend all social events until we can reevaluate our risk management practices."

Berkeley police say that two female students reported alleged assaults at off-campus fraternity parties last weekend. According to the university's crime statistics, 22 rapes were reported on-campus or in student housing in 2015 and four rapes were reported off-campus.

The party ban comes amid heightened attention to sexual assaults on college campuses, just months after the high-profile case of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman. Turner's six-month jail sentence drew public outrage.

The UC Berkeley administration has also received attention and criticism for its handling of sexual harassment cases involving high-profile faculty members. Among the critics were students, who now appear to be taking their own steps to increase safety.

Saedi said there is no timeline for the ban. Members of all fraternities and sororities will meet this weekend to discuss safety measures related to sexual violence, alcohol consumption and other issues.

"Hopefully, over the weekend we will craft a new set of operating standards that all fraternities and sororities will agree on," Saedi said.

Voluntarily shutting down fraternity parties is unusual, but not unheard of. After a reported sexual assault at Emory University in Atlanta in 2014, the Intrafraternity Council there also issued a self-imposed suspension of all social activities. But typically, the university administration is the one to impose bans on fraternities or sororities for hazing, drinking, sexual misconduct or other disciplinary matters.

Saedi said he realized not all students would be pleased with the suspension. But several students welcomed it.

"I'm glad at least they're taking time out to step back and think about it," student Arjun Mahajan told KNTV. "I think it's a good opportunity to reflect about ... this issue."
Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that some arrests along the Texas border labeled as "high threat" include drunken drivers and child-support dodgers.

Texas has a nearly $1 billion border security mission, and the state's Department of Public Safety in 2015 classified more than 1,800 highway patrol arrests near the Texas-Mexico border as "high threat."

The agency previously defined high-threat criminals as suspects who pose a "serious public safety or homeland security threat." But the AP's analysis found low-level drug offenders and hit-and-runs were lumped in with suspected killers and human traffickers.

Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw says high-threat arrests are tracked statewide and were never intended to measure border security. His agency is signaling a willingness to stop classifying some lesser offenses as high threat.
Two workers in Boston were killed when a water main gave way and flooded a deep trench where they were working.

The Boston Fire Department recovered the bodies Friday night in the South End neighborhood after several hours of painstaking work. In Twitter messages, the department said its technical rescue crew had to work in a trench box. The firefighters were on their knees gently removing dirt with their hands to reach the dead workers.

"Very difficult operation on Dartmouth St. 1st responders trying to respect the deceased while continuing the recovery," read one tweet.

The first body was recovered around 6:30 p.m. and the second shortly after 8 p.m. The fire department then tweeted the recovery operation was over. It urged people to "remember their families/friends."

The two workers were not publicly identified.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh expressed his condolences Friday night, adding "Today is a difficult day for the entire City of Boston, and especially those who go to work at construction sites everyday to make our city better."

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans told The Boston Globe that it appears "somehow a pipe must have broke and unfortunately they weren't able to get themselves out of a hole." He said it appeared other workers were able to escape from the trench.

When fire crews arrived on the scene, fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said they found "workers trapped in a trench in the ground that was filling rapidly with water."

The trench was estimated to be about 12- to 15-feet deep.

Boston Police, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office will be investigating the cause of the deadly incident, MacDonald said. The workers were employed by a private contractor. Neighbors told The Boston Globe that trucks with the name Atlantic Drain Service Co. Inc. had been parked in the area for most of the week.
A judge in Fresno, Calif., sentenced a man who raped his teenage daughter over a four-year period to 1,503 years in prison -- marking a sharp contrast to the 60-day sentence a Montana judge handed down for incest.

PETITION: IMPEACH JUDGE WHO ISSUED 60-DAY INCEST SENTENCE

The 41-year-old California man was sentenced Friday to the longest-known prison sentence in Fresno Superior Court history, the Fresno Bee reported.

The Associated Press is not naming the man because it could identify his daughter. The AP does not name victims of sexual abuse.

The judge in Montana handed down a 30-year suspended sentence after the man admitted he raped his 12-year-old daughter. The judge ordered the man to spend 60 days in jail, giving him credit for 17 days already served.

Montana law allows judges to dole out less sentences of less than 25 years if an evaluator determines that ordering sex offender treatment outside prison would rehabilitate the offender and protect the victim and society. A commission studying Montana's sentencing laws is recommending the legislature eliminate the loophole that allowed for the lesser punishment in this case.

ROLLING STONE REPORTER ADMITS ERRORS IN RETRACTED GANG RAPE STORY

The California judge, Edward Sarkisian Jr., told the man he is a "serious danger to society" and noted that he had never shown remorse and has blamed his daughter for his predicament.

The man's daughter was first sexually abused by a family friend but instead of protecting her, he turned her into "a piece of property," prosecutor Nicole Galstan said.

The victim was raped two to three times a week from May 2009 to May 2013, when the girl got the courage to leave him, Galstan said.

A jury in September found him guilty of 186 felony counts of sexual assault, including dozens of counts of rape of a minor.

"When my father abused me, I was young. I had no power, no voice. I was defenseless," said the daughter, who now is 23 years old. She also told the judge that her father never has shown remorse for her pain and suffering.

The man turned down two plea deals. Before his preliminary hearing, if he had admitted his guilt, prosecutors would have recommended 13 years in prison. He rejected the offer. Then before his trial, he was offered 22 years in prison if he admitted his guilt. He declined that offer, saying he should be released from jail for the time he already had served, Sarkisian said before announcing the sentence.

"He ruined her teenage years and made her feel like it was her fault," Galstan said in arguing for the maximum sentence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Pentagon is seeking to recover decade-old reenlistment bonuses paid to thousands of California Army National Guard soldiers to go fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

The paper reported that nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom risked their lives during multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay the cash bonuses after audits revealed widespread overpayments by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets at the height of the wars 10 years ago.

But soldiers say the military is reneging on old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on those whose only mistake was to accept the bonuses, which amounted to $15,000 or more.

The Army asked wounded Iraq veteran and former Army captain Christopher Van Meter, 42, to repay a $25,000 reenlistment bonus it said he was ineligible to receive. He was also asked to repay $21,000 in student loan repayments.

Van Meter told the paper that rather than fight the Army he paid back the money after refinancing his home.

These bonuses were used to keep people in, Van Meter said. People like me just got screwed.

The Times reported that 48-year-old Army sergeant Robert Richmond, who suffered permanent injuries in an Iraq roadside bomb attack, is refusing to repay his $15,000 cash bonus. The Army contends he was ineligible to receive the bonus in 2006 because he had already served 20 years in the Army.

I signed a contract that I literally risked my life to fulfill, Richmond told the paper. We want somebody in the government, anybody, to say this is wrong and well stop going after his money.

Investigations determined that fraud and mismanagement due to poor oversight contributed to the California Guard bonus overpayments, according to the Times.

California Guard officials conceded to the paper that taking back the money from military veterans is distasteful.

At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying the largest price, Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the California Guard, said. Wed be more than happy to absolve these people of their debts. We just cant do it. Wed be breaking the law.

On Sunday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a statement the Department of Defense should "waive these repayments," and that the House "will investigate these reports to ensure our soldiers are fully honored for their service.

"It is disgraceful that the men and women who answered their country's call to duty following September 11 are now facing forced repayments of bonuses offered to them. Our military heroes should not shoulder the burden of military recruiters' faults from over a decade ago," he said. "They should not owe for what was promised during a difficult time in our country. Rather, we are the ones who owe a debt for the great sacrifices our heroes have made - some of whom unfortunately paid the ultimate sacrifice.."

Click for more from the Los Angeles Times.
An international team has determined that the Syrian government carried out a third chemical attack in the conflict-wracked nation, according to a report released late Friday.

In August, the team from the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog blamed President Bashar Assad's government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.

The team said at that time that three other attacks indicated possible government involvement.

In a report sent to the U.N. Security Council late Friday and seen by The Associated Press, the team said there was "sufficient evidence" to conclude that Syrian forces were responsible for one of the attacks in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015.

It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, "hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population." Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.

The team concluded, however, that there wasn't enough evidence to determine responsibility for the two other attacks.

The experts said they couldn't confirm the use of barrel bombs in Kfar Zita in Hama governorate on April 18, 2014, because the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed and couldn't be linked with certainty to the location.

They said additional witnesses corroborated that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish in Idlib governorate on March 24, 2015. But they said the exact time and location couldn't be established and the canister couldn't be linked to any of the incident locations.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime's defiance of the longstanding global norm against chemical weapons use and Syria's abrogation of its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the White Houses National Security Council said Saturday. We strongly urge all UN member states and parties to the  convention, including Russia and Iran, which continue to conduct military operations on behalf of the Asad regime, to unequivocally support these efforts and sustain our shared commitment to the international standard against chemical weapons use.

The United States, Britain and France want the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons. But Russia, Syria's closest ally, said the evidence presented in the August report was not conclusive, and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin indicated that Moscow will oppose any sanctions.

The Security Council is expected to discuss the report on Thursday.

A year ago, the council established the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, known as the JIM, to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.

The JIM investigated nine cases in seven towns where an OPCW fact-finding mission found that chemical weapons had likely been used.

According to the August report, the JIM found the Syrian government responsible for two chlorine attacks in Idlib governorate  one in Talmenes on April 21, 2014, and one in Sarmin on March 16, 2015.

It also said the Islamic State group was "the only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulfur mustard" gas in Marea in Aleppo governorate near the Turkish border on Aug. 21, 2015. At the time, Islamic State fighters were attacking rebels.
A U.S. Navy warship on Friday passed through waters claimed by China near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Defense Department said, drawing Chinese condemnation.

A department spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross, said the destroyer ship USS Decatur conducted the transit operation near the Paracel Islands. He said it was done "in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident."

PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES 'SEPARATION' FROM US

A Chinese defense ministry statement called it "a gravely illegal act" and "intentionally provocative." The Chinese navy sent a guided missile destroyer and an escort vessel that "spotted and verified the American ships and warned them to leave," the statement said.

OUTRAGE ACROSS CHINA AFTER NBA PLAYER VANDALIZES GREAT WALL

Ross said there was just one U.S. vessel involved.

The Paracels, a group of islands and reefs, are occupied by China but are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. Ross said the ship passed within an "excessive" claim of territorial waters by China between two land features, although it did not go within 12 nautical miles of them.

He did not specify where in the Paracels the ship sailed.

The U.S. Navy has now conducted four freedom-of-navigation operations in the past year in the South China Sea, where China has reclaimed land on a massive scale to assert its claim to disputed features  mostly in the Spratly islands that lie further south.

China has looked dimly upon the U.S. operations, which it views as meddling in waters where the U.S. does not have territorial claims. Friday's operation comes a day after the leader of the Philippines, one of the six governments with claims in the South China Sea, announced during a visit to Beijing his nation's "separation" from the United States, as it seeks to deepen ties with China.

Ross said the operation was unrelated to any such event.

The Chinese statement accused the U.S. of being a "troublemaker" in the South China at a time when "under the joint efforts of countries in this region" the situation is developing positively.

"Under these circumstances, for the U.S. to deploy ships to violate Chinese territorial waters is to wish for the whole world to be in chaos" and to cause troubles from which the U.S. can profit, the statement said.

Ross denied the operation was provocative.

He said the U.S. conducts these operations on a regular basis around the world. He said the operation "demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea" that all states are entitled to exercise under international law.

"This operation was about challenging excessive maritime claims, not territorial claims to land features. The United States has been clear that we take no position on competing territorial sovereignty claims to naturally formed land features in the South China Sea," he said.
Onlookers apparently shouted "Jump!" before a teenage migrant leapt from an apartment block in an eastern German town, killing himself, the town's mayor said Saturday.

Regional broadcaster MDR reports that police and fire officers in Schmoelln had tried to persuade the 15-year-old boy, registered as Somali, not to jump on Friday from the apartment building where he lived.

"There is information that some ... onlookers spent a long time watching this incident and there were apparently shouts like `Go on, jump!"' Schmoelln Mayor Sven Schrade said.

"One can only condemn something like this," Schrade added. "If someone takes it as an experience like a movie and then thinks they have to shout encouragement, too, that's an unbelievable act."

Another local official, Matthias Bergmann, said some people apparently took photos from nearby balconies as the tragedy unfolded, MDR reported.

The broadcaster said the boy had been living in the area since April and spent a week at a psychiatric clinic being treated for depression before he returned Friday to the apartment he shared in Schmoelln with other young migrants.

An estimated 890,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Germany last year, and anti-migrant sentiment has grown amid the influx.
Hundreds of people have marched in Barcelona to protest the return of bullfighting to the city.

Spain's Constitutional Court overruled Catalonia's regional ban on bullfighting Thursday, saying the prohibition violated a national law protecting the controversial spectacle.

Spain's Pacma animal rights political party called for Saturday's protest as part of its "Mission Abolition."

Pacma has said it will continue to fight to end bull-related spectacles at a national level.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, the powerful northeastern region that outlawed bullfighting in 2010. The ban reflected a growing movement against bullfighting, but also was seen as a step in the Catalan government's push to break away from Spain.

Pacma has called for more protests to be held in Madrid and other Spanish cities.
On May 17, the U.S. Department of Labor issued the new Fair Labor Standards Act overtime regulations, which will mean millions of employees who are currently exempt will, for the first time, earn overtime for any hours worked in excess of 40 during a work week.

Previously, the minimum salary level to qualify for the executive, administrative or professional exemptions was $455 weekly ($23,600 annually). Under the new regulations, an executive, administrative or professional employee must earn a salary of at least $913 weekly ($47,476 annually) or they will be entitled to overtime pay.

There is another significant change concerning the salary figures. Every three years the minimum weekly and annual salary amounts will be automatically adjusted  that means increased  to track general wage increases around the country.

The new regulations are effective Dec. 1. The Department of Labor conservatively estimates that 4.2 million employees who are now exempt will be entitled to overtime after Dec. 1.

This change to overtime will have an enormous impact on employers. In addition to a potential increase in payroll costs, employers will need to evaluate existing positions to determine which employees will continue to be exempt from overtime and consider shifting work responsibilities and/or instituting staffing changes.

Employees who previously did not record their time will need to report actual hours worked, if they now become entitled to overtime for the first time.

We will keep you advised of developments. The Nevada Association of Employers is holding a class on Nov. 3 at the Red Lion from 8:30-noon. They will focus on the new overtime rules, Form I-9 changes and requirements and changes to 1094/1095-c (Affordable Health Care Act.) The cost is $49 for NAE members and $79 for non-members. To register call 775-329-4241 or gdoyle@nae-online.org
Islamic State militants set fire to sulfur stocks at a factory south of Mosul, the U.S. military said Saturday, creating a plume of noxious smoke that has drifted over a base with U.S. troops involved in the Iraqi offensive to retake the city and forcing some troops to put on gas masks as a precaution.

People in the area affected by the smoke said it was difficult to breathe, burned their eyes and stung their noses and throats when they inhaled it, and burned any exposed wet skin.

RELATED: ISIS attack on Kirkuk ends after 24 hours, Iraqi officials say

Sulfur dioxide from burning stocks is highly toxic and can be lethal. It can also quickly cause shortness of breath and coughing, according to a chemical fact sheet from Sultran, a Canadian rail company that ships large quantities of sulfur.

Militants set the residue alight at the Mishraq sulfur plant on Thursday as a tactical measure to slow Iraqi military advances in the offensive to recapture MosulIslamic States last remaining stronghold in Iraq. The toxic cloud mixed with choking black smoke already filling the air from oil-well fires started two months ago and still burning in the town of Qayara. The combination affected the nearby U.S. base as shifting winds blew the smoke toward the troops.

Daesh ignited toxic sulfur residue stored at al-Mishraq in an attempt to disrupt the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] advance, said Col.John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, using another name for Islamic State. He added that the military is now assessing the risk to U.S. troops because of the multiple fires.

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The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of IS militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

Here is a look at key developments on the sixth day of the Mosul offensive.

ARMY ADVANCES

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town, which is some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

An Iraqi television journalist was shot and killed by a sniper south of Mosul, a day after another Iraqi TV reporter was shot dead while covering the clashes in Kirkuk.

KIRKUK ASSAULT CONTINUES

Some fighting continued in Kirkuk a day after the IS assault on the city, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Mosul. The wave of attacks in and around Kirkuk appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

The Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, and a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city. The police said they recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack.

AIRSTRIKE ON FUNERAL PROCESSION

As the assault on Kirkuk was underway, an airstrike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing 17 people, mainly women and children, and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said it was not clear who carried out the airstrike and that officials have launched an investigation.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had "all the signs of a war crime." The U.S. military in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SULFUR PLANT FIRE

A burning sulfur plant south of Mosul that was torched by the Islamic State group is releasing large amounts of noxious gas into the atmosphere, draping towns in the area in toxic smoke.

The air has turned a greyish color as it mixes with smoke from earlier oil well fires set by the militants. The fumes make breathing difficult, and residents said they are suffering from coughing, headaches and nosebleeds from as far as 30 kilometers (18 miles) away.

US TRIES TO EASE TURKEY TENSIONS

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited to discuss the offensive and to try to ease Iraqi-Turkish tensions over the presence of some 500 Turkish troops at a base near Mosul. Iraq wants the troops to withdraw, and Turkey has refused.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi insisted that Mosul is an "Iraqi battle" and that Iraq does not need Turkish help. Carter had met with Turkish leaders a day earlier and had told reporters of an "agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the Mosul battle.
An international team has determined that the Syrian government carried out a third chemical attack in the conflict-wracked nation, according to a report released late Friday.



In August, the team from the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog blamed President Bashar Assad's government for using chlorine gas in two attacks and Islamic State (ISIS) fighters for using mustard gas in one attack.



The team said at that time that three other attacks indicated possible government involvement.

In a report sent to the U.N. Security Council late Friday and seen by The Associated Press, the team said there was "sufficient evidence" to conclude that Syrian forces were responsible for one of the attacks in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015.



It said a device, dropped from a high altitude, "hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population."

Witnesses and hospital staff identified the smell and symptoms of chlorine gas.



The team concluded, however, that there wasn't enough evidence to determine responsibility for the two other attacks.



The experts said they couldn't confirm the use of barrel bombs in Kfar Zita in Hama governorate on April 18, 2014, because the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed and couldn't be linked with certainty to the location.



They said additional witnesses corroborated that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish in Idlib governorate on March 24, 2015. But they said the exact time and location couldn't be established and the canister couldn't be linked to any of the incident locations.



The United States, Britain and France want the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons. But Russia, Syria's closest ally, said the evidence presented in the August report was not conclusive, and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin indicated that Moscow will oppose any sanctions.



The Security Council is expected to discuss the report on Thursday.



A year ago, the council established the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism, known as the JIM, to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.



The JIM investigated nine cases in seven towns where an OPCW fact-finding mission found that chemical weapons had likely been used.



According to the August report, the JIM found the Syrian government responsible for two chlorine attacks in Idlib governorate -- one in Talmenes on April 21, 2014, and one in Sarmin on March 16, 2015.

It also said ISIS was "the only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulfur mustard" gas in Marea in Aleppo governorate near the Turkish border on Aug. 21, 2015. At the time, ISIS fighters were attacking rebels.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants.

His unannounced visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk to American troops as they advise Iraqi forces. And it comes on the heels of Carter announcing there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to help in the Mosul battle, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.

This is Carter's third trip to Iraq this year, and he has overseen the steady increase in the number of U.S. forces deployed and the growth of America's effort to train and advise Iraqi troops.
ELKO  Haley Mallea has been promoted from assistant manager to general store manager at Wilson-Bates Furniture and Bedding store in Elko.

Haley has been an excellent employee and assistant manager, so when the opportunity came to appoint a new manager, she was our first and best choice, said CEO Rick White.

Mallea began her career with Wilson-Bates at their SuperStore in Twin Falls, and, after a few years, transferred three years ago to be part of the original staff here.

I am excited about my new position and, along with our excellent staff here, invite everyone in the Elko area to come and see us whenever theyre looking for home furnishings. said Mallea.

Wilson and Bates is a family owned business now in its fourth generation, with Nevada stores in Elko and Ely and Idaho stores in Burley and Twin Falls. View online at www.wilsonbates.com.
Reliable Web Hosting Solution In Montreal, Canada Announced

Canada Web Hosting solution in Montreal, QC at a much affordable rate than others with quality level of service and customers support.

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Legend Web Hosting a Canadian web hosting solution based in Montreal, Canada revealed its quality web hosting service to everyone at a much lesser price than its competitors. This is clearly reflected in the packages they offer and the level of service they provide to their customers.

Hosting Space and Bandwidth

Legend Web Hosting provides unlimited hosting space and bandwidth. This is something not expect from a cheap hosting service, but Legend Web Hosting makes it possible. The callable feature of their system can remove any worries of not having enough space or bandwidth.

Web Hosting Montreal

With servers based in Montreal site owners don't have to worry about downtime. Beginners in the area of site management will easily get rid of the jitters once they see the cPanel that comes with this hosting service. This control panel's interface is very useful for beginners. Experts will also appreciate how things are made simple. Backing up files, adding sub domains, managing email accounts, and analyzing traffic statistics are just some of the things that can be done in the control panel. Pre-installed scripts also make site administration more convenient.

Safety and Security

Legend Web Hosting makes sure that sites and databases are protected and secured. Some website owners overlook one important aspect in site management, and that is to backup their files. No one knows what could unfortunately happen to a site, caused by either a virus or a simple unintentional mistake. This is why it is imperative to always have all data backed up. This includes even emails, mailing lists, and database. LegendWebHosting has a backup tool for this that is ready to use.

Cost and Affordability

Nothing beats Legend Web Hosting in terms of price. They offer the cheapest on the web without compromising quality. Their most affordable "Basic" plan is at $8/month with a 10GB storage space, while they also give a "Free" Beta hosting plan at absolutely "Zero" cost with a 1GB storage space but with limited features. On the other hand, their "Ultimate" hosting plan is available at $15/month with an unlimited storage space along with the most sophisticated features including unlimited bandwidth, sub domains, email accounts and database. They also offer a price lock guarantee, the user can renew their contract at the same rate. No surprise price increases and no hidden costs.

With a rapid increase in the number of hosted sites, it seems that Legend Web Hosting is undeniably making a lot of website owners satisfied and happy with the internet hosting they have paid for.

Service and Technical Web Hosting Canada Support

LegendWebHosting is famous for the quality of service they provide to their customers and numerous reviews can attest to this. Available 24/7, their technical support team is ready to answer all queries and help resolve issues no matter how small or big they are. Their agents are experts in their fields and always ready to give friendly advice and solutions.

For more information, please visit http://legendwebhosting.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Jude

Email: info@legendwebhosting.com

Organization: Legend Web Hosting Montreal Canada

Address: Pont-Grave, 6025 Rue de Pontgrave

Phone: (855) 884-4141

Release ID: 140150

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Orange County Catering Taste of Sunrise Show Custom Multi Course Meals Released

Brother 2 Brother Catering announced the release of its cooking debut on "Taste of Sunrise," Crown City News, San Gabriel. The Orange County company features a custom menu including Mashtini Appetizers, Creole Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage Entrees and Tiramasu Desserts.

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Brother 2 Brother Catering with Chef James Cameron, a custom design menu and corporate catering company serving Orange County and the surrounding areas, has announced the release of its debut on "Taste of Sunrise," Crown City News of the San Gabriel Valley's cooking portion of their broadcast.

More information on the "Taste of Sunrise" broadcast with Chef James Cameron is available at: https://youtube.com/watch?v=wuhuvIAOBiM.

Restaurants and catering is a relatively new development in the world of food. Chefs and the culinary world for a long time were centered around feasts and celebrations for kings and other noblemen according to the Education Center Online. The first French restaurants did not appear until after the French revolution when there became a lack of aristocracy. Catering guilds found new ways to sell their talents.

The Education Center Online reports that in America, the catering industry is still young and only started booming after World War II when companies who previously made food supplies for the war needed something to do. The increase in wealth in America as the economy grew gave caterers new demand for their services which had traditionally only been available for the very rich.

Brother 2 Brother Catering, "We Bring the Cordon Bleu to You," delivers to high-end clientele and corporate offices in Orange County, Riverside and the Inland Empire areas with its custom design menu and multi course meals. The company has earned itself a 5-star rating with its decadent cuisine including Caprese Skewer Appetizers, Beef Bourguignon & Garlic Mash Potato Entrees and Red Velvet Cupcake Desserts.

Randy, the youngest brother, is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Academy - San Francisco. He served as the head chef for the University of California Riverside for 24 years and although now retired from Brother 2 Brother Catering still serves as a consultant.

Brothers James and Randy have extended their passions of cooking beyond the reach of the elite. Chef James shares his culinary passion by giving back to the community, often volunteering in a soup kitchen or helping guide and teach young people in the culinary field.

Randy is active in the community helping with meals for the homeless through his church food program. Randy and James help with meals for Ronald McDonald House during holidays and feed United States Veterans who are homeless and struggling to survive.

To see Chef James in his cooking debut on "Taste of Sunrise" visit the website listed above. More information about Brother 2 Brother Catering is available by visiting their website at: http://brother2brothercatering.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.brother2brothercatering.com

Contact Info:

Name: James Cameron

Organization: Brother 2 Brother Catering

Address: 1147 Railroad St.

Phone: (951) 334-1017

Release ID: 140191

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Leadership Miracle Fruitless Anger Must End Spiritual Book Released

Author Peter M. Deeley, Jr., has released his new 35-minute audiobook highlighting spiritual leadership qualities, "The Leadership Miracle." It provides readers guidance on letting go of fruitless anger and leading from a place of humility and grace.

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Author Peter M. Deeley, Jr., has released his new 35-minute audiobook "The Leadership Miracle." The audiobook highlights spiritual leadership qualities and focuses on the premise that the time of fruitless anger must pass. It provides readers guidance on how to lead from a place of humility and grace.

More information on Author Peter M. Deeley Jr., and the audiobook "The Leadership Miracle" is available at: http://theleadershipmiracle.com.

Throughout the world powerful leaders have shaped history, and according to Live Science a select few have the distinction of changing the world. It lists five influential leaders who share that honor including Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.

Powerful leaders have shaped the world for the better, but as history has shown the power to influence others can be used to have the direct opposite effect and can be used for harm and destruction. Examples of these types of leaders include Ho Chi Minh, Benito Mussolini, Kim Il-Sung, Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Author Deeley's new book "The Leadership Miracle" focuses on encouraging people to deeply know themselves and how their speech and actions affect the world. It says that to lead, people must quell the tempest inside. It is described as part poem, part essay and part prayer.

In describing what people are searching for, the book says that people look to the North Star - not the wind - for guidance. It says power is in the still, small, calm and clear voice of God within and that people will quietly find their voice.

Deeley said he hopes to influence how people talk to each other and that the book will encourage a return to a more polite and ordered conversation that allows for a greater number of voices to enter the discussions and debates of critically important times.

"The Leadership Miracle" was written to encourage more effective, gentle public conversation. Deeley said his mother, poet Lois Roma-Deeley, helped shaped the creation of the book by creating an environment that valued language as he grew up.

"The attentiveness with which the family in which I was raised asked for opinions and insights created whatever skills I have in language today," Deeley said.

The book is available on Audible and Blurb. Additional information on Author Peter M. Deeley, Jr., and "The Leadership Miracle" can be found at: http://awellrunlife.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.awellrunlife.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Peter Deeley

Organization: A Well Run Life

Address: 3160 S. Gilbert Rd. #5

Phone: (602) 717-7458

Release ID: 140212

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Winsor McLean passed away peacefully in Spokane, WA on September 27, 2016, at the age of 86. Winsor was born in Victorville, California to Winsor and Nannie Mae McLean and moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 5.

Windy married Dulce Mendes and they had three children, Nancy, Elene and Gena. When Dulce passed away, Windy married Gracie Hultin. They had a son, Winsor McLean, bringing the number of children in the family to six, including Gracies daughter Arlene and her son Steven. Windy and Gracie lived in Glendale, CA.

Windy was a combat veteran, serving in the Army in Korea and Japan. Upon returning to civilian life, he worked for several years and eventually purchased Judson Plumbing and Heating. He operated the business until he and Gracie moved in 1972 to what was a more rural but enjoyable life for them in Elko, Nevada. While living in Elko, Windy again operated his own business as McLean Plumbing and Heating. He and Gracie lived in Elko for 40 years where Windy made many friends and also enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Winsor is survived by his six children, 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Hospice House of Spokane, 367 E. 7th Ave., Spokane, WA 99202, or you may donate online at hospiceofspokane.org using the Secure Online Donation link.
ELKO  For anglers wanting to learn to tie their own flies, the Nevada Department of Wildlife will host a free fly-tying workshop every Wednesday at 6 p.m. starting on Nov. 2.

This hands-on, entry-level course will teach participants the basics of tying fishing flies, starting with the simpler flies and progress through to more difficult flies and techniques as the classes continue through the winter.

Students will learn what equipment, materials, and techniques are needed for this creative hobby. The class is free, all materials are provided and there are fly tying tools available for loan for those who dont have them.

Participants dont have to attend every class, but are encouraged to attend at least the first two or three classes as the basic skills are taught. The classes will wrap up in the spring with a fly fishing clinic. Students of all ages are welcome, though those under 16 should have an adult attend with them.

The class will be held at the NDOW office located at 60 Youth Center Road. For more information or to register for the class please call 777-2305.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for the restoration, protection and management of fish and wildlife resources, and the promotion of boating safety on Nevadas waters. Wildlife offices are located in Las Vegas, Henderson, Winnemucca, Fallon, Elko, and Reno. For more information, contact the agency web site at www.ndow.org.
Leaked Macbook Pro 2016 Images Features a Revolutionized Laptop from Apple; Also Read News on Upcoming Macbook Air & Surface Pro 5

It's counting the days, rather than months for the much anticipated Macbook Pro 2016. And while everyone seemed engrossed on the idea of welcoming the revolutionized laptop from Apple, two more laptops are expected to arrive soon. Recent reports revealed that, Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and Apple's very own Macbook Air 2016 will also arrive this October.

In the latest BGR report, Apple is confirmed to have sent out their invitations for media day. Unfortunately, not significant details about their lineup was indicated. While it is expected that Apple will introduce several other products on the 27th of October, the Macbook Pro 2016 is expected to take the spotlight. Additionally, rumors about the Macbook Air 2016 joining the event remains an untouched subject.

Moreover, the hype could have been a hundred percent Apple domination if not for Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro 5 release arriving too. Nevertheless for Apple, the event is featuring an unprecedented introduction of new lines of Mac and the highly anticipated Macbook Pro 2016. Meanwhile, just few days before the Apple event, and alleged images of the Macbook Pro 2016 were spotted online. Although these images were known to have been leaked as early as May, it looks like Apple has not made any significant changes to the design; they still carry the same characteristics as previous leaked images of the device.

If you are used to the idea of Apple refreshing their Macbook lines yearly, the new device is expected to be a completely revamped Macbook Pro 2016 coming this October. Also, the idea that it will be accompanied by the new Macbook Air 2016 makes the event sweeter. We also learned that, the Macbook Air 2016 will arrive with its 13-inch version only and nothing else.

For more news and update on the upcoming Macbook Pro 2016, Macbook Air 2016 and Surface Pro 5, you can come back and read us here on GameNGuide.
The United Nations has appointed DC character Wonder Woman as its new ambassador. Coinciding with the character's 75th anniversary, the announcement was met with mixed reactions.

In a ceremony at the United Nations Economic and Social Council Chamber on Oct. 21, 2016 attended by Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot, who both played Wonder Woman in separate films, the U.N. appointed the character as Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls.

However, the U.N. suffers backlash following the appointment of the comic book character as an ambassador. An online petition has immersed that Wonder Woman is not fit to be an ambassador citing the character's physique as "a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee high boots - the epitome of a 'pin-up' girl".

It has been a controversy since the United Nations appointed "Wonder Woman" as an ambassador. The petition reiterates that "the United Nations was unable to find a real life woman that would be able to champion the rights of ALL women on the issue of gender equality and the fight for their empowerment."

They added that "It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls."

On the other hand, the United Nations does not see anything wrong with appointing Wonder Woman as an ambassador. "The focus [of the UN] was on her feminist background, being the first female superhero in a world of male superheroes and that basically she always fought for fairness, justice and peace," said UN official Maher Nasser in an interview with NPR.

American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman and first appeared in December 1941 in All Star Comics #8. It is known that Wonder Woman was sculpted from clay by her mother and as a gift by the Greek God, who gave her superhuman powers.
'House of Cards' Season 5 Updates: Star-Studded Comeback, Patricia Clarkson & Campbell Scott Play Major Roles, Clinton Says Storylines, 99% Accurate

"House of Cards" Season 5 is in the midst of casting and filming for its colossal comeback on the web stream. To play a crucial role is the multi-awarded actress Patricia Clarkson, while ex-President Bill Clinton affirms that series storylines are 99 percent accurate.

"House of Cards" Season 5 according to Gamenguide will continue unwrapping gruelling surprises as the first couple Frank and Claire Underwood engaged in a never-ending contest to be at the top. This is Netflix's reward to the avid fans who have patronized the series and the stars for the past four seasons.

There will be new cast additions to "House of Cards" Season 5. Hollywoodreporter revealed that Campbell Scott will come in to play a major role together with Clarkson, Spacey and Wright. However, at this time there is no news yet from Netflix on Campbell and Clarkson's stories in the series.

I don't know whether to be proud or terrified. Perhaps both. https://t.co/SCCwVLOaPD  House of Cards (@HouseofCards) October 21, 2016

"House of Cards" Season 5 has retained Joel Kinnaman as Will Conway. He will be pitted against Frank Underwood in the US presidential bid. Kinnaman declared in his interview with Digital Spy released through Youtube that he is back filming on the campaign trail' scenes.

The storyline of "House of Cards" Season 5 election parallels that of the real US Presidential elections. Beau Willimon, the creator of the show stated in one of his interview by Brian Stelter that the "House of Cards" stories is 99 percent accurate, but remains to be seen. This is according to Spacey's friend, the former US President Bill Clinton, which Willimon confirmed.

"House of Cards" Season will unfold in 2017 on the Netflix web streaming channel.
'The Blacklist: Redemption' Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Spinoff Series Gets New Showrunner; Tom Keen Explores His Past! More Plot Details

Because fans of "The Blacklist" could not get enough of their favorite show, the creators have decided to create a spinoff series, "The Blacklist: Redemption." More good news for the fans, the upcoming show had just gotten a new showrunner.

New Showrunner

"The Blacklist: Redemption" will be expanding the world of Red (James Spader) and Liz (Megan Boone) through more heart-pounding action and adventure. In addition, the new spinoff will be spearheaded by former "Castle" showrunner David Amann.

The planted episode introducing the new characters was written by "The Blacklist" creator and executive producer himself, Jon Bokenkamp, along with showrunner and producer John Eisendrath. The tie-in episode will officially be introducing "The Blacklist: Redemption" to the universe of the core series.

Amann will be sharing the executive producer duties on "The Blacklist: Redemption" alongside Eisendrath, Bokenkamp, John Fox, and John Davis. They will all be handling the day to day operation of the show, making sure that it will stay cohesive yet independent with "The Blacklist."

Amann served as the executive producer and main showrunner for ABC's comedy crime series "Castle." He oversaw the daily operations on the seventh season of the show, which turned out to be its penultimate one. Watch out for "The Blacklist: Redemption."

Series Plot, Cast, and Other Details

"The Blacklist: Redemption" already had an order from NBC for a total of eight episodes. The spinoff series will see the undercover operative Tom Keen, played by Ryan Eggold, as he joins forces with Susan "Scottie" Hargrave, played by Famke Janssen.

Tom Keen, main lead of "The Blacklist: Redemption," is the husband of Liz Keen in the main series. Scottie is then seen as the talented and cunning chief of Grey Matters. This is a covert mercenary organization that specializes on solving problems that governments do not have anything to do with. The two will be teaming up to utilize their unique skills together, as well as their resources, to attempt straightening up the perilous world of lethal criminals.

Meanwhile, Tom will also be embarking on his own covert mission in finding out more about his shady past. Also joining the cast are Edi Gathegi, Tawny Cypress, and Adrian Martinez as skilled operatives and allies of the two. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more "The Blacklist: Redemption" news and updates!
'Mario Pikachu' Mash-up Line of Collectibles Release Date, Hints on Possible Game Version

Nintendo has recently announced a new line of merchandise that involves Pikachu dressed with a red hat and mustache which would be called as Mario Pikachu to be released on Oct. 29 in Japan. Speculations of a Pokemon themed Mario world followed the announcement.

Pokemon has come up with different versions of their franchise but that doesn't stop them from partnering with other companies to expand the variety. The partnership between Nintendo and Pokemon has made the phenomenon possible. According to The Verge, among the products to be released include a plushy Mario Pikachu, its counterpart, Luigi Pikachu, playing cards, Hanufa cards, a Nintendo 3DS case and the some T-shirts. The items will begin sale on October 29 around Japan, though there is no information whether or not the limited edition items will be offered outside of the country.

The Mario Pikachu may not be the only plush toy hitting the shelves, it is revealed that more items may be announced and available at the Kyoto store, as reported by Wired. Further information as to when is yet to be determined. It will most likely follow shortly after the official release of the first wave of items.

The merchandise release has sparked various speculations of a supposed Mario Pikachu game in the future. The speculation may be brought about by the some artwork in the items including a Pokemon-themed Mushroom Kingdom with the antagonists replaced with their Pokemon counterpart.

Other than rumors, there are no signs on whether there is more to the Mario Pikachu announcement. However, fans are hopeful that the possibility doesn't end on toys and merchandise alone. Pokemon recently announced the release of their newest franchise, "Pokemon Sun and Moon", which will be released on Nov. 18, 2016.
Kate Middleton, Prince William Divorce: Queen Elizabeth Ordered Prince Harrys Brother To Dump Wife? Pippa Middletons Sister Wants To Quit Royal Life?

Kate Middleton and Prince William are reportedly facing a lot of problems with their marriage lately. Now, new reports are claiming that the mother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte are currently at war with Queen Elizabeth after Her Majesty reportedly slammed the Duchess for being so laid back and relax.

Kate Middleton, Prince William Divorce: Prince George, Princess Charlotte's Mom Slammed By Queen Elizabeth For Being Too Lazy? Duchess of Cambridge Wants Her Commoner Life Back?

Celeb Dirty Laundry reports that Queen Elizabeth is really mad at Kate Middleton. Sources have claimed that the grandmother of Prince William has criticized the mother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte since she does not want to be involved in charities and other Royal responsibilities.

According to reports, Kate Middleton has refused to join the Royal events planned for her by Queen Elizabeth, which totally infuriated Her Majesty. Insiders have revealed that the Queen of British Monarchy does not think that the wife of Prince William is fit to become the next ruler of the kingdom because of her very much laid back attitude.

Moreover, it has been reported that Kate Middleton has been making several excuses so she will not be forced to attend any Royal engagement that would require her presence. Because of this, Queen Elizabeth has reportedly suggested Prince William to dump his wife and find another woman who can do the Royal responsibilities very well.

Though these reports could possibly be true, neither Prince William nor Kate Middleton has confirmed anything as of yet. Hence, fans of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge should take everything with a grain of salt until it has been proven true and correct.

Kate Middleton, Prince William Divorce: Prince George, Princess Charlotte Becoming Spoiled & Loud? Duke & Duchess Reaping the Results of Poor Parenting?

Meanwhile, GamenGuide has previously reported that both Kate Middleton and Prince William are tired of raising Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Informants have revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were heard complaining about being parents to their kids, which sparked reports that they could finalize their divorce soon.

Rumors are rife that Prince George and Princess Charlotte are now giving Kate Middleton and Prince William a dose of their own medicine since the Royal kids are reportedly becoming spoiled and loud. Sources have claimed that even the people in the palace can now see the results of the Royal couple's poor parenting skills.

Both Kate Middleton and Prince William are yet to comment on these reports. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for the latest news and updates about the alleged Kate Middleton and Prince William divorce.
'Arrow' Season 5 Episode 3 Recap [SPOILERS]: WWE Superstar Stardust Faces Stephen Amell Again

The CW's "Arrow" Season 5 Episode 3 features the much-awaited encounter between Stephen Amell's Arrow, and WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes a.k.a Stardust.

The episode is aptly titled "Stardust," which is a direct reference to Cody Rhodes' WWE ring name. The episode starts with the Green Arrow chasing after criminal that has information on a new drug called "Stardust," while the new members of team arrow watches through a monitor in the training area. Oliver gains a sample of Stardust in the interrogation.

During this time, it is revealed that Oliver Queen is still not confident in letting his team go out in the field. Wild Dog is still displeased with them being sidelined. Felicity and Oliver then receives a tip of a B&E crime, with Oliver going to scene immediately. It is here that Detective Billy Malone reveals himself to be the one who made the call, and just wanted a way to give the Green Arrow intel regarding the killer of one of Mayor Queen's anti-crime unit, and the killer's connection to Tobias Church.

Another scene shows Diggle in prison and being visited by his wife. It is also revealed that his cellmate is former Taskforce X member, Floyd Lawton a.k.a Deadshot, who was believed to have died in a mission with Diggle. It was later alluded to that Lawton may just be a figure of Diggle's imagination.

Oliver also faces several challenges as mayor in this episode. The media has been aggressively pursuing the appointment of Quentin Lance to the position of Deputy Mayor, and his recent bout with alcoholism is at the forefront. Thea Queen, tries to do damage control by approaching the news reporter running the story, but proved to have made matters worse.

The flashbacks still continue with Oliver's time in Russia and his dealings with the Bratva. The flashback shows his initiation into the group, and the reason behind the killings of other Bratva recruits.

Going back to the Stardust angle, Wild Dog and Evelyn Sharp disobeys Oliver, going after the gang behind Stardust, and going up against its leader, Derrick Sampson. Their encounter led to Sampson falling into a vat of chemicals for producing Stardust. This angered Oliver as the District Attorney already had long-term plans on using Sampson to reveal his supplier. But with Sampson's death, that option is no longer on the table.

Oliver then learns that Sampson is still alive, and in their battle, he discovers that Sampson can no longer feel pain, and has superhuman strength. Green Arrow was greatly overpowered and retreats. Realizing that he can't face Sampson alone, he calls in his new team, which were able to handle themselves during the mission. Team Arrow was able to stop Sampson.

Feeling that they are ready, Oliver and Felicity takes the new Arrow Team to the real Arrow Cave. It is here that Lyla asks Oliver to help break John Diggle out of prison. Meanwhile, "Arrow" Season 6 episode has been released, Comic Book reported.

Here's the sneak peek.
Rotary got started in Long Beach in 1917 when seven local businessmen met with a New York Rotarian who talked about his club there.
125 YEARS AGO

October 17, 1891: Jake Nelson has taken charge of the Butler saloon and stable, opposite the Elko flour mill. The bar has been stocked with a choice assortment of wines, liquors and cigars. Hay and grain at the stable, and the best of care given to stock. Give Jake a call.



Major Miller received a handsome two-seated buggy from the East Monday. It was a present from his partner, John Payne.



District Attorney Plummer and A.W. Hasson went to Carson Wednesday to appear before the State Board of Equalization on behalf of this county on the horizontal raise of 20 per cent.



I.Ostreicher of the Gem Hotel, goes to San Francisco to-day to lay in a fine stock of holiday goods.

100 YEARS AGO

October 16, 1916: The State Board of Revenue met in Carson City Wednesday evening, and granted the request of Elko county to borrow $25,000 to be used for extending the sewer system of the town of Elko, and making repairs. The loan was authorized. The money must have been forthcoming at once, for the men employed on the sewer received their checks for their labor about thirty minutes later than usual Saturday evening.



Albert Olin returned a few days ago from a deer hunting trip in the northern part of the county, and reports that his party bagged three bucks. They were out nearly two weeks, all through the recent storm. The editor acknowledges a delicious piece of venison.

October 17, 1916: Ever since the auto races at the Rodeo last fall, the local bugs have been arguing and talking about the respective merits of their cars. In order to settle the question of supremacy once and for all, the owners of the gasoline carts have agreed to pull off an honest-to-goodness race without any bucking broncs or playful steers to mar the festivities, and the date for the big killing has been set for Sunday, October 29, at the Rodeo grounds. The first prize in the main event will be $200 cash, second, $50 cash. It is understood that no car whatever is barred, and anything what will run on four wheels  Fords included  is invited to get in.

75 YEARS AGO

October 16, 1941: With the completion of the oiling of the Elko airport expected within the next five or six days, it was revealed today that the local field will, for an extended period, handle extensive fueling operations for United Airline Mainliners. Elko will become a center of UAL activity due to the fact that the beam in the Salt Lake area has been irregular for some time and that present plans call for flying over Salt Lake and landing in Elko until the beam at the Utah city has been regulated, according to William Wunderlich, manager of the Elko airport.

October 18, 1941: Announcement was made here today of the sale of the A.W. Hesson home, located at the corner of Seventh and Railroad Sts., to Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Zubieta. The Zubietas were formerly of Whiterock, where they operated a store. They have sold their interest in the store and will reside in Elko in their newly-purchased home.

October 22, 1941: There will be a meeting of Elko retail merchants tomorrow night at the Elko Lamoille Power company offices on Commercial street at 8 oclock for the purpose of organizing an Elko Retail Merchants Association. The matter of hours, Sunday closing and controlling peddlers are subjects which will be discussed.

50 YEARS AGO

October 18, 1966: Elko County received a check for $4,442.13 from Don Lewis, director of the Ruby Valley game refuge, as the countys share of proceeds from the area. The payment is based on three-quarters of one percent of the adjusted cost ($435,455.95) of acquired land in the county of Elko, in accordance with public law 88523, plus 25 percent of net receipts from use privileges on public domain within the refuge system in Elko county during fiscal year 1966. The amount includes $21.50 for land and water conservation fund receipts.

October 21, 1966: A rousing start this week for the 17th annual Homecoming festivities should generate plenty of spirit for the big game with Fallon Saturday. The assembly today included a band performance, skits by the various classes plus the appearance of the queen candidates and their escorts. Co-chairman Barbara Rose and Aulene Evans assisted Mr. James Polkinghorne and the faculty committee in reading the program. Queen candidates are Ann Warren, Marva Kump, Sally Wilson, Pam Johnson and Becky Merrill.

October 22, 1966: Mark Menke, Elko county extension agent for 37 years, who retired this summer, was guest of honor last night during the annual County Farm Bureau banquet held in conjunction with the Eastern Nevada Feeder Calf Sale underway at the fairgrounds. With over 300 friends attending Mark was led through a skit depicting humorous incidents during his tenure as extension agent.

25 YEARS AGO

October 19, 1991: Starting Wednesday, residents of Ruby Valley will have access to modern telephone service and party lines will be eliminated. Alltel is installing the latest equipment for providing service to remote areas. Called Basic Exchange Telephone Radio Services (BETRS), the system consists of a series of wireless digital radios that give customers a privacy level once available only through traditional hard-wire copper cable lines.



Elko City Councilmen are slated to pick a new police chief at their meeting Tuesday. The council will also vote on whether to accept the North Hollow subdivision at the meeting. Candidates for police chief are Det. Bill Bogue and Sheriffs Lt. Curtis Watson of Elko and William Songer, a retired police officer from Vancouver, Wash. Bogue was ranked first by a selection committee, followed by Songer and Watson.

October 22, 1991: Enough wrecks have occurred on Idaho Street to warrant new traffic signals, Charles Williams, the citys director of public works, reported. Williams said the 206 accidents in the last three years puts Elko in running for money from the Federal Highway Administrations Hazard Elimination Fund. That funds Nevada appropriation is expected to be more than $800,000 two years from now, when the city will be competing statewide for grants. The citys application for those tax dollars will request $75,000 for traffic-actuated signals, such as those in use at the intersections of Idaho and Mountain City Highway and Idaho and the East Elko freeway access road.
The CD&J Cafe has been a mainstay in Philomath for decades, a blue-collar place where loggers, millworkers and other residents have slugged down coffee and ate meals with plentiful portions.

But on Sunday, the business is shutting its doors.

Owner Rebecca Yu said she is closing CD&J, 1247 Main St., to focus on her real estate career.

Its just become too much work for us to do both, Yu said. Weve made some great friends. Its been a great experience for us.

She has listed the business and building for sale for about two years. If somebody can take over right away, thats great for our community, Yu said.

Shes open to leasing the building, but only for uses other than the cafe.

Karl Frederick, Yus husband, said that the costs of inventory-related items have increased greatly over the last three or four years.

Yu came to the United States from China to attend Oregon State University and bought the business and building in 1994. CD&J had been in operation for decades at that time.

We never changed the name. We just ran the business the way it was, Yu said.

Philomath City Recorder Ruth Post said she could remember going there for hot chocolate as a little girl with her dad.

The Benton County Historical Society & Museum has photos showing a cafe in that building in the 1940s.

Those interested in purchasing the building and business, or in leasing the building, can contact Yu at 541-760-7380.
Shannon Jones, the Corvallis used-car dealer facing federal charges in a $1.3 million fraud case, has cut a deal with prosecutors that could result in a reduced prison sentence but still leaves him on the hook for restitution and possible fines.

The maximum penalty for the charges against Jones is 20 years in prison, but prosecutors are recommending a term in the range of 30 to 37 months at the low-security federal prison in Sheridan in exchange for a guilty plea and restitution.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 7 before U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene.

Jones was charged Sept. 13 in U.S. District Court with one count of wire fraud alleging that he systematically defrauded customers, vendors and business associates of Jones 5 Auto Sales, the used-car lot he operated at 1475 N.W. Ninth St. The business shut down on Nov. 18 as police investigators swarmed over the premises and creditors hauled away the dealerships inventory on transport trailers.

In a six-page agreement with federal prosecutors signed Oct. 12, Jones agrees to plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud in connection with the sale of a van to a customer in New Mexico who paid Jones $23,450 for a van that he never received.

Jones admits the bogus van sale was part of a larger scheme dating back to early 2012 that included accepting payment for other vehicles that were never delivered, selling vehicles on consignment and pocketing the proceeds, obtaining loans by falsely claiming to hold title on vehicles he didnt own, and misrepresenting the financial health of his business to lenders and associates.

He also agrees to pay at least $1.3 million in restitution to the victims in the case, including more than $800,000 in fraudulently obtained loans and $500,000 in illicit proceeds from vehicle sales.

Jones could also face up to $2.6 million in fines (twice the amount he admits obtaining through fraudulent means), but Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Potter said its unlikely that her office will ask the court to impose them in this case.

The priority always remains restitution, Potter said in an interview on Friday. Restitution would be the first thing to be paid.

In the aftermath of the Jones 5 Auto Sales collapse last year, dozens of people found themselves scrambling to reclaim cars placed on consignment, track down titles to vehicles they had purchased and call in outstanding loans to the business or its owner. Investigators from the Corvallis Police Department and the FBI have spent the last 11 months trying to sort out sometimes conflicting ownership claims and determine exactly how much money is owed, and to whom.

In fact, theres still no precise tally of how many people were caught up in Jones fraudulent schemes.

We are still figuring out exactly who the victims are, and especially who the victims are who are still owed money, Potter said.

Jones himself has not spoken publicly about the case, and his attorney did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

One of the biggest victims in the case appears to be Next Gear Capital, an Indiana company that provides so-called flooring loans to car dealers across the country to finance operating expenses. The loans are typically secured by titles to vehicles on a dealerships showroom floor, but in this case Jones allegedly used forged title documents as collateral.

Potential victims who have not yet spoken with investigators are encouraged to call the Corvallis Police Department at 541-766-6924 or the Eugene office of the FBI at 541-685-6260.
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, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. 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

THURSDAY, OCT. 20

TRESPASS: 11:10 p.m., 200 block of Northwest 21st Street. A man reported to police that a man had entered his house and asked him "Is this China?" The man who reported the incident said the man later went into the backyard and knocked at his back door. The reporting man did not want to pursue charges and only wanted police to verify the man was gone.

Benton County Sheriff's Office

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19

SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY: 5:14 p.m., 600 S.W. Monroe Ave. A man reported to a deputy that he saw another man with a trash bag over him chasing a woman through Central Park. The man who reported the incident said the woman eventually got onto a city bus without the man in the trash bag. There were no further details reported and the case was discontinued.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18

DUII: 9:22 p.m., Northwest Kouns Drive and Shannon Drive, Albany. A deputy responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle located a 2015 Jeep Cherokee that appeared to have been in an accident. The driver, Emily A. Jenkins, 30, of Salem, was later arrested and charged with DUII. She had a reported blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent.
ELKO  Approximately 26 witnesses testified in the Eduardo Estrada-Puentes trial, which came to a pause Friday as both the State and the defense rested their cases.

Estrada-Puentes, 34, is being tried on an open murder charge in the 2011 death of his estranged wife Stephanie Gonzalez.

The prosecution  represented by Chief District Attorney Chad Thompson and Deputy District Attorney David Buchler  and the defense  comprised of David Lockie and Sherburne Macfarlan  will meet with Elko District Judge Al Kacin to solidify the jury instructions.

Closing arguments on both sides are to be completed over the weekend and presented to the jury Tuesday, when a verdict is expected to be handed down.

Thompson asked for a verdict of first-degree murder. This brings forth the idea of premeditation as it takes approximately four minutes for strangulation to occur.

Macfarlan said the defense is not disputing Estrada-Puentes committed the act, but it was voluntary manslaughter.

Certain facts have not been disputed by either side. Estrada-Puentes brought their children  Dsrey, Kiawna and Andres  back on June 24, 2011 to Elko from a trip to Tucson, Arizona.

Several witnesses, including Gonzalezs mother Lidia Cortes and her cousin Michelle Quintero, acknowledged divorce papers had been taken out.

Gonzalez, and her then 10-year-old Dsrey, went to the Garcia Lane residence to pick up her uniform and contact lenses. She forgot her uniform, ultimately leading her to return early the next morning.

After that time, Gonzalez was never seen or heard from again. The initial investigation included a search for her body, which had been hidden between the bed and the wall in the childrens bedroom, and the location of Gonzalezs SUV and a borrowed Chevrolet Malibu.

Both were located at local apartment complexes.

Kiawna  who entered the courtroom carrying a teddy bear with tears in her eyes; members of the gallery were also crying  and Andres were in the residence when Gonzalez was killed. Kiawna testified to hearing her mother yell Eduardo and her father calling Gonzalez a bitch three times. She did not remember Estrada-Puentes saying Youre dead, but she remembers having to leave.

The child described her mothers voice to the prosecution as scared and shrieky. The yelling continued for approximately four to five minutes, before everything went silent.

She said she knew her mother was in the childrens bedroom because the door was shut.

Other testimony included that of Cortes stating Kiawna heard Estrada-Puentes say, Youre freaking dead.

Dsrey later told the court she knew her parents were getting divorced. The 15-year-old discussed that she knew something was wrong five years ago, when she couldnt contact either parent when on a family trip to Wild Horse Reservoir. Soon the family packed up and went in search of her mother.

It was stated her mother continuously spoke to her. She told the defense her mother was protective. However, not reaching Estrada-Puentes was also worrisome as he would call Dsrey to say good morning.

The manager Gonzalez had worked with at the Scoreboard Casino also thought it was off she did not hear from the victim, who was described as punctual and always ready to work.

Following Gonzalezs death, Kiawna spoke with her aunt Shania Cortes, who made a recording of what the child said happened. This included comments concerning her father dragging her mother, but she didnt see that.

Pamela Sheets, a social worker for the Division of Child and Family Services, interviewed the child in July of that year. Kiawna was avoidant but alert, said Sheets, explaining the conversation included the child saying she thought her father did it with his hands.

Quintero and her husband Jaime were the ones to find Gonzalezs cellphone and purse, which were tucked behind the bed.

Three witnesses rounded out the evidentiary portion of the trial Friday morning. They included a detective with the Elko Police Department who helped transport Estrada-Puentes to the Elko County Jail after the defendants extradition, and an FBI special agent, who extradites fugitives from foreign countries for state and local officials.

Detective Michael Marshowsky interviewed Estrada-Puentes along with Lt. Ty Trouten upon his return to the United States last year.

Trouten asked the majority of the questions, which included how long the defendant planned to kill his estranged wife and if he intended for the children to be present.

Estrada-Puentes responded with questions such as if that was what his children were being told, as well as, Did you see me do it?
Diwali Offers on 10 Best 4G Volte Smartphones Features oi -Harish Kumar Several smartphone vendors have already started their sale for the upcoming Diwali festival offers on VoLTE supported 4G Mobiles.

Reliance Jio has massively increased the craze of 4G network in India with its attractive free offerings. Now, with that, the telecom sector in India is heated up.

Earlier yesterday, South Korean giant, Samsung announced that the company will only release 4G VoLTE smartphones in India. So, that states that growth of the network in India, all thanks to Reliance Jio.

SEE ALSO: Diwali Festive Offers: Get up to 50% Discount on Smartphones

That being said, Diwali is around the corner and several smartphone vendors have already started their sale for the upcoming festival. Hereby, we list the top ten smartphones to buy this Diwali season.

5% off on Asus Zenfone 3 Laser (Silver, 32 GB) Buy At Price of Rs 18,999

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Key Features 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display

Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 505 GPU

4GB RAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano/microSD)

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Zen UI 2.0

13MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash

8MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture

Fingerprint sensor

4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS

3000mAh battery 5% off on Yu Yunicorn (Gold Rush, 32 GB) Buy At Price of Rs 12,399

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Key Features

5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD 2.5D curved glass display, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 450 cd/m2 brightness

Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

1.8GHz Octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor with Mali T860 GPU

4GBRAM

32GB internal storage

expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano+nano/microSD)

13MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, f/2.2 aperture, 5P lens, PDAF

5MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, 4P lens

Fingerprint sensor

4G LTE,WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS

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Key Features

5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with Asahi Dragontrail Glass protection

Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (Cortex A53 - 41.5GHz + 41.2GHz) processor with Adreno 405 GPU

2GB RAM

16GB internal memory

expandable memory up to 128GB via MicroSD

Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Hybrid Dual SIM (Micro + nano/MicroSD)

13MP auto focus rear camera with LED Flash

5MP front-facing camera

Fingerprint sensor

4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS

3000mAh battery 32% off on LG K7 4G volte Dual Sim Buy At Price of Rs 8,199

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Key Features

5.0-inch FWVGA display In-cell Touch (LTE) / On-cell Touch (3G)

LTE: 1.1GHz Quad-Core processor; 3G: 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor

1.5GB RAM / 16GB memory

1GB RAM/ 8GB memory

Android 5.1 Lollipop

8MP of Rear camera

5MP of Front camera

LTE / 3G

2,125mAh Battery 18% off on LG Stylus 2 K520DY 4G VoLTE (2 GB,Titanium) Buy At Price of Rs 15,149

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Key Features 5.7-inch (1280 720 pixels) HD IPS in-cell touch display

1.2 GHz quad-core processor

1.5GB LPDDR3 RAM (2GB in Korea)

16GB internal memory

expandable memory with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

13MP rear camera with LED Flash

8MP front-facing camera

4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC (optional)

3000mAh (removable) battery 5% OFF on Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Buy At Price of Rs 15,990

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Key Features 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display

Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

Octa-Core (1.4GHz + 1GHz) Exynos processor

1.5GB RAM

16GB internal memory

expandable up to 128GB with microSD

Dual SIM

13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.9 aperture

5MP front-facing camera with LED flash, 120-degree wide-angle lens

4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS

3000mAh battery 11% off on Samsung Galaxy On7 Pro (Gold) Buy At Price of Rs 9,990

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Key Features 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD display

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

1.2 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor with Adreno 306

2GB RAM

16GB internal memory

expandable up to 128GB with microSD

Dual SIM

13MP rear camera with LED flash

5MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 aperture

4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS/ GLONASS

3000mAh battery 6% off on OPPO F1S (Gold, 3GB) Buy At Price of Rs 17,599

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5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection

1.5 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 64-bit processor with Mali T860 GPU

3GB RAM

32GB internal memory

expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with ColorOS 3.0

Dual (nano) SIM

13MP rear camera with LED Flash

16MP front-facing camera

Fingerprint sensor

4G, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4/5GHz)

Bluetooth 4.0, GPS

3075mAh battery 6% off on Intex Aqua S7 16GB Blue Buy At Price of Rs 9,419

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Key Features 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD 2.5D curved glass display with Asahi Dragon Trail glass protection

1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU

3GB RAM

16GB internal memory

expandable memory with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

13MP rear camera with LED Flash

5MP front-facing camera

4G VoLTE

WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth 4.0, GPS

3200mAh battery Samsung Galaxy On8 (Get free 32GB Samsung microSD card worth Rs.899) Buy At Price of Rs 15,900

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Key Features 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display

1.6GHz Octa-Core Exynos 7580 processor

3GB RAM

16GB internal memory

expandable up to 128GB with microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

Dual SIM

13MP rear camera with LED flash

5MP front-facing camera with LED flash

4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11n

Bluetooth 4.1, GPS

3300mAh battery

Best Mobiles in India

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ELKO  Decorate your trunk and show-off your business, group, family or agency next week during Trunk-or-Treat, a brand new Halloween event by parks and recreation.

Ghosts, goblins, princes and princesses can make their way from 6 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 27 to the Train Park between Seventh and Eighth streets.

We kind of wanted to do something a little bit different, but also we didnt really want to compete with Safe Street and Trick or Treat Street, said Jerod Linder, recreation coordinator for City of Elko Parks and Recreation Department.

Linder told the Free Press the parks department has been involved with Trick or Treat Street for about 20 years.

We just decided to do something where we can get the community involved, being creative, he said. This is an event that truly is not just for businesses. Its actually open to civic groups, individuals  I have a family thats coming out and doing it.

After the family registered, Linder said he came to the realization that trick-or-treaters are hard to come by in a lot of neighborhoods. Some families really enjoy that and this is even an opportunity for families to come out with their kids and kind of relive the understanding of trick-or-treating.

This event is hopefully an impetus to get more traffic in the downtown area as well. Linder said he is not sure there have been many events at that park. Additionally, it is known locally as the Train Park, when its official name is Greenbelt Park.

Another purpose for using the location is the parks department has a key to the caboose of the train.

Were looking at cleaning it all out and allowing people to see inside of the caboose  We thought that would be kind of a fun opportunity, he said, explaining it will be decorated to have a haunted look.

The parks department is limited to 56 parking spaces, each costing $25 for those participating in decorating their vehicles.

Linder said the event is on Thursday  the day before the Nevada Day Parade.

We thought it was kind of a good family event. Its also a good driver too for businesses to promote  if they have a new business or one they want to get recognized, he said, explaining participants can take part in giveaways, promotional items and passing out candy.

There will be four awards available: first, second and third place as well as a peoples choice for their favorite trunk.

Haunted caboose tours are free, games are 50 cents and Halloween pictures at the Pumpkin Patch cost $5, according to the parks and recreation department.

All the revenue thats generated from this goes back into all of our events and our programs  it truly doesnt come back just to our department, were an enterprise fund, said Linder.

Visit the parks website or call 777-7260 for more information or to complete a vehicle application.

Dont forget to check out other 2016 Halloween community events, including Trick or Treat Street starting at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 and 31 at the Elko Convention Center.
'Feels Like Home Season 2' offers something real and tangible to think about; takes home a pertinent point - if your intentions are good, there is nothing in life that isn't achievable.
German parliament approves espionage law, prompts protest

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 5:8PM

Germany's parliament has approved a controversial law that Berlin says will tighten oversight of the BND spy agency amid criticism that the legislation violates the right to privacy.

On Friday, the lawmakers voted for the law, which will provide the foreign intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst, commonly known by its acronym BND, with more powers.

Under the new law, the BND will be allowed to monitor communications of foreign entities and individuals on the German territory and abroad that pass through a main internet exchange point in the city of Frankfurt.

The law will also enable the BND to conduct "early interception of dangers." The German spy agency was previously limited to fighting crimes, terrorism and cyber attacks.

The German government defends the law.

"How do we want to find terror suspects? How do we want to detect them if not through those means?" said Clemens Binninger, a lawmaker with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party.

The BND was banned from spying on Germans but critics say the new law also enables the agency to monitor German citizens, including journalists, lawyers, whistle-blowers and activists.

The BND now can intercept all internet traffic. The agency was previously allowed to monitor up to 20 percent of traffic at one exchange point.

The approval prompts protest in Berlin

The Green Party has threatened to file a petition with the highest court of Germany as well as the European Court of Justice against the law.

"Our constitution, basic and human rights laws are not an obstacle to the fight against terrorism," said Konstantin von Notz, a Green Party lawmaker.

In a show of discontent with the controversial law, the so-called digitalcourage association organized a demonstration in the capital Berlin on Friday.

Protesters held signs that read, "I am not an ID number," "Go home, [intelligence] service," and "The NSA scandal is meant to be a lesson, not a role model."

The BND has been hit by a series of scandals, including its cooperation with the US National Security Agency (NSA) to carry out espionage activities targeting high-ranking European officials.

On April 30, 2015, a report surfaced that the BND had helped the NSA conduct "political espionage" on high-ranking French officials and the European Commission.

The newly approved law will prevent the BND from spying on EU countries except in certain cases such as suspicion of a terrorist activity against Germany's security. It will also ban the BND from engaging in industrial espionage.

It also calls for establishing a new panel comprising the head of the BND, the chancellor's office and an independent panel of judges to approve strategic foreign espionage activities.

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NSA contractor accused of largest data theft in history

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 6:11AM

US government prosecutors say they would prosecute a former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) who is accused of stealing a "breathtaking" amount of classified information, the largest data theft the United States has ever seen.

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that Harold Thomas Martin spent over two decades stealing classified information from multiple government agencies.

The alleged criminal conduct "is breathtaking in its longevity and scale," prosecutors said, adding that the amount of stolen data is estimated to be at least fifty terabytes, enough to fill dozens of hard drives.

US Justice Department attorneys said they will bring charges against Martin that included violations of the Espionage Act, a move carrying far more severe penalties than previously announced charges.

A conviction under the Espionage Act can include prison time of up to 10 years on each count.

"The defendant knows, and, if no longer detained may have access to, a substantial amount of highly classified information, which he has flagrantly mishandled and could easily disseminate to others," Justice Department attorneys wrote in the 12-page filing.

Martin, 51, was arrested at his home in Glen Burnie, Maryland, in August and charged with felony theft of classified government material.

He was employed by Booz Allen Hamilton, the same consulting firm that employed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden when he disclosed classified documents in 2013 that exposed NSA surveillance programs.

Officials said compared to Snowden's, however, Martin's theft is far greater. "The case against the defendant thus far is overwhelming," prosecutors wrote in the filing.

Martin is scheduled to appear in US District Court in Baltimore on Friday for a hearing. Prosecutors will ask the judge that Martin should not be released from jail on bail because he is a flight risk and a threat to national security and the physical safety of others.

The US Justice Department is also concerned that Martin may seek asylum from a foreign country, much in the way Snowden did from Russia. Snowden remains in Moscow as American authorities try to have him extradited.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has prosecuted more people, including Snowden, under the Espionage Act than all previous presidents combined.

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Osan fighter wing enhances "fight tonight' readiness at Red Flag-Alaska

By Senior Airmen Dillian Bamman, 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published October 21, 2016

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFNS) -- The 25th and 36th Fighter Squadrons have been training during Red Flag-Alaska 17-1 at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, from Oct. 6-21.

Red Flag-Alaska is a Pacific Air Forces-directed field training exercise that focuses on improving the combat readiness of U.S. and international forces while simultaneously providing training for units preparing for air expeditionary force taskings.

"We're here to expose our pilots, particularly the younger ones, to more stress and pressure than they've ever experienced while airborne," said Lt. Col. Michael McCarthy, the 36th FS commander. "Working through this stress and then carefully debriefing our planning and execution makes us more capable to handle and prioritize critical situations in the future."

The fighter squadrons will test their skills during highly realistic replications of surface-to-air and air-to-air defenses while utilizing live weapons, something unique to Red Flag-Alaska 17-1.

"The live weapons target complex in Alaska is phenomenal," said Lt. Col. Craig Morash, the 25th FS director of operations. "While every weapon dropped requires planning, live weapons expenditures illustrate just how important weapons fragmentation cylinders, mutual support contracts, and formation timing really are."

The ranges there also allow the pilots to fly down to 100 feet, a skill that is vital to build confidence, he said.

The exercise also gave the pilots an opportunity to showcase the interoperability between the two squadrons and their South Korean air force partners.

"We train with our (South Korean Air Force) 11th Tactical Fighter Wing brethren often and know them very well," McCarthy said. "We've truly enjoyed the opportunity to welcome them to the United States, but the experience is much more like friends who find themselves in a challenging situation together very far from home."

International participation is a traditional part of Red Flag-Alaska which gives the 25th and 36th Fighter Squadrons unique training, furthering the squadrons' abilities to "fight tonight."

"The training we get here is extremely important," Morash said. "The Alaskan ranges contain one of the best threat replication matrices on the planet along with live weapons targets. Pilots who flew in (Red Flag-Alaska 17-1) will take these lessons and experiences with them through their entire Air Force careers."

McCarthy echoed those sentiments on behalf of his squadron's pilots.

"Overall, RED FLAG is overwhelming," McCarthy said. "It is crushing defeats, hard-earned lessons, and occasionally a sweet victory. It is very stressful, and it is absolutely necessary training for our young aviators."

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Military Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 21, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Shadaddi, three strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a mortar system and a vehicle.

-- Near Raqqah, two strikes engaged an ISIL supply route and destroyed an oil wellhead, an oil collection tank and an oil pumpjack.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL headquarters building.

-- Near Manbij, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles and a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Mara, a strike destroyed an artillery system.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas, destroying an ISIL headquarters building, 23 fighting positions, eight ISIL vehicle bombs, six ISIL-held buildings, six vehicles, five mortar systems, three heavy machine guns, a tanker truck and a command-and-control node. A vehicle bomb was damaged. Nine heavy machine gun positions, five sniper positions, four mortar positions, an artillery system position and 11 ISIL tactical units were suppressed.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle bomb, a vehicle and an ISIL-held building.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two checkpoints.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-377-16 October 21, 2016

Navy to Commission Littoral Combat Ship Detroit

The Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, Detroit (LCS 7), during an11 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, Oct. 22 on Detroit's waterfront.

Detroit is the sixth U.S. ship in our nation's history to be named in honor of city of Detroit.

Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Barbara Levin, wife of former U.S. Senator Carl Levin, serves as the ship's sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

"This ship represents so much. It represents the city of Detroit, the motor city. It represents the highly-skilled American workers of our nation's industrial base, the men and women who built this great warship; and it represents the American spirit of hard work, patriotism and perseverance," said the Honorable Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy. "The USS Detroit will carry these values around the world for decades to come as the newest ship in our nation's growing fleet."

The first USS Detroit was a British sloop of war captured by the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812. The screw sloop of war Canandaigua was renamed Detroit for a brief time in 1869, but returned to her original name that year. A turn of the century cruiser served for nearly 15 years. In 1923, another cruiser was commissioned and served throughout World War II, earning six battle stars. The most recent ship named Detroit was a fast combat support ship that served from 1969 to 2005.

USS Detroit is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric "anti-access" threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).

Each LCS seaframe will be outfitted with a single mission package made up of mission modules containing warfighting systems and support equipment. A dedicated ship crew will combine with aviation assets to deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare or surface warfare missions.

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703-697-5342. For more information about the Littoral Combat Ship class: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1650&ct=4.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/981993/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-375-16 October 21, 2016

Readout of Secretary Carter's Meetings with Turkish Leaders in Ankara

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yldrm, and Minister of National Defense Fikri Isk for meetings today in Ankara. The secretary also toured the Turkish Parliament building where he saw damage from the recent coup attempt and expressed his condolences to all those who lost their lives defending Turkey's democratically-elected government. During the productive talks, the secretary reaffirmed his support for the long-term, strategic alliance between the United States and Turkey and vowed the United States would continue to stand side-by-side with our NATO ally against shared threats. Secretary Carter thanked the president for Turkey's resolve in the fight against terrorism and Turkey's critical support for the counter-ISIL campaign in Syria and Iraq. The secretary and president discussed recent successes against ISIL in Operation Euphrates Shield, and Secretary Carter congratulated President Erdogan on the critical role Turkey played in the recent seizure of Dabiq by Syrian opposition forces. Also discussed was the need to solidify and consolidate gains in Operation Euphrates Shield, to include increasing military cooperation and enhancing civilian and humanitarian work. Both sides agreed to maintain frequent communication on the full range of mutual interests, including close coordination and continued transparency in the coalition effort to deal ISIL a lasting defeat.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/981549/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter October 21, 2016

Media Availability with Secretary Carter enroute to Ankara, Turkey

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER:

Well, first of all, thank you, everyone, for joining me on this trip, which focuses on our counter-ISIL military campaign and also on NATO and a NATO ministerial.

Before I begin, let me give you what I know so far, and Peter will keep you updated about a service member whom we lost today in northern Iraq. I don't have a lot of detail. And, again, I'll ask Peter to keep you informed as we learn more.

That much I do know, and it's a reminder that our people who are participating in the counter-ISIL campaign, whether they be flying aircraft or working with the Iraqi Security Forces and the other forces at enabling their consistent advances of the kind that we see in the region of Mosul today are in harm's way and there's no more serious responsibility for me as secretary of defense than to have our men and women in harm's way.

But make no mistake, they are. This is necessary work because it's necessary for us to destroy ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Therefore, it's necessary for us to enable, in this case, the Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga in northern Iraq, and it appears that it was in that role that this service member was killed. And, again, I'll ask Peter to keep you posted as we learn more, but that's what I know so far.

With respect to Mosul, overall, I'll just comment and I said earlier today, we're in the early phases of the positioning of forces and the envelopment of Mosul. This is pursuant to the campaign plan that was first created and that I described to many of you almost a year ago now. And it is proceeding -- that envelopment is proceeding on schedule, so I'm encouraged by the progress so far. But this is going to be a serious military campaign and it's in the very earliest stages.

I am encouraged, but I'd remind everybody that it's the very early stages.

I'd also remind everyone of two additional things, which is while it will be necessary and we will surely collapse ISIL's control of Mosul, there will be a big job of stabilization and reconstruction after. And I think I've said before that a concern I have is that the stabilization and reconstruction effort not lag behind our progress at the military effort. And that's critically important.

And the other thing I would say in connection with our counter-ISIL campaign is to remind everyone that even though it's necessary to destroy ISIL in Iraq and Syria, it's not sufficient. We need to root out ISIL elsewhere. And very importantly, we need to protect our own homeland, because we know that ISIL aspires to doing harm to Americans abroad or at home and either in a way that directs or simply inspires people to violence.

Let me turn now from that to the trip itself.

First up tomorrow is in Ankara. I look forward there to seeing my friend and colleague, the defense minister, Isik, whom I've met with now a number of times. I have a very good relationship with him. And he, of course, will be also at our NATO meeting next week.

And we'll be discussing a number of things in the very important business of our longstanding and very powerful alliance relationship.

One thing that I know is on his mind are the growing responsibilities he's been given for civilian control of the ministry of defense in Turkey. And he and I have talked about that. I've offered to give him advice from the point of view of a fellow civilian minister of defense. So that's something I look forward to talking to him about.

Additionally, we'll have the opportunity to talk about all of our NATO alliance efforts preparing for the NATO ministerial. We'll also have the opportunity to talk about the counter-ISIL campaign and I'll be able to congratulate him and other Turkish leaders on their very significant victory in Dabiq. That was an important objective and the Turks, obviously, we were supporting them but they were carrying the burden of the battle there and they did spectacularly well. So, I think they deserve the congratulations for what is a significant objective.

We'll be working with them and continue to work with them to consolidate that border region, long an objective of there's and ours, and a very important one in the counter-ISIL campaign. So we'll be talking about our joint work there and more broadly in the counter-ISIL campaign.

Turkey is hosting NATO aircraft at Incirlik, at Diyarbakir. We have a HIMARS at Gaziantep. So they play a very important role in those regards, also, in the counter-ISIL campaign.

And, of course, Turkey's strong role in the counter-ISIL campaign makes sense because they, too, like we, have come under ISIL attack.

And so we'll be discussing that, as well.

Finally, I want to commend Turkey with all that is going on in its immediate neighborhood, the tremendous number of refugees that Turkey has had to accommodate, for their strength and leadership elsewhere in the world.

I'd just point to Afghanistan and also Kosovo as two places where Turkey has played and continues to play a very important role.

I hope, also, during this time, if he's available, to see President Erdogan. I last saw him in Warsaw a few months ago. So if that works out on his schedule that would be a very welcome meeting, as well.

I will, after Turkey, then proceed to the UAE. There, I will have the opportunity to meet with the crown prince and minister of defense there also and we'll be discussing counter-ISIL, counterterrorism more generally, Yemen, Iran, and other topics of mutual concern.

Looking ahead yet further, in Paris, I will be with another good friend of mine, the minister of defense of France, Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, the fifth small group meeting of the counter-ISIL defense ministers, something we started to do about a year ago and we've kept up steadily so that we can all remain aligned in terms of what our campaign plan is and how we can make the contributions that each of us needs to do, even as we have done more and more over the last year. As we've built momentum in this campaign, I've asked them all of them to do the same and they've stepped up. And we'll have the opportunity to review our progress and the way forward at that meeting.

And then finally, what occasions my travel at this moment, very importantly, is a NATO defense ministerial. I never miss them. That will be my fifth in Brussels and we'll be finalizing decisions there about how to strengthen deterrence and defense within NATO.

So a busy trip. I'm grateful to all of you for going.

Obviously, we've got to get started here over the weekend, so I appreciate your giving up your weekends to do this, but it is a very important trip at a very important time. So thanks for coming.

And with that, I'll answer your questions and Peter will be our impresario here, as always.

Q: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

One quick question on the U.S. troop who was killed, and than I have a broader Turkey question.

Just what do you say to the American people about whether or not the danger for armed forces is going to be increasing as the fight gets closer to Mosul?

And then just on Turkey, are you prepared to ask your Turkish counterpart to discuss their role in Iraq, and are you prepared to ask them to not support the troops that they have trained in Iraq or to take the Turkish troops out of Iraq as this fissure between the Turks and the Iraqis grows worse?

SEC. CARTER: Well, let me see, with respect to the first, I just want to reemphasize that our forces operating against ISIL have been in harm's way. I can't emphasize that enough. They do that every single day. That will continue through the Mosul campaign. They'll be in the same role they have been, which is an enabling role for Iraqi Security Forces.

But make no mistake, that puts them in harm's way. Again, I don't know the details of this particular incident, but it's just a reminder that that is the case. And that will be true as we go to Mosul, as we continue after the control of Mosul to consolidate security within Iraq, which we're committed to do, and all the other parts of the counter-ISIL campaign.

And with respect to Turkish action as part of the coalition in respect of the campaign in Iraq, of course we'll be talking about that. And yes, of course, there are sensitivities there.

But we conduct ourselves and the coalition does, respecting Iraqi sovereignty. And that's an important principle of ours.

These are two close friends of ours. In the case of Turkey, it's a NATO ally. And we want to keep everybody focused on the objective here, which is to defeat ISIL, because that is a threat to all three of us.

STAFF: Bill?

(CROSSTALK)

Q: Hi, Mr. Secretary.

SEC. CARTER: Hi.

Q: Just to follow-up on it, so it sounded to me like you were going to tell the Turks that they can't participate without the invitation of the Iraqis in the air campaign. And if that's the case, you know, is there something else they could be doing that you would offer them the ability to do to support the campaign, perhaps in Syria, as you try to put pressure on Raqqa at the same time as you're operating in Mosul?

And then -- and I hate to distract. I know that there are a lot of questions on the Middle East, but could you please respond to the comments from Duterte today that suggested -- or that he explicitly said that he was going to align with Russia and China against the world, that there was like a break from the United States, including a military one.

Thank you.

SEC. CARTER: So let me see.

With respect to the first one, as I already said, we have a principle and we've long had discussions with everyone about this, about respect for Iraqi sovereignty in the course of the conduct of the counter-ISIL campaign.

Subject to that principle, it's very important for all the members of the counter-ISIL campaign to participate in that integrated way.

So will I be talking with the Turks about that? Absolutely.

And with respect to our alliance with the Philippines, I'd only say this. It is a longstanding alliance relationship. The United States takes alliance relationships very seriously. And we have important alliance commitments which we intend to keep in the Philippines. Obviously, any relationship is one of mutuality. And we'll continue to discuss that with our Philippine counterparts.

Though that's not new today, but that's our alliance relationship with the Philippines and we'll continue to discuss that with the Philippines.

STAFF: Gordon?

Q: Hi, sir.

Two questions on Turkey.

One is can you give us an assessment of what the U.S. understands about the shelling of the Kurds by the Turks and explain to us how that will play into your discussions in Ankara, as well as whatever concerns you may be conveying about their continuation into Albab.

SEC. CARTER: Let's see, with respect to the first one, I can't clarify that now. I've seen reports to that effect. I'll certainly have an opportunity to discuss with my Turkish counterparts all of our joint operations in the northern part of Syria.

As I said, they had an important success with respect to Dabiq. We'll be talking about that. We have important work ahead of us to consolidate that border area there. And that's really what we're focused on now is consolidating our support in that -- in that border area.

Obviously, we'll be discussing things that may -- what are coordinating on future objectives. But for right now, we're really focused on that strip which includes Dabiq, which is on the northern border in the so-called Operation Euphrates Shield.

Q: All right.Will you ask them not to (INAUDIBLE)?

SEC. CARTER: Well, as I said, I think what I'll be talking to them about is making sure that we coordinate on future phases, even as we're focused together on phase one, where we've coordinated effectively, obviously, so far.

STAFF: Thomas?

SEC. CARTER: Thomas?

Q: Thank you, sir.

Going back to the U.S. KIA, it's been about five hours now since there's been an announcement about the death and very scant details, including even a general geographic location besides northern Iraq. I was wondering, are there any extenuating circumstances? Has the body not been recovered? Is it a contested?

And the second question, going to Afghanistan, two Americans were killed yesterday and right now, the Taliban threatens three provincial centers, Lashkar Gah, Kunduz and Farah. And it's kind of received scant attention in the news.

If you could kind of address that or have any words about the KIA yesterday.

SEC. CARTER: Well, let's see, with respect to the service member in Iraq, I'm just telling you all that we know so far. And Peter, as we learn more, we'll tell you more.

So I just don't want to say more than we actually know. We know he was in northern Iraq. I can't tell you more than that right now. We obviously know, generally speaking, what he was doing, because we know what we're doing there. But as we learn more, we'll keep you more in touch with that.

And with respect to our losses in Afghanistan yesterday, just -- that was also very tragic, also a reminder that in Afghanistan, too, people are in harm's way. They were both military and civilian personnel that were fired upon. Again, we don't know all the circumstances of that yet and we'll keep you posted as we -- we learn more.

And your more general question about the circumstances in Afghanistan, you know, it's -- it's been a tough fighting season. It's not over yet. I -- I will say that in General Nicholson's estimation and in my observation, as well, the Afghan Security Forces, assisted by the coalition there, has been able, in this fighting season, to anticipate Taliban moves against key cities and district centers and head them off in a way that I think he -- that is, General Nicholson -- says would not have been possible if he didn't have the additional authorities he did, not simply to wait to use American assistance in extremis circumstances, but be able to anticipate things.

So I think that's been an important ingredient in ensuring that Taliban hasn't been able to secure and consolidate in any of these areas and districts.

But at the same time, you know, we keep our eye on this every single day and the Afghan forces continue to grow in strength. But it's a tough enemy.

STAFF: We've got time for one or two more.

(INAUDIBLE)?

Q: Thanks. I wondered if you could talk about by, with and through and why the American people should think that Iraq will end differently this time around than the last.

You know, we've spent two years of rejiggering training programs and we're seeing Mosul happen, it kind of feels like this end game. But what's different? What's your level of confidence that the gains will hold going forward?

And secondly, in the same vein of explaining to the American people, they've heard now twice from the major presidential candidate that Mosul should have been a sneak attack operation. Do you have any response or thoughts of why Mosul is not a sneak attack or should have been so the American people have an understanding of the actual operation?

SEC. CARTER: You know I have nothing to say on the second subject. I've been not having anything to say on our election for whatever, 10 or 11 months now. So I'm certainly not going to answer the second part of it.

With respect to our general strategic approach to the counter-ISIL campaign, which is in recognition of, I think, something that was behind your question, which is in order to have what I've called a lasting defeat of ISIL -- and this is how we framed the coalition military campaign plan about a year ago -- in order to do that, we needed to work through capable and motivated local forces. Those we have laboriously worked with, built, trained over time. You see that force generation that has gone on over this time and that I've described to you going on. Now those forces being -- that have been generated being positioned around Mosul. And that's necessary in order to make sure that when ISIL is defeated, that defeat sticks.

Now, that's necessary, but I just want to go back to something I said a little while ago, which is let's not forget that the military side is essential but there has to be stabilization and reconstruction and civil governance after the fact. That's why we're so focused on - and I don't mean this is the Department of Defense so much, but the State Department, AID and the international community, the United Nations and so forth, with stabilization, humanitarian assistance -- why the Iraqi government is so intent upon governance and the plans for governance of Mosul, because another principle of the campaign is that cities need to be restored to the local population. There may be other forces that participate in the expulsion of ISIL from those cities, as is the case in Mosul. But at the end of the day, it's the people of Mosul themselves who are going to need to consolidate the victory and make sure that violence doesn't return to the city.

So, the premise of your question is absolutely right and it undergirds our entire approach to this campaign, and necessarily so.

STAFF: All right, the last one of the round and then we'll (INAUDIBLE).

Q: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

I'd like to come back to the shelling of the Kurds by -- by the Turks, of the YPG by the -- by the Turks.

Do you think this strike was legitimate by the Turks because they're -- the Kurds had gone through a red line that they have put in the sand?

SEC. CARTER: Again, I can't really address your question because we don't yet fully know what transpired there. We have some of the same reports you do and we'll find out more as the days go on. I simply can't give you any more than that now. We just don't know any more.

Q: (INAUDIBLE)?

SEC. CARTER: I don't know what it is, is what I'm telling you.

STAFF: All right, thanks, everybody.

SEC. CARTER: We expect to learn more, but I'm just telling you, on the basis of what I know, I don't want to tell you any more than I know.

STAFF: Thanks, everybody.

Q: Thanks.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/981970/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter October 21, 2016

Media Availability with Secretary Carter enroute to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER: Well, I'm sorry, guys. I -- I apologize. This went this way and that way. But let me start -- I -- I -- I did go to the parliament. I'm sorry you weren't there.

I'm glad I went and I was able to say there, and I think Peter has given me that statement, I mean, first of all, to express the condolences on behalf of the American people for the lives lost in the coup attempt actually in various places in Turkey and that the images of Turkish people standing up for democracy is one of those things that's kind of engraven in the memory of the rest of the world, including the United States, and is a great tribute to the strength of the -- and dedication of the Turkish people to democracy.

Obviously, we're a long-time friend and supporter of Turkey, and so it was important for me to go there and commemorate that.

The -- Turkey intends to preserve the site to signify the gravity of what happened there. And I -- I can -- I hope you see pictures, but you -- it is quite striking to look at. It is the middle of a modern parliamentary building with a big (inaudible) in it. It's very, very striking and significant. So I'm glad I -- glad I got a chance to -- to go there.

I'm also glad that I had the opportunity -- I had very productive meetings, three of them. Obviously, first and foremost with President Erdogan. Also, the prime minister and also the defense minister. And in all three, we discussed the -- pretty much the same topics, and I'll just take it from the top.

I mean, first of all, our alliance activities and the strength of our alliance in general, which we all reaffirmed. And -- and even though there's a lot of attention on, and appropriately so, the counter-ISIL campaign -- and I'll get to that in a minute. I mean, we did mention Afghanistan, Kosovo and other places that President Erdogan mentioned those as a way of signifying the long-standing partnership between the United States and Turkey, and also NATO.

With respect to the counter-ISIL campaign, what I can -- I found in the meetings and meetings that -- discussions we've had leading up to today, that will continue after today, I have a lot of confidence that we're going to work through the practicalities of this very complicated situation we both face in Syria and Iraq.

And the reason for that is that we and Turkey agree on the important principles here; the need to defeat ISIL, our opposition to terrorism in general, our respect for the sovereignty of Iraq, our respect also for Turkey's historic role in the region, and therefore, the fact that it will appropriately have a role in the counter-ISIL campaign in both Syria and Iraq, and we're working out what that is with them. I'll have the opportunity to discuss that also with the Iraqi government in the future. And the United States will continue to work with both of them and keep everybody focused on the objective of defeating ISIL, because it has struck Turkey -- the Turkish homeland even as it has struck the homelands of the United States and many of our coalition partners, and obviously racked Iraq.

I think I'll stop there, Peter.

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. CARTER: But they were very productive meetings. I'm very grateful all three of them are making the time.

Phil, go ahead.

Q: (off mic.)

SEC. CARTER: I -- I -- that's right, that's right, and we're just trying to work out the practicalities of that. That'll obviously be something that the Iraqi government will need to agree to. And I think there's agreement there in principle, but now we're down to the practicalities of that, Phil, and that's what -- that's what we're working through.

And as I said, I'm pretty confident on the basis of all the conversations we've had that this -- we'll be able to work through those practicalities in a way that takes care of the sensitivities of all of the parties there.

Q: (off mic.)

SEC. CARTER: Yes, yes, yes -- no, obviously this is -- anything that counter-ISIL coalition does in Iraq will have to be with the approval of the government of Iraq. That's a principle that we and Turkey share, the integrity of the Iraqi state. But I'm confident that we can work things out and that there are things that would very productive for Turkey to do, and we're just -- we just need to work through those practicalities. I'm confident we will.

Q: But you have the agreement on the Iraqis on that?

SEC. CARTER: I think that Iraq is -- understands that Turkey is a member of the counter-ISIL coalition, will play a role in counter-ISIL operations in Iraq.

And secondly, that Turkey, since it neighbors the region of Mosul, has an interest in the ultimate outcome in Mosul. Many other parties do as well, that -- it's a complicated city. We all understand that. I think the Iraqi government understands that, the Turkish government understands it and we understand it. And so we just need to work out a practical way where everybody is able to make the contribution they need to and stay focused on the defeat of ISIL, but do so in a way that's respectful to one another's sensitivities.

I'm confident -- that's the role that the United States plays in this coalition overall. There are lots of local dilemmas and regional dilemmas involved in the defeat of ISIL, and one of our jobs is to, in addition to being a major participant in the military aspects of it, to find practical ways that all the participants can work together. Again, I'm confident we will.

Q: (off mic.)

SEC. CARTER: I'm not going to into what those practicalities are right now. We are in the process of discussing them with both parties, but I'm confident that we'll be able to work out those practicalities.

STAFF: We've got time for one more, then -- (inaudible) -- afraid they're not taking off because of this. So, Laurent?

Q: (off mic.)

SEC. CARTER: I did not ask about the details of that, so I'm not -- sorry, no. I don't have anything more to add relative to what I said. It is clear from talking to our Turkish colleagues that they're concerned about activates in Afrin and further west towards Aleppo, as we all are.

STAFF: Okay.

So, Laurent, you get the last one then we gotta get the secretary (inaudible).

Q: Do you think that the Turks will participate --

(CROSSTALK)

OVERHEAD SPEAKER: Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We'll be departing shortly.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: (off mic.)

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. CARTER: I think likewise that Turkey will have a role ultimately in the collapse of Raqqah. And then as a -- a party in the region, will have an interest in making sure that the governance of Raqqah is one that's reflective of the population there and able to keep the peace in the long run.

So we all share that interest. We want to get ISIL out of Raqqah, we want to do that as soon as possible and then we want the victory to last. And all of my Turkish interlocutors emphasize that, that they understood that.

That needs to be done in such a way that the people who are -- who have their homes and their cities returned to them are able to govern them properly. So there's another place where I think that and then everywhere else where we'll work through all these practicalities.

But again, I'm confident we can do it. There's good will there and there's shared principles there. We'll find the practical way ahead.

STAFF: Okay -- (inaudible) -- want to get you in --

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. CARTER: Okay.

STAFF: Otherwise we're not going to (inaudible). Secretary Carter appreciates Turkey's critical participation in the Counter-ISIL coalition and its strong interest in playing a role in the Mosul campaign. Ultimately that is a decision for the government of Iraq. The United States will continue to work with leadership in both countries to bridge differences that remain, so we call remain focused on our common enemy have -- (inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. CARTER: All right. Thanks, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

-END-

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/982254/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Brigadier General Charles H. Cleveland, deputy chief of staff for communications, Resolute Support Mission Defense Press Office October 21, 2016

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Brig. Gen. Cleveland via teleconference from Kabul, Afghanistan

CAPTAIN JEFF DAVIS: All right, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We're pleased to be joined today by Brigadier General Charlie Cleveland, coming to us from Kabul. He is here to update us on Operation Resolute Support.

General, we'll turn it over to you for your opening comments.

BRIGADIER GENERAL CHARLES H. CLEVELAND: Jeff, thank you very much. And good morning to everybody and as always. Thank you so much for taking the time to cover this story. I know there's an awful lot ongoing right now, so we do think it's important and we do appreciate it.

I want to begin though today by -- by once again extending our deepest sympathies and our condolences to the families of those who were lost in the attack this week here in Kabul. Our thoughts are with their families and our thoughts are with their friends.

So shifting over a little bit to the -- the tactical situation, what I want to do is I do want to describe a little bit about where we are as of October 2016. But I think it's important first to really look at the larger Taliban strategic goal. So if you go back to April of 2016, what we saw was that the Taliban launched Operation Omari, their offensive for this year and their goal for this year has always been to capture a provincial capital.

And we think that's what we're seeing right now. We think we're seeing an effort by the Taliban to try and absolutely capture a provincial capital and we think we realize -- or they realize that they're coming close to the end of the year and they want to do it before the winter sets in.

But I think it's also just as important to remember that the Taliban have not been successful. They actually started at the beginning of August. And I think as many of you remember, that really started first in Lashkar Gah that went on it for about 10 days. It then shifted up north into Kunduz, subsequently into Tarinkot and now we've seen efforts again against Kunduz, Lashkar Gah and Farah.

But again -- (inaudible) -- their strategic objective. And while the ANDSF effort has not been always perfect and it has not always been pretty, they have been able to successfully defend each of their major population centers and each of their provincial capitals.

But with that said, the last few weeks have certainly reinforced to us -- (inaudible) -- which is this is a tough fight and we do have a ways to go. And the ANDSF still has challenges and we're going to continue to work with them to help them improve.

So let me begin first up in Kunduz and tell you what we saw and then I'll shift around the country just a little bit. So once the Kunduz situation began, for us, it was really never a question of whether the city was gonna fall. We were confident that city was not gonna fall. The real question became how long is it going to take to clear out these pockets of Taliban that have moved into the city.

And so the reason we think that is really on the first -- (inaudible) -- we believe that the Taliban -- (inaudible) -- not gonna be successful in trying to take the city as they did just a year ago in 2015. So at that point, what we think is if they decided to try and prolong this fight for as long as they possibly could.

And the reason for that really is number one, it got an awful lot of press coverage. And then number two, it helps put additional suffering on the people of Kunduz, and when that happens, that then puts additional pressure on the government.

And so, we did see that. We saw the Taliban absolutely destroy parts of the city. They destroyed the power grid, which then resulted in a loss of electricity and water. We saw them go ahead and destroy cell towers, as well as several civilian residences.

And the situation was obviously not anything that anybody wanted to see. At the end of the day, the ANDSF did successfully hold the city, and then they subsequently cleared the city. And it did take them a while, but those in the military do know that to try and clear an enemy out of an urban environment and not cause further destruction is a very difficult tactical problem.

And so at the end of the day though, we did see that the Afghans have first held their city, and then second off, they were able to clear it.

So let me shift now down to Helmand a little bit. And again, Helmand continues to be the Taliban main effort, and they are committing a lot of resources into it and they're committing a lot of energy into it. But it is a little bit different from Kunduz, in that the activity is kind of happening all over the province.

And so what we've seen are these series of raids by the Taliban against checkpoints. We've seen them engage district centers and then we've also seen them put some pressure on Lashkar Gah. But again, the ANDSF has successfully secured Lashkar Gah and they've now brought in additional reinforcements. And they have also put in a new commander, and that new corps commander has recognized that the security forces were frankly spread too thin over the province of Helmand, so he has made a decision to withdraw some of those forces, bring them back into Lashkar Gah to defend the city and then be prepared to move on the offense. And so we are seeing that right now.

And finally in Farah what we think we saw in Farah was that the Taliban thought perhaps they could have an easy win. And so of course, they did attack Farah City with the intent to try and capture it, and after some initial fighting -- (inaudible)  the 207th Corps, which is very well-led out there in the west, they were able to get the upper hand. They have secured the city and now they are pushing their security bubble out further.

So I say all that, but what I would tell you is what we know is that the fighting is not over. We fully expect that the Taliban is absolutely going to take another run at Lashkar Gah, and that could happen very soon. They'll likely try and take a run at Tarinkot and then maybe another provincial capital as well. And on top of that, we do still fully expect that we are going to see additional high-profile attacks here in the near future as the Taliban recognizes the end of the year is coming soon.

So if we take a step back and we really look at the larger context, and again we compare 2015 with 2016, we do still believe that the ANDSF performance this year in '16 has been better than last year. And there's been gradual progress, and we see it at the tactical level but we also see it is at the institutional level. But again, that does not mean that things are perfect by any stretch and it doesn't mean that the war is -- (inaudible). It does mean, and I mentioned earlier, is that we do recognize that this is a tough fight and we do still have a lot of challenges in front of us that we'll continue to work at.

But as you look at the year in total and you really look March to July of this year, the ANDSF -- (inaudible) -- was on the offense, and they were following their campaign plan. Then in August, that's when we saw the Taliban really begin to try and take one of these provincial capitals, and again, they have failed. They have not been successful in their multiple efforts to try and do that.

(inaudible) -- General Nicholson briefed you last month on this, but overall, we do believe we have hit an equilibrium. And what we mean by that is the government controls about two-thirds of the population. The Taliban controls or influences about 10 percent of the population. And then that other 20-plus percent is really contested right now, and that's where we are seeing the overall fighting.

The final thing I want to talk about and then I'll pause and certainly open up for your questions, is I want to talk a little bit about our efforts against the Islamic State Khorasan, ISK, or also known as Daesh. And as General Nicholson said before, our efforts here are really a part of the larger U.S. as well as international effort to try and target Daesh wherever they are and defeat them.

And so I think everybody remembers obviously this last January where our U.S. forces received both the mission and the authorities to aggressively target Daesh. And so that's what we've been doing. We've been doing that since January and will continue to do that. But as General Nicholson also briefed you in July, there are periods where we will bring in additional capability and we will work with the partners, our Afghan partners, and we will pick up the pace of operations and the tempo so that we can put additional pressure on Daesh.

Obviously, we did that in July and we're just completing a similar operation right now. This particular really occurred in Achin, Nangarhar, and it started the -- the last week of September and went really until about the second week of October, somewhere in there. It was spearheaded by Afghan special forces, specifically their commandos, who really started at the northern part of the district and they moved south, cleared -- (inaudible)  as they moved along.

Once they concluded, the 201st Corps, which is the conventional corps in that area, then also sent two battalions down to continue that effort. And then finally, all of that was of course supplemented by U.S. support.

So during this period of about two weeks -- (inaudible) -- airstrikes on Daesh positions, we did also put U.S. special forces into their typical advisory role, so they moved along with the commandos as those commandos moved south. We did conduct about three partnered raids with our Afghan partners, and those were to destroy Daesh command and control nodes.

And then finally, as the 201st Corps moved in, we continued our train, advise and assist of that conventional force, not in the field, but at their core headquarters to continue to provide assistance to them.

And overall, we believe that this effort was successful. Excuse me. So collectively, in terms of the work that the Afghans and the U.S. did, we believe that we attrited the Daesh end-strength by about 15 to 20 percent. So where does that leave us? We think -- and this is an estimate -- but we think that leaves us really with about 1,000 or so Daesh members still in the area.

We know that we destroyed multiple command and control locations and logistics locations, and then we also pushed Daesh further south and were able to take some of that territory back.

So as we move forward, again, our effort here is absolutely a part of this larger international effort and we will continue to keep pressure on them at every opportunity. And then we will also, in the future, conduct similar operations like this -- (inaudible) -- as has been noted by General Nicholson and others.

So with that, Jeff, thank you very much and I'll pause there. And I welcome your questions.

CAPT. DAVIS: Sure. Sir, we actually had some -- not the best connection here while you were doing this. If I can ask -- we're just going to try to do a quick re-connect just so we get clear video for the rest of it. I think we caught everything you said, but the video unfortunately is going to be unusable in some spots.

If I could just ask our -- our control room to do a quick re-connect. And while we do that, I'll take the folks who would like questions. I don't know your name.

Q: (off mic.)

CAPT. DAVIS: Oh, Travis. Holy -- I haven't seen you in years. Good to see you. Okay.

Q: Good to see you.

Yeah, I --

CAPT. DAVIS: Well, hold on. Let's wait until we reconnect to him.

Anyone else? Yeah?

Q: (off mic.)

CAPT. DAVIS: Kyle?

Are you in -- (inaudible)?

Richard, yeah.

(AUDIO GAP)

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay. Sir, are we back up?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: -- about this. And obviously, we've been wrestling this for a while. We'll continue to work it.

CAPT. DAVIS: If you're -- if you can hear us and we can hear you, our first question is from Travis Tritten with Stars and Stripes.

Q: Yeah, regarding the Taliban, the video was garbled and I was hoping you could just repeat. I think that you gave percentages of control of the country. Could you just run through that one more time please?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Jeff, I'm sorry. I couldn't completely hear Travis' question. Would you mind repeating that for me?

CAPT. DAVIS: (inaudible) -- go ahead.

Q: Hi. Can you hear me now?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: I can you hear you better, thank you.

Q: Regarding the Taliban, I believe that you had given some percentages of control of the country, but it was garbled in the video feed. I was hoping that you could just kind of repeat that.

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure, you bet.

So what we're focused on, Travis, is we're focused on population control. And the reason we're focused on that is because the Afghans are focused on that. And so, right now, we believe that the Taliban control or influence about 10 percent of the Afghan population. We believe that the government controls about two-thirds of the population. And then the balance between the two is really the contested area.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next, we'll go to Kyle. You want to try back there, if you can speak up, we could probably hear you.

Q: Hi,general. Thank you so much for taking the time to inform us today.

My question is about the government's support of both the U.S. and Afghanistan. I know a lot of attention has been on Iraq and Mosul in the past week, but do you feel that you have the support and the resources that you need to continue your mission in Afghanistan?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Just to make sure I'm clear, Kyle, I think you're asking do we feel like we have enough resources, despite all the attention on Iraq. Is that your question?

Q: That's correct.

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Great.

The short answer is yes we do. You know, obviously, General Nicholson stays in very close contact with his chain of command and he is comfortable with the resources we have right now to prosecute both of the missions he's been given. The first is the counterterrorism mission and then the second is the train, advise and assist mission, which is a part of the larger NATO mission.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next to Richard Sisk with military.com.

Q: Hi, general.

You mentioned a new commander AND -- ANDSF in Helmand. Who is that? And is he replacing the one that was brought in last year to replace a previous commander, who was basically ousted because of corruption? What's going on there, general?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure. So the new commander is Brigadier General Ahmadzai, and again, I'm sure I just butchered the pronunciation of it. He was a commander up in Kunar area  (inaudible) -- about two-plus weeks or so ago. And simply stated, I think the government of Afghanistan wanted to get some additional new life into the effort there by the 215th Corps.

So as you may recall, the 215th Corps really -- (inaudible) - spent a lot of time last winter -- (inaudible) -- a number of leaders were replaced. There was a corps commander who was put in about last February or so. But this new commander has taken over for that corps commander.

Q: Who was that corps commander who was replaced?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: His name was -- (inaudible).

CAPT DAVIS: I'm sorry, we lost you there. Could you say that again, sir?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Yeah, his name was General Moeen and we could help you with the spelling after this, if that would be of assistance.

Q: Basically, you have a -- you have a new commander of the 215th. When -- when was he put in place?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: It was -- we can get you the specific dates after this, but it was about two-and-a-half weeks ago.

Q: Lastly, general can you tell us have any -- any withdraws of U.S. troops begun yet to get down to 8,500?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure so again, I think everybody is well aware that by the first of January, we will -- U.S. forces will be at or below 8,400 troops.

General Nicholson did address this a little bit last time and so for operational security reasons of course, I don't want to provide all the details. But first off, we're going to move down to 8,400 really by reconfiguring some of the adviser packages that we have out here forward.

So we have learned a lot of lessons over last 18 to 20 months. We've recognized that there was some capability that we really didn't need. And then we've recognized that we want to reconfigure those. So as units come out here and they replace current units, those new units will come out in the new configuration and be prepared to do their part at 8,400.

The second aspect is we want to move some - (inaudible) -- over the horizon, a lot of that is kind of administrative, things that you don't physically have to be in Afghanistan to do. That process has already started so we're in the process of moving some of those people, right now.

And then finally, we will use some allies as well as civilians as well as contractors to fill in the other pieces. And so that is an effort that is underway right now, as well.

CAPT. DAVIS: Next, to Andrew Tilghman from Military Times.

Q: Yeah, hi. My question was basically Richard's question about the drawdown. But following-up, it sounds like you're saying that you do not expect to lose any real capability between now and next year when you reduce the size of the force by 15 percent or so.

Is that fair? Do you think that in the three things that you described and in particular, the replacing some of those forces with civilians and allied forces? You feel like you're going to have -- be steady state in terms of capability from 2016 into 2017?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Andrew yes, General Nicholson does believe that. And again, I think the key thing that I want to highlight from a capability standpoint is the different between 8,400 and 5,500 is the ability to continue to train, advise and assist missions at the core and at the police zone level.

So staying at 8,400 will give us that capability down in Helmand, in Kandahar, in the Ghazni area as well as in the Nangarhar, Laghman area. And so from a capability standpoint, we will be able to continue that and then the counter-terrorism -- (inaudible) -- capability will remain also.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay. Anybody else?

Yeah, Paul?

Q: General, can you give us a sense of how many air strikes you've taken against ISIS in Nangarhar and then how many against the Taliban? And are the more strikes against ISIS or the Taliban?

And also, with the soft advising effort, you have Helmand, Nangarhar, Kunduz and other places. How are you dividing that and are NATO troops also taking part in those -- in those operations?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure, thank you.

So, Paul, let me first off start with the ISK strikes. Really since the beginning of 2016, we have taken about 230 counterterrorism strikes. And so when I say counterterrorism, those are focused on Daesh as well as Al Qaida. So, about two-thirds to three-quarters of those are focused on Daesh and then the remaining amount on Al Qaida.

You asked how many strikes we've taken about the Taliban or against the Taliban, and we don't really have a good number for you. And the reason I say that is, again, we are not authorized to target the Taliban by status. What we are able to do is number one, our first authority is always force protection. So we're able to, you know, defend ourselves and use fires to do so.

Obviously there's the CT authority I just described. But then we also have the authority to help for prevent -- (inaudible) -- in extremis -- (inaudible) -- strategic defeat -- (inaudible) - but most recently -- (inaudible) -- to help the Afghans achieve their strategic effects, so the strategic effects authority. And to really kind of understand that last authority, you do have to kind of understand the Afghan campaign plan strategically they have been working towards.

(inaudible) -- just being members of the Taliban. We do have the authority though to target those who are impeding the Afghans as they work towards their strategic campaign plan. Does that kind of help?

Q: Yeah. I mean, all that seems to cover being able to target the Taliban anywhere -- any time they're near Afghan forces. I mean, you could always say they're impeding strategic, you know, plan, right?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Well, and -- and just to give you kind of a sense of it, since we received those authorities for the strategic effects in June, we've taken really, again, about 240 strikes associated with those authorities.

And then you also asked about the -- the special operations forces, and you know, the size of their elements and where they are. And again, NATO's mission here is to train, advise and assist. And at the special operations forces level, we do have the ability of course to put NATO forces out with the special operations forces at a tactical level. That is uncommon.

About 80 percent of Afghan special operations are conducted independent of anything we're doing. Of that remaining 20 percent, about 10 percent of those are what we refer to as enabled where we may assist with planning, or ISR, or logistics or something along those lines. And then the remaining 10 percent, we will have forces go out and accompany those Afghan special forces.

They are not limited to one geographic location. Typically, Afghan special forces have -- (inaudible) -- relationship with corps that they're working for. But they've got the ability to move from province to province, as well as if required, they can be moved to other parts of the country. And so when we assist them, our team would -- would do the same thing. So they've got the ability to move from province to province or to other places in the country as needed.

The typical size, there's really not a typical size. It all kind of depends on the requirements of the mission. But as you probably know, U.S. special forces typically operate in smaller teams. So, we're talking 10 to 20, those -- those types of elements.

CAPT. DAVIS: Yeah, Luis Martinez with ABC News.

Q: I was hoping you could provide some clarity about the incident earlier this week that was described as an insider attack at Camp Morehead. Do you have any more details to support that?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure, Luis.

As -- as I'm sure you -- you're already aware, the entire event is under investigation right now. And so a lot of the questions will be answered as a part of this investigation. And I don't have a tremendous amount of new information for you, but let me tell you and hopefully frame it with what we do think happened.

Number one, we sent a team of advisers out to conduct essentially an inspection of any ammunition supply point. And this is not an uncommon event it's part of our work with the ministries here, because obviously trying to help the Afghans learn how to do this is really part of building an institution, and so again this is not an everyday occurrence. But it is also not uncommon occurrence.

The actual ASP was just on the edge of an Afghan base, so the team drove up, they -- they walked to the entry control point -- they -- they approached -- (inaudible) -- and it was some point there where the incident happened, where they received fire. The incident was over relatively soon, and as we've described, the shooter was found dead. He was wearing an Afghan uniform. Obviously the investigation is seeking to confirm whether or not this qualifies officially as a -- as an insider attack or a green on blue, because we do not yet have the identity of the shooter, and that's something that will come about with the investigation.

I believe that it is really up to about what we have right now. Does that help?

Q: Shift gears and ask you another question about Lashkar Gah, you talked about how the commander there has essentially decided to retrench and focus on the defense of Lashkar Gah. I mean, obviously that's a tactical decision, but strategically does that impact the notion that the Taliban is gaining the upper hand in that area?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Yeah, we don't think so. And the reason I say that is, again the Taliban's strategic goal right now is to take that -- a provincial capital, Lashkar Gah of course, would be a huge prize for them. And so I think what this new commander is working to do is, again consolidate some forces, bring in some reinforcements, make sure that he can defend Lashkar Gah and prevent the Taliban from achieving their strategical, and then prepared to move out on the offense. And we believe that's what we're seeing right now.

And again, I don't want to understate the Taliban capabilities, but we also should not overstate their capabilities either. They have taken a lot and they hit pretty hard as well, and so what we expect to see fairly soon again, is that the ANDSF moving back out on the offense.

CAPT DAVIS: Lucas Tomlinson with Fox News.

Q: General, do you the United States and the Afghan government will ever defeat the Taliban?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Lucas, thanks.

The goal for the government of Afghanistan is to ultimately come to a negotiated solution with the Taliban. So, our expectation and we said this before, is it there is really not a military solution to what is happening here in Afghanistan, it's absolutely going - (inaudible) -- owned and led process that leads to reconciliation.

Q: The battle akin to the war against, let's say, gangs here in the United States that, despite you know, a lot of policing, a lot of money, a lot of programs that is just an unwinnable solution?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Yeah, Lucas unfortunately I -- I just don't -- I don't really have the expertise to kind of address or draw a comparison or a contrast between what you described. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the background to be able to draw one at this time. What I would tell you again though, Lucas, is again we're focused on two missions, and they're complementary, and that the first mission be in the counterterrorism mission, which is to protect the United States and protect the West and be able to keep pressure on these terrorist organizations.

And then the second aspect is to again train, advise and assist the Afghans so that they can get to a point where they can defend their own borders and they can also address these trans-regional terrorists that do operate in this region.

Q: And lastly, speaking of terrorist. How involved is the U.S. military mission to root out and kill senior Al Qaida leaders that are still in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan? And are those terrorists still planning attacks on the West including the United States?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Lucas, I'm sorry. And as you can tell I've got a cold today, so please bear with me.

We do believe that Al Qaida does maintain a presence here in Afghanistan. And we do think there's two components to it. There is an aspect that is related to the core Al Qaida, and there is Al Qaida's newest franchise, Al Qaida in the Indian sub-continent. And so their goals are just a little bit different but they are all part of franchise.

We do believe that Al Qaida mains a presence -- maintains a presence up in Kunar, but they also occasionally do have a presence further South, be it in Zabul. Obviously we saw an Al Qaida presence in Kandahar last year as well. We've seen in it in the P2 or the Paktiya-Patika-Khost area as well. And so again, our mission is to absolutely target them and to absolutely go after them at any, any opportunity that we have. So we'll continue to do that.

Q: -- ongoing after these senior Al Qaida leaders, like if they are living with family and friends, other civilians that air strikes can't take place?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: I'm sorry Lucas. Could you repeat that please?

Q: Are there any restrictions on targeting these senior Al Qaida leaders in Eastern Afghanistan because they're living with their family, friends or perhaps other civilians?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Well, as obviously Lucas, I don't want to talk about how our targeting occurs or -- (inaudible) -- absolutely do follow the rules of engagement and we absolutely follow the law of armed conflict. And we'll continue to do that. But beyond that, I really don't want to describe the way we target.

CAPT. DAVIS: Andrew Tilghman, I think you had a follow up.

Q: I wanted to just follow up on Luis' question about the incident the other day at the ammunitions supply point. You say that that was a -- it started out as an inspection. Can you just clarify what an inspection is? Is that where basically the U.S. and Afghan forces go out to make sure that what's on the books is actually in the storage facility? Is it an accountability thing?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: That's absolutely it. And it is an accountability thing, obviously. The U.S. military, you know, counts ammunition down to the smallest piece of brass, constantly. And it's obviously for an accountability stand point. (Inaudible) these institutions and help the ministry of defense continue to grow and continue to evolve.

Being able to account for your material is a huge part of it. Because it speaks to the larger aspect of how do you re-supply? How do you forecast you need in the future? So, part of the effort is to help the Afghans get to a point where they can do this themselves. It's institutional work. It doesn't get a whole lot of attention, but it's absolutely critical for any institution to be able to run.

Q: Were they able to carry out that inspection or did this whole shooting incident derail that?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: The incident occurred before they accessed it. So they -- they had not started the inspection.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay, Travis, I think you had a follow-up as well. Travis Tritten.

Q: Sure, this is on the insider attack, as well. What are you doing in the wake of that to offer more security to U.S. forces there and ensure that another similar attack doesn't happen?

And also, what's your message to Afghan forces who bear some responsibility for security?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Sure, so obviously, the -- because it's under investigation right now, what will come from that investigation are a number of tactical lessons learned. How can we do this better, et cetera. And so we will incorporate that into what we're doing. But despite this incident, what I would tell you is we are still absolutely committed to the larger mission of training, advising and assisting our Afghan partners.

And I would tell you all - (inaudible) -- our Afghan partners who genuinely do want to see -- they want the assistance. They are as absolutely horrified about this as anybody. And so if the very tactical level will learn from this, we'll do an evaluation of what happened, how can we get better and how can we make modifications to the way that we are doing business. But the larger mission will continue and we will remain committed to working with our Afghan partners.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay, Luis Martinez, I believe you had a follow-up.

Q: We recently heard about how ISIS in Iraq has been using drones, either with IED capability or for surveillance capability. And I guess there's news out today that the Taliban has released a video showing their use of drone capability and some kind of attack.

Is this a capability you were aware of beforehand? Is this something new? What do we know about it?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Yes, Luis, unfortunately yes, I am not aware of that video. We have not seen that type of thing before and so I really don't have a lot of -- of good information for you.

Q: And regardless of the video, is this a capability -- drone capability something that the Taliban has used before or that we knew that they might have?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Yes again, Luis, we -- we have not seen that capability up to this point so I am not aware of them having a drone capability.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay last call, anybody else? Lucas Tomlinson.

Q: General, any update on the two soldiers that were wounded in the roadside bomb earlier this month in Nangarhar?

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Lucas, I don't have an update for you. Those soldiers, again, departed the theater. And so those -- those answers are probably back with the service.

CAPT. DAVIS: Okay general, thank you very much for your time and we hope you get over your cold and look forward to seeing you again, soon.

BRIG. GEN. CLEVELAND: Thank you very much.

And again, everybody, I do appreciate you taking the time today and as always, if we can help you out please reach out to us and we're more than happy to do what we can.

Thank you.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/982458/

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Wisdom seems a precious and rare commodity these days. And yet, we have a heritage, to paraphrase the late William F. Buckley, the founder of National Review, to call upon. Even, as it happens, in newspaper columns.

The year was 1976. An incumbent congressman in Utah had committed political suicide, as one Salt Lake City attorney described it, having approached two women with the hopes of soliciting sex from them. Turned out they were police officers with recording devices.

Buckleys commentary on the Mormon response  expecting the congressman to step down  should prod the consciences of religious Trump surrogates of all denominations and creeds.

The Mormons, like other Christians, believe in forgiving a sinner, Buckley wrote. But their experience in forgiveness has not caused them to lose the very idea of wrongdoing.

Speaking of another politician brought low by a sex scandal, Buckley recounted how In what we choose to call the more cosmopolitan centers of America, everyone rushed forward to say ... that (the disgraced politicians) private life was entirely his own affair, that it mattered only whether he was using the taxpayers money to appease his lubricity.

The Mormon idea is that the political leader is also something of a moral leader, Buckley went on to say. That praiseworthy men should be elected to positions of power. But this wasnt  isnt  an idea exclusive to Mormons. The notion that leaders should be paragons of their societys virtues and beliefs goes back to ancient times.

So what about a private life? Is there really such a thing for integrated persons in a healthy society? As Buckley put it: It is one thing to say that no one should be permitted to peer into a mans home. Another to say that a public should be unconcerned as to what in fact goes on there.

The word privacy has been butchered by ideologues in all branches of government, used as a bludgeon to assert a new morality of tolerance that is, in fact, a grave and tyrannical degradation of humanity.

Recent days have been a flurry of shameful accusations and, of course, indignant tweets  made possible by the archives of Access Hollywood and Howard Stern. The furor may have been an opportunity for the Republican party to do what it should have done all along and repudiated Donald Trump both as a candidate and as a man. But that also begs the question: Who are we as Americans, and who do we want to be? Hillary Clinton sure doesnt reflect the answers to those questions.

Speaking of Mormons, the other day I saw in my office a copy of a book from 10 or so years back about Mitt Romney and the prospect of A Mormon in the White House. If only.

Buckley ended his column: We may have had no business knowing the sordid details of a public official mired in a private scandal. But if it transpires that (it) affronts the public ideal, then surely there is a Christian reconciliation: Affirm the ideal by dismissing the (official). And then forgive the (official) his transgression  while insisting that that is what it was.

Im not sure America is ever going to be great again unless Americans want to be decent again. How do we get there? Restoring a sense of politics as a noble calling and service, rather than a reality show that votes anyone with a whiff of the establishment  which in some cases means experience and learned wisdom  off the island would help. But thats going to require some humility and admission of sins to come. Right now, were seeing a lot of doubling down to get to a victory that may only lead to another cycle of denial and distraction, as our better angels are sacrificed for a dangerous power play by a strongman.Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.

Im not sure America is ever going to be great again unless Americans want to be decent again.
USS Nimitz Welcomes VAW-121's New Advanced Hawkeye

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161021-15

Release Date: 10/21/2016 1:21:00 PM

By Seaman Kenneth J. Blair, USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and the "Blue Tails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 completed the first west coast aircraft carrier underway period with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, Oct. 21.

VAW-121 and their upgraded Hawkeye got underway Oct. 14 to complete flight deck certification and carrier qualifications.

According to Lt. Eric "Biscuit" Gunn, a naval flight officer assigned to VAW-121, the E-2D will bring a few operational advantages to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11.

"The E-2D opens and expands the battle space," said Gunn. "It is now able to see smaller targets at larger range. This really helps with our airborne early warning and tactical command control missions."

Some of the other improvements aboard the E-2D are more powerful turboprop engines and the future potential for air-to-air refueling.

Testing for the E-2D began at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in 2007, leading to the aircraft's first launch and recovery at sea aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Feb. 1, 2011. These test flights were conducted by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 representatives over a six-day observation period, ultimately deeming the aircraft as effective in an operational shipboard environment.

The E-2D made its first operational appearance aboard the east coast-assigned aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) with the "Tiger Tails" of VAW 125 in March 2015.

VAW-121 launched their first E-2D from Naval Station Norfolk in November 2014. With two years of training and qualification with the E-2D, they are excited to bring the newest equipment to the operational front while aboard Nimitz.

"It has been a long transition," said Gunn, "but we are ready to get into the tactical and operational side."

Nimitz recently earned its flight certification after a 20-month extended planned incremental availability and is underway in preparation for a upcoming 2017 deployment.

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Xi, Duterte hail 'springtime' of ties

People's Daily Online

By An Baijie (China Daily) 08:16, October 21, 2016

Beijing, Manila agree to handle maritime disputes properly, in what expert calls a 'welcome U-turn'

China and the Philippines agreed on Thursday to properly handle their maritime disputes and restore the bilateral ties soured by the South China Sea dispute.

The development is a "welcome U-turn" in the bilateral ties, said Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher of Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Rodrigo Duterte's first visit to China as Philippine president also saw the two countries sign 13 deals, worth more than $13.5 billion, on finance, anti-drug efforts, production cooperation and tourism, said Ramon Lopez, the Philippine trade and industry secretary.

President Xi Jinping, after a grandiose welcoming ceremony for his counterpart, described his handshake with Duterte as "warm and firm", even though the bilateral ties recently underwent some "winds and rains".

China is the first country outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region that Duterte has visited since he took office in June.

The visit took place amid a backdrop of bilateral ties that had suffered due to the unilateral filing of the South China Sea arbitration case against China by Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

Xi called on the two countries to handle disputes properly on the South China Sea issue, to set aside the disagreements, and to focus more on cooperation. China and the Philippines have a history of generations of friendship, and there are no excuses for hostility and confrontation, he said.

Xi, who called the visit a milestone for bilateral ties, said the two countries remain friendly neighbors.

Duterte expressed gratitude for China's support for the economic development of the Philippines.

"This is the springtime of our relationship," he told Xi, adding that the two countries should enhance cooperation in areas including trade, investment, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and tourism, as well as in efforts to combat drugs and terrorism.

Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the visit means a new page has been turned in the relationship between the two countries in addressing the South China Sea issue through bilateral consultations.

China will provide financial support for infrastructure construction in the Philippines, Liu said, and will take part in the construction.

According to Liu, Xi has announced that China will lift the travel advisories issued two years ago for Chinese people traveling to the Philippines, adding that this will encourage more Chinese to visit the Southeast Asian country.

China has also resumed permits to 27 Philippine companies that export tropical fruit, including mangoes, to the country, he added.

Jia Duqiang, the researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Duterte's visit is a "turning point" for China-Philippines ties.

"Unlike his predecessor Benigno Aquino III, who relied much on the United States, Duterte has taken an independent approach in diplomatic policies," he said.

Jia expressed cautious optimism regarding China-Philippines ties because "setting aside the arbitration case temporarily does not mean the resolution of disputes for good".

Song Junying, a researcher of Asia and Pacific studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said that as a pragmatic political figure, Duterte aims to speed up the country's economic development to bring real benefits for his people.

Aid from China will be crucial for Duterte to improve the country's infrastructure, he said.

Zhang Yaozhong contributed to this story.

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Pakistan rejects India's claim about killing seven soldiers

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:21PM

Pakistan has strongly rejected a claim by India that its forces have killed seven Pakistani soldiers along the so-called Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistan's army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said in a message posted on Twitter on Friday that the Indian "claim of hitting or killing any" Pakistani soldier "with firing at anytime of today" along the LoC, the de facto border in the disputed territory of Kashmir, was "absolutely false."

Earlier in the day, India's Border Security Force, also known as the BSF, said Pakistani Rangers had targeted Indian positions with sniper fire, following an attempt by militants overnight to enter the Indian side in Hira Nagar near the main city of Jammu in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"During intermittent firing of small arms and area weapons one militant and seven Rangers were shot dead," the BSF claimed in a statement on Friday.

BSF spokesman Shubhendu Bhardwaj said Indian forces had launched an "aggressive offensive" when one of their soldiers was critically injured by sniper fire from across the border.

"There was an infiltration attempt and sniper fire. We retaliated. The bodies are on the other side of the border," said Bhardwaj.

Kashmir has been a point of dispute between India and Pakistan since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Anti-India sentiment is deeply rooted in the Muslim-majority region.

The restive region has witnessed a surge in unrest and violence since early July, when a pro-independence figure was killed in a shootout with Indian troops.

New Delhi has repeatedly accused Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting for Kashmir's independence from India. Pakistan, however, denies the allegations.

India has deployed hundreds of thousands of Hindu troops for the suppression of any kind of socio-political voices of dissent.

To add fuel to the flames, India on September 29 claimed it had carried out "surgical" strikes in the region aimed at barring the militants allegedly from further infiltration. Pakistan denied that any such strikes had occurred, saying that there had instead been cross-border fire by India.

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Saudi Arabia violates Yemen ceasefire again

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 6:26PM

The Saudi regime has once again violated the ceasefire in Yemen, carrying out airstrikes on the impoverished Arab country.

Saudi Arabia launched rocket attacks against several areas in the Yemeni province of Sa'ada on Friday. According to Yemen's al-Masirah news website, the rockets hit residential areas in Shada district.

On Thursday, six people were killed in airstrikes by Saudi warplanes on Sa'ada and the province of Amran.

The Yemeni army and popular committees launched retaliatory attacks on Saudi military positions in the southwestern province of Jizan.

Al-Masirah reported that the Yemeni forces fired rockets and artillery shells at the Saudi military camp of Mosem and other posts in the east of the town of Samtah on Friday.

About 10,000 Yemenis have been killed since the regime in Riyadh launched its deadly campaign against Yemen in March 2015. The military aggression was meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh and Yemen's president who has resigned and fled the capital. Hadi seeks to force his way back into power.

A 72-hour ceasefire went into effect in Yemen shortly before Wednesday midnight to allow aid to reach families trapped in towns and villages cut off by months of fighting.

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US wants to keep alliance with Philippines: Pentagon chief

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 3:2PM

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says his country intends to keep its alliance commitments to the Philippines, despite remarks by the Southeast Asian country's president regarding a shift from the Washington policies.

Carter made the comments on Friday, a day after Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte announced Manila's "separation" from Washington, a former long-standing ally, and its realignment with Beijing.

"We have important alliance commitments which we intend to keep in the Philippines," Carter said, adding that, "Obviously any relationship is one of mutuality and we will continue to discuss that with our Philippine counterparts."

On Thursday, Duterte also stressed his country's pursuit of a shift away from the Unites States and toward China, blasting America's policies and declaring an end to joint military exercises with the US military.

"So it's about time to say good-bye, my friend. Your stay in my country was for your own benefit," said the Filipino president, who has also called for the removal of US troops from a group of southern islands in the Philippines.

"No more American interference. No more American exercises," he added.

The troops have been deployed to Mindanao Island since 2002, in a program initially devised to train and advise Philippine military units fighting local militants.

Duterte, who took office in June, has had a tense relationship with the US. He condemned Washington's criticism of his deadly crackdown against illegal drugs, which has left more than 3,600 suspects dead in just three months. He earlier vowed to kill "three million drug addicts" in his country.

The US had long considered its relations with the Philippines as one of its most stable in Southeast Asia.

The Filipino president has previously used a series of obscenities to describe US President Barack Obama and other world officials.

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South Africa announces decision to quit International Criminal Court

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:28AM

South Africa has joined Burundi in officially announcing its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying its laws are incompatible with obligations under the ICC.

The South African government gave a formal notice of its intention to pull out of the ICC on Friday.

South Africa "found that its obligations with respect to the peaceful resolution of conflicts at times are incompatible with the interpretation given by the International Criminal Court," the document, signed by International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, read.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Michael Masutha told a media conference in the administrative capital, Pretoria, that the ICC's obligations are inconsistent with laws giving sitting leaders diplomatic immunity.

"The Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act, 2002, is in conflict and inconsistent with the provisions of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, 2001," Masutha said.

South Africa says a bill over the matter, i.e. the withdrawal from ICC, will soon go to the country's parliament.

The decision comes amid a dispute over last year's visit by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to attend an African Union summit in Johannesburg. Bashir is wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes. South Africa, however, said he had immunity as the head of a member state.

Nevertheless, the ICC criticized the South African government for its failure to arrest Bashir.

The announcement of the decision by South Africa to withdraw from the ICC sparked rapid criticism from the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

South Africa's proposed withdrawal "shows startling disregard for justice from a country long seen as a global leader on accountability for victims of the gravest crimes," HRW said in a statement. "It's important both for South Africa and the region that this runaway train be slowed down and South Africa's hard-won legacy of standing with victims of mass atrocities be restored."

South Africa is the second African country to declare its withdrawal from the ICC. Earlier this week, Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a decree to quit the court's jurisdiction.

Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility of withdrawal from the ICC.

Some African governments say the ICC has shown a post-colonial bias against the continent's leaders.

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US, Turkey to deliver 'lasting defeat' to Daesh: Pentagon

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:23AM

The United States and Turkey have agreed to increase joint efforts to deliver a "lasting defeat" to Daesh (ISIL) terrorists in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon has claimed.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, as well as Defense Minister Fikri Isik on Friday in the Turkish capital Ankara and held talks over the battle against the terrorist group.

"Both sides agreed to maintain frequent communication on the full range of mutual interests, including close coordination and continued transparency in the coalition effort to deal ISIL a lasting defeat," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement issued on Friday.

Cook said during talks with Turkish leaders, Carter reaffirmed American support for the strategic alliance between Washington and Ankara and vowed the United States would "continue to stand side-by-side with our NATO ally against shared threats."

The Pentagon chief's visit to Turkey comes amid escalating tensions between Ankara and Baghdad over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq.

Ankara claims it is training Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters battling Daesh, which currently controls swathes of land in Iraq.

Baghdad has repeatedly asked Turkey to withdraw its forces from the Bashiqa camp, describing Turkey's military presence in Iraq as an infringement of its sovereignty.

Carter said he would stress the need to respect Iraq's sovereignty during his visit to Turkey, which has been locked in a dispute with Baghdad over who should participate in the campaign to retake Mosul from ISIL.

"We've long had discussions with everyone about this - about respect for Iraqi sovereignty in the course of the conduct of the counter-ISIL campaign," Carter told reporters on his plane traveling with him to Turkey.

A senior US military official said Washington was calling on both sides to "tamp down the rhetoric".

"We have been talking behind the scenes to get the Iraqis and the Turks to come to an understanding on how to move forward on Mosul and on Turkish presence in Iraq," said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

Currently there are about 5,200 US soldiers in Iraq. The US troops are allegedly providing air support, training and advice to the Iraqi military.

The United States and some its allies have been carrying out air strikes in Iraq and Syria since 2014 allegedly targeting Daesh terrorists.

US forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple long-time dictator Saddam Hussein but the large-scale military operation deteriorated security in the Arab country and gave birth to various militant groups like Daesh.

A massive military operation was launched by Iraqi forces earlier this week to drive out Daesh from the northern city of Mosul, their last stronghold in Iraq.

On Wednesday, Erdogan once again rejected Baghdad's objections to the presence of its forces in northern Iraq, claiming Ankara seeks to prevent the Mosul battle from turning into a "sectarian one" and causing "blood and fire" in the Middle East.

Ankara maintains an estimated 2,000 troops in Iraq. Around 500 of the soldiers are deployed to the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq.

Carter said he also wants to talk to Turkish leaders about the ongoing effort to secure Turkey's border with Syria. Turkey has increased military operations against Daesh in Syria.

Ankara has been angered by Washington's support for Kurdish forces battling Daesh in Syria. Asked about Turkish air strikes that struck a group of Kurdish fighters allied to a US-backed militia in northern Syria, Carter said he was not certain about what precisely transpired.

There are dozens of US special operations forces in Syria, who are working closely with a collection of various militant groups that are trying to topple the country's legitimate government.

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Venezuela suspends opposition's recall drive against Maduro

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 6:42AM

Venezuela's electoral officials have suspended a recall referendum campaign against President Nicolas Maduro, in a setback for the opposition which has been pushing to prevent the embattled leader from finishing out his term.

In a Thursday statement, the National Electoral Council said fraud allegations in the opposition's preliminary signature gathering were behind its decision to stop it from moving on to the next stage of the recall referendum push.

The announcement came in reaction to rulings earlier in the day by courts in four Venezuelan states that found the initial stage of the opposition's petition drive had been fraudulent.

During that phase, the Venezuelan opposition had gathered signatures from one percent of the electorate.

The next stage, which was scheduled to begin next week, would see Venezuelans sign petitions calling for the removal of Maduro from office before the official expiry of his term in 2017.

The opposition needed to collect and validate around four million signatures from 20 percent of the electorate in 24 states over three days next week.

"In adherence to the constitution, the National Electoral Council abides by the decisions ordered by the tribunals and has sent instructions to postpone the process of signature gathering until new judicial instructions are known," the statement said.

The electoral board's new decision went against its August verdict that authenticated the signatures and allowed the opposition's push to proceed.

The opposition was quick to slam the ruling as unconstitutional.

"We alert the diplomatic corps in our country that the government today is pushing toward a very dangerous scenario," former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on Twitter.

Maduro's rivals had pledged to press for a recall vote against him this year. The referendum, if successful, would set the stage for new presidential elections in the country.

Venezuela's electoral authority had already said there would be no such vote this year. It said in a Wednesday statement that "the event could be held in the middle of the first quarter of 2017."

The Venezuelan opposition blames the president's "dictatorial tactics" for the severe economic crisis plaguing the South American country.

Maduro, however, rejects the accusations, saying the opposition, backed by the US, has launched an economic war against the country in an attempt to bring about a coup d'etat against his Socialist administration.

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Israeli, Eastern European weapons suppliers fueling South Sudan war: UN

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 6:14AM

A United Nations (UN) panel has found evidence of "well-established networks" of arms suppliers in Israel and Eastern Europe that are fueling the ongoing civil war in South Sudan.

A UN panel of experts said in a confidential report to the Security Council on Thursday that arms suppliers from Bulgaria and Israel were fueling the war in South Sudan by supplying weapons to the rebels in the African country, the world's youngest.

"This evidence nevertheless illustrates the well-established networks through which weapons procurement is coordinated from suppliers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and then transferred through middlemen in eastern Africa to South Sudan," read the report, which was obtained by AFP.

According to the panel, arms deals dating back to 2014 or earlier involve Israeli and Bulgarian firms.

The panel said forces loyal to rebel leader Reik Machar recently turned up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo armed with Israeli-made automatic rifles that were part of a stock that had been sold to Uganda in 2007.

A Bulgarian firm worked through an intermediary to deliver a shipment of 4,000 assault rifles and small arms ammunition to Uganda in July 2014, which was later transferred to South Sudan, according to the UN panel.

In addition, the UN experts are examining an arms trafficking network based in Europe that received an "extensive list of small arms, munitions and light weapons" for purchasing from the rebels in 2014.

The UN Security Council has threatened to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan over the continued fighting in the country. The council has said it will impose an arms embargo if outgoing UN chief Ban Ki-moon determines that the government of President Salva Kiir in Juba is blocking the deployment of a UN-mandated regional force.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous had earlier called on the council to move quickly to cut off the arms flow.

"I think an arms embargo should happen now and that's even very late," Ladsous said on Tuesday, adding, "The rainy season is coming to a close and that has frequently been the time of the year when people go back to military operations."

South Sudan gained independence in July 2011, but descended into war in December 2013 after President Kiir accused Machar, his vice president-turned-rebel leader, of plotting a coup to grab power.

Numerous international attempts to reach a truce between the warring sides have failed.

South Sudan has experienced a new wave of conflict since July 8, when gunfire erupted near the state house in the capital, Juba, as Kiir and Machar were holding a meeting. More than 300 people were killed in the clashes.

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Saudi airstrikes violate Yemen's UN-brokered brief truce

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:2AM

Two separate deadly Saudi airstrikes against civilian sites in Yemen's northwestern provinces of Amran and Sa'ada have broken the United Nations-brokered ceasefire in the war-ravaged Arabian Peninsula state.

Three people lost their lives on Thursday, when Saudi fighter jets struck a bridge in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran province, located 53 kilometers northwest of the capital Sana'a, Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.

Another three people were killed in the Baqim district of Sa'ada when Saudi warplanes struck a residential building.

The fatal aerial attacks came on the same day that Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Committees targeted a gathering of militiamen loyal to the resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, in the Maslub district of the country's northern province of Jawf.

Informed sources, requesting anonymity, said at least 15 Saudi-backed gunmen were killed in the attack, while 30 others suffered injuries.

A 72-hour ceasefire went into effect in Yemen shortly before Wednesday midnight to allow aid to reach families trapped in towns and villages cut off by months of fighting between warring factions.

'Sana'a funeral attack violated humanitarian law'

In another development, United Nations sanctions monitors have told the Security Council that the October 8 Saudi airstrikes against a crowded funeral ceremony in Sana'a was in breach of international humanitarian law.

The UN officials said they found "in respect of the second airstrike, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition violated its obligations in respect of hors de combat and the wounded in this 'double tap' attack."

International humanitarian law prohibits attacks against hors de combat - fighters incapable of defending themselves - the wounded, and medical personnel and units.

"The second airstrike, which occurred three to eight minutes after the first airstrike, almost certainly resulted in more casualties to the already wounded and the first responders," the UN monitors said.

"These first responders included civilians who immediately entered the area after the first airstrike to provide urgent first aid and undertake casualty evacuation," they said.

The United Nations says some 140 people were killed in the attack on the funeral and several hundred more were injured.

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in the deadly campaign against Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to restore power to Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh who has resigned his post as Yemen's president but seeks to force his way back into power. The campaign also seeks to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The UN puts the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000. UNICEF announced on October 4 that violence had left over two million Yemeni children out of school.

UNICEF Representative in Yemen Julien Harneis said 350,000 children had received no education last year due to the deadly violence, which led to the closure of many schools across Yemen.

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Tajikistan Starts Joint Antiterror Drills With China Near Afghan Border

October 21, 2016

Tajikistan began joint antiterror drills with China on October 20 near the border with Afghanistan as part of Beijing's drive to boost security in the region.

Tajikistan's Defense Ministry said the exercises would last until October 24 and involve at least 10,000 troops as well as military vehicles and helicopters.

Tajik authorities said last month that China would be building infrastructure to increase security on the 1,300-kilometer border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which is a haven for drug traffickers.

China and Tajikistan entered into an antiterror alliance with Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier this year.

Security issues in former Soviet Central Asia, a region that borders China's restive Xinjiang province, were once the exclusive preserve of Russia.

But China has dramatically increased its presence in the region and a suicide attack against the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan in August highlighted Beijing's security concerns.

Kyrgyz authorities blamed the attack, which injured three people and resulted in the attacker's death, on radicals from the Uyghur community, a mostly Muslim minority from Xinjiang.

The U.S. security footprint in the region has shrunk since Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan ended agreements for bases used in U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Tajik Service

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan- starts-joint-antiterror-drills-china-near- fghan-border/28066638.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Lithuania to Receive Norwegian Mid-Range Missile Equipment by 2020

Sputnik News

23:42 21.10.2016

Lithuania signed an agreement with Norway, stipulating procurement of missiles and launchers of mid-range advanced surface-to-air missile system, which is expected to be delivered by 2020, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  "On October 20, Lithuania signed a technical agreement with Norway on procurement of launchers and missiles of mid-range Norwegian advanced surface to air missile system (NASAMS)," the ministry statement read.

It also noted that the mid-range air defense system project would cost over 1 billion euros ($109 billion) and that the equipment was expected to be delivered to Lithuania by the year of 2020.

"Signature of this technical agreement is one of the most important phases in developing mid-range defence capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. It is excellent that our partner Norway has not only agreed to sell NASAMS equipment, which will strengthen security of Lithuania's airspace, but also to assist in introducing the system in the Lithuanian Armed Forces," Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas said, as quoted in the statement.

In May, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced the start of negotiations with Norway on the acquisition of the mid-range NASAMS.

Lithuania has been a member of NATO since 2004. This year, its defense budged amounted to 1.48 percent of the GDP. In 2017, Lithuania's defense budged should increase to the 1.77 percent of the GDP.

 Sputnik

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US Warship Warned by Chinese Vessels After South China Sea Patrol

Sputnik News

22:00 21.10.2016(updated 00:40 22.10.2016)

Resuming its provocations in the South China Sea, the Pentagon conducted a new "freedom of navigation" patrol near Beijing's land reclamation projects, receiving a warning from Chinese vessels.

As part of its efforts to challenge China's "excessive maritime claims," the guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur sailed near the Paracel Islands, where Beijing has constructed a series of artificial landmasses.

"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday.

This was the fourth such operation in the past year, and the Decatur was shadowed by three Chinese ships. The Chinese Defense Ministry called the patrol "illegal" and "provocative," and claimed that the People's Liberation Army Navy vessels warned the Decatur to leave the area.

A highly-contested region through which roughly $5 trillion in international trade passes annually, most of the South China Sea is claimed by China, but there are overlapping claims by Brunei, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

The United States has no claims in the region, but it has pressured regional allies to help stymie China's growth. Recently, however, the Philippines has begun to move away from its partnership with the US. Newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte has taken steps to become closer with China.

"I have separated from them, so I will be dependent on you for all time," Duterte said, referring to Manila's new reliance on Beijing.

"But do not worry. We will also help as you help us."

It's hard to imagine that this latest "freedom of navigation" patrol was not related to Washington's anxiety over the Philippines.

Pentagon officials have maintained that such patrols will persist.

"The US Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said in July.

"This will not change."

 Sputnik

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Cairo Refutes Polish Minister's Claim About Mistrals Sale to Russia for $1

Sputnik News

17:42 21.10.2016(updated 17:49 21.10.2016)

The statements of Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz about possible sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers from Egypt to Russia are not true, a spokesman for the Egyptian embassy to Moscow said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Macierewicz said that Egypt had resold the two Mistral warships to Russia for the symbolic price of $1.

"How can we comment on this [statement], if we know that Egypt is in talks with Russia on purchase of military equipment for the Mistrals? How Egypt could sell them for $1?" Ayman Mousa told RIA Novosti.

He added that such statements had nothing in common with the real state of affairs.

In August 2015, Paris and Moscow formally terminated the 1.2-billion-euro (some $1.3 billion at current exchange rates) deal on the construction and delivery of two Mistral-class warships. Shortly after, French President Francois Hollande confirmed that a deal had been reached with Egypt on the delivery of two Mistrals to the Arab country.

On Tuesday, Anatoly Punchuk, deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said that Egypt had appealed to Russia to supply Ka-52 helicopters (NATO reporting name: Hokum B) for the Mistrals.

 Sputnik

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Joint Statement of the First Kuwait-U.S. Strategic Dialogue

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

October 21, 2016



United States-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue: "Advancing a Broad Vision of Bilateral Cooperation"

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah co-chaired the first-ever U.S.-Kuwait Strategic Dialogue on October 21, 2016, in Washington, DC. This dialogue is expected to shape the work of our two countries over the next quarter century in implementing President Barack Obama's and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah's shared vision for bilateral cooperation across the full spectrum of our mutually beneficial partnerships. The two sides discussed specific initiatives to enhance defense, security, economic, commercial, political, educational, scientific, and consular cooperation, and established working groups to make progress in all these and other areas before the next Strategic Dialogue.

DEFENSE PARTNERSHIP

The United States and Kuwait intend to build on a defense partnership that helps secure mutual national and regional interests. Secretary Kerry thanked Foreign Minister al-Sabah for Kuwait's help in the fight against Da'esh and its leadership in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. The United States is prepared to work jointly with the GCC states, including Kuwait, to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state's territorial integrity that is inconsistent with the UN Charter. The Kuwaiti side appreciated the robust defense cooperation between our two countries. The two sides tasked their teams with designing a mutual strategy to implement specific measures to enhance this partnership, and committed to continue their coordination through the U.S.-Kuwait Joint Military Committee.

SECURITY PARTNERSHIP

The United States is committed to Kuwait's security, and to working with Kuwait to secure its homeland. The United States and Kuwait undertook to bolster their security partnership  including but not limited to countering terrorism and terrorist financing, particularly through enhanced information sharing  and look forward to Kuwait's chairing of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENA-FATF) in 2017. They also welcomed Kuwait joining the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Turkey in co-chairing the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL's Foreign Terrorist Fighter working group. Both sides pledged to continue their efforts in countering violent extremism and in other security matters, such as cyber, and agreed to establish a working group to follow up and ensure continued progress.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Both sides recognized the sizable potential business opportunities for expanded economic engagement. Kuwaiti officials described plans to diversify their economy and increase economic cooperation. Both sides encouraged proposals to foster greater U.S. business activity in Kuwait, and to increase investments by Kuwait in the United States. The two countries established a working group to make progress toward these goals.

EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC PARTNERSHIPS

The United States and Kuwait reaffirmed the value of people-to-people connections to our bilateral relationship. Educational exchanges and scientific research between the United States and Kuwait have grown considerably in recent years, and the two countries see opportunities for further broadening and deepening these links. Both countries would like to see more Kuwaitis join the approximately 13,000 individuals already studying in the United States, and pledged to explore ways to enhance support for the academic and professional success of students and scholars to advance our shared national interests. Both sides also committed to exploring new ways to broaden research and technical cooperation between U.S. and Kuwaiti universities and research institutions. The U.S. government also extended an invitation to the Kuwaiti Minister of Higher Education to visit the United States and meet with private sector organizations and institutions of higher education and research. The two sides established a joint working group and charged it with exploring ways to increase the number of exchange students, and devising specific means of expanding scientific research and technical cooperation.

CONSULAR, CUSTOMS, AND BORDER CONTROL AFFAIRS

In the context of greater people-to-people contact between the United States and Kuwait, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of prompt consular notification for citizens detained in either country, in line with their international obligations. The two sides reiterated their commitment to keeping each other apprised of consular-related matters, and committed to establishing a working group focused on consular issues. They also underscored the need for closer cooperation on customs and immigration matters. The United States and Kuwait look forward to the signing of a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement before the end of 2016, which would allow greater information sharing, training, and enforcement.

CONCLUSION

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister al-Sabah highlighted the shared interests between the United States and Kuwait that form the basis for the continued strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The working groups established at this meeting intend to consult regularly in order to make tangible progress for the peoples of both countries. The two sides recognize that today's meeting was a comprehensive exchange that established a roadmap for deepening the Kuwait-U.S. partnership in the coming years and look forward to addressing an even broader agenda in the next Strategic Dialogue in Kuwait in 2017.



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Remarks With Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 21, 2016



SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning everybody. I'm delighted to welcome my friend, Foreign Minister al-Sabah from Kuwait, to Washington and to this strategic dialogue that we will engage in this morning. The truth is we meet frequently and I want to thank the Amir of Kuwait and the Government of Kuwait for their tremendous commitment to this relationship, for the extraordinary cooperation that we receive on a whole host of issues.

And really now for 25 years since we fought shoulder to shoulder in the war of liberation of Kuwait, there's just been a clarity of purpose in what we are trying to achieve together. We are engaged in counter-Daesh, counter-ISIL efforts. We're engaged in regional stabilization efforts. Kuwait has made significant contributions to help deal with the problem of displaced people and refugees  I think about $1.4 billion, the most recent pledge. They are a reliable and constant partner in the effort to counter violent extremism in the region. They share the same interests that we do in trying to bring peace to Yemen, and they've hosted talks there for a long period of time and are prepared to continue to do that if we can bring the parties together to try to have a peaceful resolution to that conflict. They are a contributing partner in our efforts with the GCC, which have increasingly been important ever since the Camp David meeting.

So on the security side, there is this full partnership, but also on the side of education, on exchange of students, on trade and investment, we are working extremely closely together. And I want to thank the Amir and his government for their efforts to help counter the proliferation of the DPRK  of North Korea. They have recently taken steps to curb flights and to make sure that revenues from workers are not sustaining any illegal and illegitimate regime in North Korea.

So again, we're grateful for the many areas of our work together, and I'm delighted that today we're finally able to achieve what we've been working towards for some time, which is getting this strategic dialogue between our countries underway, recognizing the importance of these many issues that we're working on together.

Thank you, my friend. Good to have you here.

FOREIGN MINISTER AL-SABAH: Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would like first of all to thank Secretary Kerry for his invitation. I'm so delighted to be here in Washington today to start the strategic dialogue between the state of Kuwait and the United States of America. That reflects the desire of the two countries to promote and enhance the existing relation.

We are ready, as my friend Mr. Kerry just said, to cooperate in military, security, education, and culture. And we have many other fields. We have to explore fresh ideas to promote and enhance the relation. It's a good opportunity also to touch up on regional issues and combating terrorist group, so-called Daesh, and the situation in Yemen. Operation take place in Iraq now to liberate Mosul, crisis in Syria and of course Libya, and to think together how can we work to resume the peace process in the Middle East.

So we have a lot of challenges. Today we'll have a good opportunity to discuss all these matters. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, one question: Do you think  do you see Lebanon as getting closer to having a president?

SECRETARY KERRY: We obviously hope that Lebanon will move, but I'm not certain what the outcomes will be from the support that Saad Hariri is offering. I don't know what the result will be yet, but we're very hopeful. This stalemate on the issue of a presidency is hurting Lebanon, it hurts the region, and it  we hope they can move forward. Thank you.

# # #

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Update: air strikes against Daesh

21 October 2016

British forces have continued to conduct air operations in the fight against Daesh

Latest update

- Wednesday 19 October  Typhoons and a Reaper provided close air support around Mosul, engaging six targets, including a large truck-bomb being driven towards an Iraqi unit.

- Thursday 20 October  Tornados killed a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops in the Tigris valley, south of Mosul. Typhoons and a Reaper also continued to support troops to the north and east of the city, attacking eleven targets including a command post, heavy-machine-guns, mortars and rocket-launchers.

Detail

Coalition aircraft have continued intensive air operations to support the Iraqi offensive to liberate Mosul, with the Royal Air Force playing a significant role.

On Wednesday 19 October, a Reaper scouted ahead of Iraqi troops advancing to the south-east of the city. A terrorist rocket-propelled grenade team were identified and eliminated using a Hellfire missile. The Reaper then provided surveillance support to two successful attacks by coalition fast jets on larger groups of terrorists, before conducting a further Hellfire attack itself. The aircraft's surveillance sensors then spotted a large armoured truck-bomb emerging from cover and being driven at speed towards an Iraqi unit. An immediate attack with a Hellfire missile struck the vehicle, which crashed out of control, and the would-be suicide bomber abandoned the truck and fled. Another group of terrorists were later identified and attacked with a fourth Hellfire. Meanwhile, to the north of Mosul, Paveway IV-armed Typhoons destroyed two Daesh-held buildings.

Reaper support to the south-east of Mosul continued on Thursday 20 October. Hellfire missiles destroyed a truck-mounted heavy machine-gun and another vehicle which had been spotted being loaded with a mortar and ammunition. Two more Daesh mortar teams were destroyed with a further Hellfire and a GBU-12 guided bomb. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, a Tornado flight intervened in a combat between Iraqi troops and a dispersed group of terrorists. Two Paveway IVs accounted for the extremists. Meanwhile, two flights of Typhoons patrolled the northern arc around Mosul, where they engaged seven terrorist targets with Paveway IVs. These included: a rocket-launcher north-west of the city, a sniper team and a Daesh-held building to the north, and to the north-east a pair of heavy machine-guns, a strongpoint, and a command post which was controlling truck-bomb attacks.

Previous air strikes

Saturday 1 October: A Reaper provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike north-west of Mosul. It then used one of its own Hellfires to attack a Daesh position.

Sunday 2 October: A Reaper was again active north of Mosul, near Tall Kayf. A Hellfire destroyed a digger which was being used by the terrorists to construct a defensive position. To the east of Mosul, Tornados used an Enhanced Paveway II bomb and a Paveway IV to attack a headquarters building and a group of Daesh extremists. The same day, to the south-east of Mosul, near Qaraqosh, Typhoons used Paveway IVs in a simultaneous attack on three Daesh-held buildings where a large group of fighters had assembled, including local commanders. A second Typhoon pair meanwhile operated over a large swathe of Iraqi territory. North of Ramadi, they destroyed a mortar team. They then headed north to the Bayji area where further Paveway attacks dealt with a terrorist strongpoint and transport vehicle.

Monday 3 October: Royal Air Force Typhoons provided close air support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), attacking Daesh positions in eastern Syria. A group of terrorists were identified holding a building in a rural area. The SDF held back while the Typhoons conducted a successful strike, demolishing the target with Paveway IV guided bombs. Across the border in northern Iraq, Tornados provided support to Iraqi forces clearing Daesh from the Tigris valley south of Mosul. The aircraft used another Paveway IV to destroy a terrorist communications installation north of Al Hawd.

Tuesday 4 October: A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted armed reconnaissance north of Mosul. The Reaper's crew located a large fuel tanker dug-in as part of the defensive positions constructed by Daesh near Batnay. The tanker was burning oil to create a smoke screen in order to shield Daesh fighters against attacking ground forces. The Reaper scored a direct hit with a GBU-12 guided bomb. The Reaper then provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike against nearby positions.

Wednesday 5 October: Tornados were again in action south of Mosul, where they bombed an armed truck. In central Iraq, Typhoons attacked a small group of terrorists who had been spotted north of Taji. Working in close concert with a coalition surveillance aircraft, the Typhoons successfully killed the extremists with two Paveway IV attacks.

Thursday 6 October: With Iraqi operations to isolate Mosul continuing, Royal Air Force aircraft continued to provide close air support on. To the north and west of the city, a Reaper successfully engaged with Hellfire missiles both a mortar team and a group of terrorists caught in the open. The same day, a Tornado mission used an Enhanced Paveway II guided bomb against the entrance to a Daesh tunnel network. In eastern Syria, Typhoons used a Paveway IV guided bomb in a successful attack on a Daesh command post.

Friday 7 October: Typhoons patrolled over western Iraq, where they used Paveway IVs to destroy two trucks carrying Daesh extremists as they drove along a desert track. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, two Tornado flights supported Iraqi troops near Al Hawd and Sharqat. A Brimstone missile attack from one Tornado pair eliminated a mortar position, while the second pair used two Paveway IVs and a Brimstone in three attacks which accounted for a large, dispersed group of terrorists on the river bank.

Sunday 9 October: Tornados continued their work over the Tigris, when they destroyed a mortar team and a nearby ammunition stockpile near Qayyarah, with a pair of Paveway IVs. North of Mosul, a Reaper worked alongside two Typhoons. The Reaper provided surveillance support to a highly effective artillery bombardment that destroyed a Daesh training camp. It then tracked two terrorists as they moved to a rocket launching position, where they were seen working under the cover of some trees. A Hellfire missile killed the terrorists and the Typhoons then followed up with a Paveway IV attack to destroy the rockets.

Coalition aircraft have been providing intensive air support to Iraqi ground forces as they work to isolate Daesh terrorists holding Mosul. The Royal Air Force has been heavily committed to this operation, with Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft providing close air support, and Airseeker and Sentinel strategic surveillance aircraft gathering intelligence. On the ground British military instructors are, with coalition colleagues, helping train, mentor and equip many of the forces engaged in the Mosul operation.

Welcoming the start of operations to liberate Mosul, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

Daesh are on the back foot. The beginning of the encirclement of Mosul today is a big moment in our efforts to rid Iraq of Daesh. Mosul is a large and complex city and operations there will be tough but with Coalition support Iraqi forces will prevail.

Alongside our Coalition partners, the UK will continue to play a leading role in the air and on the ground, including through our strike missions, specialised surveillance, humanitarian support and the mentoring and training of Iraqi forces.

Monday 10 October: A pair of Typhoons from RAF Akrotiri used two Paveway IV guided bombs to destroy the entrances to tunnels beneath an embankment near Qaraqosh. They then flew to the north-west of Mosul where they used another Paveway to silence a mortar team on the northern bank of the Tigris, which had been firing on the advancing Kurdish forces. To the north-east of the city, two Tornados used an Enhanced Paveway II to destroy a terrorist anti-tank missile position. They then followed up with a Paveway IV to ensure the destruction of an associated ammunition supply point.

Tuesday 11 October: Tornados conducted another successful attack north-west of Mosul on a tunnel, which had been identified as a weapons cache.

Wednesday 12 October: An intensive series of strikes in northern Iraq. North of Mosul, near Tall Kayf, a Reaper scored a direct hit with a Hellfire missile on an artillery piece hidden beneath a tarpaulin. A Tornado pair used a Brimstone missile to destroy a rocket-armed truck in the Qayyarah region, while Typhoons bombed a mortar team north-east of Mosul. The Tornado and Typhoon flights then combined for a joint attack near Qaraqosh on a set of workshops manufacturing explosives. Seven Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV bombs, plus a Brimstone, were used to destroy the facility and a number of Daesh vehicles at the site. A second combined Tornado and Typhoon flight meanwhile headed to the south-west of Kirkuk, where they destroyed a truck-bomb facility with Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV weapons.

Friday 14 October: North-west of Mosul, Paveway IV-armed Typhoons successfully bombed five rocket launchers. They then moved to support a Reaper which had located a terrorist mortar position and ammunition stockpile. The Reaper attacked the mortar with a GBU-12 guided bomb, and the Typhoons followed up with a strike on the munitions stockpile.

Sunday 16 October: A Reaper again patrolled to the north-west of Mosul, where it engaged an artillery piece with a Hellfire, then provided targeting support to three attacks by coalition fast jets on terrorist mortar positions. One flight of Typhoons operated to the west of Mosul, using Paveway IVs to destroy two Daesh-held buildings, while a second flight operated to the east, attacking four terrorist positions.

Monday 17 October: A Reaper kept close watch on Daesh positions near Qaraqosh to the south-east of Mosul. Our aircraft provided surveillance support to a coalition fast jet attack on a terrorist mortar team. The Reaper then conducted attacks using its own weapons on four targets. These attacks included a GBU-12 guided bomb, which accounted for a mortar. Hellfire missiles also destroyed an armed truck and two heavy weapons teams, including one armed with a recoilless anti-tank gun which had opened fire on the advancing Iraqis. To the south of the city, a Typhoon flight was able to use a Paveway IV guided bomb to dispose safely of a large truck-bomb before it could be used.

Tuesday 18 October: A Reaper was again in action south-east of Mosul on Tuesday 18 October. A Hellfire missile killed a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops. A second Hellfire also accounted for another group of extremists as they moved between positions, and a third destroyed an armed truck. North-east of the city, a pair of Typhoons used Paveway IVs to destroy a number of improvised explosive devices laid in a defensive belt, as well as a weapons stockpile and a Daesh strong-point.

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DR Congo security forces used 'excessive force' against protesters, UN probe finds

21 October 2016  State agents, such as police and armed forces, used excessive  including lethal  force during demonstrations in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), last month, when at least 53 people were killed over two days, 143 injured and more than 299 unlawfully arrested, a United Nations preliminary investigation revealed today.

The probe, carried out by the Joint Human Rights Office of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) documented 422 victims of human rights violations, including of the right to life, to physical integrity, to the liberty and security of the person, peaceful assembly and expression, according to a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The figures do not reflect the full extent of the violations, as the UN teams were denied access to official records of some morgues and public hospitals as well as various detention facilities, including two key facilities where many of those arrested and many dead bodies were reportedly taken. Investigations are ongoing.

Of the 53 people documented killed, including seven women and two children, at least 48 were killed by State agents, including the National Police (PNC) and soldiers of the Garde Republicaine (GR) and the National armed forces (FARDC). Perpetrators were not identified in the killing of four police officers and one woman.

The vast majority of the victims  38 of them  were shot dead, according to the preliminary investigation. Many of them were shot in the head, chest and back, including a five-year-old girl who was shot in the back, the report states. Others died after being burned, stabbed, beaten or attacked with machetes. Of the 143 documented as injured, 75 were victims of the excessive use of force by State agents while 68 were injured by unknown perpetrators.

The report documents the harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention of local and international journalists, as well as the destruction and looting of the premises of eight political parties. The report also documents reports of violence by demonstrators. Of the four police officers killed, three were beaten to death and one burned alive.

MONUSCO chief Maman Sidikou urged Congolese authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, independent, credible and impartial investigations into the very serious human rights violations documented in the report.

Widespread impunity

Mr. Sidikou raised deep concerns about the widespread impunity that prevails in the country, highlighting the findings of another UN report released today which reveals that a very low number of State agents, especially senior officers, and leaders and combatants of armed groups, are prosecuted and convicted in the DRC for human rights violations.

"While there has been progress, and some 447 FARDC soldiers and 155 PNC officers have been convicted in relation to human rights violations committed between January 2014 and March 2016, widespread impunity continues," Mr. Sidikou said.

"Strong political will is needed to ensure justice and reparation to all victims of serious violations. This is particularly crucial in this volatile pre-electoral context," he continued, adding that effective justice is a major deterrent for future violations of human rights and the "cornerstone" for peace and stability.

The report on accountability cites the fragile legal framework and the lack of judicial independence and resources as major challenges to the prosecution of perpetrators.

In light of the growing number of human rights violations committed by police officers, particularly in the pre-electoral context, the report calls on the Congolese authorities to urgently develop and implement a strategy to prosecute the perpetrators, and to send a clear "zero tolerance" message to end human rights violations by State agents.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed deep concern at the mounting number of very serious human rights violations by State security officers in recent months. He urged the authorities to prioritise justice and accountability for serious human rights violations and remedy for the victims.

"Impunity for serious human rights violations  including the shooting, hacking and mass arrests of protestors  has been a chronic problem in the DRC for decades now," Mr. Zeid said.

"This is clearly outrageous and serves to fuel an already explosive situation in the country. While the rate of prosecutions appears to be rising, new violations continue to be perpetrated with alarming frequency," he added, urging the Government to urgently take measures to defuse the tensions in the country, particularly by freeing all those detained for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression.

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Pakistan: Many Afghan Taliban Factions Seem Interested in Peace Talks with Kabul

By Ayaz Gul October 21, 2016

Pakistan has called on warring sides in Afghanistan to resume talks, promising it will follow "the priorities the elected Afghan government determines" for pursuing peace and reconciliation with the Taliban.

The prime minister's chief advisor on foreign policy, Sartaj Aziz, made the remarks Friday in a meeting in Islamabad with members of an unofficial dialogue between Pakistani and Afghan lawmakers, former officials, peace negotiators and civil society activists.

Aziz said that Pakistan believes Taliban insurgents and other groups waging war should realize that Afghanistan has changed over the years, where the dominant majority would not like to go back to the past.

The Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in partnership with Afghanistan's Women Peace and Security Organization arranged the unofficial interactions in a bid to foster better understanding and cooperation between the two uneasy neighbors.

Pakistan's efforts

Pakistan is doing whatever it can to persuade all Taliban factions to become part of the peace process and indications are that many of them are now interested in joining the process, the statement issued by the organizers of the meeting quoted Aziz as saying.

"Pakistan's message to all the combatants is loud and clear; nobody can capture Afghanistan on its own, and the key to peace lies in talks," Aziz added.

He also welcomed the peace deal Kabul recently concluded earlier this month with the insurgent group headed by notorious Afghan warlord, Gulbudin Hekmatyar, saying it appears to be encouraging other anti-government forces to come to the table. Aziz did not elaborate.

The Pakistani advisor earlier this year admitted in a public talk in Washington that Taliban leaders and fighters return to Pakistani medical facilities for treatment and have been sheltering on this side of the border. The presence of the insurgents is at the center of bilateral tensions and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly urged Islamabad to prevent the Taliban from using Pakistani soil.

Influence in peace process

A member of the Afghan delegation, former trade minister Muzamil Shinwari, while speaking to VOA reiterated allegations that Taliban leaders sheltering in Pakistan are being barred by their hosts from opening peace talks with Kabul. Afghan authorities have traditionally asserted that the Pakistani intelligence agency does not want the insurgents to speak to the Afghan government directly because it fears losing influence in the process.

"We have managed to reach to the peace agreement with Hizb-e-Islami, the Hekmatyar and that is a major achievement. There was no involvement of Pakistan there was no other country in it. We started direct negotiations. We want to have even direct negotiations with the Taliban. But the problem is, those Taliban, they start direct negotiations with the government of Afghanistan or even if they start thinking of that they suddenly disappeared, arrested or get killed," Shinwari asserted.

The Taliban has so far shown no willingness to engage in talks with the Afghan government and has strongly rejected reports its representatives secretly met with the Afghan intelligence chief in Qatar.

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Filipinos Favor US Aid, Leery of China

By Ralph Jennings October 21, 2016

Filipinos largely continue to support U.S. military aid despite a string of anti-America comments from their new president, polls and interviews show, and some worry about his proposal for an alliance with China in light of a territorial dispute.

Some people in the Southeast Asian country, however, are prepared to give China a chance as their president, Rodrigo Duterte, visits Beijing this week to discuss economic aid for his impoverished country. Duterte said Thursday he would separate from the United States militarily and economically.

The moves follow U.S. criticism of suspected extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-drug campaign.

But a new survey this week from the Philippine-based nonprofit research institution Social Weather Stations shows some of the highest trust ever for the United States, which colonized the Philippines from 1898 to 1946. People on the ground say they still want help from the Western superpower in resisting Muslim rebels as well as Chinese vessels in waters off its west coasts.

Kirk Nagac, 27, a job seeker in the southern Philippine city Cagayan de Oro, looks to the United States for advanced military equipment.

"It's good we use American aid in the Philippines, but I don't know whether the president will allow it, but for me it's not a problem," Nagac said. "I don't know if we need China, because the U.S. is helping us in the Philippines."

According to Social Weather Stations, 76 percent of Filipinos place "much trust" in the United States and 22 percent have the same level of trust in China. Trust in the United States has risen over the year to date, the research organization says.

Duterte has said that joint military exercises with the United States earlier this month would be the last. He has also asked U.S. advisers, after 14 years, to stop helping Philippine forces fight the violent Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels in the archipelago's southwest.

His push for a more "independent" foreign policy would make sense, but pushing the United States away risks a backlash at home, said Carl Baker, director of programs with the U.S. think tank CSIS Pacific Forum.

"He's at risk of alienating fairly significant numbers in the Philippine establishment who have long relations with the United States, both in the defense community and in the business community, and so I think he really needs to perhaps slow down his pace a bit and get some feedback from Philippine people themselves," Baker said.

Filipinos support the U.S. aid because it comes from the world's strongest military and a fellow democratic country. Research database Globalfirepower.com rates the U.S. military as the world's strongest, with the Philippines at No. 51.

The United States has also kept favor by working in the background, at the request of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, rather than deploying troops in a way that would feel awkwardly like the colonial years.

Washington and Manila signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951 obligating each side to support the other if attacked by a third party. Two years ago the two sides reached an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allows a rotation of U.S. troops and joint military exercises aimed at Chinese maritime encroachments.

Duterte, during his visit to Beijing this week, told Chinese state television Wednesday that China was "the only hope of the Philippines economically."

He pledged Thursday to become "dependent" on China for a "long time" and said he had aligned himself with Chinese ideology. The two countries were expected to sign deals worth more than $13 billion, according to Philippine media. They also agreed to shelve the South China Sea sovereignty dispute.

China had pushed for dialogue since losing a world arbitration court ruling in July. Duterte's predecessor Benigno Aquino filed for arbitration to stop Chinese vessels from passing within his country's 370-km (200 nautical-mile) exclusive ocean economic zone.

Filipinos say they are leery of closer ties with China due to the four-year-old maritime dispute, which has cut into Manila's claims in the Spratly Island archipelago off its west coast. China uses historical records to claim nearly the entire South China Sea, including the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

"I think we're all concerned about the encroachment of China on the offshore islands of the Philippines, so I think that has to be a balancing factor even if we open relations with China," said Antonio Ledesma, archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. "Maybe the statements of the president have to be taken with a grain of salt."

But China has a reputation for investing in other Southeast Asian countries rather than just handing them aid, some Filipinos argue. The Philippines is pushing for new infrastructure and factory investment to stoke economic growth now driven largely by overseas remittances and back-office work for multinationals.

China can offer the Philippines tourists and infrastructure financing in particular, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist with the French investment bank Natixis, though it may come at a political cost.

"Our president not only wants to be friendly to the U.S. but also to our neighbors China and Russia. It's only practical to talk," said Dexter Feliciano, founder of MyLegalWhiz, a law advice service in metro Manila. "The U.S. just gives us aid. China is talking about investments. The administration wants to end welfare colonialism. What we need is really investment."

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back

better

"He's Black Council,", I said.

"Or maybe stupid," Ebenezar countered.

I thought about it. "Not sure which is scarier."

Ebenezar blinked at me, then snorted. "Stupid, Hoss. Every time. Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day." Ebenezar McCoy

This deprecation of individual freedom was objectionable to me. I am convinced now, as I was then, that man is an end because he is a child of God. Man is not made for the state; the state is made for man. To deprive man of freedom is to relegate him to the status of a thing, rather than elevate him to the status of a person. Man must never be treated as means to the end of the state; but always as an end within himself." Dr. M.L. King Jr.

Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swingto the belief that they can make people.... And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave. - Capt. MalGeek with a .45A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition
South Africa to Leave International Criminal Court

By Anita Powell October 21, 2016

South Africa says it plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha said Friday a bill will be submitted to parliament recommending that South Africa repeal implementation of the Rome Statute that created the court. The statue obligates its signatories to arrest anyone sought by the ICC.

Analysts fear South Africa's decision could encourage other African nations to abandon the Hague-based tribunal, which prosecutes war crimes and crimes against humanity

Broker of peace

But Masutha defended the decision, citing his nation's interest in being a broker of peace in Africa.

South Africa can't provide a safe space for leaders to talk peace, he said, if it is compelled to comply with all the court's arrest warrants, such as the one for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Bashir visited South Africa in mid-2015 for a summit of the African Union. South African officials declined to arrest him, saying he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

"In exercising its international relations with foreign countries, particularly with countries in which serious conflicts occur, or have occurred, South Africa is hindered by the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," Masutha said.  "This act and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court compels South Africa to arrest persons who may enjoy diplomatic immunity under customary international law."

Masutha says the nation's cabinet decided this week that its only option was to leave the court and notified the U.N. that South Africa would leave in one year. A U.N. spokesman said Friday that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received a letter to that effect from South Africa.

Earlier this week, Burundi also said it will leave the ICC, citing concerns that the court targets African leaders. The United Nations recently launched an investigation into Burundi's political violence, triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term.

Politics before justice

Dewa Mavhinga, a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, says South Africa is putting politics ahead of justice.

"South Africa's move sends the wrong message that really is about protecting al-Bashir, protecting heads of state from justice and accountability and actually sets a wrong precedent and can have a domino effect on other African states following suit."

Anton du Plessis, managing director of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, said he is not concerned about a mass African exodus from the court. He believes many of the court's member states are not politically organized enough to agree on a withdrawal strategy.

But he says he is worried about the reverberations in South Africa itself. The nation has been battered by political and legal controversies, some sparked by the leadership's refusal to arrest Bashir in 2015, and this, he says, doesn't help.

"I think for South Africa it's a particularly bad move," du Plessis said, "because of what is going on domestically. The rule of law is under attack at a national level, South Africa's reputation is in tatters, our ability to play the role a beacon of constitutional democracy is being eroded every day."

As for the man who started all of this, Bashir has not returned to South Africa since that controversial 2015 trip.

When asked what his nation would do if the Sudanese president were to show up on South African soil, Masutha shrugged and declined to speculate.

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Islamic State, Syria, And Western Responsibility

David Patrikarakos October 21, 2016

An Iraqi-led coalition that includes Kurdish and U.S. Special Forces has now begun its campaign to drive the extremist group Islamic State (IS) from its stronghold of Mosul, the group's second-largest city. Dabiq, the site of what IS suggested would be an apocalyptic battle signaling the end times, and a town central to IS's ideology, fell just a week earlier -- without even a fight. IS is losing territory everywhere; the "dawla," or "state," that IS has brutally carved out over the past two years, is being torn apart.

But the seemingly inevitable collapse of IS's self-proclaimed caliphate will not spell the group's demise. Despite its pretensions of statehood, IS has always been a terror group, albeit one that managed to conquer large parts of Syria and Iraq, and like all terrorist organizations, once it is driven from its main urban holdings it will melt away into the villages and the towns and the desert to fight like the insurgency group it has always been.

As IS recedes in Iraq (though for how long and to what extent remains in doubt) and faces increasing pressure in Syria, a broader question naturally arises: What does this mean for the broader conflicts in the two countries that have been raging for longer than IS has been involved in either nation?

And herein lies the problem. Neither Iraq's internal strife nor Syria's civil war, both of which IS has exacerbated with its fastidious brutality and sophisticated propaganda, can be solved militarily. In Iraq, Sunni-Shia tensions -- and bloodshed -- will remain, even if IS is finally defeated. In Syria, with Russia and Iran backing Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, the opposition cannot defeat the regime; meanwhile, Damascus is in no position to win back all the areas it has lost. A bloody stalemate is the only foreseeable future.

Which means that the problems must be solved politically, and solved with the support of fellow Middle East states and the West. The question is: How committed is the West to solving the Syrian crisis?

Diplomatic Wavering Breeds Uncertainty

Recent events are instructive here.

Around three weeks ago, in what was something of a minor scandal, the British authorities confiscated the passport of Syrian anti-Assad activist Zaina Erhaim when she arrived at London's Heathrow Airport. The Syrian authorities, she was told, had reported it as "stolen." It was only thanks to a second passport that she was able to enter the country.

Arguably, the United Kingdom was, in effect, clamping down on Syrian dissenters; it was doing Assad's dirty work for him. To make it worse, as Erhaim told RFE/RL in an e-mail, "This has not just happened to me. I know five activists/journalists who discovered that their passports were reported stolen when applying for visas in Turkey. So obviously the regime is publishing the passport numbers of all of those who dare to challenge its crimes and are trying to speak out [against them] in the West."

What makes her situation yet more surreal is that Erhaim is a "Chevening Scholar" -- an award sponsored by the British state for "future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers." She continued: "They [the U.K. government] are technically following the rulebook, despite the fact that what they are dealing with is a war criminal persecuting a journalist. They clearly still consider Assad's regime as a legitimate government."

The U.K. government's actions might have been made even more shameful by the pro-Assad propaganda that subsequently emerged from them. As Erhaim explained: "They acted as the arm of Assad in helping to silence me and others. Russia state media then wrote about this incident proudly, showing off that the regime they support is still treated as a legitimate government."

Actions like this only serve as evidence to those Syrians fighting Assad on the ground that they are likely to get nothing in the way of any significant help from the West -- that, in fact, the West seeks to keep Assad in power. And the more Syrians who believe this, the more will flock to the ranks of IS or other anti-Western organizations that they see as arguably the most effective force in fighting the regime's brutality.

The more that powers like the United Kingdom and, critically, the United States, are discredited as honest brokers, the less likely the Syrian rebels are to trust them in negotiations to try to reach a political settlement -- the only way to stop the bloodshed. Instead, they see little in the way of significant assistance and much in the way of horror as Russia enters the war, ostensibly to strike at IS but in reality to strike at them and anyone else who threatens their puppet Assad and their naval facility at Tartus.

Meanwhile, Assad's other major backer, Iran, which made a deal over its nuclear program with Washington and other world powers last year, is slowly being integrated back into the international fold, while its proxy Shi'ite militias on the ground in Syria continue to kill their Sunni counterparts.

As far as IS is concerned, it's a perfect storm. Taken together, the propaganda value these various factors yield is enormous and ensure that as it suffers defeat after the defeat on the ground IS will continue to draw yet more Sunni recruits -- left with almost no other choice -- to its black flag.

And in the meantime, the perennial victims in this ever-expanding catastrophe are, of course, the Syrian people.

Erhaim concluded: "This will be my last trip to the West. I have no space whatsoever on my second passport, which is 9 years old and has no more free pages for stamps or visa, and is anyway expiring next year. So I will be joining the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who are no ones, residents of nowhere. I will have no papers, no residency, no bank account, no work, and no future. I hope the U.K. government, which gave me the 'Chevening scholarship,' is feeling proud."

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.

Source:

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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India to Buy Israeli Combat Radio, Promises to Procure Local Product in Future

Sputnik News

14:23 21.10.2016(updated 14:35 21.10.2016)

India's Ministry of Defense wanted the Army to use locally developed tactical combat radio sets but the Army refused to do so arguing they were incompatible with the existing inventory of Israeli equipment.

India's Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the purchase of around 4,900 Tadiran tactical combat radio sets from Israeli firm Elbit at an estimated cost of USD 135 million. The Indian Army is already using such sets for communication in field areas and battle zones.

The deal has been cleared after a protracted face-off between the Indian Army and the Defense Ministry. While the Ministry had been pushing for the purchase of the local version of the set manufactured by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the Army argued that communication would not be possible between the DRDO developed sets and the Tadiran sets already in use as Elbit had not provided the source code of its products.

Now, with Elbit agreeing to provide the new sets along with their source code, the Indian Army has assured the Defense Ministry that all future sets would be procured from the DRDO.

India is already in the process of acquiring Israel's foliage penetrating radar for surveillance in dense forests of Kashmir valley.

 Sputnik

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Iraq's top Shia cleric demands protection for civilians in Mosul

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 6:20PM

Iraq's most prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called on army soldiers, fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces battling to retake the city of Mosul from Daesh State militants to protect civilians trapped there.

"We stress today upon our beloved fighters, as we have before on many occasions, that they exercise the greatest degree of restraint in dealing with civilians stuck in the areas, where there is fighting. Protect them and prevent any harm to them by all possible means," read a statement from Ayatollah Sistani read by his representative Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei during a Friday sermon in the holy shrine city of Karbala.

He also called on the "good people of Mosul to cooperate with the security forces as much as possible and to facilitate their mission to free them from the rule of Daesh terrorists."

The remarks came as Commander of Federal Police Forces, Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat, said elite counter-terrorism forces have entered the village of al-Shak south of Mosul.

Jawdat added that security forces have marched into the villages of Maftan and Tal Nasser, which lie south of Mosul, killing and arresting some 220 Daesh terrorists in the process.

Furthermore, Iraqi government forces have raised the national flag over a church in the historically Christian town of Bartella, a day after recapturing it from Daesh.

Daesh Takfiris had desecrated the holy site, spraying graffiti on its walls, and littering the floors with dirt and garbage.

Earlier on Friday, security forces liberated Na'anah village south of Mosul, and detonated four cars packed with explosives in addition to two bicycle bombs.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) also stated late on Thursday that the 75th Brigade of the 16th Division of the Army had wrested control over Sharirat village south of Mosul.

Also on Thursday, Iraqi government forces seized the villages of Makook, Taloul Nasser, Hazrat Nasser and Umm al-Manasis from Daesh extremists.

This as Daesh extremists, according to the UN, have abducted 550 families from villages around Mosul and are holding them as human shields.

"We are gravely concerned by reports that Daesh is using the civilians in and around Mosul as human shields as the Iraqi forces advance. They are keeping civilians close to their offices or places, where fighters are located," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein said in a statement read out by his spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani on Friday.

Shamdasani added that Daesh forced some 200 families from Samalia village to walk to Mosul on October 17, and another 350 families left Najafia village for Mosul on the same day.

Nearly 30,000 army soldiers, fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are involved in a massive and multi-pronged operation to retake the city of Mosul from Daesh militants.

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Iraq to continue anti-Daesh fight until final victory: Abadi

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:10AM

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says Iraq is poised to press ahead with its anti-terror war until its liberation from the Takfiri Daesh terror group.

Abadi made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with visiting Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in Baghdad.

The premier said Iraqi forces would continue their anti-Daesh offensive until the liberation of entire Iraq from the terror outfit.

He expressed hope that the military operations would end soon, urging regional states to offer intelligence and security assistance to Baghdad in its ultimate push to drive the group out of the country.

Velayati, for his part, communicated Tehran's support for Iraq's unity and sovereignty.

During the talks, the two discussed anti-terror fight, bilateral relations and important of regional issues.

In an interview with Press TV on Thursday, Velayati said condemned attempts by foreign countries to intervene in Iraq's internal affairs.

The Iranian official also reaffirmed Iran's commitment to helping Iraq in its battle to liberate Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is against any kind of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Iraq. We have been informed that the government of Iraq has strongly warned Turkey and other countries in the region that they should not intervene in the internal affairs of Iraq," said Velayati.

Iran supports "this very important desire of the government and people of Iraq," the official stressed.

Velayati is in Iraq to attend the 9th session of the Supreme Council of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening, which is slated to be held in Baghdad on Saturday and Sunday.

On Thursday, the Iranian official held separate meetings with Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar Hakim and President Fuad Masum.

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'Thousands of Peshmerga Fighters Involved in Battling Daesh' in Iraq's Mosul

Sputnik News

21:48 21.10.2016(updated 21:51 21.10.2016)

Helgurt Hikmet, the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Peshmerga in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, spoke to Sputnik about the situation in Mosul and involvement of thousands of Peshmerga soldiers in the fight against Daesh.

"As part of the operation, clashes with Daesh continue. Within 3 days on the front line of Hazyr, the jihadists liberated nine villages. Currently we are trying to clean up our border from Daesh. We are not going to withdraw our troops from the territories liberated from the terrorists as it is  Kurdish territory," Hikmet said.

He further said that soon the military action in Ba`shiqah and other areas will begin and the operations will be carried out in various stages.

"In the liberation of Mosul overland only the Iraqi government's army and Peshmerga forces will take part. The US and other coalition member countries will provide technical support and carry out air strikes."

Talking about Turkey's participation in the operation, Hikmet said that it is not up to them to decide.

"We belong to the Kurdistan Region and not the Iraqi government. Turkey, if it wishes to participate in the Mosul operation, should bring up this issue with the Iraqi government."

He further said that a part of Peshmerga force is currently located 20km and 7 km from the center of Mosul.

"At the Hazyr front, 4000 Peshmerga fighters are involved in the battle against Daesh. In the near future, action on other fronts will start where thousands of Peshmerga soldiers will fight against Daesh," the press secretary said.

Talking about foreign aid, Hikmet said that Canada, Germany and France have provided the Peshmerga force with arms. However, in order to achieve success over Daesh, they are in need of heavy artilley.

"A few days ago I met with the representatives of the Turkish consulate in Erbil. They told me that the Turkish side will assist in treatment of wounded Peshmerga soldiers during the Mosul operation. On the eve, 62 of our soldiers were brought to Ankara for treatment," Hikmet said.

He could not confirm or deny the recent information about the flight of Daesh militants from Mosul to Syria. However, he pointed to the existence of such a route, which could be used by the militants to leave Mosul and enter Syrian territory.

 Sputnik

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Daesh Using New Tactic of Trying to Divide Iraqis, Kurds by Attacking Kirkuk

Sputnik News

17:22 21.10.2016(updated 17:27 21.10.2016)

Daesh militants are employing a new tactic of trying to divide the Iraqi and the Kurdish forces by attacking other cities in the country while the offensive to liberate Mosul is underway to complicate the situation, the representative of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government in Russia told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, media reported that Daesh militants had launched an attack on several venues across the northern city of Kirkuk. The city lies some 110 miles away from Mosul, which Iraq is trying to liberate from Daesh.

"I think they are changing their plans to divide the Kurdish and the Iraqis, so that combat is taking place not only in Mosul but only began in other cities, so it is more difficult for the Iraqi army, the Peshmerga forces. What is happening in Kirkuk now is something new, a new tactic," Aso Jangi Talabani, currently on the ground, said.

The Iraqi government announced an operation to retake Mosul from Daesh, a group outlawed in Russia, on Monday and has been making rapid gains on several fronts.

"Another problem is that civilians still remain inside Mosul, more than 600,000 are still there, so this complicates the operation very much, especially for the Iraqi [army]," Aso Jangi Talabani said.

Both Iraq, Coalition Against Turkey Taking Part in Liberating Mosul

Both Iraq and the international US-led coalition are against Turkey participating in the operation to liberate Mosul, Ankara has its own aims which will complicate the situation on the ground, the representative of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government in Russia told Sputnik.

"Both Iraq and the coalition, everyone is still against Turkey participating. Everyone is against Turkey participating in liberation of Mosul, it will only complicate the task of liberating Mosul. The Turkish have their own plans, they will not take part to fight terrorists, they have their own aims," Aso Jangi Talabani said.

According to Talabani, both Iraq's Peshmerga Kurdish militias and the militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) group, which Ankara considers terrorist, will take part in the operation to free Mosul, "so it will be very scary if Turkey participates."

According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the Mosul operation, backed by artillery and airstrikes carried out by the US-led international coalition.

 Sputnik

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UN agencies provide shelter, clean water to families displaced amid Iraq's Mosul offensive

21 October 2016  With the military offensive still unfolding in Mosul, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are rushing to provide shelter, drinking water, and sanitation services for displaced families and children.

"Our focus remains on the intensive and continuing push for more protection and shelter support," Adrian Edwards, a UNHCR spokesperson, told today's press briefing in Geneva.

The agency UNHCR reports modest levels of displacement, with 3,900 people displaced and transported to a nearby reception centre in the village of Al-Hood to receive assistance. Additional 240 people were transferred from Makhmur district to a reception centre (Debaga) yesterday.

According to UNHCR, additional five camps were established to shelter 45,000 people, with 11 camps planned. The agency will be able to provide shelter support for 600,000 people.

In Mosul, UNHCR will soon be ready to send support and emergency assistance to 15,000 individuals, with hopes to eventually accommodate 50,000. In addition, UNHCR has partnered with other UN agencies as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure that proper sanitation, sufficient water supply, health and protections services are available to the people at Al Hol.

The agency was able to reach 48 per cent of its budget goal, stressing that there is still a huge need for further funding, especially when the winter is around the corner, said Mr. Edwards.

Meanwhile, UNICEF is delivering clean water to thousands of families caught up in the conflict in Al Houd, a town south of Mosul that was earlier retaken by Iraqi security forces.

The UNICEF Country Representative in Iraq stated that the agency has helped 3,000 children and their families who suffered the consequences of Iraqi conflict. "It may seem a small achievement, but it is one that will bring a week of respite for the children and families who have already suffered so much," he said.

"A lot of children are in a state of shock, all they need now is a safe space to play, learn and aspire," said UNICEF's Peter Hawkins.

UNICEF stresses that the displaced and needed families require clean water and sanitation services; they deserve to feel safe and receive basic humanitarian assistance. Many children and families have already gotten sick from drinking unclean water.

Therefore, UNICEF has been providing water and sanitation services, while also having emergency vaccination and psycho-social teams on standby to assist children and families in need.

Despite delivering enough bottled water for 1,500 families for a week, including hygiene kits with buckets, soap and detergent, the organizations has also committed to bringing fresh water every week to people in need.

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Russian nuclear warships pass through English Channel in 'a show of force'

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:42PM

A fleet of Russian nuclear-powered warships and fighter jets is passing through UK territorial waters, amid rising tensions between Moscow and the Western military alliance of NATO.

The Russian flotilla, including the flagship aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov, sailed down the English Channel on Friday.

Two highly advanced British naval ships are shadowing the vessels, according to Britain's Ministry of Defense.

The Russian task force is believed to be on its way to the Mediterranean Sea to support the war on terrorists in Aleppo, Syria, according to Western military analysts.

"It's a show of force and a show of capabilities," said Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly.

"In terms of strike missions, they [the Russians] could just as easily have conducted them with the land-based aircraft they already have in Syria," told CNN.

Pyotr Klintsevich, first deputy of Russian Senate's Defense and Security Committee, said the Russian-fleet was armed and ready for combat missions.

"We understand that such ships are armed, and that they did not just go for a walk with a walking stick," he said.

"The fact that today the military ships, including a first-class vessel, go forward - it's part of combat training tasks," he added.

UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said on Wednesday, "When these ships near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way."

"We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe," he vowed.

Britain's Royal Navy has reportedly dispatched its advanced warships, the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, along with the Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, to track the Russian vessels.

A UK Ministry of Defense spokesman said the Royal Navy is closely monitoring the Russian vessels.

NATO said in a statement that Russia had the right to operate in international waters, but added that the Western military alliance will "monitor the Russian ships as they head for the Mediterranean."

Russian military experts have denounced the Royal Navy as "weak" and stated Britain is "scared" of Russian nuclear-powered warships - which are due to pass within just one mile (1.6 kilometer) of England.

The Russian Navy said in a statement on October 15 when the ships left Russia the voyage was "to ensure naval presence in the important areas of the World Ocean."

Relations between London and Moscow have been tense over their differences on the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

Russia has been engaged in an aerial campaign against terrorist groups in Syria upon a request by the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad for more than one year.

The UK, along with the United States and some of their allies, has been conducting a so-called anti-terror campaign in Syria and neighboring Iraq for more than two years.

However, they have done little to stop the Takfiri terrorists; instead their air raids have killed many civilians, and caused extensive damage to the country's infrastructure.

Russia along with the Syrian armed forces, have inflicted heavy losses on the foreign-sponsored militants in the Arab country. Their victories worried the West that has actively been seeking the ouster of President Assad.

The Russian warships will pass close to the British shore less than 24 hours after UK Prime Minister Theresa May called on European leaders to unite against Moscow and stop what she referred to as "Russian aggression" in Syria.

"It is vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop these sickening atrocities in Syria," she said on Thursday.

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EU refuses to issue explicit threat of sanctions against Russia

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 5:10AM

The European Union has refrained from issuing an explicit threat of sanctions against Russia for supporting the Syrian government, amid divisions within the 28-member bloc over any such measure.

EU leaders, who had initially prepared a strongly-worded draft statement for a summit in Brussels, issued a watered-down version of the text at the end of the event on Friday.

The summit was held at the request of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to discuss EU's strategy toward Russia, which is helping the Syrian government battle terrorists in Aleppo and elsewhere.

The West has stepped up pressure on Russia to stop targeting militant-held neighborhoods in Aleppo and blamed the country for the worsening humanitarian situation in the city.

Renzi against sanctions

The original draft had said the EU was "considering all options, including further restrictive measures targeting individuals and entities supporting" Syria. The draft text only mentioned Russia by name among the supporters of Damascus.

However, Renzi demanded that any explicit reference to sanctions be removed from the final statement.

"I believe there wouldn't have been any sense in inserting a reference to sanctions," the Italian prime minister told reporters after the summit.

The final statement was reworded to say the EU "strongly condemns" attacks by Syria "and its allies, notably Russia," and called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities."

Renzi's opposition to sanctions laid bare disagreements among EU members. European Council President Donald Tusk cried foul, saying Russian foreign policy was an attempt to "weaken the EU."

The European leader accused Russia of a myriad of offences, but said leaders had to forgo the sanctions threat to "keep the unity of the EU" toward Russia.

'EU wants good ties with Russia'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, said the European Union is willing to maintain good relations with Russia. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Berlin on Wednesday.

"We've had a very intensive exchange of views today especially as regards to our relationship with Russia. On the one hand, we want to have a good relationship with Russia," Merkel said after the Friday summit.

"But on the other hand, we want to be very clear in our contacts about where we stand, especially with regards to recent developments in Syria," she added.

Russia and Syria unilaterally announced a "humanitarian pause" for Aleppo on Thursday after halting the airstrikes some 48 hours ahead of the ceasefire as a gesture of goodwill.

The pause is meant to allow safe passage to civilians trapped in the militant-held side of Aleppo as well as those militants not affiliated to terrorist groups.

As the pause went into effect on Thursday, extremist groups began shelling the humanitarian corridors to hamper the evacuations.

Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, has been divided between the government forces and foreign-backed militants since 2012. The Syrian army launched operations to retake the militant-held eastern section of Aleppo on September 22.

The EU is already at loggerheads with Russia over the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where Brussels says Moscow is propping up groups seeking autonomy. Russia rejects the accusation.

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Russia Rejects Polish Claim That Egypt Will Sell Mistral Warships

October 21, 2016

Russia says a report that Egypt has agreed to sell two French-made Mistral warships to Russia for $1 is "utter nonsense."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 21 that the comment about such a deal made by Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz the previous day is based on unreliable sources.

Peskov said the comment -- made by Macierewicz during a parliamentary debate -- can be explained by a "background of heightened commotion [currently] reigning in Warsaw."

Macierewicz told reporters on October 21 that he got the information "from good sources." He added that "if Egypt would now withdraw from this operation it would be a gain for world peace."

France originally built the two Mistrals -- which are amphibious assault ships that carry helicopters -- for Russia.

But Paris canceled the sale to Moscow after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

France had to refund the 950 million euros ($1 billion) that Russia had prepaid for the ships. French officials then sold the ships to Egypt.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov also dismissed Macierewicz's statement, calling it "silliness" and "nothing but TGIF (Thank God it's Friday) nonsense."

Based on reporting by AP and TASS

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mistral-egypt- warships-polish-claim/28068103.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russia Revived Crimean Shipyards, Defense Companies in 2.5 Years - Deputy PM

Sputnik News

18:28 21.10.2016

Moscow has brought shipyards and defense companies in Crimea back to life during the last two years and a half, as contrasted to Kiev's activities in regard to them, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Friday, Rogozin participated in a meeting in the Crimean city of Simferopol dedicated to the implementation of the state procurement contracts by Crimea's defense companies.

"The main conclusion of the meeting in Simferopol: Crimea's defense companies are working consistently, have significant contracts, showing a growth of production practices. The current problems are solved. Russian defense industry succeeded to revive Crimea's shipbuilding plants and defense companies during the two years and a half of work in Crimea," Rogozin said on his Facebook account.

He added that Kiev had only ruined the enterprises, when Crimea was part of the Ukraine.

The Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine and reunified with Russia after more than 96 percent of local voters supported the move in a referendum in March 2014. Kiev, as well as the European Union, the United States and their allies, did not recognize the move and consider the peninsula to be an occupied territory.

 Sputnik

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Ghost Ships: Two Stealth Subs to Strengthen Russian Black Sea Fleet by December

Sputnik News

16:55 21.10.2016(updated 16:57 21.10.2016)

The submarines feature advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Veliky Novgorod and the Kolpino Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines with advanced stealth technology will join the Russian Black Sea Fleet in October and November correspondingly, Admiralty Shipyards Director General Alexander Buzakov said on Friday.

"The state tests of the fifth [Varshavyanka-class] submarine, the Veliky Novgorod, were successfully completed and on October 25 it will be handed over to the Black Sea Fleet. The transfer of the sixth submarine, the Kolpino, is underway, scheduled to be completed on November 25," Buzakov said during the state acceptance of military production day.

According to Buzakov, after the Veliky Novgorod and the Kolpino join the Black Sea Fleet, all six Project 636 submarines ordered by the Russian Navy will be delivered to the customer since the Novorossiysk, the Rostov-on-Don, the Stary Oskol and the Krasnodar have already joined the fleet.

In September, the Russian Defense Ministry and the Admiralty Shipyards signed a contract on the construction of six additional Varshavyanka-class submarines by 2021.

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636.3) is an improved version of Kilo-class submarines that features advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

The vessels, carrying crews of 52, have a top underwater speed of 20 knots and a cruising range of 400 miles (electric propulsion), with the ability to patrol for 45 days. The submarines are armed with 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles.

The submarines are mainly intended for anti-ship and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters.

 Sputnik

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Russia Welcomes US Offer to Hold Special INF Treaty Commission in November

Sputnik News

14:27 21.10.2016(updated 14:29 21.10.2016)

Russia welcomes the United States' offer to to convene a Special Verification Commission (SVC) of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty next month, the Russian Foreign Ministry's head of Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Mikhail Ulyanov told RIA Novosti that the SVC is envisioned in the 1987 INF Treaty, with its functioning parameters outlined in a Soviet-US memorandum followed by a five-party memorandum with the participation of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus.

"In accordance with the rules, any party may convene the SVC meeting. The US took advantage of their right, we have responded positively, that is their right. They have now decided to use this platform to continue the conversation 13 years after the previous meeting, when the US curtailed the work of this commission," Ulyanov said.

He added that Moscow plans to discuss three topics with the US at the SVC session in Geneva sometime in mid-November.

"The first two are combat drones and target drones. These questions have been 'stalled' since 2001, when we first voiced concerns to the US and are yet to receive a satisfactory response," Ulyanov said.

"The third question is about Mk-41 launchers, which arose in connection with the construction of missile defense components in Romania. It is relatively new at two-three years, but here we have not received convincing answers. The US reacts very superficially, and that creates problems," the official stressed.

The 1987 INF treaty prohibits the development, deployment or testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles.

In May, the United States activated its Aegis ashore ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) in Romania equipped with the Mk-41 launcher. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the deployment of Mk-41 Vertical Launching Systems (VLS) in Europe "a relatively new and rather serious violation of the INF Treaty." Moscow claims Mk-41 is capable of launching the Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles. Such a capability is prohibited by the INF Treaty.

Another Aegis ashore site is under construction in Poland. These sites are parts of the US-designated ballistic missile defense system in Europe, approved in 2010 during a NATO summit in Lisbon.

 Sputnik

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Russia Army to Receive Submarine, 8 Air Defense Systems

Sputnik News

13:54 21.10.2016(updated 13:57 21.10.2016)

The Russian Armed Forces will receive the Veliky Novgorod diesel-electric submarine, two Buk and six Pantsir-S air defense systems in November, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the minister, the Russian Navy is expected to receive in November the Veliky Novgorod diesel-electric submarine of the Project 636 that was built at the St. Petersburg Shipyard.

"The Land Force and Aerospace Forces are expected to receive Buk-M2, Buk-M3 medium range missile systems and six Pantsir-S weapon systems, which have already undergone acceptance delivery tests," Shoigu said during the state acceptance of military production day.

The Pantsir-S (SA-22 Greyhound) is a Russian short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, which first entered service in 2012 and will gradually replace the Tunguska self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon.

Russia is currently carrying out a large-scale rearmament program, announced in 2010, to achieve a 70-percent modernization of its military hardware by 2020.

 Sputnik

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Russia's Navy Deployed to Syria in Show of Force

By Daniel Schearf October 21, 2016

Russia's largest naval deployment in years raised eyebrows as the flotilla sailed past Norway through the English Channel on the way to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to support Moscow's air campaign in Syria.

The British Royal Navy shadowed the Russian fleet Friday as it passed through the channel, in what was thought to be partly a response test of members of NATO, the Western military alliance.

"It's the general feeling here that Russia is once again obtaining the status of a great power and that we are globally present everywhere," says Victor Mizin, a political analyst at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. "That's why the northern fleet, which is probably the most important of all the fleets of the Russian military, is extending its presence there."

The fleet includes: Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov; a nuclear-powered battle cruiser, Peter the Great; a destroyer; and anti-submarine ships. It's headed to the Mediterranean as part Moscow's military support for the Syrian government.

The website of Russia's navy said Friday the carrier battle group will join the permanent naval task force in the eastern Mediterranean, which provides support for Russian and Syrian forces bombing rebels and Islamist militants. Russia's navy said the deployment was expected to last four or five months before the Kuznetsov would return for repairs expected to take up to two years.

Largest deployment in decades

A diplomat with NATO told Reuters news agency it was Russia's largest deployment since the Cold War's end in 1991.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern the Kuznetsov could join attacks on Aleppo and "increase human suffering."

Russian defense analysts say the ships add little firepower to Russian forces in Syria. The deployment, they say, is more for training purposes and as a show of strength to the West and Russia's allies.

"Sending these very specialized ships to the Mediterranean  well, it's like sending a Tyrannosaur to catch mice," said Moscow-based defense analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, adding that it is "not effective. Stupid, actually."

"Some of these ships can attack large targets with cruise missiles," he said. "But, basically, they can do that from any place. They do not have to go close to the Syrian coast for that."

Russia announced a temporary "humanitarian" truce Tuesday in its joint assault with Syrian forces on the city of Aleppo, to allow humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that militants were blocking both aid and civilians.

Western countries, including the United States, have accused Russia of war crimes in Syria.

Final assault expected

Many analysts believe Russia is preparing a final assault on Aleppo to score a strategic win with its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

With the U.S. presidential election looming and the administration of President Barack Obama coming to a close, the timing of the Aleppo offensive is unlikely a coincidence.

"The present administration, I'm afraid, simply doesn't have time enough to make some serious change" in Syria, said Vladimir Batuk of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute for the U.S. and Canadian Studies. "And, unfortunately, they in Moscow understand that pretty well."

But the fighting in Syria will not end even if Russian-backed Syrian government forces retake Aleppo.

"I believe it's going to be a prolonged conflict because already ... less than 10 to 20 kilometers north of Aleppo there are Turkish tanks establishing a no-fly security zone," said Felgenhauer. "Not only fighters but also the population is going to move there. The Turks are planning to build permanent refugee camps on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border. So, they can retreat there, lick their wounds and then come to fight another day. Because the Syrian and Russian forces will not be allowed in."

Lavrov, the foreign minister, expressed concern over Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria. A Kremlin spokesman on Friday said Russia was concerned also that the U.S.-led operation to retake Mosul, Iraq, would push militants over the border into Syria.

Some political analysts say Russia does not expect to win the war for Assad but wants to help Syrian forces retake Aleppo so they can return to negotiations in a stronger position.

"Probably it's stupid to expect that Syria could remain as a united, integrated country," said analyst Mizin. "But, the feeling here is that we are there, we are Russians, and we are to prevail. It's like in the Great Patriotic War. The slogan is 'Russians Never Surrender.'"

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Lavrov: West trying to protect Nusra Front

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:59AM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he thinks the West is trying to protect al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front terrorists and use them to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Lavrov also said Friday that militants belonging to the group, which has recently changed its name to Fateh al-Sham Front, were refusing to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.

Western media frequently point to the change of the name, contending that the terrorist group had distanced itself from al-Qaeda.

The US has been refusing to separate terrorists from what it describes as "moderate" militants in Syria, leading to a standoff which wrecked a ceasefire agreement with Russia last month.

Lavrov further said Moscow is very concerned by reports that Turkey is bombing northern Syria.

Turkey sent tanks and troops to northern Syria in August, storming a major city after Takfiri terrorists left without resistance. Ankara is supporting the so-called Free Syrian Army militants who are a sworn enemy of the Syrian government.

Asked what Russia thought about a Syrian government threat to shoot down Turkish warplanes violating its air space, Lavrov said Syria is a sovereign nation.

The foreign minister further said Moscow was prepared to continue a pause of bombing of east Aleppo if militants do not initiate attacks.

Terrorists continue shelling 'humanitarian corridors'

As he spoke Syria said the government has buses and ambulances ready for medical evacuations but "terrorists" were using mortars and snipers to attack humanitarian corridors and crossing points.

The Syrian ambassador in Geneva told Reuters that the government gave the UN a green light for Aleppo medical evacuations two days ago.

The UN meanwhile said the evacuations planned for Friday have been delayed after warring parties in the city failed to give necessary security assurances.

The head of the UN's humanitarian task force for Syria, Jan Egeland, said Thursday all the "green lights" needed to start medical evacuations on Friday had been given.

The UN and Red Cross had hoped to take advantage of the unilateral "humanitarian pause" in east Aleppo to evacuate the injured.

Syria's ambassador told a UN General Assembly session on Thursday that al-Qaeda-linked terrorists were preventing civilians from leaving the areas they control in east Aleppo.

Bashar al-Ja'afari said Damascus has set up eight passageways for people to leave the city, six for civilians and eight for militants interested in government-offered amnesty or transfer to other areas.

However, the Takfiri terror outfits of Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham are shelling the exit routes and preventing civilians from leaving militant-held areas, he said.

UN chief's failure to mention terrorists

At the General Assembly session, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was critical of UN officials and states for failing to focus on the fight against terrorism in Syria.

Churkin strongly criticized UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for failing to mention the presence of terrorist organizations in Syria in his speech at the meeting devoted to the issue.

"What is happening in this room makes us really puzzled," Churkin said.

"How come that when speaking about the situation in Syria, about the toughest humanitarian situation there, the UN Secretary General makes no mention about the terrorist organizations whatsoever - neither Jebhat al-Nusra nor Daesh?" he said.

"Is tackling terrorism not one of the main goals of the United Nations?" Churkin added.

Earlier speaking at the informal meeting of the UN General Assembly, Ban welcomed the unilateral pause in Aleppo bombing. The UN chief said the conflict continued to reach "new and awful depths" with horrific results.

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Syria to strike intruding Turkish warplanes in its airspace

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 3:33AM

The Syrian military has warned to intercept and bring down any Turkish fighter jets entering the country's airspace, nearly a day after Turkish warplanes bombarded 18 positions of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, and killed up to 200 Kurdish fighters.

"Any attempt to once again breach Syrian airspace by Turkish war planes will be dealt with and they will be brought down by all means available," the Syrian army general command said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish army said its jets had conducted 26 airstrikes against YPG targets in Maarrat Umm Hawsh region north of the embattled northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that between 160 and 200 YPG fighters were killed in the raids on Wednesday night.

It added that Turkish military aircraft destroyed nine buildings used as YPG headquarters, meeting points, shelters and weapons depots.

Takfiri militants preventing Aleppo evacuation

Meanwhile, Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari said foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorist groups in Aleppo are using civilians in the militant-held eastern flank of the city as human shields.

Ja'afari (seen below) told a UN General Assembly session on Thursday that the extremists are resorting to snipers and mortar shells in a bid to prevent civilians and gunmen from leaving the area despite a humanitarian truce.

The Syrian diplomat further noted that the Damascus government welcomes any meeting aimed at helping the Syrian nation in a fair manner.

The Syrian UN ambassador's remarks were later echoed by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said the Takfiris are preventing civilians from leaving the embattled areas of eastern Aleppo

Lavrov told his US counterpart John Kerry in a phone conversation on Thursday that the militants "are violating the ceasefire and preventing the evacuation of the population."

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that the truce should give both civilians and armed men the opportunity to leave.

The humanitarian pause took effect on Thursday and will last three days as announced by the Syrian army.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu later said in a statement that the truce had been extended by a further day, and that Syrian authorities had agreed to the measure.

Earlier, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi stated that there are six corridors in Aleppo for civilians and humanitarian aid deliveries, while two others are meant to be used by the militants in the city.

One of those corridors is in the direction of the Turkey-Syria border, while the other leads to the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, located 59 kilometers southwest of Aleppo.

Both Russian and Syrian Air Force fighter jets stopped their bombing of militant-held neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday  two days ahead of the truce.

Rudskoi said Russian and Syrian military aircraft were deployed to an area at least 10 kilometers away from Aleppo during the truce, adding that the jets had not struck targets inside Aleppo since October 18.

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EU Softens Sanctions Threat Against Russia Over Syria Bombings

RFE/RL October 21, 2016

European Union leaders have pledged to keep all options open to respond to atrocities committed in Syria by Russia and President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but stopped short of explicitly threatening Moscow with sanctions.

Despite strong rhetoric against Russia's air bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo, the leaders' summit meeting in Brussels on October 21 failed to agree on a tough joint statement sending a clear message to Moscow that it could face punitive measures.

Italy's prime minister prevailed upon other European leaders to exclude tough language favored by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other EU powers that would have explicitly threatened sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations that support the Syrian regime.

Meanwhile, as EU leaders debated ways to take a unified approach toward President Vladimir Putin, Russian warships steamed toward Mediterranean waters off Syria in what could signal an escalation of the conflict, to the alarm of NATO.

"Russia's strategy is to weaken the EU," said European Council President Donald Tusk, who said the meeting that stretched past midnight also featured discussions of Russia's violations of EU air space, its disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, and interference in political processes of the EU and beyond.

"We had a sober assessment of the reality and no illusions," he said, and the bloc's leaders agreed it was important to stay unified in their approach to Russia.

The final EU statement strongly condemns attacks on civilians by Russia and the Syrian regime, calls for a lasting cease-fire, and declares that the EU stands ready to consider "all available options if these atrocities continue."

French President Francois Hollande said "all options are open for as long as there is not a cease-fire that is respected and for as long as there is an intention to destroy this town, Aleppo, a town of martyrs."

The United Nations said on October 20 that Russian and Syrian bombing of Aleppo has killed nearly 500 people in the past month, and large parts of the city will face severe food shortages by the end of this month.

The division within the EU over how tough it should be on Russia for its aggression in Syria is influenced by the economic and energy ties various European states have cultivated with Moscow.

Under sanctions imposed in 2014 over Russia's aggression in Ukraine, trade with Russia has dropped by around 30-50 percent in a number of European countries.

Italy, which in the past had particularly close economic ties with Moscow, has struggled with stagnant economic growth and has particularly chafed under the Ukraine sanctions.

Those concerns appeared to be behind Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's move to soften the language adopted by the EU by excluding a phrase explicitly threatening sanctions -- "further restrictive measures targeting individuals and entities supporting the [Syrian] regime" -- should atrocities continue.

Italy was aided in persuading other European powers to dilute the sanctions threat as Russia earlier in the day had instituted a cease-fire in Aleppo that it said would last for 11 hours each day for the next four days to allow humanitarian deliveries and the evacuation of the wounded.

"We have approved a document that recalls the need to get as quickly as possible to an agreement, to a real truce and to a political transition process that we have been awaiting for a while," Renzi said after the summit meeting. "But I think that there is no point in also adding here a reference to sanctions."

"We should do everything possible for a peace deal in Syria, but it's difficult to imagine that this should be linked to further sanctions on Russia," he said.

Taking a harder line, British Prime Minister Theresa May said before the meeting that it was "vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop its appalling atrocities, its sickening atrocities, in Syria."

Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas also advocated a tough policy toward Moscow and Assad.

"They have the ambition of turning Aleppo into a new Grozny. This is absolutely unacceptable," he said, referring to the destruction of the Chechen capital in 1999-2000 by Russian troops.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the language agreed in the end leaves the door open to sanctions, as she has advocated.

The EU "cannot accept these inhuman bombardments," she said after the meeting. "If this kind of violation continues, of course we will envisage all available measures in order to react to this."

Merkel added: "I think there was fairly broad agreement concerning the strategic options on Russia."

But Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven said the EU was divided over new sanctions on Russia. "I don't think there is unity now... But I think it should be on the table, that this is an option for the future," he said.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters, and RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/eu-softens-sanctions- threat-against-russia-over-syria- aleppo-bombings/28066644.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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European Leaders Debate Response to Russia's Actions in Syria

By Henry Ridgwell October 21, 2016

European Union heads of state continue their summit Friday in Brussels, where the EU's response to Russia's bombing campaign in Syria is high on the agenda. Syrian government forces began a 3-day cease-fire in Aleppo Thursday, but their Russian allies have refused to extend the deal, despite pressure from France and Germany.

Despite the temporary cease-fire in the skies above Aleppo, there's little sign of a lasting end to the bombing campaign unleashed by Syrian government and Russian forces. Europe and the United States accuse Moscow of killing and injuring thousands of civilians  actions that France says amount to war crimes.

Arriving in Brussels for her first European Council summit Thursday, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for European unity.

"We must continue to work together, and it's vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop its appalling atrocities, its sickening atrocities, in Syria," said May.

Europe had debated easing the sanctions applied to Russia over its forceful takeover of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. That's now seen as highly unlikely, said John Lough of London-based policy institute Chatham House.

"The Russians were making a lot of progress in exploiting some divisions in Europe around sanctions. And [Russian President Vladimir] Putin faced with that opportunity then, to my mind, did something rather remarkable in Syria in engaging in this bombardment of Aleppo that's caused international outrage. And then [that] immediately hardened attitudes in Europe," said Lough.

Lough argues Europe needs to reformulate its policy response on Russia.

"We need dialogue in certain areas where we can have it. But at the same time, we need to maintain some firm instruments that show where our limits are. We have to defend our values  in my view we have to absolutely uphold the principle of inviolability of borders," said Lough.

The Syrian civil war is among the push factors that have driven millions of refugees and migrants to European shores.

While the flow of migrants through Turkey has slowed, thousands continue to arrive every week on Italian shores from North Africa. Ahead of the Brussels summit, Italy accused Europe of a lack of solidarity in dealing with the crisis  with some justification, said Ian Bond of the Center for European Reform.

"Italy is facing a problem which is absolutely not its own fault, but the EU's response has been inadequate. And that's partly because you have countries like Hungary in particular, Poland to some extent, who are saying that they are not prepared to take part in sharing out the refugees who are reaching Italy," said Bond.

In a packed Brussels schedule, Britain's exit from the EU also will be featured  with both sides hardening their positions in recent weeks ahead of formal talks expected to begin next year.

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UN: Violations in Syria Constitute Crimes of Historic Proportions

By Lisa Schlein October 21, 2016

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein says the siege and bombardment of Syria's northern city of eastern Aleppo constitute crimes of historic proportions. He is calling on the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.

Zeid says well over 300,000 Syrians have been killed and countless others wounded and traumatized in the course of more than five years of civil war. He says the relentless bombardment of Aleppo has turned the ancient city into a slaughterhouse.

Without mentioning Russia by name, the high commissioner blames the indiscriminate airstrikes across the eastern rebel-held part of Aleppo by government forces and their allies for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties.

He says the violations constitute war crimes and calls for those guilty of international crimes to be held accountable.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chair of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, agrees all parties to the conflict guilty of crimes must be brought to justice.

"Perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity will only cease to violate the laws of war when it is clear they will be held to account," he said. "This why referral of the conflict in Syria to the ICC (International Criminal Court) or an ad hoc international justice mechanism is critical to resolving this conflict."

Pinheiro says members of the investigative commission will continue to document war crimes in Aleppo. The British minister for Africa and the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, launched a blistering attack on Syria and Russia.

"Hospitals have been bombed repeatedly. Hundreds of civilians, many of them children, have been killed since the (Bashar) Assad regime and Russia launched their assault on Eastern Aleppo."

The Russian ambassador accuses Britain and its allies of protecting terrorists from destruction and allowing them to regroup so they can continue what he calls their barbaric acts. The Syrian representative calls Britain's accusations baseless and fabricated to enhance its political agenda.

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Syrian Army Thwarts Militants' Attack in Outskirts of Damascus

Sputnik News

00:15 22.10.2016

The Syrian army foiled on Friday a militants' attack on its positions in the Jobar neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of the country's capital of Damascus, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The attack was committed by members of the Jaish al-Islam and al-Rahman Legion groups, the Sana news agency reported.

The assailants are said to have used tunnels to attack the Syrian soldiers directly covering up an attack from another direction.

The army reportedly repelled the attack using light and medium weapons and killing eight attackers.

The ongoing conflict in Syria has lasted for about five years. Since its beginning it has claimed lives of thousands of people and displaced millions more. The international community has undertaken steps to end the Syrian conflict and to solve the humanitarian crisis in the Middle Eastern country.

On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry unveiled a peace plan to address the conflict. The ceasefire deal was later shattered by numerous violations, which resulted in intensified fighting between the Syrian government and militants in Aleppo. The Syrian government has announced an end to the ceasefire regime, while Russia said that the United States failed to fulfill its obligation to separate terrorist groups from moderate opposition.

 Sputnik

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KMT caucus urges sticking to '1992 consensus' at Beijing forum

ROC Central News Agency

2016/10/21 20:54:32

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) The legislative caucus of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has urged party members to abide by the principle of the "1992 consensus" when attending a cross-Taiwan Strait forum early next month.

The legislative caucus said in a statement issued Friday that the caucus and many party members are worried about the development of cross-strait relations since President Tsai Ing-wen () took office on May 20.

It said the party should insist on the "1992 consensus" principle of "one China, different interpretations" when it attends the forum to underscore the party's edge in handling cross-strait issues.

"Normal exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are necessary, but one should not lose sight of the basic stance," it said.

The KMT lost both the presidential and legislative elections early this year, the statement said, and because "public will is the only way to return to power" and cross-strait relations have far-reaching implications for Taiwan, the promotion of any major policy on cross-strait ties must wait for a public consensus.

"Before setting any major policies or taking part in major events related to cross-strait relations, the party's top leaders must fully communicate with the party caucus and listen to views of grassroots members to achieve a consensus," the caucus said.

The statement came amid misgivings over a likely meeting between KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu () and Communist Party of China General Secretary Xi Jinping () ahead of an annual conference between the two parties scheduled for Nov. 2-3 in Beijing.

This year's conference is titled the "Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Forum."

The caucus is worried that Hung could make remarks hinting that the party sides with China during the meeting, given that she has previously advocated a "one China, common interpretation" policy for cross-strait relations, which had drawn public misgivings.

Her views were widely seen to have deviated from former President Ma Ying-jeou's "one country, different interpretations" concept in defining the "1992 consensus" that, in the party's mind, reflects more of a difference in the position of Taipei and Beijing on cross-strait ties.

The consensus had served as a pillar of cross-strait exchanges before Tsai took office in May and refused to endorse it.

The legislative caucus met with Hung earlier this week, asking her to reiterate the "free interpretation of one China" when visiting Beijing.

Some also wanted her to spell out "the Republic of China" to allow Chinese leaders, including Xi, to understand the public sentiment of the Taiwanese people.

Hung pledged earlier this week that she will not mention "one China, common interpretation" while in Beijing.

She also said she had not decided on what to discuss with Xi but will allow herself "room for flexibility" when the two meet.

"It depends. I will do what I can, and should, to achieve our goals in Beijing," she said.

As relations across the Taiwan Strait have cooled to "freezing point," with all official channels of communication suspended, "isn't it our duty, as a responsible political party, to figure out ways of doing something for the people of Taiwan?" Hung asked.

"The media and our lawmakers have given me quite a number of suggestions as to what to talk about (with Xi), and I'm keeping them all in mind," she said.

Meanwhile, the KMT said Friday that the party's stance on cross-strait exchanges is "in sync with" its party's legislative caucus.

(By Liu Kuan-ting, Hsieh Chia-chen, Bear Lee, S. C. Chang and Lilian Wu)

Enditem/ls

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33 PKK militants killed in Turkish army airstrike, clashes with police

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:12PM

Nearly three dozen members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group have been killed after Turkish military aircraft and security forces conducted separate counter-terrorism operations against the militants in the country's southeastern provinces of Hakkari and Diyarbakir.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that an unmanned aerial vehicle targeted a PKK hideout on Dilekli Nizar Mountain in the Yuksekova district of Hakari Province, located 1,026 kilometers east of the capital Ankara, on Friday morning. Six PKK members were killed in the assault.

The development came only a day after Turkish Air Force fighter jets launched an aerial attack against PKK positions in the Cukurca district of the same province, leaving 26 Kurdish fighters dead.

Also on Thursday, a PKK terrorist was killed in clashes with security forces in the Lice district of Diyarbakir Province.

Separately, security personnel destroyed a vehicle rigged with three tons of explosives in the Savur district of the Kurdish-dominated southeastern province of Mardin.

A shaky ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed in July 2015, and attacks on Turkish security forces have soared ever since.

Over the past few months, Turkish ground and air forces have been carrying out operations against PKK positions in the country's troubled southeastern border region as well as Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and northern Syria.

The campaign was launched after more than 30 civilians lost their lives in a July 2015 bomb attack in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. Turkish authorities held the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group accountable for the act of terror.

PKK militants, who accuse the Ankara government of sponsoring Daesh, mounted a series of reprisal attacks against Turkish security forces after the bombing, prompting the Turkish military operations.

The PKK, which has been calling for an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984, has since carried out several attacks on police and military posts in the largely Kurdish region.

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For 10 years, Kathy Renyer-Shanks has led her Galileo High School students to sell the paper bead jewelry that helps to bring its makers in Uganda out of poverty as well as give them an opportunity to join the six-month street business school that the Bead for Life organization runs.

Renyer-Shanks said that if there are any products leftover from the party on Nov. 2, they will be available for purchase by making an appointment through the school.

However, during last years party, every single piece of jewelry that was available was sold, and they are hoping to have record sales again this year.

Helping women increase their income reduces poverty, spurs investment in children, creates greater self-esteem, increases bargaining power and reduces domestic violence, according to the Bead for Life website. More than 44,500 people have been reached through Bead for Lifes programs.

Renyer-Shanks said that the entire school, including parents and alumni, works together to help the party go off without a hitch.

 If we wanted to make money off of it for ourselves, wed go sell flower bulbs or something, said Renyer-Shanks, who has helped the school raise more than $23,000 for Bead for Life over the last decade. But we like to give as much to the ladies in Uganda as we can. We just love it.

Simkiss reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
What an exciting yet confounding time to be teaching American history, civics and political science!

This election  with its exhausting prelude  has left me in high dudgeon. This campaign season is one for the annals of history. However, given the choices in November, I am grateful to know that the office is far greater than the flawed human who ultimately will fill the chair. The leader of the free world, the Commander-in-Chief of the immense military and the diplomatic power of this republic is subject to global scrutiny.

The superpower to be admired, reckoned with and envied, America wants a champion.

Voting in a general election is a civic duty and a hard won privilege not to be taken lightly. Voters seeking to cast informed ballots turn to a free press for facts, analysis of platforms and pledges. With the role of independent and social media shaping perceptions, one can be tasked with sorting truth from editorial opinion or outright fiction. The proper role of media should be to report impartially, to provide accurate information, to hold accountable all persons seeking influence and to check undue government power. A smart electorate can draw its own conclusions. (I avoid all talk radio as hot air).

In recent years, partisan politics has become a hindrance to the smooth running of government. Bickering and ideology have led to the brink of shutdowns in Washington.

The framers of the Constitution presciently allowed for three branches  executive, legislative and judicial  to guarantee checks and balances on unwieldy misuse of power.

The president of the United States should not be warring against the rights and values of the country it is charged to defend.

Despite fuzzy reports, rarely has the choice been more cleanly laid out in this race between Democrats and Republicans.

Citizens have observed the implosion of the Grand Ole Party. It has become the Party of No while Democrats have fretted more about social topics than about core issues of concern to the majority.

On one hand, Hillary Clinton promises to be diligent about:

 rebuilding infrastructure, roads, bridges and the communication grid;

 developing clean, renewable energy to create jobs and cut down on man made damage to the fragile environment (climate is evident);

 revisiting trade deals for fair trade, not free trade, as with the TPP;

 reforming immigration policies and allowing refugees access to a legal path to citizenship;

 raising taxes on the wealthiest;

 slowing proliferation of nuclear weapons;

 revamping the Affordable Care Act by keeping the good, changing the bad;

 building alliances abroad to fight terrorism and ISIS;

 compensating women in the workforce with equal pay for equal work; and

 providing debt-free higher education for college students.

On the other hand, businessman and outsider Donald Trump promises vaguer, less substantive improvements for America without offering a detailed plan to accomplish his goals. After all, as any politician knows, the devil is in the details:

 building a wall with Mexico footing the bill;

 naming the three or four conservative judges to the Supreme Court;

 banning Muslims from this country until vetted or cleared;

 imposing tariffs on goods from Mexico and China in new trade war;

 returning manufacturing jobs from overseas;

 withdrawing from NAFTA and TPP and renegotiating deals;

 replacing Obamacare with marketplace alternative health care;

 scrapping the nuclear deal with Iran;

 leaving Social Security in place while cutting waste and fraud;

 bombing and taking oil from ISIS and deploying ground troops to the Middle East;

 lowering taxes across the board on every taxpayer; and

 drilling in Alaska and Atlantic Ocean for oil and opening coal mines.

Given the platforms, voters also want a champion who inspires and moves the country forward. Instead, we see a misogynistic womanizer slinging mud at a crook, a bully stalking a robot, the unhinged threatening the ruthless, the uninformed debating the rehearsed. America does not deserve conspiracy theories, paranoia, divisiveness, nastiness, smears, lies or smoke and mirrors. A wish list of ideal characteristics of the next president might well include trustworthiness, intelligence, experience, leadership, diplomacy, compassion, patriotism, wisdom to seek and accept counsel from advisors, decency, fairness, knowledge of current world affairs and respect for and defense of the Constitution. Voters will applaud just three or four of these traits should they surface.

When the fog clears Nov. 9, may we be reminded of the source of our faith and our democratic principles. The nation is stronger than one woman or one man, and the country will be challenged to find it has more to unite it than to divide it in the coming months. To Patrick Touart (I am so ashamed of our country, Oct. 16, page A10) and the other disillusioned young people who are the best of our country, I encourage you to go to the polls and vote your conscience. But do not fail to vote on Election Day.

Much is at stake. Lets choose a champion.
Sudbury, Ontario (FSCwire) - Frontier Lithium (TSX.V: FL) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has a signed Exploration Agreements with Deer Lake First Nation (DLFN) and Sandy Lake First Nation (SLFN) regarding Frontiers mineral exploration activities on its PAK Lithium Project (the Project) in the Red Lake Mining District, Northwestern Ontario. The registered membership of DLFN is one thousand, three-hundred and twelve (1,312) people and three-thousand and sixty-two (3,062) people with SLFN.

The Company wishes to continue to conduct mineral exploration with the support of the two communities and this new agreement allows for that process. The agreements promote a cooperative and mutually beneficial and respectful relationship concerning DLFN, SLFN and Frontier Lithiums explorations of its current and additional (if any) mining claims or properties that the Company may acquire an interest in - all for which are located within the Traditional Territories of the communities (as defined in the signed Exploration Agreements).

The agreements recognize and respect the Aboriginal and Treaty rights and interests of both communities, together with their constitutional and other legal rights and desires to maintain open and friendly, cooperative, on-going communications and a positive working relationship, and further that these Exploration Agreements are not in derogation of abrogation of any inherent treaty, aboriginal, title or like right of either community.

The agreements also state that the parties agree that it is their common objective to assist community members to benefit from business opportunities associated with Exploration Activities undertaken by Frontier and that assuming the Feasibility Study is positive, the Parties commit to make best efforts to develop an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA).

DLFN and SLFN acknowledge that Frontier Lithium may enter into agreements with other First Nation stakeholders, and may enter into such agreements in a comprehensive or cumulative fashion with the same.

Chief Roy Dale Meekis of Deer Lake First Nation and Chief Bart Meekis of Sandy Lake First Nation has jointly commented that We are looking forward to coming together and working with Frontier towards sustainable developments on our traditional territories to the mutual benefit of all parties.

With pre-feasbility underway, the signed exploration agreements mark a very significant project milestone. The agreeable terms are mutually beneficial and they recognize the importance of the environment and both communitys traditional territories - both of which are of great significance to Deer Lake First Nation, Sandy Lake First Nation, their respective members, and Frontier Lithium, remarked Trevor Walker, President, Frontier Lithium.

The agreement is in line with the Companys commitment to build sincere relationships with our neighbouring communities. We have an active interest and respect for all people and we understand the social, environmental and economic implications of our activities.



Company Contact Information

Trevor R. Walker, President

2736 Belisle Drive

Val Caron, ON.

P3N 1B3 CANADA

T.+001 705.897.7622

F.+001 705.897.7618

Media Requests

Joseph Mansourian

Manager, Communications & Branding

2736 Belisle Drive

Val Caron, ON.

P3N 1B3 CANADA

E: mansourian@frontierlithium.com

T.+001 705.618.0070

F.+001 705.897.7618

About Frontier Lithium Inc.

Frontiers goal is to become a low-cost, fully integrated lithium and tantalum producer through development of the PAK lithium deposit in Ontario, Canada. Frontier maintains a tight share structure with management ownership exceeding 30% of the Company. CAD $4 million of exploration work has been conducted from 2013 to 2016 on the deposit which boasts its lithium in a rare, high-purity, low-iron spodumene. The Company has adopted a staged growth approach to exploration and development in order to avoid unnecessary share dilution  a strategic imperative for the Company. The initial target market is the ceramic/glass industry which consumes roughly one-third of global lithium supply and is currently faced with monopolistic conditions, coupled with major lithium producers increasingly directing output toward supporting battery manufacture.

Ceramic/glass customers prefer to source technical-grade (low-iron) spodumene concentrate in excess of 7% lithium oxide (Li2O), if available, to avoid inferior lower grade petalite concentrates, or paying much higher prices for battery grade lithium compounds that require chemical plants costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The PAK lithium deposit remains open in all directions and Company Management believes the resource can be developed into a world-class operation. Once production of lithium concentrates are established from Frontier, the possible second stage of investment and longer term prospect is to further process some of PAKs output to produce the higher purity lithium compounds required for lithium battery technologies used in the electrification of transportation and electric grid storage applications.

For additional information, please visit the company website at www.frontierlithium.com

About the PAK Lithium Project

The PAK Lithium Project lies close to the boundary between two geological sub-provinces of the western Superior geologic province in northwestern Ontario and hosts a rare metals pegmatite deposit. The deposit is an LCT (lithium- cesium- tantalum) type pegmatite. These types of pegmatites have been the principal source of hard rock lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium ores mined in the world but there are comparatively few commercially-viable deposits.

Frontier is actively exploring its 100% owned project which contains the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite. The PAK deposit is one of the highest grade lithium mineral resources in North America which has a current Measured and Indicated Resource of 7.89 million tonnes of 1.73% Li2O equivalent (eq.) and Inferred Resource of 295,600 tonnes of 1.35% Li2O eq. which has a technical/ceramic grade spodumene with low inherent iron (below 0.1% Fe2O3). The deposit has adjacent zones that are enriched in tantalum and rubidium. HLM is also evaluating the phased co-production of tantalum and mica-product concentrates once lithium mineral production has been commercialized.

The deposit now has a known 500m strike length with an estimated true width varying from 10m to 125m with a sub-vertical orientation. The resource remains open to depth and along strike to the northwest and southeast.

- End -

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/Frontier10212016.pdfSource: Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX Venture:FL)

To follow Frontier Lithium Inc. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com

Copyright  2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
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Improving cloud business provides boost

By Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY Network

Microsoft shares surged 5 percent in early trading Friday and passed a high set in 1999, helped by enthusiasm for progress in its cloud business.

The stock was at up at $59.91, breezing past the $58.72 mark set in December 1999.

Friday's rally follows Microsoft's latest quarterly report, out late Thursday, that beat analyst expectations for adjusted sales and profit and showcased a doubling of growth in its Azure cloud business, while reflecting continued strain from consumers' pivot away from personal computers and traditional software purchases.

"The biggest takeaway from this quarter's results will be the re-acceleration of Microsoft's cloud business, which now is on pace for more than $13 billion annualized revenue," said Josh Olson of Edward Jones Research.

"Microsoft now is approaching equal footing with AWS cloud platform in terms of aggregate cloud revenue, and is steadily transforming its business to the next era of computing."

Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday morning, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer praised his successor Satya Nadella for building the company's cloud business.

Microsoft reported first-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 76 cents a share on adjusted revenue of $22.3 billion Thursday. That easily topped the 68 cents and $21.7 billion analysts predicted, according to S&P Global Intelligence.

First-quarter reported revenue was nearly flat at $20.45 billion compared with $20.38 billion in the year-ago quarter, while net income fell 4 percent to $4.69 billion.

PC revenues declined 2 percent to $9.3 billion, which included a 72 percent drop for Microsoft's ill-fated phones business and a 5 percent drop in gaming. Windows OEM and commercial products revenue both remained flat.

Helping boost the quarter were gains in productivity and business processes, up 6 percent to $6.7 billion, and intelligent cloud, up 8 percent to $6.4 billion.

That cloud jump includes a 116 percent improvement for Microsoft Azure, which has roughly 10 percent of the global cloud market compared with industry leader Amazon Web Services at 30 percent.

Nadella has predicted that the company would hit $20 billion in annual cloud revenue by 2020.
Last Saturday, I was backpacking in Big Bend. On Saturday, while you were reading about Esther, I was climbing Emory Peak and the thought of you reading my column was on my mind. I've been writing about women in the Bible, so I also began to wonder if the Bible ever talks about a woman climbing a mountain because that's what I was doing in the moment.

Having wracked my brain for literally miles of hiking, I finally discovered an instance of not just one woman climbing a mountain, but at least five.

Mary and her sister, Mary Magdalene, a third Mary and Salome seem to be just a few of "Many women were there looking on from a distance" (Matthew 27:55) as Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, also known as Mount Calvary.

There are two different likely locations of Golgotha, or "the place of the skull." No matter which is the true site of Golgotha, every tradition acknowledges that Jesus was subsequently buried in a tomb at or near the base of that hill. The Bible also states that it was close enough to the gate that people could walk by, read the sign above Jesus' cross and mock him.

In all fairness, whichever the site was, it was more what we would call a hill. Emory Peak has a prominence of 4,485 feet. Neither of the two possible sites in Jerusalem have a prominence of more than 75 feet. As I realized this, I began to push the "women climbing mountains in the Bible" idea out of my head. After all, climbing to the top of a low hill really isn't much of a feat.

But if it wasn't difficult, why didn't more people make that climb with Jesus? The apostle John was the only male full-time follower of Jesus who went to witness the crucifixion. The rest of Jesus' followers there were all women "who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him" (Matthew 27:55). Some mountains are hard to climb because of their physical prominence. This one was hard to climb because of its spiritual prominence. And it was the women who followed Jesus who had the strength to do it.

It was the women who followed Jesus who were able to do what the men had so arrogantly vowed to do just the night before. While the culture that surrounded them was patriarchal and even misogynistic, Jesus  who is God in both the Old and New Testaments  was so very obviously not. Because he treated these women better than every other man in their lives, they loved Jesus more than the men in his life did. They were there for him when the men weren't because they loved him more than the men did. They understood his love and grace for them better than the men did. They climbed the mountain the men couldn't climb, save one.

Their care for him didn't end at his death, either. While the men hid in the upper room for fear of the authorities, it was many of the same women who went to his tomb the next Sunday to finish embalming his body according to Jewish custom. God chose to reveal the resurrection to women first. Imagine being the first person in the world to know that Jesus has risen from the dead.

The study of understanding the meaning of an ancient document is call Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is often applied to the Bible, being a collection of ancient documents packed with some of the most important meaning in all of human history. One of the most common errors in hermeneutics is to confuse what is described (i.e. passages that say "this is what happened") for what is prescribed (i.e. passages that say "this is what should happen"). It is no secret that God revealed himself to a highly patriarchal and misogynistic culture. Most cultures throughout human history have been just as oppressive to women. It's easy to confuse God's grace toward such a culture alongside descriptions of that culture's treatment of women as approval. But God gives you grace despite your sin without approving of it, too. Instead of attributing a culture's sinful mistreatment of women to God, look at the way God himself treats women.

God the Father set a law over Israel that ended many of the most heinous mistreatment of women in Semitic cultures. Women could hold property and make legally binding oath (Numbers 27:1-9, 30:9). According to God's law both the man and the woman were culpable for adultery instead of just the woman as was the standard of the day (Deuteronomy 22:22). Women were also given revolutionary legal recourse for an accusation of adultery (Numbers 5:11-31). She also had recourse against a false accusation of promiscuity before marriage, and the man would be punished for a false accusation (Deuteronomy 22:19). Men were also given a lifelong punishment for rape (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). In the latter two cases, the punishment is that "He can never divorce her as long as he lives." Even if she doesn't live with him, even if she doesn't sleep with him, he has to provide for her financially for the rest of his life and he can never get out of it. Imagine a modern court saying to a rapist, "You are on the hook to provide 100% of this woman's livelihood for the rest of your life no matter where she lives." While these laws may not pass feminist muster today, they were revolutionary to the people they were given to.

Jesus  God the Son  loved and honored women as well. Their presence at the cross is a testimony to that. How many women with a bad reputation did he look in the eye, love and defend? He let "unclean" women touch him and even praised them for doing it (Luke 8:45-48). He let other women with bad reputations sit at his feet to learn while he taught (Luke 10:39).

God the Holy Spirit inspired the gospel writers to record the truth that God first revealed the resurrection of Jesus to women. First century culture wickedly rejected the testimony of women, but the Holy Spirit, who inspired all Scripture, offers them as the first witnesses of the resurrection.

While the culture around them repeatedly and sinfully failed to honor the women of the Bible, God loved them, provided for them and upheld their dignity as much as he did any man.

As a man whose personal life (I have a wife and three daughters) and professional life (61 percent of the average church congregation is female according to uscongregation.org) are both filled with a preponderance of women, feminism has often looked like an attractive framework for interacting with the women in my life. But then I read my Bible and I see a much better framework. If I want to be conformed to the image of God's Son (see Romans 8:29) it would seem the best thing to do would be to see and treat the women around me as he does. Men, I challenge you to do the same.

Kyle Hooks is the associate pastor at Angelo Bible Church. Contact him at 325-716-4258 or kyle@lookingupfrombelow.com. You can like Looking Up at facebook.com/lookingupfrombelow.
In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Massumeh Farhad, left, and Simon Rettig, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

SHARE In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Simon Rettig, left, and Massumeh Farhad, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Simon Rettig, left, and Massumeh Farhad, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  Books come in all sizes, but one 15th century Quran was so enormous, it's said that a wheelbarrow was needed to carry it.

Two consecutive pages of this Quran will be on display during the show "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," which opens Saturday at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

The sprawling pages, each measuring 5 feet by 7 feet, have rows of calligraphy standing 8 to 9 inches high. They date from about 1400, and have been on long-term loan with the Smithsonian museum.

The passage on display is from a chapter explaining that "signs of God and evidence of His goodness are all around," according to Simon Rettig, assistant curator of Islamic Art. It also deals with the refutation of materialistic views, the history of some ancient peoples, warnings to those who go astray and encouragements to forgiveness.

"If anyone does a righteous deed, it ensures to the benefit of his own soul; If he does evil, it works against his own soul," one passage reads.

Like many items in the exhibit focused on the Muslim holy book, these pages come with a story  this one involving the feared nomadic conqueror, Timur, who ruled a huge empire based in central Asia.

As the story goes, Timur  also named Tamerlane by Europeans  was unimpressed by the artistry required to create a Quran tiny enough to fit inside a signet ring. So this calligrapher, Omar Aqta', gave it another try, this time going large to show off his "incredible talent."

While the feat of creating a tiny Quran likely required more skill, it is amazing that the calligrapher had the "bravery to attempt something like this," said Massumeh Farhad, chief curator at the Sackler and Freer and curator of Islamic art.

Omar Aqta' returned with a Quran so large, it was carried to the palace in a wheelbarrow, and she said, Timur, "a man who loved big things," was so pleased that he rewarded the calligrapher handsomely.

While it was not unusual for Qurans to be broken up, it's not clear whether the folios of this Quran were ever bound into one volume, Farhad said. There would have been thousands of pages, but most have been lost to history, with only about 10 surviving. The two pages on display were among those found by a British traveler in a mausoleum in eastern Iran in the 19th century.

The show brings together manuscripts and folios from the museum in Istanbul with manuscripts from the collection of the Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art, which together form the Smithsonian's Asian art museum.

Though the Arabic text of the Quran was fixed as early as the late 7th century, the exhibit showcases the variety of styles of calligraphy and illumination employed over the centuries. The works span nearly a millennium, dating from the late 7th or early 8th centuries (not long after the time of Muhammad) to the 17th century.
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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 S. Bell St. will hold its annual Fall Festival and Trunk-R-Treat from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot. The event will feature games, prizes, candy and other treats and activities for the entire family. This is a free event, and all are welcome to attend. Snow cones will be available for purchase.

Anne Langston is hosting the 24-hour "Croptoberfest" Scrapbooking Event, which ends at 7 p.m. Oct. 22. All ladies are invited.

The church will participate in the annual Concho Valley Baptist Association meeting Sunday at Glen Meadows Baptist Church, 6002 Knickerbocker Road.

The Esther Bible Study group for ladies will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Call 325-651-4661 for more information.

EOLA BAPTIST

Eola Baptist Church, 11894 Farm-to-Market Road 381, has canceled its fourth-Sunday Singing to attend the Concho Valley Baptist Association meeting.

Call 325-656-1246 for more information.

FIRST CHRISTIAN

First Christian Church, Disciples Of Christ, 29 N. Oakes St., will host a Book Club meeting at 3 p.m. Sunday in the church parlor. The current book selection is "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. Attendees are encouraged to drop any spare change in the "Pickle Jar," which is being collected for Promises for Families, a local foundation serving children with incarcerated parents.

A Living Nativity will be part of the Christmas Light Route again this year; if your church or organization would like to participate, please contact the church office.

Call 325-653-4523 for more information.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN

First Presbyterian Church, 32 N. Irving St., will host a painting event to prepare pottery for the Empty Bowls fundraiser, to benefit Wesley Trinity Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. The pottery painting event is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the church's art studio. Space is limited, so interested parties are encouraged to make a reservation.

All supplies will be provided, and painted bowls will be taken home by fundraiser attendees, to remind them of the hungry at home and abroad.

The Empty Bowls event is set from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Cactus Hotel's ballroom, 36 E. Twohig Ave.

Tickets cost $25 and may be purchased at the painting event; the Texas Hunger Initiative office on the second floor of the Cactus Hotel, or from the Soup Kitchen, located at 301 W. 18th St.

Call 325-655-5694 for more information.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

First United Methodist Church, 37 E. Beauregard Ave., is hosting a new women's fitness group led by certified physical-education instructor Stephanie James. The Fitness Witness group will meet at 5:30 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Room E-302 of the Education Building. There is no cost to attend, and all body-types are welcome. Attendees are encouraged to bring a beach towel or exercise mat.

Call 806-470-2803 for more information.

GALILEE MISSIONARY BAPTIST

Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 721 W. 19th St., will hold a Health Fair 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 29. The event will feature free flu shots, a blood drive for United Blood Services and health education classes. There will be free food for attendees and a bounce castle for children.

Call 325-277-8084 for more information.

ST. AMBROSE PARISH

St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 8602 Loop 570 in Wall, will host the Concho Valley Czech Heritage Society's Thanksgiving and Christmas meeting at 1 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Fellowship Hall. This is the last meeting of 2016, and will begin with a luncheon before the brief business meeting and social time.

Call 325-942-6598 for more information.

SIERRA VISTA

Sierra Vista United Methodist Church, 4522 College Hills Blvd., will hear The Vista Ringers Children's Bell Choir during worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday, as they play the Introit, "Praise the Father."

The church's Pumpkin Patch is open every day 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and everyone is welcome shop for pumpkins and take family pictures.

Call 325-944-4041 for more information.

WORD OF LIFE

Word of Life Church, 5173 S. Bryant Blvd. at the Ben Ficklin Exit, will host the husband-and-wife evangelical team of Bill and Eva Dooley at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The Dooleys reside in Waco, and both are ordained ministers and foreign language educators. Eva, was born in Greece and received her degree in foreign languages from the University of Texas at Austin. Bill holds a master of arts degree in foreign language education, also from U.T. Austin. Both have taught extensively. There will be time for personal ministry, special singing and worship during the meeting.

Call 325-651-7392 for more information.
An untitled piece by Val Hague.

SHARE Print one of six in the iPhone print series by Brad Loving. "Strike a Pose," by Courtney Lee. "I Call it Joy," by Sharon Templeton. Contributed photos from Baptist Retirement Community "Concho Remains of the Day," by Suzie Baker.

Art collection designed to engage residents

By Lauren Witt, Special to the Standard-Times

Creating and viewing art is a pursuit that ignites memories and sparks feelings within the mind and body. Deeply-rooted connections with colors, shapes and textures stem from previous experiences and can lead to cognitive recollection for those living with Alzheimer's or dementia. The visible impact of art on seniors in need of memory care is tremendous, and for that reason, Baptist Retirement Community embraces art of all kinds. In fact, The Crest at Baptist Retirement Community opened recently and features artwork from artists with ties to San Angelo, ranging in a variety of media from plein-air landscape oil paintings to abstract iPhone print art. The unique artwork was selected by Susan Kinney, who also specified placement of the new art collection throughout both assisted living memory care houses. Kinney has a BFA, with a concentration in painting from the University of Texas at Austin, along with painting, teaching, gallery and museum experience.

"I was delighted when Baptist Retirement Community called me and wanted to invest in an art collection," said Kinney. "I sought high quality pieces that were fresh and stimulating, ones that evoked positive emotions. Art draws us out, challenges us and enriches our quality of life. If we simply bought mass-produced predictable prints, such as those typically hung in hotel rooms, we would not spark the imagination or create a connection. Art has the potential to awaken us to life. My goal was to find pieces that were warm, bright, and engaging."

When analyzing artwork for the community's collection, Kinney looked at each piece to see if and how it drew her in. She also considered the artist's biography and the chance each piece had to maintain or grow in investment value. Kinney bought art from local artists such as Joan Mertz, whose work often sells out before exhibitions are even open. Mertz's work is infused with the idea of nature and modernist painting. Kinney's mother, Sharon Templeton, is also a local artist agreed to sell two abstract, multilayered pieces to bring a pop of color and life into The Crest. Templeton is fascinated by the effect that color and line have on our psyche. She embraces the mystery, the ambiguity and the gift of life through her work.

Retired attorney Morris Reese dabbled in painting and found a natural talent within. Self-taught, Morris paints beautiful landscapes, and his contribution to The Crest is a painting of the iconic Big Bend. Val Hague is also a beloved San Angelo painter, and Kinney purchased a vibrant, bold piece featuring a church and a donkey.

"Other artists have ties to San Angelo, or created works that feature the city's landmarks in them," said Kinney. "We purchased a small painting from Courtney Lee featuring a cow striking a pose. She is a plein-air painter that participated in the San Angelo competition, and I thought the piece would fit well in this collection. It has subject matter that is both playful and familiar. Multimedia artist Brad Loving grew up in San Angelo, and I had the pleasure of teaching with him in a downtown church-based arts program a few years back. I purchased a series of his abstract iPhone prints, which are rich, layered, digital images he creates during his subway commute in Brooklyn."

The Baptist Retirement Community team asked Kinney to attend EnPleinAirTEXAS in San Angelo to see if she could find some pieces for the collection. She loves the idea of residents seeing pieces in The Crest that remind them of the surrounding community, so she bought a piece by Natalia Andreeva that features a train sitting in the historic depot. Everyone in the city is familiar with that scene. Natalia works with oil and watercolor and her favorite themes are shown in her exquisite plein-air landscapes depicting the subtlety of nature shown in contrast with commonplace subjects  which give testament to the beauty and harmony of the human condition. In addition to Andreeva's piece,

"At the festival I also found plein-air works by Leslie Sealey, who painted a mosaic of a soft, charming scene of a downtown building," said Kinney. "Another piece I selected for the collection was painted by Suzie Baker and is called "Concho Remains of the Day" and features a sunset at the Concho Bridge, which is a comforting and familiar image to those in the city. Other artists, like Emily Leonard, had a different kind of connection to the city. Leonard recently collaborated with Ballet San Angelo in a project involving a live onstage painting during a dance production. At that event, I purchased works for The Crest."

Leonard has made a career by painting landscapes in Tennessee, and has cultivated a layering process in which she breaks down an image and builds it back slowly with hundreds of washy glazes and motions that are more soul searching than literal. Rather than painting the tree outside of her kitchen window, she paints what it feels like to stand at the kitchen window and look at the tree. Allison V. Smith, a photographer whose work is featured in museum collections throughout Texas, has two pieces in the senior living community called "Beauty of the Work" and "Guest Room," which serve as anchor pieces for the fireplaces in the Crest.

"We are passionate about creating a vibrant and enriched experience throughout our campus," said Quinda Feil-Duncan, executive director of Baptist Retirement Community. "We want our community to honor our West Texas heritage and lifestyle, so art is the perfect medium for this pursuit. In addition, Baptist Retirement residents have been participating in art classes and programs for many years and will continue this tradition in The Crest."

Research shows that both viewing and creating art affects individuals in positive ways by inducing both psychological and physiological healing. Exercising creativity improves quality of life and nurtures overall well-being. Everyone has the ability to be creative  not just a select few. Additional research validates the assertion that the imaginative and creative potential of older adults can flourish in later life, and that these skills may be developed even when living with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Gene Cohen, MD, Ph.D., director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., conducted a national longitudinal study on quality of life and found that the arts have a positive effect on health and illness as we age.

Benefits of viewing and creating works of art include:

Helping individuals relax

Providing a sense of control

Reducing depression and anxiety

Assisting in socialization

Encouraging playfulness and a sense of humor

Improving cognition

Offering sensory stimulation

Fostering a stronger sense of identity

Increasing self-esteem

Nurturing spirituality

Reducing boredom.

"Whether residents need assisted living or memory care, they all have magical minds that are open to being inspired by what they can see and touch," said Feil-Duncan. "Art will enrich the communities and the residents who live in them, adding effervescence, texture and depth to the decor. The colors, shapes and essence of the pieces are extraordinary and will engage the senses of assisted living and memory care residents. Just because we grow older and may live with memory impairments does not mean we are any less deserving of quality home decor and inspirational environment."

The art at Baptist Retirement Community is available for the public to view by appointment. If you are interested in scheduling a tour to see the artwork or the Crest, please call Erin Kelly at 325-481-7510 or email her at erin.kelly@buckner.org.
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By Marty Schladen, USA TODAY Network Austin Bureau

AUSTIN  As the 2017 legislative session looms, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is trying to manage expectations.

When lawmakers write the 2018-19 budget, they'll have less money to work with than they did last session  and not just because depressed oil and gas prices have placed a drag on the state's economy, Hegar said. There's also the fact that last November, Texas voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative that dedicates at least $2.5 billion a year in sales tax revenue to Texas roads.

"It is a large amount of money," Hegar said Friday.

It might not seem especially large in the context of a general-fund budget that this year is just less than $53 billion.

But if you consider that just under $44 billion of that is going to Texas schools and largely nondiscretionary programs such as Medicaid, it's a big chunk of money that budget writers would otherwise have had at their disposal.

At 58 percent, sales taxes make up the largest source of general revenue for the state, and because of slowing growth, they fell 3.5 percent short of projections for the budget year that ended Aug. 31.

Bracing for further sluggish growth, Texas' Republican leaders have asked most state agencies to trim 4 percent from what they're getting now when they make their 2018-19 budget requests.

Hegar was careful to say he wasn't criticizing the road measure, Proposition 7, which was intended to ease congestion on Texas' chronically clogged roads.

"We're a state that's growing and we need to improve our infrastructure," the comptroller said. "However, it comes at a time when the Texas economy is not growing at a pace that it was. A few years ago, we were growing at such a pace that we could grow right past it."

One of Proposition 7's biggest champions, state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, agreed with Hegar's analysis.

"I knew there was going to be an issue with general revenue," said Pickett, chairman of the House Transportation Committee who campaigned hard for more transportation funding in 2014 and 2015.

In anticipation of tough times, he built a clause into Proposition 7 that would allow the Legislature by a two-thirds vote to scale back the amount of sales-tax revenue that is dedicated to transportation. However, lawmakers are unlikely to cast such a vote in the current budgetary climate, Pickett said.

"It's not that dire," he said.

That could be seen as something of a surprise in an energy state that has shed 91,000 oil-and-gas production jobs since 2014. Hegar noted, however, that Texas has posted net gains in the number of jobs in 17 out of the past 18 months.

"It's pretty phenomenal when you consider what's happened in the oil-and-gas industry," he said, explaining that the Texas economy is more diverse now than it was in earlier energy slumps.

The budgetary picture might not be as dire as in some past sessions, but one El Paso Democrat expects considerable pain. State Rep. Mary Gonzalez, a member of the House Public Education Committee, plans to fight for more money for an educational system that the Texas Supreme Court earlier this year ruled is only barely constitutional.

She questioned some GOP spending priorities  such as $400 million a year on border security even though Texas border communities tend to be safer than the state as a whole. The Texas Department of Public Safety now is asking the Legislature to increase that amount to more than $500 million a year.

"Transportation is a priority," Gonzalez said. "So is public education. Not so much border security."

Marty Schladen can be reached at 512-479-6606; mschladen@gannett.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.
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Many millennials are OK with socialism, even communism, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Forty-five percent of those polled between the ages of 16 and 20 years old said they would vote for a socialist, while 20 percent said they could vote for a communist. Maybe that explains the Che Guevara T-shirts so many of them like to wear.

Responding to the poll, Marion Smith, the executive director of the organization, said, "An emerging generation of Americans has little understanding of the collectivist system and its dark history." Partial credit for this should go to former presidential candidate and avowed socialist Bernie Sanders.

Even more shocking is the poll's discovery that a third of millennials believe more people were killed under George W. Bush than Joseph Stalin, whose regime murdered 20 million people between 1924 and 1953. The total killed under all communist regimes (so far) is estimated at 100 million.

The poll also found that capitalism, which offers millennials more opportunities than the socialism and communism so many of them admire, is viewed favorably by 42 percent of young people, compared to 64 percent of Americans over the age of 65. That so few older adults appreciate capitalism is also disturbing, though it is a triumph of liberal propaganda, which tends to base its ideology on intentions and feelings, not evidence and outcomes.

In part, these results are a product of a public education system that increasingly treats all ideas and organizing principles  save democracy and capitalism  as equal. Moral judgments are not to be made, thanks in part to an emerging philosophy divorced from right and wrong.

The late Catholic Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen brilliantly summed up the problem with modern society more than a half-century ago, before it evolved into the morally chaotic nation we are today. He wrote, "America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance  it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broad-minded."

When one has lost a standard for judging right from wrong, good from evil, when anything goes (Cole Porter wrote a satirical song with that title), then socialism and communism become one more organizing principle among many of equal value.

That liberal Democrats are succeeding in shaping young people's minds is revealed by this finding in the YouGov poll: More than half of millennials say the capitalism system works against them, while four in 10 call for a "complete change" so that the highest earners pay their "fair share" in taxes.

No one ever defines what "fair share" means, much less holds government accountable for the money it wastes, including the failure of costly programs Congress lacks the will to terminate.

This way of thinking is a triumph of the envy-greed-entitlement worldview, which believes that if someone is making more money than you, they owe you the difference, except those higher taxes won't find their way into your pocket.

We used to learn from the successful, because they served as role models and examples of how hard work and risk-taking could improve any life. Now we penalize success and, as a result, get less of it. But we feel better and feelings are all that matter, right? At least that's how we have been conditioned to think.

These poll results ought to spur more parents to rescue their children from an education system that is failing them on many levels. Maybe a field trip to a communist country would cure millennials of their moral equivalence. They might start by visiting the prisons in Cuba.

Cal Thomas writes for the Tribune Content Agency. Contact him at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.
set a single-match record for three sets with 27 kills to pace UTSA to a sweep (25-19, 29-27, 25-21) over rival Rice on Friday night at the Convocation Center.Boskovic's 27 winners surpassed the previous mark of 26 last done in 2004. The senior also collected her sixth double-double with 14 digs.also reached double figures as she registered 13 kills and 14 digs. Meanwhile,added 49 assists, along with 10 digs, to the Roadrunners offense.led the team in digs with 16 whileadded a team-high four blocks.Collectively, UTSA (15-4, 6-1 C-USA) notched 74 digs, the most for a three-set contest this season.The Roadrunners hit a match-high in the opening set as they posted a .364 hitting percentage to win 25-19. Ten ties and seven lead changes were seen in the first set but UTSA managed to pull away after the final tie at 16-all. A kill from Boskovic followed by another from Jularic paved the way to the win.In the second set, Rice (14-9, 6-2 C-USA) rallied toward the end of the frame to even the score at 19 as the score bounced back and forth the rest of the way. After the Owls knotted the score at 26 and took a 27-26 lead on a kill from Shelby Livingstone, the Roadrunners used back-to-back kills from Boskovic and a block byandto secure the win, 29-27.UTSA stayed strong in the third set to win 25-21. The score went back-and-forth early in the stanza but after Teal and Boskovic denied a Rice attack at the net to go up 9-8, the Roadrunners lead held the rest of the way.Chelsey Harris and Leah Mikesky led Rice with 13 and 10 kills respectively.The Roadrunners will return to the Convocation Center for its Dig Pink match on Sunday, Oct. 23, when UTSA hosts the top team in the league WKU (20-2, 7-0 C-USA) at 12:30 p.m.
Microturbine manufacturer Capstone Turbine Corporation announced that the US Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $335,000 in funding for one year to Argonne National Laboratory to conduct hydrogen and syngas testing on Capstones C65 and C200 microturbines.

In October 2015, Capstone partnered with Argonne National Laboratory for participation in the DOEs Technologist in Residence (TIR) program. Since then, Capstone and Argonne have explored new focus areas to advance the adoption of low-emission, high-efficiency power solutions.

The additional funding from the DOE will help to drive Capstones hydrogen and syngas fuel product offering to market and promote further research and development efforts.
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A massive recall of sleep apnea machines is expected to drag into next year. That's caused frustration for U.S. patients and led federal officials to consider rare legal steps to speed the replacement effort. Dutch manufacturer Philips has recalled more than 5 million machines worldwide due to foam that can deteriorate, releasing potentially harmful byproducts. While customers were supposed to receive new machines within a year, the company says shipments will continue into 2023. That's left many U.S. patients to choose between using a recalled device or trying other risky remedies. U.S. regulators have warned they may take the unprecedented step of ordering Philips to step up its effort.
Senator Wade, Ive received your mailings, and we both know they are at least misleading and at worst bald-faced lies. You know Michael Garrett attended every meeting of the anti-gang commission. If he was away on business, he attended by audio link. And the teachers, you and your gang in the Senate lowered teacher benefits to some of the lowest in the United States. Then, after you thought we wouldnt remember, you raised salaries but didnt restore other benefits you had taken away.

Please, run on your record. You must be proud of your accomplishments for our district: HB 2, trying to turn back gains that have been made in clean air, safe water and environmental stewardship, as well as taking power from our City Council by rearranging our districts and depriving the mayor of the vote.

If you believe in what youve been doing, stand up and crow about it. If you dont believe in what youve advocated, then drop out of the race and go back to your veterinary practice.

David Kaplan

Greensboro
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WESTPORT  Levels of potentially harmful chemical compounds have been found in the sediment of the Saugatuck River, prompting the Environmental Protection Agency to require further testing before the town can have the waterway dredged.

The Saugatuck River has not been dredged in 47 years, but has been a high-priority item for Westports citizens since First Selectman Jim Marpe entered office in 2013, according to Town Operations Director Dewey Loselle.

Dredging plays an important role in the towns Downtown Master Plan because it would provide access for boats to navigate the river, even during low tide. The plan calls for a barge restaurant south of the Saugatuck River Bridge and a public dock south of the Post Road Bridge near Jessup Green  the endeavors are contingent upon dredging.

The further testing puts a hold on the towns plans to dredge 25,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Saugatuck in hopes of making the river more navigable from the Post Road Bridge to the harbor. The river was last dredged in the winter of 1969-70, when a similar amount of sediment was deposited into a disposal site in Long Island Sound, according to Jack Karalius, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager for the Saugatuck dredging.

According to a report commissioned last year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Saguatuck sediment were found to be beyond accepted criteria.

PAHs are highly potent carcinogens that can produce tumors in some organisms at even single doses; but other non-cancer-causing effects are not well understood, according to the EPAs website.

More Information Percentage of impervious surfaces affecting local rivers "Once you get over 10 percent impervious surfaces, it's not unusual to start seeing impairments (increased PAHs). It's not unusual. It's not surprising to me. All that percent is the combination of asphalt streets, roofs and parking lots" -Curt Johnson, executive director of Connecticut Fund for the Environment's Save the Sound program Five Mile River (Darien): 19.2% impervious surfaces Norwalk River (Norwalk): 13.4% impervious surfaces Pequonnock River (Bridgeport): 16.1% impervious surfaces Rooster River (Bridgeport, Fairfield): 20.5% impervious surfaces Saugatuck River (Westport): 12.9% impervious surfaces See More Collapse

They can also be quite damaging to marine life. Fish exposed to PAH contamination have exhibited fin erosion, liver abnormalities, cataracts, and immune system impairments leading to increased susceptibility to disease, the EPA has found.

Harmful, but often found

Although PAHs can be quite harmful to the environment, they are often found in rivers across the state.

Curt Johnson, executive director of the Connecticut Fund for the Environments Save the Sound program, said, PAHs are not unusual to be found in sediments in Connecticut rivers.

He noted that roofs, roads and parking lots contain PAHs in the asphalt, and those compounds are often in the sediment in more urbanized areas, like Saugatuck.

PAHs tend to be contained in asphalt-like materials, Johnson said.

Save the Sound has an interactive feature called the Sound Health Explorer. Users can pick a site, like the Saugatuck River, and see, for example, how much of the river basin is covered by impenetrable materials such as asphalt, stone or rooftops, which creates runoff, rather than allowing water to be absorbed into the ground. The Saugatuck River contains 12.9 percent impervious surfaces while the Norwalk River contains 13.4 percent, according to the Sound Health Explorer.

Thirteen percent of the Saugatuck River is basically asphalt  roofs, parking lots and streets, Johnson said.

Once you get over 10 percent impervious surfaces, its not unusual to start seeing impairments (increased PAHs). Its not unusual. Its not surprising to me, Johnson said.

New test, new results

In 2004, the Corps of Engineers spent over $200,000 testing the sediment in the Saugatuck River to see if it was suitable to be dredged again and deposited in Long Island Sound. The test determined the sediment was cleared, but, because the Saugatuck project was not a priority, the initiative was put on the back burner until Town Operations Director Dewey Loselle inquired about dredging in 2013. Because so much time had passed since the last test, the EPA required additional testing, which was done in May 2015.

Karalius said that compared to the 2004 results, the 2015 test showed that some of the dirtier sediment appeared to move downstream and in most cases all of the PAH levels downstream are higher, meaning closer to the bridge carrying Interstate 95. One PAH, Acenaphthylene, tested twice as high as it was in 2004, the Army Corps of Engineers project manager said.

The EPA wants much more additional testing. So thats where we stand now, Karalius said.

Char Miller, W.M. Keck professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College, said the EPAs request for further testing is cause for concern.

The fact that the EPA needs another study is a red flag because they wouldnt do this unless they saw something of significance in those elevated levels, Miller said. We know its of significance because they have asked the Army Corps to spend money that hasnt been encumbered since the study.

Karalius, in a June email to Loselle, said that the additional testing could cost as much as $100,000.

Cause for concern?

Loselle said he was surprised about the presence of PAHs, but maintained it is of no danger to the public.

Were concerned that it was a surprise to find that the PAHs were there and we are looking forward to the (Corps) and the EPA to figure out how to properly dispose of them, Loselle said.

He also blamed the PAHs on the nearby highway.

The PAHs are the result of oil and gasoline and other residues and trucks that have gone over the I-95 bridge that gets washed into water and the sediment and settles down at the bottom of the river, Loselle said.

Miller said it is imperative to find out what the source of the PAHs are and what the plan is for the spoiled sediment. The toxicity problem cant be fixed by dredging. We need to find out what the source of it is, he said.

To simply move it from a river into Long Island Sound does not mean it solves the problem of the toxic waste, Miller added. Whatever that toxicity is can be absorbed by a fish that someone fishing in the Sound can catch, hook and eat and then absorb that toxicity.

Karalius said that, once dredged, the sediment would either be deposited into the Western Long Island Sound disposal site, the closest EPA-approved site to Westport. The alternative plan is to put it into the EPA-designated Central Long Island Sound disposal site, which is farther away.

If there are numbers that exceed EPAs threshold, typically there will be a capping requirement, Johnson said. The capping requirement is not unusual when there are exceedances of PAHs or any significant pollutant of concern.

Capping, Johnson said, is when you dispose barge loads of dirty sediment into Long Island Sound. As a follow-up, clean sediment is brought in to dump on top of the dirty sediment  anywhere from six inches to a foot deep.

The problem, however, is not unique to Westport.

What the corps has found and why the EPA is interested in this is you can go into any river system in the nation and you can find levels of toxicity that rival that  if not are worse than  the Saugatuck, and at least a portion of these things are coming from our own bodies and the various drugs that people are taking, psychotropic drugs and also valium, Miller said.

@chrismmarquette; cmarquette@bcnnew.com
People across the internet are calling this "a hardware Easter egg", but it seems more random than anything else. If you buy a Google Pixel or Pixel XL then take out the SIM tray and look very closely, you'll see... Wait, what is that?

It's Google's address. To be specific, it's the address of Google's headquarters, though in slightly shortened form. The full thing is 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043, the United States of America.

Why would you want to see Google's address every time you put a new SIM card into your Pixel? That's a good question, isn't it? And if you have the black model of either phone, the text is very readable and does stand out (it's less so with the silver versions). Could this be a semi-stealthy (or at least harder to find) nod to Apple's famous "Designed by Apple in California" inscription? Maybe. No one knows for sure - perhaps not even Google. But there you have it. Your Pixel comes with an apt reminder of the exact place on this Earth where its maker's HQ is located. See, you do learn something new every day.

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YouTuber JerryRigEverything is back with a couple of new scratch and burn durability tests. He performs endurance tests on smartphones by testing how easily every component on the outside of the phone can be damaged with either razors, Mohs hardness picks, or a lighter to test the 'degradability' of pixels over time.

Starting off with the scratch test, the Google Pixel features Gorilla Glass 4 and begins scratching above a Mohs hardness scale level of 6. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The earpiece is a concern at it is not a metal mesh, but made of some kind of tough fabric. The YouTuber reminds owners to be careful not to puncture the earpiece when cleaning.

As for the razor test, the front glass resisted well against the blade while the rear glass showed light scratches. With the same razor, he scratched the aluminum unibody, but its worth noting that his key and coin scratches rubbed right off. As for the fingerprint scanner on the Really Blue model, the razor made deep scratches into the scanners coating, but the fingerprint scanner worked perfectly fine afterwards, nonetheless.

The bend test of the Google Pixel really shows HTCs exceptional design. Unlike the case with the Nexus 6P, which failed the bend test on the YouTubers channel, twice, the Google Pixel is built very sturdy and the area near the volume key didnt dent like the 6Ps did.

The LG V20 went off to a rocky start as both the top and bottom bezels of the phone are made of just plastic. But, thankfully, the earpiece is made of metal, just like all the buttons found on the device. Much like the Google Pixels fingerprint scanner, however, the LG V20s fingerprint sensor is also able to read a print 100% of the time, despite its surface being mercilessly scratched.

While keys and coins mark the Pixel, they didnt cause any permanent damage, as the Pixels key and coin marks rubbed right off. It appears the iPhone 7 did better in the key test, and the Pixel did even better with the same test.

The camera comes with a small protector which should be left on. As the YouTuber scratched the bare glass surface, a few seconds passed before the entire rear camera glass shattered as it became weak.

Bringing it to the bend test, the removable battery of the LG V20 doesnt grant it the same amount of structural integrity found in other smartphones with internal batteries. So while the LG V10 handled the bend test a little better, the V20 still passes this guys durability test.




iciHaiti - Politic : PM met Ban Ki-moon in New York





As part of his special visit to New York https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19003-haiti-politic-the-prime-minister-jean-charles-at-the-un.html ,

Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles met with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.



During the meeting the Head of the Haitian Government and the UN Secretary General provided an update on current efforts in the fight against cholera and recovery efforts following the passage of the hurricane Matthew over Haiti.



Both men rejoiced of reciprocal commitments for increased efforts in the fight for the elimination of cholera and to improve the situation of people affected by the hurricane.



Ban promised to send his special adviser on Haiti to further assess the situation of affected areas.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19003-haiti-politic-the-prime-minister-jean-charles-at-the-un.html



IH/ iciHaiti


















By William Schwartz | Published on 2016/10/21

And now, Seol's in-laws move to force some last minute conflict in a predictably abortive attempt to scuttle a happy ending. Jin-sook's plan is pretty dumb. Really, So-hye should have mentioned the extortion attempt back when she was at the police station. Besides that even if it's not technically a breach of contract nobody going to want to work with Jin-sook when the best case scenario is that she's an idiot who keeps important information in a non-secure phone.

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The scandal itself is also of dubious importance. I can't think of any event in recent memory where a celebrity's reputation was trashed because of bad stuff that happened two decades ago. Likewise, Jin-tae's own plan to try and attack Seol is of questionable value. Even assuming Jin-tae has clear proof (which he doesn't), adultery isn't actually a crime in South Korea anymore, and whatever Seol's case against him is, she no doubt has evidence far preceding her alleged dalliance with Sang-wook.

...Not that any of this really matters. The final obstacles in "Fantastic" aren't important for their own sake so much as they are merely intended to be easily overcome by the main characters as a symbolic representation of how much stronger they are together thanks to all their character growth. To that extent, "Fantastic" succeeds in establishing basic sympathy for its characters.

It helps that even in the most saccharine moments, there's something awfully sincere about the affection that Hae-seong and So-hye show for each other. This actually even works to "solve" the scandal, sort of, because Hae-seong is such an obviously above board great guy that who could possibly ever think that he was capable of doing genuinely mean things? How do you hate a man who's totally down for a simple pleasant wedding with friends?

While not exactly satisfying this episode of "Fantastic" does manage to have just barely enough coherent character progression that every minor victory against Seol's awful in-laws feels totally earned, precisely because they're the ones who have to pick the fight. So-hye, Hae-seong, Seol, and everyone else in their close group of friends is genuinely happy just enjoying life and being with each other, even if in So-hye's case, it took breast cancer (not brain cancer- sorry, my goof) for her to get that far. That's the question we're left with going from the cliffhanger to the final episode- can, or should, So-hye hold on to life? And how?

Review by William Schwartz

"Fantastic" is directed by Jo Nam-gook, written by Lee Seong-eun and features Kim Hyun-joo, Joo Sang-wook, Park Si-yeon and Ji Soo.

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Reduce Poverty and Homelessness by Creating Wealth

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., Grassroot Institute, Oct 21, 2016

Everyone agrees that we need to do something about Hawaiis homeless situationand thats part of the problem.

In the documentary No Room in Paradise (currently airing on Hawaii News Now), we are shown the human face of homelessness and given a sense of the urgent need to help. The documentary filmmakers conclude that the reason for the homeless problem is a lack of affordable housing and services, combined with a lack of political will to address it.

On the other hand, Governor Ige declared that homelessness constituted a state of emergency in our islandsa sign of political attention, if nothing else. But Dr. Colin Moore, a Political Science professor at UH, says that the Governors declaration is an expansion of executive power and not an effective way to address the crisis.

Meanwhile, the people who experience the day-to-day impact of homelessness are in an unenviable position. Hawaii Childrens Discovery Center, located in the midst of a homeless encampment, told the Star Advertiser that a drop in attendance forced them to contemplate closing their doors. Visitors felt unsafe, and the Center admits that theyve had problems with robbery and vandalism. However, the Center also learned that complaining only deepened the publics reservations about visitingand got them tarred by homeless advocates as lacking in compassion.

The real problem is that we dont want to acknowledge the truth. This is a systemic problem that cant be fixed by programs that focus solely on relocating people or coming up with a few housing units. Its true that we have lacked the political will to change things, but not because our policymakers dont care about the homeless. In fact, finding a real solution isnt going to be quick or easy. It requires a significant change to the policies that have ruled our states economy, bureaucracy, and land use for decades.

The best way to help the homeless is obvious: make it possible for everyone to get richer. By following free-market principles, the needs of all people along the economic spectrum, for food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare, are met at the highest levels. Grassroots Free Market Solutions to Homelessness focuses on the laws and regulations that create economic barriers to success and/or exacerbate the homelessness problem. In addition to cutting red tape and taxes (especially the regressive GET), we can also loosen restrictions on development and encourage job growth by changing licensing and minimum wage laws.

Yes, we need to help the homeless. But until we attack the problem at the foundation by embracing a free market approach, all we will have are temporary band-aid solutions and a state of emergency with no end in sight.

---30---
Meet Gabriel.

From Vacaville, CA Police Department, October 20, 2016

Gabriel has been homeless in Vacaville for quite some time.

Recently the Police Department's Community Response Unit (CRU) began working with Gabriel to try to reunify him with his family.

CRU made contact with Gabriel's family in Hawaii, who very much wanted Gabriel home.

Through a generous grant from the Brendan-Mann Foundation we were able to arrange for Gabriel to get back home to his family in Hawaii at no cost to the taxpayers of Vacaville.

In Hawaii, he has a place to live and a job working at the family coffee farm.

Gabriel is seen here with CRU Sergeant David Kellis, this morning, as he prepares to board his flight home.

Good luck Gabriel, and Aloha!

---30---

KXTV: Vacaville police reunite homeless man with family in Hawaii

KCRA: Community unit reunites Gabriel with family
Largest solar farm in Hawaii on track for operation in December

News release from HECO

HONOLULU, Oct. 21, 2016 - Tens of thousands of photovoltaic panels have been installed on the state's largest solar energy facility, putting the project on track to go into commercial operation by Dec. 15.

The 27.6-megawatt Waianae Solar Project is being developed by Eurus Energy America (Toyota and Tokyo Electric) on approximately 200 acres of land in West Oahu. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission last year approved a contract for Eurus to sell power to Hawaiian Electric, and the project broke ground earlier this year in March.

Once complete, Eurus will own and operate the project and will sell energy to Hawaiian Electric at a rate of about 14.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it one of the state's lowest-cost renewable energy projects.

(NOTE: Only 8 states have RETAIL rates higher than the 0.145 per kwh WHOLESALE rate HECO is touting here as if it were a good price for erratic electricity.)

The Hawaiian Electric Companies are national leaders in the integration of renewable energy on their island grids, using renewables to generate more than 23 percent of their electricity in 2015. Other significant projects that have been launched or are underway include:






Ethics Complaint against Kirk Caldwell, Mayor, City and County of Honolulu

News Release from www.Djou.com

(October 21, 2016, Honolulu, Hawaii)-Today the Djou for Mayor campaign committee, filed the following complaint against Kirk Caldwell, Mayor, City and County of Honolulu (Caldwell) and request that the Ethics Commission of the City and County of Honolulu (the Ethics Commission) investigate Caldwell and take all appropriate actions.

On January 29, 2016, Caldwell filed his annual financial disclosure as required by City law. Under item 3, Ownership or Interests in Businesses in the State, Caldwell listed a beneficial interest in Territorial Bancorp Inc. (the Bank) as O- between $900,000-$999,999.[1] The Banks 2016 Annual Report, however, noted that Caldwell beneficially owned 72,997 Bank shares worth approximately $1.9 million at the time of Caldwells 2016 financial disclosure.[2] Today Caldwells holdings in the Banks stock are now worth at least $2.1 million. This discrepancy by Caldwell is a violation of the Citys ethics disclosure law.

Caldwell may note that a portion of his Bank stock holdings were in the form of stock options. It is important to note that under Internal Revenue Service Topic 427, stock options that are payment for services are recognized as taxable income, even if the stock options are not specifically exercised.[3] It should be further noted, that the City ethics law requires public officials disclose items that include, (1) any money; (2) thing of value; and (3) economic benefit conferred on or received by any person in return for services rendered.[4]

Clearly, even if a portion of Caldwells beneficial ownership in the Bank may have been in the form of stock options, such options are a thing of value and should be disclosed under both Federal tax and City ethics rules.

Furthermore, the Citys ethics law clearly states that elected officials are required to disclose any personal or private interests that may cause a reasonable member of the public to question the independence or objectivity of the official.[5] Stock holdings, whether in the form of direct ownership or as an option, worth millions of dollars should fall within this classification. Caldwells failure to fully disclose the true nature of his stock holdings runs afoul of this ethics provision.

If the Ethics Commission were to allow public officials, such as Caldwell, to not disclose the ownership of stock options, the commission would effectively legalize bribery in the City. A bad actor in the future, rather than offer an explicit bribe, could instead just grant an option to cash in at some unknown future date for a nefarious quid pro quo exchange to successfully avoid any public disclosure rules.

We also respectfully note, that Caldwells stock holdings in the Bank have dramatically increased under his term as mayor from roughly $300,000 to over $2 million via stock awards given by the Bank to Caldwell, while Caldwell served as mayor. According to the Banks annual reports, Caldwell owned 15,396 shares in the Bank worth approximately $323,000 in 2012 - the year before Caldwell became the mayor.[6] But today, due to stock awards given by the Bank to Caldwell while he served as mayor, his stock holdings in the Bank now reach at least $2.1 million. Caldwell stated to earn this massive financial interest he serves at the Bank approximately 1 to 2 hours per month.[7] The Bank disclosed that Caldwell was retained, not for any legal or banking expertise, but rather because he has significant understanding of the communities in which we operate.[8] The Bank even noted that Caldwell is uniquely positioned to advise the Bank on community and economic developments affecting the City.[9] In short, Caldwell was selected to serve on the Banks board of directors and receive his enormous multi-million dollar financial compensation and stock awards precisely because of his elected position and political connections.

Based on the foregoing, we respectfully request that the Ethics Commission promptly investigate Caldwell and take all necessary and appropriate action, including referral to the City Prosecutor for criminal action if warranted.

Filed by Charles K. Djou,

October 21, 2016.

# # #

PDF: From Mayor to Millionaire

PDF: Caldwell Financial Disclosure

SA: Djou files complaint over mayors stock assets

CB: Djou Says Caldwell Lied About Bank Compensation

HNN: Djou files ethics complaint against mayor over reported income
Djou Debates Empty Chair last night on Olelo

News Release from www.Djou.com

(HONOLULU, October 22, 2016)---Olelo hosted a mayoral debate last night, responding to the publics desire to see Charles Djou and Kirk Caldwell side by side. As the Star-Advertiser editorialized, Honolulu's people deserve to hear how the next mayor will lead the city and set the course of policies affecting our pocketbooks.

Only Djou showed up.

Because Caldwells chair stayed empty, he was unable to answer viewers questions about his two-hours-a-month job at Territorial Savings. Viewers most popular question was, Mayor Caldwell, can I have your second job? Some added, I dont need $200,000; Ill just take half.

Djou replied, I think there are a heck of a lot of viewers watching this program who would be very happy to work four or five hours a month for just $100,000 a year.

Then more seriously, Djou objected to Caldwells describing the Territorial job as service, as if he was helping the Salvation Army. Integrity, trust, honorable service are important to me, Djou added.

On the question of whether Caldwell should have nearly doubled the property tax on real estate valued at over $1 million  a tax that affects the rent of tenants in such structures  Djou sided with the judge who ruled the tax unconstitutional.

As mayor, Djou explained that without raising property taxes, he would take care of the rail system and also take savings from mismanaged programs and put it towards basic services such as making parks clean and safe, helping the homeless, building affordable housing, and ensuring our kupuna have promised services.

Civic-minded Olelo TV is an important part of our community and I appreciated their hosting the debate, Djou said. Hawaii has the nations lowest voter turnout. Debates stimulate turnout, providing voters information they need.

# # #

Ethics Complaint: Caldwell Hides Millions in Stock Options

Oct 10: Caldwell Hypocritical -- Ducks Another Debate
Trump fans cheer the Republican nominee in Fletcher

Military veterans Jim Underwood, 67, of Flat Rock, and Chuck McDonald, 62, of Dana, show their support for Donald J. Trump.

A sea of Trump supporters wearing red Make America Great Again ball caps poured into the Davis Arena at the WNC Agriculture Center Friday to rally for Donald J. Trump and cheer his appeal to cap with victory "a movement that people in this country and throughout the world have never seen before."

In 18 days, youre gonna look back at this election and say this is by far the most important vote youve ever cast for anyone at any time," the Republican nominee said.

Trump opened his speech by declaring that the Women for Trump signs are his favorite and observing that he sees no lack of female voters at his rallies.

He ticked off the differences between his campaign and Hillary Clintons, asserting that he will lower taxes while she would raise them.

Trump mocked the effectiveness of a U.S.-supported invasion by Iraqi troops to retake Mosul, saying what should have been a sneak attack was announced three months ahead of time, allowing the leaders of ISIS to flee. Were too predictable, he said.

What do you have to lose? he asked African Americans and Latino voters after lamenting the distressed conditions in Americas inner cities. We will be a rich nation once again. But to be a wealthy nation again we must also be a safe nation. Our national security at the border is a mess, very unsafe, very terrible.

To solve this problem he repeated the line popular with his supporters: We are going to build a wall.

Before the rally, Trump supporters mingled near the stage, waiting to catch the first glimpse of Trump.

I supported him from day one, said Hendersonville resident Ed Robinson, who was sporting a red Trump shirt and hat. We dont need a continuation of the last 8 years. We need someone truthful and not lying like Hillary is.

Wearing a basket of deplorables T-shirt, Fletcher resident Dan Taddi said: We need to correct the broken political system and go back 200 years to the way our founding fathers intended it to be.

Trump is the best thing thats come along, said Ann Hertzberg of Lake Toxaway said. I love what he says and what he wants to do.

Chuck McDonald, 62, of Sugarloaf/Dana area, said he is voting for Donald Trump because he thinks he will adhere to the Constitution, especially the Second Amendment and freedom of religion. Hes going to cut taxes and put people back to work, McDonald said.

Jim Underwood, 67, of Flat Rock, thinks its time for a change..

I dont like Obama or Hillary, he said. I dont like taking prayer out of schools.

A Hendersonville native, Dan Brown, 67, served in Vietnam as a Green Beret.

Im here for the vets, he said.

Dan Triplett, 40, carried his son, Jasper, on his back.

Im not voting for Hillary. I dont trust her, he said. Her husband can get away with anything. Bill did worse when he was president. I dont 100 percent trust Trump either, but I do have hope that we can make progress in D.C.

Fletcher resident Brandon Netto, 18, said he is voting for Trump to make America great again.

Three female students holding Women for Trump signs expressed their concerns after the rally.

Kealey McDaniels, 18, said, I dont support Hillary because she is a liar and I want to prevent a supreme court shift.

Blue Ridge Community College student Hannah Smith, 21, of Mills River, said, Trump wants best and he tells it like it is.



U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows opened the rally and urged the crowd to support Trump.

The Constitution is being eroded," he said. "We need to stand up for the Constitution, especially Second Amendment rights."
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A 21 year old woman has been arrested by the Russian authorities after her name was linked into the photos and videos of tortured and brutally killed animals.

One of the photos shared via social media shows a terrified kitten with a knife held up at its cute little face.

Alina Orlova, was arrested while she was waiting for a connecting flight from her home city into the north-western part of Russia.

According to the reports, she and her friend 19-year-old friend Alena Savchenko, who goes by the name Kristina Hemp on social media, allegedly posted horrific photographs and videos of themselves torturing cats and dogs until they are dead.

Reports also mentioned that the two young women did it for bloodlust and nothing else.

On her defense, Alina Orlova said that the said photos are all fake and are products of photo editing application Photoshop.

She also added that she was just being framed for some reasons that she didnt know about.

I would like to speak in my defence. I do not know who has put this stuff to the Internet  it is not the first time somebody wants to frame me. But I did not kill anyone and do not intend to kill,

said Alina Orlova upon knowing the reasons of her arrest.

Among those images that are allegedly posted by Orlova and Savchenko shows one dog nailed and crucified against a wall and another dog that was brutally shot with an air gun while it was hanging by its collar.

There was also an image of a cat that the two girls allegedly cut open to pull out its internal organs.

These graphic images got the attention of animals rights group that ultimately called the attention of the police for the immediate arrest of the people behind the horrific act.

Concerned citizens and animal rights group are already calling out the authorities to put a stop to these kinds of acts.

Some groups are calling for heavier penalties against the people that commits such brutal crime to defenseless animals.

via dailymail.co.uk
Gardai and customs officers seized 100 bottles of champagne and 130,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco in an operation in the Citywest area of the capital that led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man.

Separately, gardai yesterday announced they had arrested 35 people in north Dublin on six separate days in the past four weeks as part of Operation Thor, the force's crackdown on burglary gangs.

Thirty-one of those arrested were charged or taken to prison due to outstanding warrants. The charges included burglary, theft and fraud offences.

Some 105 vehicles were also seized as part of Operation Thor for a number of offences - including targetting drivers with no insurance or driving while disqualified.

Officers also located a large amount of stolen vehicle parts from high-end cars when they searched a number of containers in a storage yard.

The raid was carried out as part of Operation Waste, a major garda probe that has been ongoing for almost two years.

Before yesterday's raids, gardai had recovered more than 2 million worth of stolen luxury vehicles as part of the probe, including 74 that were seized up until the end of August.

The estimated value of the vehicles recovered this year is now at about 1 million.

Gardai said that the 27-year-old who was arrested yesterday was being held in Tallaght Garda Station.

"During the course of this search a large amount of stolen vehicle parts were discovered," a garda spokesman said.

"At this early stage it is difficult to put a value on the car parts but gardai are confident they have located the component parts of at least five high-end vehicles, along with other vehicle parts yet to be identified."

The two-officer team running Operation Waste is assisted by the Garda Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Kingpin

The unit was originally set up in September 2014 with the aim of monitoring the export of vehicles to destinations such as the UK, Africa and Poland.

Officers previously established that dozens of high-end cars that were stolen here over the past year have been moved out of the country hidden in shipping containers underneath scrap, tyres and discarded computers, or even disguised in bigger vehicles on cargo ships from Dublin Port.

Sources say that a number of "kingpins" have been identified, including a Nigerian criminal who is based between Dublin and London, and a Lithuanian crimelord based in the Tyrrelstown area of west Dublin.

It has emerged that a notorious Co Meath-based Traveller criminal, who is originally from Finglas, has been acting as a "middle man" in the massive enterprise and is suspected of making tens of thousands of euro each week from the operation.
A 44-year-old warehouse employee has won a Circuit Civil Court damages claim of 12,600 after he suffered whiplash injuries in a "big bang" road traffic collision caused by model Alison Canavan.

Patrick Nedum told the court that on September 27, 2011, he was stopped at traffic lights on Eden Quay, Dublin, during evening rush hour when Canavan rear-ended the car behind him, which bumped into his car.

Nedum, of Sherrad Street, Dublin, claimed the impact was a "big bang" which had pushed his car boot in. He said he developed neck pain the next day and attended his GP.

He told his barrister, Robert Fitzpatrick, that he suffered neck pain for a year. The court heard he needed to take anti- inflammatories and painkillers.

Mr Fitzpatrick, who appeared with LawPlus Solicitors, said Mr Nedum had needed to attend a physiotherapy session.

Nedum sued Canavan, of Castleknock Cottages, Castleknock, and the other driver, Bernie Keenan, of Elderwood Road, Palmerstown, for negligence.

Canavan told the court that the impact had been minor and caused no damage to her car. Keenan said she suffered no injuries following the accident.

Whiplash

Both defendants alleged that Nedum had suffered neck injuries previously in 2008. They also claimed his neck injury was due to a degenerative condition.

Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said he was satisfied that Mr Nedum had suffered whiplash type injuries, although "he may not have been as symptomatic as he said he was".

Judge Groarke awarded damages along with legal costs.
An Offaly vet who 'glassed' an accountant in a city centre cocktail bar, leaving him with life-long scarring, has been confronted by his victim in court. File image

An Offaly vet who 'glassed' an accountant in a city centre cocktail bar, leaving him with life-long scarring, has been confronted by his victim in court.

Mark Relihan had just finished reading out a victim impact statement in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court when he turned to his attacker, held up a picture of his facial injuries and said: "This is what you've done to me. You see this? This is what you ran away from."

His attacker, Stephen McGrath (25), showed no reaction. He was on a trip home from Wales where he works in a veterinary practice.

Judge Pauline Codd adjourned the case until December 16 for a probation report.

McGrath, of Carmarthen in Wales - but originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly - pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm on September 6, 2015, in No Name Bar on Fade Street, Dublin.

Smashed

Mr Relihan said he has had some plastic surgery and said he would likely need more.

"I need to see he pays a price for his actions so I can move on," Mr Relihan said.

Garda Barry Keegan said McGrath was in the bar with a large group. He confronted Mr Relihan in a row over whether there was enough space on a bench they were both sitting on.

McGrath said he would give Mr Relihan 10 seconds to move and began counting down.

Mr Relihan looked at his friends and said "Is this guy for real?" before McGrath smashed a glass into his face.

Mr Relihan needed to have 17 stitches to his face.
Exiled crime boss Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch has been spotted in the Turkish city of Istanbul and is believed to have been staying there "on and off" for the last number of months.

Gardai got information that 'The Monk' was spotted "walking around the centre" of Istanbul recently.

Hutch (53), who is the number-one target for the Kinahan cartel in their deadly feud with his family and associates, is not believed to have spent any time in Ireland for almost five months.

The last time publicity-shy Hutch was photographed was when he showed up in disguise at his slain older brother Eddie's funeral in February.

Property

It is understood that 'The Monk' owns around a dozen properties in Turkey, which he bought over a decade ago.

Some of his associates also own properties there, including in the resort town of Kusadasi.

Sources have also revealed that 'The Monk' has spent time in Bulgaria, where he also has property interests, and the Hungarian capital Budapest.

All these locations are far safer for the head of the Hutch family to be based than his former base in Lanzarote, where it was reported he survived an assassination attempt at the start of the year.

The Kinahan cartel's major criminal contacts in Holland and mainland Spain have also made his Lanzarote base too dangerous for the exiled former gang boss, according to sources.

Apart from the murder threat from the cartel, 'The Monk' is also on the run from gardai who want to question him about the Regency Hotel murder of Crumlin cartel figure David Byrne (33).

Turkey has been a popular destination for Irish criminals to flee to over the years.

It is the country where gardai believe Finglas gangland criminal Jeffrey Finnegan (31) escaped to after he absconded from Shelton Abbey Prison in January, 2010.

Since the feud started, Hutch has seen his brother Eddie, best friend Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan and two of his nephews, Gary and Gareth, murdered.

Another of his nephews, Jonathan Hutch, and his dad Johnny Hutch, who is an older brother of 'The Monk', have been lucky to survive ruthless assassination attempts as part of the capital's deadly feud which has seen 10 murders.

There have also been attempts on the life of Hutch's brother Patrick 'Patsy' Hutch whose north-inner city home is subject to constant garda protection.

It was the murder of nephew Gary which started the feud on September 24 last year. A Kinahan associate was recently arrested in Spain for this crime.

After the murder, it emerged that 'The Monk' had previously organised the payment of 200,000 to the Kinahan cartel to spare his life and allow him to "retire" from the gang.

Innocent

However, the Kinahan mob then reportedly reneged on this deal and demanded a further 200,000 from Gary's family.

The cartel's determination to wipe out associates of 'The Monk' has meant dozens of his extended family members have been warned about active threats against their life simply because they are related to the alleged crime godfather.

Many of these are innocent women, including a close relative who was forced to cancel her wedding plans earlier this year because of fears that the event would be targeted by the cartel.

However, the woman did get married later in the year.
An unaccompanied learner driver who was speeding when he hit and killed a teenager has been jailed for nine months.

Gareth Jones (22) swerved to avoid three of the boy's friends as they crossed the road but hit Paul McCormack (16), who had changed direction to try to get back to the path.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard there was a fault with the ABS braking system in his Toyota Avensis but that there was no indication Jones was aware of this. The car had a valid NCT at the time.

Yesterday, Michael Bowman, defending, told the court that the victim's mother, Valerie Hyland, had presented Jones with a letter prior to the hearing. He said it communicated an extraordinary degree of understanding and forgiveness.

Mr Bowman said the letter displayed magnanimity and humanity in wishing Jones well with his life and that she would include Jones in her prayers.

He said the moment had been considerably emotional and said there was no enmity between the families.

Jones, of Mellowes Park, Finglas, Dublin, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of Paul McCormack at Tolka Valley Road, Finglas, on June 26, 2015. He has two minor previous convictions.

The court heard Jones told gardai he was doing 70-80kmh in the area, which had a speed limit of 50kmh.

Difficult

After the collision, Jones remained at the scene, accepted responsibility and called an ambulance.

Judge Melanie Greally said she had come to a very difficult decision given Jones' youth and the relations between him and Paul's family.

She said the court had wider considerations but noted Paul's mother's magnanimity and understanding.

Judge Greally said Jones had been driving in excess of the speed limit and had been undeterred by speed ramps.

She said he failed to moderate his speed when he became aware of the group crossing the road and only applied emergency braking at the last minute. She said he displayed a "catastrophic lack of judgement".

She said, as Jones swerved, Paul had moved into the path of the car and suffered fatal head injuries when his head hit the windscreen.

Jones was also disqualified from driving for five years.
The days are shorter, but not the list of things you can do.




The decision was made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 17th. The suspension will begin after 60 days from the signing of the decision.

The ministry assigned the Plant Protection Department to closely supervise the import of the above-mentioned products during the pending enforcement of the decision.

It will also notify the respective nations relevant agencies of the issue for thorough remedies./.
This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/
The scene of second Vietnam-Cambodia defence policy dialogue (Source: qdnd.vn)

At the dialogue, Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh and Minister of State of the Cambodia Ministry of National Defence Nieng Phat shared the view that bilateral defence cooperation in the past time has achieved practical results.

Agencies and units of the two defence ministries coordinated and implemented contents in the protocol on bilateral defence cooperation for 2015-2019 and the 2016 plan, helping strengthen and boost Vietnam-Cambodian friendship and cooperation.

They agreed that the exchange of high-ranking delegations has been maintained and implemented as planned, strengthening trust between the two armies.

Vietnams Military Zones 5, 7, 9 and the Vietnam Border Guard Command coordinated closely with Cambodias local governments and border guard force in information sharing, joint patrol, crime prevention and settlement of arising problems to maintain a border line of stability, peace, and development.

The navies of the two countries carried out cooperation activities as planned, such as holding joint patrols and annual meetings to ensure security, safety along the border at sea.

The search for and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia are underway according to the plan of the two governments specialised committees.

In order to deepen the relationship, the two sides agreed that their armies need to boost coordination at forums and within the framework of multilateral and regional defence-security cooperation mechanisms.

The two sides will also maintain exchanges between their armies and support each other in personnel training, while considering the signing of an agreement on search and rescue in border areas.

The same day, Minister of Defence Ngo Xuan Lich; Director of the VPA General Department of Politics Luong Cuong; and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) Phan Van Giang hosted receptions for the Cambodian guest./.
The young guns of Gurgaon know how to make a difference to the environment. Eight budding artists have come up with artworks on the theme of environment conservation, as part of an art show titled Articulations II.

On display are more than 30 paintings and sculptures by artists Ananya Vinayak, Avantika Khanna, Ayesha Dhall, Deveshi Malhotra, Priyanka Vinayak, Rhea Bhargava, Shivani Ahuja and Tvisha Arora. This is the second edition of the show which features works of these school students, who have pledged to donate the proceedings to the campaign I Am Gurgaon, for the initiative - REUSE. The campaign encourages people to BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag, for shopping etc. and also discourages the use of plastic bags.

Echoing this sentiment, Ananya Vinayak says, My work is inspired by nature that has so much beauty. Its this very nature that we are slowly destroying that compelled me to become an artist.

The works are a blend of watercolours and acrylics on canvas, and depict vibrant hues and complex patterns through abstracts, portraits, landscapes. Theres also use of charcoal on the canvases. The exhibits include sculptures which are experimental in style. Anshu Agarwal, an organiser, and a parent of one of the participating artists, says, The grave topic that needs our attention at present, is environment conservation, and hence we chose this theme. The young artists have also given their paintings to be digitally printed on bags which will be distributed as part of the BYOB concept.

Artwork, Tree of Life by one of the participating artist, Ananya Vinayak will be on display.

The paintings have been created over a years duration. The artists drew inspiration from renowned artists and different genres, to create works that reflect their interpretation of self and the world. Take for instance Shivani Ahujas artwork, which encompasses hues of nature and a self-portrait among others. I am inspired by well known artists Henry Matisse and Gustav Klimt, and tried to bring their techniques and styles in my art.

CATCH IT LIVE



What: Exhibition, Articulations II

Where: The Courtyard By Marriott, Sushant Lok, Gurgaon

On till: October 29

Timings: 10am to 8pm

Nearest metro station: Huda City Centre on Yellow Line

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After the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) gave green signal to the release of Karan Johar upcoming movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association president Nitin Datar has refused to support the movie.

We are not going to co-operate with release of Karan Johars movie, said Datar.

Read | Ae Dil Hai Mushkil to release after producers say wont work with Pak actors

The cinema owners had earlier announced that its members would no longer screen films starring Pakistani artistes, including actors and music directors.

COEA is the second industry association after Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) to impose a ban on films starring Pakistani artistes after the MNS and Shiv Sena campaigned for an end of cultural relations with Pakistan.

However, after a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, filmmaker Karan Johar and other film fraternity, the MNS chief Raj Thackeray reached a truce and said the producers casting Pakistani actors in their movie will have to pay Rs 5 crore for the Army Welfare Association.

All the producers who have Pakistani artistes in their film will as penance have to pay some money, I suggested five crore per film. They will work out the figure now and give the money to the Army Welfare Association, Thackeray said after the meeting.

After the meeting, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt, said that the body will pass a resolution stating that they will not work with Pakistani actors in future. I assured the Chief Minister that the Producers Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future, it is a resolution and we will pass this resolution, Bhatt said.

Bhatt also said that keeping the sentiments of the nation first, director Karan Johar said he will run a slate before the movie starts to honours the soldiers killed in militant attacks.

Karan Johar and Dharma productions upcoming movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, was caught in a storm after the MNS threatened to block the release.

Read | Producers who cast Pak actors in films will give Rs 5 cr to army: Raj Thackeray

On October 20, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India member met Rajnath Singh, concerning the release of the movie after which filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt said that the government has assured them to provide security to the exhibitor featuring the movie and will try to maintain law and order.

Shivaay will also release on the same day as ADHM

The movie is scheduled to be released on October 28.

After situation between India and Pakistan worsened, many political parties and that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have been demanding a ban on KJos film that also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

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Actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who has had a successful stint as a TV actor, is happy the way his Bollywood career is shaping up. After making his debut with the romantic horror film Khamoshiyan (2015), the actor will next be seen in erotic thriller, that releases in December this year.

While the trailer of the film is already making buzz among viewers, sources say that Gurmeets wife, actor Debina Bonnerjee was not too happy with his intimate scenes in the film. Refuting these reports, Gurmeet clarifies, After watching the promo, Debina did mention that she knew something of this sort would be there but she didnt expect it to be so intense this time. (Also) its obvious for a wife to react when she sees the husband in such love-making scenes.

Actor Gurmeet Choudhary made his Bollywood debut with Khamoshiyan (2015).

Gurmeet admits that he has to be extra careful while doing intimate scenes in a film. I have to think about everyone  my family, neighbours and Debinas friends. As a couple, you understand each other but when you socialise with friends, you have to care about their opinions too, he says. However, he feels hes lucky to have Debinas support, since she is also from the same industry. For me, its definitely important that my wife feels comfortable with my intimate scenes and whatever I do on screen, and she should like my work too, he says.

Talking of whether he will continue to take up bolder roles in future, he quips, Well I can decide that only after reading a script and of course a lot of thought will go into it. By all means, I have to strike that balance between my work and familys acceptance.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Looks like Parineeti Chopras 28th birthday was filled with surprises.

The actors fans came to meet her outside her residence, with flowers and wishes to mark her birthday.

What an amazing surpriseeee!! Came home to find so many fans waiting thankyou it means alot!!! pic.twitter.com/6B7SShc8OO  Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) October 21, 2016

Sharing the moment, an overwhelmed Parineeti took to her Twitter to post a small video and wrote, What an amazing surpriseeee!! Came home to find so many fans waiting thankyou it means alot!!!

Not only the fans, everyone from her cousin Priyanka Chopra to co-star Ayushmann Khurrana, took to their Twitter handles to share their wishes.

Happy birthday @ParineetiChopra hope this year is all you want. Love you baby  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) October 22, 2016

Happy bday to the very special and the warmest person @ParineetiChopra!! Had to get up at 4 am, couldn't make a midnight bday call  Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) October 22, 2016

Happy birthday dearest buddyyy @ParineetiChopra Hope you have a crazy crazy birthday..No need for no celebration..haha love you big hug   Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) October 21, 2016

happy birthday @ParineetiChopra .. your bagel awaits..  sujoy ghosh (@sujoy_g) October 22, 2016

On the work front, the Ishaqzaade actor has completed shooting for Yash Raj Films romantic drama Meri Pyaari Bindu opposite the Vicky Donor actor. The movie, shot in Kolkata, is directed by debutant Akshay Roy.

Parineeti is currently preparing for Homi Adajanias Takadum, opposite Sushant Singh Rajput.

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For the last 25 weeks, a certain book has been making quite an unprecedented impact on leading international bestseller lists.

The anthology Milk and Honey, by 24-year-old Toronto-raised Rupi Kaur, is a collection of raw, unpolished, strikingly direct poem and prose. It has had critics raving and readers demanding more ever since Kaur first self-published it on Amazon two years ago. Within a surprisingly short time, given that poetry tends to be the least popular of all forms of writing, milk and honey landed on the Amazon top seller list for Canadian literature, alongside literary icons such as Margaret Atwood. It also made it to the second spot on the Amazon bestseller list for poetry. Following this popularity, it was picked up for a second print by Andrews McMeel Publishing, and now Rupi Kaur, a woman who, two years ago, only Instagrammers had heard of, is a worldwide sensation. She recently signed two book deals.

Kaur is what The Guardian calls an InstaPoet  a poet who has become famous in the universe of the photoblogging site, Instagram. In a recent piece, The Guardian said that she has fashioned a career out of forcing herself into places where shes least expected; whether its The New York Times bestseller list or challenging social media to rethink how it sees menstruation.

By now, its hard to say whether Kaur is famous because of the poetry she has been posting on Instagram, accompanied by drawings, or because of the controversy she created on social media in March 2015, when she posted an image of herself fully-dressed, with a blood stain on her pajamas and a coin-sized patch of menstrual blood on her bed. The picture was part of a series of photos for a visual rhetoric course, to engage critical discussion using non-verbal media, in her final year at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Instagram banned the picture: We removed your post because it doesnt follow our Community Guidelines, Kaur was told by email. The mail inspired her to fight back. Poetry was her weapon.

Kaur couldnt comprehend what the big deal was. After all, the process of shedding the lining of a womans womb is as natural as breathing. I was just amused that this was even as fiery as it was... there were so many reactions that this anxiety and numbness took over and I eventually couldnt feel anything, Kaur reminisces in an email interview from Toronto. Was she scared? Life got extremely busy after that moment, so there was no time to be scared.

Biology A photo posted by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) on Apr 30, 2014 at 4:04pm PDT

She reposted the photo, pointing out the hypocrisy and double-standards of the social media platform in these words: i will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be okay with a small leak. when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified. pornified. and treated less than human. thank you (sic). Her post was shared and re-shared. Instagram caved in, reinstated her photo and apologised.

A photo posted by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) on Mar 24, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT

Threats and insults were hurled at Kaur. Yet her post gathered 91.7k likes, even as her followers swelled. At present, her Instagram has 683k followers.

the thing about writing is

i cant tell if its healing

or destroying me

As a kid, Kaur aspired to be different things: an astronaut, a fashion designer or perhaps a social worker. Each school year was a different infatuation. But one childhood dream that stayed with her through the years: the desire to save the world like all my favourite book characters.

And she chose to turn to what came to her most naturally: the written word.

Kaur won an essay and speech competition in school in the seventh grade. a shy introverted bullied 12 year old now standing in front of a hundred students reading my work out loud and accepting an award. it was my first step toward becoming the person i always wanted to be, writes Kaur on her website. She took to writing birthday poems for friends and love poetry for crushes. Then she started maintaining a journal.

Though she had been sharing her work anonymously on a blog through high school, in 2013, she made an account on Tumblr and began posting all that she had been writing through the years  using her own name this time, rather than a pseudonym. tell them I was/the warmest place you knew/and that you turned me cold reads one poem, which received 16,722 notes on Tumblr.

In March 2014, she moved to Instagram when she began illustrating her poems. Kaur had been drawing since she was five, but somehow fell out of practice till she rediscovered her knack at Waterloo and decided to start weaving art with poetry: The topics I was discussing were very heavy, but the illustrations were so simple. I loved the power those two opposites created, says Kaur.

Another interesting facet of Kaurs poetry is her use of lowercase and periods. in the gurmukhi script... all letters are treated the same. i enjoy how simple that is. how symmetrical and how absolutely straightforward, writes Kaur on her website. a visual representation of what i want to see more of within the world: equalness... so in order to preserve these small details of my mother language i include them within this language. no case distinction and only periods.

 A photo posted by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) on Feb 10, 2015 at 4:59pm PST

A number of themes and ideas run through her crisp, raw poems: love, rape, alcoholism, trauma, womanhood, and the processes of hurting and healing. The pain that all people experience in life and the light that helps them champion through it all  its their lives and their stories and their love and will to keep living that moves me to write, says Kaur. She particularly enjoys writing empowerment poems because its like becoming my own best friend and giving myself the advice I need.

A photo posted by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) on Jan 23, 2014 at 8:22pm PST

Kaur read hundreds of books while growing up, but none reflected the torment and experiences of her community or the larger South Asian diaspora. The trauma of South Asian people escapes the confines of our own times. Were not just healing from whats been inflicted onto us as children it is generations of pain embedded into our souls, she says.

Sexuality and abuse are issues that feature prominently in her work in milk and honey. our bodies are not our property. we are told we must be conservative. a good south asian girl is quiet. does as she is told. sex does not belong to her. it is something that happens to her on her wedding night. it is for him. we know sexual violence intimately. we experience alarming rates of rape. from thousands of years of shame and oppression. from the community and from colonizer after colonizer, she writes on her website. For her, poetry is a means of challenging that narrative.

What she yearned for, while growing up, was access to words written by people who looked like her, writing about the things that she was going through. At that moment I realised the importance of representation and knew this must be different for my children. They must have access to their own literature, she says. When I was little, my dad told me about Anandpur Sahib and the court of Guru Gobind Singh. That we came from a tradition of poets, warriors and artists who created when it was illegal to create... were groomed to be reckless in the defense of what we feel is right.

But wasnt she uncomfortable posting lines so personal for the world to see? I felt voiceless for so long, I wasnt ever able to say what I felt out loud. I didnt know how to say it. Posting online presented itself as a comfortable medium. I could say what I wanted to say in a way I still felt comfortable. Whenever, however I wanted to.

I sat with myself one day and asked: Who is in those prestigious literary circles? Do they represent me? Do they appreciate the topics I write about? And the answer was No! (Baljit Singh)

Kaur chose to self-publish milk and honey against the advice of her college professor, who warned her that she might be excluding herself from literary circles. I sat with myself one day and asked: who is in those prestigious literary circles? Do they represent me? Do they appreciate the topics I write about and the style in which I write? Do those gatekeepers let a demographic like mine through the door? And the answer was no. I was already barred from those literary circles, so self-publishing wouldnt make a difference.

After hitting the heights of Amazon, sales of milk and honey took off when the book got to The New York Times bestseller list. On the paperback trade fiction list, milk and honey has been one of the top 10 books for over 25 weeks. In an interview in The Guardian last month, the publisher of milk and honey, Kirsty Melville, said that the book had sold over half a million copies and was in its 16th round of printing. She pointed out that on average, a strong-selling poetry book would sell less than 30,000 copies a year.

i thank the universe

for taking

everything it has taken

and giving to me

everything it is giving

- balance

Kaur is overwhelmed and almost self-deprecating. She never thought she could make a career out of poetry. I wasnt entitled to dream so big, she says. The idea of me being a writer wasnt even possible in my mind. Even when I began to write and first published, I couldnt call myself a writer. Only in the past six months has Kaur become comfortable with labeling herself a writer.

As for the critics and purists, Kaur remains impressively unfazed about what they think of her work. Does it matter, considering how milk and honey has touched more than half a million people, she asks. Im a brown girl from a Punjabi pind raised in Toronto. I dont expect literary critics and purists to understand the nuances of my experiences, and the experiences of the people around me, she says. And my tradition holds that there is a magic in the written word. So how I write, what I write of, and why I write all comes naturally.

i am hopelessly

a lover and

a dreamer

and that will be

the death of me

*

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From HT Brunch, October 23, 2016

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Arunoday Singh recently returned from a three-week trek to the Siachen Glacier that involved traversing over a hundred kilometres on foot. We travelled right to the top. It was incredible, he says. Among the many memories he brought back is a jumble of notes scrawled on his phone  musings the actor penned whenever inspiration struck. Im unabashedly mushy. I cry at sunsets if theyre beautiful enough. And in the mountains there are a few, he says.

Theres nothing particularly unusual about this; nature can stir the strongest emotions in anyone. But Singh is 64 and well-built. Its hard to imagine him as a schmaltzy poet, as conventions go. But thats what he is  and a popular one, no less. Sufi Soul, the actors account on Instagram and Tumblr (Sufi Soul Collective), has over 22,000 followers, and is filled with pictures of his poetry  neat, calligraphic scrawls from his journal, brimming with love, loss, nature, victory and hope.

Ive been told many times that I should change my Instagram handle to my actual name so people can find me better. But Im not a selfie taker or frivolous promoter, he says. How would people reconcile the fact that I acted in Jism 2 with the fact that I do poetry?

Sufi Soul

Singhs Bollywood career may be in a lull, but the words never stop. Whether its inexplicable joy or profound sadness, he turns the emotion into short, affecting verses. Ive always really liked literature, and have always been drawn to lyrics and poetry. And Im genuinely quite shy and reserved, so its a nice place to retreat, he says. He wrote his first poem at 13. It was for a girl called Esther, and looking back, it included every bad cliche  pre-pubescent love crush stuff. But Sufi Soul began after Singh moved to Mumbai a few years ago. I was lonely and didnt know anybody.

Because he was always drawn to Sufi philosophy, the name was a no-brainer. Its the kind of thinking I wish to live my life by, because there is no guarantee that an austere life or a rigid denial of every pleasure is going to lead you closer to god, says Singh. The Sufis searched for god in friendships, in wine, in music. It was a slight counterargument. In fact, one of Singhs favourite poets is Leonard Cohen, who lived as a monk for several years.

Music and his fiancee, Lee Elton, are his biggest inspirations. My mother got me my first music when I was eight, and it was all The Beatles and Bob Dylan. In fact, a lot of who I am is because of her, he says. His mother was a great design artist and because she came from a conservative family, she could not pursue her dreams. She poured a lot of creative angst into me. It wasnt just writing, even my notebook had to be neat, and it became a habit.

Elton, a Canadian he met at a yoga retreat in Goa, makes a frequent appearance in his poems. Sample this.

You touch me

Like a blind man

Caresses a face,

Smiling

At all the details

Mere eyes

Will never see.

With her and me, it was the closest thing to a lightning strike Ive ever felt. There was no questioning the feeling. It was like the entire universe pointed a giant finger at us, he recalls.

Finding catharsis

Theres a visceral quality to Singhs works, a rawness that exudes honesty and forges an instant connect. He states that he clings to poetry as the world is getting increasingly superficial. In a culture where nobody acknowledges sadness, I found the same longing in everybody. People try to be cool, but there are common threads of feeling and loss that nobody talks about. Its like its uncool to talk about the fact that youre hurting or lonely. So my poetry was an indirect way of reaching out, and I was humbled by how many people reached back.

Explaining the undercurrent of melancholy that runs through his poems, he says that only when youre feeling really low and questioning things does the light come through. My truest, most revelatory moments always come when Im down. I write so that others feel that too. If anyone reads what Ive written and feels slightly hopeful, thats worth more than any award I can get for an acting job or anything else.

Singh wants to bring out a book of his poems, and already has a title in mind. Im very serious about it, and dont want to be a dilettante. I might even self-publish, he says. And where brawny stereotypes are concerned, he refuses to conform. He writes a lot of his poems after his morning run.

I dont know how to not be fit. The more unfit you become, the slower your brain becomes and you get more irritable. Its a medical fact. To keep myself clean, both in emotion and in thought, I have to keep myself clean in body, he asserts.

As one would have expected, the first poem he put up after his travels was heart-warming, dreamy even.

Never turn away from a sunset, except to see it reflected, in your lover's eyes. #sufisoulpoetry #lovepoem #poetsofinstagram A photo posted by Arunoday Singh (@sufisoul) on Aug 31, 2016 at 11:09am PDT

Here, Singh opens up on the inspirations behind some of his poems

The older I get, the less the usual things matter. I found that you cant change the world, but you can change small circles around you. If youre a loving, happy person, you make the little piece of universe around you more loving and happy. Fill your little piece of real estate with as much love and light as possible and you will affect things. That is your job, your purpose... to make sure the candles dont go out.

My lady, my muse, came from exactly across the world  Newfoundland in Canada, which is as far away as you can get. Its a 27-hour journey by air. She used to be a lawyer but she got tired of the stress and sold her firm. She wanted to wander for a bit, and in her wandering she landed at a yoga retreat that I was at, in Goa. Thats when the lightning struck, and she never left. There was no reason for her to linger in this place, so alien from everything she knows, except for me. If you cant acknowledge that, youre an idiot. And I do. I have to be worthy of it.

Im quite detached. I was in boarding school since I was six and so, I dont miss things and people past a point. I learned early on that it doesnt helps to focus on whats missing. Thats life  people come, people go. Because Lee is Canadian, she has to go to Canada every so often and theres always a chance that she wont come back. Thats how the world works. That day, she was feeling sad and I was trying to stay cool. But as soon as I saw her pack, and saw our dog looking at her, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this person has moved way past my cool. I am no longer unaffected on any level. This poem was about acknowledging that I am forever changed.

Ive been having a very rough year Bollywood-wise, trying to find my groove and to find work worthy of me. When people want to cast you and you turn them down, they say how can you and this will make your life. But sometimes, you just know that your talent, sensitivity and soul deserve better. Ive been losing a lot of work because of that attitude. Im not invited to the cool parties, I havent been invited for an awards ceremony in five years. But thats what people value here, who youre seen with, how many ramps you walk. Its hard to be your own person and be accepted in this place.

The things that matter are how you treat yourself, whether the light still shines in your eyes, whether youre still proud of yourself, and none of these victories are ones you can talk to anybody about because they only exist for you. Who will care how much work and actual blood I shed for Mohenjo Daro and when it came out, everyone only talked about Hrithik Roshan? Who will ever know how good it felt to work on this film and all the little things I did well, that may or may not have made the film? Who will ever know how I felt walking out of a really patronising meeting, with my head held high? Nobody will know what these victories are about, but theyre the only ones that matter.

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From HT Brunch, October 23, 2016

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The camera tripod and light reflector have blocked the corridor that runs along the conference halls in the HT newsroom. Staffers scooch by, glancing curiously at the photo shoot in progress.

Karan Mahajan, 32, is sitting with his feet crossed on a ledge, posing for a shot. A senior editor passes by and does a double-take. Oh I know who you are Your book is doing so well! You must be thrilled.

Im relieved actually, says Mahajan. The US-based authors newest novel, The Association of Small Bombs, a fictionalised account of the 1996 bomb blast in Delhis Lajpat Nagar market, has sold more than 5,000 copies in India where it released in May. In the US, where it was published in March, it received sparkling reviews, is on the best-books-of-the-year lists of Time, Esquire and New York Magazine, and has been shortlisted for the National Book Awards 2016.

HERE A BOMB, THERE A BOMB

Mahajans unassuming demeanour gives away none of that. Hes just glad hes not pigeonholed as an ethnic writer. In the US, people have been reading it as a political novel rather than just an Indian novel, he says. In India, it has been praised as a very Delhi book.

Mahajan, who was 12 at the time of the Lajpat Nagar blast, says terrorism formed the grim background to his coming of age. He landed in the US to study economics and English at Stanford University just a week after the 9/11 terror attacks. Then in December 2001, terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament, and in March 2002, Gujarat erupted in violence.

But it were the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, when Mahajan was working as an economic and urban planning consultant for New York City, that gave him the idea for this book.

That moment, somehow, I came upon this image of the small bombing in Lajpat Nagar and it seemed like a way to explore all these diverse things I experienced, says Mahajan. He started work on the novel a few months later, and it took over five years of research and writing to finish it.

BEHIND THE STATISTICS

The story begins with the Lajpat Nagar blast in which the Khuranas of Maharani Bagh lose their two sons, while their sons friend, Mansoor, survives. Over 10 years, the narrative traces the consequences of the bomb on the lives of not just the grieving parents and Mansoor, but also the Kashmiri separatists who planned the attack.

There is so much noise around the larger attacks that we cant see them clearly, says Mahajan. I felt a small bombing would provide a microcosm of what was happening on a global scale that has become impossible to grasp. It was also a way for me to understand how the landscape of Delhi has changed, and how it interacts with violence and grief.

Though Mahajan couldnt meet many victims as most were reluctant to talk, he read as many of their accounts as he could. I also spoke to therapists who had treated victims of bombings, which was most insightful.

INSPIRATIONAL INDIA

In 2012, Mahajan decided to become a full-time writer. I felt if I didnt do that, I would never finish my second novel [his first, Family Planning, was published in 2008], he says. It was a big risk, but I had published one book already. I thought if I fail, Ill go back to a job, but it forced me to deliver something I thought was good.

Delhi is always the setting of his stories, though hes lived in the US for 15 years now. Getting some distance allowed me to develop a hunger for India and to come back and explore it in a way I wouldnt have had I been living here, says Mahajan. And that probably made me more political as well.

It helps that Indias relationship with America, unlike that with the UK, has no baggage of colonialism. You are free to pursue any sort of angle that is of interest to you, he says. I think there is a chance that Indian writers in America will start producing very interesting books in the years to come.

From HT Brunch, October 23, 2016

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Johan Bartoli and Hampus Bergqvist left their homeland, Sweden, with one aim  to join Bollywood as actors. They came to Mumbai in September last year with no contacts, and only dreams. They chronicled their (mis)adventures on their Facebook page, 2 Foreigners In Bollywood, and the Internet started loving them. Months later, they bagged movies like Rustom, Banjo and will be seen next in Rangoon.

What is it that really lured you to Bollywood?

Hampus: I had been to India backpacking when I was 19 years old. I loved everything about this country  the culture, the people. The industry is so huge, totally insane and too much of everything. I love it. It suits my personality.

Johan: It was the unknown, the mystery that surrounds Bollywood when you watch it from far away, that lured me here. I just wanted to come here and explore it for myself to see what it is all about. It is full of craziness!

How did you make your first connection once you landed in Mumbai?

H: We spoke to people about our plan and one contact led to another. People were very helpful, and slowly, we got in touch with good people in the industry.

Which was the first Bollywood movie you watched?

H: Dilwale Dunhaniya Le Jayenge. I saw it in Sweden and it was something different and epic in a way.

J: Likewise. I was quite young when I watched it the first time. But I remember that the movie was so different from the others I had watched. I loved the music, dance and pace of the film.

Which was the first local dish you tried in the city?

H: Butter chicken. Its my all-time favourite now.

J: Vada pav at a small shop in Chakala. I loved the fact that you can get food instantly, and which tastes good as well. It was spicy, though!

The funniest experience youve had while you were trying to figure out the city and its people.

H: Once, when we were in a rickshaw waiting for the traffic signal to turn green, a eunuch came and said, Please, just for one hour, lets go to a hotel. We rejected him politely but when the rickshaw started to move, he ran after the auto and screamed, Can you at least show me your private part? (Like we would just casually do that in a running rickshaw!).

J: When I took part in a carrom tournament in Dharavi. Of course, I lost big-time, but it was so much fun!

Your first time on the sets of a Bollywood movie.

H: My first film was Banjo and it was all hectic. One thing that caught my attention was all the people working on set. So many people running around like crazy!

J: It was on the sets of Rustom. I had reached late because I couldnt find my way. I immediately got dragged to the sets by one of the ADs and boom! I was standing in front of the camera, ready to shoot. The director and his team were extremely stressed, the set was chaotic, but it went well in the end.

From HT Brunch, October 23, 2016

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Like everyone else on the planet, I have an opinion on the US election. And yes, youre right, if I had a vote, it would go to Hillary Clinton. Because, you know, the other guy is a sexist, misogynist, self-confessed serial groper.

We all knew this stuff about Donald Trump anyway. So why did every woman across the globe have such a visceral response to his words on that infamous Access Hollywood tape? Why did they send a shiver up our collective spine? Why did First Lady Michelle Obama confess that it shook her to my core?

Why did all women take the Donald Trump tape so personally?

Well, because all of us have had a Donald Trump rub up against us  quite literally  at one time or another.

The truth is that if you are a woman  no matter what shape, size or colour you may be, or where in the world you grew up  you will have come up against a Donald Trump at some point in your life. Or even several Donald Trumps at different points in your life.

The uncle whose cuddles always made you feel uncomfortable as a child but you couldnt figure out why until you were all grown up. The neighbour who regularly brushed up against you on the common stairwell and didnt even bother to look apologetic. The faceless man who felt you up on a crowded bus, his marauding hands all over your body. The boys who stood at the street corner to shout out loud comments about parts of your body and what they would like to do with them. The work colleague always accidentally touching parts of your anatomy that should remain inviolate. The boss whose eyes undressed you every time you walked into his office.

We have all known these men, these Donald Trumps, who feel entitled to grab a woman, kiss her, molest her, objectify her, treat her like a piece of meat rather than a human being. Because even in the 21st century, the medieval, feudal concept of droit du seigneur  the right of powerful men to make free with a womans body without her consent  is still kicking ass and grabbing female genitalia with complete insouciance.

What that Donald Trump tape did was to bring back to all women every buried memory of being violated, of having their bodily integrity breached, of being treated with disrespect, of being reduced to a sex object, of having sexual assault normalized in social discourse. That was why it felt so personal.

Small wonder then that it inspired such Twitter hashtags as #NotOkay started by Canadian author Kelly Oxford, who shared four stories of her own experiences with sexual assault and encouraged other women to speak up. In less than a week, Oxford tweeted later, 30 million people had read or contributed to the #NotOkay stories while a million women had shared their stories over the course of one night alone.

But for every woman sharing her story, there were probably ten others who remained silent about past assaults on their bodies. And there was another Twitter hashtag that explained why: #WhyWomenDontReport.

Not that any woman needed that explained to her. We know all the myriad reasons women dont report sexual assault all too well: because we are embarrassed, ashamed, afraid of creating waves, terrified of being disbelieved, and mortified at the thought of being known ever after as that girl.

It seems so much easier to just brush it off as just another drawback of being a woman in a mans world, to shrug it away as one of those things that women have to deal with and carry on with our lives. Because if you started complaining about every such event, you probably wouldnt have the time or energy to do much else.

The more important question is why men commit sexual assault. Why do they feel entitled to feast on our body parts? And why do believe that they can get away with it?

Well the short answer is because they can. And they do. Time and time again. And one of the reasons they get away with it again and again is that women are too ashamed, too humiliated, too traumatised to call them out on it.

And because they know that even if we do, we will not be believed but blamed. What were you doing there? What were you wearing? Did you lead him on? How much had you drunk? Why were you alone with him? How come you were out so late at night? Why are you speaking up now? Why didnt you complain at the time? Why didnt you try to fight him off?

Why? Why? Why?

The questions pile up until the accuser ends up feeling like the accused. And she starts to believe that she would have been better off if shed just shut up and put up.

Well, you know what. It is time to tell her that thats #ItsOkay to speak up. And to listen hard when she does.

From HT Brunch, October 23, 2016

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Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday left the audience in splits with his witty and sarcastic speech at the inaugural session of global investors meet in Indore. He also announced that, everything from coat to langot (undergarments), textile was the next big focus for his Patanjali group.

Next year we will be making foray into textiles on a big scale. People are only talking about jeans, but we plan to make the complete range, including kurta pajama, saree, coat and langot, he said.

Read | Swadeshi style: Yoga guru Ramdevs Patanjali company to make jeans

Baba Ramdev, who was in his elements, took a dig at some of the top industrialists present on the dais and also his rival companies. He said Patanjali was growing at 100% while other FMCG companies were growing in single digits.

Looking at GP Hinduja, Ramdev said, He gave a long lecture but did not say how much he will invest.

The baba, who spoke immediately after Sun Pharma chairman Dilip Sanghvi, said his aim is to save thousands of crores that people spend on medicines. Then, looking at Sanghvi, he said, This (statement) is not meant to target you.

The yoga guru said Patanjali will be working in the sectors of herbal medicine, natural beverages, natural foods, home care and also dairy in Madhya Pradesh.

Read | For Ramdev, Swadeshi lies at the heart of Patanjalis future growth

In the food processing sector, we will be dealing in a number of commodities so as to generate employment for 10,000 people and benefit farmers by Rs 10,000 crore, he added.

He did not spare even senior government officials and singled out the principal secretary (industry), saying he had allocated only 40 acres land for the upcoming Patanjali plant in Pithampur. We need bigger land for our plans. We are used to playing kabbadi on 40 acres, Baba said.

Baba said his aim was to make India the biggest exporter and MP a major manufacturing hub.

The turnover of Patanjali Ayurvedic Limited grew 150% to more than Rs 5,000 crore in 2015-16 from about Rs 2,000 crore the previous year, and the Baba predicts the growth of the brand would hurt the market share of existing FMCG majors.

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The Vietnamese delegation to the dialogue was led by Director of the Foreign Ministrys Department of International Organisations Vu Anh Quang, while Ambassador Nicole Wyrsch, special envoy for human rights from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs headed the Swiss delegation.

The two sides informed each other of their achievements and the challenges they face in promoting and ensuring human rights since the previous dialogue round in November 2015.

They shared experience in human rights issues of shared concern, especially in building the law-governed State; judicial reform, especially criminal procedures; the rights to freedom of speech, gathering, association formation; the rights of vulnerable groups in society, especially the disabled and ethnic minorities.

The two sides also discussed enhancing cooperation at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Swiss side spoke highly of Vietnams efforts and progress in ensuring human rights over the past time and committed to giving further assistance to Vietnam in judicial reform and ensuring the right of vulnerable groups.

The dialogue contributed to enhancing mutual understanding and promoting the friendship between Vietnam and Switzerland, particularly when the two countries have just celebrated the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

On October 19th, the Vietnamese delegation visited Bern citys police department and a facility for the disabled./.
Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar goes from door to door in a middle class neighbourhood outside Mumbai measuring Indias economic pulse, one of hundreds of survey takers working for private firms aiming to fill a gap - the lack of reliable data.

There has long been deep scepticism about the accuracy of economic indicators in India, a country of 1.2 billion people of whom 90% are estimated to be part of the grey economy.

Independent economists question the governments assessment of everything from industrial output to unemployment, but the main data black hole is consumer indicators including retail sales, and that is where people like 29-year-old Jaiswar come in.

On a recent visit to an apartment, he spent an hour asking questions ranging from how much the family there spent on vegetables to whether they expected their financial situation to improve, tapping the answers into a special app on his iPhone.

We are building the most advanced survey execution machinery in the world, said Mahesh Vyas, chief executive officer at Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), for whom Jaiswar works.

An employee works inside the office of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in Mumbai. (Reuters File Photo)

The government machinery will take a long time to reach the levels we have reached already.

CMIE employs 350 survey takers on long-term contracts, and they cover 158,000 households across the country, with each one interviewed three times a year.

Rival Kantar, a market research firm tracking consumer behaviour, says it surveys more than 80,000 Indian households a month for their retail demand survey, and taps a database of 5,000 survey takers to conduct interviews when required for clients including big corporations and even the government.

Such companies rely heavily on visits, with large segments of the Indian population neither online nor accessible by phone, especially in rural areas.

The accuracy of their findings is also questioned by experts, but the business can be lucrative in a country where foreign and domestic investors, attracted by rapid economic expansion, are hungry for information and trends.

Pooling data

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of CARE Ratings, said he frequently incorporated data provided by private companies into his forecasts, including unemployment, retail indicators and corporate investments.

They may not always be reliable as the numbers are based on surveys, but in the absence of any other information we do look at it. I need to get some idea of whats happening, and at least they give you that, he said.

CMIE has tied up with Indias BSE Ltd, formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchange, to provide an alternative to official jobless figures.

According to CMIE and BSE, Indias unemployment rate was 8.85% in September, and higher in urban areas than in rural ones.

By contrast, Indias Labour Bureau, in its annual unemployment report out last month, put the rate at 5% as of December 2015 and drew the opposite conclusion: that it was running higher in rural areas than urban ones.

Pronab Sen, the former chief statistician of India and now a country director for think-tank International Growth Centre, said a key difference between state and private surveys was that the government lacked staff to do them often enough.

But Sen also noted that the private providers use of contract survey takers raises questions about quality, and said the government used rigorously trained officials, even if less frequently.

As far as surveys are concerned thats a lot trickier. There, one needs to be careful about the sample size but also upon the nature of the persons collecting the data, he said.

Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar, a survey-taker for the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). (Reuters Photo)

CMIE said its survey takers were no less qualified than those working for the government, and underwent thorough training.

A senior official at the Labour Bureau said it used international accepted methodology and concepts to compile its unemployment report, and added more than 1,000 people were involved in collecting the data, including supervision and processing, more than at CMIE.

Growing niche

Selling data in India can be highly lucrative, with consumer trends in particular valued by companies and investors.

Industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) estimates that Indias data analytics business will grow to $16 billion by 2025 from $2 billion today.

CMIE, for example, charges from 100,000 to 1.5 million rupees ($1,500-$22,500) a year, with an average of 200,000 rupees for subscriptions to its data bases.

Kantar would not disclose how much it charged, but said it was witnessing strong growth.

If we look at the last few years, the market research industry has been growing in double digits  a reflection of the frequency and intensity of usage, said Preeti Reddy, CEO, Kantar Insights, South Asia, in emailed answers.

The data can also provide investment opportunities. Mumbai-based ZyFin Holdings started out gathering consumer confidence data as a research firm.

The data, its chairman Sanjay Sachdev said, was sold to major companies that wanted to get an inkling and an understanding of what is happening to the real India.

But Sachdev said he stopped selling the data after realising he could make more money by starting an equity-traded fund that invested based on his numbers.

It has given absolute returns of 7.3% in dollar terms since its inception in November 2015 to September 2016.

Sachdev said using surveys allowed him to get details within trends that is not captured elsewhere, including urbanisation and modernisation in India.

People call real India Bharat, he said. Theres a difference between Bharat and India.
Odisha finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat was given additional charge of the health and welfare department after Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak resigned on moral grounds in the wake of a hospital fire that killed 25 people.

A release from the Chief Ministers Office said that the information and public relations portfolio, which was held by Nayak, was assigned to forest and environment minister, Bikram Keshari Arukha.

Arukha, considered the strong man from Ganjam, chief minister Naveen Patnaiks home district, already holds the parliamentary affairs portfolio.

Both Amat and Arukha are senior ministers in Patnaiks cabinet.

Amat, a seasoned politician, had earlier been in charge of many important ministries apart from being Speaker of the Odisha assembly.

Patnaik announced the change in portfolio hours after Nayak tendered his resignation on Friday night.

Also read | Odisha hospital didnt have fire clearance, state govt must take action: Nadda
Despite a ban on sale and use of firecrackers made in China, pop-pops, match crackers, pulling fireworks and other such popular firecrackers continues to be available in abundance in Delhi markets.

When HT visited Chawri Bazar, Chandni Chowk, and Esplanade Road on Saturday, wholesalers denied having any Chinese crackers for sale. But retailers and street vendors claimed that one could still buy Chinese crackers as long they knew where to look and whom to ask.

Earlier this year, the Centre had banned imported Chinese firecrackers, citing safety reasons. The Delhi government too had vowed to implement this ban in totality.

On Saturday, HTs search, however, told a different story.

At Esplanade Road, home to the main wholesale firecracker market in the area, firecrackers were spotted in abundance, but no Chinese crackers were visible. Licensed stores in Delhi do not sell banned crackers, said a wholesaler, RS Sharma. We are Indians. Our sales should benefit our own economy and industries only, he said.

Sagar Chauhan, another wholesaler, added that the ban on Chinese crackers had helped their profits. Chinese crackers are cheaper as they are made with inexpensive and unsafe materials. The Indian brands are better, safer, and a little more expensive. We are afforded better profits, he said.

Read more: Delhi govt inspection teams to check import of harmful firecrackers

The story, however, was starkly different a couple of hundred feet from the Esplanade Road market.

The roads here are lined with street vendors openly peddling banned Chinese firecrackers. Delhi residents were also seen clamouring to get their hands on the coveted pop-pops, and pulling strings; no matter how unsafe or illegal.

One such vendor claimed that many wholesalers, who earlier denied having any of the banned products on stock, supplied the crackers to them. They wont sell it to you or just about anybody, he claimed. This year the products are being sold covertly. We buy 2,000-2,500 boxes from them. We are their regular customers, he said.

Some other vendors claimed that they had personally procured the goods, prior to the clampdown on imports. On Tuesday, the Delhi government had announced 11 inspection teams who would check the availability of imported firecrackers in the market. This came after an earlier statement from the government that conceptualized an action plan to ensure a safe and green Diwali.

The vendors claimed that they were flouting the ban in order to be able to cater to the high demand for such crackers among the Delhi consumers. Sometimes even the 2,000-odd boxes we get, are not enough. People like and want Chinese crackers, said a trader, who had run out of his stock of Chinese pop-pops by Saturday.

The wholesalers also understand the demand. We had to place orders at least two or three months prior to the festive season. If I were to try and buy more stock now, I would have had to pay thrice the regular price, he said. The trader, however, also conceded that the amount of Chinese crackers available in the market was less compared to previous years.

Another trader explained that if they were to abide by the state imposed ban, they would suffer great financial losses. If we dont sell Chinese products, shopkeepers will all die of hunger, he said. Every household will have at least one Chinese product, be it the bulbs, ladis (string of crackers), or chandeliers.

When asked if he was worried about possible raids by the authorities, he seemed nonchalant. We do not store too many products anyway. If we hear of any raid, we will simply shift our shops.

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Almost a month after former bureaucrat BK Bansal and his son Yogesh committed suicide alleging harassment by CBI officials, Delhi Police are yet to register an FIR in the case.

Sources in the Delhi police said they were waiting for inquest proceedings to be completed to see if it should register a criminal case with regard to the twin suicides. But the reluctance of the city police in probing the case is apparent from the fact that the cops havent show any interest in collecting footage of two men who delivered suicide notes of the Bansals to a courier company. The police are also yet to find the original suicide note.

The Bansals had not only left four copies of their suicide notes, but they had also posted copies to the CBI chief and eight media houses.

Deputy commissioner of police Rishi Pal, the supervisory officer in the case, was not available for comments.

If the city police is dragging its feet in the case, the CBI has totally washed its hands off the criminal charge of abetment to suicides of the Bansals.

It is the job of the Delhi police to probe the criminal charges of abetment of suicide. We are just probing the charges leveled against our officers. If they are found guilty, strict action will be taken against them, said a CBI officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

BK Bansal and his son Yogesh committed suicide on September 27, almost two months after his wife and daughter had committed suicide in their east Delhi flat. Bansals wife and daughter had committed suicide after the former bureaucrats arrest in a corruption case lodged by the CBI.

After the suicide of BK Bansal and his son, a copy of their suicide notes had been sent to the CBI for further action.

But the CBI merely appointed a joint director rank officer to probe the charges leveled against its officers, which include a DIG rank official.

We are trying to wrap up the probe as soon as possible, said the CBI official.

Bansal was originally arrested by the CBI on charges of accepting a bribe for stopping a probe against a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company owned by TV actor Anuj Saxena. The CBI alleged that Bansal sought bribe in order to save Saxenas company Elder Pharmaceuticals from an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

Even in the original case, the CBI is yet to arrest TV actor Anuj Saxena, considered to be one of the prime accused in the case.
Producers will have to given in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films in future. These words from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray seem to have struck such fear into the hearts of not just filmmakers but also Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Instead of telling him that he has no business dictating terms to filmmakers or threatening to disrupt the screening of Karan Johars Ae Dil hai Mushkil which stars among others a Pakistani actor, Fadnavis allowed things to drift and today the thuggish MNS has added to its demands by saying that the filmmakers who use Pakistani artistes should pay Rs 5 crore to the army welfare fund. The army should not be dragged into this ugly politics. A senior army officer has said anyone is free to contribute to the army welfare fund provided it is voluntary. Donations which have been literally extorted are unacceptable to the army according to another officer and they would not be accepted.

Read: Karan Johar on back foot over ADHM: The U-turn reeks of business interests alone

The army does not need the likes of Thackeray to speak up for it. If the Fadnavis government had made it clear that it would not tolerate any threat to the screening of the film, chances are that the MNS would have backed off. He instead dragged things along and also accepted assurances from the Producers Guild that no filmmaker would work with Pakistani artistes again. This is unacceptable conduct from an elected leader who is bound to uphold law and order and the Constitutional right of the filmmaker to freedom of expression. .

Read: I wont engage with talent from Pakistan in future: Karan Johar

Johar has had to promise to run tributes to martyred jawans at the beginning of the film to ensure its smooth release. Raj Thackeray has no right whatsoever to make any of demand for money for the army or for filmmakers to shun anyone. This is illegal. Indian actors get roles in Hollywood. So the Indian film industry should take pride in being able to attract talent from other countries. The army, of course, will reject this proposal for filmmakers to contribute money to its welfare fund outright.

Read: Why havent you said sorry for Pak visit: Anurag Kashyap asks PM Modi

Fadnaviss failure to act in time is in direct contrast with that of former chief minister Ashok Chavan when a similar controversy arose over the film My Name is Khan. In that case, it was a remark by the lead actor Shahrukh Khan that there were no Pakistanis in the premier league that created a huge kerfuffle. The Senas fragile sensibilities were offended and it went on the rampage against this film. The chief minister gave the film protection and the bullies had to back off. This is what should have been done this time.

People like Thackeray, once they taste victory, will not stop at this. He will up the ante. No one has gained from this and no one has come out smelling of roses apart from the army which has correctly distanced itself from all this. The state now has the duty to ensure that such a situation is not repeated and that filmmakers can work in peace without these extraneous pulls and pressures.

@lalitapanicker

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How accurate are virtual diagnoses? Can artificial intelligence outperform IRL (in real life) doctors in diagnostic accuracy?

Not quite, concluded a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School last week. Their findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, revealed that doctors make a correct diagnosis more than twice as often as 23 commonly used symptom-checker apps.

Computer checklists and other idiot-proof apps are routinely used to reduce medical errors, evaluate diagnoses and streamline infection-prevention protocols in clinics and hospitals, but their increasing use outside hospitals by people with no medical training is a potential risk.

With algorithms taking health diagnosis to anyone with a smart device, millions are going online to self-diagnose before deciding whether they need a doctor at all.

And people seem to trust the online diagnosis implicitly. Almost half (47%) of more than 2,000 people surveyed in the UK said they had looked up their symptoms online before visiting a doctor; one-fifth said they had questioned their doctors diagnosis based on online information; and half would have preferred their doctor give them whatever prescription, treatment or referral they requested based on their self-diagnosis, reported the BMJ on Thursday.

Docs usually do know better

By insisting that your app knows best, you not only risk annoying the doctor on whose skills you are depending to restore your health, you are also risking your health itself. Human doctors know their job better than virtual ones, even though they are not always right. And doctors do dramatically better than algorithms when the diseases are rare, severe and more difficult to diagnose, with computers faring better with less acute and more common conditions.

Physicians, too, make diagnostic errors  not recognising symptoms, diagnosing later rather than sooner  10% to 15% of the time, found the Harvard study that judged the skills of 234 internal medicine doctors on 45 clinical cases, involving both common and uncommon conditions.

For each case, doctors were asked to give the most likely diagnosis, and two additional possible diagnoses. Doctors made the correct diagnosis the first time, 72% of the time, compared with 34% for the digital platforms. Eighty-four percent of clinicians listed the correct diagnosis among the top three possibilities, compared with 51% for the digital symptom-checkers.

The Harvard study concludes that computer-based algorithms are best used along with human decision-making, to reduce diagnostic errors.

Symptom checkers

Online symptom-checkers also go wrong in triage advice, but they are better than phone triage services and Internet searches, found a study published in the BMJ last year. Symptom checkers hosted by medical schools (including Harvard Medical School), hospitals, insurance companies and government agencies (including the UKs National Health Service) ask users to list their symptoms and use methods such as multiple choice checklists and free text entry to offer a list of potential illnesses that could cause the listed symptoms and suggest whether they need a doctor immediately, over the next few days, or whether the problem can be treated at home.

The BMJ review of 23 widely used symptom-checkers found that they provided correct triage advice in 58% of cases, with the checkers doing better in more critical cases, correctly recommending emergency care in 80% of urgent cases. In comparison, online search engines led to content that prescribed emergency medical treatment 64% of the time.

Diagnoses, however, varied across apps. Checkers with the most accurate diagnoses (Isabel, iTriage, Mayo Clinic, and Symcat) were not on the list of the programmes that did the best job of recommending the appropriate level of care for a given case (Healthychildren.org, Steps2Care and Symptify).

The Harvard study concludes that computer-based algorithms are best used along with human decision-making, to reduce diagnostic errors. (Shutterstock)

How to choose a doctor

So, if you want quick medical advice, where do you go?

Go to a symptom checker, but treat it as an enabling tool and not a clinician. Doctors bring experience, observation and physical examination into the equation, which leads them to the correct diagnosis more often.

Its important to have a general physician who either lives near you or responds quickly to emergency texts or calls. Since house calls are not possible, you should be able to call him or her to guide you in an emergency. Make a list of your symptoms and the questions you want answered before calling, to save time.

Always mention your prescription medicines, surgeries and treatments youve undergone, and pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or thyroid disorders. It helps if your general physician is attached to a multispecialty hospital so he can review your treatment course in case you need hospitalisation.

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Actor Jaden Smith, Kylie Jenner and Zara Larsson are three of the stars to make it to TIME magazines 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 list.

Jenner, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, was once again featured on TIME magazines annual list for her willingness to experiment with outsize looks, plumping her lips, dying her hair and using bright makeup in bold combinations.

Hollywood star Will Smiths son Jaden has been honoured for rebelling against mainstream culture, reported Female First.

And the Lush Life hitmaker Zara has made the list for the first time and has been dubbed one of the most promising talents in pop music whilst Shawn Mendes also gets a nod for conquering singles charts across the world.

Elsewhere on the list, Fifth Harmonys Camila Cabello has been featured for her hit music and her activism. She recently penned an essay about her experience when she arrived to the United States in the 2000s as an immigrant.

Actor Chloe Grace Moretz also secured herself a slot on the list after she slammed Kim Kardashian West for her nude selfie.

Actor Chloe Grace Moretz arrives for the premiere of the film Brain on Fire at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). (REUTERS)

The breakout star of Netflixs Stranger Things, 14-year-old Gaten Matarazzo also made the list. Matarazzo, was born with a mild case of cleidocranial dysplasia, which stalled the development of his teeth. But instead of shying away, he seized the opportunity to speak out.

Millie Bobby Brown, left, and Gaten Matarazzo perform at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Maisie Williams, one of the stars of HBOs Game of Thrones, was included for being one of the Internets most beloved TV stars, able to drive countless headlines with a single tweet, stunt or post.

For the full list of honourees, head over here

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Actor Lindsay Lohan is reportedly facing bankruptcy after failing to pay rent on her $4.2 million (Rs 28 crore) flat in London.

The landlord of 30-year-old Lohans property in the exclusive Knightsbridge area demands payment of $95,000 and will petition at court for her bankruptcy if she fails to pay up.

Solicitors Child & Child hand-delivered a letter to Lohan, who was once one of Hollywood biggest up-and-comers, seeking the unpaid rent for six months to August. The Mean Girls actor has been given time until November 8 to pay the dues, reported Ace Showbiz.

Meanwhile, Lohans ex-fiance Egor Tarabasov has reportedly gone to the police, demanding her arrest for theft.

Egor claimed Lohan stole his belongings, including a Rolex Oyster watch, designer clothing and a small gold crucifix, a friend of the Russian property tycoon reveals.

I hope that #ElizabethTaylor is watching over me to see this #icons  thank you to my #bff @patscar for inviting me to Gstaad for the first time since I was 2 years old  A photo posted by Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) on Feb 22, 2016 at 7:02am PST

The bankruptcy news comes after Lohan opened a new club called Lohan in Greece with rumoured boyfriend Dennis Papageorgi.

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The first trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinskis upcoming psychological horror film A Cure for Wellness has been released.

Dane DeHaan stars in the film as an ambitious young executive who is sent to pick his companys CEO from an idyllic but mysterious wellness centre at a remote location in the Swiss Alps.

He soon realizes that the spas miraculous treatments are not what they seem, but when he is diagnosed with the same strange illness as the spas other guests his sanity and safety become threatened.

Gore Verbinski previously directed the horror film The Ring. A Cure for Wellness also stars Jason Isaacs and Mia Goth.

The film is scheduled to arrive in theatres February 17, 2017.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The row over Karan Johars movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM), which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, was finally resolved on Saturday with the intervention of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Filmmaker Johar, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, and president of the Film Producers Guild Mukesh Bhatt met with Fadnavis after which Bhatt announced that Johars movie will have a tribute message for soldiers killed in militant attacks, and that the guild would no longer work with Pakistanis.

It was also agreed that a share of the movies profit would be donated for the welfare of the Indian armed forces personnel.

For more than three weeks the MNS demanded that Fawad Khan be cut out of ADHM, following the attack on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmirs Uri that killed 19 soldiers. India blamed Pakistan for sheltering the militants who carried out the attack, and even used diplomatic channels to isolate the neighbour country over the issue of terrorism.

The Sena resorted to violent protests against employing Pakistani artistes in Bollywood, also calling on the makers of Shah Rukh Khans next movie Raees to replace Mahira Khan, another Pakistani actor.

Read | Pakistani actor Fawad Khan leaves India after threats from MNS

After the meeting, Bhatt told reporters that the deadlock over ADHM had been resolved, and that it would release as scheduled over the Diwali weekend on October 28.

Nation and patriotism comes first even for the film fraternity and we respect the Indian soldiers than anything else. We have decided to not engage any Pakistani artist in our films in future. Besides it, we also have decided to contribute a certain amount to the army welfare fund. The fund will be handed over to defence minister Manohar Parrikar irrespective of the film making profit or loss. Karan Johar has also announced to put up a slide honouring and (paying) tribute to the martyrs of Indian armed forces during the screening of the film. The slide will be displayed even before the tribute to Johars late father and producer Yash Johar, Bhatt said.

Thackeray is expected to clarify the MNS stand later in the day.

Read | Why should Pakistani actors and singers leave India?

Over the weeks actors across Bollywood had weighed in, but Johar finally spoke up this week, saying he would no longer work with Pakistani actors.

For me, my country comes first When I shot Ae Dil Hai Mushkil from September to December last year, the [political] climate was completely different. There were efforts made by our government for peaceful relationships with the neighbouring country Going forward, I would like to say that of course I wouldnt engage with talent from the neighbouring country given the circumstance.

Read | Karan Johar on back foot over ADHM: The U-turn reeks of business interests alone

However, the MNS demanded that the director completely cut Khan out of the film, a demand, if accommodated, would have set the movies release date back by weeks.

I assured Mr Fadnavis that the Producers Guild will not work with Pakistani artists in the future, Bhatt said, referring to the Saturday meeting.

On October 20, the guild met Rajnath Singh regarding the release of the movie after which Bhatt said the government assured security to the exhibitor featuring the movie, and try to maintain law and order.

However, MNS kept up the relentless pressure on the film, which also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, and threatened to disrupt its release.

Also read | Karan Johar should have replaced the Pakistani actor and re-shot the sequences: Gajendra Chauhan
Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat Dinh The Huynh (L) and Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping (Source: VNA)



He added that that is based on the countrys foreign policy of peace, independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, and intensive international integration while meeting Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in Beijing on October 20th as part of his three-day visit to the country.

At the meeting, Huynh congratulated the Chinese Party, State and people on their achievements in Party building and comprehensive reform as well as national management and development following the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

He expressed his hope that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee headed by General Secretary Xi, Chinese people will gain more attainments in socialism building and door opening path to soon achieve the target of building a well-off society.

The Politburo member noted with joy developments in bilateral ties, especially the outcomes reached during the official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the State visit to Vietnam by Xi Jinping in 2015, and especially the official visit to China by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in September 2016.

The official suggested the two countries seriously and effectively actualise common perceptions reached by their Party and State leaders, intensify political trust, improve the efficiency of pragmatic cooperation across fields and enhance people-to-people exchange.

He also called on the two sides to make effort in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, take no actions that complicate and expand the disputes, stringently observe the agreement on the basis principles guiding the settlement of sea-related matters, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), work together with other ASEAN member countries to soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), while patiently seeking basic and long-term solutions to the problems in the spirit of respecting each others interests and complying with international law.

For his part, Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping hailed Huynhs visit and the meeting between the two Politburo officials and sent regards to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran Dai Quang and other senior Party and State officials.

He cherished the success of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), displaying his belief that under the leadership of the CPV led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnamese people will successfully fulfill targets and tasks set in the Congresss Resolution and obtain more achievements in the reform process as well as socialism construction.

As neighbouring socialist nations led by the communist parties, Vietnam and China share a lot of similarities, he said, adding that the two countries Party and State leaders have reached various common perceptions to orient the bilateral ties.

Expressing his delight at recent fruitful developments of the bilateral relations, the host affirmed that China will work together with Vietnam to boost the relationship in a healthy and stable fashion.

The leader urged the two sides to increase the exchange of delegations as well as experience in Party building and national leadership and management, and push forwards the relations between the two Parties and States.

The same day, Huynh held talks Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.

The two sides informed each other about situations of their Parties and countries, and screened achievements as well as problems still existed in the Vietnam-China relations in recent years.

They compared notes on measures to fully and seriously realise agreements and perceptions reached by the two countries Party and State leaders in a bid to raise the efficiency of the pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors.

Regarding the East Sea issue, Huynh asserted Vietnams stance on handling the disputes by peaceful measures and on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) and fully respecting diplomatic and legal procedures.

He appealed the two countries to exactly and fully realise the joint perceptions and agreements in the spirit of words going well with deeds and seriously follow the agreement on the basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related matters and the DOC, towards reaching the COC.

Huynh also called for joint efforts to soundly address issues concerning fisheries and operations of fishermen, take no actions that complicate and broaden the disputes, not use or threaten to use force and not militarise in the sea.

Following the talks, Liu Yunshan hosted a banquet for Huynh and his entourage.

While in China, Huynh also had meetings with representatives of agencies under the CPC Central Committee and visited the Vietnamese Embassy in the country./.
The army is not comfortable with being dragged into the politics surrounding the release of Bollywood movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded that producers of films employing Pakistani artistes should pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund as penance.

Several serving and retired officers Hindustan Times spoke to said the army was an apolitical and secular organisation and attempts should not be made to exploit its name for scoring political brownie points.

Read: Ae Dil... gets green signal, but B-Town bows to Raj over Rs 5-crore penance

Former northern army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal said, The army doesnt go around begging for funds. If a film producer wants to donate, he can do it like any other Indian citizen. But its unacceptable in such a manner.

Jaswal added the government should have the last word if the matter is too sensitive. Lets keep the army out of politics. We have stayed that way and would like to stay that way.

Karan Johars movie is finally set for a Diwali release after MNS president Raj Thackeray rolled back his threat to block the film. The climbdown came after the assurance that a share of the films profits will be donated for the welfare of army personnel. The MNS also demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistan artistes pay Rs 5 crore each, even as the Producers Guild of India promised not to hire Pakistanis any longer.

Read | Ae Dil Hai Mushkil to release after producers say wont work with Pak actors

The Sena began its protests more than three weeks ago after 19 soldiers were killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir last month. India blames Pakistan for sheltering these militants and even used diplomatic avenues to isolate the neighbour over the matter.

The MNS conditions, which were agreed upon in a meeting between filmmaker Karan Johar, Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt and Maharshtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, went viral on social media with people comparing it to extortion.

Anyone can contribute to the fund but it has to be voluntary. You cant force people to make donations and the army wouldnt like to accept such money, said a senior officer at the army headquarters.

Kargil war hero Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd) said national sentiments should not be exploited like this. If something is wrong, it is wrong. How can a forced donation of Rs 5 crore make it right? But the bottom line is the armys name should not be misused for political gain, he said.

Echoing similar views, another officer said films release every Friday and its best to resist the temptation of playing politics under the pretext of supporting the army.

If the producers have been arm-twisted into paying the money, theres no way the army will accept it, he said.

The army recently opened an Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties bank account for families of battle casualties after several organisations and individuals approached the defence ministry with contributions.

In a release issued on October 17, the defence ministry said, The contribution to the fund is purely voluntary in nature.

Also read | Karan Johar on back foot over ADHM: The U-turn reeks of business interests alone
A Border Security Force personnel who was injured in sniper fire by Pakistani troops died at a hospital in Jammu, police said on Sunday.

The 26-year-old was wounded on Friday when Pakistani snipers targeted him, as he was instrumental in foiling an infiltration bid along the international border in Kathua district.

BSF constable Gurnam Singh was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu, around 80km from Kathua. He died around 11.30 pm on Saturday, said a senior BSF officer.

He died around 11.30 pm on Saturday, said a senior BSF officer.

Gurnam Singh had suffered bullet injuries on his head after Pak Rangers opened sniper fire. Gurnam Singh hailed from Bhaleshar in Magowali area of Arnia in Jammu district.

A wreath laying ceremony to pay last respects to Singh will be held at BSF frontier headquarters at 10 am on Sunday, he added.

BSF Jammu Frontier IG, DK Upadhyaya has said that there will be no soft hand approach anymore and any and every provocation by Pakistan will be dealt with sternly.

The BSF said on Friday it had gunned down seven Pakistani border guards in retaliation to unprovoked firing by the neighbouring country in the Jammu sector where the government started shifting villagers to safer places in bulletproof vehicles.

The escalation of hostilities along the International Border came nearly three weeks after the Indian government announced that its solders had crossed the de-facto border and destroyed several militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The claim has ratcheted up hostilities between the two countries with frequent ceasefire violations and mortar shelling. India has also sought to isolate Pakistan globally.

But Singhs family alleged that the constable may have been denied better treatment. His siblings, Mandeep Singh and Gurjeet Kour, said that despite a critical head injury, their brother was not shifted for specialised treatment to a neurological facility outside the state.

The BSF said it was prepared to provide all assistance to Singh and his family, but went by medical advice regarding the shifting of the injured trooper to a hospital outside the state. Hundreds of villagers in Bhalesar village had been praying for recovery of the injured BSF trooper.
The CBI arrested Dr Ramjee Singh, chief of Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) and his alleged middleman Harishankar Jha on Saturday, for collecting part payment of Rs 20 lakh from a domestic hawala dealer for a favourable inspection report to start a homeopathy college in Gujarats Rajkot.

Central Bureau of Investigation sources say the arrest of Jha and Dr Singh in the Gujarat college case could be the tip of the iceberg as the CBI suspects that Jha may have collected money for regulatory approval to other homoeopathy colleges earlier as well.

Dr Singh and Jha were on good terms and whenever the regulatory body president came to Delhi, he would stay in Jhas hotel in Mahipalpur.

For further questioning of arrested persons  Dr Singh and Jha  the agency sought and got their police remand for five days, CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said.

All homeopathy colleges in the country are established following a regulatory approval from the CCH, which has an office in Delhis Janakpuri. An inspection team is sent to the applicant college and its report is then deliberated upon by the executive council and general body of the CCH, following which approval is granted to the college.

The CBI alleged that to get an approval for a homeopathy college in Rajkot by RK University, its executive vice-president, Denish K Patel, got in touch with another accused Dr RD Patel.

Following the deal, a favourable inspection team was allegedly sent to RK University on September 16 and three members of the team  also named as accused in the case  were given money. It was decided that for the final approval, Jha would collect the part payment from the hawala dealer and the CBI was listening to their conversation. Once the money was delivered to Jha, he was caught red-handed, a CBI official said on the condition of anonymity.

The CBI also conducted searches at Delhi, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Jabalpur and Kolkata after arresting Jha and Dr Singh. The agency sleuths have also recovered payment slips from a hawala dealer in Chandni Chowk area of Delhi to substantiate its charges.
A controversial poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi found at a Swachch Bharat Abhiyan workshop organised at an Agra Nagar Nigam (ANN) college has raised many eyebrows. While the district administration has assured to conduct a probe into the matter, the BJP leaders are planning to lodge protest with police authorities. The nagar nigam officials, meanwhile, term it as a mischief  by some anti-social elements.

The poster depicted PM Modi with a broom in his hand and blood dropping from a trishul painted on one side. A ghost was shown standing behind the PM asking: Mr Modi how would you clear these blood stains with the words Gujarat genocide painted on the back of the jacket worn by the PM. The poster, put up at the entry point, did not come to the notice of senior officials attending the meet.

District magistrate of Agra Gaurav Dayal presided over the meet while municipal commissioner Indra Vikram Singh was also present. There were various posters on cleanliness put up at the meet. On Friday, the matter caught the attention and district administration assured to conduct a probe into the matter. Municipal commissioner made it clear that he did not come across any such poster on Thursday but came to know about it later on Friday. The matter needs to be verified. The district administration will order a probe and only then things will become clear. Prima facie it appears to be a mischief of someone who wanted to divert the main motive of the meeting, he said.

Meanwhile, district president of BJP Shyam Bhadoria said, The matter is serious and BJP leaders would meet SSP Agra to seek action against those responsible for it.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite the heightened tensions along the LoC and believes the two countries are a lot more careful about the prospect of war.

I dont believe we are, Abdullah said when asked if India and Pakistan are at the brink of war.

I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. Id like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be, he said at a conference titled India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair organized by the students of New York University here on Friday.

Pakistans former president Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing security concerns.

There were moments of animated talks, heated arguments and loud cheers during Abdullahs nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering that included students from both India and Pakistan on Kashmir, the surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tensions with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.

Abdullah said while there is tension along the Line of Control (LoC) and the ceasefire is under a bit more pressure than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan are not at the brink of war.

Abdullah noted that the government of India has been very careful in moderating how it has sold to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.

The government of India has been very careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC, he said adding that the government has not gone into giving details of how far they went inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan, he said adding that there would have been enormous pressure on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they went across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

Abdullah said heightened tensions between India and Pakistan adds to the mood of gloom in the Valley because no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan.

The Kashmir Valley has been facing unrest and agitations for over 100 days now, in the wake of Wanis killing and unfortunately there is no end in sight to the current problem.
The fate of an Indian soldier who inadvertently crossed the Line of Control on the day of the surgical strikes remains uncertain, with efforts to bring him back proving fruitless so far. Chandu Chavan, who was serving with 37 Rashtriya Rifles, has been in the custody of the Pakistani army for more than three weeks.

Army sources said the directorate general of military operations had taken up the issue twice with the Pakistani army but had made no headway in securing Chavans release.

We will continue to make efforts to get him back. Its not uncommon for soldiers from either side to stray across the LoC and theres a mechanism to send them back, said a senior officer.

The 22-year-old soldiers family has been under tremendous stress since the news broke on September 29  his grandmother died of a heart attack two days later. His brother Bhushan, who is also in the army and posted in Jamnagar, has taken leave to be with the family that lives in a village near Dhule.

Chavans sister-in-law Sheetal said that the government had informed the family that it was making all-out efforts for the soldiers return. We have been told that process was going on, which takes minimum 20 days, she told HT. However, that time has already passed.

We received two shocks: the incident involving Chandu and then the death of grandmother. Lot of people visited us to express their sympathies but our lives have not been normal, she said.

Chavans parents died when he was two years old and grandmother Lilabai took care of her two grandsons.

My husband is disturbed. He is not even taking his meals, Sheetal said.

Top ministers have been in touch with the family and assured that the government was trying its best to bring him back. However, with every passing day, anxiety levels are only increasing.

Chavan had plans to visit his village, Borivihir, around Diwali. Sheetal said, We had big plans for him and would have finalised his marriage during Diwali.

Several of Chavans relatives are serving the army and the family is proud of its military tradition.

Family members described him as a soft spoken and well-mannered person. He is a family person. Both brothers are attached to each other as they lost their parents during childhood, said a family member.

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At least two organisations working for the rights of Muslims have alleged their women are being forced to sign a form supporting triple talaq, even as a signature war erupted in the community in support and against the Islamic way of divorce.

While the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has launched a nationwide drive to collect signatures of people to save and protect Shariat Laws --- related to marriage, divorce and inheritance, womens rights groups have come up with a counter-campaign.

The signature war comes against the backdrop of the Law Commissions move to get feedback on the contentious Uniform Civil Code, a set of identical civil laws, and a government affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing triple talaq and polygamy among Muslims on the ground that they discriminate against women.

Under triple talaq, a man can divorce his wife by saying the Urdu word three times.

Patna schoolteacher Shagoofta Khatoon said her sisters in-laws have asked all women in the family to sign forms distributed at the local mosque.

She has a family to look after. Its not easy to defy the men in our society, Khatoon, who has filed a case in a Patna court against her husband for divorcing her, said.

Read: Govt has no hidden agenda behind opposition to triple talaq: Law minister

Shaista Amber, the president of the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board, said her organisation was getting scores of such complaints, mainly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Formed in 2005, Ambers organisation works for womens rights.

Our members are distributing forms to women asking whether these discriminatory practices should be banned. We will submit them to the Supreme Court and Law Commission of India.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, an advocacy organisation, had announced on October 13 its decision to boycott the Law Commissions exercise and resist the Centres attempt to replace diverse customary laws governing marriage, divorce and inheritance with the Uniform Civil Code.

India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion, and demand for overhauling these codes date back decades.

Mumbai-based Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan too has launched a signature campaign for a ban on customs such as triple talaq.

Read: Triple talaq row: Theres scope for reconciliation between Islam, modernity

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is indulging in fear-mongering. Muslim women are not against Shariat but are fighting against discriminatory practices. We are going to send a huge number of forms putting the voice of Muslim women to the Law Commission, Zakia Soman, a member of the organisation, told HT.

The Muslim law board, for its part, downplayed the campaign by womens organisations.

They are free to carry out whatever campaign they want. We are not stopping them but they are just trying to create confusion in peoples mind, said Kamal Farooqui, a member.

Farooqui said the matter was purely religious and the Supreme Court has no right to interfere.

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Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelanis elder son, a doctor at a government hospital in Srinagar, was on Saturday arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, family sources told IANS.

Naim Geelani was arrested at around 10 am when he was on his way to the residence of his father, the hardline Hurriyat leader, at Hyderpora in Srinagar.

He was not allowed inside the house and police arrested him, a family source told IANS.

The arrest comes ahead of the senior Geelanis scheduled address to the nation over telephone on Saturday afternoon.

The police has barred the entry of the senior Geelanis family members, media and most visitors to his residence. Authorities have also installed jammers at the residence to block all phone connectivity, the source added.

Geelani, who has been leading the unrest in Kashmir Valley since the July 8 killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, has been under continuous house arrest.

Geelani along with other separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, has been issuing the protest calendars every week under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had in mid August summoned Naim Geelani and questioned him in connection with a Preliminary Enquiry registered by the probe agency.

The state police and security agencies have been picking up many separatist leaders and their party workers, and even those the government feels are instigators of the violence.
Pakistan Rangers shelled Indian posts and villages along the International Border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district.

A Border Security Force soldier, constable Gurnam Singh, was also critically injured in a sniper attack at Bobiya on Friday morning. Pakistan also suffered heavy casualties, with the BSF killing seven Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory fire in Hiranagar, Samba and Pargwal sectors.

Read | J-K: BSF says killed 1 Pak Ranger in crossfire at Hiranagar, 1 jawan injured

Guns on both the sides fell silent at 2 am on the intervening night of October 21 and 22, BSF Jammu Frontier DIG Dharmender Pareekh said.

In addition to small arms fire, mortars were used on two BSF border outposts in the area.

We retaliated in equal measure, said Pareekh.

Jammu deputy commissioner Simrandeep Singh said last night Pakistan Rangers fired 60 mm and 81 mm mortars intermittently from 11 pm on Friday till early Saturday morning in Korotana and Bidhipur villages of Suchetgarh area in RS Pura sector, in which four cattle died and two were injured.

Read | 7 Pakistani Rangers killed in retaliatory firing along Jammu border: BSF

There were no human injuries or deaths, he added.

People are advised to stay indoors during the day time also as there is a likelihood of shelling even during the day. SDMs have been told to close schools in vulnerable villages as a precaution, he said.

Singh informed that there are around 80 government schools, including primary, middle, high and higher secondary-level schools in RS Pura sector.

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BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday pressed on the need for preserving spiritual heritage of the country, saying India cannot become a super power if it makes even a little compromise with its ancient traditions.

Speaking as the chief guest at the 104th annual function of Gurukul Kurukshetra, Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is fast moving toward being a prosperous and strong nation by preserving its ancient spiritual heritage.

In the two-and-a-half years of the NDA government, the world has witnessed the pace with which India is moving ahead.

It is the result of unstinted efforts of the Prime Minister that the whole world has accepted yoga, he said.

Expressing his gratitude to Gurukul Kurukshetra for giving him the opportunity to visit the land where Lord Krishna had delivered the celestial message of Bhagwad Gita, Shah said solution to all problems of the world lies in this sacred book.

He said that the land of Gita, where Swami Shraddhanand has sown the seed of education, has now taken the shape of a Gurukul, where the young generation is getting value-based quality education which is a commendable work in this era of materialism.

Throwing light on the life of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, Shah said that though Gujarat was his birth place, the spiritual leader worked in Punjab and other parts of north India.

He said that several saints had worked for preserving our spiritual heritage and played a vital role in the freedom struggle of the country.

Apart from this, they also worked for imparting knowledge to the masses, eradicating various social evils and protecting Indian culture, the Hindu religion and Vedas, he said.

This enlightenment of knowledge led to spiritual consciousness in the country which resulted in the freedom of the country, Shah said.

He made it clear that BJP supports the ideology of Arya Samaj and urged the people to follow the path shown by Swami Dayanand to ensure development of the country and the world.
The signing ceremony

Accordingly, the two sides will cooperate to launch campaigns to attract tourists, arrange specialists, train staff and support events organized by the two countries.

The KTO signed a tourism development cooperation agreement with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to host the Republic of Koreas tourism year in 2017 to build new tourism services in the RoK using Vietnam Airlines routes.

The Korean organization will also coordinate with the Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transport JSC (Vietravel) to promote comprehensive cooperation on every activity from building new products to promoting products and trademarks.

Last year, more than 160,000 Vietnamese tourists visited the RoK, while Vietnam greeted over 1.1 million Korean tourists.

Vietnamese holidaymaker arrivals to the RoK increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and the figure is expected to reach 240,000 by years end./.
Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a suspected Pakistani spy from Ramgarh sub sector in Samba district less than a day before BSF troopers killed 7 personnel of Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory fire in neighbouring Kathua district.

The arrest of the suspect identified as Bodh Raj, a resident of Changiya Village in Arnia area of RS Pura sector in Jammu district, comes at a time when there has been a rash of ceasefire violations by Pakistan both on the international border and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Security and intelligence agencies suspect that the agent had been passing classified information including locations of security forces in the state to his Pakistani handlers.

This man is basically a notorious drug smuggler and he had been convicted for 10 years imprisonment by a local court under NDPS Act, said a senior police officer. He had been jailed in Punjab.

He was roaming under suspicious circumstances at Jaida village, barely 1.5 km from the International Border in Ramgarh sub sector when we nabbed him on Thursday night, he added.

Two Pakistani SIM cards, one memory card and a restricted map depicting locations of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir were recovered from his possession, the officer said.

We had put his phones under surveillance that helped us track his location, said the officer. We have found Pakistani mobile phone numbers in his cell phones, he said.

We had to take him to a hospital in Ramgarh because he complained of high fever, the officer said and added that blood tests confirmed that he had been suffering from typhoid.

The suspect has been shifted to Government medical college and hospital in Jammu for treatment.

Once he recovers, he will be interrogated, said the officer.

The 198-km long international border with Pakistan in Jammu region remains vulnerable to intrusion bid by Pak-based terrorists.

Several defence formations dot the Jammu-Pathankot highway including the Pathankot air base which was attacked by suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists last January.

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Jharkhand police will probe alleged diversion of an estimated Rs 310 crore foreign funds by NGOs for suspected religious conversions, official sources said on Saturday amid a raging controversy over activities of Christian missionaries in the tribal-majority state.

Chief minister Raghubar Das ordered the probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after intelligence reports on the activities of at least 106 Christian-affiliated NGOs, the sources told HT.

After the BJP government assumed power in the state, the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) flagged what it said was large scale conversion of tribal people by Christian missionaries, allegedly through allurement of cash and kind.

Most of the tribals, constituting 26.2% of the states 3.29-crore population, are followers of the Nature-worshipping Sarna faith. The RSS claims the tribals are Hindus, a point of friction between the outfit and tribal organisations.

The latest report submitted to the government by the Special Branch said the NGOs under scanner received around Rs 310 crores under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FRCA). HT has a copy of the report.

Though the funds were granted to the NGOs for running schools and carrying out development work for poor, especially tribals, bulk of it was used for religious conversions through force and allurements, the report said.

The chief minister had recently announced that his government will not tolerate anyone forcing or luring gullible tribals to convert.

Additional director general (ADG) of CID Ajay Kumar said his department was yet to receive any directive from the government on probing the role of NGOs.

Sources in the special branch said the government was also concerned over the alleged misuse of government money by some NGOs for conversions.

They said the government doles out lakhs of rupees to every district under the Primitive Tribe Group/ Integrated Tribe Development Authority for generating employment avenues among them through NGOs, but this money is routed for conversion.

These are all gimmicks and false allegations, tribal activist Ratan Tirkey, a catholic by faith, told HT. He said several NGOs could be siphoning money in the name of Christianity but they are not into conversions.

Premchand Murmu, president of the Adivasi Buddhijivi Manch said out of the 16 Christian denominations in Jharkhand, the bigger ones as the Roman Catholic, German Lutheran and Church of North India never indulge in conversions.

The NGOs being suspected could be affiliates of smaller churches, he added.
Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai Mushkil will release on schedule next week after Bollywood producers agreed not to hire Pakistani artistes in future, giving in to Maharashtras mercurial politician Raj Thackeray who had threatened to block the film.

The producers also agreed that under-production films featuring Pakistani actors will pay Rs five crore to an army welfare fund as penance. This could apply to Shah Rukh Khan-starrers Raees and Dear Zindagi.

The producers also agreed to include a tribute to Indian soldiers at the start of Johars film, which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. But the so-called compromise triggered outrage on social media with many describing Thackerays monetary condition as extortion.

Peace was bought on Saturday morning after a meeting involving Thackeray, Johar and the producers guild president Mukesh Bhatt at Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis residence.

Read: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: Scenes with Ranbir not frivolous sensuality, says Aishwarya

We have always protested against Pakistani artistes but Bollywood never understood earlier. Now they have realised, Thackeray said, claiming victory for his fringe but noisy nativist party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

While Pakistan has banned Indian content, why do we give them a red carpet here? He said those expected to pay up must publicly release photos of the cheques being handed over to defence minister Manohar Parrikar.

India and Pakistans heightened tensions since an attack on an army barracks in Uri, Kashmir, have resulted in increasingly acrimonious barbs even between its usually friendly film industries.

Pakistani cinemas stopped showing Bollywood fare in their theatres weeks ago. And a blanket ban against showing Indian content on Pakistani television networks and radio stations took effect last week.

Indias government has not issued a blanket ban but said it would make such decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Following the Uri attack, the MNS issued a 48-hour notice on September 25 to Pakistani actors to leave the country.

The MNS, formed after breaking away from the Shiv Sena in 2006, positions itself as a champion of native rights and the latest posturing is seen aimed at the upcoming local civic body polls.

Mukesh Bhatt, chief of the film producers guild of India, told reporters the film will be released as scheduled on October 28.

Nation and patriotism comes first even for the film fraternity and we respect the Indian soldiers than anything else. We have decided to not engage any Pakistani artiste in our films in future, he said.

Read: Bollywood vulnerable where politics is concerned: Ajay Devgn
Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were arrested on Friday in Kanispora area of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The militants were nabbed in a joint search operation launched on Friday night by the 52 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) Baramulla.

An AK 47 gun, a pistol and grenades were recovered from the militants, including Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen stamps.

Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough regarding national security, a Pakistani spy was arrested in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir as he was making attempts to escape.

The spy named Bodh Raj was held along with two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of forces was also seized from him.

The Samba district police said that based on the information received from military intelligence, a special operation was conducted to nab Raj in the border area of Ramgarh. Raj is suspected of being involvement in espionage, including passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan

This is a major breakthrough so far as national security is concerned and the arrest of some more people is also likely in the days to come, the Samba Police said in a statement.

Earlier, a massive house-to-house search operation was launched in Baramulla after security forces received intelligence of active terror hideouts.

One such operation was held earlier as well in which Chinese and Pakistan flags were recovered besides some arms and ammunition.

The army and the J-K Police are sweeping through the area to locate after receiving wind of untoward elements as the entire city of Baramulla is on a lockdown.

Earlier, terror group Laskar-e-Taiba had warned the Baramulla SHO for carrying out an operation in which at least 44 people were arrested for terror-related activities.

The crackdown was part of a joint operation by the army, BSF, CRPF and police in several localities, including Qazi Hamam, Ganai Hamam, Taweed Gunj and Jamia, considered safe havens for terrorists.
Days after Jammu and Kashmir government terminated services of one dozen employees for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities, opposition National Conference on Saturday termed the step as vindictive, retributive and punitive and asked the government to reinstate them.

(The) government should immediately reinstate the suspended employees as targeting the employees for the current unrest was a regressive and counter-productive approach, NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said in a statement here.

He lashed out at the government and chief minister Mehbooba Mufti for the step.

Read | J-K govt sacks 12 employees for alleged anti-national activities

The state government was being vindictive when the fragile situation called for a reconciliatory and positive approach to restore normalcy in the state, Wani, a former minister, said.

Why single out government employees and punish them for an agitation which encompassed virtually all sections of the society? It is impractical for the government to think a certain section of the society can be tormented into compliance.

This government has gone from blackmailing employees, to coercing them, to threatening them of stopping their salaries to now finally placing them under suspension and termination, the NC provincial president said.

He added that the NC stands in solidarity with the government employees and would continue to seek their restoration and dignified reinstatement.

Read | Cops may book more than 100 govt employees for Kashmir protests

Our government employees have rendered innumerable sacrifices and served the people in extremely trying circumstances, he said. This current unrest and its ramifications are primarily because of the incumbent Government s wrong policies and Peoples Democratic Partys opportunistic alliance with the BJP, not because of government employees.

He alleged that the government was hell-bent on torturing government employees.

We stand with the employees and will do whatever is necessary to ensure they get justice and are not tormented, he said.

On October 20, the Jammu and Kashmir government terminated the services of one dozen employees for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities after dossiers were prepared against them.
Even as the bulk of political and media attention is devoted to the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections early next year, BJP will be investing higher in the Manipur elections -- to be held around the same time -- as a part of its wider push into the Northeast and its mission of a Congress-mukt Bharat.

After winning the Assam elections and becoming a part of the Arunachal government, the BJP national leadership is confident of scoring a hat-trick with Manipur.

The campaign is being spearheaded by Ram Madhav, the influential party general secretary who strategised the party victory in Assam and has been given charge of the Northeastern states.

Political sources told Hindustan Times that BJP believes Manipur is ripe for a change. Congress CM Okram Ibobi Singh has been in power since 2002, after winning three consecutive elections. The government now faces deep anti-incumbency, and the BJP suspects the party is being torn by internal factionalism. The party is also hoping to use its power at the Centre to promise the states electorate that having the same party lead the government in Imphal will yield more benefits.

The BJP also feels that the demographic mix in Manipur is suitable for expansion. Meiteis -- the dominant community in the state -- are primarily Hindus, whereas the tribal-dominated hills are primarily Christian. Forty of the 60 seats in the state assembly are in and around the valley, with Meitei population -- this will be the BJPs key target even as it hopes to pick a few seats in the tribal pockets, party sources confirm.

But BJP faces a challenge. The central government signed a framework agreement with Naga rebels -- the NSCN (I-M). The Naga groups have traditionally demanded a greater Nagaland, which includes the Naga-speaking areas in Manipur. The demand has drawn fierce opposition from Manipurs Meitei establishment and is an emotive issue in the state.

Top leaders admit it is a balancing act, but say they have committed that the territorial integrity of Manipur will not be compromised at any costs. This, they hope, will be enough to assuage the apprehensions of the Meiteis.

If the BJP game-plan succeeds, it will launch yet another blow to the Congress, cement BJPs claims of being a truly national party, and open up doors for more Lok Sabha seats from the east in 2019. It will also be hugely symbolic that a state which has long seen a history of secessionist movement opts for a party that has long been associated with a version of strong Indian nationalism.

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A man was convicted for stalking a girl on the internet, creating a fake Facebook account in her name and posting obscene morphed pictures.

Additional district judge Vipin Kumar sentenced Deepak Gaur to two years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 35,000.

Prosecution said it was the first conviction in a cyber crime case in Kanpur.

Prosecutor Jagmohan Singh said the girl, a teenager, received a friend request from Lakshya Gaur (fake account of Deepak) in 2015. When she did not respond to the request, she started getting messages from Deepak.

He started threatening her of serious consequences if she did not become friends with him.

Deepak stole some pictures from her account and morphed them. On March 17 and 18, 2016, he sent the pictures to her and threatened that he would post them on the internet.

When she did not budge, Deepak created a fake Facebook profile in her name and uploaded her morphed obscene pictures on it.

The girl and her mother approached the Nawabgunj police and lodged a complaint under the provisions of the IT Act, 2000, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2000.

The police arrested Deepak with the help of cyber experts who found he was operating the account from KESA colony in Nawabgunj. He was sent to jail on April 24, 2016. The high court had even rejected his bail plea.

Singh said on the basis of the testimony of the complainant and her mother and documentary evidences, the court convicted him.
Six people were arrested and around 1,000 cartons of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were on Saturday seized by Excise department officials from a container truck in Fatuha Industrial Area of Patna district.

Acting on a tip-off, the excise department officials raided a godown in Fatuha Industrial Area where it seized a container truck carrying more than 1000 cartons of foreign liquor and arrested six persons, assistant excise commissioner Krishna Kumar told PTI.

Kumar said, We have so far off-loaded 1,000 cartons worth Rs 1.5 crore from the container. The cartons are still being off-loaded.

The container truck laden with cartons were being off- loaded in a godown belonging to one Anil Kumar Gupta, a resident of Patna district, in Fatuhar industrial area, he said, adding that the container truck bearing Haryana registration number has also been seized.

The cartons- containing foreign liquor made in Haryana- were supposed to be sold in different parts of the state including in the vicinity of the state capital, excise department officials said adding that this is one of the biggest seizures since the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 was enforced on October 2.

The Bihar government had on Gandhi Jayanti notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 banning manufacture, trade, storage, transportation,possession, sale and consumption of liquor and foreign liquor through a stringent provisions incorporated under the law.

As per the new liquor law, those found indulging in unlawful import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, intoxicant or liquor could attract a minimum 10 years of jail term which may extend to imprisonment for life besides, a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh which may extend to Rs 10 lakh.
Using the analogy of surgical strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wondered what would have happened if the government had adopted a similar strategy in the recent campaign against black money, which unearthed Rs 65,000 crore.

We gave some time to those who had generated black money (to declare it). You will be happy to know that Rs 65,000 crore in black money came into mainstream with payment of tax and penalty. Now think, Rs 36,000 crore that was leaking has been stopped (by direct benefit transfer), and Rs 65,000 crore of black money is unearthed, together it is Rs 1 lakh crore, he said.

And this Rs 1 lakh crore has been brought back without launching surgical strikes, Modi added, invoking the term used for a recent operation by the army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

If we do surgical strikes (in this area), you can imagine what all will come out, the Prime Minister said.

Read | Black money worth Rs 65,250 cr declared in tax disclosure scheme: Jaitley

Modi said he has put up a sustained fight against corruption since he took charge.

Against corruption, without much publicity I have put up a sustained fight. Governments assistance goes directly in the bank accounts of beneficiaries, cutting out middlemen... we have saved Rs 36,000 crore, which used to leak in the form of (subsidies for) gas cylinders, scholarship, pension, he added.

Modi, speaking at a camp to distribute assistive devices to over 8,000 Divyangs (disabled persons) here, also criticised past governments for not doing enough for the disabled.

After distributing aid devices, the Prime Minister said, Knowingly or unknowingly, this country has remained insensitive towards the Divyangs. The government buildings only had facility for healthy persons.

We launched Sugamya Bharat mission, so that government buildings, hospitals, platforms are built in such a way that they have access facility for the Divyangs.

Previous governments did not do enough in this field, he said.

Read | Schools asked to make Divyang-friendly facilities: HRD minister

Governments in the past had also worked in this direction. But you will be shocked to know that since 1992, when work started in this direction, till 2014, only 56 such camps (for distributing assistive devices) for Divyangs were organised. After this government came, 4,500 such programmes were held, Modi said.

So far, 5.50 lakh Divyangs from across the country have been provided direct benefit, he added.

In the central government, I came to know that 16,500 posts for Divyangs were vacant. I told my ministers to fill up these vacant posts. I can say with satisfaction that 14,500 such posts have been filled up, Modi said.

The Prime Minister also said his government had started work for a common sign language, as at present different sign languages are used in different parts of the country.

Referring to the countrys economic growth, he said India was a bright spot in the world.

Read | 10 things the government can do with earnings from disclosed black money

Today, in the entire world, one thing about this country is being praised  the world says that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Be it World Bank, IMF or credit-rating agencies, the entire world says in one voice that India is developing very fast.

Solution to all problems lies in development. Only through development can illiteracy, disease, poverty be removed, Modi said.

Remember the days of 2014, or 2013, what were the headlines? They did this much (corruption) in coal, so much in spectrum. Since the time you gave me the responsibility, in two and a half years the news is (about) doing good for Divyangs, Indias progress in world economy and development, Modi said.
Amid a controversy over alleged use of mobile phone by beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham, serving term for killing a security guard, a senior prison official on Saturday denied the allegation and said he had not made any mobile calls from jail.

DIG of prisons (north zone) Sivadas K Thaiparambil visited Kannur Central Prison, where Nisham is lodged, and said the convict had not made any mobile calls from the jail.

However, on October 20, he was taken to a Bengaluru court in connection with a case and while on transit he had made two calls, the DIG told PTI.

His statement came hours after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan took note of media reports about Nisham allegedly getting various facilities in the jail and sought immediate action on the matter from the prison authorities.

Read | Muhammad Nisham: The beedi magnate who used his money to avoid the law

The DIG said Nisham had admitted that he had made two calls to his brothers while on transit, he said.

Earlier, the brothers filed a complaint with Thrissur rural superintendent of police R Nishantini, alleging that Nisham had threatened them from jail in Kannur by calling on their mobile phone. A search was conducted in the prison cell where Nisham is lodged, but no mobile phone was found, the DIG said.

When asked about reports that Nisham was regularly in touch with his wife and business associates, he said the convict was entitled to use the coin phone in the jail premises. The DIG also said he has filed a report with the DGP Prisons stating that no mobile calls had been made by the accused while inside the prison.

Reports had alleged that Nisham was in possession of two mobile phones and he was frequently making calls.

As the issue heated up, Vijayan said appropriate action would be taken if it was found that Nisham had been provided undue facilities at the central prison. In a Facebook post, the chief minister said he had already sought immediate intervention and action in the matter.

Read | Hummer murder: Kerala beedi king in touch with family, runs business from jail

Media reports about Nisham getting various facilities in Kannur jail came to my notice. Details have been sought from the department, he said in the post.

Jail authorities have informed him that they had intervened and were taking appropriate action, he said. Reacting to the reports, Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Ramesh Chennithala said it was a matter of concern that Nisham was getting VIP treatment in prison and demanded stern action against officials who gave him silent support.

Nisham had run over 51-year old security guard Chandrabose with his Hummer SUV after brutally beating him for delay in opening the main gates of the posh residential complex Shobha city in Thrissur in the early hours of January 29 last year.
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Pakistans ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani has called on Washington and the international community to help resolve the Kashmir dispute and not allow India to divert attention from atrocities being committed against civilians.

Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank on Thursday night, the envoy said he regretted that India was undermining all diplomatic efforts for a dialogue, including its refusal to engage at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) forum, Dawn online reported on Saturday.

The peace and stability in South Asia will not be possible without resolving underlying disputes, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir being the core dispute; measures for nuclear and missile restraint; and balance with regard to conventional arms, Jilani said.

Pakistans proposal for a strategic restraint regime, based on these three inter-locking elements, remains on the table, he said.

Pakistan, he added, has positioned itself as a mainstream partner in the international non-proliferation regime as well as the global efforts to strengthen nuclear security and safety.

On the issue of Kashmir, Jilani said Kashmir, as a nuclear flashpoint, must not be underestimated.

The international community and the US in particular need to play a role in seeking a peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, he said.

The recent indigenous uprising in Kashmir bears testimony to the aspiration of Kashmiri people in seeking what the international community had promised but not delivered, he added.

India said on Friday it gunned down seven Pakistani border guards in retaliation to unprovoked firing by the neighbouring country in the Jammu sector where the government started shifting villagers to safer places in bulletproof vehicles.

Pakistans army refuted the claim, with a military spokesperson saying there was no loss (of life) on their side of the border.

The escalation of hostilities along the International Border in Jammu came nearly three weeks after the Indian government announced that its solders had crossed the de-facto border and destroyed several terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The cross-border surgical strikes, denied by Pakistan, has dipped relations between New Delhi and Islamabad to its worst in many years, with hawks in both countries calling for an all-out war.

India blames the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for the recent militant attack at an army base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir and also for an earlier terror strike at an air force base in Pathankot. The Uri attack left 19 Indian soldiers dead.

On Thursday, Jilani emphasised that India must not be allowed to deflect international attention from human rights violations and atrocities under the pretext of political expediency.

On Pakistan-US relations, he shared perspective on trends and prospects in the longstanding relationship and its continuing significance to the foreign policy of Pakistan.

He said Pakistan enjoys a long-standing strategic partnership with the US and, though the history of our relationship has seen its ups and downs, it has certainly survived multiple tests of times.

Highlighting Pakistans role as a frontline state in the global war against terrorism, the Jilani said that tens of thousands of Pakistani citizens and thousands of security personnel had been killed or injured in terrorist attacks.

Pakistan had also suffered a loss of over $100 billion, he said, adding that Islamabads commitment to fight terrorism was second to none.

On the situation in Afghanistan, he said peace and stability in the war-torn country remained a common objective of Pakistan and the US.
The Indian Army operation against terrorists bases across the LoC is likely to figure prominently at a meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that begins in Ghatkesar near Hyderabad on Saturday.

Sources said a resolution approving of the surgical strikes could be passed at the national executive meeting from October 23-25. The Sangh has already praised the BJP government at the Centre for the operations.

Sangh functionaries are also likely to discuss the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

The RSS has endorsed the surgical strikes, appreciating the strategic shift in BJP-led NDA governments policy towards Pakistan.

The governments strategic military action across the LoC is likely to be a key poll plank for the BJP in UP as the party jockeys to underline the political decision making process behind the operation.

The dissent in Goa, where former RSS state chief Subhash Velingkar has formed his own party to take on the BJP, will also be on the agenda.

Velingkar has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Goa of reneging on its promises and failing to impart education in the local languages.

The meeting -- to be chaired by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi  will also discuss the issues of caste-based discrimination and the state of education in the country.

The RSS chief, in his Vijaydashami speech in Nagpur, had expressed concern over the delay in the framing of a new education policy even as he cautioned against the commercialisation of education.

The Sarsangachalak (Bhagwat) has clearly defined the need to end discrimination on the basis of caste. The RSS survey across villages is a testimony to the existence of casteism and the Sangh has asked its foot soldiers to intensify their outreach to end caste biases, said a functionary.

The meeting is also expected to see discussions on contentious issues such as genetically modified crops and FDI reforms that have pit RSS affiliates against the government.

The meeting is a stock-taking exercise of what the affiliates such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram or the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad have accomplished and also set the targets for the months ahead, the functionary said.
The Delhi high court has granted bail to Sher Singh Rana, the lone convict in the sensational murder of bandit-turned-Lok Sabha member Phoolan Devi in New Delhi in 2001.

A division bench of justice Gita Mittal and justice PS Teji granted bail to Rana on Friday, who was awarded life imprisonment, on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of same amount.

Rana, who has undergone close to 13 years imprisonment, was also directed by the court to not interact with the family of deceased and any witnesses.

He shall disclose the address at which he would remain available as well as his mobile number which he would be using.

Among other conditions, the court in its order also asked Rana to report to Superintendent of Police (SP) of Roorkee, Uttarakhand on the second Saturday of June and December every year from December 10, 2016.

The trial court had on August 8, 2014 convicted Rana while acquitting the 10 other co-accused in the case.

Rana, who was awarded life term on August 14, 2014, was held guilty of offences under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) under IPC in the case.

Thirty-seven-year-old Phoolan, then a Samajwadi Party MP from Mirzapur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead from a close range by three masked gunmen in front of her Ashoka Road residence here in the heart of the capitals VIP area when she returned home for lunch after attending Lok Sabha session on July 25, 2001.

Delhi Police had chargesheeted 11 men accusing them of eliminating Phoolan to avenge the 1981 Behmai massacre in which she had allegedly killed a number of Thakurs.

Rana had challenged his conviction and sentencing order in the high court.
In a veiled attack on Pakistan, senior BJP leader and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said subversive elements that are fomenting trouble in Kashmir will not go unscathed and have to pay a heavy cost for spreading terror in the country.

Let there be no doubt in anyones mind that Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so, Jaitley said, addressing a gathering of intellectuals at an event organised here by the BJP.

He clarified that common citizens in trouble-torn Kashmir are different from separatist elements. What is needed is to keep the common citizens with us in the countrys fight against terror, he added.

Those who will carry out terrorist attacks like the ones recently reported in Pathankot and Uri will be given a befitting reply and wont go unpunished, Jaitley said, without mentioning the recent surgical strikes carried by the army on the terrorists launch pads along the Line of Control. Did you notice the result (surgical strikes)?

Click here for Indias response to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

Jaitley said the previous governments would react in a traditional manner by diplomatically isolating those behind the terrorist attacks.

But the people were expecting that the countrys new leadership has the capacity to take hard decisions, he said.

Jaitley likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a symbol of aspirational India. This aspirational India, comprising the youth, tests the leaders by the results they deliverThey dont get swayed by certain ruling clans that had been ruling the state, Jaitley said, in a veiled attack on the Congress.

...dynastic politics is failing in the country, which is governed by a democratic system, he added.

He also referred to the ongoing family feud in the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Such place coups used to happen in the 18th centurybut the aspirational India is not ready to tolerate such family feuds in political parties, Jaitley said.

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Tamil Nadus acting governor Vidya Sagar Rao, who called on ailing chief minister J Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on Saturday, said she was getting better and responding to treatment.

Rao, who arrived at the hospital at around 11:30 am, was received by finance minister O Panneerselvam, Lok Sabha deputy speaker Thambi Durai, chief secretary P Rama Mohan Rao, adviser to CM, Sheela Balakrishnan, senior officials and few other ministers.

Read | CM Jayalalithaa in hospital, her adviser is in Tamil Nadu hot seat

He was also met by the chairman of the hospital, C Pratap Reddy, who briefed Rao on the treatment and care being given.

After his visit, a Raj Bhavan statement said, The governor is happy to note that the chief minister is progressing well.

Read | Jayalalithaa recovering well, has begun talking to people: AIADMK leader

Reddy had told the governor that Jayalalithaa was under treatment and constant observation for all vital parameters. The honorable chief minister is interacting and responding remarkably to the treatment, the Raj Bhavan press statement further noted.

This statement follows the official health bulletin issued by Apollo Hospital on Friday evening, which said Jayalalithaas health was improving, and that she continued to be under treatment and observation. The bulletin came after a gap of nine days.

The chief minister was admitted to the hospital more than a month ago, on September 22, with complaints of dehydrations and fever. A team of specialists from AIIMS, Delhi, and a critical care specialist from UK had been flown down to consult on the chief ministers health.

Since she was admitted, speculation has been rife over the condition of Jayalalithaas health, considering the terse updates the hospital and the ruling party, AIADMK, initially gave out.

Also read | The lack of transparency about Jayalalithaas health is worrying
One of the largest tribes in Arunachal Pradesh is upset with the state information commission for gifting traditional Nyishi tribal headgear with a cross to VIPs at a government function.

The headgear  beak and feather of a hornbill atop a cane cap  itself was a conservation issue till an international wildlife NGO helped make a fibreglass beak fashionable more than a decade ago.

The Arunachal Pradesh Information Commission (APIC) had organised the decennial celebration of the RTI Act in Itanagar on Wednesday. The event did not attract much attention until the chief guest, central information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu, left the state capital the following day with a Nyishi headgear and other customary gifts.

The base of the fibreglass hornbill beak on Acharyulus headgear  as well as those of two other VIPs  bore a Christian cross. State chief information commissioner Joram Begi had presented the headgear.

Members of the Nyishi community that adheres to the indigenous faith criticised the APIC for distorting the traditional byopa (headgear).

A statement by the Nyishi Elite Society said, We must be clear that the tradition of a community must not bear symbol of any religion or religious sects which may harm its secular fabric.

Begi said he did not notice the cross, nor did he have them ordered. Our staff may have obtained them without noticing the cross sign. Whatever happened was purely unintentional and we did not mean to hurt sentiments, he said.

An Itanagar-based church spokesperson denied influencing the APIC to allegedly promote religion. However, the Nyishi Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society begged to differ. Objects of indigenous faith and culture are surreptitiously being given religious symbolism, and they have crept into official programmes too, Pai Dawe, a senior member of the society, said.

Christian missionary activity is not allowed in Arunachal Pradesh but the frontier state has seen a steep fall in the number of people adhering to indigenous faiths such as Donyi-Polo and Rangfra.

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Twitterati woke up to the news of Raj Thackerey meeting Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadanavis and producers of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Thackerey and Karan Johar went to meet the CM to take a final call on the release of Karan Johars much in news film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The films release has hit a rough patch owning to the presence of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in one of the lead roles.

The result of the meeting was the lifting of the ban on the film with a number of clauses. Among other conditions, one major clause that has caught peoples eye is the 5crore demand clause. MNS has said that any producer who has taken any Pakistani artiste in his movie will have to pay a sum of Rs 5 crore to the Army Welfare Fund. The producers must hand over a cheque of the amount to Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister of India.

And people arent pleased with this clause, and have taken to twitter and social media to express their displeasure. Tweets flowed in criticising MNSs move.

Soni Razdans tweet reads

So it's come to this. Film producers are paying hafta to MNS cause a Pakistani actor who has nothing to do with terrorists is in their film?  Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) October 22, 2016

Rohan Joshi tweeted saying

The MNS has been routed everywhere else but still has 28 BMC seats. And Mr T will count on this sort of rabble rousing to up those numbers  Rohan (@mojorojo) October 22, 2016

Sorabh Pant

Sorabh Pant spoke against MNS asking producers to pay 5 crores (Hindustan Times)

Curious to know that aside from threatening others - what exactly has MNS donated to?

Or is a moral high ground and anger true patriotism?  Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) October 22, 2016

Rajdeep Sardesai

Rajdeep Sardesai also expressed his displeasure about the decision (Hindustan Times)

Just read: Rs 5 crore is the price of desh Bhakti for MNS with Maha govt playing 'broker'? Yeh kahan aa Gaye hum doston? #RajThackeray  Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) October 22, 2016

Journalist Rahul Kanwal was also very disappointed by the decision and took to twitter to raise his voice

Instead of making Raj Thackeray seem like an honorable stakeholder CM Fadnavis ought to have come down hard on MNS goons. Pathetic surrender  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) October 22, 2016

Ashwini Mushran

Ashwin Mushran spoke against this decision of MNS

The MNS should just rename themselves to HAFTA  Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) October 22, 2016

Sahil Shah

Comedian Sahil Shah also against voiced his opinion against this

What the MNS is doing is literally just bullying.  Sahil Shah (@SahilBulla) October 22, 2016
In November last year, a legal news portal reported on an attempt made by the Supreme Court Womens Lawyers Association to bring to the attention of the constitution bench the prevalent gender imbalance in the Indian judiciary. While putting the point across to the Bench, the women lawyers said that while womens participation is on the rise in every sector, it was not the same in judgeship and therefore it was high time meritorious women advocates too, are considered on a par with males for the same.

The gender imbalance on the bench, however, is worrying not just because of what it means for the women practitioners of law, but given the nature of the role of the judiciary, its possible impact on society as a whole. In the recent past we have seen some regressive judgments from the Supreme Court and yes, I think that is because there are not enough women judges on the Bench to give a different perspective to the case, says senior advocate Indira Jaising. There are also not enough woman senior lawyers who could present the case from a feminist perspective. But ultimately it is not the sex of the judge that matters to the outcome of a case, but the sensitivity to womens issues.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that if a wife forced her husband to stay away from his family it was an act of cruelty and a ground for divorce. The apex court held no son will like to be separated from his dependent parents and it was the norm for a woman to be with her husbands family after marriage and become an integral part of it. This particular judgment has less to do with the gender imbalance in our judiciary and more to do with the personal prejudices of the judge and the deep-rooted prejudices of Indian society, says Diya Kapur, who practices at the Delhi High Court. There have been instances of male judges giving progressive and gender sensitive verdicts in cases relating to family issues, domestic violence and sexual abuse. Most judges look at the world through their own prism, says Kapur. While advocate Vrinda Grover agrees that women judges will not automatically make the dispensation more gender just, and it is the perspective of the judge that matters, she does agree that there are some cases in which the gendered experience of a woman help her to make a judgment. She adds: In Indian society women leave their parents home and are expected to immediately fit into an alien family. It is a brutal custom that forms part of a womans gendered experience. To my mind therefore, no gender sensitive judge would have said that asking a man to stay away from his family in a nuclear set-up is an act of cruelty and ground for divorce. Given the low presence of women in senior roles in Indian judiciary, however  only one out of 25 current Supreme Court judges is a woman  what could have been if the case had gone to a woman judge, is mere speculation.

A TOUGH CLIMB

At the entry level, in law schools and the profession, the ratio of men and women is about 50-50, with women even outnumbering men in some areas, says Kapur. However, as one moves towards the top the number of women starts to drop for various reasons. The competition and discrimination are both more intense as one starts to climb the ladder. When one is young, male seniors are often patronising, says Grover. One gets a lot of unsolicited advice. It is, however, difficult to ascertain whether that is because of age or gender. But when it comes to senior positions, there is a male hold. And they tend to appoint more men. Male lawyers are not insensible of the divide. There is definitely a gender gap in senior judicial positions and one of the reasons for that is that the collegium system that is in use to appoint judges is opaque. What we need is a clear guideline on what ought to be the representation on the bench, says Delhi-based advocate Aman Hingorani. What we need is a clear guideline on what ought to be the representation on the bench.

Not just at the level of judges, even among senior advocates, women comprise only a handful, say advocates like Kamini Jaiswal. You should be invited to be designated a senior. But today the norm is that you have to apply. Then there is a system of voting and recommendation. One is expected to lobby. It is easier for men to do it because they share a camaraderie with the male seniors, says Jaiswal. Even getting a brief is more challenging for a woman senior. Senior advocates do not directly take clients. They are briefed by a briefing counsel. But few briefing counsel (including female briefing counsel) will go to a senior woman advocate with a brief, says Kapur. It is a boys club, and women practitioners say they have to battle with gender insensitivity on a daily basis. When I was on maternity leave, I had to rush to court just a month after my daughter was born, because the judge did not think it was valid reason to adjourn the case. Later of course, he was deeply apologetic about it, remembers Kapur.

Read: Changing gender roles across professions in India

Many women lawyers feel that the social expectations from a woman to take care of her family also result in many women dropping out. In terms of arguing a matter in a court hall, when an opportunity is provided, I think it is very easy for a competent women lawyer to make a mark, says Liz Mathew, who practices at the Supreme Court. However, it is much more difficult for women to develop a strong and credible practice. A common litigant is usually more comfortable entrusting his case to a male lawyer who is perceived to be stronger, more aggressive and street smart. There is always a doubt whether a lady advocate will be able to devote enough time and effort to the case as she has domestic responsibilities.

SUBTLE SEXISM

Discrimination is both overt and subtle. It comes out in language, including body language, such as male opponents slouching in their chair and smirking while I am arguing, as a put down to a woman. I have had male lawyers say in open court I am amused by your argument , something they do not say to their male colleagues, says senior advocate Indira Jaising. I have had senior lawyers refer to me as that woman in court while they refer to each other as my learned friend, she says. There are also instances of sexual harassment. Male colleagues would rub past me in an inappropriate manner, write stupid things and even trail my car, says Grover. That was in the eighties. But even now, Hingorani feels, the system against sexual harassment in courts need to be strengthened further. If a woman lawyer manages to brave all that and still advance in her career, she is said to be either aggressive, hysterical or having used other means, says Jaiswal.

There have been some positive changes. Old timers recall a time when women lawyers were mostly relegated to divorce and family law. Today a woman lawyer is not restricted to any specific kind of case, says Mathew. Most lawyers also say that clients today choose a lawyer based more on competence than gender. Increasingly corporates have been engaging women lawyers as they are more organised, systematic and dedicated, she says. There are women lawyers engaging in criminal and human rights issues.

Yes there is a gender imbalance. But for someone like me who has been in the profession for 40 years, it also seems like we have come a long way. I remember a time when the Delhi High Court didnt have a single women judge and the appointment of Leila Seth, as the first woman judge was a significant move, says senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Raju Ramachandran. Also while talking of number of women judges and senior advocates, one has to remember that not all female lawyers, and not all male lawyers, wish to be judges or senior advocates. For someone who has made a mark at the bar, continuing as a lawyer might seem more challenging than being a judge. And often both male and female lawyers do not wish to apply to be a senior, because they dont want to lose the direct touch with their clients and do not feel comfortable or confident about being briefed by their juniors, he says, adding, the courts definitely need to be more proactive in encouraging more women to apply for the designation as a senior advocate, but at the same time it should not become mere tokenism.

Read: Theres a deep-rooted institutional bias against women in the judiciary

There have been efforts for gender sensitisation of judges. The Bhopal Judicial Academy which has training courses for Judges has specific modules for gender sensitisation of judges, says Mathew, but the mere presence of women judges will naturally evolve a more gender-sensitive justice delivery system, from the use of gender neutral language, avoiding sexist remarks and not having double standards when adjudging a gendered issue. In a society like India, with a traditional preference for the male child, the Supreme Court judgment on separating a son from his dependent parents and the norm for a wife to become a part of the husbands family may be interpreted by some to mean that it is only the right of the son, and not the daughter, to take care of his aged parents. It may thus negate years of state effort to encourage couples to value and educate the girl child, for she can be as much support to her parents in old age, as a son. And what about those who only have daughters?

Source: All numerical data regarding number of judges and Chief Justices, present and former, of the Supreme Court and High Courts have been take from the court websites
The family of Gurnam Singh, the injured BSF constable, on Saturday demanded that the government take him abroad for better medical treatment to ensure his survival.

Why is the government is still keeping him in the same hospital? Is there no other hospital in the country? The government can even send him to foreign (country), or a foreign doctor can be called. If ministers can go abroad for their treatment, then why cant army men? asked Singhs sister, Gurjeet Kaur.

Still unaware about the actual condition of her brother, Kaur said that they had only got a call about the incident on afternoon Friday. Her parents and brother have visited to the hospital, but the family has not received any news about Singhs condition.

Constable Gurnam Singh received a bullet injury to his head on Friday when a Pakistani Ranger fired on his outpost in the Hiranagar area of Jammu. The BSF launched an aggressive offensive, killing a militant and seven Pakistani Rangers in retaliation.

Gurnam was evacuated immediately to the Jammu Government Medical College where his condition remains critical.
More than 3,500 delegates are expected to attend the fifth edition of global investors summit (GIS) beginning Saturday, but the mega biennial event is low-key in comparison to its 2014 edition.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will be the chief guest at the inaugural session of the October 22-23 summit that will see the countrys top politicians and industrialists addressing ambassadors from 26 countries and 250 foreign delegates, including top honchos.

Last year, the GIS was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the session was addressed by top industrialists including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry. This year, the number of top industrialists is on the lower side. Also, the summit is a one-and-a-half day event, as a separate event was held for the MSME sector in Bhopal earlier this month.

The opening day will have special sessions and panel discussions on different focus sectors. On Sunday, a Make in India session will be held in the morning, followed by valedictory session. Senior representatives of five partner countries  the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and United Arab Emirates  will be taking part.

Indores divisional commissioner Sanjay Dubey said the city has made special arrangements for the VIPs and foreign delegates. Special audio devices will be given to foreign guests to enable the feed of English translations of the business sessions.

On Friday, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hosted a CEOs dinner and held an informal discussion to get feedback from investors about MP.
Fernando Alonso says McLaren is back in contention for a place in Q3 in qualifying at the United States Grand Prix.

McLaren struggled in Japan two weeks ago, with Jenson Button dropping out in Q1 and Alonso in Q2 before both drivers finished outside the top 15 in the race. However, a more encouraging Friday in Austin saw both cars within the top ten in FP2 and Alonso believes McLaren can improve its car to ensure it challenges for the same positions in qualifying later today.

It was a good day, we managed to complete our programme without any issues, so we could do a lot of laps and that was quite useful," Alonso said. "In FP2 we tried both types of tyres and here we really have to be on our toes because it looks like the supersoft suffer a lot from degradation, but it was a very useful day, so now we have a lot of information to go through and then make the right choices for the rest of the weekend.

"We didnt run the supersofts in the morning because we dont have a lot of sets from that compound, just the soft and the medium, but in the afternoon we had to run them and it was not a surprise their degradation was high. But you still have to confirm it by running, so thats what we did.

"We tried a lot of different things in the car  aero, suspension, etc.  and some worked better in FP1 while others were better in FP2. Now we have to get the package right and grab a couple of tenths that are within our reach. Hopefully that will be enough to put us in contention for a place in Q3."

Team-mate Button says the high levels of degradation should make the race itself more unpredictable.

"Degradation was pretty normal, when you bring the supersoft to a circuit that were not used to run in degradation is pretty high but thats normal," Button said. "But theres degradation on all compounds, even the medium are overheating very quickly, theyre not as consistent as you would have liked it, considering its the medium compound, so its tough with all the tyres. But that definitively makes things more interesting."

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This is an autumn of political windfall for Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. In September she emerged as a champion of farmer rights after the supreme court upheld her decade-long stance and ordered that the entire land of the Nano factory in Singur has to be returned to the farmers. October and November are gifting her the opportunity to extend her support to another politically influential constituency -- the Muslims.

Significantly for the Trinamool Congress chief, both farmers and minorities form two of the most important bases that she has wooed throughout her career. Equally important, the opportunities have arrived when she is preparing to extend her appeal beyond the confines of her state for a bigger role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Read: Just before Durga puja, Mamata turns into a living goddess

Hear it in her own words. We have to spread the roots of Trinamool Congress to Delhi. You have to take us to a position where we can serve the people from Delhi, she said on June 21 speaking to party leaders and workers in Netaji Indoor stadium.

In fact, she kept lambasting BJP on almost every Hindutwa issue from beef ban to cow census. On July 21, at a flagship party programme in the city, she said, What I choose to eat is my own sweet decision, and none else has any say in it.

In the 2016 assembly elections both the farmers and minorities voted for Trinamool Congress in larger numbers than they did in 2011. (Subhankar Chakraborty)

Mamata Banerjees plans for a national role were, however, evident on May 27, the day when she took oath for the second time as chief minister. All the prominent faces who can be members of the so-called Third Front -- Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, Arvind Kejriwal and K Kanimozhi -- were present at the swearing in ceremony and later Mamata herself remarked that she will be happy to push the cause of a non-BJP non-Congress front.

It is against this backdrop that one has to consider her stand on the uniform civil code. Though she hasnt uttered, or twitted, a word in support of the Muslim Personal Law Board, it is easy to decipher her support behind the agitation programme by three Trinamool MPs -- Idris Ali, Sultan Ahmed and Ahmed Hassan Imran -- protesting the Centres initiative of an uniform civil code.

We will speak to the chief minister on this issue. She has always upheld the rights of the minorities not only in Bengal, but also in the country, in tune with the tradition of secularism in the state, said Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, imam of Tipu Sultan masjid, who is a confidante of Mamata Banerjee.

Read: Never abandon the battlefield: Mamata Banerjees Singur takeaway

Its an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move the focus away from development, and rake up communal issues before the impending assembly elections in a few states, said Idris Ali, Lok Sabha MP.

Both Ali and Barkati, who led the protest on Friday, made it clear that they will launch their offensive against the Centre from Kolkata.

On Friday the blockade at Esplanade for about an hour by three Trinamool MPs made the partys stand on the uniform civil code clear. (Ramkrishna Samanta)

Political parties who are using a section of imams and such people to further their political aspirations are scared that they will lose control over a section of the masses, Sidharth Nath Singh, national spokesperson of BJP, told HT.

Very few politicians have been able to swing both the major constituencies -- farmers and minorities -- in their way as the Bengal chief minister did in her career.

Read: Centre can hold referendum on triple talaq: AIMPLB member

In the Bengal assembly elections of 2011, she managed to rout the Left mainly on the votes of both these segments swinging towards her. While her support to the anti-acquisition movements in Singur (2006-08) and Nandigram (2007-08) brought the farmers close to her, the Muslims who form about 27.01% -- 24 million in a state of 91 million -- of the population voted solidly for her.

Five years later the support base consolidated even further, leading to 211 seats in a house of 294.

It is quite obvious that the Centre will not take her sympathy to the MPLB very kindly, and will hit back. But then Mamata Banerjee can never be faulted for picking her issues recklessly.

Read: Kolkata emerging as a centre of protest against uniform civil code, national meeting planned on Nov 20

When after coming in power in Bengal she extended sops to the minorities in Bengal like grants to imams and muezzins and homestead land for them, many political pundits predicted a backlash from the majority community. In reality, all sections voted for Trinamool in more numbers than in 2011.

However, this time she may need to do a deft balancing act, as a proposed uniform civil code is likely to hold some appeal to a number of Muslim women.
HITCHKI

Where: 59, Dr VB Gandhi Marg, Behind Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda

When: 8 am to 1 am

Cost: About Rs 1,800 for a meal for two with one cocktail each

Rating: 2 / 5

The music is roaring when we step in. We flee upstairs to the dining section to distance ourselves from the thump of the bar. It helps, though most the tables are occupied by a gang of boisterous school teachers celebrating a colleagues farewell.

Hitchki is an amalgam of several popular restaurant food, drink and design trends. Its not difficult to spot elements taken from Social, The Bombay Canteen, Bombay Vintage and almost every newly opened, cheaply priced bar. Its almost like watching a Hindi film and pointing out scenes lifted from Hollywood movies.

We start with a deconstructed missile pav. Served in a compartmentalised steel tray, it didnt look or taste very different from a misal served in any office canteen.

The deconstructed missile pav neither looked nor tasted any different from what youd expect in any office canteen. (HT Photo: Bhushan Koyande)

Read: DIY dishes are a hit in Mumbai eateries

The Indian-Chinese steamed baos with a chilli chicken filling were fluffy, spicy and fun, but hardly noteworthy.

There were only two hits: the khana makana, with lotus puffs served separately from a watermelon curry with cubes of the fruit. You got the crunchiness of the makana, the crisp fruit and the sweet-sourness of the curry. And there was the light, firm, delicately flavoured, tender coconut panna cotta. The chopped pineapple topping can be removed.

Our drinks though were disasters. The lemongrass was so overpowering in the vodka-based swadeeka that it tasted like liquid Odomos. The overly sweet jeera kokum had an unpleasant finish of bitters, and the only thing you could taste in the smoke da sour made with orange marmalade, whisky, orange juice, sweet-sour mix and cherry-flavoured smoke was smoke.

Hitchki is an amalgam of several popular restaurant food, drink and design trends. Its not difficult to spot elements taken from Social and The Bombay Canteen. (HT Photo: Bhushan Koyande)

Read: Move on from pizza and burger bars, check out Mumbais Asian gastropubs

What works in Hitchkis favour is the pricing. A single pour of Indian rum costs as little as Rs 69 during happy hours and Rs 99 after; many of the cocktails are Rs 149 during happy hours and Rs 249 after.

For some, thats a good to revisit; those who think the food and drink should also taste good, arent likely to return.

(HT pays for all meals and reviews anonymously)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed before the Bombay high court (HC) on Friday that a majority of complaints on potholes and poor condition of roads in the city were unwarranted and exaggerated. The civic body claimed its engineers were tackling the situation on a war footing and complaints and newspaper reports served little purpose other than humiliating its engineers.

BMC counsel Anil Sakhare said the court must not go by news reports alleging inaction. The submissions came while a bench of justice Shantanu Kemkar and justice MS Karnik was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on the poor condition of roads in Mumbai and the BMCs failure to prevent and repair potholes every monsoon.

On Friday, the interveners in the case submitted some news reports, bringing to the courts notice last months incident, wherein a 21-year-old man who was returning home after dinner with his friend died after his bike hit a pothole along the JJ flyover.

They also reminded the court of an observation by justice Kanade in August, who said a drive to Borivli had given him backache as the roads were riddled with potholes.

Sakhare retorted saying it was wrong to thoughtlessly blame the corporation and that justice Kanades backache could also have been caused due to poor suspension in the judges car.

The bench, however, cautioned the corporation against taking on an adversarial approach to the PIL, reminding it was the corporations duty to maintain the roads.

The HC has now directed the corporation to inform the court of the steps taken so far. The court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on Tuesday.

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A team of Muslim lawyers addressed a press conference on Saturday slamming the ways the triple talaq has been distorted by the Muslim community.

The decision came to the fore after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board defended triple talaq in the Supreme Court last month.

The Quran says the idea of divorce spans over a period of three months, uttering talaq once in a month, hence giving time for the couple to rethink on the decision. If for three months the decision stays put, then the couple is considered divorced, said Advocate Shoaib Memon, adding, The way teen (triple) talaq is been given nowadays is grossly unjust. This system has to stop immediately.

Memon added that triple utterance is not supported by the Muslim holy book Quran. People who misuse this system must be penalised. Criminal action should be taken against such offenders, Memon said.

Feroze Mithiborwala, a secular activist, said women are on the losing side in these kind o divorces and the onus of improvement lies within the community. Women want to, and in some places they are, speaking against triple talaq. In 90% of the divorce cases, it is the women who have been the victims, he added.
Indrani Mukerjeas driver Shyamvar Rai, an accused-turned-approver in the Sheena Bora murder case, received Rs5 lakh from Indranis firm after the murder of Sheena and used the money to buy a plot of land in his native place, claimed Shivaji Kolekar, a witness in the case.

Kolekars statement is part of the second supplementary charge sheet that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed in the case.

Kolekar, who worked as a driver with Mukerjeas neighbours, gave a statement to the CBI on February 19 that Rai told him about receiving money from the company.

Kolekar, who now runs his own business of tours and travels, was employed with Mukerjeas neighbours from July 2008 to April 2015.

He said he was friends with Rai and knew all the house helps of the Mukerjea family. When Peter Mukerjeas family left for London, Shyamvar worked in the office of Indrani Mukerjea at Lower Parel. As far as I remember, sometime in 2012, Shyam told me he received Rs5 lakh from the company and purchased land in his native place in Madhya Pradesh, Kolekar said in his statement.

He added, There was general talk among the drivers about the relation between Rahul and Sheena. I know that both Sheena and Rahul were in love with each other. They used to visit the flat of Peter Mukerjea. I am aware of quarrels between Peter Mukerjea and Rahul Mukerjea on the issue of love affair of Rahul and Sheena.

Rai, who is now a witness in the case, had said in his statement that when Indrani asked him for help, she assured him that she would take care of his familys medical expenses and his childrens education and his job would be permanent.

Sheena, 24, Indranis daughter from an earlier relationship, was strangled in a car here in April 2012 allegedly by Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver.

Her body was then dumped in a forest in neighbouring Raigad district.

The crime came to light last year when Rai was arrested in another case.

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As many as 40 fresh dengue cases have been reported from the city in the last three days, taking the total count to 448, as on Friday.

The health departments first email stated that the number of dengue cases in the city is 102. Later, an official from the health department called the HT correspondent to state that the earlier information was incorrect but the official did not confirm the total number of cases.

Later, the health department sent a message clarifying the count that, only 40 positive cases were confirmed.

This anomaly has raised doubts that the health department officials do not verify the facts before sending them to media.

District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh said, The employee emailed wrong information to the media in a hurry but now we have sent messages correcting the figure to 40 confirmed cases of dengue.

He said, Last year, 900 cases of dengue were reported till October and this year the number is half. The number of cases will come down by mid November. The areas from where most of the cases are reported are Haibowal, Basti Jodhewal and Tajpur Road.

With the cases of Chikungunya picking up in the district, 20 fresh cases were reported raising the total number of cases to 97. Some patients are prescribed the test by doctors while many are getting the tests done before visiting the doctor.

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Attempting to knock down anti-Punjab forces propaganda that most border state youth are drug addicts, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said recent police recruitment dope tests proved that substance abuse among the Punjab youth was lower than the national and global average.

Only 1.27% (4,501) of 3.76 lakh youth, who underwent dope test, were found positive. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) branded our youth drug addict. This forced us to put our youth through the dope test to bring out the truth, Sukhbir, flanked by Dr Raj Bahadur, vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and police chief Suresh Arora, said in a crowded press conference here.

In a bid to counter the nationwide perception about the drug menace in Punjab, Sukhbir, who has the home portfolio with him, used the recent police recruitment to ascertain the truth.

The BFUHS V-C Dr Raj Bahadur was tasked to conduct the dope tests on which over Rs 3 crore were spent in buying the test kits and different teams of BFUHS doctors took about two-months to complete the exercise.

Nearly 5-lakh youth had applied for police constable recruitment and 3.76-lakh aspirants underwent the dope test. At least 283 youth from other states were found positive.

Sukhbir said about 14,000 Punjab youth had appeared in the army recruitment, of which only 10 were tested positive.

I want to caution these political parties and the anti-Punjab and anti-youth duo of Amarinder (Singh) and Arvind (Kejriwal) to stop defaming Punjab. If they still brand our youth as addicts, this will prove that they are enemies of Punjab, he said.

The BFUHS V-C Dr Raj Bahadur said, This dope data is authentic and unbiased. The sample size of 3.76-lakh youth is a historic task performed in a thorough professional manner. This data is as credible as is my professional standing. The dubious perception of drug-addiction is far beyond the truth. The statistics prove that the incidence of drug abuse in Punjab is less than the national and international average.

The deputy CM said to show the Akali-BJP government in poor light, the political opponents used the drug issue and declared youth as addicts. This propaganda, he said, was fraught with dangerous repercussions and the government took the challenge head-on.

Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder and Arvind must tender an unconditional apology to the people of Punjab for committing a dangerous image distortion and fraud against them by branding the youth of the land of the Gurus as drug addicts, Sukhbir said.

In numbers

3.75 lakh youth underwent dope test

4,501 (1.27%) candidates tested positive

1,672 candidates cleared dope test in second chance as they had taken performance enhancers in the first test
The Haryana government is all set to allow mobile towers in residential areas and is shortly coming out with a policy in this regard. The poll-bound Punjab, however, is moving slow in this direction and doesnt intend to come out with any such policy in the near future.

This was stated by Union telecom secretary JS Deepak, who was here for an awareness programme to dispel myths about health hazards posed by mobile towers to human beings, birds and animals.

Deepak said Haryana officials have informed him that their policy is in the final stages and will be notified after getting chief minister Manohar Lal Khattars approval. He said certain departments and districts in Haryana have been issuing guidelines regarding setting up of mobile towers from time to time, but the uniform policy will replace all such guidelines. The policy is expected to be based on the template issued by the Government of India to different states.

The official said Punjab is not keen on framing such a policy, at least in the coming days. With the assembly elections due early next year, it appears that the state doesnt have this as their priority, said sources.

Towers pose no danger: Telecom secy

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has been holding outreach programmes in different states to share scientific studies highlighting that mobile towers are safe.Deepak said the department tested over three lakh towers and found only 210 emitting radiations more than the prescribed limit.

Deepak said rumours are being spread that these mobile towers emit radiations leading to cancer or disappearance of birds, because of which people have been opposing the installation of towers. These towers are critical installations on which the backbone of wireless communication rests and blocking these towers could derail the countrys growth, he said.

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A local Budhlada court on Friday sent Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader Kalyan Singh and his cousin Gurpreet Singh to police remand for a day in connection with a traders kidnapping case.

Trader Chiman Lal was kidnapped in August and released 17 days later reportedly after his family paid a ransom of Rs 1 crore. The police had arrested the accused duo on Thursday and recovered about Rs 54 lakh from them.

Kalyan, general secretary of YAD, is the son of SGPC member Sukhchain Singh Dharampura.

Chiman, who voluntarily attended the court proceedings, alleged that he was being asked to show evidence of the ransom paid by his family. I am seeking justice from the court. Even in this situation, the court has asked me to submit the income tax returns receipts of everyone who helped my family in arranging the money that was paid as ransom, Chiman said in the court.

Accused had shared stage with dy CM

Accused Kalyan was facing four cases when he reportedly shared stage with deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Local SAD leaders said Sukhbir and Harsimrat were not aware of Kalyans criminal past.
As veteran Punjabi actor Mehar Mittal passed away at the age 81 on Saturday, heres an interview that he gave to HT last year. He was in Ludhiana in April 2015 to attend Baisakhi celebrations at the local Brahma Kumari World Spiritual University (WSU) branch. He did some bhangra and shared several jokes other than his message on spirituality.

Mittal had joined the Brahma Kumari movement nine years ago and has settled down at the universitys headquarters at Rajasthans Mount Abu, where he breathed his last. He talked about his motivation to follow the spiritual path, views on the scene of comedy today, the current status of Punjabi cinema, and more. Excerpts:

What encouraged you to take this spiritual path? Has life changed in any way?

I am often asked this question by all my fans. All I can say is that the world of spirituality is beyond any comparison and it makes ones life very beautiful and satisfying. I have four daughters; I am really grateful to two of them who are part of this organisation for the past 20 years and inspired me to sail in the same boat. Such paths make old age very peaceful and rejuvenating. Always remember that whatever knowledge and talent we posses is because of Gods blessings.

Now for your rich experience in the Punjabi film industry, please share your most memorable roles with us.

Each and every role is memorable and close to my heart but sometimes, I laugh to myself when I think of the various comic roles I enacted. In fact, these roles made my life very interesting and I am elated that I have been successful to make the best medicine  laughter for my fans. But some films that gave me a high were Do Madari, Valaiti Babu, Jeeja Saali, Kunwara Mama, and Jatti.

Comedians Mehar Mittal (left) and Saroop Singh Parinda in his Chachi Atro attire. Parinda passed away in March this year. (HT File Photo)

How will you compare todays comedy with your days in the seventies and eighties; and what are your views about the current scene of Punjabi cinema?

Today, comedy has become very artificial. In my time, it was very natural. All characters that I played were very much the real examples of various villages which is why people today have still not forgotten those roles. And generally, in those days most comic scripts had a social message to give as well. For cinema, it is a matter of pride that it has made great progress and trying its best to match steps with Bollywood but there is need to explore more genres and subjects.

As you have made people laugh for several years, why do you think children today are so stressed?

Depression and suicide rates are on the rise in our country. I will blame the parents and educational system for the same. Heavy school bags, pressure from parents to not to score less than 90% marks, tuitions and lot more which makes me feel uncomfortable... I also used to think of opening my own school. Had I opened it, I would have never let any child to take the kind of pressure they do nowadays. We must realise the importance of giving our children enough freedom so that they can explore their talent and focus on their overall development. People of all age groups must keep in mind that life is like an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts.

And, finally what is your advice to those who hide their age?

During my young age, I also never revealed my real age. All I can say is that a man is as old as he feels and a woman is as old as she looks. In my case, my spiritual path and meditation never lets me feel old. It is a state of mind.
The Punjab government has allowed release of dearness allowance (DA) in the pension of its retired employees who have settled abroad and have acquired foreign citizenship.

Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has given his approval to the foreign settled retired employees to get DA with their pensions, a state government spokesman said on Saturday.

The Punjab government has decided to take back a letter stopping DA of pensioners of state government who acquired foreign citizenship, the spokesperson said.

A large number of retired government employees from Punjab have over the last few decades migrated to other countries, especially the UK, the US and Canada.

Punjab has a big Non-Resident Indians (NRI) population with strong links to their roots in the state.
Robbers looted around Rs 2 lakh from an unguarded automated teller machine (ATM) of the State Bank of Patiala at Fattu Wala village, two km from here on the Ferozepur-Muktsar road, on Thursday night.

The robbery came to light in the morning. The gate of the ATM kiosk and the ATM were suspected to have been cut open with the help of a welding machine, said PK Sinha, branch manager of the bank. He reported the mattr to the police in the morning.

The robbers took away Rs 1,94,000 from the ATM, added the manager. Senior superintendent of police Ravinder Kumar Bakshi visited the spot along with a team of forensic experts.

After entering the ATM chamber, robbers sprayed some chemical on the CCTV camera and, with the help of a welding machine cut open the ATM, said Bakshi.

The police have registered a case and started investigations. The ATM was located in the army area and it was used by a majority defence person
Congress leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar, on Friday, visited the family of Ajay Singh alias Pahwa, an 18-year-old Dalit youth, whose body was found in a vacant plot on the Bura Gujjar road on October 8. He had reportedly refused to sell liquor to some smugglers of his locality, who are suspected to be behind the murder. The victim had even lodged a complaint with the police, alleging threats to his life just a day before his killing.

Jakhar alleged that the SAD-BJP government was shielding the liquor mafia and anti-social elements of society. He added that these goons were Jihadi Johns, who commit murders in a most gruesome manner. Jihadi John was an infamous terrorist of the ISIS, who beheaded a number of captives and western journalists. Jakhar stated that liquor, transport, mining and cable business were run by these goons on behalf of their political bosses.

Expressing concern on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, he said that such murders were unheard of in Punjab and cities were generally peaceful after the end of terrorism.

He said that the SAD was unleashing a reign of terror in Punjab to threaten voters, but people of Punjab would surely give a befitting reply to them in the forthcoming polls.

Citing the example of Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, Jakhar stated that Rawat apologised to a family of a Dalit youth, who was killed by members of an upper caste in Uttarakhand. He said chief minister Parkash Singh Badal should take cue from him and apologise to family members of the people, killed by goons of the SAD in various cities of Punjab.

Judge Singh, father of the deceased, said, Sagar and Rohit are murderers of my son, but Rozy is protecting them. The police are unable to arrest them. The accused are nephews of local councillor Rakesh Chaudhary, who is running an illegal liquor trade. Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi is SADs Muktsar constituency in-charge.
A senior bureaucrat in Jharkhand has taken on chief minister Raghubar Das over his comments on religious conversion of tribals, even as the government is set to probe diversion of foreign funds by NGOs for evangelisation.

Amid controversy over missionary activities in the tribal-majority state, the CM ordered a CID investigation after state intelligence found dubious financial deals by at least 106 Christian-affiliated NGOs, sources said on Saturday.

The funds diverted under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act are estimated to be Rs 310 crore, according to a Special Branch report.

A bulk of the money meant for education and improvement of the poor, especially nature-worshipping tribals who form 26% of the states 3.3-crore population, was used for conversions through force and allurements, it added.

The government will not tolerate luring gullible tribals, the CM said recently. Those involved in conversion were inciting a protest against the states bid to amend two tenancy Acts, he added.

This triggered a rare public opposition by a government official. Panchayati Raj secretary Vandana Dadel protested in social media, asking if tribals had no right to choose religion with respect.

Why all of a sudden have people started thinking about the religion of tribals? said a Facebook post of tribal Christian Dadel, an IAS officer of the 1996 batch.

Social workers, too, are protesting. These are all gimmicks and false allegations, tribal activist Ratan Tirkey told HT. NGOs could be siphoning money, but they are not into conversions.

Premchand Murmu of the Adivasi Buddhijivi Manch said bigger churches of the 16 Christian denominations in Jharkhand never indulge in conversions.

Opposition politicians, too, are not amused. The CM is trying to create communal divide, said former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay of the Congress. He is threatening the minority community to divert attention of the people from his failures.

(With agency inputs)
One person was killed and several others were injured in Jharkhands Khunti on Saturday when police fired on protesters trying to join a rally against the governments alleged attempt to dilute two British-era laws safeguarding tribal land, officials said.

Several policemen was also injured when hundreds of villagers clashed with security personnel who tried to stop them from marching to Ranchi, 35 kms away, to join a rally by a conglomerate of tribal groups.

The growing tribal anger in Jharkhand has echoes of the nationwide protests by farmers against the Narendra Modi governments controversial bill that aims to ease Indias laws governing land acquisition for industries.

The Raghubar Das-led BJP government has brought in an ordinance seeking changes in the century-old Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act to facilitate acquisition of tribal land for public interest projects such as roads, dams, water pipelines, transmission cables, hospitals and educational institutions.

The tribals -- constituting 26.2% of the states 3.29 crore population  say the move could lead to rampant acquisition of land belonging to the indigenous people.

Land and citizenship rights are two of the most sensitive issues in the tribal-majority state with activists and political parties accusing outsiders  a term used to describe people from other states  of grabbing land and government jobs and taking control of businesses, depriving the indigenous population of economic and social benefits.

Saturdays incident is the third time police have fired on tribal protesters, leaving seven people dead since August.

Tribals are also angry over Das frequent raising of the bogey of their alleged conversion to Christianity, a charge denied by organisations representing the indigenous people.

Khunti deputy commissioner Chandrasekhar, who uses only his first name, said police exercised maximum restrained but were forced to open fire when protesters allegedly holding senior officials hostage turned violent.

Activists rejected the police charges.

This is total anarchy and dictatorship of the police, said Pravin Kumar, social activist who was an eyewitness to the incident.

Local Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislator Poulus Surin termed the incident a serious human rights violation.

Business establishments were shut in Khunti and in the neighbouring districts after the incident as tempers rose. People also blocked roads at several places.

The chief minister condemned the incident saying violence has no place in democracy. He announced aid of Rs 2 lakh each for the family of the dead and injured.

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The first look of the sequel to SS Rajamoulis blockbuster film Baahubali: The Beginning, was unveiled at the ongoing MAMI film festival in Mumbai on Friday. The poster of Baahubali: The Conclusion has Prabhas as Baahubali: bare-chested and muscular, with flowing mane and windswept necklace, hes shown clutching chains in his left hand, and a sword in the other.

In a Facebook Live event at the launch, which was attended by the entire star cast of the film, it was revealed that Prabhas used to eat up to 40 egg white every day to put on 100kg.

The posters background, in an electric-blue haze, shows Amarendra Baahubali in his battle regalia. Its clear that the younger Baahubali is in a revenge mould in this film, now that he knows his identity. He is out to avenge his fathers assassination.

Baahubali: The Conclusion is the second and final part of the multi-lingual film starring Rana, Prabhas, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia.

The buzz around the action sequences in the film has been on an all-time high, and the new poster only adds to the drama. Rana Daggubati, the films antagonist, had said in an earlier interview that the action scenes in Baahubali 2 will make the first film look small. He added, They have been amazingly shot and are mind blowing. We were left awestruck while filming them, so I can imagine how the audience will be blown away by them. The second film will bring a totality to the story. People will get to know why Kattapa killed Baahubali! And the other interesting aspect is the large scale, which is far bigger than the prequels.

Baahubali: The Conclusion will hit the theatres on April 28, 2017.

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Donald Trump on Saturday unveiled plans for the first 100 days of his presidency, vowing to create 25 million jobs over a decade and middle class tax cuts, as he and Hillary Clinton courted undecided swing state voters.

While offering a number of concrete policy initiatives, the Republican billionaire also attacked his critics, threatening to sue the liars who have accused him of sexual assault, and saying Clinton should have been barred from running.

Trumps campaign team cast his 45-minute speech in Gettysburg -- where Abraham Lincoln delivered his key Civil War address to try to unite the nation -- as his closing arguments with 17 days to go before Election Day.

His appearance in Pennsylvania -- a key swing state in the November 8 battle for the White House where his Democratic rival was due to stage rallies later in the day -- came at the start of a weekend battleground campaign blitz.

Clinton, the 68-year-old former secretary of state, is leading in the national polls by an average of more than 5.3 percentage points in a two- or four-way contest, according to RealClearPolitics.

Change has to come from outside our very broken system, Trump told a room of several hundred supporters, saying the nation needed to look to Lincolns example to heal sharp divisions.

Our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime.

The 70-year-old Manhattan real estate mogul then listed a number of measures he would undertake in the first 100 days of his administration, delivering prepared remarks rather than using his trademark off-the-cuff style.

We now find ourselves at that very special fork in the road. Do we repeat the mistakes of the past or do we choose to believe that a great future, yet unwritten lies ahead for us and for our wonderful, beloved country? he asked.

I think it does. I know it does.

Trump pledged to deliver at least 25 million jobs in one decade, tame illegal immigration, impose Congressional term limits, renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement -- and repeal President Barack Obamas signature health care reform.

Hillary Clinton is not running against me, shes running against change, he said.

Liars

Trump has seen his campaign spiral downwards in recent weeks, after a number of women made allegations that he sexually assaulted them -- claims he again insisted Saturday were false.

The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over, he said to cheers.

Those allegations came on the heels of the release of a 2005 video, in which Trump is heard making lewd comments about women to a television talk show host and saying his fame entitles him to grope women.

He also revisited his claims of vote rigging -- comments that have outraged even fellow Republicans and drawn scorn from President Barack Obama for breaking with political decorum -- and blamed the media for his dip in the polls.

Clinton on Friday excoriated Trump as a threat to American democracy for not pledging to honor the results of the election.

We know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, and the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart, Clinton told a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, another key swing state up for grabs.

Donald Trump refused to say that hed respect the results of this election. By doing that, hes threatening our democracy.

Despite isolated allegations of voter fraud, controversy over the tight 2000 vote and rampant gerrymandering, US elections have been regarded as free and fair.

Clinton in Pennsylvania

Invigorated by both her commanding poll numbers and Trumps eyebrow-raising declarations, the candidate vying to become Americas first female president was set for two campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Clinton holds leads in several battleground states, ranging from razor-thin, such as in North Carolina, to moderate in Florida and Pennsylvania and commanding in Virginia.

Trump, well aware that no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, campaigned in the Buckeye State Thursday and was due there later Saturday for a rally with running mate Mike Pence.

If Trump loses Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory, experts have said.

On Friday, Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, right up until the actual vote -- but also offered a rare acknowledgement that he might lose.

Win, lose or draw... I will be happy with myself, he said in North Carolina.
Frances President Francois Hollande is honouring an American couple for pledging the largest foreign collection of art to be donated to France since World War II.

Texans Marlene and Spencer Hays are bequeathing to the Musee dOrsay in Paris some 600 works dating from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.

Frances culture ministry has estimated the value of the collection, which includes pieces by Modigliani and Maillol, at $381 million.

Spencer Hays is scheduled to speak at a donation ceremony tonight, when Hollande plans to award Hays and his wife the Legion of Honor Frances highest civilian award.

The wealthy couple began collecting art in the 1970s and intends to donate the works posthumously.
An Egyptian criminal court on Saturday confirmed the 20-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, in the first final verdict in a case against the former president.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were turned down too.

In April 2015, a Cairo court had sentenced Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012, when Morsi was still in power.

The then opposition protesters had rallied in front of the palace to peacefully protest Morsis decree in which he had ordered that the president shall remain immune from judicial oversight. Clashes erupted outside the palace and 10 people were killed, including journalist el-Husseini Abu Deif, 33.

Read | The Spare Tyre: Morsis journey from poll triumph to death sentence

Morsi and other defendants, were charged for killing protesters, possessing weapons, and inciting violence during the sit-in near the palace.

Defendants include Asad Al-Shikha, Morsis former deputy chief of staff, Ahmed Abdel Atty, former head of presidents office, Mohamed El-Beltagy, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, outspoken Islamic preacher Wagdy Ghoneim and Essam El-Erian, deputy head of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhoods Justice and Freedom Party.

Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including on espionage charges, escaping from prison during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, insulting the judiciary and spying and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel.

Read | Egypts Morsi sentenced to life in espionage trial

The former president has said he does not recongnise the trials he faces.

Morsi, who became Egypts president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was ousted in a military coup after a year in power following mass protests against his rule.

In another case, an Egyptian court today accepted the appeal of the supreme guide of Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and other defendants against a life in prison sentence for taking part in violent acts near Istekama mosque in Giza in which 9 people died last year.

The defendants were accused of murder, attempt to murder, resisting authorities and belonging to an outlaw group that aims at disturbing national peace, among other charges.

The court has ordered a retrial for the defendants.
French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday asked the UN Security Council to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged that those behind the attacks be placed under sanctions.

I want... a clear condemnation of these crimes in a resolution from the UN Security Council... that places the perpetrators under sanctions, Ayrault said.

Read | Chemical weapons used 161 times in five-year Syria war: Report

The ministers comments came a day after UN experts said in a report that the Syrian army had attacked a village with chemical weapons in 2015. The Islamic State group has also been accused of using mustard gas as a weapon.

The Syrian army and Daesh have used chemical weapons against civilians on at least three occasions, Ayrault said, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS.

These acts are inhuman and unacceptable, he said in a statement.

France will not accept that the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which has now been proven beyond doubt... should remain unpunished, he said.

We call on all our partners in the Security Council to assume their responsibility.

The United States, Britain and France have repeatedly called for sanctions, particularly against the Syrian regime, over the use of chemical weapons in the five-year conflict.

However, President Bashar al-Assads main backer Russia, a permanent Security Council member, has cast doubt on the UN experts findings, claiming that they are not sufficiently conclusive to warrant sanctions.
Pakistans interior minister Nisar Ali Khan has met chiefs of two banned groups, including one declared as terrorist by the US, amid fears that the outfits might join Imran Khans protest march next week seeking ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over graft allegations.

Khan, who heads Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has threatened to impose a girdle lock on the capital Islamabad on November 2.

Maulana Samiul Haq, also known as the godfather of Taliban, had announced that his Difsh-e-Pakistan Council (DCC) would also join the protest, creating panic in the government.

He accused that government was targeting religious seminaries in the country.

Haq, along with a delegation, met Nisar on Friday.

His delegation included Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi of banned Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil of banned Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM).

After HuM was banned, Khalil set up the Ansar-ul Umma outfit.

The ASWJ was successor of banned anti-Shia Sipah-e-Sehaba Pakistan (SSP) but it was also banned some years back.

The delegation leaders were angry as government had announced to cancel the national identity cards of those listed in the Fourth Schedule, which makes it impossible to carry out any business activity in the country or get passport.

The meeting took place a day after a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker indirectly accused Maulana Samiul Haq of planning to send students of his seminary to help the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Islamabads lockdown, in return for the grant received from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The security situation of the country also came under discussion during the meeting. Members of the delegation assured the interior minister that they would always be in the forefront on any issue that related to Islam and Pakistan.
French authorities will begin dismantling the Jungle migrant camp, home to about 7,000 people, in the port of Calais from Monday (October 24) morning, government officials have announced.

According to the interior ministry on Friday, minors will be taken to the camps converted shipping containers during the dismantling of the rest of the Jungle, the BBC reported.

The migrants who currently live in the containers -- which were being used as temporary accommodation instead of makeshift tents -- will be evacuated to make room for the minors.

There are 7,500 beds available in centres across France for the migrants. Some 60 buses will be used to remove them from the camp, the ministry noted.

Migrants and no border activists stand on a lookout tower built in the northern part of a camp for migrants called the "Jungle", in Calais, northern France. (REUTERS)

Workers operate a crane to set up concrete blocks in Calais, northern France, to build a 4-metre-high wall, dubbed the 'Great Wall of Calais', aimed at preventing migrants and refugees from attempting to reach Britain. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on October 18, 2016 the demolition of the "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais would take place "within days" after a court rejected a last-ditch bid by charities to block it. (AFP)

Migrants and refugees gather at the entrance of the 'Jungle' migrant camp. (AFP)

A young migrant looks over at French riot police who patrol near the makeshift camp called the "Jungle". (REUTERS)

French police post the official document that announces the dismantling of the makeshift camp called the "Jungle. (REUTERS)

A migrant walks by a wall with the message, "London Calling" outside the makeshift camp called the "Jungle" in Calais. (REUTERS)

However, officials have expressed concern over crowds rushing to leave the camp during the first stage of the operation.

From Tuesday, heavy machinery will be sent to clear the tents and shelters that have been left behind.

The ministry added that police forces might be forced to intervene if faced with resistance.

Several children from the camp are expected to be relocated to the UK.

The Jungle has played host migrants, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, who have attempted to board lorries bound for the UK, clashing with drivers and police in the process.

A UK-funded 1 km wall is being built along the main road to the port in an attempt to deter would-be stowaways.

Work on the wall, which began last week, is due to be finished by the end of the year.
When British Prime Minister Theresa May takes off for India for a three-day visit from November 6, she will have Brussels as much on her mind as New Delhi, given the tortuous path she has to tread to leave the EU and chart a future in post-Brexit UK.

Bilateralism aside, the India visit is part of the increasingly acrimonious perception battle, and Mays message to Brussels will be: I have options outside the EU. We are getting a deal with as large a market as India.

Eagerness about the visit is evident on the British side beyond the symbolism that it is Mays first bilateral visit outside Europe since taking over as prime minister in the aftermath of the June 23 Brexit vote. Her team will include over 160 people, mostly focused on trade.

With the old power equation of deliverer and supplicant in India-Britain relations now consigned to history, the Indian side is preparing for some straight talk during the visit: easier visa access and no more fence-sitting on terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

We are not going to lose much if you dont allow short-term migration of students, tourists, professionals. Post-Brexit, you need Indians. Our group tourists return from France, dont come to Britain due to difficult visa conditions, said India's acting high commissioner Dinesh Patnaik.

It is expected that May will at least announce the extension of a pilot currently underway in China to offer easier, longer and cheaper visa to tourists. Under the pilot, a UK visa valid for two years is offered for 87; for the same fee, Indians get the visa for a maximum of six months. A two-year visa for Indians costs 330.

Students, tourists and other short-term visitors are not migrants under any definition, Patnaik said, reflecting the growing demand from universities and other stakeholders to remove students from net migration figures  a demand May has consistently turned down.

Indian circles in London do not see Mays three visits to Pakistan when she was home secretary as significant, though she travelled to India only once (in 2012). The rationale offered is that she knows where the problem lies, since issues related with Pakistan are part of global concerns about terrorism.

Given the many umbilical links between the two countries, the thinking is that whichever party is in power in London or New Delhi, closer relations are imperative  more so in the post-Brexit situation for Britain, which will need an old partner like India now more than ever.

May and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to inaugurate the Indo-UK tech Summit in New Delhi on November 7. Besides bilateral talks, May is also likely to visit Bengaluru or Jaipur, as ministers in her team participate in joint economic and other committee meetings.

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Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to fumes from a burning sulphur plant set ablaze during fighting with Islamic State near Mosul and U.S. officials say U.S. forces at a nearby airfield are wearing protective masks.

The Qayyara West airfield is the main U.S. hub to support Iraqi-led operations to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State. There are about 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq but the U.S. military has not disclosed the number of personnel at the airfield.

The winds have actually shifted south, so, as a precautionary measure, the troops at Qayyara West have donned their personal protective equipment  continuing their operations at this point in time, an official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear if the troops had been ordered to wear the protective gear or if they had elected to, a second official said.

Watch: Dramatic video of Mosul battle, reporters escape explosions

An Iraqi army vehicle is seen during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, in Qayyara, Iraq. (REUTERS)

A Reuters reporter in Qayyara saw Iraqi soldiers wearing gas masks on top of their heads, ready to pull them down

Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to the toxic gases, sources at the hospital in Qayyara said, reporting no death at the medical facility itself.

A cloud of white smoke blanketed the region to the north, where the factory is located, mingling with black fumes from oil wells that the militants torched to cover their moves.

Air samples from Qayyara West were sent to the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency for analysis as to what, if any concerns, may result, another U.S. official said.

A man returns to his village after it was liberated from Islamic State militants, south of Mosul in Qayyara, Iraq. (REUTERS)

The U.S officials said Islamic State set the sulfur plant ablaze on Thursday during fighting around al-Mishraq, which is south of Mosul. Iraqi state TV said it the fire has been put out Saturday.

Operation Inherent Resolve, the official name of the U.S-led anti-Islamic State coalition, said it in a statement on Saturday it had provided more than 24,000 protective chemical masks to the Iraqi security forces and the allied Kurdish Peshmerga fighters during the training for the Mosul offensive.

Separately, the coalition said it the airfield of Qayyara started receiving on Friday fixed wing cargo aircraft, a U.S. Air Force engineers with the 1st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Group repaired it.
Pakistan's religious parties have started to bargain with both the government and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in a bid to extract concessions ahead of a dharna PTI plans to hold in Islamabad from November 2.

The move comes after another mainstream party, the PML-Q announced its support for Imran Khan's November protest and the ruling party announced it would start contacting other parties to thwart the PTI rally.

On Saturday, prime minister Nawaz Sharif entrusted his key cabinet ministers with the task of talking to the main political parties in the country to dissuade them from being part of Imran Khan's dharna. "The government is now under pressure and it is trying to rally other parties like it did in the past. This time however it is not getting support from many quarters and this is why the prime minister is panicking," said analyst Ghazi Salahuddin.

Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar on Friday met the chiefs of two banned groups, including one declared a terrorist organisation by the US, to dissuade them from joining Khan's protest. Sources said Nisar assured the chiefs of a softer approach and release of their supporters arrested earlier under the National Action Plan.

Local media reported that discussions are underway between the government and the members of the Difah-e-Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) Council (DPC), which comprises religious parties, over concessions that the government can give them if they do not support the protest.

Earlier, Maulana Samiul Haq of the Jamaiat-Ulema Islam (JUI-S) had announced that the council would also join the protest, creating panic in the government. He said the government was targeting religious seminaries in the country.

Haq, along with a delegation, met Nisar on Friday. His delegation included Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi of the banned Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil of the banned Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM).

At the same time, Maualana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F party announced he would distance himself from the PTI protest.

DPC members demanded the government stop operations against madrassas and militant outfits and release their supporters, many of who are currently behind bars.

The delegation leaders were angry as the government had announced it would cancel the national identity cards of those listed in the Fourth Schedule, which makes it impossible to carry out any business activity in the country or get a passport.

The meeting took place a day after a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker indirectly accused Maulana Samiul Haq of planning to send students of his seminary to help the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Islamabads lockdown, in return for a grant received from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. The PML- Q also announced it would support the Imran Khan rally on November 2. A meeting of PML-Q and PTI leaders in Lahore led to this declaration.

Observers say the Sharif government is now under intense pressure to reverse some of its policies it announced to deal with some of the religious organisations involved in militant activity.
Amulets, talismans, ancient horoscopes and miniature Qurans are among over a hundred objects from countries such as India, Morocco, China and Egypt on display at an Oxford exhibition that seeks to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world.

The objects include some from seventeenth century India that reflect the countrys Islamic heritage as well as recall the work of artisans in places such as Golconda and Agra. The exhibition is titled Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural and runs until January 15.

A calligraphic standard from India on display at an Oxford exhibition that seeks to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Billed as the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world, the exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum includes objects and works of art from the 12th to the 20th centuries which have been used as sources of guidance and protection in both the private sphere and in dramatic events such as battles and royal births.

Amongst the displays are dream-books, talismanic clothing, military equipment, medical tools and jewel-encrusted amulets, many of which have never before been seen in public.

Belief in the supernatural and the practice of divination have held a place in peoples lives across all times and cultures. In Islam, as in all religions, such beliefs and practices have often merged and been integrated into popular religion, organisers said.

Everyday objects and luxury items abound, showing how these practices were used at all levels of society around the Islamic world.

Zodiac coins from India on display at an Oxford exhibition that seeks to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. (Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford)

Tariq Ramadan, professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford, said: With an emphasis less on theory and more on Islamic practices, hopes and even superstitions, the exhibiton shows the many creative paths which Muslims follow towards the Oneness of God (Tawhid).

In examining these practices and the artworks associated with them, we can gain a deeper historical, cultural and even theological understanding of Muslims as they strive to come back to their source of knowledge and explore the meaning of human destiny. This is about spiritual liberation in all its forms and Power and Protection opens that mysterious door.

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Taking a strong note of atrocities committed by Pakistan on the people of Kashmir under its control (PoK), United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP) leader Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri on Saturday said Kashmiris would die but wont compromise on their motherland.

Delivering a tough message on Black Day, the UKPNP leader said, This day is very important for all those Kashmiris who do care for their own people and want them to be safe and secure, and this day is also a message to those who are committing atrocities, that Kashmiris can die, but they cannot compromise on their motherland.

Today, on October 22, Jammu and Kashmir was attacked by kabalis, who tried to capture our motherland and thousands of our young people, women, elderly and children were killed by them, he said. Today is also a day to remember brave Kashmiri mujahids (people performing jihad) Master Abdul Aziz and Maqbool Sherwani, who fought back kabalis.

Read | Pak-origin Brussels MP signs petition against illegal annexation of Gilgit Baltistan

It is the result of their struggle that the people of Jammu and Kashmir even today remember them and hail their valour and deplore those who had started bloodshed in our country, he added.

Kashmiri also accused the Pakistani government, which claims of being a well-wisher, of conspiring against the people.

On the one hand they signed a standstill agreement with us and accept the freedom and sovereignty of our state, while on the other hand they launch a deplorable conspiracy in Peshawar and abducted Kashmiri women, killed children, and thousands of people confined in their hoses and charred, he said.

Today, members of the UKPNP and its associates are gathering at Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, Mirpur and other places and making it a point that they would not make any compromise on their motherland.

This was the day when tribal hordes with the connivance of the Pakistani state, devastated large parts of Jammu and Kashmir, violating the Standstill Agreement between Pakistan and the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the death of thousands of innocent Hindus and Muslims and in the first Indo-Pak war in 1947-48 and subsequent wars thereafter.
Astronaut Scott Kelly, who has the distinction of having spent a year in the space, has said that the level of pollution in China and India is shocking.

Seeing places like China and India, and the pollution that exists there almost all the time is quite shocking, Kelly said in a brief media appearance with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House yesterday.

There was one day last summer, the summer of 2015, when I was in space I saw the eastern side of China was perfectly clear. And Id never seen that before in all of my time in space, and Id spent well over a year in space, total, at that point, he said.

Read | Work, seeing Himalayan lakes kept US astronaut Scott Kelly sane

I could see all these cities that are - theres like over 200 cities in that part of China, with over a million people. And it was at dusk, and I could just, for the very first time, I was able to see them, and it was quite shocking, he added.

I didnt really understand it until the next day I heard that the Chinese government had turned off a lot of the coal-producing power plants, stopped the cars from running in that part of the country for this national holiday, and the sky had completely cleared, Kelly said.

So its interesting to see just how much of a negative impact we have on the environment, but also how quickly we can have a positive impact on it if we decide, not to mention the atmosphere is very, very thin and scary-looking when you see it from space, he said.

Describing him as an American hero, Obama said a while back, Kelly completed what was the longest period of time that any US astronaut has ever spent in space -- almost a year.

Read | Sore but no taller, astronaut Scott Kelly adjusts to Earth

What made this so important was not just to break a record, it gave us an opportunity to learn how Scott, as an astronaut, is impacted by lengthy stay like that. And weve got somebody to compare him to -- his twin brother Mark, also an astronaut, he said.

So as a consequence, what we were able to learn is how does the body adapt, what kinds of physiological impacts -- psychologically, from what I understand from Scott, he was pretty good. But all this allows us to start thinking about long-term manned space flight, he said.

Obama said the next American goal is to get to Mars.

Obviously, weve got a lot of work to do technologically to figure out how to get there, what kinds of space crafts allows us to do that most effectively, he said.

But if were going to do a manned flight, then one of the keys is making sure that our astronauts who are going out into space for that long period of time are also then able to come back -- what kinds of environments do we need to create for them, what are the biological sciences, and other elements that will allow for a successful mission, he added.
A Somali pirate said on Saturday that 26 Asian sailors held hostage for more than four years have been released after a ransom was paid, and international mediators said it represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy.

The crew from Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines had been among the few hostages still in the hands of Somali pirates.

The pirate, Bile Hussein, said the sailors were the crew of the FV Naham 3, a Taiwan-owned fishing vessel seized in March 2012. The ship later sank.

Hussein said $1.5 million in ransom was paid for the sailors release. That claim could not be independently verified.

The 26 sailors are currently in the safe hands of the Galmudug authorities and will be repatriated using a U.N. humanitarian flight shortly and then on to their home countries, John Steed, the coordinator of the Hostage Support Partners for the US-based organization Oceans Beyond Piracy, said in a statement.

The statement included a photo, stamped August 14, showing the thin, grim crewmen standing or squatting together as proof they remained alive.

Steed said only one other group of hostages had been held longer than this one, which spent 1,672 days in captivity.

They are reported to be in reasonable condition, considering their ordeal. They are all malnourished. Four are currently receiving medical treatment by a doctor in Galkayo. They have spent over four and a half years in deplorable conditions away from their families, Steed said.

He said another member of the crew died in the hijacking and two died of illnesses in captivity.

Piracy off Somalias coast was once a serious threat to the global shipping industry, but attacks have dropped dramatically in recent years after ships began carrying armed guards and European Union naval forces increased patrols.

No commercial vessel has been successfully attacked since 2012, but the threat of piracy remains, Steed said.

The majority of hostages held by Somali pirates have been sailors on merchant ships, though European families also have been kidnapped from their yachts while travelling in the dangerous Indian Ocean coastal waters.
Multitudes of feral cats roam New York Citys concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: Theyre helping curb the citys rat population.

A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats.

Feline rat patrols keep watch over city delis and bodegas, car dealerships and the grounds of a Greenwich Village church. Four cats roam the loading dock at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, where food deliveries and garbage have drawn rodents for years.

We used to hire exterminators, but nature has a better solution, said Rebecca Marshall, the sustainability manager at the 1.8-million-square-foot center. And cats dont cost anything.

About 6,000 volunteers have completed workshops where theyve learned proper ways to trap cats.

The program is run through the privately funded Mayors Alliance for NYCs Animals, a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters. It estimates as many as half a million feral and stray cats roam New Yorks five boroughs.

The life of a street cat is a tough one. Some are former pets, abandoned by owners. Plenty die of disease and malnutrition or are hit by vehicles. Others ingest poisoned cat food  set deliberately to get rid of them, cat advocates say.

Many of the animals are displaced as a result of New Yorks development, with new construction creating perilous conditions for those that once inhabited the citys nooks and crannies, from vacant lots, decaying factories and empty warehouses.

One colony of two dozen cats living in a lot on Manhattans West Side are about to be displaced by construction on a new $3 billion office tower. A City Council member is working with residents and developers to make sure the creatures are moved to a safe location.

The Javits Centers quartet of cats  Sylvester, Alfreda, Mama Cat and Ginger  were lured to its 56 loading docks about two years ago with pet food brought by animal-loving employees. On a recent fall morning, Sylvester stationed himself next to a commercial truck, ready to pounce if needed.

The cats are predators but dont necessarily kill rats. Instead, experts say the feline scent and droppings repel the rodents.

A mother rat will never give birth near a predator because the cats would eat the babies, said Jane Hoffman, president of the mayors alliance.

The cat population is controlled through spaying and neutering, provided free of charge by the Humane Society of New York and the ASPCA. In most cases, adoption is out of the question for feral cats because they are just too wild to be domesticated.

Thanks to the volunteers, says Marshall, were protecting wildlife in the city, and the cats get a second chance at life.
We need an ambulance, we need an ambulance, an Iraqi officer says over the radio, moments after an explosives-rigged truck disappeared in a column of flame and dust.

Iraqi forces advancing toward a village in Nineveh province had already been targeted with gun and mortar fire from Islamic State group jihadists inside.

A suicide bomber then drove the explosives-rigged truck toward them, but security forces blew up the vehicle before it reached them, federal police Second Lieutenant Faruq Ahmed Mohammed told AFP at a position to the south.

Despite this, a police officer was lightly wounded in the blast, Mohammed said.

Security forces advanced and fell back, exchanging fire with the jihadists over a period of hours and eventually targeting them with mortar rounds.

The resistance they faced demonstrates that even a small number of jihadists can slow down larger and more heavily armed forces, especially when civilians are present -- an issue Iraqi troops will continue to face as they push north toward the city of Mosul.

Earlier in the day, black smoke rose from fires in the village as Iraqi forces slowly advanced in armoured vehicles along a dusty track through the desert to avoid bombs planted by IS on the main road.

Military engineers were working to clear the road -- efforts evidenced by periodic explosions that sent clouds of dust rising into the air -- but progress was slow.

A picture taken from the top of Mount Zardak shows Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters watching smoke billowing in Nineveh. (AFP Photo)

Iraqi police and soldiers took position on a hill to the south of the village, while other units later moved in from the east, the main scene of the fighting for most of the day.

IS fired mortar rounds toward the advancing forces, most of which missed by a wide margin, though at least one exploded near a group of Humvees.

White flags raised

White flags were raised inside the village -- a signal the Iraqi government had called on civilians to use to indicate that they were present.

There are families who have white flags inside the village, and we cant shell (it) with the tank or with the mortar unless the families leave, Second Lieutenant Ali Bassim of the interior ministrys elite Rapid Response Division said.

Iraqi forces were trying to advance close enough to establish a corridor for civilians to exit, he said, but they were targeted by mortar rounds and suicide bombing.

Eventually, more troops moved toward the west side of the village, some walking while others drove slowly in Humvees, apparently seeking to identify and avoid bombs planted by the jihadists.

Iraqi Major General Najim al-Jobori (left) the head of Nineveh operations command. (AP Photo)

They exchanged machine gun fire with IS as they closed in, and security forces said they spotted another suicide bomber on the edge of the village, while more explosives-rigged vehicles were said to be waiting inside.

Iraqi forces eventually tried to destroy the waiting car bombs with a 120 millimetre mortar.

The recoil from the heavy rounds sent sheets of dust drifting across the ground when they were fired.

The target is explosives-rigged vehicles, more than three vehicles... close to our units, said an artillery commander who did not want to be identified by name.

The regular units are not able to (attack) them because the vehicles are behind the houses, behind walls, behind berms, he said.

Asked about the civilians present in the village, the commander said that six or seven vehicles had departed and that there were no more inside.

More than four hours after the fighting began, the village remained in IS hands.

A picture taken from the top of Mount Zardak, shows the city of Nineveh. (AFP Photo)
While some Facebook employees tried to remove certain controversial posts by US presidential candidate Donand Trump from the website, CEO Mark Zuckerberg ruled that it would be inappropriate to censor the Republican Party nominee, media reported on Saturday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Zuckerbergs decision prompted employees across the board to complain on Facebooks internal messaging service and to Zuckerberg and other managers that it was bending the sites rules for Trump who posted about banning Muslims from entering the US.

Some employees who work in a group charged with reviewing content on Facebook even threatened to quit, the report added.

Trump posted in December on preventing Muslim immigration. His statement called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on.

Users flagged the content as hate speech -- a move that triggered a review by Facebooks community-operations team.

Some Facebook employees -- including Muslims -- said in internal chat rooms that the post broke Facebooks rules on hate speech as detailed in its internal guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said.

But content reviewers were asked by their managers not to remove the post.

Facebook has never contacted us about employee complaints and has never removed a post, a spokesperson for Trumps campaign was quoted as saying.
During his recent visit to China, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared "it's time to say goodbye" to the United States. The Philippine leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping are getting closer, while Washington now is ignored.

Duterte spoke to the press in Beijing on Wednesday and his conference coincided with talks of unprecedented agreements, mainly granting the Philippines the use of Scarborough Shoal territories.

Duterte declared in allusion to Washington, "Your stay in my country was for your own benefit. So time to say goodbye, my friend."

"No more American interference. No more American exercises. What for," Duterte told the Filipino expat community in Beijing.

Relations between the Philippines and U.S. have been in crisis since the government of Barack Obama started complaining about the methods used by Duterte to fight against drug crime. The Philippine president disliked this and had a firm position against Obama.

The U.S. and the Philippines have been working together for about 65 years but now the relations have worsened. This, and the military bases that US has in Okinawa, Japan, was key in the US policy in the area.

We have to add that there are four million Filipino Americans in USA who send about $15 billion a year to their home country. This is equivalent to about 5 percent of the economy of the Philippines.

Since Duterte had misunderstandings with the government of Obama, he has been approaching to China, he was very clear and stated that he would charter a new course.

There are a lot of agreements to be reviewed which range from territorial to economic issues.

Infrastructure is also important for the government of Manila. Energy, soft loans and communications are on the table too. Long term loans would be ideal for Manila to develop great projects, as for example, railways.

The Philippine leader stated that the China partnership does not involve full military cooperation.

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If you are socially savvy, you might have a platoon of friends. But do you have 234 of them?

Take heart. You certainly may be having 234 alien friends trying to talk to you!

Astronomers found recently that 234 mysterious signals from faraway stars might be from various alien species trying to reach out to us, said a new study published Thursday by Laval University.

Through the Apache Point Observatory, scientists analyzed the spectra of 2.5 million stars. Among these, they identified 234 giving off strange signals, which "have exactly the shape of an ETI [Extraterrestrial Intelligence] signal" they said. Each of these stars was also "relatively comparable" to the sun.

As the authors say in their paper: "Although unlikely, there is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars."

However, how close can these be to signals? There might be so many reasons behind the origin of the signals, that as the authors explain in their abstract: "this hypothesis needs to be confirmed with further work."

The Breakthrough Listen Initiative, funded by physicist Stephen Hawking and scientific philanthropist Yuri Milner, investigates intelligent, alien life. So far it remains sceptical about the scientific study regarding 234 star signals, giving it a 0 out of 1 in the Rio scale. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," it noted. Still, more research is ongoing.

Stellar oddities are not always due to aliens, but could be due to other strange phenomena. For instance, in 1967, a graduate student in astronomy was excited when he discovered a pulsing radio signal that seemed to be sent from "intelligent life." The signal was nicknamed LGM-1, for "little green men." However, the signal turned out to be not from Alien life, but from the first pulsar.

Last October, Yale University, astronomers as well as other schools, used NASA's Kepler Space Telescope to examine the star KIC 8462852. They found that its light patterns "were consistent with large orbiting masses that blocked out some of the star's light." Scientists found that quite astounding.

"We spent a long time trying to convince ourselves this wasn't real. We just weren't able to," said Ben Montet, a Caltech astronomer who co-authored the study. "None of the considered phenomena can alone explain the observations."

YouTube/ Citizen of Gotham

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The Bermuda Triangle is a mystery that has haunted the Earth since ships and planes visited and vanished from a 500,000 km square patch of ocean. It is a deadly area that lies between Florida, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

Why did the ships and planes keep disappearing over this triangle? Many scientists aver that it has never been clear. But now, at last, experts have arrived at an explanation. An "extremely rare, bizarre and severe weather pattern" is responsible for the disappearance, claim scientists.

They have discovered "hexagonal clouds" that are very rare formations in the North Sea near UK.

Explains Dr Steve Miller, satellite meteorologist at Colorado State University to the Science Channel's 'What On Earth': "You don't typically see straight edges with clouds. Most of the time, clouds are random in their distribution."

Scientists used radar satellites to check and gauge what happened just under the clouds. They discovered that sea level winds were leaping up to almost 170 miles an hour. This was so powerful that it triggered waves more than 45 feet high. They started 'air bombs' that were then made to fall back and crash on the ocean.

The same clouds also appeared on the western tip of the Bermuda triangle. These clouds were larger - from 20 to 55 miles across.

Says Meteorologist Randy Cerveny "These types of hexagonal shapes over the ocean are in essence air bombs. They form microbursts and they're blasts of air that come down out of the bottom of a cloud and then hit the ocean and then create waves that can sometimes be massive in size."

As the wind would blast from microbursts that would be able to spread outwards at huge speeds of 170 miles per hour, they were enough to topple ships as well as aircraft. That tells us why the USS Cyclops disappeared.

The biggest disaster happened in 1945, when five US Navy Avenger torpedo bombers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, flew to Bimini Island, but never appeared again. There was a radio call from 14 men on the ship, trying to convey the message that their compasses had stopped.

Even three rescue planes sent after them vanished too.

While trying to figure out why it happened, experts have surmised that they may have been caused by gas explosions. Whey they found craters in Siberia, scientists from around the globe got interested in it. Due to the huge holes in the ground, a lot of gas was released from under the ground, through a process called methane hydrates. Hence, this might be the reason that air and water vessels disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, they conjecture.

However, there are a lot of skeptics who do not believe that there is any Bermuda Triangle mystery - though the area exists. As ScienceAlert explains: "In some cases there's no record of the ships and planes claimed to have been lost in the aquatic triangular graveyard; they never existed outside of a writer's imagination. In other cases, the ships and planes were real enough - but Berlitz and others neglected to mention that they 'mysteriously disappeared' during bad storms. Other times the vessels sank far outside the Bermuda Triangle."

They also concede that the hexagonal-shaped clouds are indeed creating microbursts, hitting the waves and creating further and higher waves. But that is interesting in itself, mystery or no mystery.

"So the real news here isn't the solution to a long-standing myth, it's potential evidence of a new weather phenomenon, and that's pretty cool in itself," explains sciencealert.

YouTube/NEWS NEWS

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Maxo Kream, the heavy-set Houston artist who purveys an even heavier brand of Texan trap music, has reportedly been arrested. According to XXL, he has been charged with two counts of engaging in an organized criminal act, which is a felony offense. He is currently being held at Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond, TX, and his bail has reportedly been set at $100,000 for each count.

A couple of hours ago, Danny Brown tweeted, Free Maxo Kream. Maxo is an opener on Browns The Exhibition tour, and though he performed for his hometown crowd in H-Town last night, he is not listed on the bill for tonights concert in Dallas.

Maxo Kreams latest release was a good one. Download Junes The Persona Tape here, and check out HNHHs recent interview with the Pride of Houstons Southwest Side here.

Check back with us as more details on Maxos arrest become available.

Maxo Kream
Jordan Brand still has some surprises in store for sneakerheads this year, including this crazy look pair of Air Jordan 13s which serve as a nod to Chinas Singles Day.

Singles Day is a widespread festival among young Chinese people in which they celebrate the fact that theyre not in a relationship. The date it is celebrated on, 11/11, was chosen because the number 1 resembles an individual that is alone.

Now that we know about the inspiration behind these new 13s, we can get into the actual sneakers.

The red mens pair features a wear-away panda camo overlay, similar to the Wings Air Jordan 12 that dropped earlier this year. Only a few pics have surfaced but judging from the insole shown in the gallery, we can assume thats the design the sneaker will take on once these 13s are worn to the bone.

In celebration of the unique holiday, this special pair of Air Jordan 13s, as well as a minty green GS version, will be dropping on November 11th, though its unclear if theyll be a China exclusive or a widespread release in The States as well.

Well update this post once more information is revealed but in the meantime let us know what you think about the special edition What Is Love Air Jordan 13 Pack.

Chinese Singles Day AJ 13
Among Asiatown's fancy live-seafood-tank restaurants, Hai Cang stands out for its reliable, low-key cooking. You might luck out and get the dewiest Pacific spot prawns, just flown in and served with their gleaming scarlet roe. Or whole black sea bass steamed simply, with ginger and scallion, might be on special. You can count on the live lobster or Dungeness crab dishes, too, and you'll want a gang to help you eat them  which makes dining in this big, sleek room a party.

WHAT TO ORDER: Steamed live spot prawns; live surf clam with vegetables; lobster in beer and black pepper; Dungeness crab in spicy sauce; ong choy (water spinach) with bean curd sauce; steamed whole fish with scallion and ginger; pan-fried noodles with crab meat.
While now, women can participate in combat, except artillery and infantry, women during World War II worked behind the scenes, doing paperwork and nursing soldiers back to health.

"I fought the Battle of Boston," World War II veteran Lucille Thomae kidded at a gathering of women veterans at The Terrace at Willowbrook.

Thomae was the only female Marine stationed in the Boston Navy Shipyard during World War II. Her assignment was to work in the rehabilitation office.

While modern military women face a variety of modern and traditional dangers, Thomae never went to the war front and never spent a night in the barracks after boot camp. But she said she sacrificed and contributed to the war effort as most of American society did during that generation.

"The attitude then was everybody was involved," Thomae said. "Now, it's business as usual."

Rationing, working in factories, conserving and gathering materials, like steel, were all part of the collective, citizen war effort in the U.S. during the world war.

Another difference, according to Korean War veteran June Edwards is that "danger's not in one location now." Terrorism is in almost every pocket of the world, she said.

Training regiments for women in the military was also different a half of a century ago. Women's training was not equal to a man's training, and the sexes were segregated in separate training facilities.

"Now, they're all together," Edwards said. "I wouldn't have liked that at all."

Most Terrace female veterans said they wouldn't have served if the military had been then what it is now. Sexual harassment, women in combat and coed training facilities were reasons cited. While sexual harassment did occur in the military during their time, they said it wasn't as extreme and segregated quarters made it easier to avoid.

On the other hand, it was hard to get promoted, and there were restrictions on how far a woman could advance in power in the military. They were not allowed to command men although some nurses advanced enough to command a salute.

A lot of men were reluctant to salute a nurse, said World War II veteran Trudy Robbins.

And as in many wars, physical requirements could sometimes be manipulated.

Navy World War II veteran Ellie Willis measuredtoo short in height when she volunteered to serve her country. To work her into the system, recruiters sent her home that night and sent an ambulance, so she could be measured in the morning before she got out of bed. The tactic worked, increasing her height enough so that she could be admitted to the Navy. Willis worked with classified information during World War II in Washington and isn't allowed to tell anyone what she did to this day.

Boot camp was a varying experience for women before the 1970s. While Thomae never had to do one push-up, World War II veteran Barbara Davidson passed out during some vigorous boot camp training.

Being politically correct wasn't at the top of the boot camp agenda either. Davidson said the male sergeant who trained her and her fellow female Marines didn't even try to mask his distaste for women in the military.

"The sergeant was very disgusted because he had women to train," she said.

Likewise, honorable discharge was easy for women before the 1970s. Women who got married could get out and those that became pregnant were discharged immediately. Now, women often serve until delivery and are only given standard maternity leave.

World War II nurse Eleanor O'Neill and many of her fellow women veterans were discharged from the military due to pregnancy.

Despite the disparity in experiences between the first military women and those of today, some of the reasons for joining the armed services remain the same.

World War II veteran Trudy Robbins had a rural lifestyle before she joined the military as a nurse.

"I wanted to see parts of the world, and I did," Robbins said. "It was a wonderful experience." In fact, Robbins married her husband, Marty, who she met during the war, in France.

Most joined because they wanted to serve their country.

"I joined because I wanted to be an integral part of the action," Thomae said. "I wanted to be directly involved. Would I do it again? You bet'cha."

And indeed some women veterans also faced danger. Robbins fled to a shelter during bombings in England. World War II veteran nurse Bob Ricks lived in a vulnerable palm hut in the Pacific Ocean, nursing injured soldiers.

While some veterans worry what the outcome will be during the new war for what they consider a "spoiled" generation, they also acknowledge the strength of the American spirit.

"We're Americans and we get along," O'Neill said. "We muddle along."

A veteran's advice to women considering joining the military

now:

"Think twice before you get in because you can't get out until it's over with."
Dr. Tamika Cross stepped off an airplane in Minneapolis and headed to the nearest Delta Airlines counter.

As a young, black, female physician, she'd gotten used to dismissive comments from patients and other medical professionals. She can't recall how many times people have confused her for a nurse, or a member of the housekeeping staff at Lyndon B. Johnson hospital in Houston, where she's an obstetrician and gynecologist.

She normally forces a smile and politely corrects them.

But what happened aboard her Delta flight two weeks ago felt different. A man was in need, and she hadn't been allowed to help. The words of the flight attendant echoed in her head: "Oh no sweetie  We are looking for actual physicians." Cross, 28, had worked too hard - investing a decade of her life and tens of thousands of dollars in tuition - to be treated that way.

"I need to talk to a supervisor," Cross told the Delta representative during her layover on the way home.

He suggested she fill out a post-flight survey and handed her a voucher for a free beer.

Incredulous, Cross sat down, pulled up Facebook on her phone and started typing:

"I'm sick of being disrespected..."

"I tried to inform her that I was a physician..."

"It's not right"

She tapped "post" while standing in line to board her connecting flight, then stashed the phone in her purse. When the plane landed in Houston a few hours later, she looked to see if any of her friends had commented.

By then, her 517-word post already had been shared by more than 3,000 people.

Cross had been hoping for a public apology from Delta. She hadn't expected to ignite a movement.

'Ma'am, I'm the physician'

Cross grew up near Detroit and knew from a young age she wanted to be either an educator or a physician. As a doctor, she gets to do both.

She spends much of her time at LBJ educating patients, about their health, about their babies - about subconscious bias and race.

That last part comes up more often than you'd think. It's a part of the job that she'd anticipated, having attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, which was established in 1876 as the first medical school for black students in the South. Old disparities die hard: In America, only about 2 percent of physicians are black women.

So Cross isn't what most people picture when they think of a doctor, even in Houston, one of the most diverse cities in the country.

"Ma'am, I'm the physician," she'll say, when a patient asks why she hasn't seen a doctor all day.

For minority and female doctors across the country, that kind of interaction is routine but rarely discussed. The same is true for many others working in fields traditionally dominated by white men, the consequence of what researchers call implicit bias.

"Basically we all have certain associations in our mind from life experience and media messaging about who or what a doctor looks like, or what a police officer looks like, or what a drug dealer looks like," said Cheryl Staats, a senior researcher at The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. "So when you meet someone who doesn't match those associations, it can cause people to pause for a moment, and that has unfortunate consequences."

It's one thing if a well-intentioned patient assumes his doctor will be white. But what if a hospital hiring manager shares that bias? What if careers stall because of other people's assumptions?

Maybe that's why, when Cross told her story on Facebook, it exploded.

Med schools' minority recruitment could help

Within hours, Cross' email inbox began to fill up. Friends she'd lost touch with years ago started calling. Reporters from New York and Los Angeles and England sent her interview requests. The New York Times. The Today Show. Dr. Oz.

Her mother texted from Detroit: "OMG! Channel 7 came to my house. I was in my robe!"

Soon, black, female doctors from across the world were posting pictures of themselves with the hashtag, "#WhatADoctorLooksLike." Some shared similar stories of discrimination. One wrote about a nearly identical experience she'd had aboard another Delta flight only a few days earlier.

"It was overwhelming," Cross said Thursday morning before her shift at the hospital. "I felt comforted to know I wasn't alone and there were people who've never met me who supported what I was saying and who had similar experiences."

Her story is the latest example of social media shedding new light on a societal issue that existed long before the Internet.

Dr. Alicia Monroe, also an African-American physician, wasn't surprised when she read Cross' post.

"It's kind of sad, but it's a lived experience for a lot of people every day," said Monroe, senior vice president of academic and faculty affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "It doesn't every day go viral on Facebook."

When Monroe was a medical student at a hospital 40 years ago, she said patients and other professionals made ignorant assumptions about her on a near-medaily basis.

"They didn't think I was the doctor," Monroe said. "I looked more like housekeeping or maybe the nurse."

Those kinds of remarks didn't stop as she got older and became a staff leader. Eventually, she learned to view those moments as opportunities to educate. That's not easy, she said.

"It's a challenge for each of us for how we're going to respond to that," Monroe said. "How do we personally manage that so that we won't be diminished as a human being, and so we won't carry those wounds?"

Dr. LaTanya Love is associate dean for diversity and inclusion at UTHealth's McGovern Medical School, where Cross is a fourth-year resident. She said the university stands by Cross' decision to speak out and is embracing the conversation she's sparked. Talk to any minority doctor, Love said, and invariably they will have a story similar to the one Cross told.

Part of the problem, she said, is there's some truth to the stereotype. Medical schools need to do a better job of recruiting minorities and developing a workforce that mirrors the demographics of its patients.

Love, also a black woman, related to Cross' post. She recalled walking into a hospital room to treat a child and - even though she was wearing a white doctor's coat - a parent asked her to clear a dirty food tray. She picked up the tray, set it outside the door, then walked back in and introduced herself with a smile: "Hi, I'm Dr. Love."

When other medical professionals confuse her for a nurse or technician, she tries to respond with the same level of patience.

"We're a very small group," Love said. "For a lot of people, depending on where they grew up or who they interact with, they might never have seen or interacted with a minority female physician. ... So I want them to look at me and say, 'Wow, she was so friendly. She was such a good doctor.'"

Person by person, Love and other minority physicians help expose and dismantle long-held stereotypes.

Still no public apology from Delta

There's a downside to social media fame. Although she's received countless messages of encouragement, Cross has also received many seeking to tear her down.

"Go back to Africa," one stranger wrote.

"You're just looking for attention," wrote another.t

And then there was her personal favorite: "You're not even that black."

Those people don't realize how hard she's worked to get where she is, or that she's not relishing the spotlight.

"People who know me will tell you I'm very private and reserved," Cross said. "This is not my comfort zone."

Her story was picked up by hundreds of news outlets, but she spoke to only a few reporters, briefly by phone, and refused to go on camera, turning down free flights to New York to appear on the morning talk shows.

A local TV news crew camped outside her home, but she was working late and didn't respond to the note left on her door.

"I'm not seeking attention," Cross said Thursday in the only in-person interview she's agreed to. "I'm glad this is opening up a very uncomfortable topic that's not really talked about, but I'll be happy when this all dies down and I can go back to just doing my job."

That hasn't happened yet. Cross held up her phone and pointed to an alert showing 904 new Facebook messages. "That's because I haven't cleared it in a day or two," she said.

Despite the attention, Delta still hasn't issued a public apology, saying only that the company is "troubled by any accusations of discrimination" and is investigating.

A company representative did call to tell Cross that her experience revealed a need to review an outdated airline policy that instructs flight crews how they can confirm whether someone is qualified to care for a passenger in an emergency.

That would be a good start, Cross said.

"I want the conversation to continue, but even more than that, I want it to turn into action," she said.

Cross didn't have long to talk to a reporter. She was scheduled to perform two caesarean sections that day, and there's no telling how many other babies she'd deliver or how smooth any of them would go. Emergency surgeries are common in the maternity ward.

Those moments are affirming, Cross said.

Because when a patient is desperate for help, they don't care what the doctor looks like.
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AUSTIN - Labeling a continuing crisis involving thousands of children at risk of abuse and neglect "unacceptable," the head of the state's protective services wants to quickly hire more than 800 additional front-line workers and support staff at a cost of $53.3 million.

In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus, Henry "Hank" Whitman, commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, acknowledged that his beleaguered agency is "struggling to meet the time frames for initial contact and timely case closure" in Harris County, North Texas and Central Texas.

"We have made substantive progress on Child Protective Services (CPS) transformation and toward achieving the benchmarks" in a plan he proposed in July to address the continuing crisis, he wrote.

The Thursday letter was in response to a demand by Abbott, Patrick and Straus for him to come up with quick solutions with a week.

The problems - some them most critical in the Houston area - range from dropped or delayed investigations into abuse and neglect, scores of children sleeping in offices because of a shortage of placement sites, and skyrocketing turnover rates among employees that have derailed proper placements and supervision.

"Texas children remain at risk. This is unacceptable," said Whitman, a former Texas Ranger that Abbott named last spring to fix the problems. The additional staff resources will be targeted to the Houston, Dallas and Austin regions to help speed up the face-to-face initiation of investigations and the timely closing of cases, he wrote.

The new workers will include 550 front-line investigators, special investigators and caseworkers, the letter states. The agency will hire another 279 workers to provide supervision, support, hiring and training. Whitman said those new employees will include 105 "conservatorship caseworkers" to find placements for foster care children, and 145 more "family-based safety services caseworkers" to work with parents and relatives to prevent children from being removed from their homes.

Not in the budget

With high staff turnover rates last year that ranged from 57 percent in Dallas to 31 percent in San Antonio and 30 percent in Houston, many workers and former workers have complained about burnout and low pay. While Whitman's letter made no mention of a pay raise, the new budget he has proposed to the Legislature includes additional pay for "high-performing staff."

The starting base salary for caseworkers currently is about $32,900, agency officials said.

State officials said Friday they were reviewing Whitman's proposal and expect a decision in the coming days about additional funding needed for the new positions. Because funding for the additional staff is not included in the agency's current budget, state leaders will have approve any spending to make those hires possible before the Legislature convenes in January.

Whitman also told state leaders that he has revised agency work schedules to have investigators work 10-hour days with overlapping schedules to ensure that children are seen sooner. He also has implemented team assignments to allow two investigators to locate and interview children and families to expedite initial decisions, and consolidated supervision to hasten abuse and neglect investigations.

Whitman said he has created a new post of faith-based director to develop and implement programs to increase the involvement of churches and religious communities to find additional foster parents. Patrick has called a meeting of faith leaders in Austin on Nov. 2 to encourage that initiative.

'Missing' component

Children's advocacy groups on Friday questioned whether Whitman's plan will be enough to solve the crisis. They noted that new workers can take up to a year to hire and train, slowing any immediate relief from the current crisis.

"The commissioner's plan as reported is missing a key component: competitive salaries at a level that will actually fill the positions and keep them filled with qualified caseworkers," said Madeline McClure, CEO of TexProtects, a statewide advocacy association. "We already have about 400 vacancies in high-need areas. We may hire 550 additional workers, but who will we retain who can handle the pressure and rigor of this job at a $34,000 entry-level salary? Turnover at CPS is almost double that of other state agencies, in part because the people who could do this work follow the free market toward better pay."

She and other advocates called Friday for lawmakers to expand prevention and early intervention services.

In his letter, Whitman cautioned that as additional children are brought into the foster-care system, the costs of services for them will rise, as well.

"The increase in investigations will allow more children to be seen on time, but will also ensure that children who have sadly never been seen will finally be contacted," he stated. "These additional children, in many cases, will need to have services provided or will need to be removed from their homes."

'Exceptional items'

In his proposed $3.6 billion budget submitted to the Legislature, Whitman is seeking additional funds for foster-care, including $42.6 million for children's services and staffing. In addition, he has submitted $498.1 million in so-called "exceptional items" - much of that for foster-care improvements including pay hikes for high-performing employees.

The new staffing in Whitman's letter are not included in that budget request.

As the price tag to fix the foster-care crisis grows, so does the political pressure, since the Legislature already faces hundreds of millions of dollars in other critical funding needs for other state programs, at a time when state revenues are down.
Incumbent state Rep. Rick Miller can describe his political perspective in five words: "I'm a Christian, conservative Republican."

His opponent in November, political newcomer and Democrat L. Sarah DeMerchant, takes a different stance: "It's not about my personal beliefs, wants and desires." She aims, she said, to be a candidate of the people.

Still, Miller believes he has served the community in a way it likes. Residents first elected Miller to the state House District 26 seat in 2012, when he won with 63 percent of the vote. In 2014, the candidate triumphed again, with 70 percent. Though he does not take re-election for granted, he said he is optimistic he will prevail.

The Fort Bend County district that Miller and DeMerchant are vying to represent encompasses most of Sugar Land, plus all or part of several unincorporated communities, including Cumings, Pecan Grove and New Territory.

It is an area Miller, a leadership consultant and former Navy officer, says he dedicates about 90% of his time to serving. "My job is being a state representative," he said, "and I take it very, very seriously."

DeMerchant, however, wants residents "to take a stand," and said she has an advantage over her opponent -- who drew attention last year when his openly gay son challenged his stance against Houston's anti-discrimination ordinance -- because of what she said was her ability to listen to a diverse group of people.

More Information L. Sarah DeMerchant Age: 43 Party: Democrat Occupation: Software company security officer and service account manager Website: www.SarahDeMerchant.com Rick Miller (incumbent) Age: 71 Party: Republican Occupation: Leadership consultant Website: voterickmiller.com See More Collapse

During his time in office, Miller has served on the House appropriations and public health committees. He estimated he helped get about 30 notable bills going, with some pertaining to aiding veterans and supporting the University of Houston. He added that he worked well with Democratic colleagues.

"I think I'm making a difference," he said.

With Texas continuing to grow, major issues always will include infrastructure, education and health care, Miller said, adding that his focus next session also will include re-evaluating the state's Child Protective Services and foster care systems. Both have come under heavy criticism and are the focus of reform efforts.

Miller also hopes to look at providing alternative therapies to veterans, with the aim of reducing the suicide rate, he continued. He is interested, too, in looking at methods for tax relief, particularly in regard to property taxes. Locally, Miller said he has looked at clearing the way for the installation of walking and biking trails on rights of way beneath power lines in cities likeMeadows Place, Sugar Land and Missouri City

DeMerchant has her own list of issues she would like to tackle. A top priority is fighting for equal pay for women for equal work, a battle she said she first encountered on a personal level and later began to speak and write about. Property taxes in the area also need to be addressed, she said, agreeing with Miller. She said she has spoken to many constituents worried they were "about to be priced out of their homes."

DeMerchant said she wants to work on protecting funding for public schools, as well as analyzing whether schools ought to be structured differently, particularly with regard to preparing students in science and math. She expressed fatigue with what she calls "venomous rhetoric" in the news and statements by politicians for the sake of fear-mongering.

"You are supposed to be active and engaged with all of the diversity in your community," she said. "You have to listen to the challenges. You have to listen to the problems that they're having."

DeMerchant, 43, attended the University of Houston-Downtown, where she received a bachelor's degree in computer information systems, and later earned a Masters of Business Administration at UH-Sugar Land, she said. Her experience working in technology taught her how to identify problems with others and translate them into solutions, she added.

Miller, 71, attended the U.S. Naval Academy and spent 30 years in the military. Through that experience, he said he learned the value of establishing relationships and developed skills for working with people who disagreed with him. "There are politics in everything," he said.

DeMerchant reported $22,622 in total political contributions for the period covering July through September, with $10,467 remaining cash on hand, according to online campaign finance reports. Miller reported raising $12,500 over the same time period, leaving $51,559 cash on hand.

Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair Mke Gibson said he expects to see Miller win by a wide margin. "Rick has done a good job in the legislature," Gibson said.

Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair Cynthia Ginyard encouraged voters to think about change when they go to the polls. Of the outcome, she said, "Anything is possible."
AUSTIN - Spurred by Donald Trump's insistence the November election is rigged and will be plagued by widespread voter fraud, Republican officials in Texas' largest counties are reporting a spike in the number of volunteers signing up to monitor polling places.

The boost in GOP poll watchers has stoked concerns about voter intimidation among civil rights groups and Democrats, which are planning to counter with teams of lawyers, election hotlines and volunteers to keep an eye on Republican monitors.

Top-ranking Republican elected officials in Texas frequently raise the specter of voting improprieties, pointing recently to an ongoing ballot harvesting investigation in Tarrant County that Gov. Greg Abbott referred to on Twitter as the "Largest Voter Fraud Investigation in Texas History."

The national and state stir over potential voter fraud, according to GOP chairmen in Bexar, Tarrant, Dallas and Travis counties, has led to more Republicans stepping forward to monitor the election. In most situations, local officials say they have not even had to put out calls for volunteers - they have flooded in on their own.

Bexar County, for example, typically has 30 to 40 people sign up to monitor polling locations. This year the number is expected to jump to around 200, Bexar County Republican Party Chairman Robert Stovall said.

Dallas County Republican Party officials said they have trained more poll watchers this year than in 2012, which a spokesman attributed to more polling locations and higher expected voter turnout. Travis County's Republican Party also has seen an increase in poll-watching interest.

In Tarrant County, the reddest of the state's five largest counties, Republican Party officials said they are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

"I can't go to an event in the county where I don't have people say 'I want to be a poll watcher,' " said Tim O'Hare, chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, adding he expects 150 to 200 people will monitor polls. "The reality is, we're having trouble keeping up with all the requests. It's a barrage. We'll have more then we'll need."

Harris County has had its controversy over Republican-led poll-watching activity in the past. In 2010, the county attorney requested a monitor from the U.S. Department of Justice observe the voting process after complaints surfaced of poll watchers "hovering" over voters, "getting in their face," and talking to election workers.

'Nervous about the narrative'

Republican Party officials in Harris County declined to provide specifics about their poll-watcher program for the upcoming election.

Alan Vera, chairman of the party's ballot security committee, said the county party is "implementing no programs or processes beyond its normal range of activity" this year.

For their part, Democrats and civil rights groups say they are gearing up their own volunteers in equally large numbers.

Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Lane Lewis said his team trained a record number of poll watchers for the general election and has had to add classes. The party has trained nearly 100 people to participate in some capacity at the polls, about half of whom expressed interest in being poll watchers, Lewis said. This weekend's classes are expected to turn out another 90 to 100 people, he added.

Zenen Jaimes Perez, spokesman for the Texas Civil Rights Project, said a coalition of groups will have about 200 people manning phone lines at call centers and observing election activities at polls around Harris County.

"We think Harris is going to be a location where we're going to see a lot of uptick in Republican poll watchers and problems given the national climate," Perez said. "People are nervous about the narrative they're hearing that there could be some disruption."

Trump's call to his army of followers to serve as election monitors has raised new attention to the subject, but large-scale poll-watching efforts in Texas are not new and are subject to stringent regulations.

Russian request to watch denied

On Friday, the issue took a new twist when it was reported that Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have denied requests by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the Nov. 8 election.

The Oklahoma secretary of state's office said it received a letter in August from Russia's consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the "US experience in organization of voting process."

The office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.

Texas is among about a dozen states that "explicitly prohibit or restrict international election observers," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Secretary of State's office did not respond to requests for comment Friday, but a U.S. State Department spokesman dismissed it as "nothing more than a PR stunt."

Federal officials this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.

Texas officials have summed up a poll watcher's basic duty as follows: observe the election and report any potential violations of state law.

Poll watchers must be registered voters in the county and are allowed to enter a polling place but are barred from talking to voters, accessing a voting station when a ballot is being prepared or recording sounds or images.

They also are not allowed to speak to election officers other than to call attention to an irregularity in the process.

According to a newly issued handbook from the Texas Secretary of State's office, poll watchers are instructed to look for illegal activity that includes "election workers who allow voters to cast a regular ballot without presenting an acceptable form of ID or presenting a supporting form of ID and signing a reasonable impediment affidavit."

A federal court recently diluted the state's voter ID law to allow people who lack one of seven state-approved forms of photo identification to cast a regular ballot by presenting an alternate ID and signing an affidavit.

"Voter fraud is something we have known about for years, but we finally have somebody that is running for office that is saying it," said Stovall, the Bexar County GOP chair. "It's not like we're out there searching for it, but we want to make sure everything is on the up and up."

Rumors of disrupting voting places

Chad Dunn, an elections lawyer representing several plaintiffs suing the state over its voter ID law, said poll watchers observing election activity can help keep things in order. But he said, tea party groups in Texas previously have dispatched poll watchers to minority voting precincts in an "effort to intimidate and keep people from voting."

"We're already hearing chatter about people intending to go in and disrupt polling locations," he said.

GOP poll watchers in large part will be directed to monitor heavily Democratic polling locations.

In Tarrant County, Republicans will have enough manpower to have someone monitoring activities at every polling site, either in the form of a poll watcher or a presiding or alternate election judge.

The Dallas County GOP declined to say how many volunteers are involved or to which areas of the county they will be dispatched, adding that poll watchers will go "where we feel ballot integrity is most likely to be threatened."

Bexar County's GOP said its first batch of poll watchers likely will target "troublesome locations," which Stovall said generally tend to be Democratic precincts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Richard Carranza's honeymoon as superintendent of HISD lasted three weeks. And then on week four, he became a referee during a bruising battle over whether the district should accept a $7.5 million gift in exchange for the naming rights for the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Ultimately, the HISD trustees did the right thing for students. They accepted a grant from the foundation funded by Rich and Nancy Kinder, Houston's modern day Jesse Jones. But what should have been a no-brainer turned into an embarrassing tussle when one trustee compared HISD to "a pimp" selling its schools.

The good news is that the gift did succeed in shining a light on a longstanding inequity in school resources for the arts within HISD. Not only are most HISD students unable to afford extracurricular arts instruction, some do not have access to a robust arts education in elementary and middle school.

The Arts Access Initiative, which was started to develop an action plan to ensure equitable arts access for every K-8 HISD student, found in its 2014-2015 survey of 214 campuses that 27 percent of the schools had no full-time fine arts teacher, 10 percent had no community arts partner, and 17 percent had no arts field trips or clubs.

HSPVA is a jewel of the HISD system and has a well-deserved reputation for its academics as well as its arts education. With more applicants than positions, prospective students must thread the needle of a highly competitive admissions policy and in addition, demonstrate proficiency in their artistic field through an audition to secure a spot.

Affluent students have an overwhelming and unfair advantage in meeting the challenges posed by the rigorous application process. They can afford the expensive musical instruments, dance and art lessons and books needed to have a shot at achieving excellence.

As a result, HSPVA has a significantly lower percentage of low-income students and black and Hispanic students than the district average. While 75.5 percent of the students HISD serves are economically disadvantaged, only about 17 percent of HSPVA students are.

Although a superintendent of schools can't close the yawning gap between the poor and affluent in Houston, Carranza has an opportunity in his first 100 days to take steps to repair the troubling institutional inequity. The superintendent should ask our generous philanthropic community to help level the admissions playing field at HSPVA by beefing up lower school arts offerings. In addition, other area high schools need assistance securing the resources they need to give their students an arts education.

The Kinder Foundation grant laid the groundwork for this request, and by approving the grant, the HISD trustees have signaled that they are willing to partner with the donor community.

For starters, Carranza should solicit the community's help in targeting art deserts. In this arts-rich city, it's ridiculous that some schools have little to no contact with the arts. Furthermore, every band director in Houston should have access to the instruments that his students need to perform. Art teachers shouldn't have to bring their own meager supplies to their classroom. Media classrooms should be stocked with the necessary audio-visual equipment.

Parents should weigh in also. They can learn where their child's school stands with respect to key arts indicators on a new website set up by the Texas Cultural Trust and can use the information to advocate for more arts teachers and facilities.

Arts are important for more than enjoyment. Data compiled by the trust, shows that an arts education improves school attendance, that students who complete more art classes have up to 15 percent higher pass rates on standardized tests than students with fewer arts classes, and that at-risk high school students who complete more than one art class are half as likely to drop out.

With every leadership challenge, comes an opportunity. The new superintendent should seize his baptismal controversy and weigh in to help make the arts vibrant at every school regardless of the neighborhood's income level.
Look forward, not behind

Regarding "'I'll keep you in suspense'" (Page A1, Thursday), both candidates need to concern themselves with the issues that really matter for our country, such as the economy, health care, getting along with our neighbors, jobs.

Enough about nitpicking all the things thave have happened many years ago; it's not important.

Both presidential candidates should stop the mudslinging.

Ann Larose, Houston

Texas higher education

Regarding "Patrick vows he'll block additions to college staffs" (Page A3, Friday), somehow it is no surprise that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has sent a letter to colleges and universities stating that he will micromanage their hiring practices next year. Is this more of that "government run as a business" philosophy? It seems as if it's more like "we'll tell you how to run your business."

Our great schools need a commitment to more funding, not more threats. Republican legislators rushed to deregulate tuition and also cut funds to some of the finest educational institutions in the nation. They have attempted to gag educators with threats of tenure "reform," and now they want to dictate who gets hired. These same lawmakers continually deride public schools' performance and have done little to legislate needed improvements. They have used budgetary arguments, even during boom years, to hamstring education initiatives.

Our lieutenant governor's threats will further diminish the national and indeed international status of our many excellent colleges and universities.

T. Allan Clark, Houston

Remembering Bob

Regarding "Broadcaster 'a giant' of local TV" (Page A1, Friday), in the '80s Bob Allen was feted by Interfaith Charities as Sportsman of the Year at their annual Bill Williams Capon Dinner fundraiser. The two who presented him to the crowd were Nolan Ryan and Earl Campbell, both having traveled to Houston for the weeknight event. It was obvious from both of their remarks that each truly liked Bob Allen and wanted to make an appearance to honor him. They appreciated his courtesy to them as ballplayers in our city in doing his job by reporting on their exploits. To me it was a testimony to Allen's professionalism, friendliness and fairness.

Bill Spear Bartlett, Houston
Harris County has sent 126 men and women to be executed since the death penalty was reintroduced in 1974 - more than any other county or state, aside from Texas itself. My client, Alfred Dewayne Brown, could have been No. 127. Fortunately, after spending 12 years and 62 days in prison, including nearly 10 years on death row, a heroic legal team was able to prove his innocence. Instead of being executed, he became the 154th person nationwide to be released from death row, and the 13th from Texas.

Dewayne was sentenced to die in Harris County in 2005 for a robbery and double murder committed by three men that resulted in the death of a Houston police officer and a store clerk. There was no physical evidence connecting him to the crime and he had an alibi. Dewayne called his girlfriend's workplace from her landline phone at the time of the murders. Dewayne's girlfriend, Ericka Dockery, gave a statement to the police and provided testimony before the grand jury confirming the alibi.

The trial prosecutor did not believe her testimony, and charged her with perjury and asked for a high bail to make sure she would remain in jail. She spent seven weeks in jail, and authorities threatened to take away her children and charge her with more serious crimes. Eventually she succumbed to that pressure and recanted her statement establishing Dewayne's alibi.

At the time of Dewayne's trial, prosecutors claimed they didn't have the phone records that would have proven his alibi. Three years ago, however, these phone records were found in the home garage of a Houston police detective who worked on the case, along with something more troubling. The trial prosecutor issued a subpoena to the phone company the day after Ms. Dockery testified in the grand jury about the phone call. We've still never been given an explanation about why these records weren't given to Dewayne's trial lawyer, or how they ended up in that garage.

As a result of this evidence and the state's withholding of it, Dewayne's conviction was overturned, and all charges were dismissed in June 2015. On the day of his release, Dewayne said "[I] went in an innocent man and I came out an innocent man." He also said that he had no hate in his heart for what the state did to him and he encouraged everyone to love and forgive each other. His words of forgiveness are words we can all learn from.

A recent report by Harvard's Fair Punishment Project found that Harris County is one of just 16 counties in the country - out of more than 3,100 - that sentenced five or more people to death between 2010 and 2015. The report noted that approximately 1 in 20 death penalty cases from that period had a finding of prosecutorial misconduct, and that there were three death row exonerations from Harris County, including Dewayne's. The report also found that all 18 men who have been sentenced to death in Harris County since November 2004 have been men of color.

Former Governor Rick Perry said it best in a recent speech: "When ambitious prosecutors go overboard, the true victims aren't people like you or me: they're people like Ericka and Alfred who don't have the means to fight back."

Dewayne was fortunate to have a team of dedicated lawyers to fight back. Others have not been so lucky. Texas Defender Service recently released a report demonstrating "multiple and severe deficits in the provision of capital direct appeal representation...includ[ing] inadequate resources, excessive attorney caseloads, [and] inadequate briefing."

Unfortunately, overzealous prosecutors who engage in misconduct and a pattern of racial bias make for a lethal combination in Harris County. Eighty-five people who were convicted in Harris County remain on death row - more than one-third of the state's death row population.

Even in Texas, however, things are changing. Death sentencing rates are declining in Harris County and only seven Texas defendants were executed this year. It is time to abolish the death penalty.

Stolarz is author of "Grace and Justice on Death Row - The Race Against Time and Texas to Free an Innocent Man." He represented Alfred Dewayne Brown on appeal.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has welcomed the establishment of a committee by the Ukrainian World Congress to support the economic development of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian World Congress supports the government on the path of reforms and set up a committee to support economic development. I welcome this initiative and am ready for close and quality cooperation," Groysman wrote on his Facebook page.

"The support of our powerful 20-millon diaspora could be very useful for us," the premier said.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian World Congress on September 27, 2016 signed a memorandum of cooperation. According to Groysman, cooperation can take place both in economic and cultural spheres.
A national initiative rolled out in some states already  and just recently announced for Missouri  will be rolled out at five locations, including Houston, next week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development (RD) will host StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative meetings in five southern Missouri locations. The Houston meeting is 9:3011:30 a.m. Nov. 2 at the Houston Storm Shelter.

Meetings are open to the public and provide attendees with an overview of StrikeForce while allowing time for questions from the audience.

The goal of StrikeForce, launched in 2010, is to reduce poverty through investment in rural communities and increase opportunities for farmers. To date, more than 1,500 StrikeForce partnerships have helped USDA support nearly 190,000 projects and invest $23.5 billion in high-poverty areas of 26 states with StrikeForce designation. Forty-six counties in Missouri, including Texas, were designated for the StrikeForce Initiative in 2016.

StrikeForce builds on existing partnerships in rural communities and allows USDA to bring economic opportunities directly to rural Missourians, State Conservationist J.R. Flores said. Working together with FSA and RD, we can assist in areas that include agricultural loans and financial assistance to producers, assistance with locally-led food production efforts and farmers markets, and community-based organizations working with poverty issues.

Topics of discussion may include broadband networks for rural communities, rural community economic development, improving soil and water conservation efforts, assisting with locally led food initiatives and farmers markets, forest health and management, farm lending and equipment loans and rural housing.

For more information on StrikeForce, visit the Missouri NRCS website at www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov or contact the NRCS office serving Texas County.
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Ukraine returns passenger jet en route to Minsk back to Kyiv airport under threat of scrambling fighters

Ukrainian authorities forced a Belavia passenger jet en route from Kyiv to Minsk to return to the Zhuliany airport in Kyiv under the threat of scrambling fighters, Belavia said in a statement.

"A Belavia Boeing 737-800, tail number EW-456PA, Flight B2-840 from Zhuliany (Kyiv) to Minsk, was forced to return to the departure airport. There were 136 passengers and six crewmembers on board the plane," it said.

The aircraft departed the Zhuliany airport for Minsk on schedule at 3:25 p.m. on Friday.

"At 3:36 p.m., 50 kilometers before entering Belarus' airspace, the captain received a command from the Kyiv district air traffic control center belonging to the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE) to immediately return to the departure airport without any explanations. It was also said that, in the event of disobedience, fighters would be scrambled," Belavia said.

The captain complied with the command and started to descend at 3:37 p.m. The Belavia aircraft landed at the Zhuliany airport at 3:55 p.m.

Immediately after the plane landed, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies escorted one of its passengers, a citizen of Armenia, off the plane.

After refueling, the aircraft departed Kyiv at 4:37 p.m. and safely landed at the Minsk airport at 5:33 p.m.

As for the passenger removed from the aircraft, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies later freed him, and he flew to Minsk on board Belavia Flight B2-830 at 7:00 p.m.

"Belavia intends to demand that UkSATSE compensate it for the costs related to the aircraft's return to the Zhuliany international airport," it said.

The airline's management also apologized to the passengers for any inconvenience caused by the incident.
About Webcast

Please note that this webcast does not qualify for HRCI credit.



Its a fact  workers show up sick to the office. One sneeze or cough can contaminate an entire workspace and soon one sick employee becomes many. We know the basics: Wash your hands. Wipe down common surfaces. Cover your mouth. Dont sneeze on your coworkers.



Yet, most organizations dont realize the role air plays in workplace health and wellness.



Contrary to popular belief, the flu virus is most commonly spread through the air. Asthma and allergy triggers also lurk in the air and can negatively affect employee wellness. While the air may seem impossible to clean, there are three concrete methods recommended by the EPA for improving indoor air quality (IAQ): increasing ventilation, reducing source contaminants and purifying the air.



The value of following these steps to better IAQ is more than you realize. In fact, research suggests presenteeism  showing up to work sick or not fully functioning  costs the U.S. $150 billion in productivity each year. IAQ problems are also one of the most common and hard-to-address building complaints. Cleaning the air not only helps knock out the flu virus, but also can fight sick building syndrome by reducing allergens, dust mites, volatile organic compounds and odors, all of which can distract employees and cause them to feel less than their best. Taking action to improve IAQ provides significant short- and long-term benefits to your workplace.



In this webinar, air quality expert Jeff Dryfhout explains how to implement the three key IAQ steps and how they can transform your organization or business.

By registering for this webcast you will receive email communications and notifications from the sponsor(s).
Home prices in Vancouver and Toronto are set to fall in the coming year, with steeper drops expected on the West Coast.

Vancouver home prices are expected to correct by 10 per cent over the next 12 months, said a National Bank report released Friday.

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Vancouver's decline would represent a "moderate correction" after prices rose by 24 per cent over the past year, senior economist Marc Pinsonneault said.

It expects declines of 20 per cent for detached homes, nine per cent for attached homes and five per cent for condos.

Those drops would follow a series of government actions to stem price hikes and increase affordability in Canadian housing.

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In February, the federal government raised the minimum down payment on the portion of a home's price above $500,000 from five to 10 per cent.

The B.C. government also implemented a 15 per cent property transfer tax on foreign buyers in August.

The so-called foreign buyers' tax alone was expected to calm housing activity; but Vancouver sales had already been falling for months, representing some of the sharpest declines the market had seen in years.

These actions haven't done much to yank down Vancouver home prices so far.

Area home prices grew an average of 2.5 per cent through August, despite the drop in sales, according to the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index.

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But the bank thinks a price correction is coming after the federal government announced new rules requiring that borrowers of insured mortgages be qualified at the Bank of Canada's posted rate, as well as the rates they negotiate with their lenders.

"The impact on sales of the new federal government measures should not be overestimated," Pinsonneault said.

"It could drive some potential homebuyers from the market, but other buyers could still be in a position to acquire a home in this urban area, albeit less expensive."

Toronto, however, is a different story  overall prices are only expected to fall by three per cent next year.

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The housing market in the city remains hot, with prices rising by a monthly average of 2.9 per cent for the past four months.

The problem there is supply: listings have declined by 37 per cent over the past year, while home sales have increased by 21.5 per cent.

Toronto's housing market is now the tightest it's been in at least 18 years among condos and other forms of housing. So it's not surprising that prices for condos grew by 9.6 per cent and other housing types by 19 per cent last month.

The two markets have heavy indebtedness in common, however.

Toronto had Canada's highest percentage of new insured mortgages with loan-to-income ratios over 450 per cent last year, and Vancouver wasn't close behind.

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The federal government's new mortgage rules are thus expected to weigh on both of these markets.

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Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has become known as a champion of feminism, and now she tackles feminist parenting.

The 39-year-old writer received a letter from Ijeawele, a reader looking for advice on how to approach motherhood and raise her newborn as a feminist.

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Adichie responded to the new mother, and shared it as an essay on Facebook, last week.

"Your feminist premise should be: I matter. I matter equally," she began. From there she wrote an eloquent message with 15 suggestions for mothers looking for ways to introduce their kids to ideas about equality and empowerment for women.

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reads from one of her novels during the Washington Ideas Forum (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Her first suggestion elevated working mothers.

"Be a full person," Adichie writes. "Motherhood is a glorious gift, but do not define yourself solely by motherhood. Be a full person. Your child will benefit from that."

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Whether you're following your passion, or working, it allows you to set an example of independence and self-fulfillment for your child.

The author also noted that sharing parenting roles between the mother and father is necessary and shouldn't be considered "helping" or "babysitting" but a fatherly duty. And in general, parents should teach their kids that gender roles are "absolute nonsense."

"Your feminist premise should be: I matter. I matter equally."

Teaching children to question language was another tip from Adichie. Be aware of the words you use around kids and the underlying impressions they might hold. Don't describe a mechanic as a "lady mechanic," for example, she's a mechanic.

The rest of her tips went over: the dangers of "Feminism Lite," the importance of books, how to engage with her appearance and likeability, marriage and addressing sex and romance early on.

The essay struck more people than just the mother to whom the letter was addressed.

It has been shared more than 6,500 times on Facebook and garnered hundreds of comments from readers.

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Many said they didn't necessarily agree with all of her points, but the message urged them to start adding feminist lessons into their parenting.

Read the full post below:

Also on HuffPost:
The United States Department of Justice should quit summoning the judicial branch to interpret ill-fitting and antiquated laws to invade electronic privacy. It should address its concerns to Congress as the Constitution dictates.

On October13, 2016, the Department filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc from a three-judge panel decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Microsoft Corporation v .United States (July 14, 2016). The panel refused to interpret the superannuated 1986 Storage Communications Act (SCA) to compel Microsoft to hand over subscriber emails stored in Ireland. Previously, the Department invoked the ancient 1789 All Writs Act in seeking to compel Apple to write software to enable the FBI to unlock the cell phone possessed by the San Bernardino dead terrorist murderer, Syed Rizwan Farook. (The Department dropped the litigation after paying over $1 million to a company to unlock the iPhone. The contents revealed no connection between Farook and ISIS).

Congress, however, is the constitutionally designated branch for fashioning laws that optimally balance the cherished right to be let alone against reasonable law enforcement needs. The inherent Executive Branch personality favors law enforcement over privacy because that bias is politically irresistible. Congress funds and the public grades the DOJ based on the number of prosecutions or convictions, not on the degree to which it respects privacy. Thus, DOJ chronically slights Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis' teaching in Olmstead v. United States (1928) (dissenting):

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"They [the Constitution's authors] conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. To protect that right, every unjustifiable intrusion by the Government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever the means employed, must be deemed a violation of the Fourth Amendment."

In its rehearing petition, the DOJ argues that the panel "has substantially impaired law enforcement's ability to use a vital tool to investigate and prosecute all types of serious crime--including terrorism, public corruption, cyber-crime, securities fraud, child sexual exploitation, and major narcotics trafficking...." But the DOJ is unable to reference any jump in the incidence of such crimes post-dating the Microsoft decision. DOJ further contends that its aggressive interpretation of the SCA implements "the express will of Congress." But if that were true, Congress would be racing to overrule the Microsoft decision to embrace DOJ's interpretation of the SCA.

Instead, Congress is contemplating a bill co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senator Christopher Coons (D. Conn.), Representative Tom Marino (R-PA), and Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA). Entitled the "International Communications Privacy Act," the legislation strikes a centrist balance between the Microsoft decision and DOJ. The ICPA distinguishes between search warrants seeking the contents of electronic communications stored abroad concerning U.S. persons as opposed to foreign citizens. As to the former, the ICPA would authorize the extraterritorial reach of a search warrant based upon probable cause and the particularity required by the Fourth Amendment. The privacy rights of United States citizens would be safeguarded whether or not their electronic communications are stored abroad.

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Foreign sovereigns, however, may provide greater privacy to contents of electronic communications of their citizens than are available to them under the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court held in United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U.S. 259 (1990), that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to foreign citizens located abroad. ICPA indulges international comity by prohibiting United States search warrants for the contents of electronic communications stored abroad of foreign nationals also located abroad if the foreign jurisdiction has a Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement with the United States; or, if the foreign jurisdiction consents to disclosure.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump clashed sharply in their final debate before the November 8th election. Below are responses to three of Trump's immigration claims and proposals during the debate and throughout his campaign. The answers matter since both candidates have vowed to pursue immigration reform in the early days of their administrations.

Trump: "[S]he wants to give amnesty, which is a disaster and very unfair to all the people that are waiting on line for many, many years."

Immigration status is a fluid condition, with many undocumented people on a path to legal status at any point in time and many more who qualify for status under our current laws. Each year, previously undocumented persons make up a high percentage of new lawful permanent residents (LPRs). In addition, an estimated 4.4 million immigrants qualify for a visa, 97 percent of them based on a close family relationship to a US citizen or LPR. Rather than seeking to gain an advantage, these mostly undocumented immigrants languish in visa backlog lines, often "for many, many years," even decades. Perhaps another 14 to 15 percent of the 10.9 million US undocumented population are potentially eligible for an immigration benefit or relief that would put them on a path to LPR status and citizenship, but they do not know it or cannot afford to pursue it. For them, immigration status is an access to justice issue. Finally, past "earned legalization" bills would not have allowed undocumented persons to "jump" ahead of persons who had been waiting for visas. Applicants would have been required to go to the back of the line and, under some proposals, to wait for more than a decade for a green card.

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Trump: "We need strong borders."

We have them. The undocumented population fell steadily between 2008 and 2014. Border apprehensions are at roughly one-fourth of their historic highs. A growing percentage of illegal border crossers are fleeing pervasive violence and individual persecution in the Northern Triangle states of Central America. They are refugees or fleeing refugee-like conditions. Others are seeking to reunify with family members in the United States. Neither group can be easily deterred from migrating. Moreover, as former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff points out, fencing has value in certain heavy crossing areas near towns or highways, but in other places "makes no sense at all" and "doesn't add any value." In addition, most persons entering the undocumented population in recent years have overstayed their temporary visas, not crossed borders illegally. In short, additional fencing, much less 2,000 miles of it, does not respond to refugee-producing conditions, the separation of families, visa over-stayers, or the need for effective border policies.

"We're going to get them [all] out."

Rather than an exercise in upholding the rule of law, the deportation of nearly 11 million persons would require the law enforcement tactics of a police state. In addition, according to one study, the US would need to spend $400 and $600 billion in immigration enforcement over 20 years to accomplish this goal. The loss of this population would also shrink the US labor force by 6.4 percent, and the GDP by $1.6 trillion over 20 years. It would particularly decimate industries in which unauthorized laborers - which constitute more than 5 percent of the US workforce overall -- are concentrated.

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It would also devastate millions of American families. The undocumented population includes high and growing percentages of persons with long tenure and strong family and equitable ties to the United States, including 1.9 million who have lived in the US for 20 years or more, 1.6 million for 15 to 19 years, and 3.1 million for 10 to 14 years. There are 3.8 million undocumented immigrants with at least one US citizen or LPR child. If the concern is that unscrupulous employers use undocumented immigrants to depress wages and working conditions, the better solution would be to strengthen and enforce federal and state labor and workplace protection laws. We should also bring undocumented workers out of the shadows so they are able to exercise the rights and responsibilities of all workers.
Petrenko to initiate expansion of sanctions against Russian officials in case of refusal to release Sentsov, Kolchenko

Justice Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko intends to initiate the expansion of personal sanctions against Russian officials if Russia refuses to release Ukrainian citizens Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko.

"We will never leave our people alone with the hostile repressive machine. The guys' returning to Ukraine is a prerequisite for a further dialogue. If Russia does not do this and continue to abuse political prisoners, I will initiate the expansion of personal sanctions against Russian officials involved in this," Petrenko wrote on his Facebook page.

He noted Russia justified its refusal to release Sentsov and Kolchenko with the fact they supposedly are Russian citizens, although they protested against Russian occupation and were arrested for this.

"Such steps on the part of the aggressor confirm Russia has no place among the democratic countries in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," Petrenko said.
USA, Washington State, Bellevue, Interlake High School

The Washington Post report about Norman, Oklahoma teacher James Coursey is currently the paper's second mostly widely read story. The Post's Cleve Wootson reports that Coursey was caught up in a controversy when teaching about "implicit bias -- the belief that we all have unconscious opinions about race, gender and ethnicity that subtly affect our actions." He further explains, "The incident illustrates the tightrope teachers walk between engaging students in the important issues of the day and staying neutral in a room filled with impressionable youths."

An unidentified student further explains:

What has been reported in the news doesn't accurately portray what happened in our philosophy class, nor does it reflect what we believe in at our school. ... The information was taken out of context and we believe it is important to have serious and thoughtful discussions about institutional racism in order to change history and promote inclusivity.

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Paul Ketchum, a University of Oklahoma professor with extensive experience in teaching about race in this state and who taught in the Los Angeles inner city, supports Coursey and explains, "This teacher's going to face a lot of blowback, because most of the students at Norman North are white and come from white families. That's why they might view this as an attack on them."

I know from firsthand experience that Ketchum has excellent judgment in terms of addressing sensitive racial issues. While teaching in Watts, he would have had seen the same brutal legacies of personal and institutional racism as Coursey encountered when teaching in the inner city of the Oklahoma City Public School System. But I don't know if I agree with Ketchum that Jim could have made a "rookie error in teaching about race," by making the mistake where, "You go for the big term when a less loaded term would be better to make it a teachable moment." (emphasis mine)

I say this because Coursey isn't just a great, veteran teacher. He's an incredible teacher. Jim taught next door to me when our often blood-soaked high school dropped to the bottom of the state. Jim excelled when facing challenges that many teachers - even many inner city teachers - would find overwhelming.

The Washington Post's account of the controversy tells me that the dispute shows how much more complicated racial issues have become. It reports, "In the recording, the teacher shows a YouTube clip about imperialism. A man in the video uses white-out on a globe to illustrate how European influence spread across the world."

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Of course, the video is correct. As I used to teach in World History, cultural imperialism was an essential component of imperialism. And, the Oklahoma Standards of Instruction required me to teach about imperialism, and that is not possible without explaining white racism. (The video I used to introduce the subject was Denzel Washington, in the role of Steve Biko, explaining colonialism in Cry Freedom.)

The Post then reports, "In the recording, the teacher asks: 'Am I racist? And I say yeah. I don't want to be. It's not like I choose to be racist, but do I do things because of the way I was raised. ... 'To be white is to be racist, period.'"

At that point, a teacher could say that the same implicit bias applies to persons of all races. I believe that is the case. But, making such a statement would open a teacher up to another set of attacks. Some argue that races that have been oppressed can't be called racist. I disagree, but a teacher must watch his words or face a possible backlash from persons who believe that racism should be used to describe people with implicit bias who are privileged, but not people who have been disempowered.

Of course, the safe approach would be simply to lecture about the hegemonic structures inherent in imperialism!

I'm joking, of course. To teach complex issues and prompt discussions in public school, teachers must use terms that risk being heard as simplistic. They must do so in classes where any student may record the lesson on a cellphone, and where any parts of the give and take can be taken out of context.

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Teachers must also translate nuanced and controversial subjects using terms that entire classes of students will understand. If out-of-context words are repeated outside of class, then the teacher can face calls for his termination. Teachers must navigate these dilemmas at a time when tenure, i.e our due process rights, is under attack by corporate school reformers as well as the rightwing.
You can make America a world leader in fighting Climate Change and in the development of clean, renewable energy . . . ON November 8.

Climate hero, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, has marched down to the floor of The United States Senate every one of the 148 weeks The Senate has been in session in his Senate career to give a speech on what he calls the existential threat of Climate Change. This session he introduced a bill to end that threat and, at the same time, increase economic opportunity in America.

The bill is called "The American Opportunity Climate Fee Act" and here, in a Facebook Live interview with me from his office in Washington, DC, is Senator Whitehouse himself telling us all about it. https://www.facebook.com/279forChange/videos/311146585918796/

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If 60 Members of The Senate vote for this bill, it passes The Senate. Senator Whitehouse says if the right people are elected on November 8, this bill can pass and become The Law of The Land "within a month."

To date, none of the 54 Republican Members of The United States Senate believe that our climate is changing because of the release of carbon from the burning of gasoline, coal or natural gas or as a result of other human activities like raising livestock and factory farming.

Below is a list of the 34 Democrats running for the 34 seats that are up in this 2016 Election. While not every candidate is currently in favor of Sen. Whitehouse' bill, fighting Climate Change IS a very strong part of The Platform for the entire Democratic Party and is, according to Sen. Whitehouse, a significant and enthusiastic part of Hillary Clinton's platform. Fighting Climate Change is NOT a part, in any way, of The Platform of the Republican Party and Donald Trump has vowed, in his campaign, to go the opposite direction by increasing the use of coal and drilling for and using more fossil fuels over the next 4 or 8 years if he is President.

Almost every scientist in America and around the world does believe, often vehemently, that such activities create a greenhouse effect that traps heat and thereby increases the temperature of the oceans and everything else on the planet, causing ice to melt, releasing more stored carbon and causing storms to be stronger and more frequent and sea levels to rise.

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So, despite the fact that Climate Change was only briefly even referred to in any of the 3 Presidential Debates, you can make Climate Change and "The American Opportunity Climate Fee Act" a part of this campaign by checking with your House and Senate candidates and asking them to #EarnMyVote by asking them if they will commit, BEFORE you vote for them, to voting for "The American Opportunity Climate Fee Act".

Does "Citizen Lobbying" work? Well I asked Senator Whitehouse, "If you were undecided about a particular issue, how many emails from your constituents would you need to get to take a serious look at it? His response: "If I get 20 letters a month on a particular issue, that would make a big impact . . . especially before an election".

The November 8, 2016 Election offers many things to vote FOR that are truly exciting and transformational. If you are passionate about fighting Climate Change and promoting Renewable Energy, use your social media to help "crowdsource" the election of "The Magic Number" of 279 people (218 in The House, 60 in The Senate and 1 President who will sign this bill) and you will have significantly changed The United States of America on Election Day!

Senate Candidates Committed To or Likely To Vote FOR "The American Opportunity Climate Fee Act" and to Fight Climate Change.Alabama: Ron Crumpton

Alaska: Ray Metcalfe

Arizona: Ann Kirkpatrick

Arkansas: Conner Eldridge

California: Kamala Harris or Loretta Sanchez

Colorado: Michael Bennet

Connecticut: Richard Blumenthal

Florida: Patrick Murphy

Georgia: Jim Barksdale

Hawaii: Brian Schatz

Idaho: Jerry Sturgill

Illinois: Tammy Duckworth

Indiana: Evan Bayh

Iowa: Patty Judge

Kansas: Patrick Wiesner

Kentucky: Jim Gray

Louisiana: Foster Campbell or Caroline Fayard

Maryland: Chris Van Hollen

Missouri: Jason Kander

Nevada: Catherine Cortez Masto

New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan

New York: Chuck Schumer

North Carolina: Deborah Ross

North Dakota: Eliot Glassheim

Ohio: Ted Strickland

Oklahoma: Mike Workman

Oregon: Ron Wyden

Pennsylvania: Kathleen McGinty

South Dakota: Thomas Dixon

Utah: Misty K. Snow

Vermont: Patrick Leahy

Washington: Patty Murray

Wisconsin: Russ Feingold

Richard Greene is a former attorney, Fellow for The Constitutional Rights Foundation, former Host of the "Hollywood CLOUT! radio show and Creator of "The 279 for Change Campaign", (www.279forChange.us)
For several decades split between the Hermitage and the Pushkin museums in Russia, the incredible Shchukin collection is arriving in the French capital.



Considered one of the world's finest collections of modern art, it will go on view outside of Russia for the first time in nearly 100 years at the Fondation Louis Vuitton art center in Paris.

Sergei Shchukin was a successful late 19th-century Russian businessman in the textile industry. Born in 1854 in Moscow, he died in 1936 in Paris. Starting in 1897 during a visit to Paris, he began collecting paintings from the masters of Impressionism.

His first purchase was a Monet. Then he went on to the Russian avant-garde artists, filling the walls of his Moscow house with more than 250 pieces. An entire room of his Moscow mansion was dedicated to his 16 Gauguin Tahiti paintings.

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Famed Monet's Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe , Picasso's La Buveuse d'Absinthe , Matisse's L'Atelier Rose, are just a few of the masterpieces that made it to the museum in Paris. Braque, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Pissarro, are among the other 50 masters represented by the collection.

After many great losses in his personal life - the death of his wife, his teenage son, Sergei, his brother and his youngest son -Shchukin pursued his art collecting with even greater fervor; he opened his residence, the Trubetskoy Palace, to art students and gave tours of his collection.

After the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917, his priceless collection was dismantled and handed to the powerful state, then distributed to several museums in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

The art was labeled "bourgeois and cosmopolitan" by purgist dictator Joseph Stalin, who was in office from April 1922 to October 1952 and considered the art collection to be too decadent to be shown to the public.

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After the revolution, Shchukin fled to France and became a close friend and a patron of Henri Matisse. He went on to commission La Danse (seen above, 1909-10), and La Musique (1910), two of the artist's most celebrated works.

A real art coup for the Fondation, the exhibit is likely to attract visitors from all over the world. Opened since exactly two years the Frank Gehry-designed building sits in the middle of the suburban woods at the door of Paris, encroached to the delightful Jardin d'Acclimatation inside the Bois de Boulogne, in the fancy 16th arrondissement of Paris.

Sponsored by the group LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the center is run as a nonprofit initiative, as part of LVMH's promotion of art and culture. Bernard Arnault, the Chairman of LVMH, was the definite mastermind behind the Shchukin travel to France.

For many years, French Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcaud, Shchukin's 74-year-old grandson, has been wanting to re-unite the collection for a complete show, but he found no museum in Russia or France with the hefty funds to see it through.



After many secret shenanigans, the deal was made official when the French magnate signed the agreement with the Russian foreign ministry, as well as the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow to bring the entire collection together again in its entirety for a magnificent show.

"For me, it's a big event," Arnault said recently, "the collection is one of the most beautiful that has ever been put together. It is a complete vision of the beginning of contemporary art."

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(Note: in French, the collection is spelled Chtchoukine.)

INFO: "The Shchukin Collection: Icons of Modern Art".

Oct. 22- Feb. 20, 2017.

Fondation Louis Vuitton - 8 avenue du Mahatma Ghandi, Paris 75016.

Tel: 33-1-40 69 96 00.

Metro stop Les Sablons.

A shuttle also runs from the Place Charles de Gaulle/Etoile for 1 Euro.

Timed tickets for the show are 5, 10, or 16 Euros.
Co-written with Klaudia Kovacs

American culture is ubiquitous and no matter where one goes in the world, from Copenhagen to Beijing, one will encounter the same US brands of jeans, T-shirts, computers, phones and burger joints.

Over the course of history, dominating cultures have expanded and contracted, forcing their dominance into their conquered territories. One might wonder what happens in the cultural void they leave behind.

The fall of the Roman Empire, spreading from North Africa to England and from Spain to Turkey left big parts of Europe in the dark for a thousand years. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that sanitation and medical services returned to the level of pre 300 AD Rome.

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It is not everyday we experience this same magnitude of collapse, however perhaps some insights can be gained from the more recent rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

Only sixty years ago, the Soviet Union crushed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Europe changed dramatically. The event is captivatingly described in Klaudia Kovacs's Klaudia Kovacs's documentary Torn from the Flag Torn from the Flag. While Hungary's occupation continued for another thirty-three years (a generation and a half in human terms) the effect of the occupation continues on until today.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Hungary, like all Eastern European countries, experienced a crash of their communist regime. In the beginning, this led to euphoria regarding the country's future but things turned bleak within just a few years.

For us to understand the difficulties Hungary is still going through today, we need to analyze how the occupation impacted a nation that already had a history of oppression.

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Hungary's birth rate dropped dramatically and alcohol consumption went up six hundred percent. Their suicide rate increased and, during the 1980's, it was the highest in the world! These statistics give one a glimpse on how debilitating the occupying system felt to those who lived there.

Trauma has long-term effects, and one cannot help but think that there might be a link to this recent statistic. In 2012, Hungary was the "Most Miserable Country" in the world. The Russian Federation, Estonia, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia also made the list. (Source: USNews.com)

Eastern European countries are the most recent in experiencing the departure of suppression. African nations experienced these transitions after World War II, going though a period of withdrawal and an attempt at self-reliance. Just before these nations achieved liberation, countries such as Korea and China had undergone decades of Japanese occupation.

Occupation by a dominating culture is therefore much more debilitating than what can be observed by the naked eye. Previously occupied countries struggle with the cultural trauma caused by their humiliating defeats. They experience oppression and have difficulties in forgiving their oppressors, which often plants the seed for future conflicts, such as the flawed peace treaties of World War I later setting the stage for World War II.

America's recent occupation of several middle eastern nations, whatever their intention, is disrupting proud, ancient cultures and effectively preparing the soil for generations of discontent with the western powers. A backlash, expressed in clothing, grooming and contempt for objects expressing western ideals is the first step of a process back to normality that may take generations.

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The question of restoring control over the Ukrainian-Russian border will be raised at the talks in Minsk on October 26, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ukraine's representative in the subgroup for humanitarian affairs of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has stated.

"The first question our group will raise will be control over the border," she said on the air of the "Right to Power" show on 1+1 TV Channel.

Gerashchenko stressed the Ukrainian side will insist on setting up the fifth subgroup, "which will discuss how the OSCE first and then the Ukrainian government must gain control over the Ukrainian-Russian border."
Two Hutchinson teams headed to playoffs

Central Christian and the Hutchinson Salthawks in Class 5A will represent Reno County in the second round of the Kansas state high school playoffs.
European partners during talks in the Normandy Four format in Berlin have supported Ukraine's position regarding the need for progress in the release of hostages, therefore this question will be the key one in the negotiations on the so-called "roadmap," in particular at the talks of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group Iryna Gerashchenko has stated.

"The humanitarian issue sounded rather emotionally at the last meeting in Berlin, although two-thirds of which were devoted to security issues, ceasefire regime, withdrawal of weapons, Ukraine's Debaltseve. For the first time it was so topical issue, because, as a rule, earlier security and the political block were discussed," she wrote on her Facebook page.

According to her, the Ukrainian side raised the question of releasing hostages and access of the International Committee of the Red Cross to prisons in the occupied territories and in the Russian Federation.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 20, 2016.

Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called on China and the United States to make efforts for an early conclusion of their bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations.

China and the United States have agreed to BIT talks on the basis of pre-establishment national treatment (PENT) plus a negative list approach. It is the first time that China has adopted the model in BIT talks with foreign countries, Li said, noting that this showed the importance China attaches to BIT talks.

PENT means that foreign investors and their investments will be accorded national treatment in the pre-establishment phase of their businesses.

Li told visiting former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the Diaoyutai State Guest House that through the BIT talks, both sides sent a positive signal to the world that China and the United States support trade and investment facilitation and liberalization.

China hopes that the two sides will work flexibly and pragmatically to make the talks produce positive results and reach a high-level investment treaty, so as to realize mutual benefits, Li said.

China and the United States started BIT negotiations in 2008.

Speaking highly of the Paulson Institute's role in promoting China-U.S cooperation, Li called on the Institute to make a greater contribution to a healthy and stable China-U.S. relationship.

Premier Li's trip to New York last month yielded positive results and was beneficial to U.S.-China ties, Paulson said, stressing that the Paulson Institute was ready to enhance exchanges and cooperation with China.

On Friday, Vice Premier Wang Yang held a meeting with Paulson and members of the CEO Council of Sustainable Urbanization to exchange views on China-U.S. economic ties, as well as other issues of common concern.
Duterte says visit to China "signals a turning point in our shared history"

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that his four-day visit to China "signaled a turning point" in diplomatic relations between the two Asian countries.

"My state visit to China signaled a turning point in our shared history and showed that both countries are fully capable of working together for mutual beneficial cooperation even as we remain committed to settle disputes peacefully, in full adherence of international law," Duterte said in a speech in Davao City upon arrival from Beijing.

In his meetings, Duterte said they had "productive and extensive discussions on the full range of Chinese-Philippine relations, from trade and investments, to infrastructure and tourism, and to science and technology and health."

"To realize the vision of a deeper and more meaningful engagement, we have opened formal lines of communications between our government and agreed on the full resumption of the regular bilateral consultations mechanisms which were put on hold for several years," Duterte said.

With security and stability recognized as necessary conditions for growth, Duterte said the Philippines and China affirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

"We acknowledged the need to address disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law," he said.

"We also agreed to continue discussions on confidence-building measures, including a bilateral consultation mechanism to discuss immediate issues of concern in South China Sea," Duterte said.

To maintain stability, Duterte said China and the Philippines concluded an agreement for general cooperation to minimize incidents at sea.

To combat the menace of illegal drugs, he said both countries agreed to continue across a broad range of areas, including in capacity-building, equipment upgrading and support for rehabilitation purposes.

"With the shared objective of achieving greater growth and prosperity for our peoples, the Philippines and China jointly worked closely on building a robust economic agenda," Duterte said.

Duterte reported that the Philippines signed a number of agreements. "Mostly economic in nature, these agreements provide the framework with which to carry out intensified cooperation between the Philippines and China," he said.

He added that in his numerous meetings with officials and businessmen "there was a renewed and heightened sense of optimism in trade relations."

"The friendship rekindled opened up deeper commitments to significantly enhance trade and investments," he said.

He also announced that his talks with Chinese leaders and business leaders resulted in public financing agreements and private business deals valued at billions of U.S. dollars in soft loans.

"These agreements, covering various fields of economic activities, are expected to generate 2 million jobs for the Filipinos in the next five years," he said.

He vowed to continue "to work very hard to ensure that these agreements bear concrete results that will better the lives of our people."
Imperial Valley News Center

Investing More Than $50 Million through ApprenticeshipUSA to Expand Proven Pathways into the Middle Class

Washington, DC - Since the beginning of his Administration, President Obama has focused on creating an economy that works for every American. Under his leadership, our businesses have added 15.3 million jobs since early 2010, and the economy has seen the longest streak of job creation on record. However, more work needs to be done to make sure the benefits of the recovery are broadly shared. We must continue to adapt to forces of globalization and technology that deliver tremendous benefits but also pose challenges, including through increasing investment in effective job training. The jobs available today, and the jobs of the future, are higher-skill jobs that require more education and advanced skills.

Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) is announcing the Administrations latest step to increase access to apprenticeship  using Fiscal Year 2016 funding for a new $50.5 million investment in State Expansion Grants to expand apprenticeships across the country in a diverse array of industry sectors. This initiative, called ApprenticeshipUSA, is part of the Administrations strategy to grow and diversify apprenticeship. Over the next 18 months, this effort will result in thousands of new apprenticeships in diverse industries, including health care, advanced manufacturing, and information technology, that offer workers not just jobs, but careers. These grants provide funding to 36 States and one territory to undertake new apprenticeship efforts, which will include efforts in both urban and rural communities. Projects will focus on helping a diverse set of workers  including women and minorities who have too often been left out of apprenticeship efforts in the past  enter into these in-demand fields.

To learn more about the efforts of all 37 winning ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion grantees, click HERE.

Job-driven apprenticeships are among the surest pathways to provide American workers from all backgrounds with the skills and knowledge they need to acquire good-paying jobs and grow the economy. In fact, 91 percent of apprentices are employed after completing their programs, with an average starting wage above $60,000. The return on investment for employers is also impressive  international studies suggest that for every dollar spent on apprenticeship, employers may get an average of $1.47 back in increased productivity and greater front-line innovation. As a result, the President has made expanding apprenticeship a priority for his Administration.

Since the President's 2014 call to action, the U.S. has added more than 125,000 new apprenticeships, the largest increase in nearly a decade. And last year, the President signed into law the first-ever annual funding for apprenticeship programs in the Fiscal Year 2016 spending bill, following a bipartisan agreement based on the Presidents budget request.

But, we cannot carry on this work without continued funding, which the House Appropriations Committees Labor-HHS-Education bill unfortunately fails to provide.

In contrast, the Senate Appropriations Committee provides strong support for apprenticeship, which we hope will be reflected in the final Fiscal Year 2017 spending bill. If this funding does not continue going forward, the 36 States and one territory who have received ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grants will have to terminate their efforts in just 18 months. Similarly, the 14 organizations who were awarded $20.4 million in contracts to expand apprenticeship to new industries and reach historically underrepresented populations will see their funding dry up after one year. This would deprive thousands of Americans of the chance to participate in this life-changing training model. The President calls on Congress to continue its past support for apprenticeship in the final Fiscal Year 2017 spending bill.

Todays announcement builds on a number of efforts that the Obama Administration has taken to prepare Americans for the jobs of the future. More information on the Administrations state-by-state investments in training can be found HERE.

Investing More Than $50 Million to Support Smart State Strategies to Expand Apprenticeship

The grant awards announced today will build on the Administrations successful investments in state apprenticeship strategies. Recognizing Governors unique ability to create smart statewide strategies to expand apprenticeship, DOL is awarding more than $50 million for ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grants to help states integrate apprenticeship into their education and workforce systems; engage industry and other partners at scale to expand apprenticeship to new sectors and new populations; support state capacity to conduct outreach and work with employers to start new programs; provide support to promote greater inclusion and diversity in apprenticeship; and implement state innovations, incentives, and system reforms. By investing in state strategies for growing apprenticeship opportunities, these funds will help strengthen the foundation for the rapid and sustained expansion of quality apprenticeship nationwide. For example:

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment  Denver, CO

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment was awarded a $1.8 million grant to fund the Grow the Middle Class project to expand youth and adult apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships for youth within school districts across the state, using the Swiss Apprenticeship model. Colorado will assist businesses in developing new apprenticeships and industry engagement and initiate a pilot program to recruit representatives from growth industries as champions to identify common competencies and standards for apprenticeships in key occupations.

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries  Tumwater, WA

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries was awarded $2.7 million to fund Project RAISE, a robust effort to coordinate state agency resources, recruit new employers, and advance Registered Apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented populations. Project activities will include program modernization to increase the states capacity to support apprenticeship expansion and engage new industry stakeholders. The project will register 600 apprentices in the industries of health care, education, construction, advanced manufacturing and the public sector, among others. Target populations include women, veterans, youth, low-income individuals, people with disabilities and people of color.

Connecticut Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship Training - Wethersfield, CT

The Connecticut Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship Training (OAT) was awarded a $1.6 million grant to fund the Connecticut Apprenticeship Expansion Rx project, which targets the aerospace manufacturing and maintenance sector. The project will engage employers to increase new sponsors; and provide underrepresented populations, including women and dislocated and under employed individuals an opportunity to acquire industry required credentials. The project will serve 1,672 apprentices. Target industries include aerospace, aviation, energy, and the building trades. OAT and its partners will also develop multi-media resources as additional tools for sector outreach, a focus on stakeholder engagement, securing apprenticeship sponsors, fostering labor-management collaboration, and planning for increased strategic outreach.

Todays announcement follows a $10.4 million investment DOL made earlier this year for ApprenticeshipUSA State Accelerator Grants, which provided 52 awards to states, territories, and the District of Columbia to develop strategic plans and build partnerships for apprenticeship expansion and diversification. Grantees also received support to develop comprehensive game plans for encouraging businesses to launch apprenticeship programs in a variety of industries including advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, construction, and transportation.

In addition, DOL awarded $20.4 million last month in contracts to 14 national industry intermediaries and national equity partners. As part of the historic investment in apprenticeship, the contracts will support the growth of apprenticeship programs in an increasingly diverse set of industries, including healthcare, construction, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, and information and communications technology; and support efforts to boost the representation of traditionally underrepresented populations in apprenticeship programs. For example, the Washington Technology Industry Association will partner with leading technology companies to create a National Information and Communications Technology Apprenticeship Council (NICTAC) comprised of industry hiring partners. The NICTAC will provide underserved populations with access to apprenticeship opportunities in well-paying careers within the information and communications technology industry. More information on this project and other industry intermediary and national equity partner investments can be found HERE.

Building on Success in Expanding Apprenticeship and Increasing Access to Job-Driven Training

Todays announcement builds on the Obama Administrations previous efforts to increase access to apprenticeship and job-driven training to prepare workers for high-skill jobs, including:

Investing an unprecedented $175 million in American Apprenticeship Grants. In September 2015, DOL announced $175 million in grants to 46 public-private partnerships between employers, organized labor, non-profits, local governments, and educational institutions that are expanding high-quality apprenticeships. The grantees are well on their way to creating more than 34,000 new apprentices in high-growth and high-tech industries including health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing over the next five years.

Highlighting the value of apprenticeships through LEADERS. More than 180 employers, colleges, and labor organizations have signed on to be ApprenticeshipUSA LEADERS (Leaders of Excellence in Apprenticeship Development, Education and Research) by starting or expanding their own work-based learning programs and encouraging their peers to follow. Together, employers in the LEADERS program have pledged to create nearly 20,000 new apprenticeship positions.

Expanding opportunities for apprentices to earn credit towards a degree. The Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium (RACC) was launched to enable graduates of Registered Apprenticeship programs to turn their on-the-job and classroom training into college credits toward an associate or bachelors degree. Since 2014, 290 colleges nationwide have joined the RACC.

Providing American Workers with Skills Needed to Compete in the Global Economy

In addition, in January 2014, President Obama signed the Presidential Memorandum on Job-Driven Training for Workers, calling for an action plan within 180 days to make federal employment and training programs more job-driven. In July 2014, the Administration  with the leadership of Vice President Biden  released a plan to expand the number of pathways for Americans to gain the skills they need to get better, higher-paying jobs, and to increase access to those pathways. In addition, the Administration has taken a number of steps to support the American workforce and prepare it for the 21st century, as described below.

Making sure all Americans have a fair shot

The President has taken steps to expand and improve our efforts to re-connect workers who have been displaced by economic change back to the workforce system and into good jobs. Building on the best models of what works, these efforts have helped not only those affected by trade and globalization, but also by the aftermath of the Great Recession, by long-term changes in our energy industry, and in communities that have long suffered from economic isolation and inadequate education opportunities.

Securing a six-year extension and expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in June 2015, which provides vital job training, income support and other benefits to American workers displaced by the forces of globalization. Among other things, this extension improves on prior programs by supporting workers in the service sector and those affected by trade with countries with whom we do not have Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including China and India. One year after the reauthorization, there have already been dramatic improvements resulting from the new legislation. The number of estimated workers currently eligible for benefits and services is over 100,000, which is almost double the number of workers eligible for TAA benefits and services in all of fiscal year 2015 under the older program. This includes approximately 18,000 workers now covered after their previously denied petitions were reconsidered under the new, more expansive law. In fiscal year 2015, 74 percent of TAA participants found new jobs, and over 92 percent retained their jobs.

Helping the long-term unemployed get back to work and stay in the labor force, including through federal investments like the $170 million Ready to Work program, and through collaboration with business leaders to create a set of best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed. In addition, DOL is providing robust reemployment services and eligibility assessments through $200 million in grants to all 50 states and territories to help prevent long-term unemployment and connect jobseekers to the labor market, while also ensuring that they continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits. Through Fiscal Year 2016, an estimated 1.3 million unemployed workers will be served. Recent research shows that when both eligibility assessments and reemployment services are provided seamlessly, reemployment outcomes for claimants improve and the duration of benefits is shorter.

Launching the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, an interagency effort to assist communities negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry and power sector with coordinated federal economic and workforce development resources that help communities diversify their economies and provide reemployment services and job training to connect workers to high-quality in-demand jobs. The initiative is led by the Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration and involves the coordinated efforts of ten Federal agencies.

Helping low- to middle-skilled parents access training and affordable, quality childcare. As a part of the Administrations efforts to support working families, DOL awarded $54 million in grants to help low- to middle- skilled parents access the affordable, quality child care they need to earn an education, participate in training programs, and ultimately compete for better-paying jobs in emerging industries. Grants to 14 partnerships across the country were awarded as part of the Strengthening Working Families Initiative to strengthen and support public-private partnerships devoted to helping parents advance in their careers by bridging gaps between local workforce development and child care systems. These grants will facilitate access to training in a variety of industries, such as information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and educational services.

Helping young people obtain skills and education to succeed in a knowledge-based economy through a $22 million investment in innovative employment demonstration programs in seven cities experiencing high levels of youth unemployment, poverty and crime (Baltimore, Camden, Detroit, Houston, Long Beach, North Charleston and North St. Louis). These projects are testing a range of models for working directly with employers to engage young people and prepare them for good jobs in in-demand industries through work-based training and supportive services.



The Administration has also invested $21 million to open doors for young Americans to kick-start their careers through Summer Jobs and Beyond grants. Building on the efforts of the My Brothers Keeper initiative, these grants help give young people their first meaningful work experience.

The Administration has also invested $21 million to open doors for young Americans to kick-start their careers through Summer Jobs and Beyond grants. Building on the efforts of the My Brothers Keeper initiative, these grants help give young people their first meaningful work experience. Investing in job-driven training for Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) participants, including through the 2016 launch of SNAP to Skills  a first-of-its kind, peer-to-peer effort to help state agencies develop job-driven SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) programs that help participants find good jobs and reduce their need for SNAP. In addition, in March 2015, USDA competitively awarded $200 million to 10 states for 3-year pilot projects, as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, to test and evaluate a range of job-driven strategies, including intensive sector-based approaches and career pathways that prepare workers for specific occupations; career navigation and job readiness; work-based learning; and comprehensive assessment and intensive case management.

Scaling Up What Works

Through the course of the Vice Presidents review, the Administration identified three core problems: employers cant find enough skilled workers to grow their businesses; education and training programs need better information on what skills in-demand jobs require; and, hard-working Americans often are not sure what training to pursue and whether jobs will be waiting when they finish. By listening to employers, workers and training institutions utilizing innovative solutions, and working with Congress, we are implementing common-sense, evidence-based reforms that are helping people find and train for good jobs and ensuring that employers can find the skilled workers they need.

Implementing the job-driven training checklist that reorients competitive job training grants to align with best practices based on elements that matter most to getting Americans into better jobs. To date, agencies have awarded over 15 competitive job-training grant programs that total more than $1.5 billion according to the checklist principles.

Signing the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the first reform of federal job training programs in nearly 20 years that reaches approximately 20 million Americans annually. WIOA improves business engagement, performance accountability, access, and alignment across job training programs.

Doubling Down on Proven Strategies

An evaluation report promised in the 2014 Presidential Memorandum synthesized the elements of what works in job training, and the Administration is using this evidence base to direct limited federal resources into the most results-driven practices. Through administrative actions and by advancing budget proposals, we are using every tool at our disposal to expand successful models that put workers on the path to a good career with a middle-class wage.

Investing in training for dislocated workers that follows employer needs in key sectors. DOL has awarded nearly $300 million in Sector Partnerships and Job-Driven Training grants focusing on training dislocated workers. Sector partnerships are consistently cited as one of the most effective strategies to better align education with employer needs and have been shown through randomized evaluations to lead to higher rates of employment and earnings.

Supporting youth that have been involved in the juvenile justice system through $12 million in DOL and Department of Defense Job ChalleNGe grants that combine the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Programs evidence-based elements, such as military-based discipline, education, life skills, and mentorship, with job-training and work experience.

Helping public housing residents secure higher paying jobs and become self-sufficient through $62.9 million in Jobs Plus Program grants to support work readiness and connect public housing residents with employment, education and financial empowerment services. A research study found that public housing residents who participated in Jobs Plus saw a 14 percent increase in earned income and that these earnings remained higher seven years after exiting the program.

Partnering With Employers, Communities, and Training Providers

As a complement to these federal efforts, the Administration is taking steps to partner outside of governmentwith employers, technology innovators, and educatorsto develop job-driven workforce strategies. Through these partnerships, the Administration is helping to offer more Americans access to the knowledge and skills they need to pursue their educational and career goals while, at the same time, helping businesses grow by filling in-demand jobs with a skilled workforce.
Protecting Businesses and Consumers from Email Scams

Washington, DC - Like it or not, email is a central component of modern day life. The average person spends 6.3 hours a day checking their messages, and email continues to be the most popular means of communication, ahead of instant messaging, texting and social media.

Scam artists have taken note and are exploiting the relative lack of security around email communications to gain access to your accounts and ultimately steal your money or even your identity. While we are all familiar with the international email scam and no longer believe that a stranded diplomat will share millions of dollars with us if we will pay the fees to have it transferred, there are many other scams that seem legitimate enough to fool us, with disastrous consequences.

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is a collaborative hub where industry organizations, government agencies and academic institutions work together to address businesses most pressing cybersecurity issues. Founded in 2012 as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NCCoE is dedicated to improving cybersecurity resilience in important key industries. Currently, were working on a new project to improve email securityDNS-Based Secured Emailand protect companies and consumers against phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Seeing as its National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the most popular types of email-based attacks and learn how to better protect yourself from becoming a victim.

Phishing Attacks

A phishing email is one that appears to come from a legitimate source and catches unsuspecting victims when they respond thinking its an official communication. For example, you may have an account with a large national bank. You receive email alerts from them on a regular basis for a variety of reasons, such as when your account balance falls below a certain amount or your online statements are ready for viewing. One day you receive an email that asks you to visit their website to update your profile. It seems serious as the subject line says Your Online Banking is Blocked! In a hurry, you click on the link, but it doesnt actually lead to the banks website. Instead, the link sends you to a fake website that looks just like the real thing. After entering your customer ID and password to update your profile information, you close the page thinking youve just protected yourself from fraud. In fact, youve just given away the keys to your account and scammers are now transferring money from it and have perhaps even downloaded malicious software onto your computer.

Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

While there are ways you might detect a phishing email, e.g. incorrect grammar or spelling, suspicious links, or threatening language, man-in-the-middle attacks are much more damaging and much harder to detect. In this type of attack, the man in the middle secretly intercepts or alters an email communication between two unsuspecting parties. For example, the attacker might change the transaction instructions sent to you by your lender on your mortgage loan closing, sending your hard-earned funds to the attackers bank account instead. By the time you discover your funds never made it to your lender, your life savings are now in the hands of criminals. One of the ways you can prevent this type of attack is to change your email settings to request a digital certificate, which is an electronic document that certifies the identity of the email sender, for sensitive emails.

Who Can You Trust?

Email service providers focus primarily on delivering emails, not verifying their origins or contents. While no one wants outsiders reading their email, one can make the argument that, with email scams rising, its not unreasonable for consumers to expect email service providers to implement security protocols to verify that emails are actually coming from who they say they are. I need to know that if an email says its coming from my bank, its not really coming from a shady crime ring trying to steal my money or identity, or both.

Email Safety

The cost and speed of delivery have been some of the driving forces behind the widespread use of email, for both business and personal reasons. Securing email transactions has not been a top priority, which is one reason why email attacks have been on the rise.

Email service providers can take steps to reduce the prevalence of email scams by implementing mechanisms to verify the origin of an email. However, these mechanisms are complicated to implement, require long lead times, and must integrate into existing systems, further complicating matters. As a result, many providers have been slow to adopt these protections.

The NCCoE has taken on this challenge with its DNS-Based Secured Email project. Were working with industry to simplify the implementation of important security controls and have launched an initiative to help both public and private organizations improve email security. Most server-based email security mechanisms are vulnerable to intrusions or man-in-the-middle attacks when there isnt server-to-server verification, i.e., when theres no automated process whereby your email server checks to make sure that its sending your email to another legitimate email server. Without appropriate combination protections in place, these attacks can result in unauthorized parties reading or modifying email. This project aims to use currently available technology to close the gaps in email security through the service provider, ultimately reducing the potential for email scams.

NCCoEs DNS-Based Secured Email Project

Our goal with this project is to demonstrate a security platform that provides trustworthy email exchanges and tools that help organizations encrypt emails between users, allow individual email users to digitally sign and/or encrypt email messages, and allow email users to identify valid email senders.

If youre interested, check our project page frequently for updates or sign up for our email alerts. The NCCoE relies on collaboration with industry, government and academia, so if you would like to be involved in this project, please email us and ask to join our Community of Interest.

For those of you who are not computer scientists or a cybersecurity researchers, and Im guessing thats the majority of the people reading this article, I hope you now have a better understanding of the ways that cyber criminals can come after your emails and what you can do to protect yourself.

Together, we can take a bite out of cyber crime.
Secretary of State John Kerry To Chair Human Trafficking Task Force Meeting

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will chair the annual meeting of the Presidents Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, October 24, 2016, at the White House.

The annual Cabinet-level meeting serves as an opportunity to coordinate government-wide efforts and discuss new initiatives in the struggle to end modern slavery.

This will be the fourth meeting of the PITF during Secretary Kerrys tenure as Chair and the seventh of the Obama Administration. Secretary of State Kerry will be joined by other senior Administration officials who will detail agencies efforts to solidify the achievements of the Obama Administration in combating human trafficking and to maintain momentum during the transition and into the next administration.
CLUed in about FTCs Criminal Liaison Unit Award

Washington, DC - Thank you for being a friend  to consumers, that is. We admit it. Were prone to break out in song a little too enthusiastically, but the recipient of the FTC Criminal Liaison Units Prosecuting Attorneys Award merits a chorus of congratulations.

The Commission presents the award annually to recognize prosecutors who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to consumer protection in partnership with the FTC. This years honoree is the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York.

The Complex Frauds Unit prosecutes financial fraud and addresses the threat of cybercrime  and theyve had a long-standing partnership with the FTC to help protect consumers. In just the past year, the Complex Frauds Unit successfully prosecuted dozens of individuals for their participation in mobile cramming, phantom and abusive debt collection, and deceptive payday lending schemes.

The FTC presented the award at a ceremony on October 19th in New York.

Looking for more information about the FTCs Criminal Liaison Unit (CLU)? Watch this video to get a clue about how CLU contributes to the prosecution of con artists who prey on American consumers. It describes the FTCs close working relationship with federal and state prosecutors  and serves as a reminder that some consumer protection violations can ultimately lead to criminal charges.
Deputy Secretary of State Blinken Travel to Japan and the Republic of Korea

Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Tokyo and Seoul October 26-29 for bilateral and trilateral consultations on regional and global issues and to discuss strategic coordination on DPRK policy.

The Deputy Secretary will visit Tokyo October 26-27 to meet with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and Republic of Korea (ROK) First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam for the fifth round of Deputy-level trilateral consultations, which will focus on our cooperation on a range of regional security and global issues, including our coordinated response to the threat posed by the DPRK nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

In Seoul October 28-29, the Deputy Secretary will meet with First Deputy Director of the ROK National Security Office Cho Tae-yong to discuss U.S.-ROK strategic coordination on North Korea policy. They will discuss the international communitys efforts to hold North Korea accountable for its destabilizing behavior, including its January 6 and September 9 nuclear tests and litany of ballistic missile launches, which constitute flagrant violations of UN Security Council resolutions.
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In the past, Joss Whedon has been fairly vocal about stating what films he'd like to direct and it seems like he's not stopping now.

When asked by Complex, the American filmmaker - who brought Marvel's Avengers together - revealed he would like to direct his own Star Wars spin-off.

He said: "I mean, its a fun thing to do, to put yourself in the service of something if you think you can add an interpretation. Its no different than any other storytelling. Do I want to make a Star Wars movie? Yeah.

The director did, however, reveal he wasn't always on board with the idea.

Whedon said: "I was like, 'I dont want to make a Star Wars movie. Like, god dammit, why?' But I saw the trailer for Rogue [One: A Star Wars Story] awhile ago and I was like, 'I want to do that.' To make a Star Wars movie and not be wed to the bigger picture."

Rogue One is the first of three planned anthology films that, over the coming years, will be released in between each Star Wars film. These include a prequel focusing on a young Han Solo (which has just cast its young Lando Calrissian) as well as a rumoured Boba Fett adventure.

Whedon stepped away from big-budget blockbusters following sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron which he stated left him feeling like a "miserable failure."In the same interview, he announced that he was working on a screenplay he described as a WWII horror film.
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Rias Baixas in north-western Spain has much in common with the south-west of England. With the Atlantic spread out between them, both regions are dominated by a humid maritime climate with mild winters, relatively cool summers  compared to the rest of Spain, anyway  and heavy annual rainfall.

Another common link between these two coastal areas is the abundance of superb seafood and shellfish, for which the Galician coastline is a proverbial sweetshop, with scallops, prawns, lobster, mussels, oysters, clams, red mullet, hake and even the speciality gooseneck barnacles all found in abundance. This is also the area that produces one of Spains best white wines, Alberino. Delicate handling in the winery keeps the naturally high acidity and freshness of this grape at the forefront. Drunk young, these wines complement perfectly the salinity of seafood dishes.

Paula Fandino Pita, technical director and winemaker for Mar de Frades in Pontevedra, says: Galicia has a privileged advantage from the climatic point of view, as these conditions of humidity and rain during many parts of the year allow Albarino grapes to ripen with the perfect balance.

The granitic soils in the Salnes Valley also add an extraordinary complexity. Here you can find very poor soils, with a very poor yield... offering the perfect qualities for pairing with all kinds of fish and seafood.

You dont even need to stick with white wines. Rioja red wines are made from the thick-skinned Tempranillo grape which, with its low acidity, also thrives in the cooler climes of northern Spain. Too much heat can easily spoil its red fruit charm. A young or joven Rioja is a great partner for clams, their sweetness matched with the strawberry-scented wine.

Luckily, we need only travel to Galicia by way of the bottle, as autumn is one of the best times for eating seafood from our own Devonshire coastline. Mitch Tonks, chef and owner of the renowned Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth, says:  The water cools, fishing is good and shellfish like mussels are at their best, and Native oysters are well in season.

Dont delay  get your fridge stocked with these:

Mar de Frades Albarino Brut Nature

21.60, Sommeliers Choice. Buy it here

Citrus, white stone fruit and trademark high acidity, with toast and almond notes. A perfect match for oysters, according to Diego Muntoni, head sommelier at OXO Tower Restaurant in Londons South Bank. The wine comes alive with the minerality of the oyster, the bright acidity of the Albarino together with the salinity works as a seasoning, you really dont need anything else.

Albarino, Mar de Frades 2015

16, Sommeliers Choice. Buy it here

Technical director and winemaker Paula Fandino Pita describes Mar de Frades as a wine that brings fresh aromas of the sea with hints of citrus and tropical fruit. The perfect combination of minerality and fruit intensity make it perfect with seafood. The OXO Towers Diego Muntoni enthuses: Eating sweet, fleshy steamed mussels with Albarino is a simple treat but also gastronomically a great experience... the two together have a synergy that few wines haveYou can almost feel a little sparkle on the tongue followed by an iodine minerality.

Cruz de Alba, 2013, Ribera del Duero Crianza

RSP 17, Ellis of Richmond. Buy it here

A fruity, modern-style of Rioja with careful use of oak to give balance and structure: pure red-berry fruit with subtle spice and a silky mouth-feel. Mitch Tonks pushes for a surprise match of clams with smoked peppers, fino sherry, peas and Romesco sauce.

Bodgas Ramon Bilbao, Rioja Vinedos de Altura 2013

12.85, Sandhams Wines. Buy it here

Tim Mclaughlin-Green, ex-sommelier and owner of Sommeliers Choice, says the key message about red wine and fish pairings is temperature. Serving the wine between 14-16 degrees could be a little controversial in the UK but this is normal when drinking from the winery. McLaughlin-Green would pair Tonkss Galician-inspired dish of roast hake with garlic vinegar and Romesco sauce with Rioja Vinedos de Altura 2013, a blend of 50 per cent old-vine Garnacha from Rioja Baja and 50 per cent Tempranillo from Rioja Alta. Served slightly chilled, the combination of high-altitude, fresh red fruit and French oak-ageing allows the wine and fish to balance each other.

Cruz de Alba, Finca Los Hoyales

85, Sommeliers Choice. Call 01689 855034

And if all this talk of fish leaves you yearning for some hearty meat instead, Michelin-star restaurant Pepe Solla serves a simple pancake with smoked pork and a glass of Cruz de Alba Finca los Hoyales. This is a full-flavoured dish. The smokiness of the pork and its soft bite are at the same level as the wine, adds Muntoni. The wine is elegant and intense with a silky texturewith black fruit aromas of ripe brambles and cassis, and opens up with root spice and a dusty smokiness of toast.

Nuria Stylianou is our WSET-qualified wine and spirits columnist. Email her on nuria.stylianou@gmail.com and follow her on Instagram @nu_on_the_vine
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Britain can lead the way in efforts to address the plight of children caught up in the Syrian conflict, actress Carey Mulligan has said. She joined hundreds of people gathered in central London to call for the Government to take decisive action to end the bloodshed in the war-ravaged country.

The crowd included children wearing Save Aleppo T-shirts and other people flying Syrian flags or carrying placards urging a No bomb zone now.

The Great Gatsby star joined yesterday's demonstration opposite the gates to Downing Street, where teddy bears were later laid in a poignant message from campaigners about the human cost of the long-running conflict.

Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Show all 13 1 /13 Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office

A small light brown-coloured teddy belonging to her one-year-old daughter Evelyn was amongst the pile, and she told how becoming a parent has motivated her to raise awareness and to help.

She said: I brought one of my daughter's teddy bears here today and ever since having my child  I've worked with War Child for a couple of years now  but since having my daughter, it just drives home even more how unimaginable it would be for her to be in any of these situations and to have to deal with any of this.

It just really drives me to speak out and do more if I can.

She described the demonstration as the opportunity to stand up and say that we need to do something real.

Mulligan, an ambassador for War Child, has previously spoken out saying that the inaction in Calais  where many unaccompanied refugee children have become stranded in the so-called Jungle camp  made her ashamed to be British. But she said the arrival of young refugees in Croydon in recent days helped restore some of her faith. She added: I feel very proud to be British in this regard. We have made a strong stance this week.

She said: "I think we really can lead the way here and we can lead people and work with our international allies to come up with a robust plan to finally put this to an end.

She recalled the night-time ritual of putting her daughter to bed and told the gathered crowd: I'm safe in the knowledge that when I put Evie down to bed she is safe." She added: The parents in Aleppo aren't. They don't know what the night will bring.

As well as the protest, a letter was delivered to Number 10 demanding Theresa May take action to help end the violence.

It comes after the Prime Minister on Friday insisted the EU must keep all options open if Russia continues to commit atrocities in the conflict zone. Campaigners said the day of action was a rebuttal to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's call for protests outside the Russian embassy, as they feel the British Government needs to play a stronger role itself.

Labour MP Alison McGovern's voice broke with emotion as she remembered the work of her friend, the late Jo Cox MP, helping civilians in Syria.

Carey Mulligan places a teddy bear with others left outside Downing Street (PA)

She told the rally: It shouldn't be me who is speaking here today, it should be my friend Jo Cox. But because she isn't here, we have to be here." And she added: "Fifty thousand children have been killed in Syria since 2011, and millions have fled their homes. There are 100,000 children trapped right now in Aleppo.

Among the other organisations involved in the campaign are Amnesty International UK, Avaaz and Christian Aid. Bert Wander, Avaaz campaign director, said: The bloodbath in Aleppo has gone on long enough, and Theresa May must listen to the people on the streets and support a no-fly zone to stop the slaughter.

How many schools, hospitals and families must be bombed before Syria becomes a priority? If the prime minister fails to act, history will judge her harshly.
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Actor Salma Hayek revealed that she refused an offer to go on a date with Donald Trump, so he planted a story about her height in the tabloids and claimed she was too short to go out with.

On a Spanish radio show on Friday, the Hillary Clinton supporter said Mr Trump was bad for the Latino community.

The host of the El Show del Mandril on Radio Centro 93.9 in Los Angeles then asked the Ugly Betty star whether she believed the numerous claims of sexual assault against the party nominee.

Recommended Read more Donald Trump accused in new sexual assault case

She said she did, and described meeting the real estate mogul earlier in her career.

"When I met that man, I had a boyfriend, and he tried to become his friend to get my home telephone number. He got my number and he would call me to invite me out.

When I told him I wouldnt go out with him even if I didnt have a boyfriend, [which he took as disrespectful], he called  well, he wouldnt say he called, but someone told the National Enquirer, she added, as reported by Buzzfeed.

Someone told the National Enquirer  Im not going to say who, because you know that whatever he wants to come out comes out in the National Enquirer. It said that he wouldnt go out with me because I was too short.

Later, he called and left me a message. Can you believe this? Who would say this? I dont want people to think this about you.

He thought that I would try to go out with him so people wouldnt think thats why he wouldnt go out with me.

As shown by tax records, Mr Trump reportedly spent $120,000 of Trump Foundation money to buy a luxury trip, including a dinner with Ms Hayek, at a charity auction in 2008. He did not go on the trip.

The Republican is battling accusations of groping and sexual assault from more than 10 women, including former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, and Miss Teen USA contestants who said he used to stroll in to their dressing room while they were getting changed.

The Trump campaign did not respond immediately for comment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the Long March as an "epic, human miracle," and called for efforts to realize the "two centenary goals" and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation in "a new Long March."

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks at a gathering on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.

Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the event.

During his speech, Xi led a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the Long March and the revolutionary wars.

Around 3,000 people, including Red Army veterans, servicemen, senior Party and government officials, representatives of non-communist parties and those with no party affiliation and the public, were present at the gathering.

LONG MARCH

From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army soldiers left their bases and marched through raging rivers, frigid mountains and arid grassland to break the siege of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) forces and continue to fight the Japanese aggressors. Some of them marched as far as 12,500 kilometers.

With their strong will, Red Army officers and soldiers were pushed to the extremes of their physical limits, this dramatic episode in world military history is no less than a "glorious human miracle", Xi said.

"I will never forget the Long March, the route was littered with the bodies of our fallen comrades. But we soldiered on and finished the march as we all believed in, and were motivated by, the revolutionary ideal and the CPC's leadership," said Li Kaiyou, 102, a Red Army veteran.

Xi also called the Long March a "stately monument" in the history of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The Long March was a remarkable turning point for the CPC and China's revolutionary cause, it sowed the seeds of confidence that the struggle for national independence and the liberation of the people were achievable, Xi said.

Describing the Long March as a "great expedition to seek ideal and faith, test truth, and break new ground," Xi said its victory signifies the strength of the Chinese Communists' ideals, faith, orientation and path.

Following the Long March, the CPC realized that the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism must be combined with the real conditions of China's revolution, enabling the Party to solve major problems in the revolution independently, and lead the revolutionary cause to victory, Xi said.

He summarized "the Long March spirit" as seeking truth from the facts, strict self-discipline, acknowledgement of the overall interests of the people, solidarity, and involving people from all walks of life.

NEW LONG MARCH

The president called for carrying forth the spirit of the Long March to move forward on "a new long march."

The Long March is an ongoing process, Xi said.

"No matter which stage our undertaking has developed to and how great the achievements we've made, we should carry forth the Long March spirit and advance in 'a new long march,'" he added.

Each generation has its own "long march," and they should proceed in their own way, according to Xi.

"Today, our 'long march' is to realize the 'two centenary goals' and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation," Xi added.

The country has set two goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC celebrates its centenary in 2021 and turning the nation into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious in time for the People's Republic of China to mark its centennial in 2049.

While addressing the gathering, Premier Li Keqiang said that the spirit of the Long March should be interwoven into all work. "By doing so, the Party, the state and the military will be more successful in their work," Li said.

Yu Xiaochuan, a researcher who has participated in China's manned space missions, said the spirit of the Long March was undeniably present in the country's manned space program.

"The program requires dedication. Our work is underpinned by placing the nation's interests in the center stage, and we must explore unceasingly, regardless of difficulties," said Yu.

In his speech, Xi also highlighted the significance of development, reform and innovation.

Stressing the decisive role of development in socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said the country would focus on economic construction, guiding the nation through the "new normal" with bespoke measures, while tackling any difficulties and cultivating advantages.

"Reform will decide the fate of modern China," Xi said.

CONFIDENCE IN PATH

To carry forth the Long March spirit and advance in "a new long march," people must solidify their confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

"While we stress confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we should by no means rest on our laurels and stop making progress," Xi said. "We must constantly discover, invent, create and march forward, so as to keep socialism with Chinese characteristics permanently invigorated."

Xi emphasized that all improvements and progress should head toward a designated direction, rather than a change in direction, or even "abandoning the very foundation where our Party, the country and the people are rooted."

During the Long March, the Red Army not only transcended the barriers of "thousands of mountains and waters," but also climbed over the barriers of the mind, Xi said, referring to overcoming the dogmatic belief that Marxism is immutable.

The most important message from the Long March is that China must combine the fundamental principles of Marxism with the real conditions of China, and march along the path of revolution, construction and reform as suitable to China's conditions.

STRONG ARMY

The president urged building a solid national defense and strong armed forces that are commensurate with the country's international status, national security and development interests.

"To build a strong country requires efforts to build a strong army, and only with a strong army can the country's security be guaranteed," Xi said.

He called for efforts to foster a new generation of Chinese servicemen who are "soldiers with soul, high caliber, gut and virtue," and to build rock-solid troops with "iron-like belief, conviction, discipline and commitment."

"The Long March is the glory of the people's army, and the honorable people's army must always carry forward the great spirit and fine tradition of the Red Army in the Long March," Xi said.

He called on the armed forces to adhere to the CPC's absolute leadership, maintain their nature and uphold their principles as the people's army, and be the heir to the Red Army.

Moreover, he urged the military to uphold political integrity, promote reform and rule of law, and strengthen combat readiness.

The entire military should remain vigilant and be aware of its responsibilities, Xi said, noting that the modernization of national defense and armed forces must advance in a bid to safeguard the country's national sovereignty, security and development interests.

CPC LEADERSHIP

In his speech, Xi also stressed strengthening the leadership of the Party and strictly governing the Party in order to make today's "long march" a success.

All Party members must uphold and safeguard the leadership of the Party and consciously endorse the stand of the Party and the people. "They should be loyal to the Party, share the Party's concerns and shoulder responsibilities with the Party," Xi said.

He called on Party members to do their utmost to fulfil the responsibilities and tasks arranged by the Party.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to strengthen and regulate political life within the Party, according to Xi.

He pledged unswerving efforts to promote clean governance, fight corruption, and strengthen the Party's ability to purify, improve and innovate itself.

In addition, Xi said the Party must adhere to the principle of doing everything for, and relying on, the people to strive for a better life.

"Only by believing in the people, relying firmly on the people and listening to the people's initiative and creativity can we unite the nation's will like a fortress," he said.

Going through thick and thin with the people was the fundamental guarantee for the CPC and the Red Army to achieve victory in the Long March, Xi said, adding it is also the guarantee for the Party to overcome difficulties and risks.

The Party should unite and lead the people and make constant efforts to improve their livelihood, Xi said, adding that the fruits of reform and development should benefit all.

Zhu Xiangqun, a village official in Hunan Province, pledged to "continue to follow the Party's instructions, rely on and lead villagers to achieve victory in the "new long march of poverty alleviation."
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The latest episode in the serial adventurer Leonardo DiCaprios continuous brush with death has been revealed.

The Titanic actor ended up being saved by his friend the actor Edward Norton after his oxygen tank began leaking on a diving expedition in 2010.

Fisher Stevens, the director of DiCaprios new climate change documentary Before the Flood, has said the second time the pair met was on the Pacific islands of Galapagos where Fisher was filming the marine biologist Sylvia Earle for a documentary. DiCaprio and Earle buddied up, with the actor filming Earle, while Fisher went with Ed Norton who also happened to be there.

Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Show all 26 1 /26 Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, at one of many outrageous parties in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street AP Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo-DiCaprio Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey in The Wolf of Wall Street Rex Features Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the famous scene from Titanic Reuters Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures 'I'll never let go, Jack': Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett in Titanic Rex Features Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's hand in his Titanic sex scene with Kate Winslet is iconic in itself Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet 20th Century Fox Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Another scene from Romeo and Juliet 20th Century Fox Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio star and Matt Damon star as an undercover cop and police force mole in crime thriller The Departed IMDB Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio stars as director and aviator Howard Hughes in Scorsese drama The Aviator IMDB Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Miramax Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Broadbent in 'Gangs of New York' Rex Features Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Glitter bugs: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton in 'The Great Gatsby' Bazmark Film III Pty Limited Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo Di Caprio playing Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's 'Great Gatsby' Warner Bros Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio starred as con artist Frank Abagnale in the film Catch Me If You Can Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Virginie Ledoyen and Leonardo DiCaprio starring in 'The Beach' AP Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio in the puny sci-fi thriller Inception Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures ANDREW COOPER Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Sir Ben stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio in the Revolutionary Road Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures FRANCOIS DUHAMEL Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Winslet and DiCaprio in the Revolutionary Road AP Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCaprio's career in pictures Leonardo DiCarprio in the documentary 11th Hour (2007)

So we go down and we see 300 Eagle Rays and Spotted Rays and it was an amazing dive, Stevens told GQ. Leo bolts away with Sylvia and Edward goes in front of me and the next thing I know after 20 minutes Id lost them all.

Then I see Leo buddy breathing because Leos tank was leaking oxygen and Edward have to save him! It was pretty crazy. But he actually did get some film for me and it was good for a second and then it got pretty shaky when he couldnt breathe, Stevens explained.

DiCaprio has recounted his various near-misses before explaining earlier this year he has nearly died three times.

The 41 year old's list involves an emergency plane landing after he witnessed the entire wing explode in a fireball, a great white shark entering his cage in South Africa and his parachute becoming knotted during a skydive.
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Sir Richard Branson has warned Donald Trumps vindictive streak is why he should not be the next president of the US after recounting an encounter with the Republican nominee where Mr Trump allegedly vowed to spend the rest of his life destroying five people.

The Virgin founder said he was invited by Mr Trump to his Manhattan apartment for lunch several years ago when they had not met before.

Even before the starters arrived he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help, Branson wrote in a blog post. He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people.

Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Show all 15 1 /15 Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Who are famous people voting for in the US election? George Clooney HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Leonardo DiCaprio HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Mike Tyson DONALD TRUMP Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Beyonce HILLARY CLINTON Rex Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Chloe Grace Moretz HILLARY CLINTON Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Sarah Jessica Parker HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Jon Voight DONALD TRUMP Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Katy Perry HILLARY CLINTON Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Jennifer Lopez HILLARY CLINTON Angela Weiss/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Denis Rodman DONALD TRUMP TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Salma Hayek HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Le Bron James HILLARY CLINTON Justin Carissimo Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Hulk Hogan DONALD TRUMP Reuters Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Kid Rock DONALD TRUMP Theo Wargo/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Stacey Dash DONALD TRUMP Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Sir Richard says he found the conversation bizarre and claims he told Mr Trump he didnt think it was the best way to spend his life.

Recommended Read more Richard Branson calls for voting age to be lowered to 16 after Brexit

I said it was going to eat him up and do more damage to him than them, he wrote. There must be more constructive way to spend the rest of your life. (Hopefully my advice didnt lead to him running for President!)

The 66 year old said he left the lunch feeling disturbed and saddened by what Id heard and says the meeting contributed to him backing Hillary Clinton in the election.

What concerns me most, based upon my personal experience with Donald Trump, is his vindictive streak, which could be so dangerous if he got into the White House. For somebody who is running to be the leader of the free world to be wrapped up in himself, rather than concerned with global issues, is very worrying.

The entrepreneur said he contrasts that lunch with one he had with Ms Clinton where they instead talked about the war on drugs, educational reform, womens rights, global conflicts and the death penalty.

As she understands well, the President of the United States needs to understand and be engaged with wider world issues, rather than be consumed by petty personal quarrels, he concluded.

This is not the first time the politically vocal businessman has spoken out against Mr Trump previously saying while he wants an entrepreneur for President he believes Mr Trump would be a disaster and called him unfit for office.

On this side of the pond, Sir Richard was an impassioned Remainer and called for a second referendum on Britains membership of the EU, arguing that the Leave camp repeatedly misled voters.

A representative for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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An investigation has been launched by Spanish police after a British man was been found dead outside Malaga airport in southern Spain.

The man was discovered bound to a bench with cable ties on Friday morning with his trousers pulled down to his ankles, according to Spanish media.

An airport worker is said to have alerted police after he found the body in an area between the terminal building and the airports train station.

Malaga Hoy reported that an autopsy had revealed the man had died after he inhaled his own vomit after consuming large quantities of alcohol.

Investigators said the mans body showed no sign of inflicted injuries, according to the newspaper, but suggested his tied posture may have contributed to his death.

They said the fact his trousers had been lowered suggested he may have been sexually assaulted.

The body has reportedly been identified as that of 51-year-old Steven Allford, according to The Telegraph.

Police cordoned off the area and dusted for fingerprints on and around the bench where the body was found, reported the newspaper.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Foreign Office said they were aware of the reports but could not confirm the identity of the man.

A spokeswoman said: We are in contact with local authorities following reports of the death of a British man in Malaga, Spain.

Malaga airport is the fourth busiest airport in Spain and 4.5 million passengers arrived there from the UK in 2013, according to Spanish aiport operator AENA.
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A police investigation has been launched into alleged racial hatred from the BBC after a bodybuilder complained that a documentary made about him was racist.

Akinwale Arobieke, 55, was filmed for the BBC3 programme The Man Who Squeezes Muscles: Searching for Purple Aki, first broadcast in September.

The documentary was presented as an investigation into how Mr Arobieke, a 6ft 5ins bodybuilder, gained a reputation as a bogeyman feared by his neighbours in north-west England.

Recommended Read more Fear of hate crime among LGBT students up 95 per cent in a year

In it, BBC narrator and presenter Benjamin Zand interviews people in and around Liverpool about their experiences or impressions of Mr Arobieke.

An article on the BBC website that appears alongside the film states: The nickname itself was racially charged  the suggestion being he was so black hes purple.

Since the programmes launch, Mr Arobieke has lodged a complaint with Merseyside police that the documentary was racist and presented him unfairly.

Mr Arobieke has a series of convictions and is known for approaching younger men and asking to touch and measure their muscles.

In 1986, he was convicted of manslaughter after a 16-year-old boy was electrocuted at New Brighton railway station, allegedly while running away from him.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty 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

The conviction was overturned, however, and Mr Arobieke was awarded some 35,000 in compensation for alleged racial prejudice against him during the trial.

The BBC film is introduced by Mr Zand, who says: Purple Aki A name thats whispered in the parks and playgrounds of Merseyside. A threat made to kids watch out or purple Aki will get you.

During the programme, Mr Arobieke is described by interviewees as a big black man and purple and huge.

A spokesperson for Merseyside police said: Officers from the Liverpool Sigma team are investigating an allegation of a race hate crime. This follows the release of a BBC3 documentary. Specialist detectives are working alongside partners in the Crown Prosecution Service and at this time the investigation is ongoing.

In 2001, Mr Arobieke was cleared of 50 counts of indecent assault and harassment against 14 teenage boys between 1995 and 2000. He was later sentenced to 30 months in prison, however, for making threats to kill.

In 2003 he was imprisoned for a further six years in 2003 after pleading guilty to 15 counts of harassment and one count of witness harassment.

Responding to the racist hatred allegations, a BBC spokeswoman said: This is a serious and considered film made in line with our usual editorial standards and we stand by it. As a matter has been raised with the police we are unable to comment further.
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A seven-year-old boy who was "living life entirely as a girl" has been removed from his mother's care following a ruling by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Hayden said the woman had caused her son "significant emotional harm" and criticised local authority social services staff responsible for the youngster's welfare.

The judge said the woman had been "absolutely convinced" the youngster "perceived himself as a girl" and was determined that he should be a girl.

He said the boy was now living with his father, who is separated from the mother. The youngster still saw his mother.

Mr Justice Hayden said "flares of concern" had been sent from a "whole raft of multi-disciplinary agencies".

He said he could not understand why so many concerns were "disregarded so summarily" by social services staff.

The judge said social services staff had "moved into wholesale acceptance that (the boy) should be regarded as a girl".

He said he wanted the council to undertake a review of the "social work response" to the case.

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

A council "spokesperson" said bosses had already begun a review.

Detail emerged on Friday in a ruling by the judge following private hearings in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Mr Justice Hayden said no-one involved in the case, including the local authority, could be identified.

The judge also barred the woman from revealing specifics of the case in any media interviews.

He said he was afraid that an information jigsaw which might lead to the boy's identity being revealed could be created.

The judge said he had analysed evidence from the boy's parents, local authority social workers and a psychologist.

He indicated the boy's parents had separated some years ago. The boy had stayed with his mother.

Family court litigation had started about three years ago after the father raised concerns about not having contact with his son.

A lower-ranking judge had authorised a "wide-ranging" inquiry and local authority social services staff had begun investigations.

"(His mother) told me that (he) was 'living in stealth' by which was meant, she explained, that he was living life entirely as a girl," said Mr Justice Hayden.

"He dressed, at all times, like a girl and, it transpired, had been registered at a new general practitioner's as a girl."

The judge added: "I was also left in no doubt that (the mother) was absolutely convinced that (the boy) perceived himself as a girl."

Mr Justice Hayden said his "overwhelming impression" was that the woman "believes herself to be fighting for (her son's) right to express himself as a girl".

He said the woman had told him how the boy "expressed disdain for his penis".

The judge added: "I consider that (the mother) has caused significant emotional harm to (her son) in her active determination that he should be a girl."

Mr Justice Hayden said the boy had settled well in the care of his father and his father's partner.

"I have been told that (the father) and his partner were shocked when they first saw (the boy) by the extent to which he appeared to be a girl, both in appearance and in mannerism," said the judge.

"However, what is striking is how well (the boy) has settled down."

The judge added: "I have noted from reports that (the boy) has become interested in Power Rangers, SpongeBob, Superheroes and is constantly finding new interests...

"It is striking that most of (the boy's) interests are male-oriented.

"I am entirely satisfied, both on the basis of the reports and (the father's) evidence at this hearing, that he has brought no pressure on (the boy) to pursue masculine interests.

"(The boy's) interests and energy are entirely self-motivated."
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More than 100 British citizens have been refused entry to Israel so far this year as lawyers raise concern over the discriminatory use of immigration laws against pro-Palestinian activists.

Dr Adam Hanieh, a senior lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) was among those turned away at the border in what university leaders called an an arbitrary breach of academic freedom. The development studies lecturer, who was due to deliver three classes at Birzeit University in the West Bank, was held for 10 hours after landing at Ben Gurion Airport on 12 September.

Dr Adam Hanieh is a senior lecturer in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (YouTube)

University officials said he was put in a detention centre overnight, before being returned to London the following morning and given a 10-year ban from entering Israel.

Dr Hanieh is among of at least 115 British citizens refused entry to Israel since the start of this year, according to Israeli government figures.

In response to a Parliamentary question from Mark Durkan, the SDLP MP for Foyle, Middle East minister Tobias Ellwood said 129,000 British nationals had visited the country in the same period. He confirmed 50 were turned away from Ben Gurion Airport  the only international airport in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories - and 65 at the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan into the West Bank.

No breakdown was available of the reasons for the refusals, which can include administrative issues such as having an incorrect visa, presenting false information about plans and security concerns.

Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, a human rights lawyer who represents foreigners denied entry, said legitimate rules were sometimes applied in a discriminatory way.

What weve seen as a pattern in cases over the past five years is that those who are of Palestinian or Arab heritage, or who are coming in to do humanitarian work particularly in the West Bank, are disproportionately targeted, she added.

Typically someone who is either Jewish, does not have a history of activism, or who is not of Palestinian or Arab heritage, will have an easier time getting quickly through passport control. A lot of times issues only come up because questioning goes deeper, because the person raises a flag in the mind of border control.

A man is screened at a security check at Ben Gurion Airport on December 13, 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Getty Images)

Visitors arriving at the airport in Tel Aviv or other border crossings are questioned on arrival by officials who use the interview to decide the extent of access granted. People may be given entry cards or passport stamps granting leave to enter for a period of up to three months, or taken for further questioning if concerns are raised.

Recommended Read more London university condemns Israeli government for senior lecturer ban

Travel advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warns that Israeli border officials may require travellers to sign pledges not to enter the Palestinian territories without authorisation. It says access to travellers personal e-mail or social media accounts has been requested as a condition of entry and cautions that British nationals of Palestinian origin may face problems.

Following interrogation, officials can refuse entry and impose travel bans for up to 10 years, detaining visitors until they can be returned to their country of origin.

Those who are allowed to enter Israel are questioned again upon departure and have their baggage searched, with officials able to inspect electrical items such as laptops, phones and cameras. The information gathered is then stored and may be used as evidence to deny someone entry in the future.

The vast majority of refusals are not believed to be politically-motivated, but there is growing concern over the establishment of a taskforce with the aim of identifying and blocking supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Boycott activists must not be allowed to enter Israel, said public security minister Gilad Erdan in August.

A tourist photographs a sign painted on a wall in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem on June 5, 2015, calling to boycott Israeli products coming from Jewish settlements. (AFP/Getty Images)

Ms Schaeffer Omer-Man said the taskforce is legally problematic, adding: Every state has the right to protect its borders but political leanings alone are not sufficient grounds.

She detailed cases where foreigners who have joined pro-Palestinian demonstrations, supported the BDS movement on social media or critiqued the Israeli government elsewhere have been denied entry to the country.

Visitors being interrogated may be asked to name their Palestinian contacts, or give over the Facebook account details, allowing Israeli officials to search their friend lists, communications, comments and event history.

All of this is very effective at intimidating people and discouraging them from coming if theyve been active in non-violent demonstrations, Ms Schaeffer Omer-Man said.

It is not a coincidence that these procedures are long and exhausting.

Gary Spedding, a former organiser for the Alliance Partys youth wing in Northern Ireland, is among those refused and he believes he was targeted because of his pro-Palestinian activism. The 26-year-old attempted to visit Israel and the West Bank in January 2014 to meet Israeli politicians and humanitarian groups but was detained at Ben Gurion Airport.

Mr Spedding told The Independent he was held for eight hours, interrogated intensely and strip-searched twice as officials took his mobile phone and allegedly examined his messages, photos, emails and contacts.

He was held overnight in a detention centre before being put on a flight back to the UK the following day, with a 10-year travel ban.

It was an awful experience, Mr Spedding said. The facility was abysmal, it struck me very much that I was one of the few people who are white or of a Western background.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

The vast majority of people I saw were African refugees or migrants  we were kept separate from the Palestinian or Arab detainees.

The human rights activist, who is currently studying for a masters at Ulster University, is fighting a legal battle to scrap his 10-year travel ban, which was lowered to five years on appeal, with the next court date in November.

Documents from a 2014 decision at the Jerusalem immigration tribunal said Mr Spedding was denied entry for security reasons as the organiser of a protest at Queens University in Belfast where an Israel guest lecturer was attacked in 2011.

Mr Spedding said he had been completely vindicated over direct involvement in the violence and said allegations that his presence in the West Bank amounted to a risk to public order were nonsense.

The way Ive been treated in the past two years has hindered my work, he added. Its had a significant impact on my life  I still have nightmares (about the detention facility).

An Israeli official declined to comment on the case and said those refused entry to Israeli were a small proportion of visitors.

165,000 British nationals have entered Israel since January 2016, enjoying what Israel has to offer in tourism, business and so much more, as part of the ever-growing relationship between the two countries, he added.

Those who were refused entry  who make up just 0.07 per cent of the total number of visitors  are eligible to appeal the decision through Israels independent court system, in a similar process to the one available to Israelis who are refused entry to the UK.

A spokesperson for the FCO said the British Government has raised concerns with Israeli authorities when receiving reports of the mistreatment of citizens, adding: We do not routinely raise the matter of British nationals being refused entry to Israel. Israels border controls are sovereign, just as the UKs are.
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A midwife employed by the National Health Service has written an emotive letter describing the immense pressure she faces at work.

I am a midwife and I wish I was dead, she said in the piece, which was submitted anonymously to local paper the Liverpool Echo, before describing her job as a black hole destroying my world.

She listed a huge caseload, long hours, and bullying by managers and other staff as reasons she had lost hope and could no longer do her job well, or even safely.

I am having chest pains just thinking about the stress and worry of it all," she said.

The Nuffield Trust, an independent health charity, warned about poor morale among NHS staff in June.

A great deal of the current focus in the NHS is on the financial challenges it faces, chief executive Nigel Edwards said in a statement. These are undoubtedly severe, but I think they may be obscuring a problem that is at least as serious: the state of the workforce. There are a number of inter-related components, including poor morale, bullying and looming shortages in key areas.

The anonymous midwife described an untenable level of responsibility.

"Currently, my caseload is up to 40 women and rising, so thats 80 lives in total that I am personally responsible for right at this very moment, she said. I dont get much sleep at night.

In July, the Office for National Statistics published 2015 birth-rate figures for England, which showed 2,903 more births than in 2014.

Responding to these figures, Royal College of Midwives director for England Jacque Gerrard said: These latest statistics show that the baby boom is continuing, but unfortunately the number of midwives is not keeping pace.

We are now short 3,500 midwives in England.

In her letter the midwife wrote: The hours are endless. Most days I dont stop for lunch and I frequently get to the end of the day without having been to the toilet. Midwives often joke about having cast iron bladders. Im not the only one. This is so commonplace I fear its becoming an accepted norm.

There have been times when I have been out at a birth all night and gone out to do visits the next day because I dont have space in my diary to reschedule. So I eventually get home and snap at my family because I havent had a minute to myself and I am so tired that I could just collapse and you can guarantee that the second I sit down to eat the phone will ring and Ill be out to work again.

She added that although she enjoys delivering babies, supporting women through labour and childbirth is actually only a very small part of her job.

She said she keeps her head down a lot of the time because management are always looking for someone to blame," adding that the department is too short-staffed for her to take time off when she is left shaken by a difficult birth.

I dust myself off as everyone does and its on to the next couple, the next birth, and what will that bring? she said. I am scared to attend my next birth as Im still shaken by the last but we are short staffed at the moment so I just keep my head down and get on with the ever-growing list of things for me to do. An impossibly long list of things to do and I know I will never reach the end, its almost futile to try.

She described feeling hopeless and said she was unable to do her job properly.

I dont feel that I am able to do my job safely, let alone provide a good standard of care, she said.

I trudge my way through this wretched existence and hope every day for the bullet, the heart attack, the car accident that will mercifully end it all. I resent the lies that got me here in the first place. I know that I am not alone but that doesnt make it alright. I am waiting for something awful to happen, for some minor error or oversight to lead to a major incident. Thats when I will take the emergency exit from this life. Its something I have planned for.

In a statement, the Royal College of Midwives said: This is a truly heart-rending letter. It is difficult to advise without knowing the full facts but the Royal College of Midwives would suggest the midwife contacts their line manager or human resources and perhaps seek some counseling and support as soon as possible via their GP. We would also suggest they involve their family.

The RCM would expect any employer to respond to concerns with compassion, treat them seriously and act upon them. Anything that affects the health and well-being of staff and the safety of services must be addressed urgently.

Who'd be a midwife? Show all 8 1 /8 Who'd be a midwife? Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-1.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-2.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-3.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-4.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-6.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-5.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-7.jpg Jean Goldsmith Who'd be a midwife? 15-Midwife-8.jpg Jean Goldsmith

If a situation is as difficult as this letter suggests and mangers are not addressing the issue and supporting their staff appropriately, then we would be greatly concerned.

The midwife's letter said: I am unsupported, I have been the difference between life and death more times than I care to remember, seemingly unflappable in the eyes of the parents of the little lives I have rescued from the brink of extinction. They never knew of the tears I cried as I rocked back and forth on the floor of the staff toilet.

"I have been treading water for some time, I am out of my depth, the tide is drawing me further out and now I am drowning.
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Police forces around the UK are investigating more than 150 cases of alleged sexual misconduct by officers, an investigation has found.

An inquiry by The Times discovered that forces in England, Wales and Scotland are currently investigating at least 156 allegations that were reported both internally and externally.

More than 400 complaints were found to have been made by members of the public over the course of five years.

Harassment, sexual assault and rape are among the claims, with some of the victims targeted in police stations.

The newspaper discovered that some forces imposed only minor penalties following investigations into serious allegations. Officers were given punishments that meant they continued in their jobs.

The list of investigations is likely not complete, since ten forces rejected or ignored freedom of information requests.

It is claimed the police watchdog The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) received around 195 referrals from forces relating to the abuse of police powers for sexual gain in two and a half years. Eight of its independent investigations are currently active.

Legislation designed to discipline officers for abusing their position is currently being considered.

On Friday, a police officer who sexually abused boys and young men was convicted of 40 offences. A court heard that Allan Richards, formerly of West Midland Police, used a police database to access information about young men. The force has apologised to his victims and said it could have done more.

In response to the number of cases of alleged sexual misconduct by the forces, Detective Superintendent Ray Marley of the College of Policing said the total was low when the total number of UK police officers was considered.

He told The Times: "In terms of prevalence, my impression is that most of the forces have had some sort of investigation into these serious crimes, where there's been abuse of position relating to a vulnerable person."

Theresa May told the Police Federation's annual conference earlier this year that the issue of officers developing "inappropriate" relationships with victims of domestic abuse would be looked into.

Ms May, Home Secretary at the time, said the "right skills, training and commitment to protect the vulnerable are still not held by every single police officer", adding there were instances of "shameful attitudes".

The Law Commission is undertaking a wide-ranging consultation on misconduct in public office  which includes exploiting a position of power for sexual gain  and could result in legal reform.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty 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

Opening the consultation, Professor David Ormerod QC, Law Commissioner for criminal law, said in a statement: It is vital that the public have confidence in their public officials and in the legal framework that sets the boundaries of their conduct.

The offence of misconduct in public office is increasingly being used to bring public officials to account but recent high-profile investigations and prosecutions have brought the problems with this offence into sharp focus.

The existing law relating to misconduct in public office is unclear in a number of fundamental respects. There is urgent need for reform to bring clarity and certainty and ensure that public officials are appropriately held to account for misconduct committed in connection with their official duties.
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The Russian ambassador to the UK has accused the British government of shrinking its London embassy by delaying visas.

Alexander Yakovenko said the embassy was operating on a reduced number of staff and could lose more personnel as time went on - he also questioned whether the UK wanted "an adequate Russian diplomatic presence".

Relations between the UK and Russia have become increasingly fraught in recent months, with the Natwest bank withdrawing UK services for the Kremlin-backed RT media organisation earlier in October.

"The embassy is shrinking and if it continues the embassy will be reduced further. People cannot be replaced because the visas are not being issued," said Mr Yakovenko, the BBC reported.

He added: "Here in London, we simply do not understand the strategy of this country on visa issues."

Mr Yakovenko said he hoped the problem, which he claimed had been going on for more than a year, would be resolved by Theresa Mays government.

The British and Russian governments have previously clashed on a number of sensitive issues, most recently Russias intervention in Syria. Airstrikes conducted by the Russians on Aleppo and other targets have caused significant harm to civilians and been branded alleged war crimes by Western leaders.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, also damaged relations with the West.

However, the British government has denied deliberately withholding diplomatic visas.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have made clear to the Russians that the queues need to be cleared on both sides, and they have agreed work with us on this.

"We regularly discuss the visa exchange process with the Russians at official level and this requires both the UK and Russia to work together to ensure the effective operation of our respective embassies."
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Five people have been taken to hospital after a double-decker bus hit a railway bridge in north London.

The impact ripped the roof entirely off the privately chartered vehicle, injuring 26 people on board.

Emergency services were called to the incident on St Loys Road in Tottenham at around 4.05am on Friday.

Firefighters rescued three people who were trapped on the top deck of the vehicle.

Reports on social media have speculated that because the bus was not on a designated route, the driver may not have known the area well and could have misjudged the height of the bridge.

None of the passengers' injuries are believed to be life threatening.

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman said: Two fire engines, a fire rescue unit and 15 firefighters were called to a collision involving a bus and a railway bridge on St Loys Road in Tottenham early this morning.

Crews helped release three people who were trapped on the upper deck of a double-decker bus. Five passengers were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service and 21 people were treated at the scene.
A stilt parade themed on "the world of giraffe" attracts visitors during an outdoor carnival of Wuzhen Theatre Festival in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 21, 2016. This year's theater festival are held here from Oct. 13 to 22. (Xinhua/Xiao Xiao)
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Theresa May faces Brexit battles on two fronts after clashing with the European Unions lead negotiator in Brussels, while fighting off a rebellious Parliament in London.

At Ms Mays first European summit as Prime Minister, negotiator Michelle Barnier was said to have called for Brexit talks to be held in French. Downing Street dismissed the idea, but EU leaders further side-lined the UK when Ms May was made to wait until 1am before delivering her speech about Brexit, which then lasted just five minutes.

Asked what he thought of her debut, Commission President Jean Claude Juncker simply said: Pfff.

In Britain, amid growing tension over whether Parliament will vote on Ms Mays negotiating position, a Cabinet minister warned the House of Lords it was risking its future if it tried to block Brexit.

When reports emerged that Mr Barnier was pushing for English to be dropped as the official negotiation language, Downing Street told journalists Ms May would not allow this.

But Mr Barnier, the former foreign minister known in London as the scourge of the City for his approach to financial regulation, would not back down.

He denied he had personally backed the use of French  but made clear the language was yet be agreed.

He tweeted: Never expressed myself on negotiation language. Work as often in EN as FR. Linguistic regime to be set at start  to be agreed btw negotiators.

The prospect of French being used sparked jokes that Brexit Secretary David Davis would have to be replaced by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a fluent French speaker.

French lost its status as the EUs main working language after northern and eastern European states joined over the past two decades. Therefore, the apparent proposal to bring it back was seen as a further signal the EU will play hardball in the two-year Article 50 talks, to be launched by March.

EU sources said Mr Barniers 15-strong taskforce  which includes no Britons  has already been working mainly in French.

At her press conference at the close of the two-day summit, Ms May was asked if she considered the idea of conducting talks in French as a gesture of good intent.

Ducking the question, she replied: We will conduct the negotiations in the way that is going to make sure that we get the right deal for the United Kingdom.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you  that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the  judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up  and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was no official language for the Brexit talks and that we are all entitled to speak in our native tongue.

The press conference came after Ms May was made to wait to the early hours to deliver a message about Britains broad aims for Brexit.

Ms May talked up her interaction with EU leaders telling reporters: I can assure you that I havent been backwards in coming forwards on issues.

In London, tensions over whether Parliament will vote on Ms Mays negotiating position heightened, when a Cabinet minister said the Government may have to do a Lloyd George and flood the upper House with friendly peers if members try to block Brexit.

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

Some Tories in the Lords, where Conservatives are in a minority, have demanded Ms May let Parliament vote on her preferred Brexit deal before talks begin. If she refuses, they have threatened to stymie other pieces of legislation the Government needs to pass to make Brexit happen.

The Cabinet minister told The Independent: Unelected peers should think very carefully about defying a decision taken by the public in a referendum. We might have to do a Lloyd George and create a thousand peers.

As a Liberal Chancellor, David Lloyd George threatened to flood the Lords with new peers who would pass his Peoples Budget of 1909, when the existing Tory-dominated House refused.

In 1980, left-winger Tony Benn also said that if Labour won an election, it would abolish the Lords by creating 1,000 new peers to vote it out of existence.

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

Ms May has promised a role for Parliament and the Government admits both Houses may need to ratify any deal at the end of negotiations.

MPs and peers will also get to vote on the Great Repeal Bill, promised by the Prime Minister at the Tory conference. But when it comes to a critical vote at the start of the talks process, either on Ms Mays negotiating position or on the triggering of Article 50, the Government has refused.

Tory peer Patience Wheatcroft has accused Ms May of using the royal prerogative to decide on her own what Brexit will look like, without giving anyone else a say.

Lords Speaker Norman Fowler has also suggested peers could vote down legislation that comes from the Commons.
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A law to tackle internet grooming of children has still not come in to force almost two years after it was promised by the Government, The Independent can reveal, leading to warnings that thousands of young people are being put at risk.

The NSPCC condemned ministers for an astonishing 19-month delay in implementing the laws, which were announced in a high-profile child protection drive in 2014. The charity believed it had won a campaign  to make it illegal for an adult to communicate with a child for the purpose of sexual gratification  when it won the personal backing of David Cameron.

The former Prime Minister spoke powerfully in December 2014 about his fears for his own children online and the legislation was passed  just weeks before the last general election  in March 2015.

However, the commencement order needed to implement the law and close the loophole has never been triggered, to the growing anger of campaigners. Ministers have refused to explain the delay but, in a recent parliamentary answer on the subject, one suggested there were other justice priorities.

Peter Wanless, the NSPCCs chief executive, said: The Government cannot afford to dawdle over something as essential as keeping young people safe from those who want to prey on them.

The police and public have spoken, and the Government said that they had listened. Now it is high time that they stopped dragging their feet and brought this law into effect.

That criticism was echoed by Labour MP Helen Goodman, a campaigner for stricter controls on children seeing internet pornography. She tabled the parliamentary question demanding to know why Section 67 of the 2015 Serious Crime Act had not been enacted.

She said: The Government's failure to implement this change agreed by Parliament on a cross-party basis is incomprehensible.

Every day of delay, eight more children are groomed online. A two-year delay could mean thousands more children are caught up in this distressing and dangerous cycle.

In December 2014, Mr Cameron used a summit with internet firms to promise the new criminal offence of sexual communication with a child.

The then-Prime Minister said he recognised the loophole that allowed paedophiles who solicit explicit pictures of children to escape punishment if it cannot be proved they have received an illegal image.

The new law would allow police and prosecutors to pursue those who send text messages or fish for victims online irrespective of the outcome of their behaviour, he pledged.

Mr Cameron vowed: There can be no grey areas here. If you ask a child to take their clothes off and send a picture, you are as guilty as if you did that in person.

Just as it is illegal to produce and possess images of child abuse, now we are making it illegal to solicit these images too.

The new offence would include activities such as talking about sex to a child via a chat room or social network, or sending sexually explicit text messages to a child, as well as inviting a child to communicate sexually.

It was recognised that existing legislation failed to recognise the nature of grooming, where an abuser aims to flatter the child rather than sending indecent or offensive messages.

Prosecutors had to use the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to pursue online paedophiles  but that involved showing they had incited some kind of sexual activity by a child, such as posing for naked pictures.

Ms Goodman pointed out that the new law is already in force in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where it has triggered a large number of potential prosecutions.

In just one 12-month period, the NSPCCs ChildLine service carried out almost 400 counselling sessions with children about online grooming, a number on the rise sharply.

The charity uncovered evidence from police forces that the internet is used in eight cases of child sexual abuse every day, including online grooming and live-streaming.

Questioned by The Independent, the Ministry of Justice refused to say why the order had not been implemented, even after 19 months.

Instead, it pointed to the answer to the recent question, in which justice minister Oliver Heald stated: The Government remains committed to commencing section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

We are continuing to consider its implementation carefully whilst also considering our other justice priorities.
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The Saudi Air Force is being trained by the British Government amid accusations that it is carrying out atrocities in neighbouring Yemen, it has emerged.

The Liberal Democrats seized on the instruction being given, in both Saudi Arabia and the UK itself  describing the revelation as shameful.

Tom Brake, the partys foreign affairs spokesman, called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to end the training immediately and for much stricter controls on arms exports to the oil-rich kingdom.

Recommended Read more UN experts say Saudi coalition violated law in Yemen attack

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the Royal Saudi Air Force was helped in order to improve their targeting processes  and, therefore, their compliance with international law.

But Mr Brake said: "It is shameful that the UK Government is not only arming Saudi pilots, it is training them as well. The indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, in clear breach of international humanitarian law, is now well documented. The Government must end its complicity in this murderous campaign.

The training opens up a new front in criticism of Britains close links with Saudi Arabia  with the Saudis currently leading a coalition bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen  at growing humanitarian cost.

Earlier this month, air strikes carried out by the coalitions air forces killed at least 140 people and injured up to 600 more at a funeral. A report by the Saudi-led coalitions Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) admitted responsibility having promised an investigation into the incident, but blamed wrong information from allies of the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which it is supporting in the conflict.

A party affiliated to the Yemeni presidency of the general chief of staff wrongly passed information that there was a gathering of armed Houthi leaders in a known location in Sanaa, and insisted that the location be targeted immediately, investigators said in a statement at the time.

Saudi Arabia insists the coalition it leads keeps to international laws, with any incidents investigated.

Despite the accusations of alleged war crimes, Theresa May has defended selling arms to Saudi Arabia by insisting close ties keep people on the streets of Britain safe.

The admission that training is also taking place came in a written parliamentary answer obtained by Labour MP Stephen Doughty from Mr Fallon.

The Liberal Democrat demanded to know what training and advice had been given by the UK on authorising military operations and the targeting of aerial operations over the past year.

In reply, Mr Fallon wrote: As part of our ongoing defence engagement with Saudi Arabia, the UK has provided training to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia, including international targeting courses for RSAF personnel, to improve their targeting processes and to support International Humanitarian Law (IHL) compliance.

The Defence Secretary said the UK had also delivered two training sessions in Saudi Arabia on the process for investigating alleged IHL violations, under a joint incident team it supported.

But he added: The UK has not been directly involved in investigations undertaken by the JIAT, has not provided any specific operational advice to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for operations in Yemen and has not provided training on political authorisation of military operations.

Saudi Arabia has insisted its campaign in Yemen is being waged "in accordance with international humanitarian law, in a legitimate war of self defence, in a legitimate war to defend the legitimate government of Yemen".

Mr Brake said the latest revelation emphasised the urgent need for strict rules to require the Foreign Secretary to sign off personally any arms sales to countries such as Saudi Arabia.

His plan would see all 28 countries on the Foreign Offices "countries of concern" list  which also includes China and Russia  denied arms without proof there was no risk theyll be used in human rights abuses.

Mr Brake announced plans to bring forward a backbench Bill, hoping to win the support of both Labour and the Scottish National party for the crackdown.
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The so-called Turing Bill has been filibustered by a Conservative Minister in the House of Commons, amid a row over how the legislation is delivered.

A Government version of the law, put forward by Justice Minister Sam Gyimah, is still expected to be passed when it is put before Parliament.

However, Mr Gyimah spoke for around 25 minutes before a vote was due to take place on a private members bill proposed by SNP MP John Nicolson.

It sought to automatically pardon living gay people convicted under now abolished sexual offences relating to same-sex relationships. Famous World War Two code breaker Alan Turing was pardoned of gross indecency in in 2013.

The Government version of the legislation will only automatically pardon dead people in England and Wales, while living people can go through a disregard process by applying to the Home Office.

Approval means that any previous offences relating to now scrapped laws do not show up on criminal records checks.

Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs have now called on the Scottish Government to explore legal options to quash the convictions and cautions issued to people for now-abolished gay sexual offences and issue pardons. Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the country trailed behind England and Wales.

In Westminster, the Government opposed Mr Nicolsons bill on the grounds that it could lead, in some cases, to people claiming to be cleared of offences that are still crimes  including sex with a minor and non-consensual sexual activity.

But supporters of Mr Nicolsons bill pointed out conditions in the legislation meant that to be eligible for a pardon, the offence had to have been consensual and would not be an offence under modern British law.

MPs cried shame as Mr Gyimah continued to speak until 2.30pm, which was the deadline for a vote on the proposals.

The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe Show all 15 1 /15 The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 15. Italy Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 14. Macedonia The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 13. Poland Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 12. Liechtenstein The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 11. Lithuania The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 10. Latvia This content is subject to copyright. The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 9. San Marino The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 8. Moldova The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 7. Belarus Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 6. Ukraine Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 5. Monaco The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 4. Turkey Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 3. Armenia The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 2. Russia Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 1. Azerbaijan Getty/AFP

While no one opposed the bill and only 57 MPs supported it, Mr Nicolson claimed on Twitter: We heard some moving speeches today from Tory MPs. Most supported my bill. Hence the Government need to stop them voting.

The Government intends to bring forward its proposals in the form of an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill.

Mr Gyimah said: "As well as honouring the dead (Mr Nicolson) seeks a pardon for the living. We have developed a way to do this without giving any perception that the pardon covers perpetrators of sex with a minor or non-consensual sex.

 Chris Bryant makes an emotional plea for further action in pardoning gay men

"What I would like to do today is to make a full and open offer to the honourable member to work with officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office and Stonewall to give real effect to this pardon for the dead and the living as fairly and quickly as possible."

Mr Nicolson said he had accepted an offer of help from the Government in June and that there had been "plenty of time to chat about this".

He accused the Government of attempting to "hijack" his plans, adding: "The amendment accepted by the Government would grant an automatic pardon to the deceased and of course that's great, but my Bill provides the same provision.

"But I have to ask the House, should we not prioritise the living over the dead?"

Debate on the Bill is set to resume on December 16 but it is unlikely to progress without the support of the Government.
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A former aide to Nigel Farage who sold Brits for Trump T-shirts online has been backed to be the next Ukip leader by the partys biggest donor.

Insurance tycoon Arron Banks said he was supporting Raheem Kassam for the role, declaring him the brightest candidate by a long way.

The backing came despite Mr Banks himself suggesting that Ukips former deputy leader Paul Nuttall is poised to enter the leadership race.

Another potential contender, former deputy chairman Suzanne Evans, is listed to appear on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show tomorrow, fuelling speculation she will also be on the ballot.

Mr Kassam, Mr Farages former chief of staff, is editor-in-chief of Breitbart London, the UK bureau of a right-wing American news and opinion website.

His Facebook profile lists an Islamophobe of the Year award from 2014 and he advertised Brits for Trump shirts which he said he had made in response to requests from friends.

In the summer, Mr Kassam quit Ukip  declaring it was full of rag-tag, unprofessional, embarrassing people who let Nigel down at every juncture  but he then rejoined.

He said: This is a major endorsement from someone who has been one of the driving forces behind Ukip in recent years.

Mr Banks ploughed his personal time and money into the referendum campaign and the party, and for those wondering whether he still stood with Ukip, this is a very clear sign: he does, under a Kassam leadership.

I'd like to thank Arron for the brave and important support, and I look forward to working with him to make Ukip great again.

Only days ago, Mr Banks protested that Ukip had descended into full-blown insanity and warned that he may never give it money again.

Since October 2014 Mr Banks and Rock Services, of which he is a director, have donated more than 1.25m.

Steven Woolfe, the frontrunner in the leadership contest and Mr Bankss preferred candidate, bowed out and left the party last Monday.

Mr Woolfe, an MEP for the North West region, branded Ukip rotten at heart and ungovernable without Mr Farage at the helm.

Earlier, Mr Banks said on Twitter: I've been very impressed with Raheem's ideas, despite Paul Nuttall running I think he's the candidate to beat. He's got my support.

The new Ukip leader will be announced on 28 November, with nominations to replace Diane James closing on October 31.
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Wales must remain within the single market and accept the free movement of people from the European Union, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has urged.

She insisted that the Brexit vote in June's referendum only meant that the UK had to leave the EU and insisted that curbs on immigration had not been on the ballot paper.

The Rhondda AM also refused to rule out formally joining a coalition with Labour in Cardiff Bay but stressed "we are not looking to do that now".

Ms Wood told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the EU referendum result, which saw a majority in Wales back Brexit, was about "generally feeling neglected by politicians", although she acknowledged "immigration played a part".

She said: "I don't think we can interpret a vote to leave as meaning anything other than a vote to leave the European Union. The immigration question was not on the ballot paper, the question of the single market was not on the ballot paper.

"So we shouldn't really be trying to interpret what people were trying to say beyond the question that was on the ballot paper."

She said the UK should remain a member of the single market, perhaps by staying within the European Economic Area (EEA) or joining the European Free Trade Association (Efta).

"There are 200,000 jobs in Wales dependent on trade with Europe, 39% of Welsh exports went to the EU in the last quarter.

"I have been speaking to a number of key players in the Welsh economy and they are all telling me that tariffs and being outside the EU's regulatory regime would be damaging to them," she said.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you  that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the  judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up  and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty

That would mean keeping free movement of people, she acknowledged, although there could potentially be some curbs.

"Norway, for example, have some restrictions on free movement  you have to have a job before you can go to move to Norway  but we want to have the debate which includes an option for Wales to retain single market membership.

"The other problem that we have got is the way in which the immigration question has been debated. The rhetoric has been pretty ugly and nasty and divisive and Plaid Cymru wants to have nothing to do with that."

Asked whether Plaid would be willing to formally join a coalition with Labour in Cardiff Bay, where First Minister Carwyn Jones is running a minority administration, Ms Wood said: "Maybe we would at some point, we are not looking to do that now."

The current position, with Plaid able to use its leverage while remaining in opposition to Labour, meant "we have got the best of both worlds now".
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A Tunisian talk show host has caused outrage across the North African country after appearing to tell a pregnant rape victim she should marry her alleged attacker to "close the case".

Ala Chebbi, who presents Andi Mankolek (translated as 'I've something to tell you'), was interviewing a young woman called Hajar.

She told him she had been raped by three members of her family since the age of 14.

Now eight months pregnant, Hajar said that due to poverty she was forced to leave school aged 14 and work on the family farm, BBC reports.

Accompanied by her older brother Allala, Hajar told Mr Chebbi she was kicked out of the family home after getting pregnant from one of her abusers.

When Hajar's father joined the programme, Ala Chebbi suggested to him, "Whoever did it should marry her to close the case" and "contain the situation".

On being asked which of her alleged abusers was the father of her unborn child, Hajar said she could not be certain but suspected her stepmother's brother.

Tunisia's tourism industry continues to suffer

Allala's brother told the talk show host all the alleged abusers were married to which Mr Chebbi apparently responded: "Whoever did it should marry her to close the case."

Mr Chebbi seemed to tell the girl she should have reported her suspected abusers and ask her father's forgiveness for being pregnant out of wedlock. He added: "Admit that you are at fault."

In response to his comments, thousands showed their displeasure on social media including liking a Facebook page entitled: "Marry her rapist, he said. See you in court, we respond."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Tunisian media regulator has suspended the programme for three months deciding the talk show had "violated human dignity".

Mr Chebbi told Mosaique Radio his remarks had been taken out of context but reiterated his opinion that Hajar made a mistake of remaining silent.

He said: "This is the case of many Tunisian girls who have been raped and did not say anything, silence is the core of this case."
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Donald Trump has already laid out a clear plan for his first 100 days in the White House, giving voters a key insight how his presidency will play out in two months' time.

During the Gettysburg Address in Pennsylvania last month, he proposed to scrap funding to UN climate change programmes, stop immigration from war-torn countries and carry out "extreme vetting" of all other immigrants, slash corporation tax by more than half to 15 per cent and strike ahead with the building of controversial projects such as the oil and gas Keystone Pipeline.

Were paying billions of dollars [to the UN], he said. Were going to fix our own environment.

We will drain the swamp in Washington DC and replace it with a new government of by and for the people, believe me, he added.

He promised that Mexico would pay for the wall along the US border and that there would be a two-year or five-year minimum prison sentence for people re-entering the country after being deported, depending on how many times they had already tried to come back.

Federal funding for sanctuary cities, which shelter illegal immigrants, would no longer exist, a promise that prompted loud cheers from the crowd in Pennsylvania.

We want people who love us and love our values. And there are ways, through talent, to determine that, he said.

 Trump walks out of interview after being asked about racism and sexism allegations

In Mr Trumps world, there would be a five-year ban for departing politicians to become lobbyists, no foreign donors would be able to raise money for American elections, and there would be a constitutional term limit on members of congress.

Regulations and the government workforce would also be reduced. For every new federal regulation, two laws would be scrapped, he said.

Regulation is killing our economy, he told the crowd.

Parents could send their children to any school they wish, and veterans could pick up their prescriptions from a local doctor. Currently they have to go through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Within the first 100 days of his administration, Mr Trump said he is also looking forward to suing all the women who accused him of sexual assault after the election, as well as filing litigation against the violent protesters at his rallies who were paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Some of his proposed policies had a more socialist, Bernie Sanders-flavour, such as stopping big company mergers which would put too much power in the hands of too few, and no longer allowing companies such as Amazon to avoid paying tax in the US.

He pointed to Comcast purchasing NBC in 2013 and said: We will look at breaking that deal up and other deals like that. It should never, ever have been approved in the first place.

The nominee also reiterated his pledge to provide paid maternity leave and savings accounts for carers  which got quiet applause from the crowd.

In a pledge that might be seen as very ambitious, he said that the US economy would grow by 4 per cent each year [it grew an annualised rate of 1.1 per cent for the first quarter of 2016].

I am asking the American people to dream big once again.

Mr Trump added that he would create thousands of jobs and tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement  we will unwind trade deals so fast  withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership  a potential disaster  and lift all restrictions on the energy industry.

I will lift restrictions on the production of $50 trillion [40.8tn] worth of job-producing American energy reserves including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal and we will put our miners back to work, he vowed.

It wont be free trade, but it will be fair trade, and it will be real.
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The sign marking the spot where the body of murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till was found in the 1950s, spurring the civil rights movement, has been routinely vandalised and is riddled with bullet holes.

Tills battered body was found near the Tallahatchie River after he was lynched on 28 August 1955 by two white men.

The Chicago teenager had been visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi, and was kidnapped by J W Milam and Roy Bryant three days after he had whistled at Bryant's wife at their grocery store.

They were acquitted by an all-white jury.

The Emmett Till Memorial Commission erected eight signs, including one by the spot where he was found.

Filmmaker Kevin Wilson Jr posted a picture on Facebook of the sign with about 50 bullet holes in it, rendering the wording difficult to read.

"Clear evidence that weve still got a long way to go," he wrote.

He also posted a picture of a marker by the site where murderer J W Milam used to live.

"It is preserved and adorned with flowers," he wrote.

The river sign went up almost a decade ago, was ripped down by vandals in 2008 and put up again, and has been riddled with bullets for years, as reported by Slate.

A picture in 2013 showed the sign with about half the number of holes.

The Emmett Till Interpretive Centre has raised more than its $15,000 goal to replace the sign, with fundraising boosted by the increasing awareness.

A memorial in Greenwood, Mississippi, was stolen in 2007.

The Memorial Commission told the New York Daily News that it cannot afford to replace routinely vandalised signs, so it has launched a virtual reality tour app and website, called the Emmett Till Memory Project.

It guides users to 51 sites around the area which played an important role in the murder of Emmett and the trial of Bryant and Milam.
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An American airline won the right to weigh its passengers over a six-month period earlier this year to learn how it could save fuel, after discovering the average passenger and carry-on luggage was heavier than expected.

Hawaiian Airlines has now scrapped pre-booked seating for people flying the 2,600-mile route between Honolulu and the American Samoa.

Instead, passengers will be assigned seats when they check-in to make sure weight is evenly distributed around the main cabin of the plane. The airline will keep at least one seat open per row or place children under the age of 13 in those seats.

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Some passengers said the policy was discriminatory as it only affects people flying on one route, from Honolulu to Pago Pago, with most passengers being of Samoan descent. Samoans have among the highest rates of obesity in the world.

Six complaints have been filed with the US Department of Transportation since 29 September, as reported by the Economist.

The department ruled in favour of the new policy, with airline officials claiming an even distribution of weight could prevent a crash landing.

 Simon Calder talks about compensation for delays to your flight

Hawaiian Airlines said it had conducted a voluntary, six-month passenger weight survey on the Pago Pago route, starting in February, asking all passengers to be weighed along with their carry-on luggage.

As a result, the airline scrapped seat pre-selection only on the American Samoa route because the other flight routes surveyed, for example in Korea and Japan, showed no evidence of excess weight.

The airline had also ruled out other possible causes of fuel loss, such as strong winds.

Spokesperson Alex Da Silva told The Independent that no passengers will be asked to step on the scales now that the survey has been completed, and that the airline can still accommodate all parties and can sit families together.

Hawaiian Airlines is not the first passenger carrier to make the move. It follows Samoa Air starting to weigh passengers in 2013.

Uzbekistan Airways also began weighing passengers in 2015.
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An Iraqi refugee family said they are worried for the safety of their children after a neighour left a threatening note on their doorstep.

Raad Lalqaraghuli discovered the note outside their apartment in Maryland, Baltimore, last week, and said it was the final straw after months of intimidation and verbal bullying since they had arrived in the US.

The note had a picture of a woman in a hijab alongside the caption: Take that sh*t off your head and had phrases such as No one wants you here, Your kind is a disgrace and 9/11 was your fault.

Recommended Read more Gold Star father Khizr Khan features in new Hillary Clinton advert

Mr Lalqaraghuli, who came to the US several months ago with his wife and four young children, said he had stopped working as a taxi driver so he could focus on dropping his children off and picking them up from school.

His three girls and one boy, aged between two and 12, are traumatised, he said, and are suffering nightmares, scared about being sent back to Iraq.

He reported the note to the police, who wrote up a report and allegedly discovered the 14-year-old daughter of their downstairs neighbour had written it. Her mother had reportedly stuck the note under the familys door during school hours.

Zainab Chaudry, the outreach manager in Maryland of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Independent that the father, who speaks little English, was a well-respected engineer working for an American firm in Iraq.

US visas for him and his family were fast-tracked as his life was seen to be in jeopardy after his three brothers were killed by militia forces.

They gave the note to the police but they have a copy of it. Every time he looks at it his heart sinks, she said. Now they dont feel safe here, and have been trying to move."

She added that the local police had sent round a car to check up on the family again after reporters caught wind of the story.

Recommended

We know this isnt an isolated incident. Other refugee families in the area have been targeted by hate or intolerance. But they are often too afraid of the backlash to speak out.

She added: It was heart-breaking to see a grown man cry as he was so worried about the safety of his children.

Ms Chaudry pointed to the rhetoric from politicians such as Donald Trump who encouraged people to demonise Muslims, immigrants and refugees.

 Amal Clooney undermines Trump's controversial Muslim ban speech

The local police department could not be immediately reached for comment.
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A man murdered his wife at her sisters funeral service  after he killed both her sister and father to lure her there.

Samuel Velasco Gurrola faces life in prison after he executed the grisly plot with the help of his two siblings in the US town of El Paso in Texas.

Mr Velasco, 41, wanted to kill his wife Ruth Sagredo so she couldnt testify against him in a sexual assault case, according to CBS News.

He hired a hitman in 2008 to murder Ms Sagredos father in Juarez, the city in Mexico which shares a border with El Paso, in an attempt to lure her to the funeral.

But that didnt work and a month later Mr Velascos sister-in-law was also found dead in the Mexican city. Ms Sagredo was killed at her sisters funeral procession.

The jury took just three hours to convict Mr Velasco of seven separate accounts in what prosecutors called an evil plot.

He is set to be sentenced in January. Mr Valascos lawyer told CBS News he would appeal the decision.

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

They deliberated for a long time but they did reach a decision based more on the emotional aspect, tugging on the heartstrings, than looking at necessarily some of the contradictory facts, he said.

According to Vice News, Mr Velasco, his brother Emmanuel and sister Dalia were allegedly at the head of a drug trafficking gang which prosecutors referred to as the "Velasco Criminal Enterprise".

It is alleged that the siblings planned and executed a wave of "extortion and kidnapping" in the US and Mexico from 2009 to 2013, according to the website.

The adjacent cities of El Paso and Juarez are divided by the Rio Grande river, which is the border between the two countries.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has claimed countries are turning against the United States because "the world hates our president'.

Mr Trump told supporters in Jonestown, Pennsylvania a "weak US" led by Barack Obama has caused the likes of the Philippines to abandon decades of close alliance in favour of China.

He said: "The world hates our president, The world hates us. You saw what happened with the Philippines after years and years and years.

"Theyre now looking to Russia and China, because they dont feel good about the weak America."

Mr Obama cancelled a meeting with Rodrigo Duterte last month after the Philippines controversial new president appeared to call him a son of a whore. On Thursday Mr Duterte declared America has lost and he has called for closer links with Russia and China rather than the West.

Speaking on a state visit to China, Mr Duterte said: "The only hope of the Philippines economically, Ill be frank with you, is China

"This visit [to China] is the defining moment of my presidency.

"I would say that China deserves the kind of respect that China now enjoys."

Although Mr Duterte later appeared to backtrack, saying it was not in his country's interests to completely cut ties with the US.

Mr Duterte, who has been in power since June, has attracted condemnation from the US and EU for encouraging a violent and protracted war on drugs, in which 3,600 have been killed.

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

On Friday, Mr Trump not only levelled criticism at Mr Obama but also First Lady Michelle Obama at an earlier rally in North Carolina.

He said: "Wasnt she the one that originally started the statement, if you cant take care of your home, right?

"You cant take care of the White House and the country?"
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A United Nations investigator on terrorism has accused Donald Trump of peddling lies and xenophobia with repeated attempts to link Syrian refugees and Isis.

The Republican candidate has made the claim on numerous occasions and repeated the assertions during his third and final television debate with Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump claimed his rival was taking in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who probably, in many cases - not probably - who are definitely, in many cases, Isis-aligned.

 Trump says Clinton has been 'fighting Isis her entire adult life'

Ben Emmerson, the UNs special rapporteur on the protection of human rights in counter-terrorism, said his own investigation concluded that there is no evidence that terrorist groups take advantage of refugee flows to carry out acts of terrorism, or that refugees are somehow more prone to radicalisation than others.

Almost without exception, refugees and migrants do not pose a risk of terrorism, he told a press conference.

They are, in fact, at risk of fleeing the areas where terrorist groups are most active.

And irresponsible statements of the kind made by Mr Trump on Wednesday do nothing but fuel prejudice and stigma.

Mr Emmerson, a British barrister, said there was almost no statistical support for the Presidential candidates claims.

He added: The reason I single out Donald Trump is because I think he went further than any other leader has gone by asserting that there was definitely a link between substantial numbers of Syrian refugees into the United States and Isis, and that is nothing more or less than a xenophobic lie.

What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Show all 9 1 /9 What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump denying claims from a number of women that he sexually assaulted them This is all fiction, all fictionalised, probably or possibly started by her and her very sleazy campaign. I didn't even apologise to my wife who is sitting right here because I didn't even do anything Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump claiming the Russian leader had no respect for Mrs Clinton She doesn't like Putin because Putin has outsmarted her every step of the way. He has no respect for her. He has no respect for our President." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump interrupting Mrs Clinton with one of his most scathing personal attacks yet as she explained her policy on social security Such a nasty woman Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump claiming Mrs Clinton shouldn't have been allowed to run for presidency and that the election is rigged She should never have been allowed to run. Shes guilty of a very very serious crime. She should not be allowed to run. And just in that respect, I say its rigged. Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump voicing his pro-life stance during the abortion debate Based on what she's saying ... you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day, and that's unacceptable Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton suggesting this is not the first time Mr Trump has claimed results against him have been rigged There was even a time when Trump didn't get an Emmy for his TV programme three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton responding to Mr Trump's lewd comments about women Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity and self-worth Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton implying Mr Trump is a puppet of Russian president Vladimir Putin He'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton comparing her political experience to Mr Trump's former television role On the day I was in the situation room monitoring the raid that brought Osama Bin Laden to justice he was hosting the Celebrity Apprentice Getty

The special rapporteur said national security risks caused by the refugee crisis had been irresponsibly and misleadingly overblown in many countries, with terrorism being used to stoke public fear.

Mr Emmerson said Mr Trump's comments were one of the clearest examples, amounting to the peddling of lies and xenophobia.

His report on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on the human rights of migrants and refugees has been presented to the UN General Assembly.

Mr Trumps presidential campaign has been dogged by controversies over his statements on Muslims and refugees, although widespread criticism is deemed unlikely to sway much of his support base.

Last year he called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the US, before backtracking on the proposal, and has since been ridiculed for appearing to claim Isis had been in existence for 50 years.

The Republican candidate is currently trailing Mrs Clinton in the polls and has hinted at defeat by repeatedly claiming the election is rigged against him.

Additional reporting by AP
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Only half of Republican voters would accept Hillary Clinton as US president.

If the Democratic nominee wins the election on 8 November, nearly 70 per cent said they believed it would be because of illegal voting or vote rigging, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Meanwhile, 7 out of 10 Democrats said they would accept a Donald Trump victory and less than 50 per cent would attribute it to illegal voting or vote rigging, the survey found.

The beliefs of Democrat and Republican voters largely reflected the views of their respective nominee.

Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed the presidential election is rigged, despite providing no evidence to support this claim.

He has refused to confirm whether or not he would accept a Clinton victory, saying I will keep you in suspense when asked.

Recently, he told a rally in Delaware, Ohio: I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election  if I win."

He has accused the media, the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a global power structure of conspiring to rig the election against him.

He has also claimed there are millions of people that are registered to vote that shouldnt be registered to vote."

Meanwhile Ms Clinton has said she will accept the results of the election, no matter what the outcome.

Reuters said: "The poll showed there is broad concern across the political spectrum about voting issues such as ineligible voters casting ballots, voter suppression, and the actual vote count, but Republicans feel that concern more acutely."

For example, nearly eight out of 10 Republicans are concerned about the accuracy of the final vote count. And though generally they believe they will be able to cast their ballot, only six out of 10 are confident their vote will be counted accurately.

Among Democrats, about six out of 10 are concerned about the vote count. They, too, believe they will be able to cast their ballot, but eight out of 10 are confident their vote will be counted accurately.

Lonna Atkeson, a professor at the University of New Mexico and head of the Center for the Study of Voting, Elections, and Democracy said there was a trend across different categories in the survey results.

"Republicans are just more worried about everything than Democrats," she told Reuters.

Seven out of 10 Republicans also told researchers they are concerned about issues such as vote buying, faulty voting machines, or confusing ballot designs. Six out of 10 Democrats feel the same way.

Nearly eight out of 10 Republicans are concerned that ineligible voters, including non-citizens, will illegally cast ballots. Four out of 10 Democrats feel the same way.

Six out of 10 respondents, regardless of party, say they are concerned about issues such as voter intimidation and suppression.

Atkeson said the level of concern and mistrust in the system, especially among Republicans, is unprecedented.

Ive never seen an election like this. Not in my lifetime. Certainly not in modern history.

The difference, she told Reuters, is Trump. It has to be the candidate effect.

She said she was worried the lack of trust could become dangerous. It is one thing to not trust government, but quite another to doubt the election process. Then the entire premise of democracy comes into question, she said.

About one in five Democrats said they would protest if their candidate loses. Slightly fewer Republicans said they would do the same. Fewer than one in 10 Democrats said they are prepared to take up arms in opposition compared to fewer than one in 20 Republicans.

Democrats are also are three times as likely to say they would leave the country.

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'.

Most people on boths sides do not expect the losing candidate to concede the race gracefully.

The poll surveyed 1,192 American adults online from 17 to 21 October. The results have a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. The credibility interval for Democrats is 5.1 percentage points; for Republicans it is 5.5 points.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Russia has said it wants to send observers to monitor the US presidential election on 8 November, following Donald Trump's claims the vote is '"rigged".

The US state department said the country was welcome to send monitors to polling stations, but added it believed the request was a "propaganda stunt".

Individual states have rejected applications for accreditation from Russian officials.

In early October, the US government formally accused Russia of hacking the Democratic partys computer networks and said that Moscow was attempting to interfere with the US presidential election.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has publicly praised Republican candidate Mr Trump on several occasions.

But on Friday US state department spokesman, John Kirby, said there was no policy in place to refuse Russian observers.

Russian representatives have already been offered places on a team fielded by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mr Kirby said. The OSCE monitors elections in all its member states, including the United States.

However Russian officials have decided the level of access available to OSCE observers is inadequate, RT reported.

Mr Kirby said: We told the Russian government that they were welcome to observe our elections.

The fact that they have chosen to not join the OSCE observation mission makes clear that this issue is nothing more than a PR stunt.

He added: Theres nothing for us to fear from having Russian observers observing our election.

Were very confident in the stability, the security and the strength of our electoral process. Theres no need to hide from that.

On Thursday, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported Russian observers had applied directly to US states for accreditation and had been refused.

A Russian electoral official, cited by the paper, accused the state department of blocking the observers because of its Russophobic tendencies.

But Mr Kirby said he was not aware that individual US states had been advised to reject foreign observers.

An Oklahoma state official said on Friday they had denied a request from the Russian consulate to monitor the election there, adding that foreign delegates were not allowed into polling stations.

The Russian consul general in Houston, Alexander Zakharov, made similar requests to officials in Texas and Louisiana, local media reported. In both instances he was rejected.

In a letter provided by the Oklahoma state election board to USA Today,Mr Zakharov asked to have a consulate officer at one of the ballot stations of Oklahoma with the goal of studying the US experience in organisation of [the] voting process.

The Oklahoma secretary of state, Chris Benge, said he hoped the Russian officials could watch the US election process on TV.

It is truly an amazing system, he said.

He added: While it would be our honor to offer the opportunity to observe our voting process, it is prohibited under state law to allow anyone except election officials and voters in or around the area where the voting takes place."

Texas secretary of state Carlos Cascos wrote: only persons authorized by law may be inside of a polling location during voting. All other persons are not authorised and would be committing a Class C misdemeanor crime by entering.

Mr Cascos instead offered to discuss the voting process with Mr Zakharov or his representatives, or to set up a meeting with local election officials.

A spokeswoman for Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler called the Russian request a propaganda ploy.

Mr Schedler explained to Mr Zakharov that his office in Baton Rouge sustained heavy damage in a flood which had left him short-staffed.

Had this flood event not occurred, we certainly would have been open to such a visit, but I cannot meet such a request with the situation I currently have in front of me, Mr Schedler wrote.

He told Mr Zakharov to contact him in 2020 if he is still interested in observing the election process.

Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Show all 15 1 /15 Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Who are famous people voting for in the US election? George Clooney HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Leonardo DiCaprio HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Mike Tyson DONALD TRUMP Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Beyonce HILLARY CLINTON Rex Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Chloe Grace Moretz HILLARY CLINTON Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Sarah Jessica Parker HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Jon Voight DONALD TRUMP Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Katy Perry HILLARY CLINTON Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Jennifer Lopez HILLARY CLINTON Angela Weiss/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Denis Rodman DONALD TRUMP TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Salma Hayek HILLARY CLINTON Getty Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Le Bron James HILLARY CLINTON Justin Carissimo Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Hulk Hogan DONALD TRUMP Reuters Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Kid Rock DONALD TRUMP Theo Wargo/Getty Images Who are famous people voting for in the US election? Stacey Dash DONALD TRUMP Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The United States often sends monitors to observe elections in other countries with a history of voter fraud.

The OSCE will observe the US election with a delegation of 439 people from 10 countries.

It said the delegation included at least one Russian.
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Opposition leaders in Venezuela are calling on supporters to take to the streets in protest after a move to challenge the country's deeply unpopular president was blocked.

The socialist government, led by President Nicolas Maduro, stands accused of "absolute authoritarianism" after closing off the last legal avenue open to an increasingly restless opposition.

A ruling on Thursday halted growing attempts to make Mr Maduro face a recall referendum. The 'coup', as it's being described, took place just days before the opposition was due to begin collecting signatures  20 per cent of registered voters need to sign to force a vote to oust the President.

Fears are the controversial move, which has been roundly condemned, could plunge the already unstable nation into civil unrest. A series of marches have been organised and hundreds of university students took to the streets of Caracas, the capital, on Friday to protest. Street demonstrations have been muted since a 2014 crackdown on weeks-long protests left dozens dead.

Meanwhile, a leading government figure is calling for the arrest of high-profile government critics. .

Mr Maduro, the political heir of late President Hugo Chavez, has overseen Venezuelas downward spiral into severe economic crisis and rampant violence. Polls have suggested that the socialist leader would be heavily deefated in a recall vote.

What we saw was a coup, said former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who had been the leading champion of the recall effort. We'll remain peaceful, but we will not be taken for fools. We must defend our country.

International condemnation was swift. Twelve western nations, including the US and even leftist leaning governments such as Chile and Uruguay, said the suspension of the referendum, along with travel restrictions which have been imposed on eight opposition leaders, affected the prospect of finding a peaceful solution to the nation's crisis.

The socialists won power nearly two decades ago with the election of the popular former President Hugo Chavez, and for years enjoyed easy election victories. But with the economy in free fall, polls show most Venezuelans have turned against the party. In response, the administration has become increasingly autocratic. Critical television stations have been closed and several leading opposition activists have been imprisoned. The country's supreme court, packed with government supporters, has endorsed decree powers for Maduro and said he can ignore Congress. The move followed a landslide victory for the opposition in legislative elections.

Polls suggest 80 per cent of voters wanted Maduro gone this year. Other local elections have also been postponed with no reasons given for the delay. Critics have accused the socialist party of simply putting off elections indefinitely.

In response, in a televised address, Mr Maduro urged calm. I call on everyone to remain peaceful, to engage in dialogue, respect law and order and not to do anything crazy, he said.

Amid rising tensions, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, who has been attempting to mediate dialogue between the two sides, is in Caracas and expected to meet with representatives of the opposition and the government.

That timing of the recall referendum ban is crucial. A successful vote to oust Mr Maduro this year would have triggered a presidential election and given the opposition a good shot at winning power. If he is voted out in 2017, though, his vice president will finish the presidential term, leaving the socialists in charge.

AP
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A gang of armed robbers are on the run in Belgium after sparking an evacuation at a shopping centre.

Police said three masked men, armed with at least one Kalashnikov rifle, burst into a jewellery shop at the Cora centre in Chatelineau, sparking panic among shoppers.

Eric de Brabander, the local poice commissioner, said several armed individuals fled after attacking the Histoire d'Or on Saturday morning.

He added that the robbers did not open fire and the incident was not believed to be terror-related, with no injuries reported in the heist.

Witnesses and officials, including the local mayor, initially reported gunshots but police said the sound of display cases being smashed had been confused with gunfire.

The area was evacuated and cordoned off by security forces, with the shopping centre later reopening.

It came days after a man with a knife held 15 people hostage in a supermarket in the Brussels suburb of Forest.

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

No one was harmed in the attack, which was reported to be part of a failed robbery attempt on Tuesday.

Belgium has been on high alert since November's Paris attacks, with several Isis militants preparing for the massacres in the country before members of the same terror cell attacked Brussels Airport and a Metro station in March.
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Canadian and European officials are desperately trying to save a free-trade deal between the country and the EU, after a small Belgian region blocked the pact despite it being due to be signed next week.

French-speaking Wallonia, smaller than Wales and home to just 3.5 million people, opposes the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) deal and its intervention threatens to scupper seven years' worth of negotiations. The delay has raised concerns about how difficult negotiations between the UK and the EU over Brexit could prove to be.

The Walloon regional parliament defied the rest of the EU to block the pact between he EU and Canada by refusing to agree to Belgium signing the deal. All 28 EU governments support the pact, but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations.

In a sign of the importance of getting the Canada deal signed, the European Parliament president Martin Schulz met the Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland and Paul Magnette, the head of the Walloon government, on Saturday.

On Friday, Ms Freeland fought back tears as she spoke to journalists, saying it was "impossible" to reconcile the differences with Wallonia.

By Saturday morning, the leaders were cautiously optimistic the issue could be resolved in a short amount of time. "I think it's worth taking a little more time," said Mr Magnette, adding that he still saw "some small difficulties".

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Schulz said he was hopeful that a compromise could be found to clear the way for Thursday's planned EU-Canada summit where the deal was to be signed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"To my eyes, there is no problem we cannot resolve," Mr Schulz said. He added that negotiations had been completed with Canada and that any further issues "are for us Europeans to solve".

Ms Freeland said: "The ball is in Europe's court and it's time for Europe to finish doing its job." She said she was heading back to Canada but hoped to return with the Prime Minister to sign the CETA accord.

Supporters of Brexit have long highlighted the glacial pace of EU trade negotiations as a reason to leave, claiming that bilateral deals between the UK and other countries would be far simpler to sign.

But those in favour of retaining close trade links with Europe warned that the problems being experienced by Canada could be an omen for the tortuous negotiations the UK will face in thrashing out a post-Brexit agreement with Brussels.

Tory MP Andrew Murrison, who campaigned for Brexit, said: This is precisely why the EU as a trade bloc will fail and why UK is right to leave.

His fellow backbencher James Cleverley said: The population of the EU is 500 million people, Canada has 36 million and the governments of both wanted a trade deal. It has been seven years in the making but was scuppered by Wallonia regional government in Belgium. Wallonia has a population of 3.6 million people. This collapse goes to the heart of the EU's problem.

But Labour MP Ian Austin said: The EU-Canada trade deal is in crisis and the Canadians have walked out, which shows how tough these things are.

His Labour colleague Steve Reed tweeted: Belgian province blocks EU-Canada trade deal, any tiny EU country can do same to UK thx [thanks] to Brexit.

Proponents of the Canada deal say the it would yield billions in added trade through tariff cuts and other measures to lower barriers to commerce. At the same time, the EU says it will keep in place the region's strong safeguards on social, environmental and labour issues. The Walloon government have concerns that the Ceta deal would undermine labour, environment and consumer standards and allow multinationals to crush local firms.

Other officials have expressed their anger at Wallonias actions. "Europe cannot be held hostage because of internal political games in the Walloon region," said Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP Christian Democrats, the biggest group in the European parliament.

The troubled talks will also raise questions for the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and US, which has also proved controversial.

However, on Friday Prime Minister Theresa May insisted that the model for Brexit would not replicate any other deal.

"From the UK's point of view, we're not looking to replicate a model that another country has. We're not looking to adopt another model that somebody else has in relation to their trade with the European Union," she said. "Obviously, we've got negotiations ahead. Those negotiations will take time, as I say, there will be some difficult moments.

"It will need some give and take. But I'm optimistic that we can achieve a deal that is right for the UK because I actually think the deal that's right for the UK will also be right for the European Union."

Press Association contributed to this report
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Unofficial refugee camps will swell rapidly in the aftermath of the razing of the Calais Jungle camp, British aid volunteers have warned.

Bulldozers are set to roll into the shanty town on Monday and French authorities claim some 6,500 Jungle residents will be relocated to centres around the country.

But Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley told The Independent the plan was a knee jerk reaction by the French government that would not help solve the crisis  instead refugees would return to the area to live in other camps with even worse conditions.

Many of the makeshift settlements in the area do not have running water, toilets or medical facilities, according to Ms Mosely.

The idea of dispersing these refugees has been tried before," she said, referring to when the camp was partially dismantled in February. They said that was going to be a deterrent, but of course it wasnt.

Within months of the camp's demolition, the number of refugees in Calais had grown to far exceed what it was before.

The same things going to happen again, Ms Mosely said, and its going to hurt a lot of people.

She added that refugees would always return to the area because the majority of those in Calais had strong connections to the UK.

The French government was not addressing the fundamental reason why they came, instead its a short-term fix so they seem to be doing something, she said.

This camp was set up because there was a number of small camps  the idea was this was going to make it easier. We're going round in circles and never achieving anything.

The majority of Calais residents surveyed by the Refugee Rights Data Project said they do not want to stay in a French accommodation centre.

For many, this was because they did not want to stay in France in the long-term and because they did not trust the French authorities following their negative experiences of them in the Calais camp.

Recommended Read more Aid group request to delay Calais migrant camp closure rejected

According to the project, more than half of those living in the camp have said when it is demolished they will stay in Calais or sleep on the streets.

Nearly 70 per cent of children said they would do so  a discovery that has prompted alarm among charity workers.

Yet Ms Mosely sleeping rough was not her worst fear for the Calais refugees. What scares me even more is that they [the French authorities] say they are going to deport people if they don't get on the buses. Its very militant. These people came from really dangerous places. That scares me.

She also fears for those who end up in the refugee centres across France. Following the partial dismantlement of the Jungle in February, serious failings were reported at some of the centres to which migrants were sent: some did not provide food, according to Ms Mosely.

And she does not have faith this relocation scheme will be any better.

It has been done in secret and we dont know much about these smaller centres. This plan has been put together very quickly, she said.

The French government has not provided any support to the residents in Calais for the past year, many of whom are traumatised and have complex needs, she claimed.

 MP calls for child refugees from Calais to have teeth checked to verify age

Even when the refugees are in one place, simple things, such as providing refugees with clean underwear, are difficult logistically.

For the last year we have been the only people giving them support. We had to learn how to do this, she said.

What are the chances that they [the French government] are going to be providing toiletries and essential medical care and legal assistance and underwear at a hundred different centres  are they seriously going to do that?

She added that hostilities in French towns had further marred the prospects of the plan working. Can you imagine a small group of refugees going to a town where everyone hates them? she asked.

In the UK too, there has been animosity toward those who have arrived, with widespread scepticism about the ages of the unaccompanied minors.

According to Human Rights Watch, about 300 to 400 of the unaccompanied minors in Calais would qualify to enter the UK under European asylum regulations, based on family ties. But by the end of Friday, only a few dozen children had arrived in the UK.

Lily Caprani, Unicef UKs deputy executive director, said in a statement: Once the demolition starts there are no second chances. If it results in a single child going missing, or forces them into the hands of smugglers and traffickers, then we will have failed them.

The authorities must prove they have learnt the lessons from last time and keep every child safe throughout this process.

Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Show all 9 1 /9 Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A coach carrying the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain arrives at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A Catholic priest chats to Muslim Imans as they wait for the arrival of the coach carrying the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain arrives at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Fourteen migrant children from the 'Jungle Camp' in Calais are due to arrive in the UK today to be reunited with relatives Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Young men are escorted after stepping off a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A boy is escorted after stepping off a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House after arriving from the Calais 'Jungle Camp' Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK UK Border Force staff escort the first group of unaccompanied minors from the Jungle migrant camp in Calais to be brought to Britain as they arrive at an immigration centre in Croydon, south London Reuters Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK A young boy arrives on a coach at the Home Offices Lunar House after leaving the Calais 'Jungle Camp.' Fourteen migrant children from the 'Jungle Camp' in Calais are due to arrive in the UK today to be reunited with relatives Getty Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK British former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, center, flanked by Bethany Gardiner-Smith, left, from the Citizens UK charity and Bishop of Croydon Jonathan Clark speaks to the media about the 14 migrant children who will be resettled in the UK, outside Croydon Minster church in Croydon, south London AP Calais Refugee Children arrive in UK Asif Khan whose brother Aimal Khan was one of fourteen migrant children who arrived in the UK, speaks to the media outside Lunar House in Croydon, south London. The 25-year-old chef has been living in the UK for 11 years, having fled Afghanistan himself. His brother Aimal Khan, 14, also from Afghanistan, had been stranded in the Jungle for six months PA

During the last demolition, which saw people scattered by tear gas and rubber bullets, more than 100 children went missing because it began before their safety was guaranteed.

Weve seen the Home Secretary achieve real progress by bringing some of the vulnerable children to the UK, but there are hundreds more in Calais still waiting to reach safety

The UK has made a commitment to bring these children here, and the demolition doesnt change that. This is not the end of the story and its essential that the UK and French authorities continue to work together to ensure the long-term welfare of every child.
Man sentenced to five years over factory collapse in E. China

(Xinhua) 15:48, October 22, 2016

The owner of a factory in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to five years in prison over the collapse of a workshop building, which killed 14 workers and injured dozens last year.

The Wenling City People's Court on Friday convicted Xu Fulin, owner of a local shoe factory, of building the factory without official approval from 2011 to 2012 and causing a major work safety accident.

The four-story workshop building collapsed on July 4, 2015, leaving 14 people dead and 33 others injured due to overloading of the structure.

Xu turned himself in after the accident and compensated the victims, which prompted the court to issue a lenient sentence.

The owner confessed to the crime. He raised nearly 12 million yuan (1.8 million U.S. dollars) to handle the aftermath of the accident.
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Isis fighters have set sulphur stockpiles on fire, killing civilians with toxic gas and forcing Iraqi and American troops to wear masks as the group attempts to slow the advance on Mosul.

The region around the Mishraq Sulphur Plant was covered with yellowish fumes on Saturday, as battles continued surrounding the militants last major stronghold in Iraq.

Daesh (Isis) blew up the sulphur plant two days ago and that has led to the deaths of two people among the civilians in nearby villages, General Qusay Hamid Kadhem told the AFP news agency. Of course, this is affecting our planned progress.

 Dramatic footage shows Elite Iraq forces battle on road to Bartella in fight for Mosul

Many others were injured by the fumes, with US troops at a base to the south in Qayyarah, the site of the Q-West Airfield, wearing gas masks as a precaution.

The blaze was expected to burn for days, with a fire started at the same factory in 2003 burning for almost a month and causing the largest recorded man-made release of sulphur dioxide in smog that could be seen from space.

It came as Iraqi security forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga and militias continued their advance on Mosul, pushing into Qaraqosh.

The Iraqi armys 9th Division raised the national flag over a central government stronghold in the Christian town, also known as Hamdaniyah or Bakhdida, which has been mostly deserted since Isis advance in 2014.

It lies 12 miles from Mosul, with roads and settlements leading towards the city laden with improvised explosive devices, Isis snipers, booby traps and suicide bombs. Iraqi forces also came under fire in the town of Bartella, which was retaken last week.

Isis Amaq agency claimed jihadis had foiled an attack on Qaraqosh and seized weapons left by retreating Shia militias as its propaganda sought to play down mounting losses in the offensive. The claims could not be verified.

An Iraqi journalist was killed while covering military operations to the south of Mosul as battles continued on Saturday.

In pictures: Mosul offensive Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Mosul offensive In pictures: Mosul offensive A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory" AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. AFP In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya) Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah In pictures: Mosul offensive A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty

Alsumaria TV said Ali Risan, a cameraman, was shot in the chest by an Isis sniper in the al-Shura area. News of his death came a day after another journalist, Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV, was shot dead by militants while covering the Isis assault on Kirkuk.

Fighting continued in the city on Saturday after Isis launched a series of bloody attacks in what officials described as an attempted diversion from the Mosul offensive. Fighters killed more than a dozen workers at a power plant and attacked provincial headquarters in the Kurdish-controlled city, 100 miles to the south east of its de-facto Iraqi capital.

Colonel Redah Sheikh said skirmishes continued between Peshmerga troops and Isis fighters in some districts on Saturday but the situation was contained.

Gory photos posted on social media showed the bodies of captured Isis militants killed by hanging or being crushed by breezeblocks, with corpses dumped in bins and dragged through the streets by cars.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, called for all forces active in Iraq to abide by international law on Friday.

Isil [Isis] fighters who have been captured or have surrendered should be held accountable in accordance with the law for any crimes they have committed, he added.

Iraqi army are seen in Qayyarah, Iraq, October 22, 2016. The fumes in the background are from oil wells that were set ablaze by Islamic State militants. (Reuters)

The UN has concern for around 1.5 million civilians believed to be trapped inside Mosul, with at least 550 families forced from surrounding villages to be used as human shields in recent days.

Humanitarian organisations say there is also inadequate provision for thousands of civilians displaced by the advance, which is expected to become the biggest battle in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

The assault has been hailed as decisive by commanders in Iraq and the US but analysts have warned the battle is likely to take months, with jihadis likely to flee into Isis territory in neighbouring Syria to regroup.

Renad Mansour, an academy associate of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, told The Independent the loss of Mosul was certain but would definitely not signal the end of Isis. He predicted Isis would revert to guerrilla-style warfare in Iraq, while leaders form a new strategy to continue attempts to build the groups caliphate.

They will come together and wait  they know theres no political solution, as well as fear of Kurdish Peshmerga and militias, he added. They know at some point the ground will be ripe again for them to move back in. Everyone is still looking short term, at a military solution for Mosul rather than the future of Isis.

Ash Carter, the US defence secretary, has arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet Iraqi commanders as the US-led coalition continues air strikes in support of advancing troops. He arrived two days after an American service member was killed outside Mosul in the fourth combat death for the countrys forces since it started anti-Isis operations in August 2014.

British troops are also involved in the offensive, with special forces reportedly fighting alongside Irqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga.

Additional reporting by agencies
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United Nations investigators have found the Syrian regime responsible for a third attack using chemical weapons as investigations continue into atrocities committed in the countrys civil war.

Bashar al-Assads forces used helicopters to drop devices that released chlorine gas on civilians in Idlib province last year, according to a confidential report sent to the UN Security Council.

Boris Johnson said the probe by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) demonstrated the cruel barbarity of President Assads regime and called for violations of international law to be punished.

 Amnesty says Syria airstrikes war crimes

Investigators said there was sufficient evidence to conclude that government forces were responsible an attacks on the rebel-held village of Qmenas on 16 March 2015.

The Joint Investigation Mechanism (JIM) report said a device dropped from a high altitude hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population.

Dr Muhammad Ghaleb al-Tanari, from a field hospital in nearby Sarmin, said at least 120 people were affected by two rounds of barrel bombing using chlorine gas.

In an account given to the Violations Documentation Centre in Syria, he said casualties started arriving 10 minutes after a helicopter passed overhead. Dr al-Tanari reported symptoms including vomiting, weakness, coughing, shortness of breath and eye and skin irritation consistent with chlorine gas exposure.

The second attack killed six people from one family, when a barrel fell directly on their house, he added. They had gone down to the basement to seek shelter from the impact of the explosion, as they usually did, which led to their immediate suffocation as the gas, being heavier than air, slipped down to their shelter.

A survivor of a gas attack in March 2015 at a clinic in the village of Sarmin (AFP)

Activists allied to local rebel groups published images claiming to show remnants of the bombs, including canisters and hoses.

JIM investigators were unable to determine responsibility for two other chemical attacks.

The report said remnants of the device allegedly used in Kfar Zita, Hama governorate, on 18 April 2014,had been removed and could not be linked with certainty to the location. They said witnesses corroborated that a canister with traces of chlorine was found in Binnish, Idlib governorate, on 24 March 2015 but the exact time and location could not be established.

The panel said: "It is crucial to hold those who use or intend to use chemicals as weapons accountable for their acts, as it is fundamental to deter all those who continue to believe that there is something to be gained in the use of toxic chemicals as weapons.

A previous report released by the JIM in August concluded the Assad regime had used chlorine gas in two other attacks  one in Talmenes on 21 April 2014 and another in Sarmin on 16 March 2015.

The use of chlorine as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013 while pledging to destroy its stockpiles.

Britain and the US were considering an invasion to oust President Assad during the period, following an alleged sarin attack that killed hundreds in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta the previous month.

In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers in protective clothing holds a dummy grenade In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers in protective clothing unload a dummy grenade at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers check the cover of a dummy grenade at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Destroyed ammunition is stored in a container at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Syria has already missed several target dates to hand over or destroy its arsenal before a deadline and the United Nations-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission called on Damascus to move faster. 'Nearly one third of Syria's chemical weapons material has now been removed or destroyed' UN-OPCW coordinator Sigrid Kaag told a meeting of the watchdog at its Hague headquarters In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany GEKA is federally-funded facility and its sole function is the destruction of chemical weapons from military arsenals. Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons and disposal, which is already underway on an American ship in the Mediterranean, is scheduled to be completed In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany A worker stands next to a container that will be used to destroy chemical weapons from Syria in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers carry a dummy grenade into a bunker at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany A worker in protective clothing stands at the door of a bunker at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers unload a dummy grenade In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany UN Security Council resolution 2118 about destroying chemical weapons was passed after a massive attack killed hundreds in several opposition areas around Damascus In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany Workers sit in a trailer outside of the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany A worker stands next to a machine that will be used to destroy chemical weapons from Syria at the GEKA facility in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany A worker presents a machine that will be used to destroy chemical weapons from Syria at the GEKA in Munster In pictures: Syria surrenders a third of chemical weapons Germany A worker observes a furnace that will be used to destroy chemical weapons from Syria at the GEKA facility in Munster

Numerous chemical attacks using chlorine, sarin and mustard gas have been reported in the five-year conflict, most commonly blamed on the Syrian army but also attributed to Isis and other rebel groups. Investigators also found Isis had deployed sulphur mustard gas in Marea, near the Turkish border, on 21 August last year during battles against opposition groups.

Mr Johnson called the confirmed use of chemical weapons by both the Syrian regime and Isis horrific.

The attacks in Qmenas, Sarmin and Talamenes demonstrate the cruel barbarity of the Assad regime in this conflict, the Foreign Secretary said. The use of chemical weapons by Daesh (Isis) in Marea shows their complete disregard for human rights, and international norms and values.

Mr Johnson said the report showed that Mr Assads government had failed to cooperate with international investigators and said the UK would work to end the indiscriminate bombing campaign and restart peace talks.

The use of chemical weapons is horrific, and a breach of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, he added. It is crucial to hold those responsible to account.

The JIM was established a year ago to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria, so far investigating nine cases in seven towns.

A child being treated in hospital after a suspected chlorine gas attack in Aleppo on 10 August (Mahmoud Rashwani)

Its latest report is expected to be discussed by the UN Security Council on Thursday.

The US, Britain and France want to impose sanctions on the Assad regime for using chemical weapons but the Syrian government has denied all allegations and Russia, its closest ally, has dismissed previous evidence as inconclusive.

Mosow is expected to oppose any new sanctions proposed at the Security Council, with Vladimir Putins spokesperson calling for the whole country to be liberated from rebel groups on Saturday.

In a television interview, Dmitry Peskov said: There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus. He was referring to Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist rebel group that renamed itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham after claiming to split from al-Qaeda.

The statement came as a pause in air strikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo entered its third day, with the UN calling for the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from besieged areas. But rebels have rejected the offer to evacuate and no movement has been seen along the corridors created by the Syrian government.

Additional reporting by AP
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Air cruises  ultra-luxury planes flying groups of guests on round-the-world itineraries  just might be the next big thing in travel. Thats if high-end operator Crystal Cruises new Crystal AirCruises plane, launching next autumn, is a hit.

Crystals Boeing 777-200LR will be kitted out with lie-flat seats, dining tables, divans and a bar, with room for 84 guests to fly in style. The company is also said to be planning themed flights, with the likes of visiting Michelin-starred chefs  though cabaret acts are unlikely to feature. Itineraries are planned to last either 14, 21 or 28 days, and passengers will stay in luxury hotels when on the ground.

How Crystal expects its AirCruises plane to look

While experiencing the AirCruises plane will only be a matter for the privileged few, it got us thinking about other aviation innovations slated to take to the skies in the not-too-distant future. Here are some of our favourite plans and patents for the aeroplanes of tomorrow.

The plane that turns into a train

The Clip-Air concept is the brainchild of the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Lausanne, Switzerland, and involves a detachable fuselage that can be transferred from an airframe onto train tracks. Theoretically, this would mean passengers can transfer from a plane to a train without ever leaving their seat. While its unlikely this could become a reality for several decades, its not the first time the idea of a detachable passenger cabin has been mooted. Last year, Airbus filed a patent for that very idea, arguing that it would save time to board passengers onto a removable cabin, and that the plane could even undergo maintenance while passengers boarded elsewhere.

The cabin that will make you feel zen

Just last week, Airbus said it was seriously considering the possibility of coating the interior of cabins in a light-emitting material, onto which they would then project images of the outside environment  be that a blue sky with clouds, or a night sky with stars. The idea is that it would improve the cabin environment for passengers  though if youre already afraid of flying, the sensation of whizzing through the air at several hundred miles per hour with no tin can to protect you might not help.

An innovation you will definitely be seeing, however, is the companys solution to improving overhead storage  and not a minute too soon. The new A350 and A330neo models have taller overhead bins where bags sit vertically, as though on a book shelf, which should be far more efficient than the horizontal madness we have now.

Plans for in-built VR helmets filed by Airbus (United States Patent and Trademark Office)

Seats with in-built VR helmets

Another Airbus idea is the unfortunately named sensory helmet, which would be built into passenger seat headrests so you can isolate yourself in your own VR world (ie, pretend youre not living the nightmare of modern commercial aviation). The patent says the helmet would preferentially also have a function where nice odours could be diffused into it. Particularly useful on a long-haul journey after the inflight meal has been digested.

Boeings folding wings

The plans for Boeings 777-9X model  which will be the largest twin-engine jet in the world  show such an enormous wingspan that the tips will need to fold up in order for the craft to fit into airports. The wingspan, of just over 235ft, will be reduced by 12ft when the hinged tips fold up. Locking pins will stop the wings from accidentally folding up during the flight.

Benches instead of seats

More from Airbus, and this time it's replacing conventional aeroplane passenger seats with, erm, benches. The patent, published earlier this year, would bring an end to defined seat width, depending on how many people are fit onto the bench  which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how the benches are sold.

The new Boeing model will have folding wings (Boeing)

The flat-pack plane

Amazingly, the flat-pack plane is a real thing. Cambridge, England-based company e-Go has created a one-person aircraft that can be taken apart and packed away after a flight. The plane is actually available on pre-order now, and will set you back a tidy 50,000. The company is now working on multi-seater flat-pack planes, so watch this space.

The e-Go plane has detachable wings so you can take it apart and store it easily post-flight (e-goaeroplanes.com)

Energy-harvesting seats

Our final entry is the energy-harvesting seats proposed by Frances Zodiac Aerotechnics, which proposes a sort of Matrix-style dystopia where humans become batteries. Passenger seats on commercial flights would capture ambient energy from human bodies to provide power and lower the overall energy consumption in an aircraft cabin. Creepy much?
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No more pussy cat America. That is the belief  and most probably the wish  of the foreign policy cognoscenti here, assuming (as everyone does) that Hillary Clinton will be sitting in the Oval Office, come 20 January.

And to be sure, her record points in that direction. On a host of issues, from the Middle East to North Korea, she has been more hawkish than her erstwhile boss Barack Obama, criticised widely for being a soft touch; too nice and too idealistic when rivals like China, Iran and above all Russia arent playing by the Queensberry rules.

Moreover, as a former Secretary of State and before that a senator who spent six years on the Armed Services Committee, she will bring to the job a greater knowledge of foreign affairs and national security than any incoming president in decades; certainly a good deal more than her husband back in 1993. So Hillary the hawk let loose on a turbulent world crying out for decisive American leadership? Maybe, but maybe not.

Most certainly she will want to be more assertive. Its hard to deny that Obamas rationalism that borders on passivity has raised doubts among some of Washingtons traditional allies about whether, if push came to shove, the US would be there for them. Power lies in the perception of a readiness to use it, and in that sense American power has indubitably been reduced  at a moment when a changing world was hastening the process anyway.

 Trump and Clinton trade barbs at 'good-natured' gala

Madeleine Albright was Washingtons Ambassador to the United Nations and then Secretary of State under Bill Clinton. Probably she wont go down in history as a foreign policy titan, but she delivered a couple of remarks that perfectly captured that fleeting post-Cold War period of the late 1990s when the US was the sole superpower.

America, she said, was the indispensable nation; without its involvement, none of the worlds great problems could be solved. At the time those problems included the Balkans. Frustrated by the continuing savagery and violence there, and the Wests inability to stop it, she turned angrily to the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell: What's the point of having this superb military youre always talking about if we can't use it?

Such was the mind set at that apogee of pax americana. Now American power is in decline, or more exactly relative decline. The US is still the planets most powerful country, boasting the largest and most innovative economy. Its still the only one capable of projecting unrivalled military might to the remotest corner of the Earth. In terms of soft power too, no one comes close.

But the gap is narrowing. Russia is resurgent, while economically China has more or less caught up with the US, and in a decade or two may have done so militarily as well. Meanwhile the atrophy and dysfunction of Americas own political system do nothing to enhance the countrys role as a democratic model, or its reputation in general.

This is the world that Hillary Clinton will inherit. Her instincts may well be to revive those Albright tenets. Despite her need to hew close to a popular President Obama, she has parted ways with him on Syria, where she advocates no-fly zones and greater military assistance to moderate rebels, both resisted by Obama. No leeway will be accorded Russia, least of all in its efforts to rival or supplant the US as patron power across the Middle East.

Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Show all 13 1 /13 Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? ABC/Facebook Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Twitter Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? ABC/Facebook Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Twitter Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Twitter Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Twitter Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Twitter Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate? Why was Trump creeping behind Clinton at the debate?

A more forceful approach from Clinton toward China is also likely. Obama is supposedly engaged in a pivot to Asia to underline US commitment to a region where it is still strategically crucial. But if last weeks embrace of China by President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines  a longstanding ally and bulwark of Americas policy of curbing Chinese expansionism in South-east Asia  is anything to go by, the pivot isnt having the desired effect.

In Washington the frustration crosses party lines. Republican and Democratic foreign policy establishments both believe America must become more assertive. In his crude fashion, Donald Trump made the point in the presidential debates, and to some effect. A better disciplined, better informed candidate could have had Clinton squirming.

But the frustrations of the elite may not be the decisive factor. For all its imperfections, democracy rules in the US, and the will of the people matters. The people (and Trump for that matter) may love the idea of an America that throws its weight around  but not to the point of buying Albrights complaints about the superb military that cannot be used.

In the US, the interventionist pendulum has swung, from the comparative caution of the first Clinton era to the George W Bush administrations embrace of preventive war, that led to the unprovoked invasion of Iraq in 2003. Now its swung back. The Iraq disaster still shapes public opposition to US ground involvement elsewhere in the Middle East, and theres no sign attitudes will change any time soon.

The chaos in Syria and Libya, and the replacement of bad by even worse in Egypt, has only hardened that mindset. Clinton herself has repeatedly said she opposes US boots on the ground in the Middle East. She may be wise to do so  but by taking the option of direct military intervention off the table, she has reduced Americas potential leverage.

Then there are eternal geopolitical realities. The notion may be unfashionable and derided, but in the 21st century spheres of influence still exist. And a power like Russia, whose nuclear arsenal represents an existential threat to the US, must be treated as such, however objectionable its policies.

All this argues against the US plunging into Syria: a war against Bashar al-Assad means war against Russia. And it explains why there is a limit to what may be done about Russian encroachments in next-door Ukraine  and why everyone is so fearful of where Russian intimidation of the Baltic states, once parts of the Soviet Union, may lead. So Clinton the hawk or Clinton the pragmatist? My guess is the latter, albeit adorned with a few feathers and talons.
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For anyone in denial about the likelihood of a Donald Trump presidency, take a look at Brexit, and how the capital markets reacted to it.

Within 24 hours of the UKs decision to leave the European Union, $3tn of capital market value was decimated. The sterling currency sank to a three-decade low. The key index of global volatility, the VIX, jumped from 17 to 25 points.

The reaction was so extreme because the end result had not been priced in. The majority of buyers and sellers had not expected it. The polls had also not predicted it.

Just like the capital markets, elections are driven by people. People change their minds; quickly, even last minute. People are driven by emotions and by information that they are told, or want to believe. You can hire the best informed analysts, stock pickers and fund managers who are paid millions to take big bets, but they are also taking big risks. Ultimately, they will never know the outcome of any event until it's too late.

People are fundamentally irrational, and unpredictable.

What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Show all 9 1 /9 What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump denying claims from a number of women that he sexually assaulted them This is all fiction, all fictionalised, probably or possibly started by her and her very sleazy campaign. I didn't even apologise to my wife who is sitting right here because I didn't even do anything Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump claiming the Russian leader had no respect for Mrs Clinton She doesn't like Putin because Putin has outsmarted her every step of the way. He has no respect for her. He has no respect for our President." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump interrupting Mrs Clinton with one of his most scathing personal attacks yet as she explained her policy on social security Such a nasty woman Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump claiming Mrs Clinton shouldn't have been allowed to run for presidency and that the election is rigged She should never have been allowed to run. Shes guilty of a very very serious crime. She should not be allowed to run. And just in that respect, I say its rigged. Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mr Trump voicing his pro-life stance during the abortion debate Based on what she's saying ... you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day, and that's unacceptable Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton suggesting this is not the first time Mr Trump has claimed results against him have been rigged There was even a time when Trump didn't get an Emmy for his TV programme three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton responding to Mr Trump's lewd comments about women Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity and self-worth Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton implying Mr Trump is a puppet of Russian president Vladimir Putin He'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States Getty What did Donald Trump say during the third presidential debate? Mrs Clinton comparing her political experience to Mr Trump's former television role On the day I was in the situation room monitoring the raid that brought Osama Bin Laden to justice he was hosting the Celebrity Apprentice Getty

Nobody can argue, therefore, that Mr Brexit  the self-appointed nickname of Donald Trump  will not make it into the White House.

Polls fluctuate all the time, but they currently indicate that Hillary Clinton is in the lead  by as much as 11 points, according to the latest reading from an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Swing states, including Ohio and Florida, recently gave Trump the nod, suggesting they are still fragile territory. But there are also polls  arguably outliers  which suggest the opposite. The Rasmussen White House Watch found that Trump was ahead by three points between 17 and 19 October.

Clinton recently voiced a question to the Labourers International Union of North America: Why arent I 50 points ahead, you might ask?

Its a good question, one that still has not been answered.

In a world that fears the other, where the UK and now the US are increasingly isolationist, Trump is playing into the hands of a large segment of the population who are looking for a scapegoat for their problems.

The rhetoric in the US mirrors that which has been festering in the UK over the last year, where both the Ukip and the Conservatives were knee-deep in fear mongering, accusing new London mayor Sadiq Khan of having links with extremism, and linking Romanian immigrants with crime.

 Donald Trump describes United States election result as "Brexit times five"

Forget wrong and right. The outcome on 8 November doesnt come down to the current investigation into the Trump Foundation, his many lawsuits, his alleged fraud, sexual assault, corruption, racism and bigotry, or his apparent lack of knowledge of foreign affairs.

He still managed to achieve the seemingly unthinkable  he became the party nominee.

Weve had the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, weve had Nigel Farage, and the world could end well end up with Donald Trump.

In the end, there is only one key difference between Brexit and the case of a Trump administration.

We dont know when Brexit will happen. It could be next year, it could be 2019  some say it might never happen.

But we have a firm date for when the new US president will step into the White House: 20 January 2017.
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Here we go again.

Ten years ago last month, I joined 24 other brave souls and a Baptist Minister to cut through the fence at Nottingham East Midlands airport, where we held a sermon on the runway. This was Plane Stupids first ever runway occupation, in defiance of government policy backing a trebling of passenger numbers and massive expansion at dozens of British airports. The UK did not yet have a Climate Change Act, but it was already clear that aviation was now the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, and that government policy pushing this could not be squared with effective action on global warming.

I went on to be taken to the High Court by BAA, scale the House of Commons, take part in a mass occupation of the runway at Stansted and help my comrades to superglue themselves to Gordon Brown and slime Peter Mandelson. But all these (and many more) direct actions were themselves just one small part of an unprecedentedly broad and diverse movement that mobilised against a third runway at Heathrow. Environmental NGOs and development charities, local MPs and councils of every hue, grassroots noise campaigners and the Mayor of London all took up the cause. At the centre of everything were the members of the communities that would disappear beneath the tarmac if the third runway went ahead.

The sheer force of our collective will eventually brought the weight of public opinion behind us, and the fate of the third runway was sealed  no ifs, no buts. David Cameron even planted a tree on the site to commemorate its passing.

In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Show all 22 1 /22 In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Inside one of the terminal tents in 1946 The year the airport opened. Comfortable armchairs and flowers try to distract from the conditions Graham Bridges collection In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow An aerial view of the airport in 1949 Construction of the runway layout and Central Area are under way In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow A Pan Am crew checks out the Boeing Stratocruiser N1029V Clipper Golden Eagle in 1954 During the early 1950s, Pan Am and American Overseas Airlines operated Statocruisers into London Airport in direct competition on the North Atlantic route operated by BOAC In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow One of the first official London Airport guidebooks C.1953, priced 1s In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow In 1950 a permanent concrete terminal building was built This replaced the tents previously used at London Airport North and is seen still in use for charter and cargo flights in this 1959 view via Graham Bridges In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow BOAC check-in desk in 1954 Inside the new London Airport North terminal building, just before the move to the Central Area Graham Bridges collection In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Air traffic control tower in the 1960s Inside the visual control room CAA Archives via Pete Bish In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Rear cover of the 1956 guidebook Showing a plan of the airport at the time, with entrance prices to the spectators viewing terraces and for airport coach tours In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Spectators in 1958 How close can you get? As soon as the Central Area was open, spectators were afforded unprecedented views of the airliners In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Terminal 3 was opened as the Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 It was built to handle flight departures for long-haul routes. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Inside Terminal 3 in 1969 Check-in desks for BOAC and QANTAS airlines In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Plane spotting on Heathrows viewing terraces in the 1960s Wrap up warm, take your spotting logbooks, pen and binoculars and get your mum to pack your sandwiches In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow No 1 Passenger Building Also called the Europa Building. In this photo, taken on 22 June 1963, flags of the many airlines it serves are flown Lee Holden In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Luggage-trailer-towing Routemaster buses When BEA and BOAC merged to form BA on 1 April 1974, both fleets had to be repainted in the new livery, but so did all the ground support equipment In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The entrance to the traffic tunnel in 1974 A Lufthansa Boeing 737 is seen on the runway In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow A 40 per cent scale model of Concorde In September 1990 it was erected on the roundabout at the entrance to the tunnel that passes under the northern runway at Heathrow Airport. It was built in four main parts, with an 80ft-long central fuselage section, to which the wings and tail fin were attached. The completed model was placed on the roundabout in September 1990 and was monitored by CCTV and surrounded by an infrared perimeter alarm that was connected to the local Heathrow police station to ensure it was not vandalised In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Heathrow Airport's 50th anniversary On 2 June 1996, Heathrow marked its anniversary with a flypast of representative airliner types that have served the airport over the years. This culminated in a formation flypast by Concorde with Hawks of the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The roof of Terminal 3s car park One of the last bastions for plane spotters and spectators was here. This is the unfriendly notice that greets anyone who attempts this today Richard Vandervord In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow On 24 October 2003 BA withdrew its Concordes from service The final scheduled commercial flight was BA002 from JFK operated by G-BOAG. Here we see three of the Concordes parked together outside the BA hangar on 8 November 2003 following withdrawal John Hughes In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The new control tower Costing 50 million to construct, it gives controllers an excellent 360-degree panoramic view NATS photograph In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The new Terminal 2 The Queens Terminal In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Looking due west down Runway 27L

The tree died. But the third runway lived on, in the hopes and dreams of Britains aviation lobby. Today, it is rising remorselessly like a zombie from the grave, clawing its way to the top of the political agenda once again. Why wont it stay buried?

Former MP Chris Mullin gives some clues in his account of his time as aviation minister: I learnt two things. First, that the demands of the aviation industry are insatiable. Second, that successive governments have usually given way to them. The cosy relationship between the Department for Transport and the aviation industry was laid bare in 2008, when officials were reported found to have been colluding with Heathrow to engineer the outcome of air quality assessments needed to approve expansion.

Heathrow and Gatwick have reportedly spent over 30m each on PR and lobbying since the elaborate political long-grassing exercise that was the Airports Commission began its deliberations over where to put new airport capacity in the South East. This was the wrong question (of which more in a moment) but the framing of the Commission has conspired with the huge marketing budgets of the rival airports to conjure up an airport capacity crisis for London.

This is now the new common sense  our airports are full, and delaying new runways is doing irreparable harm to the British economy. This hysteria climaxed in the summer with the comical claim that these delays are costing us 6m a day. But it seems to have worked. Labours shadow aviation minister Andy MacDonald sums up the new paradigm thus: It is beyond doubt that additional capacity is needed. The imperative is overwhelming.

Neither is true. Stansteds runway slots are half empty. The direct contribution of the aviation sector to the British economy (18bn) is less than the combined value of the annual tax subsidy it enjoys (11bn) and the UKs gaping tourism deficit (17bn and rising). Only one in ten international flights by UK residents is now for business, and the proportion goes down a little more every year. The latest incarnation of the runways debate has been almost magically effective at conflating the financial interests of the big airport owners with the national economic interest.

Airport capacity faces a profound challenge in the shape of climate change. Aviation has a uniquely generous target under the Climate Change Act: absolutely no reduction in emissions, while the rest of the economy must make up the shortfall with extra cuts. Yet the aviation sector is still set to break the budget. The problem is that annual growth in demand for flights greatly outstrips efficiency improvements  by a rate of about five to one, globally.

 Heathrow third runway decision needed as soon as possible after Brexit says Simon Calder

In the UK, the Committee on Climate Change has advised that for aviation to comply with the Act, demand growth must be limited to around 60 per cent to 2050. But the Department for Transport expects demand to grow over this period by 93 per cent; this is the extra demand which a new runway is clamouring to cater for. The solution is clear, but horrifies politicians: we will have to have policy to manage the growth in demand. There is simply no other way.

Eventually, if the UK stands by its commitment to tackle climate change, some government must grasp the nettle of demand management. When it does, we will be ready. Demand growth for air travel is driven by lavish tax breaks on fuel duty and VAT which keep air fares artificially low. A frequent flyer levy that shifts tax off ordinary holidaymakers and on to frequent flyers would benefit the large majority of UK residents. Those who would have to pay more are those who can most afford to. Modelling shows that it could keep aviation emissions within safe limits at the same time as distributing flights more evenly across the income spectrum, and raising more money to support alternatives.

In the meantime, people will just have to rise up once more against the green light next week. Heathrow is set to become a lightning rod for radical climate activists all over the country, and the old networks from the former alliance are starting to light up again for the first time in years. Once more, dear friends, once more  but lets make sure its really dead this time.

Leo Murray is a co-founder and former activist with Plane Stupid. He is currently campaigning for a fairer tax on air travel at afreeride.org.
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Louis Smith is the Olympic poster boy who seems to have gone from hero to zero in a matter of months. A sweet lad and a brilliant athlete, Smith is the only gymnast to have won medals in the last three Olympics (a total of five) as well as taking the Strictly crown in 2012 and thousands of new fans.

This year, though, he has been censured twice by British Gymnastics: once for questioning the judging in Rio, when he was beaten into second place by Max Whitlock; and then for attaching a snotty comment to a photo of a female competitor on social media.

But worse was to come  a few weeks ago, Smith got drunk at a friends wedding and in the small hours was singing a song from Aladdin with his mate when they picked up a small carpet and made some jokes about Islamic prayers. Stupidly, the images were posted on social media and subsequently Smith has received death threats, culminating in a series of abject apologies, including one during an interview with me on Loose Women.

I must say that Louis Smith is a thoroughly nice (if not terribly bright) person who has spoken sincerely and honestly about the struggle to be a role model. He was diagnosed with ADHD at seven and is extremely close to his mother. Meeting Louis, you realise within a minute that this chap might be dumb, but hes no worse than the average cocky young man after a few beers.

The fallout from that video is now out of all proportion  Smith has given further grovelling media interviews and last week, when our triumphant Olympians were being feted by thousands of fans in Manchester, he was nowhere to be seen. When the medallists took part in a rally in Trafalgar Square and a reception at Buckingham Palace, Smith was talking to imams and visiting two mosques in East London, posting this on his Facebook page: I accepted the offer to learn more about the Muslim community and Islam  I was a little nervous and anxious because of the events of the last week but the people were so understanding and inviting.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty 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

Smith realises that he could become a pariah banned from competing in the next Olympics unless he is seen to atone for his actions  but I am sure that he is sincere and not simply acting out of self-interest. He says he was ignorant to peoples religion  and [apologises] for offending those who follow the faith. He says that those in the public eye have to exercise freedom of speech in good taste. I doubt Kelvin MacKenzie would agree with that.

What Louis Smith did to cause offence was feeble compared to the comments MacKenzie made in The Sun on 18 July, complaining that Channel 4 News was guilty of editorial stupidity for allowing a woman wearing a hijab to present the news report on the Nice terror attacks. The presenter he found so offensive, Fatima Manji, reported The Sun to Ipso (the Independent Press Standards Organisation), along with 1,700 other complainants.

Ipso ruled that the column did not constitute hate speech, because it triggered a legitimate subject of debate  whether newsreaders should be allowed to wear religious symbols. Manji is outraged and says she has been threatened and her family has had to hire protection. But what about freedom of speech?

As Louis Smith has found out to his cost, some groups of people are far more sensitive than others. Yes, The Sun was vile, but why is a Channel 4 journalist moaning about free speech? Her job is to report the news, not get involved in it.

Should people be allowed to wear religious clothing at work? Back in 2013, a British Airways check-in worker took her demand to be allowed to wear a visible crucifix at work all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. She was eventually awarded 1,600 in a majority judgement. Even the Prime Minister got involved, going on Twitter to say people shouldnt suffer discrimination because of their religious beliefs.

But hang on  in May this year, the EU ruled that employers can ban workers from wearing headscarves, crucifixes and other religious clothing. This follows a case in which the security firm G4S sacked a receptionist who wanted to wear a hijab. The judge said, An employee may be expected to moderate the exercise of religion in the workplace, and commented that people who complained that not being allowed to wear headscarves would stop Muslim women finding jobs were making sweeping assertions.

Of course Kelvin MacKenzie is a noisy bigot, but it does seem that some Muslims have very thin skins. As for poor Louis Smith, now hes been moaned at for going to the wrong kind of mosques. He cant win, but if you choose to wear a cross or a headscarf, then deal with the flak it might generate. We live in a free society and it works both ways.
Canada's trade minister walked out of talks in Belgium yesterday, declaring that the European Union was incapable of sealing a planned transatlantic free trade deal designed to boost growth in both economies.

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations, and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it.

The agreement, the EU's first with a G7 country, would according to supporters increase trade by 20pc, boosting the EU economy by 12bn per year and Canada's by 8.2bn.

Wallonia is home to about 3.5 million people, less than 1pc of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect, but the EU's flagship trade project rests on the will of its government.

It continued to have concerns about the threat of surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics say may be used by multinationals to dictate public policy.

Many EU leaders also suspect the local government in Namur of using its devolved powers to play domestic politics.

A visibly shaken Chrystia Freeland, Canada's trade minister, emerged after a full day of talks with chief Canadian and EU trade negotiators and Walloon premier Paul Magnette. "Canada has worked, and I personally have worked, very hard. But it is now evident to me, evident to Canada, that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement - even with a country with European values such as Canada," she said.

"Canada is disappointed and I personally am disappointed, but I think it's impossible," she said, adding she was heading home. EU trade commissioner Cecelia Malmstrom said in a tweet she was sad talks had halted, but still hoped to find a solution. "Good progress had been made in most areas of concerns for Wallonia in talks on CETA. I sincerely believe this is not the end of the process," her post read. CETA was set to be signed at a summit next Thursday.

Failure to strike a deal with such a like-minded country as Canada would call into question the EU's ability to forge other deals and undermine a bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave and disputes over Europe's migration crisis. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Theresa May shares a joke and clasps hands with Taoiseach Enda Kenny during a group photo at the EU leaders summit in Brussels. Photo: Reuters

Enda Kenny returned from an EU leaders' summit yesterday with the air of a man who is 'going nowhere anytime soon'.

There is a growing buzz around Leinster House that the Taoiseach is in no rush to quit Government Buildings or the Fine Gael leadership.

There is a line of argument that the pressure is really on the would-be successors: Leo Varadkar, Simon Coveney and Frances Fitzgerald. Each of these has their hands full right now, and the longer they struggle, the better for the Taoiseach.

And the Taoiseach very probably felt better about his political lot looking at those around him at the two-day leaders' summit, which really only further sketched the myriad problems surrounding Brexit. In the margins of these jumbo EU set-piece meetings, there is always an air of convivial glad-handing and backslapping.

Sometimes it has taken on the air of a mutual admiration society. But not these days, as very many of the EU's national leaders are facing into very tricky times.

Take the once invincible German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. After a series of regional elections reverses she is battered by a rising right-wing, and her party is preparing for next year's federal election amid an anti-migration backlash.

'Mama Merkel' has been in power for 11 years and has yet to declare whether she will seek a remarkable fourth consecutive term.

She has known many better days in politics and a survey in late August for the 'Bild am Sonntag' newspaper showed just 42pc of Germans favoured her continuing and 50pc were against.

In France, President Francois Hollande is likely to be staring at the end of his political career.

His poll ratings have been lamentable for very many months and an opinion poll earlier this month showed him in 12th place among a list of likely next presidents.

Many in his Socialist Party want to ditch him in favour of his Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, who has a better public image.

In Italy, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came into power three years ago promising a new era of political efficiency and stability. He has staked his future on a political reform referendum due on December 4, at one stage saying he would quit if it was rejected.

In Italy, as in Ireland and elsewhere, political leaders do not always get an answer to the political question they put in a referendum.

Many colleagues and allies have been less than committed in their support for his plans to slim down the decision-making process.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, probably wins the dubious accolade for being in the most parlous political situation. He has been in office as caretaker Prime Minister for almost a year and might still be looking at fighting a third general election since December 2015.

Rajoy's party actually won the two inconclusive elections but failed to get a majority. Tomorrow, the Spanish Socialist Party will meet to decide whether they will agree to at least abstain and allow Rajoy more room to govern. That would at least postpone another election in Spain. Enda Kenny could surely offer some pointers here.

Then there is the case of British Prime Minister Theresa May, who came into office in extraordinary circumstances last July.

Looked at dispassionately, she would appear to have operated extremely cleverly, backing the EU stay campaign in a very desultory way. Then she got elected Prime Minister without a contest in the wake of the June 23 shock Leave vote.

Ms May marked 100 days in office at the EU leaders' summit by having to wait five hours before she could address her "future former colleagues" for just five minutes.

But that is as nothing compared with what is to come and her longer-term tenure as Prime Minister is far from assured.

Critics can well point out that all of this amounts to coming at the argument from the wrong end. True, seeking out cases of people faring worse than you, is hardly the height of ambition.

But sometimes politics is just like that.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.22



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Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Artur Rasizade has met President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.



Rasizade said Azerbaijani-Venezuelan relations are at a good level, adding both countries support each other within international organizations.



The prime minister said there is good potential for boosting economic ties between the two countries and stressed the importance of increasing efforts for strengthening bonds in other fields as well.



Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the sides stressed the significance of solving the problem within the norms of international law and principles of borders` inviolability and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.



President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro said his country is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in overall directions, as well as in economic field.



Maduro also said there are good opportunities for making investments in various fields.



The sides discussed prospects of cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, agriculture, finance.
Last week saw a special emphasis on the sheep sector, not just within the national Budget but also at European level, with the launch of Commissioner Hogan's Sheepmeat Forum report. So why are sheep currently under the spotlight?

Since the 1980s, sheep numbers in Europe have fallen by 25 million head. The UK, Spain, Romania and Greece are the main sheepmeat-producing countries in Europe, with Ireland coming in seventh place. Since 1990, sheep numbers have fallen by over 30pc in the UK and a staggering 45pc in Ireland.

It is no surprise sheep numbers are in decline given the poor profitability at farm level. According to Teagasc's National Farm Survey, sheep farm incomes averaged about 15,000 over the last five years but, crucially, direct payments typically comprised over 100pc of income.

In other words, the cost of keeping a sheep exceeds the market price. The sustainability of this situation has to be questioned, especially considering that direct payments are fully decoupled. Clearly there is a supply side problem, but the demand side is also problematic.

Why don't more young people eat lamb?

Lamb is in a losing battle against cheaper meats. Expenditure on lamb in the EU has declined by over 20pc in the last 15 years, while poultry expenditure increased by 70pc. The average age of European lamb consumers is increasing, with younger consumers turning away from a product that is often perceived as being fatty, difficult to cook and the subject of recent anti-meat eating campaigns.

Contracting supply, albeit along with contracting demand, has resulted in some recent increases in producer prices, but price remains volatile and typically input costs are increasing as fast, if not faster, than output prices.

It was in this context that Commissioner Hogan asked the Sheepmeat Forum, an EU level committee chaired by John Bryan (former IFA President), to put forward a positive roadmap for the sector.

One of the main recommendations arising from the forum and presented in Brussels last week was the need for a promotion programme for lamb, aimed at reversing declining consumption trends and tackling consumers' often negative perception of lamb. The report also called for improved market transparency around pricing, as well as a newly-designed environmental payment for sheep in recognition of the important role sheep farmers play in delivering public goods.

Sheep and the public good

Public goods are those provided by the State rather than private industry as they suffer from a free rider problem. For example, you can ask people to pay for a beautiful countryside as they would for any other good, but those that refuse to pay can't be excluded from enjoying it. For this reason, private industry will not supply public goods and the State must ensure provision. It is argued that of all the farming types, sheep farmers punch above their weight in terms of public good provision.

Over 90pc of sheep production in Europe occurs in less favoured and upland areas. Appropriately managed grazing of sheep prevents the return of scrub; ensures that natural flora and fauna can prosper, hence improving biodiversity; the carbon stored in peatland remains intact, hence contributing to the fight against climate change and, in Mediterranean Europe, plays a role in the prevention of fires.

All of these things combined contribute to the aesthetics of the countryside and collectively are known as ecosystem services. It is increasingly recognised in Europe that farmers should be rewarded for their provision of ecosystem services and sheep farming, because of its extensive nature and where it's located, means it is one of the greatest providers of such services.

The Sheepmeat Forum highlighted the important role sheep farmers play in providing pubic goods for society and highlighted that these goods are under threat due to the contraction of sheep numbers and the associated abandonment of land. The forum sent a clear message to the commissioner that these non-market goods are important and farmers need to be rewarded for their provision with a new environmental payment. As the commissioner faces into a potential redesign of the Common Agricultural Policy, public goods and ecosystem services are likely to be high on his agenda.

Thia Hennessy, Professor of Agri-food Business, University College Cork
Richard Burrows is a former governor of Bank of Ireland

Former Irish Distillers boss Richard Burrows could end up being board leader of the world's biggest tobacco company - if US firm Reynolds accepts a $47bn (43bn) takeover offer from British American Tobacco (BAT).

Mr Burrows is chairman of BAT, which has just offered to buy the 58pc stake in Camel maker Reynolds it doesn't already own. If the deal goes ahead, it will create a tobacco firm with a market capitalisation of over 170bn.

It's not known yet who would be chairman or chief executive of the combined group but there is already some executive overlap between the two.

A keen yachtsman, Wesley College-educated Mr Burrows led Irish Distillers from 1978 until 2000.

The accountant was in charge when it was bought by French group Pernod Ricard in 1988 following a hostile takeover battle waged by Guinness owner Grand Metropolitan, which later became Diageo.

In 2000, he was appointed joint managing director at Pernod Ricard.

He also became the governor of Bank of Ireland in 2005, a role he relinquished in 2009. He had been on the bank's board since 2000 and was named deputy governor in 2002. He was named chairman of BAT in 2009.

He is also a non-executive director of Carlsberg, and pest control giant Rentokil Initial. Earlier this month, he was named chairman of AIM-listed investment firm Craven House Capital.

Mr Burrows is paid a 645,000 annual salary for his role at BAT. He also has the use of a company driver and is provided with home and personal security services by the group. Those additional benefits valued his total remuneration package at 727,000 (813,000) last year.

Mr Burrows also owns 15,000 shares in BAT, currently valued at 745,000.

BAT owns brands including Dunhill, Rothmans, Lucky Strike, and Benson & Hedges. Apart from Camel, Reynolds owns Newport, the leading menthol cigarette, and Kent.

BAT chief executive Nicandro Durante said the deal would create a US market leader and the world's largest listed tobacco company by net turnover and operating profit.

It would have about 12.5pc of the global market share, behind Marlboro maker Philip Morris, with 14.7pc, and the 44pc held by China National Tobacco.

"The strategic rationale makes perfect sense," said Guy Ellison, an analyst at Investec Wealth & Investment.

The deal would pivot BAT further towards the high value US market, consolidating some strong brands and Reynolds' position in "next generation tobacco" products such as e-cigarettes, he added.

The $47bn deal would be satisfied via a payment of $20bn in cash to Reynolds' shareholders, and $27bn in BAT shares.

Reynolds bought Newport-maker Lorillard in 2015, making it a stronger competitor to Marlboro-maker Altria. Together, Reynolds and Altria dominate the US market.

In order to maintain its 42pc stake in Reynolds as a result of that Lorillard deal, BAT invested $4.7bn in Reynolds.

BAT has owned its 42pc stake in Reynolds since 2004.

Because BAT already has such a big holding in the US group, rules set by the US Securities and Exchange Commission require disclosure of such an approach as soon as it has been made.

Since Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union in June, shares in BAT soared to all-time highs as investors bet the falling pound would boost the profits of companies that make most of their revenue outside the United Kingdom. (Additional reporting Reuters)
Over the past three years, Aldi and Lidl's market share has grown by 7pc to a combined 23pc at a cost to the larger players in the business

Lidl has accused Tesco Ireland of being "a serial objector" to its plans of expanding its store network here.

Lidl made the charge in planning documents in response to Tesco lodging an appeal against it securing planning permission for a new store in Drogheda, Co Louth.

An Bord Pleanala has now given Lidl planning permission for the Drogheda plan. In a double planning reversal for Tesco, the board has also given the green light for a new Aldi store at Leixlip in Co Kildare which Tesco also opposed.

Tesco lodged planning appeals earlier this year against both developments with An Bord Pleanala.

It has now lodged fresh appeals with the board against two other Lidl store, in Ardee in Co Louth and Edenderry in Co Offaly.

The board's inspector's report in relation to the planned Lidl store at Drogheda reveals that Lidl in correspondence claimed that "Tesco Ireland is a serial objector with the objective of delaying planning permission".

Lidl requested the board 'to consider the appeal vexatious, frivolous and anti-competitive in motivation'.

In a reply letter, Tesco Ireland stated that it "does not agree that the appeal is frivolous or vexatious".

Evaluating Lidl's charge that the Tesco appeal was frivolous, the inspector in the case stated that "while there is an element of anti-competition (in the Tesco appeal) the points raised in the appeal are not without substance or foundation".

She stated: "The appeal is not to my knowledge made with the sole intention of delaying the development."

During 2015 and 2014, Tesco lodged six appeals against discount stores and was successful on four occasions when planning was refused in Cork City; Malahide in Dublin; Bailleborough, Co Cavan; and Kildare town.

The retailer's practice of opposing proposed new Aldi and Lidl stores in towns and cities where is has a presence comes against the background of rapid growth of the two German retailers in the 10bn Irish grocery market.

Over the past three years, Aldi and Lidl's market share has grown by 7pc to a combined 23pc at a cost to the larger players in the business.
A doorman passes the main entrance to Claridge's hotel in Londo

Operating profits at the luxury Maybourne hotel group in London, which was the source of a long-running and bitter dispute between Irish developer Paddy McKillen and reclusive billionaires the Barclay brothers, last year decreased by 3pc to 45.7m (51.3m).

New figures lodged by Coroin Ltd with Companies House in the UK show that the firm recorded the drop in operating profits after revenues increased by 5pc - going from 152m to 159.2m.

Coroin oversees the luxury five-star Claridges, the Connaught in Mayfair and the Berkeley at Knightsbridge.

McKillen's row with the Barclay brothers ended last year after the Qatari-backed Constellation Hotels Group bought the Maybourne group installing McKillen as the person to lead, direct and develop the assets.

McKillen sold his 36pc to the Constellation hotel group while the Barclay brothers sold their 64pc stake.

According to the directors' report, the firm's earnings for last year totalled 55.2m as revenue per room increased by 3.6pc.

After finance costs of 47m are taken into account, Coroin recorded a pre-tax loss of 1.4m.

The directors state that the group expects 2016 to improve in terms of trading and is confident that trading will perform above market levels.

Numbers employed by the group increased marginally to 1,429, with staff costs topping 41.7m.

Directors' remuneration last year totalled 1.25m that included 916,000 to the highest paid director.
France's shameless wooing of London bankers took a surreal turn this week, with billboards put up in sites including Heathrow Airport and St Pancras, the swanky London train station served by the Eurostar.

The French are pulling out all the stops in their bid to lure banks from the City of London and Canary Wharf to La Defense, the financial district in Paris.

The French Brexit pitch includes promising sweetheart tax deals for executives, low(er) cost offices and even saying they'll let the Brits file their French paperwork in English. Mon Dieu!

It all reached a new low this week, with the billboards suggesting banks ditch "British fog" and take up with "French frogs," a campaign that suggest a frankly worrying degree of Gallic abasement. The French haven't rolled over so comprehensively since... Well, not recently, anyway.

Core blimey! PR firms in a spin

Core Media's Alan Cox set a cat among the PR pigeons when he revealed this week in the Irish Independent that the media group could look to add a public relations string to its advertising and marketing bow.

The logic looks sound. Adding PR and public affairs capabilities would cement Core Media's emergence as a full service communications agency.

The timing was fortuitous too, hitting newstands on Thursday as industry high-fliers met for the Public Relations Institute of Ireland annual conference. Speculation is now turning to Core's potential targets. There are relatively few independent firms of scale in Dublin, and the Punt hears agency owners are as mystified as anyone about who Core has its sights on.
Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Gary Barlow (left to right) now make up Take That

TAKE That are to play Dublin next year, it has been confirmed

The band  Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald  will perform at the 3 Arena in Dublin on Monday 15 May.

Tickets for the Wonderland Live tour go on sale 28th October at 9.30am.

The group announced 22 dates across the UK and Ireland, in support of their brand new album Wonderland, scheduled for release in March 2017.

"And for the first time ever, the bands main stage will be in the centre of the arena floor, giving their fans a truly unique and memorable experience like never before," the band said in a press release confirming the dates.

"Take That are one of the UKs most successful acts with an enviable career spanning three decades. The band have sold over 7.6 million concert tickets in their lifetime, setting the record for the fastest selling tour of all time in UK history when 1.34 million tickets were snapped up for their Progress Live Tour in less than 24 hours," it added.

Expand Close Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen perform on stage at Roundhouse, Camden, north London as part of the Apple Music Festival / Facebook

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Whatsapp Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen perform on stage at Roundhouse, Camden, north London as part of the Apple Music Festival
Amybeth McNulty in the new Netflix series

Irish actress Amybeth McNulty has landed the leading role in a new, large production series for Netflix and CBC, the Canadian national broadcaster.

Rising star Amybeth (14), from Co Donegal, has been cast as the gifted and imaginative Anne Shirley in the new series Anne.

Based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel, Anne of Green Gables, the show began production in Canada in September.

The series centres on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890s.

Executive producer Miranda de Pencier said 1,889 girls were auditioned from around the globe for the role.

"We are thrilled to have found the incredibly versatile and delightful Amybeth McNulty to play this world-renowned heroine alongside the rest of our brilliant cast," she said.

Amybeth, who describes herself as Irish-Canadian, has previously appeared in the RTE drama series Clean Break.
PEOPLE bought a "pack of lies" on Brexit, Graham Norton told The Late Late Show on Friday night.

Speaking during a pre-recorded segment, the chatshow host told Ryan Tubridy that he was "astonished" that people had voted for Brexit and he the impact on Britain's young people.

"I was astonished that people bought the pack of lies they were sold and I feel sorry for the people who voted for it because they were lied to," he said.

"They were promised things that are never going to happen and they were told [about] the things that are now unfolding: 'oh don't worry, that won't happen'."

The Cork native said that although people will focus on the economy, it is the impact of Brexit on young people that was "the most depressing thing".

"What is great about being young is you've so many options. Life - all the doors are open, every door is open.

"What is so sad about Brexit is that people over 60, because it was people over 60 passed that thing, closed so many doors on young people and shut down options.

"Shut down options about studying abroad, living abroad, working in places. It just seemed absolutely the wrong instinct. Don't make the world smaller, don't shut things down. I understand where the fear comes from but, actually, I think it is sad," he said.

He also argued that the British should take Ireland's lead and run the referendum again.

"You do think: 'do you not see what they do in Ireland?' If you get the wrong answer, you ask again! It was a no brainer," he added.

The host of Britain's most popular chatshow said that after 19 years at the helm he is "almost offended" that he hasn't been targetted by the media like other big name BBC personalities.
POLICE in Spain are investigating the death of a British man, discovered with his hands bound and stripped naked below the waist near Malaga airport.

The man has reportedly been identified as 51-year-old Steven Allford. He was found tied with his hands behind his back on a bench between the airports train station and the terminal building on Friday morning.

Investigating police say the body showed no external signs of violence, which has led them to believe that he may have been choked to death.

The victims underpants and trousers had been pulled down to his ankles, which have opened up the possibility of a sexual assault, according to police sources.

The full results of a post-mortem from Malagas Medical Institute to ascertain the exact cause of death is expected to be revealed soon.

The scene has since been sealed off in order for police to search for clues, including dusting for fingerprints.

They also confiscated clothes from the airport for analysis, which they believe may have belonged to Mr Allford.

It has been reported that the man had been spending Thursday night outside the airport. It is not yet clear whether he was a passenger who missed his flight or was sleeping rough.

The incident was first reported by an employee at Malaga airport who made the discovery outside the terminal just before 9am on Friday.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

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Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 20 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops using large-calibre weapons, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said on Oct. 22.

The Azerbaijani army positions located in Farakhli village of the Gazakh district were shot at from the Armenian army positions located in Sharashvaran village of the Noyemberyan district.

Azerbaijans army positions located on nameless height in the Gadabay district also went under fire from nameless heights of Armenias Krasnoselsk district.

Azerbaijani positions located on nameless heights of the Tovuz district were shot at from nameless heights of Armenian Berd district.

Azerbaijani positions were also shelled from nameless heights near Chilaburt village of Tartar, Bash Garvand, Nemerli, Shuraabad villages of Agdam districts, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goygol, Goranboy, Fizuli and Tartar 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.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney has vowed to clamp down on people using Airbnb as a regular and significant source of income Picture: Bloomberg

Airbnb has confirmed it will cooperate fully with Government efforts to introduce new guidelines for property owners using the online rental service.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has vowed to clamp down on people using the website as a regular and significant source of income.

He wants to "clarify" at what point a residence become a commercial enterprise as a result of using Airbnb.

It comes after An Bord Pleanala ruled that the owners of an apartment in Dublin's Temple Bar breached planning laws by consistently using it for short-term letting, to the point where its annual turnover was 80,000.

Airbnb has now said it is open to discussions with the minister on how to devise suitable "home-sharing rules".

"Just as rules changed when we went from the horse and cart to the car, regulations that have been in place for decades sometimes need updating and clarifying to acknowledge new innovations and the opportunities they provide," a spokesperson for Airbnb said.

"We always welcome the opportunity to work with policymakers on clear home-sharing rules that make communities stronger.

"We know hosts want to follow the rules and we want to help. Already we have worked with policymakers in Europe and around the world on clear home sharing rules - including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Milan and Lisbon - and we look forward to doing the same in Ireland."

An Taisce has called on Dublin City Council to seek enforcement action on all residential accommodation that has been converted to "full-time holiday letting units" without the relevant planning permission.

It said the ruling by An Bord Pleanala this week "establishes a clear precedent".

Charles Stanley-Smith of An Taisce said "At a time when a major housing shortage and rent hikes are causing so much difficulty it is important that affordable residential accommodation in the capital city is protected.

"Dublin City Council has the clear responsibility to enforce proper planning on other conversions to full time holiday letting."

A study by Airbnb found the average Irish homeowner using its service earns 2,600 annually by sharing their space for 40 nights.
The Inspector of Prisons is to examine the recording of a court hearing during which it was alleged prison officers gave "a hiding" to a violent inmate.

Judge Michael Reilly said he would examine whatever documentation was referred to him before deciding whether to take action.

His comments came after one of the country's most dangerous criminals, Leon Wright (28), was cleared of assaulting a prison officer when he was being searched for weapons.

The case drew attention after Independents4Change TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace attended court to support the prisoner.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Judge Reilly said: "I will obviously have to study the documentation and decide whether any matters disclosed in it fall within my remit.

"If so, then I would have to decide if any action should be taken."

Judge Reilly has the power to investigate issues in prisons and raise concerns or make recommendations to prison governors, the Irish Prison Service director general Michael Donnellan or Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

Wright is considered highly volatile and has racked up 250 disciplinary reports since 2004.

These include instances where he allegedly assaulted or attempted to assault prison officers, threatened to kill prison officers and damaged prison property. A Prison Service source described him as the "most depraved prisoner officers currently have to deal with".

"He goes nowhere without a full escort. He is beyond dangerous in terms of his approach to staff," the source said.

Mr Wallace last night defended his appearance at Wright's court case.

While he acknowledged Wright "has a frightening history" of violence, Mr Wallace raised concerns about how he was being treated in prison.

Mr Wallace explained he visited Wright in Portlaoise Prison with Ms Daly after being contacted by his solicitor, who raised concerns alleging that his human rights were being violated.

Mr Wallace said he was "utterly shocked" at some of the evidence he heard in court.

"It goes without saying that we believe all prison staff should be able to work safely, free from threats and violence," Mr Wallace said.

"Our intervention is motivated by a desire for a safer environment for prisoners, staff and society at large."

Wright, from Donore Avenue in Dublin 8, has spent most of his adult life in prison. He was jailed for 13 years in 2007 for crimes including robbery, hijacking, assault and threatening to kill gardai.

During this week's hearing, he was handcuffed in court and accompanied by five prison officers wearing riot gear.

Judge Alan Mitchell dismissed assault charges against him arising out of an incident at Wheatfield Prison in October 2013.

During the case, the defence raised questions over the credibility of prosecution witnesses and evidence. Judge Mitchell directed the Courts Service to offer a digital audio copy of the proceedings to Judge Reilly.
Many parents are still in the dark about whether their children's school will be closed by a one-day teachers' strike next Thursday.

The first in a series of one-day stoppages by members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) is now virtually certain to go ahead, in their campaign for pay equality for new-entrant teachers.

But many schools still don't know exactly how they are going to be affected - and it is likely to be Tuesday before parents are advised whether they will open or close.

There is ongoing uncertainty about the ability of individual community and comprehensive schools and community colleges to open.

The 386 schools in the voluntary secondary sector - generally those under the control of the religious orders - will definitely close because all, or most, of their teachers are in the ASTI. These schools amount to more than half the 730 second-level schools in the country - and their boards of management are preparing to notify parents of impending closures next Thursday.

There are about 210 schools under the control of education and training boards (ETBs) that are not expected to be affected, because all, or most, of their teachers are members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), which is not taking strike action.

However, the difficulties arise for many dual-union community and comprehensive schools and community colleges where there are significant numbers of ASTI members on the staff.

About 30 of the 62 community colleges, which are also under the auspices of the ETB, and many of the 97 community and comprehensive schools, are expected to close.

Both sectors were awaiting clarity from the TUI about its position, and the union stated last night that no member of the TUI would undertake any work normally done by members of the ASTI. But the TUI is also advising members that if they do not pass the picket they will forego pay and will not have protection under industrial relations legislation.

Boards of management of individual community and comprehensive schools are expected to meet on Monday night when final decisions will be taken. Similarly, ETB schools will decide on their positions after a meeting between their management body, ETBI and the TUI, on Monday.

ETBI general secretary Michael Moriarty said it was their objective to keep schools open, but decisions would have to be taken by schools at a local level, depending on their circumstances.

The strikes are one of two forms of industrial action threatened by the ASTI over pay. The union has also announced that its members will withdraw from supervision and substitution duties from Monday, November 7, which could mean more than 500 schools remaining closed after the mid-term break.

A meeting between ASTI leaders and Department of Education officials on Monday is not expected to resolve the row.
Let me nail my colours to the mast: as a close observer of policing in this country for almost 30 years I believe that gardai have been left with little choice but to go to the edge of the precipice.

The herd of independent minds have been trampling over each other to condemn their decision to take unprecedented industrial action. The real coalition in all but name, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, are standing firm together against the thin blue wall - arguing that if they get proper pay restoration it will cause a domino effect through the public service, spelling catastrophe for our budgetary well-being.

It is currently unfashionable and unpopular, nay reprehensible, to publicly state support for the gardai who have simply had their fill of being treated as second-class citizens and are no longer prepared to stand for it.

The man who wants to be Fine Gael's next leader, Leo Varadkar, warned that this could do irreparable damage to the special relationship between gardai and the communities they service.

But Varadkar and the rest of the 'new politics' brigade are missing the point entirely - either innocently or deliberately.

If they really want to address this impending crisis, they should first do what the striking cops would do at a crime scene: forensically gather the evidence to uncover the motive.

For industrial action is only the symptom of a much wider and bigger problem in the gardai: withdrawing their services is an expression of years of pent-up frustration and anger at the way they have been treated by their own management and Government.

An Garda Siochana has been the lynchpin that held this State together ever since its birth from the smouldering ruins of civil war and social upheaval.

The men and women in blue held the line through the most volatile periods in the nascent State's evolution. Going on strike is actually repugnant for the vast majority of our police: it is simply not part of the collective culture.

So how have we arrived at this unprecedented juncture?

The evidence is all there in a comprehensive Garda Inspectorate report, 'Changing Policing in Ireland', which was published in November 2015.

The Inspectorate did what Garda management would never do. They interviewed gardai across the ranks to hear their opinions and concerns. What they found should have caused alarm bells to ring in Garda HQ and in the Department of Justice.

It described how the lower ranks feel undervalued by a management that was more concerned with 'self-preservation' rather than acting in the best needs of the organisation.

Judging from the comments made by officials from the Garda Inspectorate at a Dail committee this week, Bob Olson - who by the way would make a fine Garda Commissioner - and his staff are simply not being heeded.

Another piece of corroborating evidence was the open letter that Garda Ian Lester sent to the Commissioner advising her to eschew the politicians, stand up for her staff and that 'the truth costs nothing'.

Since the recession the gardai have endured massive wage cuts - like most other citizens, it has to be admitted.

The organisation also suffered an unprecedented brain drain, was starved of resources with the most obvious effect being that frontline units - the people you call when you dial 999 - have been decimated.

Yet the top brass, as the Inspectorate pointed out, keeps piling on the pressure on those at the bottom.

It is little wonder that gardai also find themselves socially isolated when the people who assault and threaten them are rarely made to pay by the courts.

All of this has been ignored and allowed to fester. The Commissioner and her staff in Phoenix Park have remained insouciant.

The mounting grievances were allowed to fester until the wound erupted in unprecedented strike action.

If the gardai are criminals for taking industrial action, they should escape any sanction on the grounds of overwhelming mitigating circumstances.
A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed the IT glitch led to historic test results being "unintentionally re-issued" to GPs (Stock picture)

Patient test results 20 years out of date have been sent to GPs by a major hospital, the Irish Independent has learned.

Some doctors were alarmed at the contents of the results which were issued by Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and related to previous diagnostic tests, before it became apparent they were up to two decades old.

In one case, a GP was so worried they were about to phone their patient to urgently come into the surgery for more tests when they saw the date.

The results, sent out earlier this month, were 12 years old in that case. Other blood tests given to the GP were 15 years old.

The doctor warned the serious error could have "catastrophic consequences, both psychological and physical for the patients".

A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed the IT glitch led to historic test results being "unintentionally re-issued" to GPs who had originally requested them.

She said Beaumont Hospital was currently in the process of upgrading its IT system, with the intention of having the National Medical Laboratory Information System in place next year.

"An IT glitch which occurred on the hospital's legacy computer system recently led to a number of historic test results being unintentionally re-issued to the GPs who had originally requested them," she said.

"All communications contained correct information regarding historic test results and the dates on which the tests were conducted."

The spokeswoman said that "within 24 hours of this glitch, the hospital rectified the problem" and contacted every GP practice involved. "No patients were affected," she said.

GPs in the area now use an online system called Health Links which provides a web-based messaging service, allowing the secure transmission of clinical patient information between hospitals, health care agencies and GPs.

It transfers a range of clinical information from the hospitals to GPs which include lab results, radiology reports, outpatient appointments and waiting list updates.

It should be more reliable than paper-based communication.
Sixteen-year-old Darcy White, from Kildare town, began experiencing pain in her jaw four years ago, but it was only two years later before arthritis was diagnosed and a further two years before she was seen by a dedicated rheumatologist.

Darcy is one of hundreds of children around the country who have been left waiting for years, often in pain, to see a dedicated consultant to treat their arthritis.

The latest figures from Arthritis Ireland show that the crisis for children with arthritis is deepening with 565 children on waiting lists to be seen, an increase of 400pc since January.

"It was really hard for me waiting two years. I can't imagine what it's like for little kids. They wouldn't understand why they have to wait that long and why there are in pain," said Darcy. "If I'd been seen by a rheumatologist I'd be a lot better now. My jaw wouldn't be as damaged. A lot of the damage could have been prevented and that's not right. It's a long time since I have been without pain.

"The pain is excruciating, it often brings me to tears. It came out of nowhere and changed my life completely; it stopped me from doing the things I love and I hate it for that. I wish with all my heart that the services for children with arthritis would improve. Children should not be left waiting in pain. Don't they realise they are robbing our childhood and causing irreparable damage physically and emotionally?"

Darcy's mum Marianne stresses the importance of children with arthritis being seen quickly. "If a child is complaining about a joint, they should be immediately referred to a rheumatologist. There's damage being done and you don't know the extent of it. With children you might not automatically think arthritis," said Marianne. "I would say to other parents that if they bring their child to a GP with joint pain, give it a certain amount of time - say a month - before you take the next step. If the joint is still causing a problem, you need to act quickly. Parents need to push for appointments."

Marianne says she can't understand why treating arthritis in children is not a priority. "It can be treated and the damage can be stopped. If treatment starts quickly, damage to the joints doesn't happen," she added.

While arthritis is not something we usually associate with children, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects one out of every 1,000 children in this country, making it as common as childhood diabetes.

With growing bones and developing musculature, experts agree the sooner children with arthritis are seen the better because damage done to joints is irreparable. But there are only two dedicated consultant paediatric rheumatologists in Ireland to care for these children. Arthritis Ireland is calling for the urgent appointment of a third consultant to help ease the burden on already hugely over-stretched services.

The gold standard of care for people suffering with arthritis - devised by the British Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology (BSPAR) - states children with suspected arthritis must be seen by the paediatric rheumatology team within four weeks of the referral being made.

However, the chronic lack of dedicated doctors means children are waiting much longer than the recommended time to be seen and all the while their condition is causing damage that cannot be undone.

Paediatric rheumatologist Dr Emma MacDermott says there is no doubt the sooner children are seen and started on treatment, the better. "Any persistent inflammation in a joint can cause long-term damage. Any prolonged period of inflammation can affect growth," she said.

Dr MacDermott, who is based at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, says the disease in children is complex because you are dealing with growing musculature, bones, immune systems as well as growing personalities. "The impact of a chronic illness is huge on a child and their families. These diseases are chronic and these children need to attend hospitals regularly. As children enter adolescence, they can become very disillusioned at having to deal with all this," she said.
One-year-old Maria is living with a painful and rare skin condition epidermolyis bullosa (EB) and has to be bandaged almost from head to toe to protect her from everyday life.

Families whose children have died or are living with a painful skin condition known as the butterfly disease have spoken out about the effects of the disease.

Blanchardstown mother Gunita Spirges one-year-old daughter Maria is living with EB and has to be bandaged almost from head to toe to protect her from everyday life.

"Before Maria was born I had never even heard of EB, to discover what it means was an awful shock," she said.

"When it's severe what EB does to the skin is scary. Children like Maria cannot have a normal childhood. There will be no playing in the playground for her. Even in her own bedroom everything has to be padded.

"This is why we need research to help find a cure and better treatment, it is the only thing that is going to help these children and the adults who have EB.

Val and Maria Fynes of Ballyboughal, North Dublin lost their 16-year old son Aaron from epidermolyis bullosa (EB).

The condition causes the skin layers and internal body linings to blister and wound at the slightest touch.

Due to the presence of constant wounds, patients with a severe form of EB are susceptible to a very aggressive form of skin cancer, from as early as their teenage years.

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"Aaron was in severe pain before he died, 75pc of his skin was missing, he was going blind and he had to use a wheelchair," said dad Val.

"When Aaron was born the doctors had never seen EB before, they knew little or nothing about it or how to treat it.

"We had to take control of his medical treatment eventually finding help at London's Great Ormond Street hospital.

"Research is the only hope we have to help end the suffering associated with EB, he said.

Erica Hyland (7) and her sister Alison (12) from Swords also both live with EB and have lost their nails due to the disease.

"If Erica has even a slight fall she is guaranteed to cut and bleed and if that happens she can't do anything for days," said dad Mark.

"The girls do their best to get on with life but it can be difficult, they have lost their nails due to EB and they get constant wounds and blisters. They get fed up fielding questions about things like that.

The Hyland family, including mum Ger, are keen to ensure that life is as normal as possible for the girls despite their EB.

Dr Avril Kennan, Head of Research at Debra Ireland, explains why more research is needed.

"EB brings a lot of pain and another major side effect is the awful itching that accompanies the healing process," said Dr Kennan.

"We all know how much you want to scratch a healing wound, so imagine having wounds all over your body that itch horrendously as soon as they start to heal."

"The itch makes sleeping extremely difficult, parents can spend all night comforting their children.

"At night children with severe EB can scratch themselves so badly they wake in the morning to blood soaked sheets."

October 24-29 is National EB Awareness Week and Debra Ireland, the charity that supports EB patients, is trying to raise vital funds to help people with EB through day to day family support and research to find a treatment for one of butterfly skin's most harrowing side effects  extreme itch.

Text BUTTERFLY to 50300 to make a 4 donation. DEBRA Ireland will receive a minimum of 3.25. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278.
The Department of Health's plans to outlaw cheap alcohol by introducing minimum pricing are a step closer after a landmark ruling in Scotland.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh rejected an appeal by the Scottish Whisky Association which claimed minimum pricing would be ineffective and penalise responsible drinkers.

The ruling will have implications here for the future of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, which goes to Seanad Committee stage next Wednesday.

Alcohol Action Ireland said it was a "positive ruling for public health in Ireland" and insisted the widespread availability of discounted alcohol in supermarkets was one of the key issues driving its misuse.

It is responsible for three deaths every day in Ireland, as well as a wide range of other harms.

A recent price survey found that by buying the cheapest alcohol available in supermarkets, a man can reach his low-risk weekly limit of 17 standard drinks for just 7.65 and a woman can reach her low-risk weekly limit of 11 standard drinks for just 4.95.

However, Ross MacMathuna, of the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland, asked the Government to be "mindful of the Border with Northern Ireland" when considering whether to proceed with the introduction of minimum unit pricing.

"With the decline in the value of Sterling post the Brexit vote, cross-border shopping is on the increase and raising the price of alcohol in the Republic on a unilateral basis would further exacerbate this while doing little to address harm," he said.

"As an alternative, a ban on below-cost selling, which would ensure alcohol is not sold as a loss leader, is an appropriate public health response to the sale of cheap alcohol."

We already pay the highest price and among the highest taxes in the EU for alcohol.
A YOUNG man has died after two motorbikes collided on Saturday evening.

Gardai in Blanchardstown are investigating the fatal RTC that occurred at approximately 6.50pm on Hartstown Road.

Gardai said that the two motorcyclists - both in their early 20s - collided, and one was rushed to Connolly Hospital where he died a short time later. The second man was uninjured.

The Hartstown Road, at the Community College was closed in both directions for the Forensic Collision Investigators to carry out their investigations.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information is asked to contact them at Blanchardstown Garda Station on 01 - 6667000, The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111 or any Garda Station.
This is the moment a member of the Irish Defence Forces rescued a tiny baby from an overcrowded wooden barge off the coast of Tripoli.

The LE Samuel Beckett located and rescued 772 migrants following a request from the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre.

The naval vessel located the migrants on a large wooden barge during a complex search and rescue operation 36 Nautical Miles North East of Tripoli.

In a statement the Defence Forces said the The LE Samuel Beckett also acted as on scene co-ordinator for four other ships that rescued migrants from approximately 20 small craft within the search area.

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The rescue operation began at 6.30am and all migrants were taken on board LE Samuel Beckett by 2.30pm.

They are are now receiving food, water and medical treatment where required.

LE Samuel Beckett will transfer some migrants to an Italian ship before transferring the remaining migrants to a Port of Safety.

Figures for today's operation are provisional until confirmed by the Italian authorities.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

Anakhanum Hidayatova - Trend:

There will be no agreement without return of territories, or Nagorno-Karabakh status negotiations, the US co-chair of the OSCE MG James Warlick said at a press conference in Baku Oct. 22.

Status quo is not sustainable, we need to work effectively further to find a peaceful solution, said Warlick.

He mentioned that there are many elements of comprehensive solution on the table today.

According to Warlick, there is no agreement on time and place of next meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.

The co-chair expressed hope that the foreign ministers of both countries will meet in the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg.

The time for peace is now, if not now then when? I believe this day will come. But through peaceful negotiations, said Warlick.

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.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has extended a Dail apology made to relatives of "members of State forces who were killed by republicans" to the colleagues of 1976 IRA victim Garda Michael Clerkin.

Responding to calls for an apology from retired Sergeant Jim Cannon, who escaped death on the day his fellow garda officer was murdered, Mr Adams condemned the attack.

Five Garda officers had been lured to a farmhouse in Co Laois by terrorists who claimed they were holding the then Laois-Offaly Fine Gael TD Oliver J Flanagan, father of the current Laois Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan.

It was just days after the Government had introduced the Emergency Powers Act following the murder of the British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs in Dublin.

The 40th anniversary of the attack was marked with a memorial mass for Garda Clerkin in Portarlington last week.

Mr Cannon - who still receives treatment for the injuries he suffered - described the survivors as the "forgotten people".

He survived by digging his way out of rubble and stumbling across fields to reach the nearest house.

He called on Mr Adams to apologise on behalf of the bombers who have never been caught, but are believed to have been IRA members.

In response to queries from the Irish Independent, Mr Adams said: "Sinn Fein condemned the attack in which Garda Clerkin was killed and his colleagues grievously injured."

He added: "I would extend to the family of Garda Clerkin and to his colleagues, including retired Sergeant Jim Cannon, my apology in the Dail in January 2013 when I addressed all of those 'members of the State forces who were killed by republicans in the course of the conflict'."

In that speech, Mr Adams said: "I am very sorry for the pain and loss inflicted on these families. No words of mine can remove that hurt and dreadful deeds cannot be undone.

"However, I restate that the resolve of Sinn Fein and the majority of Irish people is to ensure there will never, ever be a recurrence of conflict."

He added: "Members of An Garda Siochana do a dangerous job and take risks for all of us."
Jack & Jill Foundation "Locked out" of Leinster House meeting on new children's hospital

The Jack & Jill Foundation claim to have been locked out of an upcoming meeting in Leinster House, which will put the Connolly for Kids Hospital campaign up for discussion.

Campaigners calling for the new childrens hospital to be built on the Connolly Hospital campus instead of at St James Hospital in the city centre were invited to attend an Oireachtas Health Committee meeting on October 27.

However, the Jack & Jill Foundation  one of the main supporters of the campaign group  has had a request to attend the meeting rejected.

The foundations CEO Jonathan Irwin, is highly critical of the committees decision, saying without inviting Jack & Jill along is like talking about cancer without the Irish Cancer Society present.

In an open letter on Facebook, Irwin wrote: As Ive said to the Chairman of the Committee, Dr Michael Harty, holding an inquiry into the location of the location of the National Childrens Hospital without inviting Jack & Jill along is like talking about cancer without the Irish Cancer Society present.

This is a message that matters to all Jack & Jill families and supporters. It is a flat no, with absolutely no explanation as to why.

The Jack & Jill CEO is encouraging his supporters to email a letter of complaint, asking why the childrens charity has been locked out of the meeting on October 27.

Plans are already underway to locate the new hospital at the St Jamess campus in the city centre, but campaigners are urging the decision to be reversed.

Even though he wasnt invited to the meeting, Irwin has vowed to be at Leinster House on the day of the meeting.

He added: The location of the National Childrens Hospital is not a done deal and this inquiry by the Health Committee, which includes our good friends Connolly 4 Kids, is both timely and hugely important, as its never too late to call a halt to the wrong decision.

One way or another I intend to be there on October 27, even if it is in the visitors gallery, or Ill stand outside the gates of Leinster House in protest if I have to.

During the meeting, the Connolly for Kids group will be able to outline their views in a five-minute opening statement and take part in an open discussion with members of the committee.

The meeting starts at 9am and will be aired live on the Oireachtas TV channel.
Enda Kenny said firms may be put off investing in Ireland Picture: AP/Olivier Matthys

The Taoiseach has rigorously defended the 12.5pc corporate tax rate and hit back at reports Ireland could be in for further EU tax probes.

He warned that "loose talk" about taxation in Ireland was potentially damaging in the face of the Brexit threat.

"Ireland will obviously debate these things constructively but to be clear about it, our 12.5pc corporate tax rate is not up for grabs," Mr Kenny said.

"It's always been 12-and-a-half and it will remain so."

It came amid reports that the European Commission has not ruled out examining 300 more of Ireland's tax rulings.

Mr Kenny said talk about further EU state aid investigations coming down the line, after Apple, was damaging to the Irish economy.

"The commission have never stated that there are other impending state aid cases against Ireland and to suggest otherwise is mischievous, is misleading, and is wrong," he said.

"And that type of loose talk is potentially very damaging to our country. It does impact upon companies looking - particularly given the Brexit situation - as to where they might want to invest."

Divorce talks between the EU and UK will be "very tough" when they get going next year, the Taoiseach said.

Brexit rhetoric has ramped up in recent weeks after British Prime Minister Theresa May hinted at cutting trade ties with the EU if she is not allowed to impose migration curbs.

But she struck a more conciliatory note at the Brussels meeting, saying the Britain wanted a "mature, co-operative relationship" with the EU and to trade freely with the bloc.

However, in a further sign European institutions are struggling to sustain a coherent policy agenda, Canada's trade minister walked out of talks in Belgium. He said the EU is "incapable" of sealing a planned free trade deal.

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) aimed at strengthening trade ties to Canada and which took seven years to agree. But a complex process means regional governments in Belgium must also back the deal.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny in his office in Government Buildings with a portrait of Michael Collins behind him. Photo: Tony Gavin

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny is in no mood to hand over the reigns of power, saying he'll be "around for a long time".

As he arrived at Fine Gael's annual Presidential Dinner in Dublin, Mr Kenny refused to confirm reports that he recently told a meeting of supporters that he intends to run in the next General Election.

"I am not responsible for headlines that appear in any paper. Those who were at the meeting know exactly what I said and it was very clear," the Taoiseach said.

He added: "I said I'd be around for a long time."

In a clear indication that he does not intend to step down as leader of the party in the short-time, Mr Kenny said: "We've got a challenging agenda in circumstances where we live in a fragile world."

Noting that this week's European Council meeting had failed to reach agreement on trade deal with Canada and a number of other areas, he said the country requires "clear heads and steady hands on the tiller".

"Europe has got to resolve itself as to where it wants to be in five or 10 years. For us here in Ireland had we not to deal with the Brexit situation we would have a much clearer horizon in terms of where our country can be in the time ahead," he said.

The Taoiseach added that the country should be one that prosperous, peaceful, offers opportunities and looks after "the many social challenges that lie ahead".

"We can only do that if we have an engine to drive it," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to reporters at the State Department in Washington

US Secretary of State John Kerry will pay an official visit to Ireland next weekend where he will collect an international peace award.

Secretary Kerry was awarded the Tipperary International Peace Prize in 2015 for his efforts in trying to end conflict in a number of countries.

At the time Mr Kenny said he was very grateful to be selected.

I am truly honoured to be listed among the remarkable past recipients who have contributed so much to the cause of creating a more peaceful world, he said.

Former winners of the prize include Nelson Mandela, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai.

Noted Irish winners include former President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin, as well as musician Bob Geldof.

Martin Quinn, secretary of the Tipperary Peace Convention, said they are "thrilled" that John Kerry will accept the award in person.
Brian Cowen celebrates with champagne after winning his seat in the Offaly/Laois election count in May 2007 Photo: James Flynn/APX

It's a tale almost as old as politics itself - those practitioners of the dark art who along the way have enjoyed a tipple or two. Two books hot off the presses chronicle some liquid moments from the life and times of former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, and ex-British cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke.

The Cowen book is a reminder that just as a more politically correct vibe was entering Irish public life, the former Taoiseach decided to give two fingers to those who suggested he should have been more careful of his public image.

He still insists he was entitled to, as they say, have the craic at the end of a long day in the political jungle. This sometimes meant sitting around with some friends from Fianna Fail and "having a few pints''.

In fairness, he never went out of his way to be over-secretive about such gatherings, and a certain lack of hypocrisy remains one of the defining tenets of Cowen's political career.

But his insistence on socialising, sometimes in the public glare, meant that newspaper offices soon had plenty of pictures of the then-Taoiseach imbibing a pint of Guinness, or more famously quaffing from a bottle of Champagne.

It helped create a certain image of a politician - who may indeed have worked hard, but whose idea of a good night out was drinking with some mates.

'Hell at the Gates', co-authored by John Lee and Daniel McConnell, inevitably resurrects the infamous 'Garglegate' episode, when it was suggested that Cowen was hungover while being interviewed on 'Morning Ireland'.

He tells the authors he was in no such condition and blames a tweet by Fine Gael's Simon Coveney for creating this particular urban myth.

Overall, it is difficult not to feel some sympathy at this remove for the former Laois Offaly TD, and for a political career which was brutally cut off mid-stream, owing to a confluence of unforeseen and almost unimaginable events.

A vicious recession, banks on the point of collapse, the arrival of the so-called Troika in Dublin, and the imposition of draconian bailout terms for the Irish economy by Brussels bureaucrats, saw Mr Cowen depart the political centre stage. It can be of small consolation to him that he was not alone among European leaders who fell by the wayside in the face of such a tsunami.

In the meanwhile, Fianna Fail is a party no longer comfortable with late-night drinking sessions which might make it into the newspapers. In public at least, there is an aura of near sobriety in the air. Current leader Micheal Martin carefully cultivated the image of a health-conscious politician when as Minister for Health he was more often than not seen munching an apple in public.

Meanwhile, Ken Clarke, in his newly published autobiography 'Kind of Blue' is clearly from the Cowen school of old-style politics.

He equally cares not a whit that he has been regularly portrayed and presented, over the years, with a glass of something or other in hand.

There are countless images of him knocking back pints of lager, drinking wine and smoking cigars. During his years as a Downing Street cabinet minister, he also had a liking for late-night jazz clubs.

Now aged 75, he makes no apology for his indulgence of a certain lifestyle and, in the words of one observer, "he has the girth to prove it''.

Grounded in the more reasonable middle ground of the Conservative Party, he is a lifelong Europhile, and he makes no secret of his disdain for Brexit and all it stands for. A few months ago, unaware his comments were being picked up by a nearby microphone, he was overheard dissing British Prime Minister Theresa May as "a bloody difficult woman''.

In his time, he also had a few stirring set-tos with Margaret Thatcher under whom he served in a number of ministries, and while he is still an admirer of some of her achievements, he was among those who at the end of her reign told her up front it was time to go.

Thatcher, despite her strict Methodist upbringing, is another politician who imbibed on occasion, and was not above having a few stiff whiskeys when shooting the breeze of an evening with some of her inner circle.

Overall, politics and alcohol have long been intertwined, and the precincts and surrounds of Westminster are dotted with famous watering holes which have been an epicentre for all sorts of intrigue, gossip, and drink-fuelled excess. Nearer to home, the Dail bar has also spawned various liquid-fuelled dramas over the years,

But political life in Ireland and Britain these days is of a more sober hue. The growth of a gym culture, and more general health awareness, has put a damper on public displays of alcohol consumption.

Meanwhile, the old demon drink has also inevitably claimed its victims along the way. In Kenneth Clarke's family was a liking for the devil's brew - as so often happens, it may have floated through the generations - and his mother died of cirrhosis of the liver.

But the emotion-charged experiences of political life have long found a linkage with the delusions of booze.

There have been countless instances through the decades when both have intertwined.

One such occasion recorded for posterity was an exclamation from British cabinet minister Reginald Maudling on the aeroplane bringing him back to London, following his first visit to Northern Ireland.

"For God's sake, bring me a large Scotch. What a bloody awful country,'' he said.
Hard Brexit, soft Brexit, slumping sterling, fat fingers, soft borders, hard borders, crumbling Europe, disuniting Kingdom, Article 50 - words and phrases that were virtually unknown a year ago have become common parlance in the lexicon of life following the UK's decision to quit the European Union.

At the moment, any notion that Ireland might follow suit and leave the EU is fantastical, a suggestion mostly dismissed with a sniggering scoff. However, we should note with more than a degree of caution our neighbour's recent history in relation to this matter. As we all know, history has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

The UK's debate on leaving the EU started with a whimper and ended with a bang, brought on by the schoolboy bravado of one David Cameron. This debate on leaving Europe began a decade ago innocuously. Little England Tory MPs vented their disdain as colleagues would rise to their feet to lambaste the chamber about the latest Brussels directive, claiming it threatened their sovereignty as they begged for more bendy bananas.

Since 1993, when true believers in Ukip formed together officially, there has been a sustained period of lobbying for liberation from Europe at any cost. Claims were rarely rebutted with anything more than an eye roll. Mr Cameron captured the national attitude towards the party most effectively when he dismissed members as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists". Foolishly, he never took seriously those people he didn't rate politically and whom he didn't rank socially. Moreover, British politicians often used the EU as cover for all the bad things as they pointed the finger of blame towards Europe with cries of "they made us do it".

As Brexit rumbles along, the devastating casualties of a rudderless EU continue to wash up on European shores in rubber dinghies like unwanted driftwood. Some politicians would prefer they would just drift back to sea thus becoming someone else's problem. The floating death vessels serve as a daily reminder that the socio-economic political objectives of Project Europe have failed spectacularly. British Prime Minister Theresa May seems determined to prove her detractors correct by doing everything humanly possible to demonstrate that when it comes to Brexit, the plan is to have no plan. Having moved towards a firmer time frame, she then outlined the next stage of her master plan to the European Council of Ministers. The ridiculousness of the UK asking for the same things that they could not achieve when they were actually card-carrying members of the EU seems completely lost on her.

Reduced to the role of an unwanted guest, the reality of becoming the first nation in the history of the EU to break away is beginning to dawn. The greater challenge may ultimately be to keep the UK together, outside the EU. Ireland must look to its own to find solutions for the way forward.

Word on the streets of London is that "Regrexit" looms over the skyscrapers as money men and City workers suffer the hangover inflicted by their brethren. Here in Dublin, the first substantive public discussions will commence in the coming weeks with a Government-appointed All Island Civic Dialogue seeking broad-based views on the implications of the big "B" for Ireland. A laudable initiative by our Government, it will essentially be a cathartic exercise in political expediency, effectively a talking shop allowing all vested business and civic interests to have their say in a semi-public forum. Undoubtedly, many man hours will be lost and a few thousand trees will be felled in a rainforest somewhere - as endless sheets of paper are circulated enabling everyone to have their say.

In the short term, the plan must concentrate solely on prosperity and peace, by firstly addressing progress and then focusing on politics, not the other way around. Protecting business and business interests is paramount if we are to hang on to our tentative recovery. More importantly, business leaders are the people who are best placed to exploit opportunities that might arise from Brexit.

The medium-term goal, presumably, is to stop the assembled representatives from draining all the oxygen from the debate by arguing between themselves while scoring political points for weeks and weeks. It may prove really difficult to prevent parties from playing their party cards, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland. The "unique relationship" we share with the UK will be analysed more closely than a season finale of 'Game of Thrones', with a lot less sex but even more hyperbole. Organisers need to be really careful not to stoke a national debate that results in Ireland going all Eurotrash on the Brussels-based, monolithic EU.

But what of Ireland's longer-term European goals? Together with the Apple tax ruling, Brexit is undoubtedly our greatest challenge. Both complex issues prompt a more fundamental question. Not what our place in Europe will ultimately be, but whether we have one at all.

By default and not by design, we have an ideal opportunity to have a substantive debate about our future place in Europe now. But that will only happen if the people who are the most important are placed at the centre of the debate. Business leaders and economic experts must inform and lead the discussion from the outset so that we can all understand fully the implications of any options that lie ahead.

One hopes that the body politic has learned from the mistakes made during the EU/IMF process. In particular, that the considerations and conclusions of the debate are shared with the public proactively and in a timely and cogent manner.

Ireland joined the EU initially as an economic alliance, grounded in providing better jobs and more favourable economic conditions for Irish people. A return to the core principal would be a helpful starting point before politics and point-scoring cloud the imaginative thinking we would like to see. Consolidating the associations built and nurtured during the peace process in north-south, east-west relations are crucial, so are our European contacts and the knowledge base of our civil service.

Radical new ideas must be explored to prevent us making the same mistakes as the UK, which sleepwalked its way out of the EU. The handling of the referendum and what happened in the immediate aftermath made the British political establishment look like a slapstick horror movie that fell somewhere between Dad's Army and Suicide Squad. No one wants a sequel. The word Brexit itself is currently at the top of worldwide popularity for dictionary look-ups. Small wonder that it holds first place in the US, Australia, Canada, and India. Ironically, it does feature in the UK top 10, but only comes in at number four. Bewildered Brits are occupied with looking up other things - such as democracy, racism and xenophobia. Maybe if the British establishment and civic leaders had done a better job of explaining these things before the referendum took place, they may have avoided the international pickle they currently find themselves now.

Let's not fall in to the same trap. As this paper has urged before, the Government must appoint a Minister for Brexit, and maybe not a political one.
Airbnb started nine years ago as an ingenious online meeting place, enabling homeowners to rent out rooms to holidaymakers and other visitors.

Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, then both 27, came up with the idea when they were struggling to pay their rent in San Francisco.

There was a design conference coming to the city, and all the hotels were fully booked, so they came up with the idea of renting out three airbeds on their living-room floor. The next day they created a website under its more cumbersome title, airbedandbreakfast.com.

Airbnb seemed at that time to be on the side of the little guy - hoping to make a few extra euro to supplement their incomes. It allowed tourists around the world to bypass expensive hotels by staying in ordinary homes, and it was the quirky new upstart of the "sharing economy".

As one observer noted, bearded hipsters could live out their dreams like a local in Paris, Barcelona or Berlin in a spacious loft apartment.

Now it has grown into a global behemoth, valued at 28bn, and around the world its domination has caused frequent controversy.

Whole apartments, houses, mansions and castles are put up for rent, and there are more than 6,000 properties listed in Dublin alone. There are more than 60 million users worldwide.

Its critics argue that in some of the world's most popular cities, it has changed the character of neighbourhoods, pushing up apartment rents and helping to turn certain areas into party zones. Local shops, such as groceries and bakeries, have been pushed out, the critics complain, and replaced by souvenir shops and currency exchanges.

This controversy has inevitably hit Dublin's tourism hotspots. In a landmark ruling this week, An Bord Pleanala ruled that a property owner in Temple Bar must apply for planning permission in order to continue letting out a two-bedroom apartment on Crown Alley using Airbnb.

The property was used for short-term holiday rentals to tourists, generating just under 80,000 a year in income.

With that kind of revenue coming in, it is hardly surprising that renting out apartments through Airbnb can be a highly lucrative business.

The ruling could have enormous implications for other property owners who have turned their homes into unofficial hotels, earning tidy fortunes in the process. In future, for planning purposes, these flats may be regarded as commercial premises if they are let for a large part of the year.

In a separate development, 2,000 residents at the Spencer Dock apartment complex in Dublin's Docklands have been told by their property managers that short-term lets, such as those offered on Airbnb, are banned.

The ban in the highly sought-after Silicon Docks area comes after a chorus of complaints from residents about rowdy behaviour late at night, and the apartment complex sometimes taking on the atmosphere of a hotel lobby, with visitors coming and going constantly.

Dublin is just one of many cities around the world where Airbnb is facing a backlash.

Earlier this year, Berlin slapped a ban on most short term holiday rentals. Under rules in effect since May in the German capital, people who let more than 50pc of their apartment without a permit from the city risk a fine of 100,000 .

Berlin's head of urban development, Andreas Geise, said the law was "a necessary and sensible instrument against the housing shortage in Berlin".

He added: "I am absolutely determined to return such misappropriated apartments to the people of Berlin."

His words were echoed by Frank McDonald of the Temple Bar Residents Association this week. He said it was ironic that Airbnb lettings were taking over the private residential market in central Dublin.

"We have apartments for rent for short-term lettings instead of hotels and yet homeless people being put up in hotels."

There are no precise figures about the effects of Airbnb on the property market in Dublin.

In Amsterdam, where concerns about Airbnb are similar to those in Dublin, a study by the Dutch bank ING found that short-term letting may have pushed up property prices by 2-4pc.

Earlier this year, Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the Association of British Travel Agents, warned of the effect of companies such as Airbnb on some of Europe's most attractive historic cities. He said it was leading to such an influx of visitors that they were in danger of being ruined.

He said: "Overcrowding in key destinations is becoming a pressing issue."

Authorities in Barcelona, where holiday lets now have to be registered, have stepped up a crackdown on homes that are illegally let on short term rental sites.

The number of people using Airbnb in Barcelona shot up to 900,000 last year.

The city's mayor, Ada Colau, blamed the sharp rise in Airbnb's popularity for greater tension among residents who fear an increase in 'binge tourism' and have protested against rowdy visitors.

According to a report in Der Spiegel, in the central Barrie Gotic area of Barcelona, up to 10pc of apartments are now holiday lets and the population has fallen by 17.6pc.

There are similar controversies over letting sites in cities in America including New York and Airbnb's home city, San Francisco.

Airbnb has dismissed the criticisms and says the site brings vital resources to a wide variety of families, communities and small business that previously have not benefited from tourism.

Commenting on the situation in Ireland, the company has argued that most hosts were "regular people who share their homes and use the money they earn to pay the bills".

"They aren't taking housing off the market - the typical host in the Ireland earns an additional 2,600 by sharing space in their home for 46 nights a year."
Heading back into the arena of work as you hit your 50s is not easy. If you have been out of the paid workforce for a decade, like I was, self-confidence is probably the biggest hurdle you have to overcome. Quietening that voice in your head that keeps asking if you have gone mad altogether thinking anyone would want to employ you is very hard, but it can be done, eventually.

Once you learn to overpower that particular enemy and are out in the real world, you cannot avoid the fact that you are most likely older than everybody. Well not everybody, but a lot of your new colleagues.

This can make you feel, well, older and maybe a bit frumpy.

You might update your wardrobe a little but unless you want to give yourself more brain damage than you have the time or energy for, it is very important that you quickly cop on and realise that you are older and so cannot compete with younger women in the appearance stakes.

Being the best you wish to be is plenty enough.

That said, I will admit that every so often I get fed up with myself and I wonder if I would be able to summon up the energy, money and pain tolerance that would surely be necessary to clock my personal mileage back a decade or so.

But then I make a cup of tea into which to dunk a chocolate biscuit and think that I am better-off looking old than looking odd.

A photographer I know says that women who have work done (God be with the days when that meant the addition of a conservatory) may look young at a distance but up close they frighten the bejaysus out of him.

In ancient mythology, woman was represented by the triple goddess of maiden, mother and crone. The maiden was revered for her physical youth and beauty, the mother respected as the nurturer and carer, and the crone was esteemed for her wisdom.

The crone, with her decades of life experience was well versed in the ways of the world and the natural world in particular. She was a powerful woman in the community.

It was this wise and powerful woman, this crone who was hijacked and recast as an evil witch capable of knowing the unknown and of dastardly deeds. In the middle ages, she was a witch with evil powers but at least she had power.

Today, many older women feel they have been reduced to nothing. Many women over 50 have spoken of feeling they have become invisible. Ageing for women is seen as entirely negative and so we are told we must fight to remain young, to the point of cutting and pasting of our faces.

It's madness and it's a fight we are as unlikely to win as we are to achieve immortality.

So although we are no longer at risk of being drowned or burnt at the stake, our power has been stripped away by the continuous undermining of who we are with the unrelenting barrage of messages about fighting ageing.

Writer Mohadesa Najumi said "the woman who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared on the planet". As we enter into our crone period, this is where our power comes from; from not giving a flying 'feck' what others think of us.

We crones need to embrace our age and wear it with pride while simultaneously giving two fingers to the multinational corporations who seek to make billions by keeping us insecure and supposedly invisible.

And make no mistake, anti-ageing is big, very big business. It is estimated that the industry will be worth in the region of 175bn by 2019. And that's money we could be doing so much more interesting things with.

Halloween, Oiche Samhain is just around the corner. Samhain marked the end of the harvest but it was also a time when pagan Ireland celebrated the goddess as crone.

So amid the mayhem and madness, this is the perfect time for older women to retrieve our true power; to cast aside all worries about how society views us or how we should act.

Let us lead the way in rejecting the ridiculous notions of how women should look as they get older and give good example to our younger sisters who are also being bombarded with messages about how their real value is in their appearance rather than in their achievements.

So as we approach Halloween, there's no better time to grab your witch's hat and step into your power.

Express your opinions loudly, make your voice heard, tell your stories, make a difference. And in the true spirit of Oiche Samhain, go ahead and make some trouble.
Ireland's greatest storyteller Eddie Lenihan will send shivers up your spine as he tells tales of magic, myth and mystery in the lead up to Halloween in the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Old Gaol, on Saturday, October 22.

One of the few practising Seanchai remaining in Ireland, Eddie is particularly well known for his tales of Irish folk heroes, fairies, fallen angels and other supernatural beings as recorded in Irish mythology, folklore and oral history.

Eddie doesn't just tell his stories - he believes in them and talks of the fairies, 'the good people', 'the other crowd', as entities to be feared.

He will be supported on the night by one of Ireland's most talented traditional musicians Sean Walsh.

Booking is advisable and tickets can be booked at www.orielcentre.ie or 9328887.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

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Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made statements for the media following a ceremony of signing of Azerbaijani-Venezuelan documents in Baku Oct. 22.

Three documents have been signed today. I would like to especially mention the joint declaration among them. This is a very significant and valuable document. The joint declaration reflects our intention. We expressed our intention about our plans, President Aliyev said making statements for the media.

Ilham Aliyev noted that the joint declaration defines the main directions of future cooperation, namely the development of political relations, cooperation in economic sphere, making investments, cooperation in energy, transportation, science, education and environmental protection.

Thats to say, this document reflects almost all the main directions, added the president.

I would like to especially note the joint declarations paragraphs on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This declaration says that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within Azerbaijans territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders, said President Aliyev and expressed gratitude to his Venezuelan counterpart for this fair position.

I would like to add that unfortunately, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been continuing for more than 20 years. A part of our territories, recognized by the international community, has been occupied. Twenty percent of our lands are under Armenian occupation. More than a million Azerbaijanis have become refugees and IDPs on their native lands as a result of this occupation and policy of ethnic cleansing, said President Aliyev.

He pointed out that all the main international organizations unequivocally support Azerbaijans position, and especially mentioned the UN among them.

Both the General Assembly and the Security Council of the UN have repeatedly adopted resolutions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions. These resolutions clearly say that Armenian armed forces should be unconditionally and immediately withdrawn from the occupied lands, he said. Regretfully, these resolutions havent been fulfilled so far.

Ilham Aliyev added that other international organizations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Parliament, Council of Europe, the OSCE and the Non-Aligned Movement have adopted similar decisions and resolutions.

I would like to especially mention the resolution adopted by the Non-Aligned Movement, because, we have recently become a member of this organization, said President Aliyev.

Reminding that the Non-Aligned Movement accepted Azerbaijan as its member several years ago, President Aliyev thanked President Maduro for this.

The Non-Aligned Movement always shows an unequivocal position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and demands the settlement of the conflict within Azerbaijans territorial integrity, he added.
G.S.D School of Drama, which is celebrating ten years of drama classes in the Louth area, is delighted to announce lots of new courses on offer at the school, which is based in Creative Spark, Dundalk.

These include new course in creative drama and dance starting in Cooley Complex. Last year proved to be very successful with all participating in the annual summer exams through Leinster School of Music & Drama. This year the focus is on a special Christmas performance to mark the school's tenth year

Creative drama and dance is suitable for children aged 4 to 12 years. Classes every Friday in Cooley Complex. For more information contact: geraldinekieran@gmail.com, 087-1914076,
The final preparations are being made for the official re-opening of St Joseph's National School on Friday following a 4.8million renovation.

The historic occasion will see Archbishop Eamon Martin celebrating Mass in the Church of the Holy Family at 11a.m. before blessing the school. The ribbon will be cut by the acclaimed children's writer Martin Conlon McKenna at 12.30p.m., with parents, pupils, staff and all those associated with the school invited to join the celebrations.

'We are really honoured to have both the Archbishop and Martina Conlon McKenna joining us the occasion,' says principal Marcella O Conluain.

It has taken over a decade for the much needed refurbishment to be completed, with approval for funding first granted in 2004 but it wasn't until 2013/4 that work actually started on the project.

Nine classes were accommodated in prefabs until the building work was completed last April.

'We are delighted with the result as we have eight new classrooms, eight resource rooms, a new foyer, library, staff room, offices, fully accessible toilets, and new extra play areas,' says Marcella.

'We now have a two-story building and the children are most excited about having a lift in the school,' she added.

There are now 553 pupils in the school, with the numbers on the roll increasing year by year, she continued. 'We still have a waiting list for pupils wishing to come here.'

The school has 38 teachers, 11 special needs assistants, two secretaries and a caretaker.

'When I took over as principal in 2010/11, numbers were down to 415 but we are in a great growth area and our numbers have grown.'

Marcella, who joined the teaching staff in 2008, has announced that she is going to retire in December. 'I have hugely enjoyed every minute of my time here.'
A Knockbridge man who confronted two receivers' agents when they went to a property he owned in Carlingford during a dispute with his bank has pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage at the district court.

Martin McCreesh, (51), 8 Lisroland View, Knockbridge, initially believed that the property, at Newry Street, was being broken into on November 29 2013 after a friend contacted him and said he thought there were burglars inside.

Judge Grainne O'Neill was told that at around midday, the victim and his colleague, who were acting on behalf of a receiver, went into the house and were securing the premises when McCreesh turned up, initially thinking they were burglars.

When he found out what they were doing, there was a confrontation and one of the men had his phone broken, costing 400 to replace. McCreesh struck the man on the hand as the victim went to defend himself, though no injury was caused.

McCreesh, who was no previous convictions, had 400 in court by way of compensation, barrister Conal Fagan said. He said his client is a part-time sales man for meat products and is married with three children.

Mr Fagan said the background to the incident was 'a very unhappy one' and 'it involves him having a lot of interaction with the High Court and the Court of Appeal about a property that was part of a property portfolio and there was a struggle between him and the bank over the property'.

Mr Fagan said: 'His friend called home and thought the property had been burgled. He went there in that context and he accepts that he he went inside, he wasn't thinking straight.

'He got involved in an incident that led to the person being technically assaulted and the phone being damaged, though there was no intention on his part to do these things.

'His actions were over the top and heated and he's very apologetic to the men involved and to the court. He's a man of impeccable character'.

The judge wanted to know why the case had taken so long, that it had been in the list ten times. Mr Fagan said that was 'down to the interpretation of events' and while he was 'mindful of that history' and McCreesh 'realises these were two men going about their lawful business, there was a misinterpretation about what was happening at the house'.

Mr Fagan conceded that there had been no apology forthcoming until that day and said 'issues had to be resolved between the parties', but added McCreesh had 'always been remorseful', though 'it had not been possible to get the facts agreed until today'.

Judge O'Neill adjourned the case for a short time to allow McCreesh to address compensation and when 500 was brought to court, she dismissed the charges under the Probation Act.
Social care worker Colin Savage with Fionn and Annemarie McDonnell in The Maria Goretti Foundation Respite Centre in Lordship

The Maria Goretti Centre in Lordship has secured provision for an extra night of respite care every week, after a lengthy battle for funding.

The 'critical need' for additional opening hours each week was raised by the centre earlier this year, as demand for respite from parents of children with disabilities continues to increase.

Service Manager Deirdre Quinn said they were 'delighted' at the development.

'We are so happy to confirm that the centre will be able to move from five nights a week opening to six, thanks to the work of the Louth HSE, and Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick for all that has been done to make this happen.'

At the beginning of 2016, staff at the centre reported an ongoing rise in the number of referrals for respite care.

'We were not operating at capacity here, and it was frustrating for us knowing the critical need that was out there ,' said Deirdre.

She explained that operating for six nights each week will mean that families who are currently granted just one night of respite each month may be able to secure two.

'It means so much to parents whose lives can completely revolve around caring for children with significant and complex needs,' added Deirdre.

Dundalk mum Annemarie McDonnell welcomed the news of additional opening hours at the centre, which she described as 'a fantastic facility' for families.

Her son Fionn (12) earlier this year began occasional respite nights, something which his devoted mum says is hugely valued by the family.

'Fionn came out first to some of the day clubs here, just for both him and myself to get used to the idea,' said Annemarie.

For any parent, entrusting the care of their child to others is difficult. But for those who have significant needs it is especially important for carers to be trained.

'We recognised the importance of respite as we are getting older as parents,' said Annemarie. 'But it is time as well for us to spend with Fionn's siblings, and do things like which they love.'

'The centre has also been a fantastic place for Fionn to develop a bond with others, especially his key worker Colin, and the whole team here, they are fantastic.'

As a family who could potentially benefit from the additional opening at the unit, she added; 'I know that his needs are cared for here, that means everything'
A local student who is herself about to benefit from a dream come true thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation has already raised money for the charity to say thanks before she travels.

Rebecca Brodigan from Bush Post Primary School is a wheelchair user and will next month travel to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida as part of a trip organised by the Make a Wish Foundation.

But before all that, the 15-year-old decided that she wanted to thank the foundation ahead of her special trip and, thanks to the help she received from other students, staff and parents at Bush, she organised a cake sale which raised a massive 700.

Mum Tara said Rebecca, who was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy, is a massive fan of the JK Rowling wizard and was delighted when she became a 'wish child' and was offered the trip of a lifetime to Orlando, which she will embark on November 3 with her dad.

Tara said: 'Before she event went on the trip, she wanted to organise something for the Make a Wish foundation and thanks to everyone in the school, as well as parents and grandparents, along with teachers and staff, she organised this cake sale which raised 700 in just a few hours.

'Everyone was great and very supportive and we want to thank everyone for all they did to make this such a great success'.

Rebecca cannot use her legs and has a wheelchair to get around and has underwent a number of major operations over the years. The cake sale was her first foray into organising a fundraising event, and probably not her last!

Rebecca's trip to Orlando will see her step inside a world where magic is real. Within the theme park she can visit the iconic Hogwarts castle and explore Hogsmeade village. And, at Universal Studios Florida theme park, she can enter Diagon Alley to enjoy unforgettable thrills, magical experiences, and more.
A sixth class student at the Friary Girls' School who wrote to Pope Francis in praise of the school's chaplain couldn't believe it when she received a reply from the Vatican back last week, less than a month after she posted her letter.

And school principal, Brid Galligan, said she had no idea that student Ruth McGee had taken it upon herself to write to the Vatican until the pupil produced the papal response last Friday morning.

Ruth, from Lis na Dara, wanted to write to Pope Francis about the school chaplain, Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the 95-year-old Dominican cleric, known as the Rosary Priest and how kind he has been to her and the other pupils over the past number of years.

Mrs Galligan said no-one in the school knew about Ruth's idea until Friday morning.

The principal said: 'Ruth came up to me with something behind her back and when she showed it to me, I couldn't believe it. It was a letter written on behalf of Pope Francis, with an accompanying card for Ruth and a set of Rosary beads, blessed by the Pope, for Fr Gabriel.

The response said the Pope had been pleased to receive Ruth's letter and 'asked to thank you and he appreciates the sentiments' expressed about Fr Gabriel. Ruth had told Pope Francis about what a lively, outgoing, kind and thoughtful chaplain Fr Gabriel has been at the school.

The letter said the Pope was pleased to hear about Fr Gabriel's good work and added that both he and Ruth, along with the Friary Girls' School, would be remembered in the Pope's prayers.

Ms Galligan said that when the Rosary beads and letter were presented to Fr Gabriel, 'his smile was unbelievable'. She said: 'He was just so thrilled that someone would have taken it upon themselves to do this for him and he went back to the house to show the others'.

Ruth's teacher, Ms Caoimhe Coyle, was 'very proud of her' and 'delighted for her' to have received a letter from the Vatican, as is the whole school.

Ms Galligan said she is thrilled for Fr Gabriel, who has been a huge asset to the school since he became chaplain about four years ago. She said: 'He can relate to children straight away, he is brilliant with them because he's like them and they are delighted he's here with them. He's also a genius at computers, designing and printing his own Christmas cards'.
Gael Scoil Dun Dealgan pupil Shanice Mulholland had something extra special to celebrate when she went back to school on Monday.

Shanice (11) had just been crowned junior Miss Teen Ireland at the national pageant in Dublin last weekend, and was thrilled to be presented with the crown and sash.

Proud mum Adele explained that Shanice was especially delighted to have won the title as she was representing her hometown of Dundalk.

'She is really thrilled,' said Adele, who explained that Shanice won the junior section of the event which caters for all age categories.

Founded in 2012, by Jennie Lynch, a former pageant title holder and owner of Redhead Events of Belfast, as the Miss Teen Ireland Pageant. it has since expanded to include five different divisions.

With the Miss Teen Ireland (ages 14-19) pageant as its anchor; Ireland pageants now also includes: Junior Miss Ireland (for ages 10-14), Miss Lady of Ireland (women 19-24), Ms Ireland (single women over 25) and Mrs Ireland. Miss Teen Ireland, Lady of Ireland, Ms Ireland and Mrs Ireland all consist of four rounds: interview, fashion wear, Irish wear optional swimwear and evening gown.

Shanice went through a number of different sections before being announced as winner including an interview, modelling an outfit of choice, followed by Irish wear and evening gown.

A spokeswoman for the event said: 'Our pageants are about so much more than winning crown- it's about winning a title! Following success at the pageant each queen can expect a year's worth of modelling jobs and appearances throughout the island of Ireland as well as a fantastic prize package from the pageant's sponsors.
A man who has 94 previous convictions, including for rape, has been given a total of six months in jail after he admitted a number of theft offences, including stealing a donations box from a Dundalk church.

Simon Maguire, (46), 2 Woodland Park, admitted stealing the donations box from St Nicholas Church on April 22, and to thefts from Bridge Street on August 25 and from a B&B on October 6. He also broke a window of a car outside the Spirit Store on August 6, while he was drunk.

Judge Grainne O'Neill heard some of the offences were committed while Maguire was on bail for earlier matters.

Maguire walked into a B&B in Dundalk at around 3.50pm on October 6 and went behind the counter in the reception area. He rifled through the drawers and desk and took a cash box.

The owner of the premises ran after him, but was unable to get him. Gardai looked at CCTV and found the cash box at the Avenue Road. Maguire was arrested a short time later. He was on bail for a public order offence in May this year when he committed the theft.

He also admitted going into a convertible car at Bridge Street and taking envelopes, each containing 95. He was chased by the owner of the car and 50 was recovered.

Maguire, who has previous convictions for public order and theft offences, was sentenced to 14 years for rape in 1989.

Solicitor Niall Lavery said his client has 'a particularly bad record' and is 'very well known to the court'. He said Maguire had a 'very, very dysfunctional upbringing and has been given little or no opportunity'.

He has 'a very difficult set of circumstances which don't excuse his behaviour, though he is a very vulnerable man'.

Mr Lavery explained Maguire has been battling a drink problem for years and these offences had happened when he had been drinking.

The solicitor added the offences were 'most opportunistic' but there would be no compensation available to the victims who had 'been upset and inconvenienced' by his behaviour.

Judge O'Neill said the incidents were 'terrifying experiences' for the injured parties. She imposed a three month sentence and a further, consecutive three month sentences for the offences. She allowed Maguire to appeal in his own bond of 300.
Historic film studio 'Ardmore Studios' on Bray's Herbert Road is on the market, the company announced yesterday afternoon.

The business is being sold as a going concern, according to the board of directors. Productions currently on site at Ardmore include Mel Gibson's 'The Professor And The Madman' and 'Into The Badlands' with 'a healthy number of potential productions in the pipeline for the coming months and year ahead'.

The company said that the sale of the business will have no impact on the day-to-day operations of the studios.

The majority shareholders in Ardmore Studios, Ossie Kilkenny and Paul McGuinness, U2's former accountant and manager, have owned the studios for almost 30 years. 'Together with Enterprise Ireland, an original shareholder, they believe the time is right for the sale,' they said in a statement. 'Ardmore has recorded significant profitability over the last number of years whilst operating to almost full capacity. The favourable Section 481 tax incentive scheme is a key attractor for international productions and demand for fully-serviced studio space in Ireland remains buoyant.'

Ardmore has operated at an average annual capacity of 85 to 90 per cent since 2013. In 2016, it expanded to include the 47,000 square foot 'The Film Factory' on the Southern Cross. Established in 1958, Ardmore's productions have included My Left Foot, Braveheart, Excalibur, Penny Dreadful, The Tudors and many others, which have yielded 14 Oscars, and numerous BAFTA, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards.

Deputy John Brady said that he hopes to meet with Ardmore CEO Siun Ni Raghallaigh in the coming week. Ms Ni Raghallaigh is also a director of Troy Studios, opened at the old Dell facility in Limerick, along with one of Ardmore's owners Mr Kilkenny.

'We were told there would be no impact and they would be able to operate both sites,' said Deputy Brady. 'I wasn't convinced at that stage. I am very concerned about the planned sale and it's come as a big shock. We need to ensure that the site is ring-fenced in the development plan.'

'I'm shocked at the news, particularly as my understanding was that it was a very successful business,' said Cllr Joe Behan. 'In the past, Bray UDC in particular were extremely helpful in encouraging film production.' He said that special zoning put on the site by Bray UDC for filmmaking must be maintained. 'Obviously there will be a concern that this is a move to sell off a valuable site for property development.' IBI Corporate Finance is managing the sale for Ardmore Studios.
aku, Azerbaijan, Oct.22

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro have held a meeting in a narrow format.

President Aliyev said that President Maduros visit to Azerbaijan creates good opportunities for expanding the bilateral cooperation and developing the relations between the two countries in various spheres.

President Maduro, for his part, said that his visit to Azerbaijan will pave way for the development of bilateral relations. He noted that this is important for the regions of both countries.

During the meeting, the two parties exchanged views on studying the cooperation in such spheres as, trade, energy and investment making.

President Aliyev briefed his Venezuelan counterpart about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijans president emphasized the necessity of resolving the conflict in line with the international law.

The parties also exchanged views on cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries for stabilizing the oil prices on the world market.

They discussed cooperation within international organizations, including the Non-Aligned Movement.
A Greystones woman sadly lost her life in a three-vehicle accident in County Westmeath on Saturday, October 8.

Laura Ann Finucane (38) lived at the Muiriosa Foundation residential facility in Delvin, County Westmeath, and was a passenger in a vehicle driven by the late Amy Sheridan (25), who worked at the foundation and also died in the accident.

Laura Ann was pronounced dead at the scene. Amy died at Mullingar Hospital shortly after the crash at Hiskinstown, Delvin, which happened at around 3.30 p.m. The female driver of a second car was airlifted to Tallaght hospital, while a male truck driver was uninjured.

Laura Ann's funeral took place last Thursday at the Holy Rosary Church in Greystones before burial at Redford Cemetery.

She is survived by her mother Pauline, sister Emma, brother-in-law Rory, niece Erica and nephew Jake. She was predeceased by her father Eric and will be very sadly missed by her housemates, friends and carers. Donations were made to the Muiriosa Foundation in lieu of flowers.
National Lottery funding of 5,000 has been allocated for the refurbishment of the South Beach Playground in Greystones.

In May of this year, the South Beach Playground committee was formed to fundraise for a complete overhaul of the playground. In particular, the committee aims to make the playground as inclusive as possible, as it currently is not suitable for children with special needs.

Cathaoirleach of Greystones Municipal District, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, welcomed this funding which was granted by the HSE.

'This lottery funding is a welcome addition to our fundraising efforts,' said Cllr Whitmore. 'We have a target of 150,000 to meet, which is a significant amount of money. We have so far fundraised just under 200,000 and will, in the next couple of weeks, launch a major fundraising initiative to help us meet our target.'

Niamh Egan, Chair of the South Playground Committee said 'We have been busy behind the scenes getting quotes, plans and ideas for our inclusive playground and now we really need the whole community to come together to make our magical playground a reality for summer 2017.'

To keep up-to-date with the latest news on the playground, and ways you can get help out, go to Facebook/GSBPlayground.
A crowd of dogs and just the one cat gathered with their owners at the Holy Redeemer recently for the annual 'Blessing of the Animals'.

There was a great turnout for the event, with more people than last year coming along for the simple and enjoyable ceremony.

Some people brought more than one pet along to be blessed, while the lone feline was safely tucked away in a carrier lest the dogs get any ideas!

Fr John Moses carried out the blessing. He told the people around him on the steps of the presbytery that animals are part of us, because God created us and the animals too. He reminded everyone that while they are our companions, God also gave them to us as a source of food.

The priest told the pet-lovers around him that in Nigeria, there are a lot of people who eat dogs.

That, however, is not a danger for the lucky bunch in Bray.

Fr Moses then sprinkled holy water. He asked each person to hold or place a hand on their pet, so that each person was blessed as well as the animals. Fr Moses said that it was a very nice event, and everyone present enjoyed it.
The Christmas lights in Greystones will not go ahead as usual this year, according to members of the municipal district's Community Affairs Committee.

While there will be a small display at the train station, and Santa will come to town, the usual lines of 'icicles' lining the streets will not proceed.

The committee wrote to businesses in Greystones during the summer. They said that since the Greystones Chamber of Commerce disbanded a few years ago, local businesswoman Alison Banton, assisted by Taragh Hanley, have organised the lights, with the support of the Community Affairs Committee.

Due to other commitments Alison and Taragh are not in a position to organise this year's lights.

The committee said that there would be no festive lights this year 'unless local business representatives are willing to get involved and take over from Alison and Taragh'.

Cllr Tom Fortune, Cllr Nicola Lawless and Cllr Grainne McLoughlin are all on the committee.

Cllr McLoughlin explained that the lights are almost all damaged and need to be replaced at a cost of 25,000. They took a battering last winter during the storms.

She said that the district provides a budget of around 5,000, which will go on expenses including a stage and lighting for Santa's arrival. They are talking to local sponsors about finance for the limited display of lights at the station.

She said that a small number of businesses came forward following the sending out of the letter last July.

The scaled-down Christmas event will include carol singing and will take place in Greystones on Saturday, November 26, at 4 p.m.
Over 150 small business owners attended the Business Information Seminar in Tinakilly County House Hotel on Monday, October 10.

The primary objective of the business seminar was to inform small business owners on what supports are available for their business.

The programme of speakers for the evening was targeted to directly benefit small and medium enterprises. Among the speakers to attend was Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland who spoke in detail about their agency's role in Enterprise development and the grant supports available to business owners in this region from Enterprise Ireland.

Nick Ashmore, CEO Strategic Banking Corporation, explained their agency's role in ensuring that their remit to assist small businesses to access finance was successful. He outlined the processes necessary to access this finance in a wide ranging presentation which was very informative and very well received.

Sheelagh Daly, CEO Local Enterprise Office Wicklow, outlined the ranges of services, information and finance available to business owners. She said that her staff was available at all times to assist small business owners to access their services, develop their businesses and increase employment numbers.

Sandra Quinn of the Intreo the Government Agency who administer the Job Path and Job Bridge grants outlined the level of financial support being made available under these schemes to business owners to take on additional employees.

Tom Murphy, Director of Services Wicklow County Council Economic Development Team, outlined the strategy for economic development of the County in the context of the recently completed Local Economic and Community Plan.
Two jurors have been excused from serving in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean FitzPatrick on charges of misleading the bank's auditors about millions of euro in loans.

Last month a specially enlarged jury panel of 15 was sworn at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the trial, which is expected to run for three months.

Judge John Aylmer told the jury last Monday that the parties in the case were still involved in a legal matter that the jurors had previously been made aware of. He said that the time estimate for dealing with this matter had been somewhat of an underestimate.

Two jurors who the judge said now had difficulties which were 'insurmountable' were excused from continuing to serve on the jury. One juror told the court that she was waiting to see how much she would receive in social welfare during her jury service.

'They would only give me 67 a week. I can't live on that,' she said, adding that she started a full time job last week.

The second juror was excused because of a bereavement and difficulties arising as a consequence of this.

Judge Aylmer said that it was likely that trial could start before the jury by Wednesday, October 26, and told the remaining jurors to return to court that day.

He reminded them of the difficulty the court had in assembling a jury for the lengthy trial and asked them if there were any other issues in their minds around completion of their jury duty.

'We need to know and be sure that the rest of you are free and able to see this case out,' Judge Aylmer said. He told them the case is due to finish before Christmas and that the delays in starting the trial before the jury did not alter this schedule.

None of the remaining 13 jurors raised any issues with serving on the jury for the remainder of the trial.

Mr FitzPatrick (68) of Whitshed Road, Greystones is accused of failing to disclose to the bank's auditor Ernst and Young the details of director's loans he received from Anglo between November 2002 and February 2008.

He pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the 1990 Companies Act. These include 22 charges of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors and five charges of furnishing false information in the years 2002 to 2007.
The only Irish choir to take part in the London Welsh Male Choir's 25th Male Choirs Festival, the Drogheda MVC in the Royal Albert Hall made a huge contribution to this wonderful choral event.

A large contingent of supporters travelled with the Drogheda Choir and were complemented by many more Irish who attended the memorable bi-annual Choral Festival.

Choirs from several parts of the world took part and it was the first time for the Drogheda MVC to experience the event and wonderful Compositions of renowned Musical Director, Mr Edward Rhys Harry.

There is obviously a strong Welsh Musical influence involved with this festival and the Drogheda choir had to learn nine pieces in Welsh for the programme.

This was put to the test on their arrival when the choir had to rehearse under the direction of Edward Rhys Harry for his approval before taking their place on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall.

They came through this test with flying colours which was a tribute to their own Musical Director, Mr David Leddy.

This Male Choral Festival is a prime event in world male choral singing with the Irish choir adding a Celtic flavour to the 25th Festival which was acknowledged by the wonderful tribute and ovation they received at the end of the concert.
The three youth theatres in Louth, Droichead Youth Theatre, Dundalk Youth Theatre and MAD Youth Theatre will assemble on the banks of the Boyne from November 4th to 6th for an exciting residential weekend of workshops and skills-sharing called LightBox.

Funded by the Arts Service of Louth County Council, LightBox will be the sixth such gathering, and will build on the successful residential weekend held last year in Carlingford.

The name for the weekend, LightBox, refers to both the opening at the front of the tomb at Newgrange allowing light to illuminate the interior of the mound, and the ability of drama to shine a light on issues and talents which are often kept hidden

Youth theatres are a unique youthwork practice, which engage young people as active participants in theatre. Rarely working from a script, youth theatres meet as a group, usually every weekend, and require commitment and an inquisitive mind on behalf of the members, all of whom are aged between 12 and 18 years old. The adult leaders are a key part of the success of youth theatres, providing facilitation, leadership, and mentoring skills.

2016 is a year of celebration for Youth Theatres in Louth. Droichead Youth Theatre is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, MAD Youth Theatre its 5th Anniversary, and Dundalk Youth Theatre is celebrating its 10th Anniversary - giving a combined age of 40.

Droichead Youth Theatre celebrated a quarter of a century with a special theatrical performance drawing on work created for the company over the previous 25 years. Their year started with a powerful English language production of Mairead Ni Ghrada's 'An Triail' at Droichead Arts Centre. The dynamic Summer Camp 2016 focused on film, and in September they staged an engaging production of "The Leaving" by Tom Swift. Droichead Youth Theatre also participated in Ignite Youth Theatre Festival at Trinity College, Dublin.

Following on from staging a new play devised by the members, 'The Gossip Gang', Dundalk Youth Theatre hosted a very successful summer school with guest facilitator Don Mc Camphill. One of DYT's members, Pierce McNee was appointed to the Young Critic's panel by the National Association for Youth Drama. This programme is aimed at youth theatre members who want to learn to critique professional theatre, attend and review professional productions, and take part in a public discussion forum during Dublin Theatre Festival. Members of Dundalk Youth Theatre also took part in 'An Easter Service', a new play re-imagining the Rising in Dundalk, which was produced to great acclaim in An Tain Arts Centre earlier this year

During LightBox, two of Ireland's finest professional practitioners will facilitate a series of workshops and master classes. Colin Thornton, writer and director in both film and theatre, will facilitate a series of workshops entitled 'Get into Film', and Sarah Bradley will facilitate workshops entitled 'Working with actors and text'. Colin co-wrote 'A Date for Mad Mary', the award-winning feature film set in Drogheda, and Sarah is a theatre director who was recently awarded the Elsa Roberts Award at the Bristol Old Vic.
There are a series of events planned for Drogheda library in the coming weeks:

Wednesday 19th October; Stories & Nursery Rhymes 3.30 p.m. Children are invited to bring along a favourite cuddly toy to this story session for the little ones.

Thursday 20th October; All You Need To Know About Patents - A Talk presented by the Irish Patent Office 6.30 p.m. All welcome. No charge. Come along for an informative talk on patents. If you are an inventor or a small business or thinking of starting one and want to know how to protect your intellectual property then don't miss this talk.

Saturday 5th November at 10.30am: Children's Bilingual Art & Literature Workshop with Andrew Whitson , author, artist & illustrator.

For children aged 10 -12 years. Places limited. Booking essential. This event is sponsored by Foras na Gaeilge. There is no charge.

Ceardlann datheangach ar Ealain agus Litriocht i leabharlann Droichead Atha le Andrew Whitson, udar, ealaiontoir agus maisitheoir.

Beidh ceardlann do phaisti 10-12 mbliana d'aois ar an Sathairn 5 Samhain 10.30 a.m. Ta an ocaid faoi choimirce Fhoras na Gaeilge agus saor in aisce. Ta airithint riachtanach mar ta aiteanna teoranta.

Friday 21st October ; Visit of author Nicola Pierce who gives talks , 11 a.m. & 12.30 p.m. ( for classes of local primary schoolchildren already booked.) . Also on Saturday 22nd October Children's Hallowe'en Arts & Crafts Workshop for children aged 6 -12 years. 10.30 a.m. -12 noon. This event is booked out also.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 22

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in honor of the Independence Day (October 27) signed a decree to pardon convicted persons, said the message of the Turkmen government.

In accordance with the decree, the pardoned are exempt from further serving of the main sentence, as well as additional sentence in the form of imposing the duty to reside in a particular area.

"Following this humane tradition, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of independence of Turkmenistan 1,523 citizens, who need to return home before the holiday, are released from places of confinement," said the message.

Heads of the local administration were instructed to take measures to employ pardoned citizens.
Is there a person who makes your life a lot easier when you go shopping?

They could be anyone - the friendly face who hands over a cup of coffee each morning, the worker who carries your groceries out to the car, the man who delivers the milk and bread - on time, each week.

What about the person who never ceases to smile as you watch them under pressure, serving hot dinners (and they might throw in the odd extra sausage when the boss isn't looking!).

Or they could dress you from head to toe like a king or queen, sort out your bank account worries, give a bit of advice about the winner of the 5.15 at Chepstow or even prescribe the perfect tonic to that sore throat.

What about advice about the best camera to buy, the lady who can serve the best pint of Guinness in town or the master butcher who knows his stuff.

We'll also include members of the hard working council maintenance staff, taxi drivers or even that friendly bus driver.

They can be young or near retiring or even due for retirement a decade ago!

And they can be from anywhere - Drogheda to Termonfeckin, Collon to Bettystown, Donore, Dunleer, Ardee and all places in between.

You can also nominate self employed people or the boss who is always there to help. Yes, this competition is for EVERYONE and YOU can decide who wins.

You can nominate your top employee by filling in the entry form on this page and state in less than 200 words why they should win. If your entry wins, you collect 50 too.

We will have cash prizes and trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

To enter, fill in the form and send it to the Retail Employee of the Year, Drogheda Independent, 9 Shop Street, Drogheda before Monday, October 31 at noon.

We will have a judging panel looking over the entries and from week to week, depending on volume, we might include the odd surprise visit to a nominated person!
Sonairte, the national ecology centre in Laytown, hosted a walking meditation on Sunday in support of World Mental Health Day which is celebrated around the globe on 10th October.

The walk was led by Ann Matthews who directed the focus onto the five ways to wellbeing, including being aware of the world around you and any form of physical activity can help maintain wellbeing and good mental health Ann will be hosting meditation sessions in Sonairte on Tuesday evenings from 8pm all are welcome. Please contact Ann on 085 208 3466 for further information.
The City North Hotel will mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October with a special coffee morning on Friday, October 21st in aid of the North East Cancer Research and Education Trust (NECRET) who support the Oncology Unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Ireland, after skin cancer. It affects 1 in 10 Irish women and there are currently 2800 new cases diagnosed annually.

Indeed it was one of the key topics of the afternoon at the recent NECRET Living with Cancer where local and breast cancer specialist Dr Reem Salman discussed the disease in great detail and conducted a Q&A session.

Better treatments mean that more and more people are now living long and full lives after breast cancer. However, the number of cases is rising.

The Living with Cancer event took place in the in the City North Hotel on Saturday, September 17th and was well attended by those who are currently living with the disease as well as their families and friends.

There were representatives from the Irish Cancer Society, Arc Cancer Support, Cuan and the Garry Kelly Centre. The Coffee morning in the City North will run from 10am to 1pm and everyone is invited to come along and sample some delicious scones, buns and cakes with their tea and coffee.

Entry is 5 with proceeds going to NECRET and towards improving local cancer treatment cancer services.

Boots Dublin Airport will also have of their advisors on hand to offer all your beauty tips and tricks.

To top it all off their will be amazing spot prizes to be won.
A meeting of the COPD Louth area branch takes place in the Conference Centre of the Cottage Hospital on Friday November 4 at 2.30pm.

The meeting is open to anyone affected by COPD, be it a relative, if you are a friend or carer, erc.

Anybody suffering with asthma or other breathing related illnesses are also welcome to attend. People can find out what is available and benefits you are entitled to.

This is a serious condition for which there is no cure, but it can be treated.

Everybody welcome and refreshments will be served.

The annual meeting takes place at the gathering and all proceeds from a raffle will go towards 'A Smile for Ryan'. Plenty of prizes are on offer.
Louth and Meath are following the national trend in increasing apprenticeship numbers. National Reports suggested that the number of new apprentices would double with the biggest surge in trades linked to construction. In Louth and Meath electrical apprenticeships account for 30% of the new apprentices registered in 2016 with carpentry and joinery being the second most popular.

However Elma McMahon from LMETBs Regional Skills and Training Centres explains the trends in a national context. She says: "The majority of apprentices registered in Louth and Meath are employed in the traditional crafts associated with building like carpentry and electrical work. Together with plumbing and motor mechanics they form almost 70% of the total number of apprenticeships registered with LMETB. However non-construction-based crafts are also gaining in popularity, and we are seeing increases in the number of non-traditional trades like Pipefitting, metal fabrication, electrical instrumentation and refrigeration."

Overall Louth and Meath have the highest number of Carpentry and Joinery apprenticeships in the whole country which is easily explained by the number of qualified carpentry employers in this area. The figures from Louth and Meath ETBS database reflect a return to the apprenticeship model as an entry route to work for school-leavers. There are 191 new apprentices to date in Louth and Meath which gives a total number of 643 current apprentices registered with LMETB.

LMETB welcome all enquiries about apprenticeship on their website www.rstc.ie or www.lmetb.ie
A Drogheda man has been honoured by the New South Wales police force for his actions in trying to save a man who was threatening to jump from a 10-storey Sydney apartment block.

Dave Delaney (30) from Westcourt was called to a special event by the Sydney force after playing his part in the dramatic incident, which lasted for almost two hours. He was the only civilian to receive an award at the ceremony.
The 7th Annual Ghosts of Drogheda Halloween Walking Tours organised by Drogheda Museum Millmount will be taking place on Friday October 28th with two tours departing from the museum at 7.20 pm and 7.30 pm respectively .

Guides will explain the origins of the Samhain festival that became Halloween, where the name Halloween came from, the traditions of the festival , the story of Jack O Lantern and other customs associated with the festival. There will also be an introduction to Banshees, Pucas, Zombies etc

The tours will relate to Drogheda's often bloody history and incidents such as the 1641 Siege of Drogheda, Cromwell's sacking of the town, the shelling of Millmount etc and some of the characters who contributed to that history will appear on the tour such as Oliver Cromwell, Judge Tandy( the hanging judge) , Anne Hardman, who came back from the dead and more. They will also feature some of the interesting local folklore relating to Ghost Stories

The tours are for adults and children over 11 years of age and cost 3 .Tickets are now on sale in Drogheda Tourist Office .

In the past they tours have booked out very quickly so get your tickets to avoid disappointment
Why was the 300,000 already agreed in levies for the upgrading of the main street in Duleek not just used for that job - rather than adding more than 60,000 to the pot from the town and village renewal scheme?

That's the question Cllr Sharon Tolan asked at last week's Laytown/Bettystown area meeting in Duleek, stating that the previous months decision to allocate funding to a stretch of road from the council office to the green in Duleek would have been better spent in Julianstown.

'It was short sighted and we are supposed to represent the entire district. It was the chance to make a difference in Julianstown,' she stated.

The councillors were only given the projects down for the scheme on the morning of the meeting and had to vote on it immediately.

'Duleek was already approved for a 300,000 upgrade, but there are other districts with significant traffic issues. I know we can't go back, but can money from those levies be transferred for a Julianstown scheme so no-one loses out,' the councillor added.

Director of Services Fiona Lawless said the levies for Duleek came from a different source.

As part of their planning, Indaver paid a certain amount for a future bypass of Duleek, but it was revealed that might not happen 'for 10 years' so an upgrade of the town was agreed and the money had to be spent.

Cllr Sharon Keogan said that two of the 10 highest rate payers in the county were in Duleek and that it was a 'forgotten town' in terms of investment.

Cllr Wayne Harding said that a new playground for Lobinstown was also part of that initial discussion and that area 'hadn't got what it was promised' and if monies were given to other projects, Lobinstown had to have its fair share.
East Meath based councillor Sharon Keogan has declared her intention to run in the next general election in the Louth/East Meath constituency.

The independent councillor announced her decision in the middle of a heated local area council debate over the 'shocking' treatment of people in Alverno in Laytown.

'I'm running in the next general election for the Louth area and I'll provide representation for people because they need it. If this was anywhere else it would not be happening,' she stormed.

She said she had been contacted by people in the Laytown estate who had concerns over two homes that had been boarded up.

'They should be refurbished and given to people on the housing list,' she stated. She said the state of some of the fascia and gutters were 'shocking'.

'I know attempts have been made in relation to Alverno, but it's shameful that we've let it go this far.'

However, she was met with a hot response from some councillors and council officials. 'There was 6m/7m for works in the estate and it was rejected. We had several meetings about it,' Cllr Tom Kelly stated. Council officials also said they could not have done anything more to sort out the problems.

'Yes, I know,' Cllr Keogan stated, 'but we need to do more.'
Termonfeckin girl Maisie Kelly donated 18 inches of her hair to charity at the weekend - and raised 1,600 in the process.

Maisie had her first hair cut in nine years and her hair is now on it's way to the Rapunzel Foundation to make wigs for children and adults suffering with hair loss.

Also, to date Maisie has raised over 1,600 for the Irish Cancer Society.

She has been funraising for the big day on the charity website at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Maisie-Kelly

Maisie would like to give a special thank you to Leanne and Becky at The Orange Room who gave all their time for free plus gave Maisie a beautiful hair cut - which she loves.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 22

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

Construction of the Turkmen section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is conducted at an accelerated pace, the Turkmen government said in a message Oct. 22.

A report on the progress of the construction was presented at the enlarged meeting of the countrys Cabinet of Ministers on the results of the nine months of 2016.

We are taking effective steps for laying Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas main line, as well as other main pipelines, the Turkmen government quoted the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The main document for the TAPI, called the Ashgabat Interstate Agreement, was signed in 2010.

The groundbreaking ceremony for TAPI's Turkmen section was held in mid-December of 2015.

The annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 33 billion cubic meters. It is planned that the total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. Some 214 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan, 826 kilometers - Pakistan.

The project is expected to be completed in late 2019.
Engineer Barry Butler and site manager Liam Rahilly with deputy principal Ann Philips and principal Mary Conneely at the new school

A new chapter in the history of education in Tenure will open in early November when classes begin in the new Naomh Bhuite NS.

Pupils and staff will spend next week on the move next door from the old building that has served the community well since 1963.

With eight classrooms, a resource area, a hall and offices, the new school, built at a cost of close to 3m, will be a new world for many of the students.

Built by MEIC, a Galway based company, the design is by Van Dyke Architects and already it's been acclaimed as one of the most modern schools in the region, fitting in nicely with the nearby church.

For many years the local school population was relatively static at about 100, but with the Celtic Tiger years and more development, the roll now stands at 211, meaning a new building was vital, according to deputy principal Anne Phillips.

The road to the new building has been a lengthy one, Mrs Phillips sending off a first letter in 2004 to the department, requesting that a new school be built.

Now that it's almost complete,

'We had an open night recently and hundreds came back to have a look around the old building,' principal Mary Conneely stated.

Work on the new school began last September and a unique feature is that each student was allowed to turn a sod.

'It means we can accommodate things like concerts and musicals and indoor training, or whatever, in the building,' the principal added.

The imminent move has thrown up some remarkable stories from the school's past, with generations passing through its doors.

It's believed the new school will be the fifth in the village, with the present building opened in 1963 and built by S Kerr and Sons from Ardee at a cost of 8,000. In 1987, an extension was added and opened by Minister Seamus Kirk. When it opened, the school had just 59 pupils.
Balbriggan Tourism is holding a talk on the famous Irish artist Harry Clarke and his connection to Balbriggan.

This talk will be delivered by Jessica O'Donnell from the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and will be held in St Peter & Paul's Church in Balbriggan on Friday, October 21 at 7.30pm.

Balbriggan is very fortunate to be the location of two magnificent stained-glass windows by the world-renowned artist.

The two Balbriggan windows, 'The Visitation' and 'The Widow's Son', were created at the height of his career and are truly great examples of the art of stained-glass.

Clarke was born on St Patrick's Day 1887 and died in January 1931. During his short life, he created over 160 stained glass windows for religious and commercial commissions and numerous drawings and book illustrations.

His work can be found throughout Ireland and England as well as the USA and Australia.

Two large-scale storyboard banners were commission by Balbriggan Tourism for this year's Heritage Week to celebrate Clarke's Balbriggan windows.

The banners will remain on view on the railings of St Peter & Paul's Church in Balbriggan until the end of October.
Pupils and staff at Balbriggan Educate Together is holding its Human Rights Fortnight once again.

Running until October 28m, there will be a series of events organised in the school in line with this year's theme of 'Rights'.

Younger classes will concentrate on children's rights but older classes will concentrate on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Two 'Human Rights Hero' awards will also be presented.

Balbriggan resident Brian Ruane, who hails from Cork, will be honoured in recognition of his 20 years of work in human rights education working with Amnesty Ireland and St Patrick's College of Education.

He is a former chairman of the school's board of management and leads development projects in both Ireland and Uganda.

Also receiving an award will be Tom and Breege O'Neill who have devoted a lifetime to the needs of blind and visually impaired people through the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

The school will also run its poster competition once again which allows children the chance to critically analyse Rights and Justice posters, and to observe common iconography and visual metaphors of these publications.

The children will also learn about slogan writing and then get their own chance to exercise their own creativity with their own posters.

The Student Council elections will also take place during the fortnight which involves every class for 2nd to 6th.

The 5th classes will also take a trip to an Irish Aid workshop to learn about how Irish aid assists developing countries with whom Ireland has bilateral agreements.

The 3rd class will make a trip to the Naul Road halting site to learn about Traveller culture.
It is that time of year again when the good people of Balbriggan are invited to submit their nomination for the annual Balbriggan Town Awards, hosted by the Balbriggan Community Liaison Committee.

The Balbriggan Community Liaison Committee comprises local community and business representative groups working together with elected members of the Balbriggan area supported by Fingal County Council to provide a forum where local issues are regularly raised and reviewed.

The Balbriggan Town Awards provide an ideal opportunity for the community in Balbriggan to nominate people who deserve recognition of their achievements in the categories of Community, Business, Sport, Art and Culture. The Awards are aimed at recognising people who have represented the community on a local, national or international scale, people who provide support to others on a voluntary basis, charitable works, artistic or sporting achievement or business success.

The Balbriggan Town Awards 2016 will take place in the Bracken Court Hotel on Thursday November 24, 2016 at 8pm Nomination forms are available from Balbriggan Library, and the Fingal County Council Office, Georges Square Balbriggan and can also be downloaded at balbriggan.info. Nominations must be returned by Friday, October 28 at 4pm to Balbriggan Community Liaison Committee, c/o Fingal County Council Offices, Georges Square, Balbriggan.
A member of the Skerries Coast Guard has been honoured for his long service.

Stephen Gaffney was recognised for his service to the Irish Coast Guard at a recent ceremony having reached the admirable milestone of 10 years meritorious service.

Stephen is a highly skilled and experienced member of the Skerries Coast Guard team and has played a key role in hundreds of rescues over the years in the local area.

The Skerries Coast Guard station, like all Coast Guard stations around the Irish coast, is comprised entirely of highly trained, dedicated and brave local volunteers who remain ready to rescue those in peril on our coast.

In paying tribute, Vanessa Gaffney, Officer in Charge commented: 'Coast Guard volunteers such as Stephen are a credit to the Coast Guard service and their local community. Stephen's years of selfless dedication and devotion to helping others in difficulty are commendable.

'This is a very well deserved award that I was honoured to present. Throughout his service Stephen has proved to be inspirational to his fellow Coast Guard volunteers.'

John Ryan, Deputy Officer in Charge added: 'Everyone at Skerries Coast Guard is delighted to congratulate Stephen on reaching this prestigious milestone in his distinguished Coast Guard service.

'Stephen has also held the position of the Unit's Training Officer for much of his time at Skerries Coast Guard, a post he carries out with utmost dedication and commitment.'

Meanwhile, due to a recent expansion in operations, the Skerries Coast Guard Unit are now recruiting for search and rescue volunteers.

The team's response zone stretches from Laytown, Co Meath to Malahide.

Anyone interested in joining Skerries Coast Guard should email the team at CountMeIn@skerriescoastguard.com for more information

Skerries Coast Guard is a local rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard. Its members are comprised entirely of local search and rescue volunteers. These volunteers are on call 24 hours, ready to be deployed to assist those in peril on the coast.
The Department of Education has approved for tender, phase two of Lusk Community College and approved the funding for the construction of this next phase of the school.

This phase in the development of Lusk Community College will provide a further 650 places for students within the school, bringing its total capacity to 1,000 pupils. The tender process itself will take between three and six months.

The Department of Education and Skills have also allocated the funding necessary to complete the construction of Phase 2 of Lusk Community School.

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell welcomed the Department's announcement, saying: 'I am delighted that Phase 2 of the development of Lusk Community College has finally been approved to go to tender. This is great news for the school, students, parents and the local community in Lusk.

As many parents and members of the local community will be aware, it has taken a lot of work and time to get this essential project to this stage. Having raised this important matter with the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, and his Department, on numerous occasions, I am pleased that he has taken the decision to provide both the approval, and funding, for the completion of this phase of Lusk Community College. The school will be contacted by the Department in due course to inform them that phase 2 of development can finally proceed.'

He added: 'It is essential the investment in schools in the North County continues in order to ensure adequate capacity is in place to cater with the demand for school places resulting from our growing communities. Furthermore, it is of the utmost importance that our children receive their education in an environment which is conducive to their learning.

'I will continue to actively engage with Minister Bruton, and his Department, in this regard to ensure the needs of our local schools remain to the fore of his Department's agenda.'

He said: 'Fine Gael in Government is determined to ensure that our recovering economy can benefit everyone in society. Our children should be number one on this priority list and it is essential that they can learn in a safe and modern environment which is conducive to their learning.'

The Department has also announced it has give St Oliver Plunkett's in Malahide the go ahead to proceed with a tender for that school's long awaited new building.

The new school building has been pursued by the school authorities and parents and local representatives for some 20 years.

The new school building will have 35 new classrooms and will exist the outdated accommodation currently on the Malahide site.
Tenders for the construction of the new 100m National Forensic Hospital in Portrane are due to be issued shortly

Tender for the construction of the 100m National Forensic Hospital in Portrane is due to be issued shortly, it has emerged.

The news has been welcomed by Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell who said the HSE is due to award the project shortly.

More than 50m will be spent on this project next year alone, Deputy Farrell said, who described its an 'essential component of our national health system'.

He said the development would be greatly beneficial to the local community in Donabate and Portrane.

The National Forensic Mental Hospital is a major capital project, which will include a new 120-bed hospital and two new 10-bed units for Mental Health Intellectual Disability and for Mental Health Child & Adolescent Services.

'This project also represents a great investment in the North County, with over 50 million expected to be spent on the development of the National Forensic Mental Hospital next year alone. Furthermore, the local economy in Donabate and Portrane will certainly benefit during the construction process, and following the opening of the hospital, with an increase in staff and workers coming into our local community on a daily basis.

'Discussions on replacing the Central Mental Hospital began around 2000 and approval was given for the development of the National Forensic Mental Hospital in 2006. Following this, the site at St. Ita's in Portrane was chosen in 2009 with planning permission granted in 2015. I am pleased that we are now in a position whereby construction can soon commence.'
The giant Mitsubishi Corporation is interested in developing a 'data centre campus' near Balbriggan which has huge jobs potential in a town suffering from unemployment rates above the national average.

To facilitate this proposal, Cllr Tony Murphy (IA) wanted to rezone lands adjacent to the M1 Business Park which he said the corporation had identified as 'uniquely suited to the development of a data centre campus'. He said the corporation was considering the site because of the availability of a skilled workforce, it's rural location but still close to the motorway and airport. the availability of services like high-speed fibre broadband and a location away from a large residential area. Cllr Murphy said that the proponents of the project had met with council officials on two occasions and that an executive from the company has plans to travel to Swords to talk to the council executive about it further.

County planners argued that there was land in the M1 Business Park that is undeveloped and it would prefer to see the project's backers to consider that site first before pursuing a rezoning on the adjacent site. County Planner Matthew McAleese said he recognised at the same time the merit of the proposal and the 'huge asset' it could be for the Balbriggan area.

He said planners would ask the company to consider the undeveloped business park lands 'in the first instance' but added: 'We would obviously love to see a project like this be a success and at some stage in the future when the lands are built out and there is a future need, we would look positively then at that type of development in that area.'

Council chief executive, Paul Reid said he did have meetings about the project but understood it was not a 'direct representative of Mitsubishi' he had met. He invited the company to meet with the council executive and said: 'I am wide open to meeting Mitsubishi this evening, tomorrow or any day and anywhere in relation to locating a data centre in Fingal.'
Fingal County Council has laid out an ambitions 324 million capital spending programme over the next three years, preparing to fund 186 projects across the county and sinking well over half of that sum into tackling Fingal's housing crisis.

A staggering 198 million of that capital budget will be spent by the housing department as it strives to make a dent in Fingal's lengthy social housing waiting lists and tackle an unprecedented level of homelessness in the county.

Over 95 million of that capital housing fund will be spent in 2017 with almost 58 million scheduled to be spent on housing in 2018 and some 45 million in 2019.

The capital housing fund will be spent on the construction and acquisition of social housing, construction works under the Capital Assistance Scheme, supporting voluntary housing bodies in delivering housing and the management of existing housing stock as well as the travellers' programme.

Nine projects costing almost 42 million will deliver 234 new social housing units built by Fingal County Council but the local authority aims to provide hundreds more new homes by other methods, for example, the council predicts that some 150 new social housing units will be delivered through so-called 'Part V' acquisitions which relate to the obligation on developers of housing estates to allocate a number of units to social housing. There is also a 200% increase in the funding to support voluntary housing bodies.

The bulk of the funding is coming in 2017 to meet Government targets set for Fingal to deliver 1,376 social housing units between 2015 and 2017. Up to the end of August, the council is almost half way to that target.

Cllr Brian McDonagh (Lab) welcomed the focus on housing in the programme and said it proves that Fingal is 'serious about delivering social housing'.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 21

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Iran and Frances Total are preparing to sign an agreement by March 2017 on a petrochemical project.

"Total would invest $2 billion in an olefin production project," Adel Salimnejad, the head ofIrans biggest petrochemicals producer Persian Gulf Holding Company told IRNA Oct.21.

He said that the Persian Gulf Holding Company has signed seven memorandum of understanding with foreign companies, two of which would be finalized by March 2017, including the deal with Total.

He didnt give further information about the second deal.

Irans nominal petrochemical products capacity is about 63 million tons per year (mt/y), but the country plans to increase the volume to 130 mt/y by 2020 and 180 mt/y by 2025.

The country needs $52 billion investment to reach the planned target.
A new seven-foot high memorial has been unveiled in Lusk to commemorate the Fingal and local volunteers who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

The memorial, which is divided into panels, features The Proclamation, a list of the volunteers who fought in the Battle of Ashbourne and a list of those who made donations to make the memorial a reality.

It is situated near The Carnegie Library on land donated by Brian Hand and it is hoped that it will not only be a community feature to remembering and commemorating the 1916 Rising and those from Lusk and Fingal who participated in it, but that it will be a focal point of reflection, education and respect for the community.

A special booklet, written by chairman of Lusk Community Council, Brian Arnold, has also been produced, giving a history of the volunteers, the Black Raven Pipe Band and the Fingal Fifth Battalion.

'The Community Council wanted to commemorate the history of the volunteers and of the Rising with a permanent memorial and with the help of Fingal County Council and those who made donations, it has now become a reality,' said Dympna Sherry of Lusk Community Council.

Earlier this year, a series of banners were placed on important historic buildings around the village in order to highlight key personnel who took part in the 1916 activities including Thomas Ashe, Charles Weston and Dr Richard Hayes, who participated in the Battle of Ashbourne.

'It was a proud day for Lusk and Fingal with the unveiling taking place by Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Darragh Butler in front of a crowd of up to 250 people,' said Dympna.

She said the Community Council is grateful to Robert Hand who donated the special site for the construction of the memorial, to everyone who supported it financially, to Fingal County Council and to architect Paddy O'Hora and designer Balazs Kereszgury of MCOH Architects.

While the official unveiling ceremony took place, Thomas Ashe's poem 'Let Me Carry Your Cross' was read out while Andrea Gallagher played 'Mise Eire' on the tin whistle.

'We hope everyone locally and from further afield will drop by and appreciate the memorial,' said Dympna.
Planners have consistently argued that even without the land in Lissenhall, Fingal has enough land zoned for residential use to cope with the demand

The future development of lands at Lissenhall to begin the expansion of Swords northward to becoming a town of some '80,000 people and beyond', according to the council chief executive, has been an issue in constant debate in meetings to consider the Fingal County Development Plan with a number of councillors arguing that the lands will not address the more immediate housing needs of Fingal.

A number of councillors have argued at several points during the development plan process that lands zoned for housing in Lissenhall which can provide up to 7,000 new homes for Swords, cannot be developed until the Metro arrives and in the meantime, there is a dire housing need to be met.

But planners have consistently argued that even without these lands, Fingal has enough land zoned for residential use to cope with the demand and the realistic expectation of the amount of units that can be delivered in each year of this six year county development plan from 2017 to 2023.

When the argument resurfaced as councillors began to consider the maps for each area in Fingal and bring detailed proposals of their own to the plan, county management and the council chief executive himself made a strong defence of the zoning at Lissenhall and said it should not be taken out of the plan in favour of 'sporadic' residential zoning elsewhere.

Councillors like Cllr Anne Devitt (NP), Cllr Kieran Dennison (FG) and Cllr Tom O'Leary (FG) all argued that the Lissenhall lands were effectively not available for development in the lifetime of the plan.

They argued they should be taken out of the plan and replaced with a series of rezonings due for proposal by councillors later in the process.

But chief executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid insisted that the Lissenhall zoning had an important part to play in the current plan.

He said there was no reason to believe the lands were completely frozen from development until Metro arrives and they would be crucial in helping to make Metro a reality.

Mr Reid said: 'We should have the ambition to develop these lands as soon as possible and not two development plans away.'

He said that ambition was go grow the population of greater Swords to '80,000 and beyond' and to achieve that, he said: 'We have to start making strategic choices about where we want to see it (Swords) grow and where we want to see it grow is to the north, where we want to see it grow is aligned with the Metro corridor and we want to see it grow to support the delivery of the Metro.'

He added: 'Compromising that strategy for an alternative strategy of sporadic zonings around the place, I believe would be wrong.'

He said: 'I believe this is the right strategy for Swords and I highly commend it.'

Looking at the broader picture across Fingal, county planner, Matthew McAleese argued the county was in fact 'overzoned' for residential use.

He said the Regional Planning Guidelines called for the council to provide enough land for 39,000 homes and in fact, Fingal had enough zoned land for 42,000 homes.

He explained however, that realistically, that number of homes would not be delivered in the lifetime of the plan and even if Lissenhall were not developed in the lifetime of the plan there was still enough land zoned to comfortably cope with the scale of construction.
The process is underway to acquire permanent sites for two new secondary schools that will open next year in Swords and in the Malahide and Portmarnock area but the Department of Education has cited 'commercial sensitivities' for its decision not to reveal where those sites are, at this time.

The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton TD faced questions from Fingal TD, Darragh O'Brien (FF) in the Dail when Deputy O'Brien asked about the status of these two new secondary schools which are due to open next year.

On both the Swords school and the one for the Malahide and Portmarnock area, the Minister for Education said that the patronage process was ongoing to choose which body would run the school.

He then moved on to discuss the work going on to secure sites for both schools.

Minister Bruton said that both schools were in his department's 'six-year construction programme announced last November and is listed to go to tender and construction in 2019/2021'.

Both schools will open in 2017 in temporary accommodation, ahead of that later construction of a permanent home.

On site selection for both schools, the minister revealed that his department and Fingal County Council were working together to acquire suitable sites and in the case of the Malahide and Portmarnock school, a feasibility study was being assessed on specific site options.

Conveyancing has begun on the Swords site for the permanent school building, the minister revealed.

But in both cases, Minister Bruton refused to reveal where these school sites are located.

He told Deputy O'Brien: 'Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time.

'I can, however, assure you that the site acquisition process for this school is underway and the details of the permanent site location will be made available as soon as it is possible to do so.'
Cllr Michael Sheehan had a bit of a slip up at last week's meeting when he wished Executive Engineer Abraham Dunne well in his new position.

Cllr Sheehan said that he was sorry to hear he was moving elsewhere but that he wished him well.

However, Director of Services Eamonn Hore told the members that Mr Dunne was not going anywhere.
Not much gets past him, but last Friday, Aidan Doyle, manager of Pettitt's SuperValu in Gorey, was caught out by his staff when they presented him with a surprise cake to mark his 30 years of service with Pettitt's.

He began working in the Gorey shop on October 14, 1986, and the very first thing he was shown was how to sweep the floor properly! Over the years, he moved up the ranks, and worked in management positions with Pettitt's Arklow, Athy, and ended up in the store where he started, but as manager of Pettitt's Gorey.

Cormac Pettitt paid tribute to him, thanking Aidan for his commitment and hard work for the past 30 years. Speaking afterwards, Aidan thanked the customers, staff, and Pettitt's, for their support over the last 30 years. He said that even though the store has changed beyond recognition, he is proud that it continues to have a great relationship with the local community, and supports local producers.
A call has gone out for volunteers to help revive the Carnew Agricultural Show.

The long-running and popular event in the local summer calendar, was cancelled this year due to a lack of resources to stage it, but locals are hoping that enough people will come forward to help bring it back next year.

A public meeting will be held in Kenny's Lounge at the Corner House, Carnew, on Monday, November 7, at 8.30 p.m. All help is needed, and all are welcome along, because if there's no support, there will be no show.
As the 398 pupils at St Joseph's NS evacuated the building at Creagh last week for a routine fire drill, they were surprised to see the engines from Gorey fire brigade roll up to the school.

Luckily there was no fire, as the drill was pre-arranged between principal Padraig Cronin and the fire crew for the benefit of both the school and the crew. 'The crew had offered to visit the school and do a drill,' he said.

'We try to have a drill once a term, but this is the first time the fire crew were involved. It was of benefit to them to see our fire alarm system, and familiarise themselves with the layout of the school.'

Each of the fifteen classes gathered in their allocated assembly areas, while the fire fighters searched the school to ensure no-one was left behind. Afterwards, the pupils got to meet the crew and take a look at the engines and equipment.

It's an exciting time for St Joseph's as work is due to start in January on an extension which will house eight classrooms and an Autistic unit.
Cllr Oisin O'Connell's motion calling on the Irish Medical Council to conduct research into the therapeutic, palliative and pain relief potential of cannabidiol-type chemicals and derivatives was passed by his fellow councillors.

Cllr O'Connell made the request with a view as to whether these can be recommended for licensing, import and prescription.

In his motion, he also demanded that the Minister of Health and all legislators of the Oireachtas, expedite any such medical recommendations made by the IMC in future. He requested that state agencies show a common sense and compassionate attitude in the interim period.

Cllr O'Connell said that there are already medications given over the counter in pill form derived from substances such as opium. He said that if information shows that pills made from cannabidiol-type chemicals and derivatives is of medical use, doctors and nurses should be able to prescribe them.
Brendan Whyte and Douglas Taylor from Blackwater with Emma Holland RPS at the public consultation day in Wexford Library

OPW representative Gerry Gallagher presented the CFRAM draft flood plan for Wexford at the meeting in light of the final public consultation on the matter last Tuesday.

The National Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to meet national policy needs and the requirements of the EU 'Floods' Directive.

Mr Gallagher outlined the purpose of the plan in his own words as 'a roadmap to manage our exposure to flood risk now and in future and mitigate the flood risks of the past'.

He said that plans done by catchment area were rolled out at the end of June, with the next stage being the finalisation of the draft. County Wexford has been divided into six units of management: Vartry; Owenavorragh; Slaney and Wexford Harbour; Kilmore Ballyteigue; Barrow and Suir.

Mr Gallagher outlined the prevention measures included in the plan which included flood protection schemes, OPW minor works, and maintenance of arterial drainage schemes and drainage. He also said that preparedness through data collection, indivual property protection, flood forecasting, emergency response plans and individual and community resilience are important.

Following a comprehensive and in-depth presentation, Mr Gallagher took questions from the councillors regarding the plan.

Cllr Ger Carthy asked whether the 2,000 acres occupied by the lake in Our Lady's Island was included in the scheme. Mr Gallagher said that it was not included in the CRFAM, nor was Tacumshane but said that Cllr Carthy can include it in his feedback on the plans.

Insurance was an issue raised by Cllr Jim Moore, who said that the public availability of these plans which separate areas into high and low risk will affect those trying to get insurance.

'The issue of insurance has been raised as the maps are available to everyone. As insurance providers are commercial companies, we have no power to direct them,' said Mr Gallagher. 'On a happier note though, we have had some people who were previously being refused insurance due to flood risk but were granted it after our maps were used by the insurance providers to look into it in more detail.'

Cllr Moore also asked why Rosslare Strand was not included considering the risk of flooding and coastal erosion.

Mr Gallagher said that coastal erosion is part of the OPW work but that it does not come under the plan.

Cllr Oliver Walsh wondered where Blackwater lay in the plan.

'I get the impression that you are willing to sacrifice Blackwater to flooding,' he said, saying that local people are aware of the flooding that occurs there

Mr Gallagher said that the area had not been abandoned, but said it had been decided that it would be more beneficial to take it through the minor works programme.

Cllr Davy Hynes and Cllr Deirdre Wadding raised the issue of climate change, asking whether it had been considered, which Mr Gallagher said it has.

Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy queried why the area near Slaney Meats had not been included.

'We are not pursuing there as it is a commercial interest. It is hard to justify spending state funding in these cases,' said Mr Gallagher.

The councillors can submit feedback until November 21.
A film crew spent several hours in Gorey last week discovering why the town has been nominated for the title of Ireland's Friendliest Place.

The award, which is given by Retail Excellence Ireland, sees Gorey go up against Ennis and Navan for the title. The footage taken on the day will be shown during an awards ceremony in Galway on November 5, when the winner will be announced.

Gorey was nominated for the award by Wexford County Council in a joint initiative with Gorey Chamber. Nine ambassadors were selected to represent the friendly face of the town, including: Pettitt's SuperValu; Ruby Rouge; Munchkins Toy Store; Redmond Electric; Azure Beauty; Myles Doyle Select Grocer; The Duck at Marlfield; Eco Pizzeria and Restaurant; and Funges.

After the crew met representatives of the businesses at Market House Design, they paid a visit to each premises where they interviewed staff and owners on what they feels sets Gorey apart.

Gorey Municipal District Manager Amanda Byrne said that to be included in the top three, especially in the first year of the competition, was significant in its own right. She said that Gorey benefits from having so many locally-run businesses, and because even though it is a large thriving town, it still has a sense of welcome for visitors and regular customers who are valued.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 20

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian northwestern province of Ardabil and Azerbaijan share 370 kilometers of border. In addition to friendly and brotherly ties, people from Ardabil Province and Azerbaijan share same language and religion which create proper grounds for expansion of bilateral ties and economic cooperation.

Over the past week, a provincial delegation including members of several private companies accompanied Ardabil Provinces Governor General Majid Khodabakhsh during his visit to Azerbaijan and Russia, aimed at expansion of trade ties.

During his visit to Azerbaijan, the governor-general held talks with President Ilham Aliyev, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Agriculture Heydar Asadov, and Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan Colonel-General Kamaladdin Heydarov as well as Head of Sumgayit City Executive Authority Zakir Farajov.

Majid Khodabakhsh on October 19 attended a press conference in Baku to brief reporters on the outcomes of his visit.

According to Khodabakhsh, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Head of Azerbaijans Sumgayit City Executive Authority Zakir Farajov are expected to pay a visit to Ardabil over the current year to study opportunities for investment there.

Khodabaksh pointed to opportunities for joint investment between Iran and Azerbaijan, saying that proper opportunities exist for exporting joint products to third countries such as Russia.

Speaking about cooperation in agricultural sector, he invited Azerbaijani farmers to rent agricultural lands in Iran as there are vast lands in the country providing chances for cultivating crops in considerable amounts.

Coming to cooperation on industrial levels, he said that industrialists in Ardabil produce valves for oil industry as well as electric control units (ECU) which can be supplied to Azerbaijan.

Iranian government over the past three years has allocated $1.5 billion for developing Ardabil Province of which $500 million goes to developing the provinces power industry, he said.

Expressing support for those who invest in the province, the governor-general proposed cooperation in power sector between Ardabil Province and Azerbaijan as the province is capable of exporting power to Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.



He also touched upon opportunities for cooperation in the food industry and said Russia annually imports over $40 billion worth of food products which creates a unique chance for Azerbaijani and Iranian enterprises to supply their joint products in such a great market.

According to the official, the trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan over the past seven months has increased by 65 percent.



Ardabil exported about $57 million worth of products to Azerbaijan over the past year. Potatoes, poultry, ceramics and sanitary wares formed the majority of exported products to Azerbaijan from Ardabil.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran amounted to $137.65 million in January-September 2016, $34.91 million of which accounted for the export of Azerbaijani goods to Iran, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Khodabaksh further spoke about existing opportunities for cooperation in tourism sector and said that Sareyn City in Ardabil Province annually hosts about five million holidaymakers. Therefore investing in the construction of five-star hotels in this city would be offer promising prospects for investors.

The provincial officials in the meantime seek to create a "special economic and free trade zone" along Iran and Azerbaijan borders in Ardabils Parsabad city.

Creating the special economic and free trade zone would boost trade between the two sides due to eased taxes.

Given the high level meetings that the provincial delegation held in Azerbaijan following its visit to Russia, it appears that mutual and strong will exists for expansion of trade ties between Tehran and Baku on both levels, national and provincial.
HSE nursing homes in County Wexford are being paid 61 per cent more than their private and voluntary counterparts, new figures published by the HSE reveal.

After a five-year delay, the HSE, under pressure from Nursing Homes Ireland, has just published the updated costs for nursing home care within its operated nursing homes.

These revealed the two HSE nursing homes operating in County Wexford have an average fee payable by the State of 1,327 per week, per resident.

The HSE nursing home with the highest cost of care was St John's Hospital at 1,385. The only other HSE nursing home in the county, New Houghton Hospital, in New Ross, has an average fee payable of 1,268.

In contrast, the 13 private and voluntary nursing homes in the county have an average fee payable of 822 per week, according to the most recently published cost of care figures.

'The State is discriminating in a scandalous way against private and voluntary providers,' said NHI chief executive Tadhg Daly. Nationally, private and voluntary nursing homes are forced by the State to provide care for half the amount that the HSE pays for its own homes, the figures reveal.

Nursing Homes Ireland said it had taken five years to prise this data out of the HSE.

NHI said it is no surprise it has taken the State so long to publish as it has been operating a system that discriminates against the private and voluntary sector.

'The publication of the costings has laid bare the true cost of nursing home care and the implications of the failure to address this glaring inequity must be addressed by Government, NHI has warned.

'Failure to do so threatens the sustainability of the private and voluntary nursing home sector and the vital services provided,' said the NHI.

It has called on the State to immediately engage with the private and voluntary nursing home sector to provide for the true costs incurred of meeting the high dependency care needs of residents in private and voluntary nursing homes.

NHI said it wanted an equitable system be established for the financing of nursing home care under the Fair Deal, whether HSE, private or voluntary.

It has also called upon the Public Accounts Committee to investigate the level of spending by the State within its own operated nursing homes. There is no requirement for the HSE to negotiate payments for each of its nursing homes. Yet private and voluntary nursing homes are being coerced into accepting fees that do not reflect the true costs of providing nursing home care. 'The State is discriminating in a scandalous way against private and voluntary providers,' said NHI chief executive Tadhg Daly. 'The State is operating a two-tier funding system and has fought for five years not to disclose these figures.

'It is unacceptable that private and voluntary providers are forced to provide care for fees way below those paid to the HSE counterparts,' said Mr Daly. 'It is a case of one law for HSE operated nursing homes and a completely different one for the private and voluntary providers who are squeezed into accepting fees that are not reflective of the true cost.'
Over 45,000 worth of drugs was seized in two separate incidents in the Gorey district last Friday morning in searches carried out by the Enniscorthy District Drug Unit, supported by the Divisional Task Force and the Garda Dog Unit from Limerick.

A seizure comprising of 35,000 worth of cocaine and 5,000 worth of cannabis was discovered at a premises on the outskirts of Gorey. A male in his 20s has been charged in connection with the crime. He is due before the court in Gorey on November 3.

Another seizure comprising of 2,000 worth of heroin, 3,100 of cannabis and 500 of cocaine was made at a house in an estate in Gorey town. A woman was arrested and held on Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, and later released. A file is being prepared for the DPP.

This was an intelligence and surveillance-led operation overseen by Chief Superintendent John Roche and Superintendent Liam White. A spokesperson for Gorey Gardai said the searches came about after months of work, and he said they are determined to continue to tackle drugs activity in Gorey and the surrounding area.
A new website which outlines a range of services available in Wexford for children, young people and families, was launched by the Wexford Children and Young People's Services Committee (CYPSC) last Friday.

The site, www.wexfordcypsc.ie, includes information on: mental health support for children and young people; health services for children, young people and families; education and training opportunities; and help and support for families.

It also features an interactive map of services to help users find out how and where they can access the help and support they need.

Speaking at the launch in The Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, social worker and psychotherapist Dr John Sharry said that parents and young people who are dealing with challenges often don't know how to access support and often cannot find a service suitable for them in their local area. 'This new Wexford website is a great local resource to point families in the direction of quality services and supports in Wexford,' he said.

The launch was attended by professionals who work with children, young people and families as well as representatives from organisations involved in Wexford CYPSC.

The website was launched by Colma Nic Lughadha, national co-ordinator for CYPSC, who said it was a welcome resource.

'The overall purpose of CYPSC is to ensure better outcomes for children and young people around the country through enhanced co-ordination of local services and organisations,' she said. 'This new website is an example of this co-ordination in action and is an important step towards improving service provision for the benefit of children, young people and families in County Wexford.'
Wexford hoteliers have warmly welcomed the retention of the nine per cent tourism VAT rate announced in the Budget, saying it will allow them to create and sustain more jobs.

'We were thrilled that it stayed at nine per cent, it would have been a huge blow had it changed back to 13.5 per cent,' said Bill Kelly, the owner of Kelly's Resort Hotel and Spa.

'The lower rate has helped us grow the industry and has helped us to create more jobs locally,' said Mr Kelly, adding that in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union and the resulting plunge in the value of Sterling it was vitally important for the Irish tourism to be sustained and nurtured.

'I would be very surprised if it didn't have an impact,' he said, commenting on the volatile exchange rate between the Euro and Sterling, given the importance of UK tourism to Ireland.

'It (the exchange rate) might get worse, it might get better.'

Talking about the retention of the lower VAT rate, Mr Kelly said 'it was great that the government saw the importance of tourism to the economy'

Mr Kelly said his hotel, like many others in the county, had had a very busy summer.

'It has been choc-a-bloc right through the summer and now into September and October.'

Aidan Quirke, South East Branch Chair of the IHF said the nine per cent rate has been instrumental in the recovery of the tourism industry, which has created some 50,000 new jobs since the measure was introduced in 2011.

'This measure has been the single most important fiscal initiative for Irish tourism in the last decade and we are pleased the Government has retained the rate. It demonstrates that it has been highly effective in job creation and also acknowledges that we have a pro-tourism Government who see the value the industry brings to every part of our country located on the periphery of Europe. The decision is a vote of confidence in the tourism industry at a time of uncertainty due to Brexit,' he said.

'Tourism is one of Ireland's largest employers. It currently supports some 220,000 jobs and is on-track to create a further 40,000 new jobs by 2021.

'Direct actions by the government including the nine per cent VAT rate [and the zero rate travel tax] have helped level the playing field for tourism businesses to compete for visitors with other European destinations and are vital in underpinning and sustaining that growth.'

Mr Quirke said tourism makes an makes an important contribution to the economy of every town and village in Ireland.

'While the industry has returned to growth, with Brexit on the horizon, a weaker Sterling and an uncertain global outlook, there is no room for complacency,' he said.
It's thought that the unidentified remains of a woman who washed up on the Welsh coastline in October 1994, may be those of a woman who disappeared from North Wexford some eight months previously.

Pauline Finlay, (49), who had a mobile holiday home at Old Bawn mobile home park near Cahore, disappeared on March 25, 1994 while walking her two dogs on Old Bawn beach. In the following days and weeks, extensive searches were carried out on the water and along the coastline but no trace of her was ever found.

Recently, police in North Wales began an investigation to try to identify 17 unidentified bodies that they have in their records, and contacted An Garda Siochana.

RTE reporter Barry Cummins, who broke the story last week, said that the fresh look at the case led to gardai suggesting Pauline Finlay was a possible match. 'A DNA sample was taken from the family in July of this year and compared to a sample from the unidentified woman in recent weeks,' he said. 'Very recently the family of Pauline Finlay has been told that the DNA gives a strong indication that the unidentified body that has been buried in North Wales and cared for by local people there for 22 years is in fact Pauline Finlay.'

'This would mean, if it is proven, that her body travelled across the Irish sea over those months in 1994, a distance of 130 kilometres,' he said. 'The North Wales coroner Mr. Dewi Pritchard-Jones is going to reopen the inquest into the unidentified body and it is he who will make a determination on whether the body is that of Pauline Finlay.'

Gerry O'Loughlin, honorary secretary of Cahore inshore lifeboat which was set up in the months after her disappearance, said he remembered Pauline well, as she and her husband Joe were well-known in the local community. 'They had a mobile home in O'Loughlin's at Old Bawn, and they had bought property near Ballygarrett, and planned to live here,' he said. 'She went to the beach every evening from the park, with her two dogs.'

He said it was a 'fairly fine evening' on the day she disappeared. She was supposed to go see a musical in Gorey with friends, but didn't turn up. Word arrived during the interval that she was missing. The dogs were found on the beach.

Courtown RNLI lifeboat and fishing boats from Cahore and Courtown commenced a major search for at least a week, while a shore search went on for two months. Friends, family, and members of local clubs took part. Joe was a member of local angling and gun clubs, and the members helped on a rota of searches with other volunteers.

'I always wondered what happened to her,' said Gerry. 'Hopefully for Joe and the rest of her family, it will bring closure for them. It's a very tragic thing but hopefully it will be closure for them. It should have come out long ago.'
Director of Services Tony Larkin presented a report on the Anne Street files to the members, concluding that no irregularities on the part of Wexford Corporation had been found.

Mr Larkin began by outlining the context for the review. In recent times, a number of queries were raised by persons alleging irregularities concerning the acquisition of land in Anne Street for the offices of the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners in the 1990s.

The issue was raised in the Dail by Deputy Joe Higgins. When the matter was brought to Wexford, Cllr Deirdre Wadding called for transparency in the matter and an investigation in the interests of the council. It was agreed that members of the council could inspect the files and bring any concerns to Mr Larkin.

Mr Larkin told the chamber last week that he met with a concerned group on two separate occasions to discuss their worries. The review outlined their complaint:

'The Group of effected parties say that Wexford Borough Council by the manner in which they went about the assembling of the site for the new government offices in Anne Street, Wexford caused them to be misinformed, caused them to make incorrect commercial business decisions to their financial detriment and made them party to an irregular record of events that impacts on their good name and reputation.'

In following up these complaints, Mr Larkin relied on file records of the Council, held by MJ O'Connor and Co Solicitors and planning and land registry records. All of this information was compiled into the report presented at last week's meeting.

In the report conclusion, Mr Larkin said that he found the written record on file regarding the land acquisition was 'quite comprehensive' and it was possible to develop a full understanding of these complex transactions.'

'I looked to see if the Corporation had acted outside of its powers. I found no evidence to say it did,' explained Mr Larkin at the meeting. 'I was also asked whether anyone was paid compensation as part of the process. Only three parties were and these were the Book Centre in Waterford, George and Marjorie Murphy and the Hylands, who were sold a site on Trinity Street.'

In his report, Mr Larkin said that the only other party involved was Mr Ray Corish, who he found to be nothing but supportive and constructive in the process and who was not compensated in any way.

'I was also asked if anyone was unfairly denied compensation and whether anyone's interests were adversely affected. I haven't managed to find any third party to say that this is true,' he told the meeting.

Mr Larkin said that he had tried to answer all of the questions raised in the report.

Several of the councillors, including Cllr Malcolm Byrne, Cllr Willie Fitzharris and Cllr Oisin O'Connell, asked for some time to review the report, saying that they had only received it thirty minutes before the meeting.

However, Cllr Deirdre Wadding threw a spanner in the works when she called for the report not to be released, saying that new information had just been brought to her attention that could be useful.

'In the interest of having a comprehensive report, I suggest we have one more meeting on this,' she said, adding that she felt they should hand back the reports.

'How is it that the very day you have new information, it is going to do away with what we have here?' said Cllr Kavanagh. 'I suggest you go away and read the report and if anyone has any concerns, they can request a meeting with Tony.'

Mr Larkin said that report was 'difficult' to put together, adding that he had been the victim of several personal attacks while compiling it.

'I am not amending it,' he said. 'But I am happy to look at the report that Cllr Wadding has.'

'There doesn't appear to be reason for further investigation. The Council has been asked to examine records and it has done so.'

Mr Larkin said that he was happy for the report to be guarded as the final report at this point in time but suggested that, between now and October 28, councillors come to him with any concerns or queries.

'The additional queries can be included in a revised report,' he said.

Cllr Deirdre Wadding was quickly shut down by Cllr Paddy Kavanagh when she called for the report not to be released into the public domain.

'That is it. It is over!' he said.
Success was dished up for Wild and Native in Rosslare Strand who scooped the 'Best in Leinster' award at last week's Yes Chef Awards.

Established to celebrate the best of the best of all things culinary in Ireland, the awards brought dozens of finalists together for a banquet ceremony in the City North Hotel.

The achievement was one of a string of wins for Wild and Native owners Fergal Dempsey and his wife Jodie, who established the business only last summer. In recent weeks, the gourmet restaurant and wine bar took home an award from The South East Radio Awards, while they also were finalists in the Bank of Ireland Start Up Awards in 2015.

The couple said that are 'thrilled' to receive the Yes Chef Award. Owing to the success of their business since its establishment, they are planning on opening a gourmet food store and deli in Wexford town in the coming weeks.

Seafood restaurant La Cote also got along swimmingly at the Yes Chef awards, taking home the prize for best seafood restaurant in Ireland. The award marked another achievement for patron and chef Paul Hynes, who won Best Restaurant in Wexford and Best Seafood in this year's Irish Restaurant Awards and Best Seafood Restaurant 2016 in the Georgina Campbell Awards.

Tides in Rosslare also saw success in the awards ceremony as they were named Best Newcomer in Leinster on the night. Meanwhile, the talents of young chef Lorna Rochford were celebrated when she picked up the title for Best Young Chef in Leinster. Lorna currently works in the Brandon House in New Ross and the win is sure to give her a great boost early on in her career.
Charlie Bird, Frank Lewis Killarney and Caroline Reidy of Tralee at the Charlie Bird talk in the Rose Hotel

Charlie Bird talking in the Rose Hotel Tralee on his mission work over the years. Photo by Domnick Walsh

An impressive attendance welcomed news reporter Charlie Bird to Tralee's Rose Hotel on Monday, as the legend of Irish television shared some of his most extraordinary memories from a career that spans almost four decades.

On Monday night, Bird spoke at length about visits he paid to Irish missions working in countries like Korea and the Philippines, as well as voluntary work undertaken nationally by people like Kerry woman Sister Stanislaus Kennedy.

The high profile journalist also touched on the scenes he witnessed while reporting from disadvantaged countries like Haiti, and war-ravaged Syria.

The Irish Refugee Council's Caroline Reid also spoke at the event to consider Ireland's reply to the global refugee crisis, comparing the State's actions against its initial commitments, while praising 'wonderful voluntary work' that takes place around the country.

The event, chaired by Frank Lewis, formed an integral part of the Diocese of Kerry's celebrations for the mission month of October, as well as this weekend's Mission Sunday, October 23.

Speaking to The Kerryman, Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne said that events like the one that took place on Monday "can renew our commitment to being missionary as a central part of our faith".
From left: Eileen Hickey, Mairead Hickey, Eileen Buckley, Eilis Coakley, Betty Casey and Janice Sheehan at the Rathmore Fashion Show in aid of the Children of Chernobyl. Photo by Sean Radley

Rathmore's been a good friend to Chernobyl for over two decades now, and the support the Children of Chernobyl Fashion Show has garnered since its inception three years ago would suggest the town's as happy to help out now as ever before.

More than 300 people attended the staging of third annual 'Children of Chernobyl Fashion Show' in Rathmore's Community Centre on Thursday night, and 'Friends of the Children of Chernobyl' President Betty Casey told The Kerryman that she's delighted at the event's success.

"It shows how much the people here care, and how willing they are to keep our long-held connection with Chernobyl intact," she said

"Children have been coming from Chernobyl to Rathmore on an annual basis for about 20 years ago now, and they always receive the warmest of welcomes and the best of accommodation from the town's people. That spirit was evident again on Thursday."

The show itself was preceded by a cheese and wine reception, and the night was further embellished with a raffle offering a variety of spot prizes.

The event was no small undertaking for the committee, and Betty was thrilled by the assistance they received.

"Shops from Cork and Kerry had their clothes showcased on the night, and we're grateful they got involved," she said.

"We received a lot of help with decorating and organising from the local pantomime group and the hall committee, and we're of course hugely thankful to everyone who donated or attended on the night. It was another packed house for our show, and it goes down as another superb success."
A book launch on a scale with the landscape it celebrates - that was the lively scene laid on at Kate Kearney's cottage on Saturday for photographer Valerie O'Sullivan on the publication of her magnificent new book The MacGillycuddy Reeks: People and Places of Ireland's Highest Mountain Range.

Hundreds clamoured for copies and its author's paw print for hours as the Reeks launched into the public ether to a resounding thumbs up from its first readers.

Among Saturday's first readers were the many Reeks inhabitants who feature in the book in a sure sign of the community's joy in finally finding themselves the subject matter of a tome they so richly warrant.

It's the people as much as the landscape that make The Reeks such a joy to behold (as well as the many informative essays and interviews). And there was only one photographer capable of winning the trust of a sometimes wary people - Killarney native Valerie.

Rural Recreation Officer with South Kerry Development Partnership Patricia Deane - another woman who knows the mountains and its community inside out - chose a fitting quote in launching Valerie's book.

"'Photography is the beauty of life captured'. This is what Valerie has achieved," Patricia said in providing a wonderful overview of The Reeks through her address. She gave it its context perfectly - the first real comprehensive account of life in the high land of Kerry that does nothing less than help bring the community even more closely together.

"Valerie, you have told a story, not just one story through the lens of your camera, you have interlinked the connections of the Reeks, the people and the place."

"The title of the book, the story of the people and the place, is where Valerie's passion shines through. Her gra for the people and the place combined beautifully - well done Valerie, we are all so proud of what you have achieved. You got there!"

She sure did, and she even got through the dizzying number of signatures required of her at the launch to express - in typically modest fashion - her delight at the response and her gratitude to all who came; not least the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team, who feature extensively and whose life-saving mission is set to benefit from sales of The Reeks.

Published by The Collins Press, it's in all good bookshops now, with Valerie signing copies in Eason's Killarney this Saturday from 12 noon.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

By Fatih Karimov  Trend

Iran and Turkmenistan signed a protocol for water reserves management of a joint reservoir dam dubbed Dousti (Friendship).

The protocol was signed at the end of the session of Iran-Turkmenistan joint commission on Dousti dam, Mohammad Hossein Jafari, managing director of Irans Khorasan Razavi province Regional Water Authority, said, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 22.

Based on the protocol, the Turkmen side expressed readiness to undertake microgeodesy operations, meanwhile the Iranian party will carry out dredging operations of Shirtappeh Diversion Dam, he added.

The IranTurkmenistan Friendship Dam is a dam on the Hariroud River, which forms part of the international boundary between Iran and Turkmenistan.

The dam was completed in 2004, and both countries agreed that each would have an equal right to the waters of the river, which amount to 820 million cubic meters. The dam provides drinking water and irrigation for the surrounding areas along with hydroelectric power.
Launching the eighth Killorglin Charity Fashion Show were Fiona Hyde, Liane Dee and Mary O'Connor of Pillbox. It will be on October 25 in Sol y Sombra, Killorglin at 7.30pm. Photo Michelle Cooper Galvin

Preparations are underway at Sol u Sombra Tapas Bar for the eighth running of the annual Killorglin Fashion Show, in aid of Autism School Units and The Irish Kidney Association.

First organised by Fiona Foley Hyde for the Killorglin venue in 2009, a wide range of local charities have benefited from the show's many successes.

Fiona relocated to Kerry from London in 2008, and her son Dylan has since attended school at the Autism Unit at Cullina National School in Beaufort.

It was thereafter that Fiona recognised a need to collect funds for Autism services in Ireland's south west and this is one of the show's goals since its inauguration.

"We've raised a lot of money for Autism-focused charities over the years," Fiona explained.

"But we've raised funds for many different local charities as well, like Killorglin Cystic Fibrosis, Killorglin Mental Health, Saint Joseph's Home, and many more."

It's a night that will offer plenty to devotees of fashion. A plethora of well-regarded shops will be showcasing their autumn/winter fare, and two winners of the prestigious Kerry Designer of the Year Award, Tina Griffin and Clodagh Irwin Owens, will be also have collections exhibited.

Away from the catwalk, a week at a luxury Malaga apartment will be auctioned off, as well as a beautiful Pauline Bewick print and a trip to the Clayton Crown Hotel in Cricklewood, London.

"The show gets underway at 7.30pm on Tuesday, October 25, and you can secure your seat by phoning (087) 264 0792," Fiona says. "I'm astounded every year at the generosity we're shown, we're very thankful for that, and I'm sure our chosen charities will benefit greatly again this year."
The Kerry Citizens Information Mobile Unit helping people learn about important aspects of public life and access advice and advocacy will be located as follows next week:

On Tuesday, October 25, it will be deployed on the Dingle Peninsula:

11am: An Fheothanach School; 12.15pm: An Mhuirioch School; 2.30pm: Lios Poil - Keane's Shop; 4.00pm: Annascaul Community Centre.

On Wednesday 26 it will be at Duagh School at 9.30am; 11.00am: Moyvane School; 12.00noon: Tarbert - The Square; 1.30pm: Ballylongford- Heaphy Supermarket; 3.00pm: Causeway Church

On Thursday October 27:

10.00am: Castleisland - Supervalu Car Park; 2.30pm: Rathmore Community Centre.

On Friday, October 28 between 10am - 4pm it will be in Dingle's Supervalu Car Park.

Frances Clifford Manager, Manager said: "Kerry Citizens Information Service aims to reach all communities in the county to ensure that all citizens have easy access to high quality information, advice and advocacy.

The mobile and outreach service is purely for the convenience of those who would find it difficult to visit our other Kerry centres located in Tralee, Killarney, Listowel, Killorglin, Kenmare, Cahersiveen & Dingle Outreach."

Our objective is to ensure that all citizens are fully aware of their rights & entitlements. Our service is free, impartial & confidential."

Citizens Information, provide information on a wide range of issues, including employment rights, housing, social welfare, family matters, pensions, migrant rights, health services, education, disability and much more. They can also help complete forms, write letters make telephone calls and calculate entitlements. They also regularly visit community groups around the county to give information talks on a wide range of topics.

Last year they dealt with over 19,000 callers and over 28,000 queries in Kerry.
Killorglin Community College's Jack Nagle and Eoghan McKenna enjoyed what their Deputy Principal Donal O'Reilly described as 'a once in a lifetime educational experience', as they brought their entrepreneurial effort before Europe's biggest audience at Maker Fair Rome.

The 14-year-olds departed Kerry for Italy's beautiful capital on Wednesday last, having earned a table at the grandest exhibition of its kind in Europe.

The duo were the only Irish secondary school students to qualify for the four day festival, and while their 'Dream Baby Prop' cot was not chosen as the overall winner from the 600 finalists, Mr O'Reilly quite rightly said 'qualifying in itself was a prize.'

"We couldn't be prouder of the lads and their astonishing achievement", the deputy principal told The Kerryman, the first media outlet to report on the boys' success when it became known over the summer.

"They got to Rome ahead of thousands of other applicants from all over the continent, and it's no accident that they made the cut. They're excellent students, and we're also very proud of the staff members here who've helped them to this incredible success."

The medical cot, which allows parents to easily elevate a baby to the medically recommended angle of 30 degrees, was designed by the boys under the mentorship of teacher Anthony Griffin.

Having seen their younger siblings suffer from reflux, head colds and sinus irritation, the lads decided be proactive, and while the product 'does not solve the problem entirely, it does help the sufferer get some rest.'

They found out over the summer that the cot had won them a berth in Rome, and they duly made the most of their visit to the Eternal City last week.

"They flew over on Wednesday and spent the entire day out sightseeing with family and their teacher Donal Brosnan, who said they soaked up everything the city offered them", Donal added.

"The exhibition went on for four days, and they had to supervise their stand for 11 hours each day, but they had plenty pizza to keep them going!

"We'd like to thank everyone who helped them out, and I think it's only right to mention the staff at Kerry airport who made sure the project itself got over in one piece!"

The contingent arrived home yesterday, tired, but understandably very proud, and with memories of the most spectacular kind in tow.
The number of people signing on in Kerry has fallen below 10,000 for the first time since the economic collapse and the start of the recession in September 2008.

Live Register Figures for September published by the Central Statistics Office show that there were 9,488 people signing on at Kerry's seven social welfare offices last month.

It is the first time since September 2008 - the month Brian Cowen's Fianna Fail Government acknowledged that Ireland was in a recession - that the number of people on the Live Register in Kerry is below 10,000.

From September 2008 through to April 2009 around 1,000 people a month joined dole queues in Kerry.

The county's unemployment crisis reached its peak in January 2012 when the number of people on Kerry's Live Register reached a massive 17,258.

By contrast in September 2005 - when the boom was at its height - there were 5,499 people signing on in Kerry.

While the number of Kerry people signing on remains high - the figure is still over 4,000 higher than at the height of the boom - the fact it has dropped below 10,000 is significant.

Annual trends - which typically see Kerry's live Register grow each month from September through February before falling back again during the tourist season - mean we can expect to see an increase in the coming months.

It must be acknowledged that not all of those coming off the register have found work and a sizeable portion of the reduction could be linked to emigration or schemes like JobBridge whose participants receive benefits but are not included in the live register.

The register also includes part time workers who are receiving some benefits.

The Kerry Live Register figures for September are as follows: Kerry 9,488 (down 1,056 on August); Cahersiveen 332 (down 25); Dingle 408 (down 60); Kenmare 256 (down 30); Killarney 1,303 (down 173); Killorglin 729 (down 116); Listowel 1,939 (down 199) and Tralee and Castleisland 4,521 (down 453).
Tralee has been named as one of 10 Irish towns that will take part in a pilot project aimed at rejuvenating life and business in rural town centres.

The Tralee Town Centre Health Check Survey was launched on Friday and it will involve thorough research on all aspects of life in the care town centre area.

Aspects that will be studied will include the number of vacant units in the town; footfall surveys to establish the actual number of visitors and shoppers in the town centre and shopper surveys to rate visitor experience and satisfaction

Retailers will also be asked about levels of commercial activity in the town; their opinions on what can be done to improve Tralee and their outlook for the future.

There will also be traffic and vehicle counts, mapping of parking patterns and an audit of town centre accessibility.

Environmental quality and crime figures will also be incorporated into the study.

All the research will be supported by existing studies carried out by Tralee Chamber Alliance and Kerry County Council.

Students from IT Tralee will carry out the surveys this month and through November.

Once complete all the research will then be compiled in a detailed commercial, cultural and tourism report that will be used as a base for future planning in the town.

Such 'health checks' are a regular occurrence across the EU and in the UK but they are new to Ireland.

IT Tralee project supervisor, Martha Farrell said the project will benefit both students and the town as a whole.

"It really is an excellent opportunity for our students to hone their research skills while contributing to something that will make a difference to everyone who uses the town centre in Tralee," she said.

"We are delighted to participate in this project and we have no doubt that the student project teams involved, will benefit from an invaluable learning exercise. It really is excellent," said Martha Farrell.

Tralee Chamber Alliance have warmly welcomed the initiative.

"The Town Centre Health Check is a great initiative and one that Tralee Chamber Alliance is happy to support. The more information that we can generate the better we will be able to plan for the future of Tralee," said Tralee Chamber Alliance CEO Kieran Ruttledge.

"We can also learn a lot from the nine other chosen towns and see how they have addressed problems and found solutions. All the various agencies working together for the benefit of the town is definitely the best way forward and we are very hopeful that we will make progress through this project," Mr Ruttledge added.
The launch of the 'Shut Down Cyber Bullying' leaflet last week

A conversation on cyber-bullying was opened up as representatives of Comhairle na n'Og launched their new schools resource in County Hall.

Chairperson Cllr Paddy Kavanagh welcomed Gavin Mooney of Comhairle na nOg, teacher in St Mary's New Ross Laura Howard and student Aoife Murphy to the meeting, saying that cyberbullying is a 'very important issue.'

Before discussing the resource, Gavin filled members in on the roots of their Shut Down Cyber Bullying pack, which will soon be sent to all 22 secondary schools in the county.

'At our 2013 AGM, cyberbullying came up as a topic and we saw that it wasn't talked about in SPHE. In 2014 in County Hall, we proposed our plans for an information pack for SPHE classes in secondary schools in Wexford,' he said. 'We gathered information from young people in Wexford and it proved that it was a subject that was rarely talked about.'

As a result of research carried out, the group developed the Shut Down Cyber Bullying educational resource pack. This was piloted in St Mary's of New Ross and according to Gavin, was met with great feedback.

SPHE Teacher in the school Laura Howard echoed this in her comments, saying that it has proved to be a core resource for staff.

'We put some of the visually striking posters on our notice boards and the awareness campaign completely took on its own life,' she said. 'We had a poster competition and the response from students was incredible.'

'This has helped to normalise the conversation around cyberbullying.'

St Mary's student Aoife Molloy, who Cllr Kavanagh pointed out is a cousin of Cllr Lisa McDonald, also said that her fellow students responded well to the initiative.

'The poster examples we were provided with were excellent and they encouraged more people to enter the poster competition,' she said. 'However, all of the content and opinions we received were from the students themselves. We had a lot of feedback on the impacts of cyberbullying and ways to deal with it and shut it down.'

Acknowledging that everyone can be a victim of cyberbullying, Cllr Malcolm Byrne asked what advice the trio could give the councillors who are often victims of negative comments online.

'I think when you are a politician, everything you say is scrutinised and sometimes people can take it out of context no matter what you say. The best thing to do is just think before you type anything and put it online,' said Aoife.

Cllr Tony Dempsey called for a push for legislation around cyberbullying.

'People have ended their own lives as a result of cyberbullying. We need legislation to identify and publish the bullies. Until the power to do so is there, bullying won't stop,' he said. 'Maybe you as a group could push for this legislation.'

Responding to Cllr Willie Fitzharris' query on whether the group required help with the initiative, Gavin said that support in pushing for such legislation would be much appreciated.

Placing a 'WexCoco Against Cyberbullying badge' on the council website was suggested as a first step by Cllr Kavanagh.

Cllr Deirdre Wadding commended the group on their work.

'We are always dealing with the clifftop of these issues but never dealing with the journey to it,' she added.

Cllr Anthony Kelly also congratulated the group, as did Cllr Michael Sheehan, who asked whether they were aware if their work had made any difference to people.

'I think it has normalised the conversation around cyberbullying and this has encouraged students to approach our guidance counsellors,' said Laura. 'We have found that the majority of cyberbullying happens outside of school.'

Cllr Lisa McDonald said that she finds it frustrating as a solicitor to see that there is a lack of legislation around the issue.

'I think there is a laissez-faire attitude among politicians to legislate,' she said.

Cllr McDonald also suggested that the initiative be rolled out to primary schools, saying social media users are getting younger and younger. Gavin said that it could be an idea for the future.

Responding to Cllr George Lawlor's query on whether all schools have a cyberbullying policy, Laura said:

'Schools must have a policy on bullying. The majority of our research shows that it's happening outside of school so there is a limit to what the principal can do,' she said. 'Legislation has to come from the top down.'
A three-year-old girl was found in a lorry in New Ross on Sunday.

The girl was with four other people, who told gardai that they are from Iraq. The three men, one woman and the three-year-old girl were found in the back of the lorry at O'Leary International in Marshmeadows.

Sergeant Eddie Wilde said the people with the child, who are all aged in their twenties, were discovered at 6 p.m. having travelled from a foreign port earlier that day into Rosslare Europort.

Noises from the back of the lorry alerted one of the company's staff who immediately contacted gardai. who arrived at the scene in numbers on Sunday evening.

Sgt Wilde said: 'They were all in good health but were taken for medical assessment to Wexford General Hospital as a precaution.'

The refugees were then taken to Wexford Garda Station for questioning.

'The matter is still under investigation,' Sgt Wilde said.

He said the route the refugees came from is not being released as it is part of the investigation.

'It is now known if they are related as the last names given are not similar. It appears that they travelled together and spent less than a day in the lorry,' Sgt Wilde said.

In February of this year nine male refugees were discovered huddled inside the back of a truck in New Ross that had arrived at Rosslare Port.

They had been hidden inside the trailer for at least two days.

Chief Superintendent John Roche said there is an increased garda presence at Rosslare Europort due to the heightened security threat of Isis across the continent.

Supt Roche said as a result several significant arrests have been made in recent weeks and a stolen car was seized.

He said several people who had false documents have been sent back to their outgoing port from Rosslare Europort.

A car was also seized and searches are ongoing at the port, he added.
Postman James Cashin started delivering post as a boy of 15 in 1966 and 50 years later he is still on the beat in the New Ross district, doing good turns for people everywhere he goes.

James, from Pondfields, celebrated his 50 years as postman with his brothers Paul, Pat and Eugene who are all postmen, along with his colleagues, at the local An Post depot in Woodbine Business Park in New Ross last Monday.

The son of Nick and Joan Cashin, James, who was one of 13 in the Cashin family, was born on William Street.

Acting on the sage advice of his father to get a pensionable job, James took the postman exam in Waterford in 1966 having previously worked for Joe Colfer the butcher delivering meat throughout the district.

Soon James found himself hand delivering a lighter load, bringing telegrams from the post office on Charles Street to people across the district.

James said: 'I could be out on telegrams for Old Ross in the morning and then on to Tullogher or The Rower or somewhere in the afternoon. At the time people who died in England were notified by telegram.'

He then worked as a postman in Ferrybank in Waterford travelling down every morning at 5.45 a.m. on his Yamaha 80 motorcycle.

James always enjoyed the social aspect of the job and after a few years in Waterford he was relocated to the New Ross area to do relief work.

He has been covering the Poulmounty, Ballywilliam and Ballyanne route for 35 years and on his routes does everything from bringing in fuel and running errands to lighting the fire.

'I always loved meeting people, the older people especially. I didn't mind the hours and went to bed at ten every night, getting up at 5.30 a.m.'

In 1975 James married Marie Coppola who had spotted him on his bicycle delierving post 'and she never looked back', James said.

They had four children, Nicola, Tony, Paula and Ricky and grandchildren Freya, Max, Conor and Aine.

James said: 'The job was handy enough. It was rough when you were on the bike as the distances were greater then. The volume of mail wasn't the same and it has declined a lot in recent years, the peak being in around 2000.'

James never feared delivering at houses where there were dogs as he has always kept greyhounds and was a dog lover.

For a man who worked 50 years and who only had one sick day in the past 20, James has many fond memories of his time delivering mail.

'In the 1970s we would be delivering contraceptives. People didn't think we knew what was in the packages but we did.'

James has established a close bond with many people across the district, including Mrs Josie Rochford, 86 and her husband Jack Rochford, 89, in Poulmounty.

Every Monday morning Mrs Rochford leaves a note in the letterbox directing James to the back door where she gives him a loaf of freshly baked bread for his efforts.

She started the tradition three years ago when James's mother Joan passed away.

When asked what An Post has meant to him and about his life as a postman, James said: 'I love it. My father and mother did a great job on the whole lot of us. There is a social benefit for people with the job also. I bring coal out to people and light fires. The older people would only be waiting to have a chat with you.'

James will retire in 2017 when he turns 66.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22 By Fatih Karimov  Trend Indians have decided to not make investment in Irans petrochemical sector, Ahmad Mahdavi, director general of the Association of Petrochemical Industry Corporations (APIC), said. He said that the high price of feedstock gas price for petrochemical units has forced the Indian investors to withdraw from investment, Mahdavi said, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 22.

Each ton of ethane was being sold at $240 to Iranian petrochemical units, when the oil price was $110 per each barrel, he said, adding that the price is almost the same at the moment, despite the sharp fall of the crude oil price. Petrochemical export can increase, only if the administration determines a reasonable price for feedstock, Mahdavi said.

Currently Qatar sells gas feedstock for its petrochemical units for 6 cent per cubic meters, he said, adding that the price is even less in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile Irans oil ministry receives 8 cent for each cubic meter of the sold feedstock from the petrochemical units.

The prices are not attractive for foreign investors, Mahdavi underlined. Iran has decreased feedstock gas price for petrochemical units to 2,642 rials (31,666 rials make one USD) per cubic meters for the sixth calendar month of Shahrivar (Aug. 21-Sept. 21) compared to 2,680 rials in preceding month. Feedstock price is a key factor when it comes to investment in petrochemical projects.

The tariffs are deduced from a pricing formula that was approved last year and will be in effect until 2025. As per the new formula, the price of feedstock will be contingent upon prices at major global gas trading hubs, including the US Henry Hub, Alberta Hub in Canada and the UK NBP Hub.

The deduced prices will take a 10 percent cut in the first half of the year and will increase by 10 percent over the second half. Iranian petrochemical plants use about 13 billion cubic meters of gas per year (bcm/y), while some 2.8 million tons/year of ethane is consumed in this sector.
The Wexford-based pharmacy chain boss Sam McCauley has hinted at the possibility of the company being floated on the Irish Stock Exchange.

In an in-depth interview in the Sunday Independent, the Enniscorthy man said the company is open to bringing in a new equity investor and may even consider listing the business on the Stock Exchange.

Mr. McCauley said the board of the company which includes business expert Bernard Somers, is looking at ways to expand the business even further.

'We could look at lots of options including an equity partner to make a quantum leap in the business,' he said.

'I don't see any reason why an Irish pharmacy group can't hold the same position as Musgraves or Dunnes Stores in the grocery market, in other words be right there with the market leaders.'

'We're on their heels but there is a gap. I see a unique opportunity for a uniquely Irish model.'

The McCauley health and beauty chain invested 2 million in the recent opening of two new shops in Tipperary Navan, bringing the total number of stores to 30 and is targeting revenues of 90 million next year which will exceed its pre-recession turnover although this will be over a larger number of stores.

Commenting on a welcome return to growth in the retail sector, he said 'it's not a gold rush. You're fighting to come up with more innovative ideas as to how you stay on trend and make sure you are going to be interesting.'

It is now 25 years since he opened the first branch of the chain in Redmond Square, Wexford in 1991 and it is 60 years since the first McCauley chemist was set up by his parents in Enniscorthy.

Sam McCauley is the largest shareholder in the pharmacy group with members of management and pharmacists among the other investors in the company.

He said the company is 'very much on the path of organic growth' and in addition to the two new stores this year is also expanding existing shops, taking advantage of lower property prices.

'We're maximising out the existing portfolio, adding on new greenfield sites and may do selective acquisitions. We see lots of opportunity to expand the busienss. We're now in a better position than ever before to move the business forward to a new level.'

The McCauley model relies heavily on upmarket cosmetics, photo services and other retail offerings with 60 per cent of revenue coming from shopfront and 40 per cent from the prescription dispensing business. This compares to 70 per cent of turover from dispensing in the average Irish pharmacy.

It is a blueprint started in the Redmond Square Wexford store when McCauley's moved into what was then considered to be an enormous amount of space at 4,000 square feet.

'We put in a beauty salon, hair salon, one-hour photo, all the prestige beauty brands as well as jewellery and handbags. It was the first of those type of stores and we had first mover advantage.'

'The thinking was that there were a lot of really good family pharmacies. So you're going to have to really differentiate yourself. We did a lot on branding. We brought in graphic designers. We had radio jingles, cinema advertising.'

The former Enniscorthy Fianna Fail councillor said he never started out to open a chain of shops.

'It was a very incremental process. But that was probably the first time we had the vision to say this is a formula that works.' The model was replicated in Carlow and then expanded until reaching a period of consolidation during the economic downturn.

'Everyone says you need a good recession to sharpen your business. We consolidated, paid down debt, reduced and cut costs. You have to have a growth-oriented dynamic in your business. It's an old adage, if you're not growing you're going the other way,' he said.
New Ross Town Manager Sinead Casey called on people across the district to support their local Tidy Towns committees who all performed very well in the latest national results.

Ms Casey said there were seven entrants from the district and all of the results were very positive.

She praised Wellingtonbridge for entering the competition, saying it was their first year and they will build on their success.

Thanking all of the volunteers who work hard to make their towns and villages attractive, Ms Casey said New Ross did exceptionally well, increasing its points tally by 12 points on the 2015 results.

She praised committee chairman Cllr Anthony Connick and his strong team. 'We saw over the summer how well the town looked. I want the public to have pride in their areas and to continue to assist Tidy Towns group by being mindful of how they deal with their rubbish, litter and dog fouling. There has been a small but of an improvement on the ring roads and this comes down to how dog owners treat their dog waste.'

Cllr John Fleming said it was good to see all areas gain in their points' tallies, especially Clonroche.

'Wellingtonbridge got a great mark stating off,' he added.

Cllr Fleming suggested getting a skip for volunteers in the areas. Cllr Willie Fitzharris said: 'It was a tremendous achievement by Wellingtonbridge for the first time. We should do something to encourage people in towns and villages that have dropped out.'

Ms Casey said all Tidy Towns groups have the support of New Ross Municipal District. District Director Eamonn Hore said New Ross had the biggest points increase in the county and was judged to be clean to European norms in the last Irish Business Against Litter report.
Winning team Anthony Finn, Lisa Hammerl, Megan Butler and Laura Dunne with their classmates from Colaiste Abbain along with Fr Colm Murphy (Wexford Mental Health Association), Terry Walsh (Allied Training), Ciaradh Walsh (Wexford Mental Health Association), Amy White (Wexford Credit Union) and Jill O'Herlihy (Mental Health Ireland)

Students expressed their views on mental health through art, drama and song last week as part of the Expressions competition organised by Wexford Mental Health Association.

Students from Ramsgrange, Colaiste Abbain in Adamstown, and Presentation Wexford shared their ideas on the topic of 'Positive Mental Health' through a host of creative projects which displayed their understanding of the complex issue. All of the students were judged on their content, presentation and understanding of mental health before Anthony Finn, Lisa Hammerl, Megan Butler and Laure Dunne from Colaiste Abbain were announced as the winners.

The idea for the competition is the brainchild of the Wexford Mental Health Association. It aims to get young people thinking about their own mental health and how to look after it.

'We are constantly looking at the promotion of mental health, not only in terms of dealing with mental illness but also the idea of encouraging good mental health among people in the community,' explained Wexford Mental Health Association PRO and director Alice Doyle. 'Last year, we started working with the youth. We always had a debate in schools but the competition was new for us.'

'We hear so many different stories now about young people struggling with mental health issues, from depression and stress to suicide,' said Alice. 'We are trying to get young people aware of the fact that they do have feelings and emotions and help them to learn how to deal with them. We aim to instil in them ways to prevent mental health problems including being active, being part of something and talking to others if they have a problem.'

The winners received 200 while the runners-up received 100 per team.

The association are hoping that they will have a greater uptake next year.

'These youngsters are heightening awareness on how to look after your mental health. If they can help to spread their message, that is great,' said Alice.
MEP Marian Harkin has warned that the imposition of a 'hard' border in the wake of Brexit would have catastrophic implications for border counties.

Former Belgian Prime Minister and lead negotiator for the European Parliament on Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, met with the Independent MEP to discuss matters relating to the border in the context of a British withdrawal from the EU.

At the meeting in Brussels, MEP Harkin impressed strongly on Mr. Verhofstadt the huge adverse effect which a hard border would have on the Republic's economy and the common travel area as well as the implications for the ongoing peace process.She said: "The implications of a hard border would be catastrophic for the border area and I was very encouraged by this meeting and the real understanding that Guy Verhofstadt has of the Irish situation.

"I look forward to welcoming him to Ireland for discussion and meetings which will inform his perspective on this crucial matter.

"In the meantime, I will continue to work on this issue with Mr Verhofstadt who is the President of my group, ALDE, in the European Parliament," she said.

Last week, a new grouping, Border Communities Against Brexit held a Day of Action at six locations along the border corridor in opposition to the recent referendum on British withdrawal from the EU including one at Belcoo/Blacklion where checkpoints were once in place.
Sheep, teeth and first time buyers were among the talking points of Budget 2017, which was revealed on Tuesday last by Finance Minister Michael Noonan. It was bad news for smokers, as the price of cigarettes are increasing by 50c for a packet of 20, while alcohol and fuel remain unchanged.

The tourism sector breathed a sigh of relief as the 9% VAT rate remains the same at a time of increased uncertainty in the uncharted waters that is Brexit. Many didn't expect to see sheep dominating the Budget post-mortem, but it's good news for sheep farmers, they are getting 10/head ewe payment under a new Sheep Welfare Scheme. An affordable childcare scheme will see a subsidy made available to all parents from September 2017, understood to be worth at least 20 a week. Teeth too were up for discussion, with PRSI now allowing people to get a free clean. Those with a fizzy drink fondness though won't be impressed with a sugar tax on sugar-sweetened drinks being introduced in April 2018, a similar tax is already in force in the UK. There was positive news too for first time buyers in Budget 2017. A Help-To-Buy scheme for first-time buyers is being introduced, in the form of a 5pc grant on new-build homes. Maximum rebate is 20,000 on purchases up to 600k. The Help-To-Buy scheme will be back-dated to July 19th and run until the end of 2019. There will be a boost for those who want to earn extra money by renting out a room in their home. Landlords get an extra 5pc in mortgage interest relief, while homeowners can rent a room out for 14,000 a year without paying tax.

Feedback to Tuesday's Budget was mixed. Fine Gael TD for Sligo Leitrim Tony McLoughlin said Fine Gael has ensured that Budget 2017 will help hard pressed working families, with measures designed to protect the economy and improve people's lives. He said a highlight was the significant investment in childcare and the reduction in USC. "Thanks to the careful economic management of recent years we now have the resources to target investments in key public services that will make a real difference to people and families," Deputy McLoughlin added.

IFA President Joe Healy remarked the Budget responded positively to the IFA's farm income campaign, with significant measures on low-cost loans, increased funding for farm schemes, the reversal of cuts to Farm Assist and flexibility on income averaging to help deal with volatility.

He added farmers will be helped manage the very difficult cashflow situation on farms this year, due to new flexibility under income averaging. This means farmers can opt out of averaging in an exceptional year. There was also praise for the 25m sheep welfare scheme. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), while noting the overall increase in health funding, for 2017, announced, believes it will prove wholly inadequate in dealing with the current and growing demand for services.

The Union of Students in Ireland has welcomed the allocation of 36.5 million to the third level sector in the Budget but has emphasised that the funding is insufficient by over 100 million. A Post Budget briefing session was held in the Sligo Park Hotel on Wednesday morning, hosted by Sligo Chamber. It was delivered by Martin Coggins from Coggins & Co the briefing concentrated on the changes brought about by Budget 2017 and their likely impact on personal and company finances. More than 60 people were at the event. Des Faul, President of Sligo Chamber, welcomed the pro-business measures announced in Budget 2017 but warns that the longer term concerns of business remain. He said: "There is something for everyone in this Budget but the business community would have liked to see more measures to assist them as we enter an era of post-Brexit uncertainty." In particular he welcomed the increased funding to Skillnets by the Minister for Education & Skills by 2million for 2017, the reduction in the rate of Capital Gains Tax applied to Entrepreneur Relief from 20% to 10% will be welcome and of particular relevance to high potential SMEs. "Investment in childcare through direct subsidies to providers will have a positive impact on female labour market participation and job activation and is a welcome support for working parents. Also the retention of the 9% VAT rate for tourism especially here in the North West as it is instrumental in the recovery of this industry and allows us to remain competitive at a time of uncertainty due to Brexit," he added.

"The reality is that the major concerns for the business community go beyond Budget 2017. The big threats to Ireland's economic development will need strategic level interventions on issues such as maintaining our relative competitiveness with the UK, rapidly expanding our investment in infrastructure and ensuring our export driven economy and exchequer receipts can be sustained in the face of diminishing international demand. We must adopt a sense of realism. It is not possible to "Brexit-proof" the economy and as a region we must stand ready to be as adaptable and flexible as we have been in the past to devise strategies to address forthcoming challenges as they become clearer."
The heart-breaking story of a young teenage mother in Sligo who gave up her son for adoption in the 1970s will be aired on television tonight.

Maria Hayes recalls the painful details of having to part with her beautiful baby boy and the long-lasting impacts the separation had on her life.

Maria recalls feeling sick over the Christmas of 1976 and going to the doctor, who examined her and announced she was six or seven months pregnant.

"I could not believe what he was saying to me, even though I probably knew but I didn't know until it was said to me. I remember him calling my mother in and saying to her, your daughter is pregnant. That's when my story started."

Maria recalls being put in the car and brought to Galway to live with a lady she knew briefly.

"It would have been a case of, what do the neighbours think; that's the way it was back then. Out of sight out of mind was the thinking.

"That journey to Galway, I remember every bump and every corner on the route. I've often taken it since and the memories still hit me."After three months living with the woman Maria was admitted to hospital to have her baby. I was induced and I remember letting the doctor know how uncomfortable it was and his reply back to me was - you didn't shout like this when you were having intercourse.

"That has always stuck with me. You don't forget those things; they stay with you, like if you cut your finger."

Eventually, Maria gave birth to her son but did not get to see him until the day she left hospital. I got to hold him for a minute and I whispered in his ear, I'm going to come and find you - and I walked away," Maria told Claire Ronan on Sligo County Matters which airs at 6.30pm on Irish TV this evening.

Because there was a delay in her friend coming to take her home Maria remembers standing in the long corridor all day looking down towards the baby unit.

"It was running through my head, you can go down there Maria, he's your baby, you can take him home with you if you want. But yet that power was still holding me back; you have no place to go, you have no way of minding him, you don't have any money to take care of him, you can't bring the shame back home, so you're going to have to leave him there."

She spent the day in torture before finally her friend arrived.

"It was never spoken about, never ever spoken about again. I started doing counselling for myself because I couldn't understand this emptiness that I was feeling. I did go on and got married and had my children in my marriage. You know each one of my children is so precious but you're still missing your first born.

"You're looking for this little face that you whispered in to the ear of, telling them that you'll find him; That little person was missing out of my life and I needed to find that person, to complete what I was feeling, that emptiness."

Thankfully there is a happy ending of a kind to the story as Maria recounts reuniting with her son as a young man. She did however seek out counselling to help her through the loss of her child to adoption through the organisation Danu, which she recommends as a support group to others who may also have a similar secret for years.

"I searched for a group where I could tell my story in an environment I felt safe in. I found it in 2007. We all had this one thing in common, we were all birth mothers."

Maria found such sustenance in the group she now wants to get the message out to other birth mothers who may have also had to live through shame and secrecy and a sense of emptiness over the years.

The Danu Birth Mothers Group Sligo set up in 2005. See birthmothersgroup.com
Overseas visitors to Sligo are worth 51m annually. That's according to a recent survey conducted by Failte Ireland, which examined figures county by county.

Last year, it discovered 186,000 visitors came here.

Sligo fared mid-table according to the survey, which looked into both the number of overseas tourists visiting and also how much they're spending.

Tourists were spending more money here than in Kilkenny, which took in 45m.

Longford was bottom of the table, with 30,000 tourists worth 8m to the local economy last year.

Dublin was miles ahead of the rest, which was unsurprising.

It welcomed a staggering 4,938,000 overseas tourists last year, worth a hefty 1,726,000 to its economy.

Cork was in second place, with 1,449,000 visitors arriving to the Rebel County last year, adding 558m to its economy for 2015.

Galway was in third position, seeing 1,354,000 people from overseas visiting last year, and leaving 475m.

Kerry (1,026,000) was fourth, with its economy being boosted to the tune of 234m, while Clare was fifth, welcoming 597,000 tourists from abroad.

Towards the bottom of the table were Offaly and Roscommon, with 50,000 visitors each, while Leitrim and Laois also had 57,000 each.

Leitrim's economy benefitted by 15m from its tourists, Roscommon's increased by 20m, while Donegal got 83m.
As the uncertain fall-out from Brexit looms, the tourism sector say they are happy with the retention of the 9% VAT rate.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan made the announcement during Tuesday's Budget in Dail Eireann. Brian Pierson, Sligo Branch Chair of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) said the rate has been instrumental in the recovery of the tourism industry, which has created some 50,000 new jobs since the measure was introduced in 2011.

He said: "This measure has been the single most important fiscal initiative for Irish tourism in the last decade and we are pleased the Government has retained the rate. It demonstrates that it has been highly effective in job creation and also acknowledges that we have a pro-tourism Government who see the value the industry brings to every part of our country located on the periphery of Europe. The decision is a vote of confidence in the tourism industry at a time of uncertainty due to Brexit.

Mr Pierson added: "Tourism is one of Ireland's largest employers. Tourism makes an important contribution to the economy of every town and village in Ireland. With a weaker sterling and an uncertain global outlook, there is no room for complacency."
Louise Kilbane, who runs the Lollipop Lane Montessori and after-school in Springvale

A Tubbercurry creche owner, while welcoming Budget 2017's childcare subsidies, says more is needed.

Louise Kilbane, who runs Lollipop Lane Montessori and after-school in Springvale, said the measures announced will make a difference but more support for providers is needed.

"I welcome the investment. It's good to see that, but it's not going to help the service directly."

Louise has been managing the private creche since 2006, and the centre looks after roughly 90 children on a weekly basis.

She says rising costs have been very difficult to deal with.

"My wages cost 70pc of my outgoings, and the other 30pc goes on lighting, heat, food, cleaning and other utility bills," she explained.

Louise said she sometimes she has to forgo her own wages in order to make ends meet.

"We have people with level-eight degrees working in the sector, who are earning less than the minimum living wage," she said.

She also says retaining staff is also an ongoing challenge.

"I really need to hire someone else, but I can't get the qualified staff to work if the wages I offer are so low," she said.

Louise is also disappointed that the new childcare plan did not mention support for creches paying commercial rates.

Some community creches and childcare providers in certain counties do not need to pay such rates, she pointed out.

Louise said she recognised that many parents resent the high prices of childcare.

"I know we hear time and time again that the childcare costs here are the highest in Europe," she added.

"But investing in the early years is going to be our future.

"These children are the doctors, teachers, politicians and taoisigh of the next generation, but they need to be given that support in order to get that first start.

"Childcare professionals don't deserve only the living wage for what they do.

"Just like any other worker with good qualifications, they deserve more."
Leading RTE journalist, Tommie Gorman has urged people at risk to get the flu vaccine.

The Northern Editor, a native of Sligo, launched the area's Flu Vaccine Campaign saying the yearly jab had helped to "keep people like me alive and healthy."

"I have what's described as a chronic illness and I am one of the many people who are strongly advised to get the flu vaccine jab.

"So for obvious reasons I am delighted to be involved in the launch of this energetic campaign in our region."

Flu can be a very serious and sometimes deadly disease, with potentially 1,000 flu related deaths in Ireland during a severe flu season. Flu is very infectious and can cause potentially serious illnesses especially for older people, those who have a chronic illness, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women. Seasonal flu vaccine can be given at any stage of pregnancy and also protects the baby.

The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu as it does not contain any live flu virus.

The following groups of at-risk people should be vaccinated against seasonal influenza:

 Everyone aged 65 years and over

 Anyone over six months of age with a long term illness requiring regular medical follow-up such as chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, diabetes or those with lower immunity due to disease or treatment

 Pregnant women

 Residents of nursing homes and other residential care services

 Healthcare workers

The HSE provides the flu vaccine free of charge for all those in the at-risk groups.

The vaccine and consultation are free for those with a Medical Card or GP Visit Card.

Dr Louise Doherty, Specialist in Public Health Medicine said:"It is important that all those working in frontline healthcare including doctors, nurses, therapists and carers protect themselves from getting the flu and also to prevent spreading it to vulnerable patients. Older and at risk patients may not get sufficient protection from the vaccine themselves, so people who care for them need to be vaccinated."
Tehran, Iran, October 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

The Customs Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed separate deals with Azerbaijan and Pakistan counterparts.

The sides signed the deals on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organizations customs summit, the Iranian Customs Administrations public relations office reported October 22.

According to the agreements, the level of cooperation between the sides will increase.

The sides will also boost their information sharing to create more suitable grounds for business and trade within the framework of mutual agreements.

The sides have also agreed to engage in more regulated mutual meetings.
Everyone is talking about rising star of Irish stand-up comedy Danny O'Brien and, if you've seen him perform, you'll understand why.

Danny will perform his high-energy show 'Ah Jaysus!' at Mermaid Arts Centre on Thursday, October 27, a show that has brought him to Edinburgh, Dublin, Berlin, Barcelona and now back to Bray.

Hailing from Glendalough, Danny recalls his youth spent between journeys on St Kevin's bus and Saturdays at Bray Bowl but he first developed a taste for comedy while working behind the bar at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival during a backpacking trip in Australia.

Danny will be supported at Mermaid by fellow Wicklow funny man and Hardy Har Comedy Club MC, Adam Burke. For tickets, visit www.mermaidartscentre.ie.
The Irish German Society of County Wicklow will hold its AGM at Bray Town Hall on Monday, October 24, at 7 p.m.

There will be a special guest speaker from the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce. The society is part of the very successful twinning partnership with Wurzburg.

The partnership has been running for over 20 years and promotes visits back and forth between County Wicklow and Wurzburg. A group of Wurzburg visitors will come to Wicklow from October 29 until November 2.

For more information, contact George Jones on (01) 2875678 or email gjjones@eircom.net.
A beautiful new book chronicling the long and distinguished history of Nun's Cross Church, Killiskey, was launched on Friday evening by the Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough, Dr Michael Jackson.

'Nun's Cross Church, Co. Wicklow and its Treasures, 1817-2017' by Patricia Butler with photography by Mark Boland, was commissioned by the select vestry of Killiskey to mark the bicentenary of their church.

A huge crowd of people connected with the church and from the wider community attended the launch which took place in Clermont Campus and which heralds the start of the church's 200th anniversary celebrations.

The history of Nun's Cross Church dates back to its medieval foundation in 1179 AD. The new church, completed in 1817 contains an astonishing array of 'treasures' outstanding not only for their quality but also for their diversity and interest.

Home to a rich collection of items in wood, stone and marble which have direct links to the great international revival of design and artistic craftsmanship known as the Arts and Crafts Movement (c.1885-c.1925), the church is also fortunate to possess a unique and important collection of stained glass executed by leading international artists Michael O'Connor, Charles Emer Kempe and Catherine O'Brien (An Tur Gloine). Links to the political (Sir Roger Casement) and literary (John Millington Synge) scenes are also present and discussed.

Officially launching the book, Archbishop Jackson said a debt of gratitude was owed to Patricia Butler for tremendous work she put into envisioning the book.

'The fact that you are all here shows the affection in which you hold Nun's Cross Church, for its historical continuity, its historical innovation, the importance of the site and the way in which it has been used as a place of worship for centuries.

'The building draws us into the totality and complexity of our own history in Ireland.

'The architect of the building was associated with the building of the GPO. Then there is the relationship with Roger Casement and his family. Artistically and aesthetically we find ourselves with the best locally, nationally and internationally.'

Patricia, who is a parishioner of Nun's Cross as well as being a distinguished art historian, thanked all associated with bringing the book to publication.

She described the treasurers to be found in the church and said, 'this church is not only a focal point for worship but also an art gallery open for all to enjoy.'

The book costs 25 and is available at the Hub in Ashford, Bridge Street Books in Wicklow and from Lesley Rue (087) 2810478.
The 2017 Glenealy Tidy Towns Calendar is now available for purchase.

The colourful calendar, showing personalities and features of the village and priced at 10, is now available from Browne's Village Store, Kings Pub and Glenealy Community Centre.

A Glenealy Tidy Towns spokesperson said: 'this is an initiative to raise funds that will go toward the extensive work we have planned for 2017.

Tidy Towns Committee member, Phil Glynn, paid a visit to the of Molly Hollingworth from Rathnew and presented her with her own personal copy of the calendar.

Molly is one of the personalities featured in the calendar and both she and her late husband, Jack, were known as 'Mr and Mrs Camogie' in Glenealy for many years.

Glenealy achieved 257 marks in this year's Tidy Towns competition, up six marks from last year, with judges praising the committee for the long lasting improvements they carried out throughout the village.
IT LOOKS increasingly likely that Mars lander Schiaparelli lies crashed and broken on the Red Planet as politics begins to overtake science in the higher reaches of the European Space Agency (Esa).

After admitting that the final phase of the descent did not "match expectations", Esa has issued no further news updates on the probe's fate.

But evidence pieced together from data transmitted by the craft suggests a high-speed impact it would not have survived.

What happened to Schiaparelli is a highly sensitive issue, with a crucial Esa ministerial council meeting due to be held in Lucerne in December.

Member states will be asked to pledge their continued funding for the ambitious second phase of the ExoMars mission that will launch a life-seeking rover to Mars in 2020.

Together, the two stages of the mission are estimated to cost 1.56bn.

Open University space scientist Dr Manish Patel, a leading member of the ExoMars research team, said: "It comes down to what we can learn from this, if we can get enough information about why it went wrong. Ultimately, it depends on the politicians in December and if they have sufficient faith in what we've learned."

The ExoMars rover, designed to drill two metres into the Martian surface and test soil samples for signs of past or present life, is being developed by Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Schiaparelli's main function was to carry out a test run of the rover's Russian-designed automated landing system.

Everything initially went according to plan after the probe entered the planet's atmosphere at 21,000kmh on Wednesday. But something went badly wrong as the lander was due to jettison its parachute and fire up its retro rockets some 4,000ft above the surface.

Esa said early indications were that the parachute was ditched too soon. More worrying still, the three clusters of nine retro rockets fired for only two or three seconds instead of the expected 29. Esa scientists are still sifting through data before the signal was cut off, just before it was due to touch down.

Accelerometer readings from Schiaparelli may show scientists if there was a hard impact before the signal was lost. If that has already been discovered, Esa is keeping the information to itself.
A derailed train with coaches on their sides in Eseka, Cameroon (AP)

At least 73 people died when a train derailed in Cameroon on Friday, higher than the official death toll of 53, according to rescue workers and hospital staff.

People at the accident site near Eseka on Saturday continued looking for others injured and dead. Bodies are strewn along the tracks.

Officials have put the death toll at 53 but say it will climb as they race to transport more than 600 injured people to hospitals in the capital, Yaounde, and the port city where the train was going, Douala.

President Paul Biya ordered the evacuation because Eseka's hospital is overwhelmed.

The train carried about 1,300 passengers instead of its capacity of 600.

AP

The passenger load was higher because a road had collapsed due to landslides following heavy rains between Yaounde and Douala.

The 30-year-old railway line and train could not carry the load, officials told state radio.

President Paul Biya ordered the evacuation of the injured to the country's two main cities because Eseka's hospital was overwhelmed, with only about 60 beds, said transport minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o.

"I am calling on everyone to double efforts to save the lives of the injured," Mr Ngo'o said.

One of those injured died as he arrived in Douala, and "we are doing everything possible to save the lives of the close to 200 victims sent to Douala," said governor Ivaha Diboua Dieudonne of the western Littoral region.

The circumstances that led to the accident will be investigated, government spokesman Issa Tchiroma said.

AP
Tehran, Iran, October 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said unemployment is the biggest threat looming over the country.

Addressing a conference on National Day of Villagers and Nomads, Rouhani said the problem needs to be tackled, IRIB news agency reported October 22.

The president underlined that his administration has fought rural unemployment by helping the agricultural sector. He also added that during the three years since he has taken over the office, agricultural output increased significantly, adding for example that Iran became self-sufficient in the production of wheat.

Rouhani also said that the government has done a lot to meet the convenience of rural population, stating that Those who think the conditions of life in rural areas are different from those in urban areas are wrong.

However, we should answer the question why people migrate from villages to cities, he stated, adding that unemployment rates in rural areas are alarming.



According to Rouhani, the Staff on Resistance Economy, headed by Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, recently proposed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that $1.5 billion from the National Development Fund would go into rural employment projects.

In places around Iran, unemployment rate stands at 60 percent, according to the country's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli.

He said June 6 that 11 million people live in slums across the country, three million of which live in Tehran, Mashhad, and Ahwaz.

According to his report, there are 2,700 slum areas in the whole country.

Based on the criteria of the International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment rate in Iran is 11 percent, that is, 2.5 million unemployed people.
Donald Trump made the claim as he accused Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic Party of orchestrating the allegations (AP)

Donald Trump has pledged post-election lawsuits against every woman who has accused him of sexual assault or other inappropriate behaviour.

Mr Trump made the claim as he accused Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic Party of orchestrating the allegations.

"Every one of these liars will be sued once the election is over. I look so forward to doing that," Mr Trump said.

The threat overshadowed his intended focus during a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that was billed as a chance for the Republican nominee to lay out his agenda for his first 100 days in office.

Mr Trump promised to institute a hiring freeze on federal workers and to label China as a currency manipulator, but he first seized on the chance to once again try to discredit his accusers.

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign," he said.

Ten women have publicly accused Mr Trump of unwanted advances or sexual assault in the weeks since a 2005 recording emerged in which the former reality TV star made sexually aggressive comments about women.

Mr Trump has denied all allegations while insisting some of the women were not attractive enough for him to want to pursue.

He also stuck to his belief the election is "rigged against him," repeated concerns about widespread voter fraud and insisted Ms Clinton should have been barred from running because of legal questions about her use of a private email system as secretary of state.

Mr Trump complained that a "corrupt" media is fabricating stories in order to make him "look as bad and dangerous as possible".

Ms Clinton, meanwhile, has been displaying growing confidence and making direct appeals to voters "who may be reconsidering their support" for Mr Trump following a string of sexual assault allegations and other troubles for the GOP nominee.

"I know you may still have questions for me," she said on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio. "I respect that. I want to answer them. I want to earn your vote."

Her campaign headquarters in New York was back up and running after an envelope containing a white powdery substance arrived on Friday, triggering an evacuation of the 11th floor.

Police said initial tests showed the substance was not harmful and Clinton spokesman Glen Caplin said four people who received a full medical examination reported no health issues and were released.

Ms Clinton was also getting a campaign boost on Saturday from singer Katy Perry, who planned to push early voting during an event in Las Vegas.

The pop icon has been a vocal Clinton backer and was the featured entertainment at the Democratic National Convention.

AP
A German air producer is selling bottled air for 60, aimed at people living in polluted cities across the world.

Stefan Butz says he has engineered and bottled the air in a health park called Saline Valley in his hometown Kreuznach.

His target customers are those who live in China, India, South-East Asia and other world regions with air pollution problems like Latin America, Africa, parts of the US and the Middle East.

Inspired by a similar product made in the UK Stefan says its a time-honoured German tradition to take on British ideas and make them better and less expensive.

So instead of hopping around with a butterfly net like my English counterpart, our bottles are put on a strange apparatus, a bottle rack on a turntable.

This allegedly helps to get the air into the bottle.

[In Salina Valley] salty water evaporates by running down on brushwood stacked in gradient towers. This causes the air to smell like a fresh breeze from the seaside even though the park is many miles away from the coast.

The saline air or Salinenluft as the product is labelled in German due to its origin comes in corked half litre bottles resembling a good bottle of wine or spirit. It is wrapped in a neat gift box, said Stefan.

There the whole process of producing and bottling Saline Air is explained in a movie on the air producer's website.
Iraqi security forces inspect damaged buildings after clashes with Islamic State in the city of Kirkuk (AP)

Iraqi forces pushed into a town near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound.

The troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town, and similar past announcements have often proved premature.

Two officers from the 9th Division confirmed troops had captured the government compound and raised the flag over it.

The town is about 12 miles from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014.

IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Officials from IS claimed they had foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist group's Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.

An Iraqi television station says one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.

Alsumaria TV says cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper on Saturday during a battle in the al-Shura area.

Journalist Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV was shot dead by a militant sniper on Friday while covering the IS assault on Kirkuk.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, about nine miles east of Mosul, earlier this week but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

IS militants launched a rocket and opened fire on an Iraqi convoy near the town on Saturday and the Iraqi special forces in the convoy returned fire.

No-one was wounded in the exchange but it highlighted the dangers Iraqi forces face in areas that have recently been retaken from the militants.

In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after IS launched a massive attack in and around the city, some 100 miles south-east of Mosul. The assault appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest on Friday, was quiet.

Witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin area, where at least two IS fighters were killed on Saturday.

On Friday the militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk. It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians in Kirkuk or the Kurdish security forces who control the city.

A police commander in Kirkuk says the assault by IS on the city that began early on Friday killed at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

Brigadier General Khattab Omer says another 170 people were injured in the assault, which involved a wave of attacks by more than 50 militants.

AP

A burning sulphur plant south of Mosul that was torched by IS was releasing large amounts of noxious gas into the atmosphere, draping towns in the area in toxic smoke.

The fumes make breathing difficult, with residents saying they are suffering from coughing, headaches and nosebleeds from as far as 18 miles away.

A small area hospital has treated some 250 people for breathing difficulties.

Two US military officials said while the fire was set two days ago, the winds shifted earlier on Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field, a staging area for the Mosul offensive.

They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks because of the breathing concerns and estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.

AP
For weeks now, Western media and the American experts it likes to quote have been predicting a Stalingrad-style battle to the death by Isil inside Mosul - or a swift victory over Isil followed by inter-sectarian Iraqi battles for the city.

The UN is warning of massive refugee columns streaming from a besieged city. But the Syrians - after witnessing the sudden collapse and evacuation of Palmyra when their own army retook the ancient Syrian city earlier this year - suspect that Isil will simply abandon Mosul and try to reach safety in the areas of Syria which it still controls.

Already, Syrian army intelligence has heard disturbing reports of a demand by Isil in towns and villages south of Hasaka - a Syrian city held by regime forces and Kurds in the north of the country - for new electricity and water supplies to be installed for an influx of Isil fighters from Mosul. In other words, if Mosul falls, the entire Isil caliphate army could be directed against the Assad government and its allies - a scenario which might cause some satisfaction in Washington. When the Iraqi city of Fallujah fell to Iraqi army and militia forces earlier this year, many Isil fighters fled at once to Syria.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who sent thousands of his men to fight (and die) in the struggle against Isil and Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, said in a speech marking the Ashura commemorations last week, that the Americans "intend to repeat the Fallujah plot when they opened a way for Isil to escape towards eastern Syria" and warned that "the same deceitful plan may be carried out in Mosul".

In other words, an Isil defeat in Mosul would encourage Isil to head west to try to defeat the Assad regime in Syria.

These suspicions have scarcely been allayed by a series of comments from American generals and US military sources over the past few weeks. The newly appointed US commander in the region, Lt Gen Stephen Townsend - heading what the US has presumptuously called 'Operation Inherent Resolve' - has said that not only Mosul but the Syrian city of Raqqa would be captured "on my watch".

But who exactly does he think will capture Raqqa? The Syrian army still intends to fight on to Raqqa from its base on the Damascus-Aleppo military road west of the city after an attempt earlier this year which was abandoned for political rather than military reasons. Russia apparently preferred to concentrate its firepower on other militias, especially Nusra/al-Qa'ida, which both Moscow and Damascus now regard as being far more dangerous than Isil.

Read More:

Both have noticed how Nusra - which changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the "Support Front for the People of the Levant", in the hope of escaping its al-Qa'ida roots - is increasingly referred to by both Western politicians and journalists as "the rebels", along with a plethora of other militia outfits fighting the Syrian regime.

An unidentified US general was quoted last month expressing his concern that Iraqi Shia forces might seize the town of Tal Afar on the Iraqi-Syrian border in order to trap Isil fighters inside Iraq - and thus prevent their flight into Syria. Isil itself is reported to have abandoned Tal Afar several days ago.

The US-based 'Military Times' online magazine (which, as the saying goes, is "close" to the Pentagon) has argued that General Townsend, who has a mere 5,000 US troops on the ground in both Iraq and the far north of Syria, must "pursue Isil into Syria, where the US has few allies on the ground" - which is quite an understatement - while Townsend himself is talking of "a long, difficult fight" for Mosul.

He has also referred to a "siege" of Mosul. These are the dire predictions in which the Syrians do not believe.

Assad's own army, with its 65,000 fatalities in a battle that has now lasted five years, has already been bombed by the Americans at Deir Ez-Zor at a cost of at least 60 dead - Washington described this as a mistake - and is now preparing to challenge the huge influx of Isil fighters which could cross the border after the collapse of Mosul.

Nasrallah himself made an intriguing allusion to this in his speech. He suggested that if Isil forces are not defeated by the Iraqis themselves in Mosul, then the Iraqis - presumably the Iraqi Shia militia which are one of the spearheads of the government army - "will be obliged to move to eastern Syria in order to fight the terrorist group".

Given the possibility that Syrian troops and their Russian allies may have to confront this same group, it's little wonder that they are trying to conclude their capture of eastern Aleppo - whatever the cost in lives - before the fall of Mosul. ( Independent News Service)
A Russian man has been charged with hacking and stealing information from computers at LinkedIn and other San Francisco Bay Area companies.

The US Attorney's Office in San Francisco said a grand jury indicted Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, 29, of Moscow, on charges including computer intrusion and aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors say Nikulin used a LinkedIn employee's credentials to access the company's computers in 2012.

Nikulin is also accused of hacking two other companies, Dropbox and Formspring, and conspiring to sell stolen user names, passwords and email addresses of Formspring customers.

Nikulin was arrested on October 5 by officials in the Czech Republic and remains there.

AP

LinkedIn said it appreciated the FBI's ongoing work to "pursue those responsible for the 2012 breach of LinkedIn member information".

The indictment says three unnamed co-conspirators, one of whom offered to sell the stolen Formspring user information to another for 5,500 euros (4,900).

The US has accused Russia of co-ordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the US to influence the outcome of the election. Russia has denied the claims.

There was no indication the LinkedIn case was connected to that accusation.
Tyson Gay says he will make sure his daughter's death will not be in vain

Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay has said he is exploring ways to mentor local youths after the shooting death of his 15-year-old daughter.

Gay said he was determined that his daughter Trinity's death would not be "senseless", adding: "We must come together as a community to protect each other, giving our young people the tools they need to resolve their conflicts and lead successful lives - the kind that Trinity was well on her way to living."

Witnesses told police that gunfire was exchanged between two vehicles outside a restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky, early on Sunday. Trinity, herself a promising sprinter, was hit by a bullet.

Gay, 34, said he was offering support so the "spirit of Trinity will sprint on long after we say goodbye to her this weekend".

Three men, including a father and son, will appear in court on October 25, facing charges in connection with the shooting.

AP
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22



By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:



Iranian navy flotillas recent overseas mission to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, came as a friendly symbolic act aimed at strengthening friendly and brotherly ties among the Caspian Sea littoral states, an Iranian military official told Trend.



The littoral states are capable of providing security in the Caspian Sea and there is no room for foreigners, Military attache of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan Colonel Ali Seify said.



According to Colonel Ali Seify, an Iranian navy flotilla including the home-made Damavand destroyer and a missile-armed warship, dubbed Joshan arrived in Azerbaijan Oct. 19 to convey the message of peace and friendship as well as providing security in the Caspian Sea.



During the three-day visit, Iranian navy delegation, headed by 1st rank captain Abdulhuseyn Zafari, visited several military sites in Azerbaijan.



In the meantime, Azerbaijani military officials as well as military attaches of several foreign countries visited the Iranian warships to get acquainted with the capabilities of Iranian navy.



Expressing thanks for Azerbaijans warm hosting of Iranian flotilla, Colonel Ali Seify invited Azerbaijans navy to send a flotilla to visit his country.



The Iranian warships left Baku on Saturday morning.



Saying that the visit came in a bid to boost friendly maritime ties between the Caspian littoral states, Colonel Ali Seify reminded that Damavand destroyer and Joshan warship back in 2015 docked in the southern Russian port city of Astrakhan.



The Russian Navy also sent its flotilla to the Islamic Republic which has recently docked at Anzali port in northern Iran.



The home-grown Damavand destroyer, equipped with modern radar, electronic and reconnaissance systems, was delivered to the countrys naval forces stationed in Anzali in March 2015.



Iran has recently made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.



The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.
The action hero of the Bollywood John Abraham talks about his action sequence which almost made him lose his knee!

The actor was shooting for a scene in which needs to smack down seven back to back doors. As the shoot was going on in Hungary, they didn't have set designer to build an artificial set and doors for the scene. So John was supposed to break real solid doors for the action sequence. " While running I had to protect my eyes and face from the flying wood splinters. I flew through at such speed that the old old woman stationed near the seventh floor, with a camera on hand to catch his expression, was still looking behind me and didn't react," the actor recalls.

But what happened next was something unexpected. He slipped on the seventh door's handle and tossed at the wall. This was the crucial time for him when he had to decide 'what should I save?' - head or his knee! With an obvious answer he saved his head banging his knee on the floor! He realized that his knee is seriously injured! The doctor gave some injections for temporary cure. "I returned (from hospital) to the shoot, sliding down a rooftop, without realizing I was rupturing the knee even more in action," he recollects. (sic)

In the next scene John was supposed to zipline at the height of 150 feet between two buildings and villain Tahir Bhasin would cut the zip. John said no for body double for the sequence, he wanted to make it look more real and convincing. The action started; when Tahir cut the zip John ended up swaying and finally banged onto glass and hit the wall! The impact was so powerful that he spin of the roof and fell 20 feet down. The exact words he said about the moment are," My first thought was, I think my knee is gone." (sic)

He was admitted to hospital that evening and the doctor called him an idiot to do such thing. The doc said that he needs to cut it open. The 43-year-old actor was quoted saying," He was Hungarian, I was speaking in English, so he didn't understand the when I him I felt pain. I have a factor in my blood whereby I don't react to local anesthesia. So while it takes just one injection to numb someone, I have to take eight to desensitize 15 percent of the area." (sic)

For six days John went to hospital for treatment. There came on point when the actor was told by doctors that they need to amputate (cut off) his leg! John was in shock to hear that. He called his doctor from Mumbai and told him the whole situation. The doctor said to put drainpipe into his knee, bind it up and land in Mumbai immediately.

The surgery was done and it saved his knee which he might have lost forever. "The third surgery in Mumbai saved my knee, else I would have spent my life on crutches." (sic)

Well, we can say now that the actor sure has given his all effort the film!

Credits: Mumbai Mirror
Tehran, Iran, October 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranian engineers and technicians who have been working in Iraqi Kirkuk city, have returned home after four of them were killed in an Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) attack.

The Iranian Consulate in Sulaymaniyah announced that all Iranian technicians and workers based in the Iraqi governorates of Kirkuk and Nineveh were taken to their country, IRNA news agency reported.

Prior to that, four Iranian technicians were killed and four others were injured in the IS attack on a power station in Kirkuk.

Sources said at least 18 people, mostly members of the security forces and workers at the power station, were killed.

The assault took place as three bombers stormed a power plant under construction by an Iranian company near Dibs town, located about 40 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk city, the towns mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi said.

At least eight terrorists were reportedly killed, either by blowing themselves up or in clashes with security forces.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro has arrived in Azerbaijan on an official visit. This arrival and its results are of great interest, because this visit is literally historic for several reasons.

This is the first official visit of the president of Venezuela to Baku. Moreover, it is the first-ever visit of a president of South American country to Azerbaijan. Another interesting fact is that this trip is a part of a tour by Nicolas Maduro to oil-producing countries, and Azerbaijan became the first country the Venezuelan leader visited as part of his oil tour.

On Oct. 21, immediately upon his arrival in the capital of Azerbaijan, Maduro put forward a proposal to develop a new formula for stabilization of oil prices for the next 10 years.

Venezuela is working on a new formula to ensure stability and a new mechanism for determining prices of the countrys natural resources for the next 10 years, when there will be stability and one will be able to predict the level of production, market and prices, said the president of Venezuela.

Maduros proposal at first envisages stabilization of the oil market for the next six months and then the development of a new mechanism to determine oil prices and the formula of their stabilization for a decade.

Thus, namely within this tour Venezuelan president plans to sign new agreements to stabilize global oil prices, and therefore, Azerbaijan wont become an exception in the list of countries of his oil tour and one should expect at least some important oral agreements from the current visit.

This demonstrates peculiar role of Azerbaijan in energy matters, considering the fact that such energy giants as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar are among the countries included in the final list of the oil tour, and earlier Maduro expressed desire to visit Russia as well.

Also, the fact that Azerbaijan has originally taken a constructive position in the issue of stabilization of oil prices through production freezing at a certain level, as well as in all other issues of global and regional significance was not disregarded.

Azerbaijan has clearly expressed its position during the discussions prior to the Doha meeting. The Qatari meeting, held in April, came to nothing owing to the destructive position of some OPEC members.

Now the oil producers are attempting to achieve at least some progress on the issue of stabilization of "black gold" prices. At the Algerian OPEC informal meeting, held in September, it was agreed to limit oil production to 32.5-33 million barrels of oil per day. Despite the fact that there are no agreements on specific limits for each country, the market responded with sharp rise in oil prices, which have been standing at 50 dollars per barrel for several weeks, to a single news about the agreement.

It is expected that the final decision would be taken at OPEC meeting in Vienna Nov. 30, and it can be assumed what kind of leap in oil prices is expected in the case of a positive decision.

OPEC also expects that oil producers outside the organization will also join to the agreement and it has already enlisted Azerbaijans support.

At the same time, Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev clearly expressed the country's position on this issue, saying that Azerbaijan will not unilaterally increase oil production, even without waiting for other decisions of OPEC member countries, in an interview with the Director General of Rossiya Segodnya Dmitry Kiselyov for Sputnik.

From this point of view, the visit of the president of Venezuela  a country that is an OPEC member since its foundation - in Azerbaijan seems absolutely logical. Maduro will surely inform leaders of those countries about Azerbaijan's position when he visits them in the course of his tour.

---

Maksim Tsurkov is Trend Agencys staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 22

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Turkey has an alternative to the EU membership, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, TRT Haber TV channel reported Oct. 22.

Yildirim noted that the future of Europe is impossible without Turkey.

The EU can contribute to the political and economic spheres in the global arena only together with Turkey, the prime minister added. Thats why the EU's decision regarding Turkey, including the introduction of a visa-free regime, is the decision for the future of the EU itself.

Turkey has been on its way to the EU membership for already half a century, we have done our part of the work, he said. Now its up to the EU. If the Union wants Turkey's accession, it must demonstrate its will. However, Turkey always has an alternative.

Heads of states and governments of the EU member countries agreed a joint plan with Turkey in mid-March to fight the migration crisis. It envisages, in particular, the return to Turkey of illegal migrants arrived in Greece from Turkeys territory, and receiving legal migrants-Syrians by the EU from Turkey on a one-for-one basis.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
Russia hopes that authors of draft resolution of the UN Human Rights Council on Aleppo, presented by the United Kingdom, will stop supporting jihadists and will help to remove al-Nusra Front militants from the war-torn city, the speech by Russia's envoy to the UN office in Geneva (UNOG) Alexei Borodavkin revealed Friday, Sputnik reported.

Borodavkin was unable to finish his speech at a special session of Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday, as his microphones were switched off without warning. The Russian Foreign Ministry later released the whole speech.

"We hope that these states will finally hear the voice of mind, stop supporting jihadists and start killing them by deed, not by word. [Russia hopes] they will promote separation of terrorists from the moderate opposition and help to remove al-Nusra Front and its supporters from Aleppo will put an end to deliveries of weapons to terrorists and render real assistance to continuation of the intra-Syrian talks," the speech, published on Russian Foreign Ministry website, reads.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council approved the draft resolution on the situation in Syria and its northern city of Aleppo, proposed at the special session of in Geneva. The meeting was convened upon an initiative of the United Kingdom and supported by a number of countries, including Germany, Turkey, France and Saudi Arabia.

As many as 24 members of the council voted in favor, seven against and 16 abstained. Russia has proposed several amendments for the document, all of which were rejected.
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Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Feridun Sinirlioglu, launched his tenure Friday after presenting his credentials to the global body's outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Anadolu reported.

In a meeting at UN headquarters in New York, Ban greeted Sinirlioglu with the Turkish greeting of "Merhaba", and congratulated him on beginning his term.

Ambassador Sinirlioglu, who replaced Halit Cevik in June, is a career diplomat with vast experience in Turkish foreign policy.

Sinirlioglu served as undersecretary at the foreign affairs ministry for seven years. He also briefly assumed the role of foreign minister last year during a months-long election cycle.
Hours after Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday askedthe Indian filmmakers - who cast Pakistani actors - to contribute Rs 5 crore to Army relief fund, former Air Vice Marshal, Manmohan Bahadur, hit out at Thackeray, saying, 'The Indian Army never doubts countrymens love, does not live on 'extortion' money'.

BCCL

Here's what he had to say:

I served four decades in uniform- and never did I live on extorted money. What's this happening in my country???? @PMOIndia @manoharparrikar https://t.co/tB2wj4Kxqw  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Why should the Armed Forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a 'receiver' of tainted money @adgpi https://t.co/tB2wj4Kxqw  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Indian Armed Forces cannot, and SHUD NOT, become crutches 4pol ambitions. Unfortunately, this is the trend seen in recent past. Stay away pl https://t.co/BBkujRETja  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Is Raj Thackeray the Government or a .....? Lets b clear. As @ShekharGupta has twted, its constitutional breakdown- taking a Mr Nobody's ok https://t.co/KzANTwIFVM  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Army never doubts the love n sentiment of countrymen behind contributions to its welfare fund. From now on...? #RajThackeray 's extortion.  Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Earlier in the day, in a meeting with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil producer, Karan Johar, and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, "Every producer, who has cast a Pakistani actor must contribute Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund."
Decks were cleared for the smooth release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' on Saturday, after a meeting between film producer Karan Johar with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Mumbai.

BCCL

Film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', that features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, ran into trouble after Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) said it won't allow release of any movie in India that featured Pakistani artistes. It is due for release on October 28, ahead of Diwali.

"Every producer, who has cast a Pakistani actor must contribute Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund," MNS chief Raj Thackeray said after the meeting.

The MNS chief also raised a question over casting Pakistani actors in Indian films.

"While Pakistan has banned Indian content, why do we give them a red carpet here," Raj Thackeray asked.

Thackeray said that "producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films in future."

Claiming victory for MNS agitation, Raj Thackeray said: "We have always protested against Pakistani artistes but Bollywood never understood earlier. Now they have realised."

Earlier, speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mukesh Bhatt said that it was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule."

"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said.

Dharma Productions

Bhatt also said that they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.

Besides, Johar has decided to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing out in the screens. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

The makers of the film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the Army welfare fund, he said, adding "We owe this to the Army."
Twitter

After series of debates, bans, and controversies, Raj Thackeray announced that he would call off the ban on Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. However, that came with a big plot twist. After a joint meeting that happened between Karan Johar, Mukesh Bhatt, Raj Thackery and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, Thackrey announced that every filmmaker who casts Pakistani Actors will now be bound to donate Rs. 5 Crores to the army.

Dharma Productions

Raj Thackerays party MNS has called off its ban on Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with conditions applied. Raj then gave a statement to the media saying that filmmakers who cast Pakistani actors should donate Rs. 5 crores to the army.

Expressing his views and point of view on the same, a Mumbai-based man, Hardik Rajgor took to Facebook to write a note that describes the situation perfectly. Pointing out at Thackeray's threats, KJo's state of mind and Fadnavis' inability to provide a genuine solution, he wrote:

"Imagine a child A who is being bullied in school by kid B. A comes home and tells it to his mother. A's mother approached the school principal. The principal calls B's mom to school. They have a meeting. They arrive at an arrangement that A will pay 10000 for the school fund. The school, B give an assurance that the bullying will stop. How awful do you think this arrangement is? The only person who sacrifices anything is the person who is being bullied.

A is Karan Johar, B is Raj Thackeray and the principal is Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.
From playing a single mother in Jazbaa to playing the role of a struggling sister in the Sarbjit biopic, Aishwarya Rai is surely doing her best to be versatile. Even though the films didn't do wonders at the box-office, her performances didn't go unnoticed at all.

Pinterest

Now, in KJo's upcoming film ADHM, Aishwarya will be seen playing the role of a divorcee who becomes Ranbir's love interest and inspiration in the movie. Even though Aishwarya, who is 41 in real life will be seen playing her real age on the big screen, actresses have to struggle a lot to look younger on the big screen.

Twitter

Talking about it, Aishwarya said,

Twitter

As a creative person or even as a woman with experience in life thats the way Im going to address my craft. Ive never played a character like Saba. In a year, Ive shared three distinctly different pieces of work. The intense career woman-mother in Jazba, the deep Dalbir Kaur in Sarbjit. Ive no insecurities doing a film where I age, where visually I look nothing from what youd expect  considering theres a constant visual dissection for someone like me! I choose to do the least expected. Im glad it has turned out being different, in a Karan Johar narrative."

Dharma Productions

She added,

"The female response has been amazing. Like a journalist said when age is not discussed in the male dynamic, why is it being discussed so much in the female dynamic? Im glad that the film is raising questions.

A point well put, Aish.
A hiker who goes by the name 'sc4s2cg,' on Reddit, was in a fix when he injured his ankle and found out that the path that got him into the Swiss Alps was blocked. Things started to look up when he met a friendly cat who also became his saviour.

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A video uploaded by the YouTuber shows the cat making eye contact as if to check whether he's following or not, and a little further in to the video, also stops to get a pat on the head. "She kept looking at me to follow and led me straight to the path that would take me back down to the valley."

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Gimmelwald is a tiny, tiny stunningly beautiful village; I actually got lost in the surrounding mountains," he went on to explain.

It was the end of ski season when I got to Lauterbrunnen, so the lifts weren't working and some of the trails were closed.

Turns out, the amazing creature was part of a family that owned a nearby hostel. Watch the video:
A new nation is in the making, not on Earth though. In space. Scientists have launched the first space nation, Asgardia, for people to escape from Earths problems and conflicts and the best part is that anyone can become its citizen.

Asgardia/Facebook

Asgardias birth was announced in Paris on October 12, and is the prototype of a free and unrestricted society that holds knowledge, intelligence and science at its core along with the recognition of the ultimate value of each human life according to its website.

Since Igor Ashurbeyli, father of Asgardia, unveiled the space nation, 44,8875 Earthlings have become Asgardians. And coincidentally, the highest number of Asgardians are Chinese with 122,982 registered applications, while India is ranked 7 with 10,109 applications.

Igor leads the Aerospace International Research Center in Vienna, and is also the chairman of UNESCOs science of space committee. Asgardia, however, wasnt created by him alone but in consultation with globally renowned scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and legal experts.

Representational image/Reuters

It hasnt yet been made clear how Asgardia will function  people are signing up for citizenship but does that mean they will have to give up their citizenship on Earth?

Initially, Asgardia will just be a single satellite which will be launched in 2017-2018 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik. If youre wondering whether becoming a citizen of Asgardia means giving up your citizenship on Earth, then the answer is no (at least in the near future). Speaking to The Guardian, Igor clarified that physically the citizens of that nation state will be on Earth, they will be living in different countries on Earth, so they will be a citizen of their own country and at the same time they will be citizens of Asgardia.

When Asgardia gets 100,000 citizens, then those behind the concept will apply to the UN to be officially recognized as a state.

Signing up for citizenship is all in all a 10 minute process, where all thats required is filling out a simple form.

Just signed up for #asgardia citiZenship  FDAmusic (@fdamusic) October 16, 2016

According to Asgardias website, the space nation will offer an independent platform free from the constraint of a land-based countrys laws and become a place in space which is really no-mans lands. It will also offer a protective shield from threats such as debris, coronal mass injections and asteroids. The proposals to reaching this goal are still very vague though.

What Asgardia seems to be offering is a sort of Utopia where humans will be able to live in close contact with each other void of conflicts that exist on Earth. But we wonder if that will really be possible since Earthlings, with the characteristics and expectations they have developed on Earth, will live in Asgardia.

The vision involves not giving too much power to any one person, which might lead to a more peaceful co-existence of humans. On a simply physical level, will scientists be able to build a large enough space station to house hundreds of thousands of Asgardians?

If the Asgardia citizenship and space travel is real, serious and safe, I'm leaving earth without a doubt.  Daniel (@CloudKiddo) October 16, 2016

Representational image/Reuters

Currently, there isnt much clarity about Asgardia, which seems like a great concept especially for people who envisage a free of conflict life for themselves. But there are too buts in this space-nation, which derives its name from one of the mythical worlds inhabited by the Norse Gods.

People responded to Asgardia with mixed reactions. While some asked valid questions about the physics around it, others offered their skills and then there were those who expressed pure excitement.

On Asgardias page on Facebook, Sharlene Gardiner wrote, I have to wonder how you are going to stimulate gravity. It would be impractical to have the entire population living and working in zero gravity, especially if you plan for this station to be a multi-generational nation.

Representational image/Reuters

And Keanu Stanek informed that he has registered and then offered his skills, I have valuable skills and would love to not only be a pioneer of space but to help possibly better or save humanity in the process, if this comes to fruition it will be a pleasure to meet you fellow Asgardians.

Then there was the all too practical and realistic Duncan Wallace who said: Were a confusing and confused species, were also very special. I look forward to the time when local chapters are set up and we can converse with people local to us over a quiet beer. Also keeping my feet and expectations firmly on the ground its unwise to get too carried away or expect any miracles.
American Astronaut, Scott Kelly, spent a year in space and says he was shocked by the level of pollution in India and China.

Reuters

Seeing places like China and India, and the pollution that exists there almost all the time is quite shocking. Kelly said in a meeting with US President Barack Obama.

ALSO READ: Delhi's Pollution Is So Bad, It'll Take Six Years Of Your Life

There was one day last summer, the summer of 2015, when I was in space I saw the eastern side of China was perfectly clear. And Id never seen that before in all of my time in space, and Id spent well over a year in space, total, at that point.

Reuters

I could see all these cities that are  theres like over 200 cities in that part of China, with over a million people. And it was at dusk, and I could just, for the very first time, I was able to see them, and it was quite shocking, he added.

He understood this change when the next day he heard that the Chinese government had turned off a lot of the coal-producing power plants, stopped the cars from running in that part of the country for a national holiday and thats why the sky had completely cleared.

Reuters

Its interesting to see, he said, how much of a negative impact we have on the environment, but also how quickly we have a positive impact on it if we decide, not to mention the atmosphere is very, very thin and scary-looking when you see it from space.

Though Delhi is no longer the worlds most polluted city, it still ranks high up and is the 11th most polluted in the world out of 3,000 cities in 103 countries.

ALSO READ: Air Pollution Cost India 8.5% Of Its Economy In 2013, Says World Bank
The Border Security Force (BSF) has said that it killed seven Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory firing after a sniper attack by the Pakistani forces at Hiranagar in Kathua district of Jammu had injured an Indian trooper in the morning.

After the Rangers injured BSF jawan Gurnam Singh in sniper fire and also tried to block attempts by his colleagues to evacuate him to safety, BSF launched an aggressive retaliation marked by intermittent small arms and "area weapons" fire.

"We had to respond when they tried to prevent our efforts to rescue our injured jawan," BSF additional director-general Arun Kumar said.

PTI

The death of the seven Pakistan Rangers, which comes after the September 29 surgical strikes on terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, may delay the prospect of de-escalation of tension between the neighbours.

The killing of the Rangers personnel was part of a larger drive to prevent infiltration, which has seen the Army and paramilitary troopers foil determined efforts by the Pakistan Army to help terrorists cross over to India.

PTI

The BSF's response was part of the Modi government's decision to raise the cost for Pakistan for its continuing use of terrorism to hurt India.

The BSF said that the fatalities suffered by the Rangers were confirmed by the Pakistani media, with a news report quoting a source listing the number of dead Pakistani Rangers personnel as five.

The Indian cover-fire helped evacuate the injured constable who is being treated for bullet injuries at GMC, Jammu. His condition is critical.

BSF's Kumar said that Gurnam and other BSF jawans were targeted because they had responded effectively to foil an attempt, captured by thermal imagers, to push terrorists into India on the intervening night of October 19 and 20 in the same area of Hiranagar.

At least four terrorists were spotted as they moved along the international boundary.

ALSO READ: Here Is Why Ceasefire Violations, Infiltrations And Terror Attacks Will Increase

PTI

The BSF team, which comprised Gurnam, responded with full force, forcing terrorists to retreat and killing one of them.

According to a BSF officer, thermal imagery showed the men on the Pakistani side carrying one person back. This, he said, was the terrorist killed in retaliatory fire by BSF.

Pakistan, on its part, reacted sharply to the casualty suffered on October 19-20 night, by summoning the Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh to claim that a "civilian" had been shot dead. They followed this by "sniping" Gurnam at 9.35 am on Friday.

ALSO READ: Pakistan Says Narendra Modi Might Make A U-Turn On India's Stance On Kashmir Soon

PTI

BSF sources rebutted the claim about the death of a Pakistani civilian, claiming that images from thermal cameras show the men on the Pakistani side trying to infiltrate while firing at the Indian border posts.

A BSF spokesperson in Jammu said injured constable Gurnam Singh was instrumental in repulsing terrorist infiltration on the intervening night of October 19 and 20. "Pakistan Rangers also started unprovoked fire in Kathua, Samba and Paragwal sectors and were given a fitting and calibrated reply by BSF troops," he said.

PTI

BSF said the Rangers used heavy 82mm mortar fire in Hiranagar sector on Friday, to which the BSF retaliated. "Firing stopped at around 5 pm," the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, following a spurt in firing along the IB, the Kathua district administration identified safe locations where people living in forward areas can be moved.
India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the government's apex watchdog against cyberattacks, had instructed banks to be on heightened alert as recently as two weeks ago even as a malware infection was spreading through their networks and spawning the country's biggest known breach of financial data.

The agency, which frequently sends advisories to banks and other financial institutions about possible threats to their systems, had also sent warnings in July and August, a top government official told ET.

BCCL

The latest of these on October 7 warned about 'expected targeted attacks from Pakistan", in the wake of India's counterstrike across the border following terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

At the time this advisory was sent, more than a month had elapsed since the first complaints stemming from the breach began streaming into banks in early September. The malware infection put 3.2 million debit cards at risk, although the loss  through unauthorised withdrawals across the world  has been pegged at a relatively minor Rs 1.3 crore by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The government and the Reserve Bank of India have ordered banks and payment gateways to investigate the breach amid concerns that faster, concerted action could have have limited the extent of the attack.

ALSO READ: Here's Why 32 Lakh Debit Cards Are Being Replaced After India's Biggest Banking Hack

gotosecure

The worst hit of the card-issuing banks are said to be State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank and Axis Bank, ET reported on Thursday. All said their systems were intact and that the affected cards may have been used in ATMs outside the networks of the respective banks.

CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre sent an email to banks regarding the rise in ATM frauds following ETs report.

"On October 20, 2016, CERT-In has sent mails to State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank to report an incident to CERT-In as seen in media report stating that 3.2 million debit cards have been used in ATMs that are suspected to have been exposed to malware at the back end. The incident has so far not been reported to CERT-In," said the official cited above. Not reporting the matter is in breach of the rules, said another official.

ALSO READ: 30 Lakh Debit Cards Exposed To ATMs That Have Been Hacked, SBI To Reissue Cards To 6 Lakh Customers

BCCL/Representational Image

"There is an RBI framework the Information Technology Act mandates that these incidents have to be reported so of course there is a lapse on the part of the banks," he said.

Analysing Attacks

After such incidents are reported, CERT-In starts analysing the attacks along with correlation of the data to ward off similar future attacks, he said. CERT-In had issued warnings to banks in the months before the attack.

BCCL/Representational Image

On July 1, it advised them about cyber attacks planned on their information infrastructure along with the measures to be taken.

On August 12 and 24, CERT-In sent alerts to banks regarding backdoor Trojans that steal credentials, alerting them to advanced targeted attacks along with how to look for signs of possible security breaches.
Alibaba is seeking to expand its local services through Koubei. (Photo : Twitter)

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. is reportedly seeking to raise $1 billion in a bid to expand the operations of its affiliate Koubei.



The company said to be seeking a valuation of $8 billion for Koubei in its latest fund raising effort, Bloomberg reported. According to people familiar with the plan, the new funding will be used to expand the affiliate's operations to other cities.



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Koubei is a company dealing with online orders for service provided offline, such as food deliveries, which was its initial focus. It has since branched out to cover other similar services. The company has reportedly experienced significant growth in the last few years, with it handling around $5 billion payments for the second quarter of 2016.



Alibaba's financial arm Ant Financial has been largely the one funding Koubei. In June, however, the two entities have agreed to put out $445 million each for the venture.



The companies are also hoping that the new fundraising effort will bring in new investors. Alibaba has reportedly already sought the help of the Credit Suisse Group in attracting those investors to Koubei, The Country Caller reported.



The Chinese tech giant's move to further expand Koubei is seen by observers as part of its efforts to focus more on the various local services it has under its wing after it sold its stake in Meituan Dianping, a company that both it and rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. backed.



In an earlier interview, Alibaba founder Jack Ma said that it is important for them to explore online-to-offline markets to get better footing outside of its usual e-commerce market. The offline local services market is expected to grow to around $1 billion in 2017 as more people begin to avail of these. However, Koubei is facing stiff competition from Baidu's and Tencent's own service providers.


A dengue patient admitted to a private nursing home in Gariahat attacked three nurses with a metal stand used to suspend IV drops when they tried to administer an injection early and fled the spot. Subir Saha, the 27-year-old patient, remained untraced till last reports came in. The condition of one of the nurses was said to be critical.

BCCL/Represenatational image

According to sources, the dengue patient from Burdwan was brought to All Asia Medical Institute. Saha's platelet count was low and he was admitted to the ICU ward.

Saha suddenly turned violent. He picked up the saline stand and smashed the head of a nurse who was taking care of him. When other nurses tried to rescue their colleague, Saha kept attacking everyone who came his way . Even the security guards and the resident medical officer were not spared. The entire episode of the attack has been captured in the CCTV camera installed inside the ward.

TOI

"I rushed to the nursing home on being informed about the incident. We immediately rushed two nurses -V Victoria and Shipra Mondal -who were seriously injured to the Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata (INK) while the third one, whose injury was not so serious, is getting treated at our nursing home," said Dr Harsh Agarwal, who runs the 59-bedded facility .

Reuters/Represenatational image

Officers of Gariahat police station investigating into the case said Saha was absconding since the attack.

"We had sent a team of officers to the Mangolkote address that we found in the nursing home register but he was not there. We are trying to arrest him at the earliest," said the officer.

Hospital sources also said that the family members who had accompanied the patient to the nursing home fled after the attack.
In an effort to minimise the time to reach a fire spot, Mumbai fire cops will seen get motorcycles. While a normal fire truck can hold upwards of 4500 litres of water, these two-wheeler fire engines, once launched, will be able to pump 60 litres of water. If commissioned, these bikes will accompany 450-litre-water-capacity mini fire engines that will be launched in December.

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In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Chief Fire Officer P. Rahangdale said, "These are all new technologies which we are testing and the plan is to integrate these bikes along with the mini fire engines. These can all become a part of our quick response system wherein the bikes can go ahead of the mini fire engines in order to douse the flames."

While this will be a first for Mumbai, these bikes are already fighting fire in cities like Bhopal and Ujjain. The cost of these bikes, demonstrated by a company called Brijbasi, can go up to Rs 10 lakh.

(h/t: Mumbai Mirror)
An "alarming" situation prevails in Delhi as the garbage mounds near three landfill sites here are "like Qutub Minar", the Supreme Court said as it rapped the Delhi government for not doing enough to dispose of the huge quantity of waste.

AFP

It also asked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators to create awareness about garbage disposal among the people here.

"Garbage mounds near landfill sites are above 45 metres".

These are almost like towers as like Qutub Minar. Height of Qutub Minar is 73 metres and these mounds are more than half the size. It's an alarming situation. Who is going to deal with it? You (government) have to deal with the problem," a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Adarsh Kumar Goel said.

BCCL

The observations came when Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar appearing for Delhi Chief Secretary pointed out that near three landfill sites at Okhla, Gazipur and Bhalswa, there are garbage mounds of the height of 45 metres.

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"It has to start from home. Your MLAs, your elected representatives, they should sensitise the people. Don't say that MLAs do not have responsibilities," the bench said.

"It's a bully who blames others for every problems. You are just blaming everybody. Don't say MLAs do not have any responsibility to keep the city clean," the bench said.

The court while directing that MLAs of Okhla, Gazipur and Bhalswa areas to attend meetings with all stakeholders, also enquired about how much amount does each MLA get for local area development. It was informed that each MLA got Rs 4 crore as local area development fund.

BCCL

The bench asked the Delhi government that it should be ready for future eventualities and not take measures only when the problem arose.
Amid uncertainty over Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa's health, her supporters on Friday visited the Chamundeswari Temple atop Chamundi Hills in Mysuru for her speedy recovery.

Amma's supporters, who had come from Tamil Nadu, donated gold and silver jewellery worth almost Rs 1.6 crore to Lord Ganesh and Anjeneyya.

They also offered special prayers to Goddess Chamundeswari for Amma's quick recovery.

TOI

Jewellery worth Rs 42,29,614 was donated to the Ganesha idol in the name of Jaya Publications, Chennai, while ornaments worth Rs 1.18 crore were donated to the Anjeneyya idol in the name of Kodanad Estate, according to officials of the Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Management Board.

Among the ornaments donated were kavacha, kamanu, kireeta, shanka, gadhe and gold plates.

TOI

Temple priests claimed that the supporters visited the temple and donated ornaments to fulfill a vow Jayalalithaa had taken before the goddess, her family deity, 12 years ago.
The weeks of speculations over the release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' seems to have settled following a meeting between MNS chief Raj Thackeray, CM Devendra Fadnavis and producers of the film.

In the meeting producers of the movie promised not to work with Pakistani actors in the future.

We will not oppose #ADHM's release: MNS after meeting of Raj Thackeray with CM Devendra Fadnavis and producers  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Producers' guild president Mukesh Bhatt who was also present in the meeting said they had a constructive talk with the Maharashtra chief minister and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule.

"I assured Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that it will not work with Pakistani artistes in the future."

He added that the movie will open with a slate which honours the martyrs, as a tribute.

Also Karan Johar has said he will run a slate before the movie starts which honours the martyrs, its a tribute: Mukesh Bhatt  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Bhatt also said that Producer's Guild will also contribute to the Army Welfare Fund.

The movie starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan had run into troubled waters following the Uri terror attacks, with many right-wing groups calling for boycott of the movie and threats to theaters against screening it.

Earlier this week, Karan Johar released a video statement declaring "for me, my country comes first. Nothing else matters but my country" and pledged that he will not use Pakistani artists in future projects.
Amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad and the ongoing skirmishes At the LoC, a Pakistani spy has been arrested in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir as he was making attempts to escape.

Identified as Bodh Raj, the alleged spy was held along with two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of forces was also seized from him. Samba Police said he was arrested based on information received from Military Intelligence.

He is said to have involvement in espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan, a special operation was conducted to nab him in the border area of Ramgarh.

AFP/ Representative Image

This is a major breakthrough so far as national security is concerned and the arrest of some more persons is also likely in the days to come, the Samba Police said in a statement.

Police said Raj made attempts to flee while they were closing in on him, but was chased and apprehended.

Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing deployment of forces, two Indian made mobile phones and one memory card were recovered from his possession.

He has been booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and Official Secret Act.

This is the second time in recent months Pakistani spies have been caught in India. In August, an alleged Pakistani spy was arrested from Jaisalmer and items containing information on Indias defence institutions seized from him.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on top telcos - Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular - for not providing adequate interconnect points to Reliance Jio, finding the incumbents of engaging in anti-consumer behaviour in violation of the terms and conditions of mobile license conditions.

Reuters

While it has recommended a Rs 1,050 crore penalty each against Airtel and Vodafone (Rs 50 crore in each of the 21 circles), Trai has sought a penalty of Rs 950 crore for Idea Cellular (Rs 50 crore each in 19 circles).

ALSO READ: TRAI Tests Prove That Reliance Jio Offers Slowest 4G Speed! Jio Contests Claim

gadgetsnow

TRAI which had earlier issued a show-cause notice to the three telecom operators after Jio blamed them for the massive call failures on its network, said the action of the incumbents "warrants recommendations for the revocation of the license".

"However, the Authority is mindful of the fact that revocation of license will entail significant consumer inconvenience and therefore in view of the larger public interest involved, the Authority recommends a penal action," Trai said in the late evening action.

ALSO READ: TRAI Pulls Up Reliance Jio On Free Voice Call Offers

BCCL

Trai's recommendation of penalty against the top three telcos have been submitted to the Telecom Ministry which will now take a final view on the matter.

The regulator does not have the power to impose penalty, but it can recommend action against telecom companies for violation of provisions of various telecom rules and guidelines.

ALSO READ: War Has Been Declared... By Telecom Giants. Now Airtel Offers Free Data For 90 Days To 4G Users
In a massive crackdown on terrorism in the valley, two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants have been arrested in Kanispora area of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The militants were nabbed in a joint search operation launched last night by the 52 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) Baramulla.

BCCL

Ammunition besides an AK 47, a pistol and grenades were recovered from them, including Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen stamps.

BCCL

Earlier, a massive house-to-house search operation was launched in Baramulla after security forces received intelligence of active terror hideouts.

One such operation was held earlier as well in which Chinese and Pakistan flags were recovered besides some arms and ammunition.

the Army and the J&K Police are sweeping through the area to locate after receiving wind of untoward elements as the entire city of Baramulla is on lockdown.

BCCL

The crackdown was part of a joint operation by the Army, the BSF, the CRPF and police in several localities, including Qazi Hamam, Ganai Hamam, Taweed Gunj and Jamia, considered safe havens for terrorists.
18-year-old Balram Meena, travelled all the way from a remote village in Dausa district of Rajasthan to Delhi with an aim to study Urdu at Jamia Millia Islamia. Son of a poor farmer, Meena had to study really hard to crack the entrance exam of the central university. With his hard work and determination he cracked the entrance examination and got admission. Now, after three months of studies, he wants to return home.

Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes

Not because he has lost interest in studies, and his beloved language Urdu. He has no place to go after attending his classes. His university, Jamia Millia Islamia could not provide hostel to him as it was already allotted to other students.

Meena sleeps at New Delhi Railway station.

His father, Ramji Lal Meena from Devli village in Lalsot Tehsil who earns barely Rs 2,000 a month, can't afford to pay for his accommodation. Meena  the youngest among six siblings  sees his dreams shattering every day with the difficulty that he faces. He has no relative or anyone known to him or his family who can offer him a shelter.

The policemen and noise of trains and travellers do not let me sleep there as well. After listening to me, one night a cop offered his bed in a room allotted to them in return for money on daily basis. Initially, I stayed there but I did not have enough money to give him every night. I am again left roofless, Meena told Indiatimes.

Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes

Sometimes, he stays with a Jamia student who live in a rented accommodation at Ghaffar Mazil area of Jamia Nagar.

I have approached the vice chancellor and other officials concerned  including my department head who is extremely helpful and have promised me that I will be allotted a hostel room if any seat goes vacant. If I do not get hostel facility, I will not be able to survive here as I am unable to bear the accommodation and food expenses in the city. I will have to return to my place leaving studies, said Meena.

Jamia Millia Islamia, Dean of Students Welfare (DSW) Dr Tasneem Meenai, could not be reached as she did not answer the calls.

Meanwhile, University's Public Relation Officer, Dr Iftikhar Ahmad said the university is running short of hostels, and therefore, all the students cannot be accommodated in its Hall of Residences.

We have only around 1,0001,200 seats in our hostels. Around 20,000 students study in the university. At least 50 per cent (i.e. 10,000) apply for hostel facilities every year. Therefore, It is not possible for us to provide accommodation to all the applicants, he told Indiatimes.

Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes

When asked why the students department heads strong recommendation was not considered, he replied, We get such recommendations almost from every department heads. I myself in the capacity of the director of Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC) sometimes recommend the name of students who are highly talented and need hostel accommodation because of their weaker financial condition, but they get rejected several times because of the lack of hostels.

His friends hope that soon, the university or someone from the locality will provide him accommodation and Meena will be able to achieve his goal of mastering Urdu language.
In a massive crackdown on terrorism in the valley, two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants have been arrested in Kanispora area of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir. The militants were nabbed in a joint search operation launched last night by the 52 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) Baramulla.

Ammunition besides an AK 47, a pistol and grenades were recovered from them, including Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen stamps. Read more

1. No Threat From New Bird Flu In Delhi, Says Govt As The Virus Spread To Other States

The three birds confirmed to have died of avian flu in Delhi zoo had contracted the H5N8 variant of the virus -a relatively new strain - not known to infect humans till now.

The Delhi zoo remained shut for the third consecutive day, as did the district park area of the Haus Khas facility. The rest of the park is being fumigated to ensure that the virus does not spread. Read more

2. Garbage Mounds Have Become As High As Qutub Minar, Supreme Court Tells Delhi Government

An "alarming" situation prevails in Delhi as the garbage mounds near three landfill sites here are "like Qutub Minar", the Supreme Court said as it rapped the Delhi government for not doing enough to dispose of the huge quantity of waste.

It also asked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators to create awareness about garbage disposal among the people. Read more

3. Pakistani Spy Nabbed In Kashmir, SIMs, Maps Showing Troops Deployment Recovered

Amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad and the ongoing skirmishes At the LoC, a Pakistani spy has been arrested in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir as he was making attempts to escape.

Identified as Bodh Raj, the alleged spy was held along with two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of forces was also seized from him. Samba Police said he was arrested based on information received from Military Intelligence. Read more

4. Sale Of Chinese Goods Sees A Dip Of 40 Per Cent As Boycott Campaign Spreads Ahead Of Diwali

The 'boycott of Chinese products' call seems to be working as 40 per cent dip in the sales has been recorded and many people preferring to buy India-made products only during their festive shopping.

In the wake of escalating tension between India and Pakistan after the Uri attack, activists have been running campaigns on roads and on social media platform to boycott products from 'Pakistan's friend' China. Read more

5. MNS Gives Green Signal To ADHM, Demands Opening Slate To Honour Martyrs

The weeks of speculations over the release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' seems to have settled following a meeting between MNS chief Raj Thackeray, CM Devendra Fadnavis and producers of the film.

Producers' guild president Mukesh Bhatt who was also present in the meeting said they had a constructive talk with the Maharashtra chief minister and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule. Read more
Jean Liu is the CEO of Didi. (Photo : Getty Images)

The heads of two major Chinese companies, Didi Chuxing and Alibaba Group do not believe that China has an economic bubble.



The president of the Alibaba Group, Kyle Evans, disagrees with some analysts said about the Chinese economy heading for a crash. One critic who said this was Jim Chanos, a famous short-seller.



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"Many of the things that Jim has focused on are actually real concerns, which the Chinese regulators and leaders are also focused on," Evans said.



He added, "But we have confidence that they both understand the magnitude of the issues and are thinking about solutions that will be sustainable in the long term."



Evans said that the Chinese government is making sure that the pillars of the economy are on stable footing.



"If you think about China today as a market that is very dependent on the big four banks . . . then you have to understand that the government and regulators are very concerned that those banks remain safe because they are the central pillars of the economy," Evans said.



The Chinese market is encouraging entrepreneurship, according to Didi Chuxing's CEO Jean Liu. Ashe said that American firms should stop regarding it as "copycatting."



She said that China is the "most competitive market ever."



Apple put $1 billion in investment in Didi. Tim Cook, the company's CEO, said, "We think that we'll learn a lot about the business and the Chinese market beyond what we currently know. Didi has an incredible team there."



Liu said, "Thanks to the competition we become stronger and more innovative. We will play a global game."



Evans noted that the competition in the market will be good for companies inside and outside of China.



"I believe that . . . foreign technology companies will be successful in China," Evans said. "I also believe that Chinese technology companies, including Didi, probably Alibaba, will be successful in the U.S. and Europe. But that is the challenge and the most difficult parts of globalization for us."


The extremely brutal rape and killing of a high school girl in Argentina has brought its women to the streets in protest against gender violence in the country.

20minutes

According to reports, Lucia Perez was picked up by her killers from outside her school in Mar del Plata, which is a coastal city 250 km away from capital Buenos Aires. They held the 16-year-old against her will and fed her large amounts of marijuana and cocaine, then repeatedly gang-raped her and then penetrated her anus with a wooden pole.

BBC reported that the assault caused Perez so much pain that she went into cardiac arrest. Lucias father said the way they killed her was inhumane.

Reuters

Two men who left her at a hospital said she overdosed on drugs. But upon examination doctors found evidence she had been subjected to extreme sexual violence.

For the Indians, this assault may bring back the horrors of Nirbhayas brutal gang-rape in December 2012, which led to country-wide protests against the lack of safety for women in India.

ALSO READ: Despite Outrage and Protests, Nirbhaya Rapist Walks Out Of Jail

Thousands of women are protesting in Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina against gender violence. In Argentina, one woman is killed every 36 hours. One sign read, If you touch one of us, we all react.

Women protested in all black clothes and encouraged on another to go on strike no matter where they work  office, school, hospital, newsroom, shop or factory. Protest organisers urged women to take off work for an hour and protest for Lucia and against widespread machista violence in Argentina, which refers to violence caused by male chauvinistic behavior.

Reuters

Prosecutor in the case, Maria Isabel Sanchez said, according to the Independent, I know its not very professional to say it, but Im a mother and a woman. And Ive seen a thousand things in my career, but nothing equal to this litany of abhorrent acts.

We cannot understand such barbarity. Its impossible to understand, Lucias mother said.
Travelling with a romantic partner is always an exciting and awesome idea, especially when it is the first time. Not only do you get the chance to make treasured romantic memories such as trying a local delicacy and getting sick together afterwards, you get to learn new things about the destination and bonding over new experiences.

But the truth is, there is a chance the romantic getaway or vacation could go awry if it is not planned or coordinated carefully. From the stress or the travel to little arguments, and differing opinions on hygiene, packing, the problems of travel angst could wreak havoc on your relationship. To help you avoid any kind of angst, Jumia Travel has put together a couple of simple tips to follow to make that first trip with your beau or lady love a great one.

Share your packing space

Ensure you pack together and you maximize the space and luggage limit available to you. One partner should not try to hug up all the space; instead, both parties should try to be equal, and sensible, about packing. Sharing packing space not only makes it easy for you to collaborate better with your partner, it also keeps you both aware of all possessions and it is easy to keep track in case something goes missing.

Split expenses

The usual thing for Nigerian couples on a trip is that the man pays for almost everything on the trip. However, while he may not complain at first, it may cause some form of strain on the course of the trip. Have a conversation about budgets before you go, and adjust it if things are different once youre there. And if you are not in a relationship where one of you is earning way more and it really does not make sense for the other to pitch in, the lower earning partner should remember to be both kind and restrained.

Manage responsibilities effectively

This is really important as despite the fact you are a couple and you are in love, you are still separate individuals and you have different strengths and weaknesses. You and your partner should agree on who is better in doing what and can take responsibility for the respective part of the trip. For instance, If one person has an unerring knack for researching great discounts let them handle it. Basically, maximize your assets.

Be wary of romantic tourist traps

Before you visit any destination, you will probably come across recommendation for first time visitors, including places best suited for romantic partners. While these spots may seem great, chances are they are expensive and overhyped, and you most likely will be filled with disappointment after you visit them. In order not to fall for any of these tourist traps, try to make your own romantic moments with some local recommendations instead. It will offer a more real and authentic experience.

Give each other space

The fact that you are on a trip together does not mean you have to be around each other 24/7. No matter how much you love each other, being around each other every minute is bound to be a strain at some point. You need avoid getting tired of one by slotting in times where you get to chill out all by your lonesome

Source:: Vanguard
Theres a ton of evidence to support the assertion that one can never understand Nigerian politics or its politicians. So we introduce exhibit Z, the latest to join the growing pile of evidence.

The Benue State government recently commissioned a billboard donated to the Benue state ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment by a Lecturer in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, College of Education Katsina-Ala.

Governor Samuel Ortom was represented by the acting Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Bem Melladu at the commissioning of the billboard.

It still feels a bit bizarre!
Kogi State Government has pledged to assist women farmers to embark on mechanized farming as part of the states agricultural road map toward food security.

The states Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Tim Diche, made the pledge at the bi-monthly meeting of the state Agriculture Vision Group, Core Delivery Team, Agriculture Innovative Team and key stakeholders in Lokoja on Saturday

The meeting was facilitated by Synergos, a global Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), partnering with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), on the State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA), project.

Diche said women farmers had a lot to offer in realisation of the agricultural road map for the attainment of set goals and objectives in agriculture.

The participation in agriculture generally by our female farmers is on the increase day in day out and by the time we are able to assist them with mechanisation, we will be there, he said.

The commissioner, represented by Dr Isah Ochepa, Acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said the women were coming up and very interested adding that with factorisation, they would do excellently.

Mrs Bolanle Ampitan, Kogi state Commissioner for Women and Social Development, urged that seminars and workshops be organised for women farmers to sensitize them on modern farming methods and governments agriculture policies.

Ampitan said there was need to improve on women farmers access to credit facilities adding that the process had hitherto been hijacked by ghost and political farmers denying the real farmers opportunity take advantage of loans.

She said the state would soon embark on screening of farmers to sieve the grain from the chaff and ascertain the real women farmers adding that the present administration was fully committed to the cause of women.

Mr Victor Adejoh, Kogi Team Lead for Synergos, in his remarks said the meeting was a solution-driven process with a view to generating information from participants to help address problems in the agriculture sector.

Synergos is a unique organisation that looks at system shift. We are working on complex issues. We are out to catalyze and facilitate processes, provide linkages that allow government to further deliver on its promises in the agriculture sector, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that participants from Fadama, ADP, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, farmers groups, rice and cassava growers associations, United Bank for Africa, among others, attended the meeting.

Source: NAN
Mrs Olufunso Amosun, the wife of Ogun State Governor, has donated an ultra-modern cancer centres to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu and the general hospitals in Abeokuta and Sango.

The donation, she said during the commissioning, is for the women in the state to have easy access to treatment against cervical and breast cancer.

She also added that the cancer centre became necessary after what seems to be a pandemic which had led to unnecessary deaths in the state and across the country.

Meanwhile, Mrs Amosun task stakeholders in the health sector to take immediate and proactive measures in increasing awareness and treatment against the deadly disease.
Attendees queue to join Xiaomi's launch of the Mi 4i smartphone in India. (Photo : Getty Images)

Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi has set a record by selling more than 1 million smartphones in India from Oct. 1 to 18, as other Chinese smartphone brands also got a market share in India's competitive market.



A statement sent by Xiaomi to Global Times on Wednesday, Oct. 19, said that the company is now the third largest smartphone vendor in top 30 cities of India, citing IDC statistics.



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"India has become our largest market outside of the Chinese mainland . . . we will be able to capture the largest market share in India within three to five years," the statement read.



Reports released in September and October by the Economic Times said that Vivo is also raising its monthly production and has started selling online as it is planning to expand its business in India.



In terms of shipment, Chinese smartphone brands account for more than 25 percent of the Indian market, up from 19 percent of the previous year, data released in August by cctime.com showed.



"As China's mobile phone market is somewhat saturated, it's a right choice that domestic brands have started to explore the gigantic Indian market, which is full of opportunities as many people in India still do not own a smartphone. Our brands are looking into the future of India's mobile phone market," Liu Dingding, a tech expert, told the Global Times.



Smartphone shipments in India reached about 100 million in May, most of them coming from 19 Chinese phone makers, according to a report by Huffington Post India in May.



The Chinese manufacturers included brands such as Oppo, Huawein, Meizu, Lenovo, Vivo and Xiaomi and other unpopular brands, the report said.



But Chinese smartphone makers also face competition from other international mobile phone giants such as Apple, which got a 12 percent share in the Indian market in terms of shipment, and also from Indian phone manufacturers such as Micromax, Lava and other brands.



In terms of quality and services, there is a big difference between Chinese mobile brands and Indian brands, according to an employee who refused to be named.



"Most Indian mobile phone brands are cheap, of low quality and have a very low profit margin. Therefore, when Chinese brands entered the Indian market, they exerted a great pressure on those local players," the employee noted.



The Chinese mobile phone makers are also trying different strategies to gain foothold in India.



"They have different strategies, with Xiaomi focusing on online sales development and Vivo expanding offline sales. But competition will always exist," the employee, who works for a local Indian brand, said.



But although Chinese mobile phones are cheaper than brands like Apple, they are of high quality, according to Liu, the tech expert.



Many Chinese brands are also working with Indian agencies and communications corporations to broaden their sales and market share.



"I believe that sooner or later, a Chinese mobile phone maker will become the largest smart phone seller in India," Liu noted.


The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) on Friday arrested a 30-year-old woman, Nnanji Juliet Ijeoma who was caught with 535 grammes of cocaine inside her bra as she attempted to smuggle it into the country.

The woman who work as a stylist in Brazil was caught at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos during the inward screening of passengers on a South African Airways flight.

NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba said the incident is being investigated and that the suspect would soon be charged to court.
Nigerian newspaper headlines October 22, 2016.

Thisday

The embattled former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, friday withdrew the suit he filed against the House of Representatives and 13 other defendants challenging his suspension from the House of Representatives.

National Mirror

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos said it has arrested a Nigerian based in Brazil for drug trafficking at the airport.

Leadership

The Bar and the Bench are apparently in a battle of wits over the unfolding saga of allegations of corruption surrounding some Judges that were recently arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS).

Guardian

Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has described DSP Idowu Oyewole, the Mobile Police officer in charge of his convoy who was killed by armed robbers on Wednesday, as a dutiful and dedicated officer, while charging police authorities to ensure his killers are fished out.

Thisday

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday re-arrested former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, within the premises of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Vanguard

Lagos State Government may soon join the growing number of states including Edo, Ogun and Anambra that have imposed death sentence on kidnappers.

The Nation

It was a sorrowful nightfall for two members of the National Youth Service Corps last Wednesday in Asarama Community, Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State, after they were robbed and raped by gunmen suspected militants.

Premium Times

A civil rights group, the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER), has asked for full media coverage of court sessions to enhance the integrity of the judiciary.

Punch

The Federal Governments National Prosecution Coordination Committee is meeting over the draft charges already drawn against three among the seven judges arrested by the Department of State Services between October 8 and 9 this year.
A former Minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro who is one of the key figures in an alleged arms procurement misappropriation is in EFCC custody.

Obanikoro arrived Nigeria two days ago and has reportedly been assisting the Economic and financial Crimes Commission in helping trace the recipients of large sums from the Office of the former National Security Adviser.

Dasuki Sambo, Ayo Fayose, Chief Femi -Fani Kayode are some of the persons believed to have received funds which were originally earmarked for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian army. Obanikoro has reportedly agreed to refund N785 million as he revealed N4.685 billion was allocated to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Senator Iyiola Omisore.

He also said he handed over $5.377 million to Fayose at Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti in the presence of the former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Tope Aluko.

He said the balance of N785 million was expended on alleged anti-Boko Haram campaign in Lagos and the South-West.
Five suspects  Natei Okunna, James Akegbe, Thank-God Jegede, Trust Bourdillon and Timi Inomi  who carried out the kidnap of four landlords in Isheri North area of Lagos State on September 17, are now in the custody of the Inspector-General of Police Response Team.

The suspects were hunted down across three states  Ondo, Ogun and Delta states  after they got a N12m ransom to free the landlords.

PUNCH had reported that the landlords, Kennedy Ucheagwu, Dr. Omololu Bello, Fidelis Esang and their trainer, Olalere Olawale, were jogging around their area when they were abducted at gunpoint by the suspects.

A police source said Akegbe (A.K.A JJ) was the first to be arrested in his hometown of Ore in Ondo State, while the leader of the gang, Okunna, an ex-Niger Delta militant also known as Osama, was trailed to his hideout in Sapele, Delta State.

The IRT operatives trailed the other three suspects to various hideouts in Ogun and Lagos states.

After their arrest, more details emerged about the abduction of the landlords, which netted the kidnappers N12m after many days of negotiation and reduction of the N1.2bn they initially demanded.

For instance, the suspects stated that the landlords were kept in the creeks of Ikorodu, Lagos, an intricate network of hideouts used by many criminal gangs in Lagos as a result of the fact that the area is largely inaccessible to security agencies.

But the police said the most important victory about the arrest of the suspects is that it stalled the plans of the suspects to kidnap the traditional ruler of Ibeju Lekki, Oba Rafiu Salami, whom the suspects said they had already perfected plans to abduct.

A police source explained that the suspects already sent out scouts to monitor the movement of the monarch, but had yet to choose a date to grab him before they were arrested.

It would be recalled that kidnappers suspected to be Niger Delta militants had on August 7 kidnapped another Lagos monarch, the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni, who was only released after a ransom of N15.1m was paid.

The police said the Inspector-General of Police had mandated the IRT to ensure that no such abduction occurred again.

Okunna, 29, said in his confessional statement that an informant brought them the job and told them that the security around the Ibeju-Lekki king was lax.

We sent him to watch the obas movement and tell us how often he comes to the waterside. Our informant gave us a positive result, but we have not chosen a date yet, the suspect said.

Okunna said he stopped being a militant when he became a beneficiary of the presidential amnesty for Niger Delta militants.

He said as soon as the amnesty office stopped paying his monthly stipend, he went back to his old ways.

He said, During the amnesty programme, I was trained as a marine pilot in South Africa, but when I returned to Nigeria, I could not get any job and was only surviving on the stipend they were paying us monthly. The stipend stopped in 2015 and I relocated from my hometown in Warri North Local Government to Lagos to join some of my friends who are into pipeline vandalism in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

When I arrived in Lagos, a friend, Vickar, accommodated me and showed me how the pipeline operations were being done. It was when the pipeline operation stopped that we went into kidnapping. We had a camp in Ishawo, Ikorodu but when the Army started bombing us, we fled and set up another camp inside the creek at Ajegunle, around Ikorodu.

We had carried out many kidnappings before the job of the landlords came. When my boys went to kidnap the landlords, I did not go with them because my rank was higher. I was like a boss. I sent one of the boys to do surveillance on the landlords till we chose a day to strike.

I was in the camp when they brought the landlords and I instructed them to ensure that they did not go hungry. But I was not the one who negotiated the ransom.

Okunna said he left the camp three days after the landlords arrived and lodged in a hotel with his girlfriend. He said he was there till the ransom was paid and N500,000 was brought to him.

I was assured every other member of the gang had got their shares. The plan to kidnap the Oba of Ibeju-Lekki was already on before we even released the landlords, he said.

Akegbe who was arrested in his house at Ore, said he was a fisherman and a native of Arogbo, Ondo State.

He explained that when his fishing business became unprofitable, he decided to join the kidnapping gang.

Speaking about the kidnap of the Lagos landlords, he said the gangs informant told them the exact time the landlords usually came out to jog in the morning.

According to him, seven of them arrived Isheri through the waterways in one boat, armed with five guns.

He said, Four of us stood by the roadside with guns waiting for them. When they sighted us, they got scared and tried to run away. We pursued them, shooting in the air until they lay on the ground, shaking with fright.

After we took them to our camp, it was Julius and Senior-Man, who negotiated and collected the ransom from where it was dropped in Ajegunle. My share of the ransom was N300,000.

The third suspect, 27-year-old Jegede, who is a kinsman of Akegbe, said he worked as a cleaner in a hotel in Isheri North.

Jegede revealed that his step-father, a man he identified simply as MB, was the one who brought the job of kidnapping the landlords to the gang.

The police are still on the trail of the step-father.

Jegede said, My step-father did not tell me about the plans. One of our gang members whom we call Trust, was even the one who told me about the kidnap plans. Trust also told me that it was my step-father that brought the gang. The man married my mother and they had four children together. He is a fisherman and hunter. He normally hunts inside the Isheri bush and he lives inside an uncompleted building within the area with my mother.

After I heard about the job, I told the gang I was interested and I was told all I needed to do was monitor the movement of the landlords and alert them anytime I saw them jogging. When we eventually got the ransom, I got N300,000 while my step-father got N500,000.

Twenty-eight-year-old Bordillon on the other hand, said his role in the kidnapping was ensuring that there was food in the camp to feed the captives.

He also admitted that he and Akegbe led the landlords out of the camp and dropped them where they found their way home after the payment of the ransom.

I sell foodstuff with my wife at Ikorodu. I have been involved in a number of other kidnappings with the gang. I was taught how to shoot by our leader (Okunna). I went with them to kidnap the landlord and was one of the people who shot in the air when the landlords were trying to run away, Bordillon said.

He also said he got N300,000 as his share of the ransom.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Don Awuna, who confirmed the arrest, said efforts were on to arrest other members of the gang who are still at large.

Source: Punch
The Kaduna State Police Command on Saturday arrested seven suspected armed robbers terrorizing residents of Kaduna.

The State Police Spokesperson, ASP Aliyu Usman, in an interview with newsmen said the suspects were arrested at Unguwar Sarki and Narayi all in Kaduna metropolis.

According to the PPRO, the force received complaints from victims on October 8, and swung into action arresting the seven suspects on October 13 and 14. He said one of the suspect is still at large but efforts are on to arrest him and other accomplices.

Four plasma television sets and three mobile phones were recovered from the suspects.

The suspects confessed to have committed the crime. Investigation is still ongoing and they will be charged to court for prosecution

He assured residents of their safety adding that the police were committed to protect the lives and property of everyone.

We call on the public to give the security operatives maximum cooperation in the fight against crime and criminality in the state, Usman said.
The police have arrested three members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and five members of a vigilance group in Kogi State for vandalising pipelines and siphoning crude oil which they also refined by themselves.

The eight suspects, who were arrested by the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Pipelines Vandalism and Illegal Bunkering in Monkey Village, near Lokoja, Kogi State, have been brought to Abuja for further investigation.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects are two tankers filled with locally refined fuel (33,000 litres each), eight pumping machines, 12 shovels, three heavy duty jacks, six drilling machines, and two Dane guns.

Others are, a truck loaded with 20 storage tanks filled with refined petrol and a Toyota Sienna bus.

All the exhibits have also been brought to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, by the task force team leader, Murtala Abdullahi, who led the operation against the vandals.

Sources familiar with the investigation said more suspects were being sought in connection with the incident.

The suspects are undergoing interrogation on their level of involvement in the crime. We are also on the trail of other members of the gang, who escaped arrest, a source explained.

Meanwhile, the IG, Ibrahim Idris, has declared open a training workshop to address human rights violation by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad across the country.

The workshop, he said, would broach various topics, including arrest and detention, use of force and firearms, maintenance of public order, investigation of crime, search and seizure and crime scene management.

Idris, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Operations, Joshak Habila, at the training on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that the workshop was facilitated by a civil society group, Nigerians Unite Against Terror, led by Dr. Joey Okei-Odumakin.

Odumakin, said the public must have confidence in the police, noting that law enforcement cannot succeed without the support of the citizens.

She praised the IG for showing commitment to the course of effective policing and protection of human rights in the country.

Source: Punch
The Enugu State Police Command on the early hours of Saturday smashed a highway robbery gang that specializes in disguising in Army uniforms to terrorize motorists at the Nsukka axis of the Enugu-Makurdi road.

The police said they recovered two double barrel guns fabricated as AK 47 rifle, money, a pair of boots and torches, among others.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, told reporters in Enugu that the hoodlums were dressed in military camouflage.

The Police Counter Terrorism Unit Axis received a distress call on Thursday that hoodlums had blocked the road by Inyi in Igboeze North and wreaking havoc on their victims.

The unit swung into action promptly which resulted in exchange of fire.

One of the hoodlums was fatally injured and later confirmed dead by a doctor.

He said, Another hoodlum identified as Godwin Okpe from Ogbadigbo in Benue dressed in camouflage is also fatally injured and being revived to aid operatives in their investigation while others escaped with bullet wounds.

He appealed to members of the public particularly hospital operators to watch out for any one with suspected bullet injury and report promptly to any nearby police station.

Commissioner of Police in Enugu state, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, applauded the effort of the policemen.

Ojukwu said that the command would continue to maintain functional security for members of the public as well as motorists in the state.
In tragic circumstances, a passenger train derailed in Cameroon yesterday with 1,300 people om board. The train, which has a maximum capacity of 600 was traveling from Yaounde to Douala when it derailed near Eseka.

Ministry of Transport officials has confirmed that 53 people died in the accident which occurred on Friday and another 300 people were reported injured.

The death toll is still expected to rise and the incident comes at a time when landslides in the country have affected many major roads.
Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, is still the wealthiest Chinese in the recent Hurun Rich List. (Photo : Getty Images)

The Hurun Rich List for 2016 was released on Thursday, Oct. 20, with Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, maintaining his top position as the richest man in the Chinese mainland, whose fortune amounted to 215 billion yuan ($32 billion), China Daily reported.



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The 2016 list showed that there are currently 754 Chinese billionaires in the world, exceeding that of the United States, which has 535 billionaires. Out of the new billionaires, 594 of them came from the Chinese mainland, down 2 from last year's list, while 94 are from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. The rest, which number about 66, came from other parts of the world, mainly in Southeast Asia.



The new list has four people sharing the No. 10 position. They are: Yan Bin, the owner of the Red Bull Group and Reignwood Group with 78 billion yuan ; Xu Jiayin, with 78 billion and the owner of Evergrande Real Estate Group; Zhang Jindong of the Suning Commerce Group with 78 billion yuan; and He Xiangjian and his son, He Jianfeng, leader of the Midea Group.



The Lu Zhiqiang family, which owns the China Oceanwide Holdings Group, occupy the No. 9 position, with 85 billion yuan, while Li Yanhong and Ma Dongmin from Baidu Inc. has 98 billion yuan to get the No. 8 spot.



The number 6 rank was taken by the Yan Hao family of Pacific Construction Group with 100 billion yuan, together with Ding Lei, who manages NetEase.



Zong Qinghou family, who owns the Hangzhou Wahaha Group, is ranked No. 5 with 112 billion yuan, while Yao Zhenhua of Baoneng Group is No. 4 in the list, with 115 billion yuan.



At number 3 is Ma Huateng, the 35-year old owner of Tencent Holdings with 165 billion yuan.



Alibaba's Ma Yun, is the second wealthiest Chinese in the list with 205 billion yuan.


The head of a business providing workers compensation and other benefits that was issued a cease and desist notice from the California Department of Insurance this week says the notice was wrongly issued.

The CDI issued the notice to stop a Central Valley company from selling workers compensation and liability policies because they are not properly registered with the department.

In a cease and desist order served on Monday the department alleged Agricultural Contracting Services Association Inc., doing business as American Labor Alliance and its affiliate CompOne USA, are soliciting, marketing, selling, and issuing to employers statewide what the company claims are valid workers comp policies but which CDI investigators claim they are not properly registered.

The department alleges ALA is transacting insurance without proper authority.

Marcus Asay, chairman of the board for CompOne USA, said the company isnt required to register with the department because it is selling benefits and not insurance, and that efforts to reach out to the department over nearly the last year to keep them informed of what they are doing have gone nowhere.

Theyre way off base. They did not do their homework, or due diligence, they just made an accusation, Asay said.

According to him, the company is an IRS exempt 501(c)(5) labor organization and has always filed as an entity claiming exception with the Department of Labor under the Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement section of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

This means the company is not required to register to sell insurance, because thats not what its doing, he said.

The very thing theyre telling me to cease and desist is not what Im doing, Asay said.

MEWAs provide health and welfare benefits to workers whose employers are not parties to bona fide collective bargaining agreements. MEWAs are designed to give small employers access to low cost health coverage similar to that which is available to large employers.

ALA offers benefits like health, dental, retirement, death and burial, immunization, annual physicals and workers comp. They pay claims and keep reserves.

Based upon our program, as we sit right now, we are absolutely solvent, Asay said.

The majority of their clientele are construction, small manufacturing and service oriented businesses. Asay said the membership total is 30,000.

The company has been in business since 2006, when it first began offering retirement benefits. Dental, and healthcare benefits followed; then in February they began offering workers comp.

Asay said the company hired an underwriting group to make comparisons and formulate experience modifications so they could offer competitive rates.

The company has laid the groundwork to take its product into other states, including New York, Georgia, Utah, Texas and Nevada, according to Asay.

Asay said that as a courtesy the company has had its representatives reach out to departments of insurance in those states.

Weve been in communication with quite a few, he said, adding that so far no one has raised any objections. Theyre very curious more than anything else.

But thats not the experience company representatives have reportedly had with the CDI.

Representatives approached the CDI and were referred to department attorneys, who offered no feedback and ignored repeated attempts at furthering dialogue, Asay said.

Finally, ALA representatives connected with the ombudsmans office and filed a complaint, but nothing came of that either, he said.

The CDI did not communicate with the company any further until officials showed up at the office on Monday with a cease and desist notice, according to Asay.

We were being open, transparent at the very beginning of our program, he said.

ALA has requested an administrative hearing before an administrative law judge.

The hearing is not set, and if ALA continues marketing and selling the products it faces fines up to $5,000 per day for each day it does not comply, according to the department.

Nancy Kincaid, a DOI spokeswoman, said the facts will come out in the hearing.

The department will always do what it needs to do to protect the insurance marketplace and consumers, Kincaid said. ALA will have their opportunity in an administrative hearing to make their case as to why they believe they are exempt from the laws and regulations.

Topics California Workers' Compensation
You know what they seldom tell you about in all those articles about dream overseas family holidays? The moments of pure terror, so petrifying that even thinking about them afterwards makes the blood drain to your feet.

Exhibit A: on a recent family trip to Portugal, we were strolling away from a fantastic and incident-free lunch and my eldest was walking along the top of a low wall. Then suddenly the wall had a footpath on one side and a 15ft drop to the beach on the other. My heart stopped, time stood still - and she just hopped down unaided to safety.

What am I getting at? Aside from outlining how Im now the worlds biggest worrier, maybe these moments crystallise the dichotomy of a family holiday: youll probably return home with a few more grey hairs, but stay lucky and therell be memories to cherish for a lifetime.

This was my fourth trip to Portugal but my first to Lisbon and surrounding areas and it confirmed something Ive felt for a while: our bail-out buddies live in possibly Europes best country.

Theres a friendliness and humility here that puts it above its euro neighbours in terms of value, and Lisbon is a knockout. With three kids in tow, all under 6, a week overseas is not without its challenges (see opening paragraphs). But being with them as they embrace new places and experiences for the first time is a pure joy.

For most of our stay we were in Cascais, some 30 minutes outside Lisbon, a Dalkey-to-Dublin-type geographical relationship. We stayed at the newly-opened Martinhal Cascais-Lisboa resort, having been blown away by the child-friendly atmosphere and attention to detail on a previous trip to Martinhal Sagres on Portugals southern-most tip.

Open just a matter of weeks at the time of our visit in late March, Martinhal in Cascais is similar but different. Theres no eye-popping view of the ocean but you are a short downhill stroll from the coast, plus the location is perfect for day trips to the capital or jaunts up the coastline to spots such as Sintra.

And while the fretting gets underway on those journeys, at least you can relax back at base, thanks to the range of activities for smallies of all ages, a kids club, a playground so good I went on the big slide more than once, and - praise be - supervised play areas while you eat your food in the restaurants.

Cascais itself is a delight, with the bustling atmosphere of a place many times its size, yet retaining a small town charm.

It has numerous beaches and an old citadel well worth exploring, plus more foodie options than you can shake a breadstick at. We had ice cream three times at Santinis, an institution with such appeal it draws city folk out from Lisbon.

Mar do Inferno, the shack-style restaurant on Boca do Inferno (Hells Mouth), does the same for lovers of seafood. Our lunch there was one of the best meals Ive ever eaten.

Obviously, all this consumption has to be walked off at some stage. The five of us headed off on a hike around the forests surrounding Santuario da Peninha, the stone remains of an old chapel on top of a hill which offers amazing views up and down the coastline.

Led by Teresa of www.portugalwalkhike.com we went around a forest trail in runners and boots with little or no difficulty, marvelling at the lushness of the trees and the giant granite rocks and stones which, due to their silvery nighttime glitter, probably explains Peninhas nickname of moon mountain - although Teresa said there are also mystical explanations as to the title.

Elsewhere, in nearby Sintra, magic is everywhere. Two local buses can take you from Cascais to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, a truly dazzling town in the mountains that is said to have influenced Walt Disney.

You can see why: many towns have shopping centres, but Sintra has castles and palaces.

We managed to take in some of the beautiful Quinta da Regalaria, a fairytale estate with parks, grottos, wells and the Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire, and we also walked through the interactive myths and legends tour in the tourism centre. Sintra is a special place.

It rained during our trip and it seemed like we were in a micro-climate, in a misty tropical forest.

We wanted to see the sweeping, Romanesque Pena National Palace, and the astonishing Moors Castle, built into the edge of the mountain, was also on our list, but there are only so many climbs you can ask three children to undertake, so they remained just out of reach. Next time.

And so to Lisbon. With its trams, buses and metro its easy to navigate and easier to love. Everything is close by and in our time in the capital we grabbed what we could of a city that obviously demands repeat visits.

The Lisboa Story Centre on the Praca do Comercio plaza in front of the Rua Augusta Arch gave us a great primer on the citys history, not least a dramatic filmic depiction of the devastating earthquake of 1755 which would have wiped out a lesser capital.

We also got to the top of the Augusta Arch, recommended for the gorgeous panoramas of the city in every direction and a chance to appreciate the scale of a place that was once the centre of global discovery.

On day two we caught the metro to Oceanario de Lisboa, a fantastic and innovative oceanarium that was previously the centrepiece to the 1998 World Fair.

My three loved it, taking in the penguins, otters, frogs, octopuses and sea horses from around the world, the different sections wrapped around a massive aquarium in the centre which has a hypnotic collection of marine life, from sharks, to sting rays, to devil fish, and more.

Oceanario is just down the road from the Meo Arena, the new home of the Web Summit. You can see why the wi-fi lads thought Lisbon could take the gig. Other attractions in the same area, such as the interactive Science Museum Pavilhao do Conhecimento, come highly recommended.

Then the 728 bus all the way along Lisbons lengthy working docks pitched us up a short walk from the Museu da Marioneta, or Puppet Museum. Its a nice primer into the world of puppetry and stop-motion animation, although my trio wanted to get at all the models like they were in a toy shop. And that was it.

There was so much to see but coordinating those little legs around the place meant accepting that you cant do it all, all the time, but make no mistake, Lisbon and its surroundings offers you plenty of reasons to come back.

Id love to, and never mind the odd scare and the grey hairs, the plaintive cries of stop kicking the seats on the aeroplane and the occasional dalliances with potential disaster.

After all, well only remember the good bits...eventually.

GETTING THERE

Where to stay

Martinhal Cascais: This has the lot, including helpful staff, great location, lovely accommodation and a new pool area.

Offers online at www.martinhal.com/cascais include extended summer short break packages until October 25 for two, four or seven nights.

Our Air BNB was on Rua da Padaria and its location could not be topped for downtown access. Its interior is less an apartment and more a Narnia of sensory overload.

Where to eat

Cascais: Mar do Inferno - advance booking. Might just have the best grilled seafood ever - www.mardoinferno.com

Get your ice cream at Santini in town www.santini.pt while the home made burgers at Os Bordallos are good and the Mercado da Vila has lovely cafes and great open air food markets.

Sintra: Saudade cafe www.saudade.pt near the train station does tasty XL scones in a lovely setting and has great coffee and sandwiches. Also a guesthouse.

Lisbon: local recommendations include Osteria, O Talho and Cafe Royal, but we had a great meal at Cantinho do Avillez www.cantinhodoavillez.pt reasonably-priced sister restaurant of the Michelin-starred Belcanto.

My chocolate cake with raspberry ice cream and accompanying port had me reaching for the thesaurus.

What to do

Its a long list. Oceanario is a must, theres the Museu do Fado in the city centre, which tells the story of the Portuguese native song form, and for a great, cheap tour of parts of the old city hop on Tram 28 for a spin.

If you can afford it go shopping along the massive Avenida da Liberdade or rummage in the vintage stores downtown.
Gardai have seized cannabis herb, cannabis resin, LSD and ecstasy worth approximately 75,000 in Dublin.

The drugs were discovered as part of an ongoing investigation into the sale and supply of controlled drugs in the inner Dublin city area.

Gardai from the North Central Drug Unit based in Store St searched a property on St Augustine Street, Dublin 8.

During the course of the search Gardai also seized 12,750 in cash.

One male(33 years) was arrested and is being detained at Store St Garda station under the provisions of section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 as amended.
US Sends Destroyer to Challenge Chinas Claims to Paracel Islands in the South China Sea

USS Decatur. (Photo : US Navy)

The United States sent the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73) on another freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) patrol, this time in international waters off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea seized by China from South Vietnam in 1974 after a series of sea and land battles.



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It was the fourth FONOP challenge the United States has made to what it considers and illegal maritime claims by China in the South China Sea. This FONOP patrol was the first since May.



The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last July 12 declared illegal China's claim to own almost the entire South China Sea based on its discredited nine-dash line. It asked China to pay reparations to the Philippines whose sovereignty it violated. China has refused to heed the legally binding decision.



The Pentagon said the Decatur was deployed to challenge China's "excessive maritime claims" at the Paracels and the South China Sea. The destroyer, however, took care to sail in international waters outside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the islands.



It noted the Decatur "conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident." One official said the ship sailed near Triton and Woody Islands and was shadowed by three Chinese vessels. There were no hostile encounters with the Chinese.



"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.



In the last three U.S. Navy FONOPs in the South China Sea, U.S. warships cruised within 12 nautical miles of islands claimed by Beijing. The actions drew angry responses from China, which accused the U.S. of stirring up trouble.



The latest FONOP comes just after the Philippines unhinged and pro-communist president Rodrigo Duterte announced his "separation" from the U.S and his realignment with China.



Duterte, who remains accused of masterminding the murders of over 1,400 people in Davao City on Mindanao Island, has also said he wants a commercial and military alliance with Russia.



Philippine political observers have long warned of Duterte's communist leanings. Duterte has also been accused of being a card carrying member of the communist rebel movement fighting to overthrow the Philippine government he now heads.



There is strong speculation Duterte's real agenda is to transform the Philippines into a communist state.



China's Ministry of National Defense called the Decatur's patrol "illegal" and "provocative," saying two Chinese warships warned the Decatur to leave.


Hillary Clinton ramped up her pressure on Donald Trump in the election's most competitive states on Friday with an emotional TV ad targeting his criticism of a Muslim-American family.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, vowed to go all-out in the final three weeks so he'll have no regrets - even if he loses.

The nominees retrenched behind familiar arguments a day after appearing together at a charity event that veered into cutting personal attacks.

Mrs Clinton's new ad features Khizr Khan, whom Mr Trump assailed after Mr Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In the minute-long ad, which Mrs Clinton's campaign said was airing in seven battleground states, MrKhan retells how his son, Captain Humayun Khan, died in Iraq seeking to protect his US military unit from a suicide bomber.

"Mr Trump, would my son have a place in your America?" the father asks, welling up as the ad fades to black.

Mrs Clinton has sought to use Mr Trump's widely panned attacks on the father and his wife as evidence supporting her case that the Republican bullies minorities, especially those who disagree with him.

In person, she was promoting early voting in Ohio and planned a meeting with two activists for Black Lives Matter.

Mr Trump has settled on a new target: Michelle Obama, who has emerged as one of the most effective voices for Mrs Clinton.

One of the country's most popular Democrats, the first lady for years has been loathe to devote significant time to campaigning, but has done so in recent days with searing indictments of Mr Trump's treatment of women.

Captain Humayun Khan died serving his countryand saving his entire unit.



Trump seems to think someone like him doesn't belong in America. pic.twitter.com/qGKhm0l6e7  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 21, 2016

"All she wants to do is campaign," Mr Trump said as he rallied supporters in North Carolina. He cited comments Mrs Obama made during her husband's 2008 campaign in which she said someone who can't run their own house can't run the White House. "She's the one that started that," Trump said.

Mr Trump was unusually candid about the possibility of losing the election, a prospect that's grown in likelihood as Mr Clinton solidifies her lead in battleground states that will decide the election.

He said he is packing his schedule with campaign events through to Election Day so he will know he spared no effort even if ultimately unsuccessful.

"I will be happy with myself," he said.

The two candidates were still sharply at odds over Mr Trump's unprecedented assertion in the final debate on Wednesday that he may not concede if he loses.

Mrs Clinton has called that "horrifying," while Mr Trump has said he's merely reserving the right to contest the results if the outcome is unclear or questionable.

Underpinning his threat is his contention - presented with no evidence - that the election is "rigged" against him and may be soiled by widespread voter fraud. He's urged supporters to "monitor" polling places for potential shenanigans.

Fanning those flames, Russia's government has asked Oklahoma and two other states to allow Russian officials to be present at polling stations on Election Day, to study the "US experience in organisation of voting process".

Allegations by the US government that Russia is trying to influence the election by hacking Democratic groups has fed a Clinton camp claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is siding with Mr Trump.

The Oklahoma secretary of state's office said it had denied the Russian request, in line with state law. At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest said it was unclear what Moscow was trying to do.

"It's appropriate that people might be suspicious of their motives," Mr Earnest said.

Early voting is under way in more than 30 states.
Although UDG  formerly United Drug  bought leading UK-based pharmaceutical-focused PR firm Pegasus for nearly 17m in May, the STEM deal marks its first major takeover deal since selling its non-core Irish drug distribution business to Lloyds Pharmacy owner McKesson for 407.5m 13 months ago.

STEM is a UK-based business with a presence in the US, China, Japan, and the EU.

It provides commercial, marketing, and medical audits for pharmaceutical firms  among them 18 of the 20 largest pharma companies in the world.

Its purchase will complement UDGs Ashfield Commercial and Medical Services division, which provides sales, communications and regulatory services to clients.

UDGs chief executive, Brendan McAtamney, said: The acquisition of STEM, a business with an established global footprint and strong growth opportunities, will enable us to provide new services to our clients, which are highly complementary to those already delivered by our Ashfield business.

STEM had earnings of 5.5m last year and gross assets worth 13.5m. Its seen as a highly cash generative, high margin business having enjoyed strong growth in recent years.

Mr McAtamney said STEM represents an excellent strategic fit for UDG and is wholly aligned with our global growth strategy of expanding our market leading positions, providing services to the pharmaceutical sector.

At the time of last years legacy business sale, UDG had about 550m capacity to spend on acquisitions and it said it planned to grow both organically and via the purchase of high-margin businesses in high-growth areas of the healthcare services sector.

In buying STEM it will pay an initial consideration of 55m  comprising 50m in cash and 5m worth of UDG shares. An additional consideration of up to 29m (made up of another 24m in cash and 5m in shares) will be payable over the next three years. UDGs shares were up by over 1% in London yesterday.

STEM chief executive Rob Wood said the link-up with UDG will help STEM accelerate its global growth.

Our new working relationship with UDG will not only facilitate geographic expansion, but will also enable further client offerings and, most importantly, provide our employees with broader career options and widen our talent pool, he added.
Patrick Nedum told the court that, on September 27, 2011, he was stopped at traffic lights on Eden Quay, Dublin, during rush hour when Ms Canavan rear-ended the car behind him, driven by Bernie Keenan, which then bumped into his car.

Mr Nedum, of Sherrad St, Dublin, claimed the impact was a big bang which pushed his car boot in. He said he developed neck pain the next day. He told his barrister, Robert Fitzpatrick, that he suffered neck pain for a year and had difficulty sleeping, lifting, and carrying. The court heard he had needed to take anti-inflammatories and painkillers.
Yesterday, a 17-year-old boy was found guilty of the false imprisonment of Joan Burton during the Jobstown protest in Dublin in November 2014.

However, the judge discharged the youth conditionally on good behaviour for nine months, meaning he will not have a criminal record.

The decision to return a guilty verdict in the case of a 17-year-old charged with false imprisonment for taking part in a protest sets a very dangerous precedent for civil liberties in Ireland, said Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) TDs.

The verdict, rather than the sentence, is the key issue.

It has set a very low threshold by which false imprisonment can be proved.

The statement was issued by deputies Paul Murphy, Ruth Coppinger, and Mick Barry. The AAA TDs also stated that the verdict had consequences for activists across Ireland.

Trade unionists engaged in stopping strikebreaking vehicles could now be found guilty of false imprisonment, they said. Similarly, pro-choice or anti-war activists engaging in sit-down protests or slow marches could also be charged and convicted..

Meanwhile, Workers Party spokesman Seamus McDonagh described the verdict as vindictive and politically motivated.

Ms Burton and the Labour Party were asked for a response. A spokesperson said they would not be making any comment.

A Rally for Justice has been organised for 1pm today in Dublin, as a response to the verdict, to defend the right to protest.
The crowd had started gathering early by the banks of Lough Derg to send Anthony Foley on his way  sporting stars, ministers and politicians, and locals for whom the man known as Axel was one of them  the hometown hero.

There was a sense of a state funeral about it  the state being Munster, a kingdom, its own dominion.

Former Leinster and Ireland legend Brian ODriscoll arrives for the funeral of Anthony Foley. Pictures: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The roads all around Killaloe were decked out in Munster flags, every second car seemed to carry the colours.

This was a public spectacle, but private grief.

There was laughter too  on the park-and-ride buses into the village, stories were exchanged, memories recalled.

Former Munster and Ireland player Marcus Horan and his wife Catriona arrive for the funeral at the St Flannans Church, Killaloe.

Andrew Noonan, originally from Mallow but living in Dublin, travelled down to stand on the street opposite St Flannans Church.

Like so many others, he had attended both Munster Heineken Cup triumphs. His glasses propped on his forehead, he gave a running commentary as Axels old mates walked past.

Big Mick ODriscoll, he gasped. Gordon DArcy, Donncha OCallaghan, lock forward and big guy... Ronan OGara himself...The church is going to be full.

Former Munster, Queensland Reds, and Ireland player Peter Clohessy, right, arrives at the church.

It was, and the streets around this country crossroads were lined with people, some of whom were in tears.

Young and old, they were all there, including the under 10s and under 12s from Shannon, Foleys old club, dressed in shorts even as the fires were lit in some of the nearby houses. They make them tough out this way.

The children were at the front of his guard of honour as the hearse pulled up, green and red caps on the coffin, followed by the cortege.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt arrives at St Flannans Church, Killaloe, Co Clare. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Anthony Foley was that age once, the jersey hanging off him, the sleeves too long  a sporting life, one cut short at 42 years of age.

Fr Pat Malone, in his homily, touched on the magical family moments that often involved Anthony playing sport with his sons. For a man who played out his sporting life on the grandest fields, this was a reminder ofthe really key games  playing around on the grass of home with your lads.

Munster player Cian Bohane among the mourners the funeral of Anthony Foley. Pictures: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

The Mass booklet captured a glorious family moment  husband and wife and two children, all laughs and smiles.

The caption underneath read:From the tree of life, each leaf must fall, the green, the gold, the great, thesmall; each one in Gods own time.

Hell call, with perfect love, He gathers all.

Munsters CJ Stander with former Munster and Ireland player David Wallace.

Anthonys sisters, Orla and Rosie, delivered the first two readings immaculately, and there was a resonance in the passages read by Orla, with its lines about a time for tears, a time for laughter, a time for mourning, a time for dancing.

The musical accompaniment throughout, from the Killaloe Church Choir, Sarah King, Diane Daly and the Gunas, sent soaring strings and melodies out across the village and over towards the hills and water.

Former Munster and Ireland internationals Ronan OGara and Mick Galwey arrive for the funeral. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Mourners outside stood stock still as the words echoed over the loudspeaker.

The eulogy delivered by Anthonys wife, Olive, was the stuff of searing memory, with its tales of domestic life, and the enormous void left by Anthonys death.

She drew laughter as she pledged to take on the hurling duties and, in admitting that, to her shame on the flight over to Paris to bring her husband home she had said a little prayer to herself: Please, Jesus, let him have shaved.

But it was mostly the sound of slow heartbreak, rendered in simple but beautiful words. Anyone who heard it, among them the Aide de Camp tothe President, Col Michael Kiernan, and representing the Taoiseach, Comdt Lorraine Fahey, is unlikely to ever forget.

Munster player Simon Zebo at the funeral of Munster Rugby head coach Anthony Foley. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Her closing words were also repeated in the Mass booklet, over a photograph of Axel, 8 on his back, running onto the field.

Lord, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that you and I together cant handle.

The bells tolled again and the music wafted over the throngs as the coffin was borne back out into the cool air.

Then, directed by Paul OConnell and Munster team manager Niall ODonovan, came a line-out with a difference: rotating teams of people putting a shoulder under the wood. Among those crossing the church gates and onto the street, ferrying their friend were John Hayes, Keith Wood, Peter Clohessy and Mick Galway, away down another hill, to nearby Relig Lua cemetery.

Former Munster player Jerry Flannery leaves St Flannans Church, Killaloe, Co Clare. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Brian Boru, another legend around these parts, never had such a send-off.
Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA, said he is aware of the abortion debate here. He said while the agency can not influence countries laws, he can advocate on behalf of women subject to those laws.

UNFPA would support, and encourage, governments to ensure that abortion is performed safely where it is legal and, where it is not legal, that you have compassionate, post-abortion care, he said.

Dr Osotimehin was in Ireland for the launch of the agencys annual population report. This examines family planning, maternity services, and maternal and infant health in 200 countries.

The report has an appeal on behalf of the worlds 60m 10-year-old girls, of whom there are 33,000 in Ireland. Their progress to adulthood will act as a barometer of the success or failure of the UNs sustainable development goals over the next 15 years.

Dr Osotimehin said the message is for developed countries, too, as no country is without its inequalities.

If we adopt the view that nobody should be left behind, then we should seek every 10-year-old, everywhere, to be empowered, he said, adding that developed countries need to monitor how children of different class, colour, and ethnic groups are supported.

This years report uses mathematical models to put a monetary value on the economic return to countries of investment in keeping girls at school, protecting them from forced marriages, and giving them access to contraception and equal legal rights to boys and men.

Dr Osotimehin said it is necessary to use different tactics to spread a message.

Coming from a rights perspective, it is difficult for me to say it is about money, he said. But we speak to different parts of the house and sometimes the money seems to grab them. So, if you are talking about growing economies, or you talk about money, people listen to you.

Dr Osotimehin, who was Nigerias health minister, was critical of his countrys initial handling of the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants two years ago. A small group were freed in the last week, but 200 remain captive.

Initially, not enough was done, he said. My belief was that the government in Nigeria was in denial about it. But I think the response has stepped up and some have been recovered, but I think we should still accelerate that to get all the rest.
Enda Kenny said there would be very tough negotiations which would not be easy between the UK and Europe when Article 50 is triggered and talks can start.

Clearly there is going to be some hard talking done here and that will arise from the decision of whatever the British government is, he said after an EU leaders summit in Brussels yesterday.

This was echoed by British prime minister Theresa May who predicted difficult exit negotiations.

Mr Kenny said it was very important that Irelands economy, our citizens, our trading links with the UK, our border, our common travel area and the the continuation of the security that has been given to us throughout the peace process is included in negotiations.

He said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is anxious that we might focus early on North-South relations.

Mr Kenny said he is taking the lead on behalf of the Government on all Brexit-related issues.

Some people have said: Why didnt you appoint a Minister for Brext? This is far too serious actually for just any minister to be appointed to try and carry the entire can.

I chair the Brexit meeting myself, the entire Government, the ministers of State, indeed all the deputies in the House are going have to be involved in this, there is a national challenge here. Its far too serious to have it allocated in some section in some department.

Ms May gave a formal update on the UK position to EU leaders and reiterated that her government would be triggering Article 50 before the end of March.

Speaking after attending her first EU leaders summit, Ms May said: We will conduct the negotiations in the way that is going to make sure that we get the right deal for the United Kingdom.

She said it would be up to other countries in the EU as to how they are going to conduct their negotiations.

However, she added: I recognise the scale of the challenge ahead, I am sure there will be difficult moments, it will require some give and take. But I firmly believe that if we approach this in a constructive spirit, as I am, then we can deliver a smooth departure and build a powerful new relationship that works both for the UK and for the countries of the EU, looking for opportunities, not problems.

Mr Kenny said there had been a long and, at times, quite emotional discussions about the plight of Syrian people.

The Council was very clear in its condemnation of the attacks by Syria and its allies, notably Russia on Aleppo, he said. It is clear that international law has been breached here.

Mr Kenny noted that attacks on hospitals are international war crimes and called for the immediate end to air strikes.

The Council agreed to consider all options should the current atrocities continue and that of course includes further sanctions if necessary and Ireland fully supports this position, said Mr Kenny.

However, during the meeting, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi demanded that any mention of possible punitive measures against Russia be taken out of the official statement published after the summit.
Gareth Jones, aged 22, swerved to avoid three of the boys friends as they crossed the road but hit Paul McCormack, aged 16, who had changed direction to try and get back to the path.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard there was a fault with the ABS braking system in his Toyota Avensis but there was no indication Jones was aware of this. The car had a valid NCT.
The 17-year-old boy denied falsely imprisoning the former Tanaiste and her advisor, Karen OConnell, in two Garda cars for three hours during the demonstration at Fortunestown Rd in Jobstown, Tallaght, on November 15, 2014.

He went on trial at Dublin Childrens Court and faced the possibility of custodial sentence of up to two years.

The former social protection minister had been at a graduation ceremony at An Cosan adult education centre when a water protest took place outside. She and her advisor told the court earlier that they were too frightened to get out of Garda cars surrounded by people shouting abuse, throwing missiles, and banging on windows. One protester shouted they hoped Ms Burton would die, the trial was told.

The boys legal team had asked Judge John King to dismiss the charges. His barrister, Giollaiosa O Lideadha, said that this was a right-to-protest case. He had also contended that the prosecution was unprecedented and a recipe for totalitarianism and that there was an agreement with gardai that protesters would march ahead of a car carrying the two women.

Following the four days of hearing evidence and legal arguments, the boy was found guilty yesterday by Judge King, who held it was indisputable that the former Labour leader and her advisor were detained against their will, and he said the boy was present throughout. He said all the elements of common design were laid out and he was satisfied that the offence as charged had been proven beyond reasonable doubt and he was entitled to convict.

The first thing I would say is that this was an atrocious series of events, he said. It is a terrible offence. However, it is noted that the accused was not acting in isolation and was in the presence of many adults who should have known better and he may have been influenced to some extent by those adults.

Judge King also said the teenager was an active participant in blockades around the Garda cars carrying Ms Burton and her advisor.

The youth appeared shocked at the verdict and the judge allowed a break before proceeding to finalise the case. Det Garda Paul Smith told the court that neither Ms Burton or Ms OConnell wanted to provide victim impact statements. Det Smith agreed Ms Burton had said she did not have any desire for any young person to go to jail in respect of the charges before the court.

The trial judge was furnished with a booklet of testimonials about the boy, who has no prior criminal convictions and who was accompanied to court by his parents. He also noted the teenager has recently had a series of medical problems which remain undiagnosed and they may have been related to the stress he was under.

Judge King complimented the boy on his realisation of the necessity for social justice and he noted his previous good record, as well as work he has done in his community and for charities  including helping the homeless, for which he has received awards. He said he was imposing the conditional discharge, sparing him a possible sentence and leaving him with a clean record.

The judge said the boy had a loud hailer and video evidence showed him shouting shame, shame, shame on you when he was at the back of the car. He noted footage at various stages showed him in confrontation or at least animated conversation with gardai. He said the most damning evidence came from Garda Sergeant Michael Phelan who said that, at the church, a female shouted and the boy ran to the protesters and they surrounded the unmarked Garda car.

The teenager was warned that the ruling was made on condition he does not reoffend in the next nine months.
Mr Hickey has been forced to stay in Brazil since he was arrested on August 17, during the Rio Olympics, on charges allegedly related to ticket touting.

While freed from prison, he is not allowed to leave the South American country.

He has denied any wrongdoing, but has temporarily stepped down from all his Olympic positions pending a resolution of court proceedings. He was also president of the European Olympics Committee and is a member of the International Olympic Committees executive board.

At the 45th European Olympics Committee general assembly, acting head of the European Olympic Committees, Janez Kocijancic, said Mr Hickey should be allowed to leave Brazil and return to Ireland for health reasons.

He told delegates: We have studied the allegations against Patrick Hickey and from what we know he is not guilty of any criminal offence, he should enjoy the privilege  which is also part of basic human rights  that he should be able to prove his innocence.

He said Mr Hickeys health is deteriorating, that he has heart problems, and doctors suggest that he should be treated in Ireland.

The Olympic Council of Ireland tweeted yesterday morning under its Team Ireland title:

It attached a picture taken at the EOCs 45th general assembly in Belarus which bore a picture of Mr Hickey with the words: Our warmest wish is that he can return to his family and his Olympic duties as soon as possible.

The Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko, who is also head of his countrys Olympic Committee, was quoted at the assembly as saying: Unfortunately we do not have our EOC president Patrick Hickey with us here today. It is very important for him to feel our support and solidarity. There is no proof of any of these horrible accusations.

Last month, after being charged by a judge with facilitating ticket touting, formation of a cartel and ambush or illicit marketing, Mr Hickey issued a statement in which he said he intended to face all the charges and to fight each and every one of them.

I am completely innocent of all such charges and I will also vigorously defend my good name and character, he said.
Dyn introduces their standard DNS structure. (Photo : YouTube/Dyn)

The internet service attack on the East Coast on Oct. 21, Friday, has been resolved. According to internet traffic company Dyn, the attack was well planned and executed.







The attacks came from "tens of millions of IP addresses at the same time," CNBC quoted Dyn as saying. The engineers from the company were able to fix each attack and restore the service afterwards.



Advertisement

A senior United States intelligence official said that the sudden attack was a case of internet vandalism. He said that the attack seemed to be not sponsored by any other country or state. He also said that it did not come from one person or a hacker group.



Dyn chief strategy officer Kyle York said that it was a very smart attack, USA Today quoted him saying during a conference call with reporters. He said that when their engineers tried to fix the attack the first time, the hackers would react and counter it right away. He also said that they are learning from this attack.



York explained that the attack was complex and had multiple points, which made it hard for their engineers to fight off. This complication made it hard for them to check if the traffic was legitimate or from a botnet attack.



A lot of customers of Dyn, law enforcement, and even their rivals lent their aid to help them. York thanked all of them for giving them all the support they needed.



Security experts believe that the attackers may have used Mirai, a hacking program that is easy to use and allows unskilled hackers to take over online devices. It can also be used for launching DDoS attacks on any computer system.



The Mirai software first uses a malware from phishing emails to infect a computer network, the company explained. After that, it spreads to the devices that are connected to the network like printers, DVRs, and computers. After getting infected, all infected devices will create a robot network or botnet to send millions of messages to the target.



Check out the Dyn video below:






Speaking after the EU Leaders Summit in Brussels yesterday, Mr Kenny said that he had met Archbishop Diarmuid Martin who confirmed the invite and said the Government would do everything to welcome Pope Francis to Ireland.

The World Meeting of Families 2018 will be held in Dublin but events will also take place in other centres around Ireland.

Mr Kenny said: He [archbishop Martin] confirmed to me that the bishops have invited Pope Francis to come to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families in August of 2018.

If the Pope decides to accept the invitation I assured him that the Government would respond appropriately, would approve of that and would welcome Pope Francis and would make all the arrangements to treat him in a proper and respectful manner as befits his position as head of the Catholic Church.

Its a matter for the Pope himself to decide if he wishes to accept the invitation, Mr Kenny said.

Its a very different situation than applied in 1979 and he is a very different kind of man. If he decides to accept, the Government will respond appropriately.

Asked if he hoped to still be Taoiseach to welcome the Pope to Ireland in 2018 Mr Kenny said: You shouldnt ask me questions like that.

A spokesperson from the Dublin diocese confirmed that the invitation had been extended and that Pope Francis was giving it careful consideration.

In January on behalf of the Irish bishops, archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, jointly invited Pope Francis to visit Ireland for the World Meeting of Families in 2018.

In March the apostolic nuncio to Ireland, his excellency archbishop Charles Brown acknowledged the bishops invitation and wrote to convey the gratitude of Pope Francis for the invitation while continuing, kindly be assured the invitation will be given careful consideration, the spokesperson said.
Family issues, including breakdown of parental relationships, were the most common areas around which children require support in primary schools, according to a survey by Dublin City Universitys school of nursing and human sciences. However, only a third have access to school-based counselling.

More than 80% of principals mentioned those issues as among those their pupils present with, but around three quarters also had children trying to deal with anxiety, anger and behavioural issues.

Among the more isolated critical incidents with which they had to deal with over the previous year were children self-harming or having suicidal thoughts.

One principal reported that a senior infant pupil had brought knives or a fork to school to hurt another child. Another referred to a pupil lighting fires in school.

Some schools had homeless families seeking help. In one case two families had turned up with all their belongings.

Lead researcher Rosaleen McElvaney said school is where children spend their days, meaning it is not just a family that is affected when tragedy occurs.

Teachers are faced with the ongoing challenge of supporting the children concerned and addressing the ripple effects throughout the school community, said McElvaney. Often, teachers feel ill-equipped for this mammoth task. Access to support, not just for children, but for the teachers themselves is vital.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is available to schools in the immediate aftermath of critical incidents. Some of the issues which principals said their school had to assist students around were the murder of a pupil, violent killing of a parent, suicides of family members, and the death of a child with cancer.

However, of more than 734 primary principals to respond to the DCU survey so far, nearly two thirds did not have access to school-based counselling. Similar numbers were interested in availing of individual counselling and psychotherapy for their pupils, or consultation for staff.

With recent schools guidelines on positive mental health and suicide prevention focused on second level, Ms McElvaney pointed to the need for early prevention, detection and intervention for young people to protect against risks associated with mental illness in adolescence.

Her study aims to gauge prospective demand for counselling services in primary schools, but she pointed to the high numbers using a Barnardos school-based counselling service in the North and positive outcomes of similar initiatives in the UK.

NEPS staff should have more time for in-school supports when a new system to allocating resource teachers frees them up from assessing children with special educational needs.
Blocked or blacked-out areas in stores, special screens, or moveable walls may be needed to comply with new drink separation rules under the Public Health Alcohol Bill, Fine Gael members say.

New fit-outs could cost convenient stores tens of thousands of euro, lead to less customers, changes to opening hours, and even higher levels of shoplifting, it has been warned.

Junior health minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy was told of the concerns during a Fine Gael meeting in Leinster House last Wednesday. Health officials will brief members on Tuesday, before the bill goes to the Seanad the following day.

The Public Health Alcohol Bill started its passage in the Oireachtas at the end of the last government. It will tackle below-cost sales of drink, restrict advertisements, and require stores to keep drink hidden and away from other products.

Section 20 requires that alcohol be confined to a special area, separated by a physical barrier through which alcohol products are not visible.

Senator Paddy Burke, former Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, confirmed resistance to the plan.

I have reservations about putting extra costs on corner shops, he said. There also could be pilferage if people go to [drink] areas on their own.

Maria Byrne, a senator from Limerick, said: The worry with alcohol screens is pilfering. Youd need someone standing there the whole time. Shops may also close as people wont be buying produce.

Former minister and Waterford senator Paudie Coffey also outlined Fine Gael reservations: Theres the question of physical infrastructure and if extra staff are required here.

Opposition to the structural changes for stores is high among rural Fine Gael members, who claim larger supermarkets will have less problems and likely gain more footfall from the restrictions.

Retailers group RGDATA said shop refits may cost 20,000, with special moveable walls or doors.

Director general Tara Buckley said there would also be insurance and health and safety concerns.

Binge drinking must be dealt with. But were not the problem. Small shops may close, she said.
Brian Veale, aged 31, of Dominic St, Cork, pleaded not guilty, at the Central Criminal Court, to murdering Graham Johnson at Cork Prison, Rathmore Road, in Cork City, on May 16, 2015.

Yesterday, prosecution counsel Tim OLeary, SC, called chief State pathologist Marie Cassidy to give evidence.

Dr Cassidy told the court that she carried out an autopsy on Mr Johnsons body on May 17.

She examined the deceased in the mortuary and observed that his white t-shirt, which had heavy blood-staining on the front, had been removed.

The witness said Mr Johnson had a large stab wound to the centre of the front of his chest.

It was 12cm below the top of the breast bone and extending onto the left-hand side of his chest, she said. The wound was 6cm wide and the wound track was downwards.

The court heard that the blade had penetrated the breast bone and then sliced across the start of the three ribs and continued around the sack of the heart. The blade of the knife had gone straight through the heart, from front to back, said Dr Cassidy.

As a result of these injuries, the chest cavities were awash with blood, the court heard.

In conclusion, Dr Cassidy told the jury Mr Johnsons death was due to a single stab wound to the front of his chest and haemorrhages to the heart and aorta.

The blade of the knife had perforated the heart, as well as slicing through the walls of the heart and aorta.

It could have required a considerable degree of force to penetrate the sternum, she said. Opening the prosecution case to a jury yesterday, Mr OLeary told the court that both the accused and deceased were inmates at Cork Prison and they knew each other.

Counsel told the jury they would hear that the men were working in the kitchen of Cork Prison, when there was some type of verbal altercation at around 3pm on May 16.

Mr OLeary said it would be alleged that the altercation arose over a switching of a television channel in the kitchen where the inmates were preparing food.

Counsel told the jury they will also hear that the altercation took place and then finished, but sometime after 5pm that same day, Mr Veale came across a part of the kitchen with a knife and stabbed the deceased in the chest area.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and a jury of seven men and five women. It is expected to last five days.
More than 370 voluntary secondary schools run by or for religious orders are those which will be hardest hit by the planned with- drawal from supervision and substitution duties by Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) members after the mid-term break on Monday, November 7.

However, while more than 100 schools in other sectors are listed as seeking applicants to be temporary supervisors on the Department of Education website, no voluntary secondary schools are listed.

The Joint Managerial Body (JMB), which represents schools in the sector, said some may be making local arrangements instead, but an ASTI ban on principals facilitating recruitment or operation of contingency plans makes things harder.

If our schools dont feel they can engage in the process, there is little point starting into that process when they dont have the management in place to even support the recruitment process, said JMB general secretary John Curtis.

Asked if schools could not begin the process and have applications directed to board members instead of the principals, he said board members do not ordinarily have roles in the day-to-day running of schools.

The position means that, should the ASTI agree to give principals or deputy principals, or both, a derogation from the action, applications for temporary supervisors at those 375 schools would only then be sought.

The same difficulties now also face dozens of other schools after the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) executive decided yesterday to tell members not to co-operate with the hiring process at schools where the ASTI action will require temporary supervisors. This position at schools with members of both unions, which are currently advertising for applicants, could make their ability to remain open throughout November equally difficult as that of voluntary secondary schools.

Were telling members who are principals, deputy principals or holders of posts of responsibility that its not their job to recruit or train the external supervisors, they have a heavy enough workload already, said TUI president Joanne Irwin.

ASTI leaders are due to meet again on Monday with Department of Education officials. Education Minister Richard Bruton returned from China yesterday, cutting short his participation in a higher education trade mission, but it is unclear if he will be directly involved in next weeks talks.

The first of seven strike days is scheduled next Thursday, a day before schools get their mid-term break, with six more planned up to and including December 7. However, most would be immaterial if schools with ASTI members on staff can not open due to the industrial action or TUI refusal to undertake duties of their colleagues.

As expected, the TUI executive is telling members they will not be paid if they decide not to pass ASTI pickets. But, Ms Irwin said, it is hoped individual schools will choose not to notify absences of TUI members on days ASTI pickets are in place and force their pay to be docked, as this could only heighten tensions in schools.
Both have huge production figures (Moet makes over 26 million bottles per year) and are serviceable, but not my favourites.

I have always had a soft spot for the family-owned houses such as Pol Roger, Louis Roederer, and Bollinger but the Champagne for which I have perhaps the warmest place in my heart is Charles Heidsieck, given its part in the courtship of my wife.

This was the Aer Lingus Business-Class Champagne in the 1990s and her job in the aviation industry meant we had a ready supply to consume with the weekend breakfasts I cooked.

In much of the 2000s however the brand disappeared from consciousness and was rather overlooked by its owners, the Remy-Cointreau group.

In 2011 it was bought by the family-owned luxury goods group EPI who have significantly revamped the brand, including the packaging.

Under the management of cellar master Cyril Brun the house has in recent releases been making excellent use of their extensive reserve wine collection (built up in part due to lower sales over the previous decade).

Founded in 1851 the house has an envious collection of underground caves (crayeres) dating from building work carried out by the Romans in the 1st and 2nd century and deep under the streets of Reims.

These deep caves are accessed by steep steps and keep the wines at optimal conditions. A passageway in Cellar 9 even inspired the shape of the new bottle.

The house style of a Champagne is always set by the non-vintage and this is hard to beat.

Containing 40% reserve wines with an average of ten years aging once the blend is created this spends a further five years aging before release (see below).

All the wines this week are from Liberty wines who import Charles Heidsieck and I hope you can forgive the slightly high price points.

For the diary: Jazz Weekend Spanish Wine Tasting, JJ ODriscolls, Ballinlough  featuring a selection of fine Spanish wines mainly from North West Spain, Friday, October 28, 1pm-8pm.

BEST VALUE UNDER 15

Familia Castano Hecula 2014, Yecla, Spain  14.99

Stockists: ODonovans, NOffLA Independents

The winner of the NOffLA red wine of the year 2017, this will soon be available in independent wine shops throughout the country. Made from100% Monastrell near Valencia this sees a small proportion of new oak which gives a spicy character, but mostly it is ripe juicy plum fruits with blackberry, blueberrys and a light liquorice-tinged finish.

Montes Classic Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile  14.99

Stockists: ODonovans, NOffLA Independents

A double win for Liberty as this won best red under 15 at the NOffLA awards. Chile is always a reliable source of decent Cabernet, thanks to their climate and suitability for the grape. This has admirable vanilla influenced red and black fruits with touches of cedar, cigar box and touches of smoke and minty chocolate.

Cento Cavalli Grillo 2015, Sicily, Italy  14.99

Stockists: ODonovans, NOffLA Independents

Grillo is a native Sicilian grape variety which is perfectly suited to the dry warm conditions on that Mediterranean island and a grape worth keeping an eye on as a source of lightly fragrant fresh whites. Solid pear and lemon aromas with a bright crisp citrus character and a dried lemon peel tinged finish.

BEST VALUE OVER 15

Allegrini Palazzo della Torre, Veronese IGT, Italy  27.99

Stockists: World Wide Wines, 1601 Kinsale, Red Nose Wines, www.wineonline.ie, selected Independents

The Allegrini family are six generations growing grapes in the Veneto. This is made from 70% fresh grapes (mainly Corvina) which are vinified after harvest then re-fermented with 30% of dried grapes to give richness and a dried fruit character. Fleshy, voluptuous, ripe, complex and balanced.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne, France  65.99

Stockists: Bradleys, World Wide Wines, OBriens Nationwide, Castle Off-Licence, 1601, Corkscrew, Mitchells

Aged for five years, this extra aging creates lovely complexity. A blend of the three classics  Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay with creamy brioche aromas mixed with toasted almonds and a solid lemon and preserved lemon character mixed with dried figs and a creamy fresh finish.

Charles Heidsieck Brut Millesime 2005 Champagne, France  99

Stockists: OBriens, 1601 Kinsale, Mitchells, World Wide Wines Waterford

The 2005, an almost perfect vintage, is the current release of Heidsieck and a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Bright golden colour with warm aromas of dried white peaches with tropical fruit touches mixed with toasted bread and a soft and densely textured apple-fresh finish.
There is a legion of sustainable energy devices appearing on our walls, roofs and abroad on our sites, some familiar and some head-scratchers.

Its exciting to see that the change towards zero energy, suburban housing development across the country has really started, with the inclusion of not just solar plate panels or solar tubes but photovoltaic panels (generating DC current transformed instantly to AC current by domestic scale technologies).

Reputable Irish suppliers are harvesting everything the climate and geology this wet little country has to offer.

This year, 12 homes in the Madeira Oaks estate in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford have achieved the first A- BER rating, including PV as standard.

Heat pumps are still a relatively new range of products and we took a look at the established products group of air, ground and water sourced pumps on the market in January, from 8,000 for a fully commissioned air to water heat pump to provide central heating and some hot water.

Here, I wanted to answer a few questions regarding the latest thermodynamic panels for domestic hot water, another form of heat pump that tends to be confused with flat panel solar arrays.

Detractors claim this is due to strategic marketing, but theres more to this warming story.

What are thermodynamic panels?

They are close in type to an air source heat pump, and year round can utilise both ambient heat in the outside air and rain and sun to heat all our domestic water.

A low carbon technology, you are most likely to run across them at a self-build trade show.

Unlike solar panels, thermodynamic panels can gather energy 24 hours a day, and although sun contributes  air and rain are also thermally generous.

This technology can work in compromised conditions, even sub-zero temperatures.

Thermodynamic panels (one is standard) can be fixed to the roof, flat or pitched, or to a wall, preferably a south or south-east facing wall.

They are black, thin in profile, semi-gloss in texture with an imprinted circuit look of veins, and very discreetly sized around 80cmx1m of surface area set on brackets to your chosen surface.

How do they work?

The technology is roughly that of a fridge, but in reverse. Using the exterior panel (the collector) a chilled refrigerant F liquid of -20c to -30c is circulated and transformed by the warmth in the atmosphere into a warmed gas.

The gas is channelled through a narrow gauge copper pipe to a compressor which increases its temperature further returning it to liquid form.

A heat exchange coil in the hot water cylinder then warms the hot water supply.

On rare occasions where the supply does not reach safe temperatures of 55c, an integrated immersion boosts the result, and most systems are routinely pushed to 60c on set dates in the year to deal with any dangers from Legionnaires disease.

There is no water in the collector panel as there would be with solar tubes, and there is no powered fan as with a conventional air-to-water heat pump.

However, a relatively small amount of electricity is needed to run the compressor, and that can vary depending on usage.

Retrofit systems can even utilise appropriate existing 100l and 200l cylinders, the condenser/heat exchanger being sited with the cylinder.

The panel outside is only around 8kg, eliminating the need to strengthen the roof structure.

Efficiency?

This is new technology lacking the extensive, independently verified testing of more conventional solar and air/water/geothermal heat source products.

Performance figures for a thermodynamic array are expressed as COP, common to heat pumps (Coefficient of Performance), a reading of how many units of usable energy is produced, using one unit single unit of electricity.

Air source heat pumps run at a moderate COP of 2-4 but deliver a massive saving on the greater expense of home heating and domestic hot water (water makes up only 15% of a standard billing cycle).

Thermodynamic panels are said to have a comparable average seasonal performance.

There has been only one independent test of a these panels, The Narec/National Renewable Engery Centre test in 2014 which showed a disappointing COP spread over January to July of 1.6-2.2, still likely to offset the expenses of a conventional electric immersion by 50%, industry sources say.

Claims in the industry itself vary from 70%-100%, and Irish sustainable energy service technicians I spoke too (without panels to promote) agreed that 100% was viable dependent on individual domestic hot water usage.

This could give a potential annual saving for a standard home of about 200.

Financing the technology

Thermodynamic panels are currently not covered by the SEAI Better Energy Homes Grant as a single panel, but according to Richard White of LVP Renewables, some qualify in multiples, which he agrees, does not make any economic sense.

Following further, appropriate independent industry-acceptable testing of thermodynamic products, theres every reason to believe they will be accepted here for grant aiding in the future, and compare in price to solar water heating systems.

The 1,200 SEAI grant currently offered for retrofits, is for conventional flat plate solar collectors and evacuated solar tubes which will handle 50-60% of your hot water needs depending on individual usage, and cost 4000-6000 (SEAI).

Thermodynamic panels suppliers registered with Revenue for the Home Renovation Incentive Scheme, qualify for inclusion in this VAT relief scheme (happily now extended for two years by the 2017 Budget), revenue.ie.

Comparisons with other systems

Solar panels require detailing at around 200-250 every three to five years including glycol replacement.

Despite claims by suppliers that thermodynamic panels are maintenance free, service professionals I spoke to were sceptical, claiming they with the potential for ice build up and refrigerant leak, they were not bullet-proof.

They cost less to run than other air source heat pumps, but such comparisons are flawed, as air source heat pump systems (8000-10,000 installed) offer most if not all of your space heating needs and can contribute to the hot water supply too.

Theres little argument, that ranged against conventional solar panels and tubes, panels have less moving parts to go wrong and wont suffer problems with water stagnation in times of high sunlight and low water usage.

They also take up a fraction of the roof space (solar needs 1-1.5m per person), and their inclusion will satisfy the Part L requirement of the Building Regulations for sustainable energy in a new build.

Hot Contender

LVP Renewables installed the first thermodynamic system in Ireland in 2008 in one of its family homes.

Since then, it has over 2,000 installations across the country and was featured on About the House with Duncan Stewart on RTE television.

Richard White, sales director at LVP was happy to answer some direct questions on the technology.

Can a thermodynamic panel really deliver 100% of domestic hot water to a standard family home year round?

Yes indeed it can. Assuming temperatures dont fall below circa -5C. Also, when we say 100%, we assume one tank of hot water minimum per day.

Is this augmented by an electric immersion in the system?

No. The system comes with a few modes. Ordinarily, it is set on Eco mode where the immersion will never kick in unless manually turned on.

This can be automated if desired by the customer. There is a small compressor that will consume a nominal amount of electricity.

What are the potential savings?

It fluctuates massively, and economies of scale play a part, along with the system in place. We have seen savings of 300 and 1,500 per annum.

What is a reasonable coefficient of performance with a thermodynamic system? Is this measurement of performance fair?

According to EN16147, The Eco 250 has a coefficient of performance of 3.78. The measurement is not a fair reflection as it doesnt take solar gain into consideration. This can improve performance by 30%.

What are the prime advantages of thermodynamic over conventional solar arrays?

In Ireland, where the weather is so unpredictable, thermodynamics is a preferential technology as it doesnt require sunlight to operate. It will work every day of the year. Only one panel is needed for 100% hot water and the panel can be east, west, or south facing.

Pricing  new and retro-fit for a standard 2,000ft four-bed family home?

New builds are difficult to price as we need an xml file to ensure compliance but in a retrofit situation, a typical installation would cost 5,000 fully inclusive of new installation, plumbing and Vat.

Retrofit time to fit and commission?

Generally speaking, we will have everything done and dusted in one working day.

For more go to: www.lvprenewables.ie
This American presidential election campaign is probably the dirtiest in American history.

Donald Trump began by hurling sexual allegations against Bill Clinton in an obviously effort to smear Hillary Clinton.

While he was in the White House, Bill Clinton was embroiled in a series of scandals that led to his impeachment. He was only the second President in over 200 years to face an impeachment trial. In the process, however, it became apparent that some of his of his most vocal opponents were themselves guilty of much worse behaviour. Trump is not the first Republican to use such tactics.

Others include House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Bob Livingston, the elected Republican leader in the US Senate; and Henry Hyde, the Republican who managed the impeachment process against Clinton. When they went after him, they became fair game themselves, and were exposed as hypocrites.

Clinton was indicted for perjury because he swore that the did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. There was no issue that she did perform oral sex on him, but her big complaint was that she could not get him to consummate their relationship by having full sex.

Thus, many people believe that Clinton was telling the truth when he said he did not have sexual relations with her. Hence he was found not guilty by the US Senate at his impeachment trial.

Donald Trump resurrected the issue during the current campaign, but like Clintons other accusers, there are even more serious questions about his own behavior, and in throwing muck he has become swamped in it himself.

George Washington, who is widely revered as the father of his country, was a well-known womaniser, whom friends called the Stallion of the Potomac.

Some of the best presidents from the Democratic party were involved in sexual scandals. The original Democratic President, Thomas Jefferson, began a relationship with a 14-year-old girl Sally Hemmings, who was a family slave.

Sally was actually half-white. Her mother was owned by Jeffersons father-in-law, who was Sallys biological father. Thus she was Jeffersons wifes half-sister. She accompanied Jefferson to Paris during the American War of Independence when he negotiated the treaty ending that conflict.

Even in the pre-revolutionary days of 1780s, there was no slavery in Paris, so Sally was free to leave Jefferson, but there was obviously a strong attachment between them. He showered her with gifts and promised that any children they might have would be freed.

As a 17-year-old, she actually bore him a son, and he did free him and his three surviving siblings. He also freed Sally in his will.

The last democrat to serve as president before the American Civil War was James Buchanan, who was openly gay. He was the only life-long bachelor President. He lived in the White House with William Rufus King, a former Vice-President. They were irreverently called Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy.

Grover Cleveland, another Democratic President with skeletons in the closet, was exposed during the 1884 campaign by Buffalo Evening Telegraph, which broke the news that Cleveland, a bachelor, had a ten-year-old son named Oscar Folsom Cleveland. Yes, its true, Grover replied when asked by the press. He had been paying for the childs upkeep over the past 10 years.

The Republicans tried to embarrass Cleveland with the chant: Ma, Ma, wheres my Pa? After the election some Democrats persisted with the chant, adding: Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha! Ironically in the half-century after the start of the American Civil War, Cleveland was the only Democrat elected President.

Franklin Roosevelt was with his mistress, Lucy Mercer, when he suffered his fatal stroke in 1945, and John F. Kennedy became famous for his many trysts. Lyndon Johnson was also infamous in Texas, where he actually belittled Kennedys sexploits. I have had more women by accident that he has had on purpose, Johnson boasted.

In comparison to them, Bill Clintons antics seemed rather tame. Moreover, the Republicans have been far from chaste in the past century.

Warren Harding had a 15-year affair with Carrie Phillips, the wife of a close friend, who did not find out about the affair until after it was over. But Hardings wife, Florence, was aware of it. Harding broke off the relationship after he was elected to the White House in 1920.

But after Carrie Phillips died in 1960, she was found to have kept no less than 105 letters from him, some running to 40 pages. These, which were finally released to the public in July 2014, contained steamy evidence of their torrid affair. They can be read online.

Harding did not suspend his philandering in the White House. He also had a passionate affair with Nan Britton, with whom he had a daughter. On one occasion Florence Harding became aware that Warren was hiding in a White House closet with Nan. The Secret Service had to come to the Presidents rescue as his wife was trying to hack down the door with a hatchet.

During World War II Dwight Eisenhower had a torrid affair with a married Cork woman, Kay Summersby, who grew up in Baltimore, as Kathleen Helen McCarthy-Morrogh. Immediately after the war Eisenhower planned to marry her.

To divorce and remarry, however, he needed the permission of his commanding officer, General George C. Marshall, the Chief of Staff. Marshall would not hear of it, and he threatened to destroy Eisenhowers military career if he did not drop the matter.

As a result, Eisenhower abandoned the idea of a divorce, and broke off the relationship with Kay Summersby.

President Truman learned of what happened from Marshall.

A man not honourable in his marital relations, the President believed, is not usually honourable in any other.

He lived by that code himself, but he often quoted the advice that his elderly mother gave him as he went to Washington for the first time in 1934. Now, Harry, she said, you be good, but, she added, after a thoughtful pause, being too good is apt to be uninteresting.

Truman did not like Eisenhower, but he was never prepared to allow the affair to be used against him. One of the last things I did as President, Truman said, I got those letters from his file in the Pentagon, and I destroyed them. He had the evidence to demolish Eisenhower politically, but he never stooped to such politics.

Neither did most of the other Democratic presidential candidates. For instance, Selene Walters, an aspiring actress, accused Ronald Reagan of raping her as 19-year-old in 1952, but no Democratic opponent ever accused him of that.
ANYTHING that unites the outstanding talents of Brendan Glesson and Michael Fassbender is an event, but thats not why their new movie Trespass Against Us is noteworthy.

The new Traveller crime drama in itself might not make an indifferent public sit up and take notice but lets hope what Fassbender has said about it will. The Oscar-nominated actor said he took the role because he hoped it would provoke conversation about tribalism and, more specifically, the relationship between Irish Travellers and the settled community.

As he put it (rather delicately, wed have to say): Both these communities have been living alongside each other for centuries and still, at times, they are at odds with one another. We felt like that was something worth talking about, or at least exploring and perhaps provoking dialogue.

That invitation to dialogue couldnt have come at a better time.

Fassbenders words echo those spoken by Fr Dermot Lane two weeks ago at the memorial service for the five adults and five children who died in a fire at an unofficial Traveller site in Carrickmines, Dublin, on October 10, 2015.

Fr Lane asked if anything had changed in wider societys relationship with the Traveller community in the 12 months since the fire.

It would be heartening to think the fire had marked some sort of a turning point in that troubled relationship but, mere days after the tragedy, it was clear that it had not. A group of unhappy residents came out of their houses which have running water, toilets and safe electrical connections to block the entrance to a temporary site for the homeless, who were grieving relatives of the dead.

One person  who didnt want to be named, strangely enough  was quoted as saying: We just dont want them here. No one in the country would accept this.

Many of us were outraged and many more signed the book of condolences opened in several locations around the country. Yet, when a national newspaper did a survey of almost 5,000 of its readers, some 72% said the residents had been right to do what they did.

If another Carrickmines were to happen today  and thats a real risk, as 81% of Traveller accommodation units still have no working smoke alarms  would the reaction from the settled community be any different?

Youd like to think so, though one of the few quantifiable changes in the last year suggests otherwise. One year on, there are even more Traveller families living in poor conditions.

Some 5,584 Traveller adults and children live in accommodation that is overcrowded, poorly equipped and often unsafe.

A national fire safety audit found that 62% of Traveller accommodation units had unsafe electrical connections, while 31% of sites would not be able to accommodate an ambulance or fire brigade if needed.

Traveller groups might arch an eyebrow at the mention of dialogue. What they need right now is action not more talk. Their representatives have said more than once that the time has come to implement some of those fine taskforce recommendations and to finally pin down concrete strategies for health and employment.

It says something that the most recent figures on the life expectancy of Travellers is already six years old. Whats more, those shocking figures continue to pass under the radar. According to the All- Ireland Traveller Health Study of 2010, Traveller men live 15 years less than settled men and Traveller women 11.5 years less than settled women.

If that sentence read: Irish men live 15 years less than European men and Irish women 11.5 years than European women there would, rightly, be an outcry. Though, Europe has done more for Irish Travellers than the Irish settled community.

Earlier this year, the European Committee of Social Rights ruled that Irish Travellers human rights were being violated because of an ongoing failure to provide adequate accommodation.

Travellers have been very eloquent in describing the harsh reality of their experience in Ireland. But lets not just take their word for it.

The statistics are there to show that they continue to be one of the most ghettoised and excluded groups in Irish society.

The unemployment rate among Travellers is more than 80%. The Traveller suicide rate is seven times the national average among young men and they are disproportionately represented in the prison population.

No wonder there are those who hide their Traveller identity and many others who say they feel unsafe and exposed among the settled community.

Michael Fassbender is right. We do need a dialogue, but the dialogue that needs to happen now is not between the Travelling community and the settled community but within the settled community itself.

For too long, the tensions between the two communities have been framed in a sort of us and them dichotomy. Lets look at that, because if you lined out those two communities, heres what youd see.

On one side, there would be over four million people with jobs, laws and years of tradition behind them. On the other side, thered be a tiny gathering of some 30,000 people, enough to barely half-fill Croke Park.

So wheres the power in that relationship? Its time the settled community answered that question.

Actor John Connors, who recently fronted the wonderful series on Traveller history on RTE, has said the attitude to Travellers is Irelands last acceptable racism.

And he is right. Its not untrue to say that discrimination against Travellers is a form of Irish-style apartheid.

Travellers are still fighting to be recognised as an ethnic minority. There are references to a distinct Traveller culture going back to the 12th century. Theres also hard science to prove that  a 2011 study showed that the DNA of Travellers is distinct from that of the settled population.

For too long, that has allowed us, the settled population, to push them out to the fringes of our own cosy society. Lets start a real dialogue now on why that is so.
On June 10, 2014, the day the black flag of the Islamic State militant group went up over the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, life for an ISIS fighter was good.

The seizure of a city of nearly two million showed that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was making good on his claim to set up a caliphate across a vast swath of the Middle East.

Foreign fighters flocked to a group once famously mocked by US President Barack Obama as the JV (Junior Varsity) team. And why not? After taking Mosul, ISIS fighters were paid $500 a month and given a mobile and a car. Amid the deepening chaos in the Middle East, Daesh, as the group is called in Arabic, had emerged as the strong horse.

Today, the battle of Mosul, Round Two, is underway. The United States, the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have started an offensive to retake the city. And ISIS, undeniably, is now weakened, its caliphate vastly reduced in size.

The Iraqi government, backed by US airpower and special operations forces, has methodically retaken cities in Iraqs Sunni heartland that had fallen to ISIS: Tikrit, Fallujah, Ramadi and, soon, most analysts believe, Mosul.

ISIS today controls nearly 50% less territory in Iraq than it did two years ago. The flow of foreign fighters going there has dwindled, and ISIS now conscripts locals for $50 a month  but it has fallen three months behind, former fighters say, in paying even that amount.

It is not only Iraq where ISIS is now in retreat. In Libya, where it had established an important foothold in the central coastal city of Sirte  demonstrating that it could take and hold territory far from Raqqa, its so-called capital in Syria  militia fighters, backed by at least 170 American airstrikes, have nearly retaken the city.

ISIS forces are now fleeing to the south. Soon, the caliphate will extend not much beyond its stronghold in Syria, and even there, the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by US special operations forces and airstrikes, have begun to surround Raqqa, cutting off supply lines and preparing the battlefield for an offensive likely to come sometime next year. All of this, to be sure, is a humiliation for Baghdadi.

But demonstrating that ISIS could not create and then hold its caliphate indefinitely does not mean it is defeated. The idea that it could sustain its territorial holdings without possessing significant anti-aircraft weaponry to deter US airstrikes was always fanciful, says a Western military intelligence official.

Dislodging ISIS from its strongholds was a necessary first step, but it was the easy part in what will be a long struggle. Military and counterintelligence officials and diplomats in the United States, Europe and the Middle East acknowledge that the fight now becomes more difficult for the West  and, many contend, more dangerous.

ISIS needs to adapt to a rapidly deteriorating military situation, and there is already evidence that it is doing so. Consider, as but one example, what has happened in Mosul  and in particular underneath Mosul  in the two-plus years since it fell to ISIS control.

Former ISIS fighters who have recently left the battlefield say their former comrades in arms have painstakingly constructed their own version of the famous Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam - tunnels outside of Saigon that during the war there gave North Vietnamese fighters freedom of movement, the ability to protect weapons and ammunition from heavy American bombardment and  critically - an escape route that ensured they would be able to move on to the next battlefield.

The former fighters describe a long struggle. Military and counterintelligence officials and diplomats in the United States, Europe and the Middle East acknowledge that the fight now becomes more difficult for the West  and, many contend, more dangerous.

ISIS needs to adapt to a rapidly deteriorating military situation, and there is already evidence that it is doing so. Consider, as but one example, what has happened in Mosul  and in particular underneath Mosul  in the two-plus years since it fell to ISIS control.

Former ISIS fighters who have recently left the battlefield say their former comrades in arms have painstakingly constructed their own version of the famous Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam - tunnels outside of Saigon that during the war there gave North Vietnamese fighters freedom of movement, the ability to protect weapons and ammunition from heavy American bombardment and  critically - an escape route that ensured they would be able to move on to the next battlefield.

The former fighters describe a similarly intricate network of tunnels with rooms, toilets, medical facilities and enough food to sustain a long fight.

Chillingly, the fighters say the roughly 11,000 men set to defend Mosul have chemical weapons - chlorine and mustard gas, according to Waleed Abdullah, a 23-year-old Iraqi who left the battlefield last month. Abdullah believes about 3,000 ISIS soldiers will fight to the death.

The rest, he says, will escape  via the tunnels  and, as the North Vietnamese did nearly half a century ago, continue the fight. And contrary to numerous reports of deteriorating morale among the ISIS rank and file, Waleed says that among the hardcore fighters, morale is still very high. They will stay underground for a long time since the tunnels are deep and provide the means of life.

But where will they fight? Current and former intelligence officials in the Middle East, Europe and the United States say their primary fear is that the pace of attacks on soft targets in their regions is likely to increase as the resources and manpower necessary to maintain the caliphate shrink.

ISIS, in fact, has been planning for exactly this for years. Mubin Shaikh, a former jihadi who has worked with the Canadian government on counterintelligence matters, says: When the caliphate was establishing, they were talking about the inevitability of Western forces attacking them because they were overrunning territory in Iraq and that had already triggered a U.S. response.

The flow of migrants from Syria, Libya and Iraq to Europe - and the certainty among some security officials that ISIS has slipped its members into that flow - already has Western counterterrorism units stretched to nearly the breaking point.

Its about to get worse. Richard Barrett, a former head of counter-extremism at MI6 in the UK who now works for security consultancy the Soufan Group, says flatly that there will a greater threat as ISIS continues to lose territory, as numbers [of fighters flowing back to Europe] will increase and security services will be even more hard-pressed, making an attack more likely to slip through the net. This will lead to greater public anger, more pressure on security services, and it will become a spiral.

The inability to hold territory creates ISIS 2.0, as a senior Middle Eastern intelligence official puts it. It means that ISIS adapts and begins to look more like Al-Qaeda, whose top leadership all along warned Baghdadi that he couldnt sustain a caliphate across several countries and was foolish to try.

They may not be able to maintain the physical caliphate, but they canbuild and maintain networks, the intelligence official adds.

How effective will ISIS 2.0 be? Not everyone shares the grim view that MI6 alumnus Barrett sketches out. Some posit that the loss of territory will diminish ISISs ability to pull off high-profile, mass-casualty attacks - just as Al-Qaedas loss of its sanctuary in Afghanistan after 9/11 did. That, as Obama administration officials say, is no small thing. Two key questions going forward will confront the ISIS leadership.

The first is financial. The methodical rolling up of the caliphate that has been Obamas strategy for the past two years has undeniably made it more difficult for ISIS to make money. It has degraded ISISs access to oil money in both Iraq and Syria,

forcing it to turn more to extortion.

That, in turn, further alienates populations living under ISISs thumb. In Al-Qayyarah, Iraq, a town that Baghdads forces liberated from the group in late August, smoke from a burning, bombed-out oil well that used to generate income for ISIS now blackens the daytime sky.

But Abu Ahmad, who lives just 100 yards away from the burning well, says, I prefer the [smoke] from the well to life under Daesh. Everything was bad and dark under them.

The second issue for Baghdadi and his top lieutenants is one of face: How much does the loss of territory damage the ISIS brand in the eyes of would-be jihadis all over the world?

When ISIS was the strong horse, recruiting fighters was easy. During its rise, its motto, repeated endlessly by Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, the groups chief propagandist killed in an airstrike in August, was Remaining and expanding.

Now that theyre neither remaining nor expanding, optimists believe the loss of territory will hurt them, disrupt them and decrease the flow of foreign fighters attracted to the group, says Nada Bakos, a former CIA officer now at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. According to this view, we likely have seen peak ISIS, its ability to pull off significant attacks damaged and the prestige that attended fighting for it seriously eroded.

Many US and European counterterrorism officials doubt it will be that simple. Officials concede they are deeply concerned not so much that the numbers of fighters flowing back into the West will increase but about the type of fighters likely to return.

According to Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, the European Unions law enforcement agency, at least 5,000 European passport holders went to Syria and Iraq to fight, and only about a third of them have returned. The working assumption in Europe is that many will eventually try to come to Europe.

Gilles de Kerchove, the EUs counterterrorism coordinator, said hes particularly concerned about the skills the returnees have learned fighting in the Middle East.

One of the risks is that these guys have learned a lot in terms of weaponised chemical stuff, in terms of using car bombs. I hope this knowledge will not be used here, but we have to be vigilant.

Those concerns are legitimate, say fighters who have recently left ISIS. The flow back to the West has already begun. Its true that they are losing areas in Iraq and Syria, says Waleed, but they have other options.

He says that in the past two years, ISIS has sent more than 300 sleepers from the region to different Western nations.

They first go to Turkey, where they get a fake passport, and then slip out individually via varying routes to the West. One such fighter is from the same town in Iraq as Waleed  Hawijah, south of Mosul  and he had plastic surgery in Turkey in order to be unrecognised.

U.S. counterterrorism officials argue that military success against ISIS will make this type of transit more difficult, and thus ISISs ability to carry out even smaller-scale attacks abroad will be more limited.

Turkish forces entered Syria in late August, ostensibly to combat ISIS but also, officials in Ankara have acknowledged, to prevent the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (the militia known as YPG) from setting up an enclave on the Syrian border with Turkey.

But if the result is that Turkey shuts down its border  as it appears to have done so far  and stops turning a blind eye to ISIS fighters and weaponry slipping in and out of Syria, thats a win for the anti-ISIS coalition.

Well see, says one senior Middle East intelligence source about whether Ankaras newfound vigilance lasts. The officials wariness is rooted in other facts on the ground that may work to ISISs benefit, despite the loss of face associated with battlefield defeats.

As former Defense Intelligence Agency official Michael Pregent says, the strategy to defeat ISIS amounts to rubble-ising predominantly Sunni cities in Iraq and Syria.

Eighty percent of Ramadi was destroyed. Half of Fallujah was destroyed. Now the UN and other nongovernmental organizations are already fretting about the massive number of refugees that the Mosul offensive will create, says Pregent. (Some 1.2 million Iraqis remain in Mosul.)

Are we really defeating ISIS? There are 20 million Arab Sunnis in the northern Middle East  350,000 military-age young men in Mosul alone  all asking [the United States], What are you doing ?

ISIS, remember, arose in Iraq largely in reaction to the strident sectarian leadership of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who, once the US left in 2009, set about purging Sunnis from the military and senior positions in the Iraqi government.

Many Sunnis believe the US has effectively thrown in with Iran and the Shiite militias in Iraq to defeat ISIS. The former Iraqi Baathist intelligence and military officials who make up ISISs leadership under Baghdadi know that despite the loss of territory, those disaffected young men are ripe for recruiting.

The same is true in Syria, where some 400,000 Sunnis (and counting) have died in that countrys civil war, for which there is no end in sight now that the ceasefire negotiated by the US and Russia has quickly fallen apart.

The sectarian chaos only increases. Shiite militias from Iraq have been deployed in Syria to fight Sunni rebel groups, including ISIS but also including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly the Nusra Front) and Ahrar al-Sham  both of which have been active in defending the besieged city of Aleppo from Russian- and Iranian-backed Syrian forces. Through such actions, the Sunni groups have secured [their] place in the hearts and minds of the Syrian people, according to a recent intelligence report.

Why are those groups significant? They are both affiliates of Al-Qaeda. In the public mind in the United States  and, for a time, within the US government  Al-Qaeda had become an afterthought.

Osama bin Laden was dead; his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was said to be a doddering, uncharismatic bean counter; and, by 2014, it became clear ISIS was not the JVs.

But even though ISIS undeniably cut into Al-Qaedas share of the jihadi market, as Thomas Joscelyn, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, puts it, under Zawahiris stewardship, Al-Qaeda also grew its largest paramilitary force ever  in Syria alone, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham has 10,000 fighters loyal to it.

IraqiArmyMosulA20Oct16_large.jpg[/imgcap]

And it has slowly but surely expanded its footprint globally, in the Levant (Greater Syria) region, the Indian subcontinent and West and North Africa.

Doctrinal and strategic differences  as well as big egos, intelligence officials say  keep Al-Qaeda and ISIS from joining forces, and that does not appear set to change anytime soon.

Also, Al-Qaeda has not in recent years sought to launch mass-casualty attacks in the West, instead fighting insurgencies in Muslim-majority countries, another reason why resources and attention in the West have gone to the fight against ISIS.

But analysts point out, as Joscelyn says, that Al-Qaeda also has more resources at its disposal today than ever, and more geographic reach. And until last year, it was also running its largest training camp ever - in, of all places, Afghanistan.

US and Afghan forces destroyed the base, but in many respects it is beginning to seem like old times in Afghanistan, with the Taliban ascendant on the battlefield and Al-Qaeda still joined at the hip with once and perhaps future rulers there.

Currently, Al-Qaedas focus has been Syria, where it, like ISIS, seeks to depose Bashar al-Assad. But Russias intervention  and stepped-up support from the Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah fighters  has shifted the wars direction.

Counterterrorism officials in the West have begun to wonder whether the law of unintended consequences will come into play. If the Assad-Moscow-Tehran axis looks as if it will prevail, will Al-Qaeda turn its attention elsewhere or fight to the death in Syria?

Their calculation, says Joscelyn, could change overnight. They havent used Syria as a launching pad yet, but it doesnt mean they wont.

A senior US intelligence official acknowledges as much and says the tempo of airstrikes targeting fighters with Al-Qaeda affiliates has increased in recent months.

The defining feature of the Wests war against radical Islamic militants has been its constant shape-shifting; at times, it can seem like whack-a-mole  enemies are killed, others pop up.

The fortunes of the opposition wax and  in the case of ISIS now  wane, as they figure out new ways to attack. ISIS, now degraded, as Obama vowed, will necessarily be in transition but perhaps no less lethal. Al-Qaeda is expanding, patiently, and still has ambitions for large-scale attacks in the West, at a time and place of its choosing. The war grinds on.

In early 2013, on his last day as acting head of the CIA, Michael Morell told Obama, who came to office wanting to end wars, My childrens generation and my grandchildrens generation will still be fighting this fight.

Additional reporting by Mahmoud Shikh Ibrahim in Erbil, Iraq, and Jack Moore and Mirren Gidda in London.
This phenomenon takes place twice a year, between 20 and 22 February, when the king was crowned, and 20 and 22 October, when he was born

Related New discovery in Matariya points to a King Ramses II temple

Tourists gathered Saturday in front of Aswans Abu Simbel Temple to witness the bi-yearly phenomenon of the suns rays falling directly onto the King Ramses II statue within, to mark his birthday, state news agency MENA reported.

This phenomenon takes place twice a year, between 20 and 22 February, when the king was crowned, and from 20 and 22 October, when he was born.

The celebration was attended by Egyptian and foreign tourists as well as the ministers of antiquities, tourism and culture.

This phenomenon is a unique astronomical miracle, as it dates back to 33 centuries ago, Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Anany said during the celebration.

A number of folklore dance troupes performed popular dances during the celebration.

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IT HAS been famously said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Next Tuesday, the Dail will once again debate a bill which seeks to liberalise the countrys abortion laws.

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Ruth Coppingers bill has been well flagged but once again it has placed the viability of this weak minority Government in jeopardy.

During the summer, the Coalition came close to collapse over a refusal of the Independent Alliance members to bow to the Fine Gael whip, on a similar bill brought by Independent TD Mick Wallace.

An ugly spat ensued which saw the credibility of the Attorney General Maire Whelan called into question, and an embarrassing climbdown for Taoiseach Enda Kenny. He was forced to consent to a free vote for the Independent Alliance, some of whom  ministers Shane Ross, Finian McGrath and John Halligan  have strong pro-choice beliefs.

The episode did little to improve relations between Fine Gael and their non-party colleagues who find themselves side by side in Government together.

Halligan vented his fury at Fine Gael on the abortion issue and previously on the issue of water charges, telling arrogant ministers to shut their mouths.

Last week, Independent Alliance members told me Fine Gael are in denial if they think they can force them to oppose a new bill to liberalise abortion.

They said a free vote is not in the gift of Enda Kenny to grant and they are insisting that such a situation pertains when the bill is debated next week.

We are not in the business of asking for a free vote. It is not their decision to make, one alliance member told me.

Throughout last week, several Alliance members said they will be demanding a free vote on an upcoming bill in the Dail to repeal the controversial Eighth Amendment on abortion.

Following a major row in the summer over a similar bill, brought forward by Independent TD Mick Wallace, the Coalition almost fell over a refusal by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to agree to a free vote.

While there have been some meetings to try and resolve the matter, the Alliance have stated clearly they will not be pushed around by Fine Gael.

Minister and Waterford TD John Halligan, said he is adamant that a free vote must happen, but added he did not want to see the stability of the Government placed in jeopardy again.

He said: I know there are some in Fine Gael who want to roll us over because they feel we did it to them last time. I will not be pushed around on this issue by them. They should just agree to a free vote and kill the controversy.

Another Alliance member, who asked not to be named, said Fine Gael are in denial, thinking they can force them to oppose the new Coppinger bill: It is a bit late now, only getting around to this now, but the budget took up a lot of time and energy. Fine Gael are in denial on this, we are requiring a free vote.

We are not in a mood to oppose the bill. We have different opinions on it. Boxer Moran and Sean Canney will want to vote with the Government and we have no problem with that. We cant understand why this is now an issue and they are not simply agreeing the free vote, the source said.

All week, behind-the-scenes conversations have been going on.

The Alliances programme manager, Tony Williams, has been given the responsibility of trying to defuse the row with Fine Gael before the Dail debates the bill on Tuesday.

Williams, a well-regarded media lawyer, is no stranger to politics but even his skills were tested in trying to pin down his own TDs for a meeting to discuss the issue.

It got tricky at one point when Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he could understand if Alliance members did a U-turn and voted against the Coppinger bill.

This caused outrage amid the Alliance and quickly a statement was released through their new deputy government press secretary, former Star journalist Catherine Halloran.

She said: FYI, reports that the Independent Alliance have decided to join forces with the Government on the Coppinger Bill are untrue. Discussions are ongoing.

On the surface, such a statement is perfectly harmless. A holding line while matters are being debated.

But parse the phraseology of it.

The bit about not joining forces with the Government as opposed to Fine Gael is very revealing as to the dynamic in Government.

They still in some ways see themselves outside the tent, even though they have the seals of office.

At one stage, one Alliance member told me they were considering accepting an amendment committing to a free vote on Citizens Assembly proposals when they come back to the Dail, which could see them vote the Coppinger bill down.

But it seems that has been ruled out, as it was pointed out Kenny had promised a free vote on that all along.

But for the criticisms levelled at the Alliance, they have been straight and upfront as to their position on the issue of abortion from the start.

In the run-up to the Wallace bill, they repeatedly warned Kenny and Fine Gael that they did not want a row, but they were adamant a free vote would have to apply.

They are simply saying the same thing again.

Therefore, the problem is Kennys and Fine Gaels.

Perhaps angered by what happened in July, the Fine Gael refusal so far to countenance a free vote is idiotic, especially when it looks like the Coppinger bill will fall, as Wallaces did.

It also smacks of vengeance because of the perceived humiliation forced upon them by the upstarts led by Ross.

The Alliance members were gathered in Enniskerry yesterday afternoon for the funeral mass of Rosss mother Ruth Isabel.

Kenny and his key advisor, Mark Kenneally, were in Brussels attending the summit.

This was an issue that again didnt need to be an issue and caused by nothing other than the hubris, arrogance and insecurity of Kenny.

He feared that relenting again to a free vote would make him look weak to his own troops.

The problem is that Kenny is weak and the sight of an ebullient Leo Varadkar at Leaders Questions on Thursday would do little to comfort him.

It was bizarre to see how giddy the Leo fan club got as he stood in for his leader in the Dail  the future they hoped would come sooner rather than later.

Come Tuesday, the Dail will commence the debate on Coppingers bill and all eyes and ears will be on what ministers, both Fine Gael and Independent, have to say.

But Enda has once again allowed another needless crisis threaten his Government.
THERE are two aspects to the current industrial strife that tell a lot about this country, its people, and society. The first concerns a deficit of national solidarity, which contrasts sharply with the general experience in sub groups or communities in the country. The second is the capacity for denial that raises its head every now and again from the national psyche.

An outstanding feature of the recession and attendant trauma of the last few years was a lack of solidarity within the country. When times were tough, it was everyone for themselves. Pain was inflicted greatest where there was least resistance. And one of the main groups to get it between the eyes were the young.

By young here, Im referring to those leaving education, aged between 18 and mid-20s. As the cuts were being pencilled in, some bright spark noticed that one area of soft resistance was the young. They dont vote. Theyre not organised. And they dont fret about the future to a great extent. If things dont work out for them, they can emigrate and see you all again in 10 to 15 years.

So it was that a few bob was saved in reducing the level of jobseekers allowance to those under 26. Cutbacks to education supports were also introduced. Risk of exploitation under the JobBridge scheme was greatest for this demographic. And, of course, the collapse of the job market was felt keenest among the twentysomethings.

Those who had power managed to protect themselves the worst of the cutbacks. In 2010, Brian Lenihan sorted out the senior public servants who lobbied him claiming they were being disproportionately hit, even though most were earning well over 100,000 a year.

In 2011, the bright, new shining coalition introduced a cap of 92,000 on salaries for political advisers but seven of 15 cabinet ministers ignored the cap for their own personnel. In a country that was on its knees, the lack of real solidarity was striking.

There was one other measure that demonstrated the utter contempt for the welfare of the younger demographic. One of the cutbacks to the public pay bill was to lower the pay for new entrants. This was cynical and expedient and done with the acquiescence of the trade unions.

Patricia King, general secretary of ICTU, was challenged on this by Clare Byrne on RTE Radio last Saturday. King replied that the unions did not agree to any such measure. This may well be the case, but it is irrefutable that the unions did not make a stand on the issue. Just as the Government and its agents were taking advantage of a sector with weak resistance to cuts, so the unions turned a blind eye.

From the Governments point of view the creation of a public service in which two people doing the same job were paid at different rates was not a matter of concern. It was tomorrows problem, and right then it wasnt clear in terms of the States finances, whether or not tomorrow would come.

For the unions, there were more pressing issues. Most unions were preoccupied with quelling the anger of their own members and selling what they believed was the best deal achievable.

They sure as hell werent going to ask their members to display some solidarity with new entrants who were not yet in employment.

Neither were they going to make a stand on any wider fidelity to solidarity in the workplace they may claim is a central tenet of trade unionism.

That was all five and six years ago. To be fair, as the tide of recession recedes, the unions are belatedly laying down markers about pay equality.

Pay equality is now a central reason for the ASTI teachers union strike to begin next week. The union claims not to be in search of extra money in general, but merely for all of its members to be on the same scale. This gives their action moral authority, but the question remains as to why they didnt act until so late in the day.

For the Government, the question arises as to why pay equality across the public service has not been already dealt with. Is it acceptable that in the budget for next year more than 300m has been handed out in tax cuts while new teachers, guards, nurses and most administrative staff are expected to work for less than their colleagues?

It is also notable that the measure to increase welfare payments by 5 had its origins in a proposal to hike up the state pension by that amount.

Those reliant exclusively on the state pension have taken a major hit in recent years, but many others in receipt of private pensions have not.

By contrast, nobody in Government or opposition was too concerned about making any sort of a gesture to the young who have disproportionately taken a far greater hit. Its simply a question of follow the votes.

Pay equality is one thing, pay restoration another. The latter concept is at the heart of the industrial action being undertaken by the Garda associations.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) is demanding that the cuts inflicted since 2008, amounting to 16.5%, be reversed. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is equally strident in its demands.

Forty-eight hours before polling in the general election last February the GRA issued a release calling on the new government to fully reinstate the terms and conditions of rank and file Garda Siochana to pre-2008 levels.

What kind of an economy were those pre-2008 levels of pay based on? Back then, around 40% of the workforce didnt pay income tax.

By 2008, the public pay bill had doubled in the previous eight years. On average, public sector workers were earning over 50% more than they had in 2000.

The wider economy was just as crazy. As noted here before, a family with three small children and one earner outside the home on 50,000 a year was actually receiving rather than contributing money to the exchequer, when low tax rates, child benefit, and the annual 1,100 under-six payments were taken into account.

That example is not typical of most families, but it does demonstrate how the economy was based on the fantasy that as long as the construction industry was booming and people spending money the never-never would never arrive.

Public sector workers certainly took a major hit during the recession, but they were not alone.

Who exactly is supposed to foot the bill for pay restoration now that the fantasy land has been whipped away?

In a sane world, pay hikes would revert to a natural incremental rise over a number of years rather than any aspiration to get back to 2008 levels as quick as possible. Surely its time to cut out the sense of denial that pervades all talk of pay restoration.
Business The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (October 21)

Trucks are seen at a jade stones mine dump at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin state / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Singapores SMI sells Burma telecom tower business

Singapore Myanmar Investco (SMI) is selling its telecoms business for about US$12.7 million to Hong Kongs Shining Star Holdings, which is involved in real estate, tourism, healthcare and education in China and Burma.

With Myanmar set to benefit further from favorable trends such as tourism, foreign investments and urbanization, the proposed divestment of our telecom tower business will result in a greater concentration of our efforts behind our highest-potential growth opportunities in Myanmar, Mark Bedingham, president and chief executive officer of SMI told dealstreetasia.com.

SMI has partnered with Royal Golden Sky Ltd to operate retail stores at Rangoons International Airport and it is investigating retail opportunities at a $300-million Junction City mixed-used development in Rangoon by the Shwe Taung Group.

Burma and India sign MoUs

According to the Global New Light of Myanmar, three agreements were signed between Burma and India during State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis visit this week to the neighboring country, following President U Htin Kyaws visit in August.

The agreements were in the power, banking and insurance sectors, Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told the newspaper. They were signed on Wednesday following delegation-level talks headed by the State Counselor and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

One memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on cooperation in the power sector, another between the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Myanmar on banking supervision, and a third on designing an academic and professional building program for Burmas insurance industry, according to the report.

Massive Jade Stone Hard to Move

The massive 174-ton piece of jade unearthed recently in Kachin State will not be moved quickly due to lack of adequate equipment and accessibility by road, according to a lawmaker in the area quoted by AFP.

The 5.8-meter- (19-feet)-long stone was found buried 60 meters deep in a mountain in Hpakant Township in mid-October.

When the edge of the stone was scratched we could see the quality of the jade insideit is very good, the lawmaker U Tint Soe, 56, posted on his Facebook page.

But the value of the rock might be closer to US$5.4 million, he added, rather than some earlier estimates which put it at $170 million.

Global Witness valued the annual jade trade in Burma at $31 billion in 2014equivalent to around half the countrys GDP.

Jade mining comes at a high human cost as accidents are common. Around 100 people died in a major landslide in November last year.

KBZ Bank introduces credit cards

Kanbawza Bank (KBZ) has followed other Burma banks with the introduction of local forms of credit cards on Oct. 18, in partnership with UnionPay International (UPI).

The cards will allow holders to purchase products and services from certain points of sale, make payments and withdraw cash, KBZ said.

Under the offering, one type of card can be applied for by those earning a monthly salary of 300,000 kyats and above. Those earning more than 2 million kyats per month can apply for a platinum card. Users will be exempt from paying interest for a certain period and will subsequently pay interest at a rate of 13 percent.

Ayarwaddy (AYA) Bank introduced local credit cards in July and Asian Green Development Bank (AGD), the Cooperatives Bank (CB), Myanmar Oriental Bank (MOB) and Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA) also offer co-branded MPU-UPI cards.

Jade mining tax rates under negotiation

Jade mining companies are in negotiations with the government to cut in half the taxes they already pay, according to a report in the Global New Light of Myanmar.

Mining companies must pay taxes on the basis of the value of extracted jade stones, according to the report.

Firms are seeking a reduction of up to one-half the proposed rate, according to U Myint Pe of the Yadana Thein Gay Har company from the Kani area in Sagaing Division.

The state body, the Myanmar Gems Enterprise, has been tasked with responsibility for overseeing mining sector operations, including taxation, measuring mining blocks, setting the terms for mining permits and reporting the number and type of heavy machinery used, the report said.

A mining block is equivalent to one acre. Previously, companies could bid for up to 50 blocks, and the price for a block with a floor price of 1 million kyats could rise by up to 50 times that value, according to U Myint Pe.

The new government has decided that permits will be given to three different sizes of enterpriseheavy, mid-sized and small. This year, the bidding process may change to allow more small-sized firms to participate, he told the newspaper.
Dateline Dateline Irrawaddy: Journalists Have an Important Role to Play

On this weeks Dateline, U Myint Kyaw and Daw Mon Mon Myat discuss reporting on the Maungdaw situation with The Irrawaddys Burmese editor Ye Ni.

Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy. This week, well discuss the Maungdaw attacks, the resultant military operations, the news released by the government and media coverage. Member of Myanmar Press Council U Myint Kyaw and documentary producer Daw Mon Mon Myat will join me for the discussion. Im Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni.

As you know, police border posts in Maungdaw in northern Arakan State came under attack on Oct. 9. The Burma military then carried out security operations in response to the armed violence and both sides have suffered casualties. Initially there were four casualties from the Burmese military but more recently the number has risen to 13, while at least 26 suspected attackers have been killed, including two women according to the latest report [on Monday]. The incident has grabbed headlines in both local and international media. But when it comes to coverage of the developing situation, local and foreign news outlets present the story from their respective points of interest. Local media tend to focus on nationalism while foreign media highlight alleged human rights abuses. Ko Myint Kyaw, are you satisfied with the new governments news releases and the ability of the media to cover the incident?

Myint Kyaw: The news released by the new government is adequate to a certain extent. When the identity of the attackers was not yet clearly known, the government asked [the people] to wait until Oct. 15 for more information. Then, the authorities investigated the arrested suspects and gave a comprehensive news release on the details and suspected cause of the attacks. What we need, however, is [coverage] by independent media. The government needs to arrange for local private media or foreign media outlets to cover incidents as much as possible. Only a few local journalistspossibly five or sixhave been on the ground in recent days. Coincidentally, some journalists from Rangoon were in the area for other reasons when the incident took place. But the more media outlets can report on the ground, the better.

While their coverage may be restricted by their budget or time or other factors, the government should cater to journalists requests and take them to locations when safe to do so. I understand that the government may not be able to take them to the front line of the operations. It would be best if the government provided a security plan, if it can, for journalists to go to safe places in the area and collect information. In the Ducheertan case [of racial violence in Arakan State in 2014], no matter how many statements the government released, only coverage by independent media was trusted both locally and internationally. This is an important point and the government should give greater attention to it.

YN: Soon after the attacks took place, there were reports or rumors of the attacks on social media while local and foreign journalists still could not access the area. That reminded me of coverage of Arakan State between 2012 and 2014 when we also saw lots of rumors and unconfirmed news of racial violence shared on social media. The difference is that the response of netizens to these recent incidents is not as chaotic as it was at that time. Netizens have responded with greater restraint this time. Ma Mon Myat, you have completed a lot of research on social media coverage, what is your assessment?

Mon Mon Myat: I agree with your view. The digital literacy of people has developed a lot in the four years between 2012 and 2016. It is because more than half of the population now have access to a mobile phone. Consequently, people have a greater grasp of the internet and Facebook, and have begun to gain information from many different sources. As a result, they can now differentiate between right and wrong information to a certain extent, though not completely.

For example, in 2012, after the photo of [rape victim] Ma Thida Htwe went viral on the internet, even the print media made reports based on unconfirmed sources. At that time, the media had less awareness about how their reporting can lead to conflict. As far as I am concerned, there was no training about responsible and sensitive reporting at that time in Burma, which should have been a contributing factor [to how the situation was reported]. At that time, the print media still had a big influence and there were reports based on rumors and online photos. Media also made reports based on groundless news without knowing the background of the region and reasons behind the conflict. As a result, the coverage exasperated how people viewed the situation to the extent that it became sectarian violence in the mind of the people. Comparing the past and 2016, this time the media exercised caution as soon as the attacks took place to avoid affecting religious and racial sensitivities. [Netizens] wait and verify which news is right and which is wrong, and respond depending on it. So, it is fair to say that the [digital] literacy of the people has developed to a certain extent.

YN: You make an interesting point. When we get into conflict areas, it is important to verify the authenticity of information because both sides may propagate that they are right. I think journalists on the ground play an important role here. So, Ko Myint Kyaw, what are your suggestions for journalists reporting on the conflict on the ground with regards to their professional duties and their security?

MK: Media agencies, if they are to send journalists to conflict areas, should send professional journalists. By professional I mean they have knowledge about verifying information as well as other journalistic skills. Some journalists have only been engaged in the field for a few months or a few years and they dont understand the sensitivities at play. Professional journalists should understand which information is sensitive and if a particular piece of information should be included or not in their report. They must also understand that anything that one side says is just their claim and statement, and they have to verify it.

If they personally witness a scene, they should only report that scene, not the reason behind it because each side will claim a different reason. Journalists need to understand that what they say is just their claims and journalists have a responsibility to verify their claims. Again, they should be able to report independently amid other pressures such as racial and religious pressuresjournalists who know how to resist those pressures and who do not let such pressures influence them. Such journalists should be dispatched.

Unprofessional journalists will find it difficult to produce news stories that can explain the situation to the public well. If journalists are not professional enough, lobbying or advocacy of one side may be included in their reporting. Sometimes if they dont mention that it is just a statement, the readers might interpret it claims as reality. Some experienced readers understand that it is statement, but most of them dont. Therefore, journalists have an important role to play. If a journalist fails to verify information and his reporting is unintentionally biased toward a side, it can inflame a situation. They have to take extra caution. While they should be professional, they should also understand the sensitivity of the situation.

On the other hand, if they dont write anything, people will not be informed about the problems, and the government will not feel pressured to take accountability. The government must always take accountability because in some cases, it might [unintentionally] use force or power excessively. The media also has a role to play to reveal [perpetrators of] the violence. Of course, the government is mainly responsible for this but the media also have to take responsibility. Therefore, we need to dispatch experienced, professional journalists who understand all these things. They should not just be satisfied with taking photos and reporting the incidents, but they need to work to understand the situation.

YN: What are your suggestions for sending female journalists to conflict zone?

MMM: Female journalists may find it easier to interview local civilians, women and children in covering situations. While male journalists tend to focus on military matters, women journalists are more likely to focus on humanity and their reports may represent the voices of women and children. For example, in a recent news report by AFP, it not only quoted the government-provided information, but also quoted the voices of civilians. We need such news stories.

YN: Ko Myint Kyaw, Ma Mon Mon Myat, thank you for your contributions.
Burma Burma Abolishes 25-year Ban on Public Gatherings

Burma's government abolishes a ban on public gatherings of more than five people first promulgated on the day a military junta seized power in 1988.

RANGOON  Burmas nearly 2-year-old reformist government has abolished a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that was ordered in 1988 on the day a military junta took power after crushing nationwide pro-democracy protests.

The state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported on Tuesday that Order No 2/88 was abolished as it was not in line with a section of the constitution that says existing laws should remain valid as long as are not contrary to the constitution, which guarantees basic rights such as freedom of expression.

The order had been applied selectively to crush dissent against the military regimes that held power until the elected government of President Thein Sein took office in 2011. His administration has instituted political liberalization, including lifting strict censorship.

The order had declared Gathering or marching in processions and delivering speeches on the streets by a group of 5 or more people are banned. The junta used many catch-all or vaguely defined orders and laws as a means of suppressing dissent, and courts generally handed out stiff sentences, jailing thousands of political prisoners. Most have been freed under amnesties promulgated by President Thein Sein.

In December 2011, a Peaceful Assembly Law was implemented specifically allowing public protests. However, permission must be obtained in advance, without which organizers are subject to penalties including prison terms. Several people have been arrested under the statute.

Exercise of the new-won freedoms has tested the patience of the authorities. Last year, sensationalistic photos and stories in the media threatened to exacerbate already deep tensions triggered by violent clashes between two separate ethnic communities in western Burma.

A Defense Ministry statement published in state media on Tuesday blamed unspecified embassies, organizations and media of releasing news and announcements that could cause misunderstanding of the military and the government in connection with fighting against guerrillas of the Kachin ethnic minority in the north.

The statement carried in the Myanma Ahlin daily said the embassies and media had made one-sided reports of the armys activities that failed to mention destructive acts carried out by the Kachin Independence Army, and its attacks on government convoys carrying food supplies to bases.

It said the army was carrying out its duty to ensure the peoples safety and smooth and secure transportation, and has inevitably launched military operations in self-defense. It added that the military reiterated its commitment to fostering eternal peace and national unity with ethnic minorities including the Kachin.

The statement did not mention any specific organization, but the foreign ministry last week issued a statement rejecting a US embassy statement of concern over government military activities.

The same issue of the newspaper reported that two villagers were injured when their motorcycle hit a land mine planted by the Kachin, and stated that the guerrillas had burned down a jade company building in same area.

The Kachin, like Burmas other ethnic minorities, have long sought greater autonomy from the central government. They reached a peace agreement with the previous military regime in 1994 but a ceasefire agreement broke down in June 2011 after the Kachin refused to abandon a strategic base near a hydropower plant that is a joint venture with a Chinese company.

The conflict has forced about 100,000 Kachin from their homes since then, and many are in camps near the Kachin headquarters in Laiza near the Chinese border.
Burma Airlines Deny Rumor of Links to Ousted Ruling Party Chief

Two major domestic airlines have denied rumors of service disruption linked to recent upheaval in Burmas ruling party.

RANGOON  Two major domestic airlines have denied rumors of service disruption linked to recent upheaval in Burmas ruling party.

Representatives of both Air Bagan and Asian Wings told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the rumors, which made the rounds on social media over the weekend, were completely baseless.

Air Bagan has temporarily suspended service to domestic and international destinations, according to the companys managing director Htoo Thet Htwe, due to regular maintenance and would resume in October.

The unannounced interruption, which customers began to notice over the weekend, triggered speculation that the disruption was linked with the ouster of parliament Speaker Shwe Mann from the leadership of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in a late night purge last Thursday.

Online commentators posited that Air Bagan, which is owned by Burmese tycoon Tay Za, had business links to the former party chairman. The airline has a code share agreement with Asian Wings, making it the sole operating carrier during the hiatus.

This connection appears to have led the public to assume that the company was also impacted by the demotion of Shwe Mann, who may or may not be linked to Tay Za.

I dont have any comments about why this rumor spread, but what I can say is that were still operating as usual, Asian Wings executive director Lwin Moe said, adding that the airlines are completely distinct entities.

Ive received many calls from outside asking if our airline has stopped, and I can say it is not true.

Air bagan was established in 2010, operating more than a dozen domestic routes and one international flight serving Chiang Mai, Thailand. The airline earned a share of notoriety after two people died during an emergency landing in Shan States Heheo in 2012. The ATR-72 aircraft is still being examined, and the incident prompted new annual strength and safety checks for the fleet.

Asian Wings was established in 2011 by Sunfar Travels founder Than Oo, who owns a 40 percent share in the company. The airline currently operates seven domestic routes.
News UWSA Say Drug Label Not Fair

Workers pick tea leaves in a Mong Mao tea plantation in a Wa-controlled area of Shan State on Oct. 1 / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

PANGSHANG, Shan State  Burmas most powerful ethnic armed group, accused by the United States of running a narco-empire that has flooded Asia with illegal drugs, has rejected the allegation, saying Washington has blacklisted its leaders for political reasons.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) boasts some 30,000 soldiers who control a secretive, China-dominated statelet the size of Belgium in the remote hills on Burmas eastern border.

After decades of isolation, leaders of the self-proclaimed Wa State invited a small group of foreign journalists to visit its territorya first step in a tentative opening up to the outside world prompted by Daw Aung San Suu Kyis dramatic victory in a historic general election in Burma last year.

Reaching an accord with the Wa and other armed groups is one of the biggest challenges faced by Burmas first democratically-elected government in decades, as it grapples with the interlocking issues of ending years of ethnic wars and tackling drug production in its lawless border areas.

After the civilian government took office, we come down to the capital more often and we try to demonstrate what we have achieved, said the Wa territory foreign affairs minister, Zhao Guo An, in a rare interview in the regions capital Pangshang.

The Wa State wants overseas investment. Bosses get rich first, and then the Wa State can develop.

At present, much of the money underpinning the Was state-within-a-state is widely believed to be derived from the trade in methamphetamine, known locally as ya ba or crazy medicine.

Soaring use of ya ba, much of it said by experts to come from the so-called Golden Triangle that includes the Wa territory, has fuelled hardline anti-narcotics policies in Southeast Asia, such as the bloody war on drugs waged by the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

The United States indicted several UWSA leaders on heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges in 2005.

They are making those decisions based on their own political interests, said Zhao, when asked about why the UWSA and some of its leaders were listed in US Treasury Department sanctions lists for alleged involvement in the drugs trade.

The problem of ya ba cant be solved by one region. Many of the drugs are brought in from abroad  people continue to defame the Wa State. This is not fair.

OPIUM AND RUBBER

Reuters journalists travelled across the rugged Wa territory, possibly the least-known part of Southeast Asia where Westerners have had less access than to North Korea.

The region used to be one of Burmas largest poppy-growing areas, but, under international pressure, Wa leaders say they replaced poppy fields with plantations, mostly rubber, but also coffee and tea, more than a decade ago.

Many plantations are backed by investors from China or Taiwan, alongside businessmen connected to the Wa State leadership.

Rubber trees line the regions freshly-paved roads, which snake for hundreds of kilometers through emerald mountains.

The region cultivates some 220,000 acres of rubber and has been hit by falling rubber prices due to waning demand from China.

Wa leaders say that as part of its push to get rid of poppy, they relocated some 100,000 citizensa sixth of the populationbetween 1999 to 2002 to the southern part of the state on the Thai border, where they say the land is more fertile.

Government officials described the relocation as miserable and said that dozens died along the way because of disease and road accidents.

But local people told Reuters that drug use was a problem in the Wa region, which suffers from a chronic lack of basic government services.

Every six months, police look for drug users on the streetsthis is called a special project, said a migrant worker from another part of Burma, picking tea leaves at a plantation that has replaced a poppy field.

At that time, I am too afraid to go outsideI am worried that I could be wrongly arrested.

Other Wa residents said they worried for their children due to the ease of access to drugs.

The drugs are very easy to buy everywhere, said a Burmese migrant working as a cook in Pangshang, who has a five-year-old son. Ya ba tabletsthats the biggest problem.

The Wa governments justice secretary, Li San Lu, said it was working hard to tackle the drug issue, and had arrested about 1,000 people this year for drug use, production or trafficking.

He said Wa authorities had seized two tons of meth entering the region from China, India and Burma, including both the finished product and precursor drugs used to produce it.

Ya ba comes from overseas. Wa State is a victim  we have banned the plantation, trade and use of drugs, said Li. Ya ba is coming from China, India, Burma and Thailand. We are clueless.
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016 (1:17 am) - Score 2,821

Consumer magazine PC Pro has published the latest results from their annual PC Pro Awards 2016, which saw Zen Internet win the best broadband ISP gong and Plusnet secure the Recommended (runner-up) spot. Sadly it wasnt such a good day for TalkTalk and EE.

The results were based on feedback from several thousand readers of the magazine, although sadly PC Pro didnt examine the smallest ISPs in the market (not enough feedback). This is the 13th time that Zen has scooped the magazines Best Broadband ISP gong, with the provider coming top for Reliability and Customer Support (both 98%), as well as Speed (93%) and Value for Money (87%).

Zens Managing Director for Small Business and Residential, Andrew Fryatt, said, Were very proud of this achievement and even more so because this is an award voted for by customers, who obviously appreciate the service they get from Zen. We put a lot of time, effort and money into our network and employ some really dedicated, knowledgeable people to support it..

We wont provide the full scoring as you should really buy the magazine for that, but heres a rough summary of the overall satisfaction scores.

We should point out that TalkTalk also scored the lowest of all for Customer Support (47%), while they were only slightly lower or about the same as EE in most of the other categories, except for Reliability where they also hit a dismal 57%. Clearly a bit of work left for TalkTalk to do.

Elsewhere were surprised to see Sky Broadband being ranked below BT as theyre normally competing with Virgin Media in other surveys, but clearly not for readers of PC Pro. As a side note, Zen Internet also won the award for Best Web Host 2016.
Samsung might have faced every smartphone company's worst nightmare but it doesn't mean that its journey ends there. In fact, it is undeniable how much Samsung has "manned up" during the entire recall process. The company faced the problem without hesitations and made decisions based on rational judgments. Nevertheless, it also doesn't mean that the company is done facing damages. Actually, the worst may be yet to come.

As of now, it's still hard to determine the extent of damage the recall has given to Samsung and how long it will affect the company's reputation. Nonetheless, it looks like Samsung is also doing its best to control the issue and to redeem itself from the losses. The imminent release of its upcoming products is also a big hope for the company. However, the question right now is which among the three anticipated Samsung devices will save the company from all the damage.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Expected To Be Released On-time

Recent reports suggest that Samsung won't be changing the release date of the Galaxy S8. It would still get a February or March release. GSM Arena said that just like the Note 7, the Galaxy S8 could also come with an iris scanner, and just like the iPhone 7 Plus and LG V20, the S8 could also come with a dual camera system. Needless to say, it's quite obvious that Samsung might be prettifying the S8 to make up for the damage caused by the Note 7. Whether or not the Galaxy S8 could replace the Note 7, it's still hard to tell. There are quite a number of Note 7 users who think that the S series won't be a good Note 7 replacement.

It's clear that as of now, the S8 is Samsung's most viable redemption for the Note 7 fiasco. For one, the S series' reputation is still squeaky clean. Also, the Galaxy S8 is roughly four months away from being launched, which means that it is Samsung's nearest opportunity to right all their wrongs. Whether or not the company will succeed in offering the Galaxy S8 as a token of apology, it might be too early to judge.

Samsung Galaxy C9 Might Be Released This Year

The Galaxy C9 is still in its rumor-phase. However, its recent certifications and spotted listings prove that it could actually be launched very soon. It might not be a flagship device but it sure does come with some competitive specs. According to its rumored specs sheet, the C9 could come with 6 GB RAM and Snapdragon 652 chipset.

The said phone is actually not as premium as the Note phablets but it could be Samsung's subtle suggestion for a Note 7 alternative. It is expected to carry a price tag that's less expensive than the S7 and Note 7. This actually implies that it could be a great alternative to the discontinued phablet, at least until a new Samsung flagship comes out. It's worth noting that the Galaxy C9 is also expected to sport a phablet-sized body of around 6 inches.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8's Launch Is Still Uncertain

As of now, it's still uncertain if we'll be seeing a Galaxy Note 8 next year or not. There was news saying that Samsung will no longer release the Note 8. In fact, there was also news saying that the Note series will be demolished altogether. It was said that the company could just be focusing on one flagship next year which is the Galaxy S8, Techno Buffalo reported.

Nevertheless, it's still possible for Samsung to decide on this after seeing S8's sales. Besides, the Note 8 won't be due for a launch until August, so Samsung can buy more time before they decide on Note 8's fate. It's worth mentioning though that many Note 7 users believe that the Note series does not deserve a total discontinuation. A large number of Note fans take the Note 7 situation as an isolated case and they believe that totally removing the Note series from the market will deprive consumers of a good phablet.
An Egyptian military brigadier general was shot dead on Saturday in front of his house on the outskirts of Cairo, Ahram Arabic website reported, quoting his wife.

Gunmen opened fire on Adel Rajaei, an armoured division commander in Dahshur, south of Cairo.

The wife said that a military funeral will be held today after evening prayers at El-Mosheer Tantawy Mosque in New Cairo.

The brigadier general had previously been deployed in North Sinai, where the army is fighting Islamist insurgency.

Authorities have not yet released any official statement on the attack.

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Major websites such as Reddit, Spotify, and Twitter crashed for a couple of hours on Friday morning, because of a cyberattack made to the server of major DNS provider Dyn. The distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which works by overwhelming targeted machines with malicious electronic traffic, affected many other websites as well, such as Wired, The Verge, Squarespace, Etsy, Box, GitHub, and Pinterest.

DDoS Cyberstrike Mostly Affected US

According to the Daily Mail, this outage mostly affected the east coast of the U.S., which was clearly manifested in the way that there wasn't any kind of problem with these sites in Europe. For some hours, this became a terrible situation in which users couldn't even post about the problems in Twitter since the social media was also inaccessible.

"Starting at 11:10 a.m. UTC on October 21, we began monitoring and mitigating a DDoS attack against our Dyn Managed DNS infrastructure. Some customers may experience increased DNS query latency and delayed zone propagation during this time. This attack is mainly impacting U.S. East and is impacting Managed DNS customer in this region. Our engineers are continuing to work on mitigating this issue." Dyn stated through a security update on its website.

Top Websites Confirmed Targets By DDoS Cyberstrike

According to the International Business Times, GitHub confirmed its problems through a statement posted on HackerNews, in which the company explained that its services may be intermittently available at the moment, since there was an "incident" with its upstream DNS provider. For its part, Amazon Web Services also said it were having serious troubles, and that the company was working to resolve the root of the cause, which was effectively identified.

As reported by the Daily Mail, a Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI) representative said she didn't have any immediate comment on the outages issue. Also, it was revealed that one of the main reasons why this situation happened is because DNS lack of security.

"DNS has often been neglected in terms of its security and availability from an enterprise perspective - it is treated as if it will always be there in the same way that water comes out of the tap and electricity is there when you switch it on," Richard Meuus, VP of Technology at EMEA at NSFOCUS, said.

"This attack highlights how critical DNS is to maintain a stable and secure internet presence, and that the DDoS mitigation processes businesses have in place are just as relevant to their DNS service as it is to the web servers and data centers."
Just when you thought a 50-year-old woman can no longer bear a child, think again. More than you're expecting, a 62-year old woman from Spain has recently just given birth to a healthy baby girl via Caesarean section. Lina Alvarez, from Madrid Spain, who is a doctor herself, even encourages other women in their late years to follow what she has done if they would like to.

In one of her interviews, Alvarez shares that she feels very grateful, and considers what happened to her as a precious gift. As per CBS News, it was found that Alvarez has 2 children prior to giving birth to her latest child. Her first child, now 27, was born with a cerebral palsy condition and her second child who is now 10 years old.

It was said that on her second and third pregnancies, Alvarez had chosen the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) method which has been turned down by many clinics and hospitals at first, due to her old age. Fox News revealed that Alvarez has additionally claimed that women in their late years shouldn't be afraid of doing the same thing.

If they know that they are still well enough to have babies and just let nature decide, rather than putting into the hands of gynecologists. At that age, although extremely rare, childbearing is not a new case according to previous records.

There was even a woman in India who is in her 70s but was still able to give birth last spring and it's also because of the IVF treatment. Last year in Germany, a 65-year old grandmother gave birth to quadruplets. The CDC reports that in the US alone, about 600 women in a year have a baby at the age of 50 or even older.
For seven years, the Canadian Medical Association Journal analyzed data from 125,000 T2D patients and found that the death rate related to cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses was 24 percent lower than those who did not get a vaccine. They also found that those who got a flu shot are 30 percent and 22 percent less likely to be admitted due to stroke and heart failure respectively.

Thus, T2D patients who get flu shots actually lessen the risk of being hospitalized. The study was not specifically conducted to prove a direct link between flu shots and the reduction of hospitalization cases among T2D patients due to pneumonia and other similar illnesses. However, it proved strong connections between these factors.

People with T2D have a high risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia, so getting a flu shot is now suggested to be a part of a diabetes management plan. According to lead author Eszter Vamos, PhD "The potential impact of influenza vaccine to reduce serious illness and death highlight[s] the importance to renew efforts to ensure that people with diabetes receive the flu vaccine every year."

In the United States, the best time to get a flu shot is in September. It takes about two weeks for the flu shots to take effect. If you have a respiratory illness, like a cold, be sure to wait until you are healthy again before getting a flu shot. As an added precaution, it is best to let the people around you get a flu vaccine, too.

In addition to flu vaccination it should be noted that people with type 2 diabetes should take precautions daily to protect against flu. Before getting a shot, you need to talk to a doctor or a health professional first to see which flu shot is best for you. Also, take note that flu shots do not give 100% protection but it makes it much harder for you to catch flu for about six months.
Tech company Razer has been working nonstop in building its brand as one of the most reputable names in portable, powerful laptops. After announcing its purchase of THX earlier this week, the company is launching its new Razer Blade Pro.

According to Mashable, the new Razer Blade Pro is a 17-inch laptop packed with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics processor with 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM that will absolutely give you no problems or whatsoever in hooking up and Oculus Rift or HTC Vive while running it at full speed.

Though some critics may claim that its price is too much, Razer was quick to counter that the Razer Blade Pro is said to be meant for video game players who want the very best PC-Based VR experience that the industry currently has to offer. So the $3,699 or 3,499 price tag is not expensive at all. In fact, it is a very good deal for those who want the best ever gaming experience in PC games.

More on some of the key specs of the Razer Blade Pro, as stated by CNET.

The processor - The Razer Blade Pro is equipped with 6th-gen Intel quad-core i7 processor.

The screen - The screen is a 17.3-inch touchscreen and 3840x2160-pixel resolution with G-sync.

The keyboard -The keyboard now uses low-profile mechanical keys for faster response times and the trackpad is no longer also an LCD screen; it's been replaced by a larger glass trackpad. The 10 programmable display buttons are also gone, replaced by a scroll wheel.

The ports - Ports: 1x USB Type-C / Thunderbolt 3, 1x 3.5mm headset jack, 3xUSB, 1xHDMI

The weight - For a 17-inch laptop, the Blade Pro is quite thin - 0.88 inches thick. It still weighs a ton at 7.80 pounds (3.5kg).

The Battery - 99Wh battery (the largest you can legally take on a plane)
South Korea takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast broadband to cutting-edge smartphones. But with that prowess, sex offenders in South Korea are also given new sophisticated ways for voyeurism. Now, the South Korean Police and the concerned citizens have waged war against the high-tech peeping toms.

According to Yahoo, Park Kwang-Mi, Seoul city's all-female "hidden camera-hunting" squad is concern about the safety of Korean women in using bathroom stalls and other places. She is currently at the forefront of a battle against "molka" or "secret camera" porn.

In a country that excels in technology, their culture has also given rise to an army of tech-savvy peeping toms which made Kwang-Mi's group and the Korean police to team up and catch these criminals. And according to the police data, the number of "molka" crimes jumped more than six-fold from about 1,110 in 2010 to more than 6,600 in 2014.

While some offenders use smartphones, others employ spy-style gadgets including ballpoint pens, glasses or wrist watches equipped with micro lens, said Hyn Heung-Ho, a detective attached to Seoul police's metro squad. Making it really hard to spot.

In another article written at VICE, in an attempt to fight the crime, South Korea has introduced a law requiring all mobile phone manufacturers to ensure that devices make a "camera shutter" sound of at least 64 decibels when a picture is taken. But even with this law being implemented, multiple apps are still available from various app stores and websites that offer to help perpetrators of "molka" crimes by muting the mandated shutter sound.

To further assist in stopping this heinous crime, police have offered cash rewards to those reporting "molka" crimes and the Seoul city council has hired dozens of women like Park Kwang-Mi to scour bathrooms and other spaces for hidden cameras.
"The Vampire Diaries" season eight has already premiered, thus the beginning of the end has already begun. Even though the fans of the series are sad that it's coming to an end, they have all been waiting for this moment to see if there really could be a reunion between Damon and Elena.

Did Ian Somerhalder Just Say That Damon And Elena Won't End Up Together In "The Vampire Diaries" Season 8?

The reports on Nina Dobrev coming back on "The Vampire Diaries" for its finale have never died down and it never will for as long as she does not make her appearance on the show. No one of the parties involved has confirmed nor denied anything. However, Ian Somerhalder has been hinting that Nina's return would not be necessary in the series anymore. In some reports, Ian allegedly said that "It's Mystic Falls. There are no happy endings" in an interview.

Some of the fans believed that this may have been the actor's way that his character as Damon will not be having his happy ending with Elena (Nina Dobrev). Since the actress played various roles in the series, given that her characters are dopplegangers, her way of returning to the show can go in any direction. Some have claimed that she may be coming back as Katherine to reunite with Stefan since they were the ones who originally fell in love, among the dopplegangers.

Fans Still Hopeful On Nina's Return To The Show For Its Series Finale

Somerhalder said that when the series began, it didn't start off with Elena and Damon together and it may not even end that way also. Sine it has been reported that the series finale of "The Vampire Diaries" will somehow mirror the events that transpired in the beginning, that is highly possible. Nevertheless, the fans have not given up on the hope of a reunion between the two. They hang on to the words of Julie Plec when she said that the actress has assured her that she will return when it is needed.

Although Nina Dobrev won't be coming back as a regular in "The Vampire Diaries" season eight, she will definitely come back to put closure on her characters.
The upcoming episode of "Once Upon a Time" season six is going to be entitled "Street Rats" and it is highly hinted that it will again tell the story of Aladdin and Jasmine.

What Will Happen In Aladdin And Jasmine's Quest For The Secret Weapon To Defeat Jafar?

There will be a lot in store for the characters in the upcoming episode five of "Once Upon a Time" season six. For starters, Aladdin's fate will be known in a flashback scene that will be shown. In this case, it will be revealed that there is a secret weapon Jasmine knows of that could defeat Jafar. However, in the quest to finding this, the fate of Aladdin will be known. The characters of Storybrooke then struggles to find out what it really is.

Aside from their storyline, one major part of "Once Upon a Time" season six is Emma seeing a vision of herself dying in a battle to save everyone. She has always known that she was the saviour of their world, but chose not to tell anyone about her fate in the end. However, the Evil Queen has been plotting ways to destroy her relationship with her family. Thus, she makes a plan to have Emma reveal her secret to everyone else.

The Evil Queen Sabotages Emma's Relationship With Her Loved Ones

The Evil Queen tricks Hook and the Charmings that will lead them to the truth about Emma's visions and how at the end of it all, she is destined to meet the fate of death. Nevertheless, knowing of how this is a story about fairy tales and happy endings, there might be a way to spare Emma from dying in the quest to save everyone. It has been a magical world and it is not impossible to do so.

What Will Happen Once Robin Hood Returns To Storybrooke?

When actress Parrilla who plays the role of Regina was asked about the possible return of Robin Hood, she believes that will definitely be an interesting twist to the storyline. Since he has been both in a relationship with her character and that of the Evil Queen, it will definitely be interesting to see how that would pan out. Especially with Zelena and his baby with her, it is going to be one hell of a love life for Robin Hood.

"Once Upon a Time" season six episode five will air this Sunday.
The Internet was shaken recently over the massive DDoS attack on several DNS servers which rendered multiple large sites including PlayStation, Reddit, Twitter and EA hosted Battlefield 1 servers to be temporarily inaccessible. The severity of the problem has led to the involvement of White House and FBI which was deemed to be still active and currently on the move today.

DDoS Massive Attack

According to the report of USA Today, the massive DDoS attack initially commenced at around 7:10 a.m ET which was then followed by another massive wave at around 9:30 am ET that mainly affected the US East Coast. According to Dyn Inc., an Internet Performance Management Company, their engineers are working nonstop in order to mitigate the attacks. Investigation was also underway to find the culprits behind the incident.

As of 22:17 UTC, Dyn Inc., has announced that all the servers are back online and the DDoS situation has been resolved although they have yet to identify the people behind the attack. The severity of the attack seemed to have caught the attention of the White House and FBI that they are now taking part with the official investigation to find the brains behind the recent virtual attack.

The DDoS is certainly massive enough to catch the attention of the national security. To comprehend the degree of the recent incident, the Chief Scientist at Agari has this to say: "This not just an instant job, this is something that was probably worked on for weeks if not for months by really competent people."

As of the moment of this writing, the organization behind the incident were still not found and further investigations are still being conducted both by the national officials and by the Dyn Inc. It's surprising how massive the DDoS attack that it almost came to a point of being considered a "threat" to the national security.

It might be just a matter of time before the culprits are caught. On the bright side, let's just be happy that all the servers are now back online especially for those that are playing the Battlefield 1.

What do you think of the new DDoS attack? Do you think that there's a reason behind the massive attack? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below!
Microsoft Corporation, located in Redmond, Washington, shares soared to a high record, Friday after the software company reported first-quarter sales and earnings that hit the top.

The shares climbed as much as 5.6 percent to a record $60.45. The last time Microsoft was trading near that level was back in 1999. Profit excluding certain items was 76 cents a share on adjusted sales of $22.3 billion, the company said Thursday. Analysts estimated profit in the period ended Sept. 30 would be 68 cents on revenue of $21.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

PC and Other Devices

Microsoft in July admitted that they won't meet their goal of getting the Windows 10 operating system on 1 billion devices within two to three years after the 2015 software release. The company accused the shortfall on the arrangement to all but exit the phone hardware business and ordered this year would be a good one for corporate adoption of the system. With this announcement, analysts are waiting to see the evidence.

Microsoft Windows phone and the number of phones sold is dropping precipitously. Worldwide shipments of PC in the September quarter drop better than expected. Windows' share of the phone market is a rounding error compared to Android and iOS's. While Microsoft is selling its loss-prone feature phone business, the Surface hardware device business is not something that will create huge revenues for the company.

Windows and Games

Microsofts dependence on Windows sales still estimates for a major portion of its overall revenues although a few years ago it was considered as has the majority share of revenues. Gaming is moving to the cloud and being driven by Android and iOS mobile devices, resulting in a reduction in the sale of hardware Xboxes.

Windows and Xbox slipped 1.8 percent from a year ago to $9.29 billion.

Cloud

"Cloud is growing significantly and Azure represents incremental new revenue," said Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., who rates the shares outperform. "Commercial cloud is driving revenue growth, which is somewhat hidden by the fact that Nokia is going to zero."

Up until now, Microsoft is giving consumers better and more reliable software and gadgets. I know in their office, they are still finding ways to make their loyal costumers stick to them. Congratulations to Microsoft for achieving a hit on the market store!
Following the announcement that "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion" is now in the works, fans of the action-packed film are eager to know more details about the third installment. Reports claim that two of its original cast members will reprise their roles while two big stars were allegedly rejected to be part of it.

After seven long years since the second installment was released, "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion" finally got the green light and is now currently in the works. Writer and director Troy Duffy opened up about the status of the upcoming film via the official "The Boondock Saints" Facebook page. Duffy answered some fans questions and even hinted on possible plots for the follow-up film.

According to the director, "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion" took a while to come out because he wants to "get it right." Duffy has been kind enough to share parts of the script for the third installment on his Twitter, teasing fans of what to expect.

Meanwhile, "The Walking Dead" star Norman Reedus also confirmed that the film is now in pre-production. In a Reddit Ask Me Anything post, the actor answered some questions whether or not "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion" was moving forward, saying, "Yeah it's on. In the works, happening."

Adding to fans' anticipation is the cast members who will take part in the movie. According to reports, both Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery will reprise their roles as twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus. The same source also added that Duffy is very keen to have the two back in the movie and has been talking about it as early as 2013.

On the other hand, there are also claims that big names in the industry have expressed their interest to be part of "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion." Rumors have it that Brad Pitt was offered a role in the movie but Duffy was hesitant to include him in the cast since he already portrayed an Irish man's role in "The Devil's Own."

Aside from Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, and Ethan Hawke are allegedly interested in a role in the cult film. However, reports claimed that director Troy Duffy was not interested in taking them in. There were even claims that he "rejected" the big stars, calling Hawke a "talentless fool" and Reeves a "f*cking punk." There have been no confirmations regarding these rumors.

As of this writing, there has been no official announcement about the "The Boondock Saints 3: Legion" release date.
This is the first case against Morsi where the ousted president has exhausted all appeals

Egypts Court of Cassation rejected on Saturday an appeal by ousted president Mohamed Morsi against a 20-year prison sentence in the Ittihadiya clashes case, exhausting Morsis appeals in the case.

The ousted president is being tried in a number of cases, including cases where he has been sentenced to death. He is currently appealing all sentences but this is the first case where he has exhausted all appeals.

The court also confirmed the 20-year sentence against eight of the Muslim Brotherhood group and Morsis staff, as well as a 10-year sentence against two.

In April 2015, a Cairo court sentenced Morsi to 20 years in jail for inciting violence that led to the death of 10 people in clashes outside the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace on 5 December 2012.

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"General Hospital" spoilers for Oct. 24-28 tease a week filled with heartache. Carly will lash out at Sonny after pieces of evidence of Morgan's death are found. Liz and Franco will give important information about the hospital, and a surprise lies ahead as Nathan and Maxie proceed with their marriage plans.

Nathan (Ryan Paevey) will rush to save his fiancee, Maxie (Kirsten Storms), from a gas leak on Monday, Oct. 24 episode. He will confront Claudette (Bree Williamson) while Griffin (Matt Cohen) will be surprised that Claudette left him and the others to save herself.

Things will heat up between Finn (Michael Easton) and Hayden (Rebecca Budig). Finn will comfort Hayden after she wakes up from a nightmare. The two will have a serious talk and Hayden will confront him once again about his real feelings for her

Evidence about Morgan's (Bryan Craig) death will be found. Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) will find the jade necklace that Carly (Laura Wright) gave Morgan in a wrecked car found in the river. This will be a major shake-up for Carly; she will snap at Sonny (Maurice Benard) and will tell him she wants him out of her life. She will blame him for Morgan's death.

Later in the week, "General Hospital" spoilers hint Nathan and Maxie will be making wedding plans again, but an unsettling video which could change everything will land on their hands. The police will continue the investigation on Morgan's death but Dante already knows where it would lead them. Curtis (Donnell Turner) would continue to participate in the investigation and Jordan (Vinessa Antoine) will be shocked about some important information about the hospital that Franco (Roger Howarth) and Liz (Rebecca Herbst) will share.

On a positive note, Jason (Billy Miller) and Sam (Kelly Monaco) will share more family moments. The two will tell Danny that he is going to be a big brother soon.

Meanwhile, a photo leak for "General Hospital" Halloween episode airing on Oct. 31 suggests that Griffin (Matt Cohen) is Charlotte's dad. The promo pic shows Griffin taking Charlotte at the MetroCourt Halloween party which fans pointed out could happen only if their father-daughter relationship has been confirmed.

"General Hospital" airs on weekdays on ABC.
"The Big Bang Theory" season 10 has been moved to Thursday nights beginning with episode 6 and there's a lot of reasons why fans have to join Sheldon, Amy, Penny and Leonard on their special brunch together. On Thursday, Oct. 27, episode 6 spoilers have Penny getting an invite to a comic con, while there's a huge development in Bernadette's pregnancy.

"The Fetal Kick Catalyst"

"The Big Bang Theory" season 10, episode 6 titled "The Fetal Kick Catalyst" talks about the progress of Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Howard's (Simon Helberg) unborn child as it already kicks inside Bernadette's womb. In preparation for the baby's birth, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) joins Howard in search for baby stuff and end up taking home a crib and...a minivan. Howard feels buying one because the baby might need it.

Sheldon And Amy Throw A Special Brunch With Friends

Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) throw a special brunch at apartment 4B along with their friends Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and the rest of the gang. Stuart (Kevin Sussman) is upset over Sheldon. Does this have something to do with the gathering? Will Stuart get an invitation from the couple for the special brunch?

Penny Gets Invite At A Comic Con

As charm would have it, Penny is able to score an unlikely invitation to A Van Nuys comic con for Serial Apist. How cool is that? At the event, when fans knew Leonard was Penny's husband, they sneer and wonder how the hot girl Penny got smitten by Leonard.

Episode 5: "The Hot Tub Contamination"

In episode 5 titled "The Hot Tub Contamination", Raj and Stuart took advantage of Howard and Bernadette's hot tub knowing that they're on a "Palm Spring vacation." Little they did know, the couple decided to stay at home without any of their friends knowing when Bernadette got sick.

Starting with episode 6 on Oct. 27, "The Big Bang Theory" season 10 now airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Not a Nexus

Since the Nexus One led almost seven years ago, Google has been selling phones. In fact, there have been eight Nexus phones, one each year through to 2014, with two last year. They have generally been good phones, especially in the previous few years. But the Pixel XL is not a Nexus. Its better. With the Pixel XL, it did more. It partnered with a phone maker to slap Android on an already designed handset. It created its own hardware and software innovations on top of the Android stock. The result is a phone that may displease Android purists but should delight everyone else. This is Googles first genuine attempt to push a phone to the mass market. The Pixel competes directly with the iPhone and the pricey flagships from Samsung. For this review, were looking only at the Pixel XL. The Pixel is smaller, with a 5-inch 1080p display, instead of the Pixel XL has a 5.5-inch 1440p display. The models smaller display and the Pixels smaller battery are the only differences.

Nexus phones are built in partnership with hardware partners like HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Google would take a mainly developed cell phone and work a deal to make it the next Nexus. It would then ask for a few tweaks, slap on a few stock Android apps, then resell it. But with the two Pixel phones. Google says it has had its hand on the wheel from the beginning. With HTC acting as a mere contract manufacturer. This is a longer riskier process but gives the opportunity to more tightly integrate its services. Also, tune hardware and software together.

The Pixel XL comes with fast USB-C charger, with two cables, and a transfer dongle.

No Bloatware

The result is a phone that isnt pure Android and is frankly better for it. A devotee that only wants another Nexus, with suitable hardware at an affordable price with stock Android. They will surely cry foul. But if you can get past the idea that dared to produce a premium phone. And showcase its own innovations in the same vein as Samsung or Motorola. Youll probably love the Pixel. The market is awash with quality Android phones in the $300 to $400 range. so it doesnt need to push in that direction. Instead, it needs to move the premium market away from bloatware delayed updates.

Think about it. You cant get any other super-premium, $600-plus Android phone without suffering a litany of pre-installed apps from both the phone maker and carrier. Usually, these apps cant be uninstalled, only disabled. Its absurd!

With Pixel XL , direct-sells a phone that works on any carrier and is free of all that cruft. You can also get it exclusively through Verizon in the U.S. The Verizon version is sold at Best Buy too. This version only installs three Verizon apps from the Play Store when you activate the SIM: Go90, Verizon Messages, and My Verizon. All three can be fully uninstalled, just like any other app. All Pixel phones, even Verizons, will get Android updates simultaneously. The Verizon version is even sold carrier-unlocked out of the gate, so you can jump ship if you want.

Smart Software Improvements

The Pixel XL didnt come with stock Android. If it did, it would have shipped with Android 7.0 instead of 7.1 because 7.1 wasnt ready for general release yet. So if you buy a Pixel XL, you get Android 7.1 ahead of the rest of the world. At this point, the release included a host of improvements like shortcuts when you long-press on app icons, similar to 3D Touch on iPhones, seamless system updates, and a Night Light mode to reduce blue light from the display late at night.

Android 7.1 included improvements like app shortcuts and Night Mode.

A First

Some might argue that Pixel is playing games with the market, giving itself an artificial 7.1 head start to sell more phones. But I think Googles motivations are probably much more practical, that its just more accessible to squash bugs and optimize an Android release on a single phone instead of a litany of devices. This Nougat point release might simply be ready on the Pixel XL; thats what its handling first.

As all other Android phone makers do, as Google avoided doing with the Nexus phones, the Pixel XL gets its own system tweaks. The Pixel launcher removes the App Drawer button on the home row. Now a fifth app shortcut can appear instead. Just swipe up on the home row to see all your apps.

The Pixel XL launcher also ditches the big, full-width search bar. In its stead, youll see a svelte button on the left and weather, temperature, and date widget on the right. The launcher also uses the new circular icons introduced in Android 7.1. It makes for a nice visual consistency, but app developers must update their apps to make circular icons available. Right now, youll find a mix of circles and squares.

The Pixel XL doesnt use the stock Android launcher, nor its sounds, ringtones, or wallpapers.

The Little Bits will go Far

Youll notice little tweak changes throughout the OS as you poke around. The ringtones notification sounds are new and unique to the Pixel XL. Theres also a set of the most amazing live wallpapers Ive ever seen. Thoughtful detail is everywhere, from the little management clips on the USB cables in the box. The quick transfer adapter makes it easy to get everything off your old phone, from messages, contacts, photos, music, and even some of your device settings app data. It even works with iPhones!

Thoughtful little touches like these cable management clips are what we expect from high-priced premium phones.

Every day, one of our top five most viewed articles is How to get everything off your old Android phone onto your new one. This process is severe pain in the butt for phone buyers. That Google understands this and has a simple, straightforward solution included with every Pixel phone says a lot about its desire to make this phone a success. And its just one more example of how this isnt just another Nexus.

Phone Support

Heres something else no Nexus ever had, built-in support. Simply swipe the Settings screen to the right to get 24/7 Pixel support by phone or chat. You can even share your screen with the support rep during phone calls. No Genius Bar appointment is necessary.

Google recognizes that getting your stuff onto a new phone is a drag, so it includes this transfer dongle.

If theres one annoyance I wish Google would immediately fix with a software update, its the Pixels limited wake-up options. The Ambient Display feature on the Nexus 6 will wake the display when you receive notifications or pick up the phone. On the Pixel, it only wakes when you get reports. Theres no double tap to wake function, either. You have to press the power button or unlock the phone with the fingerprint sensor to wake it, which is a chore when you only want to check the time.

Looks Good on the Outside too

There are only a few ways to design a rectangular glass slab and metal around a touch display. The Pixel XL and Pixel X are reasonably attractive, premium-feeling phones. The only genuinely distinctive design element is the glossy area on the top third of the phones back.

Well placed buttons with a good feel, often go unappreciated.

Easy to Reach Buttons

The buttons are well placed and easy to reach on the right side. Youll find a headphone jack in the upper left, Id prefer it on the bottom, but at least it hasnt yet jumped on the no more headphone jacks bandwagon. Its probably inevitable, but it simply feels too soon.

When you look at the bottom of the phone, there are two speaker holes, one on each side of the USB-C port. But you dont get stereo sound. Sound appears to come only from the left hole; the other looks like its just there to maintain symmetry.

There are two speaker holes, but sound only comes from one.

Build Quality

Its a well-built phone with tight tolerances along seams with no flex or bend. The metal frame conducts heat and can get warm when youre charging or making the processor sweat, but not more so than most metal phones.

The front face is covered by a single edge-to-edge sheet of Gorilla Glass 4, giving it a very smooth feel. And speaking of smooth, theres no camera bump on the back, a rarity in todays high-end phones. The Pixel XL is great for those who use their phone while resting on a desk, but if you put a case on your phone, its a moot point.

The quad HD Super AMOLED display on the Pixel XL is gorgeous. Google claims its wide color gamut covers 91 percent of the Adobe RGB color range; you can really see the richness of colors. Its bright and easy to see outdoors, though it doesnt get quite as crazy-bright in direct sunlight as the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge.

Theres no camera bump, but thats just a nice way of saying the phone is thick enough not to need one.

Minor Picks

If I wanted to nitpick, Id say that the chin, the area below the display, is more significant than it needs to be. Google prefers on-screen buttons to capacitive touch buttons, but theres plenty of room on that chin for your back, home, and the recent button. Why not give us the option of on-screen or touch buttons? Either do that or shorten the chin.

Still, prominent chin all, the Pixel XL is a smaller phone than the iPhone 7 Plus, which also has a 5.5-inch display, of course, smaller than the Nexus 6 with its 5.7-inch display. Its slightly thicker than either one but doesnt feel notably bulky in the palm of the hand.



The Pixel XL is a big phone, but not as big as the iPhone 7 Plus or Nexus 6 Image courtesy of one Arenas comparison tool.

Design Trends

The only place it didnt keep up with modern design trends is failing to make the Pixel XL waterproof. I dont need to go SCUBA diving with my phone, but Id like it to survive a dunk in the sink. Its not as if the Pixel will melt if you get caught in the rain, but it needs to follow suit with Samsung and Apple shipping comparably-priced waterproof phones. Its one of those rare checkbox features that really could save someone hundreds of dollars.

Assistant is Here to Help

Google has had an assistant for a long time in the form of Now voice commands. The scope of voice commands and queries has become quite impressive. My personal experience is that it is in another league compared to Siri Cortana.

The Google Assistant was introduced in the Allo chat app some time ago, but it takes Now and makes it a bit more conversational. After making a query or giving a command, youll get a list of suggested follow-up questions. Google seems to consider it a turning point in our AI-assisted future. I think it is an upgrade to the already fantastic Now voice features.

The Assistant does everything in Now and can do more, including audio, and trivia games and subscriptions. Say good morning it reads you a customizable daily digest.

Get Answers

Still, its so much better than Cortana or Siri that putting it front and center on the Pixel phones makes sense. No matter what youre doing, simply hold down the home button or say OK, the Assistant pops up, listening for your question or command. Ask it to send a text, set the alarm, or show you good sushi restaurants nearby. Then get directions, make reservations, or check the weather, basically, all the many varied things you could do with Now, including device control, turn the volume up, or turn on airplane mode.

Google has added some fun games like trivia and vocabulary quizzes, but Assistant is just a souped-up Now at its heart. Thats not to knock it, because Now has become advantageous. Thats just to say that if youre familiar with all you could do with your voice in Now, youll have an idea of what to expect.

Notice anything missing? If you said text input, you win!

Unfortunately, the Assistant was baked into the Pixel is a voice-only affair. After speaking to the Assistant, you can tap on suggested follow-up queries, but you cant simply type a question as you can within the Allo app. And those emoji-based games in Allos Assistant are out the window, too. This is a real oversight. I dont want to talk with my phone though Im crazy, at the gym or on the bus. The fix would be simple; just let users swipe a microphone icon to either side to get a text entry box. You can always launch Allo and type to the Assistant, which defeats the purpose of making Assistant a system-wide feature.

The Best Camera Ever?

Google makes a big deal of the fact that DxO has given the Pixel camera a rating of 89, its highest score ever for a phone, the iPhone 7 scored 86, but the iPhone 7 Plus has not been reviewed. Is it really the best camera ever?

Thats tricky to answer. The 12-megapixel rear camera uses a top-of-the-line Sony IMX 378 sensor with big 1.55 micron pixels has an f/2.0 aperture lens. The photos it takes, particularly with auto-HDR enabled, are the best Ive seen from any smartphone. They rival the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7; sometimes the Pixel shot is better, other times its one of the other guys, but its usually a close call. The Pixel XL excels in low light, with natural colors and good detail compared to most phones. Good outdoor light, color balance, detail, and exposure are spot on. No phone camera will compete with the dynamic range, focus, and adjustable aperture of a DS, but the Pixel XL beats most cheap compact point-and-shoot cameras.

In this challenging shot, the only light is from the grow lamp. Neither phone has the necessary dynamic range, but the Pixel XL has better detail color.

But final photo quality isnt all that matters. The photo-taking experience is defined by the design and function of the camera app and the speed at which you can go from pocket-to-photo without missing a moment. Remember when I said that the Pixel XL gives the opportunity to more closely tie hardware and software together? The camera is a good example.

In bright environments, the Pixel XL edges out its competitors for detail, clarity, and dynamic range.

Brighter Pictures Inside

Google has gone beyond the works on all the phones capabilities in the stock Android camera app. It now uses the powerful ISP (image signal processor) in the Snapdragon 821 chip better. As a result, its HDR-Auto is now high-speed, with almost no shutter lag, and image tone and balance are greatly improved. The burst feature is crazy fast, too. You can shoot video up to 4K at 30fps; the excellent slow-motion mode gives you either 1080p at 120fps or 720p at 240fps.

Obligatory black cat in low light comparison. No phone nails this test, but notice how the Nexus 6 has a pinkish hue, the iPhone 7 blows out the light areas of the bedding.

While theres no optical image stabilization (OIS), the Pixel XL has a very sensitive, very fast gyroscope accelerometer, also useful for VR, that it samples 200 times a second to perform some next-level electronic image stabilization. Like a true camera nerd, I was ready to hate it and proclaim OIS the only real way to stabilize photos and videos, but after trying it out, Im really quite impressed. Id still like to see OIS in tandem with fancy electronic stabilization in the inevitable Pixel 2, but I dont think most users will miss it here.

Just look at the following example. I walked forward a few steps, holding the phone in front of me. Androids fancy new video stabilization isnt perfect, but when it works well, its freaky.

The camera app still needs a little work. While it is simple and intuitive, it lacks features for power users. At the very least, we deserve a Pro mode that gives us manual control over white balance, focus, ISO, and shutter speed. Still, the app launches much faster than it ever did on a Nexus phone, shutter lag is almost completely eliminated, and shot-to-shot speed has improved vastly. The photo-taking experience is now a delight, while Nexus phones always felt bogged down in molasses.

Its hard to claim that the Pixel XL has the best camera of all time, but it is at the very least among the best, together with the iPhone 7, HTC 10, and Galaxy S7. And the Pixel phones have one feature none of those others can touch; free, full-resolution backup to photos of every photo and video you take. No downsizing or recompression, even for the 4K video. Combined with Googles impressive AI-assisted photo search, its a real game-changer.

Really Fast and not Just Benchmark Fast

As you would expect from phones this expensive, and the Pixels XL high-end hardware. Theyre among the first to ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, a slightly faster version of the 820. Theyve got 4GB of RAM and either 32 or 128 GB of storage. The smaller Pixel and Pixel XL differ in two ways; the Pixel has a 5-inch, 1080p AMOLED display and a 2770 mAh battery. The larger XL has a 5.5-inch 1440p display and a 3450 mAh battery. That may impact battery life; well test the smaller Pixel independently to see how much difference there is in longevity if any. But they should otherwise perform identically.

Interestingly, Google states the clock speed of its Core is 2.15GHz, lower than the Qualcomm 2.4GHz official spec for the Snapdragon 821. Perhaps it is backing off the throttle a touch to conserve battery life?

Regardless, the Pixel XL is fast. In benchmarks, the Pixel XL delivers results roughly equal to most other expensive flagship Android phones. Its a good deal more rapidly than the Nexus 6, especially regarding 3D graphics.

Thanks in part to a much faster G, the Pixel XL crushes the Nexus 6 in some benchmarks.

But benchmarks arent what matters most. Android fans often complain about phones, especially Samsungs, that lead benchmark charts but still seem to stutter, chop, sputter when you use them. The Pixel XL does none of that. At every turn, it is smooth, fast, and, most of all, responsive. Google says it has dramatically improved the touch latency, the tiny sliver of time between when you touch or move your finger on the screen the system responds. Indeed, this may be the smoothest, most responsive Android phone Ive ever used.

In general app benchmarks, the pixel XL is roughly comparable to other top-tier Android phones.

The iPhone tends to feel faster than Android phones because touch latency is so low screen update time is so consistent. You feel like youre directly dragging, swiping, and pinching the items on the screen. The interface sticks to your finger rather than lagging just a bit behind it. The Pixel XL is the first Android phone Ive used that consistently gives me that same feeling.

Only time will tell if this performance holds up over time or if, as with many other Android phones, it somehow feels a lot slower after six months of everyday use. The Pixel may not measure as the absolute fastest Android phone on the market, but it sure feels like it is. Theres that software and hardware synergy thing again.

Battery benchmarks show the Pixel XL to last a long time, but its not the longest weve seen. Note that this new version is not comparable to the old one.

Battery Life

Battery life on the Pixel XL is good but not industry-leading. Those smaller, mid-range phones with big batteries, less powerful processors, and lower-resolution displays like the Moto Z Play last a lot longer. But among high-end super phones, the Pixel XL avails itself well. In typical use, at mid brightness with auto-brightness enabled, all networking features turned on, I got about 5 a half hours of screen-on time and many more hours of standby before ending the day with a critically low battery. Thats doing a little bit of everything; catching Pokemon, browsing Twitter and Reddit, reading on the web, using the Assistant, and taking photos.

With the phone unplugged on standby overnight, the battery lost about 12 percent of its charge. Its not the slowest standby drain Ive ever seen, but I had everything enabled. Always listening for OK, all wireless radios, you name it. As with many expensive phones, youll get through the day with average or heavy use, especially since lots of gaming will make you find a plug by mid-afternoon.

To that end, the charging speed with the included USB-C charger is fantastic. Google claims a 15-minute charge will give you 7 hours of mixed-use. Im not sure what that means in real-world terms, but a 15-minute charge took me from 6 percent to 24 percent, and another 15 minutes got me up to 40 percent. Like all phones, charging speed slows as the battery gets full, but a full charge will take about an hour and a half. Thats fast.

VR Coming

A central selling point of the Pixel phones is sure to be Googles Daydream VR platform. Unfortunately, Daydream View headsets werent due for another month after, so I wasnt able to thoroughly test them out.

But I recently spent some hands-on time with Daydream VR, and I can say that I came away impressed. It compares favorably to Samsung Oculus Gear VR, which is by far the best phone-based VR experience you can get today. The variety of content will take some time to catch up, but the overall visual quality is about on par with Gear VR. The Daydream View headset is more comfortable. Daydreams motion-tracking is an excellent way to interact with the virtual environment.

Its a $79 item, free as a preorder bonus while supplies last. I think it will probably be a worthwhile purchase for every Pixel owner, definitely worth mentioning as a potential reason to own the phone. Other Daydream-ready phones will hit the market soon after Android 7.1s general release.

The Pixel Push Deserves to Succeed

Some see the Pixel as a simple re-bring of Nexus, a way to charge a premium price for something that should have been less expensive. Im not so sure I agree. Pixels software isnt drastically different from the stock Android, but thoughtful improvements are apparent. More importantly, this feels like a better-optimized synergy between hardware and software than before.

There are good reasons to root for in its attempt to make Pixel a mainstream luxury phone brand. Not the least of which is that this is the only high-end, premium phone you can buy at retail that doesnt come loaded with un-installable bloatware, doesnt have carrier-disabled features, isnt locked, and wont wait for months to get Android OS updates. In fact, Pixel buyers are getting Android 7.1 before its officially released to the rest of the world.

Android needs this. It requires a prominent manufacturer to flex its muscle and say, no more. No more carriers delaying updates. Dont force scores of unwanted apps on us that we cant delete. Get rid of the heavily skinned interfaces that dont look or act the way Android should. Theres still plenty of room to innovate and money to be made without all that stuff.

There only room for a SIM card, no SD storage expansion. Though with free full-resolution photo and video backup, you may not need it.

Yes, the Pixel XL has its warts. I could have wished for stereo sound or waterproofing. It needs a software update to add a lift to wake capability, preferably double-tap to wake as well. Its got no option to add storage via SD card and no wireless charging. Although I would argue that free full-res photo video backup and excellent fast charging make those less necessary.

You can get a longer list of features in a phone like the Galaxy S7 Edge or unique innovations like the snap-on mods of the Moto Z. Still, those other premium phones also carry compromises. The Pixel phones do not like cluttered custom interfaces, messy bloatware, delayed updates, or missing headphone jacks.

Googles Pixel deserves to be a success story. And not just because we all have a vested interest. A no more crap phone setting a new standard for Android phones. It should succeed because its honestly a great phone, worthy of its place among other pricey premium handsets. Its got an excellent design and outstanding build quality, good battery life, fantastic responsiveness. The thoughtful features like the easy transfer tool, and built-in live support with screen sharing.

The Pixel XL isnt a slam dunk that suddenly makes all other premium Android phones obsolete. But if you want a high-end phone, it deserves to be on your shortlist. And if youre sick of bloatware, heavily customized interfaces, and delayed OS updates, theres no other choice.
Apple and IBM this week merged strengths in a new way to target the education market. IBM Watson Element for Educators, a new iPad app from the companies, is designed to provide teachers with a more holistic view of students academic progress, accomplishments, interests and learning activities in grades K-12.

IBM began working on the initiative in 2013 and accelerated development following its 2014 partnership with Apple, which led to the creation of the MobileFirst for iOS program. The companies want to remake the educational experience for teachers and students by coupling IBM data, analytics and cognitive computing with Apples design and user experience, according to Chalapathy Neti, vice president of education innovation for IBM Watson.

Watson, IBMs cognitive technology, pulls from three data classes to align curriculum with students proficiencies and interests, as recorded by educators, Neti says. IBM Watson Element for Educators uses recorded behaviors and interests to provide insight on students proficiencies, to determine the types of personalized content and learning environments that might best engage them, according to Neti.

Watson Element combines student data, personal interests

The app is not a system of record for educators but rather a portal through which teachers can access, manipulate and gain insights from various data sets, Neti says. Data used by the app can exist in multiple systems, as is the norm with most school districts, including the Coppell Independent School District (ISD) in Texas, the first academic institution to use Watson Element.

Apple and IBM will work with schools to integrate relevant data into the app, so educators can keep tabs on students learning paths and record observations about their preferred learning styles, to eventually build customized plans that improve over time, according to Neti. Even before a student takes any form of assessment, [educators] can actually through interests and historical learning deliver some personalized advice and intervention to those children, he says.

[Related: Apple and IBM partnership yields 100 iOS enterprise apps]

Marilyn Denison, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Coppell ISD, says teachers who have access to the app save time and make use of data in ways that werent previously possible. Theres a lot of information educators need to really build a relationship, but that information is usually stored in different files or data warehouses, and its hard for educators to get all of that information quickly and concisely, she says. If you dont give the educator the time or all of the resources they cant take that childs learning experience deep enough to do those things that we want to do.

Roughly 150 educators across four schools in Coppell ISD are currently using Watson Element, and the district plans to have the app in the hands of all of its teachers by next year, according to Denison. Those teachers have had access to iPads for about three years, so the tablet and some iOS apps are already a natural part of their lesson designs, Denison says.

The app will change lesson design and student engagement, which are two of the districts highest priorities, according to Denison. If we can engage students we know theyre going to learn at a deeper level. Were more interested in the rigor and the deepness we can take kids in their learning more than how much we can cover. We want to learn deep.

Watson Element helps school close the achievement gap

Educators can also integrate curriculums or other published material, including lesson plans, textbooks, videos and open-sourced data, to further customize their districts instance of Watson Element, according to Alex Kaplan, global education sales lead for IBM Watson. From an instructional perspective theres really no limit in terms of the kinds of instructional materials that they can provide, he says.

[Related: Should Apple worry about Microsoft-IBM deal?]

Watson is also able to use natural language processing to align it to the standards and give insights to teachers about which piece they should choose for each particular student, Kaplan says. When a teacher is looking for a great piece of content for a student working on Algebra, Watson helps guide it to her.

The new iPad app is available to educators at a per-year, per-student price, plus a one-time setup cost that includes integration with school districts existing curriculums, databases and technologies, according to Kaplan. IBM didnt disclose pricing details beyond this general model.

Denison at Coppell ISD says teachers are thrilled about the opportunities Watson Element brings. Ive had teachers in tears, and the comments Im hearing are things like, Oh my gosh, this is so transformational. Its not just reforming my day, because reforming just makes my day better. This transforms my work,' she says. I think this has the potential to change education the way that we know it today.
Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday during a press conference with his Spanish counterpart in Cairo that there is no conflict between Egypt and Saudi Arabia over Egypts vote in a UN resolution on the Syrian civil conflict.

This is the first official statement by Egypt's foreign minister since reports emerged in the past weeks suggesting tensions between the two countries after Egypt voted on 8 October in favour of two rival UN Security Council resolutions that would have, to different degrees, scaled down the fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Both resolutions failed to pass, but Egypts backing of the Russian draft resolution reportedly sparked tensions with Saudi Arabia, which has opposed Russias support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

On 10 October, Saudi Aramco informed the state's Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation that it would halt the supply of refined oil products to Egypt, which prompted the oil ministry to contract other foreign suppliers to provide the country with its petroleum needs

Last week, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi insisted in an interview with Egyptian state-owned newspapers that strategic relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not affected by anything and we should not allow anything to disrupt these relations.

On Saturday, Shoukry said that a draft resolution on Syria is currently being reviewed by Egypt, Spain and New Zealand, where the three countries look to make the humanitarian situation in Syria a priority.

The draft resolution will focus on the providing of humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians and will stress the importance of putting an end to the fighting through a political solution between the Syrian factions.

Shoukry added that Egypt hopes to see a balanced resolution passed which involves discussions between the international community and Arab partners in order to save the Syrian people from terrorist organisations and foreign military interventions.

On Thursday, Egypt said it is mediating between the United Nations bodies operating in Syria and the Syrian authorities to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Aleppo.

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Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered on Saturday "increased security at vital facilities" after a high-ranking army officer was shot dead on the outskirts of Cairo earlier in the day.

During a meeting with top government officials led by the prime minister, El-Sisi said that Egypt would not forget the sacrifices made by the martyrs of the nation from the Armed Forces and police, presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday, Egyptian military Brigadier General Adel Rajaei, an armoured division commander in Dahshur, was shot dead by unknown assailants in front of his house on the outskirts of Cairo.

On Friday, Egypt's army said it killed 21 militants in North Sinai as part of its intensified anti-terror efforts after an October militant attack that killed 12 army soldiers and injured six others.

Egyptian forces have in recent years been battling a prolonged Islamist insurgency based in parts of the northern Sinai region.

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US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday he was confident that Turkey would take part in the operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group.

"I think there is agreement there in principle," he said after a visit to Turkey, following tensions between Ankara and Baghdad that have alarmed Washington.

"Iraq understands that Turkey as a member of the counter-ISIL (IS) coalition will play a role in counter-ISIL operations in Iraq and secondly that Turkey since it neighbours the region of Mosul has an interest (in) the ultimate outcome in Mosul," Carter said.

"I am confident that we can work things out and there are things that would be productive for Turkey to do and we just need to work through these practicalities."

A senior US defence official indicated that Turkey could provide medical or humanitarian support, or train Iraqi forces.

Earlier on Friday, Carter met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials during his short visit to Turkey, a crucial ally in the fight against IS.

Baghdad has called for the withdrawal of hundreds of Turkish troops from Bashiqa near Mosul where they have been deployed to train Iraqi fighters for the battle for the jihadist stronghold.

Ankara fears that the operation to retake Mosul could be spearheaded by Shiite militia and also include Kurdish militia vehemently opposed by Turkey.

Carter also saw a military and political role for Turkey in an eventual assault on the Syrian city of Raqa where IS has established its de facto capital.

"Likewise, Turkey will have a role ultimately in the collapse of Raqa and then as a party in the region will have an interest in making sure that the governance of Raqa is one that is reflective of the population there," he said.

"We want to get ISIL out of Raqa, we want to do that as soon as possible and we want the victory to last."

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Captain Khan | Hillary Clinton

 Juan Cole from July 31 at Informed Comment:

Donald Trump lashed out on Saturday against Ghazala and Khizr Khan over their speech Thursday night in which they criticized the casino and hotel moghul for his unconstitutional tirades.

The Khans said at the Democratic National Convention in a speech they crafted, that Trump had sacrificed nothing for America. It was read by Khizr because his wife said she would break down if she had to talk about her son Capt. Humayun Saqi Muazzam Khans death in action in Iraq. The Khans are originally from Pakistan but came to the US in 1980 from the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistanis make up about 12% of the population. Khizr Khan did a masters in law at Harvard University and works as a legal consultant in Charlottesville, Va.

In response, Trump said,

I work very, very hard. Ive created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. Ive had tremendous success. I think Ive done a lot.

I never see anyone point out that some of those great structures have been casinos, which are a way for the rich to steal from poor and middle class people. (Most games in a casino are rigged 8-11% for the house. If you keep playing, over time the house will end up with more and more of your money. Some games are rigged a third for the house. Gambling doesnt help people it redistributes wealth upwards, acting like a Robin Hood in reverse. That vast act of theft from people who cant afford it is what Donald Trump gave as his sacrifice for the country.

Trumps reply demonstrated that he simply cannot conceive of the idea of sacrifice. His response was about himself. How he worked hard. How many jobs he created. Hotels and casinos he had built. His success. How much he has done.

He did not say what he had sacrificed for the country.

Trump alleged that he avoided being drafted to serve in Vietnam because of a high lottery number. But by then he had had four college deferments and a medical examination that downgraded his eligibility because of a bone spur in his heel.

I dont think you had to agree with the Vietnam War or want to serve in it to be a patriotic American (I didnt, either). But I do think that not having served should make you cautious about making blanket criticisms of those who did and do. Trump dismissed Sen. John McCains sacrifices as a POW on the grounds that he was captured (implying that McCain is a yuuj loser.)

Trump attacked American Latinos as criminals, but they comprise 11.4% of those on active duty in our armed forces.

Trump, given his four deferments and his alleged bone spur, doesnt get to do that. He doesnt get to dismiss the sacrifices of those who did serve and do serve.

He doesnt get to diss on Muslim-Americans like the Khan family, who gave us their son, Capt. Humayun Khan.

Trump implied that the Khans didnt write their own speech. He attacked Mrs. Khan for not having spoken, saying maybe her Muslim family had kept her silent. (The Khans replied that she had felt too much grief over her son to speak publicly about his sacrifice, but had been key to crafting the speech). Trump clearly doesnt know any Pakistani women.

Attacking a grieving mother with an easy racist piece of stereotyping was just about Trumps speed.

Late Saturday Trumps handlers managed to convince him to praise Captain Khan as a hero to our country and we should honor all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe.

But Trump has to square that statement with his assertion that Capt. Khan should have been kicked out of the United States or never allowed to come here in the first place, because of his faith.

Trump also remonstrated with Khizr Khan over his allegation that Trump hadnt read the constitution. Trump insisted that he has.

But Mr. Khan did not say Trump had not read it. He asked Trump if he had read it, and offered to share his own copy.

The Donald still doesnt get it. Khan is not interested in merely reading the document. He is talking about abiding by it. He was implying that Trump makes one unconstitutional proposal after another, in contravention of the constitution.

The constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Trump wants to torture people with blowtorches to the genitals.

The constitution forbids a religious test for office and forbids Congress from installing or establishing an official US religion that would be favored above others. The 14th Amendment mandates equal protection of the law to all Americans. Trump wants to ban Muslims.

Khans emphasis on the constitution shows that he thinks the idea of America is rooted in a rule of law. It is rooted in duty to country. It is rooted, as well, in principled dissent, as he demonstrated in his speech.

Trump dismisses the rule of law. Indeed, he is a serial scofflaw, as with his phony university and other scams. Trump displays no sense of duty to country and never has. He clearly wants to be president to stroke his own ego. And, Trumps discourse is at the level of a self-absorbed five-year-old, so he wouldnt recognize principled dissent if it ran him over in a Mack truck.

The Muslim Khans are a thousand times better Americans than Trump will ever be, because they understand what America is about, and because one of their own made the ultimate sacrifice. If we have to expel somebody, as Trump insists, I know which Id choose.
An air strike killed 15 women on Friday at a shrine near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, local officials and medics said.

"Fifteen women were killed and another 50 wounded in a raid that targeted a Shia place of worship at Dakuk," local official Amir Huda Karam told AFP, a toll confirmed by medical officials.

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TeleSur |  

A group of white students at Texas State University stormed out of anthropology class Friday after the professor explained all humans were descended from Africa.

The walkout caused heated debate with the remaining students chanting Black lives matter and criticizing the racist attitude of their classmates.

According to the students, Professor R. Jon McGee opened his class with a discussion on race, which then developed into an overview of the Black Lives Matter movement and the conclusion modern humans evolved in Africa.

Justine Lundy, a student present, told International Business Times that the discussion was met with derision by many, with a fellow student sarcastically replying sure.

This incident comes amid a wave of police killings against unarmed Black men. According to a Washington Post study, in 2015 alone around 965 people were fatally shot by U.S. policewith Black and Latino people disproportionately the victims.

Via TeleSur

P.S. Snopes disputes some of these details but it does not seem to me it disproved the story.  JC

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Related video added by Juan Cole:

UCSD: CARTA: Origins of Genus Homo  Steven Churchill: Southern Africa and the Origin of Homo
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By Alison Pargeter | ( OpenDemocracy) |  

If peace and national unity in Libya seem remote five years after the fall of the Qadhafi regime, western powers and the international community bear much of the responsibility.

On 20 October 2011, former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi was dragged out of his sewage-pipe hideout to meet his inglorious end. Five years on and things in Libya couldnt be much worse. There is still no centralised authority; killing, abduction and torture are rife; the economy is almost on its knees; and the country has fragmented beyond repair. The triumphalism that accompanied Qadhafis removal from power can hardly have been more misplaced.

Much of the chaos that has enveloped the country is down to the Libyans themselves. The blame for the incessant squabbling and local turf wars that have eclipsed all sense of a national good must be laid squarely at the door of Libyas new powerbrokers. There is also the legacy of forty years of rule by a ruthless dictator whose uncompromising vision of the state stripped the country of functioning institutions and its population of a political culture. In addition, the sudden toppling of a highly centralised authority was always going to mean that the country would struggle to get back on its feet.

But the international community has played a poor game too and must shoulder some of the responsibility for what has gone wrong since 2011. Aside from the rights and wrongs of the Nato intervention itself, western states since the ousting of the former regime have pursued a muddled and shortsighted policy that has made a bad situation worse.

From its pushing for parliamentary elections to be held less than a year after Qadhafis collapse, in a country where there were no established political parties let alone institutions to support the instruments of government; to its turning a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by the hotchpotch of newly empowered revolutionaries that had ejected Qadhafi; to its courting of local powerbrokers while simultaneously supporting the rebuilding of a centralised authority  the international community has done little to help Libyans either reconcile with their past or build a state (see Libya: tests of renewal, 2 June 2012).



Where the international community has arguably done most damage, however, is through its backing of a clunky and ill-conceived peace process, the culmination of which has been the imposition on the country of a consensus government that is anything but.

A flawed peace process

The United Nations-sponsored peace process was launched in September 2014 after Libya had split into two competing political authorities. In the west of the country was the General National Congress that was supported by an array of militias from Misrata, the capital and other western towns. These forces, many of them Islamist in orientation, had come together in the summer of 2014 to force their opponents out of the capital. In the east was the newly elected House of Representatives, which was recognised internationally as Libyas legislative power and that had allied itself to a retired army officer, Khalifa Haftar, who had gathered a ragtag collection of forces around himself and who was slugging it out against Islamist militants in Benghazi. Both the House and the Congress insisted that they were the countrys sole legislative authority and battled it out for control of Libyas resources and national institutions.

The UN peace process that was meant to bring these competing forces together may have been well-intentioned, but it was flawed from the start. Most importantly it pulled in the wrong actors, holding endless dialogue sessions between representatives of the House of Representatives and the General National Congress despite the fact the neither of these institutions had any real clout on the ground. Rather, both were always at the behest of the military and revolutionary powers that were driving the conflict.

In addition, throughout the long and fraught negotiation process, the UN appeared to flip-flop between the two sides, seemingly favouring one party and then the other. It repeatedly amended the text of the political agreement in line with the wishes of whichever side was threatening to boycott the process at any one time. While this was simply a reflection of the UNs desperation to get a deal signed, as the number of draft agreements piled up, it was accused by both sides of being partisan.

The UN didnt help itself either when in October 2015 and in a bid to meet its own deadline, it tried to pull the rug from under both parties by announcing a unity government of its own. Predictably enough its doing so provoked angry accusations that it was violating national sovereignty and it was forced to retract.

All this meant that when a political agreement was eventually signed in December 2015, it was not only missing the endorsement of the powers that mattered, it was viewed as something that had been imposed from the outside. Plus, in the interests of actually getting something signed, the agreement had put the thorniest issues conveniently to one side.

The Daesh factor

Yet at this point western powers hardly seemed to care. The emergence of Daesh, which took over Sirte in February 2015, had created a new imperative in western policymaking circles and the overriding preoccupation became how to establish some sort of consensus government that could sanction foreign military intervention against the group. Thus getting an agreement in place was more important than the agreement itself.

To some Libyans, this was perplexing. Despite all the hysteria in the western media about Daesh in Libya, the reality was that while certainly repugnant, the group was limited to a small area and was proving unable to expand in any meaningful way. Indeed, there was a series of structural and societal factors in Libya, including the countrys tribes, which were always going to impede Daeshs growth. For many Libyans, therefore, Daesh was the least of their problems.

Yet the international community persisted, and railroaded Libya into signing the December 2015 political agreement and establishing a new government, or at least a Presidency Council that could endorse its intervention. But this Presidency Council was not fit for purpose. Comprising a group of weak and bitterly divided individuals, chosen by virtue of which region of Libya they came from rather than what they could offer the country, this council had absolutely no power or credibility on the ground. Little surprise, therefore, that when it arrived in Tripoli in March 2016 this Council was already dead in the water.

Since then its legitimacy has been eroded further as it has proved utterly incapable of getting a grip on the morass of militias that still call the shots. It has been unable, too, to tackle the myriad of problems facing ordinary Libyans such as the lack of services, fuel shortages, price hikes and the non-payment of salaries. In October 2016, even the Councils own Presidential Guard revolted against it in protest at not having received their wages. The Guard conspired with other hostile forces in the capital, including the head of the Congresss government, Khalifa Ghweill, to take over all government buildings.

It is little wonder that the Presidency Council has been plagued by accusations that it is ignoring the needs of Libyans in order to serve a foreign agenda that has prioritised combating Daesh at the expense of the Libyan state.

Empowering whom?

As far as the fight against Daesh is concerned, the international community is on the way to achieving its objectives. The group is almost defeated in Sirte and its days in Libya are clearly numbered. However, through this battle, western states have ended up empowering an array of militias who may have been willing to harness themselves to the Presidency Council, but who certainly are not under its control. These militias have been willing to fight on the Presidency Councils behalf in what has been an opportunistic bid to consolidate their own power and gain recognition as Libyas official state forces. Notably, some of these forces that have been bolstered in this way are themselves militant Islamist in orientation. While their ideology may not be as extreme as that of Daesh, they adhere to an extremist agenda nonetheless.

But thats not all. Through its fight against Daesh, the international community has also strengthened the regional power of Misrata, which has led the struggle against the group. This has fed directly into regional tensions that cut right to the heart of the Libyan conflict. Indeed, the main powers in the east, namely Haftar and the eastern tribes that support him, are still rejecting the political agreement and the Presidency Council it has spawned. By continuing to back the Presidency Council without these important forces on board, the international community looks as though it is backing one side in Libyas conflict. The situation is made worse by the fact that the House of Representatives has yet to give its official backing to the political agreement, meaning that in the eyes of many, the Presidency Council is not yet a legal entity.

However, the international communitys policy is even more muddled than the above would suggest. All the while that it has been chiding Haftar and his associates for rejecting the political agreement and calling on them to give it their backing, certain western states have been providing them with covert military assistance in their bid to quash Islamist militants in Benghazi. France has openly acknowledged that it has military personnel stationed in the east of Libya, while there have been numerous reports of British and American special forces present there too. This means that the international community has ended up facilitating Haftars fight against Islamist militants in the east of Libya, while simultaneously supporting Islamist militias in the west.

It is little wonder that there are growing calls inside Libya for an end to foreign intervention and for a purely Libyan-Libyan peace process. While these demands may be little more than bluster by some of the parties in the conflict, they reflect the damage that the international community has done to its own credibility in Libya. Indeed, its shortsighted policy has fuelled perceptions that it is duplicitous and self-serving, and that it has failed the people upon whose behalf it claimed to have intervened in 2011.

A Libyan tragedy

But the tragedy for Libya is that as this peace process has dragged on, the country has descended into ever deeper chaos and despair.

It has also found itself dragged back down the path of military rule. Over recent weeks, Haftar, who seized control of four eastern oil ports in September, has moved to consolidate his power by appointing military commanders to replace elected local councils. He has also appointed military men to take over the running of a number of state-owned companies. And in a media interview at the end of September, Haftar, who has often been accused of fashioning himself on Egypts president, Abdulfattah Al-Sisi, and who is clearly positioning himself as the strongman who can save Libya, declared: Military people who were elected to lead their country achieved remarkable success.

In response to this militarisation in the east, the militias and military councils in the west of Libya are sharpening their swords, preparing themselves for the possibility of another big showdown with Haftars allies in the capital. For all the peace process of the past year, therefore, Libya is still caught in the bind of the same old forces that brought the country to its knees in the summer of 2014. Thus while Libya may be on its way to defeating Daesh, it is certainly no nearer to peace, let alone to the civil state that so many dreamed of when they rose up against Qadhafin in 2011.

While no one is pretending that dealing with Libya is easy, the international community should at least be asking itself some difficult questions about the role it has played.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Aside from the slow, steady advances being made by the Iraqi army and its allies against Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Mosul, the two big stories on Friday and Saturday morning were a diversionary attack on Kirkuk by the fundamentalist organization, and CNNs discovery that Daesh killed nearly 300 civilians in Mosul, including children.

The attack on Kirkuk by 30 fighters of Daesh was defeated by security forces in Kirkuk, including the Peshmerga or Kurdistan paramilitary. They had attempted to take over the governors mansion in the city. Elsewhere in the city three suicide bombers targeted civilians. At least 19 residents of Kirkuk were caught in the fighting and killed.

Some observers believe that the attack was intended to draw away forces of the Peshmerga from the Mosul front.

Meanwhile, Daesh killed nearly 300 civilians in Mosul as its enemies surrounded and besieged it. They appear originally to have been rounded up to be used as human shields in the face of the advances of the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga, but perhaps Daesh decided that feeding and watching these prisoners, some of them children, was too much trouble, as the Iraqi Army and its allies approached.

Also in Mosul news: US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that an agreement in principle had been reached between Iraqi PM Haydar al-Abadi and Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan that would allow a role in the push for the Turkish-trained troops at Bashiqa in the conquest of Mosul.

Erdogan appears to be laying down a marker that Turkey has an interest in what happens in Mosul. Previously, Iraqi officials had called on the Turks to withdraw. Some Iraqi sources disputed Carters story.



Related video:

CCTV: At least 24 killed amid ISIL attacks on Kirkuk
The Federal Police of Brazil [official website, in Portuguese] on Wednesday arrested former House speaker Eduardo Cunha for his alleged participation in an embezzlement scheme. Cunha, who is most known for leading the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff [BBC profile], was held [G1 report, in Portuguese] indefinitely over fears that he could not only obstruct the ongoing investigation but also flee the country due to his overseas connections and dual citizenship. Cunha was arrested in connection with operation Lava Jato [Rio Times backgrounder], in which politicians and businessmen allegedly engaged in corrupt practices in order to assist the local oil company Petrobras[corporate website].

Brazils federal prosecutors filed [JURIST report] new corruption charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last week. The Federal Police of Brazil in September arrested [JURIST report] former finance minister Antonio Palocci in connection with an ongoing corruption probe. The Brazil Supreme Court approved [JURIST report] a motion by prosecutors to open a preliminary investigation into accusations from Sergio Machado, former Transpetro head, that president Michel Temer sought illegal campaign donations in 2012
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld [opinion, PDF] a conspiracy conviction of the former personal assistant to Osama bin Laden. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [AP report] that a military tribunal had jurisdiction to convict Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman Al Bahlul. Bahlul was tried and convicted by a military commission created after September 11, 2001. A three-judge panel had thrown out [JURIST report] the conspiracy conviction last year, and the Obama administration requested that the full appeals court reconsider the case. The issue in the case was whether the constitution grants Congress the ability to determine that conspiracy to commit war crimes is an offense triable by military commissions even though conspiracy crimes are not recognized as international war crimes. The majority determined that foreign nations could not have a de facto veto power over Congress determination of which war crimes may be considered by a military tribunal:

This case therefore raises one central legal question: Under the U.S. Constitution, may Congress establish military commissions to try unlawful enemy combatants for the offense of conspiracy to commit war crimes, even if conspiracy is not an offense under the international law of war? The answer is yes. We know that from the text and original understanding of the Constitution; the structure of the Constitution; landmark Supreme Court precedent; longstanding congressional practice, as reflected in venerable and contemporary federal statutes; and deeply rooted Executive Branch practice, from the 1800s to the present.

The ruling was 6-3, with two judges concurring and three dissenting.

In 2014 the DC Circuit overturned [JURIST report] Bahluls convictions for providing material support for terrorism and solicitation of others to commit war crimes. A three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled [JURIST report] in 2013 that the military tribunal that convicted Bahlul in 2007 erred because a Guantanamo prisoner could not be convicted of conspiracy unless his crime took place after 2006. The Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) ruled in 2011 that Bahlul had been properly convicted of being a propagandist and should spend the rest of his life in prison [JURIST reports]. Bahlul, a Yemeni citizen, went on trial at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] in 2008. He was accused of researching the financial impact of the 9/11 attacks and also releasing the martyr wills of 9/11 hijackers Muhammed Atta and Ziad al Jarrah as propaganda videos.
Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Northern Division) [official website] on Thursday permanently enjoined [order, PDF] the state of Mississippi from enforcing, threatening to enforce, or otherwise applying the provisions of Mississippi Code section 43-13-117.4, which disqualifies any health-care provider that offers, or is affiliated with entities that offer, nontherapeutic abortions from participating in the states Medicaid program. Planned Parenthood [advocacy website] argued that the law unconstitutionally limited healthcare provider options for patients and would have imposed a heavy burden on low-income patients. Jordan stated: Essentially every court to consider similar laws has found that they violate  1396a(a)(23) of Title 42 of the United States Code, the so-called FreeChoice-of-Provider Provision.' Specifically referring to a decision last month from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which Mississippi conceded is controlling and dispositive in this case, the court granted Planned Parenthoods motion for a declaratory judgment and permanent injunctive relief finding Mississippi Code Section 43-13-117.4 void. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant [official website], a proponent of the law, expressed his disappointment [Reuters report] with the ruling stating that he will continue to stand with the legislature and people of Mississippi who do not want their hard-earned money going to the largest abortion provider in the nation.

There has been a recent slew of state laws dealing with abortion. Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that a state law adding new licensing and inspection rules for facilities that perform abortions is unconstitutional. Last month a federal judge issued a temporary injunction [JURIST report] against Arkansas suspension of Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood after Governor Asa Hutchinson [official website] terminated [AP report] the Medicaid funding last year following national controversy ignited by video recordings of Planned Parenthoods practices. In August a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Thursday permanently blocked [JURIST report] portions of a Florida law that would stop funding to Planned Parenthood. In July the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against an Arizona law that would potentially prevent low-income women from obtaining healthcare from their provider of choice. Earlier the same month a federal judge placed an injunction [JURIST report] on an Indiana law that would have banned women from seeking abortion procedures when they are based on race, sex, or the potential for or actual diagnosis of a disability in the fetus. Recently the US Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-3 in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt [SCOTUSblog materials] that a Texas law [HB2 text] imposing certain requirements on abortion clinics and doctors creates an undue burden on access to abortion, and is therefore unconstitutional [JURIST report].
[JURIST] U.S. District Judge J. Clay Fuller [official profile] on Thursday ruled [order, PDF] that the state of Georgia does not have to reveal information about its one-drug execution method. In a suit brought by two death row inmates challenging the constitutionality of Mississippis execution method, the challengers sought to establish that there is a known and available alternative to Mississippis three-drug method, which they claim to be unconstitutional. It is known that Georgia uses only the barbiturate pentobarbital for its executions, but the identity of the provider of the drug is protected by a 2013 state law mandating that such information is a state secret. Not knowing the identity of the provider, the Mississippi challengers are unable to prove that Mississippi could obtain the drug as an alternative to its current execution method.

Capital punishment [JURIST op-ed] remains a controversial issue in the US and worldwide. Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court held [JURIST report] that a trial court may not impose the death penalty unless the jurys recommended sentence of death is unanimous. Shortly before, the US Supreme Court vacated [JURIST report] the death sentence of an Oklahoma man convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two children in a case where the trial judge permitted family members to recommend the sentence to the jury. Also in October, a group of UN human rights experts spoke on the subject of the death penalty and terrorism, calling the death penalty ineffective [JURIST report], and often times illegal, in deterring to terrorism. And last month in Oklahoma, after a botched execution in 2014 and numerous drug mix-ups in 2015, Attorney General Scott Pruitt refused [JURIST report] to set execution dates until new protocols have been approved.
A federal judge on Friday ordered a former National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] contractor accused of stealing classified government documents to remain in custody while awaiting trial. The judge said [WP report] of the former NSA agent, Harold Martin III, I find by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant does pose a risk of flight. The prosecution had argued Martin potentially poses an immediate and irrevocable danger to US national security and, as such, Martin should remain in custody. Alternatively, Martin and his defense counsel maintained that Martin is merely a compulsive hoarder, not a traitor, and insisted he posed no flight risk. While the judges decision was limited only to the matter of continued detention, he stated he would have found clear and convincing evidence that Martins actions were dangerous. The Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] has released that it will likely bring charges against Martin under the Espionage Act.

Martin was arrested in August on charges that he stole government property, including classified documents, according to a criminal complaint [text, PDF] unsealed earlier this month. The complaint alleges that Martin, who had a top national security clearance, removed hard copy as well as digital copies of top secret classified documents, many of which were from 2014, from the government agency with which he was employed. The documents, as well as some stolen items from the agency totaling approximately $1000 [DOJ press release], were found at his residence upon the execution of a search warrant.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered [order, PDF] voter registration in Virginia to be reopened through midnight Friday, October 21. US District Judge Claude Hilton for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] made this ruling [Politico report] after Virginias registration website had technical difficulties earlier in the week. Hilton stated this made amends for the states voter registration site being down beginning mid-afternoon of the last day to register. Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law [advocacy website] sued [CNN report] after the site had difficulties and requested a new 72-hour registration period. However, Hilton found that 72-hours was not necessary to notify potential registrants and give them time to make up for the lost afternoon of registration.

Voting issues have become contentious as the presidential election approaches. Last week a federal judge in Florida extended the voter registration deadline [JURIST report] by six days due to the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Earlier this month a federal court issued [JURIST report] a preliminary injunction in favor of the Pyramid Lake and Walker River Paiute Native American tribes challenging Nevadas voting procedure of failing to provide polling places on Native American reservations. Late last month California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation [JURIST report] clarifying felons voting rights.
[JURIST] A Mexican judge on Thursday rejected five appeals intended to prevent the extradition of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman [BBC profile] to the US for criminal charges. A previous judge had suspended [JURIST report] Guzmans extradition in May, but the extradition was later approved by the foreign ministry. The current judge ruled [CNN report] against two of Guzmans injunctions, and the remaining three injunctions had already been dismissed prior to this ruling. Once Guzman has received formal notice of the decision, he will have an opportunity to file one last appeal before the extradition is finally performed. Guzmans lawyers have stated [BBC report] their intention to bring the case to the Supreme Court and even the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) [official website] if necessary. Should the last appeal be similarly rejected, Guzmans extradition is expected to take place by February.

Guzman was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute and import cocaine and kept in Mexicos highest security prison, Altiplano, in July of last year. Guzman escaped from prison that month, and a federal official announced [JURIST report] that seven of those who were being questioned regarding the prison escape were formally arrested. In August 2015 a Mexican judge temporarily suspended [JURIST report] a US extradition order for Guzman for an unknown reason and the escape increased tension in US-Mexico relations. In January Guzman was recaptured [JURIST report] in Los Mochis, Mexico, after a Mexican-military raid left five suspects dead and one Mexican official injured. In May,a judge ruled [JURIST report] and then Mexicos foreign ministry approved [WP report] Guzmans extradition to the US. The judge presiding over Guzmans case was assassinated [Telegraph report] near Mexico City earlier this week.
The UN said Friday security concerns had forced it to delay planned evacuations from Syria's Aleppo, as Russia extended a truce that was largely holding for a second day.

Moscow said it was extending the unilateral "humanitarian pause" in the Syrian government's Russian-backed assault on opposition-held east Aleppo until 1600 GMT on Saturday.

But there was no sign that civilians or rebels were heeding calls to leave, with Damascus and Moscow accusing opposition fighters of preventing evacuations.

In Geneva, the UN rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Syria's government.

East Aleppo, which the rebels captured in 2012, has been under siege by the army since mid-July and has faced devastating bombardment by the government and its ally Russia since the September 22 launch of an offensive to retake the whole city.

Nearly 500 people have been killed, more than a quarter of them children, since the assault began. More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded.

The scale of the casualties has prompted outrage in the West, with Washington saying the bombardment amounted to a possible war crime.

Russia announced a halt to its air strikes from Tuesday and the unilateral ceasefire from Thursday.

The Syrian army says it has opened eight corridors across the front line for the more than 250,000 civilians in rebel-held areas to leave, but so far almost none have taken up the offer.

"There has been no movement in the corridors in the eastern district. For the moment, we haven't seen any movement of residents or fighters," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian state media accused rebels of preventing people from leaving the city's opposition-held sector.

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said fighters were using "threats, blackmail and brute force" to prevent civilians and rebels evacuating.

The United Nations had hoped to use the truce to evacuate injured people from Aleppo, and possibly deliver aid.

But on Friday afternoon, a spokesman said the operation had been delayed because of security concerns.

"Medical evacuations of sick and injured could unfortunately not begin this morning as planned because the necessary conditions were not in place," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations humanitarian office OCHA.

David Swanson, an OCHA spokesman in Turkey's Gaziantep, told AFP a four-day plan had been drawn up to begin with two days of evacuations to west Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib or Turkey.

If successful, the plan would then see aid delivered for another two days alongside continuing evacuations.

No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of October, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Thursday.

The Syrian opposition National Coalition and rebel Free Syrian Army criticised UN policy in a statement, saying it "plays into the Assad regime's plans to empty Aleppo".

It accused the world body of becoming a "tool in the hands of Russia".

Moscow and Damascus have called on civilians to leave so that their offensive can focus on former Al-Qaeda affiliate the Fateh al-Sham Front and the recapture of east Aleppo.

On Friday afternoon, rebel fire into west Aleppo killed one person and wounded three, Syrian state media said.

Moscow has shown no sign of winding down its intervention, despite criticism of the civilian death toll and allegations that hospitals have been hit.

A Russian aircraft carrier battle group was in the Channel between England and France Friday en route from the Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean.

The UN human rights council, at a special session in Geneva, called in a resolution for "a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo", and for those responsible for the most serious violations to be identified.

The resolution demanded that warring parties "in particular the Syrian authorities and their allies", allow unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and "end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city".

The Syrian government, for its part, warned Turkey after a series of deadly strikes against Syrian Kurdish fighters in the north of the country.

In a statement, the army threatened to "down by all available means" Turkish aircraft violating Syrian airspace.

Since late August, Turkey has been carrying out an operation targeting both the Islamic State group and Syrian Kurdish fighters considered "terrorists" by Ankara.

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[JURIST] South Africa announced on Friday that the country will officially withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. The government originally expressed [Reuters report] such intentions last year when South Africa refused to act on the ICCs arrest warrant for visiting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir [BBC profile]. Justice Minister Michael Masutha [official profile] has stated that the countrys ICC membership conflicts with South Africas Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act (DIPA) [text, PDF]. South Africa intends to draft a bill that repeals membership and allows the country to address impunities on its own terms. While the ICC has not officially been given notice of withdrawal, the UN has announced that the withdrawal request is being processed. Withdrawal is expected to take effect approximately one year from the day the UN was notified. The Democratic Alliance [party website], the governments opposing political party, intends to file a challenge to the withdrawal request as soon as possible.

Earlier this month Burundi similarly voted [JURIST report] to withdraw from the ICC amid criticism the court only prosecutes African nationals. Vice President Gaston Sindimwo of Burundi previously announced [JURIST report] the countrys decision to withdraw from the ICC, stating that his government is ready to face the consequences. Last week the ICC president stated [JURIST report] that such a withdrawal represent[s] a setback in the fight against impunity and the efforts towards the objective of universality of the Statute. Last July an African Union (AU) [official website] advisory board accused [JURIST] the ICC of narrowly focusing its investigations on African government leaders and recommended that African nations consider withdrawing their membership. Should South Africa and Burundi follow through with their recent decisions, they will be the first countries to officially leave the ICC. Kenya has also expressed its intention to move forward with withdrawal as well.
UN experts investigating the October 8 attack on a packed funeral hall in the Yemeni capital, which is currently under rebel control, accused [AP report] the Saudi coalition Thursday of violating international humanitarian law. According to the experts report, the attack resulted in disproportionately higher numbers of civilian casualties, when compared to military casualties, and that this could have been anticipated prior to the attack. International law requires a party to assess the proportionality of an attack before carrying it out. The experts report shows no knowledge of any such assessment taking place. Particularly, the expert panel said the second bombing was clear indication that the US-backed Saudi coalition violated its international obligations. Despite the experts findings, the Saudi coalition has said that they had received incorrect information as to who would be attending the funeral. The attack took place during a funeral held by the Shiite Houthi rebels for the father of the acting interior minister; the first bomb hit during the funeral and the second bomb hit several minutes later while medical personnel responded to the first. It has been estimated that 114 individuals, including women and children, were killed and 613 injured. The experts called on the UN to sanction the use of this double-tape bombing technique, and also called upon Saudi Arabia to provide the panel with further data.

The rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen has sparked significant international concern. Last month independent UN human rights expert Alfred de Zayas said [JURIST report] that [a]rms deals are a major threat to security, peace and human rights. Also last month international human rights groups issued a joint letter [JURIST report] to the permanent representatives of member and observer states of the UN Human Rights Council urging them to support the High Commissioners call [JURIST report] for an international, independent investigation into civilian deaths and injuries in Yemen. In July Human Rights Watch urged [JURIST report] Saudi Arabia and other coalition members to create an independent international inquiry into their attacks on civilian economic structures in Yemen. In March two human rights groups called [JURIST report] for the US, the UK and France to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia due to accusations and evidence that the weapons are being used in attacks against Yemen.
UN High Commissioner for of Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein [official profile] on Friday expressed outrage [press release] over the human rights crisis in Syria, stating that, [t]he violations and abuses suffered by people across the country, including the siege and bombardment of eastern Aleppo, are not simply tragedies; they also constitute crimes of historic proportions. Zeid listed many atrocities in the Syria conflict, including the hundreds of thousands killed, abductions, summary executions, arbitrary detentions and torture, displacement of the families of more than half the countrys population from their homes, attacks on hospitals, schools and marketplaces, and the attack last month on a humanitarian convoy which he termed as a new low of barbarity. Particularly expressing his disappointment at watching Aleppo, an ancient city of millennial civility and beauty, being reduced to a slaughterhouse, Zeid stated that there must be an immediate, prolonged and all-encompassing ceasefire to enable the passage of humanitarian relief to all in needimpartially and unconditionally in Aleppo. Zeid added that, [a]ll parties must provide assistance and free passage for all civilians wishing to flee, without any form of reprisalincluding passage across international borders. while the civilians who choose to remain in Aleppo must also be protected, under international humanitarian law. Zeid concluded his statement by urging members of the Human Rights Council to unite in their efforts to provide assistance to those whose suffering cries out for our help and calling on the international community to speak with one voice, for human life and human rights.

The conflict in Syria [JURIST backgrounder] has continued for five years in a civil war surrounding the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad [official website]. For much of that time attacks have taken place on humanitarian convoys, medical facilities, and other forms of critical civilian aid. Last week Russia President Vladimir Putin [official website] rejected suggestions [JURIST report] that his country could face war crimes charges because of its role in the airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria, primarily responding to remarks from French President Francois Hollande [official website] that the airstrikes were tantamount to war crimes. Earlier the same week FrenchForeign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault [official profile] stated [JURIST report] that France intends to pursue avenues for the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to initiate an investigation into the alleged war crimes committed by Syrian and Russian forces in Aleppo. Last week US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website] made a similar call [JURIST report] for an investigation into the alleged war crimes of Russia and Syria in Aleppo. In September the EU called attacks in Aleppo a breach of international humanitarian law [JURIST report], denouncing the targeting of a humanitarian convoy hit by an airstrike the week prior. That same month the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria urged parties in the Syrian conflict to return to the negotiation table after a new report highlighted an increase of violence suffered by civilians [JURIST report]. The report noted that along with summary executions, forced displacement, and indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes the Syrian people lack sufficient access to life-saving medical services.
An ongoing attack by the Islamic State group in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has killed at least 46 people, mostly members of the security forces, security and medical sources said Saturday.

"We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS)," an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.

The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate. The brigadier general also said at least 25 militants attackers had been killed since the raid was launched early Friday.

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US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Baghdad Saturday to review the six-day-old offensive to retake Mosul, the Islamic State group's last major stronghold in Iraq.

He will meet commanders from the 60-nation coalition which is led by the United States and assists Iraqi forces in their drive against the Islamist militants.

Carter is also due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and is expected to discuss Baghdad's objections to Turkish involvement in the Mosul operations.

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Turkey hit Syrian Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria for the second time in less than 72 hours, the military said Saturday, quoted in state media.

Rockets struck 70 People's Protection Units (YPG) targets Friday, the armed forces said in a statement, but did not say if any militia fighters were killed.

Two Ankara-backed Syrian opposition fighters were injured when YPG forces opened fire in the town of Jarabulus, the military said, quoted in the official Anadolu news agency.

Turkey views the YPG and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as terror groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, staging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.

The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

Late Wednesday, Turkish jets struck YPG positions and the armed forces claimed they killed up to 200 YPG fighters but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll lower.

The monitor said at least 11 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- a US-backed alliance of about 30,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters -- were killed and 24 wounded.

Turkey has clashed with the US over the YPG, with the Americans' support to the Syrian Kurdish militia causing friction between the two NATO allies.

Despite Ankara's protests, Washington believes the YPG is the most effective fighting force against the Islamic State group in Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday the US was making a mistake supporting the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

"Unfortunately their use by the United States against Daesh (IS) and being supplied with arms is a big mistake. We have made it clear to them," he said.

The strikes were part of Ankara's operation in northern Syria, launched on August 24 to remove IS from its border and stop the westward advance of the YPG.

Turkey has sent dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops into Syria to support rebels and the army says 1,265 square kilometres (488 square miles) has been secured since August.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly voiced its opposition to a "terror corridor" -- referring to the joining of the Kurdish "cantons" of Afrin and Kobane -- which it says it will prevent.

In the latest strikes, the armed forces said it also hit 52 IS targets in northern Syria while the Dogan news agency said seven Ankara-backed rebels were killed in clashes with IS.

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The UN rights council on Friday called for a special investigation into violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Syria's government.

The text spearheaded by Britain repeatedly condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's offensive to retake east Aleppo from rebel forces, while also admonishing "terrorist acts" by the Islamic State group and other extremists in the Syrian conflict.

Russia, an ally in Syria's east Aleppo campaign, condemned the resolution which was approved in a majority vote.

Moscow's envoy to the council, Aleksei Goltiaev, also described criticism of Syria and Russia as "pathetic".

The resolution called for the UN's existing Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) to "conduct a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo", and to identify individuals responsible for the most serious violations.

Assad's government has repeatedly denied COI investigators access to the country, although they have published multiple reports documenting violations.

The resolution demanded that warring parties "in particular the Syrian authorities and their allies", allow unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and "end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city".

It also condemned "the starvation of civilians as a means of combat". East Aleppo, captured by the rebels in 2012, has not received aid since July 7 when regime forces seized the last supply route.

John Fisher of Human Rights Watch said the resolution passed at a special session on Aleppo "sent a clear message that illegal attacks on civilians must end and that those responsible will be held to account".

UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein opened the debate by denouncing "crimes of historic proportions" being perpetrated in east Aleppo, where an estimated 250,000 people have been besieged under the joint offensive by Damascus and Moscow.

A so-called "humanitarian pause", initiated by Russia, has been broadly holding since Thursday in east Aleppo but the UN and Red Cross have not yet gained access to the rebel side of the city.

The UN had voiced hope it could begin medical evacuations on Friday before bringing in dozens of aid-filled trucks, but said the security guarantees needed to mobilise had not yet been provided.

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Name: Bob Lammers

Age: 61

Occupation: Certified General Appraiser

Which race are you a candidate in?

Nebraska Legislative District 37

Do you currently hold a political office? If so, which position?

Kearney City Council

How long have you held this position?

10 years

What other elected or appointed offices have you held?

Chairman of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, co-chairman of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, three-time chairman of the Gateway Farm Show, president of the Kearney Little League and president of the Kearney Sertoma Club.

Why are you running for office?

I have served in Kearney for 37 years, serving on the Kearney City Council, Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo County Economic Development Council, Gateway Farm Show, Little League, Buffalo County Community Partners, Sertoma Club and First Lutheran Church. Having held many leadership positions in Kearney, I feel with my background on the Kearney City Council, leadership experience, finance and agricultural background, I offer the most experience and skill needed to be a successful legislator for District 37 in the Nebraska State Legislature. To whom much has been given, much is expected. I have been blessed to live in Kearney.

What do you believe is the most important issue facing your office?

Tax reform is the most important issue facing the state. Too much emphasis has been placed on property taxes to finance our public schools and county government. High property and state income taxes hurt our ability to grow and attract businesses, workers, retain our college graduates, retirees and veterans.

A potential $100 million in e-commerce sales taxes not being collected could be applied to school and county finance to help reduce property taxes. We can reduce the number of counties in our state from 93 to nine to make county government more efficient and streamline the Nebraska Advantage Act.

How would you balance the needs of government versus taxpayers interests?

The Legislature must first consider the needs of the taxpayers and the amount of tax revenues available to balance the budget. There will always be groups that have wants, and the Legislature must first and foremost address the true needs of their constituents. Education, the safety of our citizens, the networks of roads and other infrastructure of our state, and helping our business community grow and create jobs are essential in providing the basic needs of our citizens. The state is then required to address mandates placed on us by the federal government and lastly the wants of our citizens.
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
Name: John S. Lowe

Age: 57

Occupation: Small business owner

Which race are you a candidate in?

Nebraska Legislative District 37

Do you currently hold a political office? If so, which position?

Kearney Planning Commission

How long have you held this position?

Six years

What other elected or appointed offices have you held?

Cosmos president, potentate of Tehama Shrine 1994, Friends of Scouting chairman

Why are you running for office?

Ive spoken to many people across the district at their doorsteps during this campaign, and like them I am concerned about the economy and that good-paying careers are available here in Nebraska. Our campaign is focused on my experience as a small business owner, as having experience balancing budgets, creating jobs and investing in our local economy. We need that experience in state government, so we can hold the line on spending, reduce the property tax and grow our economy.

What do you believe is the most important issue facing your office?

The most important issue facing Nebraska and the next Legislature is growing our economy. I believe we can do this by reducing the growth of government spending, so we can make property tax relief a reality for Nebraska families, while also investing in the core responsibilities of government, education, public safety and infrastructure development.

Using my experience as a business owner, finding inefficiencies to bring down costs while increasing the quality of our product to do the same for the state of Nebraska is what has me excited about this campaign.

How would you balance the needs of government versus taxpayers interests?

I like how this question is phrased. Too often politicians look at the wants of governments, including the bureaucracies weve created and special interests. And then asked, How can we make the taxpayers pay for it all? We need to flip that thinking upside down.

Nebraska is a high-tax state. We need to find ways to make meaningful tax relief a reality for Nebraska families and local small business. This means we need to find ways to innovate the way state government operates; find efficiencies, so we can hold the line on spending.
KEARNEY  A Kearney auto dealership owner has been placed on probation and under house arrest for deceiving the Internal Revenue Service.

Barton Langenberg, 47, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to serve two years probation and six months of home arrest. He must also forfeit more than $15,000 and cooperate in IRS audits of his tax returns.

Langenberg owned American Auto Exchange in Kearney, Lexington and Grand Island, but currently owns only the Kearney dealership. He also manages commercial properties in Kearney.

In November, Langenberg pleaded guilty to structuring transactions in order to avoid currency-reporting requirements. Federal prosecutors dismissed six similar charges.

Federal Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Langenberg.

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LEXINGTON - Doug Marshall of Kearney was sentenced in Dawson County District Court Friday for his role in the burglaries of two co-op offices Oct. 27, 2004, in Overton.Judge James E. Doyle sentenced Marshall to concurrent terms of 32 months to five years in the Nebraska Correctional System. The two burglary charges were Class III felonies to which Marshall pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement.

Doyle waived restitution because of Marshall's inability to earn a living. Marshall, 23, told the court he has served nine months in Buffalo County and has been in prison four months for burglaries in Buffalo County. He was credited with 24 days in the Dawson County jail.

As part of the plea agreement, a Class III felony for a burglary of the Overton Golf Course was dismissed, as were charges of criminal mischief in the Overton burglaries.

"I'm very sorry for my actions," Marshall told the court. He said he has changed his life since being imprisoned.

He is the third person who has been sentenced for the co-op burglaries in Overton.

His cousin, Richard K. Marshall, 21, of Elm Creek was sentenced Sept. 12 to concurrent terms of three to five years. On June 2, Logan Dowhy, 18, of Kearney was placed on probation for five years. Peter A. Bakas, 19, of Kearney is to be sentenced Monday.

Dowhy and Bakas were charged with aiding and abetting the burglaries. They did not enter the co-op offices, but waited in a car driven by Dowhy while Doug and Richard Marshall broke into the All Points and Agri Co-op offices.

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OMAHA -- A typical guest.

Thats how Yvonne Villalpando remembers Anthony Garcia when he checked into the West Des Moines Motel 6 on Mothers Day 2013.

Garcia arrived hungry that evening and asked Villalpando for the best taco spot.

He didnt have cuts on his hands. He wasnt bleeding. Not sweaty or nervous.

A normal guy, defense attorney Robert Motta Jr. argued, not someone who could have killed two people hours earlier, as prosecutors allege.

But even Villalpandos testimony on the 14th day of the quadruple-murder trial fits with the states theory  that Garcias check-in time meant that he had plenty of time to drive the two hours from Omaha to the motel just off Interstate 80.

Villalpando first thought she gave Garcia his room key about 5:30 p.m. May 12, 2013  two hours after her shift started.

But records show it was actually at 6:58 p.m.

Garcia received a call at 5:18 p.m. that pinged off a cell tower near Atlantic, Iowa, Omaha police Detective Derek Mois had testified last week.

Prosecutors believe Roger and Mary Brumback were killed at their west Omaha home in the late afternoon, then Garcia headed back to his home in Terre Haute, Indiana, staying the night in West Des Moines.

About 30 minutes after Garcia checked in, he emerged with a small woman with short hair and a tattoo, Villalpando testified.

The couple left the lobby and returned about an hour later.

I have to acknowledge everyone that passes through, Villalpando said. Thats our rules.

She figured that the woman, who wasnt with Garcia at check-in, was hiding at first so that Garcia could pay for one person instead of two.

Villalpandos testimony capped a short lineup for the defenses third day of testimony.

The jury could begin deliberating as early as Tuesday.

But first, they had to sit through  for the second time  an exhaustive and complicated explanation of Garcias phone and Apple iCloud records.

Officer Nick Herfordt had already testified for the state, explaining that he found Whitepages.com searches for Roger A. Brumback in the web history of Garcias iPhone that police recovered from his sport utility vehicle after his arrest July 15, 2013.

But Giovanni Masucci, a digital forensic scientist who analyzed Herfordts reports on the devices and not the data itself, testified Friday that he found red flags in Herfordts procedures:

 Proper protocol is to videotape or take photos as a forensic examiner extracts the data, Masucci said. That was not done.

Its kind of vague, actually, his process and what hes done, Masucci said.

 Herfordt used his wiped and formatted iPhone 3G to download Garcias iCloud data. But the clean phone still held Herfordts SIM card, Masucci said, which contains text messages, phone numbers and carrier information. That could lead to contaminated data, he said.

 Garcias phone contains web searches and Wi-Fi connections on July 27, 2013  nearly two weeks after Garcia was arrested.

What that tells me is somebody touched the phone after the fact and nobody put that in the call logs, Masucci said.

Yet during cross-examination, Masucci acknowledged that he didnt have the evidence property logs or chain of custody forms in the reports he reviewed.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine argued that the defense didnt give Masucci all of the sufficient information in order to make a complete conclusion.

During Masuccis testimony, defense attorneys had searched for Brumback in Herfordts summarized report of the data entries. Nothing showed up.

But prosecutors downloaded the raw data and also searched for Brumback, and a Whitepages entry appeared.

You didnt decide to look at the raw data? Kleine asked.

I didnt have access, Masucci said.

You didnt ask to see it, either? Kleine pushed.

I was tasked to look at what I was hired to look at, Masucci said.

The defense hoped that two other witnesses would help bolster their idea that the Brumbacks were killed at night or the following day, meaning Garcia couldnt have committed the act. A husband and wife who live near the Brumback home said they didnt hear gunshots on May 12, 2013, between 3 and 5 p.m.

They also testified that their televisions volume was turned on high for the husbands mother, who also had a loud oxygen machine.

The attorney acrimony that has been a staple of the Garcia trial added another page Friday.

After jurors were dismissed, prosecutors noted that a police report entered during their questioning of a defense expert contained a list of evidence that Judge Gary Randall had not allowed: namely, items from Garcias SUV when he was arrested.

Those items: his phone, which the expert was testifying about; a .45-caliber gun; a crowbar; a sledgehammer; a stethoscope; and a Louisiana State University lab coat. (FBI agents have testified that they feared Garcia was going to harm someone else at LSU on the day they pulled him over in southern Illinois.)

The defense hadnt objected to that police report when it was entered. And at the bench, defense attorney Jeremy Jorgenson argued it was just a demonstrative exhibit, not admissible as evidence. Randall informed him that wasnt the case.

Motta accused prosecutors of lying and being sleazy in getting the list admitted into evidence.

Motta called Kleine a jackass.

Hot, Kleine stepped toward Motta. The two argued.

Kleine then turned to the judge and told him to take the report out of evidence.

Kleine said he was afraid that if the judge didnt, Garcia will be able to claim he has incompetent counsel.

Now that was excessively mean, Randall said.

And him calling Don a jackass isnt? Beadle chimed in.

Motta: He called me a jackass first.

Kleine and Beadle called on Randall to reprimand Motta. The judge had ordered Motta to sit down three times and threatened to hold him in contempt on Thursday.

They have lied to the court, they have lied to us, Kleine fired at the defense.

Well, we think youre liars, too, Motta casually replied.

As the two sides continued to squabble, Randall dismissed them.

Take it out of my courtroom if youre going to do this, he said.
Legislature candidate Robert Lammers is quoted in a recent Hub article, The city of Kearney has some of the lowest city property taxes in the state of Nebraska, and Ive been on the City Council for 10 years and Ive never raised the levy. We actually have a lower levy than 10 years ago.

Presumably, Lammers is implying that he is an implacable foe of increasing taxes. In fact, while it is true that Kearneys property tax levy is (very) slightly less than that of a decade ago, what is left unsaid is that property taxes generally have increased quite strikingly  in some cases (like on my house) by more than 33 percent. Note also that property valuations have risen by nearly the same amount over that span of time.

How can this be, you ask? Good question. Its the old Property Valuation/Mill Levy shell game at which modern politicians (and other officials) are so adept. Basically, what happens is the city sets a budget, as does the county and other governmental subdivisions who feed at the property tax trough. These are all combined, and the county assessor then (by law) figures out how to come up with the required sum. This is done by assessing a certain amount per $1,000 of a propertys assessed value  a mill levy. If ML mill levy and AV assessed value, and TRT total required taxes then: ML X AV/1000 TRT.

You dont have to be a math major to understand instantly what is going on. Its easy to keep the mill levy constant (or lower it slightly). Just raise the property valuation to whatever amount is required to reach the desired total. Put in mathematical parlance, just raise AV to the necessary level, while ML magically remains constant, thus allowing the pols to claim Weve never raised the levy.

Notice that Lammers did not say Ive never raised taxes ... because that would be demonstrably untrue. This is what passes for good governance, especially at local levels.

So I suggest that if Lammers is trumpeting Kearneys same or lower than 10 years ago levy as evidence of his two-fisted tax-cutting prowess, then he is either being disingenuous or is purposely misleading voters.

Ed Stevens, Kearney
The "Jungle" migrant camp on France's northern coast will be cleared of its residents on Monday before being demolished, authorities said Friday.

The local administration "made a legal order Friday that is to take effect on Monday", it said in a statement announcing the long-awaited operation.

Migrants at the camp in the ferry port of Calais will board buses at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) to take them to nearly 300 temporary accommodation centres dotted round France.

The demolition of the sprawling makeshift camp closes a difficult chapter in Europe's migrant crisis.

The camp has strained relations between France and Britain, the country most of its residents are trying to reach.

The process of clearing the Jungle officially begins on Sunday when officials and charity workers will pass through the settlement of shacks and tents to inform residents that they will have to leave.

The order from the local authorities informing residents that the camp is about to close was displayed from Friday in several languages.

"The aim is to give everyone a roof over their heads and we will do everything we can to make that happen," one official said.

The current Jungle camp dates from April 2015 and housed more than 10,000 migrants at its peak, although that number has dwindled to around 5,000 in its final days.

Migrants were attracted to Calais because it is a key departure point for Britain, where some have family links and many believe they have a better chance of finding work.

Their persistent efforts to climb on to trucks heading across the Channel aboard ferries or trains have led the authorities to build a wall to keep them off the main road leading to the ferry port.

The Jungle residents are mainly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea.

For many, the camp embodies the failure of European governments to deal with the influx of migrants.

Calais residents and businesses have called for months for the camp to be razed.

But the fate of around 1,000 unaccompanied minors has delayed the camp's closure.

British authorities are allowing those with family links in Britain to settle there, but just 52 had been transferred across the Channel by Thursday.

More than 300 have been interviewed by British officials.

Authorities said the minors will not be bussed away from the camp but remain there in more permanent accommodation while their cases are considered.

But even when the Jungle is cleared away, some wonder whether another camp will simply spring up elsewhere.

Alain Juppe, the frontrunner to win the right-wing nomination in next year's French presidential election, called Friday for the scrapping of the agreement between Britain and France that allowed the camp to exist.

Complaining that the Jungle gave a "disastrous" image of France, Juppe called for the Le Touquet accord -- which extends Britain's border to Calais -- to be torn up.

"We cannot accept making the determination on French territory of which people Britain does or doesn't want. It's up to Britain to do that job," he said in an interview with several European newspapers.

In the camp this week, the remaining residents appeared resigned to their fate.

Mewagul Daulatzai, 22, from Afghanistan, who had just five cans of mango juice left for sale in his small wooden shop, told AFP on Thursday he would be happy to leave.

"Before I liked the Jungle. I had my friends and we were working here. But now it is too dangerous here so I am glad it's over," he said, sitting in a canteen that was still dishing up steaming plates of Indian-style pilau rice, chicken, vegetables and naan bread.

A legal advisor for the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Lucie Lecarpentier, said the camp was "really tense" but her team had urged residents not to panic.

"We tell them not to run away and to stay calm," she told AFP.

"I think some are so determined to go to the UK they will stick around here."

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Canada blasted the European Union as incapable of signing international agreements, as talks to persuade the Belgian region of Wallonia to sign up to a huge trade deal broke down Friday.

Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian trade minister, appeared on the verge of tears after walking out of negotiations with the head of the French-speaking Belgian region on a deal that has been seven years in the making.

Her comments fed into warnings by EU leaders that amid rising anti-globalisation sentiment the 28-nation bloc may never be able to land any other deals including one with the United States.

"It seems obvious to me, to Canada, that the European Union is incapable now of having an international agreement, even with a country with such European values as Canada, and even with a country as kind and patient as Canada," Freeland said.

Stopping several times to compose herself after walking out of the negotiations in Namur, the capital of French-speaking Wallonia, Freeland added: "Canada is disappointed, me personally I'm very disappointed."

"I worked very, very hard, but I think it's impossible. We have decided to return home and I am very, very sad. It's really emotional for me. The only good thing for me is that tomorrow morning I will be with my three children," she added.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had planned to travel to Brussels next week to sign the deal but that visit looks almost certain to be called off.

Wallonia's socialist government chief Paul Magnette later told AFP the region needed more time but that there was still scope for an agreement.

"Democracy takes a little time, Magnette said. "I wasn't asking for months, but you can't carry out a parliamentary process in two days."

The Walloon parliament earlier this week refused to let the federal Belgian government approve the deal between Canada and the European Union, which needs to be backed by all 28 EU member states.

"I have the impression that the Walloon government has radicalised its position," said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel who firmly backs the deal.

EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said she was still hopeful a deal could be reached.

"We have engaged wholeheartedly with Wallonia the last days. Truly sad talks have been halted. Still hope to find solution in order to sign CETA," the Swede said on Twitter.

A source at the European Commission told AFP the "Commission doesn't consider that this is the end of the process."

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada is opposed by anti-globalisation groups who say it is a test model to push through an even more controversial EU-US trade deal called TTIP, talks on which have also stalled.

There have been protests against both deals in several cities.

Magnette on Friday pointed in particular to a highly controversial investment protection scheme buried in the deal that has drawn the fury of activists, and which is also involved in TTIP.

The Walloon crisis has huge potential effects for the EU, with the bloc's president Donald Tusk warning on Thursday that it may never be able to make any other deals if it fails with Canada.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a closing summit press conference earlier that he still hoped a deal would be finalised in a few days.

But In a sarcastic tone, Juncker said he is "astonished" that an EU-Vietnam trade deal met no opposition and "yet when we try to reach an agreement with Canada, the dictatorship of dictatorships, people say 'oh no, we're worried about human rights'."

CETA would link the EU market of 500 million people with the world's 10th biggest economy.

Wallonia enjoyed support from activist groups like Greenpeace which charged that the deal risked satisfying "corporate greed" and trampling on people's rights and health standards on both sides of the Atlantic.

The investor scheme that they loathe is supposed to protect investors who fear that local laws an violate a trade deal and threaten their investments. Opponents instead say it allows commercial interests to force governments to change laws.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday dismissed warnings that the EU-Canada deal raised serious questions about whether London could strike a similar agreement after Brexit.

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President of Nigeria Guild of Cinematographers, Prince Afam Chiazor dies just a day to his birthday

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie put their Chateau Miraval estate and its prized vineyards up for sale

The Nigerian movie industry woke to the sad news that the President of Nigeria Guild of Cinematographers, Prince Afam Chiazor who is supposed to be celebrating his birthday today, died last night.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are putting their Chateau Miraval estate in France & its prized vineyards believed to blossom with rich rose wine juice up for sale. The 1,200-acre property was purchased by the now estranged couple for an estimated sum of $60 million back in 2012.

The chateau which they had previously leased, starting in 2008, is surrounded by forests, olive groves and a lake and had served as the venue for their 2014 wedding and also gave them a hideaway from the cameras and children when needed.

According to reports, the exquisite estate has been valued and is going on the market any day now.

Meanwhile, the duo has agreed rid themselves of all jointly-owned property as part of their divorce settlement, reports say. The pair and their lawyers are working behind closed doors to come up with an agreement with regards to a financial settlement and the custody of their six children  Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.

Church can bail Nigeria out of recession  Bakare

Pastor Tunde Bakare, said the current economic recession was an opportunity for the Church to bail out the country through God-inspired economic principles

Bakare, a Senior Pastor, Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, stated this on Saturday in Abuja.

He spoke on the theme:  The Church and Economic Recession ,  at the 14th anniversary celebration of Foursquare Gospel Church.

He said that the church had the ability to bail out nations, influence public policy through God-inspired economic principles and strategically position human resources to implement its principles.

Bakare, however, said that the church was yet to rise to the height mandated to it by destiny to bail out nations and to lead them to Gods will.

 I am convinced that the recession currently being experienced in Nigeria is an opportunity for the Church.

Therefore, I declare to you that the Scripture is about to be fulfilled in your hearing as God is stirring up the church to take responsibility for the destiny of Nigeria.

 That is why we are gathered here today to talk about the church and economic recession.

 If the church is also reeling from the impact of the recession, we must admit to ourselves that this is against the Scriptural pattern.

 It is the best of times to take the tenets of the faith beyond the four walls of the church building to the marketplace and the policy roundtable,  Bakare said.

He said that the nations economic recession was largely self-inflicted which could have been avoided, saying unfortunately for Nigeria, our biggest boom experience fell into the hands of an unprepared leadership.



Shiite members stage protest in Kano and Kaduna, demand release of their leader, Sheik El-Zakzaky

Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria IMN otherwise known as Shiittes, today staged a protest in some parts of Kano and Kaduna to demand the release of their leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky who has been in detention since December last year following the clash they had with the Nigerian Army.



How to check ATM frauds, ex-VC advises CBN



Prof. Charles Ayo, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota in Ogun, has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to use fingerprint scanner to check Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) frauds.

Ayo gave the advice at the seventh inaugural lecture organised by the institution to mark its 14th Founders Day on Saturday in Ota.

The lecture is entitled: Deconstructing the National Development Agenda; The Role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).

The former vice-chancellor said that the policy do not require any special design as the current system could accommodate the proposed features at minimal cost.

The fingerprint authentication will be a cheaper alternative than to relocate all ATMs to safer premises.

The introduction of fingerprint scanner will further boost the apex banks policy in addressing frauds in the country, he said.

Ayo attributed frauds and other related social vices like cultism, insurgency and militancy to negligence and under funding of the nations educational system.

The former vice-chancellor said that no nation could develop in an atmosphere devoid of peace, probity, accountability, transparency and adherence to the rule of law.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to invest massively in the education and deployment of ICTs in all operations and services as antidote to poverty, ignorance, and to unlock national development.

In his remarks, Dr David Oyedepo, the chancellor of the institution, said that universities in Nigeria and others African countries should respond to issues and problems facing them through huge investment in education.

We are facing challenges paying for printers for Visa stickers, passport booklets  FG



The Federal government said this in this statement released by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



President Buhari is no hater of women  Kemi Adeosun says


Cyber attacks targeting the internet infrastructure provider Dyn disrupted service on major sites such as Twitter and Spotify on Friday, mainly affecting users on the U.S. East Coast.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible. Officials told Reuters that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were both investigating.

The disruptions come at a time of unprecedented fears about the cyber threat in the United States, where hackers have breached political organizations and election agencies.

Homeland Security last week issued a warning about a powerful new approach for blocking access to websites - hackers infecting routers, printers, smart TVs and other connected devices with malware that turns them into "bot" armies that overwhelm website servers in distributed denial of service attacks.

Dyn said it had resolved one attack, which disrupted operations for about two hours, but disclosed a second attack a few hours later that was causing further disruptions.

In addition to the social network Twitter and music-streamer Spotify, the discussion site Reddit, hospitality booking service Airbnb and The Verge news site were among companies whose services were disrupted on Friday.

Amazon.com Inc's web services division, one of the world's biggest cloud computing companies, also reported a related outage, which it said was resolved early Friday afternoon.

Dyn is a Manchester, New Hampshire-based provider of services for managing domain name servers (DNS), which act as switchboards connecting internet traffic. Requests to access sites are transmitted through DNS servers that direct them to computers that host websites.

Its customers include some of the world's biggest corporations and Internet firms, such as Pfizer, Visa, Netflix and Twitter, SoundCloud and BT.

Dyn said it was still trying to determine how the attack led to the outage but that its first priority was restoring service.

Attacking a large DNS provider can create massive disruptions because such firms are responsible for forwarding large volumes of internet traffic.

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Independent physicians are at the beginning of a challenging movement as we fight to stay relevant and solvent during the transition of health care from independence to regulation without representation. In 1773, British Parliament passed the Tea Act with the objective to help the struggling British East India Company survive. Opposition to the Act resulted in the return of delivered tea back to Britain. Boston left the ships carrying tea in port and on December 16, 1773, colonists in disguise swarmed aboard three tea-laden ships and dumped their cargo into the harbor. The seeds were planted for the Revolutionary War.

Physicians in private practice are facing a war of our own, and make no mistake: We are battling for our freedom and our livelihoods. Insurance companies and government control of health care have become regulation without representation. Lofty guidelines are being imposed, while administrators, insurance executives, and policy consultants are wedged firmly between doctors and patients. Ironically, when it comes to taking responsibility for a life, the physician is standing there all alone. How dare we ask a fee-for-the-service we have rendered? That would be fiscally wasteful according to health policy pundits who know nothing of service-oriented occupations. This is my call to action.

Where is all the money going? CEOs of health care insurance companies are making millions. High-level CMS employees undoubtedly have higher incomes than primary care physicians. Where is the outcry from the media and public? The media, with reason, jumped all over Mylan when they started charging $600 for an EpiPen two-pack, but at least it is a tangible product. These high paid middlemen are sucking the life out of patients and physicians without any demonstrable need or benefit. Insurance CEOs can make over $100 million per year, which amounts to approximately $280,000 a day. How many EpiPens could be purchased with this staggering amount?

The majority of physicians are beholden to third party payers, who decide what our work is worth, like modern day indentured servitude. Instead of having conversations with patients, our time is spent buried in absurd paperwork, endless forms, and questionnaires to accommodate federal requirements instituted by elected officials while industry insiders are controlling the puppet strings. Physician lobbying groups keep telling us to roll over and play dead because they are profiting regardless.

While they may not be drinking tea, the business of health care is certainly having a party at the expense of physicians, patients, and taxpayers. It is time the party comes to an end. Physicians are being held accountable for outcomes yet have no influence on how we care for our patients in our own offices. Medicare beneficiaries are forbidden from entering private contracts with their long-term physicians (DPC); the only way out is physicians must say no to Medicare and some private insurances.

Last year, a large insurance company and I did not quite see eye to eye. Family X already had two children for whom I provided medical care. Their newborn was assigned to an adult nephrologist two counties away by mistake (I hope), so it seemed reasonable to provide necessary primary care for their third child. This infant had a respiratory arrest at her two-week appointment. I resuscitated the baby, and paramedics transported the infant to the childrens hospital for PICU care. Imagine my surprise two months later when a take-back was initiated on the payment for this patient encounter after initially being compensated. Dr. W in the appeal resolutions department told me to lose his phone number; he thought a few hundred dollars was too costly for just saving a human life. Believe it or not, Dr. W was a pediatrician in private practice before if you cant beat them, join them took hold.

Ultimately, I had no choice but to bill the family for provided services (at a considerable discount) as cash pay and they obliged. A threatening letter arrived a few days later from Mr. CEO that balance billing was illegal and there would be serious consequences if I insisted on any monetary payment for my work. This by definition is worse than indentured servitude. Balance billing is charging a patient the difference between what health insurance reimburses and the provider charged. The fact I was not paid by his company nullifies his entire accusation.

I fired off a response humbly suggesting he focus more on placating his stockholders, while leaving the work of saving lives to me. Our practice cut ties with this company, notified patients it was no longer accepted in our practice, and most families changed their insurance plans. You would think my David and Goliath-esque tale ends here; however, our local federally subsidized Community Health Center is the only place accepting this exchange plan (for reasons that should be obvious at this point.) There is no pediatrician available. The tables suddenly turned.

Local insurance representatives inquired why patients were being turned away. Never having signed a contract, I made it abundantly clear they had no control over anything. If I did not receive back pay, there would be no further deliberations. Suddenly, take-backs were being halted and back payments were being reversed from over a year before. When a high-level executive called to ask if I would reconsider accepting their patients, it dawned on me that physicians may hold more cards than we realize.

Health policy experts and insurance executives are not physicians, and they require our expertise; they have not foreseen the complications that will arise when supply does not meet demand. Physicians are fed up with data collection requirements, cumbersome electronic record systems, and outcome measures that mean next to nothing. The time has come to throw proverbial tea chests into the Harbor and refuse to comply with the regulations being enforced up on us. No regulation without representation should be our battle cry. My practice is terminating another insurance contract this week. If we make smart business decisions, refuse to follow the rules while managing to survive long enough, we can win this war. Patients deserve better. Physicians deserve better.

Acquiescent physicians have already been driven out of independence. Those of us who remain are smart, resilient, capable, and now we must be resolute in our refusal to comply. We know how to provide extraordinary care, which is why our doors are still open. My office is overwhelmed by patients clamoring for a living, breathing physician who listens, makes eye contact, and is not attached to a computer. We must never give up, we must continue to argue, irritate, and aggravate health care bureaucrats at every turn, like those brave individuals who boldly tossed tea into the Boston Harbor many years ago. Defiance will inspire progress. Do not surrender at any cost.

Niran S. Al-Agba is a pediatrician who blogs at MommyDoc.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Police are searching for a man at large in relation to a localized auto theft ring.

Laredo Police, along with their SWAT Division, executed a search warrant in a house near the intersection of Gonzalez and Camp on Friday morning.

This is a house next to the riverbanks - just north of downtown Laredo.

We are told no arrests were made, but they were searching for evidence.

Police say they have recovered three trucks - Ford F-250s. One of them was already across the border in Nuevo Laredo.

Police have arrested Luis Ricardo Rodriguez the other man, Daniel Jesus Cardiel remains at large.

If you have any information, you are asked to report it to police at 795-2800.
Though separated by the passage of half a century, the events of October 1966 and beyond live fresh in the memory of those of us who were involved in this period of great upheaval in Irish agriculture, writes wonderful octogenarian, Mrs Ann Gibbons.

My late husband, Michael Gibbons, Kilkenny, was one of the NFAs delegation of nine men who, having failed, on October 19th, 1966, in their bid to meet with Agriculture Minister, Charles Haughey, fatefully chose to sit and protest on the steps of the Department of Agriculture in Dublin.

That street protest continued unbroken for 21 days and 21 cold nights, into early November.

During this time, Haughey left Agriculture, and was replaced by Neil Blaney. The deadlock was eventually broken and the nine men entered the Department of Agriculture to finally meet the minister.

The wives of eight of the protestors came forward to occupy their places on the picket during the meeting, and I was among that group.

When we headed for home afterwards, we thought the worst was surely now behind us. This was not to be the case. Tensions between the NFA and government over the issue of rates continued to escalate into early 1967, with new Taoiseach Jack Lynch striking a tough line, including his quite extraordinary threat to have the NFA declared an illegal organisation.

Up to 200 gardai

My family were awoken before 6am on April 24th to the surreal sights and sounds of up to 200 Gardai, backed up by troops, swarming all over our front lawn, and around the back of the house and into the farmyard.

This dawn raid was a frightening ordeal, especially for our children, the youngest of whom was only three.

My husband was asked by the Gardai if he would pay his rates. When he again refused, they seized our tractor, horse box, radio set, lawn mower, clothes drier and a storage heater.

A police cordon was set up around our farm for the duration of this raid, and our phone was cut off.

Many other farmers found themselves in jail during this tumultuous period.

The steel of the IFAs future successes as one of Irelands most powerful organisations was forged in the cauldron of the conflict that flared.

As well as the early morning raid by Army and Gardai at Gibbons home at Bonnetsrath on the Glendine Road just outside Kilkenny, nine other properties were seized.

l Jim Mullins, Duninga, Goresbridge

l Tom Comerford Pidgeon Park, Danesfort

l Michael Dillon, Tullaroan

l Patrick Purcell, Kilmanagh

l William Brennan, Kilmanagh

l Edward OBrien, Windgap

l Charles Cummins, Stoneyford
(Adds announcement due Monday in last paragraph)

By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Corina Pons

LONDON/CARACAS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Venezuelan state oil producer PDVSA wants investors to tender an extra $600 million in a bond swap, preferably from the issue maturing in November 2017, to reach required levels of participation, a source close to the deal said on Friday. "PDVSA is basically signalling they are very close. They need an extra $600 million to be tendered for the swap to go positive," the source said.

PDVSA earlier this week extended a deadline for its $5.3 billion debt swap offer to Friday and warned that if the operation failed the cash-strapped company might struggle to pay its debt. The swap offer was designed to ease operations as the company struggles under low oil prices, slumping production and a cash flow deficit that has left it unable to pay contractors on time.

But low participation led PDVSA to sweeten the exchange's terms, extend deadlines and, on Monday night, warn it "could be difficult" to pay bondholders if the operation flops.

The swap allows investors to exchange bonds maturing in 2017 for a new bond maturing in 2020.

The $600 million amount said to be needed would appear to suggest the company has reached about a 41.5 percent participation rate, as the company has set a participation target of 50 percent of all outstanding bonds worth some $7.1 billion.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Holders of the November 2017 bond have been more reluctant to enter the swap because of less favorable terms, traders say.

The new 2020 bond carries an 8.5 percent coupon, just like the November 2017 bond. In contrast, the bond maturing in April 2017 has a coupon of 5.25 percent.

There were also some market worries over the electoral authority's suspension of the next phase of a recall referendum against unpopular President Nicolas Maduro, which sparked an outcry from the opposition who accused the Socialist government of dictatorial tactics. "The delay of a political transition would represent the worst-case scenario for bondholders as this shifts the range lower for recovery value," said Siobhan Morden with Nomura Securities International.

The swap deadline is Friday at 5 p.m. local (2100 GMT).

PDVSA will make an announcement on the swap operation on Monday, a source close to the operation told Reuters on Friday night.

(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Alexandra Ulmer and Corina Pons in Caracas; Editing by Leslie Adler)
The Bainbridge park district is trying a high-tech solution to the age-old problem of finding injured hikers: rescue locators across its growing network of interconnected trails.

For those who suspect they have fallen victim to a group of South Kitsap burglars who were caught in the act early Monday, the Kitsap County Sheriffs Office released information on getting property returned.

Bremertons use of blue in parking enforcement signs downtown violates state law, a judge rules.

Kitsap A&E blog Garrison Keillor sets an Admiral Theatre date Tickets are on sale at the Admiral Theatre for an April 15 appearance by writer-humorist-storyteller Garrison Keillor, of A Prairie Home Companion fame.

Bainbridge City Council considers boosting car tab fee The Bainbridge Island City Council is considering doubling the car tab fee to $40 from the current $20.

Vets can find needed legal aid The Northwest Justice Project's Veterans Project provides civil legal services for those who cannot afford to hire a private attorney.

Jury convicts man in fatal shooting at Seattle university The King County jury found Aaron Ybarra guilty of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and one account assault for the attack at Seattle Pacific University.
SHARE LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus addresses civic leaders and military personal at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton on Friday. LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, center, laughs with U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer at the Kitsap Conference Center on Friday. Kilmer was given a special award from Mabus. On the right is Rear Admiral Gary Mayes, Commander of Navy Region Northwest. LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, right, walks with Rear Admiral Gary Mayes, left, Commander of Navy Region Northwest after speaking at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton on Friday. LARRY STEAGALL | KITSAP SUN Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, left, is greeted by Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent before his speech at the Kitsap Conference Center on Friday. In the center is U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer.

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  Getting a good deal on a submarine isn't altogether different from a frequent user program at the local coffee or sandwich shop.

So argued Ray Mabus, America's longest serving secretary of the Navy since World War I, in describing efforts to restore a depleted Navy fleet that includes purchasing $18 billion in new Virginia class submarines.

Buy nine, get the 10th free.

"It's like having one of those little punch cards," Mabus said to laughter Friday at the Kitsap Conference Center.

Mabus, on a self-described farewell tour as President Barack Obama's second term comes to an end, came to Bremerton likely for his last time Friday to praise its sailors and marine corps and the community that he sees as steadfast in its support of them.

"This is a community that gets it," he told a gathering of mostly top Navy brass and local government and civic leaders.

In office since May 2009, on Friday Mabus touted a tenure of cultural shifts, such as women joining the submariner ranks and environmental reforms toward cleaner energy used by some vessels. He told those gathered he inherited a Navy deplete of vessels and set out to change that, bringing 86 ships under contract on his watch. He believes that the 278 the Navy had in May will grow to more than 300 by 2021.

He sees an increasing workload for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, as naval vessels stand watch in conflicts from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf.

"The outlook is very bright for the shipyard," Mabus said. "They do great work."

He lamented the use of sequestration and continuing resolutions in Washington, D.C., rather than the government passing budgets to provide stable funding. Such maneuvers created hiring freezes and precarious times, leading to backlogs at places like the shipyard.

"We've stressed them," he said.

A constantly changing world will bring new challenges to his successor, who will be appointed by the next president, he said. Even as Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, has been making plans this week to move away from its partnership with the U.S. and align more closely to China, Mabus expressed the need for patience. "So far, what he has said has not been matched by his actions," Mabus said.

Mabus proudly talked up changes to Navy life that he felt made the service more attractive in his time as secretary: expanded maternity leave, bolstered day care hours and revamped fitness testing.

An overhaul of the Navy's rating system has also begun under his watch, drawing the ire of sailors who argued against a break in tradition. He said he fielded many questions on the topic in his time on the base at Bremerton.

Titles come and go, he responded. Ratings, which describe occupations and skill sets, were due to be simplified, he said. He cited aircraft mechanics, a position with six different ratings, that he believes was holding down some sailors from promoting because the ranks are "clogged." He hoped the changes would also make it easier for the Navy to link certain ratings to careers, like those in aviation, upon discharge.

"This will give them more flexibility," he said.

During his tenure he named vessels not only after Navy and Marine legends and states and counties, but also after whom he called "human rights heroes," like Harvey Milk, Earl Warren and Cesar Chavez.

"It's important to connect every part of American society," Mabus said.

He also touted his environmental record, which including establishing the "Great Green Fleet" comprised of a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and supporting ships fueled in part by biofuel. He argued it was not only important to reduce the Navy's carbon footprint but also to ensure energy independence. Navy vessels in Singapore could rely on one of two refineries there: China's for oil or Finland's for biofuel.

"I don't want to be dependent on China for our oil," he said.

The Navy's global presence is what sets it apart within the country's military capabilities, Mabus said. He cited the rapid response of the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in August 2014 when President Obama ordered its jets to strike Islamic State militants. The next such strike option would have been weeks away. He said he often referred to the Navy and Marine Corps as America's "away team," given their reach all over the world.

Mabus, the former governor of Mississippi and the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Bill Clinton's presidency, said after his remarks Friday he was unsure of where he would end up next. But, of his current profession, he offered no regrets.

"It's the best job in the world," he said.
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By Choi Sung-jin



In order for Hyundai Merchant Marine to regain its global competitive edge, it is essential the government and shareholders make massive investments in the shipping company.



That was the conclusion of a report on the troubled shipping operator by its U.S. consultant, AT Kearney.



Accepting the advice, the government is considering injecting a large amount of funds _ 1.4 trillion won ($1.23 billion) in its shipbuilding fund and more _ into HMM and other shipping firms. It will unveil a policy package to revive the shipping industry on Oct. 31, officials said.



"To normalize the operation of Hyundai Merchant Marine and enhance the competitiveness of the shipping industry, we need to invest money in far greater sums than what is in the shipbuilding fund," an official said.



The AT Kearney consulting report, which will be completed in mid-November, reportedly focuses on the company's decline in cost competitiveness, replenishment of vessels, improvement of financial structure and changes in cargo terminal operations and the takeover of some terminals.



According to creditors and government officials, the gist of the report is about how to restore cost competitiveness. As the consulting company sees it, HMM is paying excessive charterages and container rental fees given its financial situation, and is incurring unnecessary costs because of undue price differences between its own vessels and charter ships.



AT Kearney thinks HMM needs to strengthen its competitiveness by owning more of its vessels and terminals, which requires financial support from the government and shareholders, including the state-run Korea Development Bank as its largest shareholder.



HMM should start with taking over visible and invisible assets owned by Hanjin Shipping that are on the sales block, industry watchers said.



For instance, Hanjin Shipping has recently shown an intention to sell its 54-percent stake in Total Terminals International, which its U.S. affiliate operates in the Port of Long Beach, Calif., as well as its operating rights of the shipping route to the U.S., and HMM is actively considering taking them over.



Based on the advice of AT Kearney, the government plans to turn HMM into a supersize flag carrier. "At stake is how to raise money," an official said. "The cash of 1.4 trillion won in the fund that was originally aimed at building more ships will likely fall far short of meeting the need to rebuild the shipping industry."



The government's policy package on Oct. 31 will include a bold restructuring plan of the shipping sector and raising sufficient financial resources for it, the official added.




The United States said Thursday any military attacks on South Korea will be defeated with an "effective and overwhelming" force amid ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.



In the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Washington, Defense Secretary Ash Carter reaffirmed the extended deterrence protection by the U.S. of its key Asian ally, as the North continues to ramp up its provocative acts.



The defense chief warned any attack will be crushed and the use of nuclear weapons will meet an overwhelming response.



"Extended deterrence" refers to the commitment to use nuclear weapons, if the need arises, to deter attacks on allies. The U.S. has provided extended deterrence and the "nuclear umbrella" to South Korea after withdrawing nuclear warheads from the country in the early 1990s.



It is the first time that Washington has officially included the strongest-ever terms to highlight its commitment to respond in the case of an attack by the North in the Joint Statement adopted by Carter and his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo.



A Seoul defense ministry official said the U.S. does not usually cite the names of its allies when it elaborates on its extended deterrence commitments, but South Korea is definitely one of them.



In the "two plus two" alliance talks that brought together South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defense Minister Han with their U.S. counterparts Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter a day earlier, Washington's defense chief made similar remarks stressing that there should be no mistaking the intent to guard South Korea from its northern neighbor.



What he said was interpreted as a serious warning against Pyongyang that launched two missiles, both believed to be intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), in the past week on the occasion of the allies' security and military talks being held this week.



The rare use of hawkish words by the U.S. could be seen as a response to growing calls among South Koreans that Seoul should develop its own nuclear weapons or demand the return of tactical U.S. nuclear weapons, experts said.



They also said moves by the U.S. to assuage security concerns reflect the growing realization that the world can no longer ignore the North's evolving nuclear and missile development programs. Pyongyang has conducted five nuclear tests in the past decades and launched multiple missiles to achieve its stated goal of developing a nuclear-armed, long-range missile that could reach the U.S. mainland.



Though the North has failed in seven out of its eight tests this year of its Musudan IRBMs, some experts warned these missiles could become fully operational as early as next year. A Musudan launched in June flew 400 kilometers into the East Sea, and it was hailed by the communist state as proof of its ability to hit U.S. bases across "the Pacific operation theater."



If North Korea is equipped with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, the U.S. may not provide extended deterrence to South Korea due to local opposition about huge casualties and other losses resulting from the North's retaliatory attacks on the U.S. mainland, according to observers.



In other efforts to counter the North's threats, Seoul and Washington at the latest SCM have agreed to increase naval cooperation to respond to the North's maritime provocations, as the communist country claimed the successful launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in August.



Moreover, the two close allies said they could explore options like permanently deploying U.S. "strategic assets" to South Korea, such as the B-2 stealth and B-52 bombers and nuclear attack submarines, which would serve as a strong warning against the rogue regime.



Permanently deploying U.S. strategic assets on a rotational basis means keeping at least one such asset either in, over or near South Korea at any given time. Such deployment would not only reassure South Koreans of the U.S. defense commitment, but send an unequivocal signal to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



The U.S. has temporarily sent such strategic assets to the South as a show of force in the wake of the North's multiple missile launches and two nuclear tests in January and September, but South Koreans have been urging more powerful countermeasures in the face of unprecedented threats from the North.



Besides such measures, top policymakers agreed at the latest talks to speed up the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. Originally the two countries agreed to have the anti-missile defense system in operation by late 2017.



The two Koreas are technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not in a peace treaty. North Korea has been hit by five sets of U.N. sanctions since it first detonated a nuclear device in 2006. (Yonhap)




North Korea's "byeongjin" policy of simultaneously pursuing nuclear and economic development appears to be working despite a string of sanctions on the communist regime, a Russian expert claimed Thursday.



"Despite a decade of sanctions and related international steps, North Korea has succeeded in acquiring a significant new nuclear potential while still achieving modest economic growth," Georgy Toloraya, director of Korean Programs at the Institute of Economy at the Russian Academy of Science, said in an article in 38 North.



The North's per capita gross national product is estimated to be over US$1,000 for the first time since the 1980s, with the average middle-class standard of living incomparably higher than in the 1980s, and rural residents are also faring better, he said.



"What are the sources of this growth? One explanation might be that less is now spent on the conventional military sector, while nuclear development at this stage is cheaper ?- it may only cost 2 to 3 percent of GNP, according to some estimates," he said.



He added that the "byeongjin policy" is more "economy friendly" than the "songun" or military-first policy that Kim's father and late leader, Kim Jong-un, pursued, the expert said.



The North's exports are also growing, Toloraya said.



"After temporarily abiding by recently-imposed UN sanctions, China appears to have returned to 'business as usual' by exploiting the U.N. resolution's 'humanitarian clause,' resulting in benefits to North Korean manufacturing," he said.



He said that sanctions alone won't be enough to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem.



"A restart of the diplomatic process? ideally in a multilateral format that would enable all interested actors to benefit ? could at least bring about a freeze on further North Korean nuclear and missile development. Little hope is left for North Korean capitulation, and a new search for compromise should start? The sooner, the better," Toloraya said. (Yonhap)




The boys of BTS had bagged another win this week for their hit song 'Blood, Sweat and Tears'. On the October 21 episode of the South Korean music program Music Bank, BTS became the top contenders to win first place along with Kpop group Shinee and their comeback song '1 of 1'. It was a great episode featuring numerous artists like Sandeul, GOT7, MONSTA X, A Pink and more. However it was BTS's Blood, Sweat and Tears that took home the crown against Shinee with 10,985 points. This will be the third win for their track as it had also taken home first prize from music programs Show Champion and M Countdown.

However, it is definitely not a sad win for Shinee because as Allkpop had reported, they have already won last week's episode and in fact, the boy band had taken first prize from Music Bank a whopping 16 times! Imagine that. There definitely was no bad blood between the two and Shinee is in fact happy for the other group's victory, with Taemin going so far as to dance Jimin's dance on Blood Sweat and Tears.

This will be the fifth win for BTS in Music Bank. The whole episode was in Korean of course but according to Soompi, Jimin immediately expressed his gratitude to Bang Shi Hyuk, the people from Big Hit, all of the managers and the staff who had helped them and most importantly, the group's ARMY fans. V even gave a shout out to his granny. Sweet, isn't it?

BTS's win on this week episode Music Bank isn't actually all that surprising because they have been breaking multiple records all week including the highest charting Kpop album on Billboard, placing at no. 26 and dethroning girl group 2ne1's album Crush which placed no. 63. The boys have also dominated South Korea's neighboring countries like Thailand, Malaysia, China and Japan. Billboard even posted an article as to how BTS had broken a US Kpop chart record without any English songs.

The boys of BTS are definitely living the life. Check out their performance along with other artists on Music Bank below!

SHINEE - 1 of 1

GOT7 - Hard Carry

I.O.I. - Very, Very, Very

MONSTA X - Fighter
A radio debate has erupted in Liberias capital, Monrovia, over remarks by visiting Senegal-born US hip-hop star, Akon.

He said on Thursday that it was crazy that he did not see a single streetlight on the 50km (31-mile) road between Liberias main international airport and the city when his motorcade drove in.

Akon was in Liberia to launch his Light to Learn project that takes solar lights to schools in dire need of electricity.

On privately-owned Farbric FM caller Jusu Freeman praised the music icon for flagging up the issue.



We thank God for Akon, he said.

Charles Kennedy, another caller, speaking with some level of emotion, said Akon was God sent to unearth a situation that has been complained about for a long time with nothing done to address it.

Nebett Kortu agreed with Akon. We hope our national government will listen, he said.

But Emmanuel Payne, a diehard supporter of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and member of the governing Unity Party, appeared on the FM station to debunk the criticism, insisting that the governments efforts to provide for its people are either yielding fruit or nearing fruition.

Most people in Monrovia, if they have power at all, rely on private generators.

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Amid Indo-Pak tension, Pakistans media regulatory authority has enforced a complete ban on Indian TV and radio contents from Friday and warned that the licences of those found guilty of violating the ban will be suspended.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) decided to ban airing of Indian content from October 21, yesterday at the request of the federal government, it said.

The ban will come into effect at 3 PM on October 21, and radio and television stations which violate the ban will have their licences suspended without a prior show cause notice, PEMRA said in a statement.



The ban extends to all Indian content on cable and radio being aired in Pakistan.

The authority also decided to cancel one-sided rights given to Indian media by the government of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2006.

PEMRA has already decided to get tough with Indian contents after complaints that most of the local channels were using more than five per cent foreign contents as allowed by it.

The regulator on August 31 said that strict action would be taken against the channels airing foreign content more than the prescribed limit and traders selling illegal DTH sets.

The decision was implemented from October 16 as PEMRA launched crackdown on those channels using foreign contents illegally.

Earlier in October, PEMRA granted its chairman Absar Alam final authority to revoke or suspend licences of companies illegally using Indian content.

Tensions have ran high between India and Pakistan since the terror attack on an Indian army base in Uri on September 18.

Later, India said it carried out surgical strikes across LoC and destroyed terrorist launchpads on September 28.

Pakistan has denied any surgical strikes took place, but said two of their soldiers were killed in cross-border firing by Indian Army.

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Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has pardoned more than 1,500 prisoners as the gas-rich country celebrates 25 years of independence from the USSR.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Turkmenistans independence, 1,523 citizens are being released from prison, a local station reported.

Such amnesties are held several times a year to coincide with major public holidays in Turkmenistan, one of the worlds most tightly controlled countries.

The latest pardons were linked to upcoming celebrations on October 27 and 28 of 25 years since the Central Asian country left the Soviet Union.



The president has also asked local government officials to help those pardoned find jobs.

This is the fourth mass pardoning by the president of the isolated Central Asian country this year, according to official information.

Turkmenistans prison system is one of the most secretive in the world and international organisations are not able to gain access inside jails.

Prisoners convicted of drug offences, murder or treason are not eligible for pardons in the country, where the death penalty was outlawed in 1999.

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Miss you like hell Id never heard that expression before seeing the workshop version of this La Jolla Playhouse-commissioned play in February. Now, thanks to Google, I find its been used in several recent songs and a long-ago letter from Edna St. Vincent Millay.

In fact, the Millay quote  Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world. ... I miss you like hell  is what inspired playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes to choose it for the title of her world-premiere musical, opening Oct. 25 at the Playhouse.

I was putting together a list of what I thought Olivias favorite books might be, and that quote just jumped out at me, Hudes said. I thought: Thats how Olivia would feel about life and her mother.

Olivia (played by Krystina Alabado, seen on Broadway this year in American Psycho) is the teenage daughter of Beatriz, a free-spirited, mostly-absent mom played by two-time Tony Award winner Daphne Rubin-Vega, who starred in the workshop version.

Whats the story of Miss You Like Hell? The Playhouse calls it a soaring new musical about family, country and finding your way home. Heres the playwrights description: Its about an estranged mother and daughter who go through the full arc of a mother-daughter relationship in seven days.

Theyre on a road trip  not something you often see female characters doing, unless, as Hudes noted, theyre raped and/or about to be killed.

The American Road is basically the sole province of men who leave behind their responsibilities and head for the open road, Hudes said. I wish women were afforded the same heroic possibility of freedom and discovery, the opportunity to explore the American landscape and not end up as victims.

She gives Beatriz and Olivia a chance to do just that. Theyre not role models; theyre both flawed people, but theyre still at the center of the story. Women can be anti-heroes, too, without being devils, she said.

A number of Hudes plays were based on members of her family, but this one is not biographical, although Hudes may someday write about her own unconventional mother, a practitioner of Puerto Rican Santeria, Quaker activism and Tibetan healing.

Shes a very spiritual person, and Im very intellectual, Hudes said. The things she espouses dont come naturally to me, though they do enrich my life, and Ive added some of our spiritual sparring to the play.

In rehearsal since mid-September, the play has been going through changes, and now has several new songs and scenes. But Daphne Rubin-Vega is still there, as are three other actors from the workshop cast, and multi-award-winning director Lear deBessonet continues at the helm, with choreographer Danny Mefford  the one male on the creative team.

Miss You Like Hell began life as an adaptation of Hudes 2009 play, 26 Miles.

I wanted to do a musical version, so I went looking for a composer, someone with a wide grasp of what it means to be an American today, Hudes said. I asked friends for suggestions, and thats how I discovered Erin McKeown, and started to woo her, five years ago.

Since McKeown lives in western Massachusetts and Hudes in NYCs Washington Heights, much of their work was done over Skype. The two are co-lyricists, and maintain a very open collaboration, with book-writer Hudes, who studied music composition at Yale, sometimes contributing a musical line, and McKeown sometimes contributing to a characters speech.

A big part of the collaboration is Daphne Rubin-Vega, whose credits include Tony-winning performances in Rent and Anna in the Tropics, the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, and a leading role in Hudes recent off-Broadway play, Daphnes Dive.

Shes a very special person and performer, Hudes said. Erin comes from the rock- and-roll world, so we needed a seasoned theater professional who could do rock and roll, and when Daphnes name came up, that was it. Her voice in Erins score is just thrilling, and shes one of the top stage actresses today.

IF YOU GO: Miss You Like Hell, is on stage Oct. 25-Dec. 4 at La Jolla Playhouses Mandell Weiss Theatre. Tickets: $25 and up. (858) 550-1010, lajollaplayhouse.org
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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PRESS RELEASE

Kerry, Saudis Discuss Fixing JASTA; Saudis Try To Mobilize All Arabs against the Law

Oct. 21, 2016 (EIRNS)After a meeting at the U.S. State Department in Washington yesterday, John Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir both denounced the JASTA law (Justice Against Supporters of Terrorism Act), and told reporters that the law threatens the international law and puts the United States at risk.

The interests of the United states are at risk as a result of the law, Kerry said, adding that he and Al Jubeir discussed ways to try to fix this in a way that respects and honors the needs and rights of the victims of 9/11 while not exposing American troops, partners, and individuals to potential lawsuits. All this, Kerry couched in terms of respect for sovereign immunity.

Al Jubeir, mouthpiece for the Anglo-Saudi royals, was specific in making not-so-veiled threats of retaliation (though he didnt publicly repeat his empty threat of April to dump U.S. Treasuries).

The United States ... has the most to lose by this, because you have operations all the way from Japan to South America to the Pacific, Jubeir told reporters,

and I think that is why the vast majority of countries have come out vehemently and very strongly against this JASTA bill for its dilution of sovereign immunities. And there have been a number of countries that are looking at reciprocal measures, and if this issue takes hold, we will have chaos in the international order.

Over the last week, Saudi-backed publications have led a charge against JASTA in both Arabic and English media in the Middle East. Having failed to stop JASTA and stop the ongoing condemnation of Saudi backing of jihadi terrorism, the new Saudi battle-cry is that JASTA is against "all Arabs." Special pressure is being put on Egypt, where both President Al Sisi and Sunni clerics have resisted Saudi pressures in several areas.

A sampling of the dozens of articles: Saudi publication, Al Arabiya English today is titled, "JASTA is an insult to all Arabs," in which Egyptian academic Waheed Abdul Majid argues that it must be forbidden to allow lawsuits to proceed on evidence that plaintiffs gathered outside of the state-sponsored commissions. Majids article appeared in several Arab newspapers before coming out in English. In AlAhramOnline, the title on Oct. 20 was "JASTA: We are all compromised, states and individuals." The Saudi Gazette yesterday published, "JASTA: Seeds of Anarchy in International Relations."
PRESS RELEASE

Lavrov: Nusra Preventing Civilians from Leaving Aleppo

Oct. 21, 2016 (EIRNS)Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke for the sixtieth time this year, by phone yesterday. During the call, Lavrov told Kerry that not only civilians but also members of illegal armed formations have been given the opportunity to leave the city without hindrance but the militants are violating the ceasefire and preventing the evacuation of the population. He stressed once again that the United States should fullfil its long-standing commitment to separate the units of the "moderate" opposition from terrorist groups.

"We are concerned that despite those goodwill gestures undertaken by Moscow and Damascus in regard to the situation in Aleppo seeking to normalize it, we see that al-Nusra Front militants are refusing to leave the city,"

Lavrov said at a press conference this morning.
We may need a new definition of chutzpah.

Donald Trump targeted federal Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel in an an extended series of bigoted rants this summer, asserting that Curiel couldnt rule fairly in cases alleging fraud by Trump University because of the judges Mexican heritage. Im building a wall, Trump explained at one point to CNNs Jake Tapper.

Now that the case is heading toward trial, Trump is asking the same judge to exclude those comments from evidence in the case. In a motion filed Thursday in San Diego federal court, his attorneys maintain that his own comments are extraneous and would be irrelevant, and prejudicial. Remarkably, they say that the plaintiffs in the case, who include students claiming they were ripped off by the so-called university, will use those statements in an attempt to inflame and prejudice the jury. Judge Curiel has set a hearing on the motion for Nov. 10, two days after election day. Trial is set to begin Nov. 28.

Im building a wall.  Donald Trump explains why Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who has Mexican heritage, couldnt be fair in the Trump University case

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Trumps lawyers say that Trump has been disadvantaged by the perhaps unprecedented media coverage and public interest in his campaign. His politics, policies, opinions, and views have been reported virtually every day in every form of media over the past year. They glide over the fact that he provoked this interest himself, and commented about Judge Curiel of his own volition, typically unprompted.

Nevertheless, the lawyers ask that the judge exclude from evidence presented to the jury statements at political rallies, including statements about this case, comments about this case or the Court, and evidence about Trumps personal conduct and other business ventures.

Trumps remarks on the stump about the Indiana-born Judge Curiel caused a political uproar. He maintained that his anti-immigrant position, including his determination to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, would prejudice Curiel against him. He implied that already had happened.

Based on the rulings that I have received in the Trump University civil case, he said, I feel justified in questioning whether I am receiving a fair trial.

In fact, objective legal observers concluded that the judge had been very fair, following the law accurately. As we reported at the time, not only has Curiel adhered closely to the applicable law in every particular, but many of his rulings have been highly advantageous to Trump and the, er, university. The rundown of his charges and the trial experts conclusions can be found here.

Trumps motion to exclude his own statements came amid a flurry of similar motions Thursday. His attorneys also asked to exclude testimony and columns by my colleague David Lazarus, who reported in 2007 on his attendance at a Trump University preview. Lazarus wasnt a Trump U student and didnt pay any money, and the event he witnessed wasnt among those attended by the class plaintiffs, Trumps lawyers say. Among the evidence that the plaintiffs are seeking to exclude are student evaluations often cited by Trump, purporting to demonstrate 98% satisfaction with the Trump University program.

Neither side has yet responded to the others motions. Its unclear how the judge will rule on Trumps statements or even if the plaintiffs will object. In the past, Judge Curiel has been sensitive to the encroachment of the political circus into this case, but he also has ruled that Trumps activities have some relevance. In the meantime, observers can relish the thought that Trump has suddenly discovered that the insults he so casually bandied about on the campaign trail have the potential to cost him real money.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
Parents who dont control their noisy children top the list of most annoying violators of airline etiquette  and now there is another air carrier that is doing something about that.

IndiGo, a low-cost airline based in Haryana, India, has added quiet zones to its domestic and international flights where seats are not sold to travelers 12 years and younger in rows 1-4 and 11-14.

These zones have been created for business travelers, who prefer to use the quiet time to do their work, IndiGo spokeswoman Sakshi Batra said.

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Passengers who book seats in the quiet zone must pay an extra fee ranging from $6 to $20, depending on the flight.

The new seating option follows similar moves from Scoot, a low-cost airline from Singapore; AirAsia X, a low-cost carrier from Malaysia; and Malaysia Airlines.

Though no American-based airlines have proposed the idea, a child-free zone might have support in the U.S.

A survey of 1,001 Americans by the travel site Expedia found that 41% of those who were questioned said annoying children and their parents were the worst airplane etiquette violators.

Also, 49% of Americans surveyed said they would pay extra to be seated in a designated quiet zone, free of screaming children, the survey found.

The reaction on Indian social media seems mixed.

A woman who goes by the Twitter handle Ms Jaybe told IndiGo on Twitter: Yes, kids make noise but I shouldnt be forced to listen to it. Theyre yours.

Another traveler with the Twitter handle Raghav Nirwani told IndiGo that the quiet zone policy just confirms that @indigo6e is child unfriendly. Cant make anything else of it.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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The days when airlines lose luggage, creating travel headaches for passengers, could be numbered.

Airlines could dramatically reduce the number of bags that are mishandled if they add tiny radio frequency devices to their luggage tags.

That was the conclusion from a study offered by an airline technology company and an industry trade group. The use of radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) means luggage could be successfully tracked 99% of the time, saving the airline industry $3 billion over the next seven years, the study said.

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Most airlines currently print bar codes on luggage tags. Baggage handlers must point a bar code reader  that device that looks like a space-age laser gun  at the tags to make sure the luggage is getting on the correct plane

The advantage of an RFID is that it emits radio waves that allow a tag to be read by simply passing it near an RFID scanner. A conveyor belt fitted with RFID scanners can be programmed to stop if a bag is headed for the wrong plane.

The study by Geneva-based SITA and the International Air Transport Assn. said the use of RFID tags could reduce the rates of lost luggage by 25%. SITA estimates that the rate of lost luggage has already dropped by 60% over the past seven years.

Delta Air Lines is using the technology at 25 of its major hub airports, with plans to expand it to 84 airports by the end of the year, including at Los Angeles International. At Delta, the tiny radio frequency devices are embedded in the tags that are printed at every Delta airport check-in counter.

Delta spokeswoman Ashton Morrow said the system does not get every single bag to the right place, but its close.

It gets us from a 90% accuracy rate to a 99.9% accuracy rate, she said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
As AT&T and Time Warner Inc. came closer to announcing an $80-billion merger on Saturday, questions were already emerging over whether the union would create an entertainment colossus with too much power.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Saturday that his administration would block such a massive merger between AT&T and Time Warner Inc. if he is elected president.

The deal, which appears to be imminent, would turn telephone giant AT&T, a company already valued at $230.6 billion, into the nations largest entertainment company, surpassing Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp., which owns NBC Universal.

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Just 15 months ago, AT&T became the nations largest pay-TV operator when it acquired DirecTV. Time Warner would give it HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Hollywoods biggest television and film studio, Warner Bros.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal that AT&T has agreed to buy Time Warner for between $105 and $110 a share in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $80 billion. The boards of the two companies are meeting Saturday to approve the merger and an announcement could be made as soon as Saturday night, the Journal reported.

The sheer size of the proposed transaction has already become an issue in the presidential campaign.

At a speech in Gettysburg, Pa., outlining his priorities for his first 100 days in office, Trump warned that buying Time Warner would give AT&T too much concentration of power.

Well look at breaking this deal up, he said.

Such a big transaction would surely invite close scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, experts said, though it probably would not be rejected outright.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has not weighed in on the reports of a deal in the works, but experts said regulators would probably scrutinize the merger regardless of who is elected.

The potential for government antitrust policy to move left under a Clinton administration is a risk, said Paul Gallant, with Cowen Washington Policy Group, in a research note. Still, we think approval of a deal, should one materialize, is more likely than not.

Should AT&T pull off a deal, it would represent the biggest in the latest wave of media mergers. It would become a much larger version of the massive deal structured by Philadelphia cable giant Comcast more than six years ago to buy NBCUniversal, which gave Comcast distribution outlets and valuable media properties, including NBC, CNBC and Universal Studios. Both the FCC and the Justice Department consented to that deal with conditions.

Already this year, Charter Communications absorbed Time Warner Cable (which was separate from Time Warner), NBCUniversal bought Jeffrey Katzenbergs DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, and movie studio Lionsgate is in the process of buying the Starz premium movie channel in a deal worth $4.4 billion, including debt.

CBS Corp. separately is mulling whether to combine with Viacom Inc., which owns Paramount Pictures, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central. Both companies are controlled by Sumner Redstone and his family. Verizon invested in the youth-oriented YouTube network AwesomenessTV.

As the FCC has found in past mergers, combining valuable content with pay TV distribution causes harm to consumers and competition in the pay TV market, American Cable Assn. Chief Executive Matthew M. Polka said in a statement.

If an AT&T-Time Warner deal is forged as reported, the vertical integration of the merged company must be an issue that regulators closely examine, Polka said.

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.

meg.james@latimes.com

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about antitrust concerns over the proposed merger.

11:05 a.m. This article was updated with reports that a deal could come as early as Saturday night.

This article was originally published at 10:25 a.m.
Over the course of a half-dozen films, director Kelly Reichardt has earned a reputation as a fiendishly stubborn artist. She has shot in extreme cold and insane heat, set up camp in remote deserts and corralled nearly two-dozen horses.

And shes really tired of it.

This level of filmmaking is in many ways a young persons game, Reichardt, 52, said with a sigh over tea one recent weekday evening. While I was making this movie I thought something has to give.

The sentiment may surprise fans of Reichardt, the mistress of minimalism behind movies such as Old Joy and Meeks Cutoff and a kind of last-purist-standing of the indie film world.

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This movie is Certain Women, the directors new triptych about nominally related female characters across Montanas Big Sky terrain.

Expanding this weekend to nearly 60 screens nationally (from a total of five in Los Angeles and New York last weekend), Women continues a recent Reichardt trend. It brings together an improbably A-list cast  Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern and Michelle Williams  to do some of their most spare and rigorous work.

Shes an artist. Artists are compulsive. They cant take the easy path.  Kristen Stewart

Theres Stewart, as a lawyer-turned-teacher who enters an ambiguous relationship with a Native American rancher (Lily Gladstone). Dern plays a lawyer too, seeking damages for an impossible client in what soon ripens into a more fraught situation. And Williams is a reticent woman who must persuade an older man to sell his property.

Reichardts feature  the first of the past five on which she did not collaborate with novelist-screenwriter Jonathan Raymond  tells tales of female empowerment, Reichardt-style. Instead of shouting from the mountaintops, the director asserts her feminism more quietlyshe paints textured female characters, then strategically foregrounds them.

(After the presidential debate this week and its nasty-woman meme, a savvy marketing type took the poster for Reichardts movie and redesigned it so that it read Certain Nasty Women, adding Hillary Clintons face.)

Certain Nasty Women pic.twitter.com/vSgrcYZLMJ  Laura Dern (@LauraDern) October 21, 2016

Reichardt, who comes from Miami but seems like the last person to come from Miami, got her start 22 years ago with Rivers of Grass, a movie about a poor fugitive couple from her home state.

But it was Old Joy a decade ago that put her on the map. The films Oregon-set story, about two Gen-X pals, both flirted with and subverted the machismo themes of male road-trip cinema. She has since gone on to explore other primal connections, including woman and animal (2008s Wendy and Lucy), woman and political forces (2013s Night Moves) and woman and, well, certain women.

Reichardt practices what has historically been a male-dominated form of rugged filmmaking (think John Ford)  many of her movies center on people confronting solitude  only with more sensitivity and emotional shadings. I look at all my movies and I see theyre really all about getting from point A to point B, about someone going from stuck to unstuck, she said. I dont intend to do that, but for some reason they all do seem to be about that.

To help achieve this she uses extremely lean productions, with budgets that barely allow for two sticks to be rubbed together. I guess I could do it the easy way. It just never seems like that comes naturally to me, Reichardt said.

She could, for instance, easily have shot horse scenes in the new movie with just three or four animals and repeated them in different shots  director Todd Haynes, a close friend, watched it and thought that was actually the number she used. But Reichardt wanted the film to feel real to ranchers who might be attuned to small differences between the beasts. So she rounded up more than 20.

Stewart said Reichardts love of detail and process carries over to actors too. Kelly is the very rare director who, when she tells you to do the chore in a scene, she actually wants you to do the chore, Stewart said. Its not, Just make it look like the chore.

These activities are even harder to pull off because theyre generally taking place in sparsely populated environments that time forgot. Parts of the Certain Women shoot were so cold that Reichardt feared for her crew. Yes, they were bundled up, but when its negative six degrees and youre out there for 20 hours it doesnt matter. It was the kind of cold that could make you cry. It did make some people cry, she added, almost as an afterthought.

 Justin Chang reviews Certain Women. Directed by Kelly Reichardt. With Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, James Le Gros. Video by Jason H. Neubert.

That may be nothing compared with Meeks Cutoff, a movie about an 1845 incident in which a pioneer on the Oregon Trail led his people into danger. Shot in the Oregon High Desert, the film became almost too literal a re-creation, with temperatures soaring over 110 degrees and the nearest shelter, let alone motel, hours away. Even if Reichardt had a budget  her films are always made for less than $2 million  there would have been nowhere to spend it.

Some actors treat this experience as a welcome retreat from the usual cushiness. On Night Moves, Dakota Fanning could be seen walking over the Maine freeway to bring coupons to Taco Bell. Other actors, particularly in the blazing sun and societal remove of Meeks Cutoff, have balked, and Reichardt asked to go off the record to enumerate details of such incidents and the clashes she had with them over it.

Williams, who has made three movies with the director, said that she embraces the approach on set but has separate concerns.

The artist in me loves that Kelly goes for it in this way, Williams said. The friend in me wants to swaddle her in cotton and have people carry her across the set.

Williams felt so concerned about Reichardt that once, after the actress wrapped and moved on to a bigger-budget Hollywood set, she raided the craft-services table of her new movie, put the collected items in a package and shipped it to the remote outpost where Reichardt was still shooting.

Dressed in a sweatshirt, her reddish-cedar hair unfussily pulled back, Reichardt cuts an earthy figure. She has stayed assiduously out of the studio development game  so assiduously that she still supports herself by teaching at Bard College, which she does when not shooting, while living in a modest part of Queens, N.Y.

At the end of each semester she makes the epic drive to Portland, Oregon, where she rents a small place and communes with the likes of Haynes, screenwriting partner Raymond, Raymonds wife, the writer Emily Chenoweth, and the couples daughters, often hiking in the nearby woods. (Reichardt says she has done the drive from New York to the NW more than 20 times.)

She generally prefers solitude and cant wait to get out of film festivals, usually making a beeline to her room for what she calls the rehash  assessments of the reaction to the film  with Raymond or Haynes. She said she despised Cannes when she brought Wendy and Lucy there and often is looking for escapes even from harsher locales.

I remember in Sundance looking at a woman who was mopping a long hall and thinking I could do a good job with that, she said. And Id probably really like it too.

She paused and added, not quite jokingly, I would totally mop the hall all day if it was a choice between that and doing press.

For now, she will continue making movies. Reichardts next film is a collaboration with the Oregon writer Patrick DeWitt on his novel Undermajordomo Minor, a castle-set parable.

But is she really ready to leave the path of fiercest resistance? I really think so, she said. I dont want it to be so difficult anymore. Like I said, Im too old for this

Not everyone is convinced.

Did she say that? Stewart replied, when told of Reichardts resolution. Thats bull. I dont think shell do that. Shes an artist. Artists are compulsive. They cant take the easy path.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

On Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

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Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, The Times letters editor, and it is Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. This will all be over soon, dear readers; in the meantime, bear with me. Here goes.

Hillary Clinton showed up at the debate with Donald Trump on Wednesday  as in that Hillary Clinton, the calculating, maneuvering, ruthlessly intelligent politician so feared and caricatured by her conservative critics all these years. And she made her 2016 public debut just in time to spark one final Trumpian tantrum.

This, says Opinion contributing writer Melissa Batchelor Warnke, is the Hillary Clinton America deserves, not the smiling everywoman of the first debate or the calm, poised presence in the second. In Las Vegas on Wednesday, we saw someone who was rightfully tired of sharing debate stages with a incoherent xenophobe for nearly five hours. Batchelor Warnke writes:

And so, finally, voters got the Shade Queen that America deserves. Somehow, subtly and yet repeatedly, Clinton released her staid political professional veneer. When Clinton spoke about the sexual assault allegations against Trump, she said: Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I dont think there is a woman anywhere that doesnt know what that feels like. Cynics will say that was a political calculation to connect with undecided women, and it may well have been. But if its easy to fake compassion, its harder to fake spitting-mad, even if the words are scripted. As women, were taught that its proper to absorb slights without returning them. For many of us, anger comes out after weve burnt through everything else. Later in the debate, Trump talked over her answer on Social Security, remarking such a nasty woman. The Internet exploded. An hour later, his comment had been commercialized, in the form of T-shirts, pins, hats and coffee mugs touting the consumers nasty woman-ness. Having a man meet the force of her long-suppressed and hard-earned righteous anger with dismissive condescension? Her calculation was correct. There was not a woman anywhere who didnt know what that felt like. The night was peppered with zingers. Her response to Trumps unprecedented refusal to state that hed accept the election results? Calm, but pointed: Let me respond to that because thats horrifying. Her response to Trumps comments about Putin? Crisp, and biting: Putin would rather have a puppet as the president of the United States. ... In the first debate, Clinton proved she could be as gentle a woman as the countrys men wanted; in the second debate, shed proved she could be as measured a leader as the countrys people needed; and in the third, she proved she could be as authentically annoyed as she deserved. In three acts, Clinton demonstrated the unlearning process that guides many American womens experiences: performing for men, leading for others, living true-to-self. Weve never witnessed such a compressed, gendered metamorphosis in American political life. For many women, Clintons movement toward her own power is a historical moment. Well remember where we were when fire took our shape.  Click here to read more.

Little Trump showed up at Wednesdays debate too. He wasnt there the whole time, says The Times editorial board. For the first 20 minutes or so Trump appeared relatively calm and engaged  then, what Newt Gingrich has called the little Trump emerged with a vengeance. He called Clinton a liar, a criminal and, memorably, such a nasty woman. Says the editorial board: Trump went into the final debate a grievously wounded candidate. That is also the way he left it. L.A. Times

More from Opinion on the Trump trainwreck: Max Boot picks up disturbing echoes of Nazism from Trumps tweets. Clinton dodged a bullet on gun control in the debate. No, what Al Gore did in 2000 bears no resemblance to Trumps threat not to concede to Clinton. Trumps talk of a rigged election is dangerous demagoguery. Read these election pieces and much more at latimes.com/opinion.

Theres more on the ballot than just Clinton and Trump  a lot more. The Times editorial board researched nearly three dozen races  interviewing candidates and holding the ballot initiatives fine print under a microscope  and made recommendations for contests ranging from president down to local measures and judges. Find a complete list of endorsements here.

Even for Republican obstructionists, this is bad: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has promised that his GOP colleagues will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up. Before, Republicans had invented the rule that a sitting president in the final year of his term should refrain from filling a seat on the Supreme Court; now theyre insisting that only Republican presidents be allowed to make court appointments. Huh? L.A. Times

Assuming Clinton is allowed to appoint judges, she has plenty of work ahead as president. UC Irvine law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky points out there are three justices over the age of 78 on the Supreme Court, and who replaces them will likely make major decisions on affirmative action, abortion rights, gun control, campaign finance and separation of church and state. L.A. Times

Her mother-in-law died, and she couldnt be more annoyed. Amy Koss husband lost his mother but left much of the postmortem rummaging up to his wife. Koss, a self-described unsentimental person, wasnt moved by encountering all the old photos and personal tchotchkes she had to sort through after her mother-in-laws death. The moral of this cautionary tale is dont alienate or outlive your friends and relations, or maybe, get rid of your stuff while you still can, Koss writes. L.A. Times

The last, absurd gasp of pot prohibition in California? Someone actually wrote this in a major newspaper as an argument against Proposition 64: Its bad enough that Californians believe they can tax themselves into prosperity. A majority seems to think that a state can thrive with a burgeoning population of legally sanctioned stoners. Good luck with that. Sacramento Bee

Reach me: paul.thornton@latimes.com
For a while, says L.A. Councilman Mike Bonin, I was teetering on the edge of homelessness. There were a few nights when I slept on the beach, and more than a few nights when I slept in my car or bounced between friends couches.

I have a sense of how easy it is to go from being housed to un-housed, and a sense of how easy it is to go from sort of teetering on the edge to falling into the abyss.

Bonin says he was addicted to alcohol for many years, then crystal meth. About 22 years ago, he managed to push the poison away.

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The road to redemption, in his mind, required public service. Bonin became a council staffer and then launched his own political career almost four years ago.

In that time, convoys of people living in RVs have parked in Venice. Homeless encampments have sprawled across L.A., spawning detailed strategies from city and county officials, along with a November ballot measure to build more than $1 billion worth of housing.

Bonin has been one of the more proactive elected officials, despite political risks. As reported last week by my colleague Gale Holland, hes in the middle of raging controversy over his proposals to do something about street camps in Venice, home to about 1,000 of the citys 28,000 homeless people.

His plan: turn an abandoned senior center in the heart of Venice into a storage facility for homeless people.

The criticism: It will only attract more people, and the site is way too close to a school.

His plan: Build housing for homeless people over a city-owned parking lot a short walk from the beach.

The criticism: Beachfront living for the down and out, on prime real estate, at taxpayer expense? Why not sell the land and build where its cheaper?

Bonin gets it from homeless advocates, too. He supports a call for private security and cleanup crews to work the boardwalk and other hangouts, even though some say the aim is to bully and roust people and further gentrify the community.

Criticism of Bonins ideas is only fair, and disagreement is understandable. In Venice, residents and business owners dont want people sleeping outside their homes or storefronts, or selling and using drugs. None of us would, no matter where we live.

The question is what to do about it, and in Los Angeles, the answer for far too long has been nothing.

We talk about the problems. We assemble committees. We devise strategies.

And then we punt.

Ten years ago, I attended a dog and pony show. Public officials lined up and promised to end homelessness in 10 years. They vowed to build five regional service centers in L.A. County so places like skid row didnt bear the brunt.

Then came neighborhood opposition, and political courage died another death.

I knew this would be controversial and difficult, Bonin says of his initiatives, which wont advance without funding and city approval.

But what he fears more than controversy is complacency, more plans sitting on shelves, more opportunities missed. Right now in Venice and beyond, the opportunity is there because out of either compassion or contempt, people agree theres something shameful about having battalions of people huddled in rags, especially those who are veterans, or physically disabled, or severely mentally ill, or too destitute to afford the ever-elusive luxury of a roof.

What Bonin wants to do wont end Venices woes; hes taking short steps on a long walk. But if Measure HHH passes and theres new housing, and if the county comes through on services for those who need help, and if a successful skid row intervention program is duplicated in Venice, real change may be possible over time.

Bonin drives past the abandoned senior center that would be a storage facility, so tents and heaps of belongings come off the streets. The nearby school comes into view and Bonin recounts the concerns of parents.

I have a 2-year-old, he says. I understand.

But encampments have surrounded the school, he says, and for a while, an RV was parked on the periphery with a ridiculous painting on the side of it  two rabbits going at it.

Where are taggers when you need them?

We drive past the apartment building where Bonin lived when he walked in on an intruder and shooed him out, only to be threatened by the guy. It was a frightful experience, and neighborhood fears about crime are real to him. But he adds that not all homeless people are criminals, and not all criminals are homeless.

We drive to the parking lot  surrounded by apartment buildings  where hed like to see new housing. If not here, somewhere nearby. The city owns dozens of lots like this, Bonin says, including vacant properties all over Los Angeles. In the midst of a critical housing shortage, how can you not make use of such properties, with every neighborhood doing its part  not just Venice  to address a human catastrophe?

There are ways to do it well, Bonin says, and he drives to three locations where housing for formerly homeless people blends in with other buildings. You cant tell the difference. And despite neighbor fears, its better than the alternative  those same people living on sidewalks, in alleys and parks.

Venice, because its beaches and culture are world-famous, draws young people from everywhere. Some locals complain that those youngsters dont need or deserve taxpayer-funded services because theyre willful dropouts content to party all night, sleep on the beach and make a nuisance of themselves.

Thats no doubt true of some of them, and Venice will never cease to be a magnet for them.

But if you spend any time sitting and talking with people on the street and hearing their stories, its hard not to be haunted by the human misery people are suffering, says Bonin. Ive spoken to senior citizens who had catastrophic illness and couldnt afford to pay their expenses and wound up on the street. There are teenage runaways who suffered physical or sexual abuse. Survivors of domestic violence. Veterans. Those stories stick with me.

And then theres his own story, which tells him no one is ever permanently lost.

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez

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The cases of Pabst pile up around the dancers feet in the parking lot as Drake and Kendrick Lamar boom from the speakers. Dressed in designer bomber jackets and the latest Nikes, they crash into each other in the mosh pit, smoking joints and clutching beer cans that drip ale.

Sneakerheads in the crowd lean against the walls and snap photos of their outfits to post on Instagram. A few feet away, two men under a canopy fry fish and shrimp for tacos.

The party raging in the small square along Fairfax Avenue stands as something new for a neighborhood long known as the heart of Jewish life in Los Angeles.

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The smells of hamantaschen and challah in the bakeries no longer mingle with the sounds of Yiddish and melodies of Jewish music. Gone are the days when the avenue would shut down for high holidays.

The Jewish quarter of the past is now a haven for youth who worship the latest street fashion, line up overnight for Kanye West pop-up shops and grab a cold-brewed coffee at Cofax.

Rapid transitions of neighborhoods can be bruising. But in the Fairfax district, both the newcomers and the old guard are quick to remark about how fairly smooth the transition has been.

Here, diners throw back bone marrow and chicken liver toast at Animal in a setting that is equal parts Frank Ocean and Anthony Bourdain.

The urban vibe co-exists with the remaining Jewish shops like Canters Deli and Western Kosher. Much of the Jewish population that once called the Fairfax district home have moved on, to the east along La Brea Avenue and to the south in the Pico-Robertson district.

I met a person who stood at a skate shop for over 40 hours, said Yosef Mishulovin, a rabbi who runs the Chabad center and gift shop on Fairfax. He asked me for my WiFi code. Some people ask me for a black bag so they can cover their Supreme bag because they spent $400 and they dont want to get robbed.

A crowd of people party and dance behind Samis Makolet on Fairfax. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

Smoking a cigarette away from the dancing crowd, Ron Castro said some Fairfax locals still cast glances at the younger newcomers. The looks remind him of pockets of East Los Angeles, he said, where older Latinos wander into bars to find hipsters sitting at the counter.

Its like, Why are you kids hanging out here? said Castro, digital marketing director for the streetwear brand CLSC.

The new and old Fairfax arent at odds, Castro said. The area has been home to a Jewish community for so long that there is still a semblance of the culture. Most of the landlords in the area  including CLSCs  are Jewish, he said.

The change is part of the inevitable evolution of the Fairfax district, where the aging Jewish population has declined and a new generation of younger professionals has moved in.

The average age of residents in the Fairfax shopping district has slowly but steadily dropped and the average income has risen as newcomers in their 30s replace their older counterparts, according to census estimates. In 1980, about 37% of Fairfax district residents were 65 or over. By 2010, it had dropped to 10%, data show.

This is the Rodeo Drive of streetwear, said Moon Moranta, co-owner of the concept shop APT.4B. If youre in your 30s and under, people say, We gotta go to Fairfax.

Hundreds of Kanye West fans lined-up and camped out for more than a block in the 300 block of North Fairfax Avenue in August for a chance to buy clothing by the rapper-turned fashion mogul. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times )

Fairfax became known as a center of Jewish life in the 1940s, when Jewish families relocated to the area from an enclave in Boyle Heights. Canters opened its Fairfax Avenue branch in 1948.

At its peak in the 1950s, Jewish Fairfax teemed with activity. Residents didnt have to leave the neighborhood for the basics. Orthodox men in black yarmulkes strode the avenue on their way to nearby synagogues. Families crowded into bakeries on Friday afternoons, rushing to buy their challah bread for the Sabbath.

It was like a little shtetl, said David Kagan, owner of Western Kosher on Fairfax. There was no one-stop shop. It was an old-time feel, the way I imagine it was in Europe long ago.

Anyone who wanted Kosher food  from San Diego to Fresno  would come to Fairfax, he said.

You knew what holiday it was, Jew or gentile, by walking down the street, Kagan, 47, said.

Garett Hippienaka Kanakaole, left shares his music with Fredrick yesfreddy Wilburn outside Schwartz Bakery on Fairfax. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

That began to change in the 1990s, when the Jewish stores started moving to the neighboring areas as religious Jews relocated to Pico-Robertson and their children moved to the San Fernando Valley. The temples followed, opening along La Brea.

Its not what it used to be, said Kagan, who now lives in the Hancock Park area. I dont think Fairfax would be considered a Jewish street anymore.

The Jewish travel agent and locksmith left long ago. Kagans store survived because those who grew up on Fairfax continue to shop there.

The Pico-Robertson branch of his shop is much busier, he said, but the Fairfax feeling was never replicated in that neighborhood.

With these tattoo parlors, cafes and skate shops, its a completely different feel, Kagan said.

The thoroughfare is no stranger to an eclectic mix and can accommodate the traditional Jewish businesses that remain and the trendy arrivals, experts say.

The clear display of Jewish culture is no longer what it once was; that title has clearly been ceded to Pico-Robertson, said Lynn Kronzek, a historian who has studied the Fairfax area. But theres plenty of acknowledgement of the Jewish history there.

Although the Yiddish newspapers and myriad political organizations are gone, Fairfax offers a lot of Jewish culture, Kronzek said.

For generations, Fairfax Avenue was the heart and soul of L.A.'s Jewish community. But over the last decade, the avenue has been transformed. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

Mishulovin, the rabbi, moved to the area in the 1980s. Trendy restaurants have cropped up, he said, but the Fairfax name still draws tourists looking for a piece of Los Angeles Jewish history.

Mishulovin attributes the shift to rising commercial rents and changing demographics. As the older generation, some whom were Holocaust survivors, died, their children moved away. The result was shuttered storefronts and slow but steady business for the Chabad center.

On a recent weekday, the store was quiet, save for a few customers who popped in to browse for gifts. A married couple walked in with their baby in a stroller, exchanging pleasantries with the rabbi in Hebrew.

The woman, a vendor, unboxed wares she had brought in from Israel to sell the rabbi. As she reached for the goods -- a mezuzah, a hanukiah -- Mishulovin wrapped tefillin around her husbands wrist.

Together, they prayed.

Its visits like these that give Mishulovin a reason to stay in an area where Judaism is waning. People need information and guidance, he said. Without a Chabad center, there wouldnt be anyone to help them, to question, to discuss faith, to be there just for them.

Do you go through life to make money or to help other people? Mishulovin asked.

Streetwear hipsters hang outside Supreme on Fairfax. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

Among his neighbors down the street is New York brand Supreme, a clothing store with a cult following. The Hundreds, one of the shops that helped produce a small renaissance in the districts faded commercial area, sits in a cluster of streetwear stores along the strip.

Fairfaxs rebranding began in in early 2000s. Streetwear boutique Brooklyn Projects, near Melrose and Fairfax avenues, was the first to open in 2002. In 2004, Supreme arrived, followed by the Hundreds first store in 2007.

Today, Fairfaxs street style and sensibility have come to represent a generation of skaters and fashionistas who preach streetwears against-the-grain attitude as a way of life.

Weve basically taken it over, CLSC founder Joshua Vides said as he sipped a beer at the Labor Day barbecue. Theres still a couple Jewish shops left, but I dont expect it to last long.

But Fairfaxs transformation doesnt have to mean the end of its Jewish history, said Jon Shook, half of the duo that launched two popular neighborhood eateries, Jon and Vinnys and Animal.

The Jewish stores that closed didnt shut down because of the trendy shops, Shook said.

The reason the menorah store is no longer in business is because of the Internet, not because of skateboard shop, Shook said. Retail declined and theres not as many Jewish families who are orthodox. But theres a temple right here next to Jon and Vinnys.

On weekend nights, young customers in trendy tees and jeans cluster in front of the door at Jon and Vinnys and wait for a table. The high-ceilinged space, formerly Damiano Mr. Pizza, is now filled with pale wooden booths.

Waiters hustle from booth to table, dressed in yellow T-shirts with Jon and Vinnys scrawled across them in a Hebrew-like script  a nod to both Fairfaxs and Shooks Jewish heritage.

Across the street at Canters, some of the streetwear addicts who frequent The Hundreds by day turn up in the delis lounge, the Kibitz Room, to catch a rock show.

Shook said he and other, newer business owners have a great relationship with the old shopkeepers. The pair use local ingredients  lentils and tahini from Sammys, kaiser rolls from Schwartz Bakery  to invest in Jewish businesses on the block.

We try to be friends with everybody, he said. Sometimes, the skate shops and Jewish shops bump heads. But dont all neighbors?

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini

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The Glendale City Council has signed off on three years of salary increases for police officers, culminating nearly five months of negotiations between the city and the union whose members had gone six years without a raise.

The agreement comes with an $11.1-million price tag, a cost that elected officials said was well-justified, offering an incentive as police agencies throughout the country struggle to fill their ranks.

I want the best police force that money can buy, Councilman Ara Najarian said. I will spend almost anything to protect my family, to protect your family.

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Approved on a 4-0 vote this week, the agreement kicked in Oct. 1, with police officers and sergeants receiving a 3% salary bump. That will be followed by another 3% hike in July and a 3.5% increase a year later.

Also, employees with certain Peace Officer Standards & Training certificates will earn an extra $125 a month the first year, plus an extra $150 a month in each of the following two years.

Its huge for officer morale and will hopefully prevent any of our officers from leaving this agency for compensation reasons, said Sgt. Jason Ross, president of the Glendale Police Officers Assn. At the same time, we hope itll continue to attract the best candidates out there.

Locally, police are grappling with a jump in crime while working to fill vacancies. Three trainees recently turned in their badges after finding the stresses of the job too great.

Two quit after the July shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas during a protest over police shootings and three other officers were gunned down in Baton Rouge.

A survey comparing the salaries and benefits of police officers and sergeants in 10 other cities, including Burbank, Inglewood and Santa Monica, found that Glendale police officers fall nearly 12% below average.

Were not paying them more than the average. Were not setting the trend, Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said of the agreement. Were merely trying to catch up with it.

While council members were supportive of the agreement, it comes with a catch.

A clause toward the end of the 126-page document states that it will be nullified if the city loses the ability to transfer money from the electric fund to the citys general fund, which pays for most public services, including police officer salaries.

At $20.1 million, the last transfer in June accounted for nearly 11% of the citys budgeted general fund revenues, according to City Atty. Mike Garcia. At the end of this fiscal year, Glendale anticipates another transfer of roughly the same amount.

The city, however, was sued over the practice, which the plaintiff said amounted to hidden taxes.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that the city had violated Proposition 26 when electricity rates were increased in 2013 to continue funding the transfer.

Under the proposition, approved in 2010, a rate increase to pay for something thats not related to the cost of providing the service requires a two-thirds approval by voters.

At a hearing next week, the judge will decide how the city will have to credit ratepayers, as well as whether that decision will be stayed on appeal, Garcia said.

The city plans to appeal, he said, arguing that a provision in the proposition states that its not retroactive, and therefore the city acted lawfully.

Our view is, because that transfer existed prior to 2013, thats something we can still continue to charge as part of our rates, he said, adding that the transfer has been approved by voters in the past. We dont feel we should have to go back to voters to get it approved each time we want to increase electric rates.

The appeal process could take up to two years, during which time the city hopes to continue making the transfers.

Tchekmedyian writes for Times Community News.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

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Firefighters on Saturday continued to search the charred rubble of a hillside mansion in Mount Washington for the remains of its owner.

Crews led by cadaver detection dogs sifted through mounds of smoldering rubble in multiple parts of the 9,100-square-foot property by hand on Friday evening, digging down practically to the soil, said Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. But shifting debris and steep terrain hindered the search.

Early Saturday morning, firefighters brought heavy equipment and excavators through the narrow, winding roads of the hillside community and began a more methodical search. Were trying to be as delicate as possible, Humphrey said.

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The fire at the three-story residence in the 4000 block of Sea View Avenue broke out about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Humphrey said. Most of the dozen residents of the home escaped safely, but a 74-year-old woman suffered from smoke inhalation and the landlord, a man said to be in his 80s, ran back inside shortly after the flames broke out. He didnt come out, witnesses aid.

The mans name is not being released until his relatives are notified.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Officials have not calculated the value of the damage to the burned out home.

frank.shyong@latimes.com

Twitter: @frankshyong
The Los Angeles Police Department is searching for a suspect who shot and killed a man at a downtown apartment complex Saturday afternoon.

LAPD officers responded to a call of shots fired about 2:15 p.m. Saturday at the Gas Company Lofts building in the 800 block of South Flower Street, police said.

Officers found a 25-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound in a second-floor hallway, police Capt. Don Graham said.

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Police set up a perimeter around the block and officers from the departments Metropolitan Division searched the 14-story building for any suspects, he said.

After a 45-minute sweep of the building, investigators determined that the suspect had fled, Graham said. Police have talked to witnesses and are reviewing surveillance footage from the apartment building, he added.

The shooting remains under investigation, police said.

ben.poston@latimes.com

Follow @bposton on Twitter.

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7:46 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the search for the suspect.

This article was originally posted at 3:40 p.m.
A roadside bomb explosion in northern Iraq killed a 34-year-old Navy sailor from Orange County, the Pentagon said Friday, in the first U.S. casualty in the Iraqi-led offensive to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State.

Chief Petty Officer Jason C. Finan of Anaheim died Thursday after his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device near the town of Bashiqa.

Finan was assigned to an Explosive Ordnance Disposal mobile unit based in Coronado. The unit is assisting Iraqi Kurdish forces known as peshmerga in the push to recapture Islamic States self-declared capital in Iraq.

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Finan is the fourth U.S. service member and the third Californian killed in the conflict against Islamic State since President Obama authorized military action in August 2014 and sent troops back to Iraq.

The entire Navy Expeditionary Combat Command family offers our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family and loved ones of the sailor we lost, Rear Adm. Brian Brakke, commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, said in a statement.

After enlisting in August 2003, Finan received 18 awards in his military career. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, according to military records.

The Pentagon has deployed more than 5,000 troops in Iraq. Most serve as trainers and advisors, but some are working closely with front-line Iraqi and Kurdish troops advancing on Mosul.

Two other Californians have been killed in Iraq in the fight against Islamic State.

Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, 27, of Temecula, died in March after Islamic State rocket fire landed inside a coalition artillery base near Makhmur.

A Navy commando, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles H. Keating IV, 31, of Coronado was killed in May during a firefight with militants who stormed the Iraqi Kurdish-held town of Tel Skuf north of Mosul.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

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Short of troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, the California National Guard enticed thousands of soldiers with bonuses of $15,000 or more to reenlist and go to war.

Now the Pentagon is demanding the money back.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses  and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse  after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.

Investigations have determined that lack of oversight allowed for widespread fraud and mismanagement by California Guard officials under pressure to meet enlistment targets.

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US defense chief orders Pentagon to stop seeking repayments of enlistment bonuses from California National Guard members 

But soldiers say the military is reneging on 10-year-old agreements and imposing severe financial hardship on veterans whose only mistake was to accept bonuses offered when the Pentagon needed to fill the ranks.

People like me just got screwed.  Christopher Van Meter, former Army captain

 Christopher Van Meter, former California Army Reserve captain and Iraq veteran

These bonuses were used to keep people in, said Christopher Van Meter, a 42-year-old former Army captain and Iraq veteran from Manteca, Calif., who says he refinanced his home mortgage to repay $25,000 in reenlistment bonuses and $21,000 in student loan repayments that the Army says he should not have received. People like me just got screwed.

In Iraq, Van Meter was thrown from an armored vehicle turret  and later awarded a Purple Heart for his combat injuries  after the vehicle detonated a buried roadside bomb.

Susan Haley, a Los Angeles native and former Army master sergeant who deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, said she sends the Pentagon $650 a month  a quarter of her familys income  to pay down $20,500 in bonuses that the Guard says were given to her improperly.

I feel totally betrayed, said Haley, 47, who served 26 years in the Army along with her husband and oldest son, a medic who lost a leg in combat in Afghanistan.

Haley, who now lives in Kempner, Texas, worries they may have to sell their house to repay the bonuses. Theyll get their money, but I want those years back, she said, referring to her six-year reenlistment.

Lawmakers condemn Pentagon effort to recover enlistment bonuses from California veterans 

The problem offers a dark perspective on the Pentagons use of hefty cash incentives to fill its all-volunteer force during the longest era of warfare in the nations history.

Even Guard officials concede that taking back the money from military veterans is distasteful.

At the end of the day, the soldiers ended up paying the largest price, said Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, deputy commander of the California Guard. Wed be more than happy to absolve these people of their debts. We just cant do it. Wed be breaking the law.

Facing enlistment shortfalls and two major wars with no end in sight, the Pentagon began offering the most generous incentives in its history to retain soldiers in the mid-2000s.

It also began paying the money up front, like the signing bonuses that some businesses pay in the civilian sector.

Theyll get their money, but I want those years back.  Susan Haley, former Army master sergeant

It was a real sea change in how business was done, said Col. Michael S. Piazzoni, a California Guard official in Sacramento who oversaw the audits. The system paid everybody up front, and then we spent the next five years figuring out if they were eligible.

The bonuses were supposed to be limited to soldiers in high-demand assignments like intelligence and civil affairs or to noncommissioned officers badly needed in units due to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon agency that oversees state Guard organizations, has acknowledged that bonus overpayments occurred in every state at the height of the two wars.

But the money was handed out far more liberally in the California Guard, which has about 17,000 soldiers and is one of the largest state Guard organizations.

In 2010, after reports surfaced of improper payments, a federal investigation found that thousands of bonuses and student loan payments were given to California Guard soldiers who did not qualify for them, or were approved despite paperwork errors.

Army Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe, the California Guards incentive manager, pleaded guilty in 2011 to filing false claims of $15.2 million and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Three officers also pleaded guilty to fraud and were put on probation after paying restitution.

Instead of forgiving the improper bonuses, the California Guard assigned 42 auditors to comb through paperwork for bonuses and other incentive payments given to 14,000 soldiers, a process that was finally completed last month.

Roughly 9,700 current and retired soldiers have been told by the California Guard to repay some or all of their bonuses and the recoupment effort has recovered more than $22 million so far.

Because of protests, appeals and refusal by some to comply, the recovery effort is likely to continue for years.

In interviews, current and former California Guard members described being ordered to attend mass meetings in 2006 and 2007 in California where officials signed up soldiers in assembly-line fashion after outlining the generous terms available for six-year reenlistments.

Robert Richmond, an Army sergeant first class then living in Huntington Beach, said he reenlisted after being told he qualified for a $15,000 bonus as a special forces soldier.

The money gave him breathing room, said Richmond, who had gone through a divorce after a deployment to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003.

In 2007, his special forces company was sent to the Iraqi town of Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad in an area known as the Triangle of Death because of the intense fighting.

Richmond conducted hundreds of missions against insurgents over the next year. In one, a roadside bomb exploded by his vehicle, knocking him out and leaving him with permanent back and brain injuries.

He was stunned to receive a letter from California Guard headquarters in 2014 telling him to repay the $15,000 and warning he faced debt collection action if he failed to comply.

I signed a contract that I literally risked my life to fulfill.  Robert Richmond, former Army sergeant first class

Richmond should not have received the money, they argued, because he already had served 20 years in the Army in 2006, making him ineligible.

Richmond, 48, has refused to repay the bonus. He says he only had served 15 years when he reenlisted, due to several breaks in his Army service.

He has filed appeal after appeal, even after receiving a collection letter from the Treasury Department in March warning that his unpaid delinquent debt had risen to $19,694.62 including interest and penalties.

After quitting the California Guard so the money wouldnt be taken from his paycheck, he moved to Nebraska to work as a railroad conductor, but was laid off.

He then moved to Texas to work for a construction company, leaving his wife and children in Nebraska. With $15,000 debt on his credit report, he has been unable to qualify for a home loan.

I signed a contract that I literally risked my life to fulfill, Richmond said bitterly. We want somebody in the government, anybody, to say this is wrong and well stop going after this money.

Though they cannot waive the debts, California Guard officials say they are helping soldiers and veterans file appeals with the National Guard Bureau and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, which can wipe out the debts.

But soldiers say it is a long, frustrating process, with no guarantee of success.

Robert DAndrea, a retired Army major and Iraq veteran, was told to return a $20,000 bonus he received in 2008 because auditors could not find a copy of the contract he says he signed.

Now DAndrea, a financial crimes investigator with the Santa Monica Police Department, says he is close to exhausting all his appeals.

Everything takes months of work, and there is no way to get your day in court, he said. Some benefit of the doubt has to be given to the soldier.

Bryan Strother, a sergeant first class from Oroville north of Sacramento, spent four years fighting Guard claims that he owed $25,010.32 for mistaken bonuses and student loans.

Guard officials told Strother he had voided his enlistment contract by failing to remain a radio operator, his assigned job, during and after a 2007-08 deployment to Iraq.

Strother filed a class-action lawsuit in February in federal district court in Sacramento on behalf of all soldiers who got bonuses, claiming the California Guard conned them into reenlisting.

The suit asked the court to order the recovered money to be returned to the soldiers and to issue an injunction against the government barring further collection.

In August, Strother received a letter from the Pentagon waiving repayment of his bonus.

We believe he acted in good faith in accepting the $15,000, a claims adjudicator from the Pentagons Defense Legal Services Agency wrote in the letter. He still owed $5,000 in student loan repayments, it said.

Within weeks, lawyers for U.S. Atty. Phillip A. Talbert in Sacramento petitioned the court to dismiss Strothers lawsuit, arguing that it was moot since most of his debt had been waived. A federal judge is supposed to rule on the governments motion by January.

Its a legal foot-dragging process to wear people out and make people go away, said Strother. Its overwhelming for most soldiers.

Indeed, some have just given up, repaying the money even before exhausting their appeals.

It was tearing me up, the stress, the headaches, said Van Meter, the former Army captain from Manteca who paid off his $46,000 debt by refinancing his mortgage. I couldnt take it anymore. The amount of stress it put us through financially and emotionally was something we wanted to move past.

Update: Lawmakers condemn Pentagon effort to recover enlistment bonuses from California veterans 

david.cloud@latimes.com

Twitter: @davidcloudLAT

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Donald Trump launched another late attempt to fix his sagging campaign Saturday, delivering a speech billed as a closing argument in a hotel ballroom near the battlefield that turned the direction of the Civil War.

Yet, even as the GOP nominee for president praised Abraham Lincoln for uniting the country, Trump laced his Gettysburg speech with familiar charges of a rigged election and corrupt media, along with a new threat against the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

All of these liars will be sued when the election is over, Trump told a small audience at the Eisenhower Hotel.

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Just a few hours later in California, an 11th woman came forward to accuse Trump, saying he offered her $10,000 for sex after meeting her at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament 10 years ago. The Trump campaign called the allegation false and ridiculous.

Trumps Gettysburg event epitomized his campaigns twilight phase, with a speech in two parts that seemed at odds with each other.

It was at once a confident and forward-looking outline of a Trump administration that would obliterate the Washington establishment and return power to the people, as Trump pledged more than two dozen bills and executive actions in his first 100 days in office.

Yet it was also a lament full of blame, indignation and threats against the forces that Trump says are allied in an all-out effort to deny him the White House.

Intending to look presidential, Trump spoke with a subdued voice from a teleprompter to a small crowd that rarely left its feet, a contrast to two free-wheeling rallies he had in Pennsylvania on Friday.

Trump billed the speech as a policy address that would highlight his first actions as president. But almost all of the promises had been made before in other speeches and news releases.

They include steep tax reductions, a border wall with Mexico, a constitutional amendment limiting terms for members of Congress and the cancellation of billions of dollars in payments for United Nations climate change programs. He added details to a recent proposal to impose mandatory minimum criminal sentences for immigrants who return to the U.S. illegally after they have been deported and a promise to freeze most federal government hiring.

Trump had given a similar speech in June during another low point in his campaign, laying out eight promises for his first 100 days in office. Among them: appointing conservative judges, repealing and replacing President Obamas healthcare law and lifting restrictions on energy production.

Before ticking off the policy agenda, though, Trump plowed through the long list of his alleged enemies.

He again tried to define his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as the choice of elites and establishment figures who have no regard for the working class.

Hillary Clinton is not running against me, Trump said. Shes running against change and shes running against all of the American people and all of the American voters.

For her part, Clinton has increasingly been looking past the election in her stump speeches as she tries to reach out to Trump voters, many of whom are signaling they will not accept the results of the election if he loses.

I know there are a lot of people right here in Pennsylvania who have a lot of questions, she said at a rally in Pittsburgh. They want to know how were going to move forward. They are upset by what they see happening around them. I get that, but anger is not a plan. We need to work together.

Trump has also accused the media repeatedly this week of ignoring three recent national polls that show his campaign ahead of Clintons  including the Los Angeles Times poll that showed him leading by a fraction of a percentage point as of Saturday. The majority of national polls, however, along with those from key battleground states, show Trump facing a deepening deficit.

A top campaign aide conceded during a call with reporters on Friday night that Clinton was leading, and accused her of running out the clock to avoid a stumble.

Trump has vacillated in recent days between bravado and tentative talk about confronting the possibility of a loss.

In three speeches Friday, he mentioned Britains vote in June to leave the European Union, known as the Brexit, which defied predictions from many experts.

Trump alternately described his campaign as beyond Brexit, Brexit-plus, and Brexit times five.

Many of his supporters are convinced he will win, agreeing with him that the news media is in cahoots with Clinton to shape coverage and manipulate polls to depress turnout among his voters.

I hate seeing stuff about the polls, said Jacqueline Catapano, a 35-year-old nurse who attended a boisterous rally in Newtown, Pa., on Friday. Its a tactic from their side to get people to think were already defeated.

Yet if Trump often sounds like a guy on a barstool when he gives a speech, he may be entering the point when the euphoria of four beers gives way to wistful tales over a fifth.

A few minutes into a speech at the fairgrounds in Fletcher, N.C., on Friday, Trump broke off from a riff about American workers and promised that he, too, would work harder.

He promised four daily campaign appearances going forward, maybe just two on slow days, right up until the actual vote on Nov. 8.

Then Trump said something that seemed to bespeak a measure of humility. It was, after more than a year of nonstop hyperbole, almost as shocking as some of the bombast.

And then, I dont know what kind of shape Im in, but Ill be happy that at least I will have known, win, lose or draw  and Im almost sure if the people come out, were going to win  but I will be happy with myself, he said.

Because I dont want to say, I dont want to think back, if only I did one more rally, he added. I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes.

I never want to ever look back.

What a waste of time, he said a few minutes later, if we dont pull this off.

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This article was originally posted at 10:40 a.m.
A year after passing on a presidential run, Biden is a determined Trump foe nonetheless

(Glenn Russell / Burlington Free Press via AP)

Exactly one year ago, Vice President Joe Biden announced he would not run for president. But if there were any thought he might not inject himself into the campaign with typical vigor, hes put it to rest with a campaign schedule on behalf of Hillary Clinton and Democratic Senate candidates as busy as anyones.

But that doesnt mean hes happy about the way the campaign is going. In fact, the famously blunt Biden is casting the choice before voters in especially stark terms, casting Donald Trump as either stupid or dangerous -- perhaps even both.

The press always asks me, Dont I wish I were debating him? he said at a campaign event near his home town of Scranton, Pa., on Friday.

No I wish we were in high school. I could take him behind the gym.

Theres no doubt that Bidens hope of being president himself did not fade after he became vice president. He was openly exploring the idea at the start of his second term until family crisis -- his son Beaus cancer diagnosis and ultimately untimely death -- made that third bid for the White House an impossibility.

But while at times last year it seemed he might be eager to run against Clinton in the primaries, hes become a loyal foot soldier on her behalf -- not just because of their ideological and personal ties but because of how seriously he views the threat of a Trump presidency to the calling he has devoted his life to: public service.

On Thursday, while campaigning in New Hampshire, Biden shared a conversation he was having with another political journalist, trying to explain why he had this nagging feeling of almost frustration about this years campaign.

His answer: Trumps unbreakable habit of making outrageous statements has prevented the public from the election it deserved: a referendum on ideas.

Theyre supposed to be a debate on ideas so that when whomever is elected, they can say with certitude the majority of people preferred my ideas over the other person. Thats how you solidify a country, he said. But Trump has been so outrageous that reporters have to cover these asinine assertions that are being made.

Friday, he referred to it as a dumbing down of the American dialogue.

Bidens case for Clinton is a personal one, directed at the kind of middle-class voters he has long viewed himself as the avatar of. And as he prosecutes it, he sometimes is candid about Clintons vulnerabilities and even inability to connect with those voters in the same way he can.

Friday, he said part of that was because of a double standard for male and female candidates. And to illustrate it, he offered a personal example from just the day before that reflected his own journey over the last year.

At an event in New Hampshire, a supporter approached him with two newborn children. The man had named one Beau, he told the vice president, after Bidens son.

I started to cry. And the press said, Well thats just because Joe Bidens a decent, honorable father, Biden said. If Hillary did that, shed be accused of playing the womens card.

Its not a surprise that this generous woman I know has closed up, is unwilling many times to show her heart, he added. But she gets it, guys.
One year ago, state oil and gas officials received a report of a small, routine methane leak at the Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage field in the hills north of Porter Ranch. But as it turned out, the leak was neither small nor routine.

Over the next four months, the busted storage well caused the largest leak of methane  a potent greenhouse gas  in U.S. history. It released about 90,000 metric tons, equivalent to more than a million cars driven for a year. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, while the Southern California Gas Co. scrambled to stop the flow. More than 8,000 families temporarily relocated because of the sickening smell of the gas. Even today  months after the leak was plugged on Feb. 17  some Porter Ranch residents say they still suffer from nausea, nosebleeds and rashes.

The leak was a wake-up call. Too few people had recognized the tremendous risks of Aliso Canyon  that an aging facility operating under grossly outdated and inadequate standards could wreak havoc on public health and the environment. About 80% of the facilitys wells were built before the 1970s, and Southern California Gas knew they were corroding and failing at an increasing rate. But there were no rules mandating frequent inspections or upgrades. Whats more, government officials didnt seem sufficiently concerned that the states energy supply had become so heavily dependent on Aliso Canyon.

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The Aliso Canyon crisis kick-started investments and planning that should make Southern California less dependent on natural gas in the years ahead.

In response to the leak, the facility was temporarily closed and the Legislature passed a law requiring new safety procedures for the states 14 underground gas storage facilities that may be the strictest in the nation. The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources is expected to adopt the regulations next year.

The closure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant, the decline in coal and other factors have resulted in a significant increase in electricity generated from natural gas  and greater reliance on Aliso Canyon, the largest storage facility in the state. State officials warned in April that the temporary closure of Aliso Canyon could cause up to 14 days of rolling blackouts during the summer because the power plants that fire up to meet high electricity demand wouldnt be able to get the gas they needed.

That didnt happen. Utility officials say the region got lucky with a mild summer and lower-than-normal electricity demand, but they warn that the risk remains as long as Aliso Canyon is closed.

The good news is that the Aliso Canyon crisis kick-started investments and planning that should make Southern California less dependent on natural gas in the years ahead. Local utilities have spent tens of millions of dollars in recent months on energy-efficiency programs to help cut demand for electricity and gas. Pushed by the California Public Utilities Commission, both Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric signed contracts for energy storage projects that could be ready for the winter. The challenge of solar, wind and other renewable energy sources is they can only supply electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. But the development of large-scale batteries that could hold that green power would reduce the need for some natural gas power plants.

Aliso Canyon also helped push the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti to direct the Department of Water and Power to study what it would take to end the utilitys reliance on fossil fuels and to get 100% of L.A.s electricity from clean energy. Thats significantly more ambitious than Californias already aggressive mandate of 50% renewable energy by 2030. DWP officials say it could take 25 years to rebuild the regions electricity system. Its absolutely essential to begin this difficult work.

Southern California Gas says it has completed safety reviews at most of its wells, and the company is expected soon to seek permission to reopen the storage facility. There will surely be an important debate over whether Aliso Canyon is safe enough or truly vital to the regions immediate electricity needs. But in the long term, its clear that the costs of fossil fuels  on public health, the environment, the climate  are too great and that we should end our reliance on them as soon as possible.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: As a British visitor in Southern California for a few weeks with family, I am avidly following the election campaign. Max Boots fine piece on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps incendiary tweets should have examined further aspects of his record to establish his ideological closeness to Nazism. (The Nazi echoes in Trumps tweets, Opinion, Oct. 17)

Trump has boasted that he will take out the families of terrorists and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. He has declared that Mexico will be forced to pay for a wall to seal the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump sees the law not as a judicial process but as an instrument of the state. He threatens to send his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, to jail, and he criticizes a judges ruling in the Trump University case because the judge has Mexican heritage. Most worrying of all, he insinuates that Clinton was wrong to do her duty as a lawyer in defending a rapist.

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In a democracy, the exercise of the rule of law is not to be bent to the will of the leader of the state. Nor is the law there to punish those who do not love unreservedly the Trump-defined U.S., which appears to be Trumps position. The Republican nominee is clearly not as evilly talented as Hitler, but we should not make the mistake, as many did with Hitler, of underestimating his threat to civilized life in the U.S. and the world.

Andrew McCulloch, Collingham, Great Britain

..

To the editor: I did not think that I would ever agree with Boot on anything, but this piece is a fine and frightening analysis of the parallels between the Trump campaign and the rise of Nazism.

Yes, it can happen here, and Americans of all political persuasions must unite to stop it.

Roberta Fox, Costa Mesa

..

To the editor: It does seem as though Trump wants to control the media, as the Nazis did in Germany.

However, the notion of a conspiracy or collusion involving the media seems almost laughable given Trumps own self-aggrandizing statements about his ability to generate huge ratings and CBS Chairman Les Moonves comments that Trumps candidacy may not be good for America, but its damn good for CBS.

Profit motive trumps conspiracy.

As to vote rigging, the Pew Institute has stated there are about 2 million dead people on voter registration rolls nationwide. For them to vote, you would need 2 million separate live individuals to know the addresses of the deceased, obtain their voter packets and show up at the appropriate polling places across the nation. It should be noted, as dead people dont vote, after varying cycles across the nation, they are removed from registration rolls and they are replaced by new dead people.

Michael Solomon, Canoga Park

..

To the editor: Boots op-ed article finally speaks about what should be obvious to anyone with even a smattering of historical knowledge: Trumps narcissistic personality is very analogous to others who have become dictators in our world.

His constant insistence that he is the only one in the whole country who knows the truth and he is the only one who can solve our countrys problems points to his wishing to become a despot rather than the leader of a republic with checks and balances.

Thanks to Boot for finally spelling this out publicly.

Laurie Anderson, Palos Verdes Estates

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To the editor: Reading this article on affordable housing built for but unoccupied by Los Angeles Unified School District teachers confirmed my decision to vote no on most of the complex propositions on the November ballot. (LAUSD teachers earn too much to live in the affordable housing apartments built for them, Oct. 19)

As with this shining example of bad management, I simply dont believe that the people who will be tasked with implementing the new laws will be competent to do so. If implemented, the ballot measures will lead to years of confusion, wasted energy and tax or bond money, and little actual value to show for it in the end.

The districts Board of Education knew before it even started the building process that it did not pencil out, yet the board proceeded with the fantasy. That this group is supposed to be in charge of basic math instruction should alarm everyone, as should the districts belief that this wasnt a failure.

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Jan Brown, Panorama City

..

To the editor: The Times pattern of writing all things negative about Los Angeles public schools continues with the way this article is structured. The headlines and subheadlines say to anyone who reads or skims the front page, This is a big problem, and once again, people running the schools are really stupid.

Not until the 12th paragraph does the article on the projects inability to house teachers say that didnt make L.A. Unifieds affordable housing experiment a failure.

Turns out this has been a boon to low-income workers with various jobs in the school district. In other words, the housing has helped district workers.

Why couldnt this article have started with a more positive perspective on the project? Only careful readers with plenty of time will find out that something good came of it.

Les Brockmann, Granada Hills

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In this election season, the volume of letters on the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has sometimes drowned out robust discussion on other important issues. This week, however, an interesting back-and-forth took place between some of The Times letter writers on the topic of officer-involved shootings, portions of which have already been published in the paper.

After retired Los Angeles Police Department Capt. David Dolson explained Thursday why an officer might be justified in shooting a suspect he wrongly believed to have been armed  in response to two readers who wondered why a Long Beach officer wasnt charged after killing an unarmed man  letters continued to trickle in. Here are some of those responses.

Riverside resident Alan L. Strzemiecznys defense of police is similar to Dolsons:

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Letter writers James Adler and Charles Martin need a reality check to understand what police are up against. An officer has 1.5 seconds to determine if a person is about to fire on them or run. I suggest the writers obtain two toy pistols and get a friend to participate in a test.

They should take a shooting stance while their friend stands 15 feet away with their back to them with the weapon concealed. Let the friend turn quickly toward them and fire or keep the gun in their waist band. If they turn quickly and fire, theyll understand what officers face. Try the test multiple times and remember if your friend ties you, you might be dead or severely injured.

Armchair critiques are easy; placing yourself in someone elses shoes is revealing.

Charles P. Martin of Los Angeles, whose letter prompted Dolson to write, responds:

How about Eric Garner, the unarmed New York man who died after being held in a chokehold by police? How about Tamir Rice, for whom there was no order to drop his toy gun before being shot in less than two seconds?

How about documented cases of white men shooting at police but not getting shot in return? How about the person in San Bernardino who died after being Tasered by officers and whose mother won a lawsuit against the city for more than $600,000? This is a city that has filed for bankruptcy.

Taxpayers are covering the bill that police actions have caused. Please see the whole picture.

Stephanie Yablow of North Hollywood points out the people police must deal with:

Finding out after the fact that a gun was only a toy or that a shooting victim was unarmed doesnt tell the whole story. Officers do not know what might happen even at a routine traffic stop.

People have lost all sense of proportionality and have no coping skills to get them through lifes inevitable problems; in fact, some expect no turbulence at all, having been raised to believe they are the center of the universe. At the end of the day, you dont get a gold star for just showing up.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Indianas top cop suggested Friday that investigators had uncovered several instances of voter fraud in the state, an allegation that adds fuel to a fiery debate over whether elections are rigged and subject to abuse.

Indiana State Police Supt. Douglas Carter said in a local TV interview that Gov. Mike Pence absolutely did not misspeak this week when he warned supporters of potential voter fraud during a campaign stop in Nevada. Carter said he believed there was voter fraud in every state, including Indiana.

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Carter refused to provide details about how many instances of voter fraud police have found, or the exact nature of the fraud  whether investigators found, for example, cases of people registering to vote multiple times or whether those ineligible to vote tried to register.

A state police spokesman, Capt. David Bursten, also declined to share details, saying that the superintendents interview speaks for itself.

The comments came amid an ongoing state investigation into potential voter fraud in 56 of Indianas 92 counties, which isnt likely to be resolved before election day, Nov. 8.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly charged that the election is rigged against him. Pence, his running mate, said voter fraud can be found in pockets and places around the country.

Experts have found voter fraud to be extremely rare, with one study from a Loyola Law School professor finding just 31 credible claims of fraud amid more than 1 billion ballots cast since 2000. The head elections officers in most presidential battleground states are Republicans.

The Indiana investigation, prompted by a tip to police and launched on Oct. 4 in Hendricks County and Marion County, focuses on voter registration forms submitted by a group called the Indiana Voter Registration Project. The group had submitted registration forms with missing, incomplete and incorrect information, according to a police statement.

A Hendricks County clerk who said she received 10 questionable registration forms from the group also told police that signatures on some forms did not match images in a county database. Police served a search warrant on the organizations downtown Indianapolis office when the investigation launched and expanded the inquiry within days.

Police concerns over potential fraud heightened this week when Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said in a statement that elections officials had separately contacted police after finding thousands of dates of births and first names were changed in an online voter database in a case of voter fraud. That statement landed on Tuesday. On Thursday, Lawson changed her tone, saying the flagged changes could be legitimate ones from individual voters.

That should give Indiana voters the comfort that we are vigilant and we are protecting their rights and the elections here are not rigged, she told the Associated Press.

Officials for Indiana Voter Registration Project, which is connected to Washington-based nonprofit Patriot Majority USA, have denied the fraud accusations and said Pence and other Republicans are targeting the group to suppress votes.

Lawson is a Republican, and public records show that Carter, a Pence appointee, has donated generously to Republicans. When running for Hamilton County commissioner in 2011 and 2012  the same year he was appointed to his current position  his campaign donated a total of $2,250 to Pences campaign.

Bursten, the state police spokesman, said Friday that the accusations that police were colluding with Pence were outrageous and completely false.

Theres a thorough investigation underway, and when it is complete the results will be handed over to local prosecutors  who will proceed with the process, Bursten said.

Patriot Majority USA has Democratic ties but said its voter registration efforts are nonpartisan. Group officials said its canvassers targeted African Americans across the state earlier in the year and collected 45,000 registration forms. Representatives acknowledged the organization had submitted some incomplete registrations, but said it had pointed those out to county clerks and was not attempting fraud.

The Indiana statewide voter file that is being used to attack the voter registration program is filled with hundreds of thousands of mistakes. These wild accusations of fraud are based on one of the most flawed voter file systems in the country, which is maintained by a partisan Secretary of State, Bill Buck, spokesman Patriot Majority USA, said in an email.

Though rare, voting fraud has been a tense point of debate between Democrats and Republicans even before the current election. In Indiana and several additional states, Republicans have pushed voter identification laws and increased other restrictions on voting, often saying new laws were needed to prevent fraud. Democrats have countered that voter ID rules and related laws suppress the votes of minority groups such as African Americans and lower-income voters, who tend to vote Democratic.

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

Jaweed Kaleem is The Times national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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The case for Planet Nine is growing. Two new findings presented at a planetary science meeting in Pasadena have uncovered hints for the existence of this distant, mysterious world in the motions of known solar system objects.

The results could help astronomers home in on their otherworldly target, which  if it really is out there  could fundamentally alter our understanding of the solar system.

The hunt for Planet Nine (also known as Planet X) began in earnest in 2014 after astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo found 2012 VP113, a planetoid nicknamed Biden, after the vice president. Its closest point to the sun in its orbit is 80 astronomical units  that is, 80 times the Earth-Sun distance of 93 million miles.

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Objects like 2012 VP113 exist far beyond the typical denizens of the Kuiper belt, the icy ring of debris that stretches from Neptunes orbit at 30 AU out to 50 AU (and whose largest member is distant Pluto, sitting around 49 AU).

The scientists also noticed that 2012 VP113 and another far-out mini-world named Sedna were making their closest approaches to the sun at similar angles  which could mean that something massive but unseen was tugging on both their orbits. Since the scientists could not directly see a planet in the darkness of our solar system, they would have to keep searching for its gravitational fingerprint on the motions of other bodies.

Then, early this year, Caltech scientists Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown found that the paths of half a dozen extremely distant objects seemed to be similarly tilted relative to the plane of the solar system, and that their perihelia  their closest points to the sun  seemed to cluster together. They estimated that a Planet Nine would probably weigh about 10 Earth masses and take somewhere from 10,000 to 20,000 years to orbit the sun.

Now, a team led by Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, has examined the orbits of four extreme Kuiper belt objects with the longest-known orbital periods and found an elegant relationship among their orbits: They can be described essentially in simple, whole-number ratios. This suggests that theyre pulled into these resonances by the gravity from an unseen massive object. (Neptune could not be to blame, because these objects orbits take them well beyond the ice giants influence.)

Malhotra was taken aback after discovering the small integer ratios among the orbits.

It was like, Wow, why hasnt somebody else noticed this before? she recalled.

Malhotras team calculated that such a planetoid would be 10 times the mass of Earth and would orbit the sun roughly every 17,000 years  which fits with the Caltech scientists range estimate of 10,000 to 20,000 years. At its farthest point, this planet would lie a whopping 665 astronomical units away from the sun. The results were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Meanwhile, Brown and Batygin have found more potential evidence of Planet Nines influence a little closer to home. Their calculations, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, suggest that the solar systems slight tilt relative to the sun might have been caused by the massive worlds pull.

Since the mid-1800s, scientists have wondered why the plane of the solar system  the plane in which all the planets orbit  is tilted 6 degrees relative to the spin axis of the sun, said lead author Elizabeth Bailey, an astronomer and PhD student at Caltech. Given that Planet Nine is suspected to be circling the sun at an even more extreme angle, the scientists calculated that it could indeed have pulled the planets out of alignment with the sun, causing the 6-degree mismatch.

From our vantage point, it looks like its the sun thats tilted  but really its the plane of the planets precessing around the total angular momentum of the solar system, just like a top, Bailey said.

Neither study is a slam-dunk case for the planets existence, scientists said, but the evidence continues to mount. But researchers said theyre continuing to study the motions of the solar systems objects for more clues.

The results from both teams were presented at the joint 48th meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society and 11th European Planetary Science Congress in Pasadena.

amina.khan@latimes.com

Follow @aminawrite on Twitter for more science news and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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As Burbanks city attorney tried to answer some concerns raised by residents about a contentious ballot measure regarding a proposed 14-gate replacement terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport on Tuesday, another issue arose, this time about new flight patterns.

City Atty. Amy Albano addressed several questions brought up by residents during a City Council meeting on Oct. 11 about a project to replace the existing terminal, which opened in 1930, with a new 355,000-square-foot, 14-gate terminal during a meeting on Tuesday.

In less than three weeks, Burbank residents will vote on Measure B, which asks them whether they would allow the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to build a replacement terminal.

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Much confusion arose about the whether the original Measure B, a ballot measure passed in 2000 that required voter approval for any relocated or expanded terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport, would still be in effect if the 2016 ballot measure is approved.

Albano said that the 2000 Measure B would only be triggered if the project requires further discretionary approval from the City Council. Furthermore, she said that if the 2016 ballot measure passes, then a supermajority voting system will be put into place on the airport authority board when addressing major issues, including additional gates, expansion of the terminal and entering into long-term agreements.

Under a supermajority, two members from each member city would need to approve major changes instead of the simple majority that is in place now.

Some residents were concerned that if the airport authority decides to build the replacement terminal on the southwest quadrant of the airfield, which airfield officials argue they can do without city or voter approval, that the airport could go ahead and build another terminal on the so-called B-6 parcel on the northeast quadrant.

If another terminal is proposed on the B-6 parcel, it would trigger a 2000 Measure B vote and would require approval from the City Council, Albano said.

Resident Carol Tensen said that although the airport authoritys project and other ballot measures sound good in theory, like a lot of these propositions, theres problems with the details.

Like other residents who spoke before her on Oct. 11, Tensen said she did not know why there was such rush for the city to put the ballot measure on the Nov. 8 ballot, adding that she would rather have the vote postponed until the municipal election in April.

While Albano addressed concerns about traffic and air quality, city staff was not ready to answer some questions residents had about the Federal Aviation Administrations Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen  a project unrelated to the proposed terminal project.

The new air-traffic-control system, which will be deployed across the country over the next several years, replaces radar technology with satellites to create more efficient routes and improve plane arrivals and departures. Its goal is to reduce emissions and save fuel.

However, residents in numerous cities throughout the country, including some in Northern California, have complained about an increase in noise around their airports after the FAA installed the system.

Residents in Palo Alto filed thousands of noise complaints with the San Francisco International Airport last year after the FAA implemented NextGen, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Burbank resident Tracy London said the new system would bring in 12 more flights an hour to Hollywood Burbank Airport, resulting in increased air and noise pollution in the neighborhoods around the airfield.

However, airport spokeswoman Lucy Burghdorf said she thinks there would not be additional flights after NextGen is installed at the local airport next month. She added that there were more planes arriving and departing from the airfield in 2007, and that the airport has not recovered since the economic downturn.

FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer agreed.

The project may involve changes in aircraft flight paths and altitudes in certain areas, but would not result in any ground disturbance or increase the number of aircraft operations within the Southern California airspace, Kenitzer wrote in an email on Friday.

This week, the FAA held several community meetings and webinars to address the implementation of NextGen in what the agency labeled as the Southern California Metroplex, which includes Hollywood Burbank Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and John Wayne Airport.

--

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Costa Mesas Planning Commission has unanimously recommended approval of a private helicopter pad for an industrial building near John Wayne Airport.

If given final approval by the City Council, the 40-by-40-foot pad on the roof of 3132 Airway Ave. would be solely used by Mike Manclark, CEO of Leading Edge Aviation Services, to park his personal helicopter.

On Monday, commissioners recommended that his chopper only be allowed two takeoffs and two landings each day, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. No helicopter repair or refueling would be allowed. Manclark now parks his helicopter on JWA property, about 200 yards away from 3132 Airway.

The commissions decision was met with protest by other Airway Avenue tenants, who worried about the helicopter blades spewing up dust and debris into nearby air ducts.

They were also worried about losing value on their properties as a result.

Their concerns echoed ones raised in 2011, when 3132 Airways owner, Kevin Coleman, first requested the pad. The Planning Commission at the time did not recommend approving the project, and Coleman dropped the proposal before it reached the City Council.

Newport Beach city officials also contested the pad, believing it would expand JWAs footprint in the area  a long-standing sticking point for many Newport residents.

When asked about Colemans revived proposal, Newports development director, Kim Brandt, echoed the citys earlier comments but provided no new concerns.

Commissioner Colin McCarthy downplayed the Newport angle, saying the city would not be affected.

Were struggling to find where Newport Beach is in the flight path of this thing, he said.

The pad has received prior approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration and the countys Airport Land Use Commission. It would be one of about five throughout Costa Mesa and the second along Airway Avenue.
Newport Beach dog owners who hope their canine companions will one day be able to frolic legally sans leash at an unofficial dog beach are facing another delay.

Orange County supervisors had been scheduled to vote Tuesday on the second reading of an ordinance that would change county law to permit off-leash dogs along a stretch of sand straddling the Newport Beach and Huntington Beach border at the Santa Ana River mouth.

However, county staff removed the item from the agenda Friday because the environmental study of the area has not been completed.

Michelle Cook, communications director for Supervisor Michelle Steel, said the loosened regulations are expected to go back to county leaders for consideration by the end of the year.

The ordinance, which would designate the area as the first legal dog beach on county land, passed the Board of Supervisors first reading in April but stalled in May over concerns from two environmental groups that having unleashed canines in the area could harm two at-risk bird species.

The Irvine-based Sea & Sage Audubon Society and the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy sent letters to the county calling for the supervisors to reconsider because the land is a nesting site for the endangered California least tern and a winter roosting spot for the threatened western snowy plover.

Cook said the environmental report studied the bird nesting areas as well as the overall potential effects of having unleashed dogs on the beach.

The leash issue came to the forefront late last year after Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon said she was fielding complaints from nearby homeowners about unleashed dogs and unremoved dog waste on the sand.

In response, the city conducted an online survey to determine whether Newport residents would favor the city enforcing county leash laws at that beach. Hundreds of people responded, with the majority asking the city to leave the area alone.

In March, after two hours of passionate testimony from dog owners who frequent the spot, Newports Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission voted unanimously to reject a proposal to have city animal-control officers enforce leash restrictions there. The commission instead suggested the county look into designating the area as an official dog beach.

Dixon, city staff, dog beach advocates and Steel, whose district includes Newport Beach, began working on a proposal to that effect.

City officials have said that if county supervisors approve the change in regulations, they would discuss installing new fencing, as well as adding pathways, more dog waste bags and trash cans in the area to accommodate dog owners.

Dozens of dog beach advocates sent letters to the county in the past week supporting the ordinance. Several called the beach a local treasure.

The rough surf [that] smaller and older dogs face in other dog beaches is mitigated by a gentle stream of runoff heading out into the ocean, according to a letter signed by several supporters. There are simply not enough areas available for off-leash socialization, and there is certainly no experience quite like the one we have with dog beach.
The race for two available seats on the Huntington Beach City School District board has three candidates in the running. Board President Bridget Kaub, who has served since 2012, is up for reelection. Retired principal Ann Sullivan and teacher Karrie Burroughs are trying to join the board. Trustee Brian Rechsteiner is not running for reelection. The district comprises two middle schools and seven elementary schools, all in Huntington Beach.

Here are the candidates in the order they appear on the Nov. 8 ballot:

Bridget Kaub

Age: 50

Professional occupation: Small-business owner

Education: Bachelor of science (political science/international law) and bachelor of arts (Dornsife communications and organizational behavior), USC

Time lived in city: 22 years

Previous public service: Lions Club, NSF, JHS, OCAHU board member and president, NAHU board member, PTA/PTSA 4th District, current legislative advocate for Smith Elementary, Dwyer Middle and Huntington Beach High schools, vice chairwoman Huntington Beach Community Services Commission, board president Huntington Beach City School District, CSC Huntington Beach Central Park Committee

Immediate family: Husband of 20 years, daughter who is 14 and a freshman at Huntington Beach High School

What are three things you hope to achieve if elected?

1. Provide the highest level and most effective education for every child in our schools.

2. Understand, appreciate and give direction so that every child is prepared to excel  an excellent foundation.

3. A solid STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art and math). We are known to be a very forward-thinking district and we will continue to be.

Ann Sullivan

Age: 64

Professional occupation: Retired elementary school principal

Education: Masters degree

Time lived in city: 24 years

Previous public service: As a principal, I was honored to lead Agnes Smith and Huntington Seacliff elementary schools in achieving recognition as California Distinguished Schools and Huntington Seacliff as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

Immediate family: Husband and two grown children

What are three things you hope to achieve if elected?

1. Work closely with my colleagues, parents, community and staff to maintain a clear vision that supports strong student outcomes and accountability.

2. Through established policy, cohesive guidelines and transparency, the vision will become reality: a high-quality learning environment, a safe and supportive school climate, family and community engagement, a thriving workforce and financial sustainability.

3. Maintain our quality schools and continue the positive momentum to further provide our students with a world-class education and prepare them for the demands of an uncertain future.

Karrie Burroughs

Age: 45

Professional occupation: K-8 teacher

Education: Bachelor of arts in education, Cal State Fullerton; finishing a masters in administration

Time lived in city: 27 years

Previous public service: Chaired the Red Ribbon campaign for over 10 years; served on PTAs and Huntington Union Council, Active Committee for Education and HOA boards for many years

Immediate family: Married with five children

What are three things you hope to achieve if elected?

1. Help support improvements in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

2. Support class-size reduction (teacher-student ratio).

3. Keep supporting the continued development of the new learning center model for special education and the need for new curriculum that will support the Common Core standards.

alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Newport Beach leaders will make a decision Tuesday that could turn back time for the saltwater marsh in West Newport known as the Semeniuk Slough.

The City Council will consider a $1.6-million contract with Innovative Construction Solutions, a Santa Ana-based construction firm, to dredge 8,500 cubic yards of Semeniuk Slough. Crews also are expected to remove nonnative vegetation along the east bank of the waterway.

Newport Shores residents have swam in the waterway, which was once connected to the Santa Ana River, for decades. However, in recent years, sediment buildup has made recreational activities in the area more challenging. Residents also have raised issues with the odor from the waterway stemming from the murky silt being exposed during low tide.

The city has long known that the area needed to be dredged, but securing funding and permits delayed the process for several years.

The material at the bottom of the waterway is more silt and mud than sand, so it cannot be used to replenish local beaches. Instead, crews will have to dry it out and take it to a landfill, which drives up the cost of the project, said Public Works Director Dave Webb.

Its a little more challenging operation than youre typical dredging project, he said.

The California Department of Transportation has agreed to contribute $500,000 to the dredging project. The city will cover the remainder of the cost.

Councilman Ed Selich said removing the silt also will improve tidal flow and promote a healthier marine environment in the water, which has long been a goal of city leaders.

Itll help the water quality and biodiversity of the slough area, he said. If you have good clean water over there youre going to have a much healthier marine environment.

If the council approves the contract, crews could start work as early as November.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
When considering Californias economy, the Golden State fares exceptionally well compared with the rest of the country, though Sacramentos reliance on high-income earners to fund state coffers could be a problem in the future, a UCLA economist told attendees of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce 2017 Economic Forecast.

The event at the Fairmont Newport Beach hotel attracted about 200 guests and featured data presented by Jerry Nickelsburg from the universitys Anderson School of Management.

Nickelsburg, an adjunct economics professor, noted Californias recent gains in payroll job growth but warned that Proposition 55  a measure on the Nov. 8 ballot that would extend an income tax rate passed in 2012  would force California to continue relying on money from the states highest-earning residents. That habit, he added, could backfire in the event of another recession, because the highest earners lose the most during such periods.

Thus, Nickelsburg concluded, depending on them to bolster the general fund makes for a volatile source.

Nickelsburg also said that Proposition 64, which would legalize marijuana for recreational use, is unlikely to make much of a dent for California. While it will create jobs  as many as 130,000  and boost the state budget by as much as $1 billion, both are insignificant gains for the state as a whole, Nickelsburg said.

Its nice, but its not really going to help the state budget, he said.

Legalized recreational marijuana would benefit the so-called Emerald Triangle, composed of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties, where cannabis cultivation is common. Citing a Drug Enforcement Administration officials comments, Nickelsburg said the high-quality product from the region could make it the Napa and Sonoma of marijuana.

Scott Baugh, a former state assemblyman and former chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, gave a presentation about national elections. He pointed to several recent polls that indicated a win, if slight, for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over Republican nominee Donald Trump.

However, Baugh added, the GOP is expected to keep its majority in the House of Representatives. Several U.S. Senate races for Republican incumbents are less certain, he said, in light of negative reactions to some of Trumps comments.

Baugh also warned about the danger of unfunded pension liabilities, locally and statewide.

You have far too many gaps and theres too many empty buckets out there to solve the problem, he said. You cannot solve it by just going after the rich again.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
The City Council this week signed off on three years of salary increases for Glendale police officers, culminating nearly five months of very challenging negotiations between the city and the police union, whose members had gone six years without a raise.

The agreement comes with a hefty three-year price tag of $11.1 million, a cost elected officials said was well-justified, offering a draw to Glendale as police agencies struggle to fill their ranks as interest in the profession wanes amid high-profile shootings throughout the country both by and of police officers, while better-funded departments offer incentives others cannot.

I want the best police force that money can buy, said Councilman Ara Najarian. I will spend almost anything to protect my family, to protect your family.

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Approved this week in a 4-0 vote (Mayor Paula Devine was absent), the agreement kicked in Oct. 1, with police officers and sergeants receiving a 3% salary bump. That will be followed by another 3% hike next July and a 3.5% increase a year later.

Also, employees with certain Peace Officer Standards & Training certificates will earn an extra $125 a month the first year, plus an extra $150 a month in each of the following two years.

Its huge for officer morale, and will hopefully prevent any of our officers from leaving this agency for compensation reasons, said Sgt. Jason Ross, president of the Glendale Police Officers Assn. At the same time, we hope itll continue to attract the best candidates out there.

Locally, police are grappling with a jump in crime while working to fill four police officer vacancies, including the positions of three trainees who recently turned in their badges after finding the stresses of the job too great.

Two of those trainees quit after they were shaken by five police officers being gunned down in Dallas in July during a protest over police shootings, followed by another three officers killed in Baton Rouge 10 days later.

A survey comparing the salaries and benefits of police officers and sergeants in 10 other cities, including Burbank, Inglewood and Santa Monica, found that Glendale police officers fall nearly 12% below average.

Were not paying them more than the average, were not setting the trend, Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said of the pay under the agreement. Were merely trying to catch up with it.

He said he worried about officers getting poached by higher-paying agencies, especially as police departments throughout the state compete for qualified applicants.

We will have served a function of an incubator, he said. We bring these police officers up, we train them, we bring them to fruition, make them good officers, and then we have to lose them to another city thats willing to pay them more money.

While council members were overwhelmingly supportive of the agreement, it comes with a catch.

A clause toward the end of the 126-page document states that it shall be nullified if the city loses the ability to transfer money from the electric fund to the citys General Fund, which pays for most public services, including police officer salaries.

At $20.1 million, the last transfer in June accounted for nearly 11% of the citys budgeted General Fund revenues, according to Glendale City Atty. Mike Garcia. At the end of this fiscal year, the city anticipates another transfer of roughly the same amount.

The city, however, was sued over the practice, which the plaintiff said amounted to hidden taxes.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that the city violated Proposition 26 when electricity rates were increased in 2013 to continue funding the transfer.

Under the proposition, approved in 2010, a rate hike to pay for something thats not related to the cost of providing the service requires a two-thirds approval by voters.

At a hearing next week, the judge will decide how the city will have to credit ratepayers, as well as whether that decision will be stayed on appeal, Garcia said.

The city plans to appeal, he said, arguing that a provision in the proposition states that its not retroactive, and therefore the city acted lawfully.

Our view is, because that transfer existed prior to 2013, thats something we can still continue to charge as part of our rates, he said, adding that the transfer has been approved by voters in the past. We dont feel we should have to go back to voters to get it approved each time we want to increase electric rates.

The appeal process could take up to two years, during which time the city hopes to continue making the transfers.

It would be very disruptive to us to stop our current practice, which we believe is lawful, Garcia said. Were taking into account all the risks. This transfer is not an insignificant portion of our General Fund revenues, so we cant just stop on a dime and go in a different direction.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
MOROCCO

In September we ventured to Tarifa, Spain, and then to Tangier by way of a $35 ferry. We were picked up at the sparkling clean-water port by Aziz Begdouri, tour guide and owner of a restored 14th century riad. The next three days were a visual and gastronomic treat at Hotel La Maison Blanche with a tour of the old casbah, the medina and a drive along hillside points where the Mediterranean and Atlantic join.

Riad La Maison Blanche, 2 Rue Ahmed Ben Ajiba, Tangier; lamaisonblanchetanger.com

Marilyn Haese

Los Angeles
Hussam Matti knelt to the ground, grabbed two fistfuls of brown-gray sand and poured it over his head. The grains mixed with the sweat on his brow as he stood up, smiled and threw up his arms.

This is the earth of Bartella, he shouted. This is our land.

Government forces earlier this week recaptured this Assyrian Christian-dominated town, just eight miles east of Mosul and a crucial gateway to Islamic States most important stronghold in Iraq. But on Saturday, the soundtrack of the war  the clatter of gunfire, the powerful booms of artillery and airstrikes  could still be heard nearby.

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Skirmishes also continued Saturday in Kirkuk,100 miles southeast of Mosul, where Islamic State militants a day earlier had launched a major counter-assault. Local officials said at least 80 people were killed in the operation, mainly Kurdish security forces, and about 170 were wounded.

The bodies of 56 militants were removed from the city, local officials said.

Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said after a meeting in Baghdad with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

The recapture of Bartella is considered a crucial hurdle in the week-old drive toward Mosul, and, for residents returning for the first time since Islamic State militants were ejected this week, the return home Saturday was a day of celebration.

Many had never expected their small town of 20,000 to fall under the grip of the violent militant group.

Two years ago, many here watched in amazement as security personnel stationed in Mosul fled in fear when Islamic State militants entered the city and announced their caliphate.

Most Bartella residents, many said, presumed they would be safe while the extremist group continued its scythe-like offensive south of Mosul, aiming toward Baghdad.

Even several weeks after Mosuls fall, Bartella residents were still congregating in tiny cafes off the main strip to sip coffee and play dominoes. Though facing shortages of water and electricity, people still gathered for services in the towns three active churches.

But the jihadists had other plans. Seeking to secure the areas around their new de-facto capital, they soon turned their sights on the sprawling flatlands known as the Nineveh Plains. In August of 2014, they swept away Kurdish troops and the Hirasaat local protection forces guarding Bartella, considered the eastern gateway to Mosul.

Residents, hearing rumors of the jihadists rampage, fled mere hours before the coming onslaught to Irbil, 37 miles to the east. They found themselves refugees, settling in the musty confines of unfinished buildings or makeshift camps in church courtyards. In the weeks that followed, those who could, left. Two years later, many remain.

This week, as part of the Mosul campaign, members of Iraqs elite Counter-Terrorism Service routed the militants from Bartella. By all accounts it was a brutal battle, where every street was the site of a bare-knuckled fight against militants who dispatched waves of car bombs and posted snipers at every turn.

On Saturday, troops were advancing in Humvees along the Mosul-Irbil highway that bisects the town. Wary soldiers kept their eyes peeled for mines and snipers as they walked gingerly through alleyways and debris-filled fields.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, about nine miles east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

One soldier displayed a picture he had taken recently with one of his colleagues. The friend had been killed overnight after a suicide bomber emerged from a tunnel in the building he had entered.

A militant comes in from one building, takes a tunnel and emerges from another several doors down. How can we clean this place up? he asked, the frustration in his voice evident.

But for Matti, despite the dangers, it was nothing short of a homecoming.

In these two years I died. The 32 years Ive lived so far  you can forget about them. Today Im born, he said, as he and his comrades, all members of a Christian militia known as the Nineveh Plains Force, lashed two pieces of timber to make a cross.

They carried it to the top of Mar Shmony, a church on the towns eastern flank. There, ringed by counterterrorism service members who urged them to watch for sniper fire, they hoisted the cross over the churchs dome and adorned it with an Iraqi flag. One man, with a touch of ceremony, placed a nativity scene set he had fished out from the wreckage of the church at the cross base.

I dont know what to do. Cry? Laugh? I just cant believe Im here, said Khaled Shamoun, a 52-year-old militiaman, looking up at the cross as a soldier rang the nearby church bell.

Shamoun had come back from Baghdad four days earlier along with his son to join in the fight for Christian areas here. He was eager to go into his hometown of Qaraqosh, an Assyrian Christian city located 20 miles southeast of Mosul, still in the hands of Islamic State.

Government forces here saved us from this non-Islamic State. They saved us from those rats, those dogs, he said.

The militiamen then trundled to the churchs interior, picking their way through the detritus of scorched prayer books and an overturned engraved wooden pulpit to sit on pews before Mar Shmonys ancient altar. In unison, they recited the Lords Prayer.

The disarray in the church served as a reminder of what had been lost; Mar Shmony had once been an elegant place of worship, with octagonal marble columns and delicate stone filigree. Its courtyard was presided over by a statue of Patriarch Yacoub the Third, an important figure in the Syriac Orthodox Church who hailed from Bartella.

Now, the face had been smashed by the militants, who count any depiction of faces to be pagan. The walls bore the groups notorious black and white logo, but also had graffiti saying [Islam] is above the cross and Islamic State is remaining and expanding.

Elsewhere in the town, the jihadists had left their mark. They had used a stencil to spray paint Property of Islamic State on houses and businesses they had confiscated from Christian owners, underlining the stamp with the Arabic letter for n for Nasrani, a Koranic term for Christians that some consider a pejorative. (Some residents, hoping to avoid a ransacking, had hastily scrawled, Owned by a Sunni Muslim with their phone number on shop doors.)

The damage was not as widespread as that seen in other cities taken back from Islamic State earlier this year. But for some, such as Saher Shamoun, an avuncular old man who had come to check on his house, the victory was bittersweet.

He gazed at a jumble of masonry and steel, all that remained of the house he had spent years building on the salary of a government employee, his former job.

Although he had heard from friends checking satellite images on Google Earth that it had been destroyed, he had insisted on coming to see for himself.

When I saw it my heart clenched, he said. My sons lived and got married here, and their children lived here. He said he did not have the money to rebuild it.

His phone rang, and he spoke to another Bartella resident hungry for news of his own house.

When he hung up, Shamoun lifted the phone and snapped a picture of the rubble.

People will come back to their homes  . What will I do, put up a tent? he said.

Where is the justice in that?

Special Correspondent Haidar Abdul-Ilah in Bertella and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

12:40 a.m.: This story was updated throughout with staff reporting.

This story was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
The death of Luis Zarate comes as the company is working to restructure its debt after a $1.35 billion default
Microsoft is accused installing "back doors" for the USA government to access customer communications. The software giant opened a center in Brazil on Wednesday where officials will be able to inspect its programming code.

The world's biggest software company showed off its fourth 'Transparency Center' in Brasilia where experts from Latin America and the Caribbean will be able to view the source code of its products.

After the former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden leaked documents in 2013 that was capturing massive amounts of data from emails in the major US technology companies including Microsoft. In order to build trust follows by heightened suspicious Microsoft opened this center in Brazil.

The centers in Brazil contains reinforced walls and comes with strict security procedures, including the banning of electronic devices, local servers without the internet can display copies of code for its email and server products. The copies are deleted, reported by Reuters.

Viewers can use software tools to examine the code. This was not immediately clear whether experts would be able to run deep code analysis necessary to uncover back doors or other bugs, said by Microsoft.

However, it is by no means certain the effort by Microsoft will diminish concerns about spying, but the Brazil's reaction to the opening up a new center for the Software Company was initially positive. The centers allow for face to face discussion between government experts and developers.

This center is showing that there are no traps, it is good to step", said by Brazilian Government officials. The software giant also established other codes inspection side in other parts of the word. The first sight is located in Redmond, Washington in 2014. Other sites are located in Brussels and Singapore. Another transparency center will be coming next month in Beijing, reported by W Tech Week Europe

"Governments can verify for themselves that there are no back doors," said Mark Estberg, senior director of Microsoft's global government program.
A 54-year-old Whitehall Township man fled at speeds of up to 90 mph Friday morning on Route 22 before he was arrested in Bethlehem Township, police said.

Barry Jay Mahr was driving a silver Dodge Caravan about 8:30 a.m. from Shoenersville Road onto Route 22 East in Hanover Township, Northampton County, when Colonial Regional Patrolman John Bowlby tried to pull him over, Bowlby said.

Mahr was wanted on a warrant related to an August assault case, Bowlby said. He also is on probation after pleading guilty to another crime in September.

Mahr fled from Route 22 to southbound Route 33 and then onto William Penn Highway, where Bethlehem Township police arrested him, Bowlby said.

Mahr was taken to Lehigh County Jail, where he is being held without bail.

He pleaded guilty on Sept. 6 to disorderly conduct involving fighting; charges of simple assault and harassment were dropped. He was sentenced to six months of probation, according to court records.

Mahr was already on 12 months probation for possession of drug paraphernalia and in a 12-month probationary program involving Whitehall charges of DUI tied to the same April 25, 2015, incident. If he had completed the probationary program without incident, the DUI charges would have been wiped from his record.

The Lehigh County Adult Probation Office said the disorderly conduct plea violated Mahr's probation and ARD. The chase will be another violation, the office said. A hearing as of Tuesday had yet to be help on the alleged violations.

Bowlby said Mahr would be charged with fleeing and eluding police in connection with Friday's pursuit. It was unclear if Bethlehem Township had any additional charges.

More information may be released over the weekend, Bowlby said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
PRINCETON -- Police officers in New Jersey used a defibrillator they carry in their patrol cars to restart a Lehigh Valley man's heart recently.

The man, William Melin, 76, of Easton, is recovering at a New Jersey hospital, and his wife Virginia was so grateful of the teamwork that saved him, she agreed to let police use his name to publicize the incident.

"She was just really appreciative," Lt. Jon Bucchere said Friday. He talked to Virginia Thursday to follow-up on Melin's health, he said.

Melin is a retired professor at Lafayette College.

File photo

Police and EMS were dispatched to the Arts Council of Princeton on Witherspoon Street Oct. 15 for a reported unresponsive male, Bucchere said.

Patrol officers Thomas Lagomarsino and Daniel Chitren were directed to the second floor and an unconscious Melin on the floor.

The officers started CPR and a short time later Patrol Officer Lucas Schwab arrived with an AED - an automated external defibrillator.

Schwab placed the AED pads on Melin's chest while the other officers continued to perform chest compressions and rescue breathing, Bucchere said.

The AED - which instructs users - ordered two shocks to Melin's chest.

Moments later, Melin had a pulse and began breathing again, Bucchere said.

The Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad took Melin to the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, N.J.

Bucchere said Melin's since been transferred to another hospital in New Jersey for further care, but his wife said he's doing well.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Pennsylvania flooding

Sheb Brown, of Trout Run, Pa., stands behind his elevated home on McIntyre Way as flood waters surround it Friday morning, Oct. 21, 2016. Freak storms packing up to 100 mph winds hit Pennsylvania early Friday, sending floodwaters into hundreds of homes and causing a pipeline rupture that dumped more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline into a stream, threatening drinking water supplies.

(Phillip A. Holmes/Sun-Gazette via AP)

Drinking water for thousands of central Pennsylvania residents is being monitored after a fuel pipeline ruptured Friday during torrential rain that triggered floods and mudslides damaging hundreds of homes, according to reports.

A man stands at the end of Lower Bodines Road, north of Trout Run, Pa., as it is closed by flood waters Friday, Oct. 21, 2016.

An 8-inch Sunoco Logistics pipeline carrying gasoline, diesel and home heating oil broke, spilling nearly 55,000 gallons of gas into the Loyalsock Creek, a tributary for the west branch of the Susquehanna River in Lycoming County, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

There was no indication thus far that any water supplies had been affected and no petroleum products were detected in the Susquehanna, both the AP and Williamsport Sun Gazette reported.

However, some municipalities in the area were taking precautions including switching to alternate water sources and asking residents to conserve water, the Sun Gazette reported.

A rescue team on a flooded McIntyre Way, in Trout Run, Pa., heads out to rescue another three-member team of volunteer firefighters whose boat became snagged in flood debris and deflated, Friday, Oct. 21, 2016.

The storm late Thursday into Friday dumped up to 7 inches of rain on areas of western and central Pennsylvania, the AP said.

The severe weather resulted in at least one fatality -- a popular teacher died in Clinton County after a tree fell into his house, throwing him from the structure, according to The (Lock Haven) Express.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Google is once again calling on young people in schools across Laois to get doodling for the ninth annual Doodle 4 Google competition which is now live.

This year students are being encouraged to celebrate innovation and creativity using the theme If I could create anything it would be to inspire their doodle.

In April 2017 the overall winning Doodle will be seen by millions of internet users when it appears on the Google.ie homepage.

The prizes for this years winning doodle will be a 5,000 scholarship towards the students third-level studies. In addition, the winning students school will receive a 10,000 technology grant. Also, each of the five category winners and their teachers will receive Chromebooks.

A second class pupil of Abbeyleix South National School reached the voting stage of the Doodle 4 Google Competition in 2014.

Charis Tomb achieved a place in the Group 2 Category for her artwork entitled My Mermaid Sister.

Open to both primary and secondary schools throughout the Republic of Ireland, the Doodle 4 Google completion is made up of five different categories:

 Category 1  Junior Infants, Senior Infants

 Category 2 - 1st Class, 2nd Class, 3rd Class

 Category 3  4th Class, 5th Class, 6th Class

 Category 4  1st Year, 2nd Year, 3rd Year

 Category 5  Transition Year, 5th Year, 6th Year and Youthreach

A judging panel will help narrow down the thousands of entrants to 75 regional winners, 15 from each category. The 75 finalists will then have their doodles showcased on the Doodle 4 Google website where the general public will be able to vote for Doodle in each category when voting opens on 7th February 2017. The Grand Final will then take place on April 3rd where the overall winner will be announced.

The deadline for entries is the 26th of November, 2016 and entries can be submitted online.

For more information on the competition please visit http://doodles.google.ie/d4g/.
On October 20th, People First Credit Union will join 57,000 credit unions from around the world to celebrate International Credit Union Day, an annual event which celebrates the important role and contribution that financial cooperatives play in the local communities in which they serve.

To celebrate this special day, People First Credit Union is launching a new Mobile App where members can check their balance, move money in and out of their account and much more, all from the palm of their hand.

Members are invited to join staff on Thursday 20th October in our Abbeyleix office from 10am  11.30am and our Portlaoise office from 12pm  2.30pm to celebrate a great year for People First Credit Union growing stronger together!

International Credit Union Day has been celebrated annually since 1948 in October. The international event affords credit unions across Ireland the opportunity to remember credit unions proud history and promote awareness of and support for the credit union difference.

This years theme, The Authentic Difference celebrates what makes credit unions truly different. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that provide an effective and viable alternative to for-profit financial institutions for over 217 million members in 105 countries worldwide.

People First Credit Union serves over 25,000 members. In the past year alone People First Credit Union has provided almost 25 million in loans within the community and donated over 26,000 back into the community. Speaking about International Credit Union Day Carol Dempsey Marketing & Business Development Executive at People First Credit Union said the Credit Union Movement only came to Ireland in 1958 and has since tapped in to the co-operative spirit. It's a worldwide phenomenon that just keeps on growing  which is a real cause for international celebration! It is a unique people-centred service to meet the unique needs of ordinary people. Anyone can join a credit union - one of the differences from opening a bank account is that you become a member  and not just a number.

This theme honours credit unions mission to put people before profit. All credit unions share a common goal to offer access to affordable financial services to all their members and provide even the most financially disadvantaged the tools and the opportunities to be financially self-sufficient. This is the credit union difference that makes a real impact.

"People First Credit Union is embedded in the local Portlaoise, Stradbally, Ballinkill and Abbeyleix community. Because of our members, we are able to play a vital role in the development and financial stability of the community. Yes we are changing to meet member's needs, like introducing new electronic payment services, online access to accounts, and a raft of other services like bill pay and foreign exchange but our ethos remains the same, said Carol.
Weekends are the by far the most difficult time of the week for full time carers, which is why 24/7 Family Carers in North Leitrim have set up The Saturday Club.

The independent carer support group in North Leitrim have been planning The Saturday Club for over a year, so they were delighted to hold their first club meeting in September and now extend an invite to other carers in the area to get in contact, get involved and benefit from the project.

The support group meet weekly and discovered among their members late last year that weekends were by far the most difficult time of the week.

The group decided to investigate the possibility of starting a club to facilitate carers in the area who would like to have some free time on Saturdays.

With a lot of help and support from the New Ballagh Centre and funds donated to the group by Independent MEP Marian Harkin The Saturday Club is up and running.

According to Olivia Mitchell, chairperson of the group, We had a very successful first Saturday back in September and our October Saturday Club was held on Saturday 15th. We have a nurse and carer on duty all day and support from our members who volunteer their valuable time to ensure the clients are well cared for throughout the day.

If there is anyone who feels they would benefit from the club, they should make enquiries by email to 24/7familycarers@gmail.com

The group who have carers from across North Leitrim caring for family members of all ages and with a wide range of issues, would also like to also acknowledge grants and donations from the HSE, Gilbert's Pharmacy and Carrickeeney Wind Farm.

They would also like to take this opportunity to ask businesses in the North Leitrim area to please consider them for funding in their 2017 budget, as we depend on local contrabutions to function says Olivia.

The support group for 24/7 family carers meets every Thursday from 11- 1pm in the Hub, Park Road, Manorhamilton and monthly in the Dartry Centre, Kinlough. Keep an eye on local notes in for more info.
A wonderful event to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Nigerian Independence was recently held in Carrick-on-Shannon. The event was organised by Leitrim International Community Group with the assistance of Leitrim Development Company and Breffni Family Resource Centre.

This event, which took place in the Market Yard in Carrick-on-Shannon, proved a lively occasion with the beat of African drumming; face painting for children, a taste of some delicious Nigerian food and an opportunity to learn about Nigerian culture.

Display stands outlined the history of Nigeria and some well-known folk tales were available for people to view.

The Nigerian community in Carrick-on-Shannon were pleased to have an opportunity to celebrate this event which is a significant day in their country.

Leitrim International Community Group which organised the event is a new group established with the assistance of Leitrim Development Company and currently meets fortnightly in Breffni Family Resource Centre on Tuesdays from 1pm to 3pm. Members are from a range of countries including Nigeria, Panama, Estonia, India, Kurdistan and Ireland. The group provides an opportunity for members to share their experiences, increase understanding of different cultures, bring everyone together in a shared space and promote integration.

We would like to thank everyone who made this event such an enjoyable occasion including Breffni Family Resource Centre, Leitrim Development Company, the Market Yard, and members of the Leitrim International Community Group and everyone who attended the event.

This Nigerian Independence Day event was funded jointly by the Community Foundation of Ireland and Leitrim Development Company through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP).
Google is once again calling on young people across Leitrim to get doodling for the ninth annual Doodle 4 Google competition which is now live.

This year, students are being encouraged to celebrate innovation and creativity using the theme If I could create anything it would be to inspire their doodle. In April 2017 the overall winning Doodle will be seen by millions of internet users when it appears on the Google.ie homepage.

Speaking at the launch, Ronan Harris, Head of Google Ireland said, Innovation and creativity are the driving forces behind everything we do at Google. Here were surrounded by modern day mathematicians, scientists, inventors and artists whose imaginations are key to Googles success. So what better theme to choose for this years competition that to let the students get their creative juices flowing. Were constantly amazed by the level of originality and talent shown by the entrants and we are sure that this year will be no different.

Open to both primary and secondary schools throughout the Republic of Ireland, the Doodle 4 Google completion is made up of five different categories:

 Category 1  Junior Infants, Senior Infants

 Category 2 - 1st Class, 2nd Class, 3rd Class

 Category 3  4th Class, 5th Class, 6th Class

 Category 4  1st Year, 2nd Year, 3rd Year

 Category 5  Transition Year, 5th Year, 6th Year and Youthreach

A judging panel will help narrow down the thousands of entrants to 75 regional winners, 15 from each category. The 75 finalists will then have their doodles showcased on the Doodle 4 Google website where the general public will be able to vote for Doodle in each category when voting opens on 7th February 2017. The Grand Final will then take place on April 3rd where the overall winner will be announced.

The prizes for this years winning doodle will be a 5,000 scholarship towards the students third-level studies. In addition, the winning students school will receive a 10,000 technology grant. Also, each of the five category winners and their teachers will receive Chromebooks.

The deadline for entries is the 26th of November, 2016 and entries can be submitted online.

For more information on the competition please visit http://doodles.google.ie/d4g/.
Women throughout the region are urged to attend a Womens Wellbeing Conference which will take place on Thursday, November 10 in the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon.

The conference is being organised by Roscommon Womens Network in association with the Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force. The theme of the conference is around general issues effecting women lives today, with a particular focus on the effect that substance misuse has on health and wellbeing.

The conference will include a dynamic mix of speakers and presentations. Special guests include Sheila Moylett one of the stars of the new RTE hit comedy Cant Cope, Wont Cope as well as Debbie McDonagh of the Western Regional Drugs Taskforce and Dr Madeline Ni Dhalaigh of the Kelly Henry Medical Centre.

The opening address will be delivered by Tara Farrell, Chairperson of Roscommon Womens Network while Nora Fahy, Manager of RWN will sit on the Questions and Answers panel section of the conference.

The conference will include talks, reflections, poetry, drama and a selection of information stands which will be followed by a panel discussion with the audience.

Other contributors include acclaimed poet Jessamine O Connor of the Millwheel Writers Group, while a short drama by Reidin Dunne of EPIC is also sure to prove a talking point of the conference. Karen Gavin, HSE, Community Substance Misuse Counsellor will also talk about removing the silence around mental health and addiction and how to reach out to the many supports available.

Karen will provide information on how to support ourselves and others to maintain positive mental health and the many services available around the county.

Susan Davis of the ANEW group at RWN will also address the conference. Other speakers will include Stephanie Murray, Locum Peer Educator with the Regari College and Eimer Connaughton, Senior Occupational Therapist in Community Mental Health.

Nora Fahy, Manager of RWN believes that the Womens Wellbeing Conference will provide a great opportunity for women to network and create a sense of wellbeing and solidarity.

We hope that women who come to the conference will leave with new information as well as with a sense of wellbeing and solidarity. We hope to have individual women and womens groups from all over the county and beyond attending so it should be an excellent opportunity for networking.

"The conference is a chance for RWN to hear from the women of the county on issues that affect them which in turn supports RWN to identify strengths and needs which will determine our work plan into the future, explained Ms Fahy.

The RWN Manager pointed out that RWN has survived the economic downturn and even expanded the range of supports and services despite a 30% cut in budget over the last six years.

This success is primarily due to the good will of the voluntary board , staff , our many volunteers, community support, Castlerea CE scheme and TUS scheme.

"As an organisation we are entering an exciting time of change and renewal. We are hopeful that the upturn in the economy will indicate a reversal of the budget cuts to community projects and social inclusion programmes of recent years, so this conference is timely in that it gives RWN an opportunity to hear from women on the issues that affect them which in turn will inform our strategic direction and work plan for the coming years.

In March this year RWN secured funding from Tusla for the Castlerea Family Resource Centre which when established in 2017 will take over some of the family support work being carried out at the RWN centre in Castlerea currently- this in turn will free up RWN staff and volunteers to reach out and support to many more women and groups all around the county, said Ms Fahy.

The Womens Wellbeing Conference in the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon on Thursday, November 10th evening promises to be both entertaining and informative. There is no admission charge and the conference will run from 7p.m.-9.15p.m. with a light finger buffet served at 9.15pm.
AN EDWARDIAN Limerick woman in a high-necked wedding dress with a ruffled bodice gazes down the lens of the camera capturing her image, while her new moustached husband looks on.

Across the page, the same family is photographed again in formal wear, with two white-clothed babies at a christening.

The woman later appears dressed head to toe in black, without her husband, and with two children at her side.

These incredible photos seem to tell a story about a well-off family who lived more than a hundred years ago, documents from the most significant points in their lives. The photographs, from a set of over 200 glass plates, were found in a skip on OConnell Avenue.

They make up just a few of more than a hundred photos in Limerick, a Stroll Down Memory Lane, the 16th volume of the historical photo book by local man Sean Curtin.

Sometimes people say I live in the past, but Ive just got a love of old photographs, said Sean, who used to work at the Limerick Leader.

He has released a volume every year since 2001, but he never reuses photographs, saying that my great fear is using the same photo twice.

People give them to me, and in the early days I used to get permission from the Limerick Leader and I used to trawl through the archives. he said. He also said that he delves into library archives to uncover many of the long-forgotten photographs.

The pictures are accompanied by text, revealing the stories behind the scenes. Titbits of information have been provided by other knowledgeable locals, including Sharon Slater, Pat Kirwan, John Wilson, and Mick ORourke from Ennis.

Included in the book are dozens of documents, including a 1590 hand-drawn map of Limerick city.

Ornate bill heads for shops on Georges Street (now OConnell Street) feature from the nineteenth century.

In one of lifes little ironies, Sean notes, a prize for a 1945 raffle in aid of Barringtons Hospital was a princely 200 cigarettes. Of course, a hospital raffling off a carton of cigarettes wouldnt have seemed so strange at the time.

The great gunpowder explosion of 1837 is recounted in the book, as told through a 1953 article from the Limerick Chronicle.

The tragedy in the city centre took 11 lives, but also produced many incredible stories of survival.

The explosion, written in the Chronicle as a catastrophe of a most lamentable character, occurred on the premises of William Richardson, gunmaker and gunpowder merchant, on 1 Georges Street.

In the house next door, a Mrs Ryan and her children slept soundly until the explosion blew the house into ruins. The family miraculously survived. One of the boys, William, was blown up in the air on his mattress, and came down on the street some distance away, with the mattress blazing around him. According to the article, he slept all the while, and sustained no injuries. His brother Edmund also survived, and later became the Mayor of Limerick.

Another woman in the house had no idea that anything had happened, until she woke up the next morning in Arthurs Quay, buried underneath a pile of rubble. Some people were also blown into neighbouring houses.

Between the covers lay dozens of human stories like this one from the Limerick of the past.

The production of the book is labour intensive, with many others lending a helping hand. Many of the images were in need of restoration, and Sean especially thanks the computer wizardry of photographer Billy Butler.

The burgundy-covered 16th volume features a bustling, vibrant OConnell Street in the 60s on the front.

It will be available in shops throughout the city, as well as the Milk Market on Fridays and Saturdays, in the run up to Christmas.

Seans love of old photographs endures, and he hopes to keep making the books until volume 20, at the very least.

Its Limericks history, and if theyre not published, people wont know what Limerick was like, in the old days and in the not too distant past either.
A Limerick man has been found guilty by a jury of threatening to kill a senior Limerick-based detective.

Following a two-day trial, a jury of eight men and three women found Darren OHalloran, aged 31, of Aurea Cottage, Dublin Road, guilty of threatening to kill Detective Garda Pat Whelan in a phone call to Henry Street garda station on April 2, 2015.

He was also found guilty of threatening to cause damage to the detectives home, after their deliberations which lasted just over an hour and a half at Limerick Circuit Court.

The defendant will be sentenced next Friday, October 28.

In his evidence, Detective Garda Pat Whelan said he was on duty at around 2pm when a phone call was received in the crime office at Henry Street garda station.

He told the jury the caller identified himself as Darren Joey and that he immediately recognised the person on the phone as the accused man.

During closing arguments, Anthony Sammon, SC, for the defence, said the investigation was shallow and incomplete, and he urged the jury to be careful when deciding upon the reliability of phone evidence.

Judge Tom ODonnell also added that there were no formal voice identification procedures in place at the time, nor are there any now.

During evidence, the detective told John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, that during the subsequent conversation Mr OHalloran suggested that he and his brother, Aaron, would do no more crime if gardai backed off.

Det Whelan said when he indicated to the caller that gardai would not be backing down, the defendant became aggressive on the phone. He told the court he threatened to finish him saying: Go get your V6 Mondeo, Ill ram you off the road at 160 miles an hour.
FINE Gaels Elenora Hogan is now officially a councillor after she was formally co-opted onto Limericks local authority.

Ms Hogan, a pharmacy manager who lives at the South Circular Road, officially joined Limerick City and County Council at a special meeting on Friday.

Her co-option comes 181 days after the seat in City West was vacated following her cousin, the former mayor Maria Byrnes elevation to the Seanad. Ms Hogan beat Patrickswell man Fergus Kilcoyne and Raheens Felim Cronin at a selection convention in the South Court Hotel last weekend.

It was Cllr John Sheahan who formally proposed Ms Hogan onto the local authority, the partys council leader describing her as a loyal and trusted member of Fine Gael.

Seconding her, Cllr Daniel Butler added: She is a very well known and passionate Fine Gael lady. She is passionate about her city. Her passion and expertise will stand us all in good stead.

Taking her seat, Ms Hogan said: "I am looking forward to working as a councillor. I am hoping with your support I can represent the people of Limerick City West as best I can.

Fine Gael MEPs Deirdre Clune and Sean Kelly were present at County Hall to witness her co-option, as was Ms Byrne.

The new councillor was congratulated by Fianna Fail leader Michael Collins, Sinn Fein leader Malachy McCreesh, Independent councillor Brigid Teefy and her new constituency colleague, Labour councillor Joe Leddin.

Ms Hogan was also appointed to the travel and transportation and economic committees.

Since it was the first time the 40 councillors had met since the death of Anthony Foley, a moments silence was observed.
Oct 22, 2016, 10 AM

Mint never-hinged panes of 50 of the United States 5 Chinese Resistance commemorative issued July 7, 1942 (Scott 906), are in demand and selling in the $350-to-$400 price range.

By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Last week, we tipped mint never-hinged panes of 50 of the United States 4 Dr. Sun Yat-sen commemorative stamp (Scott 1188), based on its popularity with Chinese collectors.

However, there is another U.S. stamp even more in demand by Chinese collectors: the 5 Chinese Resistance commemorative issued July 7, 1942 (Scott 906).

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The stamp was issued following the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to show support for China, which had been battling the Japanese invaders since 1937. The stamps design features a map of China with inset portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Chinese founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Many U.S. stamps issued during this period can still be found in dealers discount postage boxes. But the 2017 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values the stamp in mint never-hinged condition at $3.

Chinese president honored on in-demand U.S. stamp: Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a nationalist revolutionary who led the movement to overthrow the last emperor of China and establish a republic.

However, the great demand is for mint panes of 50, which are selling at $350 to $400. We last tipped this mint pane of 50 in the Sept. 17, 2012, Stamp Market Tips. If you find a mint pane at the lower end of that price range, it is a good buy. As always, when buying mint panes, look for an example without perforation separation.

The Scott U.S. Specialized catalog values plate-number blocks of four in mint never-hinged condition at $20. There is some demand for these as well, selling in the $10-to-$15 price range.

9 Important Steps to Succesfully Soak Stamps: You can get a stamp collection going with just a few things most everyone can find around their home  get instant access to our exclusive Linn's Stamp News report.
How to create stamp album pages with your computer

Oct 21, 2016, 3 PM

The FreeStampAlbum.com website creates album pages based on settings that you supply.

This Vatican City stamp album page was downloaded from the Timbres Mondial Album (World Stamp Album) website. Pages from multiple countries can be found on this site.

Part of the trains youth stamp album page available on the American Topical Associations website.

By William F. Sharpe

There are three ways to obtain or create album pages with your computer.

The easiest approach is to download completed album pages.

You also can use album page creation programs that are specifically designed for stamp collectors.

Finally, you can use commercial programs, such as Word, Publisher or Powerpoint modules from Microsoft Office; the Draw module from LibreOffice; Scribus; InDesign; or PrintMaster. This is just a small sampling; there are many other commercial programs that will let you create your own album pages.

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William Steiners website provides the most complete set of album pages. You can download some sample pages free from this site, or you can purchase a $30 annual license to download any and all of the available pages.

Steiner keeps his pages up to date. Annual update pages for United States stamps can be downloaded even after your annual license expires.

A Google search revealed additional album pages. I found a source from France, Timbres Mondial Album (World Stamp Album) that provides multiple country pages at no cost.

While the album pages from many of the countries display French descriptions, others, including those of the United States, Canada, Israel, and Vatican City, are in English. Most of the album pages extend through 2008 stamp issues.

The American Philatelic Society offers many album pages right here.

In addition, the American Topical Association offers youth album pages for a variety of themes. These pages are quadrille ruled with the topic name printed at the top of the page with one or more related stamps illustrated beside it. Its easy enough to place your stamps on the already-ruled page.

Anyone interested in classic United States issues from the 1800s can find a multitude of album pages at Tom Kendalls Mostly Classics site.

This site includes a basic stamp album, plus specialized pages covering most stamp types and colors, as well as pages for individual issues in all the various forms.

Kendall also offers Iceland album pages covering the years 1873 to 1944.

Dedicated stamp inventory programs include Stamp Album Studio, AlbumEasy, Stamp Album Pro, and StampCreator.

Free Stamp Album and Fresh Stamp album offers to create album pages for you online. The online form is shown above. After you have completed this form, you can download the result as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

You can pay $15 to eliminate the sites tagline in the lower right-hand corner of your pages, according to information on the sites help page. You also can find a list of other album page sites on the help page.

In the Computers and Stamps column in the July 4 Linns, I described how to create an album page with the latest version of Word, the word-processing component of Microsoft Office.

9 Important Steps to Succesfully Soak Stamps: You can get a stamp collection going with just a few things most everyone can find around their home  get instant access to our exclusive Linn's Stamp News report.

I also have written columns about other album page programs.

Linns subscribers who register their subscriptions online can find my articles by clicking on the calendar icon next to the Linns Stamp News logo at the top of the current issue. You will see the most recent 30 issues of Linns there.

Click on Go to the Archives near the top of the page to see issues of Linns back to January 2014. Next, click on the search box at the top of the archive page, then enter Computers and Stamps in the This EXACT word or phrase box. Be sure to search all issues.

Id suggest that you sort the results by newest or oldest first. You should then see all my columns published since January 2014. Click on the result of interest to read the column.
Sixty-eight may not seem that old, but for Snooty the manatee, it's a world record.

Snooty is now the world's oldest manatee living in captivity, the Guinness World Records recently announced. The sea cow was brought to South Florida Museum as an 11-month-old calf in 1949. Now 68 years old, Snooty has earned the world record title.

"We felt it was important to apply on Snooty's behalf, because we wanted people to understand that manatees can live for a long time," Marilyn Margold, director of living collections at South Florida Museum, said in a video for the Guinness World Records. "Taken proper care of, paying attention to their habitats, those things can help with their longevity. They are hearty animals overall." [Marine Marvels: Spectacular Photos of Sea Creatures]

Though they may look hearty, most manatees living in the wild die before they reach the age of 10. Algae blooms, fishing debris and boat strikes threaten these gentle giants, which are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which monitors manatee populations, the oldest wild manatee in Florida was 59 years old  with the next oldest having reached 48 years of age.

Snooty's longevity is credited to the fact that he lives in a controlled environment, a 60,000-gallon (230,000 liters) pool he shares with two other manatees at South Florida Museum. Jessica Schubick, communications manager at the museum, said that while Snooty doesn't seem to mind his pool-mates and other manatees, he's more interested in people. When Snooty turned 67 in July 2015, the marine mammal received birthday cards from fans around the world congratulating him on his incredible age.

The manatee breeding program at the museum offers visitors an educational opportunity to see that manatees do have personalities and a level of intelligence, Margold said.

"I would say that he's intelligent, he's very personable, he has the staff well trained, Margold said of Snooty. "He's just entertaining and calming at the same time."

Original article on Live Science.
Longford Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a very well attended advice day for Cameron workers. It went ahead in St Mels College on Saturday and large numbers of the workers recently put at risk of redundancy attended.

The day featured a range of talks on topics such as Employee Redundancy Entitlements, Taxation Advice, Unemployment Benefits, Re-training and Re-skilling opportunities, Financial and Mortgage Advice, Pensions, and information on how to Start a New Business.

Addressing the workers, Chamber President Derek Scanlon said he hoped that the information day would provide them with information early in the process so that they can plan for their future as soon as possible.

The President went on to pay tribute to the many local businesses who had donated tea, coffee and biscuits for the event, and also Declan Rowley of St Mels College, who made the college assembly hall available at short notice.

The information day featured Lorraine Danaher, Regional Skills Manager for the Midlands, who told workers of the opportunities available for re-training and possibly working in the med-tech area.

Other speakers included HR specialist, Evelyn Quinn of Evelyn Quinn & Associates; tax specialist Michael Keenan from Grant Thornton; pension specialist, Michael Lynch of Flynn & Lynch; Michael Nevin from the Longford Enterprise Office and Des Henry from the Department of Social Protection.

Thanking the various speakers for making themselves available at short notice, the Chamber President told the workers: We are heartened by the offers of free help that have come from local businesses and State Agencies and I want to assure the workers that the people of Longford and the many state agencies and local businesses are fully supportive of them and their efforts to re-train, find new employment or perhaps start a business.

Also speaking at the event, Longford Chamber Council member, Joe Flaherty, said the Chamber would be contacting the Department of Education to impress upon them the need to make an application on behalf of the Cameron workers for inclusion in the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
Some say romance is dead, but those who have heard about one Edgeworthstown mans proposal would beg to differ.

32-year-old Bryan Keenan, son of Geraldine and the late Jack, Marian Avenue, proposed to his girlfriend, Patricia (Trish) Kavanagh at the beginning of October at King's Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, with a ring containing her birthstone and a personalised bottle of Innis & Gunn beer.

Bryan met the Kilkenny native in their college town of Carlow almost ten years ago and they have been based in Scotland for over eight years. They are now living in Kelty, just north of Edinburgh, after buying their first house together this year.

Bryan, a hotel Chef, said a proposal was always on the back of his mind, but after his father passed away last year, he decided to get the ball rolling.

As Trish had only recently finished her college course in Veterinary Nursing and the couple had just gotten the keys to their house, they decided to keep her 30th birthday low-key. They enjoyed a dinner with Trishs sister and mum, but Bryan surprised her with a three-week holiday to Australia, which he organised with the help of Trishs sister Deirdre and school friend Aishling, who lives in Brisbane with her boyfriend Shane.

He also surprised her with a bottle of champagne, while he himself enjoyed some of his favourite Innis & Gunn beers to celebrate.

Sending a photo of the beverages to the company, they decided to get on board with Bryans proposal plans, producing a unique, custom-made bottle to help make the occasion a little smoother.

The real work came in keeping the secret from Trish.

As luck would have it, Trishs family came to visit our new house a few weeks before we flew, so I entrusted Trishs mum to bring the ring and the bottle to Ireland and not let on to Trish - no mean feat by the way! Bryan revealed.

She then passed it on to Aishling, who was in Ireland on personal business, to bring to Australia to have them there for me when we arrived.

Flying out to Australia on September 17, the proposal was planned for Bryans parents anniversary (September 23) but due to unforeseen circumstances, it had to be delayed.

It was on October 2, after a morning of sightseeing with Aishling and Shane that Bryan popped the question.

When we found a spot on the beach, the others went off under the pretext of getting a coffee to leave me to do the deed, Bryan explained. In reality, they were at a safe distance taking pictures and video recording the moment when I got on one knee.

I waited until Trish was distracted and I offered her the bottle while I got the ring out. She wasn't sure what was going on until she read the bottle twice and looked properly at the ring.

Then, amid smiles and sobs, she exclaimed 'will ya put it on me finger!', he laughed.

I took that as a yes, and of course I went to put it on the wrong hand!

I was so nervous that day, but hearing her say yes just melted all the stress... That and it was like 32 degrees out

When asked if the couple had a date in mind for the big day, Bryan simply replied; We don't have a date set just yet, but we are looking at 2018.

As a friend of my granny told me, 'a long churn makes bad butter'.
The dedication and unselfish work of committed Community Games volunteers across county Longford was recognised last Saturday night at a very successful gala awards ceremony in the Rustic Inn, Abbeyshrule.

Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Mick Cahill paid tribute to all the volunteers for their massive contribution to working with young people and he commended Longford Community Games Chairperson Joe Fox, Secretary Shirley Maloney and President Patsy Kenny for their leadership.

Michael Meaney, representing Longford Community Games sponsors Pat The Baker, said they were delighted to be associated with Community Games and he announced that Pat The Baker will be extending their sponsorship for another year and this news was greeted by rapturous applause.

National Community Games Secretary Jude Feehan commended Longford Community Games participants and volunteers for their loyalty to the organisation.

Mr Feehan congratulated Ballymahon/Forgney Community Games on winning the All-Ireland Best Area Award in 2015 and wished them every success at the National Awards ceremony in Ballinasloe on Saturday, November 26 next.

Longford Community Games secretary Shirley Maloney remarked, Well done and congratulations to all our areas and volunteer adult and youth nominees who received their recognition awards. It was great to see so many areas coming out to support them and it was a very enjoyable night out for all our area volunteers who have worked so hard during the year.

She continued, Thank you to Mr Tony Ghee from Shannonside Radio who did a wonderful job as MC, also to Cathaoirleach Longford County Council Cllr Mick Cahill, Michael Meaney Pat The Baker, Cllr Micheal Carrigy, Alan Walsh Longford Leader, Jude Feehan National Secretary Community Games and Eileen Doherty Director Community Games who all attended and presented awards.

Thank you also to the Rustic Inn for the wonderful food, decor and venue and last but definitely not least the Colin Galligan Experience who made a brilliant comeback and had everyone up dancing on the floor.

Presentations were made to all the areas who entered their area participation scoring sheets and Area Adult and Youth Volunteer nominees.

For their coverage of Community Games events throughout the year Media Awards were presented to Alan Walsh, The Longford Leader and John Lynch, Shannonside Radio (Tony Ghee accepted on his behalf).

Special presentation was also made to Mr Jude Feehan National Secretary Community Games and to Golden Jubilee Volunteer Nominee Pat Horkan, Kenagh

Overall Awards presented

Youth Volunteer: Conor English, Lanesboro

Adult Volunteer: Michelle Mulvey, Carrickedmond

Small Area Award: Newtowncashel

Large Area Award: Ballymahon/Forgney

The overall Award winners will now go on to represent County Longford at the National Awards on November 26.
A Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting has heard that burglaries in Co Longford are down by 56%.

This is bearing the fruit of a number of national initiatives that have been rolled out over the past few years, Inspector Jim Delaney told the meeting in respect of a decrease that is currently going against the national trend.

He added, One initiative targeted inter-regional traveling criminals and high volume crime and burglaries and that developed into Operation Thor 1; now we have Operation Thor 2 which is focusing on the enhancement of public and community safety and crime prevention.

Just last week, over 130 gardai, including 50 student guards, took to the streets of Carlow and Kilkenny as part of Operation Thor.

The day of action, says the force, was a high visibility policing operation whose main focus was to prevent and detect burglaries and thefts committed throughout the region.

The operation focused in particular on intelligence gathering, warrant executions, searches, arrests, crime detection and crime prevention.

As part of Operation Thor, a spike in burglaries is noted by gardai between the hours of 5pm and 10pm during the winter.

Superintendent Delaney advised homeowners across Co Longford to exercise vigilance around their home as the winter fast approaches.

The dark evenings, he added, make houses around the country easy targets for would-be criminals.

As part of Operation Thor gardai recommend installing an alarm where possible.

Light up the house this winter, lock doors and windows and sheds and just be more aware generally, said the Superintendent.

Nationally, Ireland has seen an overall increase in the number of burglaries in the past 10 years.

In 2004 there were 24,913 burglaries across Ireland  a number that was up to 27,625 last year  a national increase of 10%.
The Garda Ombudsman Commission has ordered a public inquiry after Longford Judge Alan Mitchell said that evidence provided by members of An Garda Siochana during a criminal case in Dundlak, Co Louth last week was disturbing to say the least.

The Garda Ombudsman Commission has ordered a public inquiry after Longford Judge Alan Mitchell said that evidence provided by members of An Garda Siochana during a criminal case in Dundlak, Co Louth last week was disturbing to say the least.

The matter arose after evidence was given by the garda witnesses during the trial of another garda for assault.

Garda Drew Morgan was convicted last Friday at Dundalk District Court of assaulting Derek Bradley from Clogherhead in Co Louth at Drogheda Garda Station two years ago, while Bradley was being detained on suspicion of drink driving.

Judge Mitchell sentenced Morgan to three months in prison, however the garda is currently appealing the decision.

The evidence of other gardai in the case is disturbing to say the least as some appeared to have looked away at that moment and had their views blocked, or had hazy recollections, Judge Mitchell said. It has brought to mind see, hear or speak no evil and this is not the gardas finest hour. There may be persons who heard the evidence who may feel it is appropriate to investigate further.

The Garda Commissioner subsequenlty appointed Assistant Commissioner Kieran Kenny to carry out an investigation into the matter, and it is now understood the Ombudsmans investigation will determine if any garda or reserve garda witnesses could have committed an offence or an act of indiscipline in the provision of evidence under oath, or in preparing to give evidence at the trial.
The announcement was made by Minister Canney at the fifth meeting of the Shannon Flood Risk State Agency Co-ordination Working Group in Dublin earlier this week.



An Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny TD also addressed the Group which was chaired by the incoming Chairman of the Office of Public Works Mr Maurice Buckley.



At the meeting Minister Canney announced that a decision has been taken by the Group to trial the lowering of the lake levels in Lough Allen to help mitigate potential flood risk for this Winter.



From the analysis completed, this may have a small positive impact on the extent of certain flood events that might occur during a Winter. This is to be achieved through protocols to be agreed between the OPW, the ESB and Waterways Ireland with input from the relevant Local Authorities.



The modelling and analysis completed shows that this action can only be done in specified conditions to avoid causing or exacerbating flooding downstream and this trial will need to be carefully monitored. The Group has also agreed to evaluate the benefits from any short and medium term programme of localised dredging and any future piloting to remove some pinch points along the Shannon.



Welcoming the news, Deputy Moran said the Group will discuss both this evaluation and progression with the lake levels trial at its next meeting at the end of November.

I want to congratulate the Minister and his working group for the innovative approach that they are taking to the River Shannon flooding problem. As the Minister has said, it demonstrates the continued commitment of all of the State agencies to work together in a co-ordinated way to explore all measures that may benefit the communities along the River Shannon.



Deputy Moran added that the Government is also continuing to ensure that measures to deal effectively with flooding through the development of the proactive CFRAM programme and plans, and the continued significant investment in flood defence capital schemes, will receive the highest priority and attention now and into the future."
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Columnists Press Releases
Even those Maharajas who wanted to join the Indian Union were wary of losing their power and privileges, but Kerala Varma VII was the staunchest supporter of a united Kerala.
The US military says eight al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives were killed in a pair of airstrikes in Yemen over the past two weeks. The military said the strikes were conducted to deny al Qaeda a haven in Yemen.

From a US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement released today:

The U.S. military successfully struck two targets in central Yemen, killing eight terrorists associated with the group known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. One strike Oct. 6 killed two terrorists in a remote area of the Shabwah Governorate. A second strike Oct. 18 killed six terrorists also in a remote area of the Shabwah Governorate. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula remains a significant threat to the region and to the United States, said Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques, U.S. Central Command spokesman. Al Qaedas presence has a destabilizing effect on Yemen, and we are working to deny them a haven from which to plan future attacks.

The US has stepped up its air campaign against AQAP in Yemen. The US previously targeted AQAPs network in Yemen at least twice in October, and at least 30 times in 2016, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. In 2016, the US has already exceeded the number of strikes of each of the three previous years (26 strikes in 2013, 23 each in 2014 and 2015). Since 2009, the US has launched 159 drone, missile, and conventional strikes against AQAP. [See LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002  2016.]

AQAP still controls rural areas of central and southern Yemen despite both attacks from the US and a United Arab Emirates-led ground offensive, which ejected the group from major cities and towns that it held between March 2016 and the summer of 2016. AQAP is known to operate training camps in Yemen, and claims to do so to this day. In mid-July, AQAP touted its Hamza al Zinjibari Camp, which trains its special forces. Zinjibari was an AQAP military field commander who was killed in a US drone strike in Feb. 2016.

The US military targets AQAP with the approval of Yemens government in exile. The government was forced to flee the capital of Sanaa after Houthi rebels overran it and several provinces in both north and central Yemen.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Lifestyle / Gadgets

If you attend SINGAPORE RENDEZVOUS this weekend, head over to the Epicurio Lounge where AV Intelligence, has kindly provided one of their luxury music systems.

Oct 22, 2016 | By Staff Writer

AV Intelligence SINGAPORE RENDEZVOUS Great wine and great music go hand in hand. If you attend SINGAPORE RENDEZVOUS this weekend, head over to the Epicurio Lounge where, Singapores number one purveyor of bespoke hi-fi and home theatre equipment, has kindly providedwith one of their luxury music systems, with loudspeakers from Estelon and amplifiers from Moon by Simaudio.

AV Intelligence also brought many novel ideas guest can experience for themselves, including the la Boite concept, the ingenious French supplier of speaker systems hidden in beautiful desks and coffee tables. Also making an appearance here is Ciclotte, the worlds most luxurious exercise bike, with Italian flair and design so beautiful it is a sculpture as much as a machine. Below is the Lamborghini version, which comes with leather accessories designed by Tonino Lamborghini himself.

Attendees will also meet Connexion DArt, the newest kid on the block for luxury lifestyle  bonding the finest leather backing, or engraving fully bespoke art and jewelry to any iPhone.
Style / Fashion

Tokyo may be the style capital of Asia, but with South Korea and China snapping at its heels and Japans most iconic brands rooted in Europe, the city is being urged to haul its fashion week into the big leagues. Given that the fashionably messianic (and thoroughly Japanese) Rei Kawakubo is the focus of the []

Oct 23, 2016 | By AFPRelaxnews

Tokyo may be the style capital of Asia, but with South Korea and China snapping at its heels and Japans most iconic brands rooted in Europe, the city is being urged to haul its fashion week into the big leagues. Given that the fashionably messianic (and thoroughly Japanese) Rei Kawakubo is the focus of the Met Gala in 2017, it is perhaps time to look seriously once more at Tokyo and its somewhat lackluster Fashion Week.

Tokyo Fashion Week kicked off its spring/summer 2017 season showcase last week with six days of events intended to promote 50 brands, a mixture of the established and the new.

Yet Japanese labels that are household names in the West  led by Kenzo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Kawakubos Comme des Garcons  eschew home shores for the bright lights, prestige and visibility of Paris.

Tokyo Fashion Week attracts only 50,000 visitors  just a quarter of the total number that attend New Yorks two annual fashion weeks, and also lagging behind London, Paris and Milan.

Held after the fashion merry ground exhausts the big four, few make the extra trip to Tokyo, and not many in Japan believe they are missing out.

According to a poll from local website (in Japanese obviously) Fashionsnap.com, only 20 percent of the Japanese fashion industry, including designers, stylists and editors, consider Tokyos events to be of interest.

The calendar, the no-show by the biggest brands, reluctance to open their doors to the wider public and sluggishness to embrace see-now, buy-now were all listed as shortcomings by the 221 people surveyed.

Focus on Your Own

The award-winning, Milan-based Turkish designer Umit Benan, wants to change all that.

Everyone needs to get together to make the Japanese fashion week much better, the menswear designer told reporters after making his Tokyo debut, having announced he would ditch Paris fashion week.

He called Japans menswear the most sophisticated youll see in the streets and said Tokyo was packed with the worlds most creative buyers and designers, along with some of the most sophisticated consumers around.

I think you really need to focus on your own fashion week, trying to create new waves in Japan fashion, he said, joking that he loves Japan so much, he visited 40 times in the last five years.

He called Japanese fabric second only to Italys. But unlike in Italy, where high fashion is governed by precision, he said the Japanese were willing to take risks, such as mix nylon with cashmere.

The Italians dont have the balls to mix nylon into a 200 euro fabric, he said. In Japan theyre very flexible and very creative, spontaneous when you touch it youre like my God what is this?

While Tokyo has long been a springboard for up-and-coming designers, neighboring Seoul, with its vibrant street style, and Shanghai, as the commercial capital of China, are attracting increased interest.

To me, Tokyo is the Asian fashion center with long fashion-forward history, said Hong Kong designer Vickie Au who brought her Urban Chill collection to Tokyo after showing in New York.

The street look, minimal style and clean lines of her House of V label, this season inspired by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry is well suited to Japanese taste.

Beauty of the Craft

While she has boutiques in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and online, she is looking to break into the Japanese and US markets.

Au cited Yamamoto, the famed Japanese designer based in Paris, as an inspiration, praising him as a master of modern and avant-garde tailoring.

Christelle Kocher, creative director of up-and-coming French label Koche, also said she had learnt from Yamamoto and that it had been special to be the only French brand participating in Tokyo this season.

Japanese culture is really refined and I think may be more than other places, they understand the beauty of the craft and the beauty of the time to make beautiful things, she said.

US retailing giant Amazon is sponsoring Tokyo Fashion Week for the first time, and among the fashion set in Japan there are hopes that it can help rebrand the event into something brighter and larger.

The company is already the largest clothing retailer in the United States and fashion vice president for Amazon Japan, James Peters, signalled that he is determined to replicate that success in Japan.

While Tokyo still follows a six-month delay between catwalk and store, he said Amazon would be happy to help Japanese designers facilitate see-now, buy-now collections increasingly at the fore in New York.

I think if thats what the designers want to do, were ready to do it, he told AFP at the weeks launch party.
Jammu: Seven Pakistani Rangers and one terrorist were killed on Friday when the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) retaliated to unprovoked firing across the international border in Hiranagar sector in Kathua district.

One BSF personnel was also seriously injured in the fighting. Since the surgical strikes held in PoK by the Indian Army, there has been an escalation in ceasefire violations.

Meanwhile, Pakistan denied that any of their soldiers were killed and maintained that India made unprovoked firings across the border.
Kochi: The Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas on Saturday lodged a complaint to the DGP Lokanath Behra alleging his official phone call data and emails has been compromised. The complaint was lodged days after he requested the LDF government to remove him from the post of Vigilance Director.

In the highly confidential letter, Jacob Thomas asked the DGP to consider the complaint with utmost seriousness as he leads a department which investigate cases against the top brass in politics and bureaucracy.

He also demanded the withdrawal of the provision that allows the IG rank officials to tap anyone's phone with the permission of the DGP. Terming the action as an intrusion into his privacy, he also added that the officials who were authorized for tapping phone and emails were tainted.
Why The Global Economy Will Disintegrate Rapidly Back to Olduvai Gorge

We have written little on the topic of energy lately, other than related to oil prices going up and down, empty OPEC promises to cut oil production, and the incredible debt load threatening to crush US -and Canadian- unconventional oil and gas. Its a logical outcome of focusing more on finance than energy, because we feel the former has a shorter timeline than the latter. Something that harks back to our Oil Drum days.

But that doesnt mean that the idea and/or principle of peak oil has disappeared, or that we have completely forgotten it. It has just been snowed under by the financial crisis (and by unconventinal oil and gas). And while we continue to find that the financial world will dump us into a bigger crisis sooner than energy will, its useful to look at oil et al from time to time.

Please note: we dont wish to deny that oil depletion has its own dynamics, but in our view those dynamics will be hugely affected by the financial crisis that is looming big and will strike first. A crisis that, by the way, will affect not just oil and gas, but solar and wind just as much. You can get only as much alternative energy as you can pay for, and that is before we even mention solar and winds EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Investment).

What the world needs to do, but we very much doubt it will voluntarily, is not to look for other forms of energy to replace oil and gas, but to look for ways to use much less energy (90% or so) while still maintaining societies that function as best they can. We doubt this because man is no more made to volunteer for downsizing than any other species.

The interview below with Louis Arnoux by the SRSrocco Report, combined with an article Louis wrote in July on the site of our old friend Ugo Bardi (is Florence really 6 years ago already?), is an excellent opportunity to catch up on energy issues.

The discussion of energy relative to finance will no doubt continue, and Louis doesnt seem to have the exact same view as us, but thats fine, or at least it shouldnt deter us from listening. This graph from his work, for instance, contains a great depiction of what EROEI really means, and how it works out, and that is important to know.

And yes, we are aware of the contradiction between the provocative title of this post (borrowed from SRSrocco Report) and our own view that its not energy that will bring the economy down; the internal dynamics of finance dont need any help on their way towards crashing the system. But its a great title nonetheless.

First, heres the SRSrocco Report interview, below it youll find the article. Note: this is part 1, links to parts 2 and 3 are provided.

Louis Arnoux: Some reflections on the Twilight of the Oil Age  part I:

Alice looking down the end of the barrel

It integrates also numerous discussion and exchanges I have had with colleagues and business partners over the last three years. This three-part post was inspired by Ugos recent post concerning  Will Renewables Ever ReplaceFossils?  and recent discussions within Ugos discussion group on how is it that Economists still dont get it?It integrates also numerous discussion and exchanges I have had with colleagues and business partners over the last three years.

Introduction





Since at least the end of 2014 there has been increasing confusions about oil prices, whether so-called Peak Oil has already happened, or will happen in the future and when, matters of EROI (or EROEI) values for current energy sources and for alternatives, climate change and the phantasmatic 2oC warming limit, and concerning the feasibility of shifting rapidly to renewables or sustainable sources of energy supply. Overall, it matters a great deal whether a reasonable time horizon to act is say 50 years, i.e. in the main the troubles that we are contemplating are taking place way past 2050, or if we are already in deep trouble and the timeframe to try and extricate ourselves is some 10 years. Answering this kind of question requires paying close attention to system boundary definitions and scrutinising all matters taken for granted.

It took over 50 years for climatologists to be heard and for politicians to reach the Paris Agreement re climate change (CC) at the close of the COP21, late last year. As you no doubt can gather from the title, I am of the view that we do not have 50 years to agonise about oil. In the three sections of this post I will first briefly take stock of where we are oil wise; I will then consider how this situation calls upon us to do our utter best to extricate ourselves from the current prevailing confusion and think straight about our predicament; and in the third part I will offer a few considerations concerning the near term, the next ten years  how to approach it, what cannot work and what may work, and the urgency to act, without delay.





Part 1  Alice looking down the end of the barrel





in Ugos survey. To be blunt, along current prevailing lines we are not going to make it. I am not just referring here to business-as-usual (BAU) parties holding for dear life onto fossil fuels and nukes. I also include all current efforts at implementing alternatives and combating CC. Here is why. In his recent post, Ugo contrasted the views of the Doomstead Diners readers with that of energy experts regarding the feasibility of replacing fossil fuels within a reasonable timeframe. In my view, the Doomsteads guests had a much better sense of the situation than the expertssurvey. To be blunt, along current prevailing lines we are not going to make it. I am not just referring here to business-as-usual (BAU) parties holding for dear life onto fossil fuels and nukes. I also include all current efforts at implementing alternatives and combating CC. Here is why.





The energy cost of system replacement





What a great number of energy technology specialists miss are the challenges of whole system replacement  moving from fossil-based to 100% sustainable over a given period of time. Of course, the prior question concerns the necessity or otherwise of whole system replacement. For those of us who have already concluded that this is an urgent necessity, if only due to CC, no need to discuss this matter here. For those who maybe are not yet clear on this point, hopefully, the matter will become a lot clearer a few paragraphs down.

So coming back for now to whole system replacement, the first challenge most remain blind to is the huge energy cost of whole system replacement in terms of both the 1st principle of thermodynamics (i.e. how much net energy is required to develop and deploy a whole alternative system, while the old one has to be kept going and be progressively replaced) and also concerning the 2nd principle (i.e. the waste heat involved in the whole system substitution process). The implied issues are to figure out first how much total fossil primary energy is required by such a shift, in addition to what is required for ongoing BAU business and until such a time when any sustainable alternative has managed to become self-sustaining, and second to ascertain where this additional fossil energy may come from.





The end of the Oil Age is now



If we had a whole century ahead of us to transition, it would be comparatively easy. Unfortunately, we no longer have that leisure since the second key challenge is the remaining timeframe for whole system replacement. What most people miss is that the rapid end of the Oil Age began in 2012 and will be over within some 10 years. To the best of my knowledge, the most advanced material in this matter is the thermodynamic analysis of the oil industry taken as a whole system (OI) produced by The Hills Group (THG) over the last two years or so (



If we had a whole century ahead of us to transition, it would be comparatively easy. Unfortunately, we no longer have that leisure since the second key challenge is the remaining timeframe for whole system replacement. What most people miss is that the rapid end of the Oil Age began in 2012 and will be over within some 10 years. To the best of my knowledge, the most advanced material in this matter is the thermodynamic analysis of the oil industry taken as a whole system (OI) produced by The Hills Group (THG) over the last two years or so ( http://www.thehillsgroup.org ).

THG are seasoned US oil industry engineers led by B.W. Hill. I find its analysis elegant and rock hard. For example, one of its outputs concerns oil prices. Over a 56 year time period, its correlation factor with historical data is 0.995. In consequence, they began to warn in 2013 about the oil price crash that began late 2014 (see: http://www.thehillsgroup.org/depletion2_022.htm ). In what follows I rely on THGs report and my own work.

Three figures summarise the situation we are in rather well, in my view.

Figure 1  End Game

For purely thermodynamic reasons net energy delivered to the globalised industrial world (GIW) per barrel by the oil industry (OI) is rapidly trending to zero. By net energy we mean here what the OI delivers to the GIW, essentially in the form of transport fuels, after the energy used by the OI for exploration, production, transport, refining and end products delivery have been deducted.

However, things break down well before reaching ground zero; i.e. within 10 years the OI as we know it will have disintegrated. Actually, a number of analysts from entities like Deloitte or Chatham House, reading financial tealeaves, are progressively reaching the same kind of conclusions.



The Oil Age is finishing now, not in a slow, smooth, long slide down from Peak Oil, but in a rapid fizzling out of net energy. This is now combining with things like climate change and the global debt issues to generate what I call a Perfect Storm big enough to bring the GIW to its knees.

In an Alice world



At present, under the prevailing paradigm, there is no known way to exit from the Perfect Storm within the emerging time constraint (available time has shrunk by one order of magnitude, from 100 to 10 years). This is where I think that Doomstead Diners readers are guessing right. Many readers are no doubt familiar with the so-called Red Queen effect illustrated in Figure 2  to have to run fast to stay put, and even faster to be able to move forward. The OI is fully caught in it.

Figure 2  Stuck on a one track to nowhere  Stuck on a one track to nowhere





The top part of Figure 2 highlights that, due to declining net energy per barrel, the OI has to keep running faster and faster (i.e. pumping oil) to keep supplying the GIW with the net energy it requires. What most people miss is that due to that same rapid decline of net energy/barrel towards nil, the OI cant keep running for much more than a few years  e.g. B.W. Hill considers that within 10 years the number of petrol stations in the US will have shrunk by 75%





What people also neglect, depicted in the bottom part of Figure 2, is what I call the inverse Red Queen effect (1/RQ). Building an alternative whole system takes energy that to a large extent initially has to come from the present fossil-fuelled system. If the shift takes place too rapidly, the net energy drain literally kills the existing BAU system. The shorter the transition time the harder is the 1/RQ. I estimate the limit growth rate for the alternative whole system at 7% growth per year.

In other words, current growth rates for solar and wind, well above 20% and in some cases over 60%, are not viable globally. However, the kind of growth rates, in the order of 35%, that are required for a very short transition under the Perfect Storm time frame are even less viable  if we stick to the prevailing paradigm, that is. As the last part of Figure 2 suggests, there is a way out by focusing on current huge energy waste, but presently this is the road not taken.

On the way to Olduvai



In my view, given that nearly everything within the GIW requires transport and that said transport is still about 94% dependent on oil-derived fuels, the rapid fizzling out of net energy from oil must be considered as the defining event of the 21st century  it governs the operation of all other energy sources, as well as that of the entire GIW. In this respect, the critical parameter to consider is not that absolute amount of oil mined (as even peakoilers do), such as Million barrels produced per year, but net energy from oil per head of global population, since when this gets too close to nil we must expect complete social breakdown, globally.





The overall picture, as depicted ion Figure 3, is that of the Mother of all Senecas (to use Ugos expression). It presents net energy from oil per head of global population. The Olduvai Gorge as a backdrop is a wink to Dr. Richard Duncans scenario (he used barrels of oil equivalent which was a mistake) and to stress the dire consequences if we do reach the bottom of the Gorge  a kind of postmodern hunter-gatherer fate.

Oil has been in use for thousands of year, in limited fashion at locations where it seeped naturally or where small well could be dug out by hand. Oil sands began to be mined industrially in 1745 at Merkwiller-Pechelbronn in north east France (the birthplace of Schlumberger). From such very modest beginnings to a peak in the early 1970s, the climb took over 220 years. The fall back to nil will have taken about 50 years.

The amazing economic growth in the three post WWII decades was actually fuelled by a 321% growth in net energy/head. The peak of 18GJ/head in around 1973, was actually in the order of some 40GJ/head for those who actually has access to oil at the time, i.e. the industrialised fraction of the global population.

Figure 3  The Mother of all Senecas



In 2012 the OI began to use more energy per barrel in its own processes (from oil exploration to transport fuel deliveries at the petrol stations) than what it delivers net to the GIW. We are now down below 4GJ/head and dropping fast.

This is what is now actually driving the oil prices: since 2014, through millions of trade transactions (functioning as the invisible hand of the markets), the reality is progressively filtering that the GIW can only afford oil prices in proportion to the amount of GDP growth that can be generated by a rapidly shrinking net energy delivered per barrel, which is no longer much. Soon it will be nil. So oil prices are actually on a downtrend towards nil.





To cope, the OI has been cannibalising itself since 2012. This trend is accelerating but cannot continue for very long. Even mainstream analysts have begun to recognise that the OI is no longer replenishing its reserves. We have entered fire-sale times (as shown by the recent announcements by Saudi Arabia (whose main field, Ghawar, is probably over 90% depleted) to sell part of Aramco and make a rapid shift out of a near 100% dependence on oil and towards solar.

Given what Figure 1 to 3 depict, it should be obvious that resuming growth along BAU lines is no longer doable, that addressing CC as envisaged at the COP21 in Paris last year is not doable either, and that incurring ever more debt that can never be reimbursed is no longer a solution, not even short-term.

Time to pull up and this requires a paradigm change capable of avoiding both the RQ and 1/RQ constraints. After some 45 years of research, my colleagues and I think this is still doable. Short of this, no, we are not going to make it, in terms of replacing fossil resources with renewable ones within the remaining timeframe, or in terms of the GIWs survival.

Next:

Part II: Enquiring into the appropriateness of the question

Part III: Standing slightly past the edge of the cliff

By Raul Ilargi Meijer

Website: http://theautomaticearth.com (provides unique analysis of economics, finance, politics and social dynamics in the context of Complexity Theory) 2016 Copyright Raul I Meijer - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Raul Ilargi Meijer Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




STUARTFor the second time in eight years, a Patrick County couple faces charges of welfare fraud.

Amanda Nester faces 14 counts of fraudulently obtaining public assistance and two counts of making a false application for public assistance. She is scheduled to appear in Patrick County Circuit Court on Monday. On Friday, Nesters husband Gary entered an Alford plea after the prosecution reduced his charge from felony welfare fraud down to a misdemeanor.

In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains his innocence but admits that substantial evidence exists with which the prosecution likely could convince a judge or jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. An Alford plea is treated like a guilty plea.

Judge G. Carter Greer, in accordance with a recommendation by prosecution and defense attorneys, sentenced Gary Nester, 43, to 12 months in jail, with 30 days active and 11 months suspended for two years on condition of two years of supervised probation with no option for early release, payment of $2,880.01 restitution to the Department of Medical Assistance Services and that he seek counseling as deemed appropriate by his probation officer.

The commonwealths evidence for Gary Nesters case alleges the following:

On July 17, 2015, Amanda Nester completed an electronic application for Medicaid benefits (FAMIS) for her two children. The application was sent to the Department of Social Services in Patrick County for review and was approved.

Amanda Nester failed to provide information that Gary Wayne Nester, her legal husband, still was residing in the home at 701 VFW Road, Patrick Springs, in an effort to avoid claiming his income.

Gary Nester reported to the Social Security Administration earnings of about $2,400 per month. He also receives Social Security income in the average amount of $1,179.80.

Patrick County Sheriffs Office deputies had four in-person contacts with both Amanda and Gary Nester at the residence at 701 VFW Road. Amanda and Gary Nester also submitted three certificates of titles to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, each claiming residence at 701 VFW Road.

Based on the Nesters total income, they would not have been entitled to any benefits for their children had Amanda Nester not lied on her application, the commonwealths evidence alleges. Since July 17, 2015, they have received $2,880.01 in benefits through Patrick County Department of Social Services in which they were not entitled.

The prosecution argued that Gary Nester aided and abetted his wife in fraudulently obtaining benefits. Gary Nester fraudulently changed his residential address on his drivers license and went to River Community Bank to remove his name from their joint bank account, in an attempt to further their appearance of marital separation, the evidence states.

Patrick County Commonwealths Attorney Stephanie Vipperman said Gary Nester had three previous misdemeanor convictions, one of which was welfare fraud.

Judge Greer said, Its not the worse record Ive ever seen. He added, He has no felony convictions.

According to online court records. Amanda Nester and Gary Nester each pleaded guilty to misdemeanor welfare fraud on May 20, 2008, and each was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for 12 months, a $500 fine, one year of probation and ordered to pay $11,475 restitution.

Wifes case to be heard

Amanda Nester is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, for her case. In addition to allegedly attempting to create the appearance that she and Gary Nester had separated in order to receive Medicaid benefits for their children, Amanda Nester allegedly provided false information on numerous occasions relating to a Medicaid program known as Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL), in which she was supposed to be the in-house caregiver to a relative. Surveillance conducted showed that she allegedly was claiming and being paid for hours worked in which she was never at the location.

The offenses with which Amanda Nester was charged span from April 30, 2015, through April 28, 2016.

Paul Collins reports for the Martinsville Bulletin and can be reached at paul.collins@martinsvillebulletin.com.
Friday evening's opening concert of the Longmeadow Chamber Music Society's 35th season welcomed 23-year-old Longmeadow native Griffin McMahon to the organ console of the First Church of Christ.

McMahon was most recently featured locally as soloist in the Saint-Saens "Organ" Symphony and organist in the Faure Requiem with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra last May. Also last season, the young emerging artist performed at the Cathedrals of St. John the Divine and St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, and at a unique outdoor organ performance drawing over 25,000 people in Eaux Claire, Wisconsin.

Friday's concert attracted over 100 Longmeadow Chamber Music fans, including several of McMahon's former teachers from Longmeadow High School, and many members of his family. In addition to his enthusiasm for the hometown concert, McMahon also confessed to the allure of a home-cooked meal!

The majority of the evening's performing belonged to McMahon. He had constructed a first half that traversed some highlights of the Baroque organ repertoire. Nicolaus Bruhns' Preludium in E minor, "Great" and J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 546 bookended a sprightly reading of Handel's Concerto for Organ and Strings, Op. 4, no. 4, in which the organ was joined by Longmeadow CMS stalwarts Marsha Harbison and Romina Kostare, violins; Ronald Gorevic, viola; and Boris Kogan, cello.

As McMahon explained in his lengthy remarks to the audience, his programming represented a chronological progression from the earlier, somewhat sprawling, although stately Prelude of Bruhns (which contained two fugues in addition to several improvisatory episodes of increasingly animated character), through the multi-movement concerted piece by Handel to the severe, solemn architecture of Bach.

He registered the Schantz pipe organ for maximum clarity and contrast between compositional sections. His sensitivity to color and articulation was particularly evident in the Handel, in which glistening reeds and flutes twinkled above the warmer, richer timbre of the strings. In the brief, transitional third movement of the Handel, McMahon employed an especially ghostly mixture stop for the melody line. The luminous texture thus created was made all the more magical by the eight-o'clock tolling of the church bell in the midst of the movement.

McMahon's second half contained some of the most varied and interesting music on the program. He began with the most striking performance of the evening, a hair-raising account of Tournemire's Improvisation on the "Victimae paschali laudes" chant, as transcribed by Maurice Durufle.

McMahon explored the extremes of the Longmeadow organ in a very successful quest to present the full scope of Tournemire's imagination and dexterity. Maelstroms of chromaticism burst forth from towering canyons of chordal color. Fingers and feet flew over keys and pedals in a manic effort to describe and perhaps touch something unknowable. The only facet missing from the experience was the vast stone cathedral that would have served as an abyssal echo chamber for the roars, thunders, gasps, and wails of the 19th-century French organist's extemporization. McMahon's was a wonderful performance - it just needed a cathedral around it.

Americans Philip Glass and Nico Muhly were represented by the soporific "Opening from Glassworks" and the younger composer's similarly minimal, but wittier "Hudson Preludes." The string players rejoined McMahon to close the program with the vivacious, bell-like first movement of Ottorino Respighi's Suite in G Major for Organ and Strings.
With November just days away, it's once again time for Franklin County CiderDays, a celebration of New England's autumn season liquid gold - hard cider.

Scheduled this year for the weekend of Nov. 4-6, CiderDays is marking its 22nd anniversary in 2016 with its usual interesting array of food- and beverage-related events.

In addition to an amateur cider competition, a slew of workshops on apple growing and cider making, both hard and sweet, CiderDays will incorporate a Locavore Harvest Supper at the Warfield House in Charlemont.

Planned for a 7 p.m. start on Nov. 5, the Supper will feature New England-themed cuisine, with much of what's served sourced from farms and orchards across Western Massachusetts.

The Cider Salon, a chance to taste over 100 individual cider brands, returns to the lodge at Berkshire East Resort in Charlemont; the popular Cider and Cheese Pairing session will once again be held in Deerfield on Sunday, Nov. 6.

A number of orchards and farms across Franklin County will also be hosting open house celebrations, cider tastings, workshops and demonstrations.

Franklin County restaurants will be in a CiderDays frame of mind, offering examples of cider- and apple-based cookery, both sweet and savory.

A few of the eateries who have signed up to participate include Hope & Olive and The People's Pint, both in Greenfield; Cold River Cafe in Charlemont; the Rendezvous in Turners Falls; and the Blue Heron in Sunderland.

For more information on CiderDays activities, go to ciderdays.org

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College's hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com
CHELSEA An alleged gang member was ordered held without the right to bail Friday after he was charged with accidentally shooting a boy as he watched TV.

Christian Garcia, 19, is a member of the EastSide gang who goes by the street name of "Pumba," prosecutors told a judge in Chelsea District Court. Assistant District Attorney Vincent DeMore said Garcia fired a string of shots toward a group of people as they stood near Bellingham and Shawmut streets Wednesday night at about 8:30 P.M. the Boston Herald reported. One of the bullets he fired went through the wall of a home on Bellingham Street and struck a 13-year-old boy.

Chelsea police found the boy lying on his kitchen floor crying. He was rushed to a Boston General Hospital where he is recovering.

Garcia was ordered held without the right to bail after his bail in a prior case was revoked. He also faces a charge of assault and battery on a police officer in Malden.

He was arrested after a witness picked his picture out of a photo array, and police were able to pull him over.
A crash on Interstate 91 Friday evening has resulted in severe injury for at least one person involved and a multi-mile traffic backup.

All northbound lanes of I-91 in Connecticut were closed near exit 17 around 7 p.m.

Multple emergency vehicles were called to the crash scene and one occupant was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance.

Police are diverting vehicles from the northbound lanes to southbound lanes, slowing traffic heading south, as police respond to the crash.
Eleven hours after a massive online attack that blocked access to many popular websites, the company under assault has finally restored its service.

Dyn, a New Hampshire-based company that monitors and routes Internet traffic, was the victim of a massive attack that began at 7:10 a.m. ET Friday morning. The issue kept some users on the East Coast from accessing Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Tumblr, Reddit, PayPal and other sites.

Eli Blumenthal and Elizabeth Weise , USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/10/21/cyber-attack-takes-down-east-coast-netflix-spotify-twitter/92507806/
At Advanced Technology Solutions, a national tech consulting firm with a big office in downtown Missoula, a large percentage of leadership roles are occupied by women, a rarity in the tech industry. Kimberly Corwin, managed services practice leader; Kristin Mickey, knowledge management coordinator; Carey Davis, director of operations and employee services, and Holly Foster, executive director of solution delivery, all shared their thoughts on the matter and the advice they would give to young women entering the workforce.

DAVID ERICKSON [email protected]

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/business/local/find-a-mentor-local-female-business-leaders-share-advice-on/article_47b4a9c9-9d61-57ad-b0f2-62fd099e3f32.html
The University of Washington on Friday is launching the public phase of its most ambitious philanthropic campaign in history, with a goal of raising $5 billion by the year 2020.

The campaign, called "Be Boundless  For Washington, For the World," focuses on four key priorities: transforming the student experience, expanding the impact of the UWs research, empowering possibility through innovation, and driving the public good. The earliest phases of the campaign began in 2010, and the UW has already received more than $3 billion toward its goal.

Victor Balta

Full Story: http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/10/21/university-of-washington-launches-historic-5-billion-philanthropic-campaign/
Due to current weather conditions, Air Mauritius wishes to inform its passengers of the following flight information for 19, 20 and 21 February 2022.

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Serious as ever about its video strategy, Facebook on Friday unveiled a major ad campaign for Facebook Live in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Set to officially launch this Sunday, the multiplatform campaign includes TV and out-of-home spots -- including billboards and bus wraps -- as well as digital spots that will run both on and off Facebooks flagship property.



The campaign was created by The Factory, Facebooks in-house creative team, a company spokeswoman said Friday.

The focus of the effort is authenticity and how Facebook Live is all about capturing peoples authentic selves, Gary Briggs, chief marketing officer at Facebook, notes in a new blog post.

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In keeping with that theme, all of the content for the campaign -- every video, every image -- was shot using Facebook Live on a phone, according to Briggs.

In fact, many of the videos that went into the TV spots were captured by what Briggs refers to as real people.

Of course, the broader goal of the new campaign is to grow the number of Facebook Live users. But that doesnt mean the feature has not been growing.

Since May, the number of people broadcasting live at any given minute has grown by about 400%, according to internal figures. It is clearly an engagement magnet, and Facebook has also seen that users comment more than 10 times more on Live videos than on regular videos.

Although broadcasts from public figures and publishers have generated some of Lives largest audiences, the vast majority of live videos come from regular folks, Facebook finds.

Presently, new mobile video services -- from Facebook Live to Twitters Periscope -- are more focused on building audience. We expect direct monetization to follow, Nitesh Patel, a director at Strategy Analytics, said in a recent report.

As such, worldwide revenue from mobile video will reach $25 billion by 2021, according to the research firm.

The success of Live is such a big deal to Facebook that the tech giant has been dishing out around $50 million to coax top media publishers and celebs to use it.


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In this study, the authors aimed to identify the prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors, their consequences, and also sexual dysfunction in a cohort attending the Orygen National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne.The participants were young people aged 15-24 attending the clinic for treatment for psychosis, personality disorders, or mood disorders. The analysis included a sexual health questionnaire, a sexual functioning questionnaire, and a tool called the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The study included 103 young people with a range of mental health disorders. Of the participants, 54% identified as heterosexual, 32% as bisexual or pansexual and 5% as homosexual.The analysis showed that 78% had a history of sexual intercourse and the mean age of sexual debut was 16 years. Alarmingly, less than half of those who were sexually active were using contraception; one quarter (24%) of those who had been tested for an STI received a result positive for an STI, and a quarter had also been pregnant (either themselves or their partners), with 95% of those pregnancies unplanned. Nearly two thirds had used alcohol during sex and 43% had used cannabis. A total of 39% of young people affected by mental health disorders had clinically relevant sexual dysfunction and this was associated with more negative emotions and experiences around sex. The authors conclude "These results indicate that young people with mental health disorders also have high needs in regards to their sexual health, which could be addressed by incorporating sexual health clinics into early intervention services."Specialists at the Orygen clinic have developed a screening instrument to aid analysis of sexual health of new patients which they hope to implement shortly. The center is also seeking funding for a full time sexual health nurse to be based at the clinic.Source: Medindia
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Ifeoma Muoto, who was a doctoral student working with Associate Professor Jeff Luck in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences at the time of the study is now an administrative fellow at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Muoto looked at more than a half-million pregnancies in a six-year period in Oregon and Washington, including 2013, the first year for Oregon's 16 coordinated care organizations, or CCOs. Washington served as the control group.The study's objective was to assess the impact of the CCOs on the quality of prenatal care among Oregon Medicaid beneficiaries. The results were recently published in the journalThe study also showed a narrowing, albeit a small one, of the gap in prenatal care quality between Medicaid beneficiaries and those with private insurance."Prenatal care was one of the performance measures for the new CCOs and you can't disentangle the measures from the CCO startup, but it's promising that just in the first year there were significant improvements," Luck said.Luck is a member of the Oregon Health Authority's Metrics and Scoring Committee, which is charged with determining whether CCOs are "effectively and adequately improving care, making quality care accessible, eliminating health disparities, and controlling costs."The committee picked which types of care would be incentivized - meaning which types of care would serve as benchmarks that CCOs could meet to earn more funding. Other types of care that are incentivized include chronic diseases, substance abuse and mental health."We hypothesized that the CCOs would have the benefit for prenatal care that they did," Luck said. "This is early evidence that some of the care delivery improvements we hoped for really are occurring."The federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's Healthy People 2020 initiative includes increasing the percentage of women who initiate prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy from 70.8% to 77.9%.In Oregon, the rate of pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries starting care in the first trimester climbed from 73.1% in the pre-CCO period to 77.3% in the first year of the CCOs. In Washington, the rate for women on Medicaid rose from 71.7 to 73.6%, a smaller percentage increase than Oregon's. Although women covered by private insurance in Oregon had higher levels of timely prenatal care initiation and prenatal care adequacy, the rates among that group were stable during the time period studied.For prenatal care adequacy - initiating care in the first trimester and having at least nine doctor visits during a pregnancy - there was an increase from 65.9 to 70.5% for Medicaid-covered women in Oregon. That increase, though, was not statistically significant relative to the increase observed among Medicaid-covered women in Washington, where the improvement was 58.5 to 62.2%.Luck noted the results indicated care adequacy was "going in the right direction but wasn't yet statistically significant.""It's possible when we have more years of data we'll be able to make a more precise estimate," he said. "We also have a parallel project funded by the Centers for Disease Control using a larger pool of data from Oregon - not only birth certificates but Medicaid claims data, claims data from the Oregon Health Plan, which is Oregon's Medicaid program, and hospital discharge data."Luck noted the research is particularly important given the percentage of births to Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid births made up roughly 45% of total U.S. births even prior to an expansion of the Medicaid program that began in January 2014.Source: Eurekalert
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TAPs location in Italy has least environmental impact

TAP will be able to proceed with the replanting of the olive trees along the route in Italy, starting from the micro tunneling area, from November 2016, Lisa Givert, TAP's Head of Communications, told Trend Oct.17.She was commenting on protests in Italys Puglia region demanding that the pipeline be re-routed away from the prized grove, which includes olive trees thought to be more than 400 years old.Givert pointed out that TAP has been continuously engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and communities in Italy  including the Puglia region  since the early project planning phase.Several rounds of discussions have been held to listen to local concerns and provide clarification about the projects environmental footprint, including concrete measures for mitigating or minimizing any environmental impact, she added.TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries.The 870-kilometer pipeline will be connected to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south.One of the priorities of our communication activities in Puglia has been and remains to reinforce that the project has a minimal environmental impact, especially to people living in the area affected by TAP, she said. We have organized multiple campaigns to dispel any inaccuracies, falsehoods and concerns.At the same time, she said, by using the example of other Italian regions and the beach resort island of Ibiza  where pipeline landfalls have been perfectly integrated into the environment  we have shown that infrastructure projects and tourist resorts can fully coexist, she added.Givert noted that most recently, TAPs geological surveys on the San Foca beach have been conducted in record time (1.5 days versus the anticipated one week) and without any visible trace on the beach.It is worth adding that operations were conducted smoothly, thanks to the good cooperation with local authorities and the high-technical quality of our contractors services, she said. TAP will continue to engage in line with the highest industry standards.TAP will also continue to inform and engage with local and regional stakeholders about the project, provide accurate information and clarify any queries they may have, she added.She pointed out that TAP remains on schedule and will be ready to receive first gas from Shah Deniz 2 in 2020.In Italy, construction activities began in May 2016 and continue in line with the project schedule. UXO (unexploded ordnance) and archaeological surveys were carried out over the summer of 2016, phytosanitary treatment (spraying of olive trees along TAPs route, in preparation of removing / replanting of olive trees) was performed and geological surveys were conducted on the San Foca beach between 3 and 5 October, said Givert.In parallel, and in line with the single authorization granted by Italys Ministry of Economy on May 20, 2015, TAP continues to progress its secondary permitting activities, she added.We remain confident that TAP will be able to proceed with the replanting of the olive trees along the route, starting from the micro tunneling area, from November 2016, she said.Givert said that TAP is committed to responsibly deliver a world-class project along its entire length in Italy, Albania and Greece.TAPs landfall in San Foca was selected as the most optimum location for the TAP pipeline to enter Italy. It is the location with the least environmental impact - also during the construction phase, she said. This was confirmed and validated by the National Technical committee when they approved TAPs Environmental Impact Assessment in September 2014.She said that as part of this process, TAP analyzed 20 landfall points along the Apulian coastline and concluded that San Foca was the landfall with the least environmental impact.
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PORT AUSTIN  Communities and people in the Thumb must work together to promote tourism, agriculture and manufacturing, Gov. Rick Snyder said during a visit to the Garfield Inn on Friday.

Youre not competing with your neighbor. Its actually going to help both of you, or all of you, get more business by doing this, Snyder told about 50 people at a luncheon.

The Thumb is part of one of the key 10 economic regions in the state, which brought Snyder to Sandusky recently as part of Project Rising Tide, which addresses communities we can help, that want to help themselves, Snyder said.

He has visited nine of the 10 regions, and reflected on his last listening session in the Thumb.

The folks of Sandusky said, governor, Were a peninsula on a peninsula, and you should come talk to us some more. So Im here. And I said, Lets not wait.

I said, lets just get as many people together in the Thumb as we can. Lets not make this a big bureaucratic thing, but can I just come around and meet a lot of great people and see how we can do more up here.

He called the state a supportive partner of the Thumb.

You have wonderful people  people doing great work.

He said its important to bring together people from backgrounds in economic development, talent development, community development, education and transportation.

Representatives from the economic development corporations of Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac counties were among Snyders guests, as well as officials from Michigan Works!, local and county government, industry and agriculture.

Snyder made his way around the three rooms in the dining area, greeting every guest there, along with State Rep. Edward Canfield (R-Sebewaing).

Canfield also introduced Snyder, a fellow Republican, when he addressed the crowd.

I feel very privileged that we have an opportunity to have him in our community, Canfield said. I also feel very privileged to work for a governor who is fiscally sound and has helped this state recover as we have. And I think were going to continue to recover. We have places like this (the Garfield Inn) reopen, and Im very excited about that.

Snyder could not attend a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopening of the inn, so he came by Friday afternoon, according to Kat Sturtz, assistant general manager of the inn.

He said the Garfield is a beautiful place that can be promoted among other tourist attractions in the area.

How can we do more, for example on Pure Michigan? he asked. Promote a whole litany of stops.

He said promoting one or two places isnt enough to get people to visit the area and stay for a number of days.

Hopefully we can get everyone in this region to work more closely together, he said.

The Garfield Inn has reopened under the new ownership of Glen Roth, and Steve, Teresa and Phil Erickson, who received a grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Steve Erickson is also the executive director of the Tuscola County Economic Development Corp.

He spoke to the crowd about the history of the Inn.

Sen. James A. Garfield, who would one day become president of the United States, would come to the inn for summer vacations.

The last time he was here, Erickson said, he spoke from the third floor window, and he spoke about supporting Mr. Grant for the 20th president of the United States. ... He turned around and found out that he had became the president of the United states, which of course led to his untimely death.

Not only has this home entertained a president, weve had a chance to entertain our own state governor, Erickson said.

Snyder had also visited Gemini Group and the Dairy Farmers of America on Friday morning.

Its been a wonderful day so far because the way I view it is there are three huge drivers in Michigans economy, he said.

Those three things are agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, he said.

Ill tell you the single most important thing that really can be a catalyst to success or having challenges, Snyder concluded. Thats your ability to work together. Working together is absolutely the No. 1 thing that makes a difference. When you get Michiganders working together for a common goal you can accomplish anything. So lets get some things done here today thats going to move the Thumb forward, all of you forward, and all of Michigan forward.
Its hard to keep pace with the news because it changes on an hourly basis. Can you remember when headline news only changed daily?

During an election in years past, headlines were full of plans being offered to change the way we were living. On a given day, one party would offer a plan and the next day, the opposing party would suggest a better plan. Name calling was rarely heard as each partys plans were challenged and our countrys greatness was never questioned. Thats not to say presidential candidates did not make undesirable comments and Im sure some were certainly accused of lying.

As election time drew near in past years, I dont recall hearing news of nuclear attacks being imminent and Im certain there was no discussion regarding hacking by Russia to disrupt our election outcome.

We can only speculate about why Russia would want to manipulate our election, especially since everyone else here in our country seems to be hard at work doing that.

The 2016 election is the first presidential election with a female at the top of a ticket, which has provided opportunities for controversy because of genders having very opposite views. Each of the candidates have spent much of their time attacking the other and very little time providing a clear picture of what they will do for our country. This election would have been a good chance for the third party candidate to be elected, but both Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Joy Stein have proven to be woefully lacking in presidential preparedness.

The popular opinion by most of the electorate is: We really have no good choice.

Both candidates insist a vote for the third party will simply give their opponent a vote. The bashing and trash talk that has been done by both Clinton and Trump provides ample justification to withhold voting for either of them.

Attempts are being made to encourage the electorate to choose the higher, moral ground and vote based upon beliefs that applied in years past. Whats difficult about this option is neither of the candidates display the traits displayed by presidential hopefuls in years past. We are left with determining which of the evils being presented is worse.

I suggest if offensive language is a vice you deplore, take a walk in a mall and listen to the, always loud, language coming out of the mouths of both sexes. You will likely hear conversations, freely displayed, that will make you blush. I always wish I had a bar of Fels-Naptha I could use on all of them. Sadly, the females keep up with the males in offensiveness scores.

As the father of four daughters all raising their own families, that include three additional females, I am disappointed in the lack of decency displayed by all members of the entire election process.

There seems to be a lack of role models for anyone to follow. Young people wish to emulate sports, music, movie and TV celebrities, most of which are very tarnished. How does anyone judge right from wrong? The character flaws being displayed by both people running for the highest office in our land sets a really poor example. Again, how do we judge?

As I see it, I would expect my president to tell the truth, show intelligence, civility, and consideration: simply put, some class. I would want them to have the ability to address any and all domestic and foreign confrontations that may arise. I dont want a president who cannot admit to faults: we all have them. I want a president who is trustworthy and levelheaded, displaying a temperament that prohibits them from outbursts that could harm our country. I do not want a president who looks backward, 12 to 20 years, but one who is looking forward toward our future.

It would also be great if they could display humility and dignity  if those qualities still exist.

The debate this week gave both candidates their final opportunity to appeal to the American electorate. The pundits all weighed in with opinions regarding who was the winner. Most were for one or the other. My opinion is, neither.

Too bad there is no possibility of a do over. As we look back, would we have made a different choice in the primaries?

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.
They are at it again. Last February the Michigan governor laid a stink bomb of a proposal (HB & SB 298) in Lansing to hand over close to $2.6 billion of taxpayer money to private, for-profit insurance companies to manage the States Mental Health and Developmental Disability system. If the bill passed, its possible that Huron Countys services would have been severely impacted. Public outcry led the Michigan House and Senate to put a temporary hold on Snyders proposal.

Insurance companies are risk adverse. They could deny coverage or not cover services now in place. There is no guarantee that the level of care remains the same. No accountability, they will not open to public and advocate scrutiny. No Freedom of Information Act and no open meetings.
AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs. In addition, the company offers maintenance products, such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluids; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; brake and power steering fluids, and oil and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, cabin, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paints and accessories; refrigerants and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wipers. Further, it provides air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, interior and exterior accessories, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products, as well as towing services. Additionally, the company provides a sales program that offers commercial credit and delivery of parts and other products; sells automotive diagnostic and repair software under the ALLDATA brand through alldata.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through autozone.com. As of August 27, 2022, it operated 6,168 stores in the United States; 703 stores in Mexico; and 72 stores in Brazil. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Allergan plc, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical, and regenerative medicine products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: US Specialized Therapeutics, US General Medicine, and International. It offers a portfolio of products in various therapeutic areas, including medical aesthetics and dermatology, eye care, neuroscience, urology, gastrointestinal, women's health, and anti-infective therapeutic products. The company also offers breast implants and tissue expanders; and RM-131 (relamorelin), a peptide ghrelin agonist for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. In addition, it develops medical and cosmetic treatments; therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and other liver diseases; inhibitor for the treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders; atopic dermatitis drug candidate; peri-ocular rings for extended drug delivery and reducing elevated intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients; and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Further, the company develops RST-001, a novel gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa; small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases; topical medicines for fat reduction; and delivery system and botulinum toxin-based prescription products. It has collaboration, option, and license agreement with Lyndra, Inc.; and strategic alliance and option agreement with Editas Medicine, Inc. Allergan plc also has licensing agreements with Assembly Biosciences, Inc.; MedImmune; and Heptares Therapeutics, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Actavis plc and changed its name to Allergan plc in June 2015. Allergan plc was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
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.
Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc and lead. It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines, and a smelter and refinery in Peru; and La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, as well as a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery, and a rod plant in Mexico. The company also operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, as well as two copper concentrators and two operating SX-EW plants in Mexico. In addition, it operates five underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold; a coal mine that produces coal and coke; and a zinc refinery. The company has interests in 82,134 hectares of exploration concessions in Peru; 493,533 hectares of exploration concessions in Mexico; 246,346 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina; 29,888 hectares of exploration concessions in Chile; and 7,299 hectares of exploration concessions in Ecuador. Southern Copper Corporation was incorporated in 1952 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Southern Copper Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.
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.
Sibanye Gold Limited operates as a precious metals mining company in South Africa, the United States, Zimbabwe, Canada, and Argentina. The company produces gold; platinum group metals (PGMs), including palladium, platinum, and rhodium projects; and by-products, such as iridium, ruthenium, nickel, copper, and chrome. It owns the East Boulder and Stillwater mines located in Montana, the United States; and Columbus metallurgical complex, which smelts the material mined to produce PGM-rich filter cake, as well as conducts PGM recycling activities. The company is also involved in the Kroondal, Rustenburg, and Platinum Mile operations located in South Africa; Mimosa located on the southern portion of the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe; the Driefontein, Kloof, and Cooke surface operations located on the West Rand of the Witwatersrand Basin; and the Beatrix located in the southern Free State. In addition, it owns interest in surface tailings retreatment facilities; the Marathon PGM project in Ontario, Canada; the Altar and Rio Grande copper gold projects in the Andes in north-west Argentina; the Hoedspruit, Zondernaam, and Vygenhoek PGM projects in South Africa; and the Burnstone and southern Free State gold projects in South Africa. Sibanye Gold Limited was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Weltevreden Park, South Africa.
USANA Health Sciences, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional and personal care products. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers comprising targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and foods that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products. It also provides Celavive, a skin care regimen for various skin care types and ethnicities; and other products for prenatal, infant, and young child age groups. In addition, the company offers materials and online tools to assist associates in building their businesses, as well as in marketing products. It offers its products directly in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, as well as online. The company has a research collaboration agreement with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine for research in the field of traditional Chinese medicine; and National Sports Training Bureau. USANA Health Sciences, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The U.S. Defense Department is ordering almost 10,000 one-time National Guardsmen from California to pay back enlistment bonuses, according to a news report.

Many of the veterans have to pay back the bonuses, totaling as much as $15,000 or more, or face such penalties as interest charges and tax liens, according to an article published Saturday by David Cloud, a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.

Like other branches of service, the Guard used enlistment bonuses to entice more people to enter the ranks a decade ago during the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, California Guard officials were found guilty of mismanaging the program.

Indeed, eight current or former members of the California National Guard in 2014 were indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining recruiting referral bonuses, according to The Associated Press.

Veterans say they feel "betrayed" by having to return money for an error that wasn't their fault, The Los Angeles Times reported.

SpouseBuzz: Will you have to repay a military bonus, too?

Military.com has also heard similar stories from readers.

One former service member was enticed by a $10,000 bonus to leave the Reserves and join the California National Guard as a military police member for a deployment to Iraq in 2009.

"I served two years in Iraq and then came home in 2011 to find out the CA ARNG did not have the correct paperwork and I was required to pay back the bonus," the individual wrote to Military.com's Paycheck Chronicles blog in 2014.

"Here is the rub," the individual continued, "They took $3,000 out for taxes but I had to pay back the full $10,000. How do I get that $3,000 back? The CA ARNG says it is not their problem. I have to work with the IRS. This does not sit well with me as they took out that money!"

The person was encouraged to consult a tax professional.

California Guard officials have pledged to work with veterans who wish to file appeals to the National Guard Bureau and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to wipe out the debts, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Other parts of the Defense Department have mismanaged similar bonus programs.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon's bomb squad team was saddled with debt due to an accounting error. One member of the team committed suicide. The department agreed to forgive the debt after Military.com and The Washington Post reported on the case.

--Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.

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The Blue Jays are expected to pick up the teams $3MM option over righty Jason Grilli, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca notes in his breakdown of the teams upcoming offseason plans. Thats hardly a surprise now, though it probably is one if you backtrack all the way to May 31, when he came to Toronto via trade. As MLBTRs Steve Adams explained at the time, it was possible to see the potential for a rebound from the veteran, with the Jays only accepting a minimal amount of salary obligations. The 39-year-old ultimately delivered just what Toronto hoped for, contributing 42 innings of 3.64 ERA pitching with 12.4 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Hell enter the 2017 as a key set-up option for the Jays, with his affordable option locking up one bullpen spot at a reasonable price.

Heres more from the AL East:
DETROIT, MICHIGAN- It's shaping up to be a great day for a beer fest, so count yourself lucky if you have a ticket to the Michigan Brewer's Guild Fall Beer Festival in Detroit.

Although it may be a little chilly, with temperatures in the 50's, the sun is out and the beer will be flowing from over 80 different Michigan breweries. It might be a struggle to pick from the over 700 beers that will be offered.

The Friday night session had over 3,000 people in attendance, enjoying not only the liquid, but also the food and the live music.

John Gonzalez and I were happy to revisit some of Michigan's Best new breweries, which we searched for this summer. Stormcloud Brewing Company, our pick for number one, was at the Fall Beer Fest. We tasted beer with head brewer and co-owner Brian Confer, as he experienced his first Detroit festival. On offer from Stormcloud are several different beers showcasing their Belgian sensibilities, including the Yooper and Trolls, a harvest saison featuring Michigan hops.

We also talked to Stephen Roginson, owner of Batch Brewing Company, another of our top picks for best new brewery. He'll be offering Better Together on Saturday, a barrel aged imperial stout/scotch ale hybrid that he is pretty excited about. We filmed a slightly raucous Facebook live video with him, and some friends, that essentially captures the fun that is the Michigan brewing scene.

Go with us behind the scenes at the 8th annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival presented by the Michigan Brewers Guild. At Eastern Market Shed 5. W/ Batch Brewing Company Amy Sherman. Posted by MLive.com on Friday, October 21, 2016

Top picks in beer at the fall beer fest for us:

Amy

-Transient Artisan Ales-really anything from these guys is going to be awesome, and stuff you are not going to see usually unless you can make it to Bridgman. The Imperial Peach Maigre was tart and light.

-New Holland Brewing-The Pub on 8th-"Stop and Taste" with pub brewer Bert who is now bringing his small batch, 100% Michigan beers to festivals, and they are always worth a taste. Even his yeast strains are from Michigan, and The Carpe Eh Deim had a slight mineral taste to its hoppy goodness.

-Bell's Brewery-I tend to stay away from the big breweries at beer fests, since their brews are usually easy to find. We stopped by the Bell's tent to visit with our friend Sarah, and thank you girl, for pouring me that bourbon barrel aged Hell Hath No Fury. It was delcious.

John

-Brewery Vivant- The Stone Fruit Sour had a lot of fruit in it, including peaches, cherries, plums and apricots, but was not overally fruity, with a great, slightly sour back bone to it.

-Batch Brewing-their spruce beer was almost like Christmas in a glass, with a lot of pine flavor. I don't mind beers that are over the top, as long as they embrace that, and this beer did.

Saturday's attendance in Detroit is expected at over 4,000 beer lovers. Doors open at 1pm for regular attendees, and at noon for Brewer's Guild Enthusiast members.

Don't have a ticket for today? Start planning now for the 12th annual Winter Beer Fest happening in Grand Rapids February 24 and 25.

If you are going to today, have a great time. Tell all the brewers that John and Amy said hi. And please enjoy yourself responsibly.

City Cab 313-833-7060

Checker Cab 313-963-7000

Or use Lyft, and the promo code "MiBeer" for up to $50 in free ride credit.
Waterworks_Park_102116_RJS_01.jpg

Trace amounts of the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane have been detected in the shallow groundwater below Waterworks Park on Ann Arbor's west side.

(Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR, MI - A town hall meeting is being organized to discuss the discovery of the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane in shallow groundwater beneath Waterworks Park, as well as other contaminants found on Ann Arbor's west side.

City Council Member Chuck Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, is inviting residents to come hear from city, county and state officials from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at Eberwhite Elementary School, 800 Soule Blvd.

The meeting is intended to help residents better understand what is known about the potential risks and the contamination, what remains unknown, and state and local efforts related to the Gelman dioxane plume.

City Council Member Chuck Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, is inviting residents to come hear from city, county and state officials from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at Eberwhite Elementary School, 800 Soule Blvd.

The City Council also has a special meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, to discuss Gelman plume response efforts and the city's legal options. The meeting includes a closed session with the city's legal staff.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality partnered with Gelman Sciences, the company responsible for a dioxane plume spreading through the area's groundwater, to investigate the extent of the contamination in shallow groundwater at more than two dozen locations.

The DEQ emphasizes the concentrations of dioxane found at Waterworks Park are below the DEQ's precautionary screening levels for risk of vapor intrusion into buildings and there's no immediate risk to public health known at this time.

But the discovery of dioxane not far below the surface in a park in a relatively dense neighborhood has some citizens concerned about the potential for human exposure, including toxic vapors infiltrating homes and businesses if the shallow plume comes into contact with building foundations and basements.

The DEQ acknowledges it's possible dioxane-contaminated groundwater moving under Ann Arbor's west side could enter buildings as vapor.

The DEQ has proposed a new vapor-intrusion screening level of 29 parts per billion for when dioxane-contaminated groundwater is in contact with a building foundation. The dioxane found in shallow groundwater at Waterworks Park is at about 2-3 ppb, according to a report released this past week.

Waterworks Park is directly across from Slauson Middle School and fronts both Eighth Street and Seventh Street. It includes a children's playground, walking trails and grassy fields where people bring their children and dogs to play.

The tests were conducted in response to residents' concerns about vapor-intrusion risks and potentially contaminated water seeping out of the ground in the West Park area and other areas on Ann Arbor's west side.

Traces of chloroform, trichloroethylene, trichloroethane and dimethyl-hexane also were detected in shallow groundwater near West Park, and trichloroethane was detected in shallow groundwater near Virginia Park.

Warpehoski said local officials and state representatives met inside city hall on Wednesday, Oct. 19, to discuss the matter. He said the DEQ was scheduled to attend but canceled. He's now hoping to bring together a wide range of local and state officials to discuss the issue with residents Thursday night.

Warpehoski said a lot of people still aren't sure what the new findings mean, so he's hoping the meeting can help shed some light.

A toxicologist from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is expected to be on hand, as well as representatives from the DEQ, Washtenaw County Public Health and other local officials and state lawmakers.

Mayor Christopher Taylor and Washtenaw County Board Chairwoman Felicia Brabec are expected to talk about efforts at the city and county level related to the Gelman dioxane plume and possible next steps.

There has been some talk of petitioning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to seek Superfund status for the plume and get the federal government involved in overseeing a more aggressive cleanup.

The plume has been allowed to spread through the area's groundwater for decades under the state's risk-management approach, which includes some pump-and-treat remediation but not a full-scale cleanup.

Monday's special City Council meeting includes a closed session to discuss legal issues with the city's legal staff, after which the council will consider a resolution directing the city administrator to seek assistance from the community's Congressional delegation to explore whether the DEQ is fulfilling its delegated authority under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The drafted resolution also directs the city administrator to explore options for more expeditious and effective cleanup efforts, including possible collaboration with Washtenaw County, Scio Township, Ann Arbor Township and other affected jurisdictions, and to report on the status of those efforts monthly.

It also directs the city attorney to continue providing legal advice on a regular basis regarding the Gelman plume and related legal issues.

The resolution is being co-sponsored by Council Members Chip Smith, Chuck Warpehoski and Sabra Briere.

They argue the DEQ has not provided enough information regarding the impact of the shallow groundwater contamination findings reported this past week. The findings were from lab tests conducted on water samples collected in August.

"The findings create anxiety and extreme concern for residents, homeowners and business owners in affected areas," the resolution states.

"The potential for additional and increasing concentrations of shallow groundwater contamination is highly probable."

The findings, the council resolution sponsors claim, demonstrate a new potential exposure pathway for dioxane that was not considered in court when now-retired Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Donald Shelton ordered a groundwater use prohibition zone within the city -- one in which wells are prohibited, while high levels of dioxane are allowed to spread through the city.

Gelman Sciences was acquired in 1997 by Pall Corp., which was acquired last year by Danaher Corp., a multibillion-dollar corporation that some local officials and residents argue has the financial resources to do a better cleanup.

Danaher last month declined an invitation to meet directly with local officials to discuss options for addressing the Gelman dioxane plume. However, it says Pall Corp. will continue to work with the DEQ, including participating in a community engagement process the DEQ hopes to get going this fall.

Monday's council resolution notes the city filed lawsuits against Gelman in state and federal courts years ago but reached a settlement in late 2006 that included acceptance by the city of a $500,000 settlement from Gelman.

"The settlement in the city cases establishes a set of criteria under which Gelman will have the obligation to pay the city $4,000,000 due to an increase in 1,4-dioxane concentrations at the Northwest supply well," the resolution states, referring to a municipal water supply well on Ann Arbor's west side that the city shut down several years ago because of the dioxane plume.

Warpehoski said the city still is considering multiple legal avenues for pursuing a better cleanup, including the possibility of a Superfund designation, but there are some concerns that going that route could complicate other options.

For now, the city is waiting on the state to adopt stricter exposure criteria for dioxane, something it was required by law to do three years ago. The new standards, which local officials hope to see adopted soon, would lower the allowable level of dioxane in residential drinking water from 85 to 7.2 ppb.

As far as managing the Gelman plume, the DEQ and Gelman are operating under a consent judgment dating back to 1992 and last amended in 2011.

The DEQ has suggested it would seek to revise the consent judgment to apply the 7.2-ppb standard and make it a stated objective that no additional drinking water sources are contaminated, including private wells in township areas.

The DEQ has stopped short of promising to fight for increased pumping and treating to more aggressively remove dioxane from the groundwater.

Warpehoski said he believes having a goal of no more wells contaminated above 7.2 ppb could result in a slightly better cleanup, though it still would be a risk-management approach, and he thinks that's too weak.

As for the Superfund option, Warpehoski said he was on a conference call with other local officials and the EPA in late July and he came away believing it's highly unlikely the Gelman plume would qualify for Superfund designation. He said the EPA officials on the line said it would be a challenge because there's a responsible party and there's a state agency already supervising a cleanup.

He said the EPA's Superfund program was set up as a safety net for contamination sites that otherwise might fall through the cracks, such as when there's a lack of state management or lack of a responsible party.

That said, Warpehoski said, if the EPA did take on the Gelman plume as a Superfund site, the goal likely would be a much better cleanup, including aquifer restoration. And barring any changes in Michigan's environmental laws, he said, that's not going to be the state's goal.

But at the moment, Warpehoski considers petitioning for Superfund status a "Hail Mary" approach, and one that could hurt the city's chances of working at the state level and in court to pursue a better cleanup.

If the city is able to go back to court, or if the state goes back to court on the city's behalf, it's believed the case would go before Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors, and some are hopeful he would rule differently than Shelton and order a better cleanup.

But if there's a petition for a Superfund designation underway, Warpehoski said, it's conceivable the judge might want to wait for that process to play out before ruling, and that could delay the matter. If the EPA declined to take on the Gelman plume, he said, it's conceivable the responsible party might argue in court that, if it's not worthy of Superfund status, the contamination must not be so bad.

Evan Pratt, Washtenaw County's water resources commissioner, said the EPA made it clear in the July conference call that the Superfund program does not normally assume responsibility for sites where there is already a viable responsible party, an enforcing agency, and a legal enforcement mechanism.

He said the EPA representatives indicated the only experiences they had in accepting sites already under management were when the responsible party and the enforcing agency both requested that the EPA take over.

He said both the DEQ and the governor also would have to agree in writing with a local request for a preliminary assessment.

Pratt said EPA officials also stressed the Superfund process is very slow and it could take four to five years to get to the point of doing cleanup, and aquifer restoration would take decades to achieve.

In short, Pratt said in an email in July, the cleanup goals sounded good, but the obstacles sounded high.

"The primary concern," he wrote, "would be what a judge would do if EPA is 'considering' whether to accept the site or not, and whether the courts would allow a site to be 'on hold' until an EPA determination."
Sassy the schnauzer

BAY CITY, MI -- Convicted of a felony in 2015 in the killing of a schnauzer, a Bay City man is working to atone for his crime, in part by a donation to the Bay County Animal Control.

Kids visiting the agency on Saturday, Oct. 22, for its Empty the Shelter event will receive an original Beanie Baby, the popular stuffed animals made by Ty Inc. in the 1990s. More than 100 of the toys were donated by Aaron A. Bellor.

A Bay County jury in February 2015 convicted Bellor of felony unlawfully killing an animal and misdemeanor failing to provide an animal with adequate care.

The following month, Bay County Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt sentenced Bellor, then 23, to 180 days in jail, an additional 180 days deferred, and three years of probation. The judge also ordered Bellor to pay $500 in court fines and $250 in restitution.

During Bellor's trial, Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Stroud argued Bellor on the morning of Jan. 22, 2014, took a schnauzer named Sassy to rural Portsmouth Township and ran her over at least twice, killing her. Defense counsel Edward M. Czuprynski maintained Bellor did this as an act of euthanasia, as he had accidentally spilled boiling water on Sassy earlier that morning and panicked. Not knowing what else to do with the suffering dog, Bellor took her to a secluded area and euthanized her with his car, Czuprynski argued.

A sampling of Beanie Babies donated by Bellor for Saturday's Empty the Shelter event.

After reading The Times' Oct. 20 article on Saturday's pet adoption event, Bellor emailed a reporter, saying he had a bundle of Beanie Babies and wanted to do some good with them, but didn't want to personally visit the shelter. The Times agreed to deliver the stuffed animals to the shelter.

"I would like to donate them there for the kids who are not able to leave with a real pet," he said. "They can at least leave with a (toy) one they can name."

Bellor on Thursday, Oct. 20, dropped off more than 100 Beanie Babies, which Times staff took to the shelter on Friday morning.

Bellor said he has been successful with probation and has had no violations.

"I have completed all classes and drug counseling and have certificates for it all," he said. "The feeling of accomplishing something has been a big goal in my life. I've had a lot of awesome role models in my life since this has happened."

Bellor is on probation until March 30, 2018.

"As a Bay City resident," he continued, "I hope that one day people can see the better in me and forgive my mistakes that I've accepted as a man."

The Empty the Shelter event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Bay County Animal Control is one of 57 shelters in Michigan participating in the event, which is sponsored by the Grand Rapids-based Bissell Pet Foundation, with PetSmart Charities also contributing $50,000.

The shelter is waiving its standard $27 adoption fee. The intention is to get all of the adoptable pets in the facility into new homes.

The only cost adopters will have is a licensing fee, which is $9. However, shelter employee Jo Ellen Bollman encourages adopters to wait a week after taking their new pet home before buying the license, just to make sure everything works out.

Shelter Angels, a group that obtains sponsors for animals in the Bay County shelter, is paying to have as many animals as possible sterilized prior to the event.

When people adopt a new pet, they'll receive an AdoptBox. Each AdoptBox contains toys, treats, collars and cleaning products, as well as information about the care and keeping of animals for adopters that may be first-time pet owners.

Regarding the donated Beanie Babies, Bellor had this to say:

"I know it doesn't take away from what happened a couple of years ago with Sassy and I know I can't take back all my misdeeds in life, but I can sure definitely start looking forward to a better future."
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Marvie Gardner, 3; and Michael Grayson, 19

A Detroit dad on Friday was charged with kidnapping his own child's half-brother.

Michael L. Grayson, 19, of Detroit, caused an Amber Alert to be issued Thursday morning when police say he abducted a 3-year-old boy from the child's mother's home on Biltmore on Detroit's west side Thursday morning.

Grayson and the 3-year-old's mother have a 2-year-old child together, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

Police said Grayson was driving a stolen minivan when he took the 3-year-old.

Police located the boy, who was not harmed, in a car parked outside an abandoned house near where the boy's mother lives about 2 p.m. Thursday. They arrested the father a short time later. He was arrested on a public bus near Seven Mile and Ryan in Detroit.

Grayson is charged with Kidnapping by child enticement, punishable by up to life in prison; and unlawful driving away of an automobile.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
DETROIT -- A new commuter shuttle service that will pick people up and drop them off at work is expected to begin operations in Detroit within two weeks.

MagicBus, a Silicon Valley-based company, offers a crowd-sourced service with multiple pick-up and drop-off times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, with trips starting at $5, and long-distance rides starting at $8.

The company announced Friday in Detroit's Cadillac Square that its buses will provide flexible transportation in Metro Detroit with free Wi-Fi.

Cole Williams, a MagicBus spokesman at Friday's announcement, said the new service will fit into a fresh push for new transit options in Detroit.

"[Detroit] is fascinating, I think there will be other cities in America like this that will make this comeback, but this is the first city to do so, and it's pretty astounding," Williams said.

"In the past, public transportation has been lacking. I think there's demand for us to come here and really take off. There's a ton of people that commute into the city and a good amount of people that still commute out."

MagicBus riders can book or cancel routes through a cellphone application or computers the night before a commute, or weeks in advance.

If at least 15 riders sign up to be picked up from a specific area, the service will have riders meet at a designated location for transport.

Riders also receive a text when the bus is near the pick-up location, and they can track the bus on their phone as it approaches.

Williams said a MagicBus shuttle could ideally travel as far as Ann Arbor from Detroit with enough demand to transport people on a predictable schedule.

"For a vehicle to make that round and hit every cul-de-sac would take a long time, so we have people walk to a common straight line and the bus can pick them up," Williams said. "You're never going to walk more than five minutes from your house."

He added that riders can be picked up from their homes if they are unable to walk to the designated pick-up spot. Riders can also purchase monthly passes on average for $200.

Kim David of Ann Arbor, who currently uses MichiVan, a Michigan Department of Transportation service that has participants themselves drive the carpool vehicle, welcomed the new option.

"I like the idea of something that is more company-specific," David said, adding that the new service will use professional drivers.

Detroit-based Quicken Loans plans to subsidize its employees' MagicBus accounts.
DEARBORN - Harm Jan Bosch didn't surprise either of his parents when he told them he wanted to use his Make-A-Wish Foundation opportunity to see a Ford F-150 truck being put together, up close and personal.

The 17-year-old, who has a congenital cardiac condition, did just that on Friday, traveling with his parents and four siblings from the Netherlands to Dearborn, Mich. to take part in a private tour of the Ford Rouge Factory.

"I wasn't surprised that he wanted to do that, but I was surprised that [the foundation] made the wish come true," said Gerrit Bosch, Harm Jan's father.

"It was a dream for him, but I thought we would go one day to a museum or one day to a circuit in Holland and have a nice day and that will be it.

"But I never thought we would be flying to America."

The Bosch family arrived at Detroit Metro Airport on Thursday afternoon and toured the factory Friday morning.

"He really likes Fords," said the teen's mother, Frederika Bosch. "I don't know what it is. He likes trucks."

Before the tour was complete, Harm Jan was given the special task of placing an "F150" badge onto a newly-assembled truck, and the family was treated to a ride in a not-yet-released model.

"The tour of the factory was very nice," he said. "We saw how the pickup [was made] from the beginning to the end."

Following the factory tour, the Bosch's enjoyed lunch at Lamy's Diner, received a guided tour of the Henry Ford Museum and finished the afternoon by being escorted around Greenfield Village in a pair of Model Ts.

Make-A-Wish Netherlands and Make-A-Wish Michigan combined efforts to make the trip possible.
FLINT, MI - Mayor Karen Weaver says she is "glad" an ongoing garbage dispute has finally ended.

Weaver issued an Oct. 21 statement through Flint Spokeswoman, Kristin Moore, saying both her administration and the Flint City Council are ready to present a resolution to the state-appointed Receivership Transition Authority Board bringing an end to the trash dispute.

"This agreement will give Flint residents what I've been fighting for all along and that's the best service possible, at the lowest cost possible," said Weaver in the statement.

Weaver and eight of nine Flint City Council members had been engulfed in a trash dispute since June when council members voted against the administration's recommendation to hire Rizzo Environmental Services to haul the city's trash.

The agreement comes about a week after Rizzo became the center of a federal investigation for alleged "corruption" and "bribery" where at least one Clinton Township official has been arrested and charged.

The agreement with Republic includes a one-year contract that will run from Nov. 12 to Nov. 12, 2017, with an one-year extension option the city could pick up. Officials said it will cost the city $3,736,032 per year.

Attorneys and city council members made the initial announcement of the tentative trash agreement in an Oct. 19 RTAB meeting at Flint City Hall.

Officials said there should be a resolution before Flint City Council at their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Oct. 24, and they are hoping RTAB will hold a special meeting next week to sign off on the contract.

Attorneys for Weaver's office did not say whether the investigation had any bearing on the decision to end the push for Rizzo and hire Republic to haul Flint's trash.

But Weaver said she is "glad" it is over.

"This has been a long process and I'm glad its just about over," Weaver added. "But most of all, I'm glad we are going to be saving the citizens and the City of Flint money without compromising the quality of service."

The city extended a one-year contract to Republic Services who agreed to contract with Flint at the same rate as Rizzo. The one-year contract will begin Nov. 12, 2016 running through November 2017. There is an option for the city to extend the contract through 2018.

In addition, a lawsuit against Weaver and her office filed in July by Councilman Scott Kincaid who was later joined by the eight council members is expected to be withdrawn.

Council President Kerry Nelson, Council Vice President Vicki VanBuren and members Jackie Poplar, Wantwaz Davis, Hubert Winfrey, Monica Galloway and Kate Fields were all in the lawsuit against Weaver and her administration.

The council has been against hiring Rizzo, except member Eric Mays who has supported the administration initial push to hire the company.

In June, Weaver's administration asked the council to approve hiring Rizzo, saying the company bid was $2 million lower than Republic. At that time, the resolution before the council was for a $17.5-million contract spanning over five years.

Council members have argued the bidding process was flawed, and they questioned Rizzo's integrity after inquiring about potential ties to Canada and to former Flint Mayor Woodrow Stanley. They have also said Rizzo's bid didn't offer the same amenities as Republic's, including a blight plan.
Shelter of Flint Emergency Clinic 007

Shelter of Flint

(Erin Kirkland | The Flint Journa)

FLINT, MI - The Shelter of Flint has received a $25,000 challenge grant that will support the shelter's housing programs.

The shelter announced the award of the grant from The Hagerman Foundation on Thursday, Oct. 20, according to a news release from Shelter of Flint.

Shelter officials are hopeful the grant will serve as a challenge to other individuals to make donations to support the programs and services provided by Shelter of Flint.

"The support of our community is vital to our mission, and we are thrilled to receive this grant," said Anne Granter, President and CEO of Shelter of Flint in a statement. "As a challenge grant, this gift will have double the impact on the children and families we serve."

Executive Director of The Hagerman Foundation, Becky Foerster said the organization's goal is to have both individuals and organizations join in the challenge.

"The Shelter of Flint serves over 1,000 adults and children each day through their various programs," Foerster said. "Our hope is that this grant will allow those programs to increase, serve individuals in need, and ultimately move them closer to independent living."

In response to the challenge, Shelter of Flint plans to reach out to previous donors who have not given recently, as well as first-time donors, according to the release.

The goal of the campaign is two-fold - to raise $25,000 to meet the challenge from The Hagerman Foundation and to re-engage past and new donors. Gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - On Saturday, Oct. 22, shelters across Michigan opened their doors and waived their adoption fees for the Empty the Shelters event.

Bissell Pet Foundation teamed up with 57 local animal shelters and organizations with the goal of adopting out 1,200 shelter cats and dogs in Michigan. Bissell covered the adoption costs for the animals, which is usually $70 for cats and $150 for dogs. The only fee that adopters had to pay was a licensing fee for dogs, which is anywhere from $7 to $12.

Thirteen shelters in the greater Grand Rapids area took part in the event, with eight of those hosted at Bissell's headquarters in Walker. There were about 42 dogs and 120 cats from the different organizations available for adoption.

For more information about the Bissell Pet Foundation, visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Visitors should be prepared to go back in time and into the sea with "Whales: Giants of the Deep," an interactive, educational exhibit from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. It opens today, Oct. 22.

The exhibit dives into the history of whales, which began as land marine mammals about 55 million years ago. Whales as we know them evolved from these archaic whales around 35 million years ago.

"Whales in many ways are still quite mysterious to people," said Pat Stodart, the exhibition tour manager. "This exhibit shows the relationship with people, going from whaling to now. We're basically just trying to get them off the beaches when they strand and looking at what can we do better with pollution."

The exhibit focuses on whales and their relationship with the people in New Zealand over the past few hundred years.

The indigenous Maori people who inhabited New Zealand prior to the arrival of Europeans didn't hunt whales, but if a whale was stranded on a beach, they would take advantage of its resources. They would use its meat, bones and ivory to eat, fashion weapons and make jewelry.

Europeans arrived in New Zealand in the early 1800s and began hunting and harvesting whales using ships. Sperm whales and southern right whales were popular prey for humans for their blubber, which could be boiled down into oil. Whales were also hunted for their ivory, baleen (brush-like teeth) and ambergris, which forms in the whale's stomach and was used in perfumes.

The "Whales" exhibit has original tools, weapons and ornamental jewelry made from the bones and ivory, dating from the beginnings of whaling to modern day.

There are also interactive video documentaries of contemporary Maori people talking about the significance of whaling culture and stories that have been passed down, including some about riding whales.

Whaling ended in the 1960s, when researchers found a considerable drop in whale populations. Since then, scientists and advocates have spent time researching whales, their behavior and attempting to restore the population of whales, with success.

Now, whales are researched after they have been stranded, in most situations. The Maori people have protected the whales and will hold burial ceremonies for them in some cases.

All of the whales at Te Papa were stranded on beaches and recovered by scientists.

"Whales" talks about the current problems facing whales today. Water pollution is one of the biggest issues. Whales commonly ingest plastic that has been tossed in the ocean and will die.

There are also efforts to combat stranding. Whales can get stranded on a beach because they get confused or the tides will change too quickly for them to get back out to sea. Strandings can happen on an individual basis, but mass strandings of 100 to 1,000 whales are not uncommon.

The exhibit shows video and has a model of how people - mostly volunteers and government workers - come together to get stranded whales back into the ocean.

The exhibit features life-size, scale models of skulls and bones as well as a fully-articulated 58-foot sperm whale skeleton.

Kids can climb inside of a life-size model of the heart of a blue whale, the largest animal ever. Whale calls can be heard in a sound booth, whales and dolphins can be built in an interactive display and whales can be followed around the ocean as they hunt for food in a video.

The exhibit opens to the public at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Tickets are $2 for members and $13 for non-member adults and $8 for non-member kids, which includes general admission to the museum. Tickets can be bought online or at the front desk.
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business TRAI seeks penal action against incumbent telcos TRAI has suggested Rs 50 crore per licence service area to be levied for failure to provide incremental point of interconnect to Reliance Jio.
current-affairs-trends MP Global Investor Summit kicks off, 150 CEOs may participate A 2-day Global Investor Summit organised by the state government of Madhya Pradesh at its commercial capital Indore kick-started today. MP expects to host about 150 CEOs and over 3,000 delegates including the Union Finance Minister at the event.
business HCL Tech can continue to outperform the sector: Experts Sanjiv Bhasin of IIFL and Dolat Capital's Karan Taurani believe that the company's Q2 performance was good and it can outperform peers like TCS and Infosys in the coming quarters.
Weve all been there

Youre flying high one minute. A moment later, everything is crashing around you.

Nasty surprises are one of lifes most unwelcome events. When they happen, were often left wondering: What could I have done to avoid this?

The usual answer is: Not much.

You see, life has a certain randomness. It simply isnt possible to control every variable  no matter how hard we try. The reality is that bad stuff can happen without warning.

Few places are more prone to surprises than the stock market. A stock can look good one day, and then be hit by a sharp downdraft the next. This is one of tradings most unenjoyable experiences.

Ill talk more about this in a minute. Youll see why many traders get nowhere in the market. But first, Ive got a story to tell. Its about a nasty surprise I hope you never experience.

Trouble in paradise

The year was 1998. I was in Singapore visiting an old friend and his wife. My wife was joining us a few days later. The four of us were heading to the Thai holiday island of Ko Samui.

But there was a last minute hitch. Our beachfront bungalow wouldnt be available on time. Rather than waiting a few extra days, the decision was made to switch destinations.

A couple of hours later we had a new itinerary. We were now off to the white-sandy beaches of Cebu  an exotic getaway in the southern Philippines.

Our arrival at Cebu airport was like any other. However, a nasty surprise was only minutes away.

The terminal was typical of many in the region. Heavily armed police and anti-drug messages set a serious tone. The harsh penalties for drug trafficking were abundantly clear.

But none of this was a concern to us. With any luck, wed be swimming in turquoise water within an hour. All we had to do was collect our luggage and find the hotel shuttle bus.

The baggage carousel was the usual hustle and bustle. My bag was the last of all the passengers to appear. It was a large blue canvas duffle bag with a number of zip pockets.

But something was wrong

Large white chalk Xs were on every face of the bag. My body went cold as the bag slowly made its way towards me. Airport security had flagged my luggage for closer inspection.

This was the nastiest of surprises.

My instant fear was that someone had put drugs in the bag. The zipper pockets made it easily accessible. Was the unimaginable happening to me?

Three choices quickly came to mind:

Leave the bag and walk away; Look inside and clean off the chalk; Pick it up and head to customs.

My bag was already attracting attention. I really only one choice  option three.

Sure enough, the customs officers were waiting. They told me to step to the side. Two of them then went through my bag, compartment by compartment.

Time stood still. My heart was racing. It was terrifying.

And then it was over. I had the all clear to move on.

The reason for all this is still a mystery  I didnt get an explanation. But its still the most vivid of memories. This was by far the most unpleasant surprise of my life.

Portfolio shocks

The airport baggage carousel isnt your typical trouble spot. But thats the nature of nasty surprises  they can happen anywhere, and at any time.

A more frequent source of surprises is the stock market. Chances are you already know this. The sting of a sudden setback is something many traders experience.

Let me show you what I mean



Source: BigCharts

Click to enlarge

This is the chart for biotech business Sirtex Medical [ASX:SRX]. It gave the market one the worst surprises of 2015. The stock was also in the Quant Trader portfolio.

SRX had been trading strongly right up until it fell. It was actually one of the best performing ASX stocks at the time  up 150% in the previous 12 months.

The selloff was due to a clinical trial not meeting expectations. More than $1 billion  or 61.5% of the companys value  vaporised at market open. It was the nastiest of surprises.

But this didnt have to be a disaster (and it wasnt for Quant Traders portfolio).

You can limit the impact of an SRX with one simple strategy  spreading your risk.

Many traders make the critical mistake of placing a few big trades. This increases their portfolios vulnerability to the sudden collapse in a single stock.

Im going to show you three scenarios from back-testing. Ive set these up to simulate how many people trade. The strategy youll see takes profits earlyand let losses run for way too long.

The swing factor is the number of stocks in the portfolio.

Heres the first test

Click to enlarge

This is the most dangerous strategy  the single stock portfolio.

Now, its possible to make a fortune with this method. But you need a lot of luck. It all hinges on buying the right stocks. You only need one SRX to bring it all undone.

This test (and the others youll see) starts on 1 September 2009 with $20,000. The system follows the first available entry signal whenever it has free capital. It then takes profits when a stock is up 30%, and holds losing trades until losses hit 75%. I see people trade like this all the time.

Despite the ineffective strategy, 80% of the exits were profitable. This can happen when you resist cutting losses and take profits early.

But the simulation still ends with a loss. A small number of big losses weigh it down.

Lets move to the next test

Click to enlarge

This test uses the same variables as before. The only difference is a wider spread of risk. This strategy allocates its capital across four stocks.

Overall, the result is still poor. The sequence of trades for this test didnt produce a string of large wins. But the impact of any one loss is lower than the single stock portfolio.

OK, its time for the last test.

This time Im going to increase the portfolios size to 20 stocks.

What do you think will happen?

Lets have a look

Click to enlarge

Spreading risk widely has made a big difference. Volatility is noticeably lower than the smaller portfolios. A nasty surprise in one stock has less overall impact.

Let me give you an example.

Say you put all your capital ($20,000) into SRX just before the collapse. The next day, the stock opens 61.5% lower. Your account would now be worth $7,692its a disaster.

Now lets suppose a different scenario.

This time you put a quarter of your funds into SRX. You still take a hit. But its not as bad as if you bet the house. Your account is now worth $16,923. You can bounce back from this.

Finally, theres the 20-stock portfolio. Each trade represents 5% of your capital. Your loss on SRX is a mere $615its a blip. Your portfolio is off just 3%.

Theres another important benefit to owning more stocks: It increases the odds of getting on some good trends. This also helps make the third scenario the most profitable.

Big bets can seem like a fast way to riches. But the consequences can be lethal.

Nasty surprises can and do happen. Limiting their potential for damage is vital. Quant Traders strategy for this is to spread risk. Its about many small trades  not a few big ones.

Until next week,

Jason McIntosh,

Editor, Quant Trader

Editors note: Despite the recent market volatility, Quant Trader has recently cashed out several big winners. Last week, the system booked a 72.5% gain in Fisher & Paykel. The week before that, it was a 140% profit in Smartgroup. And two weeks earlier, Quant Trader closed out Auckland International Airport for a 65% gain. Imagine profits like these in your account. Get immediate access to Quant Traders signals  and claim a 30-day trial subscription  by clicking here.

PS: Quant Trader sources all images and charts above unless otherwise stated.
October 22, 2016

Open Thread 2016-34

News & views ...

Posted by b on October 22, 2016 at 15:19 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page 
Petty theft

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Someone stole gas cans from the back of a vehicle that was parked at La Quinta Inn, 17043 Condit Road. The theft was reported 8:41 a.m. Oct. 13.

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A thief or thieves broke into a community mailbox on Leptis Circle. The crime was reported 8:33 p.m. Oct. 10.

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A thief or thieves stole the license plate off a Mercedes-Benz parked in the parking lot of Safeway grocery store, 235 Tennant Station Way. The crime was reported 7:42 p.m. Oct. 14.

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A Caucasian male about 20 to 29 years old stole about $80 worth of alcohol rom Nob Hill Foods, 451 Vineyard Town Center. The theft was reported 7:17 p.m. Oct. 15.

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Suspicious person

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Three men were seen trying to pick a lock on a Toyota or Honda parked in the area of West Dunne and Del Monte avenues. The incident was reported 7:21 p.m. Oct. 10.

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Oversized vehicle

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A resident of Count Fleet Court reported a neighbor parked a military type truck in the front yard, in violation of Morgan Hill municipal code. The incident was reported 12:37 p.m. Oct. 13.

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A resident of San Carlos Way reported a 22-foot trailer was parked on the street for about a week. The municipal code violation was reported 10:21 a.m. Oct. 15.

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Stolen vehicle

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Someone stole a black 1994 Honda Accord from a parking spot on Wright Avenue. The crime was reported 9:01 a.m. Oct. 14.

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A thief or thieves stole a motorcycle from East Dunne Avenue. The crime was reported 9:33 a.m. Oct. 14.

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A green 1997 Honda Civic was stolen from the area of Jasmine Square Apartments on Monterey Road. The theft was reported 4:43 a.m. Oct. 11.

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A thief or thieves stole a 2006 Nissan Altima from the parking lot of Safeway grocery store, 235 Tennant Station Way. The theft was reported 5:42 p.m. Oct. 11.

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Someone stole a 2006 Nissan Altima from the parking lot of Safeway, 235 Tennant Station Way. The vehicle was later recovered in Salinas. The theft was reported 2 a.m. Oct. 17.

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Grand theft

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Three suspects stole about $1,000 worth of baby formula from Safeway grocery store, 235 Tennant Station Way. The alleged thieves were described as Hispanic males in their 30s. The crime was reported 12:37 p.m. Oct. 14.

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Burglary

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A resident of Winter Creek Way arrived home to find her garage door open and the house rummaged through. Police arrived to clear the residence. The incident was reported 6:49 p.m. Oct. 11.

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Drunk in public

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A 53-year-old man was lying on the ground in front of Rossos furniture store, 212 Tennant Station Way, barely conscious and bleeding from the mouth. Police arrived and arrested the man on suspicion of public drunkenness. The incident was reported 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15.

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All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.
Morgan Hill Unified School District incumbent candidates Rick Badillo and Tom Arnett received endorsements in the November 2016 election from the California Charter School Association Advocates, which announced its support to those running for offices in various races throughout the state.

Badillo, who is challenged in the Nov. 8 election for his board of education seat by newcomers Mary Patterson and Albert Beltran Jr. in Trustee Area 6, also accepted a $5,000 donation from CCSA Advocates to his campaign efforts, according to his latest California Fair Political Practices Commission filing with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office.

This is the first year that MHUSDs board of education seats are broken up into trustee areas rather than holding an at-large election. Therefore, candidates must reside in specific trustee areas to run for office. Voters must also live in those areas to partake.

Arnett, who has raised more than $20,000 for his second campaign of the calendar year with most coming from Washington, D.C.-based Leadership for Equity, is running against challenger Angelica Diaz in Trustee Area 5. Arnett did not receive any campaign funding from CCSA Advocates.

Beltran and Diaz were endorsed by the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers.

CCSA Advocates also endorsed Santa Clara County Board of Education incumbent candidates Grace Mah (Trustee Area 1), Rosemary Kamei (Trustee Area 3) and Joseph DiSalvo (Trustee Area 4).

CCSA Advocates is proud to endorse candidates around the state who share our vision of reinventing California public education, according to a posting by Steven Levin on the ccsaadvocates.org website.

CCSA Advocates is dedicated to increasing the involvement of the charter school community in the political process, creating a pipeline of charter school supporters and activists, electing public officials who support California charter schools, and growing the political influence of the California charter school movement, he continued.
An afternoon at the park turned out not to be much fun for one local child Friday.

A 15 -year-old boy was playing at Marthas Park on Friday afternoon when he became entrapped in a tire swing consisting of three tires chained together vertically.

Morganton Department of Public Safety and Burke EMS arrived at Marthas Park around 5 p.m. on Friday, said Capt. Jason Whisnant of Morganton Department of Public Safety.

The playground here is usually age - appropriate type of equipment based on the childs size, Whisnant said. We had a 15 -year-old male attempt to go down a piece of equipment that is not designed for a child that size and he became stuck between the middle two tires.

The public safety officers and EMS workers tried to calm the boy down to where they could cut the chains off the tires and free him, he said.

The tire was stuck around the boys torso and no injuries were reported, Whisnant said.

The officers held up the boy as the chains were cut and laid him down to pull the tires off one at a time, Whisnant said.

Fortunately , we were here and able to get him out, he said.

The tires are tiered up and down to different tires and children can climb down the tires or climb up them and , typically , the size through here matters, Whisnant said.

It wasnt life-threatening, but certainly (it was) embarrassing and scary for the child, he said.

Caution tape has been wrapped around the equipment that had to be cut and city of Morganton recreation department will be in charge of replacing it.

They are making arrangements to get this fixed quickly, Whisnant said.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
HICKORY  Catawba Valley Community College was on lockdown Friday after a threat was made against the school.

The Catawba County Special Tactics and Response team began clearing the main campus of CVCC after the threat was made around 1:45 p.m. Friday

Capt. Jason Reid of the Catawba County Sheriffs Office said that they had no visible confirmation of a threat prior to sending in the STAR team. Reid said they planned to clear both campuses in order to ensure the absence of a threat.

CCSO Capt. Jason Beebe said that the lockdown was issued after an unnamed man reached out to authorities about a woman being in distress at the school.

She relayed to him that she was scared, and there were people armed with guns at the school where she was hiding, Beebe said. No description, no threat, anything. Just a vague threat of people with guns, and that she was hiding.

The man contacted the Alamance County Sheriffs Office, who investigated and learned that the woman was a student at CVCC. The Alamance County Sheriffs Office relayed the information to the Catawba County Sheriff, who in turn told the school. The lockdown was then activated.

Beebe could not release either individuals name, as the investigation is ongoing.

We are doing two things: we are evacuating and searching, and we are trying to learn if the threat is real or bogus, Beebe said Friday afternoon. We have been searching about an hour now, and theres nothing suspicious.

CVCC president Garrett Hinshaw said the school was operating out of caution, and that no credible threat had been found.

We received information this morning about the potential of a credible threat on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College, Hinshaw said. At that point we were directed by law enforcement to issue a lockdown.

We want to thank the Catawba County Sheriffs Office and the Hickory Police Department for their outstanding response to this particular incident.

As the STAR team cleared the main campus, students were led to waiting Catawba County school buses. From there, the buses took students to the American Legion Fairgrounds, where parents waited to pick up their children.

One parent, Robert Jones, said his 16-year-old daughter was in the school during the lockdown.

Its not my first rodeo, Jones said . Its why we moved from Charlotte to come up here. But its going to happen anywhere.

Jones said he remembers a previous lockdown at CVCC, with his older stepdaughter in 2012.

The school does an excellent job with the kids safety, and I would commend the administration, Jones said.

The college declared an all clear at 2:30 p.m.

No injuries or gunfire were reported, according to a Facebook post by the college. Another post states that all classes and activities are canceled for the remainder of the day.

Law enforcement agencies from Catawba and Caldwell assisted during the incident.
Early voting has seen more Democrats casting ballots than any others during the first two days.

And thats held true for the state.

Democrats have moved ahead of Republicans in early voting in North Carolina. Republicans had held a modest lead based on mail-in ballots returned, but that was at a much narrower margin than in 2012, when Mitt Romney narrowly won the state. After in-person voting began on Thursday, Democrats overtook Republicans in overall votes cast.

In Burke County, 4,711 people had cast a ballot by the time the five early voting sites closed on Friday. Early voting started on Thursday morning and ends at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Of that total, 1,835 were Democrats and 1,760 were Republicans, while 1,110 were unaffiliated voters, according to information from the Burke County Board of Elections.

Early voting locations will be:

 The Burke County Board of Elections office, located at 2128 S. Sterling St., Morganton.

 Morganton-Burke Senior Center, located at 501 N. Green St., Morganton.

 Glen Alpine Town Hall, located at 103 Pitt St., Glen Alpine.

 Rutherford College Town Hall, located at 980 Malcolm Blvd., Rutherford College.

 Hildebran Methodist Church, located at 110 S. Center St., Hildebran.

Hours during early voting will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday from Oct. 20 through Nov. 4, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, according to elections officials.

Election Day is Nov. 8, when voters will cast their ballot at their regular precinct.

For those not registered or who need to change their address, folks will be able to register and vote on the same day during early voting.

Voters are not required to show identification.

Local offices and candidates on the ballot in November are:

 Burke County Board of Commissioners, three seats  Republicans Johnnie Carswell (incumbent), Scott Mulwee and Jeff Brittain (incumbent); Democrats Jeff Morse, Emily Church and David Rust.

 Burke County Register of Deeds, one seat  Democrat Laura Anderson and Republican Stephanie Norman.

 46th District seat of the N.C. Senate, one seat  Republican Warren Daniel (incumbent) and Democrat Anne Fischer.

 86th District seat of the N.C. House of Representatives, one seat  Democrat Tim Barnsback and Republican Hugh Blackwell (incumbent).

Sample ballots can be found on the Burke County Board of Educations website at http://bit.ly/2cH8Ors. Call the elections office at 828-764-9010 or email burke.boe@ncsbe.gov with any election questions.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Sharon McBrayer is a staff writer and can be reached at smcbrayer@morganton.com or at 828-432-8946.
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.
Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos has said no to Russian officials request to watch Texans vote, according to correspondence obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Please note that only persons authorized by law may be inside of a polling location during voting. All other persons are not authorized and would be committing a class C misdemeanor crime by entering, Cascos wrote last month in a letter to Alexander K. Zakharov, the Russian consul general in Houston. We are unable to accommodate your request to visit a polling station.

Cascos was responding to Zakharovs request, dated Sept. 24, that Texas allow someone in his office inside a polling station on Election Day with the goal of studying the U.S. experience in organization of voting process.

In his letter, Cascos instead offered to arrange an informational meeting between the Russians and local officials. Alicia Pierce, his spokeswoman, said Friday that no such meeting was arranged.

Zakharovs office did not answer a phone call from the Tribune, and it does not appear to use voicemail.

Texas was one of three states  including Louisiana and Oklahoma  that turned down such requests from Russia, according to the Tulsa World.

The revelation comes in a presidential year in which Russia is playing a major role. Federal officials suspect the federation hacked into emails published by Wikileaks that have embarrassed Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons campaign, and Republican nominee Donald Trump has stirred controversy by expressing admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Texas is one of 12 states that explicitly prohibit or limit international election observers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

On Thursday, Kremlin-backed news outlet RT referenced the rejection from the three states in a story that claimed U.S. State Department officials were barring Russians from observing voting anywhere in the country  an accusation U.S. officials deny.

In violation of all principles of democracy and international monitoring, in Texas they even threatened to hold monitors who appear at ballot stations criminally responsible, an unnamed source said, according to RT.

A spokesman for the State Department told POLITICO that the episode was nothing more than a PR stunt, and noted that states set their own policies on election observers. Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false," he added, according to the news outlet.

In 2012, Gov. Greg Abbott, then the attorney general, caused a stir when he more forcefully warned a group of international election observers  the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe  not to set foot in a Texas polling place.

UN poll watchers can't interfere w/ Texas elections, he tweeted at the time. I'll bring criminal charges if needed. Official letter posted soon. #comeandtakeit.
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 []
Akufo-Addo should have apologised over hardship  ...
Five recent MyMotherLode informal polls relate to Propositions 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 on the November ballot. Regarding Proposition Proposition 57, called the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, the informal MyMotherLode poll results were, 68 percent against, 18 percent for and 14 percent voted they dont know. The measure is designed to reduce the states prison population by allowing a parole board to reduce sentences for non-violent categorized crimes. It is seen by proponents as another step to reduce the prison population following the earlier implementation of AB 109 and Proposition 47. The measure would also set up a credit system, or reward system, for good behavior and make various changes in handling juvenile offenders.

As reported here after hearing a presentation from District Attorney Laura Krieg, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of sending a letter against the passage of Prop 57 to the California District Attorneys Association. The Association is also opposed to the measure but a copy of the letter was also sent to Governor Jerry Brown who backs it. It was also sent to local representatives Senator Tom Berryhill, and Assemblyman Frank Bigelow.

On Prop 58 , MyMotherLode users were asked in another informal poll if they support authorizing schools to teach duallanguage immersion programs for both native and nonnative English speakers. A full 71 percent voted No, 23 percent voted Yes and only 6 percent voted they Dont Know.

According to the voters guide in 201516, about 1.4 million California public school students, or 22 percent, are not considered fluent in English. Of those not fluent, or English learners, 17.6 percent are native Spanish speakers and 4.4 percent speak other languages. Prop 58 will modify some parts of Prop 227, passed in 1998, that generally requires public schools to provide English learners with one year of special, intensive English instruction before transitioning students into other Englishonly classes. Though the measure generally does not require school districts to change how they teach English learners, it makes starting or expanding bilingual programs easier for all districts. The measure preserves requirement that public schools ensure students become proficient in English.

On Prop 59 the question was Do you support increasing regulation of campaign spending and contributions? (Corporations should not have the same constitutional rights as human beings?) The results were 69 percent yes and 26 percent no, with 5 percent not knowing.

Prop 59 is a legislative advisory measure only, it does not require any particular action by the Congress or the California Legislature.

The informal MyMotherLode question about Prop 60 asked Do you support changes to the health and safety requirements for adult film production in CA? The results were 60 percent no, 25 percent yes and 15 percent voted they dont know. Prop 60 requires adult film performers to use condoms during filming of sexual intercourse. It also requires producers to pay for performer vaccinations, testing, medical exams and for them to post the requirements at the film sites. The financial impact is expected to reduce tax revenues by several million dollars due to producers leaving the state. One of the main reasons cited in opposition to the measure is the increased regulation and state spending the measure calls for. Estimates believe it will cost in excess of $1 million annually to enforce the regulations, only partially offset by new fees collected from violations.

The informal poll question about Prop 61 asked Do you support State Prescription Drug Purchases be made at VA Prices? (Medi-Cal Exempt) 51 percent voted no, 41 percent voted yes and 8 percent dont know. As stated Prop 61 prohibits state agencies (except Medi-Cal) from buying any prescription drug from a drug manufacturer at any price over the lowest price paid for the same drug by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, except as may be required by federal law. It applies to any program where the state agency is the ultimate payer for a prescription drug, even if the state agency does not itself buy the drug. According to Californias Quick Guide To Propositions, money raised for committees primarily formed to promote No on 61 have raised $108,954,074 and the Yes on 61 has raised $14,480,024. The top contributors to No on 61 are pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co., Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Pfizer, Inc.; Amgen Inc. In favor of the measure is the Aids Healthcare Foundation and Democrats such as Bernie Sanders.

The news story about the MML polls on Propositions 51 and 52 is here.

The news story about Propositions 53, 54, 55 and 56 is here.
Newly-released 911 calls are providing more information about the death of a 15-year-old boy following a fight in a busy area of Winter Park last weekend.

Roger Trindade, 15, was beaten unconscious last weekend

911 calls provide more insight into his death

Police trying to figure out what happened

PREVIOUS STORY: Winter Park High teen dies 2 days after beating Winter Park teens mourn Roger Trindade's death





Winter Park Police are continuing to investigate the death of Roger Trindade.

Georgia Lea Cox was one of several people who stopped by a growing memorial to the teen along Park Avenue Friday night. She didnt know Trindade, but she says what happened worries her. She says she is always keeping a close eye on her 3-year-old son. But she knows someday hell grow up and become a teenager.

I seriously cannot honestly imagine raising him to that point and sending him to what we know is a safe place in Winter Park, and thinking something like that could actually happen there, said Cox.

Cox was playing with her son in the same area where just a few days ago Trindade was found unconscious.

I cant imagine as a parent, as a mom, said Cox.

On Friday, Winter Park Police released 911 calls from people who stopped to help the teen.

Theres some kid thats been passed out for I dont know how long, said one 911 caller.

Its bad.

Investigators say Trindade was beaten during a fight in the park. They say the fight may have started after Trindade was sprayed with something in the face. Police say the suspects ran away from the area.

But some of those teenagers may have stuck around.

When a dispatcher questions another 911 caller, the caller asks those still with Trindade what happened.

Was he by himself? the 911 caller asked.

Then the caller replied to the dispatcher, He was with some other friends and he fainted. He has a pulse, but is not responsive.

A police report shows the 15-year-old was beaten, punched and kicked. But first responders reported no obvious signs of injury when they arrived within about two minutes to treat Trindade. That evidence is only adding to the growing questions surrounding the teens death.

The teen was taken off life support after two days in the hospital.

Georgia Cox says anyone who might know what led to the teens death owes it to Trindades parents to tell police what they know.

They deserve to know what, and why their son is no longer here, said Cox.

A friend of Trindade says friends are planning a vigil for him sometime in the next few days, but they say a time and place havent been set.
Molly Sanchez was on the field, training for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Cotulla, Texas, when both her kidneys collapsed.

Sanchez, in her 20s at the time, had never had problems with her kidney function before. There was no high blood pressure, no diabetes and no family history of diabetes.

Doctors eventually traced the cause of the kidney failure to streptococcal pharyngitis  in other words, strep throat.

Sanchez remembers that she had been very sick for quite awhile. Then the infection seemed to clear up, and she resumed her normal active life. She thinks that at that time, the infection settled in her kidneys.

Sanchez chose to return to Plainview and requested Dr. Duke Meyers, a Lubbock nephrologist, as her physician.

It was difficult for a single mother of two to go on dialysis while waiting for a donor match. Eventually, a cadaver donor, a young Swedish man, was found.

After the transplant, Sanchez returned to her normal activities. She could not go back to her TDJC training, but she worked for Wal-Mart Distribution Center and as a crossing guard for Plainview ISD for 10 years.

I played softball, she said.

Oh, she was all over, her daughter Vanity Trevino, 22, adds.

The kidney transplant lasted 16 years before her body rejected it. No longer able to work, Sanchez, 44, goes to Lubbock for dialysis three days a week, four hours a day.

Its not a cure, she said. Its a treatment.

Sanchez has good days and bad days. On a good day, she feels nearly normal. On bad days, she has no energy and spends most of her time sleeping.

When hospital officials approached Trevino about the possibility of donating a kidney to her mother, she said yes without hesitation.

Her mother wasnt so sure.

Its not like shes letting me borrow her shoes. Its a kidney! Sanchez said.

But Trevino did the research, watching YouTube and Baylor website videos. She learned that the risks attached to donating a kidney can include blood clots and even death.

I decided to take the risk, she said.

She decided to give me the gift of life, her mother adds.

There were setbacks. The first blood draw showed that Sanchez and her daughter were not a match.

My antibodies were off, Sanchez said. Her body at that point was still in the process of rejecting the old kidney, and there was a problem with her immunosuppressant medication.

I was real sick, ending up in the hospital every week, Sanchez said. Lots of prayer and faith fixed that.

The second blood draw showed that mother and daughter were a perfect match.

Six genes match, Sanchez said. Were like twins.

Trevino underwent rigorous testing including a CT and an angiogram. No problems, no evidence of high blood pressure, high blood sugar or future signs of diabetes showed up. She is, fortunately, in excellent health.

The process, from the time Sanchezs body began to reject the transplant until Trevino was discovered to be a match, took about a year. But now, the transplant date is set for Nov. 9 at Baylor University All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth. Trevinos laparoscopic surgery is scheduled for 5:30 a.m. and her mothers transplant for 7:30 a.m.

Trevino is an assistant manager at Continental Credit in Plainview, and her employers have agreed to give her six weeks off. She will stay in the hospital for two to four days. Recovery time for a donor is from four to six weeks.

Recovery time for Sanchez is less definite, and Trevino will remain in the area in case the kidney is rejected or any other problems occur. She and other family members plan to stay at Twice Blessed House. Caregivers that Sanchez has lined up include her son Jobi Sanchez, her mother and father, and her fiance.

After surgery, Sanchez hopes to play with her grandson Drae, Trevinos 3-year-old son. She also wants to take a part-time job and go back to school.

I want to live a normal life, like everybody else, she said.

Trevino, who holds an associates degree in criminal justice, also hopes to continue her education once the surgery is over.

Sanchez says many people are uneducated when it comes to transplant surgery.

People think transplant surgery is a terrible, hard thing, that its something scary, that they take your organs away before you die, she said. Its not hard. Its not what people think it is.

Sanchez says she has convinced three or four people to put their names on a transplant list.

My transplant 16 years ago gave me hope, she said, and my daughters donation gives me hope again.

A fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank to help with expenses. When you call, ask to donate to Gift of Life  Molly Sanchez.
Hale Countys Indigent Health Department averaged 47 clients monthly during July, August and September, reports Director Debra Lambright.

Presenting her third-quarter report to Hale County commissioners at Fridays work session, Lambright reported disbursing $88,901.82 for indigent health care during the period, compared to $77,378.93 in the second quarter and $58,645.44 in the first quarter.

Having spent $224,926.19 thus far, Lambright has $225,073.81 remaining for indigent health care.

While she has been able to hold down expenses on health care assistance, Lambright warned that she will likely go over budget on indigent cremations. The county budgeted $5,000 for cremations. The county billed $700 for each cremation, with funding available to up to seven this year. Lambright said through the first three quarters of 2016, the county funded five for a total expense of $3,500. That leaves $1,500 for the rest of the year, and theres already been one cremation in October.

This is something we dont have any control over, she explained. County Judge Bill Coleman said the county will transfer funds from elsewhere in the budget if Lambright runs short.

Lambright reports running tight on her welfare assistance budget as well, with just $464.18 remaining from a budget of $1,500. This fund is used for utility, rent and prescription assistance, with a onetime limit of $100.

Her departments active client list includes 20 seeking Social Security income or disability benefits, three actively seeking employment, two working within income guidelines, 23 who are disabled with medical certification showing they are unable to work and six that are undocumented.

Her denied client list includes 10 who did not respond to requests for qualification documentation, one who moved out of the county, one who acquired outside support, one who found employment and three who is now receiving other benefits.

Commissioners applauded Lambright for her diligence on controlled expenses and to enforce eligibility guidelines. According to the state, Hale County has averaged spending just over $360,000 annually for indigent health care in the four years Lambright has been director, down from $695,066 in the year before she took over.

County Veterans Service Officer Karla Glowicki, in her third-quarter report, told commissioners she served 336 veterans in July, August and September. Thats down from 498 for the second quarter but up from 304 in the first quarter. She attributed the third quarter decline to being out of the office for required training in Lubbock and Waco. Glowicki passed the state certification test and will become an accredited veteran service officer once she finishes additional training in Lubbock.

During the quarter, clients included 301 from Hale County, 20 from Floyd, five from Randall, four from Lubbock, three from Colorado, six from Florida, three from Fredericksburg and two from Indiana. The Army, including Reserve and National Guard, accounted for 195, Air Force 10, Navy 23, Marines 38, Coast Guard seven, unknown nine, and civilians 53. One hundred seventy five were men and 146 women. One client was homeless.

Glowicki introduced Wes Cook, newly appointed Military Veteran Peer Network coordinator. He is a retired staff sergeant who spent 30 years working in the state prison system.

Other activity at Fridays work session included:

--A report from County Treasurer Ida Tyler, that current accounts payable total $278,659.71, including about $150,000 for roof repairs being paid from the proceeds of insurance claims. Coleman noted the countys credit rating from Standard & Poors is currently AA-.

--Commissioners on Monday will act on abandoning a plat for the McConnell Subdivision on what is now the Tyre King property. That plat was granted June 16, 1986, for a mobile home park that was never developed. It includes a dedicated alley and street. Commissioners also will consider purchasing an excavator with claw attachment to use in removing junk tires from the site, and proposals to fence the site.

--Received the third quarter activity report from UMC EMS for ambulance service to Abernathy. That unit made 12 responses during the period, including 11 within the service area and one to Petersburg.

--Discussed listing the Poarchs Furniture building at Third and Broadway with a real estate agent.

--Consider payment of a $571.43 assessment from SPAG for Llano Estacado Regional Water Planning.

--Consider using grant funding from Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board for maintenance of the flood control dams on the Runningwater Draw in Hale County.

--Discussed reinstating former employee Jody Peterson in Precinct 4 after a two-month lapse.

--Consider authorizing the purchase of two pickups for the sheriffs office.

In addition, commissioners on Monday are scheduled to accept a proposal for repairing sliding doors, locking devices and controls at the jail and issue $2.5 million in tax notes for the Plainview Industrial Park, repairs and improvements at the Ollie Liner Center and rural industrial development. Mike Fox also will to give the quarterly report from Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corporation.
#cancellation Local gov'ts cancel autumn festivals after Itaewon tragedy Provincial governments have canceled their autumnal festivals one after another as the country mourns the deaths of more than 150 people in a Halloween crowd crush in Seoul. The...
Water service was restored to residents in Oaklands Dimond district who were impacted by a water main break in the area, officials said Saturday.

The 16-inch water main broke in the area of Montana Street and Dimond Avenue on Friday morning, said Nelsy Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Twelve homes and apartments that had their service affected had water restored late Friday evening, she said.
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An investigation into the death of Shelly Titchener, a Brisbane resident whose dismembered body washed up near the Dumbarton Bridge in February, concluded she was slain by her husband, who killed himself, police said Friday.

After nearly an eight-month probe that included obtaining search warrants for the couples computers and mobile devices, detectives from the Brisbane and Fremont police departments said Paul Titchener was responsible for the Feb. 12 slaying of his 57-year-old wife.

A female torso and other body parts were found near a pier at the east end of the Dumbarton Bridge in Newark on Feb. 21 by a group fishing there. Paul Titchener, 62, reported his wife missing on Feb. 15. Two days after her body parts were found, he jumped to his death off the Bay Bridge.

Shelly Titcheners head and left leg are still missing, authorities said.

The investigation revealed that Paul Titcheners motive was a culmination of stress surrounding financial issues and Shellys alcohol abuse, police said in a statement released Friday.

An autopsy revealed Shelly Titcheners blood-alcohol content was .22 percent at the time of her death. The exact cause of her death has not been determined as no crime scene was ever found, police said.

Investigators believe Paul Titchener had every intention of committing suicide due to evidence uncovered showing he made financial arrangements for the couples two sons in an impromptu will that was drafted a day after he killed his wife.

Paul Titchener briefly changed his mind about committing suicide after he devised a plan to get rid of Shelly Titcheners body and report it missing, police said.

Once Paul became aware that Shellys body had been discovered, he followed through with his intention to commit suicide, detectives wrote in their case outline.

Paul and Shelly Titchener were married for 24 years. Shelly Titcheners drinking caused a strain on the couples marriage, police said, citing occasions of her being verbally abusive to her husband and their two children when intoxicated.

Police had been called to the couples home several times for disturbances linked to Shelly Titcheners drinking and verbal abuse of her family members, police added.

In 2001, Paul Titchener filed for divorce and custody of their children, but the divorce was never finalized.

Throughout most of their marriage, the couple lived apart. However, four years ago, Paul Titchener moved back into the garage of their family home to save money for their sons education.

We believe that Paul and Shellys living under the same roof put an additional strain on their relationship, the police statement said.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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TORONTO  We decided to visit Canadas biggest city after learning that one of our favorite rock groups, called SAGA, was set to play at a music palace called The Phoenix. As much as we like the group, we had to see the sights in the country to our north, especially Niagara Falls, and not limit ourselves to Torontos music scene.

Toronto can be really cold  with four distinct seasons and a winter that includes many days below freezing  but it was a great change of pace from Texas where we have eight months of summer and four months of cool fronts.

Our concierge at the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre recommended we book a tour with City Sightseeing Toronto and head for the Falls.

Before going to one of North Americas most majestic sites, we spent the first few days in the city, walking the well-salted sidewalks, strolling the grounds of the beautiful University of Toronto  St. George campus just a few blocks to the west of the hotel and in the heart of Old Toronto.

Even with snow on the ground  its constant during the winter  there are college students pedaling their bikes to class. A trip to Toronto for any tourist is incomplete without a stroll through this elegant campus with historic architecture.

And just south and west of the university are neighborhoods such as Little Italy and Trinity Bellwoods with superb restaurants and much to see.

Among its many gifts, Toronto has a thriving culinary community. Many of its restaurants are exceptional and they dont have to be expensive to be good.

The influx of Asians, especially from Hong Kong, is evident everywhere and among the cultural contributions to the city is the cuisine. Across from the hotel is a simple restaurant called Ho Jan Chinese Restaurant. A quick jaunt across Charlton Street and before long, we were in dim sum, and hot and sour soup heaven. I felt I was back in Hong Kong for a bit.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a wonderful restaurant called Bodega, with French-inspired cuisine. It is amazing and its specialty is the French onion gratinee. We also had the grilled rainbow trout, which featured quinoa and vegetables  a culinary delight. We went for lunch and found many reasonably priced options. Booking a table is recommended because the converted house is small.

However, the highlight of our visit to Ontario was the trip to Niagara Falls, which is about 80 miles on Queen Elizabeth Way, or 90 minutes away.

The bus ride by City Sightseeing Toronto was comfortable and filled with places to see before and after the trip to Niagara Falls with friendly tourists from several countries.

But the anticipation of seeing the 180-foot Falls was all we could think about. Even the cold  about 15-20 degrees most days during our February trip - was not on our minds. We thought we were prepared for what wed see, knowing the Falls area gets about 56 inches of snow a year and it doesnt melt until spring.

Everything was white. Snow and ice covered everything we saw. The walkway from the bus parking lot to the lodge near the Falls was covered in snow, but it was not slippery. Its well-tended and appears to be frequently salted or plowed.

The roar of the Falls is loud, with a tremendous amount of water flowing from Lake Ontario onto the Niagara River, but during the winter, portions of the Falls freeze, reducing the flow.

About a third of Niagara Falls was frozen  covered in brilliant white ice and snow  when we were there. As a result, boats and tours behind the Falls, which are available during the warm months, were on hiatus.

Among the many interesting aspects of the Falls is the spray made by the cascading water through an area called Horseshoe Falls. It instantly turns to ice and visitors are pelted with tiny bits of frozen water as they get closer to the roar.

Several adventuresome people took pictures while leaning or resting upon the railing with the Horseshoe Falls in the background.

The sightseeing company gave us enough time to get a good view of the frozen-over area called Bridal Falls, visit the restaurant in the Visitor Centre and chat with other tourists.

We remain in awe of the power of the Falls. And, as Canadians proudly attest, they have the more attractive side of Niagara Falls to see, which is across from Buffalo, N.Y.

After about an hour, we left the Falls behind and went to nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, a Canadian town of some 16,000 in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.

Everything was covered in white there, as well. It was beautiful and we quickly forgot how cold it was  probably about 20 degrees. Good thing we bought padded boots and other warm clothing at on sale at a Toronto shopping mall for this portion of the trip.

The town square looks like it came out of the 1800s and not much had changed since the municipality was given official status in 1781. The only measure of modern times was a line of cars parked along the street and the rare one driving up the main drag in February.

To our surprise, we next stopped at the Niagara College Teaching Winery nearby, again blanketed in snow. In fact, it was snowing during our visit. Rows and rows of staked plants dotted the landscape, and we could only wonder how the plants survive the below-zero temperatures and how short the growing season is.

We quickly stopped asking questions when the winery offered a wine-tasting. The wine was delicious. After a bit of sampling the winerys offerings, we boarded the bus and slowly dozed off for the hour-long trip from the winery to the downtown stop near our hotel.

Dino Chiecchi is a professor of practice in the Department of Communications at the University of Texas at El Paso. Hes a former San Antonio journalist.
BRIDGEPORTA man was shot in the leg Friday night by one or more suspects driving by him on Kassouth Street near Jane Street, according to police dispatch reports.

The man was reportedly brought to the hospital by a neighbor who heard three shots, and found him in the street with his injuries.
Amsterdam

Madison Manuel of Clifton Park won the Miss Mohawk Valley title on Oct. 15 at The Century Club in Amsterdam.

The Miss Mohawk Valley pageant is a preliminary to Miss New York next May in Staten Island and to Miss America.

Manuel is a student attending The College of Saint Rose with the goal of becoming a special needs teacher.

Her talent competition was a classical violin piece.

 Staff report
GREENWICH  Greenwich Candidates for the General Assembly made their case for election this week to an audience with a particular ear for argument.

The monthly meeting of the Greenwich Bar Association suspended usual business over lunch at the Ginger Man to hear from the four local candidates running this year. Not a debate, each of the candidates was allowed to make a five-minute statement before taking questions from the audience.

L. Scott Frantz, the Republican incumbent in the 36th District of the state Senate, was on hand along with Democratic challenger John Blankley. The contest for the state House of Representatives in the 151st District was represented by Republican incumbent Fred Camillo and did Democratic challenger Dita Bhargava.

In his remarks, Frantz stuck to a main theme of his campaign: that Connecticut is in deep fiscal trouble and needs to curb spending and borrowing or else residents will continue to leave and new businesses will not come to the state.

Unfortunately we have a structural problem in the state and it has a lot to do with this area right now, said Frantz, who cited a state Office of Fiscal Analysis deficit projection of $3 billion over the next two years.

Speaking to an audience of attorneys, many of whom do estates, trusts and financial planning, he said he understood why a lot of them would advise their clients to leave Connecticut completely or make their primary residence a more tax-friendly state like Florida. In particular, he said the state not allowing itemized tax deductions is a problem that must be addressed.

It makes us completely uncompetitive with the surrounding states and pretty much every other state in the Northeast, Frantz said. And also when you look at the estate and gift tax and you compare us to other states its not a great place to be.

Blankley, a member of the towns Board of Estimate and Taxation, struck a more optimistic tone, saying Frantzs assessment of the state was off. He noted high rankings for Connecticuts gross domestic product and per capita income and said he had never been held back by any tax or regulation in building his own successful IT firm in the state.

Yes we have looming debt but it is going to be handled. Blankley said. The budget for this year is balanced and we have plans to fix it.

Blankley pointed to a proposal he has supported to address the states unfunded pension problem, and another to create an infrastructure bank to fund transportation improvements and other infrastructure needs, which would boost job creation.

Dont buy the notion that things are bad and that its not possible to do business in the state of Connecticut, Blankley said, adding he continues to support more vocational and technical training schools, something he and Frantz agree on.

Camillo is seeking his fifth term in Hartford. Like Frantz, he discussed the impact the estate tax has on people in town.

When (Frantz) and I took office eight years ago there was something called the cliff on the estate tax, Camillo said. Thats one of the things we said we were really going to work hard to get rid of. If the estate went two dollars over $2 million they tax the whole amount. We got rid of it, working with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. We got it pushed up to $5 million and it got pushed down again and thats a problem.

Camillo said he wants to see Connecticut be consistent with the federal government, which makes the first $5.45 million exempt, while the state is back to $2 million.

A lot of people here are house rich and income poor and it doesnt take much to get you over that, Camillo said. According to the Yankee Institute, in 2013 they found that 38 people a day are leaving the state in a net loss. A lot of that has to do with that estate tax.

Camillo called for greater deficit mitigation in Hartford.

Weve been headed in the wrong direction for 40 years, he said. Even when we had Republican governors, Democrats had a veto-proof majority and they exercised it. The only way this is going to turn around and have these negative migratory patterns end is if we end one party rule in Hartford.

Bhargava, a newcomer to the political scene after a long career in the private sector as a trader and hedge fund manager, also stuck to an economic focus.

Ive knocked on over 3,000 doors and the more I knock on doors the more people tell me that its time for change in Hartford, Bhargava said. Id like to see a much stronger alliance between Hartford, the business community and our universities. The reason why GE left is not so much about going from one tax base to the other. Its about getting a more business-friendly environment in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They have an alliance between those three sectors and were lacking it.

She cited a desire to give back, relating her mothers immigrant experience raising a family in America as a single parent, as her reason for saying yes to a run when the Democratic Town Committee approached her in May.

If I had a voice in policy, I would really be able to enact change and make a difference in peoples lives, Bhargava said, pledging to bring her private sector experience to Hartford and restore fiscal responsibility while bringing business to Connecticut.

Like many Democratic candidates from town before her, she said Greenwich would benefit from having a representative from the majority party in Hartford. But she also noted that one third of her campaign team is Republican.

I am a moderate Democrat and I plan to be part of a moderate caucus to come up with real, practical solutions, Bhargava said. I will have a voice for Greenwich.

kborsuk@scni.com
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NEW CANAAN  According to some shoppers, the New Canaan Thrift Shop is the towns best kept secret.

The racks and shelves of the historic building are lined with china, books, records, furniture, artwork, bric-a-brac, clothing, jewelry and accessories  much of which is designer made, according to store manager Susanne Palmer, who, with her staff of volunteers, was busy with a steady flow of customers on a recent Tuesday afternoon.

Palmer, who was born in Germany and moved to Darien after relocating to the United States, has been a vital part of the thrift shop for nearly 15 years: first as a volunteer, then as a manager after the death of Dolores Klein, who had run the shop for 13 years.

Since taking the reins, Palmer has continued the Thrift Shops tradition of community service, good will and surprisingly good finds.

Q: How long have you been managing the thrift shop?

A: Ive been the manager for four years now and I volunteered for more than 10 years with my mother, who also volunteered. We would come every Tuesday afternoon and it was our time together. So Ive been here a long time.

Q: What is the history of the thrift shop? And whats the connection to Hospice of Fairfield County?

More Information Donations are accepted at the New Canaan Thrift Shop on weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information on volunteering at the New Canaan Thrift Shop, go to visitingnurse.net See More Collapse

A: I believe were about 80 years old now and the thrift shop has always been connected to a similar

charity. It used to be called Nursing and Homecare and now its Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County. All the proceeds go directly to Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County.

Q: Who comprises the staff?

A: We have 22 volunteers and we always welcome new ones. Its a wonderful group of people to work with, but it can be hard because Im the only one thats here full time. Everybody else is a volunteer so Im always juggling to make sure we have people at the store. I dont like to have one person here by themselves because its just too much going on.

We have a morning shift from 9 a.m. to noon when we take donations and an afternoon shift when the store is open from noon to 4 p.m.

Q: Are there certain times during the year that you find volunteers and donations are harder to come by?

A: Its very cyclical. The beginning of the year is usually very quiet; people will go to Florida and our volunteers will drop off a little bit. We also have some volunteers who leave during the summer, and another group that leaves during the winter. So it depends.

As for donations, we are very blessed because we get wonderful things. We have people that regularly donate and then the random  Oh, were moving, or Oh, we just moved into town  donors.

And we try to be very green and pass things on. If we cant use something because its really soiled or torn, we pass it to another charity. If we get blankets and towels that we cant use, we give them to the vet to use after the animals have operations. If we have off-season items that arent selling, well donate them elsewhere. For example, we have a missionary who takes items that arent selling to Haiti. So we really try to pay it forward.

Q: As for customers, who do you see in the shop?

A: Its a full range; we have everybody. College kids will come in looking for things for their fraternity and sorority parties, so thats fun.

And then we have our regulars that come in whenever theyre in town. They call it the best kept secret in New Canaan because theres such a variety of stuff and the bargains that you find are just incredible. Where else can you find a J. Crew t-shirt for $4?

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1
To the Editor:

I love living in a town where there is an abundance of wildlife. However, I am aware that many residents become concerned when there are sightings of coyotes or bears. They may not feel safe.

The answer is we have to learn how to co-exist with our fur-bearing neighbors in a humane way. That is why I am sponsoring a special presentation about wildlife in New Canaan on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at the New Canaan Nature Center, 144 Oenoke Ridge, Route 124, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

I am sponsoring this meeting because I am member of the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and care passionately about all animals.

The speaker will be Laura Simon, a wildlife ecologist for HSUS, who specializes in helping communities resolve urban wildlife issues. Also on hand to answer question is my good friend, Allyson Halm, New Canaans animal control officer and an expert on wildlife in our town.

Many communities in Fairfield County have reported an increase in coyote sightings. Parents are concerned for their children and many dog owners fear that their pet may be attacked by a coyote. Laura will talk about a method called hazing where one waves his hands above his head and makes a loud noise. This simple action has proven to be very effective in not only scaring coyotes away, but also deterring them from coming back.

What we dont want are leg-hold traps set in public or private places around town. They are a cruel, ineffective and inhumane way to address a coyote problem. Other wildlife, such as birds, can get ensnarled in these traps as well as a familys dog or cat. Many towns are considering banning them outright.

Laura will address simple steps to take to prevent bears, raccoons and coyotes from coming on to your property. It is as simple as removing accessible garbage or compost, pet food and bird seed from around the feeder. If the animal cant find food, it will forage elsewhere.

I know many of you share my love of New Canaan wildlife. This talk on Oct. 25 is an opportunity for us to come together to find the best, most humane solutions for co-existing with our furry friends. Please join me.

Mary Frances Duffy

New Canaan
A child indecency case against a Magnolia man ended with a hung jury earlier this week.

Larry Cole, 56, will face another jury in January 2017 on three second-degree felony counts of indecency with a child with sexual contact. If convicted, Cole could face up to 60 years in prison for the combined offenses.

Cole's defense attorney said that, despite one jury not being able to convict Cole, another jury could have a different result.

"You're dealing with different jurors," Cole's attorney John Floyd said Friday. "I'm sure the prosecutors will present their case in a different fashion. There will be a different presentation, and it will be made to a different jury. It's very hard to make predictions about the next trial after there's been a mistrial."

Prosecutors said they're still looking forward to presenting their case, despite the setback.

"The jurors worked very hard," prosecutor Vince Santini said. "But when the jury is unable to come to a unanimous verdict, the case must be retried. We are excited for another opportunity to present our case and obtain justice for our victims."

Prosecutors say young boys would hang out at Cole's house in the 2300 block of Timberbriar Court in Magnolia in 2014. At least one of the boys told police that Cole would buy him alcohol, and that he would hug and touch the young boy inappropriately.

On another occasion, police allege Cole took a young relative and the boy out to a deer lease far away. Police allege Cole got into the boy's bunk and got on top of him during the trip.

Court documents show Cole tried to put his hands down his own pants while on top of the boy, which is when the boy, about 10 or 12 years old at the time, punched Cole.

Cole was arrested in late February 2015, a few months after the boy came forward. A grand jury indicted him on second-degree felony indecency with a child in September 2015.

Floyd said he still believes and is fighting for Cole's innocence.

"I've always believed in my client's innocence in this case," Floyd said. "Quite honestly, as we fought our way through the state's allegations in this trial, I became more and more committed to his innocence. I believe we now have a very good idea of the state's case and remain extremely positive about the outcome of the next trial."

A last-minute motion to push the trial back was denied days before the trial. Cole is being tried in Judge Phil Grant's 9th state District Court.
A 51-year-old man was arrested Oct. 14 after a road rage incident.

A deputy was dispatched to 1212 Lake Robbins regarding a disturbance. Upon arrival, a woman said the suspect had been driving extremely close to her vehicle and honking. Then when they stopped, the driver attempted to open her door while yelling at her.

When she advised him she was on the phone with the police, the man went around to the passenger side of her vehicle and reached through the window knocking her phone from her hand before leaving the scene. Units patrolling the area located the man, who admitted to being a part of the road rage incident and slapping the phone out of the woman's hand.

District 2  South County

* A 27-year-old Spring man was arrested Oct. 10 for public intoxication. A deputy was sent to the 25600 block of Interstate 45 in reference to a welfare concern involving an intoxicated male that was passed out. The deputy located and detained him.

* A 35-year-old Cleveland man and a 24-year-old Conroe man were arrested Oct. 10 after a fight. A deputy was notified of a disturbance in the 700 block of Blue Gill Road involving two men. The deputy met with a man who advised he and his roommate had gotten into an argument and his roommate had struck him several times with a closed fist. The roommate was detained. Other deputies arrived on scene as a second man decided to interfere with the ongoing scene. He was also detained.

* A 30-year-old Porter man was arrested Oct. 11 for illegally carrying a gun. A deputy observed a man on a bicycle approach a store in the 7900 block of FM 1488. The man entered the store with his right hand inside his unzipped open sweater jacket. The man observed deputies inside the location and decided to leave. He was stopped outside the store and a handgun was found on him.

* A 21-year-old Spring man was arrested Oct. 12 for a drug possession. A deputy stopped a vehicle on a traffic violation in the 24600 block of Interstate 45. During the investigation, the male driver was found to be in possession of a controlled substance.

* A 21-year-old man was arrested Oct. 12 for trespassing. A deputy was sent to a trespassing call in the 40500 block of Roundup Drive. During the investigation, a man was detained for criminal trespass.

* A 23-year-old Conroe man was arrested Oct. 15 for driving while intoxicated. A deputy stopped a vehicle on a traffic violation in the 2400 block of FM 1488. The male driver was found to be intoxicated.

* A 32-year-old Houston man was arrested Oct. 15 after he tried to forcibly move into a friend's apartment. A deputy was notified of a criminal mischief call in the 300 block of Valleywood Road. The deputy met with a woman who advised a friend of hers had come over to hang out and started moving his personal items into her residence without her permission. She stopped the action and left. When she arrived back at the scene the man had used a tool and entered the apartment. The man was charged with criminal mischief, a felony probation warrant out of Clay County, unlawful possession of a firearm by felon and three counts of possession of a controlled substance.

* A 20-year-old Conroe man was arrested Oct. 16 for a drug possession. A deputy responded to a welfare concern in the 26200 block of Eastwood Hill involving two men who were passed out in a vehicle.

District 6  The Woodlands

* A 35-year-old man was arrested Oct. 12 for public intoxication. A deputy was dispatched to 10500 Gosling Road in reference to a trespasser on location. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with a man who was exhibiting slurred speech, red glassy eyes and was having difficulty maintaining his balance.

* An 18-year-old man was arrested Oct. 12 for public intoxication. A deputy was flagged down in the parking lot of 3040 College Park Drive in reference to a theft in progress. Once inside, the deputy located the suspect who had consumed approximately two beers and three whip cream chargers.

* A 20-year-old woman was arrested Oct. 13 for a drug possession. A deputy was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle on Maple Glade Path. The vehicle was occupied by two men and one woman. While retrieving her identification from her purse, the deputy observed three glass jars containing marijuana.

* A 17-year-old girl was arrested Oct. 15 for stealing almost $200 worth of merchandise. A deputy was dispatched to The Woodlands Mall in reference to a shoplifter in custody call. The girl attempted to take $197.96 worth of merchandise from JC Penny's Department Store.

* A 30-year-old woman was arrested Oct. 16 for a theft. A deputy was dispatched to 1201 Lake Woodlands in reference to a shoplifter in custody call. A woman attempted to take $264 worth of merchandise from Macy's Department Store.
Negotiations over a new use-of-force policy for San Francisco police officers stalled Friday, as the Police Commission and Police Officers Association hit an impasse over a proposal that would bar officers from shooting at moving vehicles.

The disagreement comes after months of discussion between the two parties and community groups.

The Police Commission has recommended that the San Francisco Police Department prohibit officers from firing at moving vehicles unless the driver poses an immediate threat by means other than the vehicle.

The recommendation is considered a best practice by the Department of Justice and the Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing, because shooting at moving vehicles can pose safety risks to bystanders and police.

The Police Officers Association, however, is adamant that the revised use-of-force policy should clearly allow officers to fire at moving vehicles in life-threatening circumstances.

In a statement, police union President Martin Halloran used the recent attack in Nice, France  when an armored vehicle plowed through a crowded Bastille Day parade  as an example.

Under the proposed policy, somebody could be driving down Market Street during the Gay Pride Parade, mowing down pedestrians, and police would be prevented from using force to stop the driver, said Nathan Ballard, spokesman for the San Francisco police union. Thats absurd.

Officers firing their weapons at moving vehicles has long been a source of contention. Several law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, have barred the practice because of safety concerns.

District Attorney George Gascon, who proposed limiting such shootings while police chief of San Francisco from 2009 to 2011, told The Chronicle this year that a moving vehicle can become an unguided missile if the officer hits the driver. That creates safety concerns for everyone, including the officers, Gascon said.

San Franciscos current policy states that firing at the driver of a moving vehicle is inherently dangerous to officers and the public, allowing it only if the officer or others are in grave danger. The proposed use-of-force reforms  taken at face value  would ban shooting at moving vehicles unless the driver is also threatening officers or civilians with another weapon.

San Francisco Police Commission President Suzy Loftus said language in the proposed policy accounts for unusual situations, but that except for in extremely rare and unpredictable circumstances, shooting at a moving car is not the best choice.

Ballard, however, said the language is so vague it becomes meaningless and that a specific, precisely worded exception is needed.

We cannot put the public and officers in harms way, he said. It would be a dereliction of duty.

In a statement Friday night, San Francisco Police Chief Toney Chaplin said that no future meetings on the issue are scheduled and that the department will be evaluating its options to determine what steps will be taken in the days to come to move this policy forward.

The proposed ban on shooting into cars became a top issue after the May 19 shooting death of Jessica Williams, 29, who was killed by police in the Bayview after she reportedly tried to flee in a stolen car.

The shooting lead to the resignation of Police Chief Greg Suhr. Williams family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in federal court last week.

Joaquin Palomino is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jpalomino@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoaquinPalomino
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NEW CANAAN  Philip Johnson saw something in the dramatic landscape of the Rippowam River Valley in the 1940s. On nearly 50 acres of sloping hills and dense forest off of Ponus Ridge Road, in a town not yet known as a hub of Modernist homes, the architect would build his now iconic Glass House.

The Glass House is all about the site, said Irene Shum, curator and collections manager at the Glass House, which was built in 1949. Before he found that location he had started designing his home, but it was a concept. It wasnt until he found the promontory on which the house sits that he decided this was the place.

The structure is now the focal point of a rich architectural heritage in New Canaan, including homes built by Johnsons contemporaries  John Johansen, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores and Eliot Noyes, collectively known as the Harvard Five  and is one of five homes designed by Johnson that will be featured in Philip Johnsons New Canaan, a unique tour sponsored by the Glass House on Oct. 22 from 1 to 7 p.m.

The tour is a celebration both of Johnsons 110th birthday and the Glass Houses 10th year open to the public. It will include visits to the Hodgson House (1951), the Alice Ball House (1953), the Wiley Speculative House (1954) and the Boissonnas House (1956), all of which, with the exception of Wiley, Johnson was commissioned to build.

According to Shum and Laura Pla, an educator at the Glass House and an organizer of the tour, New Canaan in the mid-20th century was a very different place.

There were a couple of things happening in New Canaan in the 1940s that attracted these architects: easy access to New York City via the Metro North or the recently completed Merritt Parkway, a really nice downtown area not bisected by Route 1 or I-95, a building department excited about these young architects arriving here and experimenting, and plenty of inexpensive land available, Pla explained.

For Johnson and the Harvard Five, New Canaan represented artistic and architectural opportunity. It would become the setting for what was an intensely creative period in American architecture.

I think New Canaan was a place for Philip Johnson to experiment with materials and design ideas. It was his architectural campus, his lab, Pla said.

According to Shum, the homes in the tour, though built within less than a decade of each other, show Johnson at different creative periods.

For the most part you see the early houses that are directly influenced by the Glass House. But theres a transition point where Johnson used more historical references and what you see is the influence of van der Rohe, Shum said, referring to the pioneering Modernist architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with whom Johnson collaborated and had a close personal friendship.

Johnsons urban designs were celebrated last spring in Philip Johnsons New York, a tour of the architects work in Manhattan.

Obviously, Johnsons New Canaan architecture is more residential, whereas the New York tour featured more of his commercial designs and high rises. Paired together you see the full scope of work, Shum said.

Interestingly, the New Canaan experiments of Johnson and the Harvard Five were not universally accepted at the time, according to Pla.

This was an unusual architecture. Mid-century modern was new to the community and a lot of locals at the time didnt understand what the architects were doing. They were asking What are these Kleenex boxes? she said.

But in time, the designs of the Harvard Five, and Johnson in particular, have come to be revered.

New Canaan is one of those communities, like Palm Springs, where you have a rich heritage of mid-century modern design that you wouldnt necessarily suspect in a Fairfield County suburb. Its special, Shum said.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1
The 4th Court of Appeals will appoint a mediator for sessions it ordered between the city and the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association.

The justices will decide on a mediator because the city and fire union failed to agree on their own. Ordering mediation amidst a city appeal on a lawsuit it lost in district court, the 4th Court of Appeals gave the two sides a week to select one.

The two sides could not agree on a mediator, prompting the appellate court to act.

The city sued the fire union over a clause in its collective-bargaining agreement that keeps the contract in force for up to a decade, absent a new deal, arguing in court that the evergreen clause violates the Texas Constitution and public policy. A district court judge disagreed, and the city has appealed.

San Antonio officials suggested they use the same mediator who worked with the city and the San Antonio Police Officers Association this summer to reach an agreement for a new collective-bargaining agreement. The fire union rejected that proposal.

After an exchange of proposed mediators with the union, the union communicated that they would not agree to anyone not on their initial list, said a press release from the city. In an effort to reach a compromise, the city tried to speak directly with the fire unions attorney but could not get a response.

Chris Steele, president of the fire union, said in a prepared statement that his membership believes that a mediator with experience as a judge is important.

The city proposed three mediators that we felt did not have the prerequisite experience to mediate on this particular case, which could have repercussions for firefighters all over the state of Texas.

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
After a three-week manhunt, police have arrested a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting his 14-month-old daughter in late September.

Fortino Cornejo, 51, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual performance by a child, both first-degree felonies.
I am deeply saddened by the recently released video of Donald Trump engaged in a lewd conversation with Billy Bush and the demeaning language he used regarding women. Let me be perfectly clear: I cannot condemn such language strongly enough; there is no place in this world for the objectification of women by any means.

I recognize that the comments were made more than a decade ago and Trump has sincerely apologized. Perhaps, in the ensuing time, he has become a better man. Only his family can tell us for sure. I certainly will not depend on the mainstream media to be the arbiter of his character; for me, actions speak louder than words.

Ive thought a great deal about this and what it might mean to a Trump administrations policies and their impact on my life and the lives of women. Most important, I pondered this question: Can I, as a woman of character and intelligence, and the beneficiary of a history of hard-won rights, still support our GOP candidate? Can I, in good conscience, ask the 10,000 women that I lead to continue to support the GOP candidate?

I kept coming back to a truth that I learned long ago: The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. In that light, how do the candidates stack up?

Trump said some awful things about women, but we have no evidence that he actually did anything awful to women. I find it suspect that a couple of women have come forward now, less than three weeks before the election, leaving no time for anyone to establish their credibility. Given the internet and modern media, anyone can tell a story.

Numerous claims endure that Bill Clinton sexually abused women and that Hillary Clinton was involved in efforts to undermine the credibility of any woman who came forward. Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Carolyn Moffet, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Becky Brown, Christy Zercher, just to name a few. Clinton lied and covered up for her husbands despicable actions. Where was her outrage on behalf of women then?

Clintons history haunts her; for decades she manipulated situations and then looked the American public in the eye and lied about it. How can we, at this late date, believe that these allegations are anything more than an attempt to draw attention away from Clintons record and the release of her speeches and emails? It feels like a typical Saul Alinsky-style tactic by a threatened and desperate campaign.

Clintons poor judgment resulted in the death of our Libyan ambassador, Chris Stevens, and the men who tried to save him, then she created a story about a spontaneous attack over an internet video and told that lie to their grieving families.

Clintons close ally and longtime employee, Huma Abedin, was married to disgraced former Congressman Anthony Wiener. Wiener was caught sending pornographic photos via text to other women. I cant recall a single condemnation of Wieners behavior by Hillary, ever.

Clinton lied to everyone, including the FBI, about her email accounts and denied the destruction of tens of thousands of emails, some classified. Clinton cannot deny the authenticity of the emails, so she falls back on the stale it must have been the Russians fiction.

Those emails parade Clintons contempt for so much of America with her anti-Catholic bigotry, her characterization of Latinos as needy and people from the South as Confederates. She denounced Sanders supporters as self-righteous whiners. Evidently, we need a bigger basket.

We know that the Clinton foundation received millions of dollars from the Saudi Arabians, knowing that these donors were actively funding terrorists intent on hurting Americans. Clinton acknowledged, in one of her emails, that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.

Of the Clinton Foundation, we know that we havent heard the truth about how, exactly, the huge speaking fees that the Clintons demanded intersected with the office of the secretary of state. Clinton has formulated one of the largest pay-to-play scams the world has ever seen.

Trump, in a private conversation, bragged about his prowess with women in a crude and indefensible manner. On the deaths of four Americans, Clinton said, What difference, at this point, does it make? To millions of Americans, and to four families, it matters.

Clinton has said things that telegraphed what she would do if she were given the White House. In 2013, she told a Brazilian bank that my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders. That same year, in a speech to a national housing group she espoused the need for both a public and private position on policy matters, suggesting that most deals should be struck out of the prying view of the public. In a speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2013, Clinton praised the single-payer model for health care reform.

Trump has built, and lost, and rebuilt his fortune, employing tens of thousands of our people as, perhaps, the most prolific developer in the world. Can Clinton point to a single job that she has created? Im pretty sure she cant read a balance sheet, either.

Trump is boorish more often than is necessary and has said indefensible things. They were words, not actions.

Her words have often been the preamble to indefensible actions that caused real harm to real people  many of them women  and, in the case of Benghazi, to the death of four Americans. This I find unforgivable.

Since past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior we know this: Trump will, again, say something that will make us all cringe and maybe even furious. But perhaps he is teachable; we have seen evidence of his efforts to grow and improve. I am counting on his council and his higher power to grant him the ability to continue his quest to be a better man.

We know that when Trump makes a promise, he will keep his word. He truly wants a better life for all Americans, not just those who can do something for him. We know that he cares about the rule of law and the principles on which our country was founded.

Trump isnt running for office because he thinks its his turn although, clearly, Clinton is. He is inexperienced and unpolished as a politician. Clinton wears the badge of a political ruling class proudly.

Trumps genuine love for America is as palpable as Clintons disdain.

With Clinton, we know that Wall Street will prosper while our families sink further into the economic abyss. We know our military will be decimated. Our future as a great nation for all its citizens would be in undeniable peril.

We know that Clinton will continue to lie, vanquish the publics trust in our government, vaporize the essence of our Constitution, and vacate all semblance of truth and dignity. It is what she has always done.

On balance, then, I will continue to support Trump for president. So will the women of Texas Federation of Republican Women.

Theresa Kosmoski is president of the Texas Federation of Republican Women. A longer version of this article first appeared on the TFRW website.
Swatting flies that plague rural areas Updated: 2016-10-22 08:54 By Li Fangchao(China Daily)

A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]

The downfall of a village head in North China's Hebei province has shed light on the dark side of grassroots officials in the country's vast rural areas.

Meng Lingfen, former chief of Quanqiuer village in suburban Dingzhou, Hebei province, was recently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for embezzlement, causing disturbance and intentional damage of property.

Meng was dubbed the "most fierce village head" by netizens after she summoned some thugs to beat a reporter who was trying to find out the happenings after receiving a tipoff from a villager in August last year.

An investigation promptly ensued after the beating was exposed by the media. And a slew of illegal acts by Meng were soon revealed.

During her stint as village head since 2012, Meng frequently abused her power to infringe upon collective property such as the village's land and forest.

It is reported that she also collected money under the guise of fees, threatened those villagers who refused to pay with violence, or "taught a lesson" to disobedient villagers by destroying their crops or property.

Meng's case has prompted a question of why some village officials become village overlords who can act without restraint. Meng is just one of the many such village overlords exposed in recent years.

The fall from grace of high-ranking officials, the so-called big tigers, always makes headlines when they are netted in the country's ongoing anti-graft campaign.

However, it is the "small flies", or the low-level corrupt officials that plague the vast rural areas, which make people feel the most pain.

A survey by the public security department of Hebei revealed that village officials accounted for 70 percent of all the corruption cases involving grassroots officials in the province, which highlights the problems that exist in the selection process of these grassroots officials.
A few months ago, I joined several fellow senators in writing about one of the many ways Donald Trump had proved himself unfit for the office of president of the United States.

His unfitness has been so extreme that it has been the lead story day after day. He is who he was at the beginning of this process, but there is another story, one much more substantive than Trump.

America is about to elect one of the most qualified candidates ever as president.

Hillary Clinton  who served as secretary of state, a U.S. senator and first lady  has the temperament, character, experience and, most important, the ideas we need to keep America great.

More Information Early voting For the joint general, special and bond election, early voting begins Monday and ends Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8. See More Collapse

Frankly, I dont agree with her on everything, but that speaks to one of her greatest qualities. She is a consensus-builder who has the gravitas to reverse the polarization that has gridlocked Washington.

Unfortunately, how she has been portrayed is a caricature, built over decades and unleashed with full force in the heat of the campaign.

Many might be surprised to learn that as a U.S. senator from New York, Clinton co-authored a law to force drug companies to test drugs meant for children  a law that was signed by President George W. Bush. She also co-authored the Support for Injured Service Members Act, which gave extra leave to families of service members, and she worked to give members of the National Guard access to TRICARE, the militarys health insurance.

As president, she proposes to simplify and cut taxes for small businesses (those with one to five employees) that spend, on average, 150 hours and $1,100 per employee on federal tax compliance, a much higher per-employee average than for larger businesses.

She will fight for rural communities, with a plan to create a national infrastructure bank, improve rural transportation and broadband access, extend access to capital, expand the New Markets Tax Credit to encourage investment, and support the farmers and ranchers serving local food markets and regional food systems.

Another priority is our national infrastructure, a hallmark of American greatness. Within the first 100 days in office, she has committed to passing a major job-creating infrastructure bill to repair and expand roads, bridges and dams, expand economic opportunity through public transit options, ensure every American has access to broadband and invest in world-class airports.

She has detailed policy positions on the vital issues facing Americans, from national security to economic development for both employers and workers, to educating the future leaders of our country through expanded early childhood education, access to higher education and support for school infrastructure from brick-and-mortar buildings to technology.

Further, her proposals would build on successful policies that have helped the country emerge from the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. Despite the negativity of the political climate, the reality is that we are headed in the right direction.

You might not know about this because coverage of the election has been almost exclusively focused on the negative. Government and press expert Thomas Patterson calculated that in the four-week period of both parties conventions, starting with the week before the GOP convention, Clintons policy positions only accounted for about 4 percent of coverage.

One of the great privileges Ive had is serving in the Texas Senate  a body that is primarily deliberative and policy-oriented. This is distinct from our counterparts at the federal level, where it seems almost impossible to work collaboratively.

Similarly, Clintons campaign is distinct from her opponents.

While she has detailed policy proposals, he spews one-liners more suited to a dictatorial strongman in a Third World country. Its red meat for his shrinking base. I know there are many people of varied but honest ideology who now see this for what it is.

This entire piece could be made up of the horrible things he has said about various groups of Americans and his conduct toward women. On the other hand, if I were to write about his proposals, this piece would be virtually blank.

Instead, he peddles conspiracy theories and parrots debunked attacks on Clinton, from the multimillion-dollar attempts to manufacture a scandal from the Benghazi tragedy, which two former Republican secretaries of state called a witch hunt, to the email issue, which she has admitted was a mistake. But to lend perspective, this is a mistake made by many government officials, including the Bush White House, which deleted 22 million emails.

Those attacks were to be expected, and they are an unfortunate but standard part of a political campaign. What is not expected or standard is the behavior of the other candidate, both on the trail and in his past.

I understand the appeal of something new, or the thought of someone cutting through the political codes and speaking frankly. But this is not a reality show. Trumps campaign reminds us of Americas greatest weakness  the racial attitudes that have caused so much strife in our past, echoes of which inform our present circumstances.

I grew up in South Texas as a migrant farmworker, where some of these attitudes were prevalent. With hard work and the opportunities extended by mentors and the public education system, I was able to attend university, obtain a law degree and commit myself to public service. I have spent my career working on behalf of low-income and working families, and while we still have challenges, I have seen firsthand how far weve come.

In this election, Americans have the opportunity to build a fresh new future based on mutual respect for our greatest strength  our diversity, something particularly important to Texas, which boasts some of the most diverse and welcoming communities in the country.

In fact, Texas has the second-most number of immigrants in the nation, with an estimated 4.5 million as of 2014. In Texas and the nation, immigrants invigorate our economy and our uniquely American culture, which prizes hard work and values economic opportunity.

For example, six of the seven American Nobel Prize winners this year are immigrants.

In Texas, according to a report by the Kaufman Foundation, greater Houston ranked eighth in the nation in startup activity and 31 percent of small businesses in Houston are owned by immigrants.

Regrettably, in recent years, the states focus has not been on embracing this strength. Instead, its putting precious resources into what has been called border security, making it harder to deal with true priorities of education and health care, just to name two, while failing to identify what public good that money has purchased.

Crime rates in border communities such as mine were among the lowest in the nation and below the statewide average before we started spending this money. They remain safe. Meanwhile, the federal government has effectively done its job, spending more money  about $18 billion  than all other federal enforcement combined and doubling the size of the Border Patrol.

Its time that we dealt with comprehensive immigration reform, and Clinton has a plan to do that  a plan that passed the Senate with bipartisan approval before the politics of fear gridlocked it in the House. A 2014 report by Regional Economic Models found that reforms such as those in the Senate bill would unlock $3.4 billion annually in economic output and create 43,000 new jobs in Texas alone.

This indeed is an unusual election, with two choices that could not be more disparate. One is simply lashing out in anger and fear at the changes that are essential to Americas heritage of trailblazing; the other, in contrast, is embracing the best of our past and looking optimistically toward the future.

Thats why Im with her, and Texas should be as well.

State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, a Democrat, represents El Paso.
IN A PREVIOUS LIFE, I was very familiar with Irish courthouses. These are amongst our more important buildings in our architectural heritage. In Tipperary, both Nenagh and Clonmel courthouses were built after the Act of Union; both are classical in design, spacious, with high ceilings and mahogany panelled interiors, and both are very important institutions in the maintenance of law and order, in the protection of life and property.

So with echoes of that previous life, and when on my travels I pass a courthouse, and if the doors are open, I take a peek inside. That was how I found myself in Nuremberg (Bavaria) Courthouse some years ago, where I sat in courtroom 20/18, where the Nuremberg Trials were held from 1945 to 1949, asd where, exactly 70 years ago - 30th September/1st October 1946 -the first verdict was brought in on what has been called The Major War Criminals Trial - 1945-46.

The picture of the accused, all high-ranking members of the Nazi Party (those that survived and were captured - some had already committed suicide or escaped) - has now become iconic. The 24 men accused of a long list of crimes, summarised as crimes against humanity, sit together, each wearing an expression of feigned disinterest or open hostility. Behind each one there is a helmeted uniformed soldier of the Allied forces.

Although the courtroom which I visited was the same room in which the trials were heard, it had to be extended to accommodate the very large numbers of accused, legal personnel and witnesses. It has since reverted to its original size and is a functioning courtroom, where about one hundred cases are heard each year, and so access has had to be restricted.

But, despite this restriction, it has been recorded that about 90,000 people - about 70% from abroad called, like me, to the courthouse within the last 10 years. It has now been decided that a new courthouse should be built for the ordinary legal business, and that the existing building should be converted to a heritage centre, a museum, a library. This will give accommodation for research students and a place where people can get a feel for an unique event in world affairs.

While the Nuremberg Trials were a first in modern times, there were a few precedents: the execution of a Confederate army officer for his maltreatment of Union prisoners-of-war during the American War, and the courts-martial held in Turkey in 1919-20 to punish those responsible for the Armenian genocide. These trials were conducted in accordance with the laws of a single nation - but the Nuremberg Trials were conducted by the victorous Allies - France, Britain, the Soviet Union and the USA. Four languages were used during the trial - German, French, English and Russian.

The verdict was brought in exactly 70 years ago. Of the 24 accused all but three were found guilty. Twelve were sentenced to death by hanging and the others sentenced to between 10 years and life imprisonment. The most senior of the group - Hermann Goring - committed suicide the night before execution by swallowing a cyanide tablet, which, it was alleged, he had hidden in a jar of skin medication, though there is much speculation on how and when, and who, supplied the tablet.

The actual hanging was carried out by a Master Sergeant, who, according to a report in the Time magazine, said that he was proud of his work, that somebody had to do it ... 10 men in 103 minutes. Thats fast work... A comment that would send shivers down the spine of even the less squeamish of us...

The trials continued until 1949, including the Doctors Trial; doctors who were accused of carrying out experiments on prisoners-of-war. In all about 185 people were accused of crimes against humanity, which resulted in death sentences and long periods of imprisonment. All the trials were conducted in the Nuremberg Courthouse.

It has often been asked why that city was chosen for the trials. The ostensible reason given is that it was one of the few spacious courthouses which remained undamaged after the war, but the location cannot be disassociated with the fact that Nuremberg and the nearby Zepplinfeld was, in fact, association with the iconic parades of cheering, marching, flag-waving, uniformed, vast processions of people, in the heyday of Nazism.

The Nuremberg Trials established a principle of law - which has always been accepted as a moral principle, and that, simply put, is that each individual is responsible for his or her actions, and, in issues of law and order, human rights, and common decency, wrong-doers cannot be excused because one is obeying the orders of a superior authority. This is, in ordinary everyday life, a challenging concept - think of the dilemma of the current whistleblowers, and their allegations of discrimination (even by their fellow workers), their isolation and sometimes their loss of jobs.

The Nuremberg Trials, while universally accepted, were not without their critics, especially amongst high-ranking legal experts - including some eminent US lawyers. The victorious prosecuted the vanquished.

It is now acknowledged that one of the prosecutors, Joseph Stalin, killed more of his own people than the estimated ten million killed by the terrible Hitler. In the mid 20th century, Vietnam was devastated by a scorched earth policy. None of the participants was ever charged before an international tribunal.

And in modern times, will anybody be called to answer for crimes against humanity in Iraq? Or, for the huge numbers of innocent refugees we now see fleeing from Syria and sub-Saharan Africa - whether their persecutors eventually become either the winners or the losers?
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Killenaule man Gerry Kiely says he is delighted with his new role as head of the European Commission's Representation in Ireland.

Gerry brings over thirty years of European and international affairs experience as well as strong communication skills to the post. He spent many years working for the Commission in Brussels.

Keeping Ireland in touch with Brussels and making sure Brussels understands what is happening on the ground here is a highly motivating task, and I look forward to the challenge, he says.

Gerry joined the European civil service in 1989, specialising in international relations on agriculture. Previously he worked for eight years at the Irish Farmers' Association, based first in Ireland as an economist and liaison officer (19811984), and subsequently in Belgium as director of the association's Brussels office (19841989).

In the Commission, he started as an official dealing with international agricultural affairs. In 1991, he became spokesperson for Agriculture Commissioners Ray MacSharry, Rene Steichen and Franz Fischler, staying in this post until 1999. From 2000 to 2003, he served as Head of the Agriculture, Food Safety, Consumer Affairs and Fisheries section of the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C.

More recently, Gerry occupied a series of managerial posts in the Directorate General for Agriculture, including over the last six years as head of the unit for pre-accession assistance. He obtained his master's degree in Agricultural Economics and his degree in Agricultural Science from University College Dublin.
'Baby boxes' help new parents hit the ground running  and they're coming to many other countries besides Finland

(NaturalNews) It's a little-known Finnish tradition that dates back nearly 80 years, and one that's had a tremendous impact in helping to dramatically boost infant mortality rates throughout the Nordic country: baby gift boxes containing all of the essentials that the Finnish government hands out for free to every new parent.As crazy as it might sound, these newborn baby boxes have been a benevolent component of Finnish life since the late 1930s, when the government first rolled them out as a way to help improve health outcomes in infants. At first, the program was geared more towards the poor who couldn't afford basics like warm coats and proper bedding, but today it's a privilege in which everyone can partake for the benefit of increased' target='_blank'>http://science.naturalnews.com/Infant_Mortal... survival rates among newborns.Today, the baby-sized cardboard containers are loaded up with 50 of the most important items needed by a Finnish baby  everything from an infant snowsuit and extra-insulated baby sleeping bag for use during the harsh winter season, to indoor and outdoor clothing for summer, as well as environmentally-friendly http://www.breastfeed.news/" target="_blank">breast pads, blankets and http://www.populationcontrolnews.com/" target="_blank">birth control.Even the box itself has a use, as it doubles as a bed for the baby's first few weeks of life. Everything that a parent could need, and many items that new parents don't even think about, are included in Finland's https://www.naturalnews.com/baby.html>baby boxes, and folks like Heikki Tiitanen and his wife Sara, new Finnish parents who recently spoke to the UK's, couldn't be more thrilled about them."We were both in tears," Heikki recalled about the couple's experience of opening their https://www.naturalnews.com/baby_box.html>bab... box for the first time. "Going through all the baby items was the moment when I truly understood that we were going to have a baby in the house. As a first-time father, it made everything more concrete."While there is a catch to the program  all baby box recipients must attend government-mandated health checks and counseling sessions  it's a small price to pay for the roughly 95 percent of Fins who take advantage of it. For the Tiitanens, their baby box was a lifesaver that helped them hit the ground running as new parents."It really helped us as first-time parents to prepare for the baby both mentally and materially as we knew most essentials were already waiting for the baby," Heikki said. "I'm not ashamed to say it was a relief to know we were that little bit more ready."The concept is beginning to take flight in other countries throughout Europe as well, where parents are learning about the benefits of having everything they never knew they needed for their newborn babies given to them in a beautifully-packaged box, all ready and waiting.The Tiitanen's new company, known as The Finnish Baby Box, actually sells custom-made baby boxes to new parents in thousands of cities outside of https://www.naturalnews.com/Finland.html>Finl... that span 75 different countries throughout the world. Like the original Finnish baby boxes, these sets contain clothes, blankets, diapers and other items for babies  all in the iconic styles and colors of Scandinavian trends."What we've learned is that new parents have very similar fears, hopes and needs all around the world," Heikki told. "We are famously great with babies and child related matters from baby safety to education and healthcare."As a side note, baby boxes are so popular among Finnish parents that the vast majority of them choose these gift packages over cash from the government  both for their value and for their sentimentality. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/heal... target="_blank">Independent.co.uk www.finnishbabybox.com" target="_blank">FinnishBabyBox.com
(NaturalNews) A new study, recently published by, has linked the use of hormonal birth control to depression, especially in teenage girls. Of course, to many women, these findings are anything but surprising. Depression and mood swings have been well-known side effects of birth control for many years now, but little research into the phenomenon has been done and much of it has been inconclusive.As the study's abstract states, "Despite the clinical evidence of an influence of hormonal contraception on some women's mood, associations between the use of hormonal contraception and mood disturbances remain inadequately addressed."Dr. Ojvind Lidegaard, professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and lead supervisor of the study, and his team tracked more than one million Danish women between the ages of 15 and 34 over a period of 14 years. They accomplished this by using data from the National Prescription Register and the Psychiatric Central Research Register in Denmark to monitor their health. Women who were diagnosed with depression before the age of 15 were excluded from the study.The researchers' findings were shocking. Women who took combination estrogen and progestin pills were 23 percent more likely to be prescribed antidepressants, while women who took progestin-only birth control pills were 34 percent more likely to be prescribed antidepressant medication. For women who used a contraceptive patch, antidepressant use actually doubled. Using a vaginal ring for contraception resulted in a 60 percent increase in antidepressant use, while women who had an implanted intrauterine device (IUD) were 40 percent more likely to be prescribed a drug to treat depression.Even more unsettling, however, is the proportion of teenagers that were possibly being negatively affected by their birth control . The study found that women between the ages of 15 and 19 who were taking birth control were 80 percent more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant drug than those who were not on birth control.In a given year, an average of 1.7 per 100 women who did not use hormonal birth control began taking antidepressant . However, in women that took some form of birth control, that rate increased to 2.2. out of 100 beginning an antidepressant regime within a given year. This equates to an almost 30 percent increase in antidepressant use overall in women who take birth control.Lidegaard commented, "We have known for decades that women's sex hormones estrogen and progesterone have an influence on many women's mood. Therefore, it is not very surprising that also external artificial hormones acting in the same way and on the same centers as the natural hormones might also influence women's mood or even be responsible for depression development."The team posited that the differences seen among varying forms of birth control may in fact be more related to dose received rather than route of administration. The researchers also noted that younger women were particularly susceptible to developing depression while taking a form of contraception. Women between the ages of 20 and 34 appeared to be less likely to suffer from depression than their younger counterparts.Women are more than twice as likely to experience depression to begin with, so anything that can increase these risks should be handled with care. While the researchers do state that their findings simply suggest a potential relationship and do not by any means indicate that birth control causes depression, it is still reasonable to be concerned. If you are experiencing depression, you should speak to your naturopath or another medical professional that you trust.
An investigator is claiming that a piece of aluminum discovered in 1973 is evidence that aliens have visited earth 250,000 years ago. According to reports, the communist era hid the then discovery from the public and it is only now that the details of the discovery have been released.

As per The Sun, the chunk of metal was tested in a lab in Lausanne, Switzerland recently. Based on the tests, experts concluded that it is made up of 12 metals and of 90% aluminum. What is even more shocking is that the material is highly unlikely made by a technology that is available on earth.

Gheorghe Cohal, the Deputy Director of the Romanian Ufologists Association, told local media: "Lab tests concluded it is an old UFO fragment given that the substances it comprises cannot be combined with technology available on Earth."

As mentioned by Daily Star, humans didn't know about aluminum products until about 200 years ago. In addition, the piece of metal also features a distinctive concave indentation, suggesting that it came from a more complex object. The baffling object which was found buried at least 33 feet under the ground was discovered in 1973 by builders working on the shores of the Mures River.

Aside from the aluminum, there were also other three objects found on the dig. Archeologists who were called to look into it, identified them as very old fossils. Further analysis by experts at the main city of the Romanian region of Transylvania revealed that the objects include two bones are from a large extinct mammal and the other one is a piece resembling a head of an axe.

Meanwhile, Mail said historians are opposing the claims and saying that the object is actually just a part of a WWII German fighter aircraft. The British Journal said that the metal object is currently on display in the History Museum of Cluj-Napoca with alabel that reads: "Origin still unknown."
A group of researchers from the University of Kansas has found the oldest evidence of a right-handed person, and it's not a Homo sapiens but a Homo habilis.

The study, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, says that researchers have discovered a fossilized jaw, known as OH-65, from a Homo habilis in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Dating 1.8 million years ago, this is the oldest evidence on the evolution of right-handedness in human beings.

The researchers determined that the jaw belonged to a right-handed Homo habilis by analyzing groves or labial striations on the lip side of the anterior teeth, which slanted downward from left to right.

Read: Did Anthropologists Crack the Terrifying Reason Behind Mysterious Death of Lucy?

"We think that tells us something further about lateralization of the brain. We already know that Homo habilis had brain lateralization and was more like us than like apes. This extends it to handedness, which is key," said David Frayer, a professor emeritus from Kansas University and lead author of the study, via Science Daily.

This means that the Homo habilis used a stone tool with his right hand and gripped food in between his anterior teeth. The marks were from the said tool, which would occasionally strike the labial face.

Read: First Human Ever Possibly Discovered in Ethiopia

This stunning discovery could lead to more analysis on the marks present on other Homo fossils to understand more about the origins of our genus and how language and cortal reorganization developed among humans.

"We predict that right-handedness, cortical reorganization and language capacity will be shown to be important components in the origin of our genus," Frazer said. "We think we have the evidence for brain lateralization, handedness and possibly language, so maybe it all fits together in one picture."
Oklahoma and at least two other states said Friday that they have denied efforts by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the election, requests the U.S. State Department's spokesman dismissed as "nothing more than a PR stunt."

The Oklahoma secretary of state's office said it received a letter in August from Russia's consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the "US experience in organization of voting process." But the office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.

Election officials in Louisiana and Texas said they denied similar requests from Russian officials.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be "rigged," and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election.

Thousands of hacked emails from accounts of individuals within Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign have been posted on the website of the WikiLeaks organization. Russian officials have denied their involvement in the cyberattacks.

While there is a formal process for foreign governments to observe U.S. elections, individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny those requests, said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

"Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false," Toner said in a statement. "Individual parties - foreign governments, NGOs, etc. - are welcome to apply to state governments to observe our elections."

Russia hasn't participated in an international mission to observe elections, so its effort to do so on the state level represents "nothing more than a PR stunt," Toner said.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the purpose of the requests was uncertain. He added it was "appropriate" that people might be suspicious of Russia's motives.

"While it would be our honor to offer the opportunity to observe our voting process, it is prohibited under state law to allow anyone except election officials and voters in or around the area where voting takes place," Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge wrote in a response to Alexander Zakharov, Russia's consul general in Houston.

Texas has similar prohibitions on entering polling places, and Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler denied the request, citing that state's catastrophic flooding in the Baton Rouge area in August.

Zakharov's letter to state election officials was dated Sept. 24, but Oklahoma and Texas officials said they received it in late August.

Zakharov's office did not return a message from The Associated Press inquiring about the discrepancy, and a request for comment from the Russian Embassy in Washington was not immediately answered.
The Oakland Zoo is treating three California condors suffering from lead poisoning.

Biologists captured the sick birds in Big Sur earlier this month and brought them to the zoo for life-saving treatment.

Veterinarian Andrea Goodnight and her team have been injecting the condors with a chemical that extracts the lead.

"Basically what it does is grabs onto the lead and it pulls the lead out of the body," Goodnight said.

One of the birds regurgitated pieces of toxic metal just the other day. Goodnight said the scavenger birds, which are endangered, likely ingested bullet fragments from their prey.

"The lead comes from ammunition, so basically what happens animals that have been shot haven't been recovered," Goodnight said. "These birds are great at finding them. They eat them and ingest the lead that way."

The intensive treatment includes injections, blood work and X-rays. Every step is critical to helping the birds purge the lead before it does irreversible damage to their digestive and nervous systems.

"Basically the bird starves to death or it starts having seizures," Goodnight said.

After two weeks in Oakland, Goodnight said the birds are looking much stronger.

If the birds' lab work comes back relatively lead free, they will be returned to the wild next week. If not, the birds will undergo another round of treatment starting Saturday.
What to Know A DDoS attack crippled domain name server company Dyn Inc on Friday morning, and a fresh attack started Friday afternoon

The attacks rendered sites like Spotify, Twitter and SoundCloud difficult or impossible to reach

The White House says government agencies are looking into what happened

A third wave of denial-of-service attacks on a key piece of internet plumbing was resolved by late Friday, said the company that was targeted.

Internet infrastructure company Dyn Inc. told CNBC earlier in the day that the third wave was underway, causing more disruptions after dozens of the world's most popular websites were taken largely offline Friday morning.

The White House said it was aware of the situation and that the Department of Homeland Security was looking into it; a senior law enforcement official told NBC News that the FBI has been investigating as well. U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News Friday afternoon that they did not know who was responsible for the attacks, though one source said involvement by North Korea had been ruled out.

Dyn, which runs domain name servers, said on its website that it was subject to a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack. Domain name servers translate website names to the numeric Internet Protocol addresses behind them. Dyn, headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, is one of the larger companies in that business.

Major internet services including Spotify, Twitter, Paypal, Reddit, the PlayStation Network, Netflix, SoundCloud and a number of media websites were difficult or impossible to reach early Friday.

DownDetector.com

DownDetector.com, a popular website for checking internet outages, showed a sharp and simultaneous spike in users reporting sites being inaccessible just after 7 a.m. ET and again around noon.

Service providers including Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable and AT&T were also affected.

Dyn told CNBC that it was being hit by "tens of millions of IP addresses" Friday afternoon, around 4:15 p.m. ET. They said one of the sources of the attack is devices like DVRs, printers, and other appliances that are connected to the internet, collectively known as the "Internet of Things."

Dyn said normal service was restored just over two hours later. But on its website it reported a new attack as of 11:52 a.m. ET that was still underway a half hour later.

"(We) have begun monitoring and mitigating a DDoS attack against our Dyn Managed DNS infrastructure. Our Engineers are continuing to work on mitigating this issue," the company said on its status update page.

Later Friday, Dyn released a statement saying the third attack "has been resolved."

https://twitter.com/nixgeek/status/789501537844199425

The extent of the effect was not clear as the attacks unfolded  Twitter experienced partial outages throughout the day.

"The earlier issues have resurfaced & some people may still be having trouble accessing Twitter," the company wrote on its support account at 12:55 p.m. ET. "Were working on it!"

After four and a half hours of problems, Twitter reported that Dyn had mitigated the attacks and that Twitter was once again available to all its users.

Dyn said it was "still investigating and mitigating the attacks on our infrastructure," though a monitoring issue was resolved, it tweeted shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

On social media, people reported renewed difficulty accessing Spotify in Europe, as well as problems with photos and video on Twitter. DownDetector showed fresh spikes in outage reports for sites including PayPal, Netflix and Pinterest.

The attacks immediately renewed fears about the security of the Internet's core infrastructure, particularly with the presidential election - already the subject of hacking concerns - less than three weeks away.

(Comcast is the owner of NBC parent NBCUniversal.)

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
Two Oakland police officers charged with felonies in separate sexual misconduct cases pleaded not guilty Friday in back-to-back appearances in Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward.

Officer Ryan Walterhouse, 26, who joined the Oakland Police Department in 2014 and worked as a patrol officer, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one misdemeanor count of engaging in an act of prostitution.

Walterhouse is accused of tipping off a prostitute about police crackdowns against prostitution in East Oakland on Oct. 13 and 14.

Walterhouse, who was arrested at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night when he reported for work but is now free on $20,000 bail, is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 7 for a pretrial hearing.

Officer Giovanni LoVerde, 33, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of oral copulation with a minor stemming from a sexual exploitation scandal involving the teenage daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher.

The scheduled bail for that offense is $50,000 but Superior Court Judge Armando agreed to set LoVerde's bail at only $20,000 after the officer's attorney, Michael Cardoza, argued that LoVerde has no prior criminal record and isn't a flight risk.

LoVerde is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 5 for a pretrial hearing.

Oakland Deputy Police Chief John Lois said Walterhouse's arrest is unrelated to the sexual misconduct scandal involving the dispatcher's teenage daughter, who allegedly had encounters with numerous officers from Oakland and many other local law enforcement agencies.

Cardoza, a veteran lawyer and former prosecutor who represents both LoVerde and Walterhouse, alleged that both officers are "accused wrongly" and accused the Alameda County District Attorney's Office of bringing charges against police officers for "political" reasons.

District Attorney spokeswoman Teresa Drenick declined to comment on Cardoza's allegation, saying, "We aren't commenting further at this time on the ongoing criminal prosecution."

Cardoza said LoVerde never met the alleged victim and never had sex with her, although he said LoVerde communicated with her through social media.

Cardoza said Walterhouse didn't do anything wrong and was simply "doing his job" in his interactions with the prostitute he allegedly was involved with but declined to elaborate, saying, "I will explain that at a trial."

Referring to the charges against Walterhouse, Cardoza said, "This is a very political case in this county. Police officers are targets these days."
The San Francisco police chief responded late Friday to the police union's statement on the impasse in negotiations between the two parties over a newly adopted use-of-force policy.

Chief Toney Chaplin said in a statement that the impasse involves a disagreement over allowing officers to shoot at moving vehicles, which department officials think poses a threat to officers and the public.

"21st Century policing and the DOJ (Department of Justice) recommendation clearly indicate that officers should not shoot at moving vehicles," the chief said.

Chaplin confirmed what union officials said that four months negotiations have broken down after the police commission unanimously adopted the revised policy in June.

San Francisco Police Officers Association President Martin Halloran said union officials have made many concessions and "agree with the commission on 99.9 percent of the new policy."

"The major sticking point is a policy that would allow police officers to protect civilians from moving vehicle attacks like the one that recently occurred in Nice, France," Halloran said. "To protect the public, we need a policy that allows police officers to use force under exceptional circumstances like Nice."

The policy revision was made in the wake of the December police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview District.

The shooting prompted widespread controversy after bystander videos circulating on the internet appeared to show Woods, who was armed with a knife, attempting to move away from the police and not actively threatening them when he was shot.

In the aftermath, Mayor Ed Lee and then-Police Chief Greg Suhr called for a policy revision emphasizing de-escalation tactics, saying that officers would be encouraged to create "time and distance" when dealing with armed suspects.

The policy approved by the commission was the result of negotiations between the commission, union officials and community groups, and reflected large areas of agreement. However, union officials said at the time that they remained opposed to changes prohibiting the use of carotid chokeholds and firing at moving vehicles.

It remains unclear what immediate effect the impasse will have. Police officials have said the bulk of the policy has already been put into effect through a department bulletin.

Police Commission President Suzy Loftus has said in the past that a failure to reach agreement with the police union could result in legal action that would delay the implementation of the policy.

Chaplin said no future negotiations are scheduled and department officials are evaluating what to do in the days ahead.
A person was seriously injured in a shooting in San Francisco's Bayview District Friday, the neighborhood's police captain said.

Capt. Raj Vaswani wrote on Twitter at 12:20 p.m. about the shooting at Third Street and Fitzgerald Avenue that left one victim with life-threatening injuries.

The lobby for the Bayview police station is also closed because of a second crime scene related to the shooting, Vaswani said.

Northbound Third Street is closed in the area and San Francisco Municipal Railway buses are being diverted around the area, he said.

No other information about the shooting was immediately available from police.
Before a backdrop of a massive "Stronger Together" sign, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine didn't need to do much to get the crowd going Saturday night in University City.

By the time they took the outdoor stage at Penn Park, the loyal crowd was already warmed up from hours of music waiting for the Democratic presidential ticket to arrive. And it may be the last time the two are on stage in Philadelphia before the Nov. 8 election.

"I think she looks damn presidential," Kaine said of Clinton to loud cheers.

Clinton said she was tired of Trump's campaign "denigrating America."

"Come on, give me a break," she said. "This country has created more economic opportunity for anyone in the history of the world. We just have to get it spun up again."

Earlier Saturday, speaking in Pittsburgh, Clinton told her supporters that they should tell Trump backers she understands they need a president who cares about them and will listen to them.

"I want to be their president," she said.

Clinton said "anger is not a plan," in a nod to the frustrations of many who have swung behind Trump. She said she would deal with their "legitimate concerns" as president.

Clinton is also focusing on getting Democrats elected to Congress. She went after GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, saying he's refused to stand up to Trump. The incumbent senator is being challenged by Democrat Katie McGinty.

With election day only 17 days away, Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine were making two campaign stops in the battleground state on Saturday.

Clinton's event in Pittsburgh was held at Taylor Allderdice High School in the late afternoon.

Later, in the evening, the Democratic ticket will travel to Philadelphia for a rally at the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Watch Clinton's rally in Philadelphia on this page at 8:45 p.m.
A new chapter was revealed Friday in one of Chicagolands most troubling unsolved cases---the 1966 murder of Sharon Percy in her familys Kenilworth mansion. In the midst of a court fight over whether or not to open the investigative files in the case for public inspection, the victims twin sister filed an affidavit with the court asking that those files remain sealed.

The murder of my sister in our familys home was a horrible chapter in my life, Sharon Percy Rockefeller told the court. The thought or re-living these events for any reason other than to see the person or persons who murdered Valerie brought to justice is extremely painful to me and the members of the Percy and Rockefeller families.

The two sisters were 21 years old the night in 1966 when Valerie was brutally stabbed and bludgeoned in her sleep. Her father Charles Percy was the millionaire chief of the Chicago audio-visual giant Bell & Howell, and the Republican nominee for United States Senate. Later that year, Percy won election to the Senate and served three terms.

New York attorney John Kelly, a former North Shore resident, is suing Kenilworth to open the files on the unsolved case. The tiny communitys police department is fighting that suit, contending that release of the information would compromise what they say is an ongoing investigation into the Percy murder.

We would also have to release it to ABC, NBC, to the Tribune, Village Attorney Chris Murdoch told Judge Anna Demacopolous. Anybody and everybody will be able to read it. And one of the people who will want to read this, is the murderer.

Attorney Matt Topic, who represents Kelly, says there is no evidence that there is any investigation at all. If there is one, he says, the Village has not provided any proof that release of the 50 year old files would compromise anything.

I understand if they need to remove the name of a specific person that they are investigating, Topic told the court. But they have made very clear that they have exhausted a lot of leads in the past.

Kenilworth is joined in resisting the records release by the Illinois State Police, the Cook County States Attorneys Office, and the Medical Examiner. While the judge has been permitted to view some records in her chambers, Topic told her he is at a disadvantage because he doesnt have information on what exactly the village is trying to keep secret.

We cannot fully argue against what their alleged evidence is because we have no idea what it is, Topic said. Theres a very strong presumption that records ought to be disclosed!

The judge lambasted the Medical Examiners office for never even responding to Topics Freedom of Information request---suggesting in her comments that she didnt understand why 50 year old pathology reports could possibly harm the case. She ordered the Medical Examiners office to produce an index of all of the records from the case within the next week, and set another hearing on the matter for early December.

Sharon Percy Rockefeller, the victims sister, has rarely spoken publicly about the case. In her affidavit to the court, she declared that she had every confidence that police were genuinely investigating the crime.

I do not believe their work would benefit from the pbulication of any portion of the investigative record, she said. I ask the press and the plaintiff in this action allow the proper authorities to continue to investigate my sisters murder without further outside interference.

Topic suggested that while he and Kelly are sympathetic to the familys wishes, a larger issue of openness in government must be recognized.

The law recognizes that there can be privacy interests and that those are to be respected, he said. But its not an absolute rule. It depends on what the publics interest in disclosure is.
A Chicago-area judicial candidate now faces charges after she was fired as a court staff attorney earlier this year for donning a robe and hearing real cases on the bench.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said Friday in a statement that Rhonda Crawford has been indicted on charges of felony official misconduct and misdemeanor false impersonation.

Crawford is the Democratic candidate for an open county judgeship and was considered a shoo-in to win the Nov. 8 election.

The news of the 45-year-old role-playing a Cook County judge astonished the legal community and triggered the criminal investigation.

Crawford has expressed regret but also said the matter has been blown out of proportion. Her lawyer has said Democratic powerbrokers are using the incident to undermine Crawford's election bid.
Steering his campaign toward controversy yet again, Donald Trump vowed Saturday to sue every woman who has accused him of sexual assault or other inappropriate behavior. He called them "liars" whose allegations he blamed Democrats for orchestrating.

Trump's blunt threat of legal action -- hours before an 11th accuser spoke out with claims of sexual misconduct -- eclipsed his planned focus on serious-minded policy during a speech in Gettysburg. Though his campaign had billed the speech as a chance for Trump to lay out a to-do list for his first 100 days as president, he seemed unable to restrain himself from re-litigating grievances with Hillary Clinton, the media and especially the women who have come forward in recent days.

"All of these liars will be sued once the election is over," Trump said. He added later: "I look so forward to doing that."

Eleven women have publicly accused Trump of unwanted advances or sexual assault in the weeks since a 2005 recording emerged in which the former reality TV star boasted of kissing women and groping their genitals without their consent. The latest came on Saturday, when an adult film actress said the billionaire kissed her and two other women on the lips "without asking for permission" when they met him after a golf tournament in 2006.

Jessica Drake also alleged that when she declined to spend time with Trump later that night he said she could use his private jet, and she said either Trump on someone on his behalf offered her $10,000. She said she refused.

Trump has denied all the allegations, while insisting some of the women weren't attractive enough for him to want to pursue. His campaign called the latest accusations "totally false and ridiculous."

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign," Trump said Saturday in Pennslyvania. Without offering evidence, he surmised that Clinton or the Democratic National Committee had put the women up to it.

Speaking to reporters aboard her campaign plane, Clinton dismissed as "inaccurate" the suggestion that Democrats or her campaign were encouraging women to level accusations against Trump. She said that, after three debates, she wasn't thinking about responding to what Trump says anymore and would "let the American people decide what he offers and what we offer."

Clinton said she would be focusing the remaining days before the election helping down-ballot Democrats. To that end, she assailed the state's Republican senator, Pat Toomey, saying in Pittsburgh that he has refused to "stand up" to Trump as she touted his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty.

Noting Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants and his attacks on a Muslim-American military family, she said of Toomey: "If he doesn't have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump after all of this, then can you be sure that he will stand up for you when it counts?"

Trump's broadside against the women came at the start of an otherwise substantive speech that sought to weave the many policy ideas he has put forward into a single, cohesive agenda that he said he would pursue aggressively during his first three months in office.

The Republican nominee vowed to lift restrictions on domestic energy production, label China as a currency manipulator and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, familiar themes to supporters who have flocked to his rallies this year.

"This is my pledge to you, and if we follow these steps, we will once again have a government of, by and for the people," Trump said, invoking a phrase from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Though mostly a recap of policies he's proposed before, Trump's speech included a few new elements, such as a freeze on hiring new federal workers and a two-year mandatory minimum sentence for immigrants who re-enter the U.S. illegally after being deported a first time. In a pledge sure to raise eyebrows on Wall Street, he said he'd block a potential merger between AT&T and media conglomerate Time Warner.

Translating his proposals into digestible bullet points, he offered to-the-point titles for the legislative vehicles he'd need Congress to approve to accomplish his goals, such as the "End Illegal Immigration Act" and the "Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act."

Throughout the GOP primary, Trump was criticized for shying away from detailed policy proposals. But his speech, which aides said would form the core of his closing argument to voters, underscored how the billionaire has gradually compiled a broad  if sometimes vague  policy portfolio that straddles conservative, isolationist and populist orthodoxies.

Yet any headway that Trump may have made was likely to be diluted by his legal threats against his accusers, just the latest example of Trump stepping on his intended message at inopportune moments. Days earlier, during the final debate, his otherwise well-received performance was marred by an alarming statement near the end that he might not accept the outcome of the election if he loses.

Trump didn't say what kind of lawsuits he planned to file against the women, but any libel litigation could be complicated by the fact that Trump, in the 2005 recording, bragged about the same kind of conduct the women now accuse him of perpetrating. Trump recently vowed to sue The New York Times for libel, but has not yet followed through on the threat.

With the debates now over, Trump and Clinton have few apparent opportunities to alter the course the race substantially  a reality that benefits Clinton more than Trump. The Republican is trailing his opponent in most of the battleground states while Clinton eyes potential upset victories in traditionally safe GOP territory, with Arizona at the top of the list.

An increasingly confident Clinton on Saturday made what's become her closing pitch in Pittsburgh, stressing unity and asking her backers to carry her message to any Trump supporters they meet.

"I understand that they need a president who cares about them, will listen to them and I want to be their president," she said.

As Election Day nears, Clinton is also focusing on getting Democrats elected to Congress. She attacked the state's Republican senator, Pat Toomey, saying he has refused to "stand up" to Trump as she touted his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty.

Her campaign headquarters in New York was back up and running after a scare over an envelope that arrived containing a white powdery substance. Initial tests showed the substance wasn't harmful.

Meanwhile, Clinton was getting a campaign boost from singer and pop icon Katy Perry, who was pushing early voting in Las Vegas. The singer surprised students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas when she knocked on the doors of their dorm rooms wearing a T-shirt that read "Nasty Woman," a phrase Trump uttered at Wednesday's debate in reference to Clinton. She headlined a short outdoor rally on campus but didn't perform any of her songs.

Miley Cyrus also stumped for Clinton by knocking on doors at a college. She met with young voters at George Mason University in Virginia.

More than 4.4 million votes have already been cast. Data compiled by The Associated Press found that Clinton appeared to be displaying strength in crucial North Carolina and Florida, while Trump appeared to be holding ground in Ohio, Iowa and Georgia.
The state of Texas has denied a request to have Russian officials be present at polling stations during the Nov. 8 general election, according to a letter obtained by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Texas secretary of state's office said it received a letter from Russia's consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the "US experience in organization of voting process."

Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos said no, adding that "only persons authorized by law may be inside of a polling location during voting. All other persons are not authorized and would be committing a class C Misdemeanor crime by entering."

Similar requests from Alexander Zakharov, Russia's consul general in Houston, were sent to officials in Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for suggesting the election might be "rigged," and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Democratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to influence the outcome of the election.

Thousands of hacked emails from accounts of individuals within Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign have been posted on the website of the WikiLeaks organization. Russian officials have denied their involvement in the cyberattacks.

While there is a formal process for foreign governments to observe U.S. elections, individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny those requests, said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

"Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false," Toner said in a statement. "Individual parties  foreign governments, NGOs, etc.  are welcome to apply to state governments to observe our elections."

Russia hasn't participated in an international mission to observe elections, so its effort to do so on the state level represents "nothing more than a PR stunt," Toner said.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the purpose of the requests was uncertain. He added it was "appropriate" that people might be suspicious of Russia's motives.

Zakharov's letter to state election officials was dated Sept. 24, but Oklahoma and Texas officials said they received it in late August.

Zakharov's office did not return a message from The Associated Press inquiring about the discrepancy, and a request for comment from the Russian Embassy in Washington was not immediately answered.

Sean Murphy, of The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
Bristol police are investigating a fatal Friday evening shooting that resulted in the death of a 63-year-old man.

According to police, officers responded to Woodland Street at around 5:22 p.m. on a report of a shooting incident with a victim on the ground

Police said Daniel J. Caron, with a last known address of Bristol, CT, was shot once in the chest while in the driveway of 240 Woodland Street.

According to police, Caron was transported to Bristol Hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.

Police said a suspect, Chad Couture, 35, of Bristol, was arrested and charged with manslaughter in the first-degree with a firearm as well as criminal possession of a firearm.

According to police, Couture is being held on $500,000 bond.

Investigators said they recovered multiple pieces of evidence from the scene, including a handgun.

The incident remains under investigation.
Hartford police executing a search warrant arrested eight people on drug-related charges during an operation on Zion Street Friday.

Police said detectives learned of illegal drug sales out of an apartment at 535/537 Zion Street and obtained a search warrant. According to police, the apartment had a surveillance system and when officers arrived to execute the warrant the occupants of the apartment saw police on surveillance and fled through the back door.

In the apartment, police found 470 bags of heroin, 270 bags of crack and a .22 caliber firearm. They also located 13 fentanyl patches, $300 in cash and more heroin outside the apartment, police said.

Eight people were ultimately located and arrested.

Luis Rivera 38, of Hartford, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, and interfering with a search warrant.

Armando Colon, 47, of Hartford, was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia, and criminal trespass.

Eduardo Ortiz, 33, of Hartford, was charged with possession of narcotics and criminal trespass.

Frank White, 58, of Hartford, was charged with possession of narcotics and criminal trespass.

Ramon Benitez, 33, of Hartford, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of narcotics, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, misuse of plates and insufficient insurance.

Hipolito Aldana, 21, of Hartford, was charged with possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass.

Teresita Castro-Luna, 52, of Hartford, was charged with criminal trespass.

The Vice and Narcotics Unit, members of the South CSOs and the Hartford Emergency Response team all had a part in the operation.
Val Jean-Ashe from New Haven is concerned about the number of police shootings making national headlines.

Theres been too many instances where people have been killed for no reason at all and I think the body camera not only helps the police, but it helps the person thats involved in the altercation," she said.

Jean-Ashe is pleased to learn the 452 police officers in her city will be outfitted with body cameras in 2017.

Me personally, I would love it, the earlier the better, New Haven Police Department interim chief Anthony Campbell said.

Chief Campbell's target date for officers to start wearing body cameras has been pushed back while the city applies for state funding.

Theres a grant out there that would allow us to buy the cameras and get 100 percent reimbursement," Campbell said, "we want to take advantage of that.

The city will use the reimbursed money, which is about half a million dollars, to set up a system to store and distribute the video to the public when requested, Campbell said.

New Haven Police Union President Craig Miller said a majority of members support the move to wear body cameras

"You have accusations brought up against you and then when you have something on camera instead of someone elses cell phone you getting the true story instead of their side of the story which they can manipulate the filming, Miller said.

The union and police administration are in talks on establishing protocols for how an dwhen officers would be required to use them.

Theres certain laws and statutes that say cant use it with children, cant use it with sexual assault victims, etc., Campbell said.

For a department that prides itself on community policing, Campbell said body cameras will improve transparency and build better trust with residents.

Far too often the civilians or community members feel like well the police officers word is going to be taken over mine," he said, "whereas you have a body camera, it levels the playing field."

Mayor Toni Harp said she hope the city sets up a large enough video storage system that other police departments may use it as well.

Neighboring police departments such as Hamden, East Haven and Yale are already utilizing body cameras.
The man who robbed a bank in Simsbury last Friday may also be the suspect in other robberies in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

On Oct. 14, a bank robbery happened at TD Bank on 714 Hopmeadow St. at 10:19 a.m., police reported.

The robber showed a note demanding money and left on foot after getting some, according to police, who said he made no threats of a weapon.

Simsbury Police said the man appears to be the same suspect at bank robberies in Norwich, Connecticut, Brattleboro, Vermont and Westerly Rhode Island.

The man police are looking for appears to be in his 30s. He is around 5-feet-6 tall, and has a salt and pepper beard.

Police said the TD Bank robbery in Brattleboro happened on Oct. 7.

Simsbury Police ask anyone with information or anyone who recognizes the man in the photos to call them at 860-658-3145.
Former "Playboy" model Katie May's death in February was caused by a chiropractic procedure to her neck, the Los Angeles County coroner's office told NBC News.

May died on Feb. 4 due to a "manipulation of the neck," the coroner's office said. Her death was ruled an accident.

On Friday, the American Chiropractic Association offered condolences to May's family, but defended chiropractic neck procedures.

"Our sympathy goes out to the family of Katie May," they wrote in a statement. "With respect to the safety of neck manipulation, its important to understand there are risks and benefits to all treatments; however, the best available evidence indicates there is no causal relationship between neck manipulation and stroke."

"Millions of neck manipulations are performed safely in the U.S. every year, providing patients relief from common forms of neck pain and headache, and helping them to get back to their normal activities," the statement continued.
It is too early to determine who was responsible for the digital attacks that darkened much of the internet in the United States Friday, cyber experts and intelligence officials told NBC News.

Some said evidence points to Russia, others proposed it was "internet vandalism." One clue could be a similar attack mounted against the Republic of Georgia eight years ago by Russian cybercriminals enlisted by a Russian intelligence agency.

Twitter, Amazon, PayPal, Spotify and Reddit are some of the sites that were knocked out in the three "denial of service," or DDoS, attacks at about 7 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

The attacks came largely via "smart" household appliances linked to the web, hit websites with more than 150,000 requests for information per second and were largely aimed at one company's internet infrastructure rather than specific websites.
Dallas Museum of Arts current exhibition, Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt organized by the Brooklyn Museum features 80 objects depicting Ancient Egyptians admiration for cats and the ancient societys ties to nature in general.

The Nile made Egypt a rich and prosperous land. Because their life was built on their relationship with animals, Egyptians saw the natural world as divine, Dr. Anne R. Bromberg, The Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Ancient and Asian Art at the Dallas Museum of Art explained.

The Egyptian gods and goddess were not felines, but they were given feline features to express their powers. Ancient Egyptians identified strength, power, and vitality with the lions they observed in nature and sphinxes still guard ancient temples.

In the exhibition, that power is represented by bronze statues and a limestone stela with the Egyptian gods Bes and Tutu.

Ancient Egyptians also appreciated the sensual side of cats. Some goddesses are represented with lovely female bodies with feline heads. We think of cats as lovely and cuddly, but these goddesses are powerful and sexy, Bromberg said.

Goddesses Sakhemet and Bastet seem to embody this graceful sensuality, fertility and authority. Bromberg favors a statue of the goddess Wadjet because of its superb modeling and bronze casting that combines female and feline beauty and strength.

Ancient Egyptians also valued cats company. There are plenty depictions of ancient domesticated cats lounging with their wealthy owners, similar to their modern-day counterparts finding their way onto social media.

One tiny but exquisitely rendered bronze shows an intimate portrait of a mother cat nursing her litter of kittens. This exhibition also includes furniture and everyday items decorated with feline portrayals.

Never has a society been so concerned with death and the afterlife as Ancient Egypt and many of the pieces in the exhibition reflect this priority. Craftsmen created cat coffins and objects and funerary stelas depicting beloved cats and other pets are often found in tombs.

Bromberg points outs that the artisans who created these objects were highly valued. There were no starving artists in Ancient Egypt. There was an entire class of people who were artisans because they made things the wealthy felt they wanted and needed in the afterlife. No other society devoted so many resources to the business of making things for tombs, Bromberg said.

Brombergs affinity for cats is only matched for her affinity for the history and art that has shaped her more than 50-year career at the Dallas Museum of Art. Her work at the Dallas Museum of Art began in 1962 when she began giving lectures while the museum was still at Fair Park.

After earning her Ph. D. in Classical Art and Archeology from Harvard University, she moved to Dallas with her husband with the intention to teach. Her teaching resume includes work at Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Arlington and she taught theater history at the Dallas Theater Center.

She admits she became a curator almost accidentally. After lecturing on some major Greek and Roman sculptures that are the basis of The Cecil and Ida Green Collection, Bromberg was invited to create an education department.

When the museum moved to its current location in downtown Dallas, a new museum director wanted to use her skills for curating. Early on, there were only two or three curators at most. Now we have a tremendous art collection from all over the world. Different directors have had different interests and that has expanded the collection. We have grown from a small provincial museum to a large multi-cultural institution, Bromberg said.

Bromberg also notes the proliferation of the museums public programs and the increased traffic at the museum due to free admission. The Dallas Museum of Art now employs ten curators, supported by interns and administrative assistants. Bromberg contributes to the museums publications and she is amazed how a small group of a few pieces has the potential to flourish and become prominent collections.

Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt is on display through January 8, 2017.

MORE: DMA.org

Kimberly Richard is a North Texan with a passion for the arts. Shes worked with Theatre Three, Inc. and interned for the English National Opera and Royal Shakespeare Company. She graduated from Austin College and currently lives in Garland with her very pampered cocker spaniel, Tessa.
Dallas Countys Parkland Hospital is staging a garage sale this weekend to sell surplus equipment and furnishings from the old hospital after moving into a new one nine months ago.

The sale is underway until 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 2420 Butler Street in a Parkland Hospital warehouse.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, a special sale of commercial kitchen equipment will be held in the old hospital kitchen with access through the old emergency room entrance off Southwestern Medical Avenue.

More than 6,000 items are up for sale including TVs, chairs, tables, bookcases, ice machines, refrigerators, storage equipment and 500 iPhones.

Sale prices are marked on all items but unlike some garage sales, there is no haggling over price. Customers must pay with cash and be prepared to carry large items.

Customer John Ortega paid $500 each for two refrigerator display cases that he said would have cost thousands elsewhere.

The deal of a life-time, he said. Don Corleone would have bought them.

Customer Myra Hernandez paid $265 for a truck load of tables and chairs to host her family parties.

This is a blessing. Its a lot cheaper, a lot cheaper, she said.

Parkland officials said the countys hospital and clinics could no longer make use of the items.

Weve had a lot of looks by all the department heads to see what were doing as far as what could be refurbished, reused, said Jerry Nickerson, Parkland Vice-President of Engineering and Program Control.

Dallas County Commissioner Mike Cantrell said Parkland has been watching money carefully as it faces budget cuts this year.

They squeezed it good, Cantrell said. Theyre looking at a somewhat small deficit over at Parkland, so theyre squeezing every dime they can get out of everything. And this money they get off the sale will go back into the budget.
Drivers in Texas busted for drunken driving, not paying child support or low-level drug offenses are among thousands of "high-threat" criminal arrests being counted as part of a nearly $1 billion mission to secure the border with Mexico, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Having once claimed that conventional crime data doesn't fully capture the dangers to public safety and homeland security, the Texas Department of Public Safety classified more than 1,800 offenders arrested near the border by highway troopers in 2015 as "high threat criminals."

But not all live up to that menacing label or were anywhere close to the border -- and they weren't caught entering the country illegally, as Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is Texas' chairman for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, has suggested.

In response to the AP's findings, the Department of Public Safety said it will recommend removing child support evaders from the list and signaled a willingness to stop classifying other arrests as "high threat." However, it defended the data overall, saying it isn't intended to measure border security, even though the figures are included in briefings to lawmakers.

"It's deceptive to say the least," Democratic state Rep. Terry Canales, from the border city of Edinburg, said of the data. "I would say it's shocking that a person arrested with a small amount of cocaine in Odessa is used to show supposedly high-threat criminal arrests on the Texas-Mexico border."

The AP used open records laws to obtain a list of 2015 Texas Highway Patrol arrests classified as "high threat" in a broad 60-county area that the DPS has defined as the border region, then reviewed online court and jail records for cases in Hidalgo and El Paso counties, which had the most such arrests.

Among the "high threat" incidents was a trailer that unlatched from an RV and rolled into oncoming traffic, killing another driver in a town more than 150 miles from the border. Other crimes lumped in with suspected killers and human traffickers were speeding teenagers and hit-and-runs that caused no serious injuries.

Republican leaders have used crime, smuggling and immigration data to justify an intensified deployment of troopers, armored boats and spy planes to the border since 2014. And Trump's promises to wall off the border with Mexico resonate with many in Texas, where Republican lawmakers tripled border security spending last year, and in 2017 will consider approving another $1 billion.

A threat overview published by DPS in 2013 defined high-threat criminals as "individuals whose criminal activity poses a serious public safety or homeland security threat." But about 40 "high threat" offenses can be overly broad. For instance, nearly half the 2015 arrests were for possession of a controlled substance, but DPS doesn't distinguish between a gram of cocaine and a drug smuggler's 50 pounds of marijuana. And failure to pay child support is included with sex crimes under offenses against the family.

High-threat arrests, which are tracked statewide, are among nearly three dozen "border security related" metrics collected by DPS, according to agency briefings given to lawmakers.

But DPS Director Steve McCraw told the AP that high-threat data isn't used to assess border security but rather is included in briefings for the sake of transparency. McCraw said the term "high threat" was never meant to suggest only the worst of the worst, but rather to distinguish more serious crimes.

"I don't care, we can change the name," McCraw said. "Just so long as, internally, we have a way of differentiating."

Hidalgo County, in the Rio Grande Valley, is one of the busiest corridors for drug and human trafficking in the U.S., and where Texas deployed an influx of troopers, National Guard patrols and camera surveillance. While dozens of 161 high-threat arrests for drug possession were alleged pot smugglers, about 1 in 5 were charged with having less than a gram or other low-level drug charges. Drunken drivers who didn't pull over are also counted the same as fleeing traffickers.

In El Paso County, more than half of 190 high-threat arrests last year were for drug offenses. Of those, about three in 10 were arrests for less than a gram of drugs such as cocaine or small amounts of marijuana.

Some lawmakers, including members of Texas' House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety, said they didn't pay attention to high-threat arrests and that the data isn't included in high-level briefings.

But following a border visit in March, Patrick incorrectly tweeted that DPS had arrested about 14,000 high-threat criminals in the previous year. Patrick senior adviser Sherry Sylvester said the lieutenant governor had been "unintentionally unclear," but then herself falsely described the arrests as "criminal illegal aliens" who she said pose a "serious threat to public safety in Texas."

Drivers in Texas busted for drunken driving, not paying child support or low-level drug offenses are among thousands of "high-threat" criminal arrests being counted as part of a nearly $1 billion mission to secure the border with Mexico, an Associated Press analysis has found.

Having once claimed that conventional crime data doesn't fully capture the dangers to public safety and homeland security, the Texas Department of Public Safety classified more than 1,800 offenders arrested near the border by highway troopers in 2015 as "high threat criminals."

But not all live up to that menacing label or were anywhere close to the border -- and they weren't caught entering the country illegally, as Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is Texas' chairman for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, has suggested.

In response to the AP's findings, the Department of Public Safety said it will recommend removing child support evaders from the list and signaled a willingness to stop classifying other arrests as "high threat."

However, it defended the data overall, saying it isn't intended to measure border security, even though the figures are included in briefings to lawmakers.

"It's deceptive to say the least," Democratic state Rep. Terry Canales, from the border city of Edinburg, said of the data. "I would say it's shocking that a person arrested with a small amount of cocaine in Odessa is used to show supposedly high-threat criminal arrests on the Texas-Mexico border."

The AP used open records laws to obtain a list of 2015 Texas Highway Patrol arrests classified as "high threat" in a broad 60-county area that the DPS has defined as the border region, then reviewed online court and jail records for cases in Hidalgo and El Paso counties, which had the most such arrests.

Among the "high threat" incidents was a trailer that unlatched from an RV and rolled into oncoming traffic, killing another driver in a town more than 150 miles from the border. Other crimes lumped in with suspected killers and human traffickers were speeding teenagers and hit-and-runs that caused no serious injuries.

Republican leaders have used crime, smuggling and immigration data to justify an intensified deployment of troopers, armored boats and spy planes to the border since 2014.

And Trump's promises to wall off the border with Mexico resonate with many in Texas, where Republican lawmakers tripled border security spending last year, and in 2017 will consider approving another $1 billion.

A threat overview published by DPS in 2013 defined high-threat criminals as "individuals whose criminal activity poses a serious public safety or homeland security threat." But about 40 "high threat" offenses can be overly broad. For instance, nearly half the 2015 arrests were for possession of a controlled substance, but DPS doesn't distinguish between a gram of cocaine and a drug smuggler's 50 pounds of marijuana.

And failure to pay child support is included with sex crimes under offenses against the family. High-threat arrests, which are tracked statewide, are among nearly three dozen "border security related" metrics collected by DPS, according to agency briefings given to lawmakers.

But DPS Director Steve McCraw told the AP that high-threat data isn't used to assess border security but rather is included in briefings for the sake of transparency. McCraw said the term "high threat" was never meant to suggest only the worst of the worst, but rather to distinguish more serious crimes. "I don't care, we can change the name," McCraw said. "Just so long as, internally, we have a way of differentiating."

Hidalgo County, in the Rio Grande Valley, is one of the busiest corridors for drug and human trafficking in the U.S., and where Texas deployed an influx of troopers, National Guard patrols and camera surveillance.

While dozens of 161 high-threat arrests for drug possession were alleged pot smugglers, about 1 in 5 were charged with having less than a gram or other low-level drug charges. Drunken drivers who didn't pull over are also counted the same as fleeing traffickers.

In El Paso County, more than half of 190 high-threat arrests last year were for drug offenses. Of those, about three in 10 were arrests for less than a gram of drugs such as cocaine or small amounts of marijuana.

Some lawmakers, including members of Texas' House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety, said they didn't pay attention to high-threat arrests and that the data isn't included in high-level briefings.

But following a border visit in March, Patrick incorrectly tweeted that DPS had arrested about 14,000 high-threat criminals in the previous year. Patrick senior adviser Sherry Sylvester said the lieutenant governor had been "unintentionally unclear," but then herself falsely described the arrests as "criminal illegal aliens" who she said pose a "serious threat to public safety in Texas."
Iraqi forces pushed into a town to the southeast of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes, with ongoing skirmishes in some areas.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi commanders to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.

Two officers from the 9th Division confirmed troops had captured the government compound and raised the flag over it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The town is around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

IS meanwhile launched a massive attack in and around Kirkuk, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Mosul before dawn Friday in an apparent attempt to divert Iraqi security forces from the push on Mosul. Fighting raged throughout the day, with heavy gunfire echoing across the city and smoke rising over the skyline.

Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said Saturday morning that all the attackers were killed or blew themselves up. The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest, was quiet Saturday morning.

Witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin neighborhood, where at least two IS fighters were killed Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

Col. Redah Sheikh Latif, of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, confirmed there were ongoing skirmishes between IS snipers and security forces in the neighborhood but said the situation was contained. He said there was also some ongoing fighting in the suburb of Wara Tappa.

The militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk on Friday, and a local TV reporter was killed by a sniper in the city. It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians or the Kurdish security forces who control Kirkuk.

Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at liberating Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Carter's visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.

The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014, and the first since the Mosul operation began. The service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
A smoke advisory was issued Friday night for the Inland Empire as a fire burned through a recycling plant in Ontario.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued the advisory for Friday night and Saturday morning.

A fire, fueled by tall stacks of wood pallets and cardboard at a recycling business near Ontario International Airport, sent a massive column of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.

Check Your Neighborhood Forecast

The inferno was burning Friday near East State Street and South Bon View Avenue, about a mile west of the airport, in a yard roughly the size of a city block. Aerial footage showed flames spreading to at least one structure and three flatbed pickup trucks.

"I really thought that our house was going to be gone," said Gabriel Lopez, a nearby resident who had to evacuate. "It was really that bad."

The blaze appeared to be contained within the yard. Airport officials said it was not affecting flights or airport operations.

Ontario Fire Department officials hope the blaze will be out by noon Saturday.

The smoke advisory urges residents to avoid "vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion."

"People with respiratory or heart disease, older adults, and children should remain indoors," the advisory said. "Keep windows and doors closed or seek alternate shelter."

A firefighter suffered burns to his hand and a bystander suffered smoke inhalation, according to the fire department.

The cause of the fire is unknown.
A driver suspected of stealing a car was arrested Friday night after leading police on a chase in South Los Angeles.

The chase started before 10:45 p.m. at the southbound 710 Freeway at the 91, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of a green Honda Accord drove up to 80 mph and was taken into custody not long after he led the chase to the streets.

No further information was immediately available.
Miami-Dade Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in locating a missing 18-year-old who is endangered.

Issiah Bentley Brown last seen walking away from his home located along the 14700 block of Southwest Harrison Street around Midnight in Miami.

Brown was last seen a white shirt and black shorts, police said. He has not returned to his home or contacted any family members.

Authorities said Brown may be in need of services and is known to frequent Coconut Grove.

Anyone with information about Brown should contact Miami-Dade Police Department at (305) 418-7200 or Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477)
Hillary Clinton's campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.

Aiming to undermine any argument the Republican nominee may make about a "rigged" election, she hopes to roll up a large electoral vote margin in next month's election. That could repudiate the New York billionaire's message and project a governing mandate after the bitter, divisive presidential race.

Clinton's team is also keeping a close eye on statements by national Republican leaders, predicting they could play an important role in how Trump's accusations of electoral fraud might be perceived. That's according to several Clinton campaign aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal strategy.

Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted. But Clinton and her team have begun thinking about how to position their candidate during the postelection period. Long one of the country's most polarizing political figures, Clinton has begun telling audiences she'll need their help in healing the country.

"I've got to figure out how we heal these divides," she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. "We've got to get together. Maybe that's a role that is meant to be for my presidency if I'm so fortunate to be there."

A refusal by Trump to accept the election results would not only upend a basic tenet of American democracy, but also force Clinton to create a new playbook for handling the transfer of power. And a narrow victory would make it more difficult for her to claim substantial political capital at the start of her administration.

"Donald is still going to whine if he loses. But if the mandate is clear, I don't think many people will follow him," said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton's running mate, in an interview Thursday with CNN's "New Day."

While Clinton's campaign has long focused on maintaining pathways to cross the threshold of 270 electoral votes, it's now looking to capture an expanded number of states that could also help determine control of the Senate  including Republican-leaning Arizona.

Polls indicate that Clinton has extended her advantage in several toss-up states during the three fall debates, giving her campaign more confidence. She has maintained stable leads in states such as Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado, as well as a narrow edge in Florida and North Carolina.

"They're looking at it like this: We've got these doors of opportunity open, let's make sure we go down all of them,'" said Jeremy Bird, the national field director for President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign who is helping Clinton's team.

If Clinton wins the White House, she will enter as one of the least popular first-term presidents in generations. While Trump has suffered from high unfavorable ratings, particularly among women, Clinton has been hampered by polls showing more than half of the public considers her to be untrustworthy.

Some Republicans are already preparing for Trump's defeat, downplaying the significance of a Clinton triumph.

"On Nov 8, Clinton's claims of a mandate will fly in the face of reality. She only won by not being Trump," tweeted conservative writer Erick Erickson. Rolling up a big victory in the Electoral College would let Clinton push back against that notion and assert that voters had rejected what she has called Trump's mean, divisive message.

In a race against Trump and independents Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, Clinton may struggle to reach 50 percent of the vote. But competing in states such as Arizona and pushing for Senate victories in Missouri and Indiana might help Democrats in their quest to recapture the Senate and give her a better chance of surpassing Obama's 332 electoral votes in the 2012 campaign.

Clinton's campaign is making a significant push in Arizona, which offers 11 electoral votes and has stayed in the Republican column in all but one presidential election since 1952. Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to carry the state, in 1996.

First lady Michelle Obama courted voters in Phoenix on Thursday, following appearances by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Clintons' daughter, Chelsea Clinton. The campaign is spending $2 million in advertising and toying with sending Clinton herself there before Election Day.

"I think it's clear that Hillary Clinton has a chance to win Arizona just like her husband did 20 years ago," said Rodd McLeod, a Phoenix-based Democratic strategist who helped Clinton's campaign during the primary.

Two other Republican-leaning states could prove tempting.

Georgia, which has had an influx of diverse voters in the Atlanta area, is considered a future battleground state, with many Democrats comparing it to North Carolina.

Utah overwhelmingly supported Mitt Romney, the nation's first Mormon presidential nominee, with more than 72 percent in 2012. But many of the state's Republicans have abandoned Trump and polls show Clinton and Trump in a tight contest against independent Evan McMullin, a conservative former CIA officer who graduated from Brigham Young University.

If McMullin captures Utah, he will be the first independent presidential candidate to win electoral votes since George Wallace in 1968.
Disorderly conduct charges are pending against a woman who authorities say smeared peanut butter on 30 vehicles outside a gathering in central Wisconsin that she mistakenly thought was a Donald Trump rally.

WSAW-TV reports that investigators say the Monday night conservation group meeting in Amherst had nothing to do with politics.

Authorities say the 32-year-old woman was drunk when she entered the meeting and began yelling about how she hates Trump. She departed when asked to leave, but authorities say she then used peanut butter to draw phallic symbols and write profanities on vehicles outside. An incident report said the woman's blood-alcohol content was 0.218, about 2 times the state's legal limit for driving.

She is free on bond.

Amherst is 115 miles north of Madison.
What to Know Geraldine Mendez, 20, was last seen leaving her Bushwick apartment Sunday morning

She arrived in New York City from Mexico in August to do some fashion shows, her father says

Friends and family are desperately searching for the woman

A model from Mexico last seen leaving her Brooklyn apartment has been missing since Sunday, sparking a desperate search by family and friends in New York City.

Geraldine Mendez, 20, arrived in New York City in August to do some fashion shows, according to her father, who flew in from Mexico to help find her. She was last seen leaving her Bushwick apartment Sunday morning.

"I don't think there could be greater pain than knowing your daughter is in a city alone, in a fragile situation," Hugo Mendez told NBC 4 New York in Spanish.

Geraldine's social media show pictures and videos of her traveling the world and discovering New York. There has been no update since she disappeared.

"Geraldine is what I call a happy hippie," said friend Kris Kemp. "She's creative like most of the people here, so she was just kind of hanging out with different people here."

Friends and family were knocking on doors through the neighborhood, seeking any leads.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
What to Know Comedian Joe Piscopo met with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to discuss a potential 2017 run for governor

He appeared on "Saturday Night Live" from 1980 to 1984

The New Jersey native briefly considered running for governor in 2004

After impersonating politicians for decades, Joe Piscopo might actually become one next year.

The Saturday Night Live alum met with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the Statehouse Thursday afternoon to discuss a potential bid for New Jersey governor in 2017, according to the New York Observer.

Piscopo is a former Democrat who is now an independent, but would run as a Republican. Sources said he met with Christie on the subject for about half an hour.

The 65-year-old attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

Piscopo did not respond to an email or phone call seeking comment.

This isnt the first time the radio show host has flirted with a career in politics. He considered running for governor in 2004 following the resignation or former Gov. Jim McGreevey.

Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli of Somerset County already declared his candidacy and Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno is expected to launch her bid after the presidential election.
The caregiver who fatally beat and starved a 4-year-old New York City boy was sentenced Friday to 22 years to life behind bars.

Kryzie King was sentenced to the prison term a month after she pleaded guilty in the death of Myls Dobson. Dobson was found unconscious in King's apartment in December 2013, and medical examiners ruled Myls died of child abuse, including dehydration.

King was caring for Dobson while his father was jailed. His mother had lost custody, but was in court clutching Dobson's teddy bear as the boy's family attended King's sentencing hearing.

King admitted to repeatedly assaulting the child, including binding his hands and feet, striking him with an electrical cord and burning him with a hot toaster oven rack.

She was sentenced to prison stints on nine charges, including second-degree murder. Each sentence will be served concurrently.

Dobson's grandparents said Friday they still couldn't understand why Dobson was tortured and killed.

"I don't rest, I go to sleep and I wake up and all I can see is the picture that we saw -- Myls' little face at the coroner's office," said Dobson's grandmother, Faye Bennett.

The case spurred changes at the city's child welfare agency.
Two people were injured Saturday afternoon in a crash on Interstate 76, which became the scene of heavy congestion following the accident.

Cars backed up for miles on the southbound side of I-76 in Gloucester City after the crash that occurred shortly before 4 p.m., according to police.

The traffic problems were expected to last "for a while," according to a Camden County emergency communications official.

The extent of the injuries were not known by 4:45 p.m. and it remained unclear what caused the crash.
Philadelphia police shot a man they believe was armed in West Philadelphia early Saturday morning, but did not recover a weapon. The injured man is among four people arrested at the scene. Police are looking for another man who fled. They said he may have run off with the injured man's gun.

Police were already in the area of 56th and Haverford on patrol when they heard multiple gun shots around 4 a.m. near a black 2016 Toyota.

Officers said they found three men inside the car and another standing outside. He began walking away and the two officers ordered him to stop. He ran, police say, and one of the officers chased after him.

The second officer ordered the other three men to get out of the car and raise their hands.

The 25 year-old driver refused to cooperate, police say, keeping his hand concealed in his waistband -- consistent, they say, with concealing a weapon. He took a step toward the officer, who shot the man in his left arm. Police say the officer believed the man was armed.

The officer then ordered all three men on the ground, but then left to help his partner who called for help as he struggled with the man who fled.

With both officers gone, one of the men on the ground took off.

The driver, who was shot by police in the upper arm, was taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital for treatment. He's in stable condition.

One of the officers sustained a minor injury and was treated and released.

Fourteen bullet casings were found by the vehicle confirming the gun shots police heard. The weapon has not been recovered and a search warrant for the car is pending.

After the shooting, police say a woman called, threatening to kill the officers who shot her brother. Investigators figured out quickly that call allegedly came from a woman right there at the scene. She admitted making the call and threats, police say, and was placed in custody for terroristic threats.

Internal affairs is investigating the shooting by the officer. Routinely, that officer will be on administrative duty pending the outcome of the internal affairs preliminary investigation.
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A 17-year-old surrendered to Philadelphia police Saturday morning after being accused of shooting a Good Samaritan trying to break up a robbery in the heart of one of the city's toniest downtown neighborhoods, Rittenhouse Square.

A Good Samaritan was shot trying to break up a robbery in Rittenhouse Square. NBC10s Cydney Long has new information about the incident.

The victim, identified only as a 39-year-old man, was taken to a nearby hospital Tuesday night in critical condition for four bullet wounds to the mid-section, Chief Inspector Scott Small said. He was expected to live, said Small.

A 39-year old man tried to stop a robbery on Tuesday night in Rittenhouse Square, said Philadelphia Police. The search for suspects continued Wednesday morning.

Small said the victim rode his bike up to a robbery in progress. Two gunmen were in the middle of robbing a group of people, he said. [[397540561, C]]

Witnesses to the shooting, which occurred at the park along Walnut Street between 18th and 19th streets, took to social media to say gunshots could be heard from sidewalk cafes lining the park. Video from some passersby showed crowded dinner tables on the warm October night.

Chaos in Rittenhouse Square. Apparent gunshots. I heard about 5 shots. People ran for their lives. @PhillyPolice showed up very quickly.  Greg Berry (@gregmberry) October 19, 2016

On Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Lt. John Stanford said police issued a warrant for the arrest of a 17-year-old. Officials said the teen's parents cooperated in the investigation.

The suspect has not been identified since he is a minor. Police also continued Wednesday to search for a second male who had a gun during the robbery but didn't open fire, said investigators.

The robbery victims all know each other and cooperated with the investigation, said Stanford.
I've had the good fortune of seeing Greg Graffin perform solo at the Casbah and hearing him keynote speak at San Diego Music Thing, but it's been more than a couple of decades since I've seen Bad Religion live, which is why I couldn't be more excited about Ye Scallywag at the Waterfront Park. When the show was announced, the teenager inside me did a couple of backflips, and now the day is here. Be warned, however, that this is an early day festival, and the whole thing will be over by around 7 p.m., so plan accordingly. By nightfall, be ready for more great music, like up-and-coming alt-rockers The Moth and the Flame at Soda Bar or Glass Elf at Bar Pink. Casbah welcomes back Los Angeles' touring version of the very popular Emo Night and Wild Child throw down at the Belly Up. One show of note -- the Niykee Heaton show has been moved from the Observatory to the Irenic (just a couple of blocks away). All tickets will be honored at the new venue. See you in the pit!

Saturday, Oct. 22:

Ye Scallywag feat. NOFX, Bad Religion, Goldfinger, Against Me!, Wakrat @ Waterfront Park

The Moth and the Flame, Young Rising Sons, 888 @ Soda Bar

Lol Tolhurst: A Reading From His Book, "Cured" @ Casbah Matinee (3 p.m., Free With RSVP)

Emo Nite Presented by Emo Night LA @ Casbah

Niykee Heaton @ The Irenic t he Observatory North Park

Glass Elf, JO Passed @ Bar Pink

Wild Child, Dazed and Confused @ Belly Up

Lemaitre, Chet Porter, Coucheron @ Music Box

Booty Bassment With Dimitri & Rob @ Whistle Stop

DJ Claire @ Whistle Stop (5 p.m.)

Gimmick @ Blonde Bar

SABBAT With Robin Roth feat. Lol Tolhurst @ Numbers Night Club

Richard Thompson Quintet @ Dizzy's

Boo Ball @ House of Blues

Strictly Business With DJs Kanye Asada & Gabe Vega @ The Office

Berkley Hart @ Brick 15

Bob Cheevers @ Grassroots Oasis

Jackson Michelson @ Moonshine Beach

The Stalins of Sound, the Nopes, Sumatraban @ Tower Bar

Godspeed McQueen, Wayfarers @ Winston's (5 p.m.)

The Rebirth Brass Band With Euphoria Brass Band @ Winston's

Hungry Skinny, the Bad Vibes @ Ken Club

Kirby's Dream Band, Vector Hold, the Maxies @ Til-Two Club

The Amity Affliction, Being as an Ocean, Hundredth, Trophy Eyes, Deadships @ Soma

The Heart Beat Trail, Duping the Public @ Black Cat Bar

Saint Vitus, the Skull, Witch Mountain, Great Electric Quest @ Brick by Brick

Ryan Hiller, Andrew Barrack, Daniel Woods @ Lestat's

Gregory Page @ Java Joe's

ArtPower Presents: Takuya Kuroda @ The Loft, UCSD

Mumblr, Blind Poet, Goosey Grey, Sea of Trees @ Che Cafe

Nightshadow, Unicorn Death, Monarch, Contortion @ The Merrow

Timothy H*, Southtown Generals, Bossfight @ 710 Beach Club

Live Kennedys @ The Bancroft

Eve Selis @ Encinitas Elks Lodge

Bless Your Heart Burlesque @ Tio Leo's

Detroit Underground @ Humphreys Backstage Live (5 p.m.)

Rising Star @ Humphreys Backstage Live (9 p.m.)

Butts Ta Nuts With Jason Waterfalls, Kulz, Saul Q @ El Dorado

Jami @ Fluxx

Norman @ San Diego Civic Theatre

MAKJ @ Omnia

TWRK @ Bassmnt

Yolanda Be Cool, Bixel Boys @ Bang Bang

Rockstar Saturdays @ Henry's

Rosemary Bystrak is the publicist for the Casbah, the content manager for DoSD, and writes about the San Diego music scene, events and general musings about life in San Diego on San Diego: Dialed In. Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.
Eighteen bags of cocaine and methamphetamine, totaling $437,400, were seized at a vehicle stop on northbound Interstate 5 on Thursday, according to the San Clemente Border Patrol.

When Border Patrol agents tried to stop the suspect at about 6:15 p.m. near the Cristianitos Road exit, the driver refused to pull over and took off. While agents pursued the vehicle, the suspects tossed multiple packages out of their Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Several bundles broke apart on the freeway, bursting with white powder, said Border Patrol agents. As the driver exited the freeway onto the Pacific Coast Highway, they were intercepted by agents.

Border Patrol agents detained two men, age 27 and 21, both inside the vehicle. Multiple lanes of the I-5 were shut down as the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and a local response team worked to remove the potentially hazardous drugs splayed across the freeway.

Thirteen of the bundles held 34.45 pounds of cocaine, and five bundles contained six pounds of crystal methamphetamine, said Border Patrol agents.

All 18 bundles of narcotics recovered from the freeway were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the San Clemente Border Patrol.
Residents of a Point Loma condo building were left homeless Saturday night after a three-alarm condo fire broke out Saturday afternoon, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFD).

The fire started in the cluttered, third level condo of an elderly couple, officials said. The husband, who was home at the time was treated for exhaustion.

It was reported at about 1:40 p.m. on 4444 West Point Loma Boulevard, after the fire was seen billowing ashen smoke from the third level of an apartment, said an SDFD official.

Within 10 minutes, San Diego police were headed to the area to safely redirect traffic around the hazardous zone, according to SDFD.

West point Loma Boulevard was quickly shut down as more than 100 firefighters and investigators filled the street and condo complex.

"This was really hard. Because of that common hallway, it was so hot that crews could not make access down that hallway. They had to open it up from the rooftop and then also do a transitional attack from the balcony from the outside and cool it down before they could make access, Colin Stowell, Asst. Fire Chief of SD Fire, said.

Firefighters helped one person evacuate before attacking the flames.

Up to 60 people were evacuated from 32 condos. A firefighter suffered a minor injury. No one was taken to the hospital.

Although the fire is out, San Diego Gas &Electric was unable to turn the electricity back on leaving the residents unable to go back home.

The Red Cross is helping the residents find temporary shelter.

The estimated damage is $1 million: $750,000 in structural damage and $250,000 for the contents of the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
The San Diego sector of the United States Border Patrol says it has a message for smugglers in Otay Mountain.

Youre no longer going to be making a profit by putting the lives of migrants and agents in danger.

Officials say migrants often meet up with smugglers on a Mexican toll road near Tecate. Theyre told by the smugglers, the U.S. is just on the other side of an unintimidating hillside, but really what awaits them is more than a days worth of San Diegos most deadly terrain.

Sharp drop-offs, jagged rocks and extreme heat are just a few of the elements migrants face.

If someone falls behind in this terrain, you will lose sight of your own people within 10 yards, said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Matthew Dreyer.

He is the commander of the newly launched Task Force Otay, an enforcement effort on Otay Mountain to target cross-border criminal smuggling organizations.

Our goal is to prosecute foot guides and alien smugglers in this terrain, Dreyer said. Its a concentrated effort to put those folks in jail and keep them from smuggling human beings through dangerous mountains."

After patrolling this mountain for more than 20 years, Commander Dreyer says hes fed-up with foot guides profiting by putting human lives  both agents and migrants, in extreme danger.

Its hard to believe that beneath the exquisite scenery, agents encounter some of the darkest sides of human nature.

Dreyer says often the smugglers set-up their customers to be robbed, raped and attacked for money. Then, the smugglers continue dragging the same migrants up the dangerous mountain, for payment, or leave them behind to die.

If an alien crossing breaks an ankle or is too slow to keep up, theyll leave them behind in this remote area, and thats the dangerous part, Dreyer said. Thats who were after is those foot guides and alien smugglers that are smuggling people over this mountain.

Some days, he said, theres not much difference between an apprehension or a rescue, depending on how dehydrated and hurt the migrants are.

Border Patrol says the task force will continue until the smuggling on Otay Mountain stops.
A Federal Law Enforcement Officer attempting to stop a suspect from stealing a bicycle from his backyard was kidnapped in Ocean Beach on Friday morning, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.

The incident began at approximately 7:10 a.m. Friday at the officer's home near Narragansett Avenue and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.

The officer witnessed the suspect from the second floor of his home take a bike from his backyard and place it in the back of a Chevy pick-up truck. The officer then grabbed his badge and confronted the suspect outside his home.

SDPD says there were two suspects inside the truck, identified as Adan Bustos and Arisdelsi Sanches, both 23-years old. Bustos had been the one to steal the bicycle while Sanches waited in the truck.

When the officer approached Bustos and Sanches and identified himself, they drove off. That's when the officer jumped into the bed of the truck.

SDPD said the suspects drove onto the freeway and exited in the downtown area of San Diego, driving more than seven miles before stopping. The officer was able to call police using his cell phone.

Bustos then crashed the truck into a large concrete planter box located near 4th Avenue and K Street in downtown. Police say the officer was able to get out of the truck at this time.

NBC 7 spoke with some San Diegans who said if the officer did that for his own bike, they wonder what he will do to help a citizen in need.

"Pretty crazy and brave of that officer to do that because he'll do that for himself or someone else, if that is his or someone else's bike," Dominic Trip said.

Others said they are more cautious of how they put away their own bicycles.

"Makes me want to make sure my bike is locked up, whether it's here with a lock or in my garage," said Sherry Herbert.

Police say Sanches also got out when the truck stopped and ran away. She was later arrested near 500 K Street.

Bustos drove away, stopped at 6th Avenue and K Street where the truck rolled backward and crashed into a parked vehicle. He then took off on foot and got into a taxi near 6th Avenue and L Street, according to police.

Officers stopped the taxi at 600 Harbor Drive and arrested Bustos.

Police say the Chevy pick-up Bustos and Sanches had been driving was a stolen vehicle. Both suspects were booked into jail on several felony charges.

It's unknown if the officer was injured.

No other information was immediately available.
A Chicano Park Remembrance Fundraiser is raising money Saturday for the funeral expenses of four victims killed when a pickup plunged off the Coronado Bridge.

The event was set from 10:30 a.m. to midnight at the Mesheeka art gallery/ice cream shop on 2113 Logan Avenue #4 in San Diego, according to the organizers' Facebook event.

At 10 a.m. the fundraiser starts with an Ice Cream Social along with a raffle giving out prizes including clothing, tattoos, hats, gift cards and painting. According to the event post, all the money raised will support the funeral costs for Cruz Elias Contreras, age 52, AnnaMarie Contreras, age 50, Andre Christopher Banks, age 49, and Francine Denise Jimenez, age 46.

"I hope this never happens again" - #ChicanoPark shop owner holds fundraiser to help victims killed in DUI crash off #CoronadoBridge #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/OmGSgnG4Ui  Liberty Zabala (@LibertyNBC7SD) October 22, 2016

Various artists and bands will perform beginning at 5 p.m., playing reggae, cumbia, hip hop and more, with a $5 entrance fee at the door, said the event post.

In a GoFundMe page for the Contreras Family Fund, $24,898 donations were made towards a $30,000 goal to support the funeral expenses of Cruz and AnnaMarie Contreras.
President Barack Obama arrived in San Diego Sunday for what may be his last visit as Commander-in-Chief.

Air Force One touched down at MCAS Miramar around 7 p.m. He was greeted by Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, as well as four Marines, including generals.

After shaking hands with people in the crowd the president left for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event. The event will be held at a private address.

Two #SanDiego residents got a special greeting from @POTUS, we'll hear from them on what they said to the #President- #NBC7 @ 11pm. pic.twitter.com/fXVKocoFIS  Ashley Matthews (@ashleyNBC7) October 24, 2016

Monday morning, President Obama will be deliver remarks at the Hillary Victory Fund reception, a private fundraiser at a residence in La Jolla. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi will be attending the event.

With just months left in his term, this visit will likely be the last time President Obama comes to San Diego while in office. Last October, the President visited San Diego to meet with local leaders and members of the military.

President Obama will leave San Diego from MCAS Miramar at approximately 1 p.m. on Monday afternoon.

Traffic in Kearny Mesa, Miramar and La Jolla will likely be impacted during the passing of the President's motorcade in the areas.
The suspect arrested in a home invasion robbery in Vista is also connected to similar crimes across San Diego County, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department (SDSO).

Joe Colin Crowder Jr., 50, forced his way into a home on the 2400 block of Links Way around 5:15 a.m. on Oct. 16, SDSO said. The homeowners confronted Crowder in the kitchen area of the home after hearing someone rummaging through the house. While the homeowners called 911, Crowder took the keys of the couples car and drove off.

A purse, wallet and some electronic items were also stolen, SDSO said.

Crowder was arrested on Monday by the Escondido Police for similar crimes in Carlsbad, Escondido and Valley Center. But at the time, his connection to the Vista robbery was unknown.

The Sheriffs Department released a video of the incident on Friday morning and offered up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Thats when detectives with Escondido police recognized Crowder as the suspect in the video.

Crowder is currently being held at $500,000 bail in the Vista Detention Facility. He will be court on Oct. 28.
A couple who survived the Holocaust has received their "wish of a lifetime" with a monumental visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.

Albert Madienbaum, 90, and Esther Madienbaum, 81, were children when they were separated from their families in France during World War II. They later learned that many of their loved ones died in Nazi concentration camps.

"In Aushwitz, my mother, her grandmother, a lot of my family," Albert said.

For years, the Maidenbaums, who now live in Brooklyn, New York, have dreamed of visiting the Holocaust museum. That dream became reality Friday thanks to Wish of a Lifetime, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to the elderly and shares their stories.

Albert and Esther took a private tour of the museum with their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.

Esther said she recognized a name in one exhibit.

"The priest helped my mother to save me and my sister. We were hidden in a small village," she said.

In the museum, the family passed through a train car like the ones that carried prisoners to the camps, beneath the arch that says "Work Makes You Free" and in the barracks where prisoners lived in crowded quarters, they saw shoes of the children and looked for a familiar face on the wall.

"It reminds me of things that I knew that I want to forget a little bit because emotions run high," Esther said.

"I'm glad I came and I saw all that," Albert said.

Museum staff surprised the couple with documents that show what happened to their family members and a photograph of their cousin Maurice.
In an unusual legal maneuver, Donald Trump's attorneys have asked a federal judge to exclude any statements made by or about the Republican nominee during the presidential campaign from his upcoming civil trial over the now-defunct Trump University.

The legal request, filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego, would apply to Trump's tweets, a video of Trump making sexually predatory comments about women, his tax history, revelations about his private charitable foundation and public criticisms about the judge in the case.

Trump's lead attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said the evidence would be irrelevant to the civil fraud case and may prejudice or inflame a jury, jeopardizing rights to a fair trial. He warned that allowing the jury to consider Trump's own remarks "carries an immediate and irreparable danger of extreme and irremediable prejudice to defendants, confusion of issues and waste of time."

A trial in the nearly 7-year-old class-action lawsuit is scheduled to begin Nov. 28. Petrocelli said prospective jurors will already have had an opportunity to vote in the presidential election by then. "It is in the jury box where they must judge him and this case only on evidence and argument relevant to the issues at hand," he wrote.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a target of Trump's repeated scorn, will consider the request at a hearing two days after the election.

The lawsuit on behalf of former customers alleges that Trump University, which was not accredited as a school, gave seminars and classes across the country that were like infomercials, pressuring people to spend up to $35,000 for mentorships and, in the end, failing on its promise to teach success in real estate. The claims mirror another class-action complaint in San Diego and a lawsuit in New York.

The request by Trump's attorneys applies to statements made during presidential debates and rallies, campaign advertisements, Trump's beauty pageants, casinos and corporate bankruptcies, statements by campaign surrogates and "personal conduct accusations." During the campaign, Trump questioned whether the judge can be fair because of his Mexican heritage.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the School of Law at the University of California, Irvine, said the judge is unlikely to make a blanket ruling on the vast amount of material and will instead consider each statement that the plaintiff wants to use at trial.

"This is unique because I cannot think of another situation in which a political candidate would have wanted to exclude all of his campaign statements from being used at a trial," Chemerinsky said.

Michael Gerhardt, professor of constitutional law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, said it would make more sense to consider each piece of evidence separately as opposed to ruling on all campaign-related matters.

"It's probably unprecedented  both the request and any judicial order that would grant what he's asking," Gerhardt said.
A Boston police officer who had been critically injured in a shootout with a suspect earlier this month has been discharged from the hospital, according to authorities.

Officer Matt Morris was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital and admitted to Spaulding Rehabilitation for continued treatment and care, the department announced Saturday afternoon.

His condition was described as "extremely critical" after being shot on Oct. 12 by suspect Kirk Figueroa after he and other officers responding to a domestic incident at an apartment in East Boston.

Boston Police Officer Richard Cintolo, who had also been shot and was listed in critical condition at one point, was released from the hospital on Wednesday.

Commissioner Evans: Great to see Matt getting better. Thanks to everybody for all the support. Please keep the prayers coming.  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) October 22, 2016

Figueroa was killed by police in the shooting.

In the days after the shooting, Boston police officials commended the work of Cintolo and Morris' fellow officers.

Authorities say that after Figueroa opened fire with a shotgun, hitting both Cintolo and Morris, their fellow officers put themselves in harms way, tending to their wounds while still under fire. One SWAT officer was able to put himself between Figueroa and the wounded officers, shielding them and eventually shooting the suspect.
In shaky, dark cell phone video taken inside an apartment in Webster, Massachusetts, at least three Webster Police officers can be seen fighting with two men.

The officers used their fists and a flashlight in the video shot early Wednesday morning on Slater Street.

Police had been called to the apartment for the second time in two nights for a noise complaint.

I didnt think that a noise complaint would lead to all of this, said Kasey Crombie, who lives in the apartment and recorded the incident on her cellphone.

But when police ran the names of the people inside, they found that one of them, 20-year-old Joshua Crombie, had a warrant out for his arrest stemming from a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

It was just an unpaid fine, I owed them $150 dollars, said Joshua Crombie.

When Crombie wouldnt let them in, they called his mom Michelle at work.

They said for me to open up the door and if I didnt they were going to bash it in, kick it in, they kind of tricked me into doing that, said Michelle Crombie.

Under a fresh and continuous pursuit, they could have chased him in there, said Webster Police Lt. Michael Shaw.

We showed Lt. Shaw the nearly five minute video  first showing a relatively calm situation with Crombie, seen here in cuffs  then showing the officers using force.

The strikes dont look good, I agree, said Lt. Shaw, but I think that they were warranted at this point, if hes trying to hit my officers, my officers are going to defend themselves and try to take him into custody.

Lt. Shaw says what you dont see in this video is what happened before the officers used force, as they asked for 22-year-old Curtis Harts identification.

He went to hand him a wallet and the officer went to take it, he apparently grabbed on his arm, so the officer pushed him to create distance, said Lt. Shaw.

But 22-year-old Corey Derosier says he thought his friend was being attacked.

I simply stood in front of my friend and in front of the officer and said please dont be aggressive, said Derosier.

He got on their back and they ended up on the ground somehow but one officer was on the bottom and Mr. Derosier was on top of him and then another officer came in and he had the flashlight and he was trying to get him off, Lt. Shaw said.

I was hit over the head, I was beaten, I have marks, I was tased for a very long time, Derosier said.

Derosier and Hart were arrested and charged with assault and battery on a police officer.

But their friends believe the officers should be the ones punished.

Honestly I hope they lose their jobs over this, Kasey Crombie said.

Maybe they need to get fired or something, added Joshua Crombie.

I feel what they did was right and I stand by them, Lt. Shaw said.

Lt. Shaw says the incident is under investigation, as is standard with all incidents where there is a use of force.
A Boston city councilor wants to make sure minority-owned businesses get a fair shot if retail marijuana sales become legal in Massachusetts.

Councilor Ayanna Pressley has scheduled a hearing for Monday evening at Boston City Hall to discuss ways of providing equitable access to licensing opportunities and jobs in the commercial marijuana industry.

Question 4 on the November ballot would legalize recreational pot in Massachusetts.

It includes a unique provision that would require marijuana regulators to develop policies aimed to help "communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement."

Pressley says in the 25 U.S. states where recreational or medical marijuana has been legalized so far, less than 1 percent of pot dispensaries or retail stores are owned and operated by people of color.
Corda, a distributed ledger platform developed by a finance industry consortium, will go open source next month when its developers donate the code to the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Project.

The move was reported by Reuters on Thursday and the story subsequently reposted to the websites of Corda backer R3 and the Hyperledger Project.

A distributed ledger, sometimes referred to as a blockchain, is a database shared across a number of servers and that relies on a consensus among those servers to guarantee its integrity.

The best known blockchain is the distributed ledger of all bitcoin transactions, which some have seen as a means to do away with banks. But the underlying technology is also of interest to banks and other financial firms, as it can improve the availability of transaction data, removing reliance on the reliability of a central database. Banks today each maintain their own separate ledgers -- centralized, not distributed -- to account for transactions with other banks.

This separation, according to R3, the company leading the Corda consortium, can introduce risk to the banking system, either from human error or as a result of insufficient liquidity -- because banks can't necessarily trust one another regarding how much cash they have on hand.

The possibilities that such a distributed ledger could open up have led around 70 financial institutions to join the consortium. Members include Barclays, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Danske Bank, ING Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Natixis, Nordea, Scotiabank, UBS, UniCredit, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

What makes the Corda distributed ledger different from the one underlying, say, bitcoin, is that with Corda only those parties with a need to know can see details of a transaction. With bitcoin, who paid whom (or at least their bitcoin addresses), when and how much is all public. Corda also relies on the parties to a transaction to reach a consensus and validate it, whereas with bitcoin these functions are spread across the whole network. Another difference is that Corda will record transactions in real-world currencies, not in its own internal cryptocurrency, as bitcoin does.

The R3-led consortium is not the only one developing a blockchain platform for business. Last year the Linux Foundation announced the creation of its Hyperledger Project, which has the support of a range of finance and IT companies, including the Corda consortium's leader, R3, and member Wells Fargo. Other Hyperledger backers include J.P. Morgan, Swift, IBM, Intel and VMWare.

On Nov. 30, the Corda code will be donated to the Hyperledger Project, Reuters reported Thursday, a move confirmed by a company representative Friday.

That doesn't mean the banks are handing over control of their blockchain to the Linux Foundation: This move is about the code. The banks will be free to carry on building their own shared ledger, and other groups will be able to run the same code to build other distributed databases, perhaps for tracing food products, fish catches, insurance policies or any of the hundreds of other applications for which blockchain technology has been proposed.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked the Reserve Bank of India and banks to submit a report on more than 32 lakh debit cards compromised in Indias largest banking security breach and also their preparedness to deal with cyber crimes.

Have sought a report on the debit card issue. The idea is to contain the damage, said Jaitley. Explaining that the government was keen to allay any fears in the minds of people using credit and debit cards, he said that the inputs will be used to study and ensure such incidents do not happen in the future.

There is no cause for alarm, the integrity of IT system of banks is robust and whatever action is required, the government will take promptly, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary Department of Economic Affairs said.

As many as 641 customers across 19 banks have been duped of Rs 1.3 crore using stolen debit card data, in India, according to the National Payments Corporation of India.

A preliminary input sort of report is already with the government, he said. About 26.5 lakh card on Visa and MasterCard platforms were impacted while six lakh are on RuPay, in a breach that reportedly involved about 85-90 ATMs.

After getting the report... whatever action is requiredwill be taken by the government and it will be done with speed, said Das. Das also pointed out that customers should not panic because these hackings are done through computer and trail can easily be reached. Visa and MasterCard, in separate statements, denied any compromise of their networks, while Hitachi subsidiary Hitachi Payment Services was investigating into the complaints.

All of them, Visa, Master card, Ru Pay and Hitachi are also examining if there was a malware problem. ..is important from the point of view of financial stability as well, said Das.

The government will discuss the report at the Financial Stability and Development Council meeting to review the matter comprehensively. He said, directions will be sent to all the banks, public and private sectors, and some other financial institutions to take action.

Since Wednesday, several banks, including state-owned SBI, have recalled several cards, blocked the ones suspected to have been compromised and asked their customers to change PIN (personal identification number) before use.

Others such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Yes Bank have asked customers to change their ATM PINs as well. HDFC Bank and SBI have also advised its customers to use its own ATMs for carrying out any transaction.

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked the Reserve Bank of India and banks to submit a report on more than 32 lakh debit cards compromised in Indias largest banking security breach and also their preparedness to deal with cyber crimes. Have sought a report on the debit card issue. The idea is to contain the damage, said Jaitley. Explaining that the government was keen to allay any fears in the minds of people using credit and debit cards, he said that the inputs will be used to study and ensure such incidents do not happen in the future. There is no cause for alarm, the integrity of IT system of banks is robust and whatever action is required, the government will take promptly, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary Department of Economic Affairs said. As many as 641 customers across 19 banks have been duped of Rs 1.3 crore using stolen debit card data, in India, according to the National Payments Corporation of India. A preliminary input sort of report is already with the government, he said. About 26.5 lakh card on Visa and MasterCard platforms were impacted while six lakh are on RuPay, in a breach that reportedly involved about 85-90 ATMs. After getting the report... whatever action is requiredwill be taken by the government and it will be done with speed, said Das. Das also pointed out that customers should not panic because these hackings are done through computer and trail can easily be reached. Visa and MasterCard, in separate statements, denied any compromise of their networks, while Hitachi subsidiary Hitachi Payment Services was investigating into the complaints. All of them, Visa, Master card, Ru Pay and Hitachi are also examining if there was a malware problem. ..is important from the point of view of financial stability as well, said Das. The government will discuss the report at the Financial Stability and Development Council meeting to review the matter comprehensively. He said, directions will be sent to all the banks, public and private sectors, and some other financial institutions to take action. Since Wednesday, several banks, including state-owned SBI, have recalled several cards, blocked the ones suspected to have been compromised and asked their customers to change PIN (personal identification number) before use. Others such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Yes Bank have asked customers to change their ATM PINs as well. HDFC Bank and SBI have also advised its customers to use its own ATMs for carrying out any transaction.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the government to have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime that conforms to global standards and principles, to avoid higher tariffs to air passengers.

IATA also added that the tax burden on the aviation sector is already high. The global aviation body said that it has been working closely with the GST Secretariat, to address some issues of concern to airlines, its chief Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement on Friday.

We have called for a zero-rating for international flights when the GST comes into effect next April. This seems unlikely. To limit its damage to the sectors competitiveness, we would at least hope for an abatement in the rate, de Juniac said.

The IATA Director General and CEO, who met top officials of the government and Indian carriers during his two-day visit, said he had shared these and other concerns with the government. Besides GST, the concerns included high tax on aviation fuel charged by states, the service tax on air tickets and exorbitant airport charges.

However, while the passenger experience has improved, the impact for airlines has been far less positive, he said seeking a stronger regulatory framework to ensure a balance between commercial and national interests.

He also urged India to join the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)  a mechanism to facilitate growth sustainably.

NEW DELHI: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the government to have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime that conforms to global standards and principles, to avoid higher tariffs to air passengers. IATA also added that the tax burden on the aviation sector is already high. The global aviation body said that it has been working closely with the GST Secretariat, to address some issues of concern to airlines, its chief Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement on Friday. We have called for a zero-rating for international flights when the GST comes into effect next April. This seems unlikely. To limit its damage to the sectors competitiveness, we would at least hope for an abatement in the rate, de Juniac said. The IATA Director General and CEO, who met top officials of the government and Indian carriers during his two-day visit, said he had shared these and other concerns with the government. Besides GST, the concerns included high tax on aviation fuel charged by states, the service tax on air tickets and exorbitant airport charges. However, while the passenger experience has improved, the impact for airlines has been far less positive, he said seeking a stronger regulatory framework to ensure a balance between commercial and national interests. He also urged India to join the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)  a mechanism to facilitate growth sustainably.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Indias top public sector banks and other government agencies could soon get a crash course from Microsoft in ways to protect customers data attacked by malware, as had happened this week in a security breach affecting more than 30 lakh debit and credit cards in India.

After a successful 12 month pilot project on cyber security, that involved interactions with more than 100 organisations, both government and private, Microsoft on Friday launched its first full scale Cybersecurity Engagement Centre (CSEC) in India, and seventh in the world, at Delhi.

More than 160 million customer records have been compromised over the last few years. It takes over 200 days before a threat is detected. The cost of a single breach is over $3 million, said Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman Microsoft India.

The CSEC in Delhi will function as a satellite to the companys Redmond Digital Crimes Unit (DCU). This unit in addition to enabling and empowering enterprises to manage modern security threats effectively, will fight global malware, reduce digital risk and protect vulnerable populations. It is a good initiative, considering most Indians are not cyber literate, said Sahil Baghla, Cyber security expert and author of several books on the subject.

According to the firm, it will use a combination of big data analytics, cutting edge forensics and legal strategies. It is also exploring areas in preventing child sexual exploitation online and partnering with Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). We will invite government agencies and industry associations to bring their internet protocol addresses and discuss them with our DCU unit, said Pramanik.

It can be a good public private partnership initiative and would help fight cyber security and management issues, Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator under the Prime Ministers Office told Express

Microsoft, based on their discussions with 100 organisations, found a few high incidence cyber security risks that need immediate attention  unmanaged and unregulated IT assets usage, poor knowledge of cyber hygene among users within the organization and inability of the companies to timely monitor, detect and remove cyber threats.

NEW DELHI: Indias top public sector banks and other government agencies could soon get a crash course from Microsoft in ways to protect customers data attacked by malware, as had happened this week in a security breach affecting more than 30 lakh debit and credit cards in India. After a successful 12 month pilot project on cyber security, that involved interactions with more than 100 organisations, both government and private, Microsoft on Friday launched its first full scale Cybersecurity Engagement Centre (CSEC) in India, and seventh in the world, at Delhi. More than 160 million customer records have been compromised over the last few years. It takes over 200 days before a threat is detected. The cost of a single breach is over $3 million, said Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman Microsoft India. The CSEC in Delhi will function as a satellite to the companys Redmond Digital Crimes Unit (DCU). This unit in addition to enabling and empowering enterprises to manage modern security threats effectively, will fight global malware, reduce digital risk and protect vulnerable populations. It is a good initiative, considering most Indians are not cyber literate, said Sahil Baghla, Cyber security expert and author of several books on the subject. According to the firm, it will use a combination of big data analytics, cutting edge forensics and legal strategies. It is also exploring areas in preventing child sexual exploitation online and partnering with Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). We will invite government agencies and industry associations to bring their internet protocol addresses and discuss them with our DCU unit, said Pramanik. It can be a good public private partnership initiative and would help fight cyber security and management issues, Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator under the Prime Ministers Office told Express Microsoft, based on their discussions with 100 organisations, found a few high incidence cyber security risks that need immediate attention  unmanaged and unregulated IT assets usage, poor knowledge of cyber hygene among users within the organization and inability of the companies to timely monitor, detect and remove cyber threats.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Indias third largest IT services player, Wipro, reported a 7.6 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit for the quarter ended September 31, posting a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,070.4 crore against Rs 2,241 crore during the same period last year.

The take away, however, is not the fall in profit, but the firms continued sluggishness in revenue growth.

According to the balance sheet filed by WIpro with the stock exchanges and the companys own statement, its revenue growth has been as muted as TCS on a sequential basis. IT Services Segment Revenue in dollar terms was $1,916.3 million, a sequential decrease of 0.8% and a year-on-year increase of 4.6%.

Wipro also gave a guarded revenue guidance for the next quarter, stating that it expects revenue from our (Wipros) IT Services business to be in the range of $ 1,916 million to $ 1,955 million.  a revenue guidance of 0 - 1 per cent. IT Services Segment revenue in Non-GAAP constant currency dollar terms too were unimpressive, growing mildly by 0.9% sequentially and 7.2% y-o-y.

The result comes in the wake of other IT heavy weights  TCS and Infosys, making their own contributions to the sectors misery. TCS sequential revenue growth was a paltry 1 per cent, while Infosys cut revenue forecasts for FY17 for the second time in three months.

We delivered revenues in constant currency at the top end of our guidance range, said Abidali Z Neemuchwala, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board, adding, I am very excited about Wipros acquisition of Appirio, a leader in cloud applications especially across Salesforce and Workday implementation services. This acquisition will establish Wipros dominance in cloud application services and further strengthen Wipros brand as a Digital Partner of choice.

We maintained margins in Q2 despite the impact of salary increase for an incremental two months due to strong operational improvements in automation-led productivity, offshoring and utilization. pointed out Jatin Dalal, CFO. As we look forward, the demand environment is mixed in a seasonally weak quarter affected by furloughs and lower number of working days. According to the company, total income from operations stood at Rs 13,896.8 crore, a 10.5 per cent jump from Rs 12,566.8 crore last year.

In rupee terms, IT Services Segment Revenue was Rs 13,140 crore ($2.0 billion), up 9 per cent, y-o-y, while segment profits stood at Rs 2,340 crore ($352 million).

CHENNAI: Indias third largest IT services player, Wipro, reported a 7.6 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit for the quarter ended September 31, posting a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,070.4 crore against Rs 2,241 crore during the same period last year. The take away, however, is not the fall in profit, but the firms continued sluggishness in revenue growth. According to the balance sheet filed by WIpro with the stock exchanges and the companys own statement, its revenue growth has been as muted as TCS on a sequential basis. IT Services Segment Revenue in dollar terms was $1,916.3 million, a sequential decrease of 0.8% and a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. Wipro also gave a guarded revenue guidance for the next quarter, stating that it expects revenue from our (Wipros) IT Services business to be in the range of $ 1,916 million to $ 1,955 million.  a revenue guidance of 0 - 1 per cent. IT Services Segment revenue in Non-GAAP constant currency dollar terms too were unimpressive, growing mildly by 0.9% sequentially and 7.2% y-o-y. The result comes in the wake of other IT heavy weights  TCS and Infosys, making their own contributions to the sectors misery. TCS sequential revenue growth was a paltry 1 per cent, while Infosys cut revenue forecasts for FY17 for the second time in three months. We delivered revenues in constant currency at the top end of our guidance range, said Abidali Z Neemuchwala, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board, adding, I am very excited about Wipros acquisition of Appirio, a leader in cloud applications especially across Salesforce and Workday implementation services. This acquisition will establish Wipros dominance in cloud application services and further strengthen Wipros brand as a Digital Partner of choice. We maintained margins in Q2 despite the impact of salary increase for an incremental two months due to strong operational improvements in automation-led productivity, offshoring and utilization. pointed out Jatin Dalal, CFO. As we look forward, the demand environment is mixed in a seasonally weak quarter affected by furloughs and lower number of working days. According to the company, total income from operations stood at Rs 13,896.8 crore, a 10.5 per cent jump from Rs 12,566.8 crore last year. In rupee terms, IT Services Segment Revenue was Rs 13,140 crore ($2.0 billion), up 9 per cent, y-o-y, while segment profits stood at Rs 2,340 crore ($352 million).
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: This Diwali, supporters of the Free Tibet Movement are asking Bengalureans to show support and boycott anything made in China.

Supporting the Tibetans means supporting the Indian-ness of India, says T S Chandrashekar, director of Korea Trade Center. He is an active supporter of Free Tibet movement.

The Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association Bangalore is keen that the boycott initiative starts from the IT hub of India. Because then it would be more impactful, according to Chandrashekar.

The association is hoping to spread awareness in at least 10 colleges in the city about how the Indian economy will run dry from the flood of Chinese goods. So far the association has covered St Josephs Evening College, VET College, Sarvagna College and CMR College.

Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association in Bangalore was established 25 years ago to help 40,000 Tibetans living in the state in five different settlements. Karnataka was one of the first states to lend a helping hand to the refugees who came to India after a 1959 Tibetan Uprising.

In the 60s and 70s, Tibetans had boycotted Chinese goods by burning them. But that was simply a politically driven move, says Dhondup, administrator of Tibetan Youth Hostel Bangalore. This time, they are trying to save an economy too. Day by day, it is getting harder to give up Chinese goods and I dont think there would be any impact if only Tibetans boycott them. The support from India means that there is something wrong with Chinese goods... beyond politics. Edibles, especially, are very tasty but all ingredients are named in Chinese. So a person eating it will have no idea what they are eating.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment Chinas proportion of global exports rose to 13.8 per cent in 2015 from 12.3 percent in 2014. China is trying to capture the markets of small Asian and South East nations. There will be a great threat to the Indian Market, said Dr Ramanjaneyulu, professor of Economics at Bangalore University.

Small-scale manufacturing units and medium scale manufacturing units are the backbone of any country. In India this is being eaten up by the Chinese products, says Chandrashekar.

Niranjan Umapathy, Co-ordinator of Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society, was in Sikkim last year. He observed that around 150 buses were entering India through Nathula Pass with various kinds of goods and, at the same time, hardly 10 buses were leaving to China from India. I witnessed how much India is depending on Chinese goods, he says. Boycotting Chinese products will not be easy but it is not impossible, says Niranjan. We are drawn to them because they are cheaper, but what about the long-term impact?... We should not lose sight of the big-picture. Chandrashekar says that Chinese goods are poor in quality. They pay no heed to quality or international market norms such as ISI, he says.

BENGALURU: This Diwali, supporters of the Free Tibet Movement are asking Bengalureans to show support and boycott anything made in China. Supporting the Tibetans means supporting the Indian-ness of India, says T S Chandrashekar, director of Korea Trade Center. He is an active supporter of Free Tibet movement. The Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association Bangalore is keen that the boycott initiative starts from the IT hub of India. Because then it would be more impactful, according to Chandrashekar. The association is hoping to spread awareness in at least 10 colleges in the city about how the Indian economy will run dry from the flood of Chinese goods. So far the association has covered St Josephs Evening College, VET College, Sarvagna College and CMR College. Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association in Bangalore was established 25 years ago to help 40,000 Tibetans living in the state in five different settlements. Karnataka was one of the first states to lend a helping hand to the refugees who came to India after a 1959 Tibetan Uprising. In the 60s and 70s, Tibetans had boycotted Chinese goods by burning them. But that was simply a politically driven move, says Dhondup, administrator of Tibetan Youth Hostel Bangalore. This time, they are trying to save an economy too. Day by day, it is getting harder to give up Chinese goods and I dont think there would be any impact if only Tibetans boycott them. The support from India means that there is something wrong with Chinese goods... beyond politics. Edibles, especially, are very tasty but all ingredients are named in Chinese. So a person eating it will have no idea what they are eating. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment Chinas proportion of global exports rose to 13.8 per cent in 2015 from 12.3 percent in 2014. China is trying to capture the markets of small Asian and South East nations. There will be a great threat to the Indian Market, said Dr Ramanjaneyulu, professor of Economics at Bangalore University. Small-scale manufacturing units and medium scale manufacturing units are the backbone of any country. In India this is being eaten up by the Chinese products, says Chandrashekar. Niranjan Umapathy, Co-ordinator of Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society, was in Sikkim last year. He observed that around 150 buses were entering India through Nathula Pass with various kinds of goods and, at the same time, hardly 10 buses were leaving to China from India. I witnessed how much India is depending on Chinese goods, he says. Boycotting Chinese products will not be easy but it is not impossible, says Niranjan. We are drawn to them because they are cheaper, but what about the long-term impact?... We should not lose sight of the big-picture. Chandrashekar says that Chinese goods are poor in quality. They pay no heed to quality or international market norms such as ISI, he says.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The BBMP authorities cleared a road that was blocked by Classic Orchards, a gated community, at Gottigere near Bannerghatta Road, here on Friday.

An excavator clearing the road at Gottigere in Bengaluru on Friday | KPN



According to a senior BBMP official, the builder had closed a 1.5 km stretch of the 60-feet-wide road which has Classic Orchards housing units on either side. With the community closing the gates at both ends, people had to use alternative routes, which would increase the traffic burden on Bannerghatta Road. They would not even allow ambulances to pass through in an emergency. The community association people are quite influential. Many IAS, IPS officers are residents of the gated community, the official said. Since 2014, there was constant objection from the residents. The matter went to court, which recently passed an order favouring BBMP.

BENGALURU: The BBMP authorities cleared a road that was blocked by Classic Orchards, a gated community, at Gottigere near Bannerghatta Road, here on Friday. An excavator clearing the road at Gottigere in Bengaluru on Friday | KPN According to a senior BBMP official, the builder had closed a 1.5 km stretch of the 60-feet-wide road which has Classic Orchards housing units on either side. With the community closing the gates at both ends, people had to use alternative routes, which would increase the traffic burden on Bannerghatta Road. They would not even allow ambulances to pass through in an emergency. The community association people are quite influential. Many IAS, IPS officers are residents of the gated community, the official said. Since 2014, there was constant objection from the residents. The matter went to court, which recently passed an order favouring BBMP.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has arrested 10 men for allegedly extorting money from businessmen in the name of Enforcement Directorate. From preparing fake summons to posting them and then striking a deal, each arrested member had a specific role in the alleged syndicate, claimed the police.

Alex Joseph, the alleged kingpin of the network, is also accused of importing 500 luxury cars from other countries by evading import duty of Rs.200 crores, between the years 1990 and 2013, informed a police official.

The matter came to police's knowledge when an assistant director of ED approached the police with a complaint that the agency's name had been used to extort money from two Kolkata based businessmen by sending a fake summon (purported to be that of ED) to both by using the complainant's name and stamp and attempted to extort money from them.

These two businessmen of Kolkata Sanjay Surekha and Mahavir Aggarwal had received summon from ED, Delhi to join the investigation regarding complaints of money laundering of crores of rupees and violation of PMLA by their companies. When the two businessmen approached the office of ED, Delhi, they were shocked to know that no such summon were ever issued, said the officer.

Tracing the copies of the summons and the addresses from where they were posted, Special Cell sleuths found that members of this syndicate were scattered all across the country in Kolkata, Mumbai, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, UP etc.

Two accused persons namely Kalyan Shukla and Gaurav Pradhan were nabbed from Kolkata by a team led by SI Jeetendra Tiwari. Both these persons had tried to extort 5 crore rupees from Sanjay Surekha. They assured him (Sanjay Surekha) that they would get settled the matter in ED. Both of them met Sanjay Surekha in ITC Hotel, Kolkata to negotiate the deal. But Sanjay Surekha became suspicious and reported the matter to ED, said the officer.

Modus Operandi

On the modus operandi, the officer said that the conspiracy to extort money from businessmen was by putting them fear of implicating in cases of money laundering in ED. After sending the summons Then they used to send their associates to mediate and liaison with the businessmen to negotiate with them for money to close the case, said the officer.

These fake summons were prepared by one Mohd. Tariq prepared fake blank summons of ED from his computer in cyber cafe in Mewat and also procured fake seals/ stamps of ED.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has arrested 10 men for allegedly extorting money from businessmen in the name of Enforcement Directorate. From preparing fake summons to posting them and then striking a deal, each arrested member had a specific role in the alleged syndicate, claimed the police. Alex Joseph, the alleged kingpin of the network, is also accused of importing 500 luxury cars from other countries by evading import duty of Rs.200 crores, between the years 1990 and 2013, informed a police official. The matter came to police's knowledge when an assistant director of ED approached the police with a complaint that the agency's name had been used to extort money from two Kolkata based businessmen by sending a fake summon (purported to be that of ED) to both by using the complainant's name and stamp and attempted to extort money from them. These two businessmen of Kolkata Sanjay Surekha and Mahavir Aggarwal had received summon from ED, Delhi to join the investigation regarding complaints of money laundering of crores of rupees and violation of PMLA by their companies. When the two businessmen approached the office of ED, Delhi, they were shocked to know that no such summon were ever issued, said the officer. Tracing the copies of the summons and the addresses from where they were posted, Special Cell sleuths found that members of this syndicate were scattered all across the country in Kolkata, Mumbai, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, UP etc. Two accused persons namely Kalyan Shukla and Gaurav Pradhan were nabbed from Kolkata by a team led by SI Jeetendra Tiwari. Both these persons had tried to extort 5 crore rupees from Sanjay Surekha. They assured him (Sanjay Surekha) that they would get settled the matter in ED. Both of them met Sanjay Surekha in ITC Hotel, Kolkata to negotiate the deal. But Sanjay Surekha became suspicious and reported the matter to ED, said the officer. Modus Operandi On the modus operandi, the officer said that the conspiracy to extort money from businessmen was by putting them fear of implicating in cases of money laundering in ED. After sending the summons Then they used to send their associates to mediate and liaison with the businessmen to negotiate with them for money to close the case, said the officer. These fake summons were prepared by one Mohd. Tariq prepared fake blank summons of ED from his computer in cyber cafe in Mewat and also procured fake seals/ stamps of ED.
By IANS

MUMBAI: In a breather for filmmaker Karan Johar, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday allowed the release of his forthcoming film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" -- but said all producers who employed Pakistani artists must pay Rs 5 crore each into the Indian Army's welfare fund as an atonement.



The decision followed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' direct intervention in the matter -- a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Mumbai, and two days after he met representatives of Bollywood.



However, MNS President Raj Thackeray said henceforth, all Pakistani artistes -- actors, singers, among others -- shall be permanently banned from Bollywood.



"Why should Pakistani actors be given the red carpet welcome when our soldiers are being killed on the borders? Was the Uri attack the first one," an aggressive Thackeray demanded.



Fadnavis convened a meeting on Saturday which was attended by Thackeray, Karan Johar and Film and Television Producers Guild of India's President Mukesh Bhatt, among others at his official residence, Varsha, to resolve the imbroglio.



MNS, however, imposed certain conditions to release the film, including the producers making a handsome contribution to the army welfare fund, and slides paying tributes to the brave Indian soldiers before the start of the film in theatres -- to which both Bhatt and Johar readily agreed.



The MNS has been agitating for the past fortnight against the film on grounds that it has Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan, and had vowed not to permit its scheduled release on October 28.



The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in the lead.



"We have always raised our voice against Pakistani actors, cricketers coming and working hereA This is our victory," Thackeray asserted, virtually pulling the rug from under his rival, cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.



Interestingly, even the Shiv Sena has been agitating against Pakistani artistes, writers, and cricketers since several decades and is currently a coalition partner with Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and in the NDA at the Centre.



Raj Thackeray demanded that each producer employing Pakistani artistes must contribute Rs five crore to the army welfare funds as Aatonement' (Prayashchit) for their actions.



Asking all producers to ensure they (Pakistani artistes) "don't get entry to Bollywood", Thackeray said the producers must submit a written undertaking to MNS that they would not employ any Pakistani actors, singers, technicians, among others.



"Producers will discuss the Aatonement' amount to be given with Fadnavis and inform us, but from today (Saturday) no more Pakistani artistes shall be hired. We will not tolerate any excuses on this," Thackeray declared.

MUMBAI: In a breather for filmmaker Karan Johar, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday allowed the release of his forthcoming film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" -- but said all producers who employed Pakistani artists must pay Rs 5 crore each into the Indian Army's welfare fund as an atonement. The decision followed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' direct intervention in the matter -- a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Mumbai, and two days after he met representatives of Bollywood. However, MNS President Raj Thackeray said henceforth, all Pakistani artistes -- actors, singers, among others -- shall be permanently banned from Bollywood. "Why should Pakistani actors be given the red carpet welcome when our soldiers are being killed on the borders? Was the Uri attack the first one," an aggressive Thackeray demanded. Fadnavis convened a meeting on Saturday which was attended by Thackeray, Karan Johar and Film and Television Producers Guild of India's President Mukesh Bhatt, among others at his official residence, Varsha, to resolve the imbroglio. MNS, however, imposed certain conditions to release the film, including the producers making a handsome contribution to the army welfare fund, and slides paying tributes to the brave Indian soldiers before the start of the film in theatres -- to which both Bhatt and Johar readily agreed. The MNS has been agitating for the past fortnight against the film on grounds that it has Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan, and had vowed not to permit its scheduled release on October 28. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in the lead. "We have always raised our voice against Pakistani actors, cricketers coming and working hereA This is our victory," Thackeray asserted, virtually pulling the rug from under his rival, cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. Interestingly, even the Shiv Sena has been agitating against Pakistani artistes, writers, and cricketers since several decades and is currently a coalition partner with Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and in the NDA at the Centre. Raj Thackeray demanded that each producer employing Pakistani artistes must contribute Rs five crore to the army welfare funds as Aatonement' (Prayashchit) for their actions. Asking all producers to ensure they (Pakistani artistes) "don't get entry to Bollywood", Thackeray said the producers must submit a written undertaking to MNS that they would not employ any Pakistani actors, singers, technicians, among others. "Producers will discuss the Aatonement' amount to be given with Fadnavis and inform us, but from today (Saturday) no more Pakistani artistes shall be hired. We will not tolerate any excuses on this," Thackeray declared.
Shama Bhagat By

Express News Service

His brooding deep-set eyes, the guarded look and lopsided smile do not give away where his thoughts are lingering, but Ajay Devgn has always been a man of few words. The only time he opens up is when his films are up for release. He seems more forthcoming with his second directorial venture Shivaay, which hankers around his favourite topicactionbut Ajay corrects us: More than an action drama, its an emotional drama and a father-daughter story, but yes the treatment of the film is different.



The trailer of Shivaay, however, does not reveal much. All that one can glean from it is the fast-paced action as Ajay bashes up men in the snowy Alps of Bulgaria, narrating shlokas describing Lord Shiva. We have done that with a purpose. If you start connecting with the promos and songs, you will realise what the story is. If you come to know the story, what purpose will the film serve? The USP of the film is the VFX. I had done the title song for my movie Raju Chacha when VFX had not come to India. There was only one machine and people here didnt know how to use it. I did the special effects myself. Our team is fantastic and now they are doing all good films, they are working on some portions of Bahubali 2, says Ajay.



While the actor has been majorly known for action-oriented films, he insists that Shivaay is a film about relationships. I like to make films which I feel from the heart. Did you watch Die Hard? For everyone, it was an action film but I thought it was a family drama, as he was trying to save his wife and her friends. It touched an emotional cord. My story is simple and emotional too and has a lot of action.



Although the film is titled Shivaay, Ajay says it is in no way connected to mythology. The character of Shivaay is a modern take on Lord Shiva. Among all Gods, He had more of a human connect. He smoked a chillum, consumed intoxicating substances, and had tattoos on his body. He was known for his outbursts and yet was innocent. He was the destroyer of evil.



For someone who has grown up on action, doing adrenaline pumping stunts in the Alps was fun, says the actor. It was fun because we were doing a great job, but it was difficult as we were doing stunts in minus 20 degrees. We could not stand there for more than 10 minutes.



We quiz him about the current cultural ban on Pakistani artistes and Ajay says, I am an admirer of Pakistani artistes and have worked with them. I believe that there are no boundaries,

and they are not terrorists.

Ajay Devgn and Sayesha Saigal in Shivaay



At the moment, however, our jawans are laying down their lives for us, and I will definitely support them.

Shivaay stars Sayesha Saigal in the lead. She is the daughter of actors Sumeet Saigal and Shaheen Banu, and the grandniece of actors Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar. But Ajay is quick to reiterate that he did not sign her because of her lineage. I know a lot of actors who are star sons, but that does not mean they are talented. We wanted a new girl and she was raw, he says, adding, Kajol was never considered for the role. Kajol is taking care of my parents. She is a big support in my life. She takes care of the house and children when I am busy working. Because of her I could completely focus on a difficult film like Shivaay.



Ajay says he is very proud of the younger lot of actors in the industry. They are so good and loyal to us. When we came into the industry, we didnt take any interest. We did films based on our relationships with the producer and directors. We were not sure if the film will be released or not. It was a wrong professional move but emotionally we were right. The youngsters have a lot of potential, Ranveer, Ranbir, Alia...

They are intelligent, focused and career-oriented. But theres a lot of cut-throat competition. We have been here for 25 years so we have made an emotional connect with our fans. The new generation is not like that. If they like a film, they will watch it or else they wont. They are intelligent, educated and sensible. Our fans will come because they are loyal to us, he says.

His brooding deep-set eyes, the guarded look and lopsided smile do not give away where his thoughts are lingering, but Ajay Devgn has always been a man of few words. The only time he opens up is when his films are up for release. He seems more forthcoming with his second directorial venture Shivaay, which hankers around his favourite topicactionbut Ajay corrects us: More than an action drama, its an emotional drama and a father-daughter story, but yes the treatment of the film is different. The trailer of Shivaay, however, does not reveal much. All that one can glean from it is the fast-paced action as Ajay bashes up men in the snowy Alps of Bulgaria, narrating shlokas describing Lord Shiva. We have done that with a purpose. If you start connecting with the promos and songs, you will realise what the story is. If you come to know the story, what purpose will the film serve? The USP of the film is the VFX. I had done the title song for my movie Raju Chacha when VFX had not come to India. There was only one machine and people here didnt know how to use it. I did the special effects myself. Our team is fantastic and now they are doing all good films, they are working on some portions of Bahubali 2, says Ajay. While the actor has been majorly known for action-oriented films, he insists that Shivaay is a film about relationships. I like to make films which I feel from the heart. Did you watch Die Hard? For everyone, it was an action film but I thought it was a family drama, as he was trying to save his wife and her friends. It touched an emotional cord. My story is simple and emotional too and has a lot of action. Although the film is titled Shivaay, Ajay says it is in no way connected to mythology. The character of Shivaay is a modern take on Lord Shiva. Among all Gods, He had more of a human connect. He smoked a chillum, consumed intoxicating substances, and had tattoos on his body. He was known for his outbursts and yet was innocent. He was the destroyer of evil. For someone who has grown up on action, doing adrenaline pumping stunts in the Alps was fun, says the actor. It was fun because we were doing a great job, but it was difficult as we were doing stunts in minus 20 degrees. We could not stand there for more than 10 minutes. We quiz him about the current cultural ban on Pakistani artistes and Ajay says, I am an admirer of Pakistani artistes and have worked with them. I believe that there are no boundaries, and they are not terrorists. Ajay Devgn and Sayesha Saigal in Shivaay At the moment, however, our jawans are laying down their lives for us, and I will definitely support them. Shivaay stars Sayesha Saigal in the lead. She is the daughter of actors Sumeet Saigal and Shaheen Banu, and the grandniece of actors Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar. But Ajay is quick to reiterate that he did not sign her because of her lineage. I know a lot of actors who are star sons, but that does not mean they are talented. We wanted a new girl and she was raw, he says, adding, Kajol was never considered for the role. Kajol is taking care of my parents. She is a big support in my life. She takes care of the house and children when I am busy working. Because of her I could completely focus on a difficult film like Shivaay. Ajay says he is very proud of the younger lot of actors in the industry. They are so good and loyal to us. When we came into the industry, we didnt take any interest. We did films based on our relationships with the producer and directors. We were not sure if the film will be released or not. It was a wrong professional move but emotionally we were right. The youngsters have a lot of potential, Ranveer, Ranbir, Alia... They are intelligent, focused and career-oriented. But theres a lot of cut-throat competition. We have been here for 25 years so we have made an emotional connect with our fans. The new generation is not like that. If they like a film, they will watch it or else they wont. They are intelligent, educated and sensible. Our fans will come because they are loyal to us, he says.
Naila Inayat By

Fallout of Indias surgical strikes, appointment of the new army chief and challenge from a resurgent opposition place new trials in the path of Pakistans delicate democracy

At present we are only demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif), and after it you would lose the government. With these words, Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, announced November 2 as the new date of his latest political shenanigan called Occupy Islamabad dharna.

Seeking to cash in on the Panama Papers controversy regarding off-shore companies registered in the name of Sharifs children, Imrans proposed dharna coincides with another similar protest planned by Difa-e-Pakistan Council at the end of this month. Difa-e-Pakistan is a coalition of 40 religious and political parties, which include leaders of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ), etc.

Today the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are searching for their elected leader. They are searching for those who promised them a Naya Pakistan, but they are only found on containers,Nawaz said while

addressing an election convention of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Islamabad.

Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif



Attacking the PTI, the PM said, Had you focused on your province, people would be praising you, but the situation now is such that you need months of effort to organise a gathering and to

get people to attend it. PTI will be washed of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 2018 and PML-N will rule the province after the next general election. Citizens will patronise those who they believe will work for the development of Pakistan.



Set to appoint his fifth Army chiefa feat no other Pakistani politician has doneNawaz finds himself cornered again. Coming close on the heels of putting a travel ban on Pakistani journalist Cyril Almeida, Nawazs PML-N government came out as the chief villain, and his cup of woes seems to be overflowing.



Nawazs rise-exile-rise and his dilemma is actually the dilemma of Pakistans politics. History is trying to repeat itselfuniformity that never ceases to amazewith Imran trying to do to Nawaz what the PM and assassinated PM Benazir Bhutto did all through the 80 and 90s. Only the puppet changes, the puppeteer remains the same.

Since its birth in 1947, Pakistans tryst with democracy has been a story of game of puppets, with control resting in the hands of military leaders.

Even Pakistans most popular leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was a trusted ally and advisor of Field Marshal Ayub Khan during his military rule. Bhutto was the public face of Field Marshal Ayub Khans regime throughout the 1965 conflict, only to ditch it later and walk away without sharing any blame. When he later founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), one of its 10 founding documents was on the Kashmir issue, describes Mohammad Taqi, a Pakistani-American columnist.



Taqi adds, The fact is that (Zulfiqar Ali) Bhutto was perhaps the most jingoistic civilian leader that Pakistan has ever had; yet he could not save him from the armys wrath and Zulfiqar was later hanged after a sham trial commissioned by his hand-picked army chief, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.



Charting Nawazs political career is important to understand Pakistani politics in greater detail. He has been a regular with controversies ever since he started his political career with Tehreek-e-Istaqlal of Air Marshal Asghar Khan during the 70s, when Zulfiqar was prime minister. Nawazs rise in politics and how he became a pivot of Pakistan politics in the last 36 years is representative of the countrys politics and explains the shallow nature of its democracy. While four military interventions havent helped the cause either, the fact remains that every politician who has made his mark has come through the armys nursery.



Nawazs political career got a shot in the arm after he was handpicked by Ghulam Jilani Khan, then Punjab governor and ex-Director General (DG) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to serve as Punjabs Finance Minister in 1980. It didnt take much for Nawaz to become the blue-eyed boy of General Zia-ul-Haq, who appointed him as a member of the powerful Punjab Advisory Board.

Nawaz Sharifs rise-exile-rise and his dilemma is actually the dilemma of Pakistans politics



Nawazs dealing with military leadership continued to bear him fruits as he was appointed chief minister of Punjab. Later, he combined his efforts with Hamid Gul, former DG of ISI, and played an important role in forming an alliance of nine conservative parties called Islamic Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) to take on Benazirs PPP. IJI successfully unseated PPP in 1990, and Nawaz became Pakistans PM for the first time.

Much through the two decades beginning with the 80s, Nawaz sold his soul to the devil, till Kargil happened and he was thrown out along with his two-third majority mandate. After 10 years of exile, he returned with a bang in his new image of an anti-establishment reformer. However, he couldnt keep up with his own promises made at the time of his election campaign.

Despite being re-elected as president of the ruling PML-N, his perception of being a prime minister is that of a man who is kept out of the loop by the powers that be. He is seen as a man who is unable to rein in terrorists, including those designated by the US, and someone who cannot handle the trade, let alone the composite dialogue with India or Afghanistan.



Nawaz Sharif is today a lame duck Prime Minister, incapable of independent decision-making, not just

on issues like terrorism, infiltration and J&K, but even on issues like trade, energy, connectivity and economic cooperation, says G Parthasarathy, High Commissioner of India to Pakistan from 1998 to 2000.



Nawaz has a history of doomed relationships with his army chiefs. When first elected to office in 1990, he was soon at loggerheads with then army chief General Asif Nawaz, who later died. His successor, General Waheed Kakar, discharged Nawaz government on charges of corruption in 1993.



In his second term, Nawaz was was seen having troubles with then Army chief General Jehangir Karamat, who quit. General Pervez Musharraf succeeded Karamat, and after the Kargil conflict and international isolation that followed, overthrew Nawaz and exiled him to Saudi Arabia for 10 years.



In February this year, Nawaz said in a rally in Muzzafarabad, (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee told me that he was stabbed in the back because of Pakistans misadventure in Kargil, especially during the process of Lahore Declaration. Vajpayee was right. He was certainly backstabbed.



Myra MacDonald, a South Asia specialist and writer of the upcoming book, Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War, says, Ever since his first premiership, Nawaz Sharif has never been allowed the space to make progress in talks with India. When he greeted Prime Minister Vajpayee in Lahore in 1999, the army was already working on its intrusion across the LoC in Kargil. When he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lahore in December 2015, the wheels were already turning for the Jaish attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Indian Punjab.



Says Parthasarathy, After becoming army chief, General Raheel Sharif has seriously undermined Nawaz Sharifs image, credibility and power, both in domestic affairs and in foreign and security policies. He started by sending a word that the army would not tolerate any arrest, or detention, of its former chief General Pervez Musharraf. This was followed by clear messages to the PM that he should not seek closer trade relations with India or meet Pakistans desperate energy needs by getting electricity from India. Raheel Sharif deals with the Afghan President and others, as though he is a parallel head of government.



Adds Taqi: The Uri attack came in the ninth year of uninterrupted democracy in Pakistan, and yet the thrice-elected prime minister was not able to utter a word about the shenanigans of his generals. This begs the question of whether the world has a credible civilian partner in Pakistan? Modi and Ghani seem to have concluded that the answer is no.



MacDonald explains that in Pakistan, to all intents and purposes, the army is in charge of foreign and security policy. Because of its outsize influence in the economy and its role in preserving the ideology of Pakistan, it is also the political player with the biggest clout. I dont see any reason why it should feel compelled to oust Nawaz Sharif in a coup and risk the opprobrium of the international community, particularly the United States.

She reiterates that there will probably be a fair amount of noise until the question of General Raheels successor, or his extension, is settled. Extensions for the army chief go down badly within the army as well, so it is normal at a time like this to see a lot of back-biting surfacing, and it is not always easy to know where it is coming from. I suspect, though it is always hard to know for sure, that what is happening at the moment is just noise that will settle down in a month or so. In any case, none of this will change Pakistans overall strategic direction, adds MacDonald.



On the future of the civilian government or leadership, after all these years of the civilian government trying to find a way forward with India and failing, there is a need to look at the problem differently. There isnt much depth in civilian thinking about Pakistans strategic culture. Civilian politicians say they want peace, but rarely engage in really serious critical thinking about Kashmir, or India or Afghanistan.

You often see a fair amount of complicity with the militarys worldview. Somehow they are going to have to change that if they want to seriously challenge the power of the military. Perhaps even more importantly, they need to chip away at the ideological stranglehold of the deep state, which ensures the survival of the security establishments worldview regardless of who is the army chief, says MacDonald.

For Nawaz, the going is as tough as it can get.

Timeline: Highs and lows of Nawaz Sharif''s career

1996

Leads Muslim League to a super majority in general elections. Amends constitution to restrict Presidents powers to dismiss governments.

1998

Pakistan conducts first nuclear tests. Sharif replaces Army chief General Jehangir Karamat with General Pervez Musharraf.

1999

Gen Musharraf exiles Sharif, who tried to relieve him of his command while he was in a flight back from Sri Lanka. Sharif lives in Saudi Arabia for 10 years.

2008

Returns to Pakistan and contests elections, forming a provincial government in Punjab under his brother Shehbaz, which remains in office until 2013. Successfully calls for Gen Musharrafs impeachment and reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Wins elections and becomes prime minister for the third time. Brings macroeconomic stability with loans from IMF, signs multi-billion investment deals to construct CPEC and removes power shortages. Meets US President Barack Obama in Washington in October.

2014

Sharif is invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his swearing-in ceremony. Meets Modi at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

2014

Meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in May amid tensions between the two neighbours following the kidnapping in February 2014 of five Iranian soldiers by extremists who took them across the border into Pakistan.

2015

Launches military offensive to remove extremist groups in northwestern Pakistan, lifts the moratorium on death penalty. Modi flies to Pakistan to meet Sharif in December.

2016

Indian Army conducts surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Uri terror attack, drawing global attention to Pakistan-trained terrorists in J&K. The Panama Papers claim Sharif and his family hold millions of dollars worth of property and companies in the UK and around the world.

CIVILIAN Vs MILITARY

With three successful coups, Pakistan has been under military rule for decades: from 1958 to 1971, 1977 to 1988, and 1999 to 2008

1958 On October 7, Pakistans first President, Major General Iskander Mirza, dismisses the Constituent Assembly and the government of Feroz Khan Noon. Appoints army chief General Ayub Khan as chief martial law administrator. Thirteen days later, Mirza is deposed by Khan, who appoints himself president. Khan combines the offices of president and PM, becoming head of state and the government. Creates a Cabinet of technocrats, diplomats and military officers, which include Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

1977 Called Operation Fair Play, the coup detat carried out at midnight on July 4 is led by army chief General Zia-ul-Haq against the government of PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Gen Zia orders the arrest of Bhutto, his ministers and other leaders of both the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan National Alliance. In his national address, Gen Zia announces that the National Assembly and all provincial Assemblies are dissolved, and that the Constitution is suspended. He promises free and fair elections within 90 days, but these are repeatedly postponed and it is not until 1985 that (party-less) general elections are held. Gen Zia stayed in power for 11 years until his death in a plane crash.

1999 On October 12, military officers loyal to Gen. Musharraf arrest PM Nawaz Sharif and his ministers, pre-empting Sharifs attempt to dismiss Musharraf, and prevent his plane from landing in Pakistan. Within 17 hours, from the attempt to sack Musharraf, army takes over all key state buildings in the country, place the entire Cabinet, including the PM and his powerful brother, under house arrest, and take over the state broadcaster and the entire critical infrastructure, including communications. A military court sentences Sharif to life-imprisonment, which is later commuted. After staying in jail for 14 months, Sharif and his family are exiled.

Fallout of Indias surgical strikes, appointment of the new army chief and challenge from a resurgent opposition place new trials in the path of Pakistans delicate democracy At present we are only demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif), and after it you would lose the government. With these words, Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, announced November 2 as the new date of his latest political shenanigan called Occupy Islamabad dharna. Seeking to cash in on the Panama Papers controversy regarding off-shore companies registered in the name of Sharifs children, Imrans proposed dharna coincides with another similar protest planned by Difa-e-Pakistan Council at the end of this month. Difa-e-Pakistan is a coalition of 40 religious and political parties, which include leaders of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ), etc. Today the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are searching for their elected leader. They are searching for those who promised them a Naya Pakistan, but they are only found on containers,Nawaz said while addressing an election convention of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Islamabad. Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif Attacking the PTI, the PM said, Had you focused on your province, people would be praising you, but the situation now is such that you need months of effort to organise a gathering and to get people to attend it. PTI will be washed of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 2018 and PML-N will rule the province after the next general election. Citizens will patronise those who they believe will work for the development of Pakistan. Set to appoint his fifth Army chiefa feat no other Pakistani politician has doneNawaz finds himself cornered again. Coming close on the heels of putting a travel ban on Pakistani journalist Cyril Almeida, Nawazs PML-N government came out as the chief villain, and his cup of woes seems to be overflowing. Nawazs rise-exile-rise and his dilemma is actually the dilemma of Pakistans politics. History is trying to repeat itselfuniformity that never ceases to amazewith Imran trying to do to Nawaz what the PM and assassinated PM Benazir Bhutto did all through the 80 and 90s. Only the puppet changes, the puppeteer remains the same. Since its birth in 1947, Pakistans tryst with democracy has been a story of game of puppets, with control resting in the hands of military leaders. Even Pakistans most popular leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was a trusted ally and advisor of Field Marshal Ayub Khan during his military rule. Bhutto was the public face of Field Marshal Ayub Khans regime throughout the 1965 conflict, only to ditch it later and walk away without sharing any blame. When he later founded the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), one of its 10 founding documents was on the Kashmir issue, describes Mohammad Taqi, a Pakistani-American columnist. Taqi adds, The fact is that (Zulfiqar Ali) Bhutto was perhaps the most jingoistic civilian leader that Pakistan has ever had; yet he could not save him from the armys wrath and Zulfiqar was later hanged after a sham trial commissioned by his hand-picked army chief, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Charting Nawazs political career is important to understand Pakistani politics in greater detail. He has been a regular with controversies ever since he started his political career with Tehreek-e-Istaqlal of Air Marshal Asghar Khan during the 70s, when Zulfiqar was prime minister. Nawazs rise in politics and how he became a pivot of Pakistan politics in the last 36 years is representative of the countrys politics and explains the shallow nature of its democracy. While four military interventions havent helped the cause either, the fact remains that every politician who has made his mark has come through the armys nursery. Nawazs political career got a shot in the arm after he was handpicked by Ghulam Jilani Khan, then Punjab governor and ex-Director General (DG) of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to serve as Punjabs Finance Minister in 1980. It didnt take much for Nawaz to become the blue-eyed boy of General Zia-ul-Haq, who appointed him as a member of the powerful Punjab Advisory Board. Nawaz Sharifs rise-exile-rise and his dilemma is actually the dilemma of Pakistans politics Nawazs dealing with military leadership continued to bear him fruits as he was appointed chief minister of Punjab. Later, he combined his efforts with Hamid Gul, former DG of ISI, and played an important role in forming an alliance of nine conservative parties called Islamic Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) to take on Benazirs PPP. IJI successfully unseated PPP in 1990, and Nawaz became Pakistans PM for the first time. Much through the two decades beginning with the 80s, Nawaz sold his soul to the devil, till Kargil happened and he was thrown out along with his two-third majority mandate. After 10 years of exile, he returned with a bang in his new image of an anti-establishment reformer. However, he couldnt keep up with his own promises made at the time of his election campaign. Despite being re-elected as president of the ruling PML-N, his perception of being a prime minister is that of a man who is kept out of the loop by the powers that be. He is seen as a man who is unable to rein in terrorists, including those designated by the US, and someone who cannot handle the trade, let alone the composite dialogue with India or Afghanistan. Nawaz Sharif is today a lame duck Prime Minister, incapable of independent decision-making, not just on issues like terrorism, infiltration and J&K, but even on issues like trade, energy, connectivity and economic cooperation, says G Parthasarathy, High Commissioner of India to Pakistan from 1998 to 2000. Nawaz has a history of doomed relationships with his army chiefs. When first elected to office in 1990, he was soon at loggerheads with then army chief General Asif Nawaz, who later died. His successor, General Waheed Kakar, discharged Nawaz government on charges of corruption in 1993. In his second term, Nawaz was was seen having troubles with then Army chief General Jehangir Karamat, who quit. General Pervez Musharraf succeeded Karamat, and after the Kargil conflict and international isolation that followed, overthrew Nawaz and exiled him to Saudi Arabia for 10 years. In February this year, Nawaz said in a rally in Muzzafarabad, (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee told me that he was stabbed in the back because of Pakistans misadventure in Kargil, especially during the process of Lahore Declaration. Vajpayee was right. He was certainly backstabbed. Myra MacDonald, a South Asia specialist and writer of the upcoming book, Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War, says, Ever since his first premiership, Nawaz Sharif has never been allowed the space to make progress in talks with India. When he greeted Prime Minister Vajpayee in Lahore in 1999, the army was already working on its intrusion across the LoC in Kargil. When he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lahore in December 2015, the wheels were already turning for the Jaish attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Indian Punjab. Says Parthasarathy, After becoming army chief, General Raheel Sharif has seriously undermined Nawaz Sharifs image, credibility and power, both in domestic affairs and in foreign and security policies. He started by sending a word that the army would not tolerate any arrest, or detention, of its former chief General Pervez Musharraf. This was followed by clear messages to the PM that he should not seek closer trade relations with India or meet Pakistans desperate energy needs by getting electricity from India. Raheel Sharif deals with the Afghan President and others, as though he is a parallel head of government. Adds Taqi: The Uri attack came in the ninth year of uninterrupted democracy in Pakistan, and yet the thrice-elected prime minister was not able to utter a word about the shenanigans of his generals. This begs the question of whether the world has a credible civilian partner in Pakistan? Modi and Ghani seem to have concluded that the answer is no. MacDonald explains that in Pakistan, to all intents and purposes, the army is in charge of foreign and security policy. Because of its outsize influence in the economy and its role in preserving the ideology of Pakistan, it is also the political player with the biggest clout. I dont see any reason why it should feel compelled to oust Nawaz Sharif in a coup and risk the opprobrium of the international community, particularly the United States. She reiterates that there will probably be a fair amount of noise until the question of General Raheels successor, or his extension, is settled. Extensions for the army chief go down badly within the army as well, so it is normal at a time like this to see a lot of back-biting surfacing, and it is not always easy to know where it is coming from. I suspect, though it is always hard to know for sure, that what is happening at the moment is just noise that will settle down in a month or so. In any case, none of this will change Pakistans overall strategic direction, adds MacDonald. On the future of the civilian government or leadership, after all these years of the civilian government trying to find a way forward with India and failing, there is a need to look at the problem differently. There isnt much depth in civilian thinking about Pakistans strategic culture. Civilian politicians say they want peace, but rarely engage in really serious critical thinking about Kashmir, or India or Afghanistan. You often see a fair amount of complicity with the militarys worldview. Somehow they are going to have to change that if they want to seriously challenge the power of the military. Perhaps even more importantly, they need to chip away at the ideological stranglehold of the deep state, which ensures the survival of the security establishments worldview regardless of who is the army chief, says MacDonald. For Nawaz, the going is as tough as it can get. Timeline: Highs and lows of Nawaz Sharif''s career 1996 Leads Muslim League to a super majority in general elections. Amends constitution to restrict Presidents powers to dismiss governments. 1998 Pakistan conducts first nuclear tests. Sharif replaces Army chief General Jehangir Karamat with General Pervez Musharraf. 1999 Gen Musharraf exiles Sharif, who tried to relieve him of his command while he was in a flight back from Sri Lanka. Sharif lives in Saudi Arabia for 10 years. 2008 Returns to Pakistan and contests elections, forming a provincial government in Punjab under his brother Shehbaz, which remains in office until 2013. Successfully calls for Gen Musharrafs impeachment and reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Wins elections and becomes prime minister for the third time. Brings macroeconomic stability with loans from IMF, signs multi-billion investment deals to construct CPEC and removes power shortages. Meets US President Barack Obama in Washington in October. 2014 Sharif is invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his swearing-in ceremony. Meets Modi at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu. 2014 Meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in May amid tensions between the two neighbours following the kidnapping in February 2014 of five Iranian soldiers by extremists who took them across the border into Pakistan. 2015 Launches military offensive to remove extremist groups in northwestern Pakistan, lifts the moratorium on death penalty. Modi flies to Pakistan to meet Sharif in December. 2016 Indian Army conducts surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Uri terror attack, drawing global attention to Pakistan-trained terrorists in J&K. The Panama Papers claim Sharif and his family hold millions of dollars worth of property and companies in the UK and around the world. CIVILIAN Vs MILITARY With three successful coups, Pakistan has been under military rule for decades: from 1958 to 1971, 1977 to 1988, and 1999 to 2008 1958 On October 7, Pakistans first President, Major General Iskander Mirza, dismisses the Constituent Assembly and the government of Feroz Khan Noon. Appoints army chief General Ayub Khan as chief martial law administrator. Thirteen days later, Mirza is deposed by Khan, who appoints himself president. Khan combines the offices of president and PM, becoming head of state and the government. Creates a Cabinet of technocrats, diplomats and military officers, which include Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. 1977 Called Operation Fair Play, the coup detat carried out at midnight on July 4 is led by army chief General Zia-ul-Haq against the government of PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Gen Zia orders the arrest of Bhutto, his ministers and other leaders of both the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan National Alliance. In his national address, Gen Zia announces that the National Assembly and all provincial Assemblies are dissolved, and that the Constitution is suspended. He promises free and fair elections within 90 days, but these are repeatedly postponed and it is not until 1985 that (party-less) general elections are held. Gen Zia stayed in power for 11 years until his death in a plane crash. 1999 On October 12, military officers loyal to Gen. Musharraf arrest PM Nawaz Sharif and his ministers, pre-empting Sharifs attempt to dismiss Musharraf, and prevent his plane from landing in Pakistan. Within 17 hours, from the attempt to sack Musharraf, army takes over all key state buildings in the country, place the entire Cabinet, including the PM and his powerful brother, under house arrest, and take over the state broadcaster and the entire critical infrastructure, including communications. A military court sentences Sharif to life-imprisonment, which is later commuted. After staying in jail for 14 months, Sharif and his family are exiled.
By Online Desk

MUMBAI: The controversy revolving around the late yesteryear diva Parveen Babis will has been laid to rest with the Bombay High Court accepting its legitimacy. Almost 11 years after her death, the HC has asked the concerned authorities to execute the terms of her will, before December 23. The move has paved the way for most of her assets to be diverted to help the disadvantaged women and children.

The will, which was produced by her uncle Muradkhan Babi (82) in 2005, came under the courts scrutiny last week, after her paternal relatives, dropped their claim that the document was fake. Their decision has ended the ongoing feud over the late actress assets, which include a sea-facing 4 bedroom flat in Juhu, a haveli in Junagadh, jewellery, deposits of at least 20 lakh in banks and other investments.

According to Babis will, 80% of her wealth should be used to form a trust for women and children of Babi community in Junagad, headed by Muradkhan Babi, who has been offered the rest 20% of the assets. He will further nominate two members from the Babi community for the trust. St. Xavier's College in Ahmedabad where the actress pursued her masters in English Literature before her foray into films will receive 10% of the trusts funds.

The 56-year-old yesteryear diva who lived alone was rumoured to have died of diabetic complications in 2005, leaving no document declaring heirs. Owing to the controversy, the Administrator General and official trustee, a body that manages properties of people who have not left behind a will, had taken control over her assets. However, Muradkhan, came forward with a will dated to 2002, which the paternal relatives claimed to be a fake, as they were left out of the will. This had eventually led to a dispute that ended up in a legal battle.

Parveen Babi who starred in some of the most popular films in the 1970s and 1980s was found dead in her Juhu flat on January 22, 2005.

MUMBAI: The controversy revolving around the late yesteryear diva Parveen Babis will has been laid to rest with the Bombay High Court accepting its legitimacy. Almost 11 years after her death, the HC has asked the concerned authorities to execute the terms of her will, before December 23. The move has paved the way for most of her assets to be diverted to help the disadvantaged women and children. The will, which was produced by her uncle Muradkhan Babi (82) in 2005, came under the courts scrutiny last week, after her paternal relatives, dropped their claim that the document was fake. Their decision has ended the ongoing feud over the late actress assets, which include a sea-facing 4 bedroom flat in Juhu, a haveli in Junagadh, jewellery, deposits of at least 20 lakh in banks and other investments. According to Babis will, 80% of her wealth should be used to form a trust for women and children of Babi community in Junagad, headed by Muradkhan Babi, who has been offered the rest 20% of the assets. He will further nominate two members from the Babi community for the trust. St. Xavier's College in Ahmedabad where the actress pursued her masters in English Literature before her foray into films will receive 10% of the trusts funds. The 56-year-old yesteryear diva who lived alone was rumoured to have died of diabetic complications in 2005, leaving no document declaring heirs. Owing to the controversy, the Administrator General and official trustee, a body that manages properties of people who have not left behind a will, had taken control over her assets. However, Muradkhan, came forward with a will dated to 2002, which the paternal relatives claimed to be a fake, as they were left out of the will. This had eventually led to a dispute that ended up in a legal battle. Parveen Babi who starred in some of the most popular films in the 1970s and 1980s was found dead in her Juhu flat on January 22, 2005.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: Eight years after the convoy of former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and then steel minister Ramvilas Paswan were attacked in a landmine explosion and alleged police atrocities that followed to 'avenge' the attack which triggered off a bloody Maoist movement in the western districts of West Bengal in 2008, chargesheet of the attack naming the accused was finally filed by CID Salboni in Midnapore court recently, sources revealed.

The delay has been blamed by officials on time taken to collect vital details of the case, including wait for forensic report. Some 11 sections of IPC including sedition (Section 124 A) , attempt to murder (Sec 307) and criminal conspiracy (Sec 120A) have been invoked in the chargesheet. A total of 9 people have been named in the chargesheet, all of whom have connection with CPI (Maoist), a Midnapore court lawyer told Express.

Of the nine, three persons  Kalpana Maity alias Anu, Manasaram Hembram alias Bikash and former CPI (Maoist) state secretary Sudeep Congdar alias Kanchan are in jail. Rest five  Sunil Hansda, Sahadeb Mahato, Lakshmiram Murmu, Bhagwat Hansda and Karan Hembram  are out in bail.

However, the person who planted the bomb and triggered it  Badal Mahato  is not mentioned in the chargesheet, the lawyer said. Badal had surrendered in front of Mamata Banerjee in 2012 and is now a policeman in Midnapore under the Maoist Rehabilitation Package.

A landmine blast was triggered in Salboni on November 2, 2008 at a convoy of then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and then steel minister Ramvilas Paswan while the convoy was returning to Kolkata after visiting a site of Jindal Steel plant in Salboni in Paschim Medinipur district. State police allegedly committed atrocities on women in Chotopeliya village on November 5 as a 'punishment' of the attack.

That triggered off Lalgarh movement and heightened Maoist activities that claimed more than 700 lives till 2011, when Maoist politburo member Malloujula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji, leader of the Maoist movement in Bengal at that time, was gunned down.

KOLKATA: Eight years after the convoy of former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and then steel minister Ramvilas Paswan were attacked in a landmine explosion and alleged police atrocities that followed to 'avenge' the attack which triggered off a bloody Maoist movement in the western districts of West Bengal in 2008, chargesheet of the attack naming the accused was finally filed by CID Salboni in Midnapore court recently, sources revealed. The delay has been blamed by officials on time taken to collect vital details of the case, including wait for forensic report. Some 11 sections of IPC including sedition (Section 124 A) , attempt to murder (Sec 307) and criminal conspiracy (Sec 120A) have been invoked in the chargesheet. A total of 9 people have been named in the chargesheet, all of whom have connection with CPI (Maoist), a Midnapore court lawyer told Express. Of the nine, three persons  Kalpana Maity alias Anu, Manasaram Hembram alias Bikash and former CPI (Maoist) state secretary Sudeep Congdar alias Kanchan are in jail. Rest five  Sunil Hansda, Sahadeb Mahato, Lakshmiram Murmu, Bhagwat Hansda and Karan Hembram  are out in bail. However, the person who planted the bomb and triggered it  Badal Mahato  is not mentioned in the chargesheet, the lawyer said. Badal had surrendered in front of Mamata Banerjee in 2012 and is now a policeman in Midnapore under the Maoist Rehabilitation Package. A landmine blast was triggered in Salboni on November 2, 2008 at a convoy of then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and then steel minister Ramvilas Paswan while the convoy was returning to Kolkata after visiting a site of Jindal Steel plant in Salboni in Paschim Medinipur district. State police allegedly committed atrocities on women in Chotopeliya village on November 5 as a 'punishment' of the attack. That triggered off Lalgarh movement and heightened Maoist activities that claimed more than 700 lives till 2011, when Maoist politburo member Malloujula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji, leader of the Maoist movement in Bengal at that time, was gunned down.
Fayaz Wani By

SRINAGAR: A Pakistani spy and two militants of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad were arrested by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

A police official in Jammu said acting on specific information from military intelligence, police launched a search operation in the border area of Ramgarh in Jammu on October 20 to track and arrest the local resident, who was working as a spy for Pakistan.

During the search operation, the spy identified as Bodh Raj son of Harbans Lal R/o Changiia, Arnia in Jammu was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village near International Border (IB). He tried to escape from the area after observing the movement of police party, he said.

The official said police party chased and arrested him.

During searches, 2 Pakistani SIM cards, 2 Indian made mobile phones, 1 memory card and a map showing deployment of security forces were recovered from his possession, he said.

An FIR No.45/2016 under section 13 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 3 Official Secret Act has been registered against the accused spy.

The official termed arrest of the spy as a major breakthrough.

The questioning of the spy is going on and more arrests are likely to take place in the coming days, he said

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops fired from automatic weapons and resorted to mortar shelling on BSF posts along IB in R S Pura sector of Jammu district during the night.

The Pakistani troops fired on BSF posts in Karotana Khurd and Abdullian sectors. Besides, they also breached the ceasefire in Bidipur and Karotana in Suchetgarh sub-sector and fired on BSF posts, sources said adding the border guards effectively returned the fire from similar caliber weapons.

The firing and shelling by Pakistani troops took place after BSF men killed seven Pakistani Rangers and militant along the IB in Hiranagar sector in Kathua district yesterday.

Due to fresh Pakistani firing along the IB in Hira Nagar and R S Pura sectors, authorities have moved civilian population living close to the border to safer areas. The schools in border areas in Hira Nagar and Manjakote sector in Rajouri have been closed.

Police, meanwhile, achieved a major breakthrough by busting a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant module in North Kashmirs Baramulla district and arresting two militants.

The Jaish-e-mohammad militant group is accused of being behind the deadly militant attacks on army base in Uri, J&K, and Panthakot air base.

The arrested militants were identified as Safeer Ahmad Bhat and Farhaan Fayaz Liloo, both residents of Baramulla.

The duo was arrested in a joint operation by police, army, and CRPF, a police spokesman said.

He said the militants were part of Jaish module operating in Baramulla town and adjacent areas headed by one Pakistani militant operating by code name Khalid.

This module along with the arrested duo were involved in August 16 militant attack on Army and police convoy in Khwajabagh, Baramulla in which 2 army men and a policeman were killed, the spokesman said

He said an AK rifle, one pistol and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the arrested militant.

SRINAGAR: A Pakistani spy and two militants of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad were arrested by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. A police official in Jammu said acting on specific information from military intelligence, police launched a search operation in the border area of Ramgarh in Jammu on October 20 to track and arrest the local resident, who was working as a spy for Pakistan. During the search operation, the spy identified as Bodh Raj son of Harbans Lal R/o Changiia, Arnia in Jammu was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village near International Border (IB). He tried to escape from the area after observing the movement of police party, he said. The official said police party chased and arrested him. During searches, 2 Pakistani SIM cards, 2 Indian made mobile phones, 1 memory card and a map showing deployment of security forces were recovered from his possession, he said. An FIR No.45/2016 under section 13 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 3 Official Secret Act has been registered against the accused spy. The official termed arrest of the spy as a major breakthrough. The questioning of the spy is going on and more arrests are likely to take place in the coming days, he said Meanwhile, Pakistani troops fired from automatic weapons and resorted to mortar shelling on BSF posts along IB in R S Pura sector of Jammu district during the night. The Pakistani troops fired on BSF posts in Karotana Khurd and Abdullian sectors. Besides, they also breached the ceasefire in Bidipur and Karotana in Suchetgarh sub-sector and fired on BSF posts, sources said adding the border guards effectively returned the fire from similar caliber weapons. The firing and shelling by Pakistani troops took place after BSF men killed seven Pakistani Rangers and militant along the IB in Hiranagar sector in Kathua district yesterday. Due to fresh Pakistani firing along the IB in Hira Nagar and R S Pura sectors, authorities have moved civilian population living close to the border to safer areas. The schools in border areas in Hira Nagar and Manjakote sector in Rajouri have been closed. Police, meanwhile, achieved a major breakthrough by busting a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant module in North Kashmirs Baramulla district and arresting two militants. The Jaish-e-mohammad militant group is accused of being behind the deadly militant attacks on army base in Uri, J&K, and Panthakot air base. The arrested militants were identified as Safeer Ahmad Bhat and Farhaan Fayaz Liloo, both residents of Baramulla. The duo was arrested in a joint operation by police, army, and CRPF, a police spokesman said. He said the militants were part of Jaish module operating in Baramulla town and adjacent areas headed by one Pakistani militant operating by code name Khalid. This module along with the arrested duo were involved in August 16 militant attack on Army and police convoy in Khwajabagh, Baramulla in which 2 army men and a policeman were killed, the spokesman said He said an AK rifle, one pistol and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the arrested militant.
By PTI

JAMMU: BSF jawan Gurnam Singh, who was injured in yesterday's attack by Pakistani forces at the international border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, succumbed to his injuries tonight.

#BSF jawan injured in yesterday's attack by Pakistani forces dies. pic.twitter.com/5KKh1fEhW0  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 22, 2016

26-year-old Singh, who was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital here, died at around 11.45 PM, police said.

He was injured yesterday when Pakistani snipers targeted him as he was instrumental in foiling a major infiltration bid along the international border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Seven personnel of Pakistani Rangers, the border force of Pakistan, and a terrorist were killed when BSF retaliated against a ceasefire violation in which Gurnam was injured.

JAMMU: BSF jawan Gurnam Singh, who was injured in yesterday's attack by Pakistani forces at the international border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, succumbed to his injuries tonight. #BSF jawan injured in yesterday's attack by Pakistani forces dies. pic.twitter.com/5KKh1fEhW0  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 22, 2016 26-year-old Singh, who was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital here, died at around 11.45 PM, police said. He was injured yesterday when Pakistani snipers targeted him as he was instrumental in foiling a major infiltration bid along the international border in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. Seven personnel of Pakistani Rangers, the border force of Pakistan, and a terrorist were killed when BSF retaliated against a ceasefire violation in which Gurnam was injured.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Rampant fraud in the newly-introduced ration coupon system in the public distribution system has forced the state government to consider closing all the private fair price shops. Linking of the public distribution system to Aadhaar numbers has enabled the department to detect about 1.60 lakh bogus ration coupons across 953 fair price shops in the state. Bengaluru tops the list with about 400 shops involved in the irregularities, said Food and Civil Supplies minister U T Khader here on Friday.

Two people have been arrested and criminal cases have been filed against them for creating fake food coupons. Deputy Commissioners of all districts have been instructed to detect bogus coupons and initiate legal action, Khader said. There are about 20,000 fair price shops of which about 12,000 are run by private people.

We are considering closing these private fair price shops and running them through co-operative societies, Khader said. He said the process will be launched soon, and attributed the delay to technical issues. There is also a proposal to issue temporary cards for the poor to enable them to avail medical services being offered for the BPL families.

BENGALURU: Rampant fraud in the newly-introduced ration coupon system in the public distribution system has forced the state government to consider closing all the private fair price shops. Linking of the public distribution system to Aadhaar numbers has enabled the department to detect about 1.60 lakh bogus ration coupons across 953 fair price shops in the state. Bengaluru tops the list with about 400 shops involved in the irregularities, said Food and Civil Supplies minister U T Khader here on Friday. Two people have been arrested and criminal cases have been filed against them for creating fake food coupons. Deputy Commissioners of all districts have been instructed to detect bogus coupons and initiate legal action, Khader said. There are about 20,000 fair price shops of which about 12,000 are run by private people. We are considering closing these private fair price shops and running them through co-operative societies, Khader said. He said the process will be launched soon, and attributed the delay to technical issues. There is also a proposal to issue temporary cards for the poor to enable them to avail medical services being offered for the BPL families.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Rs 1.97 crore cash that was seized by security personnel at the Karnataka Assembly, Vidhana Soudha, from the lawyer son of a former district court judge on Friday has been handed over to the court by the Vidhana Soudha police today.



Police sources said a report on the seizure has been submitted to the magistrate. The money will be deposited in the state treasury till the end of the investigation into the case. A police source said, "As per procedure, such money should be kept in the police station in our custody. But as the amount is huge, we have requested the court to keep it in the state treasury as a safety measure. ''



The money was being transported in a Volkswagen Polo (KA-04-MM-9018) by Siddharth, a lawyer. Security personnel at the Vidhana Soudha gate no. 1 found the money neatly packed in boxes kept in the boot of the car. Siddartha claimed it to be only Rs 70 lakh which he was carrying for the purpose of registering a land site. When police asked him to produce documents attesting to the cash, Siddartha said he needed time and demanded that he be released.

BENGALURU: The Rs 1.97 crore cash that was seized by security personnel at the Karnataka Assembly, Vidhana Soudha, from the lawyer son of a former district court judge on Friday has been handed over to the court by the Vidhana Soudha police today. Police sources said a report on the seizure has been submitted to the magistrate. The money will be deposited in the state treasury till the end of the investigation into the case. A police source said, "As per procedure, such money should be kept in the police station in our custody. But as the amount is huge, we have requested the court to keep it in the state treasury as a safety measure. '' The money was being transported in a Volkswagen Polo (KA-04-MM-9018) by Siddharth, a lawyer. Security personnel at the Vidhana Soudha gate no. 1 found the money neatly packed in boxes kept in the boot of the car. Siddartha claimed it to be only Rs 70 lakh which he was carrying for the purpose of registering a land site. When police asked him to produce documents attesting to the cash, Siddartha said he needed time and demanded that he be released.
C P Sajit By

Express News Service

KANNUR: The controversial Kerala bidi baron Mohammed Nisham, jailed for ramming his Hummer into a watchman Chandrabose, is back in trouble. This time he has been accused by his siblings of threatening them on the phone from prison.

Nisham has allegedly been operating out of prison with two phones, but jail authorities insist he has no access to any phones.

But the superintendent of the Kannur jail, Ashok Kumar told New Indian Express that there just was no possibility of Mohammed Nisham making any phone calls from inside the jail.

READ MORE: Mohammed Nisham: The Rise and Fall of a Tobacco Tycoon

"Nisham is lodged in block number 10 of the jail. It is a totally isolated cell and there is no possibility of police personnel helping him get access to a mobile phone as they can be easily tracked by the cyber cell of the police. No one has seen Nisham making calls from the cell," the jailer told New Indian Express.

To nail the authorities' claim, Nisham's brothers have furnished the phone numbers used by the beedi baron, along with details of the phone conversations.

The jail authorities say Nisham may indeed have made calls to his brother but not from within the jail but perhaps while being taken to a Bangalore court by bus two days ago, on October 20, using a friend's mobile phone.

READ MORE: Ferrari Dad Turns Hummer Beast

To a question how the 'friends' had come to know that Nisham was being taken to Bangalore, the jail superintendent said there was a possibility that his impending court appearance in court was reported much in advance.

This is not the first time that the jail authorities have come under fire for Nisham's ways in prison. Earlier there were reports that the jail authorities gave only light work to Nisham and allowed him to fetch food from outside.

Meanwhile, the DIG is expected to visit the central jail after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan,ordered an inquiry into the matter.

KANNUR: The controversial Kerala bidi baron Mohammed Nisham, jailed for ramming his Hummer into a watchman Chandrabose, is back in trouble. This time he has been accused by his siblings of threatening them on the phone from prison. Nisham has allegedly been operating out of prison with two phones, but jail authorities insist he has no access to any phones. But the superintendent of the Kannur jail, Ashok Kumar told New Indian Express that there just was no possibility of Mohammed Nisham making any phone calls from inside the jail. READ MORE: Mohammed Nisham: The Rise and Fall of a Tobacco Tycoon "Nisham is lodged in block number 10 of the jail. It is a totally isolated cell and there is no possibility of police personnel helping him get access to a mobile phone as they can be easily tracked by the cyber cell of the police. No one has seen Nisham making calls from the cell," the jailer told New Indian Express. To nail the authorities' claim, Nisham's brothers have furnished the phone numbers used by the beedi baron, along with details of the phone conversations. The jail authorities say Nisham may indeed have made calls to his brother but not from within the jail but perhaps while being taken to a Bangalore court by bus two days ago, on October 20, using a friend's mobile phone. READ MORE: Ferrari Dad Turns Hummer Beast To a question how the 'friends' had come to know that Nisham was being taken to Bangalore, the jail superintendent said there was a possibility that his impending court appearance in court was reported much in advance. This is not the first time that the jail authorities have come under fire for Nisham's ways in prison. Earlier there were reports that the jail authorities gave only light work to Nisham and allowed him to fetch food from outside. Meanwhile, the DIG is expected to visit the central jail after chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan,ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Baibhav Mishra By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Top officials of the fire-ravaged Institute of Medical Sciences [IMS] and SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar and a trust that owns the hospital are being questioned about the blaze on Monday that has so far taken the lives of 26 people.

Further, police are looking at legal options to get Saswati Das, wife of the hospital's principal promoter Manoj Ranjan Nayak, to come forwad to answer their questions on her role in the administration of the hospital.

Bhubaneswar police commissioner Y B Khurania has said Saswati Das has not been cooperative with the investigation despite a lookout notice being put out for her.

Sources said a police team led by a sub-inspector questioned Amit Banerjee, vice-chancellor of Siksha O Anusandhan University, the trust that owns SUM,and Prof D K Roy, the dean of the hospital.

Another team led by deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi is interrogating the principal promoter of SUM Hospital, Manoj Ranjan Nayak, who is in two-days' remand, which will end Saturday.

"We want to know whether he was aware that the hospital was blatantly violating the mandatory fire safety protocols," said Bhoi.

Meanwhile, with the death of another patient undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital, the toll in connection with the fire has reached 26.

Sources said Kartikeswar Das of GGP Colony in Rasulgarh area was under ventilator support at SUM Hospital when the fire broke out in the intensive care unit. He was first shifted to AIIMS Bhubanwswear and then to Apollo Hospital after his condition became worse.

Khurania said police have received the post-mortem reports of 19 persons who died of asphyxiation while being shifted to nearby hospitals on the fateful evening of October 17.

BHUBANESWAR: Top officials of the fire-ravaged Institute of Medical Sciences [IMS] and SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar and a trust that owns the hospital are being questioned about the blaze on Monday that has so far taken the lives of 26 people. Further, police are looking at legal options to get Saswati Das, wife of the hospital's principal promoter Manoj Ranjan Nayak, to come forwad to answer their questions on her role in the administration of the hospital. Bhubaneswar police commissioner Y B Khurania has said Saswati Das has not been cooperative with the investigation despite a lookout notice being put out for her. Sources said a police team led by a sub-inspector questioned Amit Banerjee, vice-chancellor of Siksha O Anusandhan University, the trust that owns SUM,and Prof D K Roy, the dean of the hospital. Another team led by deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi is interrogating the principal promoter of SUM Hospital, Manoj Ranjan Nayak, who is in two-days' remand, which will end Saturday. "We want to know whether he was aware that the hospital was blatantly violating the mandatory fire safety protocols," said Bhoi. Meanwhile, with the death of another patient undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital, the toll in connection with the fire has reached 26. Sources said Kartikeswar Das of GGP Colony in Rasulgarh area was under ventilator support at SUM Hospital when the fire broke out in the intensive care unit. He was first shifted to AIIMS Bhubanwswear and then to Apollo Hospital after his condition became worse. Khurania said police have received the post-mortem reports of 19 persons who died of asphyxiation while being shifted to nearby hospitals on the fateful evening of October 17.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: A day after Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak tendered his resignation on moral ground accepting blame for the SUM Hospital fire tragedy, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan today demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the failure of the fire safety regulatory measures.

"Like the Health department, the fire services wing of the Home department is equally responsible for the hospital fire tragedy which has so far claimed 25 lives," Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.

The Union Minister said that deficiency in fire safety measures in other hospitals of the state has been highlighted by the media all this week and it is clear the Home department has failed to discharge its responsibility properly. However, administrative officers of the department concerned are trying to divert

attention from the core issues.

"I am utterly surprised why Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in charge of the Home portfolio, has remained silent on this matter. The Chief Minister should take moral responsibility for the failure

of his department," he said.

The Union Minister said the issue is not about one hospital. Now the question is about the status of several other hospitals including government ones. What was the law on fire safety during previous

years and what changes have been made to it to ensure safety according to the needs of modern times?

The Chief Minister should explain what changes have been made in the fire safety norms under his stewardship and action initiated against the erring officers, he said.

"Our party has already demanded the resignation of the chief minister on this issue. But the Chief Minister is yet to clarify on the gross inaction of the Fire Services department," the Union minister added.

Reacting to Pradhan's demand, BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said its has become a habit of the Union Minister to press for the Chief Minister's resignation on anything at the drop of a hat.

"Will he demand the resignation of the Defence Minister for the killing of 17 soldiers in Uri attack by terrorists," Deb countered.

Dubbing the RDC probe into the fire incident as a cover-up attempt by the state government, senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati demanded a high-level probe.

President of Utkal Bharat, a regional outfit, Khabela Swain asked the government to take immediate action against the Khurda district collector and Director Medical Education and Training (DMET) for their gross negligence.

BHUBANESWAR: A day after Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak tendered his resignation on moral ground accepting blame for the SUM Hospital fire tragedy, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan today demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the failure of the fire safety regulatory measures. "Like the Health department, the fire services wing of the Home department is equally responsible for the hospital fire tragedy which has so far claimed 25 lives," Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi. The Union Minister said that deficiency in fire safety measures in other hospitals of the state has been highlighted by the media all this week and it is clear the Home department has failed to discharge its responsibility properly. However, administrative officers of the department concerned are trying to divert attention from the core issues. "I am utterly surprised why Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is in charge of the Home portfolio, has remained silent on this matter. The Chief Minister should take moral responsibility for the failure of his department," he said. The Union Minister said the issue is not about one hospital. Now the question is about the status of several other hospitals including government ones. What was the law on fire safety during previous years and what changes have been made to it to ensure safety according to the needs of modern times? The Chief Minister should explain what changes have been made in the fire safety norms under his stewardship and action initiated against the erring officers, he said. "Our party has already demanded the resignation of the chief minister on this issue. But the Chief Minister is yet to clarify on the gross inaction of the Fire Services department," the Union minister added. Reacting to Pradhan's demand, BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said its has become a habit of the Union Minister to press for the Chief Minister's resignation on anything at the drop of a hat. "Will he demand the resignation of the Defence Minister for the killing of 17 soldiers in Uri attack by terrorists," Deb countered. Dubbing the RDC probe into the fire incident as a cover-up attempt by the state government, senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati demanded a high-level probe. President of Utkal Bharat, a regional outfit, Khabela Swain asked the government to take immediate action against the Khurda district collector and Director Medical Education and Training (DMET) for their gross negligence.
T Muruganandham By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: With the Centre agreeing to the key demands of Tamil Nadu government for joining the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme, the State is all set to join it within a couple of months.

The consensus was reached after Electricity Minister P Thangamani and TANGEDCO/TNEB Chairman and Managing Director M Saikumar held detailed talks with Union Power Minister, Piyush Goyal, at New Delhi on Friday.

The Union Power Ministry has agreed to the key demands of Tamil Nadu government  no quarterly tariff revision and the bonds to be issued by TANGEDCO for repaying loans will be for 15 years with five-year moratorium. Further, exemption from Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management (FRBM) norms for the bonds have been allowed for two years, official sources said.

Asked when Tamil Nadu would be joining UDAY, the sources said, Comprehensive discussions took place on various issues on UDAY today. The State government will take a final decision soon. Mostly likely, Tamil Nadu will join by December.

UDAY Scheme had been launched by Union Power Ministry for financial restructuring of debts of power distribution companies. At present, TANGEDCOs total loan portfolio is Rs 81,782 crore as on September 30, 2015. This includes loan from Tamil Nadu government (Rs 6,223 crore), Generation project loans (Rs 32,019 crore) and loans relating to distribution segment (Rs 43,540 crore).

While the Tamil Nadu government is considering taking over Rs 32,660 crore (75 per cent of Rs 43,540 crore), TANGEDCO would also issue bonds for Rs 10,880 crore to discharge residual distribution segment loans borrowed from financial institutions and banks. Discussions on UDAY scheme had been going on for more than a year and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had opposed many of its conditions, particularly the directive to revise electricity tariff once in three months to offset fuel price changes. But after the Union Power Minister met the Chief Minister on July 15, some headway was made in the talks on UDAY. Later, during the past three months, a few more interactions between Tamil Nadu officials and the Union Power Ministry led to the agreement on Friday.

So far, 16 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry have joined the UDAY scheme. Maharashtra, Telangana, Assam and Kerala had already given in principle approval and are likely to join soon.

Jayalalithaa had already demanded that the Centre should provide 25 per cent grant similar to the assistance provided in Financial Restructuring Package programme implemented in 2012. She also said that commercial banks should provide 50 per cent cash loss financing for the next five years as some cash losses of DISCOMs would persist during the initial period. Pointing out that the Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses (AT&C) of TANGEDCO were around 24.95 per cent in 2010-11 and steps had been taken to reduce the AT&C losses to below 15 per cent, Tamil Nadu team said currently, T & D losses were 16.02 per cent (AT & C losses 20.91 per cent).

Recalling that the process of establishing the inter-State Green Energy Corridor should be expedited to enable Tamil Nadu to transmit renewable power to other states which are in need of such power, the Tamil Nadu government said the Rs 150 crore invested for installation of capacitor banks and reactors for compensation/consumption of the reactive power, should be given as grant.

CHENNAI: With the Centre agreeing to the key demands of Tamil Nadu government for joining the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme, the State is all set to join it within a couple of months. The consensus was reached after Electricity Minister P Thangamani and TANGEDCO/TNEB Chairman and Managing Director M Saikumar held detailed talks with Union Power Minister, Piyush Goyal, at New Delhi on Friday. The Union Power Ministry has agreed to the key demands of Tamil Nadu government  no quarterly tariff revision and the bonds to be issued by TANGEDCO for repaying loans will be for 15 years with five-year moratorium. Further, exemption from Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management (FRBM) norms for the bonds have been allowed for two years, official sources said. Asked when Tamil Nadu would be joining UDAY, the sources said, Comprehensive discussions took place on various issues on UDAY today. The State government will take a final decision soon. Mostly likely, Tamil Nadu will join by December. UDAY Scheme had been launched by Union Power Ministry for financial restructuring of debts of power distribution companies. At present, TANGEDCOs total loan portfolio is Rs 81,782 crore as on September 30, 2015. This includes loan from Tamil Nadu government (Rs 6,223 crore), Generation project loans (Rs 32,019 crore) and loans relating to distribution segment (Rs 43,540 crore). While the Tamil Nadu government is considering taking over Rs 32,660 crore (75 per cent of Rs 43,540 crore), TANGEDCO would also issue bonds for Rs 10,880 crore to discharge residual distribution segment loans borrowed from financial institutions and banks. Discussions on UDAY scheme had been going on for more than a year and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had opposed many of its conditions, particularly the directive to revise electricity tariff once in three months to offset fuel price changes. But after the Union Power Minister met the Chief Minister on July 15, some headway was made in the talks on UDAY. Later, during the past three months, a few more interactions between Tamil Nadu officials and the Union Power Ministry led to the agreement on Friday. So far, 16 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry have joined the UDAY scheme. Maharashtra, Telangana, Assam and Kerala had already given in principle approval and are likely to join soon. Jayalalithaa had already demanded that the Centre should provide 25 per cent grant similar to the assistance provided in Financial Restructuring Package programme implemented in 2012. She also said that commercial banks should provide 50 per cent cash loss financing for the next five years as some cash losses of DISCOMs would persist during the initial period. Pointing out that the Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses (AT&C) of TANGEDCO were around 24.95 per cent in 2010-11 and steps had been taken to reduce the AT&C losses to below 15 per cent, Tamil Nadu team said currently, T & D losses were 16.02 per cent (AT & C losses 20.91 per cent). Recalling that the process of establishing the inter-State Green Energy Corridor should be expedited to enable Tamil Nadu to transmit renewable power to other states which are in need of such power, the Tamil Nadu government said the Rs 150 crore invested for installation of capacitor banks and reactors for compensation/consumption of the reactive power, should be given as grant.
Rajasekaran RK By

Express News Service

MADURAI: A doctor facing a serious charge of implanting expired stents on cardiac patients is the DMK's chosen candidate for the upcoming bypoll in south Tamil Nadu.

Dr P Saravanan, the party's medical wing secretary who has been fielded from Tiruparankundram in Madurai, has had his anticipatory bail rejected, twice, by the Madras High Court earlier this year.

It didn't escape anyone's attention that the first salvo came from within the party's first family, the Karunanidhis, when dissident leader MK Alagiris son Dhaya Alagiri took to social media to trash the choice.

Almost immediately after DMK announced the candidates, he tweeted, "So sad to know that Madurai DMK doesn't have any better candidate than Saravanan to contest the by-elections." He even tagged it #KaasuPanamDhoduMoneyMoney (sic), a viral song made up of synonyms of 'money' from a quirky Tamil hit film (Soodhu Kavvum, meaning evil engulfs) that talks about the manipulations possible with money power.

so sad to know that Madurai DMK doesn't have any better candidate than Saravanan to contest the by-elections.. #KaasuPanamDhoduMoneyMoney  Dhaya Alagiri (@dhayaalagiri) October 21, 2016

Saravanan, an oncologist by training who is the managing director of Saravana Multispecialty Hospital in Madurai, is one of the accused in the case.

Incidentally, it was Saravanan himself who approached the Madurai city police in June 2015, complaining that an agency had sold expired cardiac stents to the hospital. However, the case took a turn after Saravanan was named as one of the accused in the case.

Police said it was a surprise insurance audit by a third-party administrator which brought this alleged fraud to light. Saravanan, too, is involved in it, colluding with the trader to procure expired stents at low price and implant it on unsuspecting patients. These were the poor, largely uneducated and possibly unaware of the details, as indicated by the police charge-sheet that said the implants were done under the Chief Minister Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS).

The investigators also submitted to the court the details of about 10 such patients, into whose arteries these stents were inserted. The case was later transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) wing of the police.

When his anticipatory bail plea came before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, the government counsel opposed it vehemently. According to the police, a third-party administrator appointed by the United India Insurance to monitor CMCHIS conducted a surprise inspection at the hospital. But Saravanan claimed innocence, blaming the traders of allegedly bribing two of his staff to place the expired stents in a bid to bring disrepute to his hospital.

But the court was not convinced. Considering his bail plea along with that of the cardiologist at his hospital, Dr RA Janarthanan, the court not just dismissed it, but also came down heavily on the two for allegedly disregarding the threat to the lives of the patients. The needy can become a milch cow for satiating the greed of ingenuous entrepreneurs and immoral professionals, the court had observed then.

He then moved the Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition, but soon withdrew it and instead filed another anticipatory bail plea before the HC. The court dismissed it yet again, stressing that the allegation against him was that he committed a heinous crime violating the ethics of the noble profession.

Opposing the anticipatory bail plea, the CCB said it was necessary to take Saravanan under custody for interrogation. Curiously, however, they did not arrest him despite the advance bail pleas being rejected twice.

Dr Saravanan was the Madurai rural district secretary of the MDMK before switching over to the DMK in December. He was a DMK man originally, before moving to MDMK for a couple of years and even flirting with the BJP for a few weeks. His quick promotion as the candidate in place of old hands, too, has rankled the party ranks in Madurai. The most effective weapon they have against Saravanan is the criminal case against him for violating medical ethics.

MADURAI: A doctor facing a serious charge of implanting expired stents on cardiac patients is the DMK's chosen candidate for the upcoming bypoll in south Tamil Nadu. Dr P Saravanan, the party's medical wing secretary who has been fielded from Tiruparankundram in Madurai, has had his anticipatory bail rejected, twice, by the Madras High Court earlier this year. It didn't escape anyone's attention that the first salvo came from within the party's first family, the Karunanidhis, when dissident leader MK Alagiris son Dhaya Alagiri took to social media to trash the choice. Almost immediately after DMK announced the candidates, he tweeted, "So sad to know that Madurai DMK doesn't have any better candidate than Saravanan to contest the by-elections." He even tagged it #KaasuPanamDhoduMoneyMoney (sic), a viral song made up of synonyms of 'money' from a quirky Tamil hit film (Soodhu Kavvum, meaning evil engulfs) that talks about the manipulations possible with money power. so sad to know that Madurai DMK doesn't have any better candidate than Saravanan to contest the by-elections.. #KaasuPanamDhoduMoneyMoney  Dhaya Alagiri (@dhayaalagiri) October 21, 2016 Saravanan, an oncologist by training who is the managing director of Saravana Multispecialty Hospital in Madurai, is one of the accused in the case. Incidentally, it was Saravanan himself who approached the Madurai city police in June 2015, complaining that an agency had sold expired cardiac stents to the hospital. However, the case took a turn after Saravanan was named as one of the accused in the case. Police said it was a surprise insurance audit by a third-party administrator which brought this alleged fraud to light. Saravanan, too, is involved in it, colluding with the trader to procure expired stents at low price and implant it on unsuspecting patients. These were the poor, largely uneducated and possibly unaware of the details, as indicated by the police charge-sheet that said the implants were done under the Chief Minister Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS). The investigators also submitted to the court the details of about 10 such patients, into whose arteries these stents were inserted. The case was later transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) wing of the police. When his anticipatory bail plea came before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, the government counsel opposed it vehemently. According to the police, a third-party administrator appointed by the United India Insurance to monitor CMCHIS conducted a surprise inspection at the hospital. But Saravanan claimed innocence, blaming the traders of allegedly bribing two of his staff to place the expired stents in a bid to bring disrepute to his hospital. But the court was not convinced. Considering his bail plea along with that of the cardiologist at his hospital, Dr RA Janarthanan, the court not just dismissed it, but also came down heavily on the two for allegedly disregarding the threat to the lives of the patients. The needy can become a milch cow for satiating the greed of ingenuous entrepreneurs and immoral professionals, the court had observed then. He then moved the Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition, but soon withdrew it and instead filed another anticipatory bail plea before the HC. The court dismissed it yet again, stressing that the allegation against him was that he committed a heinous crime violating the ethics of the noble profession. Opposing the anticipatory bail plea, the CCB said it was necessary to take Saravanan under custody for interrogation. Curiously, however, they did not arrest him despite the advance bail pleas being rejected twice. Dr Saravanan was the Madurai rural district secretary of the MDMK before switching over to the DMK in December. He was a DMK man originally, before moving to MDMK for a couple of years and even flirting with the BJP for a few weeks. His quick promotion as the candidate in place of old hands, too, has rankled the party ranks in Madurai. The most effective weapon they have against Saravanan is the criminal case against him for violating medical ethics.
Debjani Dutta By

Express News Service

PUDUCHERRY: Thou shall not extort gifts from traders. And thou certainly shall not line up in front of senior officials with sweets, crackers, flowers and other gifts.

When the Lieutenant Governor is former top cop Kiran Bedi, the activist officer who made even the notorious Tihar jail behave, it's not business as usual for the men in khaki in Puducherry, this festival season.

The personnel have been directed explicitly not to indulge in either extortion or currying favour during Deepawali (Diwali). The advisory on gifts came from the police headquarters superintendent IRC Mohan, who issued the circular dated October 19 to all stations in the union territory, including the satellite towns of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam that come under it.

All officers are directed not to visit the residence of senior officers with or without gifts or even flower bouquets on the occasion of Deepawali. Contravention of the above instruction would be viewed adversely, read the circular.

Sources said the move came after the recent meeting of police officials convened by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, who was a noted senior IPS official before she retired and joined public life as a politician. This directive has caught many officials off guard, with some of them speculating that the LG could have received complaints from traders and businesses about police officials extorting them during festival times.

This is not the first warning. Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, too, had made it clear that stringent action including dismissal from service will be initiated against officials if they collected money or materials from traders in the name of festivals like Ayudha Puja and Deepawali.

Officials whom Express spoke to said Bedi, as a top police officer, must have witnessed several such cases in the past while she was posted in Delhi. There are not many officials here in Puducherry who follow that kind of gift culture, said a senior officer. There are a few who greet seniors in person during such occasions, but not everyone, sources claimed.

However, inquiries with local traders revealed that the personnel from each police station collect sweets and crackers in bulk, which is then divided among themselves.

PUDUCHERRY: Thou shall not extort gifts from traders. And thou certainly shall not line up in front of senior officials with sweets, crackers, flowers and other gifts. When the Lieutenant Governor is former top cop Kiran Bedi, the activist officer who made even the notorious Tihar jail behave, it's not business as usual for the men in khaki in Puducherry, this festival season. The personnel have been directed explicitly not to indulge in either extortion or currying favour during Deepawali (Diwali). The advisory on gifts came from the police headquarters superintendent IRC Mohan, who issued the circular dated October 19 to all stations in the union territory, including the satellite towns of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam that come under it. All officers are directed not to visit the residence of senior officers with or without gifts or even flower bouquets on the occasion of Deepawali. Contravention of the above instruction would be viewed adversely, read the circular. Sources said the move came after the recent meeting of police officials convened by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi, who was a noted senior IPS official before she retired and joined public life as a politician. This directive has caught many officials off guard, with some of them speculating that the LG could have received complaints from traders and businesses about police officials extorting them during festival times. This is not the first warning. Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, too, had made it clear that stringent action including dismissal from service will be initiated against officials if they collected money or materials from traders in the name of festivals like Ayudha Puja and Deepawali. Officials whom Express spoke to said Bedi, as a top police officer, must have witnessed several such cases in the past while she was posted in Delhi. There are not many officials here in Puducherry who follow that kind of gift culture, said a senior officer. There are a few who greet seniors in person during such occasions, but not everyone, sources claimed. However, inquiries with local traders revealed that the personnel from each police station collect sweets and crackers in bulk, which is then divided among themselves.
Siva Sekaran By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has snubbed a Salem-based doctor-cum-advocate, who wanted to poke her nose into the issue relating to the health of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, by asking her to mind her own business.

G Pravina, an MBBS doctor, who also later became an advocate, appearing party in person, prayed the court to constitute an expert emergency life-saving committee, headed by the State Chief Secretary and consisting of specialist doctors drawn from government hospitals, one member from the judiciary and two close associates of the Chief Minister with the mandate of assessing and monitoring the line of treatment given by the doctors of Apollo Hospitals and to decide whether the CM requires immediate better medical treatment abroad.

The bench said the petitioner, who happens to be an MBBS graduate, seeks to intervene and determine how Jayalalithaa should be treated. We completely fail to understand the intervention sought to be made by the petitioner in the matter of this nature and it is for the people concerned to determine the nature of treatment. It is one more publicity interest litigation, the bench said and dismissed it.

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has snubbed a Salem-based doctor-cum-advocate, who wanted to poke her nose into the issue relating to the health of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, by asking her to mind her own business. G Pravina, an MBBS doctor, who also later became an advocate, appearing party in person, prayed the court to constitute an expert emergency life-saving committee, headed by the State Chief Secretary and consisting of specialist doctors drawn from government hospitals, one member from the judiciary and two close associates of the Chief Minister with the mandate of assessing and monitoring the line of treatment given by the doctors of Apollo Hospitals and to decide whether the CM requires immediate better medical treatment abroad. The bench said the petitioner, who happens to be an MBBS graduate, seeks to intervene and determine how Jayalalithaa should be treated. We completely fail to understand the intervention sought to be made by the petitioner in the matter of this nature and it is for the people concerned to determine the nature of treatment. It is one more publicity interest litigation, the bench said and dismissed it.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today called on chief minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital here where she is being treated for the past one month.

This is the governor's second visit to the hospital. He spent about 25 minutes there.

"The Governor visited the Chief Minister in the ward where she is undergoing treatment. The Governor was happy to note that she is progressing well," said a press release from Raj Bhavan.

Apollo Hospitals chairman Pratap C Reddy briefed the governor in detail about the treatment being given to the chief minister. He also informed the governor that Jayalalithaa was being treated by a team of specialists from the critical care group of the hospital.

Dr Pratap Reddy said Jayalalithaa continues to be under observation for all vital parameters, respiratory support and passive physiotherapy. She is interacting and responding remarkably to the treatment, he added.

Governor Vidyasagar Rao thanked the team of doctors attending on the chief minister for the care given by them.

The deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, M Thambidurai, Tamil Nadu finance minister O Panneerselvam, minister for electricity P Thangamani, minister for municipal administration S P Velumani, minister for health C Vijaya Baskar, chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, adviser to the government Sheela Balakrishnan, health secretary J Radhakrishnan received the governor at the hospital.

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao today called on chief minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital here where she is being treated for the past one month. This is the governor's second visit to the hospital. He spent about 25 minutes there. "The Governor visited the Chief Minister in the ward where she is undergoing treatment. The Governor was happy to note that she is progressing well," said a press release from Raj Bhavan. Apollo Hospitals chairman Pratap C Reddy briefed the governor in detail about the treatment being given to the chief minister. He also informed the governor that Jayalalithaa was being treated by a team of specialists from the critical care group of the hospital. Dr Pratap Reddy said Jayalalithaa continues to be under observation for all vital parameters, respiratory support and passive physiotherapy. She is interacting and responding remarkably to the treatment, he added. Governor Vidyasagar Rao thanked the team of doctors attending on the chief minister for the care given by them. The deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, M Thambidurai, Tamil Nadu finance minister O Panneerselvam, minister for electricity P Thangamani, minister for municipal administration S P Velumani, minister for health C Vijaya Baskar, chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, adviser to the government Sheela Balakrishnan, health secretary J Radhakrishnan received the governor at the hospital.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Ambassador of the the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Soud Mohammed Alsati informed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that they too would take part in the developmental activities of Telangana. Mohammed Alsati said that Saudi would invest in Telangana state in various sectors.

Alsati called on the Chief Minister at the latters camp office on Saturday. During the discussions, Rao told Alsati that there was a close relation between the cultures of Hyderabad and Saudi Arabia. The sixth Nizam Mahaboob Ali Pasha constructed a guest house (Rubat) near Kaba, Rao said and added that Telangana had a good relations with Saudi right from the Nizam time.

Chief Minister wanted the Alsati to set up Saudi Arabia Consulate office in Hyderabad. Alsati informed that the Saudi Arabia too was working in that direction. The Chief Minster told Alsati that around 3 lakh Telanganites were living in Saudi Arabia. The people from erstwhile Hyderabad State area too were living in Saudi Arabia and they were operating from Hyderabad as a Centre, Rao said and added that setting up of consulate office in Hyderabad would be useful for all of them.

Rao also explained that bringing the bodies of those died in Saudi Arabia during Haj pilgrimage became very difficult and wanted the Saudi Arabia government to take measures to ease the process.

The Chief Minister also explained the salient features of TS-iPASS and explained that TS was investor friendly state.

HYDERABAD: Ambassador of the the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Soud Mohammed Alsati informed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that they too would take part in the developmental activities of Telangana. Mohammed Alsati said that Saudi would invest in Telangana state in various sectors. Alsati called on the Chief Minister at the latters camp office on Saturday. During the discussions, Rao told Alsati that there was a close relation between the cultures of Hyderabad and Saudi Arabia. The sixth Nizam Mahaboob Ali Pasha constructed a guest house (Rubat) near Kaba, Rao said and added that Telangana had a good relations with Saudi right from the Nizam time. Chief Minister wanted the Alsati to set up Saudi Arabia Consulate office in Hyderabad. Alsati informed that the Saudi Arabia too was working in that direction. The Chief Minster told Alsati that around 3 lakh Telanganites were living in Saudi Arabia. The people from erstwhile Hyderabad State area too were living in Saudi Arabia and they were operating from Hyderabad as a Centre, Rao said and added that setting up of consulate office in Hyderabad would be useful for all of them. Rao also explained that bringing the bodies of those died in Saudi Arabia during Haj pilgrimage became very difficult and wanted the Saudi Arabia government to take measures to ease the process. The Chief Minister also explained the salient features of TS-iPASS and explained that TS was investor friendly state.
Express News Service

COLOMBO: Despite the existence of a unified Tamil identity, Sri Lankan Tamil society is rent by caste inequalities and is dived into Oppressing and Oppressed Castes.

But issues thrown up on caste inequalities do not find expression in the public domain for a variety of reasons, campaigners for social justice and researchers say.

Basically, there is a lack of awareness among the oppressed castes themselves, points out Ahilan Kadirgamar, a Jaffna-based economist who is a member of the Collective for Economic Democratization. There is also no platform to air views which clash with the need to assert Tamil unity, he adds.

The Tamil struggle for territorial independence or autonomy has necessitated the sinking of caste differences among the Tamils in the face of unrelenting opposition from the Sinhalese majority which is perceived by the Tamils to be a united group so far as the Tamil issue is concerned.

Lastly and most importantly, there is a general de-legitimization of issues which are perceived to be injurious to Tamil nationalism. The Tamil intelligentsia and the Tamil media have a tendency to ignore or to discourage discussion on the internal problems of Sri Lankan Tamil society, especially caste inequalities. The 30 year long militant movement took an active part in suppressing the expression of caste discrimination even as it banned the grosser manifestations of discrimination.

As a hangover of the past, universities in the Tamil area do not encourage research on caste inequalities, Kadirgamar points out.

This is basically because Tamil nationalism, and the traditional and modern institutions of Tamil society, continue to be in the hands of the dominant caste of Vellalas, observers Murugesu Chandrakumar, former MP and now a campaigner for social justice. With the educational institutions in their hands, the dominant caste has captured the commanding heights of all modern institutions including those of the government.

Chandrakumar points out that only a tiny fraction of the elected representatives of the Tamils are drawn from the Oppressed Castes. Only a small fraction of the officer cadre of the 36,000-strong bureaucracy of the Northern Provincial Administration is drawn from the Oppressed castes. And this is reflected in the distribution of the governments resources, he says. Chandrakumar related a case in which an Oppressed Caste man he had appointed as Principal of a school in Kilinochchi was removed by a dominant caste MP, the moment he lost his seat in parliament in 2015.

Kadirgamar says caste discrimination is reflected in the distribution of space in villages. The dominant upper castes occupy the best lands and the oppressed castes are given the worst. Some oppressed caste persons go to the Middle East as laborers but these come back with just enough to pay off their debts or build a house. There is very little evidence of social or economic mobility among the Oppressed Caste Gulf returnees.

However, thanks to the struggles between the mid-1960s and the mid 1970s, led by pro-Maoist Tamil Communists, the grosser forms of discrimination have ended. The right to enter temples and to eat together in public places were secured. But the struggle was not entirely peaceful. According to Kadirgamar, as many as 30 people were killed in caste clashes in a decade.

But the disappearance of the grosser forms of discrimination, has resulted in a lack of motivation to continue the struggle for social justice, Kadirgamar observes. Since there are no sentimentally touchy issues now, the Oppressed Castes have ceased to pay attention to their overall condition and seek remedies in tune with modern ideas of democracy, equality and justice, he says.

COLOMBO: Despite the existence of a unified Tamil identity, Sri Lankan Tamil society is rent by caste inequalities and is dived into Oppressing and Oppressed Castes. But issues thrown up on caste inequalities do not find expression in the public domain for a variety of reasons, campaigners for social justice and researchers say. Basically, there is a lack of awareness among the oppressed castes themselves, points out Ahilan Kadirgamar, a Jaffna-based economist who is a member of the Collective for Economic Democratization. There is also no platform to air views which clash with the need to assert Tamil unity, he adds. The Tamil struggle for territorial independence or autonomy has necessitated the sinking of caste differences among the Tamils in the face of unrelenting opposition from the Sinhalese majority which is perceived by the Tamils to be a united group so far as the Tamil issue is concerned. Lastly and most importantly, there is a general de-legitimization of issues which are perceived to be injurious to Tamil nationalism. The Tamil intelligentsia and the Tamil media have a tendency to ignore or to discourage discussion on the internal problems of Sri Lankan Tamil society, especially caste inequalities. The 30 year long militant movement took an active part in suppressing the expression of caste discrimination even as it banned the grosser manifestations of discrimination. As a hangover of the past, universities in the Tamil area do not encourage research on caste inequalities, Kadirgamar points out. This is basically because Tamil nationalism, and the traditional and modern institutions of Tamil society, continue to be in the hands of the dominant caste of Vellalas, observers Murugesu Chandrakumar, former MP and now a campaigner for social justice. With the educational institutions in their hands, the dominant caste has captured the commanding heights of all modern institutions including those of the government. Chandrakumar points out that only a tiny fraction of the elected representatives of the Tamils are drawn from the Oppressed Castes. Only a small fraction of the officer cadre of the 36,000-strong bureaucracy of the Northern Provincial Administration is drawn from the Oppressed castes. And this is reflected in the distribution of the governments resources, he says. Chandrakumar related a case in which an Oppressed Caste man he had appointed as Principal of a school in Kilinochchi was removed by a dominant caste MP, the moment he lost his seat in parliament in 2015. Kadirgamar says caste discrimination is reflected in the distribution of space in villages. The dominant upper castes occupy the best lands and the oppressed castes are given the worst. Some oppressed caste persons go to the Middle East as laborers but these come back with just enough to pay off their debts or build a house. There is very little evidence of social or economic mobility among the Oppressed Caste Gulf returnees. However, thanks to the struggles between the mid-1960s and the mid 1970s, led by pro-Maoist Tamil Communists, the grosser forms of discrimination have ended. The right to enter temples and to eat together in public places were secured. But the struggle was not entirely peaceful. According to Kadirgamar, as many as 30 people were killed in caste clashes in a decade. But the disappearance of the grosser forms of discrimination, has resulted in a lack of motivation to continue the struggle for social justice, Kadirgamar observes. Since there are no sentimentally touchy issues now, the Oppressed Castes have ceased to pay attention to their overall condition and seek remedies in tune with modern ideas of democracy, equality and justice, he says.
By Express News Service

DHAKA: In a major blow to ISIS-linked New Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh faction, its chief Abdur Rahman jumped to his death to evade arrest on October 8 during counter-terror raids in Ashulia in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladeshs Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) revealed on Friday evening.

Though ISIS has claimed the Holey Artisan Bakery attack on July 1 that claimed lives of 20 people, mostly foreign nationals including one Indian, security agencies in the eastern neighbourhood have always blamed homegrown terror outfits like JMB and its new faction New JMB for the attack. Investigations have confirmed that Abdur Rahman was the chief of the New JMB. He has been with the outfit since its formation in 1998, RAB director general Benazir Ahmed told mediapersons.

A native of Chapai Nawabganj district near the Indo-Bangladesh border at Malda district of West Bengal, Abdur Rahmans real name is Sarwar Jahan. He also went by the name Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif and has been claimed as the ISIS Bangladesh chief in the global terror organisations online magazine Dabiq, sources revealed. Dabiq regularly publishes about terror attacks in Bangladesh in its magazine, including the murder of a Hindu priest in northern Bangladesh and another attack on a Shia preacher in Jhenaidah in western Bangladesh.

With the death of New JMB chief in Bangladesh and arrest of JMB chief of West Bengal among 5 other operatives in Kolkata on September 26, the Islamic militant group is in disarray in the greater Bengal region. There are only 22 New JMB operatives remaining in Bangladesh, Benazir said. JMB militants go underground With heightened operations against the New JMB and JMB operatives throughout the country, several militants have gone underground, a senior official in the Counter Terrorism Unit of Bangladesh Police told Express over the phone.

We have conducted operations against them in Gazipur, Tangail, Narayanganj and many more places. Several of them have gone into hiding. But, we will hunt them down, the official said. JMB recruiting Rohingyas? With dwindling numbers, the militant organisation may seek new recruits for their organisation and what better than the persecuted Rohingyas, who will be easier to recruit based on their history of being at the receiving end.

Though police officials share the concern, they feel that monitoring Rohingyas would prevent terror groups from recruiting them. We Bangladeshis shared this concern the first day since we let the Rohingya refugees come in through Coxs Bazaar that Rohingyas may be easily recruited into terror groups. However, strict monitoring over the refugees activities will prevent the terror groups from making a base among the Rohingyas, the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

RAB comes to Kolkata to interrogate 6 JMB men Interrogators of Rapid Action Battalion reached Kolkata on Saturday to interrogate the 6 JMB men who were arrested by Kolkata Police on September 26, five of whom are accused in the Burdwan blasts. Of the six, three are Bangladeshi nationals and were wanted in their country for various terror activities.

DHAKA: In a major blow to ISIS-linked New Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh faction, its chief Abdur Rahman jumped to his death to evade arrest on October 8 during counter-terror raids in Ashulia in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladeshs Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) revealed on Friday evening. Though ISIS has claimed the Holey Artisan Bakery attack on July 1 that claimed lives of 20 people, mostly foreign nationals including one Indian, security agencies in the eastern neighbourhood have always blamed homegrown terror outfits like JMB and its new faction New JMB for the attack. Investigations have confirmed that Abdur Rahman was the chief of the New JMB. He has been with the outfit since its formation in 1998, RAB director general Benazir Ahmed told mediapersons. A native of Chapai Nawabganj district near the Indo-Bangladesh border at Malda district of West Bengal, Abdur Rahmans real name is Sarwar Jahan. He also went by the name Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif and has been claimed as the ISIS Bangladesh chief in the global terror organisations online magazine Dabiq, sources revealed. Dabiq regularly publishes about terror attacks in Bangladesh in its magazine, including the murder of a Hindu priest in northern Bangladesh and another attack on a Shia preacher in Jhenaidah in western Bangladesh. With the death of New JMB chief in Bangladesh and arrest of JMB chief of West Bengal among 5 other operatives in Kolkata on September 26, the Islamic militant group is in disarray in the greater Bengal region. There are only 22 New JMB operatives remaining in Bangladesh, Benazir said. JMB militants go underground With heightened operations against the New JMB and JMB operatives throughout the country, several militants have gone underground, a senior official in the Counter Terrorism Unit of Bangladesh Police told Express over the phone. We have conducted operations against them in Gazipur, Tangail, Narayanganj and many more places. Several of them have gone into hiding. But, we will hunt them down, the official said. JMB recruiting Rohingyas? With dwindling numbers, the militant organisation may seek new recruits for their organisation and what better than the persecuted Rohingyas, who will be easier to recruit based on their history of being at the receiving end. Though police officials share the concern, they feel that monitoring Rohingyas would prevent terror groups from recruiting them. We Bangladeshis shared this concern the first day since we let the Rohingya refugees come in through Coxs Bazaar that Rohingyas may be easily recruited into terror groups. However, strict monitoring over the refugees activities will prevent the terror groups from making a base among the Rohingyas, the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said. RAB comes to Kolkata to interrogate 6 JMB men Interrogators of Rapid Action Battalion reached Kolkata on Saturday to interrogate the 6 JMB men who were arrested by Kolkata Police on September 26, five of whom are accused in the Burdwan blasts. Of the six, three are Bangladeshi nationals and were wanted in their country for various terror activities.
By Associated Press

KHAZER: Iraqi forces pushed into a town to the southeast of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes, with ongoing skirmishes in some areas.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi commanders to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.

Two officers from the 9th Division confirmed troops had captured the government compound and raised the flag over it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The town is around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

IS meanwhile launched a massive attack in and around Kirkuk, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Mosul before dawn Friday in an apparent attempt to divert Iraqi security forces from the push on Mosul. Fighting raged throughout the day, with heavy gunfire echoing across the city and smoke rising over the skyline.

Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said Saturday morning that all the attackers were killed or blew themselves up. The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest, was quiet Saturday morning.

Witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin neighborhood, where at least two IS fighters were killed Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

Col. Redah Sheikh Latif, of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, confirmed there were ongoing skirmishes between IS snipers and security forces in the neighborhood but said the situation was contained. He said there was also some ongoing fighting in the suburb of Wara Tappa.

The militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk on Friday, and a local TV reporter was killed by a sniper in the city. It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians or the Kurdish security forces who control Kirkuk.

Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at liberating Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Carter's visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.

The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014, and the first since the Mosul operation began. The service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

KHAZER: Iraqi forces pushed into a town to the southeast of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday after a wave of militant attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk set off more than 24 hours of heavy clashes, with ongoing skirmishes in some areas. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with Iraqi commanders to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground. The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature. Two officers from the 9th Division confirmed troops had captured the government compound and raised the flag over it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The town is around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the country's second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014. Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city. Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area. IS meanwhile launched a massive attack in and around Kirkuk, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Mosul before dawn Friday in an apparent attempt to divert Iraqi security forces from the push on Mosul. Fighting raged throughout the day, with heavy gunfire echoing across the city and smoke rising over the skyline. Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said Saturday morning that all the attackers were killed or blew themselves up. The area around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was heaviest, was quiet Saturday morning. Witnesses said there were ongoing clashes in the Asra wa Mafkudin neighborhood, where at least two IS fighters were killed Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. Col. Redah Sheikh Latif, of the Kurdish peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, confirmed there were ongoing skirmishes between IS snipers and security forces in the neighborhood but said the situation was contained. He said there was also some ongoing fighting in the suburb of Wara Tappa. The militants killed 13 workers, including four Iranians, at a power plant north of Kirkuk on Friday, and a local TV reporter was killed by a sniper in the city. It was not clear if there were other casualties among civilians or the Kurdish security forces who control Kirkuk. Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at liberating Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to IS in 2014. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months. Carter's visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014, and the first since the Mosul operation began. The service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist. More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government will appoint a new army chief within a week or 10 days to replace incumbent General Raheel Sharif who is poised to retire by end of November, a senior minister has said.

"The government has not yet decided [as to who will be the new army chief] but is likely to announce his name in week or ten days time," Associated Press of Pakistan quoted State Minister for Capital Administration Tariq Fazl Chaudhry as saying.

General Raheel had announced several months ago that he will not seek a second term unlike his predecessor General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani.

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been under pressure to rename the successor of General Raheel to end uncertainty amidst domestic and external security challenges. Under the law, it is prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint the new army chief. His power are absolute in this regard but outgoing chief can give his advice.

Prime minister can pick any of the senior lieutenant general as army chief and he is not bound to follow he seniority of the officers

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government will appoint a new army chief within a week or 10 days to replace incumbent General Raheel Sharif who is poised to retire by end of November, a senior minister has said. "The government has not yet decided [as to who will be the new army chief] but is likely to announce his name in week or ten days time," Associated Press of Pakistan quoted State Minister for Capital Administration Tariq Fazl Chaudhry as saying. General Raheel had announced several months ago that he will not seek a second term unlike his predecessor General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani. The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been under pressure to rename the successor of General Raheel to end uncertainty amidst domestic and external security challenges. Under the law, it is prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint the new army chief. His power are absolute in this regard but outgoing chief can give his advice. Prime minister can pick any of the senior lieutenant general as army chief and he is not bound to follow he seniority of the officers
By Express News Service

COLOMBO: As tension rose in Tamil-speaking North Sri Lanka over the killing of two Jaffna University students by police near a checkpoint on October 20, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday ordered an impartial investigation and the five policemen involved have been arrested and remanded.

Meanwhile, fearing angry public demonstrations against it, police have beefed up security for the Jaffna police station with men brought in from outstation units. The police fear that the funerals planned for early next week, might turn into public demonstrations of anger against for what people consider as wanton killing of innocents by trigger happy cops.

Nataraya Kajan (23) and Paunraj Sulakshan (24), riding a motorbike, had ignored an order to stop when they passed a police checkpoint in the outskirts of Jaffna at about 11.30 pm on October 20. Instead of giving them a chase on their powerful motorbikes, the police promptly opened fire killing one on the spot. The other died when the vehicle crashed.

As Kajan and Sulakshan were both students of the highly politicized Arts Faculty of Jaffna University, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) got worried about an adverse political fallout. Its leader R.Sampanthan immediately contacted President Sirisena ,who quickly ordered an impartial investigation and suspension and arrest of five cops.

Given the potential political importance of the incident, leaders of political parties came out with their comments and appeals. Rehabilitation Minister D.M.Swaminathan appealed for calm, assuring action against the culprits. The Minister of National Dialogue, Mano Ganeshan, wondered why the police shot them above the waist when they had been trained to aim at the legs, and why they had not used the motorbike issued to them to give the errant boys a chase? Former MP and social justice campaigner, M.Chandrakumar, said that the problem of cops killing suspects arises from the fact that even constables are issued firearms, which they can misuse.

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran ,who is currently on tour in Europe, has been pleading with the Central government in Colombo to replace the army with civil police to maintain law and order in the hope that the police will be more sensitive to peoples needs. But the shooting incident at the police checkpoint shows that a police constable, like his army counterpart, can be equally inclined to use the firearms issued to him.

Jaffna and the Northern Province are now undergoing a phase of radicalization because in the last one and a half years of being in power, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime has shown very little progress in implementing its pledges to set up mechanisms to bring about post-war ethnic reconciliation.

And the TNA is also blamed because it is seen as an accomplice, being the governments chosen and loyal opposition in parliament. Students, intellectuals and the media have ganged up against the TNA and its leaders. Ironically, the leader of this movement is Chief Minister Wigneswaran, who was nominated to the post by the TNA.

Unless the Sirisena government pursues the shooting case to its logical conclusion through a quick and impartial investigation and punishes the culprits, its ally, the TNA, might suffer erosion of support in the Tamil heartland.

COLOMBO: As tension rose in Tamil-speaking North Sri Lanka over the killing of two Jaffna University students by police near a checkpoint on October 20, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday ordered an impartial investigation and the five policemen involved have been arrested and remanded. Meanwhile, fearing angry public demonstrations against it, police have beefed up security for the Jaffna police station with men brought in from outstation units. The police fear that the funerals planned for early next week, might turn into public demonstrations of anger against for what people consider as wanton killing of innocents by trigger happy cops. Nataraya Kajan (23) and Paunraj Sulakshan (24), riding a motorbike, had ignored an order to stop when they passed a police checkpoint in the outskirts of Jaffna at about 11.30 pm on October 20. Instead of giving them a chase on their powerful motorbikes, the police promptly opened fire killing one on the spot. The other died when the vehicle crashed. As Kajan and Sulakshan were both students of the highly politicized Arts Faculty of Jaffna University, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) got worried about an adverse political fallout. Its leader R.Sampanthan immediately contacted President Sirisena ,who quickly ordered an impartial investigation and suspension and arrest of five cops. Given the potential political importance of the incident, leaders of political parties came out with their comments and appeals. Rehabilitation Minister D.M.Swaminathan appealed for calm, assuring action against the culprits. The Minister of National Dialogue, Mano Ganeshan, wondered why the police shot them above the waist when they had been trained to aim at the legs, and why they had not used the motorbike issued to them to give the errant boys a chase? Former MP and social justice campaigner, M.Chandrakumar, said that the problem of cops killing suspects arises from the fact that even constables are issued firearms, which they can misuse. Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran ,who is currently on tour in Europe, has been pleading with the Central government in Colombo to replace the army with civil police to maintain law and order in the hope that the police will be more sensitive to peoples needs. But the shooting incident at the police checkpoint shows that a police constable, like his army counterpart, can be equally inclined to use the firearms issued to him. Jaffna and the Northern Province are now undergoing a phase of radicalization because in the last one and a half years of being in power, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime has shown very little progress in implementing its pledges to set up mechanisms to bring about post-war ethnic reconciliation. And the TNA is also blamed because it is seen as an accomplice, being the governments chosen and loyal opposition in parliament. Students, intellectuals and the media have ganged up against the TNA and its leaders. Ironically, the leader of this movement is Chief Minister Wigneswaran, who was nominated to the post by the TNA. Unless the Sirisena government pursues the shooting case to its logical conclusion through a quick and impartial investigation and punishes the culprits, its ally, the TNA, might suffer erosion of support in the Tamil heartland.
Tom Wheeler was appointed the 31st chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Obama in November 2013. Before that, he had spent much of his career lobbying on behalf of the cable and cellular industry (he was president of National Cable & Telecommunications Association from 1979 to 1984, and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association from 1992 to 2004). Because of that industry past, many consumer advocates were initially concerned that, as FCC chairman, he might take a lenient posture toward the companies the agency is tasked to regulate.

Those concerns proved unfounded. In the years since his appointment, Wheeler has fought hard for net neutrality (the principle that commercial networks should treat all data on the Internet the same way), eventually reclassifying internet service providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. That change allowed the FCC to regulate the delivery of internet services similar to the way it regulates landline phone companies. During his time as chairman, Wheeler has also used the FCCs regulatory power to raise the definition of broadband service from 4 megabits per second (Mbps) to 25 Mbps; fine multiple cellular providers over misleading unlimited data plans; impose new rules to protect consumers against robocalls; and opposed Comcast's bid to acquire Time Warner Cable, which those companies ultimately scrapped.

It's unclear whether Wheeler will remain as FCC chairman after President Obama leaves office. Nevertheless, he is still pursuing several big initiatives, including a rule to force cable companies to offer pay-TV services via free apps as an alternative to rented cable boxes, as well as new privacy protections for broadband customers.

As his third anniversary as FCC chairman approached, Wheeler came to Consumer Reports' headquarters in Yonkers, N.Y., for a tour of our labs and to talk with our staff. He also sat down with Glenn Derene, a Consumer Reports editor, for an interview about his time at the FCC, what he hopes to get accomplished in the coming months, and his thoughts on some of the technologies on the near horizon.

Story continues

(This interview has been condensed and edited.)



Privacy and Internet Companies

CR: I want to start with a few specifics about some policies that are being debated right now. First, Id like to discuss the proposed broadband provider privacy rules, since those are very important to us at Consumer Reports. You have your next meeting on the 27th. Are you confident that the commission will approve your proposal?

Wheeler: I'm hopeful. I think that what we have put before the commissioners is a thoughtful, important proposal that could be adopted. And we are working with their offices now to make sure everybody's comfortable and see what their thoughts are.

CR: You don't have to go through all of them, but can you explain some of the consumer benefits?

Wheeler: The key concept in privacy is that it's your information. And you turn that information over to a network. And that network ought to respect the fact that it's not their information, it's your information. And this is not to say that the network can't use that information but if they do, they have to have your permission.

And it's a model that we've had for decades with the telephone network. That you make a telephone call and all of the information that is necessary for the network to operate, who you're calling and all this kind of information, cannot be released without your permission. The same kind of concept ought to apply in the internet.

CR: So critics have raised concerns about why your proposed rules are different from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules for edge providers, for instance. I know that many of our readers might be confused as to the distinction between regulatory environments.

Wheeler: We have two different approaches. The FCC has the ability to make rules and broad policy. The FTC for the most part, does not have rulemaking authority and deals on a case-by-case adjudicatory model.

What we're trying to do with the privacy rules for networks is to say that the network that holds my information is different from the non-network activities, the so-called edge providers, the websites that you go to.

The network sees everything I do. A website sees what I do on that website. But the network sees all the websites I go to. If I don't like the privacy practices of a website, I can say I don't want to go to that website. But I don't really have too much choice in my broadband provider and my ability to easily get in and out of the broadband service and go to another provider with different privacy expectations.



Pay TV in the Age of the Internet

CR: I want to switch to the cable box proposal that you have on the books, too. I assume that is also going to be brought up on the 27th? I know it got postponed during the last meeting.

Wheeler: We're in the midst of discussions on that and that will determine when it gets scheduled.

CR: So the plan would effectively force cable companies to offer their pay TV services as apps they can run on hardware from third parties, right?

Wheeler: There was a law passed in 1996 that said that the FCC shallnot may, not ought to think about but shall, put in place rules that provide competitive choices for consumers for what were called navigation devicesthe ability to switch amongst channels of your cable or satellite provider. Yet, 20 years later, 99% percent of all pay TV subscribers have to rent their set-top box from their provider. And pay a monthly fee, month after month after month.

And so what we're trying to do is to say that the law is the law and that Congress mandated that there be choice in set-top boxes. There are great things happening in terms of technology that makes those boxes cheaper and with greater functionality than they have ever had and that the competitive marketplace ought to be available for consumers. And that's the proposal that is on the table.

CR: So what is to stop cable companies, if this passes, from a variety of other mechanisms they could do to essentially make back the moneycharging special fees that are not directly related to the apps or putting these apps in a special class of service? Is it up to the FCC to police that if this rule does go through?

Wheeler: It would be pretty obvious if something like that happens. I think there would probably be some consumer reaction. I think there would probably also be some political reaction. But what's important is that what our rulemaking does is give the consumer a choice to say rather than paying $10 a month, month after month, I want to go to Best Buy and buy something for $50 and be done with it.

CR: So would having these apps also allow, if they wanted, cable companies to compete across geography? In the way that Sling TV, for instance, has sort of opened the door to allow for pay-TV services to be offered over competing networks. So one, is that possible under this rule, and two, was it one of the intentions?

Wheeler: They all tend to have exclusive geographic franchises and they license the product for that. I think what you will see is an integrated search function so that on the same search mechanism where you go to find what's on your cable system, you'll also be able to see what's on the internet. You know today, we've got this incredibly confusing situation where if I want to watch my cable service, I've got one remote that I use. If I want us watch on Netflix, I've got another remote that I use. And where is the show?

So if you could have an integrated search function, then what would happen would be the consumers would have a great deal more choice. And a very exciting aspect is that independent programmers who can't get on the cable system but are over there on the internet, suddenly are out of this purgatory of being out here separate from what's available on cable. And they have new opportunities.

So I think what this is going to mean is a significant increase in consumer choice which is going to drive a significant increase in independent video programming.



The Times, They Are A-ChangingRapidly

CR: You've been arguably one of the more aggressive chairman of the FCC in modern history, what is it about the telecommunications industry that requires aggressive oversight?

Wheeler: Well, let me see if I can look at that from a slightly different vantage point. I happen to be fortunate enough to be the chairman of the FCC in a time of incredible network change. The manner in which we connect as a society is going through the greatest upheaval that we've seen for the last 100, maybe 150 years. And I'm just a guy who happens to be sitting in the seat when decisions have to be made about how are we going to deal with those kind of changes. Because the way in which society deals with technological change that affects them is through their coming together in government and looking for solutions.

CR: Youve been an advocate for the aggressive deployment of 5G cellular networks in America. Why are they necessary? And what is the consumer use of a 5G network?

Wheeler: Think about wireless fiber optic. Think about a wireless signal that moves 10 to 100 times faster than what you're used to today. Think about the ability to do in a mobile environment, from anywhere, the things that today you can only do in a fixed environment where you're lucky enough to hook onto a fiber optic cable. Think about what 5G and wireless fiber could mean in those areas of the country like remote rural areas where there isn't fiber or where it's too expensive to string fiber.

We've identified where the spectrum is going to be. We're the first country in the world to do that. And that is going to give our wireless providers and manufacturers an opportunity to lead the world in this new and really important technology.

CR: Last question. There's an administration change coming up soon. And there will be another one after that, what can be done to protect the legacy of what you've accomplished, and may still accomplish, during your tenure?

Wheeler: This is an issue of trying to make the best decisions at a point in time when decisions were called for. And they will stand or fall on their own over the course of history.

The people who are fortunate enough to follow me as chair of the FCC will have their own set of issues to deal with. I'm just trying to deal with the issues that are in front of us, not to try to make decisions for somebody else down the road.







More from Consumer Reports:

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By Associated Press

ISLAMABAD: Three senior Taliban members traveled to Pakistan this week and held a series of meetings with Pakistani officials in Islamabad, mainly to brief them about the recent talks held in Qatar between the Taliban and Kabul, a senior Taliban official, an Afghan diplomat and a Pakistani official said Saturday.

The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, said he was aware of the meetings but refused to offer details. "We know about these recent meetings but we don't know what was discussed between the Taliban and Pakistani officials," he said.

According to a senior Taliban official, the Taliban who were sent to Pakistan were Mullah Salam Hanifi and Mullah Jan Mohammed, both former ministers in the Taliban government, and Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

A senior Pakistani security official confirmed the latest meetings between the Taliban and Pakistani authorities, saying Islamabad is playing its role to ensure peace in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly said it will support any effort aimed at bring peace in Afghanistan.

"We will keep making efforts to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban, as we did in July 2015, but the world knows who scuttled the peace process at the time and we do not want to discuss those bitter things," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media on the record on the issue.

Pakistan arranged the first ever face-to-face talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015, but the peace process broke down after the Afghan government announced the death years earlier of the Taliban's one-eyed founder and leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.

In the time since, a leadership struggle within the Taliban's ranks broke into the open and Omar's successor was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. The latest development came after Taliban and Afghan government officials held new secret talks in Qatar aimed at restarting peace negotiations to end the country's long war.

Pakistan was not involved in the talks and the Taliban said Pakistan was not aware of them until they were over.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said Thursday that Islamabad believes a four-country group comprising China, the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan and which was formed to help bring the Talban into dialogue with Kabul, is the best forum in which "Pakistan is ready to play its role." It said Pakistan would continue to back the "Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process."

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, angered by a series of attacks in Kabul he blamed on Taliban living in Pakistan, said he no longer wanted Pakistan involved in negotiations.

The former head of the Taliban's Doha office, Muhammad Tayyab Agha, sent a letter sent this month to the Taliban's new leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, urging the movement leaders to leave Pakistan and break ties with Islamabad. The Afghan government and the United States have accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban, including its fiercest faction, the Haqqani Network, blamed for some of the worst attacks, particularly in Kabul.

Agha's Pashtu language letter was given to Radio Free Europe's Pashtu-language Mashaal Radio on Thursday, after Akhundzada asked Agha to return to the Doha office.

In the letter, Aga said the Taliban leaving Pakistan would prevent Pakistan from interfering and would also benefit Pakistan, which is under increasing international pressure to help get the Taliban to the negotiating table and to force them out of Pakistan.

Agha's letter also urged the Taliban to drop reference to the Doha office as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and refer to the Taliban as a movement instead, bowing to one of the key demands of the Afghan government, which has refused to accept the Doha office as a government-in-exile.

Agha also said Akhundzada should drop the title Amir-ul-Momineen, or Leader of the Faithful, which had been adopted by Mullah Omar.

A major demand and one that would affect the Haqqani network was that the Taliban control "foreign fighters." He also wanted permission to devise a policy with consultations from not just religious leaders but also university professors and other elders. Another demand was to remove the Taliban's links to the Pakistani and Iranian intelligence agencies, a step likely to anger both countries. Agha also called for an end to attacks on mosques throughout the country.

ISLAMABAD: Three senior Taliban members traveled to Pakistan this week and held a series of meetings with Pakistani officials in Islamabad, mainly to brief them about the recent talks held in Qatar between the Taliban and Kabul, a senior Taliban official, an Afghan diplomat and a Pakistani official said Saturday. The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, said he was aware of the meetings but refused to offer details. "We know about these recent meetings but we don't know what was discussed between the Taliban and Pakistani officials," he said. According to a senior Taliban official, the Taliban who were sent to Pakistan were Mullah Salam Hanifi and Mullah Jan Mohammed, both former ministers in the Taliban government, and Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A senior Pakistani security official confirmed the latest meetings between the Taliban and Pakistani authorities, saying Islamabad is playing its role to ensure peace in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly said it will support any effort aimed at bring peace in Afghanistan. "We will keep making efforts to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban, as we did in July 2015, but the world knows who scuttled the peace process at the time and we do not want to discuss those bitter things," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media on the record on the issue. Pakistan arranged the first ever face-to-face talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015, but the peace process broke down after the Afghan government announced the death years earlier of the Taliban's one-eyed founder and leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. In the time since, a leadership struggle within the Taliban's ranks broke into the open and Omar's successor was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. The latest development came after Taliban and Afghan government officials held new secret talks in Qatar aimed at restarting peace negotiations to end the country's long war. Pakistan was not involved in the talks and the Taliban said Pakistan was not aware of them until they were over. Pakistan's foreign ministry said Thursday that Islamabad believes a four-country group comprising China, the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan and which was formed to help bring the Talban into dialogue with Kabul, is the best forum in which "Pakistan is ready to play its role." It said Pakistan would continue to back the "Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process." Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, angered by a series of attacks in Kabul he blamed on Taliban living in Pakistan, said he no longer wanted Pakistan involved in negotiations. The former head of the Taliban's Doha office, Muhammad Tayyab Agha, sent a letter sent this month to the Taliban's new leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, urging the movement leaders to leave Pakistan and break ties with Islamabad. The Afghan government and the United States have accused Pakistan of harboring the Taliban, including its fiercest faction, the Haqqani Network, blamed for some of the worst attacks, particularly in Kabul. Agha's Pashtu language letter was given to Radio Free Europe's Pashtu-language Mashaal Radio on Thursday, after Akhundzada asked Agha to return to the Doha office. In the letter, Aga said the Taliban leaving Pakistan would prevent Pakistan from interfering and would also benefit Pakistan, which is under increasing international pressure to help get the Taliban to the negotiating table and to force them out of Pakistan. Agha's letter also urged the Taliban to drop reference to the Doha office as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and refer to the Taliban as a movement instead, bowing to one of the key demands of the Afghan government, which has refused to accept the Doha office as a government-in-exile. Agha also said Akhundzada should drop the title Amir-ul-Momineen, or Leader of the Faithful, which had been adopted by Mullah Omar. A major demand and one that would affect the Haqqani network was that the Taliban control "foreign fighters." He also wanted permission to devise a policy with consultations from not just religious leaders but also university professors and other elders. Another demand was to remove the Taliban's links to the Pakistani and Iranian intelligence agencies, a step likely to anger both countries. Agha also called for an end to attacks on mosques throughout the country.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter will celebrate the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in the crucial swing state of Virginia with the members of the Indian-American community, who have traditionally supported the Democratic party in the US polls.

Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali with Indian-Americans during her visit to the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, campaign officials and community leaders said.

This is the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple.



Last week, Trump attended a charity event organised by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian-American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people.

The visit of Ivanka, 34, a successful businesswoman and a key figure of the Trump campaign, to the Rajdhani Temple would "go a long way in breaking the stereotype," that the campaign "represents only angry white voters," said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia.

"This is a big positive for the community," he told PTI.

Inaugurated in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade.

In addition to recognising the significant role the Indian-American community plays in the US and embracing its cultural and religious diversity, the Trump Campaign's move to send Ivanka to a Hindu temple is seen as an effort to woo this ethnic community in the November 8 presidential election.

The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.

There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members.

Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feel its latest move would help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter will celebrate the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in the crucial swing state of Virginia with the members of the Indian-American community, who have traditionally supported the Democratic party in the US polls. Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali with Indian-Americans during her visit to the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, campaign officials and community leaders said. This is the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple. Last week, Trump attended a charity event organised by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian-American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people. The visit of Ivanka, 34, a successful businesswoman and a key figure of the Trump campaign, to the Rajdhani Temple would "go a long way in breaking the stereotype," that the campaign "represents only angry white voters," said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia. "This is a big positive for the community," he told PTI. Inaugurated in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade. In addition to recognising the significant role the Indian-American community plays in the US and embracing its cultural and religious diversity, the Trump Campaign's move to send Ivanka to a Hindu temple is seen as an effort to woo this ethnic community in the November 8 presidential election. The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport. There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members. Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feel its latest move would help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.
By The Daily Telegraph

Donald Trump is not consistent on many things, but he always sticks by Vladimir Putin. Even when forced to concede that Putin might have done something bad, such as ordering murder, he qualifies it. Like fellow-traveller Leftists of the 1970s, he goes in for bogus moral equivalence ("Well, I think our country does plenty of killing"). Hillary Clinton, he said in the TV debate on Wednesday, is a "nasty woman". But the fact that Mr Putin is a nasty man seems to hold a sort of allure for Mr Trump. Putin "outsmarts" Mrs Clinton, he jibes.

How have we got to the point when a Russian leader can be a role model for someone who might become president of the United States?

Partly because of American weakness. In the 2012 presidential campaign, the Republican nominee Mitt Romney challenged the incumbent, Barack Obama. When Romney described Russia as a hostile power, everyone smart laughed. What a preposterously Cold-War mentality he was exhibiting! Didn't he realise we live in the 21st century?

Since then, Russia has annexed the Crimea, and effectively invaded parts of Ukraine. It rattles weapons much more frightening than sabres near the borders of the Baltic States. Now it is bombing Aleppo.

The front page of The Daily Telegraph yesterday led with a picture of a Russian aircraft carrier and battle cruiser heading for the Mediterranean through the English Channel. It was almost nostalgically horrible - the old Russian territorial ambitions, the grim, grey ships steaming through the grim, grey seas.

President Obama and, in consequence, the rest of the West, have done very little in response. His main foreign policy initiatives have been to do with apology - particularly to Muslims - rather than action. If he has intervened, he has usually proved readier to do so against friendly powers. He told the British how to vote in the EU referendum, and has tried to interfere in Israeli elections in order to get more Arabs on the register. He misunderstood the Arab "Spring", let the Syrian disaster happen, and created a vacuum in the Middle East, making space for Isil as well as Russia. This has weakened Western interests in Lebanon, Jordan, the Gulf States and Turkey, pushing some of those countries to seek other partners.

This, in turn, has led to human flight, producing demographic trouble in Europe and the consequent spread of instability across our continent.

Vladimir Putin happily exploits all this, not just because he is an adventurer, but because he really does not believe in the post-Cold War settlement. In the 1990s, we in the West felt it had all ended happily once, with Russian co-authorship, "Helsinki" human rights and national democratic freedoms had been guaranteed across the formerly Communist Eastern bloc.

Putin's Russia rejects this vision. It claims it was forced to accept it in a moment of weakness. The Russians' view of the world is quite different from ours of a comity of free countries. They seek a system like that constructed by the Yalta agreement of 1945, in which the globe is carved up into spheres of influence. Within its sphere, Russia would be free to oppress its subject peoples (in Estonia, Ukraine, perhaps even Poland) as it saw fit. Putin has challenged the post-Cold War settlement so fiercely that you could almost say there isn't one any more. The rules of the international system have broken down.

In the West, we do not fully understand this. So we either excuse Putin - as do Trump, Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage - as a means of attacking our own leaders, or we condemn him - as do Boris Johnson and Theresa May - without a clear sense of what to do about it. According to James Sherr of Chatham House, the key thing to grasp is that "We can't repair the partnership: we must intelligently manage the antagonism."

Sixty years ago on Monday, Soviet tanks entered Budapest. After a few days of pretending to treat with the anti-Communist Hungarian revolution which had temporarily overthrown the Russian imperium, they crushed it. Thousands died. This horrible event helped sow the seeds of a resistance which, thanks to Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II and brave dissidents in the East, eventually liberated the Warsaw Pact countries in 1989.

What the invasion of Hungary did not do, however, was create inter- and transcontinental instability. Hungary was in the Soviet sphere, and so the Nato allies were not obliged by treaty to intervene. But in 2016, if Putin decides to invade the Baltic states or Poland, or indeed, Hungary, we are.

In this sense, the situation now is more dangerous than it was then. The Russians can see that we don't know what we would do if they attacked (let alone merely subverted) a Nato ally. Putin may conclude that our indecision is so great that he could get away with it.

That, after all, is what he has clearly decided about Syria. Perhaps guessing that Trump will not win the presidential election and that President Hillary Clinton will be tougher against him than Mr Obama, he seems to be going all out to grab what Russia calls "useful Syria" right now. By the time she is inaugurated at the end of January, he will have got what he wants. Grabbing now, while we dither, is his policy everywhere.

The breakdown of the international system is made more noxious by the Russian mood. There is resentment against the West, supported by massive propaganda at home, conveyed in American accents abroad. Perverse though it may sound, this chimes with discontents in the West. Groupings as apparently various as the Front National in France and the Stop the War Coalition in Britain tap in to Putinesque anger, a process which the Russians actively assist.

In the United States, Mr Trump raises this to a degenerate political art-form, in which one of America's bitterest enemies is presented as some sort of inspiration for American patriots. I do not know whether it is true that Putin money and cyber-technology are helping the Trump campaign. If not, and Mr Trump is doing the Russian leader's work for free, he is an even more peculiar customer than he seems. His threat this week to contest the democratic result would make any oligarch proud.

The West has no policy towards Russia, beyond protest at Putin's actions. It cannot have a policy without a strategy, and that strategy cannot be normalisation. It should be more like the old policy of "containment", not seeking to change Russia within, but setting limits to her ambitions by protecting our friends and allies in other countries.

One of the few things that has always worried me about leaving the European Union is the fear that, by doing so, Britain will help Vladimir Putin get what he wants. I do not believe that it will do so, however, because the EU cannot stop him anyway. It is so ill-suited to conducting a great-power foreign policy which can link the military and political dimensions. The Cold-War experience, which we are being forced to revisit, tells us that this is best done by a strong Nato. Now that Mrs May has become a Leaver, she would be a fine spokesman to press this thought upon the next president of the United States.



Donald Trump is not consistent on many things, but he always sticks by Vladimir Putin. Even when forced to concede that Putin might have done something bad, such as ordering murder, he qualifies it. Like fellow-traveller Leftists of the 1970s, he goes in for bogus moral equivalence ("Well, I think our country does plenty of killing"). Hillary Clinton, he said in the TV debate on Wednesday, is a "nasty woman". But the fact that Mr Putin is a nasty man seems to hold a sort of allure for Mr Trump. Putin "outsmarts" Mrs Clinton, he jibes. How have we got to the point when a Russian leader can be a role model for someone who might become president of the United States? Partly because of American weakness. In the 2012 presidential campaign, the Republican nominee Mitt Romney challenged the incumbent, Barack Obama. When Romney described Russia as a hostile power, everyone smart laughed. What a preposterously Cold-War mentality he was exhibiting! Didn't he realise we live in the 21st century? Since then, Russia has annexed the Crimea, and effectively invaded parts of Ukraine. It rattles weapons much more frightening than sabres near the borders of the Baltic States. Now it is bombing Aleppo. The front page of The Daily Telegraph yesterday led with a picture of a Russian aircraft carrier and battle cruiser heading for the Mediterranean through the English Channel. It was almost nostalgically horrible - the old Russian territorial ambitions, the grim, grey ships steaming through the grim, grey seas. President Obama and, in consequence, the rest of the West, have done very little in response. His main foreign policy initiatives have been to do with apology - particularly to Muslims - rather than action. If he has intervened, he has usually proved readier to do so against friendly powers. He told the British how to vote in the EU referendum, and has tried to interfere in Israeli elections in order to get more Arabs on the register. He misunderstood the Arab "Spring", let the Syrian disaster happen, and created a vacuum in the Middle East, making space for Isil as well as Russia. This has weakened Western interests in Lebanon, Jordan, the Gulf States and Turkey, pushing some of those countries to seek other partners. This, in turn, has led to human flight, producing demographic trouble in Europe and the consequent spread of instability across our continent. Vladimir Putin happily exploits all this, not just because he is an adventurer, but because he really does not believe in the post-Cold War settlement. In the 1990s, we in the West felt it had all ended happily once, with Russian co-authorship, "Helsinki" human rights and national democratic freedoms had been guaranteed across the formerly Communist Eastern bloc. Putin's Russia rejects this vision. It claims it was forced to accept it in a moment of weakness. The Russians' view of the world is quite different from ours of a comity of free countries. They seek a system like that constructed by the Yalta agreement of 1945, in which the globe is carved up into spheres of influence. Within its sphere, Russia would be free to oppress its subject peoples (in Estonia, Ukraine, perhaps even Poland) as it saw fit. Putin has challenged the post-Cold War settlement so fiercely that you could almost say there isn't one any more. The rules of the international system have broken down. In the West, we do not fully understand this. So we either excuse Putin - as do Trump, Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage - as a means of attacking our own leaders, or we condemn him - as do Boris Johnson and Theresa May - without a clear sense of what to do about it. According to James Sherr of Chatham House, the key thing to grasp is that "We can't repair the partnership: we must intelligently manage the antagonism." Sixty years ago on Monday, Soviet tanks entered Budapest. After a few days of pretending to treat with the anti-Communist Hungarian revolution which had temporarily overthrown the Russian imperium, they crushed it. Thousands died. This horrible event helped sow the seeds of a resistance which, thanks to Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II and brave dissidents in the East, eventually liberated the Warsaw Pact countries in 1989. What the invasion of Hungary did not do, however, was create inter- and transcontinental instability. Hungary was in the Soviet sphere, and so the Nato allies were not obliged by treaty to intervene. But in 2016, if Putin decides to invade the Baltic states or Poland, or indeed, Hungary, we are. In this sense, the situation now is more dangerous than it was then. The Russians can see that we don't know what we would do if they attacked (let alone merely subverted) a Nato ally. Putin may conclude that our indecision is so great that he could get away with it. That, after all, is what he has clearly decided about Syria. Perhaps guessing that Trump will not win the presidential election and that President Hillary Clinton will be tougher against him than Mr Obama, he seems to be going all out to grab what Russia calls "useful Syria" right now. By the time she is inaugurated at the end of January, he will have got what he wants. Grabbing now, while we dither, is his policy everywhere. The breakdown of the international system is made more noxious by the Russian mood. There is resentment against the West, supported by massive propaganda at home, conveyed in American accents abroad. Perverse though it may sound, this chimes with discontents in the West. Groupings as apparently various as the Front National in France and the Stop the War Coalition in Britain tap in to Putinesque anger, a process which the Russians actively assist. In the United States, Mr Trump raises this to a degenerate political art-form, in which one of America's bitterest enemies is presented as some sort of inspiration for American patriots. I do not know whether it is true that Putin money and cyber-technology are helping the Trump campaign. If not, and Mr Trump is doing the Russian leader's work for free, he is an even more peculiar customer than he seems. His threat this week to contest the democratic result would make any oligarch proud. The West has no policy towards Russia, beyond protest at Putin's actions. It cannot have a policy without a strategy, and that strategy cannot be normalisation. It should be more like the old policy of "containment", not seeking to change Russia within, but setting limits to her ambitions by protecting our friends and allies in other countries. One of the few things that has always worried me about leaving the European Union is the fear that, by doing so, Britain will help Vladimir Putin get what he wants. I do not believe that it will do so, however, because the EU cannot stop him anyway. It is so ill-suited to conducting a great-power foreign policy which can link the military and political dimensions. The Cold-War experience, which we are being forced to revisit, tells us that this is best done by a strong Nato. Now that Mrs May has become a Leaver, she would be a fine spokesman to press this thought upon the next president of the United States.
By The Daily Telegraph

As a superhero battling to save us all, Wonder Woman might have expected a warm welcome from the workers for world peace at the United Nations.

But the cartoon heroine, on her official appointment as UN ambassador for women's empowerment, was given the cold shoulder by her new colleagues.

More than 1,000 UN staff members have signed a petition calling on Ban Ki-moon to reconsider the fictitious superhero's role, saying it was an affront to all the real women working hard to improve the lives of women and girls.

"The bottom line appears to be that the United Nations was unable to find a real life woman that would be able to champion the rights of all women." the authors of the petition wrote.

Yesterday Gal Gadot, the star of a new Wonder Woman film, and Lynda Carter, who played the superhero on American television from 1975-79, were at the UN for the ceremony.

But signatories of the petition, from countries including Mexico, Austria, Afghanistan, Burma and the UK, disagreed with the choice of an ambassador described as "a large-breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee-high boots."

With the UN still struggling to deal with allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers, and the US election dominated by Donald Trump's boasts about groping women, the authors wrote: "It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in the United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls."

It also came as the United Nations this month rejected seven female candidates for secretary-general, choosing instead Antonio Guterres of Portugal.

Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said it had listened to concerns and had changed the Wonder Woman campaign to reflect them. He said the campaign would now "bring a celebration of real-life women and girls making a difference every day into the core messaging".

But Anne Marie Goetz, an academic and a former adviser to the UN, who had campaigned for a first female secretary-general, called the choice "disgusting." She suggested that Wonder Woman should use her "lasso of truth" to expose the United Nations' "hypocrisy."



As a superhero battling to save us all, Wonder Woman might have expected a warm welcome from the workers for world peace at the United Nations. But the cartoon heroine, on her official appointment as UN ambassador for women's empowerment, was given the cold shoulder by her new colleagues. More than 1,000 UN staff members have signed a petition calling on Ban Ki-moon to reconsider the fictitious superhero's role, saying it was an affront to all the real women working hard to improve the lives of women and girls. "The bottom line appears to be that the United Nations was unable to find a real life woman that would be able to champion the rights of all women." the authors of the petition wrote. Yesterday Gal Gadot, the star of a new Wonder Woman film, and Lynda Carter, who played the superhero on American television from 1975-79, were at the UN for the ceremony. But signatories of the petition, from countries including Mexico, Austria, Afghanistan, Burma and the UK, disagreed with the choice of an ambassador described as "a large-breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee-high boots." With the UN still struggling to deal with allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers, and the US election dominated by Donald Trump's boasts about groping women, the authors wrote: "It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in the United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls." It also came as the United Nations this month rejected seven female candidates for secretary-general, choosing instead Antonio Guterres of Portugal. Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said it had listened to concerns and had changed the Wonder Woman campaign to reflect them. He said the campaign would now "bring a celebration of real-life women and girls making a difference every day into the core messaging". But Anne Marie Goetz, an academic and a former adviser to the UN, who had campaigned for a first female secretary-general, called the choice "disgusting." She suggested that Wonder Woman should use her "lasso of truth" to expose the United Nations' "hypocrisy."
Ritu Sharma By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India is asserting its sovereignty in the Tawang region, claimed by China, through aggressive diplomacy. After sending invite to 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Arunachal Pradesh welcomed US top diplomat in India Ambassador Richard Verma, a first for a US Envoy.

The first visit by a US Ambassador to Tawang has come at a time as the US warships are sailing close to the islands that China claims to be within its sovereign waters in the South China Sea.

Stunning mountains and wonderful people. Terrific visit to Arunachal Pradesh for the Tawang Festival. Thank You Tawang for the hospitality, Ambassador Verma added as he tweeted a photograph of his with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the backdrop of picturesque mountain. Verma was welcome by Khandu as the festival took place in his home town. Verma had reached Tawang on Friday from Guwahati accompanied by Sonowal.

China has been staking claims on Arunachal Pradesh particularly Tawang that it contends to be southern Tibet. India has been disputing it. The Tawang visit of the US Ambassador to India is going to evoke strong statements from Beijing that has in the past as well has not shied away from objecting to the visits of foreign dignitaries to the town in the northeast.

The US Ambassadors visit comes at a time when India China bilateral ties are at their lowest ebb, owing to Beijing obstructing New Delhis bid to enter NSG and coming to Pakistans defence on the issue of Terrorism. The US Ambassador will be joined by Minister of State Kiren Rijiju on Saturday for the inauguration of the festival. Rijiju tweeted his best wishes for the Ambassador in his message on Friday.

This indicates the official nature of the visit that has allowed India and the US to join hands to assert against China. Beijing is unlikely to let it pass as the visit, a first by a US Ambassador indicates the Washingtons recognition that Tawang is part of India.

This comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Khandus invitation to Dalai Lama for a visit to Tawang next year. In 2009 when Dalai Lama had visited the town with strong Buddhist traditions, China had objected strongly to it. In Tawang, Dalai Lama is akin to reincarnation of God and China does not enjoy goodwill for persecuting the holiest of all Lamas. China has however claimed rights on Tawang on the basis of Tibets historical control on it.

NEW DELHI: India is asserting its sovereignty in the Tawang region, claimed by China, through aggressive diplomacy. After sending invite to 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Arunachal Pradesh welcomed US top diplomat in India Ambassador Richard Verma, a first for a US Envoy. The first visit by a US Ambassador to Tawang has come at a time as the US warships are sailing close to the islands that China claims to be within its sovereign waters in the South China Sea. Stunning mountains and wonderful people. Terrific visit to Arunachal Pradesh for the Tawang Festival. Thank You Tawang for the hospitality, Ambassador Verma added as he tweeted a photograph of his with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the backdrop of picturesque mountain. Verma was welcome by Khandu as the festival took place in his home town. Verma had reached Tawang on Friday from Guwahati accompanied by Sonowal. China has been staking claims on Arunachal Pradesh particularly Tawang that it contends to be southern Tibet. India has been disputing it. The Tawang visit of the US Ambassador to India is going to evoke strong statements from Beijing that has in the past as well has not shied away from objecting to the visits of foreign dignitaries to the town in the northeast. The US Ambassadors visit comes at a time when India China bilateral ties are at their lowest ebb, owing to Beijing obstructing New Delhis bid to enter NSG and coming to Pakistans defence on the issue of Terrorism. The US Ambassador will be joined by Minister of State Kiren Rijiju on Saturday for the inauguration of the festival. Rijiju tweeted his best wishes for the Ambassador in his message on Friday. This indicates the official nature of the visit that has allowed India and the US to join hands to assert against China. Beijing is unlikely to let it pass as the visit, a first by a US Ambassador indicates the Washingtons recognition that Tawang is part of India. This comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Khandus invitation to Dalai Lama for a visit to Tawang next year. In 2009 when Dalai Lama had visited the town with strong Buddhist traditions, China had objected strongly to it. In Tawang, Dalai Lama is akin to reincarnation of God and China does not enjoy goodwill for persecuting the holiest of all Lamas. China has however claimed rights on Tawang on the basis of Tibets historical control on it.
By Associated Press

BAGHDAD: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants.

His unannounced visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. And it comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara Friday when he announced there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle to retake Mosul, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.

This is Carter's third trip to Iraq this year, and he has overseen the steady increase in the number of U.S. forces deployed to the fight and the growth of America's effort to train and advise Iraqi troops. In his past two stops in Iraq, Carter announced White House decisions to increase the U.S. troop level there. There are no expectations that he will do that again this time.

Instead, he will meet with Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight is going and whether or not any changes, increased resources or other assistance is needed.

Carter's meetings in Turkey signal moves to tamp down escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. The divide has only grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape.

There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.

The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

U.S. defense and military officials have said that while the offensive has started well, they expect the complex fight for the city to get more difficult. And they said they will be watching to see how aggressively the Islamic State militants fight for Mosul, or if more leaders flee the city.

Meanwhile, in what officials thought was an attempted diversion from the Mosul fight, IS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people.

Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials.

A U.S. military officer said the Islamic State group has set up a multi-layered defense in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defense are what the U.S. military calls disruption zones, where IS fighters are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs.

The official said the US does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings; the expected IS focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Islamic State fighters in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders have likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave.

The U.S. is uncertain how hard IS will defend Mosul. But, once the fighting gets to the center of the city, IS will have certain advantages that are more favorable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more U.S. forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

____

BAGHDAD: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants. His unannounced visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. And it comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara Friday when he announced there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle to retake Mosul, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out. This is Carter's third trip to Iraq this year, and he has overseen the steady increase in the number of U.S. forces deployed to the fight and the growth of America's effort to train and advise Iraqi troops. In his past two stops in Iraq, Carter announced White House decisions to increase the U.S. troop level there. There are no expectations that he will do that again this time. Instead, he will meet with Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight is going and whether or not any changes, increased resources or other assistance is needed. Carter's meetings in Turkey signal moves to tamp down escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. The divide has only grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape. There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city. The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist. U.S. defense and military officials have said that while the offensive has started well, they expect the complex fight for the city to get more difficult. And they said they will be watching to see how aggressively the Islamic State militants fight for Mosul, or if more leaders flee the city. Meanwhile, in what officials thought was an attempted diversion from the Mosul fight, IS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people. Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials. A U.S. military officer said the Islamic State group has set up a multi-layered defense in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defense are what the U.S. military calls disruption zones, where IS fighters are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs. The official said the US does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings; the expected IS focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity. The U.S. estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Islamic State fighters in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders have likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave. The U.S. is uncertain how hard IS will defend Mosul. But, once the fighting gets to the center of the city, IS will have certain advantages that are more favorable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement. More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more U.S. forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines. ____
By PTI

MOSCOW: The Russian defence ministry today accused the US-led coalition fighting jihadists in Iraq of committing war crimes, a day after an air raid killed 15 women at a shrine near the city of Kirkuk.

"We have observed several times that these deadly strikes... which have all the hallmarks of war crimes, have practically become a daily routine by the international coalition's warplanes," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

"Far too often, weddings, funeral processions, hospital, police posts and humanitarian convoys are targeted by the coalition," he added.

The statement came after French President Francois Hollande accused Russia of committing war crimes in Syria, where its warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

MOSCOW: The Russian defence ministry today accused the US-led coalition fighting jihadists in Iraq of committing war crimes, a day after an air raid killed 15 women at a shrine near the city of Kirkuk. "We have observed several times that these deadly strikes... which have all the hallmarks of war crimes, have practically become a daily routine by the international coalition's warplanes," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. "Far too often, weddings, funeral processions, hospital, police posts and humanitarian convoys are targeted by the coalition," he added. The statement came after French President Francois Hollande accused Russia of committing war crimes in Syria, where its warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Royal Navy Russia kuznetsov hms richmond

The British Royal Navy has sent warships to "man-mark," or closely watch, Russia's northern fleet as it prepares to pass though the English Channel.

The Russian fleet includes the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier.

"When these ships near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way. We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe," a Ministry of Defence spokesman told the Telegraph.

The Admiral Kuznetsov task group, which includes the carrier, battlecruisers, and smaller destroyers, set out for Syria's coast in the Mediterranean to continue the brutal siege of Aleppo, a strategically important city in northeastern Syria that government forces have tried to retake control of for years.

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, called Russia's actions in support of Syria's Assad "sickening atrocities."

The Royal Navy is no stranger to run-ins with Russia's fleet, as tensions between Russia and the West mount and as Russian submarine activity spikes to its highest level since the Cold War.

Norwegian navy ships photographed the aircraft aboard the Kuznetsov taking off, in apparent practice for their upcoming carrier-based strikes against Aleppo.

kuznetsov russia navy aircraft carrier

The pictures do not indicate conclusively whether or not the customary tugboat sails alongside the Kuznetsov, which has been plagued by mechanical troubles in the past.

The Royal Navy's The Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan will monitor the group, the Associated Press reports.

NOW WATCH: The US struck radar sites in Yemen after rebels tried to attack a Navy ship with missiles





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Bush 41 nephew blasts Trump and Clinton, and reveals who he plans to vote for

Jonathan Bush, nephew of former President George H.W. Bush, told CNBC on Friday he's not thrilled with Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton , and he hopes the election will bring about change in the two-party system.

The athenahealth (ATHN) chairman and CEO said on "Squawk on the Street" he plans to vote for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson on Nov. 8.

"I've settled on the fact that if you can't stand the 'nut' on the left, and you can't stand the 'nut' on the right, go for the 'Johnson,'" Jonathan Bush joked.

He said a vote for the former New Mexico governor will help "frack apart this tired, broken Democratic Party into two more reasonable groups, and frack apart the Republican Party in the same way."

While expressing disappointment with the two major party candidates, Bush said he's especially mystified by Republican Trump.

"I grew up believing deeply in my Uncle George's Republican Party, really feeling like it was good for people, and when I listen to Bill Weld talk I feel the same way," Bush said, referring to Johnson's running mate Bill Weld, the former Massachusetts governor.



Jonathan Bush also addressed the departure of his brother, Billy, from NBC's "Today."

Billy Bush had come under fire for his involvement in the leaked 2005 "Access Hollywood" video in which Trump bragged about groping women.

"I certainly think any outrage from your folks at NBC has got to be crocodile outrage given that they've built 'The Donald,'" Jonathan Bush said, noting Trump's trademark reality show "The Apprentice" aired on NBC.

"I don't blame NBC," Bush continued, "but please don't be silly, NBC. We've all been a part of this."

NBC said it has no comment on Jonathan Bush's remarks.

Jonathan Bush also said everyone has been faced with  and missed  opportunities to stand up to wrongdoing, and that he's sure his brother Billy will bounce back from the scandal.

Jonathan and Billy Bush are the sons of Josephine and Jonathan Bush, who is the brother of the 41st president. Last month, Politico quoted a Kennedy family member as saying the former president told her he plans to vote of Clinton .

Disclosure: NBCUniversal owns NBC and CNBC.




Donald Trump came out strongly against the pending AT&T-Time Warner merger at a campaign stop Saturday in Gettysburg, Penn.

The Republican presidential candidate characterized the potential combination as a deal we will not approve in my administration because its too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.

Trump also came out swinging against Comcast, threatening to unwind its previous acquisition of NBC Universal.

Additionally, Comcasts purchase of NBC concentrates far too much power in one massive entity that is trying to tell the voters what to think and what to do, said Trump, who once had a series on NBCs primetime lineup, The Apprentice. Deals like this destroy democracy.

Well look at breaking those deals up like that and other deals like that. This should have never ever been approved in the first place. They are trying to poison the mind of the American voter.

In addition, Trump had harsh words for Amazon, where founder Jeff Bezos is also owner of The Washington Post, a newspaper that has drawn previous criticism from the presidential candidate. He alleged that the company isnt paying billions of dollars in taxes, giving Amazon an unfair advantage over struggling department stores all over the country.

In his speech, Trump also indicated he intended to sue after the election the women who are alleging he sexually assaulted them.

Trump is expected to make several speeches this weekend in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state for him in his bid to claim the presidency over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

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President Barack Obama

Republicans roundly criticized a Thursday speech from President Barack Obama in which he defended the Affordable Care Act, his administration's signature healthcare law that is better known as Obamacare.

During the speech Obama said that the law was working but needed adjustments and that Republicans were criticizing the law only because he was the one who passed it.

"So why is there still such a fuss?" Obama said. "Well, part of the problem is the fact that a Democratic president named Barack Obama passed the law."

Obama also said Republicans could rename the law "Reagancare, or they can call it Paul Ryan-care," as long as they agreed to make changes and not repeal it.

Republicans were quick to respond to Obama, saying the law was not working as the president described but rather was failing Americans.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement that he was "not sure what healthcare law he's talking about."

"He wondered out loud why there's been such a fuss," Ryan said. "It's no secret: It's because of Obamacare. That's why we've seen record premium hikes. That's why millions of people  including millennials  have lost their plans or been forced to buy plans they don't like. That's why we've seen waste, fraud, and abuse. And at this point, one thing is clear: This law can't be fixed."

Sen. Ted Cruz was also not a fan of the speech, according to a statement from his spokesperson Phil Novack to Business Insider. The statement played on a joke Obama made comparing Obamacare to a new cell phone that has a few bugs.

"Obamacare is a disaster. Yesterday, President Obama compared his signature law to new smartphones with 'a few bugs' or worse yet  ones that catch fire," said the statement, referring to the recent Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploding phone controversy. "There was some truth to his comparison  Obamacare truly is going down in flames. No updates or fixes can save its corrupt structure."

Story continues

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse also criticized the speech and pointed to many of the same issues as Ryan: rising premiums and millions of Americans having lost their plans.

"There's a 'fuss' about Obamacare because it's a disastrous failure," Sasse said in a statement.

The Nebraska senator continued: "Theres a 'fuss' because millions of families have already lost their plans and millions more will this year. There's a 'fuss' because premiums have gone through the roof. There's a 'fuss' because more than half of the CO-OPs failed and now big insurance companies are scrambling for the exit. There's a 'fuss' because even Democrats know it's 'crazy.'"

Sasse was alluding to statements from Bill Clinton, who early this month referred to Obamacare in a speech as the "craziest thing" and said the current health-insurance system "doesn't make any sense." He later clarified his position that he supported Obamacare, but his comments have continued to be highlighted by Republicans.

Kevin Brady, the head of the House's Ways and Means Committee, told Business Insider in a statement that Republicans would continue to reduce regulation on healthcare and criticized the speech from Obama.

"President Obama's answer to his law's clear failures is to double down on the same misguided approach that led to higher health-insurance premiums and fewer choices," Brady said. "That's hardly the antidote workers and families are looking for as they struggle to find quality insurance options, pay for care, or visit the doctor of their choice."

Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado used Twitter to express his disagreement with Obama's speech:

Obamacare is anything but affordable for tens of thousands of Coloradans facing average premium increases of 20.4% on the individual market  Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) October 20, 2016

Instead of having access to "affordable health care," Coloradans have seen their plans cancelled, premiums increased, and choices restricted https://t.co/mzilTKvoFB  Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) October 20, 2016

While it is true that many people have been forced to shift to different plans because of insurers leaving the marketplaces set up under Obamacare, the law has resulted in a net addition of 20 million insured people. The uninsured rate is also at its lowest level ever.

Premiums, however, have skyrocketed for those on the exchanges, with some states seeing rises as high as 60%. About three out of four Americans receive coverage from their employer or a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid, however, so these hikes would not directly affect their premiums.

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Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 44F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 44F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
New research led by the University of Liverpool aims to improve the administration and availability of drug therapies to HIV patients through the use of nanotechnology.

The research, conducted by the collaborative nanomedicine research programme led by Pharmacologist Professor Andrew Owen and Materials Chemist Professor Steve Rannard, examined the use of nanotechnology to improve the delivery of drugs to HIV patients.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale. Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to the prevention and treatment of disease in the human body. This evolving discipline has the potential to dramatically change medical science and is already having an impact in a number of clinically used therapies and diagnostics worldwide.

Leading research

Currently, the treatment of HIV requires daily oral dosing of HIV drugs, and chronic oral dosing has significant complications that arise from the high pill burden experienced by many patients across populations with varying conditions leading to non-adherence to therapies.

Recent evaluation of HIV patient groups have shown a willingness to switch to nanomedicine alternatives if benefits can be shown. Research efforts by the Liverpool team have focused on the development of new oral therapies, using Solid Drug Nanoparticle (SDN) technology which can improve drug absorption into the body, reducing both the dose and the cost per dose and enabling existing healthcare budgets to treat more patients.

Poorly available

Presently, no clinically available oral nanotherapies exist for HIV populations and conventional paediatric HIV medicines are poorly available. The programme examined one current paediatric formulation that utilizes high ethanol concentrations to solubilize lopinavir, a poorly soluble antiretroviral.

Through the use of a rapid small-scale nanomedicine screening approach developed at Liverpool, the researchers were able to generate a novel water dispersible nanotherapy, hence removing the need to use alcohol in the paediatric medicine.

The research, funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is in ongoing human trials, and the preclinical development has been published in Nature Communications today (Friday, 21 October 2016).

Wide applicability

Professor Owen said "The fruits of our interdisciplinary research are beginning to be realised. Our approach has the potential to overcome challenges with current antiretroviral therapy, which include administration of high doses needed to achieve efficacious concentrations in the body, and the urgent need for better formulations for children living with HIV."

Professor Rannard added "The wide applicability of our strategy has implications for multiple therapy development programmes and we are actively engaged in the creation of nanomedicine options to impact a range of clinical needs."
The rapid rise in portion sizes has gone hand in hand with rising rates of obesity. To curb supersizing, governments and public health institutions have advocated portion size limits and health warnings, but they have had limited success. Consumers feel they are being infantilized and food marketers feel they're being squeezed as they typically extract higher profits from bigger portions.

But new research has found that people can be encouraged to choose smaller, healthier portions, without compromising on enjoyment. In their article, published in the October 2016 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research, Pierre Chandon, the L'Oreal Chaired Professor of Marketing, Innovation and Creativity at INSEAD and Yann Cornil, Assistant Professor of the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, find that people will choose smaller portions of chocolate cake when they are asked to vividly imagine the multisensory pleasure (taste, smell, texture) of similar desserts.

How can focusing on the pleasure of food make people want smaller portions? When it comes to eating, pleasure is inversely related to size. It is at its maximum in the first few bites of the food. Each additional bite becomes then less enjoyable and it is the last bite which determines the overall impression of how much we enjoyed the food. When people choose portions based on value for money, or the fear of being hungry, they end up choosing one of today's supersized portions which are just not that enjoyable to eat toward the end.

Cornil and Chandon also show that unlike health warnings, this multisensory imagery does not reduce expected eating enjoyment or willingness to pay for the food. In fact, "focusing on the pleasure of eating, rather than value for money, health, or hunger, makes people happier to pay more for less food," said Chandon.

Cornil and Chandon conducted five different experiments using different groups such as French schoolchildren, adult Americans and young Parisian women. In the first study, 42 French schoolchildren were asked to imagine - incorporating their five senses - the pleasure of eating familiar desserts and were then asked to choose portions of brownies. They naturally chose portions of brownies that were two sizes smaller than the portions chosen by children in a control condition.

In another experiment, Cornil and Chandon imitated high end restaurants by describing a regular chocolate cake as smelling of "roasted coffee" with "aromas of honey and vanilla" with an "aftertaste of blackberry". This vivid description made 190 adult Americans choose a smaller portion compared to a control condition where the cake was simply described as "chocolate cake". The study also had a third condition, in which people were told about the calorie and fat content of each cake portion. This nutrition information also led people to choose a smaller portion, but at a cost: It reduced the amount that people were willing to pay for the cake by about $1 compared to the multisensory condition.

A third study showed that people underestimated how much they will enjoy eating small portions of chocolate brownies. They expected to enjoy small portions less than larger ones, when actually both were enjoyed equally. This mistake was eliminated by multisensory imagery, which made people better forecasters of their own future eating enjoyment.

"Having more descriptive menus or product labels that encourage customers to use their senses can lead to positive outcomes for consumer satisfaction and health, but also for profits," said Cornil. "This could make for a more sustainable food industry, which struggles to grow in the face of today's obesity epidemic."

The study was based on Cornil's PhD dissertation which was conducted at INSEAD under the mentorship of Chandon who is also the director of the INSEAD Sorbonne University Behavioural Lab. This article has implications for health authorities and a wide range of food providers, from food manufacturers and restaurants to catering companies for schools and hospitals.
A study in the current journal Oncotarget provides the first evidence linking a disturbance of the most common protein in the body with a poor outcome in pancreatic cancer.

The study reinforces growing evidence that collagen, which forms fibrous networks in skin, tendons and muscles, is intimately involved in several cancers, says the paper's corresponding author, Kevin Eliceiri, director of the Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation (LOCI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For the study, the Wisconsin researchers examined surgical tissues from 114 pancreatic cancer patients and identified a particular rearrangement of collagen fibers surrounding the tumor as a "biomarker" of early death.

A similar rearrangement of collagen has also been found in breast cancer, head, neck, esophageal and colorectal cancers.

"Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body," says Eliceiri. "It's a beautiful molecule  wavy, with a fibrous nature. Without it we would be a sack of nothing. With this little molecule, the specific fiber organization really matters to metastasis."

The images were created using an automated laser scanning microscope developed at LOCI that shines a laser at tumor specimens mounted on microscope slides. The laser's bright, rapid pulses interact with the collagen fibers, which glow and reveal exquisite details of their structure and relationship to nearby fibers.

The new study tested how collagen formation might affect metastasis, Eliceiri says. "We did not know anything about survival when we measured the alignment of the collagen in tumors from 114 pancreatic cancer patients. When we looked at the clinical records, we found that the tumors with highly aligned collagen fibers had the worst survival. To our knowledge, this is the first time this technique was used for prognostic purposes in pancreatic cancer."

First author Cole Drifka, a biomedical engineering postdoctoral researcher, conceived and performed the study under the supervision of Eliceiri and W. John Kao, a professor of pharmacy. "The powerful tissue resource used in this study was made possible by generous financial donations from Teresa's Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer and the Tim and Mary Ann McKenzie Chair of Surgical Oncology Professorship," says Drifka. "Above all, it was made possible by the selfless tissue donations by UW Health patients. The new tissue collection represents a blossoming institutional focus on pancreatic cancer and is now available to all campus researchers seeking to comprehend this challenging disease."

Finding and fighting metastases is a focus in cancer treatment, Eliceiri explains. "The original tumor seldom kills; poor prognosis is usually due to metastases as they spread to new tissues and organs."

The LOCI lab specializes in developing new imaging techniques for living things, with a special interest in studying cells in their microenvironment rather than in isolation. In the case of several major tumor types, the collagen matrix plays a critical role, Eliceiri says.

For reasons yet to be determined, he adds, "cancer progression seems to be associated with the reorientation of the direction of the collagen. The tumor starts with collagen wrapped around it, but when it's time to metastasize, the collagen fiber changes it alignment."

If alignment matters to metastasis, "We want to know what causes the alignment shift, because then maybe we could block that change," Eliceiri says. For example, if a signaling molecule initiates the realignment, it could be a target for drugs.

Collagen, a structural protein often involved in scarring and wound healing, is emerging as an important factor in a number of other diseases, Eliceiri says. "Collagen may be harmful or protective, but in every disease where collagen is present, it's part of the disease process."

More than a dozen labs at UW-Madison are working on various aspects of collagen. For example, Patricia Keely, professor and chair of cell and regenerative biology who studies the matrix surrounding cells, is exploring its link to breast cancer. Paul Campagnola, a professor of biomedical engineering, is exploring its link in ovarian and lung cancer. Sharon Weber, a co-author on the Oncotarget paper and a professor of surgery, concentrates on pancreatic cancer.

Understanding collagen's role in cancer could have several uses, Weber says.

"Prognosis, which is our focus in this paper, is one. Can we identify some signature in the pattern of collagen that will help us understand which patients are going to do well and which are not? Might collagen patterns also help us sort out which patients should undergo surgery? The patterns of collagen in cancer might also be used to ascertain the effectiveness of chemotherapy or radiation so that we can utilize those toxic treatments in those patients who will benefit most."

In cancer, Weber says, knowledge is power. "It would be amazing if we could use these differences in collagen patterns to help discover new therapeutic targets for this devastating disease."
Scientists at the University of Basel discovered a fundamental new mechanism explaining the inadequate immune defense against chronic viral infection. These results may open up new avenues for vaccine development. They have been published in the journal "Science Immunology".

In the course of an infection or upon vaccination, specialized cells of our immune system, so-called B cells, produce antibodies that bind viruses and inactivate them. In the context of chronic viral infections such as HIV or hepatitis C virus, however, antibody production by B cells is quantitatively inadequate and starts too late.

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A team of scientists headed by Prof. Daniel Pinschewer at the Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, reports that the inadequate antibody response to chronic viral diseases is due to the strong inflammatory reaction upon infection. While most pronounced at the onset of an infection, inflammation can persist for decades, especially in HIV/AIDS.

Hasty immune response lasts only short-term

Under the influence of inflammatory messengers, so called interferons, B cells produce as many antibodies as they possibly can. Unfortunately, this hasty response occurs at the expense of sustainability. B cells that turn on antibody production too quickly lose their potential to proliferate and die shortly thereafter. As a consequence, the immune response takes an impetuous start but subsides rapidly.

The scientists assume that this panic reaction of B cells reflects a mechanism ensuring an optimized response to acute life threatening infections. In the context of chronic infections, however, the battle is not decided within a matter of days, but rather only after months or years. Under these circumstances, the hasty reaction of our body seems inappropriate and may actually favor the virus.

Cornerstone for new vaccines

For viral diseases such as HIV or hepatitis C protective vaccines remain unavailable. The scientists are hopeful that the discovery of this fundamental mechanism may provide a basis to improve vaccination strategies against chronic viral diseases.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) has received a $351,721 continuing grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). This highly competitive grant, awarded through the THECB's Primary Care Innovation Grant program, recognizes innovative medical school programs that focus on increasing the number of primary care physicians in Texas.

The Longitudinal Primary Care Track (LPCT) provides medical students with the opportunity to care for underserved populations. Through the program, students gain valuable hands-on experience at the Salud sin Fronteras clinic treating migrant farmworkers -- free of charge.

"This project focuses on improving students' leadership, mentoring, and patient advocacy skills to help them develop professionally," said LPCT founder Charmaine Martin, M.D., who is also the director of medical student education. The second-year students will mentor the new group coming in.

Students in the primary care program are exposed to the health care needs of a unique underserved community in which many live below the poverty line. This exposure ultimately helps raise the medical students' awareness of the plight of the farmworkers, and piques their interest in pursuing primary care.

"It is very exciting to receive this THECB grant and to be able to continue working with the students to develop the migrant farmworkers clinic into a student-run clinic," Dr. Martin said. "We have a great team. Tracy Leonard is the grant coordinator, and of course, the students, Carlos Marentes, director of Sin Fronteras, and our community partners are essential to the success of the program."

The LPCT was one of just seven awardees in the state to receive a 2016-18 grant. This is the second Primary Care Innovation Grant where THECB has recognized TTUHSC El Paso's commitment to unique patient groups.
Prescribing a medication plan for a patient with Parkinson's disease is a big challenge for doctors, but now a University of Rhode Island biomedical engineering professor and his students are making great strides in solving that problem with their groundbreaking research.

Kunal Mankodiya, director of URI's Wearable Biosensing Laboratory, says he's researching how to transform gloves, socks, clothing and even shoes into high-tech items that will make people healthierand improve their lives.

"We are in the era of game-changing technology, especially in health care," says Mankodiya. "URI's College of Engineering is pioneering new medical devices that will change the way people receive medical care. It's an exciting time for the Universityand Rhode Islanders."

Mankodiya's research focuses on smart textileswearable items embedded with sensors, electronics and software that can collect data from patients, even though they are at home, and deliver it to doctors. The benefit is that doctors will be able to make more informed decisions remotely, and patients will be more involved with their care.

The professor and his team of students have been working on "smart wearables" for years as part of their research on the "Internet of Things," a framework to automate human interactions with Cloud computing. One creation that made headlines last year was a wristband that monitors the tremors of Parkinson's patients and sends that information to doctors over an Internet connection.

This year, the team is turning its attention to textiles, designing items for patients with neurological illnesses. The gloves are the latest project. They are embedded with sensors on the fingers and thumb that measure tremors and rigiditycommon symptoms of Parkinson's.

The gloves, in turn, are connected to cell phones, which process the data and deliver it to neurologists in their offices. This way, doctors can manage the treatment plan of the patient day-to-day, ensuring that medication is working properly and eliminating the need for patients to make stressful clinical visits.

"Patients with Parkinson's face many mobility issuesdriving and even walking long distances," Mankodiya says. "The glove will give patients the option of receiving health care while remaining at home, and it also reduces the risk of falls and other accidents."

Mankodiya is also working on high-tech socks for people who have suffered strokes. Again, sensors and software woven into the fabric relay information about a patient's gait to doctors and physical therapists so they can tailor rehabilitation therapy to each patient.

"The socks examine the walking stride," Mankodiya says. "They can quantify movements of the knee and ankle joints to find subtle irregularities that require therapy. The socks also monitor a patient's progress."

Other projects focus on developing tools to image, sense and record brain function to treat Parkinson's, as well as other neurological diseases, like epilepsy. The projects were made possible through National Science Foundation grants, one of which involves collaboration with Walter Besio, URI professor of biomedical engineering.

In addition, Mankodiya is partnering with Lifespan Hospitals to create smartwatch technologies for patients with psychiatric illnesses and autism. Although research is still in the early stages, the watches are expected to measure the patient's daily behavior and activities.

Nick Peltier, a senior majoring in computer science, is creating a smartwatch app that will help people with autism. He says the project is the most satisfying one he's tackled at URI.

"I hope the watch will help these patients learn about themselves and make it easier for the parents and caregivers to know what's going on,'' says Peltier, of Coventry. "Let's say a response is triggered every Tuesday, at the same time, on the patient's smartwatch. The next step would be to determine what's happening during that time on that day so the person can make adjustments.''

Matt Constant, a junior computer engineering major, is also working on the smartwatch app, as well as the glove. "It's very fulfilling,'' says Constant of West Warwick. "I get to apply what I'm learning in classes and also help people. I'm experiencing things at URI that I would never learn otherwise. It's exciting working on important problems like this at such a young age.''

Born in India, Mankodiya received his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Saurashtra University and his doctorate in computer science from the University of Luebeck in Germany. He did post-doctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University and joined URI in 2014.

Besides running his lab, he also teaches a popular course called the "Wearable Internet of Things.'' Some students in his class are working on a smart dog collar to scare away coyotes. Based on a coyote-resistant vest created by a Middletown 7th grader, the collar is expected to shine brightly and ring when coyotes are nearby.

How does the collar know coyotes are lurking? "Good question!" says Mankodiya. "That is the challenge the students have to answer."

Mankodiya also is collaborating with URI's Business Engagement Center to encourage textile manufacturing companies to partner with the University to create new high-tech products.

Mankodiya is busy off campus, too. He represents URI's College of Engineering in Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, a federally-funded organization based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The group is a partnership between industry and academia that is sparking a manufacturing revolution by turning traditional fibers, yarns and fabrics into high-tech devices.

"URI is an energetic institution that makes it possible for professors like me to think outside the box," says Mankodiya. "I integrate learning by doing and hands-on studies into my research and teaching. We all want to create a next generation of engineers who are highly skilledand compassionate."

This November, voters in Rhode Island will be asked to approve Question 4 on the ballot. If passed, the investment will pave the way to attract businesses and create the high-paying, high-skilled jobs Rhode Island needs by authorizing $45.5 million in bonds to expand URI's highly successful College of Engineering ($25.5 million) and create a URI-affiliated innovation campus program ($20 million) that will pair cutting edge research with private sector investments to create the jobs of the future. Both projects will support the type of work Professor Mankodiya and other researchers are engaged in to move innovation forward in the state.
Lucknow: In what is being seen as a show of strength in the party split down the middle, Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav has called a meeting of MLAs and MLCs at his residence on Sunday.



However, legislators considered too close to Shivpal Yadav have not been invited for the de-facto legislature party meeting.



Phone calls extending the invite have gone to 175 out of the total 300 odd MLAs and MLCs, which are considered either close to Akhilesh camp or are seen to be neutral. The Chief Minister heads the government by dint of being the leader of the majority party in the Vidhan Sabha, and Akhilesh's attempt to call the meeting of party lawmakers is being seen as an attempt to establish that.



This pre-emptive strike by the Akhilesh's camp comes just 24 hours ahead of a similar meet called on Monday by SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lucknow.



With both sides digging in their heels, attempts at rapprochement by the old guard have not yet borne any results. A senior party leader, who is involved in the exercise, told CNN News 18 that the situation was "explosive" and Mulayam Singh is aggrieved.



"Mulayam Singh told party leaders that such personal allegations have not even been made by his fiercest of adversaries during his entire political career," he said.



Party MLC Udayveer Singh, who wrote a letter to Mulayam Singh earlier this week alleging interference by people within the SP's first family, was sacked for six years earlier on Saturday.



Udayveer, considered close to Akhilesh Yadav, had sought free hand to the CM in running the affairs of the party ahead of assembly polls.



Meanwhile, sources in the Shivpal camp alleged that "no official meeting of the MLAs has been called by the party on Sunday".



People have come to know of the meeting through the media, the source insisted.



"Shivpal Yadav has not got any call from anyone. If invited he will definitely attend," said the source, adding those who go for tomorrow's meeting would be closely watched. How many turn up for the meeting on Monday by Netaji would be the real test," he said.


New Delhi: So, the much-awaited "surgery" may take a little while longer.



Congress sources told CNN-News18 on Saturday that a Congress Working Committee could be called in the first week of November to seek extension for Sonia Gandhi as party president.



This would mean that the elevation of vice president Rahul Gandhi is delayed. But there is also a view within the party that Rahul could be made working president, so that it sends out the message that he is calling the shots. This will also give the impression that Sonia is around for longer, a move being made to placate the old guard.



The party leadership feels that, say, like Rita Bahuguna Joshi, many other veterans who feel sidelined could move out and this would be embarrassing for the Congress ahead of crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states .



The younger leaders however feel that Rahul needs to take the plunge now, and that any delay would only create confusion among the cadre.




Washington: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's daughter will celebrate the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in the crucial swing state of Virginia with the members of the Indian-American community, who have traditionally supported the Democratic party in the US polls.



Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali with Indian-Americans during her visit to the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, campaign officials and community leaders said.



This is the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple.



Last week, Trump attended a charity event organised by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian- American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people.



The visit of Ivanka, 34, a successful businesswoman and a key figure of the Trump campaign, to the Rajdhani Temple would "go a long way in breaking the stereotype," that the campaign "represents only angry white voters," said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia.



"This is a big positive for the community," he told PTI.



Inaugurated in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade.



In addition to recognising the significant role the Indian-American community plays in the US and embracing its cultural and religious diversity, the Trump Campaign's move to send Ivanka to a Hindu temple is seen as an effort to woo this ethnic community in the November 8 presidential election.



The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.



There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members.



Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feel its latest move would help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.
New Delhi: Former Medical Council of India (MCI) chief Ketan Desai, who faced allegations of corruption, was on Friday appointed as the president of the World Medical Association (WMA), triggering a controversy.



A WMA statement said that Desai, a former President of MCI and the Indian Medical Association (IMA), delivered his inaugural speech as President of the WMA at the Association's Annual Assembly in Taiwan.



However, Kunal Saha, President, People for Better Treatment (PBT), who is based out of US has sent a legal notice to the MCI and the Union Health Ministry, demanding immediate action to stop this "atrocity".



Saha, who is a physician of Indian origin in US and had set up the voluntary organisation to expose medical malpractices and corruption in health care, also said that he will move the Supreme Court if Indian authorities fail to take any action within seven days.



"I have sent a legal notice to the MCI and Health Ministry demanding immediate action to stop this atrocity. We will move SC if Indian authorities fails to take any action within 7 days," he told PTI.



Asked when Desai took over as president of the WMA, its press contact Nigel Duncan in an email reply said, "Today at the WMA's annual Assembly in Taipei." Asked about Desai's appointment in the backdrop of allegations of corruption against him, Duncan replied, "In response to your query a WMA comment would be that 'to our knowledge all criminal charges have been dismissed against Dr. Desai'".



According to reports, government dissolved MCI and removed Desai from the post of MCI president in April, 2010 after the CBI arrested him for alleged bribery and corruption.



Last year, however, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court had acquitted Desai in the case. A separate alleged corruption case is pending in a court in Delhi. The Supreme Court has stayed the proceedings in the case.
Srinagar: Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's elder son, a doctor at a government hospital in Srinagar, was on Saturday arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, family sources told IANS.



Naim Geelani was arrested at around 10 a.m. when he was on his way to the residence of his father, the hardline Hurriyat leader, at Hyderpora.



"He was not allowed inside the house and police arrested him," a family source said.



The arrest comes ahead of the senior Geelani's scheduled "address to the nation" over telephone on Saturday afternoon.



The police has barred the entry of the senior Geelani's family members, media and most visitors to his residence. "Authorities have also installed jammers at the residence to block all phone connectivity," the source added.



Geelani, who has been leading the unrest in Kashmir Valley since the July 8 killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, has been under continuous house arrest.



Geelani along with other separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, has been issuing the "protest calendars" every week under the banner of "Joint Resistance Leadership".



The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had in mid August summoned Naim Geelani and questioned him in connection with a Preliminary Enquiry registered by the probe agency.



The state police and security agencies have been picking up many separatist leaders and their party workers, and even those the government feels are "instigators" of the violence.


Hyderabad: Describing triple talaq as anti-constitutional and anti-civilisation, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said it's time the country should abolish this "gender discrimination", in the light of principles of justice, dignity and equality.



Triple talaq is anti-constitutional, against law, against the principles of democracy and anti-civilisation.



This kind of opinion is on the rise. There is a discussion going on, on this subject. Already so much of time has been taken. It is time the country should move forward to abolish 'triple talaq' to end the discrimination and also have gender justice and equality before law. We should end this," Naidu told reporters.



"Even Muslim women are demanding justice. There should not be any gender discrimination. There should be gender justice. All are equal before the Constitution," he said speaking here on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.



He suggested that as the Supreme Court is currently scrutinising the issue, anybody can go and voice their concerns.



On the Uniform Civil Code, he said, "the government will do everything in a transparent manner. It will take Parliament into confidence. Some sections are resorting to a false propaganda that the government is trying to implement Common Civil Code from backdoor."



On October 7, the Centre for the first time, had opposed in Supreme Court the practise of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims and favoured a re-look on the grounds like gender equality and secularism.



The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit, referred to constitutional principles such as gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries to drive home the point that the practice of triple talaq and polygamy needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.



The law panel's move was significant as the Supreme Court had recently said it would prefer a wider debate, in public as well as in court, before taking a decision on the constitutional validity of 'triple talaq', which many complain is abused by Muslim men to arbitrarily divorce their wives.
Men's Events

Women's Events

In Saturday's half of its two-day double-dual meet, the Florida men (1-4) were swept by Indiana 204-77 and Texas 182-99, with the women (1-4) also losing 183-98 to Indiana and 191-85 to Texas.Although today's races were in a short-course-yards format rather than yesterday's long-course-meters format, Florida won the same events across the two days.The Gators again swept the 200 IM.repeated on the men's side, touching out at 1:46.48, whiletook the title for the women at 2:03.85.UF's women swam a different lineup for the 400 free relay, sending outandto win at 3:26.31. The B-team ofandfinished second at 3:28.35.In the 200 free,'s time of 1:36.24 passed the NCAA B-standard. He (1:48.49) and(1:46.48) also passed the B-standard in the 200 IM.In the diving well, the men and women switched events, with the men competing on the 3-meter springboard and the women competing on 1-meter., who finished sixth with a score of 322.90, passed the NCAA-qualifying mark of 320 points.Next, Florida opens its SEC schedule at Georgia (1-0 M, 1-0 W) on Friday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. SEC Network + will carry the meet."We certainly had our hands full with two very good and focused teams again today. We responded well in some areas and not as well in others. This will provide us with some good areas of weakness as we address the next training cycle.""It was a great experience for this young team, up against some of the best, not only in the NCAA but in the world. We held our own. I believe we leave here a much better team when we arrived."200 IM (1:46.48)200 IM (2:03.85)400 free relay (A-team) [3:26.31]
Lucknow: Top leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP) were on Saturday evening trying to work out a rapprochement between the two warring sides, hours after the party leadership expelled MLC Udayveer Singh, who is close to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.



The five leaders - Beni Prasad Verma, Naresh Agarwal, Kiran Moy Nanda, Rewati Raman, Mata Prasad Pandey- who earlier in the day met Mulayam Singh are now at Akhilesh's residence.



Calling the present situation "explosive", a source in the party top leadership said they will meet Akhilesh to figure out how the chief minister wanted to end the confrontation with the party.



Sources also said Udayveer was expelled to placate party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was angry with the MLC for writing a letter against his family.



Mulayam is also learnt to to be upset with his son Akhilesh for sheltering Udayveer, who wrote a letter alleging that the CM was targeted by his stepmother and that black magic used against him.



Party leaders are worried that the SP has already lost much time and is lagging behind in election preparedness.



The senior leaders were also concerned that the impasse would jeopardize the political career of the gen next in the SP which is looking to beat anti-incumbency in the state elections coming up in the first half of 2017.



The crisis in the party escalated on Friday when Akhilesh skipped the crucial party meeting convened by state unit chief and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.



Akhilesh, with whom Shivpal is engaged in a running feud over the last few months, has already made it clear in a letter to Mulayam that he will be proceeding on his 'rath yatra' on November 3 to highlight the development work done by his government, in a clear indication that he would skip the November 5 silver jubilee celebrations of the party.



With the tense stand-off between Akhilesh and Shivpal continuing, speculation about a possible split is rife with some even suggesting that a new party could be formed by the Chief Minister ahead of the assembly elections.
Kashmir: Two men belonging to a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror module were arrested by the army in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.



Safeer Ahmad Bhat of Janbazpora and Farhaan Fayaz Liloo of Jamia Mohalla were arrested in a joint mid-night raid by the SOG (Special Operation Group) Baramulla, 52 RR and CRPF.



Reportedly, the two terrorists were involved in the August 16 attack on Army/police convoy at Khwajabagh, Baramulla that killed two army jawans and one policeman.







The two terrorists were operating in Baramulla town and adjacent areas and their module was headed by a Pakistani terrorist operating under the code name Khalid.



One AK series rifle, a pistol and other arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession.






Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 began in Mumbai on Thursday night with a glittering opening ceremony that had the entire Bollywood in attendance. The festival aims to bring world cinema in Mumbai. While the focus this year is on Turkish cinema, and restored classics of Bimal Roy and Nassir Hussain, one of the key highlights was the opening film of this year.



A Death In The Gunj, directed by Konkona Sharma not only boasts of a spectacular cast like Om Puri, Kalki Koechelin and Vikrant Massey, but also marks Sens debut as a director. The film officially opened the festival on Friday night with its first screening at the Regal Cinema in Mumbai. A whole lot of New Wave artistes made their way to the theatre and News18 asked Konkona about her transition from being an actor to holding the reigns as a director.



It was a very liberating experience, Konkona commented. MAMI is a huge platform to showcase your cinematic talent and it is an honour to be the opening film of this years festival. My transition into a director was definitely terrifying because it brought a whole new set of responsibilities.



On being asked how would she compare her challenges as an actor to that of a director, she said, I have done over 40 films as an actor and have directed just one, so a comparison cant be made between the two roles. However, I enjoy both.



About her excitement, she quipped, Nervous or excited doesnt matter now as the film has been made and the end result is out there to be viewed.



While Konkona might not be anxious, the films cast Kalki Koechelin, Jim Sarbh and Gulshan Deviah definitely were. This film is very special and we couldnt expect a better start for something as big as MAMI, the actors said.



Actor Vicky Kaushal said, Im super excited to watch the film as it has so many great talents working together. Itll be fun to watch all my friends up there, acting together.



A Death in The Gunj also stars Tilotama Shome and Vikrant Massey in key roles.



The red carpet of the opening film beamed with excitement and lots of Bollywood stars. Interestingly, while most were ready to talk about their films, the festival - one thing that they all refrained from talking was about the ongoing ban on Pakistani artistes. While Kalki has made her stand clear earlier, none of the actors chose to pick a side on the ongoing debate.
He is fondly called Professor Sahib in the Samajwadi Party by one and all, including Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SP supremo's cousin and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav has for years been the points person with the Election Commission in Delhi, handling all correspondence and communication.



But when a succession war is being openly waged in the family, when father, son, uncle and cousins are caught in an internecine sniping, it is but obvious that even a rustle of a feather is scrutinized for political overtones.



So was Ram Gopal's visit to the Election Commission earlier this week. Professor Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, stayed at his Lodhi Estate government accommodation in Delhi for a couple of days before heading off down south, leading a delegation of parliamentary standing committee on Health, which he also heads.



Though sources in the Election Commission told CNN-News18 that Ram Gopal's visit to the commission was confined to merely seeking maps of the constituencies after delimitation. It is a routine exercise which political parties undertake before elections.



The uncle has been the most vociferous supporter of CM Akhilesh Yadav. He's already written to Mulayam Singh earlier holding him responsible if party tally comes down to double digit in the upcoming polls. In Bengaluru, speaking to CNN-News18, he said 95 percent of the party was with Akhilesh.



So, earlier this week, no sooner was Ram Gopal was out the Nirvachan Sadan, the power circuit in Delhi and Lucknow were rife with speculations on the developments. Some said it was the first step towards a split in the party. Other went a step further to name and even allocates a symbol.



Samajwadi Samata Party or SSP read a WhatsApp message, its genesis somewhere in Lucknow. After all, SSP wields more power than the SP or a Superintendent of Police in a district.



As for the symbol, the cycle of the Mulayam era was upgraded to motorcycle. The logic: it reflects the aspiring youth within party which identifies itself more with Akhilesh than the old guards.



The next day, Akhilesh wrote to papa Mulayam informing him of embarking on his election yatra. The patriarch has since been in Delhi, while Ram Gopal has left for his official tour of the south leading a delegation of lawmakers. He will return after a week.














Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday seemed headed towards a possible split with the party leadership expelling MLC Udayveer Singh after he incurred the wrath of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for writing a letter against his family.



Sources said Mulayam is upset with his son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for sheltering Udayveer as the raging crisis in the party showed no sign of respite.



The decision came after Mulayam met senior leaders in the morning to find ways to end the raging infighting which is threatening to take the party to the verge of a split.



Party insiders claimed Mulayam was very upset that his son gave shelter to Udayveer who wrote a letter alleging that the CM was targeted by his stepmother and black magic used against him.







Sources also said that Mulayam - without naming Ram Gopal Yadav who is known to be close to Akhilesh - expressed displeasure against him for approaching the Election Commission reportedly to float a new political party ahead of the state elections.



The party leaders who held the meeting with Mulayam are likely to meet Akhilesh separately around 4.30 in the evening.



The crisis in the party escalated on Friday when Akhilesh skipped the crucial party meeting convened by state unit chief and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.



"Party state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav personally invited Akhilesh to attend the district presidents meeting but he refused to attend it," party sources said.



Akhilesh, with whom Shivpal is engaged in a running feud over the last few months, has already made it clear in a letter to the Samajwadi Party boss and his father Mulayam that he would be proceeding on his 'rath yatra' on November 3 to highlight the development work done by his government, in a clear indication that he would skip the November 5 event too.



With the tense stand-off between Akhilesh and Shivpal continuing, speculation about a possible split is rife with some even suggesting that a new party could be formed by the Chief Minister ahead of the assembly elections.
Moscow: The entire territory of Syria must be "liberated," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in remarks televised Saturday, dismissing demands for Syrian President Bashar Assad's departure as "thoughtless."



The Russian statement came as intense clashes were reported in northern Syria between Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters with Kurdish-led forces. The Syrian army command condemned the fresh offensive by Turkish troops inside Syria, describing it as "an occupation that will be dealt with by all available means."



The Turkish military intervened in the Syrian war in August this year under orders from Ankara to clear the border area of Islamic State fighters and U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces linked to Turkey's own outlawed Kurdish insurgency. The Turkish government considers both to be terrorist groups.



Russia's Dmitry Peskov said Assad needs to stay in power to prevent the country from falling into the hands of jihadis.



"There are just two options: Assad sitting in Damascus or the Nusra sitting in Damascus," Peskov said in a reference to the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's branch in Syria that renamed itself Fatah al-Sham Front earlier this year. "And Assad must sit in Damascus to ensure a political settlement."



Peskov's statement comes as the break in the fighting Russia has declared in the besieged city of Aleppo entered its third day. He said Russia's decision to extend the break, which was initially declared for just one day Thursday, wasn't a concession to Western pressure.



The U.N. greeted the lull intended to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians and fighters from the rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo that had been devastated by airstrikes, but the rebels have rejected the offer to evacuate and no evacuations were seen along the corridors created by the Syrian government.



A U.N. official told The Associated Press that Syrian opposition fighters were blocking the evacuations because the Syrian government and Russia were not holding up their end of the deal and were impeding deliveries of medical and humanitarian supplies into Aleppo.



Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West was turning a blind eye to the al-Qaida militants blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to Aleppo and trying to shift the blame onto Moscow.



"It's mean and cynical to ... watch the Nusra block the delivery of food and medicines to civilians while blaming Russia for the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo," she said.



Russia launched an air campaign in support of Assad a year ago, helping his forces win back some key ground. The relentless bombing of Aleppo, the country's largest city and its commercial hub before the war, has caused international outrage.



Peskov said the goal of the Russian campaign is to fight "terrorists," saying that the fall of the Syrian government would cause new flows of refugees and more terror attacks in Europe.



"Some countries are trying to play with the devil and use terrorists to get rid of Assad, and some just say thoughtlessly that Assad must leave," Peskov said. "If Damascus falls and terrorists take hold there, there will be no political settlement then."



He said there is little hope that the Syrian conflict could end soon, adding that it will require a "long and hard work by the international community."



"The territory of Syria must be liberated," Peskov said. "It must be liberated and everything must be done to prevent the country's breakup, which could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region."



Asked if the deployment of a Russian aircraft carrier into the eastern Mediterranean was intended as a warning for the U.S. against striking Assad's forces, Peskov said Russia already has sufficient military assets in Syria.



The Admiral Kuznetsov carrier and escorting ships sailed through the English Channel Friday en route to Syria's shores. Russia has a navy repair supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, the only such outpost the country has outside the former Soviet Union.



"There are plenty of instruments already there to control the skies and the security of our infrastructure in Syria," Peskov said.



Earlier this month, 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.



In northern Syria, Syrian rebels backed by Turkish tanks advanced under intense bombardment toward a major northern town held by Kurdish-led rebel forces.



The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting between the Turkey-backed fighters and the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces was concentrated near the town of Tel Rifaat.



Ahmad Araj, member of the Syrian National Democratic Coalition, which is allied with the Kurds, told the AP that Turkish tanks crossed the border near the town of Marea and were heading toward Tel Rifaat.



The Observatory said 13 Turkey-backed rebels and three SDF fighters were killed in the fighting.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of the Syrian rebels' strongest backers.



On Thursday, Turkey said it conducted air raids on 18 targets in northern Syria, adding that between 160 and 200 militia fighters were killed. The Observatory said the airstrikes killed 15 SDF fighters and four civilians.



The Syrian army statement said "the new aggressive stance by Erdogan's regime is a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation" of Syria's sovereignty. It added that Erdogan's government has been playing a "dirty role in harboring, training, arming and funding terrorist groups and opening its borders to facilitate the crossing of thousands of terrorists and mercenaries into Syria's territories."



Erdogan said Ankara will be expanding its operations in north Syria, including entering areas including al-Bab, and Raqqa that are held by the Islamic State group and the town of Manbij that is under the control of the SDF.



He added that if the U.S.-led coalition was ready to act jointly, Turkey would do "whatever is necessary" against IS in Raqqa, but Kurdish militants should not have a role.
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Mannette, Cobo Jack get Invaders awards

Elliot Ellie Mannette of Osage, West Virginia and Emmanuel Cobo Jack Riley of Brooklyn, New York were presented with the Invaders 75th Anniversary Award.

Desiree Myers, music co-ordinator and Michael Dinchong, managing director travelled to New York courtesy the bands sponsor Caribbean Airlines to make the presentations. A special reception was hosted by friends and students of the Mannette Music Instruments Workshop in West Virginia, where Dinchong presented Mannette with the bands 75th Anniversary Award in recognition of his historical contribution towards the formation of Invaders Steel Orchestra on October 8. Mannette also received a copy of the Invaders history book entitled Invaders Steel Orchestra: The history of a legendary Trinidad and Tobago Steelband by Dr Jeannine Remy and Ray Funk, said a media release In his presentation speech, Dinchong remarked that nine years ago the Government declared 147 Tragarete Road, Woodbrook, a National Heritage site and that 147 Tragarete Road has been the untenured home of Invaders since its birth in 1940. It was the home of Ellie Mannette and the sacred grounds where many of his inspirations bore fruit under the famous breadfruit tree. This declaration in essence immortalises Invaders Steel Orchestra. It also immortalises the name Ellie Mannette, Dinchong said. Mannette expressed his sentiments of appreciation and was moved by the bands effort to deliver the award to him personally.

In Brooklyn, the reception for Emmanuel Cobo Jack Riley was organised by the Invaders New York Elders on October 9. Upon receiving his award from Myers, Riley commended the bands management for recognising his contribution at this milestone in bands history and stated that it was an honour to receive the 75th Anniversary Award.

Ronald Dennis and Terrance Hinds, two of Invaders Elders residing in New York, also received their 75th Anniversary Certificate of Appreciation from Myers.

The bands management expressed thanks to Caribbean Airlines for its support in making the presentations possible.
SHOCKING

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has launched a separate investigation into the same incident, part of which was captured on video which has gone viral since being posted online to social media.

Yesterday, a release from the TT Police Service revealed that Acting Superintendent of Yusuff Gaffar has been appointed lead investigator and will receive support from officers of the Homicide Investigations Bureau Region III and the TTPS Professional Standards Bureau.

An investigation has begun into the police involved shooting that resulted in the death of Adil Gilbert, 34, of Building 23, Ramsaran Street, Embacadere, San Fernando. The investigation was ordered by Commissioner of Police (Ag) Harold Phillip, following the fatal shooting which occurred at around 11.30 am on Thursday October 19, while members of the Southern Division Task Force were on exercise duty at Lawrence Street, San Fernando.

Acting Superintendent Yusuff Gaffar has been appointed lead investigator with support from Homicide Region 3 South. The Professional Standards Bureau has the responsibility for monitoring and oversight of the investigation.

The Police Complaints Authority is also conducting its own independent investigation into the incident, stated the TTPS release. Describing as unfortunate the death of the man who police revealed had several outstanding warrants for offences ranging from murder to robbery, Phillip gave his assurance that the investigation will be open and transparent and the outcome will be made known to the public. The PCA meantime disclosed that they were aware of video footage and other media reports circulating in relation to Gilberts death and which involved police officers. The statement further read: Pursuant to Section 26 of the Police Complaints Authority Act, Chapter 15:05, the PCA has, on its own initiative, commenced an independent investigation into the incident. This incident is a clear example of why the PCA has been lobbying support for amendments to its legislation including, but not limited to, providing the Authority with the power to solely and independently take charge of and preserve the scene in instances such as this. In this regard, we are asking for any witnesses to or persons with information on or regarding the incident to kindly contact the PCA at: 800-2PCA /800-2722. HEAVENLY JUSTICE Meanwhile, relatives of Gilbert yesterday said that they are expecting Heavenly Justice for his death, as God will now not only judge Gilbert whatever sins he may have committed but also the police officers who shot him. An autopsy revealed that Gilbert was shot twice in the back with the bullets exiting through the chest.

Adana Gilbert condemned the officers saying that while her brother was no saint, he was unarmed at the time he was confronted by police and should not have been shot in the back.

To that policeman who thinks that he is a hero for killing an unarmed man, he may feel he is a hero, but he is a fool, said Adana as she and relatives waited at the Forensic Science Centre for the autopsy report on her brother.

My brother will be resting in peace. I am quite sure he (the policeman) would not be sleeping comfortably, knowing he shot an unarmed man and then lying and saying that he (Gilbert) had a gun.

Gilbert was a father of four.

The video that has gone viral online shows Gilbert on the ground bleeding from the chest.

Police rummage through the pockets of his pants. An officer is seen picking up something from the ground and putting it in his (the officer) pocket. A womans screams are heard on the video.

Allyuh kill him!, Allyuh shoot him in his chest!, Why allyuh do that, she is heard shouting.

Gilberts limp body is picked up by officers and placed in a police jeep to be taken to hospital. A woman is then seen fighting with an officer. (See Page 7A) President of the Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) Insp Michael Seales yesterday said that police should be outfitted with body cameras to capture footage of incidents in their entirety rather than videos taken by civilians, that may be edited later to show the police in a certain negative light, which are then uploaded to social media.

IS THERE A POLICE DEATH SQUAD? Opposition Senator Wade Mark, at a press conference yesterday, queried if a death squad operates with the TTPS as he reacted to Gilberts death. The Minister of National Security (Edmund Dillon) needs to answer if theres a death squad in the Police Service. Our society can only remain civilised if we uphold the rule of law, Mark said. Moments before, Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen called for an independent probe by an impartial body into Gilberts death, with the findings to be made public.

Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge said a coroners inquest is serviced with evidence by police officers, but lamented that in this case the investigating officers are from the same district as the officers under probe. He urged the probe be done by officers from the Homicide Division in Port-of- Spain and the Professional Standards Bureau. He did not think the Police Complaints Authority had the resources to do the probe.

Mark had first suggested a police death squad as an Opposition Senator on June 10, 2003, in the Senate debate on the Kidnapping Bill 2003.

SENATORS SHOCKED Independent Senator Sophia Chote SC and Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen expressed their horror over the killing of Gilbert, in their respective contributions to the 2016/2017 Budget debate in the Senate yesterday. Referring to the video of the killing posted on social media, Chote declared, I was shocked by what I saw and I think all of us as parliamentarians should be shocked and should ask ourselves the question...why are we spending all this money on national security?. She said over the last two years, the country would have spent approximately $18 billion on national security.

Listing the several anti-crime initiatives undertaken by the Peoples National Movement (PNM) and its Peoples Partnership (PP) predecessor, Chote said in spite of all of that, we have police officers who simply cannot effect a simple arrest. She asked, We must pay $18 billion for that? Chote continued, Should we not spend that money in some other ministry where we might get a better reward? She said, I think we need to bite the bullet and say that if it is that the TT Police Service is not doing its job, then some means must be found to get rid of those officers who are hampering the process of crime interdiction...thats the only thing that may be done. In her earlier contribution, Ameen said,The subsequent handling by the police of the body of Mr Gilbert...by picking him up by his limbs and throwing him in the back of a police vehicle has led to the video (of the killing) going viral on social media. She added, While I am all for taking a hard stand where it is required when it comes to implementing the law...

the police are not above the law. Claiming that National Security Minister Edmund Dillon publicly said the police should harass individuals and make their lives untenable regarding persons who ran afoul of the law, Ameen said she wanted to know if Dillon condoned, the heartless actions by the police. Ameen said it begged the bigger question, is there a hit squad in the Police Service? She continued, Is this something that the Minister is aware of and allowing to happen? Ameen said the police cannot gain the respect of the countrys young people and the citizens at large, if they continue with actions like that....where they could shoot a man and lift his body like a dog and get into a fight with a woman...apparently a relative.

(Reporting by CECILY ASSON,

RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS,

SEAN DOUGLAS and

CLINT CHAN TACK)
Caregiver pleads for help

Deonarine said that successive governments have failed her although she held audiences with them. Ironically, among those living at the Ezekiel Home for Abandoned Children  which Deonarine has been running for the past 30 years  at her home in Sesame Street, Preysal are children sent by the State.

The Spiritual Baptist elder said she recently received a call from the Office of the Prime Minister and yet another promise to help her was made.

Deonarine told Newsday she grows her own food and rears animals. How does she purchase school books and uniform for the children? I does throw a sou sou. I recently got two more children and have enrolled them in school. I have to buy books for Standard Three and First Year.

The children need chairs to sit by the table, we are also in need of fans, pots, pans, bowls, non-perishable food items, school books and reading material for a library. Two years ago, she said, a Couva company stepped in and purchased school books while a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) which donated generously in the past, has been forced to stop since the NGO itself has not gotten subventions due to the downturn in the economy.

God gave me this work to do and I will do it, said the grandmother of ten and great-grandmother of three. Nine boys and eight girls, ranging in ages between two to 18, live permanently at the Home. One woman, now 30, came in as a child but never left.

She had nowhere to go although her relatives are all alive, Deonarine explained. I have one message for young people, if you know you are not ready (to raise a family), please do not get pregnant because it is the children who suffer. Saying it pains her to see that parents continue to abandon their responsibilities by giving up their children to others to take care of, Deonarine lamented further that children are not being trained.

She continued: It is so sad that when these children come to you, it makes me wonder. They have no training at all and it is not their fault. They dont even know prayers, they dont even know Gentle Jesus, they dont know The Lords Prayer. The older ones cant read or write. She said 30 years ago, she received a vision from God and decided to make her life all about service. Deonarine said she took in the first set of homeless children when she was also raising her seven biological children.

I have been doing this ever since. She said that most of her children have gone on to lead fruitful lives, but always remember their roots with her and return to help out or donate. But I am asking the State to help me out because is me alone and I am not young anymore. I wont ever turn away a homeless child but I cant do this on my own. I need all the help I can get...not for me but for the children. Anyone  State or private  willing to help Deonarine can contact her at 787-3587.
Dow Just Had Its

Best Month Since 1976
(Newser)  It's still 10 months away, but sky gazers are already bursting with excitementand booking vacationsover what is predicted to be "one of the most spectacular and widely accessible solar shows of our lifetime," per Mother Nature Network. On Aug. 21, 2017, the US will be treated to a total solar eclipse, which is special for a couple of reasons: It's the first in the continental US since 1979. But whereas the 1979 eclipse was visible only to a relative handful of people, the 2017 version will be the first in 99 years to cross the country, from Oregon to South Carolina, meaning many more eyes will have the opportunity to catch it, reports the Washington Post. See an interactive map here, and be warned: Plan now if you'll need to travel for it.

"It's not too early, we promise," notes the post at MNN. Campsites on the route already are booking up, and you can expect the same of hotels as the big day approaches. As for the event itself: "The sun will disappear for about 2.5 minutes, beginning in Oregon about 10:15am local time, notes the Post, and viewers in South Carolina will get the last glimpse about 90 minutes later. Don't live in Salem, Ore.; Casper, Wyo.; Columbia, SC; or anywhere else on the "totality" path? Don't fret: Live streams will be available and a partial eclipse will be visible in other parts of the country. To make the most of the day, though, you can travel to one of several events, per Astronomy, or book a spot on a tour bus. (It will look something like this.)
(Newser)  Iceland is hot, and no, this isn't a story about global warming. Since the tiny island country in the northern Atlantic began keeping tabs in 1949, the number of visiting tourists has climbed from roughly 5,000 people a year to, in 2010, more than 500,000. Then, in 2011, "things went bonkers," as Vox reports. Eyjafjallajokull's 2010 eruption stymied European air traffic for a week and made global headlines even longer. Iceland's tourism board pounced on all that attention with a series of "Inspired by Iceland" videos that featured everything from glaciers and fjords to women dipping in hot springs sans bathing suits. What's not to love?

The US has long represented a sizeable chunk of Iceland's total tourist population, and 2016 is no different. Of the 1.61 million visitors to the tiny northern European island so far this year, 325,000 have been Americancompare that to the country's population: 332,000. Business Insider lists five reasons behind the boom, and Eyjafjallajokull unsurprisingly takes the top slot. Others are perhaps more compelling for anyone contemplating his or her next destination: From the East Coast, flights can be as short as 5 hours long; Kayak.com put a trip to Reykjavik as No. 8 on its list of Top 10 Wallet Friendly International destinations. Also, it's not just safe but safe. Global Peace Index this year named Iceland the safest country in the world. (Icelanders also want to help house more Syrian refugees.)
(Newser)  The first commercial nuclear reactor of the 21st centuryand the first in 20 yearswas officially declared complete Wednesday in Tennessee, the AP reports. According to CNN, the Tennessee Valley Authority started work on the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in 1973. The first reactor didn't open until 1996. The completion of the second reactor this week wraps up a 43-year project. "If you're in the nuclear business, the sight behind me is a lovely sight," TVA president Bill Johnson says. It took nine years and $4.7 billion to build the second reactor, WRCB reports. The project was over budget by billions. A nuclear engineer tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press that finishing the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant was the "most difficult, complex project I've ever worked on."

The new reactor is expected to provide electricity for at least 40 years and generates enough power for 650,000 homes. It's the 100th commercial reactor in the country. US Sen. Lamar Alexander says the reactor "will provide cheap, carbon-free, and reliable electricity." Alexander wants another 100 nuclear reactors in the US. But TVA, which now has seven nuclear reactors, says it has no plans to build more after the completion of Watts Bar. (Read more nuclear power plant stories.)
(Newser)  Salma Hayek claims Donald Trump once filed a malicious tabloid rumor about her after she refused to go out with him, BuzzFeed reports. Hayekwho E! Online notes has been refusing to say Trump's name since at least 2015told the story Friday on a Spanish-language radio station in Los Angeles as a reason she believes the allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Trump. When I met that man, I had a boyfriend, and he tried to become his friend to get my home telephone number, Hayek said. She said she told him she "wouldn't go out with him even if I didn't have a boyfriend." Shortly after, a story appeared in the National Enquirer stating that Trump wouldn't date Hayek because she was too short for him.

"Whatever he wants to come out comes out in the National Enquirer," Hayek said. After the story ran, she said Trump called her again and told her how awful it was that someone would say that about her and that he didn't want people to think that. He thought that I would try to go out with him so people wouldnt think thats why he wouldnt go out with me," she said. BuzzFeed notes that in 2008 Trump used Trump Foundation money to buy a $120,000 luxury trip that included a dinner with Hayek. He never went. Hayek went on in Friday's interview to draw attention to Trump's claim that if Mexico won't pay for the wall, he will stop the money Mexican-Americans send back to their families in Mexico, Mediaite reports. "That's gravely serious," she said. (Read more Salma Hayek stories.)
(Newser)  For the relatives of 43 students who disappeared amid a night of confusion and terror more than two years ago, answers could finally be on the way. Authorities in Mexico say they have arrested a former police chief who has been a fugitive since the 2014 disappearances in the southern city of Iguala, the Los Angeles Times reports. Former Iguala chief Felipe Flores Velazquez was arrested in the town Friday when he went to visit his wife and authorities say he is being held on suspicion of kidnapping and organized crime.

Investigations indicate that Velazquez "is one of those responsible with coordinating the operation that turned into aggression against the students," Renato Sales Heredia, head of the National Security Commission, told reporters. Authorities say the chief is suspected of conspiring with Iguala's mayor to attack the protesting students and of protecting police officers involved in the disappearance, CNN reports. The fugitive mayor and his wife were arrested in Mexico City weeks after the students vanished. There are conflicting theories about what happened to the 43 students, and the bodies have never been found, the LAT notes. (A search found the bodies of 129 other people.)
(Newser)  As Iraqi forces close in on Mosul, ISIS appears to be stepping up its atrocities in the city. A senior intelligence source tells CNN that the group rounded up and killed 284 men and boys in southern Mosul on Thursday and Friday. The victims, including children, are believed to be "human shields" the group had been using to try to avoid attacks, the source says. The United Nations says it believes hundreds of families from outlying villages have been forced into the city to serve as human shields for the militants, and it is investigating reports that 40 people were massacred in one village.

ISIS is believed to be killing civilians it suspects of disloyalty, and there are fears the group will kill more of its human shields rather than see them liberated, UN officials warn. The BBC reports that US Defense Secretary is in Baghdad on an unscheduled visit. It's not clear whether he will visit American troops closer to Mosul, where soldiers at one base have had to don masks because of fumes from a sulfur plant set alight during fighting. The AP reports that the Pentagon has identified the first American killed in the Mosul offensive as Jason C. Finan from Anaheim, Calif. He was killed by a roadside bomb while advising Kurdish peshmerga forces north of the city. (Read more ISIS stories.)
(Newser)  More than 4,000 wiggling tadpoles conceived via wine fridges in California and then packed in a passenger plane headed to Puerto Rico this week as part of a program to re-establish a technicolor native toad once thought extinct. Since 2014, the Oakland Zoo has taken part in a campaign by North American zoos breeding the critically endangered Puerto Rico crested toad for release into protected ponds on the island, their ancestral home. Zoological manager Adam Fink used flight-tracking apps to monitor the 4,069-week-old tadpoles. They were traveling in double-bagged baggies topped up with oxygen. "Every single tadpole is important," Fink tells the AP.

The toads their hides a mix of brown, red, green, and yellowthrived on Puerto Rico until sugar growers introduced a foreign toad they hoped would eat pests that feed on sugar cane. The introduced toad ate the native toad's young and took over its habitat. Biologists thought the crested toad had gone extinct, until a few survivors were found in 1984 and became the basis of the breeding program. At the Oakland Zoo, breeders use wine fridges to cool the adult toads to a state near hibernation, inducing them to breed, Fink says. (These California island foxes have made an amazing comeback.)
(Newser)  Thirty-five suspected members of a Long Island gang have been arrested amid a string of brutal killings, including the discovery of a teenager's skeletal remains. Jose Pena-Hernandez, 18, was believed to be a member of the MS-13 gang with links to El Salvador and Los Angeles, police in Suffolk County say. The teen's remains were found earlier this week in Brentwood, a hamlet of 60,000 about 40 miles east of Manhattan where law enforcement officials have intensified their battle against gang violence, the AP reports. This past month, four teenagers from Brentwood High School were found dead.

The body of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens, who suffered head trauma and lacerations, was dumped on a road on Sept. 13, police said. Her best friend, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, was found beaten to death a day later behind a home. Two miles away in a wooded area, police made more grisly discoveries a week later: the remains of 19-year-old Oscar Acosta and 15-year-old Miguel Garcia-Moran. Both had disappeared earlier this year. A police spokesman says that when the girls were murdered, the commissioner "made a commitment to the community to eradicate gang violence." He says five of the suspects are gang leaders who will face federal organized crime charges. (Read more Long Island stories.)
(Newser)  Time for a reset? Donald Trump plans a major policy speech in Gettysburg, Pa. Saturday, where he plans to set out what would happen during the first 100 days of a Trump administration, reports Reuters. Aides say the address in the historic town will mark the beginning of the campaign's "closing argument," the Hill reports. Campaign aides haven't revealed much about the content, but they say it will be a "very specific, detailed vision" for America's "economic and physical security," much like the 1994 "Vision for America" that helped the Republicans win back the House.

On Fox News Friday night, Trump was tight-lipped about speech details, telling Sean Hannity: "I really want to do it tomorrow. I can only say we're going to make America great again," CNN reports. The Guardian reports that in a speech earlier Friday, Trump said countries including the Philippines are turning away from America because the world hates President Obama. "The world hates us," he said. "You saw what happened with the Philippines after years and years and years; theyre now looking to Russia and China, because they dont feel good about the weak America." (Salma Hayek says Trump was not happy when she refused to go out with him.)
(Newser)  Bob Dylan still hasn't acknowledged being given the Nobel Prize for literature, and it sounds like some members of the academy behind the prize are starting to get a bit fed up, the Guardian reports. "It's impolite and arrogant," says writer Per Wastberg, a member of the Swedish Academy. Regardless, the academy isn't surprised by Dylan's behavior, according to the BBC. "We were aware that he can be difficult and that he does not like appearances when he stands alone on the stage," Wastberg says. "He is who he is," the AP quotes the writer as saying. And its sounds like the Swedish Academy is just about done worrying about it. "We have agreed not to lift a finger," Wastberg says. "The ball lies entirely on his half."

Dylan was given the Nobel Prize for literaturethe first musician to win it in 115 yearson Oct. 13. He played a concert that night and didn't mention it. He's continued not mentioning itor responding to calls from the Swedish Academysince then. The academy has no idea if he'll show up to accept the honor in December. But there will be a ceremony celebrating his career regardless. Only two winners have ever turned down the Nobel Prize in literature: French writer Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964 because he turned down all honors and Boris Pasternak in 1958 because the Soviet government pressured him to do so. In 2007, author Doris Lessing wasn't exactly happy to hear she won, responding to the news with "Oh Christ." (Read more Bob Dylan stories.)
(Newser)  Despite what Chris Christie has said, his former deputy chief of staff testified Friday that she told him about the 2013 lane closures on the George Washington Bridge a month before they happened, New York Magazine reports. Bridget Anne Kelly is facing charges of conspiracy and fraud for her role in Bridgegate, in which bridge lanes were closed allegedly to create traffic problems for the city of Fort Lee, whose mayor hadn't supported Christie's re-election bid, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Kelly sent an infamous email to David Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to masterminding Bridgegate, in which she said "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." In court Friday, Kelly said she was just re-using Wildstein's phrase and still thought the lane closures were for a legitimate traffic study. "If I had said 'time for a traffic study,' we wouldn't have all known each other," she said to jurors.

Not only did Christie know about the lane closures, important people in his "inner circle" did too, and no one acted like it was a "big deal," Kelly testified. She also said Christie directly approved the lane closures. Throughout her testimony, Kelly broke down while talking about being "afraid" of Christie and his temper, the New York Daily News reports. She said he once hit her with a water bottle when she suggested he moderate a panel of cabinet members and business leaders. "He said, 'What the [expletive] do you think I am? A [expletive] game show host," Kelly testified. (Read more Bridgegate stories.)
(Newser)  A worried family is searching for their 21-year-old daughter who disappeared while hiking in Oregon and hasn't been heard from since last Sunday, Fox 13 reports. I have to face the reality that she may not still be alive," Michelle Schmidt says of her daughter Anna Schmidt. According to KPTV, Anna sent a Snapchat message to her father Jon Schmidt, a member of the band The Piano Guys, last Sunday saying she was hiking the Tooth Rock Trailhead area in the Columbia River Gorge. It seems that was the last anyone heard from Anna. "Monday I didn't see any posts or snaps or anything like that, which is really unusual because she posts everyday, Michelle says. Anna also didn't return texts, failed to pick her mom up at the airport, and hadn't been seen by her roommate.

Anna was reported missing Wednesday, and police found her car near the trailhead. Anna, an avid hiker, had recently purchased a new tent and backpack, but her camping gear and phone were still in the car when police found it, KGW reports. Jon believes his daughter went hiking last Sunday on a whim. "She definitely is the type of person who would pull over, see something beautiful, and just go," he tells KPTV. Annie is really adventuresome," Michelle tells Fox. "She just goes and does all sorts of things." Police say there are no signs of foul play, and they don't believe Anna was suicidal. Authorities fear she is injured or lost. By Friday afternoon, nearly 100 volunteers, family, and friends were searching the Columbia River Gorge for her. (Read more missing woman stories.)
(Newser)  The Rolling Stone reporter currently being sued for defamation over a discredited and retracted story of gang rape at the University of Virginia took the stand this week to convince jurors that her source was utterly convincing, Charlottesville Newsplex reports. According to the Washington Post, Sabrina Erdely not only found "Jackie" credible but says her stories were so detailed and vivid that "I felt scared for her." Rolling Stone hopes jurors, who listened to two hours of Erdely's recorded interviews with Jackie, feel the same way. Nicole Eramo, a university administrator, has to prove that the magazine knowingly published false informationor at least should have known it was falsein order to win her $7.8 million defamation lawsuit, the Chicago Tribune reports.

A major part of Eramo's argument is that Erdely didn't contact important sources because she was afraid they would discredit Jackie's story. But Erdely testified that wasn't the case. She says tried to call Jackie's mom "many times" but "she never called back." She also says she tried to meet with Eramo multiple times but felt the university was "stonewalling me." She did admit that she regretted not contacting Jackie's friends, who saw Jackie on the night of the supposed attack. When asked if she ever felt like she was making Eramo personally, and not the university generally, the villain of her article, Erdely testified that she never didanother key point in the lawsuit. The trial is scheduled to wrap up next week. A second lawsuit against Rolling Stonethis one brought by the fraternityis scheduled for next year. (Read more Rolling Stone stories.)
(Newser)  With 17 days left before the election, Donald Trump was set to give a "closing argument to voters" near the site of President Lincoln's most famous address at Gettysburg, CNBC reports. Instead, CNN states Trump spent the first 15 minutes of his speech railing against the corrupt media, rigged elections, Hillary Clinton, and every woman who has accused him of sexual assault. And that was after he promised to "heal the divisions" in America. Every woman lied," Fox News quotes Trump as saying about his nearly dozen accusers. "All of these liars will be sued after the election is over. He also said Clinton is "running against all of the American people."

Trump eventually turned to his plans for his first 100 days in office, listing six major steps he'll take once electedin addition to suing his accusers, presumablythat he called a "contract between myself and the American voter." Those plans include congressional term limits and more restrictions on government officials becoming lobbyists, the Washington Post reports. Trump said he would immediately deport immigrants in prison for violent crimes and cancel visas for countries that won't take them back. He said his administration wouldn't approve of the AT&T/Time Warner merger announced today. He would also implement a hiring freeze on all federal employees outside public health, safety, and the military. According to CNN, there were few policies or details laid out Saturday that Trump hadn't already discussed elsewhere. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
Lady Gaga gave another out-of-the-box after-performance on Thursday night at The Bitter End bar in New York for the promotion of her latest album, "Joanne." The Grammy Award winner went to the bar's roof and performed two songs more complete with a stunt as she sat at the roof's edge, to the delight of her fans, reports say.

Her album "Joanne" is released on Friday. Lady Gaga, who grew up in New York, chose to perform at The Bitter End, a bar where she used to perform before she hits success. Her promotional performance was attended by the artist's parents, and "Broad City's" Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson.

In a report from Seattle Times, the Queen of the Pop sang songs such as "Joanne," the album's carrier and "Million Reasons" which are said to be her homage to an aunt who lost to lupus at 19. Her songs were played with piano then guitar and with a band composing of the album's producer, Mark Ronson, and the co-composer of the songs, Hillary Lindsey.

Her audience included celebrities such as Helen Mirren and Robert De Niro and some insiders in the industry. Thursday night's performance is Lady Gaga's second after her gig in Nashville, Tennessee two weeks earlier. She is said to give another performance on October 27 in an still undisclosed location.

USA Today reports that Lady Gaga's "Joanne" album is a complete departure from her usual pop genre, collaborating with Tony Bennett for jazz music. The article says the fifth album is Lady Gaga's "complete public-image makeover." Though some tracks on her latest album, such as "A-YO" and "Pefect Illusion," still speak of her usual character, many of the songs are more of a country type.

Lady Gaga is among the few unorthodox artists who fearlessly express what others would otherwise conceal. From the lyrics to her fashion statement to her music video, Lady Gaga has influenced audience of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities.
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Lucknow:

The rift in Samajwadi Party widened further on October 21 as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav skipped a crucial meeting called by state party chief Shivpal Yadav to strategise for the assembly polls due early next year. Shivpal also named Akhilesh as the Chief Ministerial face during the meeting.

Though Shivpal, the younger brother of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, had met his nephew Akhilesh to personally invite him to a meeting of SP district and city units presidents, theC hief Minister kept away, indicating all was not well in the party despite repeated protestations by its senior leaders tothe contrary.

Sources present at the meeting said Shivpal, apparently seeking to bury the hatchet, made it clear that Akhilesh will be Samajwadi Party's chief ministerial candidate, days after Mulayam virtually left the field open by saying the newly elected legislators will choose their leader, something which did not go down well with the camp followers of the incumbent CM.

Also Read: Samajwadi Party feud continues: Akhilesh Yadav to embark on 'Rath Yatra' from Nov 3, might skip party's silver jubilee

"Akhilesh Yadav will be the next CM, if party is voted topower. He will be our CM candidate," Shivpal said, according to a leader present at the meeting where delegates were not allowed to carry mobile phones. Shivpal asked them to gear up for elections and also to ensure that the party's silver jubilee celebrations on November 5 in the state capital was a grand show.

"You all should start preparations for November 5 event and make it a big success," Shivpal told them.

Also Read: Shivpal Yadav in favour of Akhilesh Yadav's name for CM if SP voted to power in 2017

Akhilesh, with whom Shivpal is engaged in a running feud over the last few months, has already made it clear in a letter to the Samajwadi Party boss and his father Mulayam that he would be proceeding on his 'rath yatra' on November 3 to highlight the development work done by his government, in a clear indication that he would skip that event too.

Also Read: 2017 UP polls: Akhilesh Yadav to be Samajwadi Party's CM candidate, says Mulayam aide Kiranmoy Nanda

With the tense stand-off between Akhilesh and Shivpal continuing, speculations about a possible split are rife withsome even suggesting a new party named National SamajwadiParty or Pragatisheel Samajwadi party with motorcycle as itssymbol could be formed by the Chief Minister ahead of theassembly elections.

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Jammu:

Pakistani spy was arrested from Jammu and Kashmirs Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.



Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces was recovered from his possession.



Based on information received from Military Intelligence on involvement of one Bodh Raj of village Changiia of Jammu district for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces and Army to Pakistan, a special search operation was launched in Ramgarh sector of Samba, SSP, Samba, Joginder Singh said.

Also read: 2 JeM terrorists arrested in Baramulla, schools in bordering villages shut as precaution



During the search operation, Raj was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village close to the International Border (IB) and tried to escape on observing the movement of the police party, the SSP said.



Police chased him and later he was arrested, he said. Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing deployment of forces, two Indian made mobile phones and one memory card besides Rs 1711 were recovered from his possession, the SSP said.

Also read: Virtual wall tech upgraded, India inches closer to seal border with Pakistan, says report

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act, SSP said.



As per initial interrogation, he had made markings of various spots on the map and security agencies are jointly investigating the matter.

Also read: BSF says 7 Pakistani Rangers killed after an infiltration bid foiled in Kathua; Pakistan denies claims

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New Delhi:

Images from a Nasa Mars orbiter indicate that missing European Space Schiaparelli probe was destroyed on impact after plummeting to the surface of the red planet from a height of 2-4km, the European Space Agency said on Friday.

The disc-shaped probe, 55-KG (1,272lb) Schiaparelli probe was a part of the Russian-European ExoMars program to search for evidence of life on Mars, descended on Wednesday to test technologies for a rover that scientists hope to send to the surface of the planet in 2020.But contact with the vehicle was lost about 50 seconds before the expected landing time.

Schiaparelli reached the ground with a velocity that was much higher than it should have been, several hundred kilometers per hour, and was then unfortunately destroyed by the impact,ExpMars Flight Director Michel Denis told a Leading English Daily.

It was the second European attempt to land a craft on Mars.Earlier a mission was failed by the British landing craft Beagle 2 in 2003.

The US space agencys Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took low- resolution pictures that shows a bright spot that ESA believes is the 12- meter parachute that Schiaparelli used to slow down

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New Delhi:

India has moved a step closer to putting up a virtual border along the Line of Control on India-Pakistan border, a report has revealed. The new virtual walls will be equipped with motion sensors and ability to detect any break-ins, it said.



According to a report in DNA, the Border Security Force (BSF) upgraded the laser wall technology being used along the border in late September- early October. The laser walls cannot just detect when there is a breach but can also tell differentiate between man and beast.



These virtual walls will keep a vigil on intrusion attempts from across the western border.



"The surgical strike made the situation at the borders more tense and we were requested to upgrade all existing systems with the newer KVI-101S (technology) since the BSF believes that this time around the intrusion attempts will increase," the report quoted Tushar Chhabra, founder of CRON Systems, tech company that has supplied technology for the walls. "The plan is to cover the entire frontier with the new laser walls by February-March next year," he told the daily.



Though minor upgrades of the intrusion detection systems were done over the months, it was following the surgical strike that a new series of virtual laser walls were installed on eight kilometres of the border, the report revealed.



According to sources, in future, India is also planning to look beyond the actual international border (IB) by drawing virtual borders inside Pakistan. Hoping to "completely seal" the international border with Pakistan in the next two years, as announced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in October.

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Washington:

US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton described her rival Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy for refusing to honour results of the general elections.

On wednesday night, Donald Trump did something no other presidential nominee has ever done. He refused to say that he would respect the results of this election. By doing that, he is threatening our democracy, Clinton said at an election rally in Ohio.

Clintons remarks were followed by two round of booing by the audience against Trump, who during the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday said that he cant commit at this point if he will accept the results of the presidential elections.

He (Trump) is basically saying hey, we have been around 240 years and we have always had peaceful transitions no matter who won or who lost. Look, if you lose an electionI have lost elections, you dont feel very good the next day, do you? But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? Clinton said.

The peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart. It is how we hold our country together no matter who is in charge. I went to 112 countries as your secretary of state and I saw the difference between what we do and what others do, I was in countries where people jail their political opponents or execute them or exile them or invalidate elections that they didnt win, she said.

That can never be allowed to happen here. I believe thats true no matter who you support in this election, whether or not you support me. Or you support my opponent, together, we must support American democracy and the country that has given every one of us so many opportunities, she said while urging her supporters to come out and vote.

Clinton also slammed the economic policies of Trump alleging that he plans to give tax cuts to the wealthy.

He really believes if you give trillions, thats with a T, trillions in tax cuts to the wealthy, to millionaires and billionaires and corporations, everything will work out.

Its really trickle down on steroids. I believe differently that we must invest in working families in the middle class, in small businesses, that will boost the economy, the Democratic presidential nominee said.

She said we are going to get the economy to work for everyone, not just for those at the top who have done well over the last years.

Donald likes to say that he is on the side of American workers but his actions tell a different story. He has been buying cheap Chinese steel and aluminum for his construction projects when he should be buying good American made steel that supports good American jobs, Clinton said.

She said for all of Trumps talk about putting America first, he has made his products in at least 12 other countries.

Trumps suits were made in Mexico. They could have been made in Brooklyn, Ohio. Trumps furniture is made in Turkey and it could have been made in Cleveland. Trump barware is made in Slovenia instead of Toledo. So if he wants to make America great again, why doesnt he start by making things in America again? And we also know that he hasnt paid a dime in federal income tax for years, Clinton said.

She believes that the country is at a turning point, that this is a crossroads election.

So yes my name may be on the ballot, but the question really is, who are we as a country? What are our values? What kind of future do we want to create together? It is so easy to get cynical about politics, believe me, I know that. But this matters so deeply to our families and our communities and our country, and indeed our world, she said.

So I want to say something to people who may be reconsidering their support for my opponent. I know you may still have questions for me. I respect that, I want to answer them, I want to earn your vote.

I am reaching out to all Americans, Democrats, Republicans and independents. I think America needs every single one of us to bring our energy and our talents, our ambition to build that better country, said the former Secretary of State.

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New Delhi:

After websites like Amazon, Twitter, SoundCloud, Spotify, Shopify and sites and services across the East Coast were shut down on Friday due to a sweeping outage of DNS provider Dyn, the services have been restored.

According to a report, the services shut down was induced by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack.

However, the Internet traffic company has now posted a preliminary findings report on its website saying: Dyn's engineers were able to mitigate each attack and restore service shortly after the incident.

Also Read: Major cyber attack causes havoc on Internet: Twitter, Spotify among big websites to suffer outages due to DDOS attack

Dyn told on Friday afternoon the attacks are "well planned and executed, coming from tens of millions of IP addresses at the same time."

A senior U.S. intelligence official told a English leading news channel that the current assessment is that this is a classic case of internet vandalism.

The official said it does not appear at this point to be any kind of state-sponsored or directed attack. Impossible to say how long it will take to say who's responsible, the official added.

Dyn told that one of the sources of the attack is coming from devices known as the "Internet of Things" devices such as DVRs, Printers, and appliances connected to the internet.

The company said in a conference call Friday afternoon that the attack is being waged with a malware code that was released on the web in recent weeks.

Dyn said it has not heard from attackers and does not know who they are."What they're actually doing is moving around the world with each attack," Dyn Chief Strategy Officer Kyle York said in a conference call Friday afternoon.

The company's general counsel, Dave Allen, said during the call the company regularly prepares for scenarios like this.



Dyn also said the attack impacted its DNS advanced services monitoring for customers, but it later resolved the issue.But who was behind the distributed denial of service attack is still not known.

The Department of Homeland Security told that it is "looking into all potential causes" of the attack.



What is DNS

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a tool used to resolve human-readable web addresses against IP addresses.

What is DDOS attack

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when multiple systems flood the bandwidth or resources of a targeted system, usually one or more web servers. Such an attack is often the result of multiple compromised systems flooding the targeted system with traffic.

A denial of service (DoS) attack is a malicious attempt to make a server or a network resource unavailable to users, usually by temporarily interrupting or suspending the services of a host connected to the Internet.

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Beijing:

A jubilant China on Friday defended Philippines President Rodrigo Dutertes decision to separate from the US, saying as an elected leader of a sovereign state he has every right to make independence choices.

Duterte is elected by the people. We believe he will make choices independently which benefits the Philippines and its people in mind, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing here reacting to confusion and concern caused by Dutertes remarks in the US.

The sovereign state Philippines can make decisions policies based on its own interests and we respect that, she said defending Dutertes U-turn virtually ending the Philippines alliance with the US and turn to Beijing.

In a shocking announcement after his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duterte told a meeting of Chinese and Philipino businesspeople yesterday that, I announce my separation from the United States. Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost.

In the meeting attended among others by Chinese Vice Premier at Zhang Gaoli, Duterte said Ive realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to [President Vladimir] Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines, and

Russia. Its the only way.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the America was baffled by this rhetoric and that Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel would be in Manila this weekend and would try to get some answers.

We are going to be seeking an explanation of exactly what the president meant when he talked about separation from the US, BBC quoted Kirby as saying.

China has virtually embraced Duterte, who decided to visit Beijing after his bitter spat with US over his controversial violent war on drug smugglers.

Filipino officials said the two countries yesterday signed 13 agreements and China had promised to invest USD 13.5 billion in various Philippines.

China is facing severe pressure since July this year after an international tribunal struck down its claims on the South China Sea (SCS).

Asked today whether China has imposed in any condition on Duterte that the Philippines has to reject The Hague arbitration verdict on the SCS delivered in response to Manilas petition, Hua said Chinas stand on the so called arbitration case has been made very clear.

I can tell you that in the past 41 years China and the Philippines had consensus on the SCS issue. We should stick to this political wisdom and pass it on as a successful practice and regard it foundation for the future bilateral relations.

For some known reason there have been some twists and turns in China-Philippines ties and after this visit the China and the Philippines have returned to the right track resolving the SCS through bilateral dialogue. We believe this meets the common aspiration of the regional people and the two countries, she said.

The joint statement issued after Duterte-Xi talks said both sides exchange views on issues regarding the SCS. Both sides affirm that contentious issues are not the sum total of the China-Philippines bilateral relationship. Both sides exchange views on the importance of handling the disputes in the SCS in an appropriate manner, it said.

Both sides also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace and stability, freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the SCS addressing their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force.

The two countries also decided to restore defence ties. An editorial in Chinas state-run Global Times said the SCS issue has been shelved.

The maritime disputes (between China and the Philippines) appear to have been shelved, replaced by pragmatic cooperation projects worth hundreds of million dollars, as China will be among the most important investors in infrastructure in the Philippines.

The South China Sea is embracing a brand-new landscape. Its a worrisome gesture. Maritime disputes between SCS claimants have been obsessively exploited and manipulated by irrelevant forces driven by huge interests.

Those forces want to maintain the status quo and further stir confrontation between China and the Philippines. The sudden shift puts them on the back foot. Will they give up their previous pursuits to help consolidate the Sino-Philippine rapport? it said.

Many worry that the US and Japan will not. Without being pressured by so-called threats from China, the Philippines has publicly announced its decision to suspend joint patrols and drills with US, it said.

Dutertes stand on the SCS and the US was expected to unravel further as he is set to visit Japan in the next few days.

Public opinion conjectures that the US may pressure the Duterte government and that Japan will try to turn Duterte around during his upcoming Tokyo visit, the editorial said.

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New Delhi:

Hours after the arrest of a Pakistani spy from Jammu and Kashmirs Samba district, Indian forces have reportedly arrested two Jaish e Mohammad terrorists in Baramulla district.

According to sources, the J&K Police has seized ammunition including one AK-47 and one pistol from the millitants.



Meanwhile, the tension and unrest in bordering villages in Kashmir has risen as Pakistan continues to violate ceasfire along the Line of Control.

Late on Friday night, Pakistan rangers fired 60mm and 81mm mortars in Suchetgarh sector on International Border killing 6 cattle.

As a precautionary measure, Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh on Saturday directed local SDMs to close schools in vulnerable villages to avoid any losses.

Also read:

Pak spy caught in Samba sector; 2 SIM cards, map seized

Virtual wall tech upgraded, India inches closer to seal border with Pakistan: Report



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Cairo:

At least 21 militants have been killed in retaliatory strikes carried out by the Egyptian army to avenge last week's terrorist attack that killed 12 soldiers in the restive North Sinai province, military said on Saturday.

"Twenty-one takfiri terrorists were killed and 24 hideouts as well as 40 motorcycles used by militants destroyed in the operation," military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said.

Earlier on Friday, a statement by the ministry of interior said that two policemen were killed and conscript was injured in a roadside blast in Al-Arish city of North Sinai.

The region has witnessed many attacks by militants since the January, 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule. Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.

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New Delhi:

Raj Thackeray-led Maharastra Navnirman Sena on Saturday withdrew its protest against the Karan Johar film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', after the director decided to to put a special mention paying homage to martyrs at the beginning of the film.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday met with filmmaker Karan Johar, Producer's Guild chief Mukesh Bhatt and MS chief Raj Thackeray to discuss the row over the release of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'.

Also Read: 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' gets green signal, producers to pay Rs. 5 crore as 'penance' for army welfare

The film features Pak actors, a fact strictly opposed by MNS after Uri attack, which left 19 Indian Army soldiers dead.

Following the meeting Mukesh Bhatt told media that filmmaker Karan Johar has decided to put a special mention paying homage to martyrs at the beginning of his film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'.

"I assured CM Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future," Mukesh Bhatt said.

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Chennai:

Cases have been registered against social activist 'Traffic' KR Ramaswamy and his aide Fathima for allegedly spreading rumours about the health status of Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, police said on Saturday.

A police official said cases have been registered under various IPC sections including section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot).

Police have already arrested eight persons on similar charges

Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai since September 22.

Police have warned of stern action against those spreading rumours on the chief minister's health and have already registered around 50 cases in this connection.

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London:

India hopes to reach a deal with Britain for facilitating short-term visas for Indian students, academicians and businessmen during Prime Minister Theresa Mays visit, said Dinesh Patnaik who is Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

I am hopeful, certain things will happen, he said. I hope we will have a deal on Britain facilitatingshort-term visas for students, academicians and businessmen from India and these categories should not be in the migration list, Patnaik told reporters.

Noting that Mays visit is important for India, he said This is her first bilateral visit and India is her first trip outside the continent. UK-India, we have a very very long umbilical relationship.

It is an official visit and she will be heading a high-level 160-strong delegation. The trade delegation also assumes importance because of the Brexit scenario, he added.

Post-Brexit, they will need it and they want to increase trade outside EU. The discussion will focus on framework of post-Brexit trade deal.

On the Indian side, he said what we want is ease of doing business - access to the UK, both for students, academicians and businessmen.

He noted that a large number of tourists visit Europe but return home because of visa restrictions.

India wants Britain to extend visa concessions given to Chinese to be extended to Indians - 6 months to 2 years visa for 87 pound.

He said many companies here are shifting their jobs to India. In the next 3 to 4 months, about 2,000 jobs are expected to go to India.

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Mumbai:

MNS Chief Raj Thackeray said on Saturday in a meeting with CM Fadnavis & producers that he will not block the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil only if Producers will give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films and have asked every producer who has cast Pak artists will give Rs 5 crore to Army relief fund.

Mukesh Bhatt producer and director of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil assured Mr.Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future: Mukesh Bhatt

Also Read: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil row: MNS withdraws protests after Karan Johar decides to pay homage to martyrs during

Producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and VijaySingh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bhatt said that it was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil HaiMushkil' will release as per the schedule." "We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release.

I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said. Bhatt also said that they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.

Also, the (Producers') Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artists. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the Chief Minister, he said. Besides, Johar has decided to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing out in the screens. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

The makers of the film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the army welfare fund,he said, adding "We owe this to the Army."

Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" had been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks after the MNS opposed the screening of movies featuring Pakistani actors after the Uriterror attack, putting a question mark on the fate of movie,slated for Diwali release on October 28.

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New Delhi:

In a move aimed at checking any possibility of leakage of information through hacking of communication devices, Union Ministers have been asked not to carry mobile phones in Cabinet meetings.



The Cabinet Secretariat has recently issued a directive to private secretaries of the concerned ministers in this regard.



It has been decided that smartphones/mobile phones will henceforth not be permitted inside the meeting venues of Cabinet/Cabinet Committees, it said.



The private secretaries have been asked to appropriately brief the ministers on this.



The move assumes significance as security agencies have raised doubts over the security of mobile phones which are prone to hacking.



Official sources said the measure will ensure that the discussion, which is mostly sensitive, during cabinet meetings remains secret.



Such an instruction has been issued from the government for the first time.

Earlier, ministers were allowed to bring mobile phones with them which would be kept either on silent mode or preferably switched off.

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New York:

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite the heightened tensions along the LoC and believes the two countries are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.



I dont believe we are, Abdullah said when asked whether India and Pakistan are at the brink of war.



I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the sub-continent. Id like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be, he said at a conference titled India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair organized by the students of New York University in US on Friday.



Pakistans former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing security concerns.



There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Abdullahs nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, the surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tensions with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.



Abdullah said while there is tension along the Line of Control (LoC) and the ceasefire is under a bit more pressure than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan are not at the brink of war.



Abdullah noted that the government of India has been very careful in moderating how it has sold to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.



The government of India has been very careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC, he said adding that the government has not gone into giving details of how far they went inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.



What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan, he said adding that there would have been enormous pressure on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they went across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.



Abdullah said heightened tensions between India and Pakistan adds to the mood of gloom in the Valley because no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan.



The Kashmir Valley has been facing unrest and agitations for over 100 days now, in the wake of Wanis killing and unfortunately there is no end in sight to the current problem.

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Faridabad:

Three persons have been arrested for fraudulently withdrawing an amount of around Rs 43 lakh from the bank account of a man who died in 2013, said police, adding that a hunt was on for two more accused.

According to ACP (crime) Rajesh Kumar Chechi, Vedprakash, a resident of Sarai Khwaja, had filed a complaint alleging that unidentified persons had withdrawn an amount of Rs 42.90 lakh from the bank account of his father Srichand, who passed away in 2013.

Srichand had Rs 43 lakh in the account with Oriental Bank of Commerce, Sarai Khwaja branch and had never applied for an ATM card or net banking, said the ACP.

Recently, when Vedprakash went to the bank, he found out that an amount of Rs 42.90 lakh was withdrawn from his fathers account using net banking facility.

He lodged a complaint with the Police Commissioners office which forwarded it to the Cyber Cell.

Investigations revealed that the accused had forged the signature of Srichand and applied to the bank for net banking facility for his account. One of them had given his phone number for SMS alerts, said the ACP.

A case was registered last night against Vinay Veer Singh, a resident of Sanjay Colony, Hemant Arya and Bharat Bhushan, residents of Sector 7, Prem and Vinod, residents of Sector 23.

Of the five, Singh, Arya and Bhushan were arrested, the ACP said, adding that a hunt was on for Prem and Vinod.
Delhi:

In yet another development that could escalate tensions in the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, MLC Udayveer Singh, a close aide of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, was expelled from the party for six years.

Singh's expulsion came days after he reportedly sent a letter to party's national president Mulayam Singh Yadav asking him to step down and let Akhilesh take his place.

Read: Will have to start my election campaign on my own, without waiting for anyone: Akhilesh

In the letter, Singh also accused Mulayam's second wife Sadhna of harbouring ill feeling towards her stepson Akhilesh adding that Shivpal Singh Yadav, the state party chief and a brother of Mulayam Singh, was jealous of the chief minister's popularity.

Read: Politics within the Party: Mulayam and the political chess board in Uttar Pradesh ahead of assembly polls

The decision to expell Udayveer could be the result of him openly taking sides with Akhilesh at a time when the party is struggling to keep all the stakeholders united ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

(With inputs from agencies)

Read: Samajwadi Party feud continues: Akhilesh Yadav to embark on 'Rath Yatra' from Nov 3, might skip party's silver jubilee



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Thiruvananthapuram:

Beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham, convicted for killing a security guard by beating him and ramming his Hummer SUV into him, has allegedly threatened his brothers from jail using his mobile phone.

Two of his brothers have filed a complaint before the Thrissur Rural Superintendent of Police, R Nishantini, alleging that Nisham had threatened them from Central jail in Kannur, where he is lodged, by calling from his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, media reports claimed that Nisham frequently gets in touch with his business associates, wife and other relatives, using mobile phones.

Top police sources said the matter would be looked up by the Director General of Police, Prisons.

Reacting to the reports, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said it was a matter of concern that Nisham was getting VIP treatment in the prison. He also demanded stern action against officials who provided him silent support.

Earlier, police had ordered a probe into allegations that special treatment was being provided by prison authorities to Nisham, who is serving 24 year imprisonment.

Nisham had rammed his Hummer against security guard Chandrabose (51) after brutally beating him up as he was reportedly angry over the delay in opening the main gates of the posh residential complex Shobha city in Thrissur in the early hours of January 29 last year.

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Delhi:

Central Industrial Security Force personnel detained a man on Saturday after he was found walking dengerously close to the tracks between the Yamuna Bank and Akshardham Metro stations.

A News Nation correspondent, who was present at the Metro station, alerted the security personnel following which the man was taken into custody.

The incident triggered a security scare at the Metro line and services from both the sides were disrupted for a brief period.
Jaipur:

Campaigns calling for boycott of Chinese products have impacted sales of those items by up to 40 per cent here with many people preferring to buy India-made products only during their festive shopping.

In the wake of escalating tension between India and Pakistan after the Uri attack, activists have been running campaigns on roads and on social media platform to boycott products from Pakistans friend China.

A trade body has ascertained that there has been a 30-40 per cent impact on goods like decorative lights which records huge sales during Diwali, whereas a slight impact has also been felt on China-made electronic goods.

In an internal survey, we found that the sale of decorative Chinese lights and other similar products has declined by 30-40 per cent in recent days.

Demand of electronic items like LCDs and others made in China has also declined by 10-15 per cent while this impact is 2 per cent on mobile phones, Suresh Agrawal, president of Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry (FORTI), told PTI.

He said that FORTI has been conducting an internal survey for the past several days and members of the federation are giving their feedback on the demand and sale of Chinese products.

Consumption of Chinese products has come down in recent days. Be it decorative items or any other product, people are preferring Indian products over Chinese goods. Looking at the trend, traders are also avoiding placing orders for Chinese goods,Ajay Vijayvargiya, Secretary of Jaipur Vyapar Mahasangh, said.

Shyam Meena, a decorative light trader lfrom the walled city area, also acknowledged the decline in sale. The sale is no doubt down this time. Most of the customers are demanding Indian lights. The impact of the call to boycott Chinese products is high.

Last year, I ordered goods worth Rs 10 lakh approximately, but I have not ordered that much (this year), he said.

Large number of Chinese products ranging from idols, portraits of Hindu Gods and Goddesses to decorative lights which bear no indication of the product being manufactured in China are in the market at cheaper prices, yet people are showing awareness in purchasing the items, said Sandeep Gupta, an activist.

Gupta, a chartered accountant by profession, takes out a few hours every day to go to the streets and markets to call for the boycott of Chinese products.

Shaheedon ko de do Shradhanjali, China ke Samano ko do Tilanjali (Pay homage to the martyrs, boycott products from China) is the slogan written on a banner which he carries with him on a jeep.

Chinese products are sometimes very difficult to identify. The list of Chinese products is very long and people as well as traders will have to show awareness against them. The impact will be visible when the market of electronic goods will be affected, he said.

Gupta added that the young generation is quite aware on this issue. Why should we buy Chinese products, a friend of Pakistan? We will buy Desi things, an engineering student, Bhaskar Verma, said.

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Panaji:

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surgical strikes, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said India has the capability to conduct more such strikes and should regain control of the PoK.

The Sena chief, however, took a dim view of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's remark crediting the "RSS teachings" for the decision to conduct the surgical strike.

"We should praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surgical strikes. But this should not be the last one but beginning of (more) such strikes against Pakistan," Uddhav said while addressing Sena workers here.

He said India has a capability to strike against Pakistan and should start by regaining control of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

"The identity of Pakistan should be Hindustan soon. The way Indira Gandhi had carried out army operation creating Bangladesh, India should also have such operation against Pakistan," the Sena chief said.

Referring to series of statements made by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar after the surgical strikes, he said, "War should be for the nation, not for election."

"I have complete respect for RSS. RSS has been working for Hindutva. But kindly don't denounce the contribution of our brave soldiers who were involved in surgical strikes," he said, alluding to Parrikar's remarks where he credited his and PM's "RSS teachings" behind decision to conduct surgical strikes.

Taking a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, he said those who claim that surgical strikes never happened, should be sent out of the country.

"When a senior official of Armed forces announces that the surgical strikes have happened, no one has a right to question him. By doing so, we are showing distrust in Indian soldiers," he said.

The Sena chief, who was in the coastal state to galvanise the party ahead of the state Assembly polls, also took a jibe at Modi over his statement at BRICS summit that one "old friend is better than two new ones".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recently-held BRICS summit made a statement that one old friend is better than two new ones. We have a saying that it is better to have honest enemy compared to cunning friend," Thackeray said, alluding to strains in ties with his party and the BJP despite being long-time partners.

"An old friend better than two new friends", Modi had said after his meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

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New Delhi:

India aims to increase security along the border areas with Pakistan and thus BSF reportedly upgraded the laser walls around early October. The armed forces are leaving no stone unturned in making the security in border areas leak proof and such areas leak proof.

Further, the border areas are now equipped with laser beams and infra-red rays, installed along a stretch of 8kms in the border.

The latest technology makes BSF more aware about latest security breach along with helping it differentiate whether the breach was conducted by a man or an animal.

Defence got a huge boost when CRON laser system was finally installed along a few stretches of the western border earlier this year.

Also Read: Dozen laser walls activated along Indo-Pak border

Defence forces have started using next generation IR optics which helps in early detection of weather and harsh terrain. A senior army official claimed that it requires very little human intervention, has smarter detection capabilities and the encryptions are hack-proof. The previous technology was not capable of managing in marshy lands, which is the condition in most frontier areas."

The central government has big plans for border regions and plans to cover the entire border with laser walls by February- March 2017.

Further, security experts are also working on a further upgraded laser wall system called miCRON, which will help in enabling encrypted communication for five-layer fencing.

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Cairo:

An Egyptian criminal court Saturday confirmed a 20-year prison sentence given to Mohammed Morsi for inciting violence during demonstrations in 2012, in the first final verdict in a case against the former president.

Eight other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years in the case. Their appeals were refused too.

In April 2015, a Cairo court had sentenced Morsi to 20 years in prison for inciting violence against protesters who had staged a sit-in outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012, when Morsi was still in power.

The then opposition protesters had rallied in front of the palace to peacefully protest Morsis decree in which he had ordered that the president shall remain immune from judicial oversight. Clashes erupted outside the palace and 10 people were killed, including journalist el-Husseini Abu Deif, 33.

Morsi and other defendants were charged for killing protesters, possessing weapons, and inciting violence during the sit-in near the palace.

Defendants include Asad Al-Shikha, Morsis former deputy chief of staff, Ahmed Abdel Atty, former head of presidents office, Mohamed El-Beltagy, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, outspoken Islamic preacher Wagdy Ghoneim and Essam El-Erian, deputy head of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhoods Justice and Freedom Party.

Morsi is currently in prison over other cases including on espionage charges, escaping from prison during the January 25 Revolution in 2011, insulting the judiciary and spying and handing documents of national security importance to Qatari intelligence through the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel.

The former president has said he does not recongnise the trials he faces. Morsi, who became Egypts president in June 2012 after the first democratic elections in the country, was ousted in a military coup after a year in power following mass protests against his rule.

In another case, an Egyptian court today accepted the appeal of the supreme guide of Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie and other defendants against a life in prison sentence for taking part in violent acts near Istekama mosque in Giza in which 9 people died last year.

The defendants were accused of murder, attempt to murder, resisting authorities and belonging to an outlaw group that aims at disturbing national peace, among other charges. The court has ordered a retrial for the defendants.

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Jammu:

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis plea to the police to make "local boys" who have joined militancy part of the mainstream faced strong resistance from the BJP. The party said on Saturday that militant, whether local or outsider, "cannot be forgiven" and should be dealt with as law of land demands.

"A militant, who is responsible for the killing of innocent civilians as well as army and security personnel, besides being involved in picking up the gun against the nation, cannot be forgiven," Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit spokesperson Arun Gupta said.

During the Police Commemoration Day function held at Armed Police Complex in Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar on Friday Mehbooba had said, "Those who have taken up arms or those who have not but are missing from their homes and want to join militancy, they are local boys".

"I request the police to try to bring them back to their homes. Instead of their being killed in encounters, if it ispossible to bring them back, make them a part of the mainstream, give them bats, balls and good education, instead of guns," she had said.

Her remarks came in the wake of a prolonged unrest in the Valley triggered by gunning down of local Hizbul militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

Gupta said a local militant or one from a foreign land are indulging in the same activity and the country cannot accept it as a

"forgiving mistake".

He said no country can accept raising of gun against it and the people involved have to be dealt with as law of land demands.

Also Read: J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti urges police to bring youths back to mainstream

"BJP is of the firm belief that all nationalist forces need to be respected and those involved in anti-national activities be taught an exemplary lesson," the spokesperson said.

Taking on Chief Minister indirectly for her remarks, Gupta said, "Our police and special forces cannot be made to remain quiet and accept these situations, but they be given full authority to deal with these elements as situation warrants".

"It is the lacklustre and appeasing policy and attitude of previous governments in the country which have brought things to this level that anybody, if so desires, can talk or work against the nation without any question or action," he said.

"BJP cannot and will not accept this under any circumstances and would only work for the development of the state and nation and any force coming in the way to harming the nation would be dealt as strongly as needed," Gupta said.

He said the BJP, which is in coalition government with PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, wonders as to how a nation can progress when an "indisciplined citizen" is given so much importance over the "law abiding and nationalist" one, and appeasement policy, whether for stone-pelter, separatist or a militant, is always "ready on platter".

Gupta said "enough is enough" and no there would not be any more "tolerating of such an activity" which is against the interests of the nation.

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New Delhi:

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has pitched for holding dialogue with Pakistan and insisted that artists from both the countries should work in cross border films to strengthen ties between the two nations.

Addressing an event to mark 199th birth anniversary of founder of Aligarh Muslim University Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Singh accused the Centre of trying to use provision of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to target a particular community.

He, however, said the UCC should not be brought in until there is no consensus.

On the issue of triple talaq, Singh said the government has no right to interfere in personal laws of Muslims, but also suggested community members to ensure rights of women through discussions on the issue within themselves.

"We can't decide our neighbour. We must accept that Pakistan is our neighbour and work towards improving ties with it. Dialogue is the only way," Singh said.

Expressing surprise over opposition to Pakistani actors working in Bollywood film, he sought to know how they could be "troubled" after being issued visa in India.

"Artists are like ambassadors. They can help improve ties. There is a need to encourage people-to-people contact to strengthen India-Pakistan tie. War is not the way," he said.

Objecting to the NDA government's alleged attempt to link triple talaq with Uniform Civil Code he said it can't be "imposed" without consensus.

"Our Muslim brothers too should think about rights of women in connection with triple talaq. But neither the government, nor anyone else should interfere in it. Muslims themselves should solve whatever issues are there through discussions," he said.

The event was also attended by former Congress MP Sandip Dixit and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Shehzad Poonawalla.

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A study shows that several people are unaware or unprepared for the reset that will be applied to home equity lines of credit (HELOC) in coming years. Of the 800 homeowners questioned, 43 percent will be affected by the change, with 23 percent admitting that they have no financial plans for handling the reset.

Conducting the survey, TB Bank questioned borrowers on their understanding of HELOCs, and their plans for when changes are made. Only 19 percent understood that monthly payments will increase, and 34 percent actually believed that repayments will fall. One-third of those who borrowed before 2011 didn't know the end date of their draw period. This rose to 42 percent for Baby Boomers.

TD Bank's Home Equity's senior vice president, Mike Kinane, said, "When this draw period ends, borrowers are required to pay principal and interest, which may increase their monthly payments. It's important that HELOC borrowers plan ahead and review their contract to determine the best course of action based on their current and future financial situations." He added that consumers with no financial plan for the end of their draw period must contact lenders as soon as possible. Most responsive institutions will provide ways to pay down outstanding credit, he said.

For those affected by the HELOC reset, it's crucial to act now. Otherwise, homeowners could face large increases in their monthly repayments, putting pressure on their finances.
WASHINGTON, Conn.  For many fans, the fictional town of Stars Hollow came to life Saturday as actors who played its quirky residents roamed the real-life town that inspired the show Gilmore Girls.

Actors dressed in character mingled with fans at workshops and other events and posed for spontaneous photo opportunities during the second day of the Gilmore Girls Fan Festival, which drew a sold-out crowd of 1,200 fans.

The day culminated with a panel discussion with 13 cast members, who joked with each other and laughed as they reminisced about their time on the set.

Most recalled how Liz Torres and Sally Struthers, who played Miss Patty and Babette, entertained the cast during filming of long scenes by impersonating famous actresses. The cast also played a game where they would guess what was in Struthers purse, including a drivers license for her dog.

We were like Abbott and Costello, Torres told the audience.

Ted Rooney, who plays Morey, added, Sally and Liz would hold court. Theyre old-school Hollywood.

Gilmore Girls, which aired from 2000 to 2007, centered on two characters, Lorelai and Rory, a single mother raising her teenage daughter. The show gained a following that grew when the show went into syndication and got another boost when Netflix announced a four-episode revival, set to premiere Nov. 25.

It seems like the stars are equally excited to see the fans, said Jean McCrystal as she waited in line with her two daughters to meet Rose Abdoo, who plays Gypsy on the show.

Jackson Douglas, who played a farmer on the program, greeted fans in a plaid jacket near a produce stand, while Aris Alvarado, who played diner chef Caesar, helped out with a cooking demo from the new cookbook, Eat Like a Gilmore.

At one point Todd Lowe, who played a Stars Hollow character named Zach, gave a surprise concert with his band, Hep Alien, on the steps of the Bryan Memorial Town Hall to excited cheers from fans. He was joined by his fictional bandmates, Keiko Agena, who played Lane, and John Cabrera, who played Brian. They led the crowd in a singalong of the shows theme song.

During the morning, Anisha Gupta, 24, and Ashima Talwar, 25, waited in a line that wound through Hickory Stick Bookshop to meet Liz Torres, who played Miss Patty.

The friends grew up watching the show while living in Maryland, and were excited to meet the people who played the characters they loved to watch every week.

Theyre so down to earth, Talwar said. It seems like they really love the show. It doesnt feel like a convention.

In the nearby shop, Janet and Amber Speciale, a mother and daughter dressed in outfits like Lorelai and Rory wore in the show, gushed about the parallels between the show and their own lives: including their close relationship and the fact that Janet gave birth Amber when she was in high school and put her through college.

People kept telling us we had to watch the show because it was us, Amber Speciale said.

On Friday, a panel of six crew members shared behind-the-scenes stories about casting some of the characters, their wardrobes and the challenges they faced producing an episode with 80-plus pages of dialogue each week.

Sheila Lawrence, a writer and producer on the show, said everyone applauded after the table read of the revival script and no one wanted to be the first to leave.

Everyone just knew, Lawrence said. This doesnt just happen and you dont get to do it again.

The loudest applause of Friday nights panel came when the casting directors were asked which of Rorys boyfriends they liked best  a contentious issue among fansand Sean Gunn, who played Kirk, yelled out his characters name from the balcony of town hall.

Star Herrmann, the wife of the late Edward Herrmann, who played Rorys grandfather on the show, also received resounding applause as she spoke about her husbands love for the show and how much he would have loved this event.

That man loved this show, she said. He just loved it. He loved the people and he loved the cast.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345; @kkoerting
Child welfare authorities, faced with a growing number of suspected cases of child trafficking, are fighting back with educational programs aimed at police, teachers, medical workers and even high school students.

One message they want to get across: That the victims of child trafficking can come from any socioeconomic group.

It can be any child, said Brooke Morris, a state Department of Children and Families employee who works in anti-trafficking. It doesnt matter what your background is.

Since 2013, DCF has received more than 400 referrals for suspected cases of child trafficking, a crime that encompasses child pornography and prostitution, and the numbers are growing  from 79 in 2013 to 94 in 2014, 133 in 2015 and 98 during the first six months of this year.

State officials attribute this trend both to an increase in trafficking and to increased awareness about a crime that affects thousands of children across the country each year.

The number of prosecutions for the crime, however, is not keeping pace. In the last decade, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut estimates that only 32 defendants have been prosecuted for trafficking-related offenses.

In May, Brandon Williams, then 35, of Bridgeport, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. Williams, the owner of Beauty Boots Modeling Agency in Waterbury, was arrested last year and accused of abducting a 17-year-old girl as she was walking home.

The girl told police he pistol-whipped her, injected her with heroin and tattooed a dollar sign and 14k on her face. He then forced her to commit sexual acts in a local motel, according to police.

Sex trafficking by force carries a mandatory minimum 15-year term with the maximum of life in prison, while sex trafficking carries a mandatory 10-year term, according to U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly. Williams is awaiting trial.

Last month, Jordan Anate, then 26, most recently of the Bronx, N.Y., was sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for sex trafficking of a minor. Anate prostituted a 17-year-old girl at hotels in Hartford, Manchester, New Britain and East Hartford, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

For more than a decade, the state has implemented an array of initiatives to combat child trafficking, including creating task forces and passing legislation. More recently, DCF developed six Human Anti-Trafficking Response Teams (HART) throughout the state. The teams include child welfare workers, state and federal law enforcement agents, legislators and clinical providers.

Their work has included conducting two-hour training programs to help those working in child welfare, juvenile justice and law enforcement to understand what trafficking is, how to recognize red flags and what to do if they suspect a case of trafficking.

Last year, DCF trained about 250 staffers at the Danbury public schools. This year, those education programs have spread to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University and the Womens Center of Greater Danbury. In November, all staff at Family and Childrens Aid in Danbury are slated to be trained.

The curriculum that was developed for the training is very powerful, very intense, Morris said. You leave thinking, This could be my child. 

Now state officials want to spread the word to children and teenagers.

DCF wrote to the states school superintendents in January, expressing its concerns about child trafficking and asking for meetings with school officials to discuss training both faculty and students.

In order to prevent the continued rise of victims in the State, we need your support, wrote Tammy Sneed, the director of gender responsive adolescent services at DCF. Teaching the children in your district about human trafficking and how to maintain their safety will prevent many children from being exploited.

Cara Mackler, a prevention educator at the Womens Center of Great Danbury, has been trained and licensed in the Not a #Number curriculum, which was developed by Love146, an international human rights organization that has offices in New Haven. The curriculum was created for youth between the ages of 12 and 18.

Mackler said staff at the center just started reaching out to local school districts and social service agencies that work with youth.

The whole point and purpose behind prevention education is to get in before they are approached by a trafficker or before they are in a vulnerable situation where they can be at high risk for being approached by a trafficker, she said.

Anyone is vulnerable, she added. When we are talking about vulnerability, its whatever theyre lacking that a trafficker pretends to offer them, whether its love, affection, shelter.

Youth at a higher risk of trafficking include the homeless or runaways, as well as those who have been sexually abused or have witnessed domestic violence, she said.

The red flags that could signal a childs or youths involvement in trafficking include unexplained gifts, excessive amounts of cash, having one or more cell phones, possession of hotel keys or business cards and the presence of overly controlling or abusive boyfriends or partners, according to DCF.

The curriculum teaches participants to recognize recruitment tactics, to understand what makes victims vulnerable and to develop skills to safely navigate potential and existing exploitive situations.

In addition, studnets are taught to identify healthy support systems and learn how to access community resources when situations occur that increase their vulnerability or if exploitation is already underway.

Not a #Number is important for all students in all communities because sex trafficking and exploitation is something that happens everywhere, Mackler said. The average age of entry into sex trafficking is 11 to 14 years old, so we need reach these students early on.
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The race for the 26th District in the state Senate pits a veteran Republican lawmaker against a Democrat who has never held elected office but whose life and family have been steeped in politics.

Both Republican incumbent Toni Boucher and Democratic challenger Carolanne Curry are vying to represent a district that includes Bethel, Ridgefield, Redding, Wilton, Westport and New Canaan.

Boucher is seeking her fifth term as state senator, following 12 years as a state representative and years serving on Wiltons Board of Selectmen and school board.

Curry has worked for numerous campaigns and currently serves as an aide for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. She said she has grown up surrounded by politics and public service. She is the aunt of former State Comptroller Bill Curry, and worked on his two failed gubernatorial campaigns.

If re-elected, Boucher said her top priorities would focus on making Connecticut more affordable for businesses and individuals by reforming current tax and spending policies to encourage job growth, balance the state budget and improve roadways and transit systems.

Theyre all inter-related, she said. I really believe that the tax structure of our state is a major reason that jobs grow and people stay. And we can see that those bad policies that have been enacted are doing the opposite  we have people leaving and jobs decreasing.

Boucher said her extensive background in finance comes in handy when proposing solutions to remedy the states fiscal issues, especially when it comes to government spending in areas such as transportation.

We have to stop raiding our transportation fund and moving other things that its not designed to fund and spending in other areas that are taking up the priorities. That practice has got to stop, she said. If we take our general obligation funds and prioritize what we can do, we can almost gain a billion dollars extra.

Curry said that its time for a change in the districts representation, and her experience in politics will help her get results.

What I want is fairness. Im not going to legislate on behalf of the special few, Im looking to secure a fair legislative future for everyone in the district, Curry said. Id like to pursue a return to fairness and morality in our political system for everyone.

Curry said she has worked closely with legislators in Hartford, where she worked as an administrative assistant to the state Senate president.

As an aide to Ganim, she coordinates the citywide effort to clean up illegal dumping and blight.

After seeing to the welfare of cities like New Haven and Bridgeport for years, Curry now wants to ensure the welfare of the state as a whole.

Curry said the state is not doing enough to ensure fair-minded laws. Curry points to the $22 million in state financial aid the State Bond Commission awarded to Bridgewater as a prime example of the kind of special treatment she would not tolerate if elected.

If we really need to look at how our money is being spent, well see that it is not being spent wisely. I want to be a part of the group who comes in and re-thinks how our tax money is spent in this state, Curry said. All were doing right now is putting Band-Aids where we should be restructuring.

While Curry acknowledges that a restructuring of the Legislatures finances wont be easy, opposition is nothing new to her. Curry, who is openly gay, believes that her unique blend of life and political experience will ultimately enable her to pursue what is right in the face of whatever resistance comes her way.

One of the biggest differences between the candidates is their approach to reducing the states expected budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.

Curry proposes using money already in the budget in ways that are more moral and fair. She said the state shouldnt spend money on special interests and on tax breaks for hedge funds.

Boucher said the cost of state government has grown while the economy has stagnated, and the state needs to reduce its spending. She also proposes a hard freeze on state wages and increasing health insurance co-pays for state employees.

She proposes reform of the states pension plan so that state employees pick up more of the cost. She said there needs to be more of an alignment between employee benefits in the public and private sectors, especially now that state salaries are the same or more than private ones.

Curry said she wouldnt support changing the pension model because it helps make a state job more attractive and offsets a lower salary than many employees could get in the private sector.

Neither are in favor of having third casino, tolls or a mileage tax to generate more revenue.

Curry proposes offering incentives so that people can focus on environmental efforts they are passionate about, including using canvas bags instead of plastic bags, and separating plastics.

Boucher said the state should continue to promote alternative fuel sources, as well as expand the plastic bottle redemption law to juice bottles.

Both advocate improving the Danbury Metro-North rail line and oppose widening Route 7. They said a Super 7 highway would hurt small communities it passes through, while improving the rail line would make the area more attractive.

As a ranking member of the Education Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly and a former member of Wiltons Board of Education, Boucher said she would also continue her efforts in closing the gap between high- and low-income individuals by changing the educational funding formula and reducing tuition hikes.

The best way to close the income gap is a higher education, she said. The vast majority of income is not necessarily from a trust fund, but people who have worked their way up the economic ladder by getting a higher educational degree.

Boucher said she would also do her best to prevent three things from moving forward: the mileage-based tax, the implementation of additional tolls and the regionalization of local municipalities  all of which, she claims, would layer on more taxes and financial burdens on Connecticuts population.

We have to focus on our affordability for our businesses and people and expanding Connecticuts tax base, Boucher said.

Although Curry admits that she and Boucher see eye-to-eye on a number of issues, such as the elimination of the business entity tax, there is a bit of a disparity in their views when it comes to some social issues.

Curry said that whereas Boucher voted against a recent medical marijuana bill or an act concerning services for individuals with intellectual disabilities, she would have voted for them.

There are also corporate loopholes that are being exploited by businesses much to the dismay of the people of Connecticut, Curry added. For one, if elected, Curry said she would aim to revise affordable housing legislation that allows a developer to ask the courts to override local zoning decisions in order to construct affordable housing for working class and low-income individuals.

My aim is to stop that abuse  to let the towns have affordable housing, offer diversity in housing, but not be locked in to these outrageous sizes that developers want to put in to the towns, Curry said.
When one hears the phrase Startup Hub, the minds eye most likely automatically conjures up images of locations like New York City, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Boston. However, the Midwest region has been developing some real challenger cities to the Startup Hub throne. According to The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship, which is an umbrella of annual reports that measures U.S. entrepreneurship across national, state and top 40 metro levels, Columbus, Ohios capital, is the fastest-growing city in the country for startup activity. According to CB Insights, Ohio had less than 10 active venture investors in 2009 but saw more than 40 different VCs invest in 2014.

Few know this better than Tom Walker, the president and CEO of Columbus-based venture development organization Rev1 Ventures. Rev1 Ventures describes themselves as part VC, part accelerator -- with the expertise and connections to fuel startup success. And that expertise involves recognizing potential and talent in places where others arent looking.

Related: Why Startups Fail and What Experts Have to Say About It (Infographic)

When people want to see great art, they go to the Louvre, Walker said. That is, until they realize that there are also great paintings in museums right in their own backyards.

While Columbus is gaining serious steam on the startup front, there are still very real obstacles to overcome. According to Walker, the West Coast, New England, New York City and even parts of Texas, attract more than 90 percent of available early-stage venture capital. While that leaves less than 10 percent of early stage venture capital for the rest of the country, it also leaves the door open for branding and growth.

Instead of challenges, we see opportunities, Walker said. Our strategy is to create our own Midwest brand of startup hub, with technology, talent and early stage capital. And all of this is connected in a way thats uniquely Midwestern -- we call it the backyard effect.

And the backyard effect isnt something to be ignored. MentorcliQ is an award-winning mentoring software solution that helps organizations launch, support, and grow high-impact employee mentoring programs. Its a Rev1 portfolio company and one of the companys co-founders, Andy George, moved from California to Ohio to capitalize on the Columbus startup scene.

Related: Bootstrapping Is Not Just for Startups

The community here is so close-knit and so supportive and helpful in wanting to see you succeed, George said of Columbus. Its the best of both worlds, a close startup ecosystem and a really supportive corporate environment.

According to Columbus.gov, Columbus is headquarters to at least 20 Fortune 1000 companies. In addition, blue-chip firms such as Limited Brands, Chase, Kroger and Anheuser-Busch have major facilities in the area.

The reality on the ground is that capital is portable - it doesn't stay on the coasts if there are good opportunities in Ohio, said Ian Sigalow, Partner and Co-Founder of Greycroft, a VC firm based in NYC and Los Angeles. Approximately 50 percent of Greycrofts portfolio is in New York Tri-state area (NY/CT/NJ) and Los Angeles, 35 percent is elsewhere in the US, and 15 percent international. Greycroft funded Eloquii out of Columbus and Everything But The House out of Cincinnati. Companies outside of New York and LA typically seek us out because we can help them expand into our core markets, he added.

The plusses begin with affordability. Eight of the 20 cities on Forbes Most Affordable Cities list in 2015 are in the Midwest, and 50 percent of those -- Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Akron are in Ohio, Walker said.  Whether youre a software engineer paying off student loans or an entrepreneur trying to launch a startup, cost of living matters.

Seth Miller, a 2014 graduate of Ohio University, is the co-founder and CEO of RapChat, an app that allows users to record sharable freestyle raps over instrumental beats. Hes traveled all over the US trying to grow his brand, and he knows exactly what Walker is talking about.

Related: 3 Reasons Why Startups Should Consider Launching in the Midwest

The cost of living is a huge plus. The cost of talent, too. Out West a programmer will cost you at least $150,000, whereas a good programmer in Ohio can be employed for half of that, Miller said. And you cant ignore the fact that theres less competition. If youre in the Valley trying to pitch firms on Sand Hill Road, youre going against the best of the best...every single day, and youre all fighting for the same investment dollars.

Growing a startup in general is extremely hard, no matter where you are geographically, Miller added. A couple challenges you face in Ohio are a relative lack of funding resources and a paucity of talent, specifically with developers. But, both of those are beginning to change with new funds like Drive Capital and Rev1 Ventures.

According to Sigalow, the challenge in every upcoming market is hiring talented managers at every position, not just developers, he continued: How many CFOs in Columbus have taken a start-up public before? How many heads-of-sales have scaled a SaaS company from zero to $100 million in revenue? How many CTOs have scaled a developer organization to over a hundred people? You can probably count all these candidates on one hand. They all have to be relocated.

Tech Crunch named Millers RapChat one of their seven favorite companies from the 500 Startups Batch 15 Demo Day. And according to TechCrunch, over 2.5 million raps have been created through the app and they have over 50,000 monthly users.

Miller lived on the West Coast for most of 2015, but hes currently back in Columbus with the goal of making his hometown RapChats headquarters. In his mind, location doesnt necessarily play a determining role in startup growth.

Miller also said that the type of startup plays a huge role in the funding one receives.

It seriously depends on the type of of startup you have. For example, if youre in bio-tech, SaaS or health-tech, Ohio is one of the best places you can be, he said. If youre in consumer mobile like me, its still not a great place to be, but hey, were trying to change that.

When it boils down to it, all signs are pointing to a startup surge in Columbus. Walker, George and Miller have all seen the signs.

Im seeing more and more opportunities in Columbus for companies at the concept stage, Miller said. Thats generally different than all the places Ive been to. There are groups and people here who legitimately want to help companies take an idea and help them evolve it into a real company. Thats huge. If you go to the traditional hubs, they probably wont even hear you out until you have a live product and thousands of users.

Related:

Is The Goods & Services Tax An Elixir To All Real Estate Ailments?

These Startups Are Electrifying India's Scooters

All About Good Golf And Great Food



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Trump supporters heckle media, calls them 'liars'

United States,Media,Politics, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

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Washington, Oct 22 (IANS) The supporters of US Republican nominee Donald Trump

shoved and pushed journalists, including an NDTV reporter, outside an event venue in Pennsylvania, calling them "liars" and threatening to "knock the mic down", a media report said on Saturday.

"I don't want to talk to media, you are liars," a supporter shouted at the NDTV reporter, "I will knock your mic down. Who the hell are you, whoever knows you," he yelled.

Subsequently the police intervened, NDTV reported.

The incident occurred shortly after the business magnate had addressed around 5,000 people in Pennsylvanian administrative division of Newton.

Trump has taken anti-media attacks to a new level, accusing journalists of being in cahoots with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign in a conspiracy to rig the election.

In Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the US elections, Trump is trying to be the first Republican since 1988 to win the state which carries 20 electoral votes; 270 are needed to win.

In August at a rally in Fairfield, Connecticut, Trump had said, "I am not running against Crooked Hillary Clinton, I'm running against the crooked media".

Trump has complained for months about media coverage which he said is biased against him.

He had stripped a long list of news organisations -- including the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Politico and the Washington Post -- of their credentials, and vowed that as the President he would make it easier to sue news outlets.

However, he later allowed them to cover his events.

The business mogul's campaign for the November 8 election has been scrambling to recover from the release of 2005 video in which he bragged about groping women and making unwanted sexual advances. Since then, many women have come forward with similar allegations.

Clinton is leading Trump by 12 percentage points, according to a new national poll, up 8 points from a similar survey conducted last month.

The Monmouth University poll released earlier this week put Clinton ahead of Trump, 50 per cent to 38 per cent, Politico news magazine reported.

The former Secretary of State's lead was up significantly from the 4-point advantage she held in September's Monmouth poll.

This latest poll is the first to be conducted entirely since the accusations of sexual assault against Trump began to emerge.

--IANS

ss/ksk/vm

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Rajnath Singh to visit Bahrain on Sunday

India,National,Politics,Terrorism,Diplomacy, Sat, 22 Oct 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a three-day visit to Bahrain from Sunday, a statement said on Saturday.

The Indian delegation led by Rajnath Singh will include senior officers from the ministries of home and external affairs.

"During the visit, the Home Minister will have a bilateral meeting with the Interior Minister of Bahrain and interact with prominent members of Indian community," said the statement.

Rajnath Singh will discuss with top leadership of Bahrain the issue of cross-border terrorism faced by India and anti-terror cooperation.

--IANS

gt/py/vm
4DS has demonstrated Interface Switching ReRAM cells at a 40 nanometer geometry, representing significant progress in scalability and yield.

This 40nm geometry, demonstrated by 4DS, is smaller than the latest generation of 3D Flash  the most dominant non-volatile memory technology used in billions of mobile devices, cloud servers and data centers.

In 2016, 4DS has

Demonstrated scalability, consistency and behaviour of memory cells with high yield at 40nm

40nm is a breakthrough development at a scale smaller that existing 3D Flash, the most dominant non-volatile memory technology

JDA with HGST renewed in July 2016 taking the collaboration into its third year

4DS Memories Ltd. (West Perth, Western Australia) claims to have achieved 40-nanometer resistive random-access memories (ReRAMs) that are denser than flash and rival the recently reported Crossbar Inc.s (San Francisco)

4DS claims its 40-nanometer ReRAM is a first, but many other labs besides 4DS and Crossbar are known for serious ReRAM efforts using memristors including Adesto Technologies, Elpida, Fujitsu, Global Foundries, Hewlett Packard, Hynix, IBM, Macronix, Nanya, NEC, Panasonic, Rambus, SanDisk, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, ST Microelectronics, Winbond, and several research-only labs like Imec collaborating with foundry partners like TSMC.

Flash is reaching the end of its ability to scale linearly, prompting the move to 3D, such as Samsungs, Toshibas and Western Digitals recent demonstrations of 64-layer stacked-die flash memories.

The bit-cell stack controls its resistance by the migration of oxygen ions between the opposing metal electrodes.

(Source: 4DS)M

4DS also claims to have invested only $12 million to research and develop its recent demonstration chips. The demo chips, 4DS claims, prove its ReRAM memory cells are faster, cheaper and lower power than 3-D flash, giving the company hope at carving out a segment of the $40 billion global market for flash.

Beyond 2016: Commercial deal or strategic action most likely

From the current state of technological development, we essentially see three scenarios for 4DS going forward; firstly, a scenario in which the company succeeds in finalizing the minimum required development of its technology to the point where prospective licensees step up to the plate. In this scenario 4DS will need to demonstrate scalability of the Interface Switching ReRAM memory cell down to sub-45nm resolutions with consistent cell behavior using a scalable manufacturing process.

Still several years of development required by licensees

Any licensee will need to further develop the technology in the next several years to the point where high density, Interface Switching ReRAM memory chips can be manufactured in existing fabs, which we would expect around 2019-2020. This development process will require tens of millions of dollars, possibly up to US$100M, in our view, which is why 4DS will likely not embark on this journey, at least not by itself.

Any license agreement that is non-exclusive would see 4DS receiving multiple up-front, oneoff license payments, which could amount to several millions of dollars each. Additionally, 4DS would receive royalties per chip sold once the technology goes into commercial production. Memory chip royalties typically amount to a single digit percentage of the sales price of the chip.

An exclusive license to use 4DS technology would likely require the licensee to pay a substantially larger up-front license fee, potentially several tens of millions of dollars, in 4DS view, in addition to royalties once the chip goes into commercial production.

Potential strategic action ahead of any license deal

The second scenario would be an acquisition by an established manufacturer in the data storage space. In this scenario as well, we believe 4DS would first need to complete the minimum required development of its technology in order to prove commercial viability of Interface Switching ReRAM. Any acquirer will then need to further develop the technology to commercial insertion into the market, similar to the first scenario.

Given 4DS development agreement with HGST and the acquisitive nature of its parent company, we believe Western Digital would be a very likely acquirer in this scenario.

Additionally, companies like SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung might have a keen interest in securing Interface Switching Memory technology to gradually take over from 3D NAND Flash in a few years time.

The third and final scenario would see 4DS technology not being rolled out commercially in due time, either due to insurmountable and/or overly expensive technological issues with Interface Switching ReRAM, or the emergence/dominance of another non-volatile memory technology, e.g. filamentary ReRAM, MRAM etc. While the likelihood of this scenario seems relatively small at this stage given the rapid technological progress being made together with HGST, it can never be excluded in the dynamic semiconductor industry.

There are two Approaches to ReRAM : Interface switching ReRAM and Filamentary ReRAM

Interface Switching ReRAM  high density memory for mobile and cloud

The development of Interface Switching ReRAM, a unique type of Non-Filamentary ReRAM, represents a breakthrough in ReRAM technology and is unique to 4DS.

Developing memory storage that is not reliant upon a filament allows cell currents to scale down in line with cell size enabling the smaller geometries necessary to put more storage on a memory chip creating high density memory.

A filament-less switching mechanism can operate with low switching currents, due to much more stable currents, essential for high density gigabyte range memories and the retention of data.

4DS has developed a way of controlling the overall resistance of the memory cells using the diffusion of oxygen atoms across the interface and this mechanism is used to reliably control gigabyte memory intended for large-scale storage.

Importantly, Interface Switching ReRAM does not rely on a destruction mechanism thereby increasing endurance, reliability and functional behaviour.

Filamentary ReRAM  low density memory for IoT and connected devices</>

The formation of filaments is the most common approach in ReRAM cell research and development today.

Filamentary mechanisms may work well at relatively large cell geometries but pose significant current density, retention, endurance, access and control problems when trying to achieve gigabyte range memories.

Filamentary ReRAM has inherent scaling limitations because cell currents are high and are independent of cell size. High switching currents are needed for long data retention and the large current fluctuations typically observed in filament-based ReRAM.

The potential for scalability to smaller geometries is limited by wire current densities.

Furthermore, the create and destruct switching mechanism in filamentary ReRAM results in eventual cell breakdown and poses a number of significant limitations for GB silicon storage.




By GMM 22 October 2016 - 09:34





The push to have pre-season testing take place in Bahrain early next year has failed.

Two tests in Barcelona had been provisionally scheduled, but Pirelli - strongly supported by Mercedes - was pushing for at least one outing in the guaranteed warmer and drier climes of Bahrain.

"The way the regulations are written, to test outside of Europe would require the unanimous consent of all of the teams and that doesnt exist," Red Bulls Christian Horner said in Austin.

Indeed, the teams got together with Bernie Ecclestone on Friday and agreed that the Bahrain issue was now off the table.

But as a compromise, Bahrain has been pencilled-in as the first venue for in season testing once the 2017 season gets underway.

"Thankfully common sense has prevailed," said Horner.

Auto Motor und Sport claims that costs were not the only point of contention.

The German report said Red Bull wants to run what is rumoured to be a particularly long-wheelbased 2017 car on the ideal Barcelona layout, while Mercedes favoured Bahrain amid rumours of a special new cooling system.

And even the argument that Pirelli needs warm and dry running for the development of its bigger 2017 slicks was dismissed by Force Indias Bob Fernley.

"Many people forget what winter testing is for," he said. "Its not about tyres, but about the new cars."
Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, on Friday opened the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to celebrate the business ties between Nigeria and U...

Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, on Friday opened the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to celebrate the business ties between Nigeria and UK, while promoting the 3rd London and Lagos Capital Markets in Partnership conference.

The minister, who was joined by Greg Hands, a member of the UK parliament and the UK minister of state for international trade, said Nigeria is good for business.

Adeosun, who explained how Nigeria intends to fund its budget deficit, said Nigerias low-interest lending rate remains on course. She said the country has a headroom for borrowing, since it has a low debt-to-GDP ratio.

Speaking on Nigeria, Hands said: I know from my own time in Nigeria that the UK and Nigeria have long enjoyed a close and prosperous business relationship.

The UK is one of Nigerias largest investors and the government is committed to boosting trade between our two countries.

We are actively helping British companies export to Nigeria and Nigerian businesses to locate and expand in the UK. I welcome this initiative as a further step to deepen the commercial links between our nations.

Amina Mohammed, minister of environment, gave a keynote address discussing the Nigerian governments green agenda.

The event, hosted in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), was attended by senior Nigerian policymakers, including Chinelo Anohu - Amazu , director-general, Nigerian Pension Commission; Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); and Roger Brown, CFO of Seplat Petroleum.

Our collaboration with London Stock Exchange is deliberate and strategic, Onyema said.

It is geared at encouraging seamless cross-border access between our capital markets to ultimately drive deeper capital markets that enable capital formation for businesses and Governments.

He added that the deal creates larger liquidity pools and greater competitiveness for our investors; and enhance capacity and promote diversity of investment products to meet the needs of a wide range of investors and issuers.

In November 2014, London Stock Exchange Group and NSE signed a capital markets agreement aimed at supporting African companies seeking dual listings in London and Lagos.

At 112, more African companies are listed in London than any other international exchange, and the companies have a combined market capitalisation in excess of $200 billion  the largest concentration of African quoted companies outside of Johannesburg.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has said that Buharis entire APC government is under threat of corruption.

He said the Federal Government would employ a new strategy to fight the dangerous dimension that corruption appears to be assuming in the country. Osinbajo made the declaration, in an address delivered at the 7th Founders Day and 4th convocation Ceremony of Afe Babalola University of Ado Ekiti(ABUAD) on Friday.According to him, higher institutions, such as ABUAD are great places to be used, in a national re-orientation programme being contemplated to fight the menace. He said none of the arms of government is immune from the scourge of corruption. He however said the Buhari government is ready to combat it, right from the school level.All institutions of government are under the threat of corruption You will please recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, had himself warned on several occassions that if we dont fight corruption, corruption will fight us We are thinking of using national re-orientation to fight corruption and other societal menace, and to my mind, Afe Babalola University appears as one of the great places to start with,he said.The Vice President thanked Aare Babalola and others who helped in intervening in the funding and management of education in the country.He said the nation would forever remain grateful to them. Host governor, Mr Ayo Fayose described the Afe Babalola University as a miracle. He said Babalola, apart from using the institution to impart knowledge and offer employment to the jobless, has stood out as the largest employer of labour as well as highest tax payer in Ekiti state.Founder of the university, Aare Babalola said he established the institution to set new standards in education and help return its lost glory.The founder announced a donation of N90m to outstanding students that excelled in their various courses of studies, with each student receiving between N1m and N200,000.
Statement by Jude Ndukwe SA (media) to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) once again lived up t...
Between piles of student debt, a slowly recovering economy and the looming pressure of expectations from family and society at large, navigating the tumultuous waters of your 20s can be overwhelming and downright depressing.With so much of your future riding on the choices you make during this decade of life, it's no surprise that many 20-somethings are struggling to feel happy.Luckily, people have a lot more control over their present happiness than they might think.Here are five "happiness hacks" that will get you on track in your pursuit of happiness today.People smile when they're happy, but did you know that it can work the other way around too? Studies show that consciously smiling can increase our levels of happiness and reduce stress.The interesting thing is that positive results were not limited to genuine smiles. Even forced or fake smiles signal to your brain that you are happier, in turn, making you feel genuinely happy.So next time you're stuck in traffic, stressed about paying your rent or just feeling sad, try smiling.One of the best ways to practice happiness is to focus on what is currently good in your life.By focusing on the positive, you literally start to rewire your brain. Our brains are naturally programmed to focus more heavily on the negative stimuli in our lives. Scientists call this the negativity bias. It is the result of our natural flight or fight response, making negative experiences leave stronger impressions on us.Luckily, though, people can rewire these natural negative thought patterns into positive ones with simple exercises like gratitude journals.Keep a daily journal and write down the things you're grateful for. Research by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough showed that people who wrote down just five things they were grateful for each day were 25 percent happier than those who did not.While people have a lot of control over their perceived reality, cultivating a positive and happy environment goes a long way to nurture happiness. According to a study conducted by Harvard University and the University of California, happiness is actually contagious. This means your close associations can have a significant impact on your emotional well-being, including how happy you feel.So be sure to surround yourself with happy people.Nurture happy relationships with your neighbors, spouse, co-workers and friends. If there are toxic or negative relationships in your life, work to improve those connections or, if necessary, leave those negative influences behind you and move on.Ask yourself if the people you spend time with at home, at work, or at school encourage you to focus on happy things or if they are caught in negative thought patterns. Serial complaining can be just as contagious as happiness, so keep those interactions to a minimum.The more time you spend around happy people, the happier you will be too.Many 20-somethings struggle to find their fundamental purpose and their life's raison d'etre. Instead, they may wander from job to job or relationship to relationship without a clear path or vision. Unfortunately, this can land you in a career you don't value and relationships that are unfulfilling.It's easy to say "Find your passion" or "Figure out your purpose." It's much harder to actually do it.Start by reflecting on your core strengths and values.What do you love doing? (It doesn't have to be career-focused)When was the last time you were really happy? What were the circumstances?What do you want your legacy to be?What do people compliment you on the most?Do you have special talents or gifts?What do you value most in life? (Family, adventure, health, justice, etc.)Once you start answering these questions, you can begin to outline a clearer picture of your goals and purpose in life. And with that purpose, you can start living more authentically and align every part of your life with those values.As your life aligns more clearly with your purpose, you will be happier and find more meaning and fulfillment in your work and relationships.Today's 20-somethings are part of the mobile generation. For many of us, disconnecting from our phones or devices feels akin to losing a limb. But there may be more serious consequences to our 24/7 reliance on technology.Studies show that heavy use of computers and mobile devices can lead to sleep disorders, stress, and mental health issues in young adults. And there is a clear connection between lack of sleep and higher rates of depression in people of all ages.One simple solution is to consciously disconnect regularly from your devices, especially right before bed. Experts recommend turning off your screens at least an hour before bedtime. This allows your brain to decompress and switch naturally into sleep mode.Not only will unplugging improve your sleep patterns, it will also give you the opportunity to be present and mindful of your surroundings. Use this time to meditate, spend time in nature and connect in person with other people. All of these things will help you feel happier and more genuinely connected to the world around you.Too often people subscribe to the belief that happiness is a state to be achieved or a prize to be won. While it is a good thing to strive to improve and progress, people do themselves a disservice to put off being happy until they reach some arbitrary benchmark.Instead of prescribing to the mindset of "I will be happy if..." or "I will be happy when..." give yourself permission to be happy now.
The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is not keen on meeting with security agents who may be representing the Federal Government at the propose...

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is not keen on meeting with security agents who may be representing the Federal Government at the proposed peace talks over the crisis in the zone.The NDA, in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, said it is not proper for a democratically elected government to conduct such talks through security agents.It was responding to what it called the presidents continuous disparaging remarks since the cessation and suspension of hostilities by our fighters for liberation of the Niger Delta from economic colonialism of Nigeria.We are curious of comments like Niger Delta militants objective is to colonize Nigeria economically and Niger Delta militants are sponsored by economic looters during the Passing Out Parade (POP) of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) 63rd Regular Course, NDA said in the open letter signed by Brig. Gen Mudoch Agbinibo.The letter further stated that, You personally issued misleading statements and threats of decisive military action  if necessary  to deal with Niger Delta agitation because you have purportedly opened up channels of talks through security agencies/agents and the Multinational Corporations.Mr. President, do democratically elected governments open channels for talks in situations like we have in the Niger Delta through security agencies/agents or you are assuming the Niger Delta as a conquered colony in your 1984 Era?The militant group also expressed dislike for the Presidents constant reference to the recently flagged off clean up of Ogoni as part of governments program to salvage the ravaged environment.It said the pollution of Ogoniland was caused by successive governments, adding:How can you justify Ogoni clean-up and at the same time constitute a Task Force Called Operations Delta Safe that is embarking on environmental pollution with the burning and bombing of petroleum products in the guise of fighting oil theft?Does that amount to lack of genuine ideas or sincerity?Or at least, is there no relationship between environmental pollution and the ongoing indiscriminate burning and bombing of petroleum products by operatives of the so-called Operations Delta Safe?Mr. President, basically, some other factors fueling the Niger Delta conflict are corruption engendered by successive government that you served since oil becomes the commonwealth of the nation Nigeria.Whilst you start the Ogoni clean-up process, what is wrong in reviewing the Sir Henry Willinks Commission Report of 1958? The Ogoni Bill of Rights, The Kaiama Declaration document of the Ijaw Youths Council, The General Alexander Ogomudia Committee Report, and The Leedum Mitee-led Niger Delta Technical Committee Report?
Embattled former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro may soon be let out of custody by the Economic and Financial C...

Embattled former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro may soon be let out of custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following indications that he has agreed to make refunds of the money he allegedly collected from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA).The anti-graft agency accused the ex-minister of collecting N785 million from ONSA while in office.His friends and associates are understood to be rallying around him to raise the funds as a first step to secure his bail.Obanikoro is understood to be targeting N100 million as first installment of the refund.From ONSA, about N4.685 billon was transferred to Sylva McNamara Limited, a company allegedly linked to the ex-Minister.Obanikoro told EFCC interrogators that N3.880 billion of the N4.685 billion was allocated to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Senator Iyiola Omisore.He also said he handed over $5.377 million (about N60 million then) cash to Fayose at Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti in the presence of the former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Tope Aluko and other party stalwarts.He said the balance of N785 million was expended on alleged anti-Boko Haram campaign in Lagos and the South-West.A source, who spoke in confidence, said: The ex-minister has been cooperating with detectives and he appears willing to refund some cash out of the N785 million traced to Sylvan McNamara.I think his associates and friends have rallied around him, having discovered that the bulk of the cash from ONSA went to Fayose and Omisore.I think he might initially refund N100 million to get bail reprieve in order to prevail on others who benefited from the N785 million to repay the slush funds.The refund is one of the issues delaying the granting of bail to the ex-minister.Obanikoro had said: The balance of N785 milion were used to prosecute the following: 1. procurement of souvenirs for the promotion of anti-Boko Haram insurgency in Lagos; 2. N200million for surveillance activities; 3. N200 million and other remaining funds were for operations managed by Taiwo Kareem.Taiwo Kareem impressed the former NSA with his management of pre and post-election funds. To God be the glory, the two elections were carried out without any loss of lifeWhen bomb blast occurred in Lagos on the 25th of June 2014, the NSA was disturbed and told me of his commitment to ensure that such doesnt reoccur.He expressed the grave consequence that the reoccurrence will have not only on Lagos but the economy of the entire country.He emphasised the need for local input to complement the activities of security agencies. This is how Sylvan McNamara was introduced.The EFCC had discovered that Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, allegedly owned by Obanikoro and his sons, was used to launder the N4.745 billion.The company, which was incorporated in November 2011 had the following as its directors: a close aide of the ex-minister, Ikenna Ezekwe (700,000 shares) of 51 Simpson Street, Ebute-Metta; Idowu Oshodi (299,000 shares) of 8, Prince Tayo Adesanya Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi; and Elizabeth Adebiyi (1,000 shares) of 3, Adedoyin Street, Ijeshatedo, Surulere.Ikenna Ezekwes account has been de-frozen by the EFCC since the slush funds were not traced to him.Ezekwe has also been removed as the director of the slush company.A document said: To set the stage for the use of the company for money laundering, the board of directors on May 7, 2012 passed a resolution that the company should open an account and appointed Mr. Gbolahan Obanikoro, Ikenna Ezekwe, Ms. Theresa Matuluko (Secretary) and Mr. Babajide Obanikoro as the signatories to the account.The board added that the signing combination be that any of the signatories can sign alone.EFCC claimed that when it was time to illegally draw the N4.745 billion from ONSA as war chest for Ekiti Governorship poll, ex-minister Obanikoro made the account of Sylvan Mcnamara Limited available and coordinated the disbursement.Contacted, Obanikoros spokesperson, Jonathan Eze, said he was not aware of the development.Another source close to him, however, said it is true.
Former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed a member of the international advisory panel of Asian I...

The AIIB Senior Communication Officer, Mr. Song Liyan, in a statement on Friday, announced that Okonjo-Iweala would join 10 other key persons on the panel.The statement reads, The Panel provides impartial, objective and independent advice to the President, allowing the Bank to benefit from the international experience and expertise of panel members.It quoted AIIB President, Jin Liqun, as saying that the panel members would advise the bank on the development of its strategy.It said, It is a great honour to convene such an experienced and diverse group of international leaders to advise on the development of the Banks strategy.I have no doubt that the advice the panel provides will help shape the development of the Bank in the years ahead.I could not ask for a better group of ambassadors to help promote our new Bank to the world.The panel members are former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Dr Zeti Aziz, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and former Swedish finance minister Anders Borg.The others are former Timor-Leste finance minister Emilia Pires, former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Global Foundation secretary-general Steve Howard.Also included are Korea National Diplomatic Academy chair professor and former South Korean deputy prime minister and strategy and finance minister Dr Oh-Seok Hyun.Former U.S. ambassador Paul Speltz and London School of Economics professor and former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-Hwa are the remaining panel members.AIIB, a multilateral international development bank was set up on Dec. 25, 2015, with an initial capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars (RM419bn), one million shares and an initial paid-up capital of 20 billion U.S. dollars.(NAN)
Freedom for the 21 Chibok girls released last week by Boko Haram was as dramatic as their seizure by the group over two years ago.

Freedom for the 21 Chibok girls released last week by Boko Haram was as dramatic as their seizure by the group over two years ago.Nothing on Wednesday, October 12, the eve of their release, suggested to them that the freedom they had longed and prayed for was around the corner.Their abductors simply woke them up early in the morning and got them lined up ,according to a report yesterday by the CNN quoting a parent of one of the girls.Then, the terrorists began to read out the names of the girls one by one.What followed was the news that they would be returning home to their loved ones.Just like that.The parent, who asked not to be named for safety concerns, also said that during their time with Boko Haram, the girls were forced to build their own basic shelter, using plastic bags for roofing.One of the Chibok schoolgirls, who refused to marry a Boko Haram fighter, was told she would be killed. Her abductors had a change of heart and commuted her sentence to 100 lashes.President Muhammadu Buhari formally received the freed girls and their parents at the State House, Abuja on Wednesday with a pledge that the federal government would assume full responsibility for their personal,educational and professional goals and ambitions in life.These dear daughters of ours have seen the worst that the world has to offer. It is now time for them to experience the best that the world can do for them, he said.
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Offices of Hillary Clintons campaign headquarters in New York were evacuated on Friday evening after receiving a letter with a white pow...

Offices of Hillary Clintons campaign headquarters in New York were evacuated on Friday evening after receiving a letter with a white powdered substance, according to officials.The entire 11th floor was cleared around 5:30 p.m. ET after the unknown substance arrived in a business size envelope to Clintons Brooklyn headquarters, the NYPDs Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) told NBC News.The powder is being tested, but the substance did not appear to be deadly and there have been no reports of illnesses due to exposure, according to the DCPI.
MANSFIELD -- Police have charged two Queens, N.Y. residents with placing a skimming device on the exterior ATM at the Investors Bank in Homestead Plaza II on Columbus Road.

Police previously said their investigation showed the device was installed on Sunday, Aug. 14 and removed by someone two days later.

On Monday, Oct. 17, police charged Marius Sugar, 29, and Radu Balazs, 33, and allege they placed the device and made fraudulent withdrawals, Mansfield police said.

They face unauthorized use of a scanning device, credit card fraud, identity theft and computer criminal activity.

Police tracked them down surveillance footage taken from the ATM and with the assistance from the East Brunswick Police Department and the New York City Police Department, police said.

Both suspects are currently being held on unrelated charges at the Vernon C. Bain Center, a New York City jail barge in the Bronx, awaiting extradition hearings. Their bails once in New Jersey are $50,000 each, police said.

Mansfield police credited investigating officer Kenneth Allen with bringing the charges.

ATM skimming costs banks billions each year and is on the rise, as technically adept criminal rings continue to find ways around ever-increasing security counter-measures.

The state's Department of Banking and Insurance advises people to take a look around when they approach an ATM to see if there are any strategically placed mirrors and brochure holders over their shoulder and examine the machine for anything that appears suspicious.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
PINE HILL -- An Overbrook High School sophomore was apparently ejected from her homeroom class on Thursday morning after getting into an argument with classmates about moving to Canada if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

According to the mother of the 15-year-old student, she made the above comment as a joke, but was yelled and cursed at by other classmates. School district officials declined to speak with a reporter about the incident.

Here's what some NJ.com readers had to say about the exchange.

- Jack Campbell: "Political speech is exactly the kind of speech the First Amendment was designed to protect. If this story is true, heads need to roll at that school."

- Jenchantress: "Teacher should have chucked both the students if they were being unruly. Whoever is voting for whom should not be a factor. If they got into an argument, then both students are culpable."

- Sandztorm: "This is why I am scared to put a Trump sign in my yard; leftists get angry and violent. I even lied to a pollster two months ago, because I was scared to be honest and say I supported Trump."

- historyguy42: "I'm sure there is more to this than we are reading here. No one would be thrown out of class for voicing a political opinion."

- theantichristie1: "Not enough details here. We have yet to hear from the school and teacher as to exactly what happened. There are always two sides to a story. If it is exactly as she stated then yes, its wrong and there could be disciplinary measures coming. Wait and see."

- VoiceofDemocracy: "I just love it when a girl comes home from school, tells mom a story and mom is on the news pronouncing that St. Teresa has just spoken the gospel and the school is being mean."

- Maggie715: "This is wrong on so many levels. We still live a free society where people have a right to vote or support whomever they want. How dare then try to shove an agenda down this kids throat. If I ever have kids they will not be attending public school."

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WILDWOOD -- The Wildwoods Dog Beach was recently named among the best dog-friendly beaches in the U.S. in the 2016 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest.

This New Jersey dog beach received the second most votes, being topped only by the Montrose Dog Beach in Chicago.

The Wildwoods Dog Beach, located on Poplar Avenue in Wildwood, is a designated dog-friendly beach where dogs and their humans can enjoy time at the beach together.

"Many families consider their four-legged friends family members and insist on traveling with their pets, so the Wildwoods makes it possible for the entire 'family' to vacation together by offering a number of pet-friendly hotels-motels and a designated area of beach just for them," said John Siciliano, executive director/CFO of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement & Development Authority (GWTIDA), in a recent press release.

The beach -- a block-and-half-long, 190-yard-wide area marked by a 25-foot tall red fire hydrant sculpture -- is open from 6 a.m. until dusk, and includes water stations and plastic bags for "scooping up" after the four-legged beachgoers.

USA Today, the contest sponsor, teamed up with BringFido.com, a travel website with information on pet-friendly destinations, to nominate 20 dog-friendly beaches across the nation.

"It's an honor to be named among the best in the nation in anything," said Siciliano.

Beaches in California, Florida, and North Carolina, among others, made the top ten. The full list of winners can be found on 10best.com.

For more information about the Wildwoods, visit WildwoodsNJ.com.

Lori M. Nichols may be reached at lnichols@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @photoglori. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
PETA, the animal rights group, is claiming victory in getting Johnson &Johnson to abandon a practice of killing live animals when demonstrating surgical devices to its sales staff.

In its letter to the company, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it had learned from a source that the practice from would continue at a sales meeting scheduled for later this month in Cincinnati. It urged its members to contact Johnson & Johnson to protest the teaching technique.

"No salesperson needs to watch a pig bleed out and die to see how a medical device works," said PETA Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "A sophisticated human-anatomy simulator--or even a simple video of a human surgery--would teach them all they need to know without harming animals."

PETA said it had received word from a source that salespeople for the Ethicon division of the company would see a surgical device demonstrated on a live pig as part of a mandatory sales training session.

In response to PETA's campaign, Johnson & Johnson later Thursday responded with a statement indicating it was moving away from the use of animals in sales demonstrations.

"The use of live animals for sales training in surgical settings has been a topic of internal discussion for quite some time. Johnson & Johnson as an enterprise - across our medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products businesses - has discontinued live animal use in sales training across our North America region. Further, we are working to discontinue this practice globally by December 31, 2016," the statement said.

A company spokesman declined to confirm that PETA's information about the upcoming sales demonstration was accurate, or whether the company's overall policy had changed as a result of the PETA protest.

But the animal rights group trumpeted its success Friday, claiming thousands of its members contacted the company to protest the use of live animals during training sessions.

Johnson & Johnson's statement also said it was working with regulators to win approval of alternate testing methods, such as computer simulations.

"When it comes to the development of regulated health products in any of our businesses, where animal use is commonly required in order to ensure the safety of patients who may eventually use these products, our policies reflect animal welfare standards that meet or exceed all applicable local and national laws and regulations," the statement said.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- Scores of people turned out this morning for a walk meant to bring police and the community closer together.

The "Walk for Peace and Unity" -- organized by Blacks in Law Enforcement Serving the Community (BLESC) and Freeholder Bill O'Dea -- began at Audubon Park and ended at Lincoln Park.

Participants held a moment of silence upon reaching the Walgreens at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue, where Jersey City police Det. Melvin Santiago was fatally shot in the line of duty on July 13, 2014.

Santiago's mother, Cathy McBride, attended the walk and was one of several people who held a BLESC banner reading "Bridging the Gap Between Law Enforcement And Community."

McBride previously said that she and other participants in the walk "want to ensure that Melvin's legacy is that the police and the community work together."

Santiago's death in 2014 -- coupled with other factors such as a vocal minority of city residents hostile to police -- constituted what Jersey City Public Safety Director Jim Shea has described as a low point for community-police relations.

Jersey City police officer and BLESC Vice President John Boamah, who led today's moment of silence, told The Jersey Journal that he believes relations have improved since then.

"I think it's progressively gotten better because initiatives such as this are actually taking place...where we can actually have a relationship with the community where there's understanding on both sides," he said.

Boamah said the purpose of the walk was to demonstrate law enforcement's solidarity with community members.

"The ultimate goal is to let the community know that we're here for them, we're just like them. We just serve in a different capacity in law enforcement," he said.

Jersey City resident Shurland Charles, 50, said he came out to support the cause after finding out about the walk from a BLESC leader who attends the same church as him.

"It's very important that we don't just complain about things that are wrong in the community, that we actually take action," Charles said.

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Emma Raine, the thrice-widowed woman convicted in August of soliciting the 2006 murder of her second husband in New Orleans East, was sentenced Friday (Oct. 21) to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Raine, 52, stood in silence next to defense attorney Martin Regan as Criminal District Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier imposed the mandatory sentence. Regan told the court Raine intends to appeal her conviction and sentence for second-degree murder in connection to Ernest Smith's shooting death April 15, 2006.

Raine was convicted Aug. 12 in the murder of Smith, a New Orleans East clergyman.

Family members of James Raine, the woman's third husband who was found shot to death in Mississippi in 2011, rejoiced at the outcome of a 16-month cold case investigation . The probe was launched in March 2012 by New Orleans police homicide detective Decynda Barnes. At the family's request, Emma Raine was sentenced on the five-year anniversary date of James Raine's death.

+2 Hit man convicted of killing first of three men who died linked to same woman A Mississippi hit man was convicted Thursday of gunning down a clergyman at his eastern New Orleans home in exchange for $100,000 from the pas

"Five years ago today is when we found James dead," said Raine's uncle, William Fowler. "We wanted this day for her sentencing because she knew and she planned and she plotted James' death. We wanted this day for it to stick in her mind. We're thankful she's getting sentenced (for Smith's murder), but it won't truly stick with us until we get her for James' death, which is in Mississippi."

Authorities said Emma Raine is suspected in all three of her husbands' deaths, but she has not been charged in connection with James Raine's fatal shooting nor in the death of her first husband Leroy Evans, who was fatally struck by a car in 1994.

It was alleged at trial that James Raine - Emma's boyfriend at the time - was in on the plot to kill Smith for a life insurance payout. It was only after James Raine also was killed five years later that Alfred "Terry" Everette confided to relatives that he had been the gunman who killed Smith at the behest of James Raines and his girlfriend Emma, who had promised $10,000 of the insurance money.

Everette, 32, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after a separate trial in December 2014.

In convicting Emma Raine, Orleans Parish prosecutors Laura Rodrigue and Tiffany Tucker prevailed over Regan with a largely circumstantial case in which a life insurance payout was suggested as the motive. Jurors rejected Regan's claim that James Raine conspired with Everette to kill Smith without Emma Raines' involvement.

James Raine' relatives said they hoped the success of the New Orleans case will spur Mississippi authorities to prosecute the woman for her third husband's death in Pearl River County, Miss.

Orleans jury convicts accused 'black widow' Emma Raine in husband's 2006 killing Had Emma Raine in fact plotted the contract killing of her second husband, Ernest Smith, in 2006, she surely would have paid the bounty she al

"We're under the impression that the district attorney in Pearl River County doesn't prosecute with circumstantial evidence," said Enoch Raine, James' older brother. "This trial here has proven that circumstantial evidence can convict an individual. And we're hoping the Pearl River County district attorney sees this, hears this and will push forth with the sheriff's department, because there's evidence in my brother's case. It's just a surprise it's taken this long to bring her to justice."

For that, the NOPD's Barnes was hailed for her persistence. Her investigation involved nearly a year and a half of tracking documents from insurance companies to funeral homes, and consulting with federal agents from the FBI, ATF and IRS, who were all looking into insurance fraud or other suspicions against Emma Raine.

"If not for (Barnes) taking us seriously, we don't even get to these prosecutors, who did a phenomenal job," Fowler said. "Decynda took it to heart and pursued it very hard for us, and we appreciate her 100. They did a great job."

Before Emma Raine was led away in shackles by Orleans Parish deputy sheriffs, Fowler read a brief statement in court offering prayers for their former relative by marriage.

"We were raised in a Christian home with respect for all human life," Fowler said. "We know you don't care about the pain and loss you have caused others. We pray that your years in prison will open your heart to see and understand the grief you have caused others."
If your home came with unhappy surprises like leaks, cracks, broken mechanical systems, or other defects, the financial responsibility might not be yours alone.

What if something was wrong with your house at the time of purchase and someonethe seller, the property seller's real estate agent, or the inspectorcould have or should have told you about it beforehand, but failed to do so? Such problems can come to light days, weeks, or years after the sale, leaving you angry and wondering whether you really have to shoulder the entire financial burden.

In such cases, you might actually be able to ask the responsible person to pitch in, and take the matter to court if they don't. Ideally, you'll be able to resolve matters without filing a lawsuit suit. To give you a picture of what might be ahead, however, this article will analyze:

who might be held legally responsible, and

whether going forward with a lawsuit makes sense.

Minor Home Defects or Natural Aging Aren't Grounds for a Lawsuit

You probably knew when you bought the house that it wasn't in perfect condition. Some problems, such as a crack in the front walk, might have been obvious. Others, such as aging plumbing, the seller might have told you about in the course of the sale. (In most states, laws require home sellers to disclose all "material" defects to prospective buyers.)

Your home inspector, assuming you hired one, probably also told you about a few problems.

Then after the sale, your home probably continued its normal process of aging and decaying, leaving you to deal with the consequences. None of these sorts of issues provide any grounds upon which to run back to the seller to complain.

Will your insurance company cover the damage? If so, there may be no need to take action on your own. For how to work with your insurance company, see After the Fire or Disaster: Dealing with Your Insurance Company.

Could the Home Seller Be Held Legally Responsible?

Even if you think you've been wronged, you can't sue everyone who was involved in the sale of your home. The home seller is the first one to consider, of course.

As mentioned, nearly every U.S. state has laws requiring sellers to advise buyers of certain defects in the property, typically by filling out a standard disclosure form before the sale is completed. (This responsibility remains even if you bought the house "as is.")

The form usually asks the seller to state whether the property has certain features (like appliances, a roof, a foundation, systems for electricity, water, and heating, and more) and then to rate or describe their condition. Some states' disclosure laws are more comprehensive than others, and if a feature isn't on the list, the seller might not be required to speak up. Also, the seller isn't usually required to scout out problems.

If there's clearly a place on the form where the seller should have stated a problem but denied it, your job is to try to figure out whether the seller in fact knew about it. For example, if the seller patched over or hid problem areas, or if the neighbors have told you about the seller's efforts to deal with a problem, the evidence is on your side.

And even if you're in one of the few states with no mandated seller disclosures, it might be possible, particularly in an egregious situation, to sue the seller for:

negligence

fraud

breach of contract

breach of warranty, or

negligent misrepresentation.

Could the Seller's Real Estate Agent Be Held Legally Responsible?

Some states' laws make sellers' real estate agents liable for failing to disclose problems they observed or were told of by the sellers, though often their duties are fairly limited. Check your state's disclosure laws and try to figure out whether the problem would have been apparent to the broker, but not to you, before the sale.

Could Your Home Inspector Be Held Legally Responsible?

Hopefully, you got a home inspection before buying. In theory, the inspector should have spotted problems that the seller wasn't aware of, or was turning a blind eye to. If the inspector missed problems that an expert (a professional peer) should have noticed, the inspector might be on the hook; that is, legally liable.

Read over your inspection report to see what it said about the area in question. Some buyers are embarrassed to find that the problem is spelled out right in the report, or falls within an area that the inspector rightfully excluded from the report. But in other cases, the inspector failed to meet basic standards of professional competence.

Do You Have a Solid Case?

Once you've figured out the possible responsible parties, you'll want to know whether their actionor inactionmight entitle you to compensation. If your situation meets the criteria below, you might have a good case. We've collapsed a few legal principles into this list, but it will apply to most situations in most U.S. states.

The defect was there before you bought the home. The seller couldn't have hidden problems that didn't exist during the period of ownership. Again, problems that started post-purchase or that are a natural result of the home's aging or your lapses in maintenance are yours to deal with. Of course, determining when a problem started can get complicated. For example, a blockage in your sewer line could be a new problem, or it could be a recurrence of a long-time issue with roots growing into the pipes. You might need a professional's analysis. But if the problem could have started before you bought the house, keep reading.

The seller couldn't have hidden problems that didn't exist during the period of ownership. Again, problems that started post-purchase or that are a natural result of the home's aging or your lapses in maintenance are yours to deal with. Of course, determining when a problem started can get complicated. For example, a blockage in your sewer line could be a new problem, or it could be a recurrence of a long-time issue with roots growing into the pipes. You might need a professional's analysis. But if the problem could have started before you bought the house, keep reading. It's not an obvious defect that you could have seen yourself before buying. If there was a huge crack running across the living room ceiling at the open house and you've only now decided to bring it up, no dice. But if the crack was hidden by a false ceiling, the matter might be worth pursuing. Don't worry if your inspector should have seen the problem. That just means you've got a potential claim against the inspector, too.

If there was a huge crack running across the living room ceiling at the open house and you've only now decided to bring it up, no dice. But if the crack was hidden by a false ceiling, the matter might be worth pursuing. Don't worry if your inspector should have seen the problem. That just means you've got a potential claim against the inspector, too. No one told you about the defect before the sale, or someone actually lied to you about it. The responsible party might have been the seller, the seller's agent, or the inspector, as explained above.

The responsible party might have been the seller, the seller's agent, or the inspector, as explained above. You relied on the lies or nondisclosures. This one's usually easy. If, for example, you took the seller's word that a remodel job was up to code in deciding to buy or in setting your price, you acted in reliance.

This one's usually easy. If, for example, you took the seller's word that a remodel job was up to code in deciding to buy or in setting your price, you acted in reliance. You've incurred monetary damage as a result. Your costs of repairs or related damages (such as destruction of your personal property due to a flooded basement, or a decrease in your property value due to an undisclosed environmental hazard) will become legally speaking, the "damages" that you may collecteven if you haven't paid any out-of-pocket costs yet (for example, you need a new foundation but haven't actually hired a contractor to build it). But don't expect to collect damages that go beyond the house itself, such as for your pain and suffering or lost time.

Your costs of repairs or related damages (such as destruction of your personal property due to a flooded basement, or a decrease in your property value due to an undisclosed environmental hazard) will become legally speaking, the "damages" that you may collecteven if you haven't paid any out-of-pocket costs yet (for example, you need a new foundation but haven't actually hired a contractor to build it). But don't expect to collect damages that go beyond the house itself, such as for your pain and suffering or lost time. You're within any appropriate deadlines ("statutes of limitation"). Every state puts limits on how long you have, from the date you discover a problem or reasonably should have discovered it, to sue someone. The legislators don't want you dragging the seller into court 20 years after the sale, when no one recalls what happened. Most statutes of limitations are somewhere between two and ten years, but this will depend on where you are and what type of claim you have.

Even if you think you meet the above criteria, remember that in an actual lawsuit, it will be your job to convince a judge. Hence the more evidence you can start gathering, the better.

Legal Basis for Filing a Lawsuit

In legalese, you could potentially sue someone based on any of the following principles, or some combination of them:

Again, the law in your state will govern which theory might best fit your case.

Where to Sue Over Home Defects

Your main options for actually filing a lawsuit include:

small claims court, if the damages are under a certain limit, or

state court.

Filing in small claims court allows you to proceed with your case without a lot of the expensive administrative hassles of a "regular" lawsuit. You can represent yourself (in some states, attorneys are actually forbidden), the rules are typically not as rigid, and your case should be resolved relatively quickly.

However, every state places a dollar limit on the amount of damages you can sue forusually somewhere between $1,500 and $15,000. To find your state's exact limit, see 50-State Chart of Small Claims Court Limits. Even if your damages are over the limitfor example, if the repairs cost $8,000 and the limit is $5,000bringing a suit for $5,000 and forgetting about the rest might make economic sense because you will save time and attorney's fees.

If the amount of monetary damages you're asking for exceeds the small claims court limit, your next option is filing suit in state court, most likely with the help of an attorney.

Some attorneys will take this type of case on a contingency basis, meaning you don't pay a fee upfront but pay a large percentage (30-40%) of the damage award. You might still be responsible for paying court costs and other fees, plus expenses such as the attorney's phone calls and postage. Or, the court may award reimbursement of attorney's fees as part of your damages.
DECATUR, Ill.  T/CCI Manufacturing in Decatur has expanded its operations over the past decade, despite economic issues affecting manufacturers nationwide.

The manufacturer of heavy-duty compressors and clutches for the mobile air-conditioning and refrigeration industries operates in the United States and a handful of other countries, including China, said Dennis Flaherty, vice president and general manager.

"We've experienced a lot of growth, even through the down economy," Flaherty said. "We've been busy and growing. The bad economy kind of helped us."

The same has been true for a number of manufacturers operating in Northwest Indiana. Monosol, in Portage; Tri-State Automation, in Hammond; and Alcoa, in LaPorte have all expanded significantly in recent years by building on already established reputations with new innovations and products.

The economy and job creation are top issues in the upcoming presidential election, as they were the first topics Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump discussed last week during their first debate.

Companies such as T/CCI are working to overcome concerns about the economy and grow despite some of the trends with which they're dealing. Many workers are deciding to pursue further educational opportunities or open their own small businesses.

In order to grow, Flaherty said T/CCI has expanded its product offering. It came at a time when other manufacturers were cutting costs to improve their bottom lines, Flaherty said.

Expanding some of its operations to China helped reduce costs while still maintaining operations at 2120 N. 22nd St. in Decatur.

"We have the best of both worlds," Flaherty said. "We blended the two to bring products to market."

Flaherty said the company keeps an eye on the future of U.S.-Chinese relations but for now, he sees no reasons for concern. He said the company can continue to grow and build more compressors.

"We could do even better," Flaherty said. "We have to stay on top of what's going on."

As it does, that means job opportunities for workers in Decatur, ranging from skilled general labor to professional positions. It partners with Richland Community College to meet some of its training needs, and it's able to hire from the local area much of the time, Flaherty said.

"We're willing to train," he said. "Often, they'll come in ready or need a little bit of training."

Employees end up staying for many years in the family-owned business, Flaherty said. Yet, that can mean the workforce is aging and will need to be replaced at some point.

"It's hard to get bored," Flaherty said. "We end up wearing a lot of hats."

Advanced education beyond high school is becoming increasingly necessary. Pursuing educational opportunities is the way Jillian Howerton has found helps overcome economic and job concerns.

"That's really important," Howerton said, as she is taking classes at Richland with the goal to become a teaching assistant in special education. "The extra education plays a big part in getting a job."

Eventually, Howerton would like to become a teacher.

"The best place to start is at Richland," Howerton said. "Otherwise, it would be a struggle to find a job."

Howerton said keeping state and federal financial aid programs in place is important for students as they pursue career advancement opportunities.

Tiffiany Leischner is hoping college will be worthwhile despite the expenses involved with it. Affordability made going back to school a difficult decision. Leischner, who is married with a daughter, was hoping to get through classes at Richland without taking out a loan.

"We knew it was going to be going from two incomes to one income," Leischner said. "I didn't realize how hard it would be."

To find a job that matches her interests, Leischner realizes her search might need to expand beyond Decatur. Leischner is hoping to find a job working as an advocate for youth with disabilities.

"I don't want to be a college graduate working in the fast-food industry," Leischner said. "I hope it pays off."

Tom and Kathleen Garmon have found the timing right to open and establish a restaurant, TKG's Wing Heaven at 760 S. Franklin St. in Decatur, in the past year. Kathleen Garmon, who previously worked as a manager in the retail industry, described opening a business as a roller coaster.

"It was well worth the ride," Kathleen Garmon said." It's working out beautifully."

Some of the employees are working in their first jobs, so Kathleen Garmon said they're proud to be doing a small part to reduce the area's unemployment rate.

"They're learning what it means to earn a wage," she said.

Having worked and trying to run a business in the auto industry during a bad economy in the past, Mike Sleeth is hoping to build on experience to establish an expanded car care center in Decatur next year.

"I've worked on care ever since I was 13 years old," Sleeth said. "My father owned a gas station. I was an aircraft mechanic for four years in the Air Force."

Sleeth remains comfortable he can make his plan work.

"I have no doubt this going to be a success," Sleeth said. "I need to have more services. Decatur's economy has been lagging behind the country. That has been a concern and a reason why I haven't opened sooner."

He is preparing for the expansion by taking classes and participating in SCORE workshops as he develops business plans.

Times business editor Keith Benman contributed to this story.
CHICAGO HEIGHTS  Franciscan Alliance has named a new president and CEO for two of its south suburban hospitals.

Allan Spooner assumes his new role at the Franciscan Health hospitals in Olympia Fields and Chicago Heights on Oct. 31.

He succeeds Arnie Kimmel, who was recently named senior vice president of corporate services for Franciscan Alliance. Spooner, a native of Chicago's South Side, is the first African-American to fill a president's post at Franciscan Alliance.

Allan Spooner brings a strong background in strategic planning to Franciscan Health, stated Kevin Leahy, president and CEO of Franciscan Alliance. He has an accomplished record of quality improvement and clinical program development and growth, as well as patient, employee and physician engagement success.

Spooner will lead the hospitals as they merge all of their inpatient services to the Olympia Fields location. The Chicago Heights facility will continue to provide outpatient care.

Spooner has than 20 years of leadership experience in the health care industry, most recently serving as president of the hospital division for Columbia St. Marys Hospital System, a five-hospital system of Ascension Health in Milwaukee. At Columbia St. Marys, he oversaw the merger of two larger Wisconsin health care systems into Ascension Health.

Prior to St. Marys, Spooner served as president and CEO of Dignity Healths St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Henderson, Nevada; as vice president of business and corporate development at St. John Providence Health System in Detroit; in business development at Tenet Health System; and as a consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick.

Spooner earned an bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and a master of business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Indianas jobless rate stayed steady at 4.5 percent in September as the private sector added 10,000 jobs.

Its been a strong year for the Hoosier workforce, as evidenced by Indianas low unemployment rate and private sector employment increasing by more than 10,000 in September, Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steven Braun said. There are still thousands of good-paying positions available for unemployed Hoosiers and help is available at local WorkOne career centers for anyone seeking the right skills to match in-demand jobs.

Indianas private sector employment has been above its last peak in 2000 for 15 straight months.

We have worked diligently in Indiana to maintain a business climate that encourages job creation and economic growth, Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence said. This means keeping taxes low, holding regulations to a minimum and supporting policies designed to sustain rather than drain businesses and entrepreneurs. We are grateful to every company that chooses to start or expand operations here, and we are thankful for a Hoosier workforce that is second to none.

The numbers from the September employment report demonstrate once again that we have the right strategies in Indiana for a state that works.

Illinoiss jobless rate also held at 5.5 percent in September, while the national rate ticked up by 0.1 percent to 5 percent. Indianas jobless rate is tied with Michigan for eighth highest out of the 12 U.S. Census Bureau-designated Midwestern states.

Illinois continues to have the highest unemployment in the Midwest, and is tied with Arizona, California and Oregon for the 38th highest rate nationally.

While we are seeing growth for some in the service sector, Illinois continues to lose middle class manufacturing jobs, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity Acting Director Sean McCarthy said. In the last year, Illinois has lost 12,000 manufacturing jobs. Thats an average of 1,000 families losing vital income every month, while manufacturing grew nationally.
HAMMOND  Former East Chicago Councilman Robert Coop Battle is seeking more time to prepare for a trial on federal murder and drug trafficking charges.

An attorney for Battle on Thursday filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking to delay a trial until sometime after Feb. 1.

Battle pleaded not guilty in November to charges alleging he fatally shot Reimundo Camarillo Jr., 31, of East Chicago, once in the back Oct. 12, 2015, and was dealing cocaine.

Battle, though his former attorney Walter Alvarez, told local, state and federal law enforcement officials he shot Camarillo in self-defense after Camarillo pulled a knife, according to court records.

Police found Camarillo facedown in an alley near Battles home and blood on door handles at Battles home in the 4200 block of Euclid Avenue, according to court records.

Battles current attorney, Jack Friedlander, wrote in the motion filed Tuesday Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nozick isnt opposed to the trial delay.The East Chicago City Council unanimously voted May 16 to remove Battle, who was re-elected to the 3rd District seat while he was being held without bond on the criminal charges. At the time, officials said Battle had not attended a council meeting since Oct. 12, 2015.
GRIFFITH  The Police Department tried out a social-media tracking tool that recently came under fire from civil liberties groups, but decided not to renew the contract last month after determining cost outweighed benefits.

Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance said he chose not to renew a $5,000 annual contract with Geofeedia after finding the service didnt pick up any public safety threats his department had not already learned about from other sources.

Technology like this isnt a good fit for our community at this time, he said.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, and Twitter on Oct. 18 said they suspended Geofeedias access to data from their platforms after the American Civil Liberties Union of California and several other civil liberties groups raised questions about how law enforcement is using data gathered through Geofeedia.

The Chicago startup provides data to more than 500 public safety agencies across the nation, The Associated Press reported.

Griffith is the only department in Northwest Indiana that reported using the service during a survey last year by The Times.

No threats detected

Geofeedia maps, collects and stores data from public social media posts. Law enforcement officials have said such services can help them find crime witnesses, identify evolving problems and gauge community sentiment.

In Griffith, the product alerted police to a juveniles vague threat via social media to harm herself, Mance said. However, residents also notified police of the situation.

The system worked, but so did the civil duty of our residents, because they notified us of a potential threat, Mance said.

The juvenile received the assistance she needed. It was a good thing, Mance said.

During a yearlong period, Griffith police watched for talk of drug operations, threats to schools, large-scale parties and anything that could have been deemed a public safety issue. Geofeedia picks up only public posts, not those made by social media users who maintain privacy settings, he said.

For a year, we didnt see any threats, Mance said.

Mance said he was aware of the criticism of Geofeedia before the towns contract started.

When we looked at the product, I could see where people with an agenda could make this an issue, he said. Basically, its no different than if I had a detective searching social media posts. The technology allowed us to do that in a much quicker fashion.

Civil liberties groups say Geofeedia marketed itself to law enforcement agencies, in part, as a way to monitor protesters in situations like Ferguson, Missouri.

Mance said he saw the product as a way to help remove implicit bias by officers. The product monitors all posts, not just those flagged by individual detectives independently searching social media.

The criminal element is increasingly using technology to their advantage, he said. In law enforcement, we need to do the same.

Geofeedia and similar products were created to provide market analysis for private entities. Mance questioned why that doesnt seem to be an issue.

Were doing it for public safety, and were receiving a bad rap for it, he said.

Another useful technology

Mance said a desire to expand use of another technology also factored into his decision not to renew the Geofeedia contract. Griffith police now use license plate readers nearly 24/7, and the results are promising, he said.

License plate readers can detect when vehicles associated with stolen license plates, people with warrants or suspended drivers licenses, or people deemed by the courts as habitual traffic offenders travel into town, he said. The devices can be programmed to detect only higher level offenses, and officers generally use those settings unless theyre working a traffic grant, he said.

When we can afford to have an officer tied up with an arrest, thats when we lower those settings, he said.

The license plate readers cost Griffith $20,000 upfront and $10,000 in annual renewal fees, he said.

Its not a cheap technology, he said, but its effective.

Weve got people weve arrested two or three times for driving with a suspended license, and theyve told us theyre done driving in Griffith, he said. Thats a level of safety for our residents.

Several other Region departments use license plate readers, including Schererville, Indiana State Police, Hammond, the Lake County Sheriffs Department, Portage and Valparaiso.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
VALPARAISO  The school board heard an overview of preliminary plans for redistricting Thursday night, and plans to get more input from the public in November before making a final decision on shifting boundaries of both the elementary and middle schools.

The redistricting is being prompted by the construction of a new elementary school on Heavilin Road to accommodate students who live south of U.S. 30.

The new school, which will be open in the fall 2017, will serve students currently at Hayes Leonard, Parkview and Central elementary schools who live south of U.S. 30. About 480 students are expected to at the yet-to-be-named school, said Superintendent E. Ric Frataccia.

Also in 2017, about 31 students currently at Central will be redistricted into Parkview Elementary, Frataccia said.

The plan also will deals with an area directly southwest of Cooks Corners Elementary with about 60 kids. Currently about half of them go to Northview Elementary and half go to Cooks Corners as transfers from Northview.

The proposed plan calls for all of them to go to Cooks Corners putting the the Cooks Enrollment at 300 students, Frataccia said. Northview enrollment will remain at 300.

Also in 2017, Frataccia said the 88 Hayes Leonard students who live north of U.S. 30 and all students from Central will attend Hayes Leonard as construction to upgrade Central takes place.

In 2018, the plan calls for moving about 100 students who live in northwest Valparaiso, from Memorial to Cooks Corners, which will keep them in their neighborhood.

Former Hayes Leonard students who live north of U.S. 30 will go to Memorial Elementary.

Other shifts will include minor shifts in boundaries between Flint Lake and Thomas Jefferson Elementary, and TJE and Parkview.

Frataccia said major concerns expressed by the public at a February meeting regarding the middle school boundaries was also addressed.

He, after hearing from parents, they learned students from Parkview who moved to new school, and currently go to Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and still want to go to TJMS; and students at Hayes Leonard wanted to go to Ben Franklin Middle School.

Other changes include sending all Cooks Corners students to BFMS and all Northview students to TJMS.

Current boundaries split those students between middle schools.

Board members asked that the maps showing the proposed changes would be put online so that parents and the community could see them before the meeting.

Board members agreed to hold a hearing next month, but no firm date was decided Thursday.
GARY  Middle and high school students rocked out to hip hop and rap music from FM Power 92.3 disc jockeys when they attended an anti-violence rally Friday at Indiana University Northwest.

The event, sponsored by POP (Project Outreach and Prevention), which was created by Dr. Michael McGee, had numerous speakers, local rappers, videos and a student anti-violence/drug rap contest. Two local teens won $500 each to establish and support a SAVE chapter at their school.

SAVE or Students Against Violence Everywhere is one of the organizations leading the way to prevent violence. More than 200 teens, some of whom have SAVE chapters in their schools, participated in the rally.

The rallys goal was to promote unity and nonviolence. Some of the speakers talked about how alcohol and drugs feed into the epidemic of violence. They said drugs are feeding the gangs, and in turn, the gangs feed the violence and drugs.

The presentation was interspersed with music and short videos, and students were asked to interact and sing along with the music.

McGee, chief medical director of emergency services at Methodist Hospitals, and Dr. Reuben Rutland  both Gary natives  said they returned home and wanted to contribute to their hometown.

One of the reasons why I wanted to start this organization is because we see gunshot victims on a daily basis, McGee said. Its so visible that you become immune to it.

Rutland, who is chief of surgery at Methodist Hospitals, told the teens they are on the frontlines, and it will be up to this generation to make changes.

Chuck Hughes, president of Gary Chamber of Commerce, said the rally is an opportunity for teens to step up and become leaders.

We can jam and have a great time, but the reality is that were losing too many young people to violence, he said. Its also not just about getting shot and/or assaulted, young people are not treating each other civilly. You need to grow up and be the leaders this community needs.

Shane Dorsey, president of the Student National Medical Association and a medical student at IU Northwest, brought along four other medical students. We came because we wanted you to see that there are people who look like you in the medical field, he said. If this is something you want to do, its possible.

Calumet New Tech High School seniors Malik Hale and Cassandra Araujo said they enjoyed the program and what it had to offer.

This program is not only about nonviolence in the communities, Hale said, its also about acknowledging that there is a problem, and its up to us to fix it.

Araujo said so many students and young people in the area have been affected by violence in some way. This program wants to give them the tools to stop and rise above it, she said.

The two students who won the $500 prizes with winning raps and poetry were Kionte Graham, from Calumet New Tech in the Gary/Calumet Township area, and Chaqwon Williams, from Roosevelt College and Career Academy in Gary.
HAMMOND Nearly 300 teens from Indiana and Illinois high schools had a chance to do hands-on engineering projects Friday at Purdue University Northwest Calumet campus in Hammond.

The students attended the Ninth Annual High School Engineering Seminar at PNW sponsored by the Association for Iron & Steel Midwest Chapter.

The teens had an opportunity to participate in five hands-on lab sessions, including making a glider out of a foam paper plate and building a free-standing tower using spaghetti and gumdrops.

East Chicago Central junior Rodrigo Alvarez was working in a four-man group that included Morton West High School (Berwyn, Illinois) senior Samuel Peram, Merrillville High School junior Malik Hoover and East Chicago Central junior Jordan Velez to create a glider.

Steve Vernengo, a manager of engineering at Superior Engineering gave the groups very specific directions.

Build a glider for maximum distance, he said. All of the work must be completed in 25 minutes. Your budget is $10 for project construction.

The students had to plan, design, construct and test the gliders before competing against each group to determine which glider had the maximum distance.

Alvarez said the project was initially a little challenging. We found a way to put it together and make it fly. At first we were just using a penny, then we added the pencil to give it a little more balance and that made it even better, he said.

Hoover said it was a smart idea to use a pencil.

Peram said he enjoyed working on the project but his plan is to major in computer science.

A few rows back, five seniors from Thornton High School in Illinois built their glider and went into the hallway to test it, before putting it up for competition.

Carmen Andrade, Kierra Bourgouis, Nancy Leyva and cousins Naazheen Vhora and Humairaa Vhora tested their model time and again until they got it just right.

Lake Central High School junior Mathew Metakovic said he intends to major in computer engineering. I really enjoyed PNWs Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation. I attended a summer engineering technology workshop this summer. I found it really interesting. Ive had a chance to learn about different engineering possible careers, he said.

East Chicago Project Lead the Way teacher Loretta Block said each year the resource fair featuring local industry, the speakers and lab sessions are great exposure for students.

It gives them an opportunity to see different engineering disciplines and ask questions, she said. I hope my students get excited about engineering. This also shows them that Purdue is a topnotch university and they can stay home, go to a good university and get a good job.
CROWN POINT  A traveling war memorial will make its weeklong debut in Crown Point on Wednesday at First United Church.

Remembering Our Fallen is a statewide touring photo display honoring Indiana military service members who have died from wounds suffered in a war zone since 9/11.

The memorial was created in November 2010 in Nebraska by Bill and Evonne Williams of Omaha, who were inspired by a father in their state who believed his son, who died in Iraq, had been forgotten. The memorial featured photos of service members who called Nebraska home.

Now more than 15 states have their own memorial, including Indiana. First United Methodist Church Senior Pastor Mark Wilkins said the memorial fits in perfectly with their Operation Salute program, which raises awareness of area veterans.

Were really excited, he said.

Crown Point Councilman Scott Evorik spearheaded the project to bring the memorial to Crown Point. One of the soldiers in the memorial is Spc. Nicholas Idalski, of Crown Point, who was killed in Ramadi, Iraq. Evorik was friends with Idalski and is close to his family. He heard about the memorial from Idalskis mother.

Im just very patriotic and military comes first for me, Evorik said. And his family has always wanted more done for him.

The memorial is arriving in Crown Point at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday where Evorik will join police and firefighters as they escort it from 109th Avenue and Interstate 65 up North Street to Main Street and through the downtown square before ending at First United Methodist Church, 352 S. Main St.

The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day through Nov. 2. The church will have people at the memorial to act as hosts and hostesses.

Once the exhibit leaves Crown Point, it will travel to the National Guard Armory, 2530 173rd St., Hammond, where it will be on display through Nov. 8. From there it will move on to Shelbyville and Indianapolis.

For more information visit rememberingourfallen.org.
MICHIGAN CITY  A woman is accused of smuggling marijuana to her brother serving an 85-year sentence at Indiana State Prison for murder and robbery.

The motivation to smuggle items into the prison can be anything from simply wanting to help a loved one to money, said Doug Garrison, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Correction.

Its an illegal incentive, and its bound to put you in prison, but it doesnt stop people from trying, he said.

Michelle Barnes, 38, was charged Tuesday in LaPorte Superior Court 2 with trafficking, a level 5 felony that could bring an up to eight-year prison sentence.

Bond was set at $1,500. Her initial hearing before Judge Richard Stalbrink was scheduled for Friday, according to courtroom officials.

According to prison officials, the South Bend woman was detained after a Sunday visit with her brother, Terrance Ford, who was found in possession of marijuana during a strip search.

Garrison said anyone must pass through a metal detector and undergo a pat-down search before entering a correctional facility.

All visits are monitored by correctional officers, who catch most smugglers from suspicious activity noticed during an exchange with a prisoner seated on the other side of a visitation table, he said.

Even if no red flags were detected, all prisoners are strip searched following visits before they are returned to their cell block, Garrison said.

According to DOC officials, cellphones, marijuana and the controlled substance suboxone are among the contraband that end up in prisons most often from smugglers.

Garrison couldnt say exactly how often smuggling occurs, but stated it does happen dozens and dozens of times per facility, per year.

According to DOC officials, 2,172 strips of suboxone were discovered in prisons statewide in 2015 while 507 cellphones turned up.

609 ounces of marijuana were also found inside state penal institutions last year, along with 466 ounces of methamphetamine, 56 ounces of heroin and 45 ounces of cocaine, according to DOC officials.

Garrison said the actual percentage of people bringing in contraband is quite small, though, considering the number of penal facilities statewide.

And, in some cases, an individual is not physically bringing it inside; its carried in the mail or a delivery truck.

We think were doing about as good a job as we can, knowing that were not perfect, said Garrison, who revealed some smugglers are paid by offenders to bring in contraband.

Ford is in prison for the 2003 fatal shooting of Durraron Harris during a robbery outside Seahorse Bar on Western Avenue in South Bend.

According to court records, four men were ordered to hand over their belongings, and after Ford was hit on the head with a thrown beer bottle three of the men fled.

Harris remained and had just tossed a necklace to Ford, who then shot him, according to court records.

May 1, 2047, is Fords earliest possible release date, according to DOC officials.
VALPARAISO  A world-renowned entrepreneur had words of wisdom and encouragement for more than 300 women philanthropists gathered at Valparaiso University.

Doris Christopher, founder and chairman of Pampered Chef, was keynote speaker Tuesday at the Porter County Community Foundations 16th annual Womens Tea, a fundraiser that benefits the Womens Fund of Porter County.

Founded in 1980, Pampered Chef offers professional-quality kitchen tools directly to consumers through in-home cooking demonstrations.

It now is a multimillion-dollar international enterprise serving 12 million customers annually.

Christopher, 71, described how she launched the business from the basement of her River Forest, Illinois, home.

It was a humble beginning, but the response was remarkable, she said.

She urged women to follow their passion because if you do something youre passionate about, you will make a difference.

In addition to making cooking easier and helping women earn income and be their own boss, Pampered Chef is active in philanthropic causes.

The company has raised more than $26 million to feed hungry Americans and $12 million for research on the early detection of breast cancer.

Christopher said she was impressed with the efforts of Impact Porter County, a giving circle that supports womens causes.

Since 2007, more than $455,000 has been awarded in womens fund grants that have impacted hundreds of women and their families in Porter County.

The womens fund also has more than $630,000 in endowed monies, guaranteeing that the positive impact will continue forever.

Recent grant recipients include Dayspring Womens Center, Hilltop Neighborhood House, Family House and Housing Opportunities.

These are causes that are near and dear to my heart as well, Christopher said. If you nurture women, you nurture families.

Christopher said Pampered Chefs purpose statement is enriching lives through mealtimes.

The goal of life is to find your gift, but the purpose of life is to give it away, she said.

She said her mother-in-law once questioned why Pampered Chef had enjoyed such phenomenal success when not every business person who works hard achieves the same heights.

Her mother-in-law ended up answering her own question, Christopher said.

You are blessed to be a blessing to others, she said.
Hillary Clinton didnt mince words when she summed up the greatest difference between her readiness and that of Donald Trump to be president.

Clinton said while she was in the war room deciding whether to launch a covert operation to take out Osama bin Laden, Trump was in a television studio putting together Celebrity Apprentice.

With just more than two weeks to go until the election, it is becoming clearer the American people will hire Clinton to handle the key issues facing this nation.

Heres hoping she takes Democratic governor candidate John Gregg and U.S. Senate candidate Evan Bayh with her.

While Clinton pointed out the differences between her and her opponent, Trump made it even clearer why he shouldnt be president.

When Trump refused to say he would accept the vote result if he loses, he struck at the very heart of this democratic nation.

Quite frankly, Im tired of Trump attacking what makes America great.

Im tired of him saying the leaders of our enemies outsmart our president and military at every turn.

Im tired of him refusing to admit President Barack Obama pulled this nation out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Im tired of Trump blaming everything that ails America on Obamacare  a well-intentioned plan that can be made much better.

Im tired of his attacks on war heroes like Sen. John McCain.

Im tired of him using grieving families to advance his own candidacy.

Im tired of him calling people liars when he doesnt like the truth.

Im tired of him saying the election is being rigged just as his poll numbers are falling. As experts have testified, it is impossible to rig a national election in this country.

Im tired of hearing him say Russian President Vladimir Putin, a communist, is a better leader than Obama.

Im tired of him heightening racial tensions by saying he is going to build a wall along the Mexican border and have that country pay for it.

Im tired of hearing him boast about using our tax code to avoid paying federal taxes for almost two decades.

Im tired of him calling people names when they disagree with him.

Im tired of him running down the U.S. military and intelligence advisers.

Im tired of him trying at times to moderate as well as take part in debates.

Im tired of him dismissing a string of sexual assault allegations as if the women or Clinton made them up.

Im tired of hearing him say Clinton supports an open borders policy.

Im tired of him complaining about what is happening to his campaign each time he walks up to a podium.

And because of that, I couldnt be more proud of Obama for telling Trump to stop whining and start talking about why he should be elected.
The 2016 battleground states are getting visits from the candidates for president, who are are hitting similar notes with a little more than two weeks until Election Day. Josh Robin filed the following report.

It's starting to sound like closing argument time.

"Get out and vote," said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. "Thank you, God bless you."

"I have now spent four-and-a-half hours on stage with Donald, proving once again I have the stamina to be president," said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

With little time for much new, the Democrat and Republican candidates are sticking to familiar messages.

"Either we win this election or we're going to lose our country," Trump said.

Clinton, in Cleveland, encourages early voting. So far, it's seen as mostly benefitting Democrats.

With the backdrop of Trump possibily refusing to concede, Clinton is also trying to tamp down the stark divisions unleashed this election cycle.

"I want to be every single American's president, whether you agree or disagree, whether you vote for me or against me," Clinton said.

But Thursday's tense Manhattan dinner remained on people's minds, a sign of the distaste oozing through this season.

On Twitter, Clinton poked at Trump's boo-unleashing performance.

Where was this kind of comedy last night? https://t.co/71JhLG55G5  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 21, 2016

The enmity between the pair extends to supporters.

"The press always asks me, 'Don't I wish I were debating him?' No, I wish we were in high school. I can take him behind the gym. That's what I wish," said Vice President Joe Biden.

"The impending election also means more campaign commercials...with Hillary Clinton turning to a familiar face during the Democratic convention for a final pitch to voters in seven battleground states."

"I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?" the narrator, Khizr Khan, says in the ad.

Khan's son, an Army captain, was killed in Iraq. The ad is a subtle reminder that Trump drew bipartisan criticism for maligning the grieving family after the speech.

A new Trump ad says Clinton won't change Washington.

"She's been there 30 years. Taxes went up, terrorism spread, jobs vanished," the ad says.

Trump has been lagging Clinton in ad spending.
NEW YORK - An MTA driver has been arrested and charged after authorities say his bus struck and killed a woman in Manhattan during the Friday evening rush.

Roger Weckworth, 63, is facing counts of Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian and Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian Causing Injury.

Fire officials say they responded to a call shortly after 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Place and Exchange Alley in Lower Manhattan.

The MTA says the woman, later identified as Bella-Yury Krementsova, 58, of Manhattan, was struck by the QM7 bus.

According to police, the driver of the bus was alerted by other pedestrians that there was a woman under the back of the bus.

Krementsova was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say Weckworth remained at the scene and was later transported to Beth Israel Hospital for evaluation.


The NYPD and the Mexican Consulate are asking for your help finding a young woman who went missing in Brooklyn.

Police say 20-year old Geraldine Mendez-Victoria is a model, and has not been seen since last Sunday at 2 a.m.

Officers say she was last seen at 345 Eldert Street near Irving Avenue in Bushwick.

She's described as 5-feet-5-inches tall, weighs 110 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

She was last seen wearing multi-colored pants with red and a black sweater.

Officers say she had gone out that night and has no physical or mental issues.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
The head of the sergeants union is standing by the officer who fatally shot an emotionally disturbed woman in the Bronx.

Ed Mullins directed his fury at Police Commissioner James O'Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement saying in part:

"Once again the men and women of the NYPD are being used as political pawns by anointed 'leaders' who care only about themselves and their careers," the statement read. "Sgt. Hugh Barry became the pinata for Commissioner James ONeill who was rumored to be a 'cops-cop.'"

"Commissioner O'Neill's actions can only be explained as having a lack of courage to stand up against a failing Mayor," the statement continued.

O'Neill says Sergeant Barry "failed" when he opened fired on 66-year-old Deborah Danner in her Castle Hill apartment.

Officials say Danner was armed with a bat when Barry pulled the trigger.

She suffered from schizophrenia, and police had been called to her home four times in the past.

Barry had a Taser, but didn't use it.

He has since been placed on modified duty, and stripped of his badge and gun.

We have reached out to police brass for a response to Mullins comments.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on Friday designed to crack down on the online advertising of multi-family dwellings in New York City  a measure seen aimed at limiting the popular online rental service Airbnb.

The bills approval is a win for affordable housing advocates who have decried the impact Airbnb has had in New York City. It is also a win for the Hotel Trades Council, a small but politically influential labor union that has backed efforts to regulate Airbnb.

And the legislation was backed by the Real Estate Board of New York, a monied and influential coalition of property owners in New York City.

This legislation is an important step toward stopping illegal behavior that takes precious housing units off the market, threatens hotel workers jobs and hurts the quality of life for residents in our Citys multifamily buildings, said John Banks, III, President of the Real Estate Board of New York. We would like to thank the Governor as well as the members of the State Senate and Assembly for addressing this critical issue.

Airbnb, meanwhile, has signaled on Friday afternoon it will file a lawsuit to challenge the measure.

This is an issue that was given careful, deliberate consideration, but ultimately these activities are already expressly prohibited by law, said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi in a statement.

They also compromise efforts to maintain and promote affordable housing by allowing those units to be used as unregulated hotels, and deny communities significant revenue from uncollected taxes, the cost of which is ultimately borne by local taxpayers.

Those who violate the law could face fines of up to $7,500.

The bills approval comes as Airbnb is planning to step up its campaign efforts in New York through a super PAC independent expenditure committee that has started running an ad blasting Republican Sen. Sue Serinos vote for the measure.

At the same time, the company this week released a proposal that would regulate its operations to include an online registry of renters and further reforms to its business.
Governor Andrew Cuomo's name has come up once again at the Bridgegate trial in New Jersey. Two witnesses have now testified that Cuomo and New York Governor Chris Christie discussed the politically motivated 2013 lane closures much earlier than previously revealed. NY1's Zack Fink filed the following report.

In 2013, access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were shut down as part of a revenge scheme to help get governor Chris Christie re-elected. But since the bridge is a Port Authority asset, Governor Andrew Cuomo is also responsible for what happens there.

Cuomo was first asked about it by reporters in December 2013.

"To the extent there was misbehavior by officials at the Port Authority, I think that has been addressed by the recent resignations," he said at the time.

The resignations were by David Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty in the case, and Bill Baroni, who is currently on trial.

Wildstein testified that Cuomo and Christie discussed the lane closures in the fall of 2013, and on Thursday, Cuomo's appointee at the Port Authority Scott Rechler also said the two governors spoke.

Cuomo was asked about that conversation earlier this month.

"This came up last year. I don't know who raised it last year. But it was the same gossip was that was spread last year, and it's factually impossible," he said.

Asked to clarify what the governor meant, a spokesman for Cuomo says, "there was no conversation between the Governors concerning a 'plan' to have Pat Foye stand down or to have the issue 'whitewashed' through a report. Pat Foye was in fact a whistle-blower  he never stood down and no report was ever prepared or issued."

Pat Foye is Cuomo's hand-picked executive director at the Port Authority who first identified the lane closures as a crime in an email, and ordered them reopened.

When we first asked him about this in 2014, he said, "Look, my email, I stated my belief, which was my belief then. I testified under oath in Trenton to that effect. I believe I took the right action when I learned about the lane closures, promptly opened them. I stand by my email and that decision."

The Bridgegate trial is expected to wrap up next week. The defense for one of the defendants is predicated on the notion that Cuomo and Christie colluded with a cover-up.
Nicole Haran, a writer, director and the co-creator of a four-episode web series about life in a Brooklyn apartment house, died on Oct. 16 in Manhattan. She was 47.

The cause was a recurrence of breast cancer, her writing partner, Maccabee Montandon, said.

Ms. Haran was still in graduate school when she and three classmates founded the Barefoot Theater Company, whose Off Broadway productions have included the New York premiere of Israel Horovitzs The Sins of the Mother and a stage version of the film Dog Day Afternoon.

Last year Ms. Haran directed her first film, Dive, a 10-minute action-comedy-romance hybrid about an evening at a dive bar. It had its premiere at the Lighthouse International Film Festival in New Jersey. But the primary focus of her work life was the theater company.

Her web series, Ocean Parkway, began two years ago as Mr. Montandons idea.

He envisioned a Brooklyn building filled with neighbors trapped together after an apocalyptic disaster. Ms. Haran, who had been advising him on a screenplay, told him it wouldnt take the apocalypse to make the people she knew feel trapped; adult life and parenthood, she said, were enough. How much freedom do we really have anyway?
SAN FRANCISCO  A Russian man accused of breaking into computer systems at three internet companies in 2012 has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland, Calif.

Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, 29, was arrested this month while vacationing with his girlfriend in the Czech Republic on charges that he hacked into computer networks at LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, damaged computers and conspired to traffic in stolen information.

The arrest of Mr. Nikulin provided a look at the shadowy world of Russian hackers, who appear to operate with relative impunity even as they are accused of escalating attacks on computer networks in the United States. They are accused of attacking a long list of targets, including retailers, banks, energy companies, and more recently, the Democratic National Committee.

Hackers have been able to operate in Russia with little concern about getting arrested, security experts and law enforcement executives say, so long as they do not attack targets inside Russian borders. But they risk arrest when they leave the country.
ALBANY  The corruption scandal enveloping the Nassau County executive has given Democrats a new and potent line of attack, as they try to gain control of the narrowly divided New York Senate.

The executive, Edward P. Mangano, a Republican, was arrested by federal agents on Thursday along with his wife, Linda Mangano, and the Oyster Bay town supervisor, John Venditto, also a Republican. All were charged with a scheme that included government contracts, bribery, kickbacks and a no-show job involving food tasting.

The charges sent ripples through the county on Long Island, where Mr. Mangano wielded much influence through a warm relationship with members of the Republican establishment as well as with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat whom he endorsed across party lines in 2014. (Mr. Cuomo has had no comment on the arrest.)

Mr. Manganos arrest also has many Democratic leaders dreaming of a countywide sweep, noting that their party enjoys a slight advantage in voter registration and that they hope to use the corruption scandal in tandem with efforts to tie Republican candidates to Donald J. Trump, who they believe has alienated moderate suburban voters.
The railroad had not had a fatal crash in 20 years until late last month, when one of its trains slammed into Hoboken Terminal, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 people. In August, two people died when one New Jersey Transit bus ran headlong into another in downtown Newark.

Image Steven Santoro Credit... Bryan R. Smith for The New York Times

After the crash in Hoboken, news reports revealed that the Federal Railroad Administration had been conducting an audit of New Jersey Transits safety procedures and had found them lacking. Until Friday, neither Mr. Hammer nor any senior executives of New Jersey Transit had addressed those reports in detail.

When Mr. Hammer told the lawmakers repeatedly that there were no real problems at the railroad, they seemed astonished. He said that news reports were overblown and the agency had all the money it needed to operate safely and efficiently.

Mr. Hammer suggested that the numbers looked bad because New Jersey Transit exaggerated its problems by overcounting them. He said that the railroad reports every incident, no matter how minor, to federal regulators. He also said he had heard that the railroad may have started counting delayed trains as breakdowns, though he could cite no evidence for that practice.

The issue can be that were counting too much, Mr. Hammer said. He added that he was having the agencys staff review how they counted incidents, accidents, breakdowns and delays.

Asked if he knew whether other railroads reported incidents and accidents in a similar way, he admitted that he did not.
The consensus by United States intelligence agencies is that the WikiLeaks dump of emails from the account of John Podesta, Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, was the result of a hack by Russia in an effort to influence the presidential election. The leaks are continuing, so its impossible to say whether anything truly damaging to Mrs. Clinton will emerge. Some of the purloined exchanges consist of routine and often boring campaign planning, while others seem embarrassing or cynical, as when Clinton aides debate accepting campaign cash from foreign government lobbyists, and one writes: Take the money!!

None of the emails, at least so far, seem particularly harmful to Mrs. Clinton, although some suggest that her closest aides have the same concerns that weigh on many Americans  that she can be thin-skinned and secretive.

As Neera Tanden, one of Mrs. Clintons closest advisers, put it in the emails, She always sees herself bending to their will when she hands over information.

This is partly because of the endless investigations the Clintons political enemies have pursued over the years. But that sort of scrutiny will surely intensify if she becomes president. Mrs. Clinton will only stir up her Republican critics by appearing secretive; she has a much better chance of shutting them down, as she did in her Benghazi hearing, with a dogged determination to show she has nothing to hide.
Its clear from the anger that administration officials faced at a City Council hearing on Thursday that Mr. de Blasio is paying the price for the managerial blunder of overpromising and underdelivering. Councilman Mark Treyger, chairman of the Recovery and Resiliency Committee, called it an outrage that the budget had somehow climbed by half a billion dollars, even though the total number of participants  about 8,500  was far lower than the 22,000 who filed applications when the program began.

Build It Back started slowly. When Mr. de Blasio took office in 2014, no homes were under construction, and no checks had been written. Mr. de Blasio set himself up for a stumble with his now-unrealistic 2016 deadline, as construction costs climbed and the job of rebuilding homes in the Sandy zone proved extremely difficult. Bringing decades-old bungalows up to stringent building codes, with insulation and sprinklers, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems  and then lifting them 10 to 12 feet on stilts in the sand  was no simple task.

In fairness to the mayor, storm rebuilding is always messed up, from Louisiana to Mississippi to South Carolina to the Jersey Shore, and the federal government and the states are rife with storm-recovery programs bogged down by complexity, bureaucratic inertia, homeowner resistance and nonparticipation, and construction and engineering challenges. And while the Staten Island borough president, James Oddo, vented about the many Sandy recovery foul-ups in a recent Twitter barrage and on Facebook, he also said Mr. de Blasio had been right to set a hard deadline for Build It Back, even if he blew it, because without one, the program wouldnt have gotten as far as it has.

Mr. de Blasio clearly needs more time, a chance to deliver on his promises. But there should also be, as Mr. Oddo has urged, an independent post-mortem investigation of this and other Sandy failures, looking into why its initial cost estimates were so far off and what the city plans to do to avoid problems the next time.

One likely answer is going to be very hard for homeowners to accept: In a rapidly changing climate, their windblown condos and bungalows are in harms way, and what government really should be rebuilding is storm-absorbing wetlands and parks.
Its no big surprise that Newt Gingrich is still a gung-ho adviser to the Trump campaign. Mr. Gingrich has long espoused political views similar to Donald Trumps.

But there is more to the alliance than a meeting of the minds. Mr. Gingrich understands that Mr. Trump appears to be losing not because his message has failed to resonate with Americans but because he is a poor messenger.

I dont defend him [Trump] when he wanders off, Mr. Gingrich recently told ABC News. But theres a big Trump and theres a little Trump, he said, explaining that the big Trump is the one who has created issues that make the establishment very uncomfortable.

The big Trump, he said, is a historic figure.

With statements like that, Mr. Gingrich is positioning himself as the keeper of the Trump-campaign themes and, by extension, as the politician best able to mobilize Trump supporters going forward.
Donald Trumps candidacy has left many Republicans yearning for a deus ex machina in this presidential race, but Evan McMullin is not it. He doesnt have the money or the name recognition, and he is on the ballot in only 11 states.

A former C.I.A. officer and Republican congressional adviser, Mr. McMullin entered the presidential race two months ago, because, he said, Mr. Trumps nomination as the Republican Partys standard-bearer appalled him.

Hes running as an independent, and new polls this week in Utah, where he was born, have him tied with or ahead of Mr. Trump. If this keeps up, Mr. McMullin, 40, could become the first independent since 1968 to win a state. (In 1968, George Wallace won five states in the South.)

Mr. McMullin is a smart, affable, traditional conservative whose suspicion of the federal government mirrors public views in Utah. More than half of Utahs voters, including Mr. McMullin himself, are Mormon, a religious minority particularly offended by Mr. Trumps proposed ban of Muslim immigrants.
MINNEAPOLIS  Two Minneapolis police officers followed proper procedure in a confrontation that led to the fatal shooting of a black man nearly a year ago and will not be disciplined, the police chief announced Friday.

Chief Janee Harteau said an internal investigation found that the officers were warranted in using deadly force against the man, Jamar Clark, 24.

Mr. Clark was shot in the head on Nov. 15 in a confrontation with the officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, on the citys north side. The death set off protests that lasted several weeks, including an 18-day encampment around the areas police precinct.

A local prosecutor and the United States attorney have declined to charge the officers, who are both white, in Mr. Clarks death, citing conflicting testimony from witnesses.
When I hear him saying hes not sure hes going to respect the results of the election, it makes me think of the period of dictatorship in the Dominican Republic when politicians didnt respect the will of the people, said Nieves Padilla, 60, an organizer with Make the Road Action, a New York-based immigrant advocacy group, who came to the United States in 1975.

Few would go so far as to predict mass violence or coups detat if Mr. Trump lost and refused to concede, given the countrys loyalty to the rule of law.

But it was precisely Americas reputation as a role model for democracy that made the candidates comments so jarring for some naturalized citizens. In their minds, they said, questions about a presidents legitimacy were inseparable from chaos and bloodshed, and thus they could not stop themselves from thinking the worst.

He said, I will concede only if I win? My goodness, said Cristina Drost, 82, a retired teacher in Henderson, Nev. She said she immigrated from the Philippines in 1961 after her uncle, while running for Congress there, was shot by people who did not think he should be in the race. (He survived.) It is encouraging his supporters who could do some drastic things like killing, especially today since people have guns, she said of Mr. Trumps comments.
WASHINGTON  When the Philippines appeared to jilt its old ally the United States in favor of China this week, it repudiated not only President Obama and his pivot to Asia, but also Hillary Clinton, who made reaching out to the region her signature project as his secretary of state.

The White House said on Friday that it was troubled by the statements made by President Rodrigo Duterte during a visit to Beijing, in which he announced a separation of the Philippines from the United States, a treaty ally, and said it was time to say goodbye, my friend.

More than anything, the administration appears baffled by Mr. Duterte. He is a flamboyant figure, given to volcanic outbursts. On Friday, his own trade minister tried to pull back much of what his boss had said.

Ive dubbed that person the Filipino Mike Pence, joked the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, suggesting that Mr. Duterte was a Filipino Donald J. Trump. Later in the day, Mr. Duterte himself insisted that by separation he meant only that the Philippines planned to be more independent of the United States.
It is now evident to me, evident to Canada, that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement  even with a country with European values such as Canada, even with a country as nice and as patient as Canada, she said in a statement. I think its impossible. We are returning home, at least I will see my three children tomorrow.

A mouse-that-roared situation seems to have killed the plan.

While Belgiums central government backed the agreement, the legislature of Wallonia, the French-speaking region with a population of about 3.5 million, voted it down. The prospect of a free-trade deal had provoked concerns among Wallonias farmers, environmentalists and union activists. Belgiums government then withdrew its support because the pact needed the endorsement of each of the countrys regions. Europe, similarly, would have required unanimous consent from its 28 member states to approve the deal.

The agreements failure is not likely to have much of an effect on Canadas economy. But shoppers in Canada, who were hoping for lower prices on French cheese after tariffs were lifted, now face disappointment.

Boundary Lines. As all Canadians know, the land border with the United States is the longest between any two countries in the world  and isnt exactly undefended anymore. Ron Nixon, one of my colleagues, went out with American Border Patrol agents and found they employ lots of high-tech gadgetry to keep an eye on things. But he also reported that, just because the border patrol can see whats going on, it does not mean they can necessarily stop it.

The storys accompanying video dramatically shows that, despite the electronic monitoring, much of the border between New England and Canada is remarkably ill-defined, in many spots is marked by little more than cut grass.
GENEVA  The top United Nations human rights official on Friday called the weekslong bombardment and siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo crimes of historic proportions that had turned the ancient Syrian city into a slaughterhouse.

As a humanitarian pause in attacks, declared unilaterally by Russia, entered a second day  and as the besieged rebel-held eastern side of the city had a respite from the Syrian and Russian airstrikes that have devastated the area  the United Nations official, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, called for a war crimes investigation.

The comments by Mr. al-Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights, came in a videotaped statement at the opening of a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The 47-member council later adopted, 24 to 7, a resolution that called for an immediate end to the bombing of Aleppo. The resolution also asked the United Nations commission of inquiry monitoring human rights in Syria to investigate events in the city, identifying those responsible for war crimes and other violations. Sixteen council members abstained.
UNITED NATIONS  An international inquiry has found that Syrian government forces were responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Friday. The finding sets the stage for a showdown between Russia and Western members of the Council over how to respond.

The fourth report from the 13-month inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qminas in Idlib Province on March 16, 2015.

The third report by the inquiry in August blamed the Syrian government for two chlorine attacks  in Talmenes on April 21, 2014, and in Sarmeen on March 16, 2015  and it said that Islamic State militants had used a mustard agent.

The resulting dispute among the five veto-wielding powers on the Council will most likely pit Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable.
Annemarie Huste, whose career as private chef to Jacqueline Kennedy came to an abrupt and much-publicized end in April 1968 when she was fired for talking to the press, died on Wednesday at her home in East Islip, N.Y. She was 73.

The cause was complications of Alzheimers disease, her daughter, Bea Huste-Petersen, said.

Mrs. Kennedy had relocated to New York from Washington when her secretary called the Bonfield agency in Manhattan in 1964 looking for a chef. Ms. Huste, a lively young German immigrant, was newly available after the death of her previous employer, the impresario Billy Rose.

The next morning I went to the interview at 1040 Fifth Avenue in my little black dress, shaking like a leaf, she told Nations Restaurant News in 2001.

She got the job, and on her first day was casually informed that she would need to rustle up dinner that evening for a large group of Kennedys.
Tracy Idell Hamilton and John Marcus Bustamante were married Oct. 22 at the Little Church of La Villita in San Antonio. The Rev. Arthur Flores, a Baptist minister, performed a nondenominational ceremony.

Ms. Hamilton, 47, will continue to use her name professionally. She is the chief blog editor at Rackspace, a technology services company in San Antonio. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland, Calif., and received a masters in journalism from Columbia.

She is a daughter of Rebecca Chadwick of Costa Mesa, Calif., and John Daniel Miller Hamilton IV of Sasebo, Japan.

The brides father is a retired United States Navy captain who was last stationed at United States Fleet Activities Sasebo, a naval base on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Her mother retired as a registered nurse at Long Beach Memorial Hospital in Long Beach, Calif. The bride is also a stepdaughter of Elizabeth Cowan.
Second, higher levels of education are increasingly correlated with voting Democratic. This has been most starkly on display in the 2016 election, as polls suggest that Donald J. Trump may be the first Republican in 60 years to not win a majority of white voters with college degrees, even as he holds his own among white voters without degrees. But the trend of increasing Democratic identification among college graduates, and increasing Republican identification among non-graduates, was underway before Mr. Trump arrived on the scene. Today, Democrats hold a 12-point edge in party identification among those with a college degree or more. In 2004, the parties were even on that score.

Finally, in the United States the economic gap between the wealthiest cities and the rest of the country has grown considerably. The internet was supposed to allow wealth to spread out, since we could be connected anywhere  but the opposite has happened. Per capita income in the District of Columbia has gone from 29 percent above the United States average in 1980 to 68 percent in 2013; in the Bay Area, from 50 percent above to 88 percent; in New York City, from 80 percent above to 172 percent. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Boston exert a strong pull on mobile, highly educated, Democratic-leaning voters, while at the same time stirring resentment in the less prosperous areas those voters leave behind. And these economically dominant cities tend to be in deep-blue states.

How extreme is Democratic clustering? If you compare President Obamas 2012 performance with Al Gores in 2000, you can see a huge increase in the Democratic percentage of the vote in the 68 largest metro areas. But it barely budged everywhere else. Some of that increase was caused by voters already in those cities flipping from Republican to Democratic. But it was also the gravitational effect.

This clustering of Democrats helps explain why Mr. Trump has been keeping it close in Ohio and Iowa, both states where some 72 percent of white residents over 24 lack college degrees, the highest share among the 13 most competitive states.

It works the other way in presidential elections, too. Democrats have gained in some other swing states with high levels of college-educated voters, like Virginia and Colorado, and they do at least reap a benefit in the Electoral College for having a lock on big states such as New York and California.

But its another story in the Senate, where this dynamic helps explain why the Democrats are perpetually struggling to hold a majority. The Democrats have long been at a disadvantage in the Senate, where the populous, urbanized states where Democrats prevail get the same two seats as the rural states where Republicans are stronger. The 20 states where Republicans hold both Senate seats have, on average, 5.2 million people each; the 16 states where the Democrats hold both seats average 7.9 million people. Put another way, winning Senate elections in states with a total of 126 million people has netted the Democrats eight fewer seats than the Republicans get from winning states with 104 million people.
Are voters misleading pollsters? Are there hidden Donald Trump supporters who could throw the election his way?

Over the past few years, we have both become interested in how data from the internet, particularly Google searches, might be used to predict events. People also tell Google things  a lot of things  that they may not admit to others. So can we use Google searches to predict whom voters will support in this election? It is not as simple as wed hoped.

One indicator of support might be how frequently people search for a candidate. There is some evidence that if they search for you, they will vote for you. In primary elections, Google search volume for a candidate in a state has predicted electoral outcomes. It is also true that in each of the past three general elections, the candidate with the most Google searches  George W. Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012  received the most votes.

This time around, nationwide, for every Google search about Hillary Clinton, there are two for Mr. Trump. Does this mean that there is widespread support for Mr. Trump that is being missed by pollsters and will carry him to a commanding victory? Highly doubtful.
Although this years presidential race has not been a season of gentle ironies, theres one to be found in the revelation of what are alleged to be Hillary Clintons closed-door speeches. After all the fuss about the bombshells they might contain, they show a warmer and more relaxed figure than the guarded, elusive and sometimes evasive persona she presents to the public.

Just as refreshing, they show a disarming candor  including candor about lack of candor. Politicians need to be two-faced, Mrs. Clinton supposedly said (the campaign has not confirmed the leaked documents authenticity). If her frank critique of frankness proves to be more of a political nonevent than a bombshell, as has been the case to date, that will be for a good reason: Most of us know she is right, even if we dont admit it.

When charged by Stephen Douglas with being two-faced, Abraham Lincoln replied not with a denial but with a quip (If I had another face, do you think I would wear this one?). Citing his example, Mrs. Clinton is reported to have said this in a 2013 speech to the National Multifamily Housing Council:

You just have to sort of figure out how to  getting back to that word, balance  how to balance the public and the private efforts that are necessary to be successful, politically, and thats not just a comment about today, she said. She added: Politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be. But if everybodys watching all of the back-room discussions and the deals, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So you need both a public and a private position.

Right. In politics, hypocrisy and doublespeak are tools. They can be used nefariously, illegally or for personal gain, as when President Richard M. Nixon denied Watergate complicity, but they can also be used for legitimate public purposes, such as trying to prevent a civil war, as in Lincolns case, or trying to protect American prestige and security, as when President Dwight D. Eisenhower denied that the Soviet Union had shot down a United States spy plane.
But by that spring I was catching my first fish.

Fly fishing wasnt just a pastime. It was about more than the need for escape, the desire to retreat into nature and away from the ugly realities of my job. Fly fishing, I quickly came to realize, offered membership into a certain group of attorneys in the legal community in Reno, men whose friendship, or at least fraternity, happened to be professionally useful  sometimes in ways that made me feel uneasy.

In the earliest stages of a criminal case, defense attorneys and prosecutors will congregate in courtroom lobbies and attempt to resolve their cases. A handful of the prosecutors, Sean explained, were fishermen as well. Before discussing the merits of our pending cases  drug offenses, child pornography, domestic abuse  I began chatting with these men about where they had fished the weekend before, what lures they had used and how cold the water had been. Wed take out our phones to show one another pictures of fish wed landed, and wed congratulate or rib one another, call over other lawyers to admire the photographs of the mottled bodies quivering in our hands.

In retrospect, I understand the problems of privilege that came with this informal brotherhood  just pick up an issue of American Angler, tell me how many women or minorities you come across. A female defense attorney I worked with would often send me to negotiate with the prosecutors on behalf of our team. Go talk dude to them, shed say.

The notion that a personal rapport between prosecutors and defense attorneys can affect the outcome of a clients case  might in fact shape the rest of his life  is an uncomfortable one. It is, however, a reality. And it can be argued that a defense attorney is ethically obligated to nurture good relationships with prosecutors, as unpleasant as it can feel to do so. If two opposing attorneys get along, the negotiations tend to go better for the defendant. In a weak case, an afternoon fishing trip might be the difference between a conviction and a dismissal, between a misdemeanor and a felony, between a year of probation and a year of prison.

It seemed, at times, that there was no limit to the access that fly fishing could afford. One day, a relative of mine with political aspirations managed to persuade the Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia to join him and a group of lawyers and judges for an afternoon of fishing at a small lake in the Sierra Nevada  a place where Id gone fishing with fellow public defenders and district attorneys over the years. I was asked to come along, and before I knew it I found myself stringing an olive Woolly Bugger to my fly rod (Id long since upgraded to a high-performance four-piece Sage) next to the most conservative Supreme Court justice of my lifetime.
The state of Montana doesnt often make the national news. But it did recently when a judge there sentenced a man to just 60 days in jail after he repeatedly raped his 12-year-old daughter. In the three weeks since the sentence was issued, over 80,000 people have signed an initiative seeking to have the judge impeached.

The New York Timess Express desk caught up to the news on Friday, but it put a headline on its story that drew its own protests: Montana Judge Criticized for 60-Day Sentence for Man Who Has Sex With His Preteen Daughter.

In the view of many Times readers, that was a poor attempt to sum up the story. Among them was Elizabeth DeHoff, who homed in on the problem with the headline:

Has Sex With? We have a word for sex with a preteen. That word is rape. This man committed incest as well, but incest (while still a crime) can be consensual when both parties are adults. Children cannot consent to any kind of sex. Newspaper headlines that fail to take note of that fact contribute to rape culture  perhaps not as directly as this judge did when he essentially let the rapist off the hook, but contribute they do. (I should know, having worked as a newspaper copy editor for many years.) Perhaps if the judge himself had thought of the defendant as a rapist, he would have handed down a more appropriate sentence.

DeHoff, of Littleton, Colo., articulates well the concerns of many of the readers who emailed me on Friday. Editors were clearly struggling with the headline, changing it five times over the course of the day. About three hours after the initial headline went up, a new one was put on the story, getting a little closer to the mark, but clunky: Montana Judge Criticized for 60-Day Sentence for Man for Incest With Daughter, 12. Finally, after three more tries, the headline read: Montana Judge Is Criticized for 60-Day Incest Sentence. (Still later, the headline was changed again, to Outrage Follows 60-Day Sentence in Incest Case Against Father of Girl, 12.)

Image Judge John C. McKeon sentenced a man who raped his own daughter to only two months. Credit... Teresa Getten/Havre Daily News

Those were improvements but, in my view, they still fell short of the mark.

To understand the thinking behind the headline changes, I spoke with Patrick LaForge, the editor who oversees the Express desk, which aims to get news from around the country up on the Times site quickly. After the story was published early this morning, a number of editors and readers rightly objected to that language, LaForge said. After some discussion, the headline and lead paragraphs were revised to more clearly specify the charge. Please offer apologies and thanks to the readers who pointed this out. Weve had a thorough conversation with the editors who were involved.
Just months ago, Senator Marco Rubio was seen by the Republican establishment as one of its best hopes for taking back the White House. Now, Representative Patrick Murphy, a second-term congressman, is within striking distance of defeating Mr. Rubio in the senators race to keep his seat.

The race is the most consequential among several in Florida in which Republican incumbents find themselves in unexpectedly tough fights. The plight of Florida Republicans  who seem largely resigned to a Clinton victory, given Hillary Clintons four percentage point lead in the polls  is in large measure a result of the name at the top of the ballot. But Donald Trumps candidacy has only accelerated trends that have changed Floridas political landscape in ways that Democrats have been more adept at seizing.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the dean of Floridas congressional delegation, is fighting more vigorously than she ever has to fend off a Democratic challenger, Scott Fuhrman, a businessman who has little name recognition and is campaigning against Ms. Ros-Lehtinens rigid defense of the Cuban embargo. President Obama won the district by a tiny margin in 2008 and by nearly seven percentage points in 2012. This year, Mrs. Clinton is leading Mr. Trump by 17 to 23 percentage points in the district, according to polling commissioned by Mr. Fuhrman.

The changing Latino electorate is the key factor, with Cuban-Americans, who once swung reliably Republican, increasingly up for grabs, particularly younger voters who are more socially liberal than their parents and less dogmatic about the Cuban embargo. Some 58 percent of Latino voters in Florida back Mrs. Clinton, while 28 percent support Mr. Trump, according to a recent poll commissioned by Univision.
Britains decision to posthumously pardon the tens of thousands of gay men convicted of seeking or having sex is just and long overdue. But it is unjust that 15,000 men who were convicted before those laws were repealed and who are still alive will have to go through an onerous process of applying for a pardon.

The new law is named after Alan Turing, the celebrated breaker of Germanys secret codes in World War II who was convicted of homosexual acts, accepted chemical castration in lieu of prison and died two years later, in 1954, of an apparent suicide. The government apologized in 2009, and Queen Elizabeth II pardoned him in 2013.

Some gay rights campaigners, like George Montague, the 93-year-old author of The Oldest Gay in the Village who was convicted in 1974 of gross indecency, object to the idea of a pardon, saying it implies that a crime was committed. He told the BBC he would prefer an apology.

The government should apologize to him and all the other men (lesbianism was not criminalized) who were made to bear the stigma of the unjust laws. These laws remained in effect until 1967, and arrests continued in gay hookup spots after that.
GOD should sue some of her supposed champions for defamation.

Some conservative evangelicals malign God by suggesting that Christians should scorn adoring same-sex couples yet vote for a sexual predator. They seem to slip seamlessly from love thy neighbor to acquiescing in the Gospel of Donald: Thou shalt grab them by the genitals.

Yet theres far more to the story, and liberals havent given enough credit to the many conservative Christians who have made the wrenching decision to condemn Donald Trump as the antithesis of the values they honor.

How could family values voters support a man who had, among other things, stated openly that no mans wife was safe with him in the room? asked R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in an essay for The Washington Post.

Marvin Olasky, the editor in chief of World, a conservative Christian magazine, called Trump unfit for power in an editorial. Wayne Grudem, an influential evangelical theologian, this month urged Trump to step aside.
Life remains precarious, full of illnesses that swoop in and level the whole family like a field of salted crops; there are beds to tumble from, chairs to run into, chemicals and small chokeable toys to mind. But you do not see death at every corner, merely challenges. The part of you that used to keep calculating the odds of your childs existence has mostly fallen dormant. It is no longer useful to you; it was never useful to the child; and there is so much in front of you to do.

At 2, your child is a person  she has opinions and fixed beliefs, preferences and tendencies, a group of friends and favorite foods.

What happens when that child is swiftly killed by a runaway piece of everyday environment, at the exact moment you had given up thinking that something could take all of this away from you?

When I am on the playground years from now, watching my son take a fall from the monkey bars, I might not panic. But some part of me will remember: A heartbeat can stop. Hearing a heartbeat for the first time during the ultrasound, and then watching doctors shine light on unresponsive pupils two years later, you stop thinking of a heartbeat as a constant, and more as a favorable weather condition. Now I am a reminder of the most unwelcome message in human history. Children  yours, mine  they dont necessarily live.

When I realized Greta would not live, I wanted to die so purely, and so simply. I could feel my heart gazing up at me quizzically, asking me in between beats: Are you sure you want me to keep doing this? But I found I could not give the order.

Since my son was born, Ive caught myself making concrete plans for my suicide if he were to die. I will draft a letter to my parents, or even tell them face-to-face. Im going to meet my children, I will say. If the world takes this one, I am not meant to be here. It is a frightening thought because it is so logical. How would anyone argue me out of it? Who would even try?

I do not believe anything bad will happen to him in his infancy. It makes a sort of sense: Nothing bad happened to Greta as an infant. I do not wake up in the middle of the night to check on him. I do not even flinch when I hand him to others and watch them grapple awkwardly with his floppy neck.
NASHVILLE  A few years ago an app surfaced on Facebook that could identify how many of your friends were liberal and how many were conservative. One of my real-life friends clicked the button to see how her Facebook list stacked up and was shocked by the result. I had no idea I liked so many Republicans, she said.

No wonder she was surprised. Facebook is very, very good at tracking our political leanings  and at serving up more of what it has decided we want. So we interact online with like-minded people far more than we do with those whose views we find objectionable. And online its easy for a heated exchange, or even a sorry joke, to end with the unfriend button. A recent study in The American Journal of Political Science concluded that in terms of political identity, the polarization of the American electorate has dramatically increased. The article is titled Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines.

Maybe thats true on Facebook, but are the lines really so clear in ordinary life? People arent simply their political opinions, not even the most deeply held and sacred ones. Surely we are all so much more than the shrill conversation online implies.

Twenty-one years ago, my husband and I bought our house here, in what was Nashvilles answer to Levittown  a circle of small, plain, matching houses built for young families buying their first homes thanks to the G.I. Bill. Once the original homeowners began to cash out and head to retirement communities, young families like ours moved in, and things started to look the way they surely did back in the 50s. Children race through the half-acre yards in half-feral packs, climbing back fences and low-branched trees as hide-and-seek gives way to flashlight tag in the failing light.
Mr. McCain once told a Navy psychiatrist that, as a teenager, he was a rebel without a cause. One of his high school nicknames was McNasty. Even today, some congressional colleagues call him Senator Hothead; more than a few have received letters of apology from Mr. McCain after being told off by him, sometimes loudly and profanely.

That struggle between niceness and harshness was evident during Mr. McCains 2008 run for president. That year, groups that were nominally independent from the Republican Party bought advertisements meant to (however subtly) stir a racist backlash against Barack Obama. Mr. McCain might have stood back and let them do his dirty work; instead he quietly, firmly let it be known he and his campaign wanted no such underhanded tactics. When a woman at a rally attacked Mr. Obama as an Arab, Mr. McCain responded, No, maam, no, maam, hes a decent, family-man citizen.

This was the same McCain who, as he anxiously watched a nascent Tea Party movement take root in his party, chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate. In the process, he ended up sabotaging his own campaign; worse, Ms. Palins know-nothing rants helped set the stage for Mr. Trump. (Does Mr. McCain regret his choice? McCain looks forward, not back, a friend of his told me.)

Mr. McCain has had a similarly complicated record in the Senate. He has shown an ability to reach across the aisle, working with Senator Edward Kennedy on the last serious congressional attempt at immigration reform. He even cooperated from time to time with Senator Hillary Clinton (and in 2004, on a trip to Estonia, engaged her in a vodka-drinking contest). But he can be extremely, immoderately partisan. Just last week, he blurted on talk radio that if Mrs. Clinton is elected, he will try to block any Supreme Court nominee she sends to Congress. (A spokesman later tried to walk back this reckless vow.)

And yet, as a defeated presidential candidate in 2008, he showed grace and respect for democracy. This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, he said on election night, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

On his 23rd mission over North Vietnam, Captain McCain heard the beep signaling that an antiaircraft missile had locked on to his plane. He could have jinked  aborted the mission  to avoid the missile, but out of stubborn bravery, he flew straight on. He had just toggled the bomb-release switch when the enemy missile blew off the right wing of his plane.
Among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers  that special class of backpackers dedicated (or obsessed) enough to walk the trails full 2,200 miles  the question of whether to carry a tent is hotly debated.

Thru-hikers tend to fall into one of two factions. Some (albeit a minority) insist a tent is unnecessary because the trail is punctuated with wooden shelters, or lean-tos, every 10 miles or so. As a rule, these hikers tend to travel light, cook simply or not at all, and sleep in the lean-tos or other shelters on the trail. But other hikers pride themselves on being self-sufficient: They prefer to camp in a tent far from other people; they carry detailed maps; they would never hitchhike into town just to grab a milkshake. We do not have a precise word for these two personality types. Not yet.

Since returning from my own through hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2009, Ive begun to see these two approaches to life pervading every facet of our society. We could call the one endarkic and the other exarkic (from the Greek word arkeo, to suffice). In political science or economics, the word autarky is used to describe a state of self-sufficiency. Endarky is rather the drive toward self-sufficiency; exarky, its inverse.

We all know what an endarkist looks like. America has practically mythologized the type. Most of our best-known nature writers were vocal proponents of endarky: John Muir tramping off with a crust of bread tied to his belt, Thoreau hammering together a cabin beside Walden Pond, Edward Abbey advising his readers to brew your own beer; kick in your TV; kill your own beef.
In the mid-1960s a young American teacher in a small central African country became involved with a group of political rebels  former government ministers mostly  who had been active in the struggle for independence. They had fallen out with the authoritarian prime minister, objecting to his dictatorial style. The country was newly independent, hardly a year old. The men advocated democratic elections and feared that the prime minister would declare himself leader for life in a one-party state.

Fluent in the local language, obscure because he was a teacher in a bush school, and easily able to travel in and out of the country on his United States passport, the American performed various favors for the rebels, small rescues for their families, money transfers, and in one effort drove a car over 2,000 miles on back roads to Uganda to deliver the vehicle to one of the dissidents in exile. On that visit he was asked to bring a message back to the country. He did so, without understanding its implications. It was a cryptic order to activate a plot to assassinate the intransigent prime minister.

Within months the plot was set in motion, but it was quickly foiled, all of the intended assassins captured and hanged; other suspects were arrested, imprisoned and tortured. The American was threatened with detention, then expelled from the country as an undesirable alien and prohibited immigrant.

I was that American. I was 24. The country was Malawi, the prime minister, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. My expulsion meant that I was kicked out of the Peace Corps (early termination), heavily fined by it for engaging in covert political activity (unsatisfactory service) and compelled to undergo an extensive interrogation (debriefing) at the State Department. This interrogation took place in the Bureau of African Affairs, where the scowling Jesse MacKnight scolded me before a roomful of bureaucrats, and then rather touchingly softened his tone and implored me to give him details about the underground rebel movement in Malawi.
A VOTE for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, the Clinton campaign has suggested in broad ways and subtle ones, isnt just a vote for a Democrat over a Republican: Its a vote for safety over risk, steady competence over boastful recklessness, psychological stability in the White House over ungovernable passions.

This theme has been a winning one for Hillary, in her debates and in the wider campaign, and for good reason. The perils of a Trump presidency are as distinctive as the candidate himself, and a vote for Trump makes a long list of worst cases  the Western alliance systems unraveling, a cycle of domestic radicalization, an accidental economic meltdown, a civilian-military crisis  more likely than with any normal administration.

Indeed, Trump and his supporters almost admit as much. Weve tried sane, now lets try crazy, is basically his campaigns working motto. The promise to be a bull in a china shop is part of his demagogues appeal. Some of his more eloquent supporters have analogized a vote for Trump to storming the cockpit of a hijacked plane, with the likelihood of a plane crash entirely factored in.

But passing on the plane-crash candidate doesnt mean ignoring the dangers of his rival.

The dangers of a Hillary Clinton presidency are more familiar than Trumps authoritarian unknowns, because we live with them in our politics already. Theyre the dangers of elite groupthink, of Beltway power worship, of a cult of presidential action in the service of dubious ideals. Theyre the dangers of a recklessness and radicalism that doesnt recognize itself as either, because its convinced that if an idea is mainstream and commonplace among the great and good then it cannot possibly be folly.
To the Editor: Your editorial suggested that the United States Help Teachers Before They Get to Class. Unfortunately, the Education Departments new teacher preparation regulations take us farther from that goal.

Finland is often lauded as the gold standard of teacher preparation. Ive been there and I agree; it has a wonderful system. Like all high-performing countries, its system includes: content expertise for all teachers; intense clinical preparation; mentorship and support for new teachers; extra support and incentives for those teaching the most vulnerable students; professional wages and working conditions; and significant government investment in colleges of education. The United States new regulations do none of the above and will be crushingly expensive for states to implement. Worst of all, they could disincentivize preparing teachers to serve students who need the most help.

Under the new regulations, programs that place graduates in struggling schools could see their ratings fall. That is in stark contrast to the approaches of the worlds high-achieving systems, and it is not the leadership we need to elevate, modernize and strengthen the teaching profession in America.

RANDI WEINGARTEN

President, American Federation of Teachers

Washington

To the Editor: The reason that other countries have eclipsed the United States in education cannot be attributed to ineffective teacher training programs. The profession is not attracting the best and brightest for a variety of reasons. Teachers are not respected in the United States and are often blamed for the problems of an educational system that is underfunded and undervalued. Teachers are expected to be guidance counselors, social workers, nutritional advisers, disciplinarians, mediators and health care professionals, in addition to educating their students. Supplies are in short demand, and teachers often buy supplies, including books, with their own money. New programs are often instituted in schools without teacher input.

The fact that teaching is not valued is evident by the low salaries that teachers receive. How many students can afford to take out a college loan to study teaching, when the low salary will make it impossible to pay off that loan? Schools of education do need to become more selective and offer a rigorous teacher training program. However, until we are able to attract the top quarter of the graduating high school classes, as is the case in Finland, we cannot expect the situation to improve.
Buying goods at local markets on your vacation is a tangible way of capturing a memory of your destination, according to Hannah Roth, a travel adviser with McCabe World Travel in McLean, Va., who specializes in creating shopping-focused itineraries.

Markets can be treasure troves for locally made clothes, jewelry and knickknacks, and because the good ones are frequented by locals, they also give shoppers a pulse of the local life, she said.

Here, she shares her top tips on how to find must-visit markets and how to shop in them once you do.

SHOP THE RIGHT MARKETS Big cities tend to have several dozen markets, but the ones around major tourist landmarks, such as La Rambla in Barcelona, are usually overpriced and sell unremarkable items like magnets and shot glasses. You sometimes need to venture off the beaten path to find the best markets, Ms. Roth said. In Barcelona, for example, she suggests the market in the citys Gothic Quarter where up-and-coming artisans sell their wares.
In response, the F.B.I. put a plan in place to try to increase the overall number of female agents to 33 percent. The bureau will also soon start providing field offices with recruitment data, something it had never done. That will allow the F.B.I. to track where it has successfully recruited employees and perhaps tie the data to performance reviews and bonuses.

Our ability to be believed is at risk, Mr. Comey said in a speech earlier this year. The F.B.I. must be able to stand on any corner in the U.S. or before any jury and be believed.

The F.B.I. has long struggled to promote women. It was not until after J. Edgar Hoovers death in 1972 that women were accepted as agents  the people at the agency who carry guns, run investigations and are at the heart of the F.B.I.s macho culture. It took another two decades before Burdena G. Pasenelli, known as Birdie, was appointed the first female agent to run a field office. Her assignment? Anchorage, which was not then, or now, at the center of the action.

But for women in the bureau, Ms. Pasenelli, who died this year, was a trailblazer.

It opened the door for a lot of women to think about the possibilities, said Stephanie Douglas, who in 2012 became the first woman to run the F.B.I.s national security branch. Ms. Douglas, who worked with prosecutors to investigate the destruction of C.I.A. videotapes that depicted the torture of terrorism suspects overseas, retired in 2013.

F.B.I. officials say they cannot explain completely the step backward for women in leadership roles at the bureau, but they say retirements and the timing of openings are partly responsible. David Schlendorf, assistant director for the F.B.I.s human resources division, called it a worrisome trend, although not intractable.

I am optimistic we can do better, said Valerie Parlave, Mr. Schlendorfs boss, who in 2013 became the first woman to run the Washington field office.
WASHINGTON  The Pentagon is sending dozens of additional intelligence analysts to Iraq to pore over a trove of information that is expected to be recovered in the offensive to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State, data that could offer new clues about possible terrorist attacks in Europe.

The analysts will have several immediate priorities: Share with the Iraqi military any information crucial to the unfolding fight in Mosul; pass along insights useful to American officials planning an attack on Raqqa, the Islamic States de facto capital in eastern Syria; hunt for clues about the location of the groups shadowy leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; and search for any information about terrorist cells in Europe and any attacks they may be plotting.

Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, the commander of American ground forces in Iraq, has called Mosul the Islamic States Iraqi crown jewel. Noting that the militants had been entrenched there for more than two years, he added on Wednesday, Clearly, theres going to be intelligence that will be able to be exploited.

European intelligence and counterterrorism officials said they were eagerly awaiting data gleaned from computer hard drives, cellphones, recruiting files and other sources after Iraqi forces advance into the city in coming weeks. These officials fear an influx of foreign fighters fleeing the campaigns against Mosul and Raqqa.
Ground game war + An uncertain Hispanic vote + Reids obsession = Who knows?

For a while, it did not seem that Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat who is a former state attorney general, would catch up to Representative Joe Heck, a Republican who seemed a good fit for his state and this cycle. But Mr. Heck, by turning away from Mr. Trump after the presidential candidate was heard bragging about sexual assault in a 2005 recording, began to lose some of his base support, living every Republican candidates nightmare. The Hispanic vote, important here, is hard to poll. But Ms. Cortez Masto is now narrowly ahead in the race, a battle for the seat of Senator Harry Reid in which the retiring Democratic leader has unleashed his political machine in support of her.
For months, Hillary Clintons campaign has run attack ads whose sole voice is that of Donald J. Trump. Now, the Trump campaign is flipping the script, highlighting past statements by Mrs. Clinton in a new ad titled Predators. The Clinton campaign has parried with Captain Khan, an emotional ad featuring the Muslim military father who spoke against Mr. Trump at the Democratic National Convention, then was criticized by him in the days afterward.

THE TRUMP AD A photo of two young African-Americans in a warm embrace, overlaid with a blue filter, mimics the Clinton campaign aesthetic. A text card reads Hillary Clinton on  African-American youth.

The image quickly fades to a black-and-white video highlighting a 1996 speech in which Mrs. Clinton referred to some young criminals as superpredators (a comment she later apologized for). She is next heard in a leaked recording in which she describes supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders as living in their parents basements, followed by the now-famous clip of Mrs. Clinton describing half of Trumps supporters as a basket of deplorables. The ads close: What elitist arrogance.

THE MESSAGE The ad accuses Mrs. Clinton of being an elitist while Mr. Trump runs on populist furor. But through creative editing, the ad also levels an unstated attack: that what Mrs. Clinton says today on the campaign trail is different from what she has said in the past or in private.
GATLINBURG, Tenn.  The Tennessee Historical Commission is blocking a plan by Memphis city leaders to move a statue honoring a Confederate general who was also an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

The commission denied an application to waive criteria for the statues removal under the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, which bars removing or disturbing war memorials on public property.

The Memphis City Council voted in August 2015 to relocate the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from a park near the downtown area, and to move the buried remains of Mr. Forrest and his wife.

In addition to being a Confederate general, Mr. Forrest was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The vote to move his statue came during a national wave of efforts to remove symbols of the Confederacy from public spaces after the killings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C.
AUSTIN, Texas  Investor fraud accusations against Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas are back in federal court, at least for now, after the federal Securities and Exchange Commission refiled a lawsuit against him that a judge previously dismissed.

Mr. Paxton is also fighting separate criminal charges of securities fraud, which carry a possible prison sentence of five to 99 years. The refiled charges by the S.E.C. mean Texas top prosecutor is again battling nearly identical cases at once.

Mr. Paxton had recruited wealthy investors for a high-tech start-up called Servergy Inc. in 2011, when he was a Republican state legislator, and both the S.E.C. and criminal prosecutors say he misled those investors by not disclosing that the company was paying him.

Judge Amos Mazzant, however, ruled in Federal District Court this month that Mr. Paxton was under no obligation to disclose his arrangement and said that the S.E.C. lacked evidence of fraud. But rather than drop their case against Mr. Paxton, federal regulators took Judge Mazzant up on his offer to let them hone their arguments and try again.
But as those norms have changed, the costs of speaking out have dropped.

Younger women in particular are becoming more willing to protest sexual assaults that once might have been deemed too minor to merit reporting. And that, in turn, may be affecting the way older generations of women perceive episodes from their own pasts.

It certainly worked that way for Emily Hoffman, 25, who works in the television industry in New York, and her mother, Amy Plummer.

I really dont want to post this, Ms. Hoffman wrote on Facebook on Oct. 10, a few days after the Trump tape was aired. But she went on to reveal to her 1,326 Facebook friends what for seven years had been one of her most private secrets: that she had been assaulted by a senior male colleague while an 18-year-old intern at a film-promotion company.

He attacked her in a deserted stairwell, Ms. Hoffman announced, kissing her, groping her breasts and genitals, and then forcibly masturbating against her.

My experience mimicked what Donald Trump described in those tapes, she said in an interview. It was very upsetting.

For Ms. Plummer, who is in her 60s, seeing her daughters post was transformative.

When Emily felt brave enough to put her experiences down was when I specifically started to think about my own experiences, she said. And I realized I would not have had the courage she had to say it publicly.

But she also realized she had things of her own to share. She still felt that some of her experiences were too explicit to discuss. But she shared others with her daughter.
Kigeli V, the last king of a dynasty that ruled Rwanda for a millennium, died last Sunday in Washington, where he had been living on public assistance. He was 80.

His death was announced by the Rwandan government, which did not specify a cause.

King Kigeli, a towering, regal presence at 7 feet 2 inches, reigned for less than two years, forced to step down when his central African nation voted in 1961 to replace the kingdom with a republic and gained independence from Belgium.

His reign coincided with an outbreak of sectarian violence that would continue to plague Rwanda and culminate in the 1994 ethnic genocide, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates. Kigeli was of the Tutsi caste.

Deported after independence was achieved, Kigeli found refuge in neighboring African nations for three decades. In 1992, fearing growing political unrest in central Africa, he was granted political asylum in the United States.
MOGADISHU, Somalia  A Somali pirate said Saturday that 26 Asian sailors held hostage for more than four years had been freed after a ransom was paid, and international mediators said the release represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy.

The sailors, from Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and the Philippines, had been among the few hostages still in the hands of Somali pirates.

The pirate, Bile Hussein, said the sailors were the crew of the FV Naham 3, a Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel seized in March 2012. The ship later sank.

Mr. Hussein said $1.5 million in ransom had been paid for the sailors release. That claim could not be verified.
BOGOTA, Colombia  Colombias flagship airline said Saturday that it had grounded all flights to Caracas, Venezuela, after a Venezuelan Air Force jet intercepted one of its planes.

The airline, Avianca, said it was also rerouting several flights to avoid Venezuelan airspace until further notice.

Were waiting for them to guarantee the security conditions required to operate, said Gilma Usuga, an Avianca spokeswoman.

An Avianca Boeing 787 that had left Madrid for Bogota, Colombias capital, was flying at a high altitude on Friday near Venezuelas western border with Colombia when another aircraft was spotted on radar a short distance away. The airline pilot notified the Colombian aviation authorities and sharply diverted from the scheduled flight path.
The entire party must safeguard the authority of the party center, Mr. Xi said in remarks featured recently on the commissions website. There can absolutely be no outwardly shouting that youre in lock step with the party center while actually youre not really paying attention.

Underlying the push for stricter loyalty is fear, the leaderships nagging nightmare of the Communist Partys crumbling in a Soviet-style collapse.

Rebuilding a disciplined hierarchical party organization is about avoiding the collapse Xi and other leaders observed in the Soviet Union, said Melanie Manion, a political scientist at Duke University. I think Xi views the stakes for China as very high, but the stakes for Xi as a leader are also high.

The campaign appears to be timed to reinforce Mr. Xis grip on power as the Central Committee is about to set plans in motion to give him another five-year term as party leader.

Some officials have been publicly swearing to uphold his absolute authority.

Resolutely defend General Secretary Xi Jinping as the leading core of the partys center, Li Hongzhong, the party secretary of the port city of Tianjin, vowed at a meeting to respond to criticism of the city by discipline commission inspectors. Resolutely defend the absolute authority of the leading core.

For Mr. Xi, the commission has proved a versatile mechanism for fighting corruption, with its ancillary ability to take down or intimidate potential political opponents, and now to enforce loyalty. Its leader, Mr. Wang, is a trusted friend he has known since the 1960s, when the two were sent as youths to labor in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.

The commission has long had the power to secretly detain officials without court approval, a contentious and feared tool. But past leaders lacked the authority to take on the corruption and abuses that have flourished since the economic liberalization of the 1990s.
Samsung is the best-known brand name South Korea has ever produced, ranking seventh in the 100 best global brands compiled by Interbrand, a brand consultancy. Its Galaxy smartphones have lifted its  and by extension South Koreas  high-tech image more than any other Korean product.

Having already overtaken Sony and other Japanese companies it once mimicked, Samsung has grown powerful enough to challenge Apple, an icon of American innovation.

To many South Koreans, the Note 7 recall, the biggest ever in the mobile phone industry, is just another painful lesson for Samsung to learn from and pay for  the recall is estimated to cost it $6.2 billion  in its quest to dominate yet another industry.

All manufacturing companies, including the American and Japanese, make mistakes, said Park Bo-yeon, 29, who was recently browsing in a handset shop in downtown Seoul where a notice urged customers to hand in Note 7s. What matters is whether you can learn from them and move on. Samsung always has.

Ms. Park suspected that the Note 7 fiasco had been overblown by the American news media, which she said looked down on Samsung. She said she was disappointed that Samsung had failed to explain why some Note 7s heated up and caught fire. But she was equally impressed by Samsungs courageous decision to terminate the Note 7 before anyone died.

Among South Koreans, though, the name Samsung also evokes greed and secrecy. They often describe the company as a predator that makes profits not so much through innovation as by ruthlessly squeezing its numerous domestic parts suppliers.

And Samsung has never shaken off its image as an imitator, though a highly efficient one. (Last year, it was ordered to pay $548 million in damages to Apple for infringing on its iPhone design patents, a case that is now at the United States Supreme Court.)
TRIPOLI, Libya  Libyan pro-government forces fighting Islamic State militants in Surt have freed 13 foreign captives after a battle to recapture a part of the city held by the militants, a spokesman for the pro-government forces said Saturday.

The Libyan forces freed 11 Eritrean women, a Turk and an Egyptian, said Rida Issa, the spokesman. On Thursday, five foreign captives held by the Islamic State  two Turks, two Indians and a Bangladeshi  were freed after fighting that killed 20 militants.

After a six-month campaign of street-by-street fighting backed by American airstrikes, Libyan forces have retaken most of Surt, where the Islamic State is holding out with snipers, booby traps and car bombs, Mr. Issa said.

Surt fell to the Islamic State more than a year ago, when militants expanded their territory and took advantage of infighting among Libyas rival factions after the fall of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011.
Veterans in Priority Groups 2-6, for each 30-day or less supply of medication for treatment of nonservice-connected condition. - $8 copay.

(Veterans in Priority Groups 2 through 6 are limited to $960 annual cap)



Veterans in Priority Groups 7-8, for each 30-day or less supply of medication for treatment of nonservice-connected condition. - $9 copay.

(Veterans in Priority Groups 7-8 do not qualify for medication copay annual cap)

This is the short-form ballot summary of Proposition 61 on the California ballot in 2016:Prohibits state from buying any prescription drug from a drug manufacturer at price over lowest price paid for the drug by United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Exempts managed care programs funded through Medi-Cal. Fiscal Impact: Potential for state savings of an unknown amount depending on (1) how the measures implementation challenges are addressed and (2) the responses of drug manufacturers regarding the provision and pricing of their drugs.On the surface this seems like a good idea. Require that the state pay no more than the VA pays for prescription medications. The VA pays lower prices for a number of reasons, and they are definitely paying less than state Medicaid programs. So why not tie what these Medicaid programs pay to the lower pricing the VA is able to obtain?Then there is the fact that "big pharmacy" is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Prop 61. Again, on the surface that seems to be reason enough to vote for it. That's something that the people behind Prop 61 are counting on you buying into.The questions that need to be explored to make an informed decision about this proposition are:1. Why does the VA pay a lower price than a state program for prescription drugs?2. What would happen if Prop 61 passes to the pricing structure of these drugs? Would the VA wind up paying more, as commercials are telling us?3. Why is the AIDS Healthcare Foundation spending millions to pass this proposition, when it will have no impact on the price that organization pays for drugs through its own health plans?So why does the VA pay less for drugs than California's Medi-Cal program? Even with the recent explosion in Medi-Cal enrollments in California since 2012, there are just under 12 million Medi-Cal recipients in CA. Some of them are covered by both Medicare and Medi-Cal and so Medi-Cal is not their primary provider for prescription medications. The VA is mandated by federal law to pay no more than 76% of the average wholesale price of a prescription medication. But that is an artificial limitation. The VA is actually paying less that those limits because of negotiated discounts. Discounts that require the VA not disclose the pricing structure. It also must be noted that the VA does not have as extensive a formulary for medications. That's something I have personal experience with. During my numerous visits to the VA, both for emergency room care and for regularly scheduled care, I've discussed the merits of medications for treatment of my various ailments. Some of the medications that I had excellent results with when I was fortunate enough to have private health insurance are simply not available through the VA pharmacy system. So even though the number of veterans who are covered by the VA's healthcare programs is just over 9 million, the VA pays less for our prescriptions because of the reduced formulary and that federal mandate.The smaller formulary has another impact on Prop 61. Any medication not available from the VA would not be subject to the pricing controls contained in this proposition.What would happen if Prop 61 passed? The commercials tell us that veterans will pay more for prescriptions from the VA. That doesn't seem to be accurate. At least not according to the VA website which contains the following information concerning prescription copayments:To understand the different priority groupings, you can get that information here The bottom line here is that all copayment amounts at the VA are set by Congress. To increase the amount veterans pay to the VA for prescriptions would require an act of Congress. So the fear-mongering of the opponents of Prop 61 doesn't make logical sense. That doesn't make it any less effective of a message though.Which brings us to the reasons why the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is supporting Prop 61. According to an article in the L.A. Times the organization received more than $800 million of its budget from its pharmacies. Could that be why the man who runs the AIDS Healthcare Foundation crafted Prop 61 to exempt his organization from its pricing controls?I'm voting NO on Prop 61. Not because I'm scared that veterans will pay more for prescriptions. That almost certainly won't happen. I'm voting no because I see no good reason for this measure. Maybe if it applied to all state agencies that provide prescription meds. But it doesn't.
The Clinton Foundation

The Trump campaign has accused the Clinton Foundation of being a conduit for wealthy business people seeking to influence the Clintons, particularly when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state.

The Clintons maintain that no special favors were done for foundation donors, and that no special access was given to the State Department.

But its easy to see how the appearance of a conflict of interest could arise, with foreign governments and business people making large donations to the foundation.

The Clinton Foundation Hillary Clinton Bill Clinton MAJOR DONOR FOUNDER MARRIED DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO SECRETARY CLINTON CHIEF ADVISOR TO BILL CLINTON WORKED FOR Huma Abedin Douglas Band Gilbert Chagoury FRIENDS DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO SECRETARY CLINTON Hillary Clinton Huma Abedin FRIENDS MARRIED CHIEF ADVISOR Douglas Band Bill Clinton FOUNDER The Clinton Foundation WORKED FOR MAJOR DONOR Gilbert Chagoury

During Mrs. Clintons tenure as secretary of state, Douglas J. Band, an adviser to Bill Clinton and then head of the foundations Clinton Global Initiative, emailed her staff to ask for a diplomatic introduction for Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian industrialist and one of the foundations major donors, saying that hes a key guy there and to us.
Research that started as a way to wirelessly take measurements from the soil will now allow NASA to develop a way to wirelessly measure rockets.

Auburn University signed a Space Act research agreement with NASA to develop wireless mesh network sensors for the testing of NASA's new Space Launch System rocket or SLS.

John Mason, vice president for research and economic development at Auburn University, and Todd May, director of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, signed the agreement Friday afternoon at the Shelby Center.

Mason said the agreement affected three things at the school.

Its going to affect our students, our faculty and the way we work with the government and industry, Mason said. These types of arrangements provide us that vehicle, and that to me is the best messaging from what a university like Auburn can do with NASA.

Todd May said he is ready to get to work with Auburn.

I know that Auburn has put out a lot of great engineers throughout the years, May said. And we still depend on those folks for what we do to be able build the worlds most powerful rocket to take humans further than theyve ever been.

The new wireless sensors, known as Zigbee sensors, will allow NASA to remotely monitor the main fuel tank and other parts of the rocket, as it undergoes testing at the Huntsville facility next summer, without having to run miles of wires, according to May.

NASA recently completed a 21-story tall test stand where the fuel tank will be tested to simulate the pressures it will face during launch.

During the series of tests, the tank will endure up to nine million pounds of compressive, up-and-down loads and up to 300,000 pounds of shear or 'twist' loads, said Scott Chartier, primary test engineer for the project in a NASA press release.

Auburn Universitys sensors will be measuring those forces.

Auburn signed a Space Act agreement in 2015 with NASA to share research on additive manufacturing , similar to 3-D printing but with metals, polymers, composites and ceramics.

May is also an Auburn alumnus.

Auburn University means a lot to me, May said. This is part of what set me on the career path that Im on.

May said Auburn University has contributed a lot to the space flight.

Six astronauts have come from this university and thats a lot more than that other university here in this state, May said.
When she was a young girl, Anna Child said, she would go out on the tarmac and cheer as her dad, Tom Armstrong, took planes and sometimes himself to the limit as a test pilot.

It was amazing, said Child, a Huntington Beach real estate agent with her husband, Jim. I never realized his life was in danger.

And the awe Anna Child felt as a girl has never diminished.

Armstrong, who was one of the early members of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds and flew as a fighter pilot in Korea after transferring from the Marines, will be remembered by his family when they volunteer at the inaugural Breitling Huntington Beach Airshow, which continues through Sunday.

Related: Heres what its like to fly in a fighter jet

Armstrong died nine years ago.

Anna Child said when she learned about the show coming to Huntington Beach, it only made sense to be a part of it.

Anna Child, 47, Jim Child, 53, and her mother, Ellen Albright, 68, are volunteers for the show.

Albright is not only a fan who has been to hundreds of air shows, by her estimation, she has worked on flight lines for numerous aircraft installing electronics and avionics. In fact, it was through her job that she met Armstong.

While working in Mojave on a cold winter day, Albright borrowed an unused flight suit she saw. Later, Armstrong came looking for his suit and found his future wife.

Child said her father was famous for landing every plane he ever flew, including in Korea, when he landed a damaged plane and emerged with shrapnel in his leg.

She said his explanation for why he never bailed out was simple. He said, Im afraid of heights.

Jim Child is also a fan. His interest dates to the days when air shows were staged at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Those shows ended in 1997, with 1 million to 2 million attending the final one.

For Anna Child, the Huntington Beach event will be personal. I just felt it will be honoring my dads memory, she said.

COMING TO HUNTINGTON BEACH

Jim McCabe, president of Air Support, which is putting on the Huntington Beach show, said it has taken about two years to do all the planning and get the proper clearances for what he said is some of the most complex airspace in the U.S.

The epiphany for the show for the New York-based company came from a compatriot from Long Beach, according to McCabe. From that spark came the whole idea, McCabe said.

Huntington Beach, with its long, straight, open run of beach, became the companys first choice.

We literally cold-called the city, McCabe said. We said, We have an idea. The city early on displayed a lot of interest.

Air Support signed a three-year deal with the city with an option to renew. Although Air Support is a for-profit company, it partnered with the recently created nonprofit Aeronautical Education Foundation of Huntington Beach to be the recipient of profits from the event.

The plan is for the foundation, led by local philanthropist and former aviator Dan Page, to become the owner-operator of the event in future years, with Air Support continuing to supply the performers.

MAKING MONEY?

Whether the event will turn a profit is the big question, and organizers were mum about the cost of staging it. However, according to the city, its costs for safety alone are more than $194,000, plus an added $70,000 at least for private beach security.

To help with the costs, the city agreed to increase parking fees by $5 on south beach lots and at the Pier Plaza and downtown, which could raise about $32,000. The city also agreed to a deferment of 75 percent of its event fees.
MANILA, Philippines  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he did not mean he would cut off ties with the United States when he said in China that he was separating from the U.S., adding its in his countrys best interest to stay with America.

Despite the clarification, the tough-talking president kept up on his tirades against the U.S., saying in a late-night speech in his southern hometown of Davao city that he would never travel to America in this lifetime.

At an economic forum Thursday in Beijing, where he made a state visit, Duterte declared my separation from the United States  both in military and economics also. His pronouncement was met with applause, but Duterte did not explain what he exactly intended to do and when.

Duterte, however, said in an arrival speech in Davao that he was not severing ties with his countrys treaty ally that is home to a large number of Filipino expatriates.

When you say severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that. Why? Its to the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship, Duterte said, adding that Filipinos were not ready to embrace such an option.

What he meant by his remarks in China, Duterte said, was ending a Philippine foreign policy that closely leaned toward the U.S.

Ahead of his China visit, Duterte made a series of pronouncements to curb Philippine security engagements with the U.S., including the removal of American counterterrorism forces in the countrys south and his opposition to planned joint patrols with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea. He also wanted to stop annual joint combat exercises the Philippines hosted alongside the U.S. military that China opposes.

Duterte has said he did not want to embroil the Philippines in an unwinnable war with China, which could instead be tapped as a major trading partner and source of development funds.

U.S. officials said they have not received any formal Philippine notice of Dutertes pronouncements, adding the alliance benefits both countries and should continue to blossom.

However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday there had been too many troubling public statements by Duterte in recent months leading to uncertainty about his intent. He said that the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia would discuss that uncertainty when he travels to the Philippines this weekend.

Dutertes reaching out to China, which has been locked in longstanding territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea, and his severe criticisms of the U.S. has come under fire at home.

Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who brought the triumphant arbitration case against China over the disputes, said Dutertes shift from Washington to Beijing should be regarded a national tragedy.

The declared shift in foreign policy, casting aside a long-time reliable ally to hastily embrace an aggressive neighbor that vehemently rejects international law, is both unwise and incomprehensible, del Rosario said in a statement.

What is unfolding before us must be considered a national tragedy, which does not need to happen, he said.

The criticism by del Rosario, a respected Asian diplomat, is among the strongest so far of Dutertes declared policy to back away from America while reaching out to China and Russia. His main political ally, former President Fidel Ramos, has also criticized Dutertes profane tirades against President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

As the foreign secretary of Dutertes predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, del Rosario spearheaded the filing of an arbitration case that challenged the validity of Chinas claims to virtually the entire South China Sea. In its July ruling, the tribunal invalidated Chinas claims under a 1982 U.N. treaty in an embarrassing defeat that Beijing has ignored.

The U.S. and its Western and Asian allies have called on China to respect the outcome.

At the end of Dutertes trip to China, both countries announced in a joint statement several trade and business deals and closer cooperation on a range of concerns. They added they have resumed dialogue on the South China Sea.

There was no mention of the arbitration ruling or Dutertes call for China to respect the rights of Filipinos to fish in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Beijings coast guard ships continue to drive them away. But both sides agreed to continue talking.

Without prejudice to other mechanisms, a bilateral consultation mechanism can be useful, which will meet regularly on current and other issues of concern to either side on the South China Sea, the joint statement said.
Whatever awaits voters come inauguration day, its now clear that the biggest foreign policy challenge facing the next president will be Russia. Yet Americas plan for meeting that challenge isnt clear at all.

Doubtless, crafting and pitching a strong and prudent response to Moscows machinations is not easy. Vladimir Putins Kremlin has been extraordinarily effective in maintaining the initiative and keeping the West on its heels by tiptoeing right up to  or over  implicit red lines.

Todays fluid and murky situation invites fresh thinking and may offer a surprising degree of room for unorthodox maneuvers. Thats why Trumps remarkably friendly attitude toward Russia has garnered more support than many elites expected. In an ideal world, Washington and Moscow would be able to hammer out a grand agreement on matters of global military significance. Yet Trump has not put much meat on these conceptual bones, while Putin has shown over and again that Russia cannot be trusted to strike any kind of mutually advantageous deal. Even if the next administration didnt want a fundamentally adversarial relationship with Russia, thats more or less exactly what it would get.

So despite fears on the populist left and right that a Clinton administration would quickly spin up a new Cold War, Clinton is actually poised to follow a reality-based instinct by departing from Obamas squishier Russia policy.

Nevertheless, Clinton hasnt done enough to explain where shed go from here, or why she ought to be trusted to do so. Voters who think its naive to seek a deal with Russia cant just settle for Clintons leadership because it isnt Trumps. And voters who still hold out hope for a hard-nosed settlement with Putin ought to be encouraged to think with some specificity about what Plan B will be if and when such a deal fails  or fails to materialize.

Clinton, perhaps because of lingering issues around her habit for non-transparency, hasnt tried to excuse her lack of specificity on Russia with an appeal to the security value of secrets.

Clinton ought to put her detail-oriented diligence to work on presenting a Russia strategy we can believe in.
The winner of the final debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was the moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News. His performance came at a welcome time for the beleaguered network, which has had a rough 2015-2016 election season.

But if Wallaces deft moderating Wednesday night was a lifeline to Fox, it presented something else for The Donald. As the session wound down, Wallace asked a pointed question. Noting that Trump has been saying the campaign is rigged, he posed this query: Sir, will you absolutely accept the result of this election?

It was a trap, but a trap of Trumps own making. Although hes been vague about how he thinks hes being gamed, hes been riling up his audiences by saying that U.S. politics arent on the level. He says the media has chosen sides, which isnt a shocker. Is that what he means by rigged? He says the FBI investigation that produced no criminal charges for Clintons email scandal was a whitewash. Is that what hes talking about? He ominously refers to millions of people registered to vote who shouldnt be, hinting that they arent U.S. citizens. Is that it?

In his answer to Chris Wallace, Trump mentioned all three of these angles. He also flatly declined to make any assurances to be a good doobie when its all over. This brought a grim smile from Hillary Clinton, who pronounced Trumps answer as horrifying, notwithstanding how happy she sounded that Trump had gone there.

The reaction in the media filing center was frenzied glee. Trumps critics in the press, and in both the Democratic and Republican parties, treated this answer not as gaffe, but as a glimpse into his mindset  and a post-election future that will make the 2000 Florida recount seem like a stroll on the beach. Vice President Joe Biden described Trumps words as a threat to our democratic process, adding that perhaps the candidate is so stupid he doesnt know the damage hes causing.

This is more than just the usual standard lie, added President Obama, who also called Trumps words dangerous. The mainstream media concurred. A USA Today headline claimed that Trumps comment echoes former segregationist George Wallace. Reuters characterized them as scorched earth tactics.

Whoa, lets pump the brakes there for a minute.

For starters, it wasnt Trump who first talked about corrupt election processes in this campaign cycle. It was Bernie Sanders and his loyalists. Their claim was that in everything from the debate calendar and delegate apportioning methods to little tricks played on them by the Democratic National Committee, the primary system was rigged  that was their word  in favor of Hillary Clinton.

Then, lo and behold, WikiLeaks produced hacked DNC emails showing that the Clinton campaign was doing things like trolling Sanders on the Internet, placing moles in Sanders campaigns, and coordinating strategy with the DNC. The response of the Clinton campaign was to accuse the Russians of attempting to manipulate the U.S. elections in favor of Trump.

Its a dubious defense, notwithstanding that its a talking point she and her party have taken to absurd lengths  without apparent worry that they are sacrificing Americans confidence in the integrity of our democracy. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey asserting that the threat of Russian interference may include the intent to falsify official election results.

A fair-minded person, paraphrasing Joe Biden, might ask whether Democrats are so stupid they dont understand that such talk sows doubts in Americans minds about the integrity of the electoral system.

Sixteen years ago, the Florida recount that put George W. Bush in the White House revealed a profound truth about electoral democracy: A concession speech isnt a quaint formality. Its an essential component to the election itself. It demarcates the end of the campaign  and signals to the losing candidates supporters that its time to stand down.

Al Gore handled this patriotic duty with great class. It couldnt have been easy. Yet Gore behaved heroically. The same cannot be said of a spate of liberal journalists or many of Gores fellow Democrats, including Hillary Clinton.

Five days after the 2000 election, Charles Schumer called the U.S. voting system antediluvian and called for scrapping the Electoral College. Jesse Jackson injected partisanship and race into the conversation. The Electoral College is a relic, he wrote, a throwback largely due to the slave-owners who dominated the politics of our new nation at its beginning.

Similar lines are routinely used by Democrats to marshal support against Republican-backed voter ID laws. Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder say such statutes are intended to disenfranchise African Americans  thereby rigging elections.

After his 2004 defeat, John Kerry told a Boston journalist that he believed Ohio, the state that determined the victor, was stolen from him by voting machine tampering. After the 2014 GOP landslide in the congressional midterms, Democrats such as Bill Moyers asserted flatly that the election had been rigged by gerrymandering.

The same year, Jimmy Carter said George W. Bush probably lost Florida, which any number of studies have shown to be false. A dozen years earlier this stolen election meme was regurgitated by none other than Hillary Clinton, who told wealthy Democrats at a party fundraiser that Bush was selected, not elected.

In 1960, after losing the closest presidential election of the 20th century, Richard Nixon told intimates that he wasnt contesting the results even though President Eisenhower urged him to do so. The truth is apparently the reverse of that  Nixon wanted to make a fuss, but Ike wouldnt back his play. Republican officials did challenge the Texas and Illinois results in court, but didnt prevail.

The upshot is that Democrats and Republicans have a history of doing exactly what Trump said he might do if he lost. So this talk of being horrified is posturing on the part of Democrats and collective amnesia among the press.

But I have a more basic problem with all this hysterical hand-wringing. Lets stipulate to a few facts first: The whole point of Jim Crow-era barriers to blacks voting was rigging elections; gerrymandered districts do disenfranchise an overwhelming majority of Americans in congressional elections; liberals now concede that the 1960 election was stolen from Richard Nixon; Gore did tally a half-million more votes nationally than Bush, which naturally raised questions about the Electoral College; reputable statisticians detected anomalies in computer voting in Ohio in 2004 and in other U.S. elections; others have demonstrated how easy it would be to do in any election.

Considering all that, my question is this. Whose actions really constitute a threat to the democratic process  those who complain about rigged politics or those who rig them?

Carl M. Cannon is executive editor and Washington Bureau chief of RealClearPolitics.
Jim graduated from Lexington High School, attended Hastings College and University of Nebraska where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Jim had a long career at Hormel Food Corp. and retired after 38 years. Jim had a passion for music and played the bass viola in many dance and big bands in the Omaha and Lincoln area as well as a supporter of the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and the University of Nebraska and Wesleyan University music departments. He proudly was a member of Masonic Lodge 15 for over 50 years. In recent years with declining health Jim moved to Atlanta to be with his son and family.
Frank Fahrenkopf promised me a good story, but one he could not share until after the final debate. The co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates didnt want to tell it and jeopardize the attendance of either candidate Wednesday in Las Vegas. The former head of the Republican National Committee said hed had to negotiate with many candidates and campaigns over the years, but nothing like this.

It began with a tweet four days before the first debate from Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, whos become a Donald Trump antagonist.

Cuban wrote: Just got a front row seat to watch @HillaryClinton?? overwhelm @realDonaldTrump at the Humbling at Hofstra on Monday. It Is On!??

Fahrenkopf worried that Cuban would be a distraction but thought hed averted that possibility with a commitment that Cuban would actually sit in the third row. But when he walked out on stage to welcome the crowd at Hofstra University, Fahrenkopf spied Cuban up front, news to both him and the Trump campaign.

So, as you can imagine, that, along with other things, created a lot of problems going into the next debate, he recounted.

Compounding matters was that another guest became a focal point. Hillary Clinton invited Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe who claimed Trump had shamed her for gaining weight. Clinton dropped a reference to Machado at the end of the debate, and Trumps jousting with the beauty queen dominated the following five days headlines.

For the second debate, at the Washington University in St. Louis, Trump prepared a nuclear response that Fahrenkopf had to diffuse.

As is the custom, on the morning of the St. Louis debate, the CPD met with representatives of both campaigns. One of the checklist items is to review who will sit in the family guest boxes.

Now remember, this was the town hall meeting, and its almost like a stage in the round in that the audience is not sitting on the floor, as they were [in Las Vegas] and at Hofstra, but are actually up in bleachers looking down at the debate site.

But the family boxes were much closer, right behind the moderators and each contained four seats. The campaigns agreed that only family members could sit in these chairs. So when the Clinton campaign asked if Sen. Claire McCaskil, D-Mo., a close family friend, could sit in an unused Clinton family seat for a debate in her home state, the answer was no. Fahrenkopf thought everything was in order.

But, he said, about 20 minutes before I was due to go on stage for the opening remarks someone came up to me, one of my people, and said, Do you know about the press conference thats being held? I said, What press conference?

It was then that he learned that Trump had invited to the debate three Bill Clinton accusers and a rape victim whose attacker was once represented by Hillary Clinton. Trumps pre-debate press conference with the women came as a total surprise to the media and even to members of his own campaign.

The rumor is that he wants to put them in the family box, which of course wouldve meant that when the families were introduced they wouldve walked out on stage. Bill Clinton wouldve walked out on stage and walked right into these four women, said Fahrenkopf.

So I went and knocked on the door of the holding room where the Trump debate team was, and I must tell you they were unaware of this, and I believe them, that they had no knowledge of what was planned. I said, Look, I have to get up on stage, were going on air. But please advise them when they come out that if they try to put the women on the stage in the family boxes thats a violation of the agreement between everyone, and Ill have to get security if need be to stop it.

He could only hope that his threat was believed. But with the minutes counting down before a precise debate start time, he needed to go on stage and begin his remarks with no idea as to what would happen next. He told me he was concerned that the debate would turn into a sideshow that could impact a very important night. Standing on stage while speaking to the town hall audience, and television viewers who numbered in the millions, his eyes scanned the debate hall.

And it wasnt until just before I finished my remarks that I saw, at the back of the hall, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani leading the three women up into the bleacher seats where they had every right to sit, but not in the family box, he said. So thats what happened. The next morning some members of the Trump group went on television and said, Well, it really wasnt a family box. It was a VIP box, and I had interfered with their right to sit who they wanted in the VIP box. It was always a family box, and thats all I enforced.

Fahrenkopf had kept one fact close to his vest  he had no security to effectuate the removal of any guests if the need arose!

Michael Smerconish can be heard from 9 a.m. to noon on SiriusXMs POTUS Channel 124 and seen hosting Smerconish at 9 a.m. Saturdays on CNN.
The Daily Toll

John R. Houser was dangerously mentally ill, too ill to carry a gun. Of that, there is little doubt.

Over 16 years, Houser, 59, had been charged with hiring a man to burn down a lawyers office and named in a domestic violence complaint. In 2008, after Houser threatened to kill his daughters fiance, a judge issued a temporary restraining order and ordered him hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. In 2014, he threatened to shoot law enforcement officers who were trying to evict him, then booby-trapped the house to start a natural gas fire.

His record was frightening enough that an Alabama sheriff refused to issue him a concealed-weapons permit. But like most states, Alabama requires no permit to buy a firearm. His wife said she repeatedly threw his handguns into the Chattahoochee River, fearing that he would harm himself or others. Houser just bought more.

Holed up in a Motel 6 in July 2015, Houser wrote in a journal that Dylann Roof, the white man charged with gunning down nine black members of a historic Charleston, South Carolina, church the previous month, had the right idea but the wrong targets.

Later that month, Houser walked into a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, carrying a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol he had bought at a Phenix City, Alabama, pawnshop the year before. Ten minutes into a showing of the comedy Trainwreck, he opened fire, killing two moviegoers and wounding nine more. Then he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

After nearly two decades of expanding legal access to firearms, a succession of horrific shootings like Housers have refocused attention on gun control. Since the 2012 massacre of 26 elementary schoolchildren and adults in Newtown, Conn., gun control advocates have scored some significant victories in state legislatures. Nationwide, several polls suggest that public opinion has shifted markedly in favor of stricter gun laws.

The New York Times examined all 130 shootings last year in which four or more people were shot, at least one fatally, and investigators identified at least one attacker. The cases range from drug-related shootouts to domestic killings that wiped out entire families to chance encounters that took harrowing wrong turns.

They afford a panoramic view of some of the gun control debates fundamental issues: whether background checks and curbs on assault weapons limit violence; whether the proliferation of open-carry practices and rules allowing guns on college campuses is a spark to violence; whether it is too easy for dangerously mentally ill or violent people to get guns.

The findings are dispiriting to anyone hoping for simple legislative fixes to gun violence. In more than half the 130 cases, at least one assailant was already barred by federal law from having a weapon, usually because of a felony conviction, but nonetheless acquired a gun. Including those who lacked the required state or local permits, 64 percent of the shootings involved at least one attacker who violated an existing gun law.

Of the remaining assailants, 40 percent had never had a serious run-in with the law and probably could have bought a gun even in states with the strictest firearm controls. Typically those were men who killed their families and then themselves.

Only 14 shootings involved assault rifles, illustrating their outsize role in the gun debate. Nearly every other assailant used a handgun. That is in line with a federal study that concluded that reviving a 1994 ban on assault weapons and ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds would have a minimal impact, at best, on gun violence.

But there were also cases in which victims arguably would have lived had they been in a state with tighter firearms restrictions, because it would have been harder for their attackers either to get guns or to carry them in those circumstances. That includes several of nine attackers who were dangerously mentally ill but still met the federal standard for gun possession.

Do background checks work? The majority of assailants would have failed but got guns anyway.

The fact that so many cases involved attackers already barred from owning guns goes to a central issue in the gun control debate: whether background checks by licensed dealers should be expanded to include gun shows and private sellers.

To the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates, such statistics show that the current system has failed to keep guns out of criminals hands and should be fixed, not expanded.

Donald Trump, whose Republican presidential candidacy draws deep support from the NRA, has cited federal studies of state prison inmates showing that more than 3 out of 4 got their guns from friends or relatives or on the street, avoiding the licensed dealers who would check their backgrounds.

Hillary Clinton has noted that since 1994, when licensed dealers were first required to check potential buyers, about 2.6 million sales have been blocked to people barred from gun ownership. Expanding background checks, she says, will close a vast loophole in an otherwise effective law.

Weve got to get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, she said during the first debate.

Polls indicate that the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners and NRA members, support that approach. The debate is white hot in Maine and Nevada, where voters will decide next month whether to join 18 states and the District of Columbia that already require some form of broader checks.

It was virtually impossible to determine whether expanded background checks would have deterred the illegally armed attackers involved in the shootings examined for this article. In many cases, police officers never recovered the weapons, and even when they did, they did not always investigate where the firearms came from.

Denying guns to the dangerously mentally ill: Is the bar set too high?

Although mental illness is not a good predictor of violence, many gun policy experts agree that federal law allows too many people who are dangerously unstable to buy firearms virtually without oversight. It denies guns only to people who have been involuntarily committed for inpatient treatment, a practice vastly more complicated and far less common than in 1968, when the federal law was adopted.

A handful of states have adopted tighter restrictions, limiting gun ownership by mentally ill people who have been voluntarily admitted for inpatient care, forced into outpatient treatment or held for as little as 72 hours. A few, including New York, require mental health professionals to report people who appear dangerous to themselves or others  information that can be used to deny them a gun purchase.

And in Washington state, a ballot measure, modeled after a California law, would allow law enforcement officers, family and household members to seek emergency court orders disarming people at risk of harming themselves or others. Three other states have similar but more limited measures.

Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said two decades of experience with restraining orders against domestic abusers had proved that such court interventions reduce violence. The NRA disagrees, saying the Washington measure would strip gun owners of their rights merely on the say-so of someone else.

No such provisions were in place in the states where mentally ill gunmen carried out nine of the 130 shootings last year. Police inquiries into several cases later showed that family and household members feared disaster in the making but felt helpless to avert it.

Research shows requiring a permit to buy a handgun helps keep guns out of dangerous hands.

Eleven states and the District of Columbia require a permit or license before purchasing a handgun or, in some cases, any kind of firearm. Most of them  and some other states, too  have broadened the federal ban on gun purchases to cover other high-risk individuals, including those convicted of serious, violent misdemeanors or drug, alcohol or firearm-related offenses, or anyone under 21. Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey also let law enforcement officials deny permits if an applicant appears to present a public safety risk.

Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, said requiring a permit is perhaps the most effective way to keep firearms away from dangerous people. In the three years after Missouri eliminated its requirement in 2007, his research found, gun homicide rates jumped 25 percent, even as they declined nationwide. Conversely, Connecticuts gun homicide rate fell 40 percent in the decade after it began requiring permits in 1995.

By openly displaying guns, some rights advocates push the envelope on what is considered acceptable.

Although Americans broadly support some restrictions, like broader background checks, the ideological and cultural divides on others are yawning. Perhaps the best example is the debate over open carry  the right to display firearms, Old West-style, in public.

Few states restrict individuals from openly carrying loaded firearms in public, although many prohibit it in specific locations such as schools, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Until recently, however, few gun owners tested that latitude in urban areas.

Increasingly, though, some gun owners are showing up visibly armed in crowded settings like political rallies as an expression of expansive Second Amendment rights, arguing that they are deterring criminals and trying to make openly carrying firearms seem an everyday, accepted practice.

To some city police chiefs, like Edward A. Flynn of Milwaukee, that is lunacy. It puts everyone at risk. he said. Everyone.

Colleges are the new gun rights frontier. Opponents call that foolish.

Firearms advocates have mounted a state-by-state campaign to allow guns on college campuses. Opponents argue that giving guns to young people who are still learning to make responsible decisions  and are often soaked in alcohol, testosterone or both  is a recipe for disaster. But the movement has gained momentum. Texas last year became the eighth state to let students carry concealed weapons on campus.

Arizona has yet to adopt such a law, but firearms do have a foothold there: in 2009, the Legislature outlawed any restrictions on keeping guns in locked vehicles, as long as the firearms are out of sight.

Steven Jones, an 18-year-old freshman at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, kept a .40-caliber Glock 22 handgun in the glove compartment of his red Mustang.

One Friday evening last October, Jones parked his car on campus while he socialized with friends from his new fraternity, Sigma Chi. One of them later told the police that they knocked on the door of an apartment building where members of a rival fraternity, Delta Chi, were partying and drinking heavily  a stunt called ding, dong, ditch.

A half-dozen or more Delta Chi members pursued them. One punched Jones in the face, knocking off his glasses.

Jones ran to his car, retrieved his loaded gun and pointed it at Delta Chi members.

Dont move, he said he yelled, warning that he was armed.

Some witnesses said Colin Brough, a 20-year-old junior, took a step or two forward. Jones said two students charged at him, threatening to kill him. Without his glasses, he had trouble aiming, so he hoped for the best, he said. He shot Brough just below the heart and in the shoulder. He hit a second student in the arm and hip.

Several students tackled Jones and started punching him, trying to get the gun.

Jones hit a third student in the neck, just a fraction of an inch from a major vein, and a fourth student twice in the back, shattering his kidney.

Brough died of internal bleeding in the courtyard.

Jones was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.

This year, a bill that would have allowed students and professors to carry concealed guns on campuses like Jones died in a legislative committee. Similar bills were killed in 16 other states, according to the law center.

Douglas Brough, Colins father, said he shudders to think what would have happened had other students been armed that night.

Are you kidding me? he said. It would have been like the O.K. Corral.
Californias voters are once again being asked to weigh-in on how the states students are taught. Nearly two decades ago, Proposition 227 made English the mandatory language of instruction in public schools but it allowed parents to sign a waiver to have their kids participate in bilingual programs.

Under Proposition 58, which is backed by groups such as the California Teachers Association and the California Democratic Party, that waiver requirement is removed. School districts would no longer be required to secure parental waivers for students to participate in bilingual programs but they would still need to provide English-learners with an immersion option and obtain annual feedback on these programs from community stakeholders.

Prop. 227, passed in 1998, was largely a response to the dismal outcomes of the states English-learners, many of whom languished for years in classes taught in Spanish without parental knowledge. Although test scores initially shot up after its passage, subsequent research suggests the policy can neither be labeled a success nor failure based on outcomes.

A five-year evaluation by the American Institute for Research and WestEd found little to no evidence of differences among models of instruction for English-learners and indicated no single path to academic success among ELs.

And while a study by Ilana Umansky of the University of Oregon found that multilingual programs help a greater number of students reach English proficiency, it also found they hit this milestone at a slower pace. Whether this is good news largely depends on the student in question. According to Umansky, If an English-learner program prevents students from enrolling in honors classes or a full course load, then the longer you remain an English learner, the more you miss out on. But if you are in a school where English learners have access to the full range of educational opportunities, then it really doesnt matter if it takes slightly longer to acquire English.

Prop. 58 proponents argue that the current policy serves as a roadblock to differentiating instructional approaches. Opponents counter that parents have the right to know if their kids are placed in a class that is taught primarily in a foreign language. Ultimately though, Prop. 58 is a symptom of a more fundamental problem with Californias education system. Most families are assigned to schools based on where they live and they have little say over how their children are educated.

Because families are stuck in schools determined by their ZIP codes, they often end up in schools that are not good fits for their children. If the school system empowered parents to choose their public schools, the state wouldnt need laws mandating schools to be English-only. Educators would have the flexibility to implement varied programs and parents could vote with their feet by choosing a school that best suits their needs. Some parents would seek out English-only instruction for their children, others would pursue bilingual programs.

Current polls suggest that theres a good chance Californians will approve Prop. 58. If this holds true, legislators should act to ensure that districts are required to notify parents whose children are placed in non-English classes and held accountable for offering an English immersion option as mandated.

They should also recognize that theres a better way. With a robust system of school choice, voters wouldnt be forced to choose between educator autonomy and parental empowerment. School choice would help deliver a diverse set of education options powered by communities and local educators rather than statewide ballot initiatives.

Aaron Smith is an education policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
Near the start of President Obamas third year in office, there was a little dust-up about some fundraising activities inside the White House.

The president hosted a Democratic National Committee event in the Blue Room, welcoming more than two dozen financial industry executives who had donated to Obamas campaign. Then, a couple of months later, the president recorded a video in what appeared to be the White House Map Room  the Obama team wouldnt confirm that  in which he plugged a raffle for donors who wanted to win dinner with him.

The Republican National Committee complained, citing a law that makes it a crime for an officer or employee of the federal government to solicit or receive a donation of money while in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties.

The Obama administration said the video was made in the White House living quarters, which was allowed under a ruling on a similar matter involving President Jimmy Carter. There was a brief argument over whether the Map Room was covered  its part of the White House residence but also used for official duties.

This may seem like a big to-do over not much at all. Actually, its one small part of a mass of laws and regulations that keep government separate from politics.

Congressmen and senators have to leave their Capitol Hill offices and go to another location to make fundraising calls or conduct campaign business. Government employees are forbidden under the Hatch Act from engaging in political activity while on duty, in a government office, in uniform, or using a government vehicle. They cant even wear campaign buttons on the job.

The purpose of all these restrictions is to make sure the government is unbiased in its official work. The federal government is powerful. If we allowed political activity on government time, the resources that belong to all Americans could improperly be used to benefit political allies and to cause harm to political adversaries.

President Obama has tolerated, perhaps inspired, too many instances of the political use of government power.

The IRS targeted conservative and tea-party groups for extra scrutiny and delays of applications for tax-exempt status. No one has been held accountable for this political selectivity, or for the stonewalling of a congressional investigation, or for the destruction of email evidence under subpoena.

The FBI released records of its investigation into Hillary Clintons private email server on the Friday before Labor Day, an act of political spin control so blatant that Bloomberg Politics co-managing editor Mark Halperin said the agency was acting like an arm of the Clinton campaign.

So is the White House press secretary. Recently Josh Earnest was asked at a White House press briefing for the reaction to Donald Trumps statement that Clinton should take a drug test before the third debate.

Youre telling me that the candidate who snorted his way through the first two debates is accusing the other candidate of taking drugs? Earnest said.

Thats your response? the reporter asked.

Thats my response, Earnest said.

Later, the White House press secretary said he had been joking. Its no joke. The same words that may be acceptable at a campaign event can be an abuse of power when spoken at the lectern in the White House briefing room on behalf of the president of the United States.

And its not funny.

Susan Shelley is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. Reach her at Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter: @Susan_Shelley.
A 21-year-old man suspected of driving drunk was in critical condition after crashing into two cars, police said.

At about 2 a.m. the Honda Accord the man drove struck a 2012 Toyota Camry and a 2013 Dodge Challenger at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Gilbert Street, according to Fullerton police. The two cars were stopped at a red light when the Honda crashed into them.

The 21-year-old man was taken to a local hospital with major injuries and remains in critical condition.

Four other people in the stopped cars were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.

The intersection was closed off to through traffic for several hours early Saturday morning while police conducted their investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Hazel Rios with the departments traffic bureau at 714-738-6812.

Contact the writer: lawilliams@scng.com
An Orange County sheriffs deputy has been charged with perjury and insurance fraud for allegedly engaging in heavy CrossFit exercises while collecting compensation for work-related injuries.

Nicholas Zappas, 36, of Laguna Niguel was arrested on Friday and charged with 11 felony counts of insurance fraud and seven felony counts of perjury under oath, according to the Orange County District Attorneys Office.

He was accused of failing to disclose his true physical abilities and activities to his doctors and lying under oath. If convicted, he faces up to 16 years in prison.

Zappas, a 14-year Sheriffs Department veteran, was working in the Harbor Patrol division and engaged in a boat rescue in April 2015 when authorities said he tripped over a fire hose and fell on his back.

Prosecutors said Zappas filed a workers compensation insurance claim for injuries to his left shoulder, left side of his neck and lower back.

After he complained of pain, a doctor placed him on work restrictions of no lifting, pushing or pulling anything greater than 10 pounds, prosecutors said. The Sheriffs Department assigned him to dispatch to accommodate his restrictions.

He was receiving funds from an insurance policy, prosecutors said.

From May to November 2015, Zappas was accused of engaging in CrossFit, a high-impact exercising. Prosecutors said he lifted more than 200 pounds in weights, and did box jumps, burpees, squats and other activities in contradiction to the limits imposed by his doctors.

Prosecutors said he didnt tell his doctors about his CrossFit workouts and then lied under oath during a deposition, denying that he lifted more than 20 pounds since his injuries.

Lt. Mark Stichter, a sheriffs spokesman, said Zappas was still employed with the department and will face an internal administrative investigation pending the criminal charges.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
KAMPALA, Uganda  Uganda says it remains undecided about whether to leave the International Criminal Court after two African states this week decided to pull out.

This East African country has led criticism of the tribunal, with President Yoweri Museveni this year calling it useless.

Deputy Foreign Minister Oryem Okello tells The Associated Press that the matter is best decided as a bloc, and that ICC withdrawals are expected to be a hot issue at an African Union summit in January.

Ugandas president once was a firm supporter of the ICC when it pursued warlord Joseph Kony for alleged war crimes committed in the northern part of the country.

South Africa on Friday said it will submit a bill in parliament to leave the ICC. Burundi has announced it is leaving, too.
Irish grocery retailer SuperValu has announced a new partnership with Bank of Ireland as part of the relaunch of its Real Rewards loyalty programme.

SuperValus ambition is for Real Rewards to become the number one loyalty programme in the country and the extension of the scheme to bring in new partners is one of the most significant business milestones for Irelands leading grocery retailer this year. In order to realise that ambition, SuperValu will be introducing exciting new partners, giving customers even more ways to earn points and get even more value from the Real Rewards programme.

Bank of Ireland is the first in a number of new partners from a range of different industries that SuperValu will incorporate into its Real Rewards programme, building upon its existing relationships with Electric Ireland and Getaway Breaks. SuperValu has also launched a first for the Irish market - eSHOPS - an online shopping portal offer that enables customers to earn Real Rewards points when they shop with over 100 online brands such as eBay, Expedia, Debenhams and Eason through the supervalu.ie website.

Some of Irelands leading brands will be announced as additional partners over the coming months.

The re-launched Real Rewards programme will enable its existing 1 million members to earn points in a variety of ways:

 Customers will collect 1 point per 1 spend when they use their Real Rewards card at any SuperValu or online at SuperValu.ie;

 By linking their Bank of Ireland personal credit card and SuperValu Real Rewards card, customers will earn 250 Real Rewards Bonus points.

o Customers are set up to earn points when they purchase groceries at SuperValu, as well as when they use their credit card to make any purchases outside of SuperValu;

o Once they have linked, Customers will earn 2 points per 1 spend when shopping in SuperValu and 1 point per 10 spend with any other purchase;

 Linking their Real Rewards card to their Electric Ireland account for the first time, will earn customers 250 welcome points, and will enable shoppers to collect points every time they pay their energy bills;

 Customers can also add to their tally of points when shopping through the SuperValu website with any of the 100 brands as part of the new Real Rewards eSHOPS;

 Finally, shoppers can also collect 1 point per 1 spend when they book a Getaway Break;

 Real Rewards is also launching a first to market Loyalty App  which will allow members watch their points grow, plus receive exclusive offers and rewards from SuperValu & from Partners.

SuperValu customers can then use their points to save money on their weekly shop, with Money Back Vouchers posted at three key times during the year, or they can use points for savings with Real Rewards partners, such as Electric Ireland.

Commenting on the announcement, SuperValu MD Martin Kelleher said, As part of our innovation agenda, SuperValu is constantly exploring new ranges of products and services to offer consumers. Our Real Rewards programme has always been popular with our customers and the feedback we received from them was that they wanted new ways to benefit from the scheme, similar to our partnership with Electric Ireland.

Financial services was one of the key areas our customers wanted us to explore in terms of new partners for our Real Rewards programme as card payments are becoming increasingly popular for consumers in Ireland. As the market leader in its field, Bank of Ireland is the ideal partner for us as they are one of Irelands leading companiesand we share a large crossover in terms of both our respective customer bases.

Online shopping is also going from strength to strength in Ireland, with our own online customer base growing by almost 25% last year. Our new eSHOPS site, which incorporates 100 leading online brands, will tap into this trend and we are now in a position where not only do we reward our customers loyalty when they shop with us, but they also benefit every time they purchase online with our partners.

Richie Boucher, Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland added, We are delighted to work with SuperValu on this significant loyalty partnership, which is the first alliance of its kind for Irish consumers. Our organisations share many synergies including strong retail brands, a strategy seeking to recognise customer loyalty and we are embedded and socially active in our local communities. Appreciating customers for their business is a key feature of Bank of Irelands approach and we expect to announce further loyalty-driven reward offers over the coming months. With over 470 branches and stores between us nationwide, our SuperValu partnership will benefit a considerable number of households across the country and we look forward to communicating the Real Rewards programme to Bank of Ireland customers over the coming months.

Niall Dineen, Residential Markets Manager Electric Ireland, said: At Electric Ireland, we reward our existing customers by giving them annual savings every year as long as they stay a customer of Electric Ireland. Were always looking for ways to ensure that our customers stay happy with us. As the largest utility in Ireland, we are delighted to partner with SuperValu Real Rewards to deliver even more savings and rewards to our loyal Electric Ireland residential customers. Simply by paying their bills and shopping in SuperValu, we can offer Electric Ireland customers long-term additional savings on both their gas & electricity bills.

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and has 222 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the States largest private sector employers. 75% of everything on SuperValus shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible and purchases almost 2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which help to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

To check out the new programme, log onto supervalu.ie/rewards or download the new Real Rewards App today.
Killenard farmer Christy Slevin is urging every man over 50 to get a simple blood test done to check for prostate cancer, after his own was diagnosed early and successfully treated.

Christys cancer was detected from a PSA blood test carried out by his GP, three years ago when he was 53.

I was getting routine blood tests anyway because I was on depression medication. My doctor said to get it looked at so I went off to James in Dublin for a biopsy. I wasnt even that worried. My mother was sick with lung cancer and my dad was possibly facing a leg amputation at the time, so to me the prostate was like getting a bad tooth out, he said.

People have a fear of prostate cancer, some ignore it for years, but I had it the other way, I didnt treat it with enough respect, he said.

The first step after finding early prostate cancer is to watch as wait because it grows very slowly and its removal can have lasting side effects.

Christy was even advised by doctors to go and enjoy a planned family holiday, but decided not to because of his parents being unwell. A few months later, he had the operation to remove his prostate, a walnut size gland which is part of the male reproductive system. It was keyhole surgery, and a second operation followed to remove a further dozen small clips. The costs were covered 90 percent by his health insurance, and he drove a bargain for the rest.

I got them to knock off the 10 percent. Farmers are divils for a bargain, he said with a laugh.

Usually radiotherapy follows but as he has Crohns disease, it could not be used. Christy's cancer is gone, but he did not realise the full after effects of the operation. Tiredness hit like a wall.

I went home and did a bit of tilling but I fell asleep on the tractor. I woke up at the far end of the field, he said.

His chronic tiredness affected his family, with support needed from his wife Mary, his sons and daughter.

I had cancer but Mary had to cope with everything. She always does a lot but she had to do a lot more. I didnt do much lambing that year. I didnt realise the effect it has on your children. We talked to our kids but other people dont. If they find out from friends, they worry more about what else you havent told them, he said.

Christy has also found support in The Cuisle Centre in Portlaoise.

I knew of it, but I thought it was for terminally ill people, and more for women. My brother brought my mother to it, and got me a leaflet so I rang them, he said.

Last autumn he took part in their annual six support week Prostate Cancer course, where he finally met other men also experiencing sife effects.

They were nearly all the same with the tiredness. To find out youre not the only one was a relief, I felt I was being lazy so I was pushing myself too hard, but now I can take a nap in the day and sleep well because I dont feel guilty. I feel 80 percent better since I came in here, it helps you to cope, he said.

He is even spreading the word to fellow farmers about getting checked, and even loaning them relaxation tapes from Cuisle, which help with many stress related problems.

It is easier for men to talk in the group, says director Stella Moran .

Some men said they never talked about it at home, and it was the first time they were able to express their feelings. On the last night they can bring their partners and by then they are more able to talk, she said.

Prostate is one of the most curable cancers, if treated in the early stage.

The test only costs about 15. If you were told you had cancer and where would you prefer it, you would go for the prostate, because its the most curable, Christy said.

For him, life is ploughing ahead.

Nearly all the negatives can be got over. My son is getting married in Japan next year and we are looking forward to that. If I hadnt looked after myself, I wouldnt be here, now I have a full life ahead, he said.

He urges any man facing or finished treatment, to go to the next Prostate Cancer Support Group course at the Cuisle Centre, starting on Tuesday October 25 at 7pm.

The centre also offers pelvic floor exercise classes for before and after prostate cancer treatments, to minimise the side effects.

I just want to say to people, dont be afraid to come into the Cuisle Centre, everybody here is very approachable, Christy said.
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Today AKC all-breed dog show, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Washington County Fairgrounds, Arlington. The show, sponsored by the Platte Valley Kennel Club of Fremont, is open to the public. Admission is free.

HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Halloween party, 1-3 p.m., Hy-Vee Food Store, Fremont. Kids are invited to trick-or-treat at Hy-Vee. There also will be a coloring activity, cookie decorating and mini pumpkin decorating.

Fremont Artisan Market, 3-9 p.m., May Brothers Building, 105 E. Sixth St., Fremont. Vendors from Fremont and the surrounding communities will be showcasing everything from woodworking, arts and crafts, jewelry, pottery, textiles and more. Hot chocolate and apple cider will be served.

Vocal music clinic concert, 4 p.m., Fremont Middle Schools large gym. Students from surrounding schools, plus members of the Black & Gold and Tiger choirs will participate. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Zombie Prom, 6 p.m. to midnight, The Gathering Hall, 750 N. Clarmar Ave., Fremont. Guests are invited to join in A Night To Dismember in their Halloween costume and/or formalwear. There will be a cash bar, food, dancing, photo opportunities, prom king and queen contest and more. Admission is $10 per person or $15 per couple. The party is for ages 18 and over. Proceeds will benefit Uniquely Yours Stability Support.

Deadly Hollows Haunted Cemetery, 6:30-10 p.m., 351 S. Garfield St., Fremont. Entry is one canned food item or one unwrapped toy to be donated to Low Income Ministry.

Jessie Benton Fremont Izaak Walton October Family Dinner, 6:30 p.m., Izaak Walton Main Lodge, 2560 W. Military Ave., Fremont. The menu will include Salisbury steak, rice, vegetable, bread, dessert, coffee or juice. The cost is $8. To reserve your tickets, call 402-620-1732. Twenty free games of bingo with prizes with follow the dinner.

Scary corn maze, 7-10 p.m., Camp Fontanelle. Guests are invited to try and solve the thrills of a nine-acre corn maze while trying to elude the living and the dead (40 mannequins) spooks in the maze. There also is a dark only maze (no spooks or surprises, though still noises) for the younger crowd. A free movie will be shown at 6:45 p.m. by the petting barn. Concessions are available. Admission is $7 for ages 12 and up and $5 for ages 3-11.

Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 7:30 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday

Three Rivers Health Department flu immunization clinic, 7:30-11 a.m., First Lutheran Church, 3200 E. Military Ave., Fremont. If no insurance, Medicare or Medicaid card is presented there will be a charge of $25. Cash or check will be accepted. Children six months of age and older may receive an immunization with parent consent.

AKC all-breed dog show, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Washington County Fairgrounds, Arlington. The show, sponsored by the Platte Valley Kennel Club of Fremont, is open to the public. Admission is free.

Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Search for Treats, 2-4 p.m., Camp Fontanelle. Kids and adults are invited to bring their treat bags and make their way through the corn maze looking for people giving out treats. There is no additional cost for this event, just the entrance fee for the maze.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Deadly Hollows Haunted Cemetery, 6:30-10 p.m., 351 S. Garfield St., Fremont. Entry is one canned food item or one unwrapped toy to be donated to Low Income Ministry.

Narcotics Anonymous Point of Freedom Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Monday

TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

American Red Cross blood drive, 12:30-6:30 p.m., Veterans Country Club, Yutan. To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit www.redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous basic text study, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Adult Game Night, 7-8:30 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys large meeting room, Fremont. This is a chance to meet new people, learn new games and socialize. Coffee and tea will be provided.

Celebrate Recovery, 7-9 p.m., Sanctuary Church, 1640 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Childcare is available.

Fibromyalgia Support Group, 7 p.m., Health Park Plaza Conference Room 5, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
The Omaha Symphony served up a musical feast Friday night. The main course, which occupied the second half of the program, was Hector Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique, a meal in itself. Epic, radical and inspired at the time of its composition, it is no less thrilling today, and the Omaha Symphony gave a remarkable reading of this almost hourlong piece.

The program opened with an energetic romp through Wagners overture to The Flying Dutchman. Evocative and dynamic, it served notice of great things to come.

Next, German pianist Markus Groh making his Omaha Symphony debut offered an impressive performance of Liszts Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major for Piano and Orchestra. The 46-year-old has become celebrated for his interpretations of Liszt since winning the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in 1995. Sporting a shoulder-length ponytail, he both looked and sounded youthful in performance. Groh is that rare artist who balances ample power with the lightest of touches. Commanding without ever being muscular, he offered beauty and evenness of tone, silky smooth arpeggios and flawless trills. The orchestra matched him perfectly in execution and emotional context. At the end of the piece, a fellow to the left of me shot out of his seat exclaiming, Oh, boy!

Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz may seem strange bedfellows but the pieces on Fridays program were highly complementary. The self-described Romantic movement placed significantly less emphasis on classical forms in favor of greater expression of intense feelings in the music. The Symphonie Fantastique is widely acknowledged as the first full musical outpouring of Romanticism, and Berliozs effect on the compositions of Wagner and Liszt was profound.

According to Berliozs own letters and program notes, his symphony traces the tortured dreams of an artist and his love for an ideal yet unattainable woman. This stemmed from Berliozs obsession with Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. Despite his attempts to meet her, she at first spurned him, and he channeled his frustration into the Symphonie Fantastique, his first major work.

In the course of five movements, the artist goes from dreamy reverie to a festive ball, then to a pastoral scene that leads ominously to feelings of abandonment. Convinced that he has been betrayed, he poisons himself with opium and dreams he has killed his love, is led to the scaffold and witnesses his own execution. Finally, he sees his funeral descend into a witches Sabbath, a diabolical orgy.

It would be hard to imagine a more complete performance of the Symphonie Fantastique than the one presented Friday night. Highly nuanced, tightly controlled and crisp, guest conductor Steven White asked everything from orchestra members and they were flawless. He led them out of serene beauty into disturbing dissonance and even to the terrifying point of musical madness without ever losing control. It was insanely good.

*********

Symphonie Fantastique

What: Omaha Symphony concert

Where: Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St.

When: 7:30 tonight

Tickets: $19 to $70
The newest bank branch in the Omaha area opened this week off North Main Street and Kanesville Boulevard in the middle of Council Bluffs.

TS Banks 20,000-square-foot, four-story building at 43 Scott St. houses its seventh branch along with office space for the financial institution and other tenants.

The new branchs lobby hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Also on-site are advanced ATMs with video capability that are remotely staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

The bank, with headquarters in nearby Treynor, Iowa, is in the middle of a growth spurt: The organization in early October announced plans to acquire a one-branch bank in central Illinois that would boost its banking assets by $118 million. Earlier this year, TS Bank picked up $85 million in assets with the acquisition of a one-branch institution in Corning, Iowa.

It also opened a branch in Atlantic, Iowa, about 60 miles east of Omaha, within the last year.

Based on in-market deposits tracked by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., TS Bank is the 11th-largest bank in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan statistical area, with about $276 million in local deposits as of June 30, 2016.
CHICAGO  Precious Witherspoons throat felt increasingly raw and her head began to hurt as the workday wore on.

But Witherspoon, an executive assistant at Chicago-based PowerReviews, didnt want to call in sick the next day and haul herself to a doctors office to hear what she already suspected  that she had strep throat.

Instead, she dialed First Stop Health on her drive home from work and described her symptoms to a doctor, who sent a prescription to her pharmacy. She paid nothing for the consultation.

It saved me a lot of extra time and energy, Witherspoon said. She estimates shes used First Stop Health  offered as a benefit by her employer  at least half a dozen times over the last year.

Employees wish more of their workers would do the same. This fall, employees across the country might notice their employers touting so-called telemedicine  in which health care is delivered remotely via phone, video or other technologies  as they gear up for insurance open enrollment. Telemedicine often is offered in addition to or as part of traditional insurance benefits, and some telemedicine companies bypass employers entirely, offering it directly to consumers.

So far, employees havent warmed to the idea, either because they dont understand it, dont know its available or because theyre skeptical of getting a doctors opinion via telephone. Telemedicine accounted for only about 1 million of 1.2 billion outpatient medical visits last year, according to brokerage and consultancy Willis Towers Watson.

About 70 percent of large employers offered telemedicine as a benefit this year, but only 3 percent of employees at those companies used the services in the years first half, according to a survey of 133 companies, each with at least 5,000 employees, released by the National Business Group on Health.

But companies looking to lower their health care costs and boost worker productivity increasingly are adding it as a benefit. If it catches on broadly with consumers, telemedicine could change the face of health care, altering the relationship between doctors and patients seeking relief from common maladies.

Heres how telemedicine works: A patient requests a consultation either by phone or online. Some companies have agents who take patients medical histories over the phone before they speak to a doctor, and other companies have patients submit their medical histories online. Patients then wait at least a few minutes for a doctor to contact them. The doctor listens to the patient describe symptoms and asks questions. At that point, the doctor can decide whether to offer a prescription or tell the patient to visit a doctor in person.

The service was just what Tracy Bollinger needed last summer, when one of her daughters became sick while working at an out-of-state camp. Bollinger had her call Chicago-based First Stop, the telemedicine provider offered by her husbands employer. The doctor diagnosed a sinus infection, prescribed an antibiotic and her daughter felt better within a day or two, Bollinger said.

She didnt have a doctor out there, Bollinger said. It would have been an emergency room visit for a sinus infection. Its kind of silly to do that.

Many say telemedicine is a win for companies and employees alike. If a worker gets sick with a minor illness when the doctors office is closed, or if the employee doesnt have a primary care doctor, telemedicine is an alternative to an urgent care facility or emergency room. That can mean less time away from work, and can sometimes save workers, insurers and their employers cash.

The typical telemedicine visit costs consumers about $40 to $49, a fee that is sometimes covered by employers, said Dr. Allan Khoury, a senior health management consultant for Willis Towers Watson. In contrast, before insurance, a primary care doctor visit for something that could be addressed by telemedicine can cost about $110, an urgent care visit about $150, and an emergency room visit $865, Khoury said.

Insurers might pay for most of those in-person costs, leaving employees with just a copay. Or employees might be stuck with a big chunk, especially if theyre on high-deductible plans, which have become increasingly common.

PowerReviews 140 employees and their family members used the telemedicine benefit 51 times in the first half of this year, saving nearly $6,000 in overall health care costs, said Kira Meinzer, PowerReviews vice president of human resources.

So given the cost and time savings, why arent more employees dialing in?

I think the first challenge is employees often dont know about it, said Lisa Mazur, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago who advises providers and technology companies on telehealth services. They need to be educated on its existence.

Jason Gorevic, CEO of Texas-based Teladoc, a large telehealth provider, said his company works with employers to educate their workers through welcome kits, seasonal campaigns and posters in offices, among other things.

Teladoc and First Stop are just two of a number of telemedicine providers across the country, which all have their own models and cost structures. Employers using First Stop Health, for example, pay a monthly fee of $5 per employee and employees get free access to consultations. Companies generally pay Teladoc about $1 a month per employee, depending on the companys size, and employees then pay up to $45 per general medical consultation, or less if their companies choose to cover some or all of that cost.

Most employers that offer telemedicine dont require employees to pay the full consultation fees, instead requiring a copay equal to what they would pay for a primary care doctor visit, Khoury said.

A lack of awareness, though, may not be the only obstacle for companies to overcome. Employees may wonder whether a doctor can accurately diagnose them without seeing them in person.

According to a study made public in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Dermatology this year, researchers examining 16 teledermatology services found major diagnoses repeatedly were missed and prescribed treatments were sometimes at odds with existing guidelines.

Dr. Jack Resneck, the reports lead author, said hes enthusiastic about the possibilities of telehealth but interested in making sure that as it expands, it does so in a high-quality way.

Hes concerned that telemedicine services offered to employees and other consumers dont always allow patients to choose their doctors. Also, the telemedicine doctors often dont have access to patients full medical records and arent in communication with their regular physicians.

I think weve got lots of examples out there of seeing it done very well and other examples where theres room for improvement, said Resneck, a professor and vice chair of dermatology at the University of California at San Francisco.
SEATTLE (AP)  A federal judge in Seattle ruled that two companies owned by a Greek shipping magnate must pay $1.5 million after a jury found that a cargo ship deliberately pumped oil-polluted water into the ocean, then repeatedly lied and falsified records in an effort to deceive U.S. Coast Guard inspectors.

Authorities hailed the sentence as a rare success in holding corporate defendants accountable for pollution on the high seas, an offense they describe as notoriously difficult to detect and prove.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said he was troubled by the actions of Gallia Graeca LTD and Angelakos (Hellas) SA, which are part of a family of companies ultimately owned by Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Angelakos, and wanted to send a message that will resonate with other parties in this industry.

The vessel, the Gallia Graeca, arrived at the Pier 86 grain terminal on Seattles waterfront from China in October 2015 to pick up a $20 million shipment of soybeans. When Petty Officer Daniel Hamilton came aboard to conduct an inspection, several things seemed off, he said after the sentencing. Valves were misaligned, oil appeared where it shouldnt have, and a device called the oil-water separator did not appear to have been maintained.

Ultimately, prosecutors discovered that 5,000 gallons of oil-fouled bilge water had been dumped at sea, but that inspectors were presented with an official log book showing no such discharges.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Several people standing in the snaking line commented on the obvious pun: They would have to contain themselves as the doors to Nebraskas first Container Store opened Saturday morning.

More than 100 shoppers stood in front of the new store at Westroads Mall, where they were greeted with a dance from store employees before the official grand opening at 10 a.m.

Elaine Luce, a spokeswoman for the store, said she expected about 3,500 customers in the opening weekend.

The first customer in line, Cindy Mangiameli, 61, of Elkhorn got to the store at 7 a.m. She had never been to a Container Store but enjoys organizing, she said. She left the store empty-handed  she needs to evaluate her home and come back with a list and a game plan.

Its a beautiful store, but Im almost overwhelmed, Mangiameli said.

Niki Kuhlmann, 31, was the second in line and enjoyed the sunny weather as she waited for the opening. She has drooled over the stores products online, she said, but wished shed come armed with a list.

Theres so much here, where do you even begin? she said.

Nicole Takemura, 29, had made a list  shes very into organization, she said  but had forgotten it at home.

Through a Facebook contest, Takemura was chosen as the stores super fan. She was the first shopper ushered into the store Saturday morning, and she donned a crown and a sash and pushed around a golden cart. She also received a gift box and a $250 gift card, which she used for office organization supplies.

I love this place, Takemura said. Im so excited Omaha has a store now.

Chris Rotermund, a store sales associate, had seen the hype about the opening on Facebook and was expecting a crowd.

But this is great, she said. Im really glad to see this many people in the store, committed to getting a little more organized.
LINCOLN  The Catholic Church in Nebraska has stepped up efforts to convince voters to reject the death penalty.

The states three bishops and the Nebraska Catholic Conference have joined the Catholic Mobilizing Network Nebraska to organize public presentations and an online advertising campaign. The group is urging Catholics and non-Catholics to vote to retain the Nebraska Legislatures 2015 repeal of the death penalty.

With modern penal systems, the death penalty is no longer necessary to protect society, the group argues. The church also encourages moving away from vengeance and toward mercy even for those among us who have committed the most heinous of acts, said Alex Kelly, coordinator of the new group.

The groups online ad features the Rev. Craig Loecker, pastor at St. Leo Catholic Church in Omaha.

Death penalty proponents, who obtained the signatures needed for the Nov. 8 referendum, say capital punishment in Nebraska is reserved for a small number of killers who deserve to be executed. They also argue it helps protect prison officers from violence by inmates who would have nothing left to lose if the death penalty were eliminated.

The Catholic group plans to host informational events next week in Omaha, Grand Island and Lincoln. The events will feature talks by Joe DAmbrosio, who wrongfully spent 20 years on Ohios death row, and Marietta Jaeger-Lane of Montana, who co-founded a national forgiveness group after her 7-year-old daughter was slain by a serial killer in 1973.
WASHINGTON  The Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C., will honor Bill and Evonne Williams and the Rev. Ray Wilke next month with the groups annual Distinguished Nebraskan Award.

Past recipients have included politicians, business leaders and entertainers who hail from the state.

The Williamses Patriotic Productions initiative aims to ensure that the sacrifice of military veterans is remembered and appreciated.

Their work includes Remembering Our Fallen touring displays across the country. The couple also has organized numerous honor flights that ferry planeloads of war veterans to Washington so they can visit the memorials to their service.

Also receiving the award next month is Wilke, president of the Orphan Grain Train. The volunteer network shares donations of clothing, medical supplies and food with needy people in America and around the world.

The awards will be presented 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 15 in the National Education Association atrium at 1527 M St. N.W. in Washington.
The author, who is the parochial vicar and director of faith formation and education at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, wrote this for the Dallas Morning News.

May I offer you some monkish wisdom?

Whether you are a believer or not, it may help you weather these ugly latter days of an already long and grotesque presidential election, these final weeks of increased obscenities.

The wisdom, firstly, of that ancient desert Egyptian, Antony the Great, father of all monks: A time is coming, he said, when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, You are mad; you are not like us.  Its a prophecy of irrationality, not unlike Pharaohs hard heart, or the itching ears of which Paul spoke, or the hatred that Jesus said was coming.

Irrationality within the church and without, an altogether human chaos. Another of our monks (more a bishop), Basil the Great, likened the bedlam of his day to a great naval battle waged within a storm. His better counsel was solitude: But perhaps this is a time for silence, he said. What use is it to cry to the wind?

That we have been here before is what I think these monks would first tell us, laughing at us a little for thinking our troubles unique or new. Vanity of vanities, theyd likely quote us, reminding us that there is indeed nothing new under the sun.

But they would, I think, also warn us of the serious dangers of our hatred, our infighting and outfighting.

Theyd warn us that the anger we think righteous or intelligent can, and probably will, come back to belittle us.

Thats what our great old theologian Gregory Nazianzen said once; that the bitter insults Christians trade with each other do little but put the church on a stage, making all believers, all people of faith, laughable. As in Kierkegaards famous parable, weve all become like a clown shouting that the house is on fire, but one whom nobody believes because hes been such a joke for so long.

Theyd likely also counsel dispassionate distance, a measured and healthy disengagement from enablers of anger. Theyd have a word, no doubt, about what we oddly call our media consumption.

One of our modern more brilliant monks, Thomas Merton, writing in the late 1960s at the height of racial and cultural tension, reflected rather presciently upon the influence of various media.

Although a great commentator on contemporary events, Merton said that he always preferred his news a little stale, a little old. The news reaches me, he said, no longer as a stimulant. He likened it to giving up smoking  hard to do but good for you.

Now he didnt think a person should quit reading the news altogether. That would be quite a dangerous thing to do. Rather, he said, When you hear the news without the need to hear it, it treats you differently. And you treat it differently too.

For him it was about renouncing self-hypnosis, about undoing what he called the unquiet universal trance.

Keeping a healthy distance, keeping space for silence and reflection, making time for the heart to settle and the brain to cool; take a breath, weve been here before: Thats the monkish wisdom Id like to share with you.

Again, whether you believe or not, it just makes good sense. Avoid the instant hashtag and the angry incantations of cable news: Thats what they would likely tell us, these monks more primitive but probably more wise.

So in the feverish final days of this election season, at the apogee of fools and foolishness, these humiliating days, remember these monks and their wise counsel. Or at the very least remember that there is a thing called wisdom and that it belongs only to the quiet, to the stilled and sensible.

Remember the good of such quietness and cultivate it within yourself. Because thats where peace will begin, after all the noise of hatred has stopped.

Hopefully.
In a first, two inmates of Institute of Mental Health tie the knot

Jayalalithaa responding well to treatment, says TN governor Rao

Chennai

oi-Vicky

Chennai, Oct 22: Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao on Saturday said that Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa is responding well to treatment. Rao, who made his second visit to the hospital since Jayalalithaa was admitted, said that she is under observation and is responding well to treatment.

It is, however, unclear if he was allowed to meet the Chief Minister. During his last visit, he was not allowed to meet with the CM.

He was briefed by Dr Pratap Reddy, Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals. The governor was informed that the CM was being treated by a team of experts. The governor thanked the team of doctors who were attending to the Jayalalithaa.

Meanwhile, Prof. Richard Beale, consultant intensivist, who was called from UK for Jayalalithaa's treatment, is expected to return to Chennai on Sunday.

The latest medical bulletin issued by the Apollo hospital suggested that the CM was responding well to the treatment and continues to be under observation.

Sources also added that the CM was able to sit up and communicate through gestures. While the respiratory support continues, she will be able to communicate verbally once the tracheostomy tube is removed.

Also read: Activist, aide booked for 'spreading rumours' on Jayalalithaa's health

The report also states that she has made progress and is completely off sedation during the day. The team of specialists treating her calibrated the drug dosage, which led to the success of treating the continuing issue of pulmonary oedema.

THe mitral valve infection was treated effectively and, as a result, fluid accumulation in the lungs has been halted.

Meanwhile, AIADMK says that she has progressed well under the daily monitoring of the doctors and specialists.

AIADMK's spokesperson, C R Saraswathy told reporters in Chennai that she is taking rest as per doctor's advise. "She is completely well and will come home soon. God is by her side," she also said.

OneIndia News
7 Pak rangers killed: What provoked such a response from BSF?

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Oct 22: The killing of seven Pakistani rangers by the Border Security Force (BSF) recently is the heaviest casualty inflicted in the past five years. The trigger was a sniping incident at the International Border in which one Indian armed personnel was injured.

While Pakistan claims that no ranger on their side has been killed, BSF officials say that this is false. "We have intercepts of the Pakistan wireless communication which confirm that seven of their men have been killed. We have inflicted heavy casualty on their side," the officer also informed.

The trigger was a sniping incident along the International Border. Constable Gurnam Singh was standing guard at the Hiranagar sector along the IB. On the intervening night of October 19-20, BSF had prevented an infiltration bid. The sniping incident took place 24 hours later. Singh was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

Two days back, BSF held a flag meeting with the Pakistani Rangers and broached the subject of infiltration, but the same was denied. This is when the BSF decided that a strong reply had to be given.

As BSF launched the offensive, Pakistani rangers attempted to reach out on the hotline. However, BSF did not respond to it. BSF managed to kill seven rangers and a militant.

The sniping incident was unprovoked, says an officer. "Since the two forces held a meeting in August last years such incidents have not been reported. Even after the September 29 surgical strikes, there was no provocation along the International Border. This incident, however, needed a strong reply and hence we decided to inflict heavy casualty on them," the officer also said.

OneIndia News
Caught on camera: 17-year-old teenager stabbed to death for protesting sister's harassment in Delhi

Mamata's party has replaced 'Rule of Law' by 'Rule by TMC law': Rijiju

DU's second list of seat allocation for UG courses out

When is Dev Diwali 2022? November 7th or November 8th? Know timings, significance and more

AAP moves towards regularising contractual employees

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Oct 22: Taking its first major step to regularise jobs of thousands of contractual employees, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi on Saturday asked all departments to submit a proposal before November 15 for giving permanent jobs to such employees.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said after a cabinet meeting here: "Today the cabinet decided that every department of the Delhi government will submit a proposal to regularise contractual employees working with them by November 15. The Chief Secretary will monitor the progress."

"Last year, the cabinet had decided all contractual employees against existing posts will be regularised. A scheme for guest teachers was also prepared," Kejriwal said after the meeting.

There are around 50,000 contractual employees working with different departments of Delhi, apart from over 16,000 guest teachers in government schools.

The contractual employees, including nurses and sanitation staff, have been demanding that the AAP government live up to its assurance to give relief by regularising their jobs.

IANS


UP: 5, including a child, killed and 5 seriously hurt as car hits electric pole

Azam Khan disqualified as UP MLA after conviction in hate speech

FIR against nine people over forced religious conversions in UP

BJP leader booked for threatening doc at gun point in UP

Pastor Vijay Masih arrested in UP for illegally converting Hindus to Christianity

'Uttar Pradesh CM not forming new party'

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Agra, Oct 22: Aditya Yadav, son of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav said that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is not forming a new party.

Aditya also said "there are no differences in the Samajwadi Party now".

Talking to reporters at an event here, he said: "Akhilesh has always fought elections on his own and won. He will win this time also."

Akhilesh skipped a meeting of district Samajwadi Party chiefs convened in the state capital on Friday and Saturday and chose to meet them at the chief minister's residence separately.

Read More: SP rift: Now Akhilesh supporter MLC expelled from party for 6 years

Political temperatures soared in Lucknow on Saturday with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav calling in a meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators on Sunday.

The meeting has been called at the chief minister's official 5, Kalidas Marg residence, a day before SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav meets the party legislators at the state headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg.

IANS
People already getting 5Gs of 'garibi', 'ghotala', 'ghapla', 'ghalmel', 'gorakhdhanda under BJP: Akhilesh

SP rift: Now Akhilesh supporter MLC expelled from party for 6 years

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, Oct 22: Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Member (MLC) Udayveer Singh was on Saturday expelled from the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) for six years.

Udayveer had courted controversy by writing a letter to SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav, asking him to step down from the party post in favour of his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Party sources said the leadership did not take kindly to the "caustic letter" by the young leader, considered close to Akhilesh and whose association with the latter dates back to the Dholpur school days.

Udayveer Singh was elected to the Vidhan Parishad from the SP-stronghold of Etah-Mainpuri.

In his letter, Udayveer not only claimed Mulayam's younger brother and senior minister Shivpal Singh Yadav was very jealous of his nephew (Akhilesh), but also that Mulayam's second wife Sadhna Yadav was involved in 'jadu-tona' (occult practises) against her stepson.

Conflict of the generations: Why UP first family's bruising feud is politically suicidal

The expulsion comes at a time when the Akhilesh camp is already demanding revocation of expulsion of other young MLCs and party leaders shown the door last month.

On Saturday, senior party leaders, including some whose association with the party dates back from the times when it was founded, met Mulayam Singh Yadav and tried to persuade him to call a truce.

A Samajwadi Party insider told IANS that Rajya Sabha veteran Reoti Raman Singh and Beni Prasad Verma were trying to sort out the infighting and act as a bridge between Shivpal and Akhilesh.

"A lot of damage has already been done; party elders are now trying to ensure it does not become an irreversible situation," a senior minister said, hinting the peace mission was underway.

IANS
Why there is disruption in Cauvery water supply in Bengaluru today?

Cauvery issue: MK Stalin convenes all-party meet on Oct 25

India

oi-PTI

Chennai, Oct 22: DMK Treasurer and Opposition leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly M K Stalin has convened an all-party meeting here on October 25 to discuss the Cauvery issue.

The Dravidian party's allies, Congress and IUML, confirmed their participation for the Tuesday meeting, even as BJP had already ruled out its presence if DMK held such a meeting.

Stalin said that the October 25 meeting was being held following pleas from various quarters, including Cauvery delta farmers and public to "exert serial pressure" on the Cauvery issue.

"The meeting has been convened (under him) as Opposition Leader at (DMK headquarters) Anna Arivalayam on October 25 at 10.30 am," Stalin said his letter to different parties.

He said that in the Supreme Court, the issue of constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB) has taken a "back seat" with the focus now shifting to maintainability of appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT).

Further, the prospects of current Samba crop in the Cauvery delta districts was also under question due to the low storage levels at Mettur dam, he said.

TN leaders meet President over Cauvery issue

Even if Karnataka fully complied with the latest Supreme Court order, asking it to release 2,000 cusecs of water, the prospects of Samba did not look bright, Stalin said.

Stalin had earlier this month said that the DMK, which had been repeatedly urging the Tamil Nadu government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the Cauvery issue, had said his party will conduct such a meeting if the ruling AIADMK failed to do so. Meanwhile, DMK's allies, Congress and IUML, expressed their support for the meeting.

TNCC President Su Thirunavukkarasar said that he would participate in the meeting. BJP's state unit, which has been critical of both Congress and DMK on the Cauvery issue, had already ruled out its participation if the latter convened an all-party meeting.

State unit President Tamilisai Sounderrajan had earlier said her party would participate only in a government convened all-party meeting as it was not DMK's responsibility to do so.

The Cauvery issue has once again come to haunt inter-state relations between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with the former approaching the Supreme Court seeking its directive to the upper riparian state on water release.

After allowing different quantum of water release, the Apex Court had on October 18 asked Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu till further orders. The BJP government at the Centre has also been facing flak in Tamil Nadu for seeking a modification of the Supreme Court directive to it on constituting the CMB.

PTI
Late actor Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred with 'Karnataka Ratna' award today; Rajinikanth, Jr. NTR to attend

In Pics: Past one week through the eyes of a cartoonist

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Oct 22: Several protests were carried out in the past week over the proposal of the construction of a steel flyover in Bengaluru. Several activists, citizens and noted celebs joined the protest against the proposed flyover that will see almost 800 trees being axed.

However, the government of Karnataka said that it was firm on the construction of the flyover that will allegedly address traffic issues.

In other news, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continued to be in the midst of a controversy surrounding the leaked tapes where he is heard talking about women.

Here are the news headlines from the past week seen through the eyes of a cartoonist:

Donald Trump in soup over leaked audio tapes Donald Trump found himself in a controversy surrounding a leaked audio tape where he is heard making lewd comments about women. Karnataka govt faces flak over proposed steel flyover The Karnataka government came under heavy criticism for announcing a steel flyover aimed at cutting down traffic while travelling to the airport. Who needs security- Arnab or the panelists on his show? Arnab Goswami was given 'Y' category security after threats from Pakistani terror groups. Clamour for the construction of Ram Mandir grows With UP gearing up for elections, debate over the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has come up again. With Amma recovering, will situation return to normal in TN? With Jayalalithaa in hospital, there is a sense of panic among many not over her health, but with the number of arrests reported by the TN Police.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, October 22, 2016, 14:37 [IST]
Gujarat: PM Modi cancels road show, page committee sammelan in wake of bridge collapse

When a tragedy strikes, India unites: PM Modi on Gujarat bridge collapse

PM Modi to visit Gujarat's Morbi on Tuesday

PM Narendra Modi chokes up as he talks about Morbi tragedy | Video

News flash: Fire breaks out at a dying factory in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Oct 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate international terminal at Harni airport in Vadodara(Gujarat) today.

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

9:45 pm: Fire breaks out at a dying factory in Bhiwandi in Maharashtra.

9:15 pm: Goa polls: Haven't decided on the seat sharing, it will be discussed later: Uddhav Thackeray

9:00 pm: Huge cache of arms&ammunition, including 50kg explosives, 3rifles & 350 cartridges, recovered from Naxal hideout in Latehar distt of Jharkhand.

8:30 pm: Avian fluenza: 17 ducks found dead at Central Park in Hauz Khas in Delhi.

8:15 pm: A person en route to Hong Kong arrested at IGI Airport for illegally carrying foreign currency worth over Rs2 crore.

7:50 pm: Yagya for purification of environment performed by Indian priests in Japan.

7:30 pm: We spoke to the family, we will try and shift him to AIIMS Delhi for better treatment for Gurnam Singh: Arun Kumar (Additional DG BSF)

7:10 pm: Many people were killed on this day & tortured at hands of Pak: exiled PoK leader

6:45 pm: They tried to steal our home from us on this day: Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, exiled PoK leader on 'Black Day' observed in PoK against Pak Army

6:20 pm: Jammu: Arun Kumar (Additional DG BSF) meets injured BSF Constable Gurnam Singh at the hospital

5:55 pm: India is among the fastest growing economies of the world: PM

5:50 pm: Our work is not only about making schemes & initiatives. It is about ensuring they reach the intended beneficiaries: PM.

5:45 pm: In every infrastructure we create, we have to be conscious about the requirements of our Divyang sisters and brothers: Modi.

5:40 pm: Distributing equipment is a very small part of the programme.The larger aspect is our duty to care for our Divyang sisters & brothers: PM.

5:36 pm: PM Modi speaking at an event in Vadodara, Gujarat.

5:31 pm: Time has come to decide bottom lines (red lines) in J&K: Jitendra Singh on J&K situation.

5:20 pm: Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi distributes assisting devices to specially abled people in Vadodara, will address the people shortly.

5:02 pm: I said what was on my mind. BJP conspiring against me by misinforming Mulayam Singh Yadav, will rest my case before Neta Ji: Udayveer Singh.

4:52 pm: Four Samajwadi Party leaders who met Mulayam earlier in the day went to meet CM Akhilesh Yadav.

4:43 pm: Patiala House Court frames charges against Delhi CM ArvindKejriwal in a criminal defamation case filed by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

4:30 pm: Centre forms three-member committee to keep close watch on the birdflu situation.

4:17 pm: Today, CM and HM Rajnath Singh have strengthened India's law by intervening in the matter: Pahlaj Nihalani, CBFC chief on ADHM.

4:05 pm: They are part of the group which carried out attack on 16th August in which 2 army men and one policeman were killed: Uttam Chand, DIG North Kashmir.

4:00 pm: We have carried out an operation in which we have arrested 2 JeM terrorists: Uttam Chand (DIG North Kashmir).

3:41 pm: Country's first Railway university to be set up in Vadodara: Modi.

3:38 pm: Connectivity is becoming very important in this century. Air connectivity is vital from the point of view of tourism sector growth. Better air connectivity means more tourists and this means better economic growth: PM

3:35 pm: A new aviation policy has been released under this Government. It looks at growth of the aviation sector: Modi

3:25 pm: Glad that 2 airports in India have joined the green movement. One in Kochi and the other here in Vadodara: PM.

3:20 pm: One of the first decisions we took on assuming office related to the height of the Narmada Dam. A long pending demand was fulfilled: PM Modi.

3:15 pm: PM Narendra Modi is speaking at the inauguration of 'Integrated Terminal Building' of Vadodara Airport.

PM Narendra Modi reaches Vadodara, Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/WNyieAKAUy  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

3:05 pm: Iraqi forces have killed 48 IS attackers in city of Kirkuk: police chief (AFP).

2:56 pm: SP MLC Udayaveer Singh expelled from the party hours after Mulayam Singh expressed his displeasure over writing letter against him.

2.35 pm: Anantnag (J&K): locals protest against shutdown by separatists in the Valley.

Anantnag (J&K): locals protest against shutdown by separatists in the valley pic.twitter.com/b0ceXQdwjh  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

2:18 pm: Global slowdown hurts us in matters like international trade, says Finance Minister.

2:00 pm: Public Investment pace has picked up, waiting for private sector investment to pick up: Arun Jaitley.

1:49 pm: CM Jayalalithaa 'is responding well to treatment, is under observation,' says Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.

1:40 pm: Once GST is implemented, their will be free flow of goods and services: Arun Jaitley said at Investment Summit in MP.

1:34 pm: Madhya Pradesh will become a supply hub after #GST implementation: Jaitley at Globa lInvestors Summit.

1:30 pm: CBI arrests President of Central Council of Homoeopathy Dr Ramji Singh in alleged bribery case of Rs 20 lakh.

1:15 pm: US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrives in Iraq to assess progress of operation to retake Mosul from ISIS militants: AP.

1:10 pm: MP's growth has been in double digits for years. GIS - for me it is Growth of Investment with Sustainability: MP CM.

12:55 pm: SP family feud: Shivpal Yadav holds meeting of his newly constituted state executive at party office; Akhilesh Yadav meets suspended leaders.

12:45 pm: IS raid in Iraq's Kirkuk kills 46, mostly security forces: Officers.

12:31 pm: I've never met Edmonds Allen who has written this letter containing these allegations, nor do I know him. Will take legal recourse against those who have deliberately sought to tarnish my reputation and public standing: Varun Gandhi.

12:20 pm: Earthquake of magnitude 3.9 hits Nagaon region in Assam.

12:05 pm: BJP MP Varun Gandhi issues a statement after he was accused of being honey-trapped into leaking defence secrets.

11:52 pm: Producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films: Raj Thackeray

11:45 pm: Every producer who has cast Pak artists will give Rs5 crore to Army relief fund:Raj Thackeray after his meeting with CM Fadnavis & producers

11:41 pm: No death reported y'day in zoo. Will give reports to CM today & hold meeting with docs & experts: Development Min Gopal Rai on Bird flu scare.

11:20 pm: GlobalInvestorsSummit begins in Indore today, over 200 industrialists to participate.

Indore: FM Arun Jaitley, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad present at Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit pic.twitter.com/x7bjfUxejX  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

11:00 pm: He is critical.Why can't Govt take him abroad for treatment? Ministers go why not take a soldier?: Sister of Gurnam(injured in Pak firing).

10.44 am: We will not oppose ADHM's release: MNS after meeting of Raj Thackeray with CM Devendra Fadnavis and producers.

9.58 am: I assured Mr.Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future: Mukesh Bhatt.

9.50 am: Two Jaish e Mohammad terrorists arrested in Baramulla, ammunition including one AK-47 and one pistol seized.

9.45 am: Mumbai: Producer Mukesh Bhatt also arrives at CM Devendra Fadnavis's residence.

Mumbai: Producer Mukesh Bhatt also arrives at CM Devendra Fadnavis's residence #ADHM pic.twitter.com/ZTEXOXRvn1  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

9.20 am: BJP worker attacked in Idiyanchira near Thrissur, Kerala; admitted to hospital.

8.55 am: MNS chief Raj Thackeray to meet Chief Minister of Maharashtra Fadnavis today to discuss controversy surrounding Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

8.33 am: Kerala medical college has issued a dress code prohibiting girls from wearing jeans, 'noisy ornaments'.

8.09 am: Narendra Modi to inaugurate international terminal at Harni airport in Vadodara (Gujarat).

8.00 am: Pakistani spy Bodh Raj arrested in Samba sector(J&K), 2 Pak SIM cards and map showing deployment of forces seized.

OneIndia News
MNS, producers were on same lines: Fadnavis on 'ADHM' issue

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Oct 22: Justifying his intervention in defusing the stand-off over "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the issue could be resolved because the producers guild and MNS were on the same lines, expressing solidarity with the Indian Army.

"I do not think that what (MNS chief) Raj Thackeray was demanding and what the producers guild voluntarily offered was something different. The producers guild had already said that they had wholehearted support for the our army men and wanted to do something for them," Fadnavis said at 'Manthan', a programme organised by TV channel 'Aaj Tak'.

Fadnavis had come under attack from Congress and NCP for 'brokering' a truce between the producers and MNS, with the opposition parties saying the state government's role is to ensure rule of law and it was for the Centre to decide whether Paktisatni artists should be banned or not.

Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers have announced that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" as MNS withdrew its threat to stall the screening.

Karan Johar in 'muskil': Will not engage with Pak talent,appeals against stalling ADHM

Johar, accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt, met the Maharashtra Chief Minister at his home 'Varsha' here this morning where Thackeray, whose party MNS has been opposing the release, was also present.

Asked why he gave so much importance to call and meet an outfit which forced producers to pay "hafta", Fadnavis said, "These two stakeholders needed a mediation and that's what I did and came out with an amicable solution."

Fadnavis said it was alright if a solution was found through a dialogue otherwise state machinery would have dealt it with iron hand against those who took law in their hands, like in previous cases, it has done.

"There is something called law and order, through which we have dealt it with accordingly," he said. Earlier in the day, former Mumbai Police commissioner and BJP MP Satyapal Singh said the Chief Minister should not have called a political party to find the solution to such a problem.

"I think the CM could have dealt with this without inviting him (Raj Thackeray). He (Fadnavis) should have dealt this situation firmly," said Singh. In a bid to downplay Singh's remark, Fadnavis said, "Satyapal ji has been police commissioner of Mumbai and as a police officer, this was his way to sort out the issues. While being a neta, it was my way to find an amicable solution."

PTI
Delhi-NCR likely to choke in the coming days

Punjab's retired staff settled abroad to get DA in pension

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Chandigarh, Oct 22: The Punjab government has allowed release of dearness allowance (DA) in the pension of its retired employees who have settled abroad and have acquired foreign citizenship.

Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has given his approval to the foreign settled retired employees to get DA with their pensions, a state government spokesman said on Saturday.

"The Punjab government has decided to take back a letter stopping DA of pensioners of state government who acquired foreign citizenship," the spokesperson said.

A large number of retired government employees from Punjab have over the last few decades migrated to other countries, especially the UK, the US and Canada.

Punjab has a big Non-Resident Indians (NRI) population with strong links to their roots in the state.

IANS
'Will not campaign for BJP in 2019, says Ramdev'; Cautions govt against fuel price rise

Yoga guru Ramdev should be booked under sedition charges: IMA in letter to PM

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev says was denied US visa because of bachelor status, no bank account

India

oi-PTI

Indore, Oct 22: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who heads the Rs 4,500-crore Patanjali Group, was once denied a visa to the United States citing his bachelor status and not having a bank account.

But later it invited him and gave him a 10-year visa when he was to address the United Nations, which is headquartered in New York, the Yoga guru revealed today.

Speaking at the Global Investor Summit here, Ramdev recounted how he was first denied a visa and later offered a visa.

"When for the first time I applied for a US visa, I was denied. I asked for reasons, they said Babaji you don't have a bank account, which I still don't have, and you are unmarried.

"There could be some issues there, they said, but I insisted there is no possibility of any of that. Yet they denied me a visa," Ramdev said.

It's in his 'jeans'! Baba Ramdev's Patanjali will now milk the cow for billions

He, however, did not indicate the year in which he had applied for the visa. "But when they had to call me for the UN programme, they on their own gave me a 10-year visa," he said.

"This is a separate matter". Ramdev, who shared the dais with several industrialists, including Anil Ambani and Gopichand Hinduja as well as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said spiritual leaders are anyways global citizens.

"I was asked by Finance Minister in what capacity was I here as. I am here as a global citizen," he remarked.

His Patanjali group is reported to be considering investing Rs 500-crore in setting up a food processing unit at Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. Patanjali Ayurveda is considered among the fastest- growing consumer products brand with products ranging from kitchen staples, nutrition, cosmetics to personal care products.

PTI
Mehbooba Mufti gets notice to vacate official bungalow 'meant for J&K CMs'

Accession Day: Valley lights up on this day when J&K became part of India

Spy nabbed in J&K passed vital information to Pakistan

Srinagar

oi-Vicky

Srinagar, Oct 22: The Pakistani spy arrested in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir had on him maps which had specific details of the deployment of forces. Bodh Raj, who was nabbed near the Jerda village, was apprehended by security agencies on Saturday.

Following information given by the military intelligence, the Jammu and Kashmir police conducted a special operation which commenced on October 20. The operation was conducted in the border area of Ramgarh.

The military intelligence had kept a track of this spy and found that he was collecting vital information relating to the Indian army and was passing it on to his handlers in Pakistan.

"He had passed on information about the deployment of security forces," an officer with the military intelligence informed.

Also read: Pak Army says no loss of life in firing at border

The Jammu and Kashmir police kept a close watch on his movements. He was found moving around suspiciously. As they tried to apprehend him, he made an escape bid.

He was nabbed and the police found two Pakistani SIM cards, a map showing the deployment of forces, two mobile phones and a memory chip on him.

OneIndia News
J&K: Won't let you succeed, security forces tell separatists and militants

Srinagar

oi-Vicky

Srinagar, Oct 22: Security forces are undertaking a mammoth clean up act in Jammu and Kashmir. Scores of arrests have been carried out and many have been booked under the Public Safety Act.

"Militants and separatists preparing for a long haul in winter need to be stopped at any cost," says an officer associated with the operation.

Apart from carrying out counter-insurgency operations, the police and the army are carrying out search operations which has resulted in the arrest of nearly 5,000 people. Out of this, the police have placed at least 450 of them under the Public Safety Act.

The separatists of the Valley have become relatively quiet today and that is due to this massive crackdown.

The security forces who have carried out the search operations have not returned empty handed. In the 700-odd houses that have been searched, the police have found incriminating material which suggest that the separatists were planning a longer haul in the Valley.

Also read: Chinese flags in the Valley: Why this agenda is a non-starter?

An officer part of the operation says that the problem is two fold. "On one hand, we are dealing with the infiltrators and on the other, the locals who want to keep the Valley on the boil. By the time winter sets in we want the clean up to happen. Life will resume to normal," the officer says.

The clean up act has not gone down too well with the militants. The Lashkar-e-Taiba has issued threats and the Hizbul Mujahideen released videos."These are desperate measures and they are trying to provoke people to keep the Valley on the boil," intelligence bureau officials say.

Had this crack down not taken place, then the situation would have only worsened. The government has decided that it does not want to talk to separatists. It is clear that none of them want the situation to come under control.

During the search operations that were conducted, security forces found petrol bombs, Chinese and Pakistani flags, LeT and JeM letterhead pads, unauthorised mobile phones and seditious anti-national publicity material.

Also read: Kashmir issue can be solved politically, not militarily: Separatists

Regarding the crackdown, the police say many are preventive arrests. However, there are a good number of people who have been placed under the Public Safety Act. "This is extremely important at this juncture since there is a desperate need for calm to return to the Valley," the officer also add.

Security agencies have also compiled a list of stone pelters and trouble makers. Orders from the top is to spare no one and to put them behind bars. "Thanks to these protests, the clashes have come down. However, search operations lasting upto 12-hours a day will continue until complete normalcy is restored," police officials also say.

The entire operation seems to be based on the Doval doctrine. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had said, "Don't overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain."

The NSA believes that the biggest problem is that of appeasement. He says that the protests are not due to an uprising by civil society. He had indicated that this was manufactured by those sponsored by Pakistan, thus broadly indicating that talks with such persons would never help.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, October 22, 2016, 9:21 [IST]
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Welcome to the latest issue of Private Equity Strategies. This month we are taking a closer look at the recent uptick in investor interest in Latin America. Our lead feature includes an interview with Cuba Avanza Partners, a new firm focused on investments in Cuba. Later on, we highlight the latest LP survey from the Latin American Venture Capital Association which shows a strong interest from LPs inside and outside the region.

In addition to our normal Regs Watch column, we have a piece looking at the potential for new enforcement actions from the SEC.

Private equity real estate funds are booming in 2016 and we caught up with New York-based Dome Equities to learn more about where they are seeing opportunities in the market - the answer might surprise you if youve been paying attention to the latest economic data.

Attorneys from Proskauer walk us through the complex web of fund restructuring,offering ideas for how to manage common conflicts that arise during that process.

Finally, we alert you to the launch of Bayshore Capitals second private debt fund, which relies on a unique multi-manager approach.

I hope you enjoy the issue. If you have any story ideas reach out to mccann {at} opalesque.com
This hack of some of the world's biggest websites, through interference with DNS functions, might be considered to be comparable to detonation of a digital nuclear bomb. It reveals vulnerabilities and actors willing to exploit those vulnerabilities. This is ramping up of cyber-war to a new level of aggression that could prove profoundly more disruptive than shutting down of too-big-to-fail banks.

Yesterday, Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times websites were taken down by a DDOS (dedicated denial of service attack)-- a massive use of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of hacked, infected devices coordinated into a bot net, to tie of bandwidth so regular users couldn't access the sites.

In the past, most DDOS's were launched using hacked, virally infected computers. This time, the NYTimes reports, in a must-read article, the hacked devices were

"...internet-connected devices like cameras, baby monitors and home routers that have been infected -- without their owners' knowledge -- with software that allows hackers to command them to flood a target with overwhelming traffic."

These kinds of devices are what comprise a massive, relatively new component of the internet-- "The Internet of Things," known as the IOT. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be over 20 billion devices attached to the internet of things.

This is startling news, that these connected devices can be hacked without users knowing. It is a clarion call for investigation and development of new, far tougher security programming and technology which prevents online devices from being hacked, possibly even before being sold, and then included in DDOS bot nets.

To make matters worse, the DDOS targeted DYN, a one of the companies that supports the domain name system, or DNS, which enables people to connect to websites. Hacking such a server service can take down or disable access to the biggest sites. The fact that hackers are targeting DNS serving websites is very, very dangerous. The NYTimes article points out,

"It is too early to determine who was behind Friday's attacks, but it is this type of attack that has election officials concerned. They are worried that an attack could keep citizens from submitting votes.

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia allow internet voting for overseas military and civilians. Alaska allows any Alaskan citizen to do so. Barbara Simons, the co-author of the book "Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?" and a member of the board of advisers to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal body that oversees voting technology standards, said she had been losing sleep over just this prospect.

"A DDoS attack could certainly impact these votes and make a big difference in swing states," Dr. Simons said on Friday. "This is a strong argument for why we should not allow voters to send their voted ballots over the internet.""

Some are intimating that Wikileaks supporters were behind the hacks. Cybersecurity blogger Bruce Schneier wrote, last month, on lawfareblog,

"Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don't know who is doing this, but it feels like a large a large nation state. China and Russia would be my first guesses."

But Schneier posted on his blog,

"If I had to guess, though, I don't think it's China. I think it's more likely related to the DDoS attacks against Brian Krebs than the probing attacks against the Internet infrastructure, despite how prescient that essay seems right now. And, no, I don't think China is going to launch a preemptive attack on the Internet.

Brian Krebs characterizes DDOS attacks as powerful forms of censorship, saying,

"...one of the fastest-growing censorship threats on the Internet today comes not from nation-states, but from super-empowered individuals who have been quietly building extremely potent cyber weapons with transnational reach."

Krebs cites a widely known John Gilmore quote, " "the Internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." and then argues,

""Censorship can in fact route around the Internet." The Internet can't route around censorship when the censorship is all-pervasive and armed with, for all practical purposes, near-infinite reach and capacity. I call this rather unwelcome and hostile development the "The Democratization of Censorship."

This should be top headline news. It should be considered a threat to democracy and to commerce.
The most critical questions in this election were pointedly never asked. Do the candidates see nuclear war as "winnable", as neocon think tanks now postulate (and the Rand Corporation has claimed) - and are they willing to use nuclear weapons, regardless of the consequences for humanity? Do they understand the consequences of demonizing Russia and its leader without producing any real evidence to support those charges, of replacing diplomatic relations with expanded economic sanctions and threats of attacks on Russia ? Do they seek a war with Russia in spite of the risk of global devastation ? If so, why?

The world knows Mrs. Clinton to be a war hawk with an atrocious record for failed regime change operations, for destroying societies and leaving the hapless citizens to fester in post-bombing chaos and filth. The devastation of Libya and the civil war in Ukraine, the coup in Honduras were all Hillary operations. (She was also instrumental in continuing the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia). The horrific consequences of these failures have given pause to Obama as the Washington foreign policy elite clamor for more wars across the planet (examined in depth in Pepe Escobar's book, Empire of Chaos). Mrs. Clinton now harps on - promises - a no-fly zone in Syria, which everybody understands means war with Russia and its ally China, both nuclear-armed powers. She appears to be willing to risk nuclear confrontation in order to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Syria and balkanize the nation for the benefit of both Israel and the Saudis. Syria is already shattered, with hundreds of thousands dead and displaced, a catastrophe almost entirely attributable to US intervention and support of terrorist factions. The release of DOS emails has given us all a sickening wake-up call. Not only is the public being duped and manipulated with lies and propaganda, but the amoral lust for unchallenged power and endless war seeps from every communication. How could any woman support another female who had such a dearth of empathy and human dignity that she could cackle with glee as she murdered and exiled millions of innocent civilians; as she overthrew a democratically elected leader in Honduras for the "crime" of raising the minimum wage; Who could vote to give this woman the power to initiate a global war ? Not me.

Throughout the Cold War 1950s and 1960s diplomats walked on eggs in negotiations with Russia, with contingency communication methods in place to avoid a Fail Safe mistake - and thank goodness. They understood what was at stake - the annihilation of the planet earth and all life on it. Since the fall of the Soviet Union the requisite fear of nuclear Armageddon seems to have been lost, while the collapse of dialogue between the White House and the Kremlin raises the risk of a lethal mistake.

In a Spectator essay Rod Liddle wrote , I was sentient only during the latter stages of the Cold War but from what I can remember, the two sides, them and us, behaved for the most part with a degree of rationality and common sense.... Today, when some deranged Tory MP clambers to his feet and demands we start shooting down Russian jets, it is evident to everyone that he is not joking, merely idiotic and dangerous. But it is a gung-ho idiocy which is catching. Every day sees a ratcheting up of the rhetoric against Russia.

Donald Trump has questioned the point of NATO in a post-Soviet world, the need for 800 US military bases abroad, the gross failures of US intervention in the Mideast and the Ukraine - and Russia expert Stephen Cohen agrees with his doubts. Instead of giving his arguments the serious consideration they merit, US MSM mocks him as a Putin lover. Admittedly Trump's understanding of foreign policy is muddled and founded in his personal biases. He thinks war is bad for business - but at least he thinks war is bad.

Russia: the "too big to fail" nation

In 2016 even Zbig Brzezinski understands a concept obvious to every other nation - the multi-polar world. i.e., that the US can no longer 'own' the planet earth, bomb countries at will or win a war against Russia. Even Mr. Brzezinski advises forging ties with Russia and China, implicitly admitting that his "grand chessboard" scheme was fatally flawed. Russia experts, notably Stephan Cohen, agree that taunting Russia with NATO (read US) missile bases pressed against Russia's borders is foolish in the extreme. Some have written that, compared to Mrs. Clinton, Obama is a 'peace-nik for his rejection of war against Russia. As for attacking Russian soil, have the Neocons learned nothing from Hitler and Napoleon? Have they never played the board game "Risk"? Do they not get that Russia, who lost 23 million soldiers and civilians fighting the Nazi invasion, is the original "too big to fail" nation, that it cannot and will not be conquered ? Hubris. Arrogance. What other words are there to describe US saber rattling and anti-Russian propaganda.

Robert Parry at Consortium News compiled a list of Cold War Warnings from former diplomats and Defense Secretaries :

George Kennan, the dean of U.S. diplomats during the Cold War, predicted in 1997 that NATO's reckless expansion could only lead to "a new Cold War, probably ending in a hot one, and the end of the effort to achieve a workable democracy in Russia."

Last year, former Secretary of Defense William Perry warned that we "are on the brink of a new nuclear arms race," with all the vast expense -- and dangers of a global holocaust -- of its Cold War predecessor.

And just this month, President Obama's own former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned that NATO's plans to deploy four battalions to the Baltic States could result "very quickly in another Cold War buildup here, that really makes no sense for either side." If "we continue to build up the eastern flank of NATO, with more battalions, more exercises, and more ships and more platforms," he told an audience at the Atlantic Council, "the Russians will respond. I'm not sure where that takes you....Nobody knows where it takes us, and that's the problem. It could take us all too easily from small provocations to a series of escalations by each side to show they mean business. And given the trip-wire effect of nuclear weapons stored on NATO's soil, the danger of escalation to nuclear war is entirely real.

As foreign policy expert Jeffrey Taylor commented recently, "The Obama administration is setting the stage for endless confrontation, and possibly even war, with Russia, and with no public debate."

And this published this morning by Diana Johnstone, author of Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton: It has become crystal clear. For the record, here it is. She has big ambitions, which she does not spell out for fear of frightening part of the electorate, but which are perfectly understood by her closest aides and biggest donors. She wants to achieve regime change in Russia... This ambition is backed by possession of nuclear weapons. I am by no means saying that this plan will succeed. But it is very clearly the plan. The electoral circus is a distraction from such crucially serious matters.

And this from Pepe Escobar's article, Hillary Queen of War : Tehran has myriad reasons to be on red alert if the Full Spectrum Dominatrix gets her hands on the nuclear codes (how's that not scarier than Trump?) She will act as a surefire faithful servant of the Saudi/Israeli alliance. The road map is ready. And neocons and neoliberalcons alike can hardly contain their excitement at seeing in action "a force that can flex across several different mission sets and prevail."

And this from Philip Giraldi, former CIA officer and executive director of the Council for the National Interest: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is calling Putin a new Hitler while the New York Times editorializes against "Vladimir Putin's Outlaw State." And the real danger is that the Russian people are watching this display with concern and might soon believe themselves to be backed into a corner by an implacable enemy.... The insistence on the part of the many in the West that Putin must be resisted by using force majeure if necessary is based on gross exaggeration of the actual threat coming from Moscow. That nuclear weapons are now apparently employable in the plans for deterrence on the part of NATO, as well as in the Russian plans for self-defense, should be a terrifying prospect for anyone who cares about what might come next.

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Civil war redux?

This current United States presidential election cycle is completely out of the ordinary. Even though the division and contentions between Hillary Clinton's supporters and Donald Trump's supporters are not policy oriented, like they should be, they are nonetheless extremely vivid in the realm of rage and raw emotions. It appears that most Americans will be motivated to cast their ballots with hatred in their guts. In other words many will vote for Trump because they hate Hillary with a passion, and vice versa. The divide in the US collective psyche seems so great, that many could reject the outcome of the result, especially if Hillary Clinton wins. When a candidate calls the supporters of the other "the deplorables," this is hardly acting like someone who wants to unite all Americans.



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The right-wing forces backing Trump largely because of his running mate Pence and their aversion to Hillary Clinton, are the evangelical Christians. They are the ones Clinton calls deplorable. They represent a strong voting block of about 10 percent overall nationwide, and much more in rural areas. When you look at a map of the electoral divide in the US, it is rather fascinating both sociologically and historically. It is as if the mid-19th century Civil War was never lost or won. The old Confederate south will go to Donald Trump, and this is precisely where a new form of resistance to a corrupt political class might begin. Most people like Trump because he is considered to be an anti-establishment candidate. Trump is a right-wing populist reacting against the ultra-globalist Clinton. Many will vote for Trump as a form of protest against a political class they despise. One could say, especially considering that this election cycle has become such an exercise in sleaze, depravity and joyful roll in the gutter, that a vote for Trump is a f**k you vote echoing the recent BREXIT vote in the United Kingdom.



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Clinton: the ultimate globalist neocon tool

A long time ago, Hillary Clinton was considered to be a so-called liberal. That is, until her immense appetite for money and ambition turned her into a neoliberal instrument of Wall Street. In Orwellian times, notions that appear to be opposite morph into one another. Therefore, when it came to maintaining and expanding the US empire, neoliberal and neocon became synonymous. As opposed to the Southern Bible belt and blue-collar rust belt supposed deplorables, the neocons are a rarefied urban elite, in majority Jewish. Since the launch of the so-called Project for the New American Century in 1997, they have been the driving force behind almost every foreign policy decision made by US governments, either Republican or Democrat. Victoria Nulan, the person who masterminded the destabilization of Ukraine from the State Department, is the wife of one of the neocon founding fathers: Robert Kagan. You will not find neocons with mud on their shoes minding their fields in Alabama. Their natural milieu are the corridors of powers in Washington DC, organizations like AIPAC, the Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, and other think-tanks; or institutions like the Pentagon, the State Department, and the CIA. Neocons are, by definition, the ideologues and puppet masters of the empire behind the notion of US exceptionalism and uncontested global hegemony. In this regard, Hillary Clinton is, very much, a neocon controlled by Wall Street and its subsidiary of the industrial-military complex. If elected, her supra-national masters will make sure that their agenda of global government controlled by a minuscule global elite is implemented.



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Who would run Trump?

This is a question that Donald Trump voters should ask themselves. The appeal of Trump is largely the notion that he would clean the cesspool that is Washington. But let's not be naive here: Donald Trump is a businessmen with zero political experience, and he is not exactly a modern day Hercules able to clean the Augean stables in a day. Trump will need help, but he is an outsider, and therefore a Trump cabinet is, in many aspects, a mystery. Which group of people would run Trump if he were elected? From day one of his presidency Barack Obama was surrounded and run by Clinton's crew, whom I call Clintonites. Therefore, in many ways, Obama's first and second terms were really Clinton's third and fourth term. Trump would like to be perceived as a new Ronald Reagan, but this does not fare well as an indication of the real power he might want to exercise. The man in power during the Reagan era was George Bush Sr., while the former actor was just a figurehead reading speeches he did not write. Ultimately, if Trump had the intention to assert his independence from Washington's usual suspects and heavyweights, and truly assume power, it would likely become extremely hazardous to his health.



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Is Clinton more likely than Trump to start World War III?

In regard to foreign policy, there is, unfortunately, not much departure from Trump about the guiding precept of US global hegemony, by military force in most cases. A Trump presidency would not end the global Monroe Doctrine, which has been the cornerstone of US foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The somewhat moronic comments Trump made during the fist debate with Clinton should be alarming when he mentioned that countries such as Germany, Japan and South Korea, which are arguably occupied by US troops and have been since World War II and the 1950s for Korea, should pay the US for their own occupation. This is in line with the tribute paid to Rome by oppressed nations that the Roman empire had invaded. During the second debate, calling Iran a terrorist state was also an extremely alarming foreign policy faux pas obviously aimed at pleasing Israel. Trump is also still clueless about the rise of ISIS as a mercenary force financed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with the full knowledge and blessings of Washington and Israel.



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That said, however, there is an unknown factor with Trump, and paradoxically it is a good thing. Donald Trump is the devil we don't really know. The devil we know, Hillary Clinton, seems to act as if she already has won the election and is directing US foreign policy in the worst possible way. The no-fly-zone over Syria is a Clinton idea, which is of course designed to put the US and Russia on a collision course. Hillary Clinton is the one who started comparing Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. Clinton is the one most likely to approve an Israeli nuclear attack on Iran, and by doing so trigger World War III. This is what Western Europe's leaders should think about when they more or less openly endorse Hillary Clinton. Let's keep in mind that Hillary Clinton was the driving force behind fostering fake revolutions for regime change purposes in Libya, Syria and Ukraine: the prime engineer of failed states, misery and death for millions. In many ways, Clinton was ISIS' godmother. Clinton's policy path is a well-documented trail of chaos. Neither of the US candidates is a good option, but Clinton certainly constitutes a clear and present danger to world peace.

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The missile attack on a US ship off the coast of Yemen was a major news event, but the subsequent follow up story, that it may never have happened, was either ignored by mainstream media or intentionally covered up. The whole thing has the same odor as the Gulf of Tonkin incident that never occurred.

Does history repeat itself? Sure does seem like it. That is if you compare America's entry into the Vietnam civil war, with America's latest entry into the war in Yemen.

Don't be mistaken, we have been at war with Yemen for a year now. America sided with the most oppressive government in the world, Saudi Arabia, in attacking and pounding Yemeni schools, funeral parlors, and hospitals, for well over a year. This war could not have happened without a wink and a nod from the US, and the arming of the Saudis' with US weapons. In addition to providing the Saudi's with weapons, we also provide mid-air refueling and have delivered 40 million pounds of jet fuel over the past 18 months, thus enabling the devastating bombings of civilian facilities. The US used a cease fire in Yemen to re-arm the Saudi's, who were running out of bombs and weapons, we provided the targeting information, ground maintenance of aircraft, and of course the wink and nod to go ahead, which unleashed this humanitarian disaster. So here we have Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest but most oppressive governments' in the world, a supporter of terrorists in Syria and around the world, attacking one of the poorest nations on earth. According to a leaked Hillary Clinton e-mail, she is fully aware that Saudi Arabia sponsors terrorists in Syria, but still the go ahead wink to the Saudis. Now that we and the Saudi's have destroyed everything in Yemen with bombs, we are helping the Saudi's maintain a blockade, preventing food and medical supplies from reaching the Yemeni people, which by some estimates, have already cost the lives of 10,000 children under the age of 5.

All that however, was not enough for the US. Now we have actively entered the shooting war, based on yet another possible ruse by our government. The US Navy claimed they were attacked by Houthi missiles from somewhere in Yemen, and promptly launched Tomahawk missiles at a cost of $1.5 million per missile, in revenge. Some suggest we took out radar installations with our Tomahawk missiles. But hold the phone, two days later the US military very quietly announced they are not sure if there was a missile attack at all. Yup you got it. Did you hear that story on mainstream media? Of course not. It appears that no one saw the missiles from Yemen, nothing was hit by missiles, and there was no corroboration from other ships in the area. The Houthis' denied they had anything to do with the alleged attack. The US very quietly admitted, perhaps it was all about "ghost radar images", and there never were any missiles. This story was completely ignored by mainstream media. Supposedly, whether the attack occurred is being investigated by the military, and there will be a report coming, but don't wait up for the late-night news to hear the results of the pending report. It might never come, or if it does, would you believe a report where the military is investigating itself?

So what does this have to do with history repeating itself? Some may remember the Vietnam War, where the US entered a civil war on the other side of the globe, based on an alleged "attack" by North Vietnam on a US navy ship. There was never any sighting of the attacker, there was never any damage by the attack, and we know now, years later, that there was never any such attack. Sound familiar? It all was due to false readings and ghost images on radar screens. The alleged attack took place in the Gulf of Tonkin. Quickly the US Congress, rushed to get involved in Vietnam's civil war by seeking revenge for an attack that never happened. It passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which authorized the US president to get revenge. America's entry into the Vietnam civil war lasted 10 years, and cost the lives of approximately 55,000 US soldiers, and about 3 million Southeast Asians. That's correct 3 million lives! We attacked this past week with no discussion, debate, or consent by Congress. Like the cowards they are, Congress never said a word, but stuck their heads deep in the sand. The President, now has the power to do such things, and the Constitution in that regard is irrelevant.

How many years will the war with Yemen last? How many will be killed? Why are we fighting Yemen? Why has Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen? Will there be blowback from Yemen in the future, or do you feel the innocent Yemeni's will simply lie down and die quietly? And the last quiz question of the day: Name the countries the US is currently bombing.
From Consortium News



Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking at an Atlantic Council event in 2013.

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As polls show Hillary Clinton closing in on victory, Official Washington's neoconservative (and liberal-hawk) foreign policy establishment is rubbing its hands in anticipation of more war and more strife, including a U.S. military escalation in Syria, a take-down of Iran, and a showdown with nuclear-armed Russia.

What is perhaps most alarming about this new "group think" is that there doesn't appear to be any significant resistance to the expectation that President Hillary Clinton will unleash these neocon/liberal-hawk forces of intervention that President Barack Obama has somewhat restrained.

Assuming Donald Trump's defeat -- increasingly seen as a foregone conclusion -- the Republican leadership would mostly be in sync with Clinton if she adopts a hawkish foreign policy similar to what was pursued by President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, most Democrats would be hesitant to challenge their party's new president.

The only potential option to constrain the hawkish Clinton would be the emergence of a "peace" wing of the Democratic Party, possibly aligned with Republican anti-interventionists. But that possibility remains problematic especially since those two political elements have major policy disagreements on a wide variety of other topics.

There also isn't an obvious individual for the peace factions to organize around. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who mildly criticized Clinton's advocacy of "regime change" operations during the primary campaign, is 75 years old and isn't particularly known for his stands on foreign policy issues.

If Trump loses, the bombastic real-estate mogul would likely be a spent political force, possibly retreating into the paranoid "alt-right" world of conspiracy theories. Even now, his dovish objection to confronting Russia has been undermined by his tendency to speak carelessly about other national security topics, such as torture, terrorism and nuclear weapons.

One potential leader of a peace movement would be Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, a 35-year-old military veteran who is one of the few members of Congress to offer an insightful and courageous critique of the dangers from an interventionist foreign policy. But Gabbard would be putting her promising political career at risk if she challenged a sitting Democratic president, especially early in Clinton's White House term.

Yet, without a modern-day Eugene McCarthy (the anti-Vietnam War Democrat who took on President Lyndon Johnson in 1968) to rally an anti-war movement from inside the Democratic Party, it is hard to imagine how significant political pressure could be put on a President Hillary Clinton. Virtually the entire mainstream U.S. media (and much of the progressive media) are onboard for a U.S. "regime change" operation in Syria and for getting tough with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not Thought Through

These "group thinks" on Syria and Russia, like previous ones on Iraq and Libya, have not been thought through, but are driven instead by emotional appeals -- photos of wounded children in Syria and animosity toward Putin for not wearing a shirt and not bowing to U.S. global supremacy. As with Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011, there is little consideration about what might follow a successful "regime change" scenario in Syria or Russia.

In Syria, a "no-fly zone" destroying Syria's air force and air defenses could pave the way for a victory by Al Qaeda's recently renamed Nusra Front and/or Al Qaeda's spinoff, the Islamic State. How letting major terrorist groups control Damascus would be good for either the Syrian people or the United States gets barely mentioned.

The dreamy thinking is that somehow the hard-to-find "moderate" rebels -- sometimes called the "unicorns" -- would prevail, even though they have existed mostly as cut-outs and conduits so Al Qaeda and its allies can secure advanced U.S. weapons to use for killing Syrian soldiers.

Yet, even more dangerous is the already-launched destabilization campaign against nuclear-armed Russia, a policy that may feel-good because we're taught to despise Vladimir Putin. But this latest neocon/liberal-hawk "regime change" scheme -- even if it somehow were "successful" -- is not likely to install in the Kremlin one of the U.S.-favored "liberals" who would allow the resumption of the 1990s-era plundering of Russia's wealth.

Far more likely, an angry Russian population would go for a much-harder-line nationalist than Putin, someone who might see nuclear weapons as the only way to protect Mother Russia from another raping by the West. It's not the cold-blooded Putin who should scare Americans, but the hot-headed guy next in line.

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Reprinted from www.alternet.org with author permission

As the mainstream media keep up their relentless barrage of criticism of Donald Trump's personal foibles, and as Hillary Clinton's campaign takes advantage of it in a manner that seems clearly coordinated, the genuine concerns of nearly half of all Americans Donald Trump has tapped into are being ignored and sidelined by the intellectual elite. But Trumpism is a new constitution of populist authoritarianism in America, a permanent ideological tendency that will not fade away, regardless of the outcome of this election.

In one sense--having been up against the entire political and intellectual establishment--Trump has already come out the winner, because he has put into radical doubt (as did Bernie Sanders on the other side) the neoliberal consensus around which both major parties and their institutional supporters cohere in Washington. His is a renegade candidacy that will have a lasting impact on world politics, though it is easy to overlook this amid the din of moral righteousness currently trumped up by the establishment.

Whether or not Trump is a neo-fascist is less interesting than tracing his similarities to European right-wing populists like Jean-Marie Le Pen, Jorg Haider, Umberto Bossi, Gianfranco Fini, and others. It can't be denied that every extreme right-wing movement has a tendency to slip into overt fascism at times, as when entire populations are targeted for exclusion and punishment. But to understand Trumpism we are better off searching for familiar strains in American populism, from Father Coughlin to George Wallace, from Huey Long to Pat Buchanan. I mention Long, the populist governor of Louisiana during the Great Depression, because there are elements of Trump's critique that have something of the redistributive element as well, though Coughlin's charismatic media presence, Wallace's appeal to white supremacy and Buchanan's America First xenophobia and protectionism are clearer markers of Trumpism's homegrown origins.

Because Trump has taken his blunt critique of elite politics further than any of his recent predecessors in the major parties, sometimes it appears he is manifesting Mussolini-like fascist tendencies, but to think like this would be to stretch fascism's definition beyond meaningfulness. Fascism is the close alliance of corporations and government in a movement of national regeneration, mobilizing the resentful parts of the population toward racist and militarist aims. Though Trump likes to say that he's fond of the military, I do not see war as being a priority for him; nor do I see the integral corporate-government merger that is a sine qua non of fascism; and nor do Trumpists seem to have any enthusiasm to dissolve their personal identities in the cause of the state, as is true of fascism.

The closest we came to fascism was in the 2001-2003 Bush period, but at that point hardly anyone in the commentariat was interested in picking up that frame of reference; now they throw the term around whenever someone utters anything the least bit racist or xenophobic. The deployment of the epithet becomes hollow and dismissive. Indeed, it was said about Italian fascism that it had no ideological content, which excused European liberals in the 1920s and 1930s from addressing the root causes of the movement and allowed them the kind of moral distancing we see again in the American intellectual reaction toward Trumpism.

Trump does, however, have the charisma that Bush the younger lacked, which among other reasons makes me convinced that November 8 will not be the end of his movement. I have believed for many years that about a third of the population is primed to a message of his kind at any given time, but this proportion can go up to 50 percent or more during crises. There is no way that the Republican Party will be able to reassemble the coalition that has defined it since the Reagan years. Trump has questioned the fetish for "small government" in substantive ways, sidelined evangelical Christians for the first time in 35 years (though he makes a feint at acceding to their sensitivities), and blown the cover on the bipartisan neoliberal consensus around trade, taxes, immigration, and other economic issues. Whatever happens on election day, there will be a new reckoning for Republicans--and for Democrats as well.

It is helpful to look at the precedents of the various right-wing populist movements in Europe over the last four decades to understand Trumpism. Every major European country has had its parallel movement, which arose in reaction to a new form of globalization (or postindustrial modernization) that began eroding the security of middle-class constituencies, and which targeted some typical scapegoats to alleviate their anxieties: foreign workers, refugees and asylum seekers, and Muslims above all.

The Front National (FN) in France, the Freedom Party (FP-) in Austria, the Lega Nord and Alleanza Nationale (AN) in Italy, the Vlaams Block (VB) in Belgium, the Progress parties in Denmark and Norway and the New Democracy party in Sweden, the NPD, DVU, and REP in Germany, the Center Party and Center Democrats in the Netherlands, the Democratic Union of the Center (DUC) in Switzerland, the British National Party (BNP) in Britain, and the Reform Party in Canada, to mention some of the prominent examples, are all direct precursors of Trumpism, bearing strong similarities across time and space, patterns of resentment and mobilization that Trump is faithfully replicating in his movement.

All of these parties are populist in the sense that they refuse the elite consensus around the contours of governance amidst postindustrial transformation, and they refuse, as well, the accompanying and essential cultural consensus, namely multiculturalism, that all Western democracies have adopted in some form or another to go along with the neoliberal economic creed. One does not find, in any of these parties, a purely economic critique centered around trade and protectionism, or welfare and taxes; rather there is always a corresponding cultural counterinsurgency as well, namely around breaking the various taboos and silences that have been imposed by the neoliberal elite on what is or is not acceptable social behavior in the new economic milieu.

So contemporary neo-populism is better understood not in terms of the earlier fascist model, but as a productivist impulse that identifies collectivist groups supposedly benefiting from multiculturalism as standing in the way of entrepreneurial individualism. To some extent, indeed, there is truth to the alleged chain of causation, since it is the offshoring of manufacturing to cheaper Asian locations that has caused the erosion of the manufacturing base in the Western democracies, and likewise it is the exploitative importation of cheap labor that helps create a downward push on wages for native white populations.

Of course, to stop at this point in the analysis--as unfortunately neo-populists do--is to grievously abridge the logic of economic inequality, which, if it is to be complete, must take in the overall composition of neoliberal economic philosophy. In fact, to a large extent, the productivist mentality enshrined in Trumpism and European populist authoritarianism is as much a reflection of neoliberalist individualism as it is a yearning for the principles of 19th-century laissez-faire economics.

Trumpism and allied movements cannot take on globalization without also taking on multiculturalism. The neo-populists see no way around neoliberal globalization except through overcoming multiculturalism. They see those unfairly benefiting from the multicultural model as being the cause of their misery, their perpetual uncertainty in the new economy, because there is no telling when their jobs might be permanently lost due to lower wages in other countries or because of unfair competition from immigrants who ought to have less of a rightful claim than natives. Whether it's called France for the French, Germany for the Germans, or Make America Great Again, the idea is the same.

The Brexiteers knew well that they wanted to blow up the system which wasn't working for them; every charge by the American media that Trump wants to do the same only makes him more popular among his supporters, since that is exactly what they want. That's the level of deprivation a quarter-century of unresponsiveness by the governing elites has brought them to.

The language of multiculturalism that comes so smoothly to elites on either side of the Atlantic is precisely the problem for neo-populists. End the reproduction of this language and you end the transmission of new mechanisms of globalized production and exchange, they tend to believe. Trump, in this country, has made this connection more explicit, more robust, and more durable than anyone in the past. He speaks a constantly irritating politically incorrect speech because it is central to his critique that the decks are stacked against hardworking Americans--real Americans, white Americans--who cannot get ahead despite their best efforts because there is a conspiracy of intolerance against their individualist mores (here, guns and the Second Amendment come in as crucial elements of the mythology of victimhood, as well as explicit refutation of the politically correct language that has developed around race, religion, and gender).

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Browse report summery with TOC:Basalt Fiber is a material made from extremely fine fibres of basalt, which is composed of the minerals plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine. It is similar to carbon fibre and fibreglass, having better physic mechanical properties than fibreglass, but being significantly cheaper than carbon fibre. It is used as a fireproof textile in the aerospace and automotive industries and can also be used as a composite to produce products such as camera tripods. Basalt Fiber is made from a single material, crushed basalt, from a carefully chosen quarry source and unlike other materials such as glass fibre, essentially no materials are added. The basalt is simply washed and then melted.Request Sample Report:Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Basalt Fiber in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversKamenny VekTechnobasalt-InvestSudaglassMaficZaomineralAerospace TuoxinShanxi Basalt FiberGMVJiangsu TianlongTongxinJilin JiuxinZhejiang GBFMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America, Middle and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversBasalt Chopped FiberBasalt Continuous FiberMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoRoad & building ConstructionAutomotive IndustryMilitary IndustrialOthersThere are 10 Chapters to deeply display the global Basalt Fiber market.Chanter 1, to analyze the top manufacturers of Basalt Fiber, with sales, revenue, and price of Basalt Fiber, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 2, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Basalt Fiber, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 4, 5, 6 and 7, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016.Chapter 10, Basalt Fiber market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021.Get Discount:Contact Us:Mary JaneReportBazzarUS: +1 (212) 389-6363IND: +91 20 66528525Email: sales@reportbazzar.comLinked In:About Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.ReportBazzarUnited States30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Global Dicalcium Phosphate Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021

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Browse report summery with TOC:Dicalcium phosphate (DCP) is a dibasic calcium phosphate formed by a reactive combination of calcium oxide and phosphoric acid. It is a type of dibasic calcium phosphate which is normally found in sources such as cereals, noodles, enriched flour, chicken feed, and some types of dog snacks. It is usually found in dehydrate form but may be converted to the anhydrous form using thermal means. It has a variety of uses in many fields.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Dicalcium Phosphate in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request Sample Report:Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversPotashCorp, OCP, Anglo American, Ecophos, TIMAB, Vale Fertilizers, J.R. Simplot Company, KEMAPCO, Innophos, Lomon Group, Jindi Chemical, Yunnan Copper Shengwei Chemical, Lu Feng Tian Bao, Sanjia, Yunnan Xinlong, Kunming Chuan Jin Nuo Chemical, Sinochem Yunlong, Mianzhu Panlong Mineral, Guizhou CP Group, Sichuan Hongda.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America, Middle and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversFeed GradeFertilizer gradeFood gradeOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAnimal Feed IndustryFertilizer IndustryFood IndustryOthersThere are 11 Chapters to deeply display the global Dicalcium Phosphate market.Chanter 1, to analyze the top manufacturers of Dicalcium Phosphate, with sales, revenue, and price of Dicalcium Phosphate, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 2, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Dicalcium Phosphate, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 4, 5, 6 and 7, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016.Chapter 10, Dicalcium Phosphate market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021.Get Discount:Contact Us:Mary JaneReportBazzarUS: +1 (212) 389-6363IND: +91 20 66528525Email: sales@reportbazzar.comAbout Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.ReportBazzarUnited States30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Notes from The Oregonian/OregonLive's books desk.

OMSI memoir: Marilynne Eichinger, former president of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, has a new behind-the-scenes book, "Lives of Museum Junkies: The Story of America's Hands-On Education Movement" (396 pages, $19.95). The book talks not only about her experiences at OMSI but also about 11 other science centers. Eichinger will have a book launch party at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at Marylhurst University's Old Library in the B.P. John Administration Building, 17600 S.W. Pacific Highway.

Brian Doyle: Arguably the most prolific author in Portland, Brian Doyle has yet another book out this month: "The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be: Prose Prayers and Cheerful Chants Against the Dark" (Liturgical Press, 128 pages, $14.95). As of Thursday, the book of "proems," as Doyle calls them, was ranked No. 1 in Christian Poetry on Amazon. It's Doyle's third 2016 title, following the novel "Chicago" and the story collection "The Mighty Currawongs."

"Jews, Punk and Poetry": Portlander Alicia Jo Rabins, artist-in-residence at Portland State University and winner of the 2015 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize, will be among those performing in "Edges of Identity: Jews, Punk and Poetry," an afternoon of music, poetry and theatrical readings. Also appearing is Michael Weingrad, a Portland State professor of Judaic studies who will discuss the folklore of the golem. The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland State University, 1620 S.W. Park Ave. Free; pdx.edu/boxoffice or 503-725-3307.

Hillsboro children's series: When Hillsboro writer Tonya Macalino's 7-year-old claimed to hate reading, Macalino decided to write an adventure series that would appeal to the girl, and came up with "The Gates of Aurona," a series that's an ode to their hometown. The first book, "Into The Hare Wood," launches with a party from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, with special guests from the Hillsboro Historical Society and the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Admission is free; tickets are required.

Youth poetry: Every year, young women from the Oregon Youth Authority's Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany participate in the Art + Poetry program, expressing themselves through poems and photographs. Their work will be exhibited from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at Pro Photo Supply's event center, 1801 N.W. Northrup St., Portland. The event will include Youth Authority administrators, program coordinators, teachers and some of the youth participants.
Lynn Edward Benton, once the public face of the small Gladstone Police Department as its spokesman and patrol sergeant, could become the 35th person on Oregon's death row after a jury Friday held him responsible for the 2011 fatal shooting, beating and strangling of his wife in her beauty salon.

The verdict ended the suspense about Benton's role in the long-running murder case that jolted the commuter community of 12,000 south of Portland.

Benton was a police officer in Gladstone for more than 20 years until the death of Debbie Higbee Benton led to criminal charges not only for Benton but for his family and friends in related and unrelated cases and exposed the couple's broken relationship torn apart by Benton's transition from woman to man.

Benton, dressed in a black suit, black tie and white shirt, appeared to show little emotion after Clackamas County Circuit Judge Kathie Steele announced that a jury had found him guilty of aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted murder.

One by one, the nine women and three men announced that their votes were unanimous on all charges except an 11-1 decision on the attempted murder count.

Four deputies later led Benton out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

The same jurors will return to court Tuesday as prosecutors and defense attorneys begin arguing what sentence they believe Benton should receive. Benton faces the death penalty, life in prison without parole or a life sentence with a minimum of 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

"We are so happy to have this verdict come in the way it did -- guilty on all charges. Debbie is looking down on us and she is very happy right now," said Higbee Benton's brother, Tony Stephens.

Stephens sat on a second row bench with his sister, Cherie Higbee, and his girlfriend almost every day of the monthlong trial that drew testimony from more than 70 witnesses. He said he still listens to a recording of Higbee Benton's voice on his phone.

Benton's mother, Sandra, sat behind her son with her eyes closed for several seconds after the verdict was announced. Her husband Roy and daughter Karen sat beside her.

Karen Benton initially was named in search warrants as a suspect in the case, but was never charged and denied any involvement. Roy Benton was charged and convicted of child pornography possession after investigators found images on his laptop while seizing evidence related to the murder case.

The family members remained in the courtroom in tears several minutes after most people had left. They all declined comment.

Judy Gustafson, a family friend who sat with the Bentons, lashed out at the prosecution.

"Coincidences were handled like they were circumstantial evidence and they were coincidences," she said. "It's just a really, really badly handled investigation and prosecution."

The city of Gladstone offered condolences to Higbee Benton's family and others affected by her death.

"Debbie was a beloved member of our community and missed by those who knew her," the city said in a statement. "There are no winners in this case and these lives are forever altered."

Benton was the first person tried in his wife's death. Susan Campbell, Benton's longtime friend, and Jason Jaynes, Campbell's son, also are accused of aggravated murder in the case. Campbell, 58, was once the prosecution's key witness whose cooperation secured grand jury indictments against Benton and her son. Jaynes, 36, is scheduled for trial in March. No trial date is set yet for Campbell.

Benton met Higbee Benton in 2008 and they married in October 2010. Born Lynne Irene Benton, the sergeant spent the majority of his law enforcement career as a woman and began transitioning to male in 2010 before he wed Higbee Benton. He legally changed his name to Lynn Edward Benton.

Among the motivations for the killing, prosecutors said, was to prevent domestic violence allegations from affecting Benton's job as a police officer, prosecutors said. The gender reassignment caused a rift between the couple and Benton moved out of their home a month before Higbee Benton's death.

According to witness testimony, Higbee Benton told relatives, a counselor and others that Benton once pinned her arm behind her back, slammed her into a wall and caused her to tear her rotator cuff in her shoulder. She also claimed Benton pinned her against a wall with his forearm against her throat on another occasion.

Benton offered Campbell and Jaynes $2,000 to kill Higbee Benton, prosecutors said. He also made an earlier attempt on his wife's life by trying to give her an overdose of fentanyl, they said.

Higbee Benton, 54, was found lying on her back in a storage room at the salon she had owned for at least 20 years. It was about 8:40 p.m. on May 28, 2011. Three people discovered her body - a friend who had come looking for her when she missed a dinner gathering, a firefighter and Benton. The friend initially found the salon locked and had gone to a bar next-door for help. An off-duty firefighter at the bar called Benton, and all three headed to the salon.

A county deputy medical examiner initially misdiagnosed the bullet wound and determined Higbee Benton had died of natural causes. Her body was re-examined the next day and the death was ruled a homicide.

But suspicion soon fell on Benton. He was placed on leave from the police department and never returned. He was fired in December 2011 after an internal investigation concluded he violated city policy by having pornography on his work-issued laptop. The investigation also alleged Benton engaged in a sham marriage to a Brazilian man in the '90s so the man would qualify for U.S. citizenship. No charges were ever filed in the marriage case.

Benton worked as a Greyhound bus driver until his arrest on Nov. 7, 2012, on suspicion of orchestrating the death of his wife. Jaynes was arrested the day after. Campbell had been arrested in June 2011 and initially cooperated with investigators.

Campbell pleaded guilty in 2012 to attempted aggravated murder in an agreement with prosecutors to testify against Benton and Jaynes in exchange for a 10-year sentence that later was increased to 16 years after she was convicted of witness tampering in a sex crimes case against her son. She also pleaded guilty in a separate drug case and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The judge revoked Campbell's agreement with prosecutors just before Benton's trial after determining she had repeatedly violated the deal.

Jaynes has never admitted to having a role in Higbee Benton's death. He was charged with aggravated murder after another jail inmate told investigators that Jaynes admitted that he helped kill Higbee Benton as a favor to Benton. He's serving a sentence of more than 14 years in prison in a 1999 sex abuse case. Police reopened the investigation after discovering it while investigating Jaynes in the Higbee Benton murder case.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
A 68-year-old Meals-on-Wheels volunteer who kicked to death an elderly woman's Chihuahua as he was delivering food to the woman was sentenced Thursday to 11/2 years of probation, 80 hours of community service and a ban on owning pets.

Don Nicoli had been a volunteer for Meals on Wheels for more than a year at the time of the Aug. 8, 2016, killing of the dog, "Baby."

The dog's owner, June Rigsby, said she was in bed with her three Chihuahuas about 10:30 a.m. in her Gresham apartment near Northwest Shattuck Way and Burnside Street. Rigsby, 70, heard a knock at her door, a man's voice calling out "Meals on Wheels" and her dogs hurrying toward the door, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by the prosecution.

She heard a "thud" and two dogs returned, but she didn't think anything of it until about 30 minutes later. That's when Rigsby got out of bed and discovered Baby in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor, according to the affidavit.

The dog died in her arms. A necropsy determined Baby died of blunt force trauma, and that the dog suffered cranial fractures and hemorrhaging.

When contacted by police, Nicoli told varying stories. Initially, he denied hurting the dog. Later he said he might have stepped on a rug or something while delivering the meal to Rigsby's home, according to the affidavit. Nicoli also admitted to kicking the dog and told police he didn't know why he did it -- and perhaps he had previously blocked it out.

Nicoli on Thursday pleaded guilty to first-degree animal abuse, a misdemeanor. As part of his plea agreement, a felony count of first-degree aggravated animal abuse was dismissed.

Deputy District Attorney Vivian Godsey said some "factual issues" were involved in proving the full case, as initially charged. Rigsby didn't attend the hearing, but Godsey said the dog's death has been painful for her client.

"It obviously was a big loss for her, as it would be for any dog owner," Godsey said.

Nicoli's attorney, Chris McCormack, said the incident was so far out of his client's character that it has shocked the community. Letters written by community members in Nicoli's support describe him as kind, gentle and passive.

At the time of his arrest, Nicoli told authorities he had served in the military in the late 1960s, before being honorably discharged. He worked for 30 years for Delta Airlines before retiring and volunteering in the community because "he knows at some point he might need the community's help," McCormack said.

"He was doing the right thing," McCormack said of his client volunteering to help the elderly. "His heart was in the right place, but for whatever the reason, (he) made the wrong decision."

In addition to community service, probation and a restriction from owning pets, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Dahlin ordered Nicoli to animal-compassion counseling. The judge told Nicoli it was important he figure out what led him to attack the dog.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119
A 17-year-old boy was sentenced Friday to seven and a half years in prison for shooting another teen in a Happy Valley church parking lot in August.



Todd Petrie Jr. pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the shooting of 18-year-old Frank Nifon. The altercation outside the New Hope Church culminated from back-and-forth chatter on Facebook over a girl, said Clackamas County Senior Deputy District Attorney Scott Healy.



According to Healy, Nifon was engaged in the social media dispute with a friend of Petrie's brother. The friend and Nifon agreed to meet Aug. 17 at the church, which is near where Nifon lives. Petrie accompanied the friend to the meeting and a cousin came with Nifon.



Healy described Petrie as a "gang member wannabe" associated with the Unthank Park Bloods and Nifon as connected to the Crips, a rival gang. It is not clear if they knew each other beforehand.



Petrie wore all red when the meeting took place and was the only one of the four who had a gun, Healy said. He fired 11 times at Nifon, who was dressed in blue. Nifon was hit at least four times and survived.



A nurse who was driving home from witnessed the shooting and helped Nifon after everyone else fled. "She didn't know the players, but she could explain exactly who did what, because of the bright colors they were wearing," Healy said.



Petrie was arrested a week later by county deputies and U.S. Marshals. Healy said investigators seized Petrie's phone and found a cellphone video of Petrie rapping about shooting Nifon, mentioning the 18-year-old by name.



Petrie believed it was cool to be "seen as someone in the community who is a dangerous person," Healy said.



"When the people of Oregon passed Ballot Measure 11, this defendant is the exact defendant they were thinking about," the prosecutor said. "He'll go to prison, he will do his 90 months, he will get out and he will engage in similar conduct again because he doesn't get it."



It wasn't clear after the sentencing where Petrie, who turns 18 in December, will serve his time. Ronald Gray, his attorney, said Petrie would be sent to the Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility in Salem. But Healy said the Oregon Department of Corrections has not yet determined where to place Petrie.



Petrie stood alongside his attorney for the entire hearing, wearing handcuffs around his wrists and ankles, gray sweatpants, black sneakers and a black t-shirt that said "paid in full." He made no statements other than "yes, your honor" in response to questions from Judge Douglas Van Dyk, who asked if he was remorseful.



Petrie appeared to wave goodbye to family and friends in the courtroom as a deputy led him out. His mother cried for the majority of his court appearance. She and others who came to court in support of Petrie declined to comment.



Gray said his client has a "high IQ" and has accepted responsibility for his role in the shooting. He said Petrie was on juvenile probation before the shooting and dropped out of school, but has a family who will continue to support him.



Gray said he and Petrie have discussed how rival gang members may seek retribution against him while he is incarcerated. But his attorney said he encouraged Petrie to get an education, try to turn his life around and resist pressure to associate with gangs.



"The question for him is going to be how he will approach his future," Gray said.



Van Dyk described the situation as a "tragedy all around," and said he believed Petrie was also a victim.



"Somewhere along the line, you got caught on a lure and reeled into all of this," the judge said.



He ordered Petrie to have no contact with Nifon or anyone associated with gangs, and told the teen that it wasn't too late for him to defy expectations from some that he will continue to travel down a negative path.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
I have never been a huge fan of Halloween.

There already are plenty of things in everyday life I find terrifying  this election cycle included.

I never understood the need to celebrate a day that imagines more things for us to fear.

But Ive never had a problem with those who embrace the holiday.

Indeed, for adults, Halloween has always been the one opportunity each year when its acceptable to pretend to be something were not; to wear something scary, inappropriate or ridiculous in public with impunity; or to dress our children in something funny or cute.

Still, every year there is some outcry over the irreverence of costume choices.

And every year the complaints become a little more absurd.

The latest outrage is over a costume depicting Maui, a Polynesian character in an upcoming Disney animated film.

Maui is a revered figure for some Pacific Islanders, and many believe him to be their ancestor.

Presumably, the Disney film (scheduled to be released next month) handles Maui in a culturally respectful way.

As such, one might assume that donning the costume is homage to the Polynesian culture  or at least a fun way to enjoy a new Disney character.

Apparently not.

Quite predictably, a social media storm erupted over the Maui getup.

One activist explained that it is off-putting to have a child wear the skin of another race.

OK.

But the Maui costume is hardly blackface, especially when worn by a child who probably just wants to emulate the character  and in a good way.

Disney pulled the costume from the shelves after claims that it was offensive to Pacific Islanders became too many to ignore, which is no surprise considering what generally happens to people who rationally suggest that costumes, on both children and adults, might be a worthy form of self-expression.

That was part of the argument made last fall by Erika Christakis, an educator and wife of a Yale University administrator, in response to heavy-handed university advice about Halloween-wear.

In an email to students, Christakis wondered, Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little bit obnoxious  a little bit inappropriate or provocative or, yes, offensive?

She further argued that the schools costume guidelines exhibited a lack of faith in students ability to exercise their own judgment of what is and isnt appropriate and how to reasonably approach situations in which they might find a peers choice of dress offensive.

In other words, her email concluded, Whose business is it to control the forms of costumes of young people?

It would appear that it is the business of a very vocal minority of social justice warriors.

As a result of the furor caused by Christakis email  including a heated and profanity-laced confrontation in the quad  she resigned her position as a lecturer at the school, and her husband resigned his administrative role.

The political correctness police are not active only on Ivy League campuses.

This year, a Florida State University dormitory displayed posters that showed examples of appropriation and included suggestions for great Halloween costumes including extraterrestrial alien, Steve Jobs and any animal  except Harambe, the gorilla killed this year in an effort to protect a small child who fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Harambe, the poster said, for reasons of sexism and racism that still boggle the mind, was an inappropriate choice.

The posters were part of the Were a Culture, Not a Costume campaign that has been sweeping campuses.

While it might to be fair to question the judgment of some college students given the appalling amount of binge drinking and promiscuous sex that occurs on campus, a national campaign designed to steer their Halloween dress choices seems just a tad condescending.

But perhaps even more insulting is the service offered by another Florida school to students who find themselves traumatized by the costumes of their peers.

The University of Florida is advertising that it has made available an around-the-clock hotline through which offended coeds can seek counseling services to help them deal with their costume-caused anguish.

The culture appropriation concerns extend beyond the campus bubble.

Several theme parks, including Six Flags New England, have altered or removed Halloween attractions that featured scary psychiatric patients because they offended people who suffer from mental illness.

And as one writer explained in the Huffington Post, the use of any cultural garb at all  a kimono, sari or mariachi suit  should be off-limits. These are deeply respected items of clothing in their culture and wearing them isnt appreciation but appropriation.

Forget ghouls, ghosts and zombies.

The thing to fear this Halloween isnt offending someone, but the whittling away at your right to self-expression.
The following list includes reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office, the Midland Police Department and the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

Friday, Oct. 21

1:20 a.m.  A loud party was reported on the 700 block of East Union Street.

4:38 a.m.  Police responded to a crash on private property that involved operating while intoxicated on the 5200 block of Bay City Road.

Thursday, Oct. 20

12:12 a.m.  A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Lee Township. There was minor damage.

1:32 a.m.  In Lee Township, a deputy was dispatched to a disabled vehicle. The deputy arrested a 19-year-old Pontiac man for felony violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The man was taken to the Midland County jail.

3:24 a.m.  A deputy saw two men near a business in the city of Midland. One fled, and the other, an 18-year-old Midland man, denied knowing the other. A deputy reported the building looked secure. The other man was not located.

10:02 a.m.  Police responded to a personal injury crash at eastbound U.S. 10 and East Ashman Street.

2:17 p.m.  Police made a warrant arrest on the 2100 block of Virginia Street.

3:11 p.m.  Police investigated a suspicious situation on the 400 block of East Saint Andrews.

3:58 p.m.  A deputy stood by while a 53-year-old Greendale Township man gathered belongings from his and his 48-year-old wifes home.

4:41 p.m.  A 26-year-old Coleman man requested a civil standby at a Warren Township address while he removed his items. A deputy on scene served unserved personal protection, order on a man, that a Warren Township woman had against him.

5 p.m.  A driver is cited on the 1600 block of North Saginaw for operating while intoxicated.

5:44 p.m.  On Drake Street near Gabriel Lane, police stopped a driver for driving while license revoked, first offense.

6:24 p.m.  Police responded to a private property crash on the 4000 block of Whiting Drive.

7:34 p.m.  Police investigated a suspicious situation at East Ashman Street and Dartmouth Drive.

8:06 p.m.  Police responded to a crash on the 2000 block of South Saginaw Street.

8:38 p.m.  A car-deer property damage crash was reported in Lincoln Township.

8:55 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Coleman to check on a Coleman officer. The officer was fine.

9:04 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Homer Township school to complete a car-deer traffic crash report that occurred in Midland Township.

9:17 p.m.  A be on the lookout was issued for a driver operating while intoxicated on westbound U.S. 10 near Waldo Avenue.

9:23 p.m.  A driver was cited at Eastman Avenue and Airport Road for operating while intoxicated.

9:25 p.m.  A deputy responded to a car-deer crash in Geneva Township. There was minor damage.

10:41 p.m.  Police investigated a suspicious situation on the 1500 block of Bayliss Street.

11 p.m.  Police investigated a suspicious situation on the 1000 block of Eastlawn Drive.

11:04 p.m.  On the 700 block of Joe Mann Boulevard, police stopped a driver for driving while license suspended.

Wednesday, Oct. 19

2:05 a.m.  Mount Pleasant Police lodged a 21-year-old Midland man for operating while intoxicated. The incident occurred at East Broomfield Street and East Campus Drive.

11:29 p.m.  Police responded to a crash that caused property damage near the off ramp of U.S. 10 and Stark Road.
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A handful of people who live along the Tittabawassee River responded on Wednesday to the Environmental Protection Agencys nearly $6 million plan to clean another six miles of dioxin-tainted areas.

Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and can interfere with hormones.

To control contamination, the EPA recommends removing, capping, stabilizing and monitoring natural recovery in cleaning the next six-mile stretch of the Tittabawassee about 11.5 miles downstream from The Dow Chemical Co.s Midland plant. Its expected to start in 2017 and take two years. The tab would run between $5.2 and $6 million.

Whos paying that? John Taylor, who lives near the Tittabawassee on River Road near Imerman Memorial Park, said during a public meeting on Wednesday at Arrowhead Elementary School in Saginaw.

Dow would be paying that, said Mary Logan, remedial project manager at the EPA.

The Tittabawassee River and floodplain are part of the EPAs Superfund program, which aims to clean some of the nations most contaminated land. Cleanup of the first of seven segments started in 2012. The next segments to be cleaned, 4 and 5, span the Tittabawassee Road bridge at M-47 to the State Road bridge south of Imerman Memorial Park.

One resident asked whether there has been a reduction in contaminants in treated areas.

Logan said she did not bring specific numbers with her, but that officials have seen some reductions overall, both in sediment and bioaccumulation in fish tissue. She said three miles of banks have already been stabilized along the river, which show pretty good results.

(In late September, members of a community advisory group inquired the impact of cleanup efforts to date. Logan said it was a really hard question to answer, and that weve done a lot in three or four years, but it hasnt been decades yet. See http://bit.ly/2dn2fJv for coverage of the meeting.)

Were trying to use as much natural processes as appropriate, Logan said, adding the EPA is really proud and eager to continue to work on cleaning the site.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality supports the plan.

Largely, these are common sense options, said the DEQs Al Taylor, who has long been involved in local dioxin issues.

Taylor said more sites at segments two through five may require further attention in the future, especially if currently stable and underground sediment that is contaminated becomes unstable.

This is dealing with the worst first and trying to have minimal impact (on the area), he said.

The question and answer portion of the Wednesday meeting flowed into another issue.

What does the EPA do when this floods again? John Taylor asked, citing recent floods and the 1986 flooding in Midland.   Because the water got within 20 feet of my door.

Logan said the EPA and DEQ identified a plan for floodplain in 2015 that targets areas frequently flooded. But the agency does not have authority to petition to Congress or the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge or otherwise physically alter the area for measures to control flooding, according to Logan.

We are not doing massive re-engineering of the river channel, she said. The EPA is not here to control the flooding. That is not part of our mission from Congress.

She said the EPA is addressing residual contamination issues that can be harmful to human health and the environment rather than the publics desire of depth or navigability of the river.

The public comment period runs until Nov. 6. Submit comments by email to Diane Russell at Russell.diane@epa.gov or by mail to Diane Russell/ Community Involvement Coordinator/U.S. EPA Region 5 Superfund Division/Superfund Division (SI-7J)/77 W. Jackson Blvd./Chicago, Illinois, 60604-3590. For questions, contact Russell at (989) 395-3493.
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The Tridge and Emerson Park are places in Midland to view, feel, and be, a community. When the day darkens, though, not all retreat to the cozy indoors uptown.

Thats right. People are homeless in Midland County.

We have people sleeping under the Tridge. If you go out there right now, youll probably see them, Rob Worsley said at Thursdays panel discussion on homelessness in the county, noting eight to 10 male clients of the Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation, for which he is the program director, were living in Emerson Park.

We do have people who would be living on sidewalks or streets but the city doesnt allow it. They just keep moving around when the police come.

Others find shelter in tents, garages or campers in backyards, Worsley said.

We do have people living in the woods in Sanford, he said.

And, in actual shelters.

There are times when our shelters are full, said Renee Pettinger, executive director of Midlands Open Door, adding some stay one night and others months or more.

Storied Streets, a 2014 documentary directed by Jack Henry Robbins and Thomas Morgan, was shown in the Grace A. Dow Library on Thursday. Film crews followed homeless men and women, young and old, black and white, with and without children, in Los Angeles, Denver, Virginia Beach, Charlotte and Joplin. Mark, an addict since he was 13, and Vernon, both homeless, rummage dumpsters in Denver. Amy, in Virginia Beach, camped in the woods for two years. Another hopped freight trains and hitchhiked. One remembered the emotional harm of no one speaking his name for three months.

A few dozen people watched. Heads shook.

Geez, someone said.

When the film ended, a panel of eight people representing as many agencies or organizations that in one or more ways help the homeless took questions from the audience in an effort to educate, increase awareness, dispel misconceptions and negative attitudes and encourage others to actively engage in creating practical solutions for the homeless in Midland County.

Agencies in 2006 drafted a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Midland County. Yet in 2015, More than 300 individuals were either living in shelters such as Midlands Open Door and Shelterhouse, or doubled up with friends or family, couch-surfing, living in an automobile, or facing eviction, according to a point in time count of homeless people taken at the end of every January.

Most of the homeless in Midland are whats known as invisibly homeless, said John Congleton, director of New Hope Village, a nonprofit.

Theyre living with somebody, theyre living in a place thats not fit for human habitation, or theyre in a shelter somewhere.

So you dont see the homeless in the city, Congleton added. That doesnt mean theyre not there.

And many are near homeless, said Nancy Money, executive director of Midland Area Homes.

Pettinger said Midlands Open Door served 270 homeless individuals in 2015. This year, it has already worked with 320.

At Midland Public Schools, there are 100 students who dont have a place to stay, said Jana Kullick, a liaison for the district.

Theyre staying, overwhelmingly, with friends and family, she said.

Many seeking help are turned away. At the Open Door, the number was 62 last year.

A third were single mothers, Pettinger said.

Congleton said New Hope Village worked with 33 families in several counties over nine months of operation since founded two years ago.

In that same time, we turned away over 100 families, he said, noting about 50 to 60 were from Midland County.

Emily Homberger-Sieg, court liaison for Shelterhouse, said since 2006, the facility has turned away 120 people annually, adults and children included.

Panelists agreed homelessness awareness isnt lacking in Midland County.

But affordable, low-income housing is in short supply, they said.

There just isnt enough, Worsley said.

Fair market rent for a two-bedroom place, is close to $800, Money said.

For most people, thats not affordable, said Congleton, adding one would need to earn $24 or $25 an hour if living alone.

Whats deemed affordable, in reality, isnt for Worsleys clients. And buddying up to split costs isnt always an option: many felons cannot have roommates, he said.

Ninety-five percent of clients are felony offenders at Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy & Rehabilitation, at 1415 Washington St., Worsley said. Many are repeat offenders. The agency has a 75 percent placement rate for those seeking employment, but many are fit with minimum wage jobs, he said.

Panelists agreed that agencies need to work on making services more accessible to people without phones, internet access or vehicles.

The intangibles need attention, too: Pettinger said the Open Door tries to create support systems and relationships to build emotional stability for the homeless.

Basically making them socially rich, is what we want to do, she said.

An audience member asked how she could help people in the Ashman Circle area?

A lot of them do live at the Open Door, Pettinger said, adding that offering them toiletries may not be best because they are provided at the shelter. Instead, talk to them and get to know them and their story. Just be interested in them as a person.

Added Worsley: Basically, what theyre looking for is interaction.

The event was sponsored by the Midland County Continuum of Care Homeless Population Task Force and coordinated by Midlands Open Door and Midland Area Homes.

For those who need help, there are several agencies in the city:

Midlands Open Door, 412 W. Buttles St., (989) 835-2291 and midlandopendoor.org

Shelterhouse, 3115 Isabella St., (989) 835-6771 and shelterhousemidland.org

New Hope Village, 3500 N. West River Road in Sanford, (989) 615-7066 and newhopemidland.org

Midland Area Homes Housing Assistance Center, 1825 Bay City Road, (989) 496-9550 and midlandareahomes.org

Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation, 1415 Washington St., (989) 832-8533 and midlandcommunityformeroffenders.org

211 Northeast Michigan, dial 2-1-1 or visit 211nemichigan.org

MidMichigan Community Action, 1409 Washington St., (989) 832-7377 and mmcaa.org
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Youre in a hospital waiting room for hours. Shifting, sighing. Scanning your phone, a magazine, the closed-captioned cacophony of daytime TV.

Why?

What if waiting didnt need to be monotonous? What if the room had recliners or massage chairs? Or if you knew how long youd need to wait?

Maybe we dont even need waiting rooms.

Gears from the minds of 100-some medical professionals turned inside MidMichigan Healths Towsley Auditorium earlier this week, oiled by a keynote address delivered by Josh Linkner.

Linkner is the founder and CEO of four tech companies, author of two New York Times best sellers, founding partner of Detroit Venture Partners, recipient of several accolades, including presidential recognition, and a die hard Michiganian born in Detroit, where he writes a weekly business column for the Detroit Free Press. The hospital said it wants to build Linkners ideas into its strategic plan, with the hope to create innovators of its staff of 6,000.

Although Linkner recognizes the need for best practices in the medical industry, he advocates upending tradition and defying conventional wisdom. He said his principles are founded upon going against the grain. Being a creative disruptor, he calls it. He consistently tells crowds creativity is the currency of success, the one thing that cant be outsourced or automated, and suggests people fancy their business cards with titles like innovator, entrepreneur or business artist.

I built my career on these principles, Linkner said from a back row seat, during an interview with the Daily News minutes before taking the stage.

His five obsessions of innovators: get curious, crave, defy tradition, get scrappy, adapt fast. On curiosity, ask why, what if and why not?

The more curious you are, the more creative you become, he told those in the auditorium.

To crave, one should let go of what is for what can be. He referenced a Polish company that took mobile banking to a whole new level by attaching ATMs to vehicles that are sent to customers. Amazons use of selfie recognition to authenticate purchases. A Pittsburgh childrens hospital where window washers are disguised as Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Captain America.

And to defy tradition, when your instincts tell you to do something the way youve always done it  ask yourself, can you Judo flip it? Its what Linkner said the University of San Diego hospital did when creating tattoo-type monitors for diabetic patients imprinted on their wrists, rather than having them stab themselves all day long with insulin shots.

Ironically for Linkner, the medium of the keynote isnt a fresh concept. Oftentimes round tables are circled in a convention center and occupied with droves of the middle-aged and middle managed listening to a respected leader click through a PowerPoint and hammer out anecdotes. Sometimes the most exciting thing is the slice of triple layer cake (too much of which yields more thought toward a nap than creativity or innovation.)

Linkner didnt break conceptual tradition as he rummaged through rags to riches stories of his own startups and played news stories telling of innovative movers. On stage, an emphatic Linkner echoed nearly verbatim both the content and, almost eerily, the tone taken in segments of videos posted on his website  to be expected of someone who takes the stage 112 times per year to emphasize a point.

Ive never given the same keynote twice, he said beforehand. He customizes his presentations to be industry-specific, but said everyone should understand being creative is no longer optional.

Its something we all can be, he said. I want them to understand that this is accessible to all of us. Were built that way.

Linker went on to tell of the trap businesses fall into with being intoxicated in their own success, repeating past approaches because they worked. Following the formula, Linkner said, is what befell the biggest retailer in 1950. A&P Grocery had 16,000 stores, 15 percent of the grocery market and in todays money would have been worth $600 billion, he said.

Its last store closed in 2013.

People tend to view the medical industry as inherently innovative. Linkner cited one hospital that asked What if we could spray on skin? It birthed an idea to heal burn victims. Inspired by graffiti artists tags on buildings, the hospital developed a technique that slashed recovery periods from a decade to mere days. Linkner showed photos of a victim with severe burns and how the new technology helped recovery.

Wow, audience members said.

They were left with a challenge: in the next week, think of one idea, one that will creatively disrupt.

Perhaps in stirring the creative cauldron, there may be superhero window cleaners in the midst, or announcements indicating hospital waiting rooms will be no more.
Updated : Mar 10, 2020 in Culture

Some Things You Need to Know About Pakistani Culture - In the previous article I discussed the history, the system of government and its economy,
BLOOMINGTON  A Nashville-based hotel developer is asking for city assistance to help with the cost of buying and renovating the Baymont Inn & Suites, a hotel in east Bloomington that has not been paying taxes.

The City Council is considering whether to approve up to $675,000 in tax rebates for Milan Hotels to acquire the 103-room hotel at 604  IAA Drive, and renovate it into a 96-room Best Western Plus hotel. Smith Travel Agency rates that brand as an upper mid-scale hotel.

The $5.9 million price tag includes $2.5 million in acquisition costs, $2.7 million in estimated renovation and $675,000 in financing and other costs.

The developer told city officials it will require public financial assistance to be able to to proceed with the project.

The property is located within the Empire Street Corridor Tax Increment Financing District established in February, and would be eligible for TIF incentives if the City Council approves a redevelopment agreement with Milan.

The council will consider the agreement when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

There is no money coming into this project upfront from the city" said Bloomington Economic Development Coordinator Austin Grammer. This is only rebating new revenue that would be created as a result of the project and the developer's investment.

At the completion of the project, the city would reimburse the developer 11.5 percent of the total project costs, or $675,000  whichever is less. The revenue would come from hotel/motel tax and incremental property taxes generated by improving the property.

Only to the extent those revenues materialize, would be they be rebated on a pay as you go basis for a maximum of 10 years, under the plan.

If those revenues are not generated, we would not rebate them," said Grammer. So over the course of the 10-year incentive, if they don't generate the revenues to pay the incentives, the risk is on the developer. The city is not obligated to pay the full amount.

Currently, the city is not receiving any tax revenue from the property because the current owner of the Baymont Inn, Skyways Hospitality LLC, has experienced financial difficulties since 2011 and is behind in payments of both property tax and hotel/motel tax, said Grammer. The property has fallen into a state of disrepair due to a lack of investment, he added.

According to a complaint filed by the city Sept. 12 in McLean County Circuit Court seeking a judgment for failure to pay taxes, the amount owed by Skyways is $70,537, which includes unpaid taxes, late penalties and interest.

As part of the reinvestment agreement, Milan Hotels would pay off any delinquent and outstanding real estate taxes and unpaid hotel/ motel taxes resulting from Baymont Inn's operation.

It would be beneficial for the city to receive those funds as part of the purchase by Milan," said Grammer. "So it would be advantageous for the city to support this acquisition and move forward with development."

Mayor Tari Renner agreed.

"At this point we've got an under-performing property in an area that we've been trying to rehabilitate in a TIF district adjacent to the new Empire Crossing (formerly the Colonial Plaza shopping center)," said Renner.

They will be putting a multi-million-dollar upgrade into that facility," he added. "It seems like an important move for economic development and the city of Bloomington.

The developer has made a $1.1 million down payment to secure $2.9 million in bank financing.

The TIF benefits are needed to complete this transaction and will be used to close the financing gap created by the extraordinary costs of this renovation, Andrew J. Sparks, Morton Community Bank executive vice president, stated in a letter sent recently to City Manager David Hales on behalf of the developer.

Those costs include a new roof, significant repairs to the parking lot and grounds and re-configuring the lobby to make it compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The renovation proposal also includes the addition of meeting and board rooms, swimming pool improvements and upgrading rooms with new carpet, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
BLOOMINGTON  Mayor Tari Renner hoped to re-establish a relationship between Bloomington and its Cuban sister city during his trip last week to the island nation.

Renner made a connection, but not in the way he envisioned.

During eight days of travel and cultural exchanges with Cuban government and business leaders, Renner wanted to rent a car to make a side trip to Bloomington's sister city, Caibarien, located on the island's north coast.

He decided not to go "because it was five hours in the other direction from Havana and where we were going," said Renner, noting that, in the end, "it wasn't necessary."

That's because Sandor Rodriguez, the translator for the group of Illinois municipal officials with whom Renner traveled, is from Caibarien, and his mother is an educator there.

"They are going to get in touch with the current mayor of Caibarien," said Renner. "Sandor is very anxious to be part of the delegation that comes here to Bloomington and hopefully we can get their mayor to come as well."

Despite trade and travel embargoes with Cuba since the 1960s, the Twin Cities started sister city relationships with two towns in 2003  Bloomington with Caibarien and Normal with Remedios. A year later, the exchange stopped when the U.S. government clamped down on those kinds of visits.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos did not participate in the Oct. 8-15 trip organized by Global Relations Travel, a travel club started by former Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford.

Renner said he hopes to re-establish student and cultural exchanges through the sister city connections and recent easing of embargo and travel restrictions between the two nations.

Caibarien, with a population of about 39,000, is a resort community.

"They have tourism, but not Americans. Europeans, Canadians, Australians have been coming there for decades," said Renner. "It is apparently one of, if not the most, manicured beaches in Cuba. They are looking forward to having Americans discover them."

Hurricane Matthew struck eastern Cuba several days before Renner arrived in Havana, but did not interfere with travel plans to the island's western region.

During his visit, Renner said he also saw possible opportunities for trading partnerships.

"Clearly one of my main goals is to encourage commerce in a brand new market to the world," said Renner. "There's definitely a need for food. They're interested in technology from Bloomington."

Through Rodriguez, Renner learned Caibarien residents are aware that Google had designated Bloomington as the digital capital of Illinois.

Other opportunities, said Renner, could involve importing Cuban cigars and establishing a link to Twin City insurance giants State Farm and Country Financial to offer insurance.

"Once the embargo is ultimately lifted and free markets begin to prevail I am really looking forward to making sure Bloomington has the connections to have economic and educational relationships with Cuba," said Renner.

Renner said he was impressed by business owners he met, including a woman raising tobacco.
As the market for single-family homes in Bloomington-Normal has grown more strained, some new residents have expanded their prospects to the county's rural communities.
Veritiv to Host 2016 Chicago Paper Show Oct. 20, 2016 - Veritiv Corporation (VRTV) will host its 27th annual Chicago Paper Show on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at the Westin Chicago River North. The Veritiv Chicago Paper Show attracts approximately 800 prominent designers, corporate end-users and commercial printers from the Greater Chicago area  one of the most exciting graphic arts markets in the country. The theme of this year's show is "MAKER  a person that makes or produces something." "MAKER refers to people  including designers, printers, and paper makers  who creatively make or produce an idea, design or an object with passion. Each exhibit and exhibitor at this year's Chicago Paper show will support this theme," said Andrew Dembitz, Director of Specification, for VeritivChicago. Several leading paper suppliers will have showcase exhibits at the event. Mohawk's exhibit entitled, "Celebrating the Culture of the Craft," will include The Mohawk Maker Quarterly Issue 10, as well as a special pop-up exhibition of past issues of this celebrated publication. In addition, Sappi will exhibit "Ideas that Matter," demonstrating how designers use paper to make things happen. The exhibit will exclusively feature Illinois-based designers whose designs support charitable causes. Other exhibits include: Chicago 50-Print Collateral  an annual exhibit  featuring fifty of Chicago's finest companies and institutions.

The 2016-2017 Newberry Library Calendar presented by Munro Campagna artist representatives.

The Chicago Design Museum, a new venue, which supports the Chicago Graphic Arts Market.

An environmental display by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

Veritiv Private Brands showcasing the company's unique coated and uncoated grades. The keynote presentation, "Evolution of Offset and Print," will be delivered by Daniel Dejan, Sappi's North American ETC Print and Creative Manager and sponsored by Sappi. Dejan will discuss how the printing industry is incorporating new technology and evolving. The Veritiv Chicago Paper Show features 13 of the world's leading paper mills including: Appleton Coated, CTI Paper USA, Finch, Glatfelter, Iggesund, International Paper, MACtac, Mohawk, Neenah Paper, Sappi Fine Paper, Verso, West Rock and Yupo. This year's event also includes wide-format suppliers General Formulations, Gilman Brothers, Nekoosa Coated Products and Ultraflex Systems. Proceeds from the show will benefit Marwen (www.marwen.org), a nationally recognized art education organization, providing free visual art programs to Chicago's underserved youth in grades 6-12. Follow the 2016 Veritiv Chicago Paper Show events through Twitter at https://twitter.com/Veritiv and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VeritivCorp. Veritiv Corporation, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) and a Fortune 500 company, is a leading North American business-to-business distributor of print, publishing, packaging, and facility solutions; and also a provider of logistics and supply chain management services. To learn more, please visit: www.veritivcorp.com. SOURCE: Veritiv Corporation
Late yesterday Samsung Electronics announced a new compensation program for those who had purchased a Galaxy Note 7. Under this new program, Samsung will allow those who first exchanged their Galaxy Note 7 for either a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge to exchange them yet again when Galaxy S8 launches in March 2017. The cost of could be zero or just a little depending if it's the user's first or second exchange.

It appears that Samsung sees the advantage in quickly ramping up Galaxy S8 sales numbers to give the press the impression that their next smartphone is a hot seller so that they could put the Note7 crisis behind them.

Samsung officials said on Friday that "The new compensation program is designed to make it easier for those who exchange their Galaxy Note 7 with existing Samsung smartphones, to shift into our next model coming in next year." They added, "We think this could an effective program since it also provides some incentives to smartphone vendors."





On Wednesday we reported that Samsung is promising to compensate their top suppliers for the components not used in the Note7. More specifically, Samsung noted that they will try to use the components in future phones if at all possible. The Note7 introduced an iris scanner feature. This feature will more than likely show up on their new Galaxy S8 in March.





About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Ayatollah Montazeri's Son Legally Defends Releasing Audio File of Father Denouncing 1988 Mass Execution of Prisoners

10/22/16

Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Ahmad Montazeri said in court that the Islamic Republic should publicly investigate the issue.



Ahmad Montazeri, the son of late Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri





Ahmad Montazeri, the son of late Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri-the once successor to Irans first supreme leader-has been charged with acting against national security and revealing state secrets for publishing an audio recording of his father denouncing the Islamic Republics mass execution of prisoners in 1988.

Montazeri represented himself without a defense lawyer in the Special Clerics Court in Qom-in a trial that lasted four hours-on October 19, 2016 because he was prevented from freely choosing his own lawyer. He told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that he has not broken the law, and simply wants the Islamic Republic to publicly investigate the issue.

The court insisted on keeping the details secret, but what was clear was that I was charged with acting against national security, and I defended myself, said Montazeri in an interview. I said I had no such intention and I did not do such a thing. There is no law that says publishing such an audio file is an act against the state.

Added Montazeri: They insisted that I had revealed state secrets, but we dont have a law about revealing state secrets. What we do have is a law concerning government secrets. I didnt have any government secrets to reveal. Moreover, what they say I revealed was already published in [my fathers] memoirs. Therefore, repeating what was published 15 years ago is not a revelation. So I revealed nothing that was a secret.

What Im insisting on is that eventually the state manage and settle the issue about the 1988 executions instead of trying to hide it, continued Montazeri. If the Islamic Republic is transparent about it, and forms a truth commission, as suggested by (Member of Parliament) Ali Motahhari, and possibly rectifies any wrongdoings, it would be a big step in restoring the greatness of the Islamic Republic.

The verdict has yet to be announced.

Greatest Crime

In the 40-minute audio file Ahmad Montazeri posted on his fathers official website on August 9, 2016, the grand ayatollah described the executions in the summer of 1988 as the greatest crime in the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the time, Hosseinali Montazeri, who was heir apparent to Supreme Leader Rouhollah Khomeini, told the four-man tribunal, which had ruled to execute an estimated 4,000-5,000 prisoners, that he did not want Khomeini to be judged by history as a bloodthirsty, cruel and brazen figure for executing political prisoners en masse, and warned the tribunals members that they would be remembered as cruel criminals.

The audio file dates back to August 15, 1988, the day members of the tribunal -referred to as the Death Committee by the victims families- met with the grand ayatollah to gain his support for the executions. The tribunal included then-Judge Hosseinali Nayeri, then-Tehran Prosecutor Morteza Eshraghi, then-Deputy Prosecutor General Ebrahim Raeesi and the Intelligence Ministrys representative in Evin Prison at the time, Mostafa Pourmohammadi.

Following his refusal to support the executions, leading members of the Islamic Republic, including Khomeini, sidelined Montazeri, who died in 2009. Now his son is being persecuted while Pourmohammadi is Minister of Justice in President Hassan Rouhanis cabinet. Another tribunal member, Raeesi, not only heads Astan Quds Razavi, one of the largest and richest Shiite shrine-based religious institutions in Iran, but is also a rumored successor to Irans current supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Todays trial (on October 19) followed several interrogation sessions, Montazeri told the Campaign. The prosecutors representative was present in court and the trial lasted four hours. They said they would inform me of the outcome, meaning my sentence.

The Special Clerics Court in Qom gave me a list of 42 lawyers I could choose for my defense, but I could not find anyone acceptable on the list. I consulted with friends and nobody knew these individuals, or they said the listed lawyers were not suitable for a trial like mine. So I preferred to show up in court without a lawyer because the court would not accept any reputable, free-thinking lawyer with the courage to take on a case like this.

In the audio file, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, who died in 2009, also accused Khomeinis son, Ahmad Khomeini, of instigating the 1988 executions: The Intelligence Ministry promoted the [plan for the mass execution of prisoners] and invested in it, and then three or four years ago Ahmad Agha came along and said the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK-a militant Marxist-Islamist opposition party that bombed the headquarters of Khomeinis party in 1981) should all be executed, including those who read their newspapers, publications and pamphlets. This was their thinking. After the [MEK] attacked us, [the Intelligence Ministry] thought it was a good time for someone to convince the imam [Khomeini] to agree to [the executions] and got a written order from him to carry them out. I dont know what this will lead to or what will happen in the future.
Iran says will bring technicians back home from Kirkuk after deadly attack

10/22/16

Source: Press TV

A senior Iranian diplomat says the Islamic Republic will bring its technicians back home from the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk following a deadly attack by Daesh Takfiri terrorists on a power station and other buildings near the city. Speaking to IRNA on Friday night, Iran's Consul General in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, Sa'adollah Massoudian, said the toll for the Iranians killed in the terrorist attack stood at four. He added that four other Iranian nationals were injured in the terrorist attack.





According to Reuters, at least 18 people, mostly members of the security forces and workers at the power station, were killed in the Daesh attack on government-run facilities in Kirkuk on Friday.

The assault took place as three bombers stormed a power plant under construction by an Iranian company near Dibs town, located about 40 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk city, the town's mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi said.

At least eight terrorists were reportedly killed, either by blowing themselves up or in clashes with security forces.

Fighting raged on through Friday afternoon as authorities called a curfew, saying some of the terrorists were still holed up in a hotel and a mosque in the middle of Kirkuk.

Massoudian further said 80 Iranian workers and technicians had been operating at Kirkuk power station and added that Iran's consulate general in the city of Sulaymaniyah is taking necessary measures to return them to Iran as soon as possible.

He noted that four Iranians were injured in the terrorist attack and said two of them, who had been critically wounded, had undergone surgery in a hospital in Sulaymaniyah and are now in good general health.





Iraqi forces participating in the liberation of Mosul from Daesh

(photo by



(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency

In a statement issued after the Daesh-claimed attacks, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned the "savage" terror attack in Kirkuk and said terrorists have resorted to "indiscriminate attacks and massacre of innocent civilians to take revenge for their humiliating defeats on the battlefield."

The recent wave of terror assaults in Kirkuk came four days after Iraqi troops started an offensive and are advancing on the northern city of Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in the country, to push the terrorists out of the city.

The Takfiri group usually steps up its terror attacks across the Arab state when it comes under pressure in the areas under its control.

The oil-rich city of Kirkuk, some 170 kilometers from the Daesh-held city of Mosul, is claimed by both Iraq's central government and the country's Kurdish region which has assumed full control of Kirkuk since the summer of 2014.
"The Salesman" wins Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize at Chicago Film Festival

10/22/16

Source: Tehran Times

TEHRAN -- Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's acclaimed drama "The Salesman" won a Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival, the organizers announced on Friday night.







Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize: The Salesman, dir. Asghar Farhadi - Iran



A film that gives us unique insight into the problems that arise from a case of sexual assault and the way an Iranian society deals with it. At the same time, the film is an immensely powerful tale of revenge that is universal and, in this case, told in a realistic way which features extremely painful dilemmas. It is a tale which uncovers the human condition on many levels. The Special Jury Prize goes to The Salesman by Asghar Farhadi.



The movie is about Emad and Rana who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes the young couple's life.

It is Iran's submission to the 89th Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category.





Photo: Taraneh Alidusti acts in a scene from The Salesman





The Gold Hugo for Best Film went to "Sieranevada" by Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu who also received the Silver Hugo Best Director.

Adrian Titieni was presented the Silver Hugo Best Actor for his role in "Graduation", a joint production of France and Romania directed by Cristian Mungiu who also won the Silver Plaque for best screenwriter.

The Silver Hugo Best Actress went to Rebecca Hall for her role in "Christine", the American-British biographical film directed by Antonio Campos.

The festival continues through October 27, with several films yet to be screened.
Tehran hosts 2nd Rectors' Forum for Top Iranian, Russian Universities

10/22/16

Source: Tehran Times; photos by Saeid Goli, Mehr News Agency

TEHRAN - The 2nd Rectors' Forum for Top Iranian and Russian Universities convened chancellors of 33 top universities from the two countries in Tehran on Thursday to examine ways of fostering academic cooperation.





University chancellors from top 13 Iranian universities along with top 20 Russian universities, Iranian Science Minister Mohammad Farhadi, Russian ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan, and rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichiy attended the one-day event, IRNA news agency reported.

"With both countries intellectuals and academics we can strengthen the two countries cooperation as science and technology know no bounds and they are global matters by nature," Iranian science minister suggested.







Mentioning Razi science center in Moscow and Lomonosov center in Shahid Beheshti University in Iran Farhadi explained that so far are the two countries have signed some 30 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) saying, "I hope we come up with plans of action to implement these MOUs over the next forum."

He further noted that student and faculty exchange programs can help develop cooperation between the two sides.

"So far several research projects in fields of medical sciences and laser application, immunology and medications for incurable diseases have been co-conducted by Iran and Russia," he added.



Russian ambassador Dzhagaryan, for his part, explained that without researchers and academics cooperation none of the current achievements would be brought to fruition.

The rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University also pointed out that Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Olga Vasilyeva is also pleased to see that the two countries are seeking academic cooperation.

Sadovnichiy also highlighted that some 35 percent of Iranian and Russian scientists are co-conducting research programs.







Shahid Beheshti University chancellor, Mohammad-Mahdi Tehranchi, also said that some 120 joint projects are submitted to the forum of which 12 would be approved and executed by 2017.

The first Rectors' Forum for Top Iranian and Russian Universities in Moscow was hosted by Lomonosov Moscow State University and presided by the Rector Sadovnichiy on October 28, 2015, which resulted in signing some 15 MOUs.
Shellie Milnes campaign is crying foul over mailers alleging the Riverside County supervisorial candidate has past legal troubles and a lack of support from Republicans.

The mailers, paid for by the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association, allege that Milne was sued for embezzlement and had to return money and that a judge issued a warrant for her arrest.

When Republicans learn about Shellie Milnes record  they cant support her, the mailer reads.

In a news release, the campaign for Milne, a Hemet councilwoman trying to unseat Supervisor Chuck Washington on Nov. 8, accused the taxpayers association of being hijacked by (a) Liberal Democrat Operative & Unions.

Sadly, outside liberal interests intent on keeping (Gov.) Jerry Brown-appointed Democrat Chuck Washington on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will say and do anything to get him elected, Milne adviser Alex Avetoom said in the release.

Sending attack mailers that clumsily string together exaggerations, manipulations and out right fabrications wont fool the voters of Riverside County. IETAs Chris Mann, who is responsible for the mailings, should stick to his day job with the Democrats in San Bernardino and stay out of Riverside County elections.

Regarding the mailer, Avetoom said the embezzlement claim was part of a civil lawsuit and Milne was never criminally charged. The warrant, he said, was for a traffic ticket for which Milne never had to appear in court; her payment arrived late, Avetoom said.

A check of association donors reveals that since 2016, the association has gotten money from the Building Industry Association of Southern California PAC, San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters Local 935 PAC, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and Local 47 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Political Action Committee, among other donors.

Mann is deputy chief of staff for San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, a Democrat. A former Westlake Village mayor, Mann also has a history of political involvement, including when the association in 2014 paid for signs linking Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-La Quinta, with President Barack Obama. At the time, the presidents popularity was at a record low.

In an email, Mann wrote that the Milne campaigns attack is a sign of desperation on the part of a candidate who is facing overwhelming opposition.

The IETA is well-established, having fought for the interests of taxpayers in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties for over a decade, he said. Milnes baseless attacks only serve to shed light on the fact that so many traditionally conservative leaders and organizations have chosen not to support her.

The reason? Quite frankly, the thought of placing the considerable power of a County Supervisors office in the hands of someone with Milnes demonstrated lack of sound judgement (sic) is downright scary.

This isnt the first time a mailer funded by outside interests has caused a stir in the race for the Third District seat on the Board of Supervisors. Before the primary, the Riverside Sheriffs Association, the union representing sheriffs deputies, paid for a mailer that called attention to supervisorial candidate and Randon Lanes past personal financial troubles.

Lane, who is Murrietas mayor, finished third behind Washington and Milne in the June 7 primary. Washington and Milne are running to represent a district that covers Temecula, Murrieta, Hemet, San Jacinto and Idyllwild.
On Nov. 8, Moreno Valley voters will choose their mayor for the first time in the 32-year-old citys history.

A mix of familiar faces and political newcomers are competing for the post, whose duties include chairing city council meetings and nominating members to city advisory boards and committees.

Since the Moreno Valleys birth, the council has selected a member as mayor. But in 2014, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure R, which made the mayor a separate elected position. The mayor will have a two-year term, unlike council members who serve four years.

Candidates include the last two council members who were appointed as mayor: Jesse Molina, who served from mid-2014 to 2015 and has been on the council since 2008; and Yxstian Gutierrez, who took over this year and was appointed to the council in 2013. Also running is Councilman George Price, who was elected two years ago and once served as the citys parks and recreation director for 16 years.

The field also includes Moreno Valley school board member Denise Fleming; Keri Then, a University of Redlands professor; entrepeneur Darrell Peeden; casino employee James Silvas and business owner Joe Garcia.

Economic development, public safety and ethics in government are among the top issues that candidates discussed in their campaigns.

MORENO VALLEY MAYOR

Eight candidates are running in the Nov. 8 election.

Name: Denise Fleming

Age: 55

Family: Married, two children

Occupation: Realtor, adjunct professor, Moreno Valley school board member

Education: Masters in governance certificate; masters in business administration, University of Phoenix; doctorate in education, Argosy University.

Interesting fact: My husband and I love to travel and wish to visit all seven continents. He has two more and I have three more to complete our goal. Studied three languages: Spanish, Japanese and French.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? We live in a great city, however, our city has suffered from unemployment and underemployment, leaders with lack of vision and leadership skills. Given the opportunity as mayor of Moreno Valley, I will work to bring to our city employers from the healthcare, education and government industries. These employers offer full-time, permanent employment with benefits and pay in the medium to high income range. In addition, our city must become small business friendly. Small businesses are a vital part of any city and is another employer source. We also need a downtown area where residents can mingle, stroll and our local bands and artists can display their talents.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? I am the only candidate in this race that has: a Navy military background; successfully won a city-wide election; proved my leadership skills by bringing unity to the school board; helped to raise graduation rate in last four years almost 20 percent, which put a positive image on the city; involved in city-wide successful coalition program for four years providing food, jobs, healthcare and other resources to over 300 citizens in Celebration Park; and is married to a vet.

Name: Joe Garcia

Age: 43

Family: Single, one son

Occupation: Business owner

Education: Bachelor of business administration, University of Zacatecas, Mexico; associates of science, Riverside Community College.

Interesting fact: Im an expert skier who enjoys using my season pass for Mammoth and Big Bear resorts as frequently as possible. I had a fabulous opportunity to fulfill a bucket list goal and skied in Chile with my son in August 2015. I hate pickles! I cannot stand to have them near my food.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? Economic opportunity, crime index and education. Will fight for $15 an hour (minimum wage), hire experienced officers to be leaders in the community, offer my services to Judy D. White, superintendent of the Moreno Valley Unified School District and connect with Assemblyman Jose Medina.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? I am the only candidate for mayor who has actual experience with multi-million dollar budgets, staffing and contracts. I know how to comprehend and analyze city budgets, financial statements and staff reports. The city has been mismanaged for more than the past 10 years, as demonstrated by our weak financial position. I will manage the revenues of the city with the help of a economist without raising taxes.

Name: Yxstian Gutierrez

Age: 31

Family: Single

Occupation: Special education teacher, council member, appointed mayor.

Education: Associate of arts and science, Riverside Community College; bachelor of arts, California Baptist University; teaching credentials, Chapman University; doctorate, Northcentral University.

Interesting fact: I love to travel and experience several cultures. Im also an avid ping pong player and I love to go hiking with my Labrador.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? I think the most important issue facing our city is a lack of local jobs as well as issues related to crime. I plan to attract more jobs to our area at the same time increasing public safety. I believe that we can continue to use a variety of economic development incentives as well as our own utility company to incentivize business growth and attract more local jobs. I plan to expand upon the Hire MoVal program that I proposed to attract more local jobs.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? I am the only candidate raised in Moreno Valley that is pro-growth and pro-jobs.

Name: Jesse Molina

Age: 64

Family: Married, four children and 10 grandchildren.

Occupation: Retired network specialist, council member.

Education: Attended Los Angeles City College; studying human services; electronics certificate, American Technical Institute of Technology; coursework at Riverside Community College.

Interesting fact: I am a proud Vietnam veteran. The lessons and skills I learned while in the military have served me well. I was proud to serve my country, proud of those who served before me and I am proud of the men and women serving today and I will always be there to help.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it?Some issues impacting us: economic development, public safety, our budget, education, the environment, warehousing and logistics and becoming a smarter city through technology. My plan is to ensure that Moreno Valley residents made the right decision to live, work and play in our city. Working more effectively with my colleagues is important. For transparency I requested a forensic audit in June 2015 and after being stonewalled for a year, I decided that Im going to see it through. I will make sure Highland Fairview lives up to their agreement and no bond measure for the World Logistics Center infrastructure sneaks through.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? What sets me apart as a leader is my ability to listen. At the request of voters and after listening to the public back in 2008 on the issue of a directly elected mayor, I authored and followed through with Measure R to give the citizens of Moreno Valley the ability to select their mayor, even at the risk of knowing it might not be me.

Name: Darrell A. Peeden

Age: 34

Family: Married, two children.

Occupation: Entrepreneur/chief development officer for Sigma Beta Xi, Inc.

Education: Abraham Rice Scholar at School of Public Policy at UC Riverside; bachelors degree in public policy with a concentration in economics, UC Riverside; associate degree in business administration/management, San Bernardino Valley College.

Interesting Fact: Im an identical twin. Ive played professional arena football. I am a co-founder of a nonprofit organization, winning the Nonprofit Excellence Award from Community Connect. I won Startup Weekend Riverside for my mobile technology startup. Im related to Cordell Hull, the longest serving Secretary of State under Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? The most important issues facing our city is corruption and the economy. We will get big money and corporate influence out of Moreno Valley by passing and implementing a Moreno Valley Anti-Corruption Ordinance and ethics commission. In addition, poverty, unemployment and underemployment are of major concern. We address these issues by redesigning our economy and pursuing a community wealth building culture. This approach will move us away from warehouse development, temporary employment and low paying warehouse jobs, by allowing us to identify Moreno Valleys assets and develop a plan to increase small business density while providing key services and investment capital for small business in our community.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? I am the only candidate on the ballot seeking this office that is educated in public policy. No other candidate holds a bachelors degree in public policy. I am the only candidate who is an Abraham Rice Scholar at the School of Public Policy at UCR. Im the only entrepreneur on the ballot with experience ranging from: start-up ecosystems, athletics, healthy cities, food manufacturing, technology, public policy, public finance, not-for-profits and small business. Im the only candidate with an actual plan to remove big money influence from our city, and redesign our economy to address, poverty, temporary employment, and unemployment.

Name: George Price

Age: 68

Family: Married, two children, four grandchildren

Occupation: Retired parks and recreation director for Moreno Valley, city council member.

Education: Bachelor of arts in recreation administration, Cal State Long Beach; certificate, A. Gary Anderson, School of Management, UC Riverside

Interesting fact: I was honored as the Moreno Valley Chamber of Commerces Citizen of the Year 2005. Appeared and had a speaking part in a Michelob Light beer commercial in 1980. Was City yo-yo champion four years in a row growing up.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? The tenuous state of our budget is and will continue to be our biggest issue. We have been able to provide a balanced budget for a few years now. However, with increased costs, specifically public safety, we are going to have to seek additional revenue sources and without raising taxes on our residents. We must identify and attract high sales tax producing businesses to town. The new Hyundai dealership is a great start expected to generate $450,000 per year in sales tax. We must seek more like that. If we are going to continue building distribution centers we need to implement a point of sales tax revenue.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? My experience on both sides of the dais, first as a department head for over 20 years attending council meetings, and now on the other side as a council member has given me a unique perspective and has provided me with the knowledge and understanding of how a general law city operates. I am versed in most areas and will not need a learning curve. I am respected throughout the county and region and have had experience working with our local and regional partners. I am the only candidate endorsed by public safety as well as the Inland Valley Association of Realtors, the California Apt. Association and the AFL-CIO among others.

Name: James Silvas

Age: 25

Family: Single

Occupation: Casino employee

Education: Associates degree in kinesiology, Moreno Valley College

Interesting Fact: I have studied karate for six years, I have a varsity letter in wrestling from high school and I plan to study boxing and jiu-jitsu in the future.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? The most important issue our city of Moreno Valley faces is corruption. We have corruption in politics and we need to make huge changes in who holds office. My plan to see the necessary changes is already in affect by running for office. I hope to continue a trend of honest office holders so we have a true democracy for our great citys people.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? What sets me apart from the other candidates is that I would be new to our citys politics so I am not involved with any corruption that has occurred/occurring. I am the only candidate not accepting donations from special interest groups or people so I dont own anything to anyone. I am strictly running to make Moreno Valley better for everyone in our city.

Name: Keri A. Then

Age: 56

Family: Married, two daughters

Occupation: Adjunct professor, University of Redlands, School of Business; commissioner, Riverside County Commission for Women

Education: Doctor of business administration, Argosy University; master of science in telecommunications, University of Colorado-Boulder; master of science in international relations, Troy State University; bachelor of arts in social science, Chapman University; associate in science in electronics systems technology; Community College of the Air Force.

Interesting Fact: While stationed overseas, I was a swimming referee during our youngest daughters high school years for the European Forces Swim League. This experience led me to become a U.S. Olympic Committee Sixth Ring member.

What is the most important issue facing your district or city and what specific plan(s) do you have to address it? The most important issue facing our City is to build a better Moreno Valley. I will unite us around a city center with mixed use residential housing and small businesses, restaurants, a library, and an outdoor performing arts center; I will propel us into the future by diversifying our industry footprint beyond warehouses with local jobs and careers that reduce our working families commute; and I will ensure safe and sustainable communities by supporting Measure L to generate more revenue for city services. I support a move toward a charter city to bring public safety in-house and control our budget.

What sets you apart from other candidates seeking this office? I have greater breadth and depth of experience than my opponents. I have served my country in the US Air Force, my state while employed at UC Riverside, the county as an appointed commissioner on the Riverside County Commission for Women and the school district as an appointed member of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. My depth of experience includes senior leadership positions as the military operating location chief, Pruem Air Station, Germany; a senior telecommunications engineer at UCR; an IT director at the University of Redlands and a 10-year member of the board of directors for a nonprofit.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 orighori@scng.comTwitter: @ImranGhori1
Parting is often a wellspring of sorrow for visitors to the Temecula Valley Wine Country.

After spending a day sipping chardonnay and munching on cheese and crackers, they find themselves stuck in a long line of traffic on westbound Rancho California Road, a two-lane thoroughfare that serves as an entrance and exit to the popular wine-tasting region.

On busy weekends, the wait to get beyond the Butterfield Stage Road intersection  where Rancho California expands to four lanes  can stretch up to 20 minutes. And traffic blocks the entrances to wineries on the western edge of Wine Country.

The good news? Relief is on the way.

Temecula officials said Friday that Riverside County and the city are teaming up to widen that intersection and the stretch of Butterfield Stage that runs from La Serena Way to Rancho California.

Thats going to really clear up that intersection, said Thomas Garcia, the citys Public Works director.

The city plans to put the project out to bid around April and start work in the summer, possibly around June. Officials were hoping to move on the project sooner, but there was an issue with the relocation of a single power pole at the northeast corner of the intersection.

As soon as that pole is moved, were ready to go out to bid, Garcia said, adding that his office is working with Southern California Edison to get that particular part of the project completed.

Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar said money to pay for the bulk of the work is coming from bonds that were issued by the developer of the huge Roripaugh Ranch development to the north.

When that development was abandoned during the recession, the city stepped in and took over management of the construction work, which includes the stretch of Butterfield Stage that connects to Murrieta Hot Springs Road.

That segment, opened in 2014, has become popular for Wine Country visitors who live in the Nicolas Valley portion of the city as well as residents of Murrieta and French Valley.

COUNTY SECTION WORK GOES FIRST

Garcia said the first part of the project will focus on the section of Rancho California thats in the county. That stretch  from Butterfield Stage to the entrance of Hart Winery at Avenida Biona  will be widened from two to four lanes.

On the citys side of Rancho California, an eastbound right-turn-only lane will be become a through lane.

When thats finished, the crew will start working on the Butterfield Stage segment.

To get traffic through the new intersection more efficiently, the city plans to adjust the signals. Combined with the new lanes, the city said, the road improvements should help shrink the line of cars that forms on westbound Rancho California in the evenings Thursdays, Fridays and on weekends.

Ben Drake, president of the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association, said Friday he was hoping the city and the county could start work sooner.

But Ill take whatever we can get, he said.

The county has tried to address some of the issues at that intersection by adding clusters of plastic lane dividers to the turn lane in the middle of Rancho California Road, preventing motorists from using that lane as an illegal shortcut. But drivers still are using winery driveways for illegal U-turns and speed down the thoroughfare at 60 mph, he said.

Jim Hart of Hart Winery said the project should be a boon for his establishment if it means people more easily will be able to make a left turn from Rancho California Road, which is sometimes difficult now because of the long line of cars.

Its a huge problem, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9698 or aclaverie@scng.com
When Bill Clinton announced in August that the Clinton Foundation will no longer accept foreign or corporate donations if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, it was at least the third set of ethics rules that the post-presidential, pre-presidential charity has adopted to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

At the time Mrs. Clinton was nominated to be secretary of state, the foundation was required to seek the approval of the State Department before accepting donations from foreign governments. When she launched her presidential campaign, the foundation was limited in what it could accept from foreign governments, but donations from individuals and corporations were accepted.

The ethics policy announced by the former president in August would have barred the contributions of 53 percent of the donors who gave $1 million or more to the Clinton Foundation, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. That list includes the government of Saudi Arabia, ExxonMobil and Barclays, a British bank.

By now its clear that a foundation tied to a government official cannot avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, even when ethics rules are followed, which may not always have been the case.

In 2012, while Clinton was secretary of state, a senior official of the foundation emailed associates that the U.S. ambassador from the Gulf state of Qatar had asked to see Bill Clinton for five minutes in New York to present him with a $1 million check that Qatar had promised for the former presidents birthday in 2011, according to a hacked email from the account of John Podesta, Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign chairman, released by WikiLeaks.

The State Department says it did not receive a request to approve a donation from Qatar in 2012, and the foundation says approval was not needed under an exception to the Clintons 2008 ethics agreement. President Clintons spokesman would not say whether the former president met with the ambassador, and Hillary Clintons campaign refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the email.

It doesnt inspire confidence.

The appearance of conflict of interest hangs in the air.

As bad as that is, it would be worse if members of Clintons family continued to solicit enormous sums for the foundation from people who may be seeking access or influence in a Clinton administration.

If Hillary Clinton wins on Nov. 8, the first action she takes as president elect should be the dissolution of the Clinton Foundation. Its charitable work should be taken over by an organization that doesnt have a satellite office in the West Wing.
For several years, the San Gorgonio Inn was a roadside landmark in Banning, catering to hungry travelers between Los Angeles and the desert  and beyond.

Like so many other such attractions, its time came and left, but memories of it still linger.

The origins of the San Gorgonio Inn date to its construction in 1885, when it was called the Hotel Banning, operated first by George Bryant and then a few years later by Floretta Fraser. In 1924, business partners John Livacich and Anton Gilich bought the old Banning hotel from Mrs. Fraser, who had operated the hotel for more than 30 years.

Livacich and Gilich immediately decided to upgrade the aging, two-story hotel by adding cottages to the grounds. The cottages, built to form a U-shape with the old hotel in the center, could cater to guests who wanted more privacy.

The new San Gorgonio Inn, as Livacich and Gilich called their revamped hostelry, became a rest stop during the 1920s for people making the long trip into the desert. Likewise, the 1920s were good to the pair, with business constantly increasing as more and more cars, with their hungry travelers, passed through Banning.

A major setback came the night of April 14, 1930, when a fire of suspicious origin tore through the main, old hotel, destroying it nearly completely.

Livacich was quoted in the Riverside Press as saying that the silverware and dishes were stolen during the blaze. Luckily, the hotel was fully insured and Livacich (who by now was alone in the venture) opted to rebuild the main part of the building in Spanish-style architecture. He made the building solely a restaurant and caretaker residence  the hotel portion being relegated to the cottages.

In 1938, Livacich lost the inn to Hattie Barcroft, the daughter of Floretta Fraser, in a court case involving monies that were still owed to Frasers estate. Barcroft managed the inn through the war years, then sold it to the retired professional dance team of Jack and Ria Beauvell, Jack becoming the cook and Ria becoming the business manager.

The Beauvells, who had danced for heads of state in the 1930s, expanded the inn in the 1950s and were associated with the inn and Banning for several years. Known as Uncle Jack and Aunt Ria, they were known for their hospitality, and during their tenure the inn became a center of community life in the Banning area.

When the Beauvells died in the early 1980s, they deeded the inn to Chris Dallas, who had worked for them since 1972 and was an apprentice of sorts to Jack Beauvell. Dallas maintained the same high standard that the Beauvells had through 1993, when he sold it to a syndicate that briefly converted it into a strip club. Dallas mustered his resources and bought back the inn shortly after that episode. He kept it going through 2006, when it was sold to another person who closed it a year later.

The inn, a true landmark of the San Gorgonio Pass, was torn down in 2011 in a redevelopment project that replaced the Inn with a vacant lot.

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.
A stolen vehicle investigation prompted eight arrests and a backpack filled with guns and ammunition following a neighborhood search in Jurupa Valley where a school was locked down during the roundup, sheriffs officials say.

The incident began about 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, when the vehicle was spotted near Bain Street and San Sevaine Way. Deputies found the car parked at a nearby Bain Street home, where the backpack was found and several men were detained.

But four other men ran away, prompting the neighborhood search and the lockdown of Mission Bell Elementary School, Sgt. Christian Decker said in a written statement that was released the following day.

When the roundup ended, five men were booked on felony charges ranging from parole violation to weapons and drug offenses. Three others were ticketed and released.
Come Nov. 8, California may be joining states such as Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, allowing residents to possess limited amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

College campuses have been a hotbed for marijuana use  as well as other drugs  since the late 1960s. Most schools have strict policies regarding illicit drug use. But what happens if marijuana no longer is considered illicit by the state?

Officials with the California State University Chancellors Office said they plan to continue to observe federal law as it applies to marijuana use and possession.

CSU spokeswoman Toni Molle said if the systems campuses fail to observe federal drug laws, it could jeopardize the federal funds they receive.

Molles office issued a statement saying federal law requires state schools to take all reasonable measures to prevent the use of illegal drugs on campuses.

If we are unable to do so, we would lose eligibility for federal financial aid for our students as well as federal grants and contracts, the statement said. Drugs are defined under federal law to include marijuana (by way of the Controlled Substances Act).

The statement went on to say: CSU does not anticipate a change in policy. CSU will continue to deem marijuana as an illegal drug.

Some things still must be determined.

Cal State campuses are patrolled by state police officers, who likely would not be able to cite students who are over 21 and possess a legal amount of cannabis under state law.

Joe Gutierrez, spokesman for Cal State San Bernardino, said there is still a lot of uncertainty as to what would happen if the law passes, but campus officials believe they can enforce existing policies through their own internal government. He said officials dont plan to increase police personnel/patrols.

If a student is found with a certain amount of marijuana, the officers will issue a (campus-generated) judicial citation and refer it to the student conduct council, he said.

Sacramento attorney Richard Miadich, who wrote Proposition 64, said campus police also would be able to confiscate the drug. He said he consulted with governmental agencies during the drafting of the law to make sure that it did not jeopardize the federal standing of agencies such as public universities.

One consistent attribute of this law is trying to preserve the ability of public and private employers to receive federal funds, Miadich said. They can continue to have a drug-free zone.

He said the new law also will let campuses regulate private spaces such as student housing.

With respect to college dorms, (Prop. 64) maintains existing laws, he said. Nothing in the initiative requires a public entity to allow cannabis on its premises.

An 2014 Atlantic Monthly story looked at the issue and the conundrum some schools were facing. It noted that in Colorado, a student over 21 who possessed less than an ounce of marijuana while on campus might face a reprimand from the school but could not be cited by police.

The same story noted that drug violations at the University of Colorado, Boulder actually dropped by half after marijuana was legalized. The author noted that the school also took more of an instructive approach, rather than a punitive one, in the wake of the new law.

So if youre a student at a California public university planning to light up on Nov. 9, better wait before firing up that bong.

A NEW FOSSIL FUEL

Two UC Riverside professors are putting a new twist on fossil fuel.

Mihri and Cengiz Ozkan, who have used such creative materials in batteries as mushrooms and beach sand, say that fossilized algae can provide a better silicone structure for lithium battery anodes. They are extracting the honeycomb-like nanomaterial from diatomaceous earth.

Silicon has 10 times the storage capacity of traditional anodes, but until now, production of the material has been expensive and takes a lot of energy.

The researchers used a process called magnesiothermic reduction, allowing them to produce pure silicon nanoparticles from sedimentary rock rich in the element. Such rocks are abundant.

If the process proves popular, it will mean that not all fossil fuels are bad.

Contact the writer: mmuckenfuss@scng.com or 951-368-9595
Deborah Burger, co-president of the California Nurses Association, says that when she started her career as an intensive care unit nurse in the 1970s, a grocery clerk made more money than she did.

Things have changed quite a bit since then, especially in California.

Registered nurses in the Golden State earn $100,000 a year on average, more than their counterparts anywhere else in the country, according to recently-released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average hourly wage for registered nurses in California is $48.68 an hour, the 2015 data shows.

California also employs the most registered nurses  255,010 last year. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan area alone employs 70,810 nurses. The only other region employing more than that is New York-Jersey City.

Burger, who practices in Sonoma County, said appreciation for the value of nurses has grown over time. Their wages started rising in the early 2000s, and the female-dominated field began to see some parity with other occupations, such as law enforcement. A 1999 California law mandating specific nurse-to-patient ratios also played a role in boosting registered nurse wages.

I think nurses themselves really started to understand that hospitals dont function without them and they are indispensable for patient safety, Burger said.

Nurses in Hawaii and Massachusetts earn nearly as much as those in California, with average annual salaries of $90,000 and $88,000, respectively. The national average salary for a registered nurse is $71,000.

This makes sense, experts say, considering that living expenses in those three states are high. In addition, the nurses union has a strong presence in California.

Dr. Joanne Spetz, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, said that despite the high statewide average, it is important to consider regional wage differences. California is a big state and there is lots of variation, she said.

A nurse working in Bakersfield probably isnt making the same salary as one in San Francisco, Spetz said. Incomes of nurses on the pricey Westside of Los Angeles, and in the Bay Area, most likely drive the averages up, Spetz said.

The ten locations in the U.S. that pay the highest salaries to registered nurses are all located in California. At top are nurses in San Francisco, who earn $133,000 per year, on average. The city is also known for having the highest rents in the nation.

Other high-paying regions for California registered nurses include Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Sacramento and Modesto.

Spetz said another reason behind the higher salaries for RNs is that Californias licensed vocational nurses  who receive less training than registered nurses  are not allowed to do as much as their counterparts in other states. For example, LVNs in California cannot administer medication through an intravenous line. This results in a higher demand for registered nurses, who are paid accordingly, Spetz said.

In 1999, California passed a law that established minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals, driving up demand for registered nurses in particular. In a 2009 study, Spetz and colleagues found that from 2000 to 2006, registered nurses in Californias urban centers saw their wages rise by as much as 12 percent more than RNs in other states.

After the implementation of the nurse-to-staff ratios, wage growth for RNs far outstripped wage growth in other states without such legislation, the study says.

High demand, the high cost of living and union power underlie the higher salaries of Californias registered nurses.

Burger said the nurses union has also played a role in assuring that nurses have access to pension plans and that they retire with health benefits. And thats something that some non-unionized nurses still dont receive, she said.

Theres also been a culture shift. A registered nurses job is no longer to simply carry out a doctors orders; there are more functions and responsibilities, Burger said. Were also now writing orders that doctors sign off on, she said. Its a little bit of everything.

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Donald Trumps name appears just once on the Nov. 8 ballot. But Democrats hope it becomes an anchor that drags down other Republican candidates.

Thats why California Democrats are doing all they can to link Trump, an unpopular figure in the Golden State, with Republicans running for Congress, Assembly and even county supervisor.

At this point, it would almost be easier to list the races where Trumps presence isnt having an effect, said Rob Pyers, research director for the nonpartisan California Target Book, which studies legislative races.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount, said focusing on Trump might be an effective Democratic strategy in some places and with undecided or independent voters.

I personally think the strength of our candidates kind of speaks for itself, Rendon said. We can run our candidates independent of Trump.

In an emailed statement, California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte said: Over the past two decades, presidential campaigns have not been particularly good to California. During gubernatorial elections our down-ticket candidates have a tailwind and during presidential elections our down-ticket candidates have a headwind.

We expect this presidential election to be no different.

California already is friendly to Democrats, who control the Legislature, all statewide elected offices and 39 of the states 53 seats in the House of Representatives. No Republicans advanced beyond the June primary in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, ensuring the seat will remain Democratic.

Thats not to say the California Democratic Party doesnt have goals for November. In Sacramento, Democrats hope to regain a two-thirds legislative majority. In Washington, D.C., the goal is to weaken if not erase the GOPs House majority.

To get there, Democrats want Trump front and center. Theyve been helped in recent weeks by reports that Trump could have avoided paying federal income taxes for close to 20 years and a hot mic video from 2005 in which Trump crudely boasts of kissing and groping women.

At least nine women have come forward to accuse Trump of kissing or touching them inappropriately. And after the last debate, Trump, who has made unsubstantiated claims about a rigged election, faced a backlash after refusing to say whether hed accept the election results.

Trumps troubles pose a dilemma for GOP candidates. Reject Trump and they risk angering their base. Stand with him and they risk alienating voters needed to win current and future elections.

Polls show Clinton with a growing lead over Trump. In California, Clinton has a 26-point lead in a SurveyUSA poll released Monday, Oct 17, by Southern California News Group and KABC/Eyewitness News.

THANKS OBAMA?

In Californias 49th Congressional District, which represents parts of Orange and San Diego counties, Democrat Doug Applegate has run ads linking Trump to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista.

Issa criticized Trumps hot-mic comments but did not withdraw his support for the GOP nominee. But after making a name for himself with dogged investigations of President Barack Obamas administration, Issa sent out a mailer thanking the president for signing legislation Issa co-sponsored intended to protect sexual assault victims.

In San Bernardino Countys 31st Congressional District, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Redlands, has sent mailers and press releases emphasizing Republican rival Paul Chabots support for Trump. Aguilars campaign accused Chabot of sharing extreme views with Trump on abortion, immigration and other issues.

Chabot spokesman Ryan Hall said, We must remember that all politics are local. Aguilar and progressives like Clinton are out of touch with the values and needs of those they represent. Voters from across our region feel betrayed by Aguilar and those in power.

In the 25th Congressional District, which includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Democrat Bryan Caforio used a TV ad to say hell stand up to Trump unlike extremist Congressman Steve Knight. Knight, R-Santa Clarita, has said he cant support Clinton or Trump.

BASICALLY TWINS

Abigail Medina, a school board member and Democratic Assembly candidate in San Bernardino County, is using Trump against Assemblyman Marc Steinorth, R-Rancho Cucamonga. One Medina mailer shows Steinorth seeing Trumps reflection in a mirror. Another portrays Steinorth and Trump as two sides of the same coin.

Steinorth said Medina is linking him to Trump because (she) is insecure about her qualifications  I have never endorsed Trump and she knows that. But she has nothing else to run on.

I have found (Trumps) comments to be offensive, Steinorth added. I dont have the luxury of just playing games with words like Abigail does.

Ben Golombek of the Medina campaign insisted that Steinorth and Trump are basically twins, sharing the same background and stances such as allowing guns in schools.

Ill put Abigails record of improving graduation rates and fighting for the middle class against Steinorths record of making money for himself, he said.

In Los Angeles Countys 66th Assembly District, Democratic Assembly candidate Al Muratsuchi created www.hadleytrump.com, to link Trump with Assemblyman David Hadley, R-Torrance. Trump Hadley lawn signs angered Hadley, who said he would love for Trump to step down.

In the race to replace Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Darrell Park said in his campaign statement that Kathryn Barger supported Trumps policies. Barger, a Republican who is Antonovichs top aide, said she does not back Trump.

The office of supervisor is nonpartisan and Barger took Park to court for making the statement. She won last month.

Trump even factored into the U.S. Senate race between California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats.

Sanchez criticized Harris for taking Trump campaign donations and accused the attorney general of failing to protect the public from Trump University, which has been accused of fraud in civil court. Harris has since donated the Trump contributions to charity.

TERRA INCOGNITA

Its not clear whether the Trump-tying strategy will pay off. The Cook Political Report rates Knights and Issas seats as toss-ups, while the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report gives an edge to the incumbents. Both forecasters expect Aguilar to beat Chabot.

Pyers of the target book isnt sure what will happen. I have to imagine that its going to be a little more difficult lumping their opponents in with Trump now that hes broken free from the lab and seems intent on asphyxiating every Republican within reach, he said.

At the same time, though, its not out of the realm of possibility that angry Trump supporters leave the down-ballot races blank in a fit of pique. On this, were in terra incognita.

Staff Writer Susan Abram contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@scng.com
Jay Rajcevich almost fell out of his chair when he called to check on his water bill about a week ago.

Charges for the month at his Moreno Valley home totaled $1,307.68  almost eight times his previous bill from the Eastern Municipal Water District of $165.02.

The new bill showed that Rajcevich averaged 4,702 gallons per day for the four-week period that ended Oct. 5.

By comparison, the September bill average was 598 gallons a day. In August, the average was 887 gallons a day.

Rajcevich, 58, who runs a shipping and mailing business, and his wife, Sally, have lived at the home on a half-acre lot at the citys northeast end for 20 years. Their house includes a well-manicured lawn, extensive landscaping, a swimming pool and a koi pond.

Their water use has been consistent all these years, he said.

Water district officials and Rajcevich suspected a water leak caused the sudden spike. But in recent days, Rajcevich has been unable to find the problem and is frustrated that the district cant help him.

Ive looked all over for a leak, but I cant find one, he said.

Water district spokesman Kevin Pearson said the district will help Rajcevich by considering lowering the bill. But finding any possible leak and fixing the problems are the customers responsibility.

Eastern cant send employees to search for leaks or recommend companies that do so because of liability concerns, Pearson said.

Thats not our role and responsibility, he said. Its up to the customer to seek out somebody they are comfortable with to help them repair that issue.

As for Rajcevich, his first thoughts centered on his pool or the pond. But turning them off a few days didnt help, Rajcevich said. Hes also seen no signs of a leak such as wet grass or water runoff to the street below his sloping front yard.

Shutting off the irrigation valve that sends water to sprinklers in the front and back appeared to stop the flow of water, but it didnt help to locate the source of the problem, Rajcevich said.

Rajcevich said he has checked pumps and valves, dug holes and had two lawn maintenance workers who installed his sprinklers try to find a leak.

The water district told him he can apply to have some of the charges reduced as part of its program for what are called concealed leaks  those that the property owner has no reasonable way of knowing about. The district has 145,000 water and sewer customers from Moreno Valley to Temecula.

Literally, what theyre asking me to do is dig up my entire half-acre and pay the bill, Rajcevich said.

Rajcevich also questioned why the district didnt notify him that his usage suddenly had skyrocketed when it read his meter a week earlier.

The district sometimes see such leaks  due to a variety of causes  especially with homes that are 20 years or older, Pearson said. Thats why the district has the concealed-leak program to waive fees when leaks are discovered, he said.

The district will process Rajcevichs application to waive some of the charges quickly once the problem is found and repaired, Pearson said. That should substantially reduce the bill, he said.

As for why Rajcevich wasnt notified, Pearson said meter readers in the field might not know what the previous reading was.

The district is replacing its manual meters with automated ones that will flag the system if a sudden surge in use is detected, Pearson said. The new meters will send text and email notifications to customers.

Rajcevich, meanwhile, is preoccupied with trying solve his problem.

Its a mystery, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 orighori@scng.comTwitter: @ImranGhori1
Christians, Muslims, traditionalists must all pray towards a peaceful elections 2016 or the calamities that awaits Ghana will be disastrous - controversial man of God, Rev Owusu Bempah has warned in an interview on NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie.



The Founder and leader of the Glorious Word Ministry says he foresees evil  but noted that the only weapon to it that is prayers.



In the spiritual realm, Ghanaians must pray before, during and after the December elections. This will ensure and maintain the peace the country is noted for, he said.



Prophet Isaac Owusu Bempah also advised the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei to be above-board in her supervision so as to ensure peaceful elections.



We beg her to be fair to all political parties to prevent any untoward occurrence. We are praying tireless and I believe that nothing will happen in this country. But if we fail to pray, then this country will not be safe, he said.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has instructed the Judicial Council, headed by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, to return documents on the implementation of the controversial consolidation salary to President John Mahama.



According to Alex Nartey, President of the Association, the document, which could have been rejected by JUSAG, was riddled with what he described as gaps.



He was emphatic that JUSAG had given the council up till October 31, 2016 to conclude work on the corrections of the said gaps in the documents.



JUSAG said it has been battling with the government over the delays in the payment of their allowances from July 2014 to date, insisting that all efforts and dialogues to address the matter had proved futile.



This has culminated in threats of nationwide strikes at various stages of negotiation with the government.



Addressing journalists at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Mr Nartey stated that there had been a reduction in their demands, stressing that their resolve to embark on a strike still hangs.



He stated that the processes were overdue and expressed surprise at the manner the government was handing the issue.



The JUSAG president noted that issues concerning the association required more urgent attention.



The indication is that our conditions of service proposed by the Judicial Council have been approved by the presidentWhen we took a close look at it, we saw some shortfalls; there are gaps in the documents submitted to the Council, he argued.



Mr Nartey continued, JUSAG had wanted to decline to accept it but in line with negotiation principles, since the Judicial Council is the constitutional body to determine our conditions of service, we have told the Judicial Council that it should go back to the president for the corrections to be made.



In the view of the JUSAG president, the council has accepted to go back to the government to ensure that the gaps contained in the document have been resolved.



The Attorney General (AG) directed all striking members of the Association of State Attorneys to resume work yesterday, Friday, October 21, 2016, or lose their remuneration.



The AGs directive was based on an order issued by the National Labour Commission (NLC) in respect of the ongoing strike by the Attorneys.



The Association of State Attorneys declared a strike on Thursday over governments inability to resolve some outstanding issues relating to their salaries.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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African leaders have been urged to make good negotiation deals to get desirable benefits from their natural resources.



A good negotiation deal, according to Mr George Lugalambi, the Media Capacity Development Officer of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), an NGO in the extractive sector could be obtained if African governments placed priority on taxation and local impact when signing contracts.



Mr Lugalambi gave the advice at the on-going regional training course for selected African Journalists on oil, gas and mining in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania in East Africa.



Twenty-Four Journalists  eight each selected from Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda are attending the 14-day course being organized by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET) in collaboration with Penplusbytes, an International ICT Journalism in Ghana and the African Center of Media Excellence in Uganda.



Mr Lugalambi observed that natural resource extraction had huge effects on local communities, hence, the need for African leaders to think of the ordinary people whenever they undertake a negotiation deal for the exploitation of minerals.



He underlined the importance for governments in the continent to put and allowed national interest to override their individual gains on the natural resource decision chain for the benefit of the majority of citizens.



Mr Nicholas Phythian, an International Journalist and the Course Content Development Officer explained the importance for African governments to identify and address weaknesses in their various legal regime governing the extractive sector.



This, they could do better, when African leaders do comparative analysis in their legal frameworks on the extractive sector to be able to know their weaknesses and strength, he added.



According to Mr Phythian, this would put them in a better position to strongly negotiate for better deals.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An international local content expert has expressed worry that local participation in oil and gas activities in Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania is significantly low.



According to Ms Neema K. Lugangira, a former Senior Supplies Officer (local content) at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals in Tanzania said robust policy and strong legal framework were required to improve the situation.



Such legal framework should be well-informed and should be updated accordingly, Ms Lugangira, said, when she spoke on local content at the on-going media training course for ted African Journalists underway in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.



Being attended by 24 reporters with eight each selected from Ghana Uganda and Tanzania, the 14-day course is sponsored by the Natural Resource Governance Institute.



It was organised by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania in collaboration with Penplusbytes, international ICT Journalism in Ghana and the African Centre for Media Excellence in Tanzania.



The course is aimed at empowering the participants to develop interest in and tell the true story of the extractive sector, especially in the oil, gas and mining.



Ms Lugangira explained that the oil, gas and mining sector offered good opportunity for local businesses to thrive and as such would increase the potential to reduce unemployment but regretted about the lack of stringent local content requirement.



Only a handful of nationals are engaged in service value chain. Most of the goods and services demanded by the industry are also imported, she added.



Ms Lugangira who is also a former Acting Director for Local Content in Investments, National Economic Empowerment Council in Tanzania, asked the participants to explore and conduct in-depth comparative analysis on the local content frameworks for the benefit of the three countries.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Flag-bearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, will hold another LIVE Facebook interaction session with his fans today Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 4pm.



This will be the third time the leader is engaging with Ghanaians on the social space.



The topic to be discussed is A PPP ADMINISTRATION  SMALL, LEAN & POWERFUL; INCLUSIVE, NOT MORE THAN 40 MINISTERS, WITH THE RIGHT MEN AND WOMEN.



Ghanaians and all Facebook lovers can click on this link: HYPERLINK "http://www.facebook.com/pknduom" www.facebook.com/pknduom to participate in the session.



Late Sunday, Dr. Nduom discussed his vision for Ghanaian farmers on Facebook and had Question and Answer session several weeks before.



This makes him the first presidential aspirant to do this in the history of Ghana.



Dr Nduom has given the assurance that when voted in as President, he will from time to time interact with the people and help them understand his policies so that together, they can transform this country to become a strong, prosperous one.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Chief of Staff Julius Debrah must withdraw and apologise over his recent comment asking adults to stay away from local fruit juice Kalyppo, an offshoot of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said.



The Truth Forum described Mr. Debrahs statement as irresponsible and aimed at killing local businesses.



This brings back memories of terror on private entrepreneurship; and as a people, we must condemn such utterances in our political discourse.



We are therefore calling on Mr. Julius Debrah to apologise for the irresponsible statement, and also to the manufacturers of Kalyppo and the general public, a statement signed by Anthony Karbo, a member of the Truth Forum and a communication member of the NPP said.



Below is the full statement:



NDC ATTACKS LOCAL INDUSTRY

The Truth Forum, condemns the reckless and irresponsible pronouncements made by the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, urging Ghanaians to stay away from Kalyppo, a locally-made fruit juice.



It is rather unfortunate that, after 8years of making a complete mess of the Ghanaian economy, the John Mahama-led NDC government has decided to not only negatively tag our local industry, but take us back to the dark days in our history.



It will be recalled that a few weeks ago, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo, was spotted in photograph drinking Kalyppo fruit juice. The photograph went viral on social media, with Ghanaians from all walks of life identifying with him by posting selfies mimicking him drinking the locally made juice. It is obvious that sales of Kalyppo has increased tremendously in recent times.



Speaking to supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Brong Ahafo Regional town of Wenchi, Mr. Debrah said adults who take very sweet fruit juices would go down with a sickness called Kalyppolities. The Chief of Staff has suddenly acquired medical qualification to determine what our population should or should not consume.



After presiding over several years of unending power crisis, high taxes, petroleum price hikes, high utility tariffs, mismanagement of the economy, unstable currency which has resulted in collapse of many businesses and rendering hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians jobless, it is regrettable that such comments would come from the Chief of staff. Instead of outlining what has been done to curtail the energy crisis in the long-term, as well as measures put in place to make the business environment conducive for business to thrive, this is how low government has decided to sink.



This brings back memories of terror on private entrepreneurship; and as a people, we must condemn such utterances in our political discourse.



We are therefore calling on Mr. Julius Debrah to apologise for the irresponsible statement, and also to the manufacturers of Kalyppo and the general public.



Signed.

Anthony Abayifaa Karbo

Member Truth Forum

20TH October 2016









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PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has denounced the defeated national Democratic Congress (NDC) candidates, who have filed nominations to contest as independent candidates in the 2016 parliamentary election.



He said: The NDC will not entertain NDC members who contest as independent candidates but it will rather appeal to you to rally behind the NDC candidates to win in their constituencies.



President Mahama, who was addressing NDC sup-porters as part of his four-day campaign tour of the Volta Region, said it was unacceptable for the same family to be divided on account of political power. Disgruntled and defeat-ed candidates in the ruling NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have in the past and even this year deserted their parties to contest as independent candidates.



In most cases, they share the votes with the partys elected candidates, paving the way for other political parties to make inroads in the election.



The call by the President, therefore, is to avoid the situation whereby their actions could thwart the efforts of duly elected candidates in their bid to win the seats. President Mahama said although it was practice in the country, it would continue to be an inimical and alien to the NDC, as it could serve as a reducing agent for the fortunes of the party and candidates.



He said although the NDC would be retained in power, there was no need engaging in activities that could hamper and dwindle the fortunes and goodwill Ghanaians had given them over the years.



On development projects, President Mahama said the building blocks had been laid in his first term of office and in the second term, they would put the icing on the cake by accomplishing the development dreams of Ghana to make her taller than her peers on the continent.



He mentioned agriculture and job creation as the major components of his next four-year term and urged the electorate to exhibit a high-level of discipline before, during and after the polls.



The President also addressed the gathering at similar rallies at Golokwati and Songor in the North Dayi Constituency where he inaugurated a newly constructed administration block of the Songor Senior High Technical School. He later addressed students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Ho Municipality.

Source: GNA









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The chief of Tafo, Nana Agyen Frimpong II, has defended the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), stating that the three-time presidential candidate is not corrupt.



I know Nana Akufo-Addo. He is not corrupt, and he eschews all forms of corrupt practices. If there is any truth in voting, then God will glorify Himself in this years election, he noted.



Nana Frimpong II made this known on Friday, October 21, 2016, when Mr Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him, as part of the NPP flag bearers campaign tour of the Old Tafo constituency.



The chief of Tafo, in his brief remarks, also expressed worry about the fact that voters, who are in a hurry to cast their ballot end up voting wrongly, advising: So I am urging my people to take their time and vote wisely in this years elections. No one should waste his vote.



On the lack of economic activity in his town, Nana Frimpong II noted that institutions like the Kumasi Wesley College, Suame Magazine, amongst others, which are all situated on Tafo stool lands, are not under the oversight control of the Tafo stool.



The only notable thing here, which is still within our control, is the Tafo cemetery. Nana, when you win, I want you to help elevate Tafo. This town can no longer be classified, even as a municipality. Tafo is now a sub-metropolis. When Tafo is elevated, Ghana will also be elevated, he said.



To this end, Nana Frimpong II urged the NPP flag bearer to site ventures which will create economic activity within the town, and also create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed youth in Old Tafo if he wins the December election.



Our prayer is for God to elect a president who is coming to work for all Ghanaians, so we can get peace. We will pray for you, so God and our ancestors grant you victory in this years elections, the Tafo chief concluded.

Source: Classfmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Sarkin Zongo of Old Tafo, Alhaji Seidu Chibsah, has stated that of all the manifestos launched by the various political parties in this election year, the only manifesto which contains a specific programme for the development of Zongo communities across the country is that of the New Patriotic Party.



According to Alhaji Seidu Chibsah, we, in Tafo Zongo, are extremely delighted with the NPPs Zongo Development Fund. We know you have thought through it and we know you will administer this fund to the benefit of every resident in Zongo communities.



The Tafo Zongo Chief made this known on Friday, October 21, 2016, when Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him, as part of the NPP flagbearers campaign tour of the Old Tafo constituency.



Alhaji Seidu Chibsah noted that even though Chiefs are not allowed by law to participate in active, partisan politics, the law does not bar them from expressing their concerns regarding the governance of the country.



If things are not going on well with the nation, we have every right to voice out our concerns in this regard. We are Ghanaians, we pay our taxes, so we have every right to speak out when things are not going on well in the country, he said.



To this end, the Tafo Zongo Chief indicated that I am in full support of the development theory the NPP has outlined. The NPP wants to encourage and stimulate the growth in the private sector, through the reduction and abolition of some taxes, so that businesses can expand. That is the way to go. When this is done, jobs will be created, and then government can tax businesses.



Alhaji Seidu Chibsah stressed that, as a government, you dont tax businesses from the onset. If you do so, how will they grow? Is it surprising, therefore, that Ghanaian businesses are suffering, and the people in our respective communities dont have jobs to do?



On the selection of Dr. Bawumia as NPP vice Presidential candidate since 2008, Alhaji Seidu Chibsah expressed his appreciation to Nana Akufo-Addo for sticking to one of their own for 3 consecutive elections.



We now understand why you have selected Dr. Bawumia as your running mate. To us Muslims, Dr. Bawumia has become a shining light and a star. We want you to continue holding him close to your heart, he added.













Akufo-Addo is not Corrupt  Tafo Hene



Prior to his visit to the Sarkin Zongo, Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Tafo, Nana Agyen Frimpong II, who described Nana Akufo-Addo, as someone who is not corrupt.



According to Tafo Chief, I know Nana Akufo-Addo. He is not corrupt, and he eschews all forms of all corrupt practices. If theres any truth in voting, then God will glorify Himself in this years election.



The Chief of Tafo, in his brief remarks, expressed worry about the fact that voters, who are in a hurry to cast their ballot, end up voting wrongly. So I am urging my people to take their time, and vote wisely in this years elections. No one should waste his vote.



On the lack of economic activity in his town, Nana Agyen Frimpong II noted that institutions like the Kumasi Wesley College, Suame Magazine, amongst others, which are all situated on the lands of the Tafo stool, are not under the oversight control of the Tafo stool.



The only notable thing here, which is still within our control, is the Tafo cemetery. Nana when you win, I want you to help elevate Tafo. This town can no longer be classified, even, as a municipality. Tafo is now a sub-metropolis. When Tafo is elevated, Ghana will also be elevated, he said.



To this end, Nana Agyen Frimpong II urged the NPP flagbearer to site ventures which will create economic activity within the township, and also create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed youth in Old Tafo, when he wins the December election.



Our prayer is for God to elect a President who is coming to work for all Ghanaians, so we can get peace. We will pray for you (Akufo-Addo), so God and our ancestors grant you victory in this years elections, the Tafo Chief concluded.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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This morning, columnist Bernard Salt issued a kind of explanation for that opinion piece in the Weekend Australian. In his view, a paragraph insinuating Australias youth precludes itself from the housing market cause of overpriced smashed avocado brunches was taken wildly out of context.

Salt writes the piece was obviously satire poking fun at his own generation, and he urges the social media community to check primary sources (such as reading my original column) to establish context and intent before becoming outraged at a selected and repurposed paragraph.

Well, at the risk of making the same mistake, let us clarify something right now: this article, right here, is completely earnest.

It is very, very difficult to read Salts original piece as satire when it conforms so precisely to the prevailing narrative of Millennials as lazy and self-entitled. Its even harder to take the column as a joke when his target audience  Boomers  also took it at face value.

Make no bloody mistake, it wasnt only the milk-crate sitters of Australia who saw Salts words as a withering judgment of anyone who deigns to keep their money away from a home deposit.

A cursory glance of responses to his latest piece reveals a sincere belief that were entirely self-absorbed, and our frivolous purchases are solely to blame for our exclusion from the housing market:

Then, there are the commenters who took potshots at our comprehension skills. Pretty rich (like some quality feta, amirite?) considering Salt supposedly just told em it was a pisstake:

And then came the users who used the opportunity, once again, to judge our circumstances against the economic realities of their youth. We dont mean to diminish the hardships earlier generations may have faced, but those circumstances existed, quite literally, a lifetime ago:

We know internet comment sections are not always bastions of public rhetoric, but they do serve as an approximation of a publications audience. With that understanding, its plain to see Salts readers  many of whom are self-proclaimed Boomers  latched on to that smashed avo snark with gusto, without ever considering it to be satire.

And, to those who believe we may have cherry (tomato)-picked those comments, feel free to read em at the source yourself.

The Twitterati exploded because the original column was flippant, and it punched down. Its difficult to see as satire because we hear structurally identical takes on a near-constant basis. Apparently, its also difficult for his generation to see as satire, as theyre the ones delivering those very same opinions.

In light of those comments, Salts follow-up seems tone deaf at best, and diversionary at worst. We doubt youll see him repackage the same its just a prank, bro memo to his rusted-on audience, but damn: you cant smash your avo and eat it, too.

The perks of a high profile. ME bank sent me an avocado and feta hamper in advance of their avo home loan launch! @kpmgaustralia @mebank @the.australian #smashedavo A photo posted by Bernard Salt (@bernardsalt) on Oct 20, 2016 at 10:18pm PDT



Source: The Australian.

Photo: @jessleebenn / Instagram.
United Nations staffers are seriously concerned at the organisations decision to make the very fictional Wonder Woman an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, with some criticising the UN for selecting the comic book icon over real women.

The UN claims the campaign will highlight what we can collectively achieve if women and girls are empowered  along with examples of women and girls who have made and are making a difference every day by overcoming barriers and beating the odds to reach their goals.

Still, a large group of UN personnel turned their back during the announcement, which was attended by current on-screen talent Gal Gadot, legendary lasso-wielder Lynda Carter, and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.

via J. Countess / Getty Images.

Those opposed to the decision also held signs including slogans like I am not a mascot.

A petition denouncing the selection and calling for current secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon to reconsider the appointment has already garnered 1,500 signatures.

Its anonymous organiser claims it is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls.

A similar sentiment has been expressed in the broader community, with Twitter users hijacking the #WithWonderWoman hashtag to voice their disapproval.

Sad day when @UN picks #wonderwoman over countless real inspirational women for honorary envoy.  Stephanie Lynch (@stephers_l) October 21, 2016

@UN @DCComics terrible idea. So many real women heroes in this world and UN chose a comic character? zero creativity, opportunity lost  hadi (@hadikoob) October 21, 2016

SMH United Nations. Not cool at all. Im NOT #WithWonderWoman  Bonnie Branyon (@3bteach) October 21, 2016

The selection of Wonder Woman for the ambassadorial role also comes shortly after the UN appointed another man, Portugals Antonio Guterres, as the organisations next secretary-general.

This announcement coincides with the 75th birthday of the character, and it comes shortly before the release of DCs next blockbuster. Still, its apparent not everyone is confident a totally fictitious character adequately represents half of the worlds population.

Source: ABC / DC Comics / United Nations / New York Times.

Photo: Zack Snyder / Twitter.
Last week, Divergent actress Shailene Woodley was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot, while protesting the construction of a $3.7 billion oil pipeline at a site in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Woodley, who pleaded not guilty in relation to the charges, has penned an editorial for Time explaining her side of the story, and urging people to join the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The pipeline is designed to transport fracked oil across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illonios, but protests led by the local Standing Rock Sioux tribe say it will disturb sacred sites and could affect the water supply.

Woodley was arrested alongside 26 others on Indigenous Peoples Day, a day which is intended to celebrate the indigenous people of North America, and she says she joined them to try and bring attention to their cause. She wrote:

I was in North Dakota, standing side by side with Native Americans.

You know, those who were here before us. Well, guess what, America? Theyre still here. And they are still fighting the good fight. A fight that serves each and every one of us. They are still putting their lives on the line to protect the roots that feed our existence. And, guess what else, dear America? They are still being ignored.

Woodley wrote that, while America has a romantic view of its indigenous culture, the voices of actual Native Americans are usually not heard. She continued:

Treaties are broken. Land is stolen. Dams are built. Reservations are flooded. People are displaced.

Yet we fail to notice. We fail to acknowledge. We fail to act. So much so that it took me, a white non-native woman being arrested on Oct 10th in North Dakota, on Indigenous Peoples Day, to bring this cause to many peoples attention. And to the forefront of news publications around the world.

She also highlighted the potential catastrophic damage that the pipeline could to to the Missouri River, saying:

When the Dakota Access Pipeline breaks (and we know that too many pipelines do), millions of people will have crude-oil-contaminated water. I know it is easy to be apathetic or detached from the reality that fossil fuel contamination could actually affect you and the ones you love But hear me loud and clear: If you are a human who requires water to survive, then this issue directly involves you. Dont let the automatic sink faucets in your homes fool youthat water comes from somewhere, and the second its source is contaminated, so is your bathtub, and your sink, and your drinking liquid. We must not take for granted the severity of this truth.

Woodley refuted the allegation that she was involved in a riot, saying:

I am not scared. I am not afraid. I am grateful, and I am amazed to be standing by the sides of so many peaceful warriors. Standing Rock protests are rooted in ceremony and in prayer. Ive been there. And all these narratives about riots? Just watch my Facebook livestream and decide for yourself who looks more dangerous: police in riot gear with batons, or native grandmothers and children smudging sage and singing songs.

She then urged people to continue in their fight against the pipeline, and acknowledged her own relatively small part in the bigger struggle, saying:

Thank you, to all the tribes who have gathered. To all the nations standing as one. To all the people who know that if not we, then who? And if not now, then when?

Simply feeding off the hype of a celebritys arrest aint going to save the world. But, standing together will. Please stand in solidarity with the Sioux people of Standing Rock Reservation to ensure that we still have rivers to swim in, springs to drink from and lakes to float on.

Woodley is scheduled to appear in court again on October 24, and she is looking at a $3000 fine or 60 days in jail if convicted.

Source: Time.

Photo: JB Lacroix / Getty.
A key confidant of the Afghan Talibans founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, now wants the hard-line movement to undergo a complete overhaul of its strategy and tactics to secure a role in the countrys future.

Syed Mohammad Tayyab Agha wants the Talibans current leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, to dramatically reduce violence, sever covert ties with key foreign backer Pakistan, adopt a new political approach, and redefine the Talibans ties with other jihadists.

In the comprehensive letter, exclusively obtained by Radio Mashaal, reveals Agha has inadvertently provided great insight into the internal struggles of one of the worlds most secretive militant Islamist organizations.

Agha, seen as a key Taliban ideologue, questions the Talibans current strategy, which mainly relies on overrunning rural territories and complex urban attacks that often result in a high number of civilian casualties.

How can the Taliban leadership, now camped in Pakistan, demand that people in Afghanistan or elsewhere pledge allegiance to them? he wrote, confirming that the insurgent movements leaders still operate from safe havens in Pakistan. Can we consider such acts in accordance with Islam?

Agha relinquished his position as head of the Talibans political office in Qatar last year and has sharply questioned key Taliban ideological tenets.

In the letter, he urges Akhundzada to give up the title of Amir al-Muminin, or Leader Of The Faithful, and to drop the Talibans formal name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

It will be better to employ the term movement instead of emirate, he wrote, arguing that without either control over most of the country including the Afghan capital, Kabul, or recognition as a legitimate government it is impossible for the Taliban to pose as Afghanistans legitimate government.

A reliance on media propaganda and forming [shadow] government institutions, control of rural territories, and most of the movements leadership being in a foreign country [Pakistan] doesnt amount to a [legitimate] government in our country, he wrote. Instead of Amir al-Muminin, you should call yourself The Amir or leader.

In a pointed reference to internal rivalries and factional fighting within the Taliban in recent years, Agha advises Akhundaza against resorting to coercion. You should give up using violence and intimidation to force people to pledge their allegiance to you as the commander of the faithful until you can meet all the requirements [outlined in Islamic Sharia law], he argued.

Aghas letter, written in Pashto, is harshly critical of the Talibans excessive use of violence. In recent weeks, the Taliban have overrun districts and threatened capitals in various rural provinces across Afghanistan. Since the 2014 departure of most international troops, Taliban violence has escalated dramatically, resulting in the killing of tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and soldiers.

All the mujahedin fighters should be ordered to cease killing our opponents inside mosques and stop killing prisoners, he wrote. Stop killing people under suspicion traveling on roads. Stop bombing bridges, roads, and other similar places. Stop killing aid and construction workers who are helping our nation and building our homeland.

Agha headed the Talibans political commission for years and was seen as the most senior political strategist in the movement. He called the appointment of former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur in Pakistan last year a historic mistake.

"Our military leaders should strive to preserve their unity and independence," he wrote in his resignation letter in August 2015. "The only way of salvation now is for Taliban leaders to make sacrifices. They should move somewhere within Afghanistan and independently ponder the selection of their leader and other issues."

In his current letter to Akhundzada, Agha blasts the Talibans covert contacts and cooperation with the Pakistani and Iranian secret services.

All the [Taliban] military or non-military figures who keep direct or indirect contact with the Pakistani, Iranian, or other foreign intelligence services should be removed from their posts, he wrote to the Taliban leader. It has been previously proved that our movements intelligence commission and some other figures targeted our compatriots both inside and outside the country based on faulty information from foreign intelligence agencies.

He advises the Taliban to break free from Pakistans manipulative influence.

To be able to make independent decisions, you, the members of our leadership council, and heads of our various commissions, should leave Pakistan, he wrote. The presence of our movements key decision makers and institutions in the prevailing situation there means Pakistan can impose things against the interests of our movement and Afghanistan.

As the former head of Mullah Omars office and his translator, Agha witnessed how the Taliban regime in the 1990s eventually crumbled because of its hosting of Al-Qaeda and other foreign jihadists.

It is imperative to stop the flow of non-Afghan fighters and control their activities, he wrote, pointing to a battle in the southern Afghan province of Zabul last year in which scores of Central Asian fighters were eventually killed by the Taliban after they joined the Islamic State (IS) and resisted Taliban control.

We witnessed that these foreign [jihadists] were never satisfied with living as refugees and guests, he wrote. They have always lived as mujahedin -- fighters who considered themselves partners or even rulers.

Agha said he opposes the current Taliban practices of taxing farmers and traders in the regions they control and coercing wealthy Afghans to make donations. Money will be lost and gained, but our movement and nation are here to stay [so we should not coerce people into contributing money], he argued.

Agha predicts a dark future for the Taliban if they fail to chart a new course soon.

If we dont pay attention [to reform and change], the Taliban and our jihad will become loathsome, he wrote. Our country will descend into worse anarchy than what we witnessed in the 1990s.

as/fg
Tributes are pouring in for Australian fashion designer and extraordinary talent Richard Nicoll, who has died of an apparent heart attack in his Sydney home, at the age of 39.

NSW Police were called to Nicolls apartment on Macleay Street in Darlinghurst just after 11am on Friday, and began an investigation. Chief Inspector Craig Lowery told media:

We established a crime scene to look for possible causes of the death. Its standard routine for us to provide a report to the Coroner, there will be an autopsy, and theyll go from there  At this time there is no evidence to suggest the death is suspicious, however, a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Nicoll trailed at Central St Martins in London, and his graduate collection was bought up by Dolce & Gabbana; he later worked with brands like Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, and was set to take over as creative director of Adidas next year.

His clothes have been worn by the likes of Anne Hathaway, Lily Allen, Emma Bunton, Sienna Miller and Kylie Minogue, and these stars have begun to pay tribute following news of his passing.

So sorry to hear about the passing of designer #RichardNicoll. Condolences and love to his family. Xx  kylie minogue (@kylieminogue) October 21, 2016

Nicoll started his own eponymous line in 2005, but chose to shut it down in 2015, explaining to The Telegraph that he had grown weary of the demands of producing multiple collections on an annual basis. He said:

I needed a break. My sales werent going very well and the last couple of years have been super-stressful. Its so different from how it was when I started and Im just not sure if Im signed up to what it has become.

In a statement to the press, Nicolls famaily said:

It is with great sadness that we confirm that Richard Nicoll passed away unexpectedly this morning in Australia from a heart attack. Richard was one of the quiet stars of fashion. He was a true gentleman, a wonderful friend and a much loved son. Anyone that had the privilege of knowing him knew that he had a heart of gold, an innate kindness and a modesty and humility that sometimes didnt allow him to acknowledge his own exceptional creative talent. He loved his life in Australia. He had recently confirmed a new role at Adidas and a collaboration with Woolmark both of which he was excited about. We will miss his handsome face, his sense of humour and his love.

R.I.P.

Source: W Magazine / Vogue UK / Fairfax.

Photo: Darren Gerrish / Getty.
GETTYSBURG - The presidential plans Donald Trump has for his first 100 days in office are the same goals the Republican nominee has been talking about for the last year.

His calls to build a stronger military and a border wall paid for by Mexico helped him win the primary, and on Saturday those positions were used at the start of his closing argument to American voters.

Trump chose the Eisenhower Hotel in Gettysburg as the site for his speech, just miles away from the hallowed ground where a solemn Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic Civil War address in 1863.

That history wasn't lost on the campaign, and Trump used it to try and remind voters that he is the change candidate and nominee who will unite the country.

A speech that started off as a referendum on Democrat Hillary Clinton, claiming she's not qualified to be president, turned into a list of things Trump would block, change or repeal.

His tone and temperament were more measured than in any of the debates or recent campaign stops, but he was no less committed to slamming his opposition.

For example, he said one of his first actions after the campaign would be suing the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

He would also try and block mergers between the "corrupt media" organizations he believes have been biased against him. The authority to evaluate media mergers is typically reserved for the Federal Communications Commission.

Trump spent 16 minutes talking about Clinton, the media and polls before he outlined his contract for America - bullet points of a plan he said will make America great again. The contract, he said, is his with the American people.

"There's nothing better or stronger than the American character," Trump said.

Some of the highlights of his plan include:

Repealing and replacing Obamacare

Improving veterans' health care

Taking away regulations when new ones are proposed

Applying term limits for Congress

Banning someone from lobbying for five years after serving in federal government

Building a border wall that Mexico would pay for

Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement

Repeal the "unconstitutional" executive orders issued by President Barack Obama

Replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with a like-minded, conservative

Trump's Gettysburg speech was a chance to pivot away from conversations about personalities and pasts and focus on issues. Half of his speech was aimed at Clinton, and half was about his plans for the country.

Pennsylvania independents - a group of voters Trump needs to win the state - said in recent interviews that they want a more issue-driven campaign.

However, Trump's base of supporters, the 40 percent of the electorate who stayed with him since the beginning of the primary, like when he goes on offense against Clinton, according to polls.

Trump's speech Saturday may have satisfied both groups.

The Republican nominee is trailing Clinton by 6 points in Pennsylvania, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls. At times throughout the campaign, they were neck-and-neck in the state.

That Gettysburg was Trump's third Pennsylvania campaign stop in two days, and the site where he laid out his 100-day goals, is a sign he's still fighting for the state's 20 electoral votes.

Unlike his recent rhetoric on the campaign trail, he did not say in Gettysburg that the election is rigged or that he will not accept the results - a position that many political analysts say has hurt him recently.

But Clinton's campaign isn't letting voters forget that Trump challenged the integrity of the U.S. elections.

"Over the last few weeks, Donald Trump has further proven that he is temperamentally unfit and dangerously unqualified to serve as president and commander-in-chief," said Corey Dukes, Pennsylvania state director for Clinton's campaign. "His unprecedented refusal to say he will accept the election's result and his rhetoric and actions that degrade and demean women have shown that he has built his divisive campaign on tearing our country apart."
LYCOMING PIPELINE RELEASE PHOTO.jpg

This photo, taken from a helicopter of the general area of the pipeline release Saturday, shows the area, near the confluence of Wallis Run (lower right) and Loyalsock Creek, where a bridge washed out. The pipeline runs under Wallis Run just to the left of where the bridge used to be. What remains of the bridge can be seen in the creek at the top of the photo. The area of the release remains under water. Photo provided by Sunoco Logistics.

(Sunoco Logistics)

WARRENSVILLE -- No petroleum-related compounds have been detected in the Susquehanna River since an 8-inch Sunoco Logistics pipeline was breached early Friday.

That was the report Saturday from Sunoco, which is trying to capture the approximately 55,000 gallons of gasoline that escaped into Wallis Run, a tributary of Loyalsock Creek that empties into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Montoursville.

Water monitoring of Loyalsock Creek and the river is being done under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Projection, Sunoco spokesman Jeffrey Shields said.

The results will be shared with downstream communities including Milton, Sunbury and Shamokin Dam that take water from the river, he said. Agencies in those communities have taken precautionary measures, DEP said on Friday.

Although gasoline odors remain in certain areas, no hazardous levels have been detected in air monitoring that is ongoing in conjunction with EPA and DEP, Shields said.

A drop in pressure about 3 a.m. Friday alerted the Sunoco Logistics Control Center of a problem with the pipeline and it was immediately shut down, he said.

At that time northern Lycoming County was among places receiving between 4 and 8 inches of rain that caused flash flooding and stream bank erosion.

A bridge washed out at the location of the breach near the intersection of Wallis Run Road and Butternut Grove Road in Gamble Township.

Skimmers, booms and absorbent pads are being used in an attempt to capture the gasoline, Shields said. The cause of the breach is under investigation, he said.

The pipeline carries refined petroleum products including gasoline, diesel and home heating fuel between Sinking Spring and Buffalo, N.Y., he said.

Sunoco personnel have been meeting with affected residents and addressing their needs and concerns, including well-water testing, Shields said.

Residents who have been impacted by the release may call a Sunoco Logistics representative at 1-800-759-5644.

All agencies involved in the incident have established a unified command center at the Eldred Twp. Fire Co. social hall in Warrensville.

Also Saturday, cleanup was going on in parts of Centre, Lycoming and Sullivan counties hard hit by flash flooding.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported a number of rural roads in those counties remain closed due to washouts or debris.
Shipp faculty strike.JPG

Shippensburg University art and design professor Ben Culbertson carries protest away after a historic three-day faculty union strike ended in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Friday afternoon.

(Eric Veronikis)

SHIPPENSBURG - Hugs, cheers and car horns near dusk.

James Brown even blared from a boom box as faculty at Shippensburg University laid down their protest signs to celebrate the end of a historic three-day strike across the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education early Friday evening.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties reached a tentative three-year contract agreement with PASSHE Friday, ending the first faculty walkout since the state system was established 33 years ago.

Details of the pact were not immediately available.

But faculty at Shippensburg University, who stood in solidarity near the entrance of the Cumberland County school the past three days, said that while they accepted pay and healthcare plan concessions in the plan, they would not permit the quality of education to falter.

Replacing full-time union members with adjunct professors, a major sticking point of contract negotiations, would have hurt education throughout the state system, they said.

Shippensburg art and design professor Ben Culbertson said he and his colleagues are "ebullient" about the new pact.

"Things that would dilute the experience of students. Things like loading up on adjunct faculty, so there would be fewer full-time teachers teaching. Cutting their pay. That was taken off the table ultimately," Culbertson said.

The strike, which started Wednesday, disrupted classes for more than 105,000 students who attend the 14 universities which make up the state system.

The union, which represents 5,300 faculty members, called the strike following five days of failed negotiations. Union members had worked under an expired contract since June 30, 2015.

Faculty walkouts have loomed in the past in the state system, but a deadlock never reached a strike.

The walkout was the result of a disregard for public education in places of power, said Kim Garris, communications professor and spokesperson for the Shippensburg chapter of APSCUF.

"Education is not a profit making venture. Education is a service, an important service to make sure that we have a civil society, a well-educated, civil society," Garris said. "Somewhere along the way, people had forgotten that, in places of power. We had to stand up to that."

Union members aren't pleased with the pay and healthcare cuts they were forced to accept, but they did it in the name of educational quality, said Robert Shaffer, history professor and secretary of APSCUF at Shippensburg.

PASSHE has rescinded its demands that would create quality issues in the classroom, he said. And that's what the strike came down to, he said

"We were out here fighting for quality of education," Shaffer said.
Pennsylvania Flooding

A man stands at the end of Lower Bodines Road, north of Trout Run, Pa., as it is closed by flood waters Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. The floating item at the far right is a hot tub. Freak storms packing up to 100 mph winds hit Pennsylvania early Friday, sending floodwaters into hundreds of homes and causing a pipeline rupture that dumped more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline into a stream, threatening drinking water supplies.

(Mark Nance/Sun-Gazette via AP)

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Emergency crews were monitoring a pipeline that ruptured during a freak storm in Pennsylvania, anxiously waiting to see if nearly 55,000 gallons of gasoline would reach drinking water supplies serving thousands of residents.

Update at noon Saturday

The storm early Friday dumped up to 7 inches of rain on western and central Pennsylvania, triggering mudslides, turning roads into rivers and sweeping away at least two homes. Hundreds more were damaged in Centre County, home to Penn State's main campus. One man was killed when a tree crashed into his home.

Another quarter-inch of rain had fallen by Friday night.

The flooding caused a Sunoco Logistics gasoline pipeline to rupture, spilling an estimated 54,600 gallons into a tributary of the Loyalsock Creek that flows into the Susquehanna River at Montoursville.

Three water supplies serving thousands of people are threatened by the gas leak.

Sunoco Logistics said crews were using skimmers to remove gasoline from impacted waterways and erecting containment booms downstream.

The breach occurred along the stream in Gamble Twp. so the extent of the damage will not be known until the water recedes, Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields said Friday.

Approximate location of the break:

Pennsylvania American Water late Friday shut down its treatment plant along the Susquehanna River in Milton, downstream of the spill, as a precaution. It said the DEP had warned that a gasoline plume was nearing the vicinity. The company said it expects to have adequate water supplies by redirecting water from another treatment plant and using water it has stored.

Two other water systems, serving customers in Sunbury and Shamokin Dam, also are potentially impacted by the spill, according to the state environmental officials.

MILTON UPDATE: The voluntary conservation notice remains in effect. You are asked to reduce non-essential water... https://t.co/X9M6dMDL43  Pennsylvania American Water (@paamwater) October 22, 2016

WNEP reports that customers in several towns have been asked to reduce water use. Those include Lewisburg and Milton.

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the state's National Guard to help in the recovery efforts after the storm left a trail of destruction stretching 150 miles. The toll included downed power lines, destroyed vehicles and damaged railroad beds.

The (Lock Haven) Express reported a retired teacher was killed Thursday night in Clinton County when a tree crashed into his home. The man had been on the second floor and was tossed from his home by the impact, landing on his back in the driveway. Winds there reached up to 100 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Craig Evanego.

At least one bridge across the Loyalsock Creek in Montoursville was wiped out, according to Ruth Miller, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
JOHNSTOWN -- Republican Donald Trump, in a rally here on Friday, criticized Democratic leaders for what he sees as their feckless foreign policy choices, vowing to instead take a hard line on such issues and restore what he believes is America's diminished standing in the world.

Speaking to a crowd inside the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, Trump mentioned Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, who just days ago suggested he was considering cutting both economic and military ties with the U.S. in favor of aligning himself and his nation more closely with China. Duterte has since clarified his remarks.

But that didn't stop Trump from seizing on them Friday, in an attempt to blame Democratic leaders like president Barack Obama and Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, for what he sees as America's increasing unpopularity on the world stage.

"The world hates Obama and hates us," Trump said.

"The Philippines is looking to Russia and China because they don't feel good about the weak America. And that's a very strategic location [the Philippines]. Remember he [Duterte] didn't want Obama to visit there."

Trump has drawn comparisons to Duterte himself, with both men known for an outspokenness not often seen in diplomatic circles, and for their hardline approaches to subjects including crime and terrorism.

On Friday, Trump said the U.S. no longer projects strength from a foreign relations standpoint, and he vowed to change that.

He also vowed to shut down open discussions of U.S. military operations overseas, criticizing current U.S. leaders for what he said is an over-sharing of intelligence.

"Now Obama gets up and announces, 'We will be attacking Mosul [Iraq] and guess what happens, two hours later all the leaders are gone. These are stupid people," he said of politicians like Obama.

"Why not do it and talk about it afterward? We used to have a thing called the element of surprise."

In response to such claims, intelligence officials have said the sharing of such information can allow civilians time to get to safety, and can also cause combatants to flee into more open areas where lethal force can be more effective and accurate.

But Trump disagrees, and said he won't be so open, if elected.

Trump also said his refusal to share specific details of his anti-ISIS strategy is because he doesn't want to give too much away. Again he pointed to the element of surprise.

But the candidate was more than willing to discuss his plans for his current political nemesis, Hillary Clinton, calling her a "corrupt globalist" and a liar.

When her name drew chants of "Lock her up" from the War Memorial audience on Friday, Trump vowed again to consider it as president, saying "Don't worry, that whole thing will be looked into. It's really, really sad. She's lied over and over and over."

Trump said during a recent presidential debate that he would have Clinton investigated and possibly imprisoned, if elected. He claims his desire to do so stems from controversy surrounding her use of a private email server while Secretary of State, and potential mishandling of classified information, among other claims. FBI investigators said while careless, Clinton's handling of her emails wasn't criminal. As a result, the agency declined to recommend criminal charges against her after an investigation into the matter. A factcheck.org run-down of the scandal can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, the email situation remains fodder for Republican opponents like Trump, while his calls to have a political opponent jailed or investigated have fueled criticism of his own campaign by those who call the assertion dangerous and in violation of America's Democratic ethos.
Donald Trump

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during a campaign event, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pa.

(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

GETTYSBURG -- The Gettysburg Address it wasn't.

With little more than two weeks remaining for him to seal the deal with broad swaths of voters still skeptical of his candidacy, Republican Donald Trump journeyed to an iconic spot in American political history to deliver what was billed as a broad and sweeping vision for his first 100 days in office.

"It is my privilege to be here in Gettysburg, hallowed ground where so many lives were given in service to freedom -- amazing place," Trump said Saturday, according to The Washington Post. "President Lincoln served in a time of division like we've never seen before. It is my hope that we can look at his example to heal the divisions we are living through right now. We are a very divided nation."

And then he promptly stepped on his own message.

In a rambling, nearly 15-minute-long preamble, Trump unleashed blistering attacks on his critics and the "corrupt" media collaborating with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He complained of unspecific and unproven voter fraud in a "rigged" system intended to rob him, and by extension, the voters, of a victory on Nov. 8.

As he has before, he argued that Clinton, who has not been charged with any crimes, was ineligible to run for the presidency, even as a crowd of loyalists chanted "Lock her up, lock her up."

At risk of further alienating the female voters he needs to win, Trump denounced the 11 women who have come forward over the last two weeks to accuse him of improper advances, some verging on sexual assault. And then he vowed to sue them.

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign," Trump said, according to The Post. "Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over."

In a statement, Clinton's campaign wasted little time firing back, charging that the only new policy was a "promise of political and legal retribution against the women who have accused him of groping them.

"Like Trump's campaign, this speech gave us a troubling view as to what a Trump State of the Union would sound like--rambling, unfocused, full of conspiracy theories and attacks on the media, and lacking in any real answers for American families," the statement read.

The juxtaposition of Trump's angry opening statement against his own evocation of Abraham Lincoln's efforts to heal a broken nation on this same spot more than 150 years ago was jarring.

So by the time Trump got around to enumerating an extensive, if familiar, list of policy proposals that he intends to enact in his first 100 days in office, they had already been overshadowed by the pettiness of his opening remarks.

Had Trump chosen to stick to policy instead of succumbing to urge to settle scores, he might have found much that resonates with many voters.

Among other things, he proposed a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress; a lifetime ban on lobbying by former White House officials on behalf of foreign governments; a 5-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress and ex-White House officials and a total ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for domestic elections.

He reiterated his plans to reform the tax code, proposing to reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three; to simplify IRS forms; and to enact tax reductions that he claims would result in a "35 percent tax reduction" for the average, middle-class family.

The tax proposal was a familiar one that's been in circulation for more than a year and it's already been dissected by think-tanks on both sides of the political spectrum. An analysis by the conservative Tax Foundation found, for instance, that it would reduce federal revenues by nearly $12 trillion over the next decade. That could be offset by resulting economic growth, the foundation also noted.

Similarly, Trump's plan to restore "security" and "rule of law" hit on proposals that have already been widely discussed.

Of particular note to Pennsylvanians is Trump's proposal to "cancel federal funding" to so-called "Sanctuary Cities," Philadelphia among them, where local officials refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Trump's proposal echoes existing federal policy. In July, the Justice Department sent a clear warning shot to cities that shield undocumented immigrants, warning them they were risking tens of millions of dollars in assistance from Washington.

Trump reiterated his plans to build a wall on America's southern border, tweaking it to say that America would pay for it and Mexico would "reimburse" the nation for its cost.

During a proposal to "bring back" vocational and technical education, he joked the country would need people who "know how to build a wall."

He also said he'd curtail immigration from "terror-prone regions;" rebuild the military; renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement - or withdraw from it if he failed to gain favorable terms; withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Parnership; appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court; and boost federal spending on infrastructure and energy projects; end Common Core and allow for school choices.

The stew of proposals drew from the mix of populism and familiar conservative talking points that Trump has advanced throughout his unorthodox bid for the White House.

"This is my pledge to you, if we follow these steps, we will have a government, of for and by the people and we will make America great again," Trump said as he wrapped up his remarks.

But it remains to be seen if voters will be swayed his arguments.

Heading into Saturday's speech, Trump trailed Clinton by an average of 5.3 percentage points nationwide and in several key battleground states, including Pennsylvania.

"The Gettysburg Address and [Lincoln's] second inaugural were about finding the common bonds," Ron Brownstein of The Atlantic told CNN after Trump's speech. "[Trump] was about drawing sharp lines, with sweeping attacks on all these institutions. The speech underscores what a hybrid [of populist and conservative that] Donald Trump is."

It also raises the question of whether it's the message - or the messenger -- that is ultimately flawed.

Donald Trump may not survive Election Day, but the agenda he advanced in Gettysburg on Saturday has given Republicans plenty to think about.
Screen Shot 2016-10-21 at 3.15.39 PM.png

A contractor's error prompted the Department of Education to remove academic performance information from its school report card website just days after the data was posted.

If you want to get another look at the academic performance information included in your local school's report card issued last week by the state Department of Education, you are out of luck for now.

The department has taken down that part of the so-called School Performance Profile from its site while an error is being corrected that could have impacted the academic performance score a school received, which PennLive used to assign letter grades.

A department spokeswoman said the only information she could provide about this error was limited to what the department included in a prepared statement or in the FAQs on the school profile website.

According to the statement, the department was alerted to the mistake on Tuesday. The error, it said, occurred on the part of a department contractor, SAS-EVAAS, as it was calculating academic growth data from state test scores, which factor heavily into the academic performance score given to each school.

The statement indicates the error only involves schools that serve 11th graders who took the Keystone Exams; however, even elementary schools' academic performance page has been removed from the site. It also says that a small number of schools will see a modest change in their performance scores.

"The department recognizes that any score change creates concern, and is committed to supporting [school districts, charter schools and career technical centers] in messaging on this issue," according to a statement in one of the FAQs on the school profile.

It's unclear how soon access to this part of the website will be restored or how many schools will see a score change as a result.

But Northern Lebanon School District Superintendent Don Bell said he is pleased the department is taking steps to make sure the data is correct.

"They have helped to maintain the trust that they have built with local school districts and yet this clearly exposes the bigger issue behind the continued attempts to grade, rate, and rank school districts," Bell said. "Students are not, and never will be a statistical number for others to rate."
The mayor of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, has pledged to publicize the names of those who apply for divorces in an attempt to keep married couples together.

Appalled at the failure of so many marriages, Rakhmonbek Usmanov says he will begin broadcasting on TV and publishing in a major newspaper the names of the unhappy husbands and wives.

Speaking at an official meeting on October 17, Usmanov cited a state report on divorce rates in the countrys 14 regions for the first nine months of 2016 that showed Tashkent leading the way with a 32 percent failure rate.

The next highest divorce rate -- in Uzbekistans eastern Jizzakh region -- was only 14 percent. Most regions had a rate of less than 10 percent.



Usmanov said the names will be broadcast at 11 p.m. every 15 days on the Tashkent Telekanali program and published in the Tashkent Oqshomi (Evening Tashkent) newspaper.

A number of influential figures -- including chief Tashkent imam Anvar Tursunov, Deputy Prime Minister for Womens Affairs Elmira Bositkhonova, Tashkent Prosecutor-General Batyr Kudrathadzhaev, and police chief Bahodir Kurbanov -- attended the Tashkent meeting, which was dedicated to social affairs.

Usmanov, who was appointed mayor of Tashkent by then-President Islam Karimov in 2012, said he thinks the threat of being named publicly will curb the urge to divorce.

But he warned that if there wasnt a significant drop in the divorce rate, he would start putting pictures of the unhappy couples on TV.

Mothers-In-Law Vs. Wives



Usmanov, 56, also blamed the often antagonistic relationships between the wives and their mothers-in-law for the failed unions, saying those two are the single greatest cause of divorces in Uzbekistan.

Wives in Uzbek society are frequently seen as beholden to their mothers-in-law and obligated by custom to clean for them and perform many other duties. Those relationships often become testy and lead to many disputes.



Usmanov's name-and-shame effort is not the first time the mayor has caused controversy in Tashkent.





In late March, he declared that streetcars in the city of 2 million were "ineffective" and rails that carried the trams would be "gradually dismantled." The decision came not long after the city had purchased 20 new streetcar engines and wagons from a Czech firm to the tune of some $20 million.

Usmanov recently angered Tashkent denizens by declaring many of the citys splendorous trees -- most of which were planted during the Soviet era -- diseased and a hazard to residents, and he said they would need to be chopped down.



Critics saw that as an excuse to remove the trees and make room to expand the streets in the absence of the streetcars. Others were angered that where trees were replanted, they were only small fir trees that are not well-suited to the climate in Tashkent, with its dry summers and mild, moist winters.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service and Alisher Siddique


Mummers are looking to move past criticism drawn from a performance that centered around Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. Read more

In January, after the Mummers Parade went regrettably viral - one skit, mocking Caitlyn Jenner, had been punctuated by antigay slurs, while another, with a Mexican theme, incorporated brown-face makeup - a contrite leadership pledged reform. They would undertake outreach work and training, they said. And while they might not stop impersonating ethnicities, at least they'd do it with greater sensitivity by consulting members of ethnic groups they planned to impersonate.

Nearly 11 months later, a great deal has changed - while other things, to the chagrin of some parade fans, remain the same.

Hundreds of Mummers have attended training on LGBT issues, the nature of satire, and cultural appropriation. The city has undertaken a formal theme-review process. And the city and Mummers have dissolved the Philadelphia Division, created in 2016 to attract nontraditional and ethnically diverse groups, incorporating them instead into existing parade divisions.

"It's really unprecedented. We've never done this much work from one year to the next in terms of training and education," parade director Leo Dignam said.

But as the String Bands announced their 2017 themes, some saw cause for concern.

"We were saddened and disappointed to see such themes as 'Native American Indians,' 'Chinese' and 'Pacific Polynesian,' " the Vaudevillains, a comic brigade, wrote to Mummers leadership this month.

"These themes appear to engage in cultural appropriation, and we are very concerned about the potential to offend and alienate, not only the Philadelphians that we seek to engage and entertain, but also the wider, national audience that is increasingly aware of our unique, diverse, and important local tradition only through narrow reporting of the few insensitive performances that occur each year."

For those attuned to such things, there has been potentially offensive content in almost every parade in recent memory.

In 2013, there was an Indian-meets-American Indian performance related to outsourcing, and a minstrel-themed performance with images of blackface. The 2015 parade had public urination, a Cowboys vs. Indians skit and a Wench Lives Matter sign.

Such incidents have proven combustible fodder in the Instagram era.

The fix the Mummers outlined in January was to require clubs planning an ethnic theme to have an adviser or participant of that ethnicity "to guarantee respect."

Tom Loomis, the division president for the string bands, did not repond to requests for the names of the advisers.

George Badey, a spokesman for the Mummers, said there aren't advisers, per se: "We don't just have an adviser and have some person of ethnic descent say it's OK. It's important that we look even closer than that."

The city meanwhile is trying to support and educate the Mummers without impinging on their right to free speech.

Dignam is personally reviewing each proposed performance, including theme, costume and makeup, and suggesting tweaks as needed.

"With a devil theme, there was red and black makeup, and we suggested they maybe just stick with red," he said. But his ideas are just that: suggestions. It's up to the groups whether to follow them.

Dignam knew of one instance in which a string band consulted an adviser: "They reached out to a group from the University of Pennsylvania for Chinese studies and got them to approve everything."

In the interim, many Mummers have attended training. The city brought in actor Jennifer Childs (whose comic alter ego is "Patsy from South Philly") to present on satire. Nellie Fitzpatrick, the city's director of LGBT Affairs, has led more than 300 Mummers in discussions about gay and transgender issues. And Rue Landau, head of the city's Human Relations Commission, brought in consultants to run diversity and inclusion training for Mummers leadership.

"It was the first step in drawing a baseline of understanding," Landau said. "The hope is also to get together some of the Mummers clubs and leadership together with a group of Asian American advocates and leaders, Latino advocates and leaders, and also African American advocates and leaders."

"But at the end of the day, it's on the Mummers to police themselves," she said.

At LGBT trainings, Fitzpatrick said one goal is to make sure that, at the least, lack of information is no longer an excuse for performances that cause offense. She appears to be making progress: Many Mummers expressed surprise when they learned how and why slurs can be hurtful, she said.

Chuck Tomasco, a 50-year parade veteran and president of Landi comic club, said the workshop was enlightening.

Back in January, he didn't see what was so offensive about the Caitlyn Jenner skit.

"I actually personally thought it was pretty funny," he said. "But I didn't look at it through the eyes of being a minority."

But Danielle Redden, a captain of Vaudevillains, said it's unclear how thoroughly those lessons are trickling down beyond Mummers leadership.

When she talks to Mummers, she said, many don't agree that all cultural appropriation is problematic.

"They feel they're doing it from a place of respect and celebration: It's not in a mocking kind of way," she said.

But others aren't worried. Rich Porco, who heads the Murray Comic Club, said he thinks the Mummers' viral moments are behind them.

"Everything's been addressed. We've had meetings. We've had sensitivity trainings. We've tried everything," he said. "We know we're not going to please everyone, but we sure tried."

smelamed@phillynews.com

215-854-5053

@samanthamelamed
KLEMME -- Going green is often considered a good thing, but not when it comes to water quality.

Iowa DNR officials held a public meeting Oct. 12 in Klemme regarding ways to improve Eldred-Sherwood Lake (known locally as Indian Lake) near Goodell.

The 22-acre impoundment created in 1969 is contained within a 100-acre park owned and operated by the Hancock County Conservation Board.

Although the park remains a popular destination for camping, fishing, swimming, boating, hiking and picnicking, among other uses, frequent algae blooms have landed the lake on the states impaired waters list.

As a result, its not providing its full recreational potential, said DNR Environmental Engineer Andrew Frana.

Frana provided data obtained via periodic water testing conducted at Eldred-Sherwood since 2001 through the DNRs Ambient Lake Monitoring Program.

The study reveals poor water quality is driven primarily by excess phosphorous delivery to the lake, which feeds the algae blooms and thus reduces clarity.

This results in unfavorable conditions for desirable aquatic species as well as creating poor aesthetics.

In order to limit algae growth in the lake, we can target reducing delivery of phosphorous to the lake, Frana said.

Eldred-Sherwood has a watershed of more than 2,600 acres for a watershed-to-lake ratio of approximately 118 to 1, meaning land management on a comparatively large surrounding area impacts the small water body.

Clear Lake, by comparison, has a ratio of 2.3 to 1.

Research indicates approximately 70 percent of the phosphorous comes from fine sediment deposition from agricultural surface runoff (sediment further impairs water clarity) while 20 percent comes from tile discharge and 9 percent from developed areas such as roadways and farmsteads.

To achieve water-quality goals, phosphorous delivery to the lake would need to be reduced by 51 percent, Frana said.

Strategies to reach that goal would include implementing conservation tillage practices, installing waterways and buffer strips, and restoring pothole wetlands.

Program Coordinator Jeff Berckes emphasized the DNRs role is to provide suggestions and guidance, not to enact regulations or impose solutions.

He noted the agency hopes to partner with landowners and other interested agencies to find ways to improve water quality while also benefiting farmers.

Any time you can pair water quality with good agronomic benefits  that to me makes the most sense, Berckes said. There is a lot of overlap.

Attendees noted area landowners and the local cooperative already have made significant efforts to improve farming practices.

Area soil and water conservation districts have also partnered with the Iowa Soybean Association, the Conservation Board and other government agencies to identify water-quality improvement strategies and seek resources to implement them.


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In 35 years of fishing all over the Midwest and much of North America, Ive had the good fortune to get in on some outstanding fishing action for a wide variety of fish.

In narrowing that down a bit, Ive had some memorable days of catching smallmouth bass. I have fond memories of outstanding smallmouth catching on the Rainy River with John Peterson, with Toad Smith on Rainy Lake, Jim McDonnell on Lake Erie and all by myself on the Shell Rock River in north Iowa.

But on Monday, Oct. 10, on Kabetogama Lake in northern Minnesota, I experienced what was most certainly the best smallmouth bass fishing of my career on the water.

We caught big ones, little ones, and lots of in-betweeners. Big ones being legitimate 6-pounders, in-betweeners being 3- and 4-pounders.

Ive been fishing Kab for years, almost always for walleyes, and have always had very good success. Last year on my annual trip to Kab I met Tim Snyder. Tim owns a resort on Kab and also guides a bunch. Tim said that next time I come to Kab, we should chase smallmouth: He said the bass action was pretty good in the fall. Understatement!

When autumn rolled around this year, Tim and I made a plan to get together to create an episode for "Fishing the Midwest" television featuring Kabetogamas smallmouth bass. I asked if I could bring Mike Frisch along. Mike is an outstanding multi-species angler who really likes to catch smallmouth. Tim said, Bring him along.

We got on the water about 2 in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful: A light breeze, sunshine, maybe 60 degrees. Even if the bass didnt cooperate, it was a nice day to be on the water. However, the bass cooperated.

We headed for a hump that topped out at about 15 feet of water and was surrounded by 40 feet of water. The sonar revealed that there were fish on the hump.

While Tim and I were putting minnows on our jigs, Mike made a cast with his drop-shot rig. Before Tim or I could cast, Mike said, Got one. First cast.

Like most smallmouth, this one did not want to come to the boat. Mike had his hands full, and when he finally got the bass boatside, it was easy to see why. It was a 21-incher and almost that big around. Six pounds easy. Nice start.

While Mike was unhooking his fish, Tim made his first cast. Fish on, and it was another big one. When I finally got to make my first cast, no kidding, I got bit and put a 4-pounder in the boat.

I dont know how many bass we caught in the next couple of hours, but it was in the dozens. We caught several over 20 inches, lots of 16- to 18-inchers as well as some small ones, which indicates a healthy fishery.

Most of our fish came on drop-shot rigs with Impulse Smelt Minnows and Fire-Ball jigs with minnows. When our minnow supply ran low we put the Impulse on jigs and caught em just as good.

Kabetogama is a world-class smallmouth lake for a couple of reasons: First, its got all the qualities necessary to produce world-class smallmouth.

Second, and just as important, they take care of their smallmouth at Kab. In the fall, when these bass are so susceptible to fishing pressure, you cant keep any. Catch all you want, but youve got to put them back.

If you ever get the chance to experience this smallmouth action, its an annual occurrence, Tim said what we experienced wasnt unusual. Youll understand why its so important to release the bass and youll gladly do so.
Banff, Alberta Canada Travel Guide

Banff, Alberta Canada  an AMAZING place!! Stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs, shop and eat in the cute downtown, visit some of the most amazing lakes on Earth. Trip of a lifetime!



Im sharing my final post about my recent trip to Canada.

I saved the best for last! Banff!!

I absolutely LOVED everything about Banff.

The Fairmont Banff Springs  it was AH-MAZING! We stayed at it was AH-MAZING!

I loved the fun downtown area. Tons of great shops and food.

Oh, the food!!! We ate TONS of great food. Some of the best Ive ever eaten.

If you ever get the chance to go to Banff, GO!

Id love to come back during the winter and see it covered in snow.

The Fairmont Banff Springs . We stayed three nights at

Castle in the Rockies . It is called the

The hotel was AMAZING!!

There tons of places to eat and great shopping.

The breakfast buffet and afternoon tea are wonderful!

There is even a bowling alley in the hotel!

I definitely want to come back.

The view from our room was spectacular!

The Fairmont Banff Springs

405 Spray Ave

Banff, AB T1L 1J4, Canada

1-403-762-2211

What To Do





Lake Minnewanka

We spent most of our days in Banff driving to the various lakes in the National Park.

Lake Minnewanka was our first stop!

The lake is 13 mi long and 466 ft deep, making it the longest lake in the mountain parks of the Canadian Rockies .

SO pretty!!

Lake Minnewanka

We saw this guy on our way back to the hotel.

Two Jack Lake

We got up before the crack of dawn to drive to Two Jack Lake for sunrise.

It did not disappoint!

Two Jack Lake at sunrise is a MUST!

Two Jack Lake

Lake Minnewanka Scenic Dr

Improvement District No. 9, AB T0L, Canada

Banff Gondola

We took the Banff Gondola to get the best view of the city.

The gondola takes you 2900 feet above the city.

You can eat in the observation tower.

There is a coffee bar with drinks and snacks.

There is also a sit down restaurant, Sky Bistro.

Id love to come back and eat dinner in the sky!

Banff Gondola

1 Mountain Ave

Banff, AB T1L 1B2, Canada

1-403-762-2523

Vermillion Lakes

We stopped at Vermillion Lakes several times during our stay in Banff.

The three lakes are formed in the Bow River valley, in the Banff National Park, at the foot of Mount Norquay. They are located between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.

Sunrise at Vermillion Lakes

I probably took 300 photos of the sunrise.

It was breathtaking!

Vermillion Lakes

Castle Mountain

We passed Castle Mountain and had to stop for a quick photo.

Three Sisters Mountain

The Three Sisters are a trio of peaks near Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

They are known individually as Big Sister, Middle Sister and Little Sister.

We parked and hiked to get some great views of the mountains.

LOVED the reflection in the Bow River.

Three Sisters Mountain

http://www.tourismcanmore.com/things-to-do/three-sisters-mountain

Bow Falls

Bow Falls is located directly behind The Fairmont Banff Springs.

After we had afternoon tea, we hiked down to check it out.

Bow Falls is a major waterfall on the Bow River, Alberta just before the junction of it and the Spray River.

Bow Falls

Norquay Mountain Chairlift

We drove to the top of Norquay Mountain to get another great view of the city.

We encountered a family of sheep on our way!

Norquay Mountain

https://summer.banffnorquay.com

What To Eat

Downtown Banff is full of cute shops and tons of great places to eat.

Our first stop was as McDonalds.

We originally stopped in for a coke, but couldnt resist trying the Poutine.

It was actually really, really good.

How could it not be with those fries!!

Distillery Park Restaurant and Bar

We had a great meal in downtown Banff at Distillery Park.

The flatbread  SO good!

We had to try the BBQ Brisket Poutine.

YUM!

Our favorite appetizer was the Cornflake Pulled Pork Fingers with Maple dipping sauce.

I could have eaten an order of these and been good!

Dont leave without trying the donuts.

O-M-G! SO good!

Park Distillery Restaurant and Bar

219 Banff Ave

Banff ALTA T1L 1A7, Canada

403-762-5114

High Rollers

High Rollers was such a fun place!

They have a bowling alley in the restaurant!!

I tried one of the local ciders.

LOVED it!

We started with the Rock N Bowl Fries

Krinkle Cut Fries, Queso, Ground Beef, Green Onion, Tomatoes, Sour Cream

Ridiculously good!

Gutterball Bread

Cheesy, Garlicky Buttery Goodness, Marinara

Wishing I had some of this right now!

The Canadian

Sausage, Bacon, Onion, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Maple Syrup Drizzle

The maple syrup drizzle made the pizza!

Who knew?!?!

The Mac N Cheese

Mac n Cheese, Bread Crumbs, Valbella Hot Dogs, Marinara

Do you dare try it?!?

Meat Lovers

Sausage, Pepperoni, Bacon, Chicken, Marinara

I loved the addition of chicken on the pizza.

My new favorite combination!!

High Rollers was SO much fun.

They played great music, you could hear the bowlers and the food was fantastic.

I highly recommend it!!

High Rollers Banff

110 Banff Avenue (Lower Level Clocktower Mall)

Banff, AB, T1L1G1

403-760-5300

Tim Hortons

There is a Tim Hortons on every corner in Canada!

We HAD to try it.

We grabbed some TimBits  donut holes.

We also tried the Maple Donut.

YUM!

Tim Hortons

Bear Street Tavern

The Bear Street Tavern had great ratings on Yelp, so we decided to check it out.

We started with the Garlic Cheese Fingers.

Fresh pizza dough, garlic, mozzarella, green onion, sweet garlic + marinara sauce

SOOOOOOOOO good!

We also got a couple of pizzas.

The Margarita  sliced red tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, pizza sauce  was delicious.

They also had us mix together chili oil and honey to use as a dipping sauce with the pizza.

O-M-G! Mind blown! SO good! I would have never ever thought to do that.

Now I want chili oil and honey on all my pizza.

Bear Street Tavern

213, 211 Bear Street

T1L 1E4, Banff Alberta

403-762-2021

Beavertails

Oh, Beavertails. Where have you been my whole life?

We HAD to try a famous Beavertail while we shopped in downtown Banff.

What is a Beavertail?

Fresh fried dough, slathered in butter, warm Nutella, drizzled with peanut butter and topped with Resses Pieces.

Also know as HEAVEN!

Holy Moly!

Seriously one of the best things we ate in Canada.

I saw that there is a location at DollyWood here in the States.

I might need to make a roadtripe SOON!

Beavertails

Ketchup Chips

SO, Ketchup Chips are a thing in Canada.

Heather LOVES them, so we grabbed a bag for all of us to sample.

They taste just like chips dipped in ketchup.

If you love ketchup, you need these!

Banff was my favorite stop on our Canada trip.

I loved the hotel and the fun downtown area.

The food was fantastic!!





Dont miss our other Canada posts:





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CEDAR RAPIDS  Iowans should be confident their votes will count when they cast ballots for president, Congress and state and local offices not only because of laws intended to guarantee the integrity of the election, but because its being conducted by their fellow citizens.

We have over 10,000 of our neighbors on the front line, Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday, admitting hes a little defensive about suggestions by his partys presidential nominee that the election may be rigged.

In addition to the poll workers recruited by county auditors to staff polling places, Pate said both the Republican and Democratic parties supply precinct watchers to observe the voting process to guarantee its integrity and fairness.

We have a full array of Iowans who are there to make sure these elections are operating on the up and up. So if someone wants to imply otherwise I'm a little sensitive to it, Pate said on Iowa Public Televisions Iowa Press that can be seen at 7:30 p.m. tonight and noon Sunday on IPTV, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV World and at www.IPTV.org.

His sensitivity was shared by Linn County Auditor Joel Miller who called GOP nominee Donald Trumps warning that the election will be rigged a bogus accusation, has no foundation.

Those claims by Trump and others undermines public confidence in the people Pate spoke of, Miller said. Many of them have staffed elections for decades and to tell them and imply that they are doing something wrong, I think is, well, hurtful to say the least, Miller said.

Undermining public confidence in the election process is kind of horrifying, added David Andersen, assistant professor of political science at Iowa State University.

Once you make an allegation of rigging or that an election is rigged its really, really difficult to disprove it, Andersen said.

Although Pate and Miller conceded voter fraud has been proven  on rare occasions, Andersen said its very rare. When fraud is alleged, he continued, it triggers systematic searches that show there is very little evidence that theres anything other than isolated incidents.

To rig an election. Andersen said, Youre talking about not just some fraud, but systematic fraud.

That is exceedingly difficult to do (because) you have to basically dupe thousands of people who are working in the election system, he said. Its an allegation that its not just one person is out there casting 10 or 20 votes illegally, its that thousands of people are collaborating to throw away our democratic system.
About 2,000 Seattle educators wore Black Lives Matter shirts at their schools Wednesday to call for racial equity in education, reports the Seattle Times.

Schools across the district held "Black Lives Matter at School" rallies before classes began for the day. Students, parents, and teachers also wore stickers and buttons emblazoned with the "Black Lives Matter" slogan.

The purpose of the day was to affirm that "black lives matter in the public schools," according to organizers, who are members of Social Equality Educators, a group of educators within the Seattle teachers union. Teachers also wanted to show their support for John Muir Elementary, which had its "Black Men Uniting to Change the Narrative" event canceled last month after receiving a threat over teachers' plans to wear Black Lives Matter shirts.

Before school started Wednesday at Chief Sealth International High School, dozens of educators and students gathered outside the building and held up banners and signs.

"Black Lives Matter At School" wasn't sponsored by the school district, but it coincides with Seattle Public Schools' "day of unity," aimed at bringing more attention to racial equity in education. As a public institution, the district doesn't take official positions on social or political movements, district spokesman Luke Duecy said in a statement earlier this week.
Deputy Nick Tullier (Photo: East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office)

Since July 17, the family of East Baton Rouge (LA) Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tullier, 41, has stood vigil by their son, waiting for him to emerge from a coma. It's been more than 90 days since Tullier answered the call to take down an active shooter targeting officers.

"We feel he is listening to us," James Tullier, Nick Tullier's father, told CNN. "He'll open his right eye at times," Tullier says. "Sometimes it looks like he is looking at you, sometimes it looks like he is looking into space."

James and Mary Tullier are always looking for a slight movement, anything that might suggest their son will soon wake from this coma. The first breakthrough happened in August, when Tullier's family realized he was wiggling his toes.

When he was shot, a bullet lodged in the back of Tullier's head and, according to his family, has caused severe brain stem damage. Tullier was then shot twice in the abdomen and has undergone more than 12 surgeries to repair the internal damage to his organs.

Barring any medical setbacks, Tullier could soon be moved to The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Even though he is still in a coma, family and friends are optimistic Tullier will continue to beat the odds and recover whenever they are able to move him to Houston.

"They have really high hopes for Nick," says Tullier's fiancee Danielle McNicoll. "They see in his charts and his progress that God willing he can make a hundred-percent recovery."

James Tullier says the outpouring of support from law enforcement officers and people around the world help keep the family's spirits high. But what he often thinks about and hopes for is that his son's struggle and fight to survive will help bring an end to anti-police violence across the country.
Akram Judeh has been indicted on several charges. (Photo: NYPD)

A Queens man was indicted Tuesday in the meat cleaver attack on an off-duty NYPD detective in midtown last month, reports am New York.

Charges against Akram Joudeh, 32, include attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon, in connection with the Sept. 15 incident that left off-duty Detective Brian ODonnell with a six-inch gash across his forehead, Manhattan DA Cy Vance said.
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Trumps presidential campaign has made the Trump brand toxic, as his hotel business is so bad that bookings are down 59%.

According to Hipmunk, The share of bookings at Trump Hotels on Hipmunk as a percent of total hotel bookings are down, decreasing 58.46 percent compared to the same period last year. While overall Hipmunk hotel bookings have been on the rise year-over-year, that has not been the case with bookings of Trump Hotels.

Even Trumps new hotel in Washington, D.C. is suffering. While every other 5-star accommodation was booked for a recent IMF conference in the city, Trumps hotel was reducing rates because they were unable to fill the building.

Trumps brand is so toxic that a new line of Trump hotels targeted to millennial travelers is removing his name.

The American people are voting with their wallets, and rejecting everything that the Trump name has come to stand for. Donald Trump is permanently damaging his business and brand by running for president on a platform of sexism, racism, hate, and division.

Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck were never the same after the people spoke with their pocketbooks. Donald Trump is going down the same path at a more accelerated rate. Trumps business is his brand.

There is a strong possibility that Trump will not only lose the election in an epic landslide, but he will also destroy his brand and cost himself millions of dollars.

Voters arent waiting until they get to the polls. The rejection of Donald Trump has already begun.
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Donald Trump is accidentally making America great again in a way that he never intended as Republican Rep. Darrell Issas House seat has been moved into the toss-up category.

The Cook Political Report has moved Rep. Darrell Issas seat into the toss-up category.

Rep. Issa has never won a House race by less than 16 points, but he is currently trailing his Democratic challenger Doug Applegate by 4 points. A big reason for Issas slide is located at the top of the ticket. Mitt Romney carried Issas district by six points in 2012, but Hillary Clinton is leading Californias 49th Congressional District by 14 points over Donald Trump.

Issa has dropped four points from a poll conducted in June that showed the two candidates tied. As Trump has fallen in the polls, Darrell Issa has become one of those incumbent House Republicans who could lose his job in a few weeks.

Rep. Issa abused his power as Chair of the House Oversight Committee by leaking sensitive documents on multiple occasions. Issa was famous for holding sham hearings to investigate Obama conspiracy theories. Rep. Issa would bogus hearings and then use those hearings to raise millions of dollars off of Republican donors.

Issa was eventually ousted from House leadership and hit his low point when he tried to crash a hearing of the House Benghazi Select Committee, only to be kicked out by Select Committee Chair Trey Gowdy.

Donald Trump may very well end making America great again by getting far right ideologues like Darrell Issa out of Congress.
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A new batch of early voting data shows that Hillary Clinton is surging in the typically Republican states of Arizona and North Carolina, and performing well in the critical battleground states of Florida and Colorado, too.

According to the Associated Press report out Saturday, the Democratic nominee appears to be displaying strength in the crucial battleground states as millions of voters cast their ballots early.

The Clinton campaign is looking to build an insurmountable lead in Florida and North Carolina during early voting, the AP reported. Using 2012 as a guidepost, she appears to be in a strong position in early voting.

The news agency noted that a record 3 million people have requested absentee ballots, which is evenly split between both parties. In 2008, when Obama won the state of Florida by less than three points, the GOP had a 17-point edge in these requests  a sign Democrats are even outperforming President Obamas solid numbers.

The Trump campaign should be concerned, said Scott Tranter, the co-founder of a Republican data analytics organizations. Tranter says Clinton is having a strong final showing when it comes to early voting.

More from the report on numbers from the key states of Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada:

Early voting is surging in Arizona, another state Trump cant afford to lose. Arizona has long been reliably Republican, but Clinton is targeting it.

More than 1.9 million ballots have been requested and 36,000 returned. Thats more than triple the 10,800 ballots returned during a similar period in 2012.

Democrats have a 44 percent to 31 percent lead over Republicans in ballots returned. Another 25 percent were independent or unknown. At this point in 2012, Democrats had a narrower 38 percent to 35 percent lead, according to Catalist.



In Colorado, which began voting by mail on Monday, Democrats led 43 percent to 30 percent among the 15,280 ballots returned by late Thursday. In 2012, the party had trailed Republicans early. Registered Democrats have since surpassed Republicans in the state.

And in Nevada, which also began absentee voting this week, overall ballot requests and returns were down. There were sharper declines among older whites, who tend to vote Republican.

The Associated Press notes that Trump is holding his ground in Ohio, Iowa, and the red state of Georgia, but even if the Republican nominee won these three states  and thats a big if  it wouldnt be enough to overcome Clintons advantages in other swing states.

If early voting numbers are any indication, they show not just that Clintons grassroots operation is strong, but that Donald Trumps campaign is in serious trouble.
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Just when we thought Donald Trumps presidential campaign couldnt be more cartoonish, the Republican nominee topped himself again.

In what Republicans initially called an effort to channel Abraham Lincoln in the homestretch of the campaign, Trump delivered a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  the site of the 16th presidents famous address  where he didnt lay out a vision for America, but instead reiterated his belief that the electoral process is rigged and Hillary Clinton shouldnt be allowed to run for president.

Video:

Trump at Gettysburg: Clinton should have been precluded from running, but the FBI and DOJ covered up her crimes https://t.co/sSt6vidM7y  ABC News (@ABC) October 22, 2016

Trump said:

The system is also rigged because Hillary Clinton should have been precluded from running for the presidency of the United States, but the FBI and the Justice Department covered up her crimes, which included lying to the FBI and Congress on numerous occasions.

The Republican nominee also devoted time in his major policy speech to attacking the women who have come forward accusing him of sexual assault. In full Trump form, he threatened to take legal action against them all once the election is over.

Video:

Trump at rally: Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign and all of these liars will be sued https://t.co/EnCpHR095Q  CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 22, 2016

Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign, Trump said. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.

The Trump campaign called the speech his closing argument of the 2016 campaign and promised a substantive argument about what he plans to do as president, but it really amounted to the same old speech from a man who knows hes losing and wants to blame it on everyone else.

Abraham Lincoln is rolling in his grave.
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You really dont have to look far to see examples of ways in which Donald Trump, while claiming to make America great again seems to be speaking the language of people who arent all in on America, like the group spotted by CNNs Ana Navarro on Miamis Bird Rd, which she posted to Instagram with the caption,

20 person pro-Trump street waving on Miamis Bird Rd right now, featuring Confederate flag. No words.

No words indeed. Though there is some irony, in that Trump had just appeared at Gettysburg, pretending to be a new Abraham Lincoln  you know, the guy who defeated the guys waving the Confederate flag.

The Confederate States of America seceded from the Union Trump claims to represent. If he represents neo-Confederates, he is not representing America. If he is representing these people, he cannot be representing African-Americans, because that flag is a symbol of slavery.

It is not the first time. Trump supporters hoisted a Confederate flag at a Trump rally in Kissimmee, Florida, in August. A Public Policy Polling poll of Trump supporters in South Carolina found back in February that 38 percent of them wished the South had won the Civil War, and 70 percent wanted the Confederate flag flying over the state house.

The Young Turks interviewed some of these Confederate flag waving Trump supporters back in February. Never mind that at the time the flag came down in South Carolina, Trump agreed with the move, saying, I would take it down, yes. I think they should put it in a museum and respect whatever it is you have to respect.

Hope springs eternal perhaps. Certainly nothing Trump has said since has discouraged white supremacist slavery fans from supporting Trump. You would think Trump was running for president of the Confederate States of America rather than the United States.

The Trump campaign has been and has remained tone deaf to any racial issues outside of those so popular on the so-called alt-right.

He has claimed to respect women while bragging about sexually assaulting them; claimed to love Mexicans while calling them rapists and drug traffickers; and of course, saying hell more for African-Americans than Hillary Clinton, whose supporters dont fly the Confederate flag.

Just remember on Election Day what youre voting for: the Confederacy with Donald Trump, or the United States of America with Hillary Clinton.
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Its really rather funny that Donald Trump promises a major policies speech in Gettysburg and those policies he bothers to discuss are all things hes talked about before.

You can read about his contract with the American voter here, but in fact, nobody is fooled that anything important happened in Gettysburg today, least of all journalists.

NBC News Katy Tur tweeted the essence of Trumps remarks today:

Dear American voters,

In my first 100 days I will bring lawsuits against those who have criticized me.

Best,

Donald J Trump https://t.co/Vd355RYcss  Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) October 22, 2016

Or, as CNNs Jim Acosta put it,

So far this speech is of the Trump by the Trump and for the Trump  Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 22, 2016

Sadly, this is a recurring theme in Trump speeches.

The New York Times Ashley Parker had something to say too, that His First 100 Days, based on this speech so far, involves an awful lot of litigation. You know, like suing the women who accused him of sexual assault.

Which is funny, because Newt Gingrich tweeted this morning that,

Trump's Gettysburg speech will be the most decisive break with the corrupt establishment in modern times. He is detailed and decisive.  Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) October 22, 2016

The corrupt establishment must include women who accuse Trump of sexually assaulting them. Interesting take. But then, this is coming from a guy who said he had affairs because he loves America so much.

Of course, Trump also accused Hillary Clinton and the DNC of getting these women to say Trump did what he previously bragged about doing.

It was probably the DNC and the Clinton campaign that put forward these liars with their fabricated stories. But well find out about their involvement at a later date through litigation. And I look so forward to doing that.

Well find out a lot more if he goes through with his promised lawsuit against The New York Times, come the discovery phase of the trial. Or, as Newsweeks Kurt Eichenwald put it,

Trump says now hell sue the women who accused him. Case of he said-she she she she she she she she she-said. Oh, & he said too, on tape.'

So yes, Trump might want to think twice or three times about that.

Sopan Deb of CBS News really said it best for journalists everywhere:

Now we know why in last night's call, Trump campaign aides didn't reveal new policy details to unveil in today's speech. There weren't many.  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 22, 2016

Lincolns Gettysburg Address was a mere 272 words, but packed into a few minutes of speaking was such a powerful message, a message that still moves Americans today. Trump talked a great deal longer while saying much less.

Pollster Frank Luntz observed that,

Today's Gettysburg speech would have been great stump speech, minus part about suing anyone who accused him of doing things he's said he did https://t.co/1xR6DAtDPT  Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 22, 2016

Trumpsters can engage in all the hyperbole they want, but if there was a decisive break with something in Gettysburg today, it was with reality.
Members of the homeowners association at Shadowmoss Plantation in West Ashley voted to oust their board and elect new leadership last week. The election has triggered a lawsuit.

Provided
MASON CITY  A sculpture that survived the citys biggest flood during more than a decade in storage has returned to the lawn outside Mason City Fire Headquarters.

Approximately 100 people attended a rededication ceremony on Friday at the sculpture, which consists of stone slabs and other design features salvaged from the former Central Station.

While we look at the history of the department as things, we gather today to remember that these buildings housed and these things were used by men that worked at the Mason City Fire Department, Mason City Fire Department Records Clerk Jo Beck told the crowd.

Originally placed at Headquarters west lawn in 1980, the sculpture was taken down about a decade ago to make room for a new ambulance bay.

It was in storage  where it was submerged during the 2008 flood  until officials had it reassembled and placed near the facilitys front doors this summer.

Delores Van Horn, of Mason City, made sure she attended Fridays rededication.

She attended the original ceremony in 1980 with her husband, former fire chief Ron Van Horn.

Van Horn, who died last year, served the department from 1956 to 1994. He served the last 14 years as chief.

It means a lot because Ron was part of it, Delores Van Horn said.

Leota Chase, of Riceville, attended in honor of her late husband, Lt. Joel Chase.

He retired in 1994 after serving the department for 30 years. Like Van Horn, he served at both the old Central Station and the new fire headquarters on Fifth Street Southwest.

It was a pretty cool place, Leota Chase said of Central Station. It was pretty primitive basically, for what we have now, but they had a good time working there.

The scupture is surrounded by commemorative bricks, which are dedicated to the 83 former firefighters who served for 22 years or retired with a work-related disability.

In addition to the sculpture, firefighters also installed an art deco light and siren taken from the old South Station.

The South Station, 2020 S. Federal Ave., operated until 1973.

The light hangs on the front of the building above the truck runs.
All of us have local and national issues that we worry about: gender-related and race-related issues, education and social welfare issues, pump prices and what to do about Confederate monuments. Thats usually how we vote  whats worrying us at the moment. But older adults, of all people, may be capable of standing back from whats in our face to take a longer perspective on politics. Read moreAging for Amateurs: Elections make us get clear on priorities
EL Education CEO says a hotel employee recorded audio of an employee for the nonprofit that works in several SC school districts, mentioning both Lexington County and critical race theory, but someone spliced together the audio in a deceptive way to create a false political controversy. Read moreFox News used 'false and crudely edited' audio to target SC schools, nonprofit CEO says
CLEAR LAKE | Kings Kids, a family event including games, costumes and candy, is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Clear Lake Evangelical Free Church, 1310 Highway 18 W.

The celebration is for kids who are in preschool through sixth grade. It will be in the churchs gym.

Hot dogs and chips will be served.

The event is free, but each family is asked to bring two bags of candy to share. The candy will be divided so that each child attending will take home a paper sack full of candy.

Door prizes will be awarded at 7:15 p.m. There also will be prizes for the best biblical boy's and girl's costume, the cutest boy's and girl's costume and the most original costume.

Those who attend are asked to dress in costumes that are not scary or violent.
Electric vehicles arent a panacea. They dont reduce traffic congestion or the need to spend billions of dollars repairing and expanding our highways, the way mass transit, ride sharing and more walkable and bicycleable communities can. To the contrary, they make it more difficult to pay for the necessary upgrades, because despite some modest steps, politicians here and elsewhere have been unwilling to change our tax laws to ensure that vehicles using little or no gasoline pay their fair share for those improvements. Read moreEditorial: SC electric vehicle expansion helps state in multiple ways
Candidates for the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners met Thursday evening for a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. Candidates from the two contested races were featured in the forum: District 3 incumbent Paul Wilson and challenger Gregg Wright; and District 7 incumbent Louis Ohly and challenger Mark Thein.

A recording of the forum will be made available on the Rochester Public Library website . Questions from the forum and answers from candidates are listed below. Questions and answers have been edited for length.

District 3

How would you address human services mandates from the state  that are often not attached to funding  within the county budget available?

Paul Wilson

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"Mandates in and of themselves are not a bad thing but they need to be reviewed, they need justified when we have worked very hard in this county. Certain counties in southeastern Minnesota have looked at possibilities for a major expansion at one point, pulling us all together to do something creative."

The county would also need to ensure its services met the needs of its population while paralleling the state mandates, Wilson said.

"It's a critical challenge but it's one we have to continue to meet."

Gregg Wright

"I do believe that counties really need to gather themselves together to lobby the state legislature and make sure that they understand  and the people of Minnesota understand  that the state legislature has a role in this and they really need to accompany state money along with state mandates."

Wright saw a change coming in an aging population demographic and its ability to pay for the needed services.

"The difficulty is, again, the aging population of people 65 years and older and on a fixed income, they're not going to be able to support this as they have in the past. The funding part of this answer is that it's going to have to come from the state legislature."

District 7

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What issues do you see in communities outside Rochester that need new or increased support from the county government?

Mark Thein

"My experience as 18 years on the Oronoco Township board, and 10 years as chairperson, is that Olmsted County is Rochester-centric and if you're coming to Olmsted County with a need from a township or a small town, it is not heard at the same level of importance as if you were coming to Olmsted County from the city of Rochester.

"There's a lot of issues out there in townships and small towns, and I would bring a perspective that would respect hose requests and listen to them fully."

Louis Ohly

"I have always told other county board members that I advocate for people who are in my district. Sometimes they wish I would shut up, but I do that."

Ohly gave an example  when Olmsted turned back county roads to the city of Oronoco and Oronoco was not satisfied with the transition, Ohly said he went back to the county's public works department four times to try to rectify the issue.

"After the third time I was told to shut up and go away, but I came back the fourth time.  That's my philosophy of how to be a county commission. You represent people, their needs, no matter what."

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Dodge County

EDA discusses Main Street building

WEST CONCORD  Members of the West Concord EDA discussed the future of the 207 W. Main St. building at its Nov. 7 meeting.

The EDA chose to table any discussion on moving forward with the sale of the building. The potential buyers of the space will wait until the issue is discussed at next month's EDA meeting, according to members of the body.

Houston County

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Clinic grand opening set for Saturday

CALEDONIA  Gundersen Lutheran will host a grand opening for the new orthopedic clinic Saturday at 8 a.m. It is at 405 S. Highway 44/76.

Fillmore County

Service focuses on 'Beauty of the Earth'

LENORA  The historic Lenora United Methodist Church will hold a Thanksgiving worship service Sunday at 4 p.m.

It will focus on themes in the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth." Attendees are invited to bring nonperishable food items for the food shelf.

Refreshments will be served at the Lenora Fellowship House after the service.

The church is on Fillmore County Road 24 in Lenora.

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Mower County

Three blood drives planned

AUSTIN  There are three upcoming blood drives in Mower County.

The first is 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Southland High School in Adams. The second is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Riverland Community College in Austin. The third is 1 to 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at Mower County Senior Citizens Center in Austin.

To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-REDCROSS.

Wabasha County

Black and Orange Gala will be Saturday

LAKE CITYThe Lake City Education Foundation will hold the Black and Orange Gala on Saturday at St. Mary of the Lake.

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There will be hors d'oeuvres, drinks and dessert. Tickets cost $50 and are available at lakecityeducationfoundation.org or by calling 225-993-6706.

Goodhue County

Levee Road construction underway

RED WING  Concrete work on Levee Road from the Jackson Street Roundabout to Broad Street is ongoing this week.

To facilitate the concrete repair work in the roundabout, the Levee Road/Jackson Street Roundabout will be closed until Friday, depending on weather and site conditions.

Levee Road will be open from Broad Street up to the roundabout (including access to boat houses and the parking lot east of the roundabout) during the concrete repair work.

Access to Bay Point Park also will be open using Levee Road and Withers Harbor Road west of the roundabout.

Winona County

Cabin Coffee celebrates anniversary

ST. CHARLES  Cabin Coffee in St. Charles is celebrating its nine-year anniversary Thursday.

Coffee will be 90 cents, fresh-roasted beans will be 20 percent off and all drinks are 20 percent off between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. There also will be door prizes and free samples all day.

Cabin Coffee is on U.S. Highway 14 in St. Charles.
Rochester students were dismissed from school for the morning to watch the momentous event, and even some downtown businesses closed.

"A number of later arrivals, also determined to get a good look, climbed the railroad gate tower and telephone poles and sat perched on rooftops in the vicinity," the Post-Bulletin reported.

It was Oct. 14, 1948, and Rochester was the center of attention in one of the most famous presidential campaigns in American history.

At 10:25 that morning, President Harry S. Truman's train pulled into town, and the president stepped out to make a short speech. It was just one of hundreds of speeches Truman made that autumn during a "whistle-stop" campaign that went from coast to coast.

But there was nothing routine about the speech Truman gave that morning in Rochester. In his remarks, the president, in the backyard of Mayo Clinic, renewed his call for a national health insurance system.

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"I wish the whole nation could have the opportunity to enjoy the kind of medical care that is available here in Rochester," Truman said from the platform of the Ferdinand Magellan, the presidential railroad car. "Unfortunately, we haven't reached that point yet."

He reeled off statistics showing only one-fifth of the American population could afford needed medical care.

"I think these facts point to the need for the national health program that I have been urging Congress to adopt," Truman told his Rochester audience. "I want to see that every man, woman and child on a day not too far off will be able to get the kind of care provided here in Rochester."

Truman first had proposed national health care shortly after he became president in 1945.

"Socialized medicine," his critics, including the powerful American Medical Association, charged.

The visit by Truman was the first ever to Rochester by a campaigning president. A crowd estimated by Rochester police at between 8,000 and 9,000 started gathering near the train station on First Avenue Northwest hours before the president's special 16-car train was due.

Truman's whistle-stop tour has gone down in history as one of the great campaigns in presidential politics. At the start, virtually nobody gave the president a chance at re-election. Polls showed him trailing his Republican opponent, Thomas E. Dewey, by double digits in many states.

"The odds against him looked insurmountable," wrote historian David McCullough.

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But Truman, in a fighting mood, attacked the "do-nothing" Republican Congress in his speeches. Cheered on by crowds shouting "Give 'em hell, Harry," the president set out to make history.

"What that campaign shows is the power of personality," said Chad Israelson, a history instructor at Rochester Community & Technical College. "He was seen as a pugnacious fighter."

In Rochester, as Truman neared the end of his remarks, he asked the crowd, "How'd you like to meet the family?" He introduced his wife, first lady Bess Truman, and their daughter, Margaret.

Then the train started to pull away, heading for the next stop in Winona, where Truman would give yet another speech. The kids went back to school, the crowd dispersed and Rochester returned to normal.

On election day, the Truman whistle-stop tour was credited with producing one of the biggest upsets ever in presidential election campaigns.

Contrary to the famous newspaper headline, Truman defeated Dewey.
When President Harry S. Truman renewed his call for national health care during a 1948 campaign stop in Rochester, he was returning to a fight he already had waged for years.

Truman, a Democrat, first proposed a national health care plan on Nov. 19, 1945, only seven months after succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt in the White House.

The president, according to the Truman Library and Museum , put forth a five-point plan that involved federal funding to alleviate inequalities in the American health care system. He proposed a national health insurance plan, run by the federal government and open to all citizens.

"It was not out of step with the rest of the world at that time," said Chad Israelson, a history instructor at Rochester Community & Technical College. In those immediate postwar years, several European countries, including America's World War II ally Great Britain, were designing and adopting government health care systems.

In America, though, Truman's plan met with fierce resistance.

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"I consider it socialism," said Sen. Robert A. Taft, the senior Republican. "It is to my mind the most socialistic measure this Congress has ever had before it."

To help fight Truman's plan, the American Medical Association assessed its members an extra $25 each. In 1945 alone, the AMA spent $1.5 million in lobbying efforts to kill the plan  the most expensive lobbying effort in American history up to that point, according to Physicians for a National Health Program.

Facing a Republican Congress and the opposition from the AMA, Truman's plan had no chance.

However, on his famous 1948 whistle-stop campaign, most notably during a stop in Rochester, Truman made another strong pitch for a national health plan. "The people who can afford better health will make greater prosperity and a strong nation," Truman said in Rochester.

Truman's come-from-behind victory in the presidential race in 1948 brought with it a Democratic Congress and should have given new life to his health plan.

Many of those Democrats, though, were from the South.

"The southern Democrats were really conservative," Israelson said. Their opposition to federal initiatives stymied Truman's plan. Part of that also might have been payback for Truman's relatively strong Civil Rights record, which included desegregating the armed forces.

More importantly, though, the opponents of federal health insurance, including the AMA, were able to tie the proposal to a growing fear of communism in the postwar world. By the time America entered the Korean War in 1950, Truman's health care plan was on life support.

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Truman left office in 1953 having failed to get his national health plan passed. It was left to labor unions, at that time a strong force, to bargain for health insurance packages as part of workers' contracts  a practice that eventually spread throughout the workforce.

Truman, though, lived to see the day when at least a portion of his plan was adopted. When President Lyndon Johnson (who later served on the Mayo Board of Trustees) signed the Medicare bill into law in 1965, he did it in Truman's hometown, with the former president at his side. "It all started really with the man from Independence," Johnson said.
ST. PAUL  Noting that his comments suggesting the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for many have been turned against fellow Democrats on the ballot, Gov. Mark Dayton urged Minnesota's legislative leaders Friday to compose a plan to counter rapidly rising premiums before open enrollment begins next month  and before Election Day.

It's an about-face for Dayton, who just last week said he wouldn't entertain a special session until after Nov. 8 to combat health insurance rate increases for 2017 that range from 50 percent to 67 percent. But he said the stakes for Minnesota residents who buy coverage through the state's health insurance exchange or directly from insurers, but who make too much to get federal subsidies, are too high. Dayton wants to give them a signal in the next two weeks that help is on the way.

"It is now time to walk the talk and agree upon a solution to provide much-needed relief," he said.

Asked if he's concerned that the political fallout could land squarely on Democrats as they seek to maintain control of the Senate, regain control of the House and increase their footing in Minnesota's eight congressional districts, Dayton responded: "We'll see."

The Democratic governor turned heads last week with his critique the federal health care overhaul's performance, emboldening Republicans who say the law is a disaster that should be scrapped, while causing Democrats to cringe. The comments were circulated nationally. They were pulled for a GOP attack ad in a competitive congressional race in St. Paul's southern suburbs and made an appearance on Donald Trump's Twitter feed.

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Dayton said he stands by his comments, but added that he regrets they're being wrongly used against Democrats. He joins House Republicans and Senate Democrats in calling for a special session, though he said he doesn't believe any financial aid would need to be approved before Election Day. The rate hikes take effect Jan. 1.

"Here we are less than three weeks from the election and that white hot political atmosphere, it's going to be a big stretch for legislators to set aside the politics and focus on what we can do to relieve this burden on Minnesotans," he said.

Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt said he's committed to working out a fix while blaming Democrats for the problem.

"The governor was correct last week when he admitted Obamacare is not affordable," Daudt said in a statement. "It is my hope we can find areas of agreement and provide needed relief to Minnesotans suffering from the effects of Obamacare."

There's little indication the two sides can quickly agree on a solution. Republicans have proposed a series of potential changes, including financial assistance and abolishing MNsure, and moving to the federal exchange. Legislative Democrats, meanwhile, have proposed a tax credit to buy down premium costs for those who don't get federal subsidies and allowing all residents to use the state's public programs.

Dayton himself suggested Friday that the state redirect $313 million of a budget surplus destined for the state's rainy day fund for premium relief, calling the situation an emergency.

"Right now it is pouring on some Minnesotans," he said.

Whether it's in a special session or in 2017, lawmakers also have long-term problems to consider. The state's top health insurance regulator has warned that the individual market is in a crisis after every company offering coverage threatened to exit.
OSLO, Minn.  Growing an 1,100-pound squash is probably the easiest part of setting a world record for pumpkin paddling.

So when Rick Swenson hatched the idea of breaking such a record this spring, he wasn't expecting Guiness World Records to give him 36 pages of rules. But he was up to the challenge anyway.

Swenson works for the Wadena-based Wensman Seed company, but his real agricultural passion is pumpkins  really big pumpkins. After years of cultivating giant pumpkins, the Fergus Falls man still wasn't getting the super massive, almost one-ton monsters that break records.

After perusing the Guinness application in April, he opted to pursue a record in pumpkin paddling.

At the time, the record was just three miles, so Swenson got to work.

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He'd planned to put oarlocks on the gourd and row it, thinking that might make it easier to steer, but the record keepers at Guinness ruled that out. He had to use a kayak paddle instead.

Swenson did carry a battery-powered string of LED lights so he could be seen  turns out it gets dark early by the time of year a pumpkin grows to seaworthy size.

But that wasn't all it took to get the record. Swenson needed as many pictures of his pumpkin paddling as possible.

He also had to get an uninterrupted GPS file to prove his journey happened.

"I had three different GPS devices going, just because I was worried that one might fail," Swenson said.

That's on top of the required two minutes of video each hour. Plus the statements from unbiased witnesses.

"People I've never met before, I had to have come out and vouch that they'd seen me start and finish," Swenson said.

Before setting out on the Red River to attempt the record, Swenson took his two biggest pumpkins  which weigh around 11-hundred pounds each  and floated them around on a lake near Fergus Falls to see which was most seaworthy. Friends and family helped drive the pumpkins up to Grand Forks and slipped the biggest one into the river on Saturday about 7:30 a.m.

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His brother, father-in-law and three friends brought a pair of fishing boats to provide support  each with 10,000 watts of lights on board. They trolled behind him in the dark, lighting the way so he didn't run into anything and sink his pumpkin. Supporters also food and brought over drinks as he paddled.

Then came the surprise  the record had changed since Swenson had the idea this spring.

Someone increased the record to eight miles.

Then, as Swenson was over seven miles into his journey, he and his team found out the record had again been broken just a week earlier.

The world record sat at 15 miles, but Swenson was determined to press on  although he conceded there really wasn't anywhere between Grand Forks and Oslo, Minn., to get out of the river.

He figures he made about 2.1 miles an hour between Grand Forks and Oslo, a 26-mile voyage.

"I never actually took my boots out of the pumpkin," Swenson said. "I thought about maybe trying to stretch them over the top, but I didn't want to fall out, so when we finally hit shore, I was ready to get out."

Now, he has to mail in all of his documentation to claim the record. He took his pumpkin to the zoo in Wahpeton, N.D. He usually takes his pumpkins there for the its annual Zoo Boo festival.

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But this year, they'll have part of a world record to celebrate.

Still, Swenson knows just how fragile a record can be.

"If I had an email today that somebody broke it, I guess I wouldn't be surprised," he said. "And I don't foresee making it through next year without somebody beating it. That's for sure. But that's alright. There's a lot of punishment being on the water that long. So more credit to 'em if they want to."
MASON CITY | A Mason City man accused of rupturing another person's eardrum during an assault in August was sentenced Monday to 120 days in jail and fined $315.

Rudy Huerta, 18, and two others attacked a man Aug. 20 in the 700 block of North Delaware Avenue in Mason City, according to court documents.

The three aggressors hit the victim, a Mason City resident, until he fell down and then kicked him several times while witnesses attempted to pull them away, documents said.

Police say the victim complained of hearing loss at the scene and was later found to have suffered a perforated, or ruptured, eardrum.

Huerta originally was charged with felony willful injury causing bodily injury. He pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury.

 Mary Pieper
It looks like the politicians are at it again. Every time I turn around, someone wants to take our guns away. Apparently, those people have never read the Constitution, which safeguards our right to bear arms.

Anti-gun fanatics think shootings will disappear if the government bans all guns. Well, I have news for them: Take guns out of the hands of the bad guys, and you will solve the problem. The average law-abiding citizen is not a threat to shoot up a movie theater, school or shopping mall.

Our state representative, Greg Davids, has an "A" rating from the NRA. He knows government has no business trying to overturn parts of the Constitution, I will enthusiastically be voting for Greg this fall.

John T. Graf

La Crescent
On paper the race for Minnesota House District 25A is uneven.

Incumbent Duane Quam , a Byron Republican with six years in the Legislature, is known for working with his constituents.

The challenger, Linda Walbruch , is a recently retired Kasson-Mantorville elementary school teacher seeking political office as a followup to her career. The Mantorville DFLer acknowledges her newcomer status. "It's been a transition for me," she said about retiring this year, adding: "Instead of stepping down, I wanted to step up."

Quam on the other hand is well-versed in the ways of the Legislature. The vice chairman of the Property Tax and Local Government Finance Division also sits on the Education Finance, Health and Human Services Reform and Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance committees and is among prolific bill writers, earning credit as chief author for 69 bills this biennium.

The number of bills demonstrates Quam's willingness to take concerns of his constituents to the state capital, whether it's seeking to help Dodge County remove itself from the Southeast Minnesota Multicounty Housing and Redevelopment Authority or find funding for Lake Zumbro dredging and Oronoco wastewater treatment facilities.

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"I'm more of the neighbor or person out there," he said of the district that covers part of Rochester, as well as rural areas and smaller cities northwest of the city.

Local Government Aid

While Quam and Walbruch are divided along party lines in many areas, including LGBT rights and right-to-work issues, both voice a desire to ensure area communities get a larger share of Local Government Aid in the future.

Quam penned legislation last year seeking to cut aid to three of the state's four largest cities, citing it would be better spent by outstate communities in efforts to lower property taxes. Rochester was excluded from the cut. A portion of that measure was included in this year's tax bill, which failed to receive the governor's signature.

Walbruch also noted a need to increase state aid to reduce the property taxes, especially for area farmers. The daughter of a farmer, she said production costs are putting too much pressure on farms.

The LGA issue also reveals both candidates see a growing rural-urban divide. However, where Quam occasionally seems to pit smaller communities against the metro area, Walbruch voices a desire to create a bridge. "Honestly, I think they feel a little left out," she says of people she has been talking to in the district. "So, I think that's something we're going to want to work on."

Legislative changes

Despite some commonalities, one difference between the two candidates stood out significantly. We asked all House candidates what would need to be done to address last-minute, end-of-session issues that derailed the bonding and tax bill this year.

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Quam's answer  "Get a different governor"  disappointed us. He went on to note Gov. Mark Dayton should have played a larger role in the process. "There were conference committees that were open for more than a year and the governor didn't sit down with any of them," Quam said.

Still, the response dismissed any responsibility on the legislature's part. It puts the blame squarely on Dayton's shoulders and proposes nothing will change in the next two years. It's not the response we expect from a leader.

Walbruch, on the other hand, said lawmakers must strive to avoid the us-versus-them trap and seek opportunities to overcome differences and find common goals. "We all want what's good for our community, and what's good for our state," she said.

While the answer may seem a bit too optimistic, which matches Walbruch's bubbly personality, we note the former teacher can take a serious tone when discussing issues and we'd expect she'd be as serious about trying to achieve her idealistic goal and help constituents.

That's why the Post Bulletin Editorial Board has decided to endorse Linda Walbruch for Minnesota House District 25A.

We believe we've seen what Quam has to offer. We acknowledge it has benefited the district but also note it seems to be lacking in areas need to bring change to the Minnesota Legislature.

Maybe it's time to see what someone else can do in the seat.
Back in June, two individuals from the Federated States of Micronesia allegedly assaulted two police officers at the Hemlani Apartments. About three weeks later, a man found himself with a one-way plane ticket destined for Chuuk. Yet Ninton Hauk, the man sent home, had nothing to do with the incident at Hemlani. (He was, however, in prison at the time for other crimes, including assault on a peace officer as a third-degree felony.) Instead, Hauks removal served as Governor Eddie Calvos test case for a policy designed to protect the health and interest of all the people of Guam through the removal of non-U.S. citizen prisoners incarcerated by the Guam Department of Corrections. Depending on who you ask, Hauk was either lucky or unlucky enough to have been caught up in outside circumstances resulting in the commutation of his sentence in exchange for agreeing to permanently leave Guam.

Since then, the governor has deported 11 more non-citizen convicts from the island, while a twelfth has had his sentence commuted and is in federal custody awaiting removal. The governor initially referred to these actions as deportations until Attorney General AG Barret-Anderson advised him that he does not have the authority to deport foreign nationals. Like governors of U.S. states, however, he does posses the power to pardon and commute the sentences of GDOC prisoners. And from his view, if he managed to convince prisoners to leave Guam in exchange for commutation, well that is something else entirely.

Calvo has claimed these recent actions as a remedy to purported federal inaction regarding the alleviation of financial stresses on the local government related to immigration from some neighboring nations. While the Hemlani Apartments incident may have been the breaking point for the governor  who also called for the deportation of two individuals allegedly involved in the incident, even though they hadn't been convicted  a neglectful federal government remains a popular talking point in local politics that makes for an easy enough punching bag during an election year. Simmering resentment among locals toward Micronesian immigrants, in particular those of Chuukese descent, could also play into Calvos political motives, say some critics.

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Costs of COFA

Compacts of free association (COFA) between the United States and the FSM, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands allow citizens from these nations to live and work in the U.S. as legal nonimmigrants. Federal law provides at least $30 million annually to be distributed between Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, and the CNMI to cover the cost of hosting these individuals.

But costs for a single state or territory can run more than double that pooled amount.

A January 2016 report from the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that 2014 government of Guam COFA expenditures amounted to about $144 million while federal reimbursement was just around $18 million. The governor and his legislative colleagues are quick to point out the resulting deficiencies  a strained public hospital, crowded schools, and an overpopulated prison system.

On the one hand the federal government is saying Youve got an overcrowded prison system, youre not allowing them their constitutional rights, Calvo said during an interview with the Sunday Post in early October. And yet, at the same time, the federal government has helped, aided, and abetted the overcrowding because they have not done their jobs.

There are presently about 230 non-U.S. citizens incarcerated with the Guam Department of Corrections. This accounts for about 30 percent of the total prison population, the majority of which are from the FSM  particularly, Chuuk. At a cost of $43,000 to imprison a single convict per year, Guam spends over $9 million annually detaining foreign nationals.

Debate over deportation

While deportation falls under the larger purview of the federal government, Guam law specifically calls for the deportation of a COFA citizen if convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude, if sentenced to one or more years for any crime, or if they become a repeat offender for driving under the influence of alcohol. The attorney general of Guam is tasked with notifying the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division (ICE) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for any desire to deport a criminal. The attorney general is also required to file a quarterly report with the Guam Legislature and list on its own website cases that have been forwarded to ICE. According to Post files, however, the last report was published in the first quarter of 2014.

During a budget hearing in July, AG Barrett-Anderson said her involvement was void once a foreign national serves his or her prison sentence or probationary period. In the end, she cited the federal governments responsibility to determine which individuals should be deported for violating the conditions of their stay, whether under COFA or not.

Several months back, with the Homeland Security ICE officials, we said Why arent you deporting these multi-convicted felons? And they said, Its not our priority, Calvo said during the October interview. "When they said [it's] not their priority, I had to do what I had to do. You can question how I did it, but I did it because I had to. There is an issue here with overcrowding in the prison, criminal activity  recidivism. And it wouldnt have occurred if they had deported them the first time.

Calvos initial solution was not technically deportation. Instead, he commuted convicts sentences with the stipulation that they would leave Guam and never return. These commutations are within his rights as granted by the Organic Act, but the resulting expulsions from Guam did not go unnoticed by the attorney general or the governments to which the convicts were being sent.

The first five individuals to leave through these agreements were all FSM nationals from Chuuk, prompting Barrett-Anderson  in an interview with the Pacific Daily News (PDN)  to state that the governor needed to ensure his actions were racially neutral and that foreign prisoners were afforded their due process, which included a deportation hearing. Calvo has maintained that his selections had more to do with the statistical make-up of Guams prison than race.

Persona non grata

The FSM government also voiced concerns with Calvos commutations practice and a seeming lack of due process, prompting contentious exchanges between Calvo and FSM officials.

In September, Robert Ruecho, the FSM consul general to Guam, announced that, under executive instructions, his office would no longer be assisting the administration by providing information on FSM nationals. This led Calvo to declare Ruecho persona non grata  or, in common parlance, an unwelcome person. This is the most serious form of censure a country can apply to foreign diplomats and typically leads to their immediate recall by a home government. Calvo again faced heat for potentially overstepping his authority, as the term refers to a foreign person whose entering or remaining in a particular country is prohibited by that country's government. Calvo, however, doesnt have the ability to determine diplomatic relations with foreign nations and expel ambassadors. Days later, he threatened to extend the censure to all FSM officials who refuse to cooperate with his government in confirming if a convicted criminal is an FSM citizen.

Ruecho told the Sunday Post on Thursday that the Calvo administration and ICE are now communicating only with the FSMs Division of Immigration and Labor in Pohnpei and that his office is completely uninvolved.

While the FSM governments position has become something of a sticking point for the governor's approach, there have been some signs of success. On Oct. 10, the administration touted a prison-to-prison transfer request from Palau President Tommy Remengesau, who relayed a desire from the prisoners family to have him finish his sentence on his home island. Calvo said he hoped the FSM president would tender similar cooperation sometime in the future. Likewise, the governor's office has said they've received several letters from non-citizen prisoners requesting to partake in the program.

Unclear process

However, even with the appearance of such high-level cooperation between Palau and Guam's leaders, the legal destiny of the Palauan prisoner, Ngeskebei Saburo, is unclear. Rebluud Kesolei, President Remengesaus deputy chief of staff, told the Sunday Post that the two governments have not yet actually engaged in any formal discussions or brokered any deals on the matter. The Calvo administration has said it's passed Saburo's case and request on to the U.S. Department of Justice. Saburo has served 12 years at DOC and is up for parole in three years.

Despite criticisms, the administration has given no indication that it will stop the commutation and removal practice anytime soon. Denek Eugichi, the fifth FSM national exiled from Guam, was the last to sign an agreement not to return. Since September, convicts have been handed to ICE for adjudication and then deportation, although the governor still commutes their sentence.

At the time, the Post inquired about the shift away from agreements and was told that nothing had changed.

However, according to Barrett-Anderson, sometime in September representatives from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Honolulu met with the attorney general along with officials from the governors office and DOC. These representatives recommended following the federal detainer process to initiate removals, which Guam officials agreed to.

Since that meeting, the commutation program of the governor is now supported by the federal deportation process, Barrett-Anderson said.

This seems to have also satisfied the attorney general's concerns for racial neutrality, now that that the administration is relying on the federal detainer list to draw names for potential deportation.

I would assume the detainer list is racially neutral, she added.

Ten of the 12 convicts who have had their sentences commuted and have been removed or are awaiting deportation are from the FSM. One prisoner has been returned to the Philippines and one to Peru.

According to Oyoal Ngirairikl, the governor's spokeswoman, a team consisting of public safety agencies, senior advisors, and legal counsel review files on non-U.S. citizens in detention. Caseworkers provide the files, which include a convicts crime, sentence and time served, behavior in prison, as well as their participation and completion of programs while incarcerated.

"The Department of Corrections and the Guam Police Department would work together to identify and reach out to a (deportee's) victim or, if the victim couldnt be reached, their families. The attorney generals office has started to assist in this area," said Ngirairikl. "Thus far, there have not been any objections."

But the most important aspect of following the federal deportation process, according to Barrett-Anderson, was that only federal officials can prevent persons from re-entering Guam. With respect to the possibility of re-entry by the five who only signed agreements rather than be deported, the attorney general stated, "That's a question I will answer if it ever happens."

In the PDN interview, Barrett-Anderson was said to be working on a set of guidelines for local customs officials in case a flagged individual attempts to return to Guam. The attorney general clarified with the Sunday Post that this was not the case and there is currently no need to look at such rules.

Additional reporting from Palau by Bernadette Carreon.
Gehad El-Haddad, the now-imprisoned former spokesman for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhoods Freedom and Justice Party, was paid by the Clinton Foundation even as he promoted the Brotherhoods interests as an adviser to Egypts Mohamed Morsi. So reports Patrick Poole at PJ Media.

Poole calls Gehad the Baghdad Bob of the Arab Spring. According to Poole, while serving Morsis Muslim Brotherhood government, Gehad incited violence, justified the torture of protesters, recycled fake news stories, and staged fake scenes of confrontation during the 2013 Rabaa protests.

Poole relies in part on Gehads Linkedin page, in which he refers to himself as Senior Adviser & Media Spokesperson at Muslim Brotherhood. For Current he states:

Muslim Brotherhood, Renaissance Project, Freedom and Justice Party.

For Previous he states:

William J. Clinton Foundation, Qabila, Industrial Modernization Center.

Further down the page, where he describes his time with the Clinton Foundation, he states that he worked for the Foundation from August 2007  August 2012. Morsi came to power in the last month or two of this period.

Before Morsi came to power, Gehad served as his campaign spokesman. He was on the Clinton Foundations payroll throughout this time and during a longer period during which, says Poole, he held various posts with the Brotherhood. Thus, as Poole puts it, the Clinton Foundation subsidized one of the senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood officials in his rapid rise to power.

Once Morsi came to power, Gehad became an apologist for the Muslim Brotherhoods attacks on the judiciary and the police. Poole presents some of Gehads apologist tweets.

Should we be surprised that the Clintons subsidized a Muslim Brotherhood operative? Not really.

As Andy McCarthy has pointed out, during Hillary Clintons time as Secretary of State:

[T]he United States. . .aligned itself with the Muslim Brotherhood in myriad ways. To name just a few (the list is by no means exhaustive): Our government reversed the policy against formal contacts with the Brotherhood; funded Hamas; continued funding Egypt even after the Brotherhood won the elections; dropped an investigation of Brotherhood organizations in the U.S. that were previously identified as co-conspirators in the case of the Holy Land Foundation financing Hamas; hosted Brotherhood delegations in the United States; issued a visa to a member of the Islamic Group (a designated terrorist organization) and hosted him in Washington because he is part of the Brotherhoods parliamentary coalition in Egypt. . . .

Clintons closest confidante is Huma Abedin. The Abedin family has connections with the Muslim Brotherhood. Abedin herself may or may not. But her contempt for American Jews who support Israel is now a matter of record.

It wont be new to have a Muslim Brotherhood fan in the Oval Office; weve had one for the past eight years. Fortunately, Team Obama didnt have its way in Egypt and so the Muslim Brotherhood lost power.

It hasnt gone away, however, and we should expect Hillary Clinton once again to back this anti-American, Israel-hating terrorist outfit.
The Florida Senate race has been good for some laughs in a generally grim election season. It pits incumbent Marco Rubio against former Republican Patrick Murphy, whose main qualification is inherited wealth. The candidates agreed to debate on Univision, an important Spanish-language outlet in south Florida. Alex Conant, Rubios press guy, sums up what ensued in this tweet:

To recap: Dem candidate agrees to Spanish-language debate. Then drops out when he realizes Republican speaks Spanish https://t.co/hGYN55Ut6W  Alex Conant (@AlexConant) October 21, 2016

The Miami Herald also has an account:

A proposed U.S. Senate debate on Univision Miami between Republican incumbent Marco Rubio and Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy has been scrapped because the two campaigns couldnt agree on what language the event would be conducted in on the Spanish-language network. Rubio  and Univision, an email from the network shows  wanted the debate in Spanish, while Murphys campaign insisted on a debate in English that would then be dubbed in Spanish for the networks Hispanic viewing audience.  The format Univison itself proposed  as presented to the campaigns on Wednesday, according to an email supplied to the Herald/Times by Rubios campaign and confirmed by Murphys  was for a true Spanish-language debate. The debate will be in Spanish, reads the email. Spanish-language questions will be translated to English for Congressman Murphy and English language answers from the Congressman will be translated to Spanish for the viewers.  Murphy isnt fluent in Spanish; Rubio, a Cuban American, is.

I am pretty sure Marco will win his race. I only wish he were running in the other 49 states, too.
Minnesotas version of the Affordable Care Act is called MNSure. Like all such implementations of the federal law, it has been a disaster. Last week, Minnesotas left-wing governor, Mark Dayton, created a firestorm when he accidentally blurted out the truth: The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people.

Dayton has been furiously backpedaling away from that comment ever since, but local Democrats are so worried about MNSures unpopularity that they are calling for a special session prior to the election to try to fix the problems with the statute.

Bad as the situation is, most Minnesotans dont know about one of the unintended effects of Obamacare: it is driving up property taxes all across the state. MNSure is supposed to allow individuals to enroll in the program online. But the system doesnt work; it never has, and those who work with it daily say it never will. As a result, counties have been forced to hire more staff to do manually what MNSure was supposed to accomplish on the internet.

Tom Steward, my colleague at Center of the American Experiment, has the scoop:

By now most Minnesotans realize the Affordable Care Act has drastically increased the cost of healthcare coverage for many, while at the same time decreasing coverage choices.

***

Whats not widely known is that taxpayers are also being gouged for millions of dollars a year on their property tax bills because of ongoing problems with MNsure, the states health insurance exchange. This hidden cost is borne by counties to compensate for the inefficiencies and software failures of MNsures dysfunctional IT system. This has been a huge unfunded mandate on the counties. Once again, were cleaning up the states mess, Dakota County Commissioner Mary Liz Holberg told Center of the American Experiment.

***

The Minnesota Association of Counties estimates taxpayers spend an additional $27 million annually to work around the flawed online METS technology. This year alone some 249 extra eligibility workers were added to county government payrolls statewide.

***

The number of new government employees added to county payrolls has varied widely, ranging from 54 new employees in Hennepin County to two new workers in Pennington County in Northwestern Minnesota. Consequently, county levies are rising across the state.

Has there ever been a comprehensive failure to match Obamacare? It has driven up the cost of health care, made it illegal for people to buy cheaper coverage with fewer mandates, eaten up many billions of federal tax dollars, wasted uncounted billions in state income and sales taxes. And now it is driving up property taxes because the programs failures have to be dealt with by counties.

In a normal election cycle, the disaster that is the Affordable Care Act would have been a campaign issue.
Onceapilot suggested in post 199 that anyone keen to see the LS Medal made official for retired officers should write to the Defence Secretary, etc.



Well, I did just that in June 2015, addressing my three letters to the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, and the Secretary of State for Defence. The texts were essentially similar, but an example (to my local MP) included:



As a courtesy, I should like you to know that I have written to the Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State for Defence, on my understanding that the new Long Service Medal he announced on the 26th of March 2015 may not be awarded retrospectively to those who have served a minimum of 15 years in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom.



Writing this letter is not about qualifying for another medal, but for deserving just one medal from a Nation that I hope is grateful for the long service in the Armed Forces that many of us have delivered in former years. My letter to the Secretary of State is an attempt to suggest how it might profit the Government to look with sympathy upon addressing what could otherwise become a potentially anomalous situation.



I do hope that you will do whatever you can to support my plea that those of us who served our Monarch in earlier years may at last obtain recognition of that service, even though administering that award may be spread over several months in order to reduce the impact on what I acknowledge are extremely tight budgets."



All three letters were then forwarded to the Minister of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Earl Howe PC, who sent a reply in which he explained that the LSM was intended to be a medal for the modern era, "which reflects the commitment we expect from the Armed Forces today. There are no plans to make it a retrospective award."



I replied with a statement rather than a further question, acknowledging that, "The UK Government was to be applauded for addressing the anomalous situation that has existed hitherto in which Armed Forces personnel of all ranks who have served qualifying periods in the Volunteer Reserves, Cadet Forces, Royal Observer Corps and other part-time units have been able to claim long service medals whereas within the Regular Army, Navy and Air Force such recognition has been denied to those who have held the Queen's Commission without prior service in a non-commissioned capacity. The new LSM will be a visible and tangible indication of the Government's regard for the professionalism, courage and contribution over extended periods by those who serve and have served in the Regular Armed Forces, and as such will be highly regarded.



To this end, it cannot be right that contributions made by former commissioned officers who have provided long service in the Regular Armed Forces during Her Majesty's reign could be held as less deserving of merit and recognition than those who today have served for 15 and more years. If retrospective application of the new LSM is not prescribed, comparisons such as this will be made, and many who have served faithfully for long periods in earlier years will feel that their service counted for little and, despite the rhetoric, is not in fact highly regarded. With the greatest respect, I would be most grateful if you were to convey these sentiments to the officials who are currently working on the criteria for the award."



The reason why I put pen to paper on this issue is that I would cherish medallic recognition for having served for more than 15 years as a Regular Service officer throughout the 1960s and 70s (20 years actually), and retired without a medal. Why does it matter to me? At one level, because I was proud to serve in the Royal Air Force and would like to be able to display that pride at events such as the annual Remembrance Service. At another level, because at this Service, in a packed congregation in my local church, there are maybe only two or three persons wearing medals: two of us wearing those earned by our fathers in the two World Wars, and one a GSM he earned in Cyprus. I fear that unless more medals can be seen, our new generations will increasingly lose touch with the symbolism that serves to bring home the service and commitment of the Armed Forces whose physical presence is increasingly less evident amongst rural populations: "Lest we forget".



Many of those of you who have read thus far may already have earned a medal, possibly the Queen's Gold and/or Diamond Jubilee medals (which inter alia required at least 5 years' service), so might not have the same perspective on this matter as those of us who have none. I was serving during the Queen's Silver Jubilee and, like many around me, was pleased to learn that a medal was to be struck, to be awarded to the Armed Forces, but hugely disappointed when it became apparent that this was limited to only a very small minority.



I think that as the months pass, there could be more than a few voices (hopefully some VSOs) asking the Government to think again about retrospective granting of the LSM to retired Regular Service officers - maybe only to those who qualify and wish to receive it (for quite possibly many won't be interested). Now in my mid 70s, I would like to think that one day, the LSM/LS&GCM will be awarded to all regular Service officers who satisfy amended qualification criteria.



This Poppy Day I will be at Waterloo Station collecting for the RBL, and wearing - with pride - my late father's impressive collection of WWII medals.
Jerry E. Kaster

CLEAR LAKE  Jerry E. Kaster, 83, of Clear Lake, died Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, at the Muse-Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City.

A funeral service will be 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. Fourth St. Clear Lake, with Mark Doebel officiating.

Burial will be in Ventura Cemetery, with military honors provided by the Clear Lake VFW.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home in Clear Lake.

Family suggests memorial contributions to the Jerry Kaster Memorial Fund, 30 12th St. S.E., Mason City, IA 50401.

Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, is in charge of arrangements.
The Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, a lawyer, in this interview with PREMIUM TIMES Festus Owete and Hassan Adebayo, speaks on how the judiciary has frustrated the corruption war of the Buhari administration and steps being taken to purge it.

PT: Nigerians have expressed different views on the arrest and detention and even the release of some judges. Some persons have said the SSS does not have the powers to effect the arrest. What is your take?

Obono-Obla: The arrest of the judges is lawful, legitimate and constitutional. In the first place, judges are not above the law; judges in Nigerian do not have immunity. The issue of immunity is purely spelt out in the constitution. The president, vice president, governors and deputy governors are the only categories of politicians who have immunity. If the framers of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) intended that the members of the judicial branch of government should have immunity, they would have clearly spelt it out in the constitution. Nigerians are confounded, surprised and amazed because this type of a thing has never happened in Nigeria. It is unprecedented. So the assumption that judges are above the law has been there. It was a perception but it is not true in reality. And this is a reformist government that will ensure that the rule of law is obeyed by everybody and that is why I can see that Nigerians are surprised that these things are happening.

Even Ghana, 22 judges were arrested, arraigned and dismissed from service. In Italy recently 16 judges were arrested by police and 1 billion Euros recovered from them. In the U.S. that is supposedly the bastion of constitutional and liberal democracy, judges have been arrested and jailed by FBI. In the U.K., judges have been arrested, tried and jailed. In India that is very similar to Nigeria in terms of socio-economic development, judges have been arrested and jailed.

But in Nigeria, judges have never been arrested because there has been no will in Nigeria to enforce the rule of law. And then this mentality  the Nigerian big man has this mindset that I am above the law and then the thing has trickled down to the ordinary people who have the perception that big men should not be answerable for their crimes. That is why each time a big man is arrested in Nigeria, it will generate controversy. It has happened in Dasukis case and so many other high profile cases. They just generate controversy so that government is discredited and distracted. So, do we want two standards of justice in Nigeria  one for the rich people and one for the poor people? When the police break into the homes of the poor people and arrest them, nobody says anything. Go to the prisons and see how poor people who allegedly stole maybe N1 or N5 are being treated. So all said and done, judges are ordinary people. They are subjected to the law just as you and me. It is only when a judge is sitting in the courtroom that he has immunity just like the legislators when they are inside the parliament they have immunity. If a judge comes out of chambers and he commits a crime he is liable to the law.

On the legality of DSS action, DSS was a branch of the Nigerian police. It was known as the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the Nigerian Police. That is the historical background. But later on it was severed from the Nigerian Police to form the Nigerian Security Organisation. Then in the 1990s when Babangida was president, he had to change it to SSS. If you look at Section 2 (3) (A) of the National Security Agency Act, the SSS has the power of prevention and detection of any crime within Nigeria against the internal security of Nigeria. If a judge collects bribe to pervert the cause of justice in an election matter, dont you think that can lead to a threat to national security? It is a threat to national security because there is a tendency towards impunity and lawlessness by Nigeria.

There is a serious propensity of Nigerians taking laws into their hands. Why? It is because they no longer have faith in the judicial system because judges collect bribe. Is that not a threat to national security? It is. What is the goal of judicial branch of government? The role is to interpret the law, maintain social equilibrium, social harmony so that Nigerians live together. If they have disagreement, they should go to court and have justice. The court will make a pronouncement that Mr. B is right and Mr. B is wrong to prevent Nigerians from taking laws into their hands.

If there is a crisis between the executive and legislature, its own is to interpret and resolve their crisis on conflict. So if we have a judiciary that is collecting bribe to subvert the course of justice, is that not a threat to national security? So DSS or SSS by virtue of section 2 (3) (A) of the National Security Act, has the power to also investigate corruption cases, financial and economic crimes, terrorism, etc. If you also look at section 2 (3) (c), of the Act, it gives the president the discretion to assign any role to SSS in so far as the national interest or security is involved.

A lot of people do not know that in 1999, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, when he was head of state, made an executive order pursuant to section 2 (3) (c) of the Act vesting the power on SSS to investigate financial and economic crimes. So what are they talking about? It is just the Nigerian thing that when a big man is involved there is propaganda in the media to distract government and discredit the process. We must do away with that mindset that big men are not subject to the law.

PT: But in this matter, we understand the president has a hand in the arrest of the judges.

Obono-Obla: The president has no hand. This president is one man who does not interfere with the work of the various ministries, commissions etc. There are a lot of petitions against judges that were even sent to this office by civil society groups. There are a lot of petitions sent to the NJC and NJC could not investigate these petitions for whatever reason. So these petitions were forwarded to the relevant security agencies to investigate because they border on crime.

You must know that NJC has no power to investigate crime. NJC has powers to investigate professional misconduct of judges. It is spelt out in Section 153 (1) (i) of the 1999 Constitution that created the NJC and then you go to the Third Schedule Section 21 is on the jurisdiction or the powers of the NJC, it vests the power on NJC to discipline judges and to take part in the nomination of judges etc. There is no criminal power vested on NJC. And most of the allegations against the judges border on crime  money laundering, abuse of office, official corruption etc.

PT: These issues of money laundering, abuse of office are things that happened in the course of their professional practice

Obono-Obla: Yes. The NJC has been accused of being half-hearted in fixing complaints filed by members of the public. If they are working, if a complaint is sent to NJC that borders on crime, what they are supposed to do is to refer that complaint to EFCC, ICPC for further investigation. There were insinuations that the SSS made efforts to NJC to react to these allegations made against all these judges that border on crime. Can you allow us have access to these judges? Can you allow us to investigate them and they were stonewalling.

PT: Now these judges have been released on bail, when will they be prosecuted? They were to be brought to court last Monday but it never happened.

Obono-Obla: It was speculative. We never made a categorical statement that the judges would be taken to court on Monday. For goodness, these judges were arrested on Saturday and investigations are still ongoing. The asset declaration forms have to be looked into and it will take a few days to verify the information on asset recovery. If these things were declared in the asset declaration form, it has to be established. So, let Nigerians allow the security agencies investigate this matter properly before taking these judges to court.

If they are charged to court and there is no evidence and the matter is struck out there will be a backlash. So, SSS is investigating these judges. Let us give them time. The judges have been released on bail. Give us time, we will charge them to court. If we were not serious, we wouldnt have gone on sting operation. It has to be done with a lot of deliberation and painstaking manner. You cannot just go and arrest judges and make headlines without charging them to court.

PT: What time are we looking at?

Obono-Obla: Maybe next week. But I am assuring you that definitely they will be charged to court. It takes time to investigate. For instance, some of the former governors have been under investigation for a very long time. If you want to us to do a wishy-washy investigation, then the matter will be thrown out and you will say government is not serious or we have compromised. But I can assure you that this matter will be dealt with because we have to clean up the judiciary. If we dont clean up the judiciary no foreign investor will come to the country and then the country will be sliding into anarchy. We must clean up the judiciary because the judiciary is very, very important to the economy, to Nigerians living together, to the national unity, integration etc

PT: The executive is now of the view that in the judiciary there are bad eggs that have to be flushed out. But in the executive, there are certain individuals against whom the allegations of corruption have also been made.

Obono-Obla: What are the grounds? Who are they? They have said there are some bad eggs in the executive. All what I see is a spate of speculative allegations. If you have anything against any member of the executive bring it out, concrete information on wrong doing or corruption. They always mention Rotimi Amaechi, Babatunde Fashola and the Minister of Interior, Dambazau.

Lets take the case of Amaechi. Amaechi was governor of Rivers State for eight years. If the Rivers State government truly believe that Amaechi committed a crime or was corrupt why cant the attorney general of the state that is vested with the power to prosecute anybody in the state who has committed an offence against the laws of the state not prosecute Amaechi? Why is he passing the buck to the federal government? Where is the evidence that Amaechi was corrupt apart from the politics of maliciousness and vindictiveness? They simply drag the federal government into these things simply because some of them do not want Amaechi to be appointed.

If anybody has concrete allegation against Amaechi let him send it to the EFCC and pursue it and ensure that EFCC does the right thing. The president is not EFCC or ICPC. Send these reports to EFCC or ICPC to take action and if the president is blocking these allegations then you can go home and say the president is selective or he is protecting Amaechi.

The allegation against the minister of interior is that he has property abroad; it is not that he stole from this government. He was in government when the president was an opposition leader. So if the evidence is there that he bought the property let them come out with petition and bring to the ministry of justice and let them tell us where the property are and then we start investigating him. I can tell you that nobody is protecting anybody. But it is not just to make any allegation against somebody because you want to rope in somebody or because you want to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

PT: In clear terms, does the president believe the judiciary is corrupt?

Obono-Obla: I cannot say, but the president has made some statements that the judiciary is not forthcoming in the war against corruption, that the attitude of the judiciary, and cases are delayed just like Sarakis case. I have been going to court since last year and we have not made any headway because of the attitude of the judges. And there is nothing you can do. He is the master of his court. That is why the president said the judiciary is not forthcoming. But he has not said the judiciary is corrupt. He has not told me that.

PT: Given this frustration from the court are you thinking of ways to make this corruption war faster and effective?

Obono-Obla: There is nothing we can do for now. We have to use the laws that are in place to fight the war against corruption. But we have done a lot of interventions to ensure that convictions are quickly secured. For instance, we have come out with some documents. We have designed some documents, strategic plans for prosecution between 2016 and 2019. We have also come out with a National Policy on Prosecution. We have also come out with guidelines on prosecution. We have also come out with Code of Conduct for prosecutors. We have also established the administration of criminal justice monitoring committee whose function is to ensure that criminal cases are speedily dealt with.

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has also designed some documents which have been sent to the AGF for adoption. We have also designed a draft bill to create a special criminal court that will be vested with powers to deal with economic, corruption cases, terrorism etc.

Meanwhile, because it will take a while to pass for this bill to be passed into law, we have set up a National Prosecution Coordinating Committee to complement the efforts of public prosecution in the federation. These are all the interventions we have made and we will keep on appealing to lawyers, the police and all those involved in the administration of justice to cooperate so that criminal justice system can work.

I am also appealing to the judges to be firm because the attitude we see is that when big people have cases in court and they hire big lawyers, some of the judges are not firm. They indulge the big lawyers. Ironically they dont indulge the young aspiring lawyers. If a poor man is facing trial and his lawyer makes an application for adjournment the judge will descend on that lawyer and tell him off. But you see senior lawyers making all these manoeuvres in court calculated to stall the hearing of a matter involving a big man. The judge looks the other way.

PT: Are these interventions capable of addressing these issues you are raising giving the extent of the rot in the system?

Obono-Obla: That is why the judiciary has to be cleaned up and that is what we are doing. There is a lot of quakes in the country, a lot of sensational headlines, a lot of making a mountain out of nothing. We are going to clean up the judiciary to have judges, who are committed, who are patriotic, who are knowledgeable about the law, who are firm, who have courage to interpret the law the way it is.

PT: What about the NJC? Are you also thinking of cleaning up the NJC?

Obono-Obla: Yes. It is one of the defects in the constitution. The defect is that NJC is 80 per cent made up of judges. So the question is  is that not a contradiction? Because this universal principle of justice which is also embedded in our constitution  you cannot be a judge in your own court. You have seen the NJC trying to protect some categories of judges.

Let me give you an instance in the contradiction in the rulings of the NJC of recent. That is the case of Justice Mohammed Tsamiya of the Ilorin Division (of Appeal Court), one of the arrested judges. Somebody lodged a complaint, one Nnamdi Oji, against that judge for collecting bribe and four other members of the Election Petition Tribunal Appeal Panel that sat over election disputes. The NJC found that judge guilty and that he should return the N200 million in instalments.

And the complainant is very angry. He spoke with me on phone. He told me that he is very angry because he lodged a complaint and that he has evidence that all the five judges were involved. He told me that he is ready to appear in any court to testify against those judges. The NJC exonerated three judges and asked Justice Mohammed to pay N200 million he collected as bribe in instalments. They did not say Justice Mohammed should appear before SSS, EFCC or ICPC.

But a Kano State judge who allegedly collected N197 million from somebody, the NJC ruled that he should be dismissed and also lodged a complaint with the Assistant Inspector General of Police for his arrest and prosecution. But in Justice Mohammeds case they did not say he should be prosecuted but instead he should pay this N200 million in instalments. What kind of justice is that? So you can see clearly that they are trying to protect Justice Mohammed. Maybe the judge in Kano is not a senior judge and is not well connected. They reported him to the police.

That also shows that NJC does not have power over criminal complaints against judges. All judges are screened by SSS and so why are they suggesting that the SSS has no power over judges? Before their appointments they are screened by the SSS. That is the practice which has been going on for the past 30 years in this country. So you can see that NJC is a toothless bulldog. If NJC is up and doing, all the rots we have in the judicial system will not be there.

So because it is made up of 80 per cent judges who want to protect themselves which is also against the principle of fair hearing. You are a judge in your own court. So there should be constitutional reform of the NJC. Maybe we should bring in outsiders that are not necessarily lawyers or judges, men of proven integrity who will judge judges. Judges should not judge themselves. If a member of the executive arm of government commits a crime, it is the judges who judge him and also in the legislature. But the judges dont want another body to judge them. So there should be constitutional reforms.

PT: You people in the executive are angry that Sambo Dasuki has not been convicted after more than a year.

Obono-Obla: I will not say that. You are a Nigerian like me and you have been watching the proceedings. I cannot say it categorically because the matter is in court. You can just infer.

PT: The ECOWAS Court ruled that he should be released. When will that be effected?

Obono-Obla: It is an advisory opinion. The ECOWAS Court cannot enforce its judgements. So its rulings are advisory. The government is not obligated. That is why you see that Israel has flouted all the judgements of the ICJ. So also the so-called bastion of democracy, America, has flouted all the judgements of the ICJ against America. They even refused to join the ICC. So it is national interest and it is paramount. So the federal government is not obligated to obey an advisory opinion of ECOWAS Court of Justice. But we are studying the ruling and at the end of the day we will react.

PT: Many Nigerians feel that your office and indeed that of AGF is slow in prosecuting cases. Why? For instance the case involving Saraki you were slow in prosecuting him.

Obono-Obla: Which case are you talking about because we have a lot of prosecuting agencies? It is not only the office of the AGF that prosecutes. The police prosecute, the Customs Service, the Immigration Service, EFCC prosecute, ICPC. If you look at the EFCC Act, it gives the EFCC powers to prosecute. They are on their own.

PT: Will his release threaten Nigerias security?

Obono-Obla: Well he was a National Security Adviser. Thats a very powerful office; and hes a prince. The president has not disobeyed any law regarding Dasuki. The first charge against Dasuki was unlawful possession of firearms. They brought application for his bail which was granted. As he was perfecting his bail conditions and before he was released, he was arrested for another offence. Thats it.

If you are arrested for manslaughter, you asked for bail and the bail is granted. But as you are about to be released, the police come to say you are accused of killing another person two years ago, that has cancelled the first bail. There is no evidence that the federal government is in contempt of court.
Despite the abduction of over 200 students from Chibok in 2014, and the wide publicity the attack received, most public schools in Borno State are still unsafe over two years after, a new report says.

The research, conducted by Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) in conjunction with Gender Equality, Peace and Development Centre (GEPaDC), says public schools are not safe for learning in the state.

The report followed a baseline research in three key local government areas, namely, Maiduguri, Chibok and Konduga.

The study found that of all the schools surveyed, none had a recent safety and security training, except in Chibok where one school had a training in November 2015.

Other findings include:

*Only very few schools have security committees. These are mostly in Chibok LGA where the girls were abducted.

*There are inadequate number of security personnel ranging from 1  2 personnel in all schools.

*The communication strategy in the schools is almost non-existent since where they exists, not everyone is aware of them in the schools.

*Classrooms are overcrowded with an average number ranging from 38 to 94.5 pupils per classroom

*Some classrooms have exit doors and some do not have and even where exit doors are available most are not clearly labelled. This portends great danger for a stampede if an emergency situation should occur when there is only one door for entering and exiting such overcrowded classrooms.

*Only very few schools screen people as they come into the schools and most schools allow all sorts of hawkers into the schools.

Until last week, 219 of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls had remained in captivity.

Twenty one were released after negotiations with the extremist sect, Boko Haram.

The group, whose name translates to Western education is sin, has for years targeted schools, students and teachers.

As of 2013, even before the Chibok abductions, the insurgents had destroyed 50 out of the 175 public schools in Borno state, of which 823 classrooms were destroyed, the report said.

It says some 460 teachers and about 319 students were killed in only Maiduguri and environs when the militants invaded schools.

Borno government closed all schools on March 14, 2014, amid growing attacks, leaving 253,000 pupils and students of primary and junior secondary schools at home. The schools were recently reopened.

After the Chibok abduction, former administration of Goodluck Jonathan, in collaboration with UN special envoy on Global Education, Gordon Brown, as well as private sector leaders, introduced the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) in May 2014.

Among other things, the programme sought to transfer of secondary students in volatile areas to other states, give support to education in IDP camps and pilot safe schools models including community mobilization.

The programme ended with that administrations exit in 2015.

Presenting the report on Wednesday, Patricia Donli, an Executive Director at the GEPaDC, said about 15,000 children in Borno state have stopped attending classes since February 2013 according to a Borno state Ministry of Education Official who preferred anonymity; most of these children are primary school children.

She said the insecurity in public schools led to a rise in attendance in Islamic schools, seen by parents as a safer option.

Unfortunately, most of these schools do not offer core subjects so that graduates of such schools though versed in koranic education are deficient in western education and hence not able to enroll in secondary schools. But even at that, BH killed some students of one Islamic secondary school in Maiduguri as the students came out of the WAEC/NECO examinations, she said.

Founding Director of WARDC, Abiola Afolabi, said There is need for us to have reflection on what is happening in our educational institutions to see whether there is need for us to even declare a state of emergency on the institution itself.
A civil rights group, the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER), has asked for full media coverage of court sessions to enhance the integrity of the judiciary.

CASERs executive director, Frank Tietie, made the request in response to the recent arrest of judges by operatives of the State Security Service, SSS.

Mr. Tietie said his group had made the request before and was repeating to emphasise its point that the public needs to participate more in judicial proceedings as a way of canvassing the support of Nigerians for the judiciary.

The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has again, written to the Chief Justice of Nigeria urging him to approve live media broadcast of court proceedings in Nigeria. CASER believes that where greater access is given to the citizenry to observe the justice delivery process, such would greatly enhance the integrity of the judiciary, the group said in a statement.

CASER totally maintains its profound respect for the Nigerian Judiciary and consequently condemns all attempts by overzealous elements of government to reduce the sacrosanctity of the Courts and the general reverence for the person of the Nigerian judge.

CASER commends the National Judicial Council (NJC) for its commitment to preserving the integrity of the Nigerian Judiciary. To this end, CASER has passed a Vote of Confidence on the NJC for its performance so far, the statement said.

The group said the judiciary remains the hope of Nigerians whose rights he alleges to have been historically and constantly trampled upon by the operators of the executive and legislative arms of government in Nigeria.

CASER encourages all Nigerian citizens to respect the laws of Nigeria and continue to venerate the Nigerian judiciary for the many brilliant judicial landmarks it has established in the history of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. CASER shall stand by the Nigerian judiciary in the firm conviction that it holds the key to the positive social change that is desperately needed to improve the living standards of Nigerian citizens, through the observation and enforcement of social and economic rights as guaranteed under the United Nations system.

Therefore, CASER urges all Nigerian judges not to be intimidated but to strive to continue their good work without succumbing to fear or graft, knowing that the larger Nigerian public still rests it hope on them to preserve the polity from the devious contraptions and corrupt chicaneries of the Nigerian political class.

However, CASER would not relent in its quest to ensure that the proceedings of all courts in Nigeria are allowed to be broadcast live by any Nigerian citizen or media company. CASER believes that is a fundamental human right under Section 36 (3) & (4) of the Constitution of Nigeria which provides the grounds for the live media coverage and broadcast of court proceedings in Nigeria, the statement said.
An aide to former aviation minister, Femi Femi-Kayode, Jude Ndukwe, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of planning to kill his principal who was re-arrested on Friday in Abuja.

Mr. Ndukwe says the EFCC intends to poison the outspoken opposition politician.

He in a statement that the arrest of Mr. Fani-Kayode, after he had been granted bail, was in furtherance of the purpose of silencing the opposition under the guise of fighting corruption.

We are therefore aghast but not surprised that this latest action of the EFCC is in sync with the script writers of this whole episode to silence Fani-Kayode by hook or by crook, he said.

Words have filtered to us from credible sources within the presidency and the security agencies that the ultimate aim of those who are behind the former ministers travails is to apply extreme measures on him.

We have also been told that in security circles, that means to have him killed through the use of some poisonous substances that would break his health down irreversibly and eventually kill him even months after he might have been released so that the suspicion would not be at the doorsteps of state agents.

If not, why allow Nenadi Usman (former minister of State of Finance) and Director of Finance in the PDP Campaign Organisation, Danjuma, and others charged alongside Fani-Kayode to go and only him was re-arrested in the court premises?

Our fears now are that nothing is beyond this government of sadists and fascists. We call on the good people of Nigeria, democrats and lovers of this great nation to rise and demand that no Nigerian should be persecuted or assassinated based on his beliefs and or opinions on critical national matters, he said.

Mr. Fani-Kayode had on Wednesday, cried out that the commission was planning to re-arrest him and detain him indefinitely.

Confirming Mr. Fani-Kayodes fears, the EFCC on Friday re-arrested him, based on fresh allegations of fraud.

He was arrested as he emerged from a courtroom where has been facing money laundering charges since June.

But the EFCC justified the re-arrest, saying the former minister had pending issues with the commission.

He has pending matter in Abuja for which the EFCC had invited him, but he has refused to come, Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for the commission said.

For sometime now he has been asked to report, but he has refused to come.

Asked to state the new charges against Mr. Fani-Kayode-Kayode, he said the charges would be made clear when he is arraigned.

Mr. Ndukwe however, admitted that the EFCC had invited his principal afresh, but noted that his lawyers had responded to the invitation, citing health reasons.

He said since Mr. Fani-Kayode-Kayode was granted bail, he had been on a recovery therapy as recommended by his doctors having suffered untold hardship in the hands of the EFCC.

But realizing that their plans to torture him into silence did not work, the Commission immediately swung into action again by sending him another round of letters of invitation for some other imagined charges to which his lawyers responded promptly by informing the EFCC of his health conditions., he said.

Despite this, the Commission filed their fresh case against him at the Federal High Court Abuja in the Charge No. FHC/ABJ140/2016 earlier this month but despite the presence of Fani-Kayodes legal team, the EFCC were neither there nor did they send any representative nor was their legal team in court. The case was consequently adjourned to November 10, 2016.

Mr. Ndukwe accused the EFCC of graduating from being an investigative body meant to serve the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians to a vindictive institution willing to do the biddings of some vengeful cabal.

The re-arrest of Fani-Kayode is needless as much as it is reckless, he said. We are watching very closely, and should anything untoward happen to FFK, Nigerians of course know who to hold responsible even as we demand for his immediate and unconditional release now, he said.

But Mr. Uwujaren declined to respond to the allegation that the commission was plotting to harm the former minister.

I do not respond to speculations, he said.
A growing number of Nigerians are angry with President Muhammadu Buharis handling of the economy, but a majority blame the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan for the economic recession that has brought untold hardship, a new poll shows.

The October 2016 survey, the first by Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN), since Nigeria officially fell into recession, sought to obtain Nigerians views on two issues.

The first asked who they Nigerians blamed for the recession, while the second question sought to compare the performance of the Buhari and Jonathan governments across a number of areas such as security, war against corruption, availability and affordability of food and the economy.

While 60% of Nigerians held the Buhari government partially or completely responsible for the recession, 74% believe that the Jonathan government is to blame, GAIN said in its report last week.

Also, while nearly similar numbers (28% for PMB vs 25% for GEJ) believed both governments were partially to blame, more respondents (49% for GEJ vs 32% for PMB) believed that the Jonathan government was completely to blame for the recession.

Supporters and critics of the Buhari government can both take solace in these numbers, co-coordinator of GAIN, Malcolm Fabiiyi, sad. Those who argue that the profligacy of the Jonathan government led directly to Nigerias budgetary and economic crisis will take these results as vindication that Nigerians agree with their point of view.

He added: However, critics will argue that although the Buhari government was dealt a bad hand by coming in at a time of low oil prices and a depleted treasury, it is the policy decisions that have been made in the last year that have tipped Nigerian into recession.

Respondents also rated the Buhari government higher than the Jonathan government in three areas  security of lives and property, war against corruption and availability of fuel.

The Jonathan government received higher ratings on the economy, fostering of national unity, as well as the availability and affordability of food.

Majority of respondents indicated that nothing had changed in two sectors  housing (68%) and education (61%).

The Buhari government has been very vocal about ascribing the blame for Nigerias current budgetary shortfalls and foreign exchange woes on the failure of the Jonathan regime to shore up Nigerias reserves.

The poll results suggest that this argument has gained traction.

However, we wish to sound a note of caution to the Buhari government  regardless of where blame lies, what is clear is that majority of Nigerians have been significantly impacted by the recession, SAID Mr. Fabiyi. The government will need to intensity its efforts to bring real solutions to the table in a number of key areas  economic growth & job creation, housing, education, roads & infrastructure and food.

Other results

The poll also showed that less than two per cent of Nigerians believe their country is doing well, while about 40 per cent of respondents gave President Muhammadu Buharis government positive approval rating.

The survey was administered using electronic media between September 30 and October 6, GAIN said.

A total of 1091 complete responses were received. The survey results have a 3 per cent margin of error at a 95 per cent confidence level.

An overwhelming 83 per cent of Nigerians opposed the sale of national asset, the poll said, while 52 per cent gave their support for the administrations Change Begins with Me campaign.

The Army was voted the most respected national institution, while support for the judiciary was at all time low with seven per cent approval rating.
The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, on Saturday inaugurated the newly constructed headquarters of the 331 Artillery Tactical Forward Operation Base (FOB) at Buratai, Biu Local Government Area of Borno.

Before now the base operated from the residence of Mr. Buratai, a Lieutenant General, and an indigene of the area.

The house was partially destroyed when the area was attacked in 2015.

The chief of army staff described the base as a game changer in the fight against insurgency as it helped in decimating the terrorists.

Mr. Buratai said that incessant attacks by terrorists at Buni Yadi in Yobe , about one hour drive to Buratai town, necessitated the establishment of the base to contain their aggression in the area and decimate them.

He said more of such bases would be set up in other areas in the North East.

Lucky Irabor, a Major General and Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, recalled that fierce battle took place in Buratai, particularly the residence of the chief of army staff which the insurgents tried to take on three occasions.

Mr. Irabor underscored the need to have a fortified operational base in Buratai to deal with the terrorists.

According to him, the need to maintain offensive operations from a fortified location, conduct aggressive patrols and improve on response time in order to dominate the entire area, informed the idea of establishing the forward operation base.

Mr. Irabor said the terrorists used the town and its environs as supply routes in giving food and fuel to their members in Alargano forest, Buni Yadi and Gonori in 2011.

The Buratai district, which links Biu from Damaturu axis, also links three other state capitals in the North East- Maiduguri, Gombe and Yola.

He said: The strategic location and importance of Biu, Buratai and environs makes the Boko Haram terrorists highly interested in the area.

The insurgents carried out several attacks within the villages in the vicinity, resulting to the loss of lives, injuries and looting, and destruction of properties.

This gave rise to high sense of fear among the inhabitants and most of them have to relocate.

Mr. Irabor said that the 331 Artillery Forward Operation Base had made it possible for troops to liberate many towns in the area, including Gonori, Gulazama and Talala which the terrorists seized during the heat of the insurgency. (NAN)
In a bid to stern the growing spate of the religious extremism being propagated by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, a group of Nigerians in the United States have launched a movement under the aegis of More Voices Against Terrorism (MVAT).

The movement which was inaugurated by the convener, Cosmas Collins, said the activities of the IMN has given Nigeria and Nigerians living abroad a negative image, saying there was urgent need to draw the attention of the international community to their heinous crimes against the Nigerian state.

In an electronic statement, the Convener of the MVAT, Cosmas Collins, said the non-prosecution of the leader of the IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky remains a major flaw for the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which is respected globally in its war against terrorism.

According to him, the campaign against Mr. El- Zakzaky and his Iranian counterparts is a patriotic advocacy to defend the sovereignty of Nigeria from re-colonization by imperialists. He called for support of all Nigerians.

In a short video also posted by Mr. Collins on the internet, members of the newly launched group were seen sharing pamphlets on the streets of the US condemning the IMN extremism and other forms of terrorism in Nigeria.

He said Islam is a good religion but El- Zakzaky and his Iranian sponsored IMN are portraying the religion in bad light just to satisfy his foreign masters.

He commended the federal government and the military in its quest to rid the country of the Boko Haram insurgents, saying all efforts by the federal government and the Nigerian military to rescue the Chibok girls are well appreciated by the Nigerian community in the diaspora.

He assured that Nigerians the world over are united in the quest to rid the country of relgious extremism, adding that the movement is committed to ensuring that their advocacy in the USA gets to the president and every Nigerian living at home and abroad.
The Ebonyi State Command of the National Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 98 persons for their alleged involvement in illicit drugs since January 2016.

Also, 37 of the suspects have been successfully prosecuted and jailed by and others are still at various stages of investigation, the agency said.

The state commander of the agency, Ralph Igwenagu, disclosed this in his office in Ntezi Ishielu local government of the state.

He said: Thirty-seven suspects have been successfully prosecuted and sent to prison, and others are in various stages of prosecution.

Majority of the suspects were men but there are few cases of women involvement, we are determined to rid the state of illicit drug consumption, he said.

He said the agency would not relent in its effort to combat dealers of fake drugs in the state.

It is a risk for anybody to indulge in illicit drugs, and our efforts over the years are yielding positive results, he said.

Mr. Igwenagu who appealed to the public to always volunteer information to the agency assured that the agency would protect the identity of such volunteers.
The Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, has recalled two suspended members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ebonyi state chapter.

It came as the union called off its strike, embarked upon on Monday.

The suspension of the strike and lifting of the suspension followed the intervention of ASUU South East regional leadership which brokered peace between the government and the union.

Idenyi Ndubuisi, who is the chairman of the Union and his predecessor, Emeka Nwakpa, had on Monday led a delegation to meet the governor to discuss their agitations.

On Tuesday, they briefed their members on the outcome of their meeting.

But their members did not accept the terms by the government and chose to continue with the strike.

The governor lambasted the two professors and accused them of politicising the strike.

He also accused them of misinforming the lcturers on the outcome of their meeting which he termed gross misconduct. He suspended the two lecturers.

But ASUU national executive ordered the zonal leadership to intervene and they brought both parties to the negotiation table where a truce was brokered leading to the governor lifting the suspension and the union calling off the strike.

Reacting to the latest development, Mr. Idenyi commended the state governor for recalling him and his predecessor.

He said the leadership of ASUU in the state was not intimidated by the state government as was being speculated.

He commended the zonal leadership of ASUU for intervening in the crisis.

The Commissioner for Education, John Ekeh, said the suspension was imposed because the lecturers misinformed their colleagues.

We appealed to the governor to temper justice with mercy and the suspension was lifted because we are not fighting a war, he said.

The area government conceded to ASUU is the area of the law of the university. The first law that established the university granted four-year tenure or twice.

But the new law is talking about five-year single tenure but somebody that was appointed with the former law is trying to benefit from the new law and there are no clauses that tie the two. And we are saying that somebody that was appointed for four years based on the old law should not benefit from the new law.

ASUU does not have any good argument. Do you know how much we lose in a day because of the strike? Even on the issue of tax, we said any area that was not done well we will refund back, he said.
In October 2015, Koh Tsuruta appeared before a disciplinary board at Augustana University and pleaded for his reputation.

The 26-year-old student from Lake Mills was suspended and banned from campus after being accused of raping a female student that summer. At issue was whether to permanently expel Tsuruta for violating the womans rights under guidelines for campus sexual assault enforced by the federal government.

Before you burden me with a lifetime of consequences and forever label me as a rapist, I ask that you put yourself in my shoes, Tsuruta told the board before the expulsion was confirmed.

Questions of fairness surround the student, who is suing Augustana for loss of educational opportunities, emotional injury and future income. Criminal charges against him  second-degree rape, simple assault and false imprisonment  were dismissed in March.

But Tsurutas background, including an earlier vehicular homicide felony that killed two people, reveals a tangled web of past indiscretions and second chances, enough to cast doubt on his claims of injustice.

This is not his first lawsuit against Augustana. He sued in an attempt to halt last years disciplinary proceedings, claiming his rights were violated because he had not yet defended himself in court.

The request was denied and Augustana carried out the expulsion, citing Title IX directives from the U.S. Department of Education that require swift investigations for sexual assault. Such proceedings have drawn controversy nationally because of a lower standard of evidence and lack of due process.

The (Augustana) process was a complete sham, says Sioux Falls defense lawyer Mike Butler, who represented Tsuruta in his criminal case. Its shocking when someone is found to have committed sexual offenses even though the judicial process doesnt say so.

Vince Roche, legal counsel for Augustana, declined comment due to pending litigation.

Augustana filed a motion last month asking a judge to dismiss Tsurutas current lawsuit, seeking to end a process that has blurred lines between concerns over campus sexual assault, the rights of the accused and the value of a reputation for individuals and institutions alike.

At times, the Lutheran-based private school showed leniency toward Tsuruta, 27, who committed an earlier vehicular homicide felony that killed two people in Iowa and was later arrested on campus for disorderly conduct.

Tsuruta is back home, working but not attending college, deflecting media requests to his attorney. As he awaits a judges decision in his latest lawsuit, attention should be paid to what brought him to this point.

Seeking a vision

The youngest of three children born to Ryoji and Deb Tsuruta, Koh was part of a high-achieving household in Lake Mills.

His brother, Kai, earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Iowa. His sister, Akane, earned her law degree from Northwestern University and works as a federal law clerk.

Koh was always smart like they were, says Pastor Randall Baldwin of One in Christ Lutheran Parish in Lake Mills, a family friend who spoke at a sentencing hearing for Tsuruta. He just needed to find the right vision or dream, which he struggled with for a while.

Tsuruta completed high school in 2008 and enrolled at Augustana, where his mother received her degree in 1973.

Tsurutas life changed forever in the summer of 2009. Heading to a nearby lake with two friends for an early-morning fishing trip, he ran a stop sign in his Toyota Camry and broadsided a Chevrolet Cobalt driven by 58-year-old Harlan Derr, who was headed to work.

Prosecutors alleged that the 19-year-old Tsuruta was driving without headlights, ran a stop sign, was legally drunk and had used a controlled substance before getting behind the wheel.

Derr died at the scene, as did one of Tsurutas friends. Tsuruta was taken to a hospital in Iowa City with third-degree burns in his feet that would later require partial amputation.

During the legal process, Tsuruta, using a wheelchair, resumed classes at Augustana, with his mother serving as caregiver. She addressed the court at his sentencing in September 2010 along with Baldwin and Tracy Riddle, associate dean of students at Augustana. Riddle died of cancer less than a year later.

Tsuruta pleaded guilty and was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. A plea agreement lowered the level of vehicular homicide to reflect that he was driving recklessly but was not intoxicated. He was ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution to the victims families.

The whole thing was a blur, Derrs wife, Bonny, said this week. My husband was on his way to work and the next thing I know hes dead. He was my soul mate, and also a father and grandfather.

Slated to serve his sentence at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center because of his injuries, Tsuruta planned to resume his studies at Augustana through an online program.

At sentencing, he rose from his wheelchair and referenced the crash victims and their families.

I am sorry for everything that happened, he said. I pray for them every day.

Change in sentence

Riddle, the associate dean of students at Augustana who spoke on Tsurutas behalf, wrote about him in an online journal not long after be began serving his sentence.

(We) got a letter from him yesterday and he seems to be doing OK, wrote Riddle. Please join me in praying that the Iowa court system will have mercy on him.

A little more than a year later, those prayers were answered. A district judge reduced Tsurutas sentence, with the 10-year vehicular homicide sentences to be served concurrently, making him eligible for parole in 2014.

Further prison time is unlikely to promote the protection of society or specifically deter the defendant from further criminal activity, Judge Colleen Weiland ruled. He is not at risk to re-offend. He is insightful and remorseful about his choices and actions. He has legitimate interests to pursue and the intellect and drive to pursue them.

Derr, whose husband was killed, disagreed, especially when she heard of Tsuratas legal issues after being released.

If he had served his time, we wouldnt be having a discussion about him being charged with rape or disorderly conduct because he would be in prison, she said. I dont want to be a bitter person, but I would like to think that the accident would have changed him, and I dont believe that it did.

Trouble on campus

Despite his status as a convicted felon, Tsuruta was back in Sioux Falls attending Augustana in the fall of 2014. The judges presumption that his legal problems were behind him proved to be flawed.

Campus security tried to disperse a crowd at a Halloween dance, and Tsuruta was highly intoxicated and uncooperative, they said. He refused to take his hands out of his pockets, and when he did, he dropped a folding knife, according to the arrest report.

Security took him to the ground, the report says.

Tsurutas blood alcohol level was 0.19. He was sanctioned for the offense but no attempt was made to revoke his parole. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and paid a $100 fine.

Fateful night

By the summer of 2015, Tsuruta was close to graduating, had plans to study abroad and was moving forward.

He wore special shoes on his partly amputated feet to help him walk, the most visible remnant from the fatal crash.

On the night of July 3, Tsuruta went to a bar with Augustana classmates, including a woman he originally met on campus two years earlier. Problems arose when the group left the bar and returned to Tsurutas campus apartment.

The woman told police that Tsuruta approached her in the bathroom and she had to push him away. When she left the bathroom, he was passed out and woke up about an hour later, asking to speak with her in his bedroom.

When Tsuruta made sexually suggestive comments and tried to kiss her while shedding his clothes, according to the woman, she tried to leave the apartment but was picked up and thrown onto the bed, with her arms pinned above her head as sexual assault occurred.

She fled the apartment but didnt report the assault to police until a month later. She also filed a complaint with Augustana, which suspended Tsuruta pending the outcome of its internal investigation. He was arrested Aug. 14 and released on $25,000 bond.

I had never interacted with a police officer and didnt know what to do, the woman says. I had trouble dealing with what happened to me.

Argus Leader Media doesnt name crime victims.

Butler, Tsurutas criminal lawyer, requested a delay in the Augustana hearing but was denied due to safety concerns, though his client had returned to Lake Mills, three hours away.

We tried to explain that it was an active investigation with new evidence coming forth, says Butler. We had interviewed a number of witnesses, including a young man who would have testified that (the alleged victim) had threatened to tell everyone that he had raped her, which arose out of the end of their relationship. She also deleted messages between her and (Tsuruta) that would have led to the inevitable conclusion that this was not a non-consensual sexual encounter.

Butler also claimed Tsuruta could not have chased the alleged victim down in the manner she described because of the physical debilitation he faced from his foot injuries.

We tried to restore fairness to the (Augustana) disciplinary process, but it didnt happen, said Butler. His accuser turned over false evidence and got him thrown out of school, and their response to him was, Get over it.

Future in flux

The criminal case against Tsuruta was dropped five months after the Augustana hearing and two months after a judge granted a motion by Tsurutas lawyers to obtain mental health records involving the woman.

The charges, including two counts of felony second-degree rape, were dismissed without prejudice, which means they can be refiled at a later date.

The woman said she supported dropping the charges because of the treatment she received and the anxiety that came with coming forward.

(Tsurutas) lawyers called everyone who knows me, and also people who dont, to try to find out personal details about my life, she said. Everyone found out. I was bullied and harassed. Many times, it was out in public and it got to the point where I was terrified to go anywhere. I wasnt eating or sleeping. I was an emotional wreck, so I told my attorney that I didnt feel like I could handle the trial and the humiliation that comes with that.

A judge has yet to rule on Augustanas motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the university, but one thing appears certain: Tsurutas association with the school is over.

His case sparked debate on the delicate balance between due process rights and swift justice when it comes to campus sexual assault. As his story makes clear, though, each case is different, and unfair treatment is frequently in the eye of the beholder.
Save yourself from Digital & Chemical Addiction ,Dr P.C.Jain

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UdaipurIn the National Integration Camp of N.C.C .which is continuing in the Singhaniya University at Bhatewar organized by 5 th Raj.Girls Btln ,Dr P.C.jain who is engaged in the De- Addiction awareness & treatment said that we should save ourselves from both Digital as well as Chemical addictions.He showed the short play with the cadets the naselchi se kaun kare sahdi  who is going to marry an addict.No any girl would like to choose a boy who is an addict as her husband .In this play he played the role of Dada where his sons daughter who likes a boy but she refuse when she comes to know that he smoke& drink also .She comes weeping in the play and tell this to her grandfather & mother.

The same team of cadets both boys & Girls recited the song on the effects of the all kinds of addictive substances in this song with a dance ( Nasha Nritya ).

Digital Addiction 

In a recent research which has been conducted in U.S.A.& China says that the very early and un limited use of I pad & mobile,net leads to same changes in the brain as shown in the addiction of the Heroin & Cocaine which is very difficult to treat as compared to the chemical addiction.He advised the young mothers not to use these gadgets in very age so as to save their children from this difficult addiction .

While he was giving his presentation one alcoholic came on the dais & fell down ,became unconscious ,a doctor was called ,who declared this man dead because of over drink. The whole family which was present on the Dias began weeping .They paid their tribute by offering the Malas of different additives of which he was addict like ,alcohol bottles,cigarettes ,Gutkaha ,tobacco etc. This is the part of his play  Nashadi ki Maut.He shared his experience of his recent stay of USA where the people from Punjab were very much concerned & wanted from him the ways as to how to help Punjab people to save them from alarming stage of addiction of Heroin there .Dr jain gave his presentations in two Sikh Centers in gap of fifteen days .He also gave his radio talk on the Radio station  Voice of Punjab on the same subject.His live tele interview was taken by Dr Nikam a noted cardiologist of Houston on his NNN network on Y Tube  Teenagers Addiction ,which he requested these cadets to see.

Camp commandant Mr Harsh Chandok presented a momento to Dr P.C.jain & shared his personal visits of the Punjab to cadets & said that always say NO to any pressure for addictive substances.

Shri H .Thakural the Deputy commandant welcomed Dr Jain. Program was arranged by Lt.S.S .Sisodia & conducted by Capt. Mrs Anita Rathoore.





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The legend Stairway to Heaven is carved into the steep steps that lead from the helicopter landing area on the tundra to the Ryabaga Camp on Russias Ponoi River, one of the worlds most celebrated Atlantic salmon fisheries.

The scene as you descend the stairway is inspiring  steep, birch-blanketed banks slant down to a wide ribbon of blue that bends out of view in the distance. The red roofs of the camp poke up from the valley below. This slice of heaven comes at a rather lofty price  prime weeks can eclipse $15,000 per person, and thats before one has traveled to Murmansk. Yet, a large percentage of guests are return visitors, having trekked to this remote region of northwestern Russias Kola Peninsula 20, 30, even 50 times.

The angling appeal of Atlantic salmon dates back hundreds of years and was popularized at least in part by British royals, who plied the rivers of Scotland for the silvery game fish. This helped earn the pastime the moniker sport of kings. Nobles in Norway also fished for Salmo salar, its scientific name.

Atlantic-salmon angling has always had more than a sniff of exclusivity about it, though most who do it will insist that the appeal goes beyond snobbery. Born in the river, Atlantic salmon spend several years in fresh water before heading to the north Atlantic, where they feed and grow for one to three years before returning to their natal river to spawn and either die or return to the sea for another cycle.

Fish dont feed upon reaching the river, but they can be enticed to take a fly, possibly out of curiosity or territorial aggression. (No salmon has ever spoken on the record to reveal its motives.) Once hooked, Atlantic salmon are prone to tremendous leaps and powerful cross-river runs, enough to leave a lucky angler shaking with joy and wonder.

Atlantic salmon can eclipse 50 pounds on some rivers, though fish between 8 and 20 pounds are more common. Capable anglers casting flies for a week on the Miramichi in New Brunswick or the Tweed in Scotland could expect to hook a handful of fish. The sports challenge is part of its charm.

By the 1980s, returns of Atlantic salmon had gone into steep decline in Britain and Canada, thanks to upticks in commercial harvest at sea and pollution/habitat degradation in and around the salmons natal rivers. Rumors of incredible numbers of salmon in the Kola Peninsulas rivers had been circulating in the angling community for some time, but many barriers  among them, a heavy military presence, as the peninsula was home to much of the former Soviet Unions Northern Fleet  had discouraged any exploration. By 1990, several angling pioneers, including Gary Loomis and Mike Fitzgerald Sr., had negotiated an angling detente of sorts, allowing foreign sport fishers to visit. The Ponoi was among the first to welcome anglers.

Here, at peak times of the run, anglers could anticipate eight or 10 fish in a day  and sometimes more. Numbers like these continue to draw anglers to the Ryabaga Camp on the Ponoi, though the spirit of the camp seems to keep people coming back.

The camp has come a long way since it was first carved out of the forest at the confluence of the Ryabaga and Ponoi rivers in 1991. Tidy cabins with en suite bathrooms and electric heat have replaced canvas tents warmed with wood-burning stoves; four-stroke, 60-horsepower Mercury outboards have supplanted the Russian-made engines that were maddeningly prone to breaking down. But given that Ryabaga rests 300 kilometers from the nearest road, the only way in from Murmansk is by Mi-8 helicopter.

Perhaps better suited for transporting goods than people, the Mi-8 is not the worlds most comfortable conveyance  but the creature comforts drastically improve after the two-hour flight. Cocktails and meals are taken in the Big Tent, a canvas Quonset hut thats heated with potbelly stoves and equipped with a full bar and a fly shop in case guests have overlooked any fishing gear. Theres a nicely appointed sauna on the premises (and a more rustic banya favored by the camps fishing guides), a massage therapist and a staff of 40 (for up to 20 guests) that includes mechanics, guides, and kitchen and camp staff  all the personnel necessary to keep what amounts to a small village running in the middle of the tundra.

Much of the staff is Russian, though there are a smattering of guides from Argentina, Ireland and Scotland, heightening Ryabagas international flavor.

The fishing day begins with a hearty breakfast of eggs to order, fresh pastries and oatmeal in the Big Tent. By 8:45 a.m., guests slip into their waders, and ATVs arrive to spirit them to the boats, where guides await. (This door-to-boat service can greatly extend ones salmon-fishing career; one guest during my visit, who had wonderful results, was in her mid-70s and had an artificial leg.) A guide and the anglers (two to a boat) then speed off to one of 10 beats (sections of river).

The Ponoi River Company, which operates Ryabaga Camp, has exclusive rights to 75 kilometers of the lower Ponoi; guests will not encounter any anglers beyond other Ryabaga guests in the course of their week. The Ponoi is a large river, in some places more than 200 meters wide. To reach the best lies, much of the casting is done from the boat. Two-handed spey rods, which enable longer casts with less effort, are the favored weapons; fly patterns in orange are preferred, as they show up well in the Ponois peat-tinged waters. (Many anglers opt for tube flies designed by head guide Max Mamaev.)

The guide anchors the boat, which provides a stable casting platform, at the top of a promising spot. One angler casts from the back of the boat to the right, the other from the front of the boat to the left. After several casts, the guide lets out a few meters of anchor line so anglers can cover new water. Optimally, the cast is at a 45-degree angle downstream. Once the fly lands, the angler may simply let it swing in the current, or slowly strip in line to impart motion.

When a fish grabs the fly, the angler must resist the temptation to lift the rod until feeling the weight of the fish; if one sets the hook prematurely, the fish will be gone.

The numbers of fish that return to the Ponoi  estimated at nearly 50,000 a year  and the low fishing pressure add up to not only excellent fishing but excellent catching for experts and beginners alike. My husband is a passionate salmon angler, said Olga Johnson, a first-time visitor from Edinburgh, Scotland, with limited salmon-fishing experience.

I came along for the adventure, but didnt expect to catch a fish, she continued. That first morning, my fly was dangling below the boat, and I was stripping in line to make another cast. There was a gentle tug. I remembered not to lift the rod, and soon the fish was off. Our guide, Andrei Federov, gave great pointers as I fought the fish. I didnt think I would bring it in, but I did. It was 14 pounds, and we released it. It was magic. (Ryabaga embraces a catch-and-release ethos, unless a fish is fatally hooked. Fish catches are carefully noted, and fish are tagged before their release so that scientists can monitor the health of the salmon population.)

Olga went on to catch five more fish that day  including two more that morning before her husband, Keith, landed his first. Her total for the week was 24 fish, more than most ardent anglers could expect to catch in a year in Scotland or New Brunswick. The total catch for the week was 776 fish among 20 guests, an average of nearly 40 salmon per angler.

At dinner on the day she landed her first salmon, Olga was brought a dish holding a salmons adipose fin, along with a slice of lemon and a shot of vodka  a traditional offering at Ryabaga for celebrating a guests first salmon. Amid cheers from guests and guides, she partook of her special appetizer.

Visitors to Ryabaga Camp take different approaches to angling. Some who simply cannot get enough fishing will avail themselves of the Home Pool, a reliable stretch of river in front of the property, before breakfast and after dinner.

I cant walk out my door at home and fish for Atlantic salmon, reasoned Laurence Lock, who was visiting from Hertfordshire, England. Others, like Francois Brocard of London, embraced the totality of the experience, opting to prepare a leisurely gourmet meal at one of the lunch tents set up along the river and wash down his handiwork with a glass or two of wine.

Most guests agree a special element of the experience is the chance to socialize with the guides and other staff members, some of whom have been at Ryabaga since 1991. For Len Smith, an angler from Stonehaven, Scotland, who visited for the 53rd time during my stay in mid-June, Ryabaga is like a second home. I feel Ryabaga is part of me, he said, after landing 17 salmon in one day.

On the evening of the summer solstice, guests were served a four-course dinner typical of Ryabaga offerings: Ukha (a Russian fish soup), citrus salad, medallions of reindeer and chocolate biscuits. After such a hearty meal and a few glasses of Argentine Malbec, it was tempting to return to my cabin.

But the idea of fishing near midnight was too attractive to resist.

I wadered up and strolled down to the Home Pool. Thick clouds obscured the sun, which hovered atop the horizon; in late spring and early summer, it never quite sets. A bright salmon leaped clear of the water downstream as I peeled off line at the top of the pool and began working my way down  cast, swing, two steps, cast and swing. Eventually, I was joined by several other anglers, flanking me at 50-yard intervals. The angler below me, John Sievwright, pointed upstream. The clouds had parted enough to expose some rays of sunlight, which illuminated the sky in a dreamy, pinkish orange worthy of artist Maxfield Parrish. It was mirrored in wisps of clouds above the ridge downstream.

I was jolted back to the river by a loud splash. Sievwright was fast to a bright salmon. It raced downstream and leaped clear of the river several more times before Sievwright led it to the bank for a quick photo. The heavens to the west seemed to brighten a bit more as he held up his catch.
TRENTON  The state Senate on Thursday passed a bill to forgive certain student loan debt after a borrowers death or total permanent disability.

On top of an already painful grieving process, some families have actually been harassed by loan collectors. That should never happen in New Jersey, said co-sponsor Assemblyman Bruce Land, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.

Bill S-743/A-2761 was approved by the Assembly last month. It goes to Gov. Chris Christie for his signature.

The measure applies to loans issued under the New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students program. The low-rate loan program helps New Jersey residents attend eligible in-state or out-of-state schools.

How Hurricane Sandy benefited New Jersey wetlands GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Sometimes there is an upside to disaster, even one as big as Hurricane Sandy.

It also provides loans to out-of-state students attending a school in New Jersey.

If an eligible student borrower enrolled in the NJCLASS Loan Program dies or becomes permanently disabled, the bill requires the state to fully discharge the obligation for the student and the parent or guardian who cosigned the loan.

In some cases, a spouse ends up widowed and struggling to support a family and then they are hit with a student loan bill on top of it all. This bill will make sure that doesnt happen, said co-sponsor Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.

The bill also allows deferment of loan payments for borrowers who are temporarily totally disabled.

 Michelle Brunetti Post
WILDWOOD  Mayor Ernie Troiano has suggested the Board of Commissioners consider a $20 million upgrade of the Boardwalk, including replacing substructure.

He is already braced for pushback from environmentalists for his choice of materials: hardwood from the Brazilian rain forest.

What we are trying to do is long-term bonding to replace the 16 blocks that are in deplorable condition, Troiano said. They are literally are falling apart. Theyve been there since 1926.

Troiano said the citys long-term debt amounts to about $52 million, but the majority of it is in the Water/Sewer Utility, which pays its own capital debt. He said the general fund includes about $15 million to $16 million in debt. He asked city Administrator Christopher Fox to get with the chief financial officer and begin the process for long-term bonding and investigate grants and low-interest loans.

Shore towns take down time to fix up infrastructure Millions of dollars will be poured into infrastructure in and around South Jersey shore town

If we can look at long-term debt to reconstruct the Boardwalk in the manner we started, it would behoove us to do it, Troiano said. I would like to see us do this as early as this time next year and do it in one shot, 15 blocks at one time.

Troiano said the area he is referring to stretches from north of the Wildwoods Convention Center to Lincoln Avenue and from Oak Avenue to 26th Avenue. He said those sections of Boardwalk were built under the Works Progress Administration or Civilian Conservation Corps, Depression-era federal programs to create jobs and build infrastructure.

The Boardwalk is really in need of repair. You keep making repairs, but you get at a point where you need to start looking at putting good money into bad, Troiano said.

He said some amount of the surface planking is replaced each year with yellow pine, which he said just doesnt hold up.

In the summertime, when it gets really hot, it curls up like a french fry in a Frialator, he said, adding even the beams that are part of the substructure have a tendency to curl in the heat. He said he worries about sections collapsing when a vehicle or forklift is on the Boardwalk.

It needs new substructure. The planking is just cosmetic, he said.

At the same time, Troiano said the curling planks represent a tripping hazard and potential lawsuits for the city.

The boards will pop right up, and you end up with a real mess on your hands, people tripping and falling.  People are trying to sue us all the time, he said.

He said the planking should be replaced with Brazilian hardwood, which he said would raise concern among environmentalists.

The environmentalists will scream and holler about it, especially those from Ocean City  Dr. (Steve) Fenichel and (Georgina) Shanley, Troiano said. The Brazilian hardwood would all have to be certified, forested legally, harvested legally and sold legally.

Fenichel and Shanley, a married couple, have fought against the use of hardwood on the Ocean City Boardwalk and elsewhere. They believe the harvesting of the wood damages the Amazon rain forests.

Fenichel wrote a letter to the Gazette of Ocean City in June 2014 criticizing the use of Brazilian hardwood called ipe and questioning the wood used for an Audubon Society project being labeled Forest Stewardship Council certified.

We learned that the FSC was a phony certification of sustainably harvested when legally they could only claim well-managed forests and no one knows what that means, he wrote.

Fenichel is running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year as an independent candidate in the 2nd Congressional District, against Republican incumbent Frank LoBiondo and Democrat Dave Cole.

According to Troiano, no other type of natural or synthetic wood works.

We looked at engineered wood or plastic wood  nah, he said.

Wildwood leaders hope Pacific Avenue project will transform downtown WILDWOOD  Bobby Dee, 51, of Wildwood, remembers when it took 25 minutes to drive from one end of Pacific Avenue to the other because of conge

Troiano said when the city had Urban Enterprise Zone money, before the program was dismantled by Gov. Chris Christie, Wildwood was redoing a block a year on the Boardwalk with hardwood. He said a four-block section of the Boardwalk, between Schellenger and Oak avenues, that was redone several years ago still looks good.

You should see how nice it looks. Its like night and day, he said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new poll shows that voter support for Proposition 60, the adult film initiative, has fallen to just 40%, according to the Free Speech Coalition. The Capitol Weekly poll, to be published Monday, shows support down 13 points from a September LA Times poll (which had support for the measure at 53%). Prop 60 would allow any resident of the state to sue if they see a film without a visible condom, and has been called the most controversial measure on the 2016 ballot.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a76a70f1-3afd-43e5-ba82-6203edc81e7e

The more voters learn about this dangerous measure, the more they dislike it, said Eric Paul Leue, campaign manager for No on Proposition 60, Californians Against Worker Harassment. Rather than protect performers, Prop 60 exposes them to harassment suits, privacy violations and financial exploitation. Prop 60 has been opposed by nearly every political organization in the state, and by all seven of the states largest papers  and, most importantly, the performers themselves.

Proposition 60 has been opposed by the California Democratic Party, the California Republican Party, the California Libertarian Party, and over fifty county and municipal political parties. It has been opposed by the LA Times, the Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Diego Union Tribune, the Orange Country Register and over a dozen other major editorial boards.

Proposition 60 has faced consistent and vocal opposition from the adult performer community, APAC, the leading performer group, opposed the measure soon after it was announced, saying it would make working conditions more dangerous for performers.

Performers organized a large protest in Hollywood earlier this week, demanding the sole proponent and funder of the initiative, Michael Weinstein, meet with them to discuss their concerns. Weinstein has spent nearly $5 million on the campaign, which would give him the power to sue performers directly when a condom isnt visible. He has repeatedly refused to meet with performers.

Since then, performers have taken to print, radio and television to raise awareness of an initiative which would allow every day viewers to sue them directly based solely on the type of movies they make.

The full poll data is expected to be released on Monday.




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.




BRIGHTON, England, Oct. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- StorageMart announced today the company's inaugural entry into the European self storage industry with the acquisition of 15 self storage facilities in Southeast England. StorageMart acquired the Big Box Storage Centre company and looks forward to serving the counties of Kent, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey.

"Big Box is an important entrance into the United Kingdom for StorageMart. We plan to use the substantial Big Box platform to grow within the UK. These are great locations in solid markets, and we look forward to applying our technology platform and revenue management strategies at these stores." said Cris Burnam, President of StorageMart.

The acquisition spans 15 locations with a total 9,655 storage units and 674,756 total square feet of storage space making this a very important launching pad for future growth within the United Kingdom. The StorageMart brand is the world's largest privately-owned self storage provider, with over 110,500 storage units and 12,482,670 total square feet of storage across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Always pioneering ways in which StorageMart can better serve clients, Burnam went on to say "Our goal is to bring to UK storage customers an easy, stress-free customer experience, in the cleanest stores, with world class customer service."

About StorageMart

StorageMart is led by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for three generations. The company's core values are dedicated to providing easy, clean and friendly service to each and every customer. StorageMart is also committed to giving back to the many communities it calls home. In 2015, the company donated over 512,000.00 in cash and free rent to local charities throughout the US and Canada. This bedrock belief in service to local communities will be extended to the local markets in the UK served by StorageMart.

For further information about StorageMart, please visit our web site at www.Storage-Mart.com, or contact Mrs. Sarah Little at (01) 573-449-0091; sarah.little@storage-mart.com.

Related Links

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NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake or the Company) (NYSE:CHK) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court, Western District of Oklahoma, and docketed under 16-cv-01150, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Chesapeake securities between February 27, 2015 and September 28, 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 Chesapeake securities during the Class Period, you have until December 5, 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]

Chesapeake engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs in the United States. The Company holds interests in natural gas and liquids-rich resource plays across the United States. Chesapeake owns interests in approximately 32,400 oil and natural gas wells.

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) Chesapeake had improperly accounted for the acquisition and classification of oil and gas properties; (ii) Chesapeake lacked effective internal financial controls; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, Chesapeakes public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On September 29, 2016, pre-market, Chesapeake announced receipt of a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on [the Companys] accounting methodology for the acquisition and classification of oil and gas properties and related matters.

On this news, the Companys stock fell $0.63, or 9.33%, to close at $6.12 on September 29, 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
Guwahati, Oct 17 : The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Monday opposed the Centre's reported move to amend the Citizenship Act and warned of an agitation over the issue.

The students body said it would organise candlelight processions in all district and subdivisional headquarters of Assam on Tuesday.

It would also hold a public meeting in Guwahati on October 22 to chalk out its future course of action.

AASU leader Samujjal Bhattacharyya vowed to intensify the agitation to foil the central government's move to rehabilitate the Hindu Bangladeshis who entered Assam after 1971.

"We want to make it clear to the Assam government and the Centre that the issues of illegal infiltration and foreigners illegally living in Assam must be resolved on the basis of the Assam Accord."

The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the central government and leaders of AASU and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.

"As per the accord, all Hindus or Muslims who entered Assam after 1971 must go back," Bhattacharyya said.

"Assam is already burdened with Bangladeshis who entered the state before 1971. The Assam Accord was signed after a six-year-long agitation. The Centre must respect the accord, which is a national commitment," he said.

He said that not a single Bangladeshi who entered the state after 1971 would be allowed to stay in Assam.

He said along with 28 other civil society organisations of Assam, a mass movement would be started soon to create public opinion against the move to amend the Citizenship Act.

"A small state like Assam has already taken the burden of Bangladeshis who entered it before 1971. Not any more. Assam is not a dustbin to dump illegal Bangladeshis for vote bank politics," the AASU leader said.
Kabul, Oct 19 : The Taliban outfit on Wednesday rejected as baseless reports that it was holding secret peace talks with the Afghan government, media reported.

"No talks have been held with officials from Kabul regime, neither in Qatar, nor in other place and any report on the subject is baseless and fabricated," the Xinhua news agency reported citing a statement by the armed group.

In the statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Majahid categorically stated that "the stance of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (name of ousted Taliban regime) with regard to peace talks is clear" and has not changed.

According to reports, the Taliban and the Afghan government on Tuesday resumed their secret talks in Qatar as the peace process started in 2013 broke down following the death of Taliban founder Mullah Omar's successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour.

The Afghan government, which inked a peace deal in September with Gulbudin Hekmatyar, leader of his own faction of the Hizb-e-Islami Islamic party, has been trying to ink a similar deal with the Taliban outfit.
Beijing, Oct 20 : Despite calls for boycott of Chinese goods on Indian social media, the sales of Chinese smartphones are on the rise due to growing acceptance of brands like Vivo, Oppo, Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo, suggests a report in the state-owned media.

Xiaomi "set a record" by selling more than 1 million smartphones in India from October 1-October 18, the smartphone maker told Global Times on Wednesday.

Xiaomi said it has become the third-largest smartphone vendor in India's top 30 cities with a market share of 8.4 percent, citing statistics from market research firm IDC.

"India has become our largest market outside of the Chinese mainland... we will be able to capture the largest market share in India within three to five years," the statement read.

Vivo, another domestic smartphone brand, also aims to expand its business in India, by tripling its monthly production as well as starting online sales.

Data from the cctime.com in August showed that Chinese smartphone brands accounted for more than 25 per cent of India's market in terms of shipment by the end of June, up from 19 per cent at the end of 2015.

"As China's mobile phone market is somewhat saturated, it's a right choice that domestic brands have started to explore the gigantic Indian market, which is full of opportunities as many people in India still do not own a smartphone. Our brands are looking into the future of India's mobile phone market," Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based independent tech expert, told the Global Times.

However, the mobile phone market in India is not a blank canvas, and Chinese smartphone makers have to face competition not only from international mobile phone giants like Apple -- which had a market share of about 12 per cent in the Indian market in terms of shipment by the end of June -- but also from local Indian mobile phone makers like Lava, Micromax and a variety of smaller brands.

Chinese mobile phones are cheaper than brands like Apple, but they are of high quality, Liu said.

Also, Chinese brands are actively broadening sales channels in India by cooperating with local agencies and communications corporations, helping them broaden market share in the country.

"I believe that sooner or later, a Chinese mobile phone maker will become the largest smart phone seller in India," Liu noted.
Ranchi, Oct 21 : The opposition and tribal leaders in Jharkhand on Friday accused Chief Minister Raghubar Das of raising the issue of conversion to weaken the ongoing agitation against proposed amendments to two land acts.

Das, heading a Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in the state, had claimed that those "involved in conversions" of tribals were inciting the protest against the state's bid to amend the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNTA) and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPTA).

Das's frequent statement had not gone down well among the Christian community and leaders protesting the land amendments.

On Thursday again, Das, participating in an official programme in Dumka, raised the issue drawing flak from several parties and organisations.

"The Chief Minister is threatening the minority community in the state. Instead of finding a solution, he is trying to divert attention by raising the conversion issue," Adivasi Sangharsh Morcha (ASM) convenor Karma Oraon told IANS.

Das is deliberately trying to divide the society. "But his move will not work and the protests will continue," Oraon said.

"Raghubar Das is the CM and such statements do not suit his position. His conversion statement is sending a wrong message among the people," Adivasi Buddhijivi Manch President Prem Chandra Murmu told IANS.

Das was making such a statement to create a communal divide and to dilute the agitation against the amendments, Murmu said.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief and Lok Sabha member Sibu Soren also attacked Das for threatening the minority community and trying to make land acquisition easy in the state.

"If Raghubar Das cannot stand hearing names of Adivasi and Moolvasi then he should go back to his parent state Chhattisgarh," Soren said, adding that the Das government had failed at every step.

Echoing the view, former central Minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay told IANS: "Jharkhand's image has been dented nationally after two police firings in the state during the ongoing land acquisition protest."

Das is trying to give land to the Adani Group at throwaway prices in the Santhal Parganas by violating the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, Sahay said.

"Where in Jharkhand is conversion taking place," Sahay wondered adding that the minorities in the state were feeling threatened following the amendment move.

"BJP is playing the communal card as in the past and I don't think such a card will weaken the protest," Sahay said.

In June, the Jharkhand government sought to promulgate the two ordinances which Governor Draupadi Murmu sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for approval.

The desired amendments could facilitate acquisition of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purposes like building roads and setting up power projects.

The opposition parties, besides BJP alliance-partner AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) and tribal organisations have been protesting the move since.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : Fire was reported in the children's ward of Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital here on Saturday, and all 15 children admitted were safely taken out, officials said.

No casualties were reported in the fire that broke out at 3.35 a.m. in room number 1104 of the hospital, fire officials told IANS.

Nearly six to seven fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

A short circuit in the ventilation machine of the hospital could be the cause, the official added Twenty four people were killed and more than hundred were injured in the Odisha hospital fire on October 17.

The fire safety norms followed by hospitals are under close scrutiny by the Union Health Ministry.
London, Oct 22 : A third toxic gas attack was carried out by the Syrian government forces in the north-western Idlib region in March last year, a UN report issued late Friday revealed.

According to the report - the fourth from the 13-month-long inquiry by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - investigators found that helicopters flying from military bases dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine gas, a prohibited weapon, the BBC reported.

It said that the helicopter flights could have originated from two bases where the 253 and 255 squadrons, part of the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based.

But the inquiry said that it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time."

It added that those "with effective control in the military units... must be held accountable".

The report also accused the government forces of carrying out the toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015.

The use of chlorine as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : She made her Bollywood acting debut in 2015 with superstar Salman Khans production "Hero" and will next be seen sharing screen space with actor-producer Anil Kapoor. Actress Athiya Shetty says its very important to fear failure.

"It would be naive if I said that I don't fear failure. But it is very important. My father (actor Suniel Shetty) has always told me... even before entering the industry. He said that 'I know you will be able to handle success, but will you be able to handle failure? And you have to do it with dignity. You have to be humble at that time as well'," Athiya told IANS here.

The 23-year-old actress, whose debut film got a mixed response from critics, said everybody has ups and downs. "So, it's important to understand and be realistic about that. I am realistic about both (success and failure)," she added.

Asked if there is any struggle for star children, Athiya said: "I think the struggle is different. We get a platform. Star children have that reach, where you get the opportunity to meet people, but that doesn't mean that we get it easy because once you get a launch, it's up to you on what you do about it."

"Once you enter (the industry), you have to kind of prove your worth and talent," she added.

The ambassador of make-up brand Maybelline New York was recently linked up to Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor. Do link-up rumours affect the hard work and dedication of an actor?

"No. It's part and parcel of the industry. With good comes bad. I think it's just a part of the industry, so I am aware of the things that come about. So, yes, it's okay. At the end of the day, it's your performance that will speak and your hard work will always win," she said.

The actress will next be seen in "Mubarakan", helmed by Anees Bazmee.

Talking about the film, Athiya said: "I think that is the entire charm of the film. It's confusion, fun and crazy. It is just a mad wedding and because the entire country is invited, it's going to be more special."

"Mubarakan" also stars Anil, Arjun and Ileana D'Cruz. Does Athiya fear getting overshadowed by her co-stars? "Not at all. I don't feel there is a big or small role in the film.

It's just about how you perform and what you bring to the table. Everyone is secure in their own skin and space, and I am fortunate to share screen space with Anil Kapoor, Ileana and Arjun."

(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)
New Delhi : Till a few weeks ago, Akhilesh Yadav appeared uncertain about how far he should go in challenging his domineering father and canny uncle.

He had started off by claiming that he takes his own decisions and depriving his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, of his portfolios and dismissing a minister considered "close" to him, as is said about servile followers in India.

But, then, the Chief Minister backtracked on being ticked off by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, returned Shivpal's ministries to him and reinstated the dismissed minister.

Shivpal, on his part, demonstrated his clout by sacking some of Akhilesh's youthful followers from the party.

After sulking for some time, Akhilesh has now decided to start the next round of his battle with the elders in the family by announcing that he will skip the Samajwadi Party's silver jubilee celebrations and go on a Rath Yatra to boost the party's electoral chances.

It is now obvious that the conflict of the generations will continue in the foreseeable future with probably neither side emerging as the winner. The loser will undoubtedly be the party in next year's assembly elections.

And the reason will be the father-uncle duo's strange propensity to shoot the party in the foot by marginalising and even humiliating its only winning prospect -- the young and personable Chief Minister.

It wasn't only the generation gap which apparently made Mulayam Singh and Shivpal turn against Akhilesh. They were also uneasy about the latter's growing popularity because of a clean image, modern outlook and a willingness to cleanse the party of thuggish elements.

None of this was acceptable to Mulayam Singh and Shivpal, who have built up their power bases by exploiting caste sentiments and recruiting musclemen.

For the time being, they may no longer trash the teaching of English and the use of computers. But such an antediluvian attitude was part and parcel not long ago of their feudal, patriarchal, bucolic world-view where Uttar Pradesh will be a land of dimly-lit villages, muddy roads and women in purdah.

In a letter to Mulayam Singh, informing him -- and not seeking permission -- of the decision to go on a Rath Yatra, Akhilesh has stressed "vikas" as an objective which he will place before the people.

In recent ads on television, which have now stopped, he had vowed to take Uttar Pradesh well and truly into the 21st century.

In this respect, he represents the new breed of politicians who want to play the development card to win votes unlike their elders who depend on the politics of caste and communalism to woo and divide voters.

As a part of this tactic, Mulayam Singh and Shivpal brought about the merger of the don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party, which Akhilesh opposed.

They also selected a murder accused as a poll candidate, much against the Chief Minister's wishes.

As if to rub salt in the latter's wounds, Mulayam Singh even said that the next Chief Minister will be chosen by party legislators, ruling out Akhilesh's automatic nomination.

However, it doesn't take much political acumen to see that the bruising family feud is politically suicidal for the Samajwadi Party and can only boost the prospects of its two main adversaries - the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP probably feels that its chances have improved in the wake of the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Along with this patriotic card, it has also decided to play the temple card by announcing the setting up of a Ram Museum, thereby seemingly plugging all the loopholes.

The question remains, however, as to why Mulayam Singh has taken this patently destructive path for his party. Perhaps only a psychologist can decipher the meaning because it is his son who was seen to have a winning chance and not someone inside or outside the party.

As such, the veteran, self-proclaimed Lohiate should have been pleased that his passing of the baton to his foreign-educated son was paying dividends even if Netaji himself, as Mulayam Singh is called by his acolytes, will have to take a back seat.

It is perhaps this prospect of losing his earlier influence, along with the possibility that the Samajwadi Party will morph into something dramatically different from its present backward-looking, bullying self, which led to Mulayam Singh's offensive against Akhilesh.

But it is a battle which he is unlikely to win. Time is against him, along with the composition of the electorate where the younger generation is no longer interested in sectarian trends.

For them, Akhilesh represents the future while his father and uncle hark back to the past along with dubious companions like Amar Singh and Azam Khan.

Akhilesh himself is probably looking more to the 2022 election than the next one in 2017, in which few will now expect the Samajwadi Party to fare well.

Five years later, however, it will be a different ball game. Akhilesh will then still be relatively young at 49 while his father and uncle are most likely to be seen as spent forces. He may still have the last laugh.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
Mumbai, Oct 22 : Actor Kartik Aaryan, who is currently busy shooting for "Atithii Iin London", says he is excited to wear a turban in the film.

"I was excited to wear a turban for the film. I was surprised when I read the script and saw that certain scenes required me to wear a turban," Kartik said in a statement.

Kartik said it was a "proud moment and was surreal shooting in a Gurudwara" in London.

"It feels like home even in a new foreign city....you feel the spirituality and the experience was completely uplifting and a great way to flag the shoot," he added.

The "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" fame actor said that he had a senior Sikh man from London, who helped him with the turban for the film, which is a sequel of the 2010 film "Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?"

"The team and I sat and worked out a look. A senior Sikh gentleman from London helps me with the turban. It takes about an hour to get ready for the look, including make-up," he said.

Along with him, the movie also stars Kriti Kharbanda, Paresh Rawal and Tanvi Azmi.

Directed by Ashwini Dhir, "Atithii Iin London" is a unique modern love story with new characters and setting.
Kolkata, Oct 22 : To bolster public trust in clean energy using environment friendly transport, an international team of a journalist and a filmmaker will set sail down the Ganga in a solar powered boat.

The team of American journalist, traveller and adventurer Thomas Tomczyk and Guatemalan filmmaker Ana Cosenza will aim for a world record for the longest solar boat travel down a river.

Tomczyk and Cosenza, will sail down from Rishikesh in Uttarakhand to the Sagar Island in Bay of Bengal.

"We are travelling on a solar powered boat from Rishikesh to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal. As far as we know, this is going to be the first solar boat to travel down the length," Tomczyk told IANS from Delhi ahead of their trip that begins next week.

"It will establish a world record for the longest solar boat down any river. Along the journey we will film a six part travel documentary series for American television," Tomczyk said.

During their six to eight week sojourn, Cosenza and Tomczyk will stop in many towns and cities along the river bank to film the documentary 'Electric River Odyssey'.

The duo said that although the alternative energy solutions are already available, people still refer to it as "technology of the future".

"We chose to use a solar boat because we believe that clean energy and self-sufficiency is very important," Cosenza said.

However, she said, "Somehow people still have little trust in the technology and refer to it as the technology of the future even though it is already available."

"We want to prove that this extraordinary journey can be accomplished and inspire people in turn to think outside the box," Cosenza said.

Tomczyk is the executive producer for this project. In 2015, he broke the record for the longest electric motorcycle ride for his Philadelphia to the tip of Patagonia, Chile's Punta Arenas trip. Filmmaker Cosenza documents these journeys.

They also aim to highlight how important it is to leave the environment and wildlife undisturbed during traveling.

"It is important for us to promote ways of transportation that do not pollute and affect as little as possible the places where we travel," said Cosenza.

"When filming wildlife, an electric boat -- that has an internal combustion engine --is so silent, it enables us to get much closer to the animals without scaring them away," said Cosenza.

But what is so alluring about the Ganga?

"I have been coming to India for many years. I know the country quite well. I always thought it would be a great adventure to travel along the Ganga in a manner that not many people have done," Tomczyk said.

A Kochi-based company, Team Sustain has put the boat together by modifying a Zodiac Rubber Boat to fit three solar panels and a powerful electric motor.
tgaucher wrote:

Hello,



Thank you for fielding admissions questions for Tuck.



I was wondering if you could offer any insight as to how people approach the Global Exposure/travel outside your home country write-up. Personally, as someone from the US, I have not completed any travel aside from a couple of short trips to Canada. That said, I do love to travel, and have done so in the United States, but I don't have any notable international travel experiences to date. I view Tuck as an opportunity to make that travel happen.



The above considered, do applicants generally outline their past travel experiences and that is it, or would it be appropriate to explain that I look forward to putting a new foot forward by traveling with Tuck? I did not know if it was frowned-upon to go somewhat beyond the scope of the question.



Thanks in advance for any assistance you have to offer.



Trenton

Hello Trenton,Thank you for your question and for your interest in Tuck.The question regarding global exposure is intended to provide some insight into your international experience, which may include personal and business travel abroad, study abroad and fluency in a foreign language. If you do not have much experience to point to, no worries! Be sure to mention your travel to Canada, as well as any languages you speak. You may also feel free to mention that you are excited to expand your global experience while at Tuck. It's important to keep in mind that this is just one aspect of your overall candidacy.Best,Nancy GranadaTuck Admissions
New Delhi, Oct 22 : At a time when India is poised to become a global manufacturing hub for mobile phones and components, Pankaj Mohindroo, National President, Indian Cellular Association (ICA), has asked Chinese companies to partner with Indian firms for setting up a manufacturing base in the country.

"We are targeting 500 million mobile phones manufacturing by 2019, along with a robust component industry. Our Chinese partners will help us in achieving this," Mohindroo added.

Speaking at the second India-China Mobile Phones and Accessories Manufacturing Summit, organised here under the first edition of the three-day mobile fair, India Mobile Diwali (IMD), Mohindroo said there is a huge emerging opportunity in component manufacturing in India now.

The event, aimed at strengthening the Indian mobile phone and component manufacturing ecosystem in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' initiatives, is held at a time when Indians are strongly opposing the use of "Made in China" products.

Urging Chinese companies to take advantage of the new investment and manufacturing opportunities in India, policy initiatives and increased ease of business, Aruna Sundarajan, Secretary Ministry of Electronics, IT, Government of India, said Indian talent and Chinese innovation can be a very potent fusion.

She also pointed out that Chinese companies need to look at India as a partner in 'Make in India' programme and not only as a market destination for their products.

Lingyun Wu, Founder and CEO, Mobile World (Shoujibao), Shenzhen, said Chinese companies are excited to be part of the 'Make in India' campaign and establish mobile handset and component manufacturing facilities in India.

"I'm sure that IMD will open ample opportunities to network and join hands and further strengthen investments in India," Lingyun added.

The three-day fair, organised by Mobile World (Shoujibao), China's leading Mobile Industry service platform in association with the Indian Cellular Association, the apex body representing the mobile handset Industry in India, saw participation from industry bigwigs like Peter Lee, COO Huawei, Josh Foulger, MD Foxconn, Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex, S.N. Rai, Co-founder and Director, Lava, and over 300 investment delegations and mobile phone companies and component manufacturers from China and India.

A high-level Investment Delegation from China's mobile phone industry will be on a six-day India visit from October 21-26 to participate in India Mobile Diwali Expo.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : Swaraj Abhiyan leader Prashant Bhushan on Saturday attacked the central government over the purchase deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and said "it will prove to be the Bofors for the BJP".

"From the stony silence of the government to the revelations made by Swaraj Abhiyan, and the allegations and evidence provided by Edmonds Allen to the government, it is clear that the Rafale deal could well be the Bofors of the BJP," Bhushan said in a statement here.

Bhushan's remarks came two days after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar defended the 7.87 billion euros (about Rs 59,000 crore) Rafale deal as the "best deal".

"One might recall that when the Bofors scandal erupted, Rajiv Gandhi was known as 'Mr Clean' and his response was also the same -- that the Bofors deal was the best deal that could be struck by the government, that the Bofors guns were the best, and thereafter a farcical CBI inquiry was done to whitewash this matter," he added.

On Thursday, Swaraj India leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav released letters written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) by US-based lawyer C. Edmonds Allen which alleged that BJP MP Varun Gandhi was "honeytrapped and compromised" by defence middleman Abhishek Verma.

Lashing out at Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhushan said: "He denies he leaked any defence secrets by saying he never attended meetings of the Defence Consultative Committee and only a few meetings of the Standing Committee on Defence; and that he did not have access to any sensitive defence material."

"Interestingly, he has not denied the allegation that he was honeytrapped by Abhishek Verma," the Swaraj Abhiyan leader said.

Varun Gandhi has denied the allegations and said he will file a criminal defamation suit against the Swaraj Abhiyan leader.

"I was deeply hurt by the sleazy allegations against me. I will file a criminal defamation suit against Prashant Bhushan," Gandhi said.

"Despite massive evidence being provided to the PMO, to the Defence Minister and to the National Security adviser, by way of emails photographs, letters etc., Verma just says that these are the allegations of a disgruntled former partner," the Swaraj Bhiyan leader said.

Bhushan also attacked the government for allegedly giving a major part of the Rafale deal to Reliance and said: "Why has a major part of the contract for the Rafale deal, worth almost Rs 30,000 crore, been given to Reliance Defence owned by Anil Ambani, which has virtually no experience in defence-related production and is just a one-year-old company?"

Prashant Bhushan, a noted lawyer said Anil Ambani's Reliance Telecom has been charge-sheeted in the 2G scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation and that Anil Ambani's companies owe more than one lakh crore to various public sector banks.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : A large number of people from different parts of the country will assemble here at Jantar Matar on October 25 to protest against GM mustard and other such Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), an official said.

Organisations like All India Agricultural Workers Union, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) and Azadi Bachao Andolan will organise the protest march which will have people from over 20 states in the country, a statement said.

"Joining the protest will be leaders from various political parties, all major farmer and farm workers' unions, trade unions, honey industry representatives, people's movements and other civil society formations. Scientists and other experts will be joining them in support and solidarity," it said.

The protest comes in the backdrop of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) moving ahead with approval processes related to GM mustard in India without publishing the full biosafety data in the public domain or giving adequate time for independent scrutiny of such data, the statement added.
Lucknow, Oct 22 : Politicians from different parties as well as Uttar Pradesh Bar Council Vice-President Janki Sharan Pandey and hundreds of lawyers on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2017 assembly polls.

Welcoming the new entrants, state BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya said the entry of legal fraternity representatives in large numbers had further strengthened the party that aims for 265-plus seats in the 404-member state assembly.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ramesh Patel, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Naresh Paswan, Peace Party's state General Secretary Dhruv Pratap Singh also joined the BJP on Saturday.

Maurya said the exodus of political leaders from other parties was a sign of growing realisation that the BJP was not only a front-ranking party in the assembly polls but also a clear winner.
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday called upon Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India to set up a Saudi consulate in state capital Hyderabad.

The Chief Minister made the demand when Ambassador Saud Mohammed Al-Sati met him here.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, Al-Sati told Rao that they are pursuing efforts in this regard.

The Chief Minister said the consulate would be of great help as nearly 300,000 people from Telangana are living in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, people belonging to various parts of erstwhile Hyderabad state and working in Saudi Arabia also use Hyderabad as a transit route.

Rao brought to the Ambassador's notice the problem faced in bringing back bodies of migrant workers who die in Saudi Arabia and urged him to take necessary steps to redress the problem.

The Ambassador told Rao that Saudi Arabia was ready to invest in various sectors in Telangana and partner with the newly formed state in its development.

Recalling the historic and cultural relations between Saudi Arabia and Hyderabad, the Chief Minister noted that the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Pasha, had built 'Rubat' near the grand mosque in Makkah for the convenience of Haj pilgrims Observing that Telangana is keen to strengthen its friendship with Saudi Arabia, Rao said trade and investment would go a long way in this regard.

The Ambassador informed Rao that his government had asked the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to initiate efforts towards investment in Telangana, said the statement.

Al-Sati said he learnt about the rapid development in Telangana during a meeting with experts at Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Chief Minister explained to the foreign dignitary the new industrial policy of Telangana and claimed it is the best policy in the world.

He also highlighted the measures taken by his government for the welfare of minorities.

The Saudi Ambassador on Friday offered prayers in historic Makkah Masjid here and also visited Osmania University.
New Delhi, Oct 22 : The BJP on Saturday handed over Rs 1 lakh for the education of the daughter of AAP worker Soni Mishra, who committed suicide after her molester -- also a party worker -- was released on bail.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Satish Upadhyay handed over Rs 1 lakh Bank Deposit Receipt to Ashok Mishra, husband of the late Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker.

Soni committed suicide on July 20. She was allegedly unhappy over her party for not initiating any action against the alleged molester -- Ramesh Wadhwa.

She had made a police complaint on June 2 about Wadhwa harassing her. In her complaint, she has alleged Wadhwa of harassing her continuously and asking for sexual favours.

Wadhwa was arrested on June 3 and was granted police bail on June 4.

She resided here in outer Delhi's Narela area with her two daughters and other family members.
Michele Young, candidate for Congress (OH-1) I will be a champion for women and children and families. My focus will be on improving our lives and the opportunities for future generations."

On October 21st, The Cincinnati Enquirer published a guest editorial by Congressional challenger Michele Young declaring her opponent to be a "relic of another era."

Ms. Young wrote that her opponent is dangerously out of touch with the changing needs of women in his district.

"While our lives changed, he has not," wrote Ms. Young. "U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's voting record is one that has failed to protect women. He voted against the reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act in 2013. He has not proposed a single piece of legislation that would ease our burdens as we balance work and motherhood. He has not responded to childhood poverty although Cincinnati has the second-highest rate in the nation." The guest editorial can be read at

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2016/10/20/chabot-relic-another-era/92428922/

Ms. Young is a mother of five, an outsider and first-time candidate challenging the most entrenched Congressperson in Southwestern Ohio, Steve Chabot. Ms. Young said she could not sit on the sidelines this election. "Too much is at stake. Our Congress no longer serves the people. It is time to take back Congress and fight for our hardworking families and businesses," said Ms. Young. After publicly declaring her candidacy on Facebook one month before the March 15th primary, Ms. Young won all 505 precincts in the Democratic primary against a well-funded opponent who had represented the party in the past Congressional contest.

A lawyer and legal author, Ms. Young brings together leaders from all walks of life to work for tolerance and against injustice. She crossed political lines in support of public safety initiatives like the "Don't Text and Drive campaign" and securing a state-of-the art crime lab for Hamilton County. Ms. Young has received Women's Political Caucus Outstanding Achievement Award" for her work.

Ms. Young's broad range of endorsements reflects the wide-spread support for this upstart candidate against an entrenched career politician. Her endorsements include the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 112, the National Education Association, the Cincinnati Federation of Teaches, Local 1420, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 392, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 75, and the Iron Workers Local 44.

The race has caught the attention of civic leaders across the area and nation including two Kennedys and Gloria Steinem.

"It is time for change," said Ms. Young.
Boat & RV Storage We offer boat and rv storage at reasonable prices.

AA Self & Boat Storage, located in Houston, Texas, proudly announces that it is now offering enclosed recreational vehicle storage. The new units are conveniently located off of Interstate 10, in the Spring Branch/ Memorial area.

Each unit is self contained where the tenants has sole access to their own unit to store their recreational vehicle. Camper recreational vehicles benefit from the covered parking and enclosed unit. The higher roof height allows for taller recreational vehicles, including off-road vehicle storage placed on top of a trailer. The facility has wide driveways in order to maneuver and to ensure easy access to parking. To help with dust and dirt control, each unit has concrete floors, rather than crushed shell or dirt floors that cause problems.

Beyond these features, the level of customer service is what separates AA Self & Boat Storage from the competition. As a family run business, we provide our personal touch with each tenant, but without actually physically touching anyone. Quipped Carlton Ahrens, President of the company.

The facility serves customers from a variety of Houston areas, including Memorial, Spring Branch, Bellaire, West University, The Heights and Montrose. The proximity to Interstate 10 allows for convenient access to all central Houston neighborhoods.

The facility has a fenced perimeter with a keypad access gate, video cameras and well lit at night.

AA Self & Boat Storage accepts most all credit cards and is family owned and operated. For more information please call 713-467-0590
manshularora.synergy1 wrote:

I am damn confused about which country and college should i choose , India, somewhere in Asia, Europe or US ( Even thinking about New Zealand , Australia ). My basic concern is finances . I come from humble background and whether shelling out 5060 lakhs is worth it . I need advice on that. Idea is to get and mba, get placed and settle in that country preferably



Below is my basic profile.



Academics



N.I.T. Nagpur ( Civil Engg 2011 batch : CPI 7.23 )



Science + Maths Stream



GMAT (include Q/V breakdown and percentiles):



Total : 680



Q 50 V 31



Professional Experience



No. of years of experience: 05 years ( Role Planning Manager )



Why do you want to do an MBA/Masters? What are your short term career goals (immediately after graduating)?



I do believe that I am not getting the desired exposure. Hence doing MBA/ Masters would give me outlook towards life with what I am looking for.

I have keep interest in again learning business concepts.

I want to join great firms and do exciting job

I am good at analysing stuff. Hence Short term goal is to try new stuff, analyse and finally get into the career which excites me the most.

I do feel that Career in Consulting, Analytics & Operations are best suited to me.

I have keep interest in finding solutions to different problems and would like to continue with that.

I never liked core marketing, finance. However, the basic idea is necessary I guess so as to get an overall picture of business.

Along with all of above, I aspire for a work life balance

Free Essay Reviewing Service

http://gmatclub.com/forum/free-profile-essay-review-service-free-129484.html Signature Read More

Thank you for writing here.Considering your situation, I would work on analyzing (you are already good with it):- Region that you want to settle in- Work authorization rules- Trends in hiring MBAs (some countries prefer local candidates given the language constraints)I think you will start getting answers to your questions. Broadly, you learn Management concepts in every MBA school, so do not worry too much about it right now when getting right rate of return on your investment is your first priority.Does this help?Cheers_________________
J Lyric J Lyric is an amazing artist, and Watch You Leave is a great song. RingPlus is thrilled to be working with him, said Jerry Mowery, RingPlus General Counsel.

RingPlus is thrilled to announce that on Monday, October 24, 2016, J Lyric will begin selling his new single Watch You Leave on RingPlus. The song will be played, promoted, and available for download sales on RingPlus Radio and in the RingPlus Store.

J Lyric is an amazing artist, and Watch You Leave is a great song. RingPlus is thrilled to be working with him, said Jerry Mowery, RingPlus General Counsel.

RingPlus will play and sell J Lyrics song over RingPlus Radio nationwide as well as on its R&B and Hip-Hop/Rap stations. J Lyrics song will be available for download via RingPlus Radio to RingPlus subscribers. His songs will also be available for download to RingPlus subscribers and non-subscribers alike in the Music section of the RingPlus Store (https://store.ringplus.net/). People can become a RingPlus subscriber at https://ringplus.net.

RingPlus Radio replaces the ring its subscribers would normally hear when they call their friends and family with interactive media content including music, news and advertisements. This is how J Lyrics song will be promoted and sold to RingPlus subscribers.

About J Lyric:

J Lyric is a New Orleans Hip Hop sensation with a unique ability to cross and mix genres. J Lyrics broad appeal is immediately clear. His influences include Prince, Tupac, Sade, Nas, Mystikal, Drake, Norah Jones, and John Legend. He breathes new life into Hip Hop, and gives his listeners quality music laced with a distinct flair. His recent release of his hit single Facetime (ft Tokyo Vanity) is popular with fans and global DJs alike.

About RingPlus:

RingPlus is a prepaid, no-contract cell phone service provider operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network. It features monthly plans ranging in price from free to paid at the best prices in the U.S. RingPlus replacement of the ring in outgoing calls creates alternative revenue streams that offset the cost of its free and paid plans for its subscribers. RingPlus holds the patents for the replacing the ring in U.S. Patents 7,006,608 and 7,227,929.

RingPlus Contact:

Jerry Mowery

Phone: 424-293-6765

Email: jmowery(at)ringplus(dot)net

J Lyric Contact:

Arlene Culpepper

MIKODreamz PR

Phone: 337-298-2385

Email: MIKODreamzPR(at)gmail(dot)com

Recent RingPlus Media:

http://bit.ly/Fortune-Save-iPhone7-RingPlus

http://bit.ly/Forbes-RingPlus

http://bit.ly/Fierce-RingPlus
Aeroflow Healthcare employees unloading their donations at WNC Rescue Ministries.

Aeroflow employees donated a variety of supplies such as toiletry items, socks, water, food, hairbrushes, first aid supplies and much more to the homeless community. These supplies will be donated to the WNC Rescue Ministry, which was founded with the goal of providing restoration programs to the homeless population. The ministry continues to care for the community by offering food, shelter and recovery programs to men, women and children in Western North Carolina.

We want to work with local charities, like Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, to improve our community and help those who need it most,  said CEO Casey Hite.

On top of the donation of much-needed items, Aeroflow Healthcare employees also volunteered to help serve lunch at the WNC Rescue Ministries on Friday, October 21.

Aeroflow Healthcare was founded in 2001 in Asheville, North Carolina as a local oxygen supplier and has since become a durable medical equipment provider to patients nationwide. Patients and physicians are choosing Aeroflow as their provider for home oxygen, diagnostic sleep testing, CPAP equipment and supplies, nebulizers, mobility equipment, breast pumps, pediatric needs, catheters and more; click here to see a full list of products and services.

In 2015 and 2016, Aeroflow was named in Inc. 5000 magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. Aeroflow is an accredited Medicare and Medicaid provider and accepts most commercial insurances. Product lines other than listed above provided include; urological, incontinence, diagnostic testing, Breastfeeding, pediatric, call center, and billing services. For any questions about Aeroflow Healthcares donation and fundraising programs, or if you have interest in their services as a durable medical equipment supplier, you can visit http://www.aeroflowinc.com, or call (888) 345-1780.
Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Specialists founder, Ran Y. Rubinstein, MD, is excited to announce Samuel Beran, MD, MBA, FACS will be seeing patients at the Hudson Valley practice. Dr. Beran is renowned for his use of innovative methods in plastic surgery procedures for the body. Dr. Rubinstein will work jointly with Dr. Beran to provide exceptional results for patients in the New York area.

Recognized by New York Magazine as one of the Hot New Docs, and a Best Plastic Surgeon by Westchester Magazine, Dr. Beran is known for combining his innate artistic sensibilities and a meticulous attention to detail. His specialties include cosmetic and reconstructive procedures for the body, including breast augmentation, lifts, tummy tucks, liposuction, and skin cancer reconstruction.

With more than twenty years of experience, Dr. Beran treats each patient as distinctly individual, providing highly personalized results. He explains, Every person is different, and their goals and desired outcomes from plastic surgery are unique to them. Dr. Beran continues, I take the time to thoroughly understand what each of my patients wants, and explain to them their surgery options and best possible results.

Dr. Beran completed his general surgery training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, followed by graduation as a plastic surgeon from the prestigious University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. He finished his Master of Business Administration at University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler. Dr. Beran is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, where he has also served as an esteemed guest-examiner. A prolific writer and educator, Dr. Beran has authored dozens of scientific papers, chapters, and a textbook on liposuction. Currently, Dr. Beran is on staff at both Northern Westchester Hospital and Lenox Hill.

Dr. Rubinstein is double board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. One of the top facial plastic surgeons in New York, Dr. Rubinstein is an active member of the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery. After obtaining his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Rubinstein completed a residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey. He went on to complete intensive fellowship training at the University of South Florida in facial plastic surgery.

Dr. Rubinstein has been an assistant professor at the very prestigious Columbia  New York Presbyterian Hospital for over 15 years, where he participates in training future surgeons. Sharing my expertise through teaching ensures that I stay on the cutting edge of my profession and allows me to give back to the field of medicine, says Dr. Rubinstein.

Dr. Rubinstein brings to his practice a diverse background and expertise in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the eyes, face, neck, and head. He has been recognized by his peers as one of most sought after physician trainers for esthetic laser & injectable procedures in the northeast, specializing in treatments such as Botox, Liquid Lifts, Laser Lift, Juvederm, Voluma, Sculptra, and Restylane Silk. Dr. Rubinstein has been in both private and academic practice for over 15 years.

To find out more about Dr. Ran Y. Rubinstein, Dr. Samuel Beran, or their Newburgh, New York practice, please visit http://www.yourfacemd.com or contact the office at 845-863-1772. Consultations with Dr. Rubinstein or Dr. Beran can be made in-person or online. Please join everyone at Rubinstein Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Specialists in welcoming Dr. Beran to the practice.
On Sept. 29, 1961, a New York Times headline proclaimed: Bob Dylan: A Distinctive Stylist. Beneath it was a picture of the chubby-cheeked young man who had arrived in New York from Minnesota nine months earlier.

The review of Dylan at Gerdes Folk City in Greenwich Village was by critic Robert Shelton, whose prescience was remarkable. Dylans talent was raw indeed, and three record companies had failed to spot his potential. The fourth, Columbia, offered him a contract the day following the review. The late Suze Rotolo, the girlfriend pictured on the iconic cover of Freewheelin, wrote years later that Robert Sheltons review, without a doubt, made Dylans career.

Shelton, who died in Brighton, England, in December 1995, would be thrilled at the news of Dylans Nobel Prize. Vindicated, but not surprised. For he spent his life making the case for Dylan (often in the face of fierce opposition) as not just a poet but as a larger-than-life artist who deserved to be bracketed with the 20th centurys greats. He fought innumerable editors for his right to make that case in print.

Eventually Shelton found a sympathetic editor in London, where he moved in 1969 and where I met him a decade later. But he always felt the original 1986 edition of his No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan (Morrow), which was subject to harsh cuts, had been abridged over troubled waters.

There were disagreements with Doubleday when Shelton refused to compromise on the books more serious content; Doubleday pulled out and the book was bought by a British publisher and cut to one volume. In 2011, a revised editiona sort of directors cut, carved by me from Sheltons original manuscriptwas published, which finally made Sheltons case for Dylan.

Dylan arguably did for the popular song-form what Picasso did for the visual arts, Stravinsky for serious music, Chaplin for film, Joyce for the novel, Shelton writes. Dylan lived up to the artists greatest tasksgrowth, exploration, and change. In 1963, the year of Dylans second album, Freewheelin, which featured a clutch of classics, including Blowin in the Wind and Dont Think Twice Its All Right, Shelton had been scoffed at for dubbing Dylan the singing poet laureate of young America.

Yet by 1965, poets polled by the Washington Post hailed him as Americas Yevtushenko, and John Clellon Holmes cast him as the American Brecht. Christopher Ricks, a critic and professor at Boston University, saw him as a great amuser, a great entertainer, who belongs with the artists whove looked for the widest popular constituency, like Dickens and Shakespeare. A half century on, theres no shortage of academicians making the case for Dylan, whose work has been compared to Whitman, Yeats, Eliot, the Kabbalah, and the Bible.

Desolation Row (1965) is the song that first caught Rickss ear. A true epic, it references Cinderella, Bette Davis, Romeo, Cain and Abel, the Good Samaritan, Noah, Einstein disguised as Robin Hood, the Phantom of the Opera, Casanova, and of course Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot fighting in the captains toweras Dylan puts it, a superhuman crew, assembled from a breathtaking range of cultural references. Ricks sees it as an extraordinary new enduring version of Eliots The Waste Land and Alexander Popes The Dunciad, a whole new vision of a civilization falling apart. He adds, Its surrealist art... combining exact draftsmanship with the amazing or the impossible to visualize. The lyric is included in the 2006 Oxford Book of American Poetry.

Skeptics aghast at Dylans Nobel laurels should listen, really listen, to the mighty handful of albums he recorded between 1962 and 1966, and to Blood on the Tracks (1975), to hear songs that have become part of our cultural DNA, the phrases that are as much a part of our lingua franca as Shakespeare. Dylan articulated our grievances and our grieving, taking poetry off the bookshelves and loading it on to the jukebox. He wrote songs that have orchestrated our times, songs that are timely yet also timeless.

Joan Baez, Dylans sometime girlfriend and his foremost interpreter, puts it well: His gift with words is unsurpassable.... No songs have been more moving and worthy in their depth, darkness, fury, mystery, beauty, and humor than Bobs.

Liz Thomson prepared the restored edition of Robert Sheltons No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan (BackBeat, 2011).
MOLINE  Four Quad-Cities-area Mediacom employees earned the companys top customer service awards and were honored by the companys founder and CEO Rocco Commisso during an awards ceremony recently at Mediacoms Regional Field Operations Center in Moline.

Kendra Helfter, of Moline, received a national gold-level award and was named Unsung Hero. She was cited for outstanding work and dedication to customers and co-workers. She also was one of 32 employees across the company to earn recognition in the category of a silver award.

Amy Baylor, of Rock Island, was named "Customer Service Representative of the Year" for the Illinois region.

Iris Mazzarollo, of Rock Island, was awarded the Outstanding Payment Center Sales Award.

Stacey Olvera, of East Moline resident, received the Call Center Employee of the Year Award.

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S., serving about 1.3 million customers in smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.
A Davenport man pleaded not guilty Wednesday in connection with the Sept. 1 death of a construction worker.

Sebon Cordell Reese, 19, of 1330 W 3rd St., is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of homicide by vehicle, a Class C felony. He also faces one count of eluding, a Class D felony, and one count of child endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor, court documents say.

The fatal incident occurred near Blue Grass shortly after 10 a.m. on Highway 61, according to a complaint filed Sept. 2.

An officer recorded Mr. Reese's vehicle traveling 90 mph in a 65 mph speed zone, according to the complaint. The officer said she could not catch up to Mr. Reese's vehicle, even while traveling over 100 miles per hour in her squad car.

The vehicle continued north toward an area marked as a construction zone with the right lane closed. It attempted to pass a vehicle on the left gravel shoulder, veered right into the open left lane and into the coned off area, where it struck Willie Nathaniel Holley, 62, who was working as a flagger holding a stop/slow sign. Mr. Holley was transported to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Throughout the incident, Mr. Reese had in the back seat of the vehicle a 1-year-old girl who was injured in the collision, according to the complaint. Mr. Reese had also violated his Scott County probation at the time of the incident.

Mr. Reese waived his right to a formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty, court documents indicate. His jury trial is set for Nov. 14 at the Scott County Courthouse, with a pretrial conference set for Nov. 4.
Some are American by birth; others are American by choice.

U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow on Friday morning congratulated 51 new American citizens from 20 different countries for making that choice.

About 150 people watched the naturalization ceremony that featured an oath of citizenship and the pledge of allegiance at the U.S. District Courthouse in Rock Island. Also included were personal remarks from Judge Darrow and Rock Island Arsenal Command Sergeant Major Myris C. Callwood.

Ms. Callwood told the new citizens she understood the sacrifices they had made to become citizens because she went through the same process in 1983.

"You now have the opportunity to provide service to your country," Ms. Callwood said, "and the responsibility ... to be law abiding citizens."

Congratulatory letters were read on behalf of Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill. President Obama provided a welcome via a video recording.

John Brown of the Rock Island County Clerk's Office encouraged new citizens to take advantage of the opportunity they would soon have to vote. Although Illinois voter registration closed Oct. 11, grace period registration is still available. After the ceremony Mr. Brown was available to talk to people about how they could make use of this option.

New citizen Marie Murara called Friday "a special day" because she felt eager to participate in the coming election.

"I feel like I want to give my vote," she said.

Ms. Murara came to the United States in 2008 as a refugee from Rwanda. She now lives in Moline and is attending Western University.

Another new citizen, Miguel Cortez, said he looked forward to the new opportunities he would have as a citizen.

Mr. Cortez is from Mexico and came to the United States in 2011 to marry his wife. The Moline couple has a daughter, and Mr. Cortez works as a forklift driver and attends Blackhawk Community College.

Mr. Cortez said he felt inspired during the ceremony and knew that now, he would have to "respect this country as (his) country."
ROCK ISLAND -- Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day. So why not be Scottish on Reformation Sunday?

South Park Presbyterian Church, at 1501 30th St., will give everyone a chance to be a Scot for a day when it hosts its first "Kirkin' of the Tartan" service at 10 a.m. Oct. 30. For details, call 309-786-6466.

Church pastor the Rev. David Esche has his kilt ready to wear and said he has sample tartan patterns for people to choose from if they don't have their own "colors." Traditional tartans were developed from weaving specific designs and using colors based on local herb dyes.

Traditional tartans were developed from weaving specific designs and using colors based on local herb dyes. Scottish descendants are welcome to wear their own tartan clothes, ties, sashes and kilts.

"If you do not have a Scottish clan, you may adopt one for the day," Rev. Esche said. Paper versions of tartans also will be printed out for "Scottish wannabees," he said.

"'Kirking' comes from the Gaelic word 'Kirk,' which means 'church' and, in this usage, means 'blessing,'" said Rev. Esche. "It's a blessing of tartans. honoring the Scottish Heritage of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S."

Kirkin' services are largely a Scottish-American custom, he said.

"The Rev. Peter Marshall, of Coatbridge, Scotland, was pastor of New York Avenue Pastor Church in Washington, D.C., and served as chaplain of the U.S. Senate," Rev. Esche said. "He is believed to be the originator of the tradition in the early 1940s."

In the mid-18th century, the English parliament and monarchy banned Scottish clans from wearing kilts and tartans and banned weapons, he said.

"Legend has it that clansmen would carry small pieces of tartan cloth to the church, and the clergymen would slip a blessing into the service," Rev. Esche said. "In the present day celebration, we celebrate patriotism, faithfulness and the strong independence of our Scottish heritage."

In the World War II era, Rev. Marshall used the tradition to encourage Scots to enlist and fight on behalf of Great Britain.

The Oct. 30 service will begin with three bagpipe players from the Black Hawk Pipes and Drums of the Quad Cities leading a processional. Worship liturgy and music will be traditionally Scottish.

Rev. Esche said he led Kirkin' services when he served Geneseo and Galesburg churches. Bagpipers played at South Park Presbyterian Church last year, "but the Kirkin' of the Tartans is a different animal altogether," he said, designed to help the congregation get in touch with its history.

"The church is in a transitional time," he said. "There are things the congregation needs for its future, and what it may need could be based in their past.

"We remember ancient time, as well as the more recent past, while asking for God's help and blessing in the future."
Today

--Two Rivers United Methodist Church, 1820 5th Ave.: noon, free meal, every Saturday.

Sunday, Oct. 23

--Union Congregational Church, 1811 53rd St., Moline: 4-6 p.m.: "Trunk or Treat;" in YMCA Spirit, Mind and Body parking lot; Noah's Ark theme; 309-797-4553

---Trinity Lutheran Church, 1330 13th St., Moline: 4-6 p.m.; "Trunk of Treat;" hot dog dinner in church's Faith Hall; candy handed out in parking lot.

Monday, Oct. 24

--Lifetree Cafe: 6 p.m.; "Dealing With Difficult People -- Secrets for everyday life from a hostage negotiator;" Coffee Hound, 3537 Archer Drive, East Moline.

Tuesday, Oct. 25

--St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 Brady St., Davenport: 7 p.m.; National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, Family to Family program panel discussion about the importance of education and support for families when a loved one experiences a mental illness; sponsored by the church's Mental Awareness Team; namigmv.org.

Saturday, Oct. 29

--OBB and KJ52 "The Revive Tour": 6 p.m.; Second Reformed Church, 703 14th Ave., Fulton; Ryan Dail and Hannah Rose also perform; for $5 tickets, call 815-441-5453; first 50 tickets sold get a VIP question and answer session with the bands before the show; sponsored by Awesometown and Pizza Ranch.

Monday, Oct. 31

--First Christian Church, 1826 16th St., Moline: 5-7 p.m.; "Trunk or Treat;" hot dogs, hot chocolate, candy; 309-762-8889.

Satuday, Nov. 5

--Hope United Church of Christ, 3324 41st St., Moline: 5 and 6:30 p.m.; candlelight pork chop dinner; pork chop, vegetables, potato, salads, desserts and beverage; $13 per person; make reservations by calling 309-517-1496 by Saturday, Oct 30.

Nov. 12

--Zion Lutheran Church, Princeton, Iowa: 4:30-7 p.m.; 12th annual Harvest Feast; Princeton Community Center, 428 River Drive; beef stew, apple sauce, cold slaw and a variety of breads, desserts and drinks; $8 adults; $4 for children; free for kids younger than 5; 6 p.m. live auction; silent auction items also available.
MOLINE -- Christ Anglican Church wants to harp on the importance of supporting young musicians.

So they've added one to its annual pork chop dinner.

Veronica Henderson, 17, a Bettendorf harpist, will entertain guests Oct. 29, at the church's "Pork Chop and Focus on Young Musicians Dinner." The event starts at 6 p.m. at 1717 8th Ave., Moline. The $12.50 tickets can be bought from church members or by calling 309-762-6022.

The menu includes pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, dinner rolls and desserts. Money raised will support church school educational materials and youth activities.

"Through the centuries, the church has encouraged and nurtured young musicians, said church rector Canon Ed den Blaauwen. "We are continuing that tradition in this event."

Miss Henderson is glad they are.

"It will be nice to get a chance to play for a different audience," she said. "It will be nice to branch out."

Miss Henderson said she plans to play some "Amazing Grace-like stuff" for Christ Anglican's dinner guests, and some patriotic tunes.

Miss Henderson has played often at St. Vianney's Catholic Church in Bettendorf, the Quad City Symphony and at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, where she is a junior and a two-time All-State harpist selection. She also performs at weddings, such as a family one last weekend in Minnesota that required her parents, Jenny and Jim Henderson, to haul her harp on a 12-hour round trip.

She's come a long way in four years, from learning "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on a mini-harp her parents bought her as a Christmas present to mastering the full-size symphonic harp.

"One of my favorite things about playing the harp is that it's unique," she said. "No other instrument has the same tone quality."

She said the most common question from friends is, "Don't you wish you would have chosen the piccolo instead?"
GENESEO -- Youth and adults at the First Lutheran Church are at war -- a friendly war between the generations to see who can collect the most canned food and nonperishable items for the Geneseo Food Pantry.

The church's October focus is to scare away hunger, according to Mary Jo Brummet, director of communications and operations at the church.

Church members are reaching out in many directions to tackle that goal. Youth members include kindergarten through 12th-grade students, with K-6 students encouraged to take nonperishable food items with them to Faithtime, the weekly after-school program at the church.

Seventh- and eighth-graders in confirmation and 9th through 12th high school youth groups are encouraged to donate each week, Mrs. Brummet said. They also will be participating in the upcoming Boo-4-Food service project later in the month.

To conclude the project, youth in seventh through 12th grades and their friends are invited to participate in the Boo-4-Food night of fun and service, she said.

At that event, planned for 6-7 p.m. Oct. 26, youth will dress in costume and visit homes trick-or-treating for canned goods and nonperishable food items for the Geneseo Food Pantry. They also will gather for fellowship, special treats and prizes.

October also includes World Hunger Weekend, Oct. 22-23, at the church, 114 E. Main St. The Rev. Robin Brown, Chicago, associate director of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America World Hunger, Congregational Support, is scheduled to speak about the group's Hunger Appeal.

An offering will be taken at each of the three worship services: 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Mrs. Brummet said the church is fighting hunger in many different ways to continue its efforts in doing Gods work in Christs name for the life of the world.
If you are conflicted on whom to vote for president on Nov. 8, I encourage you to cast your vote for Independent candidate Evan McMullin.

Mr. McMullin is a registered write-in candidate in 34 states, including Illinois, so voters must write in his name on their ballot. In Iowa, and 10 other states, Mr. McMullins name will appear on the ballot.

Evan McMullin, age 40, describes himself as an Independent conservative alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties nominees. His candidacy is supported by the organization Better for America and super PAC Stand Up America.

He is a former chief policy director in the US House of Representatives. He worked for the CIA as an undercover operations officer from 2001-2011, and is a former investment banker. He holds pro-life views. He believes in traditional marriage between a man and woman, but respects the recent Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage.

McMullin is pro-free trade, wants to keep Guantanamo Bay prison open, supports border security but not mass deportation, and he supports the Republican House tax reform plan. While McMullin agrees with the provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that covers pre-existing conditions, he believes our country needs to do better than ObamaCare.

Please write-in and vote for Independent candidate Evan McMullin for president.

Ginny Appelbaum,

Colona
Hillary Clinton states that it is a "right" for immigrants and refugees to come into our country. This is inaccurate and not a true statement. It is a privilege and an honor.

The U.S. government admits individuals only after a thorough screening abroad to ensure they meet the legal definition of a refugee and they in no way pose a national security or health threat to the U.S.

It is critical that only those refugees who believe in our Constitution, embrace American values, a tolerant American society, and expect to flourish in our country will be considered for a visa. They must not sympathize with extremist groups or support bigotry.

The Democratic Party platform encourages an open door policy. The Republican platform opposes any form of amnesty for those who have entered illegally and cannot be carefully vetted, specifically those whose homelands have been a breeding ground for terrorism.

Hillary Clinton said on May 16, 2013, "Let's bring 600 million Southern Hemisphere immigrants to America." This would include many undesirables, convicts, drug lords and their cartels and others.

Clinton also states we need to bring into this country 117,000 immigrants in 2017 (550 percent increase.)

Terror related deaths in the United States have risen 800 percent since 2010. Obama/Clinton foreign policy has encouraged the rise of terrorism according to former Clinton adviser Dick Morris.

John Kirby, administration state department official, recently stated, "We are not performing an adequate task of vetting immigrants."

It is obvious from that a change in Washington is greatly needed.

Dr. Ken Heinze,

Milan
Why is it that common sense nowadays is not so common? Because parents today lack

common sense, their children also are lacking common sense. Some parents may have common sense, but fail to pass it on to their children.

One evidence of the lack of common sense among both adults and children is in regard to a very emotional day, 9/11. Because this event happened 15 years ago, the generation of freshman and below is learning about it as a past event that happened before they were born.

It would be common sense for schools to teach about 9/11 as it happened, and who did it, and why, right? Apparently not, because some schools in our twisted school system of today do not think that is right.

Because teachers are so caught up in not hurting anyone's feelings or offending anyone, they fail to teach that Muslim extremists did this because they hate America and wish to see it fall. Instead, some teachers are actually teaching that it was America's fault! Ridiculous!

Where has common sense gone? It was NOT America's fault, we were targeted and attacked by Muslim extremists who wished to see America fall! Teach it how it is!

I do not care if it offends anyone or if anyone's feelings are hurt, because that is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Parents, I implore you, please teach the youth the real truth about 9/11 and make common sense more common.

Xavier Pena,

Moline
Because YOU can't be in Springfield for every vote your state legislators take, you need to choose a representative whose values, preparation and thoughtfulness make them more likely to make wise decisions on complicated matters.

Mike Halpin is a leader with a track record of success and a dedicated commitment to working families.

Halpin supports equal pay for women. His opponent is scrambling to sell our safety for an NRA endorsement. Halpin came out against a tax on pensions. His opponent's primary backer, Bruce Rauner, proposes plans to push thousands of seniors out of Assisted Living.

Halpin knows tough choices need to be made to get Illinois moving forward again, including overhauling property taxes as the base for education funding. We need someone smart and creative at the table when that conversation comes around.

By contrast, Mike's opponent signed a pledge never to consider any sales or income tax increases, even though every expert (including Jim Nowlan, who writes in The Dispatch-Argus) agrees that one or both is/are needed to meet the needs of our schools. His opponent already has closed her mind to what may be the smartest path forward.

Mike Halpin is the smart choice for state representative for kids, for seniors, for the majority!

Carla Kelly,

Rock Island
Duraflame Portable Stove Heater w/Handle & Flame Effect is rated 4.3 out of 5 by 341 .

Rated 5 out of 5 by Eden_Sweden from Best Product Purchased from QVC By far, this is the best product I have purchased from QVC. It is everything that was described about this product. It is cool to the touch and heats the air about 6 or seven degrees higher. I got much use out of this portable heater this winter. I usually have my electric furnace set to 70 degrees F, but turned it back to 65. I use this portable heater in my living room and the heat output is very efficient. It not only heated my living room, but also my dining room and part of my kitchen. When I have my portable heater on my thermostat (set to 65) usually registers about 70/71 degrees F and my furnace hardly kicks on; therefore, saving me some money on my electric bill. The heater itself is light-weight, but doesn't tip over easily. I have had my portable heater since Dec 2016 and it has not tipped over once! Even with my two cats chasing each other and bumping into it, it didn't tip. Overall, I'm very pleased with this portable heater. It is worth the money and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to stay warm.

Rated 5 out of 5 by gmccoy from small but mighty I absolutely love the compact size in comparison to the large amount of heat generated by this stove. I love that I can carry it from room to room. I bought the gray which is beautiful. The video presentation is what sold me!

Rated 5 out of 5 by nanny62 from Works Great! For a small heater packs a punch! Heats up so fast loved t to warm my feet up lol

Rated 3 out of 5 by marilyn58 from Takes a lot of energy. Got my electric bill because thought I was using less with this product, got my bill it shot up 500.00, called PG@E, they stated that these heaters are meant to be used only a few hours a day, and I was better off using my central heat, so very disappointed in how much energy it uses,

Rated 5 out of 5 by UlrikeO from Cute and Effective I ordered 5 of these as Christmas gifts. They are the best!

Rated 5 out of 5 by LaneyM from I love it! I have two of these, I keep one in my bedroom and the other in by my chair in my den. I can keep the main heat turned down and save on electricity.

Rated 2 out of 5 by faithalone from It makes a noise... I still have them, I had to keep them to keep my kids rooms warm. But I will not buy this again, or recommend. I don't like the fact that it does not have a remote or a timer. You have to keep going back to turn it off or on, or low or high. :) It takes a while to warm up a very small room. I might sell them in the summer, and try and find something better with a remote and timer.
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More Telemundo Spanish-language series and telenovelas are about to land on Netflix on a worldwide scale, although the newest ones will be exclusive to Latin America.

El Chema, Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso and Guerra de Idolos will premiere exclusively on Netflix Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil, and will be available later in Spain and the US.The extension of the deal between both companies also includes multi-territory on-demand rights for series like La Reina del Sur and soap operas like Pasion de Gavilanes.The extension of the Netflix-Telemundo agreement arrives shortly after Mexicos Televisa decided to remove its entire content catalogue from the SVOD platform.These new deals with our partners at Netflix will allow both companies to continue to grow in the SVOD market and provide even greater international and domestic exposure to our content, said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.What is most exciting is that Netflix members will enjoy Telemundos latest and most anticipated series like El Chema and Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso exclusively on Netflix, added Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer.
The Hill, October 19, 2016

By Rebecca Kheel

The number of children killed or injured in the war in Afghanistan is on the rise, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is deeply concerned by the continuing increase in child casualties, which have risen year-on-year since 2013, the report says.

From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 639 children were killed and another 1,822 were injured, according to the report. Thats a 15 percent increase from the same period in 2015.

More than half of the child casualties were caused by ground engagements.



In this Oct. 12, 2016, file photo, Farishta, 8, receives treatment after a militant attack on a Shiite shrine, the night before in Kabul, Afghanistan. UNAMA says in its third quarter report that out of a total of 2,461 childrens casualties that the mission documented in 2016, there were 639 deaths and 1,822 wounded. Thats a 15 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2015. (Photo: Rahmat Gul/AP) In this Oct. 12, 2016, file photo, Farishta, 8, receives treatment after a militant attack on a Shiite shrine, the night before in Kabul, Afghanistan. UNAMA says in its third quarter report that out of a total of 2,461 childrens casualties that the mission documented in 2016, there were 639 deaths and 1,822 wounded. Thats a 15 percent increase, compared to the same period in 2015. (Photo: Rahmat Gul/AP)

Children were also a large percentage of the overall number of civilians killed or injured by unexploded ordnance, which claimed a total of 510 civilian casualties.

Eighty-four percent of victims from unexploded ordnance were children, Danielle Bell, UNAMA human rights director, said in the report. All parties must systematically track, mark and clear unexploded ordinance in order protect current and future generations of children from harm.

In all, 2,562 civilians were killed and 5,835 were injured in the first nine months of the year, according to the report. Thats a 1 percent decrease from the same period last year.

Anti-government forces such as the Taliban were responsible for 61 percent of the casualties, while pro-government forces were responsible for 23 percent.

The rest of the casualties were either jointly attributed because they happened during ground fighting where it was hard to tell exactly which side was responsible, or were attributed to unexploded ordnance of unknown origin.

The number of casualties from anti-government forces was a 12 percent decrease from the same period last year, but UNAMA continued to document illegal or indiscriminate attacks from those forces.

Notwithstanding these decreases, attacks conducted by anti-government elements directly targeting civilians or in areas with a large civilian presence continued, the report said. UNAMA recorded attacks intentionally targeting peaceful civilian demonstrators, educational facilities, judicial and media workers, as well as attacks conducted in civilian-populated urban areas including bazaars and religious facilities.

For example, UNAMA documented 75 attacks targeting education. The report also highlighted the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria's attack on a peaceful protest in Kabul in July, which killed 85 people in the deadliest single attack in the capital since 2001.

Meanwhile, civilian casualties from pro-government forces increased 42 percent from last year.

UNANA also noted a rise in the number of casualties caused by pro-government airstrikes, which killed 133 civilians and injured 159. Thats a 72 percent increase from last year. One-third of this years airstrike casualties were caused by international forces, which would include the United States.

UNAMA commended the Afghan government for approving a national policy on civilian casualty mitigation but said more work needs to be done to implement the policy.

There is an urgent need for the government to implement the National Civilian Casualty Prevention and Mitigation policy, Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of UNAMA, said in the report, and for anti-government elements to cease the use of indiscriminate and illegal devices and tactics.
The Diplomat, October 21, 2016

By M. Ashraf Haidari

The world annually celebrates Refugee Day in late June, an event that helps raise awareness about the plight, courage, and resilience of the worlds refugees. By contrast, internally displaced persons have no day of their own. It is time for this discrepancy to change.

There is often little difference in the level of suffering experienced by refugees and IDPs. The only distinction between the two groups is that one  refugees  crosses an international border in attempting to flee hardship and danger, while the other  IDPs  moves inside the country where strife and/or socioeconomic privation exists.

The difference between an IDP and a refugee is defined by international law. The 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees provides for the protection and welfare of refugees outside their country of origin in states party to the convention. Thus, to be considered a refugee, one must cross an international border. Since IDPs do not cross borders, they have been deprived of many of the rights granted to refugees under international law.

Throughout the Cold War era, the international community caved into the ideological proxy politics of the Western and the Communist blocs, and considered the problem of IDPs a sovereign issue to be dealt with internally. Even in the years following the end of the Cold War, the international community continued to treat IDPs as an internal problem. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly apparent that many displaced persons fleeing economic and political upheaval either have been unable to escape abroad, or have been prevented from crossing international borders. These people nevertheless were deserving of international protection in their countries of origin.

This realization eventually led to the drafting of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1988, which defines IDPs as groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.

Unfortunately, Afghan IDPs have undergone every one of the above hardships over the past four decades. There are now more than 1.2 million IDPs across Afghanistan, many of them living in deplorable conditions. Yet aid organizations have avoided setting up camps for the IDPs, fearing that more battle-affected people would flock to the camps for assistance. While this may be a legitimate concern, IDPs, who are exposed to extreme danger in the restive south, east, and north of Afghanistan, deserve immediate assistance. Inaction is certain to encourage the Taliban and their criminal allies to recruit among the internally displaced people, who are desperate to ensure the basic survival of their families.

The story of Mohammad Azam Nawabi, an IDP in southern Afghanistan, is a prime example of the complex challenges facing IDPs. Nawabi told AlertNet, We left our homes because of insecurity and now we are leaving this camp because of the same problem. Another IDP, Sahib Jan, added, There is no water, no health clinic, no doctor, no school, and no job for us in the camp How can people live here? And an IDP in Kabul, Raz Muhammad, recently complained to Amnesty International, Food is a luxury here, no one can afford it. We mostly live off bread or spoiled vegetables from the market.

It is common sense that most IDPs, like refugees, need protection from ongoing conflicts and deserve to live free from the fear of persecution. As Afghanistans National IDP Policy, adopted in 2014, recommends, if local integration is the right solution, IDP families must be assisted to settle legally, find jobs, and receive basic services such as clean water, electricity, education and healthcare. Or if return to their areas of origin is the best option, they must be helped to reintegrate on a sustainable basis in order to prevent their displacement again.

A multitude of national and international humanitarian organizations operate in Afghanistan with a mandate to alleviate the suffering of war-affected civilians, including IDPs. Among others, the Afghan Red Crescent (ARC), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and World Food Program (WFP) possess the resources but should initiate collaboration with Afghanistans Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and the National Disaster Management Authority to ease the plight of IDPs. Indeed, aid priority must be given to those groups of vulnerable Afghans, including women and children, who have recently been driven from their areas of origin due to ongoing conflicts.
STANFORD  Economic forecasts for 2017 project continued frailty in the global economy, and subpar growth for most countries and regions. Obvious economic problems include Europes weak banks, Chinas distorted property market, political uncertainty in the West, historically high private and public debt  225% of GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund  and the reluctance of heavily indebted Greece and Portugal to comply with IMF programs.
Governor Cuomo may have signed legislation on Friday making it illegal for New Yorkers to advertise entire apartments on Airbnb for less than 30 daysbut the law is complaint-based, meaning landlords with illegal listings will only be punished if the city manages to find out about them.

On its face, the new legislation may seem like a ban on short-term rentals, but that ban was already in place. The most recent legislation prohibits advertising these listings, which are already illegal in and of themselves.

"Under the State Multiple Dwelling Law, it was already illegal to rent out an entire apartment in a residential building with three or more units for less than 30 days, unless the primary resident is presesnt," Senator Liz Krueger told Gothamist via email. "That continues to be the case. As for what has changed now that the Governor has signed the new bill, I would say this: if you weren't breaking the law yesterday, you're not breaking the law today."

A staffer from Senator Krueger's office told Gothamist that the new legislation gives the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, which responds to complaints of illegal hotels and issues fines, "an extra tool in their belt to prove you're breaking the existing laws. They can look on Airbnb and see evidence that you're breaking the law."

As was the case before, the OSE issues fines on a complaint-only basis, meaning they won't be scouring Airbnb's thousands of listings to look for possible illegal hotels. However, now they're able to issue fines directly to whoever is posting the listingunder previous legislation, the building's landlord would be fined and issued a violation even if a tenant was responsible for the listing. Unfortunately for the city, this means serial Airbnb landlords won't necessarily be caughtat least not until someone turns them in. Legislators hope steep fines will prevent landlords from illegally advertising apartments, but the law is more punitive than prohibitive.

"Despite these new rules, the majority of Airbnb listings are legal in New York City and New Yorkers remain free to list their home on our platform," Airbnb spokesperson Peter Schottenfels told Gothamist.

"Our concern with this bill has always been that it exacerbates an existing problem: New York law fails to distinguish between everyday New Yorkers who occasionally share their home and commercial operators who remove permanent housing from the market," Schottenfels said.

Schottenfels added that Airbnb has always asked users to follow local regulations, but the current law is "confusing to most New Yorkers and there is no way it can be reflected on the platform."

However, a staffer from Senator Krueger's office told Gothamist that OSE inspectors are able to distinguish between legal and illegal listings once a complaint has been made.

As promised, Airbnb responded to the legislation with a lawsuit and have hired Gibson Dunn, a firm responsible for giving a voice to the voiceless. Just kidding! Partners from Gibson Dunn are best known for covering for Chris Christie in Bridgegate, fighting New York State over its new $15 minimum wage, and representing Dubya in the 2000 Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Case.
The Trump campaign has announced that the candidate will deliver a major speech in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, October 22. He will present his closing arguments for American voters, outlining the steps he will take in his first 100 days to make America great again.

I hope it's his best speech yet.

For all his gaffes and misstatements, the fact is this: The race is not over until it's over. (Even when he means it's over.)

So, as Trump heads into his Gettysburg address, I want to emphasize what he should replay from last week's debate, and what he needs to emphasize more.

I'll begin with where Trump shined in Las Vegas: His support of a ban on late-term partial-birth abortion was a heaven-sent gift from God.

Trump's opposition to abortion, in general, is a wonderful thing. So is his pledge to nominate pro-life judges, and his related idea that if pro-life judges overturn Roe v. Wade, that's fine. Send abortion back to the states where it started.

So I sincerely hope that in Gettysburg, just as President Lincoln defended the ending of slavery, Trump continues to defend the life of the unborn.

And I hope he contrasts his position with that of Hillary Clinton, who would permit abortions even in the ninth month -- an un-American, anti-ethical stance that is meant to curry favor with left-wing women's groups.

Next, on the economy, which is the number-one issue this campaign, Trump has some expanding to do.

In last week's debate, he briefly set forth his business tax cuts. But in the face of Hillary's left-wing, "trickle down" critique of tax cuts for investors and the rich, he didn't make the sale.

Instead, he veered off the tax-cut course, launching a tirade against Germany, Japan, South Korea, NATO, and Saudi Arabia for not paying enough to shoulder the U.S. defense umbrella. He let Hillary off the hook.

He did commendably suggest that the U.S. could grow at 4, 5, or even 6 percent, and that growth is the ultimate solution to reducing our deficit and debt burden. And he did restate his pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare.

But relentlessly hammering on the details of the economic rejuvenation of America will win this thing, if only he'll get down to it.

So for Gettysburg and beyond here are a few simple points that Trump should make -- over and over and over again.

Reduced marginal tax rates on individuals and business fosters growth every time. So why not point to the tax-cut successes of Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Ronald Reagan? They reached across the aisle to create nonpartisan tax-cut coalitions that succeeded in launching booms of 4 to 5 percent.

And why not remind voters that Bill Clinton, after raising income taxes in his first term, which resulted in slower growth, aligned himself with Republicans to slash the capital-gains tax by 30 percent, resulting in a late-90s economic boom?

Without rancor and with civility, these presidents rejuvenated American prosperity. That's the art of the deal.

Trump should also attack Hillary's class-warfare tactics. Research overwhelmingly shows that the biggest gainers from steep business-tax reduction -- such as 15 percent down from 40 percent for large and small businesses -- are middle-income wage earners.

Yes, in a highly progressive tax code, successful top-end earners benefit in dollar terms from across-the-board tax cuts. But Trump would slash middle-income tax brackets to 12, 25, and 33 percent. And he would double the standard deduction, slash the marriage penalty, and provide child health-care assistance. These are winners for the middle class.

Sell it, Mr. Trump.

Like this: "My tax cuts will put more money in your pocket. Hillary's trillion-dollar tax hikes will take money out. My plan will repatriate nearly $3 trillion in overseas cash for investment, jobs, and wages. America will become the best destination for global capital, and this investment will restore productivity to raise our standard of living."

He might also say: "It defies common sense that Hillary's trillion-plus-dollar tax hike will boost the economy, and that her multi-trillion-dollar spending will succeed where Obama's failed. She keeps talking tax hikes. Well, there she goes again."

He also might add: "Like JFK, Reagan, and Bill Clinton, we will once again have a strong and reliable King Dollar."

And in summation he can say: "I have a prosperity plan. My opponent has a recession plan."

In other words: Please be blunt, Mr. Trump. The economy is the key issue.

Working in a bipartisan manner, with Congress and the support of the American people, Trump can in fact make America great again.

Hillary's formula simply will not work.
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The New Yorker has been pretty clear about its feelings toward Donald Trump, as various covers show (if they only knew how apt the July 2015 "bellyflopping Trump" cover would be), so it's not surprising that the esteemed magazine is #WithHer. But in next week's issue, whose cover hypothesizes a possible Hillary Clinton swearing-in with Bubba at her side while Trump's inauguration would have Vladimir Putin, the Talk of the Town section will be dedicated to an endorsement of Clinton.

Rachel Maddow broke the news last night, reading an excerpt from next week's issue:

On November 8th, barring some astonishment, the people of the United State will, after two hundred and forty years, send a woman to the White House. The election of Hillary Clinton is an event that we will welcome for its immense historical import, and greet with indescribable relief. It will be especially gratifying to have a woman as commander-in-chief after such a sickeningly sexist and racist campaign. On every issue of consequence, including economic policy, the environment, and foreign affairs, Hillary Clinton is a distinctly capable candidate: experienced, serious, schooled, resilient. Hillary Clinton's vision and temperament are the opposite of her opponent's. ... Her story is about walking through flames and emerging changed, warned and more determined. ... We wish that Clinton faced a worthy opponent: she deserves a less sullied, more substantive win. Electing a female President means imagining new possibilities: that a woman might survive that gauntlet of derision to hold power with confidence, without apology, to enlarge our notions of authority and hasten an age when a female President will no longer be exceptional. .. That's a thrilling possibility for all Americans.

The New Yorker has had some great features on the electionLarissa MacFarquhar's visit to West Virginia coal country is one, as is Ryan Lizza's profile on Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
For many college students, education is more than just a campaign issue. The cost of college and high school curriculums and standards can have longstanding effects on students' well-being and overall success in life. In a Red & Black/GLOBIS survey, approximately 84 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that loans would be a serious burden for currently-enrolled students.
Im supposed to wear this hat so Im in character," said Jim Barksdale, the Democratic candidate for Georgias U.S. Senate Race. And throughout the race, he has proven to be just that  a character.
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"Horrifying." "A disqualifier." "Political suicide."

Such were the breathless reactions as soon as Donald Trump came off a debate stage Wednesday night after finally combining a thorough demarcation of issue differences with a more cogent summation of Hillary Clinton's scandal tally.

Most analysts, even some who despise Trump, called it his best debate performance of the three. That is, except for "The Moment."

Moderator Chris Wallace, universally and deservedly hailed for even-handedness, asked Trump if he would absolutely accept the election night result, no matter what it may be.

For most of our history, that has simply meant: if you lose, will you concede? But the last few years have brought thick scatterings of voter fraud, and a few elections that may well have turned on it, from concerns about Al Franken's 2008 senate win to JFK beating Nixon in 1960 due to mischief in Illinois and Texas.

Throw in 2000, when Al Gore refused to accept the result until the U.S. Supreme Court informed him that Florida would not be permitted to rewrite election laws from its state judicial bench, and the narrative is set that Election Day can contain some twists that may not reflect truth at the stroke of midnight, or even beyond.

Trump said nothing more than "I'll let you know that night." This sparked a festival of hand-wringing and pearl-clutching as if the planet had spun out of its orbit.

The gasps suggested that this was some threat to the "peaceful transfer of power," central to our democracy for 240 years. What a crock.

The threat to democracy lies not in the occasional candidate who might want to see if there arises a razor-thin margin accompanied by the aroma of fraud, but in the thick notebook of cases featuring multiple voting, impostor voting, and my favorite, corpse voting.

Take care of those, and then everyone can climb on their high horses about someone daring to suggest our system may not be perfect.

Such observations are not an assault on our election system, or even an insult cast toward it. They are merely sober realization that people cheat, and that sometimes they succeed. Against that backdrop, it is not comforting to see activist judges knocking down Voter ID laws in Texas and elsewhere, on the absurd (and racist) premise that people of color cannot manage to get an ID with years of advance notice.

The whining about Trump's debate answer betrays more than just craven opportunism; it is also fairly ignorant. Has anyone met the man?

What could be more Trumpian than a refusal to dance to the usual tune? Anyone covering the campaign for more than a day should also know that if he had said, "Sure, I'll accept the result," the headlines would have read, "Trump admits defeat."

As it is, we are all talking about voter fraud, which was precisely what he wanted. The morning after the debate, he tweaked his tormentors even more. "I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election," he told an Ohio crowd. "If I win."

The CNN story chronicling that appearance said that claim "threatens to cast unprecedented doubt on the legitimacy of the electoral process." Oh, the humanity.

The electoral process is a human process. Today's doubts about it are not rare, and they are not an attack on our magnificent system, but rather on those who would pervert it with chicanery.

So everybody grow up, and let's spend the home stretch talking about actual issues, which Trump was doing with notable effectiveness Wednesday night, necessitating the concoction of this wildly hyped non-story.

Mark Davis is a radio host in North Texas and a special contributor to the Dallas Morning News. Email him at markdavisshow@gmail.com.
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Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks kingpin holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, can reboot his laptop all he wants. But he'll still get one of those infuriating "no connection to the Internet" messages flashing red across his screen.

That's because the Ecuadorean government, which has been hosting the fugitive Assange for more than four years, has cut off his Internet privileges.

Ecuador officials apparently feared they were being played as chumps in a purported WikiLeaks-Russian effort to meddle in the U.S. election via hacked emails involving Hillary Clinton. The U.S. has accused Russian intelligence of obtaining Democratic emails, possibly to tilt the election in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin's alleged BFF, Donald Trump.

Ecuador "does not interfere in external electoral processes, nor does it favor any particular candidate," according to an official government communique.

Bravo, Ecuador. This isn't about silencing Assange and suppressing his operation. It's about preventing the Ecuadorean embassy from doubling as headquarters for a Putin-Assange campaign to discredit Clinton.

For the record: Yes, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has said he prefers Clinton "for the good of the United States and the good of the world."

And now there's fresh evidence he may be fed up with his long-term house guest, Assange.

Since 2012, Assange has been sheltered by Ecuador from extradition to Sweden over allegations that he raped a woman there. Assange has also said he fears extradition to the U.S. on potential espionage charges.

Ecuadorean officials took pains to reaffirm their decision to shield Assange even as they cut off his Internet privileges. But The Washington Post reports that President Correa "is treating Assange like a bad tenant who won't leave."

Might want to start a web search for a new apartment, Mr. Assange  if your connection ever is restored.

The Ecuador government notes that muzzling Assange "does not prevent the WikiLeaks organization from carrying out its journalistic activities." Nor is it likely to slow the flow of leaked emails: The bulk of them appear to have come via the hacked email account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman and a former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton.

WikiLeaks accuses Secretary of State John Kerry of pressuring Ecuador's foreign minister to prevent Assange from releasing more Clinton emails. A U.S. State Department spokesman labeled the claim "simply untrue." If it were true, however, it would be one of the more effective moments in Kerry's tenure.

The big question remains: Is WikiLeaks colluding with Russia to tilt the election toward Trump?

Assange himself has minced no words in his preference for None of the Above. His reply to a British interviewer when asked if the hacktivist favored Trump or Clinton: "You're asking me do I prefer cholera or gonorrhea? Personally, I'd prefer neither."

There's no evidence of Russian-WikiLeaks collusion to influence the U.S. election, Nicholas Weaver, a researcher at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, tells The Wall Street Journal. But that doesn't mean we won't learn tomorrow of some conspiracy that remains unproven today. "Assange has made it very clear that he's willing to be a useful idiot for any intelligence service," Weaver says, "as long as it furthers his own agenda."

And don't forget, Assange and Putin have history: Russia Today, the state-run propaganda-centric television network, provided Assange airtime for a 10-part talk show series in 2012.

The Useful Idiot is now unplugged. Good.

This editorial originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers on Saturday announced that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena withdrew its threat to stall the screening.

Johar accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his home 'Varsha' in Mumbai on Saturday morning where Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, whose party has been opposing the release, was also present.

The MNS had threatened to disrupt the screening of the film as it features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

Johar has agreed to put a special mention in the beginning of the film paying homage to martyrs, a move to assuage sentiments in the country triggered by the terror attack on an army base in Uri that claimed the lives of 19 security personnel.

Producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios were also present in the meeting.

Bhatt told reporters that the meeting was "positive and constructive and 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' will release as per the schedule."

"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business," he said.

Bhatt said they have assured the CM that neither the Producers' Guild nor any filmmaker will work with any Pakistani artiste or technician in the future.

Also, the Guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on not working with Pakistani artistes. A copy of the same would be sent to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as well as the Chief Minister, he said.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing out in the screens. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

The makers of the film, slated to release on October 28, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the army welfare fund as demanded by the MNS.

Thackeray said the MNS laid down three conditions that filmmakers who worked with Pakistani actors have to comply with. These include a contribution of Rs 5 crore to the army welfare fund.

The Producers' Guild has agreed to the demand, Bhatt said.

After the meeting, Thackeray said, "I am told that all the three demands of MNS have been accepted by the producers. Before the beginning of the movie, a tribute should be offered at every screening to the jawans who were martyred in various terror strikes including recent Uri and Pathankot attacks.

"The producers should also put a blanket ban on Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians henceforth. Every producer, who has so far cast Pakistani actors, should give Rs 5 crore to the army welfare fund as an atonement. The producers should handover the cheque to the Defence Minister and make the photo public."

The trouble, however, is not completely over for Johar's film as Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India, which has presence in four states, has decided to stick to its stand of not screening the movie in their theatres.

"The stand we took earlier continues. The final stand will be taken by the executive committee on Monday. Maybe, the decision will not change even then as we are firm on our stand.

"Our stand was not according to MNS. The party sat with them and discussed the issue and sorted it out... Karan Johar should come to us and talk to us... There is always a solution," said Nitin Datar, who is the President of COEAI, told.

The association has presence in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka.

Johar earlier came out with an appeal where he declared his patriotism and promised that he will not cast talent from Pakistan.

Before Saturday's meeting Bhatt and a representative from Dharma Productions had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Capital on Thursday.

Johar also called on Fadnavis the same day after which the CM had assured support and security to ensure a smooth release.
In a statement that could increase the trouble for the SumHospital authorities further, Director General of Fire Service in Odisha, Binay Kumar Behera said the fire department was informed about the leaping flames 45 minutes after the incident.

We were informed about the fire incident about 45 minutes after the fire was detected in the dialysis ward of the hospital. Had they called the fire department immediately, the casualty would have been much less, Behera told reporters.

Seeking a special legislation to control fire in medical facilities and high-rise buildings, Behera said his department is not empowered to enforce the laws governing the fire safety measures in high-rise buildings, including hospitals and hotels.

Behera met top officials of the fire department from across the state in the wake of the Mondays fire tragedy at the private hospital in Bhubaneswar, which so far has claimed 23 lives.

The official said fire safety certificate is mandatory for all government and private hospitals.

But due to the lack of coordination between the authorities we still do not have a list of how many hospitals in the state are functioning without mandatory fire safety certificate, he added.

Behera said his department had repeatedly informed the appropriate agencies about the violators.

We can only complain but cannot file an FIR until a cognisable offence is made, Behera said, adding his department had filed an FIR in connection with the erring Bhubaneswar hospital.

He said his office has recently received more than 270 applications for issuance of no-objection certificate.

But we had to refer back at least 244 of those applications for inefficient fire safety measures, Behera informed.
Justifying his intervention in defusing the stand-off over Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the issue could be resolved because the producers guild and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena were on the same lines, expressing solidarity with the Indian Army.

"I do not think that what (MNS chief) Raj Thackeray was demanding and what the producers guild voluntarily offered was something different. The producers guild had already said that they had wholehearted support for the our army men and wanted to do something for them," Fadnavis said at a programme organised by a news channel.

Fadnavis had come under attack from the Congress and the Nationalist Congres Party for 'brokering' a truce between the producers and the MNS, with the opposition parties saying the state government's role is to

ensure rule of law and it was for the Centre to decide whether Paktisatni artists should be banned or not.

Expressing "shock" over the development, the Congress said Fadnavis had not only bowed down to the "high handed tactics" of the MNS, but made the state to bow before that party.

"The chief minister's responsibility is maintaining law and order. It was unconstitutional for him to mediate between the film producers and the MNS, which had threatened to block release of the film," state Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said in a statement.

"Banning artistes from across the border is a decision to be taken by the Centre. The demand for ban on Pakistani artistes should be made to the Centre," he said.

He said protecting the country's interest was part of the foreign policy, which falls under the ambit of the Centre. The state government's responsibility is to ensure law and order, till a decision to ban Pakistani artistes is taken by the Centre.

"When Ashok Chavan was the CM, Shiv Sena had created similar problems against the release of Shah Rukh Khan's 'My Name is Khan'.

"The Congress government at the time provided police protection to the movie and ensured there was no law and order problem. Congress showed it does not bow down to any pressure. Fadnavis showed that he was incapable of handling the pressure," Sawant added.

The NCP alleged that the "settlement" brokered by Fadnavis between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and film producers was a proof that BJP was "providing fuel to the MNS engine".

NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said the Chief Minister's job is not to broker settlement, but to ensure law and order.

"By making producers agree to contribute Rs 5 cr to the army welfare fund, Thackeray and Fadnavis have insulted the memory of martyred jawans," he said.

Hitting out at Thackeray, he said the MNS chief was known for never taking issues raised by him to their logical conclusion.

"It is now clear that BJP is providing fuel to MNS engine (the party's election symbol)," Malik said, adding in the Lok Sabha polls, MNS' strategy was to ensure BJP's victory and defeat Shiv Sena, he added.

Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers have announced that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' as the MNS withdrew its threat to stall the screening.

Johar, accompanied by Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt, met the Maharashtra Chief Minister at his home 'Varsha' on Saturday morning where Thackeray, whose party MNS has been opposing the release, was also present.

Asked why he gave so much importance to call and meet an outfit which forced producers to pay "hafta", Fadnavis said, "These two stakeholders needed a mediation and that's what I did and came out with an amicable solution."

Fadnavis said it was alright if a solution was found through a dialogue otherwise state machinery would have dealt it with iron hand against those who took law in their hands, like in previous cases, it has done.

"There is something called law and order, through which we have dealt it with accordingly," he said.

Earlier in the day, former Mumbai Police commissioner and BJP MP Satyapal Singh said the chief minister should not have called a political party to find the solution to such a problem.

"I think the CM could have dealt with this without inviting him (Raj Thackeray). He (Fadnavis) should have dealt this situation firmly," said Singh.

In a bid to downplay Singh's remark, Fadnavis said, "Satyapal ji has been police commissioner of Mumbai and as a police officer, this was his way to sort out the issues. While being a neta, it was my way to find an amicable solution."

"The Producers Guild said that when Pakistani actors were cast in the movie, situation was different and the government was trying to improve relations with Pakistan," Fadnavis said.

"However, given the current situation they have decided to pass a resolution to not promote or give work to any Pakistani artist in future," he added.

"They (Producers Guild) said that they'll give tribute to martyrs in the beginning of the movie, and they want to contribute to army welfare fund," said the chief minister.
Usually, children are christened by their parents and families.

But, for this little toddler, her name Vaibhavi came not from her parents or family, but from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bharat and Vibha Singh from a village in eastern Uttar Pradeshs Mirzapur district had written a letter to the PM asking him to suggest a name for their daughter. My wife Vibha in the letter mentioned that the PMs campaign for the girl child has been an inspiration and that two Indian girls had won medals in the Olympics, which is a moment of joy for the country, Bharat was quoted as saying.

He added that he sent the letter by speed post to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) on August 13.

And, surprisingly, two days later, Bharat received a call, he hadnt really expected.

Hello, main Narendra Modi bol raha hoon. Aapki patni Vibha Singh ka patra mila, aapko badhai, aapke ghar beti ayi hai. Is bachchi ka naamkaran Vaibhavi karein, isme mata evam pita dono ka naam hai (Hello, Im Narendra Modi. I received the letter of your wife Vibha Singh. Congratulations, you are blessed with a daughter. Name the girl Vaibhavi, as it contains the names of both the mother and father), Modi told Bharat on phone.

When contacted, PMO officials confirmed that the PM had sent such a letter to the couple.

Image: Bharat and Vibha Singh with their girl child Vaibhavi. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
A Pakistani spy was arrested from Jammu and Kashmirs Samba district for passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.

Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces was recovered from his possession.

Based on information received from Military Intelligence on involvement of one Bodh Raj of village Changiia of Jammu district for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces and army to Pakistan, a special search operation was launched in Ramgarh sector of Samba, Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Joginder Singh said.

During the search operation, Raj was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village close to the International Border and tried to escape on observing the movement of the police party, the SSP said.

Police chased him and later he was arrested, he said.

Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing deployment of forces, two Indian made mobile phones and one memory card besides Rs 1,711 were recovered from his possession, the SSP said.

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act, SSP said.

As per initial interrogation, he had made markings of various spots on the map and security agencies are jointly investigating the matter.

IMAGE: Pakistani spy Bodh Raj arrested in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. Photograph: PTI
Bullet proof vehicles were pressed into service on Friday night to evacuate over 400 people rattled by the sound of Pakistani mortar bombing and firing in border hamlets.

IMAGE: Jammu and Kashmir DSP inspecting the damage caused by shelling from across the LoC in Vidipur Jatta village of RS Pura sector. Photographs: PTI Photo

Border dwellers in Bobiya and adjoining hamlets in Hiranagar sector in Kathua district have been experiencing sleepless nights due to the intensified shelling and firing by Pakistani Rangers on October-20 and 21.

Police armed with bullet proof vehicles criss crossed the shell-hit hamlets particularly Bobiya on Friday night carrying loads of scared villagers. They were ferried to the camps setup by the district administration at

government higher secondary school in Hiranagar and another school at Chhan Khatrian.

"Due to heavy firing and shelling for two days and the fear psychosis among the border residents, we pressed into service bullet proof vehicles to evacuate them", Deputy Commissioner Kathua, Ramesh Kumar told PTI.

Over 400 people from IB hamlets were evacuated and shifted to the safer areas in camps set up by the government, the DC said.

"We have asked the authorities to ensure safety of the people as firing and shelling exchanges have increased. We don't want civilian to suffer", IG BSF Jammu Frontier, D K Uphadayaya said.

Deputy Commissioner, Kathua Ramesh Kumar and SSP Kathua Pawan Parihar village and joined the evacuation operation of 232 people.

They were accommodated in Government Higher Secondary school, Hiranagar while 145 people of Londi and Rajgrain Brahamana were lodged in Government Middle School, Chhan Khatrian. Some families had left for the houses of their relatives, DC said.

IMAGE: Parts of mortar shells found after heavy shelling from across the LoC in Manjakot Sector of Rajouri district in Jammu.

"We were very terrorised this time due to heavy shelling and firing by Pakistan", Manak Chand of Bobiya said at camp in Kathua.

Chand said, "The windows of our houses were shaking with the sound of mortar bombs and firing of heavy weapons. It as unbearable to stay in home after being witness to the two days of firing.

Like him, Sukho Devi migrated from the hamlet several times and this is another exodus from her border home.

"We have fled homes several times in the past few decades and before that in wars.It is now a routine for us as border people live in the jaws of deaths.You never know what is going to happen next moment," she adds.

Some people returned to their villages this morning leaving behind the elderly, women and children in migrant camps in Hiranagar because they have to take care of the harvest season.

"We were engaged in harvesting when Pakistani firing forced us to abandoned it.Even moving outside in open is now dangerous as Pakistani snipers and troops are awaiting to hit us", Sham Singh said.

The administration has once again put the Contingency Plan in place for the border migrants as shelling and firing also extended to Samba and Jammu.

IMAGE: Children show remains of mortar shells fired from across the LOC by Pakistan in village Panjgrain, Rajouri district in Jammu

The shelling and firing from Pakistan also took place in adjoining areas of Bobiya in Samba sector, Abdullian-Karotana-Bidipur in R S Pura and Nikowal in Pargwal sector of Akhnoor tehsil in Jammu district since Friday.

Bobiya was the same spot where BSF had on the intervening night of October 19 and 20 thwarted major infiltration attempt by six Pakistani militants killing one of them and injuring couple of others and forcing them to retreat.

There have been two incidents of sniping yesterday in which one Border Security Force jawan was critically injured.

Pakistan troops had violated the ceasefire six times on Friday.

The IG of Border Security Force Jammu Frontier, D K Uphadayaya said a befitting reply has been given to Pakistan firing and heavy losses have been inflicted to them.

In five ceasefire violations in the day, Pakistani troops targeted five sectors of R S Pura (Jammu), Hiranagar (Kathua), Samba, Pargwal (Jammu) along IB and Rajouri and Mendhar (Poonch) along LoC by resorting to small arms firing and mortar shelling resulting in serious injuries to a BSF jawan.
Using the analogy of surgical strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wondered what would have happened if the government had adopted similar strategy in the recent campaign against blackmoney, which unearthed Rs 65,000 crores.

"We gave some time to those who had generated black money (to declare it). You will be happy to know that Rs 65,000 crore in black money came into mainstream with payment of tax and penalty.

"Now think, Rs 36,000 crore that was leaking has been stopped (by direct benefit transfer), and Rs 65,000 crore of black money is unearthed, together it is Rs one lakh crore.

"And this Rs 1 lakh crore has been brought back without launching surgical strikes," Modi said, invoking the term used for recent operation by Army against terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

"If we do surgical strikes (in this area), you can imagine what all will come out," the prime minister said.

Modi said he has put up a sustained fight against corruption since he took charge.

"Against corruption, without much publicity I have put up a sustained fight. Government's assistance (now) goes directly in the bank accounts of beneficiaries, cutting out middlemen.

"Just by ensuring that right person gets the benefit and wrong person cannot take it, we have saved Rs 36,000 crore, which used to leak in the form of (subsidies for) gas cylinders, scholarship, pension," Modi said.

Modi, speaking at a camp to distribute 'assistive devices' to over 8,000 `Divyangs' (disabled persons) in Vadodara, also criticised past governments for not doing enough for the disabled.

After distributing aid devices to the disabled, the prime minister said, "Knowingly or unknowingly, this country has remained insensitive towards the Divyangs.

"The government buildings only had facility for healthy persons. We launched Sugamya Bharat mission, so that government buildings, hospitals, platforms are built in such a way that they have access facility for the Divyangs."

Previous governments did not do enough in this field, he said.

"Governments in the past had also worked in this direction. But you will be shocked to know that since 1992, when work started in this direction, till 2014, only 56 such camps (for distributing assistive devices) for Divyangs were organised. After this government came, 4,500 such programmes were held," Modi said.

"So far, 5.50 lakh Divyangs from across the country have been provided direct benefit.

"In the central government, I came to know that 16,500 posts for Divyangs were vacant. I told my Ministers to fill up these vacant posts. I can say with satisfaction that 14,500 such posts have been filled up," Modi said.

The PM also said his government had started work for having `common sign language', as at present different sign languages are used in different parts of the country.

Referring to the country's economic growth, he said India was a bright spot in the world.

"Today in the entire world, one thing about this country is being praised. The world says that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Be it World Bank, IMF or credit-rating agencies, the entire world says in one voice that India is developing very fast.

"Solution to all problems lies in development. Only through development can illiteracy, disease, poverty be removed," Modi said.

"Remember the days of 2014, or 2013, what were the headlines? They did this much (corruption) in coal, so much in spectrum. Since the time you gave me the responsibility, in two and a half years the news is (about) doing good for Divyangs, India's progress in world economy and development," Modi said.

Photograph: PIB
Richard Allen, suspect in Delphi teen slayings, led unassuming life

Five and a half years after two teen girls were slain, Delphi, Indiana resident Richard Allen has been arrested in the case. His community is shocked.
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By Loretta Fulton, Special to the Reporter-News

For someone whose only experience in agriculture was spending time on her grandparents' farm, Lisa Walker hasn't done bad for herself.

Friday morning, she picked up an Honorary American FFA Degree during the 89th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.

If it hadn't been for an assistant superintendent at a new school district who was insistent on having an ag program, Walker might not have gotten the award  or local and state awards before that.

"I never aspired to be an agriculture science teacher," Walker said.

No matter. Walker got the job at Sunnyvale High School, located east of Dallas near Mesquite after the woman who started the FFA chapter left the school.

Walker had hired on as a biology teacher, a subject she taught at Merkel High School for 27 years before leaving for the Sunnyvale district. She retired from teaching at the end of the 2015 school year, after eight years at Sunnyvale, and now lives in Abilene with her mother.

When the founder of the Sunnyvale FFA chapter left, Walker seemed like the logical choice to replace her  even if she didn't think so. What she inherited was a classroom full of kids who didn't look anything like the students in her classes at Merkel, or the ones she had grown up with in Breckenridge.

They were the children of wealthy professionals and came from places like Africa and India.

"They didn't even know what a mesquite tree was," Walker joked.

But before long, she had them involved in agriculture and all that goes with being an ag student in high school. That meant many weekends traveling to livestock shows.

"I became an ag teacher by fire," Walker said.

After one year of teaching ag, Walker told the superintendent he needed to hire someone with an agriculture science background so that the program could grow. She opted to go back to teaching biology, but also continued teaching advanced animal science courses.

The young man hired for the job, Spenser Adams, was just out of college and quickly became one of Walker's biggest fans. The two worked together for six years before Walker's retirement.

"I can't say enough about what I learned from her," Adams said in a phone interview Friday.

She taught him classroom management and how to set boundaries with students while also showing that he cared about them.

"Anytime I needed any sort of advice," Adams said, "I knew I could turn to Lisa."

In 2010, the ag students at Sunnyvale did the necessary paperwork to nominate Walker for the chapter award, given to a local chapter of FFA, which until 1988 stood for "Future Farmers of America." The name was changed to simply "FFA" to better reflect "the growing diversity in the industry of agriculture," according to the FFA website.

In 2013, students again did the background work to nominate Walker for the Honorary Lone Star Degree, a state award. And then, the crowning achievement came this year, even though Walker has been retired a year.

The students nominated her for the Honorary American FFA Degree, which was awarded Friday morning. Walker learned of the award from Adams, her replacement at Sunnyvale, who called shortly after the award was approved to let her know she needed to pack a bag for Indianapolis.

"I didn't have a clue about it," she said.

But she couldn't have been too surprised. When Walker retired, the Sunnyvale students wanted her to remember her ag teacher days. So they gave her a leather bag with a monogram that resembles Walker's cattle brand, including her "LAW" initials. They also gave her an FFA belt buckle.

"They just really went over the top," she said.

Now that Walker has retired, she is living in Abilene but visits the family farm in Stephens County. She graduated in 1975 from Breckenridge High School. Growing up, Walker was around agriculture, helping out on the farm, where horses, cattle, hay and oats were a common sight.

She thinks she may have picked up enough knowledge from that experience and from her ag teacher days to give agriculture a try on her own.

"I'll just see if I can raise a couple of cows," she said.
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By Loretta Fulton, Special to the Reporter-News

A notice about the upcoming 125th anniversary observance at Aspermont's First Baptist Church leaves no doubt about the emphasis of the day.

"Bring your memories and share them with us as we visit," the notice says. "Let's make this a great celebration."

Former pastors and members are invited to the celebration on Oct. 30. Sunday School will begin at 9:45 a.m., followed by worship at 11 and then a luncheon.

Larry Baker, interim pastor, will speak. Baker is director of the doctor of ministry program at Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University.

An exact day in 1891 for the church's founding isn't mentioned in a church history, but organizers of the anniversary celebration are hoping that Oct. 30 will turn out to be like the one described in the church history.

"On a bright, sunny autumn day, 1891," the history states, "a group of dedicated Christians, Baptist by profession, met for the organization of a Baptist Church in Aspermont."

J.J. Horn served as the first minister, from 1891 to 1893. He was followed by E.B. Featherston, minister from 1894 to 1911.

Before Horn and Featherston, the church was served by circuit riders like "Brother Ford and Brother E.B. Dawson," according to the church history.

"They were men of God," the history states,"who put their Bible in their saddle pocket and rode horseback throughout the country looking for towns and communities where they could proclaim the word of God to men, women, boys and girls who needed to hear the gospel."

Like many early-day churches, Aspermont's Baptist Church first met in the town's one-room schoolhouse. Members also met in the Presbyterian Church. In the early years, the church struggled with membership but by 1902, it claimed 28 members. That number reached 135 in 1905. During that time, the church constructed a small building for worship. The church has worshipped in several buildings since those early days.

A highlight of the church's history came in March 1955 when a $60,000 sanctuary and educational building was dedicated.

According to church history, approximately 450 people attended the dedication. Rupert N. Richardson, former president of Hardin-Simmons University, was guest speaker.
Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Physics teacher Cason Pyle puts compressed air into a rocket before it launches on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, at ACS.

SHARE Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Abilene Christian School 11th grader Jack Patterson (center) watches as his rocket blasts off on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, at ACS. Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Abilene Christian Schools 11th grader Jason Massey launches his rocket on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, at ACS.

By Carl Kieke of the Abilene Reporter News

There were few epic fails, but many "wow" shots when the Abilene Christian High School honors physics class launched rockets they had designed Friday at the school.

The 15 students even had a crowd of onlookers, as they were launching while some students were having their lunch break and came out to watch.

The launches are an annual highlight for Cason Pyle's class.

"This is the 'wow' factor when you get a rocket that stays in the air for 10 seconds," he said  following nine weeks of the "nerdy physics stuff." "The kids really latch onto that. It's the first thing they ask, when do we get to build those?"

Pyle teaches both honors physics and "regular" physics. Both classes build and launch rockets, with the "regular" class working in teams instead of individually.

The rockets consist of a plastic bottle body containing water. They are launched with air pressure.

The best launch sees a rocket go straight up and straight down, with plenty of altitude. A few followed the plan perfectly. Two or three lost fins or other parts at launch. A couple went back toward the school building, with Riley Fisher's banging off the walkway cover.

There will be two more launches next week, with students allowed to tweak their designs for better performance.

Constructing the rockets starts with a plastic bottle no larger than two liters, Fisher said.

"After that, it's a creative as you want to be. Any size bottle, any amount of water, any type of material to make fins.

"You have to balance the right amount of mass with the right amount of water. If it's too heavy, it won't fly very far or very fast. And if it's too light, it'll get caught by the wind and won't fly very far or very fast."

Ashlen Pamplin, one of four girls in the class, had one of the more successful launches. Students can make only one change before their next launch. What can be done to improve rocket performance?

"We can change only one variable at a time to see which one really helps the rocket go higher," she explained. "The angle of the fins, the weight distribution or amount of water to use."

Will this class become part of your career path?

"Maybe," she said after a pause. "I don't think I'm going to go into engineering or anything, but some people in this class are really looking forward to doing things like that."

Pyle admits his teaching style can be frustrating for the students, but he believes it helps them.

"When they ask a question, I answer with a question. 'What do you think about that? What did we talk about yesterday? How does this apply to this or that?'

"I'm a big fan of letting them figure it out. That's the meat of education, being able to take what you know and apply it to life.

"You hear kids becoming competitive, talking abut it and having a blast," Pyle said. "I'm glad they're living it up and having a blast."
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Today in history: On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announces that the Soviet Union has put nuclear missiles in Cuba and that the United States will blockade the island to prevent more. He also warned that an attack from Cuba would be an act of war and the U.S. would retaliate. Kennedy blasted the Soviets for trying to undermine world peace and brushed off a Soviet response that the missiles were there for defensive purposes. U.S. military forces were put on high alert.
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For strategic or other reasons, the United States may have been giving special treatment to major powers China, Russia, and India when evaluating their human trafficking record in a bid to avoid imposing sanctions on them, according to some American lawmakers and former government officials.



In a clash between priorities of national security and foreign policy on the one hand and human rights on the other, U.S. authorities have let even Uzbekistan off the hook apparently because of the repressive nation's cooperation in getting supplies to American troops in Afghanistan, they said.



As Washington assesses steps taken by governments across the world in combating human trafficking, allies Iraq and Thailand too have seen their potential ranking downgrades delayed while Vietnam has won a premature ranking boost allegedly due to strategic considerations, the legislators and ex-state officials charged at a U.S. congressional hearing last week.



The U.S. State Department gives rankingsfrom Tier 1 to Tier 3to more than 180 countries every year in its annual report on the state of human trafficking across the world, and the rankings are acclaimed as the international gold standard for anti-trafficking accountability.



Tier 1 countries are judged as fully meeting the minimum standards established by the law. Tier 2 nations may not fully comply with minimum standards, such as protection, prosecution, and prevention, but are seen to be making a significant effort to comply.



Those listed on the worst Tier 3 ranking are open to sanction by the U.S. government.



But much of the ranking controversy revolves around the second-lowest tierthe Tier 2 Watch List created a decade ago in a bid to encourage countries that take anti-trafficking steps late in the evaluation year, especially those countries that took last-minute measures to avoid a Tier 3 designation.



Some countries have exploited a loophole by, in the words of a lawmaker, "gaming the system"making a habit of last-minute efforts and failing to follow through year after year.



So, in 2008, a law was created for an automatic downgrade for any country that had been on the Tier 2 Watch List for two years but had not taken anti-trafficking measures significant enough to move to Tier 2.



The U.S. President can however waive a Tier 3 downgrade for two additional years if there is credible evidence that the country has a written and sufficiently resourced plan to meet the minimum standards.



Automatic downgrade



It has now been four years since the two-year limit, or four-years-with-a-waiver limit, was instituted and all eyes are on the State Department's 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) to be released in June with the new rankings.



Six nations face a potential automatic downgrade from Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 3 with possible sanctionsChina, Russia, Uzbekistan, Republic of Congo, Iraq, and Azerbaijan.



They have now had at least four full years of warning that they would face downgrade to Tier 3 if they did not make significant efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking.



"The 'parking lot' is now closed: The [U.S.] Administration can no longer avoid telling hard truths about politically sensitive countries by keeping them indefinitely on the 'Watch List,' which was not part of the original, three-tier structure established [under the law]," Ed Royce, Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told the hearing.



"If time-limited countries have not made significant efforts to comply with minimum trafficking standards, they must be downgraded to Tier 3 status," he said.



Another House lawmaker, Chris Smith, said that if the six countries "have once again failed to make significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, the State Department must downgrade them or risk undermining the credibility and demonstrated power of the TIP Report."



He said he is particularly concerned about China's human trafficking record, saying China has been on the Tier 2 Watch List for eight consecutive years but not been making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards of the law.



It also continues to forcibly repatriate North Korean trafficking victims who face severe punishment, including execution, upon return to their country, said Smith, a rights-crusading lawmaker.



'Pulls punches'



Mark Lagon, a former head of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons which publishes the annual global trafficking report, acknowledged that "at times" the department "pulls punches" with some countries.



He cited India, "the demographic epicenter of human trafficking in the world," saying the State Department upgraded it from Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2 in the June 2011 report in a move that "may have had even more to do with strategic relations with India than the merits."



Lagon, who was the head of the anti-trafficking office from 2007 to 2009, also said that he himself had "learned of a Tier 3 ranking being overturned by the very highest level of State Department leadership just days before" he was confirmed to his post.



The State Department declined to comment on the issues raised at the congressional hearing ahead of the publication of the annual human trafficking report in June.



"We can't comment on this year's country assessments before the 2013 TIP Report is released this summer," Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said in response to a query from RFA.



"State Department staff are working with a wide range of partners to ensure this year's narratives are thorough and take into account all available information," CdeBaca said.



Battles



Lagon also cited battles between diplomats and anti-trafficking experts within the State Department over the issue of labor camps in China.



A "sizable portion" of the world's 2.2 million victims of forced labor "compelled by governments, militaries, and armed groups" is represented by those political prisoners in the laogai, or reeducation through labor prison camps, in China, according to published data.



"Those responsible for East Asia in the State Department actually temporarily fought with the TIP Office when I was its director as to whether the laogaidocumented publicly in the annual Department Human Rights Report would be considered trafficking victims, as they are," he said.



Lagon, now an international affairs professor at Washington's Georgetown University, was particularly vocal about Uzbekistan's human trafficking record, describing it as "the most appalling case in the neighborhood of the former Soviet Union."



"Let me be plain: There are loud voices within the U.S. Government who say the U.S. must downplay any distraction which might upset Uzbekistans cooperation in the Northern Distribution Network getting supplies to troops in Afghanistan," he said.



"China, Russia, and India may predictably avoid downgrades as great powers. But if as unreconstructed and unrepentant an autocracy as Uzbekistan is let off the hook because of a supply mechanism for troops being winnowed from Afghanistan anyway, it would be a travesty."



David Abramowitz, a former State Department official and congressional staffer, said the automatic downgrade provision for the trafficking rankings "was viewed with some alarm" among many in the State Department and a number of important countries, such as India, Thailand, China, and Russia that are perennial members of the Tier 2 Watch List.



Abramowitz, now vice-president of Humanity United, a California-based philanthropic organization, warned of "the risk that national security and foreign policy perspectives will trump the human rights considerations that should always be at the forefront of this issue."
Authorities said a helicopter ferrying Russian oil workers to a site on the far northern Yamal Peninsula crashed, killing at least 19 people and injuring three.

The Federal Air Transport Agency said in its statement that 16 of the 19 killed in the October 21 crash were passengers and the other three were crew members.

One injured passenger was taken to the Novy Urengoi settlement by helicopter, while two other survivors received medical assistance on the spot as their condition was assessed as critical. officials said.

RIA Novosti had found rescuers found both of the black boxes from the Mi-8 copter "in good condition."

The injured passenger communicated by cell phone with Russian Emergencies Ministry rescuers, who took hours to reach the site in the remote area.

Officials said weather conditions and visibility were poor in the area and that rescuers initially had to make their way to the crash site some 70 kilomters from Urengoi on snowmobiles. Helicopters later arrived at the site.

The Transport Ministry said the helicopter, belonging to the Skol air company, was flying from the village of Suzunskoye, in the territory of Krasnoyarsk.

Mi-8 helicopter are the workhorse vehicle for oil companies operating in remote, harsh regions of Russia. Crashes are often blamed on poor maintenance and aging machinery and parts.

The aircraft are also in wide use around the world, for civilian and military purposes.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti, RT.com, and TASS
The U.S. defense secretary gave an upbeat assessment of the ongoing operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State militants, as he traveled to Baghdad for talks with top Iraqi officials.

Ash Carters announced visit October 22 came five days after Iraqi security forces, along with Kurdish and Shiite militia units and backing from U.S. military advisers and aircraft, launched their assault to capture Iraqs third-largest city.

After meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, Carter said he was encouraged by the campaign so far and was in discussions not just about potential future roles for U.S. troops.

"Now that isn't a defense mission or an Iraqi army mission, but it's a critical part of winning the peace," Carter told reporters.

The visit comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara on October 20 when he announced "an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle for Mosul.

Carters third visit to Iraq this year also came two days after a U.S. soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Iraq.

The soldier was among about 100 U.S. troops embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces that are helping to guide U.S.-led coalition air strikes.

The fall of Mosul, a city of some 1.5 million people, would be a psychological victory for the Abadi government, which has struggled to cope with the Islamic State threat.

The governments inability to keep the militants from seizing vast territories in the north and east led to Washingtons decision to step up its involvement in the fight.

Some observers have warned that recapturing Mosul could lead to land grabs and sectarian bloodletting between Sunnis and Shi'a.

The United Nations has said Mosul could require the biggest humanitarian relief operation in the world, with worst-case scenario forecasts of up to 1 million people being uprooted.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, said resistance had stiffened in recent days as forces approached Mosul.

"It's pretty significant. We're talking enemy indirect fire...even some antitank guided missiles. So it's been very tough fighting. Snipers. Machine guns," Townsend was quoted as saying.

Roughly 5,000 U.S. personnel are in Iraq, including the more than 100 embedded with Iraqi and Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
A hacker group from China and Russia claimed responsibility for a massive cyberattack that caused outages on popular websites from the U.S. east coast to Europe and Asia on October 21.

New World Hackers claimed responsibility for the attack via Twitter, though U.S. authorities said they could not verify the claim. They said they organized networks of "zombie" computers to throw 1.2 terabits per second of data at servers managed by Dyn Inc.

"We didn't do this to attract federal agents, only test power," two group members who identified themselves as "Prophet" and "Zain" told AP via Twitter. They said more than 10 members participated in the attack.

The two told AP that 30 people have access to the @NewWorldHacking Twitter account that claimed responsibility for the attack. They said 20 are in Russia and 10 in China.

Dyn, which serves some of the biggest names on the web including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, and PayPal, said it does not know who was behind the attacks. The FBI said it is investigating the matter.

The hacking group has in the past claimed responsibility for similar attacks against sites including ESPN and the BBC. It has also claimed responsibility for cyberattacks against Islamic State.

Based on reporting by AP, Global News, and Reuters


The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of weak prospects for economic growth in Central Asia and the Caucasus region and has called for reforms to help post-Soviet economies.

The IMF forecast in a report released on October 21 that economic growth in the two regions this year will be just 1.3 percent.

The estimate is the lowest for the areas since 1998.

The report said the slowdown is mainly because of low commodity prices that are hurting energy exporting countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Those economies are expected to grow at an overall rate of 1 percent in 2016.

Weak growth by key economic partners Russia and China is also a primary factor for the low forecast for countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The outlook is brighter for Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, whose economies are forecast to grow at a 3.7 percent clilp this year, the same as in 2015.

The IMF has called in the report for bold monetary, financial, and structural reforms in the region's countries to help spur growth.

The IMF is predicting a growth rate for the two regions to be 2.6 percent in 2017.

Based on reporting by AP and IMF.org
Pakistan is refuting claims by Indian security forces that they shot dead seven Pakistani soldiers along the disputed Kashmir border.

India's Border Security Force (BSF) said on October 21 the Pakistani Rangers were killed after they had targeted Indian positions with sniper fire following a failed attempt by militants overnight to enter the Indian side of Hira Nagar.

The border-crossing point is near the main city of Jammu in the part of the disputed Kashmir region that is controlled by India.

"During intermittent firing of small arms and area weapons one militant and seven Rangers were shot dead," the BSF said in a statement.

But Pakistani Army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa refuted the claim and said that Indian border forces had provoked the firing on the border.

"[The] Indian claim of hitting or killing any Pakistani soldier/Ranger with firing at anytime of today" along the Line of Control is "absolutely false," Bajwa tweeted.

The Kashmir region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the entire territory for themselves.

Three wars have been fought between the two countries over Kashmir.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa
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.
Iraqi troops have stormed a mostly Christian town that has been under the control of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) since 2014 in in their ongoing offensive to capture Mosul, the militants last major stronghold in Iraq.

The forces reached the center of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh, and raised the Iraqi flag there, reports said.

The town, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the key city of Mosul, is believed to be largely uninhabited.

The operation took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq to hold talks with Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and assess the Mosul offensive that started on October 17 with air and ground support from the U.S-led coalition.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa
Russia has asked several U.S. states for permission to send observers to polling places on November 8 to monitor voting in the presidential and legislative elections, but at least three states have said "no."

The U.S. State Department said on October 21 that Russia is welcome to observe the elections, but Moscow turned down an invitation from the United States to be included on a team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in the United States as well as Europe.

"We told the Russian government that they were welcome to observe our elections," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"There's nothing for us to fear from having Russian observers observing our election. We're very confident in the stability, the security, and the strength of our electoral process. There's no need to hide from that," he said.

But Kirby added that "the fact that they have chosen to not join the OSCE observation mission makes clear that this issue is nothing more than a PR stunt."

Speaking on October 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused U.S. officials of treating the issue of observers in an "absolutely anti-Russian vein."

"If we are deprived of this for political reasons, we will draw our own conclusions," he warned in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency.

"Our American colleagues shouldn't count on us simply forgetting this in the future," he added.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy has asked at least three U.S. states for permission to send monitors to polling stations, and the states have denied the requests.

Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana all said they rejected requests from Russia to host observers.

The Oklahoma Secretary of State's Office said it received a letter in August from Russia's Consulate-General in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the "U.S. experience in organization of the voting process."

But Oklahoma denied the request, saying its law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.

Texas and Louisiana had similar reasons for turning Russia down.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted a Russian official on October 21 saying the requests were turned down because of "Russophobic tendencies."

Russia's interest in the U.S. voting process comes amid charges that Russian-backed hackers have been leaking Democratic party e-mails and documents in an effort to influence the election in favor of Republican candidate Donald Trump, whose views toward Russia are seen as more favorable than those of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
A march in support of unification with Moldova turned violent in the Romanian capital after several people broke through riot police lines trying to reach a symbolic downtown site.

A police spokesman told local television that five people were detained in the scuffles, which took place outside the main government building in Bucharest on October 22.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, though local media reported that bottles and sticks were thrown at police.

The march, attended by an estimated 2,000 people, had been authorized by Romanian officials and proceeded largely without incident until a group of people broke away from the main crowd and tried to reach University Square, a site with powerful symbolic value.

A march organizer, George Simion, was reportedly among those detained, though a police spokesman declined to confirm that.

Simion, a Romanian citizen, had twice been expelled from Moldova for his activities, but each time Chisinau lifted the order barring him entry.

Local television stations reported that the five detained were fined 3,000 lei ($725) each for disturbing public order and released.

A small crowd waving Romanian and Moldovan flags later regrouped in University Square as darkness fell.

The square was the site of anticommunist protests in December 1989, and thousands held a months-long protest in 1990, which was later quashed in a violent attack by miners called in by the government of then-President Ion Iliescu.

Many of those marching earlier were Moldovans who study in Romania, but some were also believed to be older Moldovan citizens who traveled from the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.

Alina Ieremciuc, another organizer of the event, told Romanian media that the march was largely peaceful, and he condemned the violence.

The issue of unifying Moldova with Romania is deeply controversial, particularly in Moldova where a sizable part of the population is Russian-speaking. Most of present-day Moldova was part of Romania before World War II.

During the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova's mainly Russian-speaking region of Transdniester broke away following a short war that killed some 1,000 and was eventually quashed by Russian troops.

Russia still keeps a contingent of troops ostensibly as peacekeepers in Transdniester, whose status remains a flashpoint, both for Moldovan nationalists as well as Russia.

The pro-unification march comes just more than one week ahead of a presidential election in Moldova, where a pro-Moscow candidate is currently leading in polls.

In recent years, Moldova -- one of Europes poorest countries -- has struggled over the question of whether to deepen its economic and trade ties with the European Union. Russia opposes that, which has led to fears of a full-blown conflict erupting, similar to what happened in Ukraine in 2014.

Based on reporting by Digi24TV and B1TV
A United Nations inquiry has found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack.

A report of the attack was submitted by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to the UN Security Council on October 21. It sets the stage for a showdown between Russia and western powers over how to respond to the meticulously documented chemical weapons incident.

The report blamed Syrian government forces for an attack using toxic gas, probably chlorine, in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015. The UN in August identified the Syrian regime as responsible for two other chlorine gas attacks in its own country.

The report is expected to prompt a showdown in the Security Council pitting Russia and possibly China against the United States, Britain, and France, which are expected to press for censure of the perpetrators.

After Syria was fingered in the earlier two chemical attacks, Russia blocked any action, saying the UN's conclusions could not be used to impose sanctions.

The latest UN report provided extensive detail on the attacks, saying the Syrian government used helicopters to drop barrel bombs, which then released chlorine gas. It even identified the bases where the helicopters took off.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters


U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has arrived in Iraq to meet with his commanders and review the progress in the six-day-old offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul from the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

During his unannounced visit to Baghdad on October 22, Carter is also due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to discuss the Mosul operation, which was launched on October 17.

The visit comes on the heels of meetings Carter had with Turkish leaders in Ankara on October 20 when he announced there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to play a role in the battle to retake Mosul.

Carters third visit to Iraq this year comes two days after a U.S. soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Iraq.

The soldier was among about 100 U.S. troops embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces that are helping to guide U.S.-led coalition air strikes in support of the Iraqi-led military offensive to recapture Mosul.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
U.S. authorities have charged a Russian arrested in Prague earlier this month with hacking and stealing information from computers at LinkedIn and other U.S. companies.

The arrest of Yevgeny Nikulin on October 5 in the Czech capital prompted sharp protests from Moscow, which has sought to block the Czech Republic from extraditing him to the United States.

The arrest also comes amid an increasing focus on cyberattacks and cybercrimes, some of which U.S. authorities have blamed on governments like Russia and China.

Czech police announced the arrest of a Russian man on October 18, though it was unclear why they waited two weeks to release a statement.

The man wasnt initially identified, though an RFE/RL investigation pinpointed his identity using his social media profiles, and the Russian Embassy later confirmed his arrest.

The U.S. Justice Department said on October 21 that a grand jury had indicted Nikulin on multiple charges, including computer intrusion and aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors alleged that Nikulin sent a program to a LinkedIn employee's computer, stole the employee's username and password, and used them to access the company's computers in 2012.

LinkedIn has linked Nikulin to the 2012 breach and said it resulted in more than 100 million of its users' passwords being compromised, prompting a massive password reset operation.

Nikulin was also accused of hacking into two other companies, Dropbox and Formspring, and conspiring to sell stolen user names, passwords, and e-mail addresses of Formspring customers.

The indictment said Nikulin had three unnamed co-conspirators, one of whom offered to sell the stolen Formspring user information for 5,500 euros (about $6,000).

Computer hacking and cybercrimes have come into sharp focus in recent months, particularly with the raucous U.S. presidential election under way. U.S. intelligence officials recently publicly accused Russia of hacking into the servers of the Democratic Party, an unprecedented incident.

Since that intrusion in the spring, internal e-mails highlighting the deliberations of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and other party officials have been regularly leaked to the public, mainly through WikiLeaks. That's led some U.S. officials to conclude Russia is seeking to influence the U.S. presidential election.

On October 21, meanwhile, a hacker group from China and Russia claimed responsibility for a massive cyberattack that caused outages on popular websites from the U.S. East Coast to Europe and Asia.
KIRYAT LUZA, West Bank -- At 33, Rafi Danfi was ready to marry. He had a house, a car, and a good job at an Israeli telecoms giant -- but he couldnt find a bride.

Its a common problem for men in the Samaritan sect, a religious community of several hundred people who follow a strict interpretation of the Bible and do not marry outside the faith.

There are just not enough marriageable women to go around. Ten women have left the faith and been excommunicated in the last two decades. Men can marry Jewish Israeli women who convert and adopt Samaritan customs, and some have joined a Samaritan community in Holon, a Tel Aviv suburb. But few are willing to move to Mount Gerizim in the northern West Bank, which Samaritans believe is sacred and where they maintain the only exclusively Samaritan community in the Holy Land.

The solution Danfi chose has become more common, too: He looked for a Ukrainian bride.

He fell in love with a 21-year-old music student he met online, and if all goes well, she will become the seventh woman from the Ukrainian port city of Kherson to join the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim -- the latest link in a lifeline that has helped keep the ancient sect going.

From a high point of more than 1 million souls, by the 1920s the sect had dwindled to 117 people, said Benny Sedaka, an unofficial spokesman for the group. Samaritans preserved their continuity by having many children and marrying Israeli women who converted to their faith.

Today, Samaritans number about 800, roughly split between Mount Gerizim and Holon. Thanks in part to the six Ukrainian women who have moved to the mountain, as well as several Israeli, Ukrainian, and Azerbaijani women who married men in Holon, their population is slowly growing.

For Danfi, its not about the numbers -- its personal.

Theres love between us, he said, pointing to a recent chat with his girlfriend, whose name he preferred to keep private. The screen of his mobile phone was full of messages in Russian, which he manages via Google Translate, and heart emojis.

The Samaritans, best known from the parable of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, are thought to be remnants of the ancient Israelites. They follow a religion similar to Judaism, but they are not Jews.

This week, Samaritans are marking Sukkot, or the Feast of the Tabernacles, which marks the end of the agricultural year and the wandering of the Israelites in the desert. To celebrate, Samaritans hang colorful canopies of fresh fruit over their living rooms.

On October 16, Ukrainian-born Alexandra Krasuk brought her three children to their grandmothers house, where they sprawled on the couches and munched on chocolate beneath a ceiling strung with pomegranates, lemons, and green citrons.

In 2003, Krasuk was studying management in Kherson when businessman Wadah Cohen spotted a photograph of the petite blonde in a dating agency catalog.

Cohen found himself single at 40. Two of his brothers are deaf mutes, which he said was the result of inbreeding.

He told his uncle, the late High Priest Shalom Ben-Amram Cohen, that marrying Krasuk would end his solitude and widen the gene pool -- and got his blessing.

Women outnumber men in Ukraine, which is struggling economically, and since the 1991 Soviet collapse some Ukrainians have pinned their hopes for a happier life on marriage to foreigners.

Wadah Cohen came specifically for me, Krasuk said. So I thought, This is a serious man, he wants a family and isnt just here for games.

She only learned about the Samaritan faith when she arrived on Mount Gerizim, where she moved into Cohens elegant stone house on the villages only street. Meanwhile, her new family encountered a blonde teen who couldn't understand them.

She was like a doll, said her niece, Shuruq.

Krasuk learned Hebrew and Arabic and agreed to follow the religious rules. Women are isolated during menstruation and after giving birth, for 40 days after a boy and 80 days after a girl. Her family dotes on the children.

"Youre not alone" in the Samaritan community, Krasuk said. "You always feel like you're in a big family. In Ukraine I don't have siblings, it's just my mom and dad."

Seven years after the Cohens' marriage, Azzam Altif, then a 52-year-old driver, traveled to Ukraine with a dating agency to find love. He met 17 women over the course of a month before his translator introduced him to her friend Alla Evdokimova, a 23-year-old bartender.

They hit it off, and Altif showed her a note that Krasuk had written for his potential wife, vouching for the life she chose and explaining the religion.

"It read, 'Hello, my name is Alexandra and Im living here for seven years, and everything is fine," Evdokimova recalled. "It helped me."

She and Altif were married in Ukraine a week later, then returned to Kiryat Luza on the mountain, where they are raising two children. Now fluent in Hebrew and Arabic, Evdokimova runs a nails and waxing salon in the nearby Palestinian city of Nablus.

"Azzam has a good heart, he is a good person, and he does everything so that my children and I will be happy," she said.

When I was single, I used to come home and just talk to the walls, Altif said.

Evdokimovas life has its challenges. Her father and brothers live in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and on a recent trip back to Ukraine she could not visit their homes and instead met them on the mainland.

But it has also become easier for her to live among the Samaritans. She has brought over two Ukrainian friends to marry Samaritan men, and introduced Danfi to his girlfriend. Like Krasuk before her, Evdokimova helps the new arrivals settle in and learn the ancient rules of their new lives.

The situation has its pitfalls. Village elder Husni Cohen said he worries the foreign women could divorce and move away with their children. The Israeli owner of one matchmaking agency that works in Ukraine said he stopped offering services to Samaritans because he believes their isolated community and religious rituals are oppressive to women.

But Samaritans' marriage to foreigners may come naturally to Samaritans, who themselves span two worlds: They hold both Israeli and Palestinian identity documents, each has a name in Hebrew and Arabic, and they are fluent in the two languages.

Jameel Cohen owns the villages liquor store, which sells to local Samaritans, Israeli settlers, and Palestinians from nearby areas. He said he was pleasantly surprised by the Ukrainians.

There are women whose husbands didnt manage -- not financially, not at work, not at life -- and they turned their men around, he said. Since Evdokimova arrived, he said, her husband has become a regular at synagogue and a frequent dinner host.

In the apartment below Altif and Evdokimova, Danfi has prepared the home he hopes to share with his Ukrainian girlfriend.

There are comfortable beige couches in the living room, and a small canopy of pomegranates and lemons for the holiday. He is researching Hebrew-language courses in the nearby settlement of Ariel for his girlfriend. She has already added 80 Samaritans as friends on Facebook, he said.

Its not like the past when someone who wanted to marry a Ukrainian would go to an office, like a transaction, Danfi said.

Danfi said that his girlfriend recently asked him about his romantic history. He told her he once dated an Israeli, but broke off the relationship when she refused to move to the West Bank. After that, the two stared at each other in silence for three minutes online, he said.

He wrote her, in translation, The love I had, I forgot, because you are my true love.

I shed a tear at that moment, he said. And she did too.




A Henrico County woman will spend seven years in prison after she lied during a murder trial last year  perjury that a county prosecutor says allowed an alleged killer off the hook.

Sheila Taylor, 47, was sentenced Wednesday by Henrico Circuit Court Judge L.A. Harris, who imposed a far steeper prison term than the punishment recommended in sentencing guidelines. She pleaded guilty to perjury and an unrelated larceny charge, for which she received an additional year of jail time.

Taylor was an eyewitness to the murder of 27-year-old David O. Agurs, who was fatally shot May 14, 2015, during an argument on Art Avenue.

She also was shot in the incident  her left hand was on Agurs chest when a bullet traveled through her hand between her ring and pinky fingers and into Agurs, passing through his heart and both lungs.

Up until she took the stand Oct. 20, 2015, she consistently had identified one man as the alleged shooter: Ramann Harris, who recently had begun dating her daughter.

She testified before a grand jury that Harris and Agurs had been fighting and she was calming Agurs when Harris pulled a gun and shot him, according to court transcripts. She even described the gun in detail.

Four months later during Harris trial, Taylor told a jury that she hadnt seen who shot her and Agurs and denied even seeing Harris outside that night, transcripts showed.

Harris was acquitted of murder by a jury, but remains behind bars for crimes he committed while awaiting trial.

The system relies on witnesses being honest, Henrico Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Susan L. Parrish said. The oath meant nothing to Ms. Taylor. ... Her perjury was an affront to both police who bring criminal charges based on the word of witnesses and to the entire criminal justice system.

Parrish said she believes Taylors testimony  which cast doubt on another witness, the victims girlfriend, who had provided inconsistent statements  ultimately got Harris off. But its difficult to predict what a jury would have done if Taylor hadnt lied, Parrish said.

Perjury cases are rare, according to Parrish and Adam Gershowitz, a criminal law professor at the College of William & Mary.

They are pretty rare in the grand scheme of things, Gershowitz said, especially considering the amount of lying that goes on in the criminal justice system, which is not so unusual. Perjury cases arent brought nearly as frequent as they could be. Commonwealth attorneys dont usually have the stomach to go for another round after a case falls apart because of lying.

The judge sent a strong message by punishing Taylor so severely, Gershowitz said. A component of sentencing is sending such a message, he said.

Taylors sentencing guidelines called for a seven-month sentence. Instead, Judge Harris sentenced her to 10 years in prison, the maximum punishment for a class 5 felony, and suspended three of those.

Gershowitz cautioned against ramping up perjury prosecution, saying it would have adverse effects.

You dont want to strongly deter witnesses from coming forward for fear of litigation, he said.

But in cases as egregious as Taylors, Gershowitz said, perjury should be prosecuted to uphold the integrity of the judicial system.

Taylors admission of perjury does not constitute new evidence, so Harris cannot be re-tried for murder, Parrish said.

A jurys decision is pretty much final unless there is some new piece of evidence, she said. Parrish described new evidence as incredible and something we didnt know about at trial.

Thats why its taken so seriously, Parrish said of perjury.

A month after he was acquitted of murder, Harris was convicted of three counts of indecent exposure and two counts of simulated masturbation  all misdemeanors that involved exposing himself to a nurse in the jail facility  and one felony of assault on law enforcement for throwing a cup of urine on a sheriffs deputy.

He later returned to court after threatening the same nurse, another misdemeanor.

In total, he received a year of felony time and 36 months for the misdemeanor charges.

In Richmond Circuit Court, Harris received an additional four years of suspended time for violating probation there.

Taylor has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1997 in Henrico County and Richmond.

Among her convictions are misdemeanors and felonies including larceny, forgery, possession of drug paraphernalia and violating a juvenile and domestic relations court order.
A Petersburg man has been charged in an early Friday crash that damaged a historic fence at Capitol Square.

Saturday morning, Carl Jackson was served warrants at VCU Medical Center on charges of failure to maintain lane and driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Jackson, 55, has been hospitalized since the crash with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

At about 3:15 a.m., Jackson failed to negotiate a left turn at the corner of East Franklin and North Ninth streets, causing his vehicle to jump a curb and crash through the fencing, according to Capitol Police.

The 2013 Nissan sedan was heading east on Franklin at a high rate of speed when it failed to make good on what should have been a left turn onto Ninth, authorities said.

The crash happened north of the Bell Tower, causing extensive damage to the vehicle and the fence.

The state Department of General Services estimated the damage to the historic cast and wrought iron fencing to be approximately $30,000 and indicated it will take four to eight weeks to repair, Capitol Police said in a statement.
VIRGINIA BEACH  GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, asserting that Virginia remains very much in play, made a particular appeal to evangelicals and military personnel Saturday during a rally at Regent University.

In 17 days, we are going to win Virginia, Trump told a boisterous crowd of several thousand gathered in an outdoor plaza.

Speaking at the Virginia Beach school founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Trump lavished praise on evangelical Christians.

One of the greatest privileges of my journey has been the time Ive spent with the evangelical community and the people of faith across our nation, the business mogul said.

There are no more decent, devoted and selfless people than our Christian brothers and sisters here in the United States, said Trump, noting hes a Presbyterian.

Trump stressed that if he is elected president, he will sign legislation to repeal the Johnson Amendment, a portion of the federal tax code named for then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, D-Texas, that prevents tax-exempt organizations, such as churches, from endorsing political candidates.

In a nod to the regional military stronghold, Trump said Hampton Roads will benefit as he rebuilds what he termed a depleted military and expands the Navy fleet to 350 ships.

Were going to start with the Navy right here in Virginia Beach, Trump said. Little Creek and Naval Station Oceana are going to be a lot busier when Im president  get ready.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard is, too, he added. Theyre going to be right at the center of the action in building new ships.

Trump, who took the stage more than an hour behind schedule, had come from Gettysburg, Pa., where on Saturday morning he delivered what the campaign called a major address.

In Virginia Beach, Trump made a brief reference to the Gettysburg speech, in which he had outlined his Contract with the American Voter, a pledge to pursue more than two dozen policy actions in his first 100 days as president.

Speaking of his call for ethics reforms and term limits for members of Congress, Trump said: If I am elected president, were going to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.

Trump trails Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Virginia by 12 percentage points in a poll Christopher Newport University released Friday.

But Trumps supporters at Regent  many decked out in patriotic garb including shirts, caps and scarves featuring the American flag  were buoyant.

They cheered Build that Wall! when he spoke of improving border security.

When Trump called Clinton crooked over her use of private email as secretary of state, many in the crowd chanted Lock her up! and Hillary for prison!

Trump backers in the crowd cited a number of issues that are key to their support, such as border security, national security and economic security.

Debbie Accardi, a caterer from Smithfield, said her brother ran a restaurant but recently sold it because the taxes were eating him up alive.

She faults Clintons support for a $15 minimum wage, saying it would crush small businesses.

Nobody can afford $15, Accardi said. If they have not employed anybody, then they dont know what theyre talking about.

Barry and Judy Christopher, of Mechanicsville, said they believe Trump will appoint conservative Supreme Court justices, support Israel, back religious freedom and protect gun rights, all issues they consider important.

We cant support Planned Parenthood, added Barry Christopher, who runs an executive sedan service. If we have a choice, thats not what we want to do. We are against abortions.

Barry Christopher said nobody has all the answers, but Trump has got a history of surrounding himself with the right people.

Trumps stop at Regent might have been meant, in part, to shore up support with evangelical voters following the release of a 2005 tape in which he bragged about groping women and subsequent allegations by women who said he had made unwanted sexual advances.

Trumps Virginia campaign has been whipsawed in recent weeks, but continues to fight for what has been a key swing state.

Trumps national campaign fired his Virginia chairman, Corey Stewart, after Stewart held an unauthorized protest outside the Republican National Committee.

Then the Virginia campaign dealt with reports that Trumps national team was shifting some of its Virginia staff to North Carolina, at least temporarily.

But Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, keep making campaign stops in Virginia, continuing to fight for its 13 electoral votes.

Trumps campaign also is launching a $2 million ad buy in Virginia in the campaigns closing weeks.

As his campaign indicated a few days ago, he doesnt want to give up on a state where he owns property or businesses, said Quentin Kidd, a political analyst at Christopher Newport.

Secondly, I think to a certain extent his campaign believes that Virginia is not as far gone as the polling suggests it is.

Trumps campaign believes polls are systematically under-surveying Trump supporters and over-surveying Clinton supporters, Kidd said.

In response to Trumps rally at Regent, the Clinton campaign issued a quote from retired Air Force Col. Dave Belote. He criticized Trump for refusing during the third presidential debate to pledge that he would accept the result of the election if he does not prevail.

Trumps stance at the debate was an affront to the sacrifice of myself and all veterans and current servicemen and women throughout the armed forces, Belote said.

The rally at the University Library Plaza was Trumps second visit to Regent this year. In February, he took part in the schools presidential candidate forum series ahead of Virginias GOP primary, which Trump won on March 1.

Regent founder Pat Robertson, now 86, has been a figure in state and national presidential politics for decades. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

Robertson said recently that he was not troubled by the 2005 tape in which Trump spoke lewdly about women. Robertson referred to it as a conversation in Hollywood in which Trump was trying to look like hes macho.

At Regent on Saturday, Robertson was among a series of speakers  including Virginia GOP hopefuls and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani  who gave brief remarks ahead of Trump.

Robertson said he has a warning for bookies in Las Vegas: If you bet against Donald Trump, youre going to lose your shirt.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
RADFORD  A sheet of purple cloth lifted and caught the wind. A bare foot and the edge of a tattered dress showed. Then a pointed walking stick and a pair of staring, haunted eyes  a towering figure of a determined-looking woman, cast in bronze, appearing as if she had just walked up the bank from the New River.

Mary Draper Ingles stood again in Radford.

Fridays unveiling of an 8-foot statue of the pioneer heroine marked another step in the citys effort to honor and capitalize on its heritage. It capped the nine-year Bring Mary Home fundraising and publicity campaign.

Mary has returned home, said Lewis Bud Jeffries, an Ingles descendant who has helped or led numerous efforts to celebrate his ancestors 18th-century journey back from captivity.

About 200 people attended Fridays dedication of the new sculpture, kicking off what Radford City Council has designated Mary Draper Ingles Weekend.

Saturday there are open houses from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ingles Farm in Radford, where a replica of Mary Ingles cabin stands; and across the New River at Ingles Ferry Tavern in Pulaski County, where there are the remains of a ferry that the Ingles family started and that operated from the 1760s to the 1940s. Radfords Glencoe Museum is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Radfords dedication to Ingles isnt new, of course. One of Fridays speakers was Radford Vice Mayor Dick Harshberger, who recalled decades as a director and principal in The Long Way Home. The outdoor drama told the story of Ingles capture in 1755 by American Indians in what is now Blacksburg, her escape some months later in what is now Kentucky, and the 23-year-olds cold, hungry walk through the wilderness to freedom.

Ingles is estimated to have walked more than 500 miles in 40-some days  she knew that by sticking to the rivers she could find her way but since she could not swim, she time after time had to detour up streams or tributaries that blocked her path to find a safe place to cross.

The Long Way Home drama began in 1971 and lasted 19 seasons in an amphitheater on the Ingles family property where Jeffries now lives and operates a farm with relatives. Harshbarger drew applause when he said that the citys next step after the Ingles statue could be to launch a new version of the production  a goal that Long Way Home boosters have periodically voiced for more than a decade.

But recent years have seen the city mount a more focused effort to build on the interest in Ingles-related lore. After all, Radford tourism director Deb Cooney said this summer, people get in touch every single week to ask about Ingles: Were known for Mary.

Mayor Bruce Brown sounded similar sentiments Friday. He recalled that he had been amazed at how far this legacy goes when Jeffries, about a dozen years ago, opened the re-created Ingles cabin to the public and immediately drew visitors from as far as Ohio.

The new city effort to continue spreading Ingles story can help bring tourists, but theres more to it, Brown said.

Its not about the economy and money, though that helps, its about who we are, Brown said.

Radford officials said that the Ingles statue, located just down the hill and across the street from Glencoe Museum, is meant to be the first stage in developing a new public area with other statues, a viewing platform where visitors can see a railroad trestle that carries trains across the New River, and an amphitheater where various events could be staged  including possibly a revamped version of The Long Way Home, Harshbarger and others said.

Ingles story began being told almost as soon as she climbed the cliffs above the New River near what is now Eggleston, in Giles County, to reach a family friends cornfield and safety. She has been the subject of movies and books that included the 1981 bestseller Follow the River  whose author, James Thom, was on hand Friday with other Ingles-inspired writers who were to hold a panel discussion after the statues dedication.

Jeffries said that many women of Mary Ingles time experienced as much hardship as she did, but their stories were not preserved. Mary Ingles represents them too, he said.

Sculptor Matt Langford thanked Radford, saying Its an artists dream to have a community welcome your work.

A twin of the Ingles statue has stood for nine years in Boone County, Kentucky, near Langfords home and at the other end of her journey.

With no surviving pictures of Ingles, Langford said that he instead tried to represent the strength of her will, to depict her after she decided to do or die.

This is an archetype, meaning a person who could be Mary, Langford said.

Still, Langford began his work with one of Jeffries cousins, another descendant of Ingles, as a model for the statue.

That was Patty Hons of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The author of a childrens book about Ingles, Hons was among more than two dozen Ingles descendants on hand for the unveiling.

I was hugely honored when Langford took pictures and measured her face for the statue, Hons said. She recalled that when she first saw Langfords completed work, she burst into tears.

It was like looking into the eyes of history, Hons said.

Hons said that growing up, she thought the Mary Ingles story was something that only her family knew. It wasnt until Thoms book came out that she realized how widespread the interest in her ancestor was.

Shes a rock star, Hons said, standing beneath the statue and laughing.
Virginia Cedella Miller Pitzer, of the Poplar Hill community of Giles County, departed her earthly life and slipped into the loving arms of Jesus Christ on October 20, 2016 at the age of 72. She had been battling an extremely rare form of ovarian cancer for the past 19 months. A daughter of the late James Robert and Agnes Stone Miller, she was born on March 10, 1944. She was an outstanding example of self  giving love and was well respected and loved by all who came to know her. After graduating from Giles High School in 1962, she enrolled at Radford College and completed the requirements for a degree in mathematics in less than three years. In August of 1965, she began her teaching career at Narrows High School, where she taught hundreds of students math over the next 34 years. Shortly after beginning her career, she returned to Radford College, obtaining her Master's Degree during summer sessions. Although she took early retirement in June of 1999, she truly loved her calling as a math teacher.Cedella was soft spoken, fiercely independent, a loving and caring wife to her husband, Tom, who she married on January 16, 1968. In 1988, they began their farming together as a team when they purchased a farm in White Gate. In 1991, they began farming a portion of the family farm where Cedella was reared. She was always giving, helping and fulfilling her calling as a wife, aunt and neighbor. Cedella had a passion for farming and a devoted relationship with their two dogs, many cats and five donkeys, in addition to many cows which became pets to her over the years.She was a faithful member of Walker's Creek Presbyterian Church for 47 years until its closing in 2003 at which time she moved her membership to New Dublin Presbyterian, where she remained a member while also devoting time to her favorite community church, Shady Grove United Methodist in Poplar Hill.Cedella is survived by her loving husband, Tom; brother and sister-in-law, Ernie and Elizabeth Miller, Poplar Hill; special nephew, Shannon Miller, his wife, Whitney and their daughter, Peighton; special niece, Sherri Jones, her husband, Justin and their daughters, Leah and Nora; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Gene and Mary Lou Pitzer, Bill Pitzer, Jerry and Sandra Pitzer, Johnny and Darla Pitzer and Dennis Pitzer; a large number of nieces and nephews; as well as great-nieces and great-nephews.Funeral services will be held Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 2 p.m. at Walker's Creek Historical Presbyterian Church, White Gate, with the Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman and the Rev. Olen Robertson officiating. Burial will follow in Walker's Creek Cemetery, White Gate. The family will receive friends Saturday, October 22, 2016 at A. Vest & Sons Funeral Home Chapel, White Gate, from 4 until 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to either Walker's Creek Historical Presbyterian Church, Inc., or Walker's Creek Cemetery, Inc., 369 Walkers Creek Valley Road, Pearisburg, VA 24134.This family is in the care of A. Vest & Sons Funeral Home, White Gate, avestandsons.com, (540) 921-2985.
Bodies were strewn along the tracks as workers continued looking for others injured and dead in Fridays crash. Transport Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngoo said Fridays accident took place near the central town of Eseka, 120km west of the capital Yaounde. The route is one of the busiest in the country. President Paul Biya ordered the evacuation of the injured to the countrys two main cities. The circumstances that led to the accident will be investigated. Many rail lines in West and Central Africa have a reputation for poor maintenance and failing to respect safety norms. Derailments arealso relatively common. Cameroons flag will fly at half mast on Monday 24th October 2016 throughout th
Jim Beam employees have ended a nearly week-long strike at two Jim Beam plants in Kentucky. The employees reached a settlement on the new contract after the primary demand to hire more full-time staff was agreed.

The latest contract was agreed on a 204-19 vote. Whiskey production wil begin on Monday, said United Food and Commercial Workers union official Tommy Ballard.

Jim Beam, which is the world's largest bourbon producer, had to stop production on last Saturday at two of its facilities in Clermont and Boston after 252 of its employees started a strike after contract negotiations failed.

One of the primary demand was for to hire more workers so that current workers will not be required to work up to 80 hours a week and spend more time with their families.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Roundup: Saudi aggression warplanes continue breaching ceasefire





Roundup: Saudi aggression warplanes continue breaching ceasefire



By Ali Ahsan



SANAA, Oct. 22 (Saba)  Saudi aggression warplanes continued over the past hours to breach cease-fire declared by the United Nations throughout Yemen, officials told Saba on Saturday.



In the northern governorate of Saada, at least three civilians were killed in an air strike by the Saudi aggression warplanes that targeted citizen`s houses in Mafrag Baqim district.



Al-Buqa area, also in Saada, the army and popular forces repelled Saudi-paid mercenaries when attempting to infiltrate towards the border crossing point of al-Buqa.



In Asir region, on the Yemeni northern border, the army and popular forces held off another attempt of the mercenaries to advance on al-Shaibani Galal area.



In Marib, at the heart of the country, Saudi air forces launched four air raids on the center of Serwah district, as well as the Saudi-paid mercenaries fired artillery and missiles targeted the army and popular forces` sites in Malh and al-Rabiah areas of the district.



The air strikes and mercenaries indiscriminate shells damaged residents' houses, the officials said.



In Sanaa governorate, the warplanes waged two raids on Bani Hushish district and other two strikes on Nagail Ban Gailan mountainous highway of Nehm district of governorate, northeast of the capital, Sanaa.



In southeast governorate of Al-Baidha, the mercenaries targeted the army and popular forces` military sites in Qevh, al-Zahir, Mukeiras and Dhi Naim districts with light and medium weapons.

In the southeastern province of Shabwa, the mercenaries shelled with various weapons the army military sites in Usaylan district.



In Taiz, the southwest province, the Saudi-paid mercenaries fired heavy and medium weapons on the provincial capital city of the province, which bears the same name. the mercenaries shelling also targeted the national army sites in Qushabah, Omari Dhubab, Karash areas in west of Taiz, as well as al-Wazeih district. Meanwhile, the army repelled an attempt by the mercenaries to advance toward Jarah Mount. The officials said the aggression warplanes kept flying over the province's capital city and districts for hours overnight.



In Jawf, the northeast province, the aggression fighter jets launched two strikes on al- Ghayl district as the army and popular forces repelled two attempts by the mercenaries to advance from al-Saber area to Sakia area and the other attempt towards Wafz area in al-Maslob district.



In the meantime, the army and popular forces bombed mercenaries' military vehicles when the army and popular forces confronted infiltration by the mercenaries in al-Moton district, also in Jawf, where officials and residents said the aggression fighter jets intensively flew over the regions for hours on Friday night.



In Lahj, the southwest province, the national army and popular forces repelled the mercenaries' attempts to advance towards the national forces' sites in Kahbub area.



In the southern province of al-Dhalee, the mercenaries fired light and medium weapons against residents' houses in Ramah, Nasah, Goz al-Kasabh and Shaleil villages, killing a citizen and wounding another in Shaleil village.



In the far northwest province of Hajja, the army and popular forces foiled an attempt by the enemy Saudi troops to advance toward the farthermost port of Tabat al-Sahil in the port city of Medi, the officials said.







Zak

SABA

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[22/October/2016]
WASHINGTON  The panda population in the United States is dropping by three.

Atlanta's zoo announced Thursday that its 3-year-old giant panda twins will leave the zoo Nov. 3. And the National Zoo in Washington said it will be saying bye-bye to panda cub Bao Bao in 2017. The zoo didn't give a date but said the cub will move to China within the first few months of the new year. Both zoos said it is better for pandas to travel in the winter months when it is cool.

A total of four U.S. zoos have pandas that are on loan from China. As part of the loan agreement, pandas born in the United States return to China, generally around age 4. All three pandas leaving for China are females and expected to eventually become part of a breeding program there.

When they leave, there will be a dozen pandas remaining in the United States: four in Atlanta, three in Washington, three in San Diego and two in Memphis.

Atlanta's departing panda twins, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, were born July 15, 2013, and were the first surviving panda twins born in the United States. The zoo's head veterinarian said that when the two were young, Mei Lun was a little bit of a complainer while Mei Huan was more "go with the flow," though those differences have smoothed out as they aged. They have since been joined by a second pair of twins born at Zoo Atlanta on Sept. 3.

In Washington, Bao Bao delighted the zoo and panda fans when she was born Aug. 23, 2013 . Her mother, Mei Xiang, gave birth to her first cub, Tai Shan, in 2005, but failed to get pregnant for years. Then, a cub born in 2012 didn't survive. Mei Xiang has since had a third surviving cub, Bei Bei, who was born on Aug. 22, 2015. Older brother Tai Shan left the zoo for China in 2010.

Both zoos say they're preparing for the pandas' departure. In Washington, a travel crate will soon be placed in Bao Bao's habitat so she can get used to it. In Atlanta, a crate is already part of the pandas' enclosure.

Both zoos also have their packing lists. In Washington, it includes 55 pounds of bamboo, 2 pounds of apples and pears and 10 gallons of water. Zoo Atlanta's list is double that size and includes sugarcane and bananas.

National Zoo panda curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove had some words of comfort for fans sad to say "bon voyage" to Bao Bao, underscoring the "very important role" she will play by returning to China and becoming part of the breeding program there.

Zoo Atlanta's head veterinarian, Hayley Murphy, the Vice President of Animal Divisions, acknowledged the pandas' departure is bittersweet.

"We've loved having two grow up together. It's been really fun to watch them play and entertain each other," she said.

Panda enthusiasts in Atlanta do have something to look forward to even as Mei Lun and Mei Huan depart. Their 6-week-old siblings are expected to make their public debut in December or January.
Ben Franklin said there are only two things you can be sure of in life, and those are death and taxes.

But wouldn't we much rather spend our days acting as if neither existed?

Having dealt with the money issue over a couple of sessions, the Decatur Public Library tackled death this month in its continuing Series of Uncomfortable Conversations.

First Dr. Louis Profeta from St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis addressed how the culture of death affects an aging society (Sorry I missed that one!), then Millikin University Professor Emeritus Richard Pacholski delivered a talk on Literary Approaches to Human Mortality: How Great Books Provide Insight and Consolation.

Perhaps because people would rather be comfortable, there were just a half-dozen of us there to hear what Pacholski, who taught at Millikin from 1970 to 2001, had to say.

Emeritus is Latin for 'turned out to pasture,' he joked before quoting Franklin himself:

Ben said, 'Serving God is doing good to man.' Then he added, 'but praying is thought an easier service and more generally chosen.'

After getting nary a chuckle at this, Pacholski cut to the chase and said the core lesson from his presentation was respice finem, more Latin which means look to the end.

Where are you going? How is your life going to end? Pay attention, he said. When we make an effort to look death in the face, we begin to grow out of childish, self-centered delusions.

Then the retired English professor guided his listeners through the literary deaths of Socrates, Beowulf, Hamlet and Ivan Ilych to make his point.

I found the excerpts from The Death of Ivan Ilych, a short story by Leo Tolstoy, the most moving of all and no doubt the reason Pacholski saved his commentary about it for last.

On his deathbed, Ivan discovers the things he valued in life, his position in society and his handsomely furnished houses, meant little. Only Gerasim, his servant, is a comfort by his refusal to pretend his master was not dying.

Ivan ultimately sees death as a release from further suffering, for his family but also for himself from the pain and sorrow of his life, and as an act of love and even joy.

Pacholski concluded:

Death will come to us in as many guises as there are individual lives among us. From one person's dying we can generalize only so far and understand only so much.

We hope as we and our loved ones approach death that we can approach it as an act of love, as did Ivan Ilych, or as the capstone of a well-defined good life, as it was for Socrates, or as the death owed to a vow, as it was to Beowulf and Hamlet.

We will die as we have lived. If we have lived decently and honorably, we may accept our deaths as a fitting conclusion to our lives.

Having lived decently and honorably we may hope to be surrounded at our deaths by troops of friends and family helping us and blessing us and blessing themselves in the process.

The six of us had little to say afterward, except to thank Pacholski for a thoughtful presentation about death as eventuality of which we should always be aware and welcome when the time comes.

An English major, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the literature from which the professor read and also his own carefully crafted words, spoken from the heart.

It was hard to tell where one left off and the other began, but that was no matter.
In the last 24 hours, India reported 1,326 new Covid-19 cases and eight cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. ...


DECATUR  Kanoski Powell, a 23-year-old Decatur parolee, is being held without bond in the Macon County Jail on five felony charges for allegedly breaking into a house that an 18-year-old man was occupying, dragging him into an SUV, battering him, stabbing him and holding him at knifepoint.

Powell was arrested Sept. 26 in connection with the incident, which occurred Aug. 27. He entered not guilty pleas to all charges Wednesday. He is due back in court Nov. 22.

Two other Decatur men were also charged with identical felony counts in the case: aggravated kidnapping, home invasion causing injury, aggravated unlawful restraint, vehicular invasion and criminal damage to property.

Deiantae Smith, 20, pleaded guilty to home invasion as part of a plea deal on Sept. 30. He is serving a six-year term in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Traveon Hood, 23, who is being held in jail on $100,000 bond, is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing Oct. 27.

The victim told police he was riding his bicycle near Condit and Jasper streets the afternoon of Aug. 27, when a white Chevy Equinox stopped near him. Three men exited the vehicle and tried to batter him.

He fled on his bicycle, riding through a field about a block away. One man chased him on foot while the others chased him in the SUV. He ran into a relative's home in the 1400 block of East Leafland Avenue.

Once inside, he shut the door, but the three suspects pushed the door open before he could lock it, according to an affidavit by Decatur patrol officer Eric Strauss. They punched him several times, then "dragged him outside into the white Equinox."

When the vehicle stopped in front of the victim's house, the victim's cousin saw him and called his mother. At one point, the victim was pulled out of the vehicle, battered, then returned to the vehicle.

The victim's mother spotted the vehicle and began following it in her vehicle. The driver of the Equinox stopped and noticed the mother's vehicle behind him. The three suspects got out of the SUV to confront her.

The victim ran from the SUV toward his mother's car but was blocked by one of the men, who punched him. But he succeeded in getting into her car.

"Once inside the car, Deiantae punched him through the open right front window before kicking the right front door," the victim told police. He said Powell "jumped onto the hood" of the victim's mother's car, then "ran onto the roof, breaking the windshield."

The victim suffered a stab wound to his back and bruises, scratches and lacerations to his neck, ear, lip and hand.
Misleading texts claim to show your polling place. Here's how to vote.

A batch of texts that claim to show a voter's polling place were sent Monday to Kansans, despite appearing to show inaccurate information.
DECATUR  Police are seeking help in identifying a masked gunman who robbed a northwest side convenience store early Friday.

At 2:15 a.m., a white male with a stocky build, wearing a black jacket and black pants walked into Caseys General Store, 1525 W. Mound Road.

He brandished a black, semiautomatic pistol and demanded cash from the two employees, Decatur police detective Steve Carroll said.

After he received cash, he ran from the store, heading south. The employees were not injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police at (217) 424-2711 or Crime Stoppers at (217) 423-8477 or visit www.decaturcrimestoppers.org.
Re: Who nurtured this might mess?

N.P.O has nobody to blame but themselves.

It was clear as daylight that there was a huge conflict of interest in the handling of the D.P.Ps case yet they fought tooth and nail to be able to continue that conflict of interest.

I realise they are loyal to their D.P.P and their staff but the interests of justice in a tiny country like Samoa required an independent prosecutor.

I hope the N.P.O is not abolished though. I think it is still a very good idea to have a separate N.P.O office for criminal prosecutions whilst leaving the A.Gs office for the job of advising the government.

PS Jeffrey
Aana Alofi No. 3s Member of Parliament, Ili Setefano Taateo, has urged the government to be fair and to be mindful of peoples suffering when it reviews the charges for the services it provides.

I dont oppose the review but I want the government to be fair and to consider peoples circumstances, he told the Weekend Observer.

Because if we look at some of the charges we have, they havent been reviewed since the 1960s so its about time.

The review in question has been proposed by the Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, who tabled the Fees and Charges Bill 2016 when Parliament convened this week.

If the bill is passed, more than forty government agencies will have their fees and charges reviewed with the real possibility of increasing them. These include school fees; charges for the importation of goods, electricity fees, immigration, national health services and a whole lot more.

Ili, who is a member of the Tautua Samoa Party, said the government must be fair in its review.

I mean right now, we dont want any further burden added onto the shoulders of the people, he said.

For example, if we look at some of the charges we have now, some of the charges have been raised to more than hundred percent which I think is too much.

They should have a careful look at all the charges and have a fair consideration before they can put on extra value on to the charges which is already been there.

I think the only charges that need to be reviewed are the ones that havent been reviewed at all. But for the service charges, I think that for the time being, they should stay as it is.

Ili said the charges should match the level of services provided.

You know we are moving forward maybe this will provide and efficient and better service, then we have to pay for that. But it should be in a fair situation and fair price because we dont want to make money from our people.

According to the bill explanation, the main purpose of the bill is to ensure that all fees and charges for services rendered by government ministries, government agencies and public beneficial bodies and selected public bodies are prescribed by Regulations made by the Head of State, subject to the approval of the National Revenue Board and the Public Finance Management Act 2001.

But Ili said there are a lot of factors to be considered.

You have to have a look at so many factors, he said.

Because for the charges, there is a board that deals with them. Each department doesnt just decide to increase the charges and then put it to whatever percentage they want.

There is a body of people who consider those prices before they give the okay.

Ili reemphasised that the government must consider the plight of people  especially the poorest in the country.

The only recommendation I would make right now is for them to be fair with the review. For example if you look at the Water Authority, the disconnection fee is $70 tala. For the E.P.C, the disconnection fee is $200 tala. So how can you compare those two charges?

To me, the review is good as long as its fair.

According to Sili, the intension of the bill is to make sure there is consistency in fees being charged by government bodies.

Sili said one of the objectives is to look at current charges and determine whether there is a need to increase or change the basis to assess those charges.

We dont want cost associated with inefficiency in public service to be added on to the cost of services that we do provide, he said.

We want to be reasonable as possible and ensure its affordable. Its about time we do it. One problem we faced in the past we dont review charges for several years and when we do - its a fairly large increase to compensate for all years when we shouldve review it.

The intention of going forward is to conduct annual review of it and if there is need to increase we do it quickly and not wait for five years where an increase to a level that is not sustainable and people cannot afford.
Tourists who visited Samoa on M/S Amsterdam Cruise Ship, operated by Holland America, are on their way home with plenty of wonderful memories from Samoa.

They will remember the rapturous welcome they received when they arrived at the Matautu Wharf and the warm smiles they were greeted with by the people of Samoa wherever they went.

On Thursday morning, close to 2000 visitors stepped on Samoas shores when the cruise ship arrived from American Samoa.

Although a frequent visitor to Samoa, the team at Betham Brothers Enterprises with the Samoa Ports Authority and Samoa Tourism Authority ensured the tourists would not leave disappointed.

And they werent.

Some 1244 passengers and a crew of 605 were treated to a cultural display of the finest standard by the Faatoia E.F.K.S Youth Group.

Once out of the Apia wharf, most of them took the buses to check out Samoa. Some preferred to stay in the town area, where they interacted with locals and bought plenty of souvenirs to remember their time in Samoa by.

The passengers were mainly from America, Australia and Canada. There were 16 other nationalities onboard.

When the sun set on a beautiful Apia day, the ship will be set for Fiji before it makes its way home, until the next time.
DECATUR  The playground at Dennis School used to be in front of the school.

We needed more parking, said Zoe Creighton, a student at Dennis. We didn't have a playground last year.

What the students did during recess, without any play equipment, was just sort of run around and get creative, said Chauntel Drake, a fifth-grader.

Students have sold candy, popcorn, wrapping paper and other items to parents and relatives for years to supplement district budgets and, perhaps surprisingly, the students don't mind pitching in.

I like it, said Tristan Wirey.

The district gives us money, said Leona Woodland, but we have to spend it on other things, and there isn't enough.

Without the fundraising, Leona said, teachers might have to dip into their own pockets for extras.

Parsons School sixth-graders hold an annual Fannie Mae Candy sale in the fall and proceeds go toward field trips to Chicago and St. Louis, and if any money is left over, it goes in a fund for other activities for the sixth grade. The kids are cautioned about selling things to strangers and urged to sell only to family and friends with parental supervision.

We're selling candy bars and candles and taking advantage of offers in the community  McTeachers Night, Culver's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Muffley School Principal Carrie Hogue said. All donate a proceed of sales to the school. Profits will help with a field trip and new playground equipment.

The Lutheran School Association's annual cookie dough sale funds the Kids of the Kingdom program and supplements field trip funds to provide buses. But fundraising doesn't stop there.

The (Parent-Teacher League) takes care of a lot of fundraising, said Principal Joel Witt. They offer grants to classrooms, so teachers will ask for money from the PTL. For example, (teacher) Melissa Saurmann asked for a couple of ChromeBooks for her classroom. We really try to use (fundraising) for projects focused directly on the students.

Parents aren't always happy about annual fundraising efforts, which often involve kids selling things, or parents selling things for them at the office.

Warrensburg-Latham Parent-Teacher Association President Kortney Cycotte-Gaither said she spends all year planning fundraisers and does the bulk of the work over the summer months.

The money raised funds all the elementary field trips for the year, buys classroom supplies, helps with science class costs, teachers' professional development and pays assemblies, music and art costs that are beyond the budget.

Cycotte-Gaither said she gets phone calls from unhappy parents who don't want their kids to sell things or who are tired of fundraisers, but last year a new incentive was introduced: Tuition Rewards. For every $100 sold, kids get $1,000 in tuition credits if an adult creates an account and registers their child, or a niece, nephew, grandchild or other child they want to benefit. The credits are only accepted by certain institutions, but she said new ones are being added all the time.

The account holder can divide the rewards between the children they have registered any way they want, she said. It's not required to use them on the child that did the fundraiser. So parents that got tuition rewards last year for their elementary child but also had a junior could register that junior also. When they go to college, they would be able to use their sibling's rewards.

Parents often don't understand how much budget cuts have affected classrooms, she added, and therefore might not realize how much fundraisers fill in the gaps.

People think that since they pay property taxes in the district it goes straight to the school, she said. They don't understand that the school has no say over that money until it gets to them, if it gets to them.

"Until more people understand that, we will continue to have a participation rate of 35 to 40 percent. We have never been close to having even 50 percent participation of our students for a fundraiser.
A programme to rehabilitate prisoners celebrated its sweet achievements when 199 prisoners graduated on Thursday.

The Assistant Commissioner of Prison, Ulugia Niuia Aumua, said the programme is part of their efforts to make Samoa a safer place.

Our role is to guard those who have been brought here to our prison, and secure the safety of our community, he said.

While they are in prison, the prisoners should be taught about how to change their mindsets and perspectives of life and renew themselves so that they wont commit the same things they did. The main purpose is to try and change them for the better.

Thats why we have this programme.

The programme started in February with 233 participants.

The five different programmes aim at addressing the different offenses committed by the prisoners we have here at Tafaigata.

For example, we now have a behavioural programme, addressing anger management, drugs and alcohol, sex offenses and others.

So the ones who graduated today are the ones who completed this programme from the very beginning up until now.

We had 233 but only 199 graduated. And this is because some of them have already completed their sentence here and they are now on parole and some of them failed to complete as well.

On Thursday, the idea according to Ulugia was to celebrate the small steps taken to change prisoners for the better.

This was something weve always wanted to do, and we didnt think it will get to this point so early, but we are grateful that we made it this far.

Ulugia assured they are trying their best to help change the mindsets of the prisoners.

We know that a lot has happened in the past, but we are now trying to work towards changing the lives of the prisoner we have here at Tafaigata and show them a new way or a new chapter for them.

We also have been working on improving the lives of the escaped prisoners to try and change their mindsets.

Ulugia said the prison has been very peaceful and they have hardly had any problems since the programme started.

As you know, in any country, we always have this problem of prisoners escaping from prison.

But thats why we are grateful for these programmes, because it helps them change and also our programmes distracts them from thinking about escaping as well.

They are no longer trapped in the cells all the time but instead, they are out there learning about the different ways they can do with the strength and ability that they have.

He also explained the schedule and how many hours of the day they spend for the programme.

The programme run for four days a week and run for three to four hours a day for these programmes.

This is because we also have other programmes from the different congregations in Samoa and also other programmes we have here at Tafaigata.

The teachers who are responsible for teaching the prisoners are the people from our Ministry under Development Services of Samoa Prisons which is under the leadership of Levaopolo Rosa Siaosi.

This is the first time weve had a structured rehabilitation programme. This is the first time weve had programmes addressing anger management, sex related, drugs and alcohol offenses. Therefore, we want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this programme.
The new Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Samoa, Gerhard Thiedemann, presented his Letter of Credence to the Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi last week.

He also met with government dignitaries and Non Government Organizations thereafter.

The Credentials ceremony took place at the Head of States residence at Tuaefu. Ambassador Thiedemann was born and educated in Hamburg and started his career as a lawyer from 1983-1987 when he worked for the Federal Ministry for Youth, Families and Health.

From 1987-1991 he worked at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Bonn until he was appointed as the Head of the Development Cooperation (aid) for the German Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 1991-1993.

From 1993-1996 Mt Thiedemann was based in the German Foreign Office in the Department of Economic Affairs and later to the Department for Cultural Affairs in Bonn. He was again appointed from 1996-1999 as the Head of the German Affairs Division at the Cairo embassy in Egypt, 2003-2006 at the German Embassy in Tokyo and 2010-2013 at the German Embassy in DPR Korea.

During these posting, Mr Thiedeman worked as the Head of Legal and Politics Divisions. Before being appointed as the Ambassador of Germany to New Zealand, he was the Ambassador in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Mr. Thiedemann is a lawyer by profession and is married to Dr. Malies Thiedemann and has two children. The Ambassador is accompanied on this trip by Dr. Wulf Killmann, GIZ Program Director.
The Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, has admitted that the closure of Yazaki Eds Samoa, leaving 740 people jobless, will have an impact on the economy.

But he is not losing hope, assuring that the government will do whatever it can to provide support for the workers and their families in their hour of need.

Obviously the government has the responsibility to provide for our people and we will do whatever is necessary, Sili told the Sunday Samoan.

Of course it is a setback. It is a setback if we are not going to provide jobs for people who care for their families and contribute to their community and churches.

Minister Sili was responding to questions about what the government plan is following the closure of Yazaki as well as the cannery in Pago Pago, leaving hundreds of Samoans jobless.

There is no question these will have an impact on the economy, he said.

Thats why its important that we look at the best way to accommodate and re-employ them. Its going require bit of time and investment discussion with our business people on opportunities availablewe will do what we can to provide alternative jobs.

Sili said the country has to remain positive. And with the closure of Yazaki, the door is now open to another potential investor.

The Ministry of Finances plan is to ensure the economy improves and continues to generate more businesses.

We are also looking to entice more investors to come and invest in Samoa.

When we talk about investors, we do not necessarily mean foreign investors but our own people who have the resources to invest in here to create jobs and look at various sorts of training to up-skill those people at Yazaki who will lose their jobs.

Its not an impossible task if we put our minds to it and talk with the business people.

Sili assured that the government will also work closely with the workers affected.

We want to talk to those who used to work for Yazaki and identify areas where they could be employed. This will require some time and patience.

We may need to talk to some of the large companies to accommodate some of the people laid off from work.

Away from employment opportunities, Sili said there are other potential revenue earners for the government.

There are businesses interested in leasing the facilities that Yazaki currently uses and again its for business expansion for warehouse storage and thats going to require more people to work.

We need to sit down and see how our business will absorb not necessarily all of them but a large number of them to continue to care for their families and communities and contribute to their church.

Last week, Prime Minister Tuilaepa SaileleMalielegaoi has assured the nation the government is working on a plan.

Speaking to the Sunday Samoan, Tuilaepa said a part of the plan involves looking for more opportunities for Samoans to take up work in Regional Seasonal Employment schemes with Australia and New Zealand.

He revealed that the government is preparing for negotiations with these nations to discuss the possibility of increasing Samoas quota on the schemes.

He made reference to the Carpenter scheme where seven local builders were recently recruited under the Canterbury post-earthquake rebuild to work in New Zealand for 12months.

Sili supports the Prime Ministers vision for the R.S.E schemes.

Two weeks ago, Y.E.S. announced its closure.

Y.E.S. Branding Division Manager in Japan, Yoko Yamada, said the closure is due to the car manufacturing industry in Australia winding down.

Over the years, Yazaki has been supplying products to the Australian automotive market but the latest developments in the market there have hada knock on impact here, forcing the company to re-evaluate the viability of their operation in Samoa.

The demands of the market for shorter lead times and more flexibility coupled with the logistics connections to Samoa make it commercially un-viable to supply any other market for example U.S.A. or Japan from here, he said.

As a result we have been trying to identify other alternatives for this operation. Unfortunately we have not been able to identify anything viable and must therefore announce that we will phase out production operations in Samoa.
A businessman who conspired with employees of a hardware store to steal materials has been convicted and fined by the Supreme Court.

Tupuola Patrick Boon, the owner of South Pacific Cladding Limited, was found guilty of two charges of theft in relation to building materials from Bluebird Lumber and Hardware.

Justice Lesatele Rapi Vaai ordered him to pay $2,000 for the two charges of theft as well as $1,000 for prosecution costs.

Tupuola who was represented in Court by lawyer, Leota Raymond Schuster, had denied the charges.

The Court heard that the charges arose from a plan hatched by the defendant and former employees of the Store to steal building materials.

Justice Lesatele said a driver and truck was provided by Tupuola to remove the materials and deliver them to his house.

The payments for materials was arranged by the defendant with one of the employees who was given cash which he then distributed among the employees who assisted in the theft, Justice Lesatele said.

For the first load of building materials, the defendant gave $3,000 to an employee. The value of the materials is estimated at about $7,000."

The second load is estimated at $3,000 but the defendant gave $1,500 to the employees as their share for distribution.

Justice Lesatele said the defendant benefited the most from the stolen materials.

As for the employees of Bluebird Lumber, they have admitted their involvement and are serving time in prison.

The prosecution had sought for an imprisonment sentence of two years for the defendant.

But his lawyer Leota argued for a non-custodial penalty, saying his client has already paid compensation worth $9,662 for the stolen materials.

Justice Lesatele considered this in favour of Tupuola. But he noted the defendants lack of remorse about the crime.

He remained adamant of his innocence in relation to the charges when he was interviewed by the probation service, said Justice Lesatele.

The insistence from the defendant despite the uncontested, credible evidence (before the Court) is a demonstration of the lack of remorse on his part. This was clearly a premeditated offence and offence of dishonesty.

Justice Lesatele also pointed out that the former employees of Bluebird Lumber were in the position of trust and their offending was considered far more serious.

This is a distinguishing aggravating feature which must have weighed heavily in the mind of Justice Nelson when he imposed the sentences on the employees, he said.

An important feature is that neither of the employees of Bluebird Lumber was able to pay compensation for the materials stolen. The defendant on the other hand, has paid compensation of $9662.
Escondido City Manager Graham Mitchell has resigned effective by the end of December after just one year on the job.

Mitchell, 47, said Friday he is exploring other professional opportunities, perhaps even a job outside of government.

In order to explore those kind of things it wasnt very fair for me to continue to move on with a relationship with the city, he said.

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Mitchell was Lemon Groves city manager for 12 years before coming to Escondido in 2015 to take an assistant city manager position. Just a few months later Clay Phillips announced his retirement and Mitchell was promoted to the top city job, taking over at the end of December.

Mitchells last day in Escondido will be Dec. 31. Mayor Sam Abed said a search will begin shortly to find a replacement.

Graham Mitchell has been a good city manager for the city of Escondido, and we appreciate his contributions and achievements in the past year, Abed said. We wish him the best.

Abed declined to comment about whether he was surprised Mitchell is leaving after such a short stint with the city, saying that is a personnel matter.

Councilman John Masson said he was surprised and upset by the news.

Hes done a lot for our city, and Im very happy with his work, Masson said. I understand hes got to do what he needs to do for his family and whatever else his reasons are. Im going to miss him.

In a memo to the council yesterday, Mitchell said he was resigning after serious reflection and for personal reasons.

This is a good thing for me and my family, Mitchell said during an interview Friday afternoon. Were pretty happy about it. He said he will continue to live in Escondido where he relocated last year. This is home, he said.

Just recently the council began discussing Mitchells first performance evaluation in closed session. Abed said the resignation has nothing to do with that process. His performance is good, Abed said.

Councilwoman Olga Diaz also praised the city manager.

Graham Mitchell was a great asset to the city of Escondido, she said. He moved a lot of projects forward very quickly. I wish him well.

Diaz said it was too bad we cant keep him a little longer but hes got to make decisions that are best for him and his family. We were lucky to have him as long as we did.

Mitchells salary is $239,000 a year, plus a number of special benefits.

Prior to his years in Lemon Grove, Mitchell was city manager in Farmersville and Visalia in Californias Central Valley.

In his resignation memo, Mitchell said he hopes that in his short time with Escondido I was able to influence the organization in a way that continues to foster creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for public service.

I had the privilege of working with passionate community leaders and a visionary City Council, Mitchell wrote. I believe that the City Councils unity on important issues is a strength not enjoyed by many communities.

During his time Mitchell promoted three employees to key management positions --Jay Petrek to assistant city manager, Bill Martin to Director of Community Development, and Russ Knowles to Fire Chief.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
The military-trained driver who led Los Angeles police on a dramatic chase that included doughnuts on a freeway overpass and an almost Hollywood-scripted near collision with a TMZ tour bus was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday, prosecutors said.

Herschel Reynolds, 20, was sentenced after pleading no-contest to charges of burglary and fleeing from police while driving recklessly, according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office. Reynolds passenger, Isaiah Dewayne Young, 19, pleaded guilty to the same charges and received the same sentence, according to the statement.

Reynolds and Young were charged with breaking into a home in Cerritos on April 7, before leading police on a two-hour chase that seemed bent on completing a bingo card filled with quintessentially  and in some cases, stereotypically  L.A. things and places. The pair sped across the city in a rented convertible, top down, weaving down the Walk of Fame and performing doughnuts on Hollywood Boulevard.

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At one point, the vehicle was cut off by a TMZ tour bus, and one of the suspects appeared to hurl a sandwich at it before speeding off.

The chase came to a peaceful end that was captured by television cameras in South L.A., as Reynolds and Washington drove to a home and received a heros welcome. They celebrated their exploits for several minutes before surrendering to arriving sheriffs deputies.

Reynolds has been a trained tactical driver for the U.S. Marines before he was prematurely discharged in January.

The character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps expectations and standards, the Pentagon said earlier this year.

Reynolds was also booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in May, after UCLA police said he struck a man with a motorcycle and tried to steal his cellphone in Westwood.

Reynolds pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor hit-and-run offense last month, and will be sentenced in that case next week, according to court records.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

UPDATES:

4:20 p.m.: This story was updated with additional information about separate criminals charges against Reynolds.

This story first published at 3:30 p.m.
Cesar Millan does not travel light. When the Dog Whisperer star came to San Diego earlier this week, he arrived in a big RV accompanied by his 22-year-old son, Andre, four dogs and a TV crew. They were here to film an episode of Cesar Millans Dog Nation, a new show that will debut early next year on the Nat Geo Wild cable channel.

The show is dedicated to telling heartwarming stories about inspirational dogs and the humans who help them, so in addition to the son and the dogs and the crew, Millan was also toting some big plans for a warmer, fuzzier future.

We want to unify the entire world, Millan said Friday, as he and the crew prepared to film a segment in Scripps Ranch. We may disagree about politics and religion and other things, but one thing we all agree on is how much we love dogs. One nation under dog.

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To that end, Millan and Dog Nation embarked on a seven-city tour that also included stops in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and San Francisco. In each city, the show focuses on a dog-welfare issue and a local organization that is taking it on.

In San Diego, the show partnered with Dog Rescue Without Borders, a small local nonprofit that is tackling the big problem of homeless and abandoned dogs (and the occasional cat) living on the streets or in high-kill shelters in Tijuana.

Earlier this week, Millan and the crew joined Dog Rescue Without Borders co-founder Michela Arredondo in Tijuana, where they rescued a dog they found eating trash in an abandoned dirt lot. Like its fellow rescue pups, this lucky dog will be given a full health check-up (including getting spayed or neutered) and placed in a shelter or with a foster family while it awaits adoption.

Dog expert Cesar Milan (middle) helps Jessica and J.R. Fisher of Scripps Ranch get acquainted with their new foster dog. He was in San Diego shooting an episode of his new show, Cesar Millans Dog Nation. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

To show the full scope of the groups program, Millan and the RV went to Scripps Ranch on Friday to meet Jessica and J.R. Fisher. After adopting an adorable, silky-haired dog named Kim through Dog Rescue Without Borders, the Fishers decided to return the favor. They volunteered to foster Reina, a ball of gray fur and affection who had been rescued and cleaned up and was ready for her next chapter.

Millan would be on hand to oversee Reinas arrival and advise the Fishers on how to turn their foster dog and their two family dogs into a happy blended canine family. The camera crew was on hand to document every tail-wagging, nose-sniffing, territory-establishing moment.

I love the name, Dog Rescue Without Borders. That says it all, said the 47-year-old Millan, who came to the U.S. from Sinaloa, Mexico, more than 20 years ago without a visa or any English-language skills. I know what it means to come from poverty and a lack of opportunity. As long as we help, we stay human. Its not who you help. Its the action of helping.

The shows visit to San Diego is a big boost to Dog Rescue Without Borders, a small nonprofit that Arredondo and co-founder Elsa Peralta-Blanco run with the help of a handful of volunteers and foster families. Blanco-Peralta hopes the TV exposure will give a boost to the organizations hard-working humans and to dogs like Cloud, a poodle who was run over by a car in Tijuana and needs an expensive surgery to repair a broken jaw.

We are so thrilled. We have no idea how they chose us, but we are so glad they did, Peralta-Blanco said earlier this week. We want to educate people on the needs that they have on the other side of the border when it comes to the overpopulation of dogs.

There are a lot of dogs on the street, and hopefully, more people will be involved. If they cannot adopt, hopefully they can foster. If they cant foster, they can volunteer. And if they cant volunteer, they can donate.

On the sidewalk across the street from the Fishers house, a happy Dog Nation story was unfolding. While the cameras rolled, Arredondo walked Reina over to meet the her foster family, which also included the Fishers alpha dog, an 8-year-old chihuahua mix named Gracie. Reina handled Kims occasional yipping and Gracies thorough sniffing with calm aplomb. The dogs seemed happy. The dog whisperer was thrilled.

This is good. Shes being respectful, and thats what you want, Millan said. You want the new dog to be calm and keep some distance. You dont want the new dog to just jump in. This is a great match.

Later, the whole gang would head inside, where Millan would encourage the Fishers to maintain a quiet, low-key atmosphere, especially in these early formative days. They should reward Reina when shes calm and ignore her when she isnt. The same goes for Kim and Gracie.

Shes very sweet, said J.R. Fisher, stroking Reinas floppy ears. We were expecting her to do a lot more jumping.

With Reina behaving like a model Dog Nation citizen in a house filled with love and treats, it was time for Millan to move on. The barking may stop, but the dog whisperers work is never done.

Ready? Millan said, as he and the crew headed to the RV. Lets go rescue more.

Twitter: @karla_peterson

karla.peterson@sduniontribune.com
A film director, a composer of video game music, a water management expert, and the head of Mexicos largest university are among the speakers confirmed for next months Tijuana Innovadora Conference.

Held every other year since 2010, the event aims to highlight Tijuanas potential and strengthen ties with San Diego. This years conference runs from Nov. 3 to Nov. 10, and features 150 speakers on a wide range of topics, as well a fashion show, a hackathon and a foodie fest.

The various sessions will explore the themes of creativity, fashion and sustainability, with a cross-border environmental fair a highlight of the conferences final day.

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Among the scheduled speakers are Jose Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; the Japanese composer Rika Muranaka, who has written songs for video games; rainwater harvesting expert Brad Lancaster; Alfonso Arau, the Mexican film director; and Enrique Graue, rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined Tijuana Innovadora president Jose Galicot on Thursday for a news conference at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park aimed at encouraging San Diego residents to attend some of the events.

My hope is that many San Diegans  businesses, school groups and residents  will go and make important and valuable connections, Faulconer said. Tijuana Innovadora is a tremendous opportunity to learn, understand and appreciate the innovations that are occurring in our cross-border region.

The conference is being staged at the Tijuana World Trade Center and the Museo del Trompo. Organizers have arranged for transportation between Balboa Park and the conference, with tickets available for purchase for groups of 14 or more.

For further details, go to: www.tijuanainnovadora.com
This weeks San Diego In Depth discusses how Mexican drug cartels might react if California voters on Nov. 8 pass Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational marijuana use. In todays Back Story, U-T criminal justice reporter Kristina Davis talks about what she learned covering the story.

Q: The issues surrounding legalizing marijuana are so varied. How did you decide to focus the story on the drug cartels?

A: The U.S.-Mexico border is part of what makes San Diego so unique compared to other major cities, and because of that I think San Diego could have a unique experience should recreational marijuana become legal. The pro-legalization side has argued that a legal market will push the cartels out of the pot business, and my editor and I thought that was an issue worth exploring. I cover federal law enforcement and federal courts, and this is an area that I had some expertise in as a beat writer.

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There are so many other issues to look at when it comes to legalized marijuana, from health and public safety ramifications to business growth to government regulations. My colleagues at the U-T will continue to explore these other angles separately.

Q: Was this a challenging story to report?

A: It had its moments. I would typically use my federal law enforcement sources to speak to this topic, as they are the ones who primarily investigate drug cartel activity in the U.S. But because the story was exploring a state ballot measure, no federal officials wanted to go on record. I had to find other voices instead, including academics and retired law enforcement. And its not like I could pose the question to a drug lord. (Call me, El Chapo!)

I did find some research exploring how legalized marijuana would affect cartels, but it was somewhat outdated.

Q: Was there anything that surprised you as you did your reporting?

A: I thought there would be more of a consensus among the experts I interviewed as to how the cartels might respond to legalized marijuana. But the opinions were very different, and well reasoned. Academics leaned more toward the theory that under basic economics, the cartels would not want to compete with a legal market. Law enforcement said cartels would never give up their cash crop of marijuana and would likely take advantage of the ability to grow it in the U.S. We really dont know what might happen.

I was also surprised to hear that cartels were actually smuggling high-grade U.S. marijuana south to be consumed by Mexicans.

Q: Why is California considered a game changer?

A: The nation is looking to how Californians will vote on this issue for a good reason. California is often a tipping point state to spread social and political trends nationwide.

Q: What did you learn by looking at the experiences of other states that already have recreational-use laws in place?

A: I primarily focused on Colorado because they have been selling legally the longest. Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman told me that the Mexican cartels havent taken over the marijuana market as many had feared would happen. But she also acknowledged that California could be in a different position because of its proximity to the border. It was also interesting to learn how other criminals have created a black market for the drug.

On a side note, she said the strong smell of marijuana often wafts across the freeway that cuts through the Denver warehouse district. And that while people arent allowed to smoke it in public, people often do.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
SHELBYVILLE - Shelbyville City Council members are waiting for their attorney and more details before agreeing to issue up to $4 million in Alternate Revenue Source bonds to fund city water and sewer projects.

We have sewer and water projects that could lead to more subdivisions and more businesses, said council member Bill Shoaff, who oversees the water and sewer departments.

One council member said he wanted more details about the planned use of the money.

The council hasnt discussed it, Brent Fogelman said. I dont know what these projects are.

Fogelman and other council members got a look at potential projects after a presentation from consulting engineer Steve Bainbridge of Decatur. Bainbridge said the city had received a bid for a new water well and needed to replace pumps in the sewer department. He also said the city needed plans to bring the sewer system more in compliance with new Illinois Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Were not being singled out, he said. This is a statewide program. The larger cities were nudged first, and now they are getting to smaller towns.

In addition to the well and sewer upgrades, Shelbyville is also considering replacing city water system meters with new computerized meters that would not require individual meter reading.

With council member Thom Schafer absent on a visit to Shelbyvilles sister city in Japan and the city attorney absent, Mayor Jeff Johnson suggested the city wait until next month before considering the bond issue.

That will give everyone time to find out what they need to know, Johnson said. Its just a couple of weeks, and then we can decide whether to move ahead.
The District Attorneys Office has declined to file criminal charges against a man arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing in Encanto earlier this month.

Miguel Ramos, 20, of San Diego turned himself in to police on Oct. 10. He was booked into county jail on suspicion of murder, stemming from the death of Robert Acevedo, 44, of Lemon Grove.

Ramos was believed to have stabbed Acevedo during an argument in front of a mutual friends house on Evelyn Street near Broadway on Oct. 9, shortly before 12:30 a.m., according to San Diego police.

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A homicide lieutenant said witnesses identified Ramos as the assailant. Detectives learned that Acevedo and Ramos knew each other before the fight, and that they had an ongoing dispute.

Steve Walker, a spokesman for the District Attorneys Office, said Friday that prosecutors chose not to file charges against Ramos in that case, but he did not disclose the specific reasons that led to that decision. Walker said the office can only file criminal charges in a case when we believe we can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.

He said the decision was made this week.

Defense attorney Vikas Bajaj, who represents Ramos, said he believes his client was not charged because this is a clear case of self defense. The attorney said what began as an argument between Ramos and Acevedo turned violent and threatening.

It was unfortunate that someone died, but I believe Mr. Ramos in no way, shape or form should have been facing a murder charge, Bajaj said.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
Lawyers for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are asking a San Diego judge in the upcoming fraud trial over Trump University to keep out any evidence relating to his presidential campaign.

In a pretrial motion filed Thursday in federal court, Trump lawyer Daniel Petrocelli listed more than a dozen areas he described as outside the adjudicative process that jurors should not hear.

They covered much of what Trump has been saying over the past year or more, and what has been said and written about him as he pursues the presidency.

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The list included any evidence from campaign statements, speeches, advertisements, statements at debates and tweets from Trumps very active Twitter account.

It also includes two specific subject areas that have been flash points during the campaign and controversial for the candidate: personal conduct accusations and comments about this case and the Court.

The motion does not specifically identify what comments are out of bounds. But the personal conduct accusations likely relate to the 10 women who have recently accused Trump of groping or kissing them in the past.

Trump has denied mistreating the women, characterizing the accusations as fiction and blaming the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for prompting the women to come forward.

The comments about the Trump University litigation stem from Trumps widely reported attacks on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the case.

In a stop in San Diego in May, Trump said Curiel was being unfair to him and charged that the judges Mexican heritage made him biased against the businessman. The judge was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants.

A firestorm of criticism ensued over the remarks, but Trump did not back down.

Petrocelli said the evidence he wants excluded is extraneous, irrelevant and prejudicial to the upcoming trial.

Before trial begins in this case, prospective members of the jury will have the opportunity to cast their vote for President, the lawyer wrote. It is in the ballot box where they are free to judge Mr. Trump based on all this and more. But it is in the jury box where they must judge him and this case only on evidence and argument relevant to the issues at hand.

The motion was one of many filed this week by lawyers from both sides seeking to shape the upcoming trial. It is set to begin Nov. 28, not quite three weeks after the presidential election.

The plaintiffs in the class-action suit contend they were lured into paying for seminars and services from Trump University believing they were getting inside secrets of real estate success from Trumps handpicked teachers.

Instead, the suit said, they received little insight or knowledge after paying as much as $35,000 to the university.

Other information Trump wants excluded includes statements about his taxes, his charitable foundation that has come under scrutiny during the campaign, prior bankruptcies, his statements about other politicians, state attorneys general or public servants, and his casino and beauty pageant businesses.

The trial will be held in two phases. The first will determine liability  whether or not Trump is liable for deceiving customers as they allege  and the second on monetary damages.

Curiel is expected to rule on Petrocellis motion and several others on Nov. 10, two days after the election. The timing of the trial  which was filed in 2010  was scheduled so it would happen after the election and before Trump would take office, if he wins.

Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
Californians voted to increase taxes on the states wealthiest earners in 2012, seeking to replenish education funding accounts depleted during the recession. Four years later, the economy is recovering and the tax increase is slated to end after 2018. Education and health care advocates argue Californians cant afford to lose the revenues from the high-earner income tax.

What would it do?

Proposition 55 would extend the 2012 voter-approved tax increase on high-income earners for 12 more years, to 2030. The tax applies to earnings over $250,000 a year for individuals, or over $500,000 for couples. Most of the revenue would continue to go to K-12 education, with the remaining set aside for community colleges and low-income health care programs.

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What would it cost state government?

Nothing; Proposition 55 would reap billions for the state. The state could see increased revenues ranging from $4 billion to $9 billion a year from 2019 through 2030, depending on the economy and the stock market.

Why is it on the ballot?

The California Teachers Association and the California Hospital Association are bankrolling Proposition 55 and their constituencies stand to benefit from it passing. Revenues from this income tax are targeted for public schools and healthcare for low-income children. Those programs would likely see cuts if the 2012 tax increases expire.

What supporters say:

Proposition 55 maintains taxes on the wealthiest of Californians, and would prevent billions of dollars of cuts to public education needed to hire teachers and reduce class sizes. Funding for community colleges would make more classes available and keep tuition rates stable while low-income children would see improved access to health care.

What opponents say:

This measure is a broken promise to taxpayers who voted in 2012 for a temporary tax. Extending the tax by another 12 years is a power grab by labor unions that will send the states economy into a tailspin, forcing more businesses and jobs to leave California.
Tobacco is often the target of politicians seeking money for state programs, with mixed success across the country. In California, voters have rejected multiple ballot box attempts over the years to raise taxes on cigarettes, and the state is among those with the lowest taxes on tobacco. The growing popularity of e-cigarettes and vapor products adds a new dynamic to the debate.

What would it do?

Proposition 56 would add a $2 tax to cigarettes, electronic cigarettes containing nicotine, and other tobacco products to primarily increase funding for existing health care programs.

What would it cost the government?

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Nothing; this measure would add revenue to the state budget. It would provide an estimated $1 billion to $1.4 billion in 2017-18, with potentially lower revenues in future years.

Why is it on the ballot?

Proposition 56 is sponsored by a coalition of healthcare groups that could stand to see a boost in Medi-Cal funding if it passes. The measure is one of three on the November ballot that would increase Medi-Cal funding, which healthcare advocates say has yet to recover from cuts the Legislature made during the recession.

What supporters say:

Proposition 56 is a user fee paid only by smokers to help pay for healthcare, cancer treatment, smoking prevention, and research to cure cancer and tobacco-related diseases. Taxing tobacco saves lives with a proven reduction in youth smoking. Californias current tax on cigarettes  87 cents per pack  is low compared to most states.

What opponents say:

This measure is a tax grab by insurance companies, labor unions and hospitals, with just a fraction of the money set aside for smoking prevention. More pressing problems like the drought, education, road repairs and violent crime should benefit from any tax increases.
This is the rare ballot measure that requires you to think about sex. Because here in California  home to a $9 billion pornography industry  that most personal of acts is also a jobs issue and a public health concern. Four years ago, Los Angeles County voters approved a measure requiring adult film performers to use condoms. The longtime AIDS activist who pushed that measure has taken his fight statewide with Propositoin 60.

What would it do?

Proposition 60 would require porn actors to use condoms when filming intercourse. It would create a system for people to make complaints and file lawsuits if they see a sex scene that does not include a condom. It would require that adult film producers pay for performers vaccinations, testing and medical exams related to sexual health.

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What would it cost state government?

Additional regulations on adult film production would cost more than $1 million annually. In addition, state and local tax revenue would probably drop by several million dollars a year if productions move out of state or go underground to evade the condom mandate.

Why is it on the ballot?

The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation put Proposition 60 on the ballot after failing to persuade the Legislature to pass a statewide condom requirement

What supporters say:

State law already requires adult performers to use condoms on the job, but they are exposed to disease because the provision is rarely enforced. Proposition 60 strengthens existing law by adding new enforcement mechanisms that protect workers in the porn industry.

What opponents say:

Viewers dont want to watch sex involving condoms, so porn producers will leave California or go underground if this measure passes. The states adult film industry already minimizes disease transmission by frequently testing performers. This measure would lead to new lawsuits.
Many Americans are angry about rising pharmaceutical prices and politicians have taken notice. Presidential candidates this year debated how to contain costs, and California lawmakers proposed fixes that never passed out of the statehouse. Drug prices are a big deal not only for consumers who are forced to pay more for prescriptions, but also for the state government, which spends billions on medication for public employees, retirees, prisoners and other people on public health plans.

What would it do?

Proposition 61 would cap the amount the state pays for prescription drugs  generally prohibiting the state from paying any more for drugs than the lowest price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which pays the lowest prices in the nation.

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What would it cost?

Proposition 61 could save the state some money, but its hard to say for certain. If drug makers responded to the measure by raising prices for the Department of Veterans Affairs, that would negate any potential savings to the state. Because the drug market reaction is unpredictable, the states legislative analysts concluded that the fiscal impact is unknown.

Why is it on the ballot?

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles  which runs pharmacies and health clinics around the world  paid to put Proposition 61 on the ballot.

What supporters say:

Proposition 61 will rein in soaring drug prices and fights back against pharmaceutical companies that reap profit from peoples illnesses.

What opponents say:

It would limit prices only for people in certain government health plans, but could make medication more expensive for others  especially veterans  if drug companies hike prices to make up the difference.
Even though California has some of the toughest gun restrictions in the country, political will intensified this year to pass even stiffer laws. Motivated in part by the December shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead, Democrats in the Legislature advanced several gun control bills, many of which were signed into law. All the while, Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was leading the effort to put Proposition 63 before voters. The newly-passed laws overlap with two of the six gun-control policies included in this measure.

What would it do?

The two parts of Proposition 63 that are similar to newly-approved state laws are provisions that would require criminal background checks for people purchasing ammunition and prohibit possession of large-capacity magazines (those that hold more than 10 bullets).

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Other pieces of Proposition 63 would make new requirements for reporting lost or stolen firearms and ammunition to authorities; prohibit people from possessing firearms if theyre convicted of stealing a firearm; establish new ways for authorities to remove guns from people who are prohibited from owning them; change theft of a gun worth $950 or less from a misdemeanor to a felony; strengthen the national criminal background check system by requiring the state to share information about people who are prohibited from owning firearms.

What would it cost the government?

Tens of millions of dollars a year related to new processes for removing firearms from people who are not allowed to own them because theyve been convicted of a crime. Millions of dollars annually to regulate ammunition sales and jail those facing stiffer penalties for certain gun crimes.

Why is it on the ballot?

Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, put forth Proposition 63 after consulting with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco.

What supporters say:

Something must be done about gun violence, which injures or kills more than 300 Americans each day. Even in Californias Democratic-controlled statehouse, the gun lobby has successfully blocked efforts to pass some policies aimed at keeping guns and ammunition out of the wrong hands. This initiative takes those questions directly to voters.

What opponents say:

Criminals, by definition, dont obey the law, so putting more restrictions on guns and ammunition wont stop them  it will just burden law-abiding gun owners. This measure is a way for Newsom to boost his image before running for governor in two years.
THE ISSUE: Its the Goldilocks conundrum of American politics: Is the federal government too big, too small or just right?

Few think its just right. Ever since the first Americans bucked their colonial overlords in Britain, America has been wrestling with the delicate balance between a government that creates opportunity and one that inhibits it.

Every four years, the presidential election offers a referendum on whether Washington should do more or less. Traditionally, Republicans have been viewed as the party of smaller government. This year, its not so simple.

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Trump

Its no secret Donald Trump likes things huuuuge. Whether that applies to Uncle Sam remains to be seen.

Trump favors cutting government regulation that he says stifles businesses. Hes talked about doing away with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Education Department. Trump has also promised massive tax cuts, but fiscal conservatives flinch at the trillions of dollars his plan is expected to heap onto the national debt.

Unlike most conservatives, Trump supports eminent domain  the governments right to seize property with compensation. He wants to replace Obamacare, but has said government-run health care could have worked in a different age. And dont forget that gigantic Mexico border wall he wants to build, estimated to cost taxpayers billions. Trump says itll be Mexican taxpayers footing the bill, a claim his critics and Mexico laugh off.

Clinton

Clinton hasnt focused heavily on cutting government spending in her campaign either. To the contrary, shes vowed new spending on college education, infrastructure and other programs that could grow the size of government. While Clinton has said taxes would go up for the wealthy to help pay for it, independent analyses have shown her plans would increase the debt in the long term.

On the other hand, Clintons vision for government is a far cry from that of Bernie Sanders, her defeated primary opponent whose plans for education and health care would have caused government to swell if implemented.
ISSUE: Radical Islamic militancy that has sustained itself for decades overseas has inspired a series of attacks on U.S. soil in the last year and a half.

The culprits typically have no ties to foreign terrorist organizations, no explicit directions from overseas and no formal training  unlike the operatives of 9/11. Instead, theyve blended into American society and skated beneath the radar of federal investigators grappling with a frenetic threat landscape and hundreds of investigations across the country.

The bombing in Manhattan in September that injured more than two-dozen people crystallized the concerns: A handwritten journal found with Ahmad Khan Rahami, the Afghan-born U.S. citizen accused in the explosion, praised terrorists like Osama bin Laden and warned the sounds of bombs would be heard in the streets, prosecutors allege.

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Before that was the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with 49 killed. In December 2015, a husband-wife duo killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. A July 2015 shooting at military sites in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killed four Marines and one Navy sailor.

Death counts mount. While more people die in traffic accidents, the fear of seemingly random attacks has shaken the American psyche.

Some Americans have turned inward. They think twice about attending large events. They view others suspiciously on public transit.

How can the U.S. defend itself from these jihadi-inspired homegrown attacks?

Clinton

She says Muslim-Americans may be the best defense against extremism in their communities. Clinton says they can prevent young people from joining jihadis and notify law enforcement when they hear of planned attacks or suspected radicalization. Clinton would prohibit people on terrorist watch lists from being able to purchase weapons. She also wants wider use of programs to identify signs of radicalization and counter jihadi ideology, though the success of such initiatives isnt established.

Trump

He had proposed a freeze on foreign Muslims entering the U.S., though that would have done little to stop radicalized American citizens. Now, instead, hes proposed a hold on immigration from areas of the world with a history of extremist violence against the U.S. and allies.
THE ISSUE: The U.S. interstate highway system, celebrating its 60th birthday this year, is showing its age. Many roads and bridges are in need of repair or expansion. Similar problems exist for public drinking and wastewater systems, dams and levees, airports, railroads and mass transit systems. Politicians generally agree the nations infrastructure is in need of improvement. Deciding how to pay for it and which projects should take priority is more difficult.

To hear either candidate talk, a staggering amount of money is going to be spent on infrastructure  if Congress goes along.

Clinton

Clinton has proposed spending $250 billion over the next five years on infrastructure. She proposes to repair and improve roads and bridges, expand public transit, make affordable high-speed internet access available to all households by 2020 and modernize passenger rail systems, airports, dams, levees and wastewater systems. Clinton also proposes to direct $25 billion over five years to a new national infrastructure bank, which she said could support about $225 billion in loans for local infrastructure projects. A similar lending bank was proposed by President Barack Obama during his first term but failed to win congressional approval.

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Trump

Trump has said he wants to spend at least double the amount Clinton has proposed for infrastructure, financed through low-interest bonds. His campaign said a more detailed plan is coming. In his 2015 book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, Trump said a large-scale public infrastructure plan could create the biggest economic boom in this country since the New Deal, a series of programs started in the 1930s by President Franklin Roosevelt.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
THE ISSUE: Last years nuclear deal has removed for now the threat of a U.S.-Iranian military confrontation. But the deal rests on shaky ground.

The accord curtailed Irans nuclear program, pulling it back from atomic weapons capability in exchange for the end of various oil, trade and financial sanctions by the U.S. and six other world powers. The sides fulfilled their pledges in January.

Relations between the U.S. and Iran have warmed since the agreement, to the dismay of U.S. allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia. The once hostile foes are cooperating to end Syrias civil war. Each military is staying out of the others way as they battle the Islamic State group in Iraq. Nuclear consultations occur daily.

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But the next president could have his or her hands full. The Iranians are threatening to renege unless they receive greater economic benefits. In Congress, many Republicans and even some Democrats still want the deals collapse.

Even if the accord survives, its nuclear restrictions start ending in about seven years  meaning the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran could re-emerge.

Its basically a question of continuity versus change.

Clinton

Clinton helped lay the groundwork for the nuclear deal. As secretary of state, she tasked two of her most senior aides to meet secretly with Iranian officials. Those talks set the framework for the larger negotiations.

When the nuclear accord went into effect earlier this year, Clinton hailed it as an important achievement of diplomacy backed by pressure.

Still, the Democratic presidential candidate has staked out a tougher tone than President Barack Obama. In a speech last year, she spoke of confronting Iran across the board from its military activity in Syria to destabilization of the Middle East.

Trump

Trump has called the Iran deal stupid, a lopsided disgrace and worse. He says that unlike Obamas diplomats, he would have been prepared to walk away from negotiations. But Trump doesnt want to tear up the accord.

Instead, he speaks of tougher enforcement and possible renegotiation. Trump has railed against several of the deals particulars, such as the timespan of restrictions on Irans enrichment of uranium and other nuclear activity. He says Iran got too much relief from economic sanctions. Its unclear, though, how he might persuade Iran to accept less favorable terms in a done deal.
THE ISSUE: Tepid income growth and shrinking opportunities for blue-collar workers have kept many Americans anxious about jobs and the economy, seven years after the Great Recession ended.

The unemployment rate has fallen to a relatively low 4.9 percent. But many Americans are struggling to keep up with an economy that has been fundamentally transformed since the recession, and is very different from the one their parents experienced.

Most jobs with decent pay require more education than in the past. And some of the best-paying, fastest-growing jobs are in newer fields such as data analytics, computer network security, and software development. Such jobs typically require very specific skills.

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Trump

He wants to spur more job creation by reducing regulations and cutting taxes to encourage businesses to expand and hire more.

He also says badly negotiated free trade agreements have cost millions of manufacturing jobs. He promises to bring those jobs back by renegotiating the NAFTA agreement with Canada and Mexico, withdrawing from a proposed Pacific trade pact with 11 other nations, and pushing China to let its currency float freely on international markets.

Clinton

She has promised to spend $275 billion upgrading roads, tunnels and modern infrastructure such as broadband Internet, to create more construction and engineering jobs. Trump has said in interviews he would spend twice as much.

Clinton also says she would make state colleges and universities tuition-free as well as community colleges. That would enable more Americans to qualify for higher-paying jobs. She plans to pay for these proposals by lifting taxes on wealthier Americans.
THE ISSUE: Modest income growth for most Americans, strikes by fast-food workers, and the rapid growth of low-paying jobs at the same time middle-income work shrinks have combined to make the minimum wage a top economic issue for the 2016 campaign. Millions could benefit: Raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $12 would lift pay for 35 million workers, or 1 in 4 employees nationwide, according to the liberal Economic Policy Institute. But it would also boost costs for employers and may slow hiring. And it could lead to higher prices at clothing stores and restaurants and for other services.

Both candidates have struggled to articulate their positions.

Clinton

Clinton says she supports raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour, rather than the $15 supported by advocates for low-income workers and by the Democratic Partys platform. But she also supports state and local efforts to push it higher than $12.

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Trump

Trump is harder to pin down. Last fall he opposed any increase in the minimum, saying that overall wages were too high in the U.S. In July he said the minimum wage should be $10, but added that states should really call the shots.
THE ISSUE: Policing in the United States minority communities has been a flashpoint since the deaths of Michael Brown in Missouri, Tamir Rice in Ohio, Sandra Bland in Texas and others. The increasing number of graphic photos and videos depicting the deaths of black men, women and children at the hands of police officers has sparked unrest around the nation. The perception that law enforcement officers are rarely, if ever, punished for what some consider unethical behavior, brutality and even criminal acts against black Americans has led to the rise of new social and civil rights movements like Black Lives Matter.

Police in turn have complained of being unfairly stereotyped as the enemy by minority communities in which they serve. They have noted that theyve increased monitoring of officer behavior through cameras placed in their vehicles and carried by officers during interactions with the public and increased training for officers and personnel.

Clinton

Hillary Clinton has been criticized by activists for some of her positions  she once, for example, supported superpredator laws that were meant to combat a supposed wave of lawless children. During the Democratic primary she used the phrase All Lives Matter  words that some have invoked as pushback against the concerns of Black Lives Matter while others have uttered the phrase without intending to challenge the movement. Shes also expressed regret for talking about superpredators in the past. Clinton has offered proposals, such as legislation that would help end racial profiling, provide federal matching funds for more police body cameras and overhaul mandatory minimum sentencing.

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Trump

Donald Trump has described himself as the law and order candidate. He has said some of the videos and photos depicting the deaths of people of color at the hands of police were hard to witness, but has called police the most mistreated people in this country. Trump endorsed a former New York City police policy called stop and frisk after unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. A federal judge ruled the procedure violated the rights of minorities.
THE ISSUE: More Americans are getting buried by student debt  causing delays in home ownership, limiting how much people can save and leaving taxpayers at risk as many loans go unpaid. The statistics look daunting.

Student debt now totals around $1.26 trillion. This amounts to a stunning 350 percent increase since 2005, according to the New York Federal Reserve. Not everyone sees that surge as troubling. President Barack Obamas Council of Economic Advisers issued a report this year saying that the debt is beneficial because college graduates earn more money than people with only high school degrees.

But college drop-outs who borrow are increasingly less likely to repay their loans, as are former students at for-profit colleges that in some cases never provided the stable careers promised in their brochures. Nor are college graduates necessarily repaying their loans, a reflection of the stagnating incomes for many.

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More than 60 percent of the class of 2014 graduated with debt that averaged nearly $27,000, according to the College Board. Not all that taxpayer-backed debt is getting repaid. Out of the 43 million Americans with student debt, roughly 16 percent are in long-term default a potential hit in excess of $100 billion that taxpayers would absorb.

Studies have shown that student debt payments have led to a delay in home ownership, as well as a decline in college savings for the borrowers children  creating a multigenerational debt cycle.

Clinton

Clinton hopes to curtail debt dramatically for undergraduates. She has modified her initial plan after talks with the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran on the promise of taxpayer-funded college.

Clinton now proposes no tuition for students from families making less than $85,000 when they go to an in-state, public college. That threshold would rise to $125,000 by 2021. All community colleges would be tuition-free, in addition to making it easier for existing borrowers to refinance at lower rates, limit repayments to 10 percent of income and forgive any remaining college debt after 20 years. The plan would cost the federal government an estimated $500 billion over 10 years, which the Clinton campaign says would be paid for by ending tax preferences for wealthier Americans.

Trump

Trump has promised a great student debt plan, details to come. Trump appears to view student debt as inflating college costs to levels that are only worsening the problem.

The colleges are viewing the students as just a conduit for government aid, he has said. We are going to help the students. Maybe that doesnt fit beautifully within the Republican framework.
THE ISSUE: In this angry election year, many American voters are deeply skeptical about free trade  or downright hostile to it.

The backlash against trade threatens a pillar of U.S. policy since World War II: Through trade pacts and institutions like the World Trade Organization, the United States has sought to rip down barriers to global commerce, including quotas and taxes on imports.

Economists argue that the benefits of free trade outweigh the costs. Imports cut prices for consumers, and exposure to foreign competition makes American firms and the overall U.S. economy more efficient. Theres a geopolitical angle, too: Countries that do business with each other are less likely to go to war.

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Free trade, it seemed, paid off.

But doubts lingered, especially as China emerged as an economic power. China overwhelmed the world with hundreds of millions of low-paid factory workers who could crank out products for less than just about anybody else. And critics charge that China doesnt play by the rules  unfairly subsidizing exporters, manipulating its currency to give them a competitive edge and condoning the theft of U.S. trade secrets. Whatever the reasons, the United States last year ran a $334 billion trade deficit with China  a big chunk of Americas $500 billion total trade deficit.

Even economists are having second thoughts. David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gordon Hanson of the University of California, San Diego, and David Dorn of the University of Zurich looked at the American workers most exposed to competition from China. They got an unpleasant surprise. Instead of finding jobs in newer, growing industries, as economic theory dictated, Americans thrown out of work by the China shock bounced from job to job and suffered a drop in lifetime pay. Chinas rise has challenged much of the received empirical wisdom about how labor markets adjust to trade shocks, they concluded.

Clinton

Clinton has broken with President Barack Obama by opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement that Obamas administration hammered out with 11 Pacific Rim countries (excluding China) and that awaits congressional approval. Awkwardly for Clinton, she had called the agreement the gold standard for trade deals when she was Obamas secretary of state.

Trump

Trump vows to tear up existing trade deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, and to slap huge tariffs on Chinese imports. He traces Americas economic problems to bad trade deals reached by clueless U.S. negotiators outfoxed by craftier foreigners. The author of The Art of the Deal says he can do better.
THE ISSUE: Who should be able to vote and how easy should it be? Its a question that goes to the core of democracy.

Voting rights are in flux in the final months of Barack Obamas two terms as the first black president. Citing a need to combat fraud, Republican-controlled legislatures are tightening voter laws by limiting early voting and same-day registration, by requiring IDs at polling places, and more. In 2013, declaring our country has changed, the Supreme Court invalidated a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required mostly Southern states with a history of discrimination to get advance federal approval to change election laws. The court decision made it easier for states to impose new restrictions.

This year, 17 states were set to have restrictions involving voter ID or other requirements for the first time in a presidential election. Among them: the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

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The Obama Justice Department has challenged voter ID and other laws, saying they could restrict access for minorities and young people. In recent weeks, lower courts temporarily staved off some of the toughest requirements in North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin after judges found no evidence of rampant voter fraud.

With the November election looming, litigation remains knotted up with Supreme Court appeals likely. Bills in the GOP-led Congress to restore the voting act are stalled.

Trump

Without offering specifics, Trump has emphasized the dangers of voter fraud, calling Americas electoral system out of control with people who are voting many, many times. He has said  without evidence  that dead voters helped elect Obama. Trump opposes same-day voter registration, saying it could allow people to sneak in through the cracks.

Clinton

Clinton is urging Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act. She seeks a national standard of at least 20 days of early in-person voting and urges automatic voter registration for eligible 18-year-olds. Clinton backs voting rights for ex-felons. Her campaign has joined lawsuits to stop policies that may burden minorities, including in Arizona, where voters had to wait hours in March after cuts in polling locations.
THE ISSUE: The financial crisis that struck in 2008 touched off the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression, wiping out $11 trillion in U.S. household wealth and leaving about 8 million Americans jobless. More than 5 million families lost their homes to foreclosure. Reckless trading and aggressive practices on Wall Street in the prior boom years were pinned with much of the blame.

In the aftermath, Congress enacted an overhaul of financial rules aimed at preventing another meltdown and multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout of banks. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law gave regulators new oversight powers and tools to shut banks without resorting to bailouts. Risky lending was restricted and a new federal agency was charged with protecting consumers from deceptive marketing of financial products.

Republicans and many in the business community complain that the restrictions have raised costs for banks, especially smaller ones, and other businesses, stifling economic growth. They want the overhaul law repealed.

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Clinton

Hillary Clinton says the Dodd-Frank law should be strengthened. Shed slap a new risk fee on the biggest banks and financial institutions, and give regulators more power to force high-risk banks to shrink or break apart. That doesnt go as far as Bernie Sanders Break them up mantra during his Democratic primary campaign against her.

Trump

Trump wants the financial overhaul law to be repealed, or at least mostly dismantled. He embraces the view held by Republicans and business interests that the regulations have increased costs and smothered growth. He calls the law a disaster and a disgrace.
Growing up in a small town in Idaho, Justin Doering noticed that the adults around him tended to ignore homeless people they passed on the street. He instead wondered who they were and how they became homeless.

Earlier this year, he hit the road to find out.

His cross-country trip brought him to San Diego last week, where he interviewed a few homeless people for a book he plans to publish in about a year.

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The idea is to show that theres more to homeless people than being homeless, said Doering, 22. Its to show the stories beyond homelessness.

After graduating from Boise State University with a degree in journalism last year, Doering launched a Kickstarter campaign and raised $10,000 for his project 50 Sandwiches. He bought a 1990 van he calls Milo for $1,600 and has traveled about 13,000 miles over the past two months.

His plan is to buy a sandwich for each homeless person he meets in exchange for a 90-minute interview. Hes sat down with 42 people so far and wants to reach 100 to 150 before selecting 50 for the book.

Doering said he got the idea for the project after realizing that he knew little about homeless people because he never saw any while growing up in Coeur dAlene, a town in northern Idaho.

When Id go somewhere with my family, Id notice there were people sitting on the street, sleeping on the sidewalks, who were completely ignored or even demonized by the general population, he said. And that really intrigued me, because these were people who were clearly in need of help. No ones wondering how they got here.

Doering said he called his project 50 Sandwiches rather than 50 Homeless People to emphasize that the only thing each one of them had in common was a sandwich.

Every single person has an incredibly different, diverse background that you could not predict until you got to know them, he said.

Doering is working on the book as he travels across the country. Interviews hes already edited can be found on his blog at https://fiftysandwiches.com.

The 27 interviews on line this week include the latest, a 28-year-old man named Thomas he met in San Diego who said he is not interested in material things and has chosen to be homeless.

I live by the Nietzsche quote, Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music, Thomas is quoted in the blog.

While Thomas said he enjoys his life and is grateful for what he has, he also revealed he had an alcohol problem and spoke of the dark side to life on the street.

A big eye-opener for me was to see so many of my friends out here die from overdosing, cirrhosis of the liver, drunk mistakes and murdering each other over drugs, he told Doering. Those are dangerous temptations to this lifestyle, and luckily I stayed away from that before it was too late.

Other interviews on the blog include a 58-year-old New Orleans man, a young mother with a baby in Sacramento, a 28-year-old man in Venice Beach, a teenage girl in Los Angeles and a 36-year-old man in Boise, Idaho.

Each one has a different story, but Doering said he wants to do more with his book than string together a series of anecdotes and interviews.

The idea is to pair the anecdotes with some statistics, he said. I plan to back it with some scientific data and really show its a problem on a mass scale.

As an example, Doering paired his interview with a gay youth with statistics that show that 7 percent of the estimated general population is LGBT, but 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT.

In addition, mental stability plays a role in homelessness, as up to 25 percent of the homeless population suffer from a severe mental illness, Doering wrote in his blog, which cites the National Coalition for the Homeless as a source.

Since leaving on his trip Aug. 12 from Boise, hes interviewed people in Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Redding, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, El Paso, Dallas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Tallahassee and Atlanta. Hell spend the next several weeks interviewing people in shelters in the northeast.

Doering said there are commonalities among the people hes met, such as substance abuse, mental problems and a lack of a support system. Even with those similarities, each had their own story.

I think the biggest surprise on a grand scale was that where stereotypes seem to be true, the stories behind them are so different, he said. If I interview two people who have heroin addictions, their stories and reasoning for what led them down that path are completely different.

Doering said hes found many people had a history of domestic abuse when they were young, and that may have led to drug addiction and homelessness.

After his project is complete and his book published, Doering said he will weigh whether to seek a career in journalism or expand his work with the homeless. Hes already spoken at some schools and said he would like to educate young people about homelessness and nip in the bud any stereotypes they may have about the population.

To learn more about Doerings project, visit his Kickstarter page at https://kck.st/2escRHR or follow @jusswilder on Instagram and @juswilder on Twitter.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

People who are eligible to cast a ballot but have not yet signed up, or need to update their registration because of a move or a name change, can do so at the county Registrar of Voters website, www.sdvote.com.

Besides signing up to vote, or re-registering, the website also allows visitors to track their registration status.

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Registration forms are also available at the registrars office, post offices, public libraries, city clerk offices and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Besides English, materials are available in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Forms must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the registrar by Oct. 24.

The registrars office, which is located at 5600 Overland Avenue in Kearny Mesa in San Diego, will be open until 8 p.m. on Monday.

According to the California Secretary of State, San Diego County has 2.19 million eligible voters, but only 1.53 million, just under 70 percent, are registered. Democrats account for 36.9 percent of the countys electorate, Republicans 31.6 percent, and 26.6 percent do not belong to a political party.

Besides registering to vote at the website, people can check their registration status, find their polling place, and examine their sample ballot. Voters can also track their mail-in ballot.

Vote by mail ballots can be requested until Nov. 1. Both major political parties as well as the registrar have encouraged voters to use mail in ballots so they can vote at a convenient time and avoid lines at the polls. The registrar recommends that mail-in ballots be put into the post by Nov. 1, or hand-delivered to a polling place after that.

Due to the high number of contests, voters will be receiving a ballot that consists of two cards with candidates and issues on the front and the back. With a mail ballot, you can vote in the comfort of your home, Registrar Michael Vu said in a statement.

He also urged mail-ballot voters to use ballpoint pens, as opposed to felt-tipped markers, to avoid ink from bleeding through one side of the ballots to the other.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
One boy was dead, his brother and sister were nearly breathing their last when San Diego firefighters Dallas Higgins and Joe Zakar crawled through a burning room filled with black, choking smoke to find them and carry them out.

For putting themselves at risk and saving the lives of both children last year, Higgins and Zakar received a medal of valor Friday at an annual ceremony hosted by the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation.

The luncheon event was at the Hyatt Islandia Mission Bay hotel.

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Awards were presented to 48 civilian heroes and those from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, AMR Rural/Metro medic service and the San Diego Lifeguard Service.

Higgins and Zakar were among the firefighters sent to a Mount Hope house fire shortly after midnight on Nov. 30. A babysitter said three children were still inside.

Flames were raging as Higgins crawled in a bedroom window and felt a bunk bed where a 12-year-old boy was dead. Higgins found a 5-year-old boy alive on the bottom bunk and handed him out the window to Zakar.

Higgins crawled around to find the third child, but had to get out of the intense heat. He suffered burns to his ears, neck, hands and one heel.

It knew it was getting hotter and hotter in there, Zakar said in an interview before the ceremony. Zakar dove into the window, crawled inside and found a 3-year-old girl on the floor.

I heard the little girl take a breath behind me, Zakar said. By the light of their flashlights, he saw this pink little torso and rushed her out to safety.

Investigators believe a portable heater caused the blaze.

Other awards Friday included:
Jim Cunningham remembers the tunnel vision, how his focus zeroed in on the eyes and the face of the man he was aiming at with his shotgun.

Then he pulled the trigger.

It was Aug. 18, 1982, in El Cajon. Two men robbed a Safeway store and were spotted fleeing in their car by reserve officers on a stakeout. Cunningham, a police officer working traffic that night, joined the chase.

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The robbers pulled into a parking lot on Avocado Avenue, followed by several police cars. Cunningham got out with his shotgun and took a position near the drivers car. The driver accelerated backward toward another officer with a police dog. I thought he was going to run them over, Cunningham said. He fired.

The driver, Jeffrey Vincent, was killed. Other officers shot their guns, too, wounding the passenger, Michael Wilson, who later pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.

Placed on administrative leave for three days, Cunningham began processing his thoughts and emotions about what had happened. Am I a hero or a zero? he remembered asking himself. Will it be considered a good shooting or a bad shooting?

That internal sorting out is often overlooked in the police shootings that have roiled communities across the country in recent months, including El Cajon, where 38-year-old Alfred Olango was killed Sept. 27. Scholars who have interviewed officers believe a better understanding of cops perceptions during and after a fatal encounter might help prevent other shootings.

For obvious reasons, much of the attention after a shooting goes to the deceased and their families, and to the policy questions that are raised about race, police tactics and accountability, especially when white officers kill unarmed blacks, as has been the case in the most disquieting incidents over the past several years.

A life was taken, community activist Anthony Jimenez, who heads a group called Police Our Police, reminded the El Cajon City Council earlier this month.

But the officers involved can also experience a variety of short- and long-term effects, research shows, including appetite loss, sleep disruption, nausea and fatigue. They have recurring thoughts about the shootings, and debilitating feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, fear, and guilt that ripple into the lives of those around them. In extreme cases, some officers consider suicide or quit their jobs.

A majority of the public concerned about these shootings will turn the page and move on, said Patrick Shaver, a police officer in Georgia and the director/producer of Officer Involved, a new documentary about fatal shootings. For the officers, though, it leaves a lasting impact. They dont get to turn the page.

Cunninghams shooting was ruled justified. He returned to work and spent another 23 years with the department, never fired a weapon again on duty and retired in 2005 as a lieutenant. Sitting in the backyard of his home on a recent afternoon, he was asked when the last time was that he thought about what happened all those Augusts ago.

Three a.m., he said, night before last.

The second-guessing

Frederick Van Every is also a retired El Cajon officer. On Aug. 7, 1995, he shot and killed a 41-year-old woman threatening him with a butcher knife.

It was the second time that morning that Van Every and his partner had been called to the small apartment on South Anza Street, according to a district attorney review of the shooting. On the first call, Van Every had helped calm down the woman, Pamela Dove, who was having a fight with her teenage son. About two hours after leaving, police were told Dove had taken an overdose of pills and was trying to kill herself.

They coaxed her out of the bathroom and called paramedics for an evaluation. Dove denied being suicidal, but she turned belligerent and tried to light one of the paramedics on fire.

Concerned about the safety of a 3-year-old girl the officers had seen in a back bedroom, Van Every asked Dove for the name of the child. Youre not taking my baby, she said, and went into the kitchen to a block of knives. The one she emerged with had an 8-inch blade. She pointed it at Van Every and rushed toward him.

His gun drawn, he backed up and ordered her to drop the knife. She kept coming. He backed up until he was against a wall. She kept coming. When she was about 5 feet away, he fired two shots. She kept coming. He fired twice more, and she fell to the ground.

Im sorry for what happened, but she made the decision to do what she did and I did what I had to do, Van Every said. Its part of the job, and you pray it never happens, but you know some day you might be put in a situation where you have to take someones life.

After the shooting, Van Every had trouble sleeping. He stopped eating and lost weight. When he returned to work, he worried about encountering someone with a large knife every time he went on a call.

He heard critics on TV ask why, as a man, he couldnt just subdue the woman (who was 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 272 pounds). They wondered why police didnt just throw a net over her. A lot of it was pretty ridiculous, but it made me start to second-guess myself, Van Every said. Maybe I should have done this or done that differently.

State law allows officers to use deadly force to prevent death or great bodily injury to themselves or others, and the district attorney concluded a month after the shooting that Van Everys actions were justified. But that didnt end his torment, he said.

He withdrew from other people. He fell into what he called a deep depression. He had been a police officer for six years and he asked himself, Do I want to continue this career or not?

One of his supervisors encouraged him to see a psychiatrist, and after a couple of months things improved. His appetite came back. He was able to sleep without nightmares. He spent another 19 years with the police department, retiring in early 2014.

I got into police work to help people, Van Every said. The last thing any of us want to do is shoot somebody.

Recurring thoughts

The experiences of Cunningham and Van Every are not unusual, according to research by David Klinger, who grew up in San Diego, spent almost four years as a police officer in Los Angeles and Redmond, Wash., and is now a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

After interviewing 80 officers from 19 departments in four states who combined have been involved in 113 shootings, Klinger found:

Most officers had emotional, psychological or physiological reactions that distorted time, distance, sight or sound during their shootings. Some could not recall firing their guns or were later wrong about how many shots they had fired. Without knowing what an officer is hearing, seeing and feeling in that moment, its difficult for people to know what is really going on, Klinger said.

Within 24 hours of a shooting, 82 percent of the officers were replaying the shooting in their minds. Almost half had trouble sleeping, about one-third felt anxious, fearful or fatigued, and almost 20 percent felt sad or numb. About one-quarter reported feeling elation for surviving the encounter and doing their job under pressure.

The officers physical and emotional responses faded over time. After three months, less than 40 percent were having recurring thoughts about their shootings, and about 10 percent were anxious, fearful or had trouble sleeping.

Klinger, who wrote a 2004 book based on the interviews called Into the Kill Zone, comes to his work with a unique perspective. In 1981, when he was a police officer in Los Angeles just four months out of the academy, he fatally shot a 26-year-old man named Edward Randolph, who was stabbing Klingers partner with a butcher knife.

The shock of taking another persons life stayed with him for a long time as he wrestled with anger, sorrow and a sense that I had done something horribly wrong, he said. According to his religious beliefs, everyone up to the point of death has a chance to embrace God and be saved, and I had cut off this persons opportunity for redemption, Klinger thought.

Cunningham, the retired El Cajon police lieutenant, also struggled with spiritual ramifications after his shooting. A Catholic, he went to confession, and I probably gave the priest a heart attack, he said. It didnt help when Cunningham returned to work and another officer, trying to be friendly, called out, Hey, Shooter!

Eventually he was able to view what happened with more detachment. Im sorry the other guy died, but I didnt have any choice, he said. It was a good shooting.

Then he corrected himself. It was a justified shooting, he said. None of them are any damn good.

Related:
Two weeks ago, as video of Donald Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women was released, I began to watch the news with hyper-vigilance. Instinctively I knew the women that had survived Trump living up to his brutal words would soon come forward.

As Trumps victims told their stories, I was brought back to the exhausting and humiliating weeks I spent in the public eye  as I watched the women endure a gauntlet of personal attacks that was all too familiar.

They were accused of lying, dismissed as overreacting and labeled opportunists seeking fame, money or political reward. Their timing was questioned. Their physical appearance was scrutinized and deemed relevant. The value of their character and their experiences was evaluated publicly. They were threatened with retribution. All this after enduring the indignity of recounting incidents that were both painful and embarrassing, indelibly defining themselves for years to come by something they didnt choose.

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During the summer of 2013, I experienced these same things in the wake of publicly reporting that I was sexually harassed and inappropriately touched by a congressman turned mayor of San Diego. A national firestorm followed. Daily I confronted those that sought to discredit the more than 20 survivors who joined me. I appeared in the press, authored an editorial, spoke at City Council and participated in a criminal investigation.

Deciding whether or not to come forward is deeply personal  and its timing not coincidental. I did so after witnessing two press conferences where a trusted public servant spoke on behalf of multiple victims in the mayors office who feared retribution.

My decision was more instinct than intellect; People were being hurt, and my story could help them. I was both resolved and terrified. I didnt want my reputation destroyed or this story to define me. I spoke to my family, my clients and my business partner and let them know that I planned to go public.

The following Monday, Irene McCormack-Jackson, the mayors communications director held a press conference and bravely detailed the verbal and sexual assault she had endured. Her courage made me more determined.

I told my story the next day. More than 20 women followed. We were a flock of starlings, unseen and unacknowledged until so great in number we were undeniable. Though we didnt know each other, we came together in concert in response to something that threatened all women.

It is disappointing, if not surprising, to see that little has changed since I came forward. The price of doing so remains both high and underestimated. The playbook for discrediting women is chillingly consistent  and sadly, effective. The motivations of survivors who confront men in power continue to be misunderstood, and the single most compelling reward for doing so is rarely highlighted.

Women frequently come forward in response to a precipitating event. Often it is to corroborate evidence in the face of a perpetrators denial, to stand up to an imminent threat to others  or both.

We are moved to go public to stop men who abuse power and to support other victims. This was true in San Diego, and is true in the face of Trump. Each womans courage emboldens others by validating those who have come before, and encouraging those that might follow.

As my past experience and current events demonstrate, it is clear that the cost of coming forward remains far too high. However, it is also clear that the value of doing so is priceless. It makes victims more likely to be believed and offenses less likely to occur.

It is also liberating. Maya Angelou said, There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. Coming forward restores a freedom to survivors that they may not be aware they have lost. Three years ago, I didnt understand this. Now I do.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the women who have risked their reputations, their livelihoods and their safety to confront this pervasive problem. We can repay them by discrediting the playbook and treating them with the respect they deserve.

Fink is a communications consultant, speechwriter, political strategist and owner of Rebelle Communications.
Regarding Why is WikiLeaks only focused on Clinton? (Oct. 19): Once again the hypocrisy of the left comes shining through. In the U-T, one of the letter writers complained that all of the WikiLeaks e-mails are coming in from the Hillary Clinton side but none on the Donald Trump side.

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy.

E-mail letters@sduniontribune.com

Mail: Andrew Kleske, Reader Outreach Editor San Diego Union-Tribune P.O. Box 120191 San Diego, CA 92112-0191.

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However, he makes no mention of the total pile-on against Trump by the television and print media.

The revelations coming out in these WikiLeaks e-mails is quite revealing about the true nature and motives of the Clinton campaign, yet all three of the major television networks had a total of only 56 seconds of coverage.

Journalism as we knew it is dead in this country. The collusion of the media with the Clinton campaign is highlighted in these WikiLeaks releases, which is probably why the public is being kept in the dark.

Also, the fact that 96 percent of the media who made contributions gave to the Clinton campaign makes it even more obvious they are all in the tank for her.

Larry Kovalchik

Murrieta

If any rigging is being done, its by the GOP

The only questionable presidential elections in recent history are the hanging chads in Florida (2000) and the disallowed registrations in Ohio (2004), both victories for George W. Bush. Both instances were the defining results for the presidency.

Donald Trump says all this crazy stuff to deflect from the fact he has no actual policies or at least he hasnt given details on how he will bring jobs back, defeat ISIS or help inner cities. He says he will do all these things but wont tell America how.

As he has stated many times even bad publicity is good. It keeps your brand out there.

Bob Stewart

Oceanside

Trump endangers trust in U.S. election process

In response to Frank C. Teccas letter Clinton is the bigger danger to democracy (Oct. 19): Donald Trump is the one who has denounced our election process, advocating his supporters to watch (intimidate) voters at the polls, threatened to jail his opponents, gave derogatory names to his opponents, and threatened to eliminate free press and freedom of religion. This doesnt make America great again. It would turn America into a mini-Russia with Vladimir Putin pulling the strings of the Trump puppet.

Clinton has her problems but nothing compared to Trump, Steve Bannon and Roger Ailes. What liberties will you lose?

Michele Rose

Oceanside

Bush tie doesnt make Gitsham appealing

Regarding Race for the 52nd (Oct. 20): It was interesting to read that Denise Gitsham said she is a George W. Bush Republican.

The same George W. Bush who gave us the seemingly endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Our country cannot afford another George W. Bush-styled politician in Washington.

Michael Malone

Borrego Springs

Time to see some changes at district

Regarding LaShae Collins, Mark Wyland for school board posts (Oct. 15): The first paragraph of this editorial should serve as someones action plan. Thank you.

Its not clear who exactly is stalling these great ideas.

Margaret Agne

Rancho Bernardo

Congress should pay for its failed policies

Regarding Debt, entitlements: Both candidates weak (Oct.17): The members of the institution that confiscated the funds that the citizenry of the country paid into the supposedly safeguarded entrusted funds of the Social Security system should be made to pay back the billions of dollars the program would be worth today had the funds been properly managed with safe investing by knowledgeable investment managers.

That institution that so blatantly voted to steal those funds to cover its careless spending habits should be made to enact legislation that would recover a portion of those stolen funds by compelling all of its members, that they so generously voted pensions for the rest of eternity, to relinquish a suitable portion of that pension entitlement back to the Social Security system annually to atone for the past mistake that has so badly affected the fairness of the distribution of our countrys wealth.

Phil Garrett

San Marcos

Social Security is not keeping up with times

Regarding Social Security benefits to tick up (Oct. 19): My Social Security benefit rose almost $4 per month and my prescription drug plan went up almost $100 per month. This recovery seems to be really working well.

Bud Ogletree

Temecula

Why Hunter must drop his support for Trump

Regarding Hunter pushed for donors ship (Oct. 14): Duncan Hunter represents my district, so I take it personally when he does not represent my interests.

It was bad enough when he was the first to endorse candidate Donald Trump, but I was incensed when he condoned Trumps admission of sexual abuse of women. Hunter claimed that he had said worse when he was in the Marines.

As a female military retiree, I can say that talk about sexual abuse was never acceptable in the Army or the Air Force. That kind of behavior and action was punished, as it should have been.

Needless to say, I am dismayed at Hunters words and pray that his tenure may finally end this year.

Sabine Prather

El Cajon

Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
Last Thursday afternoon, the residents of Ambergris Caye turned out in droves and PACKED the morning meeting scheduled by the Government of Belize to address the questions of the public.

Karen Brodie (her photography page) took some beautiful photos of the crowd. Kids of all ages with notesasking questionstour guides, fishermen, hotel operators, citizens.

Questions we had about the oil exploration  the exploration that started days before this meeting was even scheduled. But simply said, the public has held a referendum (and resoundingly voted NO) and the government agreed to a ban last year so WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR OIL?

This outcry was shared by all: Our local politicians, our Prime Minister, officials that WE have voted into office, have betrayed us.

So why are you looking for oil in this way that is potentially dangerous to the entire reef system?

Even if, as some have speculated, that they would like to use deposits as collateral for more loans, what would stop the next government, the next Prime Minister from drilling  ESPECIALLY if the loan is defaulted on? (Bob Hawkins wrote a great summary of the situation yesterday  Belize Just Says No to Offshore Oil  AGAIN)

By 2pm, after the first meeting was halted and a second was called, equally full of Belizeans, concerned residents  Minister Heredia, our Minister of Tourism and citizen of San Pedro, announced that EXPLORATION WOULD STOP IMMEDIATELY!

HURRAY! A WIN but

WE NEED TO MAKE THIS LAW. And I hope that all of us feel empowered by our victory last week to talk to our ministers about making this happen!

From Oceana Belize: On Thursday October 20th, Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia notified the nation that Cabinet, at its sitting on Tuesday, October 25th, 2016, will be discussing Oceanas draft offshore drilling moratorium legislation. Here is that three page document for your reference.

As you can see from the date, this proposed bill was submitted over a year ago to the GOB.

Currently the Referendum Act of Belize is in place for two purposes only:

a referendum shall be held on the following issues:- (a) any amendment to Part II of the Constitution which derogates from the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed therein; and (b) any proposed settlement with Guatemala for resolving the Belize/Guatemala dispute.

Minister Heredia committed to working on amending this act at last Thursdays meeting before the town.

My opinion? Okayyou dragged it out of me. I think this bill is a great start but no plan or amount of money set aside will deal with the DEVASTATION of a spill on the largest reef in our hemisphere.

For example, many newspapers this year estimated that the 2010 oil spill of the Deep Water Horizon platform cost BP (British Petroleum) $62 billion US dollars (about 40 times the GDP of Belize). The spill covered 580 square miles  thats just the actual slick. Oil was found hundreds of miles away.

Turneffe Atolls area is less than 300 square miles. Belize is 173 miles for north to south.

DEVASTATING.

SOwhat can we do? We can step away from party lines  from UDP or PUP, blue or red, and let politicians know that this is BIGGER than politics. Talk to friends, talk to visitors and

We MUST let our elected officials know what we want. That we will NOT stand for oil exploration or drilling offshore. Not one kilometer from our reef, not 5 kms, not 10.

We can sign the Oceanas call for a total ban.

We can share the articles that we agree with  whether this or those from Ambergris Today or the San Pedro Sun or international magazines like Travel + Leisure or all of them. Social media is incredibly powerful. And helps all of us feel like we are not alone in our opinions. Power in numbers!

We can follow Oceana Belizes Facebook page for updates  you can also donate money to this cause on their site.

If in San Pedro on Sunday night, you can attend the viewing of the one hour long documentary  Seismic Sea. About the effects of seismic blasting on sea creatures. WITH a community discussion afterward.

7pm at the Truck Stop.

Every thought what it would be like to be a deaf dolphin?

The exploration boats, Northern Explorer and the Campeche, are on their way out of Belize waters!

Apparently they felt unwelcome.

Lets make sure they NEVER COME BACK AGAIN.
SpaceX aims at re-launching the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) for cargo missions for the first time ever in 2017. Benjamin Reed, the director of commercial crew mission management at SpaceX, stated that the private aerospace company is gearing up to launch a pre-used Dragon capsule for the 11th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) cargo mission to the ISS that is scheduled for next year.

"We will be reflying our first Dragon capsule on CRS-11," Reed stated during a presentation at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) on October 13, as reported by Space News. This decision will definitely allow the spacecraft organization to focus on the manufacturing of the second generation of Dragon capsules for crew and cargo missions. The next version of the spacecraft will have larger cargo volume in comparison to the current model.

Although the Dragon spacecraft was initially designed to be reused, the organization's contract with NASA demands for a new spacecraft for each cargo mission. Reed said that the company is trying to work it put with the space agency to assure them that Dragon spacecraft can be reused for further cargo missions safely.

"It's a great example of the partnership we have with NASA," Reed said of that effort to win approval from the space agency for the reuse of Dragon spacecraft. "We've carefully gone through a process of proving that you can reuse various components all the way up to a whole system, and how you certify that."

The most difficult challenge in reusing the spacecraft was to prevent the saltwater from entering the capsule after it slashes down, Reed explained. He added, the company has been working hard to update the capsule to the best conditions to ensure that there is no worry about the seawater issue.

Reed even stated that the aerospace company plans to reuse Dragon spacecrafts through the remaining CRS contract. However, he did not certify how many Dragon spacecrafts are available for reuse or how many times a single Dragon spacecraft can be flown.

In addition to the current contract of the CRS, NASA signed another contract with SpaceX for additional cargo missions earlier this year. The company is planning to use Dragon-2 for that mission, according to Nature World News.
A new study reveals that nearly 1300 US kids suffer from snakebites every year on an average, with one in four attacks reported from Florida and Texas. There has been a great increase in the number of children being attacked by copperheads and other venomous snakes in the US.

As per a report published by Palm Beach Post, a study reveals that the maximum number of snakebites is reported from Florida. Most of these bites are considered to be deadly, where one in five cases requires an admission to Intensive Care Unit. According to Fox News, Dr. Joann Schulte, a pediatrics researcher at the University of Louisville in Kentucky said, "Treatment of snakebite can cost nearly $100000 if anti-venom is needed." She went on to add that kids should not play in tall grass during the summers without wearing appropriate shoes on their feet.

A venomous snake can be dangerous with neurotoxic complications and problems with blood clotting. Most of the children bitten by snakes die immediately due to the delay in receiving the treatment. Besides Texas and Florida, the other states that record the highest number of snakebites are Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, West Virginia and Oklahoma. Arizona and California account for the maximum number of rattlesnake bites.

The major symptoms of venomous snakebites are swelling, low blood pressure, the death of tissue around the injury, respiratory complications, kidney failure, hemorrhage, pain, redness, coma and at times, death. Most of the injuries are reported during the months of June and July.

According to CBS News, Schulte and team analyzed a data from the US control centers on snakebite victims who were below 18 years of age. During the years of 2000-2013, nearly 18700 pediatric snakebites were reported, about half of them being venomous. The report also stated that according to North Carolina Cooperative Extension, copperheads bite more people than any other US snake species.

Schulte encouraged parents to rush their kids to an emergency room after snakebite rather than taking them to a primary care clinic. It is important to seek the assistance from the poison center, so as to identify the snake. Extensive urbanization and increased housing developments have affected the natural habitats of the snake and other reptiles. People who are planning to go out for rock climbing should be careful as they are more prone to the risk of a rattlesnake bite.

The amount of venom injected during snakebite varies and thus, the symptoms may also vary. Ensure your safety first and then try to move into the grasses.
A new study reveals that people who are addicted to excessive drinking and consumption of drugs are prone to a higher risk of developing schizophrenia in later life. Previously, numerous studies were conducted which focused on the impact of addiction of alcohol and drugs on mental health. However, due to methodological limitations, the findings remain uncertain.

Dr. Stine Mai Nielsen and Prof. Merete Nordentoft from the Copenhagen University Hospital and Mental Health Center in Denmark carried out a study on 31, 33,968 individuals, leading to an identification of 2,04,505 cases of substance abuse and 21,305 individuals were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their findings were presented at the International Early Psychosis Association Meeting which was held in Milan, Italy.

The data was analyzed on basis of several factors such as gender, location, co-abuse, psychiatric diagnoses, patient's substance abuse and psychiatric history. According to the Medical News Daily, the researchers found out that the abuse of any substance increased the risk of schizophrenia. The increased risks included:

Alcohol - 3.4 times

Sedatives - 1.7 times

Cannabis - 5.2 times

Amphetamines - 1.24 times

Hallucinogenic drugs - 1.9 times

Other substances - 2.8 times

According to HuntNews, the research concluded that the risk of schizophrenia remained significant even 10 to 15 years after the diagnosis of substance abuse. The study added that people, who are addicted to abuse the substance, generally tend to develop the risk of schizophrenia. Drug abuse affects those areas of the brain which are essential for decision making and reward processing.

A second study was carried out by the same group, led by Dr. Carsten of Copenhagen University Hospital, whereby they studied the potential role of parental substance abuse in the development of schizophrenia. The abuse was segmented into two categories - diagnosis before the birth and diagnosis after the birth of offspring. The researchers have found out that maternal cannabis abuse was linked to six times increase the risk of schizophrenia in the child. For paternal cannabis, there were 5.5 times increased the risk of schizophrenia in child whether diagnosed before or after the birth. As per a report published by the CTV News, the Center for Addiction and Mental Health states that people with mental illness are likely to have a substance use problem when compared to the general public.
The three new crew members for Expedition 50 are safely aboard the International Space Station (ISS), as per reports. The trio made their journey on the Soyuz MS-02 capsule to reach the space laboratory. The hatches of Soyuz capsule and the space station opened at 8:20 a.m. EDT on Friday, October 21.

The new astronauts to arrive at the ISS, and join the already present members of Expedition 49, comprise of Shane Kimbrough from NASA and Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov from Russian space agency Roscosmos. The spacecraft that the trio journeyed on docked with the Poisk module of the ISS at 5:52 a.m. The space station was reportedly flying 251 miles over southern Russia during the time of docking.

The three new inhabitants of ISS were welcomed aboard by Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kate Rubins of NASA and Ivanishin of Roscosmos, who are members of Expedition 49 and have been living on the space lab since July. The new members, along with the astronauts who have already been living on the ISS, will actually be part of Expedition 49/50. The new crew will spend a little more than four months in their new home, before returning to Earth sometime during late February.

Incidentally, the launch of the Soyuz MS-02 spaceflight, which transported the new crew, was delayed by almost a month from September 23 to October 19. The delay was caused due to technical reasons. "Roscosmos has decided to move the launch of Soyuz MS-02 ship planned for September 23 due to technical reasons after holding tests on the Baikonur Cosmodrome," a Roscosmos official had stated when the initial date for the launch couldn't be adhered to. Expedition 50 will contribute to more than 250 research experiments going on the ISS in varied fields like physical sciences, Earth science, biology, technology development and human research.
As adults, it's your responsibility to make sure that there is a healthy balance between digital life and real life, especially in children. They should be guided in making healthy media choices by regulating the time they spend in the digital world. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently released a new set of guidelines to help parents and families do that.

According to Medical News Today, the focus of the updated recommendations rest not only on parents who don't pay attention to the amount of time their children spend being in front of a digital media, but also how, when, and where they use the media. To support the updated guidelines, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released an interactive, online tool for families to create their own personalized Family Media Plan.

"Families should proactively think about their children's media use and talk with children about it, because too much media use can mean that children don't have enough time during the day to play, study, talk, or sleep," says Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioral expert and pediatrician at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, and lead author of the first policy statement, "Media and Young Minds," which focuses on infants, toddlers and preschool children.

"What's most important is that parents be their child's 'media mentor.' That means teaching them how to use it as a tool to create, connect and learn," she adds. CBS News reported that the recommendations vary by age group, 0-5 years old and School-age children (5-18 years old), which include several pieces of advice to make sure that parents are aware of what is happening to their children.

Even though media use alone has not been identified as the leading cause of any health problems in the United States, experts say that excessive media use can contribute to many health risks, including obesity, lack of sleep, school problems, aggression, and behavioral issues. The statement recommends that with the exception of video chatting - that has been shown to help toddlers learn new skills and social interactions - all digital media should be avoided before the age of 18 months old, reported LA Times.

The guidelines also pointed out that parents should not feel pressured to introduce any technology to their child early, and reassure that interfaces are so instinctive that their child will figure them out quickly once they do start using them. For children aged 2-5 years, the statement recommends that media should be limited to 1 hour a day and should involve a high-quality program or activity that parents and kids can view and engage with together.

"Digital media has become an inevitable part of childhood for many infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, but research is limited on how this affects their development," says Dr. Radesky. He also emphasized that the research is solid in children over age 3 and show that programs like Sesame Street can help children learn new ideas, improve learning and social outcomes. "However, under 3, toddlers' immature brains have a hard time transferring what they see on a screen to real-life knowledge. We don't yet know if interactivity helps or hinders that process."

What researchers do know, she adds, is that early childhood is a time of rapid brain development where children need time allocated to play, sleep, learn to handle emotions, and build relationships. While research suggests that excessive media use can distract children from these activities that play an essential part in their development, the AAP highlight that families can maintain a healthy balance.

The AAP also warned that while many apps that parents find are located under the "educational" category in stores on smartphones and tablets, a lot of those are not evidence-based and include little to no input from developmental educators. The recommendations highlighted include banning digital media an hour before bed, turning off devices not in use, and ensuring that bedrooms, mealtimes, and a majority of parent and child playtime remain screen free.

To read the full update recommendation, click here.
There was a time when most Chinese companies focused on imitating the concept ideas from Apple's iPhones. But, that is not the case anymore. New approaches are being implemented in the imitating techniques. Xiaomi plans on doing that with its Mi Note 2. With few days left to Xiaomi Mi Note 2 release date, buyers might consider it an option over the defective Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

The concept of the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is similar to that in design as seen in the Note 7. Those curved-edge displays are one of the popular concept in modern-day smartphones, so why will the Chinese mobile company not try it? But, using the intuitive design of the Samsung's failure is the only possible feature considered. Xiaomi has featured the popular design with a new set of specs which are said to be superior compared to the Note 7.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Release Date, Specs and Features:

According to Weibo, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will feature a SnapDragon 821 processor chipset backed up by 6GB of RAM. Besides, that the phone will feature Force or 3D touch technology as seen in the new generation Apple phones. Just like the Note 7, it is going to rock an Iris scanner as well. The phone is likely to avoid the stylus which was a signature component in the Note 7.

Further updates on the specs suggest that it will feature a 5.7-inch 4K AMOLED display. Furthermore, the device will feature Hi-Fi DAC audio output technology. A number of features in the device surpass that found in the Note 7. And, all these features will be operational using Xiaomi's flagship software, the MIUI which is a Chinese theme of the Android OS. The skin looked quite impressive on the Xiaomi Mi 5 and is likely to offer the same experience on this high-end smartphone.

Chinese smartphones have laid a huge impact on the western countries and Xiaomi stands out on the top of that list. With the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 release date scheduled for next week, the smartphone maker is expecting its sales to rise. With a price tag of less than $500, Xiaomi Mi Note 2 could be the best smartphone with intuitive new features.

What do you think about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Note 2? Let us know in the comments below.
Qualcomm, the global leaders in next generation mobile technologies, announced on Monday that it will be soon releasing the first 5G modem in the world, named as Qualcomm Snapdragon X50. With this, the American mobile chip giant becomes the first company to declare a commercial 5G modem chipsets thereby, claiming its 5G leadership.

The fifth-generation modem will be launched with the aim to offer a method of communication for wireless devices at radical speeds over high-frequencies. Qualcomm intends to make this ultra-fast 5G modem service common by 2018-2019. According to NBC San Diego, the Qualcomm 5G modem will support activity in mmWave (millimeter wave) spectrum within 28GHz band. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 can apparently support apex download speeds on your smartphone that can go upto 5GB per second, which is, lightning speed considering the 4G download speed in the U.S. which is 9.9MB per second.

While the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem chipset can be paired with a Snapdragon processor with a unified Gigabit LTE modem and closely communicate using dual-network, it can also be utilized for multi-mode mobile broadband (4G/5G) along with broadband services that are fixed and wireless. The manager of technical market at Qualcomm, Sheriff Hanna said that at those high speeds, things will be completely altered on what happens on a mobile phone.

The San Diego based multinational said that they will begin sending samples to their customers in the latter half of 2017, while the shipping of mobile phones with built-in modem chips will start in first half 2018, reports Forbes. Although 2018 is not so far, access to 5Gbps download speeds on your smartphone is not going to be a reality any time soon. This is because; getting started with the infrastructure for Qualcomm 5G connectivity will be a challenging task for the mobile phone network operators.

Millimeter waves don't go beyond a certain wavelength and unable to even infiltrate the walls, considering that the Qualcomm Snapdragon's 5G chipset will function on the millimeter spectrum within 28GHz band. Therefore, for 5G coverage mobile operators will have to rather install several small cell base stations than building massive towers for transmitting signals over a long distance.

However, Qualcomm states that this new offering by them will enable manufacturers to develop the next generation mobile phones and assist the mobile phone operators to analyze how to set-up 5G connectivity.
The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle has been reportedly claimed to have been solved. Scientists have suggested that hexagonal clouds, which create destructive air bombs with winds travelling at 170mph, could explain the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, where things like ships and aircrafts seem to disappear. The terrifying clouds can apparently overturn ships and crash planes into the sea.

The mysterious 500,000km square patch in the North Atlantic Ocean, also known as Devil's Triangle, has been attributed with the disappearance of a whopping number of at least 75 planes and hundreds of ships. On an average 20 ships and four planes go missing in a year in the Bermuda triangle, and around 1,000 lives have been lost in the region in the past 100 years, as per a report.

According to the scientists, the air bombs are so powerful that they can generate 45ft high winds. "These types of hexagonal shapes over the ocean are in essence air bombs," said meteorologist Randy Cerveny. "They are formed by what are called microbursts and they are blasts of air that come down out of the bottom of a cloud and then hit the ocean and then create waves that can sometimes be massive in size as they start to interact with each other."

The reason for the cloud formation over the Bermuda region has not been exactly determined as of now, according to reports, nor does anyone know how long they have been occurring. However, the clouds are said to be rather wide and measure anywhere from 20 to 55 miles across, which consequently create microbursts. A microburst is said to be similar to tornadoes in the scale of destruction that they can cause, and unlike tornadoes they are unpredictable. It should be noted that the explanation offered by scientists for the mystery of Bermuda Triangle is still a theory at the moment.
FLORENCE, S.C.  North Vista Elementary School was full of superheroes Friday morning as students, staff and faculty dressed as their favorite character.

Principal Sharon Dixon said the reason for the special day was twofold: the death of Townville Elementary School student Jacob Hall and the more recent devastation of Hurricane Matthew.

We wanted to do it because there have been some tragedies that have happened lately, Dixon said. We wanted to make the children happy because they love superheroes. I think it is fun for them to see us dressed as superheroes as well.

Dixon said some of her children were affected by the Hurricane and this special day was a reason for them to smile.

A lot of our children had flood situations and they lost things, Dixon said. A couple of families had trees fall on their homes. We just wanted to boost the moral and put a smile on peoples faces.

After the shooting at Townville Elementary School, Dixon said, her teachers made a point to talk with students about the incident in a way that they can understand.

The teachers usually have morning rug time that they can sit down and talk with the children, Dixon said. They talk about how sad it was and give children the opportunity to share their feelings about the incident that happened. They then talk with them about how they can come to school and feel safe.

What to do in situations where they feel unsafe is also part of the conversation.

We tell them to always report things to their teacher, Dixon said. If they see a stranger walk up to the playground they are absolutely not supposed to go in that direction; they need to run to the teacher. The teachers talk with them about those things. We send the same message home to parents.

Favorite costumes among students included Power Rangers, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Captain America.

Kae dyn Milo was dressed as her favorite superhero.

Im dressed as Super Girl because today is Superhero day, the 5-year-old said.

When asked what super power she might like to have, such as flying or super strength, Kaedyn said that she would like to be able "to punch hard."
The Oct. 7 letter to the editor Todays slaves wear burkas" points out that there are an average of 70 Muslim honor killings in America per year. These murderers are subject to prosecution in our justice system.

The bigger issue seems to be the average of three women killed dishonorably per day in the United States. Also, there are 2,100,000 women assaulted by men each year. Women comprise 95 percent of the domestic violence victims.

The most recent data lists these states with the highest domestic homicide rates per 100,000: Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

When a presidential candidate makes it clear a womans worth is her looks, hair color, weight and breast size, it might suggest that prevention of violence toward women would not be a priority on his law-and-order agenda.

I definitely agree with the last sentence in the Oct. 7 letter: Wake up, America!

DENNIS TAYLOR

Florence
Richard Marty, owner of Compel Consulting in Madison, started off at a local cheese factory.

He remembers it as hot and smelly when he worked there during summers in high school and full-time after his first year of college.

At the time I didnt know what I wanted to do as a career, and I didnt want to waste any more money, Marty said. The cheese factory taught me the value of hard work and staying on task.

He said the cheese factory also motivated him to go back to college, choose a profession, and study hard.

Age is good for both a cheese and a person, Marty said. As Ive grown older, Ive realized that sometimes its necessary to take a step back and find a different path. The first mouse to the trap usually doesnt get the cheese.

He started his current IT consulting firm in 1998. He said the business boasts about 50 business clients throughout southern Wisconsin.

Q: How would you best describe your company?

A: We provide affordable, professional computer services to small- and medium-sized businesses. We combine personalized service with affordable technology solutions  offering our clients the products, partnerships and technical support they need to keep their business running. Our goal is to become the outsourced IT department for our clients, removing technology headaches that can bog down a business, and freeing them up so that they can concentrate on what matters most  growing their business.

Q: And who would be your typical client?

A: Small- to medium-sized businesses with 10 to 100 employees.

Q: Technology seems to change so quickly. Whats the biggest frustration your clients face  and how can you help?

A: The biggest frustration for our clients is data and network security. We work to ensure that, even as technology changes, their data and networks are safely secured from hackers and forced obsolescence, without over burdening their budgets. We work to circumvent their frustration by providing customized solutions for securing and backing up their data.

Q: Youve been in business more than a decade. As far as your clients, whats the biggest technological change to come along?

A: The workforce and workplace has changed. Businesses need to have their data shared electronically with an ever-expanding number of people, including remote employees, via the cloud.

Q: Whats the biggest advantage to doing business in a place like Madison?

A: The biggest advantage is the people. The people in Madison and the surrounding communities are genuine, kind, and appreciate honest effort. Its a Midwest thing. We appreciate trust, loyalty and good service, without being nickel and dimed to death.

Q: Whats the biggest disadvantage?

A:The Beltline between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Q: How did Compel Consulting start?

A: Compel originally started as just me working as a computer consultant for several large companies in the Madison area. I eventually realized that I wanted to build a business where I can work on the business instead of in the business. I decided to concentrate on smaller business that needed computer help but couldnt afford a full-time employee. I hired my first employee in 2004 and we grew from there.

Q: Whats the theory behind your business?

A: Well, we strive to maintain open communications with our clients. And we do not apply call charges  ever. We encourage people to call us. If we are unable to answer a call, we guarantee a one-hour call-back for clients with contract retainers and a four-hour call-back for non-contracted customers. In addition, we dont apply trip charges for service calls like most IT companies.
A proposal submitted to the city on Friday would turn a large corner green space near West Towne Mall into a mixture of retail, office and residential buildings.

The proposal by Livesey Co. is part of a larger, five-phase development plan that would add as many as 17 buildings to the property bounded by South Gammon Road, Mineral Point Road, Tree Lane and the Tamarack Condominiums.

That area includes a large office building that most recently housed the former Madison Area Technical College West Campus, which would be demolished under the plan.

The estimated $50 million first phase of the development called West Place would involve construction of five buildings clustered on the corner of Gammon and Mineral Point roads. They would total 106 apartments, nearly 50,500 square feet of retail space and about 23,000 square feet for office space.

The project will seek tax incremental financing from the city, particularly to pay for infrastructure such as parking, said Melissa Huggins, a principal at Urban Assets of Madison whos a consultant for Livesey on the project. She didnt say how much would be sought.

The apartments would be spread among three buildings  two three-story structures facing the corner of Gammon and Mineral Point Roads with ground-floor retail space, and one curved five-story building set farther back.

Two other three-story buildings will have office and retail space. Parking for the apartments and offices would be underground, beneath the buildings.

The buildings would be organized around a large public plaza at the corner and a new private street, Memorial Drive, which will eventually be extended to Tree Lane. The plan also calls for the construction of an additional 12 buildings over the next five to 10 years.

Livesey seeks to break ground on the first phase next summer and open in fall 2018.

The project already has seen a lot of interest from retailers and restaurants, Huggins said, and its mixed uses would create a walkable neighborhood that would be the first to emerge from Madisons new Mixed Commercial Center zoning designation.

This is really setting the bar for the kind of development that the city would like to see, she said.

The redevelopment would demolish the 45-year-old office building at 302 S. Gammon Road designed by Madison architect Kenton Peters. The home of Famous Footwears headquarters for more than a decade, the building is now mostly vacant, said Ald. Paul Skidmore, 9th District.

The buildings acute angles at the corners are attractive from an architectural perspective, Skidmore said, but are a poor use of space.

I would call it functionally obsolete, he said.

The amount of open space on the property, Skidmore said, is a poor use of land that made the building hard to market, especially at a time where more dense development is the norm.

But Skidmore said some people that attended a recent neighborhood listening session like the propertys large lawns. They also cited traffic concerns, given how busy Gammon and Mineral Point Roads are.

Livesey is conducting a required traffic study and is looking to add a new stoplight on Gammon Road, between Mineral Point and Tree Lane, to address traffic issues. Huggins said the development wouldnt create any more entrances or exits, instead routing all traffic to those already in place.

We feel pretty confident that its going to be fine in terms of the traffic flow, she said.

A neighborhood meeting about the project is planned for Nov. 7 at a time and place to be determined.
A UW-Madison student charged this week with the sexual assault of a fellow student earlier this month turned himself in Thursday night after another woman told police he had assaulted her in February.

On Friday, a third woman reported that she, too, had been sexually assaulted by Alec R. Cook, 20, in 2015, police said.

Cook, who already was facing charges of second-degree sexual assault, battery, strangulation and false imprisonment in the alleged Oct. 13 assault, was being held in Dane County Jail on Friday on additional tentative charges of forceable sexual assault and false imprisonment, authorities said.

With the third woman coming forward, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said, Detectives will be recommending (Cook) face additional charges of second-degree sexual assault and false imprisonment.

All three of the women are age 20, DeSpain said.

The victim in the second alleged assault case came forward after learning of Cooks arrest on Monday, DeSpain said.

She told a detective I saw the news story and was empowered by another girl being able to tell what happened to her, that I thought I could now finally tell, DeSpain said.

The woman said Cook assaulted her in a Downtown apartment last February.

The woman who came forward Friday also said Cook assaulted her in a Downtown apartment sometime last year. Police released no additional details about either of the alleged earlier assaults.

Cooks lawyer, Chris Van Wagner, said Wednesday that Cook had nothing to hide and that the Oct. 13 incident was consensual.

In that case, prosecutors said, the woman and Cook studied at College Library before heading to Cooks apartment in the 500 block of North Henry Street around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 12. Sometime later, the woman told police, they began kissing but Cook became more forceful despite her demands that he stop, repeatedly assaulting her and preventing her from leaving.

After getting home, the woman told her brother by text message that Cook had held her in a death grip, adding that, I dont feel like I was assaulted ...I dont think. But I feel very weird, according to the criminal complaint.

She reported the incident on Sunday, four days later.

Cook has been suspended from the university, Dean of Students Lori Berquam said late Friday, adding that the university was assisting in the investigation.

DeSpain urged anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.

Berquam also noted that mental health counseling, victim advocacy and other services are available for victims of sexual assault on and off campus, regardless of whether they wish to report the incidents, at www.uhs.wisc.edu/assault.
Recently someone asked me if France still had a king, and I had to squint at the questioner. Was I looking into the eyes of utter ignorance, or did those eyebrows slant like ironic quotes? It was hard to tell.

Sort of, I replied. And I stand by my answer.

Let me explain.

Weve been so busy gawking at the sorry slapstick of American politics that its easy to forget the other circus acts going on around the Atlantic rim. For instance, on that little island next door to France, the Keystone Cops charge about with ladders and pails, splashing each other in the face while the fire of Brexit burns. In France its just as goofy. Right now theyre trying to show how many clowns can fit inside the teeny cars of political primaries, and just when you think the vehicle is full to the brim, voila!  another sad-faced bozo tricycles over and squeezes in. Its hard to believe that one of these Pierrots will eventually take command of the stage and start miming the actions of a president.

I say president, but really I mean king. France tried to do away with royalty back in 1789, but cutting the head off the Louis XVI was about as effective as mowing the top off crabgrass: the stuff just keeps coming back. Throughout the nineteenth century they alternated between kings and presidents, which continued until 1958 when they basically decided to join the two into some kind of king-ident or presi-prince. Its the best of both worlds: you get an all-powerful ruler whose head you try to remove every five years.

It may be the shadow on the back of his neck that has Francois Hollande moping about so much at the Elysee Palace. The Socialists have been bumping into each other on everything from budgets to burkinis. Meanwhile, the economy flags and social tensions run high. For the first time ever, a sitting president has had to agree to a primary, giving members of his own party the chance to oust him. Currently nine clowns have declared their desire to climb into this particular car, and several more are likelyincluding Hollande himself (hell announce his attentions in December), and possibly even the current prime ministerthat scowling jester, Manuel Valls.

The French do everything on a rushed schedule, so even though the first round of the presidential election falls on April 23 of next year (second round on May 7), the Socialists wont hold their primary until January 22 (the 29th for the second round).

The Center-Right is also playing the primary game. On November 20 citizens will choose from among a slew of candidates. Some of them look familiar. One of the front runners is a certain Nicolas Sarkozy: in the cast of clowns, he most closely resembles the Joker from Batman.

Wait, you might say. Didnt he already get to be king-for-a-day? Its true that Sarko (as he is known) already served a term as buffoon-in-chief (2007-12), and he escaped without losing his head. Partly thats because he didnt model himself after Louis XVI, but rather after Napoleon. Like the Emperor, Sarko is short; like Him, he is a product of recent immigration (Corsican for the first, Hungarian for the second); and like Napoleon, Sarko hopes to lead a return to power after his first exile from office. (Napoleons return only lasted a hundred days before he found himself cornered at Waterloo; presumably Sarko hopes the comparison ends before it comes to that.)

However, the leader in the polls for the Center-Right primary is Alain-Juppe: former prime minister (under Chirac), current mayor of Bordeauxand rather like one of those bald-headed clowns with tufts of hair on the sides. Hes considered the most moderate candidate in his particular clan, and many left-wing voters are planning to vote for him in the right-wing primary.

You might think I mixed that last bit upabout Socialists crossing the lines to vote for Juppe. But no, theyre going to do it, but its not out of love. Its a strategy borne of desperation, or depression. Socialist voters have mostly thrown in the towel, assuming their candidate wont make it past the first round of the elections. Theyre just trying to manage their own defeat in the face of the looming danger. One of the parties not running a primary is the far-right National Front. They dont need one, as they selected their clown a long time ago: Marine Le Pen.

If youre a bookmaker, youre laying heavy odds that the second round will be between the Far Right and the Center-Right. Which makes the current antics of the Socialists all the more quizzical.

This is the circus that will lead to the next enthroning of a Sun-Kinga kind of political cirque du soleil.
The European Union is a political and economic partnership among 28 member states, and soon, the EU could be a military union as well, as Seeker's Jules Suzdaltsev explains in this video.

Although each member state has its own armed forces, a joint EU military force had once been just a concept, one objected to by the United Kingdom. Following the Brexit vote in June, in which U.K. citizens elected to pull out of the European Union, a pan-European military force is within reach. And in fact, just last month the EU's foreign policy chief rolled out a timetable for developing one.

WATCH VIDEO: What Would Europe Look Like With Closed Borders?

EU president Jean-Claude Juncker also endorsed the idea last month, calling for the establishment of a permanent EU military headquarters. A common force would complement NATO and stimulate military research and development, Juncker explained in his annual address.

Even if there currently is no EU military, member states are participants in mutual defense agreements. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is one such agreement that binds 22 of the 28 EU countries, four non-EU countries -- Albania, Iceland, Turkey and Norway -- as well as the United States and Canada.

Article 42 of the Treaty of the European Union outlines a "common security and defense policy," and calls for a joint response to any armed aggression on the territory of one of its member states. These commitments, however, are defined within a framework of each EU nation having its own national military force.

Currently, the only joint military operations among EU nations are what are known as EU Battlegroup, rotating armies comprised of around 1,500 troops that participate in non-offensive military activities, such as humanitarian and peacekeeping work.

WATCH VIDEO: What Do the UN and NATO Actually Do?

The creation of an EU military requires the unanimous approval of all member states. And even with the United Kingdom due to make its exit from the union, other countries are also skeptical of the idea of signing onto a pan-European force.

Many of the criticisms echo past misgivings held by member states over EU policies that chip away at national sovereignty. The specter of Brussels bureaucrats making decisions that override national interests is a powerful incentive for countries to think carefully before signing onto any agreement.

-- Talal Al-Khatib

Learn More:

The European Parliament: The EE's Mutual Assistance Clause

BBC News: New Force Behind EU Foreign Policy

NATO: Relations with the European Union
As if he hadnt already broken just about every rule of conventional politics (and common decency), Donald Trump decided at the last debate to plow through a guardrail of American democracy that has stood since the Civil War. In the final face-to-face encounter with Hillary Clinton, he refused to pledge to accept the results of the election.

Though audience members gasped at that display of utter contempt for the U.S. Constitution, it shouldnt have come as a surprise. Trump has claimed for some time that the election is rigged against him.

As his poll numbers keep sinking, his claims of fraud and illegitimacy keep rising. At every rally, he warns his supporters that a vast conspiracy comprising Clinton allies, the news media and numerous unnamed co-conspirators has been working assiduously to keep him from his rightful place in the Oval Office.

Heres the irony: There are, indeed, some shenanigans undermining the electoral process, some nefarious machinations meant to skew the vote. But this chicanery isnt aimed at defeating Trump; rather, the strategy is being carried out by GOP politicians and operatives who, for the most part, want to see him elected.

In other words, the only widespread rigging that has taken place over the last decade has been conducted by the Republican Party, which has made a concerted effort to suppress the vote among the poor, the young and the elderly  all constituencies that tend to support Democrats. Having given up on enlarging their tent to attract more voters, the GOP has settled on a strategy of blocking the franchise for those whom it cannot win over.

This is a decades-old effort that goes back at least as far as the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But Republicans took to it in earnest over the last decade, when it became clear that demographic changes would make it difficult for the GOP to continue as a major party, given its history of alienating black Americans and other ethnic minorities.

The strategy of instituting photo ID laws gained currency in the early 2000s, when GOP operatives in states such as South Dakota wielded it as a weapon to suppress the votes of Native Americans. Republicans were disappointed in the re-election of Democrat Tim Johnson, who won his 2002 race for the U.S. Senate by just 524 votes  with a huge turnout on reservations.

The lesson was this: Shaving off just a few hundred votes could boost the prospects of GOP challengers.

Requiring photo IDs worked because it seemed legitimate: Republican proponents claimed that they were only trying to protect the integrity of the ballot, to ensure against voter fraud. Never mind that voter fraud is very rare. The sort of in-person fraud that photo IDs would prevent is virtually non-existent.

Still, the idea had a superficial appeal. Middle-class voters take drivers licenses for granted. They find it hard to imagine that a significant portion of the population  voters who are disproportionately black or brown  doesnt own cars. They also find it hard to fathom the difficulty that the impoverished have in trying to obtain a government-sponsored ID.

Even federal courts became convinced that voter ID laws were necessary to crack down on fraud. Though he has since expressed regret for that decision, then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the majority ruling that endorsed Indianas strict voter ID law in 2005.

When Republican governors and legislators gained power in the 2010 elections, they took to voter ID laws with alacrity. According to New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice, in the last six years, nearly half the states passed laws making it more difficult to cast a ballot.

And GOP strategists were conscientious about aiming those laws at the voters most likely to support Democrats. In Texas, for example, student IDs from universities are not acceptable at the polls, but concealed gun permits are acceptable. (A federal court has ordered modifications to Texas law.) Guess which group is more likely to vote for Republicans?

So if Trump is looking for evidence of rigged elections, its easy enough to find. Hes just looking in the wrong direction.
Its last call for Salvatore Ferragamo tweed pumps at Arthur Beren Shoes on Union Square.

The Italian shoes, on sale for $520 a pair, will soon be gone. As will the Zur Venetian loafers, the Thierry Rabotin slip-ons, and the Kickstart Womens Bootie.

After nearly 30 years at 222 Stockton St., and more on Geary Street, Arthur Beren Shoes, one of Union Squares last remaining independent local stores, is closing.

Store owner David Beren, who took the business over from his father, Arthur, says rising rents and declining sales have squeezed the profit out of a business he loves, but which no longer seems to have a place in a retail district dominated by luxury chains like Chanel, Gucci and Dior.

Its a changing world we are in, and we have to accept it  reluctantly, Beren said. If thats the way it goes in Union Square, thats the way it goes. We will be part of whats gone.

The move comes after a five-year run-up in rents and valuations that has turned Union Square into a luxury retail center with the same brands that dot global wealth centers like Hong Kong, London and New York City. Rents for prime space in Union Square have tripled to an average of $650 a square foot. Investors are shelling out well over $1,000 a square foot to buy retail buildings.

But some worry that the influx of capital has come with a cost: the vanishing local, independent businesses that for decades have distinguished Union Square from other urban shopping areas. One local Union Square mainstay, Shreve & Co., was priced out of the building that bears its name at 200 Post St. and forced to find a new home. The fabric store Britex at 146 Geary St. is working to stay in its space after its landlord filed an application with the city to convert the upper floors of the building to office space.

Laura Tinetti, a retail broker with JLL, said landlords rent expectations are such that only a select group of tenants can afford them. The result is that some retail spaces are staying vacant longer and tenants are slower to make commitments.

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There is still demand for space, but we are seeing it taken up by the jewelers of the world  the Cartiers, the Harry Winstons  that can pay the high-water rents, said Tinetti. There are plenty of active retailers who want a flagship in San Francisco, but they are hesitant to pull the trigger where rents are.

Berens building is owned by the Town and Country Club, a womens social organization. The group raised Berens rent three years ago by 50 percent. David Beren said that he looked around at other options in Union Square and on Fillmore Street but hasnt found anything that works and is economically feasible.

I dont blame the Town and Country Club, he said. They have a building that is worth a lot of money, and they can get the rent they are asking for. We negotiated and they even gave us a little bit of a break three years ago, but it was still a lot. The economics of it dont work for us. When your expenses go up and your income drops, its not a good combination.

In addition to lofty rents and the increasing market share of online retailers, Union Square  in particular Stockton Street  has been under siege by the messy Central Subway construction project that began during President Obamas first term and is scheduled to continue well into the next administration.

We tolerated the construction for so long and have gone through the worst of it, said Beren. But it has been very disruptive.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

On Thursday, longtime customers like Joy Drinker of Saratoga and Jane Golden of San Leandro stopped by the store to say goodbye and stock up on shoes. For Golden, retired director of curriculum for the Pleasanton Unified School District, Arthur Beren is the last reason to make quarterly pilgrimages to downtown San Francisco.

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I can go get my clothes in Pleasanton. This was the reason to come over. It was the destination, she said. This is really not good for San Francisco.

Beren Shoes moved to its current location in 1988. Before that it was on Geary Street near Union Square. Before that it was based in Oakland and called Kushins. Arthur Beren started working there while a student at UC Berkeley. The senior Beren, now 90 years old still stops in the store on Fridays after lunch at Le Central.

Golden said she went to Kushins with her mother. Youll find hundreds and hundreds of women throughout the Bay Area who are just going to be shocked and saddened by the store closing, she said.

Salesman Morgan Von Rueden moved over to Beren 23 years ago from I. Magnin. The two Union Square stores were competitors  both specialized in Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. He dines with his Beren customers, attends their childrens weddings and chats with them on the phone on weekends or in the evening.

They are calling up, What do you have in my size? Ill have it all. They are buying $4,000 or $5,000 or $6,000 right off the top because they know they are not going to buy shoes for a long time.

On Thursday, Drinker hugged him on her way out the door with several pairs of new shoes. I am so sorry you are going out of all our lives, she said. Everyone has so counted on you for a wide range of styles and choices. And always high quality.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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The owners of the building that houses venerable Union Square fabric retailer Britex said Tuesday that they hope to retain the store as a tenant and that their plan to convert the structures upper floors to office space is a backup in case lease negotiations dont work out.

Britex is not going out of business, and we are not asking them to leave prematurely, said Mark Stefan, a principal of City Center Realty Partners, which owns the property with Acadia Realty Trust. We are negotiating with Britex to remain in the building.

The statement comes less than a week after the property owners filed a change-of-use application with the San Francisco Planning Department, saying that Britex would be leaving the four-story building at 146 Geary St. Britex has occupied the space for 64 years. The application seeks to change the use of the top three floors from retail to office and also seeks permission to change the lettering of the widely photographed Britex blade sign so that it would meet the needs of the new tenant.

But Stefan said that change-of-use applications can take years to process and that the paperwork was submitted to allow down-the-road flexibility.

Our preference is to have Britex remain in the building, he said. Last week, Acadia Realty Trust had said there were no firm plans for the building.

Neither the property owners nor store owner Sharman Spector would say how much time is left on the lease. Spectors husband, attorney Gary Angel, said negotiations have been progressing well.

From my perspective (the property owners) are good people and good businessmen and have been nothing but open and above board, he said. They are looking at all their options, which is what good business people do.

The property owners bought the building for $38 million from a limited liability corporation controlled by the Spector family. While Sharman Spector was part of the family LLC that owned the building, she and Angel had hoped to not sell the building, which they had renovated recently.

We have always wanted to stay here, but families have different needs over the generations, said Angel. Sharman is and always has been dedicated to Britex Fabrics and keeping the business going.

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Spector and Angel stressed that they are hoping to remain in their longtime home, but that if they have to leave they will reopen somewhere in the Union Square neighborhood.

Britex is going to be here in Union Square for a long time, Angel said.

News that Britex might be forced to relocate generated a huge response from customers urging the store and the property owner to preserve the signature business, one of the few independent, local businesses in Union Square, according to Spector.

On Monday, during Britexs annual Columbus Day sale, hundreds of customers jammed into the narrow store, forming lines that snaked up the staircase. So many customers were asking about the news that the store might be forced out that Angel and Spector hired a friend to stand by the front door and repeatedly say, We are not closing.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
A criminal investigation was launched after a rookie Sonoma County sheriffs deputy allegedly used excessive force by deploying a Taser on a military veteran and beating him with a baton during a domestic dispute call, officials said.

The deputy, Scott Thorne, stopped working for the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office within two weeks of the September incident, Sgt. Spencer Crum, a spokesman for the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office, said Friday. Thorne had been a member of the sheriffs department for about six months.

Crum would not say if Thorne was fired or resigned, citing state law barring him from releasing such information.

Concerns arose when the department and the Sonoma County district attorneys office reviewed police body-camera footage of the incident, officials said.

I do believe this is an anomaly, and I understand people are upset, just like me, Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas told KTVU. Weve reached out to the man and apologized to him directly.

The Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County district attorneys office are conducting the criminal investigation.

Thorne and deputies Anthony Diehm and Beau Zastrow responded to an undisclosed address in an unincorporated area of Sonoma Valley at 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 after a caller reported overhearing a loud argument at a neighbors home.

The deputies were let into the home by a woman who answered the door. One deputy took the woman to a room for questioning. Thorne and the third deputy forcibly entered a locked bedroom to question the womans husband, who ignored orders to open the door, Crum said.

The husband, whose name was not released, was lying on a bed and did not respond to Thornes orders to stand up, according to Crum. Thorne grabbed the mans arm and when the man pulled away, Thorne deployed his Taser and shot him in the stomach, Crum said.

The man was able to sit up and pull out the Taser prongs, Crum said, prompting Thorne to strike him in the leg with a baton, he said. Thorne continued repeatedly hitting the man, who attempted to run toward the bedroom door, Crum said.

The other deputies helped restrain the man, and one also fired a Taser, hitting him in the back, Crum said.

The man was taken to a local hospital and treated. He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Jail at 1:12 a.m. on Sept. 25 on suspicion of threatening an officer, resisting and obstructing an officer and battery of an officer. He was released on $10,000 bail about an hour later.

After reviewing the case, prosecutors declined to file charges against him.

We treat people right generally, and this kind of behavior gives a black eye to us and law enforcement, said Assistant Sheriff Robert Giordano, adding that the department is reviewing and changing its practices on the use of force.

Thorne began working for the department in April 2016. The two other deputies involved in the incident  Diehm, a member of the force since 2015, and Zastrow, who joined the department in 2013  are still employed with the sheriffs office.

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When Giordano saw the footage, he said there were multiple instances throughout the altercation that he felt the use of force was unnecessary and inappropriate. The sheriffs office is now enforcing a policy for supervisors to screen and evaluate every instance in which force is used by a deputy, Giordano added.

In order to use force, you have to be defending yourself, Giordano said. We are sorry this happened. We dont tolerate it.

Nearly a month after the incident, the man is still dealing with his injuries, said his attorney, Izaak Schwaiger. He said the mans injuries included bruises, welts, a hurt shoulder and possible neurological damage.

These are not the kind of people that you would think would end up on the other side of a police baton, Schwaiger said.

The man is a military veteran and former law enforcement officer with a spotless criminal record, Schwaiger added. He said he and his client are planning to wait and see what happens with the criminal investigation.

The most noteworthy part of all this is the criminal investigation, Schwaiger said. If you want to change the culture of a law enforcement agency and you want to tell them excessive force is not appropriate, this is the way to do it.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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Conventional wisdom says independent bookstores are in desperate trouble. You can probably list the problems you imagine they face.

By selling tons of books online, Amazon has taken over the market. Or national big-box bookstores dominate the industry, crowding out the smaller independents. Or e-readers make getting and reading books so easy that print is nearly dead.

Each of those theories makes perfect sense. But none is true.

Out on Haight Street, the Booksmith is a model of the new bookstore. Bright and inviting, its not so much a retail outlet as a neighborhood hangout. Co-owner Christin Evans supervises a staff that promotes appearances by authors, discussion groups and demonstrations.

I think the bookstore has always been a place where people come together, Evans said.

The Booksmith, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary, has made civic gathering a priority. When she and husband Praveen Madan took over the store in 2007, it was hosting 70 events a year. This year, the number is 200.

But they still get the sympathetic questions from customers who ask, Are you going to be able to stay in business?

One of the favorite narratives is that the industry is collapsing, said Camden Avery, lead buyer for the Booksmith.

Not that there werent some problems. Between 2000 and 2007, more than 1,000 independent bookstores closed.

But now, the American Booksellers Association says independent membership in the ABA has increased 30 percent since 2009. There are now 2,311 indie booksellers, and overall sales were up 10 percent over last year.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

We are really coming back stronger and fiercer than ever, said Calvin Crosby, executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

And, although Amazon sells loads of books, bookstores are finding that readers appreciate the human interaction of going to a store and talking with knowledgeable staff rather than dealing with an impersonal Internet account.

Many are also starting to feel the same way about reading books on an electronic device. Between January 2015 and January 2016, e-book sales were down nearly 25 percent, according to the Association of American Publishers.

The numbers reflect the desire to get away from the video screen.

So many us spend the whole day looking a computer screen, said Amy Stephenson, who coordinates events for the Booksmith.

As for those big-box bookstores, good luck trying to find one in San Francisco. Barnes and Noble closed its last local store in 2010, and Borders had a well-publicized meltdown and went out of business.

In fact, Crosby said the Borders bankruptcy may have started the whole end-of-the-world-for-bookstores idea.

Borders closed because of bad business choices, he said. Not because they sold books. But that story (bookstores in crisis) never went away.

Booksmith is not only thriving, its expanding. On Nov. 1, the Booksmith team will take over the former site of the Red Vic Movie House. The new space will be called the Bindery, and it will sell quirky gifts and books but will also host events. The advantage is that it is a larger space with some amenities the bookstore doesnt have.

It will provide a community and events space for the neighborhood, Evans said. Theres even a built-in movie projector.

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And, by the way, the Booksmiths revival coincides with an updated look for the Haight. If you havent been out there lately, youll be struck by updated and repainted storefronts and upscale retail.

The neighborhood got a face-lift, Evans said, but the guts are still the same. We have a lot of 20- to 30-year residents.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Of course it isnt enough to schedule a reading and expect crowds of customers to appear. Thinking outside the box is critical. Stephenson came up with Shipwreck, which is billed as San Franciscos premier literary erotic fanfiction event.

Participants rewrite literary characters  a recent one was Peter Pan  into humorous erotic parodies. The funniest are read aloud to appreciative audiences. Its been such a hit that Chronicle columnist Beth Spotswood covered an event.

The first time we did it, the place was packed, Stephenson said. The second time, it was double-packed. And the third time, they were hanging from the rafters.

Its the kind of unconventional strategy that has fueled the independent bookstore revolution. Maybe we should call it books without Borders.

C.W. Nevius is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His columns appear Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Email: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cwnevius
After years of negotiations and input from education interest groups, teachers and their unions, the U.S. Department of Education recently released its revised Teacher Preparation Regulations, designed to help ensure that students get the best new teachers possible.

The idea is that if teacher-preparation programs transparently report on a variety of performance metrics  such as placement and retention rates of teachers in their first three years in the classroom (including in high-needs schools) as well as feedback from new teachers and their employers on the effectiveness of their training  the data will help improve the efficacy of these programs.

And theres no question they need improvement. In 2013, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) put out a seminal report that found only 10 percent of 1,200 teacher-preparation programs nationwide were adequately training people to succeed in the classroom. More recently, a 2015 NCTQ report found standards for training new teachers are inconsistent  even within the same prep programs.

After investigating 13 institutions that offered both undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, the NCTQ found that even on the same campus, some programs allow certain students to graduate with glaring omissions in their training, such as not taking a single course in classroom management or introductory special ed.

Gathering and publishing more data may eventually push teacher-prep programs to provide more rigorous core-subject knowledge and pedagogy training. What is less clear, however, is whether one key provision of the regulations  judging programs based on the learning outcomes of students who are taught by graduates of those programs  can do what it promises: improve the quality of new teachers.

Its a marvelous idea, obviously. But it doesnt take into account that any given student is an accumulation of good or bad learning and study habits that have been hardwired since birth through whatever grade a teacher happens to teach.

If new teachers land jobs at wealthy schools with children who have been groomed for college since they were in utero, then high student performance makes it look as though these teachers are gifted educators who came from rigorous and successful teacher-prep programs. But if a new teacher ends up in a district that has a wide range of student achievement due to socioeconomic factors, then, just based on student performance, he or she may unfairly look like a weak teacher from a poor program. And though the guidance doesnt say student-learning outcomes must be illustrated through test scores, its easy to imagine states cheaply resorting to using them.

In a statement, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten remarked: The final regulations could harm students who would benefit the most from consistent, high-quality standards for teacher-preparation programs. ... [They] will punish teacher-prep programs whose graduates go on to teach in our highest-needs schools, most often those with high concentrations of students who live in poverty and English-language learners  the exact opposite strategy of what we need.

Even worse is that the final regulations left out more stringent admission standards.

According to NCTQ President Kate Walsh, higher college admission standards were not included because of institutions concerns that raising standards would impact diversity. Not only is this common complaint denigrating to African-American and Hispanic students  implying that a teaching career is only available to them if standards are kept intolerably low  but the consequence of an open-door policy sounds a death knell for programs ability to raise the rigor and quality of instruction, she wrote on the NCTQ website.

I couldnt agree more. The fact is that nothing impacts student achievement as much as teacher quality. But diversity  certainly a worthy and important goal for teacher ranks  has been politicized and overprioritized in education policy-making circles.

In an interview, NCTO president Kate Walsh told me, Not doing something about standards risks perpetuating a cycle of underperformance among minorities. Some people made the decision that having teachers look like students is sufficient to boost student achievement, and theres very little evidence to support that. Teacher diversity is important to minority kids future  its just not the most important thing.

Highly competent teachers are the most significant factor in diverse learners experiencing better educational outcomes. The new regulations provide an excellent start toward this goal. But until we make the leap to more demanding admission standards for teacher-prep programs, K-12 students with the biggest need for exceptionally knowledgeable and well-trained teachers will remain left behind.
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Cars are getting smarter, more connected and closer to a future where they can drive themselves. Against that backdrop, an array of technologists, investors, car executives, transit experts and others convened at San Franciscos Dogpatch Studios on Thursday for a conference delving into changes in how people get around.

Technology is transforming transportation in the same way its transformed media, music, you name it, said Doug Newcomb, president and co-founder of the C3 Group which sponsored the C3 Connected Mobility Summit. Society is ready for it and the industry is ripe for disruption.

Sudipto Aich, manager for mobility solutions at Ford Research and Innovation in Palo Alto, put it like this: Were on the verge of expanding from personal ownership to shared mobility services.

Ford is running two dozen experiments worldwide to be ready for that shift. Two major examples are in the Bay Area: its purchase last month of commuter-shuttle operator Chariot, whose services it plans to expand nationally and internationally, and a partnership with bike-sharing firm Motivate to disperse 7,000 bikes for hourly rentals around the region.

While autonomous vehicles are the ultimate destination for cars transformation, there will be plenty of waypoints along the road  and interim ways for drivers to benefit from new technologies.

Monali Shah, director of intelligent transportation at Here, a Berlin mapping company purchased by BMW, Audi and Daimler for $3.1 billion last year, talked about how its digital maps and data are applicable in todays world as well as tomorrows. Already, they underlie most U.S. and European car-navigation systems.

Well need a whole new level of accuracy and freshness in generating information for automated cars on factors such as weather, construction and traffic, she said.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

Investors thrashed out whether autonomous driving is already an overhyped industry.

Au contraire, said Jim Scheinman, founder and managing partner of Maven Ventures, repurposing a John Doerr quote about the Internet.

The autonomous vehicle driving industry is underhyped, he said. Its one of the most game-changing platforms well see in our lifetime. I believe its happening much faster than most people think and it will change everyones life in a massive way.

That attitude has already been rewarded in spades. Maven was an early investor in San Franciscos Cruise Automation, which is developing a kit to make cars self-driving. General Motors bought it for north of $1 billion this year. The company had raised only $18 million, and even that was hard going.

We shopped Cruise to every single great VC investor and we got noes from 30 people, Scheinman said. The problem is a lot of these early-stage deals look insane. But if you do rational thinking all the time, youll miss some of these deals.

Another example: San Franciscos Otto, which is working on self-driving trucks, was entirely self-funded by its founders, and sold to Uber this summer for $700 million.

Zach Barasz, a senior associate at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, pointed to the market potential for all sorts of transportation innovations.

In the U.S. today, only 15 percent of people have ridden in an Uber or Lyft, he said. Less than 1 percent of vehicles sold are electric. One-third of people have not even heard of Uber or Lyft. Only two companies are in (public) trials of autonomous vehicles, Uber in Pittsburgh and NuTonomy in Singapore. Its hard to stress how much more is still to come.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

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But meanwhile, some investors are looking into a persistent old-world transport issue: parking.

Parking is an enormous problem, said Quin Garcia, managing director of Autotech Ventures, which focuses on investments in ground transport. Its an inverse with autonomous vehicles; the more autonomy, the more the problem diminishes. But it will be a number of years with privately owned vehicles and this problem. Autotech has tracked 57 parking startups without finding a suitable investment, he said. The space is really crowded because its such a big and obvious problem, but its hard to achieve success outside of local regions.

The conference wound up with what one attendee called a Debbie Downer panel that looked at potential unintended  and negative  consequences of self-driving cars. They included continued erosion of the middle-class if jobs like truck driver and cabdriver go away; an increase in urban sprawl as people potentially commute longer distances; an over-reliance on artificial intelligence without an ethics framework; and peoples driving skills atrophying.

Still, said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book, it will be a gradual transition.

Millions of human-controlled cars wont disappear overnight, he said. There will be a long time frame of cohabitation of autonomous and human-controlled vehicles. It will be interesting to see the interplay between them. We could get in situation where the autonomous cars never get in accidents but take three times as long because they play it safe. People will have to decide between taking longer to get somewhere and or driving themselves and risking an accident.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com
For hours Friday, users around the country had trouble accessing websites and apps like Twitter, Spotify and Reddit. The reason: an electronic attack on Dyn, a firm that hosts domain servers.

Domain Name System (DNS) servers are key to directing traffic on the Internet. The servers take in Web addresses typed by users, like www.twitter.com, translate them into numerical addresses computers understand, and route them to the sites they seek. When those servers get bogged down by attacks, they are unable to direct Internet traffic to the appropriate sites. Almost every online operation depends on DNS functioning correctly.

They are kind of like the address book of the Web, said Rob Enderle of advisory services firm Enderle Group. DNS servers are critical. Without them, if they are knocked out and fail, youre disconnected.

Enderle said there is not as much money to be made in attacking DNS servers as in other types of attacks, like ransomware. But one reason people target the servers is for the spectacle of causing major disruption. For example, if a country believes a hostile government is threatening it with attack, the country could disrupt DNS servers, to show that the hostile government is vulnerable as well, Enderle said.

The specific attack used is known as a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack. A typical distributed denial of service attack aims to overwhelm websites with traffic. Usually, a specific website or company is targeted. The idea is that if enough traffic is sent to them, they will be inaccessible.

Hackers start by building networks of computers infected with malicious software  botnets, or networks of machines that have been botted, or taken over so they can be remotely controlled without their owners knowing. Increasingly, its not just computers and smartphones that are being used. Household devices, toys and other machines connected to the Internet are being taken over and used to send spurious traffic.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

These botnets are bought and sold on the black market. Someone can buy a weeklong DDoS attack for as little as $150. DDoS attacks are more common than one might imagine. Digital Attack Map, a Google-backed site, reports that more than 2,000 DDoS attacks are observed every day. A third of all website downtime can be attributed to DDoS attacks.

Attacks are launched in several ways, but they fall into four categories: TCP connection attacks that attempt to use up all the available connections to a source; volumetric attacks, which aim to consume available bandwidth and thus cause enough congestion to slow or limit access to a site or sites; fragmentation attacks, where the botnets send a flood of fragmented data that the target must try to reassemble, overwhelming its ability to do so; and application attacks that try to overwhelm a specific part of an application or service. Fridays DNS attacks appear to be in that last category.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Daniel DeMay is a SeattlePI.com staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com, danieldemay@seattlepi.com Twitter: @thewendylee, @Daniel_DeMay
Four years ago, Chevrons oil refinery in Richmond was the scene of an industrial disaster. An 8-inch-diameter pipe carrying fuel oil ruptured, releasing a burst of flammable vapors that quickly expanded 100 meters in all directions, engulfing 19 refinery workers. Less than two minutes later, the vapor ignited into a massive fireball and a plume of smoke and toxic gases that spread over the northeastern Bay Area.

During that brief window, 18 of the workers crawled to safety through a blinding atmosphere of hot, flammable vapor. The last worker, a Chevron firefighter, climbed into the cab of his engine moments before the flames rolled over it. He survived. But the disaster wasnt confined to the plant: In the following days, some 15,000 people in the communities downwind of the plant sought medical attention for symptoms of exposure to smoke and fire gases.

For 33 years, my grandfather, Ed Wilson, worked as an engineer at the Union Oil refinery in what was then the town of Oleum, near the city of Hercules. He was the son of Swedish immigrants and a graduate of Cal Tech, and he worked long hours making sure the plant ran safely, without fail. If he were alive today, I think he would be dismayed to learn what happened at Chevron.

In the years leading up to the fire, Chevrons managers heard from their own engineers, via at least six reports, that pipes in the plants massive crude unit were corroding and needed inspection and replacement, according to the report published by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Managers ignored those warnings, even after a corroded pipe failed in 2007, causing a fire that injured one worker and sent out an alert asking people in the surrounding community to stay indoors. By 2009, Chevron engineers warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure, and still managers deferred action.

Chevrons corporate negligence was nothing short of willful; by sheer luck, they avoided burning and killing 19 people who were just keeping the refinery running, as my grandfather did.

The silver lining of the Chevron refinery story starts in the governors office. Just days after the incident, Gov. Jerry Brown assembled an interagency working group to assess the states refinery safety regulations. Now  four years later  the states redrafted regulation is poised for adoption. As chief scientist in the states Department of Industrial Relations, I helped draft the regulation, and I continue to follow the issue in my work with the BlueGreen Alliance, a national coalition of labor unions and environmental organizations.

If enacted, the regulation will enable plant engineers and other experts including union safety representatives  to identify hazards and correct them, not with temporary patches or other Band-Aid measures, but with high-quality engineering solutions known collectively as inherently safer technologies. Reinforced with deadlines and reporting requirements, along with the enforcement teeth of the states Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the regulation should make it nearly impossible for plant managers to drive a refinery to the point of failure.

This is hardly radical. In essence, the 12,000-word proposal requires the states refineries to adopt the industrys own best engineering practices. Using cars as an analogy, the proposed regulations will require the driver to follow the vehicles preventive maintenance schedule, rather than driving the car until the wheels fall off or the engine blows up.

While staffers at DOSH and the California Environmental Protection Agency labored to draft the new regulation, mismanagement at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance (Los Angeles County) caused an explosion in February 2015 in the plants electrostatic precipitator. Contractors working on this multistory structure survived, again mostly by luck. The explosion sent tons of industrial dust up to a mile from the plant, and flying debris narrowly missed striking a tank containing tens of thousands of pounds of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid. Given the 330,000 residents, 71 schools and eight hospitals located within three miles of the plant, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board later concluded that a significant release of the acid, which vaporizes if released from its container, had the potential to cause serious injury or death to many community members.

The states OSHA program issued six willful violations against ExxonMobil because  like Chevron  the company had failed to take action to eliminate known hazardous conditions at the refinery.

Again, damage was not confined to the plant. During the year the refinery was off-line, it was not producing the gasoline that the states economy requires. An analysis by the RAND Corporation concluded that the explosion caused a statewide 40-cents-per-gallon increase in the price of gas and, in the first six months alone, a $6.9 billion contraction in the California economy.

Gov. Browns proposed regulation is clearly overdue, and yet it still faces opposition. The Western States Petroleum Association  representing refineries  is challenging the regulations scope and is pushing hard to scale it back. On the other hand, a coalition led by the United Steelworkers union (representing most refinery workers) and the Sierra Club, together with two dozen other organizations, is seeking to strengthen the regulation by reinstating deadlines and other accountability measures that were dropped from the final draft.

By placing his hand firmly on the side of the coalition, the governor would side with good engineering practice and with a regulation whose strength might begin to match the seriousness of the risks facing refinery workers and neighboring communities. If he takes that action, hell also be stepping up for a nation that is in serious need of leadership on industrial safety.

In 2012 alone, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board tracked 125 significant process safety incidents at the nations petroleum refineries. Every two-and-a-half days, our nation experiences a major industrial chemical release. Nearly 23 million Americans live within one mile of a hazardous industrial facility.

The regulations governing these facilities have not been updated since the early 1990s, when they were adopted in response to the 1984 industrial disaster in Bhopal, India, where a late-night leak of methyl isocyanate at the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant killed thousands of people  most of whom were sleeping.

The new regulation, in its strongest form, might give the industrys corporate leaders heartburn, but there is no question that  at some point in Californias future  it will save lives. With a nod to Bhopal, to Richmond and to Torrance, California is on the cusp of reinventing industrial safety by making it much harder for corporations to dismiss the insights of engineers and plant operators. I think my grandfather would read the governors proposal and smile.

Mike Wilson, former chief scientist in the states Department of Industrial Relations, works for the San Francisco office of the BlueGreen Alliance, a national coalition of 10 labor unions and five environmental organizations. The BlueGreen Alliance has more than 15 million members and supporters, including most of the nations refinery and chemical plant workers. He wrote this for Zocalo Public Square. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
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What do a San Francisco State University professor, an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley and a Mexican diplomat have in common?

All three of them were recently caught in the cross-fire of dialogue over Israeli-Palestinian relations.

For decades, discussion of the problems between Israel and the Palestinian territories has rarely been calm or neutral in any country. A cycle of anger, accusation, recrimination, and escalation seems to be the rule, similar to conflicts in this area of the world.

If a series of recent events, all involving local figures, is any indication, the Bay Area may be in the escalation phase.

First, a 22-year-old undergraduate at UC Berkeley named Paul Hadweh created a student-taught class called Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis. (Berkeley has a storied tradition of classes taught by students with assistance from faculty members.)

Hadweh, a Palestinian American, secured the necessary faculty sponsor and departmental approvals. Student sign-ups for the course were strong  and then Jewish American groups heard about it. In a letter to UC Berkeley administrators, 43 Jewish advocacy groups wrote that they had reviewed the syllabus and believed it intended to indoctrinate students to hate the Jewish state and take action to eliminate it.

The university canceled the class. This action only fanned the outrage flames, as pro-Palestinian groups flocked to Hadwehs side. The university has now reinstated the course, after Hadweh changed its name, but no one is happy.

Nor is anyone happy at San Francisco State University, where the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a conservative pro-Israel group, has been widely denounced for putting up posters that accuse associate professor of ethnic studies Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi of collaborating with terrorists.

These universities are supporting terrorist propaganda organizations, David Horowitz told the Chronicle.

Thats news to San Francisco State, which called the posters vandalism, and its even news to the universitys Hillel, an organization for Jewish students, which called the posters offensive and said their message does nothing to improve the campus climate.

Across the Atlantic, Andres Roemer, Mexicos former consul general in San Francisco, also found himself on the wrong side of things this week  after speaking up for Israel and its history.

Roemer, the grandson of a Jewish refugee from Austria, lost his post as Mexicos ambassador to UNESCO after he walked out during a vote on an absurd resolution that refused to acknowledged Hebrew names to the holy sites Temple Mount and Western Wall  thereby denying their connection to the Jewish state. Mexico, reflexively pro-Palestinian in recent years, had ordered Roemer to vote for the resolution. Roemer voted with his feet, and one of his deputies delivered the yes vote.

Kudos to Roemer for taking a principled stand. Shame on the Mexican government for firing him, only to then try to play both sides of the issue by announcing it would change its official vote to abstention.

All three incidents offer sad commentary on the inability of people thousands of miles away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to air their differences without hyperbole, intimidation or retribution.
The annual Michelin Guide fortnight is upon us in the Bay Area, that sliver of the year wherein the French little red book somehow dominates conversation in the local restaurant industry.

As with any restaurant rankings, the Michelin lists themselves  the Bib Gourmands came out Oct. 18; the main event comes Tuesday, Oct. 25, when the stars are announced  certainly have their flaws and detractors. But with the guide now in its 11th year in San Francisco, Ive come to realize that my favorite thing with Michelin is the chatter itself. As someone steeped in the restaurant industry  past, present and future  I enjoy the speculation, the guessing, the theater of it all.

(I suppose theres an angsty think piece to be written about how restaurants have become a spectator sport of sorts, but this is not that exercise.)

The sensation is similar to what followers of shows like Westworld, True Detective and Lost must feel, where half the fun comes from the weird theories, Reddit threads and water-cooler discussions. And as in those shows, its easy for the Michelin list to fall short of grandiose expectations. Most year-to-year changes are subtle  maybe one big promotion or demotion a year, though Michelin has shown a tendency to demote local heroes, like Chez Panisse, Boulevard and La Folie.

On that note, lets outline the biggest storylines swirling around the forthcoming Michelin stars. Please do share your thoughts and guesses in the comments or via the Twitter machine.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

1. Will anyone get promoted to three stars?

There are currently five Bay Area three-star restaurants: Benu, the French Laundry, the Restaurant at Meadowood, Saison and last years newcomer, Manresa. One more would bring the region equal to New York Citys count, which would quantify a notable shift in American fine dining, albeit one that has been oft-discussed. Given the confluence of posh surroundings and modernism that Michelin has favored in recent years, the most likely candidates for promotion are Quince and Atelier Crenn. The other current two-stars are Acquerello, Baume, Coi and last years two new additions: Campton Place and Commis.

2. Will anyone get promoted to two stars?

A few dozen restaurants carry a single star, from high-end stalwarts like Auberge du Soleil and Terra to more casual upstarts like Kin Khao and State Bird Provisions. When considering upgrades, every one of the two-star entries features a tasting menu over $100. Thats not an official metric, of course, but if we follow that tradition, the field narrows to a few contenders, led by Californios, Lazy Bear, Madrona Manor, Michael Mina, Mourad and Sons & Daughters.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

3. What about Coi?

No starred restaurant experienced a bigger overhaul this year than Coi, which has held two stars since 2008. In January, Daniel Patterson turned over the kitchen to Matthew Kirkley, who brought a modern seafood angle to the pioneering Broadway restaurant. Kirkley previously earned two Michelin stars at Chicagos now-closed L2O. Everything is in play.

4. What about In Situ?

Corey Lees groundbreaking SFMOMA restaurant, which reproduces famous dishes from the worlds best restaurants, has garnered rave reviews in its first six months of business, from both local and national media. The New York Times declared it Americas most original new restaurant. What will Michelin think? In terms of a restaurant that replicates other dishes, the closest analogue is probably Chicagos Next, which Michelin has shunned for years. Place your bets.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

5. What other newcomers are in the star conversation?

Last year, 15 restaurants received single stars for the first time. New Bay Area restaurants that should be in the conversation for stars include Mister Jius, Cala, Petit Crenn, Ju-Ni and the Ron Siegel-ized Rancho Nicasio. The Progress and Liholiho Yacht Club were both eligible last year (and shut out), but are widely regarded as two of the citys top newish restaurants. Mosu and Hashiri are two very upscale restaurants with clear star aspirations, though reviews have been mixed. But thats just the tip of the iceberg; what other restaurants should get star consideration?

Paolo Lucchesi is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: plucchesi@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @lucchesi
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Matt LeBlanc returns to broadcast series TV in a show that takes square aim at the middle of the road, and thats probably just fine with CBS.

LeBlanc stars as Adam Burns in Man With a Plan, premiering on Monday, Oct. 24, as part of the networks effort to stake a new claim on Monday nights with a sitcom lineup.

Adam is a contractor who agrees to work from home and take care of his three kids so that his wife, Andi (Liza Snyder), can return to her old job. How hard can it be, taking care of three kids, he thinks.

Plenty hard, he finds out.

The setup is pure Mr. Mom with roots that stretch back to I Love Lucy, when Ricky and Fred tried to be househusbands for a week and Ricky found out you cant put starch in womens stockings.

In fact, the shows second episode revisits another familiar setup: Adam gets prime tickets for a Steelers game (the show is set in Pittsburgh) and invites his younger brother (Kevin Nealon) to go with him, but Andi thinks shes Adams plus-one.

The kids are typical sitcom progeny: the wise-beyond-her-years youngest (Hala Finley), a preadolescent son who cant keep his hands out of his pants (Matthew McCann) and a teenage daughter (Grace Kaufman) exhibiting a predictable adolescent desire to put as much distance between herself and her folks as possible.

Its a very traditional and very safe sitcom, and will pair well with the equally traditional ratings winner Kevin Can Wait, which moves to a new time slot Monday as the lead-in for Man With a Plan.

CBS is the network with a plan for Monday nights, and it may not be brilliant, different, hilarious or edgy, but thats why its a smart plan in the long run.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of The Do List every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

Man With a Plan: Sitcom. 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, on CBS.
Mexican immigrants who speak little English. Older adults with memory problems. College students opening their first bank accounts. Small-business owners with several lines of credit.

These were some of the customers whom bankers at Wells Fargo, trying to meet steep sales goals and avoid being fired, targeted for unauthorized or unnecessary accounts, according to legal filings and statements from former bank employees.

The analogy I use was that it was like lions hunting zebras, said Kevin Pham, a former Wells Fargo employee in San Jose, who saw it happening at the branch where he worked. They would look for the weakest, the ones that would put up the least resistance.

Wells Fargo would like to close the chapter on the sham account scandal, saying it has changed its policies, replaced its chief executive and refunded $2.6 million to customers. But lawmakers and regulators say they will not let it go that quickly, and emerging evidence that some victims were among the banks most vulnerable customers has given them fresh ammunition.

Last week, three members of San Franciscos Board of Supervisors introduced a resolution calling on the city to cut all financial ties with the San Francisco bank. They cited both the recent scandal and past cases  particularly the $175 million that Wells Fargo paid in 2012 to settle accusations that its mortgage brokers had discriminated against black and Hispanic borrowers.

After the Senate Banking Committee held a blistering hearing last month with the banks chief executive, John Stumpf, who has since retired, it followed up with a letter containing 58 additional questions for the bank. Among them: What proportion of the harmed customers are old, members of ethnic minorities or military veterans?

The committee is still waiting for a response. The Justice Department and California Attorney General Kamala Harris are also investigating the bank.

In interviews and lawsuits, Wells Fargo employees have described in vivid detail some of the predatory practices they saw.

At a branch in Scottsdale, Ariz., members of an American Indian community would arrive like clockwork every three months with checks for their share of the communitys casino revenue.

It was then, said Ricky M. Hansen Jr., a former branch manager there, that some bankers would try to dupe them into opening unnecessary accounts laden with fees.

In California, it was people with identification cards issued by Mexican consulates. The absence of a Social Security number made it simpler for Wells Fargo employees to open fraudulent accounts in those customers names. Wells Fargo is one of the few major banks to permit accounts to be opened without Social Security numbers.

And in Illinois, one former teller described watching in frustration as older customers fell prey.

We had customers of all ages, but the elderly ones would at times be targeted, because they dont ask many questions about fees and such, Brandi Baker, who worked at a branch in Galesburg, Ill., said in an interview.

When Stumpf testified before members of Congress  once in the Senate and once in the House  he was pressed hard on whether any demographic group had been disproportionately affected. He said he was not sure.

Wells Fargo does not collect information on its customers ethnicity, Stumpf said. Of the 2 million potentially unauthorized accounts the bank uncovered in its internal review, the affected customers skewed to younger people, not older people, he told the House Financial Services Committee.

In the Los Angeles area, for instance, college campuses were considered prime spots for employees seeking to rack up new accounts because younger customers had a tendency to trust a bankers advice.

Athena McDaniel-Watkins, a former teller who worked in and around Los Angeles, said a banker she worked with would take stacks of forms with him on campus visits and encourage busy students to sign the blank papers  he would fill them out later, he told the students.

So the customer essentially handed the banker a blank check, McDaniel-Watkins said. The banker was then able to list as many accounts under that application as he wanted  or, in many cases, as many as he needed to hit sales goals for that day.

Steven Curtis, who also worked at several Wells Fargo branches in the Los Angeles area, said that when college students showed up asking for overdraft fees to be waived, bankers would sometimes tell them they could do so only by closing their account and opening a batch of new ones.

The practices in California were also described in a lawsuit the Los Angeles city attorney filed against Wells Fargo in 2015. Among the complaints was that employees specifically sought out Mexican citizens because their identity documents were easier to misuse.

If customers complained, Wells Fargo employees advised them to ignore the unauthorized fees and letters from collection agencies because the lack of a Social Security number means the debt will not affect them, the lawsuit said.

Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo says it has eliminated the sales goals that pressured bankers to open sham accounts. It has also replaced Stumpf with Timothy Sloan, formerly the chief operating officer, and begun contacting all of its deposit customers to ask if they would like to review their accounts. The bank is still conducting an internal investigation into its sales practices.

We are confident that these important steps put us on the right path to better helping our customers, said Richele Messick, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman. We will continue to work hard to restore our customers faith and regain the publics trust.

Current and former Wells Fargo employees say the problems continued well into this year.

The dynamics varied from branch to branch, former employees said in interviews. There was no systematic corporate policy or ethos of targeting specific groups of customers.

Bankers wanted the quickest, easiest sale  the low-hanging fruit, said Pham, the former Wells Fargo banker in San Jose. The extreme pressure forced people into it.

While lawmakers and investigators continue digging, some Wells Fargo customers and former employees, including Pham, are meting out their own punishment. A group that coalesced on Facebook has declared Nov. 12 National Close Your Wells Fargo Account Day.

Some people are not waiting until then.

Michael Masterson, who lives in Concord, posted on the groups Facebook page about refinancing his mortgage this week to move it away from Wells Fargo.

This was an action I took as an individual looking to sever ties with what I regard as a dishonest financial institution, he said by email.
Up-And-Coming Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Kicks Some Chart Ass

Data doesn't lie if you know what to look for. Here Next Big Sound's Liv Buli takes a close at he rapid rise of rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, who is he dominating the Pandora charts in the wake of the release of his new mixtape.

____________________________

Guest post by Liv Buli of Next Big Sound

His kind and gentle demeanor stands in stark contrast to the rough Bronx neighborhood he grew up in, but A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is no pushover.

Nah, never got my ass kicked he says. Well maybe by a lady or two. A lot of his most popular music is inspired by a young lady he fell in love with. My first mixtape especially, that came from a heartbreak. He found himself in a relationship with a woman pregnant with someone elses child. She was playing little mind games with me. I thought it was mine.

That pain is what led to songs like Still Think About You, D.T.B. (short for dont trust bitches), and Artist.

But he is definitely kicking ass in the music industry. In just a short while, tracks from Artist: The Mixtape have launched A Boogies career, and this week he climbed to the very top of the Pandora Trendsetter chart, which ranks up-and-coming artists with the highest number of station adds each week.

And while his singles are performing well (his top five tracks on Pandora all have a thumbs-up ratio of more than 73%), A Boogie is no one hit wonder: the number of stations seeded with the artist far outpaces track stations, at a rate of almost 70x.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodies rapid ascent is clear in the number of stations being seeded with the young rapper each day.

Graphic courtesy of Next Big Sound.

His ascent has been rapid. Over the past month he spun more than 5.2 million times on Pandora, which is more than two-thirds of his total spin count. Last week alone he added about 10,000 new Facebook page likes, roughly one fifth of his total fan base on the platform. He counts more than a quarter of a million followers on Instagram, 45 million video views on YouTube, and his average weekly number of station adds on Pandora has gone from 3,686 back in July, to 25,998 the week ending Oct. 8.

Seeing as his given name is in fact Artist, you would think that he wouldnt need an artist name, but you would be mistaken. A comes from Artist, he says. And Boogie from the Bronx.

The Hoodie part came from just having a hoodie on a lot, he laughs.

A Boogie notes selling out B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Manhattan as the tipping point that got the attention of major labels like Atlantic Records, to which he is now signed. Nobody knew who I was.

And how does someone relatively unknown manage to sell out large-scale venues? It takes a lot of effort, says A Boogie. He was working every platform he had available to him. Before I was even famous, I was famous on Facebook. His lyrics were being quoted all over the internet, and then he started getting some major name drops from artists like DJ Khaled and Meek Mill.

His music started picking up traction on local New York radio stations, and more than once over the past year A Boogie has been described as a key part of the revitalization of New York rap. And he doesnt disagree. I think I represent a new beginning. It is a different sound, a better sound.

So what makes A Boogie stand out from all the other artists that are struggling to break through in the industry? He believes it is his commitment to hard work, and talks about how he basically lives in the studio.Perfecting your craft is one of the main keys in being successful.

At just 20 years old, this perspective seems wise beyond his years. Highbridge in the Bronx  where A Boogie grew up  he describes as the jungle, explaining that everybody had to grow up quick, wasnt no being a kid no more when we was over there.

My life now is a blessing, he says of his new reality. There are always going to be worries in life, but now I am doing what I want to do.

But he knows his work will never be done if he wants to stay on top. With the hunger of a twenty-year-old up-and-coming kid he says: I gotta stay relevant. Next up is his EP, tentatively entitled TBA: The Bigger Artist, and he says he has plenty more behind that. Hell certainly have a bigger audience to serve it up to.

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ALBANY, N.Y.  New York state enacted one of the nations toughest restrictions on Airbnb on Friday with a new law authorizing fines of up to $7,500 for many short-term rentals.

The measure signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo applies to rentals of fewer than 30 days when the owner or tenant is not present.

Supporters of the measure say many property owners use sites like Airbnb to offer residential apartments as short-term rentals to visitors, hurting existing hotels while taking residential units off the already expensive housing market in New York City.

Today is a great day for tenants, seniors, and anyone who values the safe and quiet enjoyment of their homes and neighborhoods, said Manhattan Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger. For too long companies like Airbnb have encouraged illegal activity that takes housing off the market and makes our affordability crisis worse.

Airbnb said it would immediately file a lawsuit challenging the law.

In typical fashion, Albany backroom dealing rewarded a special interest  the price-gouging hotel industry  and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, said Josh Meltzer, Airbnbs head of public policy in New York.

Enforcement of the new laws will be a key challenge. Thousands of short-term apartment rentals are listed for New York City despite a 2010 law that prohibits rentals of fewer than 30 days when the owner or tenant is not present.

The new law wont apply to rentals in single-family homes, row houses or apartment spare rooms if the resident is present.

The complicated rules mean many New Yorkers may not know whether they can legally rent out their homes  and Airbnb says it does not have the ability to remove listings that violate the 2010 law.

Supporters say the fines are meant to go after commercial operators who rent large numbers of vacant units in apartment buildings or those who exploit tourists by renting out unsafe, unregulated lodgings.

Airbnb mounted a last-minute campaign to kill the measure and this week proposed alternative regulations that the company argued would address concerns about short-term rentals without onerous fines.

Most people who list a rental on Airbnb are looking to make a little money while theyre out of town, according to Chris Lehane, head of global policy for Airbnb, which is from San Francisco. The company says the 46,000 Airbnb hosts in New York City have generated more than $2 billion in economic activity.

Its baffling to us in this time of economic inequality that folks would be looking to impose fines of as much as $7,500 on a middle-class person looking to use the home that they live in to help make ends meet, Lehane said before the bill was signed.

A spokesman for Cuomo said the administration gave the bill careful consideration.

Ultimately, these activities are already expressly prohibited by law, said spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

An investigation of Airbnb rentals from 2010 to 2014 by the state attorney generals office found that 72 percent of the units in New York City were illegal, with commercial operators constituting 6 percent of the hosts and supplying 36 percent of the rentals.

As of August, Airbnb had 45,000 city listings and 13,000 others across the state.
Capt. Raj Vaswani / SFPD / / San Francisco Police Department

A 21-year-old man fleeing gunfire on a San Francisco street Friday sped in a bullet-ridden car to the front door of the Bayview Police Station, where authorities say he sought help for a gunshot wound.

The victim, whose name was not released, drove onto the sidewalk and parked his car right outside the doors of the station at 201 Williams Ave. about 10:30 a.m., said Officer Carlos Manfredi, a San Francisco Police Department spokesman.
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Two more Oakland police officers were arraigned Friday on sex-crime charges that critics say fit a pattern of inappropriate behavior that has embroiled law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area and outraged community leaders.

Officer Giovanni LoVerde, 33, was charged with felony oral copulation with a minor, a case that is connected to an extensive police misconduct investigation involving a sexually exploited 19-year-old Richmond woman. Officer Ryan Walterhouse, 26, who was arrested earlier this week, was hit with two felony counts of obstruction of justice and one count of engaging in prostitution.

Both men, who remain employed by the Oakland Police Department, pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Hayward Hall of Justice and were ordered to cut off all communication with the women with whom they allegedly had inappropriate contact.

Alameda County prosecutors have accused seven current and former East Bay law enforcement officials, including LoVerde, of crimes related to contact they had with the teenager, whose mother is an Oakland police dispatcher.

Investigators said that Walterhouse, who is engaged, had paid a different woman  a prostitute  for sex Oct. 1 in a Castro Valley motel and twice warned her about undercover prostitution stings.

Oakland officials said the allegations against Walterhouse have no connection with the earlier scandal, but critics both inside and outside City Hall have said the cases  most of which involve recent recruits to the Police Department amid an expeditious hiring push  were part of the same troubling pattern. The concerns prompted the city to conduct an audit of its hiring practices and significantly decrease the number of officers in its incoming police academy.

This new case is a classic example of an officer engaging in conduct that clearly was improper and illegal and surprisingly occurring after so much attention has been given to the other cases, said John Burris, a prominent civil rights lawyer, who this week took over as the lead attorney representing the young woman at the center of the scandal.

Outside court, Michael Cardoza  the attorney representing both LoVerde and Walterhouse  offered a fiery defense for the men, saying the charges were false and possibly politically motivated.

He said LoVerde had never met the young woman, who formerly went by the alias Celeste Guap but now goes by her real first name, Jasmine. She told The Chronicle she had sexual relations with nearly 30 Bay Area officers and sheriffs deputies.

LoVerde, who married his high school sweetheart and has two children, is accused of engaging in oral copulation with the teenager in July 2015 at an apartment entryway near Lake Merritt in Oakland.

This is a very political case in this county, and I really believe there are politics involved here, Cardoza told reporters. The police officers are targets nowadays, even with a district attorneys office.

Though Cardoza said he wasnt attacking the young woman, he implied that she lied and only came forward for financial gain. Her attorneys have filed claims against several Bay Area cities and counties seeking tens of millions of dollars.

LoVerde was ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing Dec. 5 and Walterhouse Dec. 7.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
When Chance the Rapper played an abbreviated set at Outside Lands earlier this year, the audience was disappointed, to be sure, but not upset. That morning he was, after all, helping out his great-grandmother's cause in his hometown of Chicago, and likely got delayed on his flight in by the notorious San Francisco fog.

But Friday night the rapper appeared in San Francisco once again. No schedule conflicts, all blessings.

Chance's latest album, "Coloring Book," is something of an anomaly in the world of mainstream rap. His music draws heavily from Christian gospel  both sonically and thematically  and the resulting sound is something that so prompted even the most godless San Franciscans to bellow praises towards the ceiling of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Before Chance had even emerged for his own set, he walked onstage to join his opener, Oakland's Francis and the Lights. Chance's cameo was short: he appeared only to perform a choreographed dance alongside Francis to "Friends," (a song Chance samples for his "Summer Friends"), and then disappeared until he launched his opener, the celestial and hopeful "Angels."

From there the show began operating with a storyline. After a rendition of the "Acid Rap" album highlight "Favorite Song," a tall, colorful puppeteered lion donning a nurse's headband surfaced from the shadows, calling Chance "big fella" (as he does in "Coloring Book" banger "All Night"). Carlos, as Chance called him, foreshadowed a greater message to come, and cautioned the rapper to slow down lest he get ahead of himself.

With "Smoke Break,"  a short-lived reprieve from the spirited pace of the evening only about 20 minutes into the set  the room was already lit with phone flashlights. The audience continued to brighten the room as Chance took to a piano to sing "Same Drugs" with a puppet modeled after Billie "Lady Day" Holiday.

Chance, thwarted from yet understanding the meaning of the lion's sagacious aphorisms, walked the crowd into a party instead, hitting on some of his most recent hits, including Kanye West's "Ultralight Beam" (on which Chance has a guest verse), "No Problem" and "All Night," culminating in the rapper falling headfirst into a bed that made its way onstage.

And though he was quite literally playing asleep, the mood didn't drift. The many more emerging puppets helped with this; a dreadlocked, red-bellied puppet and a smaller green-maned lion marked with a heart on its forehead pantomimed the lines to "D.R.A.M. Sings Special" as Chance dreamed onstage.

As Chance stirred awake, Carlos hollered at him, scolding him for chasing an imaginary party girl: "You followed the wrong lady!"

It's hard to imagine Chance  and really, humanity  in better form than in moments of singing about how great grandmothers are, but that's one of the purest, most exultant joys of his music. With "Sunday Candy," the next song honoring his Southside grandma (as a trio of puppeted choir birds crooned along), Chance begins to realize that that sentiment  one where love of family and faith acts as a more dependable compass to prosperity  was the true message he needed to understand. It is, to use his own words, the holiest thing.

Francis re-emerges in a fitting bookend to the show, to accompany Chance with a fresh live version of "Summer Friends." "This is definitely our biggest show on the whole fing tour," he says to the crowd. "This is our favorite song on the album."

With that, Chance is both the revived and the revivalist: energetic and mortally flawed, but with boundless faith. His real power is in his unwavering sincerity  there's something infectious about him using his talent, earnestly, to inspire the masses rather than to impress them.

Walking out of the show I feel lighter, elated, and like I've just gotten something heavy off my shoulders. This, I think, is what it feels like to be blessed.
FAIRVIEW, Ill.  A decorated U.S. soldier from Illinois and an Army civilian employee from Oklahoma who both had been deployed multiple times to support military operations in Afghanistan were killed in an attack this week in Kabul, the Defense Department said.

Army Sgt. Douglas Riney, 26, of Fairview, Ill., and Michael Sauro, 40, of McAlester, Okla., died of wounds received when they encountered hostile enemy forces in Afghanistans capital, the military announced.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahoma and at least two other states said Friday that they have denied efforts by Russian officials to be present at polling stations during the election, requests the U.S. State Departments spokesman dismissed as nothing more than a PR stunt.

The Oklahoma secretary of states office said it received a letter in August from Russias consulate general in Houston seeking to have one of its officers present at a voting precinct to study the US experience in organization of voting process. But the office denied the request, noting Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election officials and voters from being present while voting is taking place.
In the world of media, bigger remains better. So in the wake of Comcasts $30 billion takeover of NBCUniversal and Verizon Communications serial acquisitions of the Huffington Post and Yahoo, AT&T has bought one of the remaining crown jewels of the media world.

The telecommunications giant agreed Saturday to buy Time Warner, the home of HBO and CNN, for about $85.4 billion, creating a new colossus capable of both producing content and distributing it to millions with wireless phones, broadband subscriptions and satellite TV connections.

The proposed deal is likely to spur yet more consolidation among media companies. This year, Lionsgate struck a deal to buy the pay-TV channel Starz for $4.4 billion. And the Redstone family, which controls both CBS and Viacom, has urged the corporate siblings, which split 10 years ago, to consider reuniting.

AT&T and Time Warner said both of their boards unanimously approved the deal.

Premium content always wins, Randall Stephenson, AT&Ts chief executive, said in a statement. Well have the worlds best premium content with the networks to deliver it to every screen.

Most analysts and investors have noted that Time Warner was part of one of the biggest merger follies of all time, when it sold itself to AOL at the height of the dot-com boom. That combination  also pitched on the idea of uniting content and the Internet  proved unwieldy and was later stripped apart to a few core businesses.

This time, however, the rise of online outlets like Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube and the shift of younger customers from traditional media have pressured media companies to seek out consolidation partners. These media companies are anticipating drops in fees from cable service providers and declining revenue from advertisers. Getting bigger would give them more negotiating leverage with both service providers and with advertisers.

Comcasts takeover of NBC has proved a model for this new world of media deal making. While the cable giant has occasionally been scrutinized for possible regulatory violations, NBCUniversal has generally thrived under its current ownership, with NBC enjoying a ratings comeback and Universal delivering a range of hit films, from blockbusters like Jurassic World to dramas like Straight Outta Compton.

Still, Time Warners deal with AT&T is likely to face tough scrutiny from government regulators increasingly skeptical of power being consolidated among a few titans. Even Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, indicated Saturday that he would block the merger if elected. Deals like this destroy democracy, he said. Its too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.

Over the past decade, Time Warner has spent significant time selling or spinning off AOL, many of the Time Inc. stable of publications, and Time Warner Cable, which was sold to another cable operator. The remaining businesses are HBO, one of the most-admired pay-TV channels; Warner Bros. movie studios; and cable channels that include CNN, TNT, Turner Sports and TBS.

Overseeing much of Time Warners downsizing was the companys chief executive, Jeffrey Bewkes. He faced tough questions two years ago when he turned down 21st Century Foxs bid of $85 a share, arguing that the offer sharply undervalued his company. Now, Bewkes has found a suitor willing to offer significantly more  $107.50 a share in cash and stock.
CLEVELAND  Hillary Clinton ramped up her pressure on Donald Trump in the elections most competitive states Friday with an emotional TV ad targeting his criticism of a Muslim American family. Trump vowed to go all-out in the final three weeks so hell have no regrets  even if he loses.

The nominees retrenched behind familiar arguments a day after appearing together at a charity event that veered into cutting personal attacks, an unexpected metaphor for this years take-no-prisoners presidential campaign. Clintons new ad features Khizr Khan, whom Trump assailed after Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In the minute-long ad, which Clintons campaign said was airing in seven battleground states, Khan retells how his son, Capt. Humayun Khan, died in Iraq seeking to protect his U.S. military unit from a suicide bomber.

Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America? the father asks, tearing up as the ad fades to black.

Clinton has sought to use Trumps widely panned attacks on the father and his wife as evidence supporting her case that the Republican bullies minorities, especially those who disagree with him. In person, she promoted early voting Friday in Ohio.

Trump, meanwhile, settled on a new target: Michelle Obama, who has emerged as one of the most effective voices for Clinton. One of the countrys most popular Democrats, the first lady for years has been loath to devote significant time to campaigning, but she has done so in recent days with searing indictments of Trumps treatment of women.

All she wants to do is campaign, Trump said as he rallied supporters in North Carolina. He cited comments Mrs. Obama made during her husbands 2008 campaign in which she said someone who cant run their own house cant run the White House. Shes the one that started that, Trump said.

The typically self-assured Trump was unusually candid about the possibility of losing the election, a prospect that has grown in likelihood as Clinton solidifies her lead in battleground states that will decide the election. Trump said he is packing his schedule with campaign events through election day so he will know he spared no effort even if ultimately unsuccessful.

I will be happy with myself. ... Because I dont want to say, I dont want to think back, if only I did one more rally, he said. I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes.

I never want to ever look back.

Trump and Clinton were still sharply at odds over his unprecedented assertion in the final debate on Wednesday that he may not concede if he loses. Clinton has called that horrifying, while Trump has said hes merely reserving the right to contest the results if the outcome is unclear or questionable.

Underpinning Trumps threat is his contention  presented with no evidence  that the election is rigged against him and may be soiled by widespread voter fraud. Hes urged supporters to monitor polling places for potential shenanigans.

Early voting is under way in more than 30 states.

With the final debate behind them, the two candidates appeared together Thursday night for likely the last time in the campaign, at a Catholic fundraiser that turned unusually hostile.

Tribune Co. contributed to this report.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.  Hillary Clintons campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.

Aiming to undermine any argument the Republican nominee may make about a rigged election, she hopes to roll up a large electoral vote margin in next months election. That could repudiate the New York billionaires message and project a governing mandate after the bitter, divisive presidential race.

Clintons team is also keeping a close eye on statements by national Republican leaders, predicting they could play an important role in how Trumps accusations of electoral fraud might be perceived. Thats according to several Clinton campaign aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted. But Clinton and her team have begun thinking about how to position their candidate during the postelection period. Long one of the countrys most polarizing political figures, Clinton has begun telling audiences shell need their help in healing the country.

Ive got to figure out how we heal these divides, she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. Weve got to get together. Maybe thats a role that is meant to be for my presidency if Im so fortunate to be there.

A refusal by Trump to accept the election results would not only upend a basic tenet of American democracy, but also force Clinton to create a new playbook for handling the transfer of power. And a narrow victory would make it more difficult for her to claim substantial political capital at the start of her administration.

Donald is still going to whine if he loses. But if the mandate is clear, I dont think many people will follow him, said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Clintons running mate, in an interview Thursday with CNNs New Day.

While Clintons campaign has long focused on maintaining pathways to cross the threshold of 270 electoral votes, its now looking to capture an expanded number of states that could also help determine control of the Senate  including Republican-leaning Arizona.
WASHINGTON  Hacked emails show Hillary Clintons campaign wrestled with how to announce her opposition to construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline without losing the support of labor unions that supported to project.

Emails published this week by WikiLeaks show debate and confusion within the Clinton camp as it faced down the unexpectedly strong primary challenge by liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, who opposed the pipeline.

As Clinton prepared to come out against the pipeline last year, her aides worried about how her shift in position would be perceived.

Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon asked in an email whether the candidates newfound position on Keystone would be greeted cynically and perhaps as part of some manufactured attempt to project sincerity?

The emails were stolen from the accounts of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, the latest in a series of high-profile hacks that U.S. intelligence officials have blamed on Russia. Clinton has condemned the breaches as an attempt by Russia to sway the election in favor of her rival, Donald Trump.

For seven years, the administration of President Obama delayed deciding whether to build the pipeline to carry heavy crude oil from the tar sands of western Canada more than 1,700 miles to refineries on the U.S Gulf Coast. The pipeline had long been a flash point in the political debate over climate change, with environmentalists opposing its construction and Republicans in Congress voicing strong support.

Clinton campaign labor liaison Nikki Budzinski and others warned that opposing the pipeline might earn the ire of union leaders who supported it due to the thousands of construction jobs that would be created. Political director Amanda Renteria offered reassurance in an August 2015 email that even if Obama took that position, the campaign could still keep support of the trade unions.

Energy adviser Trevor Houser circulated talking points intended to minimize potential political damage. They emphasized Clintons broader energy plans, which would include programs with enough spending and job creation to mollify labor groups.
1 Factory spill: A chemical spill at a distilling plant in Atchison, Kan., released a noxious cloud of fumes Friday, forcing temporary evacuations and sending more than 50 people to the hospital, including one person who was in intensive care, officials said. The spill occurred at the MGP Ingredients plant when two chemicals, sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite, were mistakenly combined at the plant that employs about 300 people. Homes and schools near the plant were evacuated, but city officials later gave the all clear for residents to return. Atchison has about 11,000 residents and is about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City.

2 Prison lawsuit: The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., on Friday reinstated a lawsuit against a military contractor filed by former inmates of Iraqs Abu Ghraib prison. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that any unlawful acts committed by contractors could be subject to judicial scrutiny. The court sent the case back to the trial for further review. The inmates say they were tortured during interrogations led by civilian contractors from CACI Premier Technology, Inc., based in Arlington, Va.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.  There has been little impact to the water supply so far from a ruptured pipeline during a freak storm in Pennsylvania that sent nearly 55,000 gallons of gasoline into a creek tributary, officials said Saturday.

But authorities are continuing to monitor the water supplies that serve thousands of residents around Williamsport.

A storm late Thursday into Friday dumped up to 7 inches of rain on areas in western and central Pennsylvania, triggering mudslides, turning roads into rivers and sweeping away at least two homes. Hundreds more were damaged in Centre County, home to Penn States main campus. One man was killed when a tree crashed into his home.

The flooding caused an 8-inch Sunoco Logistics pipeline that carries gasoline, diesel and home heating oil to rupture, spilling an estimated 54,600 gallons of gasoline into a tributary of the Loyalsock Creek. The creek runs into the west branch of the Susquehanna River, but the company said Saturday that no petroleum-related compounds had been detected in the river.

We dont have any indication that water supplies have been affected at this point, but well continue to monitor that, said Sunoco Logistics spokesman Jeff Shields, who said the company was working with state and federal environmental departments.

Crews have deployed skimmers to try to pick up gasoline from the surface of the water and booms to contain and absorb it.

But we really havent found much of the product so far, he said. There was a lot of water that came down that night.

Crews are waiting for the water to recede and expose the pipe so they can access it and formulate a repair plan, he said. A bridge at the site of the spill was completely washed out. The exact cause of the release is under investigation.

Air quality is also being monitored, and no hazardous levels have been detected although gasoline odors remain in certain areas, Shields said.

The overnight deluge occurred in an extremely narrow band, said meteorologist Mike Dangelo, of the National Weather Service office in State College.

One side of town, State College and its northern and western developments, had 7 to 8 inches ... while the southern end of town down into Boalsburg to the southeast barely had an inch, he said.

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the states National Guard to help in the recovery efforts.
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CINCINNATI  Under tight courthouse security and close monitoring by local officials concerned about keeping the peace, jury selection begins Tuesday for the murder trial of a white university police officer charged with killing an unarmed black man during a traffic stop.

Ray Tensing, 26, fatally shot Sam DuBose, 43, last year after pulling him over for a missing front license plate near the University of Cincinnati. The Hamilton County prosecutor called Tensings actions asinine and senseless in announcing the officers indictment and releasing a police body camera video.

An outside review commissioned by the university said the now-fired UC officer showed poor police tactics in an entirely preventable fatal shooting.

Defense attorney Stewart Mathews has said Tensing feared getting dragged under DuBoses car as he tried to drive away. And legal experts say jurors often want to give police the benefit of the doubt in deadly force cases.

Its divided the community. But I think its a tough case for the prosecutor because juries have a difficult time convicting police officers, said attorney Mike Allen, a former prosecutor and also a former police officer, including for UC. They realize that police officers have to make split-second decisions sometimes.

They just dont want to second-guess officers in those life-or-death decisions, said Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. They think, What if that was me? What if that was my child who was the police officer?

To convict Tensing of murder, Allen said, jurors would have to find he purposely killed DuBose. He also is charged with voluntary manslaughter, which means killing during sudden passion or fit of rage.

Both sides plan to call expert witnesses to deconstruct the sights and sounds of the traffic stop and shooting. Tensings body camera recording shows DuBose contending he had done nothing wrong and apparently trying to keep the officer from opening his car door before the video becomes shaky and a gunshot is heard.

Mathews has indicated he will call Tensing to the stand, where the former officer would likely describe fear he felt when deciding he needed to fire.

Tensing had about three years of suburban police experience before joining the UC police in 2014. He had no record of using deadly force.

The University of Cincinnati has restructured its public safety department and made reforms since the shooting. It also agreed to a $5.3 million settlement with DuBoses family that includes free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children.

Winnowing the jury pool is expected to take several days, with courtroom questioning of prospective jurors set for Oct. 31.
On October 5, certain commissioners introduced a Minimum Wage Increase Ordinance for all Cook County businesses with a vote scheduled for October 25. This quick action leaves local businesses with only a few days to analyze the financial impact and assess their ability to cover this immense and unexpected new cost.

Businesses were not informed of this huge cost increase nor did they have an opportunity to prepare or budget for it. With their yearly budgets already set, they will now be forced to increase their staff salaries by 27% literally overnight and 58% over the next 20 months ~ Commissioner Morrison

Businesses were not informed of this huge cost increase nor did they have an opportunity to prepare or budget for it. With their yearly budgets already set, they will now be forced to increase their staff salaries by 27% literally overnight and 58% over the next 20 months. This massive wage increase will undoubtedly create a substantial financial disadvantage for Cook County businesses and will hurt the extensive efforts by suburban municipalities to attract new businesses, create new economic development opportunities and grow jobs.

Recent actions by the Cook County Board to pile on a massive Minimum Wage Hike, an expensive Paid Sick Leave regulation and a costly Beverage Tax all at once will be devastating to our local economy and will no doubt shutter the doors of many businesses along with the loss of numerous jobs for our hardworking residents. All of this excessive government regulation thrown onto small businesses is a formula for economic disaster.

The Illinois State Supreme Court has concluded that local labor conditions in our state should rest with the Illinois General Assembly who are charged with legislating carefully crafted and balanced economic policies; not local home rule units of government. And the Cook County States Attorneys Office has opined that Cook County lacks the home rule authority to enact such an ordinance. Thats why I strongly urge any of my board colleagues who want to legislate fiscal policies over private employers to seek office in the Illinois General Assembly which is the appropriate venue to do so. Not the Cook County Board.

Sean M. Morrison

Cook County Commissioner

17th District
These articles and photo collections on SFGate.com and the premium SFChronicle.com got the most visits in the week ended Thursday at 10 a.m.

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SACRAMENTO  Wealthy Republican mega-donor Charles Munger continues to pour money into his ballot measure aimed at increasing public scrutiny of the state Legislature, even as his campaign is outspending its opposition nearly 400 to 1.

Munger added $150,000 last week to his $10.6 million campaign for Proposition 54, a ballot measure in the Nov. 8 election. The opposition campaign has raised $27,000.

Prop. 54 requires bills to be made public at least 72 hours before lawmakers can vote on them. The Legislature would have to videotape its hearings and publish those recordings online within 24 hours.

The measure also allows any person to make audio or video recordings of an open legislative hearing and allows the recording to be used for any purpose, such as a political ad.

The measure is supported by the California Chamber of Commerce, Bay Area Council and the California Republican Party.

Opponents include the California Democratic Party and the California Labor Federation, which warn voters that the ballot measure will give special-interest groups more time to influence lawmakers.

Democratic strategist Steve Maviglio, who is leading the opposition through his Californians for an Effective Legislature campaign committee, said the measure is a ploy by the Republican billionaire to slow down how many bills the majority Democratic party can pass in the Legislature.

The Democratic Party gave $27,000 to Californians for an Effective Legislature campaign committee in the past two months.

Maviglio said the ballot measure would mean every comma added into a bill would then restart the 72-hour clock, creating unnecessary delays.

I think it shackles legislators from doing their jobs when they really need to do it, like when they reach compromises unpalatable to special interests and dont want to be subject to arm twisting by lobbyists, he said.

Maviglio pointed to the 2014 water bond as an example of legislation that would not have passed under Prop. 54. Lawmakers had wrestled over the water bond for years before reaching a compromise that was quickly voted on so the secretary of state had time to print voter guides with the revised water bond. Voters overwhelmingly approved the bond in 2014.

With a 72-hour waiting period, Maviglio said, lawmakers would have been subject to additional pressures from lobbyists and special interests fighting for earmarks in the water bond.

Sausage making isnt pretty to watch, but this is what it takes to accomplish big things, Maviglio said.

Derek Cressman of the advocacy group California Common Cause said his organization supports the transparency required by the measure given the impact of laws created by the Legislature. He said it makes sense that lawmakers should be subject to the kind of transparency rules used by local governments.

There are a handful of bills at the end of every legislative session that lawmakers jam through with little public scrutiny in a process called gut-and-amend, where the contents of one bill are replaced with a new proposal. Sometimes, the first public viewing of the bills occurs as lawmakers are casting their votes.

For example, in 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown asked for a last-minute proposal to be added to the state budget. The proposal restricted how much money school districts could keep in budget reserves. Some Democrats who approved the bill said they didnt agree with or fully understand the proposal, which was sought by the California Teachers Association.

Critics said the proposal was a ploy to ensure more money was left on the bargaining table so teachers unions could negotiate higher salaries.

To me it makes sense that we require legislators to operate in the light of day, Cressman said. I find it hard to believe that many Californians disagree with that.

Cressman said hes not surprised a Republican is funding a ballot measure that would force the Democrats in power to be more transparent.

The interests who are out of power are always the ones bringing this reform forward because they are the ones completely shut out from these backroom negotiations, Cressman said. Its not a partisan bent  we find reform comes from outsiders no matter which party they are from.

Dee Dee Workman, vice president of public policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, said the ballot measure will provide transparency and accountability in the Legislature.

Its completely routine in San Francisco to do the things that Prop. 54 asks for, Workman said. We are particularly interested because its our small business partners that are impacted by their inability to participate. You cant generally get away to go to an hours-long hearing.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
The fate of a shy, weasel-like creature with a taste for porcupines could be decided in a San Francisco courtroom after conservation groups this week challenged a federal ruling denying placement of the stubby-legged tree-dweller on the endangered species list.

A 22-year effort to protect the Pacific fisher ended in April when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surprised almost everyone by rejecting a petition to list the animal under the Endangered Species Act.

Four environmental groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking to overturn the decision. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Protection Information Center, the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Sierra Forest Legacy claimed the government buckled to special interests and political expediency.

Its a travesty that after finally acknowledging the precarious status of the fisher in 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service bowed to the timber industry and declined to protect these beautiful carnivores, said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Fishers, which are related to martens, wolverines and weasels, lived along the Pacific coast for thousands of years until they were nearly wiped out in California, Oregon and Washington by hunting and loss of habitat. Jody Holzworth, the assistant regional director at the wildlife service, said department scientists reviewed all of the threats to the fisher and decided they were not causing a decline in the predators population.

The service found that the threats to the Pacific fisher are not as significant as previously thought, Holzworth said in a statement. We found that the West Coast fisher is not at risk of extinction now or in the foreseeable future.

Pacific fishers are cantankerous, nocturnal animals with lush fur, long and slender bodies, and short legs. They prefer dense, old-growth forests where they can hunt in the trees and den in hollowed-out areas high in the canopy. About the size of a large house cat, they scavenge carcasses, hunt squirrels, chipmunks and mice, and are one of the few animals that kill and eat porcupines, going for the throat and then turning the spiny beasts over to feed on the stomach.

They also eat roots and plant material. Curiously, though, fishers dont eat fish. It is believed they were named by early settlers who thought they looked like European polecats, also known in French as fiche or fitchet. The Dutch equivalent, visse, means nasty.

The feisty mammals once ranged throughout the Sierra, Klamath, Cascade and Coastal ranges. But hunting, logging and development drastically reduced their numbers. In the early 20th century, fisher pelts, called North American sable, fetched hundreds of dollars. By 1946, when fur trapping of fishers was banned in California, they were living in less than half of their former range.

Only two populations now exist in California: one on the border between the Klamath and Coastal mountain ranges, and the other in the southern Sierra near Yosemite. Among the more serious threats are rodenticides spread in public forests by drug cartels and other illegal marijuana cultivators. A recent study found rodenticide contamination in 75 percent of the Pacific fishers that were tested.

The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned for an endangered species listing in 1994. Two decades later, in October 2014, the wildlife service made a formal proposal to protect the species, giving conservationists hope.

One problem is that nobody really knows exactly how many of the dark-brown creatures are left because they are notoriously difficult research subjects. They have wide ranges, leave few signs and assiduously avoid human contact. Recent estimates had them down to about 850 individuals.

The governments rejection wasnt the first time a weasel family member was denied protection. Conservationists filed a lawsuit in 2015 challenging the rejection of Humboldt martens. The plaintiffs in the latest suit also claim federal regulators bowed to political pressure when they decided not to list the 300 or so wolverines that still exist in the lower 48 states.

Its gotten to the point where no amount of scientific evidence is ever enough for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said Earthjustice attorney Greg Loarie, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the conservation groups.

There are, however, some signs that things are getting better for the fishers. Conservation scientists have been working with state and federal wildlife officials in an effort to reintroduce the animals to places where they once roamed in California. That includes a campaign to reintroduce fishers to private lands owned by timber giant Sierra Pacific Industries in the northern Sierra Nevada, a region they were driven out of 100 years ago.

Results have been mixed, though, and conservationists believe the lack of significant progress may be because of poisoning from pot farming.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite

Whats a Pacific fisher?

About the size of a large house cat.

Member of the weasel family, which includes minks, martens, otters and wolverines.

Lives up to 10 years.

Feeds on birds, rodents, reptiles, insects and vegetation; one of the few known predators of porcupines.

Range reduced dramatically in the 1800s and early 1900s by trapping, predators, poisons, logging, urbanization and farming.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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BARTELLA, Iraq  The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town.

The town is about 12 miles from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive last week aimed at retaking Mosul, the countrys second largest city, which fell to the Islamic State in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. The militants have heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Islamic State said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist groups Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around nine miles east of Mosul, earlier last week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area.

In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after the Islamic State assault on the city, some 100 miles southeast of Mosul. The wave of attacks in and around Kirkuk appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.

Omer said Kurdish security forces recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack.

Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kirkuk assault was a terrorist attack and not a military breach.

Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out, he said.

As the assault on Kirkuk was under way, an air strike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing 17 people, mainly women and children, and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said it was not clear who carried out the air strike and that officials have launched an investigation.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had all the signs of a war crime. The U.S. military in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.
Osama Faisal/Associated Press

ISLAMABAD  Three senior Taliban members traveled to Pakistan last week and held a series of meetings with officials in Islamabad, mainly to brief them about the recent talks held in Qatar between the Taliban and Kabul, a senior Taliban official, an Afghan diplomat and a Pakistani official said Saturday.

The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, said he was aware of the meetings but refused to offer details. We know about these recent meetings but we dont know what was discussed between the Taliban and Pakistani officials, he said.
UNITED NATIONS  A U.N. human rights expert urged the next U.N. secretary-general to make the elimination of tax havens a priority to ensure that corporations, billionaires and kleptocrats pay their fair share of taxes.

Alfred de Zayas, an American law professor, also urged Antonio Guterres, who will succeed Ban Ki-moon as U.N. chief on Jan. 1, to call a world conference on phasing out the offshore havens.

He said the United Nations must no longer tolerate the scandal of secrecy jurisdictions that facilitate tax evasion, corruption and money-laundering.

De Zayas told a news conference Friday after presenting his new report to the U.N. General Assembly that its estimated that as much as $32 trillion are held offshore in secrecy jurisdictions escaping just taxation.

He said governments lose $3 trillion every year in tax evasion and tax avoidance schemes and most perpetrators have enjoyed immunity.

De Zayas, who is the U.N. expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, said the key issue is transparency.

Once you have transparency, the tax havens are useless, but the problem is the secrecy jurisdictions, he said.

De Zayas report cited The Tax Justice Network Financial Secrecy Index, which ranks jurisdictions according to their secrecy and the scale of their offshore financial activities.

The top three jurisdictions listed in 2015 were Switzerland, Hong Kong and the United States.

Other high-profile jurisdictions listed include the United Kingdom and its territories and dependencies, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Malta, Cyprus, Singapore, Liberia and Panama.

De Zayas urged the General Assembly to draft a convention to outlaw tax havens worldwide.
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CARACAS, Venezuela  Venezuela is bracing for turbulence after the socialist government blocked a presidential recall referendum in a move opposition leaders are calling a coup.

The opposition urged supporters to take to the streets, beginning with a march on a major highway Saturday led by the wives of jailed activists, while a leading government figure, Diosdado Cabello, called for the arrest of high-profile government critics.

Polls suggest socialist President Nicolas Maduro would lose a recall vote. But that became a moot issue Thursday when election officials issued an order suspending a recall signature drive a week before it was to start.

What we saw yesterday was a coup, said former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who had been the leading champion of the recall effort. Well remain peaceful, but we will not be taken for fools. We must defend our country.

International condemnation was swift. Twelve western hemisphere nations, including the U.S. and even leftist-run governments such as Chile and Uruguay, said in a statement Friday that the suspension of the referendum and travel restrictions on the opposition leadership affects the prospect for dialogue and finding a peaceful solution to the nations crisis.

In another sign of growing regional tensions, Colombias flagship airline on Saturday briefly grounded all flights to Caracas after a mid-air incident involving one of its planes and the Venezuelan air force.

Avianca said one of its Boeing 787s was flying near Venezuelas western border with Colombia when a Venezuelan military aircraft was spotted on radar flying a short distance away. The commercial jet diverted from its course but landed safely.

The socialists won power nearly two decades ago with the election of the popular former President Hugo Chavez, and for years enjoyed easy election victories. But with the economy in free fall, polls show most Venezuelans have turned against the party, and over the years, the administration has gradually become increasingly autocratic.
HWhero.jpg

Do you have memories of celebrating Halloween at school?

(AP Photo, File)

Halloween's become so ubiquitous that we forget it's actually a pagan holiday -- one that some Christians strongly object to celebrating. Religious objections, promoting unhealthy food, inappropriate costumes, and taking away from academic time are all reasons why some American schools have stopped observing the holiday. But Halloween fans argue this just a war on fun -- must everything be censored and serious?

VOTE BELOW!

PERSPECTIVES

Not everybody celebrates it. And while it's not a religious holiday, it's definitely religion-adjacent. Some people see it as a church-and-state issue.

I dont think the schools should celebrate Halloween out of respect for the families that dont participate.  Nickesha (@Nickeshaa) October 31, 2013

Others think the war on Halloween is disgraceful and stupid. It's a candy-based holiday! Why get rid of one day out of the year that kids get to dress up and express their creativity? Most people have great memories of celebrating Halloween at school.

they don't even have Halloween in schools anymore- killing childhood.  AmericaTheBeautiful (@Jessieduds) October 7, 2016

Others say if religious communities don't get to celebrate their holidays at public schools, pagan holidays shouldn't be celebrated either.

@jturnershow @foxandfriends Halloween is allowed in schools but not prayer or Bibles I'm appalled, it's truly anti American, God is sad!!  Fred Hoff (@fred_hoff) October 6, 2016

It's kinda sad that we live in a generation where it's ok to promote and celebrate Halloween in schools & public places but not Christmas  Justine (@justine_snyder_) November 11, 2015

Many think it's political correctness run amok.

Really hard to celebrate diversity as a nation when people are offended by celebrating anything that isn't "theirs." #Halloween in schools  Denise (@bunnynose) October 30, 2015

If you cancel Halloween that means the terrorists have already won.  Jack kelly (@tweeterjak) October 21, 2016

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were surprisingly civil to each other behind the scenes at the annual Al Smith dinner, which raised $6 million for charity. (Associated Press)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Bitter Presidential rivals, Republican Donald Trump, who has threatened to throw his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in jail, and Clinton, who has said Trump is is temperamentally unfit for office, were surprisingly civil and respectful to each other behind the scenes, according to Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

The cardinal had asked both politicians to pray with him before they made their entrance at the annual Al Smith dinner, and the result showed "the evening at its best," he said.

"After the little prayer, Mr. Trump turned to Secretary Clinton and said, 'You are one tough and talented woman'," Cardinal Dolan told the news site TODAY.

"He said, 'This has been a good experience, this whole campaign, as tough as it's been'."

"She said to him, 'Donald, whatever happens, we need to work together afterward'," the cardinal reported.

"I was very moved by the obvious attempt on behalf of both Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump to kind of be courteous, to get along, to say nice things privately to one another," Dolan told Today. "I was very moved by that. That was pleasant."

Then the two took their place on the dias, with Trump caught on video helping Hilliary with her chair. The cardinal sat between the two.

But when Trump and Clinton each had a chance at the podium, civility went out the window.

"Here she is tonight in public, pretending not to hate Catholics," Trump said, followed by boos.

Clinton took a jab at Trump's alleged treatment of women.

"People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol. Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 'four,' maybe a 'five' if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair," Clinton said.

But then the two shook hands as they left the dias.

The New York charity white-tie dinner is meant to honor politician Al Smith, who, in 1928 was the first Catholic U.S. presidential nominee. The evening raised more than $6 million for charity.

The cardinal's behind-the-scenes report of the candidates follows the release of a 2008 video in which Trump called Bill and Hillary Clinton "fine people"
Letitia James

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James recently released her 2016 Worst Landlords Watchlist, which includes the 20 worst buildings in each borough. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When the calls began to come in to John Dolan that his name was on Public Advocate Letitia James' 2016 Worst Landlords Watchlist for owning one of the 20 worst buildings on Staten Island, he was shocked.

Not only had the native Staten Islander kept the building, located at 42 Brighton Ave., "pristine" for the approximately five years he owned it, but he had also sold the property back in 2006.

How was it possible that his name was still associated with the building?

While Dolan thought all the paperwork was complete, there was still a change-of-ownership form to be filled out and filed with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).

The public advocate's Watchlist includes the 20 "worst" buildings for each borough, ranked according to the number of violations issued, regardless of ownership. Data for the Watchlist is obtained from HPD and the Department of Buildings (DOB), as well as the Department of Finance (DOF).

The Watchlist uses data from HPD to determine ownership of individual buildings. According to the public advocate website, your name is listed as the owner if you are registered as the head officer with HPD.

If there are any errors with this registration information, you can use the application to invalidate property registration at the HPD website. Or, you can contact HPD's Registration Assistance Unit at 100 Gold Street, 6th floor, Section: E, New York, NY 10038 or call (212) 863-7000.

Dolan, a longtime Grasmere resident who now lives in New Jersey, has since completed the paperwork and is officially off the Watchlist, according to a spokesperson from the public advocate's office.

Dolan wasn't the only call the Advance received about the list. Some Staten Islanders contacted us to let us know that buildings on the list have for sale signs on the property, are vacant or are owned by not-for-profit agencies.

However, according to the public advocate's website, the Watchlist does not exclude properties that may be vacant primarily because there is no data source that would indicate whether or not an individual building is currently vacant. It also does not exclude buildings that are for sale or owned by not-for-profit organizations.

In some cases, property owners may be carrying out major renovations in one or more of their buildings. The office of the public advocate communicates with HPD to identify buildings that are participating in city-sponsored rehabilitation programs.

If a building has received city financing for an affordable housing rehabilitation project within the past two years, it is excluded from the Watchlist, according to the website.

However, buildings that received financing more than two years ago are included. Other property owners may be in the process of renovating a building but not participating in a city-sponsored rehabilitation program, according to the public advocate's website.

In a case in which there are errors with the HPD data, the public advocate's office works with the individual to help correct the mistake and -- if appropriate -- will remove him or her from this list, according to a spokesperson from the public advocate's office.

However, in most cases work needs to be done to get off the Watchlist.

"Every tenant in our City is entitled to a safe and livable home, and every landlord in our City is responsible for maintaining their building to basic standards of decency. The Watchlist is created using objective criteria and a transparent formula of housing and building code violations. Landlords who want to be removed from the list simply must correct the violations in their buildings," according to the spokesperson.

Landlords are encouraged to do their due-diligence and follow through with city agencies after work has been done to your property. If you have done repairs to your building, you must certify them with HPD to clear the violations. Otherwise the repairs done to your building will not factor into whether your building is included on the Watchlist, according to the public advocate website.

To remove HPD violations, go online to: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdf/compliance/Clearing-HPD-Violations.pdf.

Dolan also advises landlords to keep good records when they sell a property and obtain some kind of receipt or confirmation that the paperwork has been completed.

For more information on the Public Advocate's Watchlist, go online to http://advocate.nyc.gov/landlord-watchlist/criteria.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Susan Wagner High School cut the ribbon Friday on its long-awaited state-of-the-art performing arts center.

Principal Gary Giordano and Paul Corn, assistant principal for performing arts, presided over the program which included remarks from Borough President James Oddo, his predecessor, former Borough President James Molinaro, Assemblyman Michael Cusack (D-Mid-Island), Deputy Borough President Ed Burke, and other dignitaries.

Molinaro was praised as the "architect" behind the project, who got the center off the ground in 2011, with an infusion of capital funding, at the request of Burke and school officials.

"I'm a believer in the performing arts as an alternative to a lot of what's going on with our young people on Staten Island," said Burke

Molinaro -- who said he was " speechless" -- received a standing ovation from the crowd of students and dignitaries gathered in the center's new black-box theater. "Every student is gifted and talented, each in his own way. It's up to us in public service, to find ways we can best serve them. This is an amazing example of what can happen when we do," he said.

The former BP then spoke directly to students with a message: "You have an obligation to use your talents wisely, and to help people in need." He told them they can start by "putting your arm around another student who is down or in need of help."

Oddo thanked Korn, and theater arts director Diane Zerega, who started the theater program a decade ago. With the completion of the performing arts center, she said Susan Wagner qualifies as "the LaGuardia of Staten Island," a reference to the city's elite LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. Students from Susan Wagner's program have gone on to enroll in college theater and drama programs throughout the country.

Here's what you need to know about the 27,00 square-foot performing arts center. The center includes:

A 2,680 square foot black box theater, with seating for just under 200, a moveable platform stage, and an enclosed sound, lighting and recording booth.

A professional dance studio with springboard flooring and mirrored walls

Four new classrooms for chorus, guitar, band, theater and stage craft and carpentry students.

A music suite containing five sound-proof practice rooms.

There are three floors to the complex, with elevator service available for handicapped access. The center is attached to the main building and accessible through a corridor. There is also a separate entrance for guests to enter.
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The moves  relatively modest for now  come amid a broader push by the Democratic nominee to expand the map during the final weeks of the campaign. She has upped her game in Arizona, another traditionally red state, and is also making overtures in Georgia and Texas, where television ads are running.
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A 63-year-old unlicensed Narrabundah man has been charged after allegedly being caught by police driving at nearly four times the legal limit of alcohol.

Police pulled over "repeat offender" Alastair David Payne in Stuart Street, Griffith about 7pm on Friday.

The man was allegedly pulled over at 7pm on Friday night.

In court documents, police described the man as smelling strongly of intoxicating liquor and having slurred speech.

The man allegedly failed to produce a licence. Checks revealed his licence had been disqualified, police said.
Calls by community groups to revoke a shift in land zoning that could lead to 168 apartments being built on prime land close to Parliament House have been rejected.

But the National Capital Authority has promised buildings on the now vacant block  soon to be sold by the Land Development Agency  will be forbidden from overlooking the neighbouring primary school and the National Jewish Memorial Centre.

Gary Kent, pictured next to the Forrest childcare centre, wants the adjoining block kept for community facilities. Credit:Karleen Minney

The authority's chief executive Malcolm Snow told Inner South Canberra Community Council president Gary Kent in a recent letter that the ACT government had requested the rezoning of the block on the corner of State Circle and Canberra Avenue from "community facility" to "mixed use".

"[Our] investigation found that Inner South Canberra has a generous supply of land zoned for community facility use compared to other parts of Canberra," he said.
China's tech industry giants are ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars into what they're betting will be the country's next big internet craze - 'Uber for bikes'.

A symbol of China's cities long before a boom in cars, snarling traffic and smog, the humble bicycle is making a comeback. Start-ups equipped with smartphone apps, GPS and scanable codes are selling cheap bike-sharing to city-dwellers as the way to beat jams on China's most clogged streets.

With a nation of cylists, bike-sharing, not ridesharing, has become the new battleground for Chinese tech companies. Credit:AP

The rush to invest in car ride-hailing apps in China peaked with Didi Chuxing's acquisition of Uber's China arm in August, creating a $US35 billion ($46 billion) giant. Now Shanghai's MoBike and Beijing-based ofo - both use customised Anglicised branding - have raised big money in the past month alone from bullish investors on the hunt for China's next tech 'unicorn'.

MoBike, backed by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings among others, closed a $US100 million funding round this month, two sources told Reuters. Ofo raised $US130 million this month from investors including Didi, smartphone maker Xiaomi and U.S. hedge fund Coatue, which has backed Facebook and Google.
Mr Kenny would do well to talk to those directly affected by the debate : the LGBTI community. The LGBTI community has not argued against a plebiscite lightly. We are genuinely fearful of the damage it will do to our vulnerable members. This damage is not being exaggerated and cannot be dismissed by those who will never experience it. We are also aware that the opponents of equal marriage are so obsessed by blocking equality that no strategy is off limits. It is "naive" to assume a popular vote will lead to equal marriage. Think about the results of the republic referendum or Brexit. The whole point of a plebiscite is to delay and destroy. A negative result on the plebiscite would not put equal marriage back a few years, it would put it back decades. Equal marriage is a human rights issue. That is all we need to know. Popular votes have no place in deciding who is deserving of being treated equally under the law.

It is time the Australian Parliament was made to do its job and fix what is wrong. It is time equal marriage was granted to all currently excluded. Lyn Farrand, Kambah More US war crimes To Bronis Dudek, Peter Moran (Letters, October 15-16) and Paul Malone's (October 9, p19) most appropriate reminders of our buddy nation's own military atrocities involving aircraft and civilians, and of our and their selective outrage in this ideologically tainted domain, should of course be added a couple more US military war crimes. Firstly, the Reagan administration's scandalous Korean Airlines 007 saga  using a civilian flight to trigger the Soviet Kamchatka Peninsula's ultra-secret radar defences at the height of that new Cold War, and then coolly blaming the consequences on those beastly commos.

And, in another infamous example of US military impunity, let's not forget the 1998 Cavanese Cable Car Disaster (or massacre, as the Italians call it), which claimed the lives of 20 locals and ski resort tourists when US military pilots  purely as a lark and to snap souvenir videos  flew their Marine Corps plane illegally low, severing a cableway cable in the Alps and causing a cablecar to plunge 80 metres to the ground. Despite one of the two pilots on return to base having burned the tape that contained incriminating evidence, all were safe and passaged back to the US  no foreign justice for US personnel, by golly  and acquitted of all but minor misdemeanours in a trial there. At least they don't seem to have been decorated as in the USS Vincennes incident. Alex Mattea, Kingston Mugabe in the clear

I hate to burst Peter Moran's bubble (Letters, October 16) but Joshua Nkomo, an Ndebele, would never accept a Shona, such as Robert Mugabe, as his "master". Their two organisations, the multi-ethnic Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) under Nkomo's command, and Mugabe's largely Shona Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU)  formed following Mugabe's split with ZAPU in 1963  were totally separate entities and operated independently of each other. Moreover, the two men despised each other. Following the collapse of the Smith regime, Mugabe undertook an ethnic cleansing campaign against the minority Ndebele, causing Nkomo to flee the country in fear of his life. As the planes were shot down by ZAPU, it is an egregious distortion of historical fact to blame Mugabe for these actions, loathsome though he may be.

Paul McElligott, Aranda Housing the homeless A person is said to be homeless if they have no rights of tenure to the place they live. In the ACT there at least 1800 homeless people. The ACT has more than 10,000 unoccupied dwellings. There are 60,000 more bedrooms in occupied dwellings than there are people.

The problem of homelessness is not one of supply. It happens because the homeless do not have the money to purchase the rights to tenure. The ACT government has 11,000 public housing properties. It rents these to people who do not have the funds to purchase. The ACT government could allow tenants in public housing to use the properties they have rented for several years to secure rights to tenure for a new home in the private property market. The dwellings released can then be made available to the homeless.

It would not be an imposition on taxpayers but instead gives taxpayers a way to invest in a high-return mortgage. Kevin Cox, Ngunnawal Foundation's thanks On behalf of the Leukaemia Foundation, I would like to thank those who held a lantern and gave generously at the Canberra Light the Night on Friday, October 14. We have raised $79,599, and are on our way to reaching our goal of $2million to provide those diagnosed and their families with practical support.
This fact in itself has been under appreciated because, with Bob Day, Leyonhjelm had emerged as the more amenable of the Senate crossbenchers in the 44th Parliament and there seemed no reason to think this could not continue in the 45th.

No reason that is until Day called it a day on Monday, quitting the Senate as he faces what looks like impending bankruptcy after his home-building empire collapsed in debt.

Family First in South Australia will name a replacement eventually, but there is no guarantee of the newbie taking a similar supportive attitude to the ABCC or Coalition economic policy generally. Indeed, the signs suggest the replacement is more likely to take a militant state-first approach perhaps in the tradition of a Brian Harradine, or dare one suggest, a Nick Xenophon against whom the new FF senator would compete.

And now Leyonhjelm's goodwill has been pointlessly squandered. Not only dudded on gun liberalisation, but humiliated into the bargain. Despite his deal, sealed with an email from the office of Justice Minister Michael Keenan dated August 12, Abbott stated this week he never had any intention of lifting the ban given the security/terror threat.

Worse was to come when Abbott denied any deal had been made on behalf of his office. Then on Friday, a senior Liberal backbencher, Michael Sukkar, stated publicly that Leyonhjelm had extracted no more of a concession from the government than it had already decided on the matter.
Most Australians get what the Nationals do not: guns are exceptional. They are lethal. Those who want guns should justify why they should be allowed; not the other way around.

National members federal and state are keen on the Adler shotgun. Mark Coulton, the federal member for Parkes, said a gun dealer in his electorate has "hundreds" of guns ready to be imported. Troy Grant, leader of the NSW Nationals, dislikes criticism of weaker gun laws. "Legal firearm owners need to stop being blamed for criminal activity involving illegal guns used by gangs and terrorists."

The National Party is why the government seemed willing to trade one vote in the Senate for allowing yet another rapid-action gun into Australia. Apparently, requiring people to pause between killings is too much to ask.

Barnaby Joyce has been around long enough to seem merely a bumbling, amusing politician, but ... Credit:Andrew Meares

The National Party is why the greyhound industry lives another year in NSW, condemning thousands of dogs to die in perpetuity  given its in-built need to slaughter old, slow, and broken dogs  so a few more of us can have a punt.

The National Party is part of the reason why Australia's response to climate change is so languid compared to the threat. That is despite farmers, its core constituency, being among the most at risk. It might say that "to protect our environment for future generations, we need to tackle climate change", but it was the first out of the blocks to blame renewable energy when the lights went out in Adelaide. It was up to its neck in the dishonest and disastrous campaign against an effective, sensible, and inexpensive climate policy.

The National Party is why we have an interminable debate instead of getting on with joining the rest of the advanced world and let two women wed. Despite an enormous majority of polled Australians in favour of equality, we're still talking about Tony Abbott's delaying contrivance because it's in the agreement Malcolm Turnbull signed with the junior Coalition partner, the junior calling the shots.

Andrew Broad, an otherwise obscure MP for the north-west corner of Victoria, threatened to bring down the government if it allowed a parliamentary vote on marriage equality. His "conditional" support for his own government was over an issue so exceptionally important to him that it is ignored by his website. It also goes unmentioned on his party's website too, as if it didn't want people to know its position.
Tony Abbott is claiming victory on his Liberal Party reform push despite his defeat on the floor of the NSW state conference, and denies he and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are at loggerheads over the issue.

Party delegates on Saturday unanimously agreed to a proposal put forward by Mr Turnbull in conjunction with NSW Premier Mike Baird for a special party reform convention, to be held in the first half of next year.

The proposal was put forward in a bid to short-circuit Mr Abbott's push for immediate party democratisation, amid heightened tensions between the Prime Minister and the man he deposed last year.

Mr Abbott's "Warringah motion" - which would have given party members more power over preselections - was defeated 246 to 174 votes. But in an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Abbott claimed victory.
Lynette: In the early 1980s we were both asked to join the newly formed Aboriginal Education Unit. We were developing the NSW Aboriginal education policy, and really felt we were creating positive change. We lived, worked and socialised together, and would often be called by the other's name. I think most people were confused as to who was who. I'm Lynette June Riley and she's Linda Jean Burney.

I got a position as a research fellow at the University of New England in Armidale, then moved with my husband and kids to Dubbo. Linda was then president of the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, so we didn't see much of one another. Then in 1997 I got breast cancer and had to come to Sydney for eight weeks for treatment, and Linda was one of the people who looked after me. Last year when I found out I had cancer in my spine, I rang Linda and she came to the hospital immediately.

MP Linda Burney and Lynette Riley. Credit:Edwina Pickles

She also helped me get through my marriage breakup. Rick [Farley, Linda's partner,] was sick then, so we were both losing our partners in totally different ways. My husband and I eventually divorced in 2008.

She had children with one of my second cousins. So I'm her children's aunty. I've taken on the role of getting Linda and her kids their totems and assisting with some of their Wiradjuri cultural connections. I always said I would make a kangaroo k for Linda. For me, it was important that it was an outward symbol of who she was, so I put on it her family connections and her totem, the white cockatoo. Her role is to be a speaker, or a messenger, for Wiradjuri people, and the cockatoo is a messenger.
I recently gave a financial literacy presentation at my daughter's school. It was a challenging experience to distil the essence of financial management so that nine-year-olds could understand it.

There are really only three things you need to do to become financially independent  spend less than you earn, invest in things that grow and start early so time does lots of the work for you.

Catherine Robson with her nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Catherine gave a financial talk to her daughter's Grade 3 class in Malvern East. Credit:Nicole Cleary

My presentation used my own two children, aged 9 and 11, as a real life example of the incredible power of compounding. When each of the children were born, we used the federal government's Baby Bonus to buy shares in Australian-listed companies. Notwithstanding that, we invested the same amount of money in exactly the same shares, by reinvesting all the dividends the eldest has not only tripled his money, but his shares are worth 20 per cent more than his younger sister's, just by starting two years earlier. With numbers like these, it is no wonder Albert Einstein described compound interest as the 8th wonder of the world.

The problem however with explaining concepts to children is that they ask really tough questions. The hardest to answer, was why so many parents are stressed and fight about money, notwithstanding that Australia has one of the highest levels of income per person in the world?
Stressed HSC students are so wired on their prescription drugs that they are resorting to sleeping tablets and taking an artificial sleep hormone to get themselves to bed, a leading expert has warned.

Chris Seton, a paediatric and adolescent sleep physician at the Woolcock Institute and Westmead Children's Hospital, also warned the US experience of using prescription drugs before exams such as Ritalin and Modafinal was trickling down to Australian classrooms.

"The futility of it is they are trying to wake up their tired brain to study late. It's a bit like taking Panadol for a headache and hitting your head against the wall," Dr Seton said.

On Monday, the HSC will enter its third week as up to 10,000 students prepare to sit the ancient history exam.
It suggests the threshold that adults cross when they go from "falling over" (something caused by action, such as running) to "having a fall" (something with more serious consequences and frequently caused by a lack of mobility or an unseen hazard) occurs earlier than we may think. For every birthday over 40, the risk of having mobility problems leading to a fall rises 5 per cent, the new paper by doctoral candidate Emily Li of Queensland University of Technology found. She presented her paper to the world's largest safety conference in Finland last month. In Australia, nearly three times as many people die from falls as those in car crashes each year. The rate of hospitalised falls has increased at a constant 2.3 per cent a year with no sign of slowing as the population ages. By 2056, nearly one in four Australians will be over 65, double the current number. Yet international experts say "fall" is a four-letter word to many people, something older people are reluctant to discuss and often hide from their families and doctors because they hold the key to their independence. Globally, falls kill 693,000 people a year. Apart from deaths from falls among small children and falls at work, nearly all fall-related fatalities are among people over 65, said World Health Organisation expert Dr David Meddings. After road traffic injuries, falls are the second biggest killer worldwide out of all deaths from unintentional injury.

Many people thought falls were an unavoidable and inevitable part of ageing, says Scott. Yet that wasn't true, she said, citing Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb the calcium required for healthy bones, and exercise, including routines that are good for balance, as effective in prevention. Others stress the need to remove hazards: At the Safety 2016 Conference in Tampere, Finland, an angry older health researcher asked about the continuing failure of architects and builders to eliminate trip hazards such as uneven floors and awkward stairs. (For the three days of the conference, policy makers of all ages had routinely stumbled over a surprise step near the main entry.) Usually people have a series of minor falls before they have a serious fall. QUT's Emily Li told Fairfax Media that very little had been been done to study middle-aged people who had had a fall and had visited emergency departments for treatment. (Most research tracks hospital admissions, not ER visits.) When she interviewed 305 people who had visited a south-eastern Queensland emergency department, she found that 60 per cent of those who had fallen were women. Twice as many women as men reported having had a fall in the past, and the same number reported they felt they were losing balance. Many men, though, fell after drinking.

While researchers knew that older age groups were at risk of falls caused by chronic disease and taking multiple medications, she was surprised to see so many middle-aged people also experiencing the same risk factors, including the deterioration of eyesight, a decline in muscle strength and loss of balance and stability. But many people fail to mention minor falls, which could signal a problem that could be addressed with exercise, says Scott. A study in California, for example, found people visiting their doctor after a fall were never asked what happened. "The word fall never came up, and prevention was never mentioned," said Scott. "[Doctors] need to ask the question: 'Have you had a fall?'" Another study asked people at risk of a fall who they would ask for help if they started falling. "But when we asked seniors on the list who they'd go to, the last people on their list was their daughters," Scott says. "The sons came above [the daughters]. And it is that fear of being placed in an institution. They don't talk about it because they fear they will lose their independence."

Scott urged doctors and other carers to send the message: "This is about about retaining your independence, not losing it." Older people were so reluctant to talk about falls that her group in Canada studiously avoids the word. "What starts with 'F' and ends with an 'L'? 'Fall' is a four-letter word and we don't talk about it." Instead their program uses the acronym SAIL, which stands for Strategies and Actions for Independent Living. Dr Sophie Pointer, a spokeswoman for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and deputy director of Research Centre for Injury Studies, said the incidence and cost of falls was a massive issue for Australia's ageing population, yet these days it was difficult to get policy makers interested in the topic. "It's still really concerning that the number of fall-related hospitalisations among older people continues to rise each year and that we are seemingly not able to arrest the numbers of deaths due to falls each year in Australia."

From her own experience, it "rang true" that many older people living at home were reluctant to mention minor falls for fear of losing their independence, and there was a possible stigma around having a fall. Her mother-in-law confessed that she'd had a fall after the family saw that she had been hurt. And Pointer's nearly 80-year-old father had recently tumbled four metres off a woodpile, the kind of accident that was likely to increase as otherwise independent older adults continued to live at home and attempt home repairs. Barbara Macintosh says she has had a "horrific time" caring for her mother and her son, who she says is fading and dying. Grant is meant to wear a helmet to protect his head, but doesn't. Recently he had another fall, which caused bleeding on the brain. "There is nothing they can do. He is home and sleeping more," she says. Her mother had mini strokes that would cause her to slide out of her chair. Some were only discovered when the staff of the nursing home where she lived bathed her and discovered fresh bruises. "They got progressively worse and more frequent, and then they got more serious. It wasn't until three years ago that she had a fractured pelvis. It wasn't broken because she had strong bones."
The former prime minister and architect of Australia's restrictions on gun ownership, John Howard, says gun control laws should be strengthened, not weakened.

Asked about the controversy surrounding the Adler shotgun, which some Nationals MPs have been pushing to allow access to, Mr Howard said the country's current system of controls had worked to make the country safer.

"My position as you might expect on gun laws is I don't want to see any weakening of any kind in the prohibitions that I introduced and which may have been added since 1996," said Mr Howard, speaking after an event to mark the 100th anniversary of his alma mater, Earlwood Primary School.

"Now, as to how the government of the day deals with the current issues that's a matter for the government of the day but my principle as everybody would accept and expect is I don't want to see any weakening of our gun laws," he said.
A performer at Walk Together Brisbane. Credit:Tammy Law "There's hardly a group now that Donald Trump isn't against - he's even against his own party." Dr Catt said humanity needed to come together to look after each other. People walking to Emma Miller Place from Kurilpa Park as a part of Walk Together Brisbane in Brisbane on Saturday. Credit:Tammy Law "I'm deeply encouraged as movements like this grow and swell and the Australian population in the last year has changed its attitude towards people seeking asylum and we just need our political leaders to catch up with the people," he said.

People marched from Kurilpa Park at South Brisbane to Emma Miller Place in the CBD as part of Brisbane's Walk Together event on Saturday, with participants holding placards welcoming refugees and playing music. Brisbane co-ordinator Glen Veitch said the influence of politicians such as Mr Trump and Pauline Hanson was detrimental to the community. "It's frustrating to see because these are people who are allowed to say what they want ... And the fact-checking always comes post the speech," he said. "These are people who are using their words to build a culture of fear and fear doesn't take a lot to get people to be scared of each other. "The effect that they're having is an overwhelmingly negative one that takes a lot of effort to combat."

Mr Veitch said it was important to hold events such as Walk Together because there was an increase in the rhetoric of fear and division in politics and at the grassroots level. "Holding events like this actively works against that by being a voice of inclusion, respect and tolerance," Mr Veitch said. "It's our intention to come up against that rhetoric of fear." Walk Together events were held in several cities on Saturday, including Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The event aims to celebrate diversity and declare that Australia can be a nation known for compassion, generosity and welcoming.

Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri told the crowd in Brisbane he had been asked about 13 or 14 times to "go back to where you came from" in the time he had lived in Australia. He asked Aunty Maroochy, who performed the Welcome to Country and blessing, if he should go back to where he came from. "Aunty Maroochy, I'll only go back where I came from, if you tell me to go back to where I came from because this land belongs to you and your ancestors. So can I stay?" Mr Kadri asked. Aunty Maroochy replied: "Everybody's welcome, if there's enough room and enough water and enough resources, everybody's welcome." Mr Kadri said: "Thank you, today I think I got my citizenship."

He said everyone needed to stand together to fight ignorance and injustices around the world. "This is why I think it is very important to stand up to the people who want to lock up the refugees who come across the seas into a detention camp," he said. "[Australia] is not about red-headed women who own fish and chip shops, it is about all of us." Yeronga State High School deputy principal Jessica Walker, who supported Brisbane asylum seeker Mojgan Shamsalipoor's bid for freedom, said at last year's event, she was calling for Mojgan to be released from detention. "[It's] a very different mood and feeling to when I was at Walk Together last year," Ms Walker said.

"Last year we were carrying placards and posters and banners saying please free Mojgan, please free all young people from detention. "And today, 12 months later, a miracle has happened and Mojgan and her brother Hossein were released from detention." Ms Walker said Ms Shamsalipoor was very grateful for everyone's support. "However, the journey isn't over yet because while Mojgan has been released, in that she's not living in detention any more, she's certainly not free," she said. "She has a three-month bridging visa and she has guarantee of being able to live in the community with her husband and she still can't apply for a partner visa to stay with him as a permanent resident.
Police have praised the behaviour of fans at the Gold Coast 600 at the weekend, despite larger than expected crowds.

Inspector Bruce Kuhn said the first day on Friday was fantastic and police were called to "very few incidents".

Alex Premat drives the #97 Red Bull Racing Australia Holden Commodore VF leads the field during lap 1 of race 22 of the Supercars at the Gold Coast 600. Credit:Daniel Kalisz

"That's flowed onto the night when we've had virtually very few incidents overnight as well," he said.

"There seems to be larger crowds than I expected in the city, but there's been very little poor behaviour that we've had to address."
Police say more than 45 vehicles at two wrecking yards were destroyed in suspected arson attacks on Brisbane's northside on Friday night.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Service were called to the first fire at 10.24pm at a wrecking yard on Beams Road in Fitzgibbon. The fire was extinguished by 10.50pm but destroyed about seven vehicles. Beams Road was closed by police just before 11pm.

Police are appealing for information after two car wrecking yards were targeted during suspected arson attacks on Brisbane's northside. Credit:Rob Gunstone

A second blaze broke out just before 11pm at a wrecking yard on Sandgate Road at Boondall, just five kilometres away from the first fire. More than 40 cars were destroyed by the time the fire was extinguished at 12.34am and Sandgate Road southbound was also closed.

A police spokeswoman said "two or three houses either side of the fires" were evacuated as a result, but the roads have since re-opened and all residents returned to their homes, which were not damaged.
Popular Australian media, banking, insurance, retail and hotel websites have experienced outages and interruptions following cyberattacks in the US overnight, according to digital performance monitoring company Dynatrace.

The international attacks targeted Dyn, a company that helps people connect to websites, with a huge amount of traffic in an attempt to knock the service offline, according to Dyn's director of internet analysis, Doug Madory.

The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack came in three waves and left millions of users, mostly in the US and Europe, unable to access many popular websites including Twitter, Spotify and Netflix.

According to data by Dynatrace, interruptions were experienced by Australian websites including AAMI, ANZ, BankWest, Coles, The Daily Telegraph, Dan Murphy's, ebay, HBSC, The Herald Sun, NAB, 9News, The Age, Ticketmaster, The Australian, Woolworths, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Westpac.
Melburnians headed to the polls this week to decide who should have a seat at their local town hall.

Those who are successful will have sway over a swathe of local government services and responsibilities  from approving hotly-contested developments, to the less controversial idea of rubbish collection.

The City of Melbourne was one of 31 councils requiring residents to fill out a postal vote. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

Unlike federal and state elections, Victorians tend to forget to cast their town hall ballots until it's too late.

At the 2014 state election, in which Labor turfed out the first-time Napthine government, voter participation hovered at around 93% according to the Victorian Electoral Commission.
It's something Kristi Clarke and the rest of the Lollipop team is very proud of, and something which is going to carry on when Princess Margaret Hospital finally closes it doors.

For over 30 years Radio Lollipop has done one of the hardest jobs in medicine - making sick kids happy.

One minute you can be doing a bit of face painting on one of the wards, and the next minute you are in the emergency department blowing bubbles to distract a traumatised child who hates needles, and who urgently needs an injection.

"We have been preparing for the move to the new Perth Children's Hospital for over four years. Our new desk has been shipped in from the UK and it should be in place next month," says Kristi.

Radio Lollipop has around 100 volunteers who work at PMH and all of them are set to switch over to the new hospital.

"On the day that the first patients are transferred from PMH we will be there, bringing a bit of fun for all those children who really don't have much to laugh about."

Radio Lollipop is important for the new children's hospital. It was part of the plans from the very beginning of the planning process.

"We were allocated a broadcast studio and an office at the very beginning. It will be the same set up as we've got at PMH, only with brand new equipment," said Kristi.
A 74-year-old man has been charged with murder and two charges of attempted murder, following a series of violent confrontations at a house in Yokine.

Police say the 74-year-old man, from Dianella, killed a 73-year-old man at a unit in Shakespeare Avenue around 6.20pm on Friday.

A man is dead and three other people injured following an incident in Yokine. Credit:@9NewsPerth

The attack happened after a 64-year-old woman visited the victim in his home.
Three people have been taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital after a fire broke out a house in Perth's eastern suburbs.

A large plume of smoke rose from the house on Sorensen Road in High Wycombe.

Fire and ambulance services were in attendence.

More to come.
The father of two young children found dead in their Yanchep home has been charged with their murder.

Police charged 35-year-old Jason Headland over the deaths of the three-year-old boy and five-year-old girl as he continues to receive medical treatment in hospital. He is in a serious but stable condition.

Jason Headland with his children.

The case came before Perth Magistrates Court today, Saturday, and his next court appearance has been set down for Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on November 30.

The children's deaths were discovered when police were called to a house in Flight Vista around 10.30pm on Thursday night and forced their way in.
But President Obama denied at the time that the comment had anything to do with the Clintons. Instead, he said it was about the Bush administration. "There was no reference beyond her point that we have had an administration that talks a lot about family values but doesn't follow through," Obama said.

Some reporting around the time did interpret this as a possible dig at the Clintons, and the Drudge Report took it from there, blaring the headline "Obama Wife Slams Hillary."

She repeated the comment at a rally a few days later in Iowa, adding: "So we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's travelling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I'm home before bedtime."

Look, it's certainly possible that Michelle Obama was taking a veiled shot at the Clintons' rocky personal lives and providing her own family as a more attractive contrast to it. Politicians do this kind of thing so that they will have plausible deniability, but the media will still write about it as if it were an attack. And the first lady has certainly shown an ability to attack Donald Trump, routinely doing it without referring to him by name.

History may look on Hillary Clinton's struggle for the presidency as the closing act in the neoliberal experiment. Credit:Bloomberg

But her attacks are otherwise pretty obviously about him, and the Obama campaign in the 2008 primary didn't really trot her out regularly to issue these kinds of veiled - or even direct - attacks. That wasn't her strength as a surrogate.

What's more, her extended comments at the Iowa rally suggest she was talking about how their family handles the campaign. And she spoke repeatedly on the campaign trail about how she wanted to maintain some kind of normalcy for their family, even as her husband was in the midst of a meteoric political rise. So this wasn't a one-off for her. It was a subject she spoke about frequently.

Her husband's explanation of her comments strikes us as kind of odd. It's apparent how it could have been intended for the Clintons, but it's not really clear what specific aspect of the Bush administration's policies she might have been attacking when she talked about her family's travel schedule and taking care of their home. The Bush family was, by all accounts, a pretty solid family unit. And why did it have to be a veiled reference at all?
Gettysburg: On a rise overlooking the town of Gettysburg 150 years ago Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that not only changed America's understanding of the terrible civil war it was still fighting, but changed the nation's relationship with its government and even its language.

Before Lincoln spoke American political speech tended towards florid and expansive; afterwards orators pursued elegance and efficiency. Lincoln's speech consecrating a war cemetery was Shakespearean in the manner it which it soaked into the marrow of anglospheric culture. Even people who don't know they know the address know it, they know Lincoln's declaration that, "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth".

You might then describe Donald Trump's decision to detail his plan for the first hundred days of his administration in a speech at Gettysburg, as possessing a certain chutzpah. But Trump never lacked for chutzpah.
GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that there will be a traffic obstruction on the A.T. Illidge road on Saturday, October 22.

The obstruction to the traffic flow on Saturday will be from 9.00AM to 2.00PM along the aforementioned road between Madame Estate and Eddies Auto Supply.

NV GEBE will be removing high tension lines and a light pole transformer. Bucket trucks will be used resulting in a disruption in the traffic flow from time to time.

Pedestrians should be aware that there will be heavy equipment in use during the aforementioned times and must exercise caution when walking in the area.

Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause.
PHILIPSBURG:---The Mental Health Foundation received a welcome addition to its library from the Rotary Club of St. Maarten Mid-Isle: seven books were donated; they were either written or published by American personal finance guru and motivational speaker Dave Ramsey. Rotary International celebrates October 2016 as its Economic and Community Development month. The donated books have helped millions of people to get control of their finances and improve their lives, their family and work relationships. Rotarian Aernout Kraaijeveld explained: The wisdom in these books motivated me to get my own finances in order, made me a better and happier person, and improved my relationships with pretty much everyone I know. They are very well written, you will be able to read through them in a couple of hours, but the knowledge will stay with you forever if youre open to it. Our Rotary Club wanted to share this knowledge with the staff and clients of the Mental Health Foundation and help them improve their lives.
Slyce Appoints Special Committee and Secures Interim Financing

CALGARY, ALBERTA  (Marketwired)  10/21/16  Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SLC)(FRANKFURT: 06O1) (Slyce or the Company) announced today that, during recent months, the board of directors has been actively engaged in assessing possible options for recapitalizing the Company to overcome the financial challenges faced by Slyce. A Special Committee comprised of Dale Johnson (Chairman), Travis Reid (Independent Director) and Swapan Kakamanu (Chief Financial Officer) has been formed to review and assess strategic options, and to recommend to the board of directors an approach that is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. The Committee has retained Acumen Capital Partners as financial advisors.

Slyce also announced that it has arranged acquisition of its qualifying accounts receivable, subject to the negotiation of definitive documentation, in order to increase liquidity by approximately $400 thousand.

About .

Slyce, based in Calgary, Alberta, delivers sophisticated visual search technologies and is currently focused on enabling a powerful sales channel for major retailers and their customers. Consumers, wherever they are, can conveniently engage with retailers by taking pictures of desired products using their mobile devices, thereby initiating the visual search service with near-instant product recognition capability. The Company delivers its technology both as a white-label visual search platform and as a suite of consumer mobile apps. Slyces technology is used by large retail brands such as Neiman Marcus, Urban Outfitters, JCPenney and Home Depot.

Slyces business model features multiple revenue streams arising from its visual search platform and consumer apps.

Slyce is also listed on the Frankfurt exchange trading under (FRANKFURT: 06O1).

For image download and further company information, please click for the .

READER ADVISORY

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Statements in this press release contain forward-looking information. The words will, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intent, may, project, should, and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by Slyce.

Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Slyce.

Slyce does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.

None of the information contained on, or connected to, Slyces website is incorporated by reference herein.

Contacts:

Slyce Inc.

Ted Mann, CEO

eMail:
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Of course, keeping tabs on wildlife from space is nothing new. The satellite monitoring system Argos has been around since the late 1970s. But its frequencies are full, to the point that it can hardly be used anymore in Europe -- a problem that Icarus should be able to avoid. Plus, it foresees tagging many more, and much smaller, animals than Argos with the mini-transmitters.

Next summer, a Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to launch the special antenna -- constructed by the German company SpaceTech -- into space where it will be affixed to a Russian module of the International Space Station. From an altitude of around 400 kilometers, it will observe a relatively small area of the earth's surface at any given time, making it possible to pick up the weak signal.

With a signal strength of just five milliwatts -- wireless Internet routers are 20 times as powerful -- the transmitters will broadcast on a frequency of 401 megahertz, which has been reserved around the world for the tagged animals. Because they are solar powered, scientists hope the transmitters will broadcast for several years, allowing them to document entire animal lifespans.

If the animals can be recaptured -- and Wikelski believes it won't be too difficult when it comes to blackbirds -- the transmitters could theoretically be removed. That won't, of course, be possible in all cases, but scientists say that the technology's extremely light weight will ensure that the animals hardly notice it.

Observing migratory birds from orbit is one thing, but Wikelski and his team hope the system will be able to do much more than that -- and that might be Icarus' Achilles heel. The potential overly high hopes for the system might lead to disappointment.

Wikelski's Career Depends on Icarus

Icarus' hope of predicting natural catastrophes seems illusory at first glance. Wikelski, though, excitedly points out that elephants in Indonesia moved to safe ground ahead of the 2004 tsunami and that the movement patterns of goats on Mt. Etna in Sicily foretell eruptions. "Since ancient times, we have indications that something like this is possible. Even if such a forecast works only in a fraction of instances, it would be huge."

The scientists point out that people trust dogs to help find avalanche victims in the mountains and drugs at airports. "But when it comes to wild animals, we have our doubts because we don't understand them." Icarus will change that, he hopes. "Some things will prove to be untrue, but others could be very valuable," Wikelski says confidently.

The ornithologist is well aware that he is taking a risk with the project; his reputation as a scientist is at stake if nothing comes of it. But if Icarus really does live up to its promise, then in the future, scientists sitting at their home computers will be able to see the world through animals' eyes.

For the ornithologists currently trying to track blackbirds on the shores of Lake Constance, however, things aren't quite so luxurious. They have to use their vehicle-mounted antennas to monitor the birds so as not to miss the moment when they take off. And they have to hope that the transmitters work despite the disappointing test with the airplane.
"Nothing stops them, not machine guns, not even Russian anti-tank weapons," says a Kurdish officer on the edge of the village, "nothing except the Milan rockets provided by Germany."

But Shakuli is nothing more than a handful of houses on a slope that were abandoned by their inhabitants a year ago. A Kurdish artillery position on a hill a few hundred meters away bombarded the village for months while the jihadists took shelter in trenches and tunnels.

"Three or four of them are still there," says the Kurdish officer, adding that the village is now being filled with smoke from burning tires in order to drive them out. He doesn't want to risk his men on such a mission. The bodies of seven IS fighters lie, rapidly buried, where they died -- a dark-colored hand still protrudes from one of the piles of dirt.

Thus far, the expected mass exodus from Mosul has not come to pass because IS is holding the civilian population hostage: It has mined roads and is shooting people who attempt to flee. Two men, who were able to escape their IS-held village, cough as they list the names of villages from which inhabitants have been forced by IS at gunpoint towards Mosul: "Safina, Arfeila, Nusf Tell, Tuweiba, Tulu Nasr." And the list goes on, 14 villages in the immediate vicinity alone.

"Anyone who doesn't want to go is shot. Or they take their children and threaten to shoot them. They took four people from my family alone," one of the men says. They were marched closer to the city to be used as human shields and deter the jets from attacking.

Others say that hostages were taken. A group of soldiers from the 15 Division discusses whether the inhabitants might have gone of their own accord, but the surveillance officer shakes his head: "No. It is the same pattern everywhere. The civilians are being driven closer to Mosul."

Mosul itself is only about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the southern front and only 15 km from the eastern front. But news from the city is thin, fragmentary and contradictory: Not long ago, it is said, unknown people began putting small notes into Korans in mosques with the words "Kill the Daeshis!", as IS followers are called in Arabic.

One source claims a general uprising has broken out. Another says everything is calm and that IS men are patrolling on motorcycles to avoid becoming easy targets for air strikes. A third reports that civilians are grouping together, armed with knives, and killing any IS fighters they encounter.

What's true? Nobody knows for sure. It's not even clear how many people are trapped in the city, formerly Iraq's second-largest metropolis with 2 million inhabitants. Is it 700,000 people? Or more than a million, as aid groups and the Iraqi government claim?

Chemical Threat

As well as the advance of the disparate allied forces has gone in the first few days, things could still turn bad. Thus far, IS has only used part of its arsenal: it has mined streets, bridges and houses, has posted snipers and has dialed in its artillery. But there's one type weapon it has yet to use: chemical weapons. In August 2015, IS fighters fired mustard-gas shells on the town of Marea, north of Aleppo. Peshmerga units in northern Iraq were later attacked with mustard gas and chlorine.

But where did Islamic State get these weapons? Chlorine, an industrial chemical, is easy to manufacture in large amounts. But mustard gas?

"There are several possible sources," says British chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. "It could come from Syrian stocks, or from old Iraqi stocks." There is evidence for both: The last reserves of the Iraqi chemical weapons program were secretly buried in the early 1990s. And the same circle of high-ranking secret service officers who supervised this operation is now connected to IS leadership. They are the ones most likely to know where the deadly shells were hidden.

Meanwhile, the Syrian chief negotiators who were supposed to have opened all storage spaces and laboratories after 2013, in addition to turning in all of the country's stockpiles didn't do so. According to an unreleased report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the regime has primarily retained warheads filled with mustard gas. Experts speak of around 100 to 200 tons of mustard gas shells -- precisely the kind that have been launched by IS in the past.

Bretton-Gordon was once the commander for the British Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Regiment. He has recently travelled to Syria several times on the search for proof that the Assad regime used chlorine gas in attacks. There is, he believes, a third possibility for the origin of IS' mustard gas, one he believes to be the most likely: "We are now certain that IS is capable of producing mustard gas on its own. It has a slightly different composition than army stock, and is delivered in powder, not in liquid, form. Chemically, its production isn't that complicated." The site of production: "Probably Mosul."

Still, the homemade chemical weapons are not the most ominous threat, the expert says: "About 40 kilometers south of Mosul is the gigantic al-Mishraq sulfur plant. If IS blows that up, it could create a cloud of deadly sulfur-hydrogen compounds. It would be an Iraqi Bhopal," a reference to the 1984 disaster in Bhopal when thousands of people died after tons of poisonous materials were released from an Indian chemical plant.

On Saturday, reports emerged that Islamic State had indeed set fire to sulfur stocks at the plant, triggering a cloud of toxic smoke with Reuters reporting on Saturday afternoon that a hospital south of Mosul says nearly 1,000 people have been admitted with breathing problems as a result.

Fragile Alliance

Anything could happen at any time: IS leaders and those who believe the propaganda about the coming apocalyptic war could set off doomsday by themselves. But the rumors from inside IS could also be true -- that discreet escape corridors to Syria may have been kept open in exchange for IS refraining from committing mass murder with chemical weapons. Observers from rebel groups in IS-held Syrian territory report having seen convoys of packed jeeps in the past several nights, and even during the day, arriving in Syria from Iraq.

Fighting might also break out in Mosul between those who would prefer to destroy everything than give it up -- and those who want to prevent a total destruction of the city. Informants are reporting that such fights are already taking place -- and the survival of hundreds of thousands of people could depend on the outcome.

Regardless how monstrously IS wants to deal with its military defeat in Mosul, its result could play into the jihadists' hands on the long term. Already, the allies on the frontlines are eyeing each other with suspicion. The only thing uniting them seems to be their common enemy and the goal of driving it from Mosul. Once that has happened, the allies of today could become the enemies of tomorrow. Several times, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has angrily told the Turkish army to pull out of Iraq.

Ankara's troops came in order to install the allied militia belonging to the former governor of Mosul, with its more than 3,000 fighters, as the city's rulers. Shiite militias, meanwhile, have announced their intention to attack the Turkish contingent -- though their orders come from Tehran, not from Baghdad. Mosul has become a playing field for various powers.

Officially, only the army and the federal police are supposed to enter the city itself, but the leader of the Shiite militias has repeatedly announced that he also wants to capture Mosul.

"We are afraid of everybody," said a man inside the city several months ago. "Afraid of the Daishis who occupy us. Afraid that the Shiite militias want to expel and kill us."

Tellingly, a blogger named Mosul Eye is hoping that Mosul will remain part of Iraq, but only under international oversight. Because, he says, you can't trust anybody in this country.
Brussels, October 22, 2016 (SPS)  Sahrawi Deputy Minister for Europe Mohamed Sidati urged, Thursday in Brussels, the European Union to take "firm actions" to solve the conflict in Western Sahara, in accordance with the United Nations resolutions, which provide for the self-determination of Sahrawi people.

"I urge the EU to take firm actions for the resolution of the conflict, in accordance with the UN Charter," said Sidati at a meeting at the European Parliament on Western Sahara

While addressing the members of the EP Delegation for Relations with Maghreb Countries, who decided to devote their meeting to the Western Sahara issue, Sidati said that the EU, bound by a "special partnership" with the Kingdom of Morocco, "should exert pressure on Morocco to solve the conflict."

"You have the legal and moral responsibility to end the conflict," he told MEPs.

Sidati also deplored the behaviour of some MEPs, who "lent credibility to Rabat's propaganda," adding that in doing so, "they did harm to Sahrawi refugees, whose means of subsistence have been significantly affected by the cut in humanitarian aid."

The Sahrawi official also denounced Morocco's repeated attempts to impede the UN-sponsored peace process, adding that Morocco's numerous manoeuvres, especially the violation of the ceasefire in the buffer zone of Al-Guergarat and the expulsion of the civilian staff of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) "jeopardize peace in the region." (SPS)

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Children are gearing up to hit the streets on October 31, and while their main concern is which neighborhoods have the best candy, parents will be making sure their little ones are safe out there.

The F.B.I. recently released their 2017 annual Crime in the United States report, which breaks down crime rates by a state's individual towns and cities. The report includes reported instances of manslaughter, robbery, aggravated assault, and rape during the year of 2017.
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Niche has released their annual rankings of colleges around the nation and, perhaps as expected, one Connecticut university was ranked among the top in the county.

Yale University, in New Haven, came in as the best college in Connecticut and third best in the nation. The university was also recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the third best in the nation as well.

Check out the gallery for a look at how Connecticut's colleges ranked in the state and nationally. To read Niche's full report on the best colleges for 2017, click here.

Wesleyan University, in Middletown, was ranked as the second best college in the state, followed by the University of Connecticut, in Storrs.

The report compiles "millions" of surveys from student and alumni over the past year and more than 2,500 schools were ranked across academics, value, professor's, and student satisfactionamong many other factors.

So what makes Yale University the gold standard in Connecticut and the nation? According to one student review on Niche, community plays just as important a role as education.

"I am entering my third year in the fall and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. What drew me to Yale was the close knit community and the welcoming and inclusive social space," a Yale junior wrote. "I have friends from all walks of life and love to interact with people form all different backgrounds. I truly feel that I have grown as an individual as I have become equipped with the vocabulary to express eloquently just who I am and where I stand on certain issues to my peers."

Related: Southwest Connecticut schools among 'best places to teach'

A couple of our region's universities were able to break into the top ten, with Fairfield University ranking seventh in the state and UConn's Stamford campus ranking eighth.

When it came to Fairfield University, one sophomore noted while the campus was great, diversity could be an issue.

"The school can do better in terms of diversity. It can get really clique-y really fast, however I also think it helps build a sense of independence," the student wrote. "It's hard when you come from the inner city than suddenly you are surrounded by rich, upper class people who wear name brands. I am actually enjoying the school, and I was able to break the classicist barrier with SOME people and make amazing friends."

Fairfield University came under fire last March after a "ghetto-themed" party was hosted by campus students at an off-campus location.

Sacred Heart University and University of Bridgeport placed 15th and 19th, respectively. Western Connecticut State University in Danbury ranked 20th.

Even while WCSU ranked toward the bottom of in-state choices, one student said the transition offered between high school and college was appreciated.

"I was a commuting part time student at WCSU last year. I didn't go here because it was my first choice and I loved it, but because I didn't feel I was ready to fully jump into a 4 year college situation," the freshman wrote. "In this way, being part time at WCSU offered me a good transition from high school. I was able to take a few classes and see what college was like while still being comfortable and close to home. I found it easy to meet people and find things to do."

Heading up the bottom of the list in Connecticut were Mitchell College, in New London, University of Saint Joseph, in West Hartford, and Central Connecticut State University, in New Britain.
T he BBC has denied reports a mystery virus has sparked turmoil on tonights Strictly Come Dancing amid reports six professional dancers were struck down by illness.

Producers have refuted suggestions dancers are dropping like flies after it was reported Katya Jones, Janette Manrara, Neil Jones, Aljaz Skorjanec and Anton du Beke are suffering with flu-like symptoms.

It comes after Brendan Cole, partner of singer Anastacia, was forced to pull out after a chest infection.

A BBC spokesman said: I can assure you that there is no "horrendous virus" sweeping through the pros.

Survived: Anastacia and Brendan Cole dancing the rumba / BBC/Guy Levy

The denial comes after the Sun reported a virus had struck down the professionals during rehearsals this week.

A source told the newspaper: Preparations for this weekend have been hampered by this horrendous virus sweeping through the pros.

Poor Brendan is gutted not to be able to dance with Anastacia, but he has to listen to his body as a lung infection is no laughing matter. Hes on doctors orders.

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

But producers are now concerned some of the other pros could be following in his footsteps. They have to rehearse and dance very intimately.

And at the moment they are dropping like flies.

The newspaper reported Katya Jones, partnered with former Labour MP Ed Balls, was forced to take breaks from rehearsals on Thursday while Janette Manrara was also ordered to rest.

Neil Jones, Aljaz Skorjanec and Anton du Beke were also said to be feeling ill.

Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday at 6:30pm
A rmed police have descended on an address in north-west London after reports a man has barricaded himself inside a home and is surrounded by hazardous items.

Roads around Wood End Lane, Northolt, were placed on lockdown shortly before dozens of police vans and trucks were sent to the scene.

Police say they believe a man may have dangerous items inside the address which they have made no attempt to access following fears for his safety.

According to the Met they were first called at around 1am yesterday morning and have stepped up the operation today.

Police negotiators remain at the scene. Eighty people have been moved as homes were evacuated and a 200-metre radius has been set up as part of the operation.

A police spokesman said: Due to concerns for safety of the man at the address and the responding officers, police did not attempt to access the property.

Scene: Several police vans are parked at Northolt leisure centre as part of the operation / Steve Carroll

Police cordons are in place, at a 200-metre radius, to facilitate the ongoing policing operation.

Armed officers and negotiators are present.

For safety reasons approximately 80 people have been temporarily re-housed from the immediate area of the address.

Scene: Police were called to Northolt just before 1am (@LFaurePhotos ) / @LFaurePhotos

At this stage police believe there is one man inside the address.

Whilst it is not known what the man has inside the property, police are treating seriously reports that the items could be dangerous and that attempts have been made by the man to prevent access to the address.

Police are working with the London Ambulance Service; London Fire Brigade and the Local Authority.

Police said the incident was not terror-related.

"Police everywhere": Residents reported seeing a sea of emergency vehicles (@LFaurePhotos ) / @LFaurePhotos

Residents in Northolt said they were stunned as they awoke to roads placed on lockdown amid a sea of emergency vehicles.

Steve Carroll, 42, from Hayes, told Get West London armed police had taken over the leisure centre car park after an "emergency" was declared.

He said: "We got there around 8.20am for kids swimming lessons.

"Dangerous items": Police were responding to reports a man is inside a home surrounded by "hazardous items" (@LFaurePhotos ) / @LFaurePhotos

"When we arrived there was one car outside with lights on. By the time we parked in the leisure centre car park and walked round to the entrance there was 3 cars and 3 vans.

"When we were coming out about 9:45am the car park was blocked off by police and there was police cars and vans everywhere. Armed police there too."

Dr Rekha Elaswarapu told the Standard: I was driving to the leisure centre at around 7.45am and I just saw police vans everywhere.

When I eventually got there, five vans were parked at the leisure centre. We dont know what is happening.

I have never seen anything like this on such a mass scale in Northolt.
A notorious teenage hacker who was the brains behind more than 1.7 million cyber attacks around the world is facing jail.

Adam Mudd, 19, sold access to his Titanium Stresser programme, allowing users to crash websites and computers by overloading them with requests.

He is believed to have made more than 300,000 before his 18th birthday through subscriptions to his programme, which fueled 1,738,828 cyber attacks around the globe between September 2013 and March last year.

Mudd designed the distributed denial of service (DDoS) software from his bedroom when he was just 15, first roadtesting it by crashing the West Herts Colleges website while he was studying computer science there.

He used the programme nearly 600 times himself, attacking 181 victims under the username themuddfamily, the Old Bailey heard.

Mudd, who was accompanied to court by his mother, today (fri) pleaded guilty to doing unauthorised acts with intent to impair the operation of a computer, a charge of making, supplying or offering to supply the Titanium Stresser programme, and concealing criminal property.

Titanium Stresser is a computer programme created by the defendant, and it is not an unimpressive piece of software in terms of design, said prosecutor Jonathan Polnay.

It carried out DDoS attacks and it takes down computer networks and websites.

The defendant charged for use of it, to others all around the world  these offences truly had a global reach  would pay money to use this programme.

There were 1.7m attack, taking down websites and computers all around the world, no doubt causing considerable damage and loss to others.

Mr Polnay added the Titanium Stresser logged each use, and the court will hear about the global impact of Mudds programme when he is sentenced in December.

The software code was also reportedly copied by notorious hackers the Lizard Squad, who claims to have successfully overloaded victims including Microsoft, Sony, and Instagram.

Ben Cooper, representing Mudd, said the teenager, who still lives with his parents and is working as a hotel porter, has been diagnosed as autistic and is being psychologically evaluated.

Judge Michael Topolski QC freed him on bail until sentencing on December 16, and banned him from using any devices connected to the internet.

This is a case thats somewhat unusual and of considerable seriousness, he said.

A 19-year-old man has just pleaded guilty to mounting significant attacks via computer on websites around the world, and netting a very considerable sum of money.

The judge added that a spell in a youth offenders institution will be considered when he returned to court for sentencing.

Following the guilty pleas, Detective Inspector Martin Peters, the head of the cyber crime unit that snared the teenager, said: Adam Mudds case is a regrettable one, because this young man clearly has a lot of skill, but he has been utilising that talent for personal gain at the expense of others.

We want to make clear it is not our wish to unnecessarily criminalise young people, but want to harness those skills before they accelerate into crime.

Mudd, of Toms Lane, Kingsley Langley, pleaded guilty to all three charges against him.


A 19-year-old man is today being questioned by police in connection with an alleged bomb threat on the Jubilee line.

The teenager was chased down Holloway Road by armed police yesterday before he was Tasered and taken into custody.

Detectives are today continuing to quiz the man who is suspected of commissioning, preparing and instigating a terror attack.

No charges have been brought so far.

Holloway Road: A 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of terror offences / BBC

His arrest comes after North Greenwich station was put on lockdown for eight hours when a suspect item was found inside a packed train on Thursday.

It was later detonated by bomb experts in a controlled explosion.

The teenager, who has not been identified, was ambushed by five officers as he walked past London Metropolitan University on Friday.

Police investigation: Officers swarmed on the busy shopping street / io/Twitter

A witness told The Standard the man had been "walking normally" down the busy Holloway Road before officers ran from behind him, shouted "armed police" and tackled him to the floor.

Ali, 30, said: "They got him on the floor straight away but he was struggling for five minutes as they tried to arrest him. It was very uncomfortable to watch.

"It was terrible to see as the university is so close and there were lots of young people around."

Police at Holloway Road incident

He went on: "The guy was white with long shoulder-length hair and a beard.

"He was wearing a long coat and blue jeans, it didn't look like he had shaved in a while.

"They had him on the floor for almost 15 minutes before they threw him in the back of a custody van.

Terror arrest: The man was chased by armed police / BBC

"The scene was closed for about 45 minutes but there were lots of people around very shocked."

Workers in nearby Dirty Burger restaurant described hearing police sirens and seeing people rushing to see what had happened.

A member of staff at a nearby cafe said the police carried out a very "calm, professional" operation.

North Greenwich station cordoned off due to suspect package

"There wasn't much panic as they had it all under control with officers blocking off the street," she added.

A spokesman for London Metropolitan University said: "We are aware of an arrest on Friday afternoon on Holloway Road.

"Given the proximity of the arrest to our Islington campus, we are in contact with the police to ensure the safety of our students and staff."

Cordoned off: The scene inside North Greenwich station (Daniel O'Mahony) / Daniel O'Mahony

Scotland Yard said officers from the Mets Counter Terrorism Command - backed up by armed colleagues - arrested the 19-year-old in the street in Holloway Road at 12:20pm.

A spokeswoman said: Officers discharged a Taser during the arrest. No firearms were discharged.

The 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorism acts, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He has been taken to a London police station where he remains in custody.

The Met and British Transport Police have been working tirelessly since the item was found to follow up all potential leads.

Officers are keeping an open mind regarding any possible motive. They are not looking for anyone else in relation to this investigation at this stage.

Police continue to appeal to anyone with information to call the Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. The public is urged to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police through the anti-Terrorist Hotline or in an emergency 999.
C ounter-terror detectives have been given extra time to quiz a 19-year-old over an alleged bomb plot on the Tube.

The teenager was arrested yesterday afternoon in Holloway Road during a swoop by police on the busy shopping street.

He was eventually detained on suspicion of terror offences after being Tasered.

It came after a suspicious device found on board a Jubilee Line train at North Greenwich station brought chaos to the transport system on Thursday.

The device was eventually detonated by the bomb squad in a controlled explosion on the device, which was reported to have been handed to a Tube driver and possibly contained wires and a clock.

Today, detectives were granted a warrant of further detention, granting them six extra days, as they continued to question the teenager in London.

Meanwhile, forensics teams continued to search an address in Newton Abbot, Devon, linked to the investigation today.

Earlier, a cordon was set up around the property after police came across a second "suspicious item" inside.

Police at Holloway Road incident

Residents from nearby homes were told to leave while police investigated the item, which they later deemed to be safe.

A spokesman for the Met said this evening they had been working "tirelessly" to follow up all leads since the first item was found.

He said: "Officers are keeping an open mind regarding any possible motive. They are not looking for anyone else in relation to this investigation at this stage."

Police have stepped up aptrols on the capital's transport system today in a bid to provide reassurance.

Anyone with information is being urged to call the Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.
T his is the first photo of Vincent Harvey who was knifed to death outside a pub in north London this morning.

The 33-year-old died after being stabbed outside the Jolly Anglers in Station Road, Wood Green, at around 3.20am.

Despite paramedics rushing to the scene, Mr Harvey was pronounced dead shortly after they arrived.

The road was cordoned off by police this morning as forensics officers combed for clues to what happened.

Murder probe: Police are investigating after a young man was stabbed to death in Wood Green / Matthew Chattle/Rex Features

Police said there had been a large number of people outside the pub before Mr Harvey was knifed but many of them had not yet come forward.

Today, Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh appealed on behalf of the mans devastated family for potential witnesses to help catch the killer.

He said: "This murder has left Vincent's family devastated and has been a big shock to the local community.

Taped off: Station Road in Wood Green has been shut after a man was stabbed to death / MPS Haringey

There were a large number of people in and around the Jolly Anglers pub at the time Vincent was stabbed. Many of these are yet to come forward and speak with police.

"It is vital that anyone who saw this incident, or the events leading up to the incident, gets in touch.

"Many people present may have filmed the incident or have photos of the aftermath that could help police.

"While work continues to piece together Vincent's movements prior to his murder, I would directly appeal witnesses to come forward and speak to officers - you may hold invaluable information to assist us in this investigation following the death of a much loved family man."

Anyone with information on what happened, or who have footage of the incident, should call police on 020 8785 8099, the police non-emergency line on 101 or Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111.
B arking and Dagenham is the least prosperous area in the entire capital and one of the worst in the UK, according to a new study.

According to the UK Prosperity Index, which looks things like education, health and well-being alongside the local economy, the east London borough is bottom of the pile in the capital.

And Barking was also placed 382nd in the country for prosperity by think tank the Legatum Institute, just seven places above bottom-ranked Kingston Upon Hull.

Newham, Haringey, Hackney and Lewisham were all ranked towards the bottom of the list, while Richmond was judged the best in London.

Waverley in Surrey, meanwhile, topped the survey and was praised for its historic market towns, quality of life and an unemployment rate of just 0.1 per cent.

The news comes months after Barking and Dagenham was named the most miserable place in the UK by RightMove.

In a robust defence, the local council said the property company was having a giraffe, saying: The borough is Londons growth opportunity with tens of thousands of homes and jobs in the pipeline  our horizon, like Barcelona, is blooming beautiful.

The Legatum Institute claimed that, nationally, the areas where people earned the least and had less opportunities were predictors of a high number of votes for Brexit.

Report author Harriet Maltby said: The UKs cities are letting down many of their residents by failing to turn their higher wealth into real prosperity, a prosperity as much about wellbeing as wealth.

Theyre failing because they are struggling to provide basic life chances to the large numbers who live there.

She said: If there is no good school for your child, your environment and lifestyle is unhealthy, and you dont have people around you to depend on, then many more life opportunities are closed to you.

Theresa May is right to focus on those who feel left behind because this Index proves they have been.
D ramatic footage has emerged of the moment a heroic railway worker grabbed a young man as he attempted to leap over the edge of a bridge 35ft above the ground.

Maintenance staff at London Bridge station apprehended the man after he apparently wandered onto live rails.

On video, the man is heard saying to workers I would rather you guys beat me up and kill me before making a desperate dart to the wall.

He was chased by quick-thinking engineers who grabbed him as he appeared to climb over. According to reports the wall had a 35ft drop on the other side.

Heroic worker: The man grabs the boy as he tries to jump over the wall / Youtube

The workers then pinned the man of the ground where several of them are heard saying you nearly killed yourself in an expletive-laden confrontation.

On YouTube, the worker who grabbed the man has been named as Francis Tuinasakea, a Colman Rail Services contractor.

A caption to the video reads: Selfless act of bravery by railway workers my pal Francis Tuinasakea saving a dillusional (sic) drunk who was trespassing on live open tracks at London Bridge.

He then tried to jump over the wall 35 ft drop and was over till Francis grabbed him and pulled him back.

It is not known when the footage was taken or whether police were called to the station.

London Bridge is currently undergoing a 1 billion facelift to prevent overcrowding at the busy station.

The works are due for completion in January 2018 in which 15 platforms will serve 80 trains an hour.
T en fire engines and over 70 firefighters tackled a blaze raging through a garage and office block in east London.

Huge plumes of black smoke were seen billowing out of the premises in Hackney, where there were fears there may have been gas.

Firefighters are not yet sure whether there is someone still inside the buildings on Lamb Lane but a London Fire Brigade spokeswoman said the garage was "totally alight".

She added that firefighters are concerned about gas cylinders close by to the fire in the car workshop.

Building fire: Firefighters are tackling the blaze (@RukayaC_ ) / @RukayaC_

Rukaya Cesar was in nearby Netil Market when she saw smoke pouring out of the building.

She said: "We were just leaving and there was some light smoke coming out, and then it became really intense really quickly.

Fire: Smoke rises above Hackney after a blaze broke out (@rimzie84 ) / @rimzie84

"I heard sirens coming down the street almost immediately and there are about five fire engines here, as well as police.

"They have closed off the area and are trying to keep people away from the fire.

Huge blaze in east London building

"There is a garage and it is next to a church so I am not sure whether the fire has spread to both."

Ms Cesar added that they had not seen anyone coming out of the building.

Gareth Jones, 38, was near Broadway Market when the blaze broke out.

"Acrid smoke": Firefighters were called to reports a garage was completely alight / Logan Banks

He said: "I was just getting a coffee when I saw thick plumes of smoke rising overhead.

"I got on my bike to investigate and saw, police, fire and ambulances as flames poured out of the building.

"There was lots of acrid smoke and quite a few people watching on but they have since dispersed."

A statement on the London Fire Brigade website said: "The car workshop plus five cars were completely damaged by the fire. Around half of an adjacent three floor building which is a converted office block was also damaged by the fire.

"Firefighters cooled a propane cylinder and worked hard to prevent the fire spreading further.

"Ten fire engines and an aerial ladder platform were at the scene from stations including Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Shadwell, Stoke Newington and Whitechapel fire stations.

"The Brigade was called at 1.15pm and the fire was under control at 3.35pm but crews are expected to be at the scene damping down for some time.

"The cause of the fire is under investigation."
A ctress Carey Mulligan joined hundreds on the streets of London this afternoon calling for the Government to end the bloodshed in Syria.

Large crowds gathered in Whitehall, including children wearing "Save Aleppo" t-shirts and other people carrying placards urging a "No bomb zone now", while some flew Syrian flags.

Ms Mulligan joined the demonstration just opposite the gates to Downing Street, where teddy bears were later laid in a poignant message from campaigners about the human cost of the long-running conflict.

A small light brown-coloured teddy belonging to The Great Gatsby star's one-year-old daughter Evelyn was among the pile, and the actress said becoming a parent has motivated her to help.

She said: "Since having my daughter it just drives home even more how unimaginable it would be for my daughter to be in any of these situations and to have to deal with any of this.

Mulligan: "We have made a strong stance this week." / EPA

"It just really drives me to speak out and do more if I can."

She described the demonstration as the opportunity to "stand up and say that we need to do something real".

Mulligan, an ambassador for War Child, has previously spoken out to say the inaction in Calais where many unaccompanied refugee children became stranded in the so-called Jungle camp, made her ashamed to be British.

Regarding the arrival of young refugees in Croydon in recent days, she said: "I feel very proud to be British in this regard. We have made a strong stance this week."

Protest: A letter has been delivered to Downing Street calling for action to end the violence / PA

A letter was also delivered to Number 10 demanding Theresa May take action to help end the violence.

It comes after the Prime Minister insisted on Friday the EU must keep "all options" open if Russia continues to commit atrocities in the conflict zone.

Campaigners said the day of action is a rebuttal to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's call for protests outside the Russian embassy - as they feel the British Government needs to play a stronger role itself.

Labour MP Alison McGovern's voice broke with emotion as she remembered her friend the late Jo Cox MP's work in helping civilians in Syria.

She told the rally: "It shouldn't be me who is speaking here today, it should be my friend Jo Cox, but because she isn't here, we have to be here.

"Fifty thousand children have been killed in Syria since 2011, and millions have fled their homes.

"There are 100,000 children trapped right now in Aleppo."

Among the other organisations involved in the campaign are Amnesty International UK, Avaaz and Christian Aid.

Bert Wander, Avaaz campaign director, said: "The bloodbath in Aleppo has gone on long enough, and Theresa May must listen to the people on the streets and support a no-fly zone to stop the slaughter.

"How many schools, hospitals and families must be bombed before Syria becomes a priority? If the prime minister fails to act, history will judge her harshly. "
P residential hopeful Donald Trump has promised the United States election will be Brexit times five as he encourages supporters to cast their votes.

The Republican candidate was speaking at a Rally in Newton, Pennsylvania, when he compared the inaccurate predictions of the referendum result to his own campaign.

Mr Trump, who is down in the polls, reminded his audience that the result could still defy expectations just like the vote for the UK to leave the EU.

He shouted to cheering crowds: Either we win this election or we lose the country.

"And believe me, this is the last time we are going to have a chance to win.

This is it folks, this is it. We have to get everybody together, we have to get out and vote.

Believe me, this is Brexit times five. You watch whats going to happen.

Mr Trump has relished telling supporters that he predicted the unexpected outcome of the EU referendum.

And he is now using this argument to suggest that the US polls could be wrong.

He is also vehemently insisting that the press is biased and the election is rigged.

At his rallies in North Carolina he said media bosses are the most dishonest people, as his supporters chanted CNN sucks.
H oney G shows no signs of slowing down on The X Factor  with the judges raving about her latest performance.

The rapper, who hails from North Weezy (or, north west London) tackled the Diva Week theme with aplomb, covering Vanilla Ice hit Ice Ice Baby.

Simon Cowell hinted that she might win the show due to her enduring popularity.

Ive had so many calls about you compared to everybody else, he admitted.

I was a hater, like you talked about when we first met. Youre turning this around  you win when people are talking about you, and a lot of people are talking about you right now.

Nicole Scherzinger also praised Honey, remarking that she was improving each time she performs.

Your flow is actually getting better each week, she confessed. I was impressed by that.

Honey Gs mentor Sharon Osbourne warned her to stay true to who you are, but added: You had an awful lot to learn this week, and you nailed it, you delivered.

Speaking to Dermot OLeary after her performance, Honey said: Ive never stepped it up like this before.

Ive had a taste of the X Factor 2016 and I want more.

X Factor 2016 Live Finalists 1 /16 X Factor 2016 Live Finalists Bratavio Syco/Thames/Burmiston Honey G Syco/Thames/Burmiston Relley C Syco/Thames/Burmiston Brooks Way Syco/Thames/Burmiston Sam Lavery Syco/Thames/Burmiston 5 After Midnight Syco/Thames/Burmiston Matt Terry Syco/Thames/Burmiston Saara Aalto Syco/Thames/Burmiston Ryan Lawrie Syco/Thames/Burmiston Gifty Louise Syco/Thames/Burmiston Freddy Parker Syco/Thames/Burmiston Emily Middlemass Syco/Thames/Burmiston

However, the rapper did not place her trademark H to the O to the N to the E to the Y to the G to the Honey G verse into the song, which samples David Bowie and Freddie Mercurys Under Pressure.

According to The Mirror, the David Bowie estate banned her from making any changes to the original.

Bowies estate have been very reluctant in letting her use the song, she cant make it her own in any way and must stick to Vanilla Ices version, a source said.

The previous week saw Honey G cover The Notorious BIG's Mo Money Mo Problems, which samples I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross, during Motown week.

ITV, Saturday, 8pm
Ontario has nominated George L. Cooke as the new Chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

Mr. Cooke has decades of senior leadership experience, including more than 20 years as President and CEO of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company. He is also Chair of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Administration Corporation and the Canadian National Insurance Crime Services. In January 2015, Mr. Cooke was appointed as a member of Ontario's advisory committee reviewing the mandates of The Financial Services Commission of Ontario, The Financial Services Tribunal and The Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario.

His work on major boards and organizations supporting periods of transformative change has provided Mr. Cooke with the skills, experience and perspective to support the OLG as it continues to implement its modernization plan over the next three years.

The government thanks Phil Olsson, the outgoing OLG Chair, for his years of service. Mr. Olsson played a key role in helping to put the horse racing sector on a stable and sustainable track and has positioned the OLG to continue with the modernization of its operations.

Mr. Cooke is a seasoned and accomplished business leader. His experience and success make him the perfect candidate to lead OLG, including our governments approach to horse racing, through a period of significant transformation and growth, said Minister of Finance Charles Sousa. Modernization is a significant business transformation for OLG, and having the right leadership in place will be critical to successfully see this initiative through.

I am honoured to be nominated as the next Chair of OLG, Cooke said. I am looking forward to building on the great work already accomplished by OLG, moving forward on its transformational modernization plan and continuing to deliver strong financial returns to the province.

(OLG)
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan at its meeting Friday at Ponca State Park.

The plan will serve as a guide for future development and desired conditions at Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala state recreation areas for the next 20 years. Among the plans goals are to provide quality memorable experiences for users through diverse recreational opportunities, to increase visitation during non-peak periods, and to protect threatened and endangered species.

This plan provides a road map for managing these important and popular recreation areas in the best long-term interests of the resources, our guests and the surrounding communities, Game and Parks director Jim Douglas said.

Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala are two of Nebraskas most popular tourist attractions. Visitors come from across Nebraska and beyond to boat, fish, swim and camp, among other outdoor pursuits. These lakes also are a haven for wildlife. Two threatened and endangered species nest at the lakes  the interior least tern and the piping plover  and many other species use the lakes and the surrounding land.

The lakes are owned by the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District. Recreation on the lakes is managed by the commission through a lease with CNPPID.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works in partnership with the commission and CNPPID to make sure that the threatened and endangered species that use the lake are conserved. The Lake McConaughy area provides great recreational value to Nebraska, and this plan will incrementally guide future development to meet the needs for visitors.

In other business, the commission amended park regulations to reflect statutory changes to resident vehicle entry permit fees and amended park regulations to create a separate vehicle entry fee for nonresidents. The new resident permit fees are $30 for an annual, $6 for a daily and $15 for a duplicate annual. The permit fees for vehicles not registered and licensed in Nebraska are $45 for an annual, $8 for a daily and $22.50 for a duplicate annual. All of these park entry fees are scheduled to become effective on Jan. 1, 2017.

In addition, the commission:

 Changed regulations regarding updates of game breeding and controlled shooting area permit language and special depredation order language.

 Authorized one bighorn sheep auction permit and one bighorn sheep lottery permit for 2017.

 Changed regulations regarding camping restrictions at some wildlife management areas.

 Approved an acquisition of 57.37 acres of land adjacent to Platte River SP in Cass County and designated it as an addition to the park.

 Changed the fee schedule for the Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln, lowering some firearm range fees and annual passes and creating monthly passes to accommodate new and beginning shooters.

 Heard a report from Keith Cline on special hunting opportunities for people with special needs.

 Heard a staff update on big game hunting seasons.

 Approved its 2017 meeting schedule as follows: Jan. 19-20, Lincoln; March 16-17, Grand Island; April 20-21, Norfolk; June 21-22, Scottsbluff; Aug. 16-17, North Platte; and Oct. 19-20, Omaha.

The commission rejected:

 A staff recommendation to change the start of shooting hours for upland game and webless migratory birds (rail, snipe, woodcock, dove, grouse, pheasant, quail, partridge, cottontail and squirrel) from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunrise.

 A staff recommendation to change game breeding and controlled shooting area regulations regarding updating language on buying and selling birds, extending the hunting season, extending the date for annual paperwork to be submitted and the change in shooting hours for controlled shooting areas.
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Readers can write to Joe at Joehud@hotmail.com and Facebook. He is the author of Big Decisions are Best Made with Hot Dogs."
Eric Trump, son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, stopped in Statesville Friday afternoon to campaign on behalf of his father.

With his wife, Lara -- a North Carolina native -- Eric Trump reiterated many of the talking points that have continued to be the basis of his fathers campaign.

Here are a few of his assertions:

The country is a mess

We have a country that is a total mess  We have more people underemployed than ever before. We have more people on food stamps than ever before. Median income hasnt gone up in 15 years. People havent gotten a raise in the United States in 15 years.

Businesses are failing

More businesses every year are closing than opening. Weve lost one third of all manufacturing jobs since Bill Clinton signed NAFTA ... We have the highest taxation in the world. Our businesses are strangled by regulation.

We have an insurmountable debt

Weve got $22 trillion worth of debt. Its grown $11 trillion under President Obama. In 7.5 years, the debt has grown eleven 11 trillion dollars. Think about that. Hillary Clinton said  in the next decade I would like to reduce our debt by $1.6 trillion. Weve increased it 11 trillion dollars in seven years, and youre going to decrease it by 1.6 trillion over 10 years? Were not exactly going to get to the promised land that way.

Public education is lagging

We have an educational system ranked 30th in the world. Reading comprehension is number 34 in the world. Math skills are 37th in the world.

The military is ineffectual

We have a military that is the most depleted its ever been. We have the lowest level of readiness. We have the least amount of troops weve ever had. We have the least amount of ships weve ever had. Were flying aircrafts, the B-52, originally dated in 1950. 1950  Thats our strategic bomb. Weve been fighting ISIS and terrorists for the last 15 years.

Other countries dont respect the U.S.

President Obama landed in China a couple weeks ago and they didnt even bring a staircase. The president had to get off using a ladder on the bottom part of the plane. He might be on a different side than all of us, but hes still president of the United States and that is still Air Force One.  The Chinese have so little respect for us they wouldnt even send a staircase, no red carpet, no marching band, no generals, and no foreign dignitaries. He had to get off the service entrance of a plane.

Care for veterans is a disgrace

Twenty-two veterans take their lives every single day. The VA is a disaster. Denver just tried to build a hospital that was supposed to cost $500 million. Its going to cost $2.1 billion and theyre years away from being complete. You just cant make this up. Were going to take care of our vets. Were going to take care of our military. Were going to start taking care of our law enforcement because they are the greatest people.

America will return to greatness

Well no longer be afraid to say "Merry Christmas" or the Pledge of Allegiance. Were not going to take In God we trust off the United States currency. Were going to make this country strong again. Were going to make this country wealthy again. Were going to make this country great again.

It is unbelievable the world we live in and we need to take it back from this crooked system.
When Whitney Gilbert and Shadese (DeeDee) Griffith began dating more than a year ago, neither could have expected that they and their family w
More Iredell County residents are seeing a dentist annually, according to the 2015 Iredell County Health Assessment.

The study says that 5 percent more residents reported going to the dentist over the past five years. In 2011, the amount was 68.5 percent and by 2015 that number jumped to 73.5 percent.

Iredell County remains well above the state average for adults who use dental care services, according to Alec Parker, executive director at North Carolina Dental Society.

What led to the increase in visits?

To some degree, the improvement in dental insurance coverage has helped, Parker said.

That increase was due to the Affordable Care Act, according to the American Dental Association. Under the act, coverage was expanded and allowed people with a household income between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty line to purchase health insurance, according to the ADA.

Locally, health officials have pushed the issue with community outreach activities such as visiting the schools to talk about dental health, as well as providing employers, churches and community organizations with information about dental health and the health departments clinic, according to Megan Redford, Iredell County Department of Health public information officer.

The health department also advertises services on social media and in local news outlets, Redford added.

Why do some still resist treatment?

For many, the lack of dental pain can lull them into thinking they have no issues, said dentist Lindsay Spears of Carolina Crossroads Dental Care on Davie Avenue.

She said scheduling conflicts also play a role.

The ADA recommends going for a checkup every six months.

Regular checkups allow your dentist to catch problems earlier, while theyre minor and hopefully easier to treat, Spears said. Good oral health is an important part of good overall health.

Routine exams can result in cheaper procedures, and they allow dentists to detect early signs of infections such as periodontal disease, tooth decay, attrition and oral cancer, said Statesville dentist Joseph Perry.

How does poor dental health affect a person?

Some people require more frequent visits every three to four months so their disease doesnt progress, he added.

If an infection is left untreated, it can lead to serious issues, Spears said. Infections can spread to other parts of the body.

Perry said cardiovascular disease and other health risks have been linked to periodontal disease, including digestive problems.

If you have pain when eating/chewing or missing teeth, you may not be able to chew your food properly for good digestion, he said. Dental decay can lead to severe infections which can be life threatening.

Advice for upkeep between visits

Spears recommends two things to help keep a mouth healthy: brushing twice a day and foregoing sugary drinks and sticky candy which can cause decay.

Along with brushing, Perry recommends using floss and approved ADA antibacterial rinse. Some medications and hereditary traits can also affect the gums and teeth, he added.

But nothing compares to an oral exam and yearly X-rays by your dentist, Perry said.

---

Need help?

The Iredell County Health Department Dental Clinic provides services to adults and children in the county, said Megan Redford, Iredell County Department of Health public information officer.

Residents without insurance or Medicaid can qualify to have services rendered on a sliding scale discount.

The Dental Clinic is at 318 Turnersburg Highway, Statesville. The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Former President Ion Iliescu has stated, on Saturday, that between himself and late Liberal leader Radu Campeanu there was a relationship of reciprocal esteem, respect and friendship.

The former head of state laid a wreath of flowers at the bier of Radu Campeanu. The coffin carrying the body of the Liberal leader was lain in repose, on Saturday morning, in the central hall of the Senate.

Evoking the start of the 90s, Iliescu said that he contributed, together with Radu Campeanu, to "the construction of a political structure adequate to the times."

"I wanted to express some warm thoughts towards Mr. Campeanu, with which I had a collaboration that we both appreciated. We met in January 1990, we contributed together to the construction of a political structure adequate to the times, when the explosion of political parties appeared. After the decree-law of 31 December [regarding the establishment of parties], on 1 February there were already 30 parties established. Then we had a first meeting with the chairmen of the first 30 parties and we established the CPUN [Provisional Council of National Union]. It was an appropriate invention for the times. Mr. Campeanu was Vicepresident of this institution," Iliescu said.

He emphasized that he had a relationship of reciprocal respect with Radu Campeanu, including the period in which the latter was Deputy Speaker of the Senate.

"It was the period in which we collaborated directly and I believe that in our history, of building the new Romanian democracy, it was like a school for all of us who participated and were part of this institution, but also for the country, because the most interesting spectacles took place in CPUN debates. These debates were televised and the people, in the evening, stayed in front of the TV to watch the show. It was an interesting period and a political school for all of us. Later, he was elected to the Senate, he was Deputy Speaker of the Senate, we had direct contact, so we met, we appreciated each other and a relationship of real friendship and reciprocal esteem remained," Iliescu added.

Asked of the electoral campaign of 1990, Iliescu said that it was the most beautiful political debate of candidates for the presidency.

"I believe it was the most beautiful electoral campaign, and the most beautiful political debate of candidates for the supreme position in the state, with Mr. Campeanu and Mr. Ratiu. I remember, Razvan Theodorescu was moderating, together with Victor Ionescu and Emanuel Valeriu. They moderated and we had two hours scheduled, but at the request of the spectators, the debate went on until midnight. It will remain, I believe, in history. It was the first time the people saw something like this. A free debate, of three candidates for the country's presidency. It was a show and a political school for us but also for the citizens. Thus, I lived a common history with Mr. Campeanu and that is why, between us there was a reciprocal esteem, respect and friendship relationship," Iliescu said.

Liberal leader Radu Campeanu died on Wednesday at the age of 94.

agerpres.
Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said that he has heard, on Friday, only words of appreciation regarding the professionalism of the Romanian servicemen deployed in Sarajevo and Pristina.

"I have heard today only words of appreciation regarding Romanian servicemen on mission in Sarajevo and Pristina from the EUFOR, NATO and KFOR commanders in regards to the professional manner in which they perform their missions in the Western Balkans and the excellent impression they leave with colleagues from other countries with which they collaborate. I visited them around the Day of the Romanian Army with the though that, when making decisions, you must know not only the content of reports on missions but also the perspectives on the ground. I thanked them and assured them of the support they have at home because I consider we owe them for the consistent contribution of past years to the good reputation Romania has as a state that is more and more present as a security provider in the area and around the world," said Prime Minister Ciolos, on Friday evening, on Facebook.

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and Minister of National Defence, Mihnea Motoc, have conducted a visit to servicemen deployed in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

agerpres.
Romania will continue negotiations with Canada for visa liberalization regardless of the result of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations, said, on Friday, President Klaus Iohannis, after the Canadian Minister of Commerce, Chrystia Freeland, has confirmed the failure of negotiations carried out with the representatives of the Belgian region of Wallonia.

He also showed that Wallonia still has reserves regarding CETA, and the European Council has not reached an agreement with this region.

The head of state also declared himself optimistic regarding the conclusion of CETA.

The European Commission has not renounced the signing of the free trade agreement with Canada (CETA), despite the failure of the last negotiations carried out on Friday with the French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia, which blocked the signing of the agreement, sources say.

Romania and Bulgaria removed their objections with regards to the agreement, following negotiations that resulted in an agreement with the Canadian side on the topic of visa liberalization, and as such, all government in the EU have expressed approval for the signing of the treaty, except Belgium, which requires agreement from all its five federal provinces before expressing approval.

agerpres.
ST. LOUIS  Area police leaders have had a mixed reaction to an apology from the head of one of the largest police organizations in the country for the role that the profession has played in societys historical mistreatment of minorities.

Terrence Cunningham, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said at the groups annual conference Monday that police had historically been a face of oppression, enforcing laws that ensured legalized discrimination and denial of basic rights.

While we obviously cannot change the past, it is clear that we must change the future, Cunningham said. We must forge a path that allows us to move beyond our history and identify common solutions to better protect our communities.

For our part, the first step in this process is for law enforcement and the [International Association of Chiefs of Police] to acknowledge and apologize for the actions of the past and the role that our profession has played in societys historical mistreatment of communities of color.

Cunningham received a standing ovation from thousands of law enforcement officials, including Ferguson Chief Delrish Moss.

I was actually surprised, pleasantly so, because the fact that an organization as respected and as large as the IACP thought it best to apologize is a great first step in starting to move the dialogue forward, and Id love to see other police organizations follow suit, Moss said.

Moss said he appreciated Cunninghams recognition that police had been the face of oppressive laws.

When Rosa Parks sat on the bus, it was the police who were called to arrest her, he said. The truth is that because of laws that were passed, police officers were the enforcement arm of the law, and enforcement has a part in that oppression.

Moss said thousands of people were in the room for Cunninghams speech.

The fact that people rose to their feet, applauding, spoke volumes, he said.

Maryland Heights Chief William Carson was among them.

Asked if he joined in the standing ovation, Carson said only that he applauded. He also is the president of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association.

I see both sides of the issue, Carson said. He took it upon himself to apologize for things that were done many years in the past and that he was not involved in, but I understand weve got a lot of work to do, and if this helps us move forward, then Im supportive of that in terms of our relationship with the community.

Police organizations including the national chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement criticizing Cunninghams remarks, saying, in part, that Words and apologies do not adequately address the current issues facing law enforcement and the communities that we serve.

The organization suggested the focus should be on what can be done about modern day problems.

Missouri Fraternal Order of Police president Rick Inglima said Cunninghams remarks were like pointing to the sins of the father.

To refocus on the past as opposed to working on the future doesnt adequately address the problems, Inglima said. The focus should be on how do we address problems right now?

We have to acknowledge that the officers of today are not to blame for the injustices of the past.

Moss called criticism of Cunninghams remarks a small-minded approach.

You cant run from reality, these things happened and youre never going to get past them unless you first acknowledge them and start working to move forward, he said.

St. Louis Chief Sam Dotson echoed Moss remarks. He did not attend the conference but has read Cunninghams remarks.

I heard a progressive leader talking about his profession and realizing that we are better today than we were years ago, but we still have places to grow, he said. It doesnt help anybody if we deny our history or our past, and we are in a better place today because of what has happened to us.

Dotson said he didnt take Cunninghams statements as an apology but as an acknowledgement.

Any progressive chief already knew the things he said and were already working on them, he said. Thats why he got a standing ovation.

St. Louis County Chief Jon Belmar was unavailable for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ST. LOUIS  A federal drug agent denied in testimony here Friday that he ever slept with a confidential informer, but he admitted developing a personal relationship with her.

The conduct of Keith Cromer, who was a group supervisor at the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Atlanta, is the subject of a continuing hearing on whether charges can move to trial against four alleged St. Louis drug ring members  two of them accused of murder.

Officials have acknowledged that allegations of impropriety involving Cromer and a woman known as CS1, for confidential source 1, are the subject of an internal investigation by the DEA and a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

CS1 has been paid $212,000 in DEA funds for her help with cases, and played a role in providing information for a wiretap order that investigators said helped bring down the St. Louis ring.

According to documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, defense attorneys are using information provided by federal prosecutors to claim that DEA investigators may have used CS1 to vouch for improperly obtained information or even their hunches.

The lawyers have questioned whether there was ever evidence to prove several of the claims that prompted a judge to approve wiretapping in the St. Louis case.

Cromer told U.S. Magistrate Judge Shirley Padmore Mensah, Theres no salacious activity going on.

He acknowledged turning to CS1 for comfort after his son died of leukemia in 2011, saying the DEAs employee assistance program had failed him. He said he was depressed, anxious and had survivors guilt, but was afraid to let anyone else know.

In hiding, I chose the wrong person, he said.

He said he and CS1 had been to dinner, were in the same theater to see a Three Stooges movie and had been on two vacations, but stayed in separate rooms and were never intimate. He said sometimes his brother, who was dating CS1s neighbor, had invited her along. Cromer is married, or was at the time.

He denied falsifying reports to justify payments to CS1, and said no subordinates had either.

Theres nothing wrong with the work, he insisted. That work is solid.

CS1 was paid $2,500 per month by the DEA. Cromer said that there was no written agreement but that her work was recorded each month to justify her payment. He said that the agency had the same arrangement with others and that his supervisors were aware of it.

Cromer said the allegations of impropriety surfaced in May 2014. By June 2015, his security clearance had been revoked. He said DEA investigators just took it on faith that he committed misconduct.

But, he said, Nobody asked me about it.

Twice during Fridays questioning, Cromer asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. In one instance, the judge said he already waived it by testifying on Wednesday. Later, he invoked it when asked about his relationship with CS1 but then answered the questions anyway.

Cromer has not been charged. He said Friday that he had been suspended.

He suggested that CS1 made the allegations after realizing the potential consequences of her cooperation with the DEA, including possible exposure as a source.

Testimony in secret

It is not known what CS1 said in court about the relationship. She testified Monday in a closed hearing. Much of this weeks testimony was taken in secret, with a reporter kept out.

The Post-Dispatch reported online Monday night that defense lawyers for four St. Louis suspects claim the allegation against Comer should result in disqualifying key evidence in the case.

The four, Dionne L. Gatling, Andre Alphonso Rush, Timothy Lamont Rush and Lorenzo Gibbs, were indicted in 2014 on various federal drug-related charges. Gatling and Andre Rush have also been charged and accused of a role in two murders here.

Defense allegations appear to have been somewhat weakened by what testimony was made in open court this week.

A retired DEA agent, John Harvey, said some of the money paid to CS1 was for work done for him that resulted in a valuable seizure. He said agents were forbidden from even being alone with sources, much less having a personal relationship.

He said that an arms-length relationship was necessary to protect the integrity of the whole process.

Harvey also testified that CS1 contacted him in 2014 about a relationship she was having and other problems with the agency, including threats she had received after being outed as a DEA source. Those threats have continued, other agents testified.

DEA agents in St. Louis have buttressed information purportedly obtained from CS1, saying her reports about drug connections between Gatling and a man from California were borne out by subsequent investigation and the wiretaps. Agents here were already aware of Gatling from other investigations, they said.

The proceedings recessed Friday and are due to resume Nov. 21.

$237 million to sources

A report released last month by the Justice Department Office of Inspector General said the DEA had more than 18,000 active confidential sources between Oct. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2015, who were paid a total of $237 million. It criticized management and oversight of the confidential source program and payments.

An OIG staffer has been present at times in the St. Louis courtroom, including for Cromers testimony Friday.

The prosecutions position on the claims is not clear, as many court filings in the case are sealed.

Jeff Jensen, a former supervisor in the U.S. attorneys office here, said Friday that to prevail, the defense must prove two things: That information in an affidavit for the search warrant was false or contained a reckless disregard for the truth, and that without it there would not be probable cause for the wiretap.

A DEA spokesman in Atlanta declined to comment on the status of employees named in the investigation.

Ashley Lisenby of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
TROY, Mo.  A former Troy police officer faces charges of statutory rape involving a teenage girl, police announced Friday.

Police said Marc R. Dody, 39, resigned as a patrolman in July shortly after he was placed on unpaid suspension after the investigation got underway.

Authorities said Dody was charged Thursday with two counts of statutory rape - one in Lincoln County and one in St. Charles County.

Dody, of the 2500 block of Spencer Avenue in Overland, was in the Lincoln County Jail Friday with cash bail set at $75,000.

A Troy police spokesman, Detective Tony Stewart, said the girl was 15 and 16 at the time of the incidents earlier this year.

Chief Jeff Taylor said the department began investigating the allegations in late June and once it appeared criminal activity had occurred, the probe was turned over to the Missouri Highway Patrol to eliminate any appearance of bias.

Taylor said there was no indication any criminal activity took place while Dody was on duty. Police said Dody began working for the department in 2012 on a parttime basis and became a fulltime officer in December of that year.
ST. LOUIS  The parents of Nicholas Gilbert, who died after a struggle with St. Louis police in a holding cell last December, are seeking up to $1.5 million in damages in a federal wrongful death suit against the city and 10 officers.

Jody Lombardo and Bryan Gilbert filed suit Thursday in federal court in St. Louis alleging city police officers caused Gilberts death by using excessive force to restrain him and failing to seek medical attention for an emotionally disturbed man. The suit alleges police were reckless, ignored their own training and policies, and were indifferent to Gilberts need for medical care.

Gilbert was being held Dec. 8 at the Central Patrol Division headquarters after an arrest for trespassing in a vacant building in the 3200 block of Missouri Avenue. Police have said that about 6:30 p.m., a clerk at the station alerted officers after seeing the man taking off his sweatpants and turning them into a noose, which the man tied to the bars of the holdover cell.

This was a guy who was in a cell by himself and unarmed, said Andrew Callahan, an attorney for Lombardo and Bryan Gilbert. He posed no threat to anyone else and if they had just taken his sweatpants away, he wouldve posed no threat to himself.

Three officers rushed into the cell to subdue Gilbert with handcuffs and leg restraints. As many as six to eight officers were part of the struggle. In the struggle, Gilbert hit his head on the concrete bench in the 7-by-9-foot cell, police have said. The lawsuit says Gilberts head was struck with such force that he sustained a laceration above his eye and immediately began bleeding profusely.

Only after Gilbert was in handcuffs, leg shackles, and in a prone position, bleeding from his head and on the concrete floor did police call for medical attention, the lawsuit says.

Police have said the officers noticed the man couldnt breathe, administered CPR and used a defibrillator. Emergency workers took over revival efforts and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The St. Louis medical examiner has said the 27-year-olds injuries were consistent with the police description of the stationhouse scuffle to thwart a suicide attempt.

At the time of the incident, cameras at the three area stations had provided live monitoring but were not capable of recording. Callahan said that hurts the search for truth.

In addition to the city, the lawsuit names Sgt. Roland Bergmann along with Officers Joe Stuckey Paul Wactor, Michael Cognasso, Kyle Mack, Erich vonNida, Bryan Lemons, Zachary Opal Jason King and Roland DeGregorio.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson declined to comment.
ST. LOUIS  Missouris GOP nominee for governor is one of the most difficult-to-categorize politicians in modern memory.

Eric Greitens is a Democrat turned Republican, a Rhodes scholar turned Navy SEAL, a political novice with national political connections. Hes the author of four densely philosophical books, and the star of campaign commercials in which he shoots guns and blows stuff up. He has made ethics reform a centerpiece of his campaign while collecting the single biggest dark-money donation in Missouri history.

In his campaign speeches, he sounds like the social studies teacher that everyone wishes theyd had; in a secretly recorded argument with a Republican primary rival last year, he sounded almost unhinged.

In the Nov. 8 election, Greitens will face Democratic Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, with whom he has almost nothing in common other than the ironic fact that theyve both switched parties (Koster used to be a Republican). Koster has focused on Greitens inexperience in government; Greitens has touted that same factor as proof of his outsider cred.

People in Missouri ... want somebody who has a history of getting results, Greitens told reporters during a recent campaign stop in Overland. And when they look at what Ive done ... running my own business, serving as a Navy SEAL, doing humanitarian work overseas, what they see is a leader, as compared to a career politician who spent his life serving himself.

Greitens, 42, grew up in Maryland Heights. His mother, Becky, was an early-childhood special education teacher. His father, Rob, worked for the Missouri Department of Agriculture. If elected, Greitens would be Missouris first Jewish governor.

After graduating Parkway North High School in 1992, Greitens embarked on building what is by any standard an almost surreal resume: Duke University graduate; Rhodes scholar; humanitarian volunteer in Rwanda, Cambodia and with Mother Teresa in India; Navy officer with deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia; recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart; White House Fellow; best-selling author; founder of The Mission Continues, which arranges for returned veterans to serve at home; listed on TIME Magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World and Fortune Magazines Worlds 50 Greatest Leaders.

Greitens is one of the stars of last years best-selling book Charlie Mike: A True Story of Heroes Who Brought Their Mission Home. In it, the author, TIME magazine scribe Joe Klein, describes Greitens resume as stratospheric.

For all that, Greitens had never run for public office before entering the Republican primary for governor, which he won Aug. 2. Victory came after a brutal yearlong campaign against three opponents, two of them seasoned politicians.

His decision to run in the governors race began forming in the wake of the 2014 unrest in Ferguson, according to his wife, Sheena Greitens, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri specializing in East Asian politics. It was a period that also saw the birth of the first of their two sons.

Eric will see a problem, jump right in and go to the center of it, she said. As we watched this, and became parents, we needed to ask hard questions about what kind of state we wanted our children to grow up in.

Greitens campaign platform checks the usual Republican boxes, calling for right-to-work legislation, holding down taxes and supporting law enforcement. He also pushes his political-outsider theme with calls for lobbying gift bans and other ethics reforms  though Greitens, one of the biggest recipients of six- and seven-figure donations in Missouri history, opposes campaign contribution limits.

People who know Greitens tend to use the same few adjectives: smart and compassionate, but also competitive and ambitious.

Hes probably the most driven person Ive ever met, said Ryan Manion of Philadelphia, whose brother, Travis Manion, fought alongside Greitens in Iraq and was killed in action there. When he sets his sights on something, he really goes after it ... My family and I always knew there were bigger things ahead for him.

Greitens ambition was illustrated when the Post-Dispatch revealed this year that, in 2009, he reserved a series of website names for potential future campaigns, including EricGreitensForPresident.com

As it turns out, his thinking in that direction started even earlier.

When I would read the little kindergarten books, What I want to be when I grow up, and at the end, I would go around the circle and ask the children what they wanted to be, I remember this: He wanted to be president, recalled Anne Richardson, who was Greitens kindergarten teacher at McKelvey Elementary. He was the only kid I ever remember saying that.

Personal praise and party strife

Richardson, like numerous people in Greitens life interviewed recently, is effusive about her former pupil. I cant tell you how proud I am.

Shes part of a fan base that stretches through military and philanthropic circles, to national publishing and media culture. What comes up repeatedly among acquaintances is his ability to gather and motivate people.

I finished the book (The Heart and the Fist) and thought, Ive got to find out what this guy is up to, said St. Louis Fire Dept. Capt. Gregg Favre. He tracked down Greitens, and ended up taking two years off his firefighting duties to serve as his chief of staff at The Mission Continues. There is a level of depth and authenticity in Eric that I havent seen in many people.

Eric has this unique ability to get more out of people, said Chuck Bryant, a friend and fellow veteran who works out with Greitens. At the same time, hes a very competitive person. If were doing wind sprints or running stairs, he wants to win, but he does it in a positive way. Thats a pretty good combination in a leader.

But Greitens hasnt exactly been a team player among Republicans this year  perhaps because he hasnt been one for very long. He was an active Democrat until at least 2013, and had even been wooed by the party (unsuccessfully) to run for Congress. He attended the Democratic National Convention in 2008 as a guest of former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden.

During this years gubernatorial primary, Greitens outsider-themed attacks on the system hit Democrats and fellow Republicans alike.

It also irked critics that his sometimes-sanctimonious vows to clean up the ethics mess in Jefferson City were funded mostly by massive contributions from wealthy out-of-state donors, including $1 million from a California billionaire who was accused in a high-profile lawsuit of sexual abuse. Greitens also received $1.9 million  the largest individual donation in Missouris history  from a shadowy federal PAC that appears to been set up specifically to hide the source of the money.

Who are these billionaires giving money to a guy who was a Democrat 18 months ago? demanded one of his primary opponents, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, during a debate early this year.

A game changer?

Then there was the revelation, late last year, of Greitens phone confrontation with primary opponent John Brunner. Brunner, a businessman and former Marine, secretly recorded the conversation. In it, the warm, optimistic, motivational-speaker style of oration that Greitens uses in public was replaced with a seething anger that at times sounded threatening.

Oh, John Brunner, oh, my God, you are such a weasel! Are you going to meet tomorrow or not? Greitens demands in the conversation, which was prompted by an attack website that Greitens believed Brunner was behind. I cant wait to see you in person, John. I want to look in your eyes.

Greitens won with less than 36 percent of the vote, leaving a deeply divided party.

A planned GOP unity rally the next day had to be canceled because Brunner refused to attend. Some Republicans in the Legislature have since been slow to come together behind the nominee. Gun-rights and agriculture organizations, traditionally key Republican backers, passed over Greitens to endorse Koster.

In a recent conversation, Greitens wore the in-party friction like a war medal. Theres a reason why my opponent is supported by a lot of people who are members of my party, the Republican Party, he said, who have been around a long time, who dont want this game to change.
Eight cedar boxes with steel corners, at a cost of $2,400, are going up near Grand on Juniata and Hartford streets
EO Brands has created some memorable lines since it was founded in 2003 by Eddie Ortega and Erik Espinosa. In relatively short time, the 601 Series, Murcielago, and Cubao cemented the Nicaragua-based brand as a favorite among cigar enthusiasts.

The smoke that usually comes to mind when I think of EO is the 601 Green. That habano oscuro-wrapped cigar is mighty and powerful with black pepper spice, coffee, and leather. While it may not be the most intense stick on the market, you cant deny the sheer boldness of the so-called Green Label.

So when EO, now distributed by Rocky Patel, announced they would be releasing their strongest 601 to date at the 2011 industry trade show, I did a double-take. I also remember thinking that La Bomba is a fitting name if this blend is half as strong as its rumored to be.

La Bombas recipe includes 100% Nicaraguan tobacco and a dark, oily habano wrapper. Four explosive sizes are available: Atom (5.5 x 46), Napalm (5 x 52), Atomic (6 x 60), and Nuclear (6 x 50). Each retails for $7 to $9 apiece and is packaged in boxes of 10, and each is made at Don Pepin Garcias My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua.

The Nuclear vitola has a unique pigtail cap that doubles as a fuse and a yellow band across the foot. Once the cap is clipped and the band is removed, it looks much more serious and a lot less gimmicky. Only then do I find myself appreciating the cleanliness of the wrapper, the extreme firmness of the roll, and the pre-light aroma of sweet cocoa and earth.

After taking note of the cigars smooth draw, a peppery profile of leather, dry wood, and espresso emerges. Many Don Pepin creations have strength, spice, and full body at the outset. But the power displayed here is more formidable than anything Ive smoked in recent memory.

As it progresses, La Bomba Nuclear gives off traces of chocolate, nuts, cream, and black licorice. But the unwavering core of the smoke remains similar throughout. All the while the physical properties are superb, including a white ash that holds solid and a straight burn line.

If youre looking for loads of complexity and nuance, this isnt your best option. Cigars with this much power usually have the subtlety of an AC/DC song. That said, sometimes Im in the mood for the screeching vocals of Brian Johnson and the blaring guitar solos of Angus Young. So dont be surprised if the mood strikes you for a heavy post-meal smoke that can stand up to a stiff drink. The flavors are solid, and you wont find anything to complain about in terms of construction. All things considered, this cigar is worthy of three and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

Patrick A



photo credit: Stogie Guys
SAN RAMON, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/22/16 -- Today is Make a Difference Day and TRI Pointe Homes Northern California is doing its part to make a difference at Alameda County Community Food Bank. The Food Bank serves 1 in 5 Alameda County residents by distributing food through a network of 240 food pantries, soup kitchens, day care centers and other organizations.

"Make a Difference Day is all about getting involved in your local community," said Susan Cleary, Marketing Manager, TRI Pointe Homes. "Alameda County Community Food Bank does an incredible job of supporting our community and our staff enjoyed the opportunity to come together and be a part of its outreach."

Make A Difference Day was established in 1992 to inspire people no matter their age or background to seek out imaginative ways to engage and support their communities. Since its inception, thousands of projects take place every October, some large, many small, but each effort makes an important difference to the local communities.

"We serve 116,000 children, adults and seniors every month -- an effort that's only made possible through the passion and hard work of our volunteers," said Michael Altfest, Associate Director of Communications and Marketing for Alameda County Community Food Bank. "We're extremely grateful to the large group of TRI Pointe Homes employees who dedicated time to making a difference. Their efforts helped us package and prepare the equivalent of nearly 14,200 meals for our community in a single volunteer shift! Partners like TRI Pointe Homes are critical in our pursuit of a hunger-free community."

Since 1985, Alameda County Community Food Bank has been at the forefront of hunger relief efforts in the Bay Area. This year it was named Food Bank of the Year by Feeding America, the nation's network for food banks. For more information about Alameda County Community Food bank, visit www.accfb.org.

With a growing number of new home communities throughout Northern California, TRI Pointe Homes, Inc. is a member of TRI Pointe Group (NYSE: TPH), headquartered in Irvine, California. The company is one of the top 10 largest public homebuilders by equity market capitalization in the United States, supported by the significant resources, economies of scale and thoughtful leadership of a national foundation. Additional information is available at http://www.tripointehomes.com/norcal.

Contact: Fran Bangert Kovach Marketing 714-335-9646 Email Contact

Source: TRI Pointe Homes
Packets of U.S. American dollars notes in plastic bags in the trunk of a car are seen in this handout picture in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Argentine Ministry of Security/Handout via Reuters

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The Argentine government sent to Congress this week a series of proposed laws that would heavily sanction businesses found guilty of corruption involving the public sector, according to a document seen by Reuters on Saturday.

Currently, Argentine law punishes individuals involved in such corruption cases, but not companies. Under the proposed laws, companies could be fined heavily or suspended temporarily from doing business, among other measures.

The proposed laws allow for decreased punishments for companies that collaborate in ongoing investigations or adopt internal policies that make future corruption unlikely. Punishments could be made more severe under the proposed project if high-ranking officials in a company know of the corrupt practices or if such practices cause environmental damage, among other factors.

"The threat of sanction of organizations and the possibility of mitigating responsibility after collaborating in the prevention and detection of crimes against public bodies are tools to aid the prevention of corruption," reads the proposal.

The initiative would allow for fines of up to 20 percent of a company's gross annual income and the suspension of a company from doing business for up to ten years.

(Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Sylvain Andzongo

ESEKA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Fourteen people remained trapped on Friday under the wreckage of a packed passenger train that derailed en route between Cameroon's two largest cities, killing at least 55 and injuring 575, the government said in a communique read on state television.

The Camrail inter-city train was travelling from the capital, Yaounde, to the port city of Douala when the accident occurred around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) near the train station in the town of Eseka, around 120 km (75 miles) west of the capital.

"There was a loud noise. I looked back and the wagons behind us left the rails and started rolling over and over. There was a lot of smoke," said a Reuters journalist travelling in a wagon near the front of the train.

Before its departure from Yaounde, he said that a railway employee said additional wagons had been added to the train to accommodate extra passengers, though it was unclear if that played a role in the accident.

The collapse of a section of the main highway between the capital and Douala had prompted increased numbers of passengers to undertake the journey by rail. The two incidents, which occurred on the same day, have now effectively cut the main transportation axis in the Central African country of over 22 million.

"There are the bodies of women, children. There are many," said one employee of Camrail, which is operated by France's Bollore, speaking from the scene of the accident. He said three of his colleagues were among the victims.

Joel Bineli, a passenger on the derailed train, told Reuters he saw dismembered bodies on the tracks at the accident site.

Social media users posted photos taken at the scene of the accident which showed several wagons overturned on a slope beside the rail line.

"Rescue workers arrived and they are pulling bodies from the wagon. I've already counted around 40 bodies they've removed," said Rachelle Paden, another passenger.

Camrail said it had sent teams to the site and the injured were being transported to a local hospital. Others were driven to Douala. It expressed its condolences to victims' families in a post on its official Facebook page.

A Bollore spokesman confirmed that an accident had occurred, but offered no further details.

Many rail lines in West and Central Africa have a reputation for poor maintenance and failing to respect safety norms. Derailments are relatively common.

Though Bollore is generally viewed as a reliable operator, it experienced another major incident last month when part of a bridge along a line it controls in Ivory Coast collapsed under the weight of a freight train.

(Additional reporting by Anne-Mireille Nzouankeu in Yaounde and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, writing by Joe Bavier; editing by Larry King, G Crosse)
By Sylvain Andzongo

ESEKA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Fourteen people remained trapped on Friday under the wreckage of a packed passenger train that derailed en route between Cameroon's two largest cities, killing at least 55 and injuring 575, the government said in a communique read on state television.

The Camrail inter-city train was traveling from the capital, Yaounde, to the port city of Douala when the accident occurred around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) near the train station in the town of Eseka, around 120 km (75 miles) west of the capital.

"There was a loud noise. I looked back and the wagons behind us left the rails and started rolling over and over. There was a lot of smoke," said a Reuters journalist traveling in a wagon near the front of the train.

Before its departure from Yaounde, he said that a railway employee said additional wagons had been added to the train to accommodate extra passengers, though it was unclear if that played a role in the accident.

The collapse of a section of the main highway between the capital and Douala had prompted increased numbers of passengers to undertake the journey by rail. The two incidents, which occurred on the same day, have now effectively cut the main transportation axis in the Central African country of over 22 million.

"There are the bodies of women, children. There are many," said one employee of Camrail, which is operated by France's Bollore, speaking from the scene of the accident. He said three of his colleagues were among the victims.

Joel Bineli, a passenger on the derailed train, told Reuters he saw dismembered bodies on the tracks at the accident site.

Social media users posted photos taken at the scene of the accident which showed several wagons overturned on a slope beside the rail line.

"Rescue workers arrived and they are pulling bodies from the wagon. I've already counted around 40 bodies they've removed," said Rachelle Paden, another passenger.

Camrail said it had sent teams to the site and the injured were being transported to a local hospital. Others were driven to Douala. It expressed its condolences to victims' families in a post on its official Facebook page.

A Bollore spokesman confirmed that an accident had occurred, but offered no further details.

Many rail lines in West and Central Africa have a reputation for poor maintenance and failing to respect safety norms. Derailments are relatively common.

Though Bollore is generally viewed as a reliable operator, it experienced another major incident last month when part of a bridge along a line it controls in Ivory Coast collapsed under the weight of a freight train.

(Additional reporting by Anne-Mireille Nzouankeu in Yaounde and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, writing by Joe Bavier; editing by Larry King, G Crosse)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - There is a stalemate on the issue of mandatory migrant resettlement quotas in the European Union between proponents of the scheme and opponents such as Hungary, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters on Friday.

Orban said he had proposed taking the quotas off the agenda for good as there was immutable opposition to them in eastern Europe, a proposal that EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed.

"We are at a stalemate, which we could not resolve," Orban said, adding that the European Council, the forum of heads of government, had asked Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who holds the rotating EU presidency, to propose a solution by the next summit in December.

(Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Algerias richest man steps in to revive Sri Lankas sugar industry View(s):

By Bandula Sirimanna Algerian firm Cevital, one of the biggest sugar refiners in North Africa with a project plan to revive sugar production in Sri Lanka, is ready to make the first investments of its kind in more than half a century in Sri Lanka.

Algerian billionaire Issad Rebrab, founder of Cevital told Business Times, that he is ready to invest more than Euro 150 million to resurrect the sugar industry in Sri Lanka by building a sugar refinery in the Southern Province.

Some 56 years ago in the 1960s the Czech Government was involved in a similar manner to construct the Hingurana sugar manufacturing factory located in the Galoya valley and it was one of the largest sugar factories to be built using modern machinery in the region at that time.

Cevitals investment will be the first large-scale foreign investment after the Czech Governments efforts to revive the industry in 1960s, Finance Ministry sources said.

The policy changes made by the new government will encourage overseas investors to develop the industry to meet the minimum annual consumption of sugar in Sri Lanka with attractive incentives offered to the investors.

He noted that his company Cevital seeks government approval to reverse the countrys sugar industrys decline within two years by producing the local requirement of 1 million tons per annum thus saving the much needed foreign exchange for Sri Lanka.

The annual per capita consumption of sugar in Sri Lanka is around 30 kg and the total annual requirement of sugar in the country is around 1 million tons. The country only produces 80,000 tonnes and imports the balance 920,000, spending over Rs. 60 billion to meet the countrys requirement.
By PTI: From Youssra EL-Sharkawy

Cairo, Oct 22 (PTI) At least 21 terrorists have been killed in retaliatory strikes carried out by the Egyptian army to avenge a recent militant attack in the restive North Sinai province, military said today.

The military operation was part of a retaliation launched by the army to avenge the last weeks militant attack that killed 12 soldiers in North Sinai, military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said.

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Twenty-one takfiri terrorists were killed and 24 hideouts as well as 40 motorcycles used by militants destroyed in the operation yesterday, he said.

Earlier, on Friday, a statement by the Ministry of Interior said that two policemen were killed and conscript was injured in a roadside blast in Al-Arish city of North Sinai.

Egypts North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January, 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule.

Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip. PTI YES MRJ

--- ENDS ---
Depositors wary of Central Banks payment plan for 4 failed fincos. View(s):

By Quintus Perera

Depositors representing three of the four failed finance companies that are being bailed out by the Central Bank (CB) cautiously welcomed this weeks move but sought a confirmation in writing on the decision. Earlier this week, the CB said it has decided to repay depositors of the Standard Credit Finance Ltd (SCFL), City Finance Corporation Ltd (CFCL), Central Investment and Finance PLC (CIFL) and Entrust Securities PLC on the basis of an approval by the Monetary Board on a proposal made by the Department of Non-Bank Financial Institutions. Depositors numbering about 11,878 at these four companies would receive a total of Rs. 16.5 billion, a CB media release said. K.W. Gunawardena, President, Central Investment and Finance Ltd Depositors Association (CIFLDA), while being appreciative of the repayment plan said he has written to the CB seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the matter.

The Depositors Association has a query on your proposal since we have bad experiences on your earlier proposal and granting approval which have not materialized up to date. As a result of that over 60 members have died and 60 per cent of senior citizen members of our association are suffering from non-communicable diseases and dont have money for medication, he wrote in the letter. Lakshman Moraes, representing the SCFL depositors, said they have also written to the CB seeking clarification on the repayment plan. The SCFL has discussed many previous payment plans with the CB earlier but nothing worked. In the meantime, CB officials said steps are being taken to wind up the four insolvent finance firms and start legal action against the directors/senior management of three of the companies.

A top official told the Business Times that at the last Monetary Board meeting all these decisions were arrived at, in a bid to make something happen. The CB decided that it was time to stop dragging this issue as enough time was spent on it, he said. When queried as to what had happened to the investor proposals that were being reviewed by the CB, he said that the intended investors proposals also wanted high returns which at this point in time couldnt be accommodated. The CB official said that this unit will seize the assets of the three firms, prosecute their management and also get the CIDs assistance. C. Caldera, President Independent Association of Depositors, Finance and Guarantee Property Developers and Real Estate Co Ltd (F&G, PDL and RECL- three companies), said they were disappointed that the CB has thought fit to rescue only four companies when many like ours have depositors waiting for a solution.

The plight of depositors, he said has now become a serious public issue and when the regulator considers such issues it has to be just and reasonable. He urged that if the CB is genuine in helping battered depositors, the F&G Real Estate depositors and others too should also be taken into consideration. Ignatius Camillus, President, UB Finance Depositors Association (UBDA) (earlier Finance and Guarantee (F&G)), expressed the same disappointment that their members were not considered and urged that they too be brought under the repayment umbrella. Sonali Dunuwila, Secretary, City Finance Corporation Ltd (CFCL) whose depositors are to be repaid under the new plan, said that they have doubts about the CB assurance. She said that CB is actually fooling the depositors of CFCL.
Estates to cough out Rs.4 bln more to pay workers View(s):

By Sunimalee Dias

The new collective agreement reached between Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and estate unions would result in an additional cost of Rs.4 billion to the owners. The new pact envisages raising the current wage of Rs. 620 to Rs. 730 effective October 15 for both tea and rubber. However with statutory dues it goes up to Rs. 805 against Rs. 687.50 earlier. The additional cost for the RPCs as a result of the wage hike would be about Rs.4 billion, Planters Association Immediate Past Chairman and Managing Director of Hayleys Plantations Roshan Rajadurai told the Business Times on Thursday. It is learnt that the plantation companies were compelled to agree with the trade unions on the new rate despite previous assertions that they would want to change the structure on the estates by moving to a new proposed out-grower model.

Earlier the government push to RPCs to obtain a loan to pay the workers wages by a further Rs.100 per day for two months led to the companies being compelled to finalise a deal with the trade unions. However, the RPCs have been able to convince the government authorities and the trade unions to include a clause in the new collective agreement that would ensure the next round of discussions in 2018 would involve the establishment of the proposed out-grower model. Another clause entered in the agreement is that the companies would agree to ensure cleanliness of the work environment thereby increasing work for the male workers, some who have been plucking tea leaves instead of their normal routine manual work. RPCs maintain that it was not possible to include the limited supply of labour on the estates for maintenance work since the revenue is generated only through the sale of black teas as a result of which all workers were involved in plucking.

Though prices of tea leaf at the Colombo auctions had improved it was found that this was mainly due to the reduced supply of tea. Crop yield has come down by about 30 per cent compared to last year, Mr. Rajadurai said. Meanwhile during the 10 days of strike action by the estate workers the companies were unable to supply tea to the world market and this type of constant disruption has irked the RPCs. Workers are the lifeblood of the industry and the future of this industry is in their hands and if they are not willing to be productive it will continue to go down, Mr. Rajadurai explained adding that in some rubber plantations where work was halted workers would not be paid upto 15 days of salary. Planters Association Chairman Sunil Poholiyadde said in a statement soon after the signing of the agreement that the fact that

we were finally able to secure a wage formula that is linked to productivity is ultimately an extremely important step, one that will help to transition our industry towards a revenue sharing model which the RPCs firmly maintain is the only viable method of returning the sector towards a more sustainable trajectory. The current collective agreement will be applicable for two years after which the unions have agreed to undertake to support the improvement of productivity of the industry and at estate level by moving to a productivity linked wage regime based on revenue share/ out-grower model through the next agreement, the agreement stated. As a result of this the trade unions and the RPCs would commence discussions in this regard from next month. The last agreement was entered into in 2013. The lease agreement of the RPCs would complete 25 years next year and there are another 30 years to go. Companies feel that short term leases were not favourable and the government is currently studying the increase in the term of the lease agreement.
Guinness Book records and ego trips View(s):

The worlds tallest Christmas tree at Galle Face. Budo Ammo, mahattaya, monavada mei, my old dhobi (laundryman) would have said, if he was still in the land of the living.

I am not the only one who is not only disturbed but also perturbed. I did a quick poll among my editorial team and they too were horrified not only as journalists but as individuals who understand the needs and aspirations of a nation.

The feeling was shared by a reader who saw our picture of the tree construction in progress in the Sunday Times on October 16. This is what he says: I just couldnt believe my eyes. Has this nation gone crazy? Can we not put the scarce resources of this country to better use?

Exactly, dont we have more urgent needs and priorities? Are our priorities sinking as fast as the sea bed being dug up to reclaim land for the Colombo Financial Centre?

In another ego trip, akin to that made by many politicians in the past, Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, once an ardent proponent of governance and accountability and responsible government, has launched this crazy idea that a Christmas tree  the tallest in the world mind you  would be a step nearer to peace and reconciliation among the islands still-fractured communities.

The Minister, on one hand, should be commended for engaging in the reconciliation process. North-South reaching out is always a positive. On the other hand, a reconciliation process through a giant Christmas tree at Galle Face to which only a segment of the countrys 20 million inhabitants would have access to? Surely, the Minister knows better and is wiser. Who gave him this idea? Was it the Arjuna Ranatunga Social Welfare Society which organised the launch ceremony at the Galle Face Green on August 18?

Sri Lankan politicians are an interesting lot. When in opposition, they strive to save the nation: When they are in the government, people have to fend for themselves. Many have gone on ego trips ostensibly to build the nation but eventually they have turned out to be more about building themselves, much to the peoples dismay.

We have had development projects in their name, housing projects in their name and social welfare projects in their name. Parliament has approved many proposals for the setting up of foundations in the names of MPs. What they do only God knows.

A former president had the ubiquitous Oralosu Kanuwas (clock towers) in every key town not only for residents to remember the time but also remember the man! Unfortunately time stands still for many of these clocks now. A waste of time literally.

Such ego trips must be an Asian trait and can be seen in other countries too. So politicians will argue that if it is good for the Tigers of Asia (East Asian nations), then it is good for us. Maybe. But a giant Christmas tree with millions of bulbs and the peoples tax money (or is it from the Ministers own pocket) as part of the reconciliation process? Surely?

Ego trips also come in different forms. Take the recent acquisition of luxury vehicles by MPs. A newspaper report revealed details of 20 costly vehicles imported by parliamentarians using their vehicle permits.

What drew my attention was that one MP had booked a Hummer, which attracted everyones attention when US troops volunteered in Sri Lanka during post-tsunami reconstruction work. Soldiers in military uniform driving these wide-bodied jeeps was a pleasant sight those days.

General Motors is marketing the SUV version of these luxury vehicles and the lucky MP will be humming A.R. Rahmans popular South Indian hit Humma Humma as he is driven in his fuel-guzzling Hummer to drought-stricken villages and abject-poverty regions in the north. Maybe he could transport a few lucky souls in the Hummer to visit Arjunas gigantic Christmas tree due to open in mid-December. Heres hoping Customs will clear the vehicle soon. Thats our Christmas wish!

While the war is over, the conflict is not. Distrust and uncertainty still pervade with the occasional outburst of a possible return of a militant revolt blurring the reconciliation process. There is more to the reconciliation process needs than meets the eye that needs surgery or patching up, far more important than a Christmas tree on Galle Face green.

For instance the Minister of National Co-existence Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganesan, whose mandate is reconciliation, is complaining of interference and/or not enough powers. The north is complaining of lack of sufficient funds for development. Residents are worried that the army camps have not reduced to the extent expected. The Chief Minister of the North is at loggerheads with leaders of his own party, the Tamil National Alliance. These are far more crucial issues to resolve than a reconciliation process that believes a Christmas tree will bring communities together.

Is the Galle Face Christmas tree really a mechanism to mend fractured communities or a publicity stunt and ego-boosting adventure? If not why do you need to break records aiming to put up a tree that is higher than the worlds tallest artificial Christmas tree in Mexico which stood at 295 feet?

The other cities that have broken earlier Guinness Book world records in this arena are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (278 feet with 3.3 million lights); Dortmund, Germany (145 feet made up of 1,700 individual spruce trees piled one atop the other); Phoenix, the US (110 feet); New York (80 feet); Prague, Czech Republic (72 feet); Paris, France (70 feet); Sydney, Australia (69 feet and 59,000 lights); London, Britain (65.6 feet every year since 1947); Zurich, Switzerland (50 feet) and Washington DC (30 feet in the White Houses President Park). Several years later Sri Lanka is joining the bandwagon with its own version to beat the rest.

Notice anything familiar here? Sri Lanka, far more poorer than these countries, is not only trying to ape the West but beat them in the pursuit of glory when the first thing we should beat is being a bankrolled nation, swimming in debt whose annual national income is not even enough to meet interest payments let alone the loan repayments!

The 2016 budget is in tatters, the private sector is waiting with bated breath for a disruptive-free budget 2017 and pleading with the authorities to be consistent consistent consistent (inconsistent policies are a bigger issue than high taxation), the President is trying to resolve his differences with the Prime Minister, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is waiting to jump in if the present coalition collapses, the total budget for 2017 has come down a few notches from 2016 with many ministries including health and education taking cuts, etc, etc. Yes, there are far more pressing issues in the state than spending millions of rupees with millions of lights to light up the sky and alert Guinness officials to the advent of another record. This is also not in keeping with the tradition and true spirit of Christmas which should be celebrated in a simple and humble manner just like Christ who was born in a manger with his first visitors being very poor shepherds.

Simplicity is also the core of other religious and spiritual doctrines enunciated by leaders like Lord Buddha, Prophet Mohamed and the Hindu deities. These are also the values espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. While this tree will cost millions of rupees, the tamashas to herald the tree and the resultant partying will cost a few more millions. Can Sri Lanka afford this at this stage of our development and reconciliation process? Or is it coming out of the Ministers own pocket?

Our reader Eksith Fernando had this to say in his letter (Full text on Plus Page 2): Mr. Ranatunga, please do not proceed with this. We saw so much extravagance and wastage during the last regime, and thought we will see a difference after January 8th last year. Sadly we have not. We continue to read about BMWs and other luxuries for those who rule and we are sick of this. Do something to make life better for the hundreds of thousands who continue to suffer in this country of ours. How could you, Minister Ranatunga, think of spending money or approving such expenditure, in this way, when there are so many in desperate need?

We fully endorse Mr. Fernandos plea and could not have said it better apart, of course from Sunil Pereras popular hit Lankawe Ape Lankawe on the foibles of local politicians which goes like this: Ethakota manthirilage liyum walata job denne mona rateda  Engalanthe engalanthe!!!
If Sri Lankas unemployment is 400,000, why create jobs for 1 million? ETCA discussion panel asked View(s):

Dispute over unemployment figures in Sri Lanka, opposition to foreigners being given freedom to engage in the retail trade and a national trade policy that appears to have ignored many sectors were some of the key points that emerged at a Colombo discussion on Wednesday over proposals connected to the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA).

The discussion organised by the Sri Lanka Association for Political Economy (SLAPE) at the Colombo University was on the draft national trade agreement which has been circulated to many stakeholders, barring the media, for comment.

This first-ever discussion on the proposed national trade policy began with Ravi Ratnayake, a former UN expert on trade and currently advisor to the Agency for International Trade (AIT), listing out the policy and its key points, setting the stage for what would turn out to be a somewhat heated discussion, from the side of the participants.

Dr. Ratnayake, who was involved in drafting the policy, said the trade policy will set out guidelines and ensure transparency. I have heard this often from the business community  that there is no predictable and consistent policies today. So in this context a framework is useful.

Referring to Sri Lankas weak export growth, he said in the period from 1990 to now Sri Lankas exports grew to US$12 billion from $1 billion in 1990 whereas Vietnam had recorded over $100 billion in the same period from the same base of $1 billion while Bangladesh exports which was much lower in 1990 is now at $33 billion. The reason for this was the lack of a proper trade policy for exports as the engine of growth.

Trade failed because of a reversal of policies during the past 15 years, political instability from three decades of war, inward orientation and inadequate attention to export expansion and market access constraints in the US and Europe against Sri Lanka, he added.

He said the national trade policy of Sri Lanka is to have, on the long term, inclusive and sustainable growth with the medium term objective being the creation of 1 million jobs.

The AIT advisors contentions were rejected by industrialist Samantha Kumarasinghe, Chairman of Natures Secrets and a vocal opponent of the earlier abandoned Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a step forward from the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA). CEPA negotiations were abandoned by the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime following widespread protests by industrialists including Kumarasinghe on the same issues  possible flood of Indian unskilled and semi-skilled workers like carpenters and barbers.

He urged Dr. Ratnayake to maintain his independence as a trade specialist since he was working with people who had also misled the earlier government and was doing the same with the present regime.

Mr. Kumarasinghe said he has a business in Bangladesh in addition to his Sri Lanka operation. Bangladesh has resources which we dont have. They have enough workers which we dont have, he said adding that while the Prime Minister talks of 1 million jobs, official statistics show that just 400,000 are unemployed.

He said it is unfair to give comparisons with other countries when Sri Lanka was fighting a war while other countries (Vietnam) were growing.

We have given all trading opportunities to foreigners. Prima from Singapore was given a licence to mill wheat but after nearly two decades, the previous government gave Prima the right to get into the retail trade, he said adding that trading should be retained by Sri Lankans.

We have been milling rice for 2000 years or more. Do we need foreigners to mill wheat? I invest in other countries and bring back money. Likewise foreigners take money out. Take the cable industry. An Indian company can come and sell products (cheaply) which could result in Kelani Cables and ACL going bankrupt.

He said its difficult to find people to work here. Even if we put an advertisement we cant find people. In Dhaka its hire and fire: If 100 workers leave there are 500 waiting outside to join, he said adding that he opened an cosmetics factory in Dhaka when the cost of alcohol (spirits for cosmetics) in Sri Lanka rose to six times of the global market price.

Anushka Wijesinha, chief economist at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said that while the need for a trade policy is good there was much overemphasis and dominance of PTAs (preferential trade agreements) in this policy pointing out that there are other newer developments which need to be taken into account.

Many industrialists face constraints in regulatory issues because of archaic rules like the over 100-year-old Customs law which is being enforced for an economy in 2016.

Also missing was e-commerce and a policy framework with high tech SMEs set to grow with many start-ups showing success. Do we need a national trade policy? Even the private sector is wondering why there is a need for such a policy, he said adding that in his view more important is a strategy for implementation.

During question time, industrialist Kulatunga Rajapaksa from the DSI group, also re-iterated that foreigners should not be allowed in retail trade.

There is no transfer of technology or learning from foreign experts in the retail trade. Here even petrol sheds are run by foreigners. Todays scenario is that foreigners are not involved in manufacture or selling in the wholesale market. Instead they are also importing and selling in retail trade, he noted.

Nalaka Jayaweera, an architect and a proponent of the need for a regulatory framework in such trade agreements, said that there are many issues with this draft trade policy. I dont like to accept this as a national trade policy (because it has been badly done). It is just a document prepared by a few people, its not even a professional job with many repetitive paragraphs, he added while pointing out that it should have referred to past trade agreements in Sri Lanka and abroad, studied and analysed these.

ETCA drafting committee meets professionals Discussions between a committee tasked with the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and professional bodies to discuss listing possible professions for liberalisation ended inconclusively on Wednesday, informed sources said. The government team was led by Dr. Saman Kelegama, Chairman-designate of the Agency for International Trade and included K.J. Weerasinghe and Dr. Ravi Ratnayake, both advisors to the new agency. Representing the professionals were officials from CA Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects and Institution of Engineers among others. The sources said that when government negotiators urged professionals to come up with a list of professions that should be liberalised, there was opposition and many issues and queries raised with no clear responses. The meeting was then put off for next week.In the meantime, there has been a kind of split in the United Professionals Movements (UPM), an offshoot of the Organisation of Professionals Organisation (OPA), which was the main voice representing professionals in the discussions with the government on the ETCA. After the UPM walked out of a meeting in July with the government negotiating committee, there hasnt been any proper discussions with the ETCA committee, the sources said adding that trade unions in the UPM  a section of the IT industry and the Government Medical Officers Association  held a meeting earlier this week to discuss a separate initiative.
Innovative technologies to reduce medical cost View(s):

By Jayampathy Jayasinghe One of the computer systems available in Sri Lankas health sector is to link the Central hospital with the Central Medical Supply Division on the availability of drugs needed by the hospital.

About 30 hospitals in the country have began compiling records of OPD data on computers not connected to the central computer system and are now working to install this method of covering another 40 hospitals in the country, said the Deputy Minister of Health and Nutrition and Medicine Faizal Cassim at the launch of Microsoft medical systems in diagnosing diseases, held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo last week.

He said however in some 5-6 hospitals x ray images are transmitted directly to the doctors computer instead of the negative photo being brought to him, to cut delays.

The Minister welcomed the Microsoft initiative to install a system to cover the whole gamut of the countrys health sector with their new technological innovations. Referring to the sophisticated medical system developed by Microsoft, he said in Sri Lanka the only method where doctors can diagnose a cardiac problem was by doing an angiography test to decide the size of the stent to be used which was costly. He said although Sri Lanka has access to medical services throughout the country, improving the health services in rural areas to address the issues of an aging population was necessary.

Meanwhile the Microsoft system showcased a step-by- step scenario of patients in need of urgent medical attention by accessing through their smartphones and following up through with tests and consultations with specialists and aftercare. With the help of Microsoft partners such as Ring MD Clinic to Cloud, Vital Images, Proskriptive, One View, Hemas, Xelution, and Connected Life, the technologies for each medical need was demonstrated.

Director, Health and Social Service Public Sector of Microsoft  Asia Pacific Region Callum Bir said the new systems developed by Microsoft provides health care to the rich and the poor at a low cost. With platforms like Azure and Hololens, we have enabled developers to collaborate with our teams to create new solutions to address or improve health care services and the speed of diagnosing and treating patients in need. The future of healthcare promises to be more intuitive and will help address the needs of the worlds aging population, he said.
Swiss help to probe SLs Airbus deal View(s):

By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera

Swiss investigators are flying into Colombo next month to investigate the Airbus agreement with SriLankan Airlines as part of an international probe on allegedly corrupt deals by the France-based aircraft manufacturer. While the government here is independently probing whether there was any corruption in the Airbus deal with SriLankan Airlines, the UKs Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began an investigation in August to examine suspected irregularities in the use of third-party agents by Airbus to win contracts. While a top government source confirmed the involvement of the Swiss in the Airbus probe in Colombo, it was unclear as to why the Swiss are involved. I am told that the investigators are from a top Swiss anti-corruption agency which has been good at tracking financial crimes, he told the Business Times.

The previous SriLankan Airlines administration has been accused of purchasing four Airbus A350 super-luxury aircraft at an inflated price under a plan to re-fleet the entire airline at a cost of around US$2.3 billion. Last week the government said the cancellation of the deal with Airbus means forking out Rs. 25 billion as a settlement. The source said the Swiss officials will meet with the Treasury, the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development (MPED) and the Financial Crimes Investigation Division. They will assist all these local agencies to intercept the frauds and bring culprits to book, according to the source. Other officials said that the Swiss officials had offered to help in the local probe as part an international investigation on Airbus and key elements in the Weliamuna report on SriLankan Airlines will be examined.

They will assist with financial misappropriation thats highlighted in the report, an official told the Business Times. He said the Weliamuna report had partly prompted this international probe and the Swiss team is a part of this investigation. The Swiss team also takes responsibility to assist countries in probes that are connected. Airbus also said its carrying out a wide-ranging review of its relationships with third-party consultants. The government will take steps to axe certain officials accused of involvement in corrupt activities, MPED Minister Kabir Hashim told the Business Times recently, rejecting SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajith Dias claims earlier this month that the Weliamuna report is wrong. Meanwhile international media reports said that Airbus is bracing for a lengthy period of uncertainty over its core commercial jetliner business due to the probe. Airbus is already the subject of a four-year-old SFO investigation into a $3.3 billion communications deal with Saudi Arabia.
Poverty elimination and reduction of inequality: Global trends and policy imperatives View(s):

The elimination of poverty has been a popular promise among political leaders in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Despite their repeated promises of eliminating poverty, poverty persists. The rhetoric on poverty elimination has far surpassed efforts to reduce it and not been adequately backed up by policies that mitigate poverty and reduce income inequality. The people left behind by economic growth have not been adequately taken care of by social security safety nets. The global experience provides useful insights on how poverty and inequality could be reduced.

Promises

President Maithripala Sirisena has vowed to eliminate poverty in two years. President Premadasa moved a resolution at the SAARC Summit in Colombo in 1990 to banish poverty in South Asia. Yet South Asia remains the region that has the highest number of the poor. Although poverty has been reduced quite significantly in South Asia, a high proportion and number of people remain in poverty and income inequality has increased significantly in India and Sri Lanka. Reducing the incidence of poverty and reducing income inequality remain demanding challenges in both countries.

SDGs

Ending poverty and reducing inequality are two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. These may be the most difficult of the SDGs to achieve unless the rhetoric is supported by significant changes in economic strategies and social policies. The rhetoric of poverty elimination must be translated into effective economic and social policies. Economic policies that encompass growth with equity and social policies that improve the capabilities of the poor and redistributive income policies are vital to reduce poverty and income inequality.

Achievements

Even though poverty is still a significant feature of many economies the world over, income poverty has been reduced in many countries and several regions of the world in recent decades. Economic growth and economic and social policies have been responsible for this achievement. In contrast, the widespread experience of most developed and developing countries is that inequality has grown. Latin America that has one of the severest inequalities of incomes has been able to reduce income inequality recently.

Experiences of China and India

Chinas poverty level of 84 per cent in 1981 was reduced drastically in 2010 to 18 per cent. Indias poverty of 60 per cent in 1981 was reduced to 33 per cent in 2010. Although a third of Indias population is in poverty, the decline has been impressive. Poverty continues to decline and is perhaps around one fourth of her population now.

In both countries rapid economic growth has been the most significant reason for this achievement. The more impressive decline in poverty in China has been due to less initial inequality in land, reforms in land use, better health and the higher literacy. India lags behind in all these features. Disadvantaged communities, caste and gender discrimination too are impediments in mitigating poverty in India.

Increasing income disparity

In contrast to the achievement in the reduction in poverty, income inequality has grown in both countries. Chinas inequality, as measured by the Gini Coefficient, has increased from 37 per cent in 1990 to 47.4 per cent in 2012, while Indias inequality has increased from 33 per cent in 1993 to 37 per cent in 2010. Although Chinas poverty is much reduced, her income inequality is higher than in India.

Indias vast strides in economic growth have not led to a more equitable distribution of incomes. In fact inequality has grown as the rich grew in an exponential manner, while the improvement of incomes of the poor was much less. Low literacy levels, especially inadequate primary school enrolment are reasons for the widening income disparities. Literacy and primary education, though rising is still inadequate.

East and South East Asia

East and South East Asia was able to reduce poverty in tandem with economic growth. Among the reasons for this were land tenure reforms and conscious interventionist economic policies that benefitted the poor that were implemented at the same time as the economy grew. The fast track economic growth provided increasing urban and industrial employment and the governments fiscal capacity enabled expenditures that benefitted the poor.

Latin American experience

In contrast to other regions in the world, Latin America, though the region with the most unequal income in the world has decreased inequality with rapid economic growth. The reasons behind Latin Americas decline in income inequality are, well-designed interventionist policies increased expenditure especially on higher education, stronger FDI and increase in tax revenues. Improving access of low-income families to education has been an efficient means for boosting equality of opportunity and lowering income inequality. Strengthening access to quality education is pivotal in Latin America that already has relatively high educational spending but poor outcomes. Raising low tax revenues has contributed to declining inequality as higher revenues provide more space to finance well-targeted redistributive policies.

Policy implications

These experiences provide useful lessons and policy implications for poverty reduction and for mitigating income inequality. Most important is the need to achieve rapid economic growth that has been the driver for reducing poverty in all countries.

The Chinese and Indian experience, as well as the development of East and South East Asia and of Latin America, provides ample evidence of this. While East Asia was able to achieve more equity of incomes, the Chinese and Indian experiences were ones of increasing income inequality with rapid growth. In contrast, Latin America was able to reduce huge income disparities.

What these experiences imply this that economic growth while reducing poverty does not ensure equitable income distribution. The initial conditions of land ownership, education and health and social stratification have an important bearing on the impact of growth on the equitable distribution of incomes. Interventionist policies that redistribute resources or entitlements have an important impact on the extent of equity in incomes that is achieved. Improvements in literacy and education reduce inequality of incomes. Public expenditure on these is very important and therefore government revenues must be adequate to enable the fiscal space for such expenditure.

The manner of raising tax revenue could also be important in reducing inequality. Progressive income tax systems, including recurrent property taxes, high taxes on luxury expenditure of the affluent, who are notorious for evading taxes, capital gains taxes and death duties would enable better income distribution by reducing incomes of the rich and enabling policy interventions that enhance the entitlements of the poor. Such policy imperatives rather than rich rhetoric on poverty are crucial.
Ranil chocolate impresses Belgium master View(s):

It was amid some political tension that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left Sri Lanka for Belgium.

His last meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena was on October 13 at the Presidents Paget Road residence in Colombo. That was to clarify statements Mr. Sirisena made at a function at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) where documents for lands and houses were handed over to war heroes.

The highlight of his visit to Belgium was to seek the restoration of the GSP Plus tariff preferences to Sri Lanka. Rodney Perera, Sri Lankas Ambassador in Brussels, was thoughtful enough to schedule a visit to a chocolatier among the many official engagements Premier Wickremesinghe had. It was the renowned Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was accompanied by his wife Maithri and Public Safety and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayake. Mr Wickremesinghe was given the opportunity to make his own choice of chocolates.

The chocolate master made available about 15 ingredients to choose from in a mix and match way of making chocolates. Among the ingredients were a fusion of Sri Lankan tea and cinnamon. While the Premier was in deep contemplation picking from the 15 ingredients, the chocolatier encouraged him to make his selections before the batter got harder. Like in politics, timing is of the essence.

One member of the entourage remarked to the Belgian hosts; this looks much easier as he [the PM] knows how to work with dozens of groups and parties in his country in forging coalitions and getting things done.

Eventually, Mr. Wickremesinghe came up with some tasty mixes, to which even the chocolate master Laurent Gerbaud was quick to give his stamp of approval. As one onlooker remarked; he looks like a boy in a candy shop as the PM was so enthusiastic in putting the finishing touches and then later on sharing his creations with his small entourage while keeping some packed away for the two Maithris back home  his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena.

When the job was done, an ecstatic Mr. Wickremesinghe remarked; Phew! That was harder than balancing issues back in Colombo these days.

President cracks whip on Cabinet

President Maithripala Sirisena was angry that some ministers were routinely skipping the weekly ministerial meetings on Tuesday. Given the numbers in the cabinet, many feel their absence will not be noticed.

At last weeks meeting, he turned to the Cabinet Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe and dictated a directive. He said that all ministers should be present at the weekly ministerial meetings. They should keep their time between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on Tuesdays free for this purpose.

Inquiry after inquiry, bond issue drags on

The Joint Opposition will call for a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe bond issues by the Central Bank, its leader Dinesh Gunawardena said yesterday.

We will ask President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint independent persons of high integrity to this commission, he said yesterday.

Among the matters we are appealing to be probed is the role of the former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and Perpetual Treasuries Limited where his son in law Arjun Aloysius was associated and their involvement in the bond scam of last year, he added.

Others were, however, sceptical. They felt that a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry would only mean another long investigation process, and like many previous reports of similar commissions, the report may gather dust somewhere with the recommendations not implemented.

The investigations into this purported scam have already dragged on for more than a year by being referred first to a party inquiry and now a parliamentary inquiry, they say.

Contradictory statements over the deaths of two Jaffna University students

The deaths of two Jaffna University Arts Faculty students are setting a serious poser to the Government.

The incident was first brought to the notice of President Maithripala Sirisena when he was in Trincomalee on Friday. That was when Opposition Leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan met him to brief him on the incident. Mr Sampanthan is also the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

President Sirisena ordered the Police to take immediate action. The Government Information Department issued a media release on Friday. It said:

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has commenced an investigation into the deaths of two Jaffna University students, who were travelling on a motorcycle in Kankesanthurai yesterday midnight (20).

The Post Mortems into these deaths are now being held, and five Police officers suspected for the case have been arrested and immediately interdicted. All necessary steps have been taken to ensure that the law is properly implemented in this regard.

However, a statement issued by the Police on October 20 had an entirely different story. It said that around 23.55 hours, a motorcyclist and the pillion rider had crashed into a wall. This has occurred in the Jaffna Police area. The rider and another on the pillion were admitted to the Jaffna Hospital where they had died, the Police statement claimed.

However, other sources said yesterday that the autopsy had revealed that one of the victims had a bullet wound. It is alleged that the Police at a checkpoint opened fire when the motorcyclist reportedly did not stop.

VVIP rebuffs businessman who tries to court him

Last Thursday evening, a VVIP received a visitor, a businessman who dabbles in politics.

The visit came as state prosecutors have filed action against him and others for allegedly defrauding Government funds running into millions of rupees.

The man had a request to make  to ensure that he does not face the ignominy of being remanded on account of the charges he was facing. Not for him the raised fists with the mangles as politicians are fond of exhibiting nowadays.

The man was politely reminded by the VVIP that the charges were a matter before court and as a matter of principle he would not interfere with what was happening there  unlike in the past. The crestfallen businessman walked out of the VVIPs residence and was heard telling a buddy that he would not give up trying.

Crosstalk at Cabinet meeting

There were some lively debates at last Tuesdays ministerial meeting.

Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka was locked in a verbal duel with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. It was over the Treasury refusing funds for the start-up of Pipidunu Polonnaruwa (Rising Polonnaruwa).

There was another between City Planning and Water Supply Minister Rauff Hakeem and Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen over export of brass from Sri Lanka.

Pension for artistes

The Government wants to introduce a contributory pension scheme for artistes from this year.

Rs. 15 million is to be allocated from the budget proposals. A further Rs. 29 million has already been allocated in the budget estimates, a Government official said yesterday.
Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association Annual General Meeting 2016 View(s):

Guiding Light

The Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) General Councils Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday September 24, 2016 at the auditorium of the Defence Services College, Colombo.

The chief guest at the AGM was Ms. Arosha Perera, Acting Director, Career Guidance and Counselling Unit, University of Peradeniya.

The members of the Butterflies Unit of the Defence Services College welcomed the chief guest. The Grand Salute was given by the Little Friends. A guard of honour by the Girl Guides was also a part of the welcome ceremony for the chief guest.

The AGM commenced with the traditional and colourful flag ceremony at which the National Flag, the flag of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the Sri Lanka Island Standard, the flags of the five branches and the nine provincial flags were presented by selected flag bearers to senior office bearers of the SLGGA. An innovation at this years AGM was the presentation of the SLGGA centenary flag to Venetia Gamage, former President and Chief Commissioner of the SLGGA.
YOUTH SURGE FORUM View(s):

Youth Surge Forum organised by AIESEC in the University of Kelaniya was held on the 3rd of October at the university premises.Organised under the theme Dare beyond the comfort zones, the event was graced by the presence of several distinguished guests. Youth Surge Forum was organized for the second consecutive time, with the sole aim of connecting todays youth with leading corporate personalities and organisations, in collaboration with the Youth Empowerment project Youth in Action 4.0.

AIESEC is the worlds largest youth run organisation which operates with the vision of Peace and fulfillment of human kinds potential. AIESEC fully aims of creating young leaders as the fundamental solution to all global issues. At Youth Surge Forum, it was expected that the youth of Sri Lanka has a better exposure to the corporate sector of the country. Thus, the forum guided the youth to make daring decisions beyond their comfort zones and actively participate in the development of the country.

The event was conducted together with many interactive sessions, panel discussions and workshops. The keynote speech of the event, Youth Empowerment and Daring Beyond Comfort Zones was delivered by theChairman of Sri Lanka Medical Council and former Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Professor Carlo Fonseka, who empowered the gathering through his intellect encouraging them to enhance their horizons.

The forum became more interactive and inspiring with the panel discussion, under the topic Personal Branding which followed after the keynote speeches. A renowned lecturer of University of Kelaniya, HasithaPathirana, was the moderator.The panel was graced by DulithHerath(CEO-Kapruka), Ms. Saskia Fernando and SamathaKarandagoda (Director-Conquest Solutions and founder of CIMA online) who had been a former President of AIESEC in Sri Lanka.
"Let me tell you, if Hillary Clinton gets elected, we have got four more years of Obama. We have a disaster. We have ISIS all over," Trump said during his address in North Carolina.

By Press Trust of India: US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump today slammed his democratic rival Hillary Clinton, saying her victory in the presidential elections would result in "four more years of Obama" and "spread of ISIS".

TRUMP'S STATEMENT

"Let me tell you, if Hillary Clinton gets elected, we have got four more years of Obama. We have a disaster. We have ISIS all over," Trump said during his addressal in North Carolina.

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"We wont win anymore. And your taxes are going up. And she wants to double up and triple up on Obamacare, which has to be repealed and replaced. It is a disaster.

"A Trump administration is going to renegotiate NAFTA, stand up for foreign cheating, and stop the jobs from leaving our country," he said.

"We are going to start making things in America again. We are going to start making things in North Carolina again. We are bringing back our jobs. America first," he said.



AMERICA DESK

Trump said he would create an "America Desk" to bring all trade related issues at one point.

"All trade policy will be consolidated into one office. It will report to a thing called the American Desk," Trump said.

He said the mission of the American Desk will be to protect the economic interest of the American worker and national interest of the United States. We are losing our manufacturing all over the country

Trump alleged that Clinton, allowed thousands of criminal aliens to be released because their home countries would not take them back.

"They dont want to take back killers and drug dealers and all of the people that we are sending back. It was just reported, and Hillary took it -- she said, bring them back, bring them back. They wont take them," he said.

"We are going to take these people out day one, the people that are the criminals, drug lords, gang members, killers," the Republican presidential nominee said.

ALSO READ:

US presidential debate: Trump says he may reject election result, Hillary calls remark horrifying

Stop whining, Obama tells Trump over election rigging claims

--- ENDS ---
UNESCO resolution: Govt. says no change in Lankas stance on Palestine View(s):

By Sandun Jayawardana Sri Lanka chose to abstain during voting on the United Nations Cultural Agencys recent resolution on a flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem due to the contentious wording of the text, and the decision does not signal a shift in its stand towards the Palestinian issue, the Government said yesterday.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mahishini Colonne stated the contentious wording in the text prompted Sri Lanka to abstain. This is not something we wanted to take sides on and add to the already existing contention.

The UNESCO resolution on Occupied Palestine was endorsed on Tuesday (18) by its executive board after being approved at the committee stage on October 13. Drafted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, the resolution was approved at the committee stage by 24 votes to 6, with 26 abstentions and two absentees. Sri Lanka was among the abstentions.

The resolution refers to Israel throughout as the occupying power and sharply criticises its policies around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem. The compound is the third holiest site in Islam.

The controversial resolution, while acknowledging the importance of the Old City of East Jerusalem to the three monotheistic religions  Islam, Judaism and Christianity  only refers to the site by its Islamic names: Al-Aqsa or Al-Haram al-Sharif. Jews, however, refer to it as the Temple Mount and it is the holiest site in Judaism.

Israel has condemned the resolution, stating that it amounts to a denial of the sites Jewish heritage. The country also chose to freeze co-operation with UNESCO in protest.

UNESCO Chief Irina Bokova too criticised the resolution, saying that nowhere more than in Jerusalem do Jewish, Christian and Muslim heritage and traditions share space.

Ms. Colonne pointed out that even India, home to the worlds third largest Muslim community, opted to abstain along with many other countries. She, however, insisted that the decision did not signal any departure from Sri Lankas position on Palestine as the two issues were not connected.

Sri Lanka has always supported the Palestinian cause and continues to chair the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, she added.

We also supported Palestines entry into UNESCO. We have supported Palestines entry as observer state to the UN. Last year, we supported Palestine as an observer state to raise its flag alongside other member states at UN Headquarters. Our position on Palestine has not shifted at all.

Ms. Colonne though, stressed, If you look at our voting on everything else which deals directly with the issue of Palestine, we have always voted for and we continue to vote for. There are certain segments trying to politicise this, and that again, is not helpful.

The abstention prompted criticism from some quarters who claimed that the move signaled a shift in Sri Lankas longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.

State Minister A.H.M. Fowzie said he personally felt the decision was wrong.

We have to condemn Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. I dont know why we abstained. It is something we would have to ask the Foreign Minister, he said.

The Muslim Progressive Front (MPF) on Friday condemned the Governments decision. This a terrible blow to the non-aligned policy followed throughout, beginning from the time of the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government, MPF General Secretary and former MP, A.H.M. Azwer said in a statement.

Pointing out that even several traditionally Christian nations had backed the resolution while Sri Lanka chose to abstain, he called on Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka to pass resolutions condemning the Governments failure to vote for it.
Fairy-tale ending for island beauties View(s):

By Kaveesha Fernando

When after weeks of travel and excitement, her name was announced as the winner, the slender 19-year-old was overcome with emotion. Indeed in keeping with the Miss Intercontinental pageants theme, it was a fairy-tale win over beauty queens from 60 countries for 19-year-old Heilynar Rosario Velazquez, Miss Puerto Rico when she was crowned the Dulux Ambiance Miss Intercontinental 2016 at the grand finale. Miss Sri Lanka Tracy Anne de Zilva, a crowd favourite, was adjudged the first runner-up, as the audience cheered wildly.

Earlier in the interview round, Miss Puerto Rico had spoken with passion and conviction when asked about the greatest environmental problem the world faces. The greatest environmental problem we face today is contamination. We need to deal with it because Gods greatest creation is one of the most important things that we have in our life and we need to deal with this issue, she said.

The finale of the Miss Intercontinental Pageant held at Stein Studios last Sunday, marked a first for the host country in staging a reputed global pageant and the stage was set for a glittering show with a fairytale theme. The event was conceptualized by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts and sponsored by EGB and Litro Gas Lanka.

The Top 15 were chosen from among 60 contestants according to a quota of five European, four Asian, two African, two North American and two South American contestants respectively. Then it was down to a Top Five -one contestant from each continent before the winner and runners-up were announced.

The customary national costume round saw some exotic outfits inspired by myth, legend and history and it was Miss Thailand Atitaya Kunnalaphat who carried away the prize for best costume. The swimsuit round, with the beauties parading in swimsuits patterned on Sri Lankan wildlife was won by Miss Costa Rica Maria Amalaia Matamoros.

The fairy-tale theme came alive when the contestants appeared in evening gowns  looking very much like Disney Princesses with dancers introducing them to the themes of Cinderella, Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland. Dazzling they were but only 15 could qualify for the next round.

The top fifteen comprised of Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Costa Rica from North America, Miss Venezuela and Miss Colombia from South America, Miss Ghana and Miss Seychelles from Africa, Miss Thailand, Miss Philippines, Miss Sri Lanka and Miss China from Asia, Miss Italy, Miss Czech Republic, Miss Scotland, Miss Poland and Miss Ukraine from Europe.

Stepping onto the catwalk again, this time in dazzling white dresses and red capes, they were introduced by oriental dancers dressed as wolves to fit the theme of Little Red Riding Hood.

As the excitement built up, the Top 5 were announced. Miss Puerto Rico Heilynar Rosario Velazquez was chosen from North America while Miss Venezuela Amal Karina Nemer represented South America. From Africa came Miss Ghana Sylvia Commodore, while Miss Sri Lanka Tracy Anne de Zilwa was chosen from Asia, and Miss Italy Florraine Russo was chosen from Europe to complete the top five.

At the interview round, Miss Ghana asked what sacrifices she had made for the pageant said she had used her school fees to cover the cost of the costumes, flight  the biggest sacrifice she had ever made. Miss Sri Lankas question was if there was one thing in the world she could change. There is nothing I would like to change about this world. As imperfect as it is, it is beautiful the way it is with the amazing people that we have, the different cultures that we have in our country and the best part is the culture we have in Sri Lanka and all over the world, she replied.

Both Miss Italy and Miss Venezuela however ran into translation issues and so the audience was disappointingly left without their full answers.

As the judges deliberated, Apache Indian entertained the audience with his vibrant fusion of Indian, Jamaican and English music, ably supported by an army of dancers.

The mini pageant winners are often a sign of things to come. Miss Bangladesh Fatimatu Zohra won the award for Miss Congeniality, while Miss Puerto Rico won the title of Miss Photogenic. Miss Venezuela Amal Karina Nemer won the coveted title of Miss Beautiful and was awarded a brooch made in the shape of the manel flower. Miss Myanmar Ni Ni Naing Vin was awarded Miss Popularity, while Miss Seychelles Isabel Lavigne was named Miss Hospitality.

Finally, it was the moment. Miss Venezuela was crowned the fourth runner-up. When Miss Italy and Miss Ghana tied for the second runner-up slot, the judges were asked to stand up to vote for their favourite and it was Miss Ghana Sylvia Commodore who was voted second runner-up by six out of the ten judges, automatically making Miss Italy Florraine Russo the third runner up.

Hosts Stephanie Siriwardena and Fahad Farook kept the suspense high, building up the excitement for the announcement that Miss Puerto Rico was the winner and Miss Sri Lanka the first runner-up. Showered with confetti, the new Miss Intercontinental was crowned with the glittering crown named Oriental Holy Water made of 720 diamonds and solid platinum.

The panel of judges for the pageant consisted of CEO of Europe for the Miss Intercontinental Organization Detlef Tursies, Miss Intercontinental 2010 Maydelise Columna, author and Chief Surgeon of the Aesthetic Beauty Clinic Lacomed in Berlin Dr. Yasar Sariguel, Miss Intercontinental 2016 Valentina Rasulova, TV host and actor Carlos McConnie, Miss East Germany 2000 Sabrina Schepmann, Miss World 1995 Jacqueline Aguilera, musician, and producer Jim Beanz, reggae artist, DJ Apache Indian and General Manager for Sales & Marketing for Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka (Dulux)Wasantha Heenatigala.

A packed audience witnessed the crowning of the new Miss Intercontinental pictured here are some of the guests
Global experts join Lankan architects to promote our urban heritage View(s):

Historic places connect our past with our present and with our future. They help form our individual and collective identities and contribute to a sense of place and belonging. But in the race to build tomorrows city, the fate of Colombos past is at stake. Living Heritage, from November 2-6 is a collaboration between Sri Lankan architects, the European Union, the Netherlands Embassy and the French Embassy, with support from the Alliance Francaise and the British Council, that aims to showcase and promote awareness of the value of urban heritage, highlighting the way in which it could and should be a part of the Colombo of tomorrow.

From the colonial period through to the recent past, Colombo has many rich and varied buildings that provide a window to understand important periods in the city, and by extension Sri Lankas evolution. Buildings such as the Legislative Council Building at the Fort, built during the British period and today housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Wolvendaal Church built by the Dutch on the site of a Portuguese church in 1749, speak of both the colonial encounter and how Sri Lanka asserted its independence.

From the post-independence period, globally important work by Sri Lankan architects is being lost or at risk from gung-ho development. Some of legendary architect Geoffrey Bawas buildings are well-preserved thanks to the efforts of bodies such as the Bawa Trust, but others are at risk and action is required before it is too late. Unfortunately, it is already too late to preserve some of the best examples of work by Minette de Silva and Valentine Gunasekara.

The day-long seminar on November 2 at the Galle Face Hotel will explore questions about the role of heritage in the city of tomorrow. Speakers from India, France, the Netherlands, the UK and Sri Lanka will discuss the challenges of imagining and building in the urban context while valuing and readapting the past. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion. An important focus of the seminar will be looking at Sri Lankas colonial and post-independence architecture and looking at examples, such as the Old Dutch Hospital and Gallery Cafe, that have been reworked in a sympathetic way to provide some of the most popular and engaging spaces in the city.

Wolvendaal church in Colombo

Beyond the seminar, a series of events will be held to promote awareness of the issues raised. On November 3, architectural expert and critic David Robson will launch his latest book  In Search of Bawa  at the Barefoot Gallery and on November 4, lead a bus tour around Colombo, entitled Bawa at Risk. The tour will take in some of the most well known exemplars of Bawas architecture, but also focus on some of the lesser known sites whose future is in peril.

On November 4, Dr. Lodewijk Wagenaar, a Dutch historian and former curator of the Amsterdam Museum, will launch his book Cinnamon and Elephants about the history of the Dutch period at the Dutch Burgher Union Hall. Lodewijk will be signing copies on November 5 at Barefoot.

On November 5, Channa Deswatte will lead a tour of Geoffrey Bawas estate Lunuganga and on November 6, Anjalendran will take a select group on a tour of Fort. To join the excursions please email delegation-sri-lanka-press-and information@eeas.europa.eu with the excursions you would like to join in order of priority..
We dont need this on show day, says Straw Lye. Hes talking about the unrelenting rain of the last few weeks.

The organiser of todays Wheels on Mainstreet at Coronation Park from 10am-3pm wants sunshine  and lots of it.

Because hundreds of street machine-lovers are descending on Mount Maunganui  to see, dream and muse over all things with wheels. We had a wet one last year  so it must be our turn for sunshine, says Straw.

Either way there will be many primed and beautiful machines glistening in the park  enough to make a man cry. If not, theyll run fingers down the paintwork in a mark of respect.

Hotrods, trucks, bikes, classics, custom cars, T-Buckets  you name it, its on its way.

Our first show was in 2012  and it replaced our original Show Rods on the Waterfront, says Straw, who is part of End Of The Road Rods & Classics Mt Maunganui Inc that is hosting the event.

We started off showing American cars  hotrods and classics  weve expanded it to anything with wheels on. Cars, motorbikes, trucks, etc.

And weve even got a trophy for the best Japanese Car this year, says Straw, signalling a turn to enthusiasm for Asian vehicles at car shows here in NZ.

Its been donated by somebody who visited the show in 2013. This is the second trophy theyve donated.

Hundreds of people have descended on Mount Maunganuis Coronation Park for the Wheels on Mainstreet which is taking place today.

This shows just how anticipated the event is by all car-lovers from near and far. The first show we had 160 vehicles and we now have up to 350, says Straw, showing the growth and the love wheeling its way to the Mount tomorrow.

But this year wheels wont turn down Mounts Mainstreet  instead theyll park bumper to bumper in Coronation Park.

Judging will commence thanks to Gold Coasts End of the Road Rods & Classics Club president Rod Brewer making the trip over to officiate.

Rod was invited after Straw and friends set up an End of the Road Rods & Classics sister club in Mount Maunganui, which took over running the Labour Weekend show from the National Street Rod Association branch club.

And this year weve got Australians flying over just for the weekend.

A coup compared to last year, which wasnt so good because we lost vehicles due to the wet weather. So tomorrows forecast of showers and light winds  at edition time  is being met with caution.

We will just fill up the park on a first come, first serve basis, says Straw. The people will come  and the magic will happen.

Wheel on Mainstreet, sponsored by Bake Shack, is on today, October 22, from 10am-3pm at Coronation Park.

Vehicle entry is $5, including passengers, and also gets the owner into the draw to win a trip for two to Brunswick, Australia.

Spectator entry is adult $5, family $10 and children under-12 gain free entry. They can also enter the Australia travel draw for $5 per ticket.

For more information, visit www.nsratauranga.com
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said that the state government will not allow anyone to take law in their hands.

By India Today Web Desk: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said that the controversy over the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has been settled through talks. The chief minister said that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Producers Guild Association held talks to resolve the controversy surrounding the film's release.

"In a democracy issues are solved with dialogue, why to tarnish the stakeholders. If talks solve the problem then it is the ideal way," said Fadnavis while speaking at the Aaj Tak Manthan.

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When asked about the tussle between MNS and the film fraternity, Fadnavis stated that the government is not weak and no one will be allowed to take law in their hands.

Watch video here:

"Those who tried to obfuscate the situation have been arrested. In fact, it was the Producers Guild that had put forward a proposal to contribute to the welfare of the soldiers. Raj Thackeray accepted the proposal," he said.

Talking about the exclusion of Pakistani artists, Fadnavis said that it was important to respect the sentiment of the nation.

ALSO READ: Need written assurance you won't work with Pak actors, Raj Thackeray tells producers



"Pakistan has been prohibiting our films and banning Indian television shows. At this moment, such a move is justified," said the chief minister. Fadnavis said that during the tenure of the previous government cultural encourage was encouraged. However, the present situation is not conducive and everyone should respect the national fervour.

Fadnavis further stated that China should stop supporting Pakistan as doing so will harm the Chinese economy. When asked about ban on Chinese products, Fadnavis said that there should be protests but there was also need for an alternative to these products.

ALSO READ: ADHM row: Indian Army rejects Raj Thackeray's politics, says Rs 5 cr donation unacceptable



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The net gain of migrants arriving in New Zealand in the year to September 30 has set a new all time high, according to Statistics NZ.

A record 70,000 more migrants arrived in the country in the year to September 30, surpassing the previous annual record net gain of 69,100 migrants in the August 2016 year.

The annual net gain reflects record high migrant arrivals and fewer migrant departures, says population statistics manager Jo-Anne Skinner.

Most of the arrivals are people coming in with work visas, which also includes working holidaymakers.

According to the data, in total there were 125,600 migrant arrivals in the September 2016 year.

The distribution of migrant arrivals by most common visa type was work visas (32 per cent), New Zealand and Australian citizens (29 per cent), student visas (20 per cent), and residence visas (13 per cent).

While migrant departures were 55,700 during the same period, with New Zealand citizens contributing almost 60 per cent to all departures.

Seasonally adjusted figures showed a net gain of 6300 migrants in September 2016, surpassing the previous peak of 6200 in November 2015.

For more information visit the Statistics New Zealand website.
Three New Zealand Police dogs and their handlers are heading to Melbourne this weekend in a bid to retain individual and team titles at the Australasian Police Dog Trials.

Competing in the patrol dog category is Whakatane senior constable Dave Robison and Isaac, while Rotorua senior constable Phillip Taylor and Murphy are in the narcotics detector category.

National police dogs coordinator Inspector Todd Southall says New Zealand Police has won six of the seven trials since they first began in 1988.

Our patrol and detector dog teams are very experienced so were hoping this bodes well for next week, he says.

Also competing in the patrol dog category at the trials is Auckland senior constable Owen Davies and three-year-old German Shepherd Quid.

During the six-day competition, teams will be tested in agility, speed, tracking, building and property searches, obedience and other tasks based on operational incidents.



Rotorua senior constable Phillip Taylor and Murphy will be competing in the narcotics detector category at the trials. Photo: NZ Police

Like other international canine travellers, eight-year-old German Shepherd Isaac and seven-year-old black Labrador Murphy will be vet checked and have their documentation inspected before flying out from Wellington.

The trials, held every three to four years, coincides this year with the 40th anniversary of the Victoria Police dog section.

The competition will conclude with a public display at Lakeside Oval in Melbourne on Saturday, 29 October.
Suspected paedophile Matthew Sammon, 45, was tracked down just hours after his face appeared among the latest batch of fugitives released by the UK's National Crime Agency

Matthew Sammon, in colour, is the first to be arrested. SUR National Crime Agency celebrates 10 years of Operation Captura with fresh manhunt

One of the ten most wanted fugitives thought to be on the run in Spain whose photos appeared in the latest Crimestoppers campaign has been arrested in Fuengirola.

Suspected paedophile Matthew Sammon, 45, was wanted by the British authorities on suspicion of taking and processing indecent photographs of children.

His arrest came just hours after the multi-agency campaign was launched on Thursday in Torremolinos.

Following a tip off from a member of the public, who called both Crimestoppers and the Spanish authorities, Sammon, who is from London, was arrested by the Spanish National Police at a fairground site in Fuengirola at around 8pm where he had been living in a camper van, the National Crime Agency has reported.

Steve Reynolds, Head of International Operations for the NCA, said: We asked the public to help us find our most wanted fugitives and this early result the same day we launched our campaign shows the system works.

The Spanish National Police were able to respond quickly to a tip off about Matthew Sammons location and he was arrested last night in Fuengirola. As we have always said, Spain is not a safe haven."

Lord Ashcroft KCMG, Founder & Chair of Crimestoppers, commented: "To have seen an arrest made less than 24 hours of the latest Captura appeal simply reinforces what we've said all along - Spain is not the safe haven fugitives think it is.

"I thank the NCA and the Spanish Police for their quick response to the information received, and the public for their continued support of this campaign, which has now seen 77 wanted individuals arrested. That figure, is quite remarkable."

Extradition proceedings are now under way and Sammon was due to appear at the Spanish National Court in Madrid on Friday.

Sammon is the 77th fugitive to be arrested out of 96 publicised through Operation Captura
Speaking on the permanent ban on Pakistani artists by the Producers Guild, Ajay Devgn said that Bollywood is scared that if someone speaks against a political party, his/her film will be banned.

By India Today Web Desk: Ajay Devgn whose Shivaay is up against Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has said that the film industry is scared of politics which is why if a person speaks against any political party, his/her film will not be allowed to release.

The actor was present with his wife Kajol at the Manthan Aaj Tak event where he spoke about the present scenario regarding the discontent against Pakistani artists working in India.

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Devgn had earlier supported the indefinite ban on Pakistani artists from working in India by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA). Earlier today, the Producers Guild vowed to never work with Pakistani artists in the future after a closed room discussion with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's writer-director Karan Johar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

ALSO READ: Indian Army rejects MNS politics, calls Rs 5 crore donation wrong

ALSO READ: Need written assurance you won't work with Pak actors, Raj Thackeray tells producers

ALSO READ: Bollywood producers vow to not work with Pak artists, MNS calls off protests

LISTEN: The best Bollywood songs by Pakistani singers till date (Here's what you will miss after the ban)

However, MNS has 'allowed' Karan Johar to release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and has promised to not create discontent after its release. Earlier, the party protested against the film's release on account of Fawad Khan being a part of the cast.

When asked whether nationalism or fear plays a part in his statements, Devgn said, "Both. When it comes to nationalism, as I said, I stand by the country. When it comes to politics, an industry men gets a little scared. He gets scared because if today you say anything against a group, your film will be stopped, something will happen."

The Singham actor also said, "We are very vulnerable where politics is concerned. Where nationalism is concerned, I don't think it (Bollywood) is divided... We want to stay away from politics because we are vulnerable. But when it comes about the nation, there I stand by it. But when politics is concerned, sometimes you say it, but most of the time you stay quite because of fear."

Devgn added that the film industry should be free from issues of religion.

"Nobody can deny one good thing about the industry is we never had any issues with religion. We have Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Christians everybody working under one roof. We celebrate every festivals together. We never had any problem in our industry. If films can influence the society then it should begin from here," the actor said.

On a final note, Devgn said, "I have worked with Pakistani actors, but right now the situation is such that we have to stand by our nation. I hope that the problem gets solved till then I will not work with them."

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Sowa (1).JPG

Atlanta Police Officer John Richard Sowa was shot to death in October 1997. He spent part of his childhood in Oswego County graduated from Fulton's G. Ray Bodley High School.

(Provided)

JACKSON, Ga. - Before he was given the injection that would end his life, Gregory Paul Lawler was asked if he had any last words.

Lawler shot and killed Atlanta Police Officer John Richard Sowa, a former Oswego County resident, to death in October 1997. In the 19 years that followed, Sowa's mother Christine Carlson Roth said her son's killer never showed remorse.

In his last moments, Lawler still had nothing to say.

Lawler, 63, was executed late Wednesday night in Georgia's state death chamber near Jackson. He was executed after the U.S. Supreme Court declined his last-minute request for a stay of execution.

For nearly 20 years, Sowa's family has waited for Lawler to face justice. It has been a painful wait.

"He deserved to die," Roth said of her son's killer. "It has been such a long 19 years that no family losing a child should have to go through."

Sowa graduated from G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton in 1987, according to The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com's archives.

After studying criminal justice, he joined the Atlanta police force late in 1993 and moved to Georgia with Danielle Sheehy. The couple got married three years later.

On Oct. 12, 1997, Sowa and his partner were dispatched to an Atlanta business to investigate a report that a man was hitting a woman. When they arrived, they encountered Lawler and a drunken woman. After Lawler left, the officers wanted to ensure the woman made it safely home.

In this 1997 photo, Christine and James Roth holding a photo of their son, the late Officer John Richard Sowa, and his sister Kimberly. The photo on left is of Sowa and his wife Daniella Sowa.

When they arrived at the apartment, Lawler swore at the officers and told them to leave, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He then grabbed an AR-15 he had propped by his front door and opened fire.

Sowa was killed. His partner, Officer Pat Cocciolone, was seriously wounded.

The officers' guns were still in their holsters, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Roth, who now lives in North Carolina, said she did not attend Lawler's recent clemency hearing or his execution. Her daughter Kim Tagliareni, Sowa's sister, witnessed the execution - watching as Lawler declined to speak and declined prayers.

The execution came after Lawler's appeals were denied. His attorneys' clemency arguments focused on Lawler's recent autism diagnosis, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In her years of pain, Roth said she has been grateful for a constant source of support: the Fulton Police Department.

She said Mark Spawn, who served as Fulton's police chief at the time Sowa was killed, has been her "rock." She said JD Thomas, a former Fulton officer, has also given her support.

"They were with us every step of the way," Roth said.

Members of the current department look after a memorial created for Sowa in Fulton, Roth said. And on the eve of the execution, the Fulton Police Benevolent Association placed a

wreath for Sowa at the memorial.

Officers wanted to show they remembered Sowa's "life, service and sacrifice," police wrote on the department's Facebook page.

Roth is grateful, she said, that the department has never forgotten her son.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Two teenagers have been accused of assaulting a city man in a confrontation that started after he asked them not to sit in his front yard, Syracuse police said.

Officer Matthew Tynan responded at 2:53 p.m. Wednesday to the 200 block of Glenwood Avenue for a report of an assault.

A 62-year-old man told the officer he had approached several girls who were trespassing in his front yard. The man told the officer he politely asked them not to sit on his property, police said.

After he asked them to leave, the man was punched twice in the face and head by two of the girls, police said.

A portion of the incident was captured on video that was posted on Facebook. In the video a man with a cane can be seen talking to several girls before one slaps him and then another appears to grab him from behind. The man falls to the ground chasing them.

The officer couldn't find the suspects and turned the investigation over to detectives working in the Syracuse City School District.

Police said that on Thursday Detectives Chris Hodell and Ken Albro found and arrested two girls. Police did not say how the detectives tracked the girls down and did not identify them due to their age.

The girls, ages 14 and 15, were charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Police said they were released to their parents with appearance tickets for family court.
As a theater reviewer, when you're half-way through a show, and you still can't tell if it's a spoof of a specific title, of an entire genre, or even a spoof at all, you know you're in trouble, or, worse yet, you know that the show is in trouble. But wait... maybe... by the end... we'll know. Nope.

Such was my experience on a recent visit to the Central New York Playhouse, a community theater company that has cranked out some very decent, even notable, fare over the past few years. Several local actors and directors of repute have received kudos from theater reviewers, myself included, for shows produced by this very busy company.

Therefore, I was bolstered to attention when, on Friday night, Justin Polly, who has done very solid work at CNY Playhouse, was in the opening scene of their current offering, "Night of the Living Dead", a schlocky stage piece by Lori Allen Ohm that's based on the credible George Romero/John Russo horror flick of the same title.

And Polly was good, as usual, delivering the most intelligent and intelligible lines in the whole one-hour (no intermission), one-act as a reluctant brother, Johnny, visiting his father's grave along with his sister, Barbara (Lynn King). Given the opening scene, and between Polly's polished sarcasm and King's blood-curdling screams, I thought things were looking up for this Dan Rowlands-directed spoof-or-not of the iconic black and white film, until the first zombie appears in the graveyard and, unfortunately, kills off Polly's character for the remainder of the show.

Cut to the interior of a house to which Barbara has escaped, and she finds Ben (James Sanders) who is hiding from the gaggle of zombies just outside the doors and windows. While Ben attempts, unsuccessfully, to board-up the windows and doors, Barbara, after exhibiting a few more harrowing screams, settles in for a long nap (most of the remainder of the play) on the couch at center stage.

Now, here comes the "beauty part". Whether the problem Ben was having "nailing" boards to the windows was intended (spoof interpretation), or, if the problem was indeed a technical miscalculation (I prefer this straight interpretation) of using Velcro strips instead of real nails, we may never know.

What I do know is that the several attempts with the boards created one of the

funniest series of stage snafus that I have witnessed, as boards kept falling away despite the faked hammer strokes, and particularly since the falling boards were juxtaposed to zombie arms and legs attempting to break through the window. Truly, this was the highlight of the show! Technical recommendation: keep the Velcro if it's a spoof; use real nails next time if it ain't!

Much to his surprise, the confounded Ben then discovers the Cooper family (Josh and Korrie Taylor and Amber Bates) who have been hiding in the basement along with two other characters (Matthew Soffietti and Katie Tucker).

The bulk of the action then, with the additional characters, turns into a mayhem of suggestions and actions of how to block out the zombies, or escape entirely from the impending consequences.

Thankfully, the juggling of the falling boards has a reprise with other characters who, also, just can't get that velcro to hold up, giving us a second helping of humor just when we need it.

By the end of the predictable melee, the appearance of Chief Mclelland (R. Bernard Ment), Dr. Grimes (Phil Brady), and news announcer Bill Bardough (David Dean), although all effectively played, spoof-like, fails to rescue and define what we have witnessed for the past hour.

The Details

What: "Night of the Living Dead"

Where: CNY Playhouse, Second Floor of Shoppingtown, Dewitt

When Seen: Opening on Friday, October 21

Attendance: Approximately half-house on a dark and rainy night

Length of Production: 1 hour, no intermission

Family Guide: Obviously not for small children. Frightening or funny-your choice

Runs Through: November 5

Information and Tickets: 315-885-8960 and www.cnyplayhouse.com

CNY Theater Guide
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- City police Chief Frank Fowler will host another Coffee with the Chief event this weekend at a pancake breakfast.

Fowler will be at the American Legion Valley Post 1468, 110 Academy Street, Syracuse, from 8-11 a.m. Sunday to meet members of the community, answer questions and "discuss topics of the day," police said.

The event will happen during the annual pancake breakfast at the American Legion. Anyone with questions on the breakfast can contact 492-2040.

Over the last few years Fowler has personally mounted a full-court press in the police department's efforts to reach the community. He attended town hall style meetings at city churches and held two Coffee with the Chief events in 2014. Last year Fowler hosted nine events at Dunkin Donuts throughout Syracuse.

The event Sunday is open to the public.

Contact Ken Sturtz: 315-766-7833 | Email | Twitter | Facebook | Google+
By Rahul Noronha: Heaping lavish praise on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for ensuring what he termed as Madhya Pradesh's exit from the BIMARU stigma, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today while inaugurating the two-day Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2016 being organised by the Madhya Pradesh government at the Brilliant Convention Centre said that the event would prove to be a milestone in the industrialisation process of the state.

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Version 5 of the GIS had yoga guru Baba Ramdev as a guest who did not let go of the opportunity to ask those present to turn India into a manufacturing hub as against importing stuff. He said that India imports a lot from China when there was no reason that those goods cannot be made locally. He said that he was getting into the textile business and would manufacture besides kurtas and jeans, even coats and langots(innerwear). GIS 2016 has 5 partner countries namely Britain, Singapore, UAE, Japan and South Korea.

The FM said that he had been coming to Madhya Pradesh for many years but his involvement with the state deepened after he was appointed election incharge ahead of the 2003 polls. He said that the state then did not have roads, power or water which were the planks on which the polls were fought. The FM added that Madhya Pradesh has developed on all these counts shedding the BIMARU tag in the process.

The Minister said that once GST is implemented across the country, the locational disadvantage that Madhya Pradesh had at the time of formation of states would turn into an advantage as it will help it emerge as a logistics hub in a unified tax regime.

Union IT and Electronics Minister Ravishankar Prasad said that MP is an example of comprehensive development with agriculture, industry and commerce all showing upward trends.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that MP has come a long way even after 2007 when the first GIS was held. "People did not want to attend the GIS and when I went abroad to solicit investment, people did not know about Madhya Pradesh. All this has changed with the government now having to refuse participation on grounds of limited space," he said.

The CM said that MP has surplus power for industries, lower priced than other states, has a single table clearance system for projects instead of a single window system and above all has him. He said that since the previous GIS in 2014, investments worth Rs 2,75,000 crore have arrived in the state of which work on projects worth Rs 50,590 crore has already begun.

Earlier, Captains of Industry namely Kumarmangalam Birla, Shashi Ruia, Arun Bharat Ram, Gopichand Hinduja, Anil Ambani, Rajendra Gupta of Trident Group, CEO P&G Al Rajwani, CII President Naushad Forbes also praised the CM for his earthy appeal and humility. Baba Ramdeo was also present on the occasion and promised to invest Rs 10,000 crore in MP besides also creating 10,000 jobs.

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Delegates from four countries were present besides Ambassadors and Trade Ministers of Britain, UAE, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, all of whom spoke at the inaugural address.

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Salesforce has agreed to acquire its Marketing Cloud partner Krux, which offers a data management platform.

Salesforce will pay US$340 million in cash and issue between 3.4 million and six million shares of common stock to consummate the deal, according to documentation filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Thats worth an estimated $700 million in all.

Benefits to Both

Krux will extend the Salesforce Marketing Clouds segmentation and targeting capabilities to power consumer marketing with even more precision at scale, said Krux CEO Tom Chavez.

Further, Krux will feed Salesforces new artificial intelligence system, Einstein, with billions of new signals, providing corporations with more data about their users.

Krux will continue supporting its partner ecosystem.

The acquisition was absolutely needed and expected, said Sheryl Kingstone, a research director at 451 Research.

Its a great addition to not just the data cloud, but also the marketing cloud, as the world demands contextual 1:1 intent-driven engagement, she told CRM Buyer. Its all about the data for the future of intelligent business applications.

Salesforce is making a big push into AI, having developed Einstein to integrate AI into all of its products and serve as a nervous system across its entire business.

Einstein includes product recommendations; Predictive Sort, which turns up sort and search results based on how likely customers are to make a purchase; and Commerce Insights, which helps retailers understand product purchase correlations to help improve their store planning and merchandising.

Data lies at the heart of those efforts, and that is just what Krux offers. Through its data management platform, it serves as an intelligent marketing center that corporations can leverage to deliver media, content and commerce experiences to deepen customer engagement, strengthen

At the Crux of Krux

Every month, Krux interacts with more than 3 billion browsers and devices, supports more than 200 billion data collection events, processes more than 5 billion CRM records, and orchestrates more than 200 billion personalized consumer experiences.

Krux uses AI to analyze all of those signals to identify audiences for targeted marketing and advertising efforts.

Clients include Kellogg, ConAgra, JetBlue, Time Warner and Peugeot-PSA.

Happier Together

When Salesforce unveiled its next-generation marketing cloud last year, Krux was one of the partners in its digital marketing and digital advertising ecosystems.

Krux earlier this year deepened its integration with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, empowering advertisers to match third-party data with customer information on their Salesforce instances.

Krux also entered the Salesforce independent software vendor partner program, which enables customers of both firms to use their customer data to target consumers on the open Web, while also enriching their customer profiles with online engagement data.

The resulting two-way data exchange between the data sets let Salesforce clients consistently increase the value of both their online and offline data.

It made sound business sense for Salesforce to extend the partnership by purchasing Krux.

Kruxs technology has real-time access to extensive customer data, which is crucial to understanding the process a consumer goes through when making a purchase, said Anne Moxie, a senior analyst at Nucleus Research.

Salesforce will be able to leverage this data with its artificial intelligence offering, Einstein, she told CRM Buyer, to potentially either make its marketing campaigns more dynamic, so that it can respond to consumer actions in real time, or  for highly granular customer segmentation.

It will make targeting more accurate, Moxie noted, because the neural networks and deep learning models in Einstein can use the real-time data thats collected from Krux for improved campaigns.
While the first look of Baahubali: The Conclusion is creating waves online, we give you five unanswered questions that we might possibly get from SS Rajamouli's epic sequel.

By Srivatsan: Okay, the first look of Baahubali: The Conclusion is out and is already breaking the internet. Wondering what the sequel would have to offer? Here are some of the unanswered questions that we might possibly get from SS Rajamouli's epic sequel.



Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?

Of course, the one question that has been following SS Rajamouli like his shadow is the obvious question. As the poster doesn't quite reveal anything, Shivudu's (Prabhas) retribution for blood is evident, especially in his sparkling eyes. Unlike its predecessor, the first half of Baahubali is likely to answer the most-asked question, followed by how Shivudu claims the throne of Mahishmati.



ALSO READ: Baahubali 2 first look out- SS Rajamouli-Prabhas's film gives *goosebumps*

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ALSO READ: Before Baahubali 2 first look- 5 things to look forward to in the sequel

A sub-plot between Maharani Devasena and Bhallala Deva:

Remember that scene in the first part where Bhallala Deva (Rana Daggubati) says to Devasena (Anushka Shetty) that the latter chose Amarendra Baahubali (also played by Prabhas) over him? Rajamouli hinted the possibility of a sub-plot between Devasena and Bhallala Deva. Considering that Shivudu rescues Devasena in the film, the sequel is likely to have a short flashback portion that reveals the rationale behind Devasena's captivity.



Sivagami's guilt:

After a blast of an entry scene with Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan), Rajamouli ushered us straight into the plot. However, in the first scene, Sivagami says, "Amarendra Baahubali's son has to live. Let me succumb to my sins." Going by what Sivagami said, Baahubali: The Conclusion is likely to establish a backdrop of what happened between Sivagami and Baahubali. Did Sivagami have a hand in Baahubali's death? Did Sivagami give orders to Kattappa (Sathyaraj)? Well, we have to wait and watch.



Shivudu and Kattappa seek the allegiance of Aslam Khan:

In the first part, there's a rather interesting scene with Aslam Khan (Kiccha Sudeep) and Kattappa. However, Aslam Khan's character didn't have an adequate screen space. In the conclusion, will Shivudu and Kattappa seek the allegiance of Aslam Khan to defeat the mighty Bhallala Deva? Shivudu already has his own tribal army. He has the support of the rebellious warrior group led by Avanthika (Tamannaah). With that said, Shivudu and Kattappa are likely to seek the aid of Aslam Khan -the weapon supplier, who assures Kattappa of allegiance, if need be. If this is to transpire, Kattappa's wrongdoings are to be pardoned by Shivudu.

Will there be a Baahubali 3?

Yes, SS Rajamouli revealed that Baahubali 3 is very much on cards. He also revealed that either of the lead actors will be a part of it and confirmed that it's a spin-off of Baahubali. So now, is there a possibility in the sequel where Rajamouli is expected to leave the audience awestruck just like the climax of its predecessor?

Considering Kattappa's loyalty to Bhallala Deva, will the former's fidelity consume the warrior? In Baahubali, Shivudu had a lovemaking sequence with Avanthika in a song, will there be a story for Shivudu Jr in Baahubali 3? Well, the answers to these questions will be revealed on April 28, 2017.

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Here's the motion poster:





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Dropbox last week confirmed that more than 68 million emails and passwords have been compromised from a hack that originally was disclosed in 2012.

Exposure from the breach was limited to email addresses, Dropbox originally claimed. However, based on the latest revelations, the hackers actually stole hashed and salted passwords. Even so, there have been no indications that they succeeded in accessing user accounts, the company said.

The firm apologized for the belated release of the information, saying it wanted to clear up the confusion.

We first heard rumors about this list two weeks ago and immediately began our investigation, the company said in a statement provided by spokesperson Nick Morris. We then emailed all users we believed were affected and completed a password reset for anyone who hadnt updated their password since mid-2012.

The reset ensures that even if the passwords are cracked, they cant be used to access Dropbox accounts.

Customers who signed up for Dropbox before mid-2012 with a password they used on other services should change those passwords too, Dropbox recommended.

They should create strong, unique passwords and enable two-step verification, the company urged. They also should be alert to spam or phishing attempts, because email addresses were exposed.

For security reasons, Dropbox could not answer any specifics about investigations into the hack, such as whether any outside security experts or law enforcement agencies have been looking into the breach, Morris told the E-Commerce Times.

Late Notice

Dropbox originally disclosed the hack attack in July, 2012, saying it started getting emails from some users about spam they were receiving at email addresses they only used for Dropbox.

Usernames and passwords stolen from other websites were used to sign into a small number of Dropbox accounts, Aditya Agarwal, vice president of engineering at Dropbox, explained at the time.

A stolen password was used to access an employee Dropbox account that contained a project document with user email addresses, according to the company, which is what led to the spam.

The Dropbox incident is similar to a recent attack on Tumblr, in that the scale of the leak wasnt apparent for quite some time, observed David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. The personal information of more than 65 million Tumblr account holders was offered for sale on the dark Web about three years after the original 2013 breach.

Customers that entrust their private information to an online provider should be able to rest safely in the knowledge that it is kept in a secure manner, and all companies that handle private data have a duty to secure it properly, Emm told the E-Commerce Times.

Customers cant take their digital security for granted, he warned. They should use complex passwords and multifactor authentication to guard against threats of this type.

Underground Market

The Dropbox attack also is reminiscent of the LinkedIn breach of 2012, when an attack that originally was thought to have impacted 6.5 million users eventually was found to have exposed 117 million users, noted Christopher Budd, global threat communications manager at Trend Micro.

The extent of that attack finally came to light this year, he told the E-Commerce Times.

These attacks reflect the yard sale trend, a relatively new practice that involves hackers selling stolen personal data on open, underground markets.

One of the reasons data is held for a long time in these types of attacks is to make the origin of the breach much harder to trace, noted Kevin OBrien, chief executive of GreatHorn.

In part, the theory here is that these attacks are timed to both maximize damage and also be incredibly difficult to detect, he told the E-Commerce Times.

GreatHorn could not comment on specifics of the Dropbox breach due to a conflict, OBrien said, but he noted that the advanced persistent threat model is itself predicated on the idea that attackers are sophisticated enough to leverage these kind of stolen assets this way.
The state of Nevada last week issued paralyzed former Indy driver Sam Schmidt a license to drive a specially made autonomous vehicle, equipped with a series of high-tech sensors and other equipment that will allow him to operate it with head motions, voice commands and breathing techniques.

The license allows Schmidt to operate the Arrow SAM car, a modified Corvette Z06 developed by Arrow Electronics, alongside regular passenger traffic  an important development in the history of the burgeoning autonomous vehicle industry.

When we think about the opportunities to enable mobility in a safe fashion, autonomous vehicles and semi-autonomous driving are really exciting, Kelley Blue Book Senior Analyst Rebecca Lindland told TechNewsWorld.

Arrow is collaborating on the SAM car project with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Paravan, and Schmidts Conquer Paralysis Now foundation.

The car, a modified 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray, allows a qualified quadriplegic driver  in this case, Schmidt, who was paralyzed in a car crash more than a decade ago  to control the steering, brakes, and other functions of the car with just the tilt of his head.

Schmidt wears a helmet outfitted with sensors that connect to dash-mounted infrared cameras. He breathes into a sip-and-puff device to control acceleration and braking, and he also exercises control through verbal commands.

Schmidt earlier this year drove the car at 152 mph during a demonstration at the Indy 500.

He showed off his hairpin turning skills with Indy driver Robby Unser at his side at the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Test Phase

The license issued to Schmidt is heavily restricted, according to Nevada officials.

This isnt something at this time that anyone with a disability could simply elect to be a part of, said Alexandra Smith, spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

The technology is still in development and being closely monitored, she told TechNewsWorld.

Schmidt is authorized to drive a vehicle with a valid autonomous vehicle testing license issued to Arrow Electronics, only within the state of Nevada, according to Smith. That vehicle must be directly behind a pilot vehicle provided by Arrow Electronics, and a licensed driver provided by the company must be in the car in a position to take over control of Schmidts car immediately.

The autonomous vehicle is not permitted to drive in snow or ice, and the vehicle must be driven only on highways the state has designated for autonomous driving.

Nevada has been one of the most progressive states in the U.S> in terms of testing autonomous vehicle technology.

Daimler Chrysler is among the automakers licensed to use the technology in Nevada, and it has been testing commercial trucks, Smith confirmed.

Reg Reform

The announcement of Schmidts special license comes amid a series of fast-moving advances in the autonomous driving industry. The U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month announced new guidelines for the autonomous vehicle industry, which are designed to created a level of uniformity across the country in terms of setting up a safety and regulatory framework for the industry.

Uber last month announced the launch of an autonomous vehicle test program in Pittsburgh, which will give officials a chance to see ride-sharing with self-driving Ford Fusion vehicles in real-world conditions, including a wide range of weather conditions, urban congestion, and a variety of terrain types, from cobblestone streets to hills.

An autonomous vehicle went the wrong way down a one-way street near the University of Pittsburgh, according to a news report.

Uber has no record of the incident, spokesperson Chelsea Kohler told TechNewsWorld, and it apparently isnt clear whether the car in question was in self-driving mode at the time, or if the reported wrong-way driving was a case of human error.
There was panic in the social media sphere over the past week  no thanks to a strange Facebook privacy hoax that made the rounds in people's News Feed.

The deceptive post was supposed to be a notice about a sudden change in Facebook's privacy settings, alerting people to what many netizens dread: "tomorrow, all your posts will become public."

The hoax became viral  not only in the sense that it started catching on fast  but also because it would not die down despite legitimate attempts to discredit it.

Much like a real virus, the hoax first appeared as one strain in 2012, dying down only to reappear in 2014, 2015 and again in 2016 with slight mutations; each time adding a more aggressive string of words to scare people.

Facebook users who worry about personal information being exposed to a user base of 1.7 billion people have every right to feel alarmed. But this is exactly how the hoax gains momentum  when it attempts to play on people's fears, scaring them into submission.

5 Reasons People Keep Falling For That Facebook Privacy Hoax

How can a well-meaning netizen avoid falling for the next internet hoax? Consider this our post-mortem of that pesky Facebook privacy hoax, and many others that have cropped up online, to help you detect a fallacy:

1. A hoax is (almost) always alarmist.

A hoax will attempt to jolt you out of your everyday world to draw your attention to an imagined threat, whether it's KFC serving fried rat instead of fried chicken, or the world suddenly being plunged into six days of "total darkness".

2. A hoax doesn't fit into the natural scheme of things.

Something's not right, you say to yourself  that gut feel that things are off-kilter is your built-in signal to keep investigating. If, under everyday circumstances, you know that X doesn't cause Y, such as the moon turning green all of a sudden, then it's possible your brain, which relies on logical patterns, is telling you what you're reading about could be a hoax.

3. A hoax aims to induce guilt.

A hoax is never shy about broadcasting good intentions that mask bad ones. One example: "Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he is giving away $45 billion of Facebook stock."

Sometimes, you are admonished to act: "10,000 Likes if you don't want this child to die of leukemia" or "Share with 20 friends for a year of good luck (ignore and suffer 50 years of bad luck)."

Through emotional blackmail, anyone who supports even an absurd cause is made to believe they're winning at life. After all, these posts suggest, only selfish, heartless people would rather scroll past the photo of a sick child.

4. A hoax looks for some other entity to blame.

To really make an impact on your day, a hoax will need to convince people that the world we live in is such a terrible and cruel place. It has to find someone  whether it's the government or Mark Zuckerberg  to blame for the world's miseries and inconveniences.

For example, "Channel 13 News talked about the change in Facebook's privacy policy. I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, messages or posts, both past and future." Facebook instantly becomes the bad guy.

5. A hoax cites 'authorities' to silence all doubt.

A hoax will readily cite a supposed "source" of information (although fabricated) and pass it off as legitimate. This is done so that people, who read and share that fake news or viral post, will no longer have to take on that extra step of fact checking. With all the mumbo jumbo, of the Rome Statute, in that Facebook privacy hoax, no one will dare question the idea now.

But if Facebook really wanted to change the locks on your account, wouldn't there be word on the Data Policy page by now? Trust us: you'd read about it here on Tech Times.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung is in full crisis mode with its Galaxy Note 7 cancellation, as reports say loyal users will abandon future devices from the company. A new report says Samsung is considering giving Galaxy Note 7 customers a discount on next year's Galaxy S8, S8 Plus or Galaxy Note 8.

In the months leading up to the launch of the Galaxy Note 7, it appeared almost inevitable that Samsung had a huge hit on its hands well before it ever even officially announced its flagship phablet. In mid-June we reported that Samsung was expecting strong sales of the Galaxy Note 7 and was building 5 million of the devices to have on hand at launch and ready for release.

When the Galaxy Note 7 officially went on sale in August, Samsung announced that it had experienced unprecedented demand for its new Galaxy Note 7, and that certain color options would not ship for about three weeks. Then the unthinkable happened as the number of reports of exploding batteries began to increase at a rapid rate.

The company issued a recall of the devices, halted sales, promised to fix the defect, shipped new Note 7 replacements to customers, resumed sales at all major carriers, only to repeat the exploding battery defect on handsets it said no longer had the issue and were safe to use.

One major recall of a device that was deemed dangerous to use is enough to kill a company. Claiming to have fixed the problem only to watch it be repeated, issuing a second recall and then canceling the Note 7 entirely has led to mistrust and outrage from Samsung's loyal customers, some who are reportedly considering filing lawsuits against the company.

In an effort to make up for its Galaxy Note 7 blunder, the company is reportedly considering Note 7 customers a discount offer on next year's Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8 (if the company doesn't kill the Note series entirely.) The source of the report adds that the discounts would also target customers who have since refused to return their Note 7s thus far, with only 10 percent of about 500,000 sending the fire prone devices back.

We already know that Samsung is already working on next year's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The firmware for the devices has already begun development and the company is reportedly planning to launch the new smartphones at Mobile World Congress 2017, which kicks off on Feb. 27 in Barcelona.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung actually goes through with this plan and how much of an impact it will have on regaining customer confidence in its new smartphones.

Do you think Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 debacle will have an impact on sales of its future smartphones, and will a discount give Note 7 customers the intended incentive to buy a Galaxy S8, S8 Plus or Galaxy Note 8? Please let us and our readers know in the comments below.

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For many, Space is the next frontier, but for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, it's the next internet, and he and his company wants to be there to see it happen. He views space as a place that is lacking in infrastructure to support the vast amount of entrepreneurs the Earth has to offer.

Bezos spoke at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. He talked about Blue Origins, a rocket venture that falls under Amazon. It's primarily competing directly with SpaceX, but it isn't being talked about on the same level.

The plan is to create the same type of infrastructure for space that Amazon did for the internet back in 1995.

From what he had to say at the event, it's clear that Bezos is passionate about transforming space into something humans can better understand in a way that can improve human life.

Bezos went on to talk about his early days at Amazon more than two decades ago. At the time, he was delivering packages to post offices throughout the United States with a 10-man team. The internet came about, and he used it to change everything, and now, Amazon is one of the biggest retailers in the world.

"Two kids in their dorm room cannot do anything interesting in space," according to a statement from Bezos. "We need to be able to put big things in space at low cost."

Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, believes the same thing, which is why his company has been working hard on reusable rockets designed to cut the cost of traveling through space on a regular basis.

Building out an infrastructure in space is easier said than done, because as we sit here today, we humans still have little knowledge of what lies outside the safe zone of our planet. Still, someone has to begin somewhere, and both Bezos and Musk are making the right moves.

Until then, Amazon will continue to do what it does best, and that is, release exciting products to market. The latest is the Kindle Paperwhite, a device that was designed for the Japanese manga reading crowd. It comes with 32 GB of storage, so reading the newest chapter of Berserk should be more pleasing.

Amazon is not stopping there; the company is preparing for the holiday. It aims to hire more than 120,000 part-time workers later this year to help keep up with demand. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, should keep staffers very busy.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google has already published the latest over-the-air (OTA) update images and Pixel factory images at the tech company's developers' page last Oct. 20. This news should be welcome for the tech-savvy crowd out there who likes to tinker with their Android devices.

To those wondering what these "images" are all about, these are the files necessary to manually restore or update Google phones beginning with the Nexus line.

The factory images can restore the phone's original factory setting. This is particularly handy for users who encountered errors when rooting or customizing their devices. Unlike the OTA images, however, the installation of the factory images will wipe out all data from the device.

The OTA images, on the other hand, merely update the device.

"This has the same effect of flashing the corresponding factory images, but without the need of wiping the device," Google explained how the OTA images works.

Google has provided all the details and instructions such as the six-step OTA update application as well as key security warnings when proceeding with the update. But Nexus and Pixel phone owners are advised to proceed with caution especially if they do not have experience rooting their handsets.

The posting of the Pixel and Nexus factory and OTA files also provides an opportunity for the public to compare the differences between the Nexus phones and the latest Google Pixel phones. However, since the files have been recently posted, there is still scant information in this respect. This is bound to change as developers start to evaluate all the information.

So far, we only know that Google has provided the Google Pixel and Pixel XL three builds each. The former, which was also identified in the post as Sailfish, has the 7.1.0 (NDE63H), 7.1.0 (NDE63L) and 7.1.0 (NDE63P). The three downloadable builds for Pixel XL, also referred to as Marlin include 7.1.0 (NDE63H), 7.1.0 (NDE63L) and 7.1.0 (NDE63P).

The three build versions are reportedly identical. The distinction is said to be based on the three regions where both phones are being sold.

If you are ready to flash or update your Pixel device, do not forget to check if it is bootloader unlockable. As Tech Times previously reported, Pixel phones bought from Verizon are unlocked. You should also be mindful that unlocking the bootloader, which is necessary to flash your device, will void its support for Android Pay. Using the factory image will wipe all your phone's data.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It was not until about 200 years ago that mankind started producing metallic aluminum so a piece of aluminum that dates back as early as 250,000 years ago is being considered a sensational find.

The chunk of metal, also known as the object of Aiud, was discovered in Romania in the 1970s. The country was still under communist rule at the time so details of the find were not disclosed to the public during the period.

A group of builders who were working on the banks of the river Mures in the town of Aiud found three objects buried 33 feet under the sand. One of the objects appeared to have been man-made. It was thought to be the end of an axe.

The three objects were then sent for further analysis. Two of the objects were found to be large bones of the mastodon, a large but now extinct mammal that died between 10,000 to 80,000 years ago. The third object was found to be a very lightweight metal.

Lab tests conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland revealed that the fragment is made of 12 metals and is 90 percent aluminum. Romanian officials also estimated it to be about 250,000 years old.

Experts who conducted further tests said that the age of the object could range between 400 and 80,000 years old. Even at 400 years though, the object would still have been produced 200 years earlier than when humans first produced aluminum.

Given its age and composition, the object, which measures 7.8 inches long, 4.9 inches wide and 2.8 inches thick, is now being hailed as proof that aliens visited Earth in ancient times with some proposing the idea it could even be part of a UFO.

Experts are baffled to find that the metal has concavities, which make it appear as if it was made as part of a complex mechanical system. Romanian Ufologists Association Deputy Director Gheorghe Cohal said that the substances that comprise the mysterious object cannot be combined using technology that are available on Earth.

Conspiracy theorists claim that aliens from extraterrestrial worlds do exist and some of these beings have in fact visited Earth. NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the surface of the moon, supports these claims. Last year, the space traveler said that aliens have saved Earth from a nuclear holocaust. UFO hunters have also claimed that an 800-year old "mobile phone" in Austria may have been left behind by aliens that visited Earth many years ago.

The ancient aluminum piece is now displayed in the History Museum of Cluj-Napoca.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
PlayStation 4 Pro, Sony's mid-generation upgrade, came out less than a month ago, and Sony officially tackled two of the most repeated questions pertaining to its console.

Taking a leaf out of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 playbook, Sony allows its users to replace the internal HDD of the PlayStation 4 Pro, should they choose to.

GameSpot reports that the PS4 Pro makes use of a SATA III interface, meaning that solid-state drives are supported by Sony's console. Users who choose to take an SSD over the default HDD of the PS4 Pro can look forward to speeds ramping up to 6 Gbps. To put it in perspective, the first PS4 model featured a SATA II interface, meaning that the fastest speed it could aspire to was 3 Gbps.

Not all console manufacturers see value in allowing users to replace the insides of their hardware.

Sony's competition, namely Microsoft and Nintendo, both do not allow the HDD of the Xbox One and Nintendo Wii U to be removed and replaced. However, it should be mentioned that the Xbox One and Nintendo Wii U allow users to dial up their storage space in the consoles via external hard drives.

The PS4 Pro is announced to become available on Nov. 10, and Sony puts a price tag of $400 on the new console. The device comes with a hefty 1 TB hard drive, but no 4K Blu-ray player will be present. Sony argues that the future belongs with streaming, and as such it is trying to tone down using physical disks.

The company is not the only one that believes this to be true. Yves Guillemot, cofounder and CEO of Ubisoft, said earlier this year that the days of disks are numbered and streaming will become the future-proof option. It might take a bit of time, though.

"We think it's going to grow but today, with the types of games we have, it will still take a bit of time to be more popular," Guillemot notes.

In case you are undecided whether or not to upgrade from your PS4 to the PS4 Pro, this handy comparison might help you out.

Keep in mind that Microsoft will roll out a new and improved version of Xbox, soon enough. The Project Scorpio is scheduled to hit the shelves sometime during the upcoming holiday season.

The company touts the new console will offer unprecedented processing power, and even claims that a "performance gap" between the PS4 Pro and Scorpio will be visible to the naked eye.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Some Facebook employees reportedly see Donald Trump's posts as hate speech and would consequently like to remove them, but Mark Zuckerberg said no.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has raised a whole lot of controversy with his speeches, remarks and posts, which are often seen as racist, sexist and plain hate speech.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, Trump's latest posts in which he expressed his goal to ban Muslim immigration to the United States has fueled a fiery debate within Facebook. Employees reportedly wanted to enforce Facebook's community standards and block Trump's posts as hate speech, but Zuckerberg ultimately decided against removing the controversial posts.

Zuckerberg said that deleting Trump's posts would mean censoring a political candidate. Employees worldwide reportedly filed complaints over Zuckerberg's decision to keep Trump's offending posts, but it was not unanimous. Others supported Zuckerberg's decision, so it's a mixed bowl of feelings down at Facebook headquarters around the world.

The heated dispute among Facebook employees has deeper implications, as it not only shows just how big of a role Facebook plays as a platform to distribute news and opinions, but it also proves the company's reluctance to make editorial decisions regarding the contact of some speeches and posts such as Trump's.

Facebook went under fire earlier this year when it was accused of bias against conservatives, allegedly suppressing conservative news from its Trending Topics. The company said it was not shoving its political views onto Trending Topics, promoting or burying news based on its preferences, and decided to crack down on editorial employees to prove it.

The company could be worried that removing Trump's posts might again spark accusations of bias. Coincidence or not, the WSJ's report regarding the Trump debate amid Facebook employees comes on the same day the social network announced that it would ease up on its explicit content restrictions in cases when the post is considered newsworthy or in the public interest.

Trump's posts about Muslim immigration don't fall under explicit content, and will not be banned as hate speech either. Zuckerberg is well-aware that removing a presidential candidate's posts  fomenting or not  from its social network could have dire consequences.

Facebook's mission to connect people worldwide implies a high degree of neutrality when it comes to political matters, and removing the posts of a presidential candidate would automatically chip away from that neutrality and draw criticism from those who don't see the remarks as hate speech.

At the same time, Facebook is in a tough spot having to arbitrate and rule what should be considered acceptable political speech and what takes it too far and is undeniably hate speech.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Online accommodations service Airbnb is under siege, as the legal issues that the company is facing in New York and its home city of San Francisco could potentially deal a severely damaging blow to how the company works and its earnings.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law one of the strictest regulations in the United States covering short-term apartment rentals. The law, which only applies to apartments in multi-unit buildings, will place fines of up to $7,500 against people who advertise rentals for only 30 days or less.

Renting out apartments for less than 30 days has actually been a violation in New York since 2010, but it has largely been ignored by landlords and tenants on Airbnb.

Airbnb attempted to get Gov. Cuomo to hold off on signing the bill into law by proposing new rules that include only allowing members to list one house within New York's five boroughs and requiring them to pay local taxes. It seems that the proposed updated guidelines are not enough to placate Gov. Cuomo.

According to a spokesman for Gov. Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, the illegal rentals allowed by Airbnb compromise the efforts to promote and maintain affordable housing by transforming the apartments into unregulated hotels.

Of course, Airbnb was not happy about Gov. Cuomo's decision.

"In typical fashion, Albany back-room dealing rewarded a special interest  the price-gouging hotel industry  and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers," said Airbnb New York public policy head Josh Meltzer.

Airbnb immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court in an attempt to overturn the new law. However, Airbnb's problems with regulations against the rentals made possible through the service does not end in New York. Berlin has passed a law that bans most forms of short-term rentals, while Amsterdam and Barcelona have started to impose steep fines for listings that violate rental laws.

Airbnb is not even safe in its home city of San Francisco, where the company has filed a lawsuit against a new requirement that Airbnb reject booking fees from landlords who have not undergone proper registration with the city government.

The legal battles that Airbnb is facing right now in New York and San Francisco will severely test the business model of the online booking service. Airbnb is saying that it could not be held responsible for how property owners use the platform. If the company would be required to enforce laws passed by local units regarding short-term rentals, the listings on the service would likely decrease, along with the company's earnings.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As promised, director SS Rajamouli has unveiled the first look poster of the much-anticipated Baahubali: The Conclusion at MAMI.

First look of Baahubali 2 is out

By India Today Web Desk: Last year, the world witnessed SS Rajamouli's epic fantasy drama Baahubali: The Beginning, whose visualistic experience made some of the Hollywood films pale in comparison.

ALSO READ: Before Baahubali 2 first look- 5 things to look forward to in the sequel



ALSO READ: Simha-Sarkar togethe, Amitabh Bachchan to star in Balakrishna's next?

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As promised, the makers of the film have unveiled the first look from the much-awaited sequel Baahubali: The Conclusion. According to SS Rajamouli, Baahubali: The Conclusion will chronicle the journey of Shivudu to claim the throne of Mahishmati.



And how he wins the Mahishmati Kingdom with his Unrestrained Power is #Baahubali2 The Conclusion. rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) October 22, 2016

A much excited director SS Rajamouli took to Twitter and released the first look poster.



Baahubali team also launched the teaser to a virtual reality spin-off film set around the world of Baahubali.

Baahubali: The Beginning, which hit the screens last year was highly successful and grossed Rs 600 crore worldwide. The film starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty and Sathyaraj is slated to release on April 28, 2017.

However, Rana Daggubati revealed that the theatrical trailer of the film will be out in December or January, 2017.

Here's the motion poster:





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Alarm bells are ringing about the rapid decline of snow leopards in the high mountain ranges of many Asian countries.

According to a new report, nearly 90 percent of the poaching is happening in countries such as China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

The report from wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said only 4,000 snow leopards are left now. It also voiced concerns over the illegal trade in snow leopard skins going online, evading the eyes of law enforcing agencies. In addition to skins, the teeth, claws and bones of snow leopards are in high demand.

Found in 12 countries around the Himalayan plateaus at altitudes between 1,000 and 5,400 meters above sea level, the leopards survive in the cold because of hairy coats and furry feet.

Yet another study published in the journal Biological Conservation cautioned that two-thirds of the snow leopards' alpine habitat will become extinct by 2070 because of global warming.

According to the new study, poaching has intensified since 2008 with an average 450 snow leopards getting killed annually.

Noting that half of the leopards are killed by herders as revenge for preying on their livestock, the report said, only 21 percent of snow leopards are targeted for claws, pelts, teeth, and bones, which are then sold through illegal channels.

"We think that what most observations, seizure records, and expert opinion shows are that the majority is still happening because of retaliatory killing," said James Compton from TRAFFIC.

One report also talked about snow leopards hunting linked to their use in traditional Chinese medicines.

Successful Conservation Efforts Kyrgyzstan

There is, however, hope. Conservation efforts of the Kyrgyzstan government are a case in point. They have saved several snow leopards from destruction by turning the hunting ground, Shamshy, near capital Bishkek, into a sanctuary. It is going to be co-managed by the Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Foundation. Such a transformation of hunting ground into wildlife refuge has been rare.

According to Kuban Jumabai Uulu, director of the Snow Leopard Foundation, the conservation efforts in Shamshy are showing good results with a clear spurt in the numbers of snow leopards.

Conservation apart, the need for local communities to protect the depleting animal stock has been underscored in the TRAFFIC report.

With the need for killing to stop, Rishi Sharma, co-author of the report, said there is the requirement to work together in reducing the conflict between farmers and wildlife so that mountain communities can co-exist with snow leopards.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A lot can happen in a week in the field of technology, and most of the times, it becomes impossible to keep track of everything. That's why we are here with this post. Like every week, this week too, weve compiled a quick list of the top 10 tech stories for you.

This week we saw a number of new launches ranging from Ektra Smartphone by Kodak to Intex smartphones, InFocus Epic 1, Xolo Era 2, Air Purifiers by Intex, Zopo Color F5, Huawei Honor 6x, Honor Pad 2, Honor Watch S1, Nubia Z11 mini S by ZTE, and many others.

As a special feature, we even published the review of the recently launched Asus ZenFone 3 along with a couple of speculations that boggled up our brains, including Xiaomi Mi Note 2 that was leaked a number of times - once with a flexible screen and next with dual edged display screen!

Here's a list of best 10 stories we have covered this week in consumer technology:

1. Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Details Leak Once Again

Mi Note 2 has been surfacing every now and then in the rumour mill - sometime with a dual edge display or sometime, with a flexible display! But what will the much rumoured smartphone actually behold for us? Xiaomi has an event scheduled for Oct 25 where it is announced that all details pertaining to Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will be revealed officially. However, before that, there seems to be one more leak regarding the smartphone.

Read The Full Story Here

2. Samsung Unveils 8 GB RAM For Smartphones

Samsung Electronics has recently unveiled the first ever 8 GB LPDDR4 mobile DRAM, which according to the company is best suitable for devices with large screens and ultra HD, 4K and VR support. Technically speaking, the new DRAM comes with four of the 16 Gb LPDDR4 memory chips, and is packed by the advanced 10-nanometer class process technology.

Read The Full Story Here

3. How To: Access Blocked Torrent Websites In India

Torrents have been one of the best content distribution platforms on the web. The system comprises of a package (file) that contains metadata about the content to be distributed and the network of devices that are sharing these files. In simple words, a torrent file is not the actual content but a key to acquire it. For easy distribution, a file is divided into small chunks (generally between 32 kB and 32 MB). These pieces, when simultaneously downloaded from multiple sources improve transfer speeds.

Read The Full Story Here

4. Xiaomi And Its Bendable Smartphone: Is It So?

The Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is recently seen indulging in introducing a number of smart home products as well, right from Mi Air Purifier and Mi Set Top Box, along with even Mi Mosquito Repeller. And smartphones seem to have become child's play for the company. They even forayed into laptops with a much more similar design, competing against MacBook Air. However, bendable smartphone seems to be the company's next destination.

Read The Full Story Here

5. Asus Zenfone 3 Review

Taiwanese brand Asus has been known for laptops and PCs for years. When it entered the smartphone market a couple of years back, it did a great job in delivering well-made phones at a budget price. Especially, the Zenfone 5 was one of the best smartphones under Rs 10,000 in 2014. However, being a PC manufacturer Asus is absolutely terrible at naming its smartphone. Much like the laptop variants, the Taiwanese company adds confusing detail to its smartphone names. Take for instance, the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML, ZE550KL, and God-I-forgot. Things haven't changed in the latest iteration either, as the Zenfone 3 has ZE552KL and ZE520KL versions. To make things simple, I identify the review unit as the Zenfone 3 with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage.

Read The Full Story Here

6. Apple Watch Nike+ Edition To Soon Enter India

Apple has recently update its website with a release date of its much awaited Apple Watch Nike+ edition, with price tags of INR 32,900 and INR 34,900, depending on its case sizes: 38 mm and 42 mm respectively. To remind you, the limited edition of the Apple Watch was unveiled on September 2 alongside its new iPhones, and it is being announced that the Apple Watch would be available for purchase via Nike's website and retail stores, along with Apple authorised resellers.

Read The Full Story Here

7. New Macbooks Coming To The Market Later This Month

After the hype of the iPhone 7, it is time for the Macbook to be in the court of rumors. According to a Chinese source quoted in Japanese media, Apple could be releasing a new line of Macbooks as early as October itself, and the distribution for the same could start by as early as the end of the month. This upcoming lineup of Macbooks could be a new series, which would replace the existing lineup which many say, is in urgent need of an overhaul.

Read The Full Story Here

8. Moov HR Is A Fitness Headband With Heart-Rate Sensor

How do you find out if a person is working out? Well, he will make it point to tell you by showing off his fitness band. Soon, such wannabe fitness freaks won't have to try hard to show-off as the wearable brand Moov has unveiled a fitness headband. Dubbed as Moov HR, the gadget comes with an in-built heart-rate sensor.

Read The Full Story Here

9. Google Rolls Out Android 7.1 Nougat Developer Preview To Select Phones

As per the company's plans announced earlier this month, Google has finally made the latest Android 7.1 Nougat Developer Preview available for select devices including Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and Pixel C. User can now sign up for Google's Android Beta Program and receive the update over-the-air. Else, users can opt in to download the Android 7.1 Nougat Developer Preview factory image from the company's website, and flash it to any of the device mentioned above.

Read The Full Story Here

10. Microsoft Researchers Say Speech Recognition System At Par With Humans

With Machine Learning being one of the things that will change the landscape for our daily lives, and also that of the technology companies around the world, it is imperative that different enterprises invest in it already, and look to build their own capabilities in the area. That has been the case with Microsoft, whose researchers now claim, that the human speech recognition system they have been working on, is almost at part with that of humans.

Read The Full Story Here

Top 10 Stories
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday that he agreed with Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to resume the cooperation agenda between both nations. | Read More
The Congress's UP campaign seems to have hit a roadblock over the past week. The party is now seeking to push Priyanka Gandhi to regain heir position in UP

By Mausami Singh: Members of a tottering Congress are seeking a Priyanka push for the party to regain some poise ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections after its former state chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi joined the BJP on Thursday. However, that relief may not come as the top brass appears keen to wait and watch, even as party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's efforts to woo voters in the backwoods have not yielded the desired results. Within hours of Joshi's move, top party leaders from the state were in a huddle at Congress UP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad's office in Parliament. This was part of a string of meetings that have been held without much outcome.

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Also Read: Political defection of Indian netas in recent past

In the past few weeks, the Congress's UP campaign seems to have hit a roadblock. With the entry of strategist Prashant Kishor, the stage was set to reclaim some of its lost glory after a slew of electoral defeats since the humiliating loss in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The buzz was that Priyanka Gandhi would be brought in as party general secretary and play a muchawaited role in Uttar Pradesh, campaigning the length and breadth of the state. But the party seems to be shifting gears and has slowed down on the Priyanka factor.



LETS GO BACK IN TIME

If we rewind the tape a bit, it was on September 6 that Rahul Gandhi launched his Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, embarking on the longest campaign road trip by a Congress leader in recent times. The "Deoria se Dilli" journey was tailored to pep up the party's pro-farmer image.

Just when the Congress thought the going was good and the Grand Old Party had made a head start that the big announcement came- the army's surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in PoK that completely shook up the political landscape.



PRAISE FOR BJP?

Behind closed doors, Congress leaders confess that the BJP has been able to do what it has always done best: its own publicity and propaganda. Despite the Congress launching a barrage of sharp attacks against the "chest thumping" and "browbeating" by enthusiastic ministers and BJP leaders, the ruling party has managed to drive home its point.

Rahul Gandhi didn't help matters.

"Humare jawan hain jinho ne khoon diya hai, jinho ne surgical strike kiya, unke khoon ke peeche aap (PM) chhupe huye ho. Unki (jawans) aap (PM) dalali kar rahe ho (Our jawans sacrificed their lives and did surgical strikes. You are hiding behind them, cashing in on their blood)," said Rahul Gandhi.

The shifting political landscape has upset the Congress's UP plans. Earlier there were indications that Priyanka Gandhi would be brought into the battleground as early as October this year.

After Rahul's completion of the Kisan Yatra, when a meeting was held in the war room at his 12 Tughlak Lane residence to discuss the future course of action in UP, there was no word on Priyanka.

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Sources say with the BJP creating hype over the surgical strikes and Rahul's remarks, now the situation is not conducive for her entry. Even if she comes into the picture, it would be much later and with a trimmed role.

--- ENDS ---
The makers of Bairava have rubbished the rumours about Bollywood actor Sunny Leone being roped in for a special song in Vijay's upcoming entertainer.

By India Today Web Desk: Ilayathalapathy Vijay is currently wrapping up the remaining portions of his upcoming entertainer Bairava. While the teaser of the film was initially scheduled to release on Diwali, the director said that it may not release on Diwali and also revealed that Vijay fans are up for a surprise.



2 Years of Kaththi- Why Ilayathalapathy Vijay- AR Murugadoss's film was destined to be a blockbuster



ALSO READ: Before Baahubali 2 first look- 5 things to look forward to in the sequel

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Earlier to this, rumours were rife that the Bollywood diva Sunny Leone has been roped in to shake a leg with Vijay for a special song. However, the makers of the film have quashed such rumours.

Speaking about the song, a source was quoted by The News Minute as saying, "We are not even sure who circulated this rumour, because we didn't even approach Sunny in the first place. In fact, there isn't even any scope for her to be included in the project."

The first look poster revealed the Thuppakki sporting a black suit.

The film also stars Keerthy Suresh, Satish, Aparna Vinod and YG Mahendran in the lead roles. Bankrolled by Vijaya Productions, the film has music by Santhosh Narayanan and expected to hit the screens on the auspicious occasion of Pongal next year. Like many of Vijay's films, Bairava is touted to be an action-family entertainer.

Following the blockbuster success of Theri, Vijay is teaming up with director Atlee again for Vijay 61. To be bankrolled by Thenandal Films, the film will have music by GV Prakash Kumar, who awaits the release of his comedy film Kadavul Irukan Kumar.

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By His Grace presents awards to three at first Honors Gala
A reporter from the left-leaning magazine Mother Jones spent five years in Louisiana, gleaning answers from "some of Donald Trump's biggest fans."

The report is billed as "here's what they won't tell you," which appeared on MotherJones.com this month.

Arlie Russell Hochschild, a professor of sociology at the University of California-Berkeley, focused her report on a Lake Charles insurance saleswoman.

"I wanted to leave my subnation of Berkeley, California, and enter another as far right as Berkeley is to the left. White Louisiana looked like it," Hochschild wrote.

Her five years (2011-16) included "visits" with scores of Louisianans, during which she discussed everything from high school yearbooks to where their parents were buried. She visited "Cancer Alley," the questionable moniker given to the 85 mile-strip between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and also observed the "boisterous" Trump rally in New Orleans in early 2016.

Trump won the subsequent GOP primary over second-place finisher Ted Cruz.

Rothschild's analogy for the strongest bit of Trump ideology is the idea of a person "patiently standing in the middle of a long line stretching toward the horizon, where the American Dream awaits. But as you wait, you see people cutting in line ahead of you."

In the analogy, the current administration not only helps the line-cutters, but they are line-cutters themselves: "As you wait in this unmoving line, you're being asked to feel sorry for them all. You have a good heart. But who is deciding who you should feel compassion for?"

Rothschild said she found most to agree  some with slight alterations  with the analogy. The results reflect pain, she said, focusing blame on an ill-intentioned government.

"It points to rescue: The tea party for some, and Donald Trump for others," she wrote.

The report is hardly the first bit of embedded journalism from Mother Jones in Louisiana. In July, a report surfaced detailing the harsh conditions at Winn Correctional Center, in which a Mother Jones reporter took a job as a guard in order to garner information.

Magazine expose details frightening conditions at privately run north Louisiana prison where more budget cuts are on the way A recent expose by a reporter who went undercover to work as a guard at a privately run stat

For the full report from Mother Jones, click here.
See what convinced the showrunners of Bigg Boss to get Navin Prakash on the show.

By India Today Web Desk: The ongoing season of Bigg Boss came up with a new concept of bringing in contestants not only from the world of celebrities, but also from the world of ordinary people.

One such commoner is Navin Prakash, who is an UPSC-aspirant. It has been revealed as to how Navin got his entry into the Bigg Boss house.

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If recent media reports are to believed, it was Navin's hot debate on news channel Times Now with Arnab Goswami that impressed the showrunners of Bigg Boss and thus earned him a place in the house this season.

Also read: Bigg Boss 10: Commoner Priyanka Jagga pees in her pants; asks VJ Bani to wash the same clothes



In the video, he can be seen making a mark by putting forward his opinions strongly, among a group of other prominent panelists. It's this bold attitude of his that might make Navin's journey on Bigg Boss 10 a successful one.

Watch the video here:

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Republican Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle is frustrating his competitors for Louisianas 3rd Congressional District seat, and he might eventually create a headache for Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, too.

Angelle, who has served as lieutenant governor and in the cabinets of two governors and presently sits on the LSU Board of Supervisors, seems set to cruise into the top runoff for the House spot being vacated by Republican Senate candidate Rep. Charles Boustany  if Angelle doesn't win the election in the first primary. He's vastly outspent opponents  only one of whom has served in elective office  and his rivals seem largely unable to make an impression on donors or the electorate.

Stephanie Grace: Senate race offers a sense of deja vu If this year's U.S. Senate race is giving voters a distinct sense of deja vu, there's a good

More than Angelles extended service in state and local government, his run for governor last year made a mark on the minds of voters. Sounding largely conservative themes, the former Democrat finished just behind GOP U.S. Sen. David Vitter, who trailed Edwards. Some in the 3rd District field accuse Angelle of seeking the job as a way station to a rematch with Edwards in 2019.

That tactic has worked before. After a narrow 2003 defeat for governor, Bobby Jindal captured the 1st District seat the next year with 78 percent of the vote. That position kept Jindal in the news and politically relevant. After one re-election to Congress, he swept to gubernatorial victory in 2007.

Angelles campaign insists its candidate remains committed to serving in the House, but does not rule out categorically that Angelle might make a future move toward the Governors Mansion. Whether that would come in 2019 may depend upon how well Angelle has defused animosity he generated among Republicans and conservatives in 2015.

With Vitter figured as the gubernatorial favorite, both Angelle and former Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, also a Republican, joined Edwards in relentlessly attacking Vitters character. Each Republican figured he could win by acing Vitter out of a runoff with Edwards. They failed and helped damage irreparably Vitters image in the eyes of a number of voters. Moreover, by concentrating on personalities rather than issues, they distracted the public from evaluating the candidates on the basis of ideology, allowing Edwards to defeat Vitter.

Voters on the right distrusted Angelle for that, but would have voted for him over Edwards had he made the runoff and likely would have carried him to victory. Yet Angelle alienated some of them permanently when he sacrificed principle to ambition by refusing to endorse Vitter in the runoff, presumably to keep his future electoral options open.

That's unlikely to cost Angelle in his current quest, but it could sabotage his chances for a future gubernatorial run, especially when another possible candidate provides a favorable alternative choice for Louisianas center-right electorate. Like Vitter, GOP Attorney Gen. Jeff Landry is a solid conservative, but minus the personal baggage. Despite losing an intraparty election struggle for Congress with Boustany in 2012, Landrys statewide win last year demonstrated conservatives harbor no ill will over that heated battle.

With an appealing option in Landry, conservative support for Angelle may lag and cost him the chance at another runoff. However, Angelle could join Landry in a runoff if he captures enough of the moderates who typically vote for Republicans but went with Edwards in 2015, thereby denying the incumbent re-election. Regardless, Edwards seems no more likely to defeat Angelle heads-up than four years ago.

Only a loss in the congressional race  an outcome Edwards should welcome  would slow Angelles momentum enough for him not to be a factor in the 2019 governors election.

Jeff Sadow is an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University Shreveport, where he teaches Louisiana Government. He is author of a blog about Louisiana politics at http://www.between-lines.com, where links to information in this column may be found. When the Louisiana Legislature is in session, he writes about legislation in it at http://www.laleglog.com. Follow him on Twitter @jsadowadvocate. Email him at jeffsadowtheadvocate@yahoo.com. His views do not necessarily express those of his employer.

Editor's note: This column was updated On Oct. 24 to correct a mistake. The previous version incorrectly identified Scott Angelle as a member of the Board of Regents.
Advocate Photo by Mark Ballard  The Secretary of State's Office plans to give every voter who participates in the upcoming election a sticker that includes George Rodrigue's iconic "Blue Dog." Art for the sticker was unveiled Monday at the Press Club of Baton Rouge. From the left is Jacques and Andre Rodrigue, the artist's sons, Secretary of State Tom Schedler, and Wendy Rodrigue, the artist's widow.
Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni has no shortage of problems these days, all stemming from news stories about the FBI investigation into his lewd text messages to a 17-year-old and his vaguely worded, videotaped and distinctly unsatisfying apology.

Despite Yenni's pleas for privacy and a second chance, the entire parish council has not only called on him to resign but backed it up with a no-confidence vote. Other local governments have weighed in against him as well, including Kenner, the city he led as mayor before he was elected parishwide last year. Catholic schools don't want him on their campuses, and the parish's public schools may ban him too, despite his pre-emptive offer to stay away voluntarily.

A new Clarus Research Group poll of 501 registered voters commissioned by The Advocate and WWL-TV found that a remarkable 93 percent of respondents know of the scandal, 74 percent want Yenni to resign, and 72 percent would vote to remove him from office against his will if critics manage to pull off a successful recall drive.

And the poll suggests that getting that question before voters isn't as far-fetched a prospect as it might seem. Louisiana's procedures favor the status quo by requiring verified signatures from a third of the jurisdiction's registered voters just to get the question on a ballot. In Jefferson Parish, that would translate into more than 90,000 signatures, which is more than the number of votes cast for Yenni and his four vanquished opponents combined in last year's election. Even if there's no organized opposition, just getting that many people to take a public stand is daunting.

But the poll hints that it may be attainable, particularly given that a muscular, apparently well-funded and seemingly well-organized petition effort is already underway. Forty-five percent of the people polled said they'd definitely sign a recall petition, which would translate into 121,000 potential signatures alone. That should be more than enough, even without the additional 24 percent who said they'd probably sign on.

And believe it or not, Yenni's troubles get more complicated from there. As bad as his numbers are, they're far worse in comparison to the rest of the parish's political structure.

While Yenni's approval rating is underwater, with 21 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of him and 70 percent saying their view is unfavorable, the politicians who are trying to push him out remain highly regarded. Same goes for several of his potential replacements.

Sheriff Newell Normand has a stunning 77 percent approval rating, with just seven percent disapproving. The two at-large parish council members aren't quite as well known, but their numbers are strong, too; 51 percent like Cynthia Lee-Sheng and just seven percent don't, while 47 percent view Chris Roberts favorably, compared to 16 percent who see him unfavorably. Lee-Sheng and Roberts were the first big names to call on Yenni to resign, and Normand later joined them.

Then there's Yenni's predecessor in office, John Young, who has a 63-15 favorable-unfavorable ratio, according to the poll. Young would likely have won re-election easily last year, but he ran for lieutenant governor instead and came up short. Now, he's one of the rumored candidates to take over the presidency should Yenni go. So is Lee-Sheng, who was promoted from a district council seat to the parish-wide post without attracting opposition last fall.

Poll numbers aside, these two offer something else Yenni just can't these days. Yenni's name was a familiar one to voters, given that this grandfather and uncle had both served as parish president. He surely benefited from the association, particularly among voters outside of Kenner who might not have followed his career closely.

But both Young and Lee-Sheng are well-known and well-liked on their own, after years on the scene. Both are, on paper, the type of leader voters often turn to after taking a chance on a relative unknown and getting burned, the way New Orleans voters chose Mitch Landrieu after eight years of Ray Nagin.

And if there's one thing that Jefferson Parish voters probably don't want these days, it's more surprises.
As unprecedented flooding decimated much of Louisiana, the National Guard swept into action, rescuing well over 20,000 people.

In a mini-documentary, titled "The Thousand Year Flood," state officials including Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, military leaders, emergency agency personnel and Louisiana citizens detail what led up to the unprecedented flooding, and how the response was handled.

Trouble seeing video? Click here.

The National Guard and other agencies conducted boat and air rescues, and also use helicopters to aid with levee repair missions, detailed in the video. Thousands of residents were moved to safety.

Throughout the response, 3,885 soldiers and airmen were activated, completing 319 missions. In total 20,535 people were rescued (1,111 by air), along with 2,836 pets.

Continue below for more photos and stories detailing August's flooding.
Ensuring Gungahlin's CBD is not swamped by over-ambitious tall buildings and a federal government promise to bring an agency to the region will top the priorities in the capital's fastest growing area.

Gungahlin Community Council president Peter Elford said with the "great outcome" of a light rail for the strongly pro-tram area guaranteed by the election result, the council would turn its attention to the construction and jobs issues.

An artist's impression of Geocon's Infinity Towers in Gungahlin. Credit:Geocon

The approval of the landmark 20-storey Infinity Towers project had encouraged a series of proposals to build similar tall residential buildings of 10 to 14 storeys, he said, with the council to hear details on another at the next meeting.

"Most people are looking for a bit of master planning, a joined-up approach for the town centre  our indications from the 2014 survey is people don't want big tall towers," he said. "I don't think it was ever a plan to have a cluster of 10 large residential towers on that site."
Now that the final votes have been tallied, the newly re-elected ACT government can get down to business.

The ACT's Hare-Clark system did not provide any last-minute surprises on Saturday and the number of seats each party won remained at the total predicted on election night  12 Labor, 11 Liberals and two Greens.

Canberrans have made their voices heard, and while the light rail referendum has now given a mandate to the Barr government to deliver it, the public have spoken on other issues as well.

The 2016 election has delivered a majority female ACT government for the first time with 13 MLAs elected  two in Brindabella, three in Ginninderra, two in Kurrajong, three in Murrumbidgee and two in Yerrabi.
It's hard to believe it's been almost been 10 years to the day since the Victorian Liberals had a comprehensive environment policy.

While that might sound ridiculous in the context of global warming and other environmental woes, the sad reality is that an entire decade has passed since the state Liberals offered voters a detailed vision to tackle the challenges we currently face.

Despite months of talks, a consensus still hasn't been reached for a new national park in the Central Highlands to save Victoria's fauna emblem, the Leadbeater's possum. Credit:Ken Irwin

Spring Street diehards might recall that the last major election policy was dished out in 2006 (ahead of the poll Ted Baillieu ended up losing to Steve Bracks) and it even came with a neat little title: A Liberal Government Plan for a Sustainable Future. To the party's credit, it was pretty good, too.

Following in the footsteps of the environmental leadership showed under the Hamer government, Baillieu's Liberals promised big: to protect state forests and create new national parks; to conduct annual audits for public land maintenance; to design a statewide plan for recycled water and 10-star energy efficiency for Victorian households.
The 88 countries of the International Whaling Commission have gathered in Slovenia for the organisation's first major summit since Japan, in defiance of a ruling by the international court, once again sent its harpoon ships to the waters near Antarctica. This crucial meeting should not surrender to disappointment, but instead strive to forge an agreement to finally end the senseless slaughter on the high seas.

The very existence of the whaling commission is an acknowledgement that although countries can lay claim to certain waters, no one nation can truly own the creatures that inhabit the oceans in ignorance of human habits. To protect threatened whales species from extinction after decades of over-hunting, the commission instigated a global moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s that remains in force to this day.

Whales belong to no country.

This moratorium was a fine example of the principle of collective action; setting aside national interests for a greater good. It is an ideal that is especially important in responding to modern challenges to the environment, including global warming.

Regrettably, Japan has refused to support the spirit of the moratorium, and consequently undermined trust in the ability of countries to work collectively. Worse, in a hypocritical fashion, Japan claims to be killing whales in order to save them. Japan has exploited a loophole in the convention that allows lethal sampling of whales for scientific research. Thousands of whales have been killed over the years in the name of Japan's pseudo science.
Bigg Boss 10 contestant Priyanka Jagga stooped to an all new low as she asked VJ Bani to wash the clothes she peed in.

By India Today Web Desk: The luxury budget tasks of Bigg Boss have been historically successful in bringing out the true selves of the contestants, and the current season is doing no less. Commoner and the mother of two, Priyanka Jagga has stooped to an all time low while making fights her primary strategy of making her way up the ladder in the reality show.

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In this newly-introduced task, Bigg Boss has given the commoners yet another chance to become the Maliks and rule the house, while the celebrities would continue as the Sevaks.

According to the task, two selected contestants from both the groups are supposed to sit on a rocking toy horse and keep moving it continuously. The moment a voice alarm is sounded, the Sevaks are supposed to make Maliks sitting on the horse drink a cup of water and vice versa.

Also read: Exclusive: Prince Narula is rooting for THIS aam aadmi contestant in Bigg Boss



While the Sevaks team elected elect Bani and Gaurav to participate in the task, Priyanka and Navin represented the Maliks team.

According to media reports, the first to quit the task were celebrity VJ Bani and commoner Navin. While the others kept continuing with task, commoner Priyanka is said to have peed in her pants for not being control it, but she still continued with the task even after that.

Problems happened when the task got over. Priyanka, reportedly, exercising her right as a Malik asked Sevak contestant Bani to wash the clothes she peed in. As expected, it resulted in a major fight between the two and the other contestants reportedly supported Bani and lashed out at Priyanka.



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He has called tobacco a "dangerous drug" and the single most preventable cause of bad health and death in Australia.

So why does Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull still have a financial stake in two of the world's biggest tobacco companies, 18 months after he promised to snuff out out his sharemarket exposure to cigarettes?

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has shares in funds that invest in cigarette companies. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

According to his recently released pecuniary interests register, Mr Turnbull has shares in three funds that invest in tobacco.

One is a European fund that invests in British American Tobacco and the others are Japanese funds with shares in Japan Tobacco  the third and fourth-largest tobacco companies by market share in the world.
If there was ever an example of how far gender politics has come inside the world of Australian publishing, the upcoming Elle Australia cover is the perfect pin-up.

Supermodel and lingerie entrepreneur Elle Macpherson will grace the November issue, 25 years since her last appearance on the local version of the fashion publication.

Back in 1991, Macpherson with nipples showing through a wet white shirt, blazed across the cover of Elle Australia before the closure of the magazine several years later.

Fast forward to 2016 and the former supermodel is taking the Victoria Beckham approach to fashion spreads these days. The medium is no longer the message for these successful women who are now more at home behind-the-scenes and in boardrooms than in bikinis.
Australian jihadists attempting to return home as battle erupts around the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul should be locked up if they return, or placed under the "closest monitoring we can arrange" according to former army chief Peter Leahy.

"It is a significant concern," said the former general, who now directs the National Security Institute at Canberra University.

"It looks as though ISIS will fall in Iraq, and more than 100 or so Aussies are there right now fighting alongside them. We are potentially going to see more young jihadists here, plotting and attempting to carry out attacks. So our security agencies are going to have to be on high alert."

Where Australian nationals fighting abroad alongside Islamic State have dual passports, they should have their Australian passports "ripped off them" he said.
When Aaliyah* split up with her partner she suddenly had to contend with "Disney Dad". While she was struggling to manage daily living expenses as a single parent on a low income, he was using his greater wealth to buy off their children with treats.

"He would lavish them with gifts to make them want to go with him," she said. "I wasn't in a situation to take them to theme parks so [he would say] 'if you come with me, I'll go here'."

Fathers can use presents to "buy" their children's affection. Credit:Louie Douvis

An Australian Institute of Family Studies study into the effects of domestic violence on parenting found the "Disney Dad" phenomenon of men using money to buy their children's allegiances while denying the mother funds was a common feature of these separations.

"These were men who often had much greater financial resources and gave gifts, expensive activities or luxury items to children while not making a fair contribution to the children's day-to-day living expenses," the report stated.
Four of Sydney's wealthiest philanthropists, Gretel Packer, David Gonski, John Kaldor and Simon Mordant, will join a high-powered group to drive cultural policy in NSW under a Baird government arts shakeup.

Deputy premier Troy Grant has complained that the arts "bureaucracy" has become disconnected from its purpose.

Mr Grant will merge Screen NSW and Arts NSW into one agency, the Office of Culture, Arts and Screen.

Above it will sit a committee of 15 business people, arts industry participants, and the chairs of major cultural institutions.
There was an assault on the senses in Roma Street Parklands on Saturday, as the Brisbane Mexican Festival kicked off for its second year.

The aroma of Mexican food and drink, the sound of a Mariachi band and the vibrant colours gave patrons plenty to take in.

Dancers get involved with the crowd at the Brisbane Mexican Festival. Credit:Tammy Law

Organiser Carlos Espejel had been managing similar Mexican events for the past 10 years, but said they were mainly directed towards the Latin community.

"I thought we should share this culture and richness to Brisbane in general," Mr Espejel said.
Top Australian chefs are jumping on board to support Queensland's Great Barrier Beer, which offers people the chance to drink while helping to conserve one of the natural wonders of the world.

The beer is produced by the Good Beer Co, a social enterprise launched in late 2015 after raising about $37,000 through a crowdfunding campaign.

Good Beer Co. founder James Grugeon with a bottle of Great Barrier Beer.

Great Barrier Beer is brewed by the Bargara Brewing Company in Bundaberg and donates about 50 per cent of its profits to the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), which funds conservation projects along the Great Barrier Reef.

The idea was inspired and supported by the UK's Two Fingers Brewery and US brewer Finnegans, which donates money for prostate cancer and to feed the homeless respectively.
A family law expert has questioned whether Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner's book following her attempt to snatch her children in Lebanon could breach family law legislation.

Ms Faulkner inked a deal with Hachette Australia to tell her story following the botched attempt to get her children back from their father Ali Elamine in Lebanon, with a 60 Minutes crew in tow.

Brisbane family law specialist Jennifer Hetherington said the book, All For My Children, could pose legal issues with Australian legislation making it illegal to identify children in custody issues.

Ms Hetherington, an accredited family law specialist with Hetherington Legal, said Ms Faulkner's book could also send the wrong message to couples in custody disputes.
It's something that hundreds of cyclists do every day.

Most of the time, it goes unnoticed.

But seasoned cyclist Laurie Duncan was shocked when he was slapped with a $152 fine for passing on the left of an unmoving car in Melbourne's CBD.

Mr Duncan, 65, said the car was stationary at the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane.
A former Melbourne man has been charged with child sex offences in the Canadian province of British Columbia after being filmed by a controversial vigilante group called Creep Catchers.

Don Putt, 67, lived in Altona for at least six years where he offered free accommodation to travellers in his two-bedroom unit via an international exchange club.

A screen grab of Don Putt from a YouTube video posted by Canadian vigilante group Fraser Valley Creep Catchers.

In a video posted online by Fraser Valley Creep Catchers, Putt is filmed in a McDonald's restaurant in Vedder Crossing on October 7 where he allegedly thought he would be meeting a 12-year-old boy.

The group poses as underage boys and girls on dating websites and then films the confrontations before posting the encounters on social media.
A BJP worker was attacked in Thrissur by suspected CPM workers and supporters. According to police, the victim is the brother of an accused in the murder case of a CPM activist.

By Revathi Rajeevan: A BJP worker, identified as Vishnu Prasad was attacked with sharp weapons by six persons in Thrissur district of Kerala on Friday. Police suspect that it could be a case of an old rivalry.

The six accused chased the 30-year-old victim, who was on a bike. The accused rammed a car into his bike and attacked the BJP activist, who received grievous injury. He is stated to be out of danger in a hospital.

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READ: The killing fields of Kannur

OLD RIVALRY

Vishnu Prasad is the brother of Vijayasanker, the seventh accused in the murder case of CPM worker Shihabudeen, who was killed in 2015.

Two of the six accused, who attacked the BJP worker, are CPM activists. The other four don't have any political affiliation, the police said.

"The victim and accused had personal rivalry and both had criminal cases against them. It's too early to say this has any political angle to it," the police said.

ALSO WATCH:







CASE REGISTERED

Assault on the BJP worker was so severe that his fingers on his right hand were almost severed. He also received injuries on head and legs. He is undergoing treatment in a ICU of a private hospital.

Police have registered a case of attempt to murder under section 307 of the IPC. Police have also increased patrolling in Pavaratty locality, which has recently seen several CPM-BJP clashes.

The BJP has blamed the LDF government for the attacks on its workers. The party held three rallies in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday demanding action against the attackers.



ALSO READ:

Kerala: BJP worker hacked to death, his father was killed in 2002





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Tears stream down Tala's face as she relays these painful details. Usually, the 18-year-old avoids sharing her memories. She is determined to be a strong and stable force for her younger brother, over whom she has been given full guardianship after their father abandoned them months after their arrival.

But Tala wants people to know her story. The year 12 student at Lalor North College acknowledges that, among the nearly 85,000 Victorians sitting their VCE exams from this week, her case is unique.

"I lost my everything. I lost my mum, I lost my dad but, on the other hand, I became a different person," Tala says. "I'm strong enough, I try my best  I want to be positive."

Every day, Tala cooks for her 15-year-old brother, travels with him to and from school, and studies nightly  between 6pm and 3am  fitting in a few hours sleep before a 6.30am start. She started learning English just two years ago and tries to broaden her vocabulary and pick up Australian slang, while studying for her high-stakes exams.

She lives in Victoria's north, in accommodation for unaccompanied minors, and has a budget of $140 in fortnightly government funding to cover basic expenses such as food, textbooks, internet access and Myki passes.
A growing number of children in youth custody claim they have been brutalised by police, including one recent case where a boy was hospitalised with serious injuries and another in which a young person was allegedly bitten dozens of times by a Victoria Police dog.

Authorities have confirmed a spike in the number of young offenders who have raised allegations of excessive force over the past few months  including a disproportionate number of complaints from Indigenous youths.

Andrew Jackomos, Victoria's Commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people, has demanded a joint review with Victoria Police.

Aboriginal Children's Commissioner Andrew Jackomos said that in the past week alone he had been made aware of at least three cases involving Koori children who were allegedly mistreated before they were transferred to a youth detention centre.

One of those cases was so serious that the young victim was reportedly taken to the Royal Children's Hospital with suspected spinal injuries, head trauma and a fractured limb, while in another incident, a young person ended up with "about 40 bite marks" from a police dog, he said.
A multi billion-dollar property developer is demanding that homelessness services stay away from a retail strip in Melbourne's CBD, citing concerns over violence and hygiene.

Hong Kong's Far East Consortium is one of the big players in Australia's skyscraper construction industry, with more than a dozen projects planned across the nation.

Meals on the Bridge Lifeline feeds homeless people and those struggling to make ends meet. Credit:Pat Scala

The company also manages a small, mostly-vacant, collection of retail pods at Rebecca Walk, underneath a rail viaduct near the Melbourne Aquarium and overlooking Batman Park.

Since 2012, a homeless meal service called Meals at the Bridge Lifeline has been receiving free rent at the precinct.
One of Western Australia's earliest European explorers is being honoured with a projection show atop one of Sydney's most iconic buildings.

The National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog's landing on the west coast of Australia with a specially created light show that will tell the story of his chance encounter with the great southern land.

One moment in the 'a chance encounter' light projection atop the museum's roof. Credit:ANMM

Hartog marked his landfall on October 25, 1616, by nailing an inscribed pewter plate to a wooden post.

The site where the plate was left is now known as Cape Inscription on the northern tip of Dirk Hartog Island near Shark Bay.
Southern Baptist Evangelical academic, radio host and pastor, Dr Tony Beam - and his pistol. Credit:Nick O'Malley "When I voted for Romney and I voted for [John] McCain, I never bought the idea that I was voting for the lesser of two evils, because I didn't believe that either one of those gentlemen were evil, I believe that they were honorable men that I had a disagreement with. "With Trump, I believe his motivations are bad, I think I have got two evils. "I can vote for a man who I believe is honorable, someone who will hold the office of presidency as a sacred trust. I can vote for that person even if I disagree with him. I don't believe Donald Trump will do that." Given Trump's character - prima facie evidence suggests his has more than a passing acquaintance with at least five, perhaps six, of the seven deadly sins - evangelical leaders have shown considerable moral elasticity in defending their defence of Trump.

I can vote for a man who I believe is honorable, someone who will hold the office of presidency as a sacred trust. I can vote for that person even if I disagree with him. I don't believe Donald Trump will do that. Dr Tony Beam, Southern Baptist evangelical pastor One particularly vocal supporter has been the Reverend Jerry Falwell Jr, the president of the world's largest christian university, Liberty University, which was founded by his father in Virginia. Falwell's father was also the founder of the Moral Majority political movement, which rallied evangelicals, who had previously been apolitical, behind Ronald Reagan. After endorsing Trump, Falwell invited Trump to speak at Liberty, giving him a significant platform from which to address not only the student body, but the nation's estimated 94 million evangelicals. "Christianity, it's under siege," said Trump early in the speech, deftly touching upon one the key issues for evangelicals. From there though the address went downhill. Attempting to hit the crowd of around 10,000 students with some apposite Bible verse, Trump pronounced, "Two Corinthians, 3:17, that's the whole ballgame." He must have been baffled when the students started tittering at him. They knew he was trying to refer to "Second Corinthians."

Characteristically Trump did not take responsibility for the stuff-up, rather he blamed Tony Perkins the founder of the militantly anti-abortion Family Research Council. "Tony Perkins wrote that out for me -- he actually wrote out 2, he wrote out the number 2 Corinthians," Trump said. "I took exactly what Tony said, and I said, 'Well Tony has to know better than anybody.'" Either way it didn't bother Falwell, who is very forgiving of Trump. After the tape of Trump boasting about grabbing women by the genitals was released Falwell responded by quoting the candidate's own talking points. "You have to look at actions, not words," he said. "All I know is when Trump was asked in the debate last night if he had ever assaulted a woman, he said no." But not everyone at Liberty has been willing to overlook Trump's character. Dustin Wahl, an undergraduate at Liberty was one of a handful of students who issued a statement that read in part, "We are Liberty students who are disappointed with President Falwell's endorsement and are tired of being associated with one of the worst presidential candidates in American history. Donald Trump does not represent our values and we want nothing to do with him." Though Falwell has dismissed the group as small and unrepresentative, Wahl told Fairfax media that so far around 3500 people had signed the document, at least 2000 of whom used Liberty University email addresses to do so. Wahl believes Falwell, and many other evangelicals are drawn to Trump for two main reasons. They believe that political correctness is stifling expressions of Christian faith and they fear that Hillary Clinton will appoint liberal-leaning Supreme Court judges who will continue to extend gay rights, oppose religious liberty and support abortion.

Wahl says he does not believe Trump's claim to have found Christ in recent months, and he does not believe most evangelicals believe it either. (At his rallies many of Trump's supporters tell me they do believe Trump has recently developed a relationship with Christ.) But Wahl says as long as Trump maintains his anti-abortion line it does not bother them. This point was underscored during the third presidential debate when Trump attacked late term abortion and Clinton defended the right to chose. He will not cast a vote for either candidate, but he wants the world to know that Trump does not represent of the values of generosity and kindness that are taught on campus. He says many students politely disagree with him, many others have said they would sign but fear some sort of recrimination from the administration. A very small handful of Trump supporters have pursued the rebels with a hateful social media campaign. While many evangelicals have opted to back Trump despite his Christian failings, the Mormon Church has proved to be far more morally consistent in their opposition to his campaign. As far back as December 2015, prompted by Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the US, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement in support of religious liberty that was clearly aimed at Trump.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns. However, it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom," the statement began, going on to quote two statements by the Church's founder in support of that position. "If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a 'Mormon', I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul  civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race," read one of them. According to Pew Research Mormons are the most consistently pro-Republican of any religious group in the US. But Mormons are breaking ranks. Normally Utah, the seat of the LDS church, is normally one of the most reliably Republican strongholds in the country. The most recent polling shows that Clinton is now just four points behind Trump 24 to 27 per cent, with a little known local candidate, Evan McMullin on 31 per cent. McMullin even has a longshot strategy to win the White House. The way he reads it in the event of a tie in the electoral college the House of Representatives gets to select the president from the top three candidates. He will be third. Back in South Carolina Dr Beam says he is distressed at the division this election has caused not just within the nation, but within the Republican Party and among evangelical Christians.
Bangkok: Rodrigo Duterte has become a diplomatic embarrassment for the Philippines.

Arriving back in his hometown of Davao after a red-carpet state visit to China the president said he did not mean he would cut ties with the United States when he told an audience in Beijing that he was separating from the US.

"When you say severance of ties, you cut diplomatic relations. I cannot do that. Why? It's in the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship," he said, adding that Filipinos were not ready to embrace that option.

Mr Duterte told reporters that what he meant by his remarks in China was ending a Philippine foreign policy that closely leaned toward the US.
Nairobi: South Africa announced it planned to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, a major blow to an institution that has struggled to fulfil its role as an effective global seat of judgment for war crimes and other atrocities.

South Africa's departure is particularly striking, since it became a symbol of justice and reconciliation with the election of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela more than two decades ago. Its announcement is a reflection of rising antagonism toward the court across sub-Saharan Africa, on Friday.

Minister of justice and correctional services Michael Masutha said South Africa will soon submit a bill in parliament to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Credit:AP

The court was established in 2002, with jurisdiction over "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community," according to its founding charter. But the majority of its indictments have been related to wars or political violence in Africa. Nine of its 10 current investigations involve countries on the continent. Those ratios have led a host of African leaders to denounce the court in rallies and at international meetings.

The chorus of African voices against the court, known as the ICC, has swelled recently. On Tuesday, Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a decree paving the way for his country to leave the court, just as ICC investigators were beginning an inquiry into a violent crackdown on government opponents there.
New York: Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College and claim the US presidency, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project results released on Saturday.

In the last week, there has been little movement. Clinton leads Donald Trump in most of the states that Trump would need should he have a chance to win the minimum 270 votes required to win. According to the project, she has a better than 95 percent chance of winning, if the election was held this week. The mostly likely outcome would be 326 votes for Clinton to 212 for Trump.

The latest poll shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has maintained a commanding lead. Credit:AP

Trump came off his best debate performance of the campaign on Wednesday evening but the polling consensus still showed Clinton winning the third and final face-off on prime-time TV. Trump disputes those findings.

And some national polls had the race tightening slightly this week though others had Clinton maintaining her solid lead. But the project illustrates that the broader picture remains bleak for Trump with 17 days to go until the November 8 election.
Donald Trump has vowed that he will sue every woman who has accused him of sexual assault or lewd behaviour.

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication," the Republican presidential nominee said, reiterating that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party orchestrated the allegations.

"The [alleged] events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.

"All of these liars will be sued after the election is over."
By PTI: Colombo, Oct 22 (PTI) The foremost place accorded to Sri Lankas majority religion of Buddhism will be preserved in its new Constitution, President Maithripala Sirisena has said.

"Buddhisms position, coming since 1972, will not be changed," Sirisena told a religious gathering in the eastern port district of Trincomalee yesterday.

Dismissing the Opposition claims that Buddhisms position in the country is to be diluted in the new Constitution, the President said: "We have not finalised anything yet."

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Tamil and some other minority groups in the country want the new Constitution to be a secular one with no religion being given the foremost status.

A recent statement by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that no group has any objection to Buddhisms foremost position in Sri Lanka was contested by the Tamil National Alliance.

The draft of the new Constitution is expected to be ready by the early part of next year.

The new Constitution is also expected to address the Tamil minority demand for political autonomy. PTI CORR SUA KK

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if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two people have been critically injured in a single vehicle crash south of Steinbach on Saturday afternoon.

Steinbach fire department deputy chief Ron Chausse said crews were called to the scene, on Hanover Road just over a mile west of Highway 12, at 1:55 p.m.

The two occupants were extricated from the vehicle, a grey Honda Civic, that could be seen in the south ditch. The vehicle was westbound when the incident occurred.

GRANT BURR | THE CARILLON Steinbach firefighters assist members of the STARS air ambulance crew as one of the injured occupants of car crash on Saturday is prepared for transport to Winnipeg.

One occupant was transferred by ground ambulance to Bethesda Hospital. The other occupant was flown to Winnipeg by STARS air ambulance. Both individuals suffered critical injuries, Chausse said.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
A Wisconsin college student is facing charges after three women told police he sexually assaulted them.

This week, Madison police cuffed Alec R. Cook, 20, on charges of second-degree sexual assault, strangulation and false imprisonment. Since his arrest, two other women have come forward with similar accusations.

Our detectives had a sense there might be more victims, Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain told The Daily Beast. Were encouraging anyone with information to continue to contact [police].

The first woman went to cops on Sunday, four days after Cook allegedly assaulted her. She and Cook studied at a University of Wisconsin library, then went to his apartment, where he allegedly held her in a death grip, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

Cook was arrested Monday and released two days later on a signature bond. But the Edina, Minnesota native turned himself in Thursday after a second female student saw Cook on the news and told police he assaulted her too.

I saw the news story and was empowered by another girl being able to tell what happened to her, that I thought I could now finally tell, the second woman told a Madison detective, according to an incident report.

On Friday, a third UW-Madison student told authorities Cook sexually assaulted her last year at a downtown apartment. Hours later, the university released a statement announcing Cook was under emergency suspension.

The long-haired frat boy, a senior majoring in real estate and urban land economics, remained at Dane County Jail as of Friday afternoon, officials told The Daily Beast.

His attorney, Chris Van Wagner, told the Journal that Cook has nothing to hide and questioned why the alleged victim would wait four days to call cops.

The complaint says what it says, but he is adamant that everything that happened was consensual, Van Wagner told the Journal.

But Erin Thornley-Parisi, executive director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, said its not unusual for victims to wait to report assault to police.

When somebody is traumatized, there is no right or wrong way to respond or act, Thornley-Parisi told The Daily Beast.

She said the media coverage of sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump and Bill Cosby might have also empowered Cooks accusers.

Its so, so prevalent in the news right now that its possible that women are just feeling like, People are going to have my back on this, Thornley-Parisi said.

If somebody knows something about this [the Cook allegations], whether they have been a victim or know somebody, it can be helpful to police and to the prevention of further sexual assaults, she added.

The initial accuser told authorities she met Cook after nearly hitting him while riding her bike on University Avenue. They kept in touch on Facebook and met in person a handful of times after that, the Journal reported.

The night of the alleged attack, the woman worked at a State Street business until 7:30 p.m., then met Cook for dinner. Afterward, they studied at a university library before heading to his apartment at 11:30 p.m.

The woman allegedly told Cook she was looking for a long-term relationship, instead of casual sex. In response, Cook assured her they wouldnt do anything that made her uncomfortable, she said.

But Cook became forceful while kissing her, she said, and he allegedly assaulted her repeatedly despite her demands for him to stop. The woman told police Cook refused to let her leave his apartment.

When she got home, she texted her brother and said Cook held her in a death grip, preventing her from seeking help. I dont feel like I was assaultedI dont think. But I feel very weird, she wrote, according to the Journal.

The woman told Cook she didnt want to see him again via text message, but he allegedly told her he wanted a second date.

Cookss fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, announced they separated from him in a press release, but its unclear when he left the group.

On social media, UW-Madison students expressed outrage over the allegations and stood in support of the unnamed accuser.

One student named Grace penned An Open Letter to Alec R. Cook, in support of the woman and condemning his alpha male behavior. The blog post was shared by NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin and state Rep. Melissa Sargent.

When I saw your mug shot, my roommate and I recognized you immediately, Grace wrote. We remembered you from a birthday party for one [of] our good friends. We remembered how your size and booming voice allowed you to command so much space. I didnt know then that these attributes were just weapons in your arsenal.

The writer claimed to be quietly afraid of Cook at the party.

We never spoke or interacted, but seeing you walk back and forth, exerting your alpha male presence and mass from room to room made me stand a little closer to my boyfriend, willing you to go away, Grace said in the post.

The saying a wolf in sheeps clothing doesnt apply here because, Alec, you are a wolf- plain and simple, she added. I knew it then and I sure as hell know it now.

Cooks attorney did not return messages seeking comment on the letter.
Gettysburg, Pa.To kick off the final leg of his campaign, Donald Trump went to the high-water mark of the confederacy.

The candidate spoke to a ballroom of supporters in the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center in Gettysburg, a few miles from the battlefield where Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia suffered a devastating defeat that turned the tide of the Civil War. After invoking Abraham Lincoln, Trump talked up the perils of voter fraud and then promised to sue the women who have accused him of sexual improprietyyou know, just like Honest Abe did.

The Republican presidential nominee has spent the past 48 hours barnstorming through a state he will probably lose, as part of a last-ditch effort to reverse a slide in the polls that looks irreversible. The campaign seems to be operating under the assumption that if Trump name-checks Abraham Lincoln enough, African American voters will forgive him for saying their lives are so awful that they have nothing left to lose.

Mayor Rudy Giuliania loyal Trump surrogate who has asserted that it is normal for men to cheat on their wivesopened for Trump by touching on Gettysburgs history.

It took a long time to heal the wounds and right the wrongs of slavery, the former New York City mayor said. Some still remain and must be healed.

Then Trump, Americas would-be healer-in-chief, took the stage.

President Lincoln served at a time of division like weve never seen before, Trump began, reading from a teleprompter. It is my hope that we can look at his example to heal divisions we are living in right now. We are a very divided nation.

Trumps recipe for healing said divisions includes fearmongering about voter fraud and boosting conspiracy theories about the evils of corporate media. The system is rigged, he argued, citing data from a Pew Charitable Trust report on dead people who are registered to vote. He cited the data correctly, as FactCheck.org notes that he has done before. But it doesnt show what he claims it shows; Pew argues that we need to update our voter registration systems, not that millions of dead people are secretly voting. And analysis after analysis has found that voter fraud has zero impact the outcome of major electionsmuch the less the presidential election.

But even if the Clinton campaign was engaged in unscrupulous election-rigging, they wouldnt need to do it in Pennsylvania; Trump hasnt led in a single public poll there since July. That may be due to the fact that hes focused his campaign on amping up tornout in the rural center and southwest regions of the state, where there are high numbers of white voters without college educationsthe demographic that loves him best. The problem with that strategy is that there arent enough of those voters to swing the state for him. Terry Madonna, who runs the Franklin and Marshall College poll, said he finds Trumps messaging perplexing. The mogul has centered his campaign on appealing to workers who have lost manufacturing jobs and fear increasing globalization. What Trump hasnt done is try to appeal to voters living in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery countiesthe four major suburban counties around Philadelphia that a candidate basically has to win to take Pennsylvania. About 20 percent of the states voters live there, Madonna said, and Trump needs to court them if he wants to win.

These are all places where you simply have to do well, because the numbers are there, Madonna said. Theyre simply too big to write off. And Trump is literally making no appeals to those voters at all, and I dont know how you win our state without doing that.

And he sure didnt do that in Gettysburg. Instead, he went on an extended riff about how much he detests the women who have come forward over the past few weeks to say he sexually harassed or assaulted them.

Every woman lied, he said flatly.

All of these liars will be sued after the election is over, he added.

Of course, those lying liars couldnt have lied without the help of Trumps most-reviled foe: the media. And the media wouldnt be as evil as it is if not for the source of all ills: globalization. He channelled Bernie Sanders, decrying AT&Ts move to purchase Time Warner Inc. (which owns CNN) as indicative of too much power consolidation on the part of the corporate media.

Deals like this destroy democracy, Trump said, without noting if he has any particular beef with AT&T.

He said that if he becomes president, he will try to block the deal. But much of the damage is already done, he continued. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ownership of the Washington Post, Comcasts ownership of NBC Universalall evidence that the system is rigged against Donald Trump. Or something.

Theyre trying to poison the mind of the American voter, he said.

But Trump didnt just sound Sanders-esque during his Pennsylvania swing; he also sounded suspiciously similar to Larry Davids SNL parody of the Vermont senator. During a campaign stop in Johnstown, Penn., the day before, Trump bemoaned the state of American roads and bridges.

My plan will also help Pennsylvania upgrade and replace bridges in the Commonwealth that have been deemed structurally deficient, he said. So many of them.

Then he said this:

You almost dont want to ride across, he said, clearly joking. Does anybody ever want to swim and just relax? Know youre going to be alive?

The audience laughed. It was a funny jokefunny enough for Larry David to have sort of made it last November.

We need to rebuild our nations infrastructure, David said on SNL, playing Sanders. Its crumbling. Thats why I no longer drive on bridges or through tunnels. Its too risky. Instead, I keep a kayak strapped to the top of my car.

Our nations infrastructure isnt the only thing crumbling; Trumps campaign is facing substantial wear and tear as well. But instead of reaching out to the suburban swing voters, Trumps first priority should be pushing media conspiracy theories and calling women liars. He has probably reached the high-water mark of his campaign.
Hillary Clinton, FiveThirtyEight tells us, is the most dominant debate winner in recent presidential history. They did all that ciphering they do over there and decided she won her three debates by +71, the highest score going back to 2000. She did it by being well prepared, yes. But she also did it, and bigly, by just standing there and taking his crap.

God bless the split screen; as he spoke, I kept my eyes fixed on her face, to see if she flinched when he said she belonged in jail and the rest. Not once. And she proved unflappable again, and even more so, Thursday night at the Al Smith Dinner. He was so obnoxious. He didnt just cross the line; he crawled into a cannon and catapulted himself over it. She hates Catholics? Really? At a Catholic event? There was hardly a joke to it at all (the embedded joke, such as it was, had to do with emails among Catholic aides, but nothing Clinton had ever said or done). It was awful.

And there she sat, smiling, laughing, cool as you please. People ask why shes winning, and the usual answer is that Trump is such a catastrophe. And he is, obviously. But I say shes winning mainly because shes one tough dame. Shes made of steel. And not Trumpian Chinese steel. And even though shes going to face a wall of total resistance from Congress if shes president, I say history tells us not to sell this woman short.

Ive seen it for years. Ive covered her on and off for 17 years, when she first went up to New York to run for Senate. All these alpha males were supposed to bury her. First, the tabloid New York media (a metaphorical alpha male) was supposed to eat her alive. And it took some bites out of her, no doubt about that. Especially Murdochs Post, and especially in those early months of the race, in 1999, when she kissed Suha Arafat. But in time, she neutralized them. The Post never warmed to her during that campaign, God knows, but the Daily News did (it endorsed her), and she learned how to anticipate the tabs rhythms and return their best serves.

Then Rudy Giuliani was supposed to crush this carpetbagger. He left the race in the spring of 2000 for reasons that didnt have anything to do with her. It was about his prostate cancer diagnosis. But by the time he dropped out, shed been running a better campaign than he had (he could hardly be bothered to go upstate) and she was a couple points up in most polls. You might think hed have beaten her in the end, but I can tell you he didnt think so: He might deny this now, but he told me himself December 2000 that he didnt think hed have won, mainly because Al Gore beat George W. Bush by 1.7 million votes in the state, and Rudy didnt believe he could have wooed enough ticket-splitters to overcome that. Clinton 2, alpha males 0.

Rick Lazio wasnt exactly an alpha male, but after he got in the race, Clinton was in an important sense running against the whole vast right-wing conspiracy she had so famously named on the Today show two years before. Tons of national right-wing money was thrown at stopping her, heavyweights came in to campaign against her, and the New York State Republican Party made robocalls linking Clinton to the terrorists whod just bombed the USS Cole in Yemen (yes, they did; dont ask). They all thought they could bully her. But in the end it was she who conquered them. They went too far, got hysterical (imagine if she, a woman, had done that). She stayed steady as a rock.

Next up was Trent Lott, Mississippian, consorter, shall we say, with white supremacist groups, and at the time the Senate majority leader. After Clinton won, hethe leader of the United States Senate, a body that fetishizes decorum, far more so in those dayssaid: I tell you one thing, when this Hillary gets to the Senate, if she doesmaybe lightning will strike and she wontshe will be one of 100, and we wont let her forget it.

And she? In the face of the boss at her new workplace wishing that shed be struck by lightning, she said nothing and got to work. Within two years, most Republican senators were working with her and marveling that she was a pretty decent human being after allSam Brownback once publicly admitted he had hated her and asked for her apology to her face, which she of course graciously accepted. And into the bargain, she was someone who could really hold her liquor. Three-nil.

Oh, there were plenty others, before and since. Back in her first lady days, Ken Starr, and Bill Safire of the Times, and Fred Thompson, and Al DAmato, and Michael Chertoffevery one of them was going to bring her down. Theyre now deceased (Safire), disgraced (Starr), retired from public service (DAmato and Thompson), or endorsing her (Chertoff). Shes the one whos standing.

And now, shes two-plus weeks away from becoming the first woman president of the United States. Imagine what shes been through. Some of it, yes, she brought on herself; the email server, the speeches, some aspects of the foundation story. But most of it has been a cabal of ideologues whove been trying and failing for 25 years to put her in jail. And in two months and 28 days, unless something goes really kablooey, shell be standing up there becoming president.

All the predictions are grim for the post-inaugural period: Shell have no mandate, and Republican opposition will be implacable because theyll know that if they can bring her numbers down by 2018 they can romp in the midterms. For the most part I share this view. But I look back over the carcasses shes left behind of men who were supposed to dominate her and I think just maybe shell figure something out.

Donald Trump, who lies when he says and and the, has said one true thing in these last 16 months. She is tough. Tougher than he is. And tougher than all the men whove tried to thwart her, and those about to attempt the job.
BUENOS AIRES  We want to live, was the cry from women standing in plazas and streets across Argentina on Wednesday. It has become a tireless demand in a country where femicidethe crime of gender motivated murdertakes the life of a woman every 30 hours, according to the NGO La Casa del Encuentro.

The nationwide movement NiUnaMenos, or NotOneLess, was launched in 2014 in an effort to combat this epidemic, triggered in part by the murder of pregnant 14-year-old Chiara Paez. Paez was killed by her 16-year-old boyfriend, who hid her body under the porch of the family home he shared with his mother and grandparents. Though Paezs boyfriend confessed to the crime and was recently convicted of her murder, the case against his parents still continues.

Two years on, NiUnaMenos has succeeded in garnering international attention and obtaining some form of government action via the  Plan for the Prevention, Assistance and Eradication of Violence Against Women announced this year.

The Plan comprises a package of 69 measures and 137 forms of action, as well as the coordination of 50 organizations to help carry them out. These include more gender focused teaching in schools, rehabilitation programs for men who commit violence against women and the provision of microcredit to give women greater financial autonomy. The results have yet to materialize, a fact more evident than ever, after the murder of Lucia Perez last week.

16-year-old Perez from Mar del Plata was drugged, raped and tortured before she died from cardiac arrest after being impaled by a wooden spike. According to the prosecution who are mounting her case, Lucias assailants washed her body to conceal her injuries and left her in a hospital, claiming she suffered an overdose. 23-year old Matias Farias and 41-year-old Juan Pablo Offidani have been arrested in relation to her murder. 61-year-old Alejandro Alberto Masiel has also been arrested on the charge of aggravated concealment in helping to wash her body.

In a heartfelt message posted on Facebook, Lucias brother Matias wrote about his sister, What was Lucia like? She liked art, rock music, she loved animals. She lived a quiet life, without leaving home much until that damned Saturday, he posted.

Lucias murder is a crime too crude to be written of and too brutal to be fathomable, but for the women of Argentina it is too consequential to be ignoredacts of this nature simply can no longer be commonplace.

Mass demonstrations were held in 138 cities around the country Wednesday. In Buenos Aires, over one hundred thousand stood in the pouring rain in front of the presidential palace to renew their call for action. The day was named Black Wednesday by activists and signified a day of mourning for Perez and the 18 other women who have been murdered in October so far.

The protest was also significantly replicated in countries across Latin America including Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru and Brazil, as well as in France and Spain in Europe. In Chile thousands gathered in the cities of Valparaiso and Santiago to mourn Lucia and 10-year-old girl Florencia who was murdered in the town of Coyhaique in October.

In an unprecedented move, more than 50 organizations including public universities and the association for state workers participated in a national strike. The action was arranged by the Confederation of Workers of the Popular Economy (CTUP). Men were invited to attend but were told to not take the limelight from women, their priority was in the first place assisting women in their duties at work and making sure they would be able to attend by covering their responsibilities.

A social media blackout was also organized via an event page where women agreed not to post or share anything on social media. Earlier this month, in a much larger movement thousands of women in more than 60 cities in Poland also went on a national strike to protest against the plan from the Polish government to implement more restrictive abortion laws. The strike was successful and the bill was pushed aside.

In Argentina there is still a significant lack of government initiative to provide solutions to the violent epidemic. Wednesday also marked the untimely announcement that the only prosecution unit specialising in violence against women will close. The unit was put together just two years ago and was one of the key achievements of the NiUnaMenos movement. Organizers from NiUnaMenos have said there is also still a significant lack of data on femicide, partially because many gender-motivated murders are misclassified by judges.

While many were still full of hope and determination at the protest Wednesday, among others there were feelings of indignation and dismay.

I feel conflicted and sad because no matter how many marches, how many voices, Im not sure if it creates change, said Gabi di Natale, a 26-year-old teacher from Buenos Aires. It is as if we are begging others to live and it is OUR life. What are we waiting for? How powerful are we? Is it any good? Im not sure, all i could do today was be there, but I really dont know she added.

Activists attribute the problem of femicide to Machismo, a Latin American term to denote a form of chauvinistic hyper masculinity. The NiUnaMenos organizers say that while institutional change is needed, women must also work hard against the daily micro aggressions that nurture a culture of violence and rape to prevail.

Ariell Lujan leads the organisation YaNoNosCallamosMas - WeWillNoLongerRemainSilent that works to eradicate rape culture in the rock music industry. She attended the march in Buenos Aires and said, we are living a moment with particular visibility and debate on issues that always happened but on which we remained silent.

Lujan argues, It seems essential that we fight everyday against a culture of violence and rape and that we join forces and demand together for our rights from a state and a political system that clearly has to transform.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) CBI today arrested president of Central Council of Homeopathy, a statutory body for regulating education in the field, in an alleged case of bribery of Rs 20 lakh for granting clearance to a college in Gujarat.

Agency sources said that along with CCH president Ramjee Singh, who also runs GD Memorial Homeopathy Medical College in Patna, a suspected middleman Harishankar Jha has also been arrested.

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Jha was allegedly receiving the bribe amount, which was a part payment for the total amount agreed upon, from a hawala operator in Karol Bagh area.

CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said here that a private university based at Rajkot (Gujarat) had applied for setting up a new Homeopathy college.

"It was alleged that...the Vice President of the said University was in a regular contact with both the President of CCH and a private person for getting inspection carried out by such team of inspectors of CCH who would give favourable inspection report," Gaur said.

Besides, Singh and Jha, others named in the FIR include R D Patel, Assistant Director, Homeopathy Department, Gujarat Government; Denish Patel, Vice President of RK University Bhavnagar, which was setting the Homoeopathy college; members of inspection team comprising Jabalpur-based Professor Rahul Shrivastava; Ashok Konar of National Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata; and Ashwini Arya of J R Kissan Homoeopathy college, Rohtak.

R K University wanted to set up the Homeopathy college for which mandatory clearance was required from Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH), which accords it after inspection and deliberation among its various committees.

It is alleged that Denish Patel roped in R D Patel to get this done. RD Patel in turn approached Singh through Jha.

Singh allegedly deputed a team-- comprising Shrivastava, Konar and Arya-- which conducted the inspection in September, the sources said.

"The president of CCH had allegedly demanded illegal gratification and the part amount of which Rs 20 lakh was to be delivered in New Delhi and the same was to be collected from a hawala operator," Gaur said.

He said CBI laid a trap to apprehend the accused persons.

Jha had obtained an alleged bribe of Rs 20 lakh on behalf of then president of CCH, CBI alleged in the FIR.

"Searches were conducted at Delhi, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Jabalpur and Kolkata, including (at) the official & residential premises of accused persons and others which led to recovery of incriminating documents. A sum of Rs. 21.5 lakh (approx) was also recovered from the residence of private person at Gurgaon," Gaur said. PTI ABS TIR

--- ENDS ---

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When the French historian, archaeologist, and researcher Morgan Belzic, of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris embarked on a PhD thesis on the somewhat esoteric subject of Cyrenaican Funerary Sculptures, little did he know he would end up becoming a detective.

However Belzics studies have led him to follow a murky trail of transnational artefact crime, that stretches from the oil-rich but war torn streets and towns of Libya, via shady intermediaries including opportunistic gangsters, enterprising jihadis, and freelance grave robbers, all the way to the glittering art galleries of Paris and New York.

With two rival governments, and countless local militias, Libya has spent much of the past five yearssince Gaddafi was brought down by Western-backed rebelsin a state of utter chaos. A local ISIS franchise even controls a 120-mile stretch of the country and parts of Benghazi.

However, it is the modern day city of Shahat, about 150 miles from Benghazi via the coastal highway, and one of the first cities to fall under rebel control in the civil war, that has become the focal point in Belzics investigations.

Shahat is located on the site of the ancient settlement of Cyrene or Cyrenaica, believed to be the first Greek colony in Africa, and one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world. Cyrenaica is home to the largest cemetery, or necropolis outside of Greece.

Necropolises are literally Cities of the Dead, Belzic told The Daily Beast, and rarely could a cemetery have been more well-named than the Necropolis of Cyrene, the metropolis of this region.

For a thousand years, the Greeks buried their dead here, and it became, Belzic says, the great necropolis of this region. The cemeteries were vaster than the urban centers themselves. There were an incredible number of tombs with streets, staircases, and facades.

There had long been a steady trickle of artefacts of dubious origin filtering out of Cyrenaica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, often decorated with the famous silphium, a now-extinct ancient plant.

But Gaddafis government meted out fearsome punishments for unauthorized looting. So, stealing these items was a high-risk business for locals on the ground.

Not anymore, as Belzic discovered during his research on funerary divinities from Cyrenaica. The pillaging is now taking place on an industrial scale, with dozens of these relics of antiquity being brazenly offered for sale on the internet.

At an event in the British Academy in London last March, Belzic presented images of 40 Cyrenaican funerary sculptures that he was definitively able to say had been illegally taken from the necropolis and sold.

The number was shocking: We only knew of less than 300 sculptures in total before, he says.

Belzic has also found 100 pieces in marble being offered for sale that he believes come from the Necropolis, Some are selling for $4000, others for $400,000 depending on the size and the place where they are sold, he says. New York is the most lucrative market, and that is where the most highly priced items are to be found.

Belzic is now working with a team of international expertssuch as the International Council of Museums (ICOM) which has drawn up a red list of the kinds of items buyers and sellers should be suspicious of, highlighting funerary sculptures and buststo try to draw attention to the crisis affecting Libyan artefacts.

There have been some encouraging signs. A Cyrenaican funerary bust of the Greek goddess Persephone valued at 2 million was seized by British authorities in 2013 and handed to the British Museum, where it is now in storage pending a courts decision over ownership. Pickaxe marks on the bust showed where it had been crudely dug up by looters.

A paper trail led from the sculpture to Hassan Fazeli, a Dubai businessman who was last year accused by New York prosecutors of illegally bringing five ancient Egyptian artefacts into the U.S.

Belzic reckons there are at least 90 cases to make but adds that many more pieces are likely waiting discreetly in Switzerland or other quiet places, waiting a good opportunity to appear in five or 10 years, when the attention will be less.

The merchants are doing anything they want because laws are protecting them. To prove that something is illegally exported or imported, we have to prove that the piece was in Libya before the 1970 convention. But these come from illegal excavations, so theres no way we can prove that, because, by definition, they are not documented. And this is the case for all archaeological artefacts in the world.

On a visit to the U.K. in September, the senior Libyan archaeologist Ramadan Shebani, the former archaeology curator at the Red Castle museum in Tripoli, told The Art Newspaper: The trouble is that people just go and do random digging, hoping to find things. It is impossible to monitor that, because people can just dig under their houses or in the desert.

Another expert archaeologist and the author of several books on Cirenaica, Olivia Menozzi, told The Daily Beast that while gangs connected to ISIS and al Qaeda are responsible for much of the looting, other work is being found as building is now proceeding unchecked in the wider area around the necropolis.

A huge amount of sculptures are found during building works and then directly sent to the black market by the owner of the land or of the building, or the workers doing the building works, with everything passing through Egypt, she says.

Looking in general at the past two years, it seems to be plausible that there are at least 200 such sculptures for sale.

For Belzic, the mission to stop the looters has become almost personal. Funerary sculptures are the last trace of a person who lived centuries ago, and each one is a piece of a great puzzle to understand the creation of ideas on death and life during Greek and Roman Antiquity, to which both Western and Eastern Cultures are successors, he says.

Cyrenaica was a multi-cultural area with Greeks, Libyans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Italians: They built a multicultural society which can help in understanding ours.

Each sculpture looted is a terrible loss, they immediately lose their context and their signification. Its like a second death for the Ancients.

The looters dont mind that, and the buyers just want to have a nice decoration. A thousand years of history is being destroyed to put a marble that is just right next to their sofa.
You can draw a straight line from Jorge Ramoss confrontation with Donald Trump to his new documentary Hate Rising, which premieres this Sunday night at 10 p.m. on both Fusion in English and Univision in Spanish.

The documentarys origin is precisely that press conference, Ramos tells The Daily Beast in a new interview the morning after the third and final presidential debate. Because thats when I realized that hate is contagious.

It was late August 2015, just two months after Trump launched his presidential campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, when the Univision anchor and Fusion host stood up at a press conference and tried to ask him about his anti-immigration rhetoric. Go back to Univision! Trump shouted at Ramos as his security guards removed him from the room.

Trump later said he was willing to sit down for an interview with Ramos, but never followed through on that promise. More than a year after their press conference clash, Ramos maintains that he was right to confront Donald Trump right from the beginning, unlike some other journalists who he believes came to that conclusion much too late in the election cycle.

In the film, Ramos meets with an Imperial Wizard of the KKK on a dark Texas night and watches silently as a group of neo-Nazis in Ohio burn an enormous swastika. Like the Trump supporter who told him to get out of my country, white nationalist leader Jared Taylor tells Ramos he doesnt belong in the United States. Unless whites are prepared to exclude people, then they will be shoved aside, Taylor says. It is a position rooted in a deep fear about losing what he views as his rightful place in the social order, and is eerily reminiscent of Trumps desire to Make America Great Again.

Though he did not speak to Ramos for the film, Trump dominates Hate Risingespecially in the exclusive clip below when the host visits a group of children in Texas who fear the prospect of their parents deportation should Trump win the presidency. My dad is from Mexico and if Donald Trump wins, hes going back to Mexico and were going to be separated, one 8-year-old boy says. This, Ramos tells me, is The Trump Effect.

Below is an edited and condensed version of our conversation.

Why did you want to make a documentary about hate groups?

I think hate is contagious. And I think it is very disturbing that there is a rise in the number of hate groups in the United States. I was checking the numbers for the Southern Poverty Law Center and from 2014 to 2015, the number of chapters of organizations affiliated with the KKK grew from 72 to 190. And thats really concerning. Last year, 20 people were killed by supremacist groups. Last year, 63 mosques were attacked. So clearly something is going on in the country. And I think that whats happening is that hate groups and neo-Nazis and white supremacists used to live only on the internet; they used to have secret gatherings. Thats not the case anymore. Theyre out in the open. They feel emboldened by the rhetoric of Donald Trump. Its like he has given them permission to speak. And, you know, everybody has prejudices and biases, but before Trump, those biases against immigrants and Muslims and women and people with disabilities were only expressed in homes and bedrooms. Now, they are all over the place. And thats the difference. So, I knew that something was happening. If you live in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, you might not notice it. But hate is on the rise and I wanted to do a documentary precisely to show that.

The scene where you speak to young children in Texas who fear their parents could be deported is particularly devastating.

Because thats whats called The Trump Effect. Because we forget that kids listen to everything and watch absolutely everything. When I was talking to these 8-year-olds from a Texas elementary school, they are not following politics as we do. But the impact of this disruptive election on them has been so negative and damaging. Look, for them, they dont care whos going to be the next president. But for them, if Trump wins, that means that maybe their parents will be deported and theyll stay alone or with a neighbor or with another family member. For them, it means separating their families. And as you can see in the documentary, they are really anxious and afraid and nervous about whats going to happen on Nov. 8. And its completely out of their hands. So thats whats called The Trump Effect. On the one hand, groups expressing and acting on their prejudices and on the other hand, children and victims suffering from those acts.

One thing that really comes through in the film is how hard it is for you to reason with people who are driven by hatred.

You know, it was incredibly difficult to talk with them. In fact, many of them had no idea that I was going to talk with them. They wouldnt have permitted that an immigrant like me talk to them. So what we did is, the director of the film, Catherine Tambini, she is the one who contacted them. And many of them thought they were going to be talking to her, not to me. Then right at the end, as it happened with the Imperial Wizard of the KKK group in Texas, Im the one who sat down. It was incredibly difficult. I have never experienced that kind of racism in front of me. This guy told me that hes superior to me because hes white and Im Latino. And, I dont know if you noticed, but right at the end he didnt even want to touch me. He didnt want to shake my hand. That kind of racism is present. And just imagine: If that happened to a journalist like me whos on TV, just imagine what happens to people who are not out in the public.

So that was one difficult experience. Another one is I met with a group of neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Ohio, and the producers of the film, they asked me not to say a single word, and I didnt for three hours. Because it was dangerous for me and for them to be there. It was not a safe space to be an immigrant.

Did you fear that something bad could happen to you in those circumstances?

Of course! On both occasions, in Ohio, I knew that they were armed while they were burning a swastika. And in Texas, I asked if they were armed and they refused to tell me. Of course it was dangerous and I was afraid. Remember, this was happening in private propertiesplaces that are completely isolated. No one is going to be there to defend you if something happens. And youre meeting with people who hate you. Theyve never met you, but they hate you simply because of who you are.

Why do they hate me? Why do they hate us? In 2024, according to the census, non-Hispanic whites will become a minority, like any other. And they hate the fact that they will become a minority. They hate the fact that minority groups are growing in number and in economic and political power. And thats exactly whats happening. They are blaming immigrants, unfairly, but they are blaming immigrants and Muslims and African-Americans for this change in demographics. Thats what they dont like.

Lets talk about the third presidential debate. Trumps use of the term bad hombres is getting a lot of attention. What did you make of that?

Hes using a stereotype. And hes absolutely wrong, because all of the studies that Ive seen clearly conclude that immigrants are less likely to be criminals, or to be behind bars that those born in the United States. Thats a fact. So hes using a stereotype and hes wrong on that. Donald Trump did absolutely everything he needed to do last night to lose the Latino vote. Everything. He insulted immigrants again by calling them bad hombres, he suggested that he wants to build a wall. He still wants to deport millions of immigrants. And look, you cannot ask Latinos to vote for him if before that you say, but Im going to deport your neighbor, your father, or your brother. You cannot do that. So he did absolutely everything he needed to do to lose the Latino vote. The last poll that I saw, the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll a few days ago, he only has 17 percent of the Latino vote. With that, he cannot win the White House. Its impossible. Mitt Romney got 27 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012 and he lost. McCain got 31 percent in 2008 and lost, too. So with 17 percent it is impossible. The new rule in American politics is you cannot make it to the White House without the Latino vote. And clearly Donald Trump wont be able to do that.

Can you believe that he even has 17 percent of the Latino vote?

Im not sure about those polls, either. Ive met very few Latinos who are supporting Trump, and those are the ones who dont remember where they come from, or where their families come from.

What did you think when you heard him say he would keep the country in suspense as to whether he will accept the election results?

I never expected to hear something like that in the United States. It hasnt happened. Look, Ive covered rigged elections in Latin America for decades. I know what a rigged election is, and whats happening in the United States is not a rigged election. Ive seen how candidates in Mexico get 100 percent of the vote from a community where nobody gets sick and everybody votes for the same person on Election Day. Ive seen how in Colombia, a presidents been accused of receiving $6 million from drug traffickers and still win the election. I interviewed Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, who promised me that he would give up power after five years. He changed the Constitution so he could stay for 13 years. So I know what a rigged election is. I have suffered rigged elections in Mexico. And what Donald Trump is disputing is not a rigged election. It is just a candidate who is losing badly on the polls, who is using prejudice and biases to try to win and divide the country. But I was incredibly surprised, because I know what a rigged election is and it is not whats happening here. And thats dangerous for American democracy.

It has now been more than a year since Donald Trump had you ejected from his press conference. Has the way you view that incident changed at all since it happened?

No. You know, I think we were right to confront Donald Trump right from the beginning. When he made his racist remarks saying Mexican immigrants were criminals and rapists, we were right as journalists to confront him. And very few journalists saw it that way back then. I still remember being criticized by many, asking me if I was an activist or a journalist. But we were right! When you have someone whos making racist and sexist remarks, you have to confront him. That is precisely what we do as journalists. When you are confronted with racism, discrimination, corruption, dictatorship, violation of human rights, as a journalist you have to take a stand. And now many journalists are really doing a fantastic job confronting Donald Trump. But we were almost alone last year when we decided to do exactly the same. So I think we did the right thing as journalists.

And, by the way, the documentarys origin is precisely that press conferencebecause thats when I realized that hate is contagious. Donald Trump told me, Go back to Univision. Those are code words for saying go back to Mexico. And just a few seconds after he said that, somebody outside the press conference told me, Get out of my country. And I just smiled, because this is also my country. Im also a U.S. citizen. But what was interesting for me in that experience is I realized how contagious hate is. Just a few seconds after Trump had expressed a hateful comment, one of his followers did exactly the same.

Do you think that personal interaction with him changed the way you have covered this presidential race?

You know, actually, weve been very critical of Donald Trump since June 16, 2015, when he made those racist remarks about Mexican immigrants. And that confrontation with him only reaffirmed our commitment to demonstrate that he was making racist comments, and to expose him. And by the way, weve been continuing that same critical coverage since the beginning. What concerns me is that I understand many journalists are responding correctly to his sexist remarks and to the video from Access Hollywood. And that should be applauded. But where were they when he made those racist remarks about Mexican immigrants. Where were they?

Some journalists have done a really fantastic job, but for many of them, in my point of view, it took them way too long to realize that they had to be more critical to Donald Trump. He was lying from the beginning. He was using stereotypes, making racist and sexist remarks right from the beginning. But many people, it took them too long to react to them. I think we will be judged, as journalists and as voters and as politicians, on how we reacted to Donald Trump. This is a historic election. Weve never had such a divisive and disruptive election. And we will be asked, What did you do when you heard that? What did you do when Donald Trump said such inflammatory things? Where were you? Did you ask the questions? Did you talk to your family? Did you report about it? What did you do? We will be asked those questions on Nov. 9.

What concerns do you have about a Hillary Clinton Administration? Because I know you have also been critical of President Obama.

Its a legitimate question. Once, during this campaign I moderated a debate between her and Bernie Sanders. And I asked her openly about her emails and about Benghazi. So those are two issues that, even today, still need to be addressed. On immigration, she promised me in that debate that she will not deport children or undocumented immigrants who do not have a criminal record. The Latino community wants to make sure that she will keep her word on that. As you know, Obama didnt keep his word on immigration reform, so thats one area of concern. Now, she says that she is going to introduce immigration reform during her first 100 days in office. Thats perfectly fine. But how is she going to do that if Congress is not controlled by Democrats? How is she going to keep her word on that? So those are areas of concern that I have about a possible Hillary Clinton presidency.

Assuming Trump loses, do you think that the type of hate that you explore in the documentary will dissipate or grow stronger?

What I know for sure is that it wont disappear after Election Day because they feel emboldened, they feel strengthened, they feel validated by his campaign. So no, I dont think hate will disappear and I dont think hate groups will disappear after the election, regardless of who wins. And therefore, we truly need a national conversation on hate. And my proposition would be to start with immigration reform. If we can have a national conversation on immigration reform and find some sort of solution for Democrats and Republicans after the election, that would be a great first step. If we dont do that, hate will continue. Hate is real. Hate is something that you can actually touch. I talked to victims: a Somali immigrant whose face was smashed with a glass of beer because she was not speaking English at the time, or a Mexican immigrant who was brutally attacked by two brothers simply because he was an immigrant. So, no, I dont think this will end with the election. The damage has been done. And I think it will take many, many years to repair the damage.
LONDON  After this weeks debate there cannot now be a shred of doubt that the choice between Trumpland and Hillaryland is a choice between a fatherland and a motherland. And make no mistake, thats how a Donald Trump-led America would be viewed from abroad: as Fatherland America.

Where exactly would this lead us? Running through history as a subtle expression of national self-projection is gender: What sex would you prefer your country to be? Its seldom raised in such explicit terms, but it has been one of the most culturally and politically charged drivers of many nations past behavior.

Beyond Trumps outrageous decision that he alone will decide whether or not the election result is legitimate (definition of a tyrant), there are his supporters who seem to be choking on the prospect of the ultimate figurehead of a motherland, a woman, in the White House. The nation that voted twice for a black president seems to harbor a surprisingly persistent degree of loathing for the idea of a woman president.

For America its been a very long haulreally the whole life of the nation so far, before the idea of a woman president even seemed tenable. The U.S. has lagged woefully behind other nations in giving political power to women. Nevertheless, looking at the nations history and behavior nobody could say until now that America has fallen naturally into the category of a fatherland. The record suggests an inherent ambivalence, different levels of aggression and engagement according to the age and the threats.

Well get to that. But lets take a look at how the sexual preference in national branding has worked out in other parts of the world.

London is a good place to startspecifically on the embankment of the Thames river alongside the Houses of Parliament. There youll find the founding spirit of this islands martial face in the fearsome figure of Boudica, queen of a Celtic tribe called the Iceni.

Cast in bronze on a plinth Boudica drives forward on a chariot (scythes on the wheels to eviscerate enemy infantry) with her two daughters. In the first century, only 20 years after Roman invaders founded London, as Londinium, they were driven from the city by Boudicas army of 100,000 in an uprising against Roman rule. She destroyed Londinium and two other cities. Nero considered pulling out of this turbulent island but after80,000 dead on both sides, Boudica was finally defeated, believed to have died by suicide.

But Boudica never really lay quiet. Her legend (preserved only by Roman historians, not the Brits) inspired an idea of preferred national character that persists to this day  a motherland with balls, frequently led by warrior women.

(Giving masculine features to indicate strength in a woman is, I will admit, probably a sign of male arrogance.)

The Romans, sensing the continuing threat of revolt, thought they could safely neuter the martial female by turning her into an allegory. From Greek and Roman legend they conjured up the woman after whom they named their province, Britannia. She wore a Corinthian battle helmet and carried a trident and shield. After 400 years the Romans gave up trying to pacify and rule the British tribes, but this mythical Britannia lingered on as a unifying emblem rather than the real thing.

But over the two succeeding centuries the martial inclinations of British history were definitively cemented by two Queens who gave the island race unequalled power in their day: Elizabeth I, the virgin Queen who repelled a Spanish invasion and made Britain the dominant European force, and Queen Victoria, empress of the worlds greatest empire.

Their influence and heritage has been remarkably hard to shake off, and costly in its modern consequences.

For example, the countrys first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was too much in thrall to the warrior woman image, the Iron Lady, given her after she conducted the last military campaign of empire, taking back the Falkland Islands from Argentina.

Thatchers hubris proved still to be dangerously infectious after she left office. Tony Blair felt he had man up to compete. He started to mutter about a country that punched above its weight and that, tragically, turned out to be a country that punched above its means. Blair sent such an ill-equipped force into the invasion of Iraq that it had to be rescued by U.S. forces  just as U.S. logistics had come to the rescue of Thatcher in the Falklands.

I think that at last its safe to say that the warrior woman phase of Britannia is finished. In the political mess that is post-Brexit the reckless belligerence belongs to small men beating a retreat from Europe  and reality. They are led by a prime minister, Theresa May, who has no hint of iron as she dithers her way deeper into chaos.

But the non-belligerent face of the motherland is reassuringly rising above the politics. It belongs to Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 this year.

Her regal composure rests on an institutional magic. Technically the monarch is politically powerless. The head of state is neutral. But the present Queen is the motherland and, at this moment, also the unifying mother at a time of great division - by force of circumstance created by the incompetence of her government. (How the Queen reached this state of majesty will be strikingly evident in the coming Netflix bio-drama, The Crown.)

Across the channel in France the Queen is almost as loved as she is at home. Its almost as though France, despite its resolutely republican foundations, is capable of recognizing a congenial monarchy when it sees one. And France could never be anything other than a motherland. The iconic spirit of the French Revolution is embodied in Marianne, the heroine inspiring the uprising against tyranny, the enemy of monarchy and dictatorship, the face of liberty, equality and fraternity.

But wait. Is this more allegory than reality? The French have yet to have a woman as head of state. The president, Francois Hollande, is the first president to have openly had partners, rather than wives (previous presidents frequently kept mistresses out of sight). He has had four children by two successive partners, Segolene Royal and Valerie Trierweller. These are both forceful political thinkers whose actions suggested that Hollande was less than assured in his own political gonads. (His currrent partner is an apolitical actress, July Gayet.)

The only woman running for president next time is the right-wing scaremonger Marine Le Pen, president of the National Front, and hardly a person to cohabit with Marianne.

Then, unavoidably, there is Germany, the country that gave the term fatherland its most horrific expression in the form of the Nazi Third Reich. (In fact, fatherland dates back to the ancient Greek, patris, for the land of our fathers, a preference sometimes given over motherland in other languages that use gender in their structure. In contrast, Russia has always been Mother Russia, whatever its behavior.)

Since then in Germany fatherland has been a term to be avoided like the plague. For a while, Angela Merkel, the long-serving German Chancellor and without doubt the most powerful woman in Europe, was affectionately thought of by her public as their Mutti, the mother who was both comforting and yet also the equal of any of the men around her.

But Merkels hold on power is less secure than it was. After practicing a generous open-door policy toward refugees from the Middle East and Africa, she is trying to tamp down hard-right racists stirring the ghosts of a white supremacist fatherland again.

Post-war and re-united Germany understood well the stink of warrior symbolism. Its national flag, a horizontal tricolor of black, red and gold, is safely anodyne. But at times this re-branding seems fragile. Another flag flies over many buildings in Berlin, that of the state of Brandenburg, and there you will see an explicit survivor of the past, a formalized profile of a black eagle  the invincible predator with claws at the ready, and a reminder that Berlin was once the base camp for the headstrong Prussian militarism that later fed into Hitlers national creed.

That eagle is a none-too subtle code for the latent urges of a fatherland. Its a transference of human war-loving testosterone into animal form, long employed since the ancient world in the heraldry of armies. And, of course, America has its own version.

When the bald eagle was chosen as Americas emblem in 1782 it was to celebrate the great birds native uniqueness, long life and strength -- not as a predator and not as a salute to the idea of a fatherland but as an expression of freedom.

That remained unquestioned until the Vietnam War. Of all of Americas foreign adventures it was Vietnam that finally began to give the American eagle a bad name. In anti-war cartoons the birds talons held bombs, not olive branches, and the bombs sprayed napalm over the innocent victims of the war.

After that, the eagle reverted to being an ecological treasure, an endangered species to be protected.

However, the war bird was not really dead. The more aggressive intimations of the bald eagle were still there to be summoned as they were, for satirical purpose, in the opening titles of Comedy Centrals Colbert Report, where the noisy swooping bald eagle heralded the appearance of Stephen Colberts right-wing alter ego.

Today that can seem a more dangerous joke than when it was first invoked. The rest of the world sees Trumpland and the alt-right together as a movement led by gun-touting, carpet-bombing foul-mouthed locker jocks, definitely a fatherland on steroids, with the eagles talons fully extended and weaponized.

So it is salutary to note that when George W. Bush and Dick Chaney launched their endless war in the Middle East they made a very smart choice about how to frame the terms on which they intended to fortify the nation to a degree never known before. They found a neutral center between fatherland and motherland: homeland. It was an essentially defensive posture. The Department of Homeland Security was not an aggressor. But given the threats both internal and external, homeland sounds far more like the voice of reason and balance than that of a candidate who sees power purely as a test of his own manhood, as though to lose is to be emasculated, and if given power he would assuredly make the nation his fatherland.
Nate Parker entered his film The Birth of a Nation at this years Sundance Film Festival with little publicity and no distribution deal. It emerged having garnered the festivals Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, and a deal with Fox Searchlight for $17.5 millionthe largest deal in Sundance history. Parker both directed and plays the central role of Nat Turner, who planned and carried out the most violent slave insurrection in American history in Virginia in 1831 that left 55 white men, women, and children dead. Allegations of rape involving Parker that date to his time as a student at Penn State, however, threaten to derail the movies recent premiere and its impact on how the public understands this particular event and the broader history of American slavery.

The controversy surrounding Parkers past has obscured a far more interesting story currently playing out in Southampton County, where for the first time efforts are underway to interpret the 1831 slave rebellion for the general public. It is a promising development that comes amidst reports of police brutality within the black community, an active Black Lives Matter campaign, and a presidential election that has bitterly divided the nation along racial lines on the eve of the conclusion of our nations first black presidency. It also points to an increased willingness on the part of museums, historic sites, and even Hollywood to confront the violence of Americas slave past, but it is not without controversy.

It is difficult to exaggerate the challenges involved in interpreting Nat Turners controversial life in the place where so much blood was shed. This history remains contested ground for the black and white residents of Jerusalem (now Courtland) and the surrounding county. Local debates about how to interpret and remember Nat Turner point to tightly embraced competing memories of the past that fall along racial lines and more specific disagreements about what kinds of historical sources ought to be given priority, and who has the right to tell these stories.

Such differences stretch all the way back to the event itself and its aftermath, which included the execution of free and enslaved blacks by a community that feared additional violence, the eventual capture of Turner, his trial, and subsequent execution.

Efforts to interpret Turner and his slave rebellion began in 2002, when the Southampton County Historical Society (SCHS) gained possession of the Vaughan Housethe only extant building dating back to the 1831 insurrection. Rebecca Vaughan, along with her two sons, niece, and overseer, were killed by Turners followers. Once restored, the home will serve as the centerpiece of an exhibit that explores the violent deaths of its occupants as well as the story of slavery in the community and the events that led up to and followed the bloody uprising. Its centerpiece will be the sword that Turner used throughout much of the rebellion.

Much of the history will eventually be shared through roughly 40 wayside markers at 17 stops throughout the county that will be accessible by foot and by car. Early drafts of individual markers reveal a clear commitment to deal with the horrors of chattel slavery in Southampton County as well as its connection to broader events. Visitors will be able to read about obscure slave rebellions such as The Plant Cutter Revolt of 1663, George Boxley Rebellion in 1811, as well as better known moments such as Denmark Veseys Revolt in 1822 and Gabriels Rebellion of 1800.

Turners story is told alongside other notable local African Americans, including Dred Scott, whose unsuccessful legal plea for his freedom was decided by the Supreme Court just a few years before the start of the Civil War. John Brownnot to be confused with the famous abolitionistescaped slavery and eventually made his way to Great Britain, where he published his autobiography with the help of The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Finally, Anthony Gardiner traveled to Liberia with the help of the American Colonization Society and eventually became that nations ninth president. By highlighting the lives of these men, the SCHS hopes to frame the broader narrative around the quest for freedom and civil rights.

Any attempt to interpret a story like this for the general public, however, raises difficult questions of interpretation. Is it possible to tell a story that transcends racial divisions? How do you interpret the killing of women and childrena subject that even Nate Parker, who characterizes Turner as a hero, chose to avoid almost entirely in his movie? Most importantly, how should we understand Turners actions? Was he a freedom fighter, a murderer, or something else entirely? In short, what is his legacy?

These questions matter to Rick Francis, who is the Southampton County Circuit Court Clerk and belongs to the SCHS. Francis was born and raised in Southampton County and is descended from Nat Turners owner. From a very early age, he absorbed and re-told stories passed down by his father and others about members of his extended family, who ended up on the business end of his ax as well as others who were aided by local slaves and managed to survive.

While Francis fully supports the efforts of the SCHS to interpret Nat Turners rebellion, including its emphasis on white supremacy and the violence of slavery, he betrays a certain uneasiness when asked to evaluate Turner himself and the legacy of his actions. In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Francis questioned whether emancipation is what motivated Turner and said that whether or not he was a freedom fighter is not my call to make.

Francis believes that it is possible for the SCHSan organization that he admits is overwhelmingly whiteto tell an objective history of Nat Turner through electronic maps, video, a driver app, artifacts, and primary sources such as The Confessions of Nat Turner penned by white Southampton lawyer Thomas Gray. Grays interview with Turner while in his jail cell during his trial was published shortly after his execution. It is an indispensible source for historians, but it remains a challenge to interpret. Franciss goal from the beginning remains for the public interpretation to stay as far away from the saint or sinner debate and let people come up with their own interpretation.

But for H. Khalif Khalifah, this is neither satisfactory nor does it allay concerns that the story of Turner itself is being told by the wrong people. Born in Gosport, Alabama, and raised in New York City, Khalifah was introduced to Turners history during the height of the civil rights movement through publications distributed by radical black political organizations that referenced the slave as one among many revolutionaries and militants who had waged a physical fight to Free Black People. Trained as a master printer, Khalifah eventually started his own company that marketed books about black history to black communities.

In the mid 80s, Khalifah and his wife moved to Southampton County, Virginia, on 123 acres of the birth land of Nat Turner, where he established the Nat Turner Library and Nat Turner Trail tours. He has had very little contact with the SCHS and is not involved in the organization of the new exhibits and trail tour. This distance reflects a deep skepticism that a largely white organization can accurately engage the general public about Turners story and the history of slavery.

Khalifahs tours are geared specifically to African-American tourists and he rarely allows white visitors to join. When asked why, he suggested that the pain that was visited upon black people is so brutal that emotions may become aroused against white people on the tour. The language used along the tour adds to his concerns about how whites might respond. Stops along the tour are referred to as battle sites, while Turner and his men are referred to as the Black Liberation Army of 1831.

In contrast with Francis and the SCHS, he gives priority to black voices in building his interpretation and remains skeptical of the ability of white writers to write accurately about Turner and slavery. For example, Khalifah describes William Styrons 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner as a fabrication and a distortion of settled facts about Nat Turner.

While Khalifah stresses the importance of providing his visitors with as much accurate historical information as possible, his larger goal is to awaken his black guests to the state of the race and the importance of acknowledging those individuals who understood and fought against white supremacy. At times the boundary between past and present collapses completely. According to Khalifah, Turner was a community organizer. He along with Barack Obama, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Huey Newton, and Kwame Ture, among others, all had the same choice to make. For Turner, however, there was only one choice, which Khalifah maintains with the utmost conviction was the right decision.

Francis and Khalifah have had very little contact with one another over the years. It is a divide that is reinforced as much by their preferred narratives of Turner and slavery as it is by their very different personal backgrounds as well as their likely understanding of the history and current state of race relations in this country. At the same time, their respective narratives now peacefully co-exist on a landscape, which once witnessed the worst of Americas violent racial past. It is entirely possible that increased visitation and exposure to both perspectives may reveal places where the two narratives overlap and the possibility of collaboration and mutual understanding. For now, it is enough that these stories are being shared.

Kevin M. Levin is a historian and educator based in Boston. He is the author of Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder (2012) and is currently at work on Searching For Black Confederate Soldiers: The Civil Wars Most Persistent Myth for the University of North Carolina Press. You can find him online at Civil War Memory and Twitter @kevinlevin.
On the skills section of Abraham Lincolns resume, badass orator ranks near the top. During the course of his career, the 16th president excelled at giving profound, rousing, and memorable speeches that have been engraved on the soul of the country.

But while schools across the U.S. instill their students with the historic lines from the Gettysburg Address, while politicians quote his second inaugural address in the hallowed halls of Congress, and scholars call on his House Divided declamation to highlight our current struggles, they are missing the firepower of what was allegedly the best speech Lincoln ever made.

At 5:30 p.m. on May 29, 1856, Lincoln took the stage in Majors Hall in Bloomington at the meeting that would become known as the first Republican State Convention of Illinois.
By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 22 (PTI) Central Railway (CR) will run special trains between several destinations to clear the extra festive rush of passengers for Diwali.

The special trains will run between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LLT) Gorakhpur/Manduadih (unreserved specials), Pune?Nagpur (one way), Karmali?Dadar (one way) and Pune? Karmali (one way) reserved specials, a press release issued by Public Relations department of CR here said.

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Weekly special (train no.01047) will depart from LTT at 3.50 pm on every Monday from October 24 to November 21 and arrive Gorakhpur at 2 am on day three. In the return journey, train no.01048 will leave from Gorakhpur station at 4 am on every Wednesday between October 26 and November 23 and reach LTT at 1.45 pm the next day.

Train no.01087 will run from October 28 to November 18 on every Friday. It will depart from LTT at 2.20 pm and reach Manduadih (Varanasi) at 3 pm next day, while in return journey, train no. 01088 will leave Manduadih at 4.45 pm on every Saturday and arrive at LTT at 11.45 pm next day.

CR will also run a one way service between Pune-Karmali and Dadar-Karmali.

It said that 01409 special will leave Pune at 6.45 pm on Friday October 28 and arrive Karmali at 8 am while 01404 Special will leave Karmali at 09.50 am on Saturday 29.10.2016 and arrive Dadar at 9.55 pm same day.

CR will also run 8 services of a weekly superfast on Nagpur?Pune route, the release said.

Train no.01218 will run from Nagpur at 11 am on every Friday and arrive Pune at 02.45 am next day. From Pune station, it will depart at 10.30 am (on Saturdays) and arrive at Nagpur at 1.30 am the next day. The train will run from October 28 to November 18.

Bookings for train no. 01409, 01218 and 01217 on special charges will open from October 23, 2016. PTI APM ARS AMS RYS

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Global oaks meet for The Macallan Double Cask

Using both sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks, The Macallan has released a new Double Cask 12 years old.

Intended to present flavours familiar to both their sherry oak and fine oak ranges, the result is a new interpretation of the signature 12 Years Old Macallan.

Bob Dalgarno, The Macallan master whisky maker, says: This is a single malt which showcases a true balance of character which results in a fully rounded and distinctive flavour profile. By combining wood influences, we have been able to produce a new Macallan which sits perfectly between our existing Sherry Oak and Fine Oak ranges.

The Macallan bring oak from America to Spain, where casks are crafted and sherry seasoned before traveling to its distillery on Speyside, to mature for twelve years. Whiskies are then united with those aged in sherry seasoned European oak casks.

Chris Anderson, luxury marketing controller for Maxxium UK, says: The Macallan Double Cask provides us with the opportunity to offer the trade an additional variant and importantly, a new style of The Macallan at the 12 years old position and price. In turn this means we can offer the consumer a wider choice of products at this level, and encourage trial and exploration within The Macallan portfolio.

The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old is available from October 2016 in specialist whisky retailers for an RRP 55 and select on trade accounts across London.

22 October 2016 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, editorial assistant
By PTI: Washington, Oct 22 (PTI) Scientists have found that drought has decreased in the African continent over the past 1.3 million years, contradicting the prevailing notion that the continent has been getting progressively drier over time.

A new study found that the African continent is on a 100,000-year cycle of wet and dry conditions.

These new findings add a wrinkle to one of the keys to human evolutionary theory, the savannah hypothesis, which states that the progressively drier conditions in Africa led to prehuman ancestors migrating from forests and moving into grasslands.

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Josef Werne, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the US and colleagues made the discovery by examining core samples extracted from the bottom of Lake Malawi, one of the worlds largest lakes, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in southeastern Africa.

Previous studies of the climate of Africa focused on the northern part of the continent, Werne explained, and were responsible for the origin of the savannah hypothesis that the continent was getting drier.

The 100,000-year cycles the researchers found correspond with the beginnings and endings of the great ice ages.

Lake Malawi had not been explored previously because the depth of the waters - 700 feet - exceeded researchers ability to get core samples from the bottom.

The researchers were able to overcome that limitation by using a barge and modifying oil-rig equipment to obtain a 380-meter-long sediment core sample.

The core was dated using a combination of radiocarbon, volcanic ash, and magnetic polarity reversals and examined for "molecular fossils" indicating changing temperature and rainfall.

Temperature was derived by studying the distribution of the membrane lipids of a single-celled microbe, which was analysed by mass spectroscopy, and the aridity and rainfall were measured by calcium content and the distribution and carbon isotope composition of fossil leaf waxes, which differ between those originating in trees and shrubs, which thrive in wetter conditions, and those originating in grasses, which can outcompete trees in dry conditions.

By noting the changes in temperature records and especially rainfall, the team determined that the continent was getting wetter over time in southern East Africa, as well as identifying the 100,000-year climate cycles.

The study was published in the journal Nature. PTI MHN MHN

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The experience, vision and people skills to be a good mayor

Mary Kaye Moore has the experience, vision, and people skills that would give Bryan an exceptional mayor.

There is no doubt that her 22 years in municipal government gives her experience that is unmatched. She knows the business and would require no on-the-job training.

Mary Kaye knows the challenges and problems that our city faces. She not only is concerned about the needs we face but has the vision to solve them.

Her people skills are well known. She would bring a cooperative spirit to the Bryan City Council. She would demand respect between members, allowing each member his say, and would conduct and carry out the city council meetings in a professional manner, while showing respect to other council members and most importantly to the residents of Bryan. She would set a tone that would foster productive problem solving results.

She would listen to the concerns of all residents. She has the time and is anxious to make Bryan an even better place to live, work, and do business. Mary Kaye has the skills needed to efficiently and effectively continue the growth and prosperity in Bryan.

Mary Kaye fully understands the job of mayor and would be a perfect fit to work with city management and employees to continue to provide quality services to all Bryan residents.

MARY JOYCE

Bryan

An outstanding businessman, community leader and volunteer

I am writing this letter to show support for my friend and colleague, Andrew Nelson, in his campaign to become the next mayor of Bryan.

I have had the pleasure of working side by side with Andrew and his lovely wife Shelley, through Brazos Valley Cares, a not for profit entity that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our soldiers and their families, both here locally and across the region. Andrew and his family have worked tirelessly and sacrificed to help us all make Brazos Valley Cares a success story.

I can assure you it would be hard to find a more qualified, caring, prudent, decent or devoted man than Andrew.

As a businessman I understand all too well the difficulties of balancing career, community and family, and Andrew does an outstanding job as a businessman, community leader, volunteer and, most importantly, as a husband and father.

I feel very strongly that anyone who gets the opportunity to get to know Andrew would come away feeling the same way I and many others who know him do about him. In my opinion there is no better choice for mayor of our city than Andrew Nelson. We need sensible leadership. We need to keep the momentum we currently have in Bryan. We need real leaders.

Please join me in casting a vote for Andrew Nelson for mayor of Bryan.

ANDREAS PAVLATOS

Bryan

A visionary with the energy to meet Bryan's challenges

In Bryan, we have a lot of people to thank for their service to our great city. Along with the unbelievable growth of Texas A&M and College Station, Bryan has advanced stride for stride with these two institutions.

Because of term limits we must choose a new mayor. My vision for a new leader for these important times, is someone who has a proven record for being a visionary, someone who has the energy to meet the challenges that Bryan surely will face, and someone we will be proud to represent us, not only here in our community but also in Austin and Washington, D.C.

Andrew Nelson is the person who fits this profile very well. I could not think of a more perfect fit than electing Andrew Nelson to be our new mayor.

Having gotten to know Andrew Nelson while serving in the same civic club, I have been impressed with his exuberance in the way he approaches each project. He and his wife Shelly, along with their two children, make a wonderful team. I am confident that Bryan would be proud to call Andrew Nelson our mayor.

MERRILL GREEN

Bryan

Candidates should talk about corporate taxes

Hillary Clinton says that corporations should pay their fair share and that corporate taxes should be increased. She reiterated this at the recent debate. What a total misunderstanding! Corporations don't pay taxes, they only collect them for the federal government.

When you buy a Ford car, part of the price you pay is basically a federal sales tax collected by Ford and disguised as a corporate tax. When you buy a loaf of bread, part of the price is for corporate income tax, and so forth for everything you buy. Legislators love the corporate tax because it is a way of getting money from you without your realizing it; and, we now have the highest corporate tax rate in the world.

Many years ago this wasn't an economic problem. But things change; we now have a worldwide economy. However, since we cannot tax corporations in Japan, China, etc., they can afford to pay shipping to deliver a product to the U.S. and still have a huge economic advantage over a U.S. corporation that does pay tax. U.S. corporations may have to leave or shut down, and many jobs are lost.

Donald Trump seems peripherally to understand this and suggests lowering corporate tax to 15 percent. That is low enough to make things more competitive, but Trump also once suggested a tariff to help further balance things. A tariff is a disaster because it is a frontal attack.

We should eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with what it really is, a federal sales tax. Then, you will have to pay the tax when you buy that car regardless of where it is made; and U.S. corporations no longer will be at a severe financial disadvantage.

Of course, some Washington lobbyists will lose their jobs if there is no corporate tax.

ED FRY

College Station

Policies matter more than gender in the White House

If I was a woman I would be very excited to vote for a woman. It is truly historic.

However, other than gender, what else do you have in common with Hillary?

 Are you married to a former president?

 Have you made a quarter billion in the past 10 years off the backs of the taxpayers and pay-for-play corruption?

 Do you think it is good that the Clinton Foundation received $140 million after paving the way for the Russians to own 20 percent of our uranium?

 Do you want to pay higher taxes?

 Are you for open borders and illegal immigration?

 Are you for an onslaught of refugees?

 Are you for more regulation?

 Are you for more companies leaving the country?

 Are you for higher trade deficits?

 Do you pick the Black Lives Movement over law enforcement?

 Are you against Second Amendment rights?

 Are you for late-term abortion?

 Do you want a liberal Supreme Court?

 Are you for Common Core?

 Are you against school choice?

 Are you for a weaker military?

 Do you not recognize terrorists as radical Islamic terrorists?

 Do you want even slower growth in the U.S. economy due to higher taxes and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

 Do you want Obamacare to continue and to be expanded?

 Do you not want to see the trillions of dollars sitting off shore come back into the country to rebuild infrastructure, build factories, etc.?

 Do you not want energy independence and to remain at the mercy of the Middle East and their oil?

I answered no to those questions. Did you?

I have nothing against a woman being president. It's the policies that matter, not the gender.

The power is in your hands. The future of the country and your children's future is in your hands.

RICK JAMISON

College Station

Mayoral candidate is a great listener and a nice guy

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for John Nichols for mayor of College Station. I've known Nichols for 20-plus years, first as a client in the travel industry, and then as the department head in ag economics at Texas A&M, where I now work.

John Nichols is always the same, whether I see him in the office or at the grocery store. He's truly a nice person, a great listener, and someone I'm proud to call my friend. I consider his background in economics a bonus for the position of mayor.

Please take time on Nov. 8 to join me and cast your vote for John Nichols for mayor!

CONNIE MOORE

College Station

Candidate has devoted years of service to College Station

I personally know Linda Harvell, the more qualified candidate for the College Station City Council, Place 3, the candidate who has devoted years of service to our community.

She has worked closely as a volunteer with the College Station Fire Department, Police Department and the city of College Station. She graduated from the Fire Department's Citizens Fire Academy and the Police Department's Citizens Police Academy, which has given her great insight into the workings and needs of both city departments. Linda has been an active member of the Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association and for more than two years has been a member of CART, the Community Action Response Team.

When these CART volunteers sign up, they are expected to be on call for a month at a time. I personally know that it is not unusual for Linda to sign up for a months at a time. She is so dedicated to helping those residents who have been displaced by fire and is totally committed to helping them out on one of the worst days of their lives.

Linda has been endorsed for the city council by the College Station Police Officers Association, six former College Station mayors, Councilwoman Blanche Brick, broadcaster Tom Turbiville, and retired College Station Parks and Recreation Director Steve Beachy.

I know that many firemen and policemen and other College Station residents appreciate Linda's devotion to the city of College Station and I urge all concerned residents to vote for Linda, the more experienced, qualified and knowledgeable candidate for the College Station City Council, Place 3.

MACKIE BOBO-WHITE

College Station

Hopeful would work well with Democrats and Republicans

A majority of Americans say Donald Trump does not have the temperament, knowledge, experience or empathy to be president. Many Republican Party elected officials have refused to endorse him. It is very unlikely that he will win this election.

Hillary Clinton has all the qualities that are lacking in Trump and she has the support of almost all Democratic officials. She likely will be our next president. She will work hard to solve problems such as stagnant wages, the high cost of college and health care, pollution of the environment and violence at home and abroad.

Congress will need to cooperate with a President Clinton if any of our problems are to be solved. Can we count on Bill Flores to do that? I don't think so. He is a strong supporter of Donald Trump and since he has been in Congress he has opposed every piece of problem-solving legislation that has been introduced. He's a tea party Republican who would continue to base every vote on what appeals to that group, not on what is best for the country.

Kent Hoeffner (Eagle, Oct. 21) makes a very strong case for replacing Bill Flores with Bill Matta. Col. Matta has dedicated his life to public service, in the military and in public education. He is intelligent, congenial and an independent thinker. He would work well with both Democrats and Republicans to make life better for everyone and the world a safer place.

Please join me in voting for Bill Matta for Congress.

BOB PRESLEY

College Station
Donald Trumps policy positions are about as erratic and dysfunctional as his speaking style, however, from the beginning he has consistently indicated his support for fossil fuels.

Now that it is all but certain that Donald will not be the 45th President of the United States, lets peer into the dark dystopia of a world in which Trump would have been the chief architect of Americas energy policy. The following is a brief summary of the consequences of Trumps energy platform with an emphasis on what this would have meant for climate change.



Trumps position on energy the economy and the environment

would have pushed us past tipping points from which we could not recover. This

is not hyperbole, we are already more than 1 C above preindustrial

norms and staying within the upper threshold limit of 2 degrees Celsius

will be very difficult task even with a consorted global effort.

Trumps foreign policy ignorance is no secret, it has been noted by almost everyone who has ever participated in or reflected seriously on policy issues. If elected president Trumps stated policy positions would have created unprecedented instability and this would have inadvertently driven up oil prices. This is due largely to his belief that the US should encourage Saudi Arabia to defend itself. This would have started a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The Green Market Oracle has previously called Trumps energy policy a fantasy. As reported by Think Progress, Trumps economic plan is a disaster for climate and the economy.

Trump has made his support for expanding fossil fuel production clear. In fact, along with immigration, fossil fuels are the bedrock of Trumps campaign. He sees coal as Americas energy source for the next 1000 years.

He has pledged to put miners back to work, although he neglected to

mention where he was going to find markets for this new coal production.

While Trump may support the oil industry, they do not support him. Very early in the campaign, the Koch brothers called Trump unelectable. Then in a move that smacked of desperation, the Trump campaign attempted to curry favor with the industry by naming oil industry friend Mike Pence as Trumps vice presidential running mate. However, the move did not pay off.

Trump is personally invested in the fossil fuel industry, according to a Greenpeace investigation this includes the highly controversial DAPL pipeline project.

Trump

has also been characteristically bombastic about tearing up anything to

do with climate action. Trump has indicated that he would effectively

kill climate action

including the Paris Climate Agreement. He also said he would eradicate

regulations designed to keep Americas air, water and ground safe.

A federal election is a binary choice and for anyone interested in clean energy, Hilary Clinton remains our last best hope. We face considerable uncertainty and the distinct possibility that we will not do enough to stop global warming, and slow sea level rise. However, a Trump presidency would guarantee a climate catastrophe, while Hilary offers a modicum of hope.

We dodged a bullet with Trumps failed campaign, and while many do not realize it, his policies would have been an unparalleled disaster.

Any sane person who has even a passing understanding of climate change must concede that the energy policy of a Trump administration would have augured something roughly equivalent to the end-times.

Related

Climate Change and the US Presidential Election of 2016

Trump Takes his First Beating with More to Come

Trump Could Win and We All Could Lose
Grab a homebrew with these Burlington Makers of Beer

The Burlington M.O.B.  Makers of Beer  meets nearly every month to discuss and sample each other's beers.
In the wake of Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd President Mukesh Bhatt assuring Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis that the body won't work with Pakistani artists in the future, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has agreed to call off protests.

Mukesh Bhatt (L), Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the poster of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

By India Today Web Desk: Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd, has assured Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis that the body will not work with Pakistani artists in the future.

Following this assurance, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray has called off protests and will not now oppose the release of the film.



We will not oppose #ADHM's release: MNS after meeting of Raj Thackeray with CM Devendra Fadnavis and producers ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

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The development comes in the wake of growing chorus of protests over the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.





I assured Mr.Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future: Mukesh Bhatt pic.twitter.com/VUiVJQ89mq ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

KARAN OFFERS TO PAY TRIBUTE



Mukesh Bhatt also added that Karan Johar has offered to pay tribute to the martyrs of the Uri terror attack by putting a slate before the movie begins acknowledging their sacrifice.

ALSO READ: Shyam Benegal backs Karan Johar's ADHM: KJo has been forced to give statement, enough is enough

Earlier today, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil maker Karan Johar and MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Fadnavis in a bid to achieve a breakthrough following widespread protests. MNS has been at the forefront of the opposition to allowing Pakistan artists to work in Indian films.



Also Karan Johar has said he will run a slate before the movie starts which honours the martyrs, its a tribute: Mukesh Bhatt ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

"We had a very constructive meeting. I assured Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has taken a decision in the larger interest of the sentiments of the people and the soldiers and the entire country that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future. This is a resolution we will pass and send a copy to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the CM. Karan Johar has offered to put a special slate honouring the Uri martyrs before the movie begins," said Mukesh Bhatt.



PRODUCERS' GUILD TO CONTRIBUTE TO ARMY WELFARE FUND



Bhatt said that Producers' Guild will also contribute to the Army Welfare Fund. "We owe this to the Army," he said.

ALSO READ: Karan Johar breaks silence on ADHM: Won't work with Pak artists hereafter

ALSO READ: Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Fawad Khan in it: Bollywood at war, pick your side!



Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is slated for release on October 28.

Mukesh Bhatt's promise to not feature Pakistani actors in films followed by MNS' assurance to allow Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's release have put to rest the uncertainty surrounding the movie's screening.



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Recently, on the way to LAX airport I took an Uber ride that would change my perspective of how I saw employees. There is this "entrepreneur" label that we use every day that suggests you are either an employee or a business owner. If you remove shares from the equation, then we are all technically entrepreneurs.

As I hopped into the car with my driver, Victor, something felt instantly different. By the time we got a few streets away, I had learned that he was a traveling wedding photographer who was forced to sell his Mini Cooper convertible so he could pay his bills. Victor talked me through how he became an UberX driver and went from a gold driver status to a platinum driver status within 12 months. Before meeting Vincent, Id never met a man who was so proud of his accomplishments and of the company that he worked for.

He is a model employee because there is no fluff with him. The focus he had on customer service was almost inhuman like. Never before has an Uber ride given me chills down my spine, especially after an exhausting two weeks in California, and a long flight ahead back to Australia. Meeting this man made me proud to be human and hearing his story was inspiring. Here are the five things you can learn from Vincent:

1. Everyone has a dream.

During my journey with Vincent I heard about his dream. Ive found it easy in the past to believe the lie that everyone has a grandiose dream like winning a gold medal or piloting spaceships, but I forgot how simple it is to forget that not all dreams are so enormous.

Some of us have far less complicated dreams like being a great parent or rising to the top of our company. In Vincents case, he wants to become a Uber Black driver and lease a brand new BMW so he can offer the next level up in service that he believes he can deliver.

Vincent wants to be the most successful Uber driver that has ever set foot on the planet and he will stop at nothing to find new ways to astonish his riders. Imagine all of us thought like this ohh the things we could achieve and the progress the human race could make.

Vincent showed me that no matter your nationality, background, or circumstances, everyone has a dream, and when you deliver 200 percent, you get the results youve always wanted.

Related: 3 Simple but Powerful Tips for Startup Success

2. Customer service is the main differentiator.

Weve all sat in a traditional taxi and heard the driver whinge about how hard business is. What Vincent taught me is that business isnt difficult for those who are willing to work hard and show up every single day with everything theyve got.

Business becomes hard when you show up without a purpose, and you hate what you do. Its easy to build a name for yourself with your business or as an employee: show up with your A-game and demonstrate your passion until it pours out of you. Look your customer in the eye and show them you mean business exactly the way that Vincent did to me.

Before I even got in the car, Vincent had my bag loaded carefully into his boot and ensured that I was comfortable. He then told me that he got out of the car in the first place because hed been sitting for a while and wanted to ensure he had high levels of energy for our trip (who does that wow).

He then proceeded to inspect the traffic conditions to ensure that I would not be late to the airport -- even though I was early -- so I could have plenty of time to relax and get some food before my flight. Everything had been thought of, and no stone had been left unturned. At the end of the trip, I felt like royalty being chauffeured around by this incredible man who told me his entire story and transformed my last day in LA for the better.

Related: The 10 Most Critical Factors That Dictate Startup Success

3. Were all entrepreneurs.

Throughout my conversation with Vincent I picked up on a subtle difference between him and all the other Uber drivers; he didnt see himself as an employee. He wasnt just saying it; he genuinely believed that the business was his and that Uber just provided him with the clients.

This change in perspective can show us all that being a business owner is a reality for everyone whether we know it or not. The fact is that business owners think differently -- they think like Vincent, and thats a good thing.

4. Win-wins are what its all about.

There was one line out of all the lines that Vincent said that stuck with me. It was this: Business is all about you helping me so that the company helps me, and in return, I help both of you. Its one continuous cycle that works like a successful marriage when you understand it at its core.

The description that Vincent presented me was almost like a utopian view of business, and his success is a demonstration that it works really well when all three sides commit to it.

Related: What's the Secret to Startup Success? Timing.

5. Positive attitudes are near impossible to shake.

As we pulled into LAX, I decided to experiment with Vincent and test him to see if all of this was real. The way I did this was by questioning his confidence. I falsely believed that the one thing that would break his positive mindset was technological disruption.

I asked Vincent what he thought of self-driving cars and whether he thought that would jeopardise his Uber dream. Just like the previous 45 minutes, Vincent again showed me his true colors.

He said, Tim there is always going to be new technology, and I welcome that. Its probably five years away and by then, if my time is up with Uber and I am replaced, then there will always be another job for me.

Within five years, he hopes to be able to travel the world and use his creativity to pursue his other dream outside of driving which is photographing weddings in exotic locations. Vincent wants to bring his same customer service focus, to that one special day, and wow a new type of customer.

After my trip with Vincent, I dont ever believe that I will meet another driver as good as him. Just writing this blog post send chills down by spine because of the way that he made me feel. No matter what your focus is in life when you give it 100 perent people notice and they want to go out of their way to support you.

If you are at a stage where you are not achieving your goals, its because you are not giving it your all and your passion is not shining through. Take a page out of Vincents book and dedicate your life to what it is that you do no matter how basic your profession may seem to the rest of the world.

Related:



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NORWALK  Members of the custodial, maintenance and security union within Norwalk Public Schools are outraged.

After administrators transferred eight custodial workers out of three schools in August  in order to save money by outsourcing the work  union leaders have called the action yet another step in a plan to slowly push union workers out of the district altogether.

Its moving toward the elimination of us, said Charlie Wyatt, a custodial worker at Cranbury Elementary School and president of the union. When the last guy retires there will be no more bargaining unit  and its basically by design. If they can make it to that point, then of course they will hire a bunch of people for minimum wage and try not to pay them benefits.

District officials said the outsourcing simply represents a focus on cutting non-educational costs wherever possible.

I think its really a financially driven decision, said Tom Hamilton, chief financial officer for Norwalk Public Schools. Dollars spent on non-instructional purposes are dollars that, if we can do something more efficiently, can be repurposed directly into the classroom to support instruction.

But union leaders allege that the effort is actually costing the district more money, wasting taxpayer dollars, decreasing the quality of custodial care in schools and leaving strangers in positions within the school community that have previously been filled by familiar faces.

Custodial, maintenance and security workers within the Norwalk Public schools have been a part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1042 union for decades.

More Information Schools with outsourced custodians Norwalk Pathways Academy Columbus Magnet Fox Run Elementary Jefferson Science Magnet Kendall Rowayton Silvermine Tracey Wolfpit Overall savings from outsourcing: Cost for 9 union custodians $698,319.16 Cost for outsourced custodians $558,845.36 Total savings $139,473.80 See More Collapse

The first sign of privatization began in 2014 when, operating under a section of the contract that allows the use of outside workers for tasks if they are both less expensive and more efficient, the school district hired a private company to perform landscaping tasks.

Over the following three school years, a total of nine schools had custodial work outsourced.

Under the unions contract, custodial workers can only leave through attrition. So instead of terminating the workers at outsourced schools, the school district transferred them to other, still unionized schools.

The most recent wave of outsourcing came in August when nine positions (including one vacancy) were moved to allow the complete outsourcing of Norwalk Pathways Academy, Kendall Elementary and Wolfpit Elementary.

Outsourcing custodial work at the three schools is estimated to save the district $139,473, according to an analysis from Hamiltons office.

School officials say the nine union positions within the three schools were able to be transferred into 11 similarly-paid vacancies that opened up through attrition in the 2016-17 school year.

However, union leaders say the workers were forced out of the schools, which some had been at for years, and into schools that didnt have vacancy. That, they said, has lead to many problems.

First off, they say continuing to pay the same union workers in addition to paying for outsourced workers would logically cost more money.

We have the staff to source three more schools, said Ryan Loris, a shop steward for the union and custodian who was transferred from Wolfpit to Roton Middle School in August. Anything spent on these three schools is a waste of money because you already have the staff to do it.

Hamilton, in a memo addressed to Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski and Norwalk Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons, called that a fallacious argument because it doesn't take into account the vacancies created by the workers who left through attrition in the year prior.

A comparison of base salaries, according to figures released by Norwalk Public Schools, reveals a roughly $150,000 decrease in the amount the school district would pay out associated with replacing the 11 vacancies with the nine transferred positions.

Union leaders also say moving custodial workers from schools that were outsourced into schools that already have normal staffing means more people to perform the same amount of work. That, they call, a waste of taxpayer money.

If youre overspending in one building to save money in another, it doesn't make sense, Wyatt said.

They also say forcing more custodians into the same sized working quarters can lead to employee conflicts.

If you have a high school that has 12 custodians and 12 is enough to take care of all of the work done in the building and then you turn around and add six more, now youve got guys stepping on each other, Wyatt said.

He said the district wants the union workers to in-fight and retire early, and the transfers may be a strategy the district is using to get rid of the union workers.

Through the outsourcing, several head custodians, who make more money for their designation, were placed at schools that already had head custodians, leading to a waste of taxpayer money in unnecessarily paying for more than one head at one school.

Hamilton acknowledged the so-called red circling of head custodians, but said the overall financial implications of doing so, ranging from paying out $1,771 to $2,831 per head custodian, were de minimus.

Beyond finances, the union leaders said both quality and the cohesiveness of the community have been impacted.

Wyatt said he has heard reports from schools with outsourced workers where tiles have gotten loose and the workers put duct tape over the tiles and waxed over it.

Brenda Wilcox-Williams, spokeswoman for the school district, said to the best of her knowledge the outsourced workers have put in quality work.

Our principals have been very pleased with the workers who have been in place, Williams said.

Wyatt, a Norwalk High School grad who has been a custodian in Norwalk schools for nine years and at Cranbury Elementary for five, said bringing in new faces to fill the positions weakens the feel of community.

Our parents are worried about strangers in the building ... he said. They are worried about strangers being in the building with their kids.

Williams, though, said all of the outsourced workers must go through the same comprehensive background checks as other custodial workers.

Part of the apparent strategy to outsource schools in waves, actually comes down to holding the outsourced workers more accountable, officials said.

Hamilton said it is so that we can hold our contractor responsible for the cleanliness of the school and likewise for those still being covered by in-house staff.

If youve got a school with half and half youve got a situation where people are pointing fingers.

Williams said it really all comes down to the school district adhering to the contract.

We have a commitment to do this only through attrition, Williams said, so that individuals do not lose their job.

KSchultz@thehour.com; 203-354-1049; @kevinedschultz
Expressing their fear about being attacked by alleged killer of their son Aditya, the Sachdeva family of Bihar's Gaya is planning to move the supreme court to get the bail of accused Rocky Yadav cancelled.

Chand Sachdeva, mother of Aditya, who was killed in a case of road rage in Gaya in May this year.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The parents of 16-year-old Aditya Sachdeva, who was murdered in the Gaya road rage case, said on Saturday that Rocky Yadav deserved punishment for killing their son. The family is considering options to move the supreme court against Patna High Court bail order.

The distraught parents of Aditya Sachdeva are not only disappointed but now also living under fear after Rocky Yadav was released on bail from Gaya jail on Friday.

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"We are very disappointed that an accused has been released. He deserved punishment. We saw what his behavior was when he came out of the jail. We fear if this is his attitude after coming out of jail, what will happen in future", said Shyam Sundar Sachdeva, father of Aditya.

READ: Bihar road rage case: JD(U) leader's son Rocky Yadav who had killed teen for overtaking car, granted bail

SACHDEVAS TO MOVE SC

Sachdevas are also mulling filing a separate bail cancellation petition in the apex court apart from the one which the Bihar government is likely to file soon.

"We are thinking of filing a separate bail cancellation petition in the supreme court. The atmosphere is now dangerous in Gaya", Shyam Sundar Sachdeva said.

Rocky Yadav and Aditya Sachdeva



'WE ARE LIVING IN FEAR'

Sachdeva family is more scared about their lives because of the kind of hooliganism that Rocky and his supporters displayed soon after he was set free from jail.

Rocky's associates pounced on the media-persons and misbehaved with them. Rocky's supporters did not want the media to report on his release and question him.

"We are living in fear. He is a threat to Gaya town. They will destroy Gaya and Bihar in days to come", said Shyam Sundar Sachdeva.

READ: Aditya Sachdeva murder case: Mother slams Nitish Kumar for failing to deliver justice

'CHALLENGE FOR NITISH GOVERNMENT'

Sachdeva family also made a desperate appeal to the Nitish Kumar government to take cognizance of the assault on the media-persons by Rocky and his associates.

Aditya's mother, Chand Sachdeva said, "The goondaism of Rocky manifests the fallout of granting bail to a murder accused."

READ: Bihar government to challenge bail of Rocky Yadav in road rage murder case of teen



"The government has a challenge at hand that they send Rocky Yadav back in jail. The misbehaviour with the media-persons speaks volume about the consequences of granting bail to him. They are now taking undue advantage of bail", said Chand Sachdeva.

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The family said that the Nitish government should immediately move the supreme court to get his bail cancelled.

READ: Did cops tamper with evidence against Rocky Yadav: 10 glaring lapses by Bihar police

CASES AGAINST ROCKY

Rocky Yadav is accused of shooting Aditya Sachdeva, a class-XII student in a road rage incident on May 7 this year. Rocky is the son of suspended JDU MLC Manorma Devi.

Besides the Aditya murder case, Rocky is also facing a case under the Excise Act for recovery of liquor bottles from his mother Manorama Devi's house.



ALSO READ:

All you need to know about Rocky Yadav's dad Bindi, known as Terror Of Gaya





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When Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again, what many people hear is him saying he wants to make America run by white men again. Weve been talking about race in coded terms during this election  except for those moments when Trump explains that black people all live in hell  and I think we need to address it more directly.

But a white woman pushing 60 shouldnt be encouraged to talk about race in America all by herself; weve had too much of that, just as weve had too many men explain to women how we really think. I didnt want to whitesplain.

Thats why Ive invited a former student whos now in her second year of a masters program in public administration at the University of Connecticut to join me in a conversation about one of the most important issues in American life.

Im 23 years old and much of what I have heard about race comes from people who are white, says Nyanka Joseph, who graduated from the prestigious Medgar Evers College Prep School in New York before coming to UConn. Even though many of my high school teachers were themselves African-American or black Caribbean, the works on our AP lists included only canonical authors. I didnt hear my voice or the voices from my neighborhood. I didnt know if they ever made it to the page.

Every couple of weeks Nyanka visits me in my basement office to talk about literature, culture, life and writing. Like me, Nyanka grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. Her mother, like mine, was born in another country yet still managed to read to her children every night in English, subduing her mother tongue to suit the American citizens she was raising.

In the work of fiction that Nyanka has been writing over the past two years, when characters speak in the French patois of St. Lucia, I hear my mothers Quebecois patois.

Fear cuts straight through that girls curiosity, she writes of a character, and When she has to hide, she has to shut down her imagination. Curiosity cant thrive if its bullied by fear.

But even in a world where women are suspended in a mixture of defiance and shame they remain strong and instill strength in those around them. Rough hands offer the most comfort, says her narrator, As children of poor parents will tell you.

As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time talking about the violence perpetrated on the black community by the white community, before and after Ferguson, and the way that thats affected race relations in our country.

I asked her if she thought videos showing officers using what appears to be undue force against black men were documenting systemic racial discrimination and were an irrefutable step in the right direction.

To my surprise, Nyanka said no.

On one level, videos of black bodies strewn like so many empty bullet shells make people less sensitive to black death, because it becomes normalized and acceptable. Perhaps they think it wouldnt happen so frequently if the violent stereotypes werent true. Then theres the subconscious effect on the black community that teaches self-fear and self-hate. Showing those videos is not showing the black story but is instead negatively shaping and exploiting black death. The media would never show white men who were shot lying on the ground. They respect the white body.

Newsmakers and pundits, she continued, expect us to watch from their perspective and be OK with the idea that this is finally the truth  but its still their truth.

What truths do we need to hear? I asked her.

When I started to read works by Caribbean and black writers, I started drawing from a different well, Nyanka said. I heard the stories of those who have for too long been erased. Our stories shape our vision of ourselves as people, as women and as citizens.

I hope those who feel alone in their blackness will hear my voice and share their story because it matters. We need to write the future and make it a stronger, healthier, better one for the black community.

Heres to the future of a truly great America where all our stories are heard.
Trinity Lutheran School students spent a day last Friday recently getting some exercise outside while at the same time raising money for their school to purchase Chromebooks.

The entire student body rotated out to the parking lot throughout the course of the day to participate in the schools annual Race For Education.

Courtney McFarlin, Trinity Lutheran Parent Teacher League Race Coordinator, explained that Race For Education is an annual jog-a-thon and one of only two school fundraisers each year which supports the educational needs of the school.

Every year we use Google classroom in pretty much third (grade) and above. So this years donations will fund Chromebooks for our upper grades. If theres any money leftover, obviously we will use it for other educational needs, McFarlin explained.

The jog-a-thon Friday was the culminating event of the eight-week long Race For Education fundraising project. Basically how it works is that each student provides us a list of addresses of friends and family that they want us to send a letter to asking them to donate (to Trinity) and then they send back a donation. Its completely donation based, McFarlin pointed out. We send over 1,700 mailers out.

The fundraiser ends with the Race For Education jog-a-thon which began promptly Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. with the pre-school students doing warm-up exercises before being counted down to run laps around the parking lot. The ages of children ranges from age 2 years of age to eighth grade. Its an all-day event, and they run in shifts, McFarlin noted. They get an hour to run, and they run pretty much the whole time.

The only exception was the pre-school children who run just 30 minutes.

As the students completed each quarter-mile lap, they stopped briefly at one of the several parent volunteers lined up at the finish line. The volunteers provided each student with a hole-punch on a card to keep track of laps each student ran. We give prizes for most laps ran in each grade - boy and girl. Then we also do a most laps ran overall, McFarlin said.

She expressed gratitude toward the tremendous support Trinitys Race For Education event receives from local businesses for prizes. We have businesses that donate food, gift cards and prizes. Everyone also gets a goody bag, and in that goody bag are various coupons from businesses in the community, McFarlin said.

The school then has a pep rally after the event to distribute the prizes.

The fundraiser is a popular one with the nearly 300 Trinity Lutheran students who enjoyed the music playing in the background as they ran feverishly around the course. The parents, of course, love the idea that the fundraiser also gets the students out exercising. We promote healthy eating and how important it is to exercise. Last year at the 2015 race, the combined student body ran close to 900 total miles, McFarlin pointed out.

The popularity of the event by parents was evident by the amount of parents and family of Trinity students who came to cheer on and support the students running. It tends to be a very school wide, family supported-oriented event, McFarlin said.

Trinity Lutherans only other fundraising event is the Heart of Eagle dinner auction that takes place every spring. We dont get into wrapping paper, candles, cookies, pizza. None of the parents like to do any of that, McFarlin said. We really just do these two fundraisers and what it provides, it provides.
Nickolas ODell and Colin Welsh of the Edwardsville Fire Department graduated from the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute Basic Firefighter Academy on Friday, Oct. 14. Welsh also received the academys Physical Fitness Award for demonstrating strong and consistent physical performance.

The pair was originally hired and started work in mid-August prior to the academy. The ceremony took place at the institutes Champaign, Ill., location with over 35 graduates from fire departments across the state.

Edwardsville Fire Chief Rick Welle said although their skillsets are in the early stages, the EFD is proud of the work theyve accomplished so far.

Certainly this is a big step for them to get through the fire academy. We like to think that thats the start of their career and certainly just the start of their training. Everything in the fire service is ongoing; we can never stop learning or else well get behind on a curve. That being said, they both did very well in the academy. They represented the city well and we expect that theyll do that for long endeavors ahead, Welle said.

The Basic Firefighter/NFPA Firefighter Academy is a six-week course designed to prepare firefighters for entry-level job functionality within a fire department. Those enrolled in the academy are taught basic firefighting skills for single-family dwellings and commercial buildings and rescue techniques as well. Participants experienced live fire evolutions, trained in realistic scenarios and learned how to properly use and utilize fire equipment.

Following their graduation, both ODell and Welsh are now officially on-the-job. However, Welle said there will be more training to follow for both recruits early next year.

Theyre officially on-the-job but there is still additional training. Theres a couple of basic courses that are going on in the next few weeks. In the start of January, theyll both be starting their paramedic training as well. Theyre both EMT basics at that time that will bring them up to the paramedic level so that they meet all of the same standards as the other firefighters in the department, he said.

Both ODell and Welsh, according to Welle, are a good fit for the EFD and the city of Edwardsville.

They are both very motivated, they are physically fit, they are willing and able to follow orders, theyre anxious to get started on the tasks that are assigned to them and at that point as an administrator, I cant ask for anything more, he said.

In terms of offering encouragement or words of wisdom for the new recruits, Welle said he wants both ODell and Welsh to, Continue to want to learn, continue to train like you work and understand that its not just important for themselves; its important for their colleagues and certainly important for the citizens we protect.

With the SIUE Fire Station and the new public safety facility in the works, Welle said all fire personnel will rotate within the departments, except lieutenants. With this in mind, Welle said the department is always looking for new recruits, as they may need some in the future.

We are always looking for quality personnel. Whether we are ready to hire or not, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners keeps an ongoing list and each list is good for two years. By statute, we follow the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Act and always keep a fresh list of recruits. In the meantime, we are always reaching out, not just in the immediate area but statewide and further to encourage people that are interested in the fire service, specially fire service in Edwardsville to keep a close eye when our testing is and wed love to have them on our eligibility list, he said.

For more information about the Fire Academy or the Edwardsville Fire Department, visit www.cityofedwardsville.com.
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Linkedin Puguh Sadadi Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

The world has praised Indonesias counterterrorism efforts in many forums and analyses. One of the latest analyses of how Indonesia effectively eliminates the threat of terrorism can be found in Jonathan Teppermans book published last month, The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in A World in Decline.

Tepperman, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs, highlights the success story of Indonesias counterterrorism in Chapter Three, which carries the title Kill Them with Kindness: How Indonesia Crushed and Co-opted Its Islamic Extremists. On 19 pages of stories and analysis, Tepperman makes a claim about Indonesias dramatic success in countering terrorism.

To understand how exactly Indonesia beat back terrorism and radicalism, Tepperman lists five factors: (1) Islam in Indonesia has traditionally looked different from Islam in the Arab world; (2) the failure of Islamist political parties and the adoption of an Islamist political agenda; (3) embracing Islamist political parties; (4) the hard law enforcement approach to terrorism and (5) the soft approach of rehabilitation and deradicalization.

While I agree with Teppermans conclusion that the big truth is that Indonesia has come close to effectively eliminating the threat of extremist violence (page 70), there are many potentially misleading arguments Tepperman may not be aware of.

It is not entirely true that Islam in Indonesia is different from Islam in the Arab world, because as long as we talk about Islam based on the Quran and the Hadith is one and very much the same. The interpretation of Islam, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and schools of Islamic law (mazhab) may have some differentiation, but in general it is about dissenting opinion (khilafiyah).

The way Tepperman argues about Indonesias Islam as blending faith or academically called syncretic is not only misleading but also ignores the Islamic purification movement in Indonesia. Even the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cannot be perceived as syncretic just because of cultural assimilation of Javanese tradition in Islamic praying like tahlilan. This kind of tradition will not mix up the core faith of Islam in one God.

Theoretically, religious syncretism is a fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices that results in a new concept, name or new religion, for example Gnosticism (Greek philosophy and religion especially Judaism and Christianity), Manichaeism (Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism) and Sikhism (Islam and Hinduism).

The supposition of the failure of Islamist political parties, for which Tepperman points to the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as an Islamic Brotherhood-style party, oversimplifies the relation between Islamic political parties and the aspiration of creating an Islamic state based on the Sharia. By focusing on election results, corruption cases and morals that tarnished the PKSs image, Tepperman forgets that what has happened to the PKS has nothing to do with radicalism and terrorism.

In the eyes of radicals of ISIS Salafi-Jihadi-style ideology, the PKS is in the camp of the enemy because it accepts democracy. This argument also applies to the concept of Islamist parties in general and to bringing Islamist party into the government.

Of Teppermans five factors, the hard and soft approaches of counterterrorism by Indonesias government are the only relevant factors that explain the success story of Indonesia. It should be also noted that killing Indonesian Muslim terrorism suspects with kindness makes no sense. There is no kindness in killing people, no matter who they are. The incident of Siyono as the 121st person to have died after being arrested by antiterrorism squad Densus 88, according to the National Commission on Human Rights, is far from kindness and has invited not only criticism but also suspicion. One of the largest Islamic organizations, Muhammadiyah, and several other civil society organizations have supported this movement.

Indonesia, however, has to remain alert to the stubbornness of radical ideology for several reasons. First, the level of education and understanding of Islamic teaching in Indonesia is surprisingly low. The many cases of Islamic deviant sects like Lia Edens Salamullah and Gafatars Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah, and fraudulent activities masked with Islam, like those of Dimas Kanjeng and many others are only a few examples of how easily teachers use the label Islam as cover to attract hundreds or even thousands of followers.

This is why radical ideology, which has no reference in the historical context of Islam during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, can attract many followers here. The narrative of radical teaching simply has deceived and herded the followers into a well constructed concept of jihad in support of the struggle of al-Qaeda in past and now ISIS in the Arab world.

Second, what makes radical ideology survive from generation to generation in Indonesia is the historical involvement among members of families and groups. Following Solahuddins approach outlined in The Roots of Terrorism in Indonesia: From Darul Islam to Jemaah Islamiyah, the transformation of Indonesias terrorist groups has strong links to key figures and their families. In other words, those figures are the core, while the others are new followers or recruits.

This argument may not suit the case of Santoso as the leader of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) group, but a simple explanation from the residue of Posos religious conflict in 1998 and 2000 is enough to understand the existence of the MIT. Despite the successful Malino peace talks in 2001, some people like the deceased Santoso and his followers choose to join the fight to uphold the Caliphate of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

The history of religious conflict between Islam and non-Islam in Indonesia is the third factor supporting the perpetual existence of radical Islamic ideology.

Fourth is that in general, fighting for Islam is not about winning or losing in the context of world affairs. It is about idealism of being a true Muslim in the eyes of the God Almighty as stated in the Quran. Gods command of perfection in being a Muslim, if not carefully understood, can be narrowed down to the concept of jihad by force in radical teaching.

The teaching of Aman Abdurrahman, an Indonesian ideologue of the hardline takfiri doctrine and tauhid wal jihad, for example, is based on Jordanian-Palestinian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawis concept of jihad. The teaching of Zarqawi can be put in simple relation of dedicating to tauhid or monotheism and jihad as the highest evidence of being a perfect Muslim.

From those factors, under the shadow of Indonesias successful counterterrorism operation, the potential threat of terrorism has become latent and may be revived in the future. Indonesia cannot be complacent but must carry on addressing the root problems of radicalism, especially through education.

In the context of the hard approach to tackle actual terrorist threats, law enforcers should avoid killing suspects during arrest, because there is no such thing as killing with kindness. Finally, being critical of foreign insight like Teppermans book is fundamental, because we know ourselves better.

______________________



The writer is a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester, UK, and visiting fellow at CSIS Jakarta. The views expressed are his own.
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Linkedin Nova Riyanti Yusuf (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

Every year, we commemorate World Mental Health Day (WMHD) on Oct. 10 to promote mental health education, awareness and advocacy globally. In some countries, this day is part of the larger Mental Illness Awareness Week. It matters because mental health is an extremely important issue worldwide due to the impact on the human rights and quality of life of those affected and their families.

The theme for this years WMHD is Dignity in Mental Health  Psychological and Mental Health First Aid for All. There are two underlying aspects to be understood: dignity in mental health and psychological first aid. Indonesia has been tackling and will continue to face these two challenges.

Speaking of dignity, we should address the stigma associated with mental illness so that dignity is upheld and respected.

Despite the fact that Indonesia has enforced its Mental Health Law since 2014 in a bid to defend the rights of people with mental problems and disorders, international media and organizations such as Human Rights Watch have deemed little has changed in the country.

The critics have grown impatient with our pledge to uphold dignity in mental health as no action has been taken to eradicate human rights violations in the form of shackling/caging/locking practices.

In 2013, the Health Ministrys National Health Research found the number of people with mental disorders who were restrained (pasung) had risen to 56,000 from 18,000 in 2011. It is a devastating fact and Indonesia is overwhelmed.

Indeed we can put an end to human rights violations by strictly enforcing the Mental Health Law.

What is particular about the law? The Mental Health Law, No. 18/2014, is ambitious in playing a role as a new foundation for the Indonesian mental health system. It deals with, among other issues, mental healthcare, the mental healthcare system, resources in mental healthcare delivery and mental health examination.

The concluding provision points out that the implementing regulations of this law must be in place no later than one year after its enactment. Were running behind schedule  with only one derivative regulation completed  but we still dare to put our hopes in the government, especially with its mental revolution jargon.

With increasing ill behavior, suicides, natural disasters  ranging from volcanic eruptions, to floods, landslides and tsunamis, etc., the fourth-largest population in the world, with its multidimensional problems, Indonesia, will survive as a nation by implementing our own National Mental Health Law as the foundation of our new and reformed mental healthcare system.

This is where the second point of this years WMHD theme plays a major role. Many people require basic psychological and mental health first aid to prevent their health from deteriorating and to encourage them to act to improve their mental health.

Psychological first aid is first-line psychosocial support after a crisis occurs. In various countries, psychological first aid has been incorporated into disaster preparedness and response.

Indonesia is prone to natural disasters and the Health Ministry is aware of regionalization in disasterprone areas.

But this awareness contributes to no avail should those people facing natural disasters be gripped with helplessness.

The 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi, billed as the largest since the 1870s, claimed 353 lives and displaced 350,000 others.

As a House of Representatives member, I teamed up with experts to propose a model project, Psychological First Aid (PFA) on-the-job training for 200 community Mental Health Nurses from five mental hospitals in Central Java to help the survivors of the volcanic eruption.

Unfortunately, the Health Ministrys budget for the emergency phase was insufficient. Fortunately, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) approved my proposal for PFA. The training was to provide the nurses with standardized competence and qualification in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.

Building on this experience, national disaster management authorities may consider having teams ready who could travel to disasteraffected regions to orient local first responders in psychological first aid when disaster strikes.

This model project is deemed necessary and continues to be implemented by the Health Ministry today. At large, the world is going through a crisis, but apart from the catastrophic events, psychological and mental distress can happen anywhere  in the workplace, in the supermarket, in our homes, in our schools, on the transportation system, in public spaces and in hospitals.

Psychological and mental health first aid is a potentially life-saving skill that we all need to have.

Psychological first aid may also be included in training for workers who meet trauma survivors as part of their daily job, such as firemen, police officers, health staff in hospital emergency units, community mental health nurses, psychologists, and, of course, humanitarian aid workers.

Indonesia may constantly face questions about its commitment to human rights, but those doubters should use clearer spectacles to notice the concerted efforts of the government, the House and the community to build a better mental health system.

--

The writer, who chaired the working committee drafting of the mental health bill in the House of Representatives (20122014), is a psychiatrist and a PhD candidate in public health at the University of Indonesia. She is also a research scholar alumnus in mental health implementation research with the Harvard Medical School, US.
Shiv Sena today announced its in-principle approval to forge a pre-poll alliance with rebel Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Subhash Velingkar-led Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), for the election to the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly to be held next year.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackery is in Goa for a two-day visit. After Bihar election Shiv Sena had decided to contest in all possible polls outside Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena today announced its in-principle approval to forge a pre-poll alliance with rebel Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Subhash Velingkar-led Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), for the election to the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly to be held next year.

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Thackeray and Velingkar held a meeting at a five-star resort near here to formally discuss the alliance.

The Sena chief said both the parties share similar ideology, which prompted them to think about joining hands. If the alliance formula works out then it will be open challenge by Sena to Laxmikant Parsekar led government in Goa.

"Our party and Velingkar's party believe in same Ideology. When BJP comes to power in Goa they forgot everything and this has brought Velingkar's party and Shiv Sena close. After discussing other aspects of the alliance, we will make the announcement soon," said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackery.

Velingkar, an RSS veteran in Goa, was given the marching orders on August 31 after Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), of which he is a convener, expressed its intention to contest the 2017 Assembly elections against BJP.







Velingkar was removed by RSS after he took a strident stance against the ruling BJP over the issue of medium of instruction and even showed black flags to the party chief Amit Shah at Bambolim during his visit there on August 20.



However, Goa BJP feels that this alliance will not affect them as Sena has no scope in the state. "Shiv Sena is contesting Goa elections from last many year but everyone knows it's performance. After loosing lonely battle for years now Sena is joining hands with Velingkarji. But there will be no big impact on us of this alliance," said Goa BJP Spokesperson

Kiran Kandolkar Goa.

While addressing a Shiv Sena party workers in Goa, Uddhav Thackery targetted Defence Minister Parrikar on his home pitch. Uddhav says that no one should take credit of surgical strike. We should give full credit to Army. He also gave him a piece of advice that if Pakistan is not learning from it's mistakes then we should ask our Army to enter into PoK.

Pressing Shiv Sena's plans to spread it's wing in other states, Uddhav Thackery asked Goa Shiv Sena workers to start small Shiv Sena Shakha's (office) in every single village. Uddhav also asked his party workers to start preparation for 2017 state election.







--- ENDS ---

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Linkedin Stevie Emilia (The Jakarta Post) Frankfurt  Sat, October 22, 2016

Indonesias book industry may be struggling to find financial support to translate more titles into foreign languages and reach a wider audience, but interest from foreign publishers is out there and growing.

On Friday, Mizan publishing house sold the rights to its Halo Balita (Hello Children) and Aku Bilang (I Say) educational titles for children to Kube, a UK independent publishing house that publishes general interest, academic and childrens books on Islam and the Muslim experience. The publisher also bought the rights to Muslim scholar Haidar Bagirs book Compassion Islam.

It was the latest deal after the National Book Committee, which is jointly responsible for Indonesias presence at this years Frankfurt Book Fair alongside the Education and Culture Ministry and the Creative Economy Agency, disclosed on Thursday that 27 titles were ready to be processed and have rights sold.

The books, which included childrens and literary works, attracted publishers from the US, England, India and Pakistan. The publishers requested the Survival for Kids series from Bumi Aksara, Aceh Kaffee (Cendana Art Media), Didgit Cobbleheart (Lily & Eddy), Monsoon Tiger and Other Stories (Gramedia) and Enjah (Beng Rahardian-Tomas Soejakto), among others.

Anton Kurnia, the committees translation funding program coordinator, attributed the high interest in rights to Indonesian books to the countrys success as the guest of honor at last years book fair.

But the success is not the end result. Its only the beginning. We made people notice us and it marked the awakening of our literary world but to really make it in the international book market we have to get real support, he said.

That support, he said, included real money to back up literary translation program LitRI, which provides grants for foreign publishers to translate Indonesian titles. Launched this year, it received nearly 70 proposals but by the closing deadline in August the shortlist was down to two.

There has been growing interest for Indonesian titles even from countries like Iceland. And many other foreign publishers have reached out to us with interest in a translation grant, he said on Friday.

However, were faced with a reality where some bureaucrats still think its a waste of money to provide grants for foreign publishers. Theyre not seeing this right. Translating Indonesian works is not about the financial value, but about making Indonesian books reach a wider audience.
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Linkedin Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, October 21 2016

Green Days career arc is a notable one. Formed in the late 1980s, the band released one independent full-length along with a few EPs (mini albums) before kicking off the mid-1990s punk explosion with their 1994 record Dookie. A highly catchy pop-punk record that with sneering abandon signaled a change of scenery from the then-dying gloom of grunge music, Dookie catapulted the band into fame. They even played a legendary show in Jakarta sometime around then.

But by the late 1990s, the bands pop-punk had run its course. It wasnt anything in particular  1997s Nimrod had some strong singles  but the bands brand of second-generation punk had just run its course. Green Day was no longer the new cool brats. They were old news.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Manado  Fri, October 21 2016

After years of living in uncertainty, several stateless people in Bitung, North Sulawesi, have been issued documents granting them Indonesian citizenship.

North Sulawesi Law and Human Rights Agency head Sudirman Hury handed over the documents on Wednesday at the Bitung administration office to 54 stateless people who have Filipino ancestry.

Because they are now Indonesian citizens, they have the same rights as other citizens, Hury said.

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Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22 2016

In a last-ditch effort to halt the controversial Jakarta Bay reclamation project, fishermen and environmentalists said they would press charges against those involved in the project.

The statement came after the Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTTUN) ruled on Thursday in favor of the city administration, overturning a lower courts ruling that had ordered the administration to halt the construction of islet G.

Marthin Hadiwinata of the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Union (KNTI) said during a press conference on Friday that the fishermen and activists, grouped under the Coalition for Saving Jakarta Bay, would report those involved in the project, specifically in the construction of three islets  C, D and G  to the Jakarta Police.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 22 2016

May the Deitys goodness bathe your brow and trickle down your shoulders. Oh blessed one, my most excellent friend, you who are so fortunate.

As foreseen with my third eye you are special above all, chosen by the celestial spirits with whom I commune. You alone will share in great riches and marvels beyond imagination.

Now follow these instructions carefully. Go to the bank and buy US$1,000, in 10 $100 uncreased bills. Borrow from your neighbors if you cant afford, they will raze, sorry, praise you later.

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Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

China is in desperate need of better translators, as much of its intentions in Southeast Asia have been stifled by the lack of understanding among ASEAN member states, a recent seminar has concluded.

With its enormous economic clout, the country has already offered ASEAN a number of large scale projects like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

But despite strategic partnerships proposed during Chinas 25-year dialogue relationship with ASEAN, Beijing is finding it hard to convince countries in the region to embrace its grand plans.

According to senior journalist Kavi Chongkittavorn, part of the reason why China is having difficulty currying favor with ASEAN is because members of the bloc are suspicious of Beijings intentions in the region.

China is looking at ASEAN, wanting to form a strategic partnership that is [simultaneously] flexible, multilateral and multifaceted, said Chongkittavorn, also a fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangok.

ASEAN seldom understands what the Chinese have in mind, he told the discussion on China and ASEAN.

In the wake of souring relations following an international arbitration ruling on the South China Sea dispute, ASEAN and China are seeking ways to move on from unresolved disputes onto the bigger picture of cooperation.

For instance, President Joko Jokowi Widodo continues to seek cooperation with China.

However following skirmishes between Indonesian and Chinese coast guard vessels, his ministers have reiterated Indonesias insistence on others respecting its sovereignty.

According to an ASEAN statement adopted in Laos last month, ASEAN has yet to embrace Chinas proposals like OBOR, which Indonesia is part of.

However former deputy foreign minister and previous ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal separately told The Jakarta Post, Our China policy must have balance between economic symbiosis and geopolitical play. Economically we must have intense engagement with China []. But geopolitically, we must keep our stategic autonomy as a middle power. This means that Jakarta must be willing to stand up and say no to Beijing whenever it is necessary for us to do so.

Analyst Evan Laksamana said earlier that compared to economic diplomacy in ASEAN and with China, Indonesia showed less energy and drive to link the processes to regional disputes such as the South China Sea.

On a visit to China on Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the Philippines separation from the US on Thursday and realignment with China, in a drastic shift from its traditional alliance with the US.

Meanwhile Chinas representative acknowledged it needed a comprehensive communications strategy in the region. I agree with you when you say China needs a better translator, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN, Xu Bu, Since China has such a long history and such a complicated culture, we need to do a lot of homework to make ourselves [...] better understood.
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

The Jakarta Transportation Agency has objected to Go-Jek drivers habit of stopping in inappropriate places on the streets of the capital to wait for passengers, contributing to traffic jams.

The agency had talked to the home-grown ojek (motorcycle taxi) apps founder Nadiem Makarim about the drivers road behavior, transportation agency head Andri Yansyah said on Friday.

"They said [there would be] no more drivers waiting for passengers with online ojek services but their drivers often stop on the street," he told journalists at City Hall.

Aside from ride-hailing app drivers, the agency found online taxi drivers often stopped on the street while waiting for passengers.

The city has sent a letter to the Communications and Information Ministry about monitoring ride-hailing app vehicles, especially in terms of the vehicles roadworthy tests (KIR).

"There are only 6,500 online taxi vehicles that passed KIR but there are thousands more operating in the city. That's not fair," Andri said.

In order to maintain order on the streets and to prevent worsening traffic congestion, the city administration is set to crack down on anyone violating traffic rules.

"I'm not going to curb Go-Jek, Grab or Go-Car but we will curb all road violators," he said. (rin)
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Linkedin  Sat, October 22, 2016

Sultan Azianzah, 23, a suspected IS sympathizer who is alleged to have attacked the three policemen in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday, had long been known to have embraced radical ideology, and his family had tried unsuccessfully to deradicalize him.

The terror suspect, who succumbed to his injuries after being shot by the police, may have been radicalized in 2013 when he made contact with pro-IS militants via the internet, according to the National Police.

At the time, his family, including his two brothers, both policemen, noticed that Sultan had become more reclusive and regularly visited internet cafes.

He told his family that he was going to work but [they discovered] he was not. [He] often went out, telling his family that he was visiting an internet cafe, National Police spokesman Ir. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar told reporters on Friday.

His familys suspicions intensified in 2015, when Sultan left home for no reason. They later found him at Ansharullah Islamic boarding school in Ciamis, West Java.

The school is managed by Fauzan Al Anshori, a suspected member of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD)  a terrorist faction in the country that supports IS, Boy said.

His brothers tried to talk him into abandoning his radical ideology but to no avail. They even reported him to the National Counterterrorism Agency [BNPT] two months ago, Boy said, without elaborating.

The BNPT, however, denied that it had ever received report on Sultan. Who said that? There is no such report. We never received any report about it, BNPT head Suhardi Alius told The Jakarta Post.

Sultans case highlights the threat of online radicalization in Indonesia, where around 4 percent of the population have a favorable view of the IS group, according to a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center.

In August, an 18-year-old tried to kill a priest in a church in North Sumatra. He was said to have been inspired by an attack on a church in Rouen, France, in which a priest was killed and a parishioner wounded by IS militants.

Before carrying out his attack, Sultan told his family that he had to go to Jakarta for a job interview and left home early in the morning with a backpack, in which he is believed to have carried weapons.

Sultan is thought to have attacked the police because JAD, the faction most loyal to IS in the country, regards policemen as infidels, said National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian.

The police are regarded as infidels because we are on the offense against them, Tito said in Siloam Hospital, Tangerang, on Friday.

Its a pity that the victims are usually our [traffic police] officers in the field who arent routinely armed. In the future, we may give them weapons, he added. Tito was visiting Comr. Effendi, the Tangerang Police chief, who was one of the victims, along with traffic policemen Chief Brig. Sukardi and First Insp. Bambang Heriadi.

The police chief further warned the public to be more aware about internet content because it had become one of the most effective ways of spreading radical views among young people.

What we definitely have to watch for is online [communication]. Recruitment [by radical groups] is ongoing online. This means that we need to take preventive action so that our youth will not be recruited, Tito said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

A fourth grader at the Fathia Islamic School in Sukabumi, West Java, was buried on Saturday after being fatally injured by a collapsing piece of furniture at her school.

Nine-year old Zhafarina Jenita Muldani died en route to the Hermina Hospital in Sukabumi on Friday.

Sukabumi Deputy Mayor Ahmad Fahmi, who attended the funeral, expressed his hope that schools would pay greater attention to safety.

The victims family and the school management have agreed not to pursue the matter, Fahmi said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Witnesses said Zhafarina had been hit on the head by a collapsing board holding the school magazine. Zhafarina had apparently been playing near the board and was seen shaking it. When she was shaking the board, made from bamboos and thin plywood, it fell on her head, said Fadlan, a school friend of Zhafarinas.

The schools security officer, Yayan Sepudin, said he saw Zhafarina with blood on her head after the incident had happened.

The school could not be reached for comment. (evi)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22 2016

Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama aims to make hundreds of parks across Jakarta more attractive in a bid to improve the capitals appearance.

Besides developing childrens parks across the city, the Jakarta administration has also engaged private companies to contribute to park development in the city through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

Jakarta must have iconic places. The parks must not only have greenery but also have a philosophical and historical concept, Ahok said on Thursday, during the inauguration of Diponegoro Park on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, which has been developed by publicly listed tire manufacturer PT Gajah Tunggal.

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BJP MP Varun Gandhi has termed the allegations leveled by New York-based lawyer Edmonds Allen of him being honey-trapped to reveal secret information as false.

By India Today Web Desk: BJP leader Varun Gandhi has termed the charges leveled against him by Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav as 'false and frivolous'. Varun on Saturday released an open letter on twitter explaining his position.

Releasing a letter written by New York based lawyer C Edmonds Allen, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav alleged that Varun Gandhi was honey-trapped by controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma to reveal secret defence information.

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READ: Did Varun Gandhi spill defence secrets for foreign girls?

VARUN GANDHI'S REPLY

In his defence, Varun Gandhi said, "While I was a member of both the Defence Standing Committee and the Defence Consultative Committee from 2009, the records will confirm that I never attended a single meeting of the Defence Consultative Committee and very few of the Standing Committee. Clearly, I was neither seeking out nor passing on any information."

READ: Why Varun Gandhi's 'honey-trap' controversy is a boon in disguise for BJP



All the charges are false and frivolous in nature as no confidential or top secret information was accessible to such parliamentary panels, Varun claimed in his letter.

Varun Gandhi's open letter released on twitter. Varun Gandhi's open letter released on twitter.



EDMONDS ALLEN SLAMS VERMA

Meanwhile, the US-based lawyer Allen, whose letter has created the furore, slammed Abhishek Verma calling him a 'conman'. Abhishek Verma had said that Allen forged the documents to level allegations.

Responding to the charges, Allen said that the such allegations were leveled against him "only by the Conman (Verma) when I refused to forge documents on his behalf, a fact verified by the FBI here (in the US) and CBI when they had visited me."

READ: BJP not to back MP Varun Gandhi mired in sex-for-defence-secrets allegations

Allen also accused Verma of influencing judges. He said, "Abhishek Verma has managed to stall trials and get Judges transferred if they were not amicable to him."

CHARGES AGAINST VERMA

Verma is facing serious charges for leaking sensitive information in Navy War Room Leak case of 2002. He is also accused of sending a forged letter to the then prime minister in 2009. The third case against him relates to bribery.

Verma is accused of taking a bribe of USD 5,30,000 from Rheinmetall Air Defence AG for stalling the blacklisting proceedings against the company after its name cropped up in the Ordnance Factory Board scam.



ALSO WATCH:



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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Palembang  Sat, October 22 2016

The government has started producing a detailed peatland map using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to better manage the nations peatland forests.

A lack of detailed peatland maps has led to many problems such as overlapping permits and rampant slash-and-burn practices.

LiDAR is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating that target with a laser light. The laser light is shot from a small plane.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 22 2016

My ongoing personal project is documenting metaphysical spirituality that illustrates the close relationship between the Balinese Hindu community with their ancestors in my birthplace, Bali. Bhakti is always close to Balis Hindus as an intense spiritual love and devotion to God. Through religious rituals and offerings, they express themselves to their ancestors and gods in various manifestations with the aim to achieve the freedom of the soul.



Every village in Bali has its own traditional rituals that have long been practiced along with the myths developed in the communities. For example, there is a ritual to be spared the plague, one to gather the gods and another after the rice harvest. The Balinese believe these rituals provide a balance of nature, including for people, harmonizing the unseen elements and also serving as a form of gratitude to their ancestors. Its this spirit which is believed to give peace in their lives. I try to depict their expression when implementing the bhakti, which continue to be performed according to the Balinese calendar despite modernization and technological advances.



That is for now. Bali is probably Indonesias most famous tourist destination  tourists began arriving in the 1920s  and there can be no avoidance of its effects. I retain a concern that the spirit of the predecessors will be lost in the future. This project is my visual record of how Balinese with a sincere heart always uphold the spirit of the island and maintain their relationship with the gods.

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Linkedin Rebecca Pazos (The Straits Times) Singapore  Sat, October 22, 2016

Scant time was allocated on Asia during all three US presidential debates, raising concerns about the future of the Obama administration's Asia re-balance policy.

Who got the most words in? (Rebecca Pazos / Singapore Press Holdings)(Singapore Press Holding/Rebecca Pazos)

How much (or little) was the mention of Asia, or topics related to Asia, during the presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton?

Very little time was spent on Asia during all three debates which raises concerns about the future of the Obama administrations Asia rebalance policy.

When the candidates did toucAsia, there were two broad topics they discussed  nuclear competition in East Asia, and China as a threat to US trade and economy.

Customers watch the third and last US presidential debate at the Pinche Gringo BBQ restaurant in Mexico City, Oct. 19.(AP/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Nuclear Weapons in East Asia

Donald Trump became the first nominee to use the word liar against his opponent in a presidential debate after Hillary Clinton brought up comments he made on nuclear weapons on television in April.

In the third debate, Clinton said: This is a person who has been very cavalier, even casual, about the use of nuclear weapons, she said.

Hes advocated more countries getting them: Japan, Korea, even Saudi Arabia. He said, well, if we have them, why don't we use them, which I think is terrifying.

Trump responded by calling Clinton a liar: "All I said is we have to re-negotiate defence agreements with other countries that the US can no longer afford.

When Clinton replied, Well, I'm just quoting you when you were asked", he said: Theres no quote. Youre not going to find a quote from me.

But in April, Trump made the following comments during an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News: "So, North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea."

Wallace asked: "With nukes?"

"Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes," Trump responded.

And earlier in March, in an interview published by The New York Times, he had said that he would consider letting Japan and South Korea build their own nuclear weapons, rather than rely on America for protection against North Korea and China.

That proposal, analysts and administration officials had pointed out, would mean dispensing with the US security umbrella that has been key to stability in Asia since the end of World War II.

In the first and third debates, Clinton reassured US allies they would not be left without protection if she is elected.

Asia in the US debates (Rebecca Pazos / Singapore Press Holdings)(Singapore Press Holdings/Rebecca Pazos)

Trump has accused Beijing of currency manipulation and of not doing enough to stem North Korea's nuclear ambitions, while both candidates have raised concerns about China as a cyber threat.

In the first debate, Trump claimed that China has been able to use the US as a piggy bank with no one, namely the government, to stop it.

Clinton hit back  accusing Trump of buying the steel China has been illegally dumping in the US.

This then led to the question of protecting jobs in the US, with Trump again claiming the government had not done enough and Clinton accusing him of being the one taking jobs out of their country.

Donald has bought Chinese steel and aluminium. In fact, the Trump hotel right here in Las Vegas was made with Chinese steel.

So he goes around with crocodile tears about how terrible it is, but he has given jobs to Chinese steel workers, not American steel workers, she said in the third debate.

China also found itself being mentioned under a new topic in the third debate, that of abortion rights. Clinton gave an emotional defence of her stance on allowing termination of late-term pregnancies, citing forced abortions in the Asian country and other practices that she saw while secretary of state.

Nuclear weapons in East Asia (Rebecca Pazos / Singapore Press Holdings )(Singapore Press Holding/Rebecca Pazos)

Who got the most words in?

Trump beat Clinton for the number of words on both the first and second debate. But for the third debate, Clinton managed to edge only slightly ahead, only by around 300 words.

As for the hosts, Chris Wallace used up the most time as moderator out of all three presidential debates, taking almost 20 per cent of the total word count.
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Kuala Lumpur  Sat, October 22, 2016

Indonesia is looking to Malaysia for more investment in tourism.

Local businesspeople have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with their counterparts in the neighboring country to intensify communication and meetings to foster more investment in tourism and other sectors.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairman for international relations, Shinta W. Kamdani, said Malaysia could run sustainable tourism businesses in the country to attract more tourists.

We can learn from Malaysia about building sustainable tourism. Malaysia has about 27 million foreign tourists every year, but Indonesia only 10 million, even though were much bigger in size, she said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony for the MoU between Kadin and Malaysias External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Tourism to Indonesia is still concentrated on the island of Bali, which accounted for more than 30 percent of the 10.41 million foreign tourists last year.

To spread investment more evenly, the government has designated 10 new Balis to be developed by 2019. They include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Mount Bromo in East Java, the Mandalika resort area in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung, Tanjung Lesung in Banten and Morotai in Maluku.

To attract investment, regional administrations are trying to promote specific tourism business potential they offer based on local aspects. Lake Toba, for example, has been trying to develop a halal tourism concept by building more mushola (prayer houses) and restaurants that clearly identify themselves as halal or non-halal. (evi)
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Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22, 2016

Police in South Jakarta have detained a 25-year-old man for allegedly abusing his girlfriend, after a picture supposedly showing the bruised victim went viral in social media.

Pancoran Police chief Comr. Aswin said the suspect, identified as JFJ, had been detained after the 25-year-old victim reported the assault to the police on Friday morning.

We are now questioning the suspect while the victim is being treated at the hospital, he said on Saturday.

According to Aswin, the incident occurred on Thursday night, when the couple had an argument that ended with an assault at the Kalibata City apartment building in South Jakarta.

The victim was beaten harshly. She suffered bruises to her eyes and face, he said, adding that the suspect had said it had been a one-time incident.

He said the suspect may be charged under Criminal Code Article 351, which means he could be punished with up to five years in prison.

The case went viral when a friend of the victims posted a picture of her face, bruised and with dried blood, on Twitter.

My best friend was beaten by her boyfriend and until now, the boy has not been detained although the evidence is strong, the friend tweeted on Friday night. (evi)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, October 22, 2016

Oil and gas giant Pertamina will have to stand on its own feet in anticipating potential losses caused by a new government policy to set fuel prices in the countrys easternmost areas on par with those in Java.

The new policy will allow people in Papua and West Papua to buy Premium gasoline for Rp 6,450 (49 US cents) per liter, diesel for Rp 5,150 per liter and kerosene for Rp 2,500 per liter.

Fuel in the underdeveloped regions was sold for Rp 50,000 to Rp 100,000 per liter before the government launched the one-price policy earlier this week.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Friday that the government would not provide additional subsidies to Pertamina to cover fuel transportation and distribution costs to the two provinces.

The statement came despite public knowledge that the huge price gap will burden Pertamina with an additional annual spending of Rp 800 billion. Most of the costs will come from air transportation by its distributors located in eight regencies in Papua and West Papua.

We will not subsidize it and Pertamina will have to figure it out themselves. It will not affect our state budget, Luhut told reporters on Friday.

Rp 94.4 trillion was allocated in the revised 2016 state budget for fuel and LPG subsidies. The government has proposed allocating Rp 92.2 trillion in next years draft state budget.

Experts and analysts have voiced criticism of the new policy, as they consider the program unsustainable in the long run because it will increase local demand and dependence on fossil fuels, and put a greater burden on Pertamina.

Furthermore, the policy has been dubbed unusual as the government has long planned to reduce sales of subsidized fuels to save money.

However, Pertamina insists that the new policy will not greatly affect its finances. Pertamina finance director Arief Budiman said the companys finances would remain stable as it could cross-subsidize from the companys other businesses to cover any potential losses.

Even so, the company may still feel the weight of the program. Last year, Pertaminas revenue dropped significantly by 40.3 percent to $41.76 billion from $70 billion in 2014.

It attributed the plunge to falling oil prices. Last year the prices of both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent Crude sank to their lowest levels of around $30 per barrel.

Although Luhut claimed that the government was not planning to give additional fuel subsidies, he said the government expected to evaluate the one-price policy every year.

Meanwhile, state-owned electricity company PLN was hopeful that the slashed fuel prices would bring lower transportation costs as well. Most power plants in the region are fuelled by diesel and although PLN has bought fuel at prices akin to those in Java, transportation and distribution costs remain high.

The new price cut will not affect us so much, but we do hope that this means transportation and distribution services will cost much less as the depot where we pick up our diesel tends to be far from our power plants, said PLN corporate communications head I Made Suprateka.
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Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Arya Dipa and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya/Bandung/Padang  Sat, October 22 2016

After first erupting in Jakarta, anti-Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama sentiment has spread to other cities amid an extensive social media campaign against the governor, who recently made a statement that many Muslims considered had insulted the Quran.

Following an anti-Ahok rally in Jakarta on Oct. 14, Muslims staged similar protests in Surabaya, East Java, and Bandung, West Java, on Friday. Another rally is being planned in Padang, West Sumatra.

The protesters want the Jakarta governor sent to prison for an allegedly blasphemous speech made in Thousand Islands, North Jakarta, on Sept. 27.

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Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Arya Dipa and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya/Bandung/Padang  Sat, October 22, 2016

After first erupting in Jakarta, anti-Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama sentiment has spread to other cities amid an extensive social media campaign against the governor, who recently made a statement that many Muslims considered had insulted the Quran.

Following an anti-Ahok rally in Jakarta on Oct. 14, Muslims staged similar protests in Surabaya, East Java, and Bandung, West Java, on Friday. Another rally is being planned in Padang, West Sumatra.

The protesters want the Jakarta governor sent to prison for an allegedly blasphemous speech made in Thousand Islands, North Jakarta, on Sept. 27.

In Surabaya, thousands of Muslims grouped under the East Java United Muslims Community Movement (GUIB) staged rallies in front of the East Java Police headquarters and East Java High Prosecutors Office, voicing their demands.

Representing 70 Muslim organizations, the protestors urged the police to arrest and question Ahok for insulting the Quran.

Arrest and jail Ahok, the man who insults the Quran, East Java GUIB secretary-general Muhammad Yunus said in a speech.

Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) spokesperson Ismail Yusanto expressed a similar sentiment, urging the government to take stern action against Ahok for blasphemy.

Ahok consciously said that people who do not vote for him because of Surah Al-Maidah 51 had been lied to. This means that he consciously called the Quran a source of lies, Ismail stated.

The issue began when Ahok spoke in front of Thousand Islands residents and Jakarta administration officials about voting rights. The governor related the issue to Surah Al-Maidah 51, which many Muslims perceive as prohibiting them from voting for non-Muslim leaders.

In your hearts, Bapak and Ibu may not vote for me because [you have been] lied to by Surah al-Maidah, verse 51, etc. It is your right. So you do not need to feel uneasy if you cannot vote for me because you are afraid of being condemned to hell, as you are being fooled. It is alright, Ahok said.

Ahok has apologized for the statement, which many Muslims found offensive.

In Bandung, a number of schools sent students home early in anticipation of traffic congestion because of a rally staged by the Alliance of West Java Muslim Movements, demanding Ahoks arrest.

The rally began after Friday prayers at 1 p.m. local time in front of Gedung Sate. The group then marched to the Merdeka Building. At least 1,000 people joined the peaceful rally, which caused traffic jams on a number of thoroughfares.

Coordinator of the alliance, Asep Syarifudin, said the rally represented the struggle of the entire Muslim community in West Java.

We demand a legal process for Ahok regarding the religious blasphemy he committed. His statement has insulted the Quran, ulema and Muslims, he said.

Separately, Muslim Reformist Movement chairman Cep Hermawan said his side would stage a bigger rally at Jakartas City Hall if the police failed to act against Ahok by Oct. 28.

Unless he is [legally] processed, on Nov. 4 we will surround the Jakarta Legislative Council building and City Hall. If Ahok is not punished, we will punish him, he said.

In Padang, West Sumatra, 48 Muslim mass organizations grouped under the Minangkabau Community Forum plan to stage a rally on Sunday. They called for Ahoks arrest via posters circulated on social media in the name of the Indonesian Ulema Councils (MUI) West Sumatra branch and the mass organizations.

According to the announcement, the rally will start at 8 a.m. at Nurul Iman Mosque in Padang, before moving to the West Sumatra Police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman.

The announcement also mentioned that the decision to hold the rally was reached during a meeting with local MUI chairman Buya Gusrizal Gazahar. Until Friday afternoon, however, Gusrizal was not available for comment.
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Linkedin Puguh Sadadi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 22 2016

The world has praised Indonesias counterterrorism efforts in many forums and analyses. One of the latest analyses of how Indonesia effectively eliminates the threat of terrorism can be found in Jonathan Teppermans book published last month, The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in A World in Decline.

Tepperman, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs, highlights the success story of Indonesias counterterrorism in Chapter Three, which carries the title Kill Them with Kindness: How Indonesia Crushed and Co-opted Its Islamic Extremists. On 19 pages of stories and analysis, Tepperman makes a claim about Indonesias dramatic success in countering terrorism.

To understand how exactly Indonesia beat back terrorism and radicalism, Tepperman lists five factors: (1) Islam in Indonesia has traditionally looked different from Islam in the Arab world; (2) the failure of Islamist political parties and the adoption of an Islamist political agenda; (3) embracing Islamist political parties; (4) the hard law enforcement approach to terrorism and (5) the soft approach of rehabilitation and deradicalization.

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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Sat, October 22 2016

Chinese-Indonesians in Yogyakarta have once again called on Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X to revoke a 41-year-old provincial policy prohibiting nonindigenous citizens from owning land in the province.

Z. Siput Lokasari, a Yogyakarta resident of Chinese descent, sent another letter to the governor, who is also the sultan, demanding that he heed a National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) recommendation that an instruction letter issued in 1975 by the then deputy governor be immediately repealed as it was against basic human rights.

Im very concerned that the governor continues to disregard Komnas HAM. Im afraid this could lead to the seizure of land belonging to minority citizens, Siput said when handing the letter over at the Yogyakarta governors office, on Thursday.

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Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao visited Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospital today in Chennai. This is Rao's second visit since Amma has been hospitalised.

By Akshaya Nath: It has been almost a month since Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has been admitted to the Apollo hospital in Chennai and today Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao made a surprise visit.

Reportedly, Jayalalithaa has been recovering well and is responding to people through gesture. Sources say this could be a reasons for the governor's meeting, which lasted for half an hour.

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After his visit, the Raj Bhavan's press release read, "The governor visited the Chief Minister in the ward where she is undergoing treatment. The governor was happy to note that the Chief Minister is progressing well."

Also Read | Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa completely well, will return home soon: AIADMK

GOVERNOR'S SECOND VISIT TO APOLLO

This is Rao's second visit to Apollo hospital since Jayalalithaa has been hospitalised.

Earlier, on October 1, the governor visited Apollo, following which he said that Jayalalithaa was recovering well and the doctors briefed him about the treatement being given to the Chief Minister.

Also Read: TN Governor Vidyasagar Rao visits Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital in Chennai



The Opposition raised concerns about the government's functioning in the state after the governor's first visit.

In the last one month, there have been several VVIP visits to the Apollo hospital.

On an everyday basis, hundreds of AIADMK followers have been visitng the hospital to get information about their leaders health.



Also Read:

Jayalalithaa is 'progressing' and 'interacting', says hospital

Traffic Ramaswamy, who filed PIL seeking information on Jayalalithaa's health, booked for spreading rumours

Chennai: With entire state curious about Amma's health, Apollo Hospital overflowing with visitors



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Linkedin Chong Koh Ping (The Straits Times) Beijing  Sat, October 22, 2016

Chinese media and officials are silent on Philippine President Duterte's effusive praise of China and his remarks on "separation from the US."

While Beijing has laid out the red carpet for Rodrigo Duterte this week, and returned the embrace of the Philippine President, it is under no illusion that Manila will pivot away from Washington.

China may stand to gain if Duterte breaks away from the US in geopolitical terms, as he said he would on Thursday. But it is fully aware that he does not decide on the Philippines' foreign policy on his own and will have to go through the political processes domestically, Chinese analysts have said.

During his four-day stay in Beijing, Duterte took every opportunity to assert his anti-West stance, especially towards the US.

The 71-year-old leader went as far as to proclaim his "separation from the United States" in both military and economic terms at a business forum in Beijing on Thursday. He showered praise on the country and its people, and announced that "Duterte of the Philippines is veering towards China because China has the character of an Oriental. It does not go around insulting people."

While Beijing laid out full honours for Duterte, in a reception seldom accorded to regional leaders, Chinese media and officials have been silent on his effusive praise of the Chinese and his declaration of separation from the US.

Chinese netizens, displaying some scepticism, said he was making these remarks to extract benefits from China, such as soft loans.

Some likened his "separation" from the US to a new social phenomenon in China in which people make use of fake divorces to get around restrictive regulations in order to obtain a second housing loan.

Professor Li Kaisheng from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences noted that while Duterte wishes to separate from the US, what it really means is unclear. "This is not the first time Duterte has said this, and it merely represents what he really feels." But it is hard to say if this will be translated into actual policies, he said.

"On the one hand, it may be good for Beijing given that the US has been using the Philippines to contain China in the region," said Li.

On the flip side, if Duterte gets toppled as a result of soured US-Philippine ties, Beijing may stand to lose even more given that Sino-Philippine relations are only starting to improve, he added.

Noting that there had been no reaction from Chinese officials so far to Duterte's remarks, he said he did not expect them to respond.

Beijing-based analyst Zha Wen said China does not expect Manila to break its long-time alliance with Washington. "We should not take a zero-sum view on these relationships," said Zha from the China Foreign Affairs University.

What Beijing wants is for bilateral relations to improve and for Manila to conduct a more balanced foreign policy, she added.

Concurring with Zha, Li said the agreements and loans signed should not be viewed as carrots to support Manila's break from Washington.

Beijing has responded to Duterte's friendly overtures with a lavish welcome that shows a high level of goodwill and respect.

Notably, he was given access to four of the seven members of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee: President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, top legislator Zhang Dejiang and top-ranking Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli. In return, Beijing has achieved its goal of diffusing tensions in the South China Sea by reaching an agreement with Manila to resume bilateral talks on their territorial disputes.

This could signal to other countries that in handling conflicts with China, it is best to put aside disputes and focus on cooperation, said Xu Liping, an Asean researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "It is unrealistic to expect China to compromise, and as a big country, it has the ability to give you a lot of benefits," he added.

This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
(front page)

Imperialist plunder at root of Haiti storm disaster

The 145 mph winds of Hurricane Matthew that battered Haiti are a natural phenomenon, but the disaster in the storms wake is man-made. Unlike revolutionary Cuba  where more than a million people were evacuated before the storm hit and not a single person died  the capitalist government of Haiti left working people to fend for themselves. And the legacy and ongoing reality of imperialist domination guarantee the social crisis will deepen in the coming months.

No one knows for sure how many people have died in Haiti after the hurricane made landfall Oct. 4, probably more than 1,000. According to the U.N., over 1.4 million people need assistance and 120,000 homes were destroyed.

A week after the storm, many towns still had not received any aid, health centers are short of basic supplies and workers and farmers are dying from easily curable diseases.

These blows come on top of the deep capitalist social and economic crisis.

Before the hurricane more than three-quarters of Haitis population lived on less than $2 a day, half on less than $1. Nearly 75 percent of Haitians are subsistence farmers and more than 70 percent of the population has no access to electricity. They rely on kerosene, candles and batteries for light and wood and charcoal for cooking.

To cook or supplement their meager incomes, Haitian toilers have cut down millions of trees. Today only 3 percent of the land is forested, down from 60 percent in 1923. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island Hispaniola with Haiti, is 23 percent forested.

The deforestation magnified the impact of the hurricane: mudslides and rivers that overflowed their banks washed away homes and crops.

During the dictatorships of Francois Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude  who enriched themselves and their U.S. backers at the expense of Haitian workers through their reign of terror from 1957 to 1986  Haitians produced 80 percent of the countrys food and exported rice.

Tariff cuts push peasants off land

In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton pressured the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to slash tariffs on rice and chicken. The influx of cheaper U.S. food lined the bank accounts of local capitalist middlemen and U.S. agribusiness and drove thousands of peasants off the land. Clinton later admitted the move had been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, his home state, but had undermined farming in Haiti. Today at least half of Haitis food supply is imported, including 80 percent of rice.

The hurricane puts local food production in greater jeopardy. According to the Miami Herald, 80 percent of the banana crops in Arcahaie, Haitis biggest banana-growing region, were wiped out. In the Grand-Anse region, nearly all crops and 50 percent of livestock were destroyed. Every house has lost its roof. All the plantations have been destroyed, Pilus Enor, mayor of the town of Camp Perrin, told Reuters.

Cholera, which killed more than 10,000 following the 2010 earthquake, is rising after the storm. It was first introduced to Haiti by U.N.s so-called peacekeeping troops, who didnt take the most elementary sanitary precautions.

Aid deepens imperialist domination

The first aid planes from the United States did not arrive in Port-au-Prince until Oct. 9, five days after Matthew ravaged the countrys southwestern provinces, and then had to be loaded on trucks and helicopters.

The U.N. says that $120 million is needed immediately, but as of Oct. 15 it had received promises of less than $15 million from member governments. U.N. troops fired tear gas at residents in Les Cayes who, frustrated by the slow response, threw rocks at an aid convoy passing through their area.

The U.S. government has so far promised a piddling $14 million to aid Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

While immediate assistance is desperately needed, Haitian working people know from experience that the aid from capitalist governments, the U.N. and so-called nonprofit organizations will be used to further deepen the countrys domination by U.S. imperialism.

After the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people, the U.S. Agency for International Development sent hundreds of millions of dollars in food assistance. Under U.S. rules, all food the agency distributes must be imported from the United States, turning the aid into another weapon against peasant farmers. And some of this food was resold on the market to fund U.S.-based charities, instead of being distributed to those most in need.

U.S. and Haitian capitalists made a killing on the aid programs, and nonprofit and nongovernmental agencies did quite well for themselves too.

A report on the American Red Cross by National Public Radio last year found that one-quarter of the $500 million the charity collected to aid Haiti was spent on its own internal expenses. The Red Cross claimed it had helped thousands of people to build homes, but NPR determined the total number of permanent homes the charity built was six.

Revolutionary Cuba responded rapidly to the escalating health crisis in Haiti following the storm, sending 38 doctors, nurses and specialists to join the 646 internationalist volunteers already there. Cuban volunteers  working closely with Haitians  helped contain the 2010-11 cholera epidemic.

The newest Cuban arrivals are already at work in the hardest hit areas like Anse dHainault. The local population has welcomed us, Dr. Emmanuel Vigil told Cubadebate.





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US hurricane deaths demonstrate capitalist govt disdain for workers

Five months after Alberta fire, workers face capitalist disaster

New Zealand march protests contaminated water







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Washington-driven assault on Mosul fuels conflicts among capitalist rivals

A U.S.-backed offensive to wrest control of the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State began Oct. 17 in a joint operation between the Iraqi army and the Iraqi Kurdish regional authorities. The Barack Obama administration has been pushing to get the assault underway, increasing U.S. troops and the training of Iraqi units and Kurdish peshmerga forces. The battle and its aftermath will sharpen tensions and conflicts between rival ruling classes in the region, and extend military action there by U.S. imperialism.

The attacking force includes some 30,000 Iraqi government troops and police, Shiite and Sunni militias and Kurdish peshmerga fighters. They are backed by U.S. airstrikes and special operations troops. London and Paris are also part of the coalition. There are reported to be up to 5,000 Islamic State fighters in Mosul, and up to 1.5 million civilians.

In the first two days, peshmerga captured villages to the east and Iraqi troops to the south, moving to surround the city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says only Iraqi government troops will enter it. This is to allay fears that Shiite militias might carry out reprisals against the predominantly Sunni population in Mosul.

There are already tensions between the competing forces involved. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, now a vice president, warned that Kurdish forces must not stay in territory they occupy in the march toward Mosul.

As the assault began, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his demand that Turkish troops and planes be involved. Ankara has some 2,000 troops in northern Iraq, which the Iraqi government has demanded be withdrawn.

Ankara is also angry that fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had been in talks with Baghdad about joining the attack on Mosul. The Turkish government has been waging a military offensive against the PKK in southern Turkey and northern Iraq, where the group has bases. The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, which exports oil through Turkey, also opposes PKK involvement.

The reactionary Islamic State captured Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, in June 2014, along with large swaths of Iraqi territory. At that time, the city had a diverse population of over 2 million. Today IS holds only about 10 percent of Iraqi territory, after losing cities and towns to Kurdish fighters and Iraqi troops and militias. It has also lost substantial ground in Syria.

Bombing of Aleppo

Russian and Syrian warplanes halted their bombardment of opposition-controlled areas of Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 18 ahead of what Moscow announced would be an eight-hour humanitarian pause. Russian officials said this would allow civilians and rebels to leave the city. The pause followed an intensification of airstrikes over previous days that had killed scores and continued to reduce much of eastern Aleppo to rubble.

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Switzerland Oct. 15, despite Washingtons announcement 12 days earlier suspending talks with Moscow on Syria. The next day, Kerry joined U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in London. The two stressed that they see their only course as continuing to seek an agreement with the Russian government.

Johnson noted a lack of political appetite on the part of Washington and its allies for military options in Syria, and said, The tools we have are diplomatic.

Meanwhile, the government of Saudi Arabia admitted Oct. 15 that jets from its coalition had been responsible for an airstrike in Yemen on a funeral ceremony a week earlier. More than 140 people were killed and up to 600 injured in the attack in Sanaa, the capital.

Kerry and Johnson, whose governments back Riyadh in the civil war there, called for a truce. A three-day cease-fire was reported Oct. 18 between the Houthi-led government in Sanaa, which has Tehrans backing, and the Saudi-led coalition, which backs the deposed government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A U.S. warship fired cruise missiles at Houthi radar installations in Yemen Oct. 13. The Pentagon said it was retaliation for two missiles fired towards a U.S. warship days earlier. Houthi officials have denied their forces were responsible. While Washington has been supporting the Saudi government with intelligence and military aid, this was the first direct U.S. attack against Houthi forces in Yemen.





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(feature article)

Workers in Puerto Rico and US face common enemy

SWP candidate for president makes solidarity, fact-finding trip to US colony

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  On a nine-day solidarity visit here in late September, Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president, joined protests against government attacks on the living standards and rights of working people. She exchanged experiences with fighters against U.S. colonial rule, unionists and other workers.

Kennedy addressed the pro-independence Grito de Lares celebration and a rally demanding that Washington release jailed independence fighter Oscar Lopez. She also spoke at events sponsored by university students in San Juan and a public forum in the city of Ponce.

The SWP delegation also included Jacob Perasso and Cynthia Jaquith, the partys candidates for U.S. Senate in New York and Florida, respectively, and Martin Koppel. We met with leaders of the electrical and water workers unions, and went door to door in working-class neighborhoods to talk with residents.

Everywhere we found eagerness to discuss the capitalist economic and social crisis that is hitting working people hard in this U.S. colony  and interest in meeting members of a revolutionary working-class party from the United States. That interest was reflected in coverage of Kennedys visit by the three main daily papers and some TV stations.

Interviewed on a live radio program sponsored by the water workers union, Kennedy said that on her return home she would tell workers and farmers what weve learned from your experiences and struggles. Well explain that a successful fight for Puerto Ricos independence from Washingtons colonial rule is in the interests of working people in the United States, because we face a common enemy  the U.S. government and the capitalist class it represents.

Students at the University of Puerto Rico invited Kennedy to address a Sept. 21 Forum Against the Junta. The topic was how the U.S. government has imposed a hand-picked fiscal control board  the junta, as its called here  with powers to pay the colonial governments $70 billion debt to U.S. bondholders by selling off public assets, laying off government employees and outlawing their strikes, and cutting the minimum wage to $4.25 per hour for young workers under 25. U.S. Congress established the board through a law known by its cynical acronym Promesa, Spanish for promise.

Protests, debate on debt squeeze

The students warmly applauded when Kennedy said the Socialist Workers Party supports those protesting Promesa and the fiscal board. Later she spoke at a campus meeting sponsored by the youth groups of the Hostos National Independence Movement (MINH) and the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).

She also visited a permanent encampment outside the U.S. federal courthouse here that young people have kept up since June. One of the signs protesters display at the encampment says, The problem is not the junta, its the colony!

Dozens of people we met during our visit reminded us of the realities of living under the U.S. colonial boot. Unemployment is high, as indicated by a labor force participation rate of less than 44 percent of the adult population. Per capita income is about half of that in Mississippi, the poorest U.S. state.

But the cost of everything from basic food items to gasoline and electricity is higher than in the U.S. Forty percent of the population depends on food stamps, Medicaid or other public assistance.

To pay off the ballooning debt, successive colonial administrations have laid off 30,000 public employees, cut pensions, shut down schools, slashed vital medical services and raised the sales tax to 11.5 percent. Today an estimated 1,200 people leave the island every week for the United States.

One afternoon we went house to house in Villa Palmeras, a working-class neighborhood in San Juan. Kennedy spoke with Gladys Lopez, a retired street cleaner, and her husband Nelson, who works in construction and whatever job comes my way. Gladys Lopez said her rent is $300 a month, and her monthly Social Security check is barely $409. She plans to move to Pennsylvania to live with relatives.

Ruth Brito, a domestic worker, invited Kennedy into her living room to chat. Brito, who moved here from the Dominican Republic two decades ago, said she was disgusted with the governments handling of the debt crisis and thought the new fiscal board might get the economy on a more stable footing than corrupt politicians  a view held by many working people.

Brito was interested when Kennedy described how the same capitalist economic crisis hits workers in the United States. She subscribed to the Militant and bought the book Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? Class, Privilege, and Education Under Capitalism, by Socialist Workers Party National Secretary Jack Barnes. Thank you for your work in defense of the working class, she told the socialist candidate.

Workers speak on pollution, blackout

We also visited Cano Martin Pena, a large working-class district in San Juan. We were accompanied by Joel Vazquez and Jose Caraballo, who have been active in a 15-year-long fight to force the government to dredge and clean up a polluted channel that runs through the densely populated area.

Gladys Tirado, whose house is at the waters edge, said her home and surrounding streets were flooded with sewage-tainted water during heavy rains last April. As a result of the struggle in Cano Martin Pena, her family and others will be relocated to a safer location in the neighborhood.

While we were here, anger at the government was further fueled by a blackout that left much of the islands population without electrical power, phone service or water, many for three days or more.

At the headquarters of the electrical workers union UTIER, Ricardo Santos, the union secretary for health and safety, told us the blackout was a consequence of the long-term refusal by the government-run Electric Power Authority to spend money on maintenance.

When a fire broke out at one substation, Santos said, other stations were unable to kick in because backup turbines had been shut down to save money  one of the measures proposed by widely despised U.S. consultant Lisa Donahue, whose firm is paid more than $20 million a year to help the utility cut costs and pay the government debt.

The UTIER leader said the government has been running the electrical company into the ground to justify selling it off to private owners. It is also seeking to weaken the union, which has been part of the resistance to the anti-working-class offensive.

We were also invited by Pedro Irene Maymi, president of the water workers union, UIA, for a discussion at their headquarters with several officials and other union members. They described how the UIA, like UTIER, is in the crosshairs of the capitalist rulers, who seek to privatize the public water utility and deal blows to the union, which has joined the protests against Promesa and the fiscal board.

In face of the economic catastrophe, the two colonial parties that dominate the government  the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which favors the current Commonwealth setup, and the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP)  have become deeply discredited. Many people dont see much difference between them, said UIA Secretary Hector Motta. Thats a big shift in a nation that for decades was polarized between loyalists of one or the other party.

Growing discussions on colonial rule

As a result of this growing political ferment, partisans of Puerto Ricos independence say they are getting a wider hearing. Rafael Cancel Miranda, one of five Nationalists who served more than 25 years in U.S. prisons for their pro-independence actions, told us that when he goes to the supermarket, people who for years backed one or the other ruling party now come up to him and say, Don Rafael, you were right all along about the disastrous effects of colonial rule.

Adrian Gonzalez, candidate for mayor of San Juan of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, described to us how, as we go through neighborhoods, people are opening their doors to us who previously never did. The change is not that many more people are now pro-independence  its the openness to discuss and consider new perspectives, Gonzalez said.

The interest in what socialist workers in the United States are saying and doing was part of the openness we encountered. An example of this was our visit to Ponce, where Kennedy spoke at a public forum at El Candil, a popular bookstore that holds book presentations every Saturday.

That weeks event featured Jose Che Paralitici, author of several books on the history of U.S. repression against the independence movement and of resistance to U.S. military conscription in Puerto Rico. Paralitici welcomed our attendance and told the audience that the Socialist Workers Party has a long history of fighting FBI attacks on the labor movement, going back to the union battles of the 1930s.

After the book presentation, most of the 50 people stayed to hear Kennedy. She was welcomed by local PIP leader Carlos Reyes, and the program began with questions to the socialist candidate by well-known radio host Alfonso Gimenez. Then audience members asked questions, ranging from the state of the U.S. union movement to the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump election campaigns, immigrant rights, police brutality and the response to the Socialist Workers Party campaign.

Kennedy explained that the world capitalist economic crisis has come crashing down on working people in Puerto Rico sooner and harder because of U.S. colonial rule. But its hitting us too. And just as you are seeing here, the assaults on our living standards are generating widespread anger by workers in the U.S.

Thats reflected in the crisis in the two main capitalist parties, the Democrats and Republicans, she noted. Most workers dont like either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. No matter which one gets elected, nothing is going to change for the better for working people.

Kennedy underlined that its only through massive struggles that we will change things, that we will transform the unions into strong fighting organizations. Look at the labor struggles of the 1930s, the mass battles for the rights of Blacks in the 1950s and 60s. Workers need to organize a revolutionary movement that can take political power out of the hands of the capitalist minority in order to reorganize society. We point to Cubas socialist revolution as an example. And as we knock on doors across the country, she added, were finding willingness among workers to consider this perspective.

Kennedy said, As you build your fight against colonialism here, its going to have a big impact and strengthen the struggles of working class in the United States too. And the other way around too.

History of anti-colonial resistance

In Ponce, Puerto Ricos second-largest city, we learned more about the long history of resistance to U.S. colonial rule, from the 1898 U.S. invasion to today. Jose Escabi, the PIPs mayoral candidate, took us to a park and statue dedicated to Pedro Albizu Campos, located in the neighborhood where the historic Nationalist Party leader was born.

PIP leader Reyes went with us to the Museum of the Ponce Massacre. It vividly documents the events of March 1937, when cops in Ponce, under orders from U.S. Gov. Blanton Winship, fired on a Nationalist Party parade and killed 19 people.

Escabi also took us to the port in Ponce, where two giant cranes loom, unused since they were built six years ago. They were erected to handle super-sized tankers now coming through the Panama Canal, but the colonial government has suspended the megaport project because capitalist investors dont consider it profitable enough. The idle cranes stand as a monument to Puerto Ricos warped colonial economy.

Nearby, we met stevedore Juan Alindato, who told us he earned just $2,000 last year from working on the docks. Only three ships are loaded a month and the work is done in about three days. Alindato supplements his income by making miniature traditional papier-mache masks to sell to tourists.

Alindato and his wife, Anabel Figueroa, who works with him at their stall, said they have always been a PPD family. Now, however, Im not sure well vote at all, he said.
SWP: Standing Rock part of working-class resistance

CANNON BALL, N.D.  Theyre trampling on your treaty rights, Socialist Workers Party vice presidential candidate Osborne Hart told those gathered around the fire at the Oceti Sakowin camp, part of the Standing Rock encampment near here, Oct. 15. What youre doing here is part of the resistance of working people taking place in the U.S. and around the world in the face of the crisis of capitalism, Hart added as he explained that he had come to bring solidarity and learn about your struggle.

Thousands of people from many Native American nations have camped here to protest the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, which is being built just north of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, passing under the Missouri River and threatening the water supply.

Hart sat down with two of the leaders in the camp, J.R. American Horse of the Standing Rock Sioux and Robert Dunsmore from the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota. American Horse said theyve been receiving solidarity worldwide, including from New Zealand and Paris, France. Hart described his experience taking part in protests against the police killing of Keith Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they discussed the actions of FBI and local police in both struggles.

Hart also met with Chauncey Peltier, who came to the camp to win support for the fight to free his father, Leonard Peltier, who has spent more than 40 years in jail for his participation in the fight for Native American rights.

Peltier described how Native Americans are incarcerated at grossly disproportionate rates in South Dakota. The Wall St Journal reported in 2015 that the number of Native Americans in the federal prison system has jumped 27 percent in the past five years. In South Dakota Native Americans make up 60 percent of those facing federal charges, but only 9 percent of the population.

Peltier spoke of the lack of jobs, and the conditions he had experienced as a union laborer in Portland, Oregon. And its worse on the reservations. One of my brothers lives on Pine Ridge [in South Dakota], and if you get a job, you have to hang on to it.

Why dont they make jobs? Peltier said. Theyre trying to starve us out. Cant they put a factory on the reservation?

Peltier agreed with Hart that while the energy needs of working people have to be met, the oil barons dont care if their projects violate treaties or contaminate land and water. All they think about is money, Peltier said.

Yes, they make everything a commodity to be bought and sold, Hart said. Thats why working people need to take power and build a new society based on human solidarity.

Hart and supporters also went door to door in this town, which is on the reservation. We met people who were closely following the struggle, including a high school student who said he would take our campaign material to his journalism class, Hart said.
Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank, on Thursday night, the envoy said Kashmir was a 'nuclear flashpoint' and it must not be underestimated.

By Press Trust of India: In yet another attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan's ambassador to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani has called on the global community to help resolve the long-pending dispute with India, calling it a "nuclear flashpoint" in South Asia.

Delivering a keynote address at the World Affairs Council, a Washington-based think-tank, on Thursday night, the envoy said Kashmir was a "nuclear flashpoint" and it must not be underestimated.

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Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the envoy regretted that India was undermining all diplomatic efforts for a dialogue, including its refusal to engage at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) forum.

"The peace and stability in South Asia will not be possible without resolving underlying disputes, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir being the core dispute," Jilani said.

"The international community and the US in particular need to play a role in seeking a peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

Also Read:



War is not an option, dispute should be resolved through dialogues, says Pakistani diplomat



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Beedi tycoon, Abdul Nisham, who is infamous for killing a security guard with his Hummer, has been making threatening calls while being in Kannur Central Jail.

By Revathi Rajeevan: The murderer in the infamous 'Hummer case' in Kerala Abdul Nisham has allegedly made phone calls while in jail and has threatened his brother. A complaint filed with the Thrissur police in Kerala states that Nisham called his brother twice. Following discussions about his beedi company, Nisham allegedly abused his brother and threatened to kill him and his family.

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The complainant, Nisham's brother Abdul Razak, in his complaint says "On Friday, Nisham had to appear in Bangalore for a murder case for which he went with policemen from Kannur Central Jail where he is lodged. He was also accompanied by his friend Shibin and manager Ratheesh who help him financially while in jail. On Thursday, I received two calls (at 7.58 and 7.59) from him on my number. He spoke about the beedi company and started threatening me. He verbally abused me, threatened to kill me and my family, the recordings which I possess."

Also read: Another BJP worker attacked in Kerala's Thrissur; accused, victim have criminal past, say police



Nisham and his brother are partners in 'King Beedi Company' based in Thirunelveli, Tamil Nadu among many other businesses.

SOUGHT INFORMATION ON PROFIT

The complainant also alleged that when Abdul Razak and Nisham's another brother Abdul Nisar visited him in jail in August Nisham had asked the profit from the business to be kept aside for his case failing which "Nisham would use those with him in jail to kill them."

Also read: The killing fields of Kannur



The bus ticket details allegedly of Nisham's travel show that Nisham was accompanied by someone with the name of Ratheesh - his manager, along with two others on a KSRTC bus on Friday.

The Kannur DPC has ordered an enquiry into the allegations.

Also read: Kannur crime chart: Three murders in four days



Nisham was convicted for life imprisonment in January this year, a year after murdering security guard Chandrabose with his Hummer SUV. Nisham, who returned drunk late night after a party also dragged and stamped Chandrabose for a delay in opening the gate. Chandrabose succumbed to the brutal assault in February 2015.

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Barefoot luxury in the Maldives

My first visit to the Maldives was in the 90s and since then I have returned every year since 2013. A total of five visits. The Maldives is a special place for me. It has a completely unique environment and I thoroughly relax and I enjoy chilling out in the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful scenery.



By Andrew J Wood

Saturday 22 October 2016, 09:00AM

With a rich culture, gorgeous vistas and spectacular marine life, its one of our favourite destinations. We quickly adopt a life is good attitude of total relaxation and enjoying being away from our usual routines  its what draws me back year after year. I can truly say that the Maldives is a brilliant holiday destination, one of the best.

With 1,190 islands, land is still the scarcest resource in the Maldives Archipelago, making up less than 1 per cent of its surface area and it is one of the lowest lying countries in the world.

My choice of hotel for the last four years has been the Centara Grand. Being a former hotelier I know theres nothing like the personal touch. When you are staying in a hotel as a recognised regular guest, its extra special. You get a sense of belonging; a sense of family. A special kind of relationship between you and the management and the whole team. It is something quite unique and this is absolutely the case with the Centara Grand.

Travelling to the Maldives could not be easier. Travelling from Bangkok with my partner Pichai, we boarded a direct flight to the International Airport in Male, the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives. It takes just four hours and 15 minutes from Suvarnabhumi Airport with Bangkok Airways. From Male its just a short 25-minute hop by seaplane to the resort. You dont need that much luggage in the Maldives, so pack lightly. Staying at a beach resort, you spend much of your time in shorts and T-shirt and quite often for me, as the title suggests, barefoot. Just perfect.

I just love seaplanes. Arriving at the resort aboard a twin-engined De Havilland Sea Otter is very special, an experience not to be missed. Its a great way to arrive, stylish and fun. There is no strict dress code for the restaurants, except swim wear is not allowed and in the evenings you have to cover up a little more than lunchtime. Not a problem as most guests wear something loose fitting anyway due to the temperature. Cotton seems to work best.

Bring lots of reading material (there is a library if you forget or run out) and your headphones (if you like to listen and relax to music, as I do). The resort has many daily activities with boat trips to nearby islands; fishing trips and sunset cruises with dolphin watching.

Over the years it has been interesting to watch the development of the resort. The Centara is no stranger to change. Improvements evolve gradually, but without ever losing the designers original concept for the resort. It has improved organically and with care.

The inclusion of 20 Sunset Ocean Pool Villas has been so successful they are often sold out. They incorporate a small horizon-less plunge pool in the balcony of the villa and its a perfect place to soak and relax, especially at sunset with the fabulous colours above the turquoise sea. The low-lying landscape provides some of the most brilliant sunsets you will ever see. Taking in this view with a cocktail in your hand is just magical!

Dining at the Centara is a delight. The resort is family friendly so there is a wide choice of dining options. We particularly enjoyed eating at the Island Club. A fine dining restaurant with a great kitchen, its special and relaxed. The menu changes daily for lunch and dinner and the service is faultless.

Being a Thai-owned resort, it comes as no surprise that the resort caters for lovers of Thai cuisine. Arguably the fastest growing global culinary trend, Thai cuisine is a huge phenomenon and the resorts Suan Bua (lotus pond) is a wonderful Thai restaurant with an exceptional Chef  Khun Ning. We ate regularly here during our two-week vacation. Alternating between Azzura Italian Restaurant and Reef, the international buffet restaurant with its popular teppanyaki counter.

The resort is all-inclusive, which at first, four-years ago, worried me. But I neednt have worried, the food is fabulous.

You can completely forget about taking your wallet anywhere in the resort. You never need to figure out your spending  its all included  which makes going to bars and restaurants trouble-free and most importantly, stress-free.

The island is packed with water sports: snorkelling, paragliding, banana boats, mini water slides, a supervised kids club and a scuba club. On top of this are daily activities such as spa treatments, kids fish feeding, shark/stingray feeding and a recently introduced yoga programme with the extraordinary Dr Raj.

You can learn to scuba dive at the resort, starting with an intro course that is included in the resort package. Also free are fishing and sunset cruises with dolphin watching. There are also regular diving trips, for the more experienced diver, which do cost extra.

For me the top activity is swimming with whale sharks. They are called sharks but they are actually the worlds largest fish and are plankton eaters. The trip consists of a 45-minute boat ride to the area where the whale sharks might be feeding and once spotted, snorkelling for 30 to 45 minutes in the general area.

Growing up to nine-metres long, these majestic creatures gently swim along, giant mouths open, as we watch in awe at their immense power and beauty. This is probably on my list of top 10 things to do in the world, such a unique and extraordinary experience.

What else to do? Well for me quite often, nothing. (How often can you do that?) You are in charge of your own time, youre on holiday, so relax. Lay back and soak up the good karma, which is so easy to do as there is so little to cause you stress.

Andrew J. Wood is a travel writer and a regular university guest lecturer. A long-time resident of Thailand, Andrew is a former hotel general manager and Immediate Past President of Skal International Thailand. Andrew is also a Director of Worldwide Destinations Asia Co Ltd in Bangkok.
Berlin goes vegan with butcher shops, singles night

GERMANY: Long the European capital of techno-driven nightlife, fastidious hipsterdom and low-cost party weekends, Berlin is adding another string to its bow as a vegan haven.

health

By AFP

Saturday 22 October 2016, 05:00PM

Vegan products on display at the LHerbivore vegan restaurant in Berlin. Photo: John Macdougall/AFP

Animal product-free versions of almost any business can be found in Germanys largest city, from butchers shops to singles nights.

But getting lost in the eyes of a romantic prospect over grilled tofu is far from all thats on offer for the citys 80,000 vegans  around 10 per cent of the nationwide figure, vegetarian association Vebu estimates.

Germany and especially Berlin are at the forefront of a vegan movement thats advancing all over Europe, Vebu vice-president Sebastian Joy said.

Thats obvious from the roughly 60 vegan restaurants on offer in the German capital counted by specialist website Happy Cow  far outstripping the 24 in Paris and 40 in London, both cities more than twice the size of Berlin.

That figure has ballooned since 2008, when there were just three completely animal-free restaurants according to Vebu.

Berlin is younger, more hyped, and more alternative than Munich, Paris or London, explained Joy.

Theres a snowball effect: vegans attract vegans and more and more people come.

On top of the roughly 10 new eateries opening each year, a whole lifestyle is falling into place.

Schivelbeiner Strasse in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood in northeast Berlin, popular with startup workers and young parents, has become a Vegan Avenue.

Initiates can stroll from supermarket to cafe to clothes- and shoe-shops and carry their purchases home with vegan consciences clear.

The food shelves without cheese, yoghurt or honey and clothing racks without wool or leather are a far cry from the luxurious treats at KaDeWe  the German answer to Harrods or Galeries Lafayette.

Today in 2016, growth in whats on offer, from soy ice-cream to Europes first 100 per cent-vegan pizzeria, means that Berlin is almost comparable to New York in terms of options for vegans, said yoga teacher and long-time adept of the lifestyle Moritz Ulrich.

But the sudden aura of cool around veganism has uprooted the movement from its woollen-socks-with-sandals origins.

In early 2016, police were called to break up a vegan restaurant opening after hundreds of people showed up to the event, swarming over the pavement and even blocking traffic.

The new fast-food joint had become the evenings hot ticket on Facebook among fans of the fashion-blogger owners.

Being vegan is no longer an abstemious practise for a few fundamentalist animal-lovers, but part of hedonistic event culture, sniffed Munich broadsheet Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The Facebook crowds fit into a growing, fluid category of flexitarians, who may see part-time veganism as a way to eat more healthily or care a little more for the environment.

People are asking more and more questions about where the food on their plate comes from, said Johannes Theuerl, the owner of a vegan butchers shop.

On offer at his counter are meatballs and slices of roast seitan, a food based on wheat proteins.

Beyond reducing meat consumption, we see that people also want to eat seasonal and regional produce, Theuerl went on.

Proponents say that traditional vegans upsets about such meat substitutes are past their sell-by date.

Ive had enough of the cliche about the activist who expects others to adopt the same lifestyle, heartthrob vegan celebrity chef Attila Hildmann told Deutschlandradiokultur, complaining of an ideological wall around veganism.

Some people just insist that meat is a crime, without proposing an alternative, he went on.

But with veganism on the radar of Berlins entrepreneurs, foodies, and fad-seeking young followers of fashion, more alternatives are emerging all the time.

Nowadays, people who give up meat arent doing it because they dont like it, said Vebus Joy, who picks a distinctly 21st-Century analogy to drive his argument home.

You can drive an electric car because you see the damage done by diesel without wanting to switch to a bike.
Emotional outpouring in song at Sanam Luang

BANGKOK: Thousands of Thai nationals took part in the mass royal anthem singing at Sanam Luang near the Grand Palace on Saturday afternoon.



By Bangkok Post

Saturday 22 October 2016, 04:18PM

More than 150,000 people occupied Sanam Luang to sing the royal anthem today, October 22. Photo: Bangkok Post

Black-clad mourners filled Sanam Luang to capacity on Saturday for an emotional performance of the royal anthem Sansoen Phra Barami in remembrance of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Police said more than 150,000 people occupied Sanam Luang and side streets in advance of the afternoon spectacle, which began at 1pm as scheduled. More people were expected to continue arriving ahead of a second performance scheduled for Saturday night.

The historic mass singing event was being filmed by the national artist and filmmaker MC Chatrichalerm Yukol. A 100-piece orchestra and a 100-member professional choir conducted by Somtow Sucharitkul accompanied the mass of amateur voices offering their most heartfelt tribute.

The film of Saturday's event is expected to be ready for screening on television and in cinemas by next week.

Bird's-eye view live camera footage showed a remarkable scene on the royal ground, with nothing but black visible as far as the eye could see.

Crowds assembled calmly and followed directions as they assembled near the majestic Grand Palace. Most had arrived via shuttle buses arranged for the occasion from shopping centres and other public sites on the periphery of the city. More roads around the Grand Palace have been closed in order to acommodate mourners.

Many of the participants were in tears as they sang, raising portraits of the late King or clutching banknotes bearing his image.

Mourners from outside Bangkok arrived at the Grand Palace via all kinds of transport. Authorities were operating free trains, buses and boats to accommodate the influx.

"I came here to sing a song and pay my last respects to his majesty the late king," mourner Chotika Pattanateeradej told AFP. "Many people have come today and they are helping each other. I feel very proud."

"I wanted to be here to pay respects to His Majesty," said Haysri Watanakulpipat, 47, who said she drove overnight from Prachin Buri.

MC Chatrichalerm said he was deeply grateful to all the participants and organisers of the event. His crew was using 25 cameras, 25 microphones, three cranes and two drones to capture the moment.

The filming was planned to continue with repeated rounds of singing until 5pm in order to obtain the best selection of material.

At 10pm participants will hold lit candles and sing the anthem without accompanying music for another round of filming intended to capture the feelings of the public over the passing of the King.

Read original story here.
The World's Loathsome Bank

FINANCE: Have you ever have been let down by HSBC? If so, you are not alone. In January 2012, HSBC announced that it would close its retail banking branches by the middle of that year, and sell its consumer business to Krungsi Group (parent of Ayudhya Bank). Although the business was sold, the individual accounts and services were not necessarily equivalent. Premier Banking customers who previously transferred money between accounts for free were now faced with charges up to GBP 30 per transfer. Credit Card accounts, especially for supplementary cards, were not opened immediately which left some waiting weeks (or months) to replace their cards. This affected thousands of expatriates in Thailand, who had used HSBC in Thailand, at home and/or offshore, because of the ease of having just one bank.

economics

By The Phuket News

Saturday 22 October 2016, 11:00AM

HSBC, which once touted itself as the Worlds Local Bank, has gained a notorious reputation over the past few years for huge breaches of banking regulations. Photo: AFP

However, some of these customers were about to learn the term de-risking, which basically meant that they were also going to lose their HSBC accounts in the UK or offshore. Still others, who needed an international banking option, and hoped to become customers of HSBC offshore or HSBC UK, found that their business was not wanted. If they didn't already have an alternative international account they were faced with one heck of a predicament.

Sadly, the story of HSBC's indifference to their customers is as global as the bank itself. And the business HSBC saw fit to conduct, while denying accounts and services to individual clients is incredible.

Although it is the worlds fourth largest bank by assets, it has for years marketed itself as The World's Local Bank. The fact that it had branch offices throughout the UK, United States, Europe, South America  but especially Asia - added to the myth that this big boy bank really did make itself available to help the little guy, too. For once, a company seemed to be living up to its marketing slogan.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation commenced operations in Hong Kong in 1865. The success of the Opium Wars (from a British perspective) meant that Hong Kong was now a colony, and a bank was needed to finance trade throughout the Empire and with Europe.

Through the expansion of trade, as well as acquisition, this bank with mercantile origins eventually became one of the leading retail banks in the world. And as more people began working and living abroad (especially Brits), HSBC was the natural choice for a bank  if you banked with HSBC in the UK, you could move to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, the Middle East or even New York . . . and continue to bank with HSBC in those countries. How convenient was that!?

In addition, people who worked in Oil & Gas in places where it was undesirable to bank in the local currency could opt for an HSBC Offshore account, which not only allowed them to keep their money in Sterling, but linked them directly to the BACS payment system in the UK. Thanks to the World's Local Bank, they could pay their mortgage, council tax or even utility bills on their home in the UK  for free  from their bank in the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey.

How is it then that HSBC has, in a relatively short period of time, gone from the World's Local Bank to the World's Loathsome Bank?

One could argue that it started around 2008. Whether related to the financial crisis, or not, HSBC Offshore banks in the British Isles raised their minimum current account balance from GBP 1,000 to GBP 25,000. For many, this was more than they cared to keep in cash at any one time, and the fines imposed when the balance fell below GBP 25,000 were an annoyance. Thus began the cull of HSBC's retail clients in the offshore market.

In 2011, HSBC then sold its Japanese private banking arm to Credit Suisse. This was followed the following year by the sale of its operations Thailand. In 2016, HSBC announced that they would close their doors in Brunei, Turkey and Brazil. Also in recent years, the bank has begun to target individual and corporate accounts all over the world for closure. Account holders in these countries have banked with HSBC for years  or in some cases, decades  and many of them have been left in the lurch. As a foreigner, it is not always easy to open a new bank account  especially today. In some countries, if you do not have the backing of an embassy, a multi-national corporation or an international school your application is likely to be rejected.

In 2014, some UK customers were prevented from withdrawing monies from their accounts unless they could provide evidence as to their reason for wanting the money. Never mind that these customers were withdrawing their own money from their own accounts, HSBC nevertheless refused to let them have it. Some customers were only allowed a withdrawal of GBP3,000 per day and that anything above this amount would be rejected.

Irrespective of whether frustrated customers were brand new account holders, or had banked with the HSBC for 30 years, they were refused money. It was not even about the balance held in their account . . . They were simply being refused unimpeded access to their own money.

The branch closures, account closures and restrictions continue to this this day.

Why is HSBC doing this? Is the bank struggling financially? Not exactly. It's pre-tax profits for the first half of 2016 were $9.71 billion  while tabling plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the U.K. You could possibly say HSBC is facing a Crisis of Reputation.

When the financial crisis hit, HSBC fared better than most, being one of the major banks not to take any bailout money from the British government. But over the next few years, the source of HSBC's strong balance sheet slowly came to light, in the form of fines issued by governments and regulators around the world for the highly profitable (and legally ambiguous) activities which helped them to earn some of that money.

As a former U.S. Senate investigator, Jack Blum, put it: They violated every goddamn law in the book. The following list of indiscretions was recently published by Forbes magazine (with our own notation of reported fines paid, fines payable or investigations still pending):

Rigging of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), European Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) and other benchmark interest rates. (Ordered to pay $35m related to Yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates. Investigations and lawsuits continue, with Forbes estimating that the LIBOR Rigging scandal could result in penalties exceeding the amount paid out in asbestos lawsuits. For the record, the sum total awarded in asbestos lawsuits to date is over $250 billion in the United States alone, with billions more expected to be paid out.)

Conspiring with other banks to rig benchmark FX rates. (In November, 2014, fined $275 million by the U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 216m by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority. In July 2016 one current and one former HSBC executive were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with FX manipulation. Further investigations continue in the US, UK and elsewhere.)

Illegal foreclosures of US mortgages and other breaches of US law with regard to mortgage servicing obligations. (In February, 2016, agreed to pay $470 million to federal and state agencies. This was in addition to the $249 million HSBC paid in 2013 to settle similar allegations by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.)

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was busy in 2016, also ordering HSBC to pay $35 million in April, as restitution to U.S. customers for Unfair Billing Practices related to legacy credit card add-on products.

A range of offenses connected with US mortgage origination and securitization prior to the financial crisis (HSBC agreed to pay $550 million in 2014 for abuses in the sale of mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also agreed to pay $10 million and admit to misconduct to settle civil fraud charges related to reimbursement claims submitted to the U.S. government.)

Rigging of the gold and gold derivatives markets from January 2004 onwards (Investigations are ongoing)

Violation of US anti-trust legislation in relation to the selling of credit default swaps from 2006-2009 (12 banks reach a $1.9B settlement, $25 million of which was to HSBC.)

In 2011, HSBC in the UK was fined 10.3m for mis-selling investments to pensioners, and ordered to pay a further 29.3m in compensation to affected customers.

HSBC even had involvement in Madoffs Ponzi scheme for its role as a counter-party in funds which invested with Madoff. (There has been a $62.5m settlement with the Dublin-based Thema International Fund, as well as purported $35.6m from the Kalix Fund Ltd. Further cases are pending.)

HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) paid CHF 40m (28m), the biggest financial penalty ever imposed by the Geneva authorities, for organisational deficiencies which allowed money laundering to take place. (HSBC is still facing tax evasion and/or money laundering investigations by US, French, Belgian, Argentinian and Indian authorities.)

In 2012, the U.S. Justice Department announced that for violating the Bank Secrecy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act, HSBC would pay US$1.9 billion. (Additional private lawsuits are still pending.)

The aforementioned $1.9b fine included HSBC's involvement in laundering money for Mexican drug cartels. One of those cartels was responsible for the brutal murders of an American family, and U.S. law states that survivors of those killed in terror attacks may sue for damages. The lawyers for the family maintain that by facilitating the laundering of billions of dollars of drug cartel proceeds through its banks, HSBC materially supported the terrorist acts of cartels. This lawsuit is still pending.

And in the granddaddy of them all . . . HSBC is one of many banks implemented in the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) Mis-Selling Scandal. HSBC has already set aside nearly 3bn to compensate clients' PPI claims, but the Financial Conduct Authority has extended the deadline for filing claims to 2019, so that figure is expected to rise.

If HSBC were a person, that rap sheet would have already seen it put it behind bars for life  and it is by no means even the full list of fines HSBC has paid in the last decade.

They are also apparently good at silencing their critics. The chief political commentator at The Daily Telegraph, Peter Osborne, resigned because he claimed the Telegraph dropped its investigations into HSBC because of the bank's huge advertising account with the newspaper. In a strongly worded letter posted openly on the news website openDemocracy.net, he criticized the paper for compromising its integrity and accused the paper of instigating a form of fraud against its readers.

This was the same publication which had only a few years earlier uncovered the MP Expenses Scandal in Westminster, and was renowned for its investigative journalism. But, according to Osborne, after running a series of 6 articles critical of HSBC between 8 and 15 November 2012, HSBC stopped advertising with Telegraph. Osborne went on to write that the newspaper spent about one year winning back their HSBC advertising budget, so when the currency rigging story broke in November, 2014, it was the city splash in the Times, Guardian and Mail, making a page lead in the Independent . . . (but only) generated five paragraphs in total on page 5 of the (Telegraph) business section.

So in the wake of all of this scandal, with the governments of multiple countries breathing down its neck to reform its practices  and having been hit with literally billions of Pounds Sterling in fines for not having done so to date  HSBC is obviously going out of its way to avoid controversy . . . right? Well, that depends on your definition of avoid. Enter the Panama Papers.

In April 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released documents related to the financial dealings of the clients of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. In addition to its trust and advisory services, Mossack Fonseca specialized in international business services, which included acting as the post box for a number of Panamanian companies. What the Panama Papers also revealed is that, over the last 40 years, approximately 2,300 companies set up by Mossack Fonseca were clients of HSBC or one of its affiliates.

And embarrassingly for HSBC, one of those of clients was its own CEO, Stuart Gulliver, who admitted to using a Panamanian company and Swiss banks accounts for some of his pay. To quote a recent Forbes article: HSBC was at pains to point out that Gulliver pays UK taxes, less a credit for tax paid in Hong Kong  though evidently not on his pre-2003 bonuses, since a Panamanian company is of course offshore. But I would have to agree with John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network (quoted in the Guardian) that these arrangements look suspiciously as if they are intended to avoid UK taxes on Gullivers global investment income.

Of course no-one is suggesting that any of this is illegal. But it does raise questions about the attitude of a bank to its customers tax affairs when its CEO appears to have structured his personal finances in such a way as to avoid significant taxation. Tone comes from the top, and all that.

What could be even more embarrassing still is that industry experts have warned that HSBC could be threatened with losing its US banking license if the information revealed by the Panama Papers shows that HSBC has acted improperly.

To put it all in perspective, HSBC can strong-arm news organisations, cheat pensioners, destroy the lives of home owners, launder money for drug dealers, funnel money to suspected terrorists, and THEN proceed to shut down the accounts of honest hard-working individuals and law-abiding companies because the bank is wants to de-risk its balance sheet. It is the ultimate tragi-comedy  you truly do not know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity.
Kerala Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram has issued a dress code prohibiting its girl students from wearing jeans and what it calls 'noisy ornaments'.

By India Today Web Desk: Kerala Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram has issued a dress code prohibiting its girl students from wearing jeans and what it calls 'noisy ornaments'.



Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala medical college has issued a dress code prohibiting girls from wearing jeans, 'noisy ornaments' ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Strongly disagreeing with this imposition of the dress code, Santosh Kumar of the Confederation of Medical college doctors has said while an institution can have a dress code, there was nothing wrong with girls wearing jeans.



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Institution can have dress code,but this has discrepancies.What is wrong in jeans?:Santhosh Kumar,Confederation of Medical college doctors pic.twitter.com/2QqtpdNfaR ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

In a multi-cultural setting like this we have to be inclusive. If there is a dress code then it has to be rational, he tweeted.

In a multi cultural setting like this we have to be inclusive.If there is a dress code then it has to be rational: Santhosh Kumar #kerala pic.twitter.com/DFarp81hIj ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Such bizarre orders are likely to invite wrath and evoke protests from girl students of not just the college, but people in general.

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Kanye West has been silent since the terrible Paris robbery where his wife, Kim Kardashian was held at gunpoint earlier this month.

By India Today Web Desk: Days after the infamous Paris robbery left her 'shaken', Kim Kardashian's birthday this year was understandably a silent affair. But that didn't stop her partner Kanye West from posting a rather sweet Twitter message for her.

The rapper, who's been awfully silent following the Paris robbery earlier this month, chose his wife's birthday as the perfect occassion to end his social media hiatus.

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Also Read: Kim Kardashian begged for mercy, said she had babies at home when masked men gagged her

"Happy Birthday babe," tweeted Kanye alongside a thoughtful video dedicated to Kim. The video features everything from Kim as a kid to when she turned into a teenager.

Happy Birthday babe pic.twitter.com/Ee38e4LVFj KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) October 21, 2016

Also Read: Kim Kardashian West held at gunpoint at her hotel room in Paris

Reality television star Kim Kardashian whose otherwise-elaborate birthday celebrations manage to make headlines every year, was nowhere close to being active on any of her social media accounts this year, which doesn't come as a surprise considering she was held at gunpoint earlier this month during a robbery where she lost jewels worth almost USD 11 million Euros.









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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.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today asked the state police to show 'patience' while managing protesters. She asked them to rather take a bullet than use pellet guns on people.

By Naseer Ganai: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today called for creating a congenial atmosphere within the state and the region for the peaceful resolution of the issues.

She said, "whosoever is ready to reject the violence and help in restoring peace should be engaged in dialogue to end the uncertainties plaguing Jammu and Kashmir for the past six decades."

The Chief Minister, who was addressing the Police Commemoration Day function at Armed Police Complex here, asked the police to try their best to bring back those youth who fled their homes to join militancy in recent years. She also asked them to show patience while managing crowd during street protests in the state.

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Also Read | Removal of AFSPA necessary for peace in Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti



GIVE THEM A CHANCE: MEHBOOBA ON YOUTH WHO HAVE JOINED MILITANCY

Mehbooba said the police and the security forces should hand-hold the "misadvised youth" who have joined militancy or are indulging in violence, with compassion.

She said such youth should be a given a chance to return to their families and live normal lives.

"They can be also provided counseling on how to make a new beginning in their lives," she said. "These are all our children who have been misguided and have fallen prey to the unfortunate circumstances and need more of parenting rather than policing."

Also Read | Ruckus at Delhi function as AAP minister slams Mehbooba Mufti over Burhan Wani



'GET INJURED, BUT SAVE THE PEOPLE'

Mehbooba said her government wants to ban the use of pellet guns as a crowd control measure and sought the cooperation of police, saying they should "tolerate" and refrain from using such weapons as the protests will not continue forever.

"If you are injured, but if we save a youth's eyes or arms from pellet guns, then I think it will be your biggest sacrifice. Because this (protests) will not continue forever, it is temporary. But I need your cooperation," she said.

The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir was confronted with various complex issues, which sets it apart from simple law and order situation.

Also Read | Uri attack aimed at triggering fresh violence in Jammu and Kashmir, says CM Mehbooba Mufti

TALK WITH SEPARATISTS CRUCIAL

"Mufti Mohammad Sayeed joined hands with the BJP to form a government in the state not for the sake of power, but with the larger objective of resolving the political, economic and developmental issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir and that is why it has been made clear in PDP-BJP Agenda of Alliance that the Centre should start a dialogue process with all shades of political opinion in the state, including the separatists."

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She said peace is imperative to implementing the road map laid down in the 'Agenda of Alliance', which would be taken to the logical conclusion through tangible initiatives at the political, economic and administrative fronts.

Mehooba also said that the separatists seem to have missed the opportunity at starting a dialogue process, by spurning the parleys and not facilitating the solution.

"Give peace a chance and I will again plead with the leadership in New Delhi to talk to all shades of the political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, including the separatists, to end the decades' old uncertainty in the region which has brought immense miseries to the people of my state," she said.

Also Read | Kashmir: Day after 12 govt employees are sacked for anti-national activities, union threatens protest



PAKISTAN NECESSARY FOR PEACEFUL KASHMIR: MEHBOOBA



She didn't refrain from commenting on Pakistan.

The Chief Minister said Pakistan's cooperation in maintaining peace in Jammu and Kashmir was necessary.

"Even Pakistan has to help us as we both have to live together. Pakistan must understand we are neighbors and Indians, Pakistanis are the same people," she said.

Also Read | In times of nuclear threats, war no option, says Mehbooba Mufti

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Mehbooba remarked that every section of the society suffered immensely because of the situation obtaining in Kashmir since July 8 .

"The schooling, transport and businesses have been worst affected by the turmoil and it is time to give people a chance to resume normal life as they are in immense distress and feel suffocated. The government would try to provide whatever support is possible to the worst affected sections of the society," she said.

Today is the 106th day on unrest in the Valley. Since July 8 when protests erupted after the killing of Burhan Wani, over 90 civilians and two policemen have been killed and more than 14,000 people have been injured in the clashes between security forces and protesters.

Also Read:

Kashmir: 5,000 people arrested in 3 months in biggest crackdown in Valley

Mehbooba says India-Pak confrontation can lead to 'disaster of epic proportions'

Kashmir unrest: PDP whispers turn into clamours for CM Mehbooba Mufti to resign



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Though beautiful creatures, birds harbour many diseases. And according to the World Health Organisation, the Central government has not undertaken any broad survey/monitoring of wild birds arriving in India every year, especially winters.

By Baishali Adak: India could face an epidemic from not just bird flu but various avian diseases like the Newcastle Virus, Rickettsial-pox and Japanese encephalitis, in the years to come. Despite alerts by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Central government has not undertaken any broad survey/monitoring of wild birds arriving in India every year, especially winters. This is when technology like metal ringing, colour banding and satellite tracking are available. The Indian subcontinent plays host to millions of migratory birds in various seasons. Siberian Cranes, Greater Flamingoes, Bar-headed geese, Eurasion Wigeons, etc., fly down from colder climes in Europe, Russia and China.

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They make the many wetlands and sanctuaries of India such as UP's Sur Sarovar, Himachal's Pong Dam and Gujarat's Kutch their home.

WHY ARE BIRDS HARMFUL

Though beautiful creatures, they harbour many diseases. Scientists say that in view of climate change and pathogens crossing over continents, movement of wild birds must be tracked. While viruses like H5N1 or 'bird flu' rarely infect humans, globally, public health officials are worried that they could mutate into a form that spreads from human to human.

Also Read: Bird flu spreads its wings: 8 more birds dead, Delhi Deer Park shuts down



THE KIND OF DISEASES

"Besides avian flu, wild birds also carry other diseases. Therefore, we need constant monitoring of their diseases, movements and populations," Dr Asad Rahmani, emeritus scientist, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), told Mail Today.

"I have suggested to the government of India through the Ministry of Environment and Forests many times that we need long-term bird migration studies through ringing, colour banding and satellite tracking while taking blood samples for testing. Unfortunately, it has not been taken seriously," Dr Rahmani said.

Also Read: What is bird flu? Symptoms, prevention and treatment; All you need to know

Rahmani illustrated his point with the example of Britain. "In the United Kingdom, they have ringed nearly one crore birds in the last 100 years. That is why they have such wonderful data on movement of each species. In our country, ringing/banding (and any wildlife study) is not considered important. We always have panic reactions when avian flu breaks out, with the government becoming active for a few weeks/months and then going back to its usual slumber," he said.

WHAT NEXT

"What we need is a decade or twolong programme for monitoring of wild bird movement in India just like Project Tiger, not just for two-three years," he advised.

The department of science and technology (DST) should also assist, he said.

Also Read: Bird flu scare: AAP MLAs should clean Delhi garbage instead of taking pay hikes, says Supreme Court

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Dr S Balachandran, deputy director, BNHS, who has conducted such studies in Odisha's Chilika Lake, West Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, etc, said: "Initially, a study was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. One was commissioned by the World Health Organisation after the massive Maharashtra (Navapur) H5N1 breakout in the year 2006. However, the MoEF has not proactively initiated any such research. Satellite tracking, which involves planting a small device on the bird's body, is expensive, but it is very useful."

Dr Himmat Singh, senior scientist at the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), Dwarka, said: "In today's day and age, surveillance is very important. We are battling new vector-borne diseases like Zika virus and migratory birds fly for over 5,000 kilometres. They are great carriers of such pathogens and do not display any symptoms. But poultry birds die within hours of contracting such viruses, and that is when we come to know".

"However, if their blood samples are checked from time to time, antibodies can be found and recorded for further research and action," he said.

The Newcastle Disease, which was termed a 'mystery virus,' led to the culling of over 15,000 poultry birds in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh in 2015.

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In 1997, the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain (HPAI) H5N1 was first discovered in humans in Hong Kong. At least 336 of those infected worldwide have died so far.

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More support is pouring in for Akhilesh Yadav within Samajwadi Party even as SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav expresses his anguish at the way the UP CM is responding to those questioning party leadership.

By Kumar Abhishek: The crisis in Samajwadi Party has deepened further. Senior SP leader Beni Prasad Verma on Saturday said that party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is very unhappy and upset with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Mulayam Singh vented his frustration at a meeting of senior party leaders in Lucknow. The talks are underway to reach compromise between father and son, who are at loggerheads over several issues concerning the party.

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Meanwhile, UP SP president Shivpal Yadav offered to quit the party post to end the war within the family.

READ: Did Mulayam just say son Akhilesh is not a CM candidate in UP polls?MULAYAM IS HURT

"Mulayam Singh Yadav is very upset with Akhilesh Yadav and (Rajya Sabha MP) Ram Gopal Yadav. Though his anguish with the CM is not new but Akhilesh's his silence over Udayveer's letter has hurt him deeply," Verma said.

Writing to Mulayam Singh, suspended MLC Udayveer Singh sought a change in party leadership. He demanded that Akhilesh Yadav be made national president of the SP.



READ: Has Mulayam lost confidence in Akhilesh as UP CM?



MORE SUPPORT FOR AKHILESH

While Mulayam held a meeting with senior party leaders, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav met his supporters at his residence. Akhilesh is learnt to have stuck to his ground. He wants bigger say in decision making relating to the upcoming assembly elections.

Meanwhile, a close associate of Akhilesh Yadav, Sushil Singh Sajan posted a message on the Facebook that may further enrage the old guards of the party. Quoting former SP leader Janeshwar Mishra, Sushil Singh wrote, "When elders pass through a phase of deviation, the young ones should show them the path.

READ: Is Akhilesh Yadav fighting Rahul Gandhi syndrome in Samajwadi Party?



MULAYAM VENTS OUT FRUSTRATION

A meeting of senior party leaders was held at Mulayam Singh's residence in Lucknow. It was attended by Kiranmay Nanda, Beni Prasad Verma, Revati Raman Singh and Naresh Aggarwal. Mulayam Singh is understood to have vented out his frustration before them.

The four party leaders had gathered at Mulayam Singh's residence to find a solution of the open war that had broken out between Akhilesh and Shivpal factions of the family and the party. They held consultations for close to three hours, during which Mulayam is said to have spoken for most of the time.

READ: SP on verge of split? Akhilesh to start UP campaign with Rath Yatra, likely to miss party's silver jubilee celebration



SHIVPAL OFFERS TO QUIT

None from Mulayam family was present during his meeting with senior party leaders. Shivpal Yadav was called twice inside the meeting room, where he offered to quit the post of state unit chief.

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Mulayam Singh Yadav insisted to focus on a possible compromise formula instead. The leaders, who attended the meeting, decided to hold talks with Akhilesh Yadav to find out a solution and reach a working formula.

ALSO READ:

Akhilesh Yadav's stepmother using black magic on him: Samajwadi Party MLC in letter to Mulayam

Son still rising: UP CM Akhilesh leads popularity vote over father Mulayam by huge margin



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SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav seems to be following carrot and stick policy in what is seen as political slugfest within the family.

By India Today Web Desk: The political tug-of-war within the Samajwadi Party and Mulayam family is far from over. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday praised UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in the state executive meeting for development centric governance.

At the same time, the Samajwadi Party also issued a kind of warning to supporters of Akhilesh Yadav in the party by suspending a close aide of the CM.



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READ: SP on verge of split? Akhilesh to start UP campaign with Rath Yatra, likely to miss party's silver jubilee celebration

MULAYAM'S MESSAGE

Mulayam Singh said, "The Akhilesh government has not only brought back the derailed economy of the state on track, but also took the state to new horizons of development. Doubling the per capita income is a big achievement."

"Those making noises in the name of law and order should look at the NCRB reports, which clearly say that UP is better than 26 states of the country," Mulayam Singh said.

READ: Is Akhilesh Yadav fighting Rahul Gandhi syndrome in Samajwadi Party?



However, in his message to the state executive, Mulayam Singh did not mention about the proposed rath yatra of son Akhilesh beginning from November 3.

Meanwhile, senior SP leader Beni Prasad Verma confirmed that all was not well within the family. "Mulayam Singh Yadav is not happy with Akhilesh Yadav. Talks are on," said Verma.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's message to party leaders at state executive meet.

READ: Akhilesh Yadav's stepmother using black magic on him: Samajwadi Party MLC in letter to Mulayam

UDAYVEER SUSPENDED

In a related development signally deepening feud within the Mulayam family, SP MLC Udayveer Singh, a close aide to Akhilesh Yadav was suspended for six years from the party.

Udayveer Singh had written a letter to Mulayam Singh Yadav demanding that Akhilesh be made the national president of the Samajwadi Party.

READ: Son still rising: UP CM Akhilesh leads popularity vote over father Mulayam by huge margin



Before Udayveer Singh was officially suspended, senior SP leader Beni Prasad Verma said, "Action should be taken against people who speaks and writes letter against Netaji (Mulayam)."

Meanwhile, UP SP president Shivpal Yadav said that he would attend meetings called by the CM if he was invited. "If CM calls me to tomorrow's meeting, I will attend it. I will also take part in the rath yatra of the CM."

Mulayam Singh Yadav's message to SP leaders at state executive meet.



ALSO READ:

Did Mulayam just say son Akhilesh is not a CM candidate in UP polls?

Has Mulayam lost confidence in Akhilesh as UP CM?





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Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy

By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
The intensity of the retaliatory fire by the Border Security Force, which killed seven Pakistani Rangers in Hiranagar sector of Jammu on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, is not just a one-off counter-offensive measure by the country's largest border guarding force. It is a playout of a policy laid out by the Narendra Modi government to tackle Pakistan which continues to use terrorism as a state policy despite New Delhi reaching out to Islamabad.

The policy laid out by the Modi government is "four rounds of firing for one shot fired" from the Pakistani side. Home minister Rajnath Singh has told the security force that while India does not provoke its neighbour, if there is provocation from the other side, the BSF will retaliate multi-fold.

The message has gone to all the jawans on the border that "there will be no dearth of bullets " that can be fired when Pakistan targets their posts. "

This was on display on Friday as the BSF not only killed one militant and seven Pakistan soldiers in retaliatory fire but also issued a press statement asserting that it carried out an "aggressive offensive" against Pakistani forces giving a befitting reply to a sniper attack by the other side.

Putting its aggressive posture in public domain, the BSF press note also said, "During intermittent firing of small arms and area weapon, one militant and seven rangers were shot dead. " It said that the wireless intercepts it received showed talk at the Pakistani post that five of their soldiers were killed.

The BSF 's aggressive defensive also comes days after India's retaliatory covert strike for Pakistan's violation of the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir last month. The BSF has been getting multiple intelligence inputs that the terror havens operating from Pakistani soil are now focussing on the International Border. What India recognises as the IB along the Jammu frontier, which includes Sambha and Hiranagar sectors, is disputed by Islamabad as the Working Boundary. It is this sector where the BSF on Friday claimed to have killed seven Pakistani Rangers and one militant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi named a baby girl born to a young couple in Mirzapur district of UP on the special request of the mother.

Vibha and Bharat with Vaibhavi- the baby girl, who was named by PM Modi (Photo: @ANINewsUP).

By India Today Web Desk: It is not a routine thing for the prime minster of India to name newly born babies. But, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did exactly the same on the special request of a young couple from a village in Mirzapur, situated in eastern UP.

Bharat Singh and Vibha are now a celebrity couple in Nayapura Hansipur village of Seekhar block of Mirzapur. Bharat is the son of a farmer. His wife, Vibha had written a letter to the Prime Minister on August 13, the day their daughter was born.

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THE LETTER FOR DAUGHTER

Bharat and Vibha had discussed the idea of writing a letter to PM Modi some two months before the birth of the baby girl. When she was actually born, Vibha wrote to Modi and sent the letter through speed post on PMO's address.

In her letter, Vibha talked about PM Modi's focus on giving equal opportunities to girls. She mentioned that Modi's campaign had become an inspiration for many. Vibha also said that two Olympic medals by Indian girls were a testimony to Modi's idea of empowering girl children.

Vibha with her daughter Vaibhavi, named by PM Modi (Photo: @ANINewsUP). Vibha with her daughter Vaibhavi, named by PM Modi (Photo: @ANINewsUP).

SURPRISE OF A LIFETIME

Bharat and Vibha did not really expect a reply from the PMO. But, then, a week later they were in for a surprise.

On September 20, Bharat received a phone call around 10 pm. The caller told him that PM Modi wanted to talk to him. Before he could realise, PM Modi was on the phone-line.

Their conversation lasted for little over two minutes, during which PM Modi congratulated the couple for becoming parents for the second time.

Modi told Bharat that he should name his daughter, Vaibhavi as it includes the letters from the names of parents.

NO ONE BELIEVED IT

Next morning an elated Bharat was doing rounds in his village telling everyone about what happened the last night. To his dismay, none believed him.

A disappointed Bharat called back on the phone number from which he received the call. It was actually the number of the PMO. He requested the official to send him a letter.

The PMO sent a letter to Bharat and Vibha, who received a speed post on August 30. It was dated August 24.

The letter signed by PM Modi, carried a message congratulating the two for "the arrival of a daughter" in their home.

"You will fulfill Vaibhavi's dreams and Vaibhavi will become your power, my good wishes," the message read.

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In a major relief to filmmaker Karan Johar, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday said it would permit the release of his upcoming film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Reportedly, the president of the producers guild, Mukesh Bhatt, assured Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that the film body wont work with Pakistani artists in the future.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders had earlier threatened to oppose the release of Bollywood films starring Pakistani actors. Khopkar, who is the president of MNS cine artist wing had warned that if they continue to work in Bollywood, the Pakistani actors would be taught a lesson. The warning has been issued to protest the terrorist attack on the military camp in Uri.

Asking producers and production houses in Mumbai to stop working with Pakistani actors, MNS had said that the party would not allow the release of films and television serials which star these actors.

Khopkar said the party would oppose the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, directed by Karan Johar starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan along with Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma, and Raees which has Pakistani actress Mahira Khan playing the female lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

(With inputs from agencies)
A passenger train from Cameroon's capital Yaounde to economic capital Douala derailed on Friday at around 12.00 local time (5 a.m. GMT), leaving 53 killed and about 300 injured, state radio CRTV reported.

The train derailed in Eseka station in Central Region, around 120 kilometers from Yaounde.



A witness who lives close to the station told Xinhua that the train derailed when it approached the station and that the number of casualties is high.



The train accident took place hours after one part of the Yaounde-Douala road caved in following heavy rain in the night. Many passengers to Yaounde or Douala who would use the road had to choose train, leading the derailed train which left Yaounde on Friday morning to Douala taking more passengers than usual.



While talking to state radio after the accident, Cameroonian transport minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o said, "What seems indisputable is that the derailment resulted in large, human and material loss."



The minister led a delegation to the site after the disaster. Cameroonian communication minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said on state television CRTV that the government was taking mesures to shift the injured passengers to better-conditioned hospitals.
By PTI: Kashmir unrest

New Delhi, Oct 21 (PTI) The Union Home Ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir government are yet to respond to the notices issued to them in July by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the basis of media reports over the unrest in the Valley.

The unrest in the Valley, which had begun a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir on July 8, has left 84 people, including two cops, dead and several thousand injured.

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NHRC had on July 19 issued notices to the Home Ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir government, seeking reports within two weeks on casualties in connection with the ongoing violence in the state.

"We had taken cognisance of media reports, and the notice sent to the state is completely based out of reports in print and electronic media. We are awaiting the response of the state government," NHRC chairperson justice H L Duttu told reporters today.

"It has been observed that it is closely watching the incidents of violence in the aftermath of the killing of alleged militant Burhan Wani in an encounter with the security forces on July 8, 2016," NHRC had said in its notice.

"Expressing its utmost concern over the developments, the Commission has issued notices to the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary and government of Jammu and Kashmir calling for reports in the matter. The Commission has given two weeks to respond," it said.

When asked whether the issue of use of pellet guns figure in its deliberations on the issue, he said, "Our assessment is only the media reports as of now."

On the Kairana migration issue, Duttu said, the Commission "has received the response of the Uttar Pradesh government, and the report would be placed before the full commission, which would discuss, deliberate and take the final decision in it." PTI KND KIS

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By PTI: Bhubaneswar, Oct 21 (PTI) Under attack over a massive blaze at a private hospital here that killed 22 people, Odishas Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak today resigned on moral grounds.

"Mr Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak has sent me his letter of resignation on moral grounds. I have accepted it and sent it to the Governor," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters.

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Nayak drew flak from different quarters in the aftermath of the devastating fire at SUM Hospital on Monday evening with most opposition parties demanding his resignation.

Attack on Nayak had mounted as serious lapses in fire safety norms and violaton of guidelines were reported at the private hospital, run by Sikshya O Anusandhan Charitable Trust.

Nayak himself for the first time yesterday admitted lapses in the fire safety measures at the hospital.

The hospital was also accused of overlooking a 2013 advisory of the government to improve firefighting apparatus.

Already under attack over a series of incidents involving the health department, the hospital fire compounded Nayaks woes.

Leaders of political parties and others had alleged that violation of fire safety norms at the private medical facility were overlooked as Nayak was "close to" Manoj Ranjan Nayak, founder-President of the charitable trust who was arrested by police yesterday for the tragedy.

Odisha BJP had yesterday lodged a police complaint against the Chief Minister and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, naming them as accused in the SUM Hospital fire mishap.

The BJP demanded Patnaik and Nayak be made co-accused in the case.

The party also demanded resignation of Nayak.

Congress leaders including Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra had held both the state government and the hospital responsible for the tragedy. PTI AAM SKN SUS TIR

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Khan met the chiefs of two banned groups amid fears that the outfits might join Imran Khan's protest march next week seeking Nawaz Sharif's ouster over graft charges.

By Press Trust of India: Pakistan's Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has met the chiefs of two banned groups, including the one declared as a terrorist outfit by the US, amid fears that the organisations might join Imran Khan's protest march next week seeking ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over graft allegations.

Khan, who heads Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has threatened to impose a lockdown on the capital Islamabad on November 2.

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Maulana Samiul Haq, also known as the godfather of the Taliban, had announced that his Difsh-e-Pakistan Council (DCC) would also join the protest, creating panic in the government.

GOVT ACCUSED OF TARGETING RELIGIOUS SEMINARIES



He accused the government of targeting religious seminaries in the country. Haq, along with a delegation met Nisar yreaterday.

Also read: SHOCKING: Pakistan FC trooper slaps female journalist, video goes viral



His delegation, among others, included Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi of the banned Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil of the banned Harkat-ul Mujahideen (HuM).

After HuM was banned, Khalil set up the Ansar-ul Umma outfit. The ASWJ was the successor of the banned anti-Shiite Sipah-e-Sehaba Pakistan (SSP), but it was also banned some years ago.



BANNED OUTFITS MIFFED WITH PML-N GOVT



The delegation leaders were angry as the government had announced that it would cancel the national identity cards of those listed in the Fourth Schedule, which makes it impossible to carry out any business activity in the country or get passport.

Also read: Pakistan imposes complete ban on airing of Indian content



The meeting took place a day after a PML-N lawmaker indirectly accused Maulana Samiul Haq of planning to send students of his seminary to help the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Islamabad's lockdown, in return for the grant received from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The security situation of the country also came under discussion during the meeting. Members of the delegation assured the interior minister that they would always be on the same page on any issue that concerned Islam and Pakistan.

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United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and related services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment offers guaranteed time-definite express options. The company also provides international air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and post-sales, and mail and consulting services in approximately 200 countries and territories. In addition, it offers truckload brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industry; shipping, visibility, and billing technologies; and financial and insurance services. The company operates a fleet of approximately 121,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; and owns 59,000 containers that are used to transport cargo in its aircraft. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, and international news to media organizations, professional, and news consumers through news agency and industry events. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited.
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Learn more .

Many investors understand the reasons for having a diversified portfolio. One way to accomplish this is to diversify within an asset class. For equity investors in the United States this can mean investing in both growth and value stocks.

It can also mean investing in international stocks. And when investors want to do this, they need look no further than our neighbor to the north. Canada has a range of stocks for investors to consider. This article will focus on strategies that investors can use when looking to invest in Canadian stocks.

Why Buy Canadian Stocks?

There are a few reasons for investors to consider Canadian stocks as part of their diversification strategy:

A Large Natural Resources Sector  The sheer size of the country and its location lets investors know that it is an area rich in natural resources. This also means that the country has a source of current and future wealth.

An Advanced Skills-Based Economy  In this regard, Canada is similar to other western nations. The difference is that it is not as common to find these skill-based professions in a country with so many natural resources.

Stability  Canada is not exempt from any problems that impact the global economy. However, the country is known for stable financial and business policies that have kept the economy relatively stable. This Goldilocks economy has meant that many Canadian stocks havent enjoyed the outsized growth of some U.S. equities. However, it also comes with a bit of protection against downside risk.

How Have Canadian Stocks Performed?

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, there was a time when U.S. stocks and Canadian stocks performed nearly identically. Heres a graph that shows the performance of the S&P 500 Index vs. the TSX Index



Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

You can see that with a couple of exceptions, the two indexes performed remarkably similar. That all changed around 2012 and Canadian stocks became less attractive.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

This disparity is widely due to one sector, technology. However, Canadian technology stocks have been on the rise. And in 2022, the country is benefiting from renewed interest in materials stocks as well as a spike in commodity prices.

What Are the Best Sectors of Canadian Stocks?

For different reasons finance, materials, and energy stocks are among the best performing stocks as of September 2022. Heres a brief overview of each sector and some of the top names for investors to consider.

Financial  Similar to the United States, Canada has a strong banking industry. Many Canadian banks have a track record of solid performance that can provide long-term value to a portfolio. And several of these stocks pay dividends with attractive yields for investors.

This sector makes up the largest percentage of the TSX at roughly 30%. And the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)is the top-weighted constituent in the TSX. Beyond the Royal Bank of Canada some of the other top-performing Canadian financial stocks include:

Materials and Mining  Canadian stocks can be an ideal choice for investors looking to diversify into gold and precious metals without owning the physical metal. Canada has a large natural resources sector. So, its not surprising that there are a number of gold mining companies with Canadian origins. This sector also gives investors exposure to other components in the mining and agriculture sectors. This sector makes up approximately 11.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian materials and mining stocks include:

Energy  Canadian stocks offer both traditional fossil fuel-based energy stocks as well as some renewable energy stocks. This sector makes up approximately 18.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian energy stocks include:

Technology  As mentioned earlier, technology stocks have largely been the domain of the United States. As evidence of this, information technology stocks make up only about 5.5% of the TSX. However, there are a few Canadian companies that have become stars in the new economy being created. Some of the more popular names include:

What Are the Risks of Investing in Canadian Stocks?

One concern about investing in Canadian stocks is that they can be heavily weighted towards cyclical industries. For example, as of February 2022 financials (33.5%), energy (14.8%) and industrials (11.7%) made up nearly 60% of the index. That may be too much for some investors particularly because those sectors all tend to correlate roughly the same way as the economic cycle. But as a long-term play, Canadian stocks are worth considering with a small part of your portfolio.

How to Buy Canadian Stocks

Buy Individual Stocks on a Stock Exchange

Hundreds of Canadian stocks have dual listings on either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the NASDAQ. This is the most convenient way to get exposure to Canadian stocks because there are no barriers to stock ownership. These shares can be purchased in U.S. dollars directly from the exchange just like purchasing a U.S. stock.

However, for a full list of the best Canadian stocks, investors should look at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The TSX is one of the oldest stock exchanges having been founded in 1852. Its also the third largest stock exchange in North America in terms of market capitalization.

The Toronto Stock Exchange includes approximately 1,500 companies. It allows investors to trade stocks, investment trusts, exchange-traded products, bonds, commodities, futures, options, and other derivative products. All transactions on the TSX are executed in Canadian dollars.

Invest in a Mutual Fund or ETF

There are many mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that supply exposure to Canadian stocks. Some funds supply exposure to both U.S. and Canadian stocks. Other funds hold just Canadian stocks. Some examples of those include:

BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF

Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF

Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF

As with investing in any asset class, investors need to consider their investment objective, time horizon and risk tolerance before choosing a fund that fits their needs. Investors will also want to pay attention to the funds fee structure to ensure youre making the most efficient use of your capital.

The Final Word on Investing in Canadian Stocks

Investing in Canadian stocks is one way for investors to add diversification to their portfolio. MarketBeat provides a list of the top Canadian stocks that trade on the TSX. This is Canadas version of the NYSE or NASDAQ in the United States and includes many of the same stocks.

Thats one advantage of investing in Canadian stocks is that many have a dual listing which removes many of the obstacles that can come with investing in international stocks.

However, investors should be aware that many of the best Canadian stocks are in highly cyclical industries which can lead to underperformance when those sectors are out of favor. Still, due to their relative stability and in some cases an impressive dividend, Canadian stocks may have a place in an investors portfolio.
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Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray today said that the ban on Pakistan artists was justified and that his party supported the ideology of BJP.

By India Today Web Desk: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son and Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray today said that ban on Pakistan artists was a necessary move and added that his party shares its ideology with BJP.



Aditya who was a speaker at Aaj Tak's Manthan, talked about allying with BJP, India's relations with Pakistan, education, corruption and his party's agenda. However, he was conspicuous with his silence on his party's participation in the upcoming BMC elections alongside BJP.

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On the ban on artists from Pakistan, Aditya said that it was the need of the hour and the ban should continue till situation between the two countries improves.



BAN ON PAKISTAN ARTISTS MUST



"It is impossible to dance and sing with those who are opening fire at us and killing our soldiers. Relations between the nations can only improve if terrorism is uprooted," said Aditya.

Watch video here:





When asked about Shiv Sena's equation with BJP, Aditya said that his party shares the ideology with BJP. He said that it was a norm among political groups to go public about their ideologies. He added that ongoing crisis should not be politicised.

ALSO READ: Indian Army rejects MNS politics, calls Rs 5 crore donation wrong



Aditya said that his party openly praised the Centre's surgical strike, however, we have been critical when required. "We have personally congratulated PM Modi for the surgical strike. But we have been also critical of the Centre's forced imposing of the land acquisition bill and we have also presented our views and demands in terms of GST Bill," he said.

ALSO READ: Abhay Deol says government should ban trade along with Pakistani artists



ADVOCATES QUALITY EDUCATION

While talking about state of education, Aditya said that they are working towards eliminating donations for admitting children in schools. Aditya talked about the measures taken by his party to improve quality of education in the state. He said that his party has been successful in implementing virtual classroom by distributing tablet devices across schools.

"It is impossible to completely eliminate corruption. However, cases of corruptions need to be reported and appropriate action should be taken," said Aditya.

ALSO READ: ADHM release: Karan Johar film out of mushkil after Bollywood buckles to MNS bullying over Pak artists



When asked about allegations levelled against comedian Kapil Sharma, Aditya said that he sought a detailed report from the television host but he did not get any response.

Aditya also heaped praises on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stating that it was the best municipal corporation in the country. He said that BMC has incorporated education in six different languages. BMC has constructed dams and over 4,000 buses ply on its 400 routes.

ALSO READ: Devgn on Pakistan artists ban: Bollywood is scared of politics

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Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels. The company operates in four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers, as well as in the wholesale distribution to industrial end users. It offers propane primarily for space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying in the residential and commercial markets; for use as a motor fuel in internal combustion engines to power over-the-road vehicles, forklifts, and stationary engines, as well as to fire furnaces, as a cutting gas to the industrial customers, and in other process applications; and for tobacco curing, crop drying, poultry brooding, and weed control in the agricultural markets. The Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels segment engages in the retail distribution of fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline to residential and commercial customers for use primarily as a source of heat in homes and buildings. The Natural Gas and Electricity segment markets natural gas and electricity to residential and commercial customers in the deregulated energy markets in New York and Pennsylvania. The All Other segment sells, installs, and services a range of home comfort equipment, including whole-house heating products, air cleaners, humidifiers, and space heaters. As of September 25, 2021, the company served approximately 1.0 million residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers through 700 locations in 41 states primarily in the east and west coast regions of the United States, as well as portions of the Midwest region of the United States and Alaska. Suburban Energy Services Group LLC serves as a general partner of Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey.
Pakistani spy Bodh Raj arrested today near the International Border in J-K's Samba district was the 50th from the neighbouring country held for espionage in India since 2013.

By India Today Web Desk: A Pakistani spy has been arrested near the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The accused has been identified as Bodh Raj. He is a resident of Changiia in Arnia tehsil of Jammu district.



MAPS, PAK SIM CARDS SEIZED



Maps and 2 Pakistan SIM cards were recovered from him.





Pakistani spy Bodh Raj arrested in Samba sector(J&K), 2 Pak SIM cards and map showing deployment of forces seized ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

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SEARCH OPERATION ON OCTOBER 20



Based on information received from military intelligence, Jammu police conducted a special operation on October 20 in the border area of Ramgarh. Bodh Raj has been accused of passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan. During the search operation, Bodh Raj was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village near the International Border and he tried to escape on observing the movement of the police party.

The police managed to chase down the individual and arrest him. He was identified as Bodh Raj. Police after searching him recovered 2 Pakistani SIM cards, a map showing deployment of forces, 2 India-made mobile phones and a memory card.

Bodh Raj is being interrogated by the security forces for further details.



An FIR has been lodged at the Ramgarh police station. He has been booked under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and 3 Official Secret Act. Investigation into the case has been ordered.

46 PAKISTANI SPIES ARRESTED BETWEEN 2013-16



According to a statement made in the Rajya Sabha on March 9 this year, Government said that agencies of the central and state governments arrested 46 Pakistani spies between 2013-16.

The following is a list of those nabbed since November last year.





OCT 13, 2016: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested two persons allegedly working as spies for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI. Both of them were arrested from Kutch district, which shares border with Pakistan.

AUG 18, 2016: An alleged Pakistani spy was arrested by the Rajasthan police from Jaisalmer and items containing information on India's defence institutions seized from him. Nandlal, hailing from Sangad district in Pakistan, was arrested from a hotel in Jaisalmer.

FEB 2, 2016: An Indian national by the name of Irshad was arrested in Pathankot by the Punjab Police based on a tip-off provided by India's intelligence agencies. Irshad was an ISI agent who had managed to find an undercover job inside Pathankot Cantonment.

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FEB 1, 2016: An ISI (Inter Service Intelligence) agent was arrested from Bhopal region. The operation was a joint effort of NIA officials and Bhopal Crime branch.

FEB 1, 2016: Four postal department officials based out of Pokhran and Balotra in Jaisalmer were arrested for allegedly spying for ISI. They are said to be passing on Army-related letters and other documents to a Pakistani agent.

DEC 28, 2015: An airman in the Indian Air Force, who allegedly shared secret documents with intelligence operatives backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was arrested from Punjab by the crime branch of Delhi Police. The accused has been identified as Ranjith KK. He had joined the service in 2010 and was posted at Bhatinda Air Force Station.

DEC 27, 2015: An ex-Army man, identified as Gordhan Singh Rathore, a patwari in Khetolai, was arrested from a village closest to the Pokhran nuclear test site. A map detailing Pokhran field firing range had been recovered from his house.

DEC 8, 2015: Two suspected ISI spies were arrested by the CID in Rola village of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. They reportedly sent information related to military exercises in India to Pakistan.

DEC 6, 2015: An Indian Army rifleman was apprehended from West Bengal's Siliguri by Delhi Police crime branch team in a case of espionage linked to Pakistan's ISI. This is the fifth arrest made in the case between November 26 and December 6 from Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Siliguri. The rifleman was identified as Farid Khan.

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DEC 5, 2015: The Delhi Police arrested another person from Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with the alleged spying racket working on behalf of ISI.

DEC 4, 2015: Retired Army havildar Munawwar Ahmad Mir was arrested.

DEC 2, 2015: STF of the Kolkata Police arrested another person on suspicion of carrying on espionage at the behest of Pakistan's ISI. According to the police, the accused Sheikh Badal is a resident of Karaya police station area in the city and was arrested near the Regional Passport Office at Brabourne Road in Kolkata.

NOV 29, 2015: Kafaitullah Khan alias Master Raja, a resident of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested. He worked as a library assistant in a senior secondary school in Rajouri district.

NOV 29, 2015: Abdul Rasheed, Border Security Force (BSF) head constable, posted in the intelligence wing of the force in Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir was arrested.

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NOV 29, 2015: Contract labourer 51-year-old Irshad Ansari, his son Asfaq Ansari and another relative, Mohammed Jahangir were arrested in Kolkata. According to police sources, both Irshad and Jahangir have relatives in Karachi and they were hired by the ISI during their visit to the neighbouring country. They have been working as ISI agents for more than 10 years and had been trained by the ISI.

NOV 27, 2015: Mohd Aijaz alias Mohd Kalam was arrested on Nov 27 from a spot near Meerut cantonment railway station by a team of STF after carefully scrutinising inputs.

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A first-year student of Raisoni Engineering College, Pune was allegedly raped by two students of the same college on two consecutive days. Another accused, not from the college, is accused of sending obscene messages to the girl. All three were arrested on Friday.

By Pankaj P. Khelkar: Two engineering students of Raisoni Engineering College were arrested by the Pune police on Friday after an FIR of rape was registered by a first-year girl student of the same college. Another youth was nabbed for sending obscene messages to the victim.

The 18-year-old student alleged that two students of the college raped her on two consecutive days in the hostel of Raisoni Engineering College. The third accused, who did not study in the college, stalked and threatened her by sending obscene messages.

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All three were nabbed by the Pune police from the around the Raisoni Engineering College itself on Friday, a day after the victim and her friends registered the FIR.

What is further enraging is the fact that the victim first shared the traumatic incident with her class teacher, but instead of taking strict and instant action, the teacher ignored the complaint.

Also Read | Argentina's Nirbhaya: Brutal rape and torture of 16-year-old girl sparks fury in Buenos Aires



RAPED TWICE, ON TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS, BY TWO DIFFERENT PERSONS

According to the complaint, the victim, who is a first-year student of Raisoni Engineering College, had just given her first exam of the first semester on October 18 and was walking towards her hostel when Karan Ghuge, a third-year student of the same college approached her. He politely asked her if he could help the girl with her project submission. When the victim innocently said yes, he asked her to come to his hostel room pretending that all the relevant project files were there in the room.

On reaching the room, Ghuge forced himself upon her and raped her.

Karan Ghuge allegedly raped the girl.

The girl was so traumatized and frightened that she did not even tell her parents as he she feared they would discontinue her engineering. She chose to instead remain silent and gave her exam on the second day as well.

But her ordeal wasn't over yet.

While she was going to give her exam, she noticed that the Ghurge, who had allegedly raped her, was keeping an eye on her. She got panicked and it was then that she received a message from her classmate, Mahesh Korde. Korde said that he knew what had happened to her and said he would help her in getting the accused arrested.

Korde was so consoling that the victim believed him and met him in the college after the exam. Korde, however, said that it was not safe to discuss these details in the college campus. He then asked her to explain everything that had happened and even show him the room where the alleged crime took place as it would help in making her case stronger.

The girl started explaining everything and when they reached the hostel room where she was allegedly raped, Korde suddenly closed the door and started misbehaving with her. He raped her in the same room on October 19 where she was raped the day earlier.

Mahesh Korde also allegedly raped the girl. Mahesh Korde also allegedly raped the girl.

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Also Read: Mumbai Police releases sketch of man who raped 14-year-old mentally challenged girl

COLLEGE, TEACHER TOOK NO ACTION.

The girl was shattered and broke down in front of her roommates and elder sister.

The next day, on October 20, she went to her class teacher and the Vishakha committee on sexual harassment and told the incident.

According to the roommates and the relatives of the victim, the teacher did not take the complaint seriously. Even after waiting for six hours, no action or a word came from either the teacher or the college management.

It was at this time that another youth, Avinash Sheke, who does not study in Raisoni Engineering College, started sending obscene text messages to the victim and even asked her to meet him at his place.

Avinash Shelke allegedly sent obscene messages to the victim.

After this, the girl and her friends approached the Lonikand police station and filed an FIR against the three.

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Karan Ghuge and Mahesh Korde were booked under section 376 of IPC for raping the girl and Avinash Shelke was charged with section 354 D of IPC.

The three will be presented before the Shivajinagar District court today afternoon .

Also Read:



Maharashtra backs CBI's demand for capital punishment in Bilkis Bano's gangrape case

Man arrested over alleged rape inside UK parliament



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By India Today Web Desk: Even as Mukesh Bhatt assured Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis that the Producers' Guild will not work with any Pakistani artists, reports say that Mahira Khan will not be replaced in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees.

ALSO READ | ADHM release: Karan Johar film out of mushkil after Bollywood buckles to MNS bullying over Pak artists



DNA reports that the remaining scenes with the Pakistani actor will be shot at an undisclosed location. Mahira only has a few opening scenes left to be shot with Shah Rukh, and replacing her at such a stage would mean huge losses for the makers. They are hopeful that the hostility between the two nations will simmer down by January, when the film releases.

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It is speculated that the scenes will be shot in Abu Dhabi, since getting Mahira to Mumbai is no longer an option.

The film will release on Republic Day, along with Hrithik Roshan-Yami Gautam starrer Kaabil. Since there are a few months left for the release, Shah Rukh apparently is not too worked up about it. He is currently focusing on Dear Zindagi with Alia Bhatt and The Ring with Anushka Sharma. Mahira's scenes will reportedly be shot sometime next month.

The fate of the film remains to be seen, considering the Producers' Guild's agreement with the Maharashtra CM and the MNS this morning.

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Raj Thackeray has asked Bollywood producers to 'give in writing' that they won't work with Pakistani actors. He has also asked producers who have worked with Pakistanis to grant Rs 5 crore to the Indian Army's relief fund.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Although the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has assured that they won't oppose the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil following Mukesh Bhatt's assurance that the Producers Guild will not work with Pak actors in the future, Raj Thackeray has demanded that producers give the same assurance in writing.





Producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films: Raj Thackeray pic.twitter.com/0D8h4HH1eh ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

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The MNS chief has also insisted that every producer who has cast Pakistani artists give Rs 5 crore to the Army relief fund.



Thackeray made this clear after meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and film producers.

"For many years, we are raising the Pakistani artists' issue but the film industry was not taking it seriously. Now this time when we intensified the agitation they took cognizance of it," said Raj Thackeray.





Every producer who has cast Pak artists will give Rs5 crore to Army relief fund:Raj Thackeray after his meeting with CM Fadnavis & producers pic.twitter.com/Bz7ggflKCx ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

The development comes in the wake of growing chorus of protests over the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

ALSO READ: MNS calls off protests against ADHM after producers vow to not work with Pak artists ever again



ALSO READ: Karan Johar breaks silence on ADHM: Won't work with Pak artists hereafter

ALSO READ: Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Fawad Khan in it: Bollywood at war, pick your side!

ALSO READ: Shyam Benegal backs Karan Johar's ADHM: KJo has been forced to give statement, enough is enough



Mukesh Bhatt also added that Karan Johar has offered to pay tribute to the martyrs of the Uri terror attack by putting a slate before the movie begins acknowledging their sacrifice.

"We had a very constructive meeting. I assured Fadnavis that the Producer's Guild has taken a decision in the larger interest of the sentiments of the people and the soldiers and the entire country that we will not work with Pakistani artists in the future. This is a resolution we will pass and send a copy to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the CM. Karan Johar has offered to put a special slate honouring the Uri martyrs before the movie begins," said Mukesh Bhatt.

Bhatt said that Producers' Guild will also contribute to the Army Welfare Fund. "We owe this to the Army," he said.

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Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is slated for release on October 28.Mukesh Bhatt's promise to not feature Pakistani actors in films followed by MNS' assurance to allow Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's release have put to rest the uncertainty surrounding the movie's screening.



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The Indian Army has expressed its uneasiness over MNS chief Raj Thackeray's demand that Bollywood producers who have worked with Pakistani actors should donate Rs 5 crore to the Indian Army's relief fund.

By India Today Web Desk: The Indian army has finally spoken on the ongoing fracas surrounding Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and the accountability India's film fraternity should have towards the country's army.

This comes in wake of the demand Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has made wherein he has asked every Bollywood producer to have worked with Pakistani artists till now to donate Rs 5 crore to the Indian Army's relief fund.

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ALSO READ: Need written assurance you won't work with Pak actors, Raj Thackeray tells producers

ALSO READ: Bollywood producers vow to not work with Pak artists, MNS calls off protests

LISTEN: The best Bollywood songs by Pakistani singers till date (Here's what you will miss after the ban)



According to a report by Hindustan Times, several serving and retired personnel from the Indian army told the newspaper that the army is an "apolitical and secular" organisation. They added that attempts to exploit film producers in the name of the Indian Army is just to gain political benefits.

Former Indian Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal was quoted as saying, "The army doesn't go around begging for funds. If a film producer wants to donate, he can do it like any other Indian citizen. But it's unacceptable in such a manner."

Earlier today, Mukesh Bhatt, president of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India Ltd, said that their producers' body would henceforth not employ Pakistani artists ever again in the future. This came after a closed room discussion with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, MNS supremo Raj Thackeray and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's producer-director Karan Johar.





Thackeray later said that Bollywood producers have to "give in writing" that they will never cast Pakistani actors in their films.

The MNS' conditions which were accepted by Karan Johar, the Producers Guild and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, drew a lot of flak on social media, with many comparing Raj Thackeray's demands to extortion.

In fact, a retired Air Vice Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Manmohan Bahadur, took to Twitter to express his discontent over MNS' bullying ways. He openly condemned Raj Thackeray's "extortion".



Army never doubts the love n sentiment of countrymen behind contributions to its welfare fund. From now on...? #RajThackeray 's extortion. Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Manmohan Bahadur did not stop there. He went on.

I served four decades in uniform- and never did I live on extorted money. What's this happening in my country???? @PMOIndia @manoharparrikar https://t.co/tB2wj4Kxqw Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Why should the Armed Forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a 'receiver' of tainted money @adgpi https://t.co/tB2wj4Kxqw Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

Indian Armed Forces cannot, and SHUD NOT, become crutches 4pol ambitions. Unfortunately, this is the trend seen in recent past. Stay away pl https://t.co/BBkujRETja Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) October 22, 2016

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"Anyone can contribute to the fund but it has to be voluntary. You can't force people to make donations and the army wouldn't like to accept such money," a senior army officer was quoted as saying.

Kargil war veteran Brigadier Khushal Thakur (retd) also disapproved of MNS' ways. Thakur said that national sentiments are being exploited by Thackeray's party.

"If something is wrong, it is wrong. How can a forced donation of Rs 5 crore make it right? But the bottom line is the army's name should not be misused for political gain," Thakur said.

Another army officer was quoted as saying, "If the producers have been arm-twisted into paying the money, there's no way the army will accept it."

The Indian Army recently opened an Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties bank account in order to collect contributions and donate them to families of battle casualties. A release issued by the Defence Ministry said, "The contribution to the fund is purely voluntary in nature."

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) Pakistan-sponsored cross border terrorism will be highlighted before the top leadership of Bahrain by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his three-day visit to the Gulf kingdom beginning tomorrow during which both sides will discuss on how to enhance anti-terror cooperation.

Singh will meet Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and will discuss with them various bilateral issues.

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Pakistans continuous support to cross border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be raised by the Home Minister in his meetings with the top leadership of Bahrain, official sources said.

There will be extensive discussions on how to enhance bilateral cooperation with regard to tackling terror and each others fugitives at the meeting between Singh and his Bahrain counterpart Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, sources said.

Bahrain is a key member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in which Pakistan is also a member.

Singh will also address the Indian community in Bahrain during his trip. PTI ACB RG

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By Patrick Donachie

A Long Island woman has been charged with shooting a plainclothes NYPD officer with a pellet gun in downtown Jamaica, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Tiara Ferebee, 24, of Riverhead, L.I., was arraigned Sunday evening on charges of first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the DA.

At about 5:10 p.m. Oct. 12, NYPD Detective Adam Jangel was driving on Jamaica Avenue, near the intersection of 168th Street. Detective Mary Hamburg, Jangels partner, was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, according to the district attorney. They were driving in an unmarked police car and they were heading westbound, police said.

The officers were stopped at the corner when a brown Nissan with the window open drove eastbound parallel to the drivers side window of the vehicle the officers were driving, the DA said. According to Brown, the two officers heard a loud noise and Jangel started bleeding from his forehead.

He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, according to police, and was listed in stable condition. District Attorney Brown said doctors found a small metal projectile in his forehead. Police investigated surveillance video of the incident and the DA said the video showed Ferebee sitting in the back seat of the passing Nissan. Police and the DA concluded that Jangel had been shot with a BB gun.

Hamburg was unharmed during the incident, police said, and there were no additional arrests as of press time. Brown said Ferebe had been arrested on Saturday evening, and was held on $1 million bond/$500,000 cash bail. Her next scheduled court date was Oct. 31. Prosecutors from the DAs Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau are heading the case against Ferebee, according to Brown. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.
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.
Contributed photo s Members of the Campus Catholic Center at Midwestern State University share a game of bingo with residents of a city retirement complex. The CCC is commemorating 30 years at their building on the MSU campus and 45 years as a student organization. On Oct. 29, the group will host an open house at 2 p.m., a tailgate party at 5 p.m. before the MSU football game and candlelight prayer service at 10 p.m. On Oct. 30, the CCC will celebrate an anniversary Mass at 10 a.m., followed by an alumni social.

SHARE Contributed photo Members of the Campus Catholic Center at Midwestern State University show off the results of one of their many community service projects. The center, located at 3410 Louis J. Rodriguez, also offers weekly Masses, fellowship gatherings and a home away from home where students can relax from the stress of college life. Contributed photo Members of the Campus Catholic Center at Midwestern State University play games with local children during the group's annual mission/immersion trip to Guatemala last summer. The CCC will celebrate its 30th anniversary Oct. 29-30 with a weekend full of activities coinciding with the university's homecoming.

By Sarah Johnson

For some Midwestern State University students, home may be as far away as Africa and the Caribbean or as close as across town. The MSU Catholic Campus Center provides a home away from home for all Catholic college students to worship and grow in their faith.

For Tiffany Uke, a senior criminal justice major from Cedar Hill, the CCC has been a place she can be "101 percent me."

"Everyone there is just like me, your average college student who is trying to balance school, personal life and our faith," Uke said. "Fortunately, at the CCC, we all help each other in this great balancing act we call life."

Next weekend, the CCC will celebrate two important anniversaries  30 years at the center's building at 3410 Louis J. Rodriguez Drive on the MSU campus and 45 years as a student organization. On Oct. 29, there will b an open house at 2 p.m. at the center, a tailgate gathering at 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium (it's MSU's homecoming), and candlelight prayer service at 10 p.m. at the center. On Oct. 30, the group will offer an anniversary Mass at 10 a.m. in Comanche Suites, featuring Father Tom Craig and African and Caribbean choirs. Craig, a former Wichitan and one of the founding students, is now a priest for the Diocese of Fort Worth. An alumni social will follow the Mass.

"The CCC is a home away from home for so many students," Debbie Neely, who has been the CCC campus minister since 2000, said. "MSU enjoys a large international student population, and many of those students, particularly the Caribbean and African students, are Catholic." Besides celebrating Mass at 6 p.m. on Sundays at the center  which is enormously helpful to those students who do not have cars  the CCC offers many other activities. Dollar Lunch has been in place for more than 20 years and allows students to enjoy a home-cooked meal donated by area churches for only $1. On Wednesday evenings is Faith & Fellowship, where students come together for dinner, and then take part in a faith-forming talk or activity.

Neely said the group recently organized a picnic for the children's unit at the North Texas State Hospital and invited Catholic Charities to hold a suicide prevention workshop. Alumni hosted a cooking class and talked about why Jesus' ministry started by sharing a meal with others.

"Students can come to the CCC to study, nap, pray or find companionship," Neely said. "It is a refuge and safe haven for college students in the midst of the stress of college life."

After Uke attended her first Mass at Catholic Campus Center as a freshman, she jumped right in.

"I was involved with the planning and execution our biggest annual retreat, Midwestern Awakening, for the last three years," she said." I was blessed to go on our annual mission/immersion trip to Patzun, Guatemala, for these past two summers. I've had the joyous opportunity to help put on retreats for local Wichita Falls Catholic youth in our Diocese through the CCC. I've also had the pleasure of attending several service projects, retreats and conferences as well through the CCC ever since my freshman year."

Out of all CCC has to offer Catholic students at MSU, Uke considers companionship the strongest draw.

"We have each other's backs, because we're one big family," she said. "I don't mean to sound cliche; however, it's the absolute truth. When I changed my major last semester because the world was falling apart all around me, I wanted to give up and drop out. However, Debbie and the rest of my friends at the CCC helped me rise from that dark point in my life. I'm so very grateful God led me to this community. Everyone comes in with baggage and a heavy load, however, what separates us from other communities and organizations is our desire to help one another carry their load and our thirst to love just as God calls us to."

For more information, call the MSU Catholic Campus Center at 692-9778.

Service of hope

Join Floral Heights United Methodist Church for Service of Hope, a special service to remember babies lost at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 at the church, 2214 10th St. The service will feature music, liturgy and faith stories told by mothers who have experienced miscarriage and stillbirth.

"We understand that miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss can be an incredibly alienating, lonely experience, and the journey toward healing is different for everyone," Whitney Rancourt, director of family ministries, said. "But no matter how deep the pain, and no matter how confused we may feel, there's peace in turning toward God and worshipping him, the one who knows and loves our babies even better than we do."

The first-ever service welcomes mothers, fathers and support people who are struggling with grief, but also those who might be farther along in the healing process.

"This is a special service to remember the pregnancies and babies we have lost, and to honor the God who gave them to us," Rancourt said.

For more information, call the church at 723-7151.
SHARE Mullins

By Times Record News

A Colorado man will serve jail time in Texas after his probation was revoked Friday.

Garret Van Mullins, 25, was sentenced to two years in prison by 78th District Judge Barney Fudge, per a plea agreement.

According to court documents:

On Feb. 19, Mullins pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance  THC  and money laundering involving more than $20,000 but less than $100,000. He was sentenced to four years deferred adjudication community supervision.

Mullins sought to modify the terms of his probation to allow for the use of medical marijuana, which is legal in Colorado, on June 17.

During the hearing, he admitted under oath to having used marijuana and other controlled substances numerous times since February even though it was against the current terms of his community supervision.

Fudge ruled against the modification terms and Mullins was arrested outside the Wichita County Courthouse for violating his probation.
Issues like Surgical strikes across LoC , Ayodhya Ram temple and Dalit upliftment are some of the issues likely to be discussed as they have been capturing the national narrative for the last year.

By Brijesh Pandey: Top leaders of RSS and its affiliate bodies will gather at Hyderabad on Sunday for the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarini Mandal Baitak (ABKM), a three-day annual national executive meet to discuss issues confronting the country. The ABKM is one of the one of the highest bodies for formulating policies and decision making of the RSS.

ATTENDEES

RSS Sarakaryavah (General Secretary) Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi will chair the 3-day proceedings of the meet in the presence of RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat.

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The sanghchalak (president), Karyavah (Secretary) and Pracharak( Organizing secretary) holding each Prant (state unit) of RSS from all over India will take part in the AKBM. The 400 participants will also include prominent Karyakartas from various social work organisations from different walks of life. Various issues confronting the country will be discussed and the work undertaken by the Sangh and its assocites will also be reviewed.

Apart from BJP National President Amit Shah who will be present in the meeting for all three days, other Prominent leaders from Bharateeya Kisan Sangh, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad are also expected to attend the meeting.

Office bearers of Vidhya Bharati, Vijnana Bharati, Kreeda Bharati along with as well as leaders from Rashtra Sevika Samithi, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and others will be participating in the conclave.

TOPICS TO BE EXPLORED

Important national issues will be discussed and several crucial resolutions will be debated and passed in the meeting. Issues like Surgical strikes across LoC , Ayodhya Ram temple and Dalit upliftment are some of the issues likely to be discussed as they have been capturing the national narrative for the last year. Apart from this, BJP's election strategy in Uttar Pradesh is likely to be discussed including the question of whether it would be beneficial to announce a CM face.

ABKM meeting is an annual event that's usually held just before Diwali. The meeting was held in Ranchi last year.

ALSO READ:

300 murders and counting: How RSS, CPM war has turned Kerala's Kannur into a bloody mess

RSS defends action against Madhya Pradesh cops who thrashed Sangh Pracharaks





--- ENDS ---
SHARE McClure

By Times Record News

A Wichita Falls man will serve jail time for sexually abusing a girl back when she was between 12 and 16 years old.

John Michael McClure, 46, was sentenced to four years in prison for indecency with a child by sexual contact after pleading guilty in the 78th District Court Friday morning. A second count of attempted indecency with a child was dismissed, per a plea agreement.

According to court documents:

The victim, who was 26 years old when she came forward to Wichita Falls Police, reported the abuse in September 2015. She alleged the abuse happened between the years of 2001 and 2006.

During an interview with detectives, the woman said she remembered waking up one night with McClure kneeling next to her bed touching her inappropriately under her covers and clothing. He left when she woke up, but came back later that night and touched her again.

The woman said similar incidents occurred for several years.

Once she moved off to college in 2012, she spoke with a counselor about the abuse but requested law enforcement not be notified at that time. She also spoke about the incidents with a friend while in high school.
Wichita County Courthouse

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By Lynn Walker of the Times Record News

The Wichita County District Attorney's Office has ripped into a district court judge for going light on a repeat drunk driver.

"Judge Charlie Barnard refused to revoke Chad Wilson, who was on felony probation for Driving While IntoxicatedRepetition and while on probation drove drunk, yet again, picking up a new felony Driving While Intoxicated charge," the DA's Office said in a press release.

The action came at a contested sentencing hearing Friday where the prosecutor "adamantly and passionately argued that Mr. Wilson's continuing, dangerous conduct deserved appropriate consequences," the release said.

The DA's Office said Wilson was convicted of the felony DWI, which was also a violation of his felony probation.

"The DA's Office believes that if Mr. Wilson would not follow the felony probation terms for DWI, but instead continues to break the law by driving drunk, then he is clearly a danger to the community on probation," the release quoted lead prosecutor Bret Benedict as saying. "This Defendant is playing Russian roulette with the safety of the community. Probation has not deterred him in the past."

The DA's Office said Barnard, who is unopposed for re-election on Nov. 8, could have revoked Wilson's probation for five years in prison and given him 10 years in prison on the new felony DWI. Barnard continued Wilson on felony probation, declined to revoke his probation, and sentenced him to a new probation term.

The DA Office's records show Wilson was convicted of misdemeanor DWI in 2007 and 2008. He was sentenced to felony probation for DWI in 2012 and in 2014, while he was on felony probation for his third DWI, drove drunk and got his fourth DWI, which is also a felony.

"During the fourth DWI probation, Mr. Wilson was in a Wilson Construction pickup swerving all over the roadway. When the police officer pulled him over, he had pieces of a tree in his front bumper," the DA's release said.

Prosecutors say that in addition to his four DWI convictions, Wilson has five convictions for public intoxication.

Barnard could not be reached Friday afternoon to respond to the DA Office criticism.
TRN file photo First Step's 14th annual candlelight vigil will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at Wellington Banquet & Conference Center. Candles will be lit in memory of domestic violence victims and in honor of survivors.

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Friends, family to gather for First Step's candlelight vigil

By Judith McGinnis of the Times Record News

An evening of music, poetry and reflection to honor lives taken by domestic violence and those who have survived will be part of First Step's 14th annual candlelight vigil.

The event, dedicated to "Bringing Awareness, Inspiring Change" will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at Wellington Banquet & Conference Center, 5200 Kell.

"The candlelight vigil is an opportunity to shed light on domestic violence in our community," said Chantel Grant, First Step education coordinator. "There has been an increase in numbers of reports but people are more open in talking about what has happened to them."

Kara Nickens, First Step executive director, put a framework on the need for help and what happens when domestic violence is a part of family life:

Over the 2015-2016 fiscal year, in its 12 county service area First Step has assisted 950 clients; 437 were new and 513 continued to seek help through counseling and legal advocacy.

Nationally, one in four women experience domestic violence; in Texas, one in three do.

Children in homes where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or seriously neglected at a rate 150 percent higher than average.

Boys who see their father beat their mother are 10 times more likely to be abusive in their own adult relationships.

"Advocacy and education are important," Grant said. "We've established an advocacy clinic at (Midwestern State University's) Vinson Health Center and are working with faculty and MSU counselors. The help provided isn't just for victims but for their friends and family members."

Keynote speaker for the vigil event will be Dr. Andrea Button, assistant professor of sociology at MSU. There will be additional guest speakers from Sheppard Air Force Base and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Music will be provided by the Wichita Falls Youth Symphony Orchestra.

The program is free. For information, go to firstep.org or contact Grant at 940-723-7799 or firststepgrant@yahoo.com.
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WASHINGTON  Perhaps the worst thing the Republican presidential nominee has done to America is make it impossible for millions of us to talk civilly to each other. And that will take a long time to change.

I shudder to think of all the Thanksgiving dinners that will be ruined because Uncle Vince wants to talk about how great he thinks Donald Trump is and Cousin Betty wants to throw the soup tureen at him (both Vince and Donald, if he were there).

The vulgar anti-Clinton T-shirts seen at Trump rallies. The complete contempt the candidates have for each other. The media dialogue about sexual assault, racism and bigotry. The coarsening of our culture. The verbal and even physical violence of political foes toward each other.

It used to be your Mom put you in a timeout for calling someone a liar. Now that word is thrown around so lightly and on so little basis, that hearing it hardly even shocks us.

Trump boasts of sexual assault on women, and his third wife, Melania, 24 years his junior, dismisses it as "boy talk." He was "egged on" to make such remarks, she said. And when a remarkably diverse array of women comes forward to say they were victims of his unwanted advances, Melania tells us to look askance at who they are and their motivations. As if any right-minded woman would enjoy telling the world of having Trump's tongue thrust down her throat.

We are such a culturally divided nation now that Trump supporters and Hillary Clinton supporters have almost nothing in common, not even pride in their country. Trump supporters think the country is a mess. Clinton supporters think the problems have solutions that don't depend on one combed-over blowhard who refuses to discuss policy and whines that the system is rigged against him.

The most dangerous thing Trump is doing now is sowing doubts about the legitimacy of the American election system, as if 3,143 counties and county-equivalents such as parishes could be cudgeled into voter fraud. The most relevant statistic to come out in the wake of Trump's absurd and unfounded claim is that out of 1 billion ballots, 31 may have involved fraud.

Here's betting that after Trump loses the general election on Nov. 8 (not on Nov. 28, as he mistakenly told supporters), he and his scurrilous buddy Roger Ailes, who forced out of his Fox News job after a series of sexual harassment complaints were made against him, will found a Trump "news" network, getting Trump's base to pay monthly bills.

Trump will challenge Clinton as an illegitimate president, much as he did Barack Obama. He will continue spewing hate and venom toward immigrants and Muslims. He will do his best to wreck all efforts at reconciliation between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. He will appeal to the basest of his base. He will make a lot of money (but not create many jobs) by being the worst citizen imaginable, fomenting his revolution against decency.

It would be different if Trump had specific proposals to debate and discuss in a civil manner. It would be different if Trump did not get down and dirty with personal smears of his opponents, causing his supporters not just to dislike them but hate and demean them. If would be different if Trump could be gracious in defeat as were all his predecessors who lost.

Like all bullies and self-indulgent, undisciplined tyrants, Trump will eventually get the treatment he deserves, even if it is only in the history books, where he will be reviled as one of the worst people ever to run for the White House.

But most troublesome is what will happen to our national psyche, at least in the short term. What about the friendships that have been severed, the brothers and sisters who no longer speak to each other, the communities where beneficial projects languish, all because of the vitriol Trump has spawned? What have we done to our children?

After this election, we need a national timeout, a cooling-off period, a chance to recoup and think about what we all love about this nation. No more nasty words. No more Trump titillation. Boring sounds OK about now.

Ann McFeatters is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may send her email at amcfeatters@nationalpress.com.
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WASHINGTON  The case against Hillary Clinton could have been written before the recent WikiLeaks and FBI disclosures. But these documents do provide hard textual backup.

The most sensational disclosure was the proposed deal between the State Department and the FBI in which the FBI would declassify a Hillary Clinton email and State would give the FBI more slots in overseas stations. What made it sensational was the rare appearance in an official account of the phrase "quid pro quo," which is the currently agreed-upon dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable corruption.

This is nonetheless an odd choice for most egregious offense. First, it occurred several layers removed from the campaign and from Clinton. It involved a career State Department official (he occupied the same position under Condoleezza Rice) covering not just for Clinton, but for his own department.

Second, it's not clear which side originally offered the bargain. Third, nothing tangible was supposed to exchange hands. There was no proposed personal enrichment  a Rolex in return for your soul  which tends to be our standard for punishable misconduct.

And finally, it never actually happened. The FBI turned down the declassification request.

In sum, a warm gun but nonsmoking. Indeed, if the phrase "quid pro quo" hadn't appeared, it would have received little attention. Moreover, it obscures the real scandal  the bottomless cynicism of the campaign and of the candidate.

Among dozens of examples, the Qatari gambit. Qatar, one of the worst actors in the Middle East (having financially supported the Islamic State, for example), offered $1 million as a "birthday" gift to Bill Clinton in return for five minutes of his time. Who offers  who takes -- $200,000 a minute? We don't know the "quid" here, but it's got to be big.

In the final debate, Clinton ran and hid when asked about pay-for-play at the Clinton Foundation. And for good reason. The emails reveal how foundation donors were first in line for favors and contracts.

A governance review by an outside law firm reported that some donors "may have an expectation of quid pro quo benefits in return for gifts." You need an outside law firm to tell you that? If your Sultanic heart bleeds for Haiti, why not give to Haiti directly? Because if you give through the Clintons, you have a claim on future favors.

The soullessness of this campaign emerges almost poignantly in the emails, especially when aides keep asking what the campaign is about. In one largely overlooked passage, Clinton complains that her speechwriters have not given her any overall theme or rationale. Isn't that the candidate's job? Asked one of her aides, Joel Benenson: "Do we have any sense from her what she believes or wants her core message to be?"

It's that emptiness at the core that makes every policy and position negotiable and politically calculable. Hence the embarrassing about-face on the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the popular winds swung decisively against free trade.

So too with financial regulation, as in Dodd-Frank. As she told a Goldman Sachs gathering, after the financial collapse there was "a need to do something because, for political reasons ... you can't sit idly by and do nothing."

Giving the appearance that something had to be done. That's not why Elizabeth Warren supported Dodd-Frank. Which is the difference between a conviction politician like Warren and a calculating machine like Clinton.

Of course, we knew all this. But we hadn't seen it so clearly laid out. Illicit and illegal as is WikiLeaks, it is the camera in the sausage factory. And what it reveals is surpassingly unpretty.

I didn't need the Wiki files to oppose Hillary Clinton. As a conservative, I have long disagreed with her worldview and the policies that flow from it. As for character, I have watched her long enough to find her deeply flawed, to the point of unfitness. But for those heretofore unpersuaded, the recent disclosures should close the case.

A case so strong that, against any of a dozen possible GOP candidates, voting for her opponent would be a no-brainer. Against Donald Trump, however, it's a dilemma. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. But, as I've explained in these columns, I could never vote for Donald Trump.

The only question is whose name I'm going to write in. With Albert Schweitzer doubly unavailable (noncitizen, dead), I'm down to Paul Ryan or Ben Sasse. Two weeks to decide.

Charles Krauthammer's email address is letters@charleskrauthammer.com.
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Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two of the most unpopular nominees ever to run for president, yet third-party candidates don't seem to be making much of a dent this election. Voters have plenty of options, including Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Jill Stein of the Green Party, and Evan McMullin, the apparent candidate of choice for so-called Never Trump Republicans.

Should voters take a closer look at third-party options this year? Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, debate the issue.

JOEL MATHIS

Talking about third parties can bring to mind the oft-quoted prayer of St. Augustine: "Lord make me chaste  but not yet!"

Which is to say: The United States would probably benefit from the emergence of strong and stable third parties that can compete for the presidency, Congress, and even seats on your local school board. The differences between Democrats and Republicans do not contain the full breadth of political opinion in this country, and it's possible that an increasingly cranky electorate might calm down a bit were it given a few more (realistic) options at the polls.

But, per Augustine: This isn't quite the year to get that going.

First: Trump is the worst major-party nominee to compete for the presidency in recent memory  and perhaps ever. And while Clinton surely has her problems, we know what we're getting with her: The republic will survive a Clinton presidency. Trump? He's a nasty, vindictive narcissist who embodies every stereotype of inherited (and squandered) wealth you've ever heard. Every vote possible is needed to defeat him.

One other problem: The major third-party candidates this year just aren't very good. You've already heard about Gary Johnson's Aleppo problem, and Jill Stein seems to be pandering to anti-vaccination activists. Neither would make a good president, so why vote for them?

One exception: Polls show Evan McMullin, a conservative former CIA officer, running within striking distance of both Trump and Clinton in Utah. (Apparently Mormons, usually Republican, aren't so hot on candidates associated with lengthy histories of vulgar womanizing. Who knew?) There's a chance he could win the state's electoral votes  and it's kind of difficult not to root for him.

Aside from McMullin, though, it's best to put third-party candidates out of mind for another, better election. They're fine in theory, but this election is all about ugly, brutal reality. Maybe next time.

BEN BOYCHUK

It doesn't feel like a good time to be a Democrat or a Republican, does it?

Clinton and Trump are the weakest to come along in decades. Both bring to mind that great old song from "The Simpsons" about mediocre presidents. Much like Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore or Rutherford B. Hayes, these two are unlikely to ever wind up on our currency.

The third-party candidates aren't much better. But don't believe the line, peddled by practically every Democratic or Republican partisan, that a vote for the Libertarian or the Green or the independent conservative is a vote for Trump or Hillary (whichever is worse in your view).

You don't owe the Republican or the Democrat your vote or anything else for that matter. Much like respect and an honest buck, a vote must be earned. Has Clinton earned your vote? Has Trump?

One of them will win the presidency. But your vote isn't necessary for their victory. A third party is a perfectly respectable way to go, especially if winning ranks low among your priorities. Failure is not only an option; it's a certainty.

Libertarians had high hopes for Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld. Both men were successful during their tenures as Republican governors of Democratic states. They may score a technical victory with 5 percent of the popular vote, which would entitle the famously anti-government Libertarian Party to federal election funds in 2020.

McMullin, an independent, appears to be polling well in Utah at the moment. But when it comes down to it, his chances of winning that state or neighboring Idaho, thereby throwing the election to the House of Representatives  the sole rationale for his candidacy  is vanishingly small.

And Green Party candidate Stein is so far to the left that she is meeting Trump on the right. The other day, Stein said Trump would be a better choice than Clinton because Clinton is so in thrall to corporate interests.

Joel Mathis is an award-winning writer in Kansas. Ben Boychuk is managing editor of American Greatness.
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As Iraqi and Kurdish troops began the operation to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State, with help from U.S. advisers and air power, my mind flashed back to my visit to the city in 2003.

It was not long after U.S. troops had first seized control from Saddam Hussein's forces. Gen. David Petraeus, then commander of the 101st Airborne, was reaching out to the leaders of this multiethnic, but mainly Sunni, Arab city.

But, as I walked around Mosul's city hall, one official pulled me aside, and warned presciently, in a whisper: "Saddam's men are growing beards and moving into the Sunni mosques. When the Americans leave, they will return as Islamists." Sure enough, when U.S. troops pulled back, Sunni Islamist jihadis emerged; they morphed over the years  through several iterations  into the Islamic State.

So the nagging question is what happens on the day after the Islamic State, when the jihadis are driven out of Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province. If the military plan succeeds, will there be any political follow-up to prevent Sunni grievances from producing a son of the Islamic State?

Right now, no such political plan is in sight. And no one understands the danger of such a political vacuum better than the Kurds.

"The big worry on our part is who is going to govern Mosul and Nineveh and how," I was recently told by Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the smart, thoughtful representative of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government in Washington.

What the Kurds fear most is that, absent a prior accord between the Baghdad government and the Kurdish region, the liberation of Mosul and Nineveh will only lead to new fighting. Even worse, outside powers, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, might fight a proxy war over who controls Mosul and its surroundings, backing different Sunni or Shiite factions.

Why should Americans care, you ask? Because out of such Iraqi chaos (along with the Syrian chaos next door) can grow new jihadi movements, or even wars between Arab countries.

And because there still is a slim chance that  with renewed cache from helping liberate Mosul  the United States could help mediate the Iraqi politics of the post-Islamic State era.

To understand how, let's look at the main players who will be competing for turf when the Islamic State is defeated, as it will be, perhaps sooner than many expect. (Warning: these details may give you a headache; but they are key to understanding the perils of post-Islamic State Iraq.)

First, the Kurds. Right now the Kurds and the Iraqi government are on reasonable terms because Baghdad needs Kurdish fighters to help liberate Mosul. But the Kurds already hold parts of Nineveh that they seized from the Islamic State over the past two years; they want those areas to become part of an independent Kurdish state, or, at minimum, to be part of a confederation loosely linked with the rest of Iraq.

Those new boundaries, and the fate of Kurdish-populated sections of Mosul, need to be negotiated with Baghdad. Without such talks, the post-Islamic State era could see fighting between the Iraqi army and the Kurds.

Second, the Iraqi Shiites. The country's Shiite prime minister, Haidar Abadi, has made efforts at coexistence with Sunni Arabs and Kurds. However, the country's powerful Shiite militias, directed from Tehran, are eager to eclipse the Iraqi army and play a major role in liberating Nineveh, if not Mosul. (Iran would like to secure a territorial corridor through Nineveh to next-door Syria, where it supports Bashar al-Assad.) If those Shiite militias enter the Nineveh fray, they are likely to take bloody revenge against the majority of Sunnis there, whom they blame for the crimes of the Islamic State. The Shiite militias may also fight the Kurds for Nineveh turf.

Third, the Iraqi Sunnis. Deprived of their patron, Saddam Hussein, some bitter Sunnis backed al-Qaida and then the Islamic State. But the bulk probably could have been wooed by a smart Shiite leader who offered them some political carrots. Instead, Iraq's Shiite leaders, under Iranian pressure, mainly used sticks; they have yet even to permit a Sunni tribal national guard to fight the Islamic State. The defeat of the Islamic State opens the door for a new deal, perhaps offering Sunnis one or two federal states that would motivate them to squelch any remaining jihadis. But if Shiite militias surge into Nineveh, that will end hopes for coexistence.

Fourth, the outside meddlers, Iran and Turkey. Tehran wants a weak Iraq that it controls through Shiite militias; Ankara has dreams of an Ottoman Empire redux, and has sent a few hundred troops into Iraq against the wishes of Baghdad. They, along with the Saudis, could stir up trouble by pushing their Iraqi proxies to fight each other.
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Albany

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development chief says the state plans to completely overhaul SUNY Polytechnic Institute's economic development entities by the end of the month to "restore confidence" in SUNY Poly's commercial projects.

The move comes following bid-rigging charges filed last month against Alain Kaloyeros, the school's former president.

Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development agency, was ordered by Cuomo to take over the operations of SUNY Poly's two nonprofit real estate entities, Fuller Road Management Corp. and Fort Schuyler Management Corp., in the wake of the arrest of Kaloyeros on Sept. 22.

Kaloyeros has denied any wrongdoing and resigned as SUNY Poly president last week but is seeking to return as a faculty member. At the time of the charges against Kaloyeros, SUNY Poly had hundreds of millions of dollars in construction projects with semiconductor companies under way.

"We're doing this with an eye toward restoring confidence," Zemsky said Thursday during a meeting of the ESD board of directors. "These are transformational economic development projects, and many of them were focused upstate."

Federal and state criminal complaints against Kaloyeros and developers involved in SUNY Poly projects claimed that Kaloyeros manipulated the boards of both Fort Schuyler and Fuller Road to award construction and development contracts to favored companies, all of which donated heavily to Cuomo.

Zemsky said that ESD, which provided many of the grants for SUNY Poly projects in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, will be making changes to the boards of Fuller Road and Fort Schuyler, and looking at changing their bylaws as well as the board members.

"We are going to roll out changes in regard to that in the next 10 days," Zemsky said. "We are going to do that in October, and we are going to do that in a way that allows us to move the projects forward."

Zemsky says that he and his staff have been talking over the past three weeks with leaders of companies that were engaged in SUNY Poly projects. Those companies include IBM, Albany Molecular Research, SolarCity, Sorra, the LED maker, ams AG, the Austrian chip manufacturer, and General Electric Co.

"We're in touch with the CEOs," Zemsky said. "We're actively engaged and communicating with the businesses, and we're getting a great response."

Zemsky, who called SUNY Poly's operations "opaque" before ESD took over, said that ESD's goal moving forward is to ensure that SUNY Poly's contracting process is more transparent and that the public is more engaged going forward.

"We are extremely excited to have this opportunity," Zemsky said. "We believe having one economic development entity operate in a coordinated, strategic and collaborative fashion benefits the state, and it's right up our alley."

lrulison@timesunion.com  518-454-5504  @larryrulison
Baghdad

The Rev. Martin Banni, a Chaldean Catholic priest, grabbed the Eucharist and a few personal items ahead of the Islamic State fighters' assault on Karemlash, a town 18 miles southeast of Mosul.

That was two years ago when 100,000 Christians had already left. The archbishop of Mosul begged them to flee, too.

"We were few in number with no weapons, and we could do nothing to face the Islamic State," said Banni. "We ran."

As Iraqi forces begin the long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul and neighboring towns from the Islamic State, Iraqi Christians on the Nineveh plain hope their time in exile will soon end.

Alqosh, a mountainous Catholic holdout north of Mosul, escaped Islamic State control, and since 2014 has played host to around 600 Christian families on the run from persecution.

There and elsewhere in northern Iraq, the situation for the Christians has become dire. They lack jobs and money, with families of up to 10 sharing a tent or a single room. Most fled.

"I managed to take my ID, my passport, mobile, and laptop," said Banni, who has been a refugee in Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2014.

Some Christians say they had all but given up hope of ever returning home. And now, the Islamic State's fierce resistance to Iraqi forces suggests Mosul exiles could wait for months before they can move back.

Many don't know whether the-ir homes even exist anymore.

Banni acknowledged some of his flock are too worn down and are considering going to Europe or elsewhere. But the 25-year old priest, who was ordained in Irbil in September instead of in his beloved Mosul, already has a list of priorities for rebuilding hospitals and schools.

"This is most important because it ensures our people can come back to their homeland and live in peace there once again," he said. "The liberation of the region is finally happening and the prospect of going home feels closer now than ever."

In spite of all that has happened, and how his community has been treated, he hopes things will be different. "We want to face our problems and solve them, not to escape from them," he said. "A people who have borne all these difficulties can never be broken."

Nabeel reported from Istanbul; Al Shamary from Baghdad.
Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav's son Aditya has said that the main dispute in the party was over who would be the youth face of the party.

By Siraj Qureshi: UP Cooperative Federation Limited (UPPCF) Chairman and UP Samajwadi Party President Shivpal Yadav's son Aditya Yadav has said that the main dispute in the Samajwadi Party is in deciding who will be the youth face of the party. Aditya was talking to the media in Agra where he had arrived to attend a private function.

Asked if he considered himself worthy of being named a chief ministerial candidate, he declined to comment and said, "Everyone in the party will follow what the party's high command decides." When questioned about UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's solitary electoral campaign in his Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra, he shot back asking why was everyone so concerned about this now as Akhilesh had always gone out on this Rath Yatra alone.

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AKHILESH WILL BE CM AFTER 2017 TOO: SHIVPAL



When India Today asked him whether Akhilesh Yadav could form a new party, he said that such speculations were baseless and his father Shivpal Yadav had already said that Akhilesh would be the Chief Minister after 2017 elections too.

Also read: Mulayam Singh praises Akhilesh govt but suspends CM's close aide Udayveer Singh for 6 years



Aditya said that party leaders and workers might have their own views on the leadership issue, but in his opinion, the party was going to win at least 170 seats in the elections and form a majority government. Aditya will do well to recall that a full majority government needs at least 202 seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

It was interesting to note that Samajwadi Party workers surrounding Aditya throughout his visit kept shouting slogans in support of his father Shivpal Yadav, but never even took names of Akhilesh or Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, Aditya didn't comment on this and kept targeting Akhilesh with offhand statements.

PARTY'S YOUTH WING IS STRONG: ADITYA

He said that the party's youth wing is strong and the dispute is only on who will be the youth face that will lead the party, although he didn't reveal what he meant by a youth face and neither did he reveal what were his plans for the upcoming elections.



Also read: Akhilesh's stepmother using black magic on him: Samajwadi Party MLC in letter to Mulayam



Local Samajwadi Party leader Prawal Jain told India Today that there was no dispute in the party and the way the state had progressed under Akhilesh Yadav had caused panic in the opposition camp. He said that it was these opposition parties that were creating these fake issues about a rift in the party. He said that the Samajwadi Party was going to form the government in 2017 and that the entire issue was a fabrication of the opposition.

Read: SamajWarring Party: A timeline of how Mulayam's clan sunk deep into crisis



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KIRKUK, Iraq  Islamic State militants launched a wave of pre-dawn attacks in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, killing at least 14 people and setting off fierce clashes with Kurdish security forces that were still raging after sundown.

The assault appeared aimed at diverting attention from the Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul, and raised fears the extremists could lash out in unpredictable ways as they defend the largest city under their control and their last urban bastion in Iraq.

Multiple explosions rocked Kirkuk, and gunfire rang out around the provincial headquarters, where the fighting was concentrated. Smoke billowed over the city, and the streets were largely deserted out of fear of militant snipers. IS said its fighters targeted the provincial headquarters in a claim carried by its Aamaq news agency.

North of the city, three suicide bombers stormed a power plant in the town of Dibis, killing 13 workers, including four Iranian technicians, before blowing themselves up as police arrived, said Maj. Ahmed Kader Ali, the Dibis police chief.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, condemned the assault, which he said also wounded three Iranian workers, according to the official IRNA news agency. It was not immediately clear if Iranians were targeted in other attacks.

The Turkmeneli TV station, which had earlier shown live footage of smoke rising from outside the provincial headquarters, said in a news bulletin that one of its reporters, Ahmet Haceroglu, was killed by a sniper while covering the fighting.

There was no immediate word on casualties among other civilians or the Kurdish forces in Kirkuk. Police and hospital officials could not be reached for comment.

Kirkuk is 100 miles from the IS-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive on Monday. IS has in the past resorted to suicide bombings in and around Baghdad in response to battlefield losses elsewhere in the country.

Kirkuk is an oil-rich city claimed by both Iraq's central government and the largely autonomous Kurdish region. Kurdish forces assumed full control of the city in the summer of 2014, as Iraq's army and police crumbled in the face of a lightning advance by IS.

Kemal Kerkuki, a senior commander of Kurdish peshmerga forces west of Kirkuk, said the town where his base is located outside the city also came under attack early Friday, but that his forces repelled the assault.

He said IS maintains sleeper cells of militants in Kirkuk and surrounding villages. "We arrested one recently and he confessed," he said, adding that Friday's attackers may have posed as displaced civilians in order to infiltrate the city. Kirkuk province is home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition launched the multi-pronged assault this week to retake Mosul and surrounding areas  the largest operation undertaken by the Iraqi military since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

By Thursday, the Iraqi forces had advanced as far as Bartella, a historically Christian town 9 miles from Mosul's outskirts.

A reporter traveling Friday with the Iraqi special forces saw homes along Bartella's main road painted with IS graffiti, including the first letter of a derogatory word in Arabic for Christians that the militants use to mark Christian property. Under IS rule, Christians must convert to Islam or pay a special tax.

IS graffiti was also sprayed on the inside walls of the town's church. Iraqi soldiers raised the national flag over the building and rang the church bell, signaling its liberation.

"Bartella was liberated yesterday, and today we are inside its church," Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati declared. "I bring the good news to our Christian brothers that the church is liberated."

Elsewhere in Iraq, the country's top Shiite cleric called on forces taking part in the Mosul offensive to protect civilians, and for residents of Mosul, a mainly Sunni city, to cooperate with security forces.

"We stress today upon our beloved fighters, as we have before on many occasions, that they exercise the greatest degree of restraint in dealing with civilians stuck in the areas where there is fighting," the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said in a Friday sermon read by an aide. "Protect them and prevent any harm to them by all possible means."

More than 3,900 people, about 650 families, have fled Mosul and the nearby Hamdaniyah district since the operation began, according to Adrian Edwards of the U.N. refugee agency.

Ravina Shamdasani, of the U.N. human rights office, said it had "verified information" that IS forced 550 people to relocate to Mosul from the nearby villages of Samalia and Najafia on Monday, part of an "apparent policy of preventing civilians from escaping to areas controlled by Iraqi security forces."

Shamdasani reiterated concerns IS could use civilians as human shields, and said the office was investigating reports that the group had killed at least 40 civilians for suspected disloyalty. She did not provide further details.
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The playbook for New York's modern high-tech growth was written in the Capital Region, a McKinsey & Co. report said.

And the region continues to refine and improve upon it, developing clusters in clean technology to help New York assume a leadership role nationally in transforming the energy sector.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month he will begin accepting applications to award a share of the $10 million set aside for clean tech incubators statewide.

"New York is leading the way in investing in our state's clean energy future by supporting small companies with big, innovative ideas that will reduce our carbon footprint and create jobs," Cuomo said in an Oct. 12 statement. "This program is one more step toward a cleaner, greener, more prosperous New York for all."

One local incubator that could receive funding is Collaborating and Leveraging Energy And Nanotechnology founded by State University of New York Polytechnic Institute's Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and Hudson Valley Center for Innovation.

The technologies developed by these clean energy companies located in the incubators will assist the state in meeting the Clean Energy Standard, which requires 50 percent of New York's electricity to come from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2030.

Still, two sites in Saratoga and Rensselaer mentioned in the McKinsey report, Capital 20.20: Advancing the Region Through Focused Investment, commissioned by Capital Region Economic Development Council, as "critical to the success of the (clean-tech) cluster" were not funded. However, investment in the Rensselaer Clean Energy Deployment Center and Saratoga's Technology and Energy Park are not completely off the table, Jim Barba, president and CEO of Albany Medical Center and cochair of CREDC, said.

"The clean tech initiatives (in the Capital 20:20 plan) weren't funded by the state, but it remains an area of great potential, as outlined in the plan, and proposals in this sector will continue to be reviewed by the council in the future," Barba said in an Oct. 14 statement.

SUNY Poly first proposed the clean tech center for Rensselaer in 2015, although the project never got off the ground and now appears to be in peril after the arrest last month of SUNY Poly President Alain Kaloyeros, who is facing state and federal bid rigging charges as part of a widespread corruption probe into the school's economic development projects.

"The Capital 20:20 plan envisioned the Center for Economic Growth leading the plan's implementation," CEG President Andrew Kennedy said. "It is my focus over the coming months to advance the strategies outlined and start the implementation of Capital 20:20 in collaboration with CREDC and regional stakeholders."

Pradeep Haldar, interim dean of the College of Nanoscale Engineering and Technology Innovation and CNSE vice president of entrepreneurship innovation and clean energy programs at SUNY Poly, said the potential of SUNY operating the STEP site "remains under review at this time." The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority owns and manages STEP. Some 17 companies and 220 workers are located at STEP.

"We do intend to continue to work with NYSERDA and provide appropriate resources at the STEP site as necessary," Haldar said. "SUNY Poly has one of the largest Clean Tech programs in New York state. It has collaborated with over 200 companies in the rapidly emerging energy and environmental technology sectors."

Haldar said the potential number of jobs has likely grown beyond the numbers listed in the McKinsey report. The sectors are expected to continue to grow with the "creation of an explosive number of jobs" in the next decade, he added.

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According to Kennedy, clean technology is already a significant, though small, part of the Capital Region's economy, but it has potential to be more. For instance, a few years ago the Brookings Institution found the Albany area had the highest share of clean economy jobs out of metro areas nationwide, with "General Electric and the state workforce giving us a boost," he said.

"The extent of jobs this initiative would generate depends on how much is invested in infrastructure for this cluster," Kennedy said.

The more the Capital Region can stand out with the best technology and a commitment to invest in its energy future, the more it can attract their "fair share of new jobs and opportunities," Todd Alhart, media relations manager at GE Global Research, said.

"Over the past decade, we've been committed to growing that footprint, adding hundreds of jobs to build up our Renewables business in Schenectady and to establish the Fuel Cells start-up in Malta," Alhart said.

Alhart said GE continues to make great progress to scale up GE's fuel cell technology at its pilot facility in Malta.

"Investing in our clean tech cluster will help to build both a sustainable economy and environment. The investments we make today will have real, positive, long-term impacts for the local economy," he added.
Albany

A challenge by natural gas power plant owners to a multibillion dollar state subsidy for nuclear plants revealed a tug of war between nuclear and gas interests that has been playing out behind the scenes in a New York climate change program.

Gas plant owners sued this week to block a new state subsidy  called a zero emissions credit  that could be worth billions over the next 12 years to four upstate nuclear power plants under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration's new Clean Energy Standard.

The ZEC is meant to keep financially stressed nuclear plants from closing down, which could require more fossil-fuel power plants or alternative energy sources, like wind and solar, to make up for the lost power. Now that it has gotten its lifeline subsidy, the nuclear industry appears to be seeking further advantage.

Filings with the state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which limits climate-changing emissions from power plants, show the state's largest nuclear energy company is urging changes to the program that could raise costs on competitors in the natural gas plant industry.

Officials in New York and eight other Northeast states are reviewing potential changes to the eight-year-old RGGI program, which was spearheaded by former Gov. George Pataki. So far, New York has collected nearly $1 billion from selling state-issued RGGI (pronounced Reggie) credits to power plant owners. The owners must buy a credit for every ton of greenhouse gas emitted into the air.

Nuclear and natural gas plants, which combined now supply nearly three-quarters of the state's electricity, are jockeying for position, according to two longtime energy market observers. Natural gas recently overtook nuclear as the leading source of electrical generation, at 37 percent to 35 percent.

"The nuclear industry got their ZEC 'cookie' to help support their industry, and now want the frosting on top  higher RGGI prices to drive up the costs on their competitors in the natural gas industry," said one observer, who asked his name not be used.

"The oldest, dirtiest power plants in New York are fighting to hold on," said the other observer, who also asked not to be identified. "Anything that raises RGGI credit prices is not good for them."

In December 2015, Exelon, which owns two of the state's four nuclear plants, and is buying a third, the FitzPatrick plant near Oswego, urged RGGI to tamp down the supply of its credits.

FitzPatrick was to have closed late this year or early 2017 before it was sold this summer to Exelon  after the state ZEC subsidy was announced. Exelon plans to continue operations, and was also in discussions to buy the remaining nuclear plant, Indian Point from Entergy, on the Hudson River in Westchester County, which the Cuomo administration has been pushing to close.

Exelon's suggested changes to RGGI would encourage higher credit prices, which would raise operating expenses on natural gas owners. Owners of nuclear power plants, which have no greenhouse gas emissions, have no need for RGGI credits

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Exelon urged that RGGI eliminate or pare back its "cost containment reserve" (CCR) program, according to a Dec. 4 company memo filed with RGGI. By setting aside a separate pool of pollution credits each year that become available after credit prices rise above a certain level, CCR is meant to keep credit prices from spiking too quickly. Exelon also suggest that RGGI credit prices should be much more expensive before reserve credits are released.

Currently, RGGI allows for a reserve CCR fund of 10 million credits a year above the emissions cap for that year. Reserves were opened in both 2014 and 2015, with a total of 15 million new credits sold. At current prices, that amount of credits would be worth about $26 million.

Fossil-fuel owners want to keep the CCR reserve as protection against sudden dramatic increases in credit prices. Dynergy, which owns a natural gas plant in Oswego, is part of the lawsuit against the ZEC nuclear subsidy, wrote to RGGI in February urging that the credit reserve program be retained.

RGGI should continue to evaluate "cost containment provisions in 2016 and beyond," wrote Dynergy, adding that the CCR program "may continue to serve a purpose."

bnearing@timesunion.com  518-454-5094  @Bnearing10
"American Honey" opens in a Dumpster, where a dreadlocked teenager named Star digs up a prize  a raw chicken still in its bloody shrink wrap. The scene is a blunt reminder that the American dream remains elusive, and even impossible, for many in this country.

This is a road movie, and Star (taking a cue from Huck Finn?) runs away to become part of a caravan of bedraggled and wounded young people. All due credit goes to the film for its compassionate portrayal of these lost souls, who are both victims and victimizers.

British director Andrea Arnold has made several movies (including "Fish Tank") notable for pulling no punches, and "American Honey" is in the same vein. I got the feeling she has been looking at the films of Harmony Korine ("Gummo," "Spring Breakers"), known for rubbing the viewers' face in the ugliness of highly dysfunctional families and troubled, often drug-addled, teenagers.

The gist of "American Honey" is Star's experience as part of a floating team of con artists, young people who travel in a van from town to town  the film takes them from Oklahoma to North Dakota, the America of KMarts and strip malls  hustling magazine subscriptions door to door. These crews are a real-life phenomenon, and they are indeed scam artists, but the outfits they work for keep them in what amounts to indentured servitude.

More Information ** Review "American Honey" Rated: R Length: 163 minutes **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor See More Collapse

Star (portrayed by an exceptionally vital newcomer, Sasha Lane) is brought into the group by an experienced recruiter, played by Shia LaBeouf as a wild man replete with facial piercings and a long braid. The rest of the crew (acted by non-professionals) is a remarkable assortment of runaways, troublemakers and disturbed young people, connoisseurs of hip-hop who stoke themselves for the long van rides with booze, pot, hard-edged banter and occasional fisticuffs.

They are kept in line by a tough cookie named Krystal (Riley Keough), only a bit older than her charges. She collects their takings at the end of the day and, when necessary, deals out harsh discipline  including abandonment. The shifting relationships between Star, Krystal and the LaBeouf character provide a bit of structure to this loose tale.

Much of "American Honey" is devoted to showing us the encounters between the hustlers and their targets at various economic levels (though more lower than higher). The exchanges follow a pattern: Cash is elicited through phony sob stories that vary according to what will appeal to the chump (my dad's away in Iraq; I'm trying to earn points toward a scholarship). Perhaps those who buy these tall tales deserve to be fleeced.

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Arnold's strength is in immersing us in the lives of these orphans  they are a parent's nightmare, but they have a kind of disheveled dignity that's impossible to deny, and their bravado is a cover for desperate needs.

What's less successful is some heavy-handed America bashing, such as when Star hooks up with three white-hatted cowboy types (one of them played by Will Patton) driving a big old convertible. The scene gives her a chance to prove she's a gutsy sort, which is fine, but, like other sequences in the film,it relies on particularly tiresome stereotypes.

The movie's running time of two hours and 43 minutes is excessive to begin with, and it feels even longer because of how much Arnold insists on this exhausted notion of the general crumminess of flyover America. The film engages when it focuses on the scammer subculture off duty, at ease in all its lowdown glory. At other times, "American Honey" extends an invitation to smugness that serves it poorly.
Bill Buchna stands in front of the runways at Venango Regional Airport. Buchna, a veteran of the Air Force and Army, is the airports new manager. He said hes ready to get to work positioning the airport to drive growth in the community.
[October 22, 2016] American Red Cross Partners with American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine on Academic Service Learning Initiative

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) and the American Red Cross (Red Cross) have established a partnership to provide opportunities for AUC medical students and alumni to contribute to Red Cross programs across the country. The academic service learning agreement mirrors past organized efforts between AUC and the Red Cross in cities such as New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami, as well in St. Maarten where the medical school's campus is located. The agreement paves the way for AUC to help support Red Cross chapters through coordinated community initiatives. "This expanded relationship with the Red Cross supports our institution's focus on educating physicians who are socially accountable and engaged citizens," said Dr. Heidi Chumley, executive dean and chief academic officer of AUC. "Community service is an important part of AUC's culture and this partnership provides students with opportunities to remain engaged with communities as they complete training in the U.S." "I'm delighted to support AUC's commitment to foster community health by engaging their medical students in academic service learning and alumni as Red Cross volunteers," said Linda MacIntyre, chief nurse for the American Red Cross. "This is a great way to leverage the work of our organizations to better serve communities and families." The program will be piloted with the Red Cross' Greater Miami and the Keys Chapter, which provides essential aid to a diverse set of communities with unique health and safety challenges. The chapter serves nearly two million Florida residents. AUC students and alumni will be able to participate in the chapter's priority initiatives, including: Case management for families displaced by natural disasters or fires

Emergency preparedness training for local businesses, shools and organizations

Fire prevention education and services, such as smoke detector installation

CPR training for local businesses, schools and organizations

Support services for family members of the armed services



"Having AUC as part of the Red Cross team is outstanding. Their culture of community service fits clearly with our mission and we are excited this new relationship is beginning at our Greater Miami and Keys Chapter," said Alfred Sanchez, Regional CEO of the Red Cross' South Florida Region.

The new partnership builds on AUC's portfolio of service learning and community affairs initiatives. AUC has supported numerous programs and organizations, including the St. Maarten Ministry of Public Health and the St. Maarten chapter of the Red Cross, to bring increased health awareness and access to preventive health services to the local community. About American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) is an international medical school committed to providing an excellent medical education to qualified students of diverse backgrounds. Students begin their journey to become physicians on AUC's technologically advanced campus in St. Maarten before completing clinical training in teaching hospitals in the United States and United Kingdom. AUC is accredited by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine, and its graduates are eligible for licensure to practice in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. AUC is part of DeVry Education Group (NYSE:DV). 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 (News - Alert) at @RedCross. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161022005006/en/

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By PTI: Hyderabad, Oct 22 (PTI) Saudi Arabias Ambassador to India, Saud Mohammed Alsati, today met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and expressed interest to make investments in the state.

Observing that the cultural heritage of Hyderabad is linked to Saudi Arabia, Rao recalled that the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad Mahabub Ali Pasha built a rubaat (a home for stay) in Saudi for the benefit of Haj pilgrims from Telangana, a release from Chief Ministers office said.

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Rao requested that a Consulate of Saudi be set up in Hyderabad and the envoy said the matter is already being considered by them, it said.

Noting that Telangana government is ready to revive the old friendship with Saudi, he said industrial investments would help strengthen the ties.

The Ambassador responded positively on the matter, the release said.

Rao explained the state governments industrial policy and also the welfare and development schemes being implemented for minorities, it said.

The Saudi envoy said his country is giving 460 scholarships to Indian youth, irrespective of their religious identity, the release added. PTI SJR NP RG RDS

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[October 22, 2016] Boosting Productivity in Blood Banking and Cellular Processing Applications

AABB 2016 - Blood processing and cellular therapy laboratories can now benefit from equipment designed to deliver accelerated throughput and optimal sample safety in a sustainable manner. Blood banking and cellular therapy centers function as production facilities. As such, high-throughput capabilities that enable run-to-run reproducibility while maintaining sample integrity and process control are essential to ensuring continuous, uninterrupted operation. With refrigerators, freezers and centrifuges playing a key role in the blood processing workflow, the latest storage and separation equipment has been developed to accommodate the need for improved round-the-clock productivity and ergonomic workflow, all while minimizing environmental impact and adhering to global standards. "Common challenges facing blood processing and cellular therapy facilities include working with large volumes of blood products or timely processing of critical, sensitive samples and there is increasing pressure to deliver accurate results more quickly to facilitate medical research and patient well-being," said Bill McMahon, president, laboratory equipment, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "With this in mind, we are focusing product development within these sectors on well-established technologies that are designed for simplified and safe blood processing and cell therapy applications, while boosting productivity in an easy-to-use, ergonomic manner." The latest technological advancements from Thermo Fisher are being showcased at the annual American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) conference, Booth 1627, at the Orange (News - Alert) County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, including the Thermo Scientific TSX Series of high-performance blood bank refrigerators and high-performance plasma freezers, the Thermo Scientific Sorvall BP 8 and 16 blood banking centrifuges, and the Thermo Scientific Medifuge benchtop centrifuge. The new Thermo Scientific TSX Series of high-performance blood bank refrigerators operate at a factory pre-set temperature of 4C to comply with the AABB guidelines for the storage of whole blood and blood components. Thermo Scientific TSX Series of high-performance plasma freezers have also been developed to meet the guidelines established by the AABB for the storageof plasma. Like the previously introduced TSX Series of ultra-low freezers, the TSX Series high-performance refrigerators and freezers are powered by the unique V-Drive technology, designed to deliver improved performance and significant energy savings. The V-Drive, combined with superior insulation, also ensures up to 10 times quieter operation than conventional instruments, enabling them to be located closer to the point of care without noise disturbance. In addition, the new TSX refrigerators and freezers use natural refrigerants, in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) for improved laboratory sustainability.

operate at a factory pre-set temperature of 4C to comply with the AABB guidelines for the storage of whole blood and blood components. have also been developed to meet the guidelines established by the AABB for the storageof plasma. Like the previously introduced TSX Series of ultra-low freezers, the TSX Series high-performance refrigerators and freezers are powered by the unique V-Drive technology, designed to deliver improved performance and significant energy savings. The V-Drive, combined with superior insulation, also ensures up to 10 times quieter operation than conventional instruments, enabling them to be located closer to the point of care without noise disturbance. In addition, the new TSX refrigerators and freezers use natural refrigerants, in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) for improved laboratory sustainability. The 16 x 500 mL capacity Thermo Scientific Sorvall BP 8 and 16 blood banking centrifuges are designed to maximize productivity for blood processing centers by offering an increased capacity that exceeds legacy systems by 33 percent, while maintaining previously validated protocols. In a production environment where ease-of-use as well as operator ergonomics are imperative, these centrifuges save time and reduce physical strain with Auto-Door and Auto-Lid technologies, enabling the opening and closing of the centrifuge door, and removal and restacking of the windshielded rotor lid, to be a seamless, hands-free operation. The Accumulated Centrifugal Effect (ACE) function of the systems automatically adjusts run time to account for and eliminate acceleration/deceleration variations that could otherwise lead to the incomplete separation of platelets. The centrifuges also feature the innovative Eco-Spin technology, which uses windshielded rotors to allow energy savings of up to 64 percent. All models are CE marked for the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC and are listed with the U.S. FDA. In addition, they conform to the latest global safety standards, including UL listing.

are designed to maximize productivity for blood processing centers by offering an increased capacity that exceeds legacy systems by 33 percent, while maintaining previously validated protocols. In a production environment where ease-of-use as well as operator ergonomics are imperative, these centrifuges save time and reduce physical strain with Auto-Door and Auto-Lid technologies, enabling the opening and closing of the centrifuge door, and removal and restacking of the windshielded rotor lid, to be a seamless, hands-free operation. The Accumulated Centrifugal Effect (ACE) function of the systems automatically adjusts run time to account for and eliminate acceleration/deceleration variations that could otherwise lead to the incomplete separation of platelets. The centrifuges also feature the innovative Eco-Spin technology, which uses windshielded rotors to allow energy savings of up to 64 percent. All models are CE marked for the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC and are listed with the U.S. FDA. In addition, they conform to the latest global safety standards, including UL listing. Featuring a unique two-in-one hybrid rotor with interchangeable fixed-angle and swinging buckets, the Thermo Scientific Medifuge benchtop centrifuge provides application-specific flexibility. Coupled with a compact footprint, it is an ideal choice for laboratories with limited space. The centrifuge incorporates safety and sustainability features such as an emergency lid-lock release, quiet operation and a lightweight composite rotor that is easy to handle and saves energy during acceleration/deceleration. The centrifuge can accommodate a wide range of tubes, from 1.4 mL to 15 mL, and even 10 mL standard syringes, as well as enable fixed-angle and swinging buckets to run at the same time for separation comparison studies. The Medifuge centrifuge conforms to the latest clinical and safety standards, such as UL, CE and IVD, and is listed with the U.S. FDA as a Class 1 device.



thermofisher.com/aabb. About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of $17 billion and more than 50,000 employees in 50 countries. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands - Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services - we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161022005003/en/

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By Trend





Iranian navy flotillas recent overseas mission to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, came as a friendly symbolic act aimed at strengthening friendly and brotherly ties among the Caspian Sea littoral states, an Iranian military official told Trend.



The littoral states are capable of providing security in the Caspian Sea and there is no room for foreigners, Military attache of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan Colonel Ali Seify said.



According to Colonel Ali Seify, an Iranian navy flotilla including the home-made Damavand destroyer and a missile-armed warship, dubbed Joshan arrived in Azerbaijan Oct. 19 to convey the message of peace and friendship as well as providing security in the Caspian Sea.



During the three-day visit, Iranian navy delegation, headed by 1st rank captain Abdulhuseyn Zafari, visited several military sites in Azerbaijan.



In the meantime, Azerbaijani military officials as well as military attaches of several foreign countries visited the Iranian warships to get acquainted with the capabilities of Iranian navy.



Expressing thanks for Azerbaijans warm hosting of Iranian flotilla, Colonel Ali Seify invited Azerbaijans navy to send a flotilla to visit his country.



The Iranian warships left Baku on Saturday morning.



Saying that the visit came in a bid to boost friendly maritime ties between the Caspian littoral states, Colonel Ali Seify reminded that Damavand destroyer and Joshan warship back in 2015 docked in the southern Russian port city of Astrakhan.



The Russian Navy also sent its flotilla to the Islamic Republic which has recently docked at Anzali port in northern Iran.



The home-grown Damavand destroyer, equipped with modern radar, electronic and reconnaissance systems, was delivered to the countrys naval forces stationed in Anzali in March 2015.



Iran has recently made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.



The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.
Four film adaptations of Shakespeare's works will be screened on Tuesday and Wednesday as a part of India International Centre's (IIC) annual festival, Delhi

Ghazab Teri Adaa (above) by NSD will be performed at the IIC on Sunday.

By Srijani Ganguly/Mail Today: Delhiites have a movie date with William Shakespeare early next week. Although the Bard won't be present in his corporeal form, four film adaptations of his works will be screened on Tuesday and Wednesday as a part of India International Centre's (IIC) annual festival, 'IIC Experience'.

Air Marshal (Retd) Naresh Verma, director of India International Centre says, "We are marking the 400th death anniversary of Shakespeare by screening six Shakespeare film adaptations by diverse directors like Basil Dearden, Grigori Kozintsev and Iosef Shapiro, Akira Kurosawa and Roman Polanski."

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Other highlights include a film festival on Spanish cinema, a concert by the Accordion State Youth Orchestra of Baden-Wuerttemberg and a centenary tribute to MS Subbulakshmi presented by Gowri Ramnarayan from Chennai who was the vocal accompanist to the maestro. Admission to all the cultural programmes is free of charge.

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Naim Geelani, a doctor at a government hospital in Srinagar, was arrested at around 10 am when he was on his way to the Hyderpora residence of the hardline Hurriyat leader, while Geelani's younger son, Naseem Geelani, was stopped by the police from entering his father's house.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday arrested the elder son of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and stopped his younger son from entering the octogenarian leader's residence, virtually cutting him off from all family contact, sources told IANS.

Naim Geelani, a doctor at a government hospital in Srinagar, was arrested at around 10 am when he was on his way to the Hyderpora residence of the hardline Hurriyat leader.

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"He was not allowed inside the house and police arrested him," a family source told IANS.

The arrest came ahead of the senior Geelani's scheduled "address to the nation" over telephone on Saturday afternoon. The address could not take place due to the jammers placed by the state authorities around the Hyderpora residence.

Geelani's younger son, Naseem Geelani, an assistant professor at the Sheri-Kashmir Agricultural University of Science and Technology, was stopped by policemen from entering his father's house in the morning. "You are not allowed to meet Geelani," the police told Naseem.

Naseem later took to Facebook to vent his anger. In an emotional attack on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Naseem posted, "I want to ask one simple question to Mohtarma Mehbooba Mufti. When someone even mentions your father's name, you break into tears. What about my ailing father who waits to see me everyday?"



ALSO READ: 90 days of Kashmir unrest: 93 killed, over 13,000 injured; clashes and restrictions continue

The 88-year-old Hurriyat conference chairman is suffering from heart ailment, kidney problems and respiratory issues, family sources told IANS.

"He has a pacemaker in heart, is surviving on half a kidney and has multiple other health issues. We (sons) need to see him daily and take his care. But we are not allowed," Naseem said.

"Even my elder brother has been detained," Naseem told IANS, adding, "He has been taken to Humhama police station."

The police has barred the entry of the senior Geelani's family members, media and most visitors to his residence.



ALSO READ: Hawala funding in Kashmir: NIA summons separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's elder son for questioning

"Authorities have also installed jammers at the residence to block all phone connectivity," the source added.

Geelani, who has been leading the unrest in Kashmir Valley since the July 8 killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, has been under continuous house arrest.

Geelani along with other separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, has been issuing the "protest calendars" every week under the banner of "Joint Resistance Leadership".

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had in mid August summoned Naim Geelani and questioned him in connection with a Preliminary Enquiry registered by the probe agency.

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Of late, the state police and security agencies have arrested hundreds of separatist leaders and party workers, including those the government feels are "instigators" of the violence.



ALSO READ: Repeal AFSPA, release prisoners for peace and resolution, says Geelani



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Introduction

Throughout history, humanity has tended to produce great products, only to later phase them out in favor of worse, but cheaper ones. So it has often been with computer keyboards.

This is a tried and true tale of woe for anyone who has fallen in love with "buy it for life" objects of days past. What follows is a look into the past world of mechanical keyboards, high-end input devices that provided typing joy to millions. The keyboards that came out with your father's computer were often significantly better than what we commonly use today. Time was, computers could cost upwards of $10,000 apiece, so having a wonderful keyboard made the sales pitch a bit smoother.

We interviewed and photographed the collection of keyboard archaeologist, Jacob Alexander. We asked him to show us some of the most notable keyboards in history, to better understand how we got to the current state of typing technology. Some of the keyboards in this collection helped develop modern programming languages such as Lisp. Others were collaborations between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War. One of the keyboards even uses acoustic signals and has more in common with a grand piano than any other object.

Read on to learn everything you didnt know you wanted to know about the predecessors of today's mechanical keyboards.



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Alps SCB1A163

This keyboard was from the first computer at UCLA, making it an artifact of mild fame. It's an early keyboard from Alps, a company that would go on to make all the Apple Computer keyboards. Built in the early 1970s, each switch can actually be pulled out of the keyboard by hand. Technically, they are mechanical reed switches, so each switch has a hermetically sealed tube with two metal reeds.

When you pass a magnet by this tube, the reeds touch, and the keyboard registers a keypress. These are contactless switches, so they will last for hundreds of millions of presses, far exceeding what today's keyboards promise.

Every switch also had a diode as part of the design, in order to simplify their circuit board manufacturing and allow for hand assembly. The keyswitches also make use of advanced plastics and have incredible manufacturing tolerances. If that wasn't enough, the keyswitches were designed to be muffled so they wouldn't upset or annoy co-workers or other people around the computer, a feature showing a significant degree of empathy and insight into the human experience.



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IBM 3276 Data Entry Keyboard

IBM keyboards were one of the earliest keyboards to make use of capacitive sensing Beam Spring switches, with designs dating back to the early 1970s. The capacitive sensing on the switches is similar to how a touchscreen works--with an anode and a cathode--but instead of your finger touching a screen, there is a small pad under the switch that simulates your finger and increases the capacitance of the electrodes.

This technology eventually gave way to touchscreens and represents a dramatic shift from earlier keyboard and typewriter designs. Beam Springs are unique because when you press down on them, part of the internal mechanism actually inverts and goes up, which is decidedly unusual. As a result, the feel of the switch could be described as being closer to the Selectric typewriter than any other IBM switch since. That was likely the actual goal, because almost every data entry user at the time was familiar with the former.

The keyboard has beautiful double shot keycaps, a split space bar, and a solid steel case, and it weighs roughly 10 pounds. The shift keys are lower than other keys, which is unusual. This keyboard is dramatically clickier and noisier than IBM Model Ms, but for maximum noise, it also has an added solenoid that fires with every keypress, reverberating through the frame.

Such a keyboard would be extremely expensive and impractical to make today. Its difficult to mass manufacture, and the mechanisms are quite fragile to create and hand-assemble. As a reference, the target price for this keyboard in the 1970s was around $1,500 (or about $8,000 today), rendering it an amazing antique unlikely to be replicated.



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IBM 4704 Model 200

IBM has been making amazing keyboards for decades, and the Capacitive Buckling Spring (also known as the Model F) is one of the best switches it ever made. Debuting in the 1981 System/23 Datamaster, it succeeded the Beam Spring switch, attempting to replicate the latters feel in a smaller profile and at a lower cost.

The theory is that the F in Model F stands for Farad, because it is a capacitive buckling spring keyboard (Electrical capacitance is measured in Farads). The particular keyboard pictured, nicknamed Kishsaver in the keyboard community after the person who first documented it, came out in 1982 and was primarily used for banking applications. It was entirely shielded in a thick metal case to cut down on EMI leakage, and as a result, it weighed around six pounds despite its relatively small size.

It was also one of the first especially compact or 60% layouts to be mass produced. Keycap design aesthetic changed from Beam Spring keyboards to the Model F quite a bit, as well. The aesthetic was dictated by a German Industrial Standard that required specific colors, sizes, and finishes that were appropriate for a German Business Environment. This is from the early 1980s, making the design of these keyboards largely dictated by pre-Berlin Wall West German design standards.

In addition, they were some of the very first keyboards to use Dye Sublimated PBT keycaps, which are an engineering plastic preferred by many enthusiasts today. The keycap design also switched from spherical design to cylindrical designs; considering that most keycaps are cylindrical today is an indication of the enduring design choice. The IBM 4704 Model 200 with a terminal cost around $2500 when it was first released, making it a significant investment.



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UDS Comtest CEX-17C

This keyboard uses early types of Cherry switches. It was made before the famous MX switch and has M6 and M7 switches. It has an excessively long spacebar, and the Shift Lock keys have more in common with typewriters than modern keyboards. It was made in 1980, but the switches were developed in 1973 or earlier. This particular model is from a terminal for debugging information sent to a mainframe. The terminal would have had custom programs added to it, specifically catering to the mainframe, and the color of the beautiful keycap set would reflect its specific purpose.



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Northgate Omnikey Plus

The Northgate Omnikey Plus was one of the first keyboards released as the industry entered the Dark Ages of cheap keyboard and input designs. Immediately following the Northgate and IBM Model M keyboard releases, heavy cost savings techniques were widely implemented across all business operations.

After the Omnikey Plus, the manufacturers began racing for the bottom in keyboard production and optimized for price instead of quality. There are DIP switches for changing the programmability of these keyboards, a technique that is still in practice today. Although most of the keys are gray and white, the Control, Shift, Alt, and Escape keys are all colorful and fun.

Its also notable that it has a Control key where most current keyboards have the Caps Lock, and its one of the most well-known keyboards to swap these two placements. Often, the Omnikey Plus came with replaceable keycaps so you could put the Caps Lock back if you wanted. It also was one of the very first popular aftermarket; keyboards; previously, keyboards were always bundled with the computer.



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Space Cadet

This keyboard is probably the most famous item in this list. It is notable in that it uses Honeywell (or Microswitch) Hall Effect switches, rated at a staggering 30 billion keypress lifetime. The reason for such a long endurance is that the switches were sealed against dust and dirt ingress and used contactless Hall Effect sensing technology, where a magnet passed by a sensor that registered based on the proximity.

If that wasn't enough, the circuit board also had multiple redundant paths for the signals to flow through, in case one failed for any reason. The layout of the keyboard itself was specifically designed around LISP, a programming language that gave rise to modern programming languages. It was also designed for use with Emacs, a popular text editor in use to this day, that proponents consider superior to Vim.

The ADM 3A keyboard was designed for Vim, and it pales in comparison to the Space Cadets giant girth. The Space Cadet has a huge quantity of keys and truly eclectic keycaps with greek symbols for APL and thumbs up and thumbs down keys. Most people today use only modifier keys such as Control and Alt, but the Space Cadet had Hyper, Meta, and Super modifier keys, as well (Meta is used as the Alt key today, and Super became the Windows key on many keyboards, but Hyper has largely been made obsolete).



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Seikosha 8620

Topre is a Japanese manufacturer that currently makes some of the most expensive and high quality capacitive keyboards available on the market. Before Topre ever started making input devices, however, there were other manufacturers that produced capacitive, high-end keyboards, including Seiko-Epson, a conglomerate that makes high-end watches and fancy printers.

Many suspect that the technology was developed by Brother, another Japanese conglomerate, but we cant confirm that.

The Seikosha 8620 is an early rubber-dome keyboard that uses foam and foil technology to simulate a human finger, capacitively sensed by the circuit board. The design was susceptible to humidity and the environment, which means it got worse with age and doesnt function nearly as long as, say, a Model M. Made in 1982, this design used mass-produced rubber and foil, which helped place the industry on the path of the $5 keyboard.



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Maltron

The Maltron Keyboard was one of the real first ergonomic, split keyboard to use keywells. Designed for people suffering from RSI, its makers sought to address the needs of people who were, or at the risk of, being harmed by extensive typing. The design is more aligned with the human bodys needs and less optimized for a rectangular box. Maltron used vacuum-formed cases and hand-wired each switch, making this almost a bespoke object that continues to be produced in the same way it was in the 1970s.

It also has a specific area dedicated for the thumb cluster, which is a significant improvement on the current spacebar design. Our thumbs evolved to be dexterous, and many of their advantages are wasted on making them share a single giant spacebar.



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Tron (microTron)

Currently still in production for the Japanese market, the microTron is an ergonomic keyboard that uses Topres capacitive switch mechanism and is designed around the Japanese language. The key sizing was designed for the average Japanese hand, which makes it more compact than other keyboards. It offers adjustable tenting mechanisms, so you can control the angle of the keys depending on what feels most comfortable.

It is also one of the most advanced designs for thumbs, as it allows you to curl your thumb in a different way to reach the various bottom row keys. The spacebar is conveniently split into Space and Backspace. This keyboard also makes use of a function layer to allow different layouts, because there isnt enough space for all the keys it needs to use. It has a symmetric stagger for the layout and a unique design that puts a large majority of the control keys in the middle of the keyboard, where youd typically find letter keys. Each keyboard is handmade, costs $500, and has stealthy LEDs that shine through the case. It was designed in the early 2000s and is one of the best ergonomic keyboards ever made.



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Burroughs Opto-Electric

This is an optical switch keyboard, making it substantially different from many other keyboards in history. There is no debounce algorithm applied to the keys, so when you type, it will absolutely recognize your keypress. The key switches can handle dirt, dust, and other issues remarkably well, making it especially durable. The force curve of the switch is unusual compared to pretty much any other switch ever made in that its parabolic in shape. This is done via a torsion spring, which also eliminates spring vibration and friction in operation, making typing on this keyboard truly consistent. This Burroughs keyboard has a clicker speaker in it that simulates the noise of a loud key click with every press, akin to a Tesla having a speaker to recreate V8 engine sounds, even though its naturally silent.



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FIRST ON TKC!!! CHECK KANSAS CITY OFFERING FREE BUS RIDES ON ELECTION DAY!!!

KANSAS CITY REGION OFFERS FREE BUS AND PARATRANSIT FARES ON ELECTION DAY

There's an embargo on this Kansas City election info transit presser for official media sourcesbecauseand it's too important to let this update wait given that politicos earning credit for allocating public resources isn't in anybody's best interest andTo wit . . .Here are the deets . . .RideKC routes will offer free fares all day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to make it easier for citizens to vote in the General Election.Exercising the right to vote is so important that we want to make it as easy as possible to get to the polls, said KCATA President and CEO Robbie Makinen. We are grateful to our regional transit partners in Johnson County, Independence and KCK for agreeing to make this a truly regional transit initiative.On Election Day, fares on all RideKC bus routes serving Kansas City, Johnson County, Wyandotte County and Independence will be free. KCATA paratransit offered by KCATA will also be free to ride."I simply cannot overstate the importance of getting out and voting on Election Day, said Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James. Voting is one of the most impactful ways residents can perform their civic duty and I am grateful to the KCATA and RideKC transit partners for doing their part to ensure all residents have an opportunity to make their voices heard on November 8.Mayor James and KCATA CEO Robbie Makinen will announce the free fares at a press event at 10 a.m., Monday, Oct. 24 at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, 1200 E. 18th St., Kansas City, MO 64108. They will be joined by Unified Government Mayor Mark Holland, Independence Mayor Eileen Weir, and Johnson County Commissioner Steve Klika, who is also chair of the KCATA Board of Commissioners.Before the Nov. 8 General Election, residents can check their polling place and voter status.To find your polling place and check your voter status, Kansas City residents in Jackson County can visit. For other locations in Missouri, start with theIn Kansas, Johnson County voters can access resources at, and Wyandotte County election information is available at, Kansas allows Advance Voting in person and by mail, in addition to voting at the polls on Nov. 8. The above websites can provide more details. For those who live elsewhere in Kansas, information is available atCustomers can plan their travel early. For help planning your trip, call 816-221-0660 and be ready to provide the starting address and the address of the polling place you will be traveling to. Customers can also plan a trip with Google Transit trip planner, available on the home page of. The Regional Transit Call Center is also open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.############You decide . . .
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Cyprus long-term foreign and local currency Issue Default Ratings (IDRs) by one notch to BB- from B+

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Cyprus long-term foreign and local currency Issue Default Ratings (IDRs) by one notch to BB- from B+, the agency announced on Friday.

The issue ratings on Cyprus senior unsecured foreign and local-currency bonds have also been upgraded to BB- from B+. The Outlooks on the long-term IDRs are positive. The Country Ceiling has been upgraded to BBB- from BB+ and the short-term foreign and local currency IDRs have been affirmed at B, Fitch says in a press release.

According to the ratings agency Cyprus is continuing to make strong progress in its adjustment following the 2013 banking crisis.

Its exit from the EU and IMF program in March took place in a context of out-performance of fiscal and economic program targets, success at lifting capital controls, and steps taken to restructure the banking sector, the press release adds.

The economic recovery, now into its second year, is supporting employment, bank asset quality adjustment, and public finances, Fitch points out.

Positive results of tourism

Fitch is projecting GDP growth of 2.9% in 2016 (from 1.9% projected a year earlier). It refers to the positive results of tourism and the drop recorded in unemployment.

For 2017-2018, GDP growth of around 2.5% will benefit from an expected increase in foreign direct investment, it says.

Downside risks to the outlook stem from banking sector deleveraging and the weak external environment, the ratings agency warns.

Referring to the banking sector it notes that it is gradually strengthening, evident in the pick-up in deposits and stable capitalisation.

Deleveraging is ongoing, with overall sector assets down to 3.7x GDP in June 2016 from almost 6x in 2009, it says.

It adds that the property sector remains illiquid but prices seem to be stabilising at around 30% below their 2008 peak.

Strengthened supervision, management and regulations are helping to slowly reduce the exceptionally large stock of non-performing exposures (NPEs) at 48% of total loans, Fitch says also pointing out that the new foreclosure framework is in the initial phases of implementation.

According to the ratings agency a strong track record of fiscal policy management provides confidence that authorities will remain committed to government debt reduction in line with fiscal targets.

Fitch projects government debt to decline to just over 100% of GDP by 2018 (still more than twice the projected BB peer median) from a peak of 108.9% in 2015.

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 will be changed by its young people, those that are prepared to work hard, take risks and accept responsibilities, main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his speech to a conference refounding ND's youth group ONNED

Greece will be changed by its young people, those that are prepared to work hard, take risks and accept responsibilities, main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his speech to a conference refounding ND's youth group ONNED on Friday evening. He called on young people to rally to ONNED, make up for lost time and take Greece forward.

"The country does not need any more idle 'rebels' with hoods and petrol bombs, or no-go areas of lawlessness," he said, stressing that Greece will not be changed by arrogant peddlers of theories "that have failed everywhere in the world".

"Greece will be changed by your generation. By the young people in universities, technological schools, trade schools. By those who dare to start their own enterprises, in spite of the unfavourable environment. By the young people that work in offices, garages, fields and construction sites. By every young person that takes on responsibilities, offers and creates," he said.

He urged young people from all walks of life to overcome their distaste of politics, which he said had been discredited in their eyes, and to swell the ranks of ONNED, participating in its new start.

Clinging to power

Mitsotakis slammed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as "the greatest enemy of youth" Greek politics had ever seen. "He is the youngest prime minister but has the oldest way of thinking," Mitsotakis said.

"Every day that he stays on clinging to power, opportunities for the younger generation are lost. Every day that he delays in implementing the third Memorandum, the economy's recovery is delayed. Every day the basic pillars of our democracy are corroded. Without justice, independent authorities, powerful institutions, a competitive education system, no young person can prosper, no young person can have prospects, unless they are a state-supported SYRIZA appointee" he said.

No government can survive with the country's youth ranged against it but this political change must not long delay since Greece cannot afford to wait, Mitsotakis added.

"Young people don't wait. The enemy of youth, Mr. Tsipras and his aging government must go the soonest possible. As long as they stay, they keep creative Greece in isolation and its young people marginalised," he said.

Mitsotakis will visit the semi-autonomous monastic community in Mount Athos next Thursday.

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 has permanently left the days of crisis behind it, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a press conference in Brussels on Friday

Greece has permanently left the days of crisis behind it, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a press conference in Brussels on Friday, after the end of the European Council. Talking about the results of his meetings with European leaders and officials, Tsipras said those he spoke with understood the need to send a strong signal to the markets.

"No one wants new upheavals, especially ahead of an election year in crucial European countries," he noted.

Tsipras said that he had raised the need for all sides to adhere to agreements in all his meetings, barring that with British Prime Minister Teresa May which focused on Brexit and the Cyprus issue.

Referring to the decisions taken at the Eurogroup last May, the prime minister said that these were "exceptionally good and in an absolutely positive framework" and that the negative aspects, which became apparent in the press conferences afterward, were not the decisions but the clash between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European institutions. Similarly good decisions at the Eurogroup in December were attainable, he added.

"A strong signal must be given to the investment community and this is not given as long as there is constant postponement of all we have agreed. Greece must, as soon as possible, join the quantitative easing programme," Tsipras said. At the European Council in December, there will be a discussion on the specific immediate and short-term measures that are necessary for a solution of the debt issue, he noted.

Reporting on his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Tsipras reported a good atmosphere and said he had raised crucial strategic issues. Among these was the Cyprus issue, which he also discussed with French President Francois Hollande. Both the French and German leaders expressed understanding and agreed with Greece's position that a viable solution could not exist unless the presence of Turkish occupation forces on Cyprus was declared illegal, he said.

Tsipras: EU solidarity with Greece on refugee crisis 'as yet inadequate'

Europe's solidarity toward Greece was as yet inadequate, Tsipras said in comments regarding the summit results on the refugee crisis . He noted that the European Union had yet to overcome internal contradictions on this issue, with some countries faithfully adhering to the principle of solidarity and others wanting solidarity 'a la carte'.

This could not be accepted by Greece, which was having to shoulder a burden disproportionate to its strength, Tsipras said.

The prime minister also noted, however, that the decisions taken at the European Council largely reflected Greek positions, which were not compatible with the idea of "flexible" solidarity. Tsipras said he was in favour of relaxing the visa regime for Turkish citizens but noted that there could be no question of a Cyprus 'exemption' and that Turkey must understand this.

The Greek prime minister said that the improvements made to the CETA trade agreement between the EU and Canada meant that this was now acceptable to Greece. Among such improvements he listed the ratification of the agreement by national parliaments, the resolution of differences between the private sector and governments at national and international courts, rather than 'ad hoc' tribunals, and an explicit commitment that policy will be exercised freely by national parliaments, including renationalisations, as well as an express statement for the protection of labour, environmental and consumer rights to the highest level.

Regarding Russia, Tsipras said the Greek government had a clearcut position against imposing further sanctions, in spite of Russia's role in the escalation of violence in Aleppo. Greece considers that the EU must have a "positive, diplomatic role" that promotes peace and stability in the region, he added.

"Even this fragile ceasefire is positive," Tsipras said, noting that solutions must "heal wounds and not multiply them." Condemning the attacks on civilians in Aleppo and elsewhere, he urged the EU to exert significant pressure on all the forces involved in the bombings, pointing out that it would help nothing if Europe became trapped in a cycle of repeated sanctions and cold-war rhetoric.

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 civil protection ministry rejected claims made by the UN Refugee Agency on Friday that 10 Syrian refugees who had arrived in Greece were illegally returned to Turke

The civil protection ministry rejected claims made by the UN Refugee Agency on Friday that 10 Syrian refugees who had arrived in Greece were illegally returned to Turkey, saying they were indeed asked whether they wanted to apply for asylum.

UNHCR said it is seriously concerned by the return of Syrian nationals from Greece to Turkey, adding they were among a group of 91 people who arrived on the island of Milos on October 9. The 10 Syrian nationals were transferred to Kos and subsequently readmitted by plane to Adana, Turkey without due consideration of their asylum claims, the agency said.

The ministry said the refugees were first informed of their right to apply for international protection by Greek police on the day of their arrival to Milos and for a second time during their 10-day stay at the registration and identification center in Leros.

Once at the airport of Kos, where they would be returned to Turkey, authorities asked them again if they had changed their mind and wanted to apply. One three-member family said they wanted to apply and did not board the flight, but none of the ten Syrians expressed such a wish, the ministry said.

We note that throughout the return flight there were Frontex officials and a representative of the Greek Ombudsman inside the plane, supervising the procedure, it added.

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 young girl working with a MNC in Hyderabad was allegedly harassed by a cab driver in the city following which she raised an alarm and tweeted about the incident tagging the Telangana DGP on his twitter account.

By Ashish Pandey: Social media was abuzz with appreciation for Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma after his swift response helped a girl in distress.

A young girl working with a MNC in Hyderabad was allegedly harassed by a cab driver in the city following which she raised an alarm and tweeted about the incident tagging the DGP on his twitter account.



Cab guy car-harassed me, followed me to my house trying to intercept me, run me off the road. Equal parts infuriating & scary!

AP28TV 5232 ??Villainiya (@DushtaStree) October 21, 2016

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Responding to the tweet, DGP Anurag Sharma instructed the Hyderabad city police to help girl and investigate the matter.

@hydcitypolice @HYDTP Please track the cab and the driver and update https://t.co/bdzvu4fZWX DGP TELANGANA POLICE (@TelanganaDGP) October 22, 2016

Further, the Hyderabad city police responded to the tweet and later the Cyberabad police tracked down the cab driver who has been identified as Uday Bhanu Teja.

@hydcitypolice @HYDTP Please track the cab and the driver and update https://t.co/bdzvu4fZWX DGP TELANGANA POLICE (@TelanganaDGP) October 22, 2016

Recently the Telangana police had launched its Twitter and Facebook page as part of its people friendly policing activities.

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Bahrain's Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning has appointed Asma Murad, the sanitary engineering assistant undersecretary, as the new chairman of the Equal Opportunities Committee at the Works Affairs.



The committees main objective is integrating needs of Bahraini women at all sectors of the ministry, enhancing equality of opportunities in appointment, training, scholarship, job progression and providing needs of the working women, in addition to integrating needs of women within the ministrys policies, plans and budget, said a statement from the ministry.



The percentage of women occupying leading positions at the Ministrys Works Affairs is at present 40 per cent.



The committee aims to integrate needs of Bahraini women at all sectors of the ministry, it stated.



The committee was formed in line with the ministrys commitment to applying the Civil Service Bureaus law No.4 of the Year 2014 regarding forming the equal opportunities committee in all government institutions, in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Women, said the ministry.



In her comments, Murad thanked Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf for his faith in women and their ability to achieve and succeed on all levels.



She also commended the ministrys efforts to take care of the Bahraini women, represented by all those responsible for implementing the National Model for integrating womens needs within the Governments work agenda; headed by wife to HM the King and chairman of the Supreme Council for Women Princess Sabeeka bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa.



The initiative primarily aims to integrate womens needs within the governments work agenda and all national policies and strategies, in addition to developing and activating administrative systems and ensuring the application of all laws and decrees related to the equality of opportunities on all levels at the Ministry.



As for the work plan, Murad reiterated that the plan is to conform to the National Plan prepared by the Supreme Council for Women, said the statement from the ministry.



The committee specialises in putting in place the plans and restrictions related to equality of opportunities. Also, the committee will work on improving womens work conditions and overcoming the challenges that may hinder the application of the equal opportunities principle, in coordination with the Supreme Council for Women, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Al Ruwayeh & Partners (Asar), a leading corporate law firm in Kuwait and one of the regions top tier firms, said it has been awarded the prestigious "National Law Firm of the Year Award - being constituted by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR), a leading financial market guide for financial law firms worldwide - for the eighth consecutive year.

The firm operates across an extensive list of practices including banking and finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, corporate and commercial transactions, energy, real estate, restructuring, private equity, shipping, construction and government projects.

The awards ceremony was held last week at Burj Al Arab hotel, Dubai, which was attended by partners and representatives from other leading GCC and international law firms.



In addition to winning the above award, Asar was also nominated for its role in five other major transactions namely, for debt and equity-linked deal of the year  the Burgan Bank Tier 2 bond issuance, for project finance deal of the year  Orpic Liwa Plastics transaction, 2 nominations under the restructuring deal of the year  the National Industries Euro Sukuk restructuring and the Wataniya Airways restructuring, and for the domestic deal of the year  the National Industries Group bond issuance.



Sam Habbas, the senior partner at Asar, said: "It was a successful evening for the firm at this years IFLR Middle East Awards ceremony. We are delighted to have won the highly coveted National Law Firm of the Year Award for 2016 and to also have been nominated in so many other categories."



"We feel that this is a testament to the strength of our position as market leaders in Kuwait and in Bahrain. It is a reflection of our consistent diligence and commitment in providing quality legal services of the highest caliber. Always putting our clients first is a non-negotiable principle of our firm; their success is our success. We intend to keep it that way," he noted.



With dedicated offices in Kuwait and Bahrain coupled with its associated offices and relationships, Asar provides clients across an extensive range of industry sectors with comprehensive legal advice and support for their business activities in Kuwait, Bahrain, across the GCC and beyond.



Ahmed Barakat, the managing partner, said: "The IFLR award and nominations recognise our expertise across a whole range of legal areas and highlight the nature and extent to which we continue to forge ahead in leading the market. These awards reflect the strength and depth of our practice and the extraordinary efforts of all of our lawyers in Kuwait and in Bahrain.



The firm has been consistently rated as the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Kuwait by legal guides such as the Chambers Global Guide, International Financial Law Review and the Legal 500.-TradeArabia News Service
India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a three-day visit to Bahrain starting from tomorrow (October 23). He will have bilateral meeting with the Interior Minister of Bahrain and also interact with prominent members of Indian community.



The Indian delegation will include senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs, said PTI report.



During the visit, Rajnath Singh will meet His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and discuss with them various bilateral issues, said the report.



During these talks, there will be extensive discussions on how to enhance bilateral cooperation with regard to tackling terror and each other's fugitives at the meeting between Rajnath Singh and Sheikh Rashid, it added.


Turkish Airlines has appointed Bilal Eksi, 48, the head of the country's civil aviation authority, as the new general manager replacing chief executive officer Temel Kotil.



Kotil, who was also the Turkish Airlines Group general manager and vice chairman of the executive board, stepped down from his post yesterday (October 21), said a statement from the national carrier.



He earlier worked as the chief ground operations officer at Turkish Airlines for two years where he did a commendable job carrying out projects particularly in improvement of the on-time departure performance, it stated.



Soon after graduation from the department of Electronics and Communications Engineering of Yldz Technical University in 1989, Eksi began his career as an electronics and communications engineer at Turkish State Railways.



He was then made the workshop manager at Istanbul Ulasim AS, where he played an active role in realisation of significant transport projects such as the project of purchasing Metro and Streetcar vehicles and the project of Metro Workshop establishment.



Eksi later became the head of Overhaul Workshops at Turkish Airlines in 2003, where he led a significant organisation carrying out the maintenance of aircraft engines, landing gears and all components.



He then served as the chief production officer at Turkish Airlines between 2008 - 2009, and as the general manager of Cyprus Turkish Airlines as part of the reorganisation of Cyprus Turkish Airlines between 2009 - 2010, said the national carrier in its statement.



He was also the assistant general manager at Turkish Engine Center, established by the joint venture of Pratt Whitney, the American Engine manufacturer, and Turkish Technic between 2010 - 2011, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
A newlywed couple from the UK on the way to their road-trip adventure honeymoon in the US met with some tension, when the groom, James Roberts, was nearly stopped from getting on the plane by a crippling fear of flying.

"We were the last ones in the lounge. I was in tears, James was in tears. By that time I had tried everything. I got upset with him, angry with him," Sarah, James' wife, tells The Daily Mail, "'I said I was going to go on my own. I started to walk and he wasn't following me. I was literally about to say, "OK, let's go home, I can't put you through this."

The two were at London Gatwick Airport waiting to board their Virgin Atlantic flight to Los Angeles when suddenly, James, who had never before gone on long-haul flight, found himself in tears, had a panic attack and refused to get on the plane.

When the boarding gates were about to close, hypnotherapist Jason O'Callaghan was rushing to the door. He was also going to Los Angeles to visit his sister for her wedding, according to Express UK. That was then Jason noticed the struggling couple and went to them and asked if James had a fear of flying. Sarah confirmed that James, indeed, was having a breakdown because of this condition, and Jason decided to offer his help.

The hypnotherapist then put Jason in a trance, helped him remove his anxiety, and to focus on all the good things that would happen on the trip. Just five minutes later, all three of them boarded the plane without commotion.

Airline staff who witnessed the event were dumbfounded and amazed at what had just unfolded, so much so that they gave them upgrades during the flight.

The couple had a wonderful two-week vacation, visiting Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Although James is not fully cured of his fear yet, he listened to a voice recording of Jason's hypnotherapy to calm himself down for the flight back.

The couple was very grateful to Jason, who basically saved the honeymoon and turned it into the trip of a lifetime.

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Pakistan allowed on October 17 one of its renowned journalist to fly with his family overseas after he was banned from traveling abroad.

According to the Express, Cyril Almeida intended to tour to the Middle Eastern country with his family on October 11 but was placed on the Exit Control List.

The Dawn, the newspaper where Almeida is working, earlier wrote that top generals were briefed in a closed-door meeting about the existence of Pakistan militant groups who fight in India and Afghanistan, whose presence resulted in the country isolation from the international community. This controversial front page article angered army officials.

The media and human rights groups criticized the Pakistani government of this ban. Days later, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan confirmed Almeira's name from the travel ban list as a 'goodwill gesture' by the Pakistani government, according to the Guardian.

Almeida's story made readers believe that there is a division between civilian and military leaders on how to resolve Pakistan's militancy.

Military fury was evident on October 14 at an army senior officers meeting.

"Participants expressed their serious concern over feeding of false and fabricated story of an important security meeting held at PM house and viewed it as breach of national security," a statement about the gathering said.

But officials insisted they were not fumed by the journalist's 'professionally well-executed story', rather by the government official who presumed to have leaked the meeting's details.

The interior ministry stated on October 14 that an inquiry on ongoing leak would "continue to its logical conclusion."

The investigation is going on amid renewed tensions between Pakistan's civilian and military rulers.

Recently, Pakistan and India are embroiled in a rising tension which many worry of escalating to an imminent war.

Earlier this month, there were reports that more than 100 Pakistani terrorists have crossed a disputed military control line.

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Two passengers of Thomas Cook Airlines from East Midlands Airport were forced to leave their flight after generating a security alert.

Corfu-bound passengers, Peter Kempton, 43, and his 50-year-old wife had a heated argument when their flight made an unscheduled landing in Italy due to bad weather.

The man allegedly walked out and left the aircraft while it was being refueled at Brindisi Airport.

Authorities arrested him after running down the attached steps.

Mr. Kempton, from Lincoln, was charged for not following the air safety standards according to Brindisi Report .

"Thomas Cook has confirmed the passengers were removed from the flight because of disruptive behavior," the airline's spokesperson said.

"Passenger safety is paramount and the crew decided it was best for all for the couple to be removed from the flight and the matter is now in the hands of the Italian police," as reported by Daily Mail Online.

Since the safety of the passengers is important to the airline, on September 24, Daily Express also reported another incident with the same angle.

Four men had boarded a flight from Manchester airport to celebrate holiday in Dalaman, Turkey. The festive trip was interrupted when Shabad Niaz, 23; Hammad Ahmed, 21; Nabeal Iqbal, 19 and Tasiq Ali, 18 were thrown off from their flight after allegedly being "extremely disruptive" and playing a song that used the term "bomb" numerous times.

Thomas Cook Airlines representative said "Four individuals were extremely disruptive throughout this flight and were refused carriage on the basis of their abusive behavior."

They denied the allegations after the Turkish policemen arrested them. "You could say we were a bit loud. We were having a laugh and joke with people around us," they stated.

They testify that they did not said "bomb" and will not say the term when they're on board. They also thought that they were treated unfairly because they are "bearded Asians."

But the airline was firm on their statement adding that "We do not tolerate such severely disruptive behavior towards our crew or passengers and their collective and sustained actions were entirely unacceptable."

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The White House is mulling over an Aviation Bill that can help many travelers with their airline-related woes. This includes standard procedures over delayed flights, baggage mishandling and airline crew misconduct. Here are some of the important points of this bill, and what it aims to achieve.

Refunds for baggage delays

Fox News reports that baggage refund fees would be available to passengers whose bags have been delayed 12 or more hours for domestic flights or 15 or more hours for overseas flights.

No more surprise charges

The US Transportation Department is considering a rule that requires airlines to disclose fees to ticket agents, which would eliminate any surprise charges. This means clearer policies on inclusions for airfare, such as seat upgrades, extra meals, lounge access, etc. Many airlines are guilty of this strategy as a way of upping their income from passengers.

Another problem is that some travel agents are hired by airlines to prioritize bookings under them, for a premium, causing an unfair pricing when returned to the actual travelers.

"We are trying to assure that ... a ticket agent doesn't rank flights of an individual airline higher or lower in search results because of incentive payments or any other business reason," a Transportation Department official told Reuters.

Conduct reports from airlines

Airlines will now be liable to disclose whenever a flight is delayed, for how long the delay happened, and the reason for delay. In addition, airlines must also file a report regarding how often they lose or damage wheelchairs, a requirement for all airlines in order to properly serve PWD's and the elderly.

Reaction from US Airlines

Most airlines in the US responded with positivity, except for the part about how their fares are being displayed. Airlines have been trying to draw passengers away from airline comparison sites such as Google Flights, which has helped passengers find the cheapest flights possible for any given route.

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With air travel being used more and more often for work, and budgets getting tighter, many people who travel on business may not be allotted a seat at business class despite the need for a good night's rest and to recharge for work. However, here are the top five tips for anyone in economy class looking to customize their own experience and make the trip more comfortable without the added price tag.

1. BYOW - Bring Your Own Water

Despite water being readily available on the plane, the crew always seems to serve it in small plastic cups that leave travelers parched and guilty about having to ask the crew for a refill, unlike in business class where there are less people to be served, and each passenger is given a large water bottle. Bringing your own empty bottle or rolled up water bladder then filling it up at the water fountains after security is a good way to stay hydrated.

2. Pay for a Pre-Departure lounge

Skyscanner says these lounges are often equipped with comfier seats, free WIFI, power points, and announcements filtered or whispered to you by the staff themselves. In addition, lounges feature a wide array of snacks and drinks, very useful for long-haul flights and flights with layovers.

3. Ask the crew nicely

When in desperate need of an eyemask, ear plugs or even a blanket, which are items freely distributed in business class, kindly ask the crew if they could provide some. Some passengers have even alleged that by asking nicely, they were served extra meals for business class's second serving in economy class.

4. Dress appropriately

Yahoo! NZ suggests that travelers can mimic the luxury of flying in business class by pulling on their own cashmere sweater. Besides the extra style and confidence it'll give, staying warm will also not be a problem.

5. Small upgrades

Some airlines have an option called premium economy, where only a small fee is added for small additional luxuries such as staying in a quiet zone, extra leg room and other freebies.

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Social media users posted photos taken at the scene of the accident which showed several wagons overturned on a slope beside the rail line.

By Reuters: Fourteen people remained trapped on Friday under the wreckage of a packed passenger train that derailed en route between Cameroon's two largest cities, killing at least 55 and injuring 575, the government said in a communique read on state television.



HOW IT HAPPENED



The Camrail inter-city train was travelling from the capital, Yaounde, to the port city of Douala when the accident occurred around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) near the train station in the town of Eseka, around 120 km (75 miles) west of the capital.

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"There was a loud noise. I looked back and the wagons behind us left the rails and started rolling over and over. There was a lot of smoke," said a Reuters journalist traveling in a wagon near the front of the train.

Before its departure from Yaounde, he said that a railway employee said additional wagons had been added to the train to accommodate extra passengers, though it was unclear if that played a role in the accident.

The collapse of a section of the main highway between the capital and Douala had prompted increased numbers of passengers to undertake the journey by rail. The two incidents, which occurred on the same day, have now effectively cut the main transportation axis in the Central African country of over 22 million.

REACTION AND RESCUE



"There are the bodies of women, children. There are many," said one employee of Camrail, which is operated by France's Bollore, speaking from the scene of the accident. He said three of his colleagues were among the victims.

Joel Bineli, a passenger on the derailed train, told Reuters he saw dismembered bodies on the tracks at the accident site.

Social media users posted photos taken at the scene of the accident which showed several wagons overturned on a slope beside the rail line.

"Rescue workers arrived and they are pulling bodies from the wagon. I've already counted around 40 bodies they've removed," said Rachelle Paden, another passenger.

Camrail said it had sent teams to the site and the injured were being transported to a local hospital. Others were driven to Douala. It expressed its condolences to victims' families in a post on its official Facebook page.

A Bollore spokesman confirmed that an accident had occurred, but offered no further details.

Many rail lines in West and Central Africa have a reputation for poor maintenance and failing to respect safety norms. Derailments are relatively common.

Though Bollore is generally viewed as a reliable operator, it experienced another major incident last month when part of a bridge along a line it controls in Ivory Coast collapsed under the weight of a freight train.

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The daughter of Tyson Gay, U.S. track star, was killed in a shooting at a restaurant in Lexington.

CBS reports that Trinity Gay, 15, was shot around 4 a.m. Sunday morning and was proclaimed dead about an hour later.

The police statement said that a juvenile was struck at the scene was taken by private vehicle to the University of Kentucky Hospital and later pronounced dead.

"A juvenile who was struck at the scene was transported to a hospital by private vehicle and then transferred to UKH, where she was pronounced deceased. The victim has been identified by the Fayette county coroner's office as 15-year-old Trinity Gay of Lexington."

The shooting took place at the Cook Out restaurant on South Broadway, involving an exchange of gunfire between two cars. According to The Guardian, the teenager was believed to have been caught in the crossfire of a suspected gang attack, and was hit in the neck.

Meanwhile, her father confirmed her death to a local TV station, LX 18. He said, "She didn't make it. I'm so confused. She was just here last week for fall break. It's so crazy. I have no idea what happened."

Gay, 34, shared that he was very close to his daughter, who was following in his footsteps as a rising track star.

Shoshana Boyd, her mother, said, "She was so innocent, she was so innocent. I just want people to stop shooting and realize who they're hurting. It's just random. They don't understand, they don't understand who they're hurting."

Trinity was a rising star on the track team at Lafayette High School.

In fact, she finished fourth in the 100 meters and fifth in the 200 meters at the state Class 3A high school track meet in May. She also ran on a 4x200 relay team that finished fourth.

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"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for all of Paris is a moveable feast."Ernest Hemingway

Tourists have realized what Hemingway said as it became one of the top and in-demand travel destinations in the world.

The city has fascinated different nationalities because of its numerous artistic resources, galleries, cafes, restaurants, rich culture and history. There are a lot of "most" that this city is proud of, like the very famous Eiffel Tower which is called the most visited paid monument in the world. And The Louvre which was the world's most visited art museum in 2015 that house Mona Lisa (La Joconde)

Aside from being the "City of Light," Paris was also named as the 'City of Art'. Affirming its reputation, the city celebrates its 43th Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC), a yearly contemporary art fair that gives opportunity to the public to view and purchase the masterpieces done by great modern-day artists and craftsmen. This year, the event will begin from October 20 to 23 at the Grand Palais, 3 Avenue du General Eisenhower, 75008.

Over the years, FIAC is evolving as an international meeting place mingled by gallery owners, specialists and lovers of modern, contemporary art and design.

After being amazed by the stunning paintings and sculptures at FIAC why not take a stroll at and taste the sophistication of the Parisian cuisine. Good food is a work of art too, right? Here are some top restaurants that Blouin Artinfo listed and were given good reviews from travellers.

1. Le Mini Palais Restaurant

Situated at the heart of the Golden Triangle, close to the Champs Elysees, this famous restaurant has received a lot of excellent praises from food and art lovers. The architectural design of its imperial columns has been its trademark. The sumptuous meals are cooked to perfection.

"Fabulous meal in a gorgeous setting," one of the Trip Advisor commentators said.

"What a pleasure to eat facing the Petit Palais in a great building, built for the universal exhibition early 1900's. The terrace is surrounded by columns and you have the feeling to have lunch or dinner with history," another fulfilled costumer posted.

2. Le Grand Colbert

If you're not conscious about the price tag, earn that bragging right for dining in like a celebrity at this classy restaurant.

Le Grand Colbert is well-known as it was shown in the film "Something's Gotta Give" starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves.

"It was just like it looked in the movie; it was quaint and very French! The roast chicken was fabulous and the waiter was fantastic,"a satisfied client said.

3. Champeaux Restaurant

Tagged as "The Brasserie of the 21st Century," Champeaux has a modern-day, industrial design.

One of the restaurant's highlights aside from the sumptuous menu is its unique display board. According to Alain-Ducasse website, a display board, (8.60 meters long by 1.40 meters high) similar to those in railway stations and airports, scrolls - in interactive connection with the kitchen - the menu, cooking times, batches of souffles, or even the wines of the day."

Surely a feast for the eyes and stomach as well.

4. Monsieur Bleu

If you want to get a good view of the city while you dine, then Monsieur Bleu is an excellent choice. It is found in the new wing of the Palais de Tokyo, a modern art museum in Paris.

What sets it apart from the other elegant restaurant is its huge terrace, which can accommodate 200 people. You'll surely have a one-of-a-kind dining experience with its outstanding menus and magnificent view on the Eiffel Tower on the other side of the Seine River.

A very pleased costumer commented on Yelp, "Of all the places I've been to in Paris, you can't beat the surroundings or the food, and well worth the price!"

Paris never fails to amaze its tourist and even the locals. That's why people continuously come to visit and adore its beauty, art and food, surely a moveable feast to enjoy.

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As many as 63 per cent of Indians will be planning a gastronomic getaway next year, reveals a survey.

By Indo-Asian News Service: According to the survey, conducted by travel website TripAdvisor, Indians frequent restaurants often (34 per cent one to two times per month and 33 per cent once every week). But gastronomy is especially top of the mind when going on trips--51 per cent said dining out and restaurant selection are important to their overall trip experience.

"It's no secret that Indians love to eat and the multitude of cuisines in India make the gastronomic journey right here in India even more interesting... These restaurants, recognised by millions of travellers from the TripAdvisor Community will surely inspire foodies to go on a gastronomical journey when they travel around in India," Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor, India, said in a statement.

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The findings also show that about 73 per cent have either planned or intend to plan a gastronomic getaway soon to a destination specifically to try the food it is famous for. As many as 67 per cent have plans to visit a particular restaurant.

When it comes to fine dining, Indian cuisine is a clear favourite, followed by Italian dishes. Most Indians go to fine dining restaurants once or twice per year, mainly to celebrate a special occasion as well as enjoy eating great food and experience. About 35 per cent said they have visited a restaurant because of its celebrity chef.

Also read: This travel video will take you to 5 amazing destinations of Tamil Nadu in just 1 minute



The survey also found that 57 per cent of respondents check reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor via mobile when it comes to researching restaurants, out of which 60 per cent said that they did so often.

The travel website also announced its Travellers' Choice Awards for top restaurants around the world. The awards recognise 528 restaurants overall, including the top 25 fine dining in the world and dedicated lists for Asia, Canada, Europe, India, Mexico, South America, South Pacific, Britain and the U.S.

The Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for restaurants around the world, gathered over a 12-month period.

Indian Accent, a restaurant, continues to top the list in the Indian Fine Dining list, Hari Garh Restaurant from Udaipur takes the number one position in the Local Cuisine Restaurants list, which has been introduced this year.

In addition, three Indian restaurants have been awarded at Asia level too: Indian Accent, New Delhi at number 13; Villa Maya, Thiruvananthapuram at number 15 and Peshawari, Mumbai at 25th position.



--- ENDS ---
The original poster boy of Indian stand-up comedy on the why, what and how of being a comedian.

The trajectory of comedian Vir Das's schooling is at odds with the perspective of new generation educationists who debunk the need for institutionalised education. Formal education and opting for science at the higher secondary level seem to have, in fact, bestowed him with the discipline to pursue his calling.

Before the proliferation of stand-up comedians, Vir Das, 37, was the poster boy of humour unplugged. The actor will soon have a Netflix original comedy special as "an authentic, Indian voice on the world circuit."

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Vir Das, Comedian and actor, Mumbai

His interest in theatre lay latent through his years at Indian Language School in Lagos, Nigeria, and The Lawrence School, with the occasional appearance in a school play. At Knox College, Illinois, US, he opted for economics and theatre with a focus on performance. "It was my instructor in a beginners' acting class who suggested that I try to hone my talent. He said I'm meant to be a performer, so he said I could start with the incubatory medium of theatre. That encouragement helped me immensely along the way.

That was back in 2002 when I was in Ivan Davidson's class at Knox College." Das's experience validates the need for good mentors. "In the final year of my PhD programme, when I had to do a performance, I chose stand-up comedy."

A five-month programme at the Moscow Art Theatre consolidated his base. "That programme had Russians and Americans who would explore dark themes, and there, I learnt the virtues of an uninhibited performance."



Also Read: Vir Das' new song is dedicated to all Indian men who are terrible dancers

Inpiration Drawing upon a wide range of references from comic critic and author George Carlin to comedian Russell Peters,his brand of humour is of the laugh-out-loud variety. "Russell Peters weaves in strong acting into his routine- it's almost a character development on stage. His routines are very political and make an audience think, leaving impressions that linger long after the show."



Das has imbibed his portrayal of infectious energy on stage to create a uniquely individual persona. George Carlin was also a big influence thanks to his tongue-in-cheek take on taboo topics. Closer home, it's Johnny Lever whose style Das admires. "Johnny Lever has the impressive ability of crowd control and through him I learnt the importance of humility".

An awkward profession "My family was worried about my chosen career path, but they have always been supportive." It's a now-common idiom; parents letting their children follow their dreams but at the time it was an extremely progressive stance to take. My father said if stand-up comedy allowed me to live independently and support myself, I should go for it. In a few years, I was getting to do shows and everything fell into place.

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But it's harder than people realise; each performance is preceded by four hours of rehearsal for weeks." He also makes it a point to write for two hours every day. "Creating content comes from the quality of being observational. I am happy to just sit on a park bench and look at people."



Advice to aspiring comedians "You need to decide if your interest in theatre is lighthearted or if it's a passion you want to build on. Getting a break in stand-up comedy is hard, but if it's the one thing that makes you happy, you can consider giving it a try. The world is becoming a smaller place and there's more exposure to the quirks of different communities." His advice for aspiring comedians is to "associate with artistes whose works you admire."

"A certain breed of performers work very hard and is flawless on stage. That's the sort of person you should try to learn from. Keep a clear distinction between comedy genres and cultivate each of them in turn," he says.

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--- ENDS ---
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 21

The Health Department claims to have recorded decrease in frequency of dengue cases, but a total of 70 new patients have reported from the district since October 15. With these cases the total count of dengue patients in district during the current season has reached 1,023.

The maximum number of dengue cases reported in any previous years is 856. Health officials said they were carrying out fogging continuously in areas from where dengue patients were reported.

We are even going beyond our jurisdiction to conduct fogging. Although the walled city is under jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation, we send our teams for fogging in the area if any case is reported from there, said district epidemiologist, Dr Madan Mohan.

He said two teams of the department were carrying out fogging daily. We only have hand-held fogging machines. Our objective is to conduct fogging in 100 homes surrounding the patient as we assume that dengue mosquito is present in the area, he said.

Despite efforts of the Health Department to start fogging the exercise was delayed by the Municipal Corporation, which resulted in spread of dengue in the city. Almost 80 per cent of dengue cases reported from district are from the city areas.

Dr Mohan said sometimes they found it difficult to locate a patients house for conducting fogging when health facilities failed to register his/her address.

We have talked to officials manning health facilities and asked them to keep record of residential address of patients, who tested positive for dengue. It will help in preventing the spread of disease in the area, he added.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 22

Even as supply of dry fruit from the Kashmir valley was restored after a prolonged spell of unrest, moderate response of customers during the festive season has become a cause of concern for traders.

The Federation of Dry Fruit and Karyana Merchants president, Anil Mehra, said dry fruit was arriving from the Kashmir valley at a slow pace in the local market. He said these items, including saffron, walnuts, almonds and others, were coming in short consignments. The festival market is yet to pick up, he added. He said the price of almonds had reduced as its supply exceeded demand in the market. The American variety of almonds is selling at Rs 600, which is down from Rs 800 per Kg. Similarly, the price of Pashori almond, which is imported from Afghanistan, has also reduced to Rs 750 from previous high of Rs 850 per kg, he added.

Businessmen of the Valley and the holy city have been trading in tea, green tea, dry fruit, fruit, textile, shawls, spices and other merchandise for centuries. Turmoil in the Kashmir valley hit trade on both sides.

Traders, especially, whole sellers dealing in textile, grains, spices and dry fruit had been keenly awaiting for the situation to turn normal so that they could resume business.

Another trader Harish Aggarwal said local dry fruit sellers competed in stable price of the market as barter trade was stopped in the POK Kashmir valley. He added that they imported merchandise after paying custom duty, but traders in the Valley were exempt from paying duty.

He opined that adverse trade scenario was frittering away advantageous geographical location of the holy city, which is strategically situated at the threshold of Central Asian countries. He said, Amritsar is well connected by road to Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Besides, Afghanistan is a Central Asian country, which shares boundary with three of the five other Central Asian nations, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Afghanistan also has its boundary with Iran and China, he added.

He said, Merchandise, especially, dry fruit can easily be traded between these countries.
Ottawa, October 22

Choosing smaller portions of food does not hamper the enjoyment of eating, finds a study.

"In fact, focusing on the pleasure of eating, rather than value for money, health, or hunger, makes people happier to pay more for less food," said Pierre Chandon, the L'OrAal Chaired Professor of Marketing, Innovation and Creativity at INSEAD Business School for the World, in France.

In their article, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, the researchers said the findings showed that people will choose smaller portions of chocolate cake when they are asked to vividly imagine the multisensory pleasure (taste, smell, texture) of similar desserts.

The researchers showed that unlike health warnings, this multisensory imagery does not reduce expected eating enjoyment or willingness to pay for the food.

They conducted five different experiments where 42 schoolchildren were asked to imagine -- incorporating their five senses -- the pleasure of eating, familiar desserts and were then asked to choose portions of brownies.

They naturally chose portions of brownies that were two sizes smaller than the portions chosen by children in a control condition.

In another experiment, they imitated high-end restaurants by describing a regular chocolate cake as smelling of roasted coffee with aromas of honey and vanilla with an aftertaste of blackberry.

This vivid description made 190 participants choose a smaller portion compared to a control condition where the cake was simply described as "chocolate cake".

The study also had a third condition, in which people were told about the calorie and fat content of each cake portion. This nutrition information also led people to choose a smaller portion.

However, it reduced the amount that people were willing to pay for the cake compared to the multisensory condition.

A third study showed that people underestimated how much they will enjoy eating small portions of chocolate brownies. They expected to enjoy small portions less than larger ones, when actually both were enjoyed equally.

This mistake was eliminated by multisensory imagery, which made people better forecasters of their own future eating enjoyment.

"Having more descriptive menus or product labels that encourage customers to use their senses can lead to positive outcomes for consumer satisfaction and health, but also for profits. This could make for a more sustainable food industry, which struggles to grow in the face of today's obesity epidemic," said Yann Cornil, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada.--IANS
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 22

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and urged him to visit the state on December 25 to address a rally in Kangra on the occasion of completion of four years of the Congress regime.

The Chief Minister is learnt to have discussed with Rahul issues concerning the party and the gearing up of the organisation in view of the Assembly elections due in December next year.

He also discussed the outcome of the rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mandi on October 18.

The earlier visit of Rahul Gandhi to state in September had got postponed and he is now likely to address Congress rallies in the state in November. His visit will basically be a reply to the BJPs rally where Modi launched a veiled attack on Virbhadra and the poor performance of the state government.

Later, he could come here to address the rally being organised by the state government on December 25.

The Chief Minister had recently expressed dissatisfaction over the functioning of the Congress. He suggested that more efforts would have to be put in to strengthen the Congress and take on the BJP.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 22

Security forces have arrested two local militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad in north Kashmirs Baramulla on Saturday.

Police said the two were part of the Jaish module that was involved in an attack on a security forces convoy in the area in August this year that left two soldiers and a policeman dead.

A police spokesman identified the two militants as Safeer Ahmad Bhat of Janbazpora, Baramulla, and Farhaan Fayaz Liloo of Jamia Mohalla, Baramulla.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The two were arrested in a joint operation by the police, army and CRPF, the spokesman said.

He said these militants were part of the Jaish module operating in Baramulla town and adjacent areas headed by a Pakistani militant operating by the code name Khalid.

The module, along with the arrested duo, were involved in a terrorist attack on an army and police convoy on August 16 this year in Khwajabagh, Baramulla, in which two armymen and a policeman were killed, he said.

An AK rifle, a pistol and ammunition were recovered from them, the spokesman said.

He said further investigation is on.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 21

The Border Security Force today claimed to have killed seven Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist in retaliatory firing on the international border in the Hiranagar sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The border force action came after a sniper attack left BSF Constable Gurnam Singh of Bhaleshar in Magowali, RS Pura, seriously injured.

The BSF public relations officer said in a befitting reply to a sniper attack of Pakistan Rangers at 9:35 am in the Hiranagar sector, the BSF launched an aggressive offensive. During intermittent firing of small arms, a terrorist and seven Rangers were shot dead. Source inputs received claim that a Pakistan post is running a news item claiming five Pakistan Rangers death.

Pak Rangers also used heavy 82 mortar fire and the firing stopped at 5 pm.

He added that on the intervening night of October 19 and 20, the BSF troops foiled an audacious infiltration bid in Bobiyan village of Hiranagar sector. The retaliation claimed a terrorists life.

Meanwhile, heavy shelling triggered fresh migration in Bobiya and Pati villages located on Zero Line. The administration used bullet-proof vehicles to shift the residents to a temple in Kunthal village and Hiranagar Higher Secondary School, sources said.

There has been a series of ceasefire violations by Pakistan since the September 29 surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the border.

Meanwhile, the PRO of Jammu Frontier claimed they had confirmed information of five Pakistan Rangers being killed and three seriously injured. The Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing in Kathua, Samba and Paragwal sectors, he added.

Pak shells Rajouri, Poonch villages

Rajouri: The Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked firing and mortar shelling at Tarkundi in Poonch district and Manjakot in Rajouri district as residents prepared for Friday prayers. At least 10 mortar shells, fired from across the LoC, landed near the house of a Rajdhani village resident. His five-year-old daughter, who was in the house, had a narrow escape. The family elders were busy harvesting a few hundred metres away, said Mohammad Farooq, a resident of Manjakot. Sources said 30 mortar shells had landed in and around Rajdhani village and 10-15 shells in Naika village.  Shyam Sood
Jammu, October 22

A man was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for passing on "vital information" regarding "deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan".

Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces was recovered from his possession.

"Based on information received from Military Intelligence on involvement of one Bodh Raj of village Changiia of Jammu district for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces and Army to Pakistan, a special search operation was launched in Ramgarh sector of Samba," SSP, Samba, Joginder Singh said.

Raj was found roaming in Jerda village close to the International Border (IB) and tried to escape on seeing the police, the SSP said.

"Police chased him and later he was arrested," he said.

Two Pakistani SIM cards, one map showing deployment of forces, two Indian made mobile phones and one memory card besides Rs 1711 were recovered from his possession, the SSP said.

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act, SSP said.

As per initial interrogation, he had made markings of various spots on the map and security agencies are jointly investigating the matter.  PTI
Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 22

Hours after the Border Security Force said it had killed seven Pakistani Rangers and a terrorist yesterday, Pakistani forces resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling on the International Border (IB) during the night in which six cattle were killed in Suchetgarh sector.

The ceasefire violation, witnessed all along the 198-km-long IB of the Jammu frontier, continued till 2 am.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Heavy shelling was witnessed in Korotana and Bidhipur villages of Suchetgarh sector and around Abdullah and octroi border outposts (BOPs) where the administration advised people to stay indoors. The BSF said it gave a befitting response to the unprovoked fire from the Pakistan side. Pakistan forces used 60 and 82 mm mortars.

With escalation in tension on the IB, the Jammu district administration ordered the closure of 55 to 80 schools in the border areas.

People have been advised to stay indoors during the day as there is a likelihood of shelling during day time also. SDMs have been told to close schools in vulnerable areas, Simrandeep Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, said.

Ever since the Army conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control on September 28, it has been witnessing heavy shelling and firing at regular intervals. The International Border had remained peaceful, till an infiltration bid was foiled by the BSF at Bobiyan border outpost in the Hiranagar sector on Thursday. This was followed by ceasefire violation by Pakistani forces, and strong retaliation by the BSF.
QUOTE: I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. Id like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be, Omar Abdullah, former CM

New York, October 22

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite heightened tensions along the Line of Control (LoC). He believes the two countries are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.

I don't believe we are, Omar said when asked whether India and Pakistan were at the brink of war.

I am not one of those who sees imminent war looming in the subcontinent. Id like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be, he said at a conference titled India and Pakistan: A Subcontinental Affair, organised by the students of New York University on Friday.

Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but cancelled his appearance at the last minute, citing security concerns.

There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Omar's nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering, that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tension with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.

Omar said while there was tension along the LoC and ceasefire was under a bit more pressure than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan were not at the brink of war.

He noted that the Government of India had been careful in moderating how it has sold to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.

The Government of India has been careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC, he said, adding that the government has not gone into details of how far they had gone inside the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan, he said, adding that there will have been enormous pressure on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they had gone across the LoC or how many people were killed in the strikes.

The former CM said the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan added to the mood of gloom in the Valley because no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffers on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan. --- PTI
Mail Today has accessed documents which show impersonators or scorers who were identified and booked by the Madhya Pradesh special task force in 2013, went ahead and appeared in the 2014's All India Pre Medical test. The same people had already appeared and cleared the Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre Medical Test in 2010.

By Hemender Sharma: Cheats and impostors allegedly involved in Madhya Pradesh's Vyapam test-rigging scam tried their luck earlier in Uttar Pradesh and with much success, probe documents were accessed by Mail Today show.

The scandal, which came to light when the Indore police's crime branch registered an FIR against 20 impersonators appearing in the state pre-medical exam in 2013, is still in progress at the all-India level through members of the same gang following a similar modus operandi.



Also Read: Vyapam: All you need to know about the killer scam

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Mail Today has accessed documents which show impersonators or scorers who were identified and booked by the Madhya Pradesh special task force in 2013, went ahead and appeared in the 2014's All India Pre Medical test. The same people had already appeared and cleared the Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre Medical Test in 2010.

CBI TAKES OVER

The CBI took over the examination scam probe after more than 40 accused, beneficiaries, whistleblowers and witnesses died mysteriously, with many accusing there was a systematic attempt to scuttle the inquiry that has singed top bureaucrats and politicians.

Also Read: Vyapam Scam: UN body calls for probe into death of journalist

At least 2,800 people have been arrested and hundreds are wanted in the scandal with multiple rackets helping candidates manoeuvre the examinations for money, including employing imposters to write test papers, manipulating seating arrangements as well as supplying forged answer sheets.

The Madhya Pradesh Professional Education Board, widely known by its Hindi acronym, Vyapam, had issued an order on October 9, 2013 barring 345 such medical aspirants who had manipulated the admission process with the help of scorers and impersonators.

Also Read: Vyapam scam: CBI registers FIRs against 160 BJP people

The decision was taken after a five-member committee verified the claims made by the MP STF. The task force too had identified these scorers and registered a case against them.

From this list of 345 candidates whose admission was cancelled, Mail Today has identified three who appeared in the All India Pre Medical Test 2014. One of them has been identified as Krishna Kumar Yadav who appeared in the AIPMT under the roll number 84531225 and cleared the exam by obtaining 345 marks.

Watch: Vyapam scam: 25 deaths in last two years

THE CUT OFF

The cut-off for the OBC category in the AIPMT 2014 was 323. Surprisingly, Yadav had appeared in the MPPMT exam under the unreserved category while in the AIPMT he chose the OBC category. Another scorer identified as Sarvesh, whose name figures in the list of candidates whose admission through the MPPMT 2013 was cancelled, also appeared and cleared the AIPMT 2014 exam under the unreserved category.

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ADMISSIONS CANCELLED

Vijay Kumar Singh is the third such candidate whose admission was cancelled in MP and despite being declared a 'scorer' he went on to appear and clear the AIPMT 2014 under the OBC category. The three appeared in the AIPMT 2014 after the MP STF had identified them as impersonators and at a time when the Vyapam scam was still being investigated.

We had identified them through the pictures that they had put on their admit cards but we had no idea about where they had come from," a senior STF officer involved with the investigation told Mail Today on condition of anonymity

Mail Today has also accessed the merit list of the UPCPMT 2010 and found that Krishna Sarvesh and Vijay appeared in this exam and came out with flying colours.

WATCH: Vyapam scam decoded



--- ENDS ---
New York, October 22

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah does not see an imminent war looming between India and Pakistan despite the heightened tensions along the LoC and believes the two countries are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than some of the news channels would like them to be.

I dont believe we are, Abdullah said when asked whether India and Pakistan are at the brink of war.

I am not one of those who see imminent war looming in the sub-continent. Id like to believe that both governments in New Delhi and Islamabad are a lot more careful about the prospect of war than perhaps some of our TV channels would like them to be, he said at a conference titled India and Pakistan: A Sub-continental Affair organised by the students of New York University here on Friday.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Pakistans former President Pervez Musharraf was also scheduled to speak at the conference but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute citing security concerns.

There were several moments of animated discussions, some heated arguments and loud cheers during Abdullahs nearly hour-long discussion with the gathering that included students from both India and Pakistan, on Kashmir, the surgical strikes by India, killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, tensions with Pakistan, plight of Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370.

Abdullah said while there is tension along the LoC and the ceasefire is under a bit more pressure than it was at the same time last year, India and Pakistan are not at the brink of war.

Abdullah noted that the Government of India had been careful in moderating how it has sold to the rest of the world the surgical strikes conducted across the Line of Control.

The Government of India has been very careful in explaining what they have done post the Uri militant attack. They have told the world this (surgical strikes) was an anti-terror operation conducted in the vicinity of the LoC, he said, adding that the government had not gone into giving details of how far they went inside the LoC or how many people were killed.

What that has allowed is for an opportunity for a sort of a more nuanced response on the part of Pakistan, he said, adding that there would have been enormous pressure on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to retaliate had the Indian government spoken of how far they went across the LoC or how many people were killed.

Abdullah said heightened tensions between India and Pakistan added to the mood of gloom in the Valley because no state more than Jammu and Kashmir suffered on account of a downturn in relations between India and Pakistan.

The Kashmir Valley has been facing unrest and agitations for over 100 days now, in the wake of Wanis killing and unfortunately there is no end in sight to the current problem.

Abdullah underscored that the situation in Kashmir is a political problem that needs a political solution.

I firmly believe that internally within Jammu and Kashmir, we need a dialogue to resolve the problem. Its a political problem, let nobody tell you that its an economic, job-related, education-related problem because it isnt, he said, adding that while there are elements of joblessness, of radical Islam but those are the minority elements.

Largely it is the product of the politics of Jammu and Kashmir...It is a political problem that requires a political solution which needs dialogue.

Similarly, at some point in time one hopes that relations between India and Pakistan will to an extent normalise that will allow for a sustained dialogue and then we can start talking about the various problems that shadow our relationship. Jammu and Kashmir will of course be one of them, he said.

When asked what the short-term solution to the Kashmir problem is, he said it is to recognise the problem and admitting that we have a problem. Right now just the acceptance that a dialogue is necessary and a dialogue with all those stakeholders who are willing to talk to you.

Unfortunately in various quarters we have decided that we want to deny that a problem exists. Even if we do accept the problem, we dont want to accept that it is a political problem requiring political handling. We will talk about it in terms of a social or a law and order problem, he said.

Abdullah stressed that unless there is a long-term sustained dialogue, such uprising and agitations would keep taking place.

Abdullah said there was some optimism following Prime Minister Narendra Modis outreach after assuming power to invite Sharif to his swearing-in as well as through his surprise visit to Lahore last December.

That developed a lot of hope that we will be able to address this problem (Kashmir). It is a problem that needs addressing, resolution, he said.

When questioned about the UN Security Resolutions on Kashmir, Abdullah emphatically said the onus to create conditions for a plebiscite under the UN auspices did not lie with India but with Pakistan.

To this day I fail to understand why we in India feel so apologetic that this UN referendum never took place. The onus wasnt on India to create the conditions for that referendum, he said.

He explained that according to the UNSC resolution, for such a plebiscite to take place Pakistan has to, as a first step, vacate from all territories that it has come to occupy after August 1947 and remove regular and irregular forces from the territorial boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said subsequent to that, India has to scale down, not withdraw, to a manageable level its presence in Jammu and Kashmir and only then can the plebiscite take place.

If Pakistan is unwilling to fulfill step one, how is it Indias responsibility to fulfill step 2. But for some reason for all these years we have allowed the world to believe that somehow the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied the right to choose because India chose to deny them that right, which is not true.

So historically we have a stronger case for what happened in Jammu and Kashmir than Pakistan does, he said.

Abdullah said he is not sure if a solution through a plebiscite can take place in the current circumstances because the territory of Jammu and Kashmir no longer resembles what it did on the night of August 1947.

In that respect the Government of India has been absolutely blameless. Our territorial boundaries have not changed. No government in New Delhi has tinkered with state boundaries. Pakistan cannot say the same; they have tinkered with the territorial boundaries.

When the state of Jammu and Kashmir does not look like what it did in 1947, how are the UN Security Council resolutions applicable today. They are not, he said.

He added that no government elected in India would ever have the mandate to redraw territorial lines.

That is not going to happen so we understand that the solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir must lie within the Constitution of India and the constitutional relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and India, he said.

On whether the Line of Control should become the de facto border, Abdullah said logically that would make the most sense but do we have governments in India and Pakistan who can take that decision?

If you step away from the jingoism, logic would dictate that that is the only solution, he said.

Abdullah said there is a disaffected population in Jammu and Kashmir that has to be brought into the mainstream.

I am not suggesting that we have to open dialogue with all militant groups. That is not possible. But there are political elements within the valley that dont advocate the cause of violence, that are looking for a solution beyond the current status quo. Why not talk to them? he said.

When asked about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir is incomplete without them and obviously a solution to Jammu and Kashmir will have to include the return of all those people who left.

Kashmiri Pandits did not leave of their own accord; they left because their sense of security was snatched away from them. They will not come back unless that sense of security is restored to them. No solution to the problem of Jammu and Kashmir will be complete unless we can bring these populations back, he said, adding that it is the duty of the governments in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the Centre to work towards restoring that sense of security for them.

There was an animated exchange between Abdullah and a young woman, who said she hailed from Azad Kashmir where people are happy.

Then that means the export of terror has been in one direction. The terror camps are not operating in my side of Kashmir sending them to your side. They are operating in your side of Kashmir coming across to my side, Abdullah said.

So please dont tell me how happy you are. You are happy because we are not interfering in your day-to-day life, he said, adding that militants from 16 different nationalities, including Bosnians, Chechens and Sudanese, had come from across the Kashmir border. PTI
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 22

Security forces arrested two local Jaish-e-Mohammed militants in north Kashmirs Baramulla district in the wee hours today.

The police said the duo was part of the Jaish module which had attacked an Army convoy in Baramulla in August this year, leaving two soldiers and a policeman dead.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, while addressing policemen on Friday, had urged that local militants be brought back home instead of being killed in encounters.

A police spokesman identified the two militants as Safeer Ahmad Bhat of Janbazpora in Baramulla and Farhaan Fayaz Liloo of Jamia Mohalla in Baramulla.

The two were arrested in a joint operation by the police, Army and the CRPF, the spokesman said.

He said the militants were part of the Jaish module operating in Baramulla town and adjacent areas, headed by one Pakistani militant operating by code name Khalid.

This module along with the arrested duo were involved in a terrorist attack on an Army and police convoy on August 16 this year in Khwajabagh, Baramulla, in which two Army men and one policeman were killed, he said.

One AK series rifle, one pistol and other arms and ammunition were recovered from their possession, the spokesman said. He said further investigation into the matter was on.

Of late, the Jaish has strengthened itself in and around Baramulla. During the current unrest, the Jaish released a seven-minute video warning pro-India politicians and informers in Baramulla.

This year, two foreign Jaish militants were arrested by security forces around Baramulla town.
Jasmine Singh

Even though the decks seem to have been cleared for Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, MNS chief Raj Thackeray now says that producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their future films. Also, every producer, who has cast a Pakistani actor, must contribute Rs5 crore to the Army welfare fund.

While you call it an amicable, as of now solution to banning Pakistani actors in Bollywood, some youngsters call it a cheap resolve and emotional blackmailing the film fraternity. This is what they have to say...

Total gundaism

How can you say that Raj Thackeary has found a solution to the problem of ADHMs release? Through this uncalled for suggestion of paying penalty for casting Pakistani actors, he is just trying to say that this is my cake and I will eat it too! If only film director Karan Johar could foresee the Uri attack, he could have still changed his star cast, or if he knew that Fawad Khan would have to bear the brunt of a militant attack, he would have not taken the actor in the first place. Asking them to pay for it is blackmailing.

Monica, student

Is this the solution?

Now they are thinking of passing a resolution on how not employing any Pakistani actor or technician in the future. Is this going to be the only solution, or next will they ask the industry people not to have any Muslim character in their films? This is totally insane. This is no solution to the problem, and to me this is dictatorship. But what surprises me more is that the industry seems to be totally okay with this solution, as if all they want is the release of Ae Dil hai Mushkil.

Jaspreet Kaur, student

Show no mercy

Till someone takes a strict step or passes some kind of resolution, I dont think our filmmakers will learn a lesson. In fact, we should ban all filmmakers and actors who talk even in support of Pakistani actors. Ban everything that has the mention of Pakistan. I think Rs 5 crore is peanuts for a penalty, why not ask them Rs 100 crore, something they are so proud of.

Karan, student

Lesson learnt

The fine money, which I personally feel is pretty less considering the insane profits that producers make, will be an eye-opener for them. The sad part is that even now when our brave Army men are dealing with terrorist attacks across the border, we still feel Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is a matter of debate. I think a complete ban whatsoever on this film would have been an eye opener for other Bollywood filmmakers as well.

Kamalpreet, student

Not a fine thing

When I read the news that producers, whove cast Pakistani actors will now have to pay Rs 5 crore fine, I told my friend, get ready to pay more fine. And then asking for a written confirmation from the producers that they will not cast Pakistani actorsthis is so brilliantwho does that? Next, there will be a fine on designers making Pakistani attires (or even inspired by them). You might have hotels paying fine for making Pakistani origin food.

Harsh Dubey, student
Mumbai, October 22

Decks were cleared on Saturday for the smooth release of filmmaker Karan Johar's upcoming movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena called off their protest against it.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Johar and Producers' Guild President Mukesh Bhatt at his residence 'Varsha' on Saturday morning. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, whose party has been opposing the movie that features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, also attended the meeting, as did producers Sidharth Roy Kapur, Sajid Nadiadwala and Vijay Singh of Fox Star Studios.

Speaking to the press, Bhatt called the meeting "positive and constructive and said  Ae Dil Hai Mushkil would release according to its schedule.

"We discussed the unfortunate events related to the film's release. I shared the film industry's emotions regarding the entire issue. We are Indians first and then comes our business (sic)," he said.

Bhatt also claimed they had promised the chief minister that the industry would never work with Pakistani artistes.

The guild will call a meeting to pass a resolution on the subject and give a copy of it to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the chief minister, he said.

Besides, Johar has decided to make a special mention of the soldiers who died in the attack in north Kashmirs Uri on September 18.

"Karan Johar will display a slate of tribute for Uri martyrs before 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' starts playing. It is a tribute from us to our soldiers," Bhatt said.

Films producers will also contribute a portion of its revenue to the army welfare fund.

We owe this to the Army," Bhattt said.

Thackeray said every producer who cast Pakistani artistes would donate Rs 5 crore to the Indian Army relief fund.

"Producers will have to give in writing that they will not take Pakistani actors in their films," the leader claimed.

Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil  which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles  had been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks after the MNS opposed movies featuring Pakistani actors after the attack.

The movie is scheduled for release on October 28.  PTI
New Delhi, October 22

Senior Army officials and veterans were "upset" over the force being dragged into "politics" over films after the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) demanded that producers of movies employing Pakistani actors pay Rs 5 crore to an army welfare fund.

The controversy erupted after Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' ran into a storm of protests led by MNS because Pakistani actor Fawad Khan has a role in it.

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The film has been allowed to be released after its producers met with three conditions put forward by MNS chief Raj Thackeray, including payment of Rs 5 crore to Army Welfare Fund.

"All contributions (to welfare fund) are to be voluntary.

Extortion is not allowed. We would want people to contribute on their own rather than under any coercion," a senior army official said today.

He said the army is "upset" over being dragged into this politics.

"The army is completely apolitical. It is wrong to drag the force into politics," another army official said.

"(We) would never support it," Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), former military secretary, said when asked if he supports the move of the MNS.

"Why should the armed forces be made a part of this extortion? By accepting this money they would become a 'receiver' of tainted money," tweeted Air Vice-Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd).

Army sources said they have a system in place to check all contributions and can even reject a contribution made under duress or by any person whom the force does not want to be associated with.  PTI
Vadodara, October 22

Accusing previous governments of having no vision for aviation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is working in a mission mode for expansion of the sector and had put in place the countrys first integrated policy to tap the potential of small cities.

He was speaking after dedicating the new integrated terminal building of the airport here, which is now the second green airport of the country after Kochi.

Modi noted that India in the near future would probably become the third country in the world in terms of airport activity benchmarks with more middle-class families aspiring to travel by air.

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The Prime Minister said the countrys development could take new dimensions if the tier-2 and tier-3 cities are bought on the aviation map and noted that the government was making efforts to revive the large number of non-functional airstrips and airports in the country.

That is why to promote this, the government brought out a new regional connectivity scheme under which people can travel with airfares of only Rs 2,500 for up to 500 km distance, he said.

Attacking the previous governments, he said, Earlier airports were set up, planes would fly but the country did not have an aviation policy.

How to take the sector forward in next five or ten years and take care of its passengers needs, what should be done for common people, there was no vision in place earlier. It was just moving, he said.

After the new NDA government came to power, for the first time since independence it formulated a new aviation policy for the country...we are working in a mission mode for expansion, he said.

The PM said the new aviation policy would take care of the consumers needs and the growth of the sector.

It is estimated that within five years, the situation in India would be such that the airports in the country would have as much footfall in a year as Americas total population.

You can well imagine how this sector is growing. India in the near future would probably become the third country in the world in terms of airport activity benchmarks. This would help increase employment opportunities and would spur economic activity, he said.

According to International Airport Transport Association, India will add 322 million new passengers out of the total 442 million passengers by 2035. It has also forecast that the country will become the third largest aviation market in the world displacing the UK by 2026.

Last fiscal, the country registered a growth of 21.6 per cent in the number of air travellers.

Spread in an area of 17,500 sq mt, the new integrated terminal has been built at a cost of Rs 160 crore. It has been designed to handle 700 passengers, including international fliers, per hour with 18 check-in counters, which would help in a seamless boarding process.

It took about seven years to complete the project as the then Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had laid the foundation stone in 2009.

The 8,100-metre-long runway of the Vadodra airport can handle small and narrow body aircraft such as Airbus 320 and Boeing 737s. This airport will be zero discharge, waste to wealth, energy-saving and environment- friendly, the PM said.

Claiming that his government had taken a number of steps to promote the aviation sector, Modi said, I am happy that after the formation of the new NDA government, two airports in the country have become a part of the green movement.

He said when such iconic buildings come up, the common people get encouraged to use economically viable and environment-friendly technology.

Connectivity plays an important role in the world today, both physical and digital connectivity is required and if we need highways, we also need I-ways (Information ways).

Similarly, air traffic is also needed. Air services are required in a big way for growth of tourism in the country.

Better air connectivity means more tourists and this means better economic growth. There are immense possibilities for tourism growth in India. Keeping that in view, this government has decided to promote the aviation sector, he said.

Referring to the first Railway University to be set up here, Modi said it would impact the next century.

The government has taken a very important decision whose impact will be felt for nearly 100 years. And the decision is that the countrys first railway university will be constructed in Vadodara, Modi said addressing the public after inaugurating the terminal.

The PM said the university would help carry out innovation and modernisation for the Indian Railways.

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju said since the NDA government came to power, air passengers traffic has grown by over 20 per cent. PTI
Hyderabad, October 22

Describing 'triple talaq' as anti-constitutional and anti-civilisation, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said its time the country should abolish this "gender discrimination", in the light of principles of justice, dignity and equality.

Triple talaq is anti-constitutional, against law, against the principles of democracy and anti-civilisation.

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This kind of opinion is on the rise. There is a discussion going on, on this subject. Already so much of time has been taken. It is time the country should move forward to abolish 'triple talaq' to end the discrimination and also have gender justice and equality before law. We should end this," Naidu told reporters.

"Even Muslim women are demanding justice. There should not be any gender discrimination. There should be gender justice. All are equal before the Constitution," he said speaking here on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

He suggested that as the Supreme Court is currently scrutinising the issue, anybody can go and voice their concerns.

On the Uniform Civil Code, he said, "The government will do everything in a transparent manner. It will take Parliament into confidence. Some sections are resorting to a false propaganda that the government is trying to implement Common Civil Code from backdoor."

On October 7, the Centre for the first time, had opposed in Supreme Court the practise of triple talaq, 'nikah halala' and polygamy among Muslims and favoured a re-look on the grounds like gender equality and secularism.

The Ministry of Law and Justice, in its affidavit, referred to constitutional principles such as gender equality, secularism, international covenants, religious practices and marital law prevalent in various Islamic countries to drive home the point that the practice of triple talaq and polygamy needed to be adjudicated upon afresh by the apex court.

The law panel's move was significant as the Supreme Court had recently said it would prefer a wider debate, in public as well as in court, before taking a decision on the constitutional validity of 'triple talaq', which many complain is abused by Muslim men to arbitrarily divorce their wives.  PTI
Manas Dasgupta

Vadodara, October 22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hinted at further stringent actions to unearth more black money in coming days and claimed that his was the first government in the country since the Independence to formulate an aviation policy to tap the potential of small cities.

In his first visit to the central Gujarat city since becoming the Prime Minister, Modi dedicated to the nation the newly-constructed international airport terminal in Vadodara and later distributed aid kits to over 10,000 'divyangs' (differently-abled people).

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Modi claimed while more than Rs 65,000 crore was unearthed under the voluntary income declaration scheme, another nearly Rs 36,000 crore was "saved" only by checking corruption.

By eliminating middlemen in the distribution of governmental assistances to the needy people, we have saved nearly Rs 36,000 which all these years were going to wrong people, he claimed.

Cautioning the black-money holders, who did not come out clean under the last voluntary income declaration scheme, which ended on September 30, Modi said: "Over Rs 65,000 crore of unaccounted money was declared under the IDS and that too without any surgical strike. Imagine what all would come out if we initiate surgical strikes, he said.

Pointing out that new integrated air terminal in Vadodara would be the second green terminal in the country after Kochi, Modi accused the previous governments of lacking vision in the aviation sector and claimed that his government was working in mission mode for expansion of the sector.

He believed that India in the near future would become the third country in the world in terms of airport activity benchmarks upstaging the United Kingdom with more middle-class families aspiring to travel by air. He said the country's development could take new dimensions if the tier-2 and tier-3 cities were bought on the aviation map.

He said earlier also the airports were constructed and the planes flew, but the country did not have an aviation policy to give a direction to take the sector forward.

After the new NDA government came to power, for the first time since Independence it formulated a new aviation policy for the country and we are working in a mission mode for expansion, he said.
Mumbai, October 22

Putting an end to the turbulence surrounding the release of Karan Johars next movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday reached a truce and said the producers casting Pakistani actors in their movies would have to pay Rs 5 crore for the Army Welfare Association, giving a green signal to the flick.

All producers who have Pakistani artistes in their film will as penance have to pay some money, I suggested Rs 5 crore per film. They will work out the figure now and give the money to the Army Welfare Association, Thackeray said after meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and film director Karan Johar.

In the meeting on Saturday I told Bhatt and others why roll out the red carpet for them, when they (in Pakistan) ban films and artistes when they want to, he said.

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Earlier on Saturday, Raj Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis, Karan Johar and other film fraternity met at the Chief Ministers residence over the release of the upcoming flick Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

After the meeting, Film and Television Producers Guild of India president Mukesh Bhatt said the body would pass a resolution stating that they would not work with Pakistani actors in future.

I assured the Chief Minister that the Producers Guild has decided that we will not work with Pakistani artistes in future; it is a resolution and we will pass this resolution, Bhatt said after the meeting.

Bhatt said that keeping the sentiments of the nation first, director Karan Johar had also said that he would run a slate before the movie started to honour the martyrs.

Karan Johar and Dharma Productions upcoming movie has been surrounded with controversies which has received threat from the MNS over featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

On October 20, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India members met Rajnath Singh, concerning the release of the movie after which filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt said the government had assured them to provide security to the exhibitor featuring the movie and would try to maintain law and order.

The movie is scheduled to be released on October 28.

After situation between India and Pakistan worsened, many political parties and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have been demanding a ban on KJos film that also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

In an emotional video statement, Johar earlier on Tuesday expressed a deep sense of hurt and pain by the charge of being anti-national. I condemn terror in the strongest terms. I respect our Army; for me, the country comes first, the 44-year-old said.

The reason why I remained silent is because of a deep sense of pain, he added.

Johar, who made his directorial debut with the blockbuster romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, said, The best way to express your patriotism is to spread love and thats all I have ever tried to do through my work and cinema. ANI
Our Correspondent

Jaipur, October 22



Former Union Minister of State in Modi government Sanwarlal Jat, LS MP from Ajmer, has been appointed as chairman of Rajasthan Kisan Ayog for three years.

In a recently held reshuffle of the Modi cabinet, Jat was dropped from MoS Water Resources Ministry on health grounds.

The Raje government has taken a permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to appoint Jat as chairman of Kisan Ayog on the basis of out of office profit limit. He will get a status of the cabinet minister.

The BJP decided to empower the MP to muster support of the Jat community in Ajmer division, which is also dominated by the Congress, especially its PCC chief Sachin Pilot.
Tribune News Service

Sangrur, October 22

A day after the murder of a journalist, the police today arrested Akali councillor Karamjit Pammi. He was booked yesterday on the charge of gunning down Kewal Krishan, who also worked as a financier.

The police said they had recovered the revolver used in the crime and confirmed that only one shot was fired, that pierced through the victim, killing him on the spot.

Bhagwant Mann condemns killing

Chandigarh: Condemning the journalists murder, AAP MP Bhagwant Mann on Saturday appealed to the media to wage a united fight against the high-handedness of the Akalis. If the media does not get united, the Akalis may resort to more such attacks, he said.
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 21

The Centre has acceded to poll-bound Punjabs demands while fixing the compensation to be offered to the states after the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime next year. The state now stands to benefit by Rs 10,500 crore per annum for the next five years.

The Central Government has agreed to compensate the state for the Rs 5,500-crore tax revenue loss that is not accounted for in its consolidated fund. The Union Government has also accepted Punjabs demand  despite opposition from several states  to fix a secular rate of growth for the compensation to be awarded to the states. States such as West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala had demanded that it should be based on the growth in the respective states own tax revenue.

Punjabs own tax revenue was just 9.5 per cent in 2015-16, 4 per cent in 2014-15 and 2 per cent in 2013-14  an average of barely 5 per cent. During a meeting held earlier this week, it was decided that a growth rate of 14 per cent per annum for five years be maintained. This would translate into a jump in Punjabs revenue by Rs 5,000 crore per annum.

Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who negotiated the deal with the Centre, told The Tribune that initially only the funds audited by the Advocate General  the consolidated fund  were proposed to be compensated for by the Centre.

We argued that all funds outside the consolidated fund, such as Rs 2,000 crore devolved to the local bodies from VAT collections, and the infrastructure development cess of Rs 1,500 crore per annum be given to the state as compensation. This is a case unique to Punjab, but the Centre finally agreed. Even the Rs 2,000 crore input tax credit adjustments and reversals will be reimbursed, he said, adding that the state would now get Rs 5,500 crore per annum which the government was fearing it would lose.

Over the past two years, the BJP-led NDA government had been showing its displeasure with the fiscal mismanagement in the state. In 2014, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley refused to grant a financial package to the debt-stressed state and instead asked Punjab to route all its funds through the consolidated fund and do away with free power subsidy to the agricultural sector.
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, October 22

Anil Joshi, convener of the Gaon Bachao Yatra that has reached Pithoragarh, today appealed to people to demand from politicians details of development works done in their villages when they come to seek their votes again in the next Assembly elections.

Joshi, while addressing villagers at Gandhi Chowk here, said politicians need to answer over 100 questions of the people that arose in the last 16 years of statehood. Uttarakhand, which came into being following sacrifices by common people, is in the grip of the mining and liquor mafia. Dams are being built ignoring the needs of villages, which should have been the focal point of all development activities, he added.

Volunteers from local villages held a procession in the town today. They shouted slogans for the empowerment of villagers and sought details from politicians about the works done in villages in the last 16 years.

Joshi blamed politicians for the messy situation in the state. He appealed to people to be careful of the designs of the politicians in power. Even today able-bodied youths are deserting villages in Kumaon and Garhwal and only aged persons are now found there. Youths have migrated from their hill villages as successive state governments have failed to make them self-sufficient, he said.

Earlier Joshi, while talking to mediapersons, said until 70 per cent of the developmental budget of the state was spent on improving the condition of villages, migration from hilly rural areas could not be stopped. Providing health and educational facilities in villages should be the first priority of the budget spending, he added.

Joshi said the hill region has sufficient capacity to create employment opportunities for local youths only the government needs to act seriously in this regard. The government should have gone for branding of local produces for the benefit of villagers. The process will create jobs locally, he added.

Asked if his yatra has had any impact on the governments development policies, Joshi said the importance given by the government to promoting local cereals such as Mandua and Jhangora and other pro-village policies were the result of his previous yatras.
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 22

Members of the Sikh community continued their protest for consecutive 19th day near the Prem Nagar Haridwar Setu, demanding handing of a vacant plot to the Gurdwara Gyan Godri Managing Committee for construction of a gurdwara.

Gurdwara Gyan Godri Managing Committee president Harjeet Singh Dua said Sikhs were feeling aggrieved over the delay in land allocation for the gurdwara. The Sikh volunteers were protesting at the venue for the past 18 days.

Harjeet Singh Dua added they along with Shri Dakshin Kali Temple spiritual guru Mahmandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Brahmachari met Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Shiv Pal Yadav in Lucknow. The minister assured them of completing the land transfer process in time.

Now, the ball is in the court of the Uttar Pradesh government, as it owns the land where the construction of Guru Gyan Godri Gurdwara is sought, he added.

Guru Gyan Godri Gurdwara is linked with revered Guru Nanak Dev, who is said to have meditated on the banks of the Ganga near Har-ki-Pauri, the place which came to be known as Guru Gyan Godri.

Now, the Bharat Guide and Scouts office is situated there. The state government had suggested to us a vacant land near the Prem Nagar ashram setu, which Sikhs agreed to. But later the UP Irrigation Department laid its claim to the land, delaying the land allocation process. Now after the meeting with Shiv Pal Yadav, we are hopeful of an early solution to the issue, said Dua.
Qayyara (Iraq) October 22

The Iraqi army on Saturday stormed a Christian town that had been under control of Islamic State since 2014 as part of US-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq.

The advance took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived on a visit to Baghdad to meet Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and assess the campaign that started on Monday with air and ground support from the U.S-led coalition.

A military statement said Iraqi army units entered the center of Qaraqosh, about 20 km (13 miles) southeast of Mosul, and were carrying out mop-up operations across the town which was emptied of its population in 2014, when Islamic State swept through the region.

Iraqi special units earlier this week captured Bartella, a Christian village north of Qaraqosh.

The offensive on Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Islamic State also controls parts of Syria.

The army is also trying to advance from the south and the east while Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are holding fronts in the east and north.

A Reuters photographer on the southern front saw plumes of smoke rising on Friday from a sulfur factory near that was under the control of Islamic State near the town of Qayyara, filling the air with toxic gasses.

It was not clear if the militants set it on fire to cover their retreat or if it was damaged during the fighting.

The army's media office said about 50 villages had been taken from the militants since Monday in operations to prepare the main thrust into the city of Mosul itself, where 5,000 to 6,000 are dug in, according to Iraqi military estimates.

"It's the beginning of the campaign. We do feel positively about how things have started off, particularly with the complicated nature of this operation," said a US official who briefed reporters ahead of Carter's trip to Baghdad.

Carter signalled during a visit to Ankara on Friday his support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign and said there was an agreement in principle between Baghdad and Ankara  potentially ending a source of tension.

Officials said the details on any Turkish participation still needed to be worked out.

Roughly 5,000 US personnel are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces involved with the Mosul offensive, advising commanders and helping ensure coalition air power hits the right targets.

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan was killed on Thursday by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq as he was accompanying Iraqi forces, in the first US casualty of the Mosul campaign.

The militants retaliated to the advance of the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish fighters in Mosul by attacking on Friday Kirkuk, an oil city that lies east Hawija, a pocket they continue to control between Baghdad and Mosul.\

'Assault overcome'



Iraqi state TV claimed security forces had overcome the assault and regained full control of the northern Iraqi oil city on Saturday.

The city's authorities partially lifted a curfew declared after the militants stormed police stations and other buildings on Friday before dawn, the TV channel added, citing its own correspondent in Kirkuk.

At least 46 people, mostly members of the security forces, were killed in the assault, security and medical sources said on Saturday.

"We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh," an interior ministry brigadier general said, using an Arabic name for the jihadists.

The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate. The brigadier general also said at least 25 jihadist attackers had been killed since the raid was launched early Thursday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday night ordered an army brigade to head to Kirkuk to assist the Peshmerga clear the remaining buildings still held by the militants.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, after the Iraqi army withdrew from the region, fleeing an Islamic State advance through northern and western Iraq.

A total of 35 people have been killed since Friday in clashes of Kirkuk, including four Iranian technicians who were carrying maintenance work in a power station north of the city, according to a hospital source.

The toll does not include the jihadists who were killed or who blew themselves up during the fighting.

Kurdish leaders say they will never give up the ethnically mixed city, to which they, as well as Turkmen and Arabs, lay claim. Arabs complain that Kurds have since flooded to Kirkuk to tilt the demographic balance the other way.

Saddam Hussein ripped at the ethnic fabric of Kirkuk to ensure its dominance by Arabs, and not Kurds, Turkmen or Assyrian Christians who all see the city as part of their ancestral birthright.

Kurds say they are simply redressing historic wrongs perpetrated by Saddam. His policy of "Arabisation" in the north razed Kurdish villages and displaced hundreds of thousands.  Agencies
In his October 18 speech to the Parliament, Badamch said, unfortunately, many opportunities have been lost during the past few years due to the ignorance and neglect of some officials, the unworthy have placed a lot of obstacles in the way of growth and development of the country, a huge amount of news in media and social research is dedicated to the too bitter and heart-rending content on the devastating tsunami of poverty, hunger and unemployment.

He said that the migration of those in rural communities to the big cities play a large part in the widespread poverty, social failures, marginalization, beggary and similar disasters, and added, This human catastrophe, poverty and hunger, will be going to plague Iran with devastating social disasters unless an emergency, urgent yet proper policy to fight against social harms is adopted. Having 11 million marginalized people, namely one eighth of Irans population, is a painful crisis.

Badamchi concluded by asking, but what should be done regarding these problems? While the Islamic Republic of Iran has tough opponents across the world, we should not allow some individuals and small groups inside Iran intentionally or unintentionally act or speak in such a way so as to serve the interests of our enemies.
On October 14, Dezful representative, Abbas Papizadeh, gave an interview to the regimes Parliament News Website. He told them that for the past two decades, Irans forest area has been reduced each year by an average 100,000 hectares, and he stressed that the few remaining forests should be protected.

A 10-year respite plan for forests has long been put on the agenda of the Environment Protection Agency and presented to the Parliament after being approved by the cabinet.

Papizadeh described forests condition as critical to the Parliament News Agency, according to Forests Respite Plan, legal exploitation of forests will not be allowed for a while in order to let forests reach a desirable and appropriate state. During the time the plan is in place, only dry and infested trees may be cut down. However, he warned that legal permission to log the dry and infested trees might be used as an excuse for deforestation.

Also concerned over the indiscriminate exploitation of forests is Ali Mohammad Shaeri, Behshahr representative in the Parliament, who points out that the deforestation process of the past two decades has caused the northern forest area be reduced from 3,200,000 hectares to 1,090,000 hectares.

According to Shaeri, the Parliaments Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Commission suggests that the first step is a reduction in industrial exploitation of the northern forests. This plan proposes that industrial exploitation be reduced by 20 percent each year, being completely terminated in 5 years.

Shaeri also pointed out that an estimated to be 3,000 cubic meters of wood is smuggled out of northern forests each year.

Some experts believe that a 10-year respite period will not be enough for reforestation, and that considering the extent of the deforestation process, this will require a longer planning.
This week marks the end of the line for Oklahomas current method of grading schools, but the much-maligned A-F school report cards will likely live on.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education will go through the same motions Thursday as it did in October 2015, when it last released annual report cards for every public school in the state with the disclaimer that the system is inaccurate and in need of overhauling.

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said everything is on track to update Oklahomas student testing and A-F school accountability systems to meet new state and federal requirements.

For several months, a 110-member Assessment and Accountability Task Force of state and local education leaders, business and Chamber of Commerce executives, and representatives of teacher and parent associations have been working on proposals.

Their preliminary report on assessments is due out alongside the new school report cards at Thursdays state Board of Education meeting, while the final plan for both assessments and school accountability is due out in December.

We are at a midpoint in the development, said Hofmeister. We want this to be a lean, well-understood system that is valid, reliable and meaningful. What you also will see is an attempt by our department to use data that is already being collected  either because of federal or state requirements  to give context or drive improvement. All kinds of gauges and indicators beyond what is required that we believe gives greater context to the important work schools are doing that is not often understood.

Currently, the states calculation method is to rely on student proficiency rates on state-mandated tests for 50 percent of every schools grade. The remaining 50 percent is determined through an analysis of how a school or districts students scores in math and reading compare to the previous years.

Bonus points can be earned for strong rates of student attendance, graduation, participation in advanced coursework and college entrance exams, as well as for low dropout numbers.

The grade cards were intended to make it easy for parents and communities to gauge the performance of public schools, but their legitimacy has been undermined by public criticism by educators and parents and multiple rounds of analysis by research scientists from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

Chief among the critics has been Hofmeister herself.

But the states top education official said the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act, offers little wiggle room on the school accountability systems every state must maintain.

It specifies five required indicators of school performance, she said: academic achievement as measured by the annual state assessments, a valid and reliable statewide academic indicator for elementary and middle or junior high schools, high school graduation rate, progress in English-learners achieving English language proficiency, and, finally, at least one indicator of school quality and success with greater weight placed on the first four indicators.

While states are still waiting on the U.S. Department of Education to adopt final regulations for how they are to implement ESSA, Hofmeister said she anticipates the federal requirement for a single indicator of school performance, such as the letter grade system in Oklahoma, to persist.

I want an A-F system that, unlike its current form, is meaningful and accurate, Hofmeister said. Our focus on the task force is we want more information that puts the school progress and the growth for students in context. We will set a high bar for student performance, but we will also ensure the community is able to understand the work and growth that is occurring in most of our schools.

Several members of the task force said they are optimistic the A-F overhaul has the potential to improve the report cards accuracy and fairness.

Jana Burk, general counsel at Tulsa Public Schools, said: We think that the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Legislature have started a productive conversation at exactly the right moment. The A-F grading system isnt working, even for districts like Tulsa where we welcome transparency and accountability for the performance of our schools.

Burk said the accountability system needs to be more accurate for all schools, more balanced because schools are a lot more than test scores, more sensitive to changes in student and school performance, and more focused on equity and the importance of serving all students well.

Stephen Fedore, chief analytics officer at TPS, said he and other district and state leaders on the task force are enthusiastic about the opportunity to expand the measures we use to understand and describe school performance.

However, we urge a cautious initial approach to the selection, definition, and measurement of non-academic factors, Fedore said. For the initial design, Oklahoma should strongly consider non-academic measures that have a reliable, well-established collection instrument and can be scaled without significant expense or investment of state and district resources.

As examples of non-academic measures TPS would support being included in the newly developed formula for school accountability, Fedore offered these:

 School climate, culture, and engagement levels, based on a survey or some other proven measurement.

 Student attendance or chronic absenteeism, with a focus on improvement.

 Student access to advanced coursework, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and college credit-bearing classes.

Another task force member is Raul Font, a longtime public school educator who currently serves as president of the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City.

During his 40 years in public education, Font worked in Puerto Rico, Kansas and Texas before coming to Oklahoma City, where he was state director for bilingual education in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the principal at several secondary schools and assistant superintendent of a charter school.

The difference Ive seen from the other systems that grade schools and ours is the level of input the schools and parents had up front, Font said. Im not saying we had zero research from lawmakers, but we didnt have enough. That is the mortal sin, if you will, of our current system.

Font said he is optimistic about how task force members from inside and outside state government are working together toward a solution, and he said he hopes it will trickle down to the district level  parents, students and communities.

The current state superintendent and the people who work at the (state) Department of Education now are more amenable to listen than in the past and that gives people hope. The top-down atmosphere is not conducive to making changes, especially in Oklahoma, because we end up fighting more than we compromise, Font said. What gets me excited is hearing the state superintendent talk about de-centralization. The state cannot manipulate the school districts because they are not familiar with the culture in every school. Dont try to micromanage from a central office with one way of thinking.

Font said the greatest challenge for any states accountability system is to fairly measure very different schools, from rural, suburban and especially urban settings.

I was principal at U.S. Grant and Capitol Hill high schools and Jefferson Middle School  all within a mile and a half of each other (in south Oklahoma City)  but every school was completely different. I had to administer to each one of them completely differently. A lot of people dont understand that, he said.
The seven state questions on the Nov. 8 general election ballot cut across ideological lines and are best considered according to what they are most likely to do, not what they are intended to do, an official with one of the states most prominent conservative organizations said Friday.

Part of the genius of the American founders is that they really understood where that road paved with good intentions can lead, Trent England, vice president for strategic initiatives at the Oklahoma Center of Public Affairs, told the Tulsa Republican Club.

They were not swayed by arguments like  This is a good proposal because I love kids, or This is a bad proposal because the Koch brothers or George Soros (are for it),  England said.

Ultimately, the question is not whether the intentions are good  or whos behind it, he continued. There are a couple of fundamental questions: What laws are we changing?  (and) where does the power go?

In particular, England said, it is important for voters to know whether a state question amends statutes or the state constitution. Thats because changes to statutes are much easier to adjust than amendments to the state constitution.

Two of the current batch of state questions  780 and 781  would change state statute. The other five  776, 777, 779, 790 and 792  would alter the state constitution.

SQ 780 is an example of the ideological split on this years ballot measure. SQ 780 reduces the penalties for many minor drug and property crimes and is supported by people across the political spectrum. That includes the OCPA, which styles itself an advocate of limited governmen t and free markets.

The question is opposed, however, by other generally conservative and progressively minded groups and individuals who believe it goes too far.

England reiterated that, in the case of SQ 780 and its companion 781, which authorizes local drug treatment and prevention programs, problems can be more easily fixed than with the five constitutional amendments.

From OCPAs standpoint, England said, constitutional amendments can be less desirable because such measures tend to shift power, usually from one branch of government to another. Anything that shifts power from the elected Legislature to the executive or judicial branches, England said, should be viewed with caution.

Englands remarks were preceded by presentations about SQ 777, known as Right to Farm, by Oklahoma Farm Bureau official Mark Yates and Bud Scott of Oklahomans for Food, Farm and Family.

Farm Bureau is one of the most visible advocates for the state question, which would limit future Legislatures ability to regulate agriculture, while Oklahomans for Food, Farm and Family is a coalition opposed to the constitutional amendment.

Scott said his group is made up of the Oklahoma Municipal League, a number of wildlife groups and the Farm and Food Alliance, whose members he described as belonging to the little food industry.
Oklahomas three largest earthquakes since 2011 have accounted for approximately two-thirds of the energy unleashed during the states spate of induced seismicity.

Potential remains for another magnitude 5.0 or greater temblor  and there still has not been a sizable aftershock from the state-record Pawnee quake last month  but indications are that man-made earthquakes have returned to a downward trend.

Jeremy Boak, director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, presented that information Friday during an hourlong talk at the Oklahoma Corporation Commissions annual Oil and Gas Institute on OU-Tulsas campus. Boak discussed his concern that an underground pressure pulse could trigger another large quake.

The magnitude 5.8 quake near Pawnee on Sept. 3, a 5.7 by Prague in 2011 and a 5.1 close to Fairview in February comprise 63 percent of energy released during Oklahomas meteoric leap in seismicity, Boak said. Those quakes  three of Oklahomas top four strongest on record  also happened to have occurred on the outskirts of the approximately 15,000-square-mile region of interest outlined by state regulators.

Boak gave his simple geologists explanation for the phenomenon: A pulse of pressure was created by the huge amounts of wastewater from oil and gas production injected into Oklahomas deepest geologic formation. Boak said the pressure pulse grew and spread outward, finding the faults near Pawnee, Prague and Fairview. Tremendous stores of energy built up from natural tectonic stresses were unloaded by the faults, he said, which were poised to pop off without much prodding, if any.

Boak also pointed out that so much of Oklahomas underground has undocumented faults. Should that pressure pulse locate another fairly sizable unknown fault that is optimally aligned and loaded with energy, another strong quake could rock Oklahomans.

Its an incredibly complicated jigsaw puzzle that is sort of shifting and wailing around, Boak said. And the more earthquakes you have, the more of every size you have, so its a little unnerving.

On a positive note, Boak said the pressure pulses intensity dissipates as it spreads further out. So as time passes the likelihood lessens of bigger quakes being triggered, he said.

Boak acknowledged the state isnt out of the woods yet. But he predicts a trend of fewer quakes of every size over time with recent indications that disposal volumes remain on a downward trajectory.

What Im seeing is, except for Pawnee and maybe Noble, every county is in (seismic) decline, Boak said.

So that suggests that youre already getting below the threshold values in a lot of places. And (the pressure pulse is) probably not one big blob, its probably an irregular blob and thats why we might see some 4s kind of in the middle of that area. Or we are seeing some large 3s in that area.

Large quakes are such a concern because they put out vastly more energy than bunches of weaker ones.

For example, the magnitude 5.8 Pawnee quake was about five times bigger than the 5.1 Fairview quake and expended about 11 times more energy.

A 5.8 is nearly 64 times larger than a 4.0 and releases more than 500 times its energy. A 5.8 is about 630 times larger than a 3.0 and lets off nearly 16,000 times more energy.

Boak said the Pawnee quake put out 76 percent of the states seismic energy so far this year. The Galena Township fault near Fairview, which was quite active early in the year, only constitutes 15 percent of 2016s energy. Prior to Pawnee, the Galena Township Fault comprised about three-fourths of the energy.

So 2016 already is Oklahomas banner year for release of seismic energy. However, the state is on pace for fewer quakes than the record year of 2015 but still more than 2014.

There were 903 quakes of at least magnitude 3.0 in 2015 and 584 in 2014. More than 500 quakes had been recorded this year through September. The approximation fluctuates, but Boak said Oklahoma in general is on target for about 200 fewer quakes than 2015 and about 60 more than 2014. Credit for the dropping number goes to market conditions and stricter regulations, with 1 million barrels less per day of wastewater being injected underground, he said.

I think we are on the downward plank of this earthquake activity, Boak said.
Former Seven News Adelaide reporter Amy Taeuber is suing Seven and her former boss Graham Archer over claims she was dismissed after she levelled a complaint against a Today Tonight colleague.

Taeuber, 27, who was sacked along with her sister Sophie after four years at the network, is seeking a years salary for her remaining contract, undisclosed damages and compensation for loss of earnings, other penalties, interest, costs as well as a finding that she was wrongfully sacked.

Taeuber was placed under investigation for involvement in a satirical website, and Facebook page, that reviewed reality television shows, including those aired on Seven. She was sacked for serious misconduct on July 5 after refusing to resign, and now works in radio.

Sevens HR general manager, Davanh Inthachanh, said in a letter that disparaging and offensive comments were made online about network shows and workers while she had illegally used Seven pictures.

But The Advertiser reports she alleges a Facebook account was accessed and her password changed by an IP address that originated from Melbourne.

Taeuber is represented by lawyer John Laxon, who represented producer Stephen Rice in a case against Nine and previously acted for former Nine News chief Mark Llewellyn over the infamous Jessica Rowe bone affair and former Nine reporter Christine Spiteri.

The network and Mr Archer, Seven Adelaides news and public affairs director, have yet to file a defence.
Mondays Four Corners in a BBC report, Copwatchers in which activists are using cameras to fight back against police brutality in the US.

We want to deter police abuseIf our cameras are out there, its going to help present it, so they know there is extra eyes on them. These cameras are bad cop repellents.  Dennis, Copwatcher

In New York City, a controversial group of citizen activists patrol the streets, capturing police officers on camera as they work.

I got this on film. He does not consent to a search. So guess whats going to happen when you get to court (with) this video? Bye bye!  Kim, Copwatcher

Theyre part of a US wide movement taking on police departments following a succession of deaths of black men and boys at the hands of police.

The officer had his knee on Erics neck like this. And basically holding him down, trying to restrain him while other officers was twisting his arm.  Ramsey, Copwatcher

In the age of smart phones and social media, many of these deaths have been captured on camera. One of the first was Eric Garner. The confronting footage of his death, as he was held down in a chokehold by a group of officers, captured the nations attention. Garners dying pleas of I cant breathe became the catchcry of protestors demanding justice.

My main goal is to put pressure on cops. Once they see a camera in somebodys hand  or a phone in somebodys hand, they will think twice.  Ramsey, Copwatcher

On Monday night Four Corners brings you the story of these Copwatchers as they roam the streets of New York, listening in to the police radio, then race to film the arrests and the behaviour of the NYPD.

I know I come across as very aggressive and very militant and I am. And I am unapologetic about it becauseday to day I see police harass people.  Kim, Copwatcher

In this raw, fast moving film, the copwatchers engage in tense exchanges with the police. Sometimes they are arrested.

Despite their provocative approach, they have support from some unlikely quarters.

I think everybody who owns a camera now, everyone who owns a cell phone, should be a part of copwatchevery time you see something going on you should take the picture.  Retired NYPD officer

Monday October 24 at 8.30pm on ABC.
Irans Artesh Air Force began a three-day series of drills for the purpose of showing off their air strength. Iranian military officials told the countrys state-run press that the drills are in preparation for an upcoming war.

Independent translations of the original Farsi provided to the Washington Free Beacon, quote Iranian Air Force Gen. Masoud Rouzkhosh as saying, The goal of holding this drill is the creation of readiness so as to be able to combat any threat, and should a war occur, the Air Force will be the first force to enter the battlefield. He added, The newest armaments of the Air Force like precision-guided bombs and laser-guided missiles will be used in this years drill.

Credo writes that, Iran is using many American-made jets in the drills, including F-4 and F-5 warplanes, as well as large Boeing airliners, which are aiding in mid-air refueling tactics, experts told the Free Beacon. Iran also is using Russian-made warplanes. The three-day air drills, now entering their second day, come as senior Iranian officials repeatedly accuse the United States of violating its side of the nuclear agreement.

Iranian officials maintain that they will continue their activities in the region, despite objections from the United States. Farsi-language reports quote Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, head of Irans Judiciary, as saying in on Monday, When they ask the foreign minister of America why do you violate your commitments under the JCPOA, they say we have acted on our commitments and even gone further than they require. However, Iranians must do certain things, such as ceasing their support for terrorists and halting their missile activities. Larijani continued, However, what they mean by terrorists are resistance groups like Hezbollah of Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, which have stood against the violations and crimes of the Zionist regime.

Reportedly, Iranian officials have pressed the United States to explain why America is not upholding its end of the nuclear deal. Outrage comes just months after the Obama administration paid Iran $1.7 billion, as part of what lawmakers described as a ransom payment to free American hostages.

The Obama administration also has moved forward with new sanctions which will provide Iran with even more financial resources, although Congress suspects that it may be allocated to the countrys military and terrorist organizations.

Top Iranian military commanders say the armed forces remain committed to removing the American presence from the region, writes Kredo.

The bloody wars of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, the continued occupation of Zionists in Palestine, the war of the Baath regime of Saddam against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the conflicts in Lebanon, Bahrain, and other events and incidents where each one [has featured] thousands of dead and maimed and brought about endless destruction, are only part of the behavior of the satanic governing body of America in the region, deputy commander of Irans Armed Forces General Staff, Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, was quoted as saying when the war drills began.

He added, The presence of America in the region is a cancerous malign tumor that can only be treated by removing the filthy tumor and the ejection of America from the region. In Iran, nobody will permit America to tie its failure to live up to its commitments to defense issues and the interests of the resistance.

According to regional experts, Irans rhetoric is part of an effort to squeeze more concessions from the Obama administration during the final months of its term. Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Free Beacon, These comments are part of a calculated gamble to gain additional sanctions relief without any meaningful changes in Iranian behavior. By constantly referring to perceived failures in American compliance with the accord, Iran is able to threaten the durability of the deal, thereby demonstrating it has exit options.

Further, Taleblu said, For months now, Iranian officials have provided a steady stream of criticism against the West for allegedly failing to live up to its own promises pursuant to the accord that would grant Tehran meaningful sanctions relief.

The Obama administration has moved forward with plans to boost Irans access to the global financial system, so Irans efforts have appeared to have paid off.

Just recently, Secretary Kerry attested to the U.S. going above and beyond the terms of the accord, Taleblu explained. This was noted by officials in Tehran like Ayatollah Larijani as not being enough. This is a tried and true tactic by Tehran. During the negotiations with the P5+1 that led to the JCPOA, Iran was able to force concessions by upping the ante. This was most notably seen with the centrifuge cap. Now, in the deal implementation era, Iran is upping the ante in an attempt to garner additional relief.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Russian-backed militants launched 39 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center.

"The militants launched 18 attacks on ATO troops in Mariupol direction. Ukrainian positions in Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk) and Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol) came under heavy machine gun, grenade launcher, and small arm fire. The militants also used 82mm mortars to fire at Krasnohorivka (29 km west of Donetsk) and Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol)," the statement reads.

In Luhansk direction, 12 ceasefire violations by terrorists were recorded. The enemy shelled Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk) and Stanytsia Luhanska (16km north-east of Luhansk), using grenade launchers, machine guns, and small arms.

Nine more attacks were recorded in Donetsk direction. The militants fired at Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk), using 82mm mortars, machine guns, and grenade launchers. Ukrainian positions near Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk) and Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk) came under tank, 82mm and 120mm mortar fire.

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Taking into account the complicated situation in Ukraine, Canada should provide greater assistance to Ukrainian internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Michelle Rempel, the Official Opposition Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship within the shadow cabinet of Canada, said this in a commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The current situation in Ukraine is difficult, so Canada should pay more attention to it. Canada has the necessary means at its disposal, and I am sure that all MPs will support the government's efforts to find ways to help internally displaced persons in Ukraine," Rempel said.

She stressed that Canada had always come to the aid of people in need. "On behalf of our party, I admit that the crisis in Ukraine is very significant, and Canada needs to pay attention to it," she noted.

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Fox News alleges that, according to reports by Irans state-controlled press, Iran is now seeking many billions of dollars from the United States in exchange for the release of several U.S. hostages who are still being detained in Iran.

The debate over the Obama administrations decision earlier this year to pay Iran $1.7 billion in cash, is reigniting. Since the White House agreed to pay Tehran the $1.7 billion as part of a deal to release American hostages, Iran has captured several more U.S. citizens.

The regimes president, and other senior Iranian officials, have been considering the possibility of further payments from the United States, which might reach as high as $2 billion.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Iran is detaining U.S. citizens in the notorious Evin prison where inmates are routinely tortured and abused.

Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, has been handling prisoner swaps with the United States, and news sources close to them report that Iran expects many billions of dollars to release those U.S. citizens still being detained. They say, We should wait and see, the U.S. will offer  many billions of dollars to release.

They are referring to American businessman Siamak Namazi and his father Baquer, who were abducted after the United States paid Iran the $1.7 billion, according to the countrys Mashregh News outlet, which has close ties to the IRGCs intelligence apparatus.
In Yemen also, the influence of foreign parties is of great consequence to the success or failure of the planned ceasefire. France 24 discussed this in some detail, suggesting that an overall political solution was made much more difficult by the fact that negotiations are currently focused around the Iranian-Saudi rivalry, and not merely around the differences between the Yemeni factions.

But France 24 also notes that there is a potentially positive side to foreign influence, as agreement upon the current ceasefire was only made possible with the help of pressure from the United States. There are, however, strict limits to how far the US will go to see that that ceasefire is enforced, as the Obama administration remains extremely wary of being drawn into another Middle Eastern war.

Neither Iran nor the Houthi seem to have quite the same aversion  a fact that threatens both the short-term ceasefire and the long-term persistence of Washingtons reticence. Last weekend, the Iran-backed rebels fired a series of missiles at a US destroyer in the Red Sea. Although the White House was reportedly hesitant to respond, President Obama did approve a cruise missile launch which destroyed three isolated radar stations believed to be used by the Houthi. Iran, in its turn, dispatched two warships to the Gulf of Aden, although the Iranians claimed that this was an effort to protect international shipping lanes from piracy.

Interestingly, the maritime security website Eagle Speak published an article on Wednesday calling attention to  and ridiculing  Irans broader use of piracy as a source of propaganda and an excuse for Iranian naval maneuvers in international waters. The article notes that worldwide statistics show a dramatic decrease in piracy, with attacks from Somali groups reportedly at a 21-year low. But the article adds that this contrasts with Iranian state media, which seems to tease an imminent threat while boasting the ability of Irans naval forces to combat it.

One of the latest instances of this supposed propaganda appeared in Mehr News Agency on Monday and described exchanges of heavy fire with thirteen well-equipped boats led by Somali pirates somewhere near Yemen. Independent verification of the reports claims is virtually impossible, and previous trends in Irans state media reporting make those claims dubious. Much of that reporting on Irans naval activities has presented routine contact with foreign vessels as if they were narrowly averted conflicts during which not just pirates by also American warships were frightened off by Iranian shows of strength.

In keeping with this narrative, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has recognizably ramped-up the frequency of contacts between its naval forces and those of the US. At the same time, it has made these encounters less routine and more aggressive, resulting in American naval officers condemning them for unprofessional and dangerous behavior. In at least one such case, an IRGC vessel that was apparently practicing swarm tactic maneuvers against a US warship refused to depart from a collision course until warning shots were fired into the water.

It is not always known whether such incidents are reported in Iranian state media, or how they are presented. But it is clear that Iran is keen to find pretense to boast about its readiness for war with the worlds leading superpower. Perhaps the most prominent recent example of this was the IRGCs seizure of 10 American sailors who had strayed into Iranian waters while on a training mission in the Persian Gulf. Although they were released after less than a day, state media continued to broadcast images of them on their knees at gunpoint, for weeks after the fact. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei later awarded Irans highest honors to the IRGC officers involved in the incident, which has been reenacted in Iranian military parades and will reportedly be the basis for a public statue.

Military parades have also featured the unveiling of new Iranian weapons, including a range of domestically produced missiles like those allegedly provided by the IRGC to the Houthi. The premieres of those weapons often coincide with statements about Irans readiness for war, with strong implications that the other combatant in such a war would be the United States.

This trend in Iranian propaganda was highlighted once again on Wednesday, when the Washington Free Beacon reported upon the three days of drills that had begun the previous day among the Iranian air force. The report quoted Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri as using the outset of the drills to reaffirm Irans commitment to ousting American influence from the Middle East. The presence of America in the region is a cancerous malign tumor that can only be treated by removing the filthy tumor and the ejection of America from the region, he said.

The Free Beacon also noted that the drills closely coincided with new Iranian statements accusing the US of violating the spirit of last years nuclear deal. Some of those same statements flatly rejected the notion of the Islamic Republic changing any of its behavior for the sake of securing the additional concessions that Iranian officials demand. Iranian Judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani said, for instance, that groups like Hezbollah would continue to receive Iranian support, despite being widely recognized as terrorist organizations by the world community.

Certainly, Tehran maintains an identical sentiment toward the Houthi, even in the wake of attempts by that group to attack the US Navy and threaten international shipping lanes. Wednesdays ceasefire highlights the threat that that sentiment might pose to regional stability, especially if Irans support of the rebels is based primarily on the goal of increasing the appearance of Iranian strength and influence, relative to the US.
Will we see a new Surface Pro 5 this year? In a few days ahead, Microsoft will hold a Windows 10 event which takes place in New York.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 operating system may be revealed at Microsoft hardware event

Windows 10 major update, codenamed Redstone 2, may be introduced at Microsoft October event and this simply means that the launch date for Surface Pro 5 is approaching. The new update will bring enhancement including productivity and the battery drain issue happening in Surface Pro 4, WindowsCentral reported.

Albeit shipment of Redstone 2 will be in Spring 2017, Microsoft is expected to give more detailed information about RS2 features at its hardware event on Oct. 26.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 other specifications

Reports suggest that Microsoft might launch desktop Surface all-in-one PC during the event, the odds are small for Surface Pro 5 to appear at the event. However, the tech crowds would have more clues as to what enhancements that the company would bring to the device, judging from the AIO hardware.

Microsoft could also unveil the Intel Kaby Lake processor at the event, TechReport has learned. The fans should finally be able to get a clue on how battery-efficient the chip is. If the Oct. 26 event will reveal details about Windows 10, there is also a possibility that Microsoft will talk about VR gaming.

This brings us to the previous rumors that suggest there will be 2K and 4K models for Surface Pro 5. It is safe to assume that what the company will address may have something to do with its future's devices that includes the Surface Book 2 and Surface Phone.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release date is approaching?

The most important question would be is when would Microsoft release the Surface Pro 5? There have been speculations whether the Surface tablet will arrive sooner or later than the MacBook Pro 2016.

With all of the reasons stated above, Microsoft could unveil the hybrid device, Surface Pro 5, as early as next year after Kaby Lake is shipped and Redstone 2 is updated.
Diversity is a critical factor when it comes to schools. And diversity does not only include race or gender, but also the financial status of an individual Which is why schools in New York City are recognizing the need for diversity initiatives.

Last year, seven elementary schools in New York City changed their admission policies to include disadvantaged students. Including these students allowed priority for a certain number of seats.

Now, New York City is calling on all schools to create a similar admission proposal. NY Times has it that there are twelve additional schools that will be joining the program. These twelve schools will initiate their won admission priorities.

Seat priorities include, for example, a free or reduced price lunch, seats for learning English or even child welfare system.

Schools from the elementary, middle and high school categories are answering the call to action.

Charrette School and East Side School for Social Action are two elementary schools that are looking into admitting zoned students. The East Village Community School admits students by lottery. This school prioritizes students living in District 1 and will be giving priority to half of its prekindergarten and kindergarten seats who quality for a free or reduced price lunch and English classes.

Another school in Brookly, The New American Academy, is accommodating 40% of its seats for the same lunch and English priorities. In Manhattan, the Central Park East High School is assigning 64% of its seats for free lunch. Its principal, Bennett Lieberman states that diversity is important in the school and he plans to maintain its current level of diversity.

The other schools that will create admissions priorities for disadvantaged students are the Children's Workshop School, Brooklyn School of Inquiry, East Side Middle School, Math & Science Exploratory School, Middle School 839 and Harvest Collegiate High School.

The community is looking for more changes to more schools in order for disadvantaged students to join.
There have been a lot of reports recently on alumni giving back to their schools. Recently, a former University of New Hampshire librarian donated his $4 million estate to the college. He graduated from the school in 1963.

The University of New Hampshire that Morin quietly left his entire fortune to the school. He specifically allotted $100,000 to the library where he previously worked.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, gave $500 million to the University of Oregon. The school will be creating the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, which will focus on coming up with real-world applications for basic scientific discoveries.

Rowan University alumni, Ric and Jean Edelman, also donated $25 million in order to preserve and expand the Rowan University Fossil Park. It is the largest amount ever given by alumni to transform STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education through research and innovation at the Fossil Park.

Meanwhile, U.S. News collated a list of universities and colleges where the most alumni donate. Ivy League university Princeton nabbed the top spot. The school had a 63 percent two-year average of alumni who donated.

It is followed by Thomas Aquinas College, with 58.7 percent. In third place is Williams College, with 55.8 percent. Other schools on the list include Bowdoin College, Davidson College, Wellesley College, Middlebury College, Carleton College, Washington and Lee University and Amherst College.

The publication noted that, in 2015, donations from alumni increased by more than 10 percent. According to a survey by the nonprofit Council for Aid to Education, alumni contributions reached $10.85 billion among U.S. colleges and universities.

The survey also found that Harvard University alumni gave more than $650 million during the 2015 fiscal year. Princeton alumni gave 39 percent less than Harvard alumni, with $400 million that same year. Harvard may have received a greater amount in terms of alumni donations but Princeton had more alumni who donated.
Among those alleged concessions are recent Treasury Department communications announcing that Iran would be permitted access to the US dollar through banks based outside the US, and that Western businesses would be permitted to do business with Iranian entities whose investors are still under sanctions, provided that those investors are only minority partners. In addition, the White House remains under fire from the Republican-led Congress for the January ransom payment, a 1.7 billion dollar debt settlement that was timed to directly coincide with a January prisoner exchange.

The Examiner notes that Republicans were quick to suggest that the apparent exchange of cash for hostages would embolden the Islamic Republic to continue targeting US nationals. This targeting has indeed continued, although its motives are likely every bit as ideological as they an effort to exert leverage over Western governments. The arrests and trials of figures like Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi simultaneously highlight two trends: the regimes crackdown on pro-Western or reformist sentiment in the wake of the JCPOA, and the dangerous climate that faces business travelers in Iran who have any connections to the West.

Siamak Namazi and his father Baquer Namazi were arrested last October and in February, respectively, and were held virtually in isolation until their convictions on charges of cooperating with the US. The reasons for their arrests and the nature of the evidence against them have never been made clear, but now each has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. This raises the distinct possibility that the 80-year-old Baquer, also a dual citizen of Iran and the US, will die under the harsh conditions of Iranian jails.

The convictions are easily viewed as some of the latest examples of deliberate disrespect for the US, especially in light of a propaganda video that was released via hardline media just prior to the announcement of their convictions. An editorial that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, authored by a former Iranian political prisoner, pointed out that that video included images of the younger Namazis US passport, featuring it in such a way as to imply that the mere ownership of such a document was a crime.

Given such flimsy justifications for the Namazis arrests and convictions, the State Department has predictably called for their release. Toners comments on a lack of Iranian respect coincided with his release of a statement calling for their release and the release of all other US citizens that are unjustly detained in Iran. This includes Robin Shahini, a recent San Diego State College graduate who was apprehended by authorities while visiting his sick mother in Iran. Agence-France Presse also names three other dual nationals  Farhad Abd-Saleh, Kamran Ghaderi and Alireza Omidvar  who were reportedly given the same sentence for the same charges, alongside the Namazis. And the Examiner points out that the whereabouts of former FBI agent Robert Levinson remain unknown following his disappearance and probable abduction in Iran, despite past assurances that the Iranian government would help to locate him.

In light of the apparent increase in Irans anti-Western propaganda following the conclusion of JCPOA negotiations, it comes as little surprise that Iranian officials have rejected the State Departments calls for the Namazis release. It is also little surprise that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qassemi declared, The American threats only add to the wall of mistrust Iranians have regarding the United States.

In fact, Irans young and well-educated population is understood to largely possess positive views of Western culture and to be in favor of improved relations between the two countries. It is this that the regimes leadership is apparently reacting to as it attempts to diminish expectations of post-JCPOA rapprochement, while also legitimizing its own claims of mistrust.

Toward that end, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei took to Twitter on Wednesday to condemn the US and especially its government for a lack of spirituality and faith, according to The Hill. Khamenei also took a swipe at American media, implying that a spiritually bankrupt federal government will wield influence over a media infrastructure that has truly global reach, including considerable reach in Iran.

Although the internet is heavily restricted and popular social media networks are banned (including, ironically, Twitter), many Iranians are adept at circumventing these restrictions and maintaining their own exposure to Western culture. On one hand Iranian hardliners are still attempting to combat this through sting operations and arrests, such as Operation Spider II, which led to criminal charges against dozens of Iranians accused of participating in a Western-style modeling network online.

But on the other hand, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Irans state media had also taken to utilizing the populations taste for Western media, in an attempt to present selective examples thereof, in the interest of mocking American politics. Specifically, state media has taken to airing the Netflix political drama House of Cards, leading one Iranian student to tell the Associated Press that he believed it was an accurate depiction of Washington corruption. They do anything to reach power, he said.

It is perhaps in hopes of reinforcing both Khameneis moral narrative and his regimes political narrative about the propaganda that state media also elected to air the second US presidential debate. The move was reportedly unprecedented, with Iran having never before aired such a debate in its entirety. That particular debate came in the immediate aftermath of allegations about Republican nominee Donald Trumps former behavior toward women. But the medias treatment of that topic also led to Trump intimating during the debate that the system had been rigged against him.

According to the Post, this talking point was eagerly taken up by Irans English-language propaganda network Press TV. The network frequently features conspiracy theories about the United States, including allegations that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were an inside job. In keeping with this tone, Press TV quoted one writer as saying that American elections have been subject to manipulation for nearly 200 years.
Wallonia's Belgian region rejected new amendments to a planned EU-Canada free trade agreement on Thursday, reaffirming its opposition and so threatening the entire deal, a flagship of European Union trade policy.

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from five sub-federal administrations and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it.

Failure to strike a deal with such a like-minded country as Canada would call into question the EU's ability to forge other deals and damage credibility already battered by Britain's vote to leave the bloc and disputes over the migration crisis.

The moves came as leaders began a two-day EU summit in Brussels with trade policy the main topic set for Friday. European Council President Donald Tusk, chairing the summit, said in a tweet that the Europe's credibility was at stake.

Wallonia is home to some 3.5 million people, less than 1 percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect. The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the bloc, offered new concessions in the form of changes to an EU declaration to be appended to the treaty. One EU diplomat said these sought to answer Walloon concerns about farming and how trade disputes with Canadian companies would be settled.

Walloon premier Paul Magnette called an emergency session of his government and was due to address the Walloon parliament on Friday. The government recognised improvements, but believed they did not go far enough, an official said, adding it needed time to reflect. The Belgian region of Wallonia rejected new amendments to a planned EU-Canada free trade agreement on Thursday, reaffirming its opposition and so threatening the entire deal, a flagship of European Union trade policy.

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from five sub-federal administrations and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it.

Failure to strike a deal with such a like-minded country as Canada would call into question the EU's ability to forge other deals and damage credibility already battered by Britain's vote to leave the bloc and disputes over the migration crisis.

The moves came as leaders began a two-day EU summit in Brussels with trade policy the main topic set for Friday. European Council President Donald Tusk, chairing the summit, said in a tweet that the Europe's credibility was at stake.

Wallonia is home to some 3.5 million people, less than 1 percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect.

The European Commission, which negotiates trade deals for the bloc, offered new concessions in the form of changes to an EU declaration to be appended to the treaty. One EU diplomat said these sought to answer Walloon concerns about farming and how trade disputes with Canadian companies would be settled.


Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will open a new location on Monday, Oct. 24, at 6 a.m. in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The 10,000 square-foot store located at 2815 E Craig Road will be open 364 days a year, Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

With this location, Cracker Barrel brings approximately 300 full and part-time jobs to the area and now operates two stores in the state and 641 nationwide.

Tim Meyer has been named general manager. Meyer has been a part of the Cracker Barrel family for over 16 years and was most recently the general manager of the Springville, Utah Cracker Barrel.

We received the warmest of welcomes with the opening of our first Cracker Barrel in Nevada this summer and are excited to begin spreading our mission of Pleasing People in the North Las Vegas community with the opening of our second Las Vegas area store on Oct. 24, 2016, Meyer said.

At Cracker Barrel, breakfast is available all day with lunch and dinner options beginning at 11 a.m. Cracker Barrel serves authentic, high-quality, homestyle meals prepared from scratch like homemade chicken n dumplins and also offers a full Wholesome Fixins menu of classic country meals with a lighter twist  full of flavor and under 600 calories.

Each Cracker Barrel location is uniquely decorated with real American artifacts, memorabilia and signage curated by a team of experts. The walls of Cracker Barrel stores reflect the nations rich history and by tailoring elements to the local community, offer a homespun appeal for local residents. In North Las Vegas, guests will see localized pieces that pay homage to the Old West, the Hoover Dam, the circus, and recreation on Lake Mead.

Along with dining in a place that invokes the senses and invites memories, Cracker Barrel guests enjoy shopping in the old country store for toys, games, food items, apparel, accessories and other unique items. Cracker Barrel collects inspiration from all parts of life and shares that with guests through well-curated collections designed around compelling themes.

Cracker Barrel is known for providing a friendly, home-away-from-home atmosphere in its 641 restaurants and old country stores located in 43 states.


Daily Kitchen Modern Eatery & Rotisserie is welcoming autumn to Las Vegas with new additions to the menu with a heightened focus on seasonal breakfast and family dinner offerings.

Available Nov. 1, the menu changes feature expanded breakfast, including steak and eggs; avocado toast and egg sandwich; farmer wrap; bacon, egg and Havarti wrap; and egg and quinoa bowl. Breakfast dishes are prepared with organic eggs and other locally sourced ingredients.

Other additions include a pesto and balsamic rotisserie chicken sandwich; albacore tacos; mashed potatoes; mac and cheese; curried cauliflower with dates and almonds; black Tuscan kale and onions; Brussels sprouts with lemon and pistachio; and truffled couscous. Many guest favorites like the DK acai bowl and frozen Greek yogurt will remain on the menu.

With school back in session, Daily Kitchen is making dinner a breeze with new family meals that cater to the entire familys taste buds, featuring a choice of ready to serve entrees, a salad and two sides. Guests also have the option to add on one of Daily Kitchens desserts to their family meals. Starting at only $35 and serving four to six people, entree options include Marys all-natural rotisserie chicken and USDA Certified Angus tri-tip beef.

Daily Kitchen hopes to give families back some of the time theyve lost to new and returning routines. The kids are back in school, its getting darker earlier and its starting to get cooler in Las Vegas, said Mark Levasseur, executive culinary director of Lev Restaurant Group. We want guests to think of Daily Kitchen as an extension of their kitchen; to let us do the shopping, cooking and cleaning, so they have more time to enjoy a fresh, wholesome meal with their family and friends.


Start your engines! Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris Las Vegas invites SEMA Show attendees to its all-night bash hosted by Lexani Wheels, featuring a performance by Too $hort, on Wednesday, Nov. 2 (Photo credit: Anthony Mair).

LA native, Too $hort, is credited as being one of the pioneer rappers of West Coast hip-hop. He is best known for his hit songs including The Ghetto and Blow the Whistle, as well as multiple collaborations with both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. during the height of their careers. Currently, Too $hort is collaborating with Lady Gaga for a song, tentatively titled Jewels n Drugs, on her upcoming album, Artpop.
Pedestrians walk past a McDonald's restaurant in Tokyo. (Photo: AFP/ Yoshikazu Tsuno)

The fast-food giant pointed to especially strong sales in Britain and Japan, as well as positive results in Australia, Canada and Germany.

That compensated for declines in some other markets, including France, where a steep drop in tourist activity pinched sales.

McDonald's scored a 3.5 per cent gain in comparable global sales in the quarter, much better than the 1.5 per cent seen by some analysts. About two-thirds of the company's revenues come from outside the US.

The results "are a testament to the progress we are making to satisfy the needs of today's dynamic customers," said McDonald's chief executive Steve Easterbrook, who has led the overhaul of the company's global structure that led to the strong performance in international restaurants .

Net income for the third quarter dipped 4.4 per cent to US$1.3 billion. That translated into US$1.50 a share, a penny above analyst expectations.

Net sales declined 3 per cent to US$6.42 billion, better than the US$6.28 billion projected by analysts.

Easterbrook was tapped in January 2015 to turn around McDonald's fortunes after a lengthy slump saw the home of the Big Mac lose ground to other fast-food chains like Wendy's and high-end brands such as Shake Shack.

He shifted the global organisation from region-based to one structured around comparative growth potential, with countries split into groups such as "high growth" and "foundational."

Easterbrook also sold restaurants to franchisees and introduced new menu options, including the very popular all-day breakfast in the US.

He has spoken of the need to transform McDonald's into a "modern, progressive burger company," in part by focusing on better ingredients, boosting mobile technology capacities and improving customer service.

Challenging countries include France, which is struggling with a steep dropoff in tourist activity after the violent attacks in Paris and Nice in the past year.

Among locals in France, "there's a slight reticence to go into tourist areas," he said.

"I think some of these things are temporary and some might be more permanent. But it certainly means our management teams must be much more agile and responsive to act in accordance with customer concerns."

Another problem area was China, where protests against McDonald's and other US companies hit sales after an international court in July ruled invalid China's claims to a vast swathe of the South China Sea.

McDonald's is seeking a franchise buyer for some 2,000 restaurants in China that could fetch as much as US$2 billion, according to US press reports.

McDonald's chief financial officer Kevin Ozan said, "We are currently in the process of vetting a select number of qualified bidders."

Ozan also said McDonald's had "made meaningful progress" in an effort to find partners in Malaysia and Singapore, where there are currently 400 restaurants, mostly company-owned.

UNCERTAIN US OUTLOOK

McDonald's performance overseas was "resilient," even with the stronger dollar, said Neil Saunders, chief executive of Conlumino, a research and consultancy firm.

Saunders was less enthused over the restaurant's prospects in the United States, writing that the "company's recovery has lost some of its initial momentum."

In the US market, comparable sales rose 1.3 per cent, slower than the 1.8 per cent growth in the prior quarter.

Saunders agreed the overall US restaurant sector was "remarkably soft" in the third quarter, but said McDonald's also faces challenges as it tries to attract more young consumers who prefer Chipotle and other brands.

"The blunt truth is that McDonald's brand image is not one that naturally supports a more premium offering, especially in a market like the US where much work on the design and ambience of restaurants is still needed," Saunders said.

The company's share price rose 3 per cent to US$113.89 in afternoon trading.
The Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant 2. Up to 27 projects of seven State corporations are listed in a Ministry of Industry and Trades directive as being liable to cause environmental pollution. - Photo baohaiquan.vn

In the directive on strengthening environmental protection issued this week, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh requested all relevant corporations to review and report their findings, as well as suggest measures for environmental protection in 2016-17.

The Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) topped the list with eight projects, namely Thai Binh Thermal Power Plant 1, Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant 2, Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant 4 and its expanded project, Duyen Hai 1, Duyen Hai 3 and its expanded project, and the Quang Ninh Thermal Power Company.

The Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group was second with six projects, including Vung Ang 1 Power Plant, Long Phu 1 Thermal Power Plant, Thai Binh 2, Song Hau 1 Thermal Power Plant, Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex and the Ca Mau Gas Processing Plant.

Projects of Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group - Nhan Co-Dak Nong Alumina Plant, Lam Dong Aluminum Company, Thach Khe iron mine project and Sin Quyen copper mining and processing project - were also named.

Other listed projects belong to the Viet Nam National Chemical Group, the Viet Nam Textile and Garment Group, the Viet Nam Steel Corporation and the Viet Nam Paper Corporation.

Minister Anh asked the ministrys Industrial Techniques and Environment Agency to closely monitor, inspect and report on the projects which are likely to cause pollution.

"The agency will co-ordinate with other departments of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to organise special monitoring on such projects," he stressed.

Also in this directive, Anh requested a specialised review and evaluation of production technology in the fields of thermal power generation, chemicals, mining, mineral processing and textiles.

In the case of EVNs projects, Anh required the General Directorate of Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the EVN to review and evaluate the overall impact on the environment of the Vinh Tan and Duyen Hai power centres in 2017 and continue with other power centres afterwards.

For investors in coal-fired power projects, the minister asked for the development and implementation of appropriate ash treatment so that no ash can be released into the environment.

"All State groups and corporations should resolutely refuse to invest in projects with potential risks of affecting the environment. They also need to gradually innovate the technologies to reduce emissions into the environment," Anh said.
Food producer KIDO Group announced on Thursday it achieved 80 per cent of the year's profit target by the end of the third quarter after selling the remaining 20 per cent of is snack business to a foreign investor. - Photo nhipcaudautu.vn

A financial statement it released on Thursday said profit for the period was worth VND1.19 trillion (US$54 million).

Sales in the first three quarters topped VND1.4 trillion ($63 million), up 30 per cent year-on-year, with the ice cream segment alone contributing VND1.1 trillion ($50 million).

KDC said the segment would continue to grow since a plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh would begin production next month.

KDC has received approval from the State Securities Commission to buy 65 per cent cent of Tuong An Vegetable Oil Company.

KDC used to be a confectionery manufacturer, but sold its snack business to the US's Mondelez International Company last year to focus on foodstuff production.
On Usurpations and the Plague of Locusts

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.  Lincoln

Whenever a class of people, self-anointed, seek to impose Utopia on the world, evil ensues. Whenever a group of people seek to arrogate the power of the people to themselves, evil ensues. It is not merely that power corrupts but that some people are compelled to corrupt democratically distributed power through statist centralization. If the age of kings was the age of rule by one monarch, the current age drifts towards the rule of many smaller kings acting in unison. This is the age of the Multi-Monarchists; of rule by the faction of Little Hitlers. Their accoutrements are not uniforms and stark symbols, but cap & gown, press passes, and union cards. Their collective policy is plague.

All faction, no matter its origin or ideals, is in the end Fascist. The Founders knew Faction and feared it. Much of the Federalist Papers is taken up with the problem of suppressing Faction and the Constitution is the carefully wrought attempt at a solution to it. Of course, the Founders also knew that Faction as Facism is never finished except by fire and fire alone. This is why, in the Founders' founding document, The Declaration of Independence, they included this provision,

"... when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

As the Founders knew from their own experience, this is much easier said than done. It requires the blood of patriots and tyrants. And the Founders knew that sustaining such a government was even harder. Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation:

Well, Doctor, what have we gota Republic or a Monarchy?

A Republic," Franklin replied, "if you can keep it.

Every day I read of new usurpations of power as the current matched set of ruling elites takes a new section of the Constitution into the outhouse and emerges without it.

Usurpations of powers previously reserved to the American people in multitudes, swirling over the land like a cloud of locusts. These usurpations come in sizes large and small; from taxation disguised as fees, to legislative legerdemain in which bills of economic attainder will be "deemed" passed without a reading and, inside the cancerous towers of bureaucrats, a vote, to meddlesome intrusions into trout fishing in America.

Indeed, it seems that there is little in American life that has not of late had some appointed and malign Faction assigned to it for purposes of some dubious transformation into some off-brand stealth-socialist utopia. And in doing their work of transformation these Fascist Factionists devastate the public purse at the same time they feed at the public trough. The party that struggled for decades to Keep the government out of your bedroom, now seeks more and more ways in which the government can wander your home and your body and count your cups and calories.

H.L. Mencken, no stranger to realpolitik in the United States, put it this way, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

An American president during the shooting phase of our first Civil War put it this way:

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

-- - - Lincoln: 2nd Inaugural

Looking deeper still into history we can remember another time of great plagues when men who thought themselves God sought to enslave people in perpetuity:

And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. -- Exodus 10

In both instances the only solutions that could be found was not greater control of the people by the faction, but greater freedom for the people from all faction. Until they found that freedom again, until they managed to disenthrall themselves, the plagues only continued, and continued, and continued, and continued.



The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Passengers queue outside the entrance to London's City Airport on Oct 21, 2016 after an evacuation. (Photo: AFP/Daniel Leal-Olivas)

London's innermost airport re-opened three hours after the incident was first reported, after 500 people were evacuated and several passengers treated for breathing difficulties.

A search of the airport "led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas or spray", Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement.

"Whilst the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge of this canister.

"Officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in. There have been no arrests and enquiries continue."

The London Ambulance Service said two casualties were taken to hospital and 25 treated at the scene for breathing difficulties.

David Morris, 28, said he was at the check-in desk for his flight to Edinburgh.

"I was talking and started to cough to the point I was not able to keep talking," he said, calling the situation "quite scary"

"Within two minutes, they shouted for everyone to get out," he said, with check-in staff jumping over their desks. "Everyone was shouting and rushing towards the door."

PASSENGERS LEFT IN LIMBO

The London Fire Brigade was called to "reports of a chemical incident" at the airport in east London's Docklands, which caters mainly for business travellers and short-haul flights.

It said the terminal was "ventilated, searched and declared safe", adding that "no elevated readings" had been registered during the search.

Several incoming flights from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris were diverted to other airports or cancelled.

The airport said there would be continued disruption to flights and urged passengers to contact their airlines.

Spanish businessman Fernando Bausa was hoping to travel to Madrid.

"Our flight has been cancelled, after waiting here more than three hours. Now we are trying to know what's going to happen with us, if there will be another flight tomorrow," he told AFP.

Caitlan Russell, a South African travelling to the Netherlands, said: "When I arrived, it was just people standing around, with medical blankets on, and lots of ambulances, emergency services."

German tourist Anne Kunz was flying to Luxembourg. "The help we received was great. We received blankets, coffee and cold drinks," she said.

London City Airport is the 13th busiest airport in Britain, with a total of 4.3 million passengers last year.
Tourists who depart from Hanoi have to negotiate seven snaking passes to get to the remote northeastern region to admire the stunning Ban Gioc Waterfall. Along the way, tourists can admire Meliaceae flowers in white or white reed swinging in the wind.

Ban Gioc is the fourth largest border waterfall after Iguazu Waterfall between Brazil and Argentina, Victoria Waterfall between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and Niagara between Canada and the U.S. It is one of the 10 most spectacular waterfalls in the world as rated by Touropia in 2015.

The waterfall has two parts. The main lower part is in Guangxi Province of China and the auxiliary higher part is in Dam Thuy Commune, Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province. The waterfall is 53 meters high and 300 meters wide and has three levels of smaller waterfalls.

There is a small sloping path to the waterfall. Buses with a seating capacity of 25 people or less can travel on the path while passengers on bigger buses should drop off at a parking lot of the Vietnam border station and walk down the path.

Tourists can take a raft ride to get close to the foot of the waterfall at a price of VND50,000 per person. Sitting on a 20-square-meter raft, visitors can admire the other side of the waterfall. They are not allowed to cross into Chinese overland territory.

After disembarking from the raft, tourists can drop by Vietnams border marker 836 which was set up in 2001 for a great photo opportunity.
A family gathers their belongings along a highway after their house was destroyed by super typhoon Haima in San Pablo town, Isabela province, north of Manila. (Photo: AFP)

Super Typhoon Haima struck late on Wednesday night with winds similar to those of catastrophic Haiyan in 2013, which was then the strongest storm to hit the disaster-prone country and claimed more than 7,350 lives.

At least eight people were killed and another was missing while tens of thousands lost their homes as Haima devastated farming and mountain communities across the north of the Philippines' main island of Luzon on Thursday.

"I cried when I saw my beans and squash plants that had been raked off by the winds. My mango trees were also toppled," farmer Leonardo Longan, 66, told AFP in the town of Penablanca, close to where Haima made landfall.

Like many of his neighbours, Longan and his wife now live in an improvised shelter with palm leaves for a roof, blankets for walls and a bed made from the collapsed wooden wall of his old dwelling.

They sent their four school-age children to live with a relative, and borrowed rice from a local trader.

A military plane-load of food aid was flown to the region on Friday to augment supplies positioned there ahead of the disaster, Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council told reporters in Manila.

But in Penablanca, a farming town of about 42,000 people, Longan said aid had yet to arrive.

In San Pablo, another Cagayan Valley town about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Penablanca, four families spent Thursday night on a roadside after Haima flattened their homes.

"No one has helped us. It is just us and other families, helping each other on the side of the road," Jovy Dalupan, a mother of two, told AFP.

NO DRY CLOTHES

Dalupan said her daughters, aged eight months and four years, had started coughing after being drenched during the storm and that their clothes were still wet.

"But we have nothing to change into," she said.

A preliminary report from the northern Cordillera region listed eight people killed by landslides and a man missing after being swept away on a swollen river.

More than 50,000 people in typhoon-affected areas in the north had received aid, although the total number of people who needed help was not known.

Communication lines have yet to be restored in about half of the Cordilleras and so the extent of the typhoon's fallout there could not yet be determined, said Marasigan, the disaster council spokeswoman said.

Dozens of farming villages in Bataan and Pampanga provinces to the south near Manila remained under water on Friday, as water flowed down from the northern mountains, regional officials said, with nearly 40,000 residents seeking refuge on higher ground.

The Philippine islands are often the first major landmass to be hit by storms that generate over the Pacific Ocean. The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms each year, many of them deadly.

The most powerful and deadliest was Haiyan, which destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013.

Haima was the second typhoon to hit the northern Philippines in a week, after Sarika struck on Sunday claiming at least one life and leaving three people missing.

Haima hit Hong Kong and the southern Chinese mainland on Friday, after weakening into a typhoon with wind speeds of 145 kilometres (90 miles) an hour.

More than 700 flights in and out of Hong Kong were cancelled or delayed as the city's usually frenetic streets were deserted with schools closed and other precautions put in place under a Number 8 storm signal, the third-highest warning level.
Army soldiers raise their weapons in celebration on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on the nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city. (AP Photo)
Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waits behind his podium as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton makes her way off the stage after the third presidential debate at UNLV in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Mindful Eating: Slower Consumption for Better Health

With tight schedules and busy lives, sitting down to a meal free of distraction can be more of a luxury than the norm. Mindful eating gets pushed aside for many reasons. Taking a break to satisfy your hunger may also seem like the perfect opportunity to catch up on social
Views of Russia are playing a surprising role in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The U.S. government has formally accused Moscow of conducting cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee to influence the elections in favor of Republican nominee Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin denies any meddling. That is just one issue, however, involving Russia where Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton bitterly disagree.

In the last two years, Russia has adopted a more assertive foreign policy: First with its takeover of Crimea and support of Ukrainian separatist rebels, and second, with its intervention in Syria on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Moscow's actions have been a frequent topic of this year's presidential debates and rallies. Democrat Hillary Clinton challenged Trump to condemn Russia for interfering in the U.S. elections at their final debate: "So I actually think the most important question of this evening... is finally, will Donald Trump admit and condemn that the Russians are doing this, and make it clear that he will not have the help of Putin in this election, that he rejects Russian espionage against Americans, which he, uh, actually encouraged in the past. Those are the questions we need answered. We've never had anything like this happen in any of our elections before."

Trump responded by attacking Clinton on her failed attempt to re-start U.S.-Russian relations as secretary of state. Where Clinton and others see Russian aggression, Trump sees opportunity: "I don't know Putin, he said nice things about me, if we got along well, that would be good. If Russia and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good. He has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president."

The rhetoric escalated at the final debate, with Clinton saying Putin would prefer Trump because he would prefer a "puppet." Trump responded angrily, "No puppet. You're the puppet."

Foreign policy analyst Thomas Wright of the Brookings Institution said there is no love lost between Putin and Clinton: "Putin blames Secretary Clinton for the protests against his return to power in 2012. He thinks the United States, and particularly the State Department, was behind those."

Terrorism expert Malcolm Nance agrees that the antipathy between Putin and Clinton is mutual. He said Putin and Clinton have exchanged insults in the past, with Putin telling Clinton women should be silent. Clinton responding by saying she knows how to deal with him because she has experience dealing with elementary school children.

Nance says Trump's position on Russia differs dramatically from nearly all mainstream Republican and Democratic foreign policy leaders, and from that of his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence: "He believes that Russia's positions  the obsolescence of NATO, the destruction of the European Union, leaving Russia to have full rein in Eastern Europe, as it sees fit, and allowing Russia to do what it wants with Syria are almost a checklist of Vladimir Putin's requirements."

Clinton has vowed to shore up major U.S. alliances, such as NATO, and to continue being a reliable partner for allies if she is elected president.

Trump says if he is elected, he would ask NATO countries and other U.S. allies, such as Japan and South Korea, to do more to pay for their own defense.
The death toll has risen to 73 after a train derailed and crashed Friday outside Cameroon's capital, Yaounde. Hundreds more were injured.

The Ndjock Luk family mourns the death of their 54-year-old mother near the train station in Eseka. She was travelling for a funeral service in Cameroon's economic capital, Douala, when the train derailed and she died.

Their daughter, Patience Ananga, who was travelling alongside the family of seven, says she was rushed to the hospital.

"My stomach is paining. My head is paining," she said. "I was rushed to the hospital where I was asked questions and they injected me and asked me to go and see the doctor and she sent me to go and do some tests. I did the tests but the results are not yet out"

Twenty-one-year-old Alvine Batamo was rushed to the psychiatric unit of the Eseka hospital where doctors said her situation was stable. She told VOA what she remembers about the accident.

She says when the train started crashing, she had an impression she was flying for one corner of the rail car to another like a bird. She says almost everyone was shouting the name of Jesus and crying for help.

Businessman Atanga Martin says while in the train he observed that the brake system may have been faulty.

He says they noticed that the brake system on the train was faulty because of the strong smell emanating from the locomotive. He says although they were worried because the train was in stop speed, they had no one to complain to until they found themselves in bushes near the rail line. There has been no official cause given for the wreck.

Cameroon's minister of transport, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o, alongside six other government ministers, visited the accident site. Mebe Ngo'o says 53 people died and 600 were wounded, yet the hospital has only a capacity of 60 beds. He says they have ordered the victims to be transported from the Eseka hospital, which is overwhelmed.

He says he is calling on everyone to double efforts to save the lives of the injured and calling on railway authorities to help them evacuate patients and save lives.

The train crashed between Yaounde and Douala while carrying about 1,300 passengers. It normally carries 600 but the number of their clients increased when some culverts on the only route linking Yaounde and Douala sank as a result of a land slide following heavy rains.

Railway officials said they increased the number of cars from 8 to 18 to cope with the huge number of customers, but the 30-year-old rail line apparently could not carry the heavy load.

Cameroon government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma says the government has ordered investigations to probe the circumstances that led to the accident.

He says President Paul Biya is extending a message of condolence to the bereaved families and encouraging the wounded during this very difficult moment Cameroon is facing. He says the president has asked the government to assist all victims with whatever they need for their treatment. He says investigations have been opened to determine the causes of the accident.

It is feared the death toll may increase. Rescue workers are still digging through the rubble in search of survivors and bodies.
For the 29 years that Pheng Ang has called Lowell home, he hasn't seen the local Cambodian-American community, the second largest in the U.S., as politically fragmented as it is today.

With the U.S. presidential election just weeks away, however, the rift has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. It's the roiling feud between political camps nearly 13,000 kilometers away that's taking a toll on locals.

Before, there were some factions, Pheng, a 71-year-old father of five, told VOA Khmer. But when the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) came to indoctrinate people here, there was a severe fracture in the community, which rarely had unity, even among [Buddhist] monks.

Pheng, who escaped the war-torn Southeast Asian country in 1987, has always been aware of the long shadow its domestic politics cast over life in Massachusetts. But ever since a visit earlier this year by Hun Manet, son of long-time Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, divisions have only deepened.

It was on that one day in April that Manet, a senior military figure and heir-apparent to a polarizing regime in Phnom Penh, was greeted by angry protesters accusing him of violating human rights and repressing the political will of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Voting bloc disintegrated

In the 1980s, large numbers of Cambodian refugees began arriving in the northeastern state of Massachusetts  predominately in the city of Lowell  as war gripped the tiny kingdom, which was still shaking off atrocities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge.

Rithy Uong, the first Cambodian elected to Lowell's nine-member city council, says the 30,000-strong Cambodian-American community was caring and unified when he arrived in the '80s.

In the past, we could talk to each other easily," he told VOA Khmer. "But now there are the CPP, the CNRP, the existing Sam Rainsy Party and other smaller parties. We can still talk, of course, but its just hard because the other party said if they are associated with us, they would be in trouble.

Imported political divisions have had consequences for municipal elections, he added, explaining that Lowell's ethnic Cambodian voting bloc is so fragmented that its voice in city hall has been diluted. Currently, there are no Cambodian councilors. While Cambodian-American Veasna Nuon was elected to the city council in 2011, he held the position for only a single two-year term; he and three other Cambodian-American candidates were all unsuccessful in last year's election.

Two other Cambodian-Americans, Kamara Kay and Dominik Hok Y Lay, ran unsuccessfully last year for seats on Lowells school committee.

"They dont always vote as a bloc, Lowell Mayor Edward Kennedy told VOA Khmer. So maybe their voice at the polls is not as loud as it would be if they vote in unison.

Passing storm

It wasn't always this way.

The first generation of Cambodians who migrated to Lowell more than three decades ago focused on building better lives for themselves individually, so politics typically wasn't high on the agenda.

But Cambodia's domestic politics eventually followed them here, working its way into local religious institutions, triggering a political segregation of Buddhist temples, physical division of community centers, and the organization of local leadership roles according to homeland political allegiances.

Newly arriving Cambodian immigrants, residents say, continue to arrive with long-held political convictions intact. While some prominent Cambodian-Americans such as Sovann Ou, Phnom Penh's honorary consul general in Lowell, declined to comment for this article, others openly speculated about how to heal the rift.

Most of the CPP members I know live here [and] also have families here, and they regard this city as their home, too," said Tolayuth Ok, a representative of the ruling CPPs youth movement in Lowell.

"There are no intentions to break the [Lowell] community," he said of Hun Sen's ruling party officials. We all love our society and our nation, too.

On the other side of the political divide, Sok Paul Pen, president of the U.S.-based CNRP youth movement, says it's time for stakeholders in the Cambodian-American community, especially the non-political Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA), to take a leading role in reuniting the fractured" diaspora.

I would like to appeal to the CMAA that they have to think of [the issue] and step into the political sphere to solve this, he said.

That, however, seems unlikely to happen. CMAA Executive Director Sovanna Pouv says his associations mission was focused on Cambodians in Lowell, not politics in Cambodia or its local manifestation.

If we focus a lot on what is happening in [Cambodia], which we have high respect for, and we respect everyone that is connected to the country, it pulls away from our true work here in the U.S., he said.

Another community leader, Sidney Liang, compares Lowell's politically charged environment to a passing storm.

Political division? Not so

Outsiders may think that the people in Lowell must be divided when they saw a protest taking place here, but in fact thats not true, he said, echoing the opinion of Rady Mom, the Cambodian-born State Representative for the 18th Middlesex district in Massachusetts, who frequently downplays talk of a fragmented community.

If we often mention the fracture or division, thats not correct. We should get rid of that term, said Rady, who is currently seeking a second term.

If you just look at our pagodas we built, those came from our unity, he said, referring to the construction of two separate pagodas in Lowell. Their concurrent construction didn't reflect a divided community, he said, but one that's rapidly expanding.

Political parties and their respective support bases need to focus on mutually beneficial debates rather than destructive political diatribes, said Tararith Kho, a former Harvard fellow and current Khmer literature lecturer at Lowell Community College.

I am aware of the division, Tararith said. But, I would just like to tell the Khmer community in this city that we should learn how to quarrel with each other in a constructive manner, and not in a way [that] furthers the fracture.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Khmer Service


Fighting in Yemen, with government forces and their Saudi-led allies battling Houthi rebels backed by Iran, raged from Friday into Saturday on the Saudi-Yemen border, despite a 72-hour cease-fire that ended late Saturday.

Witnesses reported Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Houthi missile launchers east of the capital, Sana'a.

All parties had agreed to honor the U.N.-backed truce as a means to allow critically needed supplies to reach civilians cut off from outside help.

U.N. special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed had described the truce as "largely holding" on Saturday and was seeking to extend it, but there was no information available on whether combatants would agree to such a move.

Ahmed described the cease-fire as an opportunity to establish a foundation for talks to end nearly two years of civil war in Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia on the south. Monitors say nearly 7,000 people, at least half of them civilians, have died since the uprising began.

Late Friday, Ahmed met in the Saudi capital with exiled Yemen Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, and said afterward that Yemeni government forces were "exercising restraint" in the face of what he said were more than 400 truce violations by Shi'ite rebel fighters.

The cease-fire was the sixth formal attempt to end the fighting since the Saudi-led Sunni coalition of Gulf states intervened early last year to support the internationally recognized Sunni government of President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi.

Houthis launched their rebellion in 2014, after years of accusing the Sunni-led Sana'a government of widespread discrimination.
Ghana's former first lady and opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) presidential candidate Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings says she has what it takes to defeat incumbent President John Dramani Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7 presidential poll.

The Electoral Commission (EC) disqualified Agyeman Rawlings and 11 other presidential candidates for failing to meet requirements before the September 30 deadline to file nomination documents.

The electoral body says the qualified candidates who would compete in the presidential vote include incumbent President Mahama, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) and Jacob Osei Yeboah, an independent candidate.

In an interview with VOA, Agyeman Rawlings said she has the experience and the pedigree to win the elections. She blames the ruling party for masterminding her disqualification -- an accusation the NDC sharply rejects.

This country, Ghana, needs leadership that cares for its citizens. A leadership that is bold in its fight against corruption, a leadership that has proven strength in putting Ghana and Ghanaians first and indeed I am running for president because I know that I am that leader and my track record is really acting in the best interest of my nation and is there for all to see. So, my work with the women to the youth to the various development projects, I have always done what is best for Ghana and for Ghanaians, said Agyeman Rawlings.

A court in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, begins hearing a petition Tuesday from disqualified presidential candidates who are challenging the electoral commission decision that is preventing them from running.

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings maintains the electoral commission failed to uphold the law, which she says requires the electoral body to notify her party of any possible errors in the nomination documents to be corrected ahead of the deadline date.

Citing provision CI 94 of electoral regulations, Agyeman Rawlings contends that the electoral commission failed to apply the law that requires it to notify the party of any problems in the partys nomination documents.

It is clear at this point that the electoral commission is being manipulated by the ruling party to fight its wars for them. This is because they know that if my name appears on the ballot paper, they cant win simply, because they have lost the goodwill of the people of Ghana and have no moral authority to lead this nation anymoreThe EC should have given our party and myself an opportunity by law for us to correct the said error. This they did not do, said Agyeman Rawlings.

The regulation that Agyeman Rawlings cited says, "Whenever the nomination paper and the statutory declaration of a candidate are delivered and the deposit is paid in accordance with these regulations, the candidate shall be considered to stand nominated, unless proof is given to the satisfaction of the returning officer of the candidates death, withdrawal or disqualification." It also states that the returning officer shall inform the candidates nomination is invalid where (a) the particulars of the candidate or the persons subscribing to the nomination paper are not as required by law or (b) the nomination paper is not subscribed to as required by law, and shall give the candidate an opportunity to make amendments or any alteration necessary, within the stipulated nomination period.

Critics have challenged Agyeman Rawlings to provide proof of her accusations that the ruling NDC is to blame for her disqualification. The electoral commission rejected the accusation that it is doing the bidding of the NDC.

Eric Dzakpasu, spokesman for the electoral commission, told VOA that the electoral body is enforcing the countrys laws to the latter to ensure an equal playing field. He also said the electoral commission would not be distracted or deterred from carrying out its mandate to administer free fair and credible elections this December.

They are not applying the law. When they were asked about the law, which is LI CI 94, some of the commissioners have said they have their own internal law which they are using. Which means that their internal regulations now supersedes the laws of Ghana? It cannot be so. Because my forms actually did meet the regulations so if they are going to do something against me, then they should make sure that what they are doing is lawful and does not do anything that goes against the laws of Ghana, said Agyeman Rawlings.

We are looking at the fact that the EC cannot disqualify me from being part of the voting system in Ghana. So definitely, I think that by the time we finish with this court case, [they] would have to put my name back on it and the NDP back on the form.

Opponents say the former first lady should forget about her personal ambitions to seek to become president. They called on her to rather support Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings -- her daughter, who is seeking to be elected to parliament in one of the constituencies in the capital, Accra. They said since the former first lady has been around the Ghanaian presidency for at least 19 years, when her husband Jerry John Rawlings was the countrys head of state, she should just be an elder statesperson to be consulted for guidance rather than seek political power. They contend that Ghana is not a dynasty and that the burgeoning democracy isnt as matured to allow the same family to continue to rule the country as if there are no other qualified citizens.

The issue is its not how many years you have been there [near power], but that the value that you would bring to the Ghanaian leadership. My value that I would bring to the Ghanaian leadership is about the people, not the leader. As such, what I have done for Ghana is what will show and they would have to judge me on that directly, said Agyeman Rawlings.
This year's U.N. report on tuberculosis was a shocker. The World Health Organization's Global TB Report 2016 said the spread of the disease is larger than previously estimated, and that global efforts to beat it are falling far short of what is needed.

Although the overall number of TB deaths continues to fall across the globe, new data showed 50 percent more cases exist in India than previously thought, so the total number of cases worldwide has increased from 9.6 million to 10.4 million. Six countries - India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa - account for 60 percent of the total number of people with TB.

Dr. Eric Goosby, the United Nations Special Envoy on Tuberculosis, told VOA in a Skype interview that because of better surveillance, the numbers are more accurate. But on the other hand, he said, not all cases of TB are being counted, because many countries have outdated surveillance systems.

Scientific modeling shows that more than four million people with TB are not being treated, but no one knows where they are. This means the disease is spreading undetected. That, Goosby said, is what worries him.

"TB is the threat that can be spread by an aerosolized spread: not by behavior that increases your risk, but by standing behind somebody in line who coughs and infects you with a micro-bacterium. No high-risk behavior associated with it other than [being in the] wrong place at the wrong time."

Within weeks after exposure to tuberculosis, a person develops a cough, fever, night sweats, then starts to lose weight. TB usually attacks the lungs, but it can attack any organ. It kills 5,000 people a day, more than the number of people who die of malaria and HIV. "And we cannot find it in our country budgets to prioritize TB as a health threat," Goosby said.

Like Ebola, tuberculosis thrives in poor communities, where people live in crowded conditions with poor sanitation and poor nutrition.

As the world learned with Ebola, diseases don't stay put. Modern travel took the Ebola virus around the world, and it can do the same with TB. Yet, Goosby said, people have become complacent about this killer disease.

"Our political will has waned, and it has been de-prioritized in ministries of health as the urgent, emergent disease to respond to. As a result, we see TB beginning to increase in the number of deaths its causing," the U.N. official told VOA. "We are now at a death rate of 1.8 million a year, which puts TB as the number-one infectious disease killer on the planet."

"We can diagnose it, we can treat it with effective anti-microbacterial drugs, and cure it in about 90 percent of cases with the current drugs that are available."

The need to find and treat people with TB is urgent because the disease is developing a resistance to the the two most potent TB drugs. The WHO views drug-resistant tuberculosis as a public health crisis that needs to be stopped.

Based on WHO estimates, some 480,000 people contracted multi-drug resistant TB in 2015 - more than half of them in India, China and Russia. And most people who have multi-drug resistant TB are not getting proper treatment.

As for the millions of cases that are undocumented, Goosby said, "Every country should know what their portion of that 4.3 million is, and on a geo-mapping level, map out where those new infections are, go find them, identify them and retain them in care. Its got to be that pro-active."

As the United Nations' special envoy on TB, Goosby's challenge is to get presidents and their ministers of health and finance to see how perilous the TB epidemic is.

If all countries cooperate, TB can be stopped, Goosby says. The goal is to end the disease by 2030. It's a tall order, but Goosby was a player in the global effort to bring HIV under control. He says it can be done.


Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has formally rejected a bid from Turkey to participate in the military push to retake the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State extremists.

Abadi, speaking Saturday, said the existing alliance would handle the battle without Turkey's help.

Abadi spoke in Baghdad, after unscheduled talks with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who has sought to ease rising tensions between Turkey's Sunni leadership and Abadi's Shi'ite government.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday gave voice to the frayed bilateral ties, demanding a role in the Mosul battle and warning that Turkish troops already positioned in northern Iraq would not take orders from the Shi'ite government in Baghdad.

"Turkey's army has not lost enough of its quality to take orders from you," Erdogan said in comments aimed at Abadi.

On Saturday, Abadi responded.

"The battle of Mosul is an Iraqi one," he said. "The Iraqis plan and carry out the fight. I know that the Turks want to participate; we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle, and the Iraqis will liberate Mosul and the rest of the territories."

For his part, Carter, speaking to reporters in Baghdad, said the issue of a Turkish role in the Mosul fight was a difficult subject. He also stressed that Iraq's sovereignty was paramount in the push against Islamic State.

"I also reaffirm to you today the vital importance of every country operating with full respect for Iraqi sovereignty," he said. "That is the principle upon which the international coalition and everything that it does in this country is 100 percent committed to, and I wanted to say that and confirm that to you."

As Carter met with Iraqi leaders and coalition commanders in Iraq on Saturday, renewed fighting was reported on the outskirts of Iraq's second-largest city, in a battle expected to rage for weeks or longer.

Iraqi special forces engaged IS militants near Bartella, which was retaken Thursday. No one was injured, but the incident highlighted the dangers Iraqi forces still face in areas that have been taken back from the militants.

Battling fumes

Nearby, U.S. advisers and allied troops at a logistical base south of Mosul were coping with potentially toxic fumes after IS militants bombed a nearby sulfur plant on Thursday. Witnesses said the fumes hospitalized hundreds of locals who complained of breathing problems.

When winds shifted Saturday toward the south, U.S. military officials took air samples to determine the extent of the immediate threat.

Separately, an Iraqi television journalist was killed Saturday as he was covering a battle near the village of al-Shura, south of Mosul. Al-Sumaria TV said on its website that the journalist was Ali Raysan.

Also, Iraqi officials said that Friday's coordinated assault by IS fighters in the strategic northern oil city of Kirkuk had ended in failure, with all attackers either killed in battle or blown up by their own explosives.

Carter and Erdogan

On Friday, Carter and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Ankara to discuss the need to increase military cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey in the campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria.

A U.S. Defense Department statement said the leaders agreed to maintain frequent communication and close coordination among members of the coalition fighting IS to ensure a "lasting defeat" of the terrorist group.

The Turkish and Iraqi governments have been feuding about the presence of an estimated 1,000 Turkish troops encamped since late last year near Turkey's border to train Sunni and Kurdish fighters.

Baghdad has repeatedly called on Turkey to withdraw the troops, a demand the Ankara government continues to reject.
"Of course we are afraid there are bombs planted in our homes," said Badirkhan Moussa, who fled his home on foot two years ago when Islamic State militants stormed his village. "But we won't be happy again until we go home, and go inside."

In a dirt parking lot between a fallen bridge blown up by IS a year ago and a peshmerga military checkpoint, Moussa and his neighbors waited for two hours to get permission to travel into the war zone surrounding Mosul to visit their homes after IS fighters were driven out in recent days.

As families drove in with their permission slips, the Iraqi and peshmerga forces both announced gains in the battle with IS. The army said it was advancing in Bakhdida, about 20 kilometers from Mosul, and Qayyara, nearly 75 kilometers to the south. Peshmerga forces tweeted that they were beginning a "major advance from three fronts."

But IS militants were continuing to wreak havoc in Iraq, as fighting in Kirkuk continued for a second day and nearly 1,000 people reportedly were treated for inhaling toxic fumes near Mosul. The U.S. military said IS fighters set a sulfur plant on fire as they fled.

Stream of visitors

With several villages cleared of IS fighters, a steady stream of people were visiting their homes and streets despite the fear  and expectation  that IS left explosive booby traps in their wake.

"Of course we are nervous," said Ali Mohammad, an off-duty soldier with the Iraqi army. "But we are all going at our own risk." Hours before, mortar fire had hit a nearby formerly IS-controlled village.

The peshmerga army is granting permission to travel into military zones, but not guaranteeing security to residents visiting villages directly behind their fighting line. Mohammad said he was going to his home, but that they would all return before nightfall, taking with them anything that was left.

But a few hours later, Mohammad said there was nothing to take. All the valuables were gone and many homes had been bombed out.

"There were three or four blankets and a water container left in my house," he said. "The whole village is like this."

Despite the destruction, added neighbor Abbass, a day laborer, it was a relief to finally see their homes. "It's been 2 years," he said. "We miss our village."

Chaos

The relative calm in the area surrounding the front lines of the battle toward Mosul may be short lived, said Azat Umar Moloud, the manager of Hajj Idrees Seudin Surchi, a local aid organization. And the calm is merely relative, as an explosion interrupted him.

At an unoccupied camp about 30 kilometers outside Mosul, Moloud said the thousands of already dusty tents set up were expected to fill quickly as military forces moved toward the city.

"This camp will not be enough for the refugees," he said. "But we are trying our best to help them."

Roughly a million people are expected to flee their homes if or when Iraqi and peshmerga forces fight their way into Mosul. Aid organizations were scrambling to erect 12,000 tents in the desert surrounding the war zone.

In a village near one of the camps, a few soldiers occupied a mosque, using it as a station to fix mechanical parts for peshmerga vehicles. Soldiers warned that other homes in the village, abandoned when IS took over the area, were still not safe to enter despite having been under security forces' control since last year.

"A homeowner came by," one soldier joked, sadly, "and asked if they could charge us rent."
Less than a week into the offensive to retake the Islamic States Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, the list of towns and villages freed from the terror groups grip continues to grow while Iraqi and Kurdish commanders praise the faster-than-expected pace.

Only U.S. military and intelligence officials remain cautious, warning that the terror group has no intention of losing the Iraqi capital of its self-declared caliphate.

The only question, they say, is which Islamic State will ultimately reveal itself when the battle reaches Mosul city streets: the crafty and pragmatic terror group, or the no less brutal apocalyptic death cult.

ISIL faces a decision point  does it hold the line in Mosul or beat a retreat? a U.S. intelligence official told VOA, speaking on condition of anonymity.

ISIL has in the past prioritized its own survival and in most cases fled when faced with overwhelming force, the official said, using one of several acronyms for the group. At the same time, Mosul is one of ISILs strongholds and is crucial to the groups claim of a caliphate.

Moderate resistance so far

For the past two years, IS has entrenched itself in Mosul, using the northern Iraqi city to bolster both its finances and its fighting forces. But U.S. military officials closely monitoring the progress of the Iraqi-led Mosul offensive say so far, IS has given few indications as to how the final battle for the city will play out.

Officials characterize IS resistance in the areas surrounding Mosul, so far, as moderate, featuring the use of artillery and sniper fire, IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and suicide bombers to slow, not stop, the advance of Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

IS fighters have also set fire to trenches and pits filled with oil and tires.

South of Mosul, IS fighters even set fire to a chemical factory, sending plumes of toxic smoke into the air, before finally retreating.

Just how many IS fighters are involved in setting up these so-called disruption zones is unclear. But U.S. officials estimate IS could have as many as 1,500 to 2,000 fighters at its disposal.

Officials say another 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters could be waiting inside Mosul itself. Of those, some may be as young as 12 to 15 years old, sent to the city more for indoctrination and propaganda purposes than for their military value.

There are also about 1,000 foreign fighters, some sent in within the past week or so as reinforcements.

The great unknowable is if ISIS stands and fights according to some version of its propaganda, said Patrick Skinner, a former intelligence officer now with The Soufan Group, a provider of strategic security intelligence services.

On some level, it's hard for a cult that preaches end-of-time battles to cut and run and fight another day, he said But they've been laying the ground work for exactly that for almost a year.

In for the long haul

There are some indications IS will fight to hold Mosul as long as possible.

U.S. military officials say the groups operational military commanders, the ones who would be directly involved in the defense of Mosul, have not yet left the city. And even with Iraqi and Kurdish forces quickly advancing from the south, north and east, there has been no sign of any attempts by those mid-level commanders or their fighters to escape to the west, to the IS-held city of Tal Afar and then, perhaps, to shrinking safe havens in Syria.

As the noose eventually tightens around Mosul, there may be nowhere to go for the 1,000 or so IS foreign fighters.

It's likely any last stand fighting will be by its foreign fighters who have a very limited shelf life in any future past the loss of Mosul, said The Soufan Groups Skinner. They barely fit in during the rule of ISIS. They will be hated and hunted afterward.

But there are also strong indications Mosul will not be the last stand for at least the groups most senior leaders.

Despite repeated assertions by various Iraqi officials that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is holed-up in Mosul, U.S. officials believe much of the senior leadership has already fled.

And even if Baghdadi is still in Mosul, his presence is unlikely to give IS any military advantage.

I would argue Baghdadi is in no position to participate in a last stand, said Nicholas Glavin, a senior researcher at the U.S. Naval War College's Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups. Hes the ideologue of this group and his charismatic presence is a driver of the Islamic States actions in and out of its core territories.
Calling North Korea leader Kim Jong Uns regime illegal and illegitimate, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday thanked the government of Kuwait for efforts to help counter the proliferation of North Korea.

Kuwait has "recently taken steps to curb flights and to make sure that revenues from workers are not sustaining an illegal and illegitimate regime in North Korea, Kerry said.



The top U.S. diplomat was meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah for the first bilateral Strategic Dialogue between the two nations.



North Koreas state airline, Air Koryo, has been operating frequent flights between Pyongyang and Kuwait City since 2011. But according to FlightRadar24, a live flight tracker, Air Koryo has altered its route between Pyongyang and Kuwait City to include a transit stop at Urumqi, China, this August.



The reduction of Air Koryos landing privileges at foreign airports is among the tools of a diplomatic campaign to enforce the United Nations Security Councils punitive resolutions against North Koreas nuclear provocation, according to the State Department.



Kuwaits economic relations with North Korea and Pyongyangs exports of guest workers to work on construction projects in Kuwait City provide essential remittance revenues for Pyongyangs struggling economy.

As one of the sources for North Koreas economic lifeline, Kuwait is under increasing international pressure. The U.S. has raised concerns with other governments about the use of workers from North Korea in their countries, which "generates significant revenue for the government," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Those reveneues may "enable" Pyongyangs nuclear program, Kirby said during Fridays briefing.



Washington has long-standing concerns about how to curtail DPRK's nuclear ballistic-missile proliferation programs through efforts of comprehensive and sustained pressure by the international community, Kirby added.
The massive military push to oust the so-called Islamic State from Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, involves Iraqis, Kurds, Americans and even members of the Iraq's Shi'ite community.

U.S. military officials have warned the operation, which is likely to include street battles once Iraqi and Kurdish troops fight their way inside Mosul, is likely to take weeks.

The complexity of the fight became obvious after IS militants attacked Kirkuk, a city to the east of Mosul.

The fighting has also prompted a frenzied rush of civilians, who are fleeing IS-controlled Mosul by the tens of thousands at great personal risk to U.N. camps in Syria.
An Afghan Taliban delegation has traveled to Pakistan from Qatar for talks with officials to raise various issues, including arrests of some insurgent leaders, shutting down of some religious seminaries for Afghan refugees and increasing problems facing the displaced community in the neighboring country.

A senior Taliban official requesting anonymity told VOA the three-member-delegation has been dispatched to Islamabad from its political headquarters in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state, to convey concerns and seek information on what prompted the arrests of Taliban members.

The main spokesman for the Islamist insurgency, Zabihullah Mujahid, while confirming to VOA the arrival of the Taliban delegation in Pakistan, said the group routinely interacts with countries with which Afghanistan enjoys diplomatic ties.

The delegation from Qatar has gone to Pakistan to take up with officials there problems facing Afghan refugees, their arrests, forceful evictions and deportations, Mujahid insisted. He said no political issues or discussions on prospects of any peace talks with the Afghan government will be on the table.

The spokesman rejected reports as unfounded the visit is meant to brief Pakistani authorities on recent secret meetings between Taliban and Afghan officials in Doha.

The delegation consists of two former ministers in the deposed Taliban government, Mullah Jan Muhammad Madani and Mullah Abdul Salam, and a former ambassador to Pakistan, Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar. All three are considered highly influential and respected within the Afghan insurgency.

Pakistani officials have not yet commented on the visit.

Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad Hazrat Omer Zakhilwal told VOA he "was aware of their (Taliban) visit," without discussing further details.

Speaking in Kabul, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Shakeb Mustaghani criticized the visit.



This visit is not related to Afghanistan, and travel bans placed on members of the delegation by U.N. sanctions should be taken into account. However, if the visit is related to peace activities, it needs to be fully explained, said Mustaghani, without elaborating. He was referring to U.N. travel restrictions on Taliban officials based in Qatar.

The Taliban visit comes after a senior Afghan official requesting anonymity told VOA earlier this week that Afghan intelligence chief Muhammad Masoom Stanekzai held two secret meetings with Taliban political envoys in Qatar in September and early October to discuss ways to resume the peace and reconciliation talks.

But Taliban spokesman Mujahid swiftly denied those reports as Kabuls propaganda, saying none of its officials met with Stanekzai or any other representative of the Afghan government. He also refuted reports of any future meetings with Afghan interlocutors in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistani intelligence sources have confirmed to VOA arrests of several top Taliban leaders in parts of the southwestern Baluchistan province, including its capital, Quetta. Senior members of the so-called Quetta Shura, or leadership council, Mullah Ahmadullah Nani and Mullah Sammad Sani are among the detainees.

In his comments Saturday, Mujahid said that there are religious seminaries or madrassas for Afghan refugees, but lately Pakistani authorities have started closing down some of these facilities, undermining education opportunities for refugee children.

The Pakistan government denies Afghan allegations it is covertly supporting the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan. Senior government officials in background interviews told VOA on condition of anonymity that fugitive Taliban members have been given a clear message and are being pressured to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government or relocate to Afghanistan along with their families.

Speaking Friday to an unofficial Afghan delegation of parliamentarians, former officials and civil society activists, Pakistani foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz said Pakistans message to all the combatants in Afghanistan is loud and clear: nobody can capture Afghanistan on its own, and the key to peace lies in talks.

We desire that both the NUG (National Unity Government) and the Taliban sort out issues among themselves and we will stand by them for any support we can lend to the process. He also welcomed unanimity of approach on the peace process within Kabul and hoped it would encourage all parties to join the process, a statement quoted Aziz as saying.

The advisor vowed that Pakistan is doing whatever it can to persuade all Taliban factions to become part of the peace process and indications are that many of them are now interested in joining the process.

Islamabad insists insurgents are part of nearly three million Afghan refugees living legally and illegally in Pakistan. Authorities have lately stepped up pressure on the refugee population to go back to Afghanistan, saying their localities are being used by anti-state elements for terrorist attacks on both sides of the border.

Pakistan brokered and hosted the first direct peace negotiations between the Taliban and President Ashraf Ghani's government in July last year in a bid to end the 15-year conflict in Afghanistan. Those preliminary discussions were directly monitored by U.S. and Chinese diplomats.

But a scheduled second round was scuttled after it was revealed Taliban founder and longtime leader Mullah Omar had been dead for two years. Relations have since deteriorated between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Kabul accusing Islamabad of not preventing the insurgents from using its soil for plotting attacks on the other side of the border; charges Pakistani officials reject as unfounded.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he did not mean he would cut off ties with the United States when he said in China that he was separating from the U.S., adding it's in his country's best interest to stay with America.

Despite the clarification, the tough-talking president kept up on his tirades against the U.S., saying in a late-night speech in his southern hometown of Davao city that he would never travel to America "in this lifetime."

At an economic forum Thursday in Beijing, where he made a state visit, Duterte declared "my separation from the United States ... both in military and economics also." His pronouncement was met with applause, but Duterte did not explain what he exactly intended to do and when.

Duterte, however, said in an arrival speech in Davao that he was not severing ties with his country's treaty ally that is home to a large number of Filipino expatriates.

'Best interest of my country'

"When you say severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that. Why? It's to the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship," Duterte said, adding that Filipinos were not ready to embrace such an option.

What he meant by his remarks in China, Duterte said, was ending a Philippine foreign policy that closely leaned toward the U.S.

Ahead of his China visit, Duterte made a series of pronouncements to curb Philippine security engagements with the U.S., including the removal of American counterterrorism forces in the country's south and his opposition to planned joint patrols with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea. He also wanted to stop annual joint combat exercises the Philippines hosted alongside the U.S. military that China opposes.

Duterte has said he did not want to embroil the Philippines in an unwinnable war with China, which could instead be tapped as a major trading partner and source of development funds.

U.S. officials said they have not received any formal Philippine notice of Duterte's pronouncements, adding the alliance benefits both countries and should continue to blossom.

However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday there had been "too many troubling public statements" by Duterte in recent months leading to uncertainty about his intent. He said that the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia would discuss that uncertainty when he travels to the Philippines this weekend.

Political attention

U.S.-Philippine ties also got attention on the U.S. presidential campaign trail Friday. Republican candidate Donald Trump told a rally in North Carolina that the Philippine shift toward closer relations with China after decades of a pro-U.S. foreign policy showed that "America has grown weak."

He said that the Philippines is a "very important strategic ally" and China and Russia "are probably going to take it."

Duterte's reaching out to China, which has been locked in longstanding territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea, and his severe criticisms of the U.S. has come under fire at home.

Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who brought the triumphant arbitration case against China over the disputes, said Duterte's shift from Washington to Beijing should be regarded "a national tragedy."

"The declared shift in foreign policy, casting aside a long-time reliable ally to hastily embrace an aggressive neighbor that vehemently rejects international law, is both unwise and incomprehensible," del Rosario said in a statement.

"What is unfolding before us must be considered a national tragedy, which does not need to happen," he said.

The criticism by del Rosario, a respected Asian diplomat, is among the strongest so far of Duterte's declared policy to back away from America while reaching out to China and Russia. His main political ally, former President Fidel Ramos, has also criticized Duterte's profane tirades against President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

South China Sea dispute

As the foreign secretary of Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, del Rosario spearheaded the filing of an arbitration case that challenged the validity of China's claims to virtually the entire South China Sea. In its July ruling, the tribunal invalidated China's claims under a 1982 U.N. treaty in an embarrassing defeat that Beijing has ignored.

The U.S. and its Western and Asian allies have called on China to respect the outcome.

At the end of Duterte's trip to China, both countries announced in a joint statement several trade and business deals and closer cooperation on a range of concerns. They added they have resumed dialogue on the South China Sea.

There was no mention of the arbitration ruling or Duterte's call for China to respect the rights of Filipinos to fish in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Beijing's coast guard ships continue to drive them away. But both sides agreed to continue talking.

"Without prejudice to other mechanisms, a bilateral consultation mechanism can be useful, which will meet regularly on current and other issues of concern to either side on the South China Sea," the joint statement said.
The Philippines foreign affairs secretary is clarifying his country's relationship with the United States, two days after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his "separation" from Washington during a visit to Beijing.

While calling the United States the "closest friend" of the Philippines, foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay said that the country must separate from its "former colonial master" in order to advance its growth and international relations.

Since he was elected in May, President Duterte has carried through on pledges for a nationwide crackdown on drugs, earning criticism from human rights groups and nations including the United States. In response, he has ended joint military drills with U.S. forces and embraced closer relations with Beijing.

During his a speech before Chinese business leaders this past week, Duterte said, "America has lost now. I've realigned myself in your ideological flow."

He later said that he did not mean Manila would cut diplomatic ties with the United States, which Yasay echoed in a Facebook post Saturday.

"Indeed, breaking away from our closest friend, only military ally and strategic partner would not be in our best national interest," Yasay.

"And yet, separation from our former colonial master is demanded in pursuing our independent foreign policy. It implies breaking away from the debilitating mindset of dependency and subservience - economically and militarily - that have perpetuated our "little brown brother" image to America, which has stunted our growth and advancement."

The post, titled "letting go as interdependent brothers," went on to explain Duterte's "new course" of trade and economic relations with other Asian countries - particularly China.
The United Nations and officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons say the Syrian government is responsible for a third chemical attack that affected a region already torn by war.

The group's fourth report during a 13-month investigation sent to the U.N. Security Council late Friday shows there is sufficient evidence to confirm the governments role in the March 16, 2015 strike on Qmenas in Idlib governorate.

The report blames President Bashar al-Assads government for using several barrel bombs containing chlorine gas dropped by military helicopters.

The investigation could not confirm the personnel in control of the military units, but the weapons originated from two bases belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade in Syria. The report said officials must be held accountable."

Accusations of chemical attacks have been a fixture of the Syrian conflict with both the government and rebels blaming each other during the past five years of war.

The ongoing investigation attributes three chemical attacks to the Syrian government and one to the Islamic State group. No conclusion was reached in five other alleged chemical attacks.

Besides Qmenas, experts blame the Syrian government for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes, April 21, 2014, and Sarmin, March 16, 2015. The information was released in a third report two months ago.

Experts were not able to confirm who was responsible for the 2014 barrel bombs in Kfar Zita in Hama governorate because fragments of the device used in the strike had been removed and could not be definitely associated with the location.

The United States, Britain and France are urging the U.N. Security Council to enforce sanctions on the Syrian government for using chemical weapons. Russia and China, however, are not likely to agree and could veto any new sanctions measures.

Before submission of the latest report, Russia said the conclusions could not be used to impose U.N. sanctions.

The U.N. is scheduled to discuss the report next Thursday.
Nineteen people were killed Saturday when a helicopter carrying oil workers crashed in northwestern Siberia. Weather may be to blame, the Russia aviation agency reported.



Russian officials said the Mi-8 helicopter carrying 22 people was flying from Vankor to Staryi Yrengoi in the Yamalo-Nenets region when the incident happened 45 kilometers from Staryi Urengoi.



According to a preliminary investigation, all three crew members and 16 of the 19 workers onboard died at the scene. The helicopter was taking workers from a subcontractor of Russian oil giant Rosneft, TASS state news reported.

It took a rescue team hours to find the crash site due to fog and poor visibility.

Emergency workers found the helicopter lying on its side, but they were still able to save three people from the wreckage.

The three passengers are reported to have suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries. They were able to call rescuers on the phone from inside the helicopter after it crashed, saying the aircraft "flew into strong winds and fell."

Russia's civil aviation authority has opened an investigation, but said "based on preliminary data, the incident could be linked to unfavorable weather conditions."

Officials said a special commission will investigate the crew's decision to fly during adverse weather.

President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the victims' relatives and loved ones.
A senior Egyptian army officer was shot dead near his home in an eastern Cairo suburb Saturday.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, identified the victim as Brigadier-General Adel Ragai, commander of the army's 9th armored division based at the military base of Dahshour west of Cairo.

It was not immediately clear why Ragai was targeted, but Islamic militants have in the past killed army and police officers in the Sinai Peninsula.

A little-known group called Liwa al-Thawra claimed responsibility for the attack, in a message posted on Twitter.

Jihadists loyal to so-called Islamic State are waging a deadly insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Saturday's shooting came as violence has increased in the turbulent northern part of Sinai, including airstrikes and raids targeting suspected militant hideouts.

Egyptian security forces have fought militants in the Sinai for years, but the insurgency grew deadlier after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi led the military's 2013 ouster of Egypt's first democratically elected civilian president, Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood.

An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence against Morsi Saturday. It is the first final verdict against Morsi on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012.

In June 2016, another court sentenced Morsi to life on charges of "leading a terrorist group," a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was blacklisted by Egyptian authorities in late 2013.
Somali pirates Saturday released 26 sailors who were captured during a ship hijacking nearly five years ago, bringing to an end one of the longest-running hostage taking cases in the country, officials said.

Sources close to the pirates told a VOA reporter in the region that hostages were released after their captors were paid a $2 million ransom, a claim repeated by one pirate in an interview with a local media outlet.

We have freed the crew after the agreed ransom of $2 million was paid," a pirate who identified himself as Omar Nur told a local radio station by telephone.

I can only confirm that the crew have been released and they will be getting out of Somalia on Sunday, Galmudug ports Minister, Burhan Warsame Igal, told VOA. He declined to give details on the process of the hostages release, and if a ransom was paid.

The crew consisted of members from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Somali pirates hijacked their Omani flagged fishing Vessel, FV Naham 3 in March 2012 roughly 65 nautical miles south of the Seychelles.

More than a year after its capture, the Naham 3 sank and the crew was brought ashore, where they had been held by pirates under harsh living circumstances

The U.N.-backed Hostage Support Program (HPS), which tracks Somali pirate hostages and tries to provide support to them, also announced the release of the hostages.

We are very pleased to announce the release of the Naham 3 crew early this morning. They are currently in the safe hands of the Galmudug authorities and will be repatriated using a U.N. Humanitarian flight shortly and then on to their home countries, a statement from the group said

Of the original 29-member crew, sadly one died during the hijacking and two more succumbed to illness during their captivity. The remaining 26 crew members spent much of their captivity on land in Somalia, the statement added.

Eyewitness who saw the crew as they were handed over to the Galmudug regional authorities in Galkayo said they all looked malnourished and two of them appeared so weak that they struggled to walk.

The negotiations that led to the release of the hostages continued for the last 18 months, but both the regional authorities and the Hostage Support Partners did not mention any ransom paid to secure the crew's freedom.

They are the second longest-held hostages by Somali pirates. Last year 4 Thai sailors of the FV Prantalay 12 were released after nearly five years in captivity.
South Africas opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) plans to petition the Constitutional Court Monday to challenge the governments decision to withdraw the countrys membership to the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC). This, after Justice Minister Michael Musutha said the government will present a motion to parliament for legislators to repeal the countrys signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

On Friday, South Africa officially notified the United Nations that it wants to withdraw from the ICC.

But parliamentarian James Selfe, a leading member of the DAs legal affairs group says President Jacob Zumas government constitutionally erred in its approach to the United Nations before seeking approval from the South African parliament.

The Democratic Alliance is disgusted at this decision. We think it sends out an entirely incorrect message around our commitment to human rights and our abhorrence of human rights abuses and of genocide, and we believe that it would set back our foreign policy and the way in which South Africa is viewed in a very fundamental way, said Selfe.

We also believe that the decision itself has been taken in a way which is unconstitutional, unlawful accordingly, we will we will be lodging papers in the constitutional court on Monday morning seeking the courts ruling seeking that it reviews and sets aside this decision by the South African government.

You cannot inform the U.N. Secretary General that you are withdrawing before you have consulted the South African parliament who has ratified the treaty. Thats putting the cart before the horse. You first consult the South African parliament, you get parliaments approval and then you communicate with the Secretary General. But we all know why this is so, the South African government wants to come to parliament for the fait accompli, and say that unless members of parliament support that motion, we would be embarrassing the South African government in its dealings with the United Nations, Selfe added.

The decision of South Africa to begin the process to withdraw from the ICC comes days after the Burundian parliament approved Bujumburas proposed motion to withdraw from the Hague-based court.

The African Union - the continental body - has been critical of the ICC. It says the court targets Africans despite human rights abuses and crimes against humanity committed elsewhere around the world.

The AU cited various instances, including the ICC issuing arrest warrants against Sudans President Omar Hassan al-Bashir after accusing him of rights abuses and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region. The successful prosecution of Pierre Bemba, former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo; the trial of Kenyas President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto - among others - the AU says are proof the courts mainly target Africans.

Supporters of the government says the administration in Pretoria is following signals from the AU, which has called on members not to cooperate with the ICC.

There are several states that also disagree with that. For example Botswana has made it very clear that they are committed to remaining members of the ICC notwithstanding the resolution of the African Union, said Selfe.

We believe the resolution of the African Union is spurious anyway, because it was based on the perception it was simply African heads of state and African rulers that were the subjects of ICC complaints, investigations and trials, but that is obviously not true. But even it were the perception, then the duty lies on the African Union to engage the ICC to point out in what respect it believes that there havent been complete even-handedness on the part of the ICC and to invite the ICC to take retroactive actions on those regard.
The Russian national who was accused by American officials of hacking U.S. targets and arrested earlier this month in the Czech capital was indicted by a federal grand jury in the state of California, U.S. officials said Friday.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, 29, of Moscow was arrested October 5 by officials in Prague, where he remains in custody, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In the indictment, filed Thursday, Nikulin was charged with computer intrusion and identity theft.

Czech authorities this week said the suspect was detained in downtown Prague in response to an Interpol warrant issued at the request of the United States, and he now faces a Czech extradition hearing, according to RFE/RL's Current Time TV.

Hours after news emerged of Nikulin's arrest, the professional networking service LinkedIn issued a statement suggesting the development was connected to a 2012 breach of its members' information. In May, LinkedIn acknowledged that intrusion compromised more than 100 million of its users' passwords.

No date has been set for Nikulin's extradition hearing, but Czech authorities said the man would remain in custody until that process.

The Russian Embassy in Prague told Current Time that Moscow will be seeking his return to Russia. Moscow, an embassy source said, rejects "the U.S. practice of forcing the entire world to enforce its extraterritorial jurisdiction."

WATCH: Czech police arrest Russian accused of cybercrimes

Interpol had issued a so-called Red Notice for the alleged Russian hacker, a designation for "wanted international fugitives."

Current Time's investigation uncovered Nikulin's Instagram account under the handle "i.tak.soidet," displaying a taste for luxury cars and jewelry and a digital trail that led through Belarus and Poland to the Czech Republic during the weeks before he was arrested.

The Instagram account went private shortly after Current Time's Russian-language report was published October 20. Soon after that, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed Nikulins identity for journalists in Moscow.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Prague are actively working with the Czech authorities to prevent the extradition of a Russian citizen to the United States," she added.

The detention of Nikulin shows Washington is mounting a global manhunt against Russian citizens, Reuters quoted Zakharova as saying Thursday.
A contingent of local militiamen, backed by Afghan Taliban militants, are battling Islamic State fighters in a remote district in eastern Afghanistan, according to interviews with regional authorities and local tribesmen.

More than 80 people have been killed or wounded in the fighting, the authorities and local tribesmen said.

The fighting began Thursday when IS fighters attacked checkpoints manned by militias in the Pachiragam district of eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan. Taliban fighters, who consider IS militants as enemy-occupiers, came to the aid of the locals to repel the IS attacks.

Taliban are supporting the local residents and local forces against the IS aggression in Pachiragam, Taliban expert Wahid Muzhda said from Kabul, where he is monitoring news of the conflict. They are not assisting the government forces but standing for the locals.

The IS fighters have also come under U.S. drone attacks after regional authorities called Kabul to send help, regional authorities say. The Afghan government routinely turns to the U.S. military for airstrikes on militants.

"IS fighters morale has been weakened a bit as three unmanned drone strikes killed around 54 of their fighters, Mirbaz Khan, the district governor, told VOAs Afghan service.

Khan added that government forces could arrive in the area as soon as Saturday.

The situation is not so good, Khan said of the Taliban and government forces battling IS.

Government forces are involved in fierce fighting with the Taliban in a least 14 of the country's 34 provinces, according to interviews with local authorities and government officials.

Afghan defense authorities said on Friday that at least 66 Taliban fighters and five soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours.

The Afghan government has not commented on Talibans support to the local militiamen in Nangarhar.

IS has been active in several districts in Nangarhar for months and has launched multiple attacks on villages. But attacks by Taliban fighters, local tribes and Afghan forces assisted by U.S. drone strikes have helped drive out IS militants from other areas in the province.

The fighting has displaced tens of families, one resident said, adding that many others are preparing to flee the area, especially after IS fighters set fire to some homes.

Seventeen houses of civilian people have been burned by IS fighters, four civilians have been martyred and another 27 have been injured in the clashes, provincial government spokesperson Attaullah Khogyani told VOAs Afghan service.

In addition to the violence in Nangarhar, Afghanistan is reeling from other battles nationwide.

Two prominent Taliban commanders and 27 Taliban fighters were killed in northern Jawzjan and southern Helmand provinces, Jawzjan provincial spokesman Mohammad Reza Ghafoori said. The Taliban said it captured two security checkpoints and three soldiers during a gun battle.

In restive Helmand, where the Taliban and Afghan forces have been fighting for months, a Taliban commander and 22 troops were killed Thursday by Afghan security forces, Helmand security adviser Toryalai Himmat said.

The Taliban said the government reports are false.
A U.S. Navy warship has passed through waters claimed by China near disputed islands in the South China Sea to counter what Washington says is Beijing's attempt to limit freedom of navigation.

China condemned the action late Friday, calling it a "provocation" and a "gravely illegal act."

A U.S. Defense Department spokesman said the destroyer USS Decatur passed near the Paracel Islands in a "routine, lawful manner" Friday, challenging China's "excessive maritime claims." He said the warship did not come within the 12-nautical-mile (22.22 kilometers) international law territorial limit of the islands, which are controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

China does not recognize the territorial limit, and accused the U.S. of being a "troublemaker" in the region. The destroyer's action drew a warning from Chinese warships shadowing the Decatur, ordering it to leave the area.

The U.S. Navy has now conducted four "freedom of navigation" operations in the past year in various parts of the South China Sea.
The animated superhero Wonder Woman turned 75 Friday and celebrated at the United Nations, where she was appointed Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls.

Wonder Woman is an icon, said Cristina Gallach, the U.N. under-secretary-general for communications and public information, at the designation ceremony. She has been known for her commitment to justice, peace and equality.

Gallach said Wonder Woman will help the U.N. reach new audiences with important messages about empowerment and equality. She will front a new campaign with the theme: Think of all the wonders we can do.

But the choice of the sexualized and scantily clad warrior to represent womens empowerment did not go over well with some U.N. workers, who circulated an online petition discouraging the choice. It has received more than 1,000 signatures.

It is alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls, the petition reads.

Much of the recent discussion around the U.S. presidential election has focused on Republican nominee Donald Trumps objectification of and alleged inappropriate behavior toward women, as well as Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons alleged disparagement of women who accused her husband, former President Bill Clinton, of sexual harassment.

The bottom line appears to be that the United Nations was unable to find a real-life woman that would be able to champion the rights of ALL women on the issue of gender equality and the fight for their empowerment, the U.N. petition said.

Lets get real

About 75 female and male staffers protested silently in the U.N. lobby before the designation event. Some carried small signs that read, I am not a mascot and Lets get real.

At a time when we are trying to promote gender equality and get more girls and young women involved in predominantly male professions, choosing some comic character like Wonder Woman to represent all these women really flies in the face of all these ideas, said Slavica, one of the protesters. "Its just very counter-productive; its very degrading to women.

Many of the staffers continued their silent demonstration during the ceremony, standing in the public gallery with their backs to the event and holding their right fists in the air.

The U.N., which has some catching up to do with gender parity in its employment practices, has set a goal of surpassing 40 percent female staff by 2020 and achieving a 50-50 split among staff by 2030.

But young fans at the event seemed unfazed by the controversy.

She represents empowerment

What matters is that she represents empowerment for women all over the world, said Kit, 15, a high school student in Manhattan who was with a group of Girl Scouts at the event.

People say that Wonder Woman is too voluptuous, she shows too much skin, I think young children dont see that, Kit said. They just look at what she can do; they are looking at her characteristics not her physical appearance  and I think thats the beauty of Wonder Woman.

Kailey, 16, another high school student from Manhattans Chinatown, said the choice of Wonder Woman is really awesome and really cool.

I feel like its helping girls all over the world know they can be more, and they can do things they are not pressured to do, and they can be their own persons, she added.

Wonder Womans story

For those unfamiliar with the back story of the lady warrior in the star-spangled bathing suit and red knee-high boots, she wields a Golden Lasso of Truth, wears bulletproof bracelets and has superhuman strength. She is Princess Diana, descended from the immortal Amazons of Greek mythology.

Created in 1941, during World War II, by an American psychologist and his wife, she moves to the wider world when an American military pilots plane crashes on her isolated island. She returns to civilization with him, where she fights evil and injustice.

Her popularity extended from the pages of comic books to the U.S. television screen in the 1970s. She was portrayed by American actress Lynda Carter, who was at the U.N. celebration and spoke about how groundbreaking the television show was 40 years ago.

This was a momentous thing, because at the time there were very few women holding their own shows in television, she said.

Carter says Wonder Woman transcends the page and screen.

Wonder Woman lives, do not doubt it. She lives in every woman, she said. Wonder Woman helps bring out the inner strength every woman has.

Next year, Wonder Woman will return to the big screen, when Warner Bros releases a new film about the superhero staring Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Trump campaign sign stolen from yard

A Clay Township man went to the police station on Oct. 16 to report that a Donald Trump campaign sign had been taken from his property, according to a police report. He told officers the 2-by-1-foot sign cost $50 and was constructed out of white, lawn-style board with blue lettering and a red border made out of reflective material.

Clay Township man reports attempted identity theft

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency recently instructed a Clay Township man to file a report with the local police department regarding an attempt to open an unemployment claim in his name, according to a Clay Township police report. Officers advised the man to contact any and all of his financial institutions, banks and credit card companies to inform them of the fraudulent activity and to flag any suspicious transactions.

Vehicle vandalized in parking lot

Clay Township police were dispatched to the Big River Grill on North River Drive on Oct. 13 in response to a report of vandalism, according to a police report. The complainant told police she was at work from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 12 and did not notice any damage to her vehicle until the following morning. The reported damage to the vehicle included scratches along both sides, the hood and tailgate, as well as dents in the top right area of the tailgate that appear to have been made by an objects striking the car.
Boy, 14, steals moms van in Flint, drives to Richmond

A Richmond police officer was dispatched to the area of Main Street and Division Road on Oct. 8 in response to a report of a possible intoxicated driver, according to a police report. The officer followed the van for a short distance to observe the driving before stopping the vehicle. The driver identified himself as a 14-year-old from Flint who took his mothers van without permission. The van was impounded and the teen was transported to the Richmond Police Department, where contact was made with the Flint Police Department, as well as his mother, who came to the station to pick up her son and van. She told police she has been dealing with behavioral issues with her son and would like to press charges for taking the van and her credit cards. The case was turned over to a juvenile officer.

Cemetery vandalized

Two Richmond police officers were dispatched to the cemetery on Main Street on Oct. 13 in response to a report of malicious destruction of property, according to a police report. Upon the officers arrival, they were advised that an unknown person knocked over a tombstone. The incident is believed to have occurred after 5 p.m. the previous night. The case was closed due to lack of suspects.

Auto reported missing is returned

A resident went to the Richmond Police Department on Oct. 12 to report that her car was taken by her son, according to a police report. She stated that she just picked up her son from the Macomb County Jail and was returning home so he could visit with his children before going into a rehab center. The complainant said her son took a set of keys to the vehicle and left the area. About three hours later, the son returned home with the vehicle. The complainant requested no prosecution. The case is now closed.

Business reports alleged theft by employee

A Richmond police officer responded to a business on the 67000 block of Gratiot Avenue on Oct. 10 in response to an embezzlement complaint, according to a police report. The officer spoke with the store manager, who said that when he arrived at work, there was a note on the computer from an employee that said, I quit. He attempted to contact the employee without success. The store manager than discovered several items missing including an LG Titanium, I Phone 7, Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The missing items were valued at $9,345. The case remains open pending contact with loss prevention.
About Me

Name: Carl in Jerusalem Location: Jerusalem, Israel

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com

View my complete profile
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The conflict opposing the United States to Russia and China is evolving on two fronts  on one hand, Washington is looking for a possible scape-goat to bear the responsibility for the war against Syria, and on the other, Moscow, which has already connected the situations in Syria and Yemen, is now attempting to link them to the Ukrainian question.

Washington seeks a scape-goat

In order to disengage without losing face, the United States have to blame one of their allies for their crimes. They have three possibilities  either blame Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or both. Turkey is present in Syria and in Ukraine, but not in Yemen, while Saudi Arabia is present in Syria and Yemen, but not in Ukraine.

Turkey

We now dispose of verified information about what really happened on 15 July in Turkey  these data oblige us to revise our initial judgement.

First of all, it transpired that handing Turkey the management of the jihadist hordes after the attack which wounded Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan was not without problems - indeed, while Bandar was an obedient intermediary, Erdogan pursued his own strategy for the creation of the 17th Turko-Mongol empire, which led him to use the jihadists independently of his mission.

Besides this, the United States could not avoid levying sanctions against President Erdogan for aligning his country economically with Russia while he was still a military member of NATO.

Finally, with the crisis in the world power structure, President Erdogan became the ideal scape-goat for the US to extricate itself from the Syrian crisis.

From the US point of view, the problem is not Turkey, which is an indispensable regional ally, nor Hakan Fidans MIT (secret services) which organises the world jihadist movement, but Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself.

Consequently, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) first of all attempted, in August 2013, to instigate a colour revolution by organising demonstrations at Gezi Park in Istanbul. Either the plan failed, or the US changed its mind.

The decision was taken to overthrow the Islamists of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) by vote. The CIA had organised the transformation of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) into a true party of the minorities, and also prepared an alliance between it and the Socialists of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP). The HDP adopted a wide-open programme for the defence of ethnic minorities (Kurds) and social minorities (feminists, homosexuals), and included an ecological chapter. The CHP was reorganised for two reasons  to mask the over-representation of the Alevis in the party, and with a view to promoting the candidacy of the ex-President of the Supreme Court. However, while the AKP lost the elections in July 2015, it proved impossible to execute the alliance between the CHP and the HDP. As a result, a new round of general elections was held in November 2015, but they were brutally rigged by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Washington therefore decided to physically eliminate Mr. Erdogan. Three assassination attempts occurred between November 2015 and July 2016. Contrary to what has been reported, the operation of 15 July 2016 was not an attempted coup detat, but an attempt to eliminate Recep Tayyip Erdogan alone. The CIA used Turko-US industrial and military connections in order to recruit a small team within the Air Force to execute the President during his holidays. However, this team was betrayed by Islamist officers, (who represent almost a quarter of army personnel), and the President was warned an hour before the arrival of the commando. He was then transferred under the protection of a loyalist military escort. Aware of the foreseeable consequences of their failure, the conspirators launched a coup detat without any preparation, and while the streets of Istanbul were still full of people. Obviously enough, they failed. The repression which followed was not aimed only at arresting the authors of the attempted assassination, nor even the soldiers who rallied to the improvised coup detat, but all pro-United States activists  first of all the secular Kemalists, then the Islamists of Fethullah Gulen. In total, more than 70,000 people were tried, and the ordinary prisoners of civil law had to be liberated to make room to incarcerate the pro-US prisoners.

President Erdogans megalomania, his insane white palace, his rigging of the elections, and his all-round repression make him the ideal scape-goat for the errors committed in Syria. However, his resistance to a colour revolution and four assassination attempts suggest that it will not be possible to get rid of him so quickly.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is just as indispensable for the United States as Turkey, for three reasons  first of all, for its oil reserves, which are of exceptional quality and quantity, (although Washington no longer needs to use them, but only to control their sale), then for their financial reserves, (although these reserves have fallen by 70%), which enable the financing of secret operations sheltered from the control of Congress, and finally for its grip on the sources of jihadism. Indeed, since 1962 and the creation of the Muslim World League, Riyadh has been financing, on behalf of the CIA, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Naqshbandis, the two organisations which supply the total of all jihadist officers throughout the world.

However, the anachronistic character of this state, which is the private property of a royal family who are strangers to the commonly accepted principles of freedom of expression and religion, demanded radical changes.

The CIA therefore organised the succession of King Abdallah in January 2015. On the night of the sovereigns death, the majority of the inefficient civil servants was relieved of its functions, and the country was reorganised according to a pre-established plan. From now on, the power is shared between three main clans  King Salmane (and his beloved son Prince Mohammed), the son of Prince Nayef (the other Prince Mohammed), and finally the son of the dead king (Prince Mutaib, commander of the National Guard).

In practise, King Salmane (81 years old) allows his son, the dashing Prince Mohammed (31 years old), to govern in his stead. Mohammed increased Saudi engagement against Syria, then launched the war against Yemen. Besides this, he also launched a vast programme of economic and social reforms corresponding to his Vision for 2030.

Unfortunately, the results were not as glorious as expected - the kingdom is now bogged down in both Syria and Yemen. This last war has backfired, with incursions by the Houthis on Saudi territory and the defeat of his armies. From the economic point of view, the secured oil reserves are drawing down, and the defeat in Yemen prevents him from exploiting the Empty Quarter, in other words the desert region which straddles both countries. The fall in oil prices has certainly enabled the elimination of a number of competitors, but it has also dried up the Saudi Treasury, which is now obliged to borrow on the international markets .

Saudi Arabia has never been so powerful and at the same time so fragile. Political repression reached a summit with the decapitation of the head of the opposition, sheikh Al-Nimr. The revolt is not only brewing among the Shia minority, but also in the Sunni provinces in the West of the country. On the international level, the Arab Coalition certainly looks impressive, but has been falling apart since the Egyptian retreat. The public rapprochement with Israel against Iran has raised an outcry in the Arab and Muslim world. Rather than the dawn of a new alliance, it illustrates the panic which has gripped the royal family, now universally hated.

Seen from Washington, the moment has come to choose the elements in Saudi Arabia that are worth saving, and to get rid of the others. Logic would require a return to the previous sharing of power between the Sudairis (but without Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has proved to be useless) and the Chamars (the tribe of deceased King Abdallah).

The best solution, for Washington and the Saudi subjects, would be for King Salmane to die. His son Mohammed would be isolated from power, which would be entrusted to the other Prince Mohammed (the son of Nayef). Prince Mutaib would conserve his position. This succession would be easier to manage for Washington if it occurred before the investiture of the next President, on 6 January 2017. The applicant would then charge the defunct king with the responsibility for all mistakes and announce peace in Syria and Yemen. This is the project currently occupying the CIA.

In Arabia, as in Turkey and other allied nations, the CIA is seeking to maintain the status quo. For that purpose, they are making do by organising attempts to change leaders without ever touching the structures themselves. The cosmetic character of these modification makes it easier to guarantee the invisibility of its work.

Moscow attempts to link the Middle East and Ukraine in negotiations

Russia has managed to link the Syrian and Yemeni battle-grounds. While its forces have been publicly deployed in the Levant for a year, they have been unofficially present in Yemen for three months, and are now actively participating in the combats. By simultaneously negotiating the cease-fire in Aleppo and Yemen, it has forced the United States to accept the linkage of these two theatres of operation. In both of these countries, its armies have showed their superiority in conventional equipment faced with the allies of the United States, while at the same time avoiding a direct confrontation with the Pentagon. This sidestepping prevents Moscow from investing in Iraq, despite its historical antecedents in this third country.

However, the origin of the quarrel between the two major powers is basically the blockage of the two Silk Roads  once in Syria, then again in Ukraine. Logically, Moscow is therefore trying to link these two dossiers in its negotiations with Washington. It is all the more logical in that the CIA has itself already created a link between the two battle-grounds via Turkey.

By going to Berlin, on 19 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, were hoping to convince Germany and France, if not the United States, to link these dossiers. Thus they exchanged the extension of the truce in Syria for the end of the Ukrainian blockage of the Minsk agreements. This bargain must irritate Washington, which will do everything in its power to sabotage it.

Of course, in the end, Berlin and Paris will align themselves with their NATO suzerain. But from Moscows point of view, a frozen conflict is better than a defeat (in Ukraine, as in Transnistria, for example), and everything which damages the unity of NATO anticipates the end of US supremacism.
Tonight on Charlie Rose, Ms. Lauryn Hill  resplendent in a puffy-sleeved frock and backed by a tight band  performed a seven-minute, searing version of her newly rewritten song Rebel (formerly I Find it Hard to Say [Rebel], first released in 2002 on her MTV Unplugged record, as Pitchfork notes). The performance had all the hallmarks of classic Lauryn Hill: It was emotional, raw, and full of barely contained energy, and Ms. Hill was her fullest, fiercest, most-forceful self. Maybe its the recent love shes been getting from the MLH Caravan tour shes on with other artists throughout the African Diaspora or the Tidal-X crowd  regardless, its something to behold. Watch, and see for yourself why we cant go down and must stand up and live.
[October 21, 2016] Fitch Affirms Anne Arundel Health System (MD) at 'A-'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings on the following series of bonds issued by the Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority (MHHEFA) on behalf of Anne Arundel Health System (AAHS) at 'A-'. -- $122,580,000 series 2014 fixed -rate bonds -- $67,380,000 series 2012 fixed-rate bonds; -- $76,430,000 series 2010 fixed-rate bonds; -- $60,000,000 series 2009B variable-rate demand bonds (letter of credit: Bank of America). The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY Debt payments are secured by a pledge of the gross revenues of the obligated group and a mortgage on certain property. KEY RATING DRIVERS SOLID PROFITABILITY: The maintenance of the 'A-' rating is based on AAHS's solid and stable profitability over the last three years, moderating debt burden and substantial market share in a market with favorable demographic characteristics. The solid operating profile is partially due to the benefit of AAHS's participation in Maryland's Global Budget Revenue (GBR) program starting with July 1, 2013, which provides a regulated revenue stream and results in a certain level of financial predictability and stability. MODERATING DEBT BURDEN: Debt burden is still slightly higher than the median, but is slowly moderating. Maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage by EBITDA was adequate at 3.6x in fiscal 2016 and MADS as percent of revenues is manageable at 3.6%. Management does not expect a material increase in debt from the planned construction of a freestanding mental health hospital, based on the expectation that it would require only a relatively small debt issuance. ADEQUATE BUT VARIABLE LIQUIDITY LEVELS: Liquidity levels are generally below Fitch's 'A' category medians and exhibit variability related to AAHS's significant collateral posting requirements under its swap. Unrestricted cash and investments totaled $328.3 million at June 30, 2016 (net of the $69.3 million of collateral posting) representing 197.3 days cash on hand (DCOH), 13.6 cushion ratio and 79.5% cash-to-debt. JOHNS HOPKINS AFFILIATION: AAHS's ongoing strategic alliance with Johns Hopkins Health System (revenue bonds rated 'AA-'/Stable) is an additional positive credit factor which yields benefits related to physician recruitment, development of clinical programs, and cost containment initiatives. A CON for an open-heart program in collaboration with Johns Hopkins is expected to be ruled on before the calendar year-end. SOLID MARKET SHARE IN FAVORABLE SERVICE AREA: Market share is solid, most recently reported at 67.4% in the primary service area of Anne Arundel County (rated 'AA+') with strong underlying demographic characteristics. The hospital is experiencing capacity issues and just opened a 30-bed inpatient unit in a shelled in space, for which it had a CON approval. The strong volumes are considered a market shift under GBR, and AAHS will be compensated for the increase in volumes under GBR. RATING SENSITIVITIES FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN FINANCIAL PROFILE: Anne Arundel Health System's continued improvement in balance sheet, resulting in moderating leverage and strengthening cushion and cash-to-debt metrics to levels more consistent with the 'A' category medians, would lead to upward rating movement. CREDIT PROFILE Anne Arundel Health System, headquartered in Annapolis, MD, operates a 384-licensed bed acute care general hospital and several outpatient facilities in its primary service area of Anne Arundel County. The system generated total operating income of $635.7 million in fiscal 2016, a 13% increase since 2014 year-end. AAHS is the leading provider in a favorable service area, with a steady inpatient market share. Management has been successfully implementing its strategic expansion plans via growing select service lines and physician base. Solid Profitability AAHS has been operating under the Maryland GBR program since fiscal 2014. Currently in a five-year pilot period, the GBR program offers participants a fixed revenue stream designed to reimburse hospitals for avoiding unnecessary admissions and managing care in the most appropriate cost setting. The amount of hospital revenue is known before the start of the fiscal year, providing a level of predictability, and is adjusted annually. For fiscal 2016, the hospital's gross regulated revenue totaled $576 million (before contractual adjustments), equal to 86% of its total revenue for that year. Regulated revenues are projected at $592 million in 2017. Operating performance since the implementation of GBR has been solid and stable. The 2015 and 2014 fiscal years (year-end June 30) ended with operating income of $25 million and $25.4 million, respectively. Operating income for 2016 equated to operating and operating EBITDA margins of 3.8% and 11%, both consistent with Fitch's respective category medians of 3.8% and 10.3%. Although continued enhancements to rate adjustment methodology are expected, Fitch believes GBR provides AAHS with increased stability during the transition to value-based care. Management is budgeting operating income of $24.6 million (3.5% operating margin) for fiscal 2017, which Fitch believes is achievable. Liquidity Growth Limited At June 30, 2016, unrestricted cash and investments totaled $328.3 million, which equated to 197.3 days cash on hand, 13.6 cushion ratio and cash equal to 79.5% of debt, all lower than Fitch's respective 'A' medians of 215.5 days, 19.4x and 148.6%. Absolute liquidity has remained flat with 2014 and DCOH were lower due to increased expense base of the growing enterprise and investment losses. Additionally, capital spending was higher in 2015 compared to historical levels. AAHS has a low swap-posting threshold and was posting $69.3 million at June 30, 2016, which continues to pressure liquidity metrics. The swap is long-dated with a final maturity of 2048. Moderating Debt Burden At fiscal year-end 2016, AAHS had $412.8 million in total debt outstanding, of which $326.4 million is revenue bonds and the remainder non-obligaed group, nonrecourse bank loans. Of the bonds; $60 million is in variable-rate demand bonds supported by a letter of credit that expires July 2020. Approximately 82% of AAHS's debt is in fixed-rate mode. Fitch uses maximum annual debt service (MADS) of $24.2 million, which incorporates the fixed swap rate on the variable-rate debt and the bank loans.



AAHS's debt burden has been moderating but is still below category medians, with MADS as a percentage of revenues at 3.6%, down from 4.5% in 2014 and debt-to-EBITDA at 4.7%, compared with the respective 'A' medians of 2.7%% and 2.9x. As a result, MADS coverage has improved to 3.6x at fiscal 2016 year-end, as compared to 4.5x for the category median. AAHS has applied for a CON to construct a 16-bed mental health hospital adjacent to its Pathways substance abuse facility. The cost is estimated at approximately $25 million, but it will be offset by philanthropy, as well as par and coupon savings that might be realized from refunding of existing debt. While it will likely require some issuance of debt, management does not anticipate a material increase in their debt level. Construction would not start before fall of 2017. AAHS has a fixed payor swap with notional par of $180 million, which was novated in April 2016 with Wells Fargo (News - Alert) assuming the first five years with no collateral posting and Citi remaining on the swap to maturity. The swap restructuring resulted in reduction of collateral posting by $29.2 million. At Aug. 31, 2016, the swaps had a marked-to-market value of negative $79.6 million.

Disclosure AAHS discloses annual financial statements within 120 days and quarterly unaudited financial statements within 45 days after the end of the first three quarters and no later than 60 days after the end of the fourth fiscal quarter through the MSRB EMMA website. Financial statements include an income statement, balance sheet, flow of funds, utilization data and management discussion and analysis. Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/750012 U.S. Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems Rating Criteria (pub. 09 Jun 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/866807 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1013553 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1013553 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/regulatory ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTPS://WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright (c) 2016 by Fitch Ratings, Inc., Fitch Ratings Ltd. and its subsidiaries. 33 Whitehall Street, NY, NY 10004. Telephone: 1-800-753-4824, (212) 908-0500. Fax: (212) 480-4435. Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission. All rights reserved. In issuing and maintaining its ratings and in making other reports (including forecast information), Fitch relies on factual information it receives from issuers and underwriters and from other sources Fitch believes to be credible. Fitch conducts a reasonable investigation of the factual information relied upon by it in accordance with its ratings methodology, and obtains reasonable verification of that information from independent sources, to the extent such sources are available for a given security or in a given jurisdiction. The manner of Fitch's factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer, the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located, the availability and nature of relevant public information, access to the management of the issuer and its advisers, the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports, agreed-upon procedures letters, appraisals, actuarial reports, engineering reports, legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties, the availability of independent and competent third- party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer, and a variety of other factors. Users of Fitch's ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete. Ultimately, the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports. In issuing its ratings and its reports, Fitch must rely on the work of experts, including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters. Further, ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by their nature cannot be verified as facts. As a result, despite any verification of current facts, ratings and forecasts can be affected by future events or conditions that were not anticipated at the time a rating or forecast was issued or affirmed. The information in this report is provided "as is" without any representation or warranty of any kind, and Fitch does not represent or warrant that the report or any of its contents will meet any of the requirements of a recipient of the report. A Fitch rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a security. This opinion and reports made by Fitch are based on established criteria and methodologies that Fitch is continuously evaluating and updating. Therefore, ratings and reports are the collective work product of Fitch and no individual, or group of individuals, is solely responsible for a rating or a report. The rating does not address the risk of loss due to risks other than credit risk, unless such risk is specifically mentioned. Fitch is not engaged in the offer or sale of any security. All Fitch reports have shared authorship. Individuals identified in a Fitch report were involved in, but are not solely responsible for, the opinions stated therein. The individuals are named for contact purposes only. A report providing a Fitch rating is neither a prospectus nor a substitute for the information assembled, verified and presented to investors by the issuer and its agents in connection with the sale of the securities. Ratings may be changed or withdrawn at any time for any reason in the sole discretion of Fitch. Fitch does not provide investment advice of any sort. Ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Ratings do not comment on the adequacy of market price, the suitability of any security for a particular investor, or the tax-exempt nature or taxability of payments made in respect to any security. Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161021005960/en/

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The McLennan County Democratic Party is having two Get Out the Vote Rallies as follows:

3 p.m. Sunday at Toliver Chapel Baptist Church, 1402 Elm St. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. United States Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas District 30, will attend.

5:45 p.m. Monday at the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 915 LaSalle Ave. Doors open at 5 p.m. Congressman Joaquin Castro, Texas District 20, will attend.

For more information, call 301-7648, or Mary Duty, McLennan County Democratic Party chair, at 722-8940.

Oglesby FUMC events

The First United Methodist Church of Oglesby, 109 College Ave. in Oglesby, will celebrate its 125th anniversary Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday activities will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will include craft booths, childrens games, an afternoon car show and a magician show. Dinner will be served from 4 to 6 p.m.

The celebration will culminate with a special worship service in the church sanctuary at 9:45 a.m. Sunday.

Drug Take-Back Day

The following law enforcement agencies will participate in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday:

Woodway Public Safety Department, 920 Estates Drive

Waco Police Department, 3115 Pine Ave.

Hewitt Police Department, 100 Patriot Court

Lorena Police Department, 100 N. Bordon St.

The public can drop off any prescription or over-the-counter drugs that they no longer need. Liquids and needles will not be accepted.

Boil-water notice

McLennan County Water Control Improvement District No. 2 in Elm Mott issued a boil-water notice Friday for its water customers.

The order was issued after an electrical malfunction at the water wells caused water pressure to fall below the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required minimum.

For more information, call 829-1824.

Alzheimers education

The Alzheimers Association will continue its Education Series from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Heart of Texas Area Agency on Aging, 1514 S. New Road.

Guest speaker Jeffery Masiongale will discuss music, movement, touch and reminiscing as ways to enhance quality of life for the aged living in and out of long-term care.

The program is free, but reservations are requested.

For reservations, call Christine Schroeder-Morren at 753-7722.

Barbecue fundraiser

Waco Full Gospel Holy Temple Church, 512 Hillsboro Drive, will have a barbecue chicken dinner fundraiser for women from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

To place an order, call 799-1006.

HOT Poets Society

The HOT Poets Society is having an Ekphrastic Poetry Writing event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Martin Museum of Art in Baylor Universitys Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, 60 Baylor Ave.

All poets are welcome to participate at this free event.

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.
Waco Independent School District Trustee Larry Perez said Thursday he would not attend a training session the Texas Education Agency is requiring as a condition of approving turnaround plans for three of the districts struggling campuses. Other trustees questioned the purpose of the training, and the board postponed deciding on the issue.

If trustees decide not to agree to the training and the turnaround plans are denied, the state would have the option to implement alternative management of the campuses, close them or go as far as appointing a board of managers to take over the district, according to a letter the TEA sent to inform the district it was not immediately approving the turnaround plans.

Im going to be blunt and I may sound negative, but this is my own personal opinion, OK? I will not go and spend 24 hours at the meetings. No matter what, I am not going, and if they want to replace me, they can replace me. We hired (superintendent) Bonny Cain to move those campuses around, to help them out and not get any more on that list, Perez said, referring to the districts list of campuses rated as improvement required for academic performance. You have to hold people accountable, and were holding you (Cain) accountable. You need the training, and your administration needs the training, not us. You get paid. We dont get paid and we should not go to these trainings.

At least one other trustee, board vice president Allen Sykes, said he did not want to attend the state training unless the TEA answers questions from the district about the turnaround plans.

Trustees decided Thursday not to vote on the training. They decided to ask the TEA on Friday how the training would improve their turnaround plans and how the turnaround plans dont meet state requirements when TEA officials had direct input as they were developed.

The district had not received a response to their questions by Friday, Waco ISD spokesman Bruce Gietzen said.

TEAs deadline for an answer on the training is Tuesday, and the board doesnt have a meeting scheduled before the deadline.

Turnaround plans

In the letter, received by the district Oct. 10, the TEAs deputy commissioner of governance wrote he could not approve the proposed turnaround plans for Brook Avenue Elementary School, Alta Vista Elementary School and G.W. Carver Middle School. The campuses have had failing academic performance ratings for multiple years, and district officials were required to develop turnaround plans in 2015 to be implemented during the 2016-17 school year, according to the letter.

The ordered training is directly related to statements Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath made in August about cutting the number of failing Texas schools in half by using more and stronger interventions for districts with failing schools, TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson said. Trustees at 10 other districts with failing schools received a similar requirement for training, Culbertson said.

Before reconsidering the turnaround plans, the state ordered the districts board of trustees and superintendent to attend TEA-directed governance training and implement changes covered in the training.

In response to questions Wednesday, Culbertson said the training program was still being developed, and the district would have details about where its turnaround plans fell short. Cain said the TEA hadnt given her that information either.

Culbertson said Friday the TEA is working to finalize the training and would share information with the boards of trustees soon.

I think the TEA and/or the legislature realized they stepped out two years ago and laid down some laws, and said heres the law, Cain said during Thursdays meeting. I think theyre saying the legislature stepped up there too quickly and they didnt think this through. TEA did not make the laws. Your representatives did, and I think the TEA is really trying to help out. I really think theyre saying the legislature is about to meet, and we need to go back to the legislature and say, This is not a good plan. We didnt think this through. 

The school board submitted turnaround plans for the three campuses in question May 19, after district officials worked with program specialists and professional service providers from the TEA, who are paid for by the district, to develop the plans between February and April, said Yolanda Williams, Waco ISDs elementary education assistant superintendent.

District officials exchanged emails, received guidance and even watched webinars on how to develop the plans, Williams said. Before the board could approve the plans and officially submit them to the TEA, the plans had to be sent to the TEA for prior review, she said. She was surprised by the TEAs letter after all the correspondence, and the district hasnt been given any feedback since about how it fell short with the plans, she said.

Regardless of what went into the plans development, the commissioner and the deputy commissioner for governance have final approval over any plan submitted, Culbertson said.

School boards already are required by the Texas Association of School Boards to attend regular team building and governance training, and the reasoning behind this training request is unclear, board member Cary DuPuy said at the meeting.

Unreasonable request

If someone could explain to me just in a coherent way why Im a constraint in this process? DuPuy said. I just need somebody to explain to me how it is Im an obstruction to progress here. That said, two more days off work for me is an unreasonable thing to ask. Were volunteers. Those people are getting paid, and I would think the value of my time would be treated more earnestly.

The only clues Cain said she had during Thursday nights school board meeting, and following a conversation with TEA officials earlier that day, was the training would last from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for two days and all seven board members and the superintendent had to be present for the training to count.

Cain also said she knows Waco ISD and the 10 other school districts that received similar letters could choose from several dates and locations between November and December, all of which are more than an hour outside of the county, with the closest location being Fort Worth and the farthest El Paso.

With that in mind, the board is also asking the TEA whether all eight members must attend the same meeting and the reasoning behind Waco not being an option as a training location, they said. Trustees also want to know whether the TEA can possibly extend the deadline on the letter to get answers to their questions and leave time to discuss the issues during their next regular board meeting on Thursday, they said.

Perez said late Thursday that if the training were held in Waco, he would consider attending.

Board President Pat Atkins said the district and the city have been working to address complex problems, and assistance from the TEA would be welcome.

In all seriousness, I think all of us have been on this board long enough to know the issues that still persist on some of our campuses are very complex, deeply rooted, Atkins said. This community, for the last four or five years, has taken a much more cohesive, collaborative approach to addressing education, poverty and health outcomes all together instead of addressing them as individual silos. If the legislation and TEA want to assist us in that, I think that would be a meaningful endeavor.
A Waco Libertarian, who says he has a slim-to-none chance, is vying for votes on election day against Republican County Commissioner Will Jones, who remains under investigation by the Texas Rangers on bribery allegations stemming from his primary election run.

David Reichert, 41, is challenging Jones, 45, for the Precinct 3 seat which includes parts of Waco, West, Leroy, Ross, Gholson, Elm Mott, Lacy Lakeview and Chalk Bluff.

Early voting starts Monday and runs through Nov. 4 for the Nov. 8 joint general election that includes races for the president of the United States; members of Congress; and state, county, city and school district officials.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Kelly Snell is running unopposed for his seat after eking out a Republican primary win by just a handful of votes. His opponent challenged the results in court after the county announced polling place errors led to the disenfranchisement of 600 voters. A judge upheld Snells win.

Early voting runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 29, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 30, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 through Nov. 4.

Registered voters can cast an early ballot at any of the five following locations: McLennan County Elections administration office in the Records Building, 214 North Fourth St., suite 300 in Waco; Robinson Community Center, 106 W. Lyndale Drive; Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center, 1020 Elm St.; First Assembly of God Church, 6701 Bosque Blvd., in Waco; Brazos Meadows Baptist Church, 625 S. Hewitt Drive.

In August, Judge James E. Morgan appointed Assistant Attorney General Amy Cadwell to handle all matters relating to the involvement of Jones, who graduated with a finance degree from Baylor University, in the alleged bribery or attempted bribery in McLennan County.

Texas Ranger Patrick Pena is investigating the matter. He has declined comment citing department policy precluding him from commenting on open cases.

Jones Republican primary opponent, Ben Matus, of West, told the Tribune-Herald in January that Jones offered to pay him $1,250, the amount of the filing fee for the race, to withdraw. Matus shared a recording of the phone conversation with Jones making the offer, and Jones also told the Tribune-Herald he had made the offer, calling it a business transaction.

Jones went on to win the primary in March with almost 56 percent of the vote.

Jones texted him about the offer several times and called him in December, Matus said in January. He later posted the recording to his campaign Facebook page.

He was serious. He offered to pay me to drop out of the race, Matus said at the time. He kind of blindsided me. He told me I was wasting my time and money, and I kind of got agitated. It is my time and my money. He said it is a losing cause, but it made me want to run against him even more.

Jones said in January he offered to reimburse Matus the cost of his filing fee if Matus would pull out of the race.

I did say that I would refund his money, and I told him that would be a good idea for him, Jones said at the time. There is no way it could be considered a bribe. There is nothing wrong about it.

Jones said this week he has no comment on the situation.

Reichert said Jones actions were unethical but probably werent criminal.

Reichert, who has lived in the area his entire life, said there was a time in his life when he quit voting because he realized there was never a candidate he felt represented him. In 2014, he said, he realized if more people ran for office then there would be a wider selection of candidates and perhaps more residents would get out to vote. During that time he joined the Libertarian Party and began his research.

The last day before the filing deadline, he submitted his paperwork to run for justice of the peace Precinct 1, Place 2 in November 2014. Reichert lost with 13.1 percent, or 2,667 of the votes, against the incumbent Republican Pete Peterson, who garnered 17,680 votes, or 86.9 percent.

The results of that race confirmed his belief.

There are just a lot of pissed off people, Reichert said.

Reichert said he knows his chances are slim at beating Jones, but that doesnt mean he shouldnt at least try.

The reality is that Im a Libertarian candidate in a Republican county where everybody votes straight party, he said. The chances of me winning is like winning the lottery, getting struck by lightning twice in the same day, in the same place, and getting bitten by a shark. The chances are slim to none that thats going to happen. Now, could it happen? Of course. All those other things could happen too.

Reichert said he would be the type of commissioner that questions everything and pursues issues if something didnt look or smell right. It doesnt take a Baylor University graduate who majored in business or law and only wears a suit to properly represent residents, he said.

Jones, who has had a career in the private sector as a stockbroker and in the real estate business, beat four opponents in the GOP primary and then defeated Democrat Brian Scott in 2012 with 11,805 votes, or 62.3 percent. The seat opened after longtime Democrat-turned- Republican Joe Mashek announced in 2011 he would not seek a fifth four-year term.

Jones said this week hes running for office again to ensure county operations are run efficiently and like a business. He said he also is working toward keeping more money in the taxpayers pocket, including advocating for a lower tax rate. Jones proposed the county adopt the effective tax rate for the 2017 fiscal year budget, which is the rate that would raise the same amount of tax revenue as the year before.

Jones said hes always looking for more ways to be efficient with technology, including improving the county website, and has also worked to keep the countys health plan costs down.

In an environment where health care costs keep going up and up and up, we worked real hard to minimize the impact to the taxpayers and always provide good quality health care for our employees, he said.

Now that construction of schools in the city of West has concluded, he wants to look toward getting main roads back to pre-explosion condition or better, he said.

Im going to continue fighting for the taxpayers and trying to keep the money in taxpayers pockets and doing whatever I can to minimize the impact of these large projects on the taxpayers, he said.

Jones also was a candidate in 2010 for chairman of the McLennan County Republican Party.
 Freshman setterposted a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs, but the Hoosiers fell in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-20) at No. 22 Illinois on Friday at Huff Hall.Seniortallied 11 digs and moved into 11on the Hoosiers all-time list for career digs with 1,014.Seniorled the Hoosiers (13-9, 2-7) with 11 kills and senioradded six kills on 10 attempts with one error for a .500 hitting percentage.The Hoosiers kept it close in the opening set, with the scored tied, 15-15 on a kill from Hammond. Illinois responded with a 5-0 run to go up 20-15 and win the first set 25-18.After dropping the second set, 25-19, the Hoosiers hit their best percentage in the third set at .242 with 13 kills and five errors. Illinois also played their best set with a .353 hitting percentage in set three with 15 kills and three errors. Illinois also tallied eight aces compared to two by the Hoosiers.Up next the Hoosiers travel to Northwestern for a match on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET. That match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Forty-one years ago, 14 people gathered in a small room on California Boulevard in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the wedding of an aspiring local politician and his law-school sweetheart from up north. The bride was wearing a $53 dress bought at a local mall, the groom the same suit in which hed been seen in TV commercials when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress. He only owned one other suit.

The bride wanted a small, private ceremony and got it. The groom favored a big reception for his many friends, but there was no room for it in the house or its tiny yard. Ann Henry, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and a Democratic Party activist, volunteered her two-acre property for it. Could I have ever imagined Id be hosting a wedding for a U.S. president, a senator, a governor and a secretary of state and perhaps another president  and they were the same two people? Henry says now.

The street on which Bill Clinton bought the $22,000 house in 1975 to persuade Hillary Rodham finally to marry him is now named after him, and so is an avenue in Little Rock. The airport in the state capital bears both spouses names. A glittering Clinton Center, which houses the presidential library, is teeming with visitors. And yet Arkansas will be voting overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, not for Hillary Rodham Clinton, on Nov. 8.

As an outsider, this struck me as profoundly strange. It would be unthinkable for, say, German Chancellor Angela Merkel to lose her long-time constituency in West Pomerania. I set out to find out why.

The Clintons still have close friends in Arkansas, so I started with them. Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, responded in part by ticking off Clinton projects that were still going strong: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the neonatal-intensive-care unit at the Arkansas Childrens Hospital, a project to help poor parents with preschool youngsters and the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund and more.

That these initiatives are still alive and expanding is a testament to Hillary Clintons doggedness and ability to build working structures rather than Potemkin villages, he said. And yet these achievements havent endeared her to most Arkansans.

If you go to a Walmart and ask ordinary Arkansans, they wont name a single one of these, says Rex Nelson, senior vice president at Simmons Bank in Little Rock who worked for many years as policy and communications director for former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential contender in 2012 and 2016. I tried asking random people I met in Arkansas about Hillary Clintons legacy; indeed, they drew a blank. Only her educational reform efforts sounded vaguely familiar to some.

Clintons achievements in Arkansas are, admittedly, 25 to 30 years old, which means almost half the states voting-age population isnt old enough to remember what she did when she lived here. That might not have been a problem had the local Democratic Party been around to remind them. It wasnt. Until the mid-1990s, Arkansas was thoroughly Democratic. Now, its largely Republican, for all the well-documented demographic, economic and social reasons.

Interestingly, Arkansas was the last of the Southern states to turn red, which made me wonder why Hillary Clinton didnt have more support. Democrats and Republicans alike told me this was largely personality-based: Democratic politicians such as former Sen. David Pryor and Bill Clinton held the fort as their partys defenses crumbled elsewhere.

Democratic politicians in this state developed a technique that worked for them, says Bradley Gitz, William J. Clinton Professor of International Politics at Lyon College in Batesville. They voted as the increasingly liberal party expected in Washington, then they came back here and packaged themselves as moderates or conservatives.

That was a tough balancing act to pull off, requiring politicians uncommonly talented on a retail level. As Nelson told me, Its a small state and our politics are personality dominated.

Bill Clintons genius at personalized politics is still a force in Arkansas. Hes just about the only Democrat who would stand a chance if he ran today, Gitz says.

This fall, Hillary Clinton hasnt campaigned in the state that was her home for 18 years  on the one hand, a pragmatic decision, on the other, a reflection of a troubled relationship. Unlike her husband, who, Rutherford says, comes home almost every month, Hillary has rarely appeared, and there are reasons for that.

Rutherford argues that Hillary Clintons expected weakness has nothing to do with her legacy or her personality. She cannot carry Arkansas any more than Ronald Reagan could carry California today, he says. American politics have changed.

Its probably more complicated than that, though. Bill was one of us, born and raised, Nelson says. But Arkansas never really embraced Hillary.

In Hillarys progressivism, Gitz says, Arkansans saw contempt. Throughout her time in the state, she failed to overcome this perception because she lacked her husbands political gifts. Bill is perhaps a nine-plus on a 10-point scale as a retail politician, Nelson says. Shes a two or a three.

It was interesting to me that the Republicans who have taken over the running of Arkansas from Clinton Democrats are not conservative firebrands. Members of the state Republican elite, such as popular Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton are waiting out the Trump tempest, trying to make as few enemies as possible, taking no extreme positions. No revolution is going to toss out these cautious politicians.

Political waves come and go, but Arkansas remains essentially the same, a relatively poor, predominantly white state with a cozy political tradition  a place where centrists with personality can go a long way. Hillary Clinton may be wise to steer clear of it now  its a hostile state with only six electoral votes  but in that wisdom, theres a long-term admission of defeat in a game her husband could play better than anybody else.

The house where the Clintons were married is now a museum. A TV in one of the rooms plays an endless loop of Clintons old ads from his unsuccessful first run for Congress. One of them features a country song with lyrics about a new man named Bill Clinton who is a lot like you and a lot like me.

The museums director, Angie Albright, half-consciously sings along with the chorus when I ask her to play it for me. Could Hillary do an ad like this? Never, Albright replies without hesitation. Its not her at all.

Leonid Bershidsky was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti, a joint project of Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, and the first publisher of the Russian edition of Forbes.
Consider the source is a good rule in life, and even more so in the realm of news.

In recent days, Donald Trump stood in front of riled-up crowds and argued that both candidates should undergo drug tests before the final presidential debate Wednesday. Why? Because Hillary Clinton, he claimed, is taking performance-enhancing substances.

I dont know whats going on with her, but at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning, and at the end it was like take me down, he said. She could barely reach her car.

He provided no evidence for any of this. In fact, he seemed to be purposely mixing up Clintons debate performance with her recent bout with pneumonia. In a much-viewed video, her knees buckled as she departed early from a 9/11 commemoration in New York.

But heres how Roger Stone, Trumps ally and longtime dirty-trickster, described Clintons second debate behavior, in a recent interview with Alex Jones, the syndicated radio host and proprietor of InfoWars, a website that thrives on far-right conspiracy theories:

Look, of course she was jacked up on something. I assume some kind of methamphetamine.

It sounds like a perfect circle of disinformation: Stone provides unfounded allegations to InfoWars, and lately, Trump has been using InfoWars like a news source.

Lets be clear: If InfoWars is news, the yowling of feral cats is classical music and Trump University the best place to invest your hard-saved tuition dollars.

InfoWars was founded by Jones, a purveyor of various crackpot notions, including that the Sandy Hook massacre of tiny children in 2012 was a government hoax intended to promote gun control. (It was all done with actors, Jones claims.)

And the California drought? Made up. InfoWars is also a great place to go for 9/11 truther rumors; Jones proudly calls himself a founder of those.

But Trump seems to be a fan: He did an interview with Jones last year, telling the host his reputation is amazing. Which is indeed true, but not in the complimentary way Trump intended it to be taken.

InfoWars is poisonous, and its journalistic value is negative, said Rick Perlstein, a historian who has chronicled the modern conservative movement in books about Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. He called the circularity of Trump referring to Roger Stones interview in InfoWars as a burlesque version of Dick Cheneys planting a story in the New York Times in the run-up to the Iraq War and then citing that story on NBCs Meet the Press.

Perlstein wrote about the Jones/Trump connection in Salon in the spring, calling Jones a lunatic, observing that Trump was citing Jones denials of a California drought.

Its well known, of course, that Trump increasingly is campaigning against what he calls the corrupt media, slamming news organizations for false stories, all made up . . . lies, lies. He calls reporters scum and insists that they are all tools of the Clinton campaign.

Still, he makes a few exceptions. He borrowed his top campaign executive, Stephen Bannon, from Breitbart News, the far-right website which is practically a wing of his campaign, often referred to as Trump Pravda.

He has repeatedly suggested that the National Enquirer, the supermarket tabloid that sometimes pays for news stories, should have won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the existence of former North Carolina senator John Edwards love child. Trump also used the Enquirer as the basis of his discredited claim that Ted Cruzs father was linked to the assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

The Enquirer returns the love  its one of the very few newspapers in the nation that have endorsed Trump for president, while many papers that have never backed a Democrat are endorsing Clinton or at least warning their readers off Trump.

And in recent weeks, Trump has retreated almost entirely to Fox News, largely to the open arms of Sean Hannity, who has taken to professing that hes not a journalist.

Given all this, where does the Republican nominee for president get his news? I asked Jason Miller, a senior communications official for Trump, that question by phone and email Tuesday.

And, I asked, does the candidate think as highly of Alex Jones and InfoWars as it seems? Theres been no response, but the evidence is there for all to see.

Trumps embrace of the worst in American journalism, and his scorn for the best, is absurd. But its not actually funny.

If he loses on Nov. 8 and his next act truly does turn out to be Trump TV  filled with wild-eyed conspiracy theories, checkbook journalism and conjecture presented as fact  no one can say he didnt warn us.

Margaret Sullivan is The Washington Posts media columnist. Previously, she was The New York Times public editor and chief editor of The Buffalo News, her hometown paper.
WAVERLY  The Waverly Area Kiwanis held their annual banquet Oct. 8 where they not only installed new officers, but presented several awards.

The Community Service Award was given to Waverly Mayor Mike Werner, who was unable to attend the banquet.

The Service to Youth award was given to Darcia Cole and Colyn Niemeyer of Bethlehem Pre-School.

The Outstanding Farmer Business of the Year went to Midwest Farmers Coop with the award being accepted by Bill Nordstrom.

Joyce Weeks was recognized as Kiwanian of the Year.

New officers installed were Ron Lipe, president; Calvin Weeks, secretary; Mavis Mohlman, treasurer; and Jerry Fraizer, immediate past president.

Board members for the coming year include Duane Heiden, Robin Hoffman, Ken Ellis, Don Bley, Joyce Weeks and Frazier.
Forty-one years after Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the Whitlam government, an Australian court is to be asked to grant Australians access to the final piece of one of the most intriguing puzzles of their modern political history: what did the Queen know, and when?

Historians have long been denied knowledge of precisely what Kerr told the Queen in the weeks and months leading to the dismissal of November 1975.

It is known, according to historian and author Professor Jenny Hocking, who is going to court in search of the facts, that Kerr wrote feverishly to Buckingham Palace about the matter from as early as September, sometimes as many as three letters a day.

The affair could be deemed a conspiracy if the Queen knew of the looming dismissal and did not advise the governor-general to discuss it with her senior Australian minister  the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam  if she did not see fit to communicate her knowledge to Whitlam of what was being contemplated, or if she did not "put the brakes" on Kerr.
A UK local council's plan to help people escape uncomfortable or dangerous dating situations has gone viral.

The "Ask for Angela" initiative has been implemented by Lincolnshire county council, in England's east, to help people in bars and clubs leave situations they do not feel safe in.

The 'Ask for Angela' campaign. Credit:Twitter/iizzzzzi

"Hi, I'm Angela," posters displayed in the county's bars and clubs read.

"Are you on a date that isn't working out? Do you feel like you're not in a safe situation? Is your Tinder or POF [Plenty of Fish] date not who they said they were on their profile? Does it all feel a bit weird?
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation provides a range of financial products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Securities Services, Market and Wealth Services, Investment and Wealth Management, and Other segments. The Securities Services segment offers custody, trust and depositary, accounting, exchange-traded funds, middle-office solutions, transfer agency, services for private equity and real estate funds, foreign exchange, securities lending, liquidity/lending services, prime brokerage, and data analytics. This segment also provides trustee, paying agency, fiduciary, escrow and other financial, issuer, and support services for brokers and investors. The Market and Wealth Services segment offers clearing and custody, investment, wealth and retirement solutions, technology and enterprise data management, trading, and prime brokerage services; and clearance and collateral management services. This segment also provides integrated cash management solutions, including payments, foreign exchange, liquidity management, receivables processing and payables management, and trade finance and processing services. The Investment and Wealth Management segment offers investment management strategies and distribution of investment products, investment management, custody, wealth and estate planning, private banking, investment, and information management services. The Other segment engages in the provision of leasing, corporate treasury, derivative and other trading, corporate and bank-owned life insurance, renewable energy investment, and business exit services. It serves central banks and sovereigns, financial institutions, asset managers, insurance companies, corporations, local authorities and high net-worth individuals, and family offices. The company was founded in 1784 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
An Indiana company plans to build a short-term rehabilitation facility in the Firethorn neighborhood in east Lincoln.

Mainstreet, which describes itself as the nations largest developer of "transitional care" properties, is planning a nearly 51,000-square-foot building at 86th Street and Firethorn Lane, which is just southeast of 84th and Van Dorn streets.

The facility, which is scheduled to open in October 2017, will have 72 single-bed private rooms and will cater to people who need short-term care and rehabilitation after a major surgery, injury or illness, such as a joint replacement or heart attack.

Jen Lewis, Mainstreet's development director, said the the target stay for patients at the center is 20 days or less.

"It's a place where they go after discharge from the hospital but when they are not quite ready to go home yet," Lewis said.

Despite the short stays, the center will have plenty of amenities for its patients, she said. They will include a large therapy gym, a rehabilitation courtyard, a cafe with an outdoor dining space and a salon and spa.

Mainstreet is partnering with Bellevue-based Hillcrest Health Services to run the center. Hillcrest operates several senior healthcare facilities in Sarpy County.

The Mainstreet/Hillcrest center will be one of two standalone short-term rehabilitation centers to open next year in Lincoln.

Promontory Healthcare Companies of Portland, Oregon, is building a similar facility near 14th and Old Cheney Road that is expected to open sometime next spring.

The standalone rehab centers, also called transitional care or post-acute care centers, are a relatively new concept for Lincoln, where such care typically has been provided as an accessory service provided by a nursing home or assisted-living center.

"There's definitely a need in Nebraska, and specifically Lincoln, for this," Lewis said.

An aging population combined with changes in healthcare that are pushing shorter hospital stays are leading to the boost in short-term rehabilitation centers, she said.
All persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. According to Sheriff Mark Herford the following felony arrest were made for the week of 10/17/22 - 10/23/22. 10/18/22 Jennifer Gibson was arrested by BPSO Patrol Division and charged with Illegal Use of CDS in Presenc
The City of Paducah to offer online payment for real estate tax bills
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 22, 2016 | West Kentucky Star Staff

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 22, 2016 | 01:14 PM | West Kentucky Star Staff

A two-vehicle accident on the Exit 11 on-ramp to Interstate 24 was apparently caused by sunlight obscuring the vision of drivers.



A McCracken County Sheriff's Deputy responded to the accident on the eastbound I-24 ramp at Husband Road at 7:15 am, and found that traffic was stopped because the crash had caused a car to catch on fire. The car's driver, 29-year-old Haley Talbert of Paducah, was out of the vehicle and reportedly had only minor injuries. She said she was merging onto the interstate but the sun was in her eyes and she didn't see a pickup truck in front of her that was also merging into the eastbound lane. The driver of the truck, 74-year-old Jerome Weitlauf of Paducah, told deputies he was slow in merging because the sun was in his eyes, and he was struck from behind.



The Sheriff's Department says other emergency personnel at the scene also spoke about low visibility in the area because of the glare.



Talbert sought her own medical treatment at an area hospital.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 21, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 21, 2016 | 10:31 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A Paducah couple were arrested Friday on drug charges at a home in Lone Oak.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Department said they received complaints about drug activity taking place at the home on North Concord Avenue. Detectives went to the home and spoke with 33-year-old Jonathan Taylor, and learned he was wanted on an arrest warrant from Crittenden County. They also reportedly found methamphetamine and other drug-related items in a bedroom of the home.



Detectives say a further search of the home revealed evidence of meth labs in an attached part of the home, and several materials used to make meth. Taylor and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Taylor Sewell, allegedly admitted to buying pseudoephedrine on multiple occasions for the purpose of making meth.



Taylor and Sewell were arrested and charged with complicity to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Taylor was also charged with the outstanding warrant. They were taken to McCracken County Jail.



Detectives say the investigation into drug activity is continuing, and more arrests are expected. They encourage anyone with information about illegal drug activity to contact the Sheriff's Department Drug Division at 270-448-1516 or 270-444-5157.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 22, 2016 | 04:13 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Now that many of us woke up to temperatures in the upper 30s on Saturday morning, the question automatically comes to mind, when will we see our first freeze?The National Weather Service office in Paducah went to the record books to give us the numbers:Paducah's average date for the first morning with a 32-degree reading is October 26th. The earliest freezing temperature on record happened on October 3, 1974. The next year, 1975, saw the longest wait for a freeze, until November 13th.Paducah usually experiences its first hard freeze -- 28 degrees or colder -- by November 6. The earliest hard freeze was on October 8th, 1987. The latest hard freeze held off until the first day of December in 1978.After it gets cold, we naturally pine for warmer weather, and the end of freezing weather. Paducah's average date for its final hard freeze is March 26. The most stubborn winter on the books might be 1983, when the final hard freeze held off until April 20th. The quickest relief? 1977, when the last hard freeze happened on February 28th.

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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 22, 2016 | MAYFIELD, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 22, 2016 | 07:49 AM | MAYFIELD, KY

The Mayfield Police Department says Sergeant Jay Dunn has graduated from the Criminal Justice Training's Academy of Police Supervision at the end of September.



The department says the three-week Academy of Police Supervision is designed to be the initial course in leadership development for First Line Supervisors. Students are expected to complete all reading and writing assignments, and to actively participate in practical based exercises designed to develop or enhance their supervisory abilities.



Students can expect assignments that will require them to perform activities during hours outside the normal classroom times. Topics include: Situational Leadership, Emotional and Social Intelligence, Generational and Diversity Issues, Public Speaking, Leading Change, Problem Solving and Decision Making using the Challenge Course, Ethics and the Six Pillars of Character, Application of Critical Thinking Concepts, Team Building, Emotional Survival, Administrative Law including Sexual Harassment, FMLA, ADA and USERRA; Legal Issues including the Disciplinary Process and Liability.



The learning outcomes for this course will be for students to apply situational leadership and demonstrate an understanding of constitutional and administrative law, emotional and social intelligence, change, ethical decision making, problem solving, emotional survival, and public speaking into their role as supervisor.




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By The Associated Press

Oct. 22, 2016 | FRANKFORT, KY

By The Associated Press Oct. 22, 2016 | 07:52 AM | FRANKFORT, KY

Emails from state transportation officials appear to show Democratic state Rep. Russ Meyer knew about problems with a road project in his district long before it was delayed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.



Bevin delayed the road project earlier this year, blaming the prior administration for rushing the project through before acquiring the land. Meyer said Bevin delayed the project to punish him for refusing to switch parties and give Republicans control of the state House of Representatives.



Friday, Bevin released several emails from state transportation officials in October that say Meyer was aware of the project and that he understood the necessity of acquiring the land before starting construction.



Meyer noted the Bevin administration still approved the contract despite the problems. The contract was signed two days after Bevin took office.




Speaker to dicsuss power of unselfishness

Teaching people how to think unselfishly is one of the most important things we can do, according to Lois Carlson, Christian Scientist speaker.

Being unselfish is healing, contends the published author, poet and teacher.

Carlson will bring her program The Healing Power of Unselfishness to Lincolns Second Church of Christ, Scientist, 1401 Stonyhill Road at 2 p.m. Sunday. The hour-long lecture is free.

Carlson will discuss how unselfishness and generosity are anchored in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, and how honoring the innate quality has a direct impact on a persons physical and emotional health. The lecture also will refer to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science.

In addition, Carlson will examine how media sources influence peoples thinking and will talk about the churchs international daily newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor.

Buddhist talk set for Indigo Bridge

Buddhist book editor and 30-year practitioner Amy Hertz will present a public talk and conduct a Saturday workshop in Lincoln next week.

Hertz will speak on Teaching Tolerance: A Buddhist Perspective on Dealing with Divisiveness at 7 p.m. Friday at Indigo Bridge Bookstore, 701 P St.

On Oct. 29, Hertz will conduct a workshop on the Lam Rim, a step-by-step teaching on Tibetan Buddhism, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chateau Development leasing office, 3100 S. 72nd St.

Hertz is the editor of some of the best-selling Buddhist books for a general audience, including The Dalai Lamas The Art of Happiness and Sogyal Rinpoches The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. She has also edited The Universe in a Single Atom, several books by Thich Nhat Hahn and Robert Thurman as well as Good Life, Good Death by Gelek Rimpoche, the founder and spiritual director of Jewel Heart.

Hertz, who lives in Houston, is a board member of Jewel Heart, the international Tibet Buddhist organization that has a Nebraska chapter, which is sponsoring next weeks events. Suggested donation for the public talk is $10 and $30 for the workshop.

Potato bake to help rebuild church

Belmont Baptist Churchs annual Potato Bake is now a fundraiser to help rebuild the church sanctuary and foyer that were destroyed by arson.

The potato bake is scheduled for 4:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in the church fellowship hall, 3424 N. 14th St. Diners will receive a baked potato with all the trimmings, salad, pie and a beverage. Cost is $6.50 for adults; $3.50 for children under 12. Take out is available.

A fire, which was deliberately set, destroyed the 57-year-old church sanctuary in the early morning hours of Oct. 3. Later that same day, a second fire was set to the building. Fire officials have made no arrests in connection with the blaze, which caused an estimated $350,000 to $400,000 in damage.

American Boychoir returns for encore

The American Boychoir returns to Lincoln for a 4 p.m. Oct. 30 concert at First-Plymouth Church, 2000 D St.

The American Boychoir last appeared in Lincoln in 2012, performing in the Abendmusik Festival Childrens Workshop and the Lincoln Symphony Orchestras performance of Brittens War Requiem.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for students. To purchase tickets or for more information, go to abendmusik.org or call 402-476-9933.

Welsh painter offers show-and-tell

Central City native Todd Williams will discuss his multi-year project for the 2017 Nebraska Sesquicentennial, as well as exhibit some of his 120 master paintings and Welsh family heirlooms at the Contemporary Welsh Forum, from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 2325 S. 24th St.

Inspired by his travels in Europe more than 10 years ago, Williams began an art project in 2011 to capture the beauty of Nebraska one county at a time.

Admission to the Contemporary Welsh Forum is free, but donations are welcome. A te bach (small tea) will follow the presentation. Copies of the 2016 Legacy of Nebraska calendar featuring Williams paintings will be available for purchase. For information go to facebook.com/SaintDavidsWelshSocietyofNebraska; email NebraskaWelsh@gmail.com or call 402-742-0477.

To see Williams collection of paintings, go to toddwilliamsfineart.com/legacy-of-nebraska.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba has among some of the cheapest electricity rates in the country, and it may or may not have anything to do with the fact the province is where some of the worlds most effective power-systems-testing technology originated.

Digital electrical simulation technology  simulation of various elements of existing power generation and transmission infrastructures  was invented at the Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, a division of Manitoba Hydro International, in the early 90s.

Four engineers who helped develop the digital simulation technology  James Giesbrecht, Rick Kuffel, Trevor Maguire and Rudi Wierckx  licensed it from Manitoba Hydro and formed a company called RTDS Technologies Inc. to develop and commercialize it.

It now boasts 1,300 installations with more than 400 customers in 41 countries including 76 in China.

This year, the four founders (they have one other Vancouver-based partner) won the technology and communications category in the annual EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for the Prairie region.

Kuffel said they originally developed a digital version of real-time simulation because it was too expensive to build the miniature power systems that have previously been used for simulation.

At the time (when the company was formed) we thought worldwide demand would be in the order of 100 racks, Kuffel said referring to the hardware cases included in the system. Now we have put into service more than 1,300 racks, and were on our fifth generation of technology. Lots of our customers are repeat customers.

RTDS does have competition, including another Canadian firm in Montreal, but its technology is considered to be the world leader.

With 62 employees in its Winnipeg office  the 25,000-square-foot building that sits on stilts over a retention pond at the Smartpark on the University of Manitobas Fort Garry campus  its growing steadily.

The systems are used by electrical utilities such as Manitoba Hydro but also by equipment manufacturers and research facilities around the world.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Cami Morales loved emojis.

So her classmates at Clinton Elementary drew them on blue, teal and white balloons, and they wrote messages to their friend and let them go into the clear blue Friday sky.

It was a goodbye and a way to remember the fifth-grader who died unexpectedly from a severe asthma attack Sunday while she and her family were visiting friends in Omaha.

The messages her friends wrote on the balloons were a testament to how well the fifth-grader was liked, of her kindness to others, how in nine short weeks shed become an integral part of the school.

She was just a really great spirit and really connected with kids, said Principal Angee Luedtke.

Cami was new to Clinton. She moved to Lincoln with her mom, Dhalia Gonzalez, and brother, Ivan Torres, in August from Rhode Island. Ivan is a seventh-grader at Culler Middle School.

Gonzalez said she was fleeing a violent relationship -- not Camis dad -- and moved to Lincoln, where her best friend lives.

They were happy here, she said, and Cami loved school and her new neighborhood. She loved animals and she loved to do flips and cartwheels through the house.

She had a love for life and everything in it," said her mom. "She wanted to be so many things, but the number one thing she wanted to be was a gymnast.

Dreams of becoming a gymnast, however, shared space with dreams of being a veterinarian. At their home in Rhode Island she had two dogs, a cat, turtles, fish, frogs and anything else she could bring home, her mom said. Only one of the dogs and the cat -- one shed rescued when she was younger -- made the trip to Nebraska.

Last weekend, theyd gone to Omaha to spend time with friends and Cami attended a Fathers Festival with her friends dad.

She bounded into the house after the festival with her face painted like a tiger, shouting about what a great time shed had, Gonzalez said. Twenty minutes later she had an attack.

Cami was born with asthma and had been struggling with it the last four to five years, landing twice in the hospital this year, Gonzalez said.

School officials notified Clinton families of the death with phone messages on Monday and letters that went home Wednesday. The districts crisis team came to the school Wednesday to support staff and students, and the fifth-grade teachers spoke with students. School officials also sent home tips to parents to help them talk with their children.

A couple of moms, whose children were friends of Camis, collected enough balloons in her favorite colors for all the fifth-graders. Gonzalez and Camis dad, Rolando Morales, came to school Friday to watch the balloons float skyward.

Now, Gonzalez wants to take her daughter back to Rhode Island, where their family still lives, for a funeral.

Staff, students and families donated several hundred dollars to help her get there, and friends set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money.

But Gonzalez said she and her son will come back to Nebraska, the place they came to start a new life.

We moved here for a reason. To get a better life, she said. I have to stay here and finish that for her.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DESPITE the growing public and political opposition against more inclusive global trade agreements, the CEO of Export Development Canada said those sentiments should not cause Canadian businesses to alter their approach.

The failure of last-minute efforts on Friday to resolve a dispute with the Wallonia region of Belgium  Belgiums constitution gives regional governments a role in trade agreements  likely means the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada will not be signed next Thursday as had been scheduled.

The breakdown in CETA talks  which were seven years in the making  is one more example of increasing antipathy toward global trade agreements.

Benoit Daignault, the chief executive officer of Export Development Canada, said the current anti-free-trade sentiment being felt around the world should not dampen Canadian exporters efforts to diversify their international trading activity.

Daignault was in Winnipeg this week for his groups board of directors meetings. He said the anti-free-trade rhetoric coming from the U.S. presidential campaign as well as the recent U.K. vote to exit from the European Union may have heightened the volatile language, but it is not likely to last.

At one point you will do business in a place where there is a bit more volatility, but it will go away, he said. You are still going to have some opportunities. You cant put all eggs in one basket.

Thats a strategy that has been promoted for many years. Daignault said recent global trends mean Canadians should double down on those efforts.

People are asking questions about wealth distribution and things like that and unfortunately  and wrongfully  trade is often perceived as being the cause of this, which is not the case, Daignault said. What it means for me as CEO of EDC from a policy perspective is that we absolutely need to diversify our economy, and we need to diversify our trade.

Daignault refused to say there is any more of a sense of urgency now than in the past but said recent developments have underlined the soundness of such an approach.

Citing the unexpected result of the U.K. Brexit vote, he said companies should ensure they do not become too overweighted in any one international market.

If a company or a province or a country starts to put too much reliance on one given relationship, you do not know what is going to happen in six months, six years or 16 years, he said.

The breakdown in the EU-Canada CETA negotiations is the result of a region with just 3.6 million people deciding the fate of much larger regions  the European Union with 508 million people and Canada with 36 million.

Export Development Canada does about $2.6 billion worth of export insurance and trade financing in Manitoba every year, and Daignault said that total is on pace to continue to grow this year. Last year, 78 per cent of Manitoba exports were to the U.S.

Daignault said increasingly provocative language from U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about ending existing trade deals should not dissuade Canadian companies from continuing to pursue U.S. sales.

Were not saying its bad to trade with the U.S. It is great. We should do more, he said. But as we trade with companies and buyers in the U.S., lets spend a bit more time and resources and think about who else (Canadian companies can trade with) other than the U.S.

After the collapse of the U.S. housing market last decade, the B.C. lumber industry successfully established much strong trade links with Asia. Daignault said the goal is to be able to establish those sort of hedges before a crisis ensues.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Seven years ago, Lizette Denechezhe made a public plea for help to save her teenaged son from taking his own life.

Moise Jonathan Taylor, then 16, had attempted suicide a few days before Christmas in 2009. The boy, who was called Little Moise, was one of five young people from Lac Brochet who had attempted suicide that month, and Denechezhe had already buried one son because of suicide in 2004. Jacob hanged himself when he was just 14.

I dont want it to happen again, Denechezhe told the Free Press seven years ago.

Jacob Denechezhe hanged himself in 2004 when he was 14.

Tragically, it did: twice.

Little Moise took his own life in April. He was 22.

That was four months after Denechezhes second-oldest son, Christopher, committed suicide on New Years Day. He was 30.

Adding to the grief is that four years ago, Denechezhes son Fred died in an accident at the age of 31.

I dont have any more sons now, Denechezhe said, her voice cracking. Isnt anybody going to help us?

Lac Brochet, which is 1,000 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, is the most remote First Nation in Manitoba. Denechezhe moved there in 1976. She had seven children, four boys and three girls.

She said she struggles every day because shes a mother who couldnt stop her sons from committing suicide.

She and her three daughters have spotty access to counselling where they live, in Lac Brochet and Tadoule Lake. Denechezhe says a counsellor flies to Lac Brochet periodically. She managed to get an appointment in August.

This week, while the counsellor was in the community, she made an appointment. She arrived half an hour early and was told the counsellor had left for the airport. She went home in tears. The next day she called the Free Press again because she says doesnt know how to else to get help.

Fred Denechezhe died in an accident in August 2012 when he was 31.

Ive been trying so hard, she said. But I am struggling.

The suicide epidemic in northern communities has been getting national media attention this year. Young people in Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba went to the media in March after the suicides of six people in less than four months. The community declared a state of emergency as more than 170 young people were on suicide watch.

A month later, Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario declared a state of emergency when 11 young people attempted suicide in a single night.

This month, four girls in northern Saskatchewan took their own lives; the youngest was 10 years old.

My heart goes out to that family, said Denechezhe. I know how much Im struggling.

In 2009, the federal government said it was spending $65 million for a national suicide-prevention strategy over the next five years. Denechezhe said it did not mean additional supports to people in Lac Brochet.

They talked about a healing centre for our kids, but that was never done, she said.

She estimates 20 young people have committed suicide in Lac Brochet in the last five years. Kids account for more than four in 10 residents, but the only place they have to go is a small school gym. There is no rec centre, no arena, no youth space.

Little Moise Denechezhe was 22 when he took his own life last April.

Manitoba Keewatinook Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson said while Denechezhes story is heartbreaking, it is not entirely unusual.

She said she has some hope because of a $69-million, three-year commitment the federal government made last spring in the wake of the Pimicikamak and Attawapiskat emergencies. That money is supposed to fund crisis counselling teams that can be dispatched whenever a community needs immediate help.

The challenge is finding people, she said. We are frantically looking for experts.

The federal NDP said the Assembly of First Nations believes 80 crisis teams are needed if they are to reach every reserve in Canada. There are currently 11 teams. The $69 million will increase that to 43 by the end of three years.

NDP indigenous affairs critic Charlie Angus said Friday the government is spending less this year than the former Conservative government did on mental-health services for indigenous people. Government documents show the Conservatives budgeted more than $300 million in 2015-16 for mental wellness on First Nations. In 2016-17, the budget is $271 million.

Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton, whose Churchill Keewatinook Aski riding includes Lac Brochet, said Denechezhes story is emblematic of what so many are facing.

We dont hear much about it unless it hits the news, Ashton said.

She said she is especially troubled that even someone who has buried three sons because of suicide and a fourth due to an accident is struggling to get help.

Ive heard of people falling through the cracks before but not after this much grief, this much trauma, Ashton said.

Christopher Denechezhe died of suicide Jan. 1. He was 31.

She said crisis teams are only one component of the issue. Preventing crises is the bigger challenge.

In a joint statement released late Friday, Health Minister Jane Philpott and Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said: Our children are our future, and we cannot afford to lose a single one to despair. We are committed to working together with indigenous youth, leaders and communities to promote healing and to help our youth find hope so that we can end the tragedy of suicide.

They pointed to historic investments in education, child welfare, housing and infrastructure on First Nations.

However, critics say the funding is less than what was promised for education during the 2015 election and less than what the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered for child welfare. Its nowhere near what is needed for housing and infrastructure, they add.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/10/2016 (2200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this month, the Winnipeg Police Service issued a news release advising there has been an upward trend this year in theft from vehicles, which made me wonder what was happening in River Heights.

A year or so ago, the leafy and lovely neighbourhood that borders our inner city and stretches south from Wellington Crescent, became the perceived epicentre of that style of property crime after a group of citizens got loud and went public with being victimized by both the criminals and having to pay the MPI deductibles on their vehicles windows.

So how are things in River Heights now?

Gordon Sinclair Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press Above: Andrew McCrea, co-founderof the Smashed Window Club, is proud of the groups modest success.

Theft from vehicles has gone down in River Heights.

Sgt. Mike Brooker, who was part of the police push to call community meetings and listen to the angry residents back in spring 2015, credits one group of citizens in particular for making the biggest difference.

Brooker says police are always asking the community to help them solve crime, but hes never seen it done better than the way the Smashed Window Club model has accomplished it over the past year-and-a-half.

It actually works, Brooker said.

The club is a Facebook group  an online Neighborhood Watch  now numbering more than 700 River Heights residents who keep each other and the police informed about suspicious characters and property crime of every kind; some even while live online, while the event is in progress.

Brooker also credits last years media attention and what he believes is the word that reached the thieves on the street that the citizens were watching for them and not just the few police cruisers that patrol the large district late into the night. But it was the Smashed Window Club  a name that speaks for itself and the problem  that has pulled it all together.

One of its founders, Andrew McCrea, 29, remembers how frustrating it was at the beginning, before he and others went beyond the news media and even police and turned to social media.

I was a college student when I got my first window smashed, McCrea said. And a $200 deductible was something that was very, very difficult to come up with.

There was even one man who had 10 smashed windows and paid 10 deductibles.

The Smashed Windows Club takes credit for convincing MPI to waive vehicle deductibles for vandalism in the area, but it also salutes police, the media and local politicians for its modest success.

I think it was the way the group got police attention and engaged them as partners that mattered most.

I think we really changed the perception of property crime, McCrea said. With the police, initially, it was, Well, property crime is property crime. We have really serious violence thats happening that we have to police.

What I think really changed wasnt the perception of property crime, but the way the people of River Heights were able to make the police feel the frustration and anger they were feeling. And how police explained their own frustration about not having the resources to help them as much as they wanted. Because, after all, they knew how it felt to have the windows of their own family cars smashed and property stolen. Cops are people, too.

We really tried to build a relationship with police, McCrea said.

And obviously the group has succeeded.

But its not as if River Heights is now free of property crime.

Because, said McCrea, I even had an experience where I caught one of them outside my house not even that long ago. So its definitely still happening. But I think the fact weve engaged in Neighbourhood Watch so much has really helped crack down on it.

So were still hearing about it, McCrea acknowledged, but its a lot less than it used to be.

What else has helped the community is how those in charge of the group have kept the conversation civil by banning chatter about vigilantism and racism.

I think the tone has really improved. People know what were doing is working. People know theres that support network out there. They know how to deal with it. They know its moving in the right direction by following the lead weve set in this group.

McCrea said since they started, other groups around the city started their own crime-fighting online groups.

But not with the same kind of strict policies and controls.

They just kind of rolled with it, McCrea said of the newer groups, and let people come in and let arguments boil over and didnt really moderate anything. And it really set the tone for animosity in those other groups. I think our group has been really positive and really has worked together to bring about this great change.

Of course, for obvious reasons, McCrea appreciates what the other online groups are trying to do.

This is a Winnipeg problem, McCrea said. Weve cracked down in our neighbourhood, and weve shown what can kind of work. But the people who are doing this are still looking for opportunities all over the city. Its something we have to work on as a city.

And, if I may, helping police help us isnt really a property-crime issue.

All crime is about all people.

And, as McCrea, Brooker and both their crime-fighting teams have shown us, it works better when we work together.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/10/2016 (2201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba continues to have the highest youth and adult incarceration rates in Canada, and a spokeswoman for the provinces justice minister calls the situation concerning.

The provincial Justice Departments recently released annual report says 240 Manitoba adults per 100,000 population were behind bars in 2014-15, far exceeding the figure in most other provinces.

Saskatchewan had the second-highest rate at 195 per 100,000, followed by Alberta with 102 per 100,000. The rate in Ontario was 71 per 100,000, while the national average was 87 per 100,000

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files The Headingley Correctional Institute west of Winnipeg. Most people behind bars are awaiting trial.

When it comes to locking up young people, Manitoba leads the pack, and the incarceration rate is even higher than it is for adults.

Manitoba had 260 youth (aged 12-17) behind bars per 100,000 population in 2014-15, compared with 160 in Saskatchewan and 40 in Ontario. The Canadian average was 60 per 100,000.

A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said the high rates of incarceration are concerning and much work  needs to be done to lower them.

Approximately 70 per cent of those incarcerated in Manitoba are on remand awaiting trial. Reducing court backlogs is an area of significant priority for our government as we review all aspects of our provincial justice system, she wrote in an email.

Manitoba has had the highest adult-incarceration rate for the past five years, the report said. The most recent incarceration figure for the province, however, was down one per cent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, Manitoba had the second-highest number of police officers per capita in Canada last year, according to the report, with 201 per 100,000 population. Only Saskatchewan had more, with 202 officers per 100,000 people.

Manitobas police numbers appear to be levelling off, however, after years of growth. In 2000, there were 187 officers per 100,000 population in the province. In 2014, the rate was 206 per 100,000.

Manitobas spending on prisons and jails continues to rise, while staffing levels are flat, the report says.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
The Minnesota City Community Readers will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the City Hall, 149 Mill St. in Minnesota City, to discuss "Detours to the Good Stuff" by Minnesota City resident Vickie McGillis.

All readers are invited whether or not they have read the book. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the next meeting will be on Nov. 17 and the book discussed will be "The Life We Bury" by Allen Eskens. Copies of each month's selection will be handed out at the meeting and are to be returned at the next meeting.

A Little Free Library is now available in Minnesota City at 140 Mill St. It is a miniature construction of the Historic Baptist Church building, and has free books for take or leave or exchange (no money, no cards, no due dates, no names.) Those who are interested can take any books for themselves or for a friend.
FOX LAKEA cemetery walk will take place Oct. 29 in Fox Lake at Riverside Memorial Park on Hamilton Street.

It will begin at 6 p.m. with the last group to go through starting at 7:15 p.m.

The cemetery walk is done by torchlights positioned at each grave and it is recommended that flashlights be brought if available. Often there is even a little special surprise included in the walk, however, it is nothing that will scare a child. Children are welcome at the cemetery walk.

The cost is $4 per adult and $2 per child. The money collected goes to the Fox Lake Chamber of Commerce for support of the Spooktacular Festival.

Guides are usually available to take small groups through the cemetery from ghost to ghost, but even without a guide groups are limited to 25 at a time. For more information about the cemetery walk call Julie Flemming at 928-6094.

The walk will honor some of the first settlers in Dodge County. The cemetery began May 30, 1850, when the Waushara Cemetery Association was organized at the office of Stoddard Judd, in the Village of Waushara. Waushara was one of the first names for the Village of Fox Lake. The cemetery is now called Riverside Memorial Park.

Everyone is welcome to come and learn what it was like for the settlers to leave their homes, travel great distances by foot or ox cart and carve out a spot in a new world. They met with great personal sacrifices, Native Americans with whom they could not at first communicate, and years of back-breaking work in order to make a better place for their families to live.

At least eight early settlers of Fox Lake will be honored in the cemetery walk. The settlers honored in the walk are Anna Bloss, Catherine Bunker, James C. Davies, Robert A. Gillett, John Medley, Walter Frances Stafford, William Parker and Irene Root and they have never before been reenacted at the cemetery walk.

The cemetery stones are chosen each year and then those buried beneath them are researched in the Harriett OConnell Historical Room in the lower level of Fox Lake Public Library. From the beginning of the first settlers coming to Dodge County, with the Browers in 1836, records have been kept. Many of those records have been indexed by dozens of volunteers since 1982, now allowing for research on the individuals who played an important part in the beginning of Fox Lake. Both Lori Schultz and Julie Flemming spend many hours searching through records and finding the facts about those honored in the walk.
I had enough of the liars and deceivers in the media, so I voted early for the first time ever this year. Now I can just ignore any stories about Trumps cannibalism which might come out before Nov. 8.

Theres one last thing to do before I try to forget this latest sickening presidential election. Id like to ask readers to consider and remember a couple things.

These candidates were the best our pair of putrid political parties could offer  one clearly criminal and the other excruciatingly embarrassing.

The media did not give us the news stories about Trumps boorish behavior to warn us about his character. They wanted to suppress the vote. Every decision not to vote by adults who were sick of everything helped Clinton.

Clinton had no chance without the progressive media leading us to disregard what she had done and cringe about what Trump had said. The irrelevant Senator from Illinois before her had no chance either without the likes of MSNBCs Chris Matthews and his ilk; much like a failed painter many years ago would have gone nowhere without Joseph Goebbels and his Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.

Those mortified about another Clinton in the White House might consider it could be worse. She is not the ideologue the current occupant is. The only thing Clinton believes is that she must have the crown. She doesnt believe in anything else.

If Clinton thought she had a better chance of getting elected if she was pro-life, she would have promised to nominate justices who would overturn Roe v Wade. She could have just as easily promised to build a higher wall than Trump, or reminded Americans how far we have come since Jim Crow.

If we were living in those days when crowns were worn, and Hillary was in line for the throne, shed wipe out the entire royal bloodline.

Any uncle, aunt or cousin banished to a distant land, would come to an untimely death. Any princess would be drowned and every prince would fall to a stray arrow. Shed smother any babies in royal cradles herself.

She has to get what she wants, much like those Democrats wholl vote for her to get what they want.

They want their free government healthcare, no matter how many more Americans who lose their health insurance will suffer and die. They want more Democrat voters, no matter how many more Americans are raped or murdered by illegal aliens. They want more gun control, no matter how many more Americans are killed in shootings in gun-free zones.

If Hillary does go into the White House, this time dont forget who put her there.

Terry Larson, Mayville
Those who are unfit for office are hoping we will choose "the lesser of two evils" between major-party candidates, but Americans of faith are not relegated to two choices.

Voters who have deep faith commitments have many reasons to not vote for Hillary Clinton, an abortion rights advocate whose ties to wealthy donors make us question her candidacy. And Donald Trump has run a racist campaign, backed bizarre conspiracy theories, indulged in misogynistic behavior and attacked citizens merely because of their ethnicity or religion.

Fear of Trump drives us to Clinton while fear of Clinton drives us to Trump, but nobody should vote their fears. Instead, we must vote our hopes. Instead of choosing the lesser of two evils, Americans -- especially Americans of faith -- should vote based on love of country and neighbor.

This is why so many conservative religious voters are interested in independent candidate Evan McMullin. As the site FiveThirtyEight reports, it's unlikely but not impossible for McMullin to win: "His path to the presidency basically looks like this: 1. Win Utah 2. Deadlock the Electoral College 3. Win in the House."

According to his campaign, McMullin in on the ballot in 11 states and will be a write-in candidate in 31 states. He is on more than enough ballots to win, if enough of the faithful are smart enough to vote our consciences.

Why Evan McMullin?

First, he is a decent man. He is humble, even though he has accomplished a great deal. He served in the CIA for about a decade, and spent time in investment banking, as an adviser for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and as policy director for the House Republican Conference. He lives out his Mormon faith modestly and in service to the nation.

While working for the CIA, McMullin was not just sitting at a desk or working as a politician. He was in the field finding allies for the United States and fighting terrorists as a volunteer.

Second, he is a mature man from the next generation. He is a man of the future who appreciates the best of our past. He is younger by decades than the two "major" party candidates, but appreciates the heritage of the Republican Party. He rejects racism, like Abraham Lincoln. He rejects misogyny, like Theodore Roosevelt. He supports free trade in free markets like Ronald Reagan.

Third, McMullin is smart. He reads deeply and he can answer questions beyond the memorized answers of the other candidates.

Fourth, the future of the Supreme Court is at stake, and Trump has promised that he would nominate certain people to make some voters stick with him. But selling our birthright of character for a Trump Tower taco bowl is bad enough, and not getting the beans is even worse.

Many of us are loyal members of the two major political parties but hate to choose between the nominees voters selected. My family has been voting for the Grand Old Party since Lincoln. As my dad put it: When Virginia seceded for the Union, our family seceded from Virginia to vote for Lincoln and liberty, too.

"Isn't a vote for McMullin a vote for Clinton?" my Republican friends ask. This logical error is answered by my Democrat friends who ask: "Isn't a vote for McMullin a vote for Trump?" Guess what: Nobody has a right to my vote and there are more than two people running.

What does it profit the rest of us to win the White House at the cost of our character?

It is true that we are not electing a pope, pastor or priest, but bizarre to think that the leader of the free world needs less character than the pastor of a local church.

When fear is the motive for an action, then the results will always be fearful. Democrats sickened by Clinton can vote for a true public servant. Republicans tired of a character-free clown should vote for the serious candidate of character.

In this election, to vote for the lesser evil is still a vote for evil. Instead, we have a choice to vote for decency.
The next Community Meal will be held at the Columbus United Methodist Church on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Dishes being served will include scalloped potatoes with ham, vegetable, rolls, tossed salad and bars for dessert. All are welcome to attend. No reservations are needed.

The community is welcome to join the group for breakfast the second Saturday of every month (serving 7:30 to 9 a.m.) and for dinner the fourth Thursday of every month (serving from 5 to 6:30 p.m.).

This is a community outreach and the goal is to have it grow and to offer more meals a month. Anyone who would like to become part of the Columbus Community Meal outreach, please call Mike at 920-296-7629 for more information. All help will be accepted.
The Volunteers of Columbus Community Hospital will host a Pumpkin Day Bake Sale Thursday, Oct. 27 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Columbus Community Hospital.

A variety of decorated baked goods including cookies, bars and pies will be available for purchase. Proceeds will be used by the Volunteers of CCH to purchase equipment and services for patients.
Barb Theis is proud that Juneau County has improved its overall public health in recent years, but she also knows the county has a long way to go to become one of the states healthiest.

Theis, who has served as Juneau Countys public health officer since 1988, is part of the steering committee for the Central Wisconsin Health Partnership (CWHP), a consortium of health and human services departments in a six county region that also includes Adams, Waushara, Marquette, Green Lake and Waupaca counties.

Overall, in the state, this region tends to rank really poor in health, Theis said. We have a lot of the similar issues.

On Sept. 19, Theis hosted a community health needs assessment forum with representatives from the county health department, Mile Bluff Medical Center, UW-Extension and the Juneau County Economic Development Corporation. Local officials and community business leaders also attended the forum. During the session, the group approved the CWHP health priorities and selected additional health priorities for Juneau County. The forum also addressed inventions, programs and services that could be implemented to improve the countys overall health.

I wanted them to know that if there is anything the community wants to do, Ill invest in it, Theis said. Through the past 10 years, businesses and the schools have worked to help improve the countys rankings, and thats what it takes. It takes the collective impact of a community to improve overall health.

At the forum, the countys most significant health priorities were outlined, which included curbing tobacco use, obesity, nutrition and physical activity, mental health (suicide), alcohol and other drug abuse, and including excessive/heavy drinking. The overarching objective is to improve the areas health in all policies.

It was 10 years ago when an article published in the Star-Times provided sobering evidence of Juneau Countys health problems, based on a study by the UW-Madison Population Health Institute. Out of 73 regions, including the City of Milwaukee, Juneau County ranked dead last in general health status. After the article ran, the county health department was flooded with calls from concerned residents and officials. Theis said the news shined a spotlight on the countys poor health behaviors and prompted a call to action.

We formed a health plan shortly after and it took effect in 2009, Theis said. It has really paid off, thanks to strong partnership in Juneau County. It is really working well.

Since the report of Juneau Countys poor rankings, the county has made great strides in several key areas. Since 2006, the county has improved to 55th in overall health outcomes. Theis said the biggest improvement is in quality of life. The county went from 73rd in the state to 47th.

It shows that people are feeling good about their health, Theis said. They want to live long and happy lives.

But, Theis is concerned with the countys health behaviors. In 2006, the county ranked 54th, but dropped to 69th in 2016. This study measures the countys smoking habits, obesity, physical inactivity, excessive drinking, sexually transmitted infections, and teen births.

In clinical care, the county has seen a major improvement, going from 72nd to 56th. This study measures the countys ratio of physicians, dentists, and mental health specialists to the overall population.

We have a lot more affordable dental health providers now, which is a big improvement, Theis said.

Theis was also pleased to see Juneau Countys social and economic factors rise in the last 10 years, as the county climbed from 68th to 59th. This study examines high school graduation rates, the amount of residents with a college education, unemployment, children in poverty, income inequality, violent crime, and the amount of single-parent households.

This ranking is really a credit to our schools and the great teachers we have in the county, Theis said.

In physical environment, the county plunged from 11th to 41st, but Theis said this study takes into account the areas severe housing problems, along with long, solo commutes to work. This study also looks at air pollution and water quality.

In a study conducted by CWHP from July-September 2015, the county had the highest number of prescription drug usage in the six county region. This includes controlled substances such as opioids, stimulants, and anti-psychotics.

Mile Bluff has really worked on programs to reduce the amount of pain-controlling drugs they prescribe and Im very proud of that, Theis said.

The county also has a high rate of neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition where an infant is born with physical dependence to a substance taken by the mother. The smoking rate among pregnant mothers is also high; almost twice the average for the state.

In mental health, the county ranks among the highest in the state for suicides and accidental drug overdoses. CWHP is also looking at ways to improve mental health and has conducted surveys with residents that analyze their upbringing. Traumatic experiences in childhood often lead to depression and suicide among adults.

Overall, Theis believes the county is heading in a healthier direction.

Improving the health of the county has to be a community goal that everyone has to take part in, she said. In the future, I would like to mimic what the state is doing and see if we can do that locally. Weve had these studies for 10 years, but this shows we still have key health behaviors that need to be addressed.

To contact Theis, call the county health department at 608-847-9373.
The number of Wisconsin students using taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools rose about 22 percent this year to 3,061, while 206 children took advantage of a new voucher program for students with disabilities.

Overall, 33,781 students received a voucher to attend one of the 209 private schools in the states three voucher programs for students without disabilities, according to figures released by the Department of Public Instruction on Friday.

The 22 percent increase in the statewide program comes during two years after lawmakers eliminated the 1,000-student enrollment cap. Last year, the first year without the cap, enrollment rose by nearly 150 percent to 2,514.

Enrollment in the statewide program is now limited to 1 percent of each participating school districts membership. About 5,600 fewer students than the maximum allowed enrollment of 8,671 used school vouchers this school year.

Each private school receives a voucher payment of $7,323 per student in grades kindergarten through eighth and $7,969 per high school student. The cost of the three programs for students without disabilities  in Milwaukee, Racine and statewide  is estimated to be $244.6 million for the 2016-17 school year, according to DPI.

For the voucher program for students with disabilities, each participating private school receives $12,000 per student. The overall cost of the program is about $2.4 million. The number of students in the new program is about half of the number of seats available, according to DPI spokesman Tom McCarthy.

More than 40 vouchers were used by students living in the Madison School District to attend a private school as part of the statewide program and the program for students with disabilities.
Items are listed under the day of the event only, running as space permits prior to the event. To submit items, call 745-3511, email jcutsforth@capitalnewspapers.com or visit www.portagedailyregister.com. Include name and phone number.

TODAY

Arts and crafts market: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Epstein Brewery Building, 401 E. Edgewater St., Portage. Features more than 15 local artists and crafters.

Benefit: 5 to 9 p.m. Benefit for Bob Wiersma, Portage Elks Lodge, West Conant Street, Portage. Spaghetti dinner with salad, bread and dessert is $10. For advance tickets, call Jill at 617-3644. Raffles, music, cash bar and optional costume contest ($5 entry fee). Wiersma was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer; following a major surgery, he is now undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Proceeds will benefit the family. Donations may also be made to the Bob Wiersma Fund at Bank Mutual, 145 E. Cook St., Portage.

Drug take back day: 8 a.m. to noon, TRIAD drug take back day, Walgreens, New Pinery Road, Portage. Bring your unused and expired medication for collection by the Portage Police Department.

Festival: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friends of MacKenzie Fall Festival, MacKenzie Center, intersection of county Highway CS and Park Road in Poynette. $10 vehicle admission includes parking and all activities. Food and gift shop items available for additional costs. Activities include gunny sack races, pumpkin painting, leaf pressing, hayrides, archery, geocaching, scarecrow making, nature hikes, hay bale maze, live music and more. Costumes welcome.

Meat Raffle: 3 p.m. Jacks Tap, Dunn Street, Portage. Come support the Rotary while they raise fund for scholarships and other projects. Live music at 8 p.m. by the WhiskeyBelles.

Trivia night: 7 to 10 p.m. St. Mary School, West Conant Street entrance, Portage. Doors open at 6 p.m. Cash prizes, pizza, soda and beer served. Fee is $10 per person or $60 per team of up to 8 players. To register and for more information, visit http://business.portagewi.com/events/details/trivia-night-st-mary-school-17164.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23

Zumba: 6 p.m. John Muir Elementary School, Portage. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or 4dreamers@frontier.com.

MONDAY, OCT. 24

Food pantry: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Second Harvest mobile food pantry, St. Marys Catholic Church, 318 S. Main St., Pardeeville. Do not line up before 3 p.m. Bring boxes, bags, wagons, etc., to carry food. Volunteers are needed by calling Cindy at 742-7687.

Euchre card party: 6:30 p.m. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, W8267 Highway 33 East, Portage. Public welcome. Contact: Cloe, 429-2363.

Fundraiser: 4 p.m. Pizza Ranch, New Pinery Road, Portage. The Rusch Backpack Program will earn 10 percent of sales. Funds raised will help Rusch establish a backpack program which will provide a bag of nonperishable food to children who may need nutritional assistance to make it through the weekend. In this program, food items will be distributed at school to participating children in reusable bags by school staff on Fridays.

Seniors Bowling Social: 2 p.m. Fireball Lanes, 817 E. Wisconsin St., Portage. Cost is $6 and includes three games of bowling and shoe rental.

Zumba/Zumba Toning: 6 p.m. Harrisville. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or 4dreamers@frontier.com.

TUESDAY, OCT. 25

Genealogy Researchers: 1 to 3 p.m. Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. Speaker, Melody Brooks Taylor will present Telling Your Story: One Familys Genealogy Website. This will give us an opportunity to become aware of another way to share your familys history. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Portage Family Skate Park public meeting: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Gerstenkorn Administration Building, 305 E. Slifer St., Portage. All interested people are welcome to attend. If the Portage Schools are closed or released early the PFSP meeting will be canceled and announced on our Facebook page with a new meeting location as soon as possible.

Library event: 10 a.m. Preschool Story Time for ages 3 to 5 years (siblings welcome). Halloween Party complete with stories, crafts, songs and a snack. Preschoolers and adults alike are welcome to wear costumes. Registration is recommended and can be done by calling 742-4959 ext. 211 or online at www.portagelibrary.us.

Zumba Toning: 4:30 p.m. Woodridge Primary School, Portage. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or 4dreamers@frontier.com.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26

Bingo: 5:30 p.m. 131 Restaurant, North Main Street, Pardeeville. Bingo will be played every Wednesday, except the first one of the month.

Career Fair: 8:50 a.m. to 2 p.m. Portage High School gymnasium, 301 E. Collins St., Portage. Portage High School, Columbia County Economic Development and the Portage Area Chamber of Commerce Career Fair will highlight manufacturing businesses and industries. For more information, call the Portage Area Chamber of Commerce at 608-742-6242.

Clinic: 9 a.m. to noon, St. Vincent de Paul free medical clinic, Wilz Drugs lower level, 140 E. Cook St., Portage. No appointments needed. Information needed is name, date of birth and a contact number. A chiropractor is available from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. A foot clinic is available every week. The clinic can do exams and prescribe medications. Physical therapist available. Discounted medications are available at Wilz and Wal-Mart. Call Bonny Oestreich, RN, at 608-234-0159 for information.

Library event: 10 a.m. Preschool Story Time for ages 3 to 5 years (siblings welcome). Halloween Party complete with stories, crafts, songs and a snack. Preschoolers and adults alike are welcome to wear costumes. Registration is recommended and can be done by calling 742-4959 ext. 211 or online at www.portagelibrary.us.

Texas Hold em card tournament: VFW Hall, 215 W. Collins St., Portage. Register at 6 p.m. Cards begin at 6:30 p.m. Entry fee is $20. One hundred percent payout. Open to the public. For information, call the VFW Hall at 742-5350.

TLC Community Clothes Closet: 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, corner of East Cook and Main streets, Portage.

Screening: 1 to 5 p.m. Free blood pressure screenings, Divine Savior Healthcare, 2817 New Pinery Road, Portage. No appointment necessary. Call 745-6405 for more information. Do not eat, smoke, drink caffeine or exercise for 30 minutes prior.

Endeavor Sharing Supper: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Endeavor Elementary School, Endeavor. Enjoy a free meal with your neighbors and learn about your community. Informational booths and free blood pressure checks available. Kids Corner will have activities for the children. This months supper is sponsored by Endeavor Lions Club and ice cream sundaes in memory of Sheldon Dewsnap will be provided by his family. All are welcome.

Womens Civic League: 9 a.m. Board meeting, Club House, West Edgewater Street, Portage.

Writing group: 9:30 a.m. Pauquette Wordcrafters, Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. All writers welcome.

Zumba/Zumba Toning: 5 p.m. Montello. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or 4dreamers@frontier.com.

Zumba: 5:30 p.m. 1208 Northport Road (the former Freedom Carpeting building). This is a $5 drop-in class. For more information, contact Deb at DJMACK00001@yahoo.com or Rena at 697-6713.
Bernie Sanders and I went to college at the University of Chicago in the 60s, (I didnt know him) and the energy in the country was different then. As Bob Dylan said at the time, The times they are a-changing. People all over America were stirred to action to help others. There were marches for civil rights and to end the war in Vietnam and for womens rights. We had a government war on poverty with more programs for poor families than ever before.

Those were years of less competition and more cooperation. Life did not feel like everyone for themselves; we believed in helping each other. We were fighting, yes, but not with each other but for each other. Big difference. We believed that whatever helped the less fortunate helped everyone.

In todays world, they tell us that whatever helps the very richest people will ultimately help all of us. That idea of trickledown economics has kept the poor and middle classes waiting since the 1980s while 5 percent of Americans have amassed fabulous fortunes. It seems that greed and the desire for power have replaced compassion and social conscience.

No longer are ideals held to be the motivating force of action in America. We have become divided against one another, squabbling like greedy goblins over pieces of the economic pie. We have been reduced to resenting the rich and resenting the poor, resenting Mexicans and resenting Muslims, seeing as our brothers and sisters only people who share our skin color, religion and ethnic background. America is no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave, with liberty and justice for all.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are remnants of that old commitment to work for the good of all. They both see public service as the goal of government, not the accumulation of power and wealth. I can relate to Clinton, after graduation she went to work for poor children and their families. After graduation, I went to work for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. We share the belief that we all have an obligation to help people who are less fortunate than we are.

Yes, she has gotten rich and I havent, but she still has public service at the top of her agenda and I respect her for that. She believes, as I do, that every one of us should have good health care, good education and good jobs with livable wages. I agree with Clinton and Sanders that our country is built on diversity; when we embrace it, we are stronger. When we shun diversity, we slip into the darker periods of our history when hate groups flourish and we attack each other.

It is time to dust off our ideals and put them to use again. We can be a compassionate nation, loving our neighbors and caring for all children. We will have to hold Congress accountable for working for us, not for its own gain and, in turn, our government will have to hold us accountable for doing our share by voting and by doing some sort of community service. By indulging the vices of greed and lust for power and envy and hatred, we have dug ourselves a deep hole into which many unfortunate people have fallen. Lets fill that hole with compassion and help our neighbors out, literally and figuratively.
Today the Journal Star editorial board makes its first endorsements of candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

As always, we do so with the hope of sparking interest and conversation about this important democratic exercise.

We are pragmatic rather than ideological in our approach to governance. We think that compromise is essential for government to be effective. We endorse both Republicans and Democrats, a fact that can easily be verified by searching our online archives. Our agenda is a matter of public record. We present it every year in a January editorial.

District 21

Larry Scherer, an attorney and mediator who now is director of research for the Nebraska Education Association, says he wants to fix Nebraskas school funding system.

The problem, as Scherer sees it, is that the public school system relies too heavily on property taxes, which are set at the local level. Meanwhile, Nebraska ranks near the bottom at 49th in state support for public schools.

Scherer has deep familiarity with the topic. He was legal counsel for the Legislatures Business and Labor Committee and the Education Committee for 15 years.

The experience he gained in that position should put him ahead on the learning curve in knowing how to tackle this complicated issue.

Another priority for Scherer will be workforce development. He is coordinator of Future Force Nebraska, a coalition of industry, education and labor leaders that promotes career training and education.

Scherers expertise and background in areas that the Legislature will be wrestling with in the next few terms make him the best choice.

His opponent is Mike Hilgers. Incumbent Ken Haar is stepping down because of term limits.

District 23

Sen. Jerry Johnson, chair of the Legislatures Agriculture Committee, has earned a reputation as a hard-working, level-headed state senator.

Unfortunately hes been unfairly targeted by Americans for Prosperity, funded with the help of the out-of-state Koch brothers, apparently because Johnson voted to increase the gas tax. It's clear the organization doesnt know that the funds are urgently needed to fix bridges and roads in his district.

In addition, Gov. Pete Ricketts has apparently had his nose out of joint because Johnson opposed him on a few issues, like the gas tax and allowing illegal immigrants brought here as children to obtain drivers licenses. Johnson voted to repeal the death penalty but not to override the governors veto. Nonetheless, Ricketts has thrown his support to the other candidate in the field.

The Journal Star editorial board thinks Johnsons support for improving and maintaining Nebraskas roads is praiseworthy. Four years ago Johnson promised voters to work for continued improvement of the states road and highway system. He delivered.

Johnsons leadership on agricultural issues is also important to Nebraskas future. He is working on an idea for changing tax valuation of farm land to take into account its production capacity. Johnson has done a good job for his district. His record as an effective legislator earns Johnson our endorsement for a second term.

Challenging Johnson for the legislative seat is Bruce Bostelman of Brainard.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. engages in designing, building, overhauling, and repairing military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding, and Technical Solutions. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It also provides nuclear-powered ships, such as aircraft carriers and submarines, as well as refueling and overhaul, and inactivation services of ships. In addition, the company offers naval nuclear support services, including fleet services comprising design, construction, maintenance, and disposal activities for in-service the U.S. Navy nuclear ships; and maintenance services on nuclear reactor prototypes. Further, it provides life-cycle sustainment services to the U.S. Navy fleet and other maritime customers; high-end information technology and mission-based solutions for Department of Defense (DoD), intelligence, and federal civilian customers; nuclear management and operations and environmental management services for the Department of Energy, DoD, state and local governments, and private sector companies; defense and federal solutions; and unmanned systems. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.
Come on America. We can do better than the presidential candidates. Their speeches and talk sound more like smack talk from pro-ranchers. Some ranchers would make better candidates!

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump are worthy of the highest office in the United States. I feel voters will stay in rather than vote because we do not have a candidate to look up to, have faith in and view as trustworthy.

America was not build on he-said-she-said. It was built on unity and in helping the country and the citizens be all they can be under one God. We are one people, united.

Linda Driscoll, Lincoln
VeriFone Systems, Inc. provides payments and commerce solutions at the point of sale (POS) worldwide. It offers countertop solutions that accept payment options, including contactless, NFC, mobile wallets, and EMV; PIN pads that support credit and debit card, EBT, EMV, and other PIN-based transactions; and multilane consumer facing commerce devices. It also provides portable payment devices, including small, portable, and handheld devices that enable merchants to accept electronic payments wherever wireless connectivity is available; and mobile solutions that attach to and interface with iOS or Android based smartphones and tablets. In addition, it offers integrated electronic payment systems that combine electronic payment processing, fuel dispensing, and ECR functions, as well as secure payment systems for integration with petroleum pump controllers; unattended and self-service payment solutions designed to enable payment transactions in self-service, high-transaction volume, and public transportation environments; and network access solutions. Further, it provides installation, deployment, training, and application development and delivery solutions; project management, client education program, and consulting services; helpdesk support, equipment repair and maintenance, and software post-contract support services; and application libraries and development tools. Additionally, it offers omnichannel commerce, terminal management, and security solutions; and cloud-based managed, transaction payment, and other value added services. It sells its products directly; and through third party and channel partners. It serves financial institutions, payment processors, government organizations, and retailers; petroleum, transportation, and healthcare companies; and quick service restaurants. The company was formerly known as VeriFone Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to VeriFone Systems, Inc. in May 2010. VeriFone Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States armed forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a community bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. This segment operates 42 branches, including 29 branches in Oahu, 6 branches in Maui, 4 branches in Hawaii, 2 branches in Kauai, and 1 branch in Molokai. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
York College has followed an interesting path through denominations, ownership, mergers and name changes, eventually ending up sharing its name with colleges in New York and Pennsylvania.

In 1861, the first settlement of York County began in earnest. A decade later, George Harris, the land commissioner for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, found the city of York with six buildings, one of which was sod and not a tree or shrub to shade it.

C.S. Harrison, George Harris contact in York, said what the village needed was a core focus to build around. At his suggestion, the railroad deeded 40 acres west of the townsite for a Congregational academy. Thirty of the acres were sold, and on the remaining 10 acres, lumber was brought in from Fairmont to build a two-story, 30-by-50-foot school with an attached bell tower.

While the Congregationalists investigated and debated, the building was used as a grade school and Congregational church. Their ultimate decision was that York was too close to the Congregationalists Doane College in Crete and that York would simply be in competition for the same students.

The Methodists stepped up in 1879 and established the Nebraska Conference Seminary, which at that time was more of a high school than a seminary. It opened with 95 students. In 1883, the seminary redefined itself as a college and in 1885 enrollment reached 315.

In 1886, there were three Methodist colleges in Nebraska, all struggling financially, and York was located only 35 miles from a school in Central City. A conference in Lincoln resulted in the formation of Nebraska Wesleyan at University Place in 1888 and the closure of the college in York. The York building was sold, becoming the Ursuline Academy the following year.

In 1890, the United Brethren Church investigated a number of potential college locations and members were most impressed with Yorks exemplary record of allowing no saloons. On Aug. 26, it announced that York offered the most pleasant and healthful surroundings for forming a non-sectarian college" and a site at East Hill was chosen. The school was to have a board representing several denominations as well as a diverse faculty, and, should the school ever close, the property would revert to the city.

What it referred to as The Peoples School held its first classes in the Wirt Building in downtown York on Sept. 1.

One-hundred fifty York businessmen and local citizens donated 180 acres of land and $20,000 for the new school, and in 1891 the cornerstone was laid and the following June the dedication of Old Main was held. The three-story plus basement, brick and stone building was said to be visible for miles. The single 88-by-99-foot building contained not only classrooms and offices, but a 600-seat chapel, a gymnasium and 1,500-volume library.

In the summer of 1901, Professor G.M. Jacobs, who had previously taught at the Methodist Seminary and later Methodist College, founded what he first called the York Business College, as a private for-profit school. The business school opened Sept. 10, 1901, in 10 large rooms on the second floor of the Wirt Building with nine students. By the end of the first term the number had risen to 35. The schools first commencement was held on April 10, 1902, with Chancellor Wm. Prince Aylesworth of Cotner University in Bethany as keynote speaker. The business school moved a short time later to the Nobes Opera House building and adapted its name and classes to the York Business College and Normal School.

In 1903, York College, now with 11 faculty members and an advertised 13 courses of study, laid the foundation for a second building. Hulitt Hall -- named for John Hulitt, who donated $5,000 of the buildings $15,000 cost -- was a four-story, 35-room, girls dormitory and music conservatory. At that point the school claimed to be totally liquid and had an average annual enrollment of 281 students.

The 1913 annual report showed York College had an 11-acre campus, three buildings, an endowment of $50,000, total assets of $160,000 and an enrollment of 468. In 1916, York College purchased York Business College and Normal School but did not merge their classes to the main campus until 1925.

Because of a denominational merger in 1946, York College became a part of the Evangelical United Brethren and in 1954 was associated with the E.U.B.s Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa. Two years later they associated with the Church of Christ, and in 1958 York College switched to concentrate on associate degrees as a junior college.

The school returned to a four-year bachelors degree program in 1989 and was re-accredited as a college emphasizing education degrees. Although Old Main suffered a disastrous fire in January 1951 and was subsequently razed, York College today thrives with about 500 students and 17 buildings on its 50-acre campus.

The original academy site survives only in the name Academy Street.
Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes. The company provides Alimta for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and malignant pleural mesothelioma; Cyramza for metastatic gastric cancer, gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma, metastatic NSCLC, metastatic colorectal cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma; Erbitux for colorectal cancers, and various head and neck cancers; Retevmo for metastatic NSCLC, medullary thyroid cancer, and thyroid cancer; Tyvyt for relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin's lymph and non-squamous NSCLC; and Verzenio for HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer, node positive, and early breast cancer. It offers Olumiant for rheumatoid arthritis; and Taltz for plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis. The company offers Cymbalta for depressive disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic musculoskeletal pain; Emgality for migraine prevention and episodic cluster headache; and Zyprexa for schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder, and bipolar maintenance. Its Bamlanivimab and etesevimab, and Bebtelovimab for COVID-19; Cialis for erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia; and Forteo for osteoporosis. The company has collaborations with Incyte Corporation; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; AbCellera Biologics Inc.; Junshi Biosciences; Regor Therapeutics Group; Lycia Therapeutics, Inc.; Kumquat Biosciences Inc.; Entos Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Foghorn Therapeutics Inc. Eli Lilly and Company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC), a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes and mezzanine securities. In some cases, its investments may also include equity interests. It targets energy, specialty chemicals and materials, trading companies and distributors, commercial printing, diversified support services, education services, environmental and facilities services, office services and supplies, media, distributors, health care services, health care facilities, application software, business services, systems software, federal services, distribution and logistics, interactive home entertainment, telecommunication services, hydroelectric power generation, electric power generation by fossil fuels, electric power generation by nuclear fuels, health care technology, and security and alarm services. The fund seeks to invest in United States of America. It seeks to invest between $10 million and $50 million per transaction. The firm invests through both primary originations and open-market secondary purchases. It invests in companies with EBITDA between $10 million and $200 million and target investments up to a $125 million hold size. The fund seeks a majority stake in its portfolio companies.
St. Marks United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., will host a Halloween Carnival and Trunk or Treat from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30.

The annual event raises money for the holiday food basket ministry, which delivers food baskets to Lincoln families who might not otherwise enjoy a holiday meal.

The evening lineup is:

Halloween carnival, 5  8 p.m. in the east parking lot & Family Life Center. Tickets are 3 for $1. A pizza dinner will be priced at $3 per person.

Trunk or Treat, 5:30  7:30 p.m. in the east parking lot. Cost is $1 per child. Children can trick or treat while viewing the vehicle trunks decorated in a variety of Halloween themes.

Haunted house, 6  8 p.m. in the bus barn. Cost is $2 per person.

In case of inclement weather Trunk or Treat will be moved inside.
You could say that Immanuel Church is built on a strong foundation  both structurally and in terms of its congregation.

Just like the song "Little Brown Church in the Vale," Lincoln has its own landmark: the little white church at the bottom of the Tenth Street Viaduct at 941 Charleston St., where Immanuel Church begins a year-long celebration of its 125th anniversary on Sunday.

Long before paved roads or motorized cars, long before running water or electricity, 13 couples -- originally from Germany, who had first immigrated to Russia and then to the United States -- gathered to form Immanuel German Reformed Church of Lincoln. Today, the German heritage is still evident in both the churchs interior design and gatherings. It is not uncommon to have an all-church Broda (roast beef) dinner and to serve homemade noodles along with rye bread.

Reminiscing

The arrival of the churchs year-long celebration has prompted todays church members to pause and reflect.

When I was a kid, every other week the service was conducted all in German, says Mary Jane Nielsen, daughter of longtime Immanuel Church members Don and Vemmy Nielsen.

In the early days, the men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other, said Ms. Nielsen, a noted historian and author. The side the men sat on had little clips on the back of the pews on which to hang their hats, she said.

Those clips still exist today.

The present structure dates back to 1906 on property purchased in 1891 from another church already at 941 Charleston St. The purchase price was $500.

There is an ornately carved upper pulpit where preachers once spoke from and the front platform is arched with a hand-painted scripture in German. Another feature unique to Immanuel is its Wurlitzer pump organ. Purchased in 1928 for $4,500, it is the only one in Nebraska still in operation.

First-time visitors to our church are astounded by its beauty, said Pastor Peter Schroeder, in his fourth year at Immanuel. Its refreshing to step into a church that has such a lifetime of German history. Its truly a treasure.

Historians say the first meeting for the purpose of building a church was held Oct. 23, 1891. The 110-year-old present structure was built in 1906, enlarged in 1920, and holds approximately 200 worshipers.

Coming events

There is a long list of activities and events planned for the church's 125th anniversary. Some of the events planned for 2016-17 include:

- a quilt show, in March;

- Marriage Reunion, in April, when all those married at Immanuel are invited to attend services followed by a wedding reception;

- German cooking classes;

- a car show, in the fall; and

- German Sunday, when the traditions of yesteryear will be revisited.

"It is God's faithfulness to the Immanuel saints and their love in response to Him, evidenced by their service to others which had made the difference for 125 years, noted Pastor Schroeder.

One of next months special activities will be a Nov. 27 hymn sing led by noted local vocalist Wilma Sundeen.

125 Acts of Kindness

Besides celebrating the past, members of the congregation will look to the future as they do 125 Acts of Kindness both as a group and individually throughout the area.

Schroeder said the future Acts of Kindness will mark the extension of a way of life for a church that has in the past supported nonprofits such as Fresh Start Home, City Impact, the Salvation Army, Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach, and the Peoples City Mission. Community service projects have been spearheaded in the past by a group called Our Guiding Night Ladies.

Church services are each Sunday with Sunday School (adult and children) at 9:15 a.m., followed by worship services at 10:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.immanuelChurchofLincoln.org.




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Calls For Further Powers to Tackle Antisocial Behaviour in Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Oct 22nd, 2016

Everyone has their role to play in making a positive difference to the town and tackling problems with antisocial behaviour.

That is the view of Wrexham MP Ian Lucas who says a combined approach from the police, council and the public can help tackle antisocial behaviour in the town centre and surrounding areas.

Earlier this year Wrexham Council introduced a PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) in a bid to tackle issues with antisocial behaviour in Rhosddu Park and Cemetery.

Under the new PSPO anyone found drinking, smoking, taking drugs or sleeping rough in the park or cemetery will be issued with a fine.

The Order, which will last for three years, means that anyone who is acting anti socially, such as drinking or abusing drugs, rough sleeping and associated littering in the area can be issued with a fixed penalty notice of 100 or 75 if paid within seven days.

A similar Order covering the town centre and surrounding areas was introduced over the summer.

Both council staff and police officers have the powers to issue the fines.

However Mr Lucas said he is pushing for further powers to be given to some of those working on the front line of issue. He has written to the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Mark Polin, asking for Police Community Support Officers to be given authority to enforce the towns Public Space Protection Order.

Mr Lucas has raised the issue of powers for community support officers before, and called on Ministers to do more to help PCSOs tackle anti-social behaviour in a Parliamentary debate in September.

Separately, Mr Lucas has also written to Wrexham Councils Chief Executive, Helen Paterson, to ask her to make clear the powers council officers have to enforce PSPO orders  and to ask for information about how many times they have done so.

He said: In order for the PSPO to work it must be enforced properly. That is why I have been raising the issue of police community support officer powers in Westminster, and why I have asked both Wrexham Council and North Wales Police to look at what they are currently doing  and what more can be done to help.

I also think that members of the public have a role to play, and I would urge anyone who witnesses incidents to call 101 and let the police know  I have done this myself and staff from my office have done too.

It is obviously harder to respond to incidents if they are not logged, and all incident reports help the police to build up a picture of what issues are affecting areas.

It is also essential that we have services in place and signposted for those who seek to address problems of addiction and drug use. We need to give help.

Everyone has their role to play  it is by working together that we can best tackle these problems.
RAYMOND  When Harley-Davidson was making pre-prototypes of its yet-to-be-released electric motorcycle, LiveWire, the company it used to paint the parts, was Custom Painted Vehicles.

Its that kind of high regard for CPVs work that has the local company now shifting into expansion mode.

CPV, at 4325 S. 27th St. in the Blackhawk Industrial Park, specializes in custom painting on a variety of materials. Besides Harley-Davidson, clients include individual motorcycle owners, dealerships nationwide and large manufacturers such as CNH Industrials Case IH and New Holland brands and Yamaha. Smaller jobs include motorcycle paint repairs.

Dealers, including Mark and Anthony Porcaro from Indian Motorcycle of Racine, sometimes request special colors that the manufacturer doesnt offer, to give customers more choices. CPVs specialty services include expert airbrushing, graphic paint design and application, first-class motorcycle paint and repair, and promotional vehicle wraps and vinyl graphics.

Were absolute, top-of-the-line color-match experts, said CPV President and co-owner Steve Wright.

You just dont find custom paint shops this size, he added.

The owners recently bought the former W.M. Sprinkman building, also in Blackhawk Park at 4234 Courtney St., for $1.5 million. With the move that Wright hopes to complete by about next April, CPVs space will grow from 20,000 square feet in two buildings to 33,000 in one.

Wrights father, Jay Wright, opened a custom painting business in 1975 in Kenosha. Jay is now retired but remains 51 percent owner; Steve owns the other 49 percent. His wife, Dana, is company secretary and treasurer, and Jays late wife, Donna, was also in the family business.

Jay honed his painting skills air-brushing vans and other vehicles. Dad is a fine artist, Steve said, who has devoted his skills primarily to coloring and decorating vehicles. Basically, he has worked for 40 years painting what other people wanted; now hes ready to paint what he wants.

Steve learned painting from his dad at CPV. I have been in the paint booth since I was 4 years old, he said. I knew the business pretty well even at 18.

After a year of architectural school on a scholarship, he joined the family business.

Refocused on motorcycles

CPVs business was built on painting vans, motorcycles and other vehicles. But about 10 years ago, Steve said, We saw people buying fewer graphics for vehicles.

He continued, One thing that was staying strong was motorcycle painting, especially Harley-Davidson. So we decided to make that our focus and become the best motorcycle paint shop in the region. And develop systems that made it easy to do business with us.

CPV has a supplier agreement with Harley-Davidson to supply color-matched H-D accessories such as saddle bags and tour packs. That comprises about two-thirds of CPVs business, Wright said. About another quarter is other motorcycle work, and the rest is vehicle wraps and graphics.

Wright said one of the most-exciting parts of his job is when CPV works with Harley-Davidson on future products: taking concepts and applying them to 3-D parts at the pre-prototype stage. That was the case with Harley-Davidsons 42 LiveWire demonstration cycles. CPV painted 84 sets so each motorcycle had a backup.

Expected expansion benefits

Wright expects the consolidation-expansion to greatly increase CPVs operational efficiency, expand capacity and lead to other improvements. It will create a very efficient work space and outstanding office space with a conference room, he said.

The new CPV will have an internal design center where we can talk about their paint job and do virtual designs, for both individual motorcycle owners and outside companies  in a very secure environment, Wright said. That will include prototyping and product development work.

When companies are looking to deal with suppliers, they want to know they will work with a company that will hold all that proprietary information close, Wright said. I think it will give us an opportunity to get new business from those types of clients.  We can do it in a more professional and exciting way.

And for individual cycle owners, Our philosophy is that its more than just a paint job  its an experience. This is fun money theyre spending. The new building gives us the opportunity to make that more exciting for the client.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) late last month released a report alleging that Bangladeshi security forces have deliberately targeted and maimed government opponents. The 45-page report is entitled No Right to Live: Kneecapping and Maiming of Detainees by Bangladesh Security Forces .

Kneecapping causes serious damageto kneecaps, soft tissue, blood vessels, muscles and nerves. In some cases, the victims limbs must be amputated. The HRW report says the injured were denied proper medical treatment and were jailed.

The US-based human rights organisations accusations are another exposure of the increasingly repressive methods used by Awami League-led government of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina Wajed.

The Awami League dominates the current parliament after the right-wing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other opposition parties boycotted the 2014 national election. Confronting ongoing agitation by the BNP and other opposition parties, and deepening discontent by Bangladeshi workers, the Hasina government is increasingly using police-state methods to maintain its rule.

The HRW report contains testimony from 25 people, mostly members and supporters of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, a reactionary Islamic fundamentalist party.

Fearing retribution, most of the victims were unwilling to be identified and used pseudonyms. They told HRW that police had shot them in the leg, without any provocation, permanently disabling several individuals. Many said they were beaten by security forces before being kneecapped.

Mahbub Kabir, who worked in the marketing department of Naya, pro-Jamaat daily newspaper, was captured and shot in front of witnesses on his way to work. The security officer told Kabir: I have shot in your leg. If you speak out, then next time I will shoot in your eyes.

The police repression was not confined to Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. Another victim, a 32-year-old farmer, said he was shot after a raid in Chittagong, in southeastern Bangladesh. After beating me for a few minutes, the police tied me to a tree. Then he shot me above the knee in my left leg, the farmer said. While the police officer involved denied the accusation, he called the farmer a criminal and said he had no right to live.

The attacks were highly organised and systematic. One victim told HRW: One of the policemen was talking on his cell phone and asking a person on the other end whether they should injure or kill me. After he finished talking, the other police officers pushed me face down on the ground and shot me in my left leg. Then they put me back in the van and took me to hospital.

Another victim, Anis, 45, who was shot in February 2013, said: A policeman put me into handcuffs and brought me out and made me stand. He then went behind me and shot me in my left leg. I must have fallen unconscious, because the next thing is that I found myself lying on a bed at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation. Four days later, my left leg was amputated.

Nor was the repression limited to the opposition activists. Ordinary citizens accidently in the wrong place have also become victims.

Fazal, 18, an International Islamic University law student lived in Kutubbagh, Dhaka where the opposition held an anti-government protest. He went to get his breakfast but was caught up in the protest and grabbed by police after he witnessed officers beating three men. According to television footage, Fazal was healthy when taken into custody. He was detained along with others at Sher-e-Bangla Police Station.

Fazal told HRW: The SI [police superintendent] said: He has not been shot. Bring him out. They grabbed me by my collar and pulled me to the back of the police station They said: Keep quiet. Stand with your eyes shut. We are going to shoot. If you talk too much we will shoot you in the chest.

Fazal, who was later kneecapped and had his leg amputated, reported that one of the men said: Give us five lakh taka [$US6,300]. We will let you go. Fazal added: I heard five lakhs and kept quiet. I knew my family couldnt give five lakhs. They started hitting me with rifles. The SI who was supposed to shoot me said, Blindfold him. They tied my eyes. I knew they were shooting me. I heard the sound. Then I woke up I found myself in the verandah, bleeding. I realised I had been shot.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan immediately rejected the report, telling the AFP news agency that all the allegations against the security forces are baseless. He claimed that the security forces only shot at criminals when they try to escape or were in confrontation with police.

Last week, Prime Minister Hasina dismissed the HRW report, telling the Hindu, Indias English-language daily, that the human rights agencies are more vocal for the rights of the criminals than they are for the rights of the victims.

Hasina attempted to justify the state violence by referring to police repression in the US. What is happening in America? When they have an attack on their schools or anywhere, what do law enforcement agencies there do? Dont they kill the attackers and rescue people? Should our law enforcement agencies not kill terrorists who attack them?

The police repression in Bangladesh has nothing to do with countering alleged terrorism but is aimed at suppressing anti-government opponents. After the BNP-led opposition boycotted the January 2014 general election and called protests demanding new elections, the government unleashed its security forces, killing more than 100 people in that month alone.

Under the cover of combating terrorism and under pressure from the US, the Awami-led regime in June this year detained more than 11,000 people. Mass arrests continued after ISIS claimed responsibility for taking hostages at Holey Artisan Bakery, a popular restaurant in Dhaka.

While Washington has pointed to the rise of ISIS and other Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh, these concerns are driven by its geo-strategic manoeuvres in the Indian sub-continent and, in particular, bringing the Awami League-led regime into line with US war preparations against China.

Though the BNP and other opposition activists are the governments current targets, its main aim is the suppression of Bangladeshi working class, peasants and the poor and their increasing opposition to worsening social exploitation and inequality.
Directed by Mick Jackson; screenplay by David Hare, based on Deborah Lipstadts History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving

British-born filmmaker Mick Jacksons new movie, Denial, is based on the book by US academic and author Deborah Lipstadt, History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving. The 2005 work chronicles the struggle pursued by Lipstadt and her legal team with Irving, the right-wing British pseudo-historian and Holocaust denier, in a London courtroom in 2000.

It was Lipstadts 1993 book, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, that prompted Irving to target the professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta. In her work, Lipstadt called Irving one of the most dangerous spokesmen for Holocaust denial. In 1996, Irving sued Lipstadt and her British publisher, Penguin Books, alleging they were part of an organised international endeavor to destroy his reputation and livelihood as a historian.

According to Denial s production notes, veteran British playwright and screenwriter David Hare proceeded with considerable care in defending objective historical truth. Hare crafted the scenes in court by using verbatim portions of the trials official transcript. The screenwriter explains that I had to be historically accurate myself, so that enemies of the film, the people who agree with David Irving, couldnt accuse me of distorting the record.

Hare was further motivated by the insidious character of Irvings attempt to give anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial a respectable veneer. Irving dressed like an English gentleman, notes the scriptwriter. He lived in Mayfair. John Keegan, an extremely distinguished military historian, said that David Irving was a first-rate historian who happened to take Hitlers point of view and that there was a significant historical value in looking at history from the side of the loser. Irving contended that no Jews were gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp and that Hitler and the Nazis were innocent of genocide.

When the film opens, Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz), has just published her earlier book. As she is delivering a talk promoting the work to a room full of students in Atlanta, Irving (Timothy Spall) appears with two associates, who videotape the proceedings. He attempts to disrupt the event by waving $1,000 in the air and yelling, Ill give it to anyone who can prove Hitler ordered the killing of the Jews! Deborah refuses to engage with Irving, insisting that one can have different opinions about the Holocaust, but it is not possible to dispute whether or not it happened: That isnt an opinion. Thats a fact.

In Denying the Holocaust , Lipstadt argues that following World War II, Nazism in general and the Holocaust in particular had given fascism a bad name.  Consequently Holocaust denial became an important element in the fabric of their [neo-fascist] ideology.

Deborah is then shocked to learn from her British publisher, Penguin Books, that Irving is suing her and Penguin for libel. She quickly discovers that libel laws in Britain differ from those in the US: in the UK, there is no presumption of innocence in such a case. Consequently, Deborah, as the defendant, must prove that her assertions were true and, furthermore, that Irvings falsifications were deliberate.

While Irving chooses to represent himself in court, a top legal team headed by solicitor Anthony Julius (Andrew Scott) and barrister Richard Rampton (Tom Wilkinson) acts on behalf of Lipstadt and Penguin. Julius and Rampton insist that Deborah place complete confidence in her legal representatives. This leads to various conflicts (and a share of the films drama). Rampton refuses her request to put British Holocaust survivors on the stand so as to avoid subjecting them to Irvings abusive and humiliating tacticsand he will also not allow his client to testify.

When Deborah demands my right to stand up against someone who wants to pervert the truth, her attorney counters that these things are happening to you, but the case is not about you  What feels best is not necessarily what works best. Rampton and Julius are convinced their atom bomb defense involves keeping the focus on Irvings falsehoods rather than putting the Holocaust on trial. Towards this end, eminent British historian Richard Evans (John Sessions)renowned for his research on the history of Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly the Third Reichis brought on board.

In History on Trial, Lipstadt observes: After detailing numerous examples of Irvings historical malfeasance regarding the Holocaust and the bombing of Dresden, Evans wrote: If we mean by historian someone who is concerned to discover the truth about the past and to give us as accurate a representation as possible, then Irving is not a historian  Irving is essentially an ideologue who uses history  in order to further his own political purposes.

In one telling scene, Deborah, seeking financial backing for legal fees, meets with leading figures in Britains Jewish community. To her surprise and dismay, they advise her to settle with Irving out of court and, generally, not rock the boat.

In preparing for the trial, Deborah accompanies her lawyers to what remains of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The no-nonsense Scotsman Rampton is doing forensic work in what the equally no-nonsense New Yorker Lipstadt considers a disrespectful manner. Only in the course of the trial does she learn to appreciate the efficacy of Ramptons seemingly callous methods.

The dust jacket of History on Trial explains that Lipstadts lawyers gained access to Irvings personal papers, which exposed his association with neo-Nazi extremists in Germany, former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and the National Alliance, which wanted to transform America into an Aryan society. In the course of the trial, Lipstadts legal team stripped away Irvings mask of respectability through exposing the prejudice, extremism, and distortion of history that defined his work.

One of the trials pivotal moments, which gives the defense considerable momentum, occurs when Rampton proves that Irving manipulated the call logs of leading Nazi Heinrich Himmler to whitewash Hitlers role in the annihilation of the Jews.

Rampton also produces a 1991 video clip in which Irving spews out his reactionary poison for the benefit of an audience in Calgary, Alberta: I say quite tastelessly in fact that more women died on the back seat of Edward Kennedys car at Chappaquiddick than ever died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz.

The trial lasts from January 11 to March 15, 2000. Ultimately, Judge Charles Gray (Alex Jennings) rules that Irvings treatment of the historical evidence is so perverse and egregious that it is difficult to accept that it is inadvertence on his part. Lipstadt and Penguin win the day, and Irving is liable to pay all the substantial costs of the trial.

Irving was a notorious reactionary, with an extensive history of sympathy for fascism. In the 1980s he spoke to meetings of the anti-immigrant German Peoples Union (DVU). At least one audience included skinheads chanting Sieg Heil! In his final argument, Rampton observed (not included in the film) that Mr. Irving is a Hitler partisan, who has falsified history on a staggering scale in order to prove Hitlers innocence, which like Holocaust denial is obviously very appealing to his fellow travellers. After all, if the Holocaust were a myth, then, obviously, Hitler could have no responsibility for it.

Jacksons Denial is a conscientious reconstruction of the libel trial. However, it was a commentary on the British legal system in general and its anti-democratic libel laws in particular, as the WSWS noted in 2000, that despite Irvings history, the High Court did not summarily dismiss Irvings claim and instead provided him with a platform from which to propound his extreme right-wing views.

The historical issues, along with Hares intelligent script, no doubt helped inspire the remarkable performances of Wilkinson, Weisz and Spall. Scott as Julius also deserves special mention.

In an interview, director Jackson ( The Bodyguard, Temple Grandin ) suggested that his film was about historical truth  All the interactions between the characters, the tension between Deborah Lipstadt and the legal team, everything that happened is what actually happened.

Denial has its weaknesses. The acting and the courtroom sequences, which are tightly and tautly done, are relatively subtle; other elements and scenes are not. The complacent and idyllic picture of Lipstadts suburban life in the US seems out of place. There is no hint of a connection between the historical issues, the emergence of neo-fascist forces and the state of contemporary society (including American society). The Irving trial itself demonstrated, for those who cared to see, that as long as the system responsible for the fascist barbarism continued to exist even such an apparently settled  question as Nazi guilt for mass murder of the European Jews remained unresolved.

The filmmakers do not help their artistic cause by including a corny and unconvincing moment when, following her legal victory, a jogging Deborah (the recurring jogging scenes themselves are tedious and a distraction) stopsapparently to make common causewith the statue of Queen Boadicea located on Londons Embankment, near the Houses of Parliament. The sequence seems to imply that like Boadicea, an early Briton who led an uprising against the Roman occupiers in 60-61 AD, Lipstadt is a female warrior leading her people.

More significantly, like virtually every film on the Holocaust that has come out over the past several decades, Denial is entirely silent as to the origins and sources of fascism. Unfortunately, one does not expect anything different.

Nonetheless, within its limited scope, Denial is valuable, particularly as an antidote to the efforts in Germany to relativize the crimes of Hitler and fascism, spearheaded by Professor Jorg Baberowski of Humboldt University in Berlin.
A two-day European Union (EU) summit ended yesterday in Brussels without agreement on the war in Syria, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, or Britain's exit from the EU.

It is ever clearer that this summer's Brexit vote marked a major step in an ongoing disintegration of the EU. Torn by multiple conflicts, above all over the US-led war drive against Russia and China and its relations with Washington, the EU is incapable not only of reaching a common agreement on policy, but of hiding the increasingly sharp tensions among its member states.

Monday's foreign ministers summit showed that the EU would reject US pressure for more sanctions against Russia over Syria, which threaten to cripple the EU's already moribund economy. Germany, Britain and France nonetheless hoped to push through an EU resolution hypocritically condemning Russian bombing of NATO-backed opposition militias in Aleppo and referring to the possibility of imposing more sanctions against Russia sometime in the future. This failed, however, due to opposition from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

After long debates on Thursday night, EU leaders emerged after 2a.m. on Friday to lay out their conflicting positions on Syria and Russia.

With the Italian banking system on the verge of collapse and a constitutional referendum scheduled for December 4, Renzi apparently calculated that even mentioning sanctions was an intolerable threat to Italy, which has close trade and energy links to Russia.

I think that to refer in the text to sanctions makes no sense, he said. So I think the words we wrote in the final document are the right onesto say we need to do everything possible to promote an agreement in Syria.

Renzi's comments drew a sharp retort from Warsaw, which has closely aligned itself with the US-led war drive against Russia. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski claimed there was an unequivocal support for action against Russia. All options cover sanctions, various tools limiting Russia in relation to what is happening in Syria today, he said. Any lack of change to Russian behavior in Syria will cause us to return to this topic very quickly.

Tension also erupted between Warsaw and Berlin over the conflict with Russia. Szymanski penned a comment in the Financial Times attacking the Nord Stream gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea. Poland and other Eastern European states have long opposed the pipeline, negotiated in 2005 by Moscow and Berlin, fearing Germany could resupply itself with gas even if conflicts with Russia led Moscow to cut off their energy supplies.

Calling the pipeline a Trojan horse capable of destabilizing the economy and poisoning political relations inside the EU, Szymanski warned that it may be subject to legal challenge by Poland or other countries, in the court [the EU Court of Justice] if need be.

The intractable contradictions arising inside the EU reflect bitter conflicts among the major imperialist powers amid the reckless, US-led war drive against Russia and China.

Next year will mark a quarter century since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, which founded the EU. Since then, illusions that the restoration of capitalism in the USSR and the founding of the EU would unify Europe, bringing peace, prosperity and democracy to all, have been shattered. Europe's economy is stagnating amid mass unemployment and attacks on social rights, despite trillion-euro handouts to the banks. Meanwhile, Europe is being re-militarized as NATO deploys tens of thousands of troops to the Middle East and along Russia's borders in Europe.

The EU is recklessly whipping up anti-Russian propaganda, covering up its own role in the arming of Syrian Islamist opposition militias in Aleppo and the bloody assault on Mosul. While it echoes Washington's line to justify military spending increases and incite police-state hysteria at home, the inter-imperialist rivalries inside NATO are increasingly impossible to hide.

Unwilling to give up access to profit opportunities in Russia and China, most EU powers have rejected US calls for major economic sanctions on Russia or for action against China, such as a boycott of its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

This goes hand-in-hand with ever more visible military and economic tensions. Last year, Berlin and Paris opposed CIA plans to arm Ukrainian nationalist militias against Russia, which they feared would provoke military retaliation from Russia; this year, EU officials declared that they would not take a position in Washington's dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea. EU officials are now announcing plans for an EU army independent from Washington, provoking open declarations of hostility from the British government.

These tensions threatened to erupt into trade war this autumn, as the EU imposed a multi-billion-euro fine on Apple for tax evasion in Ireland, and Washington retaliated with a massive fine on Germany's ailing Deutsche Bank. These escalating inter-imperialist conflicts underlay the summit's failure to reach further agreement on CETA and Brexit.

Talks on CETA failed yesterday, less than two months after German and French officials called for an end to talks with Washington on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Opposition emerged from the francophone Belgian region of Wallonia, which demanded more protection for EU farmers from Canadian competition. Walloon officials also reportedly aimed to undercut Belgium's economically dominant Flanders region, whose government supports CETA.

As she left Belgium, Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said: It seems evident for me and for Canada that the European Union is not now capable of having an international accord even with a country that has values as European as Canada  Canada is disappointed, but I think it is impossible.

The difficulty of negotiating such trade agreements also points to the deep conflicts that are set to arise as London begins the process of leaving the EU and tries to renegotiate its trade deals, which until now have been made under the aegis of the EU. While few details emerged of Thursday night's talks on Brexit between EU officials and British Prime Minister Theresa May, who was attending her first EU summit, tensions are clearly mounting behind the scenes.

European People's Party leader Manfred Weber threatened London because it is blocking plans for an EU army and military capability that would be independent from the US and Britain.

When somebody wants to leave a club, it's not really normal that such a member who wants to leave a club wants to decide about the future of this club. That is really creating a lot of anger, the behavior of the British government, he told the BBC. He added, I think it's totally understandable if we, as Germans, as French, as Italians, think about ournot yourlong-term project. Please don't stop it, don't block it, because that will have a lot of impact on the Brexit negotiations if you do so.
Almost 15,500 employees of the supermarket chain Kaisers Tengelmann are faced with the liquidation of the corporation. On Monday morning, stores began selling off their stock in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Karl-Erivan Haub, the owner and CEO of the Tengelmann group, to which the supermarket chain belongs, instructed the store management to open up severance negotiations with the works councils. On Tuesday, the first meetings of management and works councils took place in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Eight thousand jobs hang in the balance. In North Rhine-Westphalia, between 80 and 105 stores are threatened with closure. Three thousand of the 3,500 employees in North Rhine-Westphalia could lose their jobs in the next few months. Many branches of the corporation, such as logistics and management, will also become redundant. In Berlin, 300 jobs are in danger at the Kaisers warehouse in Mariendorf.

In Viersen, on the left bank of the Rhine, where Kaisers was founded in 1881 as the first grocery chain in Germany, the logistics centre and the specialist butchers shop in Birkenhof face closure. The Food, Beverages and Catering Industry Trade Union (NGG) already agreed to the closing of the meat-processing plant in Viersen. In Birkenhof, about 90 workers will lose their jobs. In the logistics centre, 250 will lose their jobs.

The service union Verdi and the industry union NGG have taken up the task of maintaining social peace. They are responsible for sowing false hopes in one new negotiated solution after another, keeping a lid on the anger of the workers and preventing any open expression of protest.

Most recently, Verdi organised roundtable talks between Tengelmann CEO Haub and the CEOs of the supermarket chains Edeka and Rewe. Verdi head Frank Bsirske carefully hid the content of the negotiations from the workers and union members. However, on October 13, Haub said that the roundtable talks had failed and that the Kaisers Tengelmann stores would be closed.

Karl-Erivan Haub had originally planned to sell Kaisers Tengelmann to Edeka in the hope that profitable stores could be continued as Netto stores. Netto is a subsidiary of Edeka in which Haubs Tengelmann group is involved. Indeed, Edeka will still have the pre-purchase rights when the Kaisers Tengelmann stores are sold.

Verdi and NGG supported the takeover plans because the unions hoped to get their feet through the door at Edeka. At the Edeka corporation, which is a network of independent stores, the union has had little representation up until now.

The Federal Cartel Office issued a veto, however, because the takeover of Kaisers Tengelmann would have given Edeka an even more dominant position in the market. When Federal Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel (Social Democratic Party) invalidated this veto with a ministerial permit, Rewethe companys main rivaland two other competitors, Norma and Markant, took the case to court and successfully blocked the takeover.

Verdis roundtable, which brought together the heads of Edeka, Rewe, Norma and Markant, was supposed to allow the division of Kaisers Tengelmann among its competitors. On October 6, Verdi prematurely celebrated the arrival of an agreement. According to Verdi, Edeka would take over the stores in Munich and Rewe would take over the stores in Berlin. Die Zeit quoted an unnamed source who said that Edeka and Rewe saw a rare opportunity in the major cities of Bavaria to substantially expand its network of stores there, where they would scarcely be able to grow on their own. In these cities, there is no inner-city location any more that could be served by the store. This explains the haggling over these stores.

This throws a light on the solution sought by Verdi. In reality, it is about a gigantic market consolidation and the division of the stores among the other industry giants, which Verdi helped to organise and carry out against the will of the employees. The fact that the deal failed is yet another illustration of the cutthroat competition that has already destroyed other chains, including Hertie, Woolworths, Schlecker and Praktiker.

The losses at Kaisers Tengelmann are often explained in terms of the less favourable terms of purchase of the relatively small chain as compared with the large industry leaders, Edeka, Rewe, Aldi and Lidl. The threatened closings in North Rhine-Westphalia show that the more profound reason lies in the deep social crisis in that state. In the Ruhr valley, thousands of people are jobless or dependent on Hartz IV benefits. Since they often can no longer afford many products, the stores are no longer profitable, unlike the stores in Munich and Berlin, which will be sold to new owners instead of being closed.

This also sheds light on the strategy of the unions. Under conditions of capitalist crisis, they are not organising a common struggle of the workers against the bankrupt capitalist system, but aiding the carving up of the company and the sale of its stores to competing industry giants. Then they will try to hide the consequences of this manoeuvre by making an appeal to the social conscience of the capitalists.

On Monday morning, the works councils attached an open letter to the doors of Kaisers Tengelmann stores, in which they implored the heads of Rewe, Norma and Markant to stop blocking the takeover by Edeka on the terms of Gabriels ministerial permit.

After the failure of the roundtable, Verdi board member Stefanie Nutzenberger wrote: We cannot understand why the talks were ended prematurely. Verdi will continue to do everything it can to prevent the destruction of the company. Several spokespersons of the NGG made similar remarks.

Economics Minister Gabriel, who is also the president of the SPD, still saw the possibility of a solution on Friday and told the press: In agreement with Chancellor Angel Merkel, I have called all of the participants today and told them that it would be shocking if we did not manage to save the jobs. The social market economy must show that it is in a position to do this, Gabriel said.

Verdis Bsirske explained that the union works in the background so that communications do not break down completely and is looking for a solution with Economics Minister Gabriel. According to the union, the ministerial permit could still be implemented as long as none of the stores have yet been sold.

Manfred Schick, the president of the Kaisers Tengelmann works council in the Munich-Upper Bavaria region, said: Instead of destruction scenarios we need a continuation concept that will hold until the courts have decided or until there is an agreement between all parties.

In reality, the complete takeover by Edeka in accordance with the ministerial permit would inevitably have large casualties. After five years at the latest, Kaisers Tengelmann employees would be in danger of losing their jobs. No one would prevent Edeka boss Martin Mosa from closing the former Kaisers Tengelmann stores after they become Edeka stores.

Two weeks ago, the Handelsblatt wrote that there were many losers in the deal and the workers should not celebrate too soon. At no point has it been about selflessly rescuing an ailing corporation. This is about hardened power interests. And the struggle for market shares. The newspaper said that all the interested parties had coolly calculated whether a deal would put them in a better position than if the situation escalated and Kaisers Tengelmann were destroyed in an uncontrolled way.

Whatever form this power struggle takes, the cashiers, salespeople, store managers, warehouse workers, forklift operators, fish packers, truck drivers and other employees will be forced to foot the bill. At Kaisers Tengelmann, the workers have already been forced to make sacrifices for over five years and to give up a part of their compensation, since the unions repeatedly claimed that their jobs could be saved in this way.

The destruction of Kaisers Tengelmann is yet another demonstration of the impossibility of defending jobs and living standards without breaking with Verdi, NGG and the entire framework of the trade unions. For years, they have refused to mobilise the workers, and when they could not prevent a labour struggle, they have sold it out and led it to defeat every time.

The employees of Kaisers Tengelmann must draw the conclusion that it is necessary to organise independently of the unions and build a new leadership of the working class. We call on all Kaisers Tengelmann employees who want to take up this struggle to contact the World Socialist Web Site and the Partei fur Soziale Gleichheit, the German section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
RACINE  The last 12 months have been a time of celebration for Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 2201 Northwestern Ave., as the parish marks 100 years of worship and service in Racine.

And the year-long celebration will culminate in a weekend of special events Oct. 28-30, including a Sunday Mass, presided over by Archbishop Jerome Listecki of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Such celebration seems appropriate for a parish which began in 1915 with an informal meeting of a group of men, led by Father Peter Enrietto, in front of what then was Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church  and continues its mission of making and growing disciples today, with an average of 500 people attending Mass each week.

Some parish members, like Louise Williams, 90, can still recall Sacred Hearts early days, when the church and its school  then on the western outskirts of the city  were starting to grow and even a dollar was a lot of money.

Williams parents, Anthony and Esther Papara, had come to the U.S. from Italy, and found sanctuary in the parish, which was originally established to minister to the growing Italian population in Racine.

We were a community of all immigrant people, Williams said. And no matter what people were going through, they helped one another in whatever way they could.

Even those families with five or eight children were often the ones to come forward and offer to take care of someone elses kids for the day, Williams said. And if they couldnt help you themselves, theyd say I know someone you can talk with, who can help you. 

Compassion

Similar feelings of compassion and support from fellow parishioners are also ones that Krystal Hayes said she and her family have experienced at Sacred Heart today. Hayes, her husband, Eric, and their two young children joined the parish last spring after attending Mass there for a while. They have felt welcome at the church right from the start, said Hayes, 35.

People here are so caring and are always willing to give us a hand, she said.

Hayes was introduced to the parish through the John Paul II Academy, the parishs Catholic school, where her daughter is a student. And one of the things that led her to start attending Mass at Sacred Heart was its current pastor, the Rev. Ricardo Martin.

Father Ricardo really knows how to make you feel special, said Hayes.

She also appreciates Martins preaching style, which may include everything from humor to Green Bay Packers references, she said.

Its not over the top, so people can understand it. And that usually means they remember it.

Very faithful

Martin, who has served at Sacred Heart for four years, said he feels the people of the parish have played an essential role in keeping the church vital for so long.

People here are very faithful, he said. We were concerned that, with all of the construction along Northwestern Avenue, people would stop coming. But they kept coming, anyway.

The parish has also always been very committed to social issues, Martin said. Sacred Heart was one of the founding members of the Racine Interfaith Coalition and is involved with the community meal at St. Patricks Catholic Church, he said. The parish also conducts a monthly blood drive and other outreach activities.

We have a very active human concerns committee, Martin said.

Wanting to grow

Sacred Heart is already a great place, the pastor said, but the parish still wants to grow. And its members are looking at this years anniversary not only as a time to reflect on the past, but to create a vision for the churchs future, in terms of mission.

The Gospel for the the weekend of Sacred Hearts 100th anniversary talks about Zacchaeus, a tax collector who yearned to get a clearer vision  and who climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view over the crowd to see Jesus in his midst.

Martin said he feels that the parish  like Zacchaeus  is now poised to climb that sycamore tree and look beyond itself to the mission that God is asking it to do, in this time. And one of the challenges they face in doing so, he said, is to not stay comfortable, and to instead become more engaged as they continue to grow.

Martin said hed like to see the parish find its own ministry  something unique to Sacred Heart that could have an impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Hes been preaching about the idea throughout the anniversary year, he said, and plans to hold listening sessions, in order to hear what parishioners think about it.

Such vision for the future of the parish is something Hayes said she appreciates as much as she does Sacred Hearts traditions.

With Father Ricardos help, I think 50 years from now well be celebrating our 150th, she said.

Next weekends 100th anniversary celebration events will begin with a Friday night fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 (cost is $9 per person), and finish with the 10 a.m. Sunday Mass, led by Archbishop Listecki, on Oct. 30. Both events will be held at Sacred Heart Church and are open to the public.

The parish is also holding an anniversary dinner at Roma Lodge on Saturday, Oct. 29, but that event requires advance registration. For more information, go to www.sacredheartracine.com or call 262-634-5526.
The tensions wracking Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls Liberal-National Coalition government erupted to the surface this week, raising new doubts over its stability in the face of a deepening economic crisis and rising global geo-political tensions.

There were extraordinary scenes in parliament on Thursday, as Turnbull and Tony Abbott, the man he ousted as prime minister just over a year ago, effectively called each other liars.

Earlier in the week, Abbott denounced a suggestion by Turnbull that the government might strike a deal with libertarian Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm to end a ban on imports of a lever-action shotgun. Abbott tweeted that was disturbing to see reports of horse-trading on gun laws.

Leyonhjelm, however, produced emails from August 2015, showing that he had agreed with two cabinet ministers in the then Abbott government to support migration legislation in return for the government placing a 12-month sunset clause on the Adler shotgun ban.

Abbott nevertheless went on television on Wednesday night to categorically insist there had been no deal involving his office.

During parliamentary question time on Thursday, Turnbull bluntly contradicted Abbotts claim. He said that as a result of inquiries he made to his ministers, Im satisfied that the minister for justice acted in the full knowledge of the prime ministers office at that time.

Abbott then insisted on making a personal statement to parliament, declaring he had been most grievously misrepresented. It was absolutely and utterly false to suggest he had connived with Leyonhjelm to weaken Australias gun laws. Abbott said his remarks were directed against the Labor Party oppositionwhich had asked Turnbull to confirm Abbotts rolebut it was clear that Abbotts vehemence was aimed at the prime minister.

Media commentators spoke of the government shooting itself in the foot and blowing its brains out. The week had begun with the government vowing to secure passage of two bills, designed to suppress industrial action, particularly on construction sites. Turnbull had invoked the previous blockage of these bills in the Senate to call the July 2 double dissolution election of both houses of parliament. By the end of the week, the government was in open disarray.

The internal warfare with the Liberal Party cannot be explained by a dispute over gun laws. Far deeper issues are involved. The confrontation followed stepped-up agitation by Abbott on several fronts, blatantly seeking to undermine Turnbull. Last week, Abbott told Fairfax Media he was ready to serve as prime minister again, if a call came.

Turnbulls government is facing immense pressures, politically, economically and geo-strategically.

The July 2 election, which Turnbull called to break through a parliamentary logjam caused by the popular opposition to its plans to slash public spending, was a debacle for the governing parties. The Coalition clung on to power with only a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives and only 30 seats in the 76-member Senate.

Questions are being asked throughout the media about its capacity to impose the agenda of budget-slashing and cuts to working conditions demanded by the corporate elite. Only one bill to gut social spendingan Omnibus bill to reduce expenditure by about $6 billion over four yearshas been passed since the election, and for that the government had to rely on the bipartisan support of the Labor Party.

Editorials today voiced frustration with the governments internal brawling. Fairfax Medias Sydney Morning Herald said Turnbull headed a ructious party seemingly intent on in-fighting not governing. The Australian, the Murdoch flagship, said the continuing chaos was placing the governments credibility as stake.

Economically, the global stagnation and fall in mining export prices are being compounded by signs of the possible collapse of a five-year speculative property bubble. This week, Morgan Stanley became the latest finance house to warn of a looming glut of apartment construction. It predicted a surplus of 100,000 apartments by 2018, and a credit crunch for developers that would threaten 200,000 industry jobs.

The latest labour force statistics highlighted the destruction of full-time jobs. During 2016, full-time employment has dropped by 112,000 jobs, while part-time has risen by 163,000. On average, about 530 full-time jobs have disappeared each day. The official unemployment rate edged down to 5.6 percent, but only because of a falling workforce participation rate.

Treasury secretary John Fraser issued another warning that Australia could lose its AAA credit rating unless the government cut its annual budget deficit of around $40 billion. Global ratings agency Standard & Poors said it was monitoring the success or otherwise of the new governments ability to pass revenue and expenditure measures through both houses of parliament.

Geo-strategically, Turnbulls government confronts insistent demands from Washington, on which the Australian ruling elite depends militarily, to take a frontline position in military operations that could trigger open conflict with China, the countrys largest export market.

To date, despite US appeals, Turnbull has not permitted the Australian Navy to carry out a provocative freedom of navigation incursion inside the 12-mile territorial limits around Chinese-held islets in the South China Sea. In fact, he and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this month criticised Labor Party leaders for advocating such operations, saying it would escalate tensions with China.

Washington will be looking to Australia even more for such involvement following Philippines President Rodrigo Dutertes declaration in Beijing this week that he is separating from the US, potentially undermining Washingtons pivot to Asia.

This month Turnbulls government sought to shore up its relations with Washington by finalising an in principle deal to expand US use of Australian military bases. This long-delayed pact, first initiated by the previous Labor government in 2011, may not be enough to satisfy the Pentagon, however.

Just weeks after the governments narrow July 2 win, US Vice President Joe Biden arrived for a four-day visit to Australia, during which he asserted publicly that Australia must stand all the way with the US.

In early September, a clear signal was delivered that the US has concerns about whether it can depend on Turnbull. The Australian Financial Review published allegations that the Australian intelligence agencies, which are closely connected to their American counterparts, believe the prime minister isnt taking their warnings about the security threat posed by China seriously enough.

While Abbott was in office, there was no doubt about his governments unequivocal alignment with Washington, whether in the escalating war in the Middle East or in the Asia Pacific region.

US foreign policy concerns have been a central issue in the ouster of two previous Australian governments. Prime Minister Gough Whitlams Labor government was removed from office on November 11, 1975 in a constitutional coup by the governor-general, operating in collaboration with the Australian security apparatus, and US and British intelligence agencies.

In June 2010, Kevin Rudd was removed via a backroom Labor Party coup orchestrated by trusted backers and protected sources of the US administration, including current Labor leader Bill Shorten. As diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks later confirmed, the Obama administration viewed Rudd as an unreliable ally in regard to its plans for a confrontational stance toward China. Rudds replacement as Labor leader and prime minister, Julia Gillard, fully committed Australia to the US pivot to Asia in November 2011.

In the light of this history, questions arise as to Washingtons role in the rifts rocking Turnbulls leadership.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) - Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked the Florida Supreme Court to clarify a ruling last week that struck down a portion of the state's death-penalty law, arguing that failing to do so "will only generate confusion."

In a pair of opinions issued last Friday, the court found that a statute, passed in March in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, was unconstitutional "because it requires that only 10 jurors recommend death as opposed to the constitutionally required unanimous, 12-member jury."

Bondi's request for clarification came in the case of Larry Darnell Perry, who was convicted in the 2013 murder of his infant son. An appellate court had asked the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the law passed in March applied to cases that were already under way.

In last Friday's 5-2 decision in the Perry case, the court said that the law was unconstitutional because it did not require unanimous jury recommendations and "cannot be applied to pending prosecutions."

The state contends that death penalty prosecutions can continue without a change in the law, so long as trial courts require unanimous jury recommendations to comply with last week's ruling.

But the Supreme Court majority did not address the issue of "severability," which would allow portions of the law that are not deficient to remain intact, Senior Assistant Attorney General Carol Dittmar wrote in the 11-page request filed Thursday.

"This omission unnecessarily invites continued litigation. The language leaves open the possibility that defense attorneys will assert that no valid death penalty law exists in Florida, demanding that trial judges strike notices of intent to pursue capital cases and refuse to impanel capital juries," she wrote.

However, "the state maintains that after severing the constitutional defect, current capital prosecutions should still be conducted as long as the trial courts ensure that the jury's final recommendation is unanimous," Dittmar continued.

The arguments "will no doubt be rejected by some trial courts and accepted by others," leading to more litigation in "an already overburdened system," Dittmar wrote.

"This court's finding of a constitutional flaw will only generate confusion, absent some clarification as to trial court's authority to cure the legislative error," she argued.

But defense lawyers maintain that, a decade ago, the Supreme Court asked the Legislature to address the issue of unanimity. They say it's now the Legislature's job --- not the court's --- to fix the law.

"It's not clarification to ask the court to rewrite the statute," said Martin McClain, who has represented over 200 defendants facing the death penalty.

Like Bondi, legislative leaders and prosecutors --- who pushed for 10-2 jury recommendations in death-penalty cases over the repeated warnings of defense lawyers --- contend that the statute does not have to be changed immediately for prosecutions to move forward.

But an Ocala judge on Monday put on hold the penalty portion of a murder trial, saying the court needed direction from the Legislature before proceeding.

Arguing for the state in the request for clarification, Dittmar wrote that the flaw in the statute "is easy to fix" through "accurate jury instructions and simple interrogatories" and "does not require any substantive rewriting of the law."

But defense lawyers say that allowing trials to proceed without changing the statute could be even more problematic.

Relying on judges to craft jury instructions in different cases "is a situation that will cause havoc," said 5th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Mike Graves, whose office represents Kelvin Lee Coleman in the Ocala murder trial and who argued Coleman's case Monday. A jury late last week found Coleman guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

"We literally could have dozens and dozens of different procedures, different jury instructions on the issue of death in individual cases. That, I think, would cause absolutely unnecessary complication in review," Graves said. "I don't for the life of me understand what their hurry is."

The state's death penalty has been in limbo since January, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Florida's sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries. Following that decision, the Florida Supreme Court indefinitely put on hold two executions, which are still pending.

Of the 31 states with the death penalty, Florida is one of just three --- including Alabama and Delaware --- that have not required unanimous jury recommendations for death to be imposed. Delaware's high court has halted that state's death penalty following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in January in the Hurst case.

The Hurst ruling did not address the issue of unanimity, which became a flashpoint during this year's legislative session as Florida lawmakers sought to repair the state's death penalty sentencing process to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Defense lawyers repeatedly told lawmakers that Florida's "outlier" status regarding unanimity jeopardizes the state's death penalty because the U.S. Supreme Court considers "evolving standards of decency" when considering the issue.

A Senate proposal originally required unanimous jury recommendations, but lawmakers ultimately struck a deal --- backed by Bondi and prosecutors --- in which at least 10 jurors were required to favor death for the sentence to be imposed.

"Refusing to make a steady, reasoned review of the situation is what led to the chaos our court system is now dealing with. Lives are literally at stake. Have patience. Take a breath, Pete Mills, an assistant public defender in the 10th Judicial Circuit who is chairman of the Florida Public Defender Association's death penalty steering committee, said in a telephone interview Friday.

"If the Court attempts to fix this on their own, it could be a violation of the separation of powers recognized in our state's Constitution," Mills said. "They run the risk of misinterpreting what the Legislature will do. The Legislature might have bigger plans."

Incoming Senate President Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who will take over as head of the chamber after the November elections, told The News Service of Florida this week that there was "no ambiguity" regarding the need for unanimous jury recommendations following the state Supreme Court opinions.

Negron, a lawyer, said that lawmakers could deal with the issue during next year's 60-day legislative session, which begins in March.

Bernie McCabe, the state attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit in Pasco and Pinellas counties, said he believes prosecutors can move forward because the state Supreme Court, in the decisions last week, "has established the procedures necessary if you're going to seek the death penalty."

But McCabe also said that the attorney general's concern about clarification is valid.

"We have cases pending that need to be resolved, and there is perhaps confusion over the proper mechanism over how to resolve them," he said.

McCabe said he is trying two cases in which he is seeking the death penalty that are at a critical stage.

"I think we can go ahead. Others will perhaps disagree," he said. "I can see where it might be helpful if the Supreme Court just came out and said, OK, judges here's what you do, and go ahead and do it."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Bill Clinton is expected to make a stop in Florida on Friday as part of his wife's presidential campaign.

As the final days of the presidential election draw nearer, swing states have become a valuable battleground.

Hillary Clinton's camp has announced that her husband and former President Bill Clinton will stop in Quincy as part of a bus tour on her behalf.

There Clinton will highlight his wife's economic plan and lay out her overall vision for the future of America.

The former President has been slotted to appear at an early voting rally at Carter-Parramore Academy on Friday from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Doors are scheduled to open at 4:45 p.m. To RSVP for the event, click here.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - More than 100 years ago, a simple two-story frame building constructed on a plot of land along Brevard Street became the home of Lincoln High School.

On Friday, the Lincoln Neighborhood Service Center, was formally honored with a historic marker at a dedication ceremony.

The school was named Lincoln Academy after President Abraham Lincoln and was established in 1869 as one of only two schools in the state to educate newly freed slaves.

Residents and the community gathered to celebrate the school that has served as the primary education institution for African Americans in Tallahassee for 100 years.
RACINE  Representatives from Sunshine Supermarket, 1559 Taylor Ave., are due to appear in front of a city committee Tuesday because of a Racine Police Department sting operation that took place at the store on Sept. 15.

After using underage confidential informants to buy cigarettes and alcohol from the store, officers wrote the two working clerks 29 citations. During the sting, informants reported possible drug activity and the operation later had to be halted because informants were being harassed by drunken loiterers.

According to a recently released report, the officers who conducted the operation used eight confidential informants to make 19 illegal purchases from Sunshine from 7:40 p.m. to 9 p.m on Sept. 15.

The stores manager, Mohammad Alabed, and two clerks, Vianca Martinez and Krystal Collazo, were present at the store throughout the operation and at no time during the 19 purchases did either of the clerks or Alabed request identification from the underage informants, according to the report.

Additionally, the report states that each informant made mention of suspected drug activity in the back area of the store and had a distinct odor of burning THC on their clothing when they returned to the surveillance vehicle after each purchase.

Martinez and Collazo routinely sold alcohol and both single cigarettes and open boxes of cigarettes to the informants, the report states. The alcohol purchases included Budweiser, multiple cans of Four Loko (a flavored malt beverage) and Redds Apple Ale.

All told, Martinez received 23 of the 29 citations written to the store, 11 for selling tobacco products to minors, six for selling loose cigarettes in non-sealed packaging and six for selling alcohol to minors. Collazo received the other six: Four for selling tobacco products to minors and two for selling loose cigarettes in non-sealed packaging.

The report also states that the officers had to suspend the operation at 9 p.m. because a group of people loitering outside the store had become more aggressive. The female informants were targeted by loitering intoxicated males who attempted to talk to the females in a threatening manner, according to the report.

Police interact with Alabed

After concluding the operation, the officers entered the store to obtain identification from the employees, but before they could, Collazo exited the store. Martinez gave police her photo ID and Alabed claimed he had no identification on him, but police identified him from past interactions, according to the report.

Alabed, who identified himself as the store manager to police, said he had just hired Collazo, even though one of the officers had identified Collazo at the store in June during a similar compliance check, according to the report. Police also said that Alabed initially said he wasnt paying Collazo because she was in training, but then changed his mind to say that he was paying her but didnt have paperwork or payroll information regarding her employment.

One of the officers asked Alabed if he had paperwork on any of his employees, at which point Alabed shuffled through papers without producing any identifying documents, according to the report.

Alabed also said the allegations of selling to underage persons were made up and changed his story multiple times, according to reports.

One of the officers returned to Sunshine on Sept. 19 in order to identify Collazo, who told him that she had just started working at the store, but couldnt remember exactly when, according to the report. Police said Collazo told them she doesnt get paid by the store but also isnt volunteering her time.

According to the report, Alabed then approached the officer and Collazo and told the officer that Collazo makes $8 per hour and that she has an at-will schedule that usually includes working evenings. Police said Alabed then told the officer that Collazo makes $9 per hour and didnt respond when pressed about the changed number.

The sting is the latest in a long history of police interaction with Sunshine, dating back to as early as 2000.

Upcoming action

The Public Safety and Licensing Committee decided at its Oct. 11 meeting to call Sunshines registered agent Candace Ali in for a discussion. According to the agenda, that discussion will take place Tuesday during the committees 5:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave., in room 307.
YAKIMA, Wash.  Two Wapato officers did not violate police department policies when they responded to a July incident that ended with the fata
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RACINE  A Racine man was arrested Thursday morning after an officer allegedly saw the man attempt to conceal marijuana in his mouth during a traffic stop.

According to a criminal complaint:

Larry D. Sharp, 60, of the 1800 block of West Sixth Street, was pulled over at about 9:47 a.m. Thursday outside a laundry in the 1700 block of State Street.

During the stop, Sharp was observed throwing plastic bags out the drivers side window of his vehicle. Sharp reportedly claimed the bags were left in his car by his nephew and he was discarding them.

The officer saw that Sharp had something in his mouth, which Sharp claimed was old food. Sharp was asked to spit out what was in his mouth and a large wad of marijuana came out.

The substance was weighed, tested and determined to be 7.5 grams of marijuana.

Sharp faces a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana and two felony charges for bail jumping. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Oct. 26 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave.

Sharp remained in custody as of Friday night at the Racine County Jail, online records showed.
Two events with a massive focus on Israel in the international community have taken place within two weeks. The first was Shimon Peres funeral and the second was a contentious UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem.

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Nearly 100 heads of state arrived in Israel to honor a man who had not held an official position for several years and who passed away at an old age. Presidents, prime ministers and kings, who are usually at the center of attention and in the spotlight, stood modestly among many people. Their participation did not give them any fame. They arrived because they felt the need to pay their respects to the man and to his work. However, they also came to demonstrate the yearning for what Peres symbolized  the Israel that is fading away. Their arrival served as conclusive evidence that the attitude towards Israel does not stem from anti-Semitism or from unclear political enmity. There are many who are willing to respect and love the enlightened, peace-seeking Israel, a member of the family of cultural nations.

World leaders at Shimon Peres' funeral. Yearning for an elightened Israel (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Two weeks later, UNESCO adopted a disgraceful resolution denying Israels link to places which have been sacred to the Jewish people for 3,000 years. People immediately began crying out against the gentiles anti-Semitism. But how is it possible that nations which showed so much appreciation towards Peres legacy voted against us this time, or at least abstained? It was a protest vote, indeed a vulgar one, which expressed the deep rejection of the current Israeli governments destructive policy that is pushing peace away.

The huge gap between these two displays must prompt a self-examination.

Another event which exposed Israel to the international community was the participation of BTselem and Peace Now representatives at a UN Security Council session. This participation, as expected, received tons of condemnations and attacks from the Israeli president and right-wing politicians. The organizations representatives are presented as Israel haters, who are plotting against the state, driven by burning self-hatred and shamelessly degrading Israels image.

But that is not the truth. In most cases, we are talking about sincere Israeli patriots, who are desperately seeking to divert Israel from the bad road leading the state to the edge of an abyss. Our country is not being condemned by anti-Semitic nations because of those who denounce it, but because of its actions. The human rights organizations representatives are not revealing top secrets; they are presenting known figures, which have even been displayed at the Knesset more than once.

Our current image as a dark nationalistic society is actually being saved by the spokespeople of these organizations, who are making it clear that there are quite a few peaceful people among us who support democracy and human values  hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, who out of desperation, are failing to muster the power to voice their opinion at the gate.

It takes courage. In the face of the aggressive wave of nationalism, these organizations leaders are being exposed to waves of enmity and even to physical threats. Their appeal to international institutions came after decades of attempts to save Israel from itself, and after all the efforts directed inwards have utterly failed.

The human rights organizations representatives are not Israels enemies, and the world is not driven by anti-Semitism. If we stop the descent to the abyss we are being pulled into by messianic nationalistic forces, we will be reaccepted as an enlightened and respectable nation among the international community. The world does not hate us because of our existence, but because of our conduct.
Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank live in separate worlds. However, there is a spot on the top of a mountain that connects them both: a village of Samaritans.

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To get there, Israelis drive up a steep, winding road, near ominous red road signs posted by Israel's military that warn them against

entering the nearby Palestinian city of Nablus. Palestinians get to the top by driving up a steep, winding road from Nablus on the opposite side of the mountain.

At the top live about 380 Samaritans. They, and about 420 Samaritans living near Tel Aviv in Israel, comprise one of the world's oldest and smallest religious minorities.

Israelis and Palestinians are locked in continued conflict over land and national identity; currently a yearlong stretch of Palestinian lone-wolf attacks are often met by deadly Israeli force. However, the Samaritan hamlet in the West Bank is a place where both Israelis and Palestinians feel welcome.

High Samaritan Priest in his Sukkah (Photo: AP)

The Samaritans' unique rolehighlighted during the Sukkot holiday now under wayis particularly poignant at a time when hope for negotiating an end to the conflict is at an all-time low.

Best known from the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, the sect traces its roots to the ancient Israelites, follows the Five Books of Moses and celebrates biblical holidays.

In that way, the Samaritans are like their Israeli Jewish neighbors. But the Samaritans have lived in the West Bank for centuries and are fully embedded in Palestinian life. They speak Arabic, have common Arabic names, study in Palestinian schools, and work in Palestinian government offices.

"If we get involved in either side," said Linda Sadaqa, a 43-year-old Samaritan who works in the Palestinian Health Ministry, "they will squeeze us."

They're caught in a particularly violent spot, just up the road from where a fatal Palestinian shooting attack last year on an Israeli settler couple helped fuel the current violence, and close to the intersection where Israeli border policemen on Wednesday shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian woman after she walked toward them with a knife and ignored calls to halt.

Still, the Samaritans have managed to remain in the good graces of both Israeli and Palestinian societies, despite decades of conflict, including Israel's half-century of military rule over Palestinians.

It's particularly apparent during the week-long biblical holiday of Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles.

Samaritan Sukkah outside of Nablus (Photo: AP)

In the Bible, God commands the people of Israel to build huts symbolizing the Israelites' encampments as they wandered the desert following the exodus from Egypt. Unlike the outdoor huts Jews construct on the holiday, Samaritans build exquisite canopies of densely packed fruit, which are attached to metal frames and perched on stilts or suspended from living room ceilings. The colorful sight attracts a parade of Israeli and Palestinian visitors.

One afternoon this week, Samaritan high priest Abdullah Wasef Tawfiq received a group of Palestinians, employees in the tahina factory he owns, from the neighboring village of Beit Furik. Since last year's shooting, the village has been under periodic Israeli military closures, occasionally preventing Tawfiq's employees from coming to work on the Samaritan mountain.

The 81-year-old high priest with a white turban and white beard chatted about Islam and the Samaritan religion as his Palestinian employees held up their phones to photograph the concentric circles of pomegranates and greenish-yellow lemons accented by a stripe of citrons (etrogs), a fruit associated with the holiday.

Samaritans praying on Mt. Gezirim (Photo: EPA)

Shortly after, a 25-year-old Israeli from a nearby settlement and his friend crouched under the same fruit canopy to take a photo, a gun tucked into the waistband of his shorts. "You see how comfortable we feel here," Amichai Ziv said. "I don't have to look behind my back."

The procession of visitors continued: an Israeli military official and his troops, a group of Palestinian journalism students, Palestinian families. The chairman of the area's Jewish settlement council and the Palestinian governor of Nablus paid separate holiday visits to the high priest.

Israelis and Palestinians both claim the Samaritans as their own. "I see them as my relatives. As brothers, really," said Yossi Dagan, the Jewish chairman of the Samaria Regional Council.

"The Samaritans are part of the Palestinian people," said Akram Rajoub, the Nablus governor.

The increased tensions in the West Bank this year put a damper on the Samaritans' Passover ceremony last spring, when Samaritans slaughter sheep according to a biblical edict. Usually, Palestinian and Israeli dignitaries observe the ceremony in relative coexistence, but this year, the Nablus governor stormed out of the ceremony when Dagan addressed the crowd.

The Samaritans of the West Bank are the only people who carry both Israeli and Palestinian government-issued identity cards, according to Michael Corinaldi, an Israeli lawyer who has represented the Samaritan community in court.

Samaritans praying on Mt. Gezirim (Photo: EPA)

The privilege affords them unfettered access to Israel, which most of their Palestinian neighbors do not have. In Israel, they earn higher salaries than in the West Bank, or take advantage of their special travel access to import fresh fish or Israeli appliances into the West Bank. A recent sewage upgrade in the Samaritan village was funded jointly by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

But the dual identity can be a burden, especially for the younger generation of Samaritans.

One 21-year-old marketing student, a grandson of the high priest, said he isn't always open about his religious identity on campus at his Palestinian university so that he wouldn't be mistaken for an Israeli.

On the flip side, he said, Israeli soldiers took him for a Palestinian suspect last year. They held him at gunpoint when he hopped out of a Palestinian car at the foot of the Israeli-only road leading to his Samaritan village. Matters got complicated when a soldier demanded his ID and saw his unusual name: Abdullah Cohen.

"He was shocked," Cohen said of the soldier's reaction to his typical Palestinian first name and typical Jewish last name.

Cohen's grandfather, the high priest, has asked members of his community to be careful about what they post on Facebook. "Samaritans need to walk between the raindrops," the high priest said.
UN experts investigating the double bombing of a packed funeral hall in the rebel-held Yemeni capital on October 8th are accusing the Saudi-led coalition of violating international humanitarian law by attacking civilians, wounded, and medical personnel.

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The UN humanitarian coordinator cited initial reports saying over 140 people were killed and more than 525 injured in the attacks. The Ministry of Health has estimated 114 dead and 613 injured.

The panel of experts said the first bomb hit the Al-Sala Al-Kubra hall in Sanaa, which was packed with at least 750 adults and children including leaders of the Shiite Houthi rebels mourning the father of the acting interior minister. The second bomb was dropped three to eight minutes later when civilians and medical personnel were trying to help casualties from the first attack.

The destroyed funeral hall (Photo: AP)

The Saudi-led coalition, which is backed by the United States, has been targeting Houthi leaders since March 2015 when it intervened in Yemen's civil war in support of the internationally recognized government.

The experts' report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, said preliminary information indicates that "the attack resulted in a disproportionately higher numbers of civilian casualties, when compared to military casualties, and that this could have been anticipated prior to the attack."

International humanitarian law prohibits attacks that may cause incidental civilian deaths and injuries or damage to civilian buildings, and requires any party planning an attack to first assess its "proportionality," the report said.

The experts' report  to the head of the UN Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against the Houthi Shiite rebels  said the panel was unaware of any measures taken by the coalition to make such an assessment or to prevent death and injury to civilians and damage to civilian buildings.

The panel said it "remains unconvinced" that the requirements under international law were met but it will continue to investigate.

However, the panel said the second air strike "almost certainly resulted in more casualties to the already wounded and the first responders," a practice prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Evacuating the wounded from the funeral hall (Photo: AFP)

"The panel thus finds, in respect of the second air strike, that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition violated its obligations" not to attack those unable to fight, the wounded and medical personnel, "and did not take effective precautionary measures to minimize harm to civilians, including the first responders," the report said.

The coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team last Saturday blamed "wrong information" for the bombing. It said a "party" affiliated to Yemen's General Chief of Staff headquarters had provided intelligence that the hall was filled with Houthi leaders and was "a legitimate military target."

The experts recommended that the head of the UN sanctions committee ask coalition members to stop using "the 'double-tap' attack tactic during air strikes," in which a first bomb is quickly followed by a second, "as this nearly always leads to fatalities and injuries to first responders."

They also said Saudi Arabia should be asked to cooperate and share data with the panel.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A US Navy warship on Friday passed through waters claimed by China near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Defense Department said, drawing Chinese condemnation.

A department spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross, said the destroyer ship USS Decatur conducted the transit operation near the Paracel Islands. He said it was done "in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident."

A Chinese defense ministry statement called it "a gravely illegal act" and "intentionally provocative." The Chinese navy sent a guided missile destroyer and an escort vessel that "spotted and verified the American ships and warned them to leave," the statement said.
RACINE  A plea deal appears to have been reached in the cold-case homicide of Amber Creek.

James Eaton, accused of killing the 14-year-old Creek in February 1997 and dumping her body in far southwest Racine County, had been scheduled to go on trial next month.

According to online court records, Eaton now has a change of plea hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in connection with the slaying. Prosecutors allege Eaton killed Creek and left her beaten and sexually assaulted body in the Karcher Wildlife Area in the Town of Burlington.

Eaton was arrested in April 2014 by Racine County sheriffs deputies, reportedly after DNA from cigarette butts he discarded were tested and found to match DNA from semen found on the teens body.

Eaton and Creek are from Palatine, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago. Eaton remains in Racine County Jail on $500,000 bond.

Creek died from asphyxiation after allegedly being choked and suffocated with a plastic bag, according to investigators. She also reportedly suffered blunt-force facial trauma and pattern cutting injuries on her face.

A judge ruled last month that defense attorneys could present evidence they claimed points to another suspect in the homicide. The suspect, a man who was questioned by police in 1997 and 2015, reportedly admitted to having a sexual relationship with Creek and that he engaged in choking acts during sexual contact.

The one-time suspect was found to be a contributor to the DNA mixture on the victims underwear located by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, and his DNA was also located at the crime scene, the attorneys motion stated.
BAGHDAD -- US Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from ISIS militants.

His unannounced visit comes two days after a US service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk to American troops as they advise Iraqi forces. And it comes on the heels of Carter announcing there "is an agreement in principle" for Turkey to help in the Mosul battle, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.
Despite being extremely well known in Israel and appearing in major Hollywood films such as Batman v Superman, Fast and Furious and Date Night, many people abroad are only just now beginning to recognize Gal Gadot.

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In Keeping Up with the Joneses, directed by Greg Mottola, the Israeli actress shows her physicality and humor while running, jumping, punching and shooting a gun. The movie also highlights the seductive side of Gadot, who in an interview with Ynet ahead of the film's Israel release, said she doesn't rule out more risque scenes. "It's not my goal, but you never know, you can never know."

Gadot and Hamm

Ynet interview Gal Gadot and Jon Hamm (:  , :  )

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In Keeping Up with the Joneses, Gadot stars opposite a stellar cast including Jon Hamm, Zack Galifianakis, Isla Fisher and Patton Oswalt. Gadot and Hamm play a secret agent couple that recently moved into a quiet Atlanta suburb, arousing the excitement and curiosity of their neighbors, played by Fisher and Galifianakis. The friendship is put on the line when it is discovered that the Jonses are really undercover agents part of an international espionage plot.

Gal Gadot in Keeping Up With the Jonses

Gadot's character, possibly a former Mossad agent, can be heard speaking Hebrew in the film while chiding her husband on several occasions. Hamm, 45, who does not know Hebrew, jokes, "I read it from left to right." Gadot admits, "It was really fun to yell at him in Hebrew," to which Hamm replied, "She really enjoyed it."

This is not the first time however that Gadot has spoken Hebrew in a large Hollywood production. In Date Night, starring opposite Mark Wahlberg, her character had several lines in Hebrew. "I think the fact that I speak a foreign language gives the creators the ability to illustrate to audiences that I'm from a different place. So I think it was wise to use Hebrew in this film and it happened in other films as well," says Gadot.

Gadot's next big project is the new Wonder Woman movie, starring opposite Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen and David Thewlis. Gadot is reprising the character from Batman v Superman and was recently named an honorary UN Ambassador.
MOSCOW -- Russia's task in Syria is to liberate its territory from terrorist organisations and help prevent the country's breakup, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

"A temporary base is not a goal, it's a means to achieve the goal that was declared by the president - to help legitimate Syrian authorities in their fight with ISIS and other terrorist organisations. The Syrian territory must be liberated," Peskov said in an interview for the TV news programme "Vesti on Saturday".

"We need to liberate and do everything possible to prevent the division of the country," he said, adding that he did not see an end to the Syria conflict in the foreseeable future.

"Unfortunately, the information that we receive, it does not give us the opportunity to be careless optimists. It is clear that the world community still has very long and hard work ahead," Peskov said.
Egyptian media reported that the commander of the 9th Armored Division of the Egyptian army, Adel Rajaai, was killed Saturday morning by armed terrorists near his home in a town near the capital Cairo. Rajaai served for a long time in the northern Sinai and was involved in the demolition of tunnels at the Gaza border.

His funeral will be held Saturday afternoon in Cairo.
A member of the military wing of Hamas was killed in south central Gaza Strip, not far from the border fence with Israel, apparently in a tunnel collapse. According to Palestinian sources, it is not known whether the tunnel was meant for offensive or defensive purposes. The military wing confirmed the death, but did not detail the circumstances.
Coalition chairman MK David Bitan of Likud said Friday that he is considering revoking the citizenship of B'Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad, following his speech last week before the UN Security Council in which he attacked Israeli policy and called on the council to take immediate action to end the occupation.

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In an interview with Channel 2, MK Bitan accused the B'Tselem executive director of breach of trust and said, "If I could turn to the Interior Minister and ask him to revoke the citizenship of the B'Tselem executive directorI've checked the possibility, and I admit, there is no legal basis that allows that to happen. I checked the possibility and I say we need to revoke his citizenship. There is no Israeli citizen that needs to go before the Security Council and ask for sanctions against the State of Israel and the Israeli publicit is a violation of the State of Israel."

MK David Bitan (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson)

MK Bitan emphasized that there is no current legal precedent to revoke El-Ad's citizenship, but added, "There is a legal way that I'm still looking into. I'll tell you bluntly, if I were the Interior Minister I would revoke his citizenship."

B'Tselem responded, "Palestinians haven't had citizenship or rights for almost 50 years. Now the coalition chairman, the emissary of the Prime Minister, wants to revoke the citizenship of those who speak out against this reality. These threats will not deter B'Tselem and the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who oppose the occupation."

B'Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad speaking before the UN Security Council

Speaking on the subject of settlements before the UN Security Council last Friday, B'Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad said, I feel it necessary to ask  how many Palestinian houses need to be demolished before action is taken? The Palestinians have the right to life and self determination. This is the time to take action. The Security Council doesnt only have the power, but also has the obligation to take action and send a message to the world  Israel cannot occupy a population and call itself a democracy. Israel was established based on international legitimacy. I am a citizen of that nation, it is my home, and Ive lived my entire life with this reality, and millions of Israelis and Palestinians dont know a different reality. We need your help  50 years of occupation is too much. The occupation must end. The UN Security Council must act, and that time is now.
Turkish-backed forces will press on to the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, emphasizing Ankara's drive to sweep militants and Syrian Kurdish fighters from territory near its border.

Backed by Turkish tanks, special forces and air strikes, a group of rebels fighting under the loose banner of the Free Syrian Army crossed into northern Syria in August and took the border town of Jarablus from Islamic State largely unopposed.
WARSAW- Poland's defense minister said he thinks Egypt has sold two French-made Mistral warships to Russia for the symbolic price of $1, a claim Russia on Friday dismissed as "nonsense."

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Antoni Macierewicz made the assertion during a parliamentary debate on Thursday. He later told reporters he had the information "from good sources," but did not reveal any other details.

On Friday, Macierewicz added that "if Egypt would now withdraw from this operation, it would be a gain for world peace" and a good lesson for Russia.

France had originally built the two ships for Russia, but the sale was canceled after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. France refunded the 950 million euros ($1 billion) already paid by Russia and sold the ships to Egypt.

Russian ship off the coast of the UK (Photo: AP)

Macierewicz's comment comes amid strained ties between Warsaw and Paris due to Poland's cancellation of a $3.5 billion deal to buy French-made military helicopters.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, rejected Macierewicz's claim as "complete nonsense."

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also dismissed Macierewicz's statements as "silliness" and "self-promotion."
Fighter jets, helicopters, special forces, thousands of soldiers, and smart bombs  all of these are being used to take over the city of Mosul from ISIS. Mosul is the second largest city in Iraq.

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However, the Islamic extremists are still far from surrendering, and have taken 550 families hostage to be used as human shields. There are also reports that ISIS is carrying out mass in Mosul.

Iraqi intelligence said to CNN on Saturday that ISIS has killed 284 men and children ahead of the coalitions advance on Mosul. The mass killings have apparently been going on over the past two days, and have been carried out both inside the city and on its outskirts. They are doing this to scare families into becoming human shields for the terror group.

Iraqi Military takes a Christian village (: )

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The UN has expressed earlier that it is very worried after ISIS took 550 families from the villages surrounding Mosul to be used as human shields as the Iraqis and the Kurds approach Mosul.

Fighting to reach Mosul (Photo: Gettyimages)

British Typhoon fighter jet (Photo: AFP)

German Tornado fighter jet (Photo: AFP)

The UN spokespersons office was quoted as saying that 200 families from the village of Samaliya and 350 families from the village of Manjafiyah were taken on Monday and brought to Mosul as an apparent ISIS policy of keeping civilians from fleeing.Meanwhile, Mosul is being continuously bombed and shelled in preparation for what is expected to be the largest military campaign in Iraq since the US occupied the country in 2003 and took Saddam Hussein out of power.

Iraqi forces have conquered 50 villages formerly held by ISIS since the operation began Monday, including a Christian village held since 2014. The advance is occurring as US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter is in Iraq to visit Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The two leaders will be directing the operation together.

The Iraqi military officially announced that it had entered the center of the Christian village of Karkush which is situated 20 kilometers from Mosul, and are cleaning out the village of any remaining ISIS fighters and IEDs. The village was depopulated when ISIS came and took it over two years ago.

French Rafale fighter jet (Photo: AFP)

Iraqi forces approaching Mosul (Photo: AFP)

Iraqi Special Forces captured the Christian village of Bartala earlier in the week, and is advancing on Mosul from the south-east. Meanwhile Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are advancing on the city from the north and the West.

Iraqi intelligence estimates that there are more than 5,000 Jihadist fighters waiting for them in Mosul.

This is only the beginning of the campaign, but we feel confident in how things are going so far, said a US official. Meanwhile, Sec. of Defense Carter announced that there is an understanding that Turkey will join the campaign against ISIS.

A village burns as Iraqi and Peshmerga forces approach Mosul (Photo: AFP)

A Shia flag reads 'Ya Hussein' on an Iraqi tank (Photo: AFP)

The US is providing close air support to Iraqi and Peshmerga forces on the ground. US Apache helicopters, along with Eurofighter Typhoon and Tornado aircraft are taking part in airstrikes against ISIS forces along with A-10 Warthog close fire support aircraft. French Rafale fighterjets and reaper drones are also providing air support and eyes in the sky for the Kurds and Iraqi forces.

There are 5,000 US soldiers on the ground in Iraq so far, of which 100 are fighting with Peshmerga and Iraqi forces as advisers.

The first US casualty of the war occurred Thursday as the result of an IED.
QAYYARA, - Nearly 1,000 people have been treated for breathing problems linked to fumes from a burning sulphur plant set ablaze during fighting with Islamic State near Mosul and U.S. officials say U.S. forces at a nearby airfield are wearing protective masks.

The Qayyara West airfield is the main U.S. hub to support Iraqi-led operations to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State. There are about 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq but the U.S. military has not disclosed the number of personnel at the airfield.

"The winds have actually shifted south, so, as a precautionary measure, the troops at Qayyara West have donned their personal protective equipment - continuing their operations at this point in time," an official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear if the troops had been ordered to wear the protective gear or if they had elected to, a second official said.
MOUNT PLEASANT  With 17 days left in the race, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson stopped by Racine to give his campaigners and supporters one last push before the Nov. 8 election.

Johnson spoke with his local campaigners for about 20 minutes about how close the election is and how much he appreciates their support and work.

Were trying to get the troops fired up to do what we have to do over the next 17 days, making sure nobody stays home and everyone comes out and makes the decision, Johnson said.

About 15 people attended the event at the Racine County GOP headquarters, 6100 Washington Ave.

Johnson faces former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in the tightly contested U.S. Senate race. The most recent Marquette Law School Poll that was released Oct. 13 showed Feingold was slightly favored 46 percent to 44 percent among likely voters.

Johnson stressed that his experience as a chairman is a big separation point between him and Feingold.

Im working hard to make sure that I can go back and utilize my chairmanship to get real results, Johnson said. I dont think Id do this if I werent a chairman because as a rank and file senator, its hard to accomplish things as a senator. As a chairman, you do a lot.

No matter the results, Johnson said this is his last run for office and that he hopes to be back in Washington as an effective U.S. senator.

I have a great deal of faith in Wisconsin and Wisconsin poll watchers, so Ill obviously accept the results, Johnson said.

He assured Wisconsinites that hell never vote just to ensure his re-election,  ... because Im not running again, he said. This is my final term, so you can count on me to go there to solve problems, work on a bipartisan basis.
MOGADISHU - Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian sailors held captive in a small fishing village for more than four years since their ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, a government official said on Saturday.

The sailors -- from China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan -- were seized close to the Seychelles in February 2012, a time when pirate attacks were a regular occurrence in waters linking Europe with Africa and Asia.

"The crew is here (in Galkayo). They will be flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Saturday," local mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre, told Reuters.

"The crew did not say if ransom was paid," he added.
CAIRO- A senior Egyptian military official was shot dead on Saturday outside his home on the outskirts of Cairo, security sources and his wife said.

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Gunmen opened fire on Brigadier General Adel Rajaaie, an armored division commander who had served in troubled northern Sinai, as he left his home in Obour City outside of Cairo to go to work, his wife told Reuters.

"Minutes after he left the house I heard gunfire, I went out to find him covered in blood ... he received a lot of bullets .. He died instantly," said Samia Zain El Abedeen.

She said neighbors told her the assailants had automatic weapons and fled in a car.

A newly-emerged militant group calling itself Louwaa el Thawra, or the Revolution Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account that was suspended shortly after the claim.

Egyptian Police (Photo: AP)

Rajaaie, 52, is the most senior military official to be assassinated since the toppling of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

A military funeral will be held at Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi Mosque, in Cairo, the same mosque where Egypt's top public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was given a military funeral after being killed by a car bomb in June 2015.

Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by ISISs branch in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed. There have also been attacks in Cairo and other cities.

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.

Since the Brotherhood's candidate, Mursi, was deposed after mass protests against his rule, Sisi has overseen a crackdown in which hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed and thousands jailed or sentenced to death.

An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence on Mursi on Saturday on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012, judicial sources told Reuters.

Another recently emerged militant group called Hasm Movement, the Arabic word for decisiveness, has claimed responsibility for five attacks since July, including an assassination attempt on Zakaria Abdel Aziza, a senior Egyptian prosecutor. The group said the attack was in revenge for death sentences handed to thousands of convicts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is continuing to take advantage of the security vacuum in Syria as his warships passed by British shores on the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar on their way to Syria on Friday.

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The Russian flotilla includes Admiral Kuzentsov, an aircraft carrier which is able to hold over a dozen Sukhoi 33 fighter jets and an assortment of Helicopters. The flotilla was discovered by Norwegian intelligence on Wednesday as it rounded Norway.

Russian flotilla off the coast of the UK (: )

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Putin could have just flown additional bombers directly to Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria. However, he decided instead to send an aircraft carrier instead. The BBC reports that this is because Putin is trying to send a clear message to the West; I can do what you can do, but better. Russia has already strengthened its naval presence with 10 ships off the coast of Syria - including missile ships  under the framework of fighting Syrian rebels, some of whom are supported by the West.

The Russian ships passed by the white cliffs of Dover while remaining in international waters 18 kilometers from shore. British Naval vessels escorted the flotilla until the Russians left the area. British Defense Minister Michael Fallon said that the British Navy followed the Russian flotilla as a part of the British governments steadfast commitment to safeguard the security of the United Kingdom.

Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuzentsov off the UK coast (Photo: Reuters)

Sukhoi fighter jets on the deck of the Admiral Kuzentsov (Photo: Reuters)

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the Russians for supporting the sickening atrocities being carried out by the Assad regime against the people of Syria. She said that the attacks being carried out in Aleppo are atrocious and called on European leaders to send a strong message to Russia while at a European Union summit in Brussels Thursday.

The HMS Duncan destroyer and the HMS Richmond frigate escorted the Russian aircraft carrier, and were deployed out of the Port of Portsmouth.

British warship HMS Duncan (Photo: EPA)

Regarding the flotilla, Pravda magazine reported that this is not a pleasure cruise to the Middle East. The ships will strengthen Russian naval presence on Syrian shores, and will help to provide air cover. It seems that the planes being carried by the carrier will be used to attack terrorists.

The aircraft carrier is being escorted by the nuclear powered battlecruiser Peter the Great was also a part of the flotilla. The battlecruiser is thought to be the largest ship in the Russian navy.
South Korean defense officials told the Yonhap news agency that Seoul is debating whether or not to lease the Israeli Ofek 11 spy satellite to monitor the actions of the North Korean military. They are debating between using the Israeli satellite or a satellite from another country.

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The South Koreans primarily use American satellites, and officials believe that a locally produced satellite will only be ready in 2023. The South Korean official said that (South Korea) is really far behind on its timetable in its goal of launching five spy satellites between 2021 and 2022. The satellites are part of a plan to create a firing line which will be able to deal with the threat of North Korean missiles.

Ofek 11 lifts off to space

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South Korea is interested in using the Israeli satellite because of the satellites somewhat peculiar, circumnavigating orbit. Israel and South Korea are on similar latitudinal lines  between 30 and 40 degrees north of the equator.

Additionally, the United States announced that it detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea in the early morning hours of Thursday morning. South Korean sources reported that the launch failed. The North Korean Air Defense and Combat Command reported that the missile was a mid-range ballistic missile which doesnt have the range to threaten the United States.

The Ofek 11 satellite was launched from the Palmachim Air Base in central Israel in September, and has better spying capabilities than its predecessors.

Ofek 11 spy satellite launches into space (Photo: Shuky Cheled)

Every new spy satellite increases Israels abilities to monitor areas of interest to Israels intelligence and national security both near and far. The this increase in both surveillance and picture quality, and in terms of both its optic and radar sensors, the satellite can see objects both during the day and at night, and even in poor weather conditions.

The Ofek 11 is able to follow objectives and targets with higher efficiency and accuracy in places which previous spy satellites had more difficulty doing so.

For example, Israel can now cover more areas of the world or have more passes over a target area to get higher quality information. The more spy satellites Israel space enables a target to be photographed at different angles, thus painting a higher quality intelligence picture. It also increases Israels deterrence factor, and the countrys intelligence collecting abilities.
ANKARA- Turkey is prepared to "take measures" in Iraq because it is not satisfied by promises from Washington and Baghdad that Kurdish militants and Shi'ite militias will not take part in current fighting, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

Yildirim, speaking to a group of reporters, also said Turkey could not remain idle over the situation in Iraq, given its 350-km (220-mile) border with the country.

"Turkey can never remain idle against massacres, potential refugee waves and clashes along its border, and it will take action if necessary," he said, in comments broadcast live on television.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey is calling on Washington, D.C. officials to listen to the growing number of Arizonans who oppose plans by the White House and in Congress to designate 1.7 million acres of Northern Arizona land as a new national monument.

The governor recently reiterated to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources the need for the federal government to listen to Arizonans on this issue. Those opposed to the plan include rural small businesses owners, community leaders, farmers and ranchers.

Ranchers, farmers, hunters, the Arizona Chamber, local leaders and I have been raising concerns since early this year about proposals made by Congress and the White House to designate a new Grand Canyon Watershed Monument in Northern Arizona, said Governor Ducey. We have continued to warn Washington officials about the unintended consequences of designating a national monument, which will unfairly restrict access to 1.7 million acres of lands in Arizona currently used for forest restoration, water management, recreation, tourism, cattle grazing and natural resource development.

Despite our collective concerns, there has never been a responsible effort to publicly vet the monument proposal or discuss the outdated authority that Washington is exploiting. This flies in the face of accountability and undermines sound principles of governance. It is absolutely essential that the administration listen to our states concerns before moving forward with this unilateral action.
RACINE  The operator of two Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants is suing the City of Racine, alleging the municipality overassessed the properties by a total of $275,000. Its one of a growing list of businesses that has claimed the city has over-assessed them.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Racine County Circuit Court, H&K Partners LLC claims the city overvalued the KFC location at 2090 Green Bay Road by $140,000 and the location at 3212 Douglas Ave. by $135,000.

According to online property assessment records, the city valued the Green Bay Road location at $720,000 this year and the Douglas Avenue location at $675,000.

H&K Partners argues, however, that the value of the Green Bay Road eatery should be no more than $580,000, and the Douglas Avenue one no more than $540,000.

Given what it claims is the over-assessment of the two properties, the company argues it is in danger of being charged for more than its fair share of the property taxes this year.

The lawsuit demands the city lower the assessment of the properties and, if need be, refund the company the $8,444 in excessive property taxes it claims it could end up being charged when property bills are issued later this year.

Based in Milwaukee, H&K Partners reportedly owns and operates the Douglas Avenue location. The Green Bay Road location is owned by a Sekao Inc. of Racine, but the restaurant itself is run by H&K Partners.

The city is asking that the court dismiss the lawsuit and deny the companys request for relief.

The company does not state why it believes the properties are over-valued, but states that the most recent assessment violates the states rule requiring uniformity in taxation.

The company is expected to further present its case in upcoming filings, as is the city.

The attorney representing the company is Don Millis of the Madison-based Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, the same attorney that represented Target and Sears in the assessment challenges those retailers brought against the city.

Those lawsuits ultimately ended in settlements. The city also spent thousands of dollars in outside legal fees.

Wilmanor claim

H&K Partners isnt the only Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren client challenging its Racine property tax bill.

The law firm also filed a complaint last month on behalf of Wilmanor Apartments LLC, a Highland Park, Illinois company that owns the low-income apartment building at 255 N. Memorial Drive.

The company filed a lawsuit last month alleging the city over-assessed the 32-unit structure located at the intersection of North Memorial Drive and West Sixth Street by more than $225,000 this year.

The city valued the property at $925,000. The company argues the value should be no higher than $700,000.

The lawsuit demands the city lower the value and, if need be, refund the company the $6,909 in excessive property taxes it says it could end up being charged if its 2016 property tax bill ends up based on the existing assessment.

The city, which has asked that the claim be dismissed, has hired Amy R. Siebel as its defense attorney in the case. Siebel is also representing the city in the H&K Partners lawsuit, and has represented it in previous assessment challenges.
Latest News

Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Frank A. Rose will travel to Tokyo, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem from October 25 to November 7 for meetings and to participate in events focused on international security, arms control, strategic stability, and space security.

From October 25-27, Assistant Secretary Rose will hold discussions with counterparts in Tokyo on a range of issues, including space security, arms control, and international security.

Assistant Secretary Rose will meet with Republic of Korea counterparts and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) from October 28-29 in Seoul to discuss arms control, international security, and strategic stability.

Assistant Secretary Rose will then travel to Abu Dhabi to lead the U.S. delegation to the 4th Plenary Meeting of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) from November 1-3. On November 3, he will meet with counterparts in Abu Dhabi to discuss space security.

From November 5-7, Assistant Secretary Rose will travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for site visits and meetings with Israeli officials on a range of international security and arms control issues.
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Hands up if youve ever dreamed in sleeping in a snow hotel. Just me?

If there is one place I imagined visiting in winter, it would no doubt have to be Finland. For me, Finland in winter is the most photogenic fairytale land. A world completely turned white, it is quiet, still and peaceful, three of my favorite things. Finland in winter rocks!

Last March I was lucky enough to spend a week exploring Finnish Lapland, and let me tell you, its the best time of year to go. Even though its most definitely still winter, the harsher months are long past so you have normal hours of daylight, not too extreme cold and lots of fresh springy snow.

Magical!

Ive shared with you guys before some of my favorite shots from Lapland, but this time I thought Id go ahead and spill one of my favorite days in the arctic. I spent most of my time in arctic Finland around Luosto and Rovaniemi, but was excited to head down to Kemi on the sea for a few days. While Lapland seems vast and wild, there is so much to explore I could spend a year there.

And trust me, with the Finnish penchant for being total introverts combined with the most glorious tradition of cozy cabins in the wilderness, I could definitely see myself hiding away up there for extended periods of time doing nothing but thinking and writing.

Sigh, one day I will be rich enough I can do just that!

Basically lived in my Parajumpers parka in Lapland

But until that day, I still have a huge desire to explore as much as possible, and I was excited to head to the frozen Bothnia Sea. Why you might ask? Because I have not, in fact, ever seen a frozen sea before.

Sure a couple of ponds back home in Virginia, the lakes on my college campus in Massachusetts, but a genuine frozen huge body of water? Never! I was stoked.

Lucky for me the weather was on my side when I arrived in Kemi with what can only be described as pea-soup fog.

Cant win them all.

I headed straight over to the wharf to catch my afternoon trip on the famous Sampo Icebreaker. Ok, ok, its only famous in Finland.

Before climbing aboard I didnt have many expectations except being ridiculously excited to see frozen sea ice. But what ended up happening really surprised me  Sampo ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip.

If I had to put a finger on it, I think it would have to be because its so unique. Sure you can take day cruises pretty much anywhere theres water. But to do so on an old icebreaker vessel as it crunches through fresh sea ice is pretty damn special.

Kemi is pretty one-of-a-kind!

As we took off from the harbor, I spent most of my time outside on deck watching the ice swirl by as we made our way through an already cut shipping lane.

Sampo was build in 1960 in Helsinki and used for almost thirty years cutting channels through the ice in northern Finland for shipping vessels before it was retired and turned into a tourist cruise. To be honest, that is not something I would normally be super interested in but I found myself really enjoying learning something new, and even pestering the crew to let me see how things work, the engine room, can I toot the horn? No you may not.

Cant win everything but I reckon they appreciated my enthusiasm. Probably.

Before long the ship was crunching fresh tracks through the ice and the crew was asking everyone who wanted to go for a swim. Literally parking the ship in the ice, its so thick and stable they can pull a gangway down and you can walk off the ship onto the ice.

Raising my eyebrows I thought to myself, oh hell no. Who knows what sea monsters are lurking under that ice and those dry suits do not look flattering. Then I remembered I didnt know anyone on that ship and thought, oh fuck it, how many chances do you get to swim in the frozen sea in the Arctic?

Those red suits are completely waterproof you just pull them over your clothes and jump in! But they are so buoyant you couldnt sink if you wanted to. I couldnt even put my feet underwater, and I tried.

Apart from the fact that it was such a unique experience, I ended up loving the moody weather because it completely set the scene. It truly felt like we were at the end of the world, sailing off into the mists. At some points we couldnt see the horizon and it just looked like we were in another world.

And if being home to a badass ship isnt cool enough, Kemi is also home to the biggest snowfort in the world  the SnowCastle. OBVIOUSLY I had to stay there.

Ive never been in an ice anything before, so I was frothing pretty hard at this opportunity.

Getting my Elsa on from Frozen. What a surprise.

The main check in area and bathrooms are in a beautiful heated cabin, and I headed straight there. You also keep your stuff in lockers in there so they dont freeze. The average temperature inside the snow hotel is a balmy -5 so bundle up! It was actually colder inside than outside when I was there, especially as it was snowing heavily.

After checking in, I wandered around and explored for a bit, totally blown away by all the amazing snow sculptures. While most similar places youve might have seen were made of ice, this hotel is actually made from snow. Carved from huge snow blocks from the nearby sea, each year has a different theme that an artist uses in designing the building and rooms.

And I lucked out with fairytales. Do they know me or what?

Magical guys, magical! Do you want to build a snowman?

After a yummy dinner in the frozen dining room, I was ready for bed. What an epic day.

After getting briefed, I prepped myself for a chilly night. The sleeping bags and liners are so warm you can actually just wear your normal pajamas inside of them. I never sleep well inside sleeping bags and have trouble sleeping with face covered, so I did have a cold nose for most of the night but in general it was pretty cozy. I thought Id wake up super early but instead I overslept big time, which isnt like me at all. Something about being that cozy that makes you sleep in I reckon!

Somehow Kemi won me over being such a quirky and unique place to explore in Finland. It was definitely by far the highlight of my trip and I know Ill be back for round 2 one day!

What do you think? Does this winter travel sound appealing? Would you cruise on an icebreaker or sleep in a snow hotel?

Many thanks to Visit Finland for hosting me in Lapland  like always I am keeping it real  all opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me!
First-term incumbent Democratic state Rep. David Considine faces a challenge from Republican David Moore. The election is Nov. 8.

David Considine (I)

Party: Democrat

Age: 64

Address: N6194 Breezy Hill Road, Baraboo

Family: Married to Gretchen with five children and 10 grandchildren

Education: Bachelors degree in engineering, UW-Whitewater; masters degree from Viterbo University

Job: State representative; retired public school teacher; full-time farmer

Elected experience: State Assembly since 2014

Other public service: Former president, Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association; former president, Baraboo Education Association; former board chairman, Walnut Hill Bible Church.

David Moore

Party: Republican

Age: 48

Address: E10003A Trout Road, Wisconsin Dells

Family: Married to Pamela with five children and one grandchild

Education: Two years of college studying pastoral theology

Job: Pastor

Elected experience: Sauk County supervisor since 2014

Other public service: None

Q&A

What is the top issue facing your district and how would you address it through the legislative process?

Considine: Education. Our public schools feed our citizenry and workforce. We need to more fully support them, especially in our rural communities. I would roll back the voucher program and return that money to the public schools. With this done we can work on our infrastructure, increase employment/compensation and restore our conservation efforts.

Moore: Transportation funding is the issue of most import because it affects every part of the district, especially the local governments. The way you tackle the transportation funding is through prioritizing budgets to meet the most critical areas first. Longer term would include things like a toll system and replenishment of the transportation fund with safeguards.

What is an outside-the-box idea you would like the Legislature to pass next session?

Considine: Fund our local county and town roads with a designated tax on off-road fuel use that would be returned to the town and county in which the tax was generated.

Moore: I would like the Legislature to consider transitioning from an income tax to a fair tax or even a flat tax system. This isnt so much outside the box because other states have already embraced variations of both plans. However, since it is a deviation from the old paradigm of progressive taxing it probably qualifies as outside the box.

What would be your area of expertise as a lawmaker?

Considine: Education, agriculture, mental health and environmental issues.

Moore: I have spent my entire adult life helping people. Through counseling and pastoral care I have come to know and understand how one area of a persons life can affect not only the entirety of their life, but also the lives of others around them. In my work on the County Board whether it has been through personnel, law enforcement, or the county budget I try to always consider how the decisions we make are going to affect the lives of the people who have to live with those decisions.

 Matthew DeFour
President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday accused Amnesty International of spreading "lies" that Sudanese government forces had used chemical weapons against civilians in war-torn Darfur.

Last month, Amnesty said in a report that Sudanese forces had carried out more than 30 suspected chemical weapons attacks in a mountainous area of Darfur that killed up to 250 people, including many children.

"In the past few days you have been following all the lies and allegations made by Amnesty International about use of chemical weapons," Bashir said in an address to workers of his National Congress Party.

"These are just empty lies," Bashir said in his first reaction to Amnesty`s report.

The rights group accused Sudanese forces of "the repeated use" of suspected chemical weapons against civilians in Darfur`s remote and thickly forested Jebel Marra area between January and September.

"Between 200 and 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents, with many or most being children," Amnesty said.

The nearly 100-page report contained gruesome photographs of children suffering from apparent chemical burns, satellite images of destroyed villages and displaced people, interviews with more than 200 survivors and analysis by chemical weapons experts.

Amnesty said the attacks were part of a military operation against the rebel Sudan Liberation Army - Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) group, which Khartoum accuses of ambushing military convoys and attacking civilians.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Jebel Marra since mid-January by fighting between the two sides, the United Nations says.

The UN has urged Sudan to shed light on Amnesty`s claims, while the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has sought further evidence to push for a formal investigation.

Sudan is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Bashir`s Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since then, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies.

Sudan insists that the conflict in Darfur has ended, and that it wants UN peacekeepers who have been deployed in the region the size of France since 2007 to leave.
An Afghan Taliban delegation has arrived in Pakistan, militant sources said Saturday, raising speculation over efforts to revive peace negotiations days after reports of secret talks with Afghan officials in Qatar.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the delegation from the militants` political office in Qatar had arrived in Pakistan, but ruled out any chance of peace talks.

"Our delegation has traveled from Qatar to Pakistan to discuss the problem of Afghan refugees and some schools recently closed there," he told AFP.

"The reports that they are in Pakistan for peace talks is completely untrue."

Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan`s ambassador to Islamabad, told AFP he was aware of the Taliban delegation`s visit but gave no further details.

The visit follows reports that the militants have held two secret meetings with Afghan officials since September in Doha, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

A senior American diplomat was also present in the Qatar meetings, but no representatives from Pakistan -- the historical backers of the Taliban -- were present.



The talks in Qatar were attended by Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund, brother of Taliban founder and long-time leader Mullah Omar who died in 2013, according to Britain`s The Guardian newspaper.

Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, Afghanistan`s intelligence chief, and National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar had also attended one of the Qatar meetings, according to local media.

Afghanistan`s foreign ministry said it was unaware that a Taliban delegation is in Pakistan.

"The Taliban should be banned from traveling to regional countries. But if they have done so to pursue peace, this should be explained," ministry spokesman Shekib Mustakhni said.

The Taliban have long insisted on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan as a precondition for peace talks with the government.

Pakistan has hosted several rounds of international talks over the last year to jumpstart peace negotiations, which yielded little progress.

The dialogue process ground to a complete halt when the US killed former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone strike in May.

The insurgency has shown stubborn resilience under new Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, attacking northern Kunduz city for the second time and threatening the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand.
Guwahati: The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Saturday threatened to launch a sustained movement to foil the central government`s attempt to make make minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan eligible for Indian citizenship.

The minority communities include Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians.

The powerful students` body took a resolution in this regard during a public consultation with prominent citizens and intellectuals on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and said that they would oppose the move tooth and nail.

It may be mentioned here that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, after being introduced in the Lok Sabha, was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of both the Houses, under the chairmanship of Satyapal Singh for examination and presenting a report to the Parliament.

"An AASU delegation delegation will meet Joint Parliamentary Committee on October 25 and put forward our objections and views. The Assam Accord has legal recognition and any attempt to nullify the same will be opposed tooth and nail," said AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya.

Reiterating the stand of the students` body, Bhattacharyya said a small state like Assam had taken the burden of foreigners till 1971.

"According to the Assam Accord, the cut-off date for detection and deportation of foreigners is March 25, 1971. It must be respected and Hindus or Muslims -- whoever came after the cut-off date must be detected and deported," he said.

"We will not accept any foreigner post 1971 be it be Hindu or Muslim," he said.

The students` body announced that it soon announce agitation in the lines of the Assam Agitation (1979-85) opposing the bill.

It may be mentioned here that the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to examine the entire ramifications of the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act and submit a report to AICC for formulating the party`s policy on the issue.

The committee will submit its report by October 31 this year.

APCC stated that the accord was accepted nationally and internationally and alleged that the proposed amendment in the citizenship act is likely to harm the age old communal harmony and social fabric of Assam.
Guwahati: Several Bodo organisations have given a call for a 12-hour `rail roko` stir on Monday in support of their long-standing demand for the creation of a separate Bodoland state, a senior Bodo leader said on Saturday.

All Bodo Students Union President Promod Boro said rail tracks will be blocked at Basugaon (in Kokrajhar district) and Udalguri (in Udalguri district) in Assam to press the central and state governments on their demand.

Boro said the 12-hour bandh will begin at 5 a.m. on October 24, in which over one lakh Bodoland supporters will converge at Basugaon and Udalguri.

The protestors belong to the Peoples` Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement (PJACBM), a conglomeration of civil society organisations, and National Democratic Front of Bodoland`s (NDFB) pro-talk faction.

Movement of most of the up and down trains in Assam and other parts of the north-east region will likely be affected since these pass through the Kokrajhar and Udalguri districts.

"We have met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at least seven times and Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju at least 10 times after the BJP came to power in May 2014. It seems the government is only interested in delaying action on the legitimate demand of the Bodos," Boro said.

The ABSU leader said they had also reminded Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of the Bharatiya Janata Party of its poll promise on the matter in the past.

"However, nothing has happened. We have failed to understand what the government wants? We have been raising our demands in a peaceful way but it seems the government has ears only for violence," he said.

ABSU on August 30 called for a five-hour blockade of the National Highways across Assam on the Bodoland issue.
Bastar: At least fifteen Maoist rebels have surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district.

The rebels were active in Mardoom and Darba areas of the district and have many cases registered against them in different police stations.

The Naxalite-Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between Maoist groups, known as Naxals and the Indian government. The armed wing of the Naxalite-Maoists is called the PLGA (Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army) and is estimated to have between 6,500 and 9,500 cadres, mostly armed with small arms.

The Naxalite are said to be in control of parts of territory in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh states.

The Naxalites have frequently targeted tribals, police and government workers in what they say is a fight for improved land rights and more jobs for neglected agricultural laborers and the poor.
New Delhi: A minor fire broke out at children's ward of Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital here on Saturday, and all 15 children admitted were safely evacuated, officials said.

No casualties were reported in the fire that broke out at 3.35 a.m. in room number 1104 of the hospital, fire officials told IANS.

Nearly six to seven fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

A short circuit in the ventilation machine of the hospital could be the cause, the official added

At least 24 people were killed and more than hundred were injured in the Odisha hospital fire on October 17.

The fire safety norms followed by hospitals are under close scrutiny by the Union Health Ministry.
New Delhi: As a mob of around 30 students rained blows, abuses and communal slurs on JNU student Najeeb Ahmed on the night of October 14, some of them could be heard saying tauntingly, "Issko 72 houron ke paas bhejna hai (We will send him to 72 virgins)".

As another day goes by without any trace of the missing JNU student, another eyewitness account comes to the fore of how the events unfolded on that night.

Shahid Raza Khan, an M.Phil student of the School of International Studies (SIS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, recounted to IANS the details of that night.

Khan says that night he "heard some noise" and ran down to the first floor. He says Vikrant Kumar, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member, saw him coming and approached him for help. "He asked me to save him from Najeeb, who he said was beating him for no reason," Khan told IANS.

"But when I saw Najeeb it was he who was bleeding from the mouth and nose. We called the warden and took Najeeb to the bathroom for a wash. But in no time about 25-30 other students came and thrashed Najeeb inside the bathroom," he added.

Vikrant is reported to have gone to Najeeb`s room to campaign for the post of Mess-Secretary and got into an altercation with him. ABVP members have claimed that Najeeb started the fight upon seeing Vikrant wear the 'kaleva' (sacred red thread) on his wrist.

Khan also revealed that Najeeb was being continuously beaten by the mob on the way down to the Warden`s office.

"He was beaten even on the stairs and even as the warden unlocked his office. It looked completely like a lynching. Upstairs someone turned off the corridor lights, and Najeeb was beaten in the dark, before someone switched on the lights again," he said.

Besides the physical blows being rained on him, abuses and communal slurs were also hurled at Najeeb, Khan said.

"The Warden should have been more strict and unbiased. When inside his office all the blame was put on Najeeb`s head. He was constantly abused even inside his office. They kept on saying `Issko 72 houron ke paas bhejna hai` (We will send him to 72 virgins). You know what it means," he added.

His roommate Mohd Qasim gave an undertaking to the hostel Warden of Najeeb`s character. IANS accessed the letter, and the contents are a far cry from the rumours of Najeeb being of unsound mind, spread by some students.

The handwritten letter by Qasim, reads: "Sir, I have observed no temperamental problem or unusual behaviour in him (Najeeb). All claims of his being mentally unsound are false."

He adds that Najeeb is a loner and keeps to himself. However, strangely Quasim adds in the letter: "I request you to take strict disciplinary action against him and demand that he be kept out of bounds of the hostel."

The authenticity of the letter can`t be verified. Rumours are afloat that the letter was not penned by Qasim, but by another student -- an ABVP member.

"Can you perceive any mentally unstable student getting through in one of the toughest courses in JNU? He was very intelligent and studious type," Najeeb`s cousin sister Sadaf Musharraf told IANS.

Musharraf complained about the "sheer indifference" of the university officials initially to Najeeb`s disappearance, when they refused to meet her. The Proctor told her that it was the Warden`s responsibility and that they could not do anything in the matter.

Although, an FIR has been filed and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to trace Najeeb, the communal rift in the premier university is constantly widening and has become more obvious than ever before.

"Although Najeeb had got admission in Jamia Millia, he wanted to study in JNU. He was granted a hostel just 15 days back. Why would he pick a fight with anyone in mere two weeks?", asked Mujeeb, Najeeb`s brother who lives in Zakir Nagar.
Vadodara: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a state-of-the-art international terminal building of Harni airport, Vadodara and said that the facility will help boost connectivity as well as tourism in the state.

On the occasion, PM Modi said, "I am happy that two airports in India have joined the green movement - one in Kochi and now another one in Vadodara."

He also highlighted about his government's efforts to help the differently-able and said, In every infrastructure we create, we have to be conscious about the requirements of our Divyang sisters and brothers.

He also said that improved air connectivity will help boost tourism growth.

We have limitless opportunities when it comes to tourism in India. I am sure that Vadodara will contribute to that, he said.

PM Modi also briefed the gathering about a new aviation policy implemented by the Gujarat government.

A new aviation policy has been released under this Government which looks at growth of the sector, he said.

He said that his government will make best efforts to bring new technological advancement in the country's railways sector.

Many innovations have happened in the world. We need to bring new technology to the Railways, PM Modi said.

He also highlighted about an upcoming Railway University, India's first, in the city and said, Imagine the contribution it will make.

Our work is not only about making schemes and initiatives. It is also about ensuring that they reach the intended beneficiaries, he added.

After the event, he visited the Navlakhi Grounds where he distributed aid kits to around 10,000 differently-abled persons.

The function has been organized by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.
Vadodara: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday on a daylong visit.

He will inaugurate the newly built and refurbished international terminal at the Vadodara airport.

The Prime Minister will later drive down to the Navlakhi Grounds to distribute aid kits to around 10,000 differently abled persons.

The function has been organized by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.

Police rounded up a few Dalit volunteers demonstrating outside the airport.

Some Dalit leaders have demanded that the airport should be called the Babasaheb Ambedkar airport.

Others contend that since Vadodara city was developed by the late king Sayajirao Gaekwad, the airport should carry his name.

A section of Congress leaders claimed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will try to name the airport after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Bhopal: Defence expert P K Sinho on Saturday said Pakistan will continue violating the ceasefire agreement of November 2003 to uplift the morale of their army and terrorists who have been dealt a severe blow through last month`s surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) by the Indian Army.

"Pakistan will continue such kind of activities in future also. The reason is that their army, their intelligence services are feeling very demoralised after the surgical strike. These kinds of actions they probably feel will raise the morale and will also give a message that they are active on the border and have not surrendered and are targeting India," Sinho told ANI.

He further praised the efforts of the BSF for being alert and continuously giving befitting replies to Pakistan`s attempts to facilitate the infiltration of terrorists across the LoC.

Yesterday, Border Security Force (BSF) Inspector General D.K. Upadhyay confirmed that the launch of an "aggressive offensive firing" of small arms and area weapons in Hiranagar, Jammu and Kashmir, that claimed lives of one militant and seven Pakistani Rangers.

In the intervening night of October 19-20, BSF troops foiled an infiltration bid in Bobiyan village of Hiranagar Sector in Jammu, in which one militant was killed; whereas, in the same area, Pakistani Rangers today targeted the BSF domination along the International Boundary, in which one BSF Constable Gurnam Singh received a bullet injury, said the BSF in a statement issued New Delhi.

The constable was evacuated to the Jammu Government Medical College with the cover fire. However, his condition remains critical.

The BSF said the forces are on high alert all along International Boundary and ready to foil any infiltration attempt.

Early on Thursday morning, Pakistan had resorted to a ceasefire violation in Bhimer Gali (BG) sector of Rajouri and in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district.

This comes after a spree of ceasefire violations last week by Pakistan in response to the surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army on September 29 to destroy terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
New Delhi: This battle of the Indian Armed Forces against the Chinese Army is considered one of the greatest last stands in world history.

The battleground was Ladakh when 120 jawans of the Indian armed forces stopped the Chinese Army from annexing our territory some five decades ago.

The jawans were from the Charlie company of 13 Kumaon regiment tasked with protecting a vital airfield in Chushul if India had to hold on to Ladakh.

Early on Nov 18, 1962, on snow clad mountains of Chushul in Ladakh, 6,000 soldiers of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) attacked the airfield.

And to make matters worse, a crest behind the ridge prevented Indian artillery from lending support, leaving the Jawans to fight for themselves, writes indiatimes.com.

However the jawans, led by commander Major Shaitan Singh, fought valiantly till the last man, last round and last breath.

Legend says that the brave 120 killed close to 1,300 enemy soldiers. Only 6 of the 120 member company survived the war, were taken as Prisoners of War (POW) by Chinese, but all miraculously escaped.

Of these six heroes, only four are alive today, says the report.

The attack began at 3:30 am and soon Chushul got enveloped by heavy firing from Chinese. But the Indian soldier didnt give up and kept retaliating. Major Singh led the jawans with valour knowing fully well that they were fighting a lost battle. The company was awarded five Vir Chakras, and four Sena medals apart from the PVC awarded to the commander.

Captain Ramchander Yadav who was one of the six who battled with death and survived recalls how Naik Ram Singh who was a wrestler single-handedly killed many Chinese. He didnt stop till he was shot in the head by the enemy, says the report.

The Jawans hailed from the Gurgaon, Rewari, Narnaul and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana. They fought till the last round and when their ammunition got over, they fought with bare hands.

Yadav believes that he survived only to tell the story of 120 brave men who saved Ladakh from the Chinese.
Panaji: Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surgical strikes, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said India has the capability to conduct more such strikes and should regain control of the PoK.

The Sena chief, however, took a dim view of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's remark crediting the "RSS teachings" for the decision to conduct the surgical strike.

"We should praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the surgical strikes. But, this should not be the last one but beginning of (more) such strikes against Pakistan," Uddhav said while addressing Sena workers here.

He said India has the capability to strike against Pakistan and should start by regaining control of Pakistan-occupied -Kashmir (PoK).

"The identity of Pakistan should be Hindustan soon. The way Indira Gandhi had carried out army operation creating Bangladesh, India should also have such operation against Pakistan," the Sena chief said.

Referring to series of statements made by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar after the surgical strikes, he said, "War should be for the nation, not for election."

"I have complete respect for RSS. RSS has been working for Hindutva. But kindly don't denounce the contribution of our brave soldiers who were involved in surgical strikes," he said, alluding to Parrikar's remarks where he credited his and PM's "RSS teachings" behind decision to conduct surgical strikes.

Taking a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, he said those who claim that surgical strikes never happened, should be sent out of the country.

"When a senior official of Armed forces announces that the surgical strikes have happened, no one has a right to question him. By doing so, we are showing distrust in Indian soldiers," he said.

The Sena chief, who was in the coastal state to galvanize the party ahead of the state Assembly polls, also took a jibe at Modi over his statement at BRICS summit that one "old friend is better than two new ones".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recently-held BRICS summit made a statement that one old friend is better than two new ones.

We have a saying that it is better to have honest enemy compared to cunning friend," Thackeray said, alluding to strains in ties with his party and the BJP despite being long-time partners.

"An old friend better than two new friends", Modi had said after his meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
Lucknow, Oct 23 (IANS) Political temperatures soared here on Saturday with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav calling in a meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators on Sunday.

The meeting has been called at the chief minister`s official 5, Kalidas Marg residence, a day before SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav meets the party legislators at the state headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg.

The political rift between Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi party (SP) state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav seems to have widened further with former not attending party meeting despite being invited by the latter.

Akhilesh skipped a meeting of district SP chiefs convened in the state capital on Friday and Saturday and chose to meet them at the chief minister`s residence separately.

Shivpal Singh Yadav had called meeting of the party`s executive committee and invited the chief minister.

There has been a political tussle between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav over various issues in the party.

Also, there has been differences between Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav on party issues. The state goes to assembly polls early next year.

Sources said Sunday`s meeting is to be watched for as the meeting could witness Akhilesh spelling out his future course of action in the turf war which has erupted between him and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Party veterans met Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday to find some solution in what is now becoming an unending feud in the party`s top leadership.

But insiders said they failed to pacify Mulayam Singh Yadav who is "extremely hurt" at the rebellion of his son Akhilesh and "crude protests" by his supporters.

Leaders who met Mulayam on Saturday -- Beni Prasad Verma, Reoti Raman Singh and Naresh Agarwal, later told mediapersons that any disrespect shown towards Mulayam will not be tolerated at any cost.

Hours later, Udayveer Singh, an MLC considered very close to Akhilesh Yadav was shown the door and expelled from the party for six years.

Singh had written a terse letter to the SP chief asking him to step down as SP`s national president and make way for his son.

This further aggravated the situation as most leaders close to Akhilesh have been thrown out of the party now.

In the evening, Shivpal also filled up the vacancies of presidents in party`s frontal wings and filled it with men known to be his followers.

Sources say chances of any peace were become remote with every passing moment.

For now, all eyes are on 5, Kalidas Marg on the proposed meeting of legislators convened by the chief minister, who seems to be in no mood to backtrack from his stated position.


Srinagar: Curfew was on Saturday lifted from six police station areas of the city but normal life remained affected in Kashmir for the 106th straight day due to the separatist-sponsored strike.

Curfew was imposed yesterday in six police station areas of the city.

A police official said the situation in the summer capital here and elsewhere in the Valley was under control, even as a youth died during clashes between protestors and security forces in Budgam district of central Kashmir yesterday.

The official, however, said restrictions on assembly of four or more people were in place throughout the valley for maintaining law and order.

Security forces have been deployed in strength at vulnerable spots and along the main roads to as a precautionary measure, the official said.

Meanwhile, normal life remained affected in Kashmir due to the strike.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in the Valley, but are expected to open today as separatists have given a 14-hour relaxation in the shutdown from 5 PM.

The ongoing unrest in Kashmir has affected the education as schools, colleges and other educational institutions continue to remain shut in the Valley.

The government has decided to hold board examinations as per the schedule next month, drawing criticism from students and parents who accused it of being insensitive to lack of academic activity due to shutdown.

As many as 85 people, including two cops, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the ongoing unrest in the valley.
Jammu: In a major breakthrough, the Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday arrested a Pakistani spy in the Samba district while he was making attempts to escape.

Two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of security forces were also seized from his connection, according to ANI report.

Pakistani spy Bodh Raj arrested in Samba sector(J&K), 2 Pak SIM cards and map showing deployment of forces seized  ANI (@ANI_news) October 22, 2016

Bodh Raj, a Jammu resident, was arrested on late Friday and is currently being interrogated for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan.

A special operation was conducted to nab him in the border area o Ramgarh.

"This is a major breakthrough so far as national security is concerned and the arrest of some more persons is also likely in the days to come," the Samba Police said in a statement.

During the search operation, one individual was found roaming in suspicious circumstances in Jerda village near IB who tried to escape on observing the movement of Police party.

However, the police party acting promptly and giving a swift chase apprehended the individual from the spy whose identity was established as Bodh Raj.

Upon his personal search were two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of forces, two Indian-made mobile phones and one memory cards were recovered fro his possession.

All the recovered items were seized besides arrested the said accused spy.

Earlier in August, an alleged Pakistani spy was arrested from Jaisalmer and items containing information on India's defense institutions seized from him.
Srinagar: In a massive crackdown on terrorism in the Valley, two locals Jaish-e-Mohammad militants have been arrested in Kanispora area of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The militants were nabbed in a joint search operation launched on late Friday by the 52 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) Baramulla.

Ammunition besides an AK 47, a pistol and grenades were recovered from their possession, including Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen stamps.

Besides, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested a Pakistani spy in Samba sector while he was making attempts to escape. The spy named Bodh Raj was held along with two Pakistani SIM cards and a map showing deployment of forces was also seized from him.

Also read: Pakistani spy arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba; two Pak SIM cards, map seized

The Samba District Police said that based on the information received from Military Intelligence with regard to the involvement of Bodh Raj for his espionage activities and passing on vital information regarding deployment and movement of security forces to Pakistan, a special operation was conducted to nab him in the border area of Ramgarh.

Earlier, a massive house-to-house search operation was launched in Baramulla after security forces received intelligence of active terror hideouts.

One such operation was held earlier as well in which Chinese and Pakistan flags were recovered besides some arms and ammunition.
Thrissur: Yet another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was attacked by three unidentified persons in Idiyanchira near Thrissur district in Kerala yesterday.

The worker is seriously injured and is undergoing treatment. The party has alleged Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers behind the attack.

Earlier this week, the Congress moved an adjournment motion in the Kerala Assembly to discuss the rising political violence in Kannur.

The Opposition party has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the CPI (M) rivalry behind the rising crime in the city and making Kerala as a murder center.

Declining the allegation of the Congress, CPI (M) leader and Kerala`s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the RSS makes deliberate attempt to create law and order problems in Kannur and alleged that till now six peace talk has failed as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept away from it.

He further said that the police take strong actions with special control rooms and bomb squad adding that there is no emergency to discuss the matter in the assembly.

Early this month, a CPI (M) and a BJP worker were murdered in Kannur.

The CPI (M) worker was killed and the BJP activist was hacked to death at a petrol pump near Pinarayi in Kannur district in Kerala.Meanwhile, both CPI (M) and BJP are now blaming each other for the death of their respective party workers.
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Trivandrum [India]: Amid the furore over the ban on women from wearing jeans at the government medical college in Trivandrum, the Confederation of Medical College Doctors has called on the education centre to create a dress code with a rationale and without any discrimination.

Speaking to ANI here, member of the Confederation of Medical College Doctors Santhosh Kumar said that there is no problem in an institution having a dress code, but the problem arises when it is rife with discrepancies and discriminations.

"For example, what is wrong with jeans as everyone is comfortable and it is worn by all in Kerala. Same goes for leggings and tee shirts.

Discrepancies like if women are wearing sarees, why not ask the men to wear mundus as well? It is also a socially acceptable form of clothing," he said.

Asserting that the need to be inclusive in a setting where people have different thoughts is of prime importance, Kumar called for the need of a rationale before implementing such a dress code.

He further called on the management of the college to mull over the demands of their students, keep their comfort in mind and reconsider the changes to their circular on the dress code.

The Government Medical College in state capital Thiruvananthapuram came under flak for issuing a dress code for girls prohibiting them from wearing jeans, leggings or `noisy ornaments`.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the vice principal of the college has stated a set of rules in regards to the MBBS course to ensure regular attendance and the final internal marks.

The circular, at the bottom, points out `do`s` and `dont`s` for both boys and girls, asking them to be dressed formally.

While the boys have been ordered to maintain a `neat and clean dress and appearance with formal dress and shoes`, the women have been asked to wear formals which specifically mean `churidar or saree` and that their hair must be `put up`.

The circular also prohibits female students from wearing `jeans, leggings or noisy ornaments.

`This is not the first instance of the `dress code` menace having hit educational institutions in the state.

A college in Kozhikode had banned girls from wearing jeans on campus earlier this year.

Female students, especially in the medical and engineering courses, have complained that it becomes a herculean task to manoeuvre themselves while clad in a saree or worrying about dupattas, especially during exams or in practicals where ease of movement is important.
Agartala: Three convicts, all serving life-imprisonment since 2012, escaped from the Central Jail in Tripura, police said on Saturday.

"The three convicts -- Milan Debbarma, 28; Swarna Kumar Tripura, 22; Rabindra Tripura, 24 -- fled from the jail in Bishalgarh on Friday night. They were found missing during the routine roll-call," Sepahijala district police chief Sudipta Das said.

He said that a massive search operation was in place and all of the state's 74 police stations were alerted.

"BSF (Border Security Force) were also asked to keep a close watch on the borders to prevent the convicts from crossing over to Bangladesh," Das added.
Lucknow: Political temperatures soared here on Saturday with with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav calling in a meeting of Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators on Sunday.

The meeting has been called at the chief minister`s official 5, Kalidas Marg residence, a day before SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav meets the party legislators at the state headquarters on Vikramaditya Marg.

Sources said the meeting is to be watched for as the meeting could witness Akhilesh spelling out his future course of action in the turf war which has erupted between him and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Akhilesh Yadav skipped a meeting of district SP chiefs convened in the state capital on Friday and Saturday and chose to meet them at the chief minister`s residence separately.

Party veterans met Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday to find some solution in what is now becoming an unending feud in the party`s top leadership.

But insiders said they failed to pacify Mulayam Singh Yadav who is "extremely hurt" at the rebellion of his son Akhilesh and "crude protests" by his supporters.

Leaders who met Mulayam on Saturday -- Beni Prasad Verma, Reoti Raman Singh and Naresh Agarwal, later told mediapersons that any disrespect shown towards Mulayam will not be tolerated at any cost.

Hours later, Udayveer Singh, an MLC considered very close to Akhilesh Yadav was shown the door and expelled from the party for six years.

Singh had written a terse letter to the SP chief asking him to step down as SP`s national president and make way for his son.

This further aggravated the situation as most leaders close to Akhilesh have been thrown out of the party now.

In the evening, Shivpal also filled up the vacancies of presidents in party`s frontal wings and filled it with men known to be his followers.

Sources say chances of any peace were become remote with every passing moment.

For now, all eyes are on 5, Kalidas Marg on the proposed meeting of legislators convened by the chief minister, who seems to be in no mood to backtrack from his stated position.
New Delhi: In yet another sign of worsening infighting in Samajwadi Party, MLC Udayveer Singh was on Saturday expelled from the party, a day after he accused Mulayam Singhs second wife of being part of a conspiracy against Uttar Pradesh CM.

Early today, senior party leaders Beni Prasad Verma, Naresh Agrawal and party spokesperson Ashok Bajpai met party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at his New Delhi residence to chalk out a formula to end the ongoing infighting within the first family of the state that has derailed just ahead of the crucial state assembly polls.

It is believed that the leaders made an appeal to the SP supremo to hold talks with brothers Shivpal, Ramgopal and his son Akhilesh Yadav to end the fight.

"Everything is fine in the party. We request that the controversy regarding rift with Samajwadi Party should end as the elections are upon us," Beni Prasad Verma told News18 after meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav is very much sad over the issues which occurred in Samajwadi Party. He is pained with Akhilesh Yadav, due to letters written against him. I request Akhilesh to take action against those who are talking against his father," Prasad said.

Prasad also hinted that action will be taken against leaders who are escalating tensions with the party and added that Mulayam had expressed his displeasure over the 'letter' written against him by Udayveer.

Another party source also confirmed that the leadership did not take kindly to the caustic letter by the young leader, considered close to Akhilesh and whose association with the latter dates back to the Dholpur school days.

Yesterday, Udayveer, who is also a close aide of Akhilesh, had alleged that Mulayam's second wife is behind the conspiracy to alienate the young chief minister and added that the veteran leader needs to make way for his son.

Singh, who is a member of the legislative council, also attacked state SP chief and Mulayam's brother Shivpal Yadav for being the "political front" of the CM's stepmother.

In a four-page letter, Singh also cautioned Mulayam against the 'conspiracies being hatched in his family against his elder son'.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party chief Shivpal Yadav, who met Mulayam Singh Yadav today at his residence, reportedly offered to tender his resignation to the SP patriarch. However, his offer was turned down by Mulayam.

The expulsion comes at a time when the Akhilesh camp is already demanding revocation of 'expulsion' of other young MLCs and party leaders, who were shown the door by Shivpal last month.
An ongoing attack by the Islamic State group in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has killed at least 46 people, mostly members of the security forces, security and medical sources said Saturday.

"We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS)," an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.

The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate.

The brigadier general also said at least 25 jihadist attackers had been killed since the raid was launched early Friday.
At least 60 were killed when a packed passenger train derailed between Cameroon`s two main cities, a hospital source in the capital Yaounde said Saturday, giving a new toll the day after the accident.

Almost 600 people were injured when the train, travelling from Yaounde to the economic hub of Douala, came off the rails near the central city of Eseka at around midday Friday.

"We have received between 60 and 70 bodies at the station this morning," a railway official who asked not to be identified told AFP in Yaounde on Saturday.

The train was crammed with people because a collapsed bridge had made travelling the same route by road impossible.

"Some of the wounded are arriving unconscious. We think the death toll will rise," said the railway official, adding that the injured had been taken to various hospitals in the capital.

Passengers` relatives thronged the city`s main hospital to look for their loved ones.

At the hospital`s morgue "there are 28 unidentified bodies. The identified bodies are at another morgue," said a policeman on duty there.

The first person allowed into the morgue, a woman, emerged in tears.

"She recognised the body of her sister," explained one of the people with her.

As she waited her turn to enter, another woman, Fadimatou, said, "We have had no news from our sister since yesterday. We don`t know whether she is alive.

"Her phone was ringing yesterday but it wasn`t since this morning. Her husband is looking for her in Douala."

Dan Njoya said he had come to the morgue "to see if the body of my four-month-old baby is here."

Most of those injured in the accident were taken to hospitals in Douala, medical sources said.

On Friday evening, the transport minister said 55 people were known to have died and 575 were injured in the accident.

State-run television reported that many of the injured were in a critical condition and that the cause of the accident had not been discovered.

Also Friday, rail operator Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bollore, said it had deployed "intervention and security teams" to the site of the accident.

Emergency services were sent from Douala to reinforce teams closer to the scene, while firefighters were coming from Eseka, Doula regional governor Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua said.

Police had cordoned off the railway stations in both cities on Saturday.

The road bridge collapsed on Thursday night as a result of heavy rain, which also hindered the deployment of rescue services to the scene of the accident.

The road is one of the busiest in the country and one of the main commercial routes in central Africa, carrying trade towards landlocked Chad and the Central African Republic.

Many travelers were still stuck on either side of the collapsed bridge late Friday, Martial Missimikim of road safety NGO Securoute told AFP.
Washington: The supporters of US Republican nominee Donald Trump shoved and pushed journalists, including an NDTV reporter, outside an event venue in Pennsylvania, calling them "liars" and threatening to "knock the mic down", a media report said on Saturday.

"I don`t want to talk to media, you are liars," a supporter shouted at the NDTV reporter, "I will knock your mic down. Who the hell are you, whoever knows you," he yelled.

Subsequently, the police intervened, NDTV reported.

The incident occurred shortly after the business magnate had addressed around 5,000 people in Pennsylvanian administrative division of Newton.

Trump has taken anti-media attacks to a new level, accusing journalists of being in cahoots with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton`s campaign in a conspiracy to rig the election.

In Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the US elections, Trump is trying to be the first Republican since 1988 to win the state which carries 20 electoral votes; 270 are needed to win.

In August at a rally in Fairfield, Connecticut, Trump had said, "I am not running against Crooked Hillary Clinton, I`m running against the crooked media".

Trump has complained for months about media coverage which he said is biased against him.

He had stripped a long list of news organizations -- including the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Politico and the Washington Post -- of their credentials, and vowed that as the President he would make it easier to sue news outlets.

However, he later allowed them to cover his events.
Washington: US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to sue the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct in recent weeks.

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign," Trump said during remarks in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. "Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over," CNN quoted Trump as saying.

He added that a "simple phone call" to major news outlets "gets them wall-to-wall coverage with virtually no fact-checking ever".

In the last two weeks, at least 10 women have come forward accusing Trump of inappropriately touching them. Their allegations came after a 2005 videotape surfaced of Trump bragging about being able to grope women and get away with it.

Trump went on to suggest on Saturday that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton`s campaign was behind the women`s allegations.

"It was probably the (Democratic National Committee) and Hillary`s campaign who put forward these liars with their fabricated stories," he said. "But we`ll probably find out later through litigation, which we`re so looking forward to."

Earlier in October, he threatened to sue The New York Times when it published assault allegations against him, but nearly two weeks later, he has declined to follow through.
Lucknow: After he was expelled from the Samajwadi Party (SP) for six years on "disciplinary" ground, Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC) Udayveer Singh on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are divulging wrong information to SP national president Mulayam Singh Yadav with an aim to manipulate the upcoming poll result that would see Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav coming to power again.

"I kept my viewpoint on the existing political situation before the party leadership. The way BJP people are, as part of a conspiracy, trying to give wrong information to Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) with an aim to manipulate the upcoming poll result, which will be coming in the favour of Akhileshji; I kept my viewpoint on that, but wrong information was divulged in juxtapose to what information I had, and that is why the decision (to expel him) was taken," Udayveer, a confidante of Akhilesh, told ANI here.

The expulsion came after senior Samajwadi Party leaders` meeting with Mulayam Singh, who was upset with his son Akhilesh for his patronage to Udayveer, who shot off a letter alleging that "the Chief Minister was being targeted by his stepmother and black magic was used against him".

However, when asked that the letter written by him was responsible for his expulsion, Udayveer said, "If there is a talk about a letter, then, it would be the same letter (which he has sent)."

Asked about his next move, Singh said, "I am a politician, who is associated with the Samajwadi Party and the Samajwadi ideology. My faith and trust in Netaji and Akhileshji is as it is as it was earlier, and hence, I will keep on doing political work as was doing earlier."

Answering a question that whether he would appeal before Netaji, Udayveer said, "It is my right to make an appeal to Netaji against the decision, which I will pursue."

Singh reportedly also attacked state Samajwadi Party chief and Mulayam Singh`s brother Shivpal Yadav for "being the political front of the Chief Minister`s stepmother".

Supporting his expulsion, Samajwadi Party leader Gaurav Bhatia said the party is known for discipline, so nobody would be allowed to continue being indiscipline.

"The letter written by MLC who has been expelled from the party was completely inappropriate and he had crossed the `laxman rekha`. Writing that national president Mulayam Singh Yadav should make way for someone else was not appropriate because that hurt the sentiments of every party leader and worker," Bhatia told ANI.

Bhatia sought to know as to when there is cohesiveness, understanding and mutual respect between party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, why should any leader of the party make such a comment.

The crisis in the party escalated yesterday when Akhilesh skipped a crucial party meeting convened by his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Akhilesh, however, met the members separately at his residence after their meeting ended with Shivpal.
Aden: Fierce gun battles erupted overnight between Yemeni rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia despite a three-day ceasefire due to end late Saturday, military officials said.

Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Huthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late Friday, a military official said.

The air raids came after Patriot missiles shot down two rebel missiles on Thursday over Marib, east of the rebel-held capital.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Friday the ceasefire was "fragile but largely holding", urging all parties "to show restraint, avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the 72-hour ceasefire".

The truce took effect just before midnight on Wednesday to allow aid deliveries in Yemen, where the war has killed thousands of people and left millions homeless and hungry.

The UN envoy is liaising with the parties in an attempt to extend the ceasefire in order "to create a conducive environment for a long-lasting peace" in Yemen, he said in a statement.

He met late Friday with Yemen`s Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Riyadh, Yemeni state media reported.

Ahmar said government forces were "exercising restraint" and stressed that there were orders to "abide by the truce and respect UN efforts".

But he accused the rebels of 449 violations within 24 hours after the ceasefire took effect.

Rebel-controlled media, meanwhile, accused the coalition of conducting air strikes across the country, including in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada and Jawf in the north, and Shabwa in the south.A senior rebel, Hassan al-Sharafi, was killed in border clashes on Friday night in Saada province, the fiefdom of the Iran-backed Huthis, military officials said.

The rebels seized two hills in the Alb border area from government forces who had previously advanced from Saudi Arabia, a military official said.

Nine other rebels and four government soldiers were killed in clashes Saturday on the western outskirts of Midi, a northwestern town close to the Saudi border and the Red Sea coast, military officials said.

The fighting erupted when troops advanced towards Midi in an attempt to recapture it.

It is the sixth ceasefire attempt since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March last year to support Hadi`s government after Huthis overran much of the impoverished country.

Nearly 6,900 people have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them civilians, while an additional three million are displaced and millions more need food aid.

Meanwhile, five suspected Al-Qaeda militants including a local chief were killed overnight Friday in a suspected US drone strike in Marib province east of Sanaa, a security official said.

They were in a vehicle that was targeted in the Wadi Obeida area.

Washington is the only government to operate drones over Yemen, but the United States rarely releases statements on its long-running bombing campaign against the country`s powerful Al-Qaeda branch.

The United States considers Al-Qaeda`s Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

On Tuesday, eight Al-Qaeda suspects were killed in a similar drone strike in south Yemen.
3 runaway boys found in Bihar

Three Dailekh teenage boys, who had fled to India about a year ago, have been found in a childrens shelter in Bihar.
New York: While some Facebook employees tried to remove certain controversial posts by US presidential candidate Donald Trump from the website, CEO Mark Zuckerberg ruled that it would be inappropriate to censor the Republican Party nominee, media reported on Saturday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Zuckerberg`s decision prompted employees across the board to complain on Facebook`s internal messaging service and to Zuckerberg and other managers that it was bending the site`s rules for Trump who posted about banning Muslims from entering the US.

"Some employees who work in a group charged with reviewing content on Facebook even threatened to quit," the report added.

Trump posted in December "on preventing Muslim immigration". His statement called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country`s representatives can figure out what is going on".

Users flagged the content as hate speech -- a move that triggered a review by Facebook`s community operations team.

Some Facebook employees -- including Muslims -- said in "internal chat rooms that the post broke Facebook`s rules on hate speech as detailed in its internal guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter", the WSJ report said.

But content reviewers were asked by their managers not to remove the post.

"Facebook has never contacted us about employee complaints and has never removed a post," a spokeswoman for Trump`s campaign was quoted as saying.
Mexican authorities arrested on Friday the fugitive former police chief of the city where 43 students disappeared after officers abducted them in 2014, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the case.

Following a months-long investigation, federal police detained Felipe Flores Velazquez, 58, as he left a house in Iguala after visiting his wife, said National Security Commissioner Renato Sales.

While Flores was finally caught in Iguala, where the mass disappearance occurred more than two years ago, Sales said "he was not always" in the city.

"He is accused of the crimes of organized crime and kidnapping of the young men," he said.

Flores` arrest may offer new clues about the fate of the students in a case that has bedeviled President Enrique Pena Nieto`s administration for more than two years.

Pena Nieto`s government has faced criticism over its handling of the tragedy, with thousands of protesters demanding his resignation on the second anniversary of the mass disappearance in September.

Attorney General Arely Gomez wrote on Twitter that the arrest will allow investigators to get from Flores "a fundamental statement to clear up the events of Iguala."Flores, who was Iguala`s police chief at the time, was one of the people "responsible for coordinating the operation" that resulted in officers attacking the students on September 26, 2014, Sales said.

Flores acted under the "notoriously illegal instruction" of then mayor Jose Luis Abarca to attack the students as they headed toward a square where Abarca`s wife was giving a speech, the official said. Six people were gunned down that night.

The trainee teachers were in buses they had commandeered to travel to a protest in Mexico City -- a common practice among the students from a radical college in southern Guerrero state.

Prosecutors have said the police officers delivered the 43 students to the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel, which killed them, incinerated their bodies at a garbage dump and tossed the remains in a river.

But the government`s conclusions were rejected by independent experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who said there was no scientific proof that the students were burned at the dump.

The remains of only one student have been identified.

The attorney general`s office has since agreed to look at other lines of investigation and conduct new searches to find the students.

Sales said 131 people have now been arrested, including Abarca and his wife, several police officers and alleged members of the Guerreros Unidos.The attorney general`s office had offered a $135,000 reward for Flores` arrest.

The Inter-American commission experts said in a report that even though Flores had given investigators inconsistent testimony following the mass disappearance, "his arrest was not ordered until much later, which allowed him to flee."

Felipe de la Cruz, a spokesman for the parents of the 43 students, voiced hope that the arrest would yield results.

The families took the news "with calm because we don`t believe much in the work of the attorney general`s office."

But, he added, "we hope that this person says in his statement what really happened, where the youths are.
Karachi: Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar on Friday took notice of an incident in which a Frontier Corp guard slapped a female journalist.

The federal interior minister ordered investigation of the incident that took place at Nadra office in Karachi.

Nisar Ali Khan said that misconduct with women would not be tolerated, Geo News reported.

Earlier on Friday, journalist Saima Kanwal registered a case against an FC trooper posted on guard duty at the Nadra office in Nazimabad for slapping her.

The case was registered at the Gulbahar station against attack and firing at the Nadra office.

Meanwhile, the FC trooper registered a case against the anchorperson for interfering with state matters.

Video footage from social media shows the reporter telling the cameraman to show the face and uniform of the guard, who allegedly misbehaved with her, before he can be seen slapping her.

The reporter was shooting a programme about the problems faced by citizens at Nadra registration office.
A brave new world

The inherent nature of power still seeks to influence the behaviour of other people. The point of departure here, however, is marked by this: if once the sword was used to influence behaviour, modern power relies on knowledge and information to do so
BRB for motions success in Parliament

Former prime minister and Naya Shakti Nepal coordinator Baburam Bhattarai on Friday said that the impeachment motion against suspended chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki should be passed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
While Twitter is popular with a core group of celebrities, politicians and journalists, it has failed to expand beyond that base

Successive cyber attacks took large portions of the internet off line on Friday, rendering major companies including Twitter and Netflix inaccessible to millions of users in the United States and elsewhere.

Multiple times in a single day, the attacks incapacitated a crucial piece of internet infrastructure, frustrating or outright blocking access to websites and exposing vulnerabilities in the overall internet network.

It also commanded the attention of top US security agencies including the Department of Homeland Security.

"DHS and the FBI are aware and are investigating all potential causes" of the outages, a spokeswoman said.

The outages left internet users unable to post messages, shop, watch videos and play games online for parts of the day.

A Twitter user, @tylerthebadwolf, expressed frustration once he regained access.

- Repeated attacks -

"Holy moly! I haven't been able to get in here all day! Is there a hashtag for #InternetOutage 2016 yet??" he tweeted.

Dynamic Network Services Inc, which routes and manages internet traffic, said that at about 1100 GMT on Friday that its infrastructure had been hit by a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack in the eastern part of the United States.

The company claimed to have resolved the matter within about two hours but toward 1600 GMT was again responding to an attack.

"Our engineers are continuing to investigate and mitigate several attacks aimed against the Dyn Managed DNS infrastructure," the company, known as Dyn, said on its website.

Affected websites included Reddit, the crafts marketplace Etsy and the software developer site Github, according to media reports. Others reportedly affected include CNN, The Guardian, Wired, HBO and People as well as the money transfer service PayPal.

A map published by the website downdetector.com initially showed service interruptions across much of the US east coast and in Texas.

However later Friday the affected areas had spread to parts of the Midwest and California. Similar maps for Netflix and Twitter showed areas of outage in Europe.

Story continues

Amazon Web Services, which hosts some of the most popular sites on the internet, including Netflix and the homestay network Airbnb, said that it had resolved problems by 1310 GMT only to begin addressing similar problems three hours later in a different region.

By late in the day the situation appeared to be stabilizing.

- Crucial internet infrastructure -

Domain name servers are a crucial element of internet infrastructure, converting numbered Internet Protocol addresses into the domain names that allow users to connect to internet sites.

DDoS attacks involve flooding websites with more traffic than they can handle, making them difficult to access or taking them offline entirely.

Attackers can use them for a range of purposes, including censorship, protest and extortion. The loose-knit hacktivist network Anonymous in 2010 targeted the DNS provider EveryDNS among others as retribution for efforts to block the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks.

Friday's incident immediately underscored the comingled dependencies of large portions of the internet, with multiple brand-name companies and their users affected by an attack on a single company.

The attacks took on added significance, experts said, as the number of ordinary objects used by consumers go online, joining the so-called "internet of things."

Roland Dobbins, principal engineer at the networks security company Arbor Networks, told AFP on Friday that, though it was spectacular, the attack was a constant and relentless fact of life on the internet.

"It's like a combination of the Wild West, Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge on the internet every day," he said.

He added that the attack's scale did not necessarily mean the attackers had large resources.

"It does not require a nation-state to launch a DDoS attack of this magnitude or impact," he said. "When it comes to DDoS attacks, states are just another player."

According to Verisign, the number of DDoS attacks rose 75 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.

James Scott, co-founder, of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, said the attacks demonstrated well-known vulnerabilities of the internet.

"Simply put, the internet in its original and modern form was not designed with security in mind," he told AFP.

"Consequently, the DNS servers and other critical infrastructure supporting the global internet have always been tantalizing targets to malicious adversaries intent on disrupting services."
Airbnb has recently faced mounting criticism from some quarters that it exacerbates housing shortages and squeezes the long-term rental sector

New York state tightened rules Friday on home-sharing services like Airbnb, slapping a steep fine on people who rent their entire, unoccupied apartment for fewer than 30 days.

Airbnb immediately fired back, saying it would sue to keep the law from taking effect.

State officials "rewarded a special interest -- the price-gouging hotel industry -- and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers," said Josh Meltzer, Airbnb's head of public policy in New York.

"A majority of New Yorkers have embraced home sharing, and we will continue to fight for a smart policy solution that works for the people, not the powerful," he said. "We are filing a lawsuit in New York this afternoon."

A New York state law on the books since 2010 already prohibits renting an entire apartment for fewer than 30 days if the owner or lessor is not present.

The new law forbids advertising for this kind of short-term rental and imposes a fine up to $7,500.

New York state is one of the most lucrative markets for rental site Airbnb, with some 46,000 people offering lodging online.

In New York City, real-estate and rental prices are so high that three quarters of the Airbnb hosts use the proceeds simply to be able to remain in their apartments, Airbnb argues.

Airbnb is in the crosshairs of many cities around the world, where tourism industries see this increasingly popular type of home sharing, lacking the legal and tax constraints of commercial enterprises, as threatening revenues.

Paris, notably, has quadrupled the amount of penalties for home owners who violate regulations -- from 25,000 euros to 100,000 euros ($27,211 to $108,843).

Last week, officials of nine US cities -- including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- sent a joint letter to the Federal Trade Commission accusing Airbnb and other short-term rental (STR) companies of a "lack of reliable, complete data" on the number of rentals and the amount of revenue.

"Unfortunately, the industry has, according to news sources, stymied cities' efforts to access this data by providing misleading data and opposing requirements that STR companies share complete and reliable data with the public," they wrote.

"It is very difficult for cities to develop policies that protect the public interest without an adequate understanding of how this growing industry is impacting our communities," they wrote, calling on the FTC to study whether individuals or firms are acting in a commercial manner.

Airbnb operates in more than 190 countries and has been valued at an estimated $30 billion.
More than two-thirds of Albertans are opposed to the provincial government's incoming carbon tax, according to a new poll.

According to the survey released Friday by the Citizen Society Research Lab at Lethbridge College, 67.2 per cent of voting-age Albertans oppose the tax, which is set to take effect in 2017.

"Majorities in all regions of Alberta are opposed to the carbon tax plan," research chair Faron Ellis said in a release for the poll.

Opposition and support for the carbon tax. Use arrows to select regions:

"Southern Albertans are most opposed (73.8%), followed closely by northern residents (70.9%) and Calgarians (66.5%). A less substantial but nevertheless clear majority of Edmonton-area residents are also opposed (57.7%).

The poll suggests the level of opposition to the carbon tax varies by political affiliation and demographics.

While 78.7 per cent of NDP voters support the plan, it's opposed by 88 per cent of Wildrose Party voters, 81.5 per cent of Progressive Conservative voters, and 65.6 per cent of undecided voters.

The tax is opposed by 73.7 per cent of Albertans who have the least amount of formal education, 74.6 per cent of those who have trade, technical school or college diplomas, and 67.5 per cent of those with some post-secondary schooling.

Opposition softens to 56.1 per cent among Albertans with university degrees.

The NDP government revealed details of the carbon tax in its spring budget.

Provincial Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said Albertans have lots of questions about the carbon tax, but opinions could change as people learn more about it.

"Albertans are still learning about what the carbon levy means to them, four cents a litre at the pump for example," she said.

"And they will, two-thirds of people, will receive a rebate. And that is a message that we'll continue to talk to Albertans about. And so it's fair that Albertans have questions right now."

Story continues

The tax will be levied on gasoline and diesel at the pump, as well as home heating fuel. In 2017, Albertans will pay an additional 4.49 cents a litre, increasing to 6.73 cents a litre on Jan. 1, 2018,

But the province estimates its levy framework  starting at $20 per tonne and rising to $30 per tonne in 2018  will actually mean an extra $540 for the average family of four, once rebates are factored in.

Full and partial rebates will be offered to singles earning up to $51,250 net income annually and couples earning up to $100,000. The net income cut-off for couples with two children is $101,000. The government estimates about 66 per cent of Albertans will qualify for some kind of rebate.

Rebates will rise in 2018 when the levy increases to $30 a tonne from $20.

Phase-out of coal power supported by most Albertans

The Lethbridge College opinion survey also asked voters what they think about the provincial government's plan to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030.

Overall, a slim majority  52.5 per cent  supports the plan, but a distinct rural-urban split emerges on the issue, the poll says.

"While slight majorities of Calgary (58.8%) and Edmonton residents (53.9%) are supportive, slight majorities of southern Albertans outside of Calgary (50.7%) and northern Albertans outside of the Edmonton-area (52.2%) opposed."

Again, education levels were big predictors of opinion on the issue, the poll found.

"A majority of those with the least amount of formal education are opposed (54.9%), while a majority of university graduates is supportive (63.3%)."

The poll surveyed 1,513 adult Alberta residents by telephone from Oct. 1 to 8. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, when looking at the province as a whole. When analyzing sub-samples of the data, the margin of error increases to as much as plus or minus 5.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | How Calgary can tap into Denver's allure to millennials

- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Precision Drilling posts $47M loss in Q3 but sees 'improved outlook' in 2017
A Calgary family is struggling to pay medical bills for their son who was hit by a car earlier this month in Taiwan.

John Kelly, who has been teaching English in Taichung for the last three years, was walking home from his job when a car plowed into him on the street.

The incident was caught on CCTV footage and Taiwanese police are investigating.

"Threw him over 30 feet," his father, Jack Kelly, told the Calgary Eyeopener.

"He's had surgery, metal plates and pins in his right leg. His collarbone was broken. He's got upper body breaks and they've had to remove a part of his skull to release pressure on his brain."

The 31-year-old, who has a three-year-old daughter, is in stable condition, but is still not responsive. His dad said his injuries could leave him permanently paralyzed and brain injured.

"He may never recover or come out of it. And he hasn't spoken since."

- MORE NEWS | Driver in crash that killed 2 Calgary men near Irricana gets traffic fine

- MORE NEWS | Memorial set for pilot in crash that killed 4, including former Alberta premier

Medical bills piling up

Kelly says his wife, Shanon, flew over to Taiwan as soon as she learned about her son's accident  but can't afford to stay there any longer.

"His mom is over there now and the doctors state they do not want her to leave as they need a family member to be there. Whatever monies we have or had are being depleted rapidly," Kelly said.

The 31-year-old does have health insurance through his Taiwanese employer, but his dad says it hasn't kicked in yet because he was between jobs.

Until that gets sorted out, the family has to foot all the medical bills accumulated so far, which Kelly said is about $25,000 Canadian.

To avoid more bills piling up and to be able to make important medical decisions, the family wants to fly their son back to Canada for treatment.

They've launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $50,000 to pay for his medevac from Taiwan to Foothills hospital in Calgary.
Taking a pill that prevents the accumulation of toxic molecules in the brain might someday help prevent or delay Alzheimer's disease, according to scientists at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study, published today in Cell Press journal Neuron, took a three-pronged approach to help subdue early events that occur in the brain long before symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are evident. The scientists were able to prevent those early events and the subsequent development of brain pathology in experimental animal models in the lab.

"Common diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and dementia are caused in part by abnormal accumulation of certain proteins in the brain," said senior author Dr. Huda Zoghbi, professor of molecular and human genetics and of pediatrics - neurology and developmental neuroscience at Baylor and director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital. "Some proteins become toxic when they accumulate; they make the brain vulnerable to degeneration. Tau is one of those proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease and dementia."

"Scientists in the field have been focusing mostly on the final stages of Alzheimer's disease," said first author Dr. Cristian Lasagna-Reeves, postdoctoral fellow in the Zoghbi lab. "Here we tried to find clues about what is happening at the very early stages of the illness, before clinical irreversible symptoms appear, with the intention of preventing or reducing those early events that lead to devastating changes in the brain decades later."

The scientists reasoned that if they could find ways to prevent or reduce tau accumulation in the brain, they would uncover new possibilities for developing drug treatments for these diseases.

Cells control the amount of their proteins with other proteins called enzymes. To find which enzymes affect tau accumulation, the scientists systematically inhibited enzymes called kinases.

"We inhibited about 600 kinases one by one and found one, called Nuak1, whose inhibition resulted in reduced levels of tau," said Zoghbi, who is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The scientists screened the enzymes in two different systems, cultured human cells and the laboratory fruit fly. Screening in the fruit fly allowed the scientists to assess the effects of inhibiting the enzymes in a functional nervous system in a living organism.

"Screening hundreds of kinases in the fruit fly animal model was critical because we could assess degeneration caused by tau in the fly's nervous system and measure neuronal dysfunction. Screening such a large number cannot be done with other animal models like the mouse, and cultured cells cannot model complex nervous system functions," said co-senior author Dr. Juan Botas, professor of molecular and human genetics and of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor.

Brain section from mouse carrying the dementia-causing P301S mutation in human tau shows accumulation of tau neurofibrillary tangles (in dark brown, left). When Nuak1 levels are decreased by 50% (P301S/Nuak1+/-; right), fewer tau tangles accumulate.

"We found one enzyme, Nuak1, whose inhibition consistently resulted in lower levels of tau in both human cells and fruit flies," said Zoghbi. "Then we took this result to a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and hoped that the results would hold, and they did. Inhibiting Nuak1 improved the behavior of the mice and prevented brain degeneration."

"Confirming in three independent systems - human cells, the fruit fly and the mouse - that Nuak1 inhibition results in reduced levels of tau and prevents brain abnormalities induced by tau accumulation, has convinced us that Nuak1 is a reliable potential target for drugs to prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's," said Zoghbi. "The next step is to develop drugs that will inhibit Nuak1 in hope that one day would be able to lower tau levels with low toxicity in individuals at risk for dementia due to tau accumulation."

Scientific studies like this one that uncover basic biological mechanisms of disease make it possible to develop new strategies to prevent or treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or dementia.

In the future it might be possible to treat people at risk for Alzheimer's disease by keeping tau low. Think of how taking drugs that lower cholesterol has helped control the accumulation of cholesterol in blood vessels that leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

"When people started taking drugs that lower cholesterol, they lived longer and healthier lives rather than dying earlier of heart disease," said Zoghbi. "Nobody has thought about Alzheimer's disease in that light. Tau in Alzheimer's can be compared to cholesterol in heart disease. Tau is a protein that when it accumulates as the person ages, increases the vulnerability of the brain to developing Alzheimer's. So maybe if we can find drugs that can keep tau at levels that are not toxic for the brain, then we would be able to prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's and other diseases caused in part by toxic tau accumulation."

###

"Just like people now take their cholesterol-lowering medications, people in the future could be taking medications to keep tau levels low and prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease," said Lasagna-Reeves.

Other contributors to this work include Maria de Haro, Shuang Hao, Jeehye Park, Maxime W.C. Rousseaux, Ismael Al-Ramahi, Paymaan Jafar-Nejad, Luis Vilanova-Velez, Lauren See, Antonia De Maio, Larissa Nitschke, Zhenyu Wu, Juan C. Troncoso, Thomas F. Westbrook and Jianrong Tang.

This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Robert A. and Renee E. Belfer Family Foundation, the Hamill Foundation, the Chapman Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health grants NIH/NINDS R01 NS027699-17, NIH/NINDS 3R01 NS027699-25S1 and 1K22NS092688-0. Support also was provided by the Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium-Investigator Grant Program, the Darrel K. Royal Foundation grant, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship (201210MFE-290072-173743), the Mass Spectrometry-Proteomics Core Laboratory (MS-PCL) and the confocal microscopy, neuroconnectivity and mouse behavioral cores of the Baylor College of Medicine Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (1U54 HD083092), the Johns Hopkins University Morris Udall Parkinson's Disease Center of Excellence (NINDS P50 NS38377) and Alzheimer Disease Research Center (NIA P50 AG05146).
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
DoA takes over Balgopaleshwor restoration project

The task of reconstructing the iconic Balgopaleshwor Temple, situated in the middle of Rani Pokhari, has been transferred to the Department of Archaeology (DoA) from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC).
Efforts resume to receive Chinese aircraft on order

The government has begun a fresh effort to bring the four Chinese aircraft on order whose delivery had been stalled after issues appeared in the ones that arrived previously.
Flower prices likely to be stable during Tihar

The production of flowers needed for the upcoming Tihar festival is up 15 percent this year, and prices are expected to remain stable as a result, florists said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Dozens of Turkish diplomats, military officers and their families have sought asylum in Germany since the July 15 coup attempt, local officials said Friday, Anadolu reports.

The Interior Ministry said 35 Turkish diplomatic passport holders had formally applied for asylum.

The information, given in response to a parliamentary question, did not give any details about the asylum seekers' identities, positions or status of their applications.

Turkey recalled scores of diplomats and military staff in the wake of the failed coup over suspected ties to the Fetullah Gulen movement, which is believed to have organized the attempted military takeover.

Many suspects sought asylum in European countries, including the military attache in Berlin, Col. Ayhan Dagli.

The Interior Ministry said any extradition request by the Turkish government would be examined on a case-by-case basis by higher regional courts.
Foreign secy to lead team for Nepal-India joint panel

Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi will lead a Nepali delegation to an oversight mechanism that will be set up to address the problems in the ongoing Nepal-India economic and development projects.
KMC deal with private firm to install 1,285 solar street lights

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has signed an agreement with BK Traders and Suppliers to complete the installation of solar-powered street lamps at various streets in the Capital.
Lokman returns

Lokman should have gone after the sharks after he took office. Then, we would have supported him, but he decided to just bully the small folks and leave the big chors alone
Many origins of an ancient people

Many scholars of Nepali society and culture argue that Gopal Singh Nepalis The Newars is the first detailed work on any Nepali ethnic group. Written in the late 50s, when the author was a scholar at Bombay University, it not only granted him a doctorate degree but also made him one of the most important names in Nepali sociology.
Introducing The Main Index

There are now over 47,000 individual posts here on A Light In The Darkness. They have all been individually added into Main Index categories.



To get the full experience out of A Light In The Darkness and its very extensive library of items, covering virtually all things paranormal, supernatural etc ... we recommend that you flick down the Main Index, which runs down the right hand side of the blog page ... to find the indexed category in which the subject matter you seek is located.



Alternatively, why not use long search bar you will find towards the top of the blog page ...



ENJOY


MATHILDA STROM BIMA

BIMA

Mathilda Strom, deputy CEO of microinsurance provider BIMA.

Mobile insurance startup BIMA has signed up 24 million customers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, according to its deputy CEO.

BIMA offers whats called microinsurance  people can get accident or life insurance for as little as 60 a day on rolling monthly cover. The product offers people payouts of up to $1,000 for their family if they die, for example, and takes just 3 minutes to sign up for.

BIMA collects payments through peoples mobiles and does deals with mobile phone operators in each country it enters to make sure it can collect.

Deputy CEO Mathilda Strom says BIMAs great breakthrough was taking advantage of the huge mobile penetration in emerging markets. 93% of the companys customers earn less than $10 a day, Strom says, while 54% are on less than $2.50 per day. But these people frequently top up their mobile phones to make calls, often paying in as little as 50. It is this constant, small trickle of revenue that BIMA taps into.

Strom told Business Insider: Some people think theres a cultural reason why these people dont get insurance but its really because people havent been able to profitably offer insurance to the mass market.

Most insurers seem to think there isnt money to be made at this end of the market but BIMA shows that a simple product at scale can work. The company is profitable in some of its markets, such as Ghana, and is working to refine its risk profiles in others.

BIMA

BIMA

A BIMA agent in Uganda.

Despite the huge number of customers, BIMA employs just 15 people across its London and Stockholm offices. But the company relies on a network of 3,500 sales agents spread across its 16 markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These agents help to educate people about insurance and sell the product.

Strom says: The reason we can do this profitably is the physical network. The questions people ask can be odd. I tried to sell insurance in Uganda and the guy asked what happens if I dont die? When do I get the money back? How can you use those questions with tech? You cant.

Story continues

All insurers are trying to do this, says Strom. The most important thing is distribution. They assume digital will take care of everything.

BIMAs biggest market is Bangladesh, where it has 9 million customers. BIMA is one of a number of so-called InsurTech companies that are springing up around the world at the moment, aiming to bring technology to the still largely paper-based industry.

EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:

5 Top Fintech Predictions by the BI Intelligence Research Team. Get the Report Now 





The post This Swedish startup brings insurance to 24 million people in the developing world through their mobiles appeared first on Business Insider.
Fall of the Falcon!







Source: Gulf Business

Source: Gulf Business

Falcon Private Bank was ordered to cease operations in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) earlier this month on account of serious failures in Anti Money Laundering Controls (AML) and improper conduct by senior management.

Following that, the bank released a press statement calling the withdrawal of the Singapore banking license as regrettable and disappointing but adding that the MAS decision will not impact the strategic development of the Bank.

However it was clear that Falcon Private Bank was wading in murky waters as Falcon Bank's Singapore branch manager, Mr Jens Sturzenegger, was arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) on 5 October.

In tandem with the MAS ruling, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) also announced sanctions against Falcon Private Bank for serious breaches of money laundering regulations over its handling of some US$3.8 billion (S$5.24 billion) in assets linked to the Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.

It ordered Falcon, which is owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), to surrender 2.5 million Swiss francs (S$3.5 million) in illegally generated profits and warned that the bank's licence would be withdrawn in the event of a further breach.

MAS ruling had come in the wake of irregularities found in inspections conducted on the bank in 2013 and 2015. The 2013 inspection had found weaknesses in the banks controls related to client relationships and transactional checks that had led to breaches of AML requirements.

Falcon Bank paid a composition fine of S$300,000 for these breaches and was warned by MAS to strengthen its AML controls.

However, the 2015 inspection revealed an even larger number of regulatory breaches, as well as serious failings on the part of its head office senior management and the Singapore branch manager.

Story continues

MAS found "serious shortcomings in Falcon's risk management" in relation to US$3.8 billion (S$5.2 billion) of 1MDB-related funds that found their way into Falcon between 2012 and mid-2015. An MAS' spokesperson commented: These funds were generally moved on quickly. The business relationships and transactions booked in Switzerland and at Falcon's Singapore and Hong Kong branches were unusual and involved a high level of risk for the bank both through their nature and the amounts transacted."

These breaches were grave enough for the regulator to revoke the license of the merchant bank which was in its 9th year of operation in Singapore (operating since August 2008). Falcon Bank thus became the second private Swiss bank to lose its license in Singapore this year over fund flows linked to Malaysia's 1MDB after BSI Bank. BSIs local unit was shut down in May on account of financial irregularities and its officers were charged in connection with the probe.

Demystifying 1MDB







Source: Malaysia Chronicle

Source: Malaysia Chronicle

The 1MDB saga, which is now emerging as one of the most twisted political-financial scams of recent times, had a very humble beginning. Started in 2009 as a Government backed Investment Fund, 1MDBs (1 Malaysia Development Berhad) intended purpose was to raise foreign funds for wide-scale infrastructure development in Malaysia.

However, seven years later, investigations are unearthing huge sums of money flowing illegally into personal accounts in Malaysia and into dubious offshore accounts. Along with allegations on Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has consistently denied any wrong doing; several banks and investment companies across the globe have also come under the scanner.

There are probes related to 1MDB, investigating embezzlement and money laundering, in at least ten countries, including the US, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and closer home in Singapore and Malaysia. A Malaysian Parliamentary Committee probing the IMDB scam; has estimated irregular transactions to be worth a whopping S$4.2 billion.

In the United States, a lawsuit has been filed by the US Justice Departments (DoJ) to seize assets worth more than US$1billion, linked to 1MDB.

A July 2016 DoJs statement alleged, The stolen funds were laundered into the United States and used by the co-conspirators to acquire and invest in various assets. These assets allegedly included high-end real estate and hotel properties, works of art. and the production of the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.

In Singapore, besides the revocation of license of Swiss banks, two of the biggest banks DBS Bank and UBS have also been penalised for control lapses related to 1MDB fund flow.

MAS said that the control lapses observed at the two banks "relate to specific bank officers who failed to carry out their duties effectively". It also mentioned that "MAS inspections did not find pervasive control weaknesses within these banks. However, the two banks have been told "to investigate the lapses, promptly address the control deficiencies and take appropriate disciplinary measures against the staff involved".

As fresh facts about financial insobriety in relation to 1MDB emerge, the spotlight will be on the pace at which investigations are carried on and action taken against those involved in laundering funds intended for development purposes.

(By Puja Chandra Nanda)

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A furious Venezuelan opposition vowed mass street protests next week, accusing the Socialist government Friday of staging a coup by blocking efforts for a recall referendum against unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. With Maduro vowing to hold onto power, his opponents cranked up the heat in a stand-off that is destabilizing the volatile, oil-rich South American state, stricken by food shortages and violent crime. The opposition MUD coalition called for nationwide demonstrations from next Wednesday against the decision to annul a key stage in the referendum process. "A coup d'etat was carried out yesterday against all Venezuelans," Henrique Capriles, a leading MUD figure, told a press conference, shouting furiously. Authorities on Thursday quashed the opposition's main strategy to get rid of the man they accuse of driving the oil-rich country to the brink of economic collapse. The National Electoral Council (CNE) said it had indefinitely suspended the recall referendum process after criminal courts in five states ruled the opposition had committed fraud in an initial petition drive. - Nationwide protests - The opposition had been gearing up for the last hurdle in the complex process: a three-day drive starting next Wednesday to collect signatures from four million voters demanding a recall referendum. Now that the courts and electoral authorities have stymied that bid, Capriles said Wednesday would instead mark the start of a wave of street protests. "That day is going to be the beginning of a mobilization across the whole country," he said. "We will take Venezuela from end to end. People will be mobilized in every corner of our country to restore constitutional order." An opposition rally on September 1 drew hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Caracas. Capriles vowed next week's action would be more sustained. "We will mobilize as much as we have to," he said. Analysts have warned of a risk of violent unrest in this country of 30 million people. Hit by the fall in crude oil prices, the economy has crashed. Food shortages have sparked looting over recent months. Riots in 2014 left 43 people dead. "The referendum was going to be a pressure valve," said Jose Vicente Haro, a constitutional expert. "When the institutional paths are closed, there is a rise in violence and political conflict." The top heads of the armed forces have previously pledged loyalty to Maduro but Capriles has insinuated in the past that mid-ranking officers suffering in the crisis may feel differently. "I hope the patriotic military servicemen of our country will uphold the constitution," he said Friday. The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the decision to halt the referendum process. "By doing so, we believe the CNE prevents the Venezuelan people from exercising their important constitutional right," said State Department spokesman John Kirby. Maduro has accused Washington of plotting to overthrow him. He brands the crisis a capitalist conspiracy. - Travel bans - Capriles said he and seven other opposition figures had received court orders barring them from leaving the country. Maduro's camp hinted it would seek to have opposition leaders jailed over the alleged fraud. It has previously sidelined opponents by jailing them, such as Leopoldo Lopez, the leader of the anti-government protests in 2014. "Let us hope that those responsible will now be sought out and detained and go to prison for the deception they have committed," Maduro's number two, Diosdado Cabello, said in a speech. Public support for Maduro has crumbled under the pressure of a crippling recession, soaring inflation and widespread shortages of food, medicine and basic goods. A recent poll found more than 75 percent of Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro. The MUD says Maduro and his allies control the courts and electoral authorities and are using them to cling to power. Maduro accused the opposition of "gigantic fraud," in a speech before leaving on a tour of the Middle East. There he planned to push his plan for major oil producers to slash output, to boost prices in the hope of dragging Venezuela out of crisis.
Learn the Power of Personal Branding

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, its not enough to simply brand your business. You also need to consider your own personal branding. You can learn a bit about personal branding from the experts included in this post by Dipti Parmar on Preceptist .

Get Stuff Done With Productivity Tools

Want to get more done in less time? There are plenty of different productivity tools out there that entrepreneurs can benefit from. Some small business experts shared their favorites in this post on Tinas Blog. We were thrilled to have Small Business Trends publisher and CEO Anita Campbell included.

Network a Conference Like a Jedi

When attending conferences for your business, networking is a must. And if you really want to help your business, you need to learn how to network like a Jedi, which you can do with the tips in this Content Marketing Institute post by Aaron Orendorff. You can also see discussion surrounding the post over on BizSugar.

Protect Your Business from Phishing Scams

Phishing scams can really harm small businesses. But if you know how to protect your business and data, you can really decrease your chances of seeing any negative impact. This post by Ramon Ray of SmallBizTechnology includes some tips to help your small business avoid phishing scams.

Use These Tools to Guide the Blogging Process

Blogging isnt as simple as just jotting down a few thoughts and hitting publish. You need a strategy and a lot of help if you want your blog to be effective. Luckily, there are plenty of blogging tools available to help you create your own blogging process, as Neil Patel shares in this post.

Scope Out Your Competition With These Sneaky Strategies

Keeping an eye on the competition is essential if you want your business to be competitive. And there are some simple ways you can do just that, as outlined in this Small Business Marketing Tools post by Kevin Bartley. The BizSugar community also shares thoughts on the post.

Develop and Fulfill Your Philosophy for Top-Notch Web Content

Your idea of the perfect web content strategy isnt likely to look the same as anyone elses. And no other strategy is likely to work perfectly for your business. But you can develop your own philosophy and use it to make the best web content possible, as Neletha Skelton details in this Media Shower post.

Use Integrations to Increase Productivity

Since there are so many different business tools out there, choosing tools that can easily integrate with other tools can greatly increase your productivity. In this Duct Tape Marketing post and podcast, John Jantsch discusses integrations with Wade Foster. And BizSugar members talk about the post further too.

Add These Filters to Your Interview Process

If you want your business to be successful, you need to hire the best people. And that means you need to develop an interview process that is most likely to bring you those perfect candidates. This CorpNet post by Jeanne Grunert goes over some key parts of the hiring and interview process.

If youd like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.
Nepal, Republic of Korea hold third bilateral meeting

The third bilateral consultation meeting between Nepal and the Republic of Korea was held in the Kathmandu on Friday.


Common sense prevailed in Portugal today, as contest organisers upped sticks and moved the MEO Rip Curl Pro from the usual Supertubos venue to a nearby sand-bank where conditions were far superior.

The remainder of Round 2 and all of Round 3 were thus completed in overhead left-handers that offered long, rippable walls interspersed with the occasional barrel section. Its been pumping for three days and weve been sitting at Supertubos watching close-outs, said Ace Buchan following his loss to Matt Banting in the days first heat. Its meant to be the worlds best surfers in the worlds best waves, and this is meant to be a mobile event, and to be frank this move has come two days too late.

Gabriel Medina was the days most significant casualty, the world number 2 succumbing in the third round to an in-form Jeremy Flores, who had already eliminated third-placed Matt Wilkinson earlier in the contest. Medinas loss means John John Florence, who beat wildcard Frederico Morais in his Round 3 heat, will extend his lead at the top of rankings. Its now possible for Florence to clinch the world title here in Portugal, but he will have to reach the final to do so. If Jordy Smith also makes the final, John John must beat him to avoid a Pipeline finale.

Smith was one of the days standout performers, his 9.70 in the last heat of the day equalling the previous high-score of the event set by Michel Bourez earlier in the round. Bourez, another powerful regular-foot, was in action twice today, overcoming Jack Freestone in Round 2 before comfortably defeating Caio Ibelli to book a spot in the final twelve. Joel Parkinson also impressed, negotiating the barrel of the day for a 9.33, as did Miguel Pupo, who put a definitive end to Kelly Slaters belated title campaign. Filipe Toledo was the other big name to miss out on a place in Round 4.
Awards

Rice U, SXSWedu Open Rather Prize to Improve Texas Education

Rice University in Texas has once again teamed up with conference and festival organizer SXSWedu to host a competition to improve the states K12 education system.

Founded in August 2015, the Rather Prize is backed by journalist Dan Rather and his grandson Martin Rather. The award identifies and implements courageous local-level ideas from educators and students, according the competition website.

Winners will receive:

A $10,000 educational grant from the Rather Prize;

An additional $10,000 from Rice Us Center for Civic Leadership to implement their idea; and

An all-expenses paid trip to present their idea at the seventh annual SXSWedu Festival in March 2017.

Last year, Eastside Memorial High School in Austin Independent School District won the inaugural prize for its proposed mentorship program. The school received $10,000 for its STEP Up Challenge, a project that helps prepare students for college and strengthens matriculation strategies for minority and underrepresented populations.

Any Texas teacher, student or administrator can submit an idea until Dec. 31 on the Rather Prize site.
LONDON  British American Tobacco has offered to buy out Reynolds American Inc. for $47 billion in an attempt to gain a strong presence in the U.S., a lucrative market where sales of electronic cigarettes are booming as traditional smoking fades.

The takeover would create the worlds largest publicly traded tobacco company and combine BATs presence in developing countries, where anti-smoking campaigns are not as strong as in the U.S. and Europe, with Reynolds almost exclusive focus on the U.S.

BAT already owns 42 percent of Reynolds and sells Dunhill, Rothmans and Lucky Strike cigarettes. Reynolds controls about a third of the U.S. market with brands like Newport, Camel and Pall Mall.

Though smoking in the U.S. is declining, it remains the largest global profit pool outside of China, BAT said in a statement Friday. The U.S. is one of the biggest markets for e-cigarettes.

BAT and Reynolds American have a strong existing relationship, and while cost savings will be relatively modest, the full access this acquisition would give BAT to the U.S.  a lucrative, consolidated market with high barriers to entry  means it makes eminent sense, Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco at Euromonitor International, said by e-mail.

The British company offered Friday to buy the Reynolds shares it doesnt already own for the equivalent of $56.50 each, 20 percent more than Thursdays closing price. Investors would receive $24.13 in cash and 0.5502 of a BAT share for each Reynolds share they own. That values Reynolds, based in Winston Salem, North Carolina, at $93 billion.

Reynolds shares jumped 13.5 percent to $53.50 in in New York, while BAT edged down 0.3 percent to 47.88 pounds in London.

The deal is the latest attempted merger in the industry as tobacco companies face weakening demand in developed markets. Only last year, Reynolds American acquired Lorillard, the maker of Newport, the U.S.s best-selling menthol cigarette brand.

Reynolds traces its roots to 1875, when Richard Joshua Reynolds started a chewing tobacco company in what was then Winston, North Carolina. The companys links with British American Tobacco date to 2004, when R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. merged with BATs Brown & Williamson unit, creating Reynolds American. BAT was left with a 42 percent stake in the new company.

The two companies already have a technology-sharing agreement in the development of electronic cigarettes.

The merger is the logical progression in our relationship and offers all shareholders a stake in a stronger, truly global tobacco and next generation products company, Chief Executive Nicandro Durante said in a statement.

Reynolds said in a statement that it will evaluate the offer.

Tobacco companies are particularly keen to expand in developing countries to make up for weaker sales in Europe and the U.S. The industry has been grappling with widespread anti-smoking campaigns that have forced companies like BAT and Reynolds to diversify into nicotine replacements and e-cigarettes to meet consumer health concerns.

It also comes only months after Britain instituted plain packaging rules for cigarettes. The idea is to ruin the allure of cigarettes created by advertising and prevent a new generation from taking up the habit.

Reynolds warned in a 2016 filing that if its companies are not able to develop, produce or market new alternative products profitably, the results of operations, cash flows and financial positions  could be adversely affected.

The markets in which these firms are the dominant players are declining, and they face ever increasing competition from Asia in seeking to develop new markets, said Nigel Driffield, professor of international business at Warwick Business School in England.

Asian tobacco companies face less public pressure over increasing sales in developing markets, where public health regulation may not be as strict, he said.

But the U.S. remains an important market. Owen Bennett, an equity analyst at Jefferies International, underscored that the United States currently accounts for 45 percent of global sales of e-cigarettes, also known as vapor cigarettes.

If vapor accelerates as we expect, then the U.S. is the place to be, he said. The deal would also give BAT the best exposure to global e-vapor development.

BAT employs more than 50,000 people globally while Reynolds employs 5,700, mostly in the U.S.

The planned merger would create a company likely to overtake Philip Morris International Inc. as the worlds biggest publicly traded tobacco company. But Chinas National Tobacco Corp. is bigger than BAT and Reynolds both combined, Euromonitor International data showed.

BAT, founded in 1902, sold 663 billion cigarettes in more than 200 countries last year and generated revenue of 13.1 billion pounds ($16 billion). Reynolds shipped 76 billion cigarettes last year and reported sales of $10.7 billion.
ALPINE, Texas  The family of a missing Sul Ross State University student says the reward for information leading to her whereabouts or safe return has grown to $100,000.

Alpine police say searchers in the air, on foot and on horseback are looking for 22-year-old Zuzu Verk of Fort Worth. The junior has been missing since Oct. 12.

Sul Ross State has about 2,100 students. President Bill Kibler on Thursday released a statement saying Verks disappearance has deeply affected the entire campus community, plus the surrounding area.

School spokesman Steve Lang on Friday said students, faculty and staff have taken part in voluntary searches coordinated through Alpine police.

Investigators have said Verk could be in danger. Police didnt release additional details.

Alpine is 210 miles southeast of El Paso.

___

Online:

https://www.facebook.com/alpinetxpd/
BALTIMORE  A former National Security Agency contractor accused in a massive theft of classified information will remain in custody as prosecutors continue building a criminal case against him, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite agreed with prosecutors that Harold T. Martin III of Glen Burnie, Maryland, represented a flight risk if released and said there was no doubt that the top secret information he was accused of stealing over two decades is something this countrys enemies would love to explore.

Martins lawyers foreshadowed their upcoming defense, describing him as a compulsive hoarder and saying there was no evidence he ever shared the information with a foreign country or even intended to do so.

Hes not Edward Snowden, said James Wyda, the federal defender representing Martin, referring to the former NSA contractor who three years ago disclosed to journalists secret information about government surveillance programs.

Wyda said Martin, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant, never intended to harm his country and was instead a voracious learner who got carried away over the years as he took home documents in a perhaps misguided effort to be as skilled at his job as he could be. He suggested Martin grappled with mental health issues.

This was not spycraft behavior, Wyda said. This is not how a Russian spy or something like that would ever conduct himself.

This, he added, was the behavior of a compulsive hoarder.

The Justice Department presented a vastly different portrait.

Prosecutors have said FBI agents who searched Martins home and car in August found evidence of a breathtaking theft of top secret government information. Investigators found records dated from 1996 to 2016, seized dozens of computers and digital storage devices and, all told, recovered some 50 terabytes of information  or enough to fill roughly 200 laptops. A substantial amount of that information, prosecutors said, was highly classified.

There is no reason to believe that the defendant would have ever stopped but for the intervention of law enforcement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers said.

Myers said Martins knowledge of secret government programs could make him a high-value recruitment target from foreign intelligence services. Prosecutors have said he has been communicating online in foreign languages, including Russian.

A complaint unsealed earlier this month charged Martin with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, which together carry a combined maximum of 11 years in prison. But Myers said in court Friday that the Justice Department has evidence to bring additional charges under the Espionage Act, which would expose Martin to far more severe penalties if convicted.

Though authorities are still reviewing the records to determine the appropriate classification level, they say they already have found many that are clearly marked as classified  including one top secret email chain that appeared to have been printed off Martins government account.

The document contained handwritten notes on the back regarding the NSAs classified computer infrastructure and descriptions of classified technical operations. The notes include basic concepts of classified operations, as if written for an audience outside of the Intelligence Community unfamiliar with the details of its operations, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Another classified document marked as Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information concerned specific operational plans against a known enemy of the United States and its allies, the Justice Department alleged.

Martin was arrested around the same time federal officials acknowledged an investigation into a cyberleak of purported hacking tools used by the NSA. Those documents were leaked by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, but there is nothing in court filings  and nothing said in court Friday  that connects Martin to that group.

Wyda, his lawyer, said the government had presented no evidence that ties Martin to any foreign power. And he said it was unfair to keep Martin in custody on a speculative concern that he might somehow come in contact with another nation.

This sounds like something I would have heard in a presidential debate, he said. This is beneath us.

He said after court that he and Martins family were disappointed in the judges ruling and would appeal.

Martin, like Snowden, worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton. The company has said hes since been fired.

___

Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
Nepali student dies in Australia

A Nepali youth studying in Perth, Australia died Thursday morning while undergoing treatment after collapsing on a road while going to work.
AUSTIN, Texas  Investor fraud accusations against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are back in federal court, at least for now, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday refiled a civil lawsuit against the Republican that a judge previously dismissed.

Paxton is also fighting separate criminal charges of securities fraud, which carry a possible prison sentence of 5 to 99 years, and the do-over by the SEC again puts Texas top prosecutor battling nearly identical cases at once.

Paxton had recruited wealthy investors for a high-tech startup called Servergy Inc. in 2011, when he was still a state legislator, and both the SEC and criminal prosecutors say he misled those investors by not disclosing that the company was paying him.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, however, ruled this month that Paxton was under no obligation to disclose his arrangement and said the SEC lacked evidence of fraud. But rather than drop their case against Paxton, federal regulators took Mazzant up on his offer to let them hone their arguments and try again.

Paxton attorney Matthew Martens said he was disappointed by the SECs decision to go back to court given the concerns Mazzant raised the first time around.

Unlike in federal court, Paxton hasnt been able to convince a state court to dismiss the criminal charges against him. That includes the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the same Republican-dominated panel that earlier this year threw out felony abuse-of-power charges against former Gov. Rick Perry.

Paxton was indicted on two felony counts of securities fraud in July 2015, just six months after becoming attorney general, and would likely stand trial next year at the earliest.
Opponents of the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project filed an emergency motion this week asking a federal appeals court to order a halt to the construction that began Monday.

They say the work  demolishing medians and making other changes to prepare Central Avenue for the project  has proven their point: Reducing the number of lanes has triggered intense traffic congestion along the corridor.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit also say the Federal Transit Administration hasnt approved the final grant necessary to fund the project, making the citys work premature.

Now, as a result of lane closures that will become permanent when ART is complete, Central Avenue is a lengthy traffic jam and the city is encouraging drivers to seek alternative routes, attorneys John Boyd and Yolanda Gallegos wrote in their motion.

Mayor Richard Berrys administration, in turn, says the city is following the same process as every other similar project funded by the FTA, not acting prematurely.

And the traffic conditions this week arent an accurate prediction of what they will be like when the new bus system is running, said Michael Riordan, Albuquerques chief operations officer. People always drive slower during construction, he said, and the timing of traffic signals hasnt been adjusted.

The opposition has not offered any new evidence that would support a stop to construction of this project that has been approved by our City Council, FTA, and U.S. District Court, Riordan said.

The city will respond in court next week.

The motion is part of litigation that began in April. A federal district judge and then the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals each refused to prevent the city from starting construction, though the opponents appeal is still pending.

The project aims to create a nine-mile network of bus-only lanes and bus stops in the middle of Central Avenue, between Louisiana and Coors.

To make room for the project, crews are removing medians from Central Avenue because the bus will generally run in the middle of the roadway. Throughout much of the route, there will be one lane fewer available for general traffic because of the bus lanes.
If anybody has a right to denounce pit bulls, its Angie Hands.

She was 9 when four of them ripped into her tiny body in the mud near her Tijeras home until her grandfather called them off.

The dogs, muscular, massive-jawed and trained for fighting, had escaped from their yard March 19, 1984.

Hands nearly died. It took 30 surgeries to put her back together again. Thirty-two years later, she still bears the scars of that mauling.

But she bears no ill will toward pit bulls.

So when controversy arose this month over the little-known Tijeras ban against pit bulls  the ban her attack had inspired  it seemed appropriate to ask Hands, now 42, what she has to say about it.

What she says might surprise you.

But first, you need to meet Brewskey.

Hes a handsome boy, described by owner Katrina Flanagan as half black Labrador and half American bulldog, medium-sized and mellow. She brought him home 1 years ago from a local rescue group and learned how to train him to be son Conors service animal.

Conor, 10, was born with apraxia, a rare neurological disorder that affects speech and motor functioning and has delayed his mental and emotional development.

Brewskey, she said, is trained to cue into Conors emotional state, to lead him into quiet areas if need be, to help him understand when he needs to calm down.

Brewskey is his best friend, Flanagan said. Hes a constant positive force in Conors life. He has helped Conor to develop a new capacity for handling social situations. It means Conor doesnt have to be on medication all the time.

The Flanagans have lived within the 1.16-square-mile village of Tijeras limits for five years without incident  and without knowing about the villages ban on pit bulls and pit bull crosses.

The ordinance, implemented two months after Hands attack in 1984 by then-Mayor Felix Garcia, gives the village authority to impound or destroy any pit bull found within its limits.

No one might have noticed Brewskey were it not for his recent encounter with village Water Department operators Melvin Garcia and Flaviano Sanchez.

Nicole Maxwell, my colleague from the East Mountain Telegraph, reports that one of the men said he was chased by the dog and the other heard it barking in an intimidating way. The barking stopped when Flanagan told Brewskey to stop and return to the house.

Further details are unclear. Mayor Gloria Chavez said its possible the dog was loose. But Flanagan said her property has a fenced yard and Brewskey is not left outside if the family isnt home.

The encounter generated a terse letter from the Village of Tijeras saying that the dog was in violation of the ordinance and could be put to death.

But the mayor said no dog has ever been killed under the ordinance and that other violators have simply placed the pit bulls elsewhere.

On Oct. 11, Flanagan appeared before the five-member Village Council to plead Brewskeys case. A vote on the matter was tabled until Nov. 14 so that more information  and more public comment  can be gathered.

Already, the line is being drawn between those on the council who not only want to allow Brewskey to live but want the pit bull ban overturned and those who want to keep the ban as is.

Of the former is Councilor Jake Bruton, who calls the ban unworkable and unnecessary.

I do not think any particular breed is more aggressive than another,  he said. I believe it is how you raise the dog. Its the owner who needs to be held accountable, and our vicious animal ordinance already covers that.

Bruton said he has observed Brewskey and found the dog to be well-behaved.

He is also aware of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, which says that municipalities that prohibit specific breeds of dogs must make an exception for a service animal of a prohibited breed, unless the dog poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

Really, by that standard alone, there is nothing we can do against Brewskey, he said.

On the opposite end of the debate is the originator of the ban, Felix Garcia, now a village councilor. Garcia was like a second father to Hands when she was a child because his wife was her baby-sitter. To him, the ban is personal.

I can see no reason to get rid of this ban, he said.

But Hands, reached at her home in Washington, said Garcia is wrong on the ban and wrong on pit bulls.

I was anti-breed for a long time, she said. But I did my research. I know it is not the breed but the owner and the way the dog was raised. I have friends who have pitties, one who brings hers over all the time to play with my dogs. I owned one.

Hands has a message for the Flanagans: Fight for Brewskey.

Garcia appeared flustered when told of Hands stance, but he refused to say whether he might change his mind about Brewskey or the ban.

Its going to be up to our lawyer and us five councilors, he said.

It will take three of them to overturn the ban  and that after the public weighs in. The mayor said she has received numerous emails and phone calls, many angrily denouncing the ban, some asking to keep it.

People can be heated up, but we all need to work together to serve the people of the village, she said. Maybe it is time to look at the ban again to see if maybe we can tweak it a little once we get input from residents.

Tijeras was the first in the nation to enact a municipal ban against pit bulls. Since then, dozens of municipalities across the country have enacted similar laws.

But that is changing in the pit bulls favor.

We are seeing a vast number of repeals of the ban across the country, said Ledy VanKavage, senior legislative attorney for Best Friends Animal Society, a national group that has taken an interest in Brewskeys case. Twenty states now prohibit breed-discriminatory laws. For one thing, it is difficult to determine the actual heritage of the breed, even with DNA evidence. Its also expensive to enforce, it violates the rights of responsible dog owners and it isnt a way to keep a community safe.

Meanwhile, Brewskey remains at home with the boy who loves him and the mother who plans to fight for them both.

Honestly, if I thought it would help Conor continue to make positive strides, Id get him a service kangaroo, Flanagan said. Brewskey is our chance to keep going.

UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.

More information

Village of Tijeras Council meeting: Begins 5 p.m. Nov. 14 with workshop on pit bull ban, 6 p.m. with council meeting, Tijeras Village Hall, 12 Camino Municipal. You do not need to be village resident to speak or show up.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day

Free education, resources, products and services sponsored by Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department to bring awareness and change perceptions and stereotypes of pit bull-type dogs.

Includes $10 adoption fee for all pets, free photo with adoption at West Side shelter, spay/neuter coupons for pit bulls/mixes, microchipping, classes, dog food and toys, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, east side shelter at 8920 Lomas NE and West Side shelter at 11800 Sunset Gardens SW; 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lucky Paws in Coronado mall.
SANTA FE  Nearly 62,000 New Mexicans have already cast ballots by mail or in person during the first nine days of early voting, in advance of todays opening of expanded early voting at designated vote centers around the state.

There are 18 such centers in both Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, five in Santa Fe County, three in Valencia County and one in Torrance County. Those figures dont include county clerks offices  or designated alternative sites  that will also remain open for early voting through Nov. 5.

In what some election workers and observers are calling unprecedented early turnout so far, registered Democrats appear to be voting at a higher clip than Republicans with just over two weeks left until Election Day.

However, its unclear whether the heavy voting  more than 11 percent of registered voters have already cast ballots in three New Mexico counties  is a predictor of a big general election turnout on Nov. 8 or just a sign that an increasing percentage of voters are taking advantage of early and absentee voting.

Longtime New Mexico political observer Brian Sanderoff, the president of Research & Polling Inc., called voting levels robust and said a combination of voter enthusiasm and coordinated get out the vote efforts could be driving people, particularly Democrats, to the polls this year.

But he also cautioned against reading too much into the early voting numbers.

More and more people are voting before Election Day, but that does not necessarily mean higher overall voter turnout, Sanderoff said Friday.

A total of 47,993 New Mexicans had cast ballots statewide via early voting as of the end of business Thursday, according to the Secretary of States Office. Thats in addition to 13,755 voters who had requested and returned absentee ballots.

In Bernalillo County, the states most populous county, the early vote figure of 5,467 as of midday Friday was up significantly  by about 46 percent  from the same time period in 2012, the most recent presidential election year, according to the Bernalillo County Clerks office.

And other counties have had even higher turnout rates.

In Grant County, where more than 12 percent of registered voters had cast ballots as of Thursday, County Clerk Robert Zamarripa called the opening stanza of early voting phenomenal for turnout.

Weve never had 50 percent voter turnout in Grant County, but if these numbers continue, we might get there (this year), he told the Journal .

Zamarripa also said he believes interest in this years general election is being driven not only by the closely watched presidential race but also by competitive down-ballot races for County Commission and the Legislature.

Statewide, 27,728 Democrats and 14,649 Republicans had voted early in person, with the rest of the ballots cast either by independent voters who decline to state a party affiliation or those affiliated with minor political parties, according to the Secretary of States Office.

Although there are more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, a greater percentage of Democrats had cast votes than Republicans, which could be a good sign for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and other Democrats running for elected office in the state.

However, New Mexico no longer has the option of straight-party ticket voting  it was eliminated in 2012 by then-Secretary of State Dianna Duran  and its unclear how many voters might be voting only in certain races or mixing their ballots by voting for candidates of different parties in different races.

Expanded voting

The expanded early voting that starts today in New Mexico is intended to make it easier to cast ballots, especially in sprawling counties in which some voters live far from the county clerks office.

Meanwhile, early voting  by mail or at polling stations  is also off to a fast start nationally. More than 4.2 million votes have been cast already, far outpacing the rate for this period in 2012. Balloting is underway around the country in 34 out of 37 early-voting states.

In all, more than 45 million people are expected to vote before Election Day  or as much as 40 percent of all votes cast.

Clinton appears to be displaying strength in the crucial battleground states of North Carolina and Florida among voters casting ballots before Election Day, and may also be building an early vote advantage in Arizona and Colorado.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, meanwhile, appears to be holding ground in Ohio, Iowa and Georgia. Those are important states for Trump, but not sufficient for him to win the presidency if he loses states like Florida or North Carolina.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Where to vote

Expanded early voting at designated vote centers begins today around New Mexico and runs through Nov. 5.

Pre-election Day Voting as of 10-20-2016 by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd




Monday was a cold, windy, autumnal day in North Dakota. We arrived outside the Morton County Courthouse in Mandan to produce a live broadcast of the Democracy Now! news hour.

Originally, the location was dictated by the schedule imposed upon us by the local authorities; one of us (Amy) had been charged with criminal trespass for Democracy Now!s reporting on the Dakota Access Pipeline companys violent attack on Native Americans who were attempting to block the destruction of sacred sites just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Pipeline guards unleashed pepper spray and dogs on the land and water defenders. Democracy Now! video showed one of the attack dogs with blood dripping from its nose and mouth. The video went viral, attracting more than 14 million views on Facebook alone. Five days later, North Dakota issued the arrest warrant.

When responding to an arrest warrant, one must surrender to the jail by about 8 a.m. if one hopes to see a judge that day and avoid a night in jail. So we planned to broadcast live from 7-8 a.m., then head to the jail promptly at 8 a.m. to get processed through the jail and fight the trespass charge in court.

To our surprise, as we landed in Bismarck on Friday, we learned that the prosecutor, Ladd Erickson, had dropped the trespass charge, but filed a new one: riot. We were stunned.

In an email to both the prosecutor and our defense attorney, Tom Dickson, Judge John Grinsteiner wrote, The new complaints, affidavits, and summons are quite lengthy and I will review those for probable cause on Monday when I get back into the office.

We spent the weekend reporting on the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, with the threat of the riot charge never far from our minds. The 1,100-mile-long, $3.8 billion pipeline is designed to carry almost 500,000 barrels of crude oil from the fracking oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, then onward to the Gulf of Mexico.

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier runs the jail in Mandan and is responsible for how people are processed there. As the protests have mounted during the past six months, Kirchmeier and the local prosecutors have been leveling more and more serious charges against the land and water protectors, with an increasing number of felony charges. More than 140 people have been arrested so far.

Those we spoke to told us a shocking detail: When getting booked at the jail, they were all strip-searched, forced to squat and cough to demonstrate they had nothing hidden in their rectums, then were put in orange jumpsuits.

As we prepared to enter the courthouse for arraignment on Monday, 200 people rallied in support of a free press, demanding the charges be dropped. A row of close to 60 riot police were lined up in a needless display of force in front of a peaceful gathering, threatening to arrest anyone who stepped off the curb.

Then word came from our lawyer: The judge had refused to sign off on the riot charge. The case was dismissed, and we marked an important victory for a free press.

The free press should now focus a fierce spotlight on the standoff at Standing Rock  a critical front in the global struggle to combat global warming and fight for climate justice.

Indigenous people and their non-native allies are confronting corporate power, backed up by the state with an increasingly militarized police force. Attempts to criminalize nonviolent land and water defenders, humiliate them and arrest journalists should not pave the way for this pipeline.
Editors note: This is part of a series of stories about New Mexico election races.

SANTA FE  Republicans were elated in 2010 when their candidate ended an 80-year drought and won the Secretary of States Office  only to see it come crashing down when Dianna Duran resigned in disgrace in the middle of her second term after breaking the same laws she was charged with overseeing.

As voters decide who should fill out the final two years of that term, the Duran mess hangs over the race between Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Republican Nora Espinoza.

Toulouse Oliver, the Bernalillo County clerk, puts the Duran episode front and center and says New Mexicos third-highest office has been left to languish for years without proper administration.

Durans improper use of campaign funds to fuel a gambling habit wasnt the first scandal for the office.

It was tainted by misconduct and allegations of wrongdoing under Durans two Democratic predecessors, and Duran won in 2010 after weary Dems crossed over to vote for a candidate who promised to restore integrity.

Espinoza, a state House member from Roswell, complains that Toulouse Oliver has made the race about Duran.

I am the one on the ballot, the Republican nominee reminds voters.

But like Duran, Espinoza is a forceful advocate for requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls, which Toulouse Oliver opposes. Duran was fixated on voter fraud, and Espinoza says thats the most important issue of the election. Espinoza, as did Duran, opposes same-day voter registration, which Toulouse Oliver favors.

And Espinozas campaign manager, Republican former state Sen. Rod Adair of Roswell, also worked for Durans campaign and held a high-level position in her office.

Toulouse Oliver says she is running to put integrity, transparency and trust back in the office.

Espinoza says she is a candidate because I believe in the sanctity of each individual vote, that not one vote should be stolen, not one person disenfranchised.

High-profile race

This years off-cycle election has made the race for secretary of state the premier state battle on a ballot that is topped by the volatile presidential race.

Toulouse Oliver has sought to tie Espinoza to the Republican presidential nominee, calling her our own version of Donald Trump. Democrats have criticized Espinoza for not denouncing Trump.

Espinoza says she wont comment on other candidates or races because that would politicize the office shes running for. She contends Toulouse Oliver would be a political animal in the Secretary of States Office, while she instead would have a purely administrative approach.

Each candidate paints the other as too extreme.

Espinoza calls her opponent an ideological activist and repeatedly brings up her support from billionaire George Soros, who backs progressive causes. She also criticizes the shuffling of money among political action committees on behalf of Toulouse Olivers candidacy, saying it obscures the sources of the funds.

Toulouse Oliver points to bills Espinoza sponsored that would have restricted abortions and allowed businesses to refuse to serve gay and transgender people, and calls her one of the most extreme members of the Legislature in recent years. Democrats also criticized the GOP lawmaker for proposing legislation to prohibit the enforcement of federal gun laws in New Mexico.

The Democratic nominee, who says that as secretary of state she would advocate for creation of a statewide ethics commission, also faults Espinoza for not being on the House floor during a vote on ethics commission legislation this year. Espinoza says she was meeting with constituents at the time.

The Republican nominee says that before an ethics commission is considered, the current campaign finance law should be updated and brought in line with court decisions, so that its enforceable and a commission would have something to administer.

Issues

Toulouse Oliver, who ran unsuccessfully against Duran two years ago, has been Bernalillo County clerk since 2007 and says she has improved and modernized elections  making voting more accessible  in the county where more than one-third of New Mexicos voters live.

But Espinoza says the Democrats focus on outreach would mean registering anybody, whether they are U.S. citizens or not U.S. citizens.

She also criticized a recent mailing from current Secretary of State Brad Winters office to nearly 460,000 New Mexicans who appear to be eligible to vote but arent on the voter rolls, saying it could lead to noncitizens being registered and voting.

Winter, a Republican, was appointed last year by Gov. Susana Martinez after Durans resignation. He didnt run for the office this year.

Espinoza has attacked the clerks record. For example, a batch of uncounted absentee ballots were discovered three weeks after the 2012 election. Toulouse Oliver says they were promptly reported and ultimately counted.

Being an elections administrator doesnt mean things go perfectly. Elections are not a perfect process. What you have to do is, when problems arise, you have to address them immediately and take responsibility and do everything in your power to fix them, and thats what we did, Toulouse Oliver said at a recent candidate debate.

Espinoza is critical of the clerks recent mailing to Bernalillo County voters of cards with bar codes, which Toulouse Oliver says can be used by election officials to more quickly pull up voters records at the polls. The GOP candidate contends that multiple cards have been mailed to a single address, the practice opens the door to fraud, and the clerk was not authorized by law to do the mailing.

Amid the contentiousness, the candidates do agree on one thing: The current online campaign finance information system in the Secretary of States Office needs an overhaul to make it more transparent and user-friendly.

In a Journal Poll of 501 likely voters conducted at the end of September, Toulouse Oliver led Espinoza 45 percent to 31 percent, with 24 percent undecided.
Oli cancels Bangladesh visit

In the changed political scenario following the registration of an impeachment motion against Chairman of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki, former prime minister and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has cancelled his scheduled visit to Bangladesh.
PM, Deuba discuss Lokmans impeachment

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba held a meeting on Saturday to discuss impeachment motion registered at Legislature Parliament against CIAA Chief Lokman Singh Karki.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has described North Korea's government as "an illegal and illegitimate regime".

Mr Kerry used the unusually tough language as he met Kuwait foreign minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah on Friday and credited the Gulf nation for its efforts in countering the North's proliferation activities.
Turkish bombing in Syria threatens wider war by WSWS

The threat of the US military intervention in Iraq and Syria erupting into a far wider war has increased sharply in the wake of a series of Turkish air strikes against Syrian Kurdish militia forces that are aligned with Washington.

The Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reported that Turkish war planes carried out 26 strikes against 18 separate targets in northern Syria this week, killing as many as 200 fighters of the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG.



The Kurdish militia, however, said the number killed was 15, including civilians. The bombing raids, which began late Wednesday, continued throughout Thursday.



The air strikes were followed on Friday by an intense Turkish bombardment of Kurdish YPG positions in the northern Aleppo countryside. Kurdish sources reported that more than 150 rockets struck the area, which the YPG had previously taken from the Islamic State (ISIS).



Whatever the real death toll, these attacks mark a major escalation in the Turkish military intervention in Syria, begun in August with an invasion dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield.



The air strikes prompted an angry response from the Syrian government, which vowed to shoot down Turkish warplanes should they carry out more raids on Syrian territory. Any attempt to once again breach Syrian airspace by Turkish warplanes will be dealt with and they will be brought down by all means available, the Syrian army command warned in a statement Friday.



For his part, Erdogan has indicated that Turkey will continue the cross-border attacks. We will not wait for troubles to come knocking on our door, Erdogan declared in advance of the air strikes in Syria. We will see to it that the threats are destroyed, resolved at their source.



These developments have ratcheted up international tensions over the Syrian conflict to their highest level since last November, when Turkish warplanes ambushed and shot down a Russian jet carrying out operations against Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militias on the Syrian-Turkish border.



In the event that Syria were to begin shooting down Turkish planes, Ankara could invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter requiring the US and other members of NATO to come to Turkeys defense, unleashing an international war pitting NATO against not only Syria, but also its ally Russia, the worlds second-largest nuclear power.



At the heart of these tensions lie the fractious set of allies Washington has brought into the simultaneous interventions in both Iraq and Syria. While ostensibly these various state and non-state actors are united in a common struggle to defeat ISIS, in reality they are each pursuing their own mutually antagonistic interests.



US imperialism itself is seeking to carry out regime change in Syria, employing Islamist militias as proxy forces, while utilizing the anti-ISIS campaign in neighboring Iraq to consolidate its control of bases and secure the permanent deployment of US military forces in the oil-rich country.



At the same time, Washington has recruited the assistance of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as the main ground force in attacking ISIS positions in Syria. This has antagonized Turkey, which has intervened in Syria on the pretext of combating ISIS, but has directed its main fire against the Kurds.



This weeks attacks are aimed at dislodging Kurdish forces west of the Euphrates River and preventing the linking up of the Kurdish cantons of Afrin in the west and Kobani in the east, which would lay the basis for the creation of a Kurdish autonomous zone along Turkeys border. The Turkish government has expressed fear that territorial gains by the Syrian Kurdish forces will strengthen the demand of Turkeys own repressed Kurdish population for autonomy.



In the midst of the deadly combat between Washingtons supposed allies in the struggle against ISIS, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter flew to Ankara on Friday for talks with the Turkish government on both Syria and Iraq. Carters remarks in Turkey appeared aimed at smoothing over tensions with Ankara, which have deepened since the abortive July 15 military coup against Erdogan, which many in Turkey believe was supported by the US. Washington, the US defense secretary said, would continue to stand side-by-side with our NATO ally against shared threats.



Carter also stated that there was an agreement in principle to allow Turkeys participation in the ongoing siege of Mosul in northern Iraq. Iraq understands that Turkey, as a member of the counter-ISIL [ISIS] coalition, will play a role in counter-ISIL operations in Iraq, and, secondly, that Turkey, since it neighbors the region of Mosul, has an interest [in] the ultimate outcome in Mosul, he said.



Erdogan has expressed Turkeys interest in Mosul by invoking century-old Turkish claims of sovereignty over the area.



Carters claim of an agreement was countered almost immediately by the Iraqi government, which had earlier indicated that it would attack any Turkish forces attempting to advance on the city. I am unable to comment on Carters statement as we are unaware of any agreement to allow Turkish troops on Iraqi soil until now, an Iraqi government spokesman said.



This is only one of the many conflicts that are surfacing in the offensive in Iraq, which has brought the mutually hostile forces of the Iraqi army, Shia sectarian militias, the Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal forces and Turkey onto the same battlefield. The ostensible objective is to drive ISIS out of the city.



There are increasing reports, however, that this is taking place, at least in part, through a deliberate funneling of the Islamist fighters into Syria, where they can be employed in the war for regime-change against the government of Bashar al-Assad. CNN reported that fighters, together with their families, have already begun arriving in the Syrian city of Raqqa.



It appears ever more likely that victory in Mosul, to be achieved by reducing the city to rubble and inflicting massive casualties on its civilian population, will only set the stage for a new and even more bitter conflict between the rival forces laying claim to northern Iraq and its oil wealth.



Washington and its allies are preparing for the slaughter with repeated warnings that ISIS is using the population of Mosul as human shields, thereby advancing an alibi for the mass murder of civilians in the bombardment of the city. The kinds of crimes that are being carried out was spelled out Friday with a report from northern Iraq that an air strike killed 15 women visiting a Shia shrine near the city of Kirkuk, which was the scene Friday of a series of terror attacks by ISIS. The US and its allies are the only ones carrying out bombing raids in the vicinity.



While the media parrots the line about human shields in Mosul and ignores the atrocities being carried out in the course of the offensive there, it adopts the exact opposite attitude toward events 300 miles to the west, in Aleppo. Denunciations of Syria and its ally Russia for war crimes in connection with the intense bombardment of eastern Aleppo, which is controlled by Al Qaeda-linked militias, continued even as a suspension of air strikes went into its second day on Friday and eight corridors were set up to allow civilians to leave the besieged neighborhoods.



Exceedingly few people have taken advantage of the opportunity to leave. Those that have report that the Islamist militias have used force, including live fire, to disperse those seeking to escape, and that 14 local officials who urged residents to flee were publicly executed. These reports have evoked no expression of indignation from the Western media, nor any suggestion that Washingtons proxy forces are exploiting the civilian population as human shields.
The charitys five-year strategy plan, launched yesterday, focuses on the housing needs of vulnerable young people leaving institutional care settings and those with complex needs.

Chief executive of the trust, Pat Doyle, said they currently had 165 housing units, 350 shelter beds and 90 hostel beds but now wanted to focus on a long-term solution.

When we are launching our next strategic plan in five years time we want to have more housing units than shelter beds.

We are not reducing the shelter beds because they are still needed at the moment but the emphasis will be on housing, said Mr Doyle.

Last year the charity provided 4,221 residential places and helped 171 people to exit homelessness. Of the people supported, 81% were struggling with drug addiction while 60% had a mental health problem.

The average age of individuals supported by the charity is 31, and 74% are male.

Mr Doyle said doubling its housing provision would mean it could play a significant role in the delivery of Housing First, a model for tackling homelessness adapted from the Pathways to Housing created by homeless expert Sam Tsembis.

The model has been widely used in the US and, more recently, has been adopted by homeless agencies in Australia, Canada, Japan and throughout Europe.

It focuses on the immediate provision of long term/permanent accommodation for the homelessness, with supports and services built around the needs of each individual.

At present, we have a major Housing First programme with rough sleepers. Our aim now is to extend this approach to target young people and people leaving prisons and hospitals, he said.

Mr Doyle said young people from severely deprived areas, where there were high rates of early school leaving and no proper supports to access education, training and employment, were particularly vulnerable to homelessness.

Since we published our last strategic plan in 2011 child and youth homelessness has increased by more than 200%.

These children and young adults are severely impacted by homelessness, and we need to rapidly rehouse them before they become damaged or institutionalised by the system.

Mr Doyle said it took the charity about eight years to build up to 165 housing units, but the trust had developed a lot of expertise in this area since then.

Eleven years ago we began to ramp up our housing programme. At the time we had 24 beds, two apartments and 13 staff.

Mr Doyle said the charity would spend around 15m this year providing accommodation and care for homeless people.
Preserving memories, sparking conversations

The second iteration of Photo Kathmandu opened in Patan Museum, Patan Durbar Square on Friday, amid a crowd of artists, storytellers, the Valleys denizens and photo enthusiasts from around the world. Now, the festivals 12 print exhibition venuesall located around Patans core, and Bungamatiare open for public viewing. It will be impossible for one to go around and visit all the venues in one day, but it is certainly possible to choose a route and spend a few hours of your Saturday gazing at different images that tell different stories of different people and different spaces. Weve come up with one that you can embark on today. It is a route that you can cover on foot, so put on your walking shoes, maybe grab a bottle of water, and start your weekend journey with Photo Kathmandu.
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The immediate past chairman of the Volta regional branch of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), David Mawutor Hadzixevi, has lamented the poor state of music in the region.

He said songs composed by indigenes of the region have been struggling to be in the limelight due to the lack of interest from producers.

Mr Hadzixevi who said this during the launch of his album, 'Heal Ghana' in Accra, said the region is blessed with 36 indigenous music forms such as borborbor, agbadza and atsiagbekor. The album has 11 songs  two in English and nine in Ewe.

The occasion was also used in inaugurating Voice of Volta Music & Cultural Group which was formed in May this year.

He hinted that only a few of those songs are known, but the rest are being buried,'' he stated.

It is sad to notice that some of the musicians from the region have been compelled to change their names and sing in other languages in order to attract sponsors,'' Mr Hadzixevi said, and described the situation as unfortunate''.

According to him, it was high time the region was recognised as a region with a lot of music potentials.

Acknowledging that some music producers could not promote and market Ewe music well because they could not relate to the language, he said, If people from the region produce our music, I think we can forge ahead because it is they who can relate well to the music and understand its content.''

Mr Hadzixevi said the decision to launch the album in Accra was to sell the region and its music to the entire country, especially to the Ewes living in Accra.

There are talents in the Volta Region that are dying and that calls for sponsorship of the music from the region, and Ewes living in other parts of the country, he added.

He commended rapper Edem and dancehall artiste Stonebwoy for their role in promoting Ewe music in the country.
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Nairobi (AFP) - Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian hostages held for nearly five years after the hijacking of their fishing vessel, the last commercial ship seized at the height of the country's piracy scourge, negotiators said Saturday.

The crew of the Naham 3, the second longest held hostage by Somali pirates, were taken captive when their Omani-flagged vessel was hijacked in March 2012 south of the Seychelles.

"We are very pleased to announce the release of the Naham 3 crew early this morning," said John Steed, the Coordinator of the Hostage Support Partners (HSP) who helped negotiate their release.

Steed, a retired British army colonel who has made it his mission to save "forgotten hostages" told AFP the mission to return the crew to their families still held one obstacle: extracting them from the city of Galkayo, where fighting was raging between forces from the rival regional states of Puntland and Galmudug.

"There is fighting in Galkayo so it is very dangerous at the moment, they are exchanging artillery tonight. We will go in early tomorrow morning if the fighting stops and bring them back to Nairobi for medicals and a clean-up."

Galkayo is split into two parts, one controlled by Puntland and one by Galmudug, and clashes there have left at least 11 dead and over 50,000 displaced this month, the UN humanitarian agency said last week.

Once extracted, the crew, from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, will be returned to their home countries and families.

"They have spent over four and a half years in deplorable conditions away from their families," said Steed.

He said the crew was malnourished and one of the hostages had a bullet wound in his foot, another had had a stroke and another was suffering from diabetes.

Pirates initially took 29 crew hostage, but one person died during the hijacking, and two more "succumbed to illness" during their captivity, said a statement from Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP).

Peril and heroism

Steed said negotiations -- which took 18 months -- involved mediation with community, tribal and religious leaders.

He declined to comment on the exact details of the release but said the road to the hostages being freed was filled with peril and "heroism".

The Naham 3 was originally tethered to another hijacked vessel, the MV Albedo, which was seized in November 2010 and released by the HSP in 2014.

When the MV Albedo began to sink "these guys jumped into the waters and rescued the drowning crew", Steed said.

He said when the Naham 3 sank, a year after its capture, "these guys were then taken ashore where they have been ever since with pirates making increasingly irrational demands."

Steed said he was carrying "a whole bunch of phones" with him so that the hostages could finally speak to their families.

"The release of the Naham 3 crew represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy," he said.

Only a crew of Thai fishermen, released in February last year after nearly five years in captivity, spent longer held by Somali pirates.

The first major commercial vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2005, launching an industry which went on to present a major threat to international shipping.

At their peak in January 2011, Somali pirates held 736 hostages and 32 boats, some onshore and others on their vessels.

According to the OBP, while overall numbers are down in the Western Indian Ocean, pirates in the region in 2015 attacked at least 306 seafarers.

While there has not been a successful attack on a commercial vessel since 2012, there have been several on fishing boats and there are still 10 Iranian hostages taken in 2015 and three Kenyan kidnap victims -- one a very ill, paralysed woman -- in the hands of the pirates, said Steed.
Khartoum (AFP) - President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday accused Amnesty International of spreading "lies" that Sudanese government forces had used chemical weapons against civilians in war-torn Darfur.

Last month, Amnesty said in a report that Sudanese forces had carried out more than 30 suspected chemical weapons attacks in a mountainous area of Darfur that killed up to 250 people, including many children.

"In the past few days you have been following all the lies and allegations made by Amnesty International about use of chemical weapons," Bashir said in an address to workers of his National Congress Party.

"These are just empty lies," Bashir said in his first reaction to Amnesty's report.

The rights group accused Sudanese forces of "the repeated use" of suspected chemical weapons against civilians in Darfur's remote and thickly forested Jebel Marra area between January and September.

"Between 200 and 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents, with many or most being children," Amnesty said.

The nearly 100-page report contained gruesome photographs of children suffering from apparent chemical burns, satellite images of destroyed villages and displaced people, interviews with more than 200 survivors and analysis by chemical weapons experts.

Amnesty said the attacks were part of a military operation against the rebel Sudan Liberation Army - Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) group, which Khartoum accuses of ambushing military convoys and attacking civilians.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Jebel Marra since mid-January by fighting between the two sides, the United Nations says.

The UN has urged Sudan to shed light on Amnesty's claims, while the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has sought further evidence to push for a formal investigation.

Sudan is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency.

Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since then, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies.

Sudan insists that the conflict in Darfur has ended, and that it wants UN peacekeepers who have been deployed in the region the size of France since 2007 to leave.
An Indonesian man has been jailed for 10 years for his role in a bomb and gun attack in Jakarta in January .

Four civilians died in the terror attack, the countrys worst in years.

Dodi Suridi, 23, a supporter of the so-called Islamic State group (IS), helped make one of the bombs used on the day. He said he accepted the verdict as the risk of being a terrorist.

Five assailants were killed by police during the attack and about 40 have since been arrested.

Prosecutors said Suridi altered gas canisters to provide bombs for two attackers who blew themselves up at a police post.

He was arrested the day after the attack.

A second IS supporter, 48-year-old Ali Hamka, was jailed for four years for attempting to source guns and ammunition for the attack. Hamka did not obtain the guns but was still found guilty of breaking anti-terror laws.

As he was led away from court, Suridi shouted Allahu akbar, Arabic for God is great, and smiled at journalists in the court. Judge Achmad Fauzi said his actions had disturbed the community and shaken the life of our nation.

He and Hamka both made a gesture that has come to be associated with IS, pointing one finger towards the sky.

The attack in January was the first attack linked to IS in south-east Asia but Indonesia has since suffered several attacks carried out under the groups banner.

As Suridi and Hamka were appearing in court on Thursday, a man carrying a machete, suspected pipe bombs and an IS symbol launched an attack on officers near Jakarta before being shot dead by police.

-bbc
By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA

Accra, Oct. 21, GNA - The Office of the Administrator General (OAG) of Presidential Estates Unit says it had requested all public offices to submit data on State/Government vehicles in preparation towards the 2017 transition of the Executive.

They include the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Regional Co-ordinating Councils RCC), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to submit updated data.

This is in line with the Presidential (Transition) Act 2012, Act 845 and the Office's quest to compile data on State and government vehicles in order to ensure smooth transitions.

Mr David Yaro, Administrator General, said the request, which was part of the Unit's mandate was to avoid a repetition of the situation from 2001 to 2009, where there were claims and counter claims of outgoing administrations of illegally acquiring State assets.

'This will enable the Office sanitise and update the data of vehicles belonging to the State,' he said.

Speaking during a press interaction organised by the Office to educate media personnel and create awareness about the Office and its work, he noted that in line with Section 6(1) of the Transition Act, which enjoined the President to provide a set of comprehensive handing over notes, the OAG had developed up-graded templates to guide preparation of the notes.

While the OAG had received some notes for the 2012 transition, they were not comprehensive or well -organised, thus the need for the templates, which should include a workshop with Chief Directors and Regional Co-ordinating Directors of MMDAs and RCCs to gather inputs to enrich and content of the templates.

A consultant also developed Quality Assurance guidelines for the preparation of the Handing-over notes which would reflect accurate developments during the tenure of the office of the President, while a Quality Assurance Team was set up to review the submitted notes.

Mr Yaro said final drafts of over 34 handing over notes would soon be forwarded to the Office of the President for further action.

He noted that in spite of challenges faced by the office, including lack of logistics for the running of the office, it had been able to develop an Organisational Manual which outlined its vision, mission, objectives and functions of the OAG.

The OAG has also initiated formal and informal interactions with the Lands Commission to compile a National Register of Public and Vested Lands in line with Section 9(1) of the Presidential (Transition) Act, which requires the Administrator-General to prepare a national register of all public lands and any other lands vested in the President by the Constitution.

Mr Yaro said in order to prepare the register, the Office needed to acquire Computerised Land Management Information System software which would help it to compile, update and store data on government assets and properties.

'This is pivotal for the OAG in the fulfilment of Section 9a and b of the Transition Act and integral to the enhancement of good governance in Ghana' he said.

He called on the media to take up it challenges with development partners, NGOs and others to assist in providing some of the things needed to ensure a smooth transition.

He also stated that the development of Regulations under the Act by the Attorney-General would help to facilitate its work by spelling out the role and support that OAG is to offer the Transition Team, processes of procurement and maintenance of government assets, define what constituted public lands, properties and assets of government and address duplication and conflict of functions in taking and keeping inventory of government assets and properties.

The Presidential (Transition) Act 2012, Act 845 is the outcome of the Transition Bill initiated by the Institute of Economic Affairs and political parties with representation Parliament to resolve transitional disagreements and prevent recurrence.

The Act, promulgated on 31st May 2012, provides for the establishment of the Presidential Estates Unit and the Office of the Administrator-General as an independent State agency to facilitate the smooth transfer of Assets. Properties and handing-over notes from one President to the other.

GNA
The Numo Awuley Kwao Family of Miotso in the Ningo-Prampram district of the Greater Accra Region, have appealed to President Mahama to intervene in what they termed illegal activities by thugs ably supported by some police officers on their lands.

The family suspect the Tema Regional Police Command has been influenced by some private developers who are illegally selling their lands since petitions to the police hierarchy to deal with named officers seem to have been ignored.

Chief of Miotso, Nene Awuley Kwame II addressing journalists on Wednesday, said in Ga, We appeal to President Mahama to intervene by instructing the IGP to bring his men to order and effect the arrest of persons who shot and nearly killed some of my family members and are still parading in town.

Counsel to the Numo Awuley Kwao Family, Mary Ohenewaa Afful, spoke about the 6600-acre plot at Miotso which led to clashes involving the family and land guards, allegedly hired by a private estate developer.

She also made reference to a case involving the Prapram Paramount Stool vrs Central University College, Numo Awuley Kwao and Nene Kwaku Darpoh I with suit no. AL129/2006.

The stool had argued that, the land sold to the university was a stool land, but a High Court ruled otherwise, stating that the plot in contention is a family land belonging to the Numo Awuley Kwao Family.

She also recalled another case involving Kweinor Teye Kwabla vrs. Nene Kwaku Darpoh, the Lands Commission and Numo Awuley Kwao, suit no. EI/21/2007.

The plaintiff had claimed ownership of a large tract of land at Terkpanya, which he said was acquired by his forefathers.

The 1st defendant (Nene Kwaku Darpoh), also issued a counterclaim that the land belongs to the Arden and Darpoh family of Dawhenya.

Ms. Ohenewah Afful said the court on October 27, 2011, dismissed the plaintiff's case entirely and the 1st defendant's counterclaim, and ruled among many others that from the point of Central University to mile 30, that stretch of land is owned by 3rd defendant (the Numo Awuley Kwao Family).

It also awarded costs of GHc10, 000 against the plaintiff and GHC7,000 against the 1st defendant.

The Court of Appeal subsequently affirmed the High Court ruling on May 8, 2014 with civil appeal no. H1/220/2012.

Another case at the Supreme Court by the chief of Dawhenya, she said, was again dismissed as unwarrantedfrivolous and vexatious on February 17, 2016 with civil appeal no. J4/38/2015.

Thus, from all these court rulings, it is settled that the Numo Awuley Kwao Family are the legitimate title holders of all that land at Miotso, Ningo Prampram. And that, anybody claiming absolute ownership other than the Numo Awuley Kwao Family does so in clear violation of the court's ruling and is therefore in contempt of court and at the same time, as a smack of illegality and which action has to be brought to a complete halt by the necessary criminal action.

Illegal sale of lands

According to the counsel, the Real Assets Company Limited too is also collaborating with the police to claim ownership of the Numo Awuley Kwao Family lands and are thus engaging in fraudulent dealings in selling the Numo Awuley Kwao Family lands without the consent and concurrence of the family.

We have reliable information that the said estate agent has sold large portions of the said lands to innocent people and has given a chunk of such monies to some top police officials at the Tema Metropolis, who have abandoned their legal and constitutional duties to protect lives and property and ensure peace and order and also to arrest and prosecute offenders, but rather involving in these criminal acts of connivance with fraudulent estate agents portraying themselves to have legal title and ownership of the Numo Awuley Kwao Family Lands, she remarked.

The counsel reiterated that, We wish to use this occasion to call on the government of Ghana to instruct the IGP to call the Tema police officers to order from meddling in acts of illegalities and to ensure peace and order since the lands legally and originally belong to the Numo Awuley Kwao Family.

She thus advised the general public to desist from buying any land at Miotso from anybody without passing through the chief, heads and elders of Numo Awuley Kwao Family.

Writ of possession

Meanwhile the Chief of Miotso said the family has initiated a process for the court to grant them a writ of possession.

Real Assets Company Limited

In a related development, the head of the Real Assets Company Limited, Yacub Adzagey, has insisted that he rightfully bought the land from the Darpoh family of Dawhenya and challenged the Numo Awuley Kwao family to go for the writ of possession.

He maintained that his checks, before buying the land, indicated that the Darpoh family were the true owners of the land in contention.

Meanwhile, Jacob Tetteh Darpoh, a member of the Darpoh family of Dawhenya, says their land covers an area of 4472 acres.

He however admitted that his family filed a counterclaim in court to get possession of over 9000 acres; but the court was able to determine that they have exceeded their boundary and was subsequently refused.

Nonetheless, he insisted that the portion of land sold to the Real Assets belongs to the Darpoh family.

Meanwhile the police have also denied conniving with the estate developer to deprive the Numo Awuley Kwao Family of their land.

This is totally false and there is no basis at all, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Paul Awini, who is the regional commander, rejected claims that his officers are backing one of the factions.

He assured that any member of his team would be dealt with if found culpable of being influenced by any party.



By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Creditors of DKM Microfinance Limited who were not paid in the first week of payments, are expected to receive their investments from today.

This is according to the Principal Company Inspector for the official liquidator, Jones Nathaniel Ansah

According to him some of those who have so far not received any payment are getting their monies today (Saturday). The commercial bank has reassigned them to come for their monies.

A total of 4000 creditors were expected to be paid everyday for the first week of payment across the eight selected branches of GCB Bank.

The exercise has however seen a lot of brouhaha as some creditors in the various regions complain of the amount they are been paid.

According to them, the Registrar Generals' department is not paying them the exact amount due them.

Some also complained of not finding their names in the lists pasted by the official liquidator.

But Mr Ansah assures that creditors will receive all their monies by the end of the payment exercise.

Customers threaten to disrupt DKM payments in Bolgatanga

Over 300 validated creditors of DKM Diamond Microfinance in the Upper East Region, threatened to disrupt the payment process at the Bolgatanga branch of the GCB Bank.

This was after the representative of the Official Liquidator at the bank, was unable to complete payments to all the 500 creditors scheduled for payment on Monday (October 17, 2016).

The Spokesperson for the customers, Clement Asakiya told Citi Business News that the inability of the representative of the Official Liquidator to offer them concrete alternatives; sparked their disposition.

Just a little over hundred people were paid todaywhat even worsened the situation was when we were asked to return without giving us a concrete answer as to when to come back for our monies, he stated.



By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Rally held to put pressure on lawmakers to impeach Lokman (in pictures)

A rally was held in Kathmandu on Saturday to put pressure on lawmakers to endorse impeachment motion against CIAA Chief Commissioner Lokman Singh Karki.
22.10.2016 LISTEN

Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK October 21, 2016

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has organised debates between presidential candidates of political parties with representation in parliament since 2008. This year, the IEA introduced what it called Evening Encounter with Presidential Candidates, which was meant to precede the main presidential debates (see, IEA inaugurates Presidential Debate Committee, Ghanaweb, June 16, 2016). However, there seems to be a tug of war between the two leading political parties (NDC and NPP) on the participation of their presidential candidates in the IEA debates. This is a brief discussion on the behaviour of the two parties regarding this years IEA presidential debates.

Soon as IEA made public their plans for the 2016 debates, NDC announced that both President Mahama and NDC were boycotting not only the IEA organised debates but all IEA activities because IEA was biased against NDC (see, Official: Mahama, NDC snub IEA debates, Ghanaweb, June 21, 2016). It was clear at that time that with dumsor as an albatross on them, President Mahama and NDC were uncomfortable to subject themselves to scrutiny, so a tactical decision not to participate in both the IEA announced Evening Encounter with Presidential Candidates and the presidential debates. NPP claimed that President Mahama had chicken out. Seasoned journalist, Kawku Baako described the NDC decision as bad judgement (see IEA Debate boycott: Mahama exercised bad judgement  Baako, Ghanaweb June 25, 2016), while Dr Gyampo referred to it as political suicide (see, NDCs IEA boycott political suicide  Gyampo, Ghanaweb, June 23, 2016).

I could not believe that NDC and President Mahama could take such a backward decision when it comes to deepening Ghanas democracy. The decision to boycott the IEA debates portrayed the party and President Mahama as weak and scared of debating Nana Akufo-Addo on their eight-years stewardship. Some important personalities and institutions including the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev Prof Asante were also disappointed with NDCs boycott (see, NDCs boycott of IEA Debate sad - Rev Asante, Ghanaweb, September 29, 2016). Perhaps, the intervention of the respected Rev Prof Asante made NDC to change its mind on the boycott.

Strangely and without a formal announcement of rescinding on the IEA boycott, President Mahama challenged Nana Akufo-Addo to a one-to-one debate with him (see,I am still waiting for Akufo-Addo for debate Challenge  Mahama and Akufo-Addo develops cold-feet to Mahamas debate challenge, Ghanaweb, October 20, 2016). For reasons best known to NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo, they are now reluctant or unwilling to take part in a presidential debate (see, Mahamas debate challenge hypocritical  Mustapha Hamid, Ghanaweb, October 20, 2016). According to Mustapha Hamid, who is the Spokesperson for Nana Akufo-Addo, if President Mahama was truly serious about debating Nana Akufo-Addo, he would have written an official letter to the NPP challenging the NPP presidential candidate to a debate.

The next day, the same Mustapha was reported to have said that Nana Akufo-Addo was not qualified to debate President Mahama because he has never been anywhere near the presidency before thus lacking the acumen to effectively face off with Mahama, I suspect this was in response to an earlier comment by President Mahama that, Nana Akufo-Addo could not criticise him because he has never been president (see, Akufo-Addo not qualified to debate Mahama  NPP, Ghanaweb, October 21, 2016). According to Prof Mike Oquaye, a leading member of NPP, the call by President Mahama for a one-to-one debate with Nana Akufo-Addo is too late, an attempt to score cheap political points and that the period for a debate passed when the NDC refused to participate in the IEA organised debates (see, Its too late for Nana Addo to debate Mahama  Prof Oquaye, Citifmonline, October 21, 2016). Really?

I sometimes find it difficult to understand the two main parties in Ghana (NDC and NPP). President Mahama and NDC announced boycott of IEA debates and without admitting they made a mistake, he is challenging Nana-Akufo Addo to a one-to -one debate. Who will organise the debate (IEA or the presidency)? Then, NPP who mocked President Mahama and NDC for the boycott are now running away from the golden opportunity. Is it too late as Prof Oquaye wants Ghanaians to believe or there is more to it than meets the eye?

In 2008, the first IEA presidential debate was held on October 29 and the second was on November 12. The first round of the presidential elections was held on Sunday December 7, 2012 (thirty-eight and twenty-four days respectively before the election). In 2012, the first IEA presidential debate was on October 30 and the second on November 22 (thirty-seven and fourteen days respectively before the presidential election). This years presidential election is scheduled for December 7, 2016 and President Mahamas challenge to Nana Akufo-Addo is forty-seven days from election day. So, why is Prof Oquaye saying its too late?

Lets assumed that Prof Oquaye is right that it is too late for the presidential debate. If NPP and Nana Akufo-Addo are truely interested in participating in the IEA presidential debates, why has Nana Akufo-Addo not appeared at IEAs Evening Encounter with Presidential Candidates? Are they also boycotting IEA? To the best of my knowledge, some presidential aspirants, including Nduom, Edward Mahama, Ivor Greenstreet and Konadu-Agyemeng Rawlings have all appeared, except Nana Akufo-Addo. He was scheduled to appear on July 5, 2016 but did not appear. At least, his appearance has been postponed twice without any good reason (see IEA Debate: Nana Addo will attend when manifesto is ready - Mac Manu, Ghanaweb, August 8, 2016). That also did not happen and NPP announced that it will be after the manifesto launch (see, IEA Encounter  Nana-Addo will appear after manifesto launch  Aide, Ghanaweb, September 28, 2016).

Nana Akufo-Addo is an orator and a confident public speaker, so what is the reason behind his reluctance or unwillingness to appear at the IEAs Evening Encounter with the Presidential Candidates and NPPs excuse to not to allow him to debate President Mahama on one-to-one? There are rumours circulating on social media that Nana Akufo-Addo has become a bit forgetful, which is common with ageing. Perhaps, NPP is worried that should Nana Akufo-Addo appear before the IEA Evening Encounter or debate President Mahama, he could be exposed as he may not remember some of his facts. If such rumours are true, then that could explain why he has not appeared at the Evening Encounter and now refusing to debate Mahama.

I believe that NDC/Mahama and NPP/Nana Akufo-Addo should not be allowed to take Ghanaians for a ride. At least, the two should take part in one debate before the December 7, 2016 presidential election. One-to-one debate will be better because there will no Ayariga to disrupt Nana Akufo-Addo as he did in 2012 (they are the only party presidential candidates with representation in parliament). The two political parties must stop the blame game and get serious with the IEA presidential debate.

Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK
By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, Oct. 21, GNA - The National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has opened its Northern Zonal Office in Tamale as part of efforts to decentralize its activities.

The Northern Zonal Office will serve the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, Board Chairman of NPRA, said 'the opening of this zonal office is part of our quest to create awareness and bring pensions administration closer to all stakeholders'.

Dr Nii Sowa said the Board of Directors would soon approve the reviewed investment guidelines on investment of pension funds to help enhance and protect placement of pension funds in the country.

Mr Baba Jamal, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, said 'the total assets under management for Private Pension Funds as at September, 2016, was about GH  6.4 billion with about GH 2.6 billion in the Temporary Pension Fund Account'.

Mr Jamal said 'the funds are safe and that the contribution of public sector workers will be transferred when the public sector schemes are fully registered and operational'.

GNA
Accra, Oct 21, GNA - Although Ghana's cocoa production fell short of industry forecasts for the 2015/16 growing season, increased investment in seed development programmes and infrastructure upgrades should improve output over the coming years.

'Crop production for the 2015/16 growing season, which spans October to September, reached 690,000 tonnes, although this fell short of the 850,000-tonne projection made by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the state promotion and oversight agency.

This was contained in a statement by the Oxford Business Group OBG) and copied to the Ghana news Agency on Friday.

The statement said yields from both the main harvest and the secondary harvest, which began in late June, were impacted by a prolonged and particularly severe harmattan, a dry wind that blows in from the Sahara Desert, as well as by low rainfall at critical times during the growing cycle.

It said while most of Ghana's agricultural output was rain-fed, with the drought impacting production across the sector more broadly, cocoa was particularly vulnerable to the harmattan, which dried seeds and eroded yields.

'In addition, the proliferation of illegal mining also takes an environmental toll, negatively affecting the cocoa segment,' said Madam Charity Sackitey, Managing Director for cocoa and chocolate producer Barry Callebaut Ghana.

The statement said, 'Another concern is the proximity of illegal and small-scale mining to cocoa plantations, as heavy metal poisoning and pollution are degrading the land and affecting freshwater and underground aquifers.'

The latest result is also well below Ghana's 2014/15 cocoa output, which totalled 730,000 tonnes, below COCOBOD's forecast of 1m tonnes, due to an outbreak of black pod disease and adverse weather conditions that year, the statement said.

It said the low 2014/15 harvest meant that for only the third time in the past decade, cocoa had to be imported from CAte d'Ivoire to cover the shortfall.

'Ghana imported 15,500 tonnes of light crop cocoa beans,' the statement quoted Seth Terkper, Minister of Finance, as part of his address to parliament earlier this year.

It said the beans were used to supplement local production to fulfill companies' processing capacity.

It said it was not just Ghana - the world's second-largest cocoa producer after CAte d'Ivoire, that was experiencing a drop in output.

The statement said in August, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) revised its global production estimates for the 2015/16 season.

It said that total global output was forecasted to reach 3.99m tonnes, a decline of 5.9 per cent year-on-year, which would leave a 212,000-tonne supply shortfall.

The statement said the dip appeared to be temporary, with future prospects for the industry being more bullish. It added that earlier this year, COCOBOD announced it was planning to more than double cocoa output to 1.6 million tonnes by 2026.

The sector body is committed to distributing up to 60m free hybrid cocoa seedlings per year, the statement said.

'The new variety is more resistant to pests and diseases, including black pod disease, and able to withstand harsher weather conditions. As of mid-September, the agency had distributed 110 million hybrid cocoa seedlings from its nurseries, according to press reports, it said.

The statement said the seedlings were also expected to increase yields, according to Isaac Yaw Opoku, Executive Director of the Seed Production Unit at COCOBOD.

'Currently, the crops we have in the farms have an average yield level of about 450 to 500 kg per ha,' It quoted Mr.Opoku to have told local media at the launch of the initiative.

'However, with the new seedlings that we are given free of charge, the yield level is between 1000 and 1500 kg per ha,' it said.

The statement said in addition to COCOBOD's focus on supporting cocoa production, improvements to Ghana's transport infrastructure were expected to have some benefits for the cocoa industry.

In recent years, better and expanded road networks have allowed crops to be moved more quickly from plantation to processing centres and export hubs, thereby reducing spoilage, the statement said.

It said further upgrades to the country's ports - such as the $1.5 million project planned at the Port of Tema, slated for completion at the end of 2019 - were also expected to allow faster loading of export commodities, including cocoa.

GNA
Accra, Oct. 21, GNA - Vodafone Wholesale, a subsidiary of Vodafone Ghana, has completed the second fibre route to Niger and Mali.

The connection, which would allow the flow of internet bandwidth beyond Ghana, runs through Dakola in Burkina Faso.

A release issued in Accra on Friday said the project was aimed at offering an alternative route for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to send services to parts of the West African sub-region.

The project would also facilitate the World Bank funded West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructural Project with the Burkinabe government.

Speaking on the project, Angela Mensah-Poku, Managing Director of Vodafone Wholesale said: 'The Paga-Dakola fibre optic link project is one of the many projects Vodafone Wholesale has introduced to empower businesses including ISPs and mobile network providers.

'The high speed Internet or data services we are providing to customers will contribute to internet penetration in the West African sub-region.''

She said Ghana currently had the largest number of cables across West Africa and the implementation of the project was expected to attract heavy investment into the country as well as strengthen relations between Ghana and its neighbours.

Vodafone Wholesale has an extensive fibre network distribution all over the country and provides bandwidth to internet service providers and mobile network operators.

GNA
By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Dar es Salaam, (Tanzania) Oct. 21, GNA - An international local content expert has expressed worry that local participation in oil and gas activities in Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania is significantly low.

According to Ms Neema K. Lugangira, a former Senior Supplies Officer (local content) at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals in Tanzania said robust policy and strong legal framework were required to improve the situation.

Such legal framework should be well-informed and should be updated accordingly, Ms Lugangira, said, when she spoke on local content at the on-going media training course for ted African Journalists underway in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Being attended by 24 reporters with eight each selected from Ghana Uganda and Tanzania, the 14-day course is sponsored by the Natural Resource Governance Institute.

It was organised by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania in collaboration with Penplusbytes, international ICT Journalism in Ghana and the African Centre for Media Excellence in Tanzania.

The course is aimed at empowering the participants to develop interest in and tell the true story of the extractive sector, especially in the oil, gas and mining.

Ms Lugangira explained that the oil, gas and mining sector offered good opportunity for local businesses to thrive and as such would increase the potential to reduce unemployment but regretted about the lack of stringent local content requirement.

'Only a handful of nationals are engaged in service value chain. Most of the goods and services demanded by the industry are also imported', she added.

Ms Lugangira who is also a former Acting Director for Local Content in Investments, National Economic Empowerment Council in Tanzania, asked the participants to explore and conduct in-depth comparative analysis on the local content frameworks for the benefit of the three countries.

GNA
By Joyce Danso, GNA

Accra Oct. 21, GNA - The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has rejected government's terms for addressing issues concerning their conditions of service saying there has been a reduction in their demands.

Mr Alex Nartey, President of JUSAG, at a press conference in Accra, said the Association was also surprised that government failed to meet their demands on their condition of service.

He said said the Association has, therefore, 'given government till the end of the month to effect corrections on government's proposal concerning their Conditions of Service.

Mr Nartey said following the Association's ultimatum to government last week over a looming strike by its members, the Judicial Council met representatives of government over their condition of service.

He said documents given to the Judicial Council and signed by the Chief of Staff had some short falls that did not meet their demands.

'We decline to accept government's proposal but in line with negotiation principles, since the Judicial Council which is the constitutional body to determine their condition of service, we have, therefore, charged them to facilitate corrections in the government's proposal.'

He said the Judicial Council has accepted to go back to resolve all gaps in their conditions of service.

Some JUSAG staff who were at the press conference expressed their disappointments at the way government had handled the situation.

JUSAG last week gave government ultimatum to meet their demands on their condition of service else they would embark on strike.

The Association since 2015 has made several attempts to engage government to address their conditions of service.

GNA
22.10.2016 LISTEN

By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Dar es Salaam, (Tanzania), Oct 21, GNA - African leaders have been urged to make good negotiation deals to get desirable benefits from their natural resources.

A good negotiation deal, according to Mr George Lugalambi, the Media Capacity Development Officer of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), an NGO in the extractive sector could be obtained if African governments placed priority on taxation and local impact when signing contracts.

Mr Lugalambi gave the advice at the on-going regional training course for selected African Journalists on oil, gas and mining in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania in East Africa.

Twenty-Four Journalists - eight each selected from Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda are attending the 14-day course being organized by the Journalists Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET) in collaboration with Penplusbytes, an International ICT Journalism in Ghana and the African Center of Media Excellence in Uganda.

Mr Lugalambi observed that natural resource extraction had huge effects on local communities, hence, the need for African leaders to think of the ordinary people whenever they undertake a negotiation deal for the exploitation of minerals.

He underlined the importance for governments in the continent to put and allowed national interest to override their individual gains on the natural resource decision chain for the benefit of the majority of citizens.

Mr Nicholas Phythian, an International Journalist and the Course Content Development Officer explained the importance for African governments to identify and address weaknesses in their various legal regime governing the extractive sector.

This, they could do better, when African leaders do comparative analysis in their legal frameworks on the extractive sector to be able to know their weaknesses and strength, he added.

According to Mr Phythian, this would put them in a better position to strongly negotiate for better deals.

GNA
Eight out of the 12 presidential aspirants who were disqualified by the Electoral Commission (EC) for allegedly committing various criminal and electoral offences while filing their nominations have reported themselves to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the police headquarters in Accra.

The presidential aspirants were given up to the close of yesterday, October 21, 2016 to report themselves to the police or face humiliation of being declared wanted.

This was after a criminal charge had been leveled against them by the EC chairperson, Charlotte Osei.

They are facing charges of fraud and electoral irregularities and therefore have questions to answer, according to the CID.

At the police headquarters yesterday, DAILY GUIDE learnt that four of the disqualified candidates gave their statements.

They included Dr Henry Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Hassan Ayariga of All People's Congress (APC), Kwabena Adjei of Reformed Patriotic Democrat (RPD) and Kofi Akpaloo, Independent People's Party (IPP).

The suspects, according to sources, were at the station with their lawyers.

However, Progressive People's Party candidate Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, the National Democratic Party's (NDP's) Nana Konadu Agyman Rawlings and Democratic People's Party's (DPP's) Ward Nuako Brew, sent representatives to stand in for them while they reported later.

Nana Agyenim Boateng, popularly called Gyataba of United Front Party (UFP), according to sources, called the investigator in-charge of the case to seek permission.

He promised to report himself on Monday while the subscriber for Dr Ndoum, Richard Aseda  a man accused of endorsing the PPP leader's forms in two different districts, also reported himself.

It was not clear whether Akua Donkor of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) had been cleared as she was nowhere to be found.

But PNC flag bearer, Dr Edward Mahama, according to a source, did not either report or send a representative to the station to stand in for him.

DAILY GUIDE has gathered that after their statements had been taken, the suspected presidential aspirants would be given self-recognizance bail while investigations continue.

The police said the disqualified aspirants have breached Article 53 of the Constitution, C.I. 94 of the Election Regulation, the Criminal Offences Act, among other laws, and are likely to be prosecuted.

The aspirants were disqualified from contesting in the December elections on October 10, 2016 when the Returning Officer, Chair of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, found multiple breaches in the presidential nomination forms submitted by the aspirants.

Hassan Ayariga (APC)

Hassan Ayariga was disqualified for not providing evidence on his statutory declaration as to his hometown or residence in the constituency as per the legal requirements; while two subscribers of his nomination also subscribed for another presidential candidate.

This, the commission said, breaches Regulation 7(4) of CI 94.

Dr. Edward Nasigri Mahama (PNC)

The flag bearer of PNC was disqualified because many of his subscribers did not properly sign the forms.

Thumbprints, signatures or marks were omitted all together while two subscribers to his nomination also subscribed for Hassan Ayariga with forged signatures.

Dr. Nana Agyenim Boateng  (UFP)

The Electoral Commission disqualified Dr Boateng because the number of his subscribers did not meet the minimum required under Regulation 7(2) (b) of CI 94.

One of his subscribers, identified as Amadu Babia Latifah with Voter ID number 3357006984 and polling station K100401, purportedly supported the nomination of another candidate.

The commission also detected that the subscriber had different signatures on both candidates' nominations forms, raising questions as to the legitimacy of the signatures on both forms.

Three of Dr. Boateng's subscribers supported the nomination of another candidate and again with different signatures.

Kofi Akpaloo- (IPP)

His nomination was rejected because the number of his subscribers did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.

Again, the cross-subscribers have different signatures on the nomination forms, raising questions as to the legitimacy of the signatures, according to the EC.

Kwabena Adjei  (RPD)

His nomination was rejected because the number of subscribers to his forms did not also meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94 while two of his subscribers were found not to be registered voters as they are on the Exclusion List for multiple registrations.

Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom  (PPP)

Dr Nduom's nomination was not accepted by the EC because the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.

Another subscriber endorsed the forms in two different districts.

The subscriber was found to be on the Voter's Register in one district, thereby disqualifying his second subscription and reducing the total number of subscribers to below the minimum required by the Law.

Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey  (GCPP)

He was disqualified by the EC because the number of subscribers to his forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94 while personal records of the vice presidential candidate of the party were not provided.

One of his subscribers also supported the nomination of another candidate.



Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings  (NDP)

The nomination forms of Mrs Rawlings were rejected due to the inadequacy of the number of subscribers to her forms.

One subscriber of her nomination was not a validly registered voter and illegally registered twice and is consequently on the Exclusion List of multiple voters.

By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey

( [email protected] )


Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, the disqualified presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP), has indicated that she would not relent in her efforts to empower all women in Ghana.

The NDP flag bearer recalled how she, together with some other women, worked to empower women socially, economically and culturally in the days of the 31st December Women's Movement, adding that women were no longer solely depending on their husbands and some of them became breadwinners of their respective families.

She noted that the quest for true empowerment is an on-going process that is never finished. We need to be consistent with our objectives to emancipate women in order to ensure that they get better recognition, the former first lady stated.

Nana Konadu was one of the 12 presidential hopefuls who were disqualified from contesting in the December election by the Electoral Commission (EC) for failing to meet the necessary requirements; but she is fighting it out in court.

According to the EC, it could not accept the forms of the NDP's presidential candidate because the number of subscribers to her forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94.

However, Nana Konadu seemed unperturbed by the decision of the EC. That was evident when she interacted with queen mothers in the Western Region at Takoradi on Wednesday.

She commended the queen mothers for their hard work, achievements and for playing their traditional roles effectively.

She stated, Women empowerment is not about getting women in important positions in society. It is about giving women the confidence and comfort to perform their roles in society.

Nana Konadu promised to establish gold refineries in some of the mining communities in the Western, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Eastern Regions to create jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates.

She pointed out that provision of infrastructure should go with the development of the people and that an NDP government would put measures in place to better the lots of the public sector workers.

How can you build more schools without providing the basic things to ensure effective teaching and learning and also pay teachers better salaries? she queried, apparently referring to the touting of community day schools by President Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

The queen mothers vowed to rally behind the former first lady in all her endeavours .

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi
Members of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs have vented their spleens on the Regional Minister, John Alexander Ackon and the Minister of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation Mahama Ayariga, for failing to turn up for a stakeholder interaction with the traditional authorities.

The meeting, which saw paramount chiefs and their queen mothers fully represented from across the region, was to discuss Ghana's efforts at dealing with climate change.

But both ministers were conspicuously missing without any prior notice after the meeting had delayed for three hours, leaving the exasperated chiefs in limbo.

The chiefs, who felt disrespected by the act, expressed their anger to the representatives of the ministers, who tried unsuccessfully to convince the chairperson of the meeting, the Mamponghene Nana Daasebre Osei Bonsu II.

The Mamponghene lambasted the government appointees for disrespecting the stool heads present at the meeting.

We called our chiefs and even invited all our queen mothers to join us here. I am here representing the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, but what saddens me is that when I look around, I don't find the minister here. I don't also find our own regional minister here.

I don't know why; and I want an explanation why the environment minister and the regional minister failed to turn up because we are here attheir instance, Nana Daasebre Osei Bonsu fumed.

The acting executive director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), John Pwamang, who looked apparently dejected, tried to explain why Mr Mahama Ayariga failed to show up but kept digging himself in along the way.

He pointed out amidst apologies that the minister had been given a late assignment by President John Dramani Mahama.

But just when he thought he had given a tangible explanation, Nana Daasebre Osei Bonsu II inquired further what specific assignment the minister was pursuing; a question which left Mr Pwamang wanting.

The Deputy Director of the Regional Coordinating Council Francis Dwira, was equally unsettled by the drilling of the chiefs when he took his turn to apologize for the absence of the Ashanti Regional Minister.

Nana chairman, the honourable minister would have wished to be here, but there is an emergency security situation at Obuasi. It is a galamsey issue and the regional security called him to rush to Obuasi to save some situation, he explained.

A clearly unconvinced Nana Daasebre Osei Bonsu quizzed in what capacity the minister was in Obuasi, whether Mr Ackon was there as a regional minister or as an aspiring Member of Parliament for Obuasi West.

The programme, which continued after a ceremony of apologies, didn't have the Mamponghene participating as he stepped out of the hall, leaving his chairmanship to the Kumawuman hene.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a message on the occasion of United Nations Day (24 October), the UN Armenia office told ARMENPRESS.

The message reads:

This years observance of United Nations Day occurs at a time of transition for the world and for the United Nations. Humanity has entered the era of sustainability  with a global commitment to fulfill the great promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In this, the Organizations 71st year, we have 17 goals to propel us towards a better future for all on a healthy planet. The world is also moving at long last beyond the mindset which viewed the burning of fossil fuels as the path to prosperity. At a time of record heat, Member States have embraced the Paris Agreement on climate change in record time. This landmark measure will enter into force on 4 November. Across that historic threshold lies our best chance for greener, cleaner, low-carbon growth.

The United Nations is also in transition, from its eighth Secretary-General to the ninth. I have been honoured to serve we the peoples for the past ten years. Together, we have put in place some solid foundations for shared progress  which we must build on by working even harder to empower women, engage youth and uphold human rights for all. But we have also suffered enormous heartbreak -- including unresolved conflicts causing immense suffering throughout the troubled Middle East, South Sudan, the Sahel and beyond.

On these and other frontlines of violence and disaster, courageous UN staff continue to rise to the occasion and respond to the plight of the vulnerable. I thank people across the world for their support -- and urge all to give their full backing to Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres in continuing our global mission of peace, sustainable development and human rights.
Tabei, first woman to scale Mt Everest, dies

Junko Tabei, first woman to scale Mount Everest, has died at the age of 77.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, will win this year's presidential election, an influential pastor in Kumasi has prophesied.

Odeefuor Kofi Ampongsah, leader of the House of Ezra Church at Asonomaso Nkwanta, who is noted for always delivering accurate prophetic messages, stated that in the spiritual realm, Nana Akufo-Addo has won the 2016 polls already.

He said God has ordained Nana Akufo-Addos victory in the Heavens and that anyone who would try to prevent the imminent victory would be crashed by God.



Victory Sign



Nana Akufo-Addo, who is on a campaign tour of the Ashanti region, visited the House of Ezra Church to worship with the congregation on Friday.

During the service, Odeefuor Ampongsah held Nana Akufo-Addos hands and in a prayerful mood placed the NPP leader on a chair three times to signify his electoral victory.

Jesus has crowned you King today and nobody can make you a slave anymore, the powerful man of God stated amid cheers from the congregation.



Clean Heart

He said Nana Akufo-Addo has a pure heart to work assiduously as president to develop the country, adding that the masses would benefit immensely since God is on the side of the NPP flagbearer.

You (Nana Akufo-Addo) dont need any material thing in this world. You are campaigning for the Presidency because of you have a heart to work and improve the lives of the populace.

Odeefuor Ampongsah said Nana Akufo-Addo would fulfill his campaign promises to boost the economy and improve the lives of the electorate.

Warning

The man of God warned that any member of Nana Akufo-Addos delegation that would try to secretly hamper his efforts would be exposed by the Holy Spirit.

The congregants prayed fervently for Nana Akufo-Addo and his team.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood

22.10.2016 LISTEN

The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has instructed the Judicial Council, headed by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, to return documents on the implementation of the controversial consolidation salary to President John Mahama.

According to Alex Nartey, President of the Association, the document, which could have been rejected by JUSAG, was riddled with what he described as gaps.

He was emphatic that JUSAG had given the council up till October 31, 2016 to conclude work on the corrections of the said gaps in the documents.

JUSAG said it has been battling with the government over the delays in the payment of their allowances from July 2014 to date, insisting that all efforts and dialogues to address the matter had proved futile.

This has culminated in threats of nationwide strikes at various stages of negotiation with the government.

Addressing journalists at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Mr Nartey stated that there had been a reduction in their demands, stressing that their resolve to embark on a strike still hangs.

He stated that the processes were overdue and expressed surprise at the manner the government was handing the issue.

The JUSAG president noted that issues concerning the association required more urgent attention.

The indication is that our conditions of service proposed by the Judicial Council have been approved by the presidentWhen we took a close look at it, we saw some shortfalls; there are gaps in the documents submitted to the Council, he argued.

Mr Nartey continued, JUSAG had wanted to decline to accept it but in line with negotiation principles, since the Judicial Council is the constitutional body to determine our conditions of service, we have told the Judicial Council that it should go back to the president for the corrections to be made.

In the view of the JUSAG president, the council has accepted to go back to the government to ensure that the gaps contained in the document have been resolved.

The Attorney General (AG) directed all striking members of the Association of State Attorneys to resume work yesterday, Friday, October 21, 2016, or lose their remuneration.

The AG's directive was based on an order issued by the National Labour Commission (NLC) in respect of the ongoing strike by the Attorneys.

The Association of State Attorneys declared a strike on Thursday over government's inability to resolve some outstanding issues relating to their salaries.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson

[email protected]
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that President Mahamas continual stay in political office will pose a serious threat to Ghanas prosperous future and therefore, no one can stop the wind of change.

He has consequently admonished the electorate, especially those that want to see Ghana develop effectively, to vote massively for the NPP on December 7 so that it would expedite Ghanas developmental agenda.

Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana needs new leadership and direction now more than ever, sternly cautioning that President Mahama and the National Democratic Congress' (NDC's) additional four years in office will spell doom for the country.

He said Ghanas economy has continued to be nose-diving at a fast and scary rate since President Mahama ascended the presidential seat, warning that the NDC's incompetence could lead to the economy progressing at a negative rate, should it win the polls.

The NPP flag bearer, who is campaigning for votes in the Ashanti Region, was addressing a huge crowd of NPP supporters at the Abbeys Park in the Manhyia South Constituency in Kumasi on Thursday.



Change Is Coming

Nana Addo stated that majority of Ghanaians are determined and resolved to cause a change in the leadership of the state saying, Nothing can stop the change which is coming.

He said that he is aware that the NDC would do everything possible to hang onto power, but The change is imminent and nothing can stand in the way of the NPP's victory in 2016.



Too Much Wahala

The NPP leader reiterated that there is too much suffering in the country, stressing that Ghana sits on massive wealth yet its people are impoverished due to the poor leadership of President Mahama.

Manhyia South MP, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh aka Napo, Alan Kyerematen, Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Wontumi, Collins Owusu Amankwa and other party gurus were present at the event.

Vote For Development

Nana Akufo-Addo stated that a vote for the NPP is a vote for development, prosperity and transformation and urged the electorate to give their mandate to the NPP on December 7.

Asanteman

The NPP presidential candidate said he is counting on Asanteman to lead the NPP's political victory, noting that the NPP would increase its votes in the Ashanti Region this year.

Jobs

He expressed concern about the high unemployment rate in the country, with its attendant problems, and therefore, gave the assurance that his government would provide jobs in abundance for the populace.

Free SHS

He reiterated his resolve to implement the free senior high school (SHS) policy to boost education, re-energize the almost collapsed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and build one factory in each district, to provide jobs for the unemployed youth when voted into power.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
Aikings Kwarteng, Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Methodist Primary School in Effiduase Asokore, says women have been rejecting his love proposals due to his links with the NDC.

All the women that I have proposed love to initially show interest in me because I am good looking, but they suddenly reject my proposals when they find out that I am an NDC member, he declared.

Mr Kwarteng said despite the tremendous sacrifices that he has made for the NDC over the years, he has nothing to show for during the eight-year tenure of NDC government.

Aikins, who disclosed this to Nana Yaw Boamah of Kessben FM in Kumasi in an interview, threatened to defect from the NDC to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by Tuesday with over 200 of his supporters.

According to him, he can no longer withstand the severe economic hardship in the country and would campaign for the NPP to win the December polls.

Few people are enjoying in the nation, as the majority of the people, including known NDC members, wallow in poverty. Corruption is rife in the NDC government. Most of the NDC supporters in the rural areas are now disappointed after eight years of bad governance which has worsened their plight, and they are defecting to the NPP in the towns, Aikins indicated.

On his part, Raymond Tandoh, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NDC, admitted that there was misunderstanding between the NDC chairman and some executives in the Effiduase Asokore branch of the NDC.

He said Yaw Obimpeh, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, had been mandated to help address the problems in the constituency, urging the aggrieved party members not to desert the NDC.

Mr Tandoh said peace would prevail in the party in Effiduase Asokore soon and urged NDC supporters not defect to the NPP.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
Patrons of RwandAir are set to enjoy direct long haul flights from Accra to Asia and Europe from the first quarter of next year as the airline expands its fleet.

According to the airline, the heavy passenger volumes to Mumbai, Guangzhou and London, make it prudent for the company to capitalize on the economic opportunities for expansion.

The Country Manager for RwandAir, Dennis Rwiliriza also explains to Citi Business News the company's growth records over the years should enable it expand.

Among the many areas that people also travel to include India for relaxation, medical care, tourism and if someone can afford that trip for up to fifteen days and anyone who can afford that then it's a product to experience,

We are also looking into Guangzhou China and more importantly, London in UK, he stated.

Currently, RwandAir flies to eighteen destinations across Africa.

In the face of the competitive and challenging business environment, RwandAir continues to post an annual average growth of 40 percent.

Mr. Rwiliriza attributes this to the efficient management strategies and support from the Rwandan government.

The aviation industry in Accra is challenging but we have an unwavering support from our home countrycoupled with the good management by our CEO. Year on year we haven't grown less than 40 percent for what we have done the previous year in terms of both passengers and revenue.

Meanwhile it appears the airline company is yet to reduce the cost of air tickets despite the 25 percent reduction in cost of aviation fuel in August this year.

According to Mr. Rwiliriza, The two things may go hand in handindividual airlines have their own unique ways of doing with them. But for us we are by no means going to charge more than necessary.

The country Manager for RwandAir also assured of his outfit's commitment to provide cutting edge solutions to meet the expectations of its customers while keeping afloat with its competitors.

For us in trying to break into that it is a daily act and we have to see what our competitors have to offerbut in order to stay afloat, we have to offer services that are top notch compared to our peers. In my honest opinion, I think we are off that maturity now and we have all that it takes to stay in competition; cost, new fleet, customer services experiences.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Tripoli (AFP) - Forces loyal to Libya's unity government on Saturday freed 13 foreigners held by the Islamic State group in its former coastal bastion of Sirte, they said.

Loyalists freed a Turkish and an Egyptian detainee as well as 11 Eritrean women "thought to have been held hostage by Daesh", they said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Pro-government forces are fighting the last jihadists holed up in Sirte after launching an offensive to retake the city in May.

Libya has been in chaos with rival administrations and militia vying for power of the oil-rich country since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

IS jihadists overran the former president's home town of Sirte in June 2015, flying their black flags above public buildings and imprisoning, crucifying or beheading dozens of people.

Forces allied with Libya's UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNA) began an offensive on May 12 aimed at ousting IS from the city and surrounding areas.

Backed by US air strikes since August 1, they have gradually tightened the noose on the few remaining IS fighters inside the city some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of the capital.

Pro-government forces on Saturday said they had seized a group of buildings in a northeastern district of Sirte after three days of fighting against IS diehards.

Six pro-GNA fighters were killed in the city on Saturday, the hospital Misrata half way between Tripoli and Sirte said in a statement.

The fighting has left more than 550 GNA fighters dead and 3,000 wounded since the offensive began, but the IS death toll is not known.

The GNA -- intended to replace two rival administrations -- is the centrepiece of Western hopes to fight jihadism in Libya and halt people trafficking across the Mediterranean that has led to thousands of drownings.

But the parliament in the far east of the country has failed to recognise it, while its rival administration last week dealt the unity government a new blow when it seized some of its key offices in Tripoli.
Pretoria (AFP) - South Africa announced Friday that it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court, dealing a major blow to a troubled institution set up to try the world's worst crimes.

The decision followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country for an African Union summit despite facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

South Africa refused to arrest him, saying he had immunity as a head of state.

Justice Minister Michael Masutha told reporters in Pretoria that the ICC was "inhibiting South Africa's ability to honour its obligations relating to the granting of diplomatic immunity".

Facts about the International Criminal Court in The Hague. South Africa has announced it plans to withdraw from the organisation

"There is a view in Africa that the ICC in choosing who to prosecute has seemingly preferred to target leaders in Africa," Masutha added to AFP.

The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

The withdrawal "shows startling disregard for justice from a country long seen as a global leader," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

Amnesty International said South Africa was "betraying millions of victims of the gravest human rights violations and undermining the international justice system".

The US said it was "concerned" by Pretoria's decision.

"We do think that the ICC has made valuable contributions in the service of accountability in a number of situations and we hope that other governments would share that," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Post-colonial bias?

The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 to try the world's worst atrocities

As an ICC signatory, South Africa's failure to arrest Bashir last year led to a wave of condemnation and an early threat from the government to withdraw from The Hague-based court.

Bashir has evaded arrest since his ICC indictment in 2009 for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur conflict in which 300,000 people were killed and two million forced to flee their homes.

Earlier this month Burundi said it would leave the court, and Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.

Welcoming South Africa's decision to withdraw from the ICC, Sudan urged other African member nations to follow suit.

"The presidency of the republic... calls on African leaders and the people of Africa who are still members of the ICC to take a collective step in withdrawing from the ICC," a presidency statement said.

South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has reportedly signed the "Instrument of Withdrawal" letter to withdraw from the International Criminal Court

Burundi's foreign minister Alain-Ayme Nyamitwe, meanwhile, said the country expected others to follow, adding that it was important to note that "the ICC is not popular in Africa".

South Africa, which delivered a letter to the United Nations on Wednesday to activate its official withdrawal, is likely to complete the process in one year.

"It could spark a domino effect on other African states," Anton du Plessis, of the Institute for Security Studies think-tank in Pretoria, told AFP.

"South Africa played an important role in developing the ICC and now to see it playing such a destructive role is saddening," he said.

The ICC said Friday it had not received any confirmation of the South African position, adding that it relied on "the international community in Africa and outside Africa... to fulfil its mandate."

'Disgraceful conduct'

In March, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal accused President Jacob Zuma's government of "disgraceful conduct" over Bashir's visit and ruled that the failure to arrest Bashir was unlawful.

The government was facing a possible defeat in the Constitutional Court next month over the issue, but said that Friday's decision meant its legal battle would be dropped.

During the summit, an emergency court order was obtained for Bashir's arrest, though government lawyers admitted he had quickly flown out of the country just before the order was issued.

"We were called as a country to arrest and prosecute a sitting head of state and the natural consequence would have been forced regime change in that country by South Africa," Minister Masutha told AFP.

Of the ten ICC probes since 2002, nine have been into African countries and one into Georgia, though most ICC cases have been referred to the court by African governments themselves.

In a major setback, its highest profile case -- over Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's involvement in election violence -- collapsed two years ago.
By A.B. Kafui Kanyi, GNA

Ave-Dakpa (VR), Oct. 22, GNA - Armyworms have invaded three farming communities in the Akatsi North District and destroyed many acres of maize and vegetable farms.

The affected communities are Fiave, Sanyi and Atiglime.

The worms are said to have destroyed large swathes of maize farms within 24 hours, boring holes in the leaves of the plants and impeding their growth.

Mr James Gunu, the Akatsi North District Chief Executive, told the Ghana News Agency that the Assembly, with support from Officers of the Department of Agriculture in the District, and the National Disaster Management Organisation, started spraying all farms in the affected communities.

He said but for the timely intervention by the Assembly, hundreds of acres of farms would have been destroyed by the worms.

Mr Gunu said the Assembly had informed neighbouring districts to be on the alert to avoid similar attacks.

He said the Assembly through its Local Economic Development Fund would assist the farmers affected to 're-organise their farms.'

The DCE asked Agricultural Extension Officers in the District and Unit Committee Members to visit farmer groups, individual farmers and traditional rulers and educate them on the worms for early detection and spraying.

GNA
The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wougon, Emmanuel Kyeremanten Agyarko, has described what he terms as the behaviour of President John Mahama and his governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) as spoiled brats.

He said this in response to the President Mahama's recent unsuccessful attempts to secure a one-on-one debate with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo on issues pertaining to the economy, among others.

Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Agyarko said, I think the NDC is behaving like a spoiled brat. They live in this country and they think everything must be at their beck and call. They think they that they must determine the outcomes for everybody and everything in this country.

He further said President Mahama's actions in recent times demonstrated very clearly a man that is confused.

From nowhere, out of nothing, the man comes one day and says; now I want a debate with Akufo-Addo. What has happened, what is new, Mr. Agyarko questioned.

He reinforced his spoiled brat comments by also accusing of the NDC of simply wanting to pick and choose debate platforms as he reminded that the NDC had boycotted the tried and tested platform the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) provided for a similar debate.

The NDC directed all of its candidates, presidential and parliamentary, not to participate in any debate organised by the IEA ahead of the polls precisely because the IEA's decided to hold separate debate for the flagbearers of the NPP and NDC as well as what they termed as IEAs lack of consultation before its announcement.

All of a sudden, the NDC comes not just saying they don't want the platform but actually attacking the integrity of the organizers of that platform, Mr. Agyarko said of the

There has been a time honoured, time tested way we have always done this. So what is the President talking about now, he stated.

NPPs responses to debate calls

In rebuttals to President John Mahama's recent challenges to debate Nana Akufo-Addo on issues of the economy, the NPP has asked for a response to the 170 questions laid out by the NPP running mate, Dr, Mahamadu Bawumia during his lecture on the state of the Ghanaian economy in September.

The NPP is also requesting a formal approach from the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) if any possible headway would be made on the issue.



Follow the hashtag #GhElections on Social Media for election related stories

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Dr. Danquah was a protege of the celebrated and iconic God-father of West African nationalism and the pioneer Pan-Africanist, Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford. In his [Danquahs] own words, it was at the feet of the eminent nationalist, Ekra Agyemang (Nana Ofori Atta Ayim).

We brought up this quotation for a good reasonwhich we explain shortly, the reason being that Nkrumah was never another prime political and philosophical protege of Mahatma Gandhi in the sense of Danquah being another prime political and philosophical protege of Joseph Casely-Hayford.

This distinction is extremely important. The greatest influence on Nkrumah was Marcus Garvey though his popular bookThe Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. W.E.B. Du Bois was the other mentor whom Nkrumah worked with on several projects aimed at decolonizing the African world (Danquah was intellectually influenced by T.H. Green, V.S. Solovev, F.H. Bradley and others; equally true was Nkrumah being influenced by other intellectuals beyond W.E.B. Du Bois and otherssee Marika Sherwoods Kwame Nkrumah: The Years Abroad, 1935-1947).

In fact such was and is the influence and importance of W.E.B. Du Bois that, the journalist Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe would review a book about him, titled Seizing the World: History, Art and Self in the Work of W.E.B. Du Bois, and publishing it in an Afrocentric journal (see the Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1, (Sept. 1997), p. 126-129).

In the meantime here is Brent Powell has to say:

King best articulated his convictions in his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

The 1963 letter supported and expanded the concepts first presented in Thoreau's essay, injecting nonviolent direct action into the American tradition of protest...

The American tradition of protest, strongly influenced by Thoreau's writing on civil disobedience, includes the notion of non-violent, direct action.

Martin Luther King, 'fascinated' and 'deeply moved' by Thoreau, built upon the work of both Thoreau and Gandhi.

Likewise, Gandhi also admitted that, 'Thoreau's ideas greatly influenced [his] movement in India..."

In other words, before Gandhi came into Martin Luther King, Jr.'s intellectual life, there was already Henry David Thoreau who greatly influenced both men!

(Brent Powell. "Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and The American Tradition of Protest." Source: "The Organization of American Historians Magazine of History" (The OAH Magazine of History). Publisher: Oxford University Press!).

THE MORAL END AS MORAL EXCELLENCE: DANQUAH VERSUS NKRUMAH

In sum, the lesson here is that influencing each other, mentorship and tutelage are normal dimensions of the human experience. When it is about Nkrumah, all his bold and successful initiatives, achievements, intellectual development, and political vision are credited to others. However, Nkrumah was genuine enough to give credit to those who contributed to his success story. K.B. Asante said this about Nkrumah:

He had the talent for grasping new ideas and the weakness of giving them form and calling them his own.

On the one hand John Mensah Sarbah advised Nana Ofori Atta 1 to allow Danquah to study or pursue a degree in law if he was to be useful to him, the king, and his subjects. Nana Ofori Atta 1 heavily taxed his subjects to pay for Danquahs education and living expenses while abroad. Yet when he returned from abroad he neglected the people of Akyem whose sweat sponsored his education.

Instead, he [Danquah] chose to spy for and to conspire with the colonial authorities and foreign intelligence outfits against his own people. Now some American intelligence officials, American and Ghanaian scholars, historians, and researchers have exposed his underhanded dealings with the C.I.A.

On the other hand, Nnamdi Azikiwe encouraged Nkrumah to study at his alma mater, Lincoln University in the United States, if he was to be useful to his people. The latter returned to the Gold Coast and put his education at the disposal of the people. The rest, they say, is history.

Ironically, Danquahs moral end was antithetical to moral excellence!

ON THE NATURE OF THE GANDHI CONTROVERSY

None of the professors at the University of Legon who petitioned for the removal of Gandhis statue hates Danquah, since they did not include either Nkrumah or Danquah in the petition and since the journalist Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe did not present a shred of evidence to support his position just as he has always done on Ghanaweb and other web portals.

The fact, however, remains that these professors are more in tune with the controversy on the scholarship on Gandhis stay in South Africa and the controversial rolesif checkeredin the worsening the Dalit situation in India! Influential world-famous Dalit scholars and thinkers from B.R. Ambedkar to Arundhati Roy (and several non-Indian scholars, researchers, and historians) have written extensively on these subject matters. Unlike the journalist Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, they hard facts of history are on the side of Profs. Profs. Kambon, Ampofo and their colleagues!

The interesting point of it all is that we did, in fact, read the Wall Street Journal article (Why Didnt Mahatma Gandhi Ever Get the Nobel Prize?) the journalist Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe cited in his uninformed piece, largely because an investigative journalist friend of ours, who was a reporter for the paper, brought it to our attention in 2014!

Regrettably, the article doesnt say anything substantive about the controversial legacy of Gandhi when analyzed from the standpoint of contemporary revelations on the subject matter. The fact is that no one can tell this complicated and controversial legacy in 15-20 paragraphs. More information on Gandhi and his legacy had appeared in print since 2014 when this article was published).

However, after taking a look at the article (Did NDC erect Gandhis statue at Legon to spite JB Danquah?) we can assure writer of this poorly written article that he has not done any serious reading on the subject matter. This is because this author has read most of the important academic texts on the subject (We have also had numerous discussions with some US-based Indian students, professors and writers). To name but three primary sources, Gandhis own autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth, his other book Satyagraha in South Africa, and finally, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi negate the substance of Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofes article.

The latest academic text on his 21-year stay in South AfricaThe South African Gandhi: Stretcher-Bearerby two South African ethnic Indian academics, Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed, is largely based on Gandhis own corpus of writings and other contemporary primary sources which rather paint a different picture than what Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe had previously presented in his piece of yellow journalism.

Still, the idea of Gandhi being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prizes on some three or four occasions is nothing new, not even surprising. President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for doing absolutely nothing to deserve the prize in the first place. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and the Argentine dictator Juan Peron (who offered protection and sanctuary to Nazis and Nazi sympathizers) were all nominated for the Prize at one point or another.

Moreover since the Norwegian Nobel Committee (the Nobel Foundation) declassified it nomination archives/database covering the periods from 1901 to 1956, researchers have revealed that Jawaharlal Nehru, the man with whom Nkrumah and others founded the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), was considered eleven times for the Nobel Peace Prize (Note: The Nobel Foundation classifies information about those who recommend potential winners, namely nominees, for any of the categories of the Prize for 50 years)! This is how we have come to know that the American public philosopher, activist, sociologist and womens rights advocate, Jane Addams, was nominated 91 times between 1916 and 1935. She finally was awarded the Prize in 1931 (she passed on in 1935).

Notwithstanding the above, there are millions in India who will oppose the idea of Gandhi being awarded the prestigious award. Renowned Indian scholars such as Arundhati Roy have demanded the removal of Gandhis statues from public spaces and public spaces named after him renamed. Now, let us turn to the Wall Street Journal article from which the journalist Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe selectively quoted to support his biased position. For those who have not read the original article, here are the other statements Mr. Jacob Worm-Muller made about Gandhi (our emphasis):

He is, undoubtedly, a good, noble and ascetic persona prominent man who is deservedly honored and loved by the masses of Indiasharp turns in his policies, which can hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers. He is a freedom fighter and a DICTATOR, an idealist and a nationalist. He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly, an ordinary politicianhad many critics in the international peace movement He was not consistently pacifist and that he should have known that some of his non-violent campaigns towards the British would degenerate into violence and terror

CONCLUSION

The fact of Gandhi being a dictator was one of the primary reasons Nathuram Vinayak Dodse, the man who assassinated him, cited for the assassination. His nine-page bookWhy I Killed Gandhi? (Or Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi?) elaborates on this. The speech can be found free online (see Part 3 of this series).

Fact is, it was not only Godse who viewed Gandhi as a dictator. There were (and still are) many Indians who think he was a dictator. In other words, many Indians still regard Gandhi today as a dictator just as this uncanny spin doctor of a journalist called Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe has always regarded Nkrumah as a dictator. This explains why he [Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe] consciously did not include the part of the Wall Street Journal article where it specifically mentioned Gandhi as a dictator.

He has done this on a number of occasions in which he mentions the titles of references, only to tell his unsuspecting readership entirely different stories, spurious accounts of our political history. He usually does, namely putting a spin on our political history when he writes about Nkrumah! His negative revisionism has failed to make an impact even within the camp of his unsuspecting readership.

On a final note, the article continues elsewhere on why Gandhi was denied the Nobel Peace Prize:

One of the committees was also of the view that Mr. Gandhi was not a 'real politician or proponent of international law, not primarily a humanitarian relief worker and not an organizer of international peace congresses

We shall return with Part 4!
The Red Glass Dress

There are 58 named shades of red but according to conceptual artist Ashmina Ranjit there are only two that matter.
Paris (AFP) - The train that derailed in Cameroon last week killing 79 people was travelling "abnormally" fast before the crash, a senior executive from the rail operator's French parent company told AFP on Tuesday.

"On part of the tracks approaching the station where the derailment occurred, we had speeds that were abnormally high compared to the speeds we should have had," said Eric Melet, head of Bollore Africa Railways.

A judicial enquiry has been launched into the accident which also injured about 550 people.

Melet said trains travelled at between 40 and 50 kilometres per hour in "slow zones" such as approaches to railway stations.

"But we have indications which seem to show that the approaching train was travelling at between 80-90 kilometres an hour when it should have been much less."

The train was travelling from the capital Yaounde to the economic hub of Douala and came off the rails near the central city of Eseka.
The running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has advised President John Mahama to debate the people of Ghana on issues of the economy as they are the ones well acquainted with the current economic conditions.

Dr. Bawumias remarks mark his first comments on President John Mahamas recent challenge to the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, on pertinent issues including the state of the economy.

President Mahama has said a debate with Nana Akufo-Addo would afford both parties the opportunity to set the record straight on a number of issues including the state of the economy.

But Dr. Bawumia has said Ghanaians will more be interested in a debate with the President over various aspects of the economy since they are in the best position to tell the performance of the governing NDC.

During an addressing at Sangban in the Tatale-Sanguli constituency of the Northern Region, Dr. Bawumia said, I want to challenge him to come to Sangban and debate with his people of Sangban on the economy. He should tell the people of Sangban what he has done for them in the last eight years.

If they want a debate on the economy, they should come and debate here inside Sagban with the people of Sangban. They will tell them how their economy has been run.

He should tell the people of Northern Ghana and the people of Sanban what he did with the SADA money. He should go and debate with farmers who cannot buy fertilizer because of his policies.

NPP's other responses to debate calls

In rebuttals to President John Mahama's recent challenges to debate Nana Akufo-Addo the NPP has asked for a response to the 170 questions laid out by the NPP running mate, Dr. Bawumia during his lecture on the state of the Ghanaian economy in September.

The NPP is also requesting a formal approach from the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) if any possible headway would be made on the issue.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifonline.com/Ghana
The Electoral Commissions (EC) has said there is the need for the media to be responsible in its work in order to make this year's elections one of the best in our political history.

Journalists must report accurately on the elections and avoid declaring winner ahead of the EC.

The practice has the tendency of causing confusion among political parties and their supporters, Mr Azu Bosco Anyigire, Upper West Regional Director of the EC, has said.

He said the media is a major partner of the EC in ensuring that the elections are conducted successfully.

Mr Anyigire said this when addressing media practitioners at a day's capacity building on media reportage for the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections in Wa.

He called on political parties to bring their polling agents to the EC for training so that they could abide by the EC's code of conduct in the implementation of their duties.

Mr Anyigire said the EC in the region has not accepted two nomination forms from Mr Ali Abdul Rahman, an independent candidate in the Wa Central Constituency and Mr Mani Maxwell, who was to contest the Jirapa parliamentary seat on the ticket of Independent People's Party.

The two candidates presented their nomination forms to the EC without any bank draft and had not visited the EC's office since then.

The Regional Director said 51 nomination forms have been received from candidates contesting the parliamentary seats in the region.

Mr Chris Alalbila, a retired broadcasting journalist, urged journalists to report exactly what they see on the field without biases and avoid conjectures and presumptions which are likely to inflame tensions among political parties.

Our responsibility is to make Ghana go through successful elections. Journalists must avoid going into the elections with bias mind.

Our purpose is to inform Ghanaians with accurate information on the elections, he said.

Mr Alalbila, who spoke on: Importance of media reportage on election, said the active participation of the media could help bring successful elections.

He urged the media to cross check from EC when in doubt and should not rush to air or file false information which is likely to cause confusion.



Source; GNA
Some Ten National Democratic Congress, NDC youth activists in each of the ten regions of Ghana are to embark on what they described as hunger strike to drum home lack of adequate attention from the party hierarchy concerning their demand for logistics. Continuous inadequate action from party hierarchy towards their demand for logistics has become order of the day they fumed. This according to them has already created anger amongst the rank and file of some Volunteer working group members.

The hunger strike is intended to serve as pressure on officialdom and also to ask whether the election is already a done deal according to them. They analyzed that, if so, then the status quo must be made to remain but if it is not, then this should catch the eye of top hierarchy of their party because the situation could be illusive considering the comfort the National Democratic Congress party has given to the main opposition party the New Patriotic party in some constituencies even though the administration of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has worked and must therefore be assisted to be retained in December.

The Youth Volunteer Working Groups are expected to touch grounds with grass-root members of the party and by extension, bring on board floating voters to ensure a land slide victory is achieved in December. Journalist and Convener for Agenda For Mahama Group Kofi Adzivor who is leading the crusade says this has become necessary due to the level of love they have for their party the NDC. He says, there is need for them to fire in on all cylinders in making sure that logistics are secured early enough for them to get to work. With this he says, their involvement in making sure His Excellency John Dramani Mahama is retained in December is achieved.

It may be recalled that, all recognized NDC youth groups were assembled recently at Institute of Local Government where deliberations were made as well as strategies were drawn.

With some few weeks to elections, what is emanating is that, some of the youth volunteer working group leaders see the future to be bleak considering the lies members of opposition New Patriotic Party have been telling voters most especially those in rural communities. With logistics not forthcoming for them to hit the road to nullify these lies and tilt it towards the NDC is becoming a dream. He says the hunger strike would commence from Monday 24th of October 2016 till they listen to them otherwise they should just prepare their coffins.

They are therefore expecting to see leadership to take pragmatic actions that would deploy the volunteer working groups to the task ahead for a resounding victory.

By KOFI ADZIVOR

0244448805/0244448546
Lead presenter and producer of BBCs Focus on Africa and honoree of Africa Youth Awards - 100 Most Influential Young Africans, Sophie Ikenye has been announced as the next guest for a twitter chat facilitated by Africa Youth Awards.

Themed: The True Picture: Transformation of the Media Narratives of Africa, Sophie will use the Twitter event to share ideas on how African Journalists can use their platforms to change global narratives about Africa with the hashtag #AfricaYouth.

The twitter chat, which will take place on the 25th October, 6pm GMT, will also be used to highlight Sophies work that has contributed to the Transformation of the Media Narratives of Africa.

The official accounts for the chat are @sikenye & @AwardsAfrica

The Africa Youth Awards Twitter Chat has so far Hosted Onyi Anyado, Global Leadership Speaker & Entrepreneur and Ahmed Adamu, pioneer chairperson, commonwealth Youth Council & Africa Youth Awards 100 Most Influential Young Africans Honoree for its previous chats on Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership respectively.

Africa Youth Awards is the continents biggest honour and most prestigious award scheme for young achievers and receives annual participation from over 140 countries.

For more information or to discuss partnership opportunities please visit www.africayouthawards.org or email: [email protected]

Source: Prince Akpah
Alaga Dore (Ethiopia) (AFP) - When protesters torched a nearby Dutch-run farm in Ethiopia's Oromia region, Marc Driessen watched anxiously as smoke billowed above the horizon, fearing his own business would meet the same fate.

"I was really terribly scared because I saw AfricaJuice burning from our farm and we were getting noise from people that most likely our farm would be next," he told AFP from his flower farm, Maranque, which boasts recently installed solar panels worth 600,000 euros ($650,000).

The farm, some 125 kilometres (77 miles) south of Addis Ababa, is at the heart of the restive Oromia region where anti-government anger erupted into violence after at least 55 people died in a stampede at a religious festival on October 2.

An employee of Maranque was among those killed in the disaster. The stampede was blamed on police who fired tear gas at Oromo demonstrators, who are waging an unprecedented protest movement against the authoritarian Ethiopian government.

After nearly a year of protests demonstrators turned their anger to foreign investors who they blame for occupying land appropriated by the government.

Not long after AfricaJuice, a Dutch fruit farm, went up in flames, hundreds of protesters brandishing sticks, rocks and a few guns gathered in front of Maranque.

Marc Driessen's Maranque Plants was under threat of attack by around 250 protesters in the days of unrest following a stampede that occurred in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia

It was a group of elders from the nearby village who rushed to the farm on their scooters, who saved the day.

"We put ourselves in front of the protesters and we told them 'Maranque is our property, do not burn it. Burning this farm will not change the government. You'll kill us rather than destroying this farm'. And our youngsters backed away," said community elder Shumi Telila.

More than 800 residents of the village of Alaga Dore work at the farm.

'It was like a war'

The spike in violence after the stampede, during which government buildings and more than a dozen foreign companies were targeted, prompted authorities to declare a six-month state of emergency for the first time since the fall of communist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991.

"It was like a war," said Abraham Negussie, an employee at AfricaJuice, describing an attack by thousands of men, some armed with Kalashnikov rifles, according to witnesses.

"Protesters say we don't want to hurt the people, only to destroy this property completely," he added.

The attack left a trail of destruction with warehouses destroyed and vehicles and equipment burned.

Outside the farm several tonnes of passion fruit now lie rotting in the sun as they can no longer be processed into juice destined for Europe.

Workers of AfricaJuice had to toss several tonnes of passion fruit that could no longer be processed after the farm was attacked by protesters

Calm has returned since the strict state of emergency was put in place, with the government reporting over 1,500 people have been arrested.

Large rocks used by protesters as barricades still line the road, which is now patrolled by numerous soldiers.

The unrest began in November in the central Oromia region then spread to Amhara in the north.

Together, the Oromo and Amhara people make up 60 percent of the population. The protesters accuse the country's leaders, who largely hail from the northern Tigray region, of monopolising power.

'It will affect investors'

International rights groups estimate at least 500 demonstrators have been killed in a bloody crackdown on protests over the past 10 months.

The violence in Ethiopia poses a threat to its reputation as an oasis of relative political stability and its double-digit growth, which make it a magnet for foreign investment.

Driessen, who has been in Ethiopia for 12 years, is convinced that carefully nurtured ties to the local community helped protect his farm, where chrysanthemums, dahlias and lavender grow in greenhouses.

"We built a water line in the village, we put a cement floor in the school, we fixed their electricity generator... we need to do what we can to help the people surrounding us," he told AFP.

Driessen said he was drawn to the Horn of Africa nation by its low production costs and the ideal climate of the Rift Valley. His company has invested 10 million euros in Ethiopia.

"It will affect new investors dramatically," he said of the recent violence.
The amount of money which South Africas MTN Group is alleged to have illegally moved out of Nigeria is mind boggling, a Nigerian lawmaker said on Thursday at the start of a parliamentary investigation into the telecoms company.

He did not specify what the alleged amount might be.

Nigerias upper house of parliament agreed last month to investigate whether the company unlawfully repatriated $13.92 billion between 2006 and 2016.

MTN shares fell 3.2 percent to more than six-year lows after Bloomberg quoted a senator as saying the amount could be outrageously higher. The shares later pared some losses.

The accusations of illegal money transfers were denied by MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Ferdi Moolman, who appeared at the hearing.

MTN categorically denies all suggestions that its bankers in strict violation of the FEMM Act (Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Act) and Foreign Exchange Manual, repatriated $13.92 billion illegally out of Nigeria, said Moolman.

The allegation is the latest setback for Africas biggest telecoms firm in its most lucrative but increasingly most problematic market, coming months after it agreed to pay a greatly reduced fine of 330 billion naira ($1.08 billion) to end a long-running dispute over unregistered SIM cards.

MTN officials, Nigerias trade minister and four lenders were due to appear at the parliamentary hearing, which started on Thursday.

It is not what we can sweep under the carpet. We intend toget to the bottom of the fact, all of the fact, nothing but the fact, said Olusola Adeyeye, a senator, reading out a statement from Senate leader Bukola Saraki, said at the start of hearing.

Dino Melaye, the senator who first made the allegations in a motion passed by lawmakers last month, said he raised the issue as a patriotic Nigerian, a whistle blower and an anti-corruption crusader, adding that he stood by the allegations.

MTN is the largest mobile network operator in Nigeria, Africas most populous nation and has the continents biggest economy. The country accounts for a third of MTNs revenue.It follows a row between South African hotel and gaming group Sun International and Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over its investment in a hotel operator in Lagos. The disagreement caused Sun International to pull out of Nigeria in August.

Rafiu Ibrahim, chairman of Nigerias senate investigative panel on alleged illegal repatriation of funds, said on Wednesday that a team of international and local accountancy experts and lawyers had been assembled to look into the matter.

Investors are nervous with whats happening with Nigeria purely because the past history has shown us that typically the government tends to move the goal posts, Independent Securities trader Ryan Woods said.

-Reuters
Ashanti Regional Police Commander COP Kofi Boakye says it is unthinkable and unacceptable for any political party to ask macho men to police ballot boxes on December 7.

That coming from the Ashanti regional police commander, COP Kofi Boakye.

According to him, its wrong for a political party to arrogates to itself the power of the state. Mr. Kofi Boakye was speaking at the inauguration of a hostel accommodation facility for the police in Ashanti region.

We are going to be firm and fair with all parties and we are not going to tolerate any group of people who want to give themselves powers of policing that we are going to send macho men to police ballot box, he said.

COP Boakye said this can never happen as Ghanas democracy has group beyond that adding Even during the 2000 election after there has been a government for 19 or so years nobody sent macho men to police ballot boxes but there was a change of government.

He was emphatic that there has not been a change in police, as it is the same police from revolution to this time.

What makes people think that people will change? We are the same police, COP Boakye said warning the fact that election is coming does not mean that any Tom, Dick and Harry can given themselves the powers of the state.

He said the power that the constitution has given to the police is non-negotiable.

-myjoyonline
In the month of October specifically 14th & 15th, GaDangme Europe met in Amsterdam, the Netherlands for its 12th Annual General Conference. In 2008 the same venue hosted the Constitutional Conference that gave formal birth to the GaDangme Europe.

In the same year 2008 GaDangme Europe planted a seed of love and care for their homeland Ghana where they came together as one people to think and brainstorm on topics/issues that will re-shape and outline Greater Accra Region of Ghana in terms of education and cultural awareness.

Since GaDangme Europe constitution was adopted in Amsterdam there has been annual conferences each year but this years annual conference in Amsterdam was remarkable, extraordinary and significant in the history of GaDangme Europe.

GaDangme Europe holds a two days conference and it was the 12th edition of this great union which took place in De Kandelaar, Bijlmerdreef 1239. In fact this years conference was a conference full of good memories and lots of achievements under the able leadership of Sarah Naa Adoley Coleman Hoeling.

The conference commenced on Friday morning with welcoming our chiefs from Ghana namely Nii Acquah II of Ga Odumase manste, Nii Quao Donkor II  Asere Tsoro manste Nii Osabu Abbey IV Prampram Seitse, Mannye Naa Marmakai Bortobli I, and Nuumo Gbelenfo iii- Osu, Haastoo and Pokuase Gua Wulomo III. Rev. Kpakpo Bruce-Thompson from GaDangme community-Hamburg opened the conference with an opening prayer followed by the high priest Nuumo Gbelenfo III with a traditional prayer. It was really interesting and exciting to see how our forefathers use to pray in the past through libation pouring and also to have a real overview of it from a high priest.

Vice-President Nii Kotey Robertson gave a summary of the conference which was held last year 2015 in Zaragoza, Spain, after that, GDEu President Naa Adoley Coleman-Hoeling gave a short warm welcoming speech.

This years conference saw the launch of GaDangme Europe Green Book that gives readers information of achievements and efforts made during the past two years under President Naa Adoley Coleman Hoeling.

The first day of the conference a topic was raised based on the Ga language and how intensively it has to be treated. The major problem of the people is that the Ga language is losing or mislaying its origin and its importance in with especially among Ga born children and youths which GaDangme Europe pleaded and beseeched with the chiefs and the high priest to do something concerning this issue. They came out with the advice that the GaDangme people should take a regulatory action towards the Government and its agencies such as Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service.

The first conference ended with an introduction of the nominees for the election to stand as executives to move GaDangme Europe to another level.

On the second and last conference day of the conference, executives that will lead the GaDangme Europe were elected which was coordinated by Madam Lesley Riwar and Madam Florence Naa Shormeh Lamptey.

President Naa Adoley Coleman-Hoeling was re-elected for the second time with a popular majority vote together with her Vice-President Nii Kotey Robertson for the next two years, other elected positions such as secretary, treasurer, financial secretary and Public relation officer and its vice also got elected for the next two years, immediately after the elections, Nuumo Gbelenfo III sworn the newly elected executives and they commenced with their duties from that day.

A fund raising process took place for a single project which was represented as Food Security which will be implementing in rural parts of Gt. Accra. This project is going to help our people with better food preservations and also affordable foodstuffs in the Accra market`s as well as cultivation of crops. GaDangme Europe honored and showed appreciation to individuals who have fought and worked hard for the association.

Watch out for my next episode on GaDangme Europe Green book of achievements which I describe it as a realization book which I challenge all GaDangme unions to produce and published.

Story: Naadiatu-Bagigah Bawah  Hannover, Germany

22.10.2016
Mr. Samuel Amo-Nimoh, the Regional Community Animator of Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP), has observed that the Social Accountability tool, applied by his outfit had contributed significantly to the effective implementation of the subprojects of GSOP.

Mr. Amo-Nimoh who made the disclosure during separate Social Accountability forums held in the twelve Districts in the Upper East and Northern Regions, stated that many of the subprojects of GSOP had been implemented successfully and made significant impact on the livelihoods of the poor as a result of the robust mechanisms put in place by the Project to address grievances and issues concerning transparency and social accountability.

The rehabilitation of dams and dugouts, Climate Change mitigation activities, feeder roads among others, funded by the World Bank and Government of Ghana are classified under the Labor Intensive Public Works (LIPW) component of the Project and seek to provide targeted poor rural households with access to employment and income-earning opportunities. The LIPW sets out to maximize local employment while rehabilitating productive infrastructure assets, which have potential to generate local secondary employment effects and protect households and communities against external shocks

Mr. Amo-Nimoh explained that the use of the Social Accountability tool which is a requirement in the implementation of the subprojects under LIPW of GSOP is to provide the platform for beneficiary communities, service providers and other duty bearers to review the progress and address concerns of all the parties with regards to project implementation.

He said as part of the Social Accountability procedures, citizens engagements are done right from the subprojects conceptualization, appraisal and design stages where the stakeholders are made to do validation before approval.

Mr. Amo-Nimoh stated that the full disclosure of project information including full cost of the subprojects, roles of various actors, rights and benefits are very critical in the operationalisation of Social Accountability.

He added that Transparency and Accountability Boards (TABs) had been mounted at all the project sites and populated with critical subproject information meant for beneficiaries and other community level stakeholders with the view to deepen transparency and to update the communities regularly on implementation issues

The Community Animator mentioned the principal actors of the Social Accountability forums in GSOP operational areas as the Regional Coordinating Office of GSOP, District Assemblies, Contractors, Works Supervisors, Climate Change Focal Persons, Assembly Members , Traditional Authorities, Community Facilitators, Participating Financial Institutions(PFIs), and the Community at large.

The twenty four Social Accountability forums recently facilitated by the Regional Directorate of GSOP provided the platforms for the stakeholders to assess and deliberate on the performances of all subprojects with the view of ensuring quality and efficient service delivery, elimination of leakages, effective participation, sharing of good practices and lessons, transparency and accountability. This is built around the Community Score Card tool with the provision of input tracking, performance, evaluation and interface, Mr. Amo-Nimoh stressed.

According to the Community Animator, the abandoned communal spirit is being re-awakened through Social Accountability. This, he said, can be deduced from the zeal and high turnouts of the community members at social accountability forums and to take their own initiatives to work on some of the subprojects, demonstrating community ownership of the project and ensuring sustainability should the project end.

The afforementioned confirm the assertion that the importance of Social Accountability in GSOP operations cannot be overemphasized and I think the concept should be replicated by other agencies to help accelerate growth, Amo-Nimoh stressed.

The concept and practice of Social Accountability was also lauded by some Traditional Authorities who participated in the forums.

I wish to encourage all my community members to take the Mango Plantation as our own personal property for us to reap the maximum benefit now and in future. You should all do your very best for the survival of the trees as a way of demonstrating our appreciation of the huge investment by GSOP, Naba Anyenaba Azaare, Chief of Feo in the Bongo District reaffirmed.

Similarly, in his welcome remarks, the Chief of Tenzuk in Talensi District, Naab Zotetere-Suhobazaa said, we are grateful to the leadership of GSOP for combining local and traditional wisdom and prudent management practices by incorporating the views of my community members for improvement going forward.

Again, the regent of Kpikpira in Garu-Tempane District, Ali Yaro also commented thus,  we thank all stakeholders for making it possible for us to realize our dream as a community by assisting us to rehabilitate our dam. I encourage all stakeholders to support and cooperate with one another for timely and successful completion. I also urge the Rural Bank to always come and pay our people on time any time funds are released to them.

Among some of the Districts where the Social Accountability Forums were held included Nabdam, Bongo, Binduri, Pusiga, Bawku West , Kassena Nankana West, Builsa South and Talensi all in the Upper East Region and Bunkpurugu Yunyoo and Gushegu in the Northern Region.

Mr. Samuel Amo-Nimoh, the Regional Community Animator of Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP), facilitating one of the Social Accountability forums at Bongo-Feo in the Bongo District

Mr. Samuel Amo-Nimoh, the Regional Community Animator of Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP), facilitating one of the Social Accountability forums at Tenzuk in the Talensi District
Two more held for explosions at Capital schools

Police on Thursday night arrested two more people in connection with the explosions in half-a-dozen schools of Kathmandu on September 20.
It is on record that President Mahama and his NDC governments priority policy is one Chief one Land Cruiser at the expense of the suffering Ghanaians.

Actually, Mahama and his NDC strident apparatchiks are more interested in winning elections than improving upon the fortunes of the country.

It is against this backdrop that President Mahama is refusing to censure the wayward Chiefs who are giving out the rural lands to the illegal miners.

In fact, a carefully considered reflection by any serious and committed leadership will acknowledge exactly why the illegal miners activities in our rural areas must be thwarted without delay.

May I ask: Which much publicised transformational leader on this planet would sit idly and watch obstreperous illegal miners seize its country side and despoil its natural resources?

How can a supposedly transformational leader look on unperturbed and allow the contumacious illegal miners seize our rural areas, forcibly dig our gold, destroy the environment and worst of all, terrorise the rural dwellers?

Even though the Chiefs do not have the right to allocate mining lands to individuals who are not in receipt of mining concessions, some Chiefs are in the habit of conniving with illegal miners from China to despoil our natural resources and heedlessly destroying our lands and water bodies.

Apparently, our Chiefs are supposed to develop their communities. However, they are seen to be doing the contrary. Apparently, they have turned nation wreckers.

A Chief is responsible for the daily administration of the traditional area for its advancement and the growth of its inhabitants. A chiefs ultimate function is the maintenance of law and order as a prerequisite for the growth of the community and the advancement of the people in all spheres of life (Odotei, 2010).

Ironically, however, the uncaring and unpatriotic Chiefs would often allocate lands to the illegal miners, knowing too well that it is unlawful for any individual to sanction small-scale mining. Needless to point out that the Ghana Minerals Commission has the exclusive right to do so.

So, it is rather infelicitous for our Chiefs and their subordinates to connive with the Chinese illegal miners to steal our natural resources.

To be quite honest, I cannot holdback my arousing disgust towards the enemies of the state-apologies to Anas.

To put it bluntly, those recalcitrant Chiefs are suffering from inferiority complex. Otherwise, how on earth would they assist illegal immigrants to forcibly dig our natural resources, terrorise the rural dwellers and then wreck the environment?

In any case, we should rather blame President Mahama for his lackadaisical approach to duty. For, he has not shown true leadership in the fight against illegal mining.

As a matter of fact, the mass degradation of our rural areas by the recalcitrant illegal miners is outrageous. Nevertheless, President Mahama is somehow wholly unaware of the seriousness of the destruction, hence his inexorable refusal to circumscribe the activities of the unscrupulous illegal miners.

Per the Constitution of Ghana, no citizen of Ghana is above the law. Yes, the Constitution is candid. However, in my opinion, the enforcement of the laws leaves much to be desired.

For, it seems that some Ghanaians are above our laws. The laws were not enacted for them.

If some Chiefs are indeed giving out lands for illegal mining without the prior knowledge of the Ghana Minerals Commission, the question one may ask then is: Why no incompliant Chiefs have since been brought to book? Are they above the law?

Amazingly, the uncaring Chiefs are colluding with the criminals to steal our natural resources. Thus, it would only be fair and proper if such offending Chiefs are prosecuted accordingly.

We cannot and must not allow some obstreperous Chiefs who do not have the nation at heart enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of Ghanaians.

Someone should please remind our indocile Chiefs that respect is earned, but not to be seen as a God given entitlement.

So, our hitherto well-respected Chiefs must revert to their old and discreet ways and then continue to earn our respect. For, their waywardness will not earn them such respect.

Let us also remind our Chiefs that they may have rights over the lands, but they do not own the natural resources underneath the lands. Therefore, they have no right to sell the lands to illegal miners and assist them to forcibly take our natural resources.

In any case, it is incumbent on President Mahama to repudiate such abhorrent actions by the wayward and unpatriotic Chiefs. But then again, the all-important question is: does he have the will and the commitment to do so? I do not think so.

All the same, let us remind President Mahama that if our Chiefs persist with their shenanigans, their reward should not be one Chief one Land Cruiser, but they should rather be sent to Nsawam Prisons.

K. Badu, UK.
Senior journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jr., says small-scale miners popularly known as Galamsey operators delight in acts of impunity because they are backed by some influential personalities in the country.

He says these personalities which according to him include political party officials, traditional leaders, state agencies, police and military elements have found nothing wrong with acts perpetrated by the miners who hail from all parts of Ghana.

Speaking on the Joy FM/MultiTVs news analysis programme, Newsfile on Saturday, the Managing Editor of the Daily Crusading Guide newspaper said, Its about time the President sits upor we would end up forming a rebel group to rampage this country in the name of galamsey.

Some 4,000 illegal miners operating in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region went on a rampage Wednesday after a deadline served them by the Minerals Commission to vacate the area which is a concession of Anglogold Ashanti (AGA) elapsed.

Chanting No Galamsey, No Vote, the galamsey operators destroyed key equipment of AGA, properties of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly and offices of some political parties namely the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), and the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP).

Things such as windows were shattered, TV decoders, billboards, plastic chairs and some other valuable properties were vandalized.

Per the quit order given them, the illegal miners were to vacate the area a forthright ago or risk being forced out of the area by a Task Force made up of the Movement Committee.

Some of the miners who spoke to Joy News disclosed their action on Wednesday was to demonstrate their unwillingness to leave the area. They said all that they want is a chance to make a living from mining, adding they are unhappy with the treatment meted to them by state officials.

Kweku Baako believes illegal miners in the country would not be acting with impunity in the face of the law if state agencies invested with authorities would apply the law without fear or favor.

Reacting to the decision by the Minerals Commission to flush out the illegal miners out of the area in the coming days, he said that would help improve the situation in Obuasi If they will match their words with deeds and to be blunt with it.

CUC Law School's Yaw Oppong

Law lecturer at the Central University College Law School, Yaw Oppong said the mayhem visited on the community by the illegal miners is a sign that provisions in the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 have to be implemented.

He said the behavior of the miners was regrettable, adding the situation would not have occurred had the Minerals Commission implemented the portion of the Act that says license should be given to Ghanaian small-scale miners.

He urged the miners to resort to court if they are dissatisfied with the way government is spending revenue generated from the sector.

Watch the video below:



Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
22.10.2016 LISTEN

I read with deep concern the article published on Manassehs folder on a very sensitive and potentially divisive subject of love for Northerners by political players. In the said article, Manasseh created an erroneous impression that the Love of Northerners by the current President and the Governing NDC party has nothing to show in terms of projects and policies.

This rebuttal is intended to remind Ghanaians and the author of the said article that President John Dramani Mahama is pursuing a National Development Agenda that is based on an equitable distribution of resources for all Geographical Regions of Ghana.

Where there has been a lag due to years of neglect he has implemented a strategy meant to bridge the gaps. But as you do more there is a demand for more This is called the law of rising

expectations...This is a testament of the achievements he has chalked

Before I delve into the straight issues of projects and policies, I will point out that the statement by Manasseh that Ashanti and Volta Regions vote on ethnic lines is fallacious.

The mere fact that these two regions vote for NPP and NDC is not sufficient to conclude that they vote on ethnic lines.

Volta Region voted massively for President John Dramani Mahama in the 2012 election despite the fact that he hails from the N/R. Ashanti Region as well voted massively for Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo notwithstanding the ethnic rivalry that exists between the Ashantis and the Akyems.

It is important to note that the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo Addo, is an Akyem with unflinching allegiance to the Okyehene. These patterns of voting suggest that the determinants of the voting behavior of the two regions are more complicated than simple ethnic considerations.

Below are a few of some projects that have been implemented by President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC Administration which are available to show for the love of Northerners.

PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMAS SUPPORT FOR THE SHEAR INDUSTRY

The shea industry in Ghana occupies an important place in the economic development of the country. This is because of its role in job creation, industrial development and growth of the national economy.

It is estimated that annual earnings from the sector currently stands at US$175 million, comprising export revenues from the raw nuts and processed butter. The sector also serves as a source of livelihood for thousands of people across the country, especially rural women in the northern belt who pick the nuts for sale.

Until the intervention of President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC Government, shea nut farmers in the three northern regions were not benefiting from any floor price as pertains in the cocoa industry.

And when the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) decided to announce a floor price for the produce as part of President John Dramani Mahamas efforts at improving the lot of the pickers and farmers, as well as develop a profitable shea nut industry, the price was so low that the National Association of Shea Nut Farmers, Processors and Buyers raised the alarm bells.

That was because the price offered was far lower than the prevailing open market price and that did not augur well for the players in the industry.

Perhaps, the biggest assistance ever to have come from President Mahama is the inauguration of the 15-member National Steering Committee on shea , the establishment of the Shea Butter Processing Factory in Buipe and the fixing of the floor price for every 80 kilogramme bag of shea nuts at a competitive price at the farm gate.

It is estimated that about 9.4 million shea trees are in Ghana, and these can potentially yield one hundred tonnes of shea nuts worth about US$100 million per year.

Shea butter has been found to have a fat composition similar to cocoa butter, and is used as a substitute for lard or margarine because it makes a highly, pliable dough.

Shea butter is also used in making soap and candles, and it is added in margarine formulations. After the oil is extracted, the residue serves as excellent fuel, which can also be mixed with mud for plastering traditional mud huts.

But for almost two years since the aforementioned policies were put in place by government, the shea industry is still not growing as fast as actors along the value chain would wish it to be.

This single initiative of President John Mahama holds the key to solving the numerous challenges that confront the Northern Regions of Ghana. The very issue of migration of young girls to the south which was mentioned in Manassehs article would be solved using this and several other approaches.

The legacy of JDM in the Shea industry is available for smart Northerners to see.

President John Dramani Mahamas support for the Northern Rural growth Programme (NRGP)

The government of Ghana in collaboration with its development partners has upgraded this initiative to achieve integrated development of the north with the following background.

Objective

The overall sector goal of the program is to contribute to an equitable and sustainable poverty Reduction and food security among rural households. The specific objective is to increase northern Ghana area rural households income on a sustainable basis.

Description

The proposed program would be implemented in 32 districts located in northern Ghana over a six-year period under four components:

Commodity Chain Development;

Rural Infrastructure Development;

Access to Financial Services; and

Program Coordination. The following is a brief summary of the Program description.

Benefits

The program will have positive social impact on men, women and youths in the three Northern Regions.

About 372,000 rural households or three million people living in these households will directly or indirectly benefit from the program. An estimate of 1.56 million of women will also benefit from the program.

NRGP addresses the priorities of the Government of Ghana in the pursuit of poverty reduction as describe above. NRGP will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the NEPADs Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP).

President Mahama And Leap 1000

The LEAP 1,000 is a social cash transfer programme INITIATED BY President Mahama through the ministry of Gender Children and Social PROTECTION.

It serves to provide financial support and health insurance to extremely poor households across the Three Northern Regions of Ghana to alleviate short term poverty and to encourage long term human capital development.

Beneficiaries of these projects recognize that, there is a lot to show for the Love of Northerners.

Bole Bamboi Road

This road had been a big burden to Northerners with its attendant health hazards and impact on economic activities of the Northern people. The construction of this road with clinics, schools and markets along strategic locations of the road represents a historic contribution to the economy of Northern Ghana.

Upper West GPRTU commends President Mahama for Constructing Bole-Bamboi road

GNA- The Upper West Regional Secretariat of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union

(GPRTU) has commended the government for the tarring of the ongoing 53-kilometre BoleBamboi road, which links the region to the southern part of the country.

The Upper West Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the GPRTU made the commendation at a forum to elect executive officers for the Wa-Hamile and the WaTortoro branches of the union as well as the Wa-Techiman Express branch on Thursday in Wa.

The enthusiasm with which the project was executed is highly commendable and the Union must give praises when it was due, Mr. Mahama said.

Some drivers and passengers plying the road who spoke to the Ghana News Agency were full of praise and commended government for its efforts at Constructing the road, saying the completion of the road has facilitated free movement of goods and people from the region to the south and enhance the economic fortunes of the people.

PRESIDENT MAHAMA INAUGURATES 1ST PHASE OF TAMALE AIRPORT EXPANSION PROJECT

President John Dramani Mahama last Friday inaugurated the first phase of the expansion and upgrading of the Tamale Airport to international status.

The ceremony also saw the first batch of 500 Muslim pilgrims to be flown directly from the Tamale International Airport to Medina, Saudi Arabia, for this year's Hajj.

In all, 2000 pilgrims from the Savannah Ecological Zone, comprising the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and parts of Northern Volta and the Brong Ahafo regions will be airlifted to Saudi Arabia in four batches of 500 each.

Upgrading and expansion work

The first phase of the Tamale Airport redevelopment project involves, among other works, the extension of the runway from 2,480 metres to about 3,940 metres and the installation of a lighting system for the airport to accommodate bigger aircraft, in line with its status as an international airport.

The project, which is being undertaken by Geiroz Galvao Construction, a Brazilian firm, became necessary because of the increasing number of airlines that use the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and the growing demand for domestic air transport.

The upgrading and expansion works on the Tamale Airport are also consistent with an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirement that enjoins member countries to have alternative international airports that have similar capacities as their main airports.

With the inauguration of the first phase of the Tamale Airport expansion project, the airport would now have the capacity to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft such as Boeing 747-800 series and facilities comparable to those at KIA.

This would also allow aircraft, which for any reason cannot land at KIA, to be diverted to Tamale.

Farewell

Families and friends of pilgrims and state officials who were at the airport were excited when the Boeing 747 carrying the first batch of the 500 pilgrims took off from the tarmac. Some of the people shouted "Allahu Akbar", meaning God is great, in Arabic.

President Mahama, in his inaugural address, gave the assurance that the government would see to the completion of the second phase of the Tamale Airport expansion project.

The second phase involves the construction of a terminal and a cargo section for the export of fresh vegetables and other agricultural products.

The President said the government would continue to work with the Ghana Airport Company to develop the aviation industry.

He said the upgrading of the Tamale Airport into an international terminal also formed part of the vision of the government to develop the aviation industry in Ghana and make air travel available and affordable to all Ghanaians.

Airport City

President Mahama said plans were underway to also develop the Tamale Airport into an aircraft maintenance facility for West Africa, adding that there were also plans to develop the airport enclave into an airport city similar to that of the KIA.

He said the development of the Wa Airport was also on course to make it possible for domestic flights to begin operations from there in the next few months.

I am delighted that the first commercial flight which involves Muslims pilgrims took place today, he stated.

President Mahama stated that the government would also rehabilitate the runway of the Sunyani Airport to facilitate a more efficient use, while feasibility studies on the Cape Coast and Bolgatanga airports were going on.

The President said all the facilities would raise the standard of aviation in Ghana.

Mr Mahama commended the construction firm for the quality work done and all who contributed towards the take-off of the Hajj pilgrims.

Aviation hub

The Minister for Transport, Mr. Fifi Kwetey, for his part, said the project was undertaken at an estimated cost of $130million dollars, and called on traditional leaders to help protect lands around the various airports to ensure safety and security .

The Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Mr Charles K. Asare, stated that with continued support from government, the GACL would be able to achieve the President's vision of positioning Ghana as the preferred aviation hub in West Africa.

Prayer

The National Chief Imam, Sheik Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, who also witnessed the take-off of the first direct commercial flight from the Tamale International Airport to Mecca, thanked Allah for the initiative and prayed for the leadership of the country.

Sheik Sharubutu was also thankful for the peace prevailing amongst various religious and ethnic groups in the country.

TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL



The modernization of the Tamale Teaching Hospital leading to significant increase of number of Doctors and other Health Professionals in the Hospital is a testimony of the excellent legacy of President John Dramani Mahama (JDM).

The first phase comprises a four-storey hospital building, named Building E, which has ancillary facilities such as theatres, accident and emergency department, intensive care unit, radiology, neo-natal and intensive care unit. There is also Building L which houses the mothers hostel, as well as Building M, which has the childrens ward.

Critical investment

It is because of this and other good things that the President said, This (hospital) is a critical investment that will bring immense benefits to the people of the Northern Region and beyond.

Again, the President said the hospital was set to be developed into a centre of excellence and promised that his government would seriously work towards that. For him and rightly so, it was critical for health development in the north to match the population growth.

Tamale, whose population stood at 400,000 when the hospital was established in 1974, has now almost quadrupled in population.

History of TTH

The TTH, originally the Tamale Regional Hospital, was comissioned in 1974. From that time, the hospital did not see additional development even though the client base continues to surge.

In 2007, the then government decided to upgrade the facility to a teaching hospital but that did not materialise until the NPP government exited power in 2008.

A teaching hospital is affiliated to a medical school and in the case of the TTH, the affiliation is to the Medical School of the University of Development Studies (UDS). Initially, clinical training for the UDS medical students was done at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. While on the hospital premises last Thursday, I saw some of the medical students being trained in medical care.

With the development at the TTH, the UDS is now in a position to train more doctors for northern Ghana and other parts of the country. Again, the hospital will serve as a training ground for other health professionals.

CRUCIAL EQUIPMENT BOOST



The Tamale Teaching Hospital has received equipment to cater for pregnant women and patients needing dialysis, curtailing the need to travel up to 501kilometers or 7 hours by road for the closest source of treatment.

Patients in Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions have had to travel to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to get MRI and CT scans or a dialysis treatment for those who suffer kidney failure.

Outgoing Health Minister Dr. Kwaku Agyemang Mensah commissioned these facilities at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The impact of these equipment is enormous for the region in the SADA enclave. Last year, eight expectant mothers died because they did not have access to an MRI machine and CT scan.

Now the Tamale Teaching Hospital will have to find how to run the equipment affordably yet profitably.

According to Chief Executive of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Prosper Akamnong, dialysis treatment costs between $150 to $200 at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

We will look at the local circumstances and see how we can break even just to allow the service to be affordable. There is no need to put a range that people cant afford it but it will have to be reasonable enough, CEO Prosper Akamnong told Joy News Seth Kwame Boateng.

The regions within the SADA enclave are among the most impoverished regions in Ghana.

But one other challenge the hospital would not have to worry about is reliable power supply.

The hospital has also secured a dedicated power line from Akosombo to support its operations. The above projects will employ sustainable results-focused interventions that will bring changes to individuals (behaviour and capacity), communities (capacity and services) and organisations (behaviour, capacity, services and hopefully policy).

These interventions will lead to better quality of health services and increased demand for health services by communities affected by diseases where all people who live in the North will have access to prompt diagnosis and effective quality assured treatment that conforms to standard of care thereby leading to a reduction in malaria morbidity and mortality.

This project will also result in stronger health systems and better disease control with people getting the right intervention at the right time and in the right places.

Incontrovertible evidence has been adduced in this piece to demonstrate that the Love of Northerners in particular, and Ghanaians in General, has so much to show. Programmes and Projects with varied impacts on individuals, families, communities and Nations have been implemented.

I will end with the famous quote of Henry Ford Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success. As a people, we came together the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama in 2012, We have kept together with remarkable progress.

President John Dramani Mahama is a son of the North, He loves the North.

He needs the second term to complete what has been started. But then who have been his greatest detractors? Those who are the allies of a political grouping which historically has done nothing for the North.

Dr. Mu-Awia Zakaria.

Executive Director

Institute of Social Research and Development(ISRAD)
Patrons of RwandAir are set to enjoy direct long haul flights from Accra to Asia and Europe from the first quarter of next year as the airline expands its fleet.

According to the airline, the heavy passenger volumes to Mumbai, Guangzhou and London, make it prudent for the company to capitalize on the economic opportunities for expansion.

The Country Manager for RwandAir, Dennis Rwiliriza also explains to Citi Business News the company's growth records over the years should enable it expand.

Among the many areas that people also travel to include India for relaxation, medical care, tourism and if someone can afford that trip for up to fifteen days and anyone who can afford that then it's a product to experience,

We are also looking into Guangzhou China and more importantly, London in UK, he stated.

Currently, RwandAir flies to eighteen destinations across Africa.

In the face of the competitive and challenging business environment, RwandAir continues to post an annual average growth of 40 percent.

Mr. Rwiliriza attributes this to the efficient management strategies and support from the Rwandan government.

The aviation industry in Accra is challenging but we have an unwavering support from our home countrycoupled with the good management by our CEO. Year on year we haven't grown less than 40 percent for what we have done the previous year in terms of both passengers and revenue.

Meanwhile it appears the airline company is yet to reduce the cost of air tickets despite the 25 percent reduction in cost of aviation fuel in August this year.

According to Mr. Rwiliriza, The two things may go hand in handindividual airlines have their own unique ways of doing with them. But for us we are by no means going to charge more than necessary.

The country Manager for RwandAir also assured of his outfit's commitment to provide cutting edge solutions to meet the expectations of its customers while keeping afloat with its competitors.

For us in trying to break into that it is a daily act and we have to see what our competitors have to offerbut in order to stay afloat, we have to offer services that are top notch compared to our peers. In my honest opinion, I think we are off that maturity now and we have all that it takes to stay in competition; cost, new fleet, customer services experiences.

-citifmonline
On board the Siem Pilot (AFP) - Horrific scenes unfolded in the Mediterranean off Libya Saturday as a full-to-capacity rescue ship was forced to sail away from desperate migrants trying to swim towards the rescuers.

Nine people drowned and ten were missing after a dramatic 24-hours in which the crew of the Norwegian Siem Pilot and MSF's Dignity rescued hundreds of panicked migrants in the dark, with only limited resources and in the face of aggressive people smugglers.

At least 8,000 migrants have been saved off the coast of Libya this week alone.

"I've never had a SAR (search and rescue) like it. We were in the process of transferring 1,000 migrants from the Okyroe (tanker) to the Siem Pilot when suddenly, in the dark, rubber boats appeared. It looked hopeless," said Pal Erik Teigen, the police officer in charge of the rescue operation.

Migrants aboard one of the rubber boats that had yet to be rescued desperately sought to reach the rescue ship that was by that point full-to-capacity and unable to take on more passengers, motoring towards it while crying out for help.

Around 25 people threw themselves into the water to attempt to swim towards the Siem Pilot, forcing the captain to pull back to deter others on the dinghy from doing the same.

Speed boats from the Siem Pilot later pulled the migrants from the sea and the dinghy and transferred them onto the tanker to wait rescue by another vessel, while Medecins Sans Frontiere's Dignity picked up the dead.

Teigen and his team are just one part of a massive efforts underway in the Mediterranean to rescue desperate migrants seeking to reach Europe.

Jan Eriok Valen, an intelligence officer and crew member who also provided security for the operation which is part of the EU's Frontex border force mission in the region, described the panic that greeted him as he boarded the overloaded tanker during the initial rescue.

"It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them," he said.

"Then they came up from behind us and we had to call for back-up. Other police officers from the Siem Pilot joined us with riot shields... we were banging our sticks on pipes to make a lot of noise, and we had to hit a few of them."

During the rescue operation, crew member and security officer, Jan Eriok Valen said, "It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them"

Several of those who were rescued fainted during the operation and had to be dragged aboard the Siem Pilot.

"It was the craziest SAR I've ever experienced. At nighttime, with a wooden boat, dinghies, people in the water, and a transfer from a tanker," said Valen.

One of the migrants passed a baby from a stricken inflatable launch into the hands of a rescuer.

The Siem Pilot team faced not just the extreme danger of the sea rescues, but also had to contend with confrontational people traffickers.

'I wasn't aware of the risks'

"There was also a facilitator boat which was very aggressive all night. We used the ship's search light to scare it off but it was determined to try and retrieve the dinghies we had rescued the migrants from," said Teigen.

Following the nighttime operation, conditions onboard the dinghies deteriorated as temperatures soared and the crew was forced to stop any more migrants boarding the ship, according to an AFP journalist aboard the vessel.

Sat in tight rows on the bridge of the ship, the migrants -- mostly from sub-Saharan Africa along with a handful who said they were from Syria -- had only a thin sheet of webbing to protect them from the baking sun.

Many of them used orange blankets to cover their bodies while their soaked clothes dried nearby.

Among the migrants were several young children, as well as entire families and some unaccompanied teenagers.

Scuffles broke out between some of the male migrants who had been rescued prompting the captain to tell the men on the deck: "If you don't stop fighting I will disembark you from the boat!"

The number of people seeking to make the perilous journey has increased in recent weeks as migrants attempt to complete their journeys before winter brings treacherous conditions to the Mediterranean, limiting the opportunities for Europe-bound launches.

Among the migrants were many small children as well as entire families and some unaccompanied teenagers

The Italian interior ministry said Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.

Up to 25 people are still missing, feared drowned after men on a Libyan coastguard speedboat attacked a packed migrant dinghy during a rescue operation on Friday off the north African state.

And onboard another rescue ship, the Acquarius which is being operated by the SOS Mediterranee charity, recently rescued migrants spoke out Saturday about the horrors they had endured in an effort to reach Europe.

"I wasn't aware of what I would have to go through along this journey... But I promise I would never do this journey again," said a tearful 33-year-old migrant from Guinea.

Another individual, a 30-year-old from Ivory Coast who had just been rescued, added: "I would never advise to anybody to do the trip that I have done to arrive here. Even to my worst enemy, I would never tell him to do this. I wasn't aware of the risks when I decided to leave."
Genevieve Basingha

22.10.2016 LISTEN

During her childhood Genevieve Basingha a normal girl had wanted to become a Nurse and later a Medical Doctor in the future. However, at the age of 12 her dream was cut short due a car accident at Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana. She managed to complete Junior High School in 1994. The doctors prescriptions could not prevent her from becoming deaf and dumb due to the accident.

She later attended the only Senior High School in Ghana for the deaf and dumb at Akwapim Mampong. Genevieve had to quit Senior High School during her first year due to financial difficulties.

She later went back to her hometown Wa and started apprenticeship to become a seamstress. Fortunately, she fell in love and got married to her current husband in 1997. The couple travelled from Wa to Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana due to the husbands work. She therefore could not complete her apprenticeship.

At Obuasi, she refused to give up on herself and the many abandoned deaf and dumb children everywhere. Therefore she channelled her passion to co-found one of the few Schools for the Deaf in the whole of Ghana in the year 2014. She began the Research Utilization School for the Deaf (RUSFORD) at Obuasi with few students.

In a period of two years, Genevieve has provided access to basic education for more than 100 neglected deaf and dumb children who never thought that they would ever have access to basic education. The school has poor housing facility, lacks access to potable water, lacks food, finances, teachers, teaching and learning materials.

Nonetheless, Genevieve does not treat these deaf and dumb children as just students, she has made them her family. With the help of her deaf but abled and supportive husband who works in Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana, she provides home, food, security and clothes for the abandoned students and Staff of the school through all the hard times even when the parents of these deaf and dumb children, the community members and the government have turned deaf ears and blind eyes to the pleas of the children, staff and the school. She is also one of the two teachers beside Agyemang Prempeh who teach 50 pupils from primary School 1 to 6.

Genevieve Basingha is a change maker and a heroine of our time. Genevieve has shown that disability is more than ability and you don't need to be fully normal or not disabled to make a long lasting impact in your community and the country.

RUSFORD has currently partnered with the PA-YAS Foundation and J-CommIT Enterprise for a School Farm Program to provide food and funds to develop the school.

By Janix K. Asare

To support Genevieve kindly contact Janix Asare

Mobile: +233 264 573 743 or [email protected]

Genevieve teaching the deaf children
Despite the failure of the Middle East policy, the United States has not abandoned its strategy aimed at global domination to be reached with the help of military might. Libya, Somalia and Mali may become a bridgehead for an intervention to encompass other countries under the pretext of fighting terrorists. President Obama, a Nobel Peace laureate, has dramatically expanded the intensiveness of intrusions into the territory of non-belligerent states. The African continent is becoming the next theatre of war with US extensive involvement. America is already waging a real war in the Middle East.

At least sixty-two syrian troops died and 100 were wounded when US jets bombed a syrian government base on Al-Tharda mountain near Deir ez-Zor. Remarkably, the US authorities has still not apologized for the attack, even though its bombing allowed the Islamic State (IS) militia to storm and capture the base shortly afterwards.

The Somalia's government has recently requested an explanation from the United States for an air raid that it says killed 22 soldiers and civilians in the north of the country on 28th September. The Somali army had confirmed that Galmudug forces and civilians were killed in the raid, describing it as a case of friendly fire. Protesters in Galmudug's capital Galkayo burned US flags and images of President Barack Obama in protest.

The foreign policy of the Obama administration has fostered greater instability on the continent with the destruction of Libya, the partitioning of Sudan, the expansion of sanctions against Zimbabwe and threats to exclude the Republic of South Africa from the American-sponsored Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

Five years after NATO destroyed the Libyan state under the leadership of Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the administration of President Barack Obama last August has once again launched a major offensive in its so-called war on terrorism. Why not to stop USA killing people and try to arrange peaceful negotiations between an opposition and government forces, listening to all participants of conflicts. Not every small african country cant afford to have huge quantity of military personnel and law enforcement. Most countries are interesting in sharing information, special training and modern equipment only to protect its people.

While the US has chosen the strategy of building a vast military infrastructure to wage a drone war in peacetime and prepare for a large-scale ground war if it comes to that. American military dream of helping African countries to fight on terrorism.

America now is currently engaged in several wars: Somali, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen. Its forces are also involved in lesser conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In recent years, the US war mashine has rolled out an extensive network of over 60 outposts and access points in at least 34 African countries - more than 60 percent of the nations on the continent. To compare, the US has only 50 diplomatic missions in Africa.

Niger is being turned into an important hub for military activities in the region. This year, the United States will complete in Niger the construction of the second most important drone site in Africa after Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. About 2 thousand US military personnel are carrying out 78 missions in more than 20 African nations. American troops are carrying out almost two operations, exercises, or activities from drone strikes to counterinsurgency instruction, intelligence gathering to marksmanship training somewhere in Africa every day.

The US operates at least eight drone bases in Africa located in Djibouti, the Seychelles, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Niger (Niamey) base and Burkina Faso. In February 2016 another african drone site established by the Pentagon in Garoua, Cameroon.

In May, the US signed a military cooperation agreement with Senegal in may this that allows the permanent presence of American troops in the West African country. The deal gives US forces access to many areas in the country, such as airports and military installations.

What we can do when US draw its attention to countries where ISIS recruit people.. Ghanaian people.. Authorities in Ghana revealed some times ago that students at the West African nation's multiple universities had been targeted in recruiting efforts by the ISIS or ISIL. The terrorist group reportedly has a training camp in Niger where the two Ghanaian recruits allegedly received training before traveling to the Middle East.

It is now 13 years since the US started its drone wars and it is clear its targets have expanded beyond Middle East. There have now been 515 US drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia since 2002, killing at least 2,887 people. Drone assassinations will continue and more innocent people will be killed by US Hellfire missiles guided by gleeful techno-cretins who move control sticks and prod buttons to play barbaric video games from their comfortable killing couches in drone-control bases from American territory. War on terror could continue indefinitely it is inevitable the death toll among local communities will rise.

Drone strikes have killed many civilians and that they are illegal. The law of armed conflict (LOAC) includes specific rules on targeting individuals that are intended to protect civilians. Those rules may be summarized as only permitting the targeting of combatants or civilians who are directly participating in hostilities. Targeting of other civilians is prohibited and may constitute a war crime.

The drone warfare violates Article 51 of the UN Charter that defines the rules of self-defense because the United States is not attacked. The signature tactics are inherently in violation of the principle of distinction because it fails to identify civilian or militant. Drone attacks run against the principle of proportionality concerning unintentional civilian casualties in war.

No one wants to live in an occupied country with foreign armies, starvation, and death, and Somalis are no exception. The United States continues drone strikes which claim to kill terrorists and in so doing keep Somalia in a state of failure. No stone is left unturned in the effort to keep Somalia from becoming a thriving nation with its sovereignty intact. In Somalia, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria there is no escape from American aggression either.
Ancient Africans had artists that were prolific writers on almost everything they could get their hands on including human bodies, slate, rock, caves, potteries, trees, mud and sand. Though the knowledge was confined to some classes and royal houses passed down along those lines, enough record and evidence remain that survived unstable nature of the rain forest until today.

Many African scholars find it hypocritical that while some colleagues and Africanists have been forced to acknowledge Iwo Eleru 10,000 B.C, ancient iron, terracotta, 8000-year-old ancient boat of Dafuna and black Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, they still hold on to the misconception that the ancient black Africans were not sophisticated enough or even meet their criteria to put down their civilization in writing. It is one thing to be ignorant of what you cannot read, another to deny it completely. Is it logical that ancient Yoruba counted in thousands but could not read!

While Africanists diffidently accept Meroe writing most cannot read or understand, there are many more writings on the staff of Oranmiyan, Idi, Ifa in Ile-Ife Western Nigeria and Nsipidi among the Efik of Eastern Nigeria. We see some of the most striking African writings on arms, bellies, backs and faces to relating back to the place of origin or to identify classes of the nobles and warriors. They are derided as less than hieroglyphs or expression of thought and process.

Differences are made between pictures, signs and writings. If they stand alone as structures they pass as pictures but when crowded together, they can pass as writing. Anyone ignorant of Arab or Chinese writing may wonder if they are pictures when separated. The same is true of musical writing or other writings some are unaware of. A writer of these letters or languages may put them together easily while others may see them as pictures, individually.

What many call tattoos on the bodies are scarification to others and if they convey thoughts and processes, they are writings many cultures used to communicate. Over the centuries, many of these different forms of writings have been simplified on materials that do not fade or are not easily destructible. The ease of writing numbers in Roman figures or Arabic figure is a case in point. Indeed, living language are still being shortened to make it easier and faster to write.

It is interesting that archeologists and anthropologists interpret African artifacts into modern form of writing but missed the interpretation of its original writings, no matter how crude they find them to translate. It is much easier if these are found in signs and pictures than to interpret some musical or Greek alphabet they cannot understand when scribbled together. This is why it is surprising that in the year 2000, we are not devoting enough research to African writings.

Senegalese-born Cheikh Anta Diop (1923  1986) is an exceptional scholar without whom many African cultures could have been lost forever. The blame must start with African scholars. Some spend their whole academic life studying other cultures and languages except theirs. While it is true that funds and research grants are harder to get for Africas study, we must remember scholars like Diop that used his foreign training to advance African cultures and languages.

Professor Babatunde Fafunwa (23 September 1923  11 October 2010). A Nigerian advocated that school children should be educated in their native language first in order to facilitate their thought processes making it easier to learn other languages and subjects. Their thinking and logic become easier to adapt for invention and discoveries locally. This is how children that cannot speak a word of English or French become great scientists and Nobel prize winners.

Most of the mineral or oil rich countries in Africa, export foreign currencies they do not print or mint. Whatever is paid to them in foreign currency for their crude diamond, gold, oil or uranium is exported back to those paying countries to acquire gadgets, cars and mansions they hardly live in but kept for their families and friends while foreign taxes are paid to maintain schools they ignore in their home countries. More foreign currencies legally leave Africa than come in.

These are funds that could benefit research, discoveries, inventions and infrastructure at home. Funds that could be used to improve schools so that gifted children with God-given talents that lack the opportunities children of the rich have, could use to benefit their communities. African politicians would rather donate U.S dollars to foreign universities in return for award they could showcase. This is how we stifle our culture and deny future generation of their place in history.

African children today can hardly speak their native languages. The rich, famous and politicians train their children outside Africa. Actually, many of the children at home speak English, French or Portuguese as their first language and communicate with their parents in those languages. It shows class and prestige in Africa. Those that do their best to make sure their kids speak their languages have a daunting task. Many of their children answer them in foreign languages.

If we are losing a whole generation of African speakers and many of them are highly educated, who are going to interpret ancient Africa writings? Indeed, many Nigerian colleges do not teach history anymore despite the plea of informed Africans that the repercussion on our life, culture and language will be devastating. Aiyelala, Chi and Nemesis will catch up with us.

Let us face it, some African countries have been lucky and blessed. It is not enough. What we do with what we have, no matter how small or great in that limited time will dictate the future of the next generation. As we squander their future endeavors, Aiyelala is watching. This is why we always say that until Africans clean up their act and help themselves, nobody will help us. Indeed, no African will be respected anywhere until Africans make their own progress at home.

Oil, diamond, gold or uranium may be located in certain part of a country, within one or more ethnic groups, it will not matter much to the next generation of African children. The country, group or people that squander our resources will be held responsible for shaming African children around the world. After all creation of boundaries and countries were made for the benefit of colonial masters not for the benefit of the local African people.

Yoruba of the Western Nigeria lead the world in civilized co-existence among people regardless of their religion by the old definition of civilization and they do have ancient writings. Some will continue to deny ancient Africa writings until more scholars like Diop rise up everywhere.
Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA

Takoradi, Oct 22, GNA - Mrs. Sally Molley of the Small Tax Payer Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has advised Small and Medium Enterprises to keep proper records to enable them to know their expenses and the right taxes to pay.

'If you fail to keep proper records we will calculate for you what the Authority deems right,' she stated explaining that as an Authority they were mandated to calculate the appropriate taxes and collect them and pay into the Government's coffers for development.

Mrs. Molley during an engagement with the SMEs on the Responsibilities of the Tax Payer at Takoradi, said various complaints that the Authority had issued high rating systems on tax payment was due to the lack of data and recording at the respective businesses to work with.

Mr. Peter Baah, an Assistant Commissioner of the Unit, urged all businesses to register for the TIN number to help speed up business transactions and to solicit the needed assistance from the authorities should the need arise.

He said soon the activities of the Authority would be automated and it was the TIN number that could help in doing business with the relevant bodies.

GNA
By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, Oct 22, GNA - The Carter Center, with its West African Partner Organisations, religious and traditional actors, has initiated a project to address discriminatory practices against women and girls.

The Carter Center, therefore, has embarked on a media campaign dubbed, 'Mobilising Faith for Women and Girls in West Africa', to ensure the success of the project, which would be implemented in Tamale and Accra.

Mr Eric Mensah-Ayettey, a Senior Communications Manager of Stratcomm Africa, who spoke at the meeting with journalists in Tamale to discuss modalities to kick-start the campaign, urged journalists to shed more light on discriminatory practices against women and girls for authorities to address.

The meeting was organised by Stratcomm Africa, on behalf of the Carter Center.

Participants identified some of the discriminatory practices against women and girls in the area of inheritance, and gave the assurance of their commitment to work to ensure equality for all.

GNA
UML won't back down from impeachment motion: Oli

CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli has said that his party will not back down from impeachment motion registered against CIAA Chief Commissioner Lokman Singh Karki.
22.10.2016 LISTEN

By Frederica Kyeremateng, GNA

Dalun (N/R), Oct 22, GNA - Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) has held its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) to present the reports on its various projects, aimed at improving the lot of society.

GDCA is a non-governmental organisation, which provides support to deprived communities in the region in various areas including education, employment generation and training of beneficiaries in both vocational and life skills.

The reports covered projects such as Empowerment for Life, Micro Credit Scheme, Complementary and Basic Education. The AGM was held at Dalun in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region.

Gushei-Na Professor Abubakr Al-Hassan, Chairman of GDCA, whose report was read on his behalf, gave the assurance that the GDCA would expand some of its interventions to create opportunities for women groups, farmers groups amongst other beneficiaries to improve their businesses.

Mr Seidu Abukari, the District Chief Executive of Tolon, commended the GDCA and its partners for improving livelihoods of people in deprived communities.

GNA
22.10.2016 LISTEN

Adaklu Waya (VR), Oct. 22, GNA - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) - Ghana Partnership for Education is supporting the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service through 'in-kind' grants to stimulate the culture of reading in basic schools.

This would help to increase early grade reading skills of approximately 2.8 million primary school pupils in public schools.

Ms. Cynthia Gbadago, Adaklu the District Director of Education, who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Adaklu Waya, said reading festivals were, therefore, being organised in 100 districts across the country between October and November this year.

The festival, under the theme: 'Learn to Read and Read to Learn', is aimed at encouraging pupils in Kindergarten One to Primary Three to read and to develop an interest in reading through various fun activities and games.

Ms. Gbadago said: 'A child who reads today becomes a leader tomorrow', adding that, the difference between a literate and an illiterate was reading.

Ms Gbadago said the Adaklu District Reading Festival would be celebrated at Adaklu Kodzobi on 3rd November and entreated parents to partake in the celebration as major stakeholders.

She said activities planned for the day included Spelling Bee in English and the Local Language, strong prediction, role play, pick and act, charade, word formation, reading silently and aloud and picture walk.

GNA
Accra, Oct 22, GNA - Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, has urged Distance Education students to visit the website of the university in order to keep abreast with activities.

'As distance students, it is important for you to know what is happening at the University, and also take note of important information,' he said.

Prof. Owusu was addressing fresh men at this year's Matriculation for Distance Education Students of the University of Ghana, in Accra, on Saturday.

'We shall be available to guide you, so long as you are willing to be guided,' the Vice Chancellor said,

'We will give you the support necessary, but only if you use the legitimate means to seek such support,' he said.

Prof. Owusu reminded the matriculants, that education meant great responsibility saying, 'To those of you who have been admitted to study at the University of Ghana, you have an obligation to help others with your education.'

He urged the matriculants to strive for excellence. 'As distance education students, you need a lot of discipline and good time management skills to succeed.'

The Vice Cancellor said the fresh men needed to create a good balance between time spent on studying and social engagements.

'You need to be critical and develop analytical thinking,' he said.

He reminded that their loved ones had sacrificed so much, so they could have university education.

'Honour their sacrifice by making the most of this wonderful opportunity,' he said.

Mr. Enoch Amartey, the Academic Affairs Director of the University of Ghana, who is the Acting Registrar, took the fresh men through the Matriculation Oath, and advised them to live above reproach and within the rules and regulations of the University.

For the 2016/2017 Academic Year, the University admitted students into programmes on the Main Campus, the Korle Bu Campus, the Accra City Campus, with Distance Learning offering admission to 25,295 applicants. More than 10,000 students have registered.

A total of 1,494 students have so far registered for various programmes under the Distance Education programme.

GNA
By Comfort Sena Fetrie, GNA

Nyankpala, Oct. 22, GNA - Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, the Vice Chancellor of University for Development Studies (UDS) has announced that the duration of the University's Medical Programme has been reduced from seven to six years.

He said the new tenure, which takes effect this academic year, was a decision by the Academic Board of UDS to enable the School of Medicine and Health Sciences run a conventional medical programme as was done in other Medical Schools in other countries.

The Vice Chancellor announced this at the 24th Matriculation at UDS Nyankpala Campus in the Northern Region.

In a speech read on his behalf, Professor Ayum Teye said the development had reduced the number of students admitted for this year academic to the number, which could just to join their colleagues in the Second Year of the Medical Programme.

However, this automatically increases the total number of students, he said.

He stated that the University had also admitted 6,897 qualified applicants into various degree and diploma programmes this year.

He said only 3,136 applicants had registered and they had been reported to the various faculties.

The Tamale Campus admitted 935 applicants, Nyankpala Campus - 305, Navrongo Campus - 344 and the Wa Campus - 1,552 applicants.

He urged the fresh students to learn very hard to achieve their aims.

He also advised the students to steer away from the operations of the politicians so that they would not be used violence acts during and after the general election.

GNA
On board the Siem Pilot (AFP) - Horrific scenes unfolded in the Mediterranean off Libya Saturday as a full-to-capacity rescue ship was forced to sail away from desperate migrants trying to swim towards the rescuers.

During a dramatic 24 hours, the crew of the Norwegian Siem Pilot and another aid boat rescued panicked migrants in the dark, with only limited resources and in the face of aggressive people smugglers.

Around 2,400 migrants were rescued and 14 dead bodies pulled from the water on Saturday, according to the Italian coastguard.

"I've never had a SAR (search and rescue) like it. We were in the process of transferring 1,000 migrants from the Okyroe (tanker) to the Siem Pilot when suddenly, in the dark, rubber boats appeared. It looked hopeless," said Pal Erik Teigen, the police officer in charge of the rescue operation.

Migrants aboard one of the rubber boats that had yet to be rescued desperately sought to reach the rescue ship, which by that point was full to capacity and unable to take on more passengers, motoring towards it while crying out for help.

Around 25 people threw themselves into the water to attempt to swim towards the Siem Pilot, forcing the captain to pull back to deter others on the dinghy from doing the same.

Speed boats from the Siem Pilot later pulled the migrants from the sea and the dinghy and transferred them onto the tanker to wait rescue by another vessel, while the Medecins Sans Frontieres charity's Dignity vessel picked up the dead.

Teigen and his team are just one part of a massive effort under way in the Mediterranean to rescue desperate migrants seeking to reach Europe.

Jan Erik Valen, an intelligence officer and crew member who provided security for the operation, part of the EU's Frontex border force mission in the region, described the panic that greeted him as he boarded the overloaded tanker during the initial rescue.

"It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them," he said.

"Then they came up from behind us and we had to call for back-up. Other police officers from the Siem Pilot joined us with riot shields... we were banging our sticks on pipes to make a lot of noise, and we had to hit a few of them."

During the rescue operation, crew member and security officer, Jan Eriok Valen said, "It was chaos on the tanker. They were pushing us towards the only way off the boat, coming from everywhere and pushing for lifejackets, arguing over them"

Several of those who were rescued fainted during the operation and had to be dragged aboard the Siem Pilot.

"It was the craziest SAR I've ever experienced. At night-time, with a wooden boat, dinghies, people in the water, and a transfer from a tanker," said Valen.

One of the migrants passed a baby from a stricken inflatable launch into the hands of a rescuer.

The Siem Pilot team faced not just the extreme danger of the sea rescues, but also had to contend with confrontational people traffickers.

'I wasn't aware of the risks'

"There was also a facilitator boat which was very aggressive all night. We used the ship's search light to scare it off but it was determined to try and retrieve the dinghies we had rescued the migrants from," said Teigen.

Following the night-time operation, conditions on board the dinghies deteriorated as temperatures soared and the crew was forced to stop any more migrants boarding the ship, according to an AFP journalist aboard the vessel.

Sat in tight rows on the bridge of the ship, the migrants -- mostly from sub-Saharan Africa along with a handful who said they were from Syria -- had only a thin sheet of webbing to protect them from the baking sun.

Many of them used orange blankets to cover their bodies while their soaked clothes dried nearby.

Among the migrants were many small children as well as entire families and some unaccompanied teenagers

Among the migrants were several young children, as well as entire families and some unaccompanied teenagers.

Scuffles broke out between some of the male migrants who had been rescued prompting the captain to tell the men on the deck: "If you don't stop fighting I will disembark you from the boat!"

The number of people seeking to make the perilous journey has increased in recent weeks as migrants attempt to complete their journeys before winter brings treacherous conditions to the Mediterranean, limiting the opportunities for Europe-bound launches.

The Italian interior ministry said Friday that more than 146,500 migrants had landed in Italy so far this year.

Up to 25 people are still missing, feared drowned after men on a Libyan coastguard speedboat attacked a packed migrant dinghy during a rescue operation on Friday off the north African state.

And onboard another rescue ship, the Acquarius which is being operated by the SOS Mediterranee charity, recently rescued migrants spoke out Saturday about the horrors they had endured in an effort to reach Europe.

"I wasn't aware of what I would have to go through along this journey... But I promise I would never do this journey again," said a tearful 33-year-old migrant from Guinea.

Another individual, a 30-year-old from Ivory Coast who had just been rescued, added: "I would never advise to anybody to do the trip that I have done to arrive here. Even to my worst enemy, I would never tell him to do this. I wasn't aware of the risks when I decided to leave."
US envoy: Focus on job creation as era of remittance-led growth is ending

Nepal should immediately focus on creating more jobs within the country to bolster the economy, as the era of remittance-led growth is likely to come to an end, US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz has said.
- The police in Akwa Ibom have arrested a 51-year-old woman, Rose Edward, for allegedly buying a two month old baby for N450,000

- The police also arrested a homeopathic doctor, Eneyo Nyang and mother of the baby, Comfort Effiong

- Effiong says she sold her baby because there was no one to take care of her

The Akwa Ibom state police command have arrested a 51-year-old woman, Rose Edward, for allegedly buying a two month old baby for N450,000, NAN reports.

According to the report, the police also arrested a homeopathic doctor, Eneyo Nyang and mother of the baby, Comfort Effiong, for their alleged roles in the crime.

File photo of a newly born baby

READ ALSO: Farmer arraigned in court for selling 7 children for N400,000

Murtala Mani, Akwa Ibom commissioner of police, disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday, October 22 in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

Mani who spoke through the commands spokesperson, ASP Cordelia Nwanwe, said that Edward from Rivers state confessed to have bought the baby because she needed a baby of her own.

Confessing to the crime, the mother of the baby, Comfort Effiong, said that she sold her baby because there was no one to take care of her.

She said: I sold the baby because of help; I dont have anybody to help me. My father is late and my mother is sick and I dont have anybody to help me.

READ ALSO: Child trafficking: Young mother sells her child for N500,000

However, Mani assured Akwa Ibom people that the command would not relent in its effort to curb crime in the state.

He warned members of the public wishing to adopt children to follow due process.

The arrest of Rose Edward and Comfort Effiong comes just two months after the Delta state police command paraded two suspects who sold a three-month-old baby to a Lagos-based businessman for N500,000.

The suspects, a 43-year-old fake nurse, Uju Okonkwo and a fake lawyer, Ezurum Joseph, who claimed to have graduated from the Nnamdi Azikwe University, NAU, Anambra state in 2011 with registration number 39017, confessed to the crime.

Source: Legit.ng
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Instant Assignment Help has become the leading academic writing service provider in the Australia by delivering the best assignment help to the college students.

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By: Joshua Sherman Presents

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-- Four acclaimed Broadway actors will spend the last week of October at the newly restored gristmill in East Arlington, Vt., rehearsing, a musical about the life of Norman Rockwell, just a few miles from the artist's former home.The rehearsal week will culminate October 29 with an invited "dress rehearsal" at The Mill, which now houses a performance space and is dedicated to fostering artistic collaboration."After two years of renovations, I'm so excited to reintroduce the mill as an Arts Center to the community," explained Dr. Joshua Sherman, the mill's designer and Producing Artistic Director  who is also a practicing physician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center."Rockwell left an indelible mark on America and Vermont," Dr. Sherman explained. "Rockwell was born in New York City and then chose Arlington, VT as his family home - so it's very fitting that we inaugurate The Mill with a show that explores Rockwell's life  and then takehome to NYC."has book and lyrics by Emmy Award winner Eileen Bluestone Sherman with music by her sister, award-winning composer Gail C. Bluestone.On Oct. 31, the actors will present a concert reading ofat Lincoln Center as part of theThe cast ofincludes Tony Award winner Lillias White (currently featured in the Netflix series), two-time Tony nominee Crista Moore (star of Broadway'sand) and Tony nominee Mark Jacoby as Norman Rockwell. (Jacoby was Tony nominated for his performance inbut is often remembered as the Phantom from Broadway'sand Father in the original Broadway production of). Additional casting to be announced.got its start when award-winning author Eileen Bluestone Sherman visited the old Norman Rockwell museum in Arlington and subsequently read Rockwell's autobiography,, as told to his son, Thomas Rockwell, the artist's middle son and a distinguished children's author."The writing was lyrical, and the book captured my imagination,"Eileen Bluestone Sherman explained. But with further research, she discovered Rockwell's personal life was very different from the pictures he painted. "He wanted his fans to believe his life was just like one of hiscovers, but in truth, the man was a tortured soul. He yearned for respect among the art world elite. Still, he really isan American hero. His quest to raise money for the war effort in the early 1940s withposters is one of the great untold American stories."Constructed in 1764 by Remember Baker (Ethan Allen's first cousin), the mill in East Arlington is one of Vermont's oldest buildings. During the American Revolution, a local rebel regiment used the space for meetings. It operated as a gristmill until the 1920s and is fondly remembered as "The Candle Mill Village" (a major tourist destination in Southern Vermont for over 40 years). For the last 14 years, it was a successful antique center.Dr. Joshua Sherman purchased the property in 2014. He explained, "While my father was in medical school in Albany, he and my mother would come to Vermont when they needed a special get away. They continued that tradition with me and my sister. Every fall, we would visit Arlington."The mill was a focal point of their annual pilgrimage. The elder Dr. Sherman took an annual portrait of Joshua and his sister, Jenny, by the Mill  which often served as the family holiday card. "Each year, my mother would remind us, 'If the four of us ever get separated in life, go to the mill.'" Thirty years later, when the opportunity presented itself, Dr. Sherman bought the mill  and it officially became "home."I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with the mill and the two accompanying buildings," Sherman explained. "In the 1940's, Arlington was not only home to Rockwell, but several other famousillustrators. It was a great arts community. That inspired me to re-invent the property as an arts complex with a theater, sound studio, event space, and gallery. I have years of work ahead to complete that vision, but The Mill is an exciting start."Dr. Sherman explained, "Both theater and medicine require good listening and communication skills  and most importantly, the ability to collaborate. It is critical that patients trust their doctors. Similarly, it is important for artists who are developing new works to feel safe as they experiment. It's amazing to think that The Mill was once a meeting place during the Revolutionary War. Although there is still a lot of renovation work ahead, I ultimately envision the property as a safe space for artists to collaborate and create new and revolutionary ideas for the arts."###CAPTIONS:Mark-Jacoby.jpg:Acclaimed Broadway actor, Mark Jacoby, will be in Arlington, Vt., during the last week of October rehearsing, a musical about Norman Rockwell's life, in which Jacoby plays the famous artist. Jacoby and fellow cast members will perform a staged concert reading ofOct. 31 at Lincoln Center as part of theDr-Sherman.jpg:Dr. Joshua Sherman renovated a colonial-era gristmill to create a collaborative space for the performing arts in Arlington, Vt. To inaugurate the new space, Dr. Sherman is producing a staged concert reading of, a musical about the life of Norman Rockwell.--30--
Women in Saudi Arabia and GCC can benefit from a breast cancer awareness program organized by Zahra Breast Cancer Association and sponsored by Fam brand, through the end of October.

By: INDEVCO

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***@indevcogroup.com Gacia Apikian

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-- With breast cancer the most common form of cancer for women in Saudi Arabia, Fam brand sponsors Zahra Breast Cancer Association's annual October initiative to increase awareness of early breast cancer detection and screening in the GCC area.Fam's focus on Arab woman's health awareness and education aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals and the International Women's Health Coalition's call for accessible health information and services.Fam and Zahra Breast Cancer Association have set up booths at malls across Saudi Arabia to alert women about the importance of early detection and the critical role morale and positive support systems play in saving lives.From 1 to15 October, Fam set up booths at Ehsa Mall, Mall of Arabia, Aziz Mall, Taif Mall, Tala Mall, Al-Nakheel Mall in the Eastern, Western, and Central Saudi Arabian provinces.From 16 to 31 October, booths will be available at:: Dahran Mall: Al-Salam Mall, Noor Mall (Madinah), and Makkah Mall: Salam Mall and Khurais MallFam's social media program, " " ("Iradat Al Hayat" or "The Will to Live") engages women in Saudi Arabia and GCC on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/ fam.napco/ ), Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/ Napco.Fam ), Twitter (https://twitter.com/napcofam) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/napcoconsumer)channels.Fam, a leading feminine hygiene brand across the Middle East, owned by INDEVCO and licensed to be manufactured at Napco company branches: National Paper Company Ltd. (Jeddah), Napco Consumer Products Company (Dammam), and Napco Riyadh Paper Products Company Ltd. (Riyadh) in Saudi Arabia.
The one-day retreat brought faculty members, staff and students to instill happiness and positivity culture within ZU

Contact

Sara Hassan

Media Relations Specialist

***@zu.ac.ae Sara HassanMedia Relations Specialist

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-- Professor Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President of Zayed University, inaugurates the 2016 Zayed University Happiness, Positivity, and Tolerance Retreat at Yas Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi.The 2016 was organized by Shamsa Al Taie, Director of Student Affairs, who was appointed recently as CEO of Happiness, Tolerance, and Positivity to ensure streamlining happiness and positivity culture in Zayed University among customers, staff, and students.The one-day retreat brought together faculty membersand staff to brainstorm and share the latest innovative ideas, which aims to turn Zayed University into one of the happiest and smartest government entities in the UAE.Addressing attendees of the Zayed University Happiness Advisory Council, Professor AlMehaideb said, "The UAE has always been a great model of a tolerant and peaceful society and its government is always keen on spreading its message across the region and instill tolerance, happiness, and positivity values particularly in today's era of conflicts and doubts.In line with the UAE Cabinet's directives, chaired over by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Zayed University established the Happiness Advisory Council with an aim to endorse the launch of corporate happiness, tolerance and positivity initiatives and ensure satisfaction of all employees and students at the university."During the retreat, Shamsa Al Taie led brainstorming sessions, which resulted in establishing five teams within the Zayed University Happiness Advisory Council."The strategic plan for Zayed University that focuses on promoting and spreading the culture of happiness, tolerance and positivity will be implemented through five working teams selected from various colleges and departments at the university. Three teams will work on elevating happiness, positivity and tolerance levels among students, staff and faculty members, and customers from the local community. A team will work on assessing and analyzing ideas through surveys and questionnaires and a team to develop positive and happy work environment and effective communication within Zayed University campuses through activities conducted in an innovative, effective manner."Shamsa has also pointed out that Zayed University students and graduates will form the Youth Council for Happiness and Tolerance that aims to promote and encourage tolerance and happiness culture.The Zayed University Happiness Advisory Council, which consist of over 30 employees, adopted several initiatives and conducted various workshops led by highly qualified faculty members along with mechanisms to honor students, faculty members, and staff who worked on promoting and sustaining happiness, tolerance and positivity values.ENDS//About Zayed UniversityZayed University is today the premier national university in the United Arab Emirates and a regional leader in educational innovation and change. It has created and implemented a skills-rich, outcome-based general education program that systemically develops student skills, knowledge, and values associated with liberal learning and provided a solid foundation for pursuit of disciplinary majors and future careers. Zayed University welcomes national and international students, and provides them with a high quality education, offered by seasoned teaching scholars to prepare them to shape the future of the United Arab Emirates.Zayed University offers Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in the following Colleges: College of Arts & Creative Enterprises (recognized as substantially equivalent by NASAD), College of Business (Accredited by AACSB), College of Communication & Media Sciences (Accredited by ACEJMC), College of Education (Accredited by NCATE), College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, and College of Technological Innovation (Accredited by ABET). For more information, visit www.zu.ac.aeMedia contacts: Sara Sabry, Media Relations Specialist at the Office of the Vice President at Zayed UniversityDir-Tel: 025993630Mobile: 0566561059E-mail: Sara.Hassan@zu.ac.aeWeb: www.zu.ac.ae
Following the devastating droughts in the 70s and 80s in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert, vegetation has now recovered. What surprise the researchers is that although it is now raining more and has become greener, it is particularly the more drought resistant species that thrive instead of the tree and shrub vegetation that has long been characteristic of the area. This is shown in a study from Stockholm University published in the journal Land Use Policy. The conclusion is that not only rain but also agriculture and human utilization of trees, bushes and land affect the plants recovering.

The expected pattern is that a drier climate favours drought resistant species, and that a wetter climate makes it possible for species that require more rainfall to thrive. A new study, however, shows the opposite effect; that a shift to more drought tolerant species is occurring, even though it's raining more. This shows that the recent regreening of the Sahel region can not only be explained by the fact that it rains more, which until now has been the dominant explanation.

"What we see is the beginning of a fairly dramatic change in the traditional agroforestry landscape in the area. Although it is not yet possible to say exactly what the consequences are for local livelihood and conservation, these are important issues that we will continue to work with. By, for example, examining what people in the area use different trees and shrubs for and look at how the landscape changes, we can better understand how land use, social change, climate and ecosystems interact, even in ways that can be unexpected," says Lowe Borjeson, Associate Professor at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University.

The study suggests that an understanding of how human use of the landscape interact with climate and ecosystem processes is important for organizations that want to develop strategies for climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation and local development in one of the world's poorest regions.

Facts about the Sahel region

The Sahel is a semi-arid belt of land in Africa south of the Sahara and north of the wetter areas to the south. The Sahel extends east from the Atlantic Ocean through northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, Chad and the Sudan. Most of the Sahel region consists of savannah.

The recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s had disastrous consequences for agriculture, livestock and the environment in the area, with widespread famine as a result. The drought in the region also gave rise to a global discussion and concern for desertification as an emerging environmental problem. In recent years, research has shown that the area since the 1980s, has instead become greener aw the vegetation has recovered.
Although soybeans are one of the most widely grown crops in the U.S., few soybean farmers are using organic practices. A new University of Illinois report details organic products and practices to combat pathogens and insect pests. New growers may be motivated by a strong profit margin for organically produced soybeans.

Soybeans were planted on nearly 84 million acres in the U.S. in 2016, but only a tiny fraction -- less than 1 percent -- were grown organically. This number has been increasing in recent years, and a group of University of Illinois researchers wants to give organic growers the tools they need to combat pathogens and insect pests.

"We wanted to give organic growers some opportunities. We summarized some practices to fight diseases and pests organically. It's not an easy task, but it can be done," says U of I and USDA ARS crop pathologist Glen Hartman.

Hartman, along with colleagues in the Department of Crop Sciences, produced a comprehensive report summarizing the disease and pest problems faced by soybean growers in the United States. For the first time, the report compiles specific organic management practices and products tailored for each scenario. By detailing the tools needed to successfully grow organic soybeans, the researchers hope more growers will give it a try.

"There is a movement for organic agriculture, but so far, soybeans haven't been a major player," Hartman notes.

The researchers want to encourage small-scale vegetable farmers that are already using organic practices to add soybeans to the mix. The expansion of the organic meat and dairy markets, combined with strong consumer interest in organic soy-based foods like tofu and edamame, are increasing the demand for organically grown soybeans. Over half of organic soybeans are imported, but several companies and entrepreneurs are working to increase the domestic supply.

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Those who are selling organic soybeans today are getting almost twice as much per bushel compared to conventional soybeans. "Organic meat is probably double or triple the price compared with conventionally raised meat. And that's partly from the cost of organic feed. Whoever's producing this is going to make some money," Hartman says. "Bags of frozen edamame sell for about $3 at the grocery store, and there might be 40-50 pods per bag. That's equivalent to one or two plants. You can grow maybe 100,000 plants in an acre. You can do the math, and that's a rough calculation, but there could be a lot of profit involved."

Graduate student Theresa Herman also sees the potential for increased edamame production in the United States. "I have talked to school food service companies about incorporating edamame in school lunch programs. It's a good source of protein, and kids eat the beans voraciously. They're crazy about edamame," she notes.

Soybeans grown for edamame appear to be more prone to insect and disease problems than grain soybean, and non-GMO grain varieties available to organic growers may not have the disease and pest resistance that is present in many elite conventional cultivars. However, there are organic solutions for both. In the report, the researchers lay out strategies in a number of categories, including biological control, cultural practices, breeding priorities, and organic pesticide products.

"Rotations to different crops are commonly used by organic growers," Hartman says. "Organic producers have cover crops and alternative crops that are not used in most corn and soybean systems. They might have a four- to six- to eight-year rotation, which is one of the best ways to reduce diseases."

Although the researchers point to the promise of longer rotations and cover crops, they would like to know more about the effectiveness of organic products and practices in real-world settings.

"We want to be able to experimentally test some of the products growers are using in organic soybean systems. We want to learn what their constraints are, and how we can help them," Hartman says.

Herman adds, "A lot of people are happy with the way they do things, but they want to know more about why and how their system is working."

Current and potential organic soybean growers can contact Hartman directly, and can read the new report, "Organically grown soybean production in the USA: Constraints and management of pathogens and insect pests," published in Agronomy.
A new paper from scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich explains why plant breeders have found it difficult to produce wheat varieties which combine high yield and good resistance to Septoria, a disease in wheat which can cut yield losses by up to 50%. It traces the problem back to decisions made nearly sixty years ago.

Septoria is the most destructive disease affecting wheat in the UK. As the fungus has become insensitive to most fungicides, demand for new Septoria resistant wheat varieties has risen sharply.

Septoria emerged as a serious threat to wheat in the 1970s. Since then, progress in breeding new varieties which combine high yield with resistance to Septoria has been slow.

Professor James Brown and his colleague Dr Lia Arraiano analysed resistance and susceptibility to Septoria in wheat varieties grown in the UK between 1860 and 2000. Using a technique called association genetics, they found that the gene with the biggest effect on increasing susceptibility to Septoria is very closely linked to one that increases yield and grain size.

Professor Brown said, "As we studied a historical set of varieties covering more than a century of wheat breeding, we discovered where the small region of the genome that increases both Septoria and yield came from. We traced it back to a variety called Heines Peko, which was used to breed for yield and rust resistance in the late 1950s."

Heines Peko was crossed with Cappelle Desprez, the major wheat variety in Britain at the time. This cross was so influential that all modern wheats bred in Britain are descended from it. Professor Brown suggests that as wheat breeders selected ever more strongly for higher yield, susceptibility to Septoria hitch-hiked along with it.

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"My group is now trying to find out if the connection between the two traits can be broken" he added.

Breeders appreciate that increased yield is the main driver of the market for new varieties. Professor Brown points out that although Septoria resistance has improved in recommended varieties over the last ten years, the lack of knowledge about the relationship between yield and susceptibility to Septoria has hindered progress.

"It's surprising," he adds, "that a decision made so long ago has had such a long-lasting effect."

Ed Flatman, Head of European Wheat Breeding at Limagrain said, "Professor Brown and Dr Arraiano's work was one of the very first applications of association genetics in wheat and it has helped us to understand the past history of breeding for resistance to Septoria. We have now taken James' results and built on them by identifying novel Septoria resistances in current, high yielding elite varieties."

Dr Arraiano and Professor Brown's research points to a way of rising to the challenge of combining yield and Septoria resistance. They found ten other genes scattered throughout the genome with smaller effects on Septoria. They also found that nearly half the variation in Septoria was controlled by genes with effects that were too small to identify individually. "We know the genes are there," said Professor Brown, "but we don't know where they are."

Professor Brown is confident that breeders can make durable advances in Septoria resistance with this knowledge. "When breeders make crosses between diverse varieties, they produce new combinations of genes with small effects," he explains. "Then if they run field trials at sites where Septoria is really rampant, they can spot the most resistant lines to commercialise and to use in the next generation of breeding."

He believes this approach will enable breeders to improve Septoria resistance, while minimising undesirable side-effects, such as reductions in yield.

Professor Brown said, "With the pressures of restrictions on pesticide use added to Septoria becoming insensitive to most fungicides, farmers need varieties which combine yield and quality with resistance to Septoria and other diseases. Our breakthrough should accelerate progress in developing these new varieties."

The research was supported by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) through the Sustainable Arable LINK programme, with support from Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) and a consortium of plant breeding companies: Elsoms Seeds, Limagrain, Sejet, SW Seed and Syngenta, and by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
A team of scientists, led by the University of Southampton, have produced a fast nanoscale optical transistor using gold nanoantenna assisted phase transition.

The work, published in the journal Light, Science and Applications, opens up new directions in antenna-assisted switches and optical memory.

Small nanostructures that can interact strongly with light are of interest for a range of emerging new applications including small optical circuits and metasurface flat optics. Nanoantennas are designed to have strong optical resonances where energy is concentrated far below the diffraction limit, the smallest scale possible using conventional optics. Such extreme concentration of light can be used to enhance all kinds of effects related to localised energy conversion and harvesting, coupling of light to small molecules and quantum dots, and generating new frequencies of light through nonlinear optics.

Next to precise tuning of these antennas by design, an ability to actively tune their properties is of great interest.

Lead author Professor Otto Muskens, from the University of Southampton, said: "If we are able to actively tune a nanoantenna using an electrical or optical signal, we could achieve transistor-type switches for light with nanometer-scale footprint for datacommunication. Such active devices could also be used to tune the antenna's light-concentration effects leading to new applications in switchable and tuneable antenna-assisted processes."

The Southampton team used the properties of the antenna itself to achieve low energy optical switching of a phase-change material. The material used to achieve this effect was vanadium dioxide. Vanadium dioxide is a special material with properties that can be switched from an insulator to a metal by increasing the temperature above the phase transition point (68 C).

Fabrication of this material is challenging and was produced by a team at the University of Salford, who specialise in thin-film deposition and who were able to grow very high quality films of this material.

Gold nanoantennas were fabricated on top of this thin film and were used to locally drive the phase transition of the vanadium dioxide.

Professor Muskens explained: "The nanoantenna assists the phase transition of the vanadium dioxide by locally concentrating energy near the tips of the antenna. It is like a lightning-rod effect. These positions are also where the antenna resonances are the most sensitive to local perturbations. Antenna-assisted switching thus results a large effect while requiring only a small amount of energy."

The theoretical modelling was done by a team from the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian, Spain. Their detailed calculations revealed that the nanoantennas provided a new pathway by local absorption around the antenna. The antenna-assisted mechanism resulted in a much lower switching energy compared to just the VO2 film, corresponding to picojoule energies and a calculated efficiency of over 40 per cent.
A group of citizen scientists and professional astronomers, including Carnegie's Jonathan Gagne, joined forces to discover an unusual hunting ground for exoplanets. They found a star surrounded by the oldest known circumstellar disk -- a primordial ring of gas and dust that orbits around a young star and from which planets can form as the material collides and aggregates.

Led by Steven Silverberg of University of Oklahoma, the team described a newly identified red dwarf star with a warm circumstellar disk, of the kind associated with young planetary systems. Circumstellar disks around red dwarfs like this one are rare to begin with, but this star, called AWI0005x3s, appears to have sustained its disk for an exceptionally long time. The findings are published by The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"Most disks of this kind fade away in less than 30 million years," said Silverberg. "This particular red dwarf is a candidate member of the Carina stellar association, which would make it around 45 million years old [like the rest of the stars in that group]. It's the oldest red dwarf system with a disk we've seen in one of these associations."

The discovery relied on citizen scientists from Disk Detective, a project led by NASA/GSFC's Dr. Marc Kuchner that's designed to find new circumstellar disks. At the project's website, DiskDetective.org, users make classifications by viewing ten-second videos of data from NASA surveys, including the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission (WISE) and Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) projects. Since the launch of the website in January 2014, roughly 30,000 citizen scientists have participated in this process, performing roughly 2 million classifications of celestial objects.

"Without the help of the citizen scientists examining these objects and finding the good ones, we might never have spotted this object," Kuchner said. "The WISE mission alone found 747 million [warm infrared] objects, of which we expect a few thousand to be circumstellar disks."

"Unraveling the mysteries of our universe, while contributing to the advancement of astronomy, is without a doubt a dream come true," says Hugo Durantini Luca from Argentina, one of eight citizen scientist co-authors.

Determining the age of a star can be tricky or impossible. But the Carina association, where this red dwarf was found, is a group of stars whose motions through the Galaxy indicate that they were all born at roughly the same time in the same stellar nursery.

Carnegie's Gagne devised a test that showed this newly found red dwarf and its disk are likely part of the Carina association, which was key to revealing its surprising age.

"It is surprising to see a circumstellar disk around a star that may be 45 million years old, because we normally expect these disks to dissipate within a few million years," Gagne explained. "More observations will be needed to determine whether the star is really as old as we suspect, and if it turns out to be, it will certainly become a benchmark system to understand the lifetime of disks."

Knowing that this star and its disk are so old may help scientists understand why M dwarf disks appear to be so rare.

This star and its disk are interesting for another reason: the possibility that it could host extrasolar planets. Most of the extrasolar planets that have been found by telescopes have been located in disks similar to the one around this unusual red dwarf. Moreover, this particular star is the same spectral type as Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest neighbor, which was shown to host at least one exoplanet, the famous Proxima b, in research published earlier this year.
Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) started excavations in September 2016 at Khirbat al-Minya, an early-Islamic caliphate palace on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Led by PD Dr. Hans-Peter Kuhnen of the Department of Ancient Studies at JGU, the team is hoping to find out how the site looked before the palace was built and whether the building was used for different purposes after the catastrophic earthquake of 749 AD. The palace, which was still under construction at the time, suffered major damage during the quake. Findings from the new excavations show that the building lost its palatial function as a result of the earthquake and was subsequently only used by craftsmen, traders, and sugar cane farmers.

Among the small artefacts found is a tiny glass weight just 12 millimeters in diameter that has an Arabic inscription on it. The words solicit "Glory to Allah," indicating that the Muslim traders operating here in the 9th or 10th century were dealing with particularly valuable goods. Another significant discovery is that of facilities for processing sugar cane, the cultivation of which initially triggered an economic boom in the Middle Ages in the Holy Land but subsequently led to desertification across large swathes of land in the region. For the first time, the Mainz archaeologists were able to uncover layer-by-layer a boiling system used for molasses production, thus gaining new insights into how sugar cane was refined in this period.

During in-depth excavation of the ground beneath the foundations of the caliphate palace, project team members discovered evidence of what could well have been dramatic changes to the landscape before the building was constructed. At least twice in the post-Roman period extreme weather conditions had caused disastrous boulder slides that covered what would later be the building site and thus buried the foundation walls of an older, pre-Islamic settlement.

With the resumption of digging here, Mainz University is continuing a research project that German archaeologists had initiated in the years 1932 to 1939 in order to clarify the history of both the palace structure and the overall settlement built under Caliph Walid I (705-715 AD) and Walid II (743/4 AD). When World War II began in 1939, however, excavations were interrupted, which is why the research work here still needs to be completed. The project is being supported by the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Tel Aviv and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

In addition to the excavations, the Mainz archaeologists are also running a conservation project that has been financed since 2015 through the Cultural Preservation Program of the German Federal Foreign Office. The objective is to prevent the further progressive deterioration of the palace ruins that has been occurring since their exposure in 1939. Therefore, Mainz University has commissioned a German-Israeli restoration team to carry out reinforcement work in November 2016 to shore up some of the walls that are at great risk of collapsing. In preparation for the job, the Laboratory for Building Research at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden has begun a new and precise survey of the at-risk walls in order to get a clear idea of their construction technique as well as to ensure optimal planning for the type and scope of the upcoming restoration work.

"By combining the use of exploratory trenches, the architectural survey, and conservation measures we are setting standards in the research, preservation, and investigation of this important early-Islamic site," said project manager PD Dr. Hans-Peter Kuhnen of the Department of Ancient Studies at JGU, outlining the relevance of the undertaking. "The new excavations and the accompanying architectural survey will provide us for the first time with detailed insights into what happened on the shores of the Sea of Galilee before the palace was built and after it was destroyed by the earthquake of 749 AD. Our results will then contribute to the future development of the site."
A new compound, discovered jointly by international pharmaceutical company Servier, headquartered in France, and Vernalis (R&D), a company based in the UK, has been shown by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Servier to block a protein that is essential for the sustained growth of up to a quarter of all cancers.

The research presents a new way to efficiently kill these cancerous cells and holds promise for the treatment of blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as solid cancers such as melanoma and cancers of the lung and breast. It is published online in the journal Nature.

The Servier compound -- S63845 -- targets a protein of the BCL2 family, called MCL1, which is essential for the sustained survival of these cancer cells.

Institute scientist Associate Professor Guillaume Lessene, who led the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's research team in Melbourne, Australia, said the work provided the first clear preclinical evidence that inhibiting MCL1 was effective in targeting several cancer types.

"MCL1 is important for many cancers because it is a pro-survival protein that allows the cancerous cells to evade the process of programmed cell death that normally removes cancer cells from the body," Associate Professor Lessene said. "Extensive studies performed in a variety of cancer models have shown that S63845 potently targets cancer cells dependent on MCL1 for their survival."

The institute team of Associate Professor Lessene worked with haematologist Associate Professor Andrew Wei and Dr Donia Moujalled from The Alfred Hospital and Servier scientists, to demonstrate that not only was S63845 effective against several cancer types, but that it could also be delivered at doses that were well tolerated by normal cells.

Dr Olivier Geneste, Director of Oncology Research at Servier, said this preclinical research represented major findings regarding the druggability of MCL1, a valuable and highly challenging target. "S63845 was discovered through collaboration with the fragment and structure based discovery expertise at Vernalis," he said. "As part of the ongoing Servier / Novartis collaboration on this target class, clinical development of a MCL1 inhibitor should be launched in the near future."

Associate Professor Lessene said the research provided further evidence of the usefulness of a new class of anti-cancer drugs called BH3 mimetics. "BH3 mimetics inhibit a group of proteins known as the 'pro-survival BCL-2 proteins'," he said. "MCL1 is a member of this protein family, and inhibiting it activates the process of programmed cell death. Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers revealed the role of BCL-2 in cancer more than 28 years ago and the essential role of MCL1 for the survival of malignant cells four years ago."
In 1937, US physicist Isidor Rabi introduced a simple model to describe how atoms emit and absorb particles of light. Until now, this model had still not been completely explained. In a recent paper, physicists have for the first time used an exact numerical technique: the quantum Monte Carlo technique, which was designed to explain the photon absorption and emission phenomenon. These findings were recently published in EPJ D by Dr Flottat from the Nice -Sophia Antipolis Non Linear Institute (INLN) in France and colleagues. They confirm previous results obtained with approximate simulation methods.

According to the Rabi model, when an atom interacts with light in a cavity, and they reach a state of equilibrium, the atom becomes "dressed" with photons. Because this takes place at the quantum scale, the system is, in fact, a superposition of different states -- the excited and unexcited atom -- with different numbers of photons.

In the study, the team adapted a quantum Monte Carlo algorithm to address this special case. They created a novel version of the existing algorithm, one which accounts for the fluctuating number of photons. This made it possible to study atoms dressed with up to 20 photons each. No other existing exact simulation method -- including the exact diagonalisation and density matrix renormalisation group approaches -- can factor in these effects.

The authors found that there are dramatic consequences at quantum scale for strongly coupled light-atom systems. They showed that it is essential to take into account the effects resulting from the number of excitations not being conserved, because the atom-photon coupling is substantial enough for these effects to matter. For example, in a conventional light-atom coupling experiment in a macroscopic cavity, the coupling is so small that an atom is, on average, dressed with much less than one photon. With a coupling that is increased by a factor of, say, ten thousands, physicists have observed dressed states with tens of photons per atom.
Five years ago, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three astronomers for their discovery, in the late 1990s, that the universe is expanding at an accelerating pace.

Their conclusions were based on analysis of Type Ia supernovae -- the spectacular thermonuclear explosion of dying stars -- picked up by the Hubble space telescope and large ground-based telescopes. It led to the widespread acceptance of the idea that the universe is dominated by a mysterious substance named 'dark energy' that drives this accelerating expansion.

Now, a team of scientists led by Professor Subir Sarkar of Oxford University's Department of Physics has cast doubt on this standard cosmological concept. Making use of a vastly increased data set -- a catalogue of 740 Type Ia supernovae, more than ten times the original sample size -- the researchers have found that the evidence for acceleration may be flimsier than previously thought, with the data being consistent with a constant rate of expansion.

The study is published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

Professor Sarkar, who also holds a position at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, said: 'The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe won the Nobel Prize, the Gruber Cosmology Prize, and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. It led to the widespread acceptance of the idea that the universe is dominated by "dark energy" that behaves like a cosmological constant -- this is now the "standard model" of cosmology.

'However, there now exists a much bigger database of supernovae on which to perform rigorous and detailed statistical analyses. We analysed the latest catalogue of 740 Type Ia supernovae -- over ten times bigger than the original samples on which the discovery claim was based -- and found that the evidence for accelerated expansion is, at most, what physicists call "3 sigma." This is far short of the "5 sigma" standard required to claim a discovery of fundamental significance.

'An analogous example in this context would be the recent suggestion for a new particle weighing 750 GeV based on data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It initially had even higher significance -- 3.9 and 3.4 sigma in December last year -- and stimulated over 500 theoretical papers. However, it was announced in August that new data shows that the significance has dropped to less than 1 sigma. It was just a statistical fluctuation, and there is no such particle.'

There is other data available that appears to support the idea of an accelerating universe, such as information on the cosmic microwave background -- the faint afterglow of the Big Bang -- from the Planck satellite. However, Professor Sarkar said: 'All of these tests are indirect, carried out in the framework of an assumed model, and the cosmic microwave background is not directly affected by dark energy. Actually, there is indeed a subtle effect, the late-integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, but this has not been convincingly detected.

'So it is quite possible that we are being misled and that the apparent manifestation of dark energy is a consequence of analysing the data in an oversimplified theoretical model -- one that was in fact constructed in the 1930s, long before there was any real data. A more sophisticated theoretical framework accounting for the observation that the universe is not exactly homogeneous and that its matter content may not behave as an ideal gas -- two key assumptions of standard cosmology -- may well be able to account for all observations without requiring dark energy. Indeed, vacuum energy is something of which we have absolutely no understanding in fundamental theory.'

Professor Sarkar added: 'Naturally, a lot of work will be necessary to convince the physics community of this, but our work serves to demonstrate that a key pillar of the standard cosmological model is rather shaky. Hopefully this will motivate better analyses of cosmological data, as well as inspiring theorists to investigate more nuanced cosmological models. Significant progress will be made when the European Extremely Large Telescope makes observations with an ultrasensitive "laser comb" to directly measure over a ten to 15-year period whether the expansion rate is indeed accelerating.'
A hard line on speeding boats, and jet skis in Tauranga harbour is promised this summer in a no excuses policy announced by Maritime New Zealand.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is amount eight councils trialing the policy which will see local boaties fined up to $200 for speeding and/or not carrying or wearing lifejackets.

The no excuses trial will be run for about five days by each council at different times during summer. After summer, the trial will be reviewed and decisions made about whether it will be extended in future.

Director Keith Manch says Maritime NZ are focusing on boaties who do not carry or wear lifejackets and also unsafe speed because they are two of the biggest risks of death and injury.

Up to two-thirds of recreational boaties who died might have been saved if they wore lifejackets. Wearing your lifejacket is the single most important thing you can do to avoid drowning if you end up unexpectedly in the water.

Boaties speeding in congested areas is dangerous and can cause injuries to children, swimmers, divers and people in small craft. There is a five knot speed limit when you are near the shore, swimmers, divers and other boats.

Keith says each regional council will be letting boaties know in their communities that enforcement action will happen sometime during summer, but the specific days when this action will occur will not be publicised.

Maritime NZs expectation is that safe boaties follow the requirements each and every time they go on the water.

For it is an important addition to the mix of education and promotional activities that we traditionally use to encourage safer boating. The intention is to deter those boaties who do not prioritise safety and choose to break the rules. Our aim is to reduce boating fatalities and injuries, says Keith.

THE REGIONAL COUNCILS TAKING PART IN THE TRIAL:
Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges leaves for Singapore today to attend International Energy Week.

The global event brings together 28,000 representatives of the energy industry, Governments and non-government organisations from across the Asia-Pacific region and from around the world.

Discussions will focus on the future of energy supply and ensuring people across the region have access to reliable energy.

Mr Bridges will take part in panel discussions at the Singapore Energy Summit, the Energy Access Forum, the Asia Clean Energy Summit and the Gas Asia Summit.

Globally we are seeing low oil, gas and coal prices but at the same time we have to take significant steps to reduce our carbon emissions if we are to manage the impacts of climate change, Mr Bridges says.

For the Asia-Pacific region in particular, which contains many developing nations, this situation raises some big questions. It is important for New Zealand to take part in the debate.

With more than 80 per cent of our electricity coming from renewable sources, its an ideal opportunity to share our experience with renewable energy and promote our considerable expertise in renewable technologies.
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.
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Even though Joe Biden vocalized what many may very well be thinking about Donald Trump, the U.S. Vice Presidents comments about wishing he could beat up Donald Trump didnt bring everyone on social media to his corner.

Biden made the comments in reference to a recently released 2005 video of Trump, in which he boasted that he kisses and gropes women without their consent.

He called it a textbook definition of sexual assault, while campaigning for Hillary Clinton at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania on Friday.

But its more than that. He said because Im famous, because Im a star, Because Im a billionaire, I can do things other people cant, he said of Trump.

What a disgusting assertion for anyone to make.

In 1990, Biden introduced the Violence Against Women Act to congress while serving as a senator and continued to advocate for the cause since.

During an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers last week, Biden described why the cause of violence against women has been close to his heart.

I have spent most of my career trying to figure out how to begin to change the culture in this country so that we treat women with respect and with dignity, he said.

Vice President Joe Biden gets serious calling out Donald Trump's recent leaked-tape comments and past behavior as the textbook definition of sexual assault.

Insert video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilOEuIxpfz4

Perhaps thats why Biden said when it comes to the idea of debating Trump, he has a different type of fight in mind.

The press always asks me: dont I wish I were debating him, Biden said. No, I wish we were in high schoolI could take him behind the gym. Thats what I wish.

And judging by social media reactions to Trumpeven more so since 2005 video was releasedthose wishes are on the minds of many others.

Money on Joe kicking the living crap outta Donald, actor Mark Ruffalo said in a Tweet.

You arent promoting violence. Just saying what we all want to say, one person said.

However, some political commentators and election followers condemned what they called violent and unpresidential remarks from Biden.

And others were just quick to say who they would put their money on.

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BOSTONFifty Shades of Grey, Puritan edition?

The famously strait-laced 17th-century sectarians who helped settle America werent nearly as priggish as you might think, a leading Puritan scholar says.

Letters penned by Puritan forefathers including Colonial Gov. John Winthrop evoke more passion than prudishness, said Francis Bremer, a professor emeritus of history at Pennsylvanias Millersville University.

Bremer is presenting his latest research next week at Bostons Old South Meeting House, at an event dubbed Ravishing Affection: Myths and Realities about Puritans and Sex.

The Puritans believed that everything God created was naturally good  including intercourse, he said. They werent hostile to sexuality. They saw sex and love as important factors to help a man and a woman form a passionate relationship and strengthen it.

He points to a love letter that Winthrop wrote in 1618 to his wife, Margaret Tyndall, as an example of Puritan passion.

In the letter, Winthrop  one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony  speaks of being filled with the joy of thy love, and wanting opportunity of more familiar connection with thee, which my heart fervently desires.

Thomas Hooker, a Puritan who founded what would become Connecticut, was even more explicit.

The man whose heart is endeared to the woman he loves, he dreams of her in the night, hath her in his eye an apprehension when he awakes, museth on her as he sits at table, walks with her when he travels, and parlies with her in each place where he comes . . . She lies in his bosom, and his heart trusts in her, which forceth all to confess, that the stream of his affection, like a mighty current, runs with full tide and strength.

Not that New Englands Puritans were swingers. Scholars agree they clung to decidedly conservative Calvinist beliefs about love and marriage. H.L. Mencken defined Puritanism as the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

Lisa Wade, a sociologist at Occidental College in Los Angeles and an expert on sexual culture and gender, says the Puritans viewed marriage  always monogamous and never same-sex  primarily as a means of producing children.

It wasnt until two centuries later, at the twilight of the Victorian era, that the notion of romantic love as a key reason to pair off took hold.

Even so, Bremer  who has written 16 books about Puritanism  says letters and sermons suggest the Puritans were eager and attentive lovers.

The Puritans got their name from their desire to purify the Church of England, which they thought was corrupt. Yet they openly discussed sexuality and freely expressed passionate longings toward their spouses, and their sermons likened an intense and affectionate marriage relationship to Christs love for the church.

One thing that surprises the heck out of everyone is that people were charged  both in church and civil cases  with NOT engaging in sex with their spouse, Bremer said.

If the average Puritan had posted a relationship status, it surely would be: Its complicated. But Bremer hopes his research will help dispel enduring myths.

It becomes very easy to say, Oh, well, they didnt like sex at all,  he said. The myths lead people to say these are individuals we dont want to know anything more about. But the Puritans have a lot to teach us.

Excerpts of Puritan writing that suggests they enjoyed sex:

Being filled with the joy of thy love, and wanting opportunity of more familiar connection with thee, which my heart fervently desires, I am constrained to ease the burden of my mind by this poor help of my scribbling pen, being sufficiently assured that although my presence is that which thou desires, yet in the want thereof these lines shall not be unfruitful of comfort unto thee.  Massachusetts Gov. John Winthrop in a 1618 letter to his wife, Margaret Tyndall

It must be performed with good will and delight, willingly, readily, and cheerfully . . . As the man must be satisfied at all times in his wife, and even ravished with her love; so must the woman.  English Puritan William Gouge

Joy and delight in her. Rejoice in the wife of thy youth: let her be unto thee as a loving hind, and the pleasant roe: let her breasts or her bosom content thee at all times.   Puritan clergyman William Gataker, quoting from Proverbs 5:18-19

... No fitter comparison to set out my love by, than to compare it to a golden ball of pure fire rolling up and down my breast, from which there flies, now and then a spark like a glorious beam from the body of the flaming sun.  Puritan pastor Edward Taylor in a 1674 letter to his intended

I long for that happy hour when I shall see you and enjoy my sweet and dear husband.  Margaret Tyndall, John Winthrops wife

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The Greater Toronto Area is in danger of becoming the next London, England, or Palo Alto, Calif.  places that are highly desirable but unaffordable for most people.

This is a growing region and people want to live here but the lack of housing, especially low-rise homes, keeps pushing prices higher. The demand is greatly outstripping the supply.

The home-building and land-development industry wants to design and build homes and communities that meet the housing needs of the GTA. That is our business; that is what we do.

But challenges grow in number and scale. Complicated and restrictive government policies, already lengthy yet still-worsening approval processes, a shortage of shovel-ready and approved land on which to build, escalating land prices and the growing issue of NIMBYism are impeding our ability to build homes and communities.

Unfortunately, many of these challenges are shared by London and Palo Alto.

To help our members keep abreast of builders best practices and innovation in other parts of the world, BILD organizes an annual tour to other cities, where we learn about that citys housing market, meet with local developers and builders and visit sites.

This year, we went to London, one of the worlds most dynamic and historic cities. We saw a lot of industry innovation and amazing urban development projects under construction. But we also witnessed Londons prevalent housing-affordability issue, with prices that many people cant afford.

While we were there, the media was reporting that the average price of housing in the U.K. was 2,200 per square foot ($3,564 Canadian), which works out to $2.14 million for a 600-square-foot home.

We visited Kings Cross, one of the largest and most exciting redevelopments in London. This site has been transformed into a complete community with a broad range of housing types. Although the project includes a component of subsidized rental housing, the market housing is not affordable to many Londoners. For example, one-bedroom suites start at 730,000 ($1.17 million).

We toured Battersea Power Station, an innovative redevelopment where a group of Malaysian investors are turning the site into a luxury highrise and community development.

The British government has recently doubled its housing budget to help increase the supply of affordable housing. It has also launched a major homebuilding stimulus package and plans to boost house construction by using surplus public lands.

Palo Alto is another great city suffering from lack of housing supply and eroding affordability. Located in the centre of Silicon Valley, it offers a lot of employment opportunity but the cost of housing is so astronomical, job openings cant be filled and professionals are choosing to move away.

The city needs to make its housing supply a priority and restructure zoning policies so that people who want to work there can also afford housing.

We dont want to be a London or a Palo Alto. In the GTA, we need to work together to address the growing challenge of inadequate housing supply so that we can better meet the regions housing needs and offer consumers choice.

Bryan Tuckey is president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and is a land-use planner who has worked for municipal, regional and provincial governments. Find him at twitter.com/bildgta , facebook.com/bildgta and bildblogs.ca.

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NAIROBI, KENYA-If youre going on safari in Kenya, chances are youll have some time to kill in Nairobi.

With more than 3 million people, Kenyas capital and largest city is the kind of wild bustling place where skyscrapers tickle the clouds above gated communities and sprawling slums as traffic  a mad mix of hand-pushed carts, Chinese-made motorcycles, rugged 4x4s, luxury sedans and rickety buses with psychedelic paintjobs  clogs streets while wild baboons from the adjacent Nairobi National Park tear through curbside garbage.

Dont be surprised if you see lions on the side of the road, Suzanne Mutile of the Kenya Tourism Board tells me as we inch our way through chaotic traffic. Its survival of the fittest. This is Africa!

This is where Mutile took me during my short stay in the city:

The giraffe centre:

A short drive from the city centre, the Giraffe Centre was established in 1979 to breed and protect the endangered Rothschilds giraffe: one of nine giraffe sub-species. At the centre, visitors can hand feed these long-necked ungulates treats from a viewing platform. Place a treat between your lips and you can even get a lick from a slimy and sandpapery 45-centimetre long tongue! If youd like to spend more time here, the propertys Giraffe Manor hotel allows you to feed the animals from the comfort of your own room.

Elephant orphanage:

Open since 1977, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trusts elephant orphanage is home to more than two dozen young animals. Orphaned primarily by poachers after their parents tusks, baby elephants are brought here, often malnourished and traumatized, to be nursed to health before being released back into the wild at the age of about three. Open to visitors daily from 11 a.m. to noon, you can learn about the orphanages work, hear each animals heartbreaking story and watch the oversized toddlers frolic in the mud.

Karen Blixen Museum:

Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya in 1914. Writing under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen, the Danish author would go on to pen numerous books during her lifetime, the most famous of which was her second: 1937s Out of Africa. Played by Meryl Streep in the 1985 film of the same name, the writers legacy lives on at this museum, which occupies the house Blixen lived in while in Kenya. Reconstructed to look as it did during Blixens time, you can see things such as animal-pelt rugs and reproductions of Blixens paintings inside the cool, breezy home.

Galleria Shopping Mall:

Whether youre after a pair of leather safari boots, hokey souvenir T-shirts, blaring Kenyan pop CDs, vibrant paintings by local artists, a case of Tusker Beer, wood carvings of big game, bright Maasai shuka robes or colourful dashiki shirts, Galleria Shopping Mall has it all. The open-air market adjacent to the main shopping mall is the best place to nab gifts. Dont be surprised if you have to pass armed guards and airport-style security to get in. The mall is open daily.

The Carnivore:

At Carnivore, meat is king. Waiters come to your table with hulking spits and steaming platters that can include pork, beef, chicken and lamb, as well as more exotic meats, such as ostrich, crocodile and ox testicles. Icy bottles of Tusker Beer are plentiful, and so is dawa, the Swahili word for medicine: a cocktail made from vodka, honey, lime juice and sparkling water. Adjacent to Carnivore, the Simba Saloon keeps the music playing and drinks flowing late into the night.

Daniel Otis was hosted by the Kenya Tourism Board, which did not review or approve this story.

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Like every Halloween for the past decade, when this years crop of 14-year-olds in Bathurst, N.B., trot door-to-door dressed as zombies or witches collecting candy, it could be for the last time.

But one local father is hoping to get an age-restricting bylaw in the city changed so children 15 and up, including his daughter, can trick-or-treat by this time next year.

The bylaw, which has been in place since 2005, prohibits children older than 14 from trick-or-treating on Oct. 31. It also restricts anyone from trick-or-treating or wearing facial disguises in public past 7 p.m.

Anyone who violates these restrictions could face a minimum fine of $80 or a maximum of $200.

For Calvin Sisk, enough is enough. With two teenaged daughters, one 13 and the other 16, he says the bylaw makes no sense and has to go.

There are some kids that are old, but theyre really young at heart. Thats what my daughter is. Shes 16 years old and she cant go out with her sister anymore trick-or-treating, Sisk said. She missed Halloween last year because of the bylaw.

Sisk emailed Bathurst Mayor Paolo Fongemie asking that council look at abolishing the bylaw, which was implemented in 2005. For Fongemie, who was elected in May, it was the first hed heard of the issue.

I was kind of surprised that we had such a bylaw. Personally, I guess my kids were illegal for the last three, four years when they were trick-or-treating with their friends, he said. We were surprised a bit about giving fines to kids . . . I can assure you that I think our police officers have other things to do than to police that matter on Halloween night.

The mayor said council has begun discussing the matter but no decisions have been made on whether to keep the bylaw, abolish it or amend it to make the age and curfew restrictions more lenient.

Personally, I would take it out, Fongemie said. Im not sure that bylaw gives the message out that were open to having young families in our community.

Other members of council are less certain.

Im divided. To be honest, I have some mixed feelings about that, said councillor Samuel Daigle. I understand that some people have some worries. They feel uncomfortable with having anybody of any age at their house.

Deputy mayor Lee Stever said he was still considering how hed vote, since hes received messages from people on both sides of the issue.

I dont know if its necessary to change anything at this point, he said. One thing I understand from previous councils was the fact that people were complaining of trick-or-treaters showing up at their door late and adults showing up. So I think for the senior citizens and single people, it caused a bit of a problem. They were nervous about opening their doors.

Sisk said he doesnt understand the concern.

Anybody that complains about older kids going on their doorstep, my advice to them is give them a bag of chips and wish them Happy Halloween and theyll be on their way, he said. They wont be back for another year, so why do you care? Theyre not going to trample your house and toilet paper your house.

Council is split on whether to change the bylaw, according to Stever.

Its been working all this time, its not a problem, he said. Im in favour of leaving it as it is but Im going to weigh what the citizens say.

Sisk said his eldest daughter Kaylee purchased matching Coca-Cola bottle costumes with her boyfriend this year for their Halloween school dance, but felt it wasnt fair she couldnt participate in the door-to-door ritual.

She saved her money for that costume, Sisk said. It isnt fair because we live on the busiest street for Halloween, we have tons people, all this excitement and we cant take part.

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The untold story of money politics in Ontario must be told and retold.

Politicians did nothing illegal when they raised massive amounts of cash. They were playing by the rules when they took the money and ran  for provincial office.

It was legal in judicial terms, just politically injudicious.

Long after Ottawa made it against the law to take money from unions and corporations, Ontario law persisted in permitting the practice  with all-party agreement, it must be stressed. And so politicians from all major parties helped themselves to cash from donors with self-serving business and labour agendas.

Call it the quiet Queens Park quid pro quo: You come to my fundraising dinner, Ill take your calls.

Next week, Ontarios Liberal government will spell out its latest reforms to provincial campaign finance laws. As a package, it amounts to the most ambitious change in decades, and long overdue  but increasingly controversial because of an opposition rebellion.

In the half-year since my week-long series detailing secret targets for cabinet ministers, a new mythology has taken hold: The Liberals alone are guilty of milking money from donors.

Yes, the party in power has an obvious advantage. But the prospect of power is also a powerful draw, especially with an election around the corner and the Progressive Conservatives now holding a massive lead in the polls.

Donors know how to hedge their bets by lubricating all sides  not least the New Democratic Party, which could very well hold the balance of power if the next election produces a minority legislature. Thats a lot of power.

And thats why NDP Leader Andrea Horwath can sell tickets so easily to her Vision Dinner next month: $19,950 (lets round it up to $20,000?) buys you a half-table with a seat near Horwath, entry to a private reception where you can schmooze over booze and canapes with the leader, and a corporate or union Logo Display.

Or you can buy a $500 ticket to benefit PC finance critic, Vic Fedeli, at his fundraiser next month at the exclusive Albany Club, a private Tory retreat in downtown Toronto, where his party leader Patrick Brown is the guest of honour. Its all above board for now  a ban on corporate and union donations, promised by Wynne after the Star series last March, wont take effect until next year  but instructive all the same.

Fedeli and other opposition MPPs are clamouring for a ban on pay to play access to cabinet ministers, which the Star has been exposing since 2013. But they still want the right to raise money almost at will.

Thanks to media pressure  and no thanks to opposition demands (for they were long silent)  the government belatedly promised major campaign finance reforms. The latest is a ban on direct fundraising appearances by all politicians from all parties at all times  which has provoked outrage by opposition MPPs.

The NDP and PCs claim this is payback for their demands that cabinet ministers stop profiting from their positions. Appealing to nostalgia, they warn a total ban on personal fundraisers would hamstring them back home when meeting ordinary folks.

But their talk of innocuous spaghetti dinners and corn roasts is a red herring.

The posh Albany Club is in downtown Toronto, not back home in Fedelis North Bay riding. Horwaths high stakes steak dinner in the sumptuous ballroom of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel isnt a spaghetti get-together in Steeltown, her Hamilton base.

Why should they get a free pass? Why do all those MPPs who cozied up to the big brewers at downtown Toronto fundraisers hosted courtesy of Labatt and Molson Coors, persist with the fiction that the opposition isnt also targeted for influence?

In fact, nothing in the latest proposals would prevent MPPs from hosting corn roasts for constituents. They just couldnt skim off any money  beyond food and venue costs  for their own coffers.

No party could. Instead, the government is proposing expanded public subsidies, on a per-vote basis, at the riding level to make up for lost fundraising revenue.

It is an interesting proposal. It may not be perfect  perhaps a more practical compromise would win all-party support  but it is better than the oppositions idea.

The Tories and New Democrats prefer to tie the hands of only Liberal MPPs (almost all of whom are cabinet ministers or parliamentary assistants facing potential conflicts) while giving themselves free rein on fundraising. The oppositions preference: outlaw the targeting of stakeholders for solicitation, but not the political prostitution that might result.

Best avoid such temptation. Why not a middle way, which sets a lower ceiling for those fundraisers  say, $50 or $75, exclusive of costs.

For too long, all three major parties were part of a conspiracy of silence on Ontarios fundraising excesses. They owe it to Ontarians to lay the groundwork for a level playing field, because in our democracy power alternates between parties.

Spare us the huffing and puffing about corn, and focus on the bigger picture. The latest reform proposals still have loopholes more tangled than a plate of spaghetti.

More on that soon.

Martin Regg Cohns political column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn

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Quebec City police have arrested two men in connection with alleged break-ins and sexual assaults at a university residence.

One of the accused has been released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

The other suspect, Thierno-Ourny Barry, 19, was arraigned Saturday and faces various charges related to alleged break-ins.

He has not been charged with any sex-related offences.

Police received 15 complaints of break-ins last weekend at the Laval University residence, including four of alleged sexual assault.

One of the accused is 19, while the other is believed to be about the same age.

The university said Saturday the two accused men were students and have since been expelled from the school.

The case has also caused a stir in the Quebec legislature after a vigil Wednesday night in support of the complainants.

At the vigil, a woman went public about being sexually assaulted by a member of the legislature.

Alice Paquet told Radio-Canada the next day she was assaulted twice by Gerry Sklavounos.

She alleged the two sexual assaults took place in 2014 when she was 19 and working as a hostess at a Quebec City restaurant frequented by politicians.

Sklavounos later stepped down from the Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent.

None of the allegations have been proven and Sklavounos, who has denied the accusations, is not facing any criminal charges.

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Two political allies of Mayor John Tory are among consultants working with Toronto Hydro on issues related to a proposed privatization of the city-owned utility, the Star has learned.

A list of Hydro consultants includes Bob Richardson, Edelman Canadas executive vice-president for public affairs, who co-chaired Torys 2014 campaign, and Nick Kouvalis, co-owner of pollster Campaign Research and a senior strategist in that campaign, sources say.

Others include a privatization finance expert who worked on the Ontario governments Hydro One sale.

Richardson said it is up to clients to decide if they want to identify consultants.

I will say in the case of Toronto Hydro we competed (in a process) last May-June to become one of their agencies of record, for use on contracts, he said.

Kouvalis did not respond to the Stars calls, emails and texts Friday.

Hydro chief executive Anthony Haines declined an interview request, saying through a spokesman: The decision to sell any part of Toronto Hydro is the decision of our sole shareholder, the City of Toronto. Toronto Hydro does not comment on market speculation or rumour.

Councillor Janet Davis, an opponent of selling Hydro, which paid the city a $60 million dividend in 2014, called the consultant details truly shocking.

They hired Deloitte to do an evaluation of the company, but who authorized Hydro to hire a whole team to do polling and messaging and legal work to sell the concept of privatization to people? Davis said in an interview.

It is clear the mayor favours privatization. Hydro hiring some of the people who helped him get elected looks concerning and may be a conflict of interest. It appears there is a plan underway not just to investigate financial information but to come up with a plan to sell privatization to the public.

Torys spokeswoman Amanda Galbraith said in an email: Nick Kouvalis and Bob Richardson are two of the best and brightest in their respective fields. Their association with the mayors 2014 campaign should not and does not preclude them from working.

There are rules in place for all city agencies and departments, as well as strict procurement processes to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. The mayors office has no role in hiring decisions at Hydro or any other city agency.

Scott Travers, president of the union representing Toronto Hydro engineers, which argues privatization would decrease public accountability and raise hydro rates, called hiring Tory allies inappropriate.

The Star revealed last January there was behind-the-scenes work to set the stage for a partial Hydro sell-off to free up money for capital projects including Torys signature SmartTrack transit plan.

In May, the mayor and city manager said city council should consider the partial sale of city assets including Toronto Hydro to help fund transit expansion and social housing repairs.

Council voted in July to direct city staff to study and report back on possible asset sales.

In September, Tory used a major speech to argue, We have an obligation to look at all the options including unlocking the value that already exists in Toronto Hydro, while keeping (a majority of) it in public hands.

Sources say Deloitte won a contract posted in August on a city website  and later removed  to review the citys investments in Toronto Hydro and Toronto Parking Authority and recommend options going-forward, for the purpose of optimizing city financial returns. Deloitte would not confirm this.

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TORONTOA convicted killer who is the heir to a multi-million dollar aviation company will apply for legal aid to help fund his defence in two upcoming murder trials.

Dellen Millard, who was convicted of first-degree murder along with Mark Smich in the death of Tim Bosma in June, told court Friday he cannot access his assets in order to hire lawyers.

He and Smich are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Millard alone is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father, Wayne Millard, whose death was initially deemed a suicide.

Both of those trials have been delayed as Millard continues on without a lawyer.

Last week, the trial for Babcock was pushed back from February to September 2017.

On Friday, Justice John McMahon set the date for the trial in Wayne Millards death for March 20, 2018. The court also heard Millard will file two motions in the spring.

The first, Millard said, is a motion to quash the direct indictment in the Babcock case. Skipping preliminary hearings is rare in Ontario, although the same thing occurred in the Bosma case.

According to a Crown policy manual on the Ministry of the Attorney Generals website, this power is an extraordinary one and is used infrequently.

Millard also plans to file a severance motion because he wants to be tried separately from Smich in Babcocks case.

For those two motions he told court he wants to hire Ravin Pillay, who represented Millard in the Bosma trial.

McMahon has repeatedly tried to get Millard to hire legal representation for both trials, but as of Friday Millard still didnt have any on record.

Mr. Millard, you can apply for legal aid Monday morning, but you have to be diligent hiring counsel, McMahon said.

Diligence takes time your honour, Millard said.

He told court he is looking for a lawyer for the Babcock trial and may represent himself for his fathers murder trial.

There are two civil matters that have complicated matters, Millard said. His company, Millardair, which he inherited after his father died in 2012, is in receivership and the Bosma family has filed a $14-million lawsuit.

Millard cannot inherit his fathers estate because he is charged with his murder.

Lawyers for the civil case as well as legal aid lawyers are scheduled to return to court next Friday to help speed up the process.

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Facing a substantial financial shortfall, the non-profit organization instrumental in exonerating 21 wrongly convicted Canadians  including David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Steven Truscott and seven victims of disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith  will soon become a shadow of its former self.

Innocence Canada, formerly known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, has issued lay-off notices to members of its small staff, been priced out of its downtown Toronto office and, most troubling to many in the justice community, will soon stop taking on new cases.

At this point forward, if youre wrongly convicted in Canada, there is nowhere to go, said Debbie Oakley, Innocence Canadas executive director.

In a lengthy interview with the Star this week, Oakley and Innocence Canadas co-president Ron Dalton  who was exonerated after being wrongly convicted of murdering his wife  said the decision to stop considering new cases was not made lightly, but the association has no choice.

The demand is much larger than anything we can even think about doing, said Dalton.

With a shrinking staff and decreased capacity, it will already take years to work through their 85-case backlog  cases the organization has determined, following a screening process, are possible wrongful convictions.

In 16 of those cases, Innocence Canada is convinced the person is innocent, including three convictions involving Ontario pathologist Smith.

This should be a concern to all Canadians, said Daniel Brown, a Toronto director of the Criminal Lawyers Association, who has worked on cases brought forward by Innocence Canada.

Its a dangerous idea to think that there is nobody ensuring that the justice system got these convictions right.

Established in 1993, Innocence Canada has helped secure 21 of the 26 exonerations in Canadas history, freeing wrongly convicted individuals who together spent more than 190 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

The organization has for many years been hand to mouth, Dalton said, funded in part by annual donations from the Law Foundation of Ontario and Legal Aid Ontario. Eight years ago, they received a $1-million donation from Ian Cartwright, a retired Ontario Superior Court judge, which Innocence Canada parsed out into annual increments.

Within the last few years, with no new potential source of funds in sight, Innocence Canada acquired charitable status and began appealing to foundations and provincial agencies, but still wasnt able to pull in sufficient funds.

Facing a shortfall of about $250,000, Oakley and Dalton said the organization took heart in the changeover in Ottawa; the end of former prime minister Stephen Harpers tough on crime reign could mean a greater commitment from the federal government.

Earlier this year, Innocence Canada board members travelled to Ottawa to meet with Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould. But last month, they were told they would receive no funding.

Board members knew they had to make changes that would make Innocence Canada a shadow of its former self, Oakley said.

Weve gone everywhere, and this was kind of our last hope for what we would say was an organization with deep enough pockets that they could help us.

In an email to the Star Friday, spokesperson Valerie Gervais said the Department of Justice understands the work of Innocence Canada is important to the justice system.

After careful consideration, however, it was determined that their proposal did not meet the criteria of the departments funding programs. Specifically, the terms and conditions do not currently allow for the provision of new ongoing operational funding which supports the core operations of organizations, Gervais said.

She added that a detailed explanation of the departments decision was provided to Innocence Canada, and that the organization was informed that, should it need funding for a more short-term project, the department would consider it.

Asked what recourse wrongly convicted Canadians now have, Gervais referred the Star to the federal governments Criminal Convictions Review Group.

But Oakley and Dalton say the federal organization is, like their own, under-resourced, and does not have the years of acquired expertise that Innocence Canada offers. They worry about an insurmountable backlog.

Innocence Canada currently has three full-time and two part-time staff. The funding woes mean the organization will likely end up with two full-time staff and possibly an articling student.

Among the lost jobs is the position devoted to education and prevention, which included speaking to police colleges, judges, lawyers, aboriginal groups and prison inmates.

The majority of Innocence Canadas legal work is done by lawyers for free; the organization estimates that, annually, lawyers across the country donate $3.5 million in pro-bono work.

But the association does the work of accepting potential cases and sifting through applications to determine possible wrongful convictions. Their staff then manages each case throughout years of work, and provides support to wrongly convicted individuals and their families, before and after exoneration.

Brown said Innocence Canadas staff brings to the table vital skills. Most lawyers, even those with significant trial and appeal court experience, do not possess comparable expertise necessary to investigate possible cases of wrongful conviction.

Innocence Canada is the bridge between those in custody and the lawyers who are volunteering their time, he said. We need an organization that can help guide those lawyers in the right direction.

Alan Young, an associate professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School, praised the work of those involved with Innocence Canada. They have done good work and they achieve results.

However, he expressed hope that Innocence Projects, programs run through law schools across North America and beyond, can correct miscarriages of justice. Young has overseen Osgoode Halls Innocence Project program since 1997.

A decline in cases pursued by Innocence Canada would be a setback, but one that could be addressed by greater involvement of Innocence Projects, he said.

Oakley said Canadas Innocence Projects are excellent programs but that it can be difficult for a student-run organization to have the continuity to see through cases that can and do take years.

What Canada really needs, Oakley and Dalton say, is an independent, publicly funded wrongful conviction review commission, similar to bodies that already exist in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Such a commission would eliminate the need for Innocence Canada, something the organization would support.

Until then, we are still going to carry on and do the best we can, Dalton said.

Key cases where wrongful convictions overturned

Innocence Canada was instrumental in securing the exonerations of 21 Canadians. Here are just some of the cases of wrongful convictions they helped overturn.

Guy Paul Morin: Morin was tried twice for the 1984 murder of 9-year-old Christine Jessop of Queensville, Ont. He was initially acquitted in 1986, convicted at a retrial in 1992, then exonerated through DNA evidence in 1995. Throughout Morins ordeal, a grass-roots organization that was convinced of his innocence formed around him, a legal community that ultimately became Innocence Canada.

David Milgaard: In 1969, at the age of 16, Milgaard was convicted of murdering Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller. After 23 years in prison, with the help of Innocence Canada, Milgaard was exonerated after DNA testing results cleared him in the murder and identified the real killer, Larry Fisher.

Steven Truscott: At 14, Steven Truscott was convicted of the 1959 rape and murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper, and was originally sentenced to hang. Nearly 50 years later, in 2007, the provinces highest court ruled the conviction was a miscarriage of justice and acquitted him on the basis of fresh evidence. He had maintained his innocence for 48 years.

Kyle Unger: Unger was convicted of first-degree murder in the June 1990 death of Brigitte Grenier, thanks in part to a false confession obtained through a highly problematic police technique known as a Mr. Big operation. Unger was ultimately cleared through DNA evidence.

Dr. Charles Smith exonerations: Innocence Canada has helped secure the exonerations of seven people in cases that involved now-disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith. Smith made mistakes in 20 death investigations in which people were criminally charged, convicted or otherwise implicated in the deaths of children. Innocence Canada is currently reviewing six more cases of potential wrongful convictions involving Smith.

Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca

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If youre really broke, it is nice to have a friend who likes to take you out to fancy dinners every now and then.

They can afford it, and they enjoy sharing the experience with you, and you appreciate the treat, and the relief it brings from the grind of trying to figure out how to make ends meet. It can lift your spirits  doing something you could never afford or justify, when you have so many other desperate essentials you need, but for a few hours youve got the relief of the wine in your glass and something amazing on the end of your fork and a friend across the table. The experience can be restorative, even motivating. Its certainly an occasion for gratitude.

But what it is not is a solution to your money problems. How could it be? It doesnt pay your rent or put food in your fridge or keep the lights on or settle your kids dentist bill. You cant really ask your friend to pay for all those things for you  if they did youd no longer be a friend accepting a gift and sharing an experience, youd be a dependent living at the mercy of a patrons whims.

The nice dinners out, and your friends willingness to make a gift of them, dont fundamentally change what you need, nor what you need to do: find a source of income that covers your basic necessities, and beyond.

I was considering this recently, as a former broke-guy-with-some-generous-friends, because it seems like a pretty close analogy to how philanthropy applies to public works projects and public services. Tuesday morning, Mayor John Tory announced that private donors had given the city $3.4 million to help continue to fashion a giant park out of parts of the Don River Valley. This comes just under a year after we learned Judy and Wilmot Matthews would donate $25 million to construct a new park and public space under a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway (the Matthews are among the list of donors to the Don Valley project, too).

At the announcement of both projects, Tory made sure to mention not just the citys gratitude for the donations, but his hope that they would set examples for other wealthy donors.

Which rubs some people the wrong way. I dont understand why, in a democratic society, wealthy people get an extra vote about what we build in the city of Toronto, Councillor Gord Perks told my colleague David Rider. We elect governments to decide what our priorities are and it undermines the role of government when wealthy people decide instead.

In a similar vein, city hall writer Neville Park of Torontoist tweeted, It makes park creation/placement dependent on the whims of wealthy donors, not solid urban planning principles, and, Im afraid this will continue to marginalize places that arent tourist hotspots or undergoing revitalization.

And they do have a point, if we start to see private donations as a primary or even regular source of income that we can plan around  and further, if we set our city-building priority list based on which projects draw donations from rich folks, and put those that attract less capital on the back burner. Its not a stray concern in a city that has solicited donations (and made public service decisions contingent on them) when weather in recent years made it possible to consider keeping outdoor ice rinks open longer, and the High Park Zoo was, for a time, kept open because of private donations.

Donations are good! But as city planner Danny Brown replied to Neville Park on Twitter, Where are the wealthy private donors building affordable housing, donating to the TTC, etc. They dont typically pay for those things, and in a way it would be more of a problem if they did  no one wants to see decisions about which impoverished familys housing is maintained or condemned based on the whims of a rich donor. We, collectively, need to decide our priorities based on our collective needs and wants. And we, collectively, pay for them based on collective resources, typically taxes and fees.

Its nice if for some reason some people start chipping in extra  it gives us more to work with, and theoretically allows us to get more done. But not if it makes us reshape our plans to move the priorities of specific people of means to the top of the list. In this country, we have long recoiled in shock whenever the phrase two tier healthcare is brought up, because its considered important to the premise of our universal system that people not be able to jump the line by paying extra. Surely the same premise applies to government policy.

Which is not to say that philanthropy directed at the public realm should not be welcome, in my opinion. And though less pronounced than in the U.S., there is a tradition of it here. High Park was a gift to the city from John George Howard, who imposed conditions (including that access to it always be free of charge), and it is impossible to imagine the west end without it. Our public library system, today the largest and most used in the world, was built up partly on the generosity of American rich dude Andrew Carnegie, whose donations built 10 library branches (seven of them still in operation) between 1907 and 1916. Dentonia Park, in the Crescent Town neighbourhood north of Danforth, was given to the city by Susan Denton Massey in memory of her husband Walter Massey.

Its important to note here that I do not actually think parks or libraries are the direct municipal equivalent of a fancy dinner  look at High Park or the Riverdale library and they do not appear, in retrospect, to be frills: they are basic, necessary building blocks of great neighbourhoods. But before they were there, the wish for them might have appeared a luxury, hard to justify spending scarce dollars on when compared to the desperate need for a basic sewage system the city suffered in the early 1900s, or the 80,000-unit-long social housing backlog we face today. And so, in the past, some of these things have been given as gifts by philanthropists  useful things, inspiring things, motivating things it likely would not have been willing to prioritize itself.

Like an invitation from a well-off friend, they are gifts we should feel free to accept, and to appreciate and enjoy. We should be grateful for them, and for the generosity of spirit of those who gave them. But we cannot mistake them for methods of dealing with our biggest priorities, by finding our own resources, and fulfilling our own needs.

Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire

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Police Chief Mark Saunders says switching the colour of Torontos familiar white, red and blue police cars to grey was a spontaneous decision, and one he is allowed to make as the citys top cop.

There was just a moment when I did it, there was no deep thought in it, Saunders told CBC Radios Metro Morning on Monday.

The fleet is old and were in the process of changing and someone said do you want it to be the same or do you want it to look different and I said lets make it look different.

At its last meeting, the Toronto police civilian oversight board asked Saunders to explain the colour change because board members had not been consulted.

We are making a major design change, and we did never discuss it, Councillor Shelley Carroll said last Thursday.

I'm sure at one point when we went from yellow to red, white and blue there was probably a conversation.

The board told Saunders to report back on the services plans for its cars.

Last month, the Toronto Police Service began replacing its familiar white Ford Crown Victoria vehicles with Ford Interceptors painted in a dark shade of grey. Police is printed in highly reflective decals on all four sides.

The cars are different from the services new stealth cars, which are also grey but the word Police and motto, To Serve and Protect, are barely visible beneath grey paint.

Toronto police cruisers changed from yellow to white 30 years ago, after the then Metro Police Commission decided tests by North American researchers showed that white is safer and can be seen better, the Star reported in 1986.

Amid considerable public debate, the commission  the precursor to todays police civilian oversight board  decided to change from yellow to white, rejecting a staff report recommending the cruisers have blue and gold stripes, instead of blue and red.

The Metro Police Commission is understood to have decided on the change in principle and will inspect cars in two new colo(u)r schemes at its . . . meeting, the Star reported in a front page story in 1986.

On Monday, Saunders said hes not sure if theres any reason why I have to consult with the board on changing the colour of the vehicles, but (thats) something that well be definitely looking into.

Under the Police Services Act, which the province is currently reviewing, the duties of the chief include overseeing its operation in accordance with the objectives, priorities and policies established by the board.

He also defended the new grey colour in response to some criticism that the grey colour is not visible enough.

Saunders said the new vehicles are highly visible, with white fluorescent taping against the grey backdrop.

He acknowledged, however, that some people are confusing the grey patrol cars with the Stealth version used to detect whether motorists are texting while driving, for instance.

In 2007, a New York optometrist and leading expert on visibility and emergency safety, told the Star the best colour for emergency vehicles is lime yellow, which is why its used by fire departments all over the world.

A 2009 study by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency advocated the use of fluorescent colours  especially fluorescent yellow-green and orange for emergency vehicles, noting their higher visibility during daylight hours.

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In June of 2013 then-federal finance minister Jim Flaherty held a news conference and announced Pickering was going to get an airport. It was a surprise announcement about something that wasnt a surprise: an airport planned four decades ago on rural land north of Pickering.

Local people phoned me and asked for help because I wrote the book, says Sandra Campbell. That 1973 book was The Moveable Airport, about the then and still controversial process by the (first) Trudeau government of expropriating 18,600 acres of farmland, including two villages, for a new airport to supplement Pearson.

New airports were in vogue then, but not so much now. Mirabel airport, the result of a similar expropriation process outside of Montreal, was opened in 1975, but commercial passenger traffic stopped in 2004 due to lack of demand.

I was heartbroken, says Campbell of Flahertys announcement. There are libraries full of books on why we must not pave this land. The problem is nobody cares right now. Though Flahertys announcement came and went without any real movement on the new airport, this massive tract of land north of Pickering and east of Markham is still in limbo.

For the last two years Campbell has worked to create Abundance GTA, an eco-arts project that aims to get people interested in the land and its future. I thought it cant come back on the radar with the aint it awful method, she says. It had to be through artists. Its a theory that has worked elsewhere, where arts and culture has revitalized once-depressed industrial areas and got people excited about places they otherwise might ignore.

Last weekend Abundance GTA brought of group of people working on food policy, urban planning, and other related pursuits and professions on a bus trip into the airport lands themselves. Campbell commissioned 4 poets to create work inspired by the geography, and dancers got people to think about the land.

Theres a strangeness to a visit to the airport lands: its quieter than most southern Ontario farmland, and a keen eye will see traces of the houses and communities that were removed. More visible are the boarded up homes with Transport Canada No Trespassing signs out front and the security men who patrol the dirt concessions in trucks, all paid for by us, appearing and disappearing like sinister agents in a 1970s paranoid thriller film.

As you move around this high country there are vistas southwest that look past the tower cluster of Scarborough City Centre to the downtown skyline. The visible proximity to the dense city from such a rural place is striking and rare, almost like those comic book depictions of Gotham where the hinterland and downtown are impossibly next to each other. Other times the rolling landscape looks like a Turner painting, had he tramped about the edges of Toronto with his easel.

Tenant farmers still grow on the land, and some still live there. Nearly 10,000 acres of the original parcel have been given to Parks Canada, but 9600 remain designated for a future airport.

Abundance GTA joins Land Over Landings, an older advocacy group, in pointing out that putting a hold on this land for so long has inadvertently preserved some of the best farmland in the country, and they both envision this all becoming a food hub for the millions of people in the region.

Building a new airport is the kind of megaproject politicians can hitch election hopes to, with the promise of jobs and economic prosperity, but the Greater Golden Horseshoe already has an underused international airport in Hamilton. Imagine if the GO Train network connected to it and the case for a Pickering Airport diminishes quickly.

As for jobs, in the GTA the food and beverage cluster does $17 billion in annual sales. At the time Campbell wrote Moveable Airport she was living in Claremont, just to the east of the lands. Campbell recalls taking the 8:05AM CPR passenger train from there to Union Station while attending U of T. Though theres no longer passenger traffic, the line still carries freight, and theres potential for that line to connect farm and city.

Jim Miller, who still farms here was on the bus tour and said, Southern Ontarios only permanent source of wealth is its farm soil. Farmland may not have the same trophy appeal a new airport terminal does, but with an underused airport in Hamilton and rich farmland at the edge of the city we can never replace, there are opportunities for both airborne and agricultural dreams.

Shawn Micallef writes every Saturday about where and how we live in the GTA. Wander the streets with him on Twitter @shawnmicallef

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What kind of president will Hillary Clinton be? That question assumes some urgency now that the final U.S. presidential debate is over.

Donald Trumps stunning refusal on Wednesday to promise he will accept the Nov. 8 election results has virtually doomed his candidacy. Although it was already on life support, he seemed to have killed it.

There was a gasp in the Las Vegas hall when Trump uttered those fateful words about whether he will respect the results  I will keep you in suspense, OK?  but the audience also seemed to be reacting on behalf of the country at large, as if to say: Thanks be to God. This sordid race is finally over.

Well, it is  effectively, unless some horrific event intervenes. Even if Trump backtracks on this issue, the damage has been done. And his campaign has ended, with fewer than 20 days until election day, with a largely clueless Trump providing the most eloquent case for a Clinton landslide.

So given that, what will President Clinton be like?

No one can know for certain about the next four years, but we now have more than a few clues.

Thanks to the WikiLeaks website and its erratic founder Julian Assange, who has accomplished the twin feat of being a stooge of the Kremlin and a shill for Donald Trump, there are now more than 20,000 confidential emails written by Clintons senior campaign team in the public domain.

They have been released a thousand or two at a time, every few days, as a form of Chinese water torture inflicted upon Clinton and her fellow Democrats.

Surprisingly, there have been no real bombshells that the self-absorbed Trump campaign has been able to exploit. So far at least. But in their totality, these emails provide a portrait of the woman who will become Americas 45th president.

The thousands of stolen emails being released  many very raw and caustic  come from the account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Although few of the emails were written by Clinton herself, they reflect the debate among many of Clintons senior staff during the period leading up to her presidential announcement in 2015 and through this years tough primary battle with Bernie Sanders.

With the Trump campaign stumbling so often and making news, the media hasnt focused much on the Podesta leaks, which is fortunate for Clinton.

But, as intended by the Russian-backed hackers, these leaks have caused dissent and demoralization within the Clinton camp itself. In withering detail, Democratic senior staff and donors have learned about how they or their work has been characterized, sometimes savagely, in confidential emails written by colleagues.

Even the Clinton family has apparently been rocked by these leaks. The influential Washington website Politico reported that Clintons daughter, Chelsea, was hurt upon reading that a senior colleague described her as a spoiled brat. Bill Clinton is said to be having a hard time as he reads about these disclosures, and Hillary herself was described as being pissed that her campaign had to deal with this on a daily basis.

The Hillary Clinton who emerges from these emails is not unfamiliar to anyone who has followed her public career. She comes off as a cautious, methodical centrist  considerably more centre-right than Barack Obama, and much more of a hawk than Obama. As reflected in these emails, Clinton believes that politics requires compromise and she is willing to have both a public and private position to make a deal.

As this campaign enters its final days, there is still potential for surprise.

Encouraged by Russias Vladimir Putin, a Trump favourite, will WikiLeaks reveal such a shocking Clinton disclosure in the final days that will upend the race?

Or will the terror groups at play in the Middle East, who would see a Trump presidency as a boost to their cause, plan some bloody event in the United States to provoke fear and anxiety  and a turn toward Trump?

If the U.S. election were held this weekend, Clinton would likely win in a landslide. But there are still more than two weeks to go.

Until then, we should strap in and brace ourselves for a tense finish.

Tony Burman is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at tony.burman@gmail.com .

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An appointment to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague doesnt sound like the stuff of airport thrillers.

But for McGill University international law professor Payam Akhavan, 50, its the culmination of an edgy adventure that plunged him into international intrigue and set a struggling country back from the brink of chaos.

The court is one of the worlds most important, giving states a forum for settling disputes before they turn to war. Although most appointments are made by a nominees home country, Akhavans  unusually  was by Bangladesh.

The trail leads back to 2008, when the countrys prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was imprisoned on dubious corruption charges. And Akhavan, well known as an international prosecutor and voice for global justice, had an unexpected call from her teenage niece in London.

She was trying to find a lawyer to help her aunt, and asked a friend whose father was a lawyer, Akhavan said in a phone interview from Montreal. He asked another lawyer, who suggested me. It was as random as that.

What convinced him to help was Hasinas tragic history, as well as her plight. In Hasinas family, only she and her sister had survived a massacre. Now she was in prison. She had medical problems, and there were fears that she would be poisoned.

Hasinas father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was Bangladeshs first president. He had unexpectedly won a vote for autonomy in what was then East Pakistan, sparking a savage reprisal from the Pakistani army that left at least 300,000 Bengalis dead, but led to the founding of the country in 1971.

Four years later Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family in a military coup. Hasina, who was out of the country, escaped  and later returned to lead the opposition in parliament.

She became prime minister in 1996, but lost power amid violent political turbulence. To prevent her from making a comeback in 2008 elections, she was jailed by an interim military-backed government on corruption charges.

Akhavan was asked to step in and save her. But when his outspoken advocacy for the imprisoned politician crackled through the worlds media, he was blacklisted in Bangladesh.

Nevertheless, Hasinas niece persuaded him to attend the trial, and he managed to slip past the authorities with a visa obtained in Bangladeshs Jordan embassy, with the help of a friend.

Trailed by military intelligence in Bangladesh, he says, I snuck into the trial with a gaggle of black-frocked barristers.

The trial was held in Dhakas heavily guarded parliament building, with the public barred. But Akhavan found himself next to the defendants box where Sheikh Hasina sat. And he was able to talk to the only witness against her, a cousin who told Akhavan he had been tortured to force him to testify against her.

When the star witness told the court he had never paid a bribe to Hasina and the prosecutor fought back, pandemonium broke out. The whole case fell apart. In the midst of it the prosecutor noticed me in the courtroom, and I was kicked out.

Chaos also broke out in the street, as thousands of protesters were held back by soldiers: the crowd rushed toward me and I thought Id be trampled to death.

Reporters surrounded Akhavan, and microphones were shoved in his face. I was stunned, he said. I told them they have turned the parliament into a prison. This trial is a sham. Shes innocent and this is sabotaging democracy.

Word spread quickly, and Akhavan became a lightning rod for the protest movement, a perilous position in a country with a history of bloodshed and brutality.

Two very large military intelligence men showed up at my hotel around midnight. They said youre coming with us. I had to think fast: it was not something I learned in law school.

Akhavan convinced the hard men that aid  and military support  would be withdrawn from the country if anything happened to him. And he agreed to leave the next morning.

But his ties with Bangladesh were to continue. After Hasina won an overwhelming election victory, Akhavan was asked to become legal counsel for Bangladesh for arbitration of international boundary disputes with neighbours Burma and India, resulting in resounding wins that made legal history.

His new appointment to the court of arbitration is for a six-year term, serving on a rotating roster and taking part in tribunals when chosen by states. Apart from settling disputes, the court also nominates members of the International Court of Justice and candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize.

All these experiences, Akhavan says, have made him a better teacher, and mentor to McGill law students he hopes will follow in his footsteps.

In a very profound way they have enriched my teaching and scholarship. I have seen the reality in which international norms operate, and how important it is to have institutions for compulsory dispute settling. Politics has to be taken out of the theatre of violence.

From a young age, his family witnessed that violence up close.

A prosecutor, and a witness

While still in his teens, Payam Akhavan felt the full force of the worlds injustice.

In 1981, his uncle, Firouz Naimi, a respected physician, was abducted and tortured to death in the Iranian city of Hamadan because of his Bahai faith, condemned as heresy by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis clerical regime. Another uncle was arrested and executed a year later.

But when 17-year-old Bahai Mona Mahmudnizhad, a high school student of Akhavans own age, was hanged in 1983, it was a turning point. He volunteered for the cast of a music video called Mona With the Children, made by a Canadian artist.

The video gained instant popularity  and launched a lifelong odyssey for justice and human rights that has taken Akhavan to war zones, world capitals and the highest international courts.

Monas hanging shook me to the core, he says. You feel helpless. I spent the rest of my life trying to figure out how to fight for justice against all odds, speaking truth to power in front of a large audience to make people understand.

Born in Tehran, Akhavan came to Toronto with his family before Irans 1979 revolution. Set on a career in international law, he graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School, then took graduate degrees at Harvard Law School, where his classmates included Barack Obama and a half-brother of Osama bin Laden.

While other young lawyers followed the money to Wall Street, Akhavan went to the UN, helping to draft a document that became the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Still in his 20s, he plunged in at the deep end as a field officer investigating human rights abuses in the midst of the Bosnian war that ripped through former Yugoslavia.

In May 1993, he documented the horrifying aftermath of a massacre of more than 100 Muslim women, children and men in the village of Ahmici, where they were systematically shot and burned to death by a Croatian militia.

There, he had his own close encounter with death. Its easy to be idealistic about human rights in the classroom, he says. But when youre in the midst of mutilated bodies and a sniper is trying to kill you the world looks very different.

For the young lawyer the carnage in Ahmici was devastating. Bosnia was radical evil on a whole different scale. At an early age youre not prepared for this. It took many years and many sleepless nights to get over it.

But fate took an interesting turn. After Akhavan became the first legal adviser to the prosecutor at the newly created International Criminal Tribune for Former Yugoslavia in 1994, he testified against Croatian Gen. Tihomir Blaskic, who was held responsible for the Ahmici massacre and other atrocities, in a war crimes trial beginning three years later.

It was astonishing that I was in that courtroom testifying against him, Akhavan says. I was not only a prosecutor, but a witness.

Blaskics 45-year sentence was later reduced on appeal and he was granted early release when new evidence emerged that he was not guilty of personally overseeing the attack.

After leaving the tribunal in 2000, Akhavan attended the trial of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, accused of fuelling the wars in Yugoslavia that left more than 100,000 people dead.

Having spent a decade of my life amid mass graves, suffering and horror, there was a sense of futility. But then against overwhelming odds, you see the star villain in the dock.

Admittedly burnt out by his experiences, Akhavan persisted. You have to shine a light into the dark abyss and say that there is something called international law and human rights. Even if we cant immediately enforce it, it must be the basis for the exercise of power.

His addictive quest for justice would take him beyond the Balkans to countries including Cambodia, Guatemala, East Timor, Rwanda and Iraq. He was a founder of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre and a prosecutor of a peoples tribunal to expose the thousands of murders of innocent people instigated by the Khomeini regime.

In his more than two-decade career, Akhavan has had a hand in some of the most dramatic human rights cases of the day.

Among others, he helped to set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, stood up for the rights of U.S. citizens designated as enemy combatants, was a counsel on landmark cases on the Armenian genocide and advised Haitis government on prosecution of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

His writing on genocide has made him a world authority in the theory and practice of international human rights law.

Payam is an outstanding scholar, advocate, human rights lawyer and has an enormous reservoir of expertise, says international lawyer and former federal justice minister Irwin Cotler, who recruited him to McGills law faculty in 2006. He is really ingenious for legal initiatives in holding violators to account  he thinks out of the box.

Returning to Canada was a natural choice for Akhavan.

As a single parent of two sons, now 12 and 14, he says, I wanted my children to be brought up in Canada. And as an international lawyer, he was struck by the remarkable contrast between Canada and the U.S. on the relevance of human rights to our conception of the world.

Although the pace of his life is exhausting, he is convinced that bearing witness is the beginning of all justice. Its the fundamental act of empathy.

It leaves little down time. In addition to his full teaching schedule as an associate professor, he is helping to set up a truth commission in Iraqi Kurdistan for Yazidis whose family members have been kidnapped, killed, raped and tortured by Daesh. And he is campaigning for Canada to bring a case against Syria to the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, Akhavan has been chosen to deliver the 2017 Massey Lectures, to be titled In Search of Justice: A Human Rights Odyssey. They will be held in five cities across Canada and broadcast on the CBC.

Being chosen for the prestigious series, he says, is the ultimate honour for someone arriving in the country speaking just a few words of English and surviving schoolyard bullying, to take his place among the giants of the Canadian intellectual and literary community.

He adds, a career in human rights is about being in the right place at the wrong time. The ultimate success of an international human rights lawyer is a world in which he can be unemployed.

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OTTAWAGord Downie wears a worn, jean jacket, all buttoned up with a beaded Remembrance Day poppy pinned close to his heart. A black felt, wide-brimmed hat is tilted back on his head.

He has just walked off the stage at the National Arts Centre after playing all 10 songs of his Secret Path multimedia compilation and he is immediately enveloped by friends. He pauses and talks to everyone lined along the hall. Everyone gets a kiss and a big hug.

This is his first concert since his emotional farewell to Canada at the end of August at the conclusion of the Tragically Hips Man Machine Poem Tour.

Once the Hip finished that last show, Downie and his brothers, Mike and Patrick, threw themselves fully, completely into telling the story of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack. This has been a difficult year for Downie and his family. Their father, Edgar, died Oct. 27, 2015. The day after Edgars funeral, Gord was walking with his mother, Lorna, when he suffered a massive seizure and soon after was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a devastating, terminal cancer of the brain.

On stage, Downies voice was strong, filled with hope but also darkness as he told the story of the short life Chanie, an indigenous boy who fled Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont., and tried to walk nearly 600 kilometres to his home to Ogoki Post in Ontarios far north. Animated images of Wenjack, drawn by artist Jeff Lemire, flashed by on a massive screen above the stage as Downie sang. Each stark illustration laid out Chanies last lonely days as he walked along the railway tracks, pelted by freezing rain, before he lay down and died.

Downie doesnt know how much time he has left to live but he is wisely using what he has to teach Canada about Chanie and the legacy of the residential school system that sent 150,000 indigenous children to state-funded, church-run institutions for 130 years to school the Indian out of them.

For decades, Downie and the Hip gave a generation the soundtrack of their lives  from the music played at university dorm parties to songs played on the stereo during weekends at the cottage. Downie has always given all of himself on stage. He has never asked anything of his fans. But now, Downie is calling in a favour. He is using the power of his art and this precious moment in time while he has a nations attention, and he is compelling them to listen.

How many people can you say sang the country into our consciousness, in one way, and then sang the countrys biggest failing back into our consciousness a second time? asked Mike Downie.

***

The Downie brothers journey began three years ago after Mike heard a CBC radio documentary, by Thunder Bay-based journalist Jody Porter, about Chanie Wenjacks flight.

Mike was riveted. He called Gord and they went for lunch. That day the brothers, both fathers, committed to telling Chanies story and to creating something that would open a dialogue about Canadas troubled past.

Mike thought they would make a feature film, but then Gord started to write poems. Those poems would eventually turn into music. They researched and processed all the material on Chanie they could find, including Ian Adams powerful 1967 Macleans article, The Lonely Death of Chanie Wenjack.

They also tracked down Pearl Achneepineskum, Chanies older sister, in Ogoki and told her they were going to write about him. Mike asked if that was all right. Pearl said it was. Every six months, Mike would call to tell her about what they were up to.

In 2014, the brothers called up Lemire, the acclaimed graphic novelist and DC Comics writer, and met him for coffee. Before we left the coffee shop, I knew I was going to do it. I had to. Chanies story is one that will not let you go once you hear it, says Lemire in a statement on the SecretPath.ca website.

Lemire drew chapters to the songs and what he produced blew away the Downies.

Mike says he knows how lucky he is to be born in Canada but now, as we look toward Canadas 150th birthday, truths need to be aired and told.

Since Confederation, Canada has put forward a beautiful idea of itself, like a gleaming, brand new house that is perfectly done and flawless, but take a harder look and youll see there is something not quite right.

As Gord says, recalls Mike, we have this great new house built, but, we have got someone locked up on the third floor that no one is talking about. The attic is off limits. That is Canada now. Who is up in the attic but the person living on the property where you built the house.

After Downies last Hip show, after he proclaimed on stage, as millions of Canadians watched, that they had all been trained to look away from 100 years of Canadas indigenous history and now was the time to do something, the Downie brothers did.

They boarded a plane and travelled north with Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, Sheila North Wilson, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and Ry Moran, director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Secret Path songs and the graphic novel were done, and the Downies wanted to share them and film the trip for a mini CBC doc.

The Downies had the music, already recorded with the help of Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene and musician Dave Hamelin of the Stills. Lemires graphic novel was also done. But next they wanted to combine everything together into a movie. The CBC gave the brothers three months to come up with an animated film to be broadcast to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Chanies death on Oct. 22, 1966.

Mike Downie called animator Justin Stephenson. I asked him, Is it impossible to make a 43-minute film in less than three months? He said it wasnt impossible but almost.

Ogoki Post, part of Marten Falls First Nation, is a remote, fly-in community, 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. Marten Falls traditional lands are in the Ring of Fire, one of the last, vast untouched boreal forests on Earth. While the community is mired in poverty, it is also home to one of the worlds richest deposits of chromite, the material used to make stainless steel.

There are five surviving Wenjack sisters. Four of the five  Evelyn, Pearl, Daisy and Annie  all came to meet Gord and his brothers.

Our first meeting was really intense. Some were of the mind that they werent really sure their brother Charlie (Chanie) had become a public figure, said Mike.

Daisy spoke first, for awhile, and there was a long pause. For a long while, we just sat there . . . . Then Evelyn spoke. Everyone just spoke their truth. It wasnt like how I would speak with my friends. It wasnt adversarial; it was just getting to your truth. It was like a stack of pancakes. One sister speaks, the next one listens, without interruption, described Mike.

Pearl spoke last and blew everyone away.

Pearl is the one who said, I will say why they have come. After Charlie died, I asked the Creator that his life not be in vain. That his life means something and that his story one day be told. But when you ask the Creator for something it doesnt happen on your timeline. I had to wait for a very long time. Then the phone rang. And it was Mike, telling me that his brother was writing and recording songs and that they wanted to tell the story of Charlie,  Pearl said.

When I heard that I cried like a baby, said Mike. To think there was something she had been waiting for. I realized this was three years ago. It was really something to hear. It turned into such an emotional moment. She said, That is why they are here. This is what I wanted. 

Pearl asked everyone to hold hands and form a circle. The sisters sat with Gord as well as a niece. Beyond the cameras, there was another dozen Wenjack family members. They put down the cameras and microphone and stood in a circle and Pearl started to sing a traditional Anishinaabe song of prayer.

It was absolutely unbelievable. I went up there with this idea. We were closing the circle on this project, which had been three years (in the making), a significant piece of time and we know how precious time is, also, Gord is closing a circle. This is a legacy project. We dont know what he has left, for time, said Mike.

In that moment, the circle was so big. It was all of us.

In the last year, since their father died of prostate cancer, and after Gords shattering diagnosis, the tight-knit Irish family of siblings Charlyn, Paula, Gord, Patrick, Mike and mother Lorna have all leaned on each other.

We loved our Irish father. He was born on 86 Mortimer in Toronto. His parents came over on a boat from Ireland. My mom Lorna has had a terrible year, living alone without him, then Gords illness. Weve all had a terrible year. But Gord, is the one, who has been our leader. We share the leadership but lets face it, with Gord, he is such an important guy to all of us. He has made such a difference in my life, said Mike.

Patrick Downie spoke to the circle, recalled Mike.

Patrick spoke incredibly eloquently and said, You talk about not wanting your brothers tragedy to become public, why does it have to be shared? But I can tell you first hand, we have been through a public exercise of grief and pain and it doesnt make things easier but it can make things better and it can help a lot of people, not just yourself.

Suddenly the two families were connected.

I think about the people who care about my brother and it chokes me up. And I think of their grief and my grief and they are the same . . . . It is about sharing pain, not holding pain, he said.

As Gord says, being up there in that circle, you swear that Chanie died 15 minutes ago, not 50 years ago. That is what happens in a family. There will always be that empty chair.

Back in Toronto, when Mike was out paddling on Lake Ontario, he conceived the idea of the Gord Downie Chanie Wenjack Fund, an indigenous-led initiative. It is part Wenjack family and part Downie. The Secret Path book, the album, it all flows to a trust inside the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg.

Well build a path of reconciliation.

The Secret Path album and graphic novel was released on Oct. 18. On Sunday, Oct. 23, the CBC is broadcasting an hour-long commercial free TV special at 9 p.m.

Donations are being accepted at downiewenjack.ca

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Donald Trump doesnt want to be judged by statements he makes as the Republican presidential nominee, at least not by jurors who are set to decide next month whether he defrauded hundreds of students through his namesake real-estate school.

Trump seeks to exclude evidence about his campaign such as speeches, tweets and statements made at rallies and debates  including comments about the case itself and the judge presiding over the trial in San Diego, Gonzalo Curiel. Curiels Mexican heritage earlier prompted Trump to say that negative rulings in the case were retribution for his pledge to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The lawsuit, filed by former students from California, Florida and New York, accuses Trump University of cheating them into paying as much as $35,000 (U.S.) for real estate investment seminars. The classes turned out to be infomercials pitching more classes, according to the complaint. Lawyers for Trump have argued that sales pitches touting secrets and hand-picked instructors were solely for advertising and cant be used to claim fraud.

Before trial begins in this case, prospective members of the jury will have the opportunity to cast their vote for president, Trumps lawyers said Thursday in a court filing. It is in the ballot box where they are free to judge Mr. Trump based on all this and more.

The attorneys go on to argue that Trumps statements on the campaign trail are irrelevant to the case and highly prejudicial, and would only seek to inflame the jury.

It is the courts duty to protect the integrity of the judicial process and defendants right to a fair trial, they wrote.

Attorneys for the former students didnt immediately respond, on Friday, to requests for comment on the filing. The trial set for Nov. 28 is one of two class actions over the allegations. Curiel scheduled the trial so the case could be decided after the presidential election but before a possible inauguration.

The case is Low v. Trump University LLC, 10-cv-00940, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California (San Diego).

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WASHINGTON  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had an especially busy Friday, Oct. 21, with two events in Pennsylvania and one in North Carolina. He also did an interview with Fox Newss Sean Hannity.

Two days after the presidential debate at which he said 37 false things, he said 22 more:

1. Falsely said, Homicides are up nearly 50 per cent in Washington D.C. and more than 60 per cent in Baltimore. And its getting worse and worse and worse. (This was true last year, but not this year. Homicides are actually down in both cities in 2016, DCs by 13 per cent as of yesterday.)

2. Falsely said, The murder rate in the United States is the highest its been in 45 years. And the dishonest media, they never tell you that. (The media does not repeat this because it is false. The increase in murders between 2014 and 2015, 11 per cent, was the highest in 45 years. But the number of murders was even lower than it was 45 years ago  even though the country had more than 100 million more people. The murder rate remains near a historic low.)

3. Falsely said, Hillarys plan includes an open border with the Middle East. (It does not.)

4. Falsely said on Twitter, The results are in on the final debate and it is almost unanimous, I WON! Thank you, these are very exciting times. (Trump actually lost every scientific poll on the debate  CNN, YouGov, Morning Consult, NBC.)

5. Falsely said agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement just last week endorsed us.(A union of ICE employees endorsed Trump three and a half weeks prior. Wed perhaps give him the benefit of the doubt if this was a one-time slip, but he has repeatedly insisted the endorsement occurred last week no matter how much time has passed.)

6. Falsely said, The media is so corrupt that Hillary was given the exact questions to a previous debate. Remember this, right, just recently. Word for word, given the questions. Here are the questions. Here are the questions. Nobody gave me the questions. (There are several things wrong with this claim. Clinton was apparently given one question, not questions plural. It was for a town hall event on CNN, not a debate. It was in March, not just recently. And Trump is misleadingly suggesting it was for a debate against him.)

7. Falsely said, Hillary Clinton is going to raise your taxes a lot. (Clinton is only raising taxes on the highest earners. The Tax Policy Center says most residents below the top 1 per cent will receive minor tax cuts under her plan, and even most of the highest earners will not see a doubling.)

8. Falsely said of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Remember he didnt want Obama to come there a few weeks ago. (Duterte did insult Obama, calling him a son of a whore, but it was Obama who cancelled their meeting, not Duterte, and it was to be in Laos, not an Obama visit to the Philippines. Duterte expressed regret after the cancellation, though he later started insulting America again.)

9. Falsely said, of top foreign leaders not greeting Obama upon his landing in their countries, Probably the first time its ever happened in the fabled history of Air Force One. (Hes wrong, wrong, wrong, the Washington Posts fact checkers wrote when Trump made an earlier version of this claim; Reagan and other Obama predecessors were sometimes greeted by foreign ministers and other people who are not presidents and prime ministers.)

10. Falsely said, As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton allowed thousands of criminal aliens to be released because their home countries wouldnt take them back. (A 2001 Supreme Court decision required these people to be released if their home countries wouldnt take them back. While some critics believe the Bush and Obama administration should have done more to pressure these countries, it wasnt Clintons optional decision to release them.)

11. Falsely said of Obamacare, Your premiums are going up 70, 80, 90 per cent and its only going to get worse. (Obamacare prices are jumping, but Trump greatly overstates the hikes. Writes the Washington Post: State-by-state weighted average increases range from just 1.3 per cent in Rhode Island to as high as 71 per cent in Oklahoma. But the most common plans in the marketplace will see an average increase of 9 per cent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundations July analysis.)

12. Falsely said, Your taxes will go way, way down under a Trump administration. (This claim would only be true if addressed to rich people. Experts say the overwhelming majority of Trumps cuts will go to the rich. Half are for the top 1 per cent, according to the Tax Policy Center, and some middle-class families will pay even more than they do now. Most families below the top 20 per cent of earners are expected to reap income gains of less than 1 per cent.)

13. Falsely said of inner cities, Theres no education. There are no jobs. (This is a gross exaggeration; many inner cities are thriving, and there are educated and employed people even in poor neighbourhoods.)

14. Falsely said, Made 13 iPhones disappear, some with a hammer. (Clinton used BlackBerrys, not iPhones.)

15. Falsely said, Hillary Clinton when she ran the State Department lost or misplaced  they use the word misplaced  $6 billion. (The inspector general who probed this matter says it is not true that the actual money went missing  simply that contract documentation was missing or incomplete.)

16. Falsely said, Were already the highest-taxed nation in the world. (This is not true with regard to corporate taxes, where the U.S. is near the top. When it comes to all taxes, the U.S. is below-average for the industrialized world.)

17. Falsely said of Indias economic growth, India has 8 per cent  thats considered bad for them. (Indias growth is considered fast, not bad. In India, GDP growth will remain strong at 7.6 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017, supported by expectations of a rebound in agriculture, civil service pay reforms supporting consumption, increasingly positive contributions from exports and a recovery of private investment in the medium term, the World Bank wrote in a report earlier this month.)

18. Falsely said, We dont make things anymore. (Manufacturing accounted for 12 per cent of the U.S. economy last year. Though there are fewer manufacturing jobs than there were in decades past, the value of the countrys manufacturing output hit an all-time high this year.)

19. Falsely said of pollsters, They say, We cant poll this thing. (Pollsters are not saying this.)

20. Falsley said, You have two and a half million or so that are registered in two states. That means theyre voting twice. (Double registration does not necessarily mean people are voting twice, and the Pew report Trump is citing does not say that it does.)

21. Falsely said, Hillary wants open borders where people can just flow through. (She does not.)

22. Falsely said, Were tied in Florida. (Clinton leads by an average of four percentage points in Florida.)

More on thestar.com:

Donald Trump said 19 false things on Tuesday, Oct. 18

Donald Trump said 22 false things on Monday

U.S. Election page

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Most Canadians have never seen the inside of a slaughter house, nor would they want to. They prefer to not to imagine their dinner once peacefully grazing in a farm meadow. What they want to see is the end product neatly packaged in a grocery store cooler.

However, CTV W5 has obtained exclusive undercover footage taken by Mercy for Animals of a turkey slaughter plant in Abbotsford, B.C., and the images are difficult to watch. They reveal turkeys removed from crates, hung by their legs, shocked, killed and their carcasses scalded.

Mercy for Animals, an international organization dedicated to preventing cruelty to farm animals, sent in an undercover whistleblower who worked at the Sofina Foods plant for three weeks. With a concealed camera, he captured the entire slaughter process.

Our whistleblower simply applied for jobs and he literally took the first job that hired him, Krista Hiddema, Canadian vice-president of Mercy for Animals, told W5.

He was hired for what is called the live-hang position which is taking the turkeys that arrive in transport trailers, pulling them out and putting them on shackles while they are still alive.

Most of my time there I saw many birds are rough-handled, the whistleblower said in an interview. The overall processing line speed is quite quick, which results in employees roughly pulling birds out of transport crates. A lot of times, this results in birds having their legs broken and basically theyre still hanged anyway. So theyre left to hang with broken legs.

However, unlike numerous undercover operations done by Mercy For Animals in the past, there was little in the slaughter process at the Sofina Food plant that depicted wanton cruelty by the workers at the plant.

This was some of the most horrific footage I have ever seen and what is really critical to understand is the footage is indicative of standard industry practice, Hiddema said.

The most disturbing scenes are where the turkeys are killed by an automated blade which slits their throats. If they miss the blade a worker called the backup killer kills them manually. A fellow worker explains that if the turkeys throat is not slit properly the bird will go into the scalding water alive.

This is not a matter of (the turkey slaughter plant) failing to follow industry follow industry standards.This is a matter of the industry engaged in the worst forms of animal abuse. Not only is it industry standard, it is legal in this country to take these birds, hang them upside down, slit their throats, dunk them in tanks of scalding vats of water, and all of that while they are still alive and conscious.

While Hiddema would rather leave turkeys off the plate, she does recognize that the majority of Canadians consume poultry and so they should know how those birds are killed.

However, she also noted that there are less cruel methods of slaughter and wondered why industry was not using them.

After weeks of emails, letters and phone calls, the company agreed to meet with W5 at its head office in Markham so they could view the hidden camera footage.

While W5 showed them the video, Sofina opted not to sit down for an on-camera interview. Instead, the company issued a statement.

The practices depicted in the video comply with current industry and government regulatory requirement . . . the processed are in line with accepted industry standards.

To those in the industry, the images may be challenging to witness. However, the processes established have been reviewed and continue to be reviewed by industry, regulatory and other experts to ensure the most humane and proper treatment of animals is always followed.

W5 travelled to Fort Collins, Colo., to speak to Temple Grandin, a highly respected scientist with Colorado State University who specializes in farm animal welfare.

Grandin reviewed the undercover footage and concluded: What Ive seen is pretty much normal industry practice. But she pointed out that there is a better, less cruel way to slaughter turkeys by gassing them first in what is called controlled atmosphere stunning.

Now the advantage that we get with controlled atmosphere stunning or gas stunning is you eliminate live hanging, she said, noting that this process is far less stressful on the turkeys and the employees only handle dead birds after they come out of the stunner.

Grandin added that the turkey industry in the U.S. is moving toward controlled atmosphere stunning.

In its written statement, Sofina announced that is has ordered its first controlled atmosphere stunning system for delivery sometime next year.

Hiddema said that Canadians are compassionate people and when those Canadians who do eat animals, at bare minimum, Canadians do not want animals tortured en route from farm to plate.

We are the only meaningful watchdog in this country as it relates to what truly happens behind the closed doors of these facilities, she said. She added that Mercy for Animals believes their hidden camera footage will mobilize consumers to demand change.

Grandin agrees. Consumer pressure can make things change but weve got to make sure we make changes that will work.

W5s documentary  Fowl Business  airs on CTV this Saturday at 7 p.m.

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MADRIDHundreds of people have marched in Barcelona to protest the return of bullfighting to the city.

Spains constitutional Court overruled Catalonias regional ban on bullfighting Thursday, saying the prohibition violated a national law protecting the controversial spectacle.

Spains Pacma animal rights political party called for Saturdays protest as part of its Mission Abolition.

Pacma has said it will continue to fight to end bull-related spectacles at a national level.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, the powerful northeastern region that outlawed bullfighting in 2010. The ban reflected a growing movement against bullfighting, but also was seen as a step in the Catalan governments push to break away from Spain.

Pacma has called for more protests to be held in Madrid and other Spanish cities.

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BARTELLA, IRAQThe Iraqi army pushed into a town near the Daesh-held city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of Daesh militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile met with Iraqi commanders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its central government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.

The town is around 20 kilometres from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the countrys second largest city, which fell to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. Daesh has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

Daesh said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist groups Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.

An Iraqi television station says one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.

Alsumaria TV says cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper Saturday during a battle in the al-Shura area. Journalist Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV was shot dead by a militant sniper Friday, while covering the Daesh assault on Kirkuk.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometres east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area. Inside the town, a road extending more than 100 metres was completely demolished, with all the homes on either side reduced to rubble.

In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after Daesh launched a massive attack in and around the city, some 170 kilometres southeast of Mosul. The assault appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.

Omer said Kurdish security forces recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack. The Kurds assumed control of Mosul in 2014, when the Iraqi army and police crumbled in the face of a lightning Daesh advance across northern Iraq.

Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kirkuk assault was a terrorist attack and not a military breach.

Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out, he said after meeting with Carter.

As the assault on Kirkuk was underway, an airstrike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing 17 people, mainly women and children, and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said it was not clear who carried out the airstrike and that officials have launched an investigation.

The Russian Defence Ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had all the signs of a war crime. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the ministry, said two jets were involved in the raid, and apparently mistook the procession for a gathering of militants.

The U.S. military in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.

Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at retaking Mosul. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Carters visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

Elsewhere in Iraq, a burning sulphur plant south of Mosul that was torched by the Daesh group is releasing large amounts of noxious gas into the atmosphere, draping towns in the area in toxic smoke.

The air has turned a greyish colour as it mixes with smoke from earlier oil well fires set by the militants. The fumes make breathing difficult, with residents saying they are suffering from coughing, headaches and nosebleeds from as far as 30 kilometres away. A small area hospital has treated some 250 people for breathing difficulties.

The smoke is from sulphur that was lit by Daesh, said Alaa Abdullah Khaled, a resident in the nearby village of Awsaja. It is causing suffocation among the children and it gives them nosebleeds.

Two U.S. military officials said that while the fire was set two days ago in Mishraq, the winds shifted earlier Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field, a staging area for the Mosul offensive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks because of the breathing concerns, and estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.

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She was a 24-year-old substitute teacher.

He was a 17-year-old high school student.

And over the course of an illicit, months-long relationship during the 2015-2016 school year in Cedar Rapids, she admits, the pair had sex hundreds of times.

Mary Beth Haglin was charged in July with sexual exploitation by a teacher.

But now, Haglin claims that not only is she innocent of committing any crime, shes actually the victim in the relationship.

Haglin appeared on the Dr. Phil show this week and accused the student of hatching an elaborate plan of romantic seduction, then threatening to burn her life down if she ended the relationship.

In recent months, Haglin claims, shes been fired from her job and forced to work as a stripper using the nom de stage Bambi.

The student twisted my brain into accepting this relationship, she told Dr. Phil McGraw. He did so with such intelligence and such an elevated vocabulary that I was completely duped by the whole facade.

Many people see him as the victim and me as the perpetrator, she added. From a psychological standpoint and from every other standpoint, I feel like I am the victim.

He did burn my life to the ground.

Haglins trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 14, but she has requested that it be relocated due to the publicity surrounding the case, according to The Associated Press.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District has banned Haglin from employment in the district, but she continued to work as an elementary school substitute teacher near the end of the last school year because of a miscommunication, The Associated Press reported.

A spokesperson said the district formally removed Haglin from its substitute central system on June 14.

The former substitute teacher told Inside Edition in September that her tryst with her student started when he began writing flirtatious messages on Post-it notes that he left on her desk on his way out of class at Washington High School. The student began asking her to get lunch or coffee, she said on Dr. Phil; she initially resisted his overtures, she said, but the pair began texting and chatting on Facebook in September 2015.

At the time, she was 23 and the student was 17.

Trust me, its not difficult to be a caring boyfriend, the student texted Haglin, according to a message revealed by the show. Especially to someone as magnificent as you.

Haglin told Inside Edition the student even had pet names for his teacher, including my empress and Mrs. Robinson, a reference to Anne Bancrofts classic movie role as an older woman who embarks upon an affair with a younger man in The Graduate movie.

Over time, Haglin said, the teens romantic gestures softened her resolve, and a sexual relationship began last October.

She was attracted to him, she told McGraw, because of his mind, which she described as more mature than his age.

I was completely head over heels, she told Inside Edition.

She said she met the teen nearly every day to have sex in her car, which she parked in a public park. They also visited his parents homes, she told Dr. Phil.

We met several times a week, not every time was just to have sex, she said. There were times we would sit and talk. I thought in my mind this was some sort of real relationship.

In Iowa, teachers are prohibited from sexual contact with students until 30 days after graduation, even if the student is at least 18, according to the Des Moines Register.

As their relationship progressed, Haglin said, she eventually sent the student naked pictures, which he shared with other teenagers. Haglin told McGraw that she never expected the student to share the images.

You have got to be dumber than a box of rocks to share naked pictures with a 17-year-old boy, the talk-show host said.

He knew that I was vulnerable, Haglin responded.

The relationship eventually unravelled when the teacher and student were spotted by other students in a car in June. One witnesses took video of the couple and posted it on Twitter, the Des Moines Register reported.

Haglin told McGraw that when the student began telling his classmates that he was carrying on an inappropriate relationship with her, she tried to break up with him.

At that point, she said, he threatened to tell school officials about the relationship and light a match and burn down [her] life.

Haglin said she was too scared to end the relationship, but a parent eventually convinced her to confess and shared that confession with school officials, who launched an investigation.

According to the Des Moines Register, Washington High Schools veteran principal, Ralph Plagman, was asked to resign after the district determined he had participated in an ineffective initial investigation into accusations about Haglins conduct.

The Gazette of Cedar Rapids reported that though Plagman and other administrators investigated rumors of Haglins inappropriate relationship in February and again in May, no one in the district ever contacted police, district officials have said.

Haglin told the Gazette that the district wanted to keep her conduct hush-hush.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District has concluded its investigation into the events related to Mary Beth Haglins inappropriate relationship with a student during the spring 2016 semester at Washington High School, a district statement said. Under Iowas public records laws, the District is required to keep its investigation, and certain student information and personnel information confidential.

Unable to find a teaching job and needing income, Haglin told Dr. Phil that she has been forced to take a job as a stripper.

You could wind up having to register as a sex offender for probably 10 years, McGraw told her. You need to seriously step back and assess all of the bad decisions that have snowballed here because you are very young and you can so turn this around.

This does not have to ruin your life, he added, before promising to help her find a counsellor and a different job.

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On matters of social policy, relations between the federal and provincial governments often turn on the trade-off between money and flexibility. When Ottawa decides to reduce a transfer, it almost invariably offers provinces the freedom to spend it as they wish. Less money, more flexibility.

The result, however, is often fragmentation and, at worst, a race to the bottom. When Ottawa decides to increase a transfer, its almost always because it wants to impose conditions. The result, more often than not: messy squabbles and imperfect compromises.

We saw this dynamic play out yet again this week as Canadas health ministers met in Toronto  an early step on the long, treacherous path to a new health accord.

The inevitable squabbling focused on two points of contention: whether the Trudeau government is right to insist that strings be attached to certain investments in health (yes); and whether Ottawas funding formula, a holdover from the Harper era, is sufficient given the challenges the provinces face (no).

The Harper government was a proponent of extreme flexibility. When the $41-billion health accord struck by Paul Martins Liberal government expired in 2014, Stephen Harper refused to wade into the mire of a new intergovernmental negotiation.

Instead, he simply extended existing transfers, with annual increases of 6 per cent until 2017, at which point the hike would be reduced to about 3 per cent. That formula was imposed unilaterally, without consulting the provinces. And the money came with no new strings, meaning Ottawa effectively abandoned leadership in the realm of national health care, providing provinces pretty much full flexibility.

Justin Trudeau seems to understand the limits of such an approach. The Trudeau government came to power promising to provide the collaborative federal leadership that [was] missing during the Harper decade. It has begun to make good on that vow, undertaking the hard work of trying to negotiate a new accord, bringing the provinces together to create a vision for a 21st-century national health-care system and insisting that strings be attached to transfers to ensure that vision is made real.

Thats as it should be. Only the federal government, by applying conditions to investments, can secure national objectives and ensure reasonably comparable health care for all Canadians, wherever in the country they may be, as the Constitution demands.

Moreover, the priorities the Trudeau government is advancing are sensible, if incomplete. The promise of a $3-billion investment in home care, a key challenge as our population ages, is welcome. As is Ottawas emphasis on innovation and mental health, two areas in dire need of attention. Its disappointing that the government continues to avoid the subject of a national pharmacare plan, which would have perhaps the most profound impact on quality, access and cost-effectiveness. But otherwise its direction is encouraging.

Despite predictable complaints from provincial health ministers, Ottawa is not wrong to demand some measure of accountability to ensure that money intended for home care, for example, is in fact spent on home care. But, as Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins and several of his counterparts have argued, the Trudeau government undermines its influence by embracing Harpers inadequate funding formula.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has warned that while the halved hike in transfers would stabilize federal finances, it would do so at the peril of the provinces, decreasing Ottawas share of rising health-care costs over the coming years. The $3 billion for home care is a welcome contribution, but how can Ottawa ask the provinces to transform health care when its not even planning to do its part to keep the lights on? The feds need to pay their fair share to maintain the system we have, as well as making adequate investments for the system we need.

Some critics suggest the provinces have actually spent less on health care in recent years, as Ottawas contribution has grown. But as the population ages and health-care demand balloons, costs are projected to surge over the short term. This is not the moment for Ottawas contribution to flag.

Thats especially true given that the federal government, despite the Martin health accord, hasnt paid what many consider to be its fair share in decades. Provinces have long called for the federal portion of total health spending to rise to 25 per cent, as former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow recommended in his landmark 2002 health-care report. At one time it was a 50-50 split, but Ottawas contribution is now around 23 per cent. The Harper funding formula will move the federal share in the wrong direction. If Ottawa wants to reclaim leadership in health, it ought to carry some of the risks.

Making matters worse, the reduced escalator especially disadvantages provinces with older populations  and thus higher health-care costs  like Nova Scotia, which are already hurting from another Harper-era tweak to the formula. Under the pre-Harper system, the transfer took into account both population and need. But since 2011, only population counts. That shift has benefited Alberta enormously, despite its relatively young population, while costing every other province hundreds of millions of dollars.

That makes no sense. Universal access to quality health care for all Canadians requires that need be taken into account. Specifically, provinces with more seniors should get more money, as the Canadian Medical Association has forcefully argued.

The Harper-era funding formula was designed in isolation from the provinces by a government uninterested in the preservation of our countrys most important social program. Its the wrong foundation for the Trudeau government to build on as it seeks to bring that program into the future.

Of course, its essential that federal money come with strings. Some provinces will gripe, but there can be no meaningful universal health-care otherwise. However, strings should come with money. Conditions are only credible if Ottawas commitment is long-term, its funding sufficient and every attempt is made to work out shared objectives.

Sound messy? Medicare was born, with great difficulty, amid the mess of intergovernmental compromise  and only there can it be secured.

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Walmart (WMT) were falling in late morning trading on Friday as Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of the stock with a "neutral" rating and $73 price target today, according to the Fly.

The big box retailer has posted "persistent declines" in its U.S. operating margin and waning returns on incremental capital, the firm noted.

Additionally, Walmart said today it would invest $50 million in Chinese grocery delivery logistics company New Dada.

New Dada is an independent joint venture between Walmart's Chinese e-commerce partner JD.com (JD) and crowdsourcing delivery company Dada.

Walmart will use New Dada's network to offer a two-hour grocery delivery service to Chinese customers living within a three-kilometer radius of certain Walmart locations.

The investment is an extension of Bentonville, AR-based Walmart's preexisting agreement with JD.com.

Yesterday, Walmart said that it would be growing its reach in China through several joint initiatives with JD.com, including a two-hour grocery delivery service, an online Sam's Club flagship store and a "Walmart Global" shop for customers to buy imports from across the world.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, revenue growth, good cash flow from operations, increase in stock price during the past year and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: WMT
Chipmakers Qualcomm (QCOM) and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) are reportedly inching closer to a blockbuster deal, but the acquisition worth almost $40 billion won't necessarily be an easy one for Qualcomm to digest.

Qualcomm has agreed to acquire NXP for $110 per share in a deal that could be announced next week, CNBC reported Friday. A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that the two were negotiating a price in the range of $110 to $120 per share.

NXP pulled back 3.3% Friday afternoon to $101.07 while Qualcomm gained 2.3% to $68.88.

While the market has signaled its approval of the potential deal, the tie-up could turn out to be a difficult one for Qualcomm to pull off given integration and cultural risks, according to analysts.

"From a structural standpoint, this company had just been put together," Drexel Hamilton analyst Cody Acree said of NXP Semiconductors, referring to the semi's $11.8 billion acquisition of Freescale last year. "They were just beginning to realize the synergies of the combination."

NXP is one of the better-positioned semi companies largely due to its strong presence in fast-growing automotive and industrial segments and doesn't absolutely need to be acquired by Qualcomm, Acree said.

NXP is a holding in Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells NXPI? Learn more now.

"My bigger concern is that Qualcomm has no idea of how to run an analog semiconductor company," he said, adding that it's difficult to say exactly how Qualcomm would enhance NXP's competitiveness in end-markets such as automotive and industrial.

Qualcomm, which is targeting NXP largely for the latter's presence in the automotive sector, could also find that the end-markets the combined entity would serve are drastically different in terms of product cycles, as the automotive industry has a much slower cycle than the handset industry that Qualcomm has dominated, agreed Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh.

Their business models also vary, as Qualcomm is largely a fab-less company, meaning it doesn't own plants where chips are actually built, while NXP has a decently-sized fab base, Rakesh noted. In addition, Qualcomm has traditionally relied on a handful of customers while NXP has a significantly larger customer base.

There could also be cultural risks between San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm and Netherlands-based NXP.

Integrating such different businesses would mean that the acquisition would change Qualcomm dramatically, said Drexel Hamilton's Acree.

In addition, from a valuation perspective, the reported $110-per-share to $120-per-share offer represents just a mid-teens multiple to NXP's forward earnings, which is slightly below the premium other recent transactions have fetched.

For example, Avago purchased Broadcom at 18 times forward earnings (the buyer took the name of the target after the acquisition), ON Semiconductor (ON) bought Fairchild Semiconductor International at 21 times, Analog Devices (ADI) is paying 25 times for Linear Technology (LLTC) and Renesas Electronics is shelling out 30 times earnings for Intersil (ISIL) .

The $110 to $120 offer would value NXP at about $37.3 billion to $40.7 billion and would be the largest semi transaction ever.

Qualcomm has enough cash, much of it overseas, to support the acquisition, and buying NXP for end-market diversification would be an efficient way to deploy its capital, said Morningstar analyst Abhinav Davuluri. Qualcomm has largely stayed on the sidelines during the consolidation wave even as its peers have rushed to make deals over the past 12 to 18 months.

NXP's strengths could also be magnified with the help of Qualcomm's resources and expertise, he noted.

Meanwhile, the marriage could significantly affect the broader M&A landscape for chipmakers. It would certainly impact the opportunities available to chip giant Broadcom (AVGO) , which plans to pursue more deal-making following its massive $37 billion acquisition last year.

If Qualcomm ultimately decides to walk away or is unable to get a deal for NXP done, the chipmaker also has a handful of additional targets it could look at: Cavium (CAVM) and Xilinx (XLNX) .
NEW YORK (TheStreet) --PayPal (PYPL) reported better-than-anticipated 2016 third-quarter revenue after the market close on Thursday.

The online payment service posted earnings of 35 cents per share, in line with analysts' expectations. Revenue came in at $2.67 billion, topping projections of $2.65 billion.

Additionally, PayPal announced its plan to partner with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) to make PayPal a one-click payment option on the site, the company said on a conference call with investors yesterday.

"It's a very important deal for PayPal. We are a global company, more than half of our customers are outside the United States, and China is one of our largest and best markets. This is an extension of the agreement that we already had with the Alibaba whole seller where now we can allow our 192 million customers around the world to shop with Chinese merchants," PayPal CFO John Rainey told CNBC.

Along with the company's partnership with Alibaba, it has also signed deals with both MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V).

The deals allow PayPal users to link the credit cards to their accounts and pay using the online service in stores. Rainey says the partnerships will enhance further revenue guidance.

"These are fantastic deals for PayPal. Fundamentally, they allow our customers to have more choice in how they choose to fund their transactions. This is also why we came out and increased our revenue guidance from 15% to 16% to 17% over the next several years," he said during Friday's "Squawk Alley."

Shares of PayPal were climbing 9.13% to $43.75 during midday trading on Friday.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

The team rates PayPal as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, robust revenue growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, the team finds that the company's profit margins have been poor overall.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: PYPL
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The White House has responded to requests from Russian officials to observe U.S. polling stations on Election Day.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday it was unclear what their intent [was]," and it was fair to be suspicious of Russia's intent.

"Its appropriate that people might be suspicious of their motives, or at least their motives might be different from what they have publicly stated, given the nefarious activities they have engaged in in cyber space," he said Friday.

At least three states-- including Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana-- have denied requests from the Russian consulate general in Houston to have a Russian officer view a polling station.

In a letter obtained by ABC News, consul general Alexander Zakharov asked Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos if a Russian officer could be "present (for a short period of time, when convenient) at one of the ballot station of Texas with the goal of studying the US experience in organization of voting process during the United States Presidential Elections on November 8th, 2016."

Cascos said in a response that the state was "unable to accommodate [his] request" and noted that "only persons authorized by law may be inside of a polling location during voting."

The U.S. has criticized Russia for trying to interfere with the country's election after Russian hackers were believed to have infiltrated emails of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta, according to security officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the claims. This week, the White House said President Obama was considering a "proportional" response to Russia for the hacking.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. A Belarusian Belavia aircraft, en route from Kiev to Minsk, was forced to return to the Ukrainian airport under the threat of being intercepted by military jets. The reason of the forced landing was an Armenian citizen aboard the aircraft, Obozrevatel.com reported citing the airlines press service.

The ground controller ordered the aircraft to immediately return to the airport after entering the airspace of Belarus 50km. No explanation was given. The ground controller reported in case of failing to fulfill the order fighter jets will be scrambled, the statement of the airline company reads.

After landing in Kiev, Ukrainian law enforcement officers removed one passenger from the airplane, who is an Armenian citizen.

According to .ua, the passengers last name is Martirosyan. He is accused of criminal activities and being a serviceman of Ukraines Security Service.

The Armenian citizen was released later and departed for Minsk at 19:00.

Belavia says it will demand Ukraine to compensate for the aircrafts expenses.
"The Walking Dead" (AMC at 9) In the Season 7 premiere, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) takes actions that will have lasting implications for the members of Rick's group. (Gene Page/AMC)

Death of a Vegas Showgirl (Lifetime at 8) Roselyn Sanchez (Devious Maids) stars in this true-crime movie.

Saturday Night Live (NBC at 11:30) Tom Hanks hosts. Lady Gaga is the musical guest.

Premiere

Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America at 9) An eccentric detective finds a reluctant sidekick when a washed-up punk rocker (Elijah Wood) stumbles upon the scene of a mysterious murder.

DOCUMENTARies

Weiner (Showtime at 9) The well-reviewed documentary about disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner makes its television debut.

Rats (Discovery at 9) Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is behind this horrormentary about how the rodents thrive all over the world.

Sunday LIstings

Fox News Sunday (Fox at 9 a.m.) Donald Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.).

White House Chronicle (WETA at 9) Tim Gray of the World War II Foundation and New England Diarys Robert Whitcomb.

Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo (Fox at 10) Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and former U.S. attorney general Michael Mukasey.

This Is America & the World (WETA at 10 and WHUT at 7:30 p.m.) Roundtable on being Muslim in America.

Government Matters (WJLA at 10:30) Mark Naggar of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Face the Nation (CBS at 10:30) Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and CNNs David Axelrod.

Returning

Keeping Up With the Kardashians (E! at 9) Midseason return.

Talking Dead (AMC at 10) Season 7.

Edge of Alaska (Discovery at 10) Season 3.

Documentary

Hate Rising (Fusion at 10) Journalist Jorge Ramos reports on the growth of white supremacist groups amid a contentious election cycle in this documentary. The film will air simultaneously in Spanish on Univision.
Exceptional Excellent Very Good



(Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

This week Im in an Italian mood, enjoying these two vermentinos with appetizers and light seafood dishes, and a rare grignolino with pasta in red sauce or pizza. Two French wines round out the lineup: a delightful pinot noir rose and a rich Cotes-du-Rhone.

 Dave McIntyre

Lunae Colli di Luni Vermentino 2015

Italy, $25

This lovely white wine offers a laser beam of red-fruit flavors  currant, raspberry  and fine focus that glides to a satisfying finish. Alcohol by volume: 12.5 percent.

Distributed by Lanterna: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, MacArthur Beverages, Rodmans; on the list at Dinos Grotto, Floriana, Graffiato, Lupo Verde, Marvins, RPM Italian. Available in Maryland at Dawsons Market in Rockville, Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Columbia, Wine Cellars of Annapolis; on the list at Cinghiale in Baltimore.

Cantina Mesa Primo Bianco Vermentino di Sardegna 2014

Sardinia, Italy, $20

It lies on the fleshier side of vermentino, with flavors leaning more toward ripe tree fruits such as peach and apricot. The long finish might convince you that vermentino is a world-class wine worth paying attention to. Delicious. ABV: 13 percent.

Distributed by Lanterna: Available in the District at Rodmans. Available in Maryland at Wine Cellars of Annapolis; on the list at Cosima in Baltimore.

Clos du Mont-Olivet Vieilles Vignes 2014

Cotes-du-Rhone, France, $18

A rich, cherry-accented red, this perennial value is delicious with burgers or steaks off the grill. ABV: 14.5 percent.

Distributed by Dionysus: Available in the District at MacArthur Beverages, Rodmans, Whole Foods Market (Foggy Bottom, P Street, Tenleytown). Available in Maryland at Balduccis and Bradley Food and Beverage in Bethesda, Wine Source in Baltimore. Available in Virginia at Balduccis (Alexandria, McLean), Unwined (Alexandria, Belleview), Whole Foods Market (Alexandria, Arlington, Fair Lakes, Vienna).

Domaine Jean Touzot Bourgogne Rose 2015

Burgundy, France, $14

Pale pink and delightful, this rose offers bright strawberry and red currant flavors. As the holidays approach, think of this beauty with Thanksgiving dinner. ABV: 12.5 percent.

Distributed by Country Vintner: On the list in the District at Cafe Bonaparte, the Dabney, Doi Moi. Available in Maryland at Cranbrook Liquors in Cockeysville, Finewine.com in Gaithersburg, Wine Source in Baltimore. Available in Virginia at the Orlean Store in Marshall; on the list at City Kitchen, Gregorios Trattoria, Hanks Oyster Bar, Ramparts, Shooter McGees, T.J. Stones in Alexandria, Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville.

Accornero Bricco del Bosco Grignolino Monferrato Casalese 2015

Italy, $16

Ever traveled to Italy and wondered why the local wine tasted so much better than what youve had back home? That may have been a grignolino, a red grape that makes a light, eminently food-friendly wine. The common wisdom is that such wines dont travel well, but this one does. It offers flavors of dark cherry and forest leaves. Its a nice match for simple weeknight dinners. ABV: 13.5 percent.

Distributed by M. Touton: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits. Available in Maryland at Old Farm Liquors and Viniferous in Frederick, Wishing Well Liquors in Easton. Available in Virginia at the Italian Store in Arlington (both locations), the Vineyard in McLean.

Availability information is based on distributor records. Wines might not be in stock at every listed store and might be sold at additional stores. Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.
Sabrina Erdely, center, enters the federal courthouse in Charlottesville, Va., on Oct. 17, 2016. Erdely, author of "A Rape on Campus," a discredited Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged rape at the University of Virginia, is being sued by Nicole Eramo, a U-Va. administrator included in the story. (Ryan M. Kelly/AP)

 The Rolling Stone magazine writer whose article about allegations of a horrific gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity was retracted testified Friday in federal court that she believed the subject of her article was credible at the time, and she rebutted assertions that she did not reach out to key figures in the young womans story.

For more than two hours Friday, the jury of eight women and two men listened to an interview journalist Sabrina Rubin Erdely conducted in a Charlottesville restaurant in September 2014 with Jackie, the U-Va. student whose now-discredited accusations threw the campus and the nation into an uproar over sexual assault at colleges and universities.

During the taped interview, Erdely told Jackie that her story was about party rape and that there is research to support that fraternity members are more likely to rape people. Later, as she tried to encourage Jackie to name the fraternity in the story, Erdely told her: I feel like if we can get these guys, we should. . . . We have a chance to do something important and make a difference.

Played in court, the interview was interrupted intermittently by Erdelys attorney, Scott Sexton, who asked her to explain her thinking at the time.

When Jackie mentioned that she got a tattoo to commemorate surviving the rape, Sexton asked his client about it.

It was a real tattoo, Erdely told the court. She wanted to memorialize on her body her sexual assault. In addition to a feminist symbol and a rose, the tattoo included a single word, Erdely said: Unbreakable.

Did it ever occur to you that someone would get a tattoo on her body to commemorate an event that hadnt happened? her attorney asked. Never, Erdely said.

Jackie related a series of detailed stories and anecdotes about friends, parents, boyfriends, roommates and teachers that all led her to think that Jackie was reliable, Erdely said.

The way she tells stories, in general, shes so conscientious with her details, she said. When Jackie told her about the nightmares she suffered after the alleged rape, Erdely believed her. I felt the horror of that nightmare, she said. I felt scared for her.

Erdelys attorney pointed out that some critics of Erdelys reporting have said she never called Jackies mother out of fear that the story would blow up. He asked her if she called Jackies mother.

I did, Erdely said, noting that she called a cell number Jackie provided and a home phone listing she found on her own. Many times. I left a lot of voice mails. She never called back.

Erdely testified this week that she regretted not trying to contact three of Jackies friends who met Jackie on campus the night of the alleged attack. Those friends have said the article misrepresented the conversation and scene. Jackie also refused to give Erdely the name of her purported attackers. The name she gave to friends was fictional, and the photos she shared were pictures of one of Jackies high school classmates.

Erdely also testified about her repeated efforts to contact Nicole Eramo, the U-Va. administrator who is suing Erdely and Rolling Stone for defamation. Erdely had arranged to meet with Eramo during her visit to campus in September 2014. The interview was quashed at the last minute, which Erdely says bewildered her.

U-Va. was not going to let me speak to the person who was most knowledgeable about sexual assault on campus, Erdely said. I felt they were stonewalling me.

Erdely did interview U-Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan but testified that she believed Sullivan didnt fully answer her questions and that Eramo could have better addressed them. When asked whether she had ever endorsed the idea that her article was talking about Eramo personally rather than the school generally  a key point in the defamation lawsuit  Erdelys answer was succinct: No, never.

Questions arose about Erdelys story soon after it published, and articles in The Washington Post called into doubt many of its main claims. Rolling Stone later retracted the story after Charlottesville Police determined that the allegations were unfounded and the Columbia Journalism School determined it was deeply flawed.
When Sherman Brown was convicted and imprisoned in the brutal killing of a 4-year-old Virginia boy, the Vietnam War was still raging and the Watergate was just a hotel, not a scandal.

Then 22 years old, he maintained his innocence at the time and as each decade faded into the next. Now, after nearly a half-

century behind bars, Brown is petitioning Virginias Supreme Court, saying DNA collected from newly recovered evidence indicates that he could not have committed the murder.

Justices now will have to weigh whether that genetic evidence is strong enough to warrant overturning his 1970 conviction in Albemarle County.

If Brown, 69, is exonerated, he would be among the longest-serving prisoners to be cleared of a crime in the history of Virginia and the nation. It would be an extraordinary turnabout for a man who was initially sentenced to death before the sentence was reduced to life.

Recent DNA testing demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence what I have maintained for over 45 years: that I am innocent of this crime, Brown wrote in his writ of actual innocence filed in early October and first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The evidence against me at trial was deeply flawed.

Sherman Brown, seen in 2010, was convicted in 1970 of murdering a 4 year-old boy. (Department of Corrections)

Brown was convicted of first-degree murder after a vicious 1969 attack near Charlottesville, Va., during which a woman was beaten, stabbed and possibly raped in her home. The same man also fatally stabbed the womans 4-year-old son, leaving him face down on his bed.

The mother survived and identified Brown as her attacker. He was also linked to the crime via a type of fiber and hair analysis that the FBI in recent years has acknowledged is flawed, in part after reporting by The Washington Post.

[Convicted offenders not informed of flaws in the forensic tests]

Brown writes in court filings that new tests ruled him out as the source of a partial male DNA profile found in a recently recovered slide containing a vaginal swab taken from the woman after the attack. Neither the woman nor her son are identified in recent court records.

The tests also showed a greater than 98 percent chance that the material did not come from the womans husband, according to the filing. The woman recently told prosecutors she had a monogamous relationship with her husband, Browns attorneys said in the court papers, arguing that the DNA must have come from an unidentified third man who was the actual attacker.

Browns attorneys, who include lawyers from the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and New Yorks Innocence Project, said that the type of Y-chromosome DNA recovered from the swab cannot be matched against DNA samples of known perpetrators contained in state or federal databases.

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herrings office has not filed a response to Browns writ of actual innocence and another writ of habeas corpus claiming that prosecutors relied on the discredited hair and fiber analysis. Albemarle County prosecutors did not respond to a request for comment.

As with all such petitions, we will closely examine and consider the claims and evidence as we prepare a response for the Supreme Court, Michael Kelly, a spokesman for the attorney generals office, wrote in an email.

Brown had recently returned from serving in the Vietnam War when the horrific events of Oct. 1, 1969, unfolded. Prosecutors said at trial that a man knocked on the door of the womans home that afternoon.

The woman went to the door with her 4-year-old son and opened it. The man asked for a drink of water. After a brief conversation, prosecutors said, the man propositioned the woman for sex and the woman repeatedly refused. Prosecutors said the man told her, Im so sexed up, I dont know what to do.

Soon after, the woman vaguely remembered receiving painful blows to her side and was knocked unconscious, prosecutors said.

Later that afternoon, the womans sister-in-law came to the house and found the woman beaten and stabbed. Her underwear had also been removed. The 4-year-old boy was found covered in blood on his bed, prosecutors said. He had been beaten and stabbed several times.

Prosecutors argued at trial that the suspect raped or tried to rape the woman and attacked her and killed her son to try to get rid of any witnesses. An analysis of the womans vaginal swab performed after the attack indicated the presence of sperm, according to Browns filing.

At trial, the woman was the sole eyewitness who identified Brown as her attacker. The woman testified that she had smoked a cigarette with him during a previous 15-minute encounter.

In his filings, Brown denies ever meeting the woman and said she might have misidentified him because they were of different races, among other factors. Brown is African American; the woman is white.

At trial, an FBI agent testified that Browns hair was found on a sweatshirt that also contained fibers that matched a robe the woman was wearing during the attack, tying Brown to the crime.

The womans testimony and forensic evidence was enough for an all-white jury to convict Brown after a brief deliberation. He was sentenced to death.

Brown was on Virginias death row when the Supreme Court struck down the states death penalty in 1972. Brown was resentenced to life, before the death penalty was reinstated.

In 2008, the Innocence Project reached an agreement with the Albemarle County prosecutors office to begin DNA testing in the case. After an audit, the Justice Department also recently told Browns attorneys that the FBI agent erred in his analysis of the hairs found on the sweatshirt.

But the true break came last year, when members of the University of Virginias Innocence Project discovered the slide containing the vaginal swab at the schools Department of Pathology.

More than 40 people have been exonerated of crimes in Virginia, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. If exonerated, Brown would join Earl Washington Jr. as the only other person to have sat on death row in the state before being cleared of a crime, if the Supreme Court rules in his favor.

There are a number of steps before that could happen. The Virginia Supreme Court stayed the writ of actual innocence for 90 days so that additional testing can be done to try to conclusively exclude the womans husband as the contributor of the male DNA found in the vaginal swab.

The state must respond to Browns filing. Then, the Supreme Court will decide whether to hold oral arguments before rendering a decision. After 46 years, Brown will have to wait a bit longer for his claim of innocence to be decided once again.

Its very tragic to think someone has been in prison for four decades and he may actually be innocent of the crime, said Susan Friedman, an attorney with the Innocence Project.

Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
In the near future, signals transmitting automatically when wheels slip and slide might help officials deploy salt trucks with pinpoint precision. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

The District and 16 other U.S. cities have partnered with a local transportation group and Googles Sidewalk Labs to figure out how best to tap technology to get people around more smoothly  and to help tune up communities in the process.

Its the latest riff on an effort bubbling up in cities around the world: In an era of scant government resources but bountiful private-sector advances in automation, mapping and other technologies, officials want to learn everything they can from tech companies  and one another. And they want to do it  and act on that knowledge  faster than they have sometimes done in the past.

We want to get some pilots out there. If we can share and we can learn from others, that saves us a lot of time, said John Thomas, chief performance officer for the District Department of Transportation. This is going to be a great way to collaborate with other cities that are in the same boat as us.

[This government competition could completely change the American city]

Thomas said city officials want to figure out how to link cars wirelessly with receivers on streetlights and elsewhere, a field with a wonky moniker (vehicle-to-infrastructure technology) and intriguing potential.

A network of private vehicles might eventually send out the location of icy patches on city streets  with signals transmitting automatically when wheels slip and slide  so that officials can deploy salt trucks with pinpoint precision, he said. Communication between cars and signals could also eventually reduce idling and pollution, Thomas said.

District-based Transportation for America, with funding and tech expertise from Sidewalk Labs, last week announced the first crop of participants in the smart cities collaborative. The cities will break into working groups to wrestle over the next year with the challenges and opportunities of three hot policy realms: automated vehicles, ride-sharing and big data.

That includes looking into how driverless cars might affect transit, traffic snarls and issues of economic equity, and how to analyze more and better transportation data to improve the efficient use of networks marked by dizzying complexity.

Transportation for America, which is a program of the group Smart Growth America, advocates for more transportation funding, with an emphasis on environmentally sustainable projects. Sidewalk Labs is seeking urban markets for its data analysis and other tech tools but says that learning from the cities, sharing its expertise and trying to find solutions are their priorities in the collaborative.

The other communities are Seattle; Boston; Denver; Madison, Wis.; Los Angeles; San Jose; Sacramento; Austin; Nashville; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Portland, Ore.; Centennial and Lone Tree, Colo.; and Miami-Dade County, Fla.

Often, I hear from cities: Im interested in working on X. I dont know who else is doing that,  said Russ Brooks, the transportation groups director of smart cities. Theyre really tired of starting from scratch every time they want to get a project going.

By meeting up, preparing pilot projects, coming up with shared policies and even seeking to standardize agreements with the private sector, Brooks said, everything the officials learn will become a common resource for a broader universe of communities to use. The cities have all agreed to open-source their projects, Brooks said.

Seattles Department of Transportation said these types of collaborations are critical to ensure we are making forward-thinking decisions based on data and by informed experience. The precise projects will stem from the cities themselves. The range will become clearer after an inaugural meeting next month in Minneapolis.

In the District, the vehicle-to-infrastructure pilot would probably be tested first on city-owned vehicles, Thomas said. The other cities can help the District iron out key issues, including which technology standard makes the most sense for any equipment installed along roads so the District doesnt end up with the equivalent of a Betamax in a live-streaming world, he said. Plus, the District would need to decide which places make the most sense  and how many it can afford.

Wed have to figure out where they go. . . . In the big, grand scale, you need a lot of these things out there to really leverage it all, Thomas said. Were on the cusp of things. We want to learn on a smaller scale and take that to a larger scale.

Seth Hoffman, city manager of Lone Tree, a small city in the greater Denver area, said officials hope to use the opportunity to help find a private partner for a project to connect light-rail stations to local business centers.

Right now, they use a traditional shuttle system to do that.

Our big idea is to try to figure out how to make that a more dynamic, demand-based system, rather than just having buses go in loops, Hoffman said. Instead, city officials want the buses to go where the people are and then take them where they need to go at that moment. Were looking for a tech partner to leverage what we have and make it more efficient and reach far more people.

If theyre successful, it would be something that could be replicated in many, many places, Hoffman said.

Rohit T. Aggarwala, Sidewalk Labss chief policy officer who was a New York City official under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said its a two-part game of having a very big, ambitious vision and also being very pragmatic.

In the spirit of a real hack, Aggarwala said, the network of cities will be able to do stuff on a test basis and see what works.
LuAnn Bennett (D), left, and Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) shake hands after their first debate in the race for Virginias 10th Congressional District in Lansdowne, Va., earlier this month. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Rep. Barbara Comstock received a friendly but subdued reception from the Muslim community Friday night at a candidates forum that focused on Islamophobia, immigration and improving relations with law enforcement.

Comstock (R-Va.), in the midst of a tightening race for reelection in her Northern Virginia district, told a crowd of several hundred at the ADAMS Center in Sterling that she fights for their rights and rejects the very unpleasant rhetoric of the presidential campaign.

But the liberal-leaning audience gave a warmer reception to Democratic challenger LuAnn Bennett, clapping loudly and nodding as she called for comprehensive immigration reform and said the United States needs to accept more refugees from Syria.

The forum came the same day Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons campaign released a powerful ad featuring Khizr Khan, a Virginia resident and father of a Muslim American Army captain killed in Iraq in 2004, in which he says through tearful eyes, I want to ask Mr. Trump: Would my son have a place in your America?

Earlier in the day, Bennett announced that she had won the endorsement of the American Muslim Women PAC. At the forum, Comstock said she was endorsed by the Emerge USA PAC, which is dedicated to protecting minority rights. Both groups support Clinton.

Members of the civically engaged ADAMS  which stands for All Dulles Area Muslim Society  Center mosque represent a key voting bloc in the 10th Congressional District, which has been held by a Republican for decades, but this year is considered a toss-up tilting Republican by independent analysts.

The district is anchored by Loudoun County, home to many college-educated women and minorities who polls indicated are cool to Republican nominee Donald Trumps candidacy. It includes Loudoun County, Manassas, Manassas Park and Clarke and Frederick counties as well as parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties, where the GOP presidential nominee has more support.

Last year, Trump called for a ban on foreign Muslims entering the United States  a position he later softened  and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, wants to keep Syrian refugees out of Indiana.

The day after Trump proposed the ban in December, Comstock panned the idea as unconstitutional and un-American, and she later criticized Trumps negative comments about the Khan family and U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the U.S.-born judge whose Mexican heritage Trump said disqualified him from hearing his cases.

But Comstock, who supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the GOP primaries, avoided saying for whom she would vote on Nov. 8 until earlier this month when a 2005 video surfaced in which Trump bragged about groping women. She quickly rebuked him, said she would not vote for him and urged him to drop out of the race.

This has not been a pleasant political year for anybody, she said at the forum. What you have heard has been very unpleasant. This is why I did stand up in those first days.

Asked about immigration changes, Comstock said she favored immediate passage of policies lawmakers can agree on  such as visas for skilled workers  instead of a comprehensive approach.

We are a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws, she said.

When moderators noted that she did not support a House resolution sponsored by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) condemning hate crimes against Muslims, Comstock said she would look at the measure. Earlier, she noted that the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom.

Its first for a reason, she said.

Comstock praised the centers active Scout troops, food banks, health clinic and job fair and presented the group with an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol.

The format of the event consisted of sequential interviews with each candidate, who answered questions from moderators and the audience.

Comstock made no reference to Bennett during her interview, but Bennett sought to draw a contrast between her positions and Comstocks record.

She said Comstock voted against bringing more Syrian refugees to the United States, drawing one of the few boos of the evening.

Bennett said the United States should take more than the 10,000 Syrian refugees President Obama has accepted under a resettlement program, while continuing to implement a long and complicated and hard vetting process.

Asked about immigration, she rebuked the House for failing to pass sweeping immigration changes before Comstock took office but provided no plan of her own.

Although she never mentioned Trump, Bennett alluded to the national political climate and said Clinton needs Democrats in Congress to further her policies.

The hateful rhetoric that we have heard in this election has been the most destructive thing to our democracy that I have seen in my lifetime, she said.

During the lighthearted final minutes of each candidates interview, they were asked to name their favorite book. Comstock said the Bible; Bennett said she could not think of one on the spot and would get back to them.
A statue erected in 1901 honoring Albert Pike stands near Judiciary Square in downtown Washington. Pike, a Confederate general, was active in the Masonic movement. (John Kelly/The Washington Post)

Could you write about the statue of the man near the Fourth Street NW exit of the Judiciary Square Metro stop? I dont know his name. He faces Fourth Street and his back is toward the rear of the Labor Departments Frances Perkins Building. Effusive descriptive accolades on the statue make me wonder if there is a backstory to substantiate his greatness.

 Pat Deveny,

Arlington, Va.

His name is Albert Pike and, oh, does he have a backstory.

The words engraved on the memorial describe the multitalented Pike (1809-1891) thusly: AUTHOR, POET, SCHOLAR, SOLDIER, JURIST, ORATOR, PHILANTHROPIST and PHILOSOPHER. Hmm, did we leave anything out? Why, yes: Racist. Someone has added a reference to that. Spray-painted in two places on the granite base of Pikes monument are the words Black Lives Matter.

Its a sentiment that would have confused Pike, who  among his other achievements  rewrote the lyrics to Dixie so they were more likely to inspire Confederate soldiers.

Southrons, hear your country call you! Pikes version begins. Up, lest worse than death befall you!

Ironically, Pike was not a Southron at all, but a Northron, born and raised in Massachusetts. He worked for a while as a schoolteacher, then lit out for the territories in 1831. He made his way to Mexico and involved himself in various adventures out West before settling in Arkansas, where he hung out his shingle as a self-taught lawyer. His clients included American Indian tribes.

Pike also wrote for Southern newspapers, eventually purchasing the Arkansas Advocate with funds that his wealthier wife brought to their marriage.

Politically, Pike was a strict nativist. He joined the Know-Nothing Party  those anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant agitators  but left when he found the partys support of slavery insufficiently intense.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, the transplanted Yankee supported the Confederacy and was made a brigadier general in its army. Pike seems not to have been a good soldier. He oversaw a regiment of Native Americans but was unable to control them at the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862. Some of the men under his command committed atrocities, scalping fallen Union soldiers. After further run-ins with his superiors in Richmond, Pike was reprimanded and resigned his position.

After the war  and a pardon from President Andrew Johnson  Pike returned to work as a lawyer and writer. He moved to Washington in 1868 and threw himself wholeheartedly into the minutiae of Freemasonry, an organization he had been involved with since 1850.

It is Pikes Masonic activities  he wrote frequently on the topic and served as Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction  that prompted the construction of the memorial in 1901. The monument, with statues by sculptor Gaetano Trentanove, was paid for by the Masons.

It was said of Pike, He found Freemasonry in a log cabin and left it in a Temple. His body is interred in the House of the Temple, headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, at 16th and S streets NW, where there is a museum in his honor and the contents of his library are kept.

[Curious about that spooky Masonic temple on 16th Street? Lets go inside.]

You can also see his death mask and compare it to the statue. A contemporary described Pike as a man of gigantic frame and his long waving white hair and silky beard gave him a decidedly patriarchal appearance.

Pikes critics contend that he was instrumental in forming the Ku Klux Klan. Masons insist evidence does not support that. Of Pikes activities in the late 1860s, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture hedges: He may have become involved in the organization of the Ku Klux Klan at this time, although this is not certain.

Even if Pike wasnt involved with the Klan, he did believe that the races should not mix. He was against integrating Masonic lodges.

Its hard to judge the claims made about Pikes prowess in the field of letters. His doorstop of a magnum opus, Morals and Dogma, is pretty much unreadable by modern audiences. His poetry has not aged well. He is revered in the Masonic movement, but unless youre a Mason its hard to understand exactly why.

Pike is the only Confederate Civil War general honored with a statue in the capital of the side that won. The D.C. Council once contemplated seeking its removal. In 1992, the monument was the site of weekly protests organized by followers of fringe political figure Lyndon LaRouche. At least once, they managed to climb the statue and dress Pike in white sheets.

One conspiracy-minded website claims that Pike is a favorite of the occultic groups in control of the puppet government in Washington, D.C. Thats probably not true.

Twitter: @johnkelly

Have you seen something that made you wonder? Ask answerman@washpost.com.

For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
NEW JERSEY

Aide testifies Christie was told of traffic study

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies former deputy chief of staff testified Friday in her criminal trial that she told him about a traffic study on the George Washington Bridge before sending an email that it was time for some traffic problems, which prosecutors say started a political revenge plot.

Bridget Kelly is accused of plotting with two other former Christie allies to close lanes on the bridge that connects New Jersey and New York as revenge against a Democratic mayor who wouldnt endorse the Republican governors reelection effort in 2013.

Kelly maintained Friday that she believed the lane closings to be part of a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey traffic study. She is on trial along with former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni.

David Wildstein, a former Port Authority staff member, previously pleaded guilty in the case and is the prosecutions key witness. The self-described mastermind of the plot, Wildstein has said the traffic study was a cover story.

Kelly said Friday that Wildstein told her that the traffic study would cause tremendous traffic problems in Fort Lee but would ultimately help traffic flow. She said Christie (R) said that the study was fine and that she should run it by his then chief of staff. He then asked how their relationship was with Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, she said.

The release of the traffic study email was what blew the scandal into full public view and led to Christie firing Kelly and campaign manager Bill Stepien.

At a Dec. 13, 2013, news conference, Christie told reporters that no one in his administration other than Wildstein knew about the closings. Christie was told about the traffic in Fort Lee on the third day of the gridlock during a Sept. 11 memorial event in New York, Wildstein said.

Christie has denied that he had any knowledge about the lane closures and hasnt been charged.

 Associated Press

KANSAS

Chemical spill forces temporary evacuations

A chemical spill at a northeast Kansas distilling plant released a noxious cloud of fumes Friday, forcing temporary evacuations and sending more than 50 people to the hospital, including one person who was in intensive care, officials said.

The spill occurred at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison, said Katie Horner, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management. She said the spill occurred as two chemicals, sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite, were mistakenly combined at the plant, which produces premium distilled spirits and employs about 300 people.

Homes and schools near the plant had been evacuated early Friday, but city officials gave the all clear for residents to return before noon. Atchison has about 11,000 residents and is about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City.

 Associated Press

NEW YORK

Pastor pleads guilty in fatal church beating

The pastor of a small church where two brothers were beaten for hours during a counseling session that she had called pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and assault.

Three other church members admitted to less serious charges for their roles in the all-night beatings that killed Lucas Leonard, 19, and injured Christopher Leonard, 17, last October.

Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her brother Joseph Irwin, and church member Linda Morey and her son David Morey were the last of nine people charged to be convicted in the attack, which investigators say took place after the brothers discussed leaving the congregation. Joseph Irwin and the Moreys each pleaded guilty to assault. Sentencings are set for December and January.

 Associated Press
VENEZUELA

Unrest brews after recall effort is blocked

Venezuela was bracing for turbulence Saturday after the socialist government blocked a presidential recall referendum in a move opposition leaders called a coup.

The opposition urged supporters to take to the streets, beginning with a march on a major highway Saturday led by the wives of jailed activists, while Diosdado Cabello, a leading government figure, called for the arrest of high-profile government critics.

Polls suggest socialist President Nicolas Maduro would lose a recall vote. But that became a moot issue Thursday when elections officials issued an order suspending a recall signature drive a week before it was to start.

In another sign of growing regional tensions, Colombias flagship airline said it was grounding all flights to Caracas after a midair incident involving one of its planes and the Venezuelan air force.

Aviana said its airliner was flying near Venezuelas western border with Colombia when an aircraft that turned out to belong to the Venezuelan military was spotted on radar flying at a short distance away. The commercial jet diverted from its course and safely landed in Bogota.

 Associated Press

CAMEROON

Train in crash was severely overloaded

Authorities in Cameroon rushed more than 600 injured people to hospitals in the countrys two main cities Saturday in an effort to save lives a day after an overcrowded train derailed, killing more than 70 people.

The train had been carrying about 1,300 passengers, instead of its capacity of 600, officials said. The passenger load was higher because a road had collapsed due to landslides following heavy rains between Yaounde, the capital, and Douala. The 30-year-old railway line and train could not carry the load, officials told state radio.

Bodies remained strewn along the tracks as rescue workers searched for more injured or dead. The injured were being taken to hospitals in the capital and the port city where the train was heading, officials said, as President Paul Biya declared Monday to be a national day of mourning.

 Associated Press

Somali pirate releases sailors after four years: A Somali pirate said that 26 Asian sailors held hostage for more than four years have been released after a ransom was paid, and international mediators said it represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy. The pirate, Bile Hussein, said the sailors were the crew of the FV Naham 3, a Taiwan-owned fishing vessel seized in March 2012. The ship later sank. Hussein said $1.5 million in ransom was paid for the sailors release. That claim could not be independently verified.

Militants gun down Egyptian general: Suspected Islamic militants gunned down a senior Egyptian army officer near his home in an eastern Cairo suburb, according to two security officials. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, identified the victim as Brigadier Gen. Adel Ragai, commander of the armys 9th armored division based in the sprawling military base of Dahshour west of Cairo. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing, but the attack bore the hallmarks of militant Islamists in the Sinai Peninsula.

Onlookers urged migrant to jump to his death: Onlookers apparently shouted Jump! before a 17-year-old migrant leapt from an apartment block in the eastern German town of Schmoelln, suffering fatal injuries, the mayor said Saturday. Police and fire officers tried to persuade the teenager not to jump, but he leapt and died shortly afterward.

 From news services
TO: ARNE M. SORENSON, CEO, Marriott International Inc.

Re: Second thoughts

Arne, congrats on the big announcement that youre relocating Marriott, the worlds No. 1 hotel company, to downtown Bethesda from that soul-sapping suburban office park just off the Beltway in Montgomery County. Nice move, and sure to be popular with the 3,500 Marriott employees wholl be working out of the tailor-made headquarters a stones throw from a gazillion restaurants, to say nothing of the Bethesda Metro station. Except  this is awkward  we actually should say something about that Metro station.

Question: When Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was sweet-talking you into staying in Montgomery rather than moving to Virginia, did he happen to mention that hes content to starve Metro for funding? We ask because Metro is, as you said, the main amenity that lured you to move your Fortune 500 company to what will be a spiffy new $600 million complex in Bethesda, meaning its the conveyance by which many or most of your employees will get to and from work.

Mr. Hogan and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) did team up to patch together a $62 million incentive package of loans, grants and tax breaks to keep Marylands second-biggest corporation from flying the coop. We wish states didnt allow themselves to get suckered into that incentive game, but under the circumstances its probably a good deal for all involved  a nice sweetener for Marriott and a long-term employment boost for Maryland. But if Metro continues its swan dive into disrepair, the deal may not prove so sweet after all. And Mr. Hogans tightfistedness may hasten the subway systems descent.

Metro has a raft of problems, including poor service mentality, woeful safety culture and a hidebound union thats an impediment to reform. But without a long-term, dedicated local funding source, such as a 1 percent sales tax  and Metro is the nations only major transit system that doesnt have such a steady stream of cash  chances are slim that it can pull out of its downward spiral. Mr. Hogan slapped down the sales tax idea when it was raised this month, though more recently he said hed keep an open mind.

Chances are similarly slim that without more funding, Metros already jam-packed Red Line, which services the Bethesda station, can handle the infusion of thousands more daily commuters working for or doing business at Marriotts new headquarters, due to open by 2022. Marriott people arent going to like that any more than current Red Line passengers do. And as chief executive, boy are you going to hear about it.

So before you get an earful about Metros problems and needs, you might want to give one to Mr. Hogan. Let him know that you meant what you said about Metro being essential to Marriotts new headquarters, especially its ability to attract and retain talented young employees who expect a reliable transit link. And maybe mention that a broken-down, revenue-starved system isnt what you and your employees had in mind.
The Oct. 19 front-page article Md. will keep Marriott with subsidies and Bethesda deal brought to the publics attention the awful plan that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) have come up with to give a hugely rich corporation (Marriott) $62 million of public money. The subsidy of up to $17,700 per employee (3,500 of them) could quell the hunger pangs of 3,500 of our countys poorest residents for years and years to come.

Public money is to be used for the publics welfare, not private corporations welfare. I will be calling my Montgomery County Council members and urging them to vote against this plan.

David Fallick, Silver Spring

Marriotts decision to relocate its headquarters to downtown Bethesda underscores the consensus forming in Montgomery County for channeling new jobs and housing to high-density, attractive, mixed-use, mixed-income, walkable, transit-served town centers.

To fulfill the promise of smart growth, much more needs to be done. The County Council will vote soon on updates to the Bethesda downtown plan and the countys Subdivision Staging Policy; the Planning Board has made strong proposals that deserve approval.

The state has a role, too: Dedicated, adequate funding for Metro is essential to assure long-term regionwide economic success, so the state must prioritize that over highway expansions.

David W. Sears, Bethesda

The writer is chairman of the Sierra Clubs

Montgomery County Group.
John Allen, a retired U.S. Marine general, led the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013 and the international coalition to counter the Islamic State from 2014 to 2015. Charles R. Lister is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency.

For 5 years, the Syrian government has tortured, shot, bombed and gassed its own people with impunity, with the resulting human cost clear for all to see: nearly 500,000 dead and 11 million displaced. Since Russias military intervention began one year ago, conditions have worsened, with more than 1 million people living in 40 besieged communities. Thirty-seven of those are imposed by pro-government forces.

While subjecting his people to unspeakable medieval-style brutality, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sabotaged diplomatic initiatives aimed at bringing a lasting calm to his country. The most recent such diplomatic scheme was trashed not just by Assad, but also Russia, whose aircraft were accused of subjecting a U.N.-mandated aid convoy to a ferocious two-hour attack in September.

Since then, at least 2,500 people have been killed and wounded in eastern districts of Aleppo, amid horrendous bombardment by Syrian and Russian aircraft, and Russia cynically vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have prohibited further airstrikes in the city.

It is time for the United States to act more assertively on Syria, to further four justifiable objectives: to end mass civilian killing; to protect what remains of the moderate opposition; to undermine extremist narratives of Western indifference to injustice; and to force Assad to the negotiating table. The United States should not be in the business of regime change, but the Assad clique and its backers must be brought to account before it is too late. The world will not forgive us for our inaction.

The consequences of continued inaction are dreadful. U.S. policy has never sought to decisively influence the tactical situation on the ground. Unrealistic limitations on vetting and a policy that prohibited arming groups to fight the regime left us unable to effectively fight the Islamic State or to move Assad toward a transition. U.S. policy and strategy on Syria had a major disconnect, in being focused militarily on a group that was a symptom of the civil war without any means to achieve the stated policy objective: Assads departure.

The hole in this strategy could only have been filled by a comprehensive train-and-equip program for moderate Syrians to fight the Islamic State and decisively resist regime forces. Sadly, we have allowed this connective tissue between our counter-Islamic State strategy and our policy to remove Assad  the moderate Syrian opposition  to come under sustained attack by the regime and Russia.

For years weve said there can be no military outcome in Syria, but the Russians and their allies have pushed the military dimension of the crisis to strengthen the regimes political position and, in the name of fighting terrorism, to systematically eliminate the opposition, including moderate Syrians we judged should be part of the political process of transitioning Assad out. These objectives were derived from our unwillingness to tangle with the regime, and now also the Russians.

The administrations condemnation of Russia, and its forecast of a Vietnam-like morass for Moscow, seem a misunderstanding of Moscows calculus. Russia will determinedly protect its interests by any means, including attacking civilians and U.N. aid convoys. The expectation that Russia will tire of its Syria quagmire and become diplomatically pliable ignores reality. Russia has shown a remarkable capacity to dig in behind bad policy and fight under adversity. Ultimately, Vladimir Putins Russia must be  or at least seem to be  on the ascendancy, as it is in Ukraine, along NATOs frontier, in Syria and even in Libya. Russias repaired relationship with Turkey and improved ties elsewhere further complicate U.S. policy.

Ultimately, this leaves us only two options. First, the United States should encourage and join its European allies in imposing an escalatory set of economic sanctions against Russia and bodies and individuals supporting its military and paramilitary activities in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.

The second option is one the Russians believe the United States will never do: Escalate the conflict. The United States must challenge the status quo and end the regimes war crimes, by force if necessary. This need not require some major pronouncement. Indeed, for now, a quiet warning may be more effective, since a major public announcement would almost certainly polarize the situation further.

For a start, the United States must save Aleppo. Damascus, Moscow and Tehran are razing the city to prepare for an eventual ground assault. As both the CIA and Pentagon have concluded, an opposition loss in Aleppo would severely undermine the United States counterterrorism objectives in Syria. The citys symbolism and strategic value are unmatched, and allowing it to fall would dramatically empower extremist narratives. Groups linked to al-Qaeda would reap the rewards of our shortcomings.

To save Aleppo, the United States and its allies must both accelerate and broaden the provision of lethal and nonlethal assistance to vetted moderate opposition groups. This assistance would aim to empower other frontlines in northern and southern Syria to force pro-regime forces to divert attention from Aleppo. Opposition groups should also be provided with the means to bombard regime military airfields, many of which already lie within indirect fire and artillery rocket range.

Simultaneously, the United States must use existing multilateral mechanisms to push for a new cessation of hostilities in Syria in which flagrant violations will be met with targeted U.S. military consequences. Should such an agreement prove impossible due to the likely intransigence from Damascus and its supporters, the United States should gather a coalition of the willing to credibly threaten military action against Assads military infrastructure.

Initiating such a sequence would almost certainly result in the eventual use of targeted, punitive force in Syria. Any action should target Syrian military facilities and assets involved in supporting the bombardment of civilians, such as military airfields, aircraft, weapons stores and artillery positions. We should expect the possible intentional co-mingling of Syrian and Russian forces and assets as a deterrent. While this may complicate targeting strategies, we should not miss the opportunity to hit offending Syrian elements and units, while sustaining counter-Islamic State operations elsewhere.

In addition, the United States should consider establishing and supporting a task force of regional Special Operations forces, which could play an advisory role in assisting vetted opposition groups in attacking regime assets.

The credibility of the United States as the leader and defender of the free world must be salvaged from the horrific devastation of Syria. It is not too late to enforce international law and norms. However, we cannot wait for a new administration in Washington. Events are moving too quickly. Bashar al-Assad is not the solution to the Syrian crisis, and he is the least-qualified possible partner in a fight against terrorism, having spent much of the past 16 years aiding and abetting al-Qaeda and, it would appear, the Islamic State as well. Action certainly presents risks, but to allow events to continue to unfold as they are means raising the cost yet further for a future, inevitable U.S. intervention.
ABOUT THE only certainty about the battle for Mosul, which began on Monday, is that this large Iraqi city will be wrested from the control of the Islamic State. With tens of thousands of Iraqi army and militia forces deployed, backed by U.S. airpower and artillery, the military outcome can hardly be in doubt. President Obama surely hopes to preside over the clearing of the city before leaving office, and he has a good chance of doing so. Whether he, and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, will be able to claim victory may be quite another matter.

As the history of previous offensives in Iraq has painfully demonstrated, an enduring defeat of the Islamic extremists will depend mostly on nonmilitary factors, including the physical and humanitarian costs it imposes and whether it is followed by workable political arrangements. The United States and its Iraqi allies failed on those fronts in 2003 and 2007  and the outlook for Mosul in 2016 is mixed, at best.

The good news is that the U.S.-trained Iraqi counterterrorism forces that will lead the advance into the city may well by greeted  at last  as liberators by a Sunni population subjected to 28 months of brutal oppression by the Islamic State. If the more than 1 million civilians living in the city remain in place  as they are being urged to do by millions of leaflets dropped by U.S. B-52s  the rudimentary network of refugee camps being set up by the United Nations outside the city may not be overwhelmed. If screening of refugees is left to international agencies, as is planned, the atrocities committed by Iraqi Shiite militias during the recapture of other Sunni cities could be avoided.

The next big challenge will be preventing collisions among the Shiite militias, controlled by Iran; Kurdish units loyal to the Kurdistan regional government; and possibly Turkish troops and allied Iraqi tribal forces  all of which may seek to enter Mosul or seize territory around it. Mr. Abadi and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have publicly quarreled over Turkeys potential intervention; Shiite and Kurdish forces could fight each other even as they provoke resistance from Mosuls Sunnis. The United States, which has leverage, if not necessarily commanding influence, over the Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish governments, has a crucial role to play in preventing sectarian conflict  though neither Washington nor Baghdad can control the Shiite militias.

If a post-Islamic State war can be avoided, a series of political settlements still will be needed between Mr. Abadis Shiite central government and Sunnis and Kurds. A plan to restore Mosuls pre-Islamic State government is a stopgap; real stability will require a broad decentralization of power from Baghdad to Mosul and other Sunni-populated areas, and a settlement with Kurdistan over its borders and access to oil revenue. This, too, is unlikely without robust U.S. engagement.

Ultimately, victory over terrorist forces in Iraq will require a sustained American presence, both military and civilian, extending well beyond the liberation of Mosul. The president should be laying the groundwork for that now, with Mr. Abadi and with U.S. allies, so that his successor can avoid Mr. Obamas signal mistake in Iraq: a premature and self-defeating withdrawal.
Then:

The extension of the franchise to black citizens was strongly resisted. Among others, the Ku Klux Klan . . . attempted to prevent the 15th Amendment from being enforced by violence and intimidation. Two decisions in 1876 by the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of enforcement under the Enforcement Act and the Force Act, and, together with the end of Reconstruction marked by the removal of federal troops after the Hayes-Tilden Compromise of 1877, resulted in a climate in which violence could be used to depress black voter turnout and fraud could be used to undo the effect of lawfully cast votes.  Before the Voting Rights Act, Justice Department.

Now:

The Justice Department is significantly reducing the number of federal observers stationed inside polling places in next months election at the same time that voters will face strict new election laws in more than a dozen states. . . . For the past five decades, the Justice Department has sent hundreds of observers and poll monitors across the country to ensure that voters are not intimidated or discriminated against when they cast their ballots. But U.S. officials say that a 2013 Supreme Court decision now limits the federal governments role inside polling places on Election Day.  The Post, Oct. 6.

Enter Donald Trump, loudly claiming that the presidential election is rigged against him and delegitimizing our democratic process by suggesting that he may not accept the results if he loses.

But what he plans to do before votes are even counted should also raise concern.

Trump has called for his supporters to stand watch at polling places in certain areas, a tactic that could be aimed at intimidating and suppressing the votes of African Americans and other minorities.

And when I say watch, you know what Im talking about, Trump said at an Ohio rally in August. Right? You know what Im talking about.

Watch Philadelphia. Watch St. Louis. Watch Chicago. Watch so many other places, he said this week.

If you dont get Trumps meaning, his supporter Steve Webb, a 61-year-old carpenter from Fairfield, Ohio, does.

Trump said to watch your precincts. Im going to go, for sure, Webb told the Boston Globe. Ill look for . . . well, its called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who cant speak American. Im going to go right up behind them. Ill do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. Im not going to do anything illegal. Im going to make them a little bit nervous.

Expect Trumps vigilantes to hover at the polling places of people who dont look like them. They will be taking a page from their forebears, who used poll taxes, literacy tests and violence to challenge and suppress the black vote.

Black voter suppression succeeded in the 1880s, thanks to the withdrawal of federal troops and damaging Reconstruction-era Supreme Court decisions.

What effect will the courts 2013 gutting of the Voting Rights Act, strict new state election laws aimed at lowering minority voter participation, reduced deployment of federal observers in polling places and the presence of Trumps ballot bullies have on minority voter turnout next month?

The answer, in part, is in the hands of those with the most to lose if Trump wins: namely, the beneficiaries and heirs of the United States voting rights legacy.

In June, I wrote that with this election, nothing  not rallies, conventions, debates  mattered more than getting out the vote.

Trump and his posse make GOTV all the more urgent.

National civil rights groups, led by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, intend to come out in force nationwide with volunteers trained to serve as a first line of defense against the intimidators.

Others need to swing into action.

Pastors have to take to their pulpits and preach on exercising this basic right. Closer to home, the influential Metropolitan AME Church is spearheading Ready, Set, Vote to stir up voters, especially millennials, to go to the polls.

National organizations such as the Links Inc., a group of nearly 14,000 professional women of color in 41 states and the District, are devoting the month to mobilizing voters.

Their actions, one hopes, will be replicated by other national fraternal, religious and civil rights organizations.

If it means standing near voting precincts to monitor Trumps watchers, do that, too.

It would be a crying shame, and a betrayal of those who labored, sacrificed and died to gain access to the ballot, if todays forces of darkness succeeded in blocking the path to the voting booth, as some of their ancestors did.

The watchword in Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and all the certain areas where Trump intends to dispatch his watchers: Not in our house. Not this time.

Read more from Colbert Kings archive.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett acknowledges the crowd after he is sworn in for a third term at Richard Montgomery High School Dec. 1, 2014, in Rockville. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Heres a plan that is sure to improve the quality of your local hospital: Fire all the doctors and nurses with nine to 12 years of experience. Just kick them all out. Or why dont we fire every Apple software engineer who has been at the company that long? Thatll surely yield better iPhones. Or fire every Post reporter with a decade under his or her belt.

No? Sound crazy? I agree. Those are terrible ideas.

For some reason, though, a lot of folks who would never suggest this do seriously entertain term limits for legislators, which Montgomery County will vote on this November as Question B. Its a bad idea, and voters should say no.

I know what youre thinking : But those politicians, they arent fixing the government! They seem to be thinking only of themselves and not me! But heres the thing: Some of them are terrible, but some are dedicated public servants who are trying to do good. The ones who have more experience are not more likely to be bad, but they are more likely to know what the heck theyre doing.

Ive lived in cities with term limits, and I can tell you that it didnt make the legislative branch of the government more effective. It made it less effective. Some of the legislators were great, to be sure, and some were horrible. Just like the people before them. But they were mostly inexperienced.

This is bad because a big part of a legislatures job is to oversee the executive branch. A county executive or mayor might have term limits, too, but he or she is supervising armies of civil servants who may have decades of experience. (Again, some are fantastic, some are terrible.) Legislators can and should root out waste and probe for incompetence, but they get much better at this as they get to know the process and the inner workings of the government. Green legislators often simply dont have the depth to ask the right questions and know how far to keep pushing. They learn.

Likewise, some of The Posts Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters have developed their sources and knowledge over many years of covering their beats. Sure, some young reporters are fantastic, too (and some not so much), but experience brings certain skills, in journalism and in legislating. Plus, the veterans teach the newbies a thing or two.

The second big problem with legislative term limits is how they warp peoples time in office. Remember how I imagined you saying legislators think of themselves and not the voters? Well, if they dont expect to be coming back to the voters, they really wont be thinking of them.

Lets imagine that every doctor knew he or she would have to quit medicine after 12 years. A scant few could move up to manage the hospital (the analogous career path is getting to Congress, which very few legislators can hope for), and the rest would go work for pharmaceutical companies (you can guess the analogy on this one  its becoming a lobbyist, which is what a lot of former legislators do).

Would this create greater incentives to care about every patient and find the best plan of care for each case? Or would the doctors instead be thinking about how to land the best pharmaceutical job, perhaps by prescribing those medicines the companies want to sell?

Would reporters have as much incentive to root out the truth about corporate malfeasance if going to a company public relations department were the likely next career move?

Sure, some reporters would do the best digging they can no matter what, some doctors and nurses would go the extra mile for patients just because, and some legislators would do their utmost for the voters regardless. So why would you want to kick them out?

A term-limited legislature is more appealing to people who just want to punch a ticket on the way to a bigger or more lucrative job and less appealing to people who want a career helping the public. In short, it will attract worse candidates, not better ones.

Sure, I know some long-serving Montgomery County Council members Id like to get rid of. But there are some whose loss would be a big blow. And among the new ones, its the same: Some I wish had not won their seats, and some are terrific.

Its emotionally satisfying to blame problems on legislators and think that throwing them all out will fix everything. It wont. Montgomery County voters should turn down the idea of term limits. (And, if they get the chance in a future election, Prince Georges County voters ought to repeal theirs.)

The writer is founder and president of Greater Greater Washington.
Scraps of fabric grew into a monument to love, the Oct. 11 Health & Science article about the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, took me back to Columbus Day weekend of 1988, when the quilt was displayed near the White House on the Ellipse. It was there that the names of people represented by the quilt panels were read aloud for the first time.

I had been conducting research on AIDS in the Soviet Union and was assisting the National Academy of Sciences then-Institute of Medicine in hosting the first-ever visit of leading Soviet AIDS scientists to the United States. Meetings were held for several days leading up to the Columbus Day weekend, but nothing had been planned for our visitors during that three-day break. Institute of Medicine officials asked me if I could show the Soviets around the District, and I offered to take them on a special tour of Washington based on a series of spectacular vistas that reveal what George Washington had in mind for the city.

The weather was wonderful, and we visited a number of sites; I planned the day so that the tour would end at the Ellipse. When we got to the Ellipse, the quilt covered much of the ground, and there was an immense quiet. Visitors spoke in hushed voices. I had special brochures on the quilt in Russian, but our guests spoke such perfect English that the brochures were more of a keepsake.

The Soviets were stunned. They said very little, but their eyes said plenty. When the scientists completed their visit to Washington, and before returning to the Soviet Union, they said that they had a different understanding of the United States than they had before or would have had without having seen the quilt.

Several decades of cooperation began between them and U.S. scientists on AIDS and associated problems. It was strongly supported by my old boss, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who would have been 100 years old in October and whose Surgeon Generals Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, on which I worked, marks its 30th anniversary Saturday. Shared health concerns played a large role in developing better ties and cooperation with the former Soviet Union. As I wrote in a book, Health diplomacy is the great leveler which brings countries together in common cause, fighting one of humanitys most ancient and powerful foes: disease.

Peter I. Hartsock, Laytonsville
THIS MAY, in a visit to Vietnam, President Obama announced he was lifting the embargo on selling lethal arms to Hanoi as part of an effort to normalize relations long after the Vietnam War. While celebrating Vietnams deepening economic and security ties to the United States, Mr. Obama cautioned that to really get ahead, it should respect freedom of expression, assembly and religion. There are still folks who find it very difficult to assemble and organize peacefully around issues that they care deeply about, he said.

It seems clear from Vietnams recent actions that the rulers in Hanoi did not believe they had to pay attention to Mr. Obamas advice. On Oct 7, they declared that the California-based pro-democracy group Viet Tan, or the Vietnam Reform Party, is a terrorist organization and warned of severe penalties for anyone who contacted it. The group, which describes itself as a pro-democracy organization working to promote social justice and human rights through nonviolent means, said this was the first time it has been formally designated as terrorist under Vietnams laws. Three of the groups members are serving long prison terms for their blogging and community organizing.

On Oct. 10, police in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa arrested a popular blogger, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, 37, who writes under the pen name Mother Mushroom. She is co-founder of a network of independent bloggers who often find themselves in the crosshairs of a regime that strictly controls the news media and does not tolerate dissent. Radio Free Asia quoted the network as protesting that Ms. Quynh is an activist who has advocated for human rights, improved living conditions for people, and sovereignty for many years.

Most recently, Ms. Quynh had been blogging extensively about a chemical spill in April that devastated marine life and left fishermen and tourism industry workers jobless in four provinces. In June, a Taiwanese-owned company acknowledged it was responsible for the pollution and pledged to clean it up, but the spill has provoked protests by Vietnamese who criticize the government for remaining silent about the cause of the spill at the outset and then failing to provide information about health and environmental dangers. Many of the protests were mobilized on Facebook.

When taken into custody, Ms. Quynh was accused of publishing propaganda against the state. A police statement said she had posted a report compiling 31 cases in which civilians died in police custody, which showed hostility towards the police force.

When Mr. Obama visited in May, it was clear that security cooperation and normalization of relations were on the front burner as the United States and Vietnam face an increasingly aggressive China. It is notable that Vietnam also agreed to economic and labor reforms required by the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But these are not sufficient. Vietnam also must free its people to blog, protest and speak out without fear.
THIS IS having nothing to do with me but having to do with the future of our country, Donald Trump said Thursday. That statement could have been the punch line to a self-deprecating joke at that nights Al Smith charity dinner; Mr. Trumps ego and thin skin have been defining elements of his campaign. In fact, Mr. Trump spoke these words at a rally earlier in the day, attempting to explain his inexplicable refusal to commit to abiding by next months election results.

In a way, he was right. Mr. Trump is threatening to damage much more than his campaign by mocking the peaceful transition of power. I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election  if I win, he declared, before saying that he reserves the right to challenge questionable results. Mr. Trump would, of course, define questionable.

Thus has Mr. Trump issued yet another challenge to those Republicans who aspire to play key roles in the nations political life after the election. The Posts Philip Rucker and Robert Costa report: The immediate responses from GOP officials were divergent and vague, with no clear strategy on how to handle Trumps threat. How about telling the truth?

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, among others, attempted to play down Mr. Trumps conspiracy-mongering, insisting that the GOP nominee is simply reserving the right to a recount in a close result. Not so: As if to correct Mr. Priebus, Mr. Trump declared Friday that the whole deal is rigged. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani offered a taste of the accusations that would emanate from the Trump camp, insisting without evidence that Philadelphia Democrats will steal a lot more than 50 votes in Philadelphia. I guarantee you of that. And Ill tell you how they will do it  theyll bus people in who will vote dead peoples names four, five, six times.

A number of Republican National Committee members, meanwhile, have hyped the notion that the election will be riddled with fraud, repeating, for example, unsubstantiated claims that illegals will vote in droves.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryans office has said he is fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity, and Politico reported that Mr. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would likely step in after the election should Mr. Trump refuse to accept the results. But their nominee is doing damage now; polls show the vast majority of Republicans believe a Hillary Clinton victory would be due to fraud. Their leaders must tell them otherwise, with much more force.

A few Republicans have found their way to the right tone. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said, I didnt like the outcome of the 2008 election. But I had a duty to concede. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) have each issued criticisms of varying severity.

But the condemnation should not be isolated. It should be deafening. Any Republican who wants to emerge from this election with a shred of integrity must speak up.
The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

Even as the country recoils, justifiably, from the prospect of Donald Trump threatening not to respect the election results, let us not lose sight of the mounting evidence of Trumps mistreatment of women  and his offensive debate dismissal of their claims.

At the second debate, Trump claimed that his taped boasting about grabbing women without consent was just that  all talk, no action. In the 10 days before the third debate, nine women came forward to dispute that assertion.

So moderator Chris Wallace posed the key question: Why would so many different women from so many different circumstances over so many different years . . . all make up these stories?

Trumps response was a characteristically repulsive stew of dishonesty, outright lies, conspiracy theorizing and blame-shifting.

Dishonesty: Those stories have been largely debunked, he said. Wrong. Actually, additional corroboration has emerged.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spent part of his Oct. 14 rally addressing sexual assault accusations, which he denied and condemned. (The Washington Post)

Lies: I did not say that, Trump insisted, three times, after Hillary Clinton noted that part of Trumps argument for his innocence was that the women werent attractive enough to merit his unwanted attention. Just go to the videotape.

Conspiracy theorizing: I think they want either fame or her campaign did it. And I think its her campaign, Trump said of his accusers. There is no evidence on either score. Indeed, a number of the accusers had to be coaxed to come forward. Some are Clinton backers; others are clear that they do not support her.

Blame-shifting: According to Trump, what we should actually be talking about is the violence at his rallies  instigated by Clinton. Or else, her emails, where she destroyed 33,000 emails criminally, criminally, after getting a subpoena from the United States Congress. If the debate hall were a courtroom, Trumps answer would have been struck as nonresponsive.

So lets examine the actual evidence. One of the most upsetting stories  because Trumps alleged behavior interfered with a womans ability to do her job  is also one of those with the strongest contemporaneous corroboration.

People magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff, at Mar-a-Lago in 2005 to report a first-anniversary piece on Donald and Melania Trump, described how Trump pushed her against a wall and tried to kiss her, sticking his tongue down her throat.

Six of Stoynoffs friends and co-workers have corroborated parts of her story. Upset, she called a former journalism professor in tears the night of the incident; he advised her to stay quiet for fear of retaliation. Upset, she called a close friend, Marina Grasic, the next day, to recount the incident. Upset, she told three People colleagues after returning to New York.

Oh, and also, that moment when she bumped into Melania Trump outside Trump Tower, which Melania Trump says didnt happen? Another Stoynoff friend recalls the encounter.

In other words: To discount Stoynoffs story, you would have to believe that she was prescient enough to describe to five friends and colleagues an encounter with Trump that mirrored his own taped account that would emerge 11 years later .

To buy that this story was engineered by the Clinton campaign, well, you would have to believe that in 2005, when the notion of Trump running for president was a punch line at best, Clinton and her minions brilliantly recruited Stoynoff to concoct this story and plant the seeds of corroboration to spring on Trump years later, after the Access Hollywood tape leaked. Or that the campaign enlisted six witnesses in a current conspiracy to lie on their behalf.

The evidence in Trumps favor? The butler says he didnt do it. That is, nothing seemed amiss when he walked in on Trump and Stoynoff. This would be the butler who posted on Facebook that President Obama should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent and said it was astonishing that a common murder[er] is even allowed to run (killery clinton).

Mr. Trump, your witness.

Imagining this evidence assessed in court isnt just instructive  its tempting. Because while the time has long passed for filing charges over the underlying behavior, Trumps description of Stoynoff as a liar and the dishonest writer from People magazine opens the door to a defamation suit.

And the prospect of discovery, including Trump being forced to submit to a deposition. Imagine the man who threatens to sue everyone in sight having to answer questions about his conduct toward women, under oath. What a fitting coda for such an ugly campaign, and for such a, pardon the phrase, nasty man.

Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
If Beltway insiders and other East Coast elites ever wondered why so many Americans prefer Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton, all they need do is watch a rerun of Thursday nights 71st annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.

There they were in their finery, A-listers from the once-cherished institutions of church, state and the Fourth Estate  including the two aforementioned major-party presidential candidates; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the evenings host; and, hardly least, Maria Bartiromos decolletage. No one watching could have missed the cleavage clad in candy apple red beneath long sparkling earrings, as Bartiromos elbow-length gloves fluttered like white doves directing traffic to the heart of things. A flickering female vision floating in the TV frame among four, dusty-white males, the television journalist appeared as one of those online ads that distract readers as they try to concentrate.

Oh, but the delectable humor, jarring jokes and quivering quips  the titters they brought to bleached smiles and knowing nods  and all for the good of disadvantaged children for whom the dinner raised $6 million. What could be better than dining with a few close friends, amusing oneself as the future president and the inevitable loser trade insults, as millions of viewers remember why they hate Washington?

Homage also was paid to the dinners namesake, Al Smith, the first Catholic to run for president of the United States and at a time (the 1920s) when Catholics were viewed as Satans spawn by people such as Trumps own father, who participated in a KKK-sponsored, anti-Catholic rally.

God bless America, how far weve come.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (Frank Franklin II/Associated Press)

But not really, as Trump came to remind the boo-and-hisser crowd. As though he cared. And, as though all the deplorables and Trump sympathizers watching at home werent perfectly delighted by Trumps performance. To them, the dais was a diorama of self-congratulatory elites, smugly tittering at insider humor and then, suddenly, betraying white-tie outrage at their redneck Gatsby, who hocked up his couth and hurled it into the nearest vat of Dom Perignon.

The dinner is supposed to be a gentle roast at which political foes parry a bit but always with rubber rapiers. Attendees faithfully present themselves as priests and priestesses of the Highest Order of Civility, Good Humor & Charitable Hearts. A good time is supposed to be had by all.

Trump knows the rules all right and even mentioned that hed been attending the dinner for years, beginning when he was a young man accompanying his father. But being Trump means never playing by the rules.

He began his remarks well enough, looking rather presidential and certainly comfortable in a formal environment bloated with swells. But Trump carries within him a little bit of Gollum mixed with a touch of Truman Capote.

Like Gollum, he loathes what he loves and cant resist sabotaging himself. Like Capote, he turns on his own. If Capote alienated all his swans, the belles of Upper East Side New York, by betraying their confidences in La Cote Basque, 1965, Trump betrayed the hopes of his powerful and wealthy colleagues that he could be trusted to behave.

Some of his jokes were very funny: After listening to Hillary rattle on and on and on, I dont think so badly of Rosie ODonnell anymore, he said. When Clinton took her turn, she countered with: And looking back, Ive had to listen to Donald for three full debates, and he says I dont have any stamina!

But about midway through, Trumps lightness turned dark.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics, he said of Clinton, who was seated next to Dolan. (Boos.) Trump was referring to the WikiLeaks email in which an exchange among Clinton campaign staffers seemed to be condescending to Catholics.

He earned more boos when he said Clinton was so corrupt that shed been kicked off the Watergate Committee. And, She knows a lot about how government works. And according to her sworn testimony, Hillary has forgotten more things than most of us will ever, ever, ever know.

Reading over the transcript, the jokes dont seem so bad  or so good. Delivery really is everything. But watching the speeches in real time, Trumps cuts contained a palpable hint of malice that wasnt present in Clintons.

To the booing select, Trumps performance was the final nail in his coffin. But to the great unwashed, you can be sure, Trump was doing his job and sticking it to the elites, which is what tens of millions of Americans deeply yearn to do.

Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
A combination photo shows Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during their third and final debate in Las Vegas Wednesday. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Antiabortion activists, already experiencing a difficult year, say their movement faces a pivotal moment as another Democrat who staunchly supports abortion rights appears likely to occupy the White House.

First came the death of Antonin Scalia, an ardent ally on the Supreme Court. Then came a stinging defeat before the justices over a sweeping Texas law regulating abortion providers. Now, activists are afraid that Hillary Clinton is headed to victory  and angry that Donald Trump has done his share, they say, to set back a movement that has strived to show sensitivity toward women.

For years, antiabortion activists have succeeded in advancing their agenda in part by not vilifying women. They have portrayed women as sometimes coerced into the procedure  in other words, they are victims as much as their unborn children are. Activists have targeted groups and doctors who perform abortions and have pushed restrictive laws in the name of womens health.

Trump has not followed that playbook. Earlier this year, he suggested that women who have abortions should be punished, a position he later reversed. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said in a recent interview with the New Yorker that the remark was a great example of him just undoing decades of work where we worked really hard.

And Wednesday, in a nationally televised debate, he criticized his opponent for wanting women to have access to a procedure in which, he said, doctors rip the baby out of the womb . . . just prior to the birth  a crude description of abortions that he claimed occur late in pregnancy.

1 of 57 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail View Photos The Democratic presidential nominee hits the road as Election Day nears. Caption Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Nov. 9, 2016 Hillary Clinton speaks in New York while her husband, former president Bill Clinton, applauds. Melina Mara/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Politically, were on defense, said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League. There are some really serious things at stake in this election, and weve seen the legislation we fought hard for being rolled back by the Supreme Court.

Many antiabortion activists preferred other Republican contenders for president, particularly Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.), whose antiabortion credibility is ironclad. In January, some prominent activists urged voters in Iowa to caucus for any candidate other than Trump.

But in a sense, Trump is the antiabortion movements best chance of rebounding after the crushing loss over the Texas law, which imposed regulations so strict that many abortion clinics in the state were forced to close. Five of the high courts eight remaining justices found that the restrictions put an undue burden on womens constitutional right to an abortion. The ruling hampered efforts to enact similar laws across the country.

Trump has pledged to appoint judges who oppose Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing the procedure nationally. That promise is particularly significant because there is one vacancy on the court, left by Scalia, and the next president could be called upon to nominate several more justices.

Trump also selected as his running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, one of the antiabortion movements most well-known champions. That decision led many antiabortion leaders to endorse Trump despite his past support for abortion rights.

But now, with his chances of winning the White House fading, some worry that he may be doing more harm than good.

It almost made me want to throw up, said Cathie Lynn Gisi, 65, a well-known Republican organizer in Las Vegas, of Trumps remarks during the debate. Gisi says she opposes abortion but is considering casting a ballot for Clinton. Trump, she said, was unnecessarily graphic and seemed to use unborn babies to try to get at Clinton.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

The remarks follow the release of a video from 2005 in which Trump lewdly describes making unwanted sexual advances on women; accusations of groping by a growing number of women; and a crystallizing narrative that Trump is tone-deaf on womens issues. He also came under fire for saying of Clinton during the debate: such a nasty woman.

[Trumps such a nasty woman comment has sparked something]

To have Donald Trump be the standard-bearer for the pro-life movement is horrific, because were on the verge of overcoming so many of the bad stereotypes about the movement as driven by old white guys with lots of money telling women what to do, said Charles Camosy, a bioethics professor at Fordham University and a board member of Democrats for Life.

Added Scheidler: It would be more encouraging to have [as the nominee] somebody we know has been with us for a long time, and really understands the issue deeply and is able to articulate it, and not make some of the stumbles weve seen along the way from Donald Trump.

[Woman says Trump groped her while attending U.S. Open tennis tourney in 1998]

At the debate, it was Clinton who more directly spoke to the challenges faced by women who make the most intimate, most difficult, in many cases, decisions about her health care that one can imagine, as she put it.

The kinds of cases that fall at the end of pregnancy are often the most heartbreaking, painful decisions for families to make, she added. I have met with women who toward the end of their pregnancy get the worst news one could get, that their health is in jeopardy if they continue to carry to term or that something terrible has happened or just been discovered about the pregnancy. I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions.

Groups that support abortion rights pounced on Trumps comments, issuing a flurry of news releases, videos and interviews to criticize the Republican nominee. The groups have united behind Clinton, launching field efforts and advertisements, and having top officials speak on her behalf.

Never before has our movement had such a clear champion running for president, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.

The groups also highlighted comments by medical professionals who said Trumps description of abortions late in pregnancy is medically inaccurate.

Statements like that do not reflect medical reality, said Diane Horvath-Casper, an obstetrician with Physicians for Reproductive Health. She said that if, in the third trimester  the time of pregnancy Trump was referring to  there is a medical complication or the fetus is not viable or dead, doctors typically induce labor, with the woman delivering vaginally. Depending on the circumstances, if a fetus is alive its heart can be stopped with a cardiac drug, she said. According to the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, abortions in the second trimester typically use a procedure called dilation and evacuation, in which the fetus is removed with surgical instruments.

Some of Trumps supporters were pleased at his tenor during the debate, finding him passionate if inarticulate. The movement increasingly favors graphic language to describe abortion, believing that it more appropriately conveys the violence of the procedure.

Donald Trump is a convert to the pro-life issue, as he has explained, said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. Converts do not always use the same words as longtime activists, but they do speak with passion and conviction when faced with the reality of the horror of abortion.

Added Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America: Voters understand his tendency to clumsily state facts or issues or his opinions, so Im not really concerned about that. Im much more concerned about the fact that we have between one and four Supreme Court justices in play, we have 500 lower-court judges and 5,000 governmental appointees.

Regular voters were less forgiving. Nina Nititadakul, 24, a special-education teacher who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, said that after the debate she felt more comfortable voting for Clinton, not least because of her stance on abortion.

The way he described it was really disgusting. A lot of women have gone through this or know someone who has. He was so crude.

She said the decision to have an abortion is deeply personal, and I dont think it should be regulated by the government.

Now, with fewer than three weeks until Election Day, antiabortion groups are girding for the prospect of a Clinton presidency. Scheidler said that, should Clinton win the White House, his focus will turn to grass-roots mobilization by trying to prevent abortions from happening, rather than enacting a long-term political or judicial strategy.

That mission goes on unchanged, Scheidler said.

Emily Guskin and Mary Jordan contributed to this report.
(FILES) This file photo taken on October 12, 2016 shows a man looking at a painting of the Russian collector of French modern art Sergei Shchukin - Chtchoukine collection as part of the exhibition "Icons of modern art" on October 12, 2016 at the Louis Vuitton foundation in Paris. The exhibition "Icons of modern art" runs through October 22, 2016 - February 20, 2017 at the Louis Vuitton foundation in Paris. / AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAUMARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images (Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images)

A Russian art collection replete with modernist masterpieces by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso opened Saturday in Paris, heralded in every major French newspaper and television station. Tickets to the unprecedented exhibition are hot commodities, billed as future collectors items.

Call it cultural diplomacy or soft power, the blockbuster show was just one half of the major Russian cultural initiatives that debuted in Paris during the week, seeking to burnish Moscows reputation abroad as a year dedicated to cultural tourism has been overshadowed by political disputes.

Across town, a culture center featuring a massive Russian Orthodox cathedral  whose prominent golden domes now compete with the nearby Eiffel Tower  opened on the banks of the Seine on Wednesday after considerable wrangling with city government.

In France, at least, the timing is significant, as relations between Paris and Moscow have reached historic lows after Francois Hollande criticized Russian interventions in the Syrian city of Aleppo as a war crime earlier this month. In response, Vladimir Putin subsequently canceled the Paris trip during which he would have christened the church and the exposition.

[Putin calls off visit to France amid Western outcry over Aleppo attacks]

But the cathedral stands, and the exhibit is the talk of the town.

Icons of Modern Art displays 130 masterpieces from the collection of Sergei Shchukin, a wealthy Russian textile magnate who, on frequent visits to Paris in the late 19th century, began to purchase canvases by risque painters whose work was shunned by critics. Over several decades, he accumulated the worlds greatest collection of Matisses, monumental fantasies of color and motion that his favorite artist created specifically for his Moscow mansion.

If a picture gives you a psychological shock, buy it, Shchukin once said. Its a good one. Like many collectors, he was no stranger to that kind of shock: within a span of three years, his wife died, and two of his sons and a brother committed suicide. But nothing prepared Shchukin for the political rupture of the Russian Revolution, when, in 1918, he was exiled to Paris as his beloved collection was seized by Bolshevik forces.

The collection was eventually nationalized, split between the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and then banished for decades under Joseph Stalin as Western bourgeois art devoid of any progressive, civilizing value for Soviet visitors. In France, the Shchukin collection was long seen as a prisoner of the Cold War, a national treasure in seemingly endless captivity.

For the curators and museum directors who came yesterday it was an absolute shock, said Marina Loshak, director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, which lent works from its collection for the show. They had not imagined that there was a collection of such high quality and class in Russia.

In the current exhibition, those treasures have returned to France for the first time since Shchukin sent them to Moscow. Housed in the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Frank Gehry-designed art space on the outskirts of Paris, the show presents a subtle image of Russian cultural sophistication, mixing Russian artists alongside the Picassos and Matisses that inspired them. Viewers are meant to see the similarities.

[Four nations agree on road map to revive Ukraine peace plan

Its a Russian history, undoubtedly, in which the figure of the collector is no less important than the things that he collected, said Loshak, the museum director. For France, this is also important, and its yet another motif of the closeness, the great closeness, of the French and Russian cultures.

Anne Baldassari, who curated Icons of Modern Art, said the willingness of Russian museums to participate represented an evolution toward an international focus. This would have been absolutely unimaginable even 10 years ago, she said, referring to years of difficulties in collaborating with Russian institutions.

All earlier attempts to put together similar exhibitions had failed, Loshak said, because of several factors, including the relationships among various museums holding works from the Shchukin collection. Shchukins heirs also promised not to seek seizure of the artworks, which were nationalized by the Bolsheviks and, they contend, should be returned.

Everyone hopes that the exposition will constitute a space of dialogue to ameliorate the strained relations, said Baldassari, adding that Putin may still visit before it closes in February. It might permit a return to normal.

The recent collapse in political relations between France and Russia had not affected preparations for the show, Loshak said.

As the Russian president wrote in the exhibition catalogue, he hoped the show will contribute to further strengthening of mutual understanding and trust between French and Russians.

Read more

Russia sends warships toward Syria via the English Channel  and with them, a message

Shakespeare and Company, Pariss famous bookstore where wandering writers are welcome

Kim Kardashian robbery in Paris is fueling French security concerns

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Iraqi troops guard a checkpoint near the village of Awsaja, Iraq, as smoke from fires lit by Islamic State militants at oil wells and a sulfur plant fills the air on Saturday. (Adam Schreck/AP)

A fire set by Islamic State militants at a sulfur mine near the city of Mosul in recent days sent plumes of noxious gases over the battlefield, sickening hundreds of civilians and forcing Iraqi and U.S. troops to wear protective masks, health and military officials said on Saturday.

Firefighters were still struggling on Saturday to put out the blaze at the Mishraq sulfur mine, about 25 miles southeast of Mosul, according to Col. Abdulrahman Al-Khazali, a spokesman for Iraqi Federal Police who visited the mine.

Officials gave no indication that the fumes had interrupted a broader five-day-old offensive to capture Mosul from the militants. But the smoldering sulfur added to the list of unconventional weapons  including oil fires, armor-plated car bombs and exploding drones  the militants have deployed in an effort to slow the march of Iraqi forces toward the city.

[Islamic State forces attack Iraqs oil-rich city of Kirkuk]

In another attempt to distract their opponents, dozens of Islamic State fighters staged a bold raid on government buildings and police positions in the northern city of Kirkuk, east of Mosul, on Friday. The attack was largely contained by Saturday, but at least 80 people, mainly Kurdish security forces, had been killed during the incursion, a Kirkuk police official told the Associated Press.

1 of 48 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The battle for Mosul View Photos Iraqi forces launch their most ambitious fight against the Islamic State. Caption Iraqi forces continue their most ambitious fight against the Islamic State. Iraqi Federal police celebrate in West Mosul. Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Soldiers were seen wearing surgical masks about 15 miles south of the fires on Friday, where a highway and surrounding villages were blanketed in a dull gray haze. Several oil fires burned nearby, obscuring the view of the horizon with a curtain of black smoke.

In recent days, shifting winds began blowing the noxious fumes over U.S. troops stationed at a forward staging base near Mosul, according to American officials.

Although much of the mine was burned during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, about 10 percent of the sulfur still remains.

The fires added to concerns that the militants might use crude chemical weapons as Iraqi troops close in on Mosul. The Islamic State is believed to have what a senior American official described as a very rudimentary chemical weapons program in the city that includes mustard and chlorine gases.

It can easily go from rudimentary to more sophisticated, said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. We have worked hard to identify it, he said, speaking of the program.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga soldiers are involved in the Mosul offensive, which started on Monday following months of operations in the countryside around the city. They have steadily advanced across swaths of desert and into small hamlets as they draw within miles of the city.

Despite the progress, the forces are at least days, if not weeks, from the city itself. The fighting is expected to be heaviest there, where the Islamic State has focused the majority of its defenses, U.S. officials said.





Keeping up the momentum of the operation is seen as critical to maintaining the alliance of disparate forces with often-competing interests that are cooperating, for the moment, to recapture Mosul.

[Iraq rejects Turkish role in Mosul battle, as forces advance toward city]

Turkey, which maintains a contingent of roughly 500 troops near Mosul, has insisted on a role in the offensive. Iraqi officials say the Turkish troops, who have been training Sunni forces at a base there since December, are in the country without permission.

On Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi again rejected the possibility of Turkish involvement in the current campaign  just a day after Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced that he had reached an agreement in principle with Turkish officials that would allow Turkey to participate in the battle.

Tensions over Mosul have escalated in recent weeks into an incendiary war of words between Abadi and Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan. The Obama administration has struggled to mediate between the two countries, both close allies of the United States and seen as playing critical roles in the fight against the Islamic State.

The Mosul battle is an Iraqi battle, and the ones who are conducting it are Iraqis, Abadi said on Saturday. We dont have any problems. If help were needed, he added, we will ask for it from Turkey or from other regional countries.

At a news conference following a meeting with Abadi, Carter insisted that the United States could still play a role in negotiating the impasse.

We all need to stay focused on the fight against ISIL, Carter said, using another acronym for the Islamic State.

Read more:

Iraqi, Kurdish forces say they feel let down by level of U.S.-led air support

Iraqs U.S.-trained counterterrorism troops join attack on Mosul

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

Gibbons-Neff reported from Baghdad. Loveday Morris and Mustafa Salim in Irbil also contributed to this report.
After a protest on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on the night of October 17-18 by around 500 policemen, in explicit defiance of orders from the police hierarchy, new night protests have taken place across France. Policemen are demanding increased police budgets and police powers, and opposing threats of sanctions from police hierarchy and the Socialist Party (PS) government.

The Champs-Elysees protest was organized to demand more financial resources and personnel. Its organisers invoked an October 8 incident, where two policemen were wounded when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a police car in the Viry-Chatillon area south of Paris.

The next day, the car of the general director of the national police, Jean-Marc Falcone, was targeted in a hostile protest by several hundred policemen in Evry. Other protests by uniformed policemen have taken place in Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux and numerous smaller cities. There were also calls for the resignation of Falcone and PS Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

President Francois Hollande has announced that he will meet with police trade unions next week at the Elysee presidential palace.

The policemen's decision to protest openly and illegally with their squad cars and while on duty, and to repeat this violation in the face of criticism from the PS government, indicates that a part of the state machine now believes it is a law unto itself.

This is the result of the policies and the political atmosphere created by the PS ever since the January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo. Beyond an unprecedented military and police mobilization, the PS orchestrated a media campaign glorifying the police, accompanied by a campaign aimed at France's Muslim population. The PS effectively sought to make the police apparatus its main social base within French society.

After the November 13 attacks in Paris, the PS further reinforced police powers, setting up an indefinitely-extendable state of emergency in France. In the racist atmosphere incited by PS policy, police forces had free rein to raid thousands of Muslim families and to brutally and systematically attack opposition from workers and youth to austerity measures such as the mass protests against the PS' unpopular labor law.

In a flagrant attack on religious freedom, condemned by a ruling of the State Council, local police in municipalities controlled by the PS arrested Muslim women on the pretext that they were veiled.

In the final analysis, the target of both the so-called war on terror and the anti-Muslim campaign carried out under the fraudulent banner of secularism is the opposition of the working class to attacks on its social rights.

The police protests, supported by all the major bourgeois parties and the trade unions are a warning to the working class: the only solution to the crisis that the financial aristocracy is considering is dictatorship at home and endless war abroad.

The day after the first protest, Cazeneuve declared that policemen are demonstrating due to a frustration that I understand, even if I say very clearly that one cannot, as a policeman, protest with police cars and flashing police lights.

The day after the second protest, he said, If I agreed that the general inspection service of the national police be involved, it is not to get into a spiral of punishment, but to recall certain principles. The day before, he had called in a video message for respect to authority and to the security forces.

Similar statements were made by bourgeois politicians of all stripes. PS Prime Minister Manuel Valls also insisted that the government would support the police forces, promising to tirelessly pursue those who target our teachers, our schools, our security forces.

Christian Jacob, the head of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party at the National Assembly, also supported the protests, saying he understood the frustration and despair of the police.

Philippe Vigier of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) said he believes society is on the verge of going up in flames.

For two days, the leaders of the neo-fascist National Front (FN) have also been multiplying calls for total support to protesters and demanding the resignation of the police chief, Falcone.

Support for the FN inside the police and inside the army has risen sharply over the last two years. According to a study by the Ceviprof agency of the Institute for Political Sciences, the FN received 51.5 percent of the police vote during the 2015 regional elections, up 30 percent since 2012, and 57 percent of the police vote in 2016.

The Workers Force (FO)-linked police trade union Unite-Police SGP-FO has called for protests on October 26, in a march of police and citizens anger.
The US Navy yesterday carried out a provocative new challenge to Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea by sending a guided missile destroyer, the USS Decatur, close to Chinese-administered islands in the Paracel group. The so-called freedom of navigation operation took place amid mounting concern in Washington over the diplomatic lurch towards China by US ally, the Philippines, under its new president, Rodrigo Duterte.

American officials told Reuters that the USS Decatur sailed near to Triton and Woody Islands in the Paracels, but did not enter the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit in either case. White House spokesman Josh Earnest declared that the naval operation had been to demonstrate that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea by the United States and all other states.

The naval intrusion into disputed waters is the first since July, when the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled in favour of a US-backed legal case contesting Chinese claims. The US navy had carried out three previous freedom of navigation operations close to Chinese controlled islets, sending a destroyer within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in October 2015, Triton Island in January this year and Fiery Cross Reef in May.

The latest operation, close to Woody Island, which functions as Chinas administrative centre in the South China Sea, is particularly provocative. As tensions with the US have mounted, China has placed anti-aircraft missile systems on the island and flown fighter jets there. Woody Island is to the south of major Chinese naval facilities on Hainan Island, adjacent to the Chinese mainland.

The Chinese Defence Ministry branded the US operation illegal and intentionally provocative behavior, and lodged a protest with the US. It accused Washington of being a troublemaker when it comes to the stability of the South China Sea and urged it to respect Chinas national sovereignty and security interests.

The ministry warned that the Chinese military would increase its patrols, strengthen its defence capabilities and resolutely defend national sovereignty and security. Two Chinese warships, the Guangzhou and the Luoyang, shadowed the USS Decatur and demanded it leave the area.

The US naval operation took place just one day after Philippine President Duterte concluded his state visit to Beijing, during which he declared that he was separating the Philippines from the United States both diplomatically and militarily. In his bid for billions of dollars in Chinese aid and investment, Duterte played down his countrys territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Dutertes tilt towards China is in marked contrast to the foreign policy orientation of his immediate predecessor, President Benigno Aquino, who spearheaded the Obama administrations efforts to confront Beijing in the South China Sea. Aquino had ramped up closer military ties with the US, including via a new basing agreement that has already opened up five Philippine bases to American forces, and adopted a confrontational approach in territorial disputes with China. At one point, he likened Beijing to the Nazi regime in Germany.

Dutertes about-face is a significant blow to Washingtons pivot to Asiaan all-embracing diplomatic confrontation and military build-up against China over the past five years throughout the Asian region. Hillary Clinton, as Obamas secretary of state, was central to the launching of the pivot, including by fueling tensions in the South China Sea through her declaration in 2010 that the US had a national interest in the disputed waters. The South China Sea is central to the Pentagons strategy for war against China, which includes a massive air and missile attack on the Chinese mainland, supplemented by a crippling naval blockade.

Unnamed US officials have denied that yesterdays dispatch of the USS Decatur was in response to Dutertes trip to China. But such denials ring false. By sending a warship to challenge Chinese claims, Washington is sending a warning both to Beijing and Duterte that it will not tolerate any undermining of its strategic dominance in East Asia. The naval intrusion is also aimed at stemming any attempt by other South East Asian countries to follow Dutertes example in developing their own arrangements with Beijing.

Dutertes failure to press China over The Hague ruling has significantly undermined Washingtons plan to escalate its confrontation with Beijing over the South China Sea. Without Philippine backing, the Obama administration cannot readily intervene in Manilas maritime disputes with China. The US is not a party to the territorial disputes and, moreover, has failed to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea under which the legal case was heard.

The choice of the Paracels for the latest freedom of navigation operation suggests a shift in tactics by the US and an orientation to Vietnam, rather than the Philippinesin the short term at least. Vietnam has, with Washingtons encouragement, adopted a more confrontational stance towards China.

For his part, Duterte, an erratic right-wing populist, is continuing his efforts to balance between the United States and China. Having secured large loans and investments from Beijing, he made clear yesterday that he was not about to burn his bridges with Washington. Speaking in the Philippines yesterday on his return from China, he declared he did not intend to sever ties with the United States. I cannot do that. Why? Its to the best interest of my country that we maintain that relationship, he said.

Since taking office this year, Duterte has branded President Obama the son of a whore, called for US troops to leave the southern island of Mindanao and signaled an end to joint exercises with the US. His anti-US bluster has been aimed, in part, at securing closer economic ties with China, while appealing to anti-imperialist sentiment within the Philippines, a former American colony. He is, however, walking a tightrope. Washington will have no compunction in orchestrating a regime-change operation in Manila if Duterte threatens its interests.

The rising tide of American militarism and geo-political rivalries in Asiaas in the Middle Eastunderscores the danger that a miscalculation or mistake by any of the countries involved in the South China Sea, or in other tense regional flashpoints, can trigger a military clash, setting off a conflict between nuclear-armed powers.
A word to the wise: Stay away from ghost peppers.

A puree made from these peppers  which are infamous for their off-the-charts level of spiciness  led to a rare, life-threatening condition in an otherwise healthy, 47-year-old man in California, according to a recent report of the man's case.

Ghost peppers are among the hottest chili peppers in the world, the report said. They have a measured "heat" of more than 1 million Scoville heat units, according to the report. (For comparison, a poblano pepper measures at 2,000 Scoville units, and jalapenos come in at 5,000. Eating a single seed from a ghost pepper can cause severe burning in the mouth that lasts up to 30 minutes, the report said. [Here's a Giant List of the Strangest Medical Cases We've Covered]

In the man's case, a ghost pepper had been pureed and served atop a hamburger as a part of an eating contest at local restaurant. After finishing the pepper-topped burger, the man drank six large glasses of water, then began "violently retching and vomiting," according to the report, which was published online in September in the Journal of Emergency Medicine.

The man ended up going to the emergency room in San Francisco because he couldn't stop vomiting, and developed severe chest and stomach pain, the authors wrote.

A CT scan of the man's chest appeared to show that his esophagus was torn and that his left lung had collapsed, so the man was sent for emergency surgery.

During the operation, the surgeons found a 2.5-centimeter (1 inch) tear in the man's esophagus. The tear was leaking food  a mix of "hamburger, onions and other green vomitus material"  into the space around the man's left lung, which had collapsed, according to the report. The surgeons repaired the man's esophagus and re-inflated his lung, then placed him on a feeding tube so that his esophagus could heal.

The man's condition, a "spontaneous esophageal rupture," which is also called Boerhaave syndrome, is "a relatively rare phenomenon," said lead study author Dr. Ann Arens, who was aphysician in the department of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco at the time of the man's case in the summer of 2015. (Arens is currently an emergency medicine doctor and medical toxicologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.)

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Spontaneous esophageal rupture is caused by violent vomiting and retching, Arens said. In other words, the man's reaction to the ghost pepper, rather than the pepper itself, caused the rupture, Arens said.

The condition is very dangerous, and is fatal in 20 to 40 percent of all cases, even when patients receive treatment, the report said. "If [the condition is] left untreated, mortality approaches 100 percent," the authors wrote.

When patients die from a ruptured esophagus, the cause of death is likely a "rapid and fatal infection," Arens told Live Science.

The man was sent home from the hospital 23 days after the operation, the report said. His feeding tube was still in place when he was sent home, but Arens said the tube was only temporary, until the esophagus healed. She said she believes the man is currently doing well.

When Arens spoke to the man after the surgery, he "did not seem keen to try [eating a ghost pepper] again," she said.

Arens noted that she was not the primary doctor in the ER who was caring for the patient; rather, she was contacted by the doctors treating the man, because they wanted to know if there were any "antidotes" for hot peppers, she said.

"Unfortunately, there are no specific antidotes for hot peppers outside of the usual antacids," Arens added.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Bill Murray has made a name for himself outside of film by becoming the most interesting man on the planet. Hes hard to pin down location-wise and has just become sort of a national free spirit. Just try and guess where he will show up next. We can almost guarantee youre wrong. Bill Murray decided that the next place he will be documented as attending, would be a place most people dream about  a White House press conference.

mind bown

Giphy / giphy.com

The man who takes pitches over his answering machine instead of through his agent, the comedic genius behind Caddyshack and the original Ghostbusters, the guy who mentors people randomly at NYC bars has truly outdone himself this time.

Bill Murray took time to answer a few questions from the press at the end of a Presidential press conference.

They addressed him as Mr. President  something most people have done their entire lives anyway. He in turn answered questions about the Chicago Cubs with a tone that was almost presidential enough to pass for the real thing.

If youre wondering how Mr. Murray got access to the White House, hes Bill Murray. He basically has the authority and gravitas to just be wherever he feels like being. Hes like Waldo  you never really know where he is right off the bat, but when you find him its like he belonged there all along.

The only way to meet him is to run into him by accident. Like love, or the common cold  he will find you. But if you are hankering to see Bill Murray as soon as possible, and obviously arent close with George Clooney, youll want to check out the next Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, October 23rd .

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NBC / giphy.com

Bill will be receiving the coveted Mark Twain prize for American humor. And if the awards are like anything from the past, his speech will be something to treasure!

The post Bill Murray just crashed a White House press conference to talk about the Cubs because of course he did appeared first on HelloGiggles.
A young couple were found mysteriously dead in their Dundee, Michigan, apartment on Tuesday, October 18. When investigators arrived at the scene just after 1 a.m., they discovered bags of uneaten Taco Bell takeout near the bodies as well as drug paraphernalia and a pound of marijuana on the kitchen table. There were no signs of trauma, foul play or forced entry. Find out more in the video above, and detailed below.

The husband and wife, who have been identified as Cameron Hulet, 28, and Courtney Hulet, 20, had been living in Monroe County for just six months, but authorities were familiar with the couple. Cameron had some drug issues, Dundee Village manager and former police chief David Uhl told Us Weekly. Our department had also responded there several times on domestic issues. A lot of complaints from neighbors saying there was yelling and screaming.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost

Two young children were recently removed from the home by Child Protective Services and are currently in foster care.

While Uhl suspects drugs were involved, police are awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine the cause of death.

I dont think Cameron and Courtney died from marijuana, Uhl told Us. But marijuana can be laced with something, and were having a lot of trouble with fentanyl. That can kill you immediately.

PHOTOS: Celebrities Who Have Been to Rehab

A neighbor in the Hulets triplex found the pair lying on the floor at 9 a.m. on October 17 and assumed they were sleeping. She heard a groan and then closed the door and left, said Uhl. When the same woman returned at 1 a.m. and found them in the same position, she called the police.

According to Uhl, detectives are pulling video from Taco Bell to determine if anyone else was with the Hulets that evening.

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From Cosmopolitan

Police are investigating Courtney Huletts, 20, and Cameron Huletts, 28, mysterious deaths; The Dundee, Michigan, couple was found dead late Tuesday on the floor right by their kitchen table where a Taco Bell meal was left completely untouched, Monroe News reports.

A neighbor who stopped by their apartment around 9 p.m. believed Courtney and Cameron, who were ultimately found on their side and facedown respectively, to be sleeping. When she checked in again three hours later and saw they hadnt moved at all, she called police. Its really a puzzle, Dundee Village Manager Dave Uhl told Monroe News. There is no indication as to what happened. Its a mystery.

Authorities believe drugs are a probable cause (drug paraphernalia was found inside the apartment and a pound of marijuana was found on the table, seemingly being divided up for sale), but have not yet been able to officially confirm the couples cause of death. There are no signs of trauma or a break-in that wouldve indicated foul play.

According to FOX 2, the states Child Protective Services recently removed two young children from the same apartment. A Facebook post from the Dundee Police Department confirms the children were the Huletts and they were with CPS at the time of their parents deaths. FOX 2 notes Cameron has a criminal record dating back 10 years.

Autopsy results and toxicology reports are pending.

Follow Tess on Twitter.

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Photos: Getty Images

If #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackModelsMatter, it seems that the Fashion Institute of Technology hopes to prove that black designers matter too. An upcoming exhibit, entitled Black Fashion Designers, will showcase a global history of black people in fashion from the 1950s to the present, focusing on designers as well as models. Set to open December 6 at the Museum at FIT, the show is quite the ambitious endeavor, with work from more than 60 designers.

Here we pick out five iconic names from the exhibit you should know.

Ann Lowe

Bridal portrait of Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (1929-1994) shows her in an Anne Lowe-designed wedding dress, a bouquet of flowers in her hands, NYC, 1953. (Photo by Bachrach/Getty Images)

Anne Lowe was one of a very few black dressmakers in America who created gowns for high society during her time, from the 1920s to the 1960s. The Alabama-born designer got her biggest moment when she created Jaqueline Kennedys wedding gown, though she did not receive the kind of credit she would have today. In addition to designing for Kennedy, she also created pieces for the Rockefellers and more society families.

Stephen Burrows

Stephen Burrows in Manhattan in February 2014.

In a way, Stephen Burrows could likely find success today as a designer if he was a newcomer again. His gender-irreverent pieces would slide nicely into the prevailing trends of today. In his day, he also saw success co-founding O Boutique and being offered his own namesake store by Henri Bendels president. His pieces found themselves on the backs of Cher, Barbara Streisand, and more. His buzziest moment? Being selected as one of five designers to represent America in what is commonly referred to as the Battle of Versailles. Of the selects, Burrows was the only African-American.

Dapper Dan

Dapper Dan in New York City in 2015. (Photo: Getty Images)

This Harlem boutique owner could be credited with singlehandedly shaping the street and urban markets. He sold his designs to the everyday guy who lived in Harlem as well as the celebrities who came out of the neighborhood, and that put Dan in a unique position. Amongst the trends he helped to push was the all-over logo look pervasive in the 80s.

Robin Givhan

Washington Post fashion editor Robin Givhan. (Photo: Getty Images)

As the Washington Posts fashion critic, Robin Givhan has a unique perspective on fashion and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the industry and art. Having published The Battle of Versailles, which revolved around the point at which America began to be taken seriously in the global fashion arena, Givhan provides not only facts about what people have contributed but also the context and effects. For the exhibit, she has helped create a film where she moderates a conversation between models Naomi Sims, Veronica Webb, and Liya Kebede.

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Veronica Webb

Iconic supermodel Vericona Webb walks the runway in February 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)

With a section of the exhibit dedicated to the models, Webb is an important face in the mix. Her face made it in publications like Vogue, Elle, and Essence, and shes walked for brands like Chanel and Azzedine Alaia. Her history-making moment? Becoming the first black supermodel to bag an exclusive contract with a major cosmetics company, Revlon, in 1992.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Thousands of customers flooded through the stores of a supermarket chain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday, October 21.

This video, shot by one excited customer, shows the moment when the doors of one store opened, and the crowds flooding chaotically into shop.

The annual super sale of Supermercado Guanabara is known for attracting thousands of customers, who line up hours before the stores open. The city put in action a special traffic plan ahead of the event to minimize problems around the chains 25 stores.

The video had over 470,000 views by the time of writing. Credit: Facebook/Wellington Vinicius
By Jibran Ahmad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A delegation from the Taliban's political office visited Pakistan over the weekend, senior officials said on Saturday, for discussions that could include the latest informal effort to restart talks to end Afghanistan's long war. The visit comes days after Taliban sources said they had held informal meetings with Afghan and U.S. officials in Qatar, the first direct meetings in more than a year after a fledgling process to halt the 15-year-old conflict collapsed. Taliban sources said Mullah Abdul Manan - brother of the late Taliban founder Mullah Omar - met with U.S. and Afghan officials but there was no breakthrough toward restarting formal talks. The Taliban delegation will brief Pakistani security agencies on the Qatar meetings - which did not include Pakistani representatives - and complain about the recent arrests of some of its senior commanders in Pakistan, a senior member based in Doha said. Political office representatives Shahabuddin Dilawar, Jan Mohammad and Abdul Salam Hanafi traveled from Qatar and some other joined them in Pakistan, the official said. Another Taliban member based in Afghanistan said the delegation had held one round of talks and would stay for few more days. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed a delegation was visiting Pakistan but would not comment on the Qatar talks, which he has denied took place. "The delegation was sent to discuss some major issues with Pakistani leadership including the arrests of Afghan refugees and their repatriation to Afghanistan," Mujahid said. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said he had no information about any Taliban visit. The Doha-based Taliban official said Pakistan was taken into confidence about the Qatar meetings, but they now believe Pakistan recently arrested some senior Taliban commanders to senior commanders to show their displeasure at being left out. Another Taliban member said a few days ago Pakistani security agencies had raided a madrassa in Quetta and arrested another Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Samad Sani. "We don't know what's going on but this is second time during the past two months that Pakistani authorities raided a madrassa in Quetta to arrest senior Taliban member," the Quetta-based Taliban said. Pakistan hosted the first and only round of official peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents to end a war that kills and maims thousands annually. A planned second round of talks was called off after news broke that founder Mullah Omar had been dead for more than two years, sending the insurgent leadership into turmoil. (Writing by Kay Johnson)
Former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko returned at Bellator 162 on Friday in Memphis, Tenn., following a year-and-a-half away from the promotion battling a suspension.

Shlemenko made the most of his Bellator comeback, getting the better of Kendall Grove in the night's main event.

Despite giving up an eight-inch reach, Shlemenko did a good job nullifying Grove's advantage, using leg kicks and a variety of spinning attacks to keep him from utilizing his jab. Shlemenko clipped Grove early in the round, sending him to the canvas, but didn't follow him down. He instead made the Hawaiian return to his feet.

Grove got up, welcomed by Shlemenko's standing guillotine. Grove escaped the hold, and a few moments later, he hurt Shlemenko during a brief flurry. Grove followed with a knee to the body, but couldn't fully capitalize.

Shlemenko again turned the tables late in the round, hurting grove with a body kick and landing a spinning backfist.

Round two opened with Shlemenko going to the body with a couple hard kicks. Grove fired back with punches and a knee, but Shlemenko landed a spinning back kick to the body that put Grove on his heels. Shlemenko then stalked Grove and folded him over with a left hook to the body and right hook to the jaw. Grove crumpled to the canvas.

Shlemenko stood over Grove, dropping hammerfists and punches until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

With Rafael Carvalho defending the middleweight title against Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 168 in December, Shlemenko is now likely in line for a fight with the winner.

TRENDING > Demetrious Johnson: Nate Diaz Won Conor McGregor Rematch

Bobby Lashley kept his winning streak alive against Josh Appelt in the co-main event, thoroughly dominating the fight from the opening bell.

Lashley opened with a couple solid leg kicks and right hands, but quickly shifted to his bread and butter, clinching Appelt on the fence, wearing him down with several short punches and a knee to the sternum. Midway through the round, he took Appelt to the canvas with a double-leg takedown. From there, Lashley was all over his foe, landing punches, hammerfists and elbows at will, seemingly moments away from a stoppage.

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Appelt survived the opening frame and attempted a quick start in the second round, landing a leg kick and left hand that got Lashley's attention. That would be the end of his offensive efforts. Lashley clinched and took Appelt back to the mat. Lashley eventually gained full mount, but couldn't finish the fight there. Appelt turned to his knees, trying to escape, but Lashley was glued to his back and sunk the rear-naked choke for a quick tapout.

Lashley (15-2) is now in the midst of an eight-fight winning streak, including all five of his Bellator bouts.

In the lead-up to Friday night, Ryan Couture told MMAWeekly.com that he wanted a ground battle with Goiti Yamauchi. He might be rethinking that now.

After exchanging some opening punches, Couture clinched and took Yamauchi to the canvas, landing in top position in Yamauchi's half guard. The Japanese fighter made quick work of Couture off of his back, latching onto an arm for the armbar finish 1:01 into the first frame.

Hisaki Kato and AJ Matthews put on a barnburner of a fight to open the main card card, each man hurting the other in the opening minutes. Matthews, initially the busier fighter, had the fight going his way, but didn't finish, allowing Kato to stage a comeback.

Matthews got caught with an eye poke late in the opening round, but checked out okay with the doctor and continued. As soon as they resumed fighting, Kato attacked with numerous kicks combined with left hooks to the head. He rocked Matthews, wobbled him and sent him to the mat, but somehow Matthews survived to the final seconds before Kato's final onslaught of left hands dropped him to the canvas for the knockout.

Bellator 162: Shlemenko vs. Grove Results

Main Card:

Alexander Shlemenko def. Kendall Grove by TKO (strikes) 1:43, R2

Bobby Lashley def. Josh Appelt by Submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:43, R2

Goiti Yamauchi def. Ryan Couture by Submission (armbar) at 1:01, R1

Hisaki Kato def. A.J. Matthews by TKO (strikes) at 4:58, R1

Preliminary Card:

Chase Gormley def. Bobby Brents by Split Decision

Virgil Zwicker def. Dan Charles by TKO at 4:31, R2

Julia Budd def. Arlene Blencowe by Majority Decision

Ricky Rainey def. Gilbert Smith by Unanimous Decision

Steve Garcia def. Ronnie Lawrence by Unanimous Decision

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Over the past year-plus my wife Deb and I have been arguing that the build a wall!-style anti-immigration furor in Republican party politics does not match the lived reality of the parts of the United States where immigration is having the biggest and most obvious effect.

Thats part of the case I made in a cover story in March; that I wrote about in Dodge City, Kansas, in July; and that Deb chronicled in a visit with a Syrian refugee family in Erie, Pennsylvania, in August. Through American history, immigration has always been disruptiveat many periods, much more disruptive than it is now. At nearly every point in its history, people already present have viewed whatever group is most recently arrived as different and worse than the groups that had previously assimilated and generally succeeded. But compared with most other societies, the process of assimilation has continued to grind on in the United States, and overall (as I argue elsewhere) has been to the countrys enormous benefit.

Recommended: The Three Choices Facing Principled Republicans

Now the Atlantics video team has put out a great video treatment of this theme. Its produced by Nic Pollock and was shot this summer in Dodge City, Erie, and also the San Joaquin Valley of California around Fresno.

Ill have more to say about the video and the theme soon, but for now I say: I hope youll watch this. Its the first of a series of videos that match national-level rhetoric on an election-year issue with the city-by-city reality of these difficult questions. I hope you find this interestingand, well, moving, as we did in meeting the families you see here.

Again, think of the actual people you see in this video, as Deb and I cannot help doing, as you listen to the next build a wall speech.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
I voted

If you're like most registered American voters, you probably mailed a paper form to your local election office to make sure you were all set.

Maybe that was five years ago because you've been at the same address for a while. Or it maybe it was last week if you only learned of your state's deadline a little while ago.

But never mind when it happened, because it shouldn't have to be this way.

Voter registration should be automatic.

"The question you have to ask," says Whitney Quesenbery, co-director of the Center for Civic Design, "is why do we make citizens jump through hoops to become voters?"

While several US states have passed legislation to make voter registration automatic, only Oregon has put laws into place. Even some countries have taken the wisdom of automatic registration to heart, including Sweden and France, whose turnout rates in their most recent election were 82.6% and 71.2% respectively.

America's? Just 53.6%.

In Quesenbery's view, states already have access to so much of citizens' identifying information that local governments should be able to make registration the default.

That's how it works in Sweden. The Swedish Tax Administration is in charge of updating people's names, addresses, and marital statuses, and municipalities supply the details. Before an election, officials comb through that database and send proofs of registration to people in each district letting them know where and when to vote.

Oregon has a similar set-up, which Quesenbery says could set a good example for the rest of the 28 states currently considering automatic voter registration policies.

In Oregon, as long as you've had a "qualifying interaction," which the state defines as one that supplies your basic identification info, such as a trip to the DMV, you're registered.

A few weeks after that interaction, you get a postcard that reminds you of the registration. You have three choices at that point. You can either do nothing and stay registered; you can specify which party you belong to; or you can ask to opt out for any reason.

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It's simple and uses existing technology that every state government has access to, Quesenbery says. The challenge in getting automatic registration everywhere is that it also requires a culture shift.

"That takes some time," she says. "And as much as I want to see it all happen tomorrow, I think there's some value to each state being able to work through the issues and move there on their own."

The fact more than half the states already are embracing something that's brand-new reveals how good of an idea it is, Quesenbery adds.

"I think it's going to move very fast," she says, "because as a government leader how do you stand up and say, 'I want to do something that makes it harder for people to register to vote'?"

NOW WATCH: 'He never said that': New Clinton ad shows Trump contradicting Pence's VP debate denials





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Anna Kendrick looked like a boho Disney Princess at the Euro premiere of The Accountant

Its no secret weve had a crush on Anna Kendrick for a long time now. We not only love her acting, but she also seems so real. For instance, she loves the BBCs The Great British Bake Off and she also wrote a book  which comes out next month, and we cant wait. And, it goes without saying that we love her fashion sense, too, like the way she looked like a boho Disney Princess at the European premiere of The Accountant in London, England.

"The Accountant" - European Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals

Riiiiiiiight?!

Just look at all the detail.

"The Accountant" - European Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals

Of course, Kendrick has played a princess before, when she was Cinderella in Into the Woods.

Want the same lacey, princess-y look?

anna

Here are a few similar dresses we found.

This one also has the black accents.

Alexis Odette Off-The-Shoulder Lace Dress, $594.00

You can get it here.

Heres another type, a bit shorter, yet with longer sleeves.

You can get it here.

Heres yet another variation on the lace theme.

SheIn Womens Off The Shoulder Boho Ruffle Lace Maxi Dress, $28.42-$30.42

You can get it here.

If youre not an off-the-shoulder kind of person, you can still get a similar dress with just as much lace and glamour.

Desimpler Womens Elegant V-Neck Half Sleeve Empire See Through Lace Midi Dress, $26.99

You can get it here.

In any case, thank you, Anna Kendrick, for more #fashiongoals yet again.

The post Anna Kendrick looked like a boho Disney Princess at the Euro premiere of The Accountant appeared first on HelloGiggles.
The Daily Beast

STRINGER/ReutersVideo footage shows pedestrians attempting to sway an Indian suspension bridge in the moments before it catastrophically collapsed, leaving at least 141 people dead as of Monday.Rescuers expect the death toll to continue to rise after the bridge fell apart in the western state of Gujarat on Sunday. The majority of those killed were women, children, or elderly people, a local official told the BBC. Almost 180 people were successfully rescued, however, in an overnight operation inv
By Ian Chadband LONDON (Reuters) - Arsene Wenger failed to collect the one birthday present he really coveted as his Arsenal side missed a golden opportunity to open daylight on their rivals at the top of the Premier League on Saturday. Wenger had hoped to celebrate his 67th birthday with an eighth successive win in all competitions but the Gunners were frustrated in a goalless home draw with Middlesbrough. Tottenham Hotspur also spurned the chance to go top as they were held 0-0 by Bournemouth while maintaining their season's unbeaten Premier League record at Dean Court. The draws for the north London rivals meant Arsenal went top on 20 points, one clear of third-placed Tottenham and Manchester City, who started the day at the summit and could return to it on Sunday when they host Southampton. Liverpool also have the chance to go top when they entertain West Bromwich Albion in Saturday's late game. Champions Leicester City will be relieved to have now won more Premier League than Champions League points after translating their European form to their faltering domestic campaign with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. Ahmed Musa, Leicester's 16 million-pound ($19.6 million)summer signing, scored his first goal for the club and Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs struck after the break to stretch Leicester's unbeaten home run to 20 games. Everton's push towards the top of the table was halted rudely at Turf Moor where a 90th-minute winner from Scott Arfield gave Burnley a 2-1 win. Winston Reid struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to earn West Ham United all three points with a 1-0 victory over bottom club Sunderland, who are mired on just two points. They are three adrift of Swansea City, who came close to winning but ended up drawing 0-0 with Watford in manager Bob Bradley's first game in charge at the Liberty Stadium. ($1 = 0.8175 pounds) (Editing by Ed Osmond)
Barcelona's Picasso Museum unveiled an exhibition on "Cubism and War" on Thursday depicting how one of the most influential artistic styles of the 20th century survived World War I.

Born around 1907 with Picasso's ground-breaking painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", Cubism could have run out of steam during the conflict as the Spanish artist and others who had settled in Paris suffered shortages and destruction.

"The movement had hardly begun and it could have been cut off by the war but they kept it alive, they didn't let it get frozen and die," curator Christopher Green told AFP.

"And it's rather extraordinary with this catastrophe, this massacre happening so close."

With around 80 works from museums such as New York's MoMA, Paris's Georges Pompidou Centre or London's Tate Modern, the exhibition gives an overview of Cubist production between 1913 and 1919.

On show are artists such as Spain's Picasso and Juan Gris, Mexico's Diego Rivera or the French Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and Fernand Leger.

Braque and Leger were called up and experienced the war first hand, but the others also suffered the effects in Paris, not far from the frontline, with food and heating shortages.

But despite this, the exhibition radiates optimism with colourful and dynamic paintings -- the 1914-1918 war barely present.

"For them, making art was about construction, about building and the war was about destruction and about death," said Green.

"They realised that photography and film were actually depicting the war better than any painter could."

As such, the exhibition starts with photos of the war in a dimly-lit room.

But this soon gives way to works of art that centre on experimenting with space, textures and breaking objects and figures down in portraits and still lifes.

World War I, which killed more than 16 million people, reappears at the end with Gris's "Still Life on Plaque" which resembles a memorial to the victims, and three works by Braque, who was seriously wounded in combat.

"He never painted the war, he never touched it in his artwork, but somehow the war remained inside him," said Green.
Khartoum (AFP) - President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday accused Amnesty International of spreading "lies" that Sudanese government forces had used chemical weapons against civilians in war-torn Darfur.

Last month, Amnesty said in a report that Sudanese forces had carried out more than 30 suspected chemical weapons attacks in a mountainous area of Darfur that killed up to 250 people, including many children.

"In the past few days you have been following all the lies and allegations made by Amnesty International about use of chemical weapons," Bashir said in an address to workers of his National Congress Party.

"These are just empty lies," Bashir said in his first reaction to Amnesty's report.

The rights group accused Sudanese forces of "the repeated use" of suspected chemical weapons against civilians in Darfur's remote and thickly forested Jebel Marra area between January and September.

"Between 200 and 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents, with many or most being children," Amnesty said.

The nearly 100-page report contained gruesome photographs of children suffering from apparent chemical burns, satellite images of destroyed villages and displaced people, interviews with more than 200 survivors and analysis by chemical weapons experts.

Amnesty said the attacks were part of a military operation against the rebel Sudan Liberation Army - Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) group, which Khartoum accuses of ambushing military convoys and attacking civilians.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Jebel Marra since mid-January by fighting between the two sides, the United Nations says.

The UN has urged Sudan to shed light on Amnesty's claims, while the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has sought further evidence to push for a formal investigation.

Sudan is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency.

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At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since then, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies.

Sudan insists that the conflict in Darfur has ended, and that it wants UN peacekeepers who have been deployed in the region the size of France since 2007 to leave.
Benedict Cumberbatch's family is growing.

The Doctor Strange actor and his wife, Sophie Hunter, are expecting their second child, reports E! News. "Everyone is absolutely thrilled," his rep tells the news site.

Cumberbatch, 40, and Hunter, 38, welcomed their first child in June 2015. Hunter, a theater director, gave birth to their son, Christopher Carlton Cumberbatch, four months after the duo tied the knot on Valentine's Day on the Isle of Wight in England and a week before Father's Day.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The couple stepped out together on the red carpet Thursday evening for the Doctor Strange premiere in Los Angeles, where Cumberbatch dressed up in a velvet blazer and Hunter showed off her growing baby bump in a strapless black gown.

The actor's rep did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment.
Theres an old joke that goes something like this: In Soviet Russia, TV watches you. The third episode of the third season of Netflixs brilliant Black Mirror, entitled Shut Up and Dance, imagines a hellscape in which our phones and laptops are watching us, too.

What makes it more hellish is that its absolutely realistic.

As USA Today noted way back in 2013, its very possible for hackers to watch you through your webcam. So the scenario in Shut Up and Dance isnt far off.

Also Read: 'Black Mirror' Season 3 Trailer Teases Tech Horrors in Our Own Homes (Video)

In the episode, hackers capture a young man named Kenny (Alex Lawther) masturbating in what he thinks is the privacy of his bedroom, and then force him to carry out a series of ever-more-horrible tasks. (Because this is Black Mirror, theres a twist that will leave you feeling bad.)

Theres a reason Edward Snowden, as portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Oliver Stones Snowden, covered his computers camera with a Band-Aid. Edward Snowden knows hacking.

The U.S. Justice Departments website tells the true story of sextortionist Luis Mijangos, who prosecutors accused of spying on more than 200 women through their webcams, and blackmailing some of them.

Also Read: Why 'Black Mirror' Star Michael Kelly Won't Let His Daughter Have a Cellphone (Video)

Having searched victims infected computers for sexually explicit photos, or having made his own by turning on their webcams without their knowledge, Mijangos would then engage in psychological games with his victims, the department said. He threatened to publish intimate photos of his victims on social media websites such as Facebook and MySpace for the world to see if they did not give into his demands to send him videos or photos of sex acts.

This is one of the most gut-wrenching Black Mirror episodes, because it could take place in real life, today. You may want to stock up on Band-Aids.

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Related stories from TheWrap:

'Black Mirror' Creators Detail New Episodes: 'More Demented' Than 'Pokemon Go' Phenomenon

Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve to Star in Joe Wright-Directed 'Black Mirror' Episode

Mackenzie Davis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Star in 'Black Mirror' Episode for Netflix (Exclusive)
Warning: This interview contains major spoilers for the Black Mirror episode, Nosedive.

Are you already sick with social media anxiety about having to like, favorite, or rate all of your friends online posts? Just imagine if your very freedom depended on it. Thats the world imagined in Nosedive, the first episode in Black Mirrors third season, where citizens are required to rate each other on their everyday interactions. Drop below a certain average, and youre immediately yanked out of polite society. That forces everyone to be on their best behavior at all hours, pretending theyre living their best life when, secretly, theyd love to burn it all down.

The strain of maintaining a shiny, happy exterior weighs heavily on our heroine, Lacie (Bryce Dallas Howard), a 4.2 who longs to be in the 4.5 range. Having been invited by a friend (Alice Eve) she hasnt seen in years to be the maid of honor at her wedding, Lacie sets off on a cross-country journey that spirals out of control, causing her rating to well, nosedive. Written by Parks and Recreation collaborators, Rashida Jones and Mike Schur, and directed by esteemed British filmmaker Joe Wright, this is a screwball road comedy served up Black Mirror style. Speaking with Wright and Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Yahoo TV discussed some of the episodes biggest moments and keeping the extreme social media satire grounded in reality.

The humor in the episode begins on a relatively even keel and then gets increasingly outrageous as events unfold. How did you pace the arc of the comedy?

Bryce Dallas Howard: Nosedive is a social satire. In our own world, were tied to our phones and have so much social anxiety. So theres naturally some humor to that because were all so self-aware about our addictions to our phones, but we cant stop it. The way we can process those feelings and have perspective on them would be through satire.

Joe Wright: It was all in the script, so it felt like an instinctive process. We tried not to impose ourselves on the script or the world, and the comedy revealed itself to us. This world theyve created for themselves is a lovely surface that hides something a little more rotten.

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Howard: Something that surprised me was the vision that Joe had for this pastel, ice cream perfect world with succulence everywhere. He used a lot of peach and mint green colors, and seeing those in excess is absurd. Its a world I recognize from Pinterest, but its not a world Ive necessarily experienced. Its almost unsettling how lovely it is. Then you go into it and realize the world is that lovely because the circumstances are that dark.

Related: Charlie Brooker on Black Mirror Season 3: Im Not Trying to Moralize or Give Solutions

Nosedive was written by Rashida Jones and Mike Schur. Were they or Charlie Brooker on set during production?

Wright: Charlie gives you a lot of freedom. And the script was so good, I didnt feel like I needed to change it. Charlies just there to give counsel, although he is very obsessed by the technology. During the editing phase, he was talking about how the rating system should work and I was like, Thats a level of detail I didnt expect! Operating systems arent my forte, but hes into that stuff.

Howard: We did a read-through before shooting, and he was there via Skype in a very Black Mirror sort of way. The script never changed; on other projects, you get new pages every single day. It felt kind of like a play.

One of the key moments in Nosedive is Lacies encounter with a truck driver played by Cherry Jones. Its the first time shes encountered someone who has made the decision to abandon the ratings system and live off the grid, so to speak.

Howard: As humans, we dont always take advice about how difficult it is to change. I wish it were as easy as, Oh, theres a door that I need to go through. What I find instead is that its more like, Ill walk up to that door, give a knock and if no one answers, Ill walk away for a couple of years. It takes me a long time to open the door and walk through.

Howard: Cherry is one of my theater idols, and was in the first film I made, The Village. I hadnt seen her for several years, so its so meaningful for her to be doing this. She was a very grounding presence for that scene. Everything her character is saying is so true, but it takes courage to live that life. And Lacie doesnt learn. I relate to that  sometimes I feel like I should just get a flip phone again!

Related: Ken Tucker Reviews Black Mirror: Social Media Is Bad

The episode climaxes with Lacie having a full-on breakdown at her friends wedding. Its a scene thats both cringingly awkward and very funny.

Howard: My job only gets hard when things dont connect, and the writers and directors say, Oh, well fix that on the day. But here, you see how the sequences before it lead up to that last big scene. So shooting that climax just felt like fun.

Wright: The idea that Bryce and I shared was to play it for real, not comedy  to play the pathos and tender heartbreak of it. I love Lacie as a character, but I also want to bang her head against the wall and say, Wake up! She makes so many mistakes and is so wrong. She really loves her friend; theres a deep teenage love going on as well there.

The episode ends with Lacie locked away in prison, cussing out a man in another cell. Its another comic moment, but theres also a palpable sense of release and relief for her. Were often expected to suppress or push away anger, but maybe its an emotion that can help in certain circumstances.

Howard: Lacie lives in this world where the most important thing is to feel like you belong by being lovely all the time. So anger might be the first step towards reconnecting to yourself.

Wright: Theres a reason we have anger  its an entirely appropriate response to injustice in the world. But its important that we express it appropriately. That ending reminds me of the scene in Network when everyone shouts: Im as mad as hell, and Im not going to take it anymore!

Black Mirror is currently streaming on Netflix.
LONDON (Reuters) - Counter-terrorism police investigating the discovery of a "suspicious item" on a London train this week said they found another such device on Saturday when they searched a house in Devon, western England. The house and neighboring properties were evacuated and a 200-metre cordon thrown around the area while specialist officers investigated. On Thursday morning, the first device was found on a train at North Greenwich station, near the Canary Wharf financial district and close to the O2 music venue. Officers used a stun gun during the subsequent arrest in north London of a 19-year-old who was detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and remains in custody. London's Metropolitan Police said on Saturday they had gone to a house in Newton Abbot, Devon, as part of their inquiries into the Greenwich incident. "Whilst there, officers found an item they deemed suspicious," they added in a statement. "Officers evacuated the address and alerted Devon and Cornwall Police." They later confirmed the Devon device was "not viable." Police have not released details about the two items nor have they said whether the first, which was made safe by a controlled explosion, was a viable explosive device. Britain is on its second-highest alert level of "severe", meaning an attack is considered highly likely. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Andrew Roche and Adrian Croft)
LONDON (Reuters) - Counter-terrorism police investigating the discovery of a "suspicious item" on a London train this week said they found another such device on Saturday when they searched a house in Devon, western England. The house and neighbouring properties were evacuated and a 200-metre cordon thrown around the area while specialist officers investigated. On Thursday morning, the first device was found on a train at North Greenwich station, near the Canary Wharf financial district and close to the O2 music venue. Officers used a stun gun during the subsequent arrest in north London of a 19-year-old who was detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and remains in custody. London's Metropolitan Police said on Saturday they had gone to a house in Newton Abbot, Devon, as part of their inquiries into the Greenwich incident. "Whilst there, officers found an item they deemed suspicious," they added in a statement. "Officers evacuated the address and alerted Devon and Cornwall Police." They later confirmed the Devon device was "not viable." Police have not released details about the two items nor have they said whether the first, which was made safe by a controlled explosion, was a viable explosive device. Britain is on its second-highest alert level of "severe", meaning an attack is considered highly likely. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Andrew Roche and Adrian Croft)
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Security forces in Burkina Faso foiled a coup attempt planned for earlier this month by about 30 ex-members of the elite presidential guard, known as the RSP, Interior Minister Simon Compaore said on Friday. Compaore said the coup, which was scheduled to take place at midnight on Oct. 8, included a planned attack on the presidential residence, as well as on army barracks and a prison in the capital, Ouagadougou. "Investigators from the judicial police discovered the ongoing preparation of a vast conspiracy aimed to destabilise the institutions of the republic and the seizure of power by force of arms," he said. Security forces initially clashed with the coup leaders on Oct. 8, when four former RSP members were stopped by police as they returned from a "neighbouring country". Two were killed in the confrontation that ensued. Nineteen people have been arrested for trying to overthrow President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and his government. An investigation into the coup attempt is ongoing, Compaore said. The coup attempt - led by an ex-RSP member called Gaston Coulibaly, Compaore said - marks the latest threat to Burkina Faso's fragile security. In September last year, RSP soldiers loyal to a former president, Blaise Compaore - who is not related to the interior minister - mounted a six-day putsch attempt in which members of the cabinet were taken hostage. The RSP was a pillar of Compaore's rule before he was ousted by demonstrators in 2014 when he attempted to change the constitution to prolong his 27 years in office. (Reporting By Mathieu Bonkoungou and Nadoun Coulibaly, writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Joe Bavier, Larry King)
By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former California state Senator Ron Calderon was sentenced to more than three years in prison on Friday in a public corruption case in which the Democratic politician admitted to accepting about $100,000 in bribes, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

The sentence concluded the criminal case against a longtime lawmaker who once was one of the most influential figures in the California legislature.

Calderon, who represented the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, left office in 2014 after serving a dozen years in the state Senate and four in the Assembly.

A federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Calderon on Friday to 3-1/2 years in prison, Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said in an email. Calderon also will serve one year under supervision after he is released from prison, Mrozek said.

Calderon's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Calderon pleaded guilty in June to a single count of mail fraud, reaching a deal with prosecutors weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial on charges in a 24-count indictment.

He faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for mail fraud but prosecutors said they agreed under the terms of his plea agreement to seek a sentence of less than six years for the former lawmaker.

Calderon, 59, was one of three Democrats in the state Senate suspended over ethics charges in 2014, costing their party a two-thirds majority.

Prosecutors have said Calderon accepted $100,000 in bribes from the owner of a Long Beach hospital to preserve a legal loophole that allowed companies controlled by the owner to charge more for hardware used in spinal surgeries.

Calderon also was accused of taking bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as Hollywood executives in exchange for steering legislation in their favor.

His older brother, Tom Calderon, a former member of the state Assembly who became a political consultant, also was named in the indictment and pleaded guilty to a money-laundering charge for allowing bribes earmarked for his brother to be funneled through his firm.

Story continues

Tom Calderon was sentenced last month to six months in prison and six months in home confinement.

The Calderon brothers were members of a political dynasty going back decades in California before they were ensnared in the federal investigation.

Ron Calderon during his career played key roles on a number of committees, including chairing a state Senate committee on elections.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernard Orr and Richard Chang)
Abidjan (AFP) - The president of Ivory Coast insists it will heal a nation beset by violent turmoil, but as a referendum campaign for the nation's new draft constitution began Saturday, his opponents decried the text as dangerously anti-democratic.

Since the opposition has called for a boycott of the October 30 referendum, the draft basic law is almost certain to garner a majority "yes" vote.

The text is the brainchild of President Alassane Ouattara, who has said that it would "definitively turn the page on successive crises" in Ivory Coast.

"Yes to peace, to modernity," read the government's campaign posters.

But the clouds of tear gas deployed against protestors Thursday in Abidjan, where police briefly detained several opposition leaders, underlined the potential for tensions.

And Friday's suspension of two opposition newspapers, one for "spreading confusion... through false information," will have done little to calm fears among some.

"Just as the current constitution was against Ouattara, so this one is for Ouattara and his camp," explained political scientist Jean Alabro.

By Ouattara's telling, the new constitution would do away with the nationalistic concept of "Ivoiriete", which roughly translates as "Ivorian-ness".

In a country whose population, especially in the north, includes large numbers of people with roots in neighbouring states, the question of who is a "real Ivorian" has contributed to years of unrest, including a coup in 1999, a civil war in 2002 that split the country between its north and south, and a violent post-election crisis in 2011.

As a result of that latest bloodshed, former president Laurent Gbagbo is currently detained by the International Criminal Court in the Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.

- Key changes -

One of the key changes in the new text is the removal of a clause stipulating that presidential candidates must be born to parents both of whom are Ivorian citizens.

Story continues

In the past, this clause prevented Ouattara himself, because of his parental links to Burkina Faso, from running for the country's top office. (He eventually overcame this obstacle through a decree Gbagbo was pressured to sign by the international community.)

While the removal of that stipulation has been broadly welcomed, the opposition has criticised a requirement that presidential candidates be exclusively Ivorian, saying it would disqualify people of dual nationality.

The proposed constitution also calls for the creation of the post of vice president, who would be elected on the same ticket as successful presidential candidates.

For the government, this would ensure continuity in the event of a head of state's death or incapacity.

For the opposition, the change is a "monarchistic tactic" and the new office-holder would the president's stooge.

If the draft passes into law, the first vice president would be immediately appointed by Ouattara, a measure that has led to rumours he is already trying to set up a successor for when his current and final term ends in 2020.

The draft also establishes a new legislative chamber in the form of a senate, two-thirds of whose members would be elected, with the remaining third appointed by the head of state.

This presidential prerogative is one of the opposition's several gripes about the new chamber.

- Locked out -

More broadly, the opposition complains that it, and civil society, played no part in the drafting of the proposed constitution.

"As someone once said, 'why be happy to get dessert, when you weren't offered the main course?'," said the head of the Ivorian Popular Front, the opposition party founded by Gbagbo, explaining why he favoured a boycott of the referendum.

Ouattara "is treating Ivory Coast as if it were his personal property. What he is offering is less than a constitution. It is a will and testament designed to destribute his country to his successors so it stays in the family," he added.

Beyond the confines of Ivory Coast's political class, many citizens seem to have more pressing concerns, and turnout is expected to be low.

"All that stuff is nonsense," said Bamory Kone, an auto mechanic in the Adjame district of Abidjan.

"What we care about is the high cost of living, getting out of poverty. The rich get richer and the poor stay poor.

"The constitution won't change anything. I'm not going to vote," he said.
By Philip Blenkinsop and Alissa de Carbonnel

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Canada said on Saturday it was up to the European Union to save a free trade deal that could boost both economies but that cannot be signed as planned next week due to opposition from Belgium's French-speaking region.

The Walloon government was awaiting new proposals from the European Commission, according to a source close to Walloon premier Paul Magnette. They would need to be presented to the regional parliament, although no date had been set for this.

The EU is still hoping to find a solution before an EU-Canada summit set for Thursday, when the deal would be signed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set a deadline of Monday to decide whether to fly to Brussels, according to a source familiar with the matter. Magnette has previously said the summit should be delayed to allow more time to deliberate.

Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada was still ready to sign the pact and that negotiations on its fine points were over.

"We have done our job. We have finished negotiating a very good agreement. Now the ball is in Europe's court," she said after meeting Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, and before a flight home.

"I hope that I can return in the next days with my prime minister to sign the treaty as planned."

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic andTrade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent withoutbacking from its five sub-federal administrations. French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it.

Schulz, who is not directly involved in CETA talks but has good working ties with Freeland and who is centre-left like the Walloon government, also held an emergency meeting with Magnette in a bid to keep the deal alive.

"The door for every step forward is open but it's quite clear that the problems on the table are European problems," Schulz said.

"In my eyes, there are no problems that cannot be resolved."

Story continues

Freeland quit talks on Friday with chief Canadian and EU trade negotiators and Magnette, declaring reaching a deal with the EU was "impossible."

Magnette said on Saturday, however, his discussions with Canada were concluded and the remaining issues to be worked out were for the EU executive to address.

"We have still some little difficulties among Europeans," he said, without giving details. "We won't hide that so we still have to work and discuss for a certain amount of time."

The agreement would be the EU's first with a Group of Seven country. Supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada's by C$12 billion ($9 billion).

Wallonia is home to about 3.5 million people, less than 1percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect, but theEU's flagship trade project rests on the will of its government.

Walloons have concerns about the threat of surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics fear hands power to multinationals.

Once the core of the Belgian economy, Wallonia has seen coal mines shut and steel jobs disappear and distrusts globalisation. Just last month, Caterpillar announced plans to close a plant there, cutting some 2,000 jobs.

Many EU leaders suspect the local government in Namuris using its devolved powers to play domestic politics.

The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, theEU's 12th-largest trading partner.

If CETA fails, the EU's hopes of completing similar deals with the United States or Japan would be in tatters, undermining a bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave it and disputes over Europe's migration crisis.

($1 = 0.9189 euros)

($1 = 1.3328 Canadian dollars)

(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Editing by Ed Osmond and Adrian Croft)
By Philip Blenkinsop and Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Canada said on Saturday it was up to the European Union to save a free trade deal that could boost both economies but that cannot be signed as planned next week due to opposition from Belgium's French-speaking region. The Walloon government was awaiting new proposals from the European Commission, according to a source close to Walloon premier Paul Magnette. They would need to be presented to the regional parliament, although no date had been set for this. The EU is still hoping to find a solution before an EU-Canada summit set for Thursday, when the deal would be signed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set a deadline of Monday to decide whether to fly to Brussels, according to a source familiar with the matter. Magnette has previously said the summit should be delayed to allow more time to deliberate. Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada was still ready to sign the pact and that negotiations on its fine points were over. "We have done our job. We have finished negotiating a very good agreement. Now the ball is in Europe's court," she said after meeting Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, and before a flight home. "I hope that I can return in the next days with my prime minister to sign the treaty as planned." All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations. French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it. Schulz, who is not directly involved in CETA talks but has good working ties with Freeland and who is center-left like the Walloon government, also held an emergency meeting with Magnette in a bid to keep the deal alive. "The door for every step forward is open but it's quite clear that the problems on the table are European problems," Schulz said. "In my eyes, there are no problems that cannot be resolved." Freeland quit talks on Friday with chief Canadian and EU trade negotiators and Magnette, declaring reaching a deal with the EU was "impossible." Magnette said on Saturday, however, his discussions with Canada were concluded and the remaining issues to be worked out were for the EU executive to address. "We have still some little difficulties among Europeans," he said, without giving details. "We won't hide that so we still have to work and discuss for a certain amount of time." The agreement would be the EU's first with a Group of Seven country. Supporters say it would increase trade between the partners by 20 percent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada's by C$12 billion ($9 billion). Wallonia is home to about 3.5 million people, less than 1percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect, but the EU's flagship trade project rests on the will of its government. Walloons have concerns about the threat of surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics fear hands power to multinationals. Once the core of the Belgian economy, Wallonia has seen coal mines shut and steel jobs disappear and distrusts globalization. Just last month, Caterpillar announced plans to close a plant there, cutting some 2,000 jobs. Many EU leaders suspect the local government in Namuris using its devolved powers to play domestic politics. The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, the EU's 12th-largest trading partner. If CETA fails, the EU's hopes of completing similar deals with the United States or Japan would be in tatters, undermining a bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave it and disputes over Europe's migration crisis. ($1 = 0.9189 euros) ($1 = 1.3328 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Editing by Ed Osmond and Adrian Croft)
When the first ever car dealership opened its doors to the public in London on October 22, 1897, it was a revolutionary idea and one that meant consumers no longer had to travel to a manufacturer in person to inquire about buying a vehicle. However, in the 119 years since, while every other aspect of the automobile has moved on, the car showroom has remained resolutely in the past, until now.

It may seem that we're in the midst of the most exciting, innovative period of automotive history, but the fact is that with the exception of a few years in the 1970s and '80s, the car has been in a constant state of evolution.

"The Tesla Model S may seem like a great car," explains Doug Hill, Beaulieu's (the UK's national motor museum) Museum Manager and Chief Engineer. "But in terms of innovation look at the history from 1896 to 1906. In 1907 the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost arrived and in just that period, the development of the motorcar was absolutely phenomenal."

Indeed the difference between Karl Benz's original three-wheel car patented in 1886 and the Silver Ghost is like stepping out of a biplane and into a jet.

However, head to the closest car dealership and interactive displays notwithstanding, things are pretty much identical to when the world's first dealership opened its doors on October 22, 1897 - 119 years ago.

Even though digital is de rigueur, according to JD Power, by October 2015, only 39% of car companies in the US marketing had a website optimized for smartphones or tablets.

Marques have been quick to join social media but car buyers are turning to these networks not to click on like' but for advice and guidance on potential purchases and tips as to how to avoid dealing with commission-fueled sales assistants.

"Social media plays a large role in many consumers' lives, so it's not surprising that it's one of the tools they're using during the vehicle-shopping process," said Mike Battaglia, vice president, automotive retail at J.D. Power.

Story continues

Still car companies are finally moving with the times -- you can buy a Tesla or a BMW completely online and earlier this year a Nissan dealership in Spain made headlines for conducting the entire sales process via Twitter. But in terms of really changing the concept of the dealership so that it reflects modern times, it's Hyundai that has taken the first truly revolutionary steps.

Two years ago it opened its first Rocker Hyundai store in the UK and with it the world's first ever "omni-channel" dealership. Located in a shopping mall, visitors can go from browsing to part-exchanging their old car and owning a new one without ever speaking to a salesperson or even stepping foot in the store if they so wish.

The concept -- where everything is geared around the shopper, and where salespeople working on commission have been replaced by salaried assistants with strong retail backgrounds -- has been hugely successful. In the first 12 months the first store received 163,000 physical visitors and sold enough cars to put it in the company's dealer top 10. Two years and five industry awards later there are now three Rocker Hyundai stores all located in UK shopping precincts.
The French luxury label is celebrating Holiday 2016 with a prestigious and highly limited edition of its latest fragrance, N5 L'Eau, the most recent interpretation of its legendary scent. This special edition is due out November 4 and will be available by reservation only.

Fall 2016 saw the French fashion house out a fresh take on its iconic N5 fragrance. The scent was developed by perfumer Olivier Polge and is fronted by Lily-Rose Depp, a Chanel brand ambassador.

The purest and freshest expression of the classic N5, this new version is to get an exceptional bespoke bottle for the holiday season.

The 900ml size sets the tone for this special edition, which is sure to catch the eye of collectors and aficionados of prestige perfumes. And the bottle's design is equally impressive. Made entirely from crystal and cut like a diamond, the bottle is sealed with a special skin to preserve the perfume it contains.

The clean, classic lines of the original bottle remain unchanged and the names of the fragrance and its maker stand out on a white label. The bottle is finished with a faceted cap and comes in a white aniline lambskin box.

Only 15 numbered editions of this exceptional 900ml version are set to go on sale from November 4 and must be reserved directly with Chanel.

Price: 8,500 (approx. $9,250).
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Clashes and air strikes shook the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, leaving three civilians dead as heavy fighting resumed after the end of a three-day ceasefire declared by government ally Russia.

The unilateral ceasefire ended without any evacuations by the UN, which had hoped to bring wounded civilians out of the rebel-held east and deliver aid after weeks of government bombardment and a three-month siege.

An AFP correspondent in the east of the city reported fresh air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods and the sound of fighting on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said strikes and artillery fire hit eastern districts after heavy clashes overnight along the front line dividing the city's government-held west from the east.

The Britain-based Observatory said at least three civilians including a woman and a child were killed in rocket strikes targeting a rebel-held area, warning that with several people wounded the death toll could rise.

Late on Saturday the Observatory reported the first air strikes since Moscow announced a temporary halt in the Syrian army's Russian-backed offensive to recapture the east of the city.

It said at least three people were wounded in artillery fire on the east, while rebels fired a barrage of rockets and mortar rounds into a government-held neighbourhood.

Government forces and allied fighters, meanwhile, had advanced on the southern outskirts of Aleppo, the Observatory said on Sunday, seizing territory overlooking rebel-held areas.

- UN evacuation plan fails -

The ceasefire had been intended to allow civilians and rebels to leave the east.

The army opened eight evacuation corridors, but only a handful of civilians were reported to have crossed through a single passage.

Russian officials and Syrian state media accused rebels of preventing people from leaving and using civilians as "human shields".

Nearly 500 people have been killed and more then 2,000 wounded since the Syrian army launched an operation to recapture eastern Aleppo on September 22.

Story continues

The United Nations had hoped to use the "humanitarian pause" to evacuate seriously wounded people and possibly deliver aid.

But a UN official said on Saturday that security guarantees had once again not been received.

No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned food rations will run out by the end of the month.

The UN had asked Moscow to consider extending the pause until Monday evening, but there was no indication from Russia that it would.

Russia is a key ally of Syria's government and began a military intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September last year.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview aired on Saturday that the intervention was meant to "liberate" Syria and keep Assad in power.

"Either Assad is in Damascus, or Al-Nusra is," he said, referring to Fateh al-Sham's name before it broke with Al-Qaeda. "There is no third option here."

- US slams regime 'defiance' -

Elsewhere, at least two people were wounded on Sunday when a bomb strapped to a motorbike exploded in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, the Observatory said.

The blast in a Kurdish-controlled district is one of a series to have hit the city, most of which were claimed by the Islamic State group.

More than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria and more than half of the country's population displaced since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday urged the international community to "do everything" to end the "massacre" in Aleppo and resume efforts to reach a political agreement.

Ayrault also reiterated a demand for a UN Security Council resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and "sanctions" against the perpetrators, after UN experts said the army was responsible for a chemical weapons attack in March 2015.

On Saturday, the White House condemned the Syrian regime's "defiance" of international law after a UN panel attributed a third chemical weapons attack to government forces.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime's defiance of the longstanding global norm against chemical weapons use," said US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price.
marijuana farmer grower

Support for weed legalization in the US recently hit an all-time high, but looking at the industry, it's been a long time coming.

Sixty-percent of Americans  up from 35% in 2005  now support legalization, according to a Gallup poll from Wednesday.

In addition, legal marijuana is on the ballot in five states in November, support among likely voters is well above 50% in in California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada. Arizona, the fifth state with recreational marijuana appearing on the ballot, is polling at around 50% in support of legalizing.

Pro-legalization voices are now coming from some so many diverse places  including the financial industry, law enforcement officers, and traditional activists  it's no wonder a majority of Americans want legal access.



'Tipping point'

California is particularly important because of the massive size of its economy. The state's economic output came in at $2.46 trillion in 2015, reports Business Insider's Ben Gilbert.

If California were it's own country, it's economy would be the sixth-largest in the world, based on GDP. The state presents a massive opportunity for the marijuana industry  and could affect the rest of the country's attitude.

"We see California following the lead of Colorado and other states as a tipping point that will lead to the end of this incredibly destructive prohibition nationwide, and eventually globally," David Bienenstock, the head of content for High Times, a California-based marijuana publication, told Business Insider in an email.

Tom Angell, an activist with Marijuana Majority, a pro-legalization group, agrees.



"The topline number [in the Gallup poll] obviously bodes well for the marijuana measures on state ballots next month," Angell told Business Insider in an email. "But what gives me even more hope are the demographic breakdowns showing just how strongly young people support ending prohibition."

While support for legal marijuana remains slightly lower for the 55-plus crowd, 77% of poll respondents in the millennial demographic  aged 18-34  are in favor of legalization.

Story continues

Even former and current police officers, who've seen the devastating effects of the drug war on the communities they serve, are calling for marijuana legalization.

"The Nancy Reagan era of 'just say no' doesn't solve the problem," Former detective and deputy sheriff Nick Morrow, and an advocate with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), told Business Insider. "For a five-year-old, that may work. But for a 25-year-old, that's not right."

marijuana trimming trim trimmigrants

LEAP is playing a "supporting role," along with the Drug Policy Alliance, to pass the Adult Use of Marijuana Act in California.

"We want responsible drug policy, we want legalization," Morrow said. "If you're going to criminalize something have a really solid, science-based reason for doing it. Gut reactions don't solve problems."

While statistics are hard to come by for exactly how many police officers support marijuana legalization, it's more than just LEAP.

"The war on drugs was a failure, I should know as I once led it," Steve Downing, a former LAPD deputy chief, told The LA Times. "Our policies have done more harm to people and community than marijuana. We demonize people. We unnecessarily criminalized people."

'Massive cultural shift'

Sensing a massive opportunity, financial executives are moving rapidly into the nascent marijuana industry. It's a sign that a once-maligned plant could now potentially be a multi-billion dollar industry.

A report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation in May found that legalizing weed could generate up to $28 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue  about the same as the GDP of North Korea.

"The overall landscape will have reached a point of critical mass, and the cannabis industry will be too big to ignore," Al Foreman, a partner at Tuatara Capital, an alternative investment manager specifically focused on the marijuana industry, previously told Business Insider.

marijuana cannabis pot weed

And, like any burgeoning sector, a number of companies that provide a layer of software services to more traditional dispensaries and cultivators are moving into the space as well.

Joel Milton, the CEO of Colorado-based Baker, a software tool that helps marijuana dispensaries better engage customers, told Business Insider that California's "poised," to pass recreational marijuana in November.

Milton thinks that legalizing marijuana will give the industry some much-needed maturity in its what may be the biggest market.

"Having some level of regulation makes for a normalized market," Milton said. "And obviously that opens up the market to a whole slew of people who didn't want to go through the process of a medical card."

But, Milton says that until "cannabis is legalized on a federal level," issues around marijuana businesses accessing banks and opening lines of credit will remain.

"California might be the 'tipping point,' but it alone won't change public and investor sentiment around the cannabis industry," Milton said. "But it may well be a catalyst toward it."

"Its more clear than ever that legalization is the future," Angell, from Marijuana Majority, said.

marijuana cannabis weed

Despite growing support across the spectrum, there's still some pushback from activist groups on the other side of the coin  that want to keep marijuana illegal and off the market.

Kevin Sabet, a founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-marijuana legalization group, told Business Insider in an email that marijuana legalization initiatives are all about profits.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana, based in Washington, D.C., is one of the leading anti-legalization groups in the country.

"These initiatives are all about addiction for profit," Sabet wrote. "They pack regulatory boards with industry representatives. They allow for unfettered sales of high THC pot candies, almost unlimited advertising, and many allow for pot bars."

"So it's clear that this is about an industry getting rich," Sabet wrote.

However, Colorado legislators  where weed is already legal  have created new regulations to rein in the sale of candies that contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

NOW WATCH: The 'Mrs. Doubtfire' house is on sale for $4.45 million  heres what it looks like 23 years later





More From Business Insider


By Girish Gupta and Julia Symmes Cobb BOGOTA/CARACAS (Reuters) - Colombia's Avianca airline will restart flights to Venezuela after one of its aircraft was approached by at least one Venezuelan warplane on Friday, creating a diplomatic incident and prompting the airline to cancel flights to and from the socialist country. Avianca said it would resume flights on Sunday, after cancelling transport to Venezuela when a passenger jet flying from Madrid to Bogota was briefly approached by Venezuelan military aircraft on Friday evening, resulting in diplomatic conversations and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordering an investigation. "After clarifications between the governments of Colombia and Venezuela about the incident registered last night in Venezuelan skies with an Avianca plane, the Colombian civil aviation authority has authorized the restart of operations to and from Venezuela," Avianca said in a statement on Saturday evening. The South American neighbors have for years had a volatile relationship, with Venezuela's socialist government sometimes accusing Colombia of provocation, and claims in the other direction that Caracas has supported Colombian guerrillas. The two countries' lengthy border is a constant source of tension. Data from online tracker FlightRadar24 showed Avianca's flights were avoiding Venezuela on Saturday and a source from the company confirmed to Reuters that flights to Venezuela had been canceled. Flight data also showed the Avianca Boeing Dreamliner took a sharp turn when flying over west Venezuela around 2000 local time (2000 EST/0000 GMT) on Friday, in line with a statement about the incident released by the Colombian defense ministry. Both nations' defense and foreign ministers discussed the plane incident, the statement said. It said Maduro "personally ordered the investigation into the case." "The ministers have spoken and cleared it all up, everything is normal," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said during a visit to cacao growers on Saturday afternoon. "There's no need to worry." Venezuelan authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Colombian statement cited Venezuelan authorities as saying its warplane was on a "navigation mission." (Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Nelson Bocanegra and Monica Garcia in Bogota and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Mary Milliken)
By Mohammed Ghobari and Katie Paul SANAA/NAJRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen accused each other of violating a ceasefire on Saturday as the United Nations tried to extend the three-day truce. The ceasefire, due to end at midnight local time on Saturday, is aimed at paving the way for talks to end a 19-month war in the Arab world's poorest country and allowing badly needed aid to be delivered. Ground fighting has raged largely unabated despite the truce, but air attacks on the capital, Sanaa, have stopped and there were fewer Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, residents and local officials said. A Saudi-led coalition backing the exiled government accused the Houthis of violating the ceasefire almost 1,000 times in the last 24 hours by launching mortar and armed attacks along Yemen's border with the kingdom and in several Yemeni provinces. General Ahmed al-Asseri, commander of the Saudi 4th Brigade on the border in Najran, told Reuters his forces were repelling a sustained Houthi ground attack. "The violation of the truce was not from our side. It was from the other side. We are continuing to thwart them," Asseri said. "In the last 48 hours there was an enormous push by the enemy against our territory." Houthi-run channel al-Masira said its forces had attacked Saudi positions in Najran on Friday and launched rockets into the neighboring Saudi province of Jizan. The network said Houthi fighters had repelled government advances backed up by Saudi-led air strikes toward the capital Sanaa from several directions. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the exiled vice president and a powerful military leader, said after a meeting with the U.N. special envoy to Yemen in Riyadh late on Friday that his government sought peace but would respond to Houthi attacks. "The legitimate government remains committed to restraint in recognition of the efforts of U.N. and for the sake of achieving the peace which has been rejected by the coup militias," Ahmar said in a statement on his official Facebook page. Ahmar said U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed had asked for the truce to be extended for another 72 hours, and government sources told Reuters foreign diplomats were lobbying both sides to prolong the ceasefire. The Houthis have also called for a negotiated solution to the conflict but were yet to agree on a truce extension. (Writing by Noah Browning; editing by Andrew Roche)
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Lauren and Corey Rexroad spend a lot of time at Target. So much time, in fact, that it seemed like the perfect place for a first anniversary photo shoot.

So to Target they went. And the photos, taken by Callie Lindsey, recreate the Rexroad's original wedding shoot  a bright, romantic outdoor session.

SEE ALSO: Bridal party executes a Beyonce-worthy dance at wedding

Image: callie lindsey

Except these were taken at Target, which is romantic in its own way, you know?

So why Target? Lauren told ABC News that since there is "not a lot to do" in their hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia, they've spent a lot of time at the store since their marriage, especially as they've been decorating their first home together.

"There is a big hill and on top of that hill is Target," she said.

Target, for its part, seemed to welcome the couple with open arms, sharing a photo on its Twitter page after Lindsey posted it to Instagram earlier this week.

Check out more photos from this bulls-eye shoot below.

Image: callie lindsey

Image: callie lindsey

Image: callie lindsey

Image: callie lindsey
When youre forced to say, I dont speak for Jews, in the middle of your interview with a former MLB pitcher, you can be certain that things have entered weird territory. Thats what happened Friday when Jake Tapper spoke with possible 2018 U.S. Senate candidate from Massachusetts Curt Schilling. The former pitcher is rumbling about taking on current Senator Elizabeth Warren for her seat, but first hes making the media rounds and supporting current GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Schillings appearance on The Lead with Jake Tapper seemed to be aimed at discussing his possible run, his support of Donald Trump, his desire to share memes that many would call racist and offensive, and how he plans to take what is traditionally considered a blue state. And while it is troubling that Schilling would use the old, retweets are not endorsements tactic in reference to those memes, the real problem comes when the former player decides to turn the discussion to Jewish people and Tappers own Jewish background:

I dont understand  and this is, maybe this is the amateur, non-politician in me  I dont understand how people of Jewish faith can back the Democratic Party, Schilling said, which over the last 50 years has been so clearly anti-Israel, so clearly anti-Jewish Israel. I dont know what else would need to be done, said or happen for people to understand that they dont  the Democratic Party is alive for Israel only because we have agreements in place to make them have to be.

Thats where Tapper comes in with the I dont speak for Jews line, continuing on to say that most Jewish people likely support the Democratic party due to their stance on social issues, but none of it really saves Schilling. Its not his worst media appearance in recent weeks, especially with his defense of Trumps underage comments, but the rambling nature and comments dont speak well for his political aspirations.

(Via CNN / Death And Taxes)
By Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech President Milos Zeman has denied that his decision not to award a medal to a Holocaust survivor was because the man's nephew, a Czech government minister, had angered China by meeting the Dalai Lama. Culture Minister Daniel Herman met the exiled Tibetan leader this week against the wishes of Beijing and Zeman, who has strongly pushed for a closer economic relationship with China. The drive for Chinese investment has met opposition in a country whose post-communist policies strongly promoted human rights. Once a dissident and then president, the late Vaclav Havel was a friend of the Tibetan Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. President Zeman acknowledged that plans to award a state medal to George Brady, 88, had been dropped, Finance Minister Andrej Babis was quoted as saying on Saturday. But Zeman denied the change of plan had anything to do with Brady's nephew, Culture Minister Daniel Herman, meeting the Dalai Lama. "Mr President says it has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama, but he confirms that he had asked Mr.Herman not to meet Mr.Dalai Lama," Babis was quoted by www.idnes.cz news website as saying. Herman's uncle Brady had been listed to receive the honor for his lifelong campaign for Holocaust remembrance at an annual celebration at Prague Castle, the seat of the president, next Friday on Czech state day. Brady survived Nazi persecution, including the death camp at Auschwitz in Poland, where his sister and parents perished. "My uncle informed me he had been contacted by the president's office with information that his award was being prepared. Now there is news that this has been postponed for this year," Herman told Reuters. Asked if he was given an ultimatum not to meet the Dalai Lama in connection with the award, he said: "Yes." "The president directly told me that if I meet the Dalai Lama, my uncle will be taken out of the list (for awards), and that is what happened," Herman told Czech public television. He said the conversation took place in front of witnesses at a banquet in Prague. A spokesman for Zeman said on Friday the president had completed the list of nominees "some time ago", and had not subsequently dropped anyone. The office never releases the names of the recipients of the state medals before the traditional ceremony. George Brady moved to Canada after the war. In 2000, a suitcase with his sister Hana's name surfaced in a Tokyo Holocaust Museum, whose director discovered her relation to George. Hana's suitcase later inspired a book, theater play and a film. (Editing by Richard Balmforth and G Crosse)
(BAGHDAD)  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq on Saturday to meet with his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from ISIS militants.

His visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight. The trip also follows meetings that Carter held with Turkish leaders on Friday, when he announced an agreement in principle for Turkey to play a role in the Mosul battle, and that friction between Turkey and Iraq can be worked out.

Carter, who already has been to Iraq twice this year, has overseen the steady increase in the number of U.S. forces deployed to the fight and the growth of Americas effort to train and advise Iraqi troops. In his two earlier visits, Carter announced White House decisions to increase the U.S. troop level there. There were no expectations he would do that again.

Instead, he planned to meet with Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight was going and whether any changes, increased resources or other assistance were needed.

Carters meetings in Turkey were a sign of moves to ease tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. That divide has grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape.

Some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. The Iraqi government says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Turkey has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.

The U.S. service member killed this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against IS in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.

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U.S. military officials said a fire at a sulfur plant in northern Iraq set by IS on Thursday was creating a potential breathing hazard for American forces and other troops at a logistical base south of Mosul.

Two officials said that while the fire was set two days ago in Mishraq, the winds shifted Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field. The base is being used by troops as a staging area for the Mosul operation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks, and that air samples were sent to the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency for analysis. Officials estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.

U.S. defense and military officials have said that while the offensive has started well, they expect the complex fight for the city to get more difficult. They said they will be watching to see how aggressively the militants fight and whether more leaders flee the city.

In what officials thought was an attempted diversion from the Mosul fight, IS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people.

Carter was expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials.

A U.S. military officer said IS had set up a multilayered defense in and around Mosul. The outer rings of this defense are what the U.S. military calls disruption zones, where IS fighters are expected to counter the Iraqi advance through the use of mortars and rockets, suicide bombers, road obstacles and car bombs.

The official said the U.S. does not expect this to include high-intensity force-on-force combat in these outer rings. The expected IS focus will be on disrupting and delaying the Iraqi advance rather than trying to hold ground outside the city. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 IS fighters in the Mosul area, but some leaders probably have fled. A key factor will be how long those midlevel commanders stay or whether they decide to leave.

The U.S. is uncertain how hard IS will defend Mosul. But once the fighting gets to the center of the city, IS will have certain advantages that are more favorable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more U.S. forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

____

Associated Press National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
Donald Trump.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday kicked off a speech about his plan for his first 100 days as president by announcing intentions to sue every woman who has come forward and accused him of sexual misconduct over the past several weeks.

"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over," Trump said in a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

At least 10 women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump over the past several weeks. Trump has vehemently denied the allegations, which have come in the wake of the release of an explosive video that featured Trump boasting to television personality Billy Bush about groping women and kissing them without their consent.

The remarks came as Trump's campaign continues to reel from the fallout of the tape's release. The speech Saturday came as part of an attempt to rejigger the campaign in the election's final 17 days.

GETTYSBURG, Pa.  Trump addresses the women accusing him of sexual assault: all of these liars will be sued after the election is over pic.twitter.com/NYGUV1xuIF  Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 22, 2016

The majority of Trump's speech focused on his planned policies toward illegal immigration, crime, trade, the Supreme Court, and more. On his first day in office, he said, he would move to nominate a justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia, withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, suspend immigration from "terror-prone" countries, and more. He also proposed a "contract with the American voter" in an attempt to root out corruption in the federal government.

Trump also vowed, as part of an "end illegal immigration act," to build a wall along the US-Mexico border with the "full understanding" that Mexico "will be reimbursing" the US. In the past, Trump has said the US neighbor would pay for such a wall in full.

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"If we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people," Trump said.

Polls show Trump with significant hurdles to climb in the election's final two-plus weeks. The RealClearPolitics average of recent national surveys puts him down 5.3 points to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

NOW WATCH: 'America has lost': The Philippines president just announced that he's allying with China, wants to talk to Putin





More From Business Insider


While laying out plans for what he hopes would be his first 100 days in the White House, GOP nominee Donald Trump said he would not approve AT&Ts proposed $80+ billion acquisition of Time Warner. Claiming that deals like this destroy democracy, Trump also said he was opposed to the Comcast/NBC Universal merger.

Deadline analyzed the AT&T deal yesterday. Would a deal kick off a massive consolidation wave?, wrote David Lieberman. Tech and telco companies have lots of cash to move, if they want. (U.S. limits on foreign ownership of broadcasting would keep overseas powers from buying most Big Media companies, which include major over-the-air station groups.) But its hard to see targets that would match Time Warner.

In addition to his new comments, Trumps drain the swamp speech today recapped his recent charges that the election is rigged, that Hillary Clinton was unfit to run for president and his denial of the sexual charges brought against him by at least 10 women. In fact, he threatened litigation against the women after the election.

Trump also proposed, among other things, Congressional term limits, reduction of federal regulations, lobbying restrictions, dropping out of various U.N. climate change initiatives, and canceling unconstitutional executive orders signed by President Obama.

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John Oliver Offers Donald Trump His Emmy If Candidate Will Accept Election Results

AT&T And Time Warner Campaign For Their Merger And Fill In Details

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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
Alaga Dore (Ethiopia) (AFP) - When protesters torched a nearby Dutch-run farm in Ethiopia's Oromia region, Marc Driessen watched anxiously as smoke billowed above the horizon, fearing his own business would meet the same fate.

"I was really terribly scared because I saw AfricaJuice burning from our farm and we were getting noise from people that most likely our farm would be next," he told AFP from his flower farm, Maranque, which boasts recently installed solar panels worth 600,000 euros ($650,000).

The farm, some 125 kilometres (77 miles) south of Addis Ababa, is at the heart of the restive Oromia region where anti-government anger erupted into violence after at least 55 people died in a stampede at a religious festival on October 2.

An employee of Maranque was among those killed in the disaster. The stampede was blamed on police who fired tear gas at Oromo demonstrators, who are waging an unprecedented protest movement against the authoritarian Ethiopian government.

After nearly a year of protests demonstrators turned their anger to foreign investors who they blame for occupying land appropriated by the government.

Not long after AfricaJuice, a Dutch fruit farm, went up in flames, hundreds of protesters brandishing sticks, rocks and a few guns gathered in front of Maranque.

It was a group of elders from the nearby village who rushed to the farm on their scooters, who saved the day.

"We put ourselves in front of the protesters and we told them 'Maranque is our property, do not burn it. Burning this farm will not change the government. You'll kill us rather than destroying this farm'. And our youngsters backed away," said community elder Shumi Telila.

More than 800 residents of the village of Alaga Dore work at the farm.

- 'It was like a war' -

The spike in violence after the stampede, during which government buildings and more than a dozen foreign companies were targeted, prompted authorities to declare a six-month state of emergency for the first time since the fall of communist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991.

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"It was like a war," said Abraham Negussie, an employee at AfricaJuice, describing an attack by thousands of men, some armed with Kalashnikov rifles, according to witnesses.

"Protesters say we dont want to hurt the people, only to destroy this property completely," he added.

The attack left a trail of destruction with warehouses destroyed and vehicles and equipment burned.

Outside the farm several tonnes of passion fruit now lie rotting in the sun as they can no longer be processed into juice destined for Europe.

Calm has returned since the strict state of emergency was put in place, with the government reporting over 1,500 people have been arrested.

Large rocks used by protesters as barricades still line the road, which is now patrolled by numerous soldiers.

The unrest began in November in the central Oromia region then spread to Amhara in the north.

Together, the Oromo and Amhara people make up 60 percent of the population. The protesters accuse the country's leaders, who largely hail from the northern Tigray region, of monopolising power.

- 'It will affect investors' -

International rights groups estimate at least 500 demonstrators have been killed in a bloody crackdown on protests over the past 10 months.

The violence in Ethiopia poses a threat to its reputation as an oasis of relative political stability and its double-digit growth, which make it a magnet for foreign investment.

Driessen, who has been in Ethiopia for 12 years, is convinced that carefully nurtured ties to the local community helped protect his farm, where chrysanthemums, dahlias and lavender grow in greenhouses.

"We built a water line in the village, we put a cement floor in the school, we fixed their electricity generator... we need to do what we can to help the people surrounding us," he told AFP.

Driessen said he was drawn to the Horn of Africa nation by its low production costs and the ideal climate of the Rift Valley. His company has invested 10 million euros in Ethiopia.

"It will affect new investors dramatically," he said of the recent violence.
QUITO (Reuters) - A local judge in Ecuador on Friday ordered preventive prison for a former oil minister on grounds of bribery amid an investigation into a $12 million corruption scandal in the Andean country's state oil company. Ecuador's public prosecutor's office has accused Carlos Pareja, an ally of President Rafael Correa, of receiving $1 million dollars for allegedly helping companies get contracts with Petroecuador. Sixteen other people have been accused in the ongoing case. Reuters was not immediately able to contact Pareja, who Ecuador's public prosecutor has said left the country on Sept. 28. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Mary Milliken)
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The role of Armenian media, particularly the role of ARMENPRESS News Agency is highly appreciated in Stepanakert in presenting Nagorno Karabakh.

In an interview to ARMENPRESS, David Babayan  Spokesman of the Nagorno Karabakh President, said Armenian media have a great role in terms of bringing the global spotlight on the achievements and current issues of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to him, it is very important for professional and patriotic media to be present in the field, which will provide both the unity of Pan-Armenian media sphere, and will reveal the adversarys propaganda tricks. In this context ARMENPRESS has its unique and invaluable place. We express our gratitude to ARMENPRESS for its patriotic service, Babayan said.

Vahram Poghosyan  Executive Director of ARTSAKHPRESS  says the role of ARMENPRESS in presenting Nagorno Karabakh is very important. According to him ARMENPRESS has covered Nagorno Karabakh not only in independence years, but also during the movement.

During Soviet years, when information was strictly limited, especially in terms of Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPRESS was the only media agency to spread objective information about Nagorno Karabakh, both inside and outside the Soviet Union. ARMENPRESS has always focused on matters concerning Nagorno Karabakh and continues to do so, Poghosyan said.

He added that other Armenian agencies must also have their important role in this issue. After the Soviet period, when the independence period began, Nagorno Karabakh was cut from the Fatherland and the Diaspora. The role of Armenian news agencies was very big in terms of ensuring that connection. Nevertheless, I think our media agencies still have a lot to do. During important festive days or commemorative events we work uncoordinated, separately. In my opinion, some kind of a journalistic agency must be established, which will maintain contact with media agencies of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and the Diaspora during those days, in order to carry out the coordination. I think that during the Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists, which launched in Yerevan and continues in Nagorno Karabakh, these matters will be focused on, Poghosyan said

Vardan Hakobyan - President of the Writers Union of Nagorno Karabakh underscores that independence is the greatest achievement of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, and the role of Armenian media is very big in strengthening this independence. In terms of presenting Nagorno Karabakh to the international community, Hakobyan attaches importance especially to the activities of ARMENPRESS.

I see, that ARMENPRESS has achieved a very high level and inspires trust not only to me, but also to the public. I try to confirm any reports through ARMENPRESS, be it arts, culture, or social-economic and political issues. Why do I attach importance to this, because the media field is very diverse today, and there are media agencies which publish biased and venal materials, however I find it normal, since this practice has always been there and will remain. But the most important is that we are able to get reliable and objective information from ARMENPRESS, Hakobyan said.

Aram Ananyan  Director of ARMENPRESS News Agency - says that comprehensively covering the developments of Nagorno Karabakh is very important for ARMENPRESS. We consider it an extremely important part of our mission. And it is joyous that we were able to have our contribution for the formation and establishment of the independent news agency of Nagorno Karabakh  ARTSAKHPRESS. We stood by and will continue standing by the sides of our journalist colleagues of Nagorno Karabakh and we will do everything possible to present the developments of Nagorno Karabakh even more thoroughly, Ananyan said.

In this context, Aram Ananyan attaches great importance to the fact that the Pan-Armenian Forum of Journalists  which was launched in Yerevan on October 20  is also being held in Stepanakert, which gives wide opportunities for mutual cooperation.
By Harry Pearl SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australia court overturned on Saturday government approval of a A$130 million fuel depot and port at Port Melville, off the countrys north coast, handing a major victory to environmental activists. The facility, being developed by a unit of Singapore-based AusGroup, includes a 30-million-litre oil depot on Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, 120 km (75 miles) north of Darwin, the capital of Northern Territory. Justice Richard White ruled in favor of the Environment Centre Northern Territory, a non-profit group that challenged a decision by former environment minister Greg Hunt to approve the project without an environmental impact statement, the court said. "The right outcome has prevailed here. This development in my opinion should never have been built without an environmental assessment, much less allowed to operate," said lawyer David Morris, who represented Environment Centre Northern Territory. The matter has been referred to environment minister Josh Frydenberg, who will decide if a full environmental impact assessment is necessary. The minister and the Federal Department of the Environment did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Drew English, convener of the Environment Centre Northern Territory, welcomed the ruling. "This type of large scale development is exactly why we have environmental assessment processes, particularly when you consider the location of this supply base, English said in a statement. The Tiwi Islands are part of a nationally recognized region of important bio-diversity and are home to dozens of species of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles. The port received its first vessel late last year, facilitating the export of woodchips from the Tiwi Islands. The fuel depot, which has been awaiting the court decision, has not gone into operation. AusGroup was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Eric B. & Rakim will reunite for the first time in 24 years when the legendary hip-hop duo embark on a 2017 tour, their rep, Louis "Uncle Louie" Gregory, confirmed to Rolling Stone Saturday. "Back by popular demand," Eric B. adds.

In addition to the tour, Gregory says the duo will look to remaster all four of their albums alongside filming new videos for classic tracks like "I Ain't No Joke" and "Paid in Full." While there are currently no plans to record new material, Gregory says the legendary group is taking it one step at a time.



"All too often we embrace our icons only after it's too late," Gregory tells Rolling Stone. "By having such an important group come together now, it's an opportunity for parents and their kids to go to a show together and see music that created the foundation for what many of today's artists were built upon."



The genesis of the reunion happened around May or June at a Newark, New Jersey event that both musicians coincidentally attended. It was the first time the duo was in the same place for years. "They just started talking and organically reconnecting over time and realizing that they needed to do this," Gregory says.



The surprise announcement seeped out earlier this week when the verified Eric B. & Rakim Twitter teased, "It's official. You heard it here first. We are back."

On Saturday morning, the Twitter feed brought news of the reunion tour, with the duo tweeting "Preparations are under way for #EricBandRakim's return. It's been a long time..." and asking where the Eric B. & Rakim tour should "jump off"; New York, Las Vegas, London and Australia were the options provided.

Gregory said that the current plan is a worldwide tour to start next year, though he adds, "I wouldn't count out seeing something in December, but nothing is locked in." He admits it's too early to ascertain venue sizes, but the duo are looking into playing select festivals as part of the tour.

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Eric B. & Rakim recorded four classic albums together  including their influential 1987 LP Pain in Full and its 1988 follow-up Follow the Leader  before splitting up in 1993. Rakim, who inspired an entire generation of rappers, including Nas and Jay Z, embarked on a solo career without reconnecting with his former DJ and partner.

Eric B. & Rakim were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 but were not inducted. Two years later, Rakim admitted in an XXL interview that he and his former partner weren't really on speaking terms.



"[Eric B. is] not my enemy but we don't really speak, Rakim said of the producer. "I don't wish him no bad luck, but I dont call him. I guess Eric B., with what we went through I'm a loyal dude, and you know doing certain things, especially when you are breaking [bread] with people, you gotta keep it 100 with that person. And it was a couple things in business that I felt that he didnt handle right that left a real bitter taste in my mouth."

Gregory says that's all in the past. "They traveled in different circles for a while, but they always had that connection," he says. "It's like reconnecting with your brother."

Additional reporting by Jason Newman

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ANKARA (Reuters) - The European Union should not forget that Turkey "always has alternatives" Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, referring to Ankara's long and so far unsuccessful effort to join the bloc. "Turkey has been working for over half a century for its EU membership, and has done more than what it should. Now the decision is the EU's," Yildirim said at a conference of his ruling AK Party, comments from which were broadcast live on television. "Turkey always has alternatives, don't let the EU forget this." (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcuu, Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By Philip Blenkinsop and David Ljunggren BRUSSELS/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The head of the European Parliament said late on Friday he would hold emergency talks in a bid to save a free trade deal between the European Union and Canada that looks to be foundering amid protracted disagreements. Hours earlier, Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland walked out of talks in Belgium, declaring that the EU was incapable of sealing the deal. All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations, and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it. Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, said he would meet Freeland at 7:30 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) on Saturday and Walloon premier Paul Magnette at 9 a.m. to revive the talks. "We can't stop at last mile," he said on Twitter. Although Schulz is not directly involved in the talks on CETA, he has struck up a good working relationship with Freeland. A spokesman for Freeland said he could not confirm the meeting would take place but said Freeland was still in Brussels. The agreement, the EU's first with a Group of Seven country, would, according to supporters, increase trade between the partners by 20 percent. An emotional Freeland earlier quit talks with chief Canadian and EU trade negotiators and Magnette. "It is now evident to me, evident to Canada, that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement  even with a country with European values such as Canada," she said. "Canada is disappointed and I personally am disappointed, but I think it's impossible," she said. A source in the European Commission, the EU's executive body, said it had not yet given up hope. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she was sad talks had halted, but still hoped to find a solution. Wallonia is home to about 3.5 million people, less than 1 percent of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect, but the EU's flagship trade project rests on the will of its government. Wallonia continued to have concerns about the threat of surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics say may be used by multinationals to dictate public policy. Many EU leaders also suspect the local government in Namur of using its devolved powers to play domestic politics. CETA was in theory due to be signed at a summit next Thursday in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "We feel we've done everything we can do. The ball is in their court," Freeland's deputy, David Lametti, told reporters in Ottawa. Asked whether Canada had room to be more flexible, he replied: "It's fair to say we would continue to negotiate in good faith." A source familiar with the matter said Trudeau had set a deadline of Monday to decide whether to fly to Brussels. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. IMPACT FOR BREXIT? Failure to strike a deal with Canada would call into question the EU's ability to forge other agreements and undermine a bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave it and disputes over Europe's migration crisis. European Council President Donald Tusk said Europe's credibility was at stake. The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, the EU's 12th-largest trading partner. If CETA fails, the EU's hopes of completing similar deals with the United States or Japan would be in tatters. Britain, which plans to form a new trading relationship with the EU after it leaves the bloc, may be watching with concern. "If there are all these disagreements to have a simple trade agreement with Canada, just imagine an agreement with the United Kingdom," said Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Geert Bourgeois, premier of Belgium's Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, called the deadlock over CETA a disgrace. "If there is one task Europe has, it is to conclude trade deals. We are way too small to do this on our own," he said. Wallonia's lawmakers share concerns voiced by many on the European left that CETA, and a stalled plan for a similar deal with the United States, risk watering down consumer, labor and environmental protections and granting power to multinationals. (Additional reporting by Alissa De Carbonnel and Alastair Macdonald and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels, David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by John Stonestreet and Leslie Adler)
Former My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero has released a new song with his band the Patience called "Oceans," posting a thank you to his fans along with it.

Last week, Iero and two companions were in an auto accident while on tour in Sydney, Australia, when a bus crashed into the back of their vehicle. As a result, the band canceled the rest of its 2016 tour dates due to the injuries severity.

In a letter on his website, Iero wrote to his fans, "we can't thank you all enough for the overwhelming flood of love and support throughout this horrific ordeal. it's truly been amazing, and has helped us to feel not so alone even though we are stranded so far from home. there is nothing we want more than to all heal and be able to get back to our families as quick as possible. it's strange how an in an instant everything can change and we become fully aware of what is truly important. we have been through a lot this week and i know none of us will ever be the same again."

He continued, saying "Ocean" was a thank you for his fans' "love and understanding," releasing the track he calls one of his favorites off the new record, Parachutes, ahead of the album's release next Friday.

"Oceans is a song about accepting love even though you are unsure if you actually deserve it and eventually letting it surround you and drowning in a sea of it," Iero wrote. "it feels fitting to our situation, and i hope it brings a smile to your beautiful faces."

Listen here:
PUCHONG, MALAYSIA / ACCESSWIRE / October 21, 2016 / Following The Void in the United States and Zero Latency in South Australia, a company based in Puchong, Malaysia is about to bring the world a new reality - First ever Virtual Reality theme park in Malaysia.

EXA Global  a wholly owned subsidiary of Havson Group Berhad  is working towards bringing immersive virtual reality gaming experience to Southeast Asia. The company which has a licensing model for retailers, malls, cinemas and theme park operators has recently announced their upcoming plan to open the country's first virtual reality attraction that will commence early next year.

The gaming experience in EXA is completely jaw-dropping. Players are put in an essentially empty room, wearing headset and carrying gaming equipment, and before they knew it, they are fighting critters, scurrying through an unknown environment , handling incoming attacks, assist and interact with each other, and completing goals. Best of all, the equipments are untethered, movements are not restricted, hence giving a "free roaming" immersive experience to the players.

To be a frontier at VR, pioneering hardware and facility research in-house is unavoidable. EXA's hardware research is provided by their wholly owned subsidiary, Dutajaya Media (DJM), an ASEAN leading VR tech company and the first VR R&D center in Malaysia.

Another notable sister company is Mediasoft, responsible for the VR gaming content in EXA Global. Founded in 2012, Mediasoft has grown to be the no.1 game company in Malaysia with more than 50 original titles. Mediasoft along with Tomotech, their Singapore-based arm that develops PS4 games, have developed and published successful games including JumpSmash and Rollspike series which have combined 10 million downloads worldwide.

Recently, Havson Group as a Malaysian representative, won Create@Alibaba Cloud's Start-up Contest (CACSC), rising above 12 selected startups from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia as the Champion. The event is the first ever global entrepreneur contest organized by Alibaba Cloud in partnership with Infocomm Investments, held earlier on 26th of August this year.

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The company has thus far raised 3 seed rounds and plans to raise Series A soon.

For more information, please visit http://havsongroup.com/ or contact us.

by Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media.

SOURCE: EXA Global
Prince sometimes referred to Duane J. Nelson Sr. as his brother when both men were still alive, and on Friday afternoon (Oct. 21), a Minnesota state judge set out to determine whether such an unofficial family relationship might allow Duane Nelson's heirs to inherit a portion of the late superstar's estimated $300 million estate, or whether the lack of a genetic connection would doom their claims.

Though the hearing zeroed in on a rather arcane aspect of Minnesota probate law, it also offered a glimpse into the complicated relationships between the members of Prince's extended family.

Attorneys representing Duane Nelson's heirs contended that state law did not necessarily require them to have a genetic relationship with Prince in order to claim a share of his estate. This position was met with resistance from Bremer Trust, the court-appointed special administrator for Prince's estate, as well as those relatives that the court had already recognized as Prince's heirs.

Prince died of an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl on April 21. Because he apparently did not leave a will, and was survived by no parents, spouse or children, his estate will be divided between his siblings and half-siblings.

The court has already determined that six people are Prince's presumptive heirs: Prince's full sister Tyka Nelson and five half-siblings: Noreen, Sharon and John Nelson, Alfred Jackson, and Omarr Baker.

Judge Eide has dismissed numerous claims from people calling themselves Prince's siblings and children. But he scheduled a special hearing to evaluate the legal basis for claims from the descendants of Duane Nelson.

Duane Nelson Sr., who many believed to be Prince's brother during his lifetime, died in 2011. Brianna Nelson is his daughter, and Victoria Nelson, a minor, is the daughter of his son, the late Duane Nelson Jr., who died in 2006.

Brianna and Victoria Nelson filed claims shortly after Prince's death. Another man who says he is Duane's son, Corey Simmons, filed a claim separately last month.

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Celiza Braganca, the attorney representing Brianna and Victoria Nelson, argued that although Duane might not be the biological son of Prince's father, John L. Nelson, the fact that John always treated Duane as a son created a family relationship.

"Courts around the country have wrestled with the reality of families, as opposed to the legalistic definition of families," Berganza told the judge. "That's what we're talking about here."

When the judge noted that after John Nelson's death, Duane Nelson had not filed a claim in the probate proceeding, Braganca replied that Duane had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and "did not have the capacity to appear and oppose his entire family."

Furthermore, she said, although John Nelson had supposedly died intestate, a will was discovered among Prince's papers after his death, as well as drafts for another will that referred to Duane Nelson as John's son.

Attorneys representing Prince's half-siblings responded that the Minnesota probate code strictly limited parent-child relationships to those instances where there is a genetic relationship, a legal adoption or reproductive assistance.

"This is not a family dispute," said attorney Adam P. Gislason, who represents three of Prince's half-siblings. "This is a case about the law; the law is clear."

In addition, attorney Tom Kane, representing Prince's half-brother Omarr Baker, contended that the court documents filed by Duane Nelson's heirs lacked factual support for their claims.

Offering evidence of times John had held Duane out as his son in response, Braganza suggested a history of family strife.

On one occasion, Braganza said, Prince's half-sister Noreen told John that Duane "was not a real Nelson." John's response, according to the attorney, was, "That's not true, he's my son."

Braganza also mentioned a federal copyright suit filed against Prince by his late half-sister Lorna (who claimed he'd based his hit "U Got the Look" on a composition of hers). The action named John and Duane Nelson as co-defendants, and at no point during the proceedings did John deny that Duane was his son, the attorney said.

Judge Eide then reminded all parties that this hearing was solely to determine if Duane Nelson's heirs had a legal basis to proceed and not to determine if there was evidence to prove that their claims were valid.

More than a dozen attorneys crowded into the courtroom. Brianna Nelson was present, as were several of Prince's half-siblings and Prince's sister Tyka Nelson, recognizable as always by the rainbow swirl in her otherwise gray hair.

If the judge allows the claims to proceed, there is an evidentiary hearing already scheduled for November.

With a nine-figure tax bill looming next year -- perhaps half the value of the estate -- any delay in making a final determination of Prince's heirs could prove costly.

The judge closed the proceedings by announcing that he would meet in private with several of the attorneys to talk "confidential business relationships." He jokingly warned the press and the public that a bailiff would be posted outside the meeting room, adding, "So don't try to weasel your way in."
Aden (AFP) - Fierce gun battles erupted overnight between Yemeni rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia despite a three-day ceasefire due to end late Saturday, military officials said.

Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Huthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late Friday, a military official said.

The air raids came after Patriot missiles shot down two rebel missiles on Thursday over Marib, east of the rebel-held capital.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Friday the ceasefire was "fragile but largely holding", urging all parties "to show restraint, avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the 72-hour ceasefire".

The truce took effect just before midnight on Wednesday to allow aid deliveries in Yemen, where the war has killed thousands of people and left millions homeless and hungry.

The UN envoy is liaising with the parties in an attempt to extend the ceasefire in order "to create a conducive environment for a long-lasting peace" in Yemen, he said in a statement.

He met late Friday with Yemen's Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Riyadh, Yemeni state media reported.

Ahmar said government forces were "exercising restraint" and stressed that there were orders to "abide by the truce and respect UN efforts".

But he accused the rebels of 449 violations within 24 hours after the ceasefire took effect.

Rebel-controlled media, meanwhile, accused the coalition of conducting air strikes across the country, including in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada and Jawf in the north, and Shabwa in the south.

- Drone strike -

A senior rebel, Hassan al-Sharafi, was killed in border clashes on Friday night in Saada province, the fiefdom of the Iran-backed Huthis, military officials said.

The rebels seized two hills in the Alb border area from government forces who had previously advanced from Saudi Arabia, a military official said.

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Nine other rebels and four government soldiers were killed in clashes Saturday on the western outskirts of Midi, a northwestern town close to the Saudi border and the Red Sea coast, military officials said.

The fighting erupted when troops advanced towards Midi in an attempt to recapture it.

It is the sixth ceasefire attempt since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March last year to support Hadi's government after Huthis overran much of the impoverished country.

Nearly 6,900 people have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them civilians, while an additional three million are displaced and millions more need food aid.

Meanwhile, five suspected Al-Qaeda militants including a local chief were killed overnight Friday in a suspected US drone strike in Marib province east of Sanaa, a security official said.

They were in a vehicle that was targeted in the Wadi Obeida area.

Washington is the only government to operate drones over Yemen, but the United States rarely releases statements on its long-running bombing campaign against the country's powerful Al-Qaeda branch.

The United States considers Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

On Tuesday, eight Al-Qaeda suspects were killed in a similar drone strike in south Yemen.
In By Sidney Lumet, a documentary portrait of the late director who was one of the defining filmmakers of the 70s  but whose ability to charge a scene with dark moral turbulence and excitement was right there, from his first feature, 12 Angry Men, in 1957  Lumet tells an extraordinarily candid story about an event that shaped and changed his entire worldview. He was a young man in the military, in Calcutta, when he saw that a group of his fellow soldiers were inside a train compartment sexually abusing a young girl. Do I do anything about this? he thought. He knew the answer was yes, that he should try to stop this hideous crime, but he lacked the courage to do so. Instead of acting, he simply let it happen.

To any Lumet watcher, its obvious that the story fuses with themes that run through his work: the preoccupation with corruption, the moral necessity of action, the gnawing worm of guilt. (The rebel hero who is often at the center of his films may, in hindsight, be the person he wished he was.) Yet Lumet keeps circling back to the incident, and by the end he has revealed its deeper meaning. He says that if he had acted, he thinks those men might have tossed him off the train  that he would have been risking his life. When he confesses that, it fills in something essential about the power of Lumets artistry. In film after film, he took human encounters (all kinds) and suffused them with a do-or-die intensity that seared the air. He made scene after scene a matter of life and death.

By Sidney Lumet is one of the rare documentaries produced for the American Masters series on PBS that is also receiving a theatrical release, and that may be because its different in kind. Its no insult to the American Masters films, many of which are superb documents, to say that most of them have a formatted quality; they are state-of-the-art versions of by-the-book biographical portraiture. By Sidney Lumet creates a much more intimate focus. Its built around an extensive interview with Lumet that was recorded in 2008, three years before his death, and the filmmakers narration of his life and art is literally the only commentary in the movie. There are no other talking heads, no Heres what it was like to work with Sidney anecdotes from Al Pacino or Faye Dunaway or Sean Connery or Ethan Hawke, no tales from movie executives (or harried cinematographers) about his legendary speedy work habits. The movie is simply Lumet and his films, which turns out to be an astonishingly satisfying experience, because hes an incredible talker, with the same earthy electric push that powers his work.

If youre a Lumet fan, its tempting to track how his early black-and-white films from the 50s and 60s, when he emerged out of the first renaissance era of television, sync up thematically with his later work. The Henry Fonda character in 12 Angry Men, say  the only holdout, in a jury room, for a verdict of innocent, who must convince his fellow jurors that theres reasonable doubt  is an obvious precursor to a character like Frank Serpico: the lone-wolf cop as whistleblower. But as I watched the scenes from Lumets films that Nancy Buirski, the director of By Sidney Lumet, has so artfully woven together, something I didnt expect hit me with the force of revelation. To me, early Lumet and 70s Lumet have always seemed as different as early and late Beatles. But the way the clips line up here, we see the psychodramatic depth charge that unites them.

From first film to last, theres a startling continuity of mood, rhythm, and no-frills visual intimacy. It doesnt matter whether youre watching Ralph Richardson speak Eugene ONeills gin-and-sadness-soaked dialogue from Long Days Journey Into Night (1962), or Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani give in to the desperation of tawdry erotic hunger in The Fugitive Kind (1960), or Fondas U.S. president call on every fiber of his humanity to avert a nuclear war in Fail Safe (1964), or a bedraggled Pacino hoarsely declare his forbidden love in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), or Paul Newman give a jury summation that is really his own bid to crawl out of the muck in The Verdict (1982), or Philip Seymour Hoffman break down over his father in a tearful rage in Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead (2007): In each scene, were brought into a mesmerizing communion with the characters before us. Even Lumets 50s TV work had this quality; in a way, his entire aesthetic can be linked back to the existential sensation of live television. Lumet wasnt a Catholic (he grew up in the immigrant Jewish enclaves of New York during the Depression), but over and over he stages scenes that carry the catharsis of confession. In Network, which By Sidney Lumet rightly salutes as one of his crowning achievements, the vision was Paddy Chayefskys, but you feel that Lumetian intensity in his staging of Ned Beattys the-world-is-a-big-corporation speech, which is lit, shot, and paced so that it has the kick of a mule.

Part of the pleasure of By Sidney Lumet is that Lumet, who was a very spry 83 when this interview was conducted, is such a joyful and articulate analyst of his own work. He explains a lot when he says: Im not directing the moral message. Im directing that piece and those people. And if I do it well, the moral message will come through. He grew up as a child actor in the Yiddish theater (of which his father, also an actor, was a major star), and he became an original member of the Actors Studio. But he was thrown out of Lee Strasbergs elite Method club for suggesting other approaches to acting  the first sign, perhaps, that he was meant to be a director. He avoided the blacklist mostly by not doing anything too political. It was working in television that made Lumet happy; working, period, made him happy, which may be why he chimed with the business side of Hollywood as well as any director from the old studio system. In a funny way, thats just what he was: an artist who viewed himself as a hired hand, and who infused the Lumet vision into things almost between the lines.

Yet Lumet believed in most of the films he signed on for. He directed 44 features in 50 years, never once winning the Academy Award for best director (a scandalous distinction he shares with Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick), and he tended to regard even his duds as children, worthy of love. Thats one downside to Buirskis approach: By Sidney Lumet gives you no sense that The Wiz really was a top-heavy clunker, or that Daniel, though it probably overlapped with Lumets autobiography more than any other movie he made, was squishy and overblown because Lumet, dramatizing E.L. Doctorows fictionalized version of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, did succumb to directing the moral message. Overall, though, treating Lumets films as equals feels true to the way he made them. For Lumet, each labor of directing was an act of life, and thats why what he did  though less visible than other artists signatures  was really the quintessence of filmmaking. He took the audience out of themselves, and let them revel in the white heat of the moment.
From consulting a book doctor to immersing yourself in an author's world with the help of virtual reality, here are five things not to miss at this week's Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest publishing event.

- Page the (book) doctor -

Feeling stressed? Heartbroken? Step into the book doctor's surgery and let an author prescribe the perfect book to cure you.

Think you know of a book that's just what the doctor ordered? Put on the white coat, take a seat behind the desk and tell the fair which tale has best helped you in the past.

- A 'new' Rembrandt -

It's a new work by Rembrandt but the Dutch master had nothing to do with it. A Dutch team used artificial intelligence and a 3D printer to create the portrait, based on a computer algorithm that worked out the average features of a typical 17th-century Rembrandt subject.

While art critics have balked at "The Next Rembrandt", the creators say they believe the painter, an innovator himself, would have "laughed himself silly".

- Virtual reality -

With this year's special focus on art and technology, there's also no escaping virtual reality at the fair. At Taiwan's stand, visitors can immerse themselves in the world of author Jimmy Liao's latest picture book by slipping on a headset that lets them interact with a little girl who has lost her dog, and help water her plant or play catch with her to cheer her up.

- Social reading -

They say book lovers never go to bed alone, but increasingly they don't read alone either. Millions of readers are connecting on websites like Goodreads, discussing books and posting reviews. On the popular Wattpad forum, authors and readers can even collaborate on stories.

At the fair this weekend, fans of Harlequin books and similar bodice-ripping tales who usually share their love of romance novels in online communities will bring it back to the real world, with a reading session and a meet-and-greet with authors -- which will of course be live streamed.

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- A book to sink your teeth into -

With Flanders as this year's co-guests of honour, chocolate had to be on the menu. Visitors can marvel at a two-by-one metre book, made from 950 kilos (2,0000 pounds) of dark and white chocolate.

It's completely edible and may look good enough to eat, but the quality is not quite up to Belgian standards, organisers from Visit Flanders say. Instead, admire the book while you try one of the pralines made on the spot by a chocolatier.
Ghent (Belgium) (AFP) - A painstaking restoration of a 15th-century Flemish masterpiece is revealing the long-lost detail and splendour that helped make the altarpiece one of the world's most stolen artworks.

"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by the Van Eyck brothers was unveiled 600 years ago at Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, but since then its full glory has dimmed, after being split into pieces, seized by Napoleon, then the Nazis, and nabbed by thieves.

"You could say it is like the rediscovery of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel after its restoration," Marie Postec of Belgium's Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage told AFP.

"The original was hidden by layers of dirt and alterations, the colours had completely faded. Today, the same thing is happening here, and we have the chance to witness its rebirth," Postec said.

The giant altarpiece, which measures 4.4 metres by 3.4 metres (15 feet by 10 feet), is attributed to Hubert Van Eyck and his better-known brother Jan, and was completed in 1432 when Ghent in modern-day northern Belgium was the wealthy powerhouse of the European wool cloth trade.

The "Mystic Lamb" depicted on the lower central internal panel represents Jesus, and also refers to the emblem of the wool merchants guild which played a hugely important role in the city.

- Nazis, Napoleon and a salt mine -

Returning a restored "Mystic Lamb" to St Bavo's Cathedral is nearly the end of the story but there is -- literally -- one piece still missing.

In 1934, thieves stole two of the work's 12 panels. One was recovered but the other, that of "The Just Judges", remains unaccounted for to this day.

That capped an incredible history of upheaval for the artwork that began in the Reformation, when it was hauled up the cathedral tower to protect it from attacking Protestants.

Two centuries later, panels that had been seized by the French were returned to the church by the Duke of Wellington after his victory at Waterloo against Napoleon.

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Then in World War II, the altarpiece was sent to the Vatican for protection but again ended up in France and was seized by the Nazis who hid the panels in an Austrian salt mine. The US army eventually saved them.

The complex work includes hinged panels that can be opened and closed to offer worshippers two very different views.

At the heart, or interior, of the work, there are three vibrant scenes, each one made up of four painted panels. The two outer scenes can be closed, meeting in the middle to cover up the central scene. On the reverse, or exterior, these panels are painted with more sombre imagery.

Begun in 2012, restoration work has so far been completed on the exterior panels, which worshippers saw most often as the altarpiece would have been kept closed, except for major holy days and festivals.

In relatively muted tones -- compared with the splendour and richness of the interior -- they show the Annunciation, John the Baptist, the patron saint of Ghent -- and the wealthy merchant and church warden Joos Vidjt and his wife Lysbette who donated the work to the cathedral.

But even these external panels show newfound life after the removal of a yellowish sheen which had drained the colours of their vibrancy.

The painting is complex, densely detailed and full of symbols relating to passages in the Bible and daily life at a time when Ghent was ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, whose court was among the most flamboyant and refined in late medieval Europe.

- Restoring space, light, colour -

During the work, the team of 10 restorers have had to very delicately chip away, centimetre by centimetre, at layers of discoloured varnish and the "repainting" of early preservation efforts, some of which may date back to the 1500s.

"Nowadays, we would not cover over the original work but then, restorers would really have been painters themselves who would have repainted the whole thing, rather than just minutely retouch it bit by bit," Postec said.

"Before, there was just a uniform black background but we have found space, light," she said.

"We have also found folds (in the clothes) from the 15th century which were simply painted over and (this sort of detail) really changes how you see the picture."

Restoration work will now begin on the internal panels at the nearby Ghent Fine Arts Museum with the aim of finishing by 2020, when there will be a celebratory year dedicated to Van Eyck paintings.

Until then, reproductions will have to suffice for the thousands of visitors who come to Ghent to see a painting many consider second only to Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in artistic achievement and cultural importance.
- Australian Daniel Ricciardo believes he has a perfect solution to Mercedes internal battle for the world Formula One drivers title - let him win to keep everyone happy. The beaming Red Bull driver said he knew he had the potential to play a role as a possible 'king-maker' in the title race. "The best thing is that I win the race and that keeps everyone happy, he laughed. Nico Rosberg, who leads his Mercedes team-mate defending champion Lewis Hamilton by 33 points with four races remaining, said he was aware of the threat from Red Bull. They are fast and competitive, just like they have been in the last few races," said the German.

AFP
Paris (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday asked the UN Security Council to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged that those behind the attacks be placed under sanctions.

"I want... a clear condemnation of these crimes in a resolution from the UN Security Council... that places the perpetrators under sanctions," Ayrault said.

The minister's comments came a day after UN experts said in a report that the Syrian army had attacked a village with chemical weapons in 2015. The Islamic State group has also been accused of using mustard gas as a weapon.

"The Syrian army and Daesh have used chemical weapons against civilians on at least three occasions," Ayrault said, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS.

"These acts are inhuman and unacceptable," he said in a statement.

"France will not accept that the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which has now been proven beyond doubt... should remain unpunished," he said.

"We call on all our partners in the Security Council to assume their responsibility."

The United States, Britain and France have repeatedly called for sanctions, particularly against the Syrian regime, over the use of chemical weapons in the five-year conflict.

However President Bashar al-Assad's main backer Russia, a permanent Security Council member, has cast doubt on the UN experts' findings, claiming that they are not sufficiently conclusive to warrant sanctions.
Nouakchott (AFP) - A former Guantanamo Bay detainee from Mauritania who wrote a best-selling book about his experiences said Saturday he forgives those who tortured and detained him without trial for 14 years.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi arrived home in west Africa on October 17, bringing the prison's remaining population down to 60 as the United States accelerates releases from the facility.

Slahi's "Guantanamo Diary", an account of the abuse he suffered and the lack of due process, made him famous, but speaking at a press conference with his lawyers he said: "I forgive everyone for the ill-treatment and injustice that I have suffered."

After reciting a Koranic verse about forgiveness, Slahi added he hoped that "the whole world can live from now on in peace," thanking those who helped secure his release from Guantanamo.

His lawyer Brahim Ould Ebetty said Slahi had instructed him not to bring a case against the United States or Mauritania, who handed him over to the Americans in 2001.

Ebetty said his client's account of his time in Guantanamo "pricked the conscience of the whole world and laid bare the terrible suffering of prisoners".

He would require medical monitoring for the next decade following the physical suffering he endured in Guantanamo, his doctor added.

In his book, Slahi described life inside the US base, saying: "I started to hallucinate and hear voices as clear as crystal. I heard my family in a casual familial conversation... I heard Koran readings in a heavenly voice."

He added: "I was on the edge of losing my mind."

Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Slahi came under suspicion of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to bomb Los Angeles in 1999.

He was taken to Guantanamo in August 2002 following interrogations in Jordan and Afghanistan.
Theres a glorious scene in Roberto Sneiders Me estas matando, Susana, where Gael Garcia Bernals character, a young Mexican actor, flies to a U.S. writing seminar to win back the love of his wife, a feminist novelist. Dining with her fellow students, Garcia Bernal staunchly defends Mexican regional cuisine. You go to each little town and you say: What do you eat? And he fires off the replies: Pubil suckling-pig tacos, Juchitan armadillo, worms from Oaxaca, chipinil, bulls penis. And whats the seminars local town known for? Well, says one student, They do a pretty good baconburger.

On Friday, Gael Garcia Bernal opened the Morelia Festival, one of Latin Americas highest-profile film events, presenting Pablo Larrains Neruda. Breaking out internationally with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus Amores Perros in 2000, then winning Venices Marcelo Mastroianni Award with childhood friend Diego Luna for Y tu mama tambien in 2001, Garcia Bernal could have simply sought to cross over to Hollywood. Instead, he has directed (Deficit, 2007, and a short in Revolution); produced (docu Who is Dayani Cristal? Michael Rowes The Well); co-founded Canana, one of Latin Americas most important production houses, with Luna and Pablo Cruz in 2005; co-launched Ambulante, a travelling docu fest; campaigned intelligently to preserve Mexican film funding systems.

An international name from when he played Ernesto Guevara in 2004s The Motorcycle Diaries, he has also sought to lever his fame to make movies which promote Mexican and Latin American cinema and culture at large while questioning stereotypes, cliches and received wisdom. His best titles  Y tu mama tambien, Revolution, Babel, Casa de mi padre, No, Neruda  have a social, political edge. A celeb in Mexico from 1992, when he starred in soap opera El abuelo y yo, just as Cuaron and Del Toro were making their first features, he is still only 37 but has the stature of one of the Mexican industrys elder statesmen. His opinions  about films, Mexicos national cinema  also often have a broader world and industry vision than most above-the-line talent.

Garcia Bernal flew into Spains San Sebastian Festival last month to receive its inaugural Jaeger-LeCoultre Latin Cinema Award. Yesterday, in Mexico, he gave a Neruda press conference at Morelia with actor Luis Gnecco, who plays the Chilean Nobel Prize winning poet. Here are 10 things Gael Garcia Bernal said at these events, which capture something of the measure of the man:

1.NERUDA

I rarely dare to talk about [the quality] of films Im in, but this, a very good film about the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, brings to light his poetry which is so vital in these times of darkness, Garcia Bernal said at Morelias inauguration on Friday, as he reflected on the political and social situation of Mexico. Nearly everything in cinema is an exercise in reconciliation, where absolute justice, perfect justice do not exist. Pablo [Larrains] films are like this, he added.

2.MEXICOS TRES AMIGOS TRADITION

Theres a culture of friendship in Latin American cinema, between people like Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro, which they in turn inherited from others. Theyre a sensation of brotherhood, that people care abut you, look after you, which weve sought to maintain consciously. That brotherhood is the best way to survive, to make better films, but it also a way of coming close to the biggest reason to make films. Filmmaking for me is like a fraternal act, like being with your family, and feeling that what were doing, when the film is over and makes some impact, is worth it. That intense encounter with all those people flowers, emanates for ever. Youre a kind of cousin, brother, lover, father, son of all those people with whom you worked. Its a beautiful sensation.

3.ONE THING HES PROUD OF: AMBULANTE

Fruit of a youthful, anti-authority impulse, Garcia Bernal said, Ambulante will hold its 12th edition in 2017, visiting 16 cities in Mexico. More than 100,000 Mexican people watch documentaries, which is fantastic. Audiences have gotten far more used to them. We needed to generate a documentary film culture because its the most common and accessible type of filmmaking [in Mexico]. Tons of directors have emerged simply from picking up a camera and making films, many of which are marvellous. Theyve opened the door to the treatment of other issues, for directors to ask damning questions, to destroy dominant conformism, just one way of looking at things, which is the most important thing about a documentary.

4. HIS GROUNDING

Garcia Bernal was born in Huetamo, Michoacan. Morelia is its capital. To have grown up here, gave me the possibility of understanding what was happening on earth, not in the world, but on earth, Garcia Bernal said at Morelia.

5.THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Ambulante was one of so many things which we thought up when we were 23 or 24, one out of 10 ideas and the only one which maybe really worked and had a reason for coming into existence. Others were good ideas, but just not feasible, such as a TV series with one hour-plus episodes shot in each of Mexicos 72 states. Back then, streaming didnt exist. So wed go and see people who couldnt help us, though we still wanted them to change their attitude.

6.WHATS CHANGED ON SET

On Amores Perros and Motorcycle Diaries, you could see the beginning of the end, the start of another era. Now everything is so much quicker. Theres not the rigour of before  before, when the camera started moving, everybody had to be in frame. Now, with digital, we can make adjustments down the line. Filmmakings a much more democratic now, Garcia Bernal said at San Sebastian.

7.AND IN MEXICAN CINEMA

Mexico produced 140 movies in 2015, twice 2011s level and above the historical record of Mexicos golden years cinema. At 5,977 in 2105, Mexicos has almost as many cinema screens as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Chile put together. The first film I made, Amores Perros, was one of six that year in Mexico, a country where, just 50 years before, more than 100 films got made anually , Garcia Bernal said at San Sebastian. He added: Going down to just six in a country with such a large audience and movie culture was a revolution. Now. were raising the bar again. Were still below our potential in a country with such a large population and so many cinema theaters. Weve still got a large growth potential.

8. RIGHTS REVENUES FROM THE U.S.

The U.S. buys less foreign-language films and, if it does, buys them for a pittance. That doesnt help our films to have an outlet which, in other times, was a really important other window. Things have changed a lot.

9.AN URGENT NECESSITY

What hasnt changed and Id really like to stress this, Garcia Bernal said at San Sebastian, is that our films need to be seen in our countries, Mexican films in Spain, Spanish films in Ecuador. We need a more aggressive culture, to establish ways for our films to be seen [outside their countries of origin]. Its the only way to grow.

10.BEING AN ACTOR

Asked at Morelia about being an actor: My first impression of actors, coming from a family of actors, was that of adults who acted like children. I didnt imagine I would become one. But now that I am, Im so proud. To inhabit another being, another life, is ultimately a privilege.

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PARIS (Reuters) - Frederic Gagey stands to lose his job as boss of French carrier Air France in early November when its parent Air France-KLM unveils a new strategic plan to the board, daily La Tribune said on Friday. Under the "Trust Together" plan to be announced on Nov. 3, Jean-Marc Janaillac, chairman and chief executive of Air France-KLM , will take on the additional responsibility of Air France chairman while a new CEO will be picked for the French carrier. A spokeswoman for Air France-KLM declined comment. She said announcements related to the "Trust Together" plan will be made to a workers' committee meeting slated for Nov. 3. Air France-KLM has struggled in recent years with weak demand and overcapacity across the industry. It has been striving to cut costs to compete better with deep-pocketed Gulf airlines and fast-growing European low-cost carriers. Air France-KLM reported a 114 million euro ($124 million) net loss in the first half of the year but posted a 41 million euro net profit in the second quarter. Gagey, who struggled over the summer with pilot and cabin crew strikes, was offered the position of Air France-KLM finance chief, to replace Pierre-Francois Riolacci, who is stepping down, La Tribune said. It did not say if Gagey had accepted. Among potential candidates for the CEO job, the paper named Lionel Guerin, deputy general manager of Hop Air France, Franck Terner, head of the maintenance division, Nathalie Stubler, CEO of Transavia France, and Alain-Herve Bernard, who is in charge of medium-haul carriers. ($1 = 0.9189 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Adrian Croft)
Nicosia (AFP) - Europe has made enormous progress on gay rights since the 1990s, but those gains are now being threatened by rising intolerance, according to activists from across the continent.

Campaigners at Europe's biggest annual conference on LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) rights, which ended on Saturday, said a conservative backlash was marginalising them and fuelling attacks.

ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation for LGBTI groups, was marking its 20th anniversary in the Cyprus capital Nicosia.

It said the movement had achieved things "we would not have dreamed of back in 1996", with countries passing laws allowing same-sex marriage and letting transsexual people gain legal recognition in their preferred gender.

But conference-goers said hate speech and the scapegoating of LGBTI campaign groups were fuelling a rise in attacks.

Poland's Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) said anti-LGBTI attacks there had spiked since the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) government took power in October 2015 elections.

KPH president A. Chaber said the government had created an atmosphere of fear, sacking public servants with a record of promoting LGBTI rights.

Chaber said the KPH's office in Warsaw was attacked in the night with bricks and bottles several times early in 2016.

In March, three men tried to force their way into the office in the middle of the day, before standing outside shouting homophobic slogans, Chaber told AFP.

- Physical violence -

Seventy percent of Poles thought homosexual relations were unacceptable, the independent Warsaw-based CBOS institute found in a 2014 opinion poll, the most recent survey in the country on the topic.

But the March incident was the worst the group had experienced in 15 years of operation, Chaber said.

"When the authorities in a country... say things that incite hate, you don't only get negative comments on Facebook -- at some point it turns into physical violence."

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Phillip Ayoub, an assistant professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told AFP: "We've seen a lot of successes in Europe. Many of the leaders in LGBTI rights are European countries.

"That said, we do see some backsliding in recent years."

He said the migrant crisis had sparked a rise in rightwing activism and nationalist rhetoric around protecting traditional values from outside threats.

"LGBTI people fall under the bus with that as well," he said.

Several activists at the conference said organised activism against LGBTI rights was growing in countries across Europe.

Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Paris this month against a 2013 law legalising same-sex marriage.

Ayoub said populist politicians in Poland, Hungary and other European countries were presenting gay rights as a threat to family values.

"That's been promoted by key figures around the globe including the Russian state and the Orthodox church," he said.

As tensions with Brussels spiralled over Ukraine in 2014, some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's supporters took to calling Europe "Gayropa" and promoting Russia as the antithesis of the West.

- Fuelling homophobia -

"Moscow saw it advantageous to define itself as a protector of traditional values in broader geo-politics," said Ayoub.

"In as much as the world is becoming globalised, the campaigns against LGBT people are becoming globalised as well," said Brian Sheehan, who co-chairs ILGA-Europe's executive board.

Ayoub said legislation such as a law in Russia against "homosexual propaganda" was attempting to remove LGBTI symbols from the public sphere altogether, leading to activists being arrested for things such as waving rainbow flags at demonstrations.

Chaber said Poland's government had blamed the "homosexual lobby" for inciting pro-democracy street protests this month in order to "make Poland look bad".

ILGA-Europe's Executive Director Evelyne Paradis said the LGBTI movement across Europe was making "revolutionary" gains in some areas, but that public figures in some countries were feeling more free to fuel homophobia.

She said LGBTI people "feel less secure and they take less risk. There's a greater risk in being visible," she told AFP.

"(LGBTI) people are not accessing governments any more, they're not part of consultations... they're being kept out by their national politicians."
Search tops portal and social media, according to new data about visits to America's largest websites in September. Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL) Google topped the list with 234 million unique visitors for the month, according to comScore.

Second on the list is Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), which probably will be bought by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ). It had 207 million unique visitors last month. Yahoo has the bad fortune that its bread and butter, online display ads, have dropped in price. While native and video ads have replaced this somewhat, Google and Facebook have as much as two-thirds of online ad revenue. According to Bloomberg:

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Google, the leading Internet search provider, and Facebook, the biggest social network operator, claimed 64 percent of that revenue, according to Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser. Google scooped up $30 billion and Facebook gathered $8 billion, while other smaller companies lost market share, the analyst noted.

Facebook Inc. (FB) had 205 million unique visitors.

Following that is Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) with 192 million unique visitors. This includes MSN and visits to Microsoft company sites.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), the online retail company, sits next at 184 million unique visitors. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is well down the list in 22nd place, with 93 million unique visitors. It, and the revenue it gets online, show something of the wall that Wal-Mart has to climb.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Has 5 Buy-Rated Stocks With 35% to 85% Upside Potential

Two media properties are next: CBS Interactive from CBS Corp. (CBS) at 168 million and Comcast Corp.'s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal at 163 million. This includes all visitors to the cable, broadcast and studio sites, and gives some idea of why AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) would want Time Warner Inc. (TWX), the sites of which are broken into pieces. Turner Digital, the largest of them, had unique visitors of 132 million.

Behind CBS and Comcast, AOL, a division of Verizon, has 158 million. Apple Inc. (AAPL) is next at 153 million.

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Among social media companies, LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) had 124 million, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) 113 million and Pinterest 98 million.

Mode Media, which closed in September, had 93 million unique visitors, which shows how little raw audience means.

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Gretchen Carlson plans to use her experiences with sexual harassment to help change the law in the United States regarding forced arbitration.

Carlson, who settled a lawsuit with former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes after accusing Ailes and other co-workers of sexual harassment, graces the cover of this week's Time magazine, talking about her plans to fight for legislative reform inside.

She's set to testify before Congress after the election about forced arbitration - language in employee contracts that requires employment disputes to be resolved via that private method as opposed to letting them pursue litigation - as part of anti-forced-arbitration laws sponsored by Democratic senators Patrick Leahy and Al Franken.

"A lot of people that I've heard from [about being unfairly dismissed] find themselves in the middle of either legal action or, more likely, forced arbitration," said Carlson. "It is a huge problem. Because it's secret. And it plays into why we think that we've come so far in society and we probably really haven't - because we don't hear about it."

Read more: Gretchen Carlson Settlement Could Launch Repositioning of Fox News

She continued, "The intent of the Supreme Court when they ruled on arbitration was to unclog the courts. It was not to put issues of discrimination and harassment into covert operations."

Carlson shared previous experiences she had with sexual harassment prior to the Ailes scandal, including a cameraman making inappropriate comments about her breasts, noting that he felt them when he adjusted her microphone, in her career.

The former Fox News anchor declined to talk about Ailes or her former company. She did, however, have a comment about Donald Trump's recent tape and sexual-assault allegations.

"I am saddened by the prevalence of powerful men disrespecting and objectifying women - and getting away with it for years," said Carlson. "I am particularly distressed when people in the public eye who influence our culture perpetuate sexism."

On a lighter note, the reporter pointed out that Carlson's dog uses a Donald Trump chew toy that says "Bite me" on it. Carlson commented that she owns a Hillary Clinton one, but the dog prefers to chew on Trump.

Read more: Gretchen Carlson Lawsuit Against Roger Ailes Ends in Settlement
By Thanarith Satrusayang and Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - A huge crowd of Thais gathered on Saturday outside Bangkok's Grand Palace to sing the royal anthem in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Oct. 13 after seven decades on the throne. The government has declared a year of mourning for the 88-year old king, who was seen as a father figure for generations of people, and, though a constitutional monarch, a calming influence over the country's often turbulent politics. People dressed in black traveled by bus, boat and on foot to Sanam Luang, a tree-lined open space that has been used for royal cremations outside the river-side Grand Palace, bringing the area to gridlock well before the singing. Police said more than 150,000 were in Sanam Luang and side streets with more people expected through the day. The royal anthem, known as Sansoen Phra Barami, is played before the screening of every cinema show in Thailand, when the audience stands to honor the king as pictures of his life and work are shown on the screen. Saturday's singing was recorded for use in cinemas, organizers said. "Since he went to heaven we want all Thais to demonstrate their love and sing this song to show before film screenings," Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, a movie director in charge of the filming of the singing, told reporters. Since the king died, people from across Thailand have flocked to the gilded Grand Palace to pay homage to the only king most of them have ever known, who is lying in state there. Buddhist monks have been chanting prayers beside his coffin in an imposing throne hall, and they will chant for 100 days as part of the funeral rites. "I wanted to be here to pay respects to His Majesty," said Haysri Watanakulpipat, 47, who said she drove overnight from the eastern province of Prachinburi. The military government has not set a date for the royal cremation but it is expected in about a year. The government has said Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will ascend the thrown soon but he had requested that his succession be delayed for an unspecified period, so he can grieve with the people. The government has moved to quash uncertainty surrounding the succession and to reassure the country that the king's death will not derail plans for a return to democratic rule, which include a general election in late 2017. It has stressed business and government should carry on as normal and tourism should not be affected. Police said they expected more people at Sanam Luang through the day. "There are more than 150,000 people here already but it could easily rise to 250,000 by the evening," Thai deputy police spokesman Major General Songpol Wattanachai told Reuters. The Grand Palace is a former royal residence that is used only on ceremonial occasions. The royal anthem was the national anthem of what was then Siam until 1932, when young army officers and bureaucrats staged a coup to end absolute monarchy. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Aukkarapon Niyomat and Cod Satrusayang; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Hundreds of people gathered at the gates of Downing Street in London on Saturday, October 22, calling on the government to take action to protect citizens in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo. Actress Carey Mulligan was among the speakers.

Despite a pause in the fighting to allow civilians to leave rebel-held sections of the city, the Syrian government has said it intends to retake the city and eliminate all rebel forces. On October 21, Prince Zeid bin Raad Zeid al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, called the attacks on the city crimes of historic proportions, and the UN Human Rights Council voted to open an inquiry into human rights violations in the city. Credit: Instagram/Marnie Middlemiss
The Hague (AFP) - The International Criminal Court on Saturday asked South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their decisions to withdraw from the troubled institution set up to try the world's worst crimes.

"Although withdrawing from a treaty is a sovereign act, I regret these decisions and invite South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their positions," said Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC founding treaty.

"I urge them to work together with other States in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Kaba said in a statement.

The statement came a day after South Africa dealt a major blow to the court by announcing it would withdraw from the ICC.

The announcement followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite being the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

Earlier this month, Burundi said it would leave the court, while Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.

The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

- 'The chaos is coming' -

Kaba said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would "pave the way" for other African states to leave the court, which is tasked with "prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression".

The ICC on Saturday confirmed South Africa had officially notified the court of its decision to leave, adding that the move had come in the wake of Burundi's withdrawal process.

The court's former prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo criticised Burundi and South Africa, accusing them of giving leaders on the continent a free hand "to commit genocide".

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"Burundi and South Africa withdrawing from the ICC shows the Court's relevance," said Ocampo, who was the court's first prosecutor.

"Burundi is leaving the ICC to keep committing crimes against humanity and possible genocide in its territory. Burundi's president wants free hands to attack civilians."

He added that former South African president Nelson Mandela had "promoted the establishment of the Court to avoid new massive crimes in Africa. Now under the Zuma leadership South Africa decided to cover up the crimes and abandoned African victims. The world is going backward".

"The chaos is coming. Genocide in Burundi and a new African war are in motion. South Africa's move is showing political protection for Burundi," he said.
With gold brocades, feather embellishments, fringed and beaded details, the over-the-top high-neck blouses, ruffled sleeves, and flounced skirts the L.A.-based designers of the label Co displayed on Thursday evening called for an equally elaborate back drop. Luckily, Tony Duquette's Beverly Hills estate, home of the late designer's "more-is-more" aesthetic, was available for the evening.

Built in 1949 by the famed artist, interior decorator and Hollywood set designer, the home has been a favorite haunt for fashion houses through the years, including Gucci, which tapped the museum-like home for the brand's menswear campaign starring Tom Hiddleston, as well as Co co-designers Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern, who shot their 2017 resort collection at the landmark.

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On Thursday, however, the married couple selected looks from their fall 2016 and spring 2017 collections, as well as their resort line, to showcase during a dinner party to celebrate their new shop-in-shop at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.

Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director of the retailer, hosted the evening (and styled the looks with Tony Duquette jewels). Guests included Marisa Tomei (who starred in a short film for the brand, alongside Kern's former roommate, Aubrey Plaza), Clare Vivier, jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth and stylists Jessica de Ruiter, Petra Flannery (Amy Adams, Emma Stone) and Ryan Hastings (Rooney Mara, Rosamund Pike). A dinner table was set up outside, and everyone dined on chef Minh Phan's signature porridges, delicious mixes of grains and duck or short ribs.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Co

"There is definitely a fantasy aspect to Co," said Danan of the evening's rich atmosphere and offerings. Hutton Wilkinson, Duquette's longtime business partner who took over his Dawnridge property after the designer's death in 1999, was eager to show off the fantasy decor, too, giving tours to anyone who asked (or who just happened to be in proximity).

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He gave a lengthy tour to Tomei, who was dressed in a pajama-like two-piece brocade ensemble by the brand, explaining the origins of the oversize seashell planters ("they were made for musicals for MGM"), how the enormous chandelier in the backyard came together (Wilkinson reapplied the purple crystals by hand after it was neglected by a previous owner and then returned to the estate), as well as the beautiful necklaces on display known as, "The Talismans of Power." "I'm down to 24," he said of the dwindling collection. "We used to give them away as party favors but we had to stop."

Read more: Style Notes: Pharrell, Dwyane Wade Named to Mr Porter's Style Council; Burberry and Coach's Rumored Merger

A 28-foot abstract sculpture in the backyard, hundreds of paintings covering every inch of wall space (many painted by Duquette's wife, Elizabeth) and quirky decorative pieces - including a stuffed, crown-wearing cockatoo housed in a glass case - contributed to the luxurious, Old Hollywood glamour of the home - making it all the more appropriate for the L.A.-based designers, each of whom had prior ties to the movie biz. Kern, a former screenwriter, and Danan, a former producer, have kept the spirit of the industry alive in their designs; their knack for location scouting is particularly useful in finding inspirations that encapsulate that "magic of show business" feel, they said.

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When it comes to the main focus of their clothing, though, Danan says it's about "empowerment." "We're definitely trying to offer clothes that are an extension of what women are feeling today, which is more of an edited wardrobe, a more thoughtful price point and an approach that is more fitting to their own lives," she said.

"[It's also inspired] a little bit by my career in the film industry," she added. "I made my own money, I don't come from a trust fund, I had to be self-made, and that girl wants to shop an edited and curated environment but she's also thoughtful about how she spends her money."

Read more: Rachel McAdams Pulls Off Taupe on the Red Carpet
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An international inquiry found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between Russia and western council members over how to respond. The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015, according to a text of the report seen by Reuters. The third report by the inquiry in August blamed the Syrian government for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015 - and said Islamic State militants had used sulfur mustard gas. The results set the stage for a Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable. Following the submission of the third report, Russia said the conclusions could not be used to impose U.N. sanctions. The report submitted on Friday said that Syrian government forces had used helicopters to drop barrel bombs, which then released chlorine gas. It found those helicopter flights originated from two bases where the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based. It added that the 618 squadron, with navy helicopters, was also located at one of the bases. However, the inquiry said that it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time." But it added that those "with effective control in the military units ... must be held accountable." The report confirmed a Reuters report in September that the inquiry had identified the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade. The inquiry focused on nine attacks in seven areas of Syria where a separate OPCW fact-finding investigation had already determined that chemical weapons had likely been used. Eight of the attacks investigated involved the use of chlorine. The inquiry was unable to reach a conclusion in five cases. Chlorine's use as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013. If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington. The Security Council backed that deal with a resolution that said in the event of non-compliance, "including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone" in Syria, it would impose measures under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Chapter 7 deals with sanctions and authorization of military force by the Security Council. The body would need to adopt another resolution to impose targeted sanctions - a travel ban and asset freeze - on people or entities linked to the attacks. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq's parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.

Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam.

But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities.

According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.

The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad as all eyes were on the north of the country, where forces involved in Iraq's biggest military operation in years are battling the Islamic State group and moving to retake the city of Mosul.

"A law was passed today and article 14 of that law bans the import, production and sale of all kinds of alcohol," Yonadam Kanna, a veteran Christian MP, told AFP on Saturday.

"Every violation of this law incurs a fine of 10 million to 25 million dinars (roughly $8,000 to $20,000)," he said.

Kanna vowed to appeal the law in a federal court.

Alcohol is rarely offered in restaurants and hotels in Iraq, but consumption is relatively widespread, especially in Baghdad where scores of small shops selling alcoholic beverages can be found.

Iraq also has companies producing various types of alcohol, such as Farida beer or Asriya arak (a regional anise-flavoured spirit).

Kanna was furious after the vote, issued a statement and went on television to argue against the new law.

- More drugs -

"This article of the law goes against the constitution, which guarantees the freedoms of minorities," he said.

Article 2 of the constitution says it "guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice" such as Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans.

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Ammar Toma, an MP who voted in support of the ban, argued that it was the constitution that made it illegal to sell, produce or import alcoholic drinks.

"The constitution says you cannot approve a law that goes against Islam," he told AFP, referring to an article stating that "no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established."

Kanna and Toma also differed on the impact of a ban.

"This law will put people out of jobs, drug consumption will rise, the economy will be affected," said Kanna.

Observers say drug abuse has been on the rise in Iraq recently, especially in the southern city of Basra, where trafficking with neighbouring Iran is soaring and where alcohol is only found on the black market.

Toma, a Shiite MP from the Fadhila party, rejected Kanna's assessment and said "the effects of alcohol on society are great, and include depravation, terrorism and social problems."

"As the for the people who will lose their jobs, new jobs can be found for them," he said without elaborating.
By Phil Stewart and Tuvan Gumrukcu BAGHDAD/ANKARA (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declined on Saturday an offer from Turkey to take part in the battle to drive Islamic State militants from Mosul, a decision that could rile Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Mosul was once part of the Ottoman empire and Turkey sees the city as firmly within its sphere of influence. Ankara is in a dispute with Iraq's central government over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul. "I know that the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle," Abadi told reporters after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Baghdad on Saturday. "If help is needed, we will ask for it from Turkey or from other regional countries," he said. During a visit to Turkey on Friday, Carter signaled conditional support for a possible Turkish role in the campaign and said there was an agreement in principle that could allow for eventual Turkish participation. The details, however, were still subject to negotiation, Carter and other officials acknowledged at the time, and Iraq would need to agree. By the tone of Abadi's comments on Saturday, that appeared unlikely anytime soon. Abadi said that five days prior, an official delegation from Turkey had visited Baghdad and made some recommendations. "The reality is we didn't see it as enough as it relates (to) withdrawing the Turkish troops from Iraq and respecting Iraqi sovereignty," he told reporters. "The Turkish side assured the respect for Iraqi sovereignty and we want to hear from the Turkish side, in the military, in the public, more remarks in terms of respecting Iraqi sovereignty." Erdogan has warned of sectarian bloodshed if the Iraqi army relies on Shi'ite militia fighters to retake the largely Sunni Muslim city of Mosul. 'WEIGH ON OUR HEARTS' In a speech on Saturday, Erdogan said Turkey respects every nation's geographical boundaries, even if it "weighs on our hearts", in what appeared to be a reference to Mosul. "Some ignorant people come and say, 'What relation could you have with Iraq?' Those geographies that we talk about now are part of our soul," he said. "Even if it weighs on our hearts, we respect every nation's geographical borders." Before Abadi's announcement, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had already criticized what he said were "provocative" comments from the Iraqi leadership, without elaborating. He said Turkey would continue to have a presence in Iraq. Yildirim later said Turkey was prepared to "take measures" in Iraq because it was not satisfied by promises that Kurdish militants and Shi'ite militias would not take part in the fighting. "We have made every preparation to take our measures because the promises given by the United States and Iraq about the PKK and Shi'ite militias not being part of operations has not satisfied us yet," he told a group of reporters, referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey. WASHINGTON UPBEAT Carter, while acknowledging the sensitive nature of the topic, was upbeat about his meeting with Abadi when speaking to reporters shortly before leaving Baghdad. He expressed confidence the United States could play a constructive role on the issue but repeatedly stressed that Washington respected Iraqi sovereignty. A senior U.S. defense official on Friday said the United States recognized that Turkey had legitimate security concerns over the outcome of the Mosul campaign. The push to capture it is expected to become the biggest battle in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Mosul is about five times bigger than any other city held by Islamic State. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli and David Dolan; Editing by Helen Popper and Grant McCool)
The Iraqi military moved steadily toward Mosul from the east at the end of the week, taking the Assyrian Christian town of Bartella after fierce fighting with Islamic State militants on October 20. In this footage, an Iraqi soldier says that the militants special weapon is suicide vehicles, but none of these work.

The video shows Iraqi military vehicles rolling along the highway and scenes of destroyed vehicles along the road. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Radio Farda
She may no longer be on her Italian beachA vacationA with her boyfriendA Bradley Cooper, but that hasnt stoppedA supermodelA Irina ShaykA from showing off her assets inA a swimsuit.

The 30-year-old brunette shared a cheeky snap of herself on Instagram Saturday, wearing a black one-piece bathing suitA while doing her best belfie for the camera.

She captioned the shot #angles.

The look was a farA cry from the floor-length blue dress Shayk wore last weekend, while attending theA Desert TripA Musical Festival in Indio, California.

She was joined by Cooper, 41, at the event, along with a group a friends that includedA Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone.

The three-day event included performances fromA Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan,A The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Roger Waters and The Who.

RELATED VIDEO: Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk Have PDA-Filled Date Night in New York

//players.brightcove.net/416418724/rJSWQ1RE_default/index.min.js



CooperA andA Shayk have been dating sinceA 2015.

No strangers to touches of PDA, the actor and Russian model regularly put their love on display, holding hands and stealing romantic kisses.

In May, Cooper and Shayk attended BeyoncAas Los Angeles concert where the American Sniper star held hands with his leading lady and her mother a who saw the show with them.




(BARTELLA, Iraq)  The Iraqi army pushed into a town near the ISIS-held city of Mosul on Saturday, a day after dozens of ISIS militants stormed into the northern city of Kirkuk, setting off two days of clashes and killing at least 80 people, mostly security forces.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter meanwhile met with Iraqs prime minister and commanders in Baghdad to discuss the offensive to retake Mosul, which the U.S. is supporting with airstrikes and advisers on the ground.

The Iraqi army said the 9th Division has pushed into the town of Hamdaniyah, also known as Qaraqosh and Bakhdida, and raised the flag over its government compound, but the troops were likely still facing resistance in and around the town. Similar past announcements have often proved premature.

The town is around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul. Iraqi forces launched a wide-scale offensive earlier this week aimed at retaking Mosul, the countrys second largest city, which fell to ISIS in 2014.

Hamdaniyah is believed to be largely uninhabited. IS has heavily mined the approaches to Mosul, and Iraqi forces have had to contend with roadside bombs, snipers and suicide truck bombs as they move closer to the city.

ISIS said it foiled an attack on Hamdaniyah and seized vehicles and weapons left by retreating Shiite militiamen. The claim, carried by the extremist groups Aamaq news agency, could not be confirmed.

An Iraqi television station says one of its reporters was shot dead near Mosul, the second journalist in as many days to be killed while covering the conflict.

Alsumaria TV says cameraman Ali Risan was shot in the chest by a sniper Saturday during a battle in the al-Shura area. Journalist Ahmet Haceroglu of Turkmeneli TV was shot dead by a militant sniper Friday, while covering the ISIS assault on Kirkuk.

Iraqi forces retook the town of Bartella, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of Mosul, earlier this week, but are still facing pockets of resistance in the area. Inside the town, a road extending more than 100 meters (yards) was completely demolished, with all the homes on either side reduced to rubble.

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In Kirkuk, meanwhile, some fighting continued a day after the ISIS assault on the city, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Mosul. The wave of attacks in and around Kirkuk appeared to be an attempt to divert attention from Mosul.

Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer of the Kirkuk police said at least 80 people were killed in the assault, mainly Kurdish security forces. Another 170 were wounded, he said, adding that a sundown curfew has been imposed on the city.

Omer said Kurdish security forces recovered the bodies of 56 militants who took part in the attack. The Kurds assumed control of Mosul in 2014, when the Iraqi army and police crumbled in the face of a lightning ISIS advance across northern Iraq.

Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kirkuk assault was a terrorist attack and not a military breach.

Nearly all the terrorists who entered Kirkuk have been eliminated, and we have full control, except for maybe one area where they are being flushed out, he said after meeting with Carter.

As the assault on Kirkuk was underway, an airstrike hit a funeral procession in the town of Daquq to the south, killing 17 people, mainly women and children, and wounding another 50, said Daquq Mayor Amir Khodakram. He said it was not clear who carried out the airstrike and that officials have launched an investigation.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the strike on the U.S.-led coalition, saying it had all the signs of a war crime. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the ministry, said two jets were involved in the raid, and apparently mistook the procession for a gathering of militants.

The U.S. military in Baghdad could not immediately be reached for comment.

Iraq launched a long-awaited operation on Monday aimed at retaking Mosul, its second largest city, which fell to ISIS in 2014. It is the largest operation undertaken by Iraqi forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and is expected to take weeks, if not months.

Carters visit comes two days after a U.S. service member was killed outside Mosul, underscoring the risk that American troops are taking as they advise Iraqi forces in the fight.

More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more American troops are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.

Elsewhere in Iraq, a burning sulfur plant south of Mosul that was torched by the ISIS group is releasing large amounts of noxious gas into the atmosphere, draping towns in the area in toxic smoke.

The air has turned a greyish color as it mixes with smoke from earlier oil well fires set by the militants. The fumes make breathing difficult, with residents saying they are suffering from coughing, headaches and nosebleeds from as far as 30 kilometers (18 miles) away.

The smoke is from sulfur that was lit by Daesh, said Alaa Abdullah Khaled, a resident in the nearby village of Awsaja, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym. It is causing suffocation among the children and it gives them nosebleeds.

Two U.S. military officials said that while the fire was set two days ago, the winds shifted earlier Saturday, sending the smoke south toward Qayara West air field, a staging area for the Mosul offensive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

They said troops at the base were wearing protective masks because of the breathing concerns, and estimated it could take two to three days to put the fire out.

___

Matti reported from Kirkuk. Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Joseph Krauss in Baghdad, Adam Schreck and Balint Szlanko in Awsaja, Iraq, Maamoun Youssef in Cairo and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi on Saturday for his stance against a resolution adopted by UNESCO on Jerusalem.

The UN cultural agency on Tuesday adopted an Arab-sponsored resolution condemning Israel's actions at a flashpoint holy site in east Jerusalem, deepening anger in the Jewish state.

On Friday, Renzi strongly criticised the resolution, saying that Rome -- which had abstained in the vote -- would now oppose it.

"It is incomprehensible and unacceptable, a mistake. I specifically asked diplomats involved in such cases yesterday (Thursday) not to continue like this -- we cannot deny reality," Renzi told an Italian radio station.

"To say that the Jewish people has no connection to Jerusalem is like saying that the sun creates darkness."

"If we have to break European ranks on this issue, then so be it," Renzi said.

In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the two premiers spoke on Saturday and that the Israeli prime minister told Renzi that "even the theatre of the absurd has limits".

The statement said Renzi told Netanyahu he "would work to influence the positions of other European countries" in similar votes in the future.

Tuesday's UNESCO resolution on "occupied Palestine" was endorsed by the agency's executive board at its headquarters in Paris, after being approved at the committee stage last week.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their future state.

Israel is furious that the resolution refers to the Old City site in Jerusalem by its Muslim name, Al-Aqsa or Al-Haram al-Sharif.

It is considered holy by Muslims, Christians and Jews. Jews refer to it as the Temple Mount and it is considered the holiest site in Judaism.
By Teppei Kasai and Tim Kelly MISAWA, Japan (Reuters) - British fighter planes will take on Japanese aircraft for the first time since World War Two in aerial combat drills following the arrival in Japan on Saturday of four Royal Air Force Typhoon Eurofighters. The joint practice at Japan's northern Misawa Air Base starts on Sunday and will be the first time Japans air force train at home with a foreign force other than that of the United States. The jets along with a C-17 support plane touched down early in the evening under overcast skies, their high-pitched screams prompting some onlookers to cover their ears. The Typhoons will face off against and fly with Japanese F-15s and domestically built Mitsubishi F-2s in an exercise dubbed Guardian North 16. "We will learn from each other, and ultimately we will make friendships that will tie us together more closely in the future," RAF Lieutenant Colonel Roger Elliot, said in introductory remarks to 100 Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) personnel. Both countries want to hone scramble techniques to counter foreign military aircraft approaching their airspaces. Both regularly shadow Russian planes and the JASDF scrambles when Chinese jets approaching its southwestern border. As China's control of the neighboring South China Sea tightens, Japan worries that Beijing's attention is turning toward the East China Sea where Japan controls a chain of islands stretching 1,400 km (870 miles) towards Taiwan. In the six months to the end of September, Japanese fighters took off to chase Chinese planes 407 times compared with 231 times a year earlier, according to the JASDF. Encounters with Russian bombers and surveillance planes, which fly in from the north rose 67 percent to 180 incidents. The Typhoon visit is also an opportunity for Japan's air force see Europe's most advanced jet as it looks at proposals for developing a new fighter to replace its F-2s at a cost of as much as $40 billion. In 2011 Japan considered a bid by BAE Systems to sell it the Typhoon in a competition ultimately won by Lockheed Martin Corp with its F-35 stealth fighter. Japan has yet to decide what kind of aircraft its new fighter, dubbed the F-3, will be, but the choice is between a cheaper non-stealth superiority fighter based on an existing design, such as the Eurofighter, or a more expensive program to build a stealth fighter like the U.S. F-22 Raptor. (Reporting by Tim Kelly Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Kasim Reed and John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he's stunned at how intense the growing division is between the US and Russia as the two countries hit what seems like a post-Cold War high in tensions.

During a recent interview with Business Insider, the 2016 Republican presidential hopeful discussed the recent cyber attacks on the US political system that intelligence agencies have alleged are Russian-backed, as well as the tense situation between both nations in the Syrian conflict.

"Well I've been frankly very surprised at the intensity of our differences," he said. "I mean, between what appears to be hacking of our political system to the aggressive use of nukes on the borders to these atrocities in Syria and their warnings. I've been very, very surprised at the intensity of all this."

"You know, I think to a degree this happens when they spot a softness in us, which I think for a while they did," he continued. "But I think that's coming to an end."

In recent months, US intelligence agencies have tied hacks on prominent Democratic organizations and state election systems to the Kremlin, alleging that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to meddle in the US election. The two countries also recently cut off diplomatic discussions regarding Syria, after continued Russian bombing of Aleppo. Putin also suspended Russia's participation in a treaty with the US aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons.

Additionally, the US has threatened Russia with added economic sanctions. Russia's deputy foreign minister said the country might take "asymmetrical" and "painful" measures if the US pushes ahead with tougher sanctions, which were first imposed after the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

"We can't beg them to get along with us," Kasich said. "And I think there was some of that going on, which has now ended. "

Kasich called Putin a latter-day Joseph Stalin, the authoritarian 20th Century leader of the Soviet Union, in a recent Washington Post op-ed he wrote to promote the passing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

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He advocated for "reinforcing NATO" and being "prepared to take solid actions" in response to the hackings to "make it clear that we will not tolerate any intervention."

"These are serious matters, and we can never let up on these sanctions," Kasich wrote. "Frankly, we should publicly increase them."

"And when it comes to the cyber warfare piece, we're going to have to deal with it," he concluded. "I mean it would be very easy to make an inflammatory statement on what we ought to do on cyber. I don't think that that's productive. But to allow the Russian activity to go unresponded to is not acceptable. So the administration is going to have to figure out, you know, a tough response on the basis of this hacking."

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Baghdad (AFP) - The jihadist assault on the Iraqi city of Kirkuk is typical of the kind of attacks the Islamic State group is likely to carry out after its "caliphate" falls apart, analysts said.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by a 60-nation US-led coalition and other powers are closing in on Mosul, the IS group's last stronghold in Iraq.

The "caliphate" that IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed there in 2014 straddling Iraq and Syria has shrunk steadily, however, and the loss of Mosul could end the group's days as a land-holding force in Iraq.

With fewer fixed positions and no population to administer, the most violent and ambitious group in modern jihad could revert to the kind of insurgent attacks it used to conduct in its previous incarnations.

"I think it is what is to be expected as IS continues to lose territory, a switch back to traditional terrorism and insurgency," said David Witty, an analyst and former colonel in the US special forces.

IS has often responded to major offensives against its bastions in Iraq and Syria by opening new fronts to stretch enemy forces, retain the initiative and keep media attention away from its setbacks.

The "inghimasi" raid on Kirkuk, a term used to describe gunmen who usually wear explosive vests or expect to die at the end of their attack, sowed chaos in Kirkuk.

At least five suicide bombers targeted key government buildings, at least six policemen were killed in the ensuing clashes and dozens of residents were wounded.

- Impact on Mosul -

Besides grabbing headlines, the attack may compel the Kurdish forces -- a key component of the six-day-old Mosul offensive -- to take another look at their deployment.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced late Friday that he was sending reinforcements to Kirkuk, where a senior interior ministry officer said 46 people, mostly members of the security forces, had already been killed in the clashes.

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Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said some elements of the Kurdish peshmerga may consider pulling some of their resources from the Mosul theatre.

"The PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) have primary responsibility for the defence of Kirkuk and are in particular concerned about long term control of the city and its oil fields," he said.

One of the Kirkuk attackers captured by Kurdish security forces on Friday claimed Baghdadi ordered the attack to demonstrate the "caliphate" would continue to "remain and expand".

Those two words were a key slogan of the "state" proclaimed in 2014 and were shouted by militants through mosque loudspeakers as they took over Kirkuk streets on Friday.

Yet the attack on Kirkuk is likely to serve few long-term military goals for IS, a sign it may no longer seek to hold territory and instead focus on spectacular terrorist attacks.

A few fighters remained holed up in Kirkuk buildings Saturday but the initial fear that IS might seek to seize control of the city quickly receded.

- 'Harder to fight' -

"Daesh (IS) do fight to retain territory, but have been more inclined to fall back in recent months," said Colonel John Dorrian, the US spokesman of the coalition assisting Iraqi forces in the war against IS.

He said the group had lost many of its top leaders in recent months and been stripped of some of its sources of revenue, but he expected the jihadists to fight hard to keep Mosul.

Martin argued IS may have had Mosul in mind when attacking Kirkuk but had most likely already accepted the idea they would lose it.

"The Kirkuk attack was launched in response to ongoing and projected losses in Mosul, but ISIS (IS) has likely shifted its mindset away from physical control of terrain," he said.

"If ISIS can continue fielding attack capabilities like this in the future then ISIS will continue to pose security threats to the Iraqi security forces and the peshmerga," he said.

Witty also said the Kirkuk attack was a taste of things to come, since the predicted retaking of Mosul by Iraqi forces could seal the fate of IS's caliphate, at least its Iraqi side.

"They (IS) will increasingly use terror attacks and go back to more of a pure insurgent and terrorist organisation in Iraq. In many ways, they are harder to fight then," Witty said.

"When they openly hold cities and terrain, it is much easier for the coalition and Iraqi Security Forces to destroy them than it is when they function as an insurgency."
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - The evangelical leading in Rio de Janeiro's mayoral election denied a magazine report Saturday that he was arrested a quarter century ago for making armed threats in a property dispute.

The report in Veja magazine, accompanied by black and white police photographs of Marcelo Crivella, could embarrass the conservative candidate who is a bishop in the wealthy Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.

According to the report, Crivella led a group of armed men in January 1990 to threaten and force out a family they accused of occupying land in Rio owned by the Universal Church, an international evangelical church founded by Crivella's uncle.

Police were reportedly called to intervene, leading to a criminal inquiry into Crivella's actions. The 117-page police report then disappeared from the public domain until now, Veja reported.

The magazine published the front and profile pictures of Crivella apparently taken by the police. He has a board hanging around his neck with identity numbers.

Crivella responded in a video on his Facebook page, saying he was never arrested.

He confirmed that he had gone to a property "which had been invaded and the occupiers would not let us enter. There was commotion."

"I never touched the people," he said.

Police were called, he conceded, and everyone was taken to be identified. "That is why there's the photo you see on the cover (of Veja)," he said.

"There was no (legal) process, nothing, absolutely nothing. In fact, it was I who initiated a case against (the officer) for abuse of authority. I repeat that I was never arrested and there was no case against me," he said.

Crivella is leading against leftist rival Marcelo Freixo by 46 to 29 percent ahead of the October 30 runoff vote according to the latest poll by Ibope.

Crivella is among the evangelical and conservative candidates benefitting from widespread disgust with the once dominant leftist Workers' Party, which is reeling amid a major graft scandal.
A copy of a letter from the Russian Consulate in Houston shows that the consulate asked that an officer would be present for a short period of time at a polling place in Oklahoma during the upcoming General Election.
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan pro-government forces fighting Islamic State in Sirte have freed 11 Eritrean female captives, a Turk and an Egyptian after a battle to recapture a part of the city held by Islamic State, a spokesman for the forces said on Saturday. After a six-month campaign of street-by-street fighting backed by U.S. air strikes, Libyan forces have taken back most of Sirte, where Islamic State is holding out with snipers, boobytraps and car bombs. "The forces have completely recaptured the 600 block area in Sirte from gangs of Daesh, and now the Ghiza Bahriya area is the last pocket of resistance," said Rida Issa, a spokesman for the pro-government forces, using an Arabic term for Islamic State. Sirte fell to Islamic State more than a year ago after militants expanded their territory and took advantage of infighting that emerged among Libya's rival factions following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Forces fighting Islamic State in Sirte are mostly from nearby Misrata, whose brigades are among the most powerful in Libya. They are allied with the U.N.-backed unity government in Tripoli that is trying to unite competing factions. Western governments back the unity government hoping it will bring stability and help counter Islamic State and the migrant smugglers. But Tripoli leaders have struggled to extend their influence against hardliners. Defeating Islamic State in Sirte will destroy the militant group's main stronghold outside its Iraq and Syria territory just as Iraqi forces move to retake Mosul. But some militant commanders and fighters escaped before Sirte was encircled. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; writing by Patrick Markey Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
By Elizabeth Piper and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A lions' den or a nest of doves? For Theresa May, her first meeting with all the other European Union leaders since she became British prime minister ended up being described by most merely as businesslike. It had been billed as an awkward encounter. Each side had at times characterised the other in less than diplomatic terms since Britain's vote to leave the bloc in June - the Britons portrayed as intransigent, the EU as overly angry over Brexit. But at the end of a Brussels summit dinner, May served up her approach to Britain's departure from the EU while the other 27 leaders listened. The conversation may not have moved forward much, but there was a change of tone in the wider debate. "She was actually very helpful. Quite a few times she came in with suggestions, on all the subjects. It was very positive," said an EU official, describing her as more active in discussions on agenda items such as Russia and migration than her predecessor David Cameron had been at such meetings. It was in keeping with May's methods. British Conservative members of parliament who have known the former home secretary for years say she is "unflashy" and "businesslike", adopting a no-nonsense approach that her aides hope will ease tensions with the EU. At her closing news conference, May was clear that she would not allow the EU to make decisions without her. "We will continue to play our role, as I have done, sitting around the table. I can assure you that I havent been backwards in coming forward on issues," she said. The tone had sharpened after EU leaders felt her speech to her party faithful at the Conservative conference this month suggested she was heading for a "hard Brexit", a clean break with the EU's single market of 500 million consumers so as to impose controls on immigration from the bloc. Since this speech geared for domestic consumption, May and even some of her trio of senior pro-Brexit ministers have moved to ease concerns among not only EU leaders, but also businesses and investors that her government does not want to hurt the economy and instead hopes to win maximum access to the European market. "STRONG PARTNER" Her aides denied her message had changed but were keen to say May had told EU leaders that she did not want to damage the EU with Britain's departure and the country was determined to remain "a strong and engaged partner". "I think the PM is very clear ... on what we are approaching and that is the same message in the UK as it is in the EU," a source in the prime minister's office said. "The principles which she has set out are the same: being clear that we want this to be a relationship that works for the UK and the EU once we've left," the source said, adding that May's message had not changed since she became leader in July. But by sticking "to her speaking notes", as one EU diplomat described it, some leaders felt the conversation had not moved on at a summit where entrenched positions on Russia and migration frustrated attempts to secure agreements on what some leaders say are more pressing issues. After dinner, the only time when Brexit was discussed, other EU leaders repeated what May had said - a checklist that Britain would trigger for the formal divorce procedure, Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, by the end of March and that she was taking time to prepare for the talks. A senior EU diplomat said the 27 leaders were left "no wiser" by May's briefing, and echoed comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande that the future negotiations are still largely a mystery. May has at least survived her first such EU encounter. It may not have been the "nest of doves" suggested by European Council President Donald Tusk had promised earlier, but it did not, as he put it, see her entering a lions' den. "It's a negotiation, there's lots of things said," said the source in May's office, playing down the rhetoric of Hollande who warned her of a hard negotiation. "It hasn't started yet. The PM is approaching it in a constructive spirit with goodwill, as she has from the outset." (additional reporting by Noah Barkin, Elizabeth Pineau; editing by David Stamp)
Health officials in Entebbe Municipality in Wakiso district have expressed worry over the increasing cases of fake Yellow Fever Immunisation Cards by travellers at the airport.

After the recent outbreak of yellow fever in Angola that claimed over 200 lives, followed by another outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, the ministry of health issued guidelines requiring travellers to produce a valid immunisation certificate against the disease to be allowed exit and entry into Uganda.

Uganda is currently which is listed by the World Health Organisation among the high risk yellow fever countries.

Dr. James Eyul, the manager of Kazuri Medical Clinic that checks for the authenticity of travellers yellow fever immunisations cards at Entebbe international Airport says cases of forged cards are mostly recorded at the check in ranging between 20 and 50 every day.

Dr. Eyul adds that immunization against yellow fever currently goes for between Sh 73,000 to Sh85,000 a dose at the registered immunization centers.

These are; Surgery Naguru, Norvik hospital, Kazuri medical at Entebbe airport and Kamapala Capital City Authority.

He says that in cases where a traveller does not move with the card, the vaccine is administered at the clinic.

Meanwhile Robert Kalumba, the deputy Public relations officer at KCCA, the procurers and suppliers of the vaccine says the lack of knowledge of the source of the forged cards is hindering their efforts to curb the problem.

The ministry of Health in May cautioned all airlines plying Entebbe International Airport to ensure that their passengers from high risk countries possess the certificate issued 10 days before travel before being issued with an air ticket.

Story By Paul Adude
By Deisy Buitrago and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Led by women dressed in white, several thousand Venezuelans marched through Caracas on Saturday in the first of what the opposition hopes will be growing protests against the quashing of a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition coalition, seeking to end 17 years of socialism in the South American OPEC nation, says this week's suspension of its drive for a plebiscite against the unpopular leader shows Venezuela has abandoned democracy. "We're here to demand respect for the constitution, for Venezuelans to have elections to escape dictatorship," said human resources worker Nayiber Bracho, 35, marching under a hot sun in a crowd with banners, whistles and pets. The marchers closed one lane of a major highway. They were headed by Lilian Tintori and Patricia Gutierrez, both wives of jailed political leaders and advocates of hardline tactics against the government. "There's no obstacle that can defeat Venezuelan mothers, fighting for the future of their children," said Tintori, who has called for civil disobedience in Venezuela, saying democratic options are lacking. Despite sitting on the world's biggest oil reserves, Venezuela is undergoing an unprecedented economic crisis, with many people skipping meals amid shortages and soaring prices. Polls showed the majority wanted the recall referendum, but the election board halted the process this week citing court orders based on government allegations of fraud during an initial signature drive. That left Maduro, who won an election to succeed Hugo Chavez in 2013, on track to complete the six-year term. Government officials have been exulting at the referendum's failure, saying the opposition is to blame for delaying the process and then committing fraud by adding names of minors and dead people to their first signature drive. "Under no circumstances are we going to let them overthrow the government," Socialist Party second-in-command Diosdado Cabello said at a press conference later on Saturday. Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader narrowly elected three years ago after Chavez died from cancer, has seen his popularity tumble to just above 20 percent. While foes blame failed socialist policies for the crisis, Maduro points to the steep slump in oil prices and accuses the United States of leading an "economic war" against his government. Saturday's march was to be followed by a special session on Sunday of the National Assembly, which the opposition won in December elections. Then the Democratic Unity coalition has promised nationwide rallies dubbed "The Takeover of Venezuela" for Wednesday. (Writing by Girish Gupta; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and David Gregorio, Grant McCool)
Maria Pallante is out at the U.S. Register of Copyrights and is moving to a new post, a Friday announcement that was met with surprise by trade associations and other groups in Washington.

The change was made by Carla Hayden who was only recently confirmed as Librarian of Congress.

Hayden announced that Karyn Temple Claggett would serve as acting register of copyrights, while Pallante moves to senior adviser for digital strategy for the Library of Congress.

Pallante, who has served in the post since 2011, has been a champion of modernizing the Copyright Office and of moving it into the executive branch. The office is now a part of the Library of Congress, and the register often plays an important role in offering guidance to Congress on copyright issues. In 2013, she called for a next great Copyright Act, seeing the need for substantial changes to meet the demands of the digital are.

We are surprised and concerned by todays news, which comes at a time when the office and others are considering many potential changes to the copyright system and law, said Keith Kupferschmid, the CEO of the Copyright Alliance, an industry group representing content creators.

He said that the appointment of Claggett as acting register will allow us all to be deliberate and take the time necessary to find the next register.

Pallante also has been an advocate for moving the Copyright Office into the executive branch  which would make the post an appointment of the president.

Hayden said that Pallante, as senior adviser, will advise on collecting and preserving digital materials, collections copyright status, licensing opportunities and third-party collaborations.

In a statement, she said that Pallante has laid the groundwork for important modernization efforts in the Copyright Office which I intend to pursue, working in close collaboration with Congress and stakeholders. Improved information technology for the office will be a top priority. I am committed to making sure the copyright system of the United States is effective, efficient and secure.

Story continues

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Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar tackled this iconic Bruce Springsteen song

When we first learned that Mary J. Blige was interviewing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, we knew the conversation was going to be worth following. What no one couldve predicted was that at one point, Blige would hold Clintons hands and do a brief cover of Bruce Springsteens American Skin (41 Shots), a song he wrote to address and honor Amadou Diallo, the victim of a 1999 police-involved shooting.

Now, Blige has dropped a full cover of the song with a new verse by Kendrick Lamar, and the echoes between the subject of Springsteens original song and unrest now are explicitly laid out.

Diallos story is painfully familiar: Mistaken for a different suspect, Diallo was shot 41 times by four NYPD officers, who were all acquitted of second-degree murder charges. Springsteen first released the song in 2001, and its performance inspired police boycotts around Springsteens shows.

While Bliges cover pulls from Springsteens original, Lamars verse is original and timely, featuring a shoutout to Colin Kaepernick. Its unclear if the songs release is a formal part of Bliges new album roll-out, which will be her thirteenth studio album, but were glad that we have this full version out in the world.

The post Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar tackled this iconic Bruce Springsteen song appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Tens of thousands of black-clad Thais converged on Bangkok's Grand Palace on Saturday to sing the royal anthem in a striking display of devotion to the recently deceased King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The monarch, who died on October 13 following years of poor health, was seen as a moral icon and rare figure of unity in a kingdom dogged by corruption and political turmoil.

His death has plunged the nation into grief, with the government declaring a one-year mourning period and urging the public to don black and dial down all festivities for at least 30 days.

Crowds have been massing outside his glittering Bangkok palace for the past week, with many journeying from far away provinces to pay respects to a man celebrated as the father of the nation.

Some have pitched tents on a large grassy field outside the royal compound, while others have slept on simple bamboo mats.

On Saturday, a sea of black filled the parade field and surrounding streets as tens of thousands of Thais stood to sing the royal anthem alongside a professional orchestra and choir.

Many held up portraits or bank notes bearing Bhumibol's face as they sang, some through tears.

"The atmosphere is amazing," said Sethabutra Biraseranee, who like most was dressed in all black despite Bangkok's sweltering midday sun.

"As you can see, all these people here came just to pay their respects to him, which shows how great he was."

- Uncertain future -

Public displays of mass devotion have been encouraged by Thailand's arch-royalist military rulers, who grabbed power in a 2014 coup many believe was staged to ensure a smooth succession.

Bhumibol served as an anchor of stability during his 70-year reign and his passing thrusts the kingdom into an uncertain future.

Little is known about what the heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, will do with a crown that is granted few legal powers but became a position of vast influence under Bhumibol's charismatic reign.

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In a move that surprised many, the 64-year-old asked to delay his proclamation as king in order to grieve with the nation, according to junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who has presided over the transition.

The regime has not provided a clear timeline for when the prince will formally ascend the throne.

Bhumibol charmed Thais with his reputation as a hard-working monarch who eschewed a lavish lifestyle and dedicated himself to rural development projects, tromping up mountains and through jungles to meet his subjects and listen to their concerns.

The crown prince, who has been attending to Buddhist funeral rights along with his siblings, is known for a flashier lifestyle and has spent much of his life overseas.

While the outpouring of grief over Bhumibol's death has been overwhelmingly sober and dignified, it has also unleashed small pockets of ultra-monarchist forces that have shamed, mobbed and in some cases beaten Thais seen as criticising the monarchy.

The government has condemned this vigilantism but stepped up its own surveillance of royal defamation -- a crime that carries 15 years in jail per offence under the kingdom's lese majeste law.

The legislation has seen scores of Thais thrown behind bars -- sometimes for decades -- for perceived slights against the monarchy.

All media based inside the country must heavily self-censor to avoid violating the law, which has been wielded with renewed vigour by the junta.
Facebook over the years has received no shortage of buyout offers, with Yahoo's bid to purchase the social network for $1 billion back in 2006 perhaps being the most famous of all. While $1 billion seems like a steal today, remember that Facebook back in 2006 was only two years old and it was no surefire guarantee that it would go onto become the tech giant it is today. Remember, MySpace was still alive and kicking back in 2006 and Facebook at the time was still closed off to anyone without a .edu email address.

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Yahoo, though, wasn't the only tech giant to express an interest in Facebook over the years. Microsoft in 2010 made a play for the company back in 2010. Of course, Facebook in 2010 was a much different animal than it was in 2006, and Microsoft's offer clearly reflects that. Though Facebook's IPO was still two years away, Facebook by 2010 was growing like mad and had firmly established itself as the only social networking site worth caring about.

Appearing on CNBC earlier today, former Microsoft CEO and current LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer looked back at some of Microsoft's past acquisitions. While explaining that Microsoft was never interested in acquiring Twitter, Ballmer did confirm that Redmond was dead serious about snatching up Microsoft.

When asked how much Microsoft was willing to pay to acquire Facebook, Ballmer said $24 billion.

"I think $24 billion when the company was itsy-bitsy and [Zuckerberg] said no," Ballmer said. "And I respect that."

The entire interview with Ballmer can be viewed below.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Asher Nash is a blue-eyed baby who loves posing in front of the camera, so his mom Meagan decided to send some of his photos to a talent agency.

But when she sent images of the 15-month-old boy, who has Down syndrome, to an Atlanta agency working for OshKosh B'gosh, she never heard back.

Read: 'It's So Exciting': Little Girl Tells the World That Down Syndrome Isn't Scary in Viral Video

After weeks of no response, she reached out to the agency to find out what had happened.

"Something in my gut told me to reach out to them because I couldnt believe that he hasnt gotten at least one call from them," Nash, from Buford, Georgia, told InsideEdition.com.

When she did get a reply, she couldn't believe what she was reading.

"They responded back by saying 'the company didnt specify special needs,'" she said. "I sat back all confused... I immediately wrote a well-thought-out message explaining to them my son had every right to be considered."

She said the company apologized and said they would submit him as a potential model in the future, even if they weren't specifically looking for a child with special needs. But after the interaction, Nash wondered how many other agencies initially overlooked children with special needs.

She decided to share her story with "Changing the Face of Beauty," a non-profit organization that campaigns for brands to partner with kids with disabilities.

Eight-year-old Addison, Ashers older sister, also decided to spread the word. For Down Syndrome Awareness month, which is October, she shared her little brothers story with her classmates in Georgia. Students wore blue and yellow, the colors dedicated to the cause.

Read: 12-Year-Old Down Syndrome Girl Plays on School Volleyball Team: 'They Wanted Her in There'

The family shared the story on its Facebook page, Asher's Down Right Perfect. Another, popular Facebook page, Kids With Down Syndrome, also picked up the story. It was shared tens of thousands of times and began catching the attention of blogs and news organizations.

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That's when OshKosh B'gosh noticed and reached out to the mom.

OshKosh Bgosh appreciates the importance of representing the diversity of our customers in our advertising," a spokesman for the company said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Calls made to the company by InsideEdition.com were not returned Friday.

"Since we became aware of Ms. Nashs request, our team has reached out to her directly to better understand her perspective and provide additional information about our casting process," the statement continued.

"We agree there is an opportunity for greater representation of children with special needs in advertising. We look forward to meeting with Asher and his family, as well as taking steps to enhance the representation of diverse children in our marketing.

Nash said she doesn't blame the company.

"I had no intention whatsoever to put them under in a negative light," she told InsideEdition.com. "I just hope they eventually use kids with disabilities.

She has agreed to meet with them next week and hopes to continue spreading the message that all kids need to be included.

Its going to show the world that these kids matter," she said.

Photos of Asher were taken by Crystal Barbee Photography.

Watch: 7-Year-Old Girl With Down Syndrome Inspires Thousands: 'I Can Do Anything'

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London (AFP) - Less than 12 months since his second spell as Chelsea manager ended amid on-pitch turmoil and bitter off-pitch recrimination, Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United on Sunday.

With three Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup won across his two stints in west London, Mourinho is the most successful manager in Chelsea's history.

The love affair ended last December after nine league defeats and what technical director Michael Emenalo termed "palpable discord" between manager and players, but Mourinho prefers to remember the good times.

"Some managers, when they leave clubs, they like to -- I don't know if you have the same saying in England -- wash their dirty clothes," he said.

"It means speak about what happened and go back and speak and speak and speak. I'm not (like) that.

"I leave the clubs and I leave with a very good feeling, a feeling of: I did everything to succeed, I gave everything to the club and I don't like to go back and speak, especially about the bad things.

"I keep the good things and in Chelsea (there were) so many good things in terms of results, in terms of friends that I have for life, an amazing empathy with the supporters.

"The supporters didn't change their relation with me because last season was a couple of months with bad results.

"So I keep all these good memories."

Mourinho previously returned to the Bridge as an opposition manager in March 2010, when his Inter Milan side won 1-0 to complete a 3-1 aggregate victory in the Champions League round of 16.

Inter finished the season as European champions.

Mourinho cannot scale the same heights with United this season (they are not in the Champions League), but after a run of three straight defeats in mid-September, there are signs his methods are beginning to bear fruit at Old Trafford.

United have gone six games unbeaten and after a creditable 0-0 draw at in-form Liverpool on Monday, they crushed Fenerbahce 4-1 at home on Thursday to invigorate their Europa League campaign.

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Rested for the European fixture, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ander Herrera and Marcus Rashford are all likely to return for the trip to Stamford Bridge, where United last won in September 2012.

It leaves Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and captain Wayne Rooney sweating over their places, while Mourinho must also choose between Daley Blind and the fit-again Luke Shaw at left-back.

Centre-back Chris Smalling will be assessed after being withdrawn at half-time against Fenerbahce with what the club said was a minor muscular problem.

- Moses criticism -

Like United, Chelsea have reacted positively to September setbacks.

Antonio Conte's side lost back-to-back games, against Liverpool and Arsenal last month, but have since beaten Hull City 2-0 and won 3-0 at home to defending champions Leicester City.

Conte, whose side are two points above United in fifth place, has said he has "great respect" for Mourinho and expressed hope the Portuguese will receive a "good reception".

But Nigerian winger Victor Moses, who is threatening to become a mainstay at wing-back under Conte, has criticised Mourinho for creating divisions within the changing room.

"He never spoke to me," Moses told ESPN this week. "I thought in my head, 'He's got his own players already.'

"The manager who is here now (Conte) is giving everyone a chance, even the young lads."

Conte has confirmed he will persist with the 3-4-3 system he has been using since the second half of the 3-0 loss at Arsenal a month ago.

He will make a late decision on whether to pick Willian, the Brazilian forward who returned to the club on Thursday following compassionate leave after the death of his mother.

Captain John Terry could return after over a month out with an ankle injury, but Cesc Fabregas (thigh) and Branislav Ivanovic, who has a minor muscle injury, are out.
By Joseph Ax

NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was told about the lane closures that led to the "Bridgegate" scandal a month before they occurred, a former aide testified on Friday, contradicting Christie's statements that he only learned about them afterward.

Bridget Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, told jurors in federal court in Newark she discussed the plan to shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge with Christie in August 2013 and again in September as it was ongoing. She testified she had been frightened of Christie, saying he once threw a water bottle at her.

Kelly, who is on trial for her alleged role in the plot, said she believed at the time that the lane closures were for a legitimate traffic study, not a politically motivated scheme, and described it as such to Christie.

Prosecutors have charged Kelly and Bill Baroni, a former executive of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a Christie appointee, with creating massive traffic gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as payback after Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, Mark Sokolich, refused to back Christie's 2013 re-election campaign.

Christie has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the plot, but the scandal dogged his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

As the governor has said since January 9, 2014, the governor had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and he had no role in authorizing them. Anything said to the contrary is simply untrue, Christie's press secretary, Brian Murray, said in a statement on Friday.

Kelly testified that former Port Authority executive David Wildstein, the confessed mastermind, said the traffic study might allow Christie to take credit for lessening commuting time and asked her to run the idea by the governor.

Kelly said Christie told her on Aug. 12 the study sounded fine. The next morning, Kelly sent a now-infamous email to Wildstein in which she said, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

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Prosecutors claim that email set the scheme in motion. But Kelly said she was simply "parroting" the language Wildstein used in describing the possible gridlock.

"Was that intended to be a code to punish Mayor Sokolich?" asked Kellys attorney, Michael Critchley.

"Absolutely not," Kelly replied.

A tearful Kelly said Christie bullied her on occasion, including one instance when she asked him to introduce local officials at an event.

Christie asked if she thought he was a "game show host," using an expletive and then threw a water bottle at her.

"I guess youre a little afraid of the governor?" Critchley asked.

"Yes," Kelly said.

Also on Friday, Christie political adviser Michael DuHaime testified that he informed the governor ahead of a December 2013 news conference of Wildstein's claims that Kelly and campaign manager Bill Stepien knew about the closures in advance.

Christie then told reporters no one in his administration was involved. The next month, Christie apologized and fired Kelly and Stepien after Kelly's Aug. 13 email became public.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Leslie Adler)
NBC is looking to get into the cyber conspiracy game.

The network has handed out a script order for a reboot of 1992 computer hacker movie Sneakers, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The feature film, a comedic caper, starred Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley as college students who hack into computer networks using university equipment in a bid to redistribute conservative funds to liberal causes. The movie explores their diverging paths and ultimate reunion as one goes the organized crime route while the other works with law enforcement.

Lawrence Lasker, Walter Parkes and Phil Alden Robinson penned the feature script. Parkes and his wife and producing partner Laurie MacDonald will executive produce the NBC reboot, with Tom Szentgyorgyi (The Mentalist, NYPD Blue) set to pen the script.

The drama hails from Universal Television, where Parkes and MacDonald are under an overall deal. Universal Television's film counterpart Universal Pictures produced the movie, which co-starred Dan Aykroyd, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and David Strathairn. Sneakers was produced on a budget of $35 million and grossed $105.2 million worldwide.

The Sneakers project arrives as USA Network has found success with hacker drama Mr. Robot, which scored leading man Rami Malek an Emmy.

Parkes and MacDonald's TV credits include NBC's The Slap and Crossbones. On the feature side, the duo's credits include Gladiator, Catch Me If You Can, Men in Black and Keeping Up With the Joneses, which opened in theaters on Friday.

Reboots continue to remain in high demand as broadcast, cable and streaming outlets look for proven IP in a bid to cut through a cluttered scripted landscape that is quickly approaching 500 original series. Key to the remakes is having the original producers involved in some capacity (which Sneakers does with Parkes) as more studios look to monetize their existing film libraries.

Already in the works this season are reboots of Enemy of the State (ABC), Dynasty (The CW), War of the Worlds (MTV), Magnum P.I. (ABC), The Lost Boys (CW), Varsity Blues (CMT), The Departed (Amazon), Let the Right One In (TNT) and L.A. Law, though the latter does not yet have a network attached.

Szentgyorgyi is repped by WME and Jackoway Tyerman; Parkes+MacDonald is with CAA.
A member of the Swedish Academy, the group that bestows the Nobel Prize, has spoken out about Bob Dylan's overall lack of recognition about winning their literature honor. "One can say that it is impolite and arrogant," writer Per Wastberg said.

"He is who he is," Wastberg continued to Sweden's SVT public television (via The Guardian). "This is an unprecedented situation."



In a separate interview to the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Wastberg added, "We were aware that [Dylan] can be difficult and that he does not like appearances when he stands alone on the stage."



Since announcing that Dylan would be the recipient of their Nobel Prize in Literature  the first American winner since Toni Morrison in 1993  the Swedish Academy have tried fruitlessly to get in touch with Dylan, who has not acknowledged the award nor confirmed whether he would attend the December 10th Nobel fete in Stockholm.

Earlier in the week, the Swedish Academy's permanent secretary Sara Danius admitted they have been unable to get in contact with Dylan. "Right now we are doing nothing," Danius said. "I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough."

On October 13th, the Swedish Academy announced they were honoring Dylan for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Since then though, Dylan has remained silent on the matter, even at his high-profile performance at Desert Trip.

Dylan, or at least his official website, finally acknowledged that he was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature in the description for his upcoming book of lyrics The Lyrics: 1961-2012. However, less than 24 hours after the Nobel mention was made, the line "Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature" was removed from the product description without explanation, NBC reported.

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ROME  Paolo Sorrentino-directed TV series The Young Pope, starring Jude Law as conservative cigarette-smoking American pontiff Pius XIII and Diane Keaton as a nun, debuted to stellar ratings Friday on Rupert Murdochs Sky paybox in Italy where the first two episodes drew an average 953,000 viewers  out of a 4.7 million subscriber base.

Sky is calling the draw the best result ever scored in Italy by the debut of a Sky-produced show, saying the share is 45% higher than the launch of its gritty mob skein Gomorrah, which went on to become Italys alltime top TV export, and also three times higher than the Italian bow of Game of Thrones.

However the 10-episode Sky, HBO, and Canal Plus original  which is co-produced by Fremantle Media-owned Wildside with Haut et Court TV and Mediapro  did not open as strong in Italy as the second series of Gomorrah which in May drew an average of more than 1.1 million viewers on Sky for the first two episodes.

Of course even with all the fanfare The Young Pope generated after launching positively in September at the Venice Film Festival it still needs to build an audience.

One type of publicity Young Pope has not received so far is a blasting by the Vatican. Official Vatican newspaper lOsservatore Romano, known to lash out against movies which can be perceived as casting the Church in a negative light such as The Da Vinci Code, is keeping mum.

Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana has criticised the show saying Sorrentino, who won the 2014 foreign-language Oscar with The Great Beauty, overdoes it with the caricature-like characters created to appeal to an American audience.

As Variety critic Jay Weissberg notes in his review, in the shows first episode the unabashedly American Lenny Belardo, played by Jude Law, who takes the name Pius XIII, has a nightmare in which he makes his first pontifical address to the crowds outside St. Peter, urging his flock to embrace nearly every social activity traditionally forbidden by the Vatican, from gay marriage to sexual pleasure without the bonds of wedlock.

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The Young Pope will air at the end of October on Sky in the U.K., Germany, Ireland and Austria, and on Canal Plus in France. HBO has not yet set the U.S. airdate.

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Aussie film achievements were celebrated Wednesday with a star-studded gala at the Australians in Film Awards.

Australian comedian Tim Minchin played host to the fifth annual event, held at NeueHouse Hollywood. Praising one of the night's honorees, Minchin said, "Rebel [Wilson] has been known to be funny! I love her so much, it makes me really happy!"

Joel Edgerton kicked off the ceremony by presenting Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad) with one of two FOXTEL Breakthrough Awards. "He is a rare person in that he can do that something - he can shoot guys and be that guy, but there's something very intelligent and subtle about his performances," Edgerton said of his fellow Aussie actor.

Courtney acknowledged his honor by telling The Hollywood Reporter, "I've had the extreme fortune of working with some of the greats. Robert Duvall was in my first film I did; Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie directed me in a project. You never know what's next! I'm constantly in awe of the people I get the fortune of working with." Upon accepting his award, Courtney joked, "It's ironic I'm accepting this award in a year I've done less acting than the previous few!" He concluded with advice to fellow Australians trying to break into the industry: "One accomplishment leads to the next and becomes a launch pad looking forward. It's going to take a lot of grit and a lot of resilience being so far from home."

Read more: Rebel Wilson to Star in 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' Remake

Director Paul Feig presented Rebel Wilson with the inaugural Screen NSW Kellermann Award, recalling his first introduction to the actress during her Bridesmaids audition: "Rebel's audition was unlike anything I've ever seen. She was unique. Unique in almost a perplexing way. Her out of far-left-field improvised lines. ... She was so beautifully weird!" Feig also credited Wilson for changing his life after the great Bridesmaids success.

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"No one really thought I would be a good actress, let alone successful!" said Wilson in a touching acceptance speech, adding, "The whole journey has been very hard, but I do really love what I do. I love being an actress, entertaining people and doing a job that I'm super passionate about."

The show and benefit gala also honored director James Wan with the Fox Studios Australia International Award, helmer Ridley Scott with the Ausfilm International Award and Village Roadshow Entertainment Group CEO Greg Basser with the Qantas Orry-Kelly International Award.

Australians in Film is a Los Angeles based film, television and digital content nonprofit with a mission to connect Australian filmmakers to the international market.

Read more: Screen Australia Tackles Gender Imbalance With $2.7M in Funding for Female-Led Projects
Numerous women have come forward in recent weeks accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, but Natasha Stoynoffs account is one of the most damning.

Stoynoff, a reporter for People magazine, wrote a first-person essay on Oct. 12 about her experience of allegedly being physically attacked by the Republican presidential nominee while on assignment in 2005.

Stoynoffs account was unlike the others in several ways: her alleged assault happened on a Trump property (his Mar-a-Lago estate), the assault was aggressive (Stoynoff alleges he pushed her against a wall and forced his tongue down her throat), and Trumps wife, Melania, was on the premises (Stoynoff claims Melania walked in on them right after the alleged attack).

After the articles release, Trump dismissed Stoynoffs claims as lies. People editor-in-chief Jess Cagle responded by publicly defending Stoynoff and explaining the magazines decision to run her account (which was corroborated by six colleagues and close friends).

Variety spoke to Cagle at Fridays GLSEN benefit in Los Angeles, where he explained how Stoynoffs story got published.

Natasha was not, frankly, eager to tell this story, Cagle explained. Youre gonna deal with a lot of nonsense when you get out and tell that story. So, its not like she came rushing to me trying to tell it. Id heard that it had happened, fairly recently. I gave her the chance to tell her story, if she wanted to. I think after she heard the Access Hollywood tapes and after she heard what Donald Trump said on the debate stage  denying that he had ever (assaulted women)  she wanted to tell her story.

Her story is absolutely true, Cagle continued. I was happy to run it. I was thrilled to run it. I didnt want to become part of the story in a presidential election  thats not really Peoples job. However, this was important. And on a personal level, I wanted to stand up for Natasha every single step of the way. And, on a patriotic level, this is information that is good for the public to have. Were not saying who to vote for, but you should know this stuff and do with it what you will.

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As for Trumps reaction following Stoynoffs claims that she wasnt attractive enough for him to hit on?

It was heartbreaking, Cagle said. It was infuriating, yes, but it was heartbreaking, because Natasha is such an extraordinary person. She didnt do this because she wanted to be on TV  in fact, she never did a single TV appearance and she never did another interview. She just wanted to get the facts out there. She was after nothing but to do her duty and to do what was right for other women.

Trump vowed on Saturday morning to sue the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, following the election.

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Armen Martirosyan  the Armenian citizen who was removed from the airplane en route Kiev-Minsk after it was forced to land  has commented on the incident.

Martirosyan vowed to present details on the incident soon, Lenta.ru reports.

After consulting with lawyers I will announce what measures I will take, Martirosyan says. At the same time he mentioned A call to a friend changes many things.

Currently he is in Moscow.

Armen Martirosyan is a famous blogger, reporter. He has lived in Kiev until 2014.

A Belarusian Belavia aircraft, en route from Kiev to Minsk, was forced to return to the Ukrainian airport under the threat of being intercepted by military jets. The reason of the forced landing was an Armenian citizen aboard the aircraft, Obozrevatel.com reported citing the airlines press service.

The ground controller ordered the aircraft to immediately return to the airport after entering the airspace of Belarus 50km. No explanation was given. The ground controller reported in case of failing to fulfill the order fighter jets will be scrambled, the statement of the airline company reads.

After landing in Kiev, Ukrainian law enforcement officers removed one passenger from the airplane, who is an Armenian citizen.

According to .ua, the passengers last name is Martirosyan. He is accused of criminal activities and being a serviceman of Ukraines Security Service.

The Armenian citizen was released later and departed for Minsk at 19:00.

Belavia says it will demand Ukraine to compensate for the aircrafts expenses.
Lady Gaga's fourth album Joanne -- a stylistically eclectic of collection of swaggering rock, introspective ballads and soulful, danceable grooves -- is finally here, and we've been jamming to it since it dropped Friday (Oct. 21).

Her most personal LP yet, Gaga makes a number of personal, cultural and political references on Joanne. Some are direct -- she names one song after iconic silver screen cowboy John Wayne, and the album's title refers to her late aunt, Joanne Germanotta -- while other references on Joanne are a bit more roundabout.

In honor of lead single "Perfect Illusion," we decided to highlight five perfect allusions from Lady Gaga's Joanne.

The Divinyls

In the grand tradition of empowering songs about masturbation (which traces back to Cyndi Lauper's explosive "She Bop") comes Gaga's brilliantly titled "Dancin' in Circles," which finds the narrator fantasizing about a past lover while getting funky "downtown" alone late at night. "I lay around, touch myself to pass the time," Gaga sings, alluding to the Divinyls' classic 1990 ode to masturbation "I Touch Myself."

The Bible

Gaga comes from a Catholic Italian background, so naturally the Bible crops up on an album this personal. On "Come to Mama," Gaga alludes to both the Old and New Testaments: There's the Noah-referencing lyric about "a forty-day flood," while "stop throwin' stones at your sisters and your brothers" calls back to Jesus' moral aphorism, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

David Bowie

The catalog of the late David Bowie may very well be Lady Gaga's personal Bible when it comes to creative inspiration. So while the lyric in "Diamond Heart" about "young, wild American" might not read like a Bowie allusion if this song came from, say, Britney Spears, when Gaga sings it, it's a good bet she's winking at her hero's 1975 classic "Young Americans."

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Trayvon Martin

He's not explicitly mentioned in Gaga's "Angel Down," but Gaga revealed in an interview with Beats 1's Zane Lowe that "Angel Down" was inspired by Trayvon Martin's 2012 murder by George Zimmerman. "I was overwhelmed by the fact that people just stood around and didn't do anything about it and that the justice system continues to over and over again not seek justice for these families," Gaga explained. The song -- which appears twice on the deluxe edition of Joanne -- features the lyrics, "Shots were fired down the street / By the church where we used to meet / Angel down, angel down / But the people just stood around."

New York's Counterfeit Merchandise Market

On "Sinner's Prayer," Gaga sings, "Her love for him ain't cheap / But it breaks just like a knockoff piece / From Fulton Street," alluding to one of the many Manhattan locations where you can get less expensive (and less-than-legit) versions of name-brand products.
U.K. helmer Peter Webber, renowned for his Oscar-nominated The Girl with a Pearl Earring, is prepping his first Spanish-language pic in Colombia. Tentatively titled Carteristas (Pickpockets), the drama set in the capital of Bogota, tracks a 16-year old street urchin who, together with two pals, learns the art of pickpocketing from a master in the sleight of hand. Spains Carlos Bardem (Escobar: Paradise Lost) plays mentor to the 16-year old played by newcomer Emiliano Pernia, the son of Colombian actress Marcela Mar (Love in the Time of Cholera) who appears as his onscreen mother. Natalia Reyes (La Vendedora de Rosas) and theatre actor Duban Prado complete the triad of friends.

Principal photography kicks off Sunday Oct. 23 in Bogota with Colombian filmmakers Diana Rico and Richard Decaillet serving as associate directors.

They will be Peters cultural translators, said the pics producer Gael Nouaille of Full House. Bogota is a vibrant and intense city which is currently booming; some compare its newfound energy to Brooklyn in the 80s, he said.

Richard and Diana are artists and have a unique connection with Bogotas street scene and Colombian culture. As such they will act as cultural and creative consultants for Peter to ensure the local details are accurate, Nouaille added noting that a few years ago, the three had spent a month in the Amazon making a documentary.

Ive been visiting Colombia regularly for over a decade, and have shot some documentary material here, said Webber. The chance to make a feature film set in Bogota, one of the worlds most gritty and cinematic cities, is very exciting, he added. Fluent in Spanish, Webber has previously worked in Japanese and Arabic.

Diego Ramirezs 64-A Films, which has worked on Blunt Force Trauma, among others, will provide local production services. Carteristas has received the support of the Colombian Film Commission and will benefit from the cash rebate program defined by Law 1556, which grants a cash rebate of 40% for cinematographic services and 20% for logistic expenditures to international feature films.

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Paris-based Full House is a production label set up in 2009 by Borsalino Productions and Maneki Films. It focuses on director-driven films from around the world and has a long-standing experience with Latin America where it has produced or co-produced such films as omnibus pic 7 days in Havana, Laurent Cantets Back to Ithaca, Pablo Traperos Elefante Blanco and Santiago Mitres Paulina, all of which premiered in either Cannes or Venice. Full Houses latest production is Eva Hussons Bang Gang, une histoire damour moderne, which had its world premiere in Toronto.

Independently from their common label Full House, partners Borsalino Prods. and Maneki Films have each produced separate projects in Latin America. Borsalino Productions has just wrapped the production of a premium web series for Studio Plus titled Blanca. Shot in Colombia, the series is directed by Carlos Moreno and is comprised of 10 episodes of 10 minutes each. Maneki Films is currently co-producing Mitres latest pic The Summit.

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(Adds Petrobras comments, details)

SAO PAULO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras said on Friday its board approved settlements for four lawsuits sought by investors in New York federal court and it currently estimates a provision of $353 million to cover the costs.

Petrobras said the settlements include lawsuits led by Allianz SE's Pimco Total Return Fund, Dodge & Cox International Stock Fund, Janus Overseas Fund and Al Shams Investments.

Investors are suing Petrobras in New York accusing it of covering up a sweeping graft scheme and publishing misleading accounts. They believe the corruption and mismanagement helped destroy nearly $200 billion of shareholder value in Petrobras since 2008.

Petrobras said on Friday it would include a provision for costs related to the settlements in its third-quarter earnings report due to be released soon.

There are still 23 other individual lawsuits and a class-action lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The company did not say if it will seek settlements on those as well.

"At this moment, it is not possible for Petrobras to release a reliable estimate regarding the outcome of the class-action," said the company in a regulatory filing.

In a recent Reuters interview, Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente said the lawsuits in the United States would not overshadow the company's $74 billion, five-year plan to slash its crippling debt and refocus on its core business.

The oil company said Pimco is one of the largest holders of its bonds and that Dodge & Cox is one of its largest shareholders after the Brazilian government.

"These settlements, whose terms are confidential, do not constitute any recognition of responsibility by Petrobras, who will continue to defend itself in the remaining lawsuits," the Rio de Janeiro-based company said.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Lisa Shumaker)
The first president of the Continental Congress was George Washingtons close friend and Thomas Jeffersons cousin. So who was this mostly forgotten forefather, and why was he a crucial Revolutionary figure?

peytonrandolph

Randolph was 54 years old when he died from a stroke on October 22, 1775, while the Congress was in session. He was held in such high regard as a Revolutionary leader that the entire Congress ceased work to attend his funeral.

Randolph twice served as president of the Continental Congress, and he was in Philadelphia when he died suddenly. Randolph was first buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia. His body was later taken home to Virginia and interred on November 26, 1776.

The delegate from Virginia was elected unanimously as the first president of the Continental Congress in 1774. He stepped down after a month to attend to political business back in Virginia. When Congress met in a second session, Randolph was again named president. He resigned again to return to Virginia to lead the movement against the colonys royal governor.

When Randolph came back to Congress for a third time, John Hancock kept the presidents chair while in session, while Randolph sat with the Virginia delegation. Randolph had gone to a friends home for a meal after Congress one night, sat down at the table, and was stricken. He passed away a few hours later.

Jefferson was Randolphs first cousin once removed. He initially became a member of the Continental Congress when he replaced Randolph in the Second Continental Congress at its start. In later writings, Jefferson praised Randolph as a fine person, but hinted that he had health issues due to his size. He was indeed a most excellent man, Jefferson said, but heavy and inert in body, he was rather too indolent and careless for business. Randolph also survived a near-fatal encounter with smallpox while he was studying law in England.

Contemporary records show that Randolph was ill in early 1775, which led to Jefferson assuming his role at the Congress. Another illness delayed Randolphs return to Congress again that summer. Randolph was part of a political dynasty in Virginia that included other Randolphs, Jefferson, and members of the Lee family. He was educated in law in England and served as the colonys attorney general. Seen as a moderate voice, Randolphs presence in the Revolutionary movement gave it more legitimacy.

Randolph usually headed the Virginia delegation in Congress. The British had placed him on a death list for being a radical, while Randolphs biggest critic, Patrick Henry, said Randolph wasnt radical enough. It was also Randolph, historians say, who started the custom of opening Congress with a prayer, a tradition that has extended to the Supreme Court.

Although Randolph didnt live to see the Declaration of Independence come alive, he played a key role in the formation of the Continental Congress and was a patriot in every sense of the word.
By Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) - The United States remains the "closest friend" of the Philippines but Manila wants to break away from a "mindset of dependency and subservience" and forge closer ties with other nations, the Philippine foreign minister said on Saturday. The comments by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his "separation" from Washington, though he went on to strike a more conciliatory tone on Friday. Yasay said in a Facebook posting that Duterte had "unmistakably" stated that severing ties with Washington was not in the nation's interest. However, he wrote that separation "implies breaking away from the debilitating mindset of dependency and subservience - economically and militarily - that have perpetuated our 'little brown brother' image to America, which has stunted our growth and advancement." He said Duterte had told Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing that "if they are not willing to lend their support... the Filipinos will chart their destiny alone, despite great odds." Yasay's posting is the latest sign of an administration once again scrambling to put out fires after Duterte's stunning declarations, which if delivered upon could upset the geopolitical balance in a region where China and the United States are vying aggressively for influence. On Friday, Duterte's economic managers were quick to clarify the Philippines was not cutting economies and trade ties with the United States. Prior to Duterte taking office in late June, China was a bitter rival of the Philippines, and Manila was one of Washington's most dependable Asian allies. Duterte's efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing did not have historic rights to the South China Sea in a case brought by the previous administration in Manila, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30. "It is not severance of ties. When you say severance of ties, you cut diplomatic relations. I cannot do that," Duterte told reporters at a midnight news conference in his southern home city of Davao after he arrived from his four-day trip to Beijing. Duterte's abrupt pivot from Washington to Beijing is unlikely to be universally popular at home, however. On Tuesday, an opinion poll showed Filipinos still trust the United States far more than China. (Editing by Helen Popper)
GaneshaSpeaks

India and Pakistan  the two countries which have been at loggerheads from long, are now again facing intensified peace-crisis because of increased tension along the border. There have been problems on the LoC from a long time, with problems mostly being triggered from the other side of the border; continuous infiltration of terrorists, constant violation of the ceasefire by the Pakistani troops and such other misadventures, especially along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu and Kashmir region have never let peace prevail. Things took a really ugly turn after the Uri attack, conducted by the Pakistan based terror outfit JeM, in which 19 of the valiant Indian soldiers were martyred. This time, in a deviation from its usual peaceful and diplomatic stance, India responded with a high-precision military strike and gave a real befitting response, which various national as well as international leaders commended. But, the situation doesnt seem to get better anytime soon, instead greater tensions loom large. How will things shape up in the near future? Lets explore in this astrological analysis.



The planets indicate something more intense than the Kargil episode between November 2016 and January 2017  says Ganesha.



India-Pakistan And The Astrological Picture:



The basis for analysis:

For getting a deeper idea of the situation between the two countries, Ganesha have thoroughly analysed the Foundation Charts of both Independent India and Pakistan.



The role of Mars  the cosmic Commander-in-Chief:

In his analysis, Ganesha notes that India is currently under the influence of Moon Mahadasha and Mars Antardasha. In Indias Foundation Chart, Mars happens to be the Lord of the 7th house  the House of war. So, the transit of Mars will have a lot of say in the proceedings till the end of February 2017. Mars  the planet of aggression, also happens to be the representative of the armed forces and matters pertaining to defence affairs. This planets transit through the fiery Sign  Sagittarius, indicates the aggravation of matters and increase in tension to a greater extent. Mars is currently passing through the 8th House of Indias Foundation Chart and aspecting the natal Mars in the 2nd House. Thus, the Mars factor will continue to escalate tension between both the countries. Are tensions escalating between you and your spouse too? Then find solutions to rediscover the magic in your bond with our hand-written Marriage Ask A Question.



Emphasised influence of Mars indicates turbulence, unrest and aggression taking center stage between the arch rivals.



Matters may get worse:

The conjunction of Mars and Ketu in Aquarius will pose greater threats and indicates more dangerous situations. The period between 21st November, 2016, and 10th January, 2017, will be extremely sensitive and crucial for both the countries. There will be immense pressure on internal and external security forces due to increased terrorist activities and threats. This may also lead to serious clashes along/across the border and even the Kargil War like situations, or even something more serious than that cannot be ruled out. The overall planetary picture looks ominous and it indicates an extremely sensitive picture. Even natural calamities may cause problems. Are you worried about some matters pertaining to your career? Then get expert guidance and effective solutions in our personalised report  Career Ask A Question.



The hostile Dasha sequence in Pakistans Chart will not let logic prevail in its mind.



Expect more misadventures from Pakistans side:

Speaking of the planetary configurations in Pakistans case, the country is currently under the influence of Venus Mahadasha and Rahu Antardasha. The Venus-Rahu-Ketu Dasha sequence will be extremely critical. Also, the transiting Mars is aspecting the Ascendant Lord Mars and Moon both. It indicates fiery and unrestrained reactions from Pakistans leaders and the Army. A misadventure from Pakistan can not be ruled out particularly between 21st November, 2016, and 28th January, 2017.



Battle-ready mindset of the rivals  the precursor of war:

So, the forthcoming period till the end of January 2017, will remain extremely tense and combat-readiness from both the sides may lead to a serious confrontation between the neighbours.



With Ganeshas Grace,

Tanmay K. Thakar

The GaneshaSpeaks.com Team
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 51F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 51F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
michael jordan house gate

If you were wealthy enough to afford whatever house you wanted, what would be first on your list?

According to a recent survey of the world's wealthiest people by real estate company Luxury Portfolio International, the answer to that question is most often privacy.

Luxury Portfolio partnered with market research firm YouGov to conduct the survey of a representative sample of the top 10% of consumers in 12 countries globally: United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, Australia, Korea and Singapore.

The research team completed more than 5,000 online interviews of wealthy people, in addition to focus groups and in-person interviews.

zuckerberg house

When asked about the characteristics they typically seek in a home, 61% of those surveyed said that having lots of privacy was important to them.

Privacy was the most commonly named characteristic in the survey, beating out high-end kitchen appliances, en-suite luxury bathrooms, and master bedrooms with dual walk-in closets.

"We know that those of means regard home as a refuge and a place to spend time with family and those who have achieved a similar level of success," Stephanie Pfeffer-Anton, executive vice president of Luxury Portfolio, told Business Insider. "The desire to enjoy the lifestyle that their wealth affords them with a certain level of solitude and discretion drives the demand for privacy."

That desire for privacy often leads to the installation of high-tech smart home systems and high fences, and sometimes even the hiring of security guards. For some of America's wealthiest, it could also mean purchasing the home next door so that no one else moves in.

In November 2013, Elon Musk paid $6.75 million for a teardown across the street from his $17 million Bel-Air mansion. A year later, Mark Zuckerberg did a similar thing, buying four houses surrounding his Palo Alto home in a purchase that has since brought him a fair amount of legal trouble. In addition to another home in San Francisco, Zuckerberg also owns 750 acres of secluded land on the North Shore of Kauai  big enough for a set of villas or even a resort, but he apparently plans to build only one home.

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The practice of using LLCs to hide a buyer's identity is also fairly common, and it is legal. In January, the Treasury Department announced that it would begin tracking the masked buyers of high-end properties in New York City and Miami-Dade County. The new initiative will require real-estate companies to reveal the names of people who purchase properties behind shell companies, often in all-cash transactions.

NOW WATCH: This Lego-style home can be built in a few weeks with just a screwdriver





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We are SO PSYCHED for next years Met Gala theme

In the past decade, the Met Gala has gone from a fashion insider fete to yet another red carpet capital-E Event, though still one with deep fashion roots. Its focuses, which are tied to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute and its high-ranking exhibits at the Met, have included 2011s Alexander McQueen tribute for Savage Beauty, 2015s Western appropriation of Chinese fashion for China: Through the Looking Glass, and 2009s musings on the relationship between designers and models.

And now, next years theme has been announced: 2017s Met Gala focus will be on Rei Kawakubo, the iconic designer behind COMME des GARCONS, and we could not. be. more. excited.

For more casual fashion observers, CDGs influence is one of iconography: Spin-off line Play is branded by the now-ubiquitous crossed (as in temperament) heart, which adorns everything from Converse sneakers to bold striped shirts.

CDGs also known for their simple but timeless accessories, like gorgeous jewel-toned wallets or wares emblazoned with gorgeous spot patterns.

CAMOUFLAGE ------------------------ Dot  Comme des Garcons  2015 A photo posted by christiane behmann (@duftcontor) on Oct 22, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

Kawakubos most mass market offerings are only part of her fantastic design vision; just as she knows when to pare down in terms of simplicity, she also pares down in terms of reinvention. Her more experimental clothes function as art installations, using the human body as an anchor, a lifting-off point, for the clothes themselves.

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A photo posted by Comme des Garcons OFFICIAL (@commedesgarcons) on Mar 5, 2016 at 12:24pm PST

Comme des Garcons' The Ceremony of Separation FW15, photo by PAOLO ROVERSI, head lace and make up by Julien D'ys A photo posted by Comme des Garcons OFFICIAL (@commedesgarcons) on Oct 8, 2015 at 1:42pm PDT

While many have tried to capture Kawakubos personality with words (with this New Yorker profile being by far the best example), shes best celebrated through clothes, and were hoping that next years Met Gala attendees take Kawakubos influence by wearing challenging and complicated clothes, ones that require the wearer to be aware of their body and of the conventions of taste that fashion can, and should, challenge still.

CDG has a few high-profile adherents, namely Hamilton actor and rapper Daveed Diggs (who wore CDG to the Tonys this year, and is clearly a fan):

oh man ... Shoutout to @COMMEGARCONS for keeping me fly at every turn this week. You get my style pic.twitter.com/BaFNlphKST  Daveed Diggs (@DaveedDiggs) May 13, 2016

But were curious how more, ah, conventional celebs tackle the theme and the curious woman at the center of it. On that note, this years co-chairs are Anna Wintour, Pharrell, and Katy Perry.

For no reason other than I love it so, heres a video of Mary Baskett, who collects contemporary Japanese fashion, particularly from Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake, explaining the influence of these three designers. Enjoy:

The post We are SO PSYCHED for next years Met Gala theme appeared first on HelloGiggles.
- Australian wonder horse Winx claimed her 13th consecutive win with an emphatic victory in the country's premier weight-for-age race in Melbourne on Saturday. The five-year-old mare demolished her rivals by eight lengths to win the WS Cox Plate for the second year in a row. She joined Australian turf greats such as Phar Lap, Kingston Town, Sunline, Northerly and So You Think as multiple winners of the time-honoured race at Moonee Valley racecourse. It was Winx's ninth Group One success and increased her career prize money to Aus$9.3 million ($7 million). "It's such a special moment," jockey Hugh Bowman said. "I can't tell you how confident I was going into the race after the way she has been working."

AFP
Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Security forces battled for a second day Saturday with Islamic State group gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul.

A toxic cloud released by a fire IS militants started at a sulphur plant south of Mosul earlier this week killed at least two civilians and forced some US service members to wear masks.

A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, jihadist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements.

Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings early on Friday.

"We have 46 dead and 133 wounded, most of them members of the security services, as result of the clashes with Daesh (IS)," an interior ministry brigadier general told AFP.

The toll was confirmed by a source at the Kirkuk health directorate, which called for blood donations to assist with the emergency.

The Kirkuk police chief said 48 jihadist attackers had been killed so far and several others wounded, including a Libyan believed to be among the raid's leaders.

"The security forces control the situation now but there are still pockets of jihadists in some southern and eastern neighbourhoods," Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told AFP.

The large-scale "inghimasi" attack, a term for jihadist operations in which gunmen, often wearing suicide vests, intend to sow chaos and fight to the death rather than achieve any military goal, caught Kirkuk off guard.

The large city, which lies in an oil-producing region around 240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Baghdad, woke up on Friday to find jihadists roaming the streets of several neighbourhoods.

They used mosque loudspeakers to broadcast praise of their self-proclaimed "caliphate", which has been shrinking steadily since last year and is looking closer than ever to collapse.

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- Distraction from Mosul -

Abu Omar, a 40-year-old butcher, spent 24 hours locked up in his home with his wife, mother and three children.

"It felt as if this day lasted a year," he said. "We could hear shooting and explosions all the time but we didn't dare venture outside to see what was happening."

Clashes broke in the countryside just east of Kirkuk between IS fighters fleeing the city and security forces, a senior regional security official said.

The attack, which is believed to have been carried out both by sleeper cells and militants who entered the city on Friday, was widely seen as an attempt by IS to draw attention away from their setbacks in the battle for Mosul.

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter arrived in Iraq Saturday to review the offensive, which his country and around 60 other nations support.

Mosul is the most populous city in the "caliphate" Baghdadi declared in June 2014, and the operation to recapture it is Iraq's largest in years.

With 3,000 to 4,500 IS men facing tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by massive US-led air power, the outcome of the battle is in little doubt.

But jihadists have been launching dozens of suicide car bombs against advancing forces, inflicting casualties and slowing their progress.

On Saturday, Iraqi federal forces moved into Qaraqosh, which lies just east of Mosul and was Iraq's largest Christian town before its population fled the jihadists in 2014, the joint operations command said.

Kurdish forces were also leading a major push northeast of Mosul, but complained that air support from the US-led coalition was insufficient and leaving them exposed.

- Sulphur cloud -

In his meetings in Baghdad on Saturday, the US defence secretary had been expected to attempt to convince the government to lift its opposition to the participation of Turkish forces, who have a base north of Mosul.

But Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reiterated his rejection of Turkish participation in the offensive, saying that "this is something the Iraqis will handle".

Launched on Monday, the offensive is still in its early stages and is likely to involve a siege before elite forces enter the city and engage in street fighting with die-hard jihadists.

A key concern is the presence in Mosul of up to 1.2 million civilians, who are trapped and unable to leave until forces move closer and safe corridors are opened.

According to residents contacted by AFP, living conditions are deteriorating daily, with some food supplies running low and IS paranoia of informants greater than ever.

Earlier this week, IS fighters set part of a sulphur plant south of Mosul ablaze.

The toxic cloud it released killed two civilians in the area, a senior interior ministry officer told AFP in Qayyarah, the main staging base south of Mosul.

"Of course, this is affecting our planned progress," he said.

The local health centre said it had checked 500 people complaining of breathing problems.

Some US personnel at a nearby base wore protective masks Saturday after changing winds blew the cloud towards Qayyarah.

Iraqi officials said the fire at the Mishraq plant was extinguished later Saturday.

An Iraqi cameraman was killed by an IS sniper south of Mosul Saturday, a day after another TV journalist died of a sniper bullet to the chest during the Kirkuk clashes.
London (AFP) - Around 150 people rallied in central London on Saturday calling for Britain to take decisive action to end the five-year war in Syria.

They piled up teddy bears outside Downing Street to symbolise the number of young casualties in the battered city of Aleppo from a recent surge in violence.

They also delivered a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May's 10 Downing Street office demanding she take action to help cease the bloodshed.

"We're here today to send a very strong message to Theresa May that what's happening in Aleppo just cannot continue," said James Sadri, director of The Syria Campaign, which calls for humanitarian action in the war-ravaged country.

"There's 100,000 children living under siege in eastern Aleppo being bombed every day. We need that to stop," he told AFP.

Hundreds of wounded civilians were stranded in rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Saturday as the United Nations said security concerns were again preventing evacuations despite Russia extending a ceasefire into a third day.

Demonstrators in London waved placards reading "May: stop Putin", "Child murder is a war crime" and "Save Aleppo's children".

They chanted: "Down with Bashar al-Assad! Down with dictators!"

Bert Wander, campaign director with the activist group Avaaz, told AFP: "They could impose sanctions on relevant parts of the Russian economy -- for example, military equipment.

"They could also up diplomatic pressure. It's been limp, frankly, so far. There's so much more that could be done in terms of putting pressure on the Russians to back down."

Wael Aleji, a spokesman for the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said: "The UK can step up efforts and push for a UN General Assembly resolution to override the Russian and Chinese veto at the UN Security Council."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Saturday asked the Security Council to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged that those behind the attacks be placed under sanctions.

The United States, Britain and France have repeatedly called for sanctions, particularly against the Syrian regime, over the use of chemical weapons.
MILAN (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled 2,400 boat migrants to safety on Saturday, the Italian coastguard said, adding 14 dead bodies had been recovered in the past two days. The migrants were on rubber boats and other small vessels, it said in a statement. Some 20 operations were carried out on Saturday alone, including rescues involving an Irish naval ship and boats from humanitarian groups Doctors Without Borders and Sea Watch. Doctors Without Borders said in a tweet on Saturday it believed 12 people had died during rescue operations, four of them children. More than 3,100 migrants have gone missing or died this year while trying to use the route from north Africa to Europe by boat, the International Organization for Migration estimates. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Andrew Roche)
London (AFP) - Manchester United star Wayne Rooney took a swipe at former team-mate Michael Owen for expressing support for his club's bitter rivals Liverpool.

Owen has a foot in both camps after making his name during a glittering spell at Liverpool and also playing for United in the twilight of his career.

But the 36-year-old, who played alongside Rooney for United and England, appeared to irrate his old colleague when he posted an encouraging message during Liverpool's Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

"Come on Red Men. A win by two goals and it's 'top of the league'," Owen tweeted alongside a picture of the view from his seat in the Anfield stands.

With Owen having criticised Rooney this week for "losing his nasty streak", the England striker took the opportunity to have a dig back by claiming his former team-mate actually supports United.

"Interesting this Michael I thought you was a united fan???," Rooney responded.

Owen, who scored 158 goals in eight years with Liverpool, was criticised by Reds fans when he joined United in 2009, but responded by claiming he would always think fondly of the Anfield club.

"I played for Liverpool from the tender age of 11 with Stevie Gerrard. Liverpool is in my blood and I want to see them do well," he said.
Moscow (AFP) - The Russian defence ministry on Saturday accused the US-led coalition fighting jihadists in Iraq of committing war cries, a day after an air raid killed 15 women at a shrine near the city of Kirkuk.

"We have observed several times that these deadly strikes... which have all the hallmarks of war crimes, have practically become a daily routine by the international coalition's warplanes," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

"Far too often, weddings, funeral processions, hospital, police posts and humanitarian convoys are targeted by the coalition," he added.

The statement came after French President Francois Hollande accused Russia of committing war crimes in Syria, where its warplanes are carrying out air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
(Repeats to widen distribution)

Oct 21 (Reuters) - A federal grand jury in California has indicted a Russian man for hacking computers belonging to LinkedIn Corp, Dropbox and Formspring, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.

Yevgeniy Nikulin was arrested on Oct. 5 by officials in the Czech Republic and remains in custody in Prague, the Justice Department said in a news release.

LinkedIn said at the time of his arrest that it was related to a 2012 breach at the social networking company that may have compromised credentials of 100 million users, prompting a massive password reset operation.

It was not immediately clear if U.S. officials had begun extradition proceedings to have Nikulin, who was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Oakland, California, brought to the United States to stand trial.

According to the DOJ, Nikulin is accused of accessing computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring and obtaining information from them.

The U.S. attorneys office could not immediately be reached for further comment. It was not yet clear who would be representing Nikulin in the proceedings.

He is also alleged to have used credentials of LinkedIn and Formspring employees in connection with the computer intrusions. Further, Nikulin is alleged to have engaged in a conspiracy with unnamed co-conspirators to traffic stolen Formspring user credentials.

The indictment charges Nikulin with three counts of computer intrusion, two counts of intentional transmission of information, code, or command causing damage to a protected computer; two counts of aggravated identity theft; one count of trafficking in unauthorized access devices; and one count of conspiracy.

(Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Walsh and Diane Craft)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's task in Syria is to liberate its territory from terrorist organizations and help prevent the country's breakup, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday. "A temporary base is not a goal, it's a means to achieve the goal that was declared by the president - to help legitimate Syrian authorities in their fight with ISIS and other terrorist organizations. The Syrian territory must be liberated," Peskov said in an interview for the TV news program "Vesti on Saturday". "We need to liberate and do everything possible to prevent the division of the country," he said, adding that he did not see an end to the Syria conflict in the foreseeable future. "Unfortunately, the information that we receive, it does not give us the opportunity to be careless optimists. It is clear that the world community still has very long and hard work ahead," Peskov said. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Angus MacSwan)


Credit: David Livingston/Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Justin Theroux with braces? We never thought we would see the day.

The actor took to Instagram today to share a hilarious snap with former co-star Elizabeth Banks in honor of Throwback Thursday, and the famous pair looks like '80s fashion perfection. In the photo, Theroux rocks long hair, a mouth full of metal, a white turtleneck shirt, and a denim jacket with a popped collar, while Banks dons a green top, black jacket, very voluminous half updo, and shiny pink lip gloss on her pout. The occasion for the amazing #TBT image of the faux high school sweethearts? Their 2005 comedy film The Baxter, which follows the twists and turns of a young man's life during the two weeks before his wedding.

"Fake #tbt to fake high school sweetheart, for fake set photo with the very real @elizabethbanks. #og #badombres

#whiteturtlneckanddenimpoppedcollarsosweetdudeyeahiknow #baxter," the handsome actor captioned the funny picture.

fake #tbt to fake high school sweetheart, for fake set photo with the very real @elizabethbanks. #og#badombres #whiteturtlneckanddenimpoppedcollarsosweetdudeyeahiknow #baxter A photo posted by @justintheroux on Oct 20, 2016 at 10:01am PDT

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VIDEO: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux's Cutest Couple Moments

Talk about a serious LOL moment.
ROME (Reuters) - The crew of a speedboat labelled "Libyan Coast Guard" attacked a migrant boat packed with some 150 migrants, beating them with sticks and causing many to fall into the water and at least four to drown, humanitarian group Sea-Watch said on Friday. Rescuers recovered three more dead bodies on a different rubber boat and picked up a total 3,300 survivors from 24 different boats during the day, Italy's coast guard said. Germany-based Sea-Watch, one of several non-governmental organisations operating vessels off the coast of Libya, said the speedboat swooped in just as they were about to go to the aid of the overcrowded rubber boat in the early hours of Friday. "The violent intervention of the Libyan Coast Guard caused a situation of mass panic on board the rubber boat in distress," Sea-Watch said in a statement. "One tube of the rubber boat collapsed, causing the majority of the 150 people to slip into the water." The Sea-Watch crew recovered four bodies, spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told Reuters. They brought about 120 others safely onto their ship and transferred them to an oil tanker from which they were later moved to another rescue ship bound for Italy. Four people found unconscious were given rehydration treatment and recovered enough to stand later in the day, although they still needed help to walk, Neugebauer said. A spokesman for Libya's naval forces in Tripoli said he had not heard about the incident. A spokesman for the EU's anti-smuggling mission Sophia said they had no information about it. An Italian coast guard spokesman said the rescues and fatalities it counted on Friday included those reported by Sea Watch. Most of the people rescued were from sub-Saharan Africa and had set off from Libya, the spokesman said. Italy has taken in more than 146,000 boat migrants so far this year and arrivals are set to top 153,000 counted last year. Friday's rescues take the total since Sunday to about 5,500. The rescues were carried out by the Italian coast guard, the Sophia operation, an Irish navy ship, a merchant ship, Sea Watch and four other humanitarian groups. LIBYAN COAST GUARD TO BE TRAINED It was not immediately clear if the incident would affect the planned start of training next week of up to 100 Libyan coast guard members as part of the EU mission Operation Sophia. The spokesman for Sophia had no immediate comment. The U.S. military, which also operates ships in the region, had no immediate comment on the incident. "Next week training starts with the Libyan coast guard," Neugebauer said. "We think it's quite important to think about with whom we are collaborating." According to information the German government has provided to parliament, the first session of training is to take place on two ships  one Italian and one Dutch - off the coast of Libya, with equipment and trainers provided by Germany, Italy, Greece, Belgium and Britain. The Libyan coast guard currently has three boats in Tripoli, three boats in Misrata and two boats in Zuwarah, according to the German government report. The German military said it had no information about the incident. In August, another humanitarian group that operates rescue ships off the coast of Libya, Doctors Without Borders, said it had been attacked and boarded by armed men on a Libyan navy boat. The Libyan navy said it fired "warning shots" because it thought the ship was involved in people smuggling. (Reporting by Steve Scherer and Isla Binnie, additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Editing by Larry King)
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 21, 2016 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against MGT Capital Investments, Inc. ("MGT" or the "Company") (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 Company's 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."

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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 Company's common stock on a pro-forma fully diluted basis at closing, inclusive of shares of common stock to be issued in connection with the Company's 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 Demonsaw's assets as well as D-Vasive's via the D-Vasive Transaction.

On September 9, 2016, MGT announced that at the Company's 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 Company's 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, MGT's 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 SEC's 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-Vassive [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

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Running Mans Lee Kwang Soo at a fan meet-and-greet in Changi Airport. Lee might play lots of sneaky tricks on his cast members from the popular Korean variety show, Running Man, but his skincare regime is anything but complicated. Running Mans Lee Kwang Soo at a fan meet-and-greet in Changi Airport. Lee might play lots of sneaky tricks on his cast members from the popular Korean variety show, Running Man, but his skincare regime is anything but complicated.

(Photos by The Shilla Duty Free, Yahoo Singapore)

South Korean actor and variety show star, Lee Kwang Soo, might play lots of sneaky tricks on his cast members from the popular Korean variety show, Running Man, but his skincare regime is anything but complicated.

Lee was in Singapore on 20 October to celebrate The Shilla Duty Frees first anniversary celebration of the Shilla Beauty Loft at Changi Airport.

When asked about his skincare secrets, the 31-year-old emphasised the importance of drinking lots of water and getting sufficient rest.



Regarding his travel must-have skincare items, he said, When I travel, I like to walk a lot outdoors, so applying sunblock on my face is very important.

Earlier this year, Lee was appointed as The Shilla Duty Frees brand ambassador along with Korean actress, Song Hye Kyo, known for her role in the hit drama Descendants of the Sun.

Despite that, he says he hardly splurges on duty-free shopping. I will usually just look for presents for my family in the airport, like buying cosmetics for my mother, he added.

Known affectionately as giraffe and the Asia prince for his huge fanbase in Southeast Asia, the 1.9m-tall star played up the fan service at the meet-and-greet at Changi Airport.

Lee was last in Singapore for his solo fan meeting in 2013. He will be appearing in the Korean remake of popular American TV series Entourage, which will start airing in November.
CAIRO (Reuters) - A senior Egyptian military official was shot dead on Saturday outside his home on the outskirts of Cairo, security sources and his wife said Gunmen opened fire on Brigadier General Adel Rajaaie, an armored division commander who had served in troubled northern Sinai, as he left his home in Obour city to go to work, his wife told Reuters. "Minutes after he left the house I heard gunfire, I went out to find him covered in blood ... he received a lot of bullets .. He died instantly," said Samia Zain El Abedeen. She said neighbors told her the assailants had automatic weapons and fled in a car. A newly-emerged militant group calling itself Louwaa el Thawra, or the Revolution Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account that was suspended shortly after the claim. Rajaaie, 52, is the most senior military official to be assassinated since the toppling of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 by general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. A military funeral will be held at Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi Mosque, in Cairo, the same mosque where Egypt's top public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was given a military funeral after being killed by a car bomb in June 2015. He was the most senior state official to die at the hands of militants in recent years. Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State's branch in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed. There have also been attacks in Cairo and other cities. 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. Since the Brotherhood's candidate, Mursi, was deposed after mass protests against his rule, Sisi has overseen a crackdown in which hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been killed and thousands jailed or sentenced to death. An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence on Mursi on Saturday on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012, judicial sources told Reuters. Another recently emerged militant group called Hasm Movement, the Arabic word for decisiveness, has claimed responsibility for five attacks since July, including an assassination attempt on Zakaria Abdel Aziza, a senior Egyptian prosecutor. The group said the attack was in revenge for death sentences handed to thousands of convicts. (Reporting Yusry Mohamed and Omar Fahmy; Writing by Amina Ismail, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Adrian Croft)
Nairobi (AFP) - Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian hostages held for nearly five years after the hijacking of their fishing vessel, the last commercial ship seized at the height of the country's piracy scourge, negotiators said Saturday.

The crew of the Naham 3, the second longest held hostage by Somali pirates, were taken captive when their Omani-flagged vessel was seized in March 2012 south of the Seychelles.

"We are very pleased to announce the release of the Naham 3 crew early this morning," said John Steed, coordinator of the Hostage Support Partners (HSP) who helped negotiate their release.

Steed, a retired British army colonel who has made it his mission to save "forgotten hostages" told AFP the mission to return the crew to their families still held one obstacle: extracting them from the city of Galkayo, where fighting was raging between forces from the rival regional states of Puntland and Galmudug.

"There is fighting in Galkayo so it is very dangerous at the moment, they are exchanging artillery tonight. We will go in early tomorrow morning if the fighting stops and bring them back to Nairobi for medicals and a clean-up."

Clashes in Galkayo have left at least 11 dead and over 50,000 displaced this month, the UN humanitarian agency said last week.

Once extracted, the crew, from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, will be returned to their home countries and families.

"They have spent over four and a half years in deplorable conditions away from their families," said Steed.

He said the crew was malnourished and one of the hostages had a bullet wound in his foot, another had had a stroke and another was suffering from diabetes.

Pirates initially took 29 crew hostage, but one person died during the hijacking, and two more "succumbed to illness" during their captivity, said a statement from Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP).

- Peril and heroism -

Steed said negotiations -- which took 18 months -- involved mediation with community, tribal and religious leaders.

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He declined to comment on the exact details but said the road to the hostages being freed was filled with peril and "heroism".

The Naham 3 was originally tethered to another hijacked vessel, the MV Albedo, which was seized in November 2010 and released by the HSP in 2014.

When the MV Albedo began to sink "these guys jumped into the waters and rescued the drowning crew", Steed said.

He said when the Naham 3 sank, a year after its capture, "these guys were then taken ashore where they have been ever since with pirates making increasingly irrational demands."

"The release of the Naham 3 crew represents the end of captivity for the last remaining seafarers taken hostage during the height of Somali piracy," he said.

- Poor fishermen left for years -

Only a crew of Thai fishermen, released in February last year after nearly five years in captivity, spent longer held by Somali pirates.

Many of the hostages left languishing in the hands of pirates are poor fishermen.

"If you don't have insurance or you are a poor little ship no-one is going to help get you out," said Steed.

The first major commercial vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2005 and the industry flourished in a country wracked by years of civil war and with few jobs and no central government.

Piracy became a major threat to international shipping and prompted interventions by the United Nations, European Union and NATO, while commercial vessels hired private armed guards aboard their vessels.

In 2012 Somali piracy cost the global economy between $5.7 and $6.1 billion (5.6 million euros) and at the peak in January 2011, Somali pirates held 736 hostages and 32 boats.

According to the OBP, while overall numbers are down in the Western Indian Ocean, pirates in the region in 2015 attacked at least 306 seafarers.

While there has not been a successful attack on a commercial vessel since 2012, there have been several on fishing boats and there are still 10 Iranian hostages taken in 2015 and three Kenyan kidnap victims -- one a very ill, paralysed woman -- in the hands of the pirates, said Steed.
You can soon catch Madonnas Rebel Heart Tour on TV and it looks amazing

Only a few people on this planet have the pristine honor of being called by a first name only. Beyonce, Cher, Adele, and of course, the one and only Madonna. To list Madonnas accomplishments on the charts or to try and pin down which performance is her most iconic would be a futile waste of time and energy. Madonna has been and will forever be the Queen of Pop. And our benevolent sovereign has graced us with her kindness once again by announcing that her Rebel Heart Tour will be shown on Showtime. And we cannot wait to watch it.

If you are like most people on this planet, you are not made of money. This means that your chances of catching a Madonna concert in person, let alone in decent seats, are quite slim. Your best bet at catching the Queens performance would be to check out her moves online.

There are a few reasons to watch this show, which airs on Friday, December 9th at 9pm/8pmc. First and foremost  its Madonna. She is always able to bring a level of ingenuity and fun to her performances. She is also constantly seeking cool and innovative performers to join her onstage  just watch the clip above, where she incorporates the dynamic duo Aya Sato into her performance. They have broken YouTube with their goth style and modern movements.

Madonna was also the one to discover and push the Russian group Kazaky into the limelight. They appeared in her music video for Girl Gone Wild.

The Showtime special will feature footage of Madonnas tour from all around the world. She will be singing many of her old hits as well as a lot of her newer material. You will also see some celebrity cameos pop up on stage! So be ready to catch a glimpse of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Jessica Chastain, and Gwendoline Christie. Not too shabby! You go Madge.

The post You can soon catch Madonnas Rebel Heart Tour on TV and it looks amazing appeared first on HelloGiggles.
The only way to eliminate the problem of SBS once and for all is to ensure that a building's air is properly filtered and circulated

RIVERDALE, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2016 / The term sick building syndrome, sometimes referred to as SBS, is used to describe situations in which a building's occupants experience acute negative health and comfort effects that appear to be associated with time spent in the building, but there is no specific identifiable cause or illness that can be found. In some cases, complaints may be associated with certain rooms or zones within the building, in others, they may be spread throughout the entire building. A key part of the definition of SBS is that the symptoms disappear once the individual has left the building.

The condition is often temporary, but some buildings have exhibited long term problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested that up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings around the world receive higher than normal complaints related to their indoor air quality. SBS problems are frequently the results of buildings that are operated or maintained in a manner that is inconsistent with their original design or recommended operating procedures. Problems with the indoor air quality can also be the result of poor building design or activities carried out by building occupants.

Sick Building Syndrome Symptoms

Symptoms of SBS can vary quite a bit. Some of the most common complaints include headache, eye, nose or throat irritation, dry cough, dry or itchy skin, dizziness and nausea, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and sensitivity to odors.

Causes of Sick Building Syndrome

Although it is difficult to identify any singular cause of SBS, in most cases the phenomenon is associated with poor indoor air quality. Overall, it stems from inadequate ventilation within an area, or an entire building, that ultimately causes a buildup of contaminants and toxins in the air.

Indoor chemical sources - Particles, gases and chemicals are released within the environment from things like furniture upholstery, carpets, manufactured wood products, cleaning products, pesticides, copiers and printers, and many types of office supplies such as permanent markers and glues.

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Outdoor chemical sources - Pollutants can be pulled into a building through open doors, attached garages or parking structures, loading docks, and even poorly located intake vents. When there is not sufficient ventilation, they become trapped and build up over time. Common outdoor contaminants found in buildings include chemicals from vehicle exhaust, cooking exhaust from internal or external kitchens, pesticides and chemicals released from materials at nearby construction or demolition sites.

Biological contaminants - Many biological contaminants can be found in the air from both internal and external sources. Molds and fungi can grow and spread in areas that have become wet and humid due to things like a leaking roof or condensation in ducts. Bacteria, pollen and other natural pollutants can also build up without proper filtration and ventilation. In addition to all of the above, building occupants will naturally add to contamination in the air as they leave behind things like dead skin cells, hair and body fluids.

Treat The Source, Not The Symptom

Some of those suffering from symptoms of sick building syndrome can find relief in medications provided by their doctors, but the key to eliminating the symptoms - and preventing them in the first place - is proper air filtration and ventilation.

Applying band-aid type solutions like temporary cleanups, medications, or just staying away from a particular building will not solve the root problem. The only way to eliminate the problem of SBS once and for all is to ensure that a building's air is properly filtered and circulated, and that all of the building's recommended operational procedures are being followed.

The average person consumes more than 10,000 liters of air every day as they breathe, and spends 90% of their time indoors. If you're spending your indoor time in an environment with contaminated air, you could be doing serious damage to your health without even realizing it. You owe it to yourself, your family, and your coworkers to make sure the air you're breathing every day is safe and healthy.

Camfil produces a full line of air filtration products, from self-contained air purifiers that clean a single room all the way up to highly advanced filters and complete systems designed that remove dangerous microscopic contaminants from the most polluted industrial environments.

Backed by over 50 years of experience and innovation, every Camfil product is designed to provide high efficiency air filtration, low energy consumption, and a healthier environment. No matter what your needs, Camfil has a solution that is right for you.

Lynne Laake

Camfil USA Air Filters

T: 888.599.6620

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http://cleanair.camfil.us/2016/10/21/sources-and-symptoms-of-sick-building-syndrome/



SOURCE: Camfil via Submit Press Release 123
By Joe Brock PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa said on Friday it was quitting the International Criminal Court (ICC) because membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws, dealing a new blow to the struggling court and angering the political opposition. Pretoria last year announced its intention to leave after the ICC criticised it for disregarding an ICC order to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, when he visited South Africa. Bashir has denied the accusations. The United Nations on Friday confirmed receipt of South Africa's withdrawal from the ICC, which will take effect one year from Oct. 19, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, making it the first country to quit the Rome Statute. The instrument of withdrawal document, seen by Reuters on Thursday, has been assessed by the United Nations as bona fide and is being processed, Dujarric said. The announcement puts new pressure on the world's first permanent war crimes court, which has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its 10 investigations have been based. Burundi's leader this week signed a decree to leave the ICC, and Kenya's parliament is considering following suit. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was "concerned" about the South African decision, but he declined to speculate what Kenya and Burundi would do and said it was too early to speak of a "trend" toward African withdrawal from the court. Kirby said the United States, while not a member of the court, believed the ICC had made "valuable contributions in the service of accountability ...and we hope that other countries would share that assessment." Justice Minister Michael Masutha told reporters in Pretoria that the government would draft a bill to repeal its adoption of the ICC's Rome Statute to preserve its ability to conduct active diplomatic relations, and had given formal notice. He said the statute conflicted with South Africa's Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, which was cited in the decision to ignore the court order to detain Bashir, but that the government remained committed to the fight against impunity. The ICC said it had not formally been notified of South Africa's intention to leave the Rome Statute. A document seen by Reuters at the United Nations on Thursday showed the move would take effect one year after notice was formally received by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The document was signed by South African International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and dated Oct. 19. "UNCONSTITUTIONAL" WITHDRAWAL James Selfe, a senior executive at the main opposition Democratic Alliance, said it would file a court application on Friday to set aside the plans "on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, irrational and procedurally flawed". Former South African judge Richard Goldstone, a respected figure in international justice and former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said quitting the ICC was "demeaning" to the country. "From a moral standpoint, it detracts from the inspiring legacy of the administration of President Nelson Mandela that so strongly supported the ICC," said Goldstone, chairman of the advisory board of the coalition for the ICC, which provides strategic guidance on key issues. Masutha, the justice minister, said Pretoria would drop its appeal to the Constitutional Court against a ruling that the state had made an error in letting Bashir leave the country. In June 2015 Bashir was in Johannesburg for an African Union summit. He was allowed to leave even though the ICC had ordered that he be kept in South Africa until the end of a hearing on whether he should be detained under a global arrest warrant. The High Court ruled Bashir should have been arrested to face genocide charges at the ICC since, as a signatory of the Rome Statute, Pretoria was obliged to implement arrest warrants. The government lost an appeal at the Supreme Court in March and the appeal to the Constitutional Court was its last chance of overturning the ruling. The ICC, which sits in The Hague and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. But it has secured only five substantive verdicts in its 14-year history, all of them on African suspects, and several African countries have expressed concern that the continent is being picked on. In January, the African Union backed a proposal by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta for officials of various member states to "develop a road map" on possible withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The decision was not legally binding as the final decision to leave the ICC would be taken by individual nations. A high-profile ICC attempt to try Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto over post-election violence failed amid diplomatic lobbying and allegations of witness intimidation. Adan Duale, leader of the majority in the Kenyan parliament, said impetus was building there to pass a bill on quitting the ICC that has been slowly making its way through the assembly. (Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Katharine Houreld in Nairobi and David Alexander in Washington, writing by James Macharia; editing by Mark Heinrich and Dan Grebler)
Chittagong (Bangladesh) (AFP) - Ben Stokes gave England a firm grip on the first Test with bat and ball before Shakib Al Hasan's 5-79 revived Bangladesh hopes in Chittagong on Saturday.

Stokes hit 85 runs in the second innings to steer England to 228-8 at stumps on the third day after his three-wicket burst earlier in the morning helped them dismiss Bangladesh for 248 runs.

The visitors now lead their hosts by 273 runs, which could be handy on a pitch that offered spinners plenty of turn, making life difficult for batsmen from both sides.

Stokes appeared to have mastered the wicket with his feisty innings, which came off 151 balls with six fours and three sixes.

Jonny Bairstow gave him a good company as the duo shared 127 for the sixth wicket to bail out England from a precarious 62-5 in the second innings.

Bairstow missed out on a very deserving half-century, leaving the pitch for 47 after he was played on by Kamrul Islam, the bowler's maiden Test wicket and only wicket so far taken by a Bangladeshi seamer in the match.

Shakib soon trapped Stokes in front to end an highly impressive innings before he completed his 15th five-wicket haul with the scalp of Adil Rashid.

Chris Woakes (11 not out) and Stuart Broad (10 not out) remained at the crease overnight hoping to extend England's advantage before they set the fourth innings target for Bangladesh.

"If we can get up to 320 it will be nice," Stokes said after the match.

"(Stuart) Broad has got a Test hundred while Woakes had got nine to 10 first class centuries, so there is no reason why these two cannot get another 50 for us," he added.

- Fighting back -

Bangladesh's pace bowling coach Courtney Walsh believes the game is still open.

"Probably, England got about 20-30 runs more than what we would have liked, at this stage. I think the bowlers fought very well today."

"For me the game is still in the balance. We have to bat well second time around," he said.

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Shakib led Bangladesh's fight back before the lunch break leaving England at 28-3 after the visitors took a 45-run lead in the first innings.

England's hopes of building a sizeable advantage were dealt a blow when debutant spinner Mehedi Hasan induced an edge from captain Alastair Cook to send him back for 12.

Shakib trapped Joe Root lbw for one in the next over to take his 150th Test wicket before he had Ben Duckett caught by Mominul Haque at forward short leg for 15.

Gary Ballance fell to Taijul Islam for nine after the break before Shakib grabbed his third wicket by dismissing Moeen Ali for 14.

It was a comeback for the Bangladesh all-rounder, who put his team in trouble by throwing his wicket off the second ball of the morning.

Resuming on 221-5, Bangladesh were hoping Shakib, who was unbeaten on 31 overnight, would take them close to England's first innings total.

But he went down the wicket before the dust had settled and paid the price as Bairstow completed a simple stumping.

Rashid removed nightwatchman Shafiul Islam for two as Stuart Broad took the catch high on his head at midwicket.

Stokes, who finished with 4-26, had Mehedi lbw for one in the next over before a low catch at slip by Cook ended Sabbir Rahman's effort at 19.

He bowled third debutant Kamrul Islam in the same over to wrap up Bangladesh's innings as the hosts added just 27 runs to their overnight score for the loss of five wickets in 12 overs.
Support for marijuana legalization in the United States has risen steadily over the years. Today, a majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing the drug, although the number of people actually smoking it is far lower. Slightly more than 13% of Americans 12 years old and over report using marijuana in the past year.

Some states report much higher marijuana use than others. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the percentage of people 12 years old and over using pot at least once in the past year in every state from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Colorado leads the nation with 21.6% of teens and adults reporting use of the drug.

ALSO READ: The 10 States With the Worst Gun Violence

Perhaps it is no surprise that Colorado leads the nation in pot consumption. It was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, and it is one of only four states where recreational use of the drug is permitted.

The states path towards legalization can be traced back to 2005, when Denver decriminalized marijuana possession. Led by founder Mason Tvert, the marijuana advocacy and nonprofit group, Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), played a major role in changing Colorados laws. The group aimed to explain the facts about marijuana, particularly the drugs relative safety compared to alcohol.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Has 5 Buy-Rated Stocks With 35% to 85% Upside Potential

State adults over 21 years old may now legally possess 1 ounce of marijuana. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, Colorado generated $135 million in taxes and fees from all marijuana businesses in 2015.

States with fewer marijuana laws and restrictions tend to have higher cannabis use rates. All four states that legalized recreational marijuana use -- Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington -- are among the five states with the highest usage rates.

When it comes to medical marijuana, it is yet unclear whether legalization increases the accessibility and appeal of the drug to young people. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found there were no significant differences in marijuana use before and after medical marijuana policy changes. The study interviewed 12 million students across multiple years and several states.

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ALSO READ: America's Richest (and Poorest) States

While certain medical uses have widely acknowledged benefits, the evidence for and against recreational marijuana use is mixed. A number of studies have suggested heavy marijuana use during adolescence can have long term negative effects, including lower cognitive functioning, difficulty learning, and memory impairment. However, according to the American Psychological Association, it is still unclear whether there is a safe level of use or whether the brain changes associated with marijuana use are permanent.

Nationwide, 27.8% of Americans perceive smoking marijuana once a month to be a great risk. The share of survey respondents who believe the monthly use of the drug is harmful tends to be lower in states with the highest usage rates. In Colorado, only 18.8% of teens and adults perceive smoking pot once a month to be especially risky. Regardless of the perceived risk many Coloradans now exercise their right to smoke pot and the state is enjoying another source of revenue.

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Nineveh Province (Iraq) (AFP) - "We need an ambulance, we need an ambulance," an Iraqi officer says over the radio, moments after an explosives-rigged truck disappeared in a column of flame and dust.

Iraqi forces advancing toward a village in Nineveh province had already been targeted with gun and mortar fire from Islamic State group jihadists inside.

A suicide bomber then drove the explosives-rigged truck toward them, but security forces "blew up the vehicle before it reached" them, federal police Second Lieutenant Faruq Ahmed Mohammed told AFP at a position to the south.

Despite this, a police officer was lightly wounded in the blast, Mohammed said.

Security forces advanced and fell back, exchanging fire with the jihadists over a period of hours and eventually targeting them with mortar rounds.

The resistance they faced demonstrates that even a small number of jihadists can slow down larger and more heavily armed forces, especially when civilians are present -- an issue Iraqi troops will continue to face as they push north toward the city of Mosul.

Earlier in the day, black smoke rose from fires in the village as Iraqi forces slowly advanced in armoured vehicles along a dusty track through the desert to avoid bombs planted by IS on the main road.

Military engineers were working to clear the road -- efforts evidenced by periodic explosions that sent clouds of dust rising into the air -- but progress was slow.

Iraqi police and soldiers took position on a hill to the south of the village, while other units later moved in from the east, the main scene of the fighting for most of the day.

IS fired mortar rounds toward the advancing forces, most of which missed by a wide margin, though at least one exploded near a group of Humvees.

- White flags raised -

White flags were raised inside the village -- a signal the Iraqi government had called on civilians to use to indicate that they were present.

"There are families who have white flags inside the village, and we can't shell (it) with the tank or with the mortar unless the families leave," Second Lieutenant Ali Bassim of the interior ministry's elite Rapid Response Division said.

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Iraqi forces were trying to advance close enough to establish a corridor for civilians to exit, he said, but they were targeted by mortar rounds and suicide bombing.

Eventually, more troops moved toward the west side of the village, some walking while others drove slowly in Humvees, apparently seeking to identify and avoid bombs planted by the jihadists.

They exchanged machinegun fire with IS as they closed in, and security forces said they spotted another suicide bomber on the edge of the village, while more explosives-rigged vehicles were said to be waiting inside.

Iraqi forces eventually tried to destroy the waiting car bombs with a 120 millimetre mortar.

The recoil from the heavy rounds sent sheets of dust drifting across the ground when they were fired.

"The target is explosives-rigged vehicles, more than three vehicles... close to our units," said an artillery commander who did not want to be identified by name.

The regular units "are not able to (attack) them because the vehicles are behind the houses, behind walls, behind berms," he said.

Asked about the civilians present in the village, the commander said that six or seven vehicles had departed and that there were no more inside.

More than four hours after the fighting began, the village remained in IS hands.
Qayyarah (Iraq) (AFP) - Toxic fumes released when jihadists torched a sulphur plant near Mosul have killed two Iraqi civilians, made many ill and forced US troops at a nearby base to wear masks.

Qayyarah hospital has checked at least 500 people complaining of breathing problems over the past two days but officials announced Saturday that the fire had been extinguished.

"Daesh blew up the sulphur plant two days ago and that has led to the deaths of two people among the civilians in nearby villages," Iraqi General Qusay Hamid Kadhem told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group (IS).

The senior officer of the interior ministry's elite rapid response force said "many others were injured as a result of the toxic smoke."

According to security and health sources in the area, where tens of thousands of Iraqi forces are involved in a massive offensive to wrest Mosul back from IS, the group torched at least part of the Mishraq sulphur factory on Wednesday.

The blast released toxic fumes that were seen and felt by residents in the area and, early on Saturday, by forces and reporters around Qayyarah, one of the main staging bases of the anti-IS operation south of Mosul.

On Saturday morning, a haze of white smoke covered the Qayyarah base, making anything more than a few hundred metres away difficult to see.

It made people present in the area cough and their eyes water.

On the road north from Qayyarah, a huge column of white smoke marked the site of the sulphur factory fire, while black smoke rose from burning oil wells set alight by IS.

At the rudimentary health centre in Qayyarah, Doctor Khairi Awad said around 500 cases of people of all ages complaining of breathing problems had been recorded.

"They were treated with oxygen and eight cases were transferred to Makhmur hospital because we don't have the capabilities to handle more serious cases," he told AFP by phone.

General Kadhem admitted that the toxic fumes were also having an impact on military operations: "Of course, this is affecting our planned progress."

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- US measures on nearby base -

A US official in Baghdad told reporters that American forces stationed at the main staging base of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, had taken out their gas masks as a precaution.

"There is a sulphur plant near Q-West," the military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

IS militants "found a storage pile of sulphur" and set it on fire, he said. "This caused a very large smoke plume."

The official explained that the wind had recently turned and started blowing the toxic cloud towards Qayyarah.

"There are people who have chosen to wear their protective gear," he said, playing down the risk and stressing that only basic protective equipment was being used.

"Nobody is hurt at this point," he added, referring to US personnel on the base.

"As a precaution, coalition personnel at sites affected by the smoke have been directed to limit their activity outdoors," a coalition statement said later Saturday.

"The enemy has used chemical weapons in the past, and we're going to make sure we are taking every measure to mitigate the risk to our forces," said Major General Gary J. Volesky, commander of the coalition's land component.

"Force protection is my number one priority here," he said in a separate statement, which also announced that 24,000 protective chemical masks had been distributed to Iraqi forces during training in preparation for the Mosul offensive.

US officials said samples were sent to a lab to determine "what, if any, concerns may result from this incident."

The sulphur release was believed to have been much smaller than that caused at the same plant in June 2003.
A war crimes case of a kind that the Supreme Court has not seen in a decade is due to reach the Justices on November 1, and may soon be followed by a second. One or both cases could pose significant challenges to the troubled system of war crimes courts run by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

courtfreize535

While the number of detained foreign nationals at the Guantanamo prison has dwindled to just 60, the military commissions set up under a 2006 federal law continue to grind along at a slow and frequently interrupted pace. The two cases that now seem destined to reach the Court could raise very fundamental issues about the powers of those tribunals.

In a filing early this month in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., the defense lawyers for a well-known detainee said they plan to file a petition at the Supreme Court a week from Tuesday, to challenge the authority of a military commission to go ahead with his trial. He is a Saudi Arabian national, Abd Al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Al-Nashiri, who is charged with nine crimes, including plotting the bombing of a U.S. warship, the U.S.S. Cole, in a harbor in Yemen in 2000. He faces a possible death sentence. (Government officials have conceded that Al-Nashiri was subjected to severe torture while a captive.)

His case raises the basic question of when Americas war on terror actually began. Because the crimes charged against Al-Nashiri occurred before the terrorist attacks directly against the United States on September 11, 2001, his lawyers contend that a military commission set up under a 2006 law has no authority to try him. The government concedes that such commissions can only try crimes that occurred during hostilities, but it has argued in his case that hostilities related to the war on terrorism probably began at least in 1998 and maybe as early as 1992.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a ruling on August 30, found that when hostilities began for purposes of the war crimes cases is an open question. However, in a split decision, that court ruled that Al-Nashiri had no right to pursue his challenge in civilian courts until after his case is completed within the military commission system  including an appeal, if he is convicted, in a special military appeals court. He will have ample opportunity to raise all of his legal claims, the majority said.

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The same defense lawyers who will be filing Al-Nashiris appeal to the Supreme Court are also pondering whether to do the same with another detainee clients case, just decided by the D.C. Circuit Court on Thursday  the long-running case against a Yemeni national who has been convicted on charges related to his alleged role as a propagandist for the Al Qaeda global terrorist network, and its leader, the late Osama bin Laden. He is Ali Hamza Suliman al Bahlul.

Although facing a life-prison term after being convicted of several terrorism-related crimes, his only conviction that has now been upheld was for a criminal conspiracy. In its deeply-divided ruling on Thursday, the Circuit Court upheld that verdict, but there was no clear majority in support of the federal governments broadest claims about the kinds of crimes that military commissions may try.

If the case is appealed to the Supreme Court, Bahluls lawyers would likely be arguing that Congress had no power to give a war crimes commission the authority to try any crime unless that crime is recognized under international law. The specific charge against Bahlul was that of an inchoate conspiracy  that is, an agreement to commit a crime, but without any crime actually resulting from the plot. Even the government has conceded that such a bare claim of conspiracy is not recognized in international law. But the government has contended that that does not matter.

The broadest part of an appeal to the Supreme Court on Bahluls behalf would be that a mere charge of conspiracy to commit a war crime can only be tried in a civilian court, set up under the Constitutions Article III.

In Thursdays ruling, four of the judges of the D.C. Circuit Court ruled as the government had asked, that Congress is not limited in any way by international law as to what crimes it can assign to military, not civilian, courts. However, a majority of the nine judges taking part in the ruling (two of the Circuit Courts eleven judges did not take part) did not agree with that declaration. Two judges said the court did not need to reach that issue, because they found that Bahluls conviction could be upheld under a different theory of crime than the one for which he was actually charged and convicted, and three other judges dissented from the overall ruling against Bahlul. The dissenters said the case raises a profound question of Congresss powers to bypass the civilian courts in allowing crimes to be prosecuted by military commissions.

Because the ruling last Thursday was made by the en banc D.C. Circuit Court, the next step for Bahluls lawyers would be an appeal to the Supreme Court.

It would take the votes of at least four of the current eight Justices to hear either of these cases. Lacking one Justices, the Court has been reluctant to take on significant new controversy that potentially could lead to 4-to-4 splits, a kind of ruling that sets no precedent and settles only an individual case.

At this point, the Court has no idea when, or if, a ninth Justice will be approved any time within coming weeks or months.

The Justices last major ruling on Guantanamo detainees came eight years ago, in the case of Boumediene v. Bush. In that decision, the Court gave Guantanamo detainees a legal right to pursue challenges, in civilian court, to their continued captivity.

The Courts last ruling on the powers of military commissions came ten years ago, in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. In that decision, the Court struck down the military commission system set up by order of President George W. Bush after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In response to that ruling, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

It is under that Act, along with some amendments made to it by Congress in 2009, that war crimes cases are being carried out at Guanantamo Bay. There have been few convictions, and most guilty verdicts that were reached have been overturned on appeal. Now, Bahluls conviction has been upheld in perhaps the highest-profile conviction before a commission. Al-Nashiri, of course, has not yet gone to trial.

Legendary journalist Lyle Denniston is Constitution Dailys Supreme Court correspondent. Denniston has written for us as a contributor since June 2011. Denniston has covered the Supreme Court since 1958. This article first appeared on lyldenlawnews.com.
New York (AFP) - An envelope containing a white powdery substance was sent to one of White House hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign offices in New York, though police initially ruled out any danger.

The envelope was first delivered to Clinton's offices in Manhattan, where campaign workers then transferred it to her Brooklyn headquarters, New York Police Department Lieutenant Thomas Antonetti told AFP.

"The preliminary investigation determined that it was negative in terms of containing a hazardous substance," he added, noting the Department of Health was conducting further evaluation to determine the nature of the substance.

Antonetti said the envelope also contained writing, but no death threats.

"We're trying to determine what the substance was. For right now, we can at least rule out any poisonous or deadly nature of the substance," Antonetti said.
Stockholm (AFP) - Sweden's environment minister on Saturday urged the European Union to ban petrol and diesel-powered vehicles from 2030.

Speaking to the Aftonbladet daily, Isabella Lovin of the Green Party hailed a non-binding resolution adopted by Germany's upper house of parliament to switch to emission-free cars by 2030.

"It's a really interesting proposition ... In order to achieve it, we will need to implement an EU-wide ban along the same lines," she said.

"As the environment minister, I do not see any other way than to relegate vehicles powered by fossil fuels to the dustbin of history."

The Swedish government aims to produce all of its power from renewable energy sources by 2040.
(Adds background on deal)

Oct 22 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is set to announce as early as Saturday a $85 billion deal to buy Time Warner Inc , sources familiar with the matter said, paving the way for the biggest merger in the world this year, giving the telecom company control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets.

The deal, which has been agreed on most terms, would be one of the largest in recent years in the sector as telecommunications companies look to combine content and distribution to capture customers replacing traditional pay-TV packages with more streamlined offerings and online delivery.

AT&T will pay $110 per Time Warner share in cash and stock, worth about $85 billion overall, sources told Reuters. It will need to line up financing to pay for the deal, since it only has $7.2 billion in cash on hand. This could put pressure on its credit rating as it already has $120 billion in net debt as of June 30, according to Moody's.

The boards of the two companies are meeting on Saturday to approve the deal, one source told Reuters.

AT&T, whose main wireless phone and broadband service business is showing signs of slowing growth, has already made moves to turn itself into a media powerhouse, buying satellite TV provider DirecTV last year for $48.5 billion.

It also in 2014 entered a joint venture, Otter Media, with the Chernin Group to invest in media businesses, and has rolled out video streaming services.

CONTENT PLUS DELIVERY

Time Warner is a major force in movies, TV and video games. Its assets include the HBO, CNN, TBS and TNT networks as well as the Warner Bros film studio, producer of the "Batman" and "Harry Potter" film franchises. The company also owns a 10 percent stake in video streaming site Hulu.

Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes rejected an $80 billion offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc in 2014, but sources said on Friday that the former suitor had no plans to renew its bid.

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The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple Inc approached Time Warner a few months ago about a possible merger.

Owning more content gives cable and telecom companies bargaining leverage with other content companies as customers demand smaller, hand-picked cable offerings or switch to watching online. And new mobile technology including next-generation 5G networks could make a content tie-up especially attractive for wireless providers.

"We think 5G mobile is coming, we think 5G mobile is an epic game-changer," Rich Tullo, director of research at Albert Fried & Company, said in a research note, adding that mobile providers would be in position to disrupt traditional pay-TV services.

A previous Time Warner blockbuster deal, its 2000 merger with AOL, is now considered one of the most ill-advised corporate marriages on record.

Dallas-based AT&T and New York-based Time Warner did not immediately return calls for comment.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Rigby)
By Zainullah Stanekzai LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban have released drone footage showing a suicide bomber driving a Humvee into a police base in Helmand province and blowing it up this month. An Afghan government official said the video posted online appeared to be authentic. The use of video taken by a drone is unusual for the Taliban but more common among the more media-savvy Islamist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria. The video, 23 minutes long, begins with the purported suicide bomber speaking in front of the Humvee, a vehicle provided to Afghan forces by American advisers. "This is the happiest moment of my life," the man says, dressed in a black turban and white tunic. "I am telling the Afghan stooge forces to repent and join the Taliban or we will use this equipment the foreigners gave them, against them and they can't do anything about it." Later, a drone-mounted camera silently films the Humvee speeding towards a compound. Facing no apparent resistance, the Humvee barrels into the middle of the base, detonating in flames in front of a large building and producing a cloud of smoke and dust, obscuring the entire compound. A government official in Helmand said the district police chief and several other officials were killed in the attack on October 3, when Taliban militants overran much of Nawa district. The official, who declined to be named, said the video depicting the attack appeared to be authentic. The video's producers used graphics of target-like overlays to give the footage a video game-like feel, an effect used by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. U.S.-led forces have often used military-grade drones against the Taliban in Afghanistan's long war since 2001. Commercial drones favored by hobbyists and video producers are far simpler and cheaper. In, June the Afghan government banned media from using camera drones near sensitive government sites on security grounds. (Writing by Josh Smith; editing by Andrew Roche)
BLACK RIVER FALLS  Dean C. Peterson, 74, of Black River Falls died Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, at Black River Memorial Hospital. Services with military honors, 2 p.m. Tuesday at Little Norway Lutheran Church, Black River Falls, with burial at a later date. Visitation 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Torgerson Funeral Home, Black River Falls, and one hour prior to services at the church.
Taylor Swift succeeded in her effort to keep from the public a photo of a DJ allegedly groping her during a 2013 pre-concert meet-and-greet when a judge decided Friday (Oct. 21) to seal the pictures. However, the judge's decision to deny Swift's request to withhold other evidence in the case means the transcript of her July 26 deposition about the alleged incident is now publicly available. In the deposition, Swift is asked to recount the incident in detail several times, and speaks of her embarrassment and discomfort at the time.

The photo is evidence in a lawsuit that arose after a June 2013 concert, when Swift's security team accused Denver radio DJ David Mueller of grabbing her inappropriately while they posed for a photo backstage with several other people. Two days later, Mueller was fired from his job at KYGO radio. In 2015, Mueller sued Swift, saying her accusation was false and that he lost his job as a result.

Swift's lawyers argued that the photo shouldn't be shared because "it is all but assured that the photograph will be shared for scandalous and prurient interests," and that it could potentially influence a jury. The judge agreed, but ruled that other evidence in the case shouldn't be held back.

A transcript of Swift's videotaped deposition gives her account of what happened: "Right as the moment came for us to pose for the photo, he took his hand and put it up my dress and grabbed onto my ass cheek and no matter how much I scooted over it was still there." That means it wasn't an accident, Swift says: "It was completely intentional, I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

Swift also recounts how much the alleged incident upset her. "I remember being frantic, distressed, feeling violated in a way I had never experienced before," Swift said in the deposition. "A meet-and-greet is supposed to be a situation where you're thanking people for coming, you're supposed to be welcoming people into your home, which is the arena for that day, and for someone to violate that hospitality in that way, I was completely stunned."

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Mueller later sued Swift for slander, saying that he may have touched Swift by accident, and that it was actually his former boss who grabbed her. After Mueller sued Swift, she countersued him for assault and battery, saying she would donate any money she won to charitable organizations that work to protect women from sexual assault.

The filing of the deposition was in support of Swift's attempt to win the case before it goes to trial.

Swift's lawyers also recently filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Swift didn't intentionally interfere with Mueller's contractual relationship with KYGO, and that the statute of limitations had run out for his slander claim. Mueller, the motion says, "was terminated by his employer, KYGO, after its own independent investigation of the incident."

A rep for Swift had not responded to Billboard's request for comment at press time.
The arrest of a Baltimore County Public Schools teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student revealed he should not have been teaching in the district. In 2004, Bradley Norton pleaded guilty after being accused of assaulting a student at a public school in Fairfax County, Virginia. He avoided jail time and was allowed to resign. The school district was supposed to file the necessary paperwork to revoke Norton's teaching license. The Virginia Department of Education sent a note alerting the district about the missing paperwork, but Department of Education officials said the district didn't respond.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailands government met with representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many Thais look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king.

King Bhumibol Adulyadejs death on Oct. 13 has thrown the country of 67 million into mourning. It has also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who say they will punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for Thailand.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong said he met with Google representatives in Bangkok on Friday. Google affirmed in the meeting that it would continue to help the government remove content from YouTube, a Google subsidiary, that it deemed offensive, he said.

"If any website is inappropriate they said to get in touch with them and inform them of the URL and the time the content was found," Prajin told reporters.

That conforms with Google's practice around the world, Alphabet Inc's Google says.

"We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world and we continue to operate in line with those policies," a Google spokesperson in California told Reuters on Friday.

"When we are notified of content that is illegal through official processes, we will restrict it in the country where its illegal after a thorough review."

NAMED AND SHAMED

Thailand's military government said on Tuesday it was tracking people suspected of insulting the monarchy following the kings death and would ask other countries to extradite them.

Some critics of the monarchy living abroad have been named and shamed in Thai language web forums. Outside the world of the web, some Thais who have chosen not to wear black, the official color of mourning, have been publicly jeered at.

Thailand's military government has tried to seek tighter censorship of social media from Facebook, Google and Japan-based instant messenger service LINE since it came to power in 2014 following a coup it said was necessary to restore peace to the country following months of unrest.

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Thailand's royal insult law, known as Article 112 in the criminal code, makes it a crime to insult the king, queen, heir or regent. Those who are found guilty face up to 15 years in prison.

The law has curtailed public discussion about the monarchy's role and its future following the death of King Bhumibol who ruled for seven decades and was seen as a unifying figure.

Since taking power in 2014, the junta, known officially as the National Council for Peace and Order, has taken a tough stance on dissenters.

It has come under strong criticism from the international community for lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by military courts against civilians for violating the lese-majeste law since the junta took power.

The military government has repeatedly rejected accusations of rights violations.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak. Additional reporting by Jonathan Weber in San Francisco and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore.; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre.; Editing by Bill Tarrant.)
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailands government met with representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many Thais look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king. King Bhumibol Adulyadejs death on Oct. 13 has thrown the country of 67 million into mourning. It has also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who say they will punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for Thailand. Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong said he met with Google representatives in Bangkok on Friday. Google affirmed in the meeting that it would continue to help the government remove content from YouTube, a Google subsidiary, that it deemed offensive, he said. "If any website is inappropriate they said to get in touch with them and inform them of the URL and the time the content was found," Prajin told reporters. That conforms with Google's practice around the world, Alphabet Inc's Google says. "We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world and we continue to operate in line with those policies," a Google spokesperson in California told Reuters on Friday. "When we are notified of content that is illegal through official processes, we will restrict it in the country where its illegal after a thorough review." NAMED AND SHAMED Thailand's military government said on Tuesday it was tracking people suspected of insulting the monarchy following the kings death and would ask other countries to extradite them. Some critics of the monarchy living abroad have been named and shamed in Thai language web forums. Outside the world of the web, some Thais who have chosen not to wear black, the official color of mourning, have been publicly jeered at. Thailand's military government has tried to seek tighter censorship of social media from Facebook, Google and Japan-based instant messenger service LINE since it came to power in 2014 following a coup it said was necessary to restore peace to the country following months of unrest. Thailand's royal insult law, known as Article 112 in the criminal code, makes it a crime to insult the king, queen, heir or regent. Those who are found guilty face up to 15 years in prison. The law has curtailed public discussion about the monarchy's role and its future following the death of King Bhumibol who ruled for seven decades and was seen as a unifying figure. Since taking power in 2014, the junta, known officially as the National Council for Peace and Order, has taken a tough stance on dissenters. It has come under strong criticism from the international community for lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by military courts against civilians for violating the lese-majeste law since the junta took power. The military government has repeatedly rejected accusations of rights violations. (Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak. Additional reporting by Jonathan Weber in San Francisco and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore.; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre.; Editing by Bill Tarrant.)
Ian Somerhalder as Damon (Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW)

Warning: This recap for the Hello, Brother episode of The Vampire Diaries contains spoilers.

Have a little faith in me.

On The Vampire Diaries, thats a difficult task. As both Bonnie and Stefan say at different points, they may not be ready to give up on their loved ones  but hope hope hurts.

The final season premiere begins pretty much where things left off: Damon and Enzo are still on the lam on a killing spree, while Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline try to track them down. Whatever was in the vault and is now roaming free might be the scariest villain our heroes have had to face. Unfortunately, they have no idea what it is  or how to free Damon and Enzo from its clutches.

Its a lot of gloom and doom  except for some sexy and sweet Steroline action  but this is The Vampire Diaries: Dead is not always dead, evil can be vanquished, and hope springs eternal.

Heres a rundown of this weeks episode, including our live tweets.

(Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW)

Bad to the Bone

The episode opens with a random guy and girl driving down the road, on their way to see some terrible superhero movie. To be honest, Im just glad the whole vampire craze is over, the guy quips. Cue our two favorite, murderous vampires  Damon and Enzo.

The terrible twosome take the couple to a warehouse full of dead bodies, then compel each one to reveal their worst misdeed. The guy wins, and Damon takes him to a pit full of water and blood. Why are they doing this? Damon and Enzo shrug. Hey, theyre just the lackeys for It. Damon throws the guy into the pit and the pit swallows him whole.

Damon and Enzo would be our employees of the month every month #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline and Stefan enjoy a romantic interlude, while Bonnie takes her turn writing to Elena in the diary. Their search has been fruitless, and shes having a hard time keeping the faith. She remembers a tender memory with Enzo, of him changing guitar strings and teasing her about not reading The Odyssey.

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Poor Bonnie  while Caroline and Stefan are boning in bed, shes having sad flashbacks about Enzo ???? #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Post-coitus, Caroline vents to Stefan about Alarics hot nanny, who makes the unforgivable move of cutting her twins sandwich crusts. For shame, Hot Nanny! They discuss their plans for the day  Stefan going over missing persons reports, Caroline checking in with affiliates  when she gets a text. A body has been found! Its their first real clue in a while.

At the Armory, which Ric now oversees, an intern excitedly reports that theyve discovered something inside the Vault. The interns, Dorian and Georgie, blindfold him and put headphones on him. Ric, using only touch, feels along the wall  and then finds a spot where he can walk right through it!

Temple of doom

Back in their warehouse of death, Enzo is frustrated. How much longer do they have to keep up this murder spree? Damon just shrugs. Hes turned off his humanity switch and no longer cares. He even pushes Enzo into the pit with a laugh (luckily, Enzo resurfaces).

Alaric and the interns continue to explore the other side of the wall. They find a tunnel, which leads to a door, which opens into a mysterious chamber. A chamber filled with crazy antiques and treasures!

Where are Alaric and his interns? Is this like the Upside Down on #StrangerThings? #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

At the news station, Caroline is excited because Pete the sound guy has cleaned up the video of Enzo interrogating Virginia St. John. Now, they can hear what It is! Unfortunately, the sound is still buzzed out, right when Virginia starts to explain. Sigh. Well, they just need to find Virginia, stat.

Stefan and Bonnie check out the crime scene with the dead corpse  which turns out to be the girl from the couple at the beginning of the episode. Bonnie realizes that shes been strangled with a guitar string and there arent many miles on the cars odometer  which means Enzo and Damon are nearby!

Yes! Looks like Enzo is leaving a trail of breadcrumbs  uh, mutilated bodies  for Bonnie! Love is not dead! #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

As Alaric and the interns continue to explore the chamber, Georgie hits on him. He is being a very sexy Indiana Jones-type right now. He turns her down, though. Hes in total dad mode and doesnt have the headspace for a flirtation.

Come on, Alaric  a hot, smart woman hits on you and you're "closed for business"? Sad! #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Caroline calls the hot nanny, Seline, to check on the girls. Theyre playing hide and seek, and Rics been MIA all day. Then, the front door blows open. Uh oh its Virginia! She slits Selines neck and goes hunting for the twins.

Luckily, Caroline zooms right over and knocks Virginia out. She saves Seline, then sends her home. Now, its time to get some answers.

The Devil You Dont Know

Stefan explores the slaughterhouse where theyve tracked Damon and Enzo. Damon himself pops up and greets his brother. Damon doesnt argue with him, merely tells Stefan not to bother trying to save him. Hes done. Stefan refuses to back down, though.

"Ive seen how this ends, and humanity cant save me from it." This Damon who's given up might be the scariest of all #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Meanwhile, Caroline starts to interrogate Virginia, asking what was in the vault and what It wants with her kids. Virginia reminds her that she warned them not to open the vault, and then to avoid further questions, bites off her own tongue and spits it out!

Ewww, totally grossed by Virginia biting off her own tongue. And we still don't know what "IT" is! #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Stefan continues to push Damon to come back with him. He brings up Elena, but Damon doesnt even care about Elena anymore. So, Stefan just stabs him as Bonnie arrives. She wants to collect Enzo and go. But in a flash, Enzo punches Stefan, and Damon grabs Bonnie by the throat. Enzo warns Stefan to leave and even mouths Go! Stefan and Bonnie, defeated, take off.

Matt Davis as Alaric and Candice King as Caroline (Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW)

Ric helps Caroline clean up Virginias dead body. They talk about how to keep their kids safe, and Ric suggests moving in. Caroline thinks thats a bad idea, but he adds that they wouldnt be living together. In fact, shed move out  to live with Stefan.

This is why we crush on Ric: He just wants Caroline to be happy ???? #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Stefan drives Bonnie home, and now, hes despondent. She reminds him that they need to keep fighting and not lose hope. When she goes inside, she again remembers Enzo reading The Odyssey to her and realizes his signs at the crime scene were telling her something related to the story.

Enzo still loves you, Bonnie! He's still in there somewhere! Get your man! #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Damon and Enzo continue on their murder spree, this time with an artist who uses human blood in his paintings. As they take him away, Damon wonders how Stefan and Bonnie tracked them down, then warns Enzo that It knows everything.

Stefan is writing to Elena about how hard it is to keep the faith about saving his brother when Caroline shows up. They comfort each other, and then Caroline offers to move in. Even on a terrible day like this, at least Stefan has one thing to smile about.

Steroline shacking up! At least there's one bright spot in this gloomy world #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

Bonnie calls Alaric for info on the sirens in The Odyssey. Ric recalls that they use mind control on their victims and have been called the messengers of the Devil.

When Damon and Enzo return to the slaughterhouse, they toss in the artist. But another being emerges from the bloody pool  a woman. Hello, siren.

Vampires, werewolves, witches, hunters, ghosts, doppelgangers  sure, let's add sirens to the supernatural list #TheVampireDiaries  Yahoo TV (@YahooTV) October 22, 2016

The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Thousands of people are protesting marriage equality in Paris, and were so disappointed

We really hate to bring you bad news, but you should know: Last weekend, tens of thousands of people protested marriage equality in Paris. Because, yes, its 2016, but yes, homophobia is alive and well. And while we would have imagined Paris to be so much more open-minded, its a necessary reminder that, unfortunately, no place is perfect. And that the fight for marriage equality is still far from over.

Recently, the group Demo for All led nearly 24,000 people to oppose marriage equality in Paris.

According to NBC News, Paris legalized same-sex marriage, known as Marriage for All, three years ago. These protesters wanted to encourage this step in the right direction to actually move backwards.

giphy

One protester explained,

Even if the gay marriage law has been adopted, we will continue the protest to show that it is not good and we want it to be repealed. We want to influence the political debate that will take place in the coming months.

Protest in Paris

The former President Nicolas Sarkozy said,

I believe France has many other important issues to deal with such as security, terrorism and unemployment, rather than recreate conditions for another hysterical debate.

Protest in Paris

Like, thank goodness. Because this is serious nonsense. Why move backwards under the guise of marriage equality when you could, you know, become a more inclusive society? Ugh, we just dont get it. On the bright side, according to NBC News, the organizers of the protest anticipated 200k participants, so at least its proof that not all of Paris is as homophobic as these guys.

The post Thousands of people are protesting marriage equality in Paris, and were so disappointed appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Tom DeLonge commented Friday on his unexpected appearance in a batch of leaked emails from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, where the former Blink-182 guitarist attempted to meet with Podesta in Washington, D.C. in order to discuss UFO matters.

"I am still here. Wikileaks really messed some important stuff up," DeLonge wrote on Instagram Friday, nearly two weeks after his emails to Podesta leaked.



"What seems like ridiculous subject matter to most, is of massive importance to admirable National Security Leadership. It's easy to poke fun about the topic from an armchair, but unless you're invited to the meetings I have been a part of, then...no more laughing. Big things are coming. Project is still on, believe it or not, things just got bigger."

The caption had a hashtag #SekretMachines, referring to DeLonge's 704-page hardcover "based on actual events" novel, Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows, the first installment in a planned trilogy that focuses on the subject of unidentified aerial phenomena.

In the Podesta emails, leaked by Wikileaks, DeLonge reached out to Clinton's campaign chairman in an effort to set up a Washington, D.C. meeting between them and two people "in charge of most fragile divisions, as it relates to Classified Science and DOD topics. Other words, these are A-Level officials," DeLonge wrote in October 2015.



One of the officials, a January 2016 email revealed, was General William McCasland, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, where pieces from the Roswell UFO crash were purportedly shipped. ["McCasland] not only knows what I'm trying to achieve, he helped assemble my advisory team," DeLonge wrote to Podesta in a second email. "He's a very important man."

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While another leaked email, a calendar notification, suggested that Podesta did schedule a time to meet with DeLonge and McCasland, it's unclear whether the meeting actually took place.

Podesta, who also served as senior advisor to President Barack Obama, expressed disappointment in February 2015 that his time in the White House didn't result in the revelation of the existence of UFOs. "Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #thetruthisstilloutthere," Podesta tweeted.

However, in April, Podesta said that Hillary Clinton had promised him that she would declassify all documents pertaining to extraterrestrials if elected president.

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Michael Maturen is a Catholic writer, a businessman, a grassroots political activist, a former evangelical Anglican priest and a professional magician.

Seeking the presidency of the United States may not have been the next logical move for this self-proclaimed nobody from the tiny town of Harrisville, Mich., on Lake Huron.

Im a magician, I sell cars and Im running for president, said Maturen, laughing. I am not delusional. People in the American Solidarity Party dont think we can win the presidency. Our goal is to promote the ideas behind our party and the idea that its time to change our political system. ... Two parties are not enough when you look at the reality of modern America.

This would have been more obvious if the partys founders had kept its original name: the Christian Democracy Party USA. That would have linked it to major political parties  primarily in Europe and Latin America  with the Christian Democrat label.

Maturen said the name was changed because, while the party is built on Catholic social teachings, America has become such a diverse culture. The new name does offer a nod to Saint Pope John Paul II and Polands Solidarity movement.

Lots of people are pretty disgusted with where we are in America, said Maturen. What changed my own thinking was the ugliness of this election cycle. As a simple matter of ethics, I knew that I couldnt support Donald Trump and, since I am pro-life, I knew I couldnt vote for Hillary Clinton.

The American Solidarity Party, or ASP, is just getting started, of course, with chapters in two dozen states and new members clicking into the ranks through social media.

At this stage, the goal is to arrange authorized write-in status in 30 or more states, he said. At some point, candidates from alternative parties will have to crack into the U.S. House of Representatives. As for the White House, an alternative candidate will eventually need to win enough votes to complicate the winner take all structure of the electoral college.

While seeking a centrist label, Maturen stressed that the partys platform is consistently progressive on matters of economics  supporting single-payer national health care, for example  and conservative on morality and culture. It defends human life from conception to natural death, thus opposing abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide and the death penalty. It condemns all forms of torture.

The platform also states: We deplore the reduction of the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to freedom of worship that merely exists in private and within a house of worship. ... We will defend the rights of public assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We oppose the expansion of censorship and secrecy in the interests of national security.

Obviously, there are hard questions linked to this kind of project, noted philosopher David McPherson of Creighton University, writing in the interfaith journal First Things. For starters, many Americans dont want to vote for a party that cannot win. But in the year of #NeverTrump and #NeverHillary, there are voters  especially Catholics, Mormons and evangelicals  seeking ways to vote without pangs of guilt.

Voting for the ASP may be seen as a protest vote against a system that presents us with such poor choices. But it is not merely a protest vote, because if we are to work fully toward the kind of politics we need, we must first break from the political status quo, argued McPherson. The ASP should thus be understood as seeking primarily to build up a cultural movement, which ideally will come to have political influence.

Still, Maturen conceded that its hard to think about the future while this White House race keeps causing bitter debates about religious believers needing to vote for the lesser of two evils. What about the doomsday scenario in which Trump or Clinton grabs control of the U.S. Supreme Court for years to come?

As a Catholic, I truly believe that your actions in life are supposed to line up with your beliefs, he said. At some point, we have to try to start voting that way.
By Emily Stephenson and Chris Kahn NEWTOWN, Pa./NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gained on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among American voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Friday. The polling data showed Trump's argument that the Nov. 8 election is "rigged" against him has resonated with members of his party. "Remember folks, it's a rigged system," Trump told a Pennsylvania rally on Friday. "That's why you've got to get out and vote, you've got to watch. Because this system is totally rigged." Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 40 percent, according to the Oct. 14-20 Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 4-point lead. That compared with 44 percent for Clinton and 37 percent for Trump in the Oct. 7-13 poll released last week. An average of national opinion polls by RealClearPolitics shows Clinton 6.2 percentage points ahead at 48.1 percent support to Trump's 41.9 percent. Trump is slated to give a speech Saturday in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, best known as the site of a decisive Civil War battle and cemetery, and the place where Republican President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address. Aides told reporters on Friday night that Trump would make his closing argument to voters in his speech, and preview what he would do in his first 100 days in the White House. "I think this site is fitting in terms of understanding a positive vision for the Republican party," an aide said. Trump's campaign was thrown into crisis after a 2005 video released this month showed him bragging about groping and kissing women. He has since faced accusations - which he has said are "absolutely false" - that he made improper sexual advances to women over decades. The Reuters/Ipsos survey found 63 percent of Americans, including a third of Republicans, believe the New York real estate mogul has committed sexual assault in the past. Reuters contacted a few of the poll respondents who said they felt that Trump had likely "committed sexual assault" but were still supporting his candidacy. Their answers were generally the same: Whatever Trump did with women in the past is less important to them than what he may do as president. At a Trump rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, Harold Garren, 75, said he was skeptical of complaints from women about Trump's behavior. "I don't believe all of this 30 years later, no," Garren said. Garren also shrugged off Trump's lewd bragging about women, caught on the 2005 tape. "I've used that barnyard language myself," Garren said, clarifying that it was when he was younger and before he knew better. Both candidates spent Friday in battleground states, where the vote could swing either way. Clinton, 68, campaigned in Ohio, while Trump, 70, was in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump, his voice lacking some of its usual energy in his third rally in one day, told voters in Newtown, Pennsylvania they had to vote or else he would have wasted a lot of "time, energy and money." 'RIGGED' MESSAGE FINDS SUPPORT Trump has been coy about whether he will accept the results of the election should Clinton beat him. The Reuters/Ipsos data showed only half of Republicans would accept Clinton as their president, and nearly 70 percent of them said a Clinton victory would be because of illegal voting or vote rigging. Trump's crowd chanted "Lock her up!" at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania after he declared Clinton a "corrupt globalist," a reference to campaign documents released by WikiLeaks in which Clinton was quoted advocating free trade and open borders. After the chant went around the room for several seconds, Trump responded, "Don't worry, that whole thing will be looked into." The New York businessman's assertion that the election is being rigged and his refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election if he loses has challenged a cornerstone of American democracy and outraged Democrats and many Republicans. Asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power during Wednesday's debate, Trump replied: "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. OK?" In Ohio on Friday, Clinton called his refusal unprecedented. "Now make no mistake: by doing that, he is threatening our democracy," she told a rally in Cleveland. "But we know in our country the difference between leadership and dictatorship, right? And the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart," Clinton said. Trump has offered no widely accepted evidence to back up his claims of vote-rigging. Numerous studies have shown that the U.S. election system, which is run by the states, is sound. Trump told an earlier rally in Fletcher, North Carolina, that he wanted to have no regrets about whether he worked hard enough to win the election, and urged followers to get out to vote. "Win, lose or draw - and Im almost sure if the people come out, were going to win - I will be happy with myself," he said. "We have to work, we have to get everybody out there. (Additional reporting by Maurice Tamman in New York; Amanda Becker in Cleveland; Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrew Hay)
(Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will lay out on Saturday what he would do in the first 100 days of his administration should he win the Nov. 8 election. Trumps outline - which he will deliver in a speech in the historic town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - will cover his plans for boosting Americans' economic and physical security and contrast them with those of Democrat Hillary Clinton, campaign aides told reporters on Friday. Clinton published a book of her own policy ideas earlier this year. Trump is trailing Clinton in most polls - although he has narrowed the gap according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday - and has less than three weeks to catch up. Much of the campaign in recent weeks has focused on allegations that he made improper advances to women over decades, something he denies. It is also being dominated by Trump's accusation that the election is "rigged" and that he may not accept the result. Trump aides said Gettysburg, the site of a major Civil War battle and Republican President Abraham Lincolns famous address, was a fitting place for Trump to lay out a positive vision for the future of his party, which has suffered a schism between his supporters and the party's establishment. Trump has planted some new policy details in recent speeches as he seeks to shift attention away from the recent controversies. In the past week, for example, he laid out ethics rules to shut the revolving door between government and lobbying and proposed term limits for members of Congress. Trump's aides said he would unveil additional new policy details Saturday. They would not elaborate. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson and Roberta Rampton)
Charlotte (AFP) - With just over two weeks to go before Americans vote for a new president, Hillary Clinton -- who has widened her lead over Donald Trump -- is stepping up her efforts in key battleground states to consolidate her lead.

The Democratic former secretary of state vying to become America's first female president leads the Republican real estate mogul among likely voters by 50 percent to 38 percent, according to a national ABC News poll.

That is her highest score since the start of the race to succeed Barack Obama in the White House.

"We are behind," Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway admitted Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," nevertheless insisting that the race was not over.

At an evening rally in Naples, Florida, the 70-year-old Trump called on his supporters to turn out en masse to "get rid of Crooked Hillary once and for all," using one of his favorite nicknames for his 68-year-old rival.

"Numbers are looking phenomenal in Florida. Don't believe the media," he insisted.

The Sunshine State is a key prize in the presidential race, one of several battleground states that are key for both candidates if they want to win on November 8. Most polls put Trump a few points behind Clinton there.

- 'Systemic racism' -

Conscious that winning the minority vote will help lead her to victory, the 68-year-old Clinton started her day Sunday at a mainly black church in Durham, North Carolina -- another of the swing states up for grabs.

Obama won the southern state by a razor-thin margin in 2008, but lost it to Mitt Romney four years later. Team Clinton is pulling out all the stops to put it back in the Democratic win column.

Before a congregation that included Sybrina Fulton -- the mother of slain unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, whose death shocked America in 2012 -- Clinton called for awareness of the "systemic racism" seen across the country.

"If we are honest with each other, we know we face the continuing discrimination against African-Americans and in particular young African-Americans," she said.

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"These conversations can be painful for everybody, but we have got to have them."

She accused her Republican opponent of painting "a bleak picture of our inner cities" and ignoring the successes of black leaders "in every field and every walk of life."

- Hillary and Michelle -

Clinton will return to North Carolina on Thursday with the woman who has emerged as one of her best campaign weapons -- Michelle Obama. It will be their first joint rally for the former and current first ladies.

"The choice in this election really is about what you want, what you believe for yourself and your future," Clinton told a rally in Charlotte, notably mentioning the need to respect women -- an allusion to Trump's woes over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The new ABC News poll said 69 percent of likely voters disapprove of Trump's response to questions about his treatment of women, after a series of women alleged he either groped or forcibly kissed them in years past.

Trump has strongly denied those allegations, and on Saturday threatened to sue the "liars" who came forward with claims about his past behavior.

Clinton is leading nationally in both two-way and four-way contests by an average of about six points, according to RealClearPolitics. She is also ahead in most of the crucial battleground states.

The 70-year-old Trump is clinging to an edge -- but only a slight one -- in traditionally Republican strongholds like Texas, where he has a three-point lead.

- 'Not over yet' -

Team Clinton is gunning for a landslide win, using its momentum to push ahead in the battle for control of Congress. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are now in Republican hands, and the Democrats would like to change that.

"We're not taking anything for granted at all," campaign manager Robby Mook told "Fox News Sunday."

"You know, this is not over yet."

While Clinton has received several major newspaper endorsements, Trump got his first major thumbs-up, from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"Mr Trump represents neither the danger his critics claim nor the magic elixir many of his supporters crave," the paper wrote, adding he would instead shake up the US capital's "political elites."

In Vegas, Obama hit the campaign trail for Clinton and Nevada's Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto.

For the president, Democrats have the winning hand.

"You've got an ace, and you've got a jack," he said, giving in to the urge to use a blackjack metaphor in Sin City.

"But you've got to make sure to turn over the card by voting," he added.

"The game ends on November 8th!"
Not so fast, AT&T and Time Warner: Donald Trump said on Saturday that, as president, hed block your $80 billion merger.

As an example of the power structure Im fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner  and thus CNN  a deal we will not approve in my administration because its too much concentration of power in the hands of too few, Trump told an enthusiastic Gettysburg, Pa. crowd.

Likewise, Amazon  which, through its ownership controls the Washington Post  should be paying massive taxes, he added in the speechs assault on mainstream media and their umbrella corporations. But its not paying, and its a very unfair playing field, and you see whats happening and what thats doing to department stores across the country.

Also Read: Donald Trump Vows to Sue All of His Sexual Misconduct Accusers (Video)

The GOP presidential candidate also wants to break up similar mega-media deals  even ones that are already years old.

Additionally, Comcasts purchase of NBC concentrates far too much power in one massive entity that is trying to tell the voters what to think and what to do, he stated. Deals like this destroy democracy, and well look at breaking that deal up and other deals like that. This should never, ever have been approved in the first place.

Theyre trying to poison the mind of the American voter, Trump concluded the matter.

Also Read: Stephen Colbert Pitches Potential Trump TV Programming (Video)

Watch the video above, which covers his entire rally. Trumps speech begins just before the 1-hour, 20-minute mark.

The remarks on consolidated media take place about six minutes into his talk. And yes, you can fast-forward.

Immediately after these comments, Trump vowed to sue every woman who has accused him of sexual misconduct. Check out that promise here.

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By Emily Stephenson GETTSYBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised on Saturday to foil a proposed deal for AT&T to buy Time Warner if he wins the Nov. 8 election, arguing it was an example of a "power structure" rigged against both him and voters. Trump, whose candidacy has caused ruptures in his party, listed his policy plans for the first 100 days of his presidency in a campaign speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near the site of a Civil War battlefield and a celebrated address by President Abraham Lincoln. But he also defiantly raised personal grievances, describing how, if elected, he would address them from the White House in a way he said would benefit Americans. The speech was billed by his campaign as a major outlining of his policies and principles. Many of the policy ideas Trump listed on Saturday were familiar, not least his promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico to deter illegal immigration and to renegotiate trade deals and to scrap the Obamacare health policy. Moments after promising Americans that he represented a hopeful break from the status quo, he promised to sue nearly a dozen women who have come forward in the last two weeks to accuse him of sexual assault, calling them liars. And he added a new threat to his repeated castigation of U.S. media corporations, which he says cover his campaign unfairly to help Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. "They're trying desperately to suppress my vote and the voice of the American people," Trump, who often rails against media outlets and journalists covering his events, told supporters in his speech. Trump has not provided evidence for his assertion that the election would be rigged. "As an example of the power structure I'm fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few," Trump said. Telecommunications company AT&T Inc has agreed in principle to buy Time Warner Inc, one of the country's largest film and television companies, for about $85 billion and an announcement could be made as early as Saturday. Trump also said he would look at "breaking" up the acquisition by Comcast Corp of the media company NBC Universal in 2013. "Deals like this destroy democracy," he said in explaining his apparent deviation from the traditional Republican position that seeks to minimize the taxation and regulation of American companies. Amazon.com Inc, the online retailer, should also be paying "massive taxes", Trump said, reminding voters that Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post, a newspaper whose coverage Trump dislikes. Trump, a wealthy New York building developer and television star, acknowledged in a debate with Clinton on Oct. 9 that he had used investment losses to avoid paying taxes. The New York Times reported on Oct. 1 that Trump's declared loss of $916 million in 1995 was so large that he could legally have avoided paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years. At a campaign event later on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Clinton criticized Trump's stance on news outlets, noting that she receives negative coverage too. "When he blows up at a journalist or criticizes the press and goes on and on and on  you know, I get criticized by the press," she said. "I believe that's part of our democratic system." In a statement, Clinton spokeswoman Christina Reynolds described the speech as "rambling, unfocused, full of conspiracy theories and attacks on the media, and lacking in any real answers for American families." CHANCE OF A LIFETIME Although Trump on Saturday described his plans at least in part as a response to his belief media organizations had treated him unfairly, he argued that less wealthy voters had even greater cause to worry. "When a simple phone call placed with the biggest newspapers or television networks gets them wall-to-wall coverage with virtually no fact-checking whatsoever, here is why this is relevant to you," he said. "If they can fight somebody like me who has unlimited resources to fight back, just look at what they could do to you, your jobs, your security, your education, your health care." Trump, who has said he may not accept the election's outcome if he loses, is trailing Clinton in most polls - although he has narrowed the gap according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College, however, and claim the U.S. presidency, a Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project poll released on Saturday showed. Trump has bluntly said that Mexico will pay for the wall, an idea the Mexican government has scoffed at. He tweaked his language on Saturday, saying the United States would fully fund the wall with the understanding that Mexico would reimburse the cost. Trump's campaign was thrown into crisis two weeks ago when a 2005 video was released showing him bragging about groping and kissing women, prompting several prominent Republicans to announce they would not vote for him. Since then, at least 10 women have said Trump made unwanted sexual advances, including groping or kissing, in incidents from the early 1980s to 2007, all of which Trump has denied. On Saturday, Jessica Drake, an adult film actor, accused Trump of pressuring her to have sex with him 10 years ago when they met at a golf tournament. After that, she said a man, possibly Trump, called her to offer her $10,000 if she would have sex with him, which she declined. Trump's campaign said the accusations were false. Trump, 70, said he was being attacked because he was an outsider who had never previously run for office, which he argues is a virtue. "The fact that Washington and the Washington establishment has tried so hard to stop our campaign is only more proof that our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime," he said. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson and Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker in Pittsburgh; editing by Grant McCool)
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey hit Kurdish militia targets in northern Syria for the second time in less than 72 hours, the military said Saturday, as Ankara vowed further action.

Rockets struck 70 People's Protection Units (YPG) targets Friday, the Turkish armed forces said in a statement that did not reveal whether any militia fighters had been killed.

The strikes came after two Ankara-backed Syrian opposition fighters were injured when YPG forces opened fire south of the flashpoint town of Jarabulus, the military said, quoted in the official Anadolu news agency.

Turkey views Syria's YPG and Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as terror groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), staging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened further action against the YPG and PYD, saying that if they "continued to attack (Syrian opposition fighters) fighting against Daesh", the Islamic State group, Turkey would "do what is necessary".

Quoted by Anadolu, the minister again accused the YPG of seeking to create its own larger "canton" rather than focusing on the fight against IS, pointing to "attacks on moderate opposition" as evidence of this.

The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

Late Wednesday, Turkish jets struck YPG positions and the armed forces claimed they killed up to 200 fighters from the group, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll lower.

The monitor said at least 11 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- a US-backed alliance of about 30,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters -- were killed and 24 wounded.

Turkey has clashed with the United States over the YPG, with the Americans' support to the Syrian Kurdish militia causing friction between the two NATO allies.

Despite Ankara's protests, Washington believes the YPG is the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria.

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- 'Terror-free zone' -

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday the US was making a mistake supporting the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

"Unfortunately their use by the United States against Daesh (IS) and being supplied with arms is a big mistake. We have made it clear to them," he said.

On August 24 Ankara launched an operation in northern Syria to remove IS from its border and stop the YPG's westward advance.

Turkey has sent dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops into Syria to support rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad's ouster, and the army says 1,265 square kilometres (488 square miles) have been secured since August.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkish-backed rebels would next advance on Al-Bab after having recaptured from IS Jarabulus and Al-Rai in the early days of the operation.

"We have to prepare a terror-free zone," he said during a televised speech from Bursa, northwestern Turkey.

He reiterated Turkey's position that it would not work with the YPG in any US-led coalition operation to expel IS from its de facto capital, Raqa.

Last Sunday, Ankara-backed rebels seized the emblematic northern town of Dabiq from the extremist group, having already taken Al-Rai as well.

Erdogan again voiced his opposition to the creation of a "terror corridor" -- referring to the joining of the Kurdish "cantons" of Afrin and Kobane.

Separately the Turkish military said it hit 52 IS targets in northern Syria, while the Dogan news agency said seven Ankara-backed rebels were killed in clashes with the jihadist group.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Saturday criticized Iraq's leadership, saying it was "being provocative" with recent comments and said Ankara will continue to have a presence in Iraq. Turkey has been locked in a row with Iraq's central government over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, where it has trained thousands of troops. Yildirim's comments could also give pause to chances of an agreement between Turkey and Iraq on the Mosul campaign. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle that could eventually allow a Turkish role in the campaign to retake the city from Islamic State. "In recent days, there have been warnings from Iraq. We will not listen to this, nobody can tell us to not be concerned about the region," Yildirim told a conference of his ruling AK Party, which is being held this weekend in western Afyon province. "The Iraqi leadership is being provocative. Turkey does not bow to anyone's threats, Turkey will continue to be present there," he said. It was not immediately clear to which comments Yildirim was referring. However, Iraq has viewed Turkish military moves on its territory with apprehension. Mosul was once part of the Ottoman Empire and is still seen by Turkey as firmly within its sphere of influence. Yildirim also said that Turkish-backed rebels had cleared 1,270 square km (490 square miles) in northern Syrian from "terrorist forces" as part of its ongoing operation in the region to sweep Islamic State and Syrian Kurdish forces from the area near its southern border. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu,; Writing by David Dolan, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey respects every nation's geographical boundaries, even if it "weighs on our hearts", Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in what appeared to be a reference to the Iraqi city of Mosul, once a part of the Ottoman empire. His comment came after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declined an offer from Turkey to take part in the battle to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul. Turkey has wanted to take part in the battle. It still sees Mosul as firmly within its sphere of influence. "Some ignorant people come and say, 'What relation could you have with Iraq?' Those geographies that we talk about now are part of our soul," Erdogan said in a speech. "Even if it weighs on our hearts, we respect every nation's geographical borders." (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Andrew Roche)
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court La Crosse, would like to express our appreciation for the support of our first successful fashion show and salad luncheon Oct. 15.

Funds raised will be used for the state convention April 20-22 in La Crosse. We want to thank Brittany Lake of WXOW for the interview prior to the event, her outstanding job of modeling and being our emcee for the event. Also, we thank our participating stores and models who did a great job showcasing the clothing and accessories and their generosity in donating their time.

The piano music, provided by Pauline Connell, created a relaxing atmosphere. Thanks go to Aquinas High School for allowing us to use its risers. We are grateful to those who prepared food and gave of their time to set up, take down and clean up. Thanks to all who attended.
Amid ongoing Turkish-backed Syrian rebel operations in the northern Aleppo Province, Turkish tanks were spotted in the town of Marea on October 22, supporting Syrian rebel groups in clashes against locally deployed Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Clashes have been reported inside the town, with unconfirmed reports of injuries amongst civilians.

The clashes began during a disagreement over territorial control of a newly captured nearby village called Sheikh Issa, according to Kurdish news reports.

The Turkish-backed Operation Euphrates Shield has caused significant tensions between Syrian Arab rebel outfits and their Kurdish counterparts, who had largely defended themselves from the Islamic States initial 2014-2015 ground assaults on the areas. In this context, newly captured territories from IS have cause skirmishes between the two factions, largely due to Turkeys historic military stance against Kurdish autonomy.

In light of the ethnic tensions, border areas of the Aleppo Province facing Turkey have seen numerous Kurdish protests in recent days, calling for Turkeys military withdrawal from Syria. Credit: YouTube/ANHA
Happy Endings alumna Casey Wilson will guest-star during Season 5 of The Mindy Project as a friend from the titular docs past, star/writer Ike Barinholtz told EW.com.

RELATEDFuture Man Starring Josh Hutcherson Snags 13-Episode Order at Hulu

Wilson is the third Happy Endings vet to appear on the Hulu comedy, following Adam Pallys series-regular role as Dr. Peter Prentice and Eliza Coupes guest-starring arc.

Ready for more of todays newsy nuggets? Well

* TVLine has confirmed that Wil Traval will reprise his Once Upon a Time role as the Sheriff of Nottingham, in an episode pegged to the return of Sean Maguire as Robin Hood.

* Kimberly McCullough will make a return visit to General Hospital, starting Thursday, Oct. 27, Soap Opera Digest reports.

* Michael Stahl-David (Show Me a Hero), Kerry Bishe (Halt and Catch Fire), Arturo Castro (Broad City) and New Zealand actor Matt Whelan have joined Narcos as series regulars for Season 3, per The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

* Season 7 of A&Es Wahlburgers will premiere Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 10/9c.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two children were killed early on Saturday in a home invasion in a small Georgia city, police said. An 15-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister were found shot dead in a house in Jonesboro, a city of fewer than 5,000 residents about 20 miles south of Atlanta, according to Sergeant Ashanti Marbury of the Clayton County Police Department. Police received an emergency call at 5 a.m. from the house reporting that someone had broken in and that shots had been fired inside the home. In addition to the two dead children, officers also found several other children as young as 6 in the house, Marbury said. No adults were home at the time. The parents of the two victims have been notified and are not considered suspects, Marbury said. No suspects have been identified. The initial investigation suggests the home invasion was not random, but detectives are still working to determine why the house was targeted, Marbury said. (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Bernard Orr)
This type of medication may surprisingly be able to help people with depression

Although depression affects millions of Americans each year, theres still a persistent stigma that the illness is all in our heads, and a person with depression can simply snap out of it and cheer up if they try hard enough. But a new study shows that anti-inflammatory medications can help treat depression, providing further evidence that the illness is rooted in biology and  more importantly  offering a potential treatment option for individuals with depression.

depressed1

A study published in the the journal Molecular Psychiatry earlier this week found that inflammation may play a significant role in clinical depression. When testing new anti-inflammatory drugs, researchers didnt set out to assess them for their effectiveness in the treatment of depression. They simply collected mental health data from the participants, all of whom suffered from autoimmune diseases.

Previous studies have indicated that people with high levels of the protein cytokine in their blood are more likely to develop depression. The recently published study in Molecular Psychiatry lends further credence to this theory  individuals who were given anti-cytokine drugs reported that their depression symptoms improved, while those who were given a placebo didnt report any improvements.

#depression #depressionisreal no, it's not fun to struggle DAILY with getting out of bed and not having any motivation anymore because of an unknown reason. A photo posted by Quotes To Help You (@quotestohelp.you) on Oct 5, 2016 at 5:28pm PDT

Researchers conducted a separate analysis and found that the anti-depressive effects of the drugs didnt go hand-in-hand with the participants physical symptoms.

For certain individuals, the drugs had no effect on their physical symptoms, but still improved their depression.

The results provide important clues regarding the role of inflammatory cytokines in depression, the researchers wrote in their final report, according to The Huffington Post.

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Another important finding is that anti-cytokine drugs may help people who havent benefited from antidepressants.

According to previous research, people with high levels of inflammation in their bodies are less likely to benefit from antidepressants. Although further research is necessary before doctors can begin prescribing anti-cytokines for depression, the study provides important information about the underlying causes of the illness and a potential new treatment option for people who havent found an effective antidepressant.

The results of this study illustrate the complexities of depression and the many factors that can cause the illness. And, it has inspired further research that will hopefully result in a new way to help depressed individuals who havent found the right medication to alleviate their symptoms.

The post This type of medication may surprisingly be able to help people with depression appeared first on HelloGiggles.
DailyFX.com -

Talking Points:

Next week companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Lloyds Bank and Barclays will be reporting earnings

Companies like Ford and Airbus with major business interest in the UK will also report next week

Earnings reports and forward guidance may provide insight into post-Brexit business outlook

Check out the DailyFX 4thQuarter British Pound Forecast, HERE

It has been four months since the UK voted to leave the European Union in its historic Brexit Referendum. However, since then information has been sparse on the extent of the impact on business growth in the UK. Earnings season may provide some insight as companies report their performance over the previous quarter, as well as provide outlook for the future of their industries. It is worth noting that substantive policy change has not occurred since Brexit, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May and EU leaders have yet to announce details on the future relationship between the island and mainland Europe. May has suggested Article 50 will be invoked  starting the proceedings  in March of next year.

Single market access has been a major point of contention, as large industries in the UK have spoken out about the negative impact on foreign investment and cost-competitiveness if single market participation is forfeited. Companies such as Ford, Jaguar and Siemens have said that a hard Brexit or removal from single market participation may force factory closures or large jobs cuts as they attempt to absorb the impact. Financial services companies are currently worried about passporting which allows them to run their banking operations throughout Europe from the UK.

In the coming week, a number of UK companies will be reporting their earnings for the 3rd quarter of 2016.

Whitbread PLC WTB LN 10/25/2016 GlaxoSmithKline PLC GSK LN 10/26/2016 Lloyds Banking Group PLC LLOY LN 10/26/2016 Barclays PLC BARC LN 10/27/2016 BT Group PLC BT/A LN 10/27/2016 International Consolidated Airlines Group SA IAG LN 10/28/2016 Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC RBS LN 10/28/2016

In addition to the UK companies, there are also a number of releases from multi-national groups that have strong business interests in Britain. Among them, auto manufacturer Ford, which announces its earnings before markets open in the US on Thursday the 27th. Following the Brexit vote, Ford mentioned the importance of its access to the single market, as Europe is a large source of demand and the UK is its major base of operations for factories and jobs.

Story continues

Aerospace manufacturer Airbus will release its earnings report on Wednesday the 26th next week. Airbus has its business spread wide throughout Europe with major parts manufacturing and development based in the UK. The company also mentioned the possibility of job cuts and manufacturing reduction to supplement the estimated cost increase of losing single market access.



original source

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM.
London (AFP) - British charities and lawmakers have urged French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to ensure the safety of children in the "Jungle" Calais migrant camp during its demolition set for Monday.

The signatories said in a letter dated Friday they had "very serious worries concerning the security and well-being of unaccompanied minors and vulnerable adults".

Cazeneuve has pledged that all remaining migrants at the site, currently occupied by around 5,700 people according to official figures, would be given "dignified" shelter after the camp is cleared.

"We fear that the resources currently being deployed and the proposed responses are insufficient to ensure the effective protection of the most vulnerable, notably unaccompanied children," the letter said.

The signatories, which included Save the Children, the Refugee Council, Safe Passage UK-Citizens UK and the International Rescue Committee UK, said tensions had risen in the camp since its demolition was announced, due to a lack of clear information from the authorities about the future of its inhabitants.

They said a poorly-organised clearance would put already fragile people into an even more precarious situation.

The letter asked for all unaccompanied minors to be found shelter before the demolition begins, for a designated "safe zone" in the camp during the dismantlement and, that everyone eligible to join family in Britain be identified.

They also called for independent rights observers to be present during the demolition.

The signatories included 60 of the 650 MPs, two bishops and several members of parliament's upper House of Lords, including Paddy Ashdown, the former international high representative for Bosnia.

But at the "Jungle" camp in the northern French port of Calais on Saturday, migrants seemed prepared for the move to various locations around France.

- 'We've been waiting' -

"Monday I take the bus!" declared a smiling Sudanese named Kali, living in a tent marked with graffiti saying "London Hotel".

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"Everyone has had their bags packed for a week already because they told us it could be on the 17th (of October) and since then we've been waiting," said Mohammed, also from Sudan.

The 43-year-old former computer engineer says he's given up trying to get to Britain, which was the goal of most of the 6,000 to 8,000 migrants in the Calais camp. Some claimed to have family links there and many believed they would have a better chance of finding work.

"Some people don't want to be forced to move," Mohammed added.

Volunteers with the British association Care 4 Calais walked from tent to tent to inform the migrants about the plans and give them emergency contact phone numbers.

Police could be seen maintaining a discreet presence near the temporary welcome centre where interviews were to take place for unaccompanied minors hoping to join relatives in the UK.

After 100 youngsters left on Saturday, another 40 were set to leave Calais for Britain on Sunday morning, said Pierre Henry, head of the France Terre d'Asile charity.

Among the Afghans who run food shops in the camp, one owner with the sign "Do not destroy the Jungle" has his doubts about whether the dismantlement will actually happen.

"We'll see on Monday, I don't believe it," he said.

Another Afghan shopkeeper, when asked what he would do after the camp was torn down, just said, "I will go to the next Jungle."
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The Syrian army attacked the village of Qmenas with chemical weapons in March 2015, UN experts said in a report released Friday.

But they were unable to determine who was responsible for two other chemical weapons attacks -- against Binnish in Idlib province in March 2015 and Kafr Zita in Hama province in April 2014.

The report was presented Friday to the UN Security Council.

The UN-led joint investigative mechanism (JIM) in late August reported that Syrian government forces had carried out at least two chemical attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State jihadists had used mustard gas as a weapon.

Of the nine total alleged chemical attacks it is considering in its ongoing probe, the JIM has now attributed three to the Syrian government and one to the Islamic State group.

In its fourth report, investigators concluded that there is now "sufficient information" that the attack on Qmenas "was caused by a Syrian Arab Armed Forces helicopter dropping a device from a high altitude which hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population."

Investigators say the substance may have been chlorine gas, based on the symptoms the victims displayed.

In Kafr Zita, however, the JIM could not confirm that the Syrian army had used barrel bombs to dump toxic substances because "the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed," the report said.

Investigators also said that a "canister with traces of chlorine" was found in Binnish, though the container could not be "linked to any of several incident locations identified."

The inquiry's mandates was extended until October 31 to finish the probe.

Governments in Paris, London and Washington have already called for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, including against the regime in Damascus.

But the Syrian government has been shielded by its ally Russia, which has questioned the JIM findings and said the evidence is not conclusive enough to warrant sanctions.

Syria agreed to get rid of its chemical stockpile and to refrain from making any use of toxic substances in warfare when it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, under pressure from Russia.
Before the 2016 presidential campaign, Ana Navarro was just one of many Republican political consultants opining on television. Now, thanks to her impassioned takedowns of Donald Trump on CNN, Navarro has become an overnight political celebrity, with 200,000 followers on Twitter and several viral videos to her credit.

A GOP political strategist who advised John McCain and Jon in their respective presidential bids, Navarro began working as a political commentator, first on ABC News and then CNN, two years ago. In 2016, Navarros impassioned critiques of Donald Trump and his surrogates led to multiple viral moments, with the most recent coming in the wake of the leaked 2005 Access Hollywood tape on which Trump was seen and heard making lewd comments and boasting about possible sexual assault. Speaking on a CNN panel the day the tape leaked, Navarro ripped into Trumps misogyny while repeating his crude language, specifically the word py, on live television.

Every single Republican is going to have to answer the question: What did you do the day you saw the tape of this man boasting about grabbing a woman's py?' she said.

Will you please stop saying that word? My daughter is listening, Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes told Navarro.

Dont tell me youre offended when I say py, but youre not offended when Donald Trump says it, Navarro barked in response.

Video clips of the exchange racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Earlier this month, Trevor Noah invited Navarro on The Daily Show as his guest and The New Yorker published a profile of Navarro highlighting her centrist conservatism that now has become out of place in the Republican party.

In the current election, Navarro supported the campaign of Jeb Bush--for whom she once worked while he was Governor of Florida--before he dropped out of the Republican primary in February. But, she says shes been against Trump since the day he launched his campaign in the summer of 2015 with a speech in which he made disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants.

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Fortune spoke with Navarro last week about her opposition to Trump, her own rising star, and her dream candidate for 2020. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Why do you think your comments on CNN have gotten such a reaction?

I think theres such disgust and frustration because of Trump that people see me as the vessel for that frustration. They see me as the person who can give voice to what theyre feeling. So many women stop me to talk about their experiences with sexual assault. So many people tell me that, when they hear Trump say some of those things, they want to throw shoes at the TV. So, I think theres a lot of Americans who are simply appalled and outraged by Donald Trump and get a level of catharsis from seeing me call a spade a spade.

I also think that people get so used to seeing robotic surrogates on TV--the fact that Im unfiltered is something that strikes people.

How has the election changed your career trajectory? Would you focus more on TV than political advising going forward? Maybe your own show?

To tell you the truth, I dont know. Theres more coming my way. This final stretch of the election is a hamster wheel for me. When its over, Ive got to sit down and think about [my] career, future, personal life--all of those things.

But, look, this is me being me. I wasnt any different 18 days ago than I was 18 months ago. I have been saying the same things about this man now [Trump] for 18 months. As the election gets closer, people pay more attention and theres more of a sense of urgency. And, I also think there was something about those videos and audio that just cut through the noise, because it cut across all demographics, all genders, all age groups, all ethnicities.

But, my outrage with Donald Trump started when he called Mexicans rapists. I wasnt born in Mexico--I was born in Nicaragua--but I know that, when somebody like Donald Trump says Mexicans, he means all of us. He means anybody who comes from south of the border.

One of your viral moments when you challenged Trump surrogate Jeff Lord during the Republican National Convention on CNN. You accused him of being a fearmonger. Are those exchanges really off the cuff?

Its all off-the-cuff. Its live TV. You dont have any idea where the conversation is going to go. You just dont. The one thing Ive always tried to do in my life, in my work, on TV, is I just keep it real. I find it hard and time-consuming to try to be fake.

What about the heated exchange over Trumps comments in the Access Hollywood tape?

If youre going to support a man who said those things, youve got to know youre going to be confronted with those things. Were not talking abstract words, were talking very specific, very crass, very vulgar things he said. If youre going to tell me that doesnt matter, that youre still going to support him, then Im going to make you hear it over and over again. And, Im going to unveil the hypocrisy and absurdity of people having an issue with a TV pundit saying it, but not with the possible next president of the United States saying it.

You introduced yourself on The Daily Show as the women who said 'py' on TV. Do you ever worry youll be remembered only for saying py on CNN?

No. I dont worry about that. If youre going to worry about what you said on TV, then dont get on TV.

How have members of your party responded to your attacks on Donald Trump?

This has been a very difficult campaign, relationship-wise. Fortunately, I sleep with a man who feels exactly the same way I do about Trump. But, I have some Republican friends with whom I cant speak until Nov. 9. Weve chosen to put all of this in the freezer until Nov. 9. I think a lot of my friends have given up on fighting with me about the election, because they know its to no avail.

What can Republicans like you, who staunchly oppose Trump, do to move your party back toward the center and away from the fringe groups bolstering Trump?

I dont think its going to be up to us. I think everybodys going to have to concede some territory and be in a consolatory spirit as Republicans, if we are going to move forward. I think its wrong to pose it in that way: what are Republicans like me going to do to rescue the party from the fringe? Weve got to learn how to live together.

Fair enough. Do you have a Republican candidate in mind for 2020?

My dream candidate would be Paul Ryan, but its way too early for that. Right now, Im focused on my president not being Donald Trump.

See original article on Fortune.com

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Nogales (United States) (AFP) - Guadalupe Manrikez sums up the feeling of many in the small US border town of Nogales, when asked about Donald Trump's promise to build a giant wall dividing the country from Mexico.

"He is cuckoo," blurted out the 32-year-old Manrikez, who works at a perfume shop just steps away from the border between Arizona and Mexico.

The Republican presidential candidate's vow to build a "big, beautiful, powerful wall" -- and force Mexico to pay for it -- has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

But for many like Manrikez on the frontlines of Americas battle to curb illegal immigration, the idea elicits chuckles and is entirely implausible.

"This whole town is Mexican, all the families here are Mexican and everyone thinks he and his ideas are a joke," she told AFP, launching into a diatribe in Spanish against the billionaire businessman.

Many residents pointed to an 18-foot (5.5-meter) metal barrier that already separates Nogales from its sister city in Mexico as an example of why Trump's wall is unlikely to discourage migrants or drug smugglers headed to the US.

"We already have a wall here and people still manage to cross," said Adriana Ortega, an employee at a bridal dress shop that overlooks the border. "A lot of people manage to climb over the wall within sight of border patrol agents and don't even get caught.

"So the solution is not to build more fences, but to have more enforcement."

The barrier in Nogales, a town of some 21,000 mainly Hispanic residents living in the US legally, cuts across the downtown area and snakes into the desert hills surrounding the city on either side.

And like other towns scattered along the almost 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) US-Mexico frontier, the economy in the American side of Nogales is deeply intertwined with that of the Mexican part of the city.

"Most of the shops here rely on customers from Mexico," said Ortega, whose store features elaborate wedding gowns priced between $600 and $3,000. "And right now we are suffering because the economy in Mexico is down."

Story continues

- 'Wall won't stop them' -

A recent poll conducted by Spanish-language network Univision, the Dallas Morning News and Arizona State University's news channel showed that the overwhelming majority of residents in communities along both sides of the US-Mexico border -- 86 percent in Mexico and 72 percent in the US -- are opposed to the construction of a wall between their countries.

The majority also feel the tone of the presidential campaign could hurt relations with America's third-biggest goods trading partner.

Mexico is a key customer for the four border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Everything from cars, computers and machinery transit the border daily, and millions of jobs on both sides depend on that relationship.

For Irwin Perez, who works at a Mexican restaurant in Nogales that is popular with locals, including border patrol agents, Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric harks back to a dark time in history.

"Even though he's not calling for Mexicans to be put in gas chambers or labor camps, he's still calling for families to be deported and these are people who pay taxes and have established roots in the US," Perez said, referring to the 11 million undocumented workers, many of them Mexican, who Trump has vowed to deport.

"These people are part of the US workforce, doing jobs that Americans won't even touch," added Perez, 26, who was born in the US to Mexican parents. "They are fleeing persecution in their country, poverty and even a 2,000-foot wall won't stop them.

"But sadly, Trump has already built so many walls just with his words."

- Ignore rhetoric -

Perez, like more than a dozen residents and business people interviewed in Nogales, said he has stopped paying attention to the inflammatory campaign talk and had little faith that Trump, or for that matter his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, were committed to fixing a broken immigration system.

"I pretty much don't listen to anything they say anymore," said Javier Mayer, manager at a produce company that employs about 50 people, mainly Hispanics. "What Trump is proposing is logistically impossible.

"He can't kick every Mexican out of the country."
New York (AFP) - Record numbers of Latinos have registered to vote this year, giving them unprecedented power to influence the US presidential election on November 8. But will they actually vote?

Pundits have long described the Latino vote as a "sleeping giant" because turnout in the community has historically been low.

With the polarizing figure of Donald Trump on the ballot this year, however, that may finally change.

The Republican presidential candidate opened his campaign denigrating Mexican immigrants as drug dealers, criminals and rapists, allowing that only "some, I assume, are good people."

He later vowed to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country -- overwhelmingly of Latino origin -- and build a wall on the US border with Mexico.

In his final televised debate with his rival on Wednesday, Democrat Hillary Clinton, he warned about "some bad hombres here," unleashing a flood of Internet outrage and mocking memes.

Still, Trump does have some Latino support. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 19 percent of respondents said they plan to vote for bombastic real estate billionaire. Clinton has the lion's share of support, however, with 58 percent.

"This year, we will have a record number of Hispanic voters -- there are four million new voters," Pew's director of Hispanic research, Mark Hugo Lopez, said.

"But will there be a 'Trump effect,' in that more voters will cast ballots against the candidate?" he added. "We don't know yet."

- Taco trucks on 'every corner' -

Latino voters have a strong presence in three of the seven swing states in this election cycle: Arizona (22 percent), Florida (18 percent) and Nevada (17 percent).

But more than half -- 52 percent -- live in solidly Democratic states such as California and New York, or solidly Republican states like Texas.

Therefore "it's not probable that the Latino vote will be decisive," Lopez said.

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Among the minority of Trump supporters, Marco Gutierrez -- founder of the Latinos For Trump group -- enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame when he warned in a TV interview that without Trump's border wall, there will be "taco trucks on every corner."

The resulting firestorm and online mockery led the Trump campaign to ask him to not make his support official, the 42 year-old Mexican American activist told AFP, speaking from his California home.

In the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, where the aroma of tortillas, cilantro and roast meat wafts onto the sidewalks, taco vendors are humored and thrilled by the idea.

"A taco truck on every corner? I sure hope for it!" said Delfino Sanchez, 58, who works at the Taqueria Coatzingo.

Mexican-born Araceli Dacoepien Damian, who sells tacos from a street cart, believes Trump is clueless.

"Trump doesn't have any idea how much Mexicans suffer in our country, with no work and miserable pay," said Damian, 23.

"Here, we work 12, 14 hours to survive, just to maintain the family that we left behind," said Araceli, mother of an infant boy.

- Which Latinos support Trump? -

Latino Trump supporters are most likely to be US-born men who speak English, have some college education and are Protestant Evangelicals, according to the Pew poll.

Many approve of the former reality TV star's hard line against the leftist regimes in Cuba and Venezuela.

"I'm not a racist," Gutierrez said. "Immigrants can come, but legally. I support Trump because of the experience he has that would help the economy."

The irony is that Gutierrez was an undocumented immigrant himself before he became a US citizen in 2003.

Another Trump supporter, Denise Galvez -- a Miami-born Cuban-American who co-founded the group "Latinas for Trump" -- says she likes what she sees as the candidate's independent streak.

"He's not a politician, he hasn't been bought," said Galvez, 41, who describes herself on Twitter as a "PR and marketing gal."

Trump is "a businessman, and they know how to use common sense more than politicians to make difficult decisions," she said.

Her support has withstood Trump's history of lewd remarks, boasts about groping women, and accusations against him of sexual assault.

"The way to keep the good immigrants who want to work, you first have to kick out the criminals," she said.

Barbara Cueto, co-founder of the Facebook group "Hispanic Christians 4 Trump," believes there is racism against Trump "because he's white."

Trump "is the only pro-life candidate," said Cueto, who lives in the border city of El Paso, Texas. "And we don't want open borders. First of all, we're Americans."

Such support for Trump, Pew's Lopez believes, reflects the Latino community's diversity.

"Not everyone is an immigrant and not everyone is Mexican."
BLACK RIVER FALLS  About 30 businesses and organizations plan to attend the first Black River Area Job Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Black River Falls High School.

The free job fair is open to the public from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym. Representatives from the businesses and groups will discuss their employment opportunities. Candidates looking for employment are encouraged to bring copies of their resumes.

The job fair is sponsored by the Black River Falls School District and the Black River Area Chamber of Commerce with assistance from the Department of Workforce Development and Workforce Connections.

Along with the job fair, there will be educational presentations on career resources available in Jackson County, what programs are available at Western Technical Colleges Black River Falls Campus, financing further education and how to use the internet in a job search.

Before job fair, high school students will attend eight educational workshops emphasizing different career and work skills.
Tehran (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on Saturday for increased cooperation between oil-rich nations to stabilise prices as he met with the supreme leader and president of Iran.

"To stabilise the price of oil, new mechanisms should be taken and consultation among oil-producing countries, be they members or non-members of the OPEC, should increase," Maduro said, according to the website of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Venezuela's economic and political crisis has been compounded by the collapsing price of oil, and Maduro hopes that other oil-rich countries will agree to cap production in order to boost global prices.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei implied that the falling price of oil was "an instrument" imposed by the United States to "put pressure on independent countries", his official site said.

"We can adopt a rational policy and reinforce our cooperation to prevent these plots and this hostile policy," Khamenei said.

Maduro also received support from Rouhani, who said: "Iran backs any effort bringing stability, fair price and members' fair share to the oil market."

The Venezuelan leader arrived in Tehran following a meeting earlier Saturday with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, during which Maduro reportedly said that a deal was close between OPEC and non-OPEC nations, according Iran's IRNA news agency.

He is also due to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

OPEC members agreed to limit production for the first time since 2008 at an informal meeting in Algiers in September.

They are due to formalise the deal when they meet on November 30, amid doubts from market analysts over whether it can be effectively implemented.

Maduro's tour of the Middle East comes as a furious opposition back home vowed mass street protests over the government's move to block a recall referendum against the unpopular president.

Maduro has accused Washington of plotting to overthrow him, and brands the crisis a capitalist conspiracy.
BAKU/DUBAI (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was quoted on Saturday as saying that OPEC and non-OPEC nations were "very close" to an agreement on oil production curbs, Azerbaijan's state news agency Azertag reported.

"Today with (Azeri) President Ilham Aliyev we talked about reaching agreements between OPEC and countries that are not members of the cartel. We are very close to reaching agreements and signing a relevant deal," Azertag quoted Maduro as saying in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city.

"I believe that the relevant agreement will be reached within a very short time and we will announce it. This will pave the way for a new era of stability and investments, stable output and new oil price formula," he said.

Maduro later visited Iran and discussed issues including the oil market with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

Ayatollah Khamenei told Maduro that a fall in oil prices was a "tool for pressuring countries that are independent of the United States", the Islamic republic's arch-enemy, Iranian state media reported.

"Through wise policies and increased cooperation, it is possible to defeat such plots and enmity," state broadcaster IRIB quoted Khamenei as saying.

Rouhani told Maduro that "Iran supports any action in line with the stability of the oil market, a fair price and a fair share (of production)," IRIB reported on its website.

Maduro visited Azerbaijan and Iran as part of an international trip that also includes visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and is aimed at pushing a deal to stabilize oil markets.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed in Algiers on Sept. 28 to reduce production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, which would be its first output cut since 2008. Another meeting on Nov. 30 is set to firm up details of the accord.

Azertag also quoted Aliyev as saying Azerbaijan would not increase oil production and exports, reinforcing the statement he made last week.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and Dubai newsroom; Writing by Maria Kiselyova in Moscow; Editing by Adrian Croft)
In the days leading up to the start of the Iraqi-led operation to retake Mosul, ISIS' last stronghold in the country, a US-led coalition of more than 60 countries has continued to strike weapons, buildings, and fighters belonging to the terrorist group.

In an October 6 strike, a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive-device (VBIED) factory near Mosul was destroyed as part of the coalition's efforts to degrade ISIS' weapons-production abilities in support of the Iraq operation against the city. You can see a clip of the strike below.

The October 6 strike came just two days before another US-led airstrike on a VBIED factory near Mosul.

October 8 saw seven airstrikes mounted by the coalition, which followed up with four strikes in and around Mosul on October 9, four strikes on October 10, four strikes on October 11, one strike on Octobe 12, five strikes on October 13, and another strike on October 15. The British air forces has also participated, striking an ISIS truck bomb on October 17.

The effort to recapture the city, led by the Iraqi army, Peshmerga forces, and Shiite militias, kicked off on October 16.

Despite reports that many of ISIS' fighters in Mosul had withdraw, the fight to retake the city has dragged on over the last week. Some 5,000 US troops are on the ground to aid Iraqi personnel in the fight, and one US soldier died on Thursday from wounds sustained from a improvised-explosive-device blast.

About a million of Mosul's pre-ISIS population of 2 million remains in the city, and the fighting is expected to create a new humanitarian emergency in the region.

You can see the full video of the October 6 strike on Operation Inherent Resolve's Facebook page.

NOW WATCH: A global intelligence analyst explains what makes ISIS so strong





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Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the race for the White House by suggesting -- before next month's vote even takes place -- he may not accept the presidential election results if he loses.

Hillary Clinton, gaining momentum, came out ahead in the two rivals' last debate and Americans are now eager for one thing alone: to get one of the most bitter US electoral campaigns in history between two of its most unpopular candidates over with once and for all.

With just over two weeks to go before election day on November 8, here's a brief overview of this week on the campaign trail:

- A third debate for the history books -

The third and last presidential debate on Wednesday had started out as Trump's best performance on stage when going toe-to-toe against hyper-prepared Clinton, with him even managing to dodge some of her bait.

But then, with millions watching on television, the Republican White House candidate sailed into another political tempest, defiantly threatening not to recognize the outcome of the election and vowing "suspense" instead.

Clinton declared herself "appalled" by what she said was an attack on 240 years of US democracy.

President Barack Obama later weighed in, saying the comment "undermines our democracy."

Trump backpedaled on Thursday, saying he would accept a "clear" result, but added: "I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result."

But the harm had already been done, adding to Republicans' worries that not only are their chances of winning back the White House from Obama's Democrats slipping away, there could also be significant impact on other races on the ballot, threatening the Republicans' majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

- Barack, Michelle, Bill... All of Hillary's surrogates out on the trail -

Clinton, who polls show has an increasingly solid lead nationally and an edge in several key battleground states, said she was "relieved and very grateful" after most analysts agreed she had won the third debate -- along with the previous two.

Story continues

In this final stretch, Clinton isn't pulling any punches, with Democratic heavyweights stumping for her.

From Obama and his wife Michelle to Vice President Joe Biden, husband Bill Clinton, daughter Chelsea, once-bitter primary rival Bernie Sanders and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine -- all campaigned on her behalf this week in key states and even in Arizona, historically a solidly Republican state but one that may now be within reach for Clinton.

- In Utah, third-party candidate upstaging Trump -

Three months ago, Evan McMullin was an unknown figure. But this independent 40-year-old candidate who entered the race only in August is shaking up traditionally Republican Utah, where he is surging against Trump.

An Emerson poll this week found the ex-CIA agent, who is Mormon, scored 31 percent support, against 27 percent for Trump and 24 percent for Clinton in the state.

"In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it's time for a generation of new leadership to step up," McMullin said on his website.

"It's never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us."

If he wins in Utah, it would be the first time since 1964 that a Republican loses this conservative state, where 62 percent of the population is affiliated with the Mormon Church.

- Election Day cannot come too soon -

Many Americans made their choice a long time ago in this brutal campaign, and have major election fatigue after months of insults and personal attacks.

And most voters like neither Trump nor Clinton.

The campaign has made its mark. Some 52 percent of adults said they were very or relatively stressed by this electoral season, according to the American Psychological Association.

Democrats and Republicans, for once, agreed: 55 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans said the campaign was a source of stress. They also largely said that social networks -- with their constant streams of updates -- add to the stress.
More than 80 nations square off in Slovenia next week over the fate of the world's remaining whales, facing a multitude of perils from meat hunters and ship strikes to getting snared in fishing gear.

The stage is set for heated debate, as the 88 members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) are deeply divided along pro- and anti-hunting lines.

The biggest bones of contention are Japan's yearly whale hunt in the name of science, which critics insist is for dinner tables instead, and a proposal for a South Atlantic sanctuary to protect the majestic marine mammals.

Hunting nations Japan, Norway and Iceland are traditionally pitted against much of the rest of the world at the biennial IWC meetings, which seek to balance issues of national sovereignty, subsistence rights and culture with conservation of Earth's natural bounty.

For environmentalists, it is an issue of cruelty as well.

"Whaling has no place in the 21st century. It's outdated, it's thoroughly inhumane," Claire Bass of Humane Society International told AFP from the Adriatic coastal town of Portoroz, where the commission's 66th meeting will take place from Monday to Friday.

"There is no humane way to kill whales at sea," she said, pointing out that many die long drawn-out deaths from horrific wounds inflicted by harpoons with explosive tips.

This year's meeting marks the 70th anniversary of the commission's founding, and the 30th birthday of a whaling moratorium estimated to have prevented the killing of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of whales.

The moratorium is credited with allowing many whale populations to recover after being hunted to near-extinction in the 20th century for meat and blubber used to make soap and fuel.

The only commission-sanctioned way to catch whales is with an aboriginal subsistence whaling licence -- issued to indigenous communities in North America, Russia, Greenland, and the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Japan sets its own quotas for what it says are scientific hunts, while Norway and Iceland do commercial hunts under legal loopholes.

- Science or sushi? -

Since 1985, according to the latest IWC figures, 16,235 whales have been hunted for science, 24,381 for commerce, and 10,139 under aboriginal subsistence permits.

In 2014/15, Japan caught 90 Sei, 25 Bryde's and 81 minke whales -- a total of 196 for the year.

The meat ends up on supermarket shelves and in restaurants, in line with an IWC stipulation that whales taken for science must be eaten.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2014 that Japan was abusing the scientific exemption. Tokyo cancelled its 2014/15 hunt, only to resume it the following year, netting an estimated 300-plus animals.

On next week's agenda is a proposal by Australia and New Zealand for a rigorous process to review scientific whaling proposals and programmes.

The biggest hunter by far today is Norway -- netting 736 minke whales in 2014.

Iceland caught 137 fin and 24 minke whales the same year.

The traditional taste for whale meat, however, has declined significantly in all three countries.

Under aboriginal subsistence catches, the IWC said, 157 minke, 124 gray, 53 bowhead, nine humpback and 12 fin whales were taken in 2014 -- 355 in total.

The biggest haul was for autonomous Danish territory Greenland with 176 whales, followed by the Chukotka region in Russia's Far East with 124, and Alaska in the United States with 53.

Another divisive issue on the agenda is a proposal by Argentina, Brazil, Gabon, South Africa and Uruguay -- countries which depend on whale-watching tourist dollars -- to create a 20 million-square kilometre (eight square mile) South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary.

The bid -- which requires a 75 percent majority to pass -- has failed at several previous meetings.

During the 20th century, the vast majority of whaling took place in the southern hemisphere, and many populations are still recovering, observers say.

"The creation of (a) South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary would be a huge milestone for whale protection," said Greenpeace whale expert John Frizell.

"With the multitude of problems facing these magnificent creatures, they need healthy oceans and they certainly do not need a return to commercial whaling."

Anti-whaling nations and conservation groups will push hard for projects to reduce fisheries bycatch, which kills an estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises every year.

"As much as Japan cannot be allowed to continue its unlawful whaling operations, the IWC cannot continue to avoid tackling the biggest killer of the lot -- bycatch," said Aimee Leslie, head of the WWF's cetacean programme.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte makes a speech during the Philippines - China Trade and Investment Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Wu Hong/ Pool

The White House burned a Phillipine official who attempted to walk back some controversial remarks the country's president Rodrigo Duterte made in China.

At an event in Beijing Thursday night, Duterte suggested a form of "separation" from the US  a statement that some interpreted as his intention to sever ties with the West.

Philippine Trade Minister Ramon Lopez attempted to clarify those statements, saying Duterte intends to "[maintain] the relationship with the West. What we are saying is that there will be less dependence just on one side of the world," according to CNN.

On Friday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest criticized Duterte's words, saying they could potentially strain relations between the US and the Philippines and create "unnecessary uncertainty."

Earnest also burned Lopez, called him the "Filipino Mike Pence"  likening him to the Republican vice presidential nominee who is often tasked with softening Donald Trump's brusque campaign rhetoric.

At a press conference on Friday, Duterte himself said his earlier comments simply amounted to a disagreement on foreign policy with the US.

"You say severance of ties, you cut the diplomatic relations. I cannot do that. I said separation  what I was really saying was separation of a foreign policy."

This is not the first time Duterte has ruffled the US' feathers.

In September, President Barack Obama canceled a trip to the Philippines after Duterte called him a "son of a bitch" and told him to "go to hell."

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Saturday condemned the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government after an international inquiry found its forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack in Syria's civil war. The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015, according to a text of the report seen by Reuters. In August, the third report by the inquiry blamed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015 - and said Islamic State fighters had used sulphur mustard gas. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime's defiance of the longstanding global norm against chemical weapons use and Syria's abrogation of its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it joined in 2013," White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Saturday. Price said that Russian "military and economic support to Syria enables the Assad regime to continue its military campaign against its own people." If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington. The fourth report was submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Saturday condemned the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government after an international inquiry found its forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack in Syria's civil war. The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015, according to a text of the report seen by Reuters. In August, the third report by the inquiry blamed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015 - and said Islamic State fighters had used sulfur mustard gas. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime's defiance of the longstanding global norm against chemical weapons use and Syria's abrogation of its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it joined in 2013," White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Saturday. Price said that Russian "military and economic support to Syria enables the Assad regime to continue its military campaign against its own people." If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington. The fourth report was submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable. (This version of the story has been filed to corrects date to October 22 from October 21) (Reporting by Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)
MILWAUKEE  The state Public Service Commission voted on Thursday to authorize at least $7.7 million in funding for rebates for solar, wind and geothermal projects around the state that would keep in place a rebate program for energy consumers.

The program, Focus on Energy, provided $8.5 million in rebates over the past two years.

The commission also decided to increase funding for systems known as manure digesters that convert animal waste to electricity. The digesters also serve a dual role of helping farms manage manure, which has become an increasingly controversial issue in Wisconsin as the size of dairy farms grows.

The commission says it is considering spending $10 million to $20 million on manure digester technology and will lead efforts with other state agencies to encourage the use of the equipment.

One potential target, according to commission PSC Chairwoman Ellen Nowak, is Kewaunee County in northeastern Wisconsin  a region that has become a flashpoint over the impact of manure spreading on groundwater.

The county has an abundance of thin soils, fractured bedrock and a large cattle population, which has created conditions that have polluted wells and surface waters.

The Department of Natural Resources led a public-private task force this year on manure handling practices in Kewaunee County, where strategies to tackle manure contamination were discussed.

Tressie Kamp, an attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates, said she was cautiously optimistic about Thursdays decision. But she emphasized that manure digesters do not, themselves, strip nutrients such as phosphorus from manure.

Nutrients, a key source of fertilizer for crops, also can spur algae growth and harm aquatic habitat if used in excess.

Carrie Loboski, a soil scientist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, agreed that digesters dont remove phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrients. Instead, a separate system also needs to be in place that splits out solids and liquids in manure, allowing farmers to manage their waste stream and keep excess nutrients from being applied to the soil.

John Holevoet, director of government relations for the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association, said manure digesters have fallen out of favor with farmers in recent years because the prices they receive from utilities for generating electricity have fallen and often do not cover their costs.

The commissions actions on Thursday came as part of an investigation into how to expand access to the energy efficiency and renewable energy programs offered by Focus on Energy in rural areas, especially where there is a lack of high-speed internet service.
Why pediatricians want parents to be careful about posting pics of their kids on social media

Many parents casually post pictures of their children on social media without a second thought, but a new study suggests that parents should exercise more caution in their online behavior.

As reported by Time, a new study examines the safety of parents posting pictures and video of their children on social media. The study, presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2016 National Conference & Exhibition, urges parents to become better acquainted with the privacy settings of the apps and sites that they frequent and to seriously reconsider alluding to a childs location in a post.

And its no wonder theyre pushing for this  over 90 percent of two-year-olds already have an online presence, and about one-third of literal newborns are already on the Internet after their first 24 hours of life outside the womb.

family

Pexels.com

More cautious behavior can also help to establish agency in their children, and that is also something that many parents can improve on.

By allowing their children to have a say as to whether or not they want to appear on social media, parents can improve their childrens decision-making abilities and self-confidence.

Bahareh Keith, director of the pediatric global health track and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine, had this to say about the study and its effect on children:

Parents often consider how to best protect children while the child is using the internet. However, parents including myself, initially  dont always consider how their own use of social media may affect their childrens well-being.

babies

Pexels.com

Ensuring the privacy and agency of their children is a concern that many parents share, and posting less pictures on their social media can help improve that.

The post Why pediatricians want parents to be careful about posting pics of their kids on social media appeared first on HelloGiggles.

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One woman is leading the charge for a full boycott of the Ivanka Trump Collection of clothing, shoes, and accessories. (Photo: Getty)

Despite her fathers uncanny ability to offend and alienate women more with each passing day, Ivanka Trump has managed to maintain a relatively high level of respect throughout Donald Trumps turbulent presidential campaign. Some would say Ivanka has even been the one saving grace for a candidate who is increasingly being viewed as little more than a misogynistic narcissist by many Americans  particularly women.

But some women have had enough and are no longer willing to turn a blind eye as Ivanka continues to lend her father unwavering support while simultaneously claiming to advocate for womens rights. Shannon Coulter is one of these women. On October 10, Shannon  a San Francisco-based brand and digital strategist, called on Americans to boycott Ivanka Trumps eponymous line of clothing and accessories, which is estimated to be worth $100 million, according to Forbes.

Not enough to not buy Ivanka's collection. She campaigns for him. We should avoid stores that carry it. #fashionnotfascism #ivankant  Shannon Coulter ???? (@shannoncoulter) October 12, 2016

Though she once supported Ivanka as an entrepreneur, Coulter now finds it virtually impossible to support a brand with the name Trump attached to it. So she is refusing to buy any of Ivankas products and is urging others to follow suit. Shes even created a hashtag  #GrabYourWallet  as a call to action for women to vote with their wallet, according to the Guardian, as well as a pointed echo of Donald Trumps bragging on tape about being able to approach women uninvited and grab them by the p****y.

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In fact, for Coulter, that now-notorious Access Hollywood tape was the final straw. After hearing the Republican candidate brag about forcing himself on women, shed had enough and could no longer excuse Ivanka for defending her father  and even going so far as to call him a feminist. Coulter told Cosmopolitan that for a while there, as Donald campaigned with Ivanka by his side, women were content to give Ivanka a pass because shes his daughter and its hard to be objective about your dad. But the Trump tape sent people over the edge. She continued, I think [women] took particular offense, as I did, to the fact that Ivanka tries to make feminism a part of her brand but is standing by, as an official campaign surrogate, a guy who is an alleged serial sexual assaulter of women. The disconnect was too big. And they were ready to speak up about it and flex their consumer power about it.

Donalds words also struck a very personal chord for Coulter. She told the Guardian a story of sexual harassment she remembers enduring years before. I was in an office belonging to a firm I was working for in Silicon Valley, and my bosss boss came breezing through. Suddenly he came up behind me and pressed himself right up against me and said, Why is it you always look so good? He had a colleague with him, and it was so humiliating, Coulter said. And when I heard Donald Trump talking on that tape, I recognized in his words the same feeling that I had that day  of being nothing more than an object. No matter how smart you are or how hard you work, they can do that to us.

Everyone! #GrabYourWallet & tell the stores that sell Donald's products and those of his campaign surrogates: we won't shop until they drop. pic.twitter.com/6XK3EAGdlV  Shannon Coulter ???? (@shannoncoulter) October 20, 2016

Now Coulter is leading the charge not just by promoting the boycott to women, but by challenging every retailer that sells the Ivanka Trump Collection  including T.J. Maxx, Amazon.com, Zappos, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Dillards, DSW, Macys, Marshalls, and Saks Off Fifth, according to Cosmopolitan, which identifies Coulter as the CEO of a boutique marketing agency.

Coulter has a substantial Twitter following of almost 14,000 at the time of this articles publication, so  through retweets and comments  her proposed boycott has the potential to reach an exponentially larger audience. Cosmopolitan says that Coulters boycott-related tweets have earned an estimated 1 million impressions on Twitter, according to her analytics report. The Guardian adds, More than a million people have viewed her posts in the last 10 days, and she is receiving 200 direct replies on Twitter per day and hundreds of retweets, according to a review of the relevant social media activity.

Some women had been contemplating a boycott of the Ivanka Trump Collection even before Coulter launched her campaign. Amy Andelora, a 52-year-old high school teacher in Mesa, Arizona, told Cosmopolitan that the Donalds offensive hot-mic comments also compelled her to stop shopping Ivankas line and to hold retailers accountable for selling it. Days after the tapes release, Andelora tweeted a plea to Neiman Marcus, asking the retailer to remove Ivankas line. She is also boycotting her favorite store, Nordstrom, where she says she formerly spent hundreds of dollars per month,' according to the article.

Another woman, 29-year-old Lindsey Ledford, recounted to Cosmopolitan the story of a recent shopping trip to one of her favorite stores, T.J. Maxx, which sells products from the Ivanka Trump line. While examining a blouse she was considering purchasing, she spotted the Ivanka Trump label, and it triggered a severe visceral reaction because it brought to mind past personal incidents of physical abuse and sexual assault. Suddenly, she felt like her throat was closing and she couldnt breathe, according to Cosmopolitan. My first thought was, Grab them by the p***y. We can do anything we want. Dont even ask, she told the publication, echoing Donalds vulgar dialogue from the leaked tape. [Ivanka] is supporting one of the most offensive, sexist, racist, xenophobic human beings to ever run for president, Ledford continued. She is making a buck off it.

According to the Guardian, Susan Rhodes of Palm Beach, Fla.  where the Donalds Mar-a-Lago property is located  told the publication that his words also hit close to home for her. I remember working as a female banker in Florida 30 years ago and being surrounded by men saying, I cant talk to you today because your boobs are staring me in the face so I cant focus. So Rhodes decided to forgo Ivankas products, despite having previously bought a very tasteful pair of $400 Ivanka Trump boots from Amazon for her daughter last year, according to the Guardian.

Andelora, Ledford, and Rhodes are just three of an innumerable number of women (and at least one man: actor Don Cheadle, who retweeted Coulters boycott) who are now onboard with Coulters boycott of the Ivanka Trump brand. The women can no longer separate Ivanka from Donald. To them, the surname Trump, no matter what given name precedes it, is an emblem of sexism, assault, and the complete denigration of an entire gender. And they can no longer support the brand of a Trump woman who stands by and even defends Donalds words, actions, and everything he seems to stand for.

.@DonCheadle thank you so much for Tweeting about our boycott, whatever the reason.  ????#grabyourwallet https://t.co/Lsr24wZyKQ  Shannon Coulter ???? (@shannoncoulter) October 22, 2016

Coulter continues to tweet every day, multiple times per day, to promote the #GrabYourWallet boycott and has even neatly compiled a spreadsheet of all Ivanka Trump Collection retailers along with their customer-service phone numbers and links to their feedback forms, to help participants take action. Regardless, all but one retailer have remained silent about the boycott and continue to sell Ivankas products. The only store to address the controversy is Nordstrom, which released the following statement to the Guardian: We have heard from some customers about this. We dont currently have any plans to stop offering this collection.

Updated list. Now includes Marshalls. If you'd rather not see the name "Trump" anymore while you're shopping, call these stores. Tell them. pic.twitter.com/4xXkGcqU4X  Shannon Coulter ???? (@shannoncoulter) October 14, 2016

Similarly, Ivanka and her team are sidestepping the controversy and instead choosing to emphasize the success of the brand. When contacted, Ivankas chief brand manager, Abigail Klem, told the Guardian, We are proud that our business is growing rapidly and that our brand resonates strongly with women who are inspired by our messaging and excited about the polished and chic solution-oriented products that we offer.

Meanwhile, Coulter  as a fellow successful businesswoman  claims she is not trying to attack Ivanka through her boycott, but rather challenge Ivankas paradoxical behavior and questionable integrity. If she were not campaigning for Donald Trump, I would be very happy for her business and proud of her success. But I think she is being used to whitewash the candidate and make him more palatable, Coulter told the Guardian. To Cosmopolitan, she added, [Ivanka is] the head of an international, $100 million dollar a year brand. Shes sophisticated. I think shes smarter than Donald Trump. Part of why I started the boycott is because I respect her as a businesswoman. We should hold her to a higher standard.

Ivanka Trump is executive vice president of Trump Organization, the top campaign surrogate of the Trump campaign, and head of a $100M brand. https://t.co/5f17c8j54q  Shannon Coulter ???? (@shannoncoulter) October 20, 2016

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian held a meeting on October 22 with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno Karabakh Karen Mirzoyan.

The Foreign Ministry told ARMENPRESS the ministers discussed issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process, within the framework of the agreements which were reached in the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits.

The sides exchanged views on regional developments and discussed mutual cooperation of the ministries.
Within the La Crosse County Historical Societys costume and textile collection is a late 19th century French couture gown. I discovered it during an internship in the fall of 2015.

The two-piece garment, which is missing its waistband and underskirt, features exquisitely hand-embroidered green silk taffeta in a style highly reminiscent of the court gowns of 18th century France. The couture label, stitched into the dresss bodice, reads: Jeanne Hallee; 3, Rue de la Ville-lEveque, Paris.

The little-known but widely successful design house of Jeanne Hallee was popular among wealthy Americans from the 1880s through the 1920s. Known mostly for its fine French lingerie, Jeanne Hallee was one of the places for a wealthy and aristocratic woman to go for her wedding trousseau. However, as of yet, there has been almost nothing published about Jeanne Hallee, and almost all that is left of the design house are the few surviving garments held in museums worldwide.

The largest collection of Jeanne Hallee garments is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the rest are scattered in various European and American collections, and only one known garment remains in France at the Palais Galliera, the Museum of Fashion in Paris.

So how did this rare garment end up at the La Crosse County Historical Society? The donation record of the gown listed only the donors name, Grace Wurtz. I discovered she was from La Crosse but eventually moved to California. I also was able to locate and contact Wurtz, now 96, and her daughter and hear the complete history of the dress and its donation.

The gown was made for Sara Alice Spang, the daughter of a wealthy steel and banking family in Pittsburgh. The family had strong European connections, spending a great deal of time abroad. Sara eventually met and married a British man, Alfred Frederick Joseph Sang, whom she met in an alphabetized French conversation class: Mr. Sang and Miss Spang were seated next to each other. The two married in London in February 1899.

The dress itself can be dated to within a year of their marriage, and was most likely part of her wedding trousseau. The couple lived alternately in France and Pennsylvania, and they had three children before Alfred died in service in France during World War I. The dress was passed down from Sara to her daughter Elizabeth Sang and then to her daughter-in-law, Grace Sang, later Grace Wurtz, who grew up in La Crosse.

Grace, recognizing the significance of the dress, donated it in 1988 to the La Crosse County Historical Society, which was growing its textile collection at the time.

Discovered again in the collection after more than 20 years, the gown is now serving a new purpose. I chose to research the mystery of the forgotten designer Jeanne Hallee for my history research seminar at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Since graduation, Im moving forward with research to publish the first chronological account of the design houses history and its contribution to the haute couture industry.
This wedding party reacts when the photographer nearly gets hit by car. (Photo: Courtesy of Leslie Hollingsworth)

Weddings are always important and eventful, but were pretty sure wedding photographer Leslie Hollingsworth didnt think her photo shoot on this particular day would be quite so dramatic.

While setting up a bridal party group shot, Hollingsworth stepped into the road and nearly got hit by a passing car. The Birmingham, Ala., photographer also happened to capture the moment in the faces of the wedding party.

The various looks of shock, dismay, and confusion, among other expressions, across the faces of the group were so intriguing, Hollingsworth couldnt help sharing the picture on Facebook and on the local news.

I thought it was hysterical, Hollingsworth told WBRC news in Birmingham. Everybodys reaction was so different. The girls were horrified, the boys were like, What just happened?

The bride and groom, Leah Juliano and Peter Saab, were the only ones who seemed to maintain composure. The couple is pretty much just standing there in picture mode, Hollingsworth said.

Thankfully, Hollingsworth is alive and well to help explain the photo. If not for her, based on most of the looks on friends and family members faces  and despite the couples cheery expressions  one might not think this marriage was destined for happy times.

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Zack Snyder just shared this badass picture of Wonder Woman and we are loving it

Theres action, theres fire and theres a great female leadwe cant wait for the movie, or in this case, movieS!

Zack Snyder, director of the upcoming Justice League movie in which Wonder Woman will have a major role, just shared a badass picture on his Facebook page of lead actress Gal Gadot suited up in all her strong and sexy gear.

Snyder released the photo in honor of the 75th birthday of the DC Comics most famous female superhero. Although her self-titled film doesnt hit theaters until June 2017 and Snyders Justice League comes out in November of the same year, DC Comics fans have already seen Gadot as Diana Prince a.k.a Wonder Woman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

#TBT @batmanvsuperman #BatmanvSuperman #UltimateEdition A photo posted by Gal Gadot (@gal_gadot) on Aug 25, 2016 at 11:03am PDT

While doing press for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,the Israeli born Gadot spoke with Interview Magazine about the kind of acting roles she was seeking when she first moved to Los Angeles.

I didnt want to do the obvious role that you see in Hollywood most of the time, which is the heartbroken girl whos waiting to be rescued by the guy, blah, blah, blah, she revealed to the magazine.

Instead, she wanted represent women as strong and independent. Well with Wonder Woman, the 510 beauty found her perfect role. Wonder Woman is an Amazonian heroine who is anything but a damsel in distress.

Gadot of course, has reprised the superhero role Lynda Carter previously played on the TV version of Wonder Woman in the 1970s. Astonishingly, it was the characters 75th birthday and the naming of Wonder Woman as an honorary UN Ambassador that finally brought both actresses together, but they sure looked like they were having fun!

Wonder Woman UN Ambassador Ceremony

We seriously cant wait to see Gal Gadot in action in 2017, both in her solo film and Justice League. In the meantime, check out the trailers for both movies below:

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Which upcoming superhero film are you the most excited to see?

The post Zack Snyder just shared this badass picture of Wonder Woman and we are loving it appeared first on HelloGiggles.
From Town & Country

When it comes to vacation spots, Iceland ticks all of the boxes: it's easy to get to, most locals speak English, and there's something for everyone from spa-goers to outdoor adventurers to history buffs.

The Northern European island has become an "it" destination as of recent, and according to data from the Icelandic tourism board, 1.6 million people have traveled there so far this year. To put things in perspective, the total number of people who reside in Iceland is approximately 332,000 people.

Leading the tourism charge are Americans with 325,000 U.S. travelers making the trip in 2016. Those number are only growing, and set to eclipse the local population next year.

Certainly, those tourists are there to see the country's Instagram-worthy glaciers, black-sand beaches, and tiny horses, but it doesn't hurt that Icelandair and Wow Air both offer cheap, relatively quick flights from the States to Reykjavik, for sometimes as low as $99 one way from major cities on the east coast like New York, Boston, and Baltimore. They also facilitate stopovers, a popular extended layover program, that allows American passengers to spend a day or two in Iceland before continuing on to their final destination elsewhere in Europe.

While beating the crowds is getting harder by the day, you'll have better luck visiting in winter, and venturing outside of Reykjavik, though with the popularity of the Northern Lights, that might not be the case for long.

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If youre reading this story on your phone, you may be confused about just where on the web youve gone. The banner at the top of the page reads Yahoo Financebut the address above it probably starts with google.com.

Google has not, in fact, taken over Yahoo. But it is trying to fix a basic problem with the mobile web: sluggish performance  at the cost of some confusion and concern among readers as well as writers.

Googles AMP initiative will speed up mobile websites across the internet.

Article, meet AMP

Last year, Google set out to craft a faster, lighter way to publish stories on the mobile web. The answer, developed with the help of news publishers and advertisers, was a stripped-down, open-source format called AMP, short for Accelerated Mobile Pages.

AMP sweeps many of the traditional components of a web page off the table, dumping things like media embeds, interactive scripts and ad-tracking code for the sake of speed. AMP pages load content selectively, skipping bits that arent visible or about to become visible on the phones screen.

We find that an AMP page loads four times faster and uses 10 times less data compared to a non-AMP page, said Google news head Richard Gingras at a presentation during Google I/O conference in May.

That means readers are less likely to give up on a page that takes forever to load and more likely to stick around. In a Google-sponsored panel at the Online News Association conference in September, Washington Post senior product manager Dave Merrell said AMP stories loaded 88% faster than traditional mobile-web stories. Readers of these accelerated pages were also 23% more likely to return to my former employers site within seven days.

With more people getting their news on mobile devices  72% in 2016, versus. 54% in 2013, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey  that difference matters. Thats why so many publishers, Yahoo Finance included, have started publishing in AMP. Google says more than 700,000 domains now post in AMP.

Caching and searching

I cant think of anybody who would argue against quicker, slimmer news pages  except, perhaps, executives at wireless carriers who may now have a harder time selling bigger data buckets to subscribers.

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(Publishers who find that some material cant be published in AMP because too many elements arent compatible while others require tedious codingnot that you as a reader should worry about that. Lets just say that labor-intensive publishing software is not exactly a novel development in newsrooms.)

But AMP isnt only a page format. Google also offers AMP publishers an additional speedup through a free caching service, which is where those google.com addresses come in.

Free and fast delivery of a story may be difficult for publishers to turn down. But that also scrambles sharing: Even though the address for Googles cached version of the story will take you to the original address automatically on a non-mobile device, its bound to confuse people who see google.com in a tweet or a Facebook post. As Apple-centric blogger John Gruber griped on Friday: AMP traps mobile users onto google.com.

This Google caching also puzzles me when I see a google.com address in my browsing history and think its my search for a page instead of the actual thing.

AMP adoption  or avoidance  can also affect how a publisher appears in search results. Google says AMP doesnt factor into search rankings, but its also said that it may soon start to assess a mobile sites speed. It already highlights AMP stories with a lightning-bolt icon.

Further, the illustrated carousel of current stories youll see on the first page of a mobile search only features AMP pages.

If Google follows through on a recently-revealed plan to create a separate mobile search index and the company updates that more frequently than its desktop default, AMP may become even more influential.

Proprietary alternatives

I hear a fair amount of anxiety in the news business about Googles move to lift up mobile publishing in a way that leaves Google with even more leverage over the industry.

But the other easy ways to speed up mobile news inflict even worse drawbacks.

Facebooks Instant Articles format is owned by Facebook (FB). And unlike the open-source AMP, you cant start publishing stories in this format on your own site and then tweak the underlying code.

Apple News, the feature Apple (AAPL) added in iOS 9, represents even more of an island, since that app only runs on iOS devices.

And while publishers can also flee the web and get more control over the presentation of their content by shipping their own apps, that puts them under the app-store rules of Apple and, to a lesser extent, Google.

An open-source mobile format that anybody can use and improve without permission doesnt seem so bad in comparison. It may be that, as Googles Gingras said in his I/O talk on AMP, this is the way it had to be.

But this still represents a major rewrite of the mobile web. Not for the first time, its Googles world, and we just consume content in it.

More from Rob:

Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro.
Hackers yesterday attacked Dyn, a major DNS service, with an absolutely massive DDoS attack that swiftly took a number of popular services, including Twitter, PayPal and Spotify, offline. While DDoS attacks are nothing new in and of themselves, there are two aspects to yesterday's widespread assault on the Internet that are particularly intriguing.

One, the scale and effectiveness of yesterday's DDoS attack was impressive and brutal. All the more so because just when Dyn had seemingly addressed the issue, the actors behind the attack would launch another deluge of garbage requests.

Two, the malware behind yesterday's DDoS attack was effectively a botnet comprised of millions of Internet connected devices, from DVRs and routers to CCTV cameras. In other words, yesterday's attack saw our vaunted Internet of Things turned against us in an unprecedented way.

DON'T MISS: Everything we know about Apples exciting next-gen MacBook Pro

Security researcher Brian Krebs has been monitoring the situation closely and notes that the attack was orchestrated by the Mirai malware. You might recall that Mirai's source code was released just a few weeks ago.

Krebs details how Mirai works and why it's so effective.

Mirai scours the Web for IoT devices protected by little more than factory-default usernames and passwords, and then enlists the devices in attacks that hurl junk traffic at an online target until it can no longer accommodate legitimate visitors or users. According to researchers at security firm Flashpoint, todays attack was launched at least in part by a Mirai-based botnet. Allison Nixon, director of research at Flashpoint, said the botnet used in todays ongoing attack is built on the backs of hacked IoT devices  mainly compromised digital video recorders (DVRs) and IP cameras made by a Chinese hi-tech company called XiongMai Technologies. The components that XiongMai makes are sold downstream to vendors who then use it in their own products.

Story continues

According to Dyn, the incident was officially resolved as of yesterday evening.

Developing...

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Two-term incumbent Republican state Rep. John Jagler faces a challenge from Democrat Jordan Turner. The election is Nov. 8.

John Jagler (I)

Party: Republican

Age: 46

Address: Watertown

Family: Wife, three children

Job: Owner of a communications consulting company, family dog treat business, lawmaker

Political experience: Member, state Assembly, 2012-present

Other public service: None

Education: Graduate of Trans-American School of Broadcasting and UW-Parkside

Jordan Turner

Party: Democrat

Age: 21

Address: Watertown

Family: Not married

Job: Founded animal protection advocacy organization Global Conservation Group.

Political experience: Candidate, mayor of Watertown.

Other public service: None

Education: Student at Madison Area Technical College.

Q&A

What is the top issue facing your district and how would you address it through the legislative process?

Jagler: Heroin and opiate abuse and addiction continues to plague the district and the state. I look forward to continuing with the HOPE agenda and focus on increasing treatment options and availability.

Turner: The top issue facing our community is without a doubt the heroin epidemic. I have set forth a series of actions that I will take as a state representative. This includes encouraging law enforcement to work more closely with physicians and other medical professionals because addiction is a medical diagnosis requiring medical attention.

What is an outside-the-box idea you would like the Legislature to pass next session?

Jagler: With our economy tight, I will be focused on making sure our inside-the-box ideas are vetted and done correctly. I will also continue to explore methods to get a better look at how a schools environment affects academic performance, i.e. crime and police calls in schools.

Turner: An out-of-box idea that I would work on is taking measures to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for individuals 21 years or older. We know from looking at other states that when this happens, crime goes down. Whats more, we know that marijuana is not a gateway drug and has no basis to be labeled as a dangerous narcotic carrying heavy penalties. This will also allow our law enforcement agencies to direct more resources to serious offenses.

What would be your area of expertise as a lawmaker?

Jagler: I am chairman of the Housing and Real Estate Committee and in the process of getting my realtor license. Education is also a top focus.

Turner: As a college student, community organizer and business owner, I can see the perspectives of a lot of different people, which is an essential characteristic in a public servant. I strive to help those in need in every way I can and being elected to the Assembly is one way I can continue doing that.

 Molly Beck
Three-term incumbent Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen faces Waupaca Mayor Brian Smith, a Democrat. The election is Nov. 8.

Luther Olsen (I)

Party: Republican

Age: 65

Address: Ripon

Education: Bachelor of Science, UW-Madison 1973

Job: Partner in an agriculture business

Elected experience: 22 years in the Wisconsin State Legislature and 21 years on the Berlin Area School Board

Brian Smith

Party: Democratic

Age: 60

Address: Waupaca

Job: Accountant, small business owner

Political experience: Mayor of City of Waupaca for 15 years

Other public service: Waupaca City Council, six years

Education: Bachelors degree from UW-Stevens Point

Q&A

What is the top issue facing your district and how would you address it through the legislative process?

Olsen: My district is very rural, and many of the small towns dont have great broadband access. Technology is constantly changing and has become a large part of our daily lives, so we need these services to keep up. I plan to continue to work on legislation that would facilitate expanding broadband service to these rural areas.

Smith: I believe that one of the top issues facing my district is creating and keeping jobs in the rural areas of the 14th District. I would start with addressing the lack of high-speed internet access in rural Wisconsin. One of my accomplishments as mayor of Waupaca was when we expanded broadband access in the community by bringing the Waupaca Online internet provider to the city. I also believe that there is a workforce skills gap throughout Wisconsin. We need to expand access to education in our rural communities to develop our workforce and meet the needs of local employers.

What is an outside-the-box idea you would like the Legislature to pass next session?

Olsen: At the end of session we held an informational hearing in the Senate Education Committee on mental health in schools. We heard from a wide array of people including superintendents, teachers, parents, and counselors on how the mental health of students affects their ability to learn. I would like to look into this issue further and see if we could find some legislative solutions to help address this growing issue. As I have said before, if you cant reach a student, you cant teach them.

Smith: As an accountant, Ive seen how inefficient and cumbersome the state budget has become. Over the years, special interests have burdened our budget with wasteful spending and ineffective giveaways. I believe we can reform our budget process to save taxpayer dollars, increase transparency and improve services by moving to a priority based budgeting system.

What would be your area of expertise as a lawmaker?

Olsen: Education issues are my main area of expertise because I was previously a school board member for 21 years, serving as board president for nine years. I am currently the chairman of the Senate Education Committee and I serve on the National Conference of State Legislatures Education Committee as well. As the vice chairman of the Joint Finance Committee I also strive to achieve a balanced budget.

Smith: As a mayor, an accountant, small business owner, restaurateur and former teacher, I am able to view policy solutions through a very unique lens. If I had to narrow a policy area where I feel I bring something completely unique to the Senate, it would be budget and tax policy. As an accountant, I understand tax policy in great detail. As the mayor of Waupaca, I have passed balanced budgets, while paying off city debt and not raising taxes; all while maintaining community services.

 Molly Beck
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Belarus issued an official complaint to Ukraine regarding the forced landing of the Belavia aircraft, en route from Kiev to Minsk on October 21.

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus summoned Valery Dzhigun, Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine in Belarus, TASS reports.

According to the ministrys statement, Belarus seeks official apologies from Ukraine and complete financial compensation which happened as result of Ukraines actions.

The Security Service of Ukraine commented on the issue saying they forced the aircraft to return because it contained threat to national security.

The Security Service says it received a report on a foreign citizen and a possible threat to national security. At the time the report was received, the foreign citizen was aboard the flight, thus the Ukrainian authorities forced the plane to return.

According to Alexander Tkachuk  Chief of Staff of Ukraines Security Service  reports on scrambling interceptors in case of failure to comply are false.

A Belarusian Belavia aircraft, en route from Kiev to Minsk, was forced to return to the Ukrainian airport under the threat of being intercepted by military jets. The reason of the forced landing was an Armenian citizen aboard the aircraft, Obozrevatel.com reported citing the airlines press service.

The ground controller ordered the aircraft to immediately return to the airport after entering the airspace of Belarus 50km. No explanation was given. The ground controller reported in case of failing to fulfill the order fighter jets will be scrambled, the statement of the airline company reads.

After landing in Kiev, Ukrainian law enforcement officers removed one passenger from the airplane, who is an Armenian citizen.

According to .ua, the passengers last name is Martirosyan. He is accused of criminal activities and being a serviceman of Ukraines Security Service.

The Armenian citizen was released later and departed for Minsk at 19:00.
Zera McNally admits she takes clean water for granted.

Other than when I get dehydrated, no I dont think about it, she said.

McNally, a sophomore art student in Tomah High School teacher Margi Genrichs art class, saw water in a whole new light last week. The class decorated glasses that will be used for the annual Wine into Water event Friday, Oct. 28 at Cranberry County Lodge in Tomah.

The event, sponsored by the Tomah Rotary Club, raises money for projects in Busulo, Uganda, including building wells to provide clean drinking water.

Jenny Parker, who has been to Busolo on behalf of the Remembering Jesse Parker Foundation, showed students a bottle of water that was typically consumed in Busolo before wells were dug. The water was brown and looked nothing like anyone in the United States would draw from their taps.

This is the water that most children drink, Parker said. Every 19 seconds, a child dies from lack of clean water.

She said collecting water is a persistent task thats assigned to young girls in Uganda, and its a burden that impacts their quality of life.

Girls are the ones who carry the water in Uganda, Parker said. As soon as youre old enough to walk, you can carry water. If youre a young girl in Uganda, you spend most of your time getting water, and that means you cant go to school.

She said wells are being dug next to schools so that girls can carry water and receive an education.

We have seen a tremendous increase in the number of children who go to school, Parker said.

During Wine into Water, guests taste wines from across the world served in glasses decorated by Tomah art students. McNally and sophomore Santana Neal want their glasses to stand out.

I start on something, and then it winds up as something else, Neal said. I want it to look interesting and as neat as possible.

McNally didnt approach the project with any particular strategy.

I just have fun with it, she said.

Their artwork will be around for many years. Wine into Water guests keep the glasses from the wine tastings, and Parker has seen the glasses in other peoples homes.

Parker said her son, Jesse, had expressed a desire to work on clean water projects before he was killed in an auto crash in 2009. She said the work in Busolo keeps his dream alive.

The part you are doing is amazing, she said. You are sharing your art and your talent for kids youll never see, and that means so much to me.
Dairyland Power Cooperative has won a $73.5 million settlement from the U.S. government, which has failed to take spent fuel from Dairylands long-shuttered nuclear power plant in Genoa.

The La Crosse-based utility had sought $85.2 million in damages for the cost of handling and storing the waste for six years.

It is the second such award Dairyland has received  totaling more than $111 million  for having to store the uranium, which remains in dry casks at the plant site.

According to a contract with the Department of Energy, the fuel rods were to be sent to the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, which was supposed to begin receiving waste by January 1998 but has yet to open.

Robert Shapiro, Dairylands attorney in the case, said while every nuclear utility in the nation has filed similar suits, this settlement is unusual in that Dairyland will receive payment promptly and was able to negotiate more than $13 million savings on its future liabilities.

The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to questions about how many such cases it has settled or the damages paid, but Shapiro said every nuclear utility has had at least one case. There are 100 operating nuclear power reactors in the United States and another 17 in the decommissioning process.

The government could easily have avoided this liability by opening Yucca Mountatin, or someplace, to take the spent fuel, he said. And rather than have spent fuel sitting all around the country at sites like Dairylands  they could have found one secure, central place to put it. Surely it would have a lot lower cost for the government to pay one place to store it as opposed to effectively paying a hundred places to store it.

It will be up to the cooperatives board to determine how the money is used. Dairyland returned half of the last such award to its members through a direct payment and used the remainder for rate relief.

At the end of the day, based on what we did last time, well give it back to the membership, said Rob Palmberg, vice president of generation.

The fuel is a remnant of the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR), which ceased operation in 1987.

Built for the federal government as a demonstrator project, the 50-megawatt plant was turned over to Dairyland for $1 and began operation in 1967. The plant was shut down when it became too expensive to operate the tiny but heavily-regulated plant.

Believing the federal government would honor its obligation to take the fuel by 1998, Dairyland chose to keep the 333 uranium rods under water inside the plant  at a cost of about $6 million a year.

Dairyland sued the government in 2004 for breach of contract, receiving $37.6 million in damages for the cost of storing the fuel from 1999 through 2006.

The fuel was moved to dry casks in 2012, after six years of planning and preparation. According to Dairyland, it costs about $2.5 million a year to maintain that dry storage site.

The second legal case covers 2007 through 2012 and includes the $47 million cost of transferring the fuel to dry storage.

Given the current stalemate over Yucca Mountain, Palmberg expects Dairyland will file a third case in the next couple of years to cover the ongoing costs.

Earlier this year, Dairyland transferred the license for the LACBWR site to a private company under contract to remove the buildings and all contaminated material from the site, which is adjacent to Dairylands Genoa coal-fired plant.

The decommissioning is expected to take about two years and cost roughly $85 million.
Dear reader, we're asking for your help to keep local reporting available for all today during our fall fundraiser. Your financial support keeps stories like this one free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe

The two men who led cops on the zaniest, most-L.A. police pursuit in recent memory will be sitting behind bars.

On Friday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that 20-year-old Herschel Reynolds and 19-year-old Isaiah Dewayne Young were each sentenced to two years in prison. Last month they each pleaded no contest to felony charges of burglary and "fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle while driving recklessly."

Police pursued the suspects on April 7 when they were suspected of breaking into a home in Cerritos. The so-called "Droptop Bandits" drove a rented Mustang on a rainy day in Southern California, leading police on a chase that found its way through Cerritos, downtown L.A., Hollywood, Exposition Park, and eventually ended in South L.A.

While in Hollywood, Reynolds, who was behind the wheel, spun doughnuts in the rain:

And later they got into it with a TMZ tour bus:

It was later revealed that Reynolds' driving skills came from his days in the Marine Corps, where he was a tactical driver at Camp Pendleton. He was "prematurely discharged" from the Marines, according to Pentagon officials. Reynolds also faces sentencing next week for a hit-in-run case in May, reports the L.A. Times. In that case, UCLA police say he knocked over a man with his motorcycle.
Dear reader, we're asking for your help to keep local reporting available for all today during our fall fundraiser. Your financial support keeps stories like this one free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe

A 1-year-old child was killed on Friday afternoon after being stabbed by a man in North Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. After stabbing the child, the man reportedly stabbed himself multiple times and set fire to the apartment where the stabbing took place. Though several other news outlets are reporting that the victim in the incident was a 2-year-old girl who was thrown from an apartment window, LAPD officer Norma Eisenman says that this information is not accurate.

Officers first responded to a call of assault with a deadly weapon at 2:05 p.m. at an upper-level apartment unit in the 13200 block of Vanowen Street. When officers arrived at 2:09 p.m., they noticed smoke coming from an upper unit of the 28-unit apartment building, and called the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters confined the blaze to just one unit of the building, and had extinguished the fire by 2:31 p.m.

The child died at an area hospital after being transported there by her mother. The suspect, described as a Hispanic Male, was also transported to a nearby hospital where he is in police custody and is being treated for his self-inflicted wounds. Officers are investigating this incident as a homicide.

Though KABC reports that drugs may be involved, LAPD was unable to confirm this to LAist. KABC also reports that the suspect is the believed to be the child's father; LAPD was likewise unable to confirm this information as true.

Another adult woman was reportedly treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries, according to KTLA.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Normandy Four talks are not easy, and it is not often the parties manage to have common language, both literally and figuratively, press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Vesti V Subbotu weekly television program on Saturday, TASS reports.

"Common language is seen not that often as desired," he said. "At the same time, probably, as yet at this stage a lack of common language at least partially compensates for readiness of the Normandy Four leaders to continue working in that format. This is extremely important."

Peskov told the audience about the talks, in the sense of command of foreign languages among the Normandy Four leaders. Russias President Vladimir Putin, he said, "may be joking in German with Merkel, and then it becomes very complicated for his assistance who do not speak German." At the same time, Putin "can also speak English, he uses greatly the English language to talk briefly with Hollande." The French president speaks English. Ukraines President Pyotr Poroshenko "is trying to speak three languages." "Sometimes he begins speaking English, the parties are exchanging inquiring looks, but interpreters react masterly, translating both into Russian and Ukrainian. Some of phrases he says in Russian," Peskov said.

Despite the few languages among the talks participants, he continued, "the atmosphere is very quick, everyone knows the topic." Moreover, he continued, all talks take that long not for time spent to translate speeches. "The organizers, and namely the federal chancellor's authority, in this has provided ideal conditions for work.".


Today we are visiting a vast and remote park in the state of Alaska. The park is bigger than the country of Switzerland. It is six times the size of Yellowstone. In fact, it is the largest national park in America.

Its name is Wrangell-St. Elias.

Do not worry if you have not heard of Americas biggest national park. Most Americans do not know its name.

But Wrangell-St. Elias contains some of North Americas largest glaciers and volcanoes. It also is home to nine of the highest mountains in America.

The park extends more than 5.3 million hectares. Four mountain ranges come together here, including the Wrangell Mountains and the St. Elias Mountains. The Wrangell Mountains cover much of the park. They were formed over the last 5 million years from volcanic activity. The St. Elias Mountains stretch into Canadas Yukon Territory.

The Chugach Mountains cover the southern part of the park. The Alaskan Mountain Range forms some of the huge parks northern boundary.

The mountain landscape is wild. Much of it is also difficult to reach. Private companies offer flightseeing tours on planes and helicopters. From high above, visitors witness Wrangell-St. Eliass beauty.

A world of water

Rivers and glaciers help tell the story of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. These rivers, with names like Copper, Chitina, Chisana, and Chitistone, come from the parks many glaciers. They wind through land carved out by other huge glaciers long ago. The Copper, the largest river of them all, flows into the Gulf of Alaska. Other rivers take a more dramatic path. The Chitistone River becomes Chitistone Falls, a 91-meter-tall waterfall that drops over a steep wall.

Glaciers cover almost 13,000 square kilometers of the park. In summer months the parks rivers carry their meltwater. It is filled with tiny pieces of sand, stone and other materials. A buildup of this sediment forces the rivers to flow through new channels. This causes the riverbeds to twist and turn. From up above, these rivers can look like braided hair.

One of the parks most striking places is the Hubbard Glacier. It is the longest tidewater glacier in North America. A tidewater glacier is one that begins in a mountain valley and flows all the way to a body of water. The Hubbard Glacier is 120 kilometers long and nearly 10 kilometers wide. It begins on the 6,000-meter-tall Mount Logan in Canadas Yukon Territory. It ends in the waters of a place called Disenchantment Bay.

Hubbard was named in 1890 after Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society.

The massive glacier is only getting bigger. Unlike most glaciers, Hubbard is thickening and extending. Other glaciers face melting caused by increasing temperatures. But experts say Hubbard reacts in an opposite way to climate change.

As the Earths temperature rises, the area around Wrangell-St. Elias gets more snow and rain. Scientists say this snow and rain is what permits the glacier to grow.

Sometimes, very fast growth causes huge pieces of ice to break apart from the glacier. Scientists call this calving. The ice creates a thunderous sound as it breaks and falls into the water.

Hubbard Glaciers size, beauty, and calving activity have made it popular with park visitors. Large boats travel through Disenchantment Bay, taking passengers close to the glacier.

Wrangell-St. Elias system of glaciers and rivers help support animal life in the park. The parks Dall sheep may be the most famous animal residents. Alaskas Dall sheep are the worlds northernmost wild sheep population.

About 13,000 Dall sheep live within the parks borders. Visitors can look for their white bodies and huge brown horns near rocky mountainsides.

Visitors might also see black bears, brown bears, moose and caribou. Caribou are large North American reindeer with huge, wide antlers. Along the coast seals and sea lions lie in the ice and splash in the water.

Visiting the park

Wrangell-St. Elias became a national park in 1980. The parks main visitors center is about 300 kilometers east of Anchorage. The long drive to get to the park is an adventure itself. The trip includes roadside views of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and lakes.

Its distant location makes it one of America's least-visited national parks. About 75,000 people visit Wrangell-St. Elias each year. By comparison, parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone get about 3 million visitors each year.

Visitors can experience the parks pristine nature as well as its historical areas. The Athabascan people lived in the area thousands of years ago. The park includes sites of their villages and hunting areas.

The park also has many historical structures and buildings. The National Park Service says the structures represent periods of exploration, mining and transportation.

One historical place is called Kennecott Mill Town. The picturesque town tells a story of westward expansion and discovery.

Miners processed nearly $200 million worth of copper at Kennecott Mines between 1911 and 1938.

Many of the buildings that remain in the town have been empty for 60 years. Some are in disrepair. The National Park Service works with the local community to restore and preserve them.

Some visitors stay at Kennecott during their trip to Wrangell-St. Elias. The family-owned Kennecott Glacier Lodge provides beautiful views of the surrounding glacial mountains. It also gives visitors a chance to try exciting outdoor activities like glacier hiking or ice climbing.

Some visitors choose to sleep in the wild outdoors. Private campsites are located in many areas of the park. Some visitors set out on long hikes in the parks backcountry area.

Whatever way you visit, the immense and untouched beauty of Wrangell St. Elias National Park is guaranteed to awe.

I'm Caty Weaver.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Ashley Thompson wrote this report, with materials from the National Park Service. Caty Weaver was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

vast -adj. very great in size, amount, or extent

remote - adj. far away from other people, houses, cities, etc.

range - n. a series of mountains or hills in a line

boundary - n. something (such as a river or fence) that shows where an area ends and another area begins

landscape -n. an area of land that has a certain quality or appearance

dramatic - adj. sudden and extreme

twist - v. to bend or turn (something) in order to change its shape

braided - adj. formed with three or more parts woven together

thunderous -adj. making a loud noise like the sound of thun

antlers -n. the horn of a deer or similar animal

pristine -adj. not changed by people : left in its natural state

picturesque -adj. very pretty or charming

preserve -v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition

awe -v. to fill someone with a strong feeling of wonder or respect
Chinese activists are demanding that a polar bear named Pizza be moved from captivity in a shopping center to a better home.

About 50 animal activist groups across China have joined together to call for moving Pizza. Since January, she has been kept inside an animal display at a shopping center in the city of Guangzhou, in southeastern China.

The groups plan to present a letter to local officials next week urging them to get involved to help relocate Pizza. The activists say Pizza has recently shown signs that her mental state is getting worse.

The campaign to move Pizza grew larger last March, when the group Animals Asia posted a video of the polar bear online.

In the video, Pizza is seen lying down in the space where she lives at Guangzhous Grandview Aquarium. The video shows possible health issues for the animal, including watery eyes and a twitching mouth. The video went viral on the internet and people around the world became heartbroken over the polar bear.

This led to Pizza being called the saddest polar bear in the world. Since then, an online petition started by Animals Asia has gotten more than 680,000 signatures supporting the cause.

Animals Asia has called for the aquarium to be closed. The living space for Pizza is less than 66 square meters. That is too small for an animal her size, the group said. It also said she must deal with people tapping on the glass of the display for most of the day.

So far, the aquarium has refused to change Pizzas living conditions or move her to another home. It says its operation is legal because it has the required permits from the government.

Last month, Britains Yorkshire Wildlife Park offered to put Pizza in its specially-designed polar bear habitat. The park includes four hectares of land and two lakes for its community of polar bears.

The Grandview Aquarium turned down the offer.

In a statement to VOA, Grandview said Pizza was not bred through natural means, and left her mother at age 2. It said this means she would not be able to survive with other polar bears in the wild.

The aquarium said the health of Pizza and other animals there is important. A team of 130 people look after the animals every day. They receive regular physical examinations, Grandview said.

The statement added our star animal Pizza remains healthy, with results from the most recent tests falling in the normal range.

A video released by the aquarium said it has also increased efforts to provide Pizza with more activities to improve her mental and physical state.

Wendy Higgins is with the London-based Humane Society International (HIS). She says Grandview does not provide conditions similar to a polar bears natural habitat. She worries that Pizza is showing signs of mental problems, including unusual head movements and performing the same acts over and over.

Once youve got an animal displaying those kinds of very typical behaviors, the clock is ticking really, Higgins said.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Joyce Huang wrote this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

display  n. a collection of things for people to look at

relocate  v. move to another place

aquarium  n. a building where fish and other animals are kept for people to look at

twitch  v. moving suddenly without the ability to control

petition  n. formal written request to take action

habitat  n. place where a plant or animal naturally lives

breed  v. to produce young animals

typical  adj. happening in the usual way

ticking  v. to make a small, quick, sound, especially made by a clock or watch

the clock is ticking  expression. used to express that something must be done quickly because there will soon be no time left
The adversary breached the truce along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 35 times, from late Friday night to early Saturday morning.

October 22, 2016, 09:43 Azerbaijan violated ceasefire over 35 times at night

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired around 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 37 shots from long-range sniper rifles, in northerly and easterly directions of the line of contact.

But the NKR Defense Army vanguard units are in command of the operational and tactical situation, and they continue confidently carrying out the military task set before them.
For the first time, a major American political party has a woman as its candidate for president.

The Democratic Party officially nominated Hillary Clinton for the presidency three months ago.

But why did it take so long for a woman to be nominated in a country that works to empower women around the world? And, do feelings about the place of women affect how Americans react to a female candidate?

Clintons aides believe some people will not vote for her because she is a woman.

Michele Swers is a professor of American government at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She co-wrote a book called Women in the Club.

Swers says many people are likely to consider only men when they think about strength and the ability to lead.

And woman travels in a narrower lane, so that women in politics have to prove both that they hold masculine qualities of leadership, but still also hold feminine personality traits that people assume women have.

Swers says Hillary Clinton is often criticized for showing a lack of warmth in her dealings with others. She also has been criticized for being calculating  having self-interest guide her decisions.

But Sonya Michel notes that when Clinton does show her feelings, she is also questioned. Michel, a retired University of Maryland professor, studies the history of women and gender.

And the more she (Clinton) tries to avoid those kinds of criticisms, people say, Well is she strong enough? Is she firm enough? You know, how can she, how can she operate on a world stage?

Georgetown's Michele Swers says the United States has not had a woman as president because of its political system.

In her words, when it comes to presidential nominations you need to not just work your way up through the party, but you need to build your own coalition, your own coalition of donors, your own coalition of connections to various state party leaders. And all these things have been dominated by men over time, so its harder for a woman to have those connections and to break in, she said.

That is likely why Clinton is the first presidential nominee of a major party. She has many connections from all the years she was secretary of state and a member of the Senate. In addition, she is the wife of former President Bill Clinton.

Marylands Sonya Michel believes that it is easier in other political systems for women to lead. [In] Europe -- especially in the countries that have parliamentary systems -- people vote for the party, she says. They dont necessarily vote for the candidate; they dont vote for the person who is going to become prime minister.

Swers says some of the criticism of Clinton is not based on her gender.

I think the criticisms related to the, the email servers and the campaign donations to the Clinton foundation are legitimate in that they question values that we hold about transparency, about honesty, about character in our leadership.

Professor Swers says that in many cultures, women are expected to be more honest, more trustworthy and more likable than men.

Reporter Dori Toribio works for the Spanish broadcasting group Mediaset. She thinks women candidates are also expected to be more prepared.

The thing with, with women in politics -- you have to be older, you have to be tougher and, in my point of view, you have to be 10 times better than a man so that you can get to that point -- you have to prove yourself all the time.

On November 9th, the U.S., and the rest of the world, will know whether Hillary Clinton will make history.

Im Anne Ball.

Keida Kostreci reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

narrow  adj. almost not enough for success

lane  n. a road or a path (often used figuratively, as in this report)

masculine  adj. of, relating to or suited to men or boys

personality trait  n. a quality that makes one person or thing different from another

gender  adj. the state of being male or female

legitimate  adj. allowed according to rules or laws

transparency  n. the quality that makes something obvious or easy to understand

character  n. the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves; someone's personality
Republican Party candidates for seats in Congress must decide what to do about Donald Trump.

Trump, the Republican candidate for president, has many loyal supporters. They crowd into his campaign events and cheer his promises to make America great again.

But the popularity of the businessman has been dropping in opinion polls ever since the release of an 11-year-old recording. On the recording, Trump could be heard talking about touching and kissing women without their permission.

Trump has said the recordings are embarrassing. He has apologized. He denied doing the kind of things he talked about on the recording.

Some women have come forward to say that Trump had made unwanted sexual advances years ago. He said their claims are not true.

Those stories are all totally false, I have to say that, Trump said, at the presidential debate in Nevada on Wednesday. And I didnt even apologize to my wife, whos sitting right here, because I didnt do anything.

Difficult Decisions for Some Candidates

All the news reports about the Trump recording left some Republican congressional candidates with difficult decisions.

If the candidates say they will vote for Trump, Democrats will criticize them for supporting a man who has made widely criticized comments about women. But if the candidates say they do not support Trump, they anger his supporters, who make up a big majority of Republican voters, according to the polls.

Republican John McCain has represented the southwestern state of Arizona in the United States Senate since 1987. He is seeking a sixth Senate term against Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat.

McCain recently said that he will not vote for either Trump or Hillary Clinton, the Democrats candidate for president.

I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated, McCain said. But he said Trumps comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.

Congressman Todd Young of Indiana, a Republican, is a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat. Young is backing Trump, just as he says most Hoosiers are.

A Hoosier is the informal name for someone who lives in Indiana.

My position is the same as their position, Young told The Washington Post newspaper. Most Hoosiers intend to support the Republican nominees. Most Hoosiers believe leaders like myself should speak out when we disagree.

Most Republican candidates for Congress are doing what Young is -- supporting Trump, while offering criticism of some of his comments and proposals.

Congressional Elections Are a Big Deal

The congressional elections are important. The newly elected president would have a better chance of getting his or her proposals through Congress if their party holds the majority.

Currently, Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats need to gain at least four seats in the Senate and 30 in the House to get the majority. Political watchers say the Democrats have a better chance of winning the majority in the Senate than the House.

Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is seeking re-election to the U.S. Senate. Toomey is the only Republican in a difficult race who has refused to say if he will vote for Trump, according to Reuters. He has called Trumps recorded comments on women outrageous.

Toomey told Pennsylvania voters he will serve as a check on Hillary Clintons nominations to the Supreme Court. If Trump wins, Toomey said, he might help win Senate approval of his court nominations.

Larry Sabato is the director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia. He said Toomey and other Republicans in difficult races are making the case that they can serve as check on Clinton. They hope to stop or limit her proposals. Sabato calls that argument one of the only good ones some Republican congressional members have.

Brian Brox teaches political science at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He said that the 2016 congressional elections are hard to understand, even for the candidates.

Brox said that is because it is difficult to say who will show up and vote on Election Day. For Republican members of Congress, the question is whether some of the partys long-time supporters might stay home because they do not like Trump, he said.

Also, will more Democrats worried about a Trump presidency show up to vote?, Brox wonders. Or will young voters, who supported Barack Obama, stay home because they wanted Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as president?

Sanders lost the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination to Clinton.

Kevin Arceneaux teaches political science at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here is what he expects from many Republican congressional candidates:

Distance yourself from Trump, while trying to make the race about stopping Clintons agenda -- for example, reminding GOP and GOP-leaning voters that they do not like Clinton. Whether this works, only time will tell, Arceneaux said.

Im Bruce Alpert.

Michael Bowman reported this story for VOA News. Bruce Alpert adapted this story and did additional reporting for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

______________________________________________________________



Words in This Story

poll - n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

boast - n. to express too much pride in yourself or in something you have, have done, or are connected to in some way

assault - n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically

intend - v. to plan or want to do something

outrageous - adj. very bad or wrong in a way that causes anger

agenda - n. a list of things to be considered or done

remind - v. to cause someone to remember something

leaning - n. a preference for something or tendency to do something

advance  n. forward movement

GOP- n. short for Grand Old Party (meaning the Republican Party)
This November, Polk County voters will decide if they want to renew the countys half-cent indigent health care sales tax. It has been in place since 2004 and it ends in 2019 unless it is renewed.

County officials: tax generates $35 - $40 million every year

About $14 million currently pays for programs the County is required to fund

If renewed, tax would remain in place until 2045

The money has helped around 43,000 people receive health care services through the countys Polk HealthCare plan and through its community partners, mostly non-profit clinics such as Central Florida Healthcare.



James Clay is one of the many people who benefits from the tax money.



"I don't have a job. After the stroke, I lost my job," said Clay, who used to work as a truck driver.



He said he was using insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act, but it got to be too expensive after he lost his job. Hes too young for Medicare, so hes hoping to qualify for disability.



For now, hes on the countys plan and seeing doctors at Central Florida Healthcare.



"It's a good deal," said Clay. "It helps a lot when you have nothing."



The indigent health care sales tax generates between $35 to 40 million every year, depending on the economy, according to Joy Johnson, the director of the county's Indigent Health Care program.



"Not only is Polk County the only county in Florida that has a voter-approved half cent health care sales tax, we have people who are benefitting from the services that are contributing as well, Johnson said. So, the burden does not fall solely on property owners. It spreads to everyone making purchases in the county."



That includes tourists and snowbirds.



According to Johnson, around $14 million of the tax money is used to pay for mandated programs that the county is required to fund. If the tax isnt renewed, county commissioners would have to decide how to pay for those mandated programs.



"They could either look at cuts in services, or they could look at property tax increases," Johnson said.



In a Polk County Health Care study, prepared by the University of Floridas Bureau of Economic and Business Research, its estimated that by 2019, Polk Countys property tax rate would have to increase by an estimated 1.3391 mils, from 6.7815 to 8.2642 mils, in order to continue operating at the same level as the revenue currently being generated by the half-cent sales tax.



Its the reason Central Florida Healthcares CEO Ann Claussen, chair of the "Keep Polk Kids Healthy" political action committee, is leading the charge to educate people about the tax so they are informed when they go to the voting booth.



"We have not heard of any opposition at all," said Claussen. "And we've received full support from the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce."



If voters decide to renew the half-cent indigent health care sales tax, it would be around until 2045.

To find out more about the county's Polk HealthCare plan, visit http://www.polk-county.net/boccsite/Your-Government/Citizens-Healthcare-Oversight-Committee/.
A group of Clearwater residents gathered at Edgewater Drive Park Saturday to protest Amendment 2.

Amendment 2 would legalize medical marijuana

On Saturday, protesters in Pinellas County spoke out against it

Amendment 2 has been on the ballot since 2014, when it was just shy of passing



"Its so, so open and big, said Lynn Posyton, who helped organize the event. Its like a steamroller and its not the way we should do it in Florida so we say no."

The Amendment would legalize medical marijuana for individuals with specific debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed physician.

Supporters say its about compassion, but Posyton said it could equate to putting a pot shop on every corner.

"I look around and go, 'wow, envision 2,000 pot shops,' Posyton said. Thats more than Starbucks, McDonald's and 7-Eleven combined."

Alexis Morley came out to protest with her two children.

"Just thinking of these guys, growing up and the future years from now and having [pot shops] across from our playground or next to your house or wherever they may be, Morley said.

The group said their main goal is education.

"We thought lets raise awareness, lets make some signs with a couple of points and hopefully people will research and actually read what Amendment 2 is, Posyton said.

The Amendment was on the ballot in 2014 and fell just shy of passing.
For the second time in a month, a major political forecaster has updated its 24th Congressional District race rating.

The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report now rates the race between U.S. Rep. John Katko and Democratic challenger Colleen Deacon as "leans Republican." The publication previously had the race in the "toss up/tilt Republican" column.

Just a month ago, Rothenberg & Gonzales considered the race a pure toss up. That was before a Time Warner Cable News/Siena poll released in early October showed Katko, R-Camillus, leading Deacon, D-Syracuse, by 19 points, 53 to 34 percent.

The latest Time Warner Cable News/Siena poll released Thursday found Katko's lead is now up to 23 points, 54 to 31 percent.

Rothenberg & Gonzales is the latest political prognosticator to move the race more into the Republicans' favor.

Last month, Cook Political Report shifted its rating from toss up to leans Republican. That decision came before the release of the first Time Warner Cable News/Siena poll.

Before the second poll was released Thursday, Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball updated its race ratings and put the 24th Congressional District in the leans Republican column.

Katko is seeking a second term in Congress. He was first elected in 2014 when he defeated then-incumbent Rep. Dan Maffei, a Democrat, by nearly 20 points.

Deacon hopes to unseat Katko. She is U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's former central New York regional director and a former aide to ex-Syracuse Mayor Matthew Driscoll.

The 24th Congressional District is comprised of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, plus the western part of Oswego County.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 8 to decide whether Katko will get a second term or if Deacon will become the district's new representative.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest commercial lender, has advised its customers to use the bank's own ATM network after the security breach of around six lakh debit cards issued by the bank, an official said.

"We are advising our customers to use SBI's ATM network as a pro-active measure. At the same time, the bank is aiming to replace around six lakh debit cards within two weeks," Partha Pratim Sengupta, CGM of SBI Bengal circle, told reporters here last night.

Meanwhile, the bank had blocked the debit cards whose security had been reportedly breached due to the malware attack.

Some of the country's large private banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank etc. among others too are facing similar issues and several of the customers'debit cards are reportedly being compromised. It is to be seen whether these banks also take precautionary measures and ask their customers to transact through their home bank's ATM network.

The government also got cracking on the debit card fraud, asking banks concerned and RBI to submit report on the nature of security breach which compromised over 3.25 million cards and assured customers that strong action will be taken while their interests will not come to any harm.

"I have sought a report in the debit card issue. The idea is to contain the damage," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

According to the National Payments Corporation of India, as many as 641 customers across 19 banks have been duped of Rs 1.3 crore using stolen debit card data.

The government asked the Reserve Bank of India as well as the affected banks to provide details of the data breach and also preparedness to deal with cyber crimes.

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said a report has been sought on all aspects.

"There is no cause for alarm. The integrity of IT system of banks is robust and whatever action is required, the government will take promptly," he said.

The government, he said, is seized of the matter and reports have been called from RBI and banks to know what exactly has happened.

A preliminary input "sort of report" has already come in and the government is awaiting further details from the final report, he said.

"After getting the report... whatever action is required, necessary action will be taken by the government," he said.

With PTI inputs
AUBURN  As a high school student in Seattle, Washington, Angela Slater fell in love with criminal justice. A participant in the local Police Explorer Program, she was eager to pursue a career in law enforcement. But, at the time, her grades just weren't good enough to explore it further, and her dream drifted.

Until now.

On Oct. 21, more than 20 years after graduating high school, Slater was one of nearly 150 people who attended criminal justice training at Cayuga Community College. Sponsored by New York State Minorities in Criminal Justice, Inc. (MICJ)  a nonprofit organization founded nearly 30 years ago  the training focused on different types of law enforcement and what it means to be a minority.

"It's not about your race or your color or your gender," MICJ Region 6 Vice President Marcus Babb said. "It's about who you are as an individual because there's nobody quite like you. So wherever you are when you're around other people, you are a minority."

And for the representatives behind MICJ, Slater  a 39-year-old full-time student at CCC  made an impression.

Late last year, the mother of two said she wanted to go back to school and, having moved to Auburn some 12 or 13 years ago, she decided to enroll in the criminal justice department at CCC.

"I was nervous going back to school ... because being older than most students it was really a lot more difficult for me than someone coming right out of high school," Slater said. "But it's really helped boost my confidence."

And so has MICJ.

As part of Friday's training event, Babb  a CCC alumnus and sergeant at Auburn Correctional Facility  said the nonprofit wanted to give somebody a "breath of fresh air," awarding a $500 scholarship to a student at CCC.

"They had to choose one student in the whole criminal justice program at the college ... and they chose me," Slater said, smiling and holding back tears. "When they told me I cried because I've never done anything with my life. ... And this gives me more confidence to do better."

Still, Slater wasn't the only one who benefited from MICJ's training. Babb said dozens of professionals came from Albany, New York City and Buffalo for the day's events, which included lectures and seminars on all levels of law enforcement.

"We tried to bring different types of training to people in criminal justice, whether you're a clerk or a commissioner," he said. "It shows people what else is out there besides being a corrections officer, police officer or sheriff. It's also about the secretaries, the judges, the lawyers ... the one, two or three divers that are qualified to search the lakes. It's about the minorities in our line of work."

"This (training) gives the students the opportunity to engage and network with professionals," said Teri Misiaszek, associate professor and program coordinator of the Criminal Justice Department at CCC "And it's a great opportunity to house and support our local criminal justice community."
Gwalior: Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, has expressed concern over the alleged growing intolerance in the country, dubbing it "a curse we are seeing of late".

"I think everybody knows where the intolerance is coming from, what it is. Like many thousands, millions of Indians, one wants to see a country without intolerance," Tata told reporters late Friday night.#

Minutes before, he had spoken against the alleged growing intolerance in his address at the 119th foundation day

function of Scindia School in Gwalior, endorsing Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia's views on the issue.

"The Maharaja (Jyotiraditya) talked about intolerance. It is a curse we are seeing of late," the eminent industrialist said in his address.

"We want to live in an environment where we love our fellow men. We don't shoot them, we don't kill them. We don't hold them hostages but give a bit of ourselves and we give and take," Tata said.

Before Tata, Scindia in his address to the students said, "We want you to be winners. We also want you to be thinkers... And the hallmark of a civilised society is debate, discussion and disagreement."

An "environment of intolerance" was prevailing in the country today, the former Union minister said.

"An environment in which each one of us is told what to speak, what to hear, how to dress, what to eat," Scindia said.

A crackdown on dissent was against the progress of society, the Congress leader said, while hitting out at cow

vigilantes.
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh has registered highest number of cases of custodial deaths in the country between October 2015 and September this year, with as many as 401 deaths taking place in judicial custody and 27 in policy custody, the National Human Rights Commission today said.

"Uttar Pradesh, with 401 cases topped the list of cases of judicial custody deaths as well as in the list of cases of deaths in police custody with 27 cases," NHRC Chairperson Justice HL Dattu was quoted as saying in a statement.

Earlier, addressing a press conference to mark the foundation day of the rights watchdog, he said since its inception in 1993, the NHRC has come a long way by addressing several issues of human rights violations as well as giving inputs on key legislations impacting human rights.

The NHRC had faced criticism from a section of civil society and NGOs for it report on the on-spot inquiry of migration issue in Kairana in Uttar Pradesh which is going to polls next year.

Dattu said, the commission "has received the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on the Kairana issue, and the report would be placed before the full commission, which would discuss, deliberate and take the final decision in it".

"Over a lakh complaints have been received in the commission which indicates not only the increasing faith of the people in its functioning but also their awareness about the importance of promotion and protection of human rights," the statement said.

"During the period (October 2015 and September 2016), maximum 32,498 complaints were registered against police, out of which 206 cases were of encounter.

"Chhattisgarh with 66 encounter cases, topped the list followed by 43 in Assam, 15 in Jharkhand, 10 in Odisha, 7 each in Maharashtra and Meghalaya, 5 each in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. West Bengal with 11 cases, topped the list of registered cases of encounter by Para-Military forces," it said.

Between October 2015 and September 2016, the NHRC has registered 1,05,664 cases on the basis of complaints, intimation from police and prison authorities etc, and on suo motu basis. The number of cases registered during the period on suo motu basis is 133. During the corresponding period in 2014-15 and 2013-14, it registered 1,17,477 and 1,06,684 cases respectively, it said.

"Since October 2015 to September 2016, the commission has disposed 1,11,295 cases out of which 59,924 had to be dismissed in limine, as these were not in line with the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act," it added.

During the period, the commission recommended monetary relief to the tune of Rs 70,93,000 in 380 cases. The public authorities complying with the commission's recommendations paid Rs 11,59,56,172 as monetary relief in 410 cases to the victims or their kin. These included cases of the previous year as well as the some cases wherein recommendations were made during 2015-2016.

An independent report was prepared and sent to the UN mandated Human Rights Council for the third Universal Periodic Review, the NHRC said.
Till a few weeks ago, Akhilesh Yadav appeared uncertain about how far he should go in challenging his domineering father and canny uncle.

He had started off by claiming that he takes his own decisions and depriving his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, of his portfolios and dismissing a minister considered "close" to him, as is said about servile followers in India.

But, then, the Chief Minister backtracked on being ticked off by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, returned Shivpal's ministries to him and reinstated the dismissed minister.

Shivpal, on his part, demonstrated his clout by sacking some of Akhilesh's youthful followers from the party.

After sulking for some time, Akhilesh has now decided to start the next round of his battle with the elders in the family by announcing that he will skip the Samajwadi Party's silver jubilee celebrations and go on a Rath Yatra to boost the party's electoral chances.

It is now obvious that the conflict of the generations will continue in the foreseeable future with probably neither side emerging as the winner. The loser will undoubtedly be the party in next year's assembly elections.

And the reason will be the father-uncle duo's strange propensity to shoot the party in the foot by marginalising and even humiliating its only winning prospect  the young and personable Chief Minister.

It wasn't only the generation gap which apparently made Mulayam Singh and Shivpal turn against Akhilesh. They were also uneasy about the latter's growing popularity because of a clean image, modern outlook and a willingness to cleanse the party of thuggish elements.

None of this was acceptable to Mulayam Singh and Shivpal, who have built up their power bases by exploiting caste sentiments and recruiting musclemen.

For the time being, they may no longer trash the teaching of English and the use of computers. But such an antediluvian attitude was part and parcel not long ago of their feudal, patriarchal, bucolic world-view where Uttar Pradesh will be a land of dimly-lit villages, muddy roads and women in purdah.

In a letter to Mulayam Singh, informing him  and not seeking permission  of the decision to go on a Rath Yatra, Akhilesh has stressed "vikas" as an objective which he will place before the people.

In recent ads on television, which have now stopped, he had vowed to take Uttar Pradesh well and truly into the 21st century.

In this respect, he represents the new breed of politicians who want to play the development card to win votes unlike their elders who depend on the politics of caste and communalism to woo and divide voters.

As a part of this tactic, Mulayam Singh and Shivpal brought about the merger of the don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal with the Samajwadi Party, which Akhilesh opposed.

They also selected a murder accused as a poll candidate, much against the Chief Minister's wishes.

As if to rub salt in the latter's wounds, Mulayam Singh even said that the next chief minister will be chosen by party legislators, ruling out Akhilesh's automatic nomination.

However, it doesn't take much political acumen to see that the bruising family feud is politically suicidal for the Samajwadi Party and can only boost the prospects of its two main adversaries  the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP probably feels that its chances have improved in the wake of the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Along with this patriotic card, it has also decided to play the temple card by announcing the setting up of a Ram Museum, thereby seemingly plugging all the loopholes.

The question remains, however, as to why Mulayam Singh has taken this patently destructive path for his party. Perhaps only a psychologist can decipher the meaning because it is his son who was seen to have a winning chance and not someone inside or outside the party.

As such, the veteran, self-proclaimed Lohiate should have been pleased that his passing of the baton to his foreign-educated son was paying dividends even if Netaji himself, as Mulayam Singh is called by his acolytes, will have to take a back seat.

It is perhaps this prospect of losing his earlier influence, along with the possibility that the Samajwadi Party will morph into something dramatically different from its present backward-looking, bullying self, which led to Mulayam Singh's offensive against Akhilesh.

But it is a battle which he is unlikely to win. Time is against him, along with the composition of the electorate where the younger generation is no longer interested in sectarian trends.

For them, Akhilesh represents the future while his father and uncle hark back to the past along with dubious companions like Amar Singh and Azam Khan.

Akhilesh himself is probably looking more to the 2022 election than the next one in 2017, in which few will now expect the Samajwadi Party to fare well.

Five years later, however, it will be a different ball game. Akhilesh will then still be relatively young at 49 while his father and uncle are most likely to be seen as spent forces. He may still have the last laugh.
AUBURN  Local leaders left a meeting with state officials about blue-green algae toxins in Owasco Lake Friday afternoon with a general feeling of positiveness.

The meeting started around 3 p.m. in a caucus room in the Cayuga County Office Building. It ended approximately an hour and 15 minutes later, with officials from the town of Owasco, city of Auburn and county gathering to debrief apart from the state Department of Environmental Conservation representatives, who came in person. Officials from the state Department of Health and Department of Agriculture & Markets were present on the phone.

Keith Batman, chairman of the Cayuga County Legislature, said while the meeting did not generate any specific promises from the state, he felt officials were aware of the problem Owasco Lake and the residents that receive their drinking water from it, are facing.

Blue-green algae blooms that are toxic are called harmful algal blooms, and when they die, they release microcystin, a toxin that when ingested can cause liver failure and damage to kidneys, not to mention nausea, vomiting, headache, skin irritations and other health complications. While blue-green algae has made its way in the city of Auburn and town of Owasco's water treatment plants before, toxins have never made it into the treated drinking water  until this year. It was the first time in New York state that blue-green algae toxins had made it past the filters and into the treated water.

The levels tested in the treated water have been below the health advisory guidelines set by a 2015 study done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Still, toxins in the water caused concern both for residents and for local officials and treatment plant operators, scrambling to modify the water plants' procedures to get rid of as much of the toxin as possible. And while the plants have added more powder activated carbon and more chlorine, which has helped dramatically lower the toxin levels between the water coming in and the water being distributed, the goal is to have no toxins in the treated drinking water, said Eileen O'Connor, director of the county's Environmental Health Division.

"We assume that next year, there's going to be toxins in the lake again," O'Connor said.

She said the group did ask the state to fund engineering assessments and reports so that more modifications can be made to both treatment facilities. Batman said while the state did not promise any funds outright, he said the information was "well received."

The group also discussed long-term strategies for tackling blue-green algae on the lake. Two proposals have appeared, one from the city of Auburn and one from the county. Auburn City Council passed a resolution Thursday evening asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to implement a Total Maximum Daily Load, though the resolution did not specify on what. Meanwhile, the Owasco Watershed Management Council has begun a Nine Element Watershed Plan, which covers a wide range of pollution sources and takes two years less to implement than a Total Maximum Daily Load, but it does not seem to have the same enforcement capabilities.

Jacqueline Lendrum, a research scientist with the DEC, said the first steps for both plans are the same. Once the DEC and others do an assessment of the lake including its health and land use, the team will identify priorities. From there they will decide whether a Nine Element Watershed Plan, Total Maximum Daily Load, or a combination of the two will be the best route for Owasco Lake, Lendrum said.

Debby McCormick, Auburn city counselor, said the meeting was also helpful because the group met officials directly working on the problems.

"We've got faces, names, and we know who to go to," she said.

That's how town of Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner felt. Wagner said his main concern is getting the water treatment plants ready for next year's algal bloom season. He said new designs and engineering can take months, have a lot of red tape, and he hopes the state will allow them to bypass those procedures.

"It's the beginning," Wagner said about the meeting. "It puts a name to the face and it also gave us a context so that if we're not happy, we can pick up the phone and we know who to call. They all seem to want to help, and they're there for the same reason we are  for the protection not just of our lake but all lakes."
BRUSSELS A Belgian shopping centre was evacuated on Saturday after a man opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle in a store in Chatelineau, 50 km (35 miles) south of Brussels, Belgian media reported.Police escorted dozens of shoppers out of the Cora mall after assaalants burst into the store on Saturday morning in an apparent robbery attempt, national news agency Belga reported.There were conflicting reports on the number of assailants, with RTL News citing the police commissioner as saying several gunmen were inside the store. Local paper La Gazette cited unnamed sources saying there were three. "Shots were fired with a Kalashnikov," Mayor Daniel Vanderlick told RTL.

No one was injured and the men appeared to be after jewelery.

There was no suggestion from police that the incident had Islamist militant links. Suicide attacks claimed by Islamic State killed 32 people in Brussels in March.Local police and federal prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Robert Muller

| PRAGUE

PRAGUE Czech President Milos Zeman has denied that his decision not to award a medal to a Holocaust survivor was because the man's nephew, a Czech government minister, had angered China by meeting the Dalai Lama.Culture Minister Daniel Herman met the exiled Tibetan leader this week against the wishes of Beijing and Zeman, who has strongly pushed for a closer economic relationship with China.The drive for Chinese investment has met opposition in a country whose post-communist policies strongly promoted human rights. Once a dissident and then president, the late Vaclav Havel was a friend of the Tibetan Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.President Zeman acknowledged that plans to award a state medal to George Brady, 88, had been dropped, Finance Minister Andrej Babis was quoted as saying on Saturday.But Zeman denied the change of plan had anything to do with Brady's nephew, Culture Minister Daniel Herman, meeting the Dalai Lama.

"Mr President says it has nothing to do with the Dalai Lama, but he confirms that he had asked Mr.Herman not to meet Mr.Dalai Lama," Babis was quoted by www.idnes.cz news website as saying.Herman's uncle Brady had been listed to receive the honour for his lifelong campaign for Holocaust remembrance at an annual celebration at Prague Castle, the seat of the president, next Friday on Czech state day.Brady survived Nazi persecution, including the death camp at Auschwitz in Poland, where his sister and parents perished.

"My uncle informed me he had been contacted by the president's office with information that his award was being prepared. Now there is news that this has been postponed for this year," Herman told Reuters. Asked if he was given an ultimatum not to meet the Dalai Lama in connection with the award, he said: "Yes.""The president directly told me that if I meet the Dalai Lama, my uncle will be taken out of the list (for awards), and that is what happened," Herman told Czech public television. He said the conversation took place in front of witnesses at a banquet in Prague.

A spokesman for Zeman said on Friday the president had completed the list of nominees "some time ago", and had not subsequently dropped anyone.The office never releases the names of the recipients of the state medals before the traditional ceremony.George Brady moved to Canada after the war. In 2000, a suitcase with his sister Hana's name surfaced in a Tokyo Holocaust Museum, whose director discovered her relation to George. Hana's suitcase later inspired a book, theatre play and a film. (Editing by Richard Balmforth and G Crosse)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
PARIS French police staged protests in Paris and other cities for a fifth night on Friday, in a movement showing no sign of abating despite President Francois Hollande's government attempts to defuse tensions just months before a presidential election.Police say they are no longer sufficiently equipped even to defend themselves and have staged five nights of unauthorised demonstrations. Some 3,000 of them took to the streets on Thursday night, they said.Hundreds of officers protested on Friday night in front of Notre Dame cathedral in central Paris, just opposite the central police headquarters. Other protests took place in Calais, Lille, Toulon and other cities.Speaking from a European Council meeting in Brussels, Hollande said he would meet police representatives at his office early next week to hear their grievances.

Police discontent was fuelled by an incident in a town near Paris earlier this month, where a gang petrol-bombed four police officers in a patrol car.The car was stationed at a crossroads notorious for smash-and-grab robberies on motorists. Police say the gang tried to prevent the officers from getting out of the burning vehicle. Two of the four were seriously injured and one suffered life-threatening burns.

Unions say a surge in criminal gang activity and militant attacks has put extra strains on police.

Thousands of police and soldiers have been deployed to guard airports, train stations and other sites in response to Islamist attacks that have killed more than 230 people in France in the past two years. (Reporting by Simon Carraud and Gerard Bon; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Hillary Clinton's campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.

Aiming to undermine any argument the Republican nominee may make about a "rigged" election, she hopes to roll up a large electoral vote margin in next month's election. That could repudiate the New York billionaire's message and project a governing mandate after the bitter, divisive presidential race.

Clinton's team is also keeping a close eye on statements by national Republican leaders, predicting they could play an important role in how Trump's accusations of electoral fraud might be perceived. That's according to several Clinton campaign aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss internal strategy.

Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted. But Clinton and her team have begun thinking about how to position their candidate during the post election period. Long one of the country's most polarising political figures, Clinton has begun telling audiences she'll need their help in healing the country.

"I've got to figure out how we heal these divides," she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. "We've got to get together. Maybe that's a role that is meant to be for my presidency if I'm so fortunate to be there."

A refusal by Trump to accept the election results would not only upend a basic tenet of American democracy, but also force Clinton to create a new playbook for handling the transfer of power. And a narrow victory would make it more difficult for her to claim substantial political capital at the start of her administration.

"Donald is still going to whine if he loses. But if the mandate is clear, I don't think many people will follow him," said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton's running mate, in an interview Thursday with CNN's New Day.

While Clinton's campaign has long focused on maintaining pathways to cross the threshold of 270 electoral votes, it's now looking to capture an expanded number of states that could also help determine control of the Senate  including Republican-leaning Arizona.

Polls indicate that Clinton has extended her advantage in several toss-up states during the three fall debates, giving her campaign more confidence. She has maintained stable leads in states such as Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado, as well as a narrow edge in Florida and North Carolina.

"They're looking at it like this: We've got these doors of opportunity open, let's make sure we go down all of them," said Jeremy Bird, the national field director for President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign who is helping Clinton's team.

If Clinton wins the White House, she will enter as one of the least popular first-term presidents in generations. While Trump has suffered from high unfavorable ratings, particularly among women, Clinton has been hampered by polls showing more than half of the public considers her to be untrustworthy.

Some Republicans are already preparing for Trump's defeat, downplaying the significance of a Clinton triumph.

"On 8 November, Clinton's claims of a mandate will fly in the face of reality. She only won by not being Trump," tweeted conservative writer Erick Erickson.

Rolling up a big victory in the Electoral College would let Clinton push back against that notion and assert that voters had rejected what she has called Trump's mean, divisive message.

In a race against Trump and independents Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, Clinton may struggle to reach 50 percent of the vote. But competing in states such as Arizona and pushing for Senate victories in Missouri and Indiana might help Democrats in their quest to recapture the Senate and give her a better chance of surpassing Obama's 332 electoral votes in the 2012 campaign.

Clinton's campaign is making a significant push in Arizona, which offers 11 electoral votes and has stayed in the Republican column in all but one presidential election since 1952. Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to carry the state, in 1996.

First lady Michelle Obama courted voters in Phoenix on Thursday, following appearances by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Clintons' daughter, Chelsea Clinton. The campaign is spending $2 million in advertising and toying with sending Clinton herself there before Election Day.

"I think it's clear that Hillary Clinton has a chance to win Arizona just like her husband did 20 years ago," said Rodd McLeod, a Phoenix-based Democratic strategist who helped Clinton's campaign during the primary.

Two other Republican-leaning states could prove tempting.

Georgia, which has had an influx of diverse voters in the Atlanta area, is considered a future battleground state, with many Democrats comparing it to North Carolina.

Utah overwhelmingly supported Mitt Romney, the nation's first Mormon presidential nominee, with more than 72 percent in 2012. But many of the state's Republicans have abandoned Trump and polls show Clinton and Trump in a tight contest against independent Evan McMullin, a conservative former CIA officer who graduated from Brigham Young University.

If McMullin captures Utah, he will be the first independent presidential candidate to win electoral votes since George Wallace in 1968.
By Thanarith Satrusayang and Amy Sawitta Lefevre

| BANGKOK

BANGKOK A huge crowd of Thais gathered on Saturday outside Bangkok's Grand Palace to sing the royal anthem in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Oct. 13 after seven decades on the throne.The government has declared a year of mourning for the 88-year old king, who was seen as a father figure for generations of people, and, though a constitutional monarch, a calming influence over the country's often turbulent politics.People dressed in black travelled by bus, boat and on foot to Sanam Luang, a tree-lined open space that has been used for royal cremations outside the river-side Grand Palace, bringing the area to gridlock well before the singing.Police said more than 150,000 were in Sanam Luang and side streets with more people expected through the day.The royal anthem, known as Sansoen Phra Barami, is played before the screening of every cinema show in Thailand, when the audience stands to honour the king as pictures of his life and work are shown on the screen.Saturday's singing was recorded for use in cinemas, organisers said."Since he went to heaven we want all Thais to demonstrate their love and sing this song to show before film screenings," Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, a movie director in charge of the filming of the singing, told reporters.

Since the king died, people from across Thailand have flocked to the gilded Grand Palace to pay homage to the only king most of them have ever known, who is lying in state there.Buddhist monks have been chanting prayers beside his coffin in an imposing throne hall, and they will chant for 100 days as part of the funeral rites."I wanted to be here to pay respects to His Majesty," said Haysri Watanakulpipat, 47, who said she drove overnight from the eastern province of Prachinburi.

The military government has not set a date for the royal cremation but it is expected in about a year.The government has said Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will ascend the thrown soon but he had requested that his succession be delayed for an unspecified period, so he can grieve with the people.The government has moved to quash uncertainty surrounding the succession and to reassure the country that the king's death will not derail plans for a return to democratic rule, which include a general election in late 2017.It has stressed business and government should carry on as normal and tourism should not be affected.

Police said they expected more people at Sanam Luang through the day."There are more than 150,000 people here already but it could easily rise to 250,000 by the evening," Thai deputy police spokesman Major General Songpol Wattanachai told Reuters.The Grand Palace is a former royal residence that is used only on ceremonial occasions.The royal anthem was the national anthem of what was then Siam until 1932, when young army officers and bureaucrats staged a coup to end absolute monarchy. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Aukkarapon Niyomat and Cod Satrusayang; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Michelle Nichols

| UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS An international inquiry found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between Russia and western council members over how to respond. The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global chemical weapons watchdog, blamed Syrian government forces for a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in Idlib governorate on March 16, 2015, according to a text of the report seen by Reuters. The third report by the inquiry in August blamed the Syrian government for two chlorine attacks - in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015 - and said Islamic State militants had used sulfur mustard gas.The results set the stage for a Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over how those responsible should be held accountable. Following the submission of the third report, Russia said the conclusions could not be used to impose U.N. sanctions.

The report submitted on Friday said that Syrian government forces had used helicopters to drop barrel bombs, which then released chlorine gas. It found those helicopter flights originated from two bases where the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade, were based.It added that the 618 squadron, with navy helicopters, was also located at one of the bases.However, the inquiry said that it "could not confirm the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time."

But it added that those "with effective control in the military units ... must be held accountable."The report confirmed a Reuters report in September that the inquiry had identified the 253 and 255 squadrons, belonging to the 63rd helicopter brigade.The inquiry focused on nine attacks in seven areas of Syria where a separate OPCW fact-finding investigation had already determined that chemical weapons had likely been used. Eight of the attacks investigated involved the use of chlorine. The inquiry was unable to reach a conclusion in five cases.

Chlorine's use as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013. If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids.Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington. The Security Council backed that deal with a resolution that said in the event of non-compliance, "including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone" in Syria, it would impose measures under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.Chapter 7 deals with sanctions and authorization of military force by the Security Council. The body would need to adopt another resolution to impose targeted sanctions - a travel ban and asset freeze - on people or entities linked to the attacks. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)

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New York: She is as calm and thoughtful as her father is strident and impetuous. She is Ivanka Trump, and the distance she has taken from her father Donald has earned her both the respect of Democrats and the head-scratching of analysts.

So the Republican candidate shocked the nation by saying he might not recognize the results of the presidential election if he loses? Ivanka, the model-turned-business -executive, insists "he'll accept the outcome either way."

So Donald Trump is caught bragging in lewd terms that he can do whatever he wants to women, then insists this was only "locker-room talk"? His daughter calls the comments "inappropriate and offensive" and admits that her father's words can be "uncomfortable for us."

Ivanka, soon to turn 35, is still clearly her father's protegee. He has been unstinting in his praise for his glamorous offspring, a graduate of the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Trump counts on her to attract young and female voters.

In introducing her father at the Republican convention in July, Ivanka bragged about his "strength" and his "kindness and compassion."

But she also knows when to step back.

Having grown up in the spotlight from an early age, at a time when her father's extramarital affairs filled the tabloid press, Ivanka knows how to tend to her own image -- and that of the clothing line that bears her name.

Her Twitter and Instagram accounts help nourish her brand, celebrating women who juggle family life and work with impeccable style  as does a book she plans to publish next year.

They portray an ideal family: her husband Jared Kushner, her "biggest fan," for whom she converted to Judaism, and their three children, aged five, three and six months.

She has drawn on her family experiences to distinguish herself during the campaign, quietly urging her father to make promises far removed from Republican orthodoxy, such as a call for six weeks of paid maternity leave and for childcare tax deductions.
Empire State Development's tourism office is posting weekly fall foliage reports. Below is the report posted Oct. 19, 2016:

Gorgeous Peak and Near Peak Colors Taking Over Hudson Valley, Thousand Islands-Seaway, Greater Niagara and Finger Lakes Regions

Albany, NY  This is the sixth 2016 Fall Foliage Report for New York State. Reports are obtained from field observers and reflect expected color conditions for the coming weekend. Fall Foliage Reports are issued every Wednesday afternoon and are available at www.iloveny.com/foliage.

Vibrant peak and near peak fall foliage is spreading throughout the Hudson Valley, Thousand Islands-Seaway, Greater Niagara and Finger Lakes regions, and continues to make a colorful splash in several other regions, according to observers for Empire State Developments I LOVE NEW YORK program.

Hudson project about 100 percent color change and peak conditions with golden shades of yellow and orange highlighted by deep shades of red leaves of average brilliance. Spotters at Bear Mountain State Park in Rockland County expect 85 percent color change and peak conditions this weekend with bright orange, red and yellow leaves. In Orange County, spotters in Goshen are calling for peak conditions this weekend with nearly complete leaf transition and very brilliant scarlet, yellow, peach, wine, and lime green leaves. The Hudson Valley will see foliage ranging from peak to just past peak this weekend. In Colombia County, spotters reporting fromproject about 100 percent color change and peak conditions with golden shades of yellow and orange highlighted by deep shades of red leaves of average brilliance. Spotters atin Rockland County expect 85 percent color change and peak conditions this weekend with bright orange, red and yellow leaves. In Orange County, spotters inare calling for peak conditions this weekend with nearly complete leaf transition and very brilliant scarlet, yellow, peach, wine, and lime green leaves.

In Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, leaves will be near peak this weekend. Look for up to 60 percent color change in higher elevations and mostly bright predominating colors of yellow, bright blonde, and some deep gold, along with a little orange and some red. In Rockland County, spotters reporting from New City expect foliage to be near peak with 70 percent color change and very brilliant red, purple, yellow and orange leaves. In Orange County, spotters reporting from just north of Newburgh report significant leaf droppage and expect past peak, but still beautiful, leaves for the weekend with bright shades or orange, red and yellow.

Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County expect peak leaves nearly 100 percent changed this weekend with lots of brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange. In Oswego County, spotters expect 80-100 percent color change by the weekend with peak conditions. Trees throughout the back fields and city parks of the county are boasting a full array of autumn colors from dull mustard and pumpkin shades to vibrant purple tones to bright bursts of orange and red. Leaves are now past peak in St. Lawrence County. Expect nearly 100 percent color change this weekend with red, yellow, orange, purple and green leaves of dull to average brilliance. In the Thousand Islands-Seaway region travelers can expect to encounter some really beautiful peak and just past peak foliage. Spotters reporting fromin Jefferson County expect peak leaves nearly 100 percent changed this weekend with lots of brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange. In, spotters expect 80-100 percent color change by the weekend with peak conditions. Trees throughout the back fields and city parks of the county are boasting a full array of autumn colors from dull mustard and pumpkin shades to vibrant purple tones to bright bursts of orange and red. Leaves are now past peak in. Expect nearly 100 percent color change this weekend with red, yellow, orange, purple and green leaves of dull to average brilliance.

Niagara Falls, where you can expect 60 percent change with a wide range of fall colors. In Erie County, spotters in Buffalo expect near peak to peak foliage with 50-60 percent color change. The colors will be closer to 60 percent changed south of Buffalo as you approach ski country; in the city center 40-50 percent change is expected. Look for lots of average to bright leaves of yellow-gold with touches of red, orange and purple. Peak and near peak foliage predominates in the Greater Niagara region this weekend. Peak foliage will arrive in Niagara County and, where you can expect 60 percent change with a wide range of fall colors. In Erie County, spotters inexpect near peak to peak foliage with 50-60 percent color change. The colors will be closer to 60 percent changed south of Buffalo as you approach ski country; in the city center 40-50 percent change is expected. Look for lots of average to bright leaves of yellow-gold with touches of red, orange and purple.

In Wyoming County, spotters reporting from Perry expect near peak to peak leaves this weekend with 70-75 percent color change and bright yellow, red, orange and green leaves. Near peak foliage will be found throughout Orleans County, according to spotters in Albion. Expect around 80 percent color change inland and about 60 percent near Lake Ontario. Look for bright shades of green and gold and orange, along with touches of reds.

Syracuse, in Onondaga County, are taking into account expected wind and rain and predict that this weekend will be the best for leaf peeping in the area. Look for more than 50 percent color change and many shades of yellow, red and purple. You can expect peak foliage conditions in Livingston County, according to spotters in Geneseo. Color change should be about 60 percent as the shades of yellow from the early fall are being overtaken by the more brilliant reds and burgundy. The wide variety of trees standing side by side in various stages of color change is making for striking views in every direction. Steuben County spotters predict just about complete foliage transition and peak leaves in the Corning and Hornell areas, and about 75 percent color change and near peak conditions around Keuka Lake. Look for very intense reds, oranges, golds and yellows. Foliage will be peak in Tompkins County this weekend, according to spotters in Ithaca. Look for red, green and brown leaves of average brilliance, along with many shades of yellow and orange. Cortland County leaf peepers expect peak foliage this weekend with 75 percent color change and bright orange and green leaves. Many areas of the Finger Lakes region will be awash in gorgeous peak and near peak foliage this weekend. Spotters in, in Onondaga County, are taking into account expected wind and rain and predict that this weekend will be the best for leaf peeping in the area. Look for more than 50 percent color change and many shades of yellow, red and purple. You can expect peak foliage conditions in Livingston County, according to spotters in. Color change should be about 60 percent as the shades of yellow from the early fall are being overtaken by the more brilliant reds and burgundy. The wide variety of trees standing side by side in various stages of color change is making for striking views in every direction. Steuben County spotters predict just about complete foliage transition and peak leaves in theandareas, and about 75 percent color change and near peak conditions around Keuka Lake. Look for very intense reds, oranges, golds and yellows. Foliage will be peak in Tompkins County this weekend, according to spotters in. Look for red, green and brown leaves of average brilliance, along with many shades of yellow and orange.leaf peepers expect peak foliage this weekend with 75 percent color change and bright orange and green leaves.

Spotters in Watkins Glen in Schuyler County predict 75-85 percent color change and near peak to peak conditions this weekend with average to bright yellow, orange and red leaves. Tioga County spotters based in Owego are calling for near peak foliage with 70 percent color change this weekend. The vibrant predominating colors include red, yellow, brown and green. Look for near peak colors in Ontario County, according to spotters in Canandaigua. Color change should be around 85 percent with average to bright shades of yellow and orange, along with some bright reds striking just the right contrast. In Cayuga County, foliage spotters reporting from Auburn are calling for near peak leaves this weekend, with brilliant shades of orange, yellow and red, along with some green. Spotters in Rochester are calling for leaves at midpoint of change with 50-60 percent transition and mostly muted yellow leaves, along with some orange, red and brown, and much green. Leaves appear more brilliant in the sunlight. Spotters checking in from the Brighton area of the city expect 50-55 percent color change and midpoint conditions with a great mix of trees with leaves of all colors, including yellow and green-yellow, russet and orange and red. About 45-50 percent of trees remain green.

In Wayne County, spotters predict 40-50 percent color change and midpoint conditions this weekend with yellow and green leaves of muted to average brilliance. Colors are coming on strong in Yates County where foliage will be at midpoint of change this weekend. Spotters reporting from Penn Yan predict 50 percent color transition and very brilliant leaves of orange, yellow and red, with some patches of dull brown. In Seneca County, foliage will be transitioning from the early stages to midpoint of change. Expect to see 45 percent color change and average to bright yellow, orange and red leaves emerging from the green. In Chemung County, Elmira-based spotters expect past peak conditions this weekend with 70 percent color change and muted gold and green leaves.

Sullivan County. Look for nearly complete color change and brilliant colorful cornucopias of yellow, orange and red sprinkled with green. Spotters reporting from Kingston in Ulster County predict peak foliage this weekend with 80 percent color change. Predominating colors include yellow, deep burgundy and hints of brighter orange, and some salmon color. Very little green remains as a backdrop. At Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, foliage will be just past peak. The ride up to the mountain from Kingston still has some beautiful leaf peeping opportunities with leaves of orange, gold, red and yellow. The Catskills region will see a mix of peak and past peak foliage this weekend. Peak colors should hold on through the weekend in. Look for nearly complete color change and brilliant colorful cornucopias of yellow, orange and red sprinkled with green. Spotters reporting fromin Ulster County predict peak foliage this weekend with 80 percent color change. Predominating colors include yellow, deep burgundy and hints of brighter orange, and some salmon color. Very little green remains as a backdrop. Atin, foliage will be just past peak. The ride up to the mountain from Kingston still has some beautiful leaf peeping opportunities with leaves of orange, gold, red and yellow.

Spotters in Catskill, in Greene County, expect just past peak leaves this weekend with still extremely vibrant shades of red, yellow and orange. Foliage above 2000 in the county is now past peak; look for brilliant red and yellow leaves. Delaware County will be past peak. Look for yellow and gold leaves of muted brilliance.

Malone, in Franklin County. Spotters reporting from the Franklin County Historical & Museum Society expect nearly 100 percent color change and very brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange. Spotters in northern Warren County expect peak to just past peak foliage for the weekend, with fiery yellows, bright orange and red leaves covering the mountains with color. The southern part of the county will be near peak to peak with beautiful yellows, oranges, reds and muted rusts. Spotters in Crown Point in Essex County expect peak to just past peak foliage this weekend with nearly complete color change and average to vibrant shades of yellow and orange accompanied by some bright sparks of red. Foliage in the Adirondacks will be mostly past peak by the weekend. Peak color should hang on until the weekend in, in Franklin County. Spotters reporting from theexpect nearly 100 percent color change and very brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange. Spotters in northernexpect peak to just past peak foliage for the weekend, with fiery yellows, bright orange and red leaves covering the mountains with color. The southern part of the county will be near peak to peak with beautiful yellows, oranges, reds and muted rusts. Spotters inin Essex County expect peak to just past peak foliage this weekend with nearly complete color change and average to vibrant shades of yellow and orange accompanied by some bright sparks of red.

Saranac Lake in Franklin County predict just past peak foliage for the weekend with nearly 100 percent color change and shades of gold, yellow and orange beginning to predominate the fading shades of red. Foliage is past peak in the Franklin County areas of Tupper Lake and Mt. Arab. With 90-95 percent color transition, leaves are fading and a bronze, copper and ginger haze predominates the landscape with the sporadic hues of canary, maize, pumpkin, and mimosa. With above average temperatures and no heavy frost predicted, it should be another good weekend for leaf peeping. Foliage in Lake Placid is now past peak, however there are still many vivid orange and gold leaves that make for a beautiful backdrop. At Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, foliage is now past peak, but there are still lots of golden and burnt orange leaves and the underbrush has just turned. Spotters reporting fromin Franklin County predict just past peak foliage for the weekend with nearly 100 percent color change and shades of gold, yellow and orange beginning to predominate the fading shades of red. Foliage is past peak in the Franklin County areas ofand. With 90-95 percent color transition, leaves are fading and a bronze, copper and ginger haze predominates the landscape with the sporadic hues of canary, maize, pumpkin, and mimosa. With above average temperatures and no heavy frost predicted, it should be another good weekend for leaf peeping. Foliage inis now past peak, however there are still many vivid orange and gold leaves that make for a beautiful backdrop. Atin, foliage is now past peak, but there are still lots of golden and burnt orange leaves and the underbrush has just turned.

Hamilton County spotters reporting from Indian Lake report that foliage will be past peak this weekend with about 50-60 percent of the leaves remaining on trees. Look for average shades of orange and yellow, along with some remaining red. Spotters reporting from Speculator expect nearly complete color change and past peak conditions with red, yellow, burgundy and orange leaves of average brilliance. In Herkimer County, foliage is past peak in Old Forge. Look for 90 percent color change this weekend with bright yellow and gold leaves along with shades of red and orange. Leaves that have fallen are creating a colorful carpet on the trails in the forest.

Northville and Caroga Lake predict peak foliage for the weekend with nearly 100 percent leaf change and bright shades of orange, red and yellow, along with rusty browns and bronzes. In Schenectady County, expect peak colors this weekend, including bright oranges and reds, along with radiant pinks and purples. Conditions are some of the best seen in years according to spotters in Glenville. Montgomery County will be near peak this weekend with many shades of gold, yellow and red leaves. In the Capital-Saratoga region, Fulton County spotters reporting fromandpredict peak foliage for the weekend with nearly 100 percent leaf change and bright shades of orange, red and yellow, along with rusty browns and bronzes. In Schenectady County, expect peak colors this weekend, including bright oranges and reds, along with radiant pinks and purples. Conditions are some of the best seen in years according to spotters inwill be near peak this weekend with many shades of gold, yellow and red leaves.

Thacher Park in Voorheesville predict just past peak leaves this weekend with lots of bright shades of yellow and red. Spotters in Rensselaer County predict just past peak foliage for the weekend. Look for 65-75 percent color change with about 25-35 percent leaf fall. Spotters note that this season has seen a lot of remarkable foliage and this weekend should be full of bright colors from orange to red, to yellow and green. Yellow predominates among the trees on higher elevations and some green trees and bushes remain. In Albany County, spotters atinpredict just past peak leaves this weekend with lots of bright shades of yellow and red. Spotters inpredict just past peak foliage for the weekend. Look for 65-75 percent color change with about 25-35 percent leaf fall. Spotters note that this season has seen a lot of remarkable foliage and this weekend should be full of bright colors from orange to red, to yellow and green. Yellow predominates among the trees on higher elevations and some green trees and bushes remain.

Chittenango project peak leaves for the weekend with 70-75 percent leaf change and vibrant shades of yellow, red and orange. Leaves will be past peak in Chenango County, according to spotters in Norwich. Look for near complete color change with bright yellow, red and orange leaves. Spotters in Binghamton, in Broome County, expect just past peak foliage this weekend with 75-80 percent color change and bright orange, yellow and red leaves predominating. Color change is complete throughout Oneida County and most areas can expect just past peak conditions this weekend and great colors, according to spotters in Utica. Look for various shades of vibrant oranges with a bit of bright red to dominate the color scheme, blending in with muted shades of yellows, gold and blush. The leaves are gently transitioning to past peak in many areas of the Central New York region. In Madison County, spotters inproject peak leaves for the weekend with 70-75 percent leaf change and vibrant shades of yellow, red and orange. Leaves will be past peak in Chenango County, according to spotters in. Look for near complete color change with bright yellow, red and orange leaves. Spotters in, in Broome County, expect just past peak foliage this weekend with 75-80 percent color change and bright orange, yellow and red leaves predominating. Color change is complete throughout Oneida County and most areas can expect just past peak conditions this weekend and great colors, according to spotters in. Look for various shades of vibrant oranges with a bit of bright red to dominate the color scheme, blending in with muted shades of yellows, gold and blush.

Herkimer County spotters in Mohawk expect just about all of the leaves to have changed color by the weekend. Look for bright just past peak leaves of red, orange and gold. Spotters checking in from Cooperstown in Otsego County expect foliage to be just past peak this weekend, but beautiful nevertheless. Look for nearly 100 percent color change and bright shades of yellow, red and orange. Schoharie County will also be past peak this weekend.

Chautauqua expect peak foliage with about 100 percent color change and brilliant orange, red and yellow leaves. In Cattaraugus County, foliage spotters checking in from Little Valley expect past peak foliage this weekend with approximately 75 percent color change and shades of yellow, rust, orange and red of average brilliance predominating. Leaves are past peak at Allegany State Park. Look for 80 percent color change and lots of yellow, orange and red leaves of average brilliance. The park will still have some trees in the process of changing this weekend, and it should be another excellent weekend of fall colors. Visitors to the Chautauqua-Allegheny region this weekend can expect a mix of peak and past peak leaves. In Chautauqua County, spotters inexpect peak foliage with about 100 percent color change and brilliant orange, red and yellow leaves. In Cattaraugus County, foliage spotters checking in fromexpect past peak foliage this weekend with approximately 75 percent color change and shades of yellow, rust, orange and red of average brilliance predominating. Leaves are past peak at. Look for 80 percent color change and lots of yellow, orange and red leaves of average brilliance. The park will still have some trees in the process of changing this weekend, and it should be another excellent weekend of fall colors.

East Meadow predict 60 percent color change with yellow, orange, red, purple and green leaves of average brilliance. In Suffolk County, spotters reporting from Tanger Outlets in Riverhead expect 40 percent color change and midpoint conditions with yellow, orange, red, purple and green leaves of average brilliance. Leaves on Long Island will be at midpoint of change this weekend. Nassau County spotters inpredict 60 percent color change with yellow, orange, red, purple and green leaves of average brilliance. In Suffolk County, spotters reporting frominexpect 40 percent color change and midpoint conditions with yellow, orange, red, purple and green leaves of average brilliance.

Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx expect just 15 percent change with some pops of bright color. Predominating colors are mostly green with a few lighter greens, dark yellows, dark reds and browns. Foliage change is still in the early stages in New York City , where spotters atinexpect just 15 percent change with some pops of bright color. Predominating colors are mostly green with a few lighter greens, dark yellows, dark reds and browns.

Volunteer Leaf Peepers

The I LOVE NY team of volunteer Leaf Peepers, located throughout the states 11 vacation regions, are tasked with keeping track of the color change in their area as leaves progress each week. The information is then used for fall foliage reports, which are posted online each week, featuring a detailed map of color change throughout New York State, vantage points for viewing spectacular foliage, suggested autumn getaways and weekly event listings in each region.

About Fall Foliage

The weekly foliage report, a detailed map charting fall color progress, vantage points for viewing spectacular foliage, suggested autumn getaways and weekly event listings are available by visiting the I LOVE NEW YORK web site at www.iloveny.com/foliage . Reports are also available by dialing, toll-free, 800/CALL-NYS (800/225-5697) from anywhere in the U.S., its territories and Canada. To learn how to become a volunteer Leaf Peeper, e-mail your name, address and phone number to foliage@esd.ny.gov . Fall foliage reports are also available by dialing, toll-free, 800-CALL-NYS.
By Shwe Yee Saw Myint

| NAYPYITAW

NAYPYITAW Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday made a pitch to foreign investors, promising a clearer legal framework and opportunities in untapped economic sectors, two weeks after U.S. President Barack Obama lifted most sanctions on the country.Since taking power in April, Suu Kyi has been criticized for delays in forming a commission to approve foreign investment projects, overzealous scrutiny of construction sites in the country's largest city, and an economic plan that lacked details.That, combined with a big political shake-up after the first democratic elections in decades, meant foreigners invested only $380 million from April to July, down from $2.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.The situation changed in September, when Suu Kyi visited Washington, where Obama announced his intention to remove economic sanctions. Suu Kyi quickly followed with a push to pass foreign investment law and other necessary regulations."Our government noticed particular criticism from the public that an economic growth of the country is slowing," said Suu Kyi at a meeting with foreign donors, diplomats and investors in the capital Naypyitaw.

"I would like to stress that no one but our government is more eager to achieve progress, because economic development would help us establish democratic institutions here, said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.As part of her economic offensive this summer, Suu Kyi has embarked on a series of high-profile foreign trips, promoting Myanmar as an investment destination in China, Thailand, the United States and India. A trip to Japan is due in early November.Finance and development minister Kyaw Win, also speaking at the event, sought to reassure foreign investors by pledging they would be treated equally with local companies and will not face arbitrary expropriation of businesses or licenses.

Nearly 50 years of economic mismanagement by a military dictatorship has shattered the country's roads, airports and electricity supply. This means there is little homegrown industry and Myanmar's recent annual economic growth of 8 percent of GDP has been mostly fueled by imports.This has meant a widening trade and current account deficits that have pressured the local currency, the Myanmar kyat. We need to push trade by increasing exports and reducing imports, by creating import substitution industry," said Kyaw Win.

He said it was important to develop domestic production through small- and medium-enterprises in manufacturing, promising technical and financial assistance.Kyaw Win also promised a crackdown on smuggling of goods that has seriously depleted tax revenues. Myanmar's central government has little or no control over large parts of the northeastern border with China and Thailand where ethnic armed groups control cross-border trade."Illegal trade is prevalent in Myanmar. The volume of illegal trade is higher than that of legal trade. So we are trying to stop it," the minister said. (Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Jammu: Escalating cross-border firing, Pakistan Rangers overnight pounded border hamlets and outposts with mortar shells and opened fire from automatic weapons in RS Pura sector of Jammu district.

"There has been heavy firing and mortar shelling along the IB in RS Pura belt during the night", Inspector General of BSF, DK Uphadayaya said on Saturday.

The fresh firing and shelling comes after Pakistan Rangers violated the ceasefire six times on Friday. Seven Pakistan Rangers and a terrorist were killed and three others seriously injured in retaliatory firing by BSF troops along the International border.

The IG said the areas which came under fire along the IB include Karotana Khurd and Abdullian.

"We have asked the authorities to ensure safety of the people as firing and shelling exchanges have increased. We do not want civilians to suffer", the IG said.

He said Pakistan Rangers tried to snipe at a jawan on a Observation tower but he jumped from it. The jawan injured his feet in the process.

Due to firing and shelling in the border areas, over 1,000 people living close to the IB in Hiranagar and other places have migrated to safety.

"Apart from firing, Pakistan Rangers fired 60 and 81 mm mortar bomb shells intermittently from 11 pm and it continued till early morning in Bidipur and Karotana in Suchetgarh sub-sector", Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh said.

He said that due to firing and shelling four cattle were killed.

The DC said people have been advised to stay indoors during the day time also as there is likelihood of shelling even during the day.

"Officers have been told to close all the schools in villages which are vulnerable as a precautionary measure", DC said.

As many as 50 to 80 schools in these border areas have been directed to be shut by the district administration as a precautionary measure, DC said.

Pakistan troops had yesterday violated the ceasefire six times.

Pakistani troops targeted five sectors of RS Pura (Jammu), Hiranagar (Kathua), Samba, Pargwal (Jammu) along IB and Rajouri and Mendhar (Poonch) along LoC by resorting to small arms firing and mortar shelling resulting in serious injuries to a BSF jawan.

There have been over 37 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by Army troops in PoK to dismantle terror launching pads.
By Zainullah Stanekzai

| LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan Afghanistan's Taliban have released drone footage showing a suicide bomber driving a Humvee into a police base in Helmand province and blowing it up this month.An Afghan government official said the video posted online appeared to be authentic.The use of video taken by a drone is unusual for the Taliban but more common among the more media-savvy Islamist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria.The video, 23 minutes long, begins with the purported suicide bomber speaking in front of the Humvee, a vehicle provided to Afghan forces by American advisers."This is the happiest moment of my life," the man says, dressed in a black turban and white tunic.

"I am telling the Afghan stooge forces to repent and join the Taliban or we will use this equipment the foreigners gave them, against them and they can't do anything about it."Later, a drone-mounted camera silently films the Humvee speeding towards a compound.Facing no apparent resistance, the Humvee barrels into the middle of the base, detonating in flames in front of a large building and producing a cloud of smoke and dust, obscuring the entire compound.

A government official in Helmand said the district police chief and several other officials were killed in the attack on October 3, when Taliban militants overran much of Nawa district.The official, who declined to be named, said the video depicting the attack appeared to be authentic.

The video's producers used graphics of target-like overlays to give the footage a video game-like feel, an effect used by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.U.S.-led forces have often used military-grade drones against the Taliban in Afghanistan's long war since 2001. Commercial drones favoured by hobbyists and video producers are far simpler and cheaper.In, June the Afghan government banned media from using camera drones near sensitive government sites on security grounds. (Writing by Josh Smith; editing by Andrew Roche)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
BANGKOK Thailands government met with representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from Thai hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many Thais look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king.King Bhumibol Adulyadejs death on Oct. 13 has thrown the country of 67 million into mourning. It has also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who say they will punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for Thailand.Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong said he met with Google representatives in Bangkok on Friday. Google affirmed in the meeting that it would continue to help the government remove content from YouTube, a Google subsidiary, that it deemed offensive, he said."If any website is inappropriate they said to get in touch with them and inform them of the URL and the time the content was found," Prajin told reporters.That conforms with Google's practice around the world, Alphbet Inc's Google says."We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world and we continue to operate in line with those policies," a Google spokesperson in California told Reuters on Friday. "When we are notified of content that is illegal through official processes, we will restrict it in the country where its illegal after a thorough review."

NAMED AND SHAMED

Thailand's military government said on Tuesday it was tracking people suspected of insulting the monarchy following the kings death and would ask other countries to extradite them.Some critics of the monarchy living abroad have been named and shamed in Thai language web forums. Outside the world of the web, some Thais who have chosen not to wear black, the official colour of mourning, have been publicly jeered at.

Thailand's military government has tried to seek tighter censorship of social media from Facebook, Google and Japan-based instant messenger service LINE since it came to power in 2014 following a coup it said was necessary to restore peace to the country following months of unrest. Thailand's royal insult law, known as Article 112 in the criminal code, makes it a crime to insult the king, queen, heir or regent. Those who are found guilty face up to 15 years in prison. The law has curtailed public discussion about the monarchy's role and its future following the death of King Bhumibol who ruled for seven decades and was seen as a unifying figure.

Since taking power in 2014, the junta, known officially as the National Council for Peace and Order, has taken a tough stance on dissenters. It has come under strong criticism from the international community for lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by military courts against civilians for violating the lese-majeste law since the junta took power. The military government has repeatedly rejected accusations of rights violations.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak. Additional reporting by Jonathan Weber in San Francisco and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore.; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre.; Editing by Bill Tarrant.)

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By Emily Stephenson

| GETTSYBURG, Pa.

GETTSYBURG, Pa. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised on Saturday to foil a proposed deal for AT&T Inc to buy Time Warner Inc if he wins the Nov. 8 election, arguing it was an example of a "power structure" rigged against both him and voters. Trump listed his policy plans for the first 100 days of his presidency in a campaign speech in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but also defiantly raised personal grievances, describing how he would address them from the White House.Moments after promising Americans that he represented a break from the status quo, he promised to sue a number of women who have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault, calling them liars. And he added a new threat to his repeated criticisms of U.S. media companies, which he says cover his campaign unfairly to help Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

"They're trying desperately to suppress my vote and the voice of the American people," he told supporters in his speech."As an example of the power structure I'm fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few," Trump said. He also said he would look at "breaking" up Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal in 2013.

"Deals like this destroy democracy," he said.Although Trump, a wealthy New York businessman, described these plans at least in part as a response to his belief such organizations had treated him unfairly, he argued that less wealthy voters had even greater cause to worry.

"When a simple phone call placed with the biggest newspapers or television networks gets them wall to wall coverage with virtually no fact-checking whatsoever, here is why this is relevant to you," he said. "If they can fight somebody like me who has unlimited resources to fight back, just look at what they could do to you, your jobs, your security, your education, your health care."Trump is trailing Clinton in most polls - although he has narrowed the gap according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. Clinton maintained her commanding lead in the race to win the Electoral College, however, and claim the U.S. presidency, a Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project poll released on Saturday showed. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson and Jonathan Allen; editing by Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
ANKARA Turkey respects every nation's geographical boundaries, even if it "weighs on our hearts", Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in what appeared to be a reference to the Iraqi city of Mosul, once a part of the Ottoman empire.His comment came after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declined an offer from Turkey to take part in the battle to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul. Turkey has wanted to take part in the battle. It still sees Mosul as firmly within its sphere of influence."Some ignorant people come and say, 'What relation could you have with Iraq?' Those geographies that we talk about now are part of our soul," Erdogan said in a speech.

"Even if it weighs on our hearts, we respect every nation's geographical borders."

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Guadalupe Manrikez sums up the feeling of many in the small US border town of Nogales, when asked about Donald Trump's promise to build a giant wall dividing the country from Mexico.

"He is cuckoo," blurted out the 32-year-old Manrikez, who works at a perfume shop just steps away from the border between Arizona and Mexico.

The Republican presidential candidate's vow to build a "big, beautiful, powerful wall"  and force Mexico to pay for it  has been a centerpiece of his campaign.

But for many like Manrikez on the frontlines of Americas battle to curb illegal immigration, the idea elicits chuckles and is entirely implausible.

"This whole town is Mexican, all the families here are Mexican and everyone thinks he and his ideas are a joke," she told AFP, launching into a diatribe in Spanish against the billionaire businessman.

Many residents pointed to an 18-foot (5.5-meter) metal barrier that already separates Nogales from its sister city in Mexico as an example of why Trump's wall is unlikely to discourage migrants or drug smugglers headed to the US.

"We already have a wall here and people still manage to cross," said Adriana Ortega, an employee at a bridal dress shop that overlooks the border. "A lot of people manage to climb over the wall within sight of border patrol agents and don't even get caught.

"So the solution is not to build more fences, but to have more enforcement."

The barrier in Nogales, a town of some 21,000 mainly Hispanic residents living in the US legally, cuts across the downtown area and snakes into the desert hills surrounding the city on either side.

And like other towns scattered along the almost 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) US-Mexico frontier, the economy in the American side of Nogales is deeply intertwined with that of the Mexican part of the city.

"Most of the shops here rely on customers from Mexico," said Ortega, whose store features elaborate wedding gowns priced between $600 and $3,000. "And right now we are suffering because the economy in Mexico is down."

'Wall won't stop them'

A recent poll conducted by Spanish-language network Univision, the Dallas Morning News and Arizona State University's news channel showed that the overwhelming majority of residents in communities along both sides of the US-Mexico border  86 percent in Mexico and 72 percent in the US  are opposed to the construction of a wall between their countries.

The majority also feel the tone of the presidential campaign could hurt relations with America's third-biggest goods trading partner.

Mexico is a key customer for the four border states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Everything from cars, computers and machinery transit the border daily, and millions of jobs on both sides depend on that relationship.

For Irwin Perez, who works at a Mexican restaurant in Nogales that is popular with locals, including border patrol agents, Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric harks back to a dark time in history.

"Even though he's not calling for Mexicans to be put in gas chambers or labor camps, he's still calling for families to be deported and these are people who pay taxes and have established roots in the US," Perez said, referring to the 11 million undocumented workers, many of them Mexican, who Trump has vowed to deport.

"These people are part of the US workforce, doing jobs that Americans won't even touch," added Perez, 26, who was born in the US to Mexican parents. "They are fleeing persecution in their country, poverty and even a 2,000-foot wall won't stop them.

"But sadly, Trump has already built so many walls just with his words."

Ignore rhetoric

Perez, like more than a dozen residents and business people interviewed in Nogales, said he has stopped paying attention to the inflammatory campaign talk and had little faith that Trump, or for that matter his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, were committed to fixing a broken immigration system.

"I pretty much don't listen to anything they say anymore," said Javier Mayer, manager at a produce company that employs about 50 people, mainly Hispanics. "What Trump is proposing is logistically impossible.

"He can't kick every Mexican out of the country."
By Cris Chinaka

| HARARE

HARARE Zimbabwe's veteran President Robert Mugabe on Saturday avoided the controversial subject of his future as he buried a senior political colleague and friend who had been pressing him to retire.Mugabe, 92 and one of Africa's longest serving leaders, is eligible to seek re-election at the end of his current five-year term in 2018, but has increasingly looked frail, stoking a scramble in his ruling ZANU-PF party to succeed him.In an hour-long speech on Saturday at the state funeral of Cephas Msipa, a former cabinet minister and ZANU-PF member, Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, largely dwelt on his comrade's role in the 1960s-70s liberation struggle.Msipa, regarded as one of Mugabe's closest friends, died aged 85 after retiring from government about 10 years ago. In recent years, he told media he had tried but failed to persuade Mugabe to step down."I feel sorry for him as a friend. He really needs a rest. It's good for him, good for his family and good for the party," Msipa said in a newspaper interview earlier this year.

Mugabe has never publicly commented on his friend's views.But on Saturday he told thousands of mourners that "Msipa was always an honest man and he always spoke his mind fearlessly."Splits have developed in Mugabe's ZANU-PF over who will take over from him, with one faction said to be manoeuvring to impose his wife Grace as a possible successor against Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a longtime political fixer who has the backing of war veterans.

In an unprecedented attack in July this year, the veterans of Zimbabwe's war against white minority rule called Mugabe a dictator, highlighting rising tension over the succession issue and mounting economic woes which critics blame on his mismanagement.Political analysts say Mugabe has manipulated Zimbabwean politics to tighten his grip on power and set himself up as a president for life.

He is however facing increasing dissent, with opposition and social movements staging a series of protests in recent months.With speculation also rising over his health, Mugabe has denied suffering from prostate cancer, and says his regular visits to Singapore are for routine medical checks and eyesight problems.Analysts say Zimbabwe could suffer political instability if Mugabe dies in office before the matter of his successor is resolved. (Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa/Jeremy Gaunt)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
AUBURN  Umbrellas and blue balloons in hand, more than a dozen elementary school students circled Hoopes Park in Auburn Saturday morning in an effort to raise school funds while supporting local law enforcement.

The event  JPII Walks for the Blue  was hosted by John Paul II Academy, a small independent school that opened its doors in Auburn in 2013 after SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic School announced its closing.

Still, since the school receives no funding from New York State or the Diocese, it relies on tuition and fundraising events to keep the former Ukrainian Catholic school community alive.

That's why John Paul II's parent team got together this summer to discuss different fundraising opportunities in the area. And, in light of the attacks against police in Dallas and Baton Rouge at the time, they decided to do something more.

Amber Shutter, the president of the parent team at John Paul II, said a parent reached out to the Auburn Police Department about doing a walk to honor local officers. And on Oct. 22, despite the wet and windy weather, several John Paul II families and friends  including Auburn police and Cayuga County Probation officers  gathered at Hoopes Park to walk for the men and women in blue.

"Our goal was to raise funds for the school, but also to raise awareness for our local police department, especially during these times right now," Shutter said. "We just want to get the children out doing something active in support of the community."
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Chosen People Ministries representative to speak

JEROME  Michael Cohen, a representative of Chosen People Ministries will be speaking at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 at Life Church of the Magic Valley in Jerome. Michael will present a message on The Fall Feasts of Israel. Chosen People Ministries is more than 100 years old and was founded in 1894 by Leopold Cohn, a Hungarian rabbi who believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. Chosen People Ministries has grown into a worldwide ministry with outreach centers in Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Ukraine and the United States.

This presentation is free and open to the public. The church is at 425 East Nez Perce Ave. in Jerome. For more information, call 208-324-5876.

MVUUF plans Oktoberfest celebration

TWIN FALLS  Magic Valley Unitarian Universalists invite the public to a potluck gathering from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, October 22 at the Vendor Blender. There will be German foods such as sauerkraut, potato salad and pretzels and brats. There will also be apple juice and hot cider. Guests are asked to bring a dish to share. Guests may also bring beer or wine.

Unitarians will discuss the field effect at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, which refers to a level of consciousness or energetic signature that is attached to a person or a place. In the Hindu teaching called Darshan, one receives a blessing when in the presence of a saint. Mother Teresa, for example, was a saint who embodied the field effect of love. To be in her presence was to be blessed with this energy. Mother Teresa did not come to embody love by accident rather she focused upon love on a continual basis until it became an integral part of her being.

The Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets at the Vendor Blender, 588 Addison Ave. W., in Twin Falls.

XrossWay hosts potluck

TWIN FALLS  XrossWay will host its annual circuit Reformation Service at 4 p.m. Oct. 30. The worship will include other Lutheran brothers and sisters in Christ and celebrating the work of Martin Luther. Following the service, there will be a potluck. Please bring your favorite German food or beer. Chris Simmons will teaching authentic German polka dancing.

Burley Methodist Women schedule Harvest Dinner and Bazar

BURLEY  The Burley United Methodist Women will hold its annual Harvest Dinner and Bazaar from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at 450 E. 27th St. in Burley. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. The meal is pork loin roast and desserts. Cost is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 4 through 12. Children 3 and younger are admitted for free.

Crossroads United Methodist Turkey Dinner

KIMBERLY  Crossroads United Methodist Church is hosting its 85th Annual Turkey Dinner and Country Store from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. A donation of $10 per adult and $5 per child younger than 9 is suggested for sit-down dinners. Take-out dinners are available for a $10 per meal donation. Advance tickets are available from the church office at 131 Syringa Ave. in Kimberly. Information: 208-423-4311.

Doctrine of Discovery presentation at Ascension

TWIN FALLS  Obtaining a clearer view of history helps us to examine mistakes and to impact our future. The Doctrine of Discovery refers to the historical documents and policies of church and state, which legalized the violent and unjust settlement of many areas of the world. In 2012, the United Nations and World Council of Churches accepted a resolution to repudiate this doctrine, which flies in the face of Christian belief. A presentation addressing this resolution will take place at Ascension Episcopal Church from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Lunch will be provided. The program and lunch are free and open to the public.

Ascensions worship services of Holy Communion with the Rev. Neal Collins will be held at 8 and 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23. Child care is available from 9 to 11:15 a.m. A fellowship coffee hour is held after the 10 a.m. worship service.

The second in the series of discussions, Being in the Present  Considering the Future, will take place in Ascension Cafe from 9:10 to 9:55 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23. The topic this week is What is of Value and Vision?

On Wednesdays, Knit-Us-Together, the handwork group, meets from 1 to 3 p.m. All are welcome for worship, study and fellowship at Ascension.

Ascension Episcopal Church, 371 Eastland Drive N., is handicapped accessible. For more information, go to episcopaltwinfalls.org or call 208-733-1248.

First Baptist Church hosts Happy Harvest Festival

TWIN FALLS  First Baptist Church will hold its 13th annual Happy Harvest Festival from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at 910 Shoshone St. E. The festival will include a free hot dog and chili dinner, games, prizes, music, crafts and treats. Admission per family is one bag of candy and one small toy to fit in a shoe box gift. Information: 208-733-2936.

Public invited to Operation Christmas Child packing party

TWIN FALLS  An Operation Christmas Child packing party will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 5 at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 910 Shoshone St. E. The public is invited to join the group to help fill more than 1,000 shoe box gifts to send to children around the world for Christmas. A free lunch will be provided for those participating. Information: 208-358-0991.

To submit information about church events and news. Contact Matt Gooch at mgooch@magicvalley.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday for publication on the Saturday religion page. Please insert Church News in the email subject line.
BURLEY  A man who went on a burglary spree that included the homes of a judge and a probation officer says he stole to cope with depression.

Ruben Ortiz Jr., 19, told pre-sentence investigators he got a huge adrenaline rush along with paranoia  both of those make me feel good, said McCord Larsen, a Cassia County deputy prosecutor.

Bonneville County District Judge Jon Shindurling sentenced Ortiz Monday to serve three to 10 years in prison for five felony burglary charges.

Ortiz started burglarizing homes shortly after he was released from a therapeutic program run by the Idaho Department of Correction known as a rider. He had been sentenced to the program because of previous burglary charges. He told investigators he couldnt afford his prescription medications when released, became stuck in depression and began stealing.

Ortizs defense attorney, Clayne Zollinger, asked that Ortiz be put on another rider, but the judge disagreed.

After three weeks, you engaged in dangerous criminal activity that could lead to people getting hurt, including both the perpetrator and the victim, Shindurling said during Mondays sentencing.

What happened that night changed our lives permanently, said Cassia County Magistrate Judge Blaine Cannon, one of the victims. I felt completely powerless and helpless knowing the defendant and his accomplice were standing in the bedroom within three feet of our sleeping baby and there was nothing we could do about it.

Cannon said Ortiz and his accomplice, 18-year-old Ramon Flores Jr., entered his home at 3 a.m. and came into the bedroom where he, his wife and son were sleeping. After Cannon grabbed a rolling pin to defend the family, he joined his wife and son in the bathroom to wait for police.

Cannon said he now keeps a gun and has installed a security system.

I want to move, he said. I dont like the thought that I live in a neighborhood where this happens.

Ortiz said he would choose houses randomly. Once I picked a house, Id start stealing and hopefully get something, he said. Some houses Id go in and do nothing

After break ins, he said, he would go home and sleep.

Prosecutors said Ortiz has no insights into how his crimes affected others.

There is no doubt in the states mind that he is an addict and is addicted to that crime, Larsen said.

Someone who enters a home to commit a crime when they know people could be there cross a different kind of boundary, Judge Shindurling said.

Its a certain kind of individual that is willing to take advantage of their fellow beings for the purpose of satisfying their own desires, he said.

Ortiz was also sentenced to pay restitution to two families in the amounts of $520.97 and $429.00.

Under the plea agreement, two other counts of burglary were dismissed.

Flores, the accomplice, was sentenced to a rider but could spend two and a half to six and a half years in prison if he fails the program.
TWIN FALLS  A crash sparked a car fire Friday evening that blocked the westbound lane of Pole Line Road East, just east of the Magic Valley Mall, for about two hours.

About 6:10 p.m. Friday, a car crashed into the back of a pickup truck at 1881 Pole Line Road E., sparking a fire that burned the engine compartment of the car, Twin Falls Fire Department Battalion Chief Mitchell Brooks said.

It took emergency crews about two hours to clear the fire and reopen the westbound lane, Brooks said. The eastbound lane remained open.

There were at least two people in the car that burned, but they were not injured, Brooks said. But the car is a "total loss."
TWIN FALLS  A Nevada man facing trial this week stemming from a deadly January 2015 crash on U.S. 93 was acquitted by a jury on a felony charge but found guilty of a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter.

Richard Sim Nicholson, 47, of Henderson, Nev., was accused of causing a head-on crash Jan. 9, 2015, that killed 18-year-old Hollister resident Michael L. Reichlein.

On Wednesday afternoon, after a two-day trial in Twin Falls County District Court, a jury acquitted Nicholson of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, but convicted him of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with less than gross negligence.

Nicholson faces up to a year in county jail and a fine up to $2,000.

Prosecutors alleged that Nicholson was driving faster than the speed limit and driving northbound in the southbound lanes of U.S. 93 south of Twin Falls when he caused the fatal crash. But prosecutors and Nicholsons defense attorney, Doug Nelson, had agreed before the trial began that neither Nicholson nor Reichlein had alcohol or non-prescription drugs in their system, and neither man was texting or talking on the phone.

Nicholson was charged with the crime last December, nearly a year after the crash.

The difference between the felony charge and the misdemeanor charge in this case was a matter of whether Nicholsons negligence was extraordinary or not, Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs explained Friday.

If Im at a stop sign, and I look right and left, and then pull out without looking right again and I kill someone, thats probably ordinary, non-gross negligence, Loebs explained. But if Im going 85 miles per hour on the wrong side of the highway and kill someone, thats gross negligence.

Prosecutors argued that Nicholson was in the wrong lanes and going too fast, thus making it a gross negligence case, but the jury disagreed.

Nicholson is set to be sentenced by District Judge Randy Stoker Nov. 18.
Cassia County

Felony sentencing

Kolby James Fernau; felony attempted strangulation amended misdemeanor disturbing the peace, guilty, $200 fine, $160.50 costs, 18 months probation, 18 months probation, 180 days jail, 177 days suspended, three days credited; felony domestic violence inflicting traumatic injury, dismissed on motion of prosecutor.

Felony dismissals

Debbie Fern Sleight; felony possession of controlled substance, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; misdemeanor pharmacypossession or use of a legend drug or precursor without authorized prescription/drug order, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; misdemeanor reckless driving, guilty, $150 fine, $157.50 costs, 24 months probation, 90 days jail, $157.50 costs, 87 days suspended, three days credited; misdemeanor arrests and seizures -resisting or obstructing officers, guilty, 24 months probation, 90 days jail, 87 days suspended, three days credited.

Jeremy James Carpenter; felony possession of controlled substance, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; felony destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; misdemeanor possession of controlled substance, guilty, $50 fine, $197.50 costs, 131 days jail, 71 days credited; misdemeanor flee or attempt to elude a police officer in a motor vehicle.

Jeremy James Carpenter; felony possession of controlled substance, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; felony destruction, alteration or concealment, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; misdemeanor possession of controlled substance, guilty, $50 fine, $197.50 costs, 131 days jail, 71 days credited; misdemeanor flee or attempt to elude a police officer in a motor vehicle, guilty, $157.50 costs, 131 days jail, 71 days credited; misdemeanor arrests and seizures, resisting or obstructing officers, guilty, $157.50 costs. 131 days jail, 71 days credited; misdemeanor driving without privileges, guilty, $171.50 costs, 131 days jail, 71 days credited.

Isais Fuentes; two counts felony possession of controlled substance, dismissed on motion of prosecutor; misdemeanor drug paraphernaliause or possess with intent to use, guilty, $197.50 costs, 32 days jail, 32 days credited.
The reservation requests started early at Redfish Lake Lodge near Stanley for the total solar eclipse coming to America on Aug. 21, 2017.

Twelve years early.

Jeff Clegg, the general manager at the lodge, fielded his first inquiry way back in 2005. The lodge is booked solid for the eclipse despite requiring a four-night stay (Aug. 18-21) and increasing prices. The lodge plans to provide educational events as part of the experience.

That (2005 request) was the first I heard of it, Clegg said, and I thought, Youre crazy. ... Over the last two or three years, weve had quite a few requests building up, and then this summer it spiked. Were just doing kind of a big party. Its been fun to plan.

Eclipse experts say Idahoans who want to experience the rare phenomenon must plan well in advance because of the crowds expected to seek out the best spots. The path of totality  where a total solar eclipse will be visible for more than 2 minutes  passes north of Boise while going through towns such as Weiser, Smiths Ferry, Stanley, Mackay, Rexburg and Driggs/Victor. The center line runs between Idaho 75 and Redfish Lake Lodge, just south of Stanley.

The only major population area within the path is Idaho Falls, which will get about 1 minute, 45 seconds of totality.

Downtown Boise will experience 2 hours, 40 minutes of partial eclipse but the sun wont be fully covered by the moon at any point.

The total eclipse will be the first in the continental United States since 1979  when Idaho was one of five states in the path of totality  and the first to cross America from coast to coast since 1918. Its the only total eclipse that will reach Idaho this century.

It is by far the most dramatic sight you can see in the sky, said Michael Zeiler, a New Mexico-based amateur astronomer and professional cartographer who built GreatAmericanEclipse.com. Even though amateur astronomers will travel all around the world to see total solar eclipses, it really is an event that is for everybody and not just astronomy geeks. Its like a scene from a science-fiction movie  its completely otherworldly  and Idaho is right in the crosshairs.

The eclipses unusual path means that a huge portion of the country is within a days drive or less of the path of totality, spreading the eclipse viewers to some degree. However, Idaho appeals to out-of-state and international eclipse chasers because of the fairly reliable clear skies in the summer and the relatively unpopulated areas where the eclipse will be visible. High altitude is considered a plus, too, because theres less atmosphere to peer through.

Randy Holst, president of the Boise Astronomical Society, has fielded so many questions about the eclipse that he prepared a three-page PDF response with information about the viewing possibilities in Idaho. The BAS doesnt have the resources to produce any sort of public event, Holst said, and the members arent publicizing where theyll be.

Holsts inquiries have come from as far away as Ireland.

He worries that the mountain locations are going to be so popular that roads will be jammed.

In my opinion, if youre not already (where you want to be for the eclipse) a couple days before it happens, youre probably going to get stuck in traffic, Holst said. ... I think the majority of people would be better off going to western Idaho or eastern Idaho into the flat farmland.

Heres what you need to know:

The moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking the suns light. The moons shadow turns the sky dark, like its night. A total eclipse requires alignment of the Earth, sun and moon in a direct line.

During totality, the suns corona  the outer atmosphere  is visible with the naked eye. NASA describes the sight as a pearly white crown surrounding the sun.

The total duration of the eclipse will be a little over two hours, Zeiler said. During those two hours, first the moon will begin to encroach upon the suns disk. That process takes about an hour. And then if you are within the central path of the total eclipse, you will experience in Idaho a little over two minutes where the moon completely blocks the sun and daytime instantly turns into a deep twilight.

Stars and planets are visible during the eclipse, too.

Idahos portion of the total eclipse begins at 11:24 a.m. and ends at 11:36 a.m.

Downtown Boise will be in partial eclipse from 10:10 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.

Aug. 21 is a Monday.

Whats the significance of the path of totality?

That is the only place where youll see a total solar eclipse. The path for this eclipse is projected at 60-70 miles wide. The closer you are to the center of the path, the longer totality lasts. NASA has an interactive map that allows users to receive site-specific eclipse details, including start times and durations (link to the map in this story at IdahoStatesman.com).

Can an eclipse be viewed safely?

A total solar eclipse can be viewed safely with the naked eye. However, the partial eclipse that happens before and after totality requires special eclipse-viewing glasses (theyre fairly cheap and available online). Sunglasses dont offer enough protection.

What about weather and smoke?

Eclipse watchers already are digging through weather records to determine the most reliably sunny places to view the eclipse. Eclipsophile.com breaks down the weather prospects state by state.

Zeiler plans to travel to Casper, Wyo., with an RV and be prepared to travel to anywhere from Oregon to Nebraska based on weather forecasts.

All of the serious eclipse chasers are going to be studying the forecast very intently, said Zeiler, who estimates a couple thousand people worldwide chase eclipses. Theyre going to definitely relocate if they need to.

An X-factor for Idaho is summer smoke from wildfires. That could necessitate flexibility for those who want to see the eclipse here.

Thats just as bad, if not worse, as having clouds, Holst said. Theres no way in the world to predict that.

Where else will this eclipse be seen?

All of North America will see at least a partial solar eclipse, Zeiler said. States in the path of totality include Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

When is the next solar eclipse in our area?

The next solar eclipse in the continental United States occurs April 8, 2024  but that one begins in Texas and moves northeast from there. An eclipse in 2044 sweeps through eastern and northern Montana and another in 2045 crosses northern Nevada and Utah.

The next total solar eclipse projected to reach Idaho wont arrive until 2169.
TWIN FALLS  There are no black clouds on the horizon for employment in the Magic Valley.

Thats what Idaho Department of Labor Regional Economist Jan Roeser said following the states release of unemployment rate estimates for September. Idaho as a whole, and most Magic Valley counties, had little or no change to unemployment rates from the previous month.

Meanwhile, the local labor force continues to grow  aided by in-migration, new jobs encouraging workers to stay, and higher participation rates, Roeser said.

Weve got a pretty strong economy out there, she said. We get calls from people all over the nation wanting to know what makes us tick.

At 3.8 percent, Idahos unemployment rate stayed constant for the third consecutive month. The state also tied with Washington for third largest over-the-year job growth in September, adding 2,000 jobs between August and September.

Twin Falls Countys 3.4-percent unemployment rate was unchanged from August and down just a tenth of a percent from a year ago. The labor force, meanwhile, grew by more than 660 people from September 2015.

Jerome Countys 3-percent unemployment rate was up slightly from the previous month, but Minidoka, Lincoln, Gooding and Blaine counties experienced decreases. Camas and Cassia counties remained unchanged.

The south-central Idaho region as a whole had a 3.2 percent unemployment rate, down from 3.4 percent a year ago. September and October tend to show the highest employment in the region, Roeser said.

We continue to see positive indicators for our area, she said.

Noting the growth thats occurring, Roeser isnt concerned that the area may be growing too much too fast.

In a press release, the Idaho Department of Labor reported unemployment benefits were up from a year ago by 2.3 percent at $1.19 million. The number of weeks compensated, however, dropped 3.8 percent.
April 23, 1918 - October 19, 2016

TWIN FALLS - Edwardine Ella Sexton age 98, passed away on October 19, 2016.

Edwardine was born near Southwick, Idaho on April 23, 1918, the daughter of Gustav and Emma Pauline Wegner.

Edwardine married her husband Roy in Twin Falls, Idaho on May 23, 1938. The couple farmed more than 40 years in the Magic Valley area near Eden, Twin Falls, Jerome, Murtaugh and Hazelton until they retired and moved into Twin Falls in 1982.

Edwardine is survived by one sister Eleanor Rockwell and by her three children Sandra McBride, Richard Sexton and Linda (Eddie) Green; one grandchild Angel; two great grandchildren Mari (Zach) and JR; five step grandchildren from the green family Monica, Travis, Mela, Melissa and Tim and by numerous step great grandchildren and several step great great grandchildren.

Edwardine was preceded in death by her husband Roy; her parents; four brothers and five sisters.

Services for Edwardine will be held on Monday October 24, 2016 at 1:00 pm at Rosenau Funeral Home, 2826 Addison Ave E. Twin Falls with a visitation for family and friends 1 hour prior to the service. Interment will follow the service at the Twin Falls Cemetery.

A no host luncheon will follow the graveside service at the Mandrain House in Twin Falls.

Condolences and memories may be shared by visiting www.rosenaufuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Rosenau Funeral Home.
TWIN FALLS  Gary Amoth is in it for the long haul.

The local truck driver and business owner has been selected to drive the truck that will take the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from McCall to Washington, D.C., next month. Amoth leaves for McCall on Oct. 31, and within days will begin the longest drive of his 35-year career.

But Twin Falls residents will get to see the truck (and Gary) again, soon  at a Nov. 14 celebration at City Park, during the trees eastbound journey.

Im looking forward to it, Amoth said. Its an honor to be chosen. Its an honor for our entire company.

Amoth grew up in Buhl, where he started his company, Gary Amoth Trucking, in 1983. He still lives in Buhl, but has since moved the business to Twin Falls. With another lot in Nampa, Gary Amoth Trucking employs about 150 drivers with more than 130 semi-trucks.

In March, Amoth received a call from Kenworth Sales Co. in Boise, asking if hed be willing to haul the 80-foot Engelmann Spruce during a 4,000-mile cross-country tour. The U.S. Forest Service chose the Payette National Forest to provide the famous tree this year.

Salesman Keith MacKenzie recommended Amoth for the job because of the professionalism of his company, the image he projects and the care he takes for his vehicles.

When one of his trucks goes down the road, you turn your head, MacKenzie said. Image is important to him.

Amoth accepted the offer gladly, and purchased a red Kenworth T680 for the occasion.

They had certain specifications the truck was required to have, Amoth said.

The nearly 10-ton truck has capacity of about 40 tons, and comes with its own special decals, Wi-Fi and refrigerator, he said.

Its designed for driver comfort and fuel efficiency, MacKenzie said.

The decal includes a map of the trees journey and the words From Tree to Shining Tree.

It is an honor for Kenworth to participate in this event delivering The Peoples Tree for the third year in a row, Kenworth Marketing Director Kurt Swihart said in a statement.

According to capitolchristmastree.com the Capitol Christmas Tree tradition started in 1964 when Speaker of the House John W. McCormack, D-Mass., placed a live Christmas tree on the lawn of the Capitol. It lived three years, and the U.S. Forest Service has been asked to provide The Peoples Tree each year since 1970.

A different Forest Service region is chosen for the tree every year, said Bruce Ward, president of Choose Outdoors  the nonprofit organization that assists the U.S. Forest Service in coordinating the annual tour. The only other time Idaho has been selected was 2003, providing an Engelmann Spruce from the Boise National Forest.

Trip across the U.S.

Following the Nov. 2 tree cutting in McCall, Amoth will depart Nov. 6 with the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, making 27 stops on his way to D.C. He prepared for the trip by securing additional permits for each of the states hell pass through.

And he wont be alone. Amoths truck will be accompanied by an entourage including the Idaho Potato Commissions Big Idaho Potato Truck  another T680 hauling a six-ton, 28-foot-long replica of an Idaho russet potato.

Inside, the hollow potato will hold commemorative Christmas ornaments that will be sold at stops during the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree tour. The ornaments will benefit organizations that encourage youth to spend time outdoors.

Another truck operated by Gary Amoth Trucking will haul 70 more trees and 8,000 Christmas ornaments.

Those are made by school kids all over the state, Ward said.

The ornaments, created with a "re-use and recycle" theme, will decorate The Peoples Tree, as well as the additional Christmas trees that will go in federal offices. The trees will be hauled from Idaho tree farms, and were purchased at a reduced cost from a donation by St. Lukes, Ward said.

Along the route, smokejumper Chris Niccoli will be in charge of caring for the tree, Amoth said. The Engelmann Spruce will be watered using an 80-gallon bladder that will be filled nightly, he said.

It drinks between 20 and 40 gallons of water a day, Amoth said.

The top 16 feet of the tree will be encased in plastic glass, for viewing, and decorated with lights at each of the stops, he said.

At this time, Amoth plans to drive the whole way himself. The trip concludes Nov. 28, and one Idaho student will be selected to attend a Dec. 6 tree lighting ceremony.

Editor's Note: This story was updated Oct. 26 with revised information about the companion trucks and length of the tour. A new statement was issued this week.
The presidential debates gave the world a chance to watch Donald Trump bluff about his mistreatment of women and lie about mocking a person with disabilities. Nearly as theatrical was the sight of Hillary Clinton spinning convoluted explanations of why people shouldnt fret about her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state.

These and other familiar election-season spectacles may have revealed something about the candidates character, but shed little light on how theyd approach governing. Missed substantive opportunities in all three presidential debates included:

Taxes

Obligatory cliches aside, Trumps tax proposals werent debated seriously. They dwarf anything that Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush proposed and overwhelmingly would benefit the rich. And, contrary to Trumps debate-stage assertion, taxes on carried interest would be reduced, not increased, for most private equity and hedge fund executives.

How, given recent history, can Trump explain how this would produce magical growth? As Bloomberg View columnist Matthew Winkler has written, more manufacturing jobs were created in the last 40 years under Democratic presidents than under Republican ones. Does exacerbating income inequality matter? Trump probably doesnt know or care enough about the specifics of his proposals to defend them. But it would have been instructive for future policy discussions to hear him try.

Entitlements

Even liberal economists tend to acknowledge that the growth of Medicare and Social Security have to be restrained. Trump had nothing to say about how hed do that. Clintons website announces her promise to defend entitlements by asking the wealthy to contribute more, a thin formula that was never challenged during the debates. If pressed, she might have had to at least outline, as President Barack Obama has, the contours of what compromises shed fashion and accept to keep benefits flowing. She wasnt.

Russia and NATO

Trump continued during the debates to say conciliatory things about Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said U.S. allies should pay more for collective military expenses as a condition of his support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He wasnt asked whether he understands that the U.S. is already bound by the NATO treatys Article 5, which says an attack against one member is an attack on all. That means he didnt have to outline what his response would be if Russia behaved aggressively toward its neighbors Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, who are all NATO members.

Asia Clinton says that as secretary of state under Obama, she led a pivot to Asia in U.S. foreign policy. Yet she came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact aimed at containing Chinese influence and which she once championed. Excerpts of her speeches released by WikiLeaks indicate that her change in thinking owed much to political calculation.

Wouldnt it have been interesting to hear Clinton explain how shed propose to confront Chinas growing commercial ambitions after abandoning the tool she helped devise for that purpose?

Climate Change

Other than a few cliches, global warming was a non-issue in the debates. It wont be a non-issue for the next president, and Clinton confidants say she realizes this might be the biggest challenge of the next four years. Her website includes a bullet-pointed 10-year plan.

Its not self-executing, so the debate stage should have been the place for her to explain how shed carry out her proposals and in what order, and for Trump to respond with something more than his empty promise to mine more coal.

Its OK if the debates didnt have much political impact. Whats disappointing that they didnt lay any groundwork for what happens after Jan. 20, when the next president takes office.
Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp, found in 1997, is the world's largest tire valve manufacturer. Also, Shanghai Baolong is the first Chinese supplier that has put tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) into volume production and even exported to overseas markets. So what's the story behind its development and what's the future plan? Charles Zhang, President of Shanghai Baolong has his answers.

Shanghai Baolong's history

Gasgoo.com: Please give us a brief introduction of Shanghai Baolong's early years.

Charles Zhang: We started by doing international trade business of auto parts. Then we quickly turned to the production area-we took over a small tire valve plant, which at that time did not run well during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. We moved our facilities and personnel to Shanghai in 1999 and set up the first overseas sales branch in Canada in 2000. We now have sales companies in the U.S., Germany, Hungary and so on.

In the 2005 we had a big breakthrough-we completed the purchase of Dill Air Controls Products, LLC. The next year we started to build our new production facility in Anhui, where the operating cost is lower. We transferred the stainless exhaust pipe production to the Anhui facility, which is our second main business-we're among the world's top three and our products are supplied to GM Toyota, BMW and Peugeot.

Last year, we put our TPMS products into mass production. This project, also the third main business of Shanghai Baolong, is expected to bring us big returns. We're exporting our TPMS to overseas markets and also attracting more and more local automakers in China.

Successful takeover of Dill from Eaton

Gasgoo.com: How did you complete the merger of Dill ACP in 2005?

Charles Zhang: Actually, we didn't spend much time on that. Since 2003, we have had business with Eaton Corp., which acquired Dill in 1961; not until the end of 2004 did we heard the rumor that Eaton was planning to sell out Dill. We learnt that they're in contact with potential buyers, but still we made a proposal to bid for it, which surprised Eaton, as at that time they were working on a three-way bid in secret for a period of time.

However, the three-way bidding team finally walked away as the two sides failed to reach agreement on some main points, so when we're just about to give up, they told us to continue the negotiation. And then in February 2005, several days after the Chinese Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Eaton expected us to conclude the merger by March 15th. So we had only one month to prepare; we even didn't find a qualified lawyer (it's Eaton that recommended a lawyer to us)! We teamed up with another Chinese company to complete the acquisition for the temporary lack of fund.

Gasgoo.com: According to the consulting company Alixpartner, 80 percent of the Chinese auto suppliers tend to merge, half of which even seek likely international mergers and acquisitions (M&A), but inefficient management hinders them. So how does Baolong continue Dill's business?

Charles Zhang: I would say it's a successful merger. We posted profit in the year of merger, and the profit rose in later years. The local North Carolina government even referred to this as a successful case to attract investment.

Before Eaton ended its control over Dill, they had made proper arrangement: they offered voluntary buyouts to the employees and allowed them to transfer to Eaton's other plants; they also sent early warnings to the existing customers while making extra inventory. Thus the original customers were retained.

Secondly, we have got acquainted with the management of Dill before the acquisition. We used to offer contract manufacturing for them, and knew something about their business. Also we have some reputation and background in the market, so it's not that difficult for us to integrate. With mutual trust and understanding, we kept the former management and the technical experts and didn't send our managers to overlook the operation.

Thirdly, we kept the two distribution channels separate-Baolong's and Dill's. With different brand position in the market place, we distinguished the two brands: Dill as the high-end and Baolong as the mid-end.

We moved Dill's tire valve production to China, but some of the high-tech products, e.g., aircraft gauges, aircraft valves and tank valves, are still produced in Dill. We're also considering moving Dill's shrinking production of air control valves to China.

Gasgoo.com: Do you have any benefit from taking over Dill?

Charles Zhang: Dill boasts a long history and rich experience and expertise in the making of tire valves and related parts. It has several patented technologies, though some have expired, the skilled personnel remained there. We'd exchanged ideas when doing big projects. Also the quality control system of Dill is perfect; we learnt a lot from that.

TPMS is growth market, and to take off

Gasgoo.com: Baolong has three product series: valve, stainless exhaust pipe and TPMS. With the other two sectors having topped the whole industry worldwide, could TPMS be the driving force in your future business?

Charles Zhang: Right. We started our TPMS project in 2002. At that time, the NHTSA published a ruling that requires all light vehicles to be sold after Sept. 2007 must have TPMS fitted as standard equipment. We saw the direct TPMS would be a mainstream device--which uses separate radio sensors mounted in each wheel, detects deflation and then transmits that information to the driver via a radio frequency signal.

We started our development with the help of some research institutes. Since the year 2007, our products have been exported to serve the aftermarket, but that's in small volume. We are now in contact with several American automakers, and we've entered into substantial talks with one of them. We are likely to supply them in large quantities from early 2009.

In China, we have also made progress. For example, Chery Auto is building cars for export under Chrysler's brand names. The cars to be exported to the American market should be equipped with TPMS, so we signed a supply contract with Chery. Also we supply a domestic automaker that wants to upgrade its brand image.

It's true that the overall market demand is still low, yet as similar legislation for TPMS will be introduced in the future, this growth market would surely take off. China has already jumped to be the world's second largest automotive market; I don't think such an important market would not have the safety concerns. We hope our domestic business would be boosted to a larger share.
Democrats are already looking beyond ObamaCares slow-motion failure, and Colorado is showing where many want to go next: Premiums across the state are set to rise 20.4% on average next year, and some have concluded that the solution is more central planning and taxation. Voters will decide on Nov. 8 whether to try the single-payer scheme that blew up in Vermont. Amendment 69 would alter the states constitution to create a single-payer health system known as ColoradoCare. The idea is to replace premiums with tax dollars, and coverage for residents will allegedly include prescription drugs, hospitalization and more. Paying for this entitlement requires a cool $25 billion tax increase, which is about equal to the states $27 billion budget. Colorado would introduce a 10% payroll tax and also hit investment income, and thats for starters.

So far the ballot initiative is not popular, and it is also opposed by the states Democratic governor. Still, it would write ColoradoCare into the states constitution, and if you run referenda enough times, etc. The broader point is that single-payer plans, whatever their virtues and flaws in toto, cannot work at the state level in the United States. The single state is not big enough to bargain down health care prices very much, and furthermore the state government has to run a balanced budget and, because of competition with other states, has only highly imperfect control over its own feasible level of taxation and expenditure. A single state cannot simply decide to go Denmark, for instance.

Here are further details on ColoradoCare, eventually the link will become noisy. Here is a Denver Post Op-Ed against ColoradoCare, again a noisy link.

Hat tip goes to Christopher Balding.
Global Times - On January 4, Ruder Finn, a leading independent communications agency, and Tsinghua University, one of China's most renowned universities, jointly released the Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI) Report. The report shows that Geely Automobile, China's first privately run auto company, ranks the first among China's self-owned brands in terms of CSRI, which is an honor to affirm Geely's years of dedication to the development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The report is one of the major achievements of Tsinghua-Ruder Finn CSR research project, among which a consumer-oriented evaluation system of CSR was applied, and the research was carried out mainly from the perspective of a consumer. According to the survey, 92 percent of the surveyed observed that a car maker's performance in CSR plays a "very important" or "relatively important" role in building a strong brand; 25 percent of respondents said that CSR will be the highest item on their priority lists when they buy a new car, and only 3.7 percent of all respondents put that they have never given a thought to CSR. It also shows in the report that social medium has played a more and more important role in spreading the information on CSR, and one essential motive of the public taking part in "word of mouth" marketing is to shape sound CSR practice. So auto makers should also strengthen and engage more in cause marketing in CSR practice.

The project provides the public with necessary information for them to learn more about automobile enterprises' CSR. With a clear direction of social responsibility, Geely will constantly bear a deep sense of social responsibility in mind and perfect its system and practice for social good as well as raise its staff's awareness of social responsibility.

Li Shufu, the founder and current Chairman of Geely Automobile, once said, "An enterprise without a sense of social responsibility will be kicked out of the market sooner or later, and it can never achieve sustainability". The automaker has spared no efforts in shouldering its social responsibility and giving something back to society since its establishment 26 years ago.

In terms of business economy and responsibility for environmental protection, Geely adheres to its mission of "Making the safest, most environmental-friendly and energy-efficient cars". Based on the innovation of automobile safety and environmental protection technology, the car maker engages in accelerating energy conservation and emission reduction, development and application of in-car air purification technique, which relieves the pressure of transportation environmental protection by applying "diversified" new energy technologies. As to talent training and education, relying on "Li Shufu Education Assistance Foundation" assistance education plan, the company set up a special fund to help needy students enter the campus and left-behind children get early education. With respect to charitable donation, Geely actively participates in pro bono activities such as disaster relief and charitable donation. Over the years, the manufacturer has donated nearly 400 million yuan in charitable activities, and its staff members have insisted on taking part in voluntary labor, blood donation and other public activities. As for culture sponsorship, under the guidance of Li's strategic thought of "constructing global corporate culture", Geely is in support of letting Chinese culture go abroad and strengthening the communication and integration with different cultures.

Geely's major public activities:

In 2005, "Geely Fund for Future Talents" was set up to help poor students from old revolutionary base areas and ethnic-minority regions attend Zhejiang Geely Technician College, thus helping them find employment in Geely after graduation.

On June 5, 2006, China Education Foundation came into existence, to which Geely donated 50 million yuan for setting up "China Education Development Foundation - Geely Special Project Office for Education Assistance". The project aims to help 1,000 needy students who are excellent in both character and learning throughout the country to go to college for the next 4-5 years.

In March 2008, Geely donated 1 million yuan to southern China struck by harsh snowstorms for ice removal and post-disaster reconstruction. In May, a devastating earthquake struck Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province, Geely, together with its dealers, suppliers and staff members, immediately organized a range of rescues and made its first donation worth 16 million yuan.

On August 19, 2009, Taiwan was heavily damaged by Typhoon Morakot, which caused great losses to the compatriots across the strait. Geely made the first donation of 1 million yuan through Zhejiang Province Charity Federation for Taiwan's post-disaster reconstruction.

On April 14, 2010, Geely donated 22 million yuan to disaster-stricken areas in Yushu of Qinghai Province through the China Charity Federation. In August, it donated 1 million yuan to the disaster areas in Zhouqu to facilitate disaster relief and reconstruction work.

In June 2010, Geely, joining hands with Beijing Geely University, allocated 30 million yuan to set up "Campus-based Venture Fund" aims at aiding college students to start their own business.

In 2010, Geely donated 3.5 million yuan to Jingning Vocational High School and kindergartens in Daji villiage, and promised that all the students in this school would secure a job upon their graduation. It is reported that Jingning is the only poverty-striken county in Zhejiang province.

In September 2011, the 8th National Para Games was held in Zhejiang Province, Geely offered a set of financial and material support to the pageant. And on September 5, Geely delivered 20 Emgrands to show its support for the event.

In September 2011, Geely, together with Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, gave touring performances in six European countries.

In 2012, Geely Holding group attended the "Warm Spring Festival 2012" charity party in the name of "Zhejiang Li Shufu Education Assistance Foundation" and donated 1 million yuan to carry out "Pro-bono Program of Country Village Preschool and Kindergarten".

In 2012, Li Shufu submitted during CPC&CPPCC Sessions 2012 a Proposal on Improving In-vehicle Air Quality and Preventing In-vehicle Environmental Pollution calling for strengthening in-car air quality regulation.

In August 2012, Geely signed a strategic agreement with the CPC youth chorus.
The civil service grouping linked to the powerful Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) has signaled its readiness to begin a general strike in various sectors of the public service if the draft finance bill for next year is not revised.

It criticized the 2017 draft budget as a diktat issued by international donors with plans contradictory to the Carthage Declaration that was reached a few months ago following talks between political parties, civil society activists and trade unions that led to the formation of a national unity government.

The draft budget bill, if adopted, will cause the collapse of the purchasing power of the middle class and low-income categories according to the grouping.

The draft proposes new taxes and postponement of salary increment. This would affect workers because subsidies of some commodities are expected to be curbed consequently increasing their prices. The grouping wants the principle of equality to be applied in tax rates and debt recovery mechanisms to be boosted before a tax reform can be introduced.

Under pressure from international lenders for reforms to cut spending, spur growth and create jobs, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has proposed a broad package of initiatives to control the fiscal deficit and increase government revenues.

UGTT Secretary-General Houcine Abassi underlined that the union is ready to sacrifice without accepting that workers assume alone the burden of the countrys crisis. He said the government should uphold the Carthage Declaration that urged for the need to find new financial resources in order to fight tax evasion and smuggling.

In a defiant message to authorities and lawmakers, Abassi said the UGTT is committed to improve the purchasing power of employees and to defend the right to union by all legal means.

Tunisias financial and economic crisis has hampered its transition towards a stable political democracy as governments that took over after President Ben Ali have struggled to cope with the situation.
The United States Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, has cautioned American citizens to be careful of their movements and avoid travel to the Central African Republic (CAR) citing unstable security and high incidence of violent crimes.

The warning comes after a series of new skirmishes involving the ex-Seleka fighters in the Central African Republic. The clashes claimed the lives of at least 30 people while leaving 57 others injured.

A travel alert issued by the Department of State said the decision is necessary as a result of an unpredictable security situation subject to rapid deterioration, activities of armed groups, and violent crime.

Diamond-rich but poverty-stricken CAR was plunged into more than two years of lawlessness after Seleka overthrew Christian president Francois Bozize in March 2013.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African nation has been forced to deploy some 12,000 troops.

The mission has been mostly successful in establishing order in the capital, Bangui. However, reports say the rampant militancy in the countryside is still hampering aid efforts to 120,000 people in urgent need as well as more than 70,000 displaced by the conflict.
Political games in Parliament revealed

By Messenger Staff

A member of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party, Gia Baramidze, says there were talks on forming a different parliament before the October 8 Parliamentary Elections.In particular, Baramidze says there were talks - though not intensive - about the creation of a majority in Parliament by the opposition parties in 2014.He said such initial talks referred the creation of the majority in the legislative body by the United National Movement (UNM), Free Democrats (FD), the National Forum and the Republicans.However, the Republicans went against the unification, as the Parliament Speaker, the Republican leader David Usupashvili, was supporting Bidzina Ivanishvili [the founder of the Georgian Dream coalition, billionaire, ex-Prime Minister] at that time, that is the reason why the country received one main party in the legislative body, Baramidze said.Baramidze allegedly referred to the fact that the oppositions majority could change the countrys electoral code before 2016, which would have enabled different parties to appear in the legislative body.Currently, Georgia has a mixed electoral system through which 77 lawmakers are elected by proportional voting and the remaining 73 through a majoritarian race. The civil sector and the opposition demanded the rejection of the majoritarian elections, but the current authorities postponed the changes until 2020.Baramidze explained that such talks among the representatives of the above-mentioned parties took place when the Free Democrats quit the ruling coalition in 2014, which meant such a coalition could have gained a majority in Parliament between 2014-2016.The UNM ran the country in 2003-2012. Their nine year-rule was changed by the Georgian Dream coalition created by Ivanishvili prior to the 2012 Parliamentary Elections.The coalition initially united the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, the Republicans, the Industrials, the National Forum, the Free Democrats, the Conservatives and the Peoples Party.The Peoples Party quit the coalition in 2013, a step which was followed by the Free Democrats in 2014. The Republicans, Industrials and the National Forum then left the coalition prior to this years parliamentary elections in order to stand as independent parties.All the parties which were united in the coalition believed that the UNM was a criminal regime which consistently violated human rights.The creation of such a coalition two years after the 2012 Parliamentary Elections would definitely create questions amongst the public towards the Republicans, Free Democrats and the National Forum. This was one of the reasons why no attempt was made to create a new leadership.Now, when none of the three ex-Georgian Dream member parties could overcome the five percent threshold to appear in Parliament, they did not make any appeal to their supporters to vote for the UNM in the second round of elections.After the October 8 elections, the UNM gained 27 seats in 150-member Parliament and has a chance to increase the number because the second round of elections which is scheduled on October 30 in 50 majoritarian constituencies.None of candidates managed to gain more than 50% of the votes.However, in the first round of elections in the constituencies, candidates of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party had more votes than the UNM nominees.In the second round, the candidates of the ruling party and the United National Movement will oppose one another in 44 constituencies.The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia already has 67 seats in the legislative body, 44 gained through proportional, party list voting and 23 in the majoritarian race.The ruling party believes they will win all 49 constituencies they are participating in out of 50 in the second round and will have a constitutional majority, which means at least 100 MPs in Parliament.The third party which appeared in Parliament is the Alliance of Patriots, with six seats gained through proportional voting.
The News in Brief

Second round of majoritarian elections to be held on October 30



Georgias Central Election Commission has determined the date of the second round and repeated voting. As reported by the CEC press-service, the second rounds of the parliamentary elections will be held on October 30 in 50 constituencies.



As for repeated voting it will be held on October 22. As reported by CEC, majoritarian elections will be held at #36 constituency, ?36.22.48 polling station (Marneuli) and both majoritarian and governors elections will be held at three polling stations of Zugdidi.



The Central Election Commission will issue legal acts after the relevant procedures are finished.

(IPN)







The issue of finding a new prime minister is not on the agenda - Eka Beselia



Parliament's Human Rights Committee Chairwoman Eka Beselia denies reports according to which Giorgi Kvirikashvili will take the Parliament Speakers post.



As she told reporters, the issue of finding a new prime minister is not on the agenda.



"Giorgi Kvirikashvili is a Prime Minister who has lead his team successfully. The issue of finding a new prime minister is not on the agenda. Giorgi Kvirikashvili is the best candidate for prime minister who can lead a government even under the current challenges, Beselia told reporters.



According to her, the consideration of a candidate for Parliament Speaker will be launched after the second round of elections.

(ipn)







French Frigate Makes Port Visit in Batumi



The French frigate Premier-Maitre LHer arrived in Batumi on Georgias Black Sea coast on October 17 for a three-day port visit as part of bilateral French-Georgian defense cooperation, the embassy of France in Tbilisi said.



Joint diving training exercises with the Georgian coast guard will be held on October 18 and a naval boarding exercise is scheduled for October 19, according to the French embassy.



Premier-Maitre LHer is an A69 type vessel, designed mainly for coastal anti-submarine defence, which are also deployed for high sea escort missions.



The announcement about the planned port visit of the French navy ship was first made in September, when French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drianvisited Georgia.



French naval vessels made port visits in Batumi three times between April and September of 2014  the light stealth frigate FS Surcouf, the intelligence-gathering ship Dupuy de Lome, and Commandant Birot (F 796).

(Civil.ge)







Escaped burglar arrested in Tbilisi with jewelry from new heist



A Georgian robber who escaped from a court building in August by feigning an illness was caught on Sunday with jewelry from a recent heist.



Otar Varamashvili escaped from Rustavi City Court on August 31 by claiming he was ill and running away during the medical examination.



He was caught in a Tbilisi restaurant on Sunday.



According to Ministry of Internal Affairs, the convict was serving a sentence at Prison No 16 in Rustavi, a town 20km south of the capital. He was convicted of burglary, robbery and attempted theft.



Police found golden bracelets, crosses, earrings and rings when he was arrested, items allegedly stolen during a jewelry heist in a shop in Tbilisi.



Varamashvili will now face a new charge of escaping from prison.

(DF watch)




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.
Jack Cheng :

Vice President and Purchasing Director of Fiat China

Jack Cheng, a global auto sourcing advocate, is now responsible for Fiat's purchasing in China. He spent 26 years in Ford Motor Company and then joined Fiat Group. Mr. Cheng has more than 10 year's experience in China sourcing.

On June 12, 2007, the Fiat Group China Supplier Conference was held for the first time in Shanghai, after the sourcing centers of Fiat subsidiaries in China has been integrated into a global auto sourcing center in Shanghai. In the Conference, Mr. Jack Cheng expressed Fiat Group's determination and confidence in reviving Fiat in the Chinese market, and announced an aim of at least 1.5 billion euros' worth of sourcing in China. After the conference, Mr. Jack Cheng accepted the exclusive interview from Gasgoo.com.

The Third Edition of China Sourcing Series

Fiat targets 3 million units by 2010

Gasgoo: Mr. Cheng, what is the aim of the China Supplier Conference and what are the key messages that you would like to deliver to the suppliers?



Cheng: We have been focusing in China sourcing in these few years and the Chinese supplier network has grown to a large extent. The auto sales in China this year is expected to exceed 8 million units, and may reach 10 million in the near future. I believe that now is the best time to gear up our auto parts industry and to globalize it. If we fail to build up a global auto parts supply chain in a few years time, the appreciating RMB and some other factors may put us in a disadvantaged position.

Gasgoo: The recovery plan of Fiat Group has been very effective, especially in Europe. Can you highlight the key factors of your successful recovery?

Cheng: In 2004, Mr. Sergio Marchionne was appointed the CEO of Fiat Group and Fiat Auto. Under his leadership, the company has made a dramatic turnaround, and Fiat recorded a revenue of 2 billion euros in 2006 . I think one of the important factors of our successful recovery is due to our internal reorganization whereby mostly young and effective managers were appointed. For example, Luca De Meo, a newly-appointed Brand & Commercial manager, is younger than 40. Another reason is that we have launched some new models, such as Fiat 500 targeting the younger generation. The most important factor to our successful recovery is our product. We can only increase our market share with the right products.

In the past few years, our number of platform has been decreased to four. We assemble high, medium and low-end brands on these four platforms. Grand Punto was launched in 2005 and is now the best selling model in Europe; Bravo which is launched this year is anticipated to achieve great success in many markets. We have some other new models, such as Alfa Romeo 159, Lancia Thesis, Ferrari 599, Maserati Gran Turismo. Our new models are showcasing in most of the auto shows. We will launch more than 20 new models over the next few years. Our success is heavily dependent on our products. Sales is expected to exceed 2.2 million units this year, and reach 3 million units by 2010.

Gasgoo: Looks like Fiat's internal reorganization and launch of new models have contributed greatly to Fiat's recovery.

Cheng: I think apart from products and sales, cost management and relationship with suppliers and dealers are also important. The aim of this Conference is to attract attention to the Chinese market and to work together to reduce costs in all of Fiat Group's subsidiaries.

Reviving the Fiat brands in China

Gasgoo: The booming Chinese market has realized a sales of more than 2 million vehicles in the first four months this year, and its double digit growth is expected to continue. Unfortunately looks like Fiat has missed out on this opportunity. What do you think of Fiat's current situation in China?

Cheng: The answer is very simple: There is room for improvement and it's a continuous process. We are reestablishing our relationship with our partner, hoping to achieve a win-win situation. People in China only seem to know the brand Fiat, while actually the Fiat Group has 9 other well-known brands such as Iveco, Maserati, Ferrari and as well as Case New Holland. After the integration of Fiat Group's Chinese subsidiaries, we hope that people would see a new side of Fiat.

Gasgoo: Fiat has announced its plan to sell 300,000 units by 2010. Can we regard this as a determination to succeed in the Chinese market?

Cheng: Yes, and we will stick to the aim. We hope to use good quality platforms to increase production and sales. As mentioned before, our product is the most important key. Apart from increasing our Iveco production in China, our joint venture with Chongqing Hongyan Motor Co. to produce commercial vehicles has also been kick-started. New products will be launched on a regular basis to strengthen the Fiat brand.



Gasgoo: There are three essential factors to ensure the success of multinational companies in China's automobile industry. Firstly, to collaborate with strong Chinese OEM partners, secondly, to introduce a series of strategically positioned models, and thirdly, to build a competitive supply chain system in China. Let's first focus on the second point -- introducing new models. Fiat's compact car has been very successful in the Brazilian market, but not in China. Why do you think that's the case? In which segments is Fiat more likely to succeed in, when introducing new models in China?

Cheng: First of all, some information on the Brazilian market. Brazil is a country with a population about 188,000,000, of which 50,000,000 people (about 25% of the population) come from the low-income group. As such, we have identified the compact car and subcompact car, such as our best selling Palio and Stilo, to be suitable for this market. These models generally have an average emission of 1300/1400 to 1800cc. In Brazil, only 2 million vehicles would be sold this year despite its rapid growth. China's vehicle sales, on the other hand, would hit the 8 million units mark. We see a lot of opportunity for these two markets to cooperate. For example, Palio has been very well received in Brazil, although it is not very popular in China. We can export auto parts produced in China to Brazil to boost our export industry. On the other hand, new technologies such as the bio-fuel engine can be transferred from Brazil to China to enhance the performance of our compact car. On new models, we have the Grand Punto, Bravo as well as Linea,. Linea has just been launched in Turkey and Bravo in Rome. The new Fiat 500 will be launched in Italy this summer. As you can see, Fiat has a series of new models lined up.

Gasgoo: Can Fiat continue to introduce new models all the time?

Cheng: Yes. I believe that Italian-designed vehicles are famous worldwide. We will not only introduce the compact models in China, but also some of high-end models such as Alfa Romeo.



Forging ties with suppliers

Gasgoo: Let's move on to the third point  to build competitive supply system. The price competition in the Chinese market is very tough. Many corporations like GM, VW and Toyota have been localized to a very large extent. When Fiat introduces its new models, how would you go about building your supplier network in China to be cost competitive?

Cheng: Based on my previous experience, in order to be cost competitive, we have to work closely with the suppliers. This has been repeatedly emphasized in the conference. It is extremely important to establish strong partnership with suppliers based on trust and integrity, instead of short term monetary gain. Mutually beneficial relationship should be built to ensure long term collaboration. This is the key to ensure success in the future.

Gasgoo: And is that part of Fiat's strategy? To build a strong supply chain in China, not just to support your global business, but also to give Fiat a competitive advantage in the domestic market when you bring in new models into China in the future.



Cheng: Let me put it this way. The fact that Mr. Marchionne appointed me, a local Chinese, as the purchasing director demonstrated Fiat Group's commitment in building a strong supply chain through localization initiative. Apart from me, most of the senior managers are also native Chinese. We hope to share the best of China with the rest of the world, and at the same time to attract foreign enterprises to do business in China.



Some words for the suppliers

Gasgoo: Multinational companies have not been progressing much in China sourcing despite its effort. We learnt from the suppliers that they are currently facing a dilemma. On the one hand, they would like to export abroad, on the other hand, there is insufficient production capacity to cater for their overseas orders. Do you have any advice for them?

Cheng: I think a lot of attention has been given to the European and U.S. market, making clients in those regions a little arrogant, in my opinion. To truly internationalize their business, suppliers should also look into other countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Poland, Russia as well as India. In fact, these are the countries that we are currently exploring. Given RMB's appreciation against the U.S. dollar, expansion into non-US markets would also provide a safety net for our business. In conclusion, opportunities do exist outside of Europe and U.S., suppliers just have to explore.

Gasgoo: Our Chinese suppliers still lack the capability to meet international standards set by the industry. How can they improve?

Cheng: Firstly, communication is important; not just in terms of speaking their language, but also to understand their culture. This is an extremely important aspect that should not be neglected. Secondly, we need to drive creativity and innovation. We will not go far if we continue to duplicate our competitor's product and I have confidence in our local talent pool to create new products and advanced technologies, take for example the development of bio-fuel engine mentioned earlier.

Gasgoo: Thank you for your time.

Cheng: Thanks.

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Across the globe, only 24 percent of senior business leadership positions are held by women.

Thats up from 22 percent in 2015, but the percentage of firms with no females in senior management stands at 33 percent. According to consulting firm Grant Thornton, which recently published a report on gender diversity, the lack of female executives costs companies hundreds of billions of dollars because extensive research has shown that male-only boardrooms produce poorer financial results.

Among the S&P 500 companies in the U.S., those with male-only leadership returned an average of 1.91 percent less for investors than those with females in top roles.

Technology and banking are two industries where there has historically been a glass ceiling for women looking to attain leadership roles. Although the managers in the financial services industry in the U.S. are 53.4 percent female, only 30.9 percent are executive or senior level officials and only 2.1 percent are CEOs. Thats according to Catalyst, a global nonprofit with a mission to accelerate progress for women.

In the tech industry, women also face long odds if they want to rise to prominence within companies. According to Forbes, the number of women in IT-related jobs dropped from 36 percent to 25 percent from 1991 to 2008. According to a Reuters study, a whopping 30 percent of 450 large tech firms surveyed had no female executives. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter are each have between five and 10 male employees for every one female employee.

There are companies and individuals in Missoula who have broken that mold, and they shared their experiences and advice for younger women entering the workforce with the Missoulian.

***

At Advanced Technology Group, a national tech consulting firm with a big office in downtown Missoula, a large percentage of leadership roles are occupied by women, a rarity in the tech industry. Kymberly Corwin, managed services practice leader; Kristin Mickey, knowledge management coordinator; Carey Davis, director of operations and employee services, and Holly Foster, executive director of solution delivery, all shared their thoughts on the matter and the advice they would give to young women entering the workforce.

Davis said young women should consider tech companies as employers, because even tech companies need a wide variety of work skills.

Hearing about this company and their culture and what they do, I thought it was intriguing and interesting, Davis explained. We are a technology-heavy company, but the work that were doing leverages so many different backgrounds and skills. So some days I have to remind myself that we are a technology company, even though its very prevalent in our work. A variety of backgrounds apply so I never felt like it was a challenge to get a position here. It was a very grueling process, good and thorough, but as far as having the opportunity presented to me and having it known that a tech company was interested in me, that was cool to know there were no barriers.

Foster said that when she was graduating from college in the early '90s with a major in biology, technology wasnt prevalent as a career path. Shes found that there are a lot of people in tech careers that have science backgrounds, and she would encourage women in all majors to think about a career in tech.

In the first part of my career, I was often the only female in the room, she said. I never found it difficult to get into a company, but I think there were times where I felt like a little bit of an outsider. Especially being young and female because it was a lot of old men. And they do kind of treat you like a child sometimes. But thats an age thing, too. And I think a lot of people experience that.

However, at the corporate headquarters where she worked, there was soon a revolution that brought more women into leadership roles, part of a broader shift in society.

Foster said that she would recommend that women get as much exposure to different industries as possible, because technology careers require a broad understanding of the world.

Mickey said that growing up, she often worked as a waitress. Her biggest challenge when she broke into a career in technology was believing in herself.

Yeah you may be young and you may be in a room full of people, but what you have to say is worth listening to and what you have to say is really valuable, she said. I was pretty content just bringing home tips and working in different office positions. But I finally realized its now or never and made the sacrifice to go back to school. And once I was there the passion grew, and the need and the want to be successful grew.

Corwin said that growing up, she had never even looked twice at technology as an option for a career. That echoes patterns in society, because when there arent highly visible female CEOs at tech companies, young girls dont identify with role models and aspire to become like them. It's safe to say not many little girls identified with Steve Jobs. It will be a slow process, but as more women gain traction in male-dominated fields, younger generations will increasingly see it as an option.

Technology was so far from a possibility for me, Corwin explained. I wasnt good at math. I wasnt good at everything I thought I needed to be in technology. But I was introduced to ATG through a former boss and I met (ATG Missoula Solutions Center manager) Tom Stergios through LinkedIn and my first interview was actually with Holly. And the night before my first interview, I had to Google every other word because I didnt understand it. I thought, This is so not possible.' And then I met Holly, and I was like, Oh my gosh, I want to be this person someday.'"

***

Sue Larew is a vice president at a large financial institution in Missoula. She wanted to make clear she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of her company, but she offered some candid assessments of the difficulties women face in the corporate banking world.

Throughout my career, since 1977 as a banker, a lot of meetings and a lot of boardrooms have had a lot more men than women, she said. But I want to say that the only people that are going to change that are the women that keep trudging forward. It wasnt super easy for me, but it wasnt that hard, either. So I dont want to discourage people.

Early on in her career, Larew worked in Miami, where 82 banks with 11,000 employees that managed $6.5 billion reported up to her.

I was working for a company that rewarded behavior and hard work, so if you wanted to move up the ladder, you could, she said. Ive had a pretty amazing career. I felt like if I worked hard, I worked for a great company and they were going to take care of me.

She acknowledged that there have been times in her career where she may have faced more difficulty moving up than a male counterpart.

There have been times where Ive hit glass ceilings, but having said that, I am tenacious and I keep moving, she said.

As for advice, Larew recommends young women find a good mentor to help them maneuver through the job market.

There are a lot of strong women in Missoula and across the U.S. willing to help each other, she said. Its good for us to hang together and discuss it. Mentoring each other will help them get where they want to go.

She also said women should research potential employers and find ones that hire a lot of women or have female executives.

You can see trends in companies and see if major things are happening for women, she said. If you dont feel like you are getting anywhere, find things that will help you get to the next level. If they are not getting you there, go somewhere else where you can get there.

Larew said women shouldnt pretend to be someone they are not in meetings.

You have to be confident and you have to make sure youre prepared, but be true to yourself, she said. Be a woman. Its OK. I mentor a lot of small business owners here in Missoula. Its a wide variety of businesses and industries. If women are in an industry like high-tech, which feels like a mans industry, I can help them with the same advice. Be confident and find a mentor. Make sure they are doing something they love and do it a long time. Go to a company that you know is going to support you.
In the Orthodox Christian Tradition, the morning service of Orthros begins with a prayer which proclaims the Holy Spirit to be the Spirit of Truth, Who is everywhere present and Who fills all things. Our faith in the Spirit of God being present with us continually and guiding us in our spiritual life is what ultimately provides comfort and peace in an increasingly chaotic world. It is through a continual embracing of Gods Spirit throughout each day that makes it possible to navigate the uncertainty that we encounter in our lives.

A Russian Orthodox priest named Fr. Alexander Schmemann once wrote that secularism is the greatest heresy of our time, in that it suggests there are neutral zones in our society in which God and faith are not welcome. This secular view does not necessarily deny the existence of God, but rather creates boundaries through which God is simply kept out. Seemingly, how Christianity and other faith communities, have come to live within the boundaries of secularism in the United States is in the compartmentalization of their faith, such that there are times and places where it is okay to reflect God and faith, and that there are other parts of our lives in which our faith must be put aside and not lived or acknowledged.

Perhaps some might argue these secular boundaries are important in a multi-religious world where diversity of belief and non-belief is present. Yet, if our faith is at the center of who we believe ourselves to be in relation to God and His creation, the idea of turning our center on and off as we navigate the boundaries of secularism would seem not only impossible, but perhaps even destructive to the growth and development of our spiritual life. In order to be authentically who we are, we must live a fully authentic life, allowing the fullness of our humanity to be connected to and guided by our faith in God.

As an Orthodox priest, I wear the traditional attire for the Orthodox priesthood, which is called an anteri (in English, we might use the word cassock) both in the church and around town. A bearded man, wearing a black, flowing, dress-like anteri in Missoula is likely to result in people taking notice; perhaps creating some wonder or curiosity, or perhaps even some feelings of uncertainty about what I am wearing and why. In Orthodox countries, the anteri is the standard street-wear for clergy, creating an awareness of the clergy in the daily life of the community and inviting people of faith to request a blessing or a prayer in every setting of ones life. As an Orthodox priest, our faith teaches that the priesthood is a part of my identity; it is a part of who I am. Just as I am always a husband and always a father to my children, in the same way, I am also always a priest of the Church, and the idea that I could leave a part of my identity behind when I leave the church is something foreign to the Orthodox theology of being authentically who God created me to be. Thus in wearing the anteri, my identity and role in the community continues to be expressed and lived.

Within the context of our diverse community, as we journey in becoming increasingly authentic to who we are and what we believe, it is critically important for us to show respect and love to others whose beliefs are likely different from our own. May we lovingly carry our faith identity with us throughout each day, praying for courage to be authentically ourselves, while also having the courage to allow others to do the same.
NorthWestern Energys recently renegotiated taxable value had Missoula city, county and school districts scrambling this week to decide the best way to address unexpected revenue shortfalls.

An Oct. 14 settlement between Montana's Department of Revenue and NorthWestern means that the company will pay about $10 million less than expected in property taxes this year.

Even with the settlement, however, NorthWestern will still pay $12 million more than in 2015.

The unexpected reduction means holes in local city, county and school district budgets. They had one of two choices by the end of last week: absorb the loss and dip into reserves, or request recertification and raise property taxes.

Both the city and county are going with the former, which only affects this fiscal year, rather than go through the complicated process of recertification. That would amend the FY17 budget, affecting mill values and department budgets.

"We are sympathetic and we understand the budgeting process that schools and local governments use, that this has created some problems and they've had to take some extra steps," said NorthWestern spokesman Butch Larcombe. "But we feel we have an obligation to seek fair valuation of our property taxes, in large part because we ask our customers to share some of that responsibility on their bill."

Friday's deadline to request recertification was extended to Wednesday in a DOR letter sent to counties Friday morning.

County Chief Financial Officer Andrew Czorny said Wednesday that 32 of Missoula Countys 39 taxing districts will be affected by the new taxable value, with a total, including the citys portion, of a little over $1.4 million in taxable value lost in the county.

Of the 32 affected districts, 15 are school districts, with the others including rural fire departments, urban transportation and sewer districts. None of the non-school tax districts are choosing to recertify, Czorny said.

The 15 school districts would in total see a loss of more than $412,000, according to the Office of Public Instruction, though seven are recertifying, in turn increasing property taxes.

NorthWestern is "easily the largest taxpayer in the state," said Department of Revenue director Mike Kadas. It accounts "for nearly 30 percent of all the centrally assessed property taxes" in the state, according to the company.

Montana has 1,300 taxing jurisdictions. NorthWestern has property in about 900 of those.

"That's unique," Kadas said. "We really don't have any other taxpayers that are that big and that have that kind of breadth."

***

This summer, NorthWestern "fundamentally disagreed" with the Revenue Department's $2.6 billion tax valuation of the company. Larcombe said initial estimates were $163 million in property taxes; Kadas said that was a very preliminary number, with actual estimates closer to $144 million.

"I don't think ... that number ($163 million) was ever realistic in anyone's mind," Kadas said.

In either case, it's up from a $2.2 billion valuation in 2015, and taxes of $122 million.

The settlement ended in a $2.4 billion valuation, and taxes at about $134 million.

That difference of about $10 million in taxes will be absorbed by local jurisdictions.

Two years ago, NorthWestern purchased 11 hydroelectric facilities from PPL Montana for $900 million.

"Over the last two years we have been incorporating that additional value into their market valuation, which of course affects their taxes," Kadas said.

The Revenue Department took into account the sale price, NorthWestern's net income and equity in debt.

"All those methods showed us that their value had increased substantially," Kadas said. "The income methods in particular, we do some averaging, so the new value doesn't come all at once. It's phased in. That's what we're in the process of doing. What this settlement means is it will just go a little slower than we originally anticipated.

"We have a requirement to have our values for tax jurisdictions out to those jurisdictions by the first week in August. We put out the value that we had and then we continued discussing the issue with NorthWestern. It became clear to me that NorthWestern was going to protest our value if we didn't change it."

***

They avoided a tax protest  which Larcombe said was considered  meaning the impact won't be as great on local budgets. The company would have still paid taxes, but they would have been held in an escrow account until the protest was resolved.

Local jurisdictions would have been able to use some of the funds in escrow, "but they're generally quite reluctant to," Kadas said, because if the state lost, jurisdictions would have to return that money.

Those that decided to recertify went to their county commissioners for final approval, since counties are responsible for preparing tax bills.

Thursday, Missoula County commissioners voted not to recertify. If they had, tax bills would have gone out a couple of months late, which means the county would have received not only the increased tax revenues late, but all tax revenues.

Without recertification, each department will be tasked with either cutting spending or dipping into their reserves, whichever they think will work best, Czorny said.

Department heads will receive instructions on how much their department will need to cut back or cover with reserves this week.

In some cases, counties had already sent out tax bills; recertifying means an added administrative cost.

Normally, tax bills go out the last week of October or first week of November.

"We think we can probably stick to that same time frame in the vast majority of cases," Kadas said.

***

The Office of Public Instruction advised all school districts to request recertification.

In Missoula County, seven districts were approved to recertify:

Missoula Elementary

Missoula High School

Lolo Elementary

Bonner Elementary

Clinton Elementary

Target Range Elementary

Florence-Carlton K-12 (it has taxable value in both Missoula and Ravalli counties)

Five Missoula County districts opted not to recertify:

Alberton K-12 (it has taxable value in both Missoula and Mineral counties)

Frenchtown K-12

Hellgate Elementary

Potomac Elementary

DeSmet Elementary

Of the 900 affected taxing districts statewide, about 57 would see less than 1 mill change, therefore the Department of Revenue did not notify them.

"Less than one mill change has little impact," Revenue Department spokeswoman Mary Ann Dunwell said in an email.

Four Missoula County elementary districts were part of that bunch:

Seeley Lake

Sunset

Swan Valley

Woodman

Arlee's elementary and high school requests were approved by Missoula County on Thursday, but denied by Lake County commissioners. Arlee, therefore, will not be recertified. Lake County commissioners did not respond to a request for comment by press time Friday.

Missoula County Public Schools would have lost more than $351,000 out of its elementary and high school budgets of $96.7 million if it hadn't gone with recertification. That's 0.36 percent of the combined budgets, which were adopted in August.

"This will eliminate a revenue impact to the district and allow MCPS to avoid spending into limited reserves held to meet emergency expenses," director of technology and communication Hatton Littman said in an emailed statement.

School districts are allowed to have no more than 10 percent of their general fund budget in operating reserves. Littman could not provide how much MCPS has in reserves in FY17. Based on FY16 budgets, the district had 4 percent in elementary and 5 percent in high school, which totals about $3.2 million.

Missoula County has asked school districts to provide revised mill levy calculations by 5 p.m. Monday.

"Nobody gained in this, and some didn't lose anything because they didn't have any NorthWestern Energy property," said OPI Chief of Staff Madalyn Quinlan. "But in every case, affected school districts are losing taxable valuation."

***

Both the city and county said this will not affect their taxes for their residents this year, though if the lower tax revenue from NorthWestern continues into next year, steps may have to be taken to make up for the loss then.

Czorny and city Chief Administrative Officer Dale Bickell said their budgets have reserves that will allow them to absorb the loss, though spending will be tight due to that method.

Bickell said in a meeting with the Missoula City Council Administration and Finance Committee on Wednesday the city has around $1.5 million in anticipated savings in FY17.

They'll bump that number up to about $1.65 million, to cover the $140,000 loss theyll experience due to NorthWesterns new taxable value, pulling back spending where they can in different departments.

We think this is the simplest way to handle a complex issue, Mayor John Engen said at the meeting. It will be encouraging the Department of Revenue to continue their discussions with NorthWestern Energy.

Czorny said it's too late to raise taxes this year, and Missoula County can do much the same as the city  each department has a reserve fund, from 2 percent to 10 percent of their budget, so none will be short money in FY17.

He didnt recommend recertification, which would lower mill values and take time.

Whether we recertify or not, the money is lost, he said. It doesnt help us.

Next year, tax hikes wont come from this change, though mill levy values will go down.

Two lines of spending cant be cut back this year: open space bond and permissive medical levies, Czorny said. The open space bond mainly pays back debts incurred on Fort Missoula Regional Park.

We can cut costs and find ways to save a little money here and there, but banks get cranky, Communications Director Anne Hughes said, pointing to a list of open space debt payments on Czornys desk.

A rate hike may occur in the next fiscal year to make sure that $72,458 in budgeted payments in FY17 are covered, though they may also be covered by reserve funds. Both options will be discussed during next years budget meetings.

The county has to wait for the recertification process to finish so it can send out completed tax bills  it hopes by Oct. 31, if the countys schedule to send bills before Election Day goes as planned.

We take that responsibility extremely seriously, Hughes said. Voters need to know what their tax bills look like.

Especially with a bond measurement, Czorny added.

Montana's Public Service Commission has asked NorthWestern to change customers' bills starting in January. They'll break out how much is made up of property taxes. PSC's push was not part of this settlement.

"We want people to understand there's a very direct connection between what we pay in property taxes and what appears on their bill," Larcombe said.

NorthWestern would like to see legislation introduced that makes property taxes more predictable year to year, he said, as the company "didn't see that coming at all."

"We would like to find a way to take out some of that surprise element in the bill," he said.

The Department of Revenue plans to start NorthWestern's valuation earlier next year "to avoid this type of situation," Kadas said.

"This is certainly not ideal," he said.
A ballot initiative that would ban the trapping of animals on public lands in Montana appears headed for failure, according to a recent poll commissioned by Lee Newspapers.

The Mason-Dixon poll of more than 1,000 registered voters, conducted Oct. 10-12, found that 63 percent of Montanans who responded said they would vote no to reject I-177. Of those polled, 24 percent said they would vote yes on the measure and 13 percent were undecided.

The numbers are much different when gender is taken into account. A total of 73 percent of men said they intend to vote no, while only 18 percent said they would vote yes and 9 percent remain undecided. Of women, 53 percent say theyll vote the initiative down compared with 31 who will support it, with 16 percent undecided.

Trapping also appears to be a partisan issue. For Democrats, 45 percent say theyll support I-177, with 40 percent saying theyll vote no and 15 percent undecided. Among Republicans, 77 percent say theyll vote against it, 10 percent say theyll vote for it and 12 percent are undecided.

The question in the poll was phrased: Ballot initiative I-177 would ban trapping on public lands. If you were voting today, would you vote yes, no or undecided?

***

A group called Montanans for Trap-Free Public Lands gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot. The ban, if it were passed, would include exceptions for protecting livestock, property and public health. It would not affect trapping on private land, which takes up more than two-thirds of Montana.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, around 6,000 trappers harvest roughly 50,000 furbearing animals in the state every year. Most of those are muskrats and coyotes, but thousands of raccoons, beavers, red fox, bobcats, skunks, badgers, martens and mink are taken annually.

The Montana Trappers Association has come out strongly against the ballot initiative. State campaign finance records show that organization has received $47,530.13 from the end of June to late September in political contributions, including $5,000 each from the Alaska, Pennsylvania, Utah and Vermont trapping associations. Many individual contributions came in, both from out of state and from within Montana.

The MTA sent well over $12,000 to a political committee called Montanans For Wildlife and Public Lands Access, which is financing advertisements and flyers against I-177. That organization has received roughly $137,862 from late July to late September. The Ohio State Trappers Association gave $10,000, Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte gave $10,000 and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation gave $25,000.

Montanans For Effective Wildlife Management, which lists the same treasurer as Montanans For Wildlife and Public Lands Access, also got $7,420 from the MTA.

A political committee that supports the initiative called Montanans for Trap Free Public Lands  Safe Public Lands For All Users, received more than $108,422 in contributions since May. Almost all of those came in the form of individual contributions, many of which appear to be from Montana residents. Alan Applebury, a veterinarian in Hamilton, donated $20,000, the largest contribution. The group spent large sums of money on hiring people for signature gathering.

***

Clare Beelman, a volunteer who is supporting I-177, accused political opponents of spreading misinformation and lies.

I would say to people who are undecided, I would urge them to go to our website yeson177.com and read the initiative, she said. Because if you spend a few minutes reading it, you will realize that much of what people have been saying is a complete lie.

Beelman said opponents have been saying that banning trapping on public lands would remove the most effective means of wildlife management.

Thats just completely wrong because it allows FWP to undertake trapping on public land for management activities, she said. Thats just one of the many lies. This concept that predators are going to overrun the world? This allows for predator control. Just read the initiative. This concept that if it were to pass its going to cause rampant disease to spread everywhere and animals are going to come into town and people are going to have to put out poison because they cant trap anymore? You cant trap in town anyway, and you cant put poison in town anyway. Its completely false.

Beelman said shes extremely frustrated with the opposition.

Its because theyre essentially doing what weve always been accused of doing, and that is playing on peoples fears and emotions, she said. And in fact, thats what the political committee against this is now doing, is playing on fears and emotions. And were trying to say these are the facts as best we know. So the more you feel like you are correcting people, it feels like people dont want to listen.

Nancy Winslow of Missoula, who says she and her husband Doug Weber are avid bird hunters, say their dogs have been caught in traps five separate times. She says its unfair that she could get arrested for damaging a trap.

"I want to assure people that prohibiting trapping on public lands is not going to start the slippery slope of prohibiting hunting altogether," she said. "Hunting is well-regulated and does not involve personal profit and doesn't put one person's rights over another."

Jim Buell, the treasurer of Montanans for Wildlife and Public Lands Access, said that the poll numbers haven't changed since the last time anti-trappers tried to get an initiative on the ballot.

"Folks that are Montanans still continue with Montana values," he said. "It's very good numbers for the sportsmen in Montana."

Buell is a lifelong trapper who for the past 18 years has run a youth education camp near Havre that aims to teach youngsters the basics of trapping ethics, safety and health.

Several other people connected to the Montana Trappers Association were contacted for comment for this story, but they either did not return a call or declined to comment. Toby Walrath, the president of the MTA, told the Missoulian last month that trapping is humane and safe, especially with the advent of new technology that eliminates non-target capture.
Montanas Senate delegation co-signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking for continued pressure to get a new Softwood Lumber Agreement with Canada.

We are disappointed that Canada appears reluctant to follow through on this commitment, which has significantly undermined (the U.S. Trade Representatives) efforts to reach a final agreement, Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester wrote on Friday, in a bipartisan message joined by 24 fellow senators.

The Softwood Lumber Agreement was originally signed in 2006 and set limits for Canadian lumber imports to the United States. It expired in 2015, but had a one-year stand-still clause allowing time to negotiate a new deal. That expired on Oct. 13.

The United States has proposed that Canadian imports be limited to an agreed share of the U.S. lumber market. Canadian counter-proposals have suggested setting a duty charge on imports crossing the border, but not a quota for how much wood can be sent over.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs and thousands of U.S. rural communities depend on fairness in trade in softwood lumber, the senators wrote. That is why we will continue to urge you, and any future Administration, to seek a fair, effective, and sustainable agreement with Canada on softwood lumber trade, and in the absence of such an agreement, to fully enforce U.S. trade laws.

U.S. negotiators maintain the Canadian timber industry benefits from government subsidies that give an uncompetitive advantage to cutting trees on Canadian provincial and federal land. The Canadians have successfully argued in international trade court that the U.S. import limits violate free-trade agreements.

Senators Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, authored the letter.
Although a campus-wide rummage sale takes place this Saturday, dont get the wrong idea about the green price tags on many trees shading the University of Montana.

Student members of the Society of American Foresters hung tags as part of National Forest Products Week, demonstrating the value of urban forest species. For example, a Douglas fir tree by Stone Hall noted its size (83 feet), diameter (35 inches), potential products (plywood, tea for rheumatism cure) and value in environmental benefits ($13,954, based on storm water absorption, improved air quality and property value).

The week of celebrating and contemplating the state of Montanas forestry industry wrapped up with visit to an active logging project tucked into the side of Mount Sentinel.

Although work in the woods has been in decline for the past three decades, Montana remains one of the few states in the West with everything from loggers to lumber yards still in operation. According to Department of Natural Resources and Conservation figures, 7,749 people earn $319 million in annual wages from the forest products industry.

National Forest Products Week even generated a proclamation from President Barack Obama. In it, Obama noted benefits of fresh air, clean water, wildlife habitat, recreational activity and essential products such as paper, wood and packaging material. He also observed the increasing risks of wildfire, erosion, drought and climate change.

(W)e are exploring ways to help forestland owners respond to climate change, Obama wrote. Earlier this year, we released a roadmap for implementing key building blocks to achieve this goal, such as private forest growth and retention, stewardship of Federal forests, and promotion of wood products.

For Missoulians, the week culminated with a trip to the top of Pattee Canyon, where Kathy and Gary Kahl hosted a tour of a hazardous fuels reduction project on their property. A long driveway beyond the popular public trailhead, the Kahls overlooked a dense grove of trees on the steep slopes above Deer Creek Road.

We feel totally privileged to live up here, but were compromised by the fire danger, Kathy Kahl said. We dont want anybody dying trying to save us.

That was a real concern in 1985, when the Hellgate fire raced around Mount Sentinel and sent flames up the canyon in sight of the Kahls home. In the 33 years theyve lived there, Kathy said saplings she planted when they moved in are now blocking the view out her windows.

Thanks to a grant from the DNRC Forests in Focus program, the Kahls and two neighbors were able to hire a professional logging crew. The goal was to take most of the trees off the hillside, leaving old healthy Douglas fir, larch and pine trees about 20 feet apart. Thats the prescribed distance that keeps a wildfire from jumping from treetop to treetop in whats known as a crown fire.

Gary Kahl said the results mean more sunlight in the mornings and a view of the mountains to the east that he hadnt seen for years. It also means considerably less risk of a fire starting from the Deer Creek Road racing up the hillside to his home.

Because the properties bordered Deer Creek at the bottom of the canyon, the crew had to set up a high-line skidding machine to pull the cut trees to the top of the hill. That proved a challenge to maneuver a 110,000-pound line skidder to the top of Pattee Canyon.

Intermountain Forestry owner Ben Smith said that was actually easier on the landscape than more common ground-level skidding with bulldozers. His team expected to need about three weeks to remove 80,000 board-feet of logs and 40 tons of pulp from the six-acre parcel. The commercial value of the logs would pay for about half of the cost of the project. The Forests in Focus program of state dollars pays for the other half.

Its cool to see landowners wanting to manage their timber, Smith said. And a site like this is a lot of fun to work with.
As the mother of two children who thrived in Montana public schools, I know how important education is to our childrens future. In my work with teachers and public employees, Ive been fortunate to know many of the people running for statewide office in Montana. I am impressed with Melissa Romano, who is running for Montana superintendent of public instruction.

Romano is a classroom teacher who loves her students and the teaching profession. She is an outstanding, master teacher. Denise Juneau, our current superintendent, cant run for re-election due to term limits.

Romano understands that the role of superintendent is to lead Montanas schools, to work to improve our already outstanding schools. She will continue Denise Juneaus good work through Graduation Matters so that every Montana child graduates from high school, career or college ready.

Melissa Romano is a mother herself. She knows how essential parents, families and communities are to our childrens education. She knows basic skills are important, but we also need to inspire childrens natural curiosity, imagination and love of learning.

Romano knows strong public schools are the backbone of our communities. Unlike her opponent, Romano will fight to keep public money in public schools.

Its wonderful to have such a qualified and inspiring candidate on the ballot. Vote Melissa Romano!

Terry Minow,

Boulder
HAMILTON  Bitterroot National Forest officials want to harvest about 45 acres of fire-killed trees near three trailheads in the Roaring Lion drainage southwest of Hamilton.

The trees were burned in the 8,700-acre Roaring Lion fire this summer.

People interested in offering comments have until Nov. 1 to get those submitted.

Darby District Ranger Eric Winthers said the hope is to have the harvest completed this winter so the trails can be reopened next spring or early summer.

The logging would occur near the Roaring Lion, Sawtooth and Ward Mountain trailheads.

The proposed salvage sale would make the trailheads safer by removing trees prone to falling over, cut down on the long-term buildup of fuels in the wildland urban interfaces and provide raw materials for the wood products industry, according to a Bitterroot Forest news release.

Plans call for removing the trees using ground-based logging methods this winter. Whole trees will be skidded to a landing and the slash piled and burned. No new roads will be required.

About 12 acres of the project are inside the Selway-Bitterroot Inventoried Roadless Area.

That acreage was part of a larger fuels reduction proposal called the Westside Collaborative Vegetation Management Project.

The Roaring Lion Fire burned through a portion of the project area, including several hundred acres that would have been hand thinned.

The fire accomplished the goal of reducing the fuels in those units, Winthers said.

The area being considered for the salvage sale was the only Westside project unit that burned where commercial logging had been proposed.

Since the fire burned through areas classified as roadless or on very steep hillsides, Winthers said there wasnt an opportunity to do additional salvage logging.

The three trailheads will remain closed until the logging is completed.

Winthers said the bridge over Sawtooth Creek was damaged by the fire and will be rebuilt by the Selway-Pintler Wilderness Backcountry Horsemen.

Comments on the salvage sale should be submitted to Winthers by one of the following methods; mail: P.O. Box 388, Darby, Montana 59829. Fax: 406-821-4264, or email: comments-northern-bitterroot-darby@fs.fed.us.

Comments should include: name, address, phone number, and organization represented, if any; title of project on which the comments are being submitted; and substantive comments including specific facts and supporting information for the District Ranger to consider. Please put Comments on Roaring Lion Fire Salvage Project in the subject line for which you are submitting comments.

Names and contact information (including addresses and email addresses) submitted with comments will become part of the public record and may be released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Bitterroot Forest officials hope to move forward with the remainder of the Westside fuels reduction project as soon as possible.

A landowner filed a lawsuit in July against the project due to concerns about a proposed new road and bridge near the familys property.

We are entering into negotiations with the litigant, Winthers said. We are hoping to make some make progress. I think well know fairly soon. Were hoping to get that larger project done or started this winter.
STEVENSVILLE  Roy Capp is not a fan of Google maps.

Capps ranch on the western edge of Stevensville completely surrounds the 1.2-acre Fort Owen State Park.

But when the rancher pulls out his cellphone and types in the parks name, the resulting map shows that his entire ranch is part of the historical park.

Ive been fighting this for five years, Capp said earlier this week week as he prepared to meet with members of the Montana State Parks Board and interested locals about the challenges his family faces with the landlocked park thats just a stones throw from his home and ranch buildings.

Ive had people drive out in my hay field, Capp said. I found some ladies crawling around on my round bales to get a picture of themselves.  People think that if its on Google, it must be true.

Over the years, hes also had things turn up missing from his ranch operation, found people wandering around his corrals, and had carloads of drunks stop pull up near his home.

This really shouldnt be a park, Capp said. It should be a historical monument.

The Capp family has lived on the ranch since 1972.

The site was originally given to a local historical society back in the 1920s or 30s. When that organization decided it could no longer manage the site, it turned the land over to the state parks system in 1956.

The historical significance of Fort Owen is widely recognized.

The first mission built by the Jesuits that came to the Bitterroot Valley in the 1841 was constructed nearby. When the Jesuits left for a time, they sold the property to Mayor John Owen in 1850.

Its a place of many firsts for Montana.

Owen built the first sawmill, first gristmill and had the first cattle herd. The first bill of the Montana Legislature dealt with Fort Owen.

In terms of the pre-statehood, Fort Owen was a happening place, said Loren Flynn, the state parks employee who manages Fort Owen and Travelers Rest in Lolo.

Today, theres not much left above ground from those early times.

The adobe back wall of the barracks is all of the original set of buildings that remain on the site. The barracks has been reconstructed and several other historical buildings have been moved onto the site along with interpretive signs.

State parks officials estimate that about 3,000 people visit the park every year. They say those numbers have been on the downward trend for some time.

The chief challenge of managing the site is its proximity to the Capp ranch. People have to use the ranchs main road to access the park. Once they arrive, there is barely room for two cars to park.

For Capp, too many of the people who do come to visit the publicly owned historical site dont respect the fact that its surrounded by private property.

This week, members of the state parks board and several folks from the Stevensville community met at the park to learn more from Capp and start a discussion on what might be done. The board held its monthly meeting Thursday in Hamilton.

Almost on cue, as the group gathered in a circle to talk, a family stopped by to visit the historical site. After the family finished walking through the barracks, they wandered through a gate and onto Capps property to go look at a horse in a nearby corral.

Thats what Im talking about, Capp said.

State Park Manager Chet Crowser said the situation at Fort Owen is unique in the state.

I cant think of any other site like this that we manage, he said.

The group talked about different ways the park could manage to protect its integrity, provide access to the public and offer some relief to the landowner.

Capp offered to donate several acres that he owns behind the Historic St. Marys Mission site on the western edge of Stevensville to the state if it would consider moving the remaining structures there.

But that idea didnt resonate to many. They said removing the buildings would change the historical context of the historical site where tens of thousands of artifacts already have been discovered.

Others offered ideas ranging from buying a new easement across the Capp property to access the site and provide parking, to reducing access to tours that would originate at the St. Marys Mission.

By the end of the meeting, it was obvious that finding a solution was not going to be simple.

The State Parks Board Chairman, Tom Towe, said building local support for the site will be an important first step, especially in these times when the state parks system is facing funding challenges of its own.

We are going to need everyone to work together, Towe said. I think everyone agrees that this is a very significant historical place.
Under heavy pressure to cut energy consumption, China is now turning the spotlight on to construction projects, the transportation sector and government buildings.

China's top legislature on Sunday began deliberating a draft amendment to the Law on Conserving Energy, which details measures to avoid energy waste in the three areas to improve energy efficiency and cut pollution emissions.

Under a five-year plan to 2010, China pledged to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent, or four percent each year. But, the consumption actually fell by just 1.23 percent last year.

"Achieving the target is highly problematic. Energy consumption in some areas and industries just keeps rising," Fu Zhihuan, chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), told lawmakers in a report.

Fu said energy consumption in these three areas has been rising rapidly. He said they had not been given enough attention and were the "weak link" in China's energy-saving campaign.

Official statistics show that construction accounted for 27.5 percent of China's total energy consumption in 2005, transportation 16.3 percent and government buildings 6.7 percent.

The draft, tabled to lawmakers for a first reading, says that construction project must reach obligatory energy-saving standards and buildings and plants already built will be subject to regular inspection by building authorities.

It also says Chinese cities will gradually replace antiquated central heating with modern household heating systems that can be individually regulated.

Other energy-saving measures include strict control of the indoor temperature of public buildings and restrictions on decorative lighting for large buildings.

China has built 1.06 billion square meters of energy efficient buildings, but the figure represents only 7 percent of the total floor space of existing buildings in urban China, statistics from the Ministry of Construction show.

According to a survey by the ministry in 30 regions, the four municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing are doing relatively well in implementing energy saving codes, but other regions are a long way behind in technological standards and government supervision.

The draft, which almost doubles the articles of the original law, also requires governments at all levels to increase investment in public transport, improve services and encourage the public to use public transport.

China, once known as the kingdom of bicycles, has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest auto market after the United States with Chinese people's love for private vehicles showing no sign of abating. The number of privately owned motor vehicles rose 18.8 percent year-on-year to 22 million in China in 2006.

The draft says that the Chinese government encourages the development, production, selling and use of environmental-friendly vehicles and new types of automobile propelled by new clean fuel, in an effort to save energy and cut emissions.

The draft also requires governments at all levels to make energy-saving plans for their office buildings and make the details public.

It bans government from purchasing high energy-consuming equipment, saying that energy-saving products should be the priority in government procurement.

The State Council, or the cabinet, in early June issued a circular, ordering that the temperature of all air-conditioned public rooms in China should be kept at no lower than 26 degrees Celsius.

All government agencies, associations, groups, companies and private owners in public buildings should strictly comply with this rule, according to the circular.

The draft also highlighted energy efficiency in the industrial sector, saying that China will continue to push forward industrial restructuring and technical innovation to gradually weed out outdated production methods.

The six high energy-consuming and highly polluting industries -- electricity, steel, nonferrous metals, construction materials, oil processing and chemicals -- which account for nearly 70 percent of energy consumption and sulfur dioxide discharges of the entire industrial sector, grew by 20.6 percent in the first quarter of 2007, 6.6 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.

The government will issue preferential policies in financial investment, taxation, price, credit and government procurement to encourage energy-saving, according to the draft.

The Chinese government has announced a series of measures to cut energy consumption this year in order to meet strict energy efficiency and pollutant reduction targets, which it failed last year.

The State Council has set up a leading group head by Premier Wen Jiabao to oversee the national efforts for energy efficiency and discharge reduction.

Experts believe that by sharpening rules and punishments in the nine-year-old law, China will be able to achieve the widely publicized targets by 2010 and move in the direction of sustainable development.

"If China fails to significantly reduce energy consumption this year, it will be almost impossible for the country to reach the goal by 2010," said Dai Yande, deputy director of the energy institution under the NDRC.
A Mineral County panel will meet Monday to take the next step in finding a new county attorney after the lawyer elected to the office resigned to take another job in August.

County commissioner Laurie Johnston said Marcia Boris left to work as a deputy county attorney in Lincoln County. Following her resignation, the commissioners hired Missoula attorney Matt Erekson to serve as county attorney on an interim basis, and formed a committee to select a long-term replacement.

After receiving applications from 11 candidates, the committee will meet Monday to select a shortlist whose members will be brought in for interviews, said Charlee Thompson, administrative assistant to the Mineral County commissioners.

In addition to herself and commissioners Johnston, Duane Simons and Roman Zylawy, Thompson said eight other people make up the hiring committee. They include Clerk of District Court Kathleen Brown, retired District Court Judge Ed McLean, former Mineral County attorney and recently-retired Missoula deputy county attorney Shaun Donovan, lawyer Lance Jasper, former Mineral County Justice of the Peace Wanda James, sheriff Tom Bauer, and representatives from the local Republican and Democrat parties.

Thompson said the committee members will each have a vote to make a recommendation, with the county commissioners having the final decision in who is hired. The person chosen will fill out the rest of Boris four-year term, which ends in 2018. Johnston said she is hoping to have the position filled soon.

We didnt want to rush into things. We wanted to get some good applicants and I think we have, she said.
HELENA  Montana's secretary of state, responding to complaints of people offering to deliver voters' absentee ballots for them, said Friday that residents should mail in or hand their ballots directly to their election office unless they know and trust the people who are handling them.

Secretary of State Linda McCulloch's comments come after voters in at least three counties reported that people offered to deliver their absentee ballots for them, and after remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that the national election may be rigged.

On Friday, Billings police said at least 10 people called to report their absentee ballots had been taken from their mailboxes, the Billings Gazette reported. Crime prevention officer Tom Keightley said it wasn't immediately clear whether the thefts were politically motivated or simply vandalism.

There is nothing illegal and nothing new about a voter handing his or her absentee ballot to another person for delivery, McCulloch said. Both Republicans and Democrats have been doing it for years, she said, as part of their get-out-the-vote efforts.

"We recommend that voters not give their ballots to someone other than the elector office unless it's someone they're confident in giving their ballots to," McCulloch said. "We also recommend that they check the My Voter Page website to see whether their ballot has been received by the county office."

Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann has raised the question of whether ballots that are handed over to strangers are being tampered with or destroyed. He sent a letter to McCulloch asking her to produce a public-service announcement telling voters not to give their ballots to strangers.

Essmann wrote a second letter to Montana Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Keenan saying one of the people who offered to deliver a ballot was a working for the Democratic Party, and he asked her to end the practice.

"I would like them to explain what the need is for a third party to insert themselves between the voter and the ballot box," he said.

The Democratic Party has said it occasionally delivers ballots on behalf of voters as allowed under state law, comparing the practice to giving people a ride to vote at the polls.

"We never have and never will tolerate any activity  from volunteers, staffers, independent organizations or the GOP  that interferes with voter privacy or fair elections," party spokesman Jason Pitt said Friday.

Essmann denied that the Republican Party has ever offered to deliver voters' ballots for them, and he said the concern is that tampered or destroyed ballots could affect the outcome in close races.

The party has set up a hotline for voters to call in reports of such ballot delivery offers. He added that Republicans also will deploy volunteers on Nov. 8 to election offices to observe officials as they verify the signatures of absentee ballots.

McCulloch said the integrity of Montana's elections is not in question.

"Just because the Montana Republican Party is making accusations doesn't change the fact that elections are run very well by county elections officials," she said.
HAMILTON  Montanas state parks arent created equally.

Some are tiny and some large. Others are a great place to recreate while still others are better for learning about history or culture. Some are set up to handle overnight stays and others prohibit it.

But right now, its hard for visitors to know exactly what theyll find when they make the trip to visit one of the states parks.

Every single one of the 54 properties managed under the Montana State Park system is simply called a state park.

Thats most likely going to change sometime in the near future.

This week, the Montana State Parks Board heard about a proposal to change the way the parks are designated at a meeting held in Hamilton.

Under the proposal, only 13 of the properties will retain the designation as a state park. The rest will be divided up among three designations that include state heritage site, state natural area and state recreational area.

Melissa Baker, state parks chief of operations assistant administrator, said the effort is part of a reorganization occurring under the state parks 2014 strategic plan that initially focused on prioritizing the agencys limited resources.

The state parks system is facing funding challenges that have limited the resources it needs to maintain and manage all of its parks.

We knew that we had to find a way to prioritize what we do, Baker said.

Beyond that, state park officials knew that it was challenging for visitors to know just what they could expect when they visit one of the states parks.

For instance, members of the state park board and other officials met Wednesday with the landowner whose property completely surrounds the 1.2-acre Fort Owen State Park.

The landowner said visitors often trespass onto his land while making the stop at the park. He said if Fort Owen was called something other than a state park some of those trespassing challenges might be averted.

We have parks that have very, very little development, Baker said. Some are very small and arent well staffed. We still call all of them a state park. That can be confusing to our visitors.

We want to be able to align the expected experience with what is actually found on those sites, she said.

In the process to develop the strategy, Baker said a state parks team reached out to other states to learn about how they have addressed the issued.

We didnt want to reinvent the process, she said.

They discovered that other states had gone through a similar process to prioritize resources and provide designations that help visitors have a better idea of what the individual parks have to offer.

The process to change the designations is just beginning.

At this week's meeting, Park Board Chair Tom Towe questioned Baker on several of the different designations on individual parks. He hoped that the process could remain flexible enough that if things change on different properties, the designations could change as well.

In the Bitterroot, Fort Owen would be renamed a state heritage site. Painted Rocks would become a state recreational area.

Travelers Rest would remain a state park.

Baker said the next step will to write a draft administrative rule that would outline the process. The rule will go before the board both as a draft and a final before being signed off by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks director.

Public comment will be taken throughout the process.

Glacier County Tourism Executive Director Racene Friede said renaming the sites would be helpful for those promoting tourism in different areas of the state.

I may not know anything about these areas, but with these new classifications, I can have a certain expectation in my head on what Im going to be able to see there, Friede said. Labeling all of these areas as state parks has been very frustrating and confusing to our customers.
If names be not correct, language will not be in accordance with the truth of things.

 Confucius

KALISPELL  A guy named Shakespeare famously asked, Whats in a name?

When someone proposes naming  or re-naming  a geographic feature in Montana, it is Gerry Daumillers job to answer that question.

Be it a mountain, river, island or lake  or slough, hill, reservoir, ravine, creek, coulee, butte, spring, spire, ridge, hollow, gulch or waterfall  Daumiller is the first stop in the process.

Hes the geographic names adviser with the Montana State Library in Helena, and is currently overseeing four such proposals, including one here in Flathead County. Kenneth and Sharon Ramsey want to name a small, 10-acre lake near their home Lone Coyote Lake.

The name would mimic that of a road near the lake, Lone Coyote Trail.

The little lake, which has no inlet or outlet and is filled from a ground source, has appeared on U.S. Geological Survey maps for almost six decades, Daumiller has determined.

But its just a blue spot. The maps have never labeled it.

***

Daumiller doesnt have the final say in name proposals, but he does have an important say.

As Montanas liaison to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, he is responsible for giving the states official recommendation to the people on the federal board who do decide.

Im a little uncomfortable with the role, Daumiller admits, but If the name is a big deal, I reach out for more help or advice.

He regularly contacts county commissioners in the county where a name is proposed to ask for their feedback, as well as Indian tribes and federal, state or local agencies that might have concerns.

The public is also invited to weigh in, although Daumiller says that a lot of the time I go through a lot of effort to get public comment, and nobody cares.

In the case of the proposed Lone Coyote Lake, Flathead Valley residents or others who might either want to support or oppose the name can contact Daumiller at either gdaumiller@mt.gov, or 406-444-5358.

Daumiller has already determined that nowhere in Montana is there any other geological feature named Lone Coyote. Avoiding a duplication of names  especially if they are close to one another and/or the same type of feature  is a consideration.

There are 59 features in the state that contain the word coyote, many of them creeks spread across the state, Daumiller notes on the application. And, there is a Lone Lake in Flathead County, 14 miles from the body of water in question.

But Lone Coyote appears to be an original.

***

The Ramseys didnt set out to name the lake, the southwest portion of which lies within the boundaries of their property lines.

They just wanted to stock some fish in it.

Not even for fishing, Sharon Ramsey says. There are eagles, owls and hawks down there. The pond is full of ducks and geese. There are turtles everywhere. Deer and foxes go down for water.

Adding fish to the picture just seemed like a good thing to do.

But when they visited Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices in May to find out about having the lake stocked with fish from a state hatchery, they learned there was a roadblock.

Whats the name of the pond? Sharon says they were asked. The Ramseys knew of no name.

It has to have a name for us to stock it, she says they were told.

They checked with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which also could find no evidence that the pond had ever been named.

Someone pointed the Ramseys in the direction of Daumiller. He helped them fill out paperwork to get the ball rolling on a name.

***

Its always been the pond to the Ramseys, and their first choice for a name, Lone Coyote Pond, was shot down out of the gate. The pond turned out to be just a little too big to be considered a pond.

Theyd be naming a lake, Daumiller told them.

We could have named it Ramsey Lake,  Sharon says with a laugh, but this has always been about putting fish in the water, not putting their family name on a U.S. Geological Survey map.

So the couple who live on Lone Coyote Trail proposed Lone Coyote Lake.

Its a year-round body of water, the Ramseys say. There is a gravel pit on the side of the lake opposite their property, and the water is 25 to 30 feet deep at its deepest points. Its northwest of Kalispell  west of U.S. Highway 93 and north of Church Drive.

FWP officials told them they would likely stock it with rainbow and westslope cutthroat trout, if and when it gets a name, because the agency believes they would be best suited to the situation.

***

It can take up to a year before the U.S. Board on Geographic Names gives a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to a name proposal, Daumiller says.

In addition to Lone Coyote Lake, there are three other proposals pending in Montana. One would officially name an 18-mile stream in the extreme northeast corner of Montana Malcolm Creek, which locals have reportedly called it for decades anyway.

The other two proposals correct what are believed to be spelling errors. A small reservoir  not even as large as the Ramseys unnamed pond  in Toole County would go from Goedertz Lake to Goeddertz Lake. And in Sweet Grass County, a small stream would be changed from OHearn Creek to Ahern Creek.

While the majority of name proposals are eventually approved, there are no guarantees.

A request five years ago to name a slope near the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge Cheatgrass Hill was shot down after the refuge project leader objected to naming it after a noxious and invasive weed that the refuge was spending $80,000 a year trying to eradicate.

He called it extremely discouraging to review a proposal that, if approved, would elevate the name of one of the exotic weed species.

Daumiller says he tried to contact homeowners on and near the hill to solicit their opinions, and the proponent of the name, a man in Stevensville, to suggest he gather local support, without luck.

Absent that, and also not hearing back from Ravalli County commissioners or a culture committee the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes forwarded the proposal to  Daumiller assumed the lack of response meant neither had an opinion  he went with the recommendation of the refuge project leader.

The state officially opposed the name, and the federal boards Domestic Names Committee voted 13-0 to reject Cheatgrass Hill.

***

While proposals often generate little feedback, thats not always the case.

Take the cliffs that tower above Bull Lake in the Cabinet Mountains of northwest Montana.

Rob Neils, a Spokane man, wanted to give them a name. His description of the cliffs in his proposal certainly made them seem worthy of one.

Neils described the area as a geological formation of gigantic castle-like pinnacles looking like magnificent stalagmites arranged cliff-like along a fault line where Mount Vernons eastern quarter split/slipped away, leaving castle-like rock towers.

Locals, he said, know where to stand on Bull Lake and shout to have the cliffs, more than 1,800 feet above where the spires themselves are almost 1,000 feet tall, deliver back a seven-fold echo.

The multitude of colors in the weather-cracked rocks which comprise the castles is, in early light, breath-taking, Neils wrote. He proposed naming them Castle Cliffs, which his family had called them when he was a boy.

Daumiller set out to find out if others had an opinion on the proposed name.

They most certainly did.

***

Both the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the U.S. Forest Service, told Daumiller that Bad Medicine was the name most often associated with the area.

That was apparently fine with Neils, who withdrew Castle Cliffs and submitted a new proposal, for Bad Medicine Spires.

Once again, Daumiller sought the publics opinion on the new name. He got 57 responses  and with them, suggestions for 23 other names.

Broke-Off Mountain was one. Mount Vernon Hoodoos was another.

The Cliffs at Bad Medicine, Castle Rocks, The Pinnacles and Bad Medicine Mountain were also offered up as alternatives, though no one formally applied to have any of the others considered.

Of the 57 responses, 21 liked Bad Medicine but 19 of them objected to the generic term spires being included. Another 18 preferred Bad Medicine Spires and three more  including a letter from the Lincoln County commissioners  said they were not opposed to the latter.

With more than 40 in various degrees of agreement on some form of Bad Medicine, Daumiller officially put the states backing behind Bad Medicine Spires. He noted that without the inclusion of the word spires, people unfamiliar with the area might assume Bad Medicine referred to an area rather than a specific thing if they saw the name on a map.

In 2013, the Domestic Names Committee approved the name on a 10-0 vote.

***

Daumiller has been Montanas geographic names adviser since 2009. He started at the end of a period where the word squaw was being removed from all geographic names, as directed by the 1999 state Legislature.

That led to competing proposals in some instances.

The Phillips County commissioners and 32 local residents proposed changing the name of a 17-mile tributary of Cow Creek, from Squaw Creek to Williams Creek, in honor of a woman who was born in the area in 1894 and became a local midwife who successfully delivered more than 50 babies.

The Fort Belknap Community Council and four other people wanted to rename it Kills At Night Creek, to honor Theresa Elizabeth (Chandler) White Weasel Walker Kills At Night Lamebull. Before her death at age 111 in 2007, she was the oldest living member of the Gros Ventre Tribe. At the age of 109, she had helped develop a Gros Ventre language dictionary.

In next-door Blaine County, where the tributary also flows, the commissioners backed Kills At Night.

Daumiller didnt have to choose which name the state would recommend. The community council had first proposed Kills At Night Creek in 2008 to a Squaw Name Change Committee set up by the Legislature, which endorsed it.

State law requires state agencies to use names selected by the committee, and so the state recommended Kills At Night Creek over Williams Creek.

The Domestic Names Committee agreed by a 13-2 vote.

Nowadays, name proposals come in on an irregular basis, perhaps three to four times a year, according to Daumiller, who otherwise is a geographic information system programmer and analyst for the state library.

Most, like the Ramseys proposal for Lone Coyote Lake, seem pretty straightforward.

But there are stories behind them all. In the Ramseys' case, they need a name to get some fish.
BILLINGS  Before becoming a congressman, Ryan Zinke said there was widespread voter fraud in both national and Montana elections, including a claim that the dead cast ballots.

While election officials deny that voter fraud happens in Montana, Zinke's comments are in step with Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has made claims of rigged elections and raised the profile of fraud concerns leading up to the 2016 election.

Zinke has been a supporter of Trump throughout the election year.

In 2013, Zinke appeared on an online radio show, The Hagmann and Hagmann Report. At the time, he was a former state senator who had served two terms in the Legislature.

The conversation turned to voter fraud midway through the show, and Zinke said that voter confidence in the system is important. He then made his claim.

I think there was a lot of tomfoolery in this last election. I just came back from Santa Barbara with the Republican women there that went down to a local university and witnessed, you know, a lot of voter fraud," Zinke said. "And I have to believe thats probably the case across the country. I know in my home state, during the senatorial election, there was a lot of voter fraud. And there was people that voted that were not alive.

Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, a Democrat, said Friday that she's seen no evidence of voter fraud and that claims about voting under the names of the deceased are unfounded.

"There is no history of that," she said. "In fact, county election officials take people off when they appear in the obituaries. They take them off the (voter) rolls."

Yellowstone County Election Administrator Bret Rutherford said he also hadn't seen issues with fraud and deceased voters. He said that in addition to monitoring obituaries, his office gets reports from the state health department to keep the voter rolls current.

In response to questions about the radio show, Zinke campaign spokeswoman Heather Swift said on Friday that Zinke was asked about voter fraud and "simply relayed concerns he heard in various precincts."

"The Congressman does not believe voter fraud is a big problem in Montana but does acknowledge that every few years there are ballot integrity incidents here and there that pop up," Swift said via email.

She cited two stories from the 2012 election about a voting machine delay and the use of stickers to correct ballots.

Concerns about voter fraud have also crept into Montana elections after reports that volunteers offered to deliver some absentee ballots for voters. Police in Livingston determined one of the volunteers to be part of the Montana Democratic Party.

The story spurred Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann to call on McCulloch to issue a public service announcement to encourage absentee voters to hand-deliver the ballots or send them by mail.

McCulloch said on Friday that the volunteer delivery has happened for years, but she added that the best practice is what Essmann suggested.

"We advise people  voters  to not give their ballot to someone other than the county election office or put a stamp on it and put it in the mail," she said.

As of Friday, 313,995 absentee ballots had been mailed.

McCulloch said that that there are safeguards in place, mostly at the county level, to protect against voter fraud. She said that signatures on absentee ballots are verified against a voter's registration card and that in-person voters must show identification or proof of residence.

We look at every single signature," Rutherford said. "For some reason, nobody believes me when I say this.

In Montana, voters can show an ID for an in-person vote. They can also present a bank statement, utility bill, paycheck or other document that includes a name and address.

Those who don't have identification materials can cast a provisional ballot. Then voters have a day to provide an identifying document.

After the election, a hand-counted audit checks the voting machine count. McCulloch said there has never been a discrepancy with the machine count.

Both Rutherford and McCulloch said that the issue of voter fraud has reared its head throughout their tenures as election officials. And it appeared during Zinkes time in the state Senate, when multiple election bills appeared in the Legislature.

A measure requiring post-election audits of voting machines became law in 2009, unanimously passing the Senate and surviving a split House vote. That process remains in effect today.

During the same session, a bill for absentee voter confirmation mailers was also signed into law. Zinke voted against the mailers bill.

During the 2011 session, a bill to expand voting by mail died in the House amid concerns over voter fraud. A stricter voter ID law passed both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

The mail-in ballot bill never made it to the Senate, but Zinke did cast a no vote for the voter ID measure.

In the 2013 Hagmann show, Zinke called himself a huge advocate for voter ID, adding that the cards would need to be widely accessible and at no cost.

Concerns of voter fraud in the 2011 legislative session prompted McCulloch to pen a series of guest columns prior to the 2012 election. She wrote in 2011 that "irresponsible" allegations of voter fraud threatened to reduce voter turnout.

She maintained that position Friday.

"There has been no voter fraud in Montana," McCulloch said. "It doesn't exist."
A Southern California man faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges for fleeing police after getting caught trying to cash a bad check at the Bank of Butte, 3525 Harrison Ave., just after 5 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Bank employees called authorities after Toby Alexander, 29, of Santa Maria presented an altered check with a fake ID. Police arrived just as Alexander was leaving, and the suspect led police on a car chase through a series of parking lots. Alexander eventually weaved into rush-hour traffic on Harrison Avenue and ditched his silver 1995 Ford Thunderbird at the Longfellow Street intersection, continuing to flee police on foot.

Police said Alexander dropped his phone and when rushing back to retrieve it was apprehended by police. Alexander also failed to set his Thunderbird's parking brake, and the vehicle rolled through the intersection, striking an electric box and fire hydrant.

Alexander was booked into the Butte jail for felony counts of forgery, identity theft, and criminal endangerment and misdemeanors for reckless driving, fleeing from police, driving with a suspended license, failing to show proof of insurance, and not adequately setting his parking brake.

Police said the Thunderbird was not registered to Alexander.
DEER LODGE  A Lincoln woman received a three-year deferred sentence and must pay $22,500 in restitution to Pat Pennington in a felony elder abuse case.

Dorothy Horne, 69, also will be under the supervision of the Adult Probation and Parole Bureau with conditions that include getting a mental health evaluation, following its recommendations, and relinquishing her medical marijuana registration card, as ordered recently by District Judge Ray Dayton in Deer Lodge district court.

In January, Horne, a former Elliston resident, pleaded nolo contendere to the charge of felony elder abuse. The plea means Horne accepts conviction as though a guilty plea had been entered but does not admit guilt.

She obtained checks from Pennington, of Elliston, between January 1, 2012, and May 1, 2015, and cashed or negotiated them at the First Bank of Lincoln. In addition, Horne used Penningtons checks to pay for the care and treatment of her animals  including Penningtons cat that she had told him was dead.

In other recent Deer Lodge district court proceedings:

Zephania Nathaniel Segress, 19, pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse of a 15-year-old girl without consent.

According to court records, he is accused of having sex with Jane Doe at a Deer Lodge motel between Sept. 14 and 18 and at a Drummond motel on Sept. 23 after the girl ran away from her grandparents home with him and they headed for Washington State. A 15-year-old child cannot give consent.

The record states Montana Highway Patrol located the couple near the West Drummond interchange on Interstate 90. Segress took off running into a field. He was later apprehended by Granite County deputies; Jane Doe was taken to the Powell County Sheriffs Office.

Segress is free on recognizance pending further court proceedings with conditions that include no contact with the victim or her family.

Jessica Raylene Smith pleaded guilty to an amended charge of felony forgery by common scheme. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and up to $50,000 fine.

Smith admitted that on Feb. 20 and March 2, she tried to cash two checks for $100 and $49.70 on Bill Bakers checking account that he did not authorize her to cash.

Judge Dayton ordered a pre-sentence investigation, and Smith is free on recognizance with conditions pending sentencing.
A prominent Bozeman lawyer has questioned the process of state university officials pushing through a $5.7 million research grant from the controversial Koch Foundation designed to create a research center at Montana State University.

Lawyer James H. Goetz said MSU has bypassed the standard public review process and public input. He pointed out that the regents have yet to approve the center  even though a signed agreement between the Koch Foundation and the university lists an initial payment of $793,380 made "on or about September 15, 2016."

"I'm concerned about our wonderful university being hijacked by right-wing money," Goetz said Friday. "The Kochs preach the gospel of academic freedom, but common sense tells me otherwise."

In a letter to Commissioner of Higher Education Clay Christian and the regents dated Sept. 14, Goetz wrote, "This grant literally screams out for transparency  not the hurried, furtive approach that is now apparent."

In an earlier letter, MSU President Waded Cruzado assured Goetz that, "Nothing in the grant allows them to leapfrog the established process and timeline for center review by the BOR (Board of Regents)."

MSU announced in August that the Charles Koch Foundation gave the $5.7 million award to economics professors Vince Smith and Wendy Stock to study the impacts of government policies and regulations on society.

Smith and Stock plan to use the money to create a new center focusing on the impact of regulations and government policies in many areas, from agriculture to health care and technology, the Bozeman Chronicle reported in August.

"MSU expects the regents to be a rubber stamp," said Goetz. "But the regents haven't technically approved it. So MSU has signed a contract where they're taking money. I guess they think it will sail through."

Four more installments are planned through Aug. 1, 2020.

Cruzado said at the earliest, Smith and Stock will present their detailed plans to the MSU Faculty Senate in March 2017.

In an Oct. 7 response to Goetz, Christian rebuts the lawyer's concern that the Kochs will be allowed to vet faculty hires and dictate curriculum. Christian said, "Creating a center will receive all the normal campus vetting and Regents review," and, "Having a center, among other benefits, enables a campus to apply for other types of funding and attract students."

In answer to Goetz's concern that the Koch grant includes language that commits Montana taxpayers to paying for the faculty positions after the agreement's term ends, Christian replied:

"In fact, the Koch Foundation attorney has assured us that the creation of a center is not contingent on receipt or return of any money. I cannot overemphasize that the proposal to create a center was entirely a MSU faculty-driven idea."

In her letter to Goetz, Cruzado also says that the details of the new center's creation will come from the professors, not the Koch Foundation.

Goetz contends that Christian's assurances do not hold water. "The whole tone of Christian's letter is to defend, in my view, what has already taken place," he said Friday.

Goetz accuses MSU of taking the Kochs' money without due attention to possible "serious academic freedom concerns." He expressed concern that the Kochs could advance an anti-regulation agenda in introductory economics courses. Similarly, at Florida State University, the Koch Foundation gave $1.5 million for positions in the FSU economics department in 2011. Students criticized the gift, saying it gave the billionaire brothers a say on faculty hires and leverage to push for anti-regulation curricula.

"As a Montana taxpayer I object to this commitment of my tax monies in this way," wrote Goetz on Aug. 31 in an initial letter to the regents and Cruzado. "As an interested citizen, I am offended by MSU's sell-out of its academic prerogatives. This should never happen."

Cruzado also assured Goetz that "the Koch name will not be part of the name" of the new center. The grant agreement between MSU and the Kansas-based Charles Koch Foundation names the center the "Center for Regulation and Applied Economic Analysis." The Chronicle reported that it would be located in Linfield Hall.

Cruzado reiterated the contract language, which reads: "the University's decision of whether or not to provide tenure or to reappoint the individuals holding faculty positions affiliated with the Center will be considered independently of any funding provided by the Center."

Cruzado told Goetz that safeguards for academic integrity and faculty publishing will remain in place without Koch influence. Typical scrutiny from peer-reviewed publications will continue, she said.

Oilmen Charles and David Koch are controversial figures in the political realm. They fund Republican, conservative, and libertarian causes and candidates. Allegedly they spend millions to influence elections through groups like Americans for Prosperity.

Goetz is a member of the MSU Association of Centennial Alumni and a member of the MSU Foundation Leadership Council fundraising campaign. He and his wife have donated scholarships to MSU.

A 1965 MSU graduate, Goetz said he plans to bring up his concerns to the regents next time they meet  Nov. 17 and 18 in Missoula  or whenever they place the issue on their agenda.

"I've talked to some people who are pretty upset about this," Goetz said, "but as far as I know, there's no organized opposition yet."
Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - With the introduction of effective economic stimulus policies and the traditional buying craze in the lead up to Chinese New Year, the Chinese passenger automotive market ushered in a resurgence in November. According to Gasgoo.com (Chinese) statistics, a total of 2.11 million automobiles were sold in the country over the course of the month, representing year-on-year growth of 24.6% compared to the 1.69 million automobiles sold last November. Both the monthly sales volume and year-on-year sales growth rate were record highs for the year. A total of 17.81 million automobiles have been sold in China from January to November, representing year-on-year growth of 8.2%.

Various manufacturers in the market have benefited from this increase in sales as a whole. Domestic own brand manufacturers posted the most impressive performance, with a total of 831,932 own brand passenger automobiles sold in November, representing strong sales growth of 30.6%. Own brands saw their share in the passenger automotive market increase to 39.3%. Own brands benefited greatly from SUV sales, with over 47% of all SUVs sold in the country being made by own brands.

Among foreign brands, German brand passenger automobiles achieved high sales growth of 31.4% in November, with their monthly sales totaling 400,276 units. Japanese and American brand passenger automobile sales, which totaled 351,357 units and 270,808 units, also enjoyed good double-digit sales growth rates of 18.7% and 22.8%, respectively. Korean and French passenger automobile sales grew 11.5% and 7.3%, respectively.

SUVs remained the major driver of passenger automobile sales growth in November. A total of 715,083 SUVs were sold in November, up 69.5% from the previous year. SUVs accounted for 33.8% of all passenger automobiles sold in the country, up 9 percentage points from last November.

The sedan market, whose sales have contracted over the year, have seen some recovery in November, with a total of 1.17 million sedans sold over the course of the month. Sedan sales, which accounted for over 55% of all passenger automobiles sold in November, grew 9.0% from last year. Minivan sales in November totaled 231,356 units, representing year-on-year growth of 14.0%.

All SUV manufacturers posted strong sales growth rates in November. Own brand manufacturers led the segment with sales of 392,249 units, representing year-on-year growth of 86.4%. Own brand models constituted 54.9% of all SUVs sold in November. American SUV sales grew 80.4% in November, with a total of 69,400 units sold, while Japanese SUV sales increased 49.2%, with 109,927 units sold.

Great Walls Haval H6 was the best-selling SUV in November. It was followed by the SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 560, GAC Trumpchi GS4, VW Tiguan, Buick Envision, Changan CS75, JAC Refine S3, Nissan X-Trail, Great Wall Haval H2 and BAIC S3. Seven of those models, including all of the top three, come from own brand manufacturers. The Haval H6 continues to the lead the charts with strong sales of 40,311 units, setting a new monthly sales record. Sales of the Haval H6 have increased 30.0% year-on-year. The Baojun 560 and Trumpchi GS4 also performed strongly, with sales of 31,228 units and 24,650 units, respectively.

The situation among sedan manufacturers was slightly different. Sales of German sedans grew a respectable 30.0%, totaling 338,728 units sold in November. Japanese and American sedan sales also posted double-digit growth rates, with respective sales of 229,616 units and 195,583 units over the course of the month. By comparison, own brand and Korean sedan sales suffered, decreasing 6.9% and 1.7% year-on-year.

The best-selling sedan of November was the VW Lavida, followed by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy, Buick Excelle, VW Jetta, Hyundai Elantra, VW Sagitar, Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Cruze, VW Santana and Ford Escort. Sales of the Lavida broke the 40,000 mark, with a total of 42,206 units sold over the course of the month, representing year-on-year growth of 46.5%. The most impressive sales growth figures came from the Santana, whose sales grew a full 95.1%.

Much like the SUV segment, own brands also led minivan sales. Minivan sales grew 91.0%, totaling 210,526 units. SAIC-GM-Wulings Hongguang was the best-selling minivan of the month, followed by the SAIC-GM-Wuling Baojun 730, BAIC Weiwang M20, Dongfeng Fengxing Lingzhi, Dongfeng Fengguang 330, Changan Honor, Dongfeng Fengguang 370, Buick GL8, JAC Refine and Honda Jade.

Six minivans this month have managed to break the 10,000 sales mark. Only two of those, the Buick GL8 and Honda Jade, came from foreign brands, while the rest were own brand models. The highest year-on-year growth rates were posted by the Fengxing Lingzhi, totaling 132.1%. It was followed by the Weiwang M20, whose sales totaled 91.9%. The Hongguang, which is gradually outdated, has seen its sales growth slide down to just 2.7%. By comparison, sales of the Baojun 730 and Changan Honor fell 16.9% and 20.8%, respectively.
HELENA  One season of "Extreme Huntress" wasnt enough for one East Helenan.

Taylor Reisbeck is taking aim at the title for the online hunting show, bringing her skills from the mountains of Montana for the second time up against women from both the United States and Canada. She is the only competitor in the history of the show to make the finals twice.

I really wasnt sure if I wanted to go back, but now Im really glad I did, she said. It was really good meeting the other women, and now were all friends.

Extreme Huntress selects six women to compete in various hunting related skills competitions at the 777 Ranch in Texas, followed by hunting on the ranch. The adventures are featured at www.extremehuntress.com with voting following each episode.

Reisbeck currently sits in second place behind Lindsey Christensen from Idaho. She hopes to get Helena-area voters and Montana behind her as the women charge towards a January finish.

Encouragement from Reisbecks parents, boyfriend and some of the judges nudged her application, and competing again has allowed her to open up a bit more this season.

Last year I was really shy just because I wasnt used to being in front of the camera and having it right in my face, she said. People kept asking me if I thought I had more of a chance than these other girls because I competed before. I really didnt  the vegetation was completely overgrown over last year, and every hunting experience was a lot different.

Reisbecks life has changed since first competing on the show as shed like to stake a career in the hunting industry. She makes public appearances to talk about the role of hunting in wildlife management and to encourage more women and children to spend time in the outdoors.

Putting herself out there for both public praise and public scrutiny has been a learning experience as well. Contestants, including Reisbeck, have been subject of social media scorn and even some threats.

Ive honestly learned and youve got to be patient with people that dont like hunting, and youve got to let people think in their own ways, Reisbeck said.
MISSOULA  U.S. Sen. Jon Tester wants to help Montana millennials  "Montennials"  work on serious problems, such as climate change and the cost of higher education.

Wednesday, though, University of Montana junior Tristen Hollist requested permission to ask the Democrat visiting the Missoula campus a question about a "non-serious" matter.

"When are you going on tour with Pearl Jam again?" said Hollist, who posed the only question at the event.

In fact, Tester considered the question legitimate, and he may very well consider time backstage with bassist and Montana native Jeff Ament more fun than time in Washington D.C.

"Hopefully sooner rather than later," said Tester, a Big Sandy farmer.

Congress is "pretty damn dysfunctional," he told some 20 people outside the University Center, and he's ready for college students to take the helm. This week, the senator launched his #Montennial Tour to connect with youth on the cool wet morning.

"Hanging out with Montana millennials is certainly better than Washington D.C. any day of the week," Tester said.

Although lawmakers are constantly campaigning, Tester isn't on the ballot in November. His angst about dysfunction among political leadership and desire to pass the baton to the next generation mirrors similar calls from other high- profile politicians and activists during a presidential campaign that's often been reprehensible.

In a letter to young people this week projecting a loss for Republican candidate Donald Trump, actor and activist George Takei said he's seen worse in his "eight decades," but he's pleased that "in 20 years, you will all be in charge."

"You give me much cherished hope, through your heart and your passion and your commitment to the future, to this nation, to this planet," said his letter published in The Daily Beast.

On campus Wednesday, Tester said he planned to travel across Montana to hear from "Montennials" about everything from campaign finance reform to climate change. He holds an online town hall meeting from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 30, at tester.senate.gov/montennial.

At the Wednesday event, Sam Forstag, president of the Associated Students of the University of Montana, lauded Tester for his support of making college more affordable and making sure students who are parents with young children can get an education, too.

The cost of education is increasing, and federal and state support is low, he said.

"At a time like this, it's more important than ever," Forstag said.

Tester has supported the extension of Perkins loans for low-income college students and he also co-sponsored a resolution that urged Congress "to recognize the importance of Perkins in reducing the cost of higher education," according to his office.

Hollist, the lone student asking a question, said he believes higher education is still key to the American dream and to tackling something "bigger than yourself." As for Pearl Jam, he once bought fan apparel at a concert.

"I still have the shirt. I kinda like wish I was wearing it."
MUSCATINE, Iowa - Megan Elliotts smile greets every visitor to the Muscatine Community College (MCC) Student Center and when you call, hers is the warm voice of MCC. Elliott graduated in 2014 with an Associate in Liberal Arts, transferred to St. Ambrose University, and graduated with a BA in psychology.

I would like to pursue a masters in the near future, Elliott said. Ive also considered a doctorate, but I also need to decide what topic I would like to study in depth.

Learning why people do what they do is what drove Elliott to study psychology.

I chose psychology because it is fascinating to me to learn why people do what they do, yet there are still so many anomalies, she said. There has been so much research, yet there are still things that cannot be explained. Every psychology related course I have taken was extremely interesting to me. I loved to learn the information.

When a position opened up at MCC Elliott saw an opportunity, applied, was interviewed, and subsequently offered the job.

I had previously been working in Davenport and after I graduated that drive was pretty daunting. MCC was a slightly strange transition, but it was definitely a welcomed one, she said.

Elliott has a hidden talent for redecorating and is often asked by people to come help in their homes. She also enjoys going to craft shows, being outdoors, and spending time with family and her animals. Elliott lives with her boyfriend, Nick, her dog, Autumn, and her cat, Blaze.

I love to travel even if that entails a short weekend excursion to another town, Elliott said. While a student at MCC I was able to go to China. Two other students and I met this amazing couple who offered to escort us to a wetland park. They spent the entire day with us, making sure we were okay, talking what our lives were like back home, and the wife even opened up about their life. That was the best experience I could have ever asked for. The hospitality of strangers was incredible.

The family and team atmosphere is one of her favorite parts about MCC.

As a student, I came to know many people on campus, Elliott said. Having those associations when coming to work here was nice. It is just different being on the other side of the desk. I think being an alum has helped me answer questions that are posed by students.

If Elliott had a superpower it would be her ability to juggle multiple projects and keep track of an office full of people with a click of a button.

While reflecting on her days as a student at MCC, Elliott stated that she wished she had asked more questions.

Welcome to MCC Megan.

Photograph by Nancy Bird Luikart, Asst Dean

Caption: Megan answers another caller.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  If you are using a steam cleaner or shampooer on your carpet, you are doing it all wrong -- according to the owner of Real Men Carpet Cleaning.

The two two things you never put on carpet are water and heat, said entrepreneur James Hammond. Dumping water on the carpet and sucking it up is not cleaning the carpet. What you have done is wash everything into the pad. Now youve totally ruined the pad  The dirt under the carpet will be turned to mud and the water will create mold, which is harmful to your health.

Hammond launched Real Men Carpet Cleaning in January and declared his cleaning methods and work ethic a movement to change the face of the industry.

Hammond, possibly the man most passionate about carpet that you will ever meet, said the industry standard is to destroy carpet. He added that anyone in the industry that wants to wash carpet with water, drag fans and hoses into the house and doesnt properly treat odors and pet stains is doing the customer an injustice.

Anyone who wants to use water or steam on your carpet is part of a money-making scheme and they are lying to your face, Hammond said. Carpet is dry clean only. Do not even use the sprays you buy off the shelf for spot cleaning.

Hammond explained that carpet was originally designed to last for 15-20 years and was woven of wool. Today, he says that carpet is made from recycled plastic and synthetic material that will be deconstructed when cleaned with scalding water. He says the industry is now creating carpet that is rated to last five years and cheating the consumer.

He has created a process to extend the life of your investment by removing deep soil in the carpet, pad and even beneath the pad. Using a vacuum that he designed, Hammond said she can penetrate a room with extreme suction power and that the carpet is lifted and a cyclone effect occurs. Lint and debris is whisked away with a forward spinning brush and dry foam is applied to the surface to remove oils. The carpet will dry after about 40 minutes. Color guard, scotch bright and deodorizer come with the treatment.

Real Men Carpet Cleaning will move your furniture and replace it when the job is done. Hammond, who has help from his wife, Danielle, and one other employee, is the operator of the business. He said his method is not the fastest way to clean carpet but that he is available around the clock and is certain new customers will not let another company touch their floors again. After the initial cleaning, customers are offered free consultations on new stains and can earn free cleanings through a referral program.

A U.S. Army Veteran who served in corrections at Guantanamo Bay military prison and has traveled the world said he is settled and content in growing his business from Muscatine. Hammond has spent years researching the proper cleaning methods and says he did it for his family, who suffers from allergies. His Christian faith-based business is driven on honesty, integrity, service unto the Lord and offering the best price in the area. He said he is ranked as the top carpet cleaning service in Davenport and online reviews boast Real Men Carpet Cleaning as an honest, informational and exceptional.

My goal is to educate and extend the life of the carpet while making the customer happy, Hammond said. I offer the deepest, deep clean you can ever get. I promise that.

For pricing, a business profile and more information go to www.realmencarpetcleaning.com or call James Hammond at 563-265-1172.
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